《Silent Crown》 1 The Well of the Ultimate In the dead of night, rain was pouring from the sky. A man wrapped in a large coat held up his lantern in the dark street. The rain poured down on his long coat relentlessly, with a cold, insatiable drive chilling him to the bone and soul. The cold air frosted the lantern, making the light dimmer than it already was. In the dim yellow light, the path a few feet ahead was visible to him, but anything further along faded into pitch blackness in the rain. The surroundings were distorted by the rain and darkness. Only when lightning struck could the towering castle be revealed. Stone statues of beasts covered in green moss sat on the rainspout, rainwater streaming out from their mouths. When the lantern was held up, the man''s face was also faintly illuminated. He was an old looking man with emerald eyes and a silver beard. There was a sense of abnormality in the air. A twisted weirdness lurked in the rain falling to the ground, in the lightning that cracked through the clouds, and in the deep breaths that the old man let out. There was not a single sound anywhere! In this world of silence, even the realness of breaths and heartbeats were fading as time passed. Not even a coward would fear this world, because all fear had already been frozen by the dead silence. Gaius had been here many times before, but each time, he felt ruined city was assimilating him, making him as cold as the city--turning him into a walking corpse. This dead silence may not even be a good place for a ghost to live. When he raised his head to take a deep breath, he could feel all the invisible beings that filled the city. They were the "aether" that roamed the atmosphere and the earth. Aether resonated within his internal organs, and harshly pulled away all existing sound. When he looked down, he could see the rain water on the ground flowing with aether. Among the waves and streams, the aether spread out beautifully like Eastern silk laid before his feet, flowing to the end of the darkness. This was a gorgeous, extravagant cage. Sound was devoured in this city by the enchantment, a magical force field. Aether slept here eternally. Not even the musicians that understood the heavens and earth could communicate with it--this was the Wyrmrest Enchantment. In the silence, Gaius raised his head suddenly. He felt a presence approaching. The darkness thickened. _ Through the twisted screen of rain, the darkness looked as if it were a living being. It tried to tear itself apart, struggling with its teeth and claws, wanting to break free, wanting to get the thing out. And so the darkness was separated. In this silence, the rain and the wind blew wildly. Gray shadows emerged from the darkness. The color was like boiled lime, or the sharp edges and corners of a marble. There had been thirty-one of them when they set off but only nine came back, their gray robes almost completely covered with blood. The leader staggered, his hands holding a slender object. It was wrapped in a dirty white cloth, supporting his body so he did not fall. When Gaius saw him, he could not help but take a step back. Half of his face was charred. The wound had not yet healed, white and clammy from the rain. Water dripped from the side of his face--even the droplets had a faint tint of blood. "Hein?" he mumbled in dismay, but suddenly realized that he could not make any sound. Hein made an effort to pull the corner of his mouth up, as if he were smiling. This man was once known to have the face of an angel, but now it was as hideous as the Asura in hell. There was no time for Gaius to say anything. He turned in a rush to save time, and pushed open the door of the fortress. For a moment, he watched behind Hein carefully. Behind Hein, the grey friars stood silently, carrying something large and heavy. The object they carried was wrapped in layers of white cloth, revealing only a sharp edge. Gaius felt a sting in his eyes, and did not dare look again. The door closed silently, devouring the trail of the group. Lightning flashed in the clouds and on the fort. The stone beasts stared at the sky, their grinning mouths almost sneering. The creeping wind blew from the darkness as if it were walking into the Underworld. They walked down as if there was no end. The torch on the wall illuminated the long corridor. Gaius led the way in the front. The heavy copper keys shook at his waist but made no sound when they collided. As the key twisted, the sixth black iron door opened. Every time, Gaius could feel the bronze hub in friction with the huge structure behind the door. There was a violent tremble, like a key going into his own body, attempting to completely destroy his weary bones. With every step he took, he could not help but want to look back at the thing Hein carried. That thing was calling to him, telling him to turn around quickly, to look carefully, and imprint its image into his eyes. Immersed by the object''s call, his mind was shaken up. It was like an invisible hand was pulling at his soul from within his body, softly urging, "Turn around." The voice said, "Come and turn around quick. Look at me. Look at me now. Look at me!" He trembled as the silent murmur summoning him spoke relentlessly, echoing in his ears! He felt a hand on his shoulders, calming down his wildly beating heart. He was sober, but felt himself soaked with cold sweat. It was not until now that he realized he had been standing in front of the last door for a long time, immersed in a hidden temptation, unable to extricate from it. That thing had magic! Gaius turned and tried to smile, but Hein just took his hand off him, and gestured him to move on. When the last key was inserted into the keyhole, Gaius felt so tired that he thought he was about to die. The gate, three meters thick, opened with a tremor as the machine twisted. The torch was lit, and the darkness dissipated. Cold wind blew in from behind the door, with a pungent and hot scent enough to make one dizzy. Yet Gaius was slightly relieved. He was finally about to complete his mission, just like the others. He looked up at the inscription on the gates: The Well of the Ultimate. Behind the mighty iron gate was the abyss. In the darkness, the light rose from the abyss, swung, and illuminated their pale faces. According to legends of the East, at the end of the ocean, there is a whirlpool called the Ultimate. It is the remains of the last world after its demise, representing death. The fallen stars and the dead waters converged in the whirlpool, into the endless darkness, never to be recovered again. But if only darkness existed within the Ultimate, where did this light come from? It seemed able to burn the world. Blazing light burned in the black abyss. Like silver and gold melted together, or hot copper and hot iron rolling in the kettle, the light converged into a whirlpool, forever twisting. The silver and gold light lit up every one of their faces. Looking into it for a long time, they began to feel dizzy, but along with the dizziness was an urge to lose themselves to the light and jump into the whirlpool. This was the Well of the Ultimate, the end of the world--where all life withered. Even the aether would be killed here. Elements with divine power floated within the Ultimate, like spilt ashes. But before they died, they converged together, like molten iron boiling with its steam rushing up to the air, into a swirl of pain. Under the whirlpool was death. "We''re finally here," Gaius silently whispered and looked back again at Hein, but saw amusement and fear flashing in his eyes. There was suddenly a faint sound in the dead silence. The sound itself was very subtle, but in this terrible silence, it was very clear. It roared, surging like a tide. It spread through the air, creating layers of ripples. On the shoulders of the friars in gray, under the layers, that thing was...breathing! Gaius and Hein''s faces froze in shock. They turned back, only to see the following scene--among the injured friars in gray, one friar had suddenly collapsed and slumped to the ground. Just a swift moment beneath the ripples and his face had been crushed. His body collapsed to the floor like falling gravel. There was no blood on the ground because all the blood had vaporized and merged into the breathing sound! Thus, the breathing sounds became a raging tsunami! Boom! A sharp shriek broke out from the breathing like metals screeching against each other. It was a high-pitched scream, yet tender as well. Their eardrums were shattering but, at the same time, they felt that someone was singing. Ode to this world! At first it was just faint tremors, but now it had turned into a roar! It was like an ax chopping down wood, or dragon scales scraping. The stars fell and the earth broke. The endless screams spread, condensing into one huge ripple trying to break apart the shackles that restricted it. The ground shook tremendously while gusts of air started to swirl up from the ground. The Wyrmrest Enchantment had broken! Light rolled in the deep abyss within the Well of the Ultimate. The flowing iron whirlpool suddenly created a huge burst! The hot silver fluid was boiling again! A huge amount of bubbles rose like fog coming off of a lake''s surface, accompanied by a wild wind that filled the air, creating ripples in the sharp screech. In the presence of the screeching noise, the human body would be swept up like a fallen leaf and slammed against the wall. Their lungs were stuffed with iron sand and unable to breathe. The power was going to press them into the stone wall and crush their flesh and bones! Then, the layers of cloth were torn. In a spinning illusion, Gaius felt his mind go blank, but he finally saw that thing''s shape. It was a steel coffin! On the cross-shaped coffin, layers of chains were trembling in unrest. As it landed with a thud, the chains fell apart. The iron and steel were completely vaporized by the power of the heat! The iron coffin shook so forcefully that the copper spikes nailed in the coffin popped out. They feared the monster inside and wanted to flee. Fine cracks emerged at the top, growing like a living creature, spreading quickly. The screech was growing even more high-pitched! Screams, like the hands of demons, turned the friars into bloody flesh slapped onto the wall one by one. But the terrifying pressure bounced off Hein''s body. When Hein looked up, his eyes flashed with a golden fire. As if the Gods had taken over his body, he broke the bond and crawled toward the iron coffin with incredible speed as if he was falling into the Ultimate. He whispered something, and suddenly pressed his hands directly onto the iron coffin! After a moment the screech disappeared. The momentary silence seemed to last forever, but then the screech broke out a thousand times stronger! The terrible tremor took a physical shape and drove from his arm into his body. The skin on his arms cracked, blood splashed out but vaporized in the twisted wind. Some blood got into the gap in the iron coffin, disappearing without a trace. First his palm, then his arm, and then the last half of the body; Hein''s body withered quickly. He began to dry out, and his life was about to be exhausted as his blood was drawn from him! He struggled to look back at Gaius. His lips opened and closed, wanting to shout something. Gaius froze. Looking down, he saw that the slender parcel had rolled down beside him. It was what Hein had carried all the way back. With all the shock and tumbling it had endured, its covering had been removed, revealing the holy object inside. Like a spear made with raw iron materials, it was rough and wild. The blade was dull but stained with layers of blood. In the screeches, its front blade lit up, buzzing and releasing a burning light. The light was so hot that it cracked the shackles restraining Gaius. He used all his power to bend down, and clenched the spear. For a moment, he felt an infinite power rush into his body, and along with it he gained courage. The frightening roar disappeared. His ears could only hear his heart beating like rolling thunder. Divine power filled his body, boiling his blood. His heart almost burst, and he was obsessed with the feeling--he wanted to release it all. If iron was in front of him, he would break it. If a dragon was in front of him, he would drive a spear right through it. If his enemies were in front of him, he would tear them to their very last bone. If a God stood before him... His consciousness was dominated by this power. He stood up involuntarily, and moved forward seven steps, his footsteps printing into the stone beneath him. Now he was standing in front of the enemy. The iron coffin shook endlessly. He glared at the cracks on the iron coffin, glared at the darkness within. His hands clenched the spear, and he gathered all his strength and courage. He stabbed the coffin with the spear! There was a sound like a bubble bursting. As if the iron coffin had been just a phantom, the spear drove down effortlessly between the cracks, piercing the darkness, stabbing all the way through to the other end. As if it was an illusion, he heard a sad cry, like the sorrow of a giant dragon before falling to its death. Within the sorrowful cry, the screeching stopped abruptly and the dancing and sparkling aether suddenly stilled. Then the cry condensed, turned into a raging storm and dropped back into the deep Ultimate. Silence swept back, and the iron coffin once again fell into stillness. The power that had filled him disappeared. Gaius stumbled back to help Hein up. This burly man had now withered into a baby. Broken at the touch, he turned to ashes. Only his head remained and fell to the ground, his withered eyes staring at Gaius. He had died. Gaius closed his eyes and turned to the iron coffin. Like a child trying to reach a tall tree, the old man struggled to push the iron coffin, squeezing every drop of strength out of his bones. Little by little, he moved it towards the deeper Ultimate. Exhausting his last bit of power, he pushed it into the boiling iron flow of the Ultimate''s whirlpool! As the iron coffin fell, it rolled through the air and was immersed in the whirlpool. The thick sword still deeply penetrated in the iron coffin sank to death along with it. In its last moments, he saw the horrifying totem engraved on the coffin. As if it had walked straight out of a nightmare, the totem had a face made of brass and a body of black iron. It had three skulls, with traces of birds, beasts, and humans. It was bulky and hideous, with countless arms holding flames, ice, disease, knives, axes, and bones. Obviously, it did not resemble the human form, but somehow the totem was so beautiful! So perfect that it was frightening. It was a creation from mythology. The son of God and Mother of Earth, it was a demigod filled with hatred and strength--The Hecatoncheir. - When Gaius came out from the ruins of the city, he heard the sound of ocean waves. Perhaps he had been in silence for too long, but even the sound of the waves was salvation. In the cold rain, a carriage waited quietly in the dark. The man in the car waved to him. He froze for a moment, then got into the carriage. It took him on the returning path. The carriage was very warm inside. It had an underlying infused scent and very intricate, beautiful decorations. But he still felt a coldness surrounding him that he could not shake loose. The man sitting opposite him handed over a personal heater. He felt the essence of its precious warmth, but his face was still very pale. "Welcome back to earth." The white-haired Eastern man brightened the light, illuminating his face. Like all Eastern noblemen, Bai Heng wore a silk robe, with a faintly embroidered pattern made of silver silk threads. This kind of mark was like a flame--both majestic and arrogant. Apart from the white hair, Bai Heng looked young and vigorous, with no wrinkles on his face whatsoever. Only when looking at his eyes did Gaius feel that this guy was really as old as he was. "When did you come?" Gaius whispered. "I came right after you, but always a step behind. I was only able to see from afar." Bai Heng lowered his gaze. The lingering fear in his heart had not disappeared with time. "Just looking at it shook my mind and soul. It really made me feel hopeless." "Nothing to feel hopeless about," Gaius whispered in a low voice. He remembered the face of Hein, with his withered skull and dried up eyes. He started to look bleak. "Wasn''t paying the price all we were ever able to do since the very start?" "I am afraid we cannot afford to pay that price," Bai Heng also whispered. "We have lost dozens of musicians. The dragon-slaying spear was given the name ''St. George'' just to deal with the Hecatoncheir''s sleepy murmurs. To those monsters, humankind''s struggle to fight back must have looked funny, I suppose? Like ants, their deaths had no value." Gaius was silent. After a long time, he sighed softly. "Bai Heng, twenty years ago, when ''The Disaster of the Silver'' destroyed the City of the Wolves, I was right there inside the city." "Oh?" Bai Heng was surprised for a moment. "At that time I stood on the city wall and watched it emerge from afar, the waves spread to every corner of Heaven and Earth with a magnificent neon light. It was really very beautiful. So, rest assured, that magnificent destruction will make people feel that it''s not a pity to be buried with." Bai Heng was stunned, but then suddenly he laughed softly, "Humans are indeed ridiculous. Hearing that they can die a prettier death can make them feel less regretful about dying." "So, we should first worry about the problems of the living for now." Gaius closed his eyes and recited the dogma, "Fear and respect the aether." Bai Heng fell into silence. - The silence continued until the carriage stopped. Outside the carriage was a port where a ship was waiting to set sail in the rainy night. Even with the window in the way, Gaius could hear the sound of the ocean waves. He had left the lands of the Wyrmrest Enchantment; the world was full of sound again. Having been in silence for so long, he was grateful to hear the noisy waves that he heard in his everyday life. Gaius could not help but look back to the faraway land. Yet nothing could be made out in the faraway darkness. "So we part ways here. His Holiness, the Pope, is waiting on my report," Gaius said. He got off and looked back at the carriage. "Are you going back to the East?" "Yes. After all, there''s a considerably proud and arrogant Empress at home." Bai Heng sighed, "If I am not there, who''s to say she''s not wreaking some havoc?" Gaius laughed. "It must be hard being a treacherous minister, Bai Heng." "It''s ''regent''," Bai Heng carefully corrected him. "Well, goodbye, Mr. Regent, sir." "Goodbye, Duke Gaius, your highness," Bai Heng said. The carriage door closed. In the rain, Gaius stared quietly at the man''s carriage disappearing into the rain. With the sound of countless raindrops, he looked back at the darkness of the fort, as if through the blockade of numerous layers, he could still hear the roar of the monster. "I really don''t understand." His gaze was deep. "You monsters. Why do you keep wandering and lingering in the human world?" - This year, a rare phenomenon appeared in the night sky--two moons shone together, the White Moon and the Blue Moon, hanging high in the sky at the same time. There were six earthquakes in the lands. Some areas were in a bad drought, yet there was tragic flooding in other areas. Some people claimed that in the desert areas, a flammable black liquid was found. Some claimed that the continents were shifting. Some claimed that the earth was round, and some claimed that the ancestors of humans were monkeys. These were all just minor details. This year, the Revolutionary Army that occupied the New World was only just starting to grow, and the dark world of natural catastrophes was still raging. Some countries relentlessly borrowed bonds that they would never be able to return, and some places were militarized to expand their own regimes. The war between nations over the ruins and ancient technology was still continuing. The Sacred City was responsible for forgiving the sins committed by men, and the Aristocrats of the East were responsible for selling silk to the dead. Those who fought were fighting. Those who killed were killing. It was as if everyone had a good time keeping themselves busy. Few people noticed that the dark age had already been over for hundreds of years. The fragile peace between humankind and natural catastrophes had been maintained for too long. The world was still so large, but most of it remained hidden in the dark. The once twelve kingdoms were now only nine, struggling to occupy a small corner of the world and slowly, yet cautiously, exploring the territories in unknown directions. Some people turned their attention to the other side of the ocean because the wind brought the tide of a new era. 2 Lighthouse Late at night, the sound of the crashing waves came from afar. The town was silent, as if it had fallen asleep. Everything was quiet. The stars and the moon hung in the sky above. In the dark, only the lighthouse on the coastline outside the town still had light coming from it. Since the town had been established, the lighthouse had always been standing on the coastline. The church had built it with ancient technology, and it helped direct the ships that came past the reef area. For centuries, a fire had always burned at the top of the lighthouse. The fire burned on aether''s powers, releasing a blindingly harsh light. Hundreds of mirrors were placed in complex frames, forming complicated arrays, enveloping the fire. The light, shining through a well-designed refraction angle, created a complex trajectory, its brightness increasing tenfold, shining in all directions. This self-reliant structure was almost semi-permanent, and did not require any manual management as long as there were proficient mechanics carrying out monthly system maintenance tests to prevent possible failures. However, it was not the priest in black that came today, but two teenagers...and a dog. - The only words that could be used to describe the dirty, golden-haired dog were ugly, ugly, and really ugly. It had laid on the ground ever since it got here, looking disinterested with everything it saw, and had already fallen asleep. When a mosquito landed on its nose, it sneezed. While sneezing, its lips turned outwards as if it was grinning, revealing a row of uneven canine teeth. Beside it, a teenager with fair blond hair leaned back against the wall, focused on shredding chicken meat with his bare hands. The chicken was savagely torn piece by piece, stuffed into his mouth, then carefully chewed. He ate in a slow and serious manner, making people think that he was not hungry and just wanted to spend time eating. He was handsome, but when he laughed his looks gave others the impression that he was a bad person. Those green eyes seemed to look at people as if he were a beast, looking for the best spot to take a bite out of. By his side, the liquor bottle was half empty. He had finished all of that by himself. "Yezi, you already know, right?" He whispered, "The opportunity to study in the Sacred City has been taken by the third son of the Thomas family." "I know," an indifferent voice replied from the array of light. "He also said a lot of ugly words," Victor said. "I know." A hand came out of the dazzling light. On the index finger was a ring made of iron wires that commanded everyone''s attention. But his voice was still indifferent, without any emotion. "Victor, give me the eighth wrench," said the voice. "Are you really listening to me?" Victor asked. His eyes stung from the light, his pupils constricting, "You waited so many years to go into the Sacred City to study. All of your hard work got you here. Are you really going to watch the opportunity fall into the hands of a piece of trash that only knows how to flip maids'' skirts?" The dog awakened. It looked up and barked, as if it was also contemptuous and could no longer stand it. "I said hand the eighth wrench to me," the voice insisted. The hand in the array shook gently, reminding Victor not to keep him waiting for long. Victor picked up the wrench from the toolbox and placed it in his hand. He started to withdraw his arm, but Victor grabbed him by the wrist, keeping him from pulling away. The hand paused in the air. Victor stared at the glare of the mirror frame and the array, as if he wanted to see the look on the face of the teen in front of him. He was slightly drunk, so his eyes looked angry--not at himself, but for this quiet friend of his. "Did you hear today?" Victor whispered, "He said that you were an Eastern bastard." "I heard." "He said that kids from the streets should go back to brothels to find their mothers." "I heard." "So? Do you want to pretend that nothing happened?" Victor demanded. Victor''s hand clenched the wrench so hard that you could see his veins popping out. He looked at the mirror array and saw the blurred reflections inside, but the images were motionless and silent. Silence--that was all there was. "Ye Qingxuan, if someone insulted my parents, I swear there would be a whole hell of poisonous snakes poured into his room; if someone insulted my friend, the same would happen." Victor continued coldly, "I know that you don''t want any trouble for the priest, but sometimes, if you retreat, you will be seen as weak. You will be insulted! You''ve done so much for this town, and what have you gotten in return? "They don''t care for you at all!" Victor exclaimed. "For so many years, they have never been grateful for what you have done, and they take everything for granted! Even if you continue to repair the lighthouse for ten more years, create tens of thousands of copies of posters, or reduce their oppression as much as possible, nothing will ever change." "I never expected anyone to appreciate me." "And no one will appreciate you! Do you know why? Because in their eyes, letting an unknown wandering beggar stay here is the greatest gift of all in this noble land!" "Enough, Victor," the other youth''s voice came from the array. The light was too harsh for people to see his face. "No it''s not enough! Do you remember what Thomas said?" Victor yelled. Victor''s eyes were sharp as daggers. "He said that the opportunity was what he deserved! It will never fall on an eastern b*stard''s head because they have stolen enough from us! In the five years you were here, he took you as a thorn in his side. You spared him again and again, but how did he treat you in return? Are you really going to let it go?" There was more silence in the array. After a long time, the array opened and the long floor mirror was pushed open. A teenager walked out of the light. - As the array closed, the gleaming light dissipated, showing the young teen''s figure. His wore thick sunglasses--a necessary tool when working in the array, or else the heated light would blind his eyes. However, the most eye-catching feature was not his sunglasses, but his hair. It was a pure white, like flowing mercury. The long white hair shone in the light, blending into it. White hair was unique to the Eastern people. It was his most noticeable feature, but also his greatest sin--it was proof that he was a mix. Everyone would know what his white hair meant. He was a half-breed who would always be seen as an anomaly in both the East and the West. This identity was more irritating than beggars on the street. Ever since he had come here, the criticism and attack on him had never stopped. After the priest adopted him and appointed him to become a scribe of the church library, Thomas, who had originally learned to copy in the church, watched him even more viciously. In order to get rid of him, Thomas even hid the Holy Bible in his room, and falsely accused him of stealing books. If Ye Qingxuan had not been able to recite the Holy Bible on the spot, proving that he had no need to steal it, he would have been cast out of town long ago, never to find shelter again. "Victor, don''t try to push me towards revenge. You know that doesn''t work on me." Ye Qingxuan was not enraged, and he did not argue. He just picked up the wrench and returned to the array. Then, sounds were the only things that came from the inside. Ye continued, "Anyone can say bad words, but winning with words is of no use to me. So what if I won the argument? Thomas paid for that opportunity, and it will never be mine. I''d rather save my effort." Victor snorted. "Saving effort for you is coming over to fix the lighthouse at midnight and continuing to work for the town?" "At least I can make some money. If I don''t come, the Father will have to come himself. I don''t want to add more work for him. He already did a lot to fight for the spot for me." "He doesn''t want you to go!" Victor said coldly. "He wants to train you into a priest and carry on his work, make you live with those cold things for your entire life! You''ll die in this tiny *ss town and all you''ll have is that metal trash." "Actually, I don''t think there''s anything bad about working with machines," Ye Qingxuan said from the array. "At least they won''t lie or look down on you. Sometimes, I like them more than people. They won''t betray you if you understand them." Victor looked away. He tore at the chicken quietly and stuffed the pieces into his mouth, grinding them with his canines. He ate like a beast. "It''s not over like this," he muttered to himself rather than Ye Qingxuan. - - The repair seemed extremely slow this time. The only sound in the silence came from the array. It changed into a new structure under the tools. Under the youth''s practiced movements, the large machine started moving easily. Hundreds of mirrors changed their positions according to the tracks, adjusting into new angles like a lotus flower blooming and closing. Complex beams of light jumped and flew into the sky. Finally, the maintenance process came to an end. Ye Qingxuan walked out of the array and nodded after a last checkup. "Victor, give me the screwdriver. The mirror is one centimeter off." "So what? What''s the point of being so detailed in this?" Victor tossed him the screwdriver that anchored some papers. "They''ll still look down on you and make fun of you for being so serious. And then they''ll enjoy their life while taking advantage of your results." Ye Qingxuan heard without listening. He carefully adjusted the angle of the mirror structure, gripping the screwdriver as if it was a jewel. "Sometimes, the smallest difference will change the entire result." He paused and said something in the Eastern language that Victor did not understand. "A millimeter of error is a difference of a thousand kilometers." - As if responding to the teen''s words, a gust of wind blew from the distance. It poured into the windows and passed through the lighthouse. Without the screwdriver anchoring them, the pile of paper at the bottom of the toolbox flew up, dancing in the air as if they had wings. One piece covered Victor''s face. He quickly grabbed it to tear it apart. But when he saw the diagram on it, he froze. Ye Qingxuan had drawn a diagram of the mirror array on the white paper. The picture was different from the original structure. New tracks were marked and compared to the originalthere was nothing alike. The original structure had been destroyed and the pre-designed tracks by the priests had been ruined. This complex system was no longer after this adjustment! - Victor stared at his friend as if Ye Qingxuan was a beast. "Yezi, do you know what you''re doing." "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan''s voice was as indifferent as before. "You know sh*t!" Victor jumped up. "Do you know how long the church used to design this array?! Do you know how much it costs to maintain it?" He yanked Ye Qingxuan''s collar. "Yezi, this is a reef zone! So many ships use the lighthouse for direction. If anything happens, you''ll be thrown into jail! Hurry and change it back before anyone notices" "Nothing will happen. Nothing will change," Ye Qingxuan said quietly. "I just made a small adjustment." He waved and the ugly dog, Old Phil, climbed up, running over with an open mouth. "You''re crazy," Victor muttered in the distance. His arms hung beside him listlessly. - "Victor, when did you start to think that I''m a weak person?" The white-haired teen picked up the bottle on the ground, and walked to the window overlooking the the quiet town. Facing the refreshing sea breeze, he drank all that remained. Then, he threw the empty bottle far away. "What''s good in saying more words? At least let your payback be seen by everyone'' eyes." Ye Qingxuan turned around and pulled the hub next to him. Immediately, the lighthouse moved along with the complex structure, as if it were waking up from sleep, moving along the established trajectory. Gears riveted, winches rolled, mirrors offset, and the angles changed. The collision of the steel parts caused sparks to fly and a deep groan--the mechanical collision''s broken sound was like heavy breathing echoing. The originally still frame was now in crazy rotation. In the harsh light, it was like a wildly burning lotus. Victor looked blankly at the changing flashing lights. The sudden flash was like an explosion--gone in the blink of an eye. The lotus shaped array was sealed. The light jumped in the air, like a tame beast, going in all directions--the same as the original. But there was just one beam of light that projected into the dark town, falling on the mirror Old Phil had nailed. Along with the will of the young teen, the light traveled through the dark town, jumping from mirror to mirror. In the end, the hot and harsh light cast itself on the largest house in the town. It was like a light that came down from heaven. - In the middle of the town, the bell trembled, as if rung in anger. Underneath it, a snarling dog bit the rope, struggling to shake the bell. The sharp, loud noise awakened the quiet town. People awakened from their sleep and got out of their beds. In a panic, they ran to the window, looking at the street. There was no beast that broke into the town, nor any bandits that broke into any house. Nothing seemed to have happened. Only the sound of the alarm echoed, and a holy light fell from the sky onto the Thomas''s house. In the town, the awoken residents suddenly became noisy. "What''s the matter?" somebody shouted loudly. "What happened? Who rang the bell?" "Mom, I''m scared!" "Hey! Look at the Thomas''s place!" "Thomas''s home..." Thus, the town that was just now extremely noisy turned incredibly silent. Under everyone''s eyes, a ray of light from the sky shone down, forming a line of writing. The writing was so clear that it was like a blessing that the gods sent from heaven. But it was only a few simple words, with beautiful handwriting like flowing water. It wrote out the teen''s kindest greetings. - Son of a b*tch! 3 Birthday It was early in the morning. The sounds of waves came from afar. The morning sun shone at an angle from the end of the sea, and shed light onto the towering spire of the church. Above the spire, the sage''s statue held a trombone, playing silently to the sky. However, the angry roar that had started at the beginning of the night was still raging on in the church. "Damn you, Eastern b*stard! I''m gonna kill you!!" "Open up, Ye Qingxuan! If you have the guts to curse us, you''d better have the guts to open this door this instant!" "You''re dead, Ye Qingxuan! You know what? No one in the town of Lute can keep you safe!" The three Thomas brothers banged angrily on the door of the church, holding hammers and shovels, cursing loudly. The beam of light from last night was like a slap on their faces, as well as their family''s, in front of the entire town. The worst part was that the little piece of garbage continued the light show with all sorts of curse methods, along with various other word choices. He had taken turns with all the languages that he had learned in the church to curse the Thomas family with the beam of light, and had cast it onto their front wall. It provided a vivid and refreshing language class for all the hooligans in the town. Now the Thomas family didn''t dare go out. No matter where they went, there would always be people murmuring behind their backs, "See that one? That''s the son of a bitch Thomas." "That damn Ye Qingxuan. Damn Eastern half-breed!" But no matter how hard they cursed and roared, the church was still unresponsive. After a long time, they finally grew tired, threw some more threatening shouts, and then left in anger. Outside the church, silence was restored, but within the chapel, the tall and slim priest''s expressions was still cold. - The priest seemed to be old, but still burly--only his beard was silver. His face, as always, was indifferent. Whenever he bowed over others, his eyes were serious and harsh, and his voice was smoky, giving people great pressure. In front of him stood two trembling teenagers and a large dog that looked like it was smiling. "Victor you can go to the back for now." Father Bann waved, "I have something to say to Ye." Thus, the blond teen felt that he was relieved of the pressure. He quickly picked up the dog and escaped, leaving the embarrassed Ye Qingxuan. "Ye, you got in trouble again?" the priest asked coldly. "Haha, not a chance, that Thomas misunderstood me." Ye Qingxuan looked away as he drew the holy emblem on his chest. "Under the teachings of the Church, I shall not do anything unrighteous." Last night, his look had been indifferent, with his eyes assured, so he did everything calmly. But in front of the priest, he had a hard time keeping his calm face. Only at times like this did he actually look like a teenager. Since the beginning, everyone thought he was a quiet and smart child. He was calm and never caused mischief like the other kids his age. You only had to give him a book to read and he would quietly sit there all afternoon reading it. Since he had wandered here and was adopted by the church five years ago, he had always been the model ''kid-next-door'' that was better than all the other kids. He had perfect grades and excellent manners. He was also gentle, kind and hardworking. Because he knew how to read, write, and organize, he was already the library administrator despite his young age, responsible for copying the scriptures. Plus, he also taught himself mechanical engineering in order to take on the lighthouse maintenance every month. These are the very reasons that made him a bit of a headache. Since he came to this town, sixty percent of teen fights had something to do with this seemingly harmless young man. Though, he was the innocent victim every time. "I heard that last night, there was a light from heaven shining down with horrible words written onto the Thomas family''s wall all night long." The priest''s tone was cold, "Ye, your mechanical structure was good, I''m pleased." "Haha! That''s because I learned from the best mentor. . ." Ye Qingxuan did not finish, as he could not continue through the priest''s cold gaze. "I have not taught you anything; these things you have learned on your own. You are a smart child, so I have always been very pleased, but you made a mistake this time." The priest said with a low voice, "The birth of mechanical technology was to help other people have a better life, not to give you a way to carry out revenge!" The teen stood in silence, as he was not able to justify his own actions. Like a silent resistance, his silence made the priest even more disappointed. The priest slowly shook his head. "Ye, you can go now. I will explain this to the mayor; however, as discipline, you will not have lunch this week." The priest waved, dismissing him. "I hope you recognize your own mistakes. You have always been a qualified apprentice, but your actions last night made me very disappointed." "Thank you for your forgiveness." Ye Qingxuan bowed to leave, but the priest stopped him. He turned his head and saw the priest''s iron grey eyes staring at him. "Ye, never mess with the lighthouse again." The voice of the priest was still cold, with no concern nor compassion, the same as always. "If someone insults your parents, you can come find me." Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, and scratched his head, then let out an embarrassing laugh. "No thanks." He then whispered to himself, "Why bother adults with childish things?" - In the backyard of the church, next to the fountain, Victor saw his friend coming back in low spirits. He cracked up, laughing with joy. "Hey, Yezi, finished getting a lesson in discipline? How was it?" He and Ye Qingxuan were both orphans raised by the church. Victor had it better though, because he was at least half local. His father was said to have been a Lord who tried to commit suicide because of poor investments and bankruptcy. The huge debt had left Victor wandering the streets, where only the church would take him in. But two years later, Victor moved out due to conflicts with the priest. Now, he used his own fists to gain the position of a pier manager, who pumped water for people to make his living. His days were happy and simple; free from the troubles of learning transvribing skills or theology. Occasionally, Ye Qingxuan came to him, and Victor would leave his job to help him cause trouble or fight together. Sometimes he gloated about not getting in trouble with the priest. For example, he imitated the expression and tone of the priest now, pointing at Ye Qingxuan and saying, "I''m gonna hang you up, sinful child, and hit you!" "Then you''d have been killed many times." "No way, I run really fast. He''d never get to me!" Victor proudly arched an eyebrow. "Honestly, the priest''s rules have long been outdated. You''re the only one that listens to that huckster talk. In this world, if you want to do big things and succeed, counting on the teachings of God won''t be of any help. Old Phil, Old Phil, do you think I''m right?" The big dog was awakened by Victor''s strokes, and used his tail to hit him since he was annoyed. Victor, who had suddenly noticed his mistake, massaged the dog to flatter him. "Don''t be angry. Don''t be angry, I know you own all the credit." Old Phil was disturbed so badly that it could not go back to sleep. It rolled its eyes at the two teens, got up, jumped into the fountain, and rolled around. It quickly climbed out, splashing water droplets onto the faces of the two next to it. Finally satisfied, it wagged its tail in an elegant manner, like an emperor coming out from his hot bath. The whole process was amazingly natural and as easy as drifting clouds or flowing water. "Old Phil is looking better by the day. Where''d he learn all these expressions?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "How should I know? He looked like that when I was ten and saw him for the first time." Indeed, Ye Qingxuan had been really wondering for quite some time, where did it get that temperament? It was not good looking, its fur was everywhere, and its eyes and expressions had an air of arrogance that you could only see in some Anglo ministers. It walked like a king in his palace, with its chest out and its head high, inexplicably majestic and dignified. One could hardly ignore it-- at least Ye Qingxuan and Victor couldn''t. The two who were bitten once dared not to do it again. "Alright, I''ll have to go first. I won''t disturb you anymore." Victor got up from the ground and tapped Ye Qingxuan on his shoulder. "Some newcomers came. It seemed that they wouldn''t like to listen. I will have to reason things out to them." "Don''t keep fighting. Come back to work in the church." "No thanks! I really can''t get along with the priest." Victor skillfully climbed the wall and waved Ye goodbye. On the wall, he suddenly remembered something, turned, and waved, "One thing, Yezi." "What?" "Eh, happy birthday! I''m poor, so I can''t buy you a gift." Ye Qingxuan helplessly shook his head. "Then I''ll wait for a gift from you when you have succeeded and become famous." "Then you''ll have to wait a few years." Victor grinned and jumped over the wall. His voice reached over from afar, "Relax! I won''t keep you waiting for too long." - Silence in the backyard was once again restored; only the birds whispered in the trees. Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky and raised his hand. He turned the ring on his index finger towards the sun. It glittered brightly, lighting up the eyes of the young man. "Little Yezi, happy birthday." He laughed softly. Right next to him, an old and ugly yellow dog tapped him with its tail, as if it was beating out the tune for his silent birthday song. I wish you a happy birthday, although this birthday is not happy. - It was Ye Qingxuan''s seventeenth birthday today. It also marked the fifth year since he came to the town. His Eastern descent was actually quite rare in the entirety of the Anglo Kingdom. His standard Eastern white hair and black eyes attracted people''s attention no matter where he went. Fortunately, in this world, more bizarre and strange hair and eye colors existed. Having white hair made some people call him an ''Eastern Orphan,'' but that was all.Some rude people would call him a ''bastard''. But these were only a few people, especially after Victor went to live outside of the church. When the retaliation and fights were over, they had to do their jobs. For example, he was now working in the church as a scribe. The work for today was to copy the monthly papers in the church sent to the prayer room from the Sacred City. Every month, the Sacred City would collect news and information, then send them to churches in different places through special links that were connected by aether. These messages were basically as thick as half of a book when compiled together. Among them was information about the rates of gold and national currencies, the progress of the development of relics from the dark ages, the latest disasters, the local outbreak of the results of the war, and the movements of some musicians. What Ye Qingxuan needed to do was to use the translating codes to translate the monthly news. He also needed to pick out news that could be published, copy it, and post it on the bulletin board. Today, he was so shocked that he stopped at the first page. "King of Black Bach?" He looked down at the code, "A new record?" In the monthly reports, the mysterious Mr. Bach had appeared in the southern desert area, and stopped in front of the ''Catastrophe Bahamut.'' Two months ago, the church predicted that the calamity would once again be reborn from the dark world and would be ready to sweep across the territories of mankind. But no one thought this duel would come so fast. The battle lasted for half an hour, then the king of the storm, Bahamut, was once again defeated and returned to the dark world to sleep. Yet, Mr. Bach left only a short message and disappeared without trace, leaving countless musicians who had rushed to the Death Desert with sighs of regret. Unfortunately, they had missed the strongest. - ''Bach''this was a holy name from the Dark Age; only the strongest, most recognized contemporary Western musicians could get the glory of this title. They were called the ''King of Black'' of the three kings. Between the three kings, the holy name ''Beethoven, the King of the Red'' could only be inherited among the popes. ''Mozart, King of the Yellow'' had always been passed down a family. Only ''Bach, King of Black'' was accessible to the musicians who expected to win the crown. Only the strongest could earn such a glory. - In history, the three kings made their first appearance hundreds of years ago when the Mother of Darkness Crusade was happening. After the war was over, the Mother of the Darkness was expelled to the ice field of the North Sea, far away from the human hinterland. At that time, ''Matthaus Passion,''''Destiny,'' and ''Requiem'' mobilized an unprecedented mass of aether, thus dividing the whole plain into three. On that day, the whole world was able to hear the grandeur of the coming of the angels of God. The aftermath of the war, half a month after the tsunami went to the East, almost sank Yingzhou Island into the sea, creating a new island along the western border. Later, this was called the Eastern overseas enclaveYunlou, the Tower of Clouds. Until now, hundreds of years after the dark age had ended, countless musicians fought forward, but the three kings were still the undisputed human guardians. - "Ye, do not be distracted." A cold voice came from behind him. The fascinated teenager had awoken from his daydream. Father Bann was standing behind him. "Your work today is not finished yet." "Oh, okay." Ye Qingxuan smiled in embarrassment. He dipped his quill in some ink and began to continue. The priest looked at him silently and turned away. He began to head out, but paused and looked back at Ye Qingxuan. "Ye, you should know very well." His voice was cold and cruel. "You do not have that qualification." Ye Qingxuan''s hand shook, causing him to draw a line with a frightened shudder, looking like a scar that had been frozen. He finally came back to himself after a long time and found that Father Bann had already left. He looked down at his right hand, his thumb rubbing the ring. The ring felt so warm and gentle, as if it were netted by some wire. "I know," he whispered, as if he had to deny something, but somewhat depressingly. "I know." 4 Musicians Musician: a sacred title. As early as the dark ages, where no history could be traced, human beings lived through various natural catastrophes. In the intervals of the disasters, when they dared not to breathe hard or fast, some people discovered the "aether." It was a mysterious power that existed in every corner all over the world. It was ubiquitous, but invisible and undetectable. Its power was what eased natural catastrophes, beasts, and evil Gods in this world of rage. At first someone named it "magic," "mana," or "strength." Then, some sages finally found and mastered the nature of it; they named it "aether." It was ranked as the fifth element, outside the four elements of earth, water, fire, and air. It was a mysterious power from The Originator, with incredible variety and properties. As much as they wished they all had that power to use aether, only a pure and special voice could manipulate and transform it into wind, condense it into water, shape it into clay, and ignite it as fire. They could gather substances and turn them into different beasts. They were omnipotent, they were almighty. The earliest humans called the syllables that could control the power as ''curses.'' But soon, human beings discovered that music was more powerful than the curses inherited from the dark ages. Therefore, they called these manipulators "musicians." This discovery effectively declared the end of the Dark Age. Before the darkest dawn, among the human predecessors, emerged countless powerful musicians, one generation after another. By discovering ancient music or creating new classics, they started the golden era, the Renaissance. For five hundred years, human beings halted natural catastrophes. Slowly, they expanded their territory. Little by little, they marched on, into the distant Dark World. "Yezi, in the future you will become a musician ... one of the best ones." Someone once said this to Ye Qingxuan. Now, it seemed that it had been just a joke. Ye Qingxuan kept his head low, copying something silently, and stopped his reminiscing. He knew that he had no qualifications. Whether you used instruments or simply sang, musicians had to undergo rigorous training and education in order to learn how to control their own breathing and breaths to ensure careful induction and sense of the aether. Sense Ye Qingxuan suddenly chuckled with his husky voice. Before the age of ten, he had surprised all the musicians with his gift. He was considered to have been born with the talent to resonate with aether as if they were one. But at the age of ten, after running a high fever, he seemed to have lost the ability to sense aether. Not even once... Through the passing years, the "genius" that his father had proclaimed had become a wandering bum. The road to become a musician was cut off. What was left were only some unrealistic fantasies. - "Fate will guide the way." He lowered his head and stared silently at the ciphertext of the monthly newspaper. After the end of the "Catastrophe Bahamut" crusade, Mr. Bach''s answer for the next destination came from the words of the Holy Bible. This sentence came from Aeneas, the first-generation Roman king who established the City of Wolves, who later entered the Sacred City as the holy spirit of Jupiter. Aeneas became a musician at the age of eighteen. He was inspired by The Originator and went to the Dark World alone. Thirty years later, he established the City of Wolves by himself, and was bestowed the title of Holy Spirit after he died. Those were the words he left on his deathbed. He always believed that what he had simply followed the arrangements of fate. But did fate really guide the way? If so, how could the City of Wolves be ruined by catastrophe two-hundred years later? Agonized by these thoughts, Ye Qingxuan bowed his head and started working again. At the door, the shadow that watched him quietly was already gone, leaving behind a weak sigh. - "That''s all for today." After finishing the manuscript, the priest suddenly said, "Your efficiency is decreasing." Ye Qingxuan felt a headache as soon as he saw the stack of paper put aside. Although Father Bann was old, his eyes were still as sharp as ever. He picked out all the wrong letters and non-conforming parts, and asked Ye Qingxuan to rewrite them the next day. This was the rule that Father Bann had laid down for him when he was given the position as a copyist. Ye Qingxuan''s salary was often fully deducted because he was not familiar with the format of writing. Things had improved a lot, but it had been a long time since he could remember his salary being deducted because of writing wrong words in his copies. "Yes, you are quite familiar with the Dorians'' writing style." After checking his copies, Father Bann nodded. "You are getting used to it quickly, and you are very talented with the words of Runes." "It just needs a good memory. I wouldn''t be that familiar with it if I didn''t do it often." "I would tell you if you didn''t do a good job. There is no need to be modest. How are you doing with the clerical standard writing I taught you the other day?" the priest asked. "I practiced often and learned quite a bit." "Very good. This writing format and font is the most commonly used one for clerical business letterheads, and it will be very helpful in your future." Father Bann handed the manuscripts back to him. "There is a dictionary on the table, you can take it with you. Enough for today. Tomorrow, you can start to copy the ''Trinity Hadith''." With that, the priest beckoned for him to leave. Ye Qingxuan could not help but giving a bitter smile. "Father, I am only a copyist. Are you going to train me to be a monk?" "There''s nothing wrong with that." Father Bann looked at him. "It is not impossible to be assigned to a good parish with your ability and become an assistant bishop before the age of forty." "Uh, I have not gotten married yet." "Only the Cardinal is required to be free from desires but he can still find a secret lover." Father Bann paused for a moment, and looked at Ye Qingxuan strangely. "Did I underestimate your ambition?" "No, no, not that." Ye Qingxuan found it difficult to organize his wording. "You see, I am an Easterner." "You have Western descent, do you not?" "There is nothing left in the kitchen. I will go buy some food. What would you prefer to have for supper?" Ye Qingxuan just wanted to sneak away as soon as possible. "Everything as usual." Father Bann finally bid him, "Remember to clean up the reception room at night. There will be guests." - When Ye Qingxuan finished shopping and was ready to go back to the church with his basket, it was already evening. From afar, he could see Old Phil wandering around the church, excitedly and proudly scaring kids that passed by. As a high-end dog, Old Phil had never been fed by humans. If it could not grab enough food from Ye Qingxuan, it would go foraging itself. If it was in a good mood, it would even bring him back some food: some dead mice, rabbits, snakes, or some stranger things alike. Then, it would look at Ye Qingxuan with the expression, Do you think you are worthy of me if you don''t eat it? Thinking of that, Ye Qingxuan felt helpless. With that still in mind, he heard of a muffled sound and felt a sudden dizziness. Bang! As if something had hit the back of his head, his footsteps began to stagger. He almost fell to the ground, but then, he felt a hand pulling him up by his hair. "Hey, Eastern bastard, you are really late today." A fat and smiling face appeared in front of him. It belonged to the youngest of the three Thomas brothers he saw that morning. This was truly a bad situation--very bad. Martin, the youngest brother of the three, pulled his hair and dragged him into the alley, pressing his face against the wall. "I can''t find Victor, the little bastard. But it''s good that I can find you, you bastard." Two other guys, already waiting at the corner, blocked the road to prevent him from running away. It seemed that they had been waiting for a long time. "Uh, Martin, Paul, Ray, listen to me!" Ye Qingxuan, enduring the pain, raised his voice. "Want to call for help?" The eldest brother Paul ridiculed, "There''s no use. We''re far from the church. The priest cannot hear anything from here." "Do not talk to him too much. Let''s first teach him a lesson." Martin''s face twisted in perverse pleasure. "Let the bastard know who''s a real son of a b*tch! At least he should learn to be grateful!" Without their permission, without the town of Lute''s mercy and blessings in accepting the beggar, this bastard would have died in the drains! But this bastard never knew how to pay his debt with gratitude. Not only did he shamelessly become the apprentice of the priest, he was even after the precious chance to receive training! "You did a good job last night!" Martin punched Ye Qingxuan''s face hard. The victim fell to his knees. Martin''s foot stomped on his head, his facial expression twisting. "You son of a b*tch! How dare you, how dare you do this to me!" Martin yelled, "You can never beat me, understand? The chance to go to the Sacred City is mine! It''s only me who can become a musician! You''re only a son of a b*tch who''ll rot in the drains!" Martin kicked his face hard, but the d*mned bastard was just holding his head, curled up on the ground, and did not speak a word. The silent resistance made Martin act even more ferociously. "Oh, aren''t you a tough one?" He spat at Ye Qingxuan''s body and told his brothers, "Hold him, I want to make him pay the price." Paul and Ray laughed, pressing Ye Qingxuan''s hands, and held his body against the wall. Then, Martin pulled out a dagger. "Beg me! Say you are a son of a bitch and ask me to forgive you." Martin pulled his hair up and let Ye Qingxuan look up at him. He put the dagger on the eyes of Ye Qingxuan. "Otherwise, I will write ''b*tch'' on your face." Feeling the dagger pressed coldly on his face, Ye Qingxuan froze. He wanted to struggle, but was held tightly. He stared into Martin''s eyes. In the end, he finally understood what had to happen. He bowed his head, feeling humiliated. "I" Ye Qingxuan whispered, his voice getting weaker, "I ...I ..." "Bitch, speak louder, I can''t hear you!" Martin leaned close, putting the dagger back on his face. "Speak clearly. Let my brothers also hear!" "I said" Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, watching Martin, who stood so close to him, and suddenly laughed, "You are all d*mn bastards!" Martin was shocked for a moment. He saw Ye Qingxuan''s head raised high, as if he wanted to see the stars in the dark sky, his black eyes seemed to be burning with fire. Then, he suddenly threw himself forward. Bang! 5 Martin Had a Good Father Their heads collided, and at that moment, the crisp sound of the collision stunned everyone. It was like getting whacked with an iron bar! As their foreheads cracked, the spread of the pain made Ye Qingxuan''s body spasm. He suddenly raised his feet, making every effort to step on Martin''s face. Martin couldn''t finish his sentence. His mouth was sealed by Ye Qingxuan''s violent kicks. He staggered back from the heavy blow, and fell into a ditch. Paul and Ray were stunned. In shock, they turned around and saw the young man with rage in his eyes. Blood dripped from his forehead, nearly tinting his black eyes red. They felt him stomping hard like a hammer being banged on their toes. Due to the extreme pain, they released their grip, and Ye Qingxuan broke free. "Come on, let''s see who the bastard really is!" Ye Qingxuan and the two elder Thomas brothers wrestled. Ye Qingxuan picked up the vegetable basket from the ground, and struck their faces with all his might, ignoring the blows from their fists. As Paul and Ray fought back, he heard a scream from behind. Immediately, Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw Martin with a ravenous look on his face. He had gotten up from the ground, his face bloody, eyes angry harboring the thoughts of a madman. He thrust the dagger at the young man''s heart! "Go to hell!" Ye Qingxuan only remembered putting his arm around his chest. The dagger made a cold cut on the back of his hand, and finally went deep into the basket. Snap! The dishes were broken, and the vegetables and raw meat spilled all over the floor. Paul and Ray were shocked--they did not think that Martin had any murderous intent. Martin was also stunned. - Seeming to be awakened from his rage, Martin finally understood what he had just done. In silence, he looked down at the dagger in his hands, saw the blood pooling on the back of Ye Qingxuan''s hand, and his face became immensely pale. "I..." He whispered and stumbled back, incoherent. "I did not...I just..." His hand could not grasp the dagger. It fell on the ground, clattered, and his courage shattered. "You may leave now, bastard, but I will not let you get away with this!" He staggered back and fled. Paul and Ray hesitated, then got up from the ground and followed Martin. They were scared, and almost got knocked down by the people at the end of the alley. Outside of the alley, Victor, who was dragged there by Old Phil, stared at the blood on the ground, expressionless. The two packs of sausage in his hands fell to the ground. Ye Qingxuan silently got up from the ground and looked at the wound on his hand. After a long silence, he asked softly, "Do you have any bandages? I am afraid it will be hard to explain this to the priest." - "Alright, it should be fine now." In the small alley, Victor helped Ye Qingxuan wrap the wound on the back of his hand. "You don''t know how to fight, why didn''t you just run? One person taking on three of people! Are you insane?" "I wanted to run." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "But I''m not sure what happened. I was suddenly fired with rage." "When we were kids, when did you not need my help to fight? At least pay more attention next time. If you hadn''t moved so quickly, you''d have been dead right here!" Victor made a gesture. "Just like removing a bathtub stopper, you would''ve bled out before reaching the church." "Sorry" "Don''t you have anything else to say?" Victor threw two bags into the arms of Ye Qingxuan. "Got something good today. Take it and treat yourself." "You stole again?" "It''s called ''work''." Since Victor had left the church, he had been working at the pier. Most people over there had sticky fingers, and often stole from the passengers or cargo ships. If discovered, they would take a beating at the very least. "No worries, it was a whole box of sausage and I only took two. No one will know." Victor took out a knife, cut a piece off, and fed Old Phil. He threw more than half of the sausage into Ye Qingxuan''s arms. "Rare goods from Wales. A box is worth two silver coins. Bring it back with you, and let the priest have a taste so that he will believe Victor will succeed in the future as well." "You are not going back with me?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "The priest has always wanted you to come back." "I" Victor was silent, and soon he shook his head. "I''m not going. My life is so messed up, the priest would be angry with me if he knew. Besides, with such a ''good boy'' like you, in time, he will not remember me." "What are you saying?" Ye Qingxuan said, agitated. Victor got up, grinning and waving. "You know I''m not good at talking, do not be angry. I still have something to do tonight. Are you alright with going back to the church on your own?" Victor helped Ye Qingxuan up from the ground and gave Old Phil a pat on the back, indicating that he should follow his master home. In silence, he watched Ye Qingxuan drift further away, his smile fading little by little. He stared down at the dagger on the ground, and his green eyes turned the color of blood--just like a beast. - The color of the sky continued to get darker as the night progressed, and the street was empty. Martin was wandering in the alley, depressed. He dared not to go home. "Big Brother, what do we do now?" His lips trembled softly as he watched Paul, his eyes full of fear. "Father has ordered us not to cause him trouble. If he knew..." "Do not be scared. Father won''t let anything happen to you." Paul''s eyes were gloomy. He sneered, "No one will believe a beggar''s words." "No one saw! Even if he says you did it, we can say that he is lying." Ray said, "Don''t worry, I will find him tomorrow. He won''t talk." Paul cracked his knuckles, remembering being pressed on the ground and beaten up by that little devil. His eyes grew ferocious. "He better know his place and say nothing. Otherwise, even if something happened, no one would be on his side." "But" "Didn''t father say that the mayor will be done with his term in two days? As soon as Father''s elected as the new mayor, no one will ever offend us because of some foreign bastard." Paul continued with a cold voice, "You are leaving for the Sacred City in two days. When you come back as a musician, you can do anything you want to him, and no one will say a word. Not even the priest could protect him." With the mention of the Sacred City, the fear left Martin''s eyes, as if he had found protection. His expression became calm. He raised his hand and stroked his bruises. His eyes gradually lit up. "I''ll repay him well," he whispered. "How dare he do that to me..." Ray and Paul exchanged glances, grinned, and patted Martin on the shoulder. "Do not worry. When you are not here, we will take care of him" "Let''s go." Paul put his arm around Martin''s shoulder. "The day after tomorrow, you will leave for the Sacred City. Mother has asked the kitchen staff to prepare your favorite dishes. She has a lot to say to you. Do not let a bastard from nowhere ruin our good time." Martin nodded and smiled. - "It''s good to have a family." Behind them in the dark alley, someone slowly said, "Even if you destroy the world out there, you will have nothing to fear once you get home because you have a good father." "Who''s there?!" Paul suddenly turned around. "Come out!" "Sorry, did I interrupt your good time?" In the alley, a thin shadow slowly emerged. His rusty voice croaked, "Think about it. With warm candlelight, a family enjoying a feast at the table, and the long legs under a maid''s skirt are pleasurable as well. With such a setting, even I believe anything can be forgiven. After all, what can be more important than family?" "Die!" Paul and Ray''s faces grew fierce. They rolled up their sleeves and moved toward the alley, but the shadow did not flinch--he was not intimidated by them. Instead, he accelerated. In an instant, like a spring stretched to its limits, he burst into Paul''s arms from the darkness. His fist with metal rings struck Paul''s abdomen with the impact of his body. He fell slightly. This was a rare technique used in street fighting. At that instant, it was almost like the whole weight of his body had been pressed into the fist. Even a scrawny person could break two pieces of wood with this technique, not to mention those who did not appear so weak! For a moment, Paul rolled his eyes and bent over. "Hey!" The shadow sneered and raised his hand, then mercilessly struck Paul''s back with the iron tiger, like a hammer hitting a bell. With a muffled sound, Paul fell to the ground. Then, the shadow stepped on Paul to jump up towards the stunned Ray, and kicked him onto the ground. Followed by two more kicks, he kept going until Ray was immobilized. In just a few seconds, two people had been incapacitated. The shadow took a breath, kicked Ray one more time then spat on the ground. He wiped his mouth, and finally raised his head. In the dim moonlight, his pale and cold face was illuminated, and his green eyes shone like a beast. "V...Victor!" Martin was shocked. He immediately took a step back, and finally recognized who the shadow. "I did not expect you to recognize me. I thought you had all forgotten my name since I went to the pier." Victor laughed softly, but with no joy in his voice. "Don''t come any closer!" Martin staggered back, searching himself for something. "Are you looking for this?" Victor pulled out a dagger, still with dried blood on it. He looked at Martin''s stunned face and laughed. He threw the dagger at him. "Here." The dagger rolled in the air, drew a curvature, and fell at Martin''s feet. Martin instinctively reached out to pick up, but then a black shadow rushed up. Suddenly, a hand clasped around his throat, nearly breaking his Adam''s apple. The severe force around Martin''s neck choking him forced him down on his knees, but someone started pulling his hair and dragged him back into the dark alley. "What do you want?!" Martin was struggling on the ground and tried to speak. "Because of that bastard? I can give you money! However much you want!" "No need," the voice responded coldly. "I like to take it myself." 6 Nightmare "No thanks, I like to take it myself." Victor agilely reached a hand in and picked up Martin''s wallet. "Unfortunately, this money is not enough. You''ll have to pay a little interest." Victor crouched down. He looked at Martin''s fearful expression and could not help but smile. Then he reached out and grabbed Martin''s wrist, looking at his palm. "Your hand looks so nice. So slender, flexible, and so white. I heard that in order to help you become a musician, your father hired music teachers to train you starting at a very young age. Every day you also had various hand treatments. So such beautiful hands must be very valuable, right?" Martin was stunned and his face suddenly turned pale white as he finally understood what Victor wanted to do. "You''re crazy! If you dare do that, my dad will not let go of you!" He screamed and struggled, "I swear that you will regret it!" Victor sighed, "In fact, half an hour ago, I began to regret it already." Crunch! With a crisp, crunching sound, Martin''s screams scratched the silence. In Victor''s hands, Martin''s pinky finger was turned abnormally up to the back of his hand, broken. "Last time, my decision to let you go was my fault." Crunch! Crunch! "I will not repeat the same mistake a second time." Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! Crunch! With the series of cracking sounds, Martin screamed at such a high pitch, he almost awakened the people in the faraway village. Victor gently let go and got up from the ground. "In another half hour, your hand won''t go back to its original state, even if it is put together again." He looked down at Martin and sighed softly, "What a pity! So even if you do go to the Sacred City, your hope of becoming a musician is slim, right?" Hearing Martin''s cries, he clapped his hands and turned away. In the dark, he looked back from a distance at Martin, who was rolling on the ground, scratching his head helplessly. "Oh, no. I forgot this fatty''s father is an officer in the town of Lute. It seems that I can''t stay in that town anymore." He sighed quietly. "Is it too late for me to run away now?" In silence, he turned around and saw a golden haired dog in the distance. He waved with a grin, "Can''t sleep, Old Phil?" Old Phil squatted on the ground, silently watching him. It tilted its head and licked its dirty fur. It looked like it could not fall asleep, so it came out for a walk. Old Phil held back its sharp teeth quietly, no longer finding smells in the wind. Even its violent eyes had eased up. "Sorry, I have to run away now." Victor squatted down, looking at this old dog, and scratched his head helplessly. "From now on, you will be the only friend of that guy. But since you cannot even talk, he will be bored to death!" Old Phil seemed to understand him, rolling its eyes and smacking its tail in Victor''s face. "Aha, sorry. I forgot that you can understand me. You are much better than Yezi, who just pretends not to understand!" Victor gently patted Old Phil''s back and his tone became softer. "But that guy has always been like that, right? He never talked to anyone, even when he was bullied. Only trying to fight against the others by himself. His ferocious demeanor doesn''t let people see his fear inside. He obviously doesn''t have any talent, but he still wants to be a musician. It''s like he''ll die if he can''t become a musician. Even I can''t see any hope in him to be the one. What on earth is he thinking?" He was talking endlessly while Old Phil listened quietly. After a long time, he clapped his hands with a bitter smile and turned away. After a few steps, he turned back and saw Old Phil still looking at him. He laughed and waved goodbye. "Go back, Old Phil, I''m leaving now." He paused then walked into the dark. "As long as you accompany him, he will not be so lonely." Not knowing why, Ye Qingxuan dreamt of the past, of things that had happened a long time ago--things that were thought to be forgotten already. At that time, he was walking alone in the dark. And in the dark, someone was calling his name. There were noises--the sounds of knocking at the door, footsteps, screams, and porcelain shattering. "Little Yezi, little Yezi, do not be afraid." There was a woman holding him strongly, but she was warm and familiar, like the sun. She pushed Ye Qingxuan into the cupboard, holding his cheek, and looked at him. Her pupils were like jade that glistened tears. "Stay here. Do not make a sound and do not be afraid." The door of the cupboard closed. Ye Qingxuan stood in the dark at a loss. He heard the noises--the door and the footsteps. His mother was screaming and questioning someone angrily. Someone rushed into the hall and crashed into the Eastern porcelain, white shards falling into the mud. He vaguely heard someone shouting, "Ye Lanzhou, who escaped from the felony of killing six royal musicians, was ordered by the parliament to be included in the wanted list. All his properties will be cleared and confiscated to compensate the State." He huddled in the cupboard and closed his eyes in fear. The darkness hit again. Feeling dizzy, he heard his mother crying and her tears fell on his face. He tried hard to open his eyes, but could only to see darkness. He felt so cold, as if he was falling into an ice pit. "Sir, please save him. This child has a high fever. He is dying." His mother''s hug made him feel so warm, but he still could not help but feel cold. She was no longer elegant, no longer a fine lady, but a mad woman, kneeling down in the square, forcing herself to tug at every person''s trousers only to be kicked away. "Get out of my way, dirty beggar." It was cold and snowing. Very cold, very cold. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and heard his mother crying. In the dark, he covered his ears, but the sound was still in his mind. "Little Yezi, run! Little Yezi, do not be afraid." "Little Yezi, from now on you will just be by yourself." He felt his mother stroking his cheek, her last chance to touch him. She smiled through tears. "I cannot hold on any longer." Ye Qingxuan gazed at her sluggishly. She was so beautiful. Even if she looked like a beggar now, her eyes were still gentle and kind, bearing the torture from this world with a smile. Now, her torture was finally ending, so why did he feel so sad? She exhausted the last of her strength to wrap a slender instrument string around the child''s finger, one circle after the other, as if it were a ring on his finger. "This is the only thing your father left behind. Take it and you will not be afraid." She tried hard to embrace her own child and repeated over and over again, "Do not be afraid! Do not be afraid." Until Ye Qingxuan was no longer afraid, until her final breath. She was gone. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and found himself still lying in the room. It was morning, but the sun was not up yet. The windows were open. It was raining outside. The moonlight and the sound of rain came from the window. Through the window, a black carriage indistinctly passed by on the street. The rain fell from the windowsill, splashing on the ground. The splatter of raindrops woke him up. There was residual water near his eyes. He got up from bed and watched the rain fall outside the window, rubbing the ring on his index finger with his thumb silently. "Ye Qingxuan, you have been here for five years," he heard a voice in his heart whisper, "Are you still scared?" In this sudden rainstorm of a night, everything was silent. A black carriage came from afar, and quietly stopped in front of the church. The driver was knocking at the door over and over again. After a long time, the door finally opened. Father Bann walked out holding a candlestick. He seemed to not have slept for the night, looking at the driver coldly. "You are late." Looking up at Father Bann, the driver froze. He wanted to explain. "Father Bann, please do not be caught up with him. He''s just an ordinary coachman." A tired voice rose from inside the carriage. "It would be better if you could care about me. I think I got into trouble." Father Bann frowned, vaguely smelling a sweet scent. When he opened the carriage door, a heavy, bloody smell emerged. The light of the candle illuminated the dark carriage and the face of a young man. The man in the carriage was in his twenties. He wore a black, collared trench coat and leaned on the inside of the carriage. He looked so pale in the candlelight. He was trying very hard to breathe, as if he could not inhale after every exhale. In the scrutiny of Father Bann, he squeezed out a smile, as if he was trying to be brave. "I am sorry to come late; I got into some trouble on the road." After he spoke, he stopped holding his waist. His hand came away red. The blood seeped from his waist, dying his black coat. Blood fell on the ground beside his pants, forming a puddle. It spread along the gap of the door into the rainwater, trickling outside, where it gradually dissipated into the red track. "It was not easy to grab a carriage in the middle of the night. Can you pay the poor driver for me?" The young man painfully twitched his face, forcibly laughing, "You see, it''s not easy for me to get the money now." "You are the so-called ''Wolf Flute'' in the letter?" Father Bann asked the young man while holding up the candlestick. At this moment, he was so cold and judgmental, it seemed like he would not give up until he saw evidence. Wolf Flute lowered his head and sighed helplessly, "You are as the rumors say." While speaking, he raised his arm with a struggle. The wound was agitated by muscles stretching, which brought a burst of intense pain. He pulled a necklace out of his collar, and exposed the end of the decoration. Made of iron with a wolf head on it, it was engraved with his number. Father Bann stared at it until Wolf Flute was on the verge of death before nodding and throwing something to the carriage driver. "Follow me." The driver looked down at the thing in his hand, stunned. It was only a gold coin but its material was the green gold only used by the Church. It was rarer than anything issued by the various countries and was rarely circulated in the market. This little coin was enough for him to buy a new carriage! "Thank you, thank you, sir!" He bowed to Father Bann in shock. "Come on, can you hurry?" Wolf Flute said behind him. "I''m really dying." 7 Talen The church''s reception room was a mess. Everything that had been on the table was swept onto the floor. Wolf Flute was lying on the table, half naked. By candlelight, the terrible wound around his waist was exposed. The skin around the wound was pale, indicating excessive blood loss. The wound was as smooth as a mirror, like a razor cut, from waist to chest, partially exposing the bone. The priest poured half a bottle of hard liquor on Wolf Flute''s wound. He screamed in pain. The priest then heated up a needle using the candle until the tip was red. He threaded the needle, and began to sew up the wound. Gradually, he noticed that the pupils of Wolf Flute were dilated. "Did you drug yourself?" "I had to, it hurt too much." Wolf Flute grimaced, "I took half a shot of mandala, only to relieve the pain. I won''t get addicted, don''t worry, but isn''t there better medical equipment? Bann responded unsympathetically, "There is no gel, no blood transfusion equipment, and no shadowless lamp. I can only sew up your wound." Another stitch. Wolf howled in pain, reminding Bann of Ye Qingxuan''s dog. Wolf Flute''s face was twitching. "Priest, don''t you have a hymn to heal the wound?" "I am just an ordinary clergy. You''ll have to find a hymnist who''s proficient in Choir." Finished answering his question, the priest stabbed him with the needle again, and Wolf Flute instantly gasped in pain. "Can''t you help me find one?" Wolf pleaded. "The nearest one is over two hundred miles away," said Bann calmly. "I am the only priest in town, so you can forget it." Wolf Flute felt a sudden haziness. "How was the frontline of war?" The priest suddenly asked. "Just as bad, still holding its position. Because of the historical remains, the war has gone on for over hundred years, and it seems that it will continue on." He took a breath. "Now, people on both sides are preparing for the arms race. It is said that the modern ''Chopin'' has secretly arrived at the front line, and the modern ''Brahms'' is representing the neutral country. They are in the process of organizing a treaty, but there are still no results yet." Bann listened, but did not ask again. He said in a faint voice, "Is that so..." Wolf Flute felt more annoyed, since he had so much more to tell. While stitching, Bann suddenly paused. He used a tweezer to take out a piece of very thin iron from the wound. The iron had a sharp edge and was thin as paper. It was stuck in the bone as if it had grown there and was very difficult to take out. "What happened?" "A wanted dark musician happened." Wolf Flute smiled and said, "Bumped into him on the way here, probably a Satanist. I wasn''t careful enough, and got sneak-attacked." "Can you be sure? Hyakume''s believers usually move in packs." "He was alone. I only heard the sound of the clarinet. Otherwise, I wouldn''t have escaped." Wolf Flute took another breath. "I remember the song." He closed his eyes, recalling. It was like he was going back in time to the heavy fog with zero visibility, and millions of water droplets flying around. The water droplets were like a heavy rain, flying to the sound of the sharp music... The song, the solo, was Opus seventy-four, an extension based on the Krommer Variation. Wolf Flute grinded his teeth, and finally remembered from an intelligence memo, "He was the Rain Artist." - "Holy, holy, holy! With the power of the gods, in the morning I shall sing, through the clouds to the holiness." Wolf Flute was awakened by the hymn in the church. He opened his eyes and felt extreme pain from the wound. He was so dizzy, thirsty, and hungry. It felt worse than dying. "Teacher, you lied to me." Wolf Flute''s voice was unsteady, "Who said I wouldn''t regret coming out!?" "Sir, are you awake?" With his faint vision, he saw a white-haired youth. His hands carried a plate of food and water. Wolf Flute did not pay attention to the youth''s characteristic Eastern white hair. His eyes were only focused on the food. After he ate and drank to his heart''s content, he was finally satisfied. Remembering his rough trip and his high spirits when he first started his journey, Wolf Flute could not help but get sentimental. "Most people realize that their past mistakes are from the things they thought they would never regret, but it is always too late before they find out." "Maxwell, Refuting Independence, chapter two," said the quiet boy at his bedside. "Oh?" Wolf Flute was stunned for a moment, then realized the presence of the young man, and suddenly felt embarrassed. "Uh, sorry. You read that book?" "From the library. I''ve seen it from copying other books." Ye Qingxuan smiled, "I''ve only looked at it. The book is deep, mostly beyond my depth of understanding." Wolf Flute''s face reddened. After all, he had only read it during his final year of learning, under the strict supervision of his teacher and he still wasn''t done "The priest said you needed to rest here for a while. If you''re bored, I can help you find some books." "No, I get headaches from reading." Wolf Flute rubbed his forehead with a bit of distress, but soon his eyes lit up. "You know how to spell, right?" He caught Ye Qingxuan''s hands, his eyes full of sincerity. "Help me, or I will die!" "Uhh, sure, I will do my best." Wolf Flute waved his hands in excitement, stretching his wound in the process. He sneered in pain, but still managed to force a smile. "As you can see, I can hardly lift a finger. Can you help me write a few letters, please?" Ye Qingxuan nodded, found a pen and paper, and listened to Wolf Flute speak. Wolf Flute coughed a bit, and suddenly had a gentle look on his face. He spoke with a tender voice, "To my beloved Milina, my rose. I have been away from you for a month." From the moment Wolf Flute began to speak, Ye Qingxuan could not help but get goosebumps. He transcribed a letter filled with every mushy love word in the English language. Three thousand words later, Ye Qingxuan was finally done and he took a deep breath/ It was finally over! "Okay, now the second one." Wolf Flute blinked his eyes and watched Ye Qingxuan''s face turn green. "To my dear love, Eileen, my rose. I have been away from you for a month." "Wait a minute! This is exactly the same content as the previous letter! Eileen and Milina are two different girls?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "You''re dating two girls at the same time?" "No no, I''m dating three girls at the same time." Ye Qingxuan hesitated and then said, "You''re great!" After the completion of the three letters, Ye Qingxuan realized that Wolf Flute did not want to stop. "To my dear Mr. Sebastian, my..." "Your rose? You date men too?!" "My teacher!" Wolf''s face was also green, realizing how it sounded out loud. "Hmm, hmm, forget I said that." Ye Qingxuan was embarrassed. He went back to writing. Fortunately, this time, the letter was quite simple, only a few words long. However, even with many years of experience in copying books, Ye Qingxuan still felt a sense of relief when he was finished. "Okay, thank you, my friend." Wolf Flute nodded with satisfaction, and patted his shoulder. "I haven''t asked yet! You are...?" "Ye, Ye Qingxuan." "An Easterner? No wonder." Wolf Flute glanced at his white hair, nodded his head and said, "Regardless of who you are, you did a big favor for me, and I will put in a good word with the priest for you." "A good word?" Ye Qingxuan tilted his head and looked at him. "Do you think that will be useful?" "Uh, indeed." Wolf Flute thought of the priest''s iron cold face, and suddenly felt frustrated. "Well, I have no way to repay you. You see, the priest paid for my transportation here. Now, the only one poorer than me is the Anglo Kingdom, who is sixty-million in debt." With those words, Ye Qingxuan suddenly laughed, "You''re a musician, did I guess correctly?" Wolf Flute was stunned, trying to recall everything he had said, but nothing had shown his identity. Ye Qingxuan pulled out his hand, and pointed to the holster next to the bed''s headboard, where half of the metal flute lay exposed. Although it looked simple, it had a special heavy texture, which was obviously not cheap. "Well, you guessed it." Wolf Flute took out the flute, skillfully swiveled it in a circle, and then pressed one of the flute''s finger holes. "You know this?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "It''s not shaped like a flute of the East. It''s different from what I know." "This is a musical instrument from my hometown, not very well known." He caressed the flute. "It was said that the first flute was handed down by the ancient Samnites, called ''Nai.'' They lived in the desert, so you could hear the sound of sandstorms when playing the flute." He saw the anticipation in the young man''s eyes. Suddenly he laughed. He held the flute vertically to his lips, tapped his fingers, and played a few simple notes. There, a sound clear and pure. In that moment, all usual noise had all disappeared--the wind, the sound of water, the distant footsteps, and even their own breathing was silenced. Followed by the sound of the musical notes, as if the wind was blowing from a deep cave, was the sound of desolation. Like the shaking of dry reed leaves in the wind, like friction from the touch of iron and gravel, the sound traveled and bounced around the room, then dissipated without a trace. In front of Ye Qingxuan, silver dust emerged out of thin air, where it vaguely condensed into a wolf''s shadow. Wolf''s eyes glanced at Ye Qingxuan, seeming to have a spirit of their own. Then, travelling with the sound of the note, it turned away and disappeared in the breeze. Suddenly, everything was over, like an illusion. The silence was back again. Wolf Flute coughed lightly. He had stretched the wound again, and had to take a few deep breaths. Next to him, the white-haired youth was blindly grabbing at the air. He seemed to be looking for where the silver wolf was hidden. There was nothing there but he smiled. His smile was hopeful and satisfying. "So nice," Ye Qingxuan whispered. "You want to be a musician?" Wolf Flute suddenly understood as he blurted out the question, but he was saddened. He understood now why Bann had asked Ye Qingxuan to come and to take care of him--that bastard priest did not want him to give Ye Qingxuan hope; rather, he wanted Wolf Flute to shatter it. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan asked with a hint of hope, "Do you think it is possible? Wolf Flute pondered for a long time, until he slowly shook his head, "Sorry, Ye." Wolf Flute lowered his eyelids, not wanting to see the young man''s disappointed look. "You have no talent." 8 Music Notes "If you want to be a musician, you need to understand who the musicians are. Throwing out all accessories, removing all glories--being a musician is to devote yourself purely to your career. Compared with the musicians of the Dark Age, we cannot even say we love music. Compared with other people, we cannot even say we sacrifice more. "But there is no doubt that we are most suitable ones for communicating with aether, and we are the ones who can best understand aether, too. Aether is everywhere. It is part of the world, existing even earlier than humans. Whether it is soil, water, fire or air, those are composed of aether. But aether is different from these elements because they can, and only do, respond to sound. Do you understand this premise?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "At first, the communication between humans and the aether relied on runes. Those notes inexplicably transcribed the voice of the Gods, composing music that could shake reality. These notes are known in some places as ''runes,'' in some places as ''charms,'' and in the East, they are called ''Mantra.'' "In that era, humans communicated with the Aether by singing the runes," Wolf continued to explain. "With time, a lot of things changed. Runes evolved into small sections called measures, and measures evolved into music scores until there was a need for dozens of musicians to release the formation of the ''symphony.'' "Music division classification also became more and more defined. There are hundreds of special careers in seven specializations. The sages'' explorations formed the road to the ''Nine Levels of Musicians.'' Even returning to the Originator was not a delusion anymore. "But before that, there was always a never-changing iron ruleCconnect with the aether, respect the aether!" Wolf Flute stared at Ye Qingxuan''s pale face, trying to gain a feel for him, but then he slowly shook his head. "You cannot sense the aether, Ye." Ye Qingxuan kept silent. After a long time, he softly said, "Mr. Wolf Flute, I can learn musical instruments, I can even-" "No, you cannot." Wolf Flute became serious. "A man who has never been close to an animal cannot ride a horse, and a man living in the desert cannot swim "Ye, perhaps you have a reason why you must be a musician. But if you can''t even sense the aether, you''ll be constructing a building without a foundation. If you can''t sense the aether, you won''t know what the aether is doing. "At that time, it''ll be a good thing if your music score has no effect. If a single rune goes out of control, the result could be horrifying" He paused, his eyes turning pained. "The smallest mistakes I''ve seen were all paid for in death. This is why cities and villages are all built in places of low aether density. Important places must even be set inside silent enchantments to freeze the aether. A musician must also have a unified heart of sound to rid your body of white noise disturbance." Here, Wolf Flute realized that he had said too much. The more he said, the crueler it became for Ye Qingxuan to endure because it became more and more clear to him that his dream was far, far away from him. Ye Qingxuan was still looking at him, so he could not bear to stop. He sighed, "Ye, these words that I''ve said to you could be considered compensation for your work. But I cannot talk too much, as this information is restricted and is not open to ordinary people. If you are still interested, the stuff you will see later will be my last exhortation." Then, he did not wait for Ye Qingxuan to answer, and raised his own hands. He was no longer laughing. His face became serious, then more and more pale. In front of Ye Qingxuan, Wolf Flute leaned against the wall, his hands folding into his chest, and took a deep breath. At the end of a long exhale, the slightest strands of sound spread out with his long song. This kind of voice seemed to be deliberately suppressed to be faint, like a vague wind, but also had the essence of a snake''s subtle sound. But in this enchanted sound, the air in front of Wolf Flute suddenly became blurred! A trace of a light from the convergence gathered in front of him three feet ahead of the place, surging and brewing. Then, it burst into full bloom. It converged into crystals and grew in the air, reflecting the shadows of roses. Roses reflected irises vaguely. It was magnificent enough to make people intoxicated. Then, the silky sound suddenly changed by a slight jump, which made it out of place. In response, the magnificent flower turned into disgusting dark red and dark green. The mixed colors made one feel nauseous, then quickly collapsed while the crystals were broken, and burst. Snap! The shock of the bursting sound awakened the sluggish teen. Wolf Flute put down his hands, breathing heavily. His forehead exuded a cold sweat. "Those were the so-called out-of-control notes, Ye." Wolf Flute wanted to raise his hands, but his body could not bear to, so he gave a bitter smile. "That''s it for today. Ye, I am a little bit tired. Please let me rest for a while." Ye Qingxuan was ready to leave, but was stopped again. "Ye, even if you don''t become a musician, life can still be very good." Wolf Flute stared at him while lying in the bed. "Do not be too obsessed with its aura." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan reluctantly smiled as he pulled the door. After a long time, someone knocked on the door again. Not waiting for him to answer, Father Bann pushed into the room. "He''s gone." Wolf Flute said lazily, "Congratulations, you will get a qualified little priest, but next time, can you tell him those cruel words yourself?" Father Bann retorted, "Shouldn''t musicians be cruel?" "Nobody said that one had to be cruel to be a musician" Wolf Flute squeezed his eyes and whispered, "But not being cruel enough will not make for a happy life." "Looking at you, I understand exactly what you mean." Father Bann nodded, which made Wolf Flute unable to breathe for a while. After coughing for a long time, he finally uttered, "Hey, Father, why are you so bored that you have to destroy young people''s dreams like poking at soap bubbles? Everyone wanted to be a musician when they were younger, right? How wonderful to be a musician! I was cheated when I was young and thought that the musicians were so handsome and fun, and they could save lives, but the result was that it turned me into this messed up state. He would have understood it sooner or later." Father looked at him coldly, shaking his head. "This child is not the type to dream of all that glory. I am worried about his pursuit of some even more dangerous things." "Dangerous?" Wolf Flute grinned. "Could it be more dangerous than my situation?" Father Bann seemed to be puzzled, wondering for a long time, then raised his eyebrows slowly. "You mean, your mission being revealed?" "I was really ordered to come, but my whereabouts were to be kept top secret. Everyone should think that I am now in my home in the desert to herd sheep, but unfortunately, on the way here, I actually encountered the world''s most wanted black musician. The most terrible thing was that he was the one from the School of Modifications, which counters me the most. I was not able to use my full abilities. "So, I suspected that before I received the Master''s letter, that order had been leaked out. And, I doubted a more troublesome thing." "Oh?" "I might not have gotten rid of the Rain Artist." Wolf Flute was still laughing but his eyes narrowed coldly. "Maybe he followed behind me, and now is hidden in a little town far away enough that there is no help there. But II don''t even have any strength to catch a chicken." Father Bann was shocked. For a moment, the room was full of silence. --- Under the noon sunshine, Ye Qingxuan walked out of the church alone. Hot sunshine mixed with the smell of salty ocean waves. He squinted his eyes at the sun, feeling the sunshine disperse the coldness in his body, but he still felt no strength. Like falling from the abyss and staring at the darkness under his feet, he felt so weak. "You have no talent..." he whispered as if he had told this to himself. The finger with the ring flashed with pain. He pressed his finger and tried to hold in the pain. It seemed like it vanished cunningly, as if it had gotten into his bones and left the same illusion. "Oh, talent." He scratched his head and sat tiredly on the base of the saints. At this time, he suddenly wanted to chat with Victor. If Victor was here, at least the two could go together to make some trouble, or do something crazy. Perhaps doing something stupid could not solve any problems, but at least it would make him feel better. Now, he could not even find his friend when he was sad, which made him feel so lonely. But soon, Ye Qingxuan found something that made him feel even more uneasy--Victor was missing. ---- It was the afternoon when Ye Qingxuan heard the news that someone attacked the Thomas family''s brother Martin, breaking his hands. He searched every place in town, but did not find a trace of Victor. The workers on the dock said that they had seen him the night before, but he disappeared after he and a few other people went to the bathroom. The tramps and the orphans did not see Victor back in the town''s broken house where they gathered. He was not found anywhere they used to be together. At first, Ye Qingxuan suspected the Thomas brothers'' revenge. He even risked stalking them outside of their house, only to find that the three brothers stayed at home nicely. The father roared at the defeated guards, ordering them to put the d*mn little kid into the prison. He did not know where Victor was hiding, and even the garrison couldn''t find him. The town of Lute was not a big place. For a street kid, it was an even smaller place to hide. Since the night before, no one had seen him, and no one cared about where the little thief was. Where was Victor? After running around for an entire afternoon, Ye Qingxuan tried to catch his breath, squatting on the ground. He looked around at a loss, and then started to curse. But when he saw a creature walking calmly towards him in the distance, his eyes suddenly lit up. "Looking for someone really depends on you!" He rushed to hold the big yellow dog that wandered around every day. "Old Phil, please help!" "Arf." In his arms, the dirty old dog gazed at him, puzzled. It stuck out its slobbering tongue and licked its forepaws, and then put the front claw on Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. This was probably Old Phil''s most special, comforting action. The whole process was so smooth like flowing water, but also had a trace of elegance, like a king canonizing a knight. There was no other dog that could imitate that. "Hey buddy, this is all on you!" Ye Qingxuan shook Old Phil. "Go and find Victor!" Old Phil was not happy with this. Its tail swatted at him, indicating that it was upset that Yezi had put him down. It then squatted on the ground, sticking his tongue out and showing no interest. The dog looked at Ye Qingxuan full of disdain. "Do not be angry!" Ye Qingxuan squatted and rubbed its head. "I saved some sausage for you from last night!" Upon hearing what he was saying, Old Phil sneezed. Its eyes became pleasant. Then it turned and used its tail to slap him twice to punish him for daring to rub its head "disrespectfully." It lowered its head, sniffed around, and began to run. First, Old Phil circled around the whole town, and sniffed around the broken house in the east of the town, then went straight to the south. Ye Qingxuan followed Old Phil, passing the pier, passing the back door of the church, and passing the backyard of the Town Master''s house. Old Phil was still running forward... And they were almost out of town. 9 Mistake Although the Dark Ages had ended over a hundred years ago, the frenzy of the aether storm still remained in every corner of the world. Outside the colonies, danger still hid in the shadows. So almost everyone had been seriously warned by their parents, teachers, and the garrison, "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely do not go outside the colony!" But Ye Qingxuan did not care. It was just a wall to climb over--that was not difficult for him at all. But this direction, he was vaguely familiar with. Wasn''t this the direction to the lighthouse? Usually when they went to the lighthouse, they would cross through a forest. There was a longer route directly from the beach to the main entrance of the lighthouse, but he did not understand why Victor would choose such a dangerous shortcut. If he wanted to leave, he could have chosen any ship from the dock. Quietly hidden in a cargo cabin, he would not be found. When the sailors did eventually find him, he would have been hundreds of miles away. In the deep forest, Old Phil suddenly stopped. He looked down at the ground. Ye Qingxuan had never seen Old Phil with such a vicious look. It bared its teeth. Its front paws were shoveling the dirt on the ground, and glaring at a dark red spot of mud...it smelled like blood. - Ye Qingxuan did not hesitate. He sped through the forest and the thorns, and rushed to the foot of the lighthouse. The heavy iron gate had been there for hundreds of years, and the dark surface was full of rust. But inside, it was still as clean as when it was new. The gate could not be opened with a key; instead, the password plate on the door needed to be rotated. The priest gave the password to Ye Qingxuan, so Victor knew it as well. But Victor had been too lazy to come to places like this. Why had he come here now? Ye Qingxuan struggled to push the door open. The light from the sunset rushed into the space behind the door, illuminating flurries of rolling dust, the dark stairs, and a young man sitting on the stairs. A strong smell of blood rushed towards Ye Qingxuan. On the stairs, Victor had a small case in his arms. He was staring at the entrance silently, eyes vicious like a mad beast. His arms were cut badly, deep to the bone. Even with the bandage, blood was still flowing out. But his hands were still clutching that dagger, ready to stab anything that would dare to come close. When he saw Ye Qingxuan''s white hair, the ruthlessness in his eyes started to fade, until it finally dimmed down. "Victor?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "How did you become like this?" "Sorry you had to see me like this, Ye." He forced a painful smile, and looked down at the bag in his arms. "I just wanted to steal some money before I ran away, but I got into trouble..." - "Last night, I was going to leave the dock and leave my troubles here. There was a ship going to Birmingham, temporarily docked here. Jensen, who was moving the cargo, told me he had a job for me." "A job?" When he heard that word, Ye Qingxuan frowned. He certainly knew what the workers on the pier meant by "job." It would be nothing more than stealing a passenger''s luggage or goods. These people had good repacking skills, and not much was usually stolen, so few would realize their things were missing. And once the passengers did realize they were missing things from their bags, they usually had already arrived at their destination. "He told me someone was going to get off the ship tonight. It sounded like a man from some other town. He was wearing a ring with gemstones, clothes made of expensive material, and seemed to be very rich. So the two of them planned to steal something from this man." He paused, then continued with a husky voice, "I thought I was going to make some money for the trip, so I agreed. According to the plan, the two of them would distract him by selling him some local products, then I''d steal his small bag..." "Were you caught?" "It''s worse than that. I succeeded." Victor managed a terrible smile, his face seizing up unnaturally. "I stole the bag, then was supposed to meet them outside of the dock. But I had a stomachache, and did not get there on time. When I got there, they were all dead." His pupils were dilated, frozen hands tightly gripping Ye Qingxuan, as if he had been thrown into an ice cellar, trembling slightly. "They were all dead, Ye, cut into pieces and thrown into the sea." His voice sounded like a demon was ready to rush out of his throat, vague and cold. Ye Qingxuan was shocked, caught by surprise. "All dead?" "I saw the man cutting them into pieces with my own eyes." Victor looked at the scar on his arm, fear still in his eyes. "If I did not run so fast, maybe I''d be in pieces now too. Is this what Easterners mean by karma, Ye? It came so fast." "That''s bull. There is no karma in this world. You need to calm down." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "Who is the guy? I will report him to the garrison..." "It''s useless!" Victor interrupted him, grasping his shoulder, "Ye, leave. Do not stay here, and pretend you never saw me. You have no idea who I offended." Ye Qingxuan broke away from his hand and grabbed the small bag from his arms. The lock on the long black bag had been smashed, and you could feel how expensive it was by the soft texture of the leather. Although he was prepared to see a bag full of jewelry or gold bars inside, Ye Qingxuan still could not help but take a deep breath once he saw what was in the bag. Inside, there was a layer of soft sponge, with an additional layer of padded black brocade on top. It was a very fine brocade, one that felt as smooth as water. On the edge of the sponge layer, there were a few slots, holding some delicate spare parts. They were exquisite and gorgeous, with forged metal patterns. But nothing could replace the radiance of what was in the middle of the bag. It was made of dark red iron, crafted with an exquisite forging process, and hand painted by the craftsman. The smooth surface was spotless, reflecting the men''s pale faces. It was a clarinet. "Did you steal from a musician?!" Ye Qingxuan was idly looking at the things in the bag, and felt a surge of coldness spread from his feet to his head. "Victor, do you know what you''ve done?" - In the great sanctuary of Anglo, as early as a few decades ago, the Parliament issued a ruling: once a citizen had acquired the formal status of a musician, he automatically received the status of nobility, the same status as a baron. No military service was necessary. One did not need to pay taxes, one did not even need to comply with the law. A musician could only be tried by a special court if a crime was committed. Any insult to the musicians would be seen as an insult to the kingdom, and the punishment would be just as grave. This kind of status for musicians was considered the most common respect. Because it was also commonly known that once musicians decided to slaughter, nightmares would follow. Once in the Hamelin area, a village had hired a vagrant musician to drive away outlaws from the mountain; however, they regretted it and refused to pay the musician, intending to drive him away with force. The furious musician started to play the pipe, controlling his group of ruthless employers to assemble into a line. They were singing and dancing while digging their own graves, then cut open each other''s wrists, and jumped into the coffins. The whole village was obliterated--no one survived. Even now, that musician was still on the most wanted list--number sixty-two, named "Hamelin''s Pied Piper." Similarly, there were dozens of such bedtime stories to scare children--creating seven devils to attack a castle; Snow White, the musician who killed the queen; the Red Hat who kidnapped the old grandmother and controlled beasts to attack a village; the puppet master who used a long-nosed puppet''s body to strangle children who lied; a gray witch who used a pumpkin carriage to kidnap the prince for a pair of crystal shoes; a sea witch who turned half her body into a fish and commanded a storm to drown the Prince''s fleet Some of these stories were fiction, and some were actually variations of true incidents. From these stories, there were still several parties on the most wanted list, rankings unchanged for over a decade. Countless horrible rumors involved much blood, sweat and tears. Perhaps some had demonized the musicians, but at least one thing was clear--no one was to mess with a musician. And now, Victor had stolen an instrument from a musician, something they treated as an essential part of their lives. "I know a musician. Let''s go see him!" Ye Qingxuan put the clarinet back in the bag, and dragged Victor out of the windmill. "Regardless of the price, I will ask him to help you get out of this trouble." Ye Qingxuan whispered, "Victor, no matter who that musician is, I will not watch you die in front of me." "But it''s too late, Ye." Victor seemed to have felt something, and his look turned bitter. He turned around and said, "He''s here." In the forest, a rotten stench of wind suddenly blew in. The leaves shook, with a rustling sound. The sun had almost set below the sea, and the residual light illuminated the withered leaves of the branch, as well as the mist from afar. The fog slowly came from all directions, like a living thing. It seemed very slow, but instantly drowned them. Numerous strange shadows flashed through the fog, wrapped in a cold and wet gray. Gasping with fear, Ye Qingxuan heard a low voice singing vaguely, "Avalon Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down..." Foul fog rose from all directions, thicker and thicker, until nothing could be seen. As if there was sorrow pulling at their hands, feet and hair, and slowing down their steps, they could barely breathe. "Build it with iron bars, iron railings, iron railings..." A sound with the friction of iron came from the paleness. Ye Qingxuan felt the bag trembling with a low voice--it was the instrument echoing the familiar song, uttering to its master. Suddenly, countless iron pieces whistled and cut through the silence. 10 Avalon Bridge Is Falling Down In this foul fog, countless iron pieces scratched against each other sharply. The sound was like a dragon crawling on stones, its scales scraping against the stones, sparks flying from the friction. Sound accompanied by a horrible stench rushed into his mouth, nose, and eardrum. It tortured his head, making Ye Qingxuan suddenly see black in front of his eyes, struggling to walk. "Ruff! Ruff!" In the blur, he suddenly heard a sharp roar from Old Phil, followed by a hard bite on his thigh. Old Phil was really a fierce dog, whose bite was always vicious--painful enough for people to keel over, and roll on the ground in pain. Ye Qingxuan''s mind suddenly cleared. Then Old Phil turned around and bit Victor, restoring Victor''s movement as well. This pain therapy was so simple and effective, but it was not selfless. Ye Qingxuan felt that Old Phil was taking revenge for not having gotten some sausage. Old Phil looked at him indirectly. Every time Old Phil looked at him like that, Ye felt that it was disappointed at him because of his lack of progress over the years, continuing to rely on Old Phil to save him--it was really shameful and troubling. Old Phil turned around, and used its tail skillfully to whip the two idiots, indicating that they should not stupidly to stay in place, and should instead hurry up and follow it. The horrible stench could confuse others, but was not able to confuse Old Phil. It could smell the sausages Ye Qingxuan was eating behind him halfway across town, so it could certainly lead them back. Ye Qingxuan felt the sounds of sharp iron friction getting closer. In such a large fog, the other party had finally found his target--what was waiting for them? "Ye! It''s getting more and more powerful!" Victor looked at the black box, the instrument in the box issuing a lower shocking sound. In the next moment, the low sound from the box suddenly broke out, like a sharp friction sound bursting! "Build it with iron bars, iron railings, iron railings..." The low voice continued to issue a command in the fog! Suddenly, iron grew out from the trees right in front of Ye Qingxuan! In the dense withered trunks, iron branches broke through, like bamboo stems or some kind of proliferation of crystals, crazily split. Quickly, iron railings appeared from out of thin air, cutting off the front. No creature could cross these thorns. They ground against each other, causing endless sounds of friction. Those thorns grew quickly and closed like two big hands shooting out from the middle, trying to trap them. Old Phil did not care about it. It barked to the two behind him, telling them to follow closely, and then sped up to rush into the thorny jungle of death. It really was a ferocious and vicious dog. It was hard on itself, but even harder on the others. Not only did Old Phil dive straight into the danger, but also let the two teens follow it. Ye Qingxuan didn''t have time to hesitate and fiercely ran after Old Phil trying to escape, trying to gamble for his life. As he ran, the thorns scraped against his body. He could feel the coolness of the thorns as they scratched his face, and his heart growing cooler. Old Phil quickly jumped out of the thorns without any fur falling out. Ye Qingxuan followed Old Phil closely with only a few cuts. The most miserable one was Victor, who jumped out from the thorns and onto the ground with his clothes shred, his pants torn in half which was exceptionally funny in the midst of such a dangerous task. There was no time to hesitate. Ye Qingxuan pulled Victor, and ran after Old Phil. The fog became so strong that he could scarcely breathe. The song emerged in the angry atmosphere. The pitch suddenly increased by eight octaves, and the fog began to frantically dance. Countless hands flashed in the dancing fog there were suddenly. Those illusory hands passed through Old Phil and Victor, going straight for Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan was shocked. He used all his strength to fight, but was not able to escape every hand. These palms did not even exist in essence and were a weak force. One or two felt like the resistance from a gentle breeze, but once Ye Qingxuan''s speed was reduced, more and more palms began to appear. Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan was overtaken by the palms, tightly grasped by them so that he was unable to move. "Hey, could I be that unlucky?" he muttered to himself confusedly. "Ye!" Victor rushed over to help with his red eyes opened wide. Old Phil was even faster than him, frantically rushing to those hands, wrestling with the invisible palms. But the palms did not care about Old Phil, and continued to move towards Ye Qingxuan. The palms were like evil spirits, layered on top of him, dragging him into the fog. Simultaneously, the low voice suddenly became a high pitch. Among the countless dead trees, iron edges broke out again. Those thorns once again began to grow more. This time they converged with each other, bursting and flowing together towards Ye Qingxuan. This time it seemed that they wanted to crush him thoroughly! At that moment, Ye Qingxuan heard the sounds of countless pieces of iron grinding against each other, like the sound of ice cracking. The fog was broken by numerous strikes of lightning, extending toward the front, piercing everything. Ye Qingxuan struggled with incredible strength, but was pulled into the shackles of the palms, feeling powerless. At the last moment, he heard a vicious roar, followed by a leaping shadow struggling to bite the invisible palms. "Old Phil!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned as he saw Old Phil''s hind legs wrapped by the thorns. But Old Phil was enraged. Old Phil would rather die than throw in the towel. Blood pooled from its body. "Old Phil! Get out!" Ye Qingxuan shouted. Were those words useful? He suddenly started to get scared. The old dog was so angry that it did not listen to anything. It bared its teeth, saliva flowing out, eyes turning red. It wanted to protect Ye Qingxuan, to bite those invisible enemies, not caring if it was killed. Iron branches wrapped around Ye Qingxuan''s neck, making him feel death''s grasp closing tighter and tighter. Ye Qingxuan struggled to reach out, wanting to get Old Phil away from him, but he could do nothing. Once again, he was overwhelmed by despair. Like the fear of having nothing at the age of ten, like falling into the snow, struggling with a high fever, like his mother''s last call--the fear of losing something, and the pain of being crushed. His heart beat so furiously as if it were going to explode. The blood in his body circulated faster, causing the veins in his face to bulge. His blood vessels were about to burst. All his adrenaline gathered in his chest, like his heart was pumping lava, like it was trying to break free from the shackles and into a forbidden realm Then he heard a crisp sound on the back of his hand. It seemed like there was a familiar voice sighing. He lowered his head in dismay, seeing the silver wire around his finger shine with a bright light. A long bellow from a dragon broke from the finger, tearing apart the white mist. At his fingertip the white fog was dispersed, pulled by an invisible force into a whirlpool. In the whirlpool the light illuminated the darkness--it was an illusion. But the illusion seemed so real that he was able to sense the aether once again. The power filled the sky and the earth. It came with the wind, drifting in the mist, rippling from the layers of waves. In a flash, the illusion disappeared with a sigh. However, the layers of coiled iron thorns were frozen, as if they were confused and could no longer locate their target. They seemed dazed, not knowing what to do. The feeling was too short for anyone to think carefully. Ye Qingxuan only had time to hold Old Phil. He got out of the cage and rolled on the ground pathetically. It was hard to resist the drowsiness from the darkness. That momentary illusion had sucked all his strength, like he had been hollowed out in an instant, making it difficult to breathe. "Yezi! Yezi!" It seemed like someone was shouting his name and shaking him hard. Before he lost consciousness, he used his last effort to point in one direction. "From there, go to the church." Then he fell into darkness. --- Just half a minute later, a thin figure walked out of the dark, dense forest. Although it was in the dark of night, he seemed able to identify the terrain and the road without his eyes, completely unimpeded by the darkness. In the end, he stopped somewhere, looking coldly around at the wreckage. There was nothing in the steel thorns--the thieves had fled. Rather than becoming enraged, he wondered why the ''fog magic'' had lost control. Through the countless steel thorns he stared coldly at the direction that the thieves had fled, but suddenly, he stiffened--the resonance between the instrument and him had disappeared! He followed the last traces of the residue, finally stopping beside a river. He stared at the riverside, angrily growling. In the mud along the riverside, there was still a residual smell of the blood. - Ten minutes later, at the other end of the town, someone was knocking relentlessly on the back door of the church until the priest finally pushed open the door. At the door, a teenage boy was soaking wet, carrying his friend on his back with a wet dog next to him. The old dog had a black box filled with water dangling from its mouth. The white-haired boy on the teen''s back was barely breathing. "Yezi is going to die," Victor said with trembling lips. "Father, please save him. He asked me to come to find a man called Wolf Flute," Victor said with his purple lips. "Come in," Bann gestured them in and quickly closed the door. He took the white-haired teenager from Victor''s back, then rushed in the corridor and violently kicked the door to Wolf Flute''s room. Behind the door, Wolf Flute who was dangling a pipe from his mouth and reading a novel almost fell out of the bed, stunned to see the Father rushing into his room. He saw in the Father''s arms the teen who had been joking with him during the day. He was soaking wet and unconscious. "Hey, was he that stubborn?" He looked at the unconscious Ye Qingxuan. "It''s not worth it to jump into a river and commit suicide, even if you can''t become a musician." "Do not talk nonsense." Father Bann pulled the boy''s shirt open, pointing to his bloody chest. "Sound of heart, heartbeat recovery, save him." "Really terrible." Wolf Flute looked down at his waist where his wound had finally closed, almost crying out. At this moment, Wolf Flute profoundly realized what he had done. He had to make up for it. 11 Bai When Ye Qingxuan awoke from a long period of being unconscious, he cried out in pain. "Stole a musician''s instrument, escaped from the ''fog'' and the ''iron plant'', successfully got away from the musician with two friends, and finally, in order to break away from the musician''s lock on you, jumped into the freezing water, and swam all the way back into town." Next to him, a voice sighed weakly. "Ye, you really did quite a thing back there." "Mr. Wolf Flute?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised to see the man in the wheelchair, pale as someone on the verge of death. "What happened to you?" "Nothing. I pushed my limit with the excessive use of sound of heart. I had to do a heart resuscitation, but then my wound opened again, so I lost a couple of hundred CCs of blood. Oh, you do not know what a CC is--about half of a big pot," Wolf Flute said with ease. Then he sighed, "You scared me. I thought you drowned yourself since you couldn''t be a musician." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then said in low voice, "Thank you." "I should be the one thanking you." Wolf Flute shook his head, "If it were not for your friend who stole the Rain Artist''s instrument, he would have come to my doorstep last night and killed me." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised for a moment. "The one you stole the instrument from was my enemy. I wouldn''t have been hurt if it wasn''t for him." Wolf Flute sounded a bit embarrassed, "Actually, I was careless. I am much more powerful than he is. Really, you have to believe me." "Haha. Actually, I wouldn''t know." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head, embarrassed, and felt weak all over his body again. "You were rescued from hypothermia. You should probably lie down." Wolf Flute pushed him back to bed, and suddenly said, "Ye, there is a question I''d like you to answer for me." "Yeah?" "Although I got all the details from your friend, I don''t understand how you escaped from the fog magic. That''s not something a kid can force his way out of." Ye Qingxuan was also clueless. "You mean those hands in the fog?" "Yes, it was a song written by members of a cult called ''Mother Goose'': Avalon Bridge is Falling. Only two sections are still being circulated. One can create its own mist demon, with foul poison. The other is able to control the ''iron plant'' which comes from plants and soil. "The instrument was in your hands so he wasn''t able to use all of his power but the binding capacity from the fog was the strongest among its kind. To break free, even musicians cannot do that without paying a heavy price." "To tell you the truth, I do not know why either." Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. "If there was a reason, then it might be this." He took off his ring, and took it apart. After the ring was taken apart, it became a slender and flexible string. Even though it had been bent for so many years, it was still straight and tough once it was stretched out, radiating with dim silver light. "What is this string? Sorry, I cannot recognize its origin. It is too long for a guitar, too hard for a violin, but..." Wolf Flute took a closer look, amazed, "This is a very rare material." "You know what it is?" Ye Qingxuan eyes lit up. "Yes, this may be from a certain school''s manufacturing technology. This material is green gold refined with alchemy, as well as cultivated and alienated aether. That kind of alloy material can only be used in a very powerful instrument--you can feel it. It still has a leftover scent of ether. Too bad. It was once part of a musical instrument, but has been split into a string, now it''s useless." "Useless?" "Aether has its own order of movements. If not moved accordingly, it will only be a mess. The existence of the instrument is to help the musician control the massive amount of aether, to attain a precise control. This kind of control relies on the harmony of countless parts, as well as implementation. It cannot be done with any single component. The aether collected on it was probably the reason you got away, but I am afraid it won''t be able to do it again." Wolf Flute thought for a moment, then gave the string back to him, "Keep it, no matter who gave you this, it is a very precious gift." Ye Qingxuan silently took it back, and wrapped it around his index finger. "Ye, are you awake?" The door opened. Victor, who had waited for long time, rushed in and checked again and again to make sure Ye was okay before letting out a relieved sigh. Old Phil was much calmer now. It slowly walked in, gave everyone a disgusted look as if it was the king of this place, then jumped on the bed. It took a whiff of Ye Qingxuan, then sat on his chest reassuringly, and began whipping its tail at him. It was not painful but very embarrassing. "This is your dog? Looks very powerful." Wolf Flute came closer, staring back at Old Phil. He smacked his lips and barked as if trying to communicate with Old Phil. Old Phil looked at him expressionlessly, unmoved, and as calm as someone related to Father Bann. Although face to face with a musician, the dog''s eyes were still reserved with disdain, as if mercifully looking at its slave. It had guts, even Ye Qingxuan had to admit that. "Oh, strange. It did not respond to me." Wolf Flute did not mind, and continued making more weird gestures and sounds. Ye Qingxuan was confused. "What are you doing?" "Uh, I''m talking to it. I do not think he''s like an ordinary dog. I''m wondering if it understands a wolf''s temperament." Wolf Flute raised his hands above his head, gestured at the ears, and quietly hummed at Old Phil. If he had a tail, he would certainly be wagging his tail also. Old Phil gave him the side eye. Seeming impatient, it finally raised its forepaw casually and waved in front of Wolf Flute, then mercilessly slapped him in the face! And then it put its paw down, leaving a dirty paw print on Wolf''s face. Ye Qingxuan was shocked, Victor was shocked, and Wolf Flute was also shocked. There was a long silence. "Ahem, ahem." Wolf Flute moved away uncomfortably, pretending to cough twice, "Well, your pet has a very strong personality." ''Have you ever seen any pet like this?'' Ye Qingxuan thought. He had actually never dared to treat Old Phil as a pet. Indeed, ever since Ye Qingxuan had met Old Phil, it had lived in this world as a wealthy bachelor. For five years, Old Phil had always lived a heroic existence--rebellious, fighting with powerful force, and always ran ahead of everyone else, never letting anyone else be in charge of it. ''To be his master? I''m definitely not qualified. Actually, he has always thought of me as its follower,'' Ye Qingxuan thought. - "Well, enough said. Since we are all here, let''s talk about something serious." Wolf Flute wiped the paw print off of his face, and started to look serious. He looked around at the two boys and the dog. "In order to save Ye, I also took a great deal of risk myself. So, the priest promised me he would not intervene with this matter. There are some things that I''d like you to know. At the very least, you have to understand what you have done." Seeing the two faces turn solemn, Wolf Flute nodded with satisfaction, "First let''s talk about the Rain Artist." - Rain Artist--the musician Victor had stolen the music instrument from. "''Rain Artist'' was not his original name. Like ''Wolf Flute'' isn''t my given name either. These are titles given by the Sacred City by evaluating one''s resume, past conduct, and specialty in music after reaching the Resonance level. "Previously the Rain Artist was someone nameless. He was considered to be like most people without talent, and probably would be stuck at the Student level for life. "Suddenly, he escalated in an exploration, and successfully became a musician. Because of his talent, the Sacred City awarded him the title of the Rain Artist. He had a smooth path thereafter, and was considered having a solid foundation. Until six years ago, someone found out that he had massacred a whole village to sacrifice to ''Hyakume.'' "He had disappeared since then, becoming one of the most wanted black musicians." "Sacrifice?" "Yes, the price for exploring the Originator , with the power of Satan is life and blood. However, since he could use other people''s lives, why sacrifice himself? In most recent years, it has not been uncommon for musicians to go to the dark side." Wolf Flute''s eyes no longer carried a smile, but were chilly. "All the Discipline Musicians from the ''Silent Authority'' will hunt him down to the ends of the earth, until his head is hanging on the wall of the blasphemy. Justice has to be done. Whether or not he had attacked me, now that I''ve found him, he must die before he causes greater chaos." Ye Qingxuan silently listened to him talk, but a bad feeling gradually rose in his heart. Why was Wolf Flute saying all this? And why did he look at Victor when he spoke? "Bait?" Suddenly, Ye understood. He looked up at Wolf and said, "You need a bait!" In his gaze, Wolf Flute''s eyes also lit up. He hesitated and sighed. "Nobody likes a kid too smart, Ye." "Your wound also came from him?" Ye asked. "Yes, a sneak attack," Wolf Flute admitted. "He''s better than me at sudden attacks. I almost died." "Then he chased you here." Ye Qingxuan went on to say, "He knows you are recuperating, but does not know you are with us. Because no one expected Victor to steal the bag, no one knows that I will bring you this news. He still thinks we''re hiding in the town. Without his instrument, he will not be able to kill you, so he will hide himself in the dark. But as long as the instrument can be retrieved, he has nothing to fear." Ye Qingxuan touched his string on the finger, and finally began to understand. His eyes gradually lit up, "So if you want to win, you will need an opportunity to have him walk into the trap willingly..." 12 Putting Out the Fire "Can''t we destroy the instrument?" "The resonance between the instrument and the musician is even closer than that of husband and wife or blood relationship. If he senses any damage to the instrument, we will lose the initiative. Whether he plans a large-scale sacrifice or attacks forcefully, we will be powerless. " Ye Qingxuan responded, "We just..." "It is impossible." Wolf Flute right away understood what Ye Qingxuan was thinking. "You have not seen the sacrifice, so you do not understand. As long as a dark musician plays and sings the evil praise, it will be enough to attract Satan''s eyes. The voice of praise will cover the whole town. When all the people can only see their own blood as it exudes from their skin, flowing into the river, all the lives will be taken by the palms of the abyss. This process can take up to three hours because the musician''s performance is only the base tone and the sacrifice is the main part of praise. This is the most annoying point of the evil cult--even if it is easy to kill him, it is difficult to stop his sacrifice from fighting back. However, Hyakume is not a generous God. Sacrifice is also a very strong torture for the musician himself, so unless the circumstances are extreme, he will not use it so easily. " Hearing Wolf Flute''s words, Ye Qingxuan turned silent. "So, do we have to do that?" "Yes, this is the best way." Wolf Flute said, "Ye, I''m sorry, but I can''t do anything either." "How about the town''s garrison? And..." "For musicians, the number of ordinary people does not matter. Adding them on will be just adding more casualties." Wolf Flute''s eyes became cold. "I am sorry that I brought him here. I will not let him continue the damage. I have an even more important mission to accomplish. If I don''t complete it, there will be hundreds of times more dead people than those that died in the town." In silence, he turned his head and stared at Victor. Victor''s face gradually became paler. "Sorry, although I do not know you, I have to give this task to you. This is not forced by the Musician Act, but I hope you can understand the truth." He touched Victor''s shoulder. "This is my personal request, thanks..." His words stopped abruptly, because the palm of his hand did not fall, but was caught by another palm from the side, making him unable to move. He never thought that the Eastern youth''s arms had such a strong force, like vices. Victor was stunned. Wolf Flute turned and looked down at the youth in surprise. "Ye, not now..." Wolf Flute tried to figure out what to say, but saw the juvenile looking up, his white hair shining like silver medal in the candlelight, his dark pupils glaring at him. "I will go." Ye Qingxuan whispered. "The Rain Artist saw me before. If I hold the instrument, he won''t doubt it." --- When Ye Qingxuan walked out of the room, he saw the Father silently standing at the end of the corridor. The priest stared at him quietly with complicated feelings. Ye Qingxuan bowed his head in silence. When he walked by the Father, he whispered, "Sorry for letting you down, Father. I''m probably not the material of a priest." The Father was silent, letting him leave through the church door, carrying the black box. The old dog did not know what happened, and cheerfully followed him and left. Soon, Wolf Flute pushed the wheelchair out of the room. "This is the recruitment of a musician which I have no control over. But there is one thing I want you to understand," Father Bann suddenly said softly, "I am telling you on behalf of the church representative that if something happens to him, but you are still alive, you will pay a big price for your mistake." "He will come back alive," whispered Wolf Flute. "Even if I''m dead." Then, he looked at the night outside the church, and could not help but sigh. He continued to push the wheelchair to the scheduled location. In his mind, he still saw the youth''s expression while he said those words--solemn and peaceful, and even a smile that he had not perceived. It was the smile of a moth flying towards the flame with no thought of returning. Since his escape in the evening, Ye Qingxuan had been in coma for an hour. When he went back to the street, it was already late at night. In the silent dark night, there were no pedestrians. Ye Qingxuan walked alone in the street, hearing the yellow dog''s footsteps behind him. Beside him, Old Phil looked up. Its eyes were still disgusted, not understanding what Ye Qingxuan wanted. Seeing Old Phil''s fearless eyes, Ye Qingxuan suddenly became more relaxed. For so many years since he come to the city far away from Avalon, things and people had changed, but Old Phil still accompanied him, not caring about the "little brother" being a lazy waste, but often catching some dead mice to feed him for which Ye felt gratitude. "Old Phil, go back." Ye Qingxuan squatted down, touched its collar and softly said, "Thank you for being with me for all these years." Old Phil tilted its head and looked at him, seeming to not understand what he was talking about. After a long time, it reached out its claws and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder twice. It was its sign of encouragement which nobody knew where it learned it from. Old Phil barked and yawned, then turned away. At the end of the street it looked back at Ye, then embarked on the road home. Under the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan watched as Old Phil walked further away. He lowered his head, untied the silver rope on the black box, and tore off the seal. Cold river water from the cracks in the box dripped on the ground, leaving a wet trail. Wolf Flute had hand-carved the seal to lock the resonance of the instrument. But now, with the rope unlocked, it once again began to tremble, and issued a call to its owner. Ye Qingxuan quietly waited and recalled the voice of Wolf Flute. "Rain Artist is not a hard-to-find singer, nor is he a talented scholar. I don''t know how much he knows of the Runes, but it is certain that most of his ability relies on the instrument. So, as long as you take it, Rain Artist will come to you, but he won''t use too powerful of a music score. This will be the opportunity to take advantage. But you have to be careful. Hyakume has often given his attendant some strange abilities and props." Wolf Flute had stroked the flute on his knee, coldly. "Your task is only to lure him out. Once he appears, the instrument should be destroyed, and you should leave quickly. I will follow you in the dark and it will be my task to deal with him," Ye Qingxuan silently recalled ensuring that there was not any misunderstanding. In the silence, he heard the sound of ocean waves from the distance, echoing the fear in his heart. It resounded in his chest. He heard the sound of his heart beat, chaos, panic and trembling uneasily. ''If I die, will the Father be sad? He is a qualified parent. He adopted me and condoned my rebelliousness for so many years. Also, Old Phil and Victor. Will they be fine in the future?'' Ye Qingxuan''s thoughts suddenly paused and his imagination stopped. He finally heard the footsteps from afar, so low and so quiet. "He came," he whispered to himself. Ye Qingxuan turned to stare at the place where the sound came from, and suddenly, he no longer felt afraid. Obviously he was filled with fear and uneasiness, but his heart suddenly became calm, the blood still flowing, like the ice water flowing in a glacier, so quiet and so peaceful. "It may just be me! Come on," he whispered, "Either Musician, or monster, or fate, I will not be afraid." In the silence, the moonlight shone down. Under the dim light, someone walked heavily out from the darkness, as if he were carrying a very heavy weight, or as if he had a serious injury. His footsteps staggered, dragging his body, exhibiting great difficulty to move forward. He went under the moonlight. He stiffly looked up and saw Ye Qingxuan and smiled. The ax he dragged on the ground sparked happily. He came! "But it is not right," a voice suddenly called in Ye Qingxuan''s heart, "This is not right..." The vaguely familiar shadow wore a gray leather coat. His face was shrouded under a dark hood, and the ax in his hand reflected the moonlight. The heavy ax was dragged across the ground with sparks flying. The man raised it high above his head as if trying to cut off the moon, and then he rushed over, screaming with madness. "No!" Ye Qingxuan suddenly realized. But it was too late. A desolate flute suddenly sounded, as falcons rushed into the sky, higher and higher! It rose with a swaying melody and then descended from the sky, sweeping the earth, and the earth began to tremble. The flute music swayed like a ghost, issuing a call. Then dust flew into the sky. Wrapped by the moonlight, it trembled and blurred, forming a concrete shape. It walked on the ground, silver hair flying in the wind, like the moonlight torrent. Sharp shouts burst from its mouth. It jumped up from the ground and into the air, revealing its large stature. It was a huge...wolf? With the call, a number of the same giant wolves jumped from the eaves and the walls. The speed was like a road of silver trajectory circling in the fog. Just for a short moment, they came before the man, stopping the sharp ax in his hand. Under the wolves'' attacks, the fine iron ax was like mud. It broke and splintered. At the same time, his legs broke too. The wolves rushed on, completely splitting the corpse, but stopped suddenly at the end. "Wolf Flute, stop!" Ye Qingxuan shouted, "He is not the Rain Artist." The wolves instantly stopped. They stared at the man in the pool of blood. A dozen pairs of green eyes stared at him, making him shudder. He suppressed his overwhelming fear, and walked into the pool of blood. He forced himself to tear off the hood, and stood, shocked. This person could not be the Rain Artist. Under the moonlight, he recognized that ugly and swollen face! This man was Pippen, the lumber in town! He looked very ugly, because he went through a serious illness when he was young. Although he was always drunk, he was a very good person who had helped many street kids. Because his appearance was so frightening, he had to live in the wood hut in the far end of the town, only the stray cats accompanying him. ''But why did he come here? Why did he raise his weapon towards me?'' In shock, he saw Pippen''s pupils suddenly move. A black dot spread through the white eyes. Pippen startedlaughing?! 13 The Demon of Rain and Breath of Boiling Blood In a flash, Pippen jumped up from the ground. It was like power within burst out of his body, and his whole frame had extended a few sizes. Some of his joints were ruptured from the brutal action in that instant, but his speed was incredibly fast. As if a huge iron ball brushed past his body and flew away, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes saw a flash, then everything turned pitch black. Dazed, he felt himself knocked into the wall. In the moonlight, Pippen leaped into the air, held on tight to the black box, then turned and threw it into the darkness. Soon after, the furious wolf pack jumped up from the ground and tore him into pieces. With numerous bone fragments, chunks of flesh and blood flying around, the black box flipped and stumbled, and finally stopped at someone''s feet at the end of the street. A large silver wolf followed very closely, like a shadow of the box. The guy looked at the silver wolf''s grim face and smiled. He bent over, and pressed down on the black box. Crash! In a blink of an eye, the black box set off a deafening sound. With a violent sound, an invisible power like a hammer crushed the wolf''s head into the green stones of the ground. Blood flew onto the box like mercury, and whitened a corner of the stone. The black box started to slowly crack until it completely turned into powder. The exquisite clarinet fell into the hands of the man, no longer trembling after the burst as if it had finally been returned to where it belonged. "What a pity, Wolf Flute." The guy took off his hat, and revealed his white pupils. "A nice trap, but it did not work on me, and killed an innocent man in the process. Are you regretting it now?" He seemed very old, his face wrinkled, nothing like the thirty-something-year-old man Wolf Flute had described. But those white eyes moved with a coldness, more chilly than the wolf pack. If beasts gave a man fear, then this ruthlessness and cruelty could freeze a man''s soul. "Sorry, no." With the wolves growling and circling around came the voice of Wolf Flute, "He already died when you controlled him with the ''worm''." From Pippen''s broken skull, a leech-like black organism crawled out from his ear. It had originally lived as a parasite in Pippen''s brain. It crawled out and swam quickly through the pool of blood, leaving a trail of blood behind it. It came to the feet of the Rain Artist, and finally wrapped around his wrist, hardening into a strange bracelet. The Rain Artist looked down gently, admiring the worm bracelet on his wrist. He sighed softly, "You see, I paid a great price for this reward. It had helped me through many difficult times, including this one." As he was talking, he looked around at the scenery with a surprised and admiring expression on his face. "It is hard to imagine. I have chased you a long way here, and ''it'' is hidden in this ridiculously small town." "I won''t let you have it," a dark voice spoke as if from all directions. "I dare not carry with me something as terrible as this. My order was only to destroy it." The Rain Artist suddenly laughed. "Similarly, I can..." he paused, the clarinet in his hand suddenly rising up with a chilling bang, "...destroy you!" The explosion sounded like a dying whistle. When the whistling spread, numerous boiling sounds followed. The sea breeze suddenly started dancing furiously, the sound of the wave became blurry. A huge amount of aether awoke from the whistling sound. It came together from all directions, swallowing every drop of the vapor. The air suddenly became extremely dry. Every breath came with a burning sensation. Then a pale fog spread from beneath the Rain Artist into the air like a suffocating mist. The fog immersed the entire street, everything was blurry. Then, water drops appeared from out of thin air, colliding like a rainstorm in the fog, as fast as arrows. Along their way they took away any warmth in the air, leaving behind a layer of frost. Suddenly, where the fog had enveloped, heavy rain began to pour. Silver wolves roared into the mist, but they had lost his trail and could no longer find the man. Musicians of the School of Modifications were best at manipulating the nature of objects, swaying storms and frost, making flames and iron walls. Among all musicians, they were the best suited for the battlefield because of their great destructive power! With the clarinet singing, he quickly finishing playing a measure, summoning a suffocating fog storm heavy enough to freeze any ordinary man. "Huh, went back to hide in his shell," Wolf Flute spat. His pupils turned vertical like an animal, staring at the fog and the rain. ...Krommer Variation Opus 74, also known as "Demon of Rain". But this was not the most dangerous, not even close. So he needed to be very alert. - In the fog, the clarinet suddenly sounded. The sound, like countless people sobbing in the rain, spread quickly. It was like iron bees beating their wings, like ghosts calling out, wandering in the fog. Inside the fog, a sudden harsh whistle came through the endless tornado, effortlessly punching a big hole in the silver wolf''s neck. The silver wolf''s head was broken, hanging on its neck. It rolled on the ground in the rain, but then it was completely cut by something behind it. Eventually, that silver wolf dissipated leaving small, deep holes in the ground. In those holes, there were many long and thin iron pieces. These iron pieces embedded into the earth, still with burning lights. But once out of the fog, the heat disappeared, as if the fog took it away, back to where it came from. This was one of the reasons why the Demon of Rain was known as the music of massacre. Through many different combinations of notes, it could produce Exploding Iron, which contained a force of destruction so powerful, that it was nearly undefeatable. The fog was alive. It was a living thing. It constantly absorbed light and heat from its surroundings, which was why the temperature had become so cold. Then the fog would explode as a "medium" along with the Iron. No matter how heavy the armor, or how sturdy the walls, the impact of the fog could not be stopped. If someone was hit, they would probably be ripped in half. With only a loud noise, the upper half of the body would have to say goodbye to the lower half. Or perhaps the whole body would become mincemeat. This was the most dangerous aspect of the Rain Artist because killing was his talent. The music continued, and the rain became denser. Shards of very thin iron shot in all directions. The iron easily cut through the wolves'' necks and the claws, killing them instantly. But with Wolf Flute''s even more depressing notes, more wolves had appeared from all over the earth. It seemed like it would never end. The summoning from Wolf Flute continued to bring more wolves from the void--almost a whole pack of wolves had shown up. Those wolves, almost as tall as humans, were no ordinary creatures. They were born from the aether, with no weakness, no blood, no fatigue, and with no fear. With the flute Nai playing, they expanded again, showing a strange ice blue. The bodies became mistier as if they would melt into the fog. "Do not hide, Mr. Wolf Flute!" in the rain fog the Rain Artist suddenly growled. With a flashing light, the wall was split, the stones collapsed, dirt flew everywhere. In the dust, the shadow of Wolf Flute was finally revealed. A piece of the iron cut through the wall and barely missed his throat, leaving him with a striking bloodstain. "Wheelchair?" The Rain Artist took a big step forward. "When did this happen?" Iron whistled past. Like a strong crossbow with bursting arrows, the iron converged into a tornado and charged ahead. Wolf Flute''s body suddenly tilted. The two wheels of the wheelchair slid on the ground. It made a full circle then backed away. The iron rain went right past him and left a honeycomb-like hole on the wall, causing the shingles from the structure to fly away. "Wow, you don''t say," Wolf Flute cocked his eyebrow and patted the armrest of the wheelchair. "This thing is easy to use, and it is good for my laziness. It''s super convenient! I''m falling in love with it." "Keep your playful words and go to hell with them." The Rain Artist lifted his withered face, in his dark eyes, his white pupils started to shrink. "No more nonsense!" He lifted his clarinet to his lips, playing a sharp tune. The white fog suddenly trembled, boiling over, and the color turned scarlet, like blood. Blood red?! "Breath of Boiling Blood?" Wolf Flute opened his mouth like an animal and ground his teeth, "Music that requires blood as sacrifice really fits the style of your evil cult." A sharp and mournful performance suddenly turned to a higher pitch, with red fog swirling, countless rain drops colliding, and the sound of friction like a roar of thunder. With this thunder, suddenly there were six burning flashes. It was a very thin and sharp iron piece. They had the speed of arrows in the rain, swung with a trill, like an evil spirit screaming. This was the Exploding Iron that should have only been single shots. Mixed in with the rain, they could launch as one with a shape of a fan, and no one would be able to escape it in this narrow space. But now there were six of them! Even Wolf Flute, who had seemed nonchalant, felt pins and needles in his scalp. The Breath of Boiling Blood, this evil technique, sometimes did make one f*cking jealous! How come there were no such techniques for the musicians of religious disciples? Even if they were not allowed to use other people''s blood, they could at least use their own! Wolf''s eyes were envious. Six shots each time. The Rain Artist must have paid a hefty price for this. Unfortunately, whether he was insane, or was just trying to show a great respect for his enemy by displaying such elaborate combat, it would be extremely tough to fight back. After all, when he was sneak-attacked from over one hundred feet away, Wolf Flute had been heavily wounded by only one piece of the iron! And now, he was in a wheelchair with nowhere to escape. The humming in the air had given him chills. That was the sound of the hot iron ready to explode. Under such pressure, he started playing his flute, his scalp still numb. In an instant, the sound of the flute was crushed by the sharp noise of the wind and the sand blowing. Iron pieces flew out from the rain and the fog. The red hot iron was suddenly released, and the terror of the kinetic energy and heat destroyed their body in a moment. It had turned to iron sand--more dangerous than ever. The iron sand burned through the fog, firing forward, and pulling the bloody fog along with it. After what seemed like only a few seconds, hundreds of hot spikes flew out of the bloody fog into the slate and the walls, instantly turning them into pieces. The remaining heat was spreading, setting off a pale water vapor. In the water vapor, you could hear the scream of the silver wolves. "I really am a genius! Hahahaha!!" With six silver wolves pulling the wheelchair with all their strength, it broke out of the fog like a sleigh on the snow. Wolf Flute, with blood covering half of his body, cackled. He sat firmly in the wheelchair that was about to completely break down. No one ever thought this psycho would be able to turn his wheelchair into a sleigh at the very last minute, allowing him to escape from the six fan-shaped iron fires. In the speedy wheelchair, Wolf Flute sighed. He removed a pendant-shaped bottle hung around his neck. He removed the cork with his fingers and swallowed the whole bottle of liquid. As soon as the ice blue liquid went inside him, he trembled. His skin turned pale. Blue and purple blood vessels expanded under his skin, intertwined with each other. The blood was pulsing with a rhythm. As if it were a beast was digesting the blood then releasing the burning flame. Wolf Flute''s eyed flashed vaguely for a moment--there seemed to be electricity firing through his eyes, too bright to look straight into. "Damn, this was a huge loss," Wolf Flute whispered. He took a deep breath as husky as the sound of the iron piece and started playing the flute. This time, there was a kind of power in the music, like an illusion entering reality, eroding through this fake world. It was an extremely cold night but now, it felt maddeningly hot. Wind from the desert fell from the sky, destroying the cold rain. The humidity and poison in the air had been swept away by the wind. The sound of the flute spread like a sandstorm, giving the illusion of being under the burning sunlight. The sound of the stone''s friction overpowered the cry from the ''Demon of Rain.'' A huge alpha wolf suddenly appeared beneath the moonlight. It was blurrier than his followers, but was also more strongly built. Like a reflection in water, it would soon disappear. It really disappeared. The Rain Artist paled and quickly retreated, but the alpha appeared again, right behind him. The Rain Artist''s body trembled slightly. He looked down and saw a huge gap on his waist. It was a wound made by the alpha in what seemed like an instant. Under the moonlight, the alpha spat out the blood and organs and slowly looked back at him. Its translucent body seemed misty in the fog. "The Underworld messenger?" the Rain Artist murmured dazedly, the mournful scream cutting off. The alpha returned and disappeared. When he re-appeared, its claws held a new piece of flesh and half a rib. It looked down arrogantly as if looking at its prey. The Rain Artist was defenseless! With the next reemergence of the alpha wolf, the flesh tore again. The Rain Artist grasped his exposed organs and knelt on the ground. The war was over now. 14 Win or Lose "Forcefully turning the wolf into a phantom beast... distortion of the rules...Scepter Level?" Rain Artist covered his fatal wounds. He looked as if he was both crying and laughing. "You have already reached this level? How old are you? Twenty-four? Twenty-five?" "Twenty-three." Wolf Flute wiped the blood off his face, coldly sneering. "So how about it? Are you feeling hopeless seeing the difference between geniuses and mortals?" "Twenty-three? I am already forty-seven years old," Rain Artist mumbled to himself in shock. "I have paid so much, and have even become a believer and follower of Hyakume. I''ve spent more than a decade to do so. But someone like you, why did you get to this level first? Why?!" Rain Artist raised his head stiffly. He was screaming, ignoring his tragic injury, "I''ve given up so much! So much!" "I''ve already said so," Wolf Flute smiled fiercely like a wolf. "Because I am a genius." He hid his own flute where Rain Artist could not see. Wolf Flute''s face was blank. His fingers caressed the crack of the flute, but with twitching distress. Sure enough, he had tried too hard. "Are you?" Rain Artist stared at his eyes, then sneered suddenly as if he had seen the reflection of a man in his pupils. Then he realized and said, "What an honor! I thought the genius had no weakness." Wolf Flute frowned indifferently, his fingers gently tapping. The silver wolf shouted under the moonlight and suddenly disappeared! The silver wolf snuck into the air, biting at the enemy''s throat. "Over there!" Rain Artist suddenly threw out an exploding iron. Blood aura mixed together with the iron in his hand so that the iron issued a terrible scream. Strong water vapor whistled out from the exploding iron but in the direction the opposite of Wolf Flute! It was not trying to hit him, but in that moment, Wolf Flute felt rage burst from his brain. The exploding iron was directed towards the white-haired teen who laid unconscious in the corner! Rain Artist said he found Wolf Flute''s weakness. Indeed, he had found it. Wolf Flute sighed with his eyes closed and waved. The silver wolf appeared from the air in a flash, and stopped in front of the juvenile. Grains of iron sand instantly crashed into its body. Silver blood burst out as the wolf screamed in agony, its eyes becoming crazier. Wolf Flute''s body shook a bit. The wolf frantically rubbed its four claws, wanting to tear that damn enemy, but another burst of exploding iron hit its body like falling meteorites. Debris flew everywhere, scratching its eyes. Wolf Flute''s body shook again. "Mr. Genius, you should not look over there. You have looked so many times. You are very concerned about him, huh?" Rain Artist laughed hoarsely until he could not breathe. He knelt down on the ground, coughing. He was in obvious pain but his voice remained condescending, "No one would believe that a Discipline musician who could kill anyone without blinking an eye would care about a child''s life? Haha, a genius like you should be a shame among Discipline musicians!" "Are you afraid that your bet is wrong?" Wolf Flute''s face was gloomy. "But what if I win? It is fate." Rain Artist picked up the instrument in the pool of blood. After experiencing the overclocking load, the instrument which had accompanied him for years actually overheated. Ignoring the burning temperature, he grasped it, releasing another burst of exploding iron. Bam! In the wheelchair, Wolf Flute''s body twitched, unable to move. Rain Artist looked back at his enemy. "It''s also my luck to meet a fool who bound a consumable like a phantom beast to his life." Wolf Flute could no longer speak, and lowered his head. Thick blood dripped from his wheelchair, converging on the ground in a puddle. "I won," Rain Artist announced in a cold voice. Sensing its master dying, the alpha wolf angrily got up from the ground. Despite the immense trauma to its body, it rushed toward Rain Artist. "Three bursts of exploding iron could not solve the problem. Phantom wolves are really too troublesome." Rain Artist frowned and put the clarinet to his lips. The sharp, high-pitched voice caused the fog to spread out. Countless mournful roars synchronized with the terrible performance. The sound was like a long knife painfully scratching one''s eardrums. In the madness of the fog, the blasting resulted in condensation again--one, two, three... six! Six bursts of exploding iron released hot red, lethal light that could make anybody''s scalp go numb. ThenBoom! For a short moment, Rain Artist could not hear anything. His vision turned dark in front of his eyes; only a vague ray of light could be seen. He moaned in pain. Lowering his head, he looked at his hands--they had been broken by the clarinet''s explosion. Blood dripped from the broken wrist emerged. He looked up at the moonlight, revealing his torn face, his jaw hanging on his neck, and blood dripping. Amongst the bloody flesh, only a withered eyeball remained, blinking in a daze. The wolf which rushed to him earlier had disappeared without a trace. It had long been dying but had fought until the very last moment. Rain Artist sharply screamed, "Wolf Flute!" He roared, "Wolf Flute!" "The error of the instrument leads to the error of the control," a husky voice whispered amidst Rain Artist''s roars. "And the error of the control makes the aether uncontrollable. When the aether is out of control, it will bring devastating consequences. What Wolf Flute said was correct." The white-haired teen who had been unconscious opened his eyes, quietly staring at Rain Artist with bloodshot eyes. "You lost," he said. --- Feeling faint, it was difficult for Ye Qingxuan to open his eyes. His skull felt like it had been hammered and was buzzing. The disturbance of any noise made him dizzy enough to kneel on the ground. The power of musicians was incredible. Even the aftershocks were enough to destroy a person''s sanity and resistance. He felt that his body was about to break. He had been at the brink of collapse when he was hit by a power strong enough to break a wall in the very beginning. Then, again in the middle of the confrontation between the two musicians, he was hit by a bunch of aftershocks, practically knocking him out. Fortunately, the last shock woke him up. He felt like a nightmare. His internal organs crazily beating each other, but his body did not listen to his call. He could not move. "I lost?" Rain Artist gaped at him with dismay. He looked down at the debris on the ground and vaguely mumbled, "You did something to my instrument! It''s supposed to be complete!" "Yeah, but you did not notice that there was a part inside missing inside." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand in difficulty. On his fingertip, a slender reed reflected the moonlight, illuminating his pupils like flowing water. "I always felt that it will be too dangerous to return the complete instrument to you, but Wolf Flute said that you would notice it if we destroyed it. So I thought I could give it to you but" He coughed in a low voice and softly laughed, "Just needed to replace it with a needle spring." Ye Qingxuan dropped the reed to the ground. The simple movement had already caused him great pain. "We used your original spare part, soaked it in strong acid, then carved a very shallow incision." The juvenile gestured with two fingers. "It is simply a slight incision. In a rush, people will not notice the sound changes. The only flaw is that the high heat and intense vibrations make it easy to break." "From the beginning..." Rain Artist staggered, approaching him with his face convulsing. "You planned it from the beginning? No, I am the only person knows the defect of Demon of Rain. Only I should know it!" "Maybe." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyelids, "I had almost forgotten. Demon of Rain truly is strong. Its offensive power and impact on the environment are both extraordinary but it does not mean that it doesn''t have flaws--it can force the extraction of all the heat from the fog as explosive power, which upgrades the small effect of throwing items with destructive lethality. But this means that the load of the instrument is ten times that of other music. Once out of control, all the heat will explode in an instant." Rain Artist roared, but his jaw finally fell to the ground. Blood dripped from his body nonstop. His body was quickly decaying. What had already been taken away by Satan now disappeared again. He fell to the ground, feeling his vitality quickly leaving him. If the world was a table for the satanic god Hyakume, then the so-called believers were just the pepper and salt. Since the pepper on Hyakume''s table would soon expire, it only made sense to eat him now! Eat it up, eat it up! "No, it should not be like this. I came following your command. Why?" Rain Artist struggled in the pool of blood with his shattered body. He crawled forward with difficulty. His one-eyed vision fell on Ye Qingxuan''s body. His eyes glistened. "The body, yes. I need a new body! This is your promise. This is your promise of my reincarnation? I still have hope! I got the approval of God!" He laughed as if to comfort himself, but only to send an empty voice. In his broken right hand, the last remnants of two fingers tried to hold a leech-like "worm." He crawled through the pool of blood toward Ye Qingxuan. "The body, give me a new body..." Ye Qingxuan tried to hold up his body, but was powerless. He smelled the stench from the blood. The quickly rotting Rain Artist had finally clutched his legs, smiling in ecstasy. "Body, body!" Ye Qingxuan turned pale. He took out half of the dagger from his sleeve with trembling fingers. Victor had given it to him for self-defense before he left. He did not expect that it would become his last straw. Arm trembling, he held the dagger to this evil old man in front of him. But in Rain Artist''s eyes, he could not see the fear and frustration, but only joke like contempt and ridicule. "What do you have in your hand? A toy?" Rain Artist opened his cracked mouth, as if he were laughing. Then he raised his hands and snapped his fingers. His fingers were broken but the snapping sound was like a hammer hitting Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Crunch! Ye Qingxuan''s wrist suddenly dislocated, and the dagger flew out from his hand and broke into iron pieces in the pool of blood. "Kid, do not be afraid, and do not resist me." Rain Artist looked at Ye Qingxuan''s pupils, laughing with ecstasy, "It will only take a short while to complete the will transfer." Ye Qingxuan grinded his teeth, heavily breathing, and did not say anything. He wanted to escape but the wall was behind him. He was cornered. Through the whole process he only miscalculated one thing--Rain Artist''s desperation at death. This mistake could not be remedied. Rain Artist screamed once again because the cold worm drilled into his left eye, digging out his flesh and blood. And then it stretched out the other end of its suction cup, crawling on Ye Qingxuan''s chest, quickly going towards his pupil. Great, there was a hope for rebirth! Rain Artist was overjoyed. "Do not resist, but accept God''s reward. Good boy, we can go together to the peak of the musicians!" He was incoherent in his ecstasy. "Aren''t you excited? I will always remember you, young man. What is your name? Where are you from?! Why do you not talk? You must be too nervous. It does not matter as I will forgive you. We''ll be best friends, you know?" Ye Qingxuan was too terrified to speak. He just looked at Rain Artist''s back, like watching the best thing in the world. The longer he was watching, the more he could not help but laugh. "He is not your best friend," a hoarse voice came from Rain Artist''s back, stunning him. Rain Artist finally saw the reflection through Ye Qingxuan''s pupilthere was a yellow old dog standing in a pool of blood. Next to the old dog there was a blonde-haired teen looking livid, forcing down his fear. In Rain Artist''s sight, the teen raised the iron bar in his hand, which had been used to close the door, raised it up and slammed it down! "I am!" Crack! Rain Artist''s skull dented. He fell to the ground. His expression stiffening, he gaped at the crazy teen. He tried to say something, but Victor raised the iron bar, and then...bam! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Rain Artist''s skull dented with every blow. His last gaze was full of despair. He said with difficulty, "Wait, I..." Bang! Victor delivered the final blow expressionlessly. Blood splattered onto his face, staining his green eyes. After a crisp sound, all fell silent. 15 Moonligh When Wolf Flute awoke, he was laying in the same bed as before, only it had been converted into an operating table. He could not feel his own body. He felt like he was floating in the air, a sense of happiness wandered through this head. Although he felt no pain, the feeling of euphoria, seemingly out of nowhere, was rather confusing and unsettling. "Mandala?" Wolf Flute whispered, "Father, isnt the amount of injection you gave me a little too much?" "At least you still have a sense of reasoning, and can talk as well." In the candlelight, the chanting priest turned and looked back at him, "When you were brought back here, you were not exactly in one piece. In order not to let you die from pain, I had to use all of my mandala." "Really tough, huh? But can an ordinary priest perform a surgery with this level of difficulty?Moreover, an ordinary church should not have surgery equipment and this many drugs." The priest ignored him. Wolf Flute raised his head slowly, and saw that his chest had numerous stitches. He sighed softly, "Since I am alive, does that means the Rain Artist is dead?" "Isnt he right next to you?" Wolf Flute was stunned by the priests words. He turned to the other side and let out a cry, almost falling out of bed. Right next to his pillow, there was a large glass container. With a repulsive smell of the antiseptic liquid, a dry, deformed body was soaking in the container. It was as if all the water had been drained. A deformed body curled into the fetal position, but no baby was nearly as horrible as this. "Is that your way of getting revenge on me?" Wolf Flute said bitterly, "Are you from the hunters tribe? How did you turn him into this?" "He became like this after he died."The priest reached over, took the bottle from him, and made a gesture to throw it away, "It seems that I was too sentimental. If you do not need it, I can throw it away." "I was wrong! Please forgive me! This thing is rather ugly, but worth a lot of money from the Musician Unions." Wolf Flute pouted and begged for mercy. Saliva dripped down from his mouth--he looked like an idiot. "My instrument cannot be repaired otherwise. Those people from the Cavendish Laboratory wont even let me in the door without money." The priest looked down at the wreckage in the bottle and suddenly asked, "The funding you promised that child is also part of this?" Wolf Flute was stunned, "How did you know?" "When you were talking last night, I was listening outside." "Since when?" "Since the beginning. Until you said, ''in order to compensate him as a bait, for the danger he may encounter, I will financially support him to study to be a musician." "Were you not curious whether or not he agreed?" The priest gave him another look, as if he was an idiot, and said nothing. "Well, he agreed." Wolf Flute shrugged, "If it wasnt for him this time, I might have died." The priest shook his head, "You had a Wolf King who could control the aether. You might not have lost." "The teacher gave me that. Thanks to his foresight, I was able to scare the Rain Artist, but I still paid a hefty price." "Its better to be alive than anything else. Why dont you rest now." Father Bann got up, ready to leave, but after a moment of silence he whispered, "There will be a carriage to take you away the day after tomorrow. I will go with you to pick up that item tomorrow. It...is kept very well. I hope you can use it properly." He took one last look at Wolf Flute, left the room, and shut the door. In silence, there was only Wolf Flute. After a long time, he scratched his head and sighed softly, "As long as it was used, theres no such thing as ''proper'' anymore?" - Ye Qingxuan had another dream. He dreamed of the distant past, but different from what he had remembered. It had seemed to be from someones fantasy. Beginning with the sound of the rain, he came into the dream. He was once again in the streets of Avalon, crowded as always. - A familiar sound of piano playing came from somewhere, it was a voice from his first memories. They were like hands, guiding him towards a deeper world of dreams. In the raging crowd, he saw a man carrying a piano case. He looked very young, so it must have been many years ago. His robe floated in the wind, flying like a crane. His long silver hair was not tied in a knot like most of the Easterners. He simply put it up with a hairpin--strange but simple. "So that group of old men from the holy city called me ''Chant of Month'', probably thought I was the expert against a heretic. But whichever way you look at it, my son is a bit more of a genius than I am, right?" The man looked down at his son. The child was just curiously gazing at his surroundings. The child''s face was so familiar, it gave Ye Qingxuan a headache, but he still could not remember who he was. Ye Qingxuan was standing in the middle of the crowd, staring and confused. "Dad, I want that." The child raised his hand and pointed to the balloon in the hands of a pedestrian. "Well, okay, Daddy will buy you one, but do not tell your mother okay?" The man carrying the piano case teased his kid, and walked right past Ye Qingxuan. Ye looked back, and saw the child in the arms of the man, gazing with innocent eyes. In the crowd, the child looked back at him. Their eyes met for an instant, like a door had been opened. Their eye contact made Ye Qingxuan take a step back. He fell to the ground stunned, feeling as if he were inside out. The child looked just like him when he was young. Had he ever been this happy? He wanted to laugh. - The piano music started again. It had frozen the raging crowd. The wind had begun from the end of the dream. It had fallen from the sky, and blew away the whole city. Ye Qingxuan was struggling in the wind, unsure of where to go. At his fingertips, the chord was restored to a shining string, pulling him deep inside of the wind tunnel. He floated in the wind. "Ye, have you dreamed before?" The man carrying the piano case whispered in his ear. Ye Qingxuan looked around blankly. He heard a young voice answering instead, "Is that one of those things happens after falling asleep?" "Maybe, but you can also dream when you''re awake." The guy carrying the piano case laughed gently, his voice soft and low, like the clear resonance of tapping jade together. "You will forget the dreams you had when you were sleeping, but the ones you had when you were awake, they will continue in your dreams. And the whole world will become a dream. Thats beautiful, right?" Ye Qingxuan was stiff. He looked back at the man with the piano case. A pain out of nowhere made him keel over. He held his head, feeling bursts of pain. "This world is a nightmare, father!" He roared, "It is all because of you. And you think of it as a beautiful dream? Mother died--she died because of you!" The Eastern man was shocked. He seemed to have finally remembered, staring at Ye with blurry eyes, complicated and sad. The music, smooth as silk, was interrupted for a moment. Like sharp scissors had shredded it into pieces and left a mess everywhere. The wind had stopped, the dust was gone, the sun went out, the earth was broken, and everything had collapsed. The darkness encapsulated everything, and he fell into the abyss. The broken piano music was like a hand, tightly holding onto him. The dreams were changing dramatically. Sometimes a flooded city, and sometimes a castle ready to collapse. Sometimes it was a raging sea with a jungle growing in it, with neon flashing at the horizon. In the next instant, they changed again, now dim. Infinite fog was rising, drowning everything. - The piano started again. As the moon sang, the clouds moved in the sky. Ye Qingxuan was walking in the fog, looking for the music. At his feet, the rough mountain road was rising, but was becoming narrower and more difficult to walk on. The fog wrapped around him. As if numerous eyes were quietly watching him, it made Ye feel not so alone walking this path. He kept walking in the mountains. Forward, forward, forward until there was no place to go. The next step would be to the abyss. The music came from the end of the sky, broken yet persistent as if it were calling him. Ye Qingxuan quietly staring at the fog and took a step forward. The abyss did not devour him because of the invisible music lifting him. He stepped into the wind and began to move forward, faster and faster. Sometimes he looked around, staring at the dancing clouds. In the fog and the sea of ??clouds, only stars shined like broken lights around him, like a fish in the fog. Flashes of light passed by him, then disappeared. He began to feel calm, no longer afraid. Then the ??clouds split in front of him. Layers of mist and clouds exited from both sides, revealing a dark sky with stars flashing above. Ahead of the clouds, a moon was rising silently, illuminating his path. With a crushing sound of the music, immeasurable rays of light rose from the star-filled sky, up and down again.Misty tunes lingered in the clouds between Heaven and Earth, turning into bits of bright light. In the moonlight, he saw the man waiting quietly. He was standing in a distance, unreachable. Ye Qingxuan could not catch up with him. Staring in silence, he saw the shadow of Ye Qingxuan, then laughed and gently waved. His body was swinging with his wave, as if dissipating. "How do you like it?" He looked at the boy, "A beautiful dream?" "Is this a trick, Father?" Ye Qingxuan stared at him, "But I do not think its beautiful. I am scared of it." "Ye, this was a dream of your past. You were just remembering." "I forgot already." Ye Qingxuan turned around, not wanting to see it again. "Things that have been forgotten would not have appeared here." He whispered in the moonlight, "Things that cannot be forgotten may be painful, but this was your dream, how could you forget?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He looked around at his dream world, watching the sea of ??clouds and the moonlight. He suddenly felt lost and sad. "What should I do?" In silence, the man laughed, as gentle as the moonlight. "Werent you planning on going forward?" He said, "Just like that, not arrogantly floating in the sky or falling down because of the pain. Just go forward, straight ahead, and nothing in this world can stop you. Whether it leads you to Heaven or Hell, straight to the end of the dream." The young man looked at his black eyes, the same color as his own, seemed to have a thousand words in them, but also seemed vague. "So, do not forget, Ye." In the moonlight, Ye stared at the young man, sighing. His feelings were complicated, but he was mostly sad. Gradually, the man disappeared onto the moon, only the wind carried his final whisper, "I''ll be there waiting for you." 16 True or False ChaYe Qingxuan opened his eyes. It was afternoon. The warm sun shone through the opened windows upon his body. He felt the fatigue for the first time in a long time, but it felt so good. There was no pressure, or any unbearable pain either. There was just a peace and comfort in his heart. "You''re awake?" The father who was reading at the table raised his head and said coldly, "I couldnt expect you to recover that quickly since you came back half dead last night." "My father had said before that cheap life was easy to support," Ye Qingxuan laughed, struggling to sit up. "God was probably not willing to accept a liar like me." "Do not speculate about God." The priest did not continue arguing with him, only giving him a warning, then went back to his reading. The afternoon sunshine on Ye Qingxuans body felt warm and soft, making his pale face feel much better, almost soothing him back to sleep again. After a long time, he heard Father Banns unexpected voice, "Did you have a nightmare?" "No." Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment, but could not help laughing, "I havent had such a good dream for a long time." "It doesnt sound like a lie. It looked like you were recovering well." The priest nodded and suddenly said, "Go and see Victor. He is in his original room." "What''s up with him?" "He has been hiding in his room since he came back last night, and didnt want to talk to anyone. He felt guilty regarding you. You should talk to him." The priest paused and said, "You both are fools, so you should be able to understand one another." Since geniuses had a mutual understanding amongst themselves, there should be a common language between fools too. The priests words were right--the world was always grouped together. The wealthy drank with the wealthy in their mansions, while the homeless hugged each other in the snow. The lonely people shared loneliness with each other, while the people in pain licked each others wounds. Victor said that Ye Qingxuan was his only friend, as Ye Qingxuan was Victors only friend. One was holding onto the dream of becoming the musician and never letting go. The other one imagined becoming a big shot and seeking revenge against the aristocracy for killing his family members. The guy who was already a street boy always believed that he would become a bigger one, so he was ready at all times to challenge authority or whatever else. Treating others as he wanted to be treated, he felt Ye Qingxuan was his only friend. This way no one could call him cheap--even his Majesty would not be allowed to do that! The entire time he felt that he would have a great future, and there was nothing in this world that could stop him. He was naive and stubborn. But when Ye Qingxuan saw Victor so anxious and sad, unkempt and curled up in the corner, he did not look like the big man he wanted to be. When Ye Qingxuan sat next to him, Victor looked at him for a long time before he finally recognized him. "Oh, Yezi, are you awake?" Victor asked, trying to smile. Ye Qingxuan looked at his messy bed, shaking his head, "You didnt sleep?" "I couldnt fall asleep feeling like someone was looking at me. There was the feeling of murder in this room. Yezi..." Victor looked at the empty corner, as if he could see the invisible evil spirits. His green eyes were vicious, hunting for the enemy, ready to kill. "Is he looking at me?" "He is dead, Victor." Ye Qingxuan whispered, "He will not appear outside the window." Everyone only lives once. Once someone is dead, he is really dead." "He died?" Victor looked back at him. The viciousness in his eyes gradually faded, like finally relaxing a whole night of confrontation. He whispered, "Is he really dead?" Ye Qingxuan nodded slowly. "So it is," Victor said. Victor suddenly realized that all his hardships were gone. He leaned against the wall and softly laughed, "Yes, I killed him, I had forgotten. As I said before, you dont know how to fight, so every time you have to rely on me. When Old Phil was looking for me, I knew that it was not good. So I did pretty good, right?" He smiled, but the fear beneath his smile was not completely concealed--it was a fear that could never be rid of. "Yes, you did very well." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Of course. I''m a bad spawn, and not even murder could stop me." He whispered, "I am a big man and will be successful, right?" Ye Qingxuan kept silent, patting Victors shoulder. Victor looked at him, smiling as he teared up, both embarrassed and sad. Like a little bully who had just gotten beaten up, his tears were cheap. "But at that time, why did I not stand out? I was supposed to be the bait. I shouldve been who went, but I was afraid. Yezi, you are not afraid?" "Youve suddenly asked me this question, but I cant answer now." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head and grasped Victors shoulders, "You do not have to be sad because of what happened. I was not as brave as you think." "Yezi, are you trying to comfort me?" Victor gazed at him, "I do not need comforting." He did not finish his words because he saw no sympathy nor the slightest mercy in the white-haired teens eyes. "No one can always say beautiful words, Victor. Those beautiful things are just for camouflage." Ye Qingxuan whispered, "I am more afraid than you are, but I have been used to it. "When I was very young, I knew that if I died, no one would remember me. So I had to work hard to live, but with more effort to live, the more I feared death. "Its much easier to die than live. Five years ago after I wandered here, the priest adopted me. I thought I could live. I thought that by living, I could do anything. I could act like a good boy, studying hard to learn to spell. But the most important reason in my heart was not to repay them or help other people--It was for myself. " Ye Qingxuan paused and started laughing, but it was self-deprecating. "This includes the time I stood up and asked Mr. Wolf Flute to let me replace you, so that he would owe me, and help me become a musician to go back to Avalon. It was that simple. Sometimes I think about the kind of person I am and feel very ashamed. Victor, I have done so much. Maybe part of it was to help other people, but ultimately, it was for myself." He stroked the ring on his finger. "Maybe I was such a person, but because I had nothing, I wanted more. If I really wanted something, I would not care about my life. I would rush to any opportunity, feeling like a dog yearning for food. Sometimes I felt that being a dog was not a bad thing. As long as that allowed me to get the things I wanted, I could do anything...anything " Yezi evaluated himself quietly, as if he had cleaned the dusty mirror that he had looked at before, now able to see his true reflection. His tone was complex and solemn. Saying those words was like betting against fate everything he had in his life. "Victor, I want to be a musician." In the long silence, Victor stared at him as if this were the first time he was seeing him. After pausing for a moment, he suddenly softly laughed, "So you are really evil, Yezi." "Did you really say that?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment. Suddenly, he became angry and kicked Victor in his side, "I have said so much, and tried to comfort you!" Victor was being tossed around on the floor by Ye Qingxuans kicks, but could not help laughing, as if he was laughing at Yezi. "Go away. I will pretend that my kindness was eaten by Old Phil," Ye Qingxuan snappily kicked the door and left, but Victor was still laughing. After a while, the awakened Old Phil ran into the door, looking for something to eat. But he only saw Victor was still laughing so hard almost could not breathe. The kind of laughter was embarrassing and sounded like it came from a petty man, but Victor still felt that he was a big man. Downstairs, the priest looked up in silence, and after a long time nodded. "It''s all right now." "Really simple." Wolf Flute sighed, "Should it be said that it was easier to communicate between the kids?" "No, it''s a fool who only believes in silly words." It was midnight. The black moon hung high, while the wind howled. In the backyard of the church, the two figures walked out of the room carrying shovels and walked through the streets. One of them was tall and thin without facial expressions. The others footsteps were staggered, like he had just been injured recently. They walked all the way through the town quietly, and finally stopped at the iron fence in front of the cemetery. The tall and thin priest took a rusty copper key off of his neck and unlocked the huge iron lock. The iron gate was pushed open with a sharp sound as it had not been opened for a long time. "Do you really want to hide the stuff in the cemetery?" Wolf Flute held the shovel and whispered, "Will it become rotten from the moisture and the corpses?" "The last priest told me that the thing was well preserved and should not be broken," the priest said. "Hey, we entrusted such important things to the custody of the church. You should at least confirm!" "First, that thing was handed over to the cleric to seal. You did not say which day you would get it back. Second, if every priest chose to look at the thing, then there would be no secret." "Why dont I think you''re right?" Father Bann looked back at him again, like looking at an idiot''s eyes. In the dark, Father Bann carried the light, leading the way ahead. They walked on the soft, wet soil, passing by the tombstones. Wolf Flute was injured, not able to walk fast, so he still had the privilege of reading the epitaph of each tombstone. "Oh, what a miserable story. This person was killed because he discovered his wifes affair! Wait! His wife is here. Why is the adulterer here? Plus his two dogs. What is that? Father, I could make up a story with hundreds of thousands of words." "Nonsense." The priest wrote him off, "Come on, we''re almost there." In the end, they stopped in front of a very old tombstone. Behind the pale tombstone, the cross had been broken, and the writings had been faded over time by the wind and rain. The priest looked down at the writing, and used the shovel to get rid of weeds in front of the grave and nodded. "It''s here. You can start digging." Wolf Flute tentatively started digging, feeling the dull pain from his wound. Without any resistance from the mud, it made him feel at ease. But the muddy soil was obviously cold, and also had gravel on the top. It seemed like an invisible ghost was staring at them in the dark, watching them dig the graves. It seemed to envelop them with cold air. The ghost waited to be dug out, and then let the people lie in the tomb. "Whose tomb is this?" Wolf Flute trembled a little bit. "I always feel like we will dig up wraiths." 17 Bones of the Perished "This tomb belongs to the one before the previous priest," Bann said in a cold voice. "He jumped after he had gotten drunk. He had internal bleeding and died the next day. Rest assured, even if the avenging spirit did exist, he''d have gone drinking instead of come looking for you." "Hey, are you encouraging me to dig the grave of the previous secret protector?" "Fine, you don''t have to," Bann muttered. "Wait, I will! I will!" Wolf Flute continued digging bitterly. With the surgery and the medicine, his heavy injury had healed but had left him with very serious side effects. He would receive more advanced treatment once he returned to the holy city. Now he was sweating all over, regretting that he had not done much physical work during his years in the holy city, otherwise he would not be panting already. Digging and digging, the sound of the shovel became rhythmic. He tried to make it less boring. Wolf flute began to sing, "One little, two little, three little Indians. Four little, five little, Six little Indians!" Just before Father Bann''s tolerance reached his limit and killed him for singing such horrible songs, Wolf Flute finally heard the sound of the shovel hit the sarcophagus. He was excited and started to dig harder. He had soon cleared a majority of the dirt on top of the coffin. Seeing that he was almost done, the priest pushed Wolf Flute away. He took out a crowbar from his sleeve and put it under the crack of the opening, struggling to open it. With the sound of the nails breaking, the coffin was cracked slightly, then opened entirely. Wolf Flute was stunned. He did not smell anything unpleasant, instead he smelled church incense which made him quite uneasy. The priest lit the lantern and swept the top of the coffin. Wolf Flute was only able to see the bones, like the blooming stone flowers, but he barely saw much else. A surge of wind blew in from the sky and swept away the dark clouds. The moon shone above. In the gloomy moonlight, the body in the sarcophagus appeared to smile at the two guests. The priest had a cold look on his face, and Wolf flute gasped with surprise, "What the f*ck is that thing?" - Inside the hundred-year-old coffin, everything was covered in scarlet. There were spider lilies in full blossom. They grew out of the bones, with a smell of an extravagant incense, enchanting and seductive. Underneath the layers of spider lilies, the bones that would only exist in nightmares were finally exposed. On the seemingly grinning black skull, in addition to the normal two eye sockets, there were two additional gaps, as if there used to be two more eyes in them. A skeleton over three meters tall was lying in the coffin, six arms crossed. Two hands with open palms on top, fingers crossed, posing like flames. Two hands laid on top of the chest, its fingers closed together like a lotus. Two hands, with fingers crossed like chains with an iron lock. Under the six arms, something was guarded. Where the rib cage had been now had many layers of lamellae, the barbs above had all been broken. A pair of torn wing bones extended from the back to the front. Although it had become bone, it was still covered with a bronze layer . A frantic feeling filled the coffin like a demon''s burial ground. Even when dead, it still felt as if he would leap out of the coffin and fly towards the moonlight. This was not a human corpse. It more like a monster made of black iron, bronze and silver, only existing in a craftsmen''s nightmare! Wolf Flute took out the shovel, expressionless. He poked the bones which seemed to have been made of alloy. The sound of the metal colliding produced a very low buzz, numerous souls in the darkness echoed in return. He held the shovel and froze. As a gust of wind blew, the shovel in his hands silently disintegrated into powder. The iron residue drifted through the air, seeming to have pierced the heart with every breath, giving him chills all over--the Curse of Ravages. It was a curse created by the musicians of the Modification Department. The music was engraved into the bones. Even the smallest disturbance would cause the aether to backfire, turning all those who touched the bones to ashes. Wolf Flute tilted his head and looked at Bann, "Hey, Father, when the people of your church were drunk did they all turn into something like this?" "Ah, I was just trying to scare you. I only wanted to see your expression," the priest casually revealed the truth, as if he had done nothing wrong. He looked at the bones with a cold stare, "Before he died, he was not human. Just treat it as a body of the beast." "What now?" Wolf Flute asked. "The two of us stay here and wait a few decades until the Curse of Ravages has dissipated?" "The sarcophagus and the cemetery are connected. Unless the cemetery was dug entirely out of the ground, the Curse of Ravages will not dissipate." The priest turned around to look at him, putting his hands out, "Show me your letter of appointment." Wolf Flute was surprised for a moment. He scrambled through his bag and took out a piece of paper as red as blood. The paper had a pear watermark from the church as an anti-counterfeit mark. The priest put the paper in front of the lantern, turned it to the side. A few numbers were revealed where the red stains had been. "S7:6-3242? What kind of code is this?" Wolf Fang asked. "The Authorized Ciphertext, issued by the Cardinal Hall of the Sacred City. The believers are allowed to use divine power with this. "S is the abbreviation of the angel Seraph, meaning the first sequence under the throne. Seven is the number representing ''The Burning Snake''--a power to eliminate all evil. This is power given to me by the Cardinal Hall of the Sacred City. Followed by a one-time ciphertext, which can be interpreted by us." The priest explained this casually, and took out an old clock from his inner pocket. The clock was a size of two fists, more like a large bell, but much more solemn than a bell. It was very old, engraved with lines of spells, and a crest of the Three Saints. Under the moonlight, the brass bell shone silently. Then the priest sounded the bell with a complex rhythm. It was quiet at first, then suddenly felt like someone let out a breath. Suddenly, countless bats started screaming, shattering the silence. They flew toward the sky in panic, aimlessly flying about, so frightened they died running into the tombstones and the walls. The sound, unbearable to the human ear, had spread like water dropped into a quiet lake. Ripples spread in all directions. Suddenly it reached tens of millions of miles away, so many miles away in the holy city, a huge dark bell sounded in response. Then the clock in the hands of the priest broke, silently turning into iron sand in the moonlight. It poured down from the hands of the priest like water and dissipated into the air. Wolf Flute suddenly turned pale. The light from the iron sand had emerged. A huge amount of aether formed together. Amid the dust swirling, the holy object revealed itself in the iron sand. It was a rare sword. Its body was made of lapis lazuli, its blade full of gaps and cracks. On the back of the sword remained traces of forging, almost like layers and layers of the blooming peonies. If you looked carefully, each layer was filled with numerous holy names and scriptures. At the hilt of the sword, four generations of popes left their names and the emblem of the tricyclic, proving that God had the power to grant this weapon. When it was used, it would break everything like shattering a china pot. The emblem and the scripture were filled with endless power. The power turned the body of the sword scarlet red. The edge of the sword shook nonstop, and a fuzzy shadow was revealed. "Upon calling of the prayer, the divine power shall arise! "I will fill the river and let it run endlessly," The priest recited, holding the hilt, letting the flame''s power burn himself. "My Lord, for you." He clenched his sword and held it high. There was silence, as if they were frozen by an invisible power. Then the blade came down! The silence was broken. The sword came down with a burning burst, like a quick flash that tore apart the lights and the shadows, impossible to look at directly. The bones in the coffin were shaking violently. On top of the bones, the scarlet red spider lilies quivered. They blossomed, danced, and in an instant, turned into dust and flew away. Dust mixed with the petals, red as blood in the moonlight. They continued to fly out of the sarcophagus and spread into the cold wind like a group of blood-colored butterflies. And yet the sword continued to stab downward against the bloody butterflies! Finally it collided against the bones.The blade and the bones started shaking and screaming, as if they were being burned in a furnace together. The sounds were terrifying yet harmonious. Soon the sound disappeared, as did the blade, then the butterflies. Everything was like a dream. It was as if nothing had happened. Wolf Flute had his head down, but could not keep his eyes off of the bones in the sarcophagus. - Inside the sarcophagus, the six arms slowly stretched open. The chest bone plate expanded like flower petals, revealing what was hidden inside--a box made of black iron. The Curse of the Ravages was broken by the sword from thousands of miles away. Remembering the light, Wolf Flute felt goosebumps all over him. It was a power extracted from the source, daunting even if it was just a mirror image of what was left of it. "That sword....is it the ''kingdom of heaven'' forged by four generations of the popes?" "Yes." Father Bann withdrew the empty hand. "The ciphertext was the real key. Without it, you can''t open the cage of the bones." "The technique of the church was really amazing." Wolf Flute sighed and pointed to the corpse in the sarcophagus, "And this? What is this?" "Did I not tell you? The secret keeper from the one before the previous generation." Bann had no expression. "He was sent a hundred years ago to the north to find the whereabouts of that thing, and he found it in the territory of the ''dark gaia''." "The pope led a crusade against the natural disaster?" "Yes. It took the secret keeper three years to plan. He sacrificed six of his men to bring that thing back. He himself was eroded by the power of the natural disaster and began to go mad-- he turned into this monster and forgot who he was. In order to kill him, the mission dispatched six knights of the Holy Temple. He finally died by the hands of my father... "He had become a vengeful spirit but he still recognized his own children. He saw my father and relaxed and curled up by the fire, had some food, then fell asleep. "He might have already known that there was iron sand in the food. The iron sand turned into a blade and stabbed his heart from the inside. In the end he did not resist, preserving his own dignity. " "...It was a hefty price to pay." Wolf flute was silent for a long time and sighed softly. Father Bann drew a holy emblem on his chest. His eyes were still cold. "It''s just one person''s life and death." "The fear of life and death was enough to respect. Why should the numbers matter?" Wolf Flute bent down and held up the black box among the bones respectfully. He blew away the dust and ashes on top. Under the moonlight, he opened the lock on the box and reached inside. The expressions on his face kept changing. Finally he took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, it''s the same as what the teacher has described." He put away the box and slightly bent over to the priest, "Thanks to the church, my mission is done." "This is my mission as well, and I thought I would die here from old age. I did not expect to be free today." In silence, the priest looked down at the sarcophagus. He stretched out his hand toward the bones and drew a shape of the Holy Emblem in the air, "You are free. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, time to go, no longer stay." Then the wind came from the sea, passed by the tips of everyone''s nose, erasing the lingering rotten smell from the cemetery. In the tender wind, the hideous bones seemed to have calmed down, finding their eternal peace. Under the moonlight, the bronze wing bones reflected a glimmer of silver, sacred and solemn in its own way. "It''s beautiful." Wolf Flute took a final look, shoveled the earth on the ground, and covered its body. 18 Choice On the way back, Wolf Flute carried a crowbar. He hummed the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme. He seemed relaxed and in a happy mood. Stumbling forward, his body twisted like he was drunk. Father Bann was still silent. His face was cold but showed no emotion, but Wolf Flute''s heart still felt full of sorrow. "Hey, Father, my mission is done and your mission is done too. Why are you so sad? At this time, shouldn''t we need to have some drinks to celebrate?" Wolf Flute scratched his hair, "You are spacing out. What exactly are you thinking? You have completed the task the Lord and the church assigned you. Soon you can leave here and return to the church as a reincarnation, the glory crown has been kept for you. Are you worried that the crown is too small for you to wear?" "I was thinking about something. Some things need to be reconsidered," the priest said coldly. "What''s the matter?" Wolf Flute pondered for a while then said, "Is it that little guy named Ye? You are training him as an apprentice, right? Now he''s not going to go back to your training. Is that so?" "Your arrival disrupted all my plans, Mr. Wolf Flute.If you had not come, I could have at least let him replace me and return to the church as the Knight of the Temple," Father Bann said indifferently. Wolf Flute felt embarrassed but forced a dry laugh, "You may be right, but you see, he did not want to be a little priest, and you should not force him to go that way." "It was better than insisting on an unrealistic dream that would only lead to a dead end." Father Bann looked up at him. "You rekindled the fire in his heart, Wolf Flute. I underestimated how dedicated he is to becoming a musician." "This, you see, kids always have dreams, right? Wolf Flute tried to organize his words and explain, "I do not understand rebelliousness or adolescence, but having a dream is a good thing. You cannot stop his dreaming. Uh...my meaning is that one day he will find it unrealistic." Wolf Flute nodded and made a conclusion, "Well, rest assured, he will give up sooner or later." Father Bann shook his head. "You do not understand." "Ok?" "A few years ago, the first time I saw him, he was barefoot, walking in the ice and snow. He had nothing, and was accompanied by his only dog, but he said that he wanted to go to Avalon. When I asked him what he was going to do, his eyes lit up." Bain recalled the street boy''s appearance and the cold and snow from when he had first met Ye. The white-haired teenager dressed in broken coat, trembling, but speaking with the corners of his mouth tilted, lips open, the kind of eyes... " they were shining." Wolf Flute was stunned and stopped his walking. "Wow." Wolf Flute suddenly understood. "He is an excellent child, so excellent that I have never seen anyone like him before. I said to him, if he wanted to become a musician, he must have good moral. Then he trained himself in accordance with the standards of the monks. I told him, if he wanted to become a musician, he needed to go through the best education, so he spent a month reading the entire library collection, and learning the advanced mathematical foundation and etiquette in just two months. In order to fight for the place to go to the Sacred City, he taught himself the mechanical structures, helping maintain the town''s lighthouse for three consecutive years. "I do not know if anyone has taught him the basic theory of the music. He is familiar with all things about musicians. For so many years, he has been walking in that direction." The priest''s voice got lower, "He will soon realize he is far away from achieving his dream. So Wolf Flute, could you really let him give up that idea? Otherwise, the unachieved dream will make him drown in his despair one day." Wolf Flute kept quiet, but then suddenly burst into a relentless laughter. "What are you talking about, Father?" Wolf Flute opened his mouth, patting his chest,"The one who died for the dream is the happiest." The next day in the church reception room. "Well, my friend, it is the time for you to choose." In silence, Wolf Flute lied on the couch and spread out his hands to the confused boy, "I need you to make a choice about the agreement between us." "Choice? What do you want me to choose?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yes. You see, last night Father Bann and I discussed about you receiving the education to become a musician." Wolf Flute coughed a bit, "Well, although you are only seventeen years old, and not eligible to go to the university yet. Father said that you had studied reading, writing and mathematics. The exam should be no problem for you. You will be qualified enough to pass the exam at any time to become a teacher at church, so he has a suggestion. Because of Father''s advice, I have made some changes to my original plan." Ye Qingxuan was puzzled to see the priest, but the priest was stood silently with no emotions. "This is the case because the priest was recently promoted to a big title and received a big fortune so he could do a lot of favors for others." Wolf Flute started talking non-stop. After seeing Father Bann''s serious face, he stopped. "Well, he can recommend you go to the Sacred City as an internal member of the church. The current Trinity Theological College will enroll you without an entrance exam! This is the chorale musician''s cradle. Once you graduate, your future will be bright. If you perform well, maybe you can also be selected for the Holy Choirs... " "Holy Choirs?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but give a bitter smile, "You should know that I couldn''t even sing in the regular mass." "It is okay. As long as there is a group of people singing, you just need to open your mouth. There is a saying in the East, ''Be there just to make up the number.'' I used to cheat a lot while going through exams back in the day. You should be flexible..." The priest coldly glared at him, Wolf Flute shut up, embarrassed. Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "How about the other one?" "The top college in the Anglo Kingdom, the Royal Academy of Music in the capital of Avalon--my alma mater. But they probably would not admit you because I dropped out of school." Talking about it, Wolf Flute suddenly became enraptured, "The Academy was located in the city of Avalon, only two blocks from the center, green land, native scene, natural view, and luxury area. It is low-key yet high-end. "If you like astronomy, there is an observatory on the left. If you like art, there is an opera hall on the right. If you like politics, the House of Commons is in the front. If you like crime, the prison is right behind the Academy! How about it? Pretty happy and unexpected, right?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Haha, just a joke." Wolf Flute scratched his hair, "But it really is good there because there is a variety of research available, and the academic atmosphere is also very strong. But getting you in will be tough...I am not powerful enough, but I can ask my teacher for help; however, my teacher is very strict, and is never willing to open this back door. So he may only give you a letter of recommendation to take the entrance exam. You can pass the test, but then I have no way to continue to help you..." "That''s it." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "The Royal Academy of Music, please. Thank you, Mr. Wolf Flute." "Eh? So quick?" Wolf Flute was surprised for a moment as he thought Ye Qingxuan would choose Trinity Theological College, and did not think he would decide to go to Avalon. In silence, the priest nodded as he had expected Ye''s decision. He got up and left, saying nothing. Wolf Flute looked at the priest walking away, scratching his head helplessly. "Then I will write a letter to my teacher. Please be aware that my teacher has some power, but you have to get on the road tomorrow or else you will miss the admissions period." Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, deep in thought. Then he nodded, "Yes, tomorrow." "Good." Wolf Flute hesitated to ask, "That..." "Ok?" Ye Qingxuan noticed Wolf Flute''s hesitance. Wolf Flute took a deep breath and released an irritated sigh. He looked back at the door making sure nobody was there, then lowered his voice and asked, "Why didn''t you choose the Trinity Theological College? Stupid! Do you know that when the priest goes back this time, he will be promoted directly up another three levels! A bishop class member, plus the temple knight! With your special relationship, you could have a bright future, my friend! Why are you deciding to go to Avalon by yourself? "And in the Sacred city, most of the world''s musicians are gathered there. The the door is willing to open for all believers, even the tuition is free. The money you would save is enough to buy a custom-made instrument. Did you know that after I dropped of college, I sold my pants in order to buy a musical instrument?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned to hear Wolf Flute''s rant. After a long time he could not help but laughing in a low voice. He shook his head and said, "I''m sorry, Mr. Wolf Flute, I think you may be wrong from the beginning." "Ok?" "I am not a believer." "Ok?" Wolf Flute could not help but exclaimed. He found himself lost, but quickly spoke, "Wait, what did you say?" "I am not a believer," Ye Qingxuan repeated. "I thought you were a clerk, but in the end you are not even a believer. Do you believe in the gods of the East?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I have never been to the East, nor do believe in God. I learned about him through reading and writing from the Father. The Father tried to baptize me many times, but I had rejected him." "Why don''t you believe it?" Wolf Flute''s face was twitching a little. Ye Qingxuan suddenly pondered as he had never thought about this question before. After a long time, he finally understood a little. He softly replied, "Probably...because God never saved my mother?" 19 The Future When Ye Qingxuan came down from the reception room, he saw the priest sitting in the chair of the library, going through the holy command which Ye had started copying some days ago. The priest did not seem be concerned, yet one could see the sadness in him. Ye Qingxuan came to his side and whispered an apology, "Sorry, Father. I have disappointed you." "I knew you''re troublesome..." Father Bann shook his head, "But you''ve really troubled me this time." "It has always been tough, Father," Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Putting up with me for so many years, it must have been hard on you." "Yes. As stubborn and vengeful as you were as a child, you''d give anyone a headache wherever you went." The priest said coolly, "Now I don''t have to worry anymore, it will be so much easier." Ye Qingxuan smiled, and after a long silence he asked, "Father, why, why did you let me be the scribe here?" "Because you were a child who could read and write," the priest answered without hesitation. "You did not need food or accommodation to be arranged for you, and you worked for half of the wage. You also seemed helpless. I thought I would give you a hand." "That''s it?" Ye Qingxuan said in disbelief. "Is that not enough?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment and laughed softly, "Father, you really are a good man." "Which is why I was good to you." The priest got up and patted his shoulder. "Congratulations, Ye, you are fired. This is your farewell gift." He threw something at Ye Qingxuan who caught it. It was a three-ring holy emblem, about the size of a coin. It was a dark gold color, like some kind of token. It was engraved with a line of coding on the edge, but it was so smooth so you could hardly feel the engraving with your hands. "What is this?" "The Holy emblem. It means you are accepted by the church. It has been given to you ahead of schedule. I will help you with all the paperwork once I return to the Sacred City." The priest said with ease, "With this, you can take a small loan with no interest, and get unlimited help from any church, so at least you won''t end up on the streets in the future." "Thank you so much." Ye Qingxuan tossed the holy emblem into the air, caught it, and put into his pocket. His big eyes were wide and hopeful, "Anything else? Aren''t you supposed to give me a super weapon or a book with roadmaps to a super power?" "I do not have the things you said, but there is an ax in the backyard, do you want it?" Ye Qingxuan did not dare taking it. He was not sure if that ax would end up splitting his own skull. "You can go and pack now. When you leave for Avalon, I will not see you off." The priest waved and signaled for him to leave. Ye Qingxuan stood there with his mouth open, not sure of what to say. He looked at the slightly aged man in front of him, always cold and stubborn. Father Bann had never been good with words, or ever tolerated anyone''s mistakes, but was always an exemplary yet strange priest. Five years ago the priest opened the door of this church, saw Ye in the snow and reached out to him. It was not charity, but a rescue. Five years later he was about to leave the church, but as he looked at the man in front of him, he was suddenly reluctant to go. He still did not know how to say goodbye at the end, so he just silently nodded his head, turned around, and closed the door behind him. His footsteps showed how hesitant he was to leave. Ye Qingxuan looked back, and saw the priest praying. He suddenly felt an overcoming sadness inside him. He could not stay here anymore--he needed to escape. "Father, until now, I still think...that I was glad to be saved by you." As he was praying, the priest suddenly heard the young man''s farewell words. He was surprised. He looked up in time to see the white-haired boy run out into the sunshine. The sun in the afternoon was intense and dazzling. It swallowed his shadow as if he had walked into his own future. Five years. That kid was no longer a child. Father Bann''s lips trembled for a moment, but he did not call out to the young man. He only watched him run farther and farther until he disappeared. In the long silence, the priest''s mouth slightly curved up--like a smile. - The next day at noon, Ye waited at the dock. He carried a huge suitcase, squatting in a chair. He was waiting for the boat that had departed from Yanan, and would soon pass through his location in fifteen minutes. Its final destination was Avalon. The Titan, the newest ship model, was made in the church''s shipyard and purchased by the East India Company. It was rumored that compared to the first generation of cargo ships, the Titan was like a small boat in terms of its weight capacity and speed. These kinds of big ships usually did not pass through such a small pier because the water was too shallow. But when the ships did come, they would send a small boat to deliver mail from all over the world, as well as merchandises the town had ordered. Ye could get on the boat by using the holy emblem and pay the fare afterwards. This was the fastest way to Avalon, which was the least the priest could do to help Ye Qingxuan. Wolf Flute was leaving on the same day, but by carriage. Wolf Flute was not leaving until the afternoon, so he and Victor came to send Ye off. "You may be a bit nervous since it''s your first trip away, but you have nothing to worry about. The bounty reward will be deposited into your church account in about half a month. You just need to go to the church''s loan office with your holy emblem to pick it up." Wolf Flute patted his shoulder and continued to ramble on, "Take care of yourself at Avalon, and remember to find a hotel near the school first. You will be able to live in the dorm once school starts. Avalon has had some serious pollution issues for the past two years, too much smog. Uhh, you can think of it as bad air, so remember to buy a mask." Then, Wolf Flute paused, his expression turned sour, "Be very wary of the damn kids begging for money once you get off the boat. They will steal your money." "Do not worry about me, Mr. Wolf Flute." Ye Qingxuan laughed, "I was one of those damn kids many years ago." "You street kids are seriously not cute." Wolf Flute shook his head. Remembering something, he looked around. Seeing that no one had noticed him, he lowered his voice and said, "Ye, there is one thing I think I should tell you." "Ok?" "For whatever reason, you have to remember that you cannot say that you are the son of a dark musician in Avalon." He pressed down on the shoulder of the white-haired kid, "You are just some young man I met when I was travelling in the East, understand?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. He looked at the man in front of him with genuine concern in his eyes. Ye smiled reluctantly, "You knew?" "I am a musician." Wolf Flute looked into his eyes and sighed softly, "Ever since I realized that you knew the Demon of Rain, I had suspected it, but I did not expect it to be true." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Easterner, silver white hair with the ''bloodline of the dragon,'' as well as your surname ''Ye.'' It was all too obvious. I didn''t need to think too much to know. "Once a scepter musician with great talent, now number three on the most wanted list. He killed sixteen Anglo royal musicians five years ago, and joined the natural catastrophes. The traitor, Moon Chant - Ye Lanzhou." Wolf Flute sighed, "I was shocked that you are his son. It explains the Demon of Rain. After all, your father was the best demon hunter." "My father was not a traitor." Ye Qingxuan whispered, "He did not betray mankind." "The problem is that everyone thinks so." Wolf Flute tried to reorganize his words. At last he sighed, "I can only say that he used to be a very good person. After all, when I was in the Royal Academy of Music, I had attended his class about Eastern music theory. He even took me, a poor student, to dinner." "You knew him?" "Only a little. He used to teach at the Royal Academy of Music, but quit after he got married. So, whether you just want to find out what actually happened back then, or if you want to do something about it, I suggest that you disguise yourself as an international student from the East. After all, this will be good for you." In a long silence, the white-haired young man seemed to be thinking hard. "Mr. Wolf Flute, are you not afraid?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly smiled and asked softly, "Are you not afraid that I will also betray mankind, and become a traitor?" "Ye, sometimes you are just a little kid who doesn''t know himself well." Wolf Flute looked down at him and laughed at him mercilessly, "You know? You are the kind that''s not very creative even if you are doing bad things. So...just be a good guy." As he was speaking, Wolf Flute took out a thick book from his pocket and put it into Ye''s hand, "This is part of your thank-you gift in advance." Ye Qingxuan took the thick book. He realized that it was a notebook covered with a very old leather cover. Inside was small writing and many drawings. The notebook was made very well. Even the leather cover was thicker than any ordinary notebook, and felt like it was made of iron. Next to him, Wolf Flute casually opened the notebook, pointing to one of the pages. "This was my notebook when I first went to the academy, including entry music notes from four different schools, and some miscellaneous stuff. Oh, yes, this part was written during your father''s class!" On the page, there were only two lines of scribbled notes. The rest consisted of some very strange looking music notes. It seemed incomplete, and was unable to be identified clearly. "Sorry, I was sleeping through my classes at that time. I didn''t even know what class it was, hahaha..." Wolf Flute laughed in embarrassment. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then bowed to him. He put the notebook in his suitcase carefully, "I will read it thoroughly. Thank you, Mr. Wolf Flute." "Not at all. It''s only a notebook. Don''t worry, just don''t lose it." Wolf Flute looked at Ye''s serene eyes and gently patted his shoulder, "Do not worry about the past, have a good life. If you can get into the school, I will give you a gift." "Is that a promise?" "It''s a promise." Wolf Flute backed up two steps, put on his hat, then left in the carriage. - The quiet ocean suddenly became turbulent. A huge ship came from a distance, causing big waves to appear, and leaving layers of ripples spreading in all directions. "This is as far as I will go with you." Victor lightly punched Ye Qingxuan''s chest. "Don''t miss this place when you''re in Avalon. I''m leaving as well, as soon as the priest is gone. Maybe after two or three years, if you are not doing well, you can come find me, and I will be someone famous by that time." "Hey, hey, do you have to be so confident?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "With someone as bad as me, I can only do better and better, right?" Victor pushed him, as if to drive him away, and rid him of his sadness. "No more chatting, hurry up and go! You are going to miss the boat. Don''t worry about others while you are in Avalon. I will be fine. You just take care of yourself." In the afternoon sun, the blonde boy with the cap grinned, a small stick dangling from his mouth like a pipe. Victor waved goodbye without hesitating because he was convinced that one day they would eventually see each other again. Ye Qingxuan hugged him and whispered, "Goodbye, Victor." Old Phil also ran to Victor''s side, its tongue sticking out. It stood on its two hind legs and patted Victor''s shoulder with a saliva drenched paw, as if to give its best wishes to a little brother. Old Phil hopped into Ye Qingxuan''s trunk, ready to leave. Ye Qingxuan took a final look at Victor then set foot on the boat. - When the huge ship lifted its anchor and set sail once again, Ye Qingxuan stood on the deck, not daring to look back. He knew that behind him, the coast was becoming further and further away. He felt like a part of him was emptied bit by bit. Perhaps a stage of his life had been left behind forever. "Sir, please come with me." A waiter politely interrupted him and led the way. "Your room is ready. We will arrive at Avalon in three days. We wish you a wonderful journey." "Thank you." Ye Qingxuan smiled. Just like that, the white-haired young man carried a trunk, a suitcase full of old clothes, two thousand pounds of paper money, an iron box, and a strange old dog, embarking on a journey with no return. He was seventeen years old, and had not yet had his coming-of-age ceremony, but he was already an adult. "I''m coming, Avalon." - When the boat slowly left the pier and headed off, Victor was the only one left at the terminal. He stared at the ocean motionlessly. His only friend was getting farther away. "Hehe, sad? Human emotions are so weak." A faint voice appeared, "With a short lifespan, humans have wasted so much time because of their hormones. All that just for a good dream..." "Hey, you old devil! You''re really annoying." Victor looked down at his chest, and sighed softly, "Blah, blah, can you shut up?" "You dare? I am..." "Now you''re just a worm in a bottle, afraid of the air. If I didn''t take you back with me, you would''ve been eaten by your God as a cold appetizer," Victor said in a cold voice. "Dear Rain Artist, I''m not good with words, so if I had said something wrong, then why don''t you come out to bite me?" "You little devil! I would''ve killed you if we were in the past!" In Victor''s pocket was a bottle about the size of the thumb. A worm squirmed like mercury flowing, and roared, "I just made a tiny mistake while searching for eternal life! If it wasn''t for you, I would''ve had a new life!" "Oh." Victor sneered. He did not comment. After a long while, the Rain Artist finally calmed down. He whispered, "Why did you have to agitate me? Why can''t we help each other? If I find a new body, you will also succeed..." "It''s true what you said, but...didn''t you get something wrong?" Victor looked inside the bottle and at the mercury worm, "The terms of our cooperation is just my success, no new body." "Bastard!" "You signed the terms because you desperately wanted to live! Although you can never clearly see the situation, there is one thing I do agree with you about." "Oh?" "Power, old man, power." Victor looked down at his own shadow. In the sun his shadow was shaking and alone, dark and pitiful. "I am weak. It must be because I have no power. I have been afraid of many things, but one day, I will be afraid of nothing... In the burning sun, his eyes lit up like coal in the fire, with dark red flames. "...as long as I am more powerful than anyone else." - This year was an ordinary year because the world was as it had always been. Everything in its own place. Nations were fighting or bickering. Natural catastrophes still hid in the darkness, occasionally wandering into the human world, leaving behind disaster and destruction. Old people, as always, bathed in the sun, while drinking afternoon tea, and aging. The women watched over their children, and gossiped about others. The men who brought home the bread, struggled through their jobs in order to provide food for the table. The world was busy as always. The only ones bored with nothing to do were the young. So when they looked around this strange, big world, their eyes would light up because the world seemed like a huge playground, filled with many hopes and dreams. The songs of the old times had ended. The stories of the new heroes had not yet begun. During these awkward days, two young men had a coming-of-age experience on the same day, and were both ready to enter the world. Their future would lead to many different directions. 20 Welcome to Avalon "Big cousin, the money''s here. Run!!" In the turbulent flow of people, a child stuck a package into Ye Qingxuan''s arms, then disappeared quickly in the crowd as if they had been slicked down with oil. "Don''t run, you little devil!" "He also has a helper! Break his legs!" "Kill him!!!" Ye Qingxuan looked back blankly. A group of grim and brawny men were running towards him, holding daggers and chairs. They were staring at the package in his arms in furiously. "Uh, wait...What is going on here?" Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling. Half an hour earlier. In the morning of the third day after leaving the town of Lute, the breeze blew in from the distance, and the waves were quiet. The outline of the island could be seen in the distance now, and on the deck of the Titan were many people hustling and bustling about. "Dear passengers please do not leave your seat until the boat stops!" The waiters tried to maintain order with bitter faces. They shouted over the speaker, "Because of berth restrictions, we are temporarily unable to enter the harbor. Please be patient! During the meantime, let''s look to the right. That white ship is a brother boat of the Titan named Nick which was created at the same time." The passengers did not care about what the waiters were saying. They continued nibbling peanuts and laughing. In the crowd, babies wailed, and big men roared with deep voices. In the crowd, the white-haired teenager was squeezed against the stern, squatting with a group of sailors smoking pipes. The sailors did not mind sitting in the sun with a little child. Ye Qingxuan also had nothing to fear. Compared with the well-dressed rich folks, he felt more relaxed in front of the sailors. "Hey, sir," Ye Qingxuan asked, "Do you have to wait so long every time?" "It''s because the berths are all occupied." Next to him, the sailor smoked a pipe, pointing in the direction of the port. He was vaguely able to see warships guarding a white ship slowly entering the harbor. Not far from the sea, several ships together were also waiting. "Are those all occupied?" Ye Qingxuan took a look. "Are you sure?" "Can''t help it. Those are ships from Yunlou, escorted by the Royal Navy." The man blinked with his ambiguous eyes and with a tacit smile, said, "And, have you heard that the one on board..." "What?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "Her Royal Highness, the Princess of Yunlou! Don''t you know? The news is all over Avalon!" "Yunlou? I''ve only heard that it''s an enclave in the East. It only has a governor. Where does the princess come from?" "You are far behind, little boy." The sailor patted his shoulder. "The governor is no different from the king. Plus, Yunlou dominates the sea trade in the East and the West. They control tea, spices, and silk which makes them very rich. The people from the East even said that their emperor''s treasury had been moved to the sea." "Hehe." Someone next to him suddenly laughed, "This time, will they borrow money again? "The more the debt, the less the worry! They had borrowed tens of millions, but there would be tens of millions more to borrow. They can''t pay it back anyway," the man scoffed. "I say, the empire on which the sun never sets will be gone soon." "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan felt that they were talking about some dangerous topics. "I heard the princess of the Yunlou is a beauty, only seventeen years old, but is already a musician at the Resonance level. What a pity," The sailor next to him sighed. "What is?" "It is said that the royal family wants the prince to marry the princess." The sailor sneered. "But everyone in the Anglo kingdom is aware that the prince likes sheep more than women..." "Sheep?" Ye Qingxuan was in shock. "Yes, sheep." The smoking sailor nodded and softly sighed, "Sheep." "Sheep!" The sailors around exchanged looks with each other and started laughing together. At that very moment, from the bottom of the cabin came a sheep''s cry. Not knowing why, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt that the adult''s world was really dirty. --- Fifteen minutes earlier. "Come, do not hesitate, do not be confused! Pay fifty coins pay, you will get five hundred in return!" Within the tavern in the harbor area, everyone was moving and hurrying about. Through the tobacco smoke and the sweat in the air, there was a child''s voice. Many rough sailors that had just gotten off the boat now surrounded a table, counting the money in front of them with bitter faces. At the center, a dirty child shuffled the cards in his hands. He looked very happy. "That round of Blackjack was all thanks to you all for taking care of me. It''s rare for so many powerful men to think highly of a kid like me, so let me entertain you and play another round." He looked about thirteen years old with a soft hat. His face dirty was thin like a little beggar. But his actions were so fast, comparable with a professional dealer. This little kid had entered the pub an hour ago. No one knew where he got those forty dollars from. He began to bet on the dice with the guests in the pub. Now, he had already gotten almost half of the gamblers'' money, and lured the other half of the gamblers to his own table. In the back, the bartender wiped the glass with cold face, indifferently watching how much money the little devil could cheat into his pocket or if a red-eyed sailor pulled out a knife and threw the kid into the sewer. "Come, come, do not quit!" The kid did not realize his situation at all. He reached out, grabbing all the money that he had won, and smiled. "Buy big, win big; buy small, win small. Life''s opportunity is in front of you, the success is near!" On the opposite side of the table, a group of red-eyed grown-ups bared their teeth and dropped all the silver coins from their pockets onto the table. "Again!" "I have four hundred here. If you are able to, you can take tit all!" "Okay!" The kid laughed so hard that his eyes would not open. "I like you, big brother. You are so straight forward. Let''s do it again..." --- The island of Avalon was the capital in the Kingdom of Anglo. Three hundred years ago, the musician Arthur controlled twelve phantom beasts by the "Chapter of the Golden Victory," and opened up the island of Anglo. Since then, the aristocratic blood had passed on from generation to generation on the island. For centuries, the territory of the Kingdom had continuously expanded - it had already done so from the Avalon Island to the surrounding continent. Half the territory was now ocean, the other half land. Avalon, the capital island, had also become more and more developed after hundreds of years of repair. Shrouded by perennial white fog, the city was built with the white stone of the mountain. From the palace on top of said mountain, the city was divided into nine ring areas and then circled around, until the end, spreading into the sea. Nowadays, the temple of the old age had been buried under the sea. But the crown of the city still stood above the ocean, surrounded by the thirty-two outer city islands. Every traveler who set their feet on the outer ring of the harbor would see the huge stone the King Arthur left, inscribed with the giant''s handwriting, "God bless the Kingdom." Unfortunately, God never blessed tramps and little beggars. If someone had no money to ride the carriage, when he stepped on the pier, his first step would be in the mud and he would be surrounded by old women who held all sorts of strange local specialties and empty-handed beggars. After a wave of shopping, the traveler, holding all sorts of poor quality souvenirs, would be enticed by a gypsy for the chance to see a glimpse of his future, not having realized that his wallet had been taken from the big hole cut in his pockets. Ten minutes ago, Ye Qingxuan set his feet on the port, sniffing the slightly smelly air, suddenly feeling that he missed his old home. He took out a soft hat from his pocket and stuffed his glaring white hair into his hat. He bent over, staring at his reflection in the water to make sure there was nothing suspicious on his body. "Don''t got anything?" Ye looked back at the beggar who was groping his pocket. "You''re late. I want to know where my wallet is too." "Pooh, such a cheapskate." A few beggars spat at him, gave him a couple of rude gestures, and moved on to the next target. Ye Qingxuan proudly laughed. He simply did not have any money on him as all the money was with Old Phil. He finally released Old Phil from the suitcase. The stir-crazy Old Phil bit him on his hand, hurting Ye Qingxuan so much that his mouth started twitching. However, Old Phil did not bite too hard for the sake of Ye being its servant for such a long time. Then the big dog shamelessly started playing around on the muddy road in Avalon city. Soon after, it had become a very dirty dog. "Avalon is still the same. I won''t be surprised no matter what happens here," Ye Qingxuan murmured, looking around. He had hardly finished speaking when he heard continuous loud noises of ping-pong balls from behind. A figure ran into his arms and put a bulging package into his hands. "Big cousin, the money is here!" The child secretly winked at him, heavily breathing. "Run fast!" "Well...wait ..." Ye Qingxuan stared at the package in his arms, turning back, and then felt something whiz by him. The dagger flew through the air and gently scratched his ear and landed on the street. "What is going on?!" A group of angry men were holding beer cups, chairs, two axes, and several daggers. They rushed out from the bar growling, and dashed toward him. "Catch him! They''re together!" Someone''s red eyes were locked on him. "No way?" Ye Qingxuan scalp was tingling. "What''s the situation?" Something bad was happening, right? Bang! Another ax barely hit his hand then hit the wall behind him. "Kill that cheater! I''ll pay the killer five hundred pounds!" The one who lost the game roared. There was no time to say anything. Ye Qingxuan turned around quickly and ran as fast as he could! "Hey! Don''t run, little boy! Come back!" With all his might, Ye chased the kid who was crazily laughing in front of him. For a long time, he ran down the streets where he used to be chased countless times. In the front of him was the naughty kid, next to him was his own dog, and behind him was a group of people calling for his death. He was swept into this mess somehow In the rush, Ye Qingxuan could not help but roar, "When did this place become like this?" "It''s always been like this!" Facing the smelly sea breeze, the naughty kid turned to see him. He could not help but grin, happily running in front of him. "Hey, country guy, welcome to Avalon!" 21 Two Kids and a Dog Half an hour later in a downtown alley, a child covered in dirt was hiding behind the trash can, panting. The sound of shouting with the threat to kill was farther and farther away. "Whew! Scared me!" He wiped cold sweat off his forehead. "How did these fools get so smart? They even caught me switching the cards...Good thing I ran fast and got out early, otherwise I''d have died in that awful place. For only a few hundred bucks, was it really worth it?" Muttering to himself, he took out a bunch of silver coins from his pocket. He counted them one by one, wiped the sweat off with his sleeves, and grinned. "More than three hundred pounds, ha ha ha! Made it! My first pot of money, how should I spend it?" "How about you pay your medical bills with it?" someone next to him said with a low voice, whispering in his ear. "Or exchange them for your life?" "AHHHH!!!" The child was so scared he fell on the ground. He rolled over and saw a young man sitting on top of the trash can. In the dim light, he recognized him as the fool he ripped off earlier. Right away he managed a smile. "Oh, you''re my older cousin?" "Yes, little cousin." Ye Qingxuan sneered at him, throwing the bag of waste the kid gave him earlier on the ground. "Little cousin, you ran pretty fast, I almost couldn''t catch you. Here''s your stuff." "Sure, sure." The kid smiled and walked backwards, then suddenly turned and ran. "Ten, nine, eight..." Ye Qingxuan watched while he whispered the countdown, motionless, as the kid ran towards the end of the alley. When he got to three, the trembling kid walked backwards from the alley, his face terrified. At the end of the alley, a mud stained dog grinned, two rows of bad teeth exposed, a dead rat tail still left on one of its teeth. Old Phil was blocking the exit. No one could leave! "Little cousin, what''s the rush?" Ye Qingxuan pulled out a rope from his suitcase and pushed down on the kid''s shoulder, "Let''s talk." "I was wrong, big brother. Please, let me go..." Five minutes later, the kid was tied up. He curled up in the corner of the alley and blinked his big watery eyes, as if he was going to cry. He seemed so pitiful. Ye Qingxuan just quietly watched him cry until he stopped. "Done crying?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and asked. "Are you hungry? I can make you a bowl of noodles." The kid looked like he ate a fly. "Hey! Don''t you have any compassion?" "No cousin, I do not have compassion. What you did today just wasn''t right." He reached out and pinched the kid''s face, "Since you call me cousin, let this cousin teach you how to do the right things." He started cracking his knuckles and sneered. "Hey, what are you doing?" The kid was scared. Curled up, he raised his voice and shouted, "I''m warning you! I''m really powerful. Watch, I''ll get someone to teach you a lesson!" "Ha ha," Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Old Phil." Old Phil came over, grinning as well. There was no telling what the big dog had eaten earlier, its mouth was so stinky. Its tongue was still licking the blood on its teeth, chewing half of rat tail. "Well, okay, you got me! You got me!" The kid''s face turned pale. He pointed to the silver coins with his chin. "Here! Rules of the brotherhood, you see it, you get half." Ye Qingxuan did not take it, and just looked at him. The kid''s face turned sour. "Hey, we are all from the streets, be appreciative. Fifty-fifty is a good offer! Never mind, forty-sixty!...Still no? Do you want thirty-seventy?" "Sorry, I don''t want things that were stolen or cheated." "What do you want?" The expression of the kid suddenly became angry. "I can''t give you all of it!" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Apologize to me." "What?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him with no expression and repeated himself. "Apologize to me." "I will not!" The kid turned his head to the side. "Apologize," Ye Qingxuan repeated it again. "Do not even think that I''d ever say-" The kid stopped halfway, unable to go on with Ye Qingxuan glaring at him. Ye Qingxuan did not say anything. He silently watched him, without a word. For some reason, the kid felt guilty under that gaze. After a long time, his head turned a little bit, and he bowed his head. "...S-sorry," he mumbled. Ye Qingxuan sighed and reached out to loosen his rope. Watching him curled up in the corner he suddenly felt sorry for him. "Well, I was going to give you a beating, but never mind now since you apologized." "What else do you want?" The kid stared at him. "Pervert." "I know it''s very tough to be hungry. Stealing and cheating aren''t that big of a deal." Ye Qingxuan reached out and patted on the kid''s hat. "But once you''re used to stealing, one day you''ll realize that some things cannot be stolen or cheated. Don''t do it again," he murmured. The kid looked at him, his eyes complicated, and whispered something softly. Ye Qingxuan tilted over to hear what he had to say. The kid took a deep breath, grabbed his ears, and screamed, "Not your business!" Like lightning striking the ground, Ye Qingxuan''s mind was blank for a moment. The kid suddenly jumped up from the ground, bitterly stepping on the back of Ye Qingxuan foot. He fled as fast as he could. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously reached out, but only caught a knitted hat in his hands. The kid was gone. Old Phil was gloating on the side, panting with its tongue sticking out, showing no signs that it was going to chase the kid. Ye Qingxuan was also stunned. He stared at the empty alley, remembering the kid''s reflection while she ran away. He grabbed her hat, her long silver-white hair falling off of it like silver stars. "That was a girl?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at the hat. After a while, he sighed softly and stuffed it into his pocket. "That''s really bad luck. I finally found someone from my hometown but it had to be here." - Half an hour later, the original pub was in a mess. Two bulky men stood guarding the front and back of the pub, arms crossed, coolly staring at anyone who dared to get close. Each man had a dagger branded with a silver emblem peeking out of their belt. The passersby sped up their pace, trying to avoid them. In the pub, everyone was lying on the ground, or more specifically...was beaten down to the ground. Only an old man was sitting in a chair, silently smoking a pipe. The bartender, who had hidden behind the bar, was now tied to a pole, his face bloody. He was moaning in pain. In front of him, a half-naked man still kept going, punching his face like a hammer. The fists were already covered in blood. "Okay, Marvin, stop." The old man with a pipe waved his hands. He looked at the bartender who was barely breathing. "Jason, I know you are a tough guy, a good guy... Every month, you always pay the Shaman well, so I did not break your neck like I did everyone else. But you have to tell me the truth. Where is the kid that gambled here?" "He, he escaped, and I swear, I do not know him." The bartender could barely open his mouth; his teeth about to fall from his mouth. "I know you do not know him." The smoking old man sighed. "Tell me something I haven''t heard, otherwise I cannot make a report." "I really do not know. Someone saw him run away with another kid. No one has seen them since." "A kid? Avalon is full of damn kids!" The smoking man frowned. "Do you want me to dig each one of them out to question them?" "Someone saw him. He was an Easterner with a dog!" The bastard begged, "Mr. Ghosthand, this is all I know. In Mr. Shaman''s name, I dare not lie, please just let me go..." "Another Eastern kid? What a day, it''s really worrisome." The smoking man grunted, waved his hand, and gestured for Marvin to walk away. He got up and patted Jason''s shoulder. "Thank you for your honesty, my friend. Mr. Shaman will pay you for your loss today." He kicked aside the broken table, and turned to the corner. "You see, Mr. Chang, our people are not with the kid you are looking for." At the corner, where the light could not reach the darkness, a thin figure walked out. It was an old man from the East, wearing a seemingly cumbersome and luxurious robe, with hair as white as any ordinary aging man. His eyes were sharp. He had no presence when he stood in the corner. Mr. Chang kept his hands in his sleeve. His face, covered with age spots, was expressionless. "The Shaman assured us that he would find him." "Yes, yes, Shaman said to find him. We will find him and return him to you without a single strand of hair lost. Maybe we''ll also do a buy one, get one free deal with the other white haired kid, but you''ve got to give us a little time." "I will," Mr. Chang said dimly. He took a step back and disappeared into the darkness. Ghosthand watched him disappear. He sighed after a long time. "Damn, that''s trouble. Notify everyone and tell them to work harder. Find him." Outside the door, someone who worked for him walked in and whispered, "Mr. Ghosthand, Mr. Shaman has a few words for you." "What is it?" "He also wants you to find a missing person. It''s for another group we cannot refuse." "Deep sh*t." Ghosthand scratched his white hair: "D*mn, we''re gangsters, not a nursery. Who is it this time?" "A kid from the east, with a dog." Ghosthand held back an impulse to spit out blood. "Let me guess, there will be someone else who''ll ask us to find a dog?" - Having wasted a whole afternoon, Ye Qingxuan finally finished following the road as complex as a spider''s web and found the north side of the city. When the bell rang from a distant church, it was already dusk. In the square where people came and went, Ye Qingxuan sat on a bench next to the fountain, tired. He looked at the tall building not too far away with a sense of satisfaction on his face. "The Royal Academy of Music. I have finally found you." He smiled. 22 The Invitation "Old Phil, Old Phil, don''t run!" In the hotel bathroom, Ye Qingxuan pushed the crazy Old Phil into the bathtub, trying to clean the layers of mud off of it. Old Phil turned around and bit Ye Qingxuan, but he remained determined as ever. He poured half a bottle of the hotel bath soap onto Old Phil, and added a few tablespoons of detergent until the dog was about to be drowned by bubbles. No one knew how long this old dog had not taken a bath as Ye Qingxuan also brushed out several small hair pins, not knowing who had put them there. When the dirty water and Old Phil''s fur had almost completely clogged the drain, Ye Qingxuan finally stopped and nodded, finally satisfied, "That''s how it''s done." In front of the mirror, Old Phil sluggishly looked at itself. It whined a little, too sad to continue looking. This golden-haired dog with luscious fur suddenly stood up, raised its paw and skillfully slapped Ye Qingxuan. Then it sat in a corner and refused to move. Under the afternoon sunshine, the tips of its fur glowed with golden highlights. They was so elegant and beautiful, making it a totally unrecognizable dog compared to that dirty one before. But why did it love being dirty!? No one knew what the dog was thinking as it was sad despite being so beautiful now. Old Phil squatted in the corner, sadly bowing its head. It would be perfect if Old Phil could hold a glass a wine, and recite some poetry to express its sadness. "Do not be sad, Old Phil." Ye Qingxuan squatted and tried to comfort it. "You see, if you are dirty, I have no way to take you to come with me to the entrance exam." Old Phil was still unresponsive. "I discovered that before the entrance exam this year, the Royal Academy of Music will have a reception banquet. So tonight you can follow me quietly into the kitchen, and you can eat as much as you want!" Ye Qingxuan predicted Old Phil''s selfish desires, "Old Phil, it''s the Royal Academy of Music''s banquet! Wales sausage will certainly be unlimited! As soon as Old Phil heard the word ''sausage,'' its tail started wagging, and its eyes shone. "And maybe there will be seafood, meat and endless stargazing..." Stargazing? Immediately Old Phil stared at him very seriously. Ye Qingxuan realized what he had just said, and tried to make it better, "Ok, ok, we don''t eat that. Just the sausage should be enough! The bread is not the stale kind, but is soft like cotton candy... " Old Phil nodded, then opened its mouth and stuck out its tongue as if saying, "That would be satisfactory." "There is seafood, scallops, and lobster, this big..." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his arms wide. "Ruff, Ruff!" Old Phil was so excited, and flew into Ye Qingxuan''s arms. It patted his shoulder, full of gratitude, as if it had begun to see that its little follower had grown up and could now take care of him. "Haha, don''t open your mouth!" Ye Qingxuan was happily rolling with Old Phil on the ground. In the end they both were tired, lying on the dirty floor. The sun shone through the window onto the teen''s white hair. It glistened like flowing mercury. Ye Qingxuan spaced out while looking outside the window. The messy streets, the blue sky with white clouds. In silence, he suddenly gave a silly smile. "Old Phil, I will become a musician soon." The setting sun shone through the clouds like flowing water, brilliant and beautiful. A ray of sunshine fell from the sky and shone on the top of the palace. White towers stood high, the golden, glistening gryphon flag fluttering in the wind. The light from the top of the palace reflected upon its surroundings evenly, illuminating the three-ring city. Everything was rendered with a layer of an enchanting golden hue. Dancing white fog shrouded the city below, huge waves appeared to cover the whole town From there, the shadow of the white church could only be seen vaguely, becoming blurrier as the distance increased, yet the sound of the tide could be heard from afar. This was the era that the nobles were bathed in the light, while the ordinary civilians looked up to witness the glory. Outside the iron gate, Ye Qingxuan was holding Old Phil and looked up in awe. Behind the tall walls, layers of old trees covered the entire school area, faintly revealing a peek of the auditorium and the corner of the bell tower. The ancient college exuded a peaceful atmosphere, with people quietly coming and going. Two-hundred-years ago, when the school was built, the architect had placed solemn monuments in every place. The doors slowly opened. Years of history blew through the door, fascinating people. "Old Phil, let''s go." Ye Qingxuan finally recovered from spacing out, waved at Old Phil, walked into the school, full of excitement. "Are you here to attend the banquet?" asked an old gatekeeper. He wore a short cloak and held a short staff. He looked down at the excited child, and the excited old dog, then nodded his head and ushered him in. Watching the boy happily run away, he laughed. He propped up his chin on the short staff and went back to sleep. In front of the auditorium, there was already a group of people gathered. At the front door, two polite waiters dressed in black opened the door for the guests with respectful and flattering smiles. "Earl Wellington, long time no see. Is this your daughter?" Just at the main entrance, the host wore a tuxedo, trying hard to look dignified. But to many people, he really looked like a penguin. He bent over to salute the aristocratic man and his daughter, "The dean has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come in." "Mr. Czerny, I haven''t seen you for a long time. Is your global travel coming to an end? We are looking forward to seeing your new work." He pointed to the arrogant boy beside the man, then nodded and started praising him, "Your son has reached the age of admission. Wow, he looks so handsome and smart. Please come in." He took the invitation and moved on to the next person. He prepared to say something but the arrogant elite teen brushed past him. The servant handed him the invitation and hurried off. Sidney''s face twitched, not revealing any ugly look. He just smiled. Most of the candidates invited to the banquet had aristocratic backgrounds, many of whom were also the children of musicians. Out of the spite and worry towards the school''s growing number of peasants, the aristocratic musicians who held this dinner wanted to pick out the noble blood among all the candidates. The current principal, who was not of noble heritage himself, had extended the dinner banquet to all the candidates, agitating the aristocratic committee. The original elite banquet was turning into a flea market! Looking at the crowd filled with many peasants, Sidney turned bitter, "How many more of these people will come?" "Sir, the representative from the Ackerman family had arrived," the servant said softly. "He is the son of Mr. Leon." "You should have told me earlier!" Sidney saw the carriage in the distance. His eyes suddenly shone. The Ackerman family was one of the most important guests at the banquet. Leon, as a famous musician in the kingdom, was an important figure that the aristocratic factions wanted to be close with. During this critical occasion, he must not be neglected. But as Sidney stepped forward, a big dog arrogantly strode past him, proudly raising his head up, even sneering at him. That kind of ridiculous pretentiousness really aggravated him. He started screaming, "Wait! Who''s dog is this? Someone get it out! I have said so many times, don''t let wild dogs into the school!" "Oh, sorry, that''s my dog." Next to him, there was a teen by the waiter. He raised his hand awkwardly. Sidney looked down at him and saw his clothes, realizing that he was another one of these peasant musicians! Eventually, the prestige of the Royal Academy of Music would be defiled by these dirty commoners, turning the school to garbage! "Professor, there is a problem," the attendant whispered, "This gentleman came to attend the dinner, but he is not on the list." Sidney frowned and slowly reached his hand out toward Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan hesitated, but shook his hand anyway. "Hello." Sidney ''s eyes became more contemptuous. He brushed away Ye Qingxuan''s hand, asking him slowly, "Invitation letter? All candidates have invitations." "...Oh, what about letters of recommendation?" Ye Qingxuan started shrinking. "What recommendation letter? I don''t know what you are talking about." Sidney looked at the musician Leon walking toward him. Suddenly he became anxious and increasingly impatient, "Go away. Do not waste my time." Ye Qingxuan was stunned and confused, "Sir, could you check again? There certainly should be one." "No." Sidney did not even look at the list and pushed him away. "Go away." "Wait, wait!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned, and unconsciously pulled Sidney toward him. "There must be something wrong. My recommendation letter should have been sent to you already. I am from the East. My name is Ye Qingxuan. I was recommended by Mr. Wolf Flute." "I said no." Sidney took Ye''s hands off of him. "There was no letter of recommendation sent to the college in the past few days! And I have not heard of Mr. Wolf Flute." "But..." "Stop talking, you brat. This isn''t the place for the nonsense, unless you want a visit to the law enforcements." He gave Ye Qingxuan a dirty look, and patted the corner of his clothes that Ye Qingxuan had pulled, as if there was some dirt on it. Sidney quickly changed his sour look into a smile, trotting toward the well-dressed man. "Mr. Leon, Mr. Leon, do you remember me? I am..." Ye Qingxuan stared at his back for a long time, then whispered, "Impossible" He looked at the door open again and again, with the dressed-up boys and girls walking into the glow of chandeliers. Old Phil came back from the bushes, dropped two coins next to Ye Qingxuan''s foot, then looked up at him. But Old Phil could see the smile on the young face slowly fade little by little, turning into an expression of loss and fear. "Impossible." He said softly, "Is there something wrong?" Old Phil tilted its head to look at him. "They must have made a mistake." Ye Qingxuan squatted beside Old Phil, biting his lips, "Let''s wait and see. Maybe the letter will come in a little while." But when the dinner was about to start, the letter had not arrived yet. 23 Position Before Ye Qingxuan came to Avalon, Wolf Flute had promised him that his letter of recommendation would be sent to the school, allowing him to take the exam. But now Ye Qingxuan was at a loss because everyone told him that there had been no sign of the letter anywhere. The banquet had already begun. He was waiting with Old Phil at the door, but had no idea how much longer they would have to wait. Some distance away by the entrance, Sidney was still wandering anxiously. "Still not here? The dinner is about to start." Sidney frowned and looked at his pocket watch. When he saw the young man wandering nearby, he became even more irritated, "Why is he still here? Someone, take him..." Halfway through his sentence, he heard a carriage coming from afar. With handsome black horses pulling it, the luxurious carriage quietly parked in front of the hall. Sidney''s face suddenly lit up, and he walked quickly to the carriage. Ye Qingxuan turned around and looked hopefully at the carriage. He was hoping to see a messenger step out, and gave him his very late letter of recommendation. "But a messenger cannot afford such a carriage," a voice whispered in his heart. "Do you see the gold-plated handle on the door? A messenger working together with you for a whole year wouldn''t be able to afford such a thing." The carriage slowly came to a stop, and the door was pushed open. The person who stepped down was no messenger, but a well-dressed young boy. His face was pale as if he had not seen the sun for a long time. His eyes were cold and arrogant. "Master Banner!" Sidney wiped off his sweat and went up to greet the boy, "Why are you so late?" "Left a bit late." The blonde young man put his hand on Sidney''s arm to get out of the carriage. He quickly looked at the hall and remarked, "The dinner isn''t over yet." "It''d be better if you had come earlier, of course," Sidney said laughing. He said softly, "You are only sixteen years old, and are already spoken of highly by Mr. Schuman. Your brother is already the concertmaster of the seniors. If the Adrian family produces another concertmaster, the influence from this generation will certainly be able beneficial to the family." "I know, so here I am," Banner answered casually. "You have nothing to worry about, I have already made the arrangements." Sidney lowered his voice, "Once the president finishes with his speech, your solo will be next. No other candidate can compete with you. This is the first step to establish your reputation, and then I will..." "Oh, you''ve worked hard." Banner walked ahead expressionless, as if it had nothing to do with him. When he saw Ye Qingxuan standing not far away, he frowned. "Who is he?" "Some kid from downtown, no one significant." Sidney did not even look at Ye, and only urged Banner to walk faster. "The president arrived a while ago, let''s not keep him waiting." Banner nodded, and looked back at the boy in front of him, "Excuse me, you are in my way, please let me pass." Until now Ye Qingxuan had not even realized that was blocking the young man. He was pushed aside by Sidney before he could react. He staggered, but silently let him through, saying nothing. Banner saw his clothes and seemed to have understood something. His eyes became friendlier. "Do not wait here. It is not a place for a servant. Do not cause your master any trouble." Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing came out. Banner looked away, and walked into the lively dinner hall. - Ye Qingxuan was silent. After a long time he looked down. He had wanted to say that he was not a servant, but compared to those rich and noble young men, he may as well have been. He was no longer a young master, nor did he have the letter, so what was the point of sticking around? He did not know what he was thinking, only that he was ridiculous. He shook his head and waved his hand at Old Phil, "Come on, Old Phil." He said softly, "We are going home." "Why are you here?" When they got to the middle of the street, a man ran up to him, breathless. The middle-aged man was wearing a black school worker''s uniform, and seemed surprised for a moment, "Come with me." "What?" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "Aren''t you the new guy? Didn''t you know to wait at the back door? Why did you come here?" He did not give Ye Qingxuan a chance to speak and grabbed him, "Don''t just stand here, we are going to be late." Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, "You were looking for me?" "Of course, who else would I be looking for?" The middle-aged man grabbed him, and made their way to a house. Ye Qingxuan knew something was not right. There were many servants in the house getting dressed. When they saw him, none of them seemed surprised, or said anything at all. One of the servants who was dressed saw the man come in and smiled, "John, you found him?" "This guy went to the front entrance, not sure why. It was rather troublesome." John waved his hand and gave Ye Qingxuan a uniform. "Hurry up, the kitchen needs people!" "The kitchen?" Ye Qingxuan blankly looked at the uniform in his arms, and suddenly understood. He felt depressed all of sudden. He forced a smile but it looked like he was crying. "Do I really look like a servant?" - Five minutes later, the white haired kid with a uniform carried plates and fixed his tie in front of the mirror. Well, he did somewhat look like a servantnot! Along the way, he could not help being pushed forward by a variety of people. Before he knew it, he was already at the kitchen. The kitchen was crowded with people coming and going. "Hurry, table four ran out of fruit platters..." "Does anyone know where champagne is?" "We ran out of fruit, what do we do?" "Why did you buy so many sausages? Damn, the stupid guy in charge of purchasing mixed up the forms! He wrote the fruit''s price in the sausage''s...and wait, whose dog is this? Eh? Kinda cute...come over and let me see." In the kitchen, the cook who was waving the purchase forms and cursing stopped when she saw Old Phil. She went up to pet it. Old Phil''s eyes were only focused on the sausages. It did not even bite at her touch, only drooling for the sausages. "Oh, do you like sausages?" The cook smiled at Old Phil''s greedy look, picked up two sausages, and carefully placed them front of it. Old Phil jumped over and began to eat feverishly. The cook carefully patted Old Phil on the back, and suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, look, look, so soft! I can pet it!" A group of girls helping out in the kitchen suddenly took notice. They came together, "Ah, I want to pet too." "Yeah, it''s soft, like a cushion ..." "So cute!" Ye Qingxuan was standing on the side, speechless. He wanted to ask them, "Are you blind? Old Phil used to dominate the town of Lute. Children would cry whenever he gave them a stare..." "Whose dog is this, how come I have never seen it?" The cook asked after she was done petting Old Phil. "Uh, that..." Ye Qing Xuan raised his hand, "Is mine." The cook was surprised to see him, "Who are you?" "Isn''t he the new guy from your kitchen staff?" said John. "You idiot, this is an Easterner!" The cook pointed at Ye Qingxuan''s white hair. "Where did you find him?" John was dumbfounded. "Never mind, I came to look for a job anyway." Ye Qingxuan quickly raised his hands, easing John''s embarrassment. He sighed. It seemed that the Royal Academy of Music was no longer a possibility, but at least he could fulfil his promise to Old Phil. He gave Old Phil, who was enjoying his food, a quick look. He shook his head and sighed, "As long as you are happy." The cook gave him a look and also shook her head, "Never mind, the other guy must have left because the pay was too low. Why don''t you work for the night? I will pay you after. If you work hard, maybe you can stay." "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "What is the kitchen doing? Why so slow?!" Outside of the kitchen someone had asked loudly, "Are the truffles and caviars not ready yet?" "Ready." The cook quickly began to work, and signaled for Ye Qingxuan to help. Just when Ye Qingxuan rolled up his sleeves, someone walked in. The manager came in sweating like a pig, "Do you have extra hands in the kitchen? We need someone up front." "I can''t help you, boss. The school hasn''t started yet, and the workers are still on vacation. The school committee suddenly told me to hold a banquet. We got as many people as we already could." "Forget it, we need people in the front. You, you, you, come with me." The manager pointed to a few people, and finally pointed at Ye Qingxuan, "And you." "What?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. - In the hall, the crystal chandelier on the ceiling emanated a soft light, illuminating the wide space with no glare. The masters'' portraits were hanging on the white walls. Even the stones on the floor were carved with a faint flowery pattern. Everything looked exquisite and solemn. The band was playing some soothing music. It was a very relaxing atmosphere. The elderly were gathered together, deliberately leaving the young ones with more time and space. The young ones tended to gather in groups of three or five, holding a glass of wine and talking quietly. On the three long tables were a variety of untouched, exquisite dishes. Only the cold dishes and appetizers were occasionally visited. In this pleasant atmosphere, the white-hair kid stood in the corner as if he did not exist. He was holding a tray, eyes staring at all the glasses held by the guests. As soon as someone''s glass was empty, Ye Qingxuan would emerge out of nowhere with a tray. With a voice so soft it would give someone a chill, he politely asked, "Sir, would you like a glass of champagne?" Many people were startled by his sudden presence, but Ye Qingxuan did not care, thinking, "I already poured your wine, what''s there to complain? You are lucky I didn''t spit in it." In his boredom, he began to appreciate the oil paintings hanging in the hall. The paintings seemed to have been done by someone famous. The portraits were lifelike, each with its own spirit and grace, like a real person were standing in front of him. Anyone could easily see that the subjects of the paintings were the grand masters among the countless musicians--the twelve uncrowned kings! 24 Performance The twelve musicians in the paintings depicted the twelve great masters of the western world. The three portraits in the forefront were the three kings named after the impressive, and glorious "Bach", "Mozart" and "Beethoven", followed by other gurus like "Chopin", "Haydn" and "Brahms". In addition to their extraordinary abilities, these big musicians inherited their names from the saints of the Dark Age, who were also in charge of terrifying power and technology. Because of the countries'' confidentiality policies and the masters'' wishes, some of their abilities were unknown. For example, Mr. Haydn, the one who was permanently stationed in the Sacred City, secretly guarded the sheet music considered taboo, Genesis. The last time Genesis was played was forty years ago. The phenomenal natural catastrophe called Holy White Storm, from the tip of the northern sea, invaded human countries. It had completely flattened half of the land and the population. This was followed by an invasion of beasts which completely destroyed one of the countries. Mr. Haydn had then led the holy choirs to the northern wall, where the power of Genesis took out all the aether within a thousand mile radius, completely defeating it in one swoop. The power of the irresistible force was beyond any ordinary person''s imagination. It got into the fertile plains, turning them into burning lava. Mooen Mountain had been turned into a huge valley by the exhaustive power. With hundreds of millions of tons of water coming in, most of the plains had sunk into the ocean forever. It was still a wetland. The wealthy city had completely vanished, only leaving skeletons under the sea. The power was miraculous and could not be controlled by the call of humans. When the power of the weapons was too strong, it did not matter who won or lost, because it lead to extreme loss and tragedy on both sides. Although there were two musicians who had inherited from Chopin and Brahms on the border of the Anglo Kingdom and the Burgundy Kingdom, they had never fought against each other before. It was said that in the East, the musicians of the powerful Imperial Nine Musicians were so strong that they could not even control their own power. They could not stay in one place for a long time. Otherwise a disaster would follow known as Armageddon. A well-deserved icon of the Western musicians named ''King of Black--Bach, permanently lived in the Dark World, opening up the land for mankind. After inheriting the holy name, he never returned to the hinterland of the civilized world. And the papal of the generation, in the succession of inheriting the name King of Red-- Beethoven simply lived in seclusion in the Sacred City. All educational affairs were given to the Cardinals. Beethoven''s mind was devoted to the Guarding the Abyss mission. As for The King of Yellow--Mozart, he had been missing for many years. No one knew where this genius was. The twelve portraits represented the twelve giants. But four portraits were still missing, which meant that no one was entitled to those names yet. Looking at those blank portraits, Ye Qingxuan felt a little bit sad. If that even did not happen, that man would probably be one of them. - "Your Royal Highness, Mary, I did not expect you to come. I am quite surprised." In the corner, an old white-haired man saluted the blonde girl in the front of him. The girl nodded back. She had a slender neck and looked dignified with soft beauty. She wore a blue dress, with her hair in a simple bun behind her ear. She did not look like a girl going to a banquet, but more like a girl walking in the park. "This is not a formal meeting. Please don''t be too serious, Mr. Principal." The girl''s voice was very gentle. She looked around with admiration, "I came to handle other matters, but I saw this admission dinner and decided to attend, feeling that many students will be the pillars of the future." She was almost as old as these students, perhaps even younger, but she seemed superior when she spoke. "Just a group of children, who knows what they''ll do in the future?" The old man shook his head emotionally, "But every time I see them, I always feel that I am getting old." He sighed, "Honestly, I have been a scared three times already by a waiter today. I will go and ask the supervisor whether they recruited a Persian assassin to work in the school. " "You are exaggerating." Mary could not help but chuckle softly, "But I''d love to see the person who scared the Principal three times." At this point, the gentle band music gradually stopped. Most of the commotion in the hall had returned to silence, and everyone looked towards this corner, puzzled. Based on the schedule, it was time for the Principal''s speech, but the Principal was not willing to step on stage. He stood in place, not moving and just sipping his champagne. "Principal, your speech," Sidney whispered to remind him. "Sorry, I don''t feel well today. Let''s not have a speech today." He looked at the stunned Sidney. "Maybe you can go up and say a few words?" Sidney was surprised for a moment. "Maxwell, you initially wanted to..." "Oh, don''t be too rigid. How could you take my random idea seriously? Plus, I hate advising people. What if I say something inappropriate?" Maxwell waved lightly. "Skip it, skip it, let''s move on. Did you say that there was a young man here praised by Master Schumann? Let''s request a piece. Music please! I like the sound of the piano." Sidney was speechless. He felt that the school board and himself had been played by this guy once again. It was like watching a strong enemy raise his palm, anticipating him to strike, then watching him gently put his hand down. Although there was no slap, it still made people upset. But what could he do? All the people who hated him so much had no way to deal with him because he was Maxwell, the guardian of the blood of Anglo, the ruler of the Royal Music Academy. He had shown off from a young age, never giving anyone respect, nor caring about other''s opinions. He did whatever he wanted, not afraid of messing up. It was arbitrary chaos, he never cared about consequences too much. For decades, he firmly occupied the seat in the Parliament and the supreme hegemony of the school, ignoring even the Queen''s order. Obviously he was from a noble family, but he had offended almost all of the families, and was even absent from three consecutive roundtable meetings... Sidney sighed, "Next." This was the best solution. At least he did not need to worry that there was something wrong with Maxwell''s speech. Moreover, this was the committee''s special arrangement for Banner. It was rather better without Maxwell''s involvement! In order to cultivate the younger generation, the Adrian family donated a large sum to the aristocracy committee. Just thinking of it, Sidney''s heart felt warmer, his fists clenched. It all depended on Banner now! Under his expectant eyes, a blonde teen walked onto the stage quietly, standing in front of the piano. In the public''s attention, he slightly bowed. His eyes swept across the whole audience, then sat down silently. His hands settled on the keys, and slowly pressed down. It was like the sound of broken crystals. Crisp reverberation from the keys resounded in everybody''s ears. Maxwell squinted his eyes and gazed up. He whispered, "Pretty good." In the quiet atmosphere, the notes echoed in the air. They rippled in all directions, colliding with each other, resonating in the air. The gentle sound spread through the banquet hall, filling every inch of space in the big hall, like a soft wind blowing into every corner. The music gradually increased just as the proliferation of silk, intertwining with everybody''s breath. It subtly lingered in everyone''s ears. The music became more intense, transforming into a loud echo. Suddenly the notes burst. The deep piano sound pressed down on everyone''s heart, as if a flowing river had suddenly frozen and burst! This was one of the many marches spread around the continent, but it was the favorite progressive format used by the School of Modifications, different from the fugue format. It could be gentle at the beginning, but the notes must be continuous. Like a gentle veil was thrown, it evolved into a frenzy of brazen bursts. Only a few people could play a piece so dense. The notes jumped back and forth between each part like an urgent storm, giving people no time to breathe! What was once soft music now brought strong shocking senses, making it impossible for anyone to gain their footing in the frenzy. Thoughts and feelings were swept away in the waves, distancing themselves. The last note abruptly ended. The perfect melody slowly disappeared into silence. In the quiet banquet hall, there was only the candidates'' astonished gazes and heavy breaths. Banner got up silently, bowed, and left the stage. After a long time, applause erupted like a storm. "Well done!" Sidney whispered happily, almost dancing. He readily pulled the young waiter next to him, grabbed the champagne bottle from his hand and slowly poured himself a glass, feeling relieved after finished it. He wiped the sweat on his forehead, but felt something was wrong. With a puzzled expression, he looked at the waiter next to him, "Have I seen you before?" Ye Qingxuan slightly shrugged, his white hair hidden in the hat. Sidney looked away and put the champagne back into Ye''s hand. "Do not be lazy, work hard!" Ye Qingxuan carried the plate away. If the bastard found out he had snuck in, he might ask the attendees to beat him. Then it would be impossible to get some sausages for Old Phil! -- The kitchen was still filled with bangs and clangs. Ye Qingxuan returned, he was pulled to wash the bowls and dishes. Soon, he heard John and several busboys talking about the performance in the banquet hall. "What an outstanding performance!" The waiter said, "I almost dropped the plate." "It was shocking!" "I could not even breathe. I never heard a student play that well." "What a pity. I was busy at the time." The cook wiped her hands on her apron and looked depressed. "That fat vice principal, the fat man just came to check how the fruit plates were arranged. I didn''t know what he was thinking. Otherwise I would have gone and listened to it too." Ye Qingxuan heard their discussion next to them. Puzzled, he asked, "It''s just playing the piano? What was the big deal?" The cook and John looked at him, shaking their heads and sighing, "Kid, you will understand when you grow up." The cook ruffled his hair with her greasy hand and sighed, "Us commoners can only listen to the street band''s performance and the piano performance in the taverns. If I don''t work here, I would have no hope of listening to someone play the piano in my life. What a pity I could not listen to it, you guys!" The cook grumbled with regret, "Well, it was initially my turn to go inside the hall today." "Actually I can play the piano a little if you want to listen to it..." In front of the sink, Ye Qingxuan tapped the plates with his knuckles. "I can play it for you." 25 Where Joy Is 1 In the hall, the song was over. With a round of applause and cheers, the girl who had been listening quietly turned to look at the old man sitting beside her. "What do you think, Principal?" "Not bad." Maxwell seemed quite pleased. "Only not bad?" The girl blinked her eyes in surprise. "Your Highness is putting me in a very difficult position." Maxwell shook his head and smiled, "The music, good or bad, really depends on the performers and the audience''s heart. From what I heard, his performance was very skillful. This is a kid who''s worked very hard. He isn''t here just because of his family." "Why is it just not bad then?" "Probably becausehis performance was missing an element of joy?" "Joy?" "Yes, Your Highness. Joy is the essence of music. Life is painful without joy, not to mention as is music," Maxwell explained. "Isn''t music a serious matter?" Maxwell laughed, "Forgive me, but have you ever been to a pub?" Mary thought for a moment, then shook her head regretfully, "No." "That''s a pity, you should go," Maxwell said. "I know a good pub. The decoration is okay, not many tables either, and the owner had a bad temper, but it had good wine. "When he gets drunk, the owner would take the trichord, and jump on the stage to play. Once he gets to the exciting part, he''d sing and dance, even if he plays terribly. But nobody listens to him because all the guests are drunk by then. But even though they''re drunk and asleep, it''s still joyful to hear music like that." "So that''s what joy means?" Mary seemed to have understood. "Something like that," said Maxwell. He started to laugh suddenly, "Sorry, I''m lecturing again. It comes with my job." "Not at all. If you, the Principal, would be willing to teach me, I would not mind studying at your school." The girl grinned. "Oh please, I do not have the strength to take on another apprentice." Maxwell smiled wryly. "Now, Your Highness came so suddenly today, what exactly for? Just to make fun of this old man?" "Well, it''s a long story..." With that, the girl''s expression became somewhat helpless. "Yesterday, Uncle sent me a letter from the North Wall ad it''s for you, Principal." "Your uncle?" Maxwell became serious, "Is he back?" "He just wrote a letter and expedited it to you. He even used the wind tunnel. There was a loud noise last night and this letter was just thrown onto the table. The guards had thought that there was an assassin." "To be honest, I am very curious what is so important for that psycho to write me a letter." Maxwell took the letter from the girl and opened the letter. He was silent for a long time. After a long time, he looked up and smiled, "Your Highness, your letter, came ...a bit too late." "Too late?" Mary was shocked and uneasy, "Is it an urgent message?" "No, no, it''s nothing urgent. But for some people...it''s probably more important than anything else." Maxwell sighed and opened the letter, "- this is a letter of recommendation, Your Highness." The girl took the letter. Her expression turned to confusion, probably because she could not understand her uncle''s abstract logic and wording. There were only three short lines of writing, one for letterhead, one with the content, and one to end the letter. He had not even bothered with the date. To Maxwell: Soon there will be a white haired Eastern boy coming to you to take the exam, please accept. - Johann Sebastian. "I do not know how much money that bastard actually received to make him write this letter to me, but he has no concept of time. Your Highness, it is too late. That child might have been locked out already!" The girl was silent for a moment. She lowered her head and pressed her lips together, "This is my fault." "It is that old bastard''s fault." The Principal rubbed her hair, verging on being impolite, "Do not be sad." With that, he pulled over the fat guy who was passing by. Mr. Sidney was so excited. He felt like he was walking on clouds and he looked like a penguin happily flying. When he saw the serious Principal, he was suddenly brought back into reality, instantly ready for duty. He first respectfully bowed to the girl, and then his eyes locked onto the Principal, unsure what game the old man wanted to play. "How can I help you Principal?" "Yes, Mr. Sidney, I want to ask you about someone." Maxwell put down the glass, and gestured the height of a teenager. "Did you see a teenager while you were greeting the guests? He should have had no invitation." "Ah?" Sidney was surprised for a moment, but then a bad feeling slowly crept up on him. "Well, he''s an Easterner with white hair. Have you seen him?" "Was he with a dog?" "I do not know that. I guess you have seen him." Maxwell nodded. He saw Sidney''s face and began to feel worse. "Hey, Mr. Sidney, you ...drove him away?" Sidney hesitated then nodded. He saw Maxwell''s and the young girl''s pitiful eyes. "Haha, I can''t believe it really si like this." Maxwell laughed, and then put his hands on Sidney''s shoulders. He said seriously, "It seems that I have misunderstood you in the past. I have always thought you could not bear any responsibilities. But today, you have completed changed my mind... but since you have admitted to this, are you willing to take the responsibility?" Before Sidney became furious, he was stunned by the second half of his words. What was the old man playing at? He suddenly regretted that he had not been careful enough. "That''s my duty, sir!" Sidney looked gloomy, and swatted the Principal''s hand, "He did not have an invitation, nor was he on the list. Furthermore, he was dressed like a beggar. Did I do something wrong?" He paused, "Forgive me. I did see that little thug you asked about. That kind of trouble would only disrupt the banquet. I had to drive him away. I do not think that was a mistake. "If you are dissatisfied with my work, you may report me to the committee, and I believe that the committee will make a fair judgment! But this is the Royal Academy of Music; it is not a place that anybody can just walk in! " Sidney had thought that his last sentence was a stroke of genius. The Principal must now be completely impressed with him. It was definitely a rare occasion. Sidney''s eyes gleamed with pride. "Haha," Maxwell laughed. "You must be joking. Why would anyone go to the committee for this?" After Maxwell had lost his last battle with the committee, he obviously did not dare to attack the committee again. Sidney sneered, "Then please be careful with your words." "No, no, no, you misunderstood me." Maxwell''s sighed sympathetically, "I mean that the committee cannot protect you." "You!" Before Sidney finished, Maxwell put the letter of recommendation in front of him. "I hope you can still read, Mr. Sidney. After reading this, I hope you can still maintain your level of confidence." Sidney glanced at the letterhead, the name felt vaguely familiar, but he was not sure. Then his heart suddenly skipped a beat. "Johann Sebastian?" Sidney exclaimed in surprise. Maxwell nodded, "Yes." "Which Sebastian?" Sidney asked a silly question, but his bad feeling became even stronger. The Principal sighed deeply, "I have already said, to let someone who''s not even a musician be a professor is not a very reliable decision." He pointed to the painting on the wall, "Which Sebastian do you think? Who can be called ''uncle'' by Her Highness? The Sebastian who sells vegetables? The doorman Sebastian? Or the Sebastian whose picture is now hanging on the wall?" Sidney suddenly felt very uneasy. He looked up and felt as if his head had been smashed with a big hammer. He understood, and it meant big trouble. He sluggishly stared at the skinny guy in the oil painting above, and could not help but twitch a bit. He thought someone must be playing a joke on him. "Yes, that''s him." The Principal held his shoulder. He pleasantly clinked his glass, and saluted the painting, "King of Black, the uncrowned king, the most powerful musician, Guardian of Men, the greatest explorer and musician, and my old friend. The one who is credited with the title of Bach, Johann Sebastian!" The Principal continued, "Haha, so this guy is kind of great, right? How about that, aren''t you glad or surprised? " He winked at Sidney, "You did give me a surprise today. You do know who the last person recommended by Sebastian was, right?" Who? Who else could it be? It was that genius boy whose reputation was known to the world overnight, who won the crown of the King of Yellow and mysteriously disappeared right after!" After a long, long time, Sidney finally recovered from his shock. He stared at the Principal, "I, I" Sidney swallowed his saliva. Seeing the girl''s face turn sour, he felt like a fat penguin who had fallen into a pit of fire. "Principal, Your Highness, I...I can explain." He was about to cry, sweating like a pig, "You have to hear me out, I did not, no, I was, he is, no, I mean...please give me a chance to make it up." Maxwell shrugged indifferently and whistled, showing that there was nothing he could do. "You cannot do that!" Sidney was on the verge of breaking down. He lost restraint and grabbed onto the Principal''s collar, "I have been awarded by the academy for exemplary service; I bled for the Kingdom of Anglo! You cannot do this! I was only protecting the academy! Is that wrong?!" "It is a pity, but unfortunately every man here knows that..." Maxwell whispered in Sidney''s ear, "You love the academy, but the academy doesn''t love you." Sidney seemed to have lost all his strength. He stumbled back and muttered something incoherent, "I will find him immediately! I will go looking for him now..." His face was twitching. He pulled the manager over, "Mike, now, get everyone together ...and find me that white-haired Eastern boy!" Sidney tightly clutched his shoulder, "Go, run, understand?!" His eyes were red, and he kept muttering, "I hope he has not gone far! I hope he has not gone far! I hope he has not gone far!" Sidney was desperately praying, but saw the manager standing with a strange look on his face. "Why are you still standing here?" Sidney was furious, "Go and look!" "White hair, Eastern." The manager asked quietly, "Is he also with a dog?" Sidney grabbed him before he could even finish his sentence, grasping for the last straw, he almost wanted to kiss him, "You saw?! You saw him? You have seen the guy? "Yes." The manager nodded uneasily, but with certainty, "I saw this man." "Thank God, the saints, Alibaba, Hallelujah!" Sidney was in ecstasy, almost cried out with excitement. He exclaimed, "Where!? Where!? Take me there now!" "Uh." The manager looked at the Principal and the girl standing beside them, and hesitated. "What are you doing? Talk! Where is he?!" Sidney was about to cry. The manager struggled to find the words and finally answered helplessly, "... in our kitchen." 26 Where Joy Is 2 "He is in our kitchen." The manager''s answer felt like a machete had just cut Sidney''s face. He continued, "Well, when I was there, it seemed that he was washing the pots and plates." The manager hesitated and begged softly, "He worked very hard, sir. If he offended you in anyway, please do not blame him." Maxwell was stunned, Mary was shocked, and Sidney was astonished. "The academy''s hospitality is a little bit special," Mary said. After a long time, Mary quietly sighed. "Fortunately, I never got a recommendation letter from my uncle, otherwise I would be sent to the kitchen as well. I am really quite curious to even think about it. After all, I have never done that kind of thing before..." She clearly had a gentle tone but her words stabbed Sidney, making his face turn white. "Life really always gives me an expected surprise," Mary said. "Oh, let''s take a look at our guest who was driven away. What is he doing in the kitchen?" Maxwell said with a grin. Sidney froze a moment, then hastened to catch up. He kept wiping off his cold sweat all the way, praying no more embarrassing things would happen. But just as the approached the kitchen, they heard a strange sound. It was a chaotic symphony. The sound of the utensils colliding, iron pots scraping, things dropping on the floor, and the overlap of the dozens of sounds formedthe march that had just been played? Maxwell stopped, staring at the crowd gathered in front of the kitchen. They twisted, swayed, sang, immersed in the music. "What does this mean?" He laughed softly, amazed and surprised. The first was a knife being beat on a bowl. The crisp sound was like a bell ringing, like the reverberation of the wind at nighttime. Although it had a familiar rhythm and beat, it was unique, full of a strange feeling of speculation. With the melody rising, the sound of the bowls fell into the rhythm like an invisible handyman making his effort to push the roundabout music notes to a higher level. The dog barked along with the noises which initially would have made people frown, but blended nicely with the rhythm of the tunes and drums. It was not a soft sound like drizzling rain, but more rough like lively events. It sounded like a carnival ground, like dense stomping sounds, and like heavy raindrops. On the streets of the carnival, cheers emerged, and people threw their hats into the sky. Hats of all colors started to come down, flying in the wind. Suddenly cheers burst into tears, like a flood had swept through the audience. The emotional high-pitched sounds resonated in the air. The shadows also shook with the rhythm, as if the shadow of a flame had also been hijacked by the carnival tune! But just at the most critical moment, the cheers paused, revealing a fatal flaw in the music which made Maxwell frown. It should not pause here but it should continue, continue rather than exposing the fatal emptiness! Then in the next moment, the silence was shattered by an extremely sharp sound. Bang! Bang! Bang! It was breaking the barriers, breaking the rules! Someone was beating the wok strongly, but the sound roared like thunder, echoing in everybody''s ears. This was the beginning of the celebrations! The night wind suddenly became hot and dense, making it hard to breathe. It felt like a rock had sunk to the bottom of the chest. People''s blood started heating up, and the cheers roared. Senses and emotions were sucked into the frenzy like a flame burning in the wind. Breaking the inherent pattern, this strange music was pushed to a higher level. The method was rough enough to make people frown, but the effect was still incredibly good! Maxwell sped up and pushed through the crowd, only to see the juvenile''s back in front of the sink. His hands held a knife and a fork and his foot was stepping on the bottom of a dark pot. He was absorbed in the rhythm like nobody was around. To his side was a big golden dog barking excitedly, dangling a sausage in its mouth. A fork was tied to its tail, so that as the dog wagged its tail, the fork would hit the lid of a pot, making a crisp and sharp sound. In the kitchen, the waiters and the cooks applauded, dancing for him, singing with the melody. It was not like a dignified school, but a carnival pub. Everyone was drunk, so that in the candlelight, their faces were red and drunk, and smiling. "Did I hear it wrong?" Maxwell sighed softly, and he felt that he had an illusion as if he had seen his political opponent wearing a tutu and throwing kisses along the King''s Avenue. "I am afraid Bach, that bastard, would regret his letter of recommendation if he saw him play his piece like this?" Although he was incredibly stunned by this absurdity, he could not help but want to applaud, and then did so without hesitation! The girl was shocked. But in her gaze, the old man was excited, getting ready to cheer. "Oh, no way! I like this rhythm too much!" Amid the cheers, the high-pitched tunes continued as if they were never-ending. In the rippling air, all the dishes shook from the resonance. An unparalleled sense of power and indulgence filled the air. There was also a sense of joy from the breaking jars and plates. In the end, the wok underneath the boy''s foot finally could not bear it anymore. After issuing one last high-pitched note, the wok cracked. The music ended. Suddenly the carnival came to an end, and the crowd cheered and applauded so loudly that they almost awakened the entire sleeping college. Maxwell gently clapped his hand, looking at the surprised girl. "Every day there are new surprises." He smiled and said, "This is where the joy of life comes from, Your Royal Highness." -- Ye Qingxuan was surrounded by the excited cook and the servants. "Where did you learn this? You''re almost at the same level with other musicians." The cook excitedly squeezed Ye Qingxuan''s face. "Uh, my father taught me in a place called Hawaii." The white-haired teenager wiped the sweat off his head, and put down the rolling pin in his hand, panting. Then he heard a crisp sound. The wok under his foot cracked even more, and then completely into two pieces... "Uh, sorry, I ruined your pot." He suddenly felt embarrassed and picked it up. "I don''t have to pay for this, right? "It was shipped from Manchester. It seems like it was made with special material. It looks very valuable." The person next to him shook his head. "This pot usually costs about five thousand." "Are you guys a corrupted shop? A pot is more expensive than a carriage?" Ye Qingxuan was in shock. He began to hate himself for using too much force. However, the crowd went quiet. All the people stared at the old man behind him. The old man bent over to pick up the broken pot, and tapped his fingers on it, breaking the silence with a crisp, sweet sound. "Yes, we''re the biggest corrupt shop in Anglo, an exclusive one," the principal said. "Mr. Principal..." someone whispered in the crowd. Maxwell smiled. "But because of the march you just ruined, I will not charge you for the pot." After he finished, he patted the boy''s shoulder, indicating for Ye to follow him. Before going out, he turned and said to the rest of the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen, I was deeply touched by your love of music today. Since everyone is a music lover, you can come and attend the school''s practice class. But just remember that you have to finish your work first." There was a silence in the crowd. "Well, goodbye, ladies and gentlemen." Finally, Maxwell waved gracefully, closing the door on the stunned school workers. In the silence of the hallway, Maxwell looked at the boy over and over, and looked at his dog several times as well. When Ye Qingxuan''s whole body had goose bumps, Maxwell finally finished looking and held his chin, then sighed, "I do not understand why the guy wrote a recommendation letter for you." He shook his head and lamented, "Did he owe you a lot of money?" "He? Who?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Mr. Wolf Flute? I did him some favors." "Wolf Flute? I remember him. He was the shame of the academy at that time, but I was very fond of him. I heard that he quit school and did not know where he was going. I see now." Maxwell suddenly understood. He nodded and asked, "Your name?" "Ye Qingxuan," the white-haired teen answered honestly. He pointed to the dog by his side. "This is Old Phil." Old Phil was gnawing the sausage. It returned Maxwell''s gaze with a supercilious, arrogant, and cold glare which made Ye Qingxuan exceptionally ashamed. Maxwell also had some more questions, "Age?" "Seventeen." "You are not old enough to attend school yet, but it''s okay since you have a letter of recommendation." Maxwell hammered his palm. "Well, remember to come to school early tomorrow to take the exam. If you can pass it, you can attend the school, but remember to pay the tuition. After all, recently I have been quite short of money," he rambled. He saw the dramatic change in the teen''s expression from surprise to shock, and then to ecstasy. "Exam? I can take the exam?" Ye Qingxuan almost rudely pulled him. "Entrance exam? You are not lying to me, right?" "Yes," said Maxwell. He firmly nodded, "If I were the examiner, you would not even need to take the exam." "Yeah, exam, exam," Ye Qingxuan muttered, so excited he was about to dance. "As long I pass the exam, I will be able to enter the college and become a musician..." "I cannot guarantee that you will become a musician. I just collect the tuition." Maxwell did not care if he offended the boy. Ye Qingxuan was not listening at all. He was ecstatic, holding Old Phil and laughing, and ran off somewhere Watching the teenager cheering away, Maxwell also laughed. "Must be nice to be young and energetic again." The night was deep. He coughed a little and looked to the side, "Your Highness, how do you feel?" Mary put on a white shawl to protect her from the night''s wind. In the dim street light, she looked graceful yet lost. After a long time she slowly shook her head. "I do not like him. I don''t understand my uncle." "Just because you did not get your uncle''s letter of recommendation?" Maxwell had seen through her. "Only at this time, I feel that Your Highness is still a little girl." Mary was furious and glared at him. "Mr. Principal, should I be offended?" "Haha, just consider me as a nonsensical old man. Please don''t punish me. After all, there were a lot of people who wanted to attack me recently, giving me a headache." "Do you worry about this?" "I need to worry about it a little. After all, the Secretary of State seemed to be convinced, and wanted to change the principal, so the politics is really annoying. The position of the examiner must be rotated between the aristocrats and musicians. Every time, I feel that Anglo''s future is falling more and more. I feel that Anglo would be... " "Mr. Principal, you seem to be saying something you should not say." The girl reminded him with a little anger, "Do I have to remind you why I came here tonight?" "I know, I know." Maxwell shrugged. "I know exactly why you were here tonight. I know it is hard for Your Majesty. I can take a leave for a while if necessary. Well, it happens that I have new wine in Wellington''s winery. It would be nice to go and give a taste. Unfortunately, I missed the princess of Yunlou''s dinner. I have been quite looking forward to seeing the Eastern beauty." Getting his assurance, the girl''s angry expression dissipated after a few minutes. "Mr. Principal, you are willing to sympathize with my mother''s good intention. She will be very grateful. It was a worthwhile trip for me." She bent over and said goodbye. Before leaving, she saw the teen cheering in the distance on the street. She looked at him, her eyes full of mercy. She asked, "Mr. Principal, although I do not know how he could warrant my uncle''s letter of recommendation, in your view, so you think he can really pass the exam?" "I do not think it is impossible." The Principal laughed mysteriously, "The older one becomes, the more one is prone to reminiscing. I feel that I''ve seen him before and if that is the case, he is at least worth looking forward to. After all, the miracles are part of the pleasures of life." 27 The Exam Mr. Sidney, who had not slept all night, turned around in his office and watched the sun shine through the windows, his eyes bloodshot. A middle-aged man in an expensive suit came and politely knocked on the door. Ben was full of excitement, "Sir, the Principal has just taken the carriage and gone to Wellington. "Disregarding the objections from the Ministry of Education, and at the risk of offending five or six big families, he still insisted on expelling McCain of the Cameron family. He now must pay the price." Mr. Sidney had expected this. The departure of the Principal meant that the musician faction would remain silent in the next two months and that the elite faction would prevail, which would be a good thing. However, as one of the representatives of the Academy''s nobles, he was not pleased at all. "It''s a pity for McCain. He was a good-for-nothing but he was still the concertmaster," Ben said. "He was found smoking mandala. He deserved it," Sidney said indifferently. "This might have been arranged by his brothers or sisters to rid him of his right to his inheritance. In any case, the exam is now in our hands, sir." "I will not allow the Royal Academy of Music to continue going downhill," said Ben. "Temperament is the privilege of the Bloodline of Glory, and to see a group of shameless guys dare to appear in my class, I just do not feel comfortable." "Of course," Mr. Sidney nodded. Because the elite faction now controlled the enrollment examinations, it would no doubt be a disaster for the commoner candidates, especially in a place like the Royal Academy of Music, where the noble bloodlines were concentrated, and many saw the commoners as threats... But this time, Mr. Sidney could not deal with a headache, "Whatever you do this time, there is one person...whom you must proceed with caution." "So the Bach rumor is true?" Although not many people knew, Ben had obviously heard about what happened last night. But because of its absurdity and weirdness, not many people wanted to believe it at all. "I thought about it all last night, and it''s not necessarily untrue. I even think that the bastard Maxwell must have already known but had kept it a secret just to make a fool of me." Mr. Sidney looked gloomy, "I will not be present for this examination. No matter how many of them you dismiss, that Eastern little devil, you must deal with him carefully. Ben, do you understand what I''m trying to say?" "Do not worry." Ben softly laughed, "The recommendation letter was just a recommendation to us after all. If he can''t pass the exam, even Bach won''t be able to say anything?" "Sounds like you are all prepared?" "We have carefully prepared the contents of the examination, in addition to...a special segment. Everything is under control, sir." "Then go," said Sidney, as he nodded with satisfaction, "The school board will remember your contribution." "This is what everyone of elite blood should do." Ben bowed, and closed the door behind him with a smile. - Every time Ye Qingxuan stepped into the Royal Academy of Music, he felt something special. It was like something was extracted from the air, something was missing. Like a saltwater fish swimming in freshwater, or a lizard from the mud coming to the deserthis breathing seemed a bit easier, but things did not feel the same as usual. He was unsure if it was good or bad. When he entered the school, it had seemed that he was the only one that felt this way. When he looked at others, they all seemed calm, as if they noticed nothing. Ye Qingxuan twisted his neck uncomfortably, and continued walking ahead with the school worker''s lead. Because today was a formal examination, he did not bring Old Phil just in case someone thought he was cheating. Because of that, Old Phil was extremely unhappy today. "Please go this way." Up ahead, the school worker was guiding them through the huge school campus. Among the lush forest, buildings of each of the school factions vaguely appeared. On a long walk, one might feel lost. It was said that the whole school was designed by the artist Hermes over a hundred years ago. The layout of the school districts and some of the structures had not changed within the past one hundred years, and still left a strong touch of Queen Victoria''s era. That short-lived era ended with the disaster brought on by the creation of the steam engines. Most of the designs were lost as well. Ye Qingxuan was quite excited to see such ancient designs today. The line walked forward solemnly except for Ye Qingxuan, who was looking around, sometimes whispering with excitement. Occasionally the noble students would look over, their eyes clearly showing the word ''country hick.'' Ye Qingxuan just rolled his eyes back at them. "Here is the public lecture hall. Please wait here and be patient." The school worker opened two heavy wooden doors and pointed to the wide space behind them. "All the seats are posted with your name, and the teachers will be here soon to distribute the examination papers." Ye Qingxuan sat down in his chair and looked around. Outside the window were the woods, the distant square, and the fountain that could be seen through layers of green. It must have cost a fortune to build this school. Even the dome above him was full of beautiful carvings. Ye Qingxuan stared for a long time. Yet somehow, he felt a gaze from nearby. He turned around to look and saw Banner staring at him, no expression on his pale face. After a long time, he slowly turned away. "Are elites all weird like this?" Ye Qingxuan muttered in silence. - As time went by, someone finally came through the door and distributed the papers. "The examination is four hours long. You are not allowed to whisper, cheat, hand in your paper in advance, or look aroundnow, let the examination begin," the gloomy faced man finished coldly. He turned away, not even giving the candidates a chance to ask questions. Before he left, he shut the thick wooden doors behind him. With the sound of the door closing, everyone seemed to be lost, not sure what the school was playing at. After a long silence, some of them gave up wondering and began the exam, followed by...cries of astonishment. Ye Qingxuan heard someone in front of him curse, and when he started the examination himself, he was shocked as well. Out of six pages, only one page was on grammar, music theory, and mathematics. Four pages were essay questions! Four full pages! Advanced questions which had nothing to do with basic music theories! ''The impact of the church''s reform over a hundred years ago, on the Anglo system,'' ''the rise of the School of Choir and its leading figures,'' ''briefly describe the seven questions raised by Hermes,'' ''The similarities and differences between Runes'' grammar and the common language,'' ''St. Gregory''s four big achievements,'' ''The five criteria of the Choir...'' Up until the last page, it was completely blank. "Did I get the place wrong? Is this the Trinity College?" Some candidates were scratching their heads and making painful noises. Last night''s crash studying on music theory and mathematics had been completely useless! "Isn''t the advanced mathematics supposed to be hardest part..." "I never studied Rune''s grammar!" Under the whispered complaints, Ye Qingxuan clutched the paper and looked around with surprise. Had Wolf Flute done him an even bigger favor than he had thought? He grabbed his pen and felt uneasy. - In the busy examination room, no one had even thought to look up at the grand dome. No one knew that above the dome, there was a group of people casually holding wine glasses, looking at their miserable expressions. On the second floor of the lecture hall was a hidden floor. In a magnificent hall, the floor was completely transparent, like crystals. The proctors were sitting on the couch, and looked down at the movements in the examination room, also exchanging words with each other. "It seems that this exam is very effective." Several proctors looked at each other and laughed. They watched everyone''s sad expressions, and congratulated the one next to them, "Genius idea, Mr. Ben!" "Thanks." Ben nodded, proudly rubbing his mustache. He said with a smile, "After all, the School of Choir is also a part of what the musicians must know. If the commoners do not understand, they can''t blame the others right? "The Royal Academy of Music is the most knowledge-intensive school in Anglo. Testing only advanced mathematics and basic music theory won''t be comprehensive enough." Some people agreed, "I suggest that in the future, examinations as well as classes should expand this segment. Religious study should remain an important part of education." "Agreed!" "Then it''s settled." Ben said, "I will report back to the school committee. If all the families here are in agreement, even the principal cannot disagree." The proposal had passed. "The exam is so difficult this time. What if no one answers correctly?" Someone asked softly. "The total number of candidates is two hundred and seventy. More than a hundred idiots will be dismissed and will no longer be our concern. We just need to take care of the remaining one hundred people. "Yes. Religion is part of the noble family''s education. Even if it is not the main subject, they won''t be like the commoners, who know nothing other than how to praise the saints." The proctors looked at each other and laughed. Most of the children of the noble families began all aspects of education before their coming of age, including art, religion, and etiquette. They were much better off compared to the commoners who only had at most two years in public school and only knew some hymns. Once the scope of the examination went beyond the basic education, it would simply be a slaughter within the scope of the provisions. Moreover, it would be easy to find the big fish in the small pond...the final interpretation was in the hands of the proctors. As long as everything was tidied up, even the principal would not be able to say anything once he came back. Watching the group of blank-faced commoners, Ben could not help but laugh. During the long exam, someone pushed open the door, and sat quietly in the corner chair. The noble proctors'' smiles slightly retracted, and gave the old man a quick sneering look, then turned away. Ever since the noble faction won the upper hand, the musician faction had completely given up under the influence of the principal. In order to appear fair on the surface, the principal only assigned an inconspicuous teacher as the representative, just for show. Compared to the elites who wore expensive clothing, even with his meticulous hair, the old man''s clothing was mediocre at best. He was very ordinary, and did not live up to the status of a musician. He sat silently in the corner, not saying a word, and just looked down at the candidates. The dark iron surface of his mechanical metal prosthetic, replacing his right arm, shone slightly. Four fingers stretched silently. He watched with concentration like a child. 28 Everyone is a Good Person An hour had passed since they started the test. The examiners checked their own areas and students, and were very satisfied with the current progress. "This year, the kid from the Adrian family did a good job," someone whispered in praise. In the silence of the examination room, Banner answered the questions on his test paper, emotionless, his pen flying effortlessly. It seemed that was not stressed about the difficult subjects on the test. "In the end, he is from a well-educated family." Ben nodded. "He deserves to be the next generation inherited from the age of darkness. Of course, he is also good at hunting and theology." "It''s not right," somebody said quietly. Someone else was aware of it too. "His speed is too fast." "Huh?" "That white-haired boy, what''s he doing?" Ben was surprised for a moment, watching the white-haired boy not far from him. In the gloomy examination room, the white-haired boy was so happy, almost dancing out of his seat. As if he had taken drugs, his eyes were glistening. He held the pen in his hand, writing at an incredible speed. It was so fast that the proctors could not see his hand moving clearly. Besides the first two pages, which he needed time to think about, he was racing through the rest of the test. "The reform of the church swept by, the rise of the School of Choir rushed by, St. Gregory''s achievementshe had filled almost half the page without thinking. The only thing he spent a long time on was the question about Runes'' and common grammar because he wrote at least one a half pages without stopping! It did not seem like a boy taking an exam, but rather a fox happily slipping into a chicken coop. "Hey, what''s going on here?" Ben''s face was gloomy and looking to the side. "I don''t know." The teacher who had written the questions gulped. "He must not be scared of the problems. Maybe he is answering them all incorrectly." "This is not a political analysis. As long it provides a full answer, he can get some basic points." The female examiner contemptuously glanced at the teen, and said coldly, "If it''s just chicken scratch, he cannot get any points." "But what if he answered them all correctly?" someone softly asked. Everyone''s expression was gloomy. The white-haired brat was the target that they had been instructed to ''take care of.'' If he passed with ease, the vice Principal would be upset. Breaking the silence, a man whispered, "Do not scare yourself. How could that untouchable little know any theology?" "Yes, I designed the exam in accordance with the difficulty level of teaching staff''s guideline." A middle-aged proctor shook his head, "They should not be too easy to answer. Even if it were an open book exam, there shouldn''t be people who can easily pass." "Do you think he''s really writing down wrong answers?" "I think so." After hearing what others were saying, Ben''s face eased up. He nodded, "A messy answer will disqualify him. I bet the Principal will not be able to say anything about it." "He answered them all correctly," someone murmured from the corner. A white-haired old man looked up, his eyes hazy, his face stiff. Rather than mocking the nobles, he was stating a fact. He said, "All the answers are correct." In the examination room, Ye Qingxuan''s pen was flying like the wind, quickly sweeping through the subjects one by one. Now that he had come to the last question, the seven guidelines of hymnists...This was the common question for singers, yet outsiders would have no idea. But these seven criteria were regarded as part of the ''reformation'' and recorded in the sixth chronicle of the History of the Church. It was considered as one of the biggest achievements of the sixth generation of Pope Louis. The rise and representatives of the School of Choir? The answer to the question was just putting together the contents of some chapters from Church Music History and Saints'' Biography! And in order to make sure that he did not miss anything, Ye Qingxuan even added a chapter from Praise Thirteen! Seven questions made by Hermes? A century ago, Hermes''s era was called the Development of the Art of the Church! Almost all of the artists in that era were all devout believers. They simply made a significant contribution to the development of religious art. The seven questions were officially recorded in the Theory, and could be easily found in the book! As for the difference between Runes'' and common grammar, Ye Qingxuan knew this well because Father Bann had made him a copyist for three years. The more Ye Qingxuan wrote, the more he could not help but want to laugh and dance. Good man! Everyone was a good person! It was so good to have a recommendation letter! While Ye Qingxuan was writing, his heart spoke to Wolf Flute, "You were afraid I could not take the exam, and you must have found someone to change the examination questions, thank you!" It was an unbelievable privilege. -- "... he answered it all?" one of the proctors whispered. "Yes, all the questions are done ..." "Bullsh*t!" Ben roared, interrupting his words. Everyone went completely silent. Ben was crazily pounding on the table, glaring at the dark face of the middle-aged man. "What is going on here?" "Maybe...he had peeked at the exam beforehand?" the examiner answered timidly. "Why did you assure me?" Ben wanted to kick him. "Can you tell me how the little devil is coming up with correct answers?" He remembered the promise he had made to Mr. Sidney. He felt his internal organs twisting into one piece. He was livid. "Maybe our exam was leaked?" Under the intense pressure, the middle-aged examiner''s brain began to search for answers. It seemed that he had realized that life-saving possibility. His pale face turned blood red. "Someone must have leaked our exam to him!" "He''s cheating!" "It seems that the people from downtown only know how to cheat." Some people sneered, "Or is he the student of the School of Choir?" "Cheating?" Ben''s face relaxed a little. "Are you sure?" "Of course," the examiner was angry, his eyes full of contempt. "Based on his inferior status, how could he have had access to church classics?" "We need to punish him," another examiner suggested. "Yes, to prevent this kind of thing from happening again." Ben rubbed his palms, his eyes were dark. "We do not need to continue the examination and give him..." "He did not cheat," the low voice came from the corner, interrupting Ben''s words. The room was suddenly silent. Ben''s expression became more and more miserable. The stiff old man just looked at the examination room, not noticing the change in the atmosphere around him, his eyes focused. "His writing methods and writing habits are unique to the church. His ring finger holding the pen is also a unique way of writing, which is how the kind of special font changes could be seen in the church''s announcement and clergy letters." He continued, "You can see the calluses on his hands that only long years of writing could leave. He must have received training from the church. Maybe he is a clergy..." "Enough!" Ben interrupted his words, livid, "Mr. Abraham, pay attention to your words. There is no room here for your foolishness." The old man finally felt that the atmosphere was not right. He slowly closed his mouth and lowered his head, embarrassed. Under the cold gazes, he scratched his gray hair in shame with his prosthetic hand. "Sorry," he whispered. Ben looked at him coldly, and ignored him. "It''s about time." Ben took a deep breath and opened a box on the side. "Let''s move on." The violin made of glass reflected light like a dream. Ben cradled the violin, holding the bow on the string. His voice was dripping with evil, "Now let them take a real exam." As the subtle music played, his eyes were cunning and demonic. - In the examination room, Ye Qingxuan hummed the praise poems. He finished the last question with the ease and grace of moving clouds and flowing water. Just after rechecking all his answers, he nodded with satisfaction. It was nearly perfect. ''If I do not seriously answer the questions, then I would disappoint all of the people who helped me!'' Ye Qingxuan could not help but want to laugh. But taking into account that he was in the examination room, he had to hold back his emotions, and could not laugh loudly. He looked down at the only blank part of the test. He could not help but wonder, "There is no question on this page. What is it used for?" Much time has passed. The cicadas noisy sounds came from the distance. Ye Qingxuan could not help but yawn, feeling his vision blur as he got more tired. He was so sleepy. On the blank test paper, a silver pattern subtly flashed. He froze for a moment, looked down, but found that there really was a pattern on the white paper. It was a fine, inconspicuous, and complex pattern like a watermark, slowly becoming more noticeable. Its stripes, like tangled thorns, were complex enough to make people dizzy. Ye Qingxuan carefully squinted, but as if his sight had failed as if swept away by the patterns. In the blur, a series of low voices sounded in his ears, like the other drowsy candidates were on his paper, speaking to him. Then he did not know anything. Suddenly the examination room filled with pain and loss. At this moment, a sudden silence fell over the room. Everyone was silent, and fell into a sudden deep sleep. In front of them, that blank paper reflected slight silver lights in silence. Amid the silence, a vague voice echoed in the air. It was thin and small, like water dripping. It infiltrated the silence, mixing in with the sounds of breathing, clothes rubbing together, and people''s voices from the distant square. Finally it united with all the other sounds, seamlessly blending into a melody like silk. The dripping sounds blended together, like a spring gurgling water, flowing in everyone''s ears. Cold and clear water poured into everyone''s heart, quietly infiltrating the stress caused from the test. It was knocking on the secrets in the deepest bottom of the hearts! Fantasia No. 97, the piece born from the Disaster Overture. Its name was the Shadow of Interrogation. 29 Shadow of Torture Above the second floor, the sound like dripping water spread from Ben''s hands, going in all directions, evenly cascading down on the floor below. The music was as smooth as flowing water, but suddenly become violent like fire and lava, and illuminated everything that the students had repressed along its way. "Write it down!" Ben coldly stared at the candidates below, as if he was looking at dirt. On the floor as clear as crystal, his shadow loomed down like a terrible creature. Defying the laws of nature, his shadow quickly expanded and invaded the candidates'' shadow. Instantly, everyone seemed to have been hit by lightning. Their bodies stiffened and they seized their pens. A demon seemed to roar within them, "Write down your most painful secret!" The harsh voice surged violently, like a chainsaw battling a sword! - "Dad, brother, I''ve failed you!" In the examination room, a boy about seventeen-years-old suddenly burst into tears. He grabbed his pen and started writing frantically on the blank exam paper, "I''m sorry, I am worthless. I did not study the music theory well. I have disgraced the family. Please forgive me!" From his writing, the image of a poor family emerged. They were hard working, and borrowed a lot of money, but they had provided him, their youngest child, the chance to an education. There was an older brother, who had been close to the younger brother once, but alienated him as they grew older because of money. And himself, who could never get good grades no matter how hard he tried. "Haha! You all deserve to die! To die!" in the corner, a red-haired man laughed hysterically. He held the pen in his hand as if he was holding a knife, frantically stabbing the air in front of him, and writing names on the paper. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Severus...a dozen names crossed out like a hit list. He kept stabbing with a grim smile, "Die everyone! Anyone who stands in the way of the Draco''s family has to die!" "Give me the money first, I want a deposit!" A thin and hunched candidate with fiery eyes wrote down his plan on the paper, "I promise you, as long as I get into the academy, I will help you steal that thing..." Above the second floor, the examiners stared at the scandals down in the examination room, expressionlessly recording their students'' actions in their own notes. "Didn''t think he''s a spy." Someone saw the hunched candidate, and shook his head coolly. "At the end of the examination, transfer him to the discipline department." The examiner responsible for the northeast corner raised her hands, "I found two here as well. They were spies from the other schools." "This man desires his own sister? Bad character, flush him out." "Ruthless character, get him out." "A murderer? Take him to the police station." "This man forged his medical report, he has to go." This was the most difficult part of the exam. Led unconsciously by the music, everyone would reveal their deepest secret. Moreover, this was "Shadow of the Interrogation" played by a real musician. Even a spy with official training could not hide, let alone a group of immature minors. Ben smiled coldly. When his eyes reached the young man in the middle of the examination room, he was shocked. In his seat, Ye Qingxuan was struggling to hold up his head, twisting painfully like he was struggling in a nightmare. His hands were twitching, but refused to grasp the pen. His mind was resisting against the influence of the music. "As expected." Ben smiled and increased the intensity of the music. "Let me see into your little heart. What secrets are you hiding?" On the chair, the boy''s body was shaking frantically, like a dying snake. His hands were tightly clutching the pen, but not a word was written down. He was still fighting! Fighting hard! "Say it." Ben growled. The music increased by two octaves, becoming more and more sharp. The white-haired was in pain, his body was trembling violently. He almost could not bear it any longer. "Tell me!" Ben demanded as if the devil was roaring next in his ears. He raised the pitch even higher. As if a strong current had gone through his body, Ye Qingxuan suddenly jumped from his seat, his eyes turned white. He was still biting his teeth, refusing to talk. Finally, the music shattered like broken glass. Iron residue fell from above resulting in a horrifying screeching noise that made all of the proctors cringe. They did not know, but it had exceeded the safety threshold by more than three times! This was not a mild test, but a vicious torture breaching the souls! Even adults could not bear such terrible pressure! "Say it all!" Ben''s eyes turned bloody red with a hellish madness and malice. His voice boomed like thunder inside the young man''s heart, "Tell all your dirty secrets, say it all!" Something cracked. As if the last string had broken, the young man''s body suddenly seized up. While holding his pen, he struggled and opened his mouth. He looked up, staring at the invisible sky, his eyes rolling back. Under the viscous force, his finally gave in. "Yes, say it." Ben cheerfully laughed, "Say it! Say it! The biggest secret in your heart. What''s on your dirty mind! Reveal it all!" With Ben''s mad laugh, Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth slowly. With a painful voice he began to pray. Ben was stunned, "...Huh?!" "I will fill this river, let it run endless, for you, my Lord, for you." The young man prayed intently. He opened his hands and drew an emblem in the air. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" Bathed in the afternoon sunlight, the young man clasped his hands together over his chest. He was moved to tears by the God''s teaching, and praised the glory of the Lord with devotion. In the sunlight, his body was like a saint...not! Ben was seething with rage. "What is this? What is this f*cking sh*t!? What is he doing!?" Ben screamed inside his head. Ben''s face had turned from green to bright red. He felt as if he were about to collapse. In the afternoon sunlight, the examination room was like an asylum. Someone was cursing fate with anger. Someone was crying with fear. Someone was begging for money with greed. Someone was writing a sex novel while performing a striptease. Someone was writing down a plan to kill all his brothers and sisters in competition for their inheritance. With everyone running wild, only the white-haired young man was crying with compassion for the world, writing down the century-old scripture, a creed inscribed in every devout believer--the "Self-cultivation of Clergy." His smile was merciful, and his tears flowed with compassion as if a saint from the kingdom of heaven had fallen upon him. At his fingertips, a humble ring quietly shone with a silver glow. "God, praise you, Hallelujah!" - Ye Qingxuan had a vague dream. At first, noises came from all directions and his heart was filled with pain. It had become unbearable for him, but suddenly, all the noises disappeared as if the dream angrily deflected all of the external noises. All the torture was gone, and he was back in the church again. In the afternoon sunlight, Father Bann was holding the Holy Bible. His eyes were serious as he guided Ye through the holy poems. The elegant poetry had almost moved Ye Qingxuan to tears. He was immersed in this strange feeling, loudly praising the great God, and could not help himself. He scribbled down the teachings of God, and the saints. In this dream, everything had seemed normal. Only the ring was slightly hot, and exuded a strange light. - When he woke up, it was close to sunset. He found himself not in the examination room, but was leaning against a soft chair in an office, spacious and bright. Opposite him, Ben with his face deathly pale gave him a very mean look. "Ye Qingxuan?" He asked. Ye Qingxuan nodded blankly. "Congratulations, you have passed the written test." Ben squeezed out an ugly smile, "Full marks." "Wow." Ye Qingxuan chuckled, "Thanks for all of your consideration." "Considerations your *ss!" Ben nearly said. Ben wanted to flip the table again, but when he recalled the scene in the examination room, and he felt pain in his testicles again. "What kind of drug was this guy on?! Being a psychopath was not enough, he had to turn into a nut possessed by God!" Ben thought. He had reformed dozens of candidates on the spot. They cried at his feet for the Lord''s forgiveness, and then vowed to repent. Even their written confessions had been washed away by the light, the paper as pure as the white lotus! The Royal Academy of Music had a hundred years of history! And this examination more than forty times! This kind of sh*t had never happened! Because of this bastard, the passing rate was more than eighty percent! And as this was his own doing, Ben had to suffer all the consequences, from the elite faction''s counterattack, the Principal''s withdrawal, and this guy''s obstruction. When he thought of this, Ben could not help but want to grab this little bastard and beat him up. But with that letter of recommendation, real or not, he could only suppress his anger and squeezed out an ugly smile worse than crying. "That little bastard better not be too happy too early. The exam is not over yet. We will see!" Ben schemed inside of his head. "Because it is difficult to gather the teachers from different schools, the hands-on exam will be in ten days." Ben smiled reluctantly and maintained a gentle voice, "In addition to the exam, you will also have to complete a hands-on examination. I''m looking forward to your performance." "Hands-on exam? What is that?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He had a bad feeling. "Do you not know?" Ben asked rhetorically, managing a surprised look. "The Royal Academy of Music had always focused on both knowledge and actual practice, so this test is also an important part of the exam." He paused, and softly said, "This part is mainly to determine the basic eligibility of the candidates. As long as you can correctly use notes, and are able to interact with the aether, you will be fine. But for someone as good as you are, I''m sure it won''t be a problem." When he finished, Ben subtlety glanced at Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. Using a voice only he could hear, he snickered softly, "Of course someone like you who had never interacted with aether will be a different story." Ye Qingxuan was petrified. After his long silence, he softly asked, "What happens if I don''t pass?" "Eliminated," Ben opened his hands casually, his voice cold. Ye Qingxuan was suddenly dumbfounded. Eliminated certainly did not mean he would have to wash dishes for the Royal Academy of Music. If he failed, he would not even have the opportunity to wash dishes! But the problem was that besides the one time in the forest when he almost died, Ye Qingxuan had not felt aether in almost ten years! "Can...an exception be made?" Ye Qingxuan asked weakly. "No." Ben shook his head, "Have you heard of a magician without magic?" Ye Qingxuan understood him, and was silent. A magician without magic was just someone playing tricks on the streets. Similarly, how could some who cannot control aether have anything to do with being a musician? Just go and play the trichord in the pub? Ye Qingxuan had thought of everything, but had not counted on the school asking for this. He thought that once he got accepted by the school, he would have lots of time to resolve this problem, but did not think he would be tested on this so quickly. He turned around silently and asked where he could buy an aether ball, then went straight to the store. The hands-on exam would be in ten days! There was no time to hesitate or to waste. If he passed, then he would be on his way to becoming a musician. If he failed, everything would be lost. 30 Notebook At this moment, thousands of miles away from Avalon, a carriage was moving towards the capital. In the afternoon, the blazing sun shone on the wilderness. Dragged by sixteen hard-working horses, the carriage was running fast on the trail. Public long-distance carriage was the result of Anglo''s strong development of transportation in recent decades. The horses worked as the driving force, dragging the carriage along on the trail. Although the fare was high, there were still many people willing to use this convenient mode of transportation. In the empty carriage, a young man wearing a black windbreaker leaned against a bench. He was thinking seriously about how to enjoy the cup of poor quality postprandial red wine in front of him. This was the last fun part of his trip. Besides him, the long carriage only had a handful of people--an elderly couple returning home, a pathetic-looking writer, and a young couple. The afternoon had been exceptionally quiet. "Now the little brat should almost be in Avalon." Wolf Flute calculated the time it would take to get to Avalon. "With the teacher''s letter of recommendation, he should have no problem getting into the school, and that notebook..." After thinking of that, he could not help but want to laugh but the laughing movement would affect the new wound between his chest and abdomen, so he resisted. From midnight four days ago to the present, he had changed his clothes and identities sixteen times, changed his mode of transportation countless times, and endured three tragic battles that almost resulted in his death, leaving ten dead bodies behind. He had temporarily thrown his pursuers off track, but after a while they would probably catch up to him like wild dogs. How long would they chase him for the black box that was no longer with him? Thinking of that, Wolf Flute could not help but want to laugh again, admiring his own intelligence, "Who would think that I gave that black box to a kid who I knew for no more than ten hours? Who would have suspected that a white-haired kid would be involved in this kind of thing? Is this the so-called ''Do one thing under the cover of another'' by my teacher? I used myself to attract the force, but the real sacred object is secretly in the cover of the notebook, peacefully brought to Avalon to complete my mission. As long as it is still in Avalon, there will never be a problem..." He narrowed his eyes, enjoying the warm sunshine which made him lazy and drowsy. "Yeah, who could think of that?" A soft and tender voice spoke in front of him, startling Wolf Flute, yet he still felt as if he was sleeping. If it were not a dream, how could the scene appear in front of him? They were in a place at least three-hundred kilometers from any village. Other than frozen beef pasta, and chicken with rice, there was no other food available on the carriage. So where had this feast come from? Fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables were covered delicately with salad dressing, emitting a sweet aroma. Fragrant French mushroom soup was thrown on the side, untouched. Marseille fish and foie gras were crowded by huge lobsters, almost falling off the table. Vivid, and colorful pheasants cooked in red wine seemed too exquisite for anyone to be worthy of a glance. Compared with that feast, fancy enough to squeeze anyone''s wallet dry, the poor quality chicken baked rice Wolf Flute just finished seemed exceptionally lonely and poor. "I have to say that this plan was very good," a young boy was saying. Behind the table, the boy wearing a black dress slowly combed his golden long hair behind his ears, then put a napkin around his neck. Finally, he held up a knife and a fork to his handsome face, he had a dazzling smile, "Unfortunately, some people have begun to doubt." Wolf Flute''s body subconsciously tightened. He clenched his flute, feeling music automatically reverberating inside of him. Just by snapping his fingers, he could summon the ghost wolves. But even so, his heart was still uneasy, feeling repressed. "Who are you?" he asked. "Boring question," the boy sneered at him. "Why don''t you relax? After all, tension is useless." He pushed the French soup in front of Wolf Flute. "Would you like some? A hot drink will be better." Wolf Flute was drooling. He swallowed his saliva, struggling to put an end to the temptation to drink the soup and kill himself. "What do you mean?" he asked weakly. "That means that some people have begun to doubt it." The mysterious boy looked in Avalon''s direction. "I am afraid that the extremely poor people of Avalon have started looking for that white-haired kid." He continued, "Some people have already offered considerable rewards for getting the notebook, regardless if the boy lives or dies." "I do not know what you''re talking about," Wolf Flute responded coldly. "It does not matter if you don''t know and it does not matter if you knew already. Anyway, it has turned into an interesting situation, but you do not have to worry about it. The Eastern kid will not get into big trouble...probably." The boy spread out his hands, smiling happily, "After all, this is a rare repertoire enough to make me happy for two or three months. It is worth celebrating!" While speaking, the boy snapped his fingers. The waiter suddenly appeared, holding a bottle of old wine with an old label. The mellow aroma of the glass in the teenager''s hand spread. The boy shook the glass. "My collection, white wine from King Louis''s era. Would you like to try?" "No, I have mine," Wolf Flute answered coldly. The boy scoffed and glanced at Wolf Flute''s glass, "If I were you, I would not touch it. After all, bad wine is bad wine, even with poison. It won''t change that much." "What did you say?" "Well, it''s rare material called Agave. It has a fast reaction, only three minutes will be able to stop a mammoth''s heart. Other than the strong smell of alcohol, there are no other shortcomings." The red wine in the boy''s glass suddenly changed into a slender test tube. In the test tube, an insect slowly twisted, turning pink due to the hot temperature. The larva of the scorpion moth was a heterologous creature that was used to test poison. Even a little bit of toxicity would make it grow ahead of schedule... With the tilt of the test tube, the larvae rolled into the red wine, followed by a harsh scream. As if a block of magnesium was thrown into water, the red wine started boiling, then evaporated. In the tube, there was only a moth fluttering its deformed wings. Feeling confused under the sun, it ran into the glass over and over. "Disgusting. I suddenly don''t have an appetite anymore." Wolf Flute grimaced. The teenager ''s brow wrinkled. He softly sighed, "If I knew this, I would have let you die earlier." "Hey, you" Wolf Flute began. "Our happy conversation ends here, Mr. Wolf Flute " The boy interrupted his words, raised his eyebrows arrogantly, his handsome face full of indifference. "Before leaving, I hope you can struggle for a few days longer. But as a reward for chatting with me, I will remind you of one thing." His figure became more and more hazy, but in the blur came a cold voice, "Never are there so many people coincidentally traveling together" - Right at that moment, Wolf Flute woke up from the short dream, sweating. He began to open his eyes, but felt like staying in the dream for a long time. He was waking up now, everything was still in its original position. The cup of red wine was still intact, exuding a fragrance. He silently held the glass in front of him, staring at the rest of the passengers through the red wine. They were all either tired or excited. Finally, he saw the secret of those deep eyes. There seemed to be gentle footsteps coming from the top of the train. Underneath the floor, it sounded as if there were some creatures scuttling around. "Even my last moment of fun was ruined..." Wolf Flute sighed. The red wine fell to the ground making a sizzling sound. "You guys make me mad." -- The night was getting closer and closer. An old man called Ghosthand was still smoking his pipe. He was like an ordinary old man in Avalon, sitting on a long bench in the street, getting some cool air in the summer night. "Are you sure you saw him living here?" he asked. Next to the bench, a dirty tramp squatting on the floor nodded, and pointed to the hotel. "An Eastern kid, white-haired, also with a dog, it can''t be wrong." "I hope you know the cost of lying to the Shaman." Ghosthand threw a heavy wallet into the tramp''s arms and waved. In the shadow of the alley, a bunch of burly man rushed out. They blocked the entrances of front and rear doors quietly. The leading two men raised a hammer and broke the door. Leaving two men to watch the gate, the rest of the armed men suddenly burst into the hotel. The passing crowd was scared, hiding as they looked in shock in the direction of the hotel. A loud noise came from the hotel, as if someone was breaking into the rooms. Scared guests screamed, and were forced to shut themselves up from the threatening men. The proprietress fumbled behind the counter, whimpering. After a burst of the sounds of beating and hitting, everything became silent. Someone got a signal from the distance, frowned, then whispered in Ghosthand''s ears, "Sir, no one." Ghosthand continued smoking silently, and looked at the tramp next to him. Under his gaze, the tramp was petrified. He trembled, and his eyes became puzzled and frightened. "Continue looking," Ghosthand said softly. Another burst of screaming sounded. Loud crackling sounds came from the three-story hotel. The violent search and destruction had begun again. 31 Sound in the Moonligh In the long street, Ghosthand was silently smoking his pipe. Although the air was filled with cheers and laughter, the atmosphere around the bench was destitute, like the winter. A homeless man was shivering on the ground. "Excuse me, how do I get to Luther Street?" someone behind Ghosthand asked. It sounded like the person was lost and had been asking everyone nearby for directions, then finally he came to ask Ghosthand. Irritated, Ghosthand did not show a temper, but was also not interested in turning around to answer the question. He silently continued to smoke his pipe, then pointed to the right. "Oh, thank you!" The pedestrian got their answer, and happily left. The smashing sound continued until the group of people had completely searched through the hotel from attic to cellar. But they still did not find where the white-haired boy and his dog were hiding. Finally, Ghosthand went inside the hotel, looked at the ruins of the front desk, his eyes gloomy, "Did they say anything?" "I swear he is not here...he is not here anymore!" The wife of the hotel owner, who had been tied up and slapped around a few times choked as she sobbed, "He left half an hour ago! You came too late...I really do not know anything, nothing!" "So we missed him again?" Ghosthand put down his pipe, and knocked off some ash on the wall. His voice was cold, "So you are saying, that we just missed that d*mn kid again?" The homeless guy who had wanted to escape had his leg broken. He came into the ruins of the hotel. "Sir, it had nothing to do with me, I did not expect that! I swear!" The homeless guy begged, "Let me go, I was truthful to Mr. Shaman, and I really did not..." Ghosthand put down his pipe, and sneered at the homeless guy on the floor. The homeless man''s voice became lower and lower, the finally, his whispers had no sound. His eyes full of despair. "I do know that this was just a little mistake. You should not be blamed." Ghosthand bent down, and pressed on the right eye of the homeless guy. His cloudy eyes were full of sorrow, "But unfortunately, I''m not like the Scotland Yard...they''re too understanding." There was a sickening snapping sound! Something broke. ... "Thought of everything, but I still missed two things." On the streets, dragging an old suitcase, Ye Qingxuan was murmuring despondently, "First, I did not account for the hands-on examination, and second, I did not think..." Ye put his head down and stared at the crystal ball in his hands, whining, "Why is this aether ball so expensive!" In the hands of Ye Qingxuan, the fist-sized crystal ball was flashing with the reflections of the street lights. With the hustle and bustle of the people nearby, the crystal ball sometimes flashed erratically. It was like broken silver dust was constantly reborn, disappearing and converging inside the crystal. It would made you dizzy after a while. This was one of the most commonly used measurement tools for musicians: the aether ball. It looked like a solid crystal ball, although it was just a thin layer of crystal solidified by a high-temperature. The refractive index and thickness were of the highest standard. The inside was engraved with runes, filled with pure aether, and was able to respond to the lowest sound. The one in Ye''s hands was bought from a store for civilian use, or for musician apprentices to play with. It was the most basic type. It would last for about four months, but it had cost almost all of Ye Qingxuan''s money. It was said that in the army, and in the musicians union, there were much better quality aether balls and measuring tools. They were not things money could buy. As for ''learning how to communicate with the aether,'' the most suitable material for the introductory lesson was in his hands. He rubbed the notebook that Wolf Flute had given him, and sighed softly. Even though he had the aether ball in his hands, the difficulty level was still very high. So far, musicians were still rare in the human world. Every book said that in order to communicate with the aether, musicians needed to recite the runes. The runes of the notes were the basis of all music sheets and power. They came from the exploration and research from past years. They were composed of complex basic syllables, hard to understand, and difficult to recite. More than half of them were the sounds of the world converted by aether. From runes to a measure, and from a measure to a movement, it finally became a complete music score in the end. From their long exploration, mankind had developed a complete system divided into seven branches and hundreds of specialization. In Wolf Flute''s notes, only three basic notes had been recorded, which were the basis of three different schools. They were the "extraction" of the School of Modifications, the "peace" of the School of Abstinence, and the "beastly nature" of the School of Summoning. As long as you could master any of them, you would be able to pass the test. However, Ye Qingxuan had no confidence in learning how to complete this seemingly simple test within ten days. Especially since this was Avalon. In order to avoid the large-scale chaos of aether caused by loud noises, the city was completely surrounded by the enchantment of aether. This enchantment was like a griddle, able to completely suppress aether interference caused by ninety-nine percent of the noise, and only the most accurate syllables could work. After all, not many ordinary people dared to have anything to do with aether. Most were rather afraid of it. Whether it was the notes of Wolf Flute, or of any musician, the covers of their musical sheets would always have a commandment from the first Pope. The commandment, written in black ink, had been engraved in everyone''s heart, from birth until death, never forgotten--awe of aether. - Having studied the history of the church, Ye Qingxuan was able to have a more comprehensive understanding of the current world. After all, for mankind, ninety percent of the world was undeveloped dark areas. Researchers around the world would uniformly use four colors while marking maps. The most central regions were white, representing the density of aether, and how much land could be occupied by man on a large-scale. Yellow represented where extreme loud noises were banned. And black was the danger zone outside of the border. In the black areas, even the slightest cough would cause a chain reaction as dangerous as avalanche. In the red bordering towns, shouting was not even allowed. People could only whisper. The red was known as the silence zone. Those who had not been to the border and beyond could not understand that kind of suffering and fear. Although the dark ages had ended only three hundred years ago, the riots caused by aether destroyed numerous cities and villages. Nowadays, catastrophes had become a nightmare inside the heart of every human. Thus the areas where humans lived would inevitably have churches; not only for spiritual beliefs, but also because during the constructions of the churches, a special technology was used to dilute the density of aether, to ensure security within the area. Because the musicians controlled the means to communicate with, and control aether, they were respected and feared. In order to develop and advance their skills, musicians had also paid a large price. It was said that a hundred years ago, in order to communicate easily with aether, all schools had chosen to establish academies at the border; however, the death and accident rates were too high. Some schools had gradually migrated back to the inland so that at least then students would not have their head busted open due to a wrong syllable read, or half of their body cut off by a vortex of aether. From ancient times until now, becoming a musician had been a dangerous business, and the difficulty to enter was also second to none. Ye Qingxuan was thinking, "Ten days to learn a rune, isn''t that a little too difficult to do?" - It was late at night on Luther Street, on an empty public carriage platform. It had been years, but it was just how Ye Qingxuan had remembered. Once night fell, there would be few pedestrians, but the lights were bright, and there also a bench to lie down on. The summer night temperatures would not freeze anyone, and the wind was still tolerable. This was midtown, so it was pretty safe. As long as you did not look like a bum, the police would not drive you away. Instead of sharing rotten shacks with the beggars, this was a good place to stay on the streets. It was easy for Ye to read the notes. Although he had memorized the contents of the notes on the way to London, he still wanted to read through them one more time. The "extraction" of the School of Modifications had been the first that Ye eliminated as a possibility to learn The level of sensitivity required to handle to aether was too high. With Ye Qingxuan as unaware as a blind man, even if he was successful, he would only be turned into a mummy by the uncontrollable runes. The "beastly nature" from the School of the Summoning had the clearest notes in the book but sounded like a beast roaring when recited. The six basic syllables simply could not be connected together, and Ye Qingxuan just could not grasp the emphasis. The ''peace'' from the School of Abstinence seemed to be the easiest to learn, but there were dozens of basic syllables! Therefore, the difficulty level of entering the School of Abstinence was the highest among all the seven schools. Ye Qingxuan really had no confidence in his own talent. With no choice, he had to try one by one. "First, take a deep breath ..." Ye Qingxuan sat on the bench, chewing on the last bit of dry food. Under the streetlight, he read the book, "Relax the throat muscles, feel the lung expanding, and then slowly exhale, tongue slightly touch the teeth..." According to these little tricks in the book, he tried the syllable "" but felt like someone was stabbing him. Of course, the aether ball did not respond. He smacked his lips, feeling like something was wrong. The young man tried again with hope. This time he did not feel like he was being stabbed, but like a group of ducks quacking together. The ball still had no reaction. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and comforted himself, "Must be because I''m not sincere. Sincere, sincere, and concentrate." Old Phil was lying on the bench, leering at the idiot, then soon looked away and continued sleeping. "Oh, oh...no, it is not right." Ye murmured to himself. "Yeah, oh? Still no reaction..." "Oh, oh, oh ..." In this long summer night, Ye Qingxuan had wasted a full three hours only to realize that perhaps this syllable just did not agree with him. Perhaps another syllable would be better. But the aether ball had proved him wrong with more silence. Another syllable would not make a difference. "Oh, oh, oh!" "Oh..." Despite Ye Qingxuan''s various attempts, the aether ball still had no response. In the end, with a sore throat, Ye Qingxuan could not help throwing the book on the ground. "What''s the matter? What is wrong!" Ye Qingxuan glared at the aether ball but no matter how hard he stared, the crystal ball remained still, with no response at all. "Is it broken?" He shook it, want to be sure, and at that moment, the aether ball lit up. "Ok?!" Like the light of fireflies, the aether ball started flashing vaguely then and extinguished, like silver dust was floating in the liquid. Then numerous flashes appeared like stars, flashing in rotation with no specific pattern, illuminating Ye Qingxuan''s stunned face. "What''s is this?" He looked in surprise at his surroundings, and a strange smell came though the wind. A faint laughter came from afar. Something was coming. 32 I’ve Started Practicing "Hehe, come chase me!" It was as if a psycho was screaming while playing a game. In the deep night, some people crazily ran over, squirming strangely on the moonlit street. Ye Qingxuan swore that he had never seen a sight so hectic before in his entire seventeen years. Under the silver moonlight, a man with a hair like a bird''s nest laughed maniacally. His butt was shaking as he raced down the street. A breeze blew by in the night, lifting the thin shirt on his body, revealing a pair of bold underwear. As he ran barefoot, the aether ball would flash in accordance with his laughter. "Hoho!" His laughter was like a broken drumroll littered onto the ground. He continued running around like a psycho. Ye Qingxuan gaped at the aether ball, "This works too?!" Before he could even finish his question, the crazy bird nest guy was back with his high pitched laughter, scaring Ye Qingxuan. He raced in the wind, stopping without warning in front of the youth. Bending down, he pointed at his bruised face, radiating the smell of alcohol. "You. Tell me!" With a face of seriousness, he asked, "Am I hot?" His voice was deep but clear, gentle with just a tinge of roughness. It could be described as a nice voice, but Ye Qingxuan was still stuck on the image of him running nude and could not reply. The aether ball in his hand continued to flashed. "Do you think I''m hot?" the nude man asked again. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan complimented the man against his conscience, "Very, very hot." He felt like his conscience had shattered into a million pieces after replying. But if one looked carefully, it was clear that if the man had not been beat up earlier, he would be pretty attractive. He seemed pretty young too. "Haha, of course!" The drunken man let out a thigh-slapping laugh. When a breeze blew past, he fell cleanly onto the floor and passed out. Only Ye Qingxuan was rooted in the wind. "Hey, are you okay?" He kicked the young man, but there was no response. After a long time, Ye Qingxian was finally able to breathe easily. Settling into a chair, he decided to ignore everything and continue practicing scales. "La! La! La! Lalala!" The nude man on the floor suddenly flipped over, let out a disgusting drunken burp, and started singing while slapping his stomach. "There was rain tonight! Whoosh and all the flowers fell to the ground! Ah, but what''s the matter? We''re happily together." He paused with the last note. Unsatisfied, he added another sentence. "We''re happily together!" "Who would want to be with you" Ye Qingxuan thought to himself. The aether ball in his hand was as bright and happy as a dog that had seen a sausage. Ye Qingxuan felt like he was going crazy. What was going on? Was the crazy man''s voice communicating with aether?! Suddenly the naked man scrambled onto his feet and grabbed Ye Qingxuan''s hand. The man forced his eyes open, but his vision was blurry and he could not see anything. Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "Kid, don''t be scared. The most important thing for a family is to be organized. With Brother here, no one will beat you up!" Still holding Ye Qingxuan''s hand, he cried hoarsely, "What''s the most precious thing in the world? It''s love! It''s love! Doesn''t Brother''s love make you feel warm inside?" "Yes, warm!" Ye Qingxuan nodded against his conscience. "Ahaha," the nude man laughed dumbly. And then he bent over and puked his guts out. But even as this psycho was throwing up, Ye Qingxuan''s aether ball was still shining! "What is this?!" Close to tears, Ye Qingxuan took out his aether ball. "I was just practicing my chants. What did I do wrong? Nothing happened except attracting this crazy thing!" "Huh, nothing happened? Do you want to know why?" The nude man finished vomiting and stood up on his wobbly legs, wiping the saliva from the corner of his mouth. Ye Qingxuan nodded lifelessly. Immediately, the man pointed his finger at the tip of Ye Qingxuan''s nose. The nude man yelled seriously, "Just give up! You can''t sense the aether!" As Ye Qingxuan was trying to make sense of those words, the man grabbed the small pamphlet in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Pointing at a standard syllable, he said, "And Extraction''s range goes up to E2. High notes! You can''t sing up there! Choose another, choose, choose this one!" He flipped through the pages like the drunkard he was. When he saw the messy notations of Wolf Flute, his eyes brightened. "Practice this one! This one! Do you understand? This is the best for you." Ye Qingxuan''s mind was blank. Glancing at the messy scrawls, he did not know what to think. It seemed to be the notes that Wolf Flute took during his father''s class, but even he did not know what he wrote. How could Ye practice it? "Remember! The voice is just an appearance!" The nude man held down Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. His hoarse voice suddenly became serious and cold, like transient thunder in the clouds, "Aether is the controller of all, but it is also the servant of will!" Before Ye Qingxuan could react, he started singing once again and ran off as the aether ball''s continued to glow. He came like wind and he left like wind, only leaving behind a pile of vomit. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan finally processed everything that had just happened. Furious, he shouted, "You psycho! Give me back my book!" But the only reply was a faint "hoho" echoing in the night sky from an obnoxious idiot! -- The next day, Ye Qingxuan woke early in the morning to the sound of his alarm. His throat felt like he had swallowed charcoal. It was a pain that threatened to tear him apart. He had practiced the entire night, using only his memory. But the only result was that his vocal chords were swollen and he could not even say a complete sentence, and he was starving. With a long face, he pulled out his wallet. All he had left were a couple of tens. This was half a month''s salary in Lute. But in Avalon, with its high living costs, this bit of money could barely last him three to four days. But ten days? He couldn''t even imagine it. "Must I revert to my old lifestyle and beg?" He mumbled to himself, his throat burning, "I can''t even find a faucet in Avalon?" As soon as he uttered those words, a bottle of milk appeared by his side. Old Phil strolled back leisurely, half a wheat cake hanging from its mouth. It generously split its bounty with its top follower. Seeing that Old Phil had not forgotten him after finding food, Ye Qingxuan was touched to the point of tears. But there was not any time to cry now. Everything could wait until he was full. After devouring the bottle of milk and half a wheat cake, Ye Qingxuan patted his stomach. It had been empty the entire night, and it was still grumbling. He was still a bit hungry. Old Phil yawned and ran off from the chair after hitting Ye in the face with his tail. After a bit, he reappeared with a new bottle of milk and wheat cake. Old Phil pushed it towards Ye Qingxuan with his paw, as if saying, "Hurry and eat. There''s more if it''s not enough." "Where do you get all this?" Ye Qingxuan picked up Old Phil and flipped him around, searching. Was there a hidden treasure chest inside of him? A little pissed, Old Phil bit down and slapped him with its tail. He jumped off the chair and motioned for Ye to follow. Although it was early in the morning, many stores were already open. The amount of people multiplied gradually as well. Few people paid attention to the white-haired boy and old golden dog running through the streets. Taking twists and turns, and going through two alleys filled with trash, they arrived at a small alley. It seemed to be the backdoor of a store. Old Phil ran to a small drawer beside the backdoor. Jumping, it opened the drawer with its mouth. Proud, it turned towards Ye Qingxuan to show off the milk it had brought back "Ah, I knew you stole it!" Facial muscles twitching, Ye Qingxuan stared at the drawer that was almost empty, thanks to Old Phil. Old Phil barked, filled with pride. "Stop barking!" Ye Qingxuan hurriedly put a hand over Old Phil''s mouth. "Didn''t I tell you to stop stealing? We still have some money left! What if they find out and beat you up?" Before he could finish, a voice sounded behind him, rooting Ye to his spot. "Oh, so it''s your dog?" A giant shadow fell over him. -- In the shadow, Ye Qingxuan turned around with difficulty. He stayed silent. A hulking man lowered his head and said in a cold voice, "It''s not even noon and it already came three times." The man looked a bit old. He was probably around forty-years-old with salt and pepper hair, but his body was terrifyingly burly. His pectoral muscles seemed ready to burst from his shirt, and his arm was thicker than Ye Qingxuan''s thigh. He was around two meters tall and his body two meters wide. He was a monster! The scariest was the iron poker in his hands. The red hot poker was covered in charcoal dust, as if it was fresh out of the oven. Yes, it was probably enough to kill ten thieves and their dogs. "Uh, please let me explain." Ye Qingxuan shoved Old Phil and forced out a smile. "Umm, I''m really sorry. The dog is a little pesky. I''ll pay you back for the milk, but please don''t get angry at him." The monstrous man stared at him. Expressionlessly, he rotated his neck. The color from Ye Qingxuan''s face drained at the sound of his bones cracking. Behind him, Old Phil suddenly started yowling, making him want to cry out, "Old Phil, it''s not the time to cause trouble. Yeah, we shouldn''t be cowards. But this guy''s arm is thicker than both our waists put together. Can''t you just shut up" "I gave it the milk," the man said. "What?!" In Ye Qingxuan''s opinion, today had been a little weird. "Where else do you think it got the bread?" The old man threw away his poker and bent down, waving at Old Phil. The dog ran over, circled the man twice and raised his paw for a greeting. When Old Phil turned back towards Ye Qingxuan, its eyes were full of pride. In this awkward silence, Ye Qingxuan''s stomach growled. "Uh" The teen awkwardly looked to the side. The monstrous man stood up and studied both the boy and the dog. Nodding slightly, he pushed open the back door. "I made some soup. Come in." -- -- Ye Qingxuan never thought that there would be such a large watch shop on this busy and congested business street. Amidst the gentle tick-tocks, countless clocks and watches stood in every corner. There was a vintage clock two meters high, a complicated clock hanging from the wall, a pocket watch laid across the counter. These clocks and watches took up two-thirds of the store. The sound of hundreds of ticking minute hands hovered around the store, creating a type of serenity. Holding a rag, Ye Qingxuan wiped away every speck of dust in the window facing the street. Stepping back, he admired his work. He was not a freeloader. "Sir, I''m done," Ye reported. The monstrous man at the front counter looked up from the thin book he was reading. "Are you here for the exam?" He put down his book. Emotionless, he asked, "How did things turn into this? You can''t even take care of your dog." Old Phil barked in reply while sitting on the cushion. "You think too highly of me. I''m not taking care of him. He''s the one taking care of me," Ye Qingxuan muttered. "What a good dog." The man stood up and knelt before the sleeping dog, carefully smoothing down his messy fur. Burly as he was, his movements were gentle. His eyes were no longer numb either, but had a tinge of warmth and care. "It looks just like my old dog. I dreamed of it last night and when I saw this guy this morning, I thought it was back" He paused for a bit, then suddenly asked, "Will you sell?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head without hesitation. "You really need money, right?" "I can always think of something for money." Ye Qingxuan chuckled awkwardly. "If it comes to it, I can do some odd jobs. Whatever I do, I''ll have enough for food." The monstrous man shook his head. Walking over, he lowered his head, looming over Ye Qingxuan. His size had an ineffable pressure. "Give me your hand," he ordered. Ye Qingxuan stretched out both hands. The man studied and smelled them. His pupils constricted like a beast, sending chills down Ye Qingxuan''s spine. "Never held a sword and never touched blood. You''re a good person." Letting go, the man shook his head coldly. "In Avalon, it''s the hardest for people like you. Where do you think you can go? Most stores won''t accept unknown men. You can''t even be a good thief in downtown. When you die, people will probably just sell your dog." "Uh." He had aired out all of Ye Qingxuan''s insecurities. "There''s gotta be a solution, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked nervously. "Your hands have calluses from copying. Can you read and write?" the man asked. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan replied honestly, "I can read and write the lingua franca, Runes, Eastern characters, and the Asgard Language" "Then go and clean up the attic." "Huh?" "The last worker got sent to the hospital, and we''re missing an accountant right now. There''s no money, but I can give you breakfast and dinner. Get out after ten, got it?" The man continued coldly, "Also, I don''t like to be annoyed, so don''t do extra things. Any problems?" "No, no. Free meals are okay. Free meals are great!" Ye Qingxuan could not help but start laughing, and rubbed his hands together in pure joy. "Then don''t just stand there. Get to work." The man''s features were still cold, but he seemed a little awkward as he continued, as if a bit embarrassed. After opening and closing his mouth, he finally raised the thin and tattered book. Pointing at the cover, he said, "You. Teach me how to read." "Uh" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the cover and his jaw dropped ''Anglo Fairy Tale Collection.'' 33 Getting Worried Slowly "Sir, how much is this clock?" "Don''t know." "I want this pocket watch, wondering..." "I do not know, did you not hear that?" "Sir, I think ..." "Get out, we are closed!" After turning away the sixth guest, the beastly man had Ye Qingxuan close the door coldly, and put on the ''business closed'' sign, then continued to stay behind the front desk, and began to recite the alphabet with a stutter. Next to him, Ye Qingxuan watched the customer that had been scared away and shook his head with a sigh. "How did this store survive until now?" Ye thought to himself. He was very curious, really. - After he stayed in the store for two days, Ye Qingxuan had gained a better understanding of the situation. The beastly man''s name was ''Seton.'' He was not the owner of this place; he was not even interested in clocks or watches. Other than finding someone to clean up the store, he did not bother to maintain it, just leaving everything as it was. Doing business was just bullsh*t. According to him, the owner of the store was neglecting his duty. He was traveling abroad, so Seton was only asked to watch over the store while he was gone. Speaking of this, he was quite agitated. His face was so gloomy that he looked like he wanted to tear the real owner apart. His whole body gave off a violent aura. He would have scared away any children walking down the street. Ye Qingxuan completely understood why the owner asked Seton to watch the store. With such a fierce warrior here, not even an army would dare coming in without at least two companies of troops, not to mention thieves. In addition to spelling and reciting the alphabet, Seton did not usually talk much. He usually said about three sentences a day; two of them were for Old Phil. Ye Qingxuan was not sure why Seton was so interested in reading. All day long he was obsessed with a fairy tale book. He had asked Ye Qingxuan to do the bookkeeping, which was really just teaching Seton how to spell and read. Occasionally he would make Ye be a janitor as well. Ye Qingxuan was happy to have more free time. He would squat at the doorstep muttering runes, and reciting syllables. Unfortunately, he had made very little progress. Very little progress was actually an exaggeration; it was really more like no progress at all. After a while, he started to feel distressed. After all, the resonance rate between himself and the aether was way too low. He felt the despair every time he remembered the psycho that was running naked on the street that night. That psycho could make the aether ball light up when he was vomiting. Why did Ye not have any skill despite practicing every day? But in fact, Ye did know the real problem. "Sense the damn aether, sense," he would say to himself. He could not sense any aether. The standard syllable was so strict that the rate of breathing, as well as the number of vocal cord movements had to be precise. Even if everything was done according to the rules, you might not necessarily be successful. But if it was not done according to the rules, success would be absolutely impossible. Without adjusting oneself by sensing the change in aether, it was just taking a shot in the dark. But with such a long contact period, and tens of thousands of recitations, even a shot in the dark would have hit the target a few times by now. But somehow, Ye Qingxuan had never once been successful. "What is the matter huh..." He lay on the ground in frustration, wishing he could roll around like Old Phil. - "Hey, Ye, go pick up the merchandise." Behind the counter, Seton said, "18 Queen Boulevard, just find the manager there. The boss had placed an order there." Seton put a pen in Ye''s pocket, "Just sign. The goods are expensive, worth ten of you, so do not steal anything or I will personally send you to the hospital." Seton had spoken bluntly more than once or twice. It was rare to see someone as simple and straightforward as he was. Seton hated hypocrisy, and believed in being straightforward. If he said the goods were very expensive, then they must be very expensive. If he said he would send Ye Qingxuan to a hospital, he would send Ye Qingxuan to the hospital. In this era, watches and clocks were still considered luxury goods. Large clocks and pocket watches had been things only the nobles could use. Additionally, everything in the store looked like a work of art with a great history. Some items even had patterns carved using enamel, and small pieces of precious stones. They seemed to be worth a lot of money. Any pocket watch was probably not worth ten children, but definitely worth eight. "Uncle, this is my third day at work. You want me pick up such an important item? Is that a good idea?" Ye Qingxuan asked helplessly. "You''ve got a point, but if you do not work, why am I keeping you here?" Seton sneered at him. Ye Qingxuan hesitated, standing in place. "What? Don''t know your way?" "I do know a little." Ye Qingxuan organized the words, "I heard that that''s an area for nobles, and nobles like to beat up people. What if they hit me?" "Those kinds of nobles are already extinct in Anglo. Now the gentlemen are in style, and they may even give you two dollars out of pity," said Seton coldly. "Do not try to be lazy." "It''s not quite safe to go from here, there may be trouble on the way..." "This store is on the list with the Avalon police station, and the owner is also in touch with the Parliament. Just say the name of the store and no one will give you trouble." "Uh, I''m not feeling very well today." The way Seton looked at him, Ye Qingxuan could not speak anymore. Seton put down his book, and asked bluntly, "Have you stolen somewhere?" "No." "Did you offend anyone there?" "Uh, no." Ye Qingxuan''s face turned bitter. "Then why are you still here?" Seton sneered at him, lifting his hammer like fist, "Do you want me to walk you out?" "I''m leaving now!" Ye Qingxuan went running. - "Sign on this sheet." Outside of the grand hall, the housekeeper, an old man in a black suite pointed to the sheet. The old housekeeper had seemed very surprised by Ye Qingxuan''s arrival. Even after Ye had signed, the housekeeper was still looking at him and shaking his head. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan checked himself, "I have a dirty spot somewhere?" "No, no, no." The housekeeper stroked his beard, and suddenly asked, "It must not be easy working for Seton." "Well, it''s alright. Uncle is a good guy." "He seems to be fond of you." The old man patted his shoulder. Using a wary tone he said, "The future of young people is always infinite." He did not know why, but Ye Qingxuan had a feeling that he was being trained in hell. - Under the afternoon''s burning sun, Ye Qingxuan walked along the busy streets, feeling a little tired. Avalon was built on an island. The buildings were complex and dense, leaving no empty space. Even the sixteen suburbs on the smaller islands were all occupied. The city hall divided Avalon into uptown, midtown, and downtown. These three divisions were subdivided into nine ring areas. Queen''s Boulevard was the most beautiful place among all of the ring areas. The famous area was located in the center of the third ring, Avalon''s golden area. Thirty percent of the entire population in Avalon worked to serve the people of this street. Silk and spices from the East, golden jewelry from India, fashion from the Burgundy empire could be seen everywhere. People would feel dizzy just being exposed to it all. Ye Qingxuan felt a burst of strange familiarity. It had been many years, and things had changed so fast, like the popular trends between the nobles was no longer the same; however, everything was still unchanged in its heart. It was like a charming, attractive women, but with a cold heart. This feeling was enough to bring back many painful memories, making him feel unconformable from the bottom of his heart. He no longer wanted to stick around. But when he thought of himself, he could not help but sigh, "Such bad luck." He took out the aether ball from his pocket, played with it, looked at its silence, and thought that he might never figure this thing out in this lifetime. "How come you don''t glow?" He lifted it up to the sun, looking at its almost transparent material, feeling quite discouraged. "Young master?" Someone softly asked behind him. Ye Qingxuan''s body stiffened a bit. He felt a kind of familiar sense of suffocation coming back, making his face turn dreadful. He took a deep breath and looked back. In the crowded street, he saw an old woman with a basket, wearing a servant''s clothes. She was like a normal old woman, moving slowly, her eyes blurry. Once she saw the kid look back, she was shocked. Her basket fell to the ground, melons rolled all over the place. She seemed to have seen something incredible. "Is that you, young master? Are you back?" She caught Ye Qingxuan''s hand, excited and spoke incoherently, "You finally came back. If the master knew he would..." "I''m sorry, you got the wrong person." The old maid was stunned. She stared at Ye Qingxuan surprised and speechless. "I am not a young master. You must be confused." Ye Qingxuan bent over to help her pick up her fruits and vegetables on the floor, and put them in her hands. "I have to go, please do not waste my time." The old maid looked at Ye Qingxuan, disappointed. She bowed her head, "Sorry." She did not say anymore. She held the basket and limped away. At times, she would look back at the boy, seeming very lost and sad. It was not until much later that Ye Qingxuan was no longer able to see her in the crowd. - "Was everything alright?" Seton asked as Ye Qingxuan returned to the store. "Yep." Ye Qingxuan smiled, "Saw some things. I suddenly realized Avalon was really scary sometimes. You never know if you''ll run into something you don''t want to see." "If you do not want to go out, you can watch the shop." "That''s alright." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "At first I just thought it''d be too much trouble to go out, but now, it doesn''t seem so bad." "Oh, it''s good that you got used to it." "Where is Old Phil? Have you seen him?" "It went out by itself. It seemed to have lost something." "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan thought of something, his expression became strange. Did Old Phil go to pick up some strange stuff again? He could not help but wonder. - Ye Qingxuan''s worries were proven correct again. Late that night, Ye Qingxuan was awoken by Old Phil''s barking at the backdoor. He yawned and got up to open the door. He sighed again. Had Old Phil restored its bad habit? In the past, it had also been like this. It had always run around at night, bringing back a variety of strange things such as dead mice, dead rabbits, dead snakes, other people''s kids'' toys, or coins and pocket change on the ground. Not to mention, since Old Phil had developed this habit, Ye Qingxuan''s pocket was fuller than ever! But the bad thing was that what Old Phil decided to bring back was completely unpredictable! Just like those mysterious little jars sold by the Indians, you never knew what was hidden inside! Old Phil barked, sounding even more anxious. Ye Qingxuan felt a sense of helplessness and unlocked the bolt, "Do not worry, do not worry, I''m opening the door for you. Come, let me see what you got...f*ck!" Outside the door, Old Phil was squatting on the ground, proudly sticking out his tongue. Ye Qingxuan was petrified. 34 Save Me After all these years, whether it was before or after returning, Ye Qingxuan always felt that Avalon was a crazy place. One could run into anything, such as pests that one would not want to encounter, like that nude man running at midnight. But what had happened today was really testing the limit! It was not that he could not take a lot of pressure, but that Old Phil''s level of intensity was too high! Throughout these years, Old Phil had brought back money, dingy lanterns, unopened bottles, copper cups stained with unknown substances, old rings, tattered books of foreign languages, a pot with a hole, jewelry that would cause hallucinations. Ye Qingxuan had just assumed that Old Phil had a wide range of interests, and then would throw it all out. But this time, he brought back a living human?! Under the still moonlight, the little alley was more serene than usual. Ye Qingxuan stared blankly at the girl in front of him. The dirty kid wore a tattered dress. The original color seemed to be white. The shoulder straps were about to tear, and the dress looked like a pile of rags. Bruises and scars covered her face as if she had been beaten. Her bare legs were covered with wounds. It was as if she had been chased and ran away blindly. Sensing that Ye Qingxuan was looking at her, she stubbornly raised her head to stare back at him. Her pupils quivered, but her eyes were full of defiance. The moonlight cast over them so that they glowed like silver. "Hey, Cousin." Ye Qingxuan glanced at the kid he had just met and forced a smile, "Long time no see." The girl stared at him and opened her mouth, but did not say anything, then closed it tightly. "That kid disappeared!" "Keep looking! I saw her run over here!" Someone banged a metal rod in their hands. "She can''t be far!" The clamor of voicesa mess of broken soundsapproached from a distance. They were running and searching. Countless people were running around outside, but here, it was still. Old Phil stared at Ye Qingxuan impatiently, telling him to shut up and hurry. Ye Qingxuan finally understood. When he studied the girl, his eyes had a storm of emotions. "What is your name?" Under his stare, the girl chewed on her lips but refused to speak. Just as Ye Qingxuan was about to give up, he heard a soft voice, "Bai Xi." "My name is Ye Qingxuan." He reached out his hand, "Come with me." The boy held onto her wrist. It was so weak and soft. The girl did not protest, but her trembling revealed her fear. "She is but a child, after all," Ye Qingxuan thought. -- "There''s a white-haired kid just like you. She''s a distant relative staying with you?" Seton asked the next day, glancing at him coolly. "And she''s out of travel money and decided to spend a few days here?" "Uh, sorry but there really isn''t" "Where is she?" Seton interrupted. Immense pressure suddenly pressed down on Ye Qingxuan. After stuttering, he finally waved his hand, and Old Phil excitedly grabbed onto the corner of the girl''s shirt, dragging her out. She was no longer dirty. She had showered and treated her wounds, and was wearing Ye Qingxuan''s old shirt. The sleeves and pants were rolled up and she looked even smaller in contrast. Her white hair was hidden in a tweed hat. With her head lowered, she looked like a poor family''s kidself-loathing and insignificant. She was silent under Seton''s scrutiny. She looked like an obedient and quiet kid. It was pitiful. "Yeah, right!" Ye Qingxuan thought, he would not take it. His hand was still wounded from when the kid bit him last night. Her eyes were lowered because her gaze was so piercing, as if she wanted to find fault in anyone, at any time. She did not speak because whenever she did, her words were provocative. She looked cute, but her personality was definitely disagreeable. If she was able to do what she wanted, Seton would have her sent to the White Church''s intensive care unit before she could say three sentences. Seton was silent too as he studied her, deep in thought. Beside him, Ye Qingxuan nervously wiped his sweat, awaiting the final decision. After a long time, Seton just said, "She''s yours. Look over her." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was a little dumbfounded. He thought he would get kicked out. "Like you, she''ll only get food. No money. And if she doesn''t work, then get out." Seton''s voice had no warmth at all. "Kid, this isn''t a shelter. So remember, this is the last time." "Yes, yes! Got it! Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh in relief. Wiping his cold sweat, he gave Seton with a string of praises. "Sir, you are so kind and wise. You are glowing upon Avalon. The world will see your power someday, and Anglo will be yours!" He kept going until Seton couldn''t take it anymore. At the end, Seton said was, "She isn''t really your cousin, right?" Ye Qingxuan blanked. "I saw Old Phil bring her back yesterday." As Seton turned to leave, he coolly let out the last words, "I don''t know why those hooligans were looking for her, but don''t get into trouble." Ye Qingxuan''s heart skipped a beat. Before he could react, Seton''s voice drifted back to him, "If you die in the store, it''ll be a chore to collect your body." Ye Qingxuan was sure that phrase was spoken from his heart. Thinking of this, he sighed and glanced over at Bai Xi. She was sprawled on the counter, watching the clocks curiously. Only now did she look like a kid. A quiet kid. Well, if he could just ignore her hand that was reaching into the counter Ye Qingxuan slapped away her sneaky hand, "No stealing." "Huh, as if I don''t know about your motives." Bai Xi side-eyed him. "You and that big dark guy want to sell me, right?!" As she said the words "big dark guy," she glanced around nervously, scared that Seton would hear. Seeing her like that, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. "Look at you. All you are is skin and bones. Even if we wanted to sell you, who would even buy you?" "I don''t know about that, but some people are bad!" Bai Xi''s expression was completely defensive. "Hey, you''re the bad one!" Ye Qingxuan thought. "You''re the one who was going to steal! I was saving you. Saving you! Stealing isn''t the problem, but if Seton found out, you''d be sent to the intensive care unit!" For whatever reason, this girl was practically a porcupine! She was the same last night. No matter what Ye Qingxuan said in order to get her to shower and change her bandages, it was no use. She kept thinking that Ye Qingxuan was going to peep in. Ultimately, Ye Qingxuan could only help her lock the attic''s door from the inside, remove the ladder and sleep on the ground behind the store''s counter. He could hear every sound from upstairs, and had been unable to sleep the entire night. He knew that she wanted to escape, but had nowhere to go. She finally fell asleep at dawn, but not on the bed. She had curled up in the corner with Old Phil. She would rather believe Old Phil who could not speak instead of any person because Old Phil would never hurt her. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan felt a little bad. "What happened that turned her into this?" He could only imagine. He knew how hard it was to have no home, so he was able to endure Bai Xi''s odd personality. At least she was as annoying as Ye Qingxuan had been. "Hey!" Bai Xi sat on the counter, staring at Ye Qingxuan as she munched on his bread. Hearing her unwavering voice, he felt a headache coming. "Call me ''cousin,'' and you heard that we need another worker. Mr. Seton doesn''t talk much, but he''s a good person. I have to leave some day, so if you work hard, you can stay here." After a pause, he told her, "At least, you won''t have to live by scamming." Bai Xi was angry, like a cat arching its back. But she did not say anything and just took her anger out on the bread. Her temper did not go away until she had finished all of Ye Qingxuan''s breakfast, yet she still continued to glare at him silently. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan could not keep cleaning with her staring at him like that. Bai Xi chewed on her lips, as if debating whether or not to speak. At last, she asked in an unwilling tone, "Why did you save me?" "You made me save you." "Don''t joke! I''d never beg you, even if my life depended on it!" Bai Xi was seriously angered. She glared at him, gnashing her teeth. "Nothing good has happened ever since I met you. People chase me every day, but now even my money is gone. I don''t need your help!" She yelled. "Does it make you proud to have a little girl thank you? Do you think I''ll be grateful that you saved me? You just want to feel proud, right? You really enjoy having a little girl thank you? Let me tell you. No! Way!" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. He felt defeated. Not because of himself, but because he did not know she thought like this. "I never wanted you to thank me, really." A little awkward and helpless, all he could do was sigh. "You know, when I was at my lowest point, someone saved me. He gave me food, gave me a shower, and let me stay in a small town until now. He also taught me how to keep living." He thought of the priest''s serious expression and could not help but laugh in nostalgia. "He told me that a human''s language isn''t only spoken. Some words can be seen through one''s eyes." Bai Xi chewed on her lips. She glared angrily at him without speaking, as if trying to see through his disguise. "He told me that when he first saw me, I was standing in the mud. I was angry at the world and my eyes were provocative and piercing. Probably just like you, right?" He studied the girl''s eyes, seeing the fear and pain hiding deep under the angry, coldness and hate. "And those eyes were saying, ''save me''" 35 Hallucination Late at night, in a room filled with smoke, Ghosthand had been waiting quietly in the Black Octopus pub''s secret room. Someone silently walked into the room. He took off his cloak, revealing an elegant long robe from the East. He seemed very old, his hair was mottled gray with black and white flecks. His movements were silent, like a ghost. "Lost him again?" Mr. Chang sat opposite him, "To be honest, I am very disappointed with your work attitude." "Unfortunately, this is the city of Avalon. Our work is not always perfect." Ghosthand shook his head, trying to control his anger. Mr. Chang looked indifferent. "Mr. Ghosthand, before Yunlou is taken over by the rebels, we''ll be delivered whoever we wish to find. If we want his head, then his head will be delivered; if we want his hands, then his hands will be delivered. Anyone who delays the process will have their eyes taken out. If anyone dares to hide him from us, he and his family will pay the price for the mistake." "But this is Avalon, and things are not the same as before. Great efforts have been made just to hide your group of people!" Ghosthand frowned, "Mr. Shaman does not want to cause any trouble. Do you want this to be noticed by the royal family?" "It''s been almost four days." Mr. Chang said quietly, "Mr. Ghosthand, we cannot wait much longer." "Mr. Chang, I said I need more time." "I''ve given you time, haven''t I?" Mr. Chang got up and dispersed like a ghost into the white smoke. In silence, Ghosthand leaned against the chair. He sucked on his pipe, little by little. The sepiolite pipe broke apart between his teeth. "Because of those two eastern kids, Avalon is turning into a mess." He spat out the residue, and crushed the pipe in his palm. "And that damn dog." - "Alright, let''s go back." In the carriage outside the pub, Mr. Chang opened his eyes in silence. He had not moved at all from the beginning of his journey until the end. The carriage moved silently. A servant who had just received a message presented a bamboo script to him. Mr. Chang moved his fingers across it, collecting dust on his fingers. "You mean, Shaman is looking for another Eastern child?" he asked. "Yes, also with white hair, and with a dog. Some people saw that kid with the fugitive we are looking for. We do not know who wants him. Mr. Shaman had deemed him more important than our fugitive." Mr. Chang frowned, "What is Shaman looking for?" "Seems to be some kind of box. Dead or alive, just the box. Couldn''t find out anything else." "In a country of barbarians, the rules are chaotic. This group of barbarians has their own agenda," Chang humphed coldly. "The Shaman may have credibility, but after all, foreigners can''t be relied on." The servant asked, "Eunuch Chang, do you mean we have to find another way? There are plenty of people who can help us search in the city of Avalon." Chang contemplated for a moment then suddenly asked, "What happened to the group who is now in the control of Yunlou?" "They have submitted the credentials and will go into the city soon." "Well, Yunlou Qingshu is a wolf with a savage heart. Not only did he seize control of the city of Yunlou, but he also wants to join forces with the barbarians, and claim independence with no respect to his king and father! A princess? Just a fake. No one will be deceived!" Chang snapped, "Give them my orders. Do not betray the trust of His Royal Highness. Bring back the princess! When His Highness takes back Yunlou, and gets rid of the rebel Yunlou Qingshu, he will reward everyone accordingly, and you will all get a cut! " "Yes, Eunuch!" The servant hesitated, looking confused, "But one thing is unclear to me." "Yes?" "Why bother coming here personally if only for a little girl with the Bloodline of Dragon?" Old Chang fell silent. For a long time he lifted his palm and put it back down, then finally sighed, "You have served me for so many years. Today I will teach you a lesson of being by the side of the king." He glanced at his servant who had just escaped death, his eyes like damp, gloomy rotten wood. "Follow the rules strictly. Do not cross any lines. That''s the trick to living a long life. The more you want to know, the faster you will die. Do you understand what I mean?" "Understood." The servant was soaked with sweat as if he had been caught in the rain. "Then go." Eunuch Chang closed his eyes and rested. "Remember, bring her back in one piece, without missing even a single hair." "Understood." - From that day on, Bai Xi had not spoken to Ye Qingxuan. Although she seemed better behaved now, she just did not want to talk to others. Every day after she was done with work, she would quietly sit in the corner. She would stare at the dust on the floor in front of her, but her gaze pierced through the dust as if she was looking at something else. Only Old Phil could have a few "words" with her, but Old Phil could not talk, and she would not say anything to a dog. But sometimes when Old Phil slept beside her, she would reach out to touch Old Phil''s hair, carefully and seriously. Old Phil was really a lovable dog. Although it was ugly, it was still much more popular than Ye Qingxuan. Unfortunately, that was the way of this world--hating a person needed countless reasons, but loving a dog did not need any. And in most cases, the dog was much better than a person, for as long as you were good to it, it would not harm you. But Ye Qingxuan thought that this could not continue, and that Old Phil was his dog! "Why do you get to touch him? I can only do that when he is in a good mood!" he thought to himself. Once he finished writing the last zero in the account book, he looked up and sighed helplessly. Next to him, Seton was still silent. This monster-like uncle had been sitting cross-legged behind the counter, struggling to read the fairy tale over and over again. Hearing his sigh, Seton raised his head and suddenly said, "The boss sent a letter from another town yesterday, asking about you." "He knows about me?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "He is a psychopath, but is usually very well informed." Seton''s tone was not very respectful. "He wished you success at the entrance exam, and said he will bring you a gift" "For real?" "I wouldn''t get my hopes up. That guy''s character and gifts are usually worse than anyone''s imagination. The last time he brought me a gift, it was a huge donkey head that could be put on my head, but it was still dripping with blood." He paused, his expression became more unpleasant. "I hate donkeys." "Is it really okay for the boss and the staff to have such a bad relationship?" "If that guy died in a gutter, the world would be a better place." After Seton finished talking, he shut the book angrily, took some money from the drawer, and went out for a drink. He did not even bother to close the money cabinet. It was just like him since he had a very simple mindset. Ye Qingxuan looked at the golden light reflecting from the cabinet. He swallowed his saliva, then shut it with his eyes closed. "So much money," he could not help but think. "Hmmm," a sneer came from the corner. But when Ye Qingxuan looked up, Bai Xi was still in complete silence. He sighed. Bai Xi was squatting in the corner behind the window on the chair she had occupied, using the counter as a dividing line. She and Ye Qingxuan were clearly separated. As if they had previously agreed on such terms, they did not talk to one another. The afternoon sunlight came in, obscured by a huge grandfather clock, leaving Bai Xi sitting in a dark corner. Sometimes the dust floating in the air fell into her hands, reflecting her silent eyes. It made people feel pity for her. Ye Qingxuan''s hand touched the crystal ball, then sighed. He lowered his head again. "You may pity her, but who will pity you?" he thought. - Four days. If he counted the nights, it would been four days and five nights. Three runes, and all the standard syllables had been memorized by heart, but he could not say them. He had practiced no less than a hundred thousand times with the aether, but it had not resonated with him even once. Ye Qingxuan was desperate. Maybe he was cursed by the aether? Even someone with no talent, with tens of thousands of attempts would at least improve their success rate by one percent. Ye Qingxuan''s was still zero, a desperate zero. No matter how many times he tried, whichever rune he practiced was still a zero. From one to two was very simple, as long as the effort was made to do the addition, but what about from zero to one? Ye Qingxuan just did not know how. No matter how hard he tried, what had not existed still did not exist. Tall buildings were built from the ground, but what land belonged to him? He silently stared at the aether ball in his hands, not knowing what to do. His heart was gradually filled with sadness. In the silent shop, only countless ticks made a rhythm, monotonous and persistent, constantly jumping from one second to another. In the afternoon sunshine, Ye Qingxuan could not help but yawn. He felt quite sleepy. Rubbing his vocal chords with his fingertips, he asked himself if this was all worth it. The ring coiled with a silver string silently reflected the sun, flashing. "Musician." He sighed softly, and closed his eyes, feeling the wind blowing from afar. But quickly he realized that this was a shop. The doors were closed, where had the wind come from? He was not sure when it started. Everything was silent. - He opened his eyes and saw the dust on the front of the counter silently blowing off with the wind. Thousands of years had seemed to have passed within a moment. The windows were broken, the glass had become powder. Wooden furniture had rapidly decayed, and cracks spread along the wall. The burning and lonely sunlight shone through the cracks onto Ye''s face. He was frightened and wanted to jump up, but felt his body glued to the chair. He could not move. The familiar world quickly faded away from him, and all the familiar people and voices were no longer there. Old Phil was gone, Seton had disappeared, as well as Bai Xi. He was left alone in this lonely house. He sat in his chair, watching everything decay. Weeds grew from the crack of the floor, and vines climbed up the wall. The busy streets outside disappeared, and were replaced with empty and barren land. The whole world was quiet. Ye Qingxuan could only hear the ticking sounds around him. The indigo moon, representing bad omen, was hanging in the sky! 36 Do You Regret It? Under the indigo wash of the moon, time flew quickly, like a waterfall shooting down thousands of meters. And just like that, the oceans turned to grass fields, and bustling cities became abandoned hills. At the foot of the abandoned hill, tombs jutted from the earth, staggered and reaching towards the edge of the sky. Under the moon''s glow, the mismatched tombstones shone coldly. They seemed to come from all over the world, all from different eras. Some were stone tablets and others were wooden stakes. Some were fit for royalty, while others were broken beyond repair, covered with a spider web of cracks. Under every tomb, there was a different Lamp of Souls enshrined, but more than half of these ancient lamps had gone out. In this silent world, everything was still as death. Ye Qingxuan sat on the chair, fearfully gazing at his surroundings before seeing a man facing him, standing among the tombs. The quiet moonlight shone upon him, revealing the silvery patterns of his black robe. The patterns shimmered. They belonged to a heraldry he had seen before, but he could not remember where. A wind blew from far away, his long silver-white hair flowed, like mercury fluttering in the sky. "Father?" Ye Qingxuan subconsciously held his breath the moment he saw that face. Very quickly, he realized that it was not his father''s face. It had some of his father''s characteristics, but it was not truly him. At times, it looked more like Ye''s own reflection, and sometimes looked like neither one of them. Stunned and dazed, Ye realized that the man was studying him too, his eyes unreadable. The man opened his mouth and made sounds. It was as if he was talking, pausing between each word, but Ye Qingxuan could not hear his voice clearly. The man repeated himself again and again, and the wind brought back a strange echo. His voice pushed the world to change, rotating the stars, transforming the winds, raising the earth, letting floods loosebut that thunderous voice was still so unclear. Ye Qingxuan tried hard to interpret the words, but he could only cry and howl from the pain in his chest. The searing pain spread through his body, and every blood vessel shook madly. It was the pain of being thrown into a pool of lava. Something was filling him, stopping him from listening to the voice, but as the pain intensified, the voice became clearer. The silver-haired man gazed at Ye, repeating himself. Drowning in the flood of pain, Ye Qingxuan''s was barely conscious, hoarse screams escaping his body. Finally he felt his body rip into a million pieces, and then he fell into a bottomless pit. Darkness consumed his world, swallowing everything. But just as he fell into the blackness, he heard the man''s desolate murmur, "Do you regret it?" His voice was heavy with ancient grief and pain. -- "Ah!" Ye Qingxuan jolted awake from his nightmare, screaming hoarsely, cause the lone flame of the candle to shutter in the deep night. He had not realized he was stuck in a dream until now. But why was he wrapped in bandages and lying on a bed? His body was still gripped with immense pain. The pain in his dream must have come from real life. But where was it coming from? He was going crazy. "Stop screaming, since you''re awake." Seton was focusing on a book at the foot of the bed, sparing him a glance. Holding up the book, he asked, "What does this word mean?" Ye Qingxuan needed something to distract him from the pain, so looking at the word became his savior. With some difficulty, he replied, "Repent. This word comes from the written language of the Sacred City, and is derived from ancient literature. It means, ''I went astray and sinned. Because of this, I repent.'' Related books and references are ''Dogmatic Commentary,'' edited by the six generation of popes, and ''Lingua Franca Dictionary''" He could not go on. If his voice had been like sandpaper, now it was like the sound of two pieces of metal rubbing against each other, sharp and piercing. "What...what is wrong with me?" He looked at Seton in confusion. "Don''t know. When I found you, you were bleeding from every pore." Seton shook his head and pointed at the floor, "The entire floor was red because of you." His eyes became cold again, "Have you thought about how to pay for the floor, and your medical bills? My shop isn''t a charity. If you can''t pay up, I can introduce you to a doctor who sells organs" "I have to pay?" Ye Qingxuan almost shot up from the bed. "The floor will be fine after we wash it! Why do you have to change it! Sir, can you not be so stingy?" Seton humphed and did not mention money anymore. "How long was I sleep for?" Ye Qingxuan asked with a dry smile. "According to the doctor, you should''ve kept sleeping and never woke up, or just die from blood loss, but you woke up after six hours, so I guess you''re okay." Seton nodded. "Since you''re okay, get back to work tomorrow." "Hey, where''s your humanity?" "You want humanity? So do I! When the owner comes back, he''ll see the floor and think that I can''t even look over a shop! I was already pissed at that bastard and you just had to come and make things worse." Seton continued in a somber voice, "I said before to not give me trouble, but you''re just too troublesome." "Okay, there''s a lot of pressure on you too." Ye Qingxuan wanted to cry. No one had it easy in this world. "But no matter what, thank you for saving me," he said quietly. "And I''ll find a way to pay you back." "Just give me the money. That''s all I put in," a voice said. Seton rose and revealed the person behind him. "She''s the one who saved you." It was Bai Xi. The white-haired girl had been standing there since the beginning, but had been obscured by the burly Seton. She looked at Ye Qingxuan, and unwillingly greeted him. "She found you rolling around on the ground. If you remember anything, you should remember that you also bit her," Seton stated. "You had extreme blood loss and she was the only one who could give you blood. If not for the fact that Easterners reject foreign blood, I''d think you''re a werewolf." With that, Seton turned to leave. "Rest well. You can have a break tomorrow." Before closing the door, he added, "Remember. Just one day." -- With the slam of the door, the room sank into overwhelming silence again. Ye Qingxuan gazed wordlessly at Bai Xi, but Bai Xi turned her head away from him. Old Phil paced between the two of them in confusion, not sure what happened. Saving someone should be a proud moment, but for some reason, Bai Xi was uncomfortable. Under the flickering candlelight, she lowered her head and toyed with the corner of her shirt, like a student scolded by her teacher. Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth many times, but never knew what to say. As the silence continued, Bai Xi finally could not stand the awkwardness any longer. She mumbled, "II''m leaving." She turned, wanting to leave immediately, but a voice behind her sounded, "Thank you." Bai Xi''s shoulder trembled, as if she had been startled. Looking down, she stuttered for a while before uttering, "Oh," as if she was very unwilling. "I just called someone over. But your eyes were telling me ''let me die.'' Sorry I couldn''t fulfil your wish." Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan''s features twisted. She was still hung up on that small detail? Children who hold such grudges would be powerful later in life. When he was her age, he was far less of an expert at street survival skills. "Huh, you don''t have to fuss over these details," Ye said. "I''m not being fussy." Bai Xi glared at him. "Right, I''m just being petty." Ye Qingxuan finally had a thread of thought. This girl was stubborn as a mule, and he could only go along with her. Knowing this, things became much easier. Acting like this, she finally seemed like a kid. "Are you from the East?" Ye Qingxuan pushed himself up and rested against the headboard. Bai Xi hesitated before replying honestly, "Pretty much." "Nice. Can you tell me about it?" He patted the chair beside the bed, his eyes genuine. He suddenly wanted to know more about the East that his father had always spoke of. Maybe it was that strange dream, or maybe he just wanted someone to talk to. "My father got married after coming to Avalon so I''ve never been to the East. Everyone thinks that I''m an Easterner, but I don''t know anything about it." "It''s probablylike here?" Bai Xi was still unwilling to speak, but she obediently sat onto the chair. "But the good thing is that people put free food on the streets. You would not be hungry." "Really?" "Of course. Why would I lie?" The little girl rolled her eyes. "People once revolted because they didn''t like the meat that the Emperor handed out. They wanted to eat steamed buns and noodles. In the end, a general poisoned the Emperor''s meat pie and killed the Emperor." "It must be hard work to be the Emperor of the East." "The Emperor is just a figurehead. The people that like to eat wheat follow one feudal lord. People who want to eat rice follow another lord. There''s one lord that likes to eat potatoes. So everyone that likes sweet potatoes is forced out. Sometimes, the lords will fight over whether they want to eat sweet or savory food." "Why do they fight when there''s so much food?" Ye asked. "Doesn''t Avalon have people who point and judge because they don''t like to eat pork?" "I haven''t seen that before, but you make it sound annoying." "Yeah, yeah, because they are," Bai Xi replied sassily. See Bai Xi''s earnest expression, Ye Qingxuan could not help but chuckle. 37 Strange Kindness Halfway through the conversation, Old Phil came out from under the bed. He lept up and occupied half of the bed as if he owned it, then lied down and gave a look to signal his two errand boys to scratch his tummy. Bai Xi reached out to scratch Old Phil. He was so excited, he started to roll on the floor. Old Phil sneered at Ye Qingxuan, giving him a triumphant look that indicated how much he liked Bai Xis touch, and that he was reconsidering keeping Ye as his errand boy. Ye Qingxuan could not help but want to cover his face and sigh. Bai Xi was holding Old Phil, scratching its ears carefully. The yellow dog rolled around on her lap with enthusiasm. It was both cheap and ugly. It was almost unbearable to watch for Ye Qingxuan. "Why is he called Old Phil?" Bai Xi asked curiously, grabbing the dogs ears. "Well ..." Ye Qingxuan pondered, "The explanation is somewhat complicated." "Show off, and I told you so much about the East!" "Alright alright." Ye Qingxuan patted his forehead with his bandaged hand. He reluctantly spoke, "You know, Old Phil always thought that he was the most powerful in the world, so he always had a tough look. When I first met Old Phil, that had been the way it was. He did not want to do anything, nor did he get close to anyone. All the street thugs called him Fei Wu..." "Ah?" Bai Xi was surprised for a moment. "Thats the problem. And then, not sure why, but he thought Fei Wu meant ''king of dogs,'' so if I called him by other names, he would ignore me." The name Fei Wu is not really nice, right? I had to change it to a nickname." Ye Qingxuan sighed, "Fortunately, he now thinks that Old Phil sounds more powerful than Fei Wu. Otherwise, if you call out Fei Wu for dinner, he would run to you from across the town." Bai Xi could not help herself, she laughed. But soon she went back to her straight face, like the laughter had never happened. "Still a child." Ye Qingxuan whispered. "Hmm?" Bai Xi looked up. "Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head, "Tell me something else." The whole night, Ye Qingxuan had lied in his hard bed, covered with bandages, quietly listening to Bai Xis stories of the East. The little girl was really nothing like a little girl, her tone was not soft, it was full of thorns. She spoke foul words when she got to the exciting part of the stories, even pointed fingers. She was more of a rogue kid than even Victor was. But somehow, he felt better. As long as someone had kept him company, the pain was no longer so unbearable. Even his body, full of wounds, was not so bad anymore. At least he did not need to think of the past, and did not have to think of the future. But in his heart, there was always a voice wondering inside, "Ye Qingxuan, you cannot become a musician anymore." - The inexplicable bleeding had made Ye Qingxuan rest in bed for a whole day. Drowsy and sleepy, he thought he had slept for a long time. In his long and broken dreams, there had seemed to be nothing but the broken pieces of the past, and some bizarre and indescribable moments. In those broken dreams, there was always someone whispering, the sound gave him a splitting headache. On the third day, when he finally got out of the bed, it was already noon. Setton did not rush him to work right away, but when he leaned against wall, and tried to walk downstairs step by step, he saw Settons face twitching behind the counter, with a cigarette in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot. He obviously had reached the edge of an breakdown. This monster-like man was so angry, all of his muscles were trembling with anger, and at his feet, a dictionary was shredded to pieces. "Uh, what''s the matter?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. Setton pointed at the counter, expressionless. A letter had been delivered by the messenger, and a small box was lying on top. That crumpled letter seemed to be made differently from regular paper, more like something that was written on a piece of excellent quality leather. It was difficult to tear, but had many cracks made by someone. "Its to you, read it yourself." Setton grabbed some money from the drawer, slammed the door and went out for drinks. Ye Qingxuan grabbed the letter, confused, then he was shocked. It was a letter addressed to him... - "To my dearest employee Ye: Heard you were ill, Ive been worried sick. Although we have not yet met, I have the deepest concerns and worries for your well-being. Perhaps this is what the Easterners meant by ''fate''? Along with the letter is a bottle of medicine, rest well after you take it, and dont worry about the shop. I will reimburse you for all your medical expenses. PS. Please take care of Setton, as hes not well disciplined. If he does something wrong, please feel free to criticize and punish him, like punishing the tiger that does not obey the ringmasters command. PPS. Please give my regards to the new employee, Miss Bai Xi, and also give me her measurements if its not too much trouble. Id like to give her a dress as a present when we meet. Your friend: Hermes." - At the end of the letter there was also an emblem to identify the nobility of the sender, but the emblem was particularly strange. It was unlike any that Ye Qingxuan had ever seen in the churchs pedigree. It was like two snakes wrapped on a strange cane. The letter was filled with warmth and kindness. Other than the fact that it had almost blown Setton away, you could almost see a noble gentleman who was kind, polite, and generous, who worried about Ye with sincerity. He also had a same name as a famous artist from a hundred years ago. The special concern from the boss had given Ye Qingxuan a chill. He looked at Bai Xi, "This is from the boss?" Bai Xis expression was also odd, "yes." "He wants your measurements..." "Tell him to go to hell!" Bai Xi answered like a sharp slap, making Ye Qingxuan give up the idea of writing a reply. Ye Qingxuan picked up the small box on the cupboard, and was startled after he opened it, "What is this?" In the wooden box, there was a slender test tube buried in thick cotton pads, filled with rose red liquid, reflecting a magnificent light. Bai Xi was stunned when she saw the tube. She gave Ye Qingxuan a strange look, "Hey, do you think the boss fancies you?" "Umm, fancy?" "Yes, "fancy," Bai Xi lifted her eyebrows, her expression was odd. "I heard that many old ladies like fresh young boys." "What are you talking about? I havent even met the owner yet. And if you dont want to say my name, you can call me cousin, not just hey, like you were my creditor." "Want to take advantage of me? No way." Bai Xi sneered at him, "This is a cure, made by the church, excellent for treating external wounds. The price is almost as expensive as a brick of black gold." Her last sentence had Ye Qingxuans hands shaking. He stared at the test tube in his hands, "That expensive?" In addition to their respective issued currencies, countries would trade with each other using a common currency of black gold, made by the church. Presently, Anglos currency had been continuously declining, so that the price of the black gold had continuously jumped up. Roughly, one test tube would be over sixty thousand pounds. Ye Qingxuan felt depressed. "How expensive! Couldnt he have just given me the money?" "Id drink this as soon as possible if I were you. This thing loses its effect ten minutes after exposure to the sun." Bai Xis words had awakened Ye Qingxuan so he quickly pulled out the stopper, and poured the liquid into his mouth. When he was done, he smacked his lips, seemingly not tasting everything. But soon he felt an extreme coldness spread inside his body. It was like the moment of an explosion of freezing bombs. He was dizz, and almost fell to the ground, but quickly his senses came back. The strong pain in his body had rapidly depleted, almost as if they were not even there. "So effective." He muttered, feeling like the world was shaking. "There are side effects, and you probably wont have any strength for the rest of the afternoon. And there was a trace of mandala inside the drug." Bai Xi had a deceitful look on her face. Her smile was sweet and innocent, "Cousin, cousin, lets play cards?" "Play cards?" Ye Qingxuan tried to suppress the feeling of dizziness, "What are you playing at? Every time you call me cousin, its nothing good!" "Why, a small amount of gambling is entertaining, Im concerned for you!" Bai Xi took a pair of cards out of nowhere, then shuffled skillfully. "We can stick white paper on the face instead of playing for money, want to warm up with a five card draw?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh, "Very skillful shuffling. You made money with this, didnt you?" "Skills to make a living, of course. How about I wont cheat?" Bai Xi smiled harmlessly, exceptionally sweet, "Come on cousin, lets play!" "Can I not play?" "It counts as a loss if you dont play." Ye Qingxuan sighed and picked up the cards, but when he was shuffling, he saw the strange picture on the cards, "What is this?" Unlike the other cards with only pictures on the king and queen cards, this deck had own pictures on cards one through ten. It seemed to be someone from a strange story, but the style was extremely gloomy, making people shudder. "This deck was the Avalons legendary commemorative edition. On the cover was the most famous legend of Avalon. It was said to be very popular." "Legend?" Ye Qingxuan seemed confused, "When did that happen?" He picked one up randomly and asked, "What is this?" The card was painted with an old man wearing a feather crown. His hand was holding a broken heart, his eyes gloomy. "It is said that he was the controller of all of Avalon. He hid behind the curtain, and controlled the underground world. He sounded like a very powerful man, but many people have said there was no such person. And others said that they had seen him, but no one could describe what he looked like. People who had met him called him ''Shaman,'' and when Shaman issued an order, no one dared to oppose." "Shaman?" Ye Qingxuan thought the name sounded familiar, like he had heard it somewhere before. 38 The Marketplace Legend "That was the Shaman. What about this one?" Ye Qingxuan flipped over the second card. On this card was a man wearing a hat. His golden locks reached his waist, and he stood on a pile of gold, silver, and wealth. Jewels fell from his hands like sand. "The Trader. Apparently, you can buy anything from him as long as you have money. Even the impossible is possible with him." Bai Xi lowered her voice, "Some people also say that Anglos throne was bought from him by King Arthur with his treasured sword." "How is that possible?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Even if it is true, he cant live this long, right?" "You never know. If he really does have everything, it wouldnt be weird if he has the secret to immortality." "That kind of makes sense." Ye Qingxuan flipped another card. "What is this?" The cards background was blood red. Within the broken and bodiless limbs, there seemed to be a shadow. Everything was bloody and dark. "Oh, that is the killer. He has disappeared now, but apparently he killed for money and he took every type of jobeven the assassinations of high officials. When hes in action, he leaves no witnesses alive. Anyone who sees him will get their heads yanked off. Someone gave him the nickname Bloody Butcher because the scene he leaves behind is like a slaughterhouse." The white wraiths in the churchthe Soul Eater; the psychotic killer who massacred in the deep nightthe Ripper; the women who kidnapped children to feed devilsHariti; the living dead who wandered in the graveyard and feasted on fresh bloodthe vampires; the debt collector who could take souls with his handthe Ghost Hand; the black shadow that flew across the sky at midnightthe Phantom Carriage. These were Avalons top ten legends. "Wait, but theres only nine," Ye Qingxuan counted with his fingers and realized that there truly was only nine. "Oh, theres another one." At the mention of this, the excited Bai Xi suddenly lost all interest. She revealed the last card. On this card was the silhouette of the clock tower at midnight. In the darkness, there was something squirming and running by. "This is the last legend. Its the Naked Man who runs through the streets of Avalon at midnight." Ye Qingxuan was instantly awake. "You look funny. Are you okay?" "Im scared." He was too embarrassed to say that he had seen this crazy man before. The first nine of the top ten Avalonian legends were so powerful and impressive, but this last one was just wretched. Running around nude while singing at midnight. A crazy man with bird-nest hair! What was wrong with the aesthetic standards of the Avalonian people? "Whats the last ghost card?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the two ghost cards. But rather than a clown, there were strange and ferocious buildings. The black card had a high tower. But when reflected into the water, the tower turned into a pile of bones. It stretched endlessly, going towards Hell. "The Bloody Shadow." Bai Xi said, "Legend says that this road is hidden inside Avalon. It leads straight to the backside of Avalon. If you walk down it, youll see the citys true appearance." "Then what about the red one?" The red card in his hand depicted a large but abandoned city. It was covered with cobwebs and scorch marks. The giant city was choked with dust, as if it was already dead. "This is the Avalon in the legends." Bai Xi paused and added, "The real Avalon." -- It had been three-hundred years since the end of the dark ages. Two hundred and seventy years ago, King Arthur refused the holy name given by the Sacred City. He came here instead and created sacred Anglos first city. This was the earliest legend of Avalon. No longer did people know what this place had been before that. Some scholars dug through the remains of the ancient books and came up with this strange conclusion: three-hundred years ago, Avalon was six-hundred meters below sea level. This meant that the island was supposed to be sleeping at the bottom of the ocean. But according to the aether levels of ancient Avalonian buildings, they have existed for more than one thousand years. The scholars did not know what to do with the contradicting information. In the end, this debate could only be buried under the countless other research. But this legend had been passed on until now, becoming more and more detailed. Some said that Avalon was originally a city controlled by Satan. It lay at the bottom of the ocean for eternity. It floated up during the War of Glory, and the world was about to be destroyed. But then Hyakume was seriously injured and left its lair. But its secret was still hidden inside the city. Other said that this was the Burgundians conspiracy. But some also support the more recent continental drift theory, believing that Avalon was an island that floated from elsewhere. "None of these are reliable. Avalonians have too much time on their hands," Ye Qingxuan dismissed these theories. "Yeah. Lets just play cards." Bai Xi shuffled the cards, her features dancing. "Ill go easy on you for the first round, and well start small. Twenty dollars for the first round." His face expressionless, Ye Qingxuan reached over and took out the card she hid inside her sleeve. "I said before, you cant cheat" Half an hour later, Ye Qingxuan was getting drowsier and it was hard to focus. It felt like he had a hangover, like alcohol was playing with himmaking him overexcited, and then taking away self-control. Thankfully, he could still think. Thankfully "Okay. Hand over the money." He showed his card, and stretched out his palm with a smile. "Or else Im going to put on a strip of paper." There was only complete and utter silence. Past the tick-tocks, one could only hear Bai Xis angry pants. The strips of paper all over her face moved as she breathed, like the legendary Wendigo. In thirty minutes, she had already lost her salary for the next three yearsif she was going to get any salary. "You told methis is your third time playing Flush?" Bai Xi gritted her teeth. "This is how someone plays for the third time?" "This really is my third time." Ye Qingxuan yawned and answered drowsily, "The first time, I didnt understand the rules and lost one months salary. The second time, I won all their pants. From then on, no one wanted to play with me anymore. They all say, uh, that I cheat." "You said were not allowed to cheat!" Bai Xi pounded on the table and got into his face. "Where did you hide the poker? Tell the truth! Or else Im going to beat you up while you still cant fight back!" "I didnt lie. Id never cheat." Ye Qingxuan opened his arms and let the girl search him. The cards that he had shuffled fell from his hands, scattering like snow. Fifty-four poker cards, no more, no less. The rolled up sleeves, short nails, spread-apart fingers, under the tablethere were no signs of cheating anywhere. Bai Xi searched Ye Qingxuans pockets repeatedly but came up with nothing. "I told you I wont cheat." Feeling heavy, Ye Qingxuan finally could not resist the urge of sleep and sprawled onto the table. Before he fell asleep, he seemed to remember something and laughed lightly, "But I can memorize cards." -- "Thanks for coming with me to deliver the goods." "Its not like I know the way." The next day, Ye Qingxuan could finally walk, albeit with a cane. He limped down the road. Beside him, Bai Xi, a head shorter than him, carried the case in her arms. She walked casually, glancing around. As if she were self-conscious about her white hair, she had stuffed her hair under her hat. She was still wearing Ye Qingxuans clothes from before, and looked like a typical street kid. "But it really took a lot of effort for Mr. Setton to get this business deal." "You think too much. This is just an ornamental clock that they asked the boss to send over from Burgundy. Were just delivering it." The corner of Bai Xis lips curled. "If they didnt send a letter asking, Setton probably wouldve thrown it into the trash." "Fine. The store will probably close someday, thanks to him," Ye Qingxuan muttered, a bit worried. "Why are you sighing? This has nothing to do with you." Bai Xi rolled her eyes. Her pupils rolled around twice, and another bad idea popped into her head. "Hey, cousin, how much do you think this clock is worth?" "Its not vintage, but the signature says it was created by a very famous Burgundian artisan. Its hard to estimate its market value. But the newest watch core, gold and silver inside, are expensive. Based off of the black markets rule of raising the price 30 percent, its probably around sixty thousand." Ye Qingxuan counted on his fingers and nodded at the end. "If its someone who knows the trade, it can sell for up to one-hundred thousand." Bai Xi was dumbfounded, not just because of the price, but also because of Ye Qingxuans words. "How do you know all this?" "There are books all over the store. You can read them too!" Ye Qingxuan side-eyed her and knocked her head. "Dont get any silly ideas. Setton wasnt joking when he said he sends troublesome people to the hospital." "Hey, I didnt even say anything!" "Nothing good comes when you call me cousin. And I bet you were thinking about running off with that thing, right?" "Hmph." Bai Xi did not say anything else, but it was clear she had not given up yet. "On my third day here, there was a thief. Setton didnt say anything, but broke the thiefs arm that afternoon, and brought everything back to the store. His muscles are there for a reason. Dont think that hes harmless just because he sits and reads all day." Ye Qingxuan kept talking until the girl had goosebumps all over. This was the fourth time he stopped Bai Xi from breaking the law today. What joyha, as if! This girl was too far gone if she wanted to break the law four times in one day! Other than Old Phils dog food, there probably was not a thing she did not want to steal. Bai Xi poked curiously into the crowd, as if she was listening to the musicians on the street. The dark-skinned musician sat cross-legged on a ragged cloth, playing a Qiang flute. This instrument was rare, and its beautiful music caused those pasisng by to nod and toss coins into the box in front of him. Bai Xi glanced at the box filled with copper coins, about to drool. Ye Qingxuan moved to stop her, but thankfully something else happened that caught everyones attention. Far away, a high-pitched trumpet sounded. A clamor traveled from the distance. 39 Taiyi The first sound was from sixteen high-pitched trumpets. Dressed in crimson robes, the guards stood atop the city wall. They held up trumpets almost the size of themselves, took a deep breath, and blew strongly to welcome the important guests. Outside midtowns sixth ring of city walls, a long and mighty procession entered this large city. The bishops door opened only when the Emperor arrived. Now, it opened slowly under the golden sun. The heavy city gates creaked, silencing the commotion of the crowd. Quickly, soldiers clad in golden armor, holding ceremonial halberds and copper scepters filed into a line, then entered the foreign city. The first was the soldier wielding a halberd. Following him were the ritual officials holding all sorts of offerings and gifts. Behind them was the long procession. Six stallions were required to pull large carts filled with silk, spices and porcelain from the East. With their black hair spun into buns of the high ranking, the female officials scattered holy water and petals onto the street. Their buns looked like that of fairies, and these Eastern faces smiled standard smiles, opening up the road for the golden carriage behind them. Eight pure white stallions pulled a gold carriage through the road. The four corners of the carriage were decorated with heaters in the shape of mythical creatures. The heaters were filled with incense, and milk and herbs, emanating a heavy scent. The aroma spread through the crowd with the breeze, casting everyone into a luxurious dream. The bustling masses filled the two sides of the road, excitedly cheering and screaming. They waved towards the large golden carriage, trying to peek past the layers of silk to see who the thin silhouette really was. After resting for seven days, Princess Yunlou from the East has finally arrived in the city. Rumored to be only sixteen years old but already the beauty of the nation, the princess sat primly in her carriage. Covered by thin silk and a brocade, the people could only see a silhouette. And yet, they could not look away. The thousands of people cheered and screamed at either side of her, yet she did not move, coldly accepting the cheers from this foreign city as if she could not hear them. But the people became more and more curious. How beautiful must she be to have such a gorgeous procession? The mighty carriage procession went down the royal road, slowly and steadily passing through each city gate and street, all the way to the palace at the top of the city. Five city gates opened one after another, welcoming the foreign princess into the embrace of Avalon. At the third ring, no one cheered more loudly than Ye Qingxuan, who had rushed over after hearing the news. He leaned on his cane in the corner. Beside him was a confused Bai Xi. "Shes just a princess. It doesnt have to be this pompous." Dumbfounded and tonguetied, Ye Qingxuan watched as the armor-clad soldiers walked by, and the mighty procession marched towards the peak of the mountain city. "Three hundred followers and twenty carriages, thats not much." The corners of Bai Xis lips curled as she looked at the country bumpkin next to her. "In the East, tens of thousands would accompany the Emperor when he patrolled. The streets were closed three days before to be cleaned and covered in yellow brocade. When the Emperor passed, there were fires on the side to burn spices. The entire city was filled with this scent, like a wonderland" After learning so many formulas, Ye Qingxuan tried calculating how much everything would cost. He realized that he did not have enough brain power, and could only say, "Easterners are so rich." The golden carriage finally passed by him. Under the burning sun, the silk in the window danced, and the carriage seemed to melt into the sun. It reflected dazzling colors, so bright one could not even open his eyes. Ye Qingxuan squinted, watching the carriages still in the distance. A breeze blew from the ocean, lifting the silk and brocade embroidered with hundreds of birds. The sight was beautiful, like a fantasy. And the layers of silk finally had an opening. Inside the carriage, one could still only see a backside. The white-haired girl clad in a robe was looking up at the sky. As if sensing the eyes of the crowd, she spared them a glance. It was fleeting, but her eyes were like mist. It was untouchable and indescribably beautiful. The crowd became even more excited, and everyone tried to push to the front. They called for the princess, trying to see her face clearly. But she had already looked away and would not turn back. "Look, look!" Ye Qingxuan pulled at Bai Xi. "Shes pretty!" Bai Xi could not help but roll her eyes. "Yeah, every generation of her family is pretty. She has a good lineage. If she wasnt pretty, shell be a disgrace to her ancestors." "Are you sure?" "Obviously. If Im rich and powerful, of course Id pick someone pretty to marry. And marry them in batches." Bai Xi gestured with her thumb. "Id need those that look graceful even when theyre picking their noses!" "Thats disgusting!" "Huh?" The girl side-eyed him. "Uh, I mean you have a good dream, and it should be encouraged." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, but just as he was ready to leave, he took another glance by curious coincidence. Under the ceremonial music, people crowded the carriage, tossing flowers and cheering. But the silent girl sat kneeling behind the silk, probably smiling demurely. Paired with fresh flowers, silk, jewels, gold and silver, everything was so beautiful. But "She looks a little sad," he murmured. "Huh?" Bai Xi glanced at him. "Nothing." Smiling, Ye Qingxuan said, "Lets go." As those words left his mouth, he suddenly halted as the world spun. In the dizziness, he heard a low sound, something like water boiling. It rose over the crowd and the road. The sound flowed like water, and the empty echo carried with it a bursting noise. Once again, he felt the pain that made him want to vomit, as if he returned to the battle between Wolf Flute and the Rain Artist! The crowds cheers were snuffed and they stumbled backwards, unable to stand still. Some people gazed around in confusion, but saw nothing. Only the musician in the corner of the street was still lightly playing his bamboo flute. The flute melody hung in the air. "No, no." Ye Qingxuan pushed himself up using the wall, and grabbed the dazed Bai Xi into his arms. He finally understood. "Bai Xi, run! This is" This was a pre-planned attack! Boom! -- Before he could finish, there was the sound of a water dam bursting. The bamboo flute was piercing, like metal shooting straight into the sky. The sixteen stone gargoyles from the city walls echoed in the vortex. Then they burst into countless shards, flying through the air. Green-black light shot through like a waterfall. The light was like water, collecting in the air. Reflecting the sunlight, it was dazzling. But the pungent smell covered the early fragrances. And it was not water. It was an endless storm of steel sand! Six turrets of steel sand with piercing tips flew in the air, radiating green-black light. The tide of sand followed the sewers and flooded onto the road. It was such an angry current, but it looked so calm, like a stream in the sky. The green-black light was like a mirror, reflecting the flowers, decorations, and the peoples fearful expressions. Quickly, the beating notes hit upon the steel river. And so it shattered, and the countless sand particles flew apart, transforming. The blinding sunlight rolled down its smooth surface, so dazzling that it forced the people to shut their eyes. As countless people fell to the ground, writhing in pain, the musician in the corner finally stood up. His bare feet stepped onto the bustling street, each step following the rhythm of his flute. The flute controlled the changes of the steel sand until they finally formed something. As mournful shouts cut through the air, a thousand pairs of wings spread under the sun. They were countless steel cranes! The hundreds of green-black cranes born from the steel sand screamed over the music of the flute. Like thousands of trembling blades, they resonated with all the metal objects. And then, the steel cranes fell. They broke apart from the tide, but regrouped into a new tide. The giant mass of cranes rushed toward the earth. As their wings brushed against each other, sparks turned to fire. Ss they rushed downward, their screams were like the sound of the Grim Reaper. Rather than stopping them, the strong wind only helped push them forward. In the wind, the embroidered flags were lifted and torn. White shreds fluttered to the ground like butterflies. The angry wind swept down the Princesss crown. Her mercury-like white hair escaped from its confines, dancing in the air. Her luxurious robe was lifted, like dissipating mist. There was an unbearable beauty in that fleeting moment. But beauty always had to be destroyed. The flaming cranes attacked, swarming onto the girl. In futile resistance, she raised her pale wrist, as if wanting to stop the attack with her arm. It was laughable, like a praying mantis trying to stop a carriage. But at that moment, Ye Qingxuan heard Bai Xi murmur in his arms, "Taiyi?" Bai Xi covered his ears in fear, "Dont listen." But Ye Qingxuan could not hear anymore. Because in that moment, all sound disappeared. He saw Princess Yunlou raise her palm. But rather than opening it, she pressed her thumb and forefinger together, and snapped. Immediately, the world started shaking. Like jade hitting against golden chimes, everything started roaring. -- The terrifying ripple spread from her fingertips. It joined in the middle and shot up into the sky. The ripple broke the steel cranes wings and shattered their claws. They were so strong and unyielding, but the metal transformed, warped, turned to powder under the weight of the water! There were thousands of steel cranes, thus thousands of cracking noises sounded. When they sounded in unison, it was like countless pieces of glass shattered. The fine sand could no longer stay together, and they melted, evaporated. They rose to the sky, and were blown deep into the ocean by the sudden hurricane. The quakes seemed to enter ones body, twisting their organs, instantly defeating them. Crimson blood spurting from their noses, including the musician. The bamboo flute was reduced to dust in the wind. Following that were his hands. He knelt onto the ground, was pushed down and captured by armor-clad soldiers. "Witch! You deserve to die!" He raised his head, crying tears of blood, trying to tear apart the silent girl sitting inside the carriage. "I cant kill you today, but I will not rest! You, Yunlou bastard, Ill boil your meat and rip your skin. Karma will find Yunlou Qingshu and you someday! Karma!" He howled, screaming over and over about karma until his body went rigid and collapsed, never breathing again. This was the musician using the sound of heart. He destroyed his heart and brain from the inside, refusing to be taken captive by the enemy. With his fall, the sudden attack was finally over. In the chaos, Ye Qingxuan was finally clear-headed again. He gasped for breath, sweat rolling down his cheeks. With Bai Xi covering his ears, he was a bit better than the others. But the girl in his arms was deathly pale. Ye Qingxuan could feel Bai Xi trembling, almost collapsing. She had always been weak. But after all that, even if Ye Qingxuan had protected her, she would no longer be abel to stand. "Lets go," she whispered with her head lowered. "I dont want to be here anymore." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded, leaned onto his cane, and led her away. -- In the chaos, everyone ran, trying to escape in confusion. The originally grand welcome ceremony was reduced to a mess. But still, Princess Yunlou sat primly on her grand carriage. Her seat was still beautiful, still gorgeous, as if it was part of another world and nothing could disturb her. The assassination fell past her like dust. And like dust, there was nothing to care about. Amongst the crowd, she watched, almost subconsciously, the white-haired youth and the girl in his arms. 40 Bloodline of the Dragon It was a quiet dusk, the setting sun lulled the people to sleep. At the Avalon Pier, a boat rested at the port, but rarely did passengers come down. At the front of this empty pier there was a monstrous and burly man. He sat on a bench, studiously reading a wrinkled pamphlet. Bang! A giant suitcase, almost half the size of him, fell in front of him. It landed with a heavy thud, causing dust to fly into the air. The newcomer, looking around curiously, did not match his giant suitcase at all. The youth was clad in a pure white robe, but his skin was even paler. He was feminine, yet handsome and tender. His golden hair hung to his waist and was tied behind his back. The silver hair accessories, and his flowing golden locks shone under the sun, radiating beauty and grace. On his arm was a tattoo of sorts. The intertwined twin snakes were strange yet elegant. "This old place is still the same." This youthful-looking man sat down on his suitcase and poked the burly man with his cane. "Hey, Setton. Youre so cold. Wont you greet me?" Setton raised his head and gazed coolly. After a long time, he finally forced out, "Hey, why arent you dead yet?" "Friend, you make me so sad," the blonde shook his head, sighing. "I even bought a collar for you so you can be more obedient. How can you treat me like this?" Crack! The bench groaned as Setton glared at the blond kid, his joints cracking and popping. "Ah, never mind. You still get angry so easily. Lets change the topic" The youth sighed and then looked side to side impatiently. "Where are my two cute new workers? Have they eaten well? Rested well? Became nice and plump? Come on, let me see the boy full of secrets, and the equally mysterious girl" He opened his arms excitedly. "I dont care who goes, but someone go tell them! Tell them that their amazing, caring, kind, handsome, and beautiful boss, the respected Sir Hermes, has returned!" -- They were finally done delivering goods at dusk. Ye Qingxuan sat in a corner of the Fountain Square, sunbathing lazily. His cane was in Bai Xis curious hands. Under the waning sun, Ye Qingxuan took out the aether ball. Out of habit, he sang some notes, but there was no response as usual. "Youre still trying?" Bai Xi understood after seeing the Aether ball in his hands. "Its impossible for you. The most common notes are all in the upper or lower range. Your range cant reach those, and you cant even sense the aether, right?" Bai Xi sighed, "But you couldnt get lucky even once during all those tries. How unlucky are you?" "I cant help it. Maybe Im just unfortunate." Ye Qingxuan shrugged, but his mind went back to the terrifying afternoonthe thousands of steel cranes shining in the sky and the immense power from Princess Yunlous small movement. "Taiyi." He suddenly remembered this word, and looked up at Bai Xi. "You said Taiyi at noon. What does it mean?" "Huh?" Bai Xis face was full of confusion. "What Taiyi?" "I heard it." Ye Qingxuans lip curled. "Stop acting dumb. You said it when Princess Yunlou almost got assassinated. Taiyi." "Oh, that," Bai Xi finally nodded after thinking for a long time. "I meant to say talent. Natural-born talent." "Talent is just a wide vocal range, or agile moves at most. If this is talent, then youre saying the Princess was this powerful at birth?" "Thats why its talenttrue talent," Bai Xi said. "Talent isnt a voice, looks, or a sixth finger on your right hand. Its something predetermined. You get it when youre in the womb, or even earlier. Its already determined when your ancestors made the vow." "I dont get it. Are you sure youre saying something humans can understand?" Bai Xi glanced at him helplessly and sighed, "Are you sure you have Eastern lineage?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at his hair. "I thought this was obvious." "Let me just ask you one thing: did you know that in the East, many people have black hair?" Bai Xi prodded Ye Qingxuan. "Huh?" Ye Qingxuans entire world view was flipped and thrown out the window. "Isnt it white?!" "White hair is rare in the East. Theres maybe one per thousand people. You saw during the afternoon, right? Yunlous procession had many black-haired female officials. In the East, its a celebratory event to have a white-haired baby. Its a sign of Avatismyoure born with characteristics of your ancestors. And you have the potential to become a Musician. This type of person is known as Deva. Every white-haired child is accepted by the Imperial Academy to study as a musician. But the success rate is probably around thirty percent." Ye Qingxuan had a headache. He thought he had heard Bai Xi wrong. "Wait, you said that out of three white-haired people, only one can become a musician?!" "Thats right. Whats the ratio in Anglo? One thousand to one?" After thinking for a moment, Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "Not even." "Yeah, thats why its rare." Bai Xi toyed with her own hair, her face full of pride. "In Eastern legends, people come from the sky. The legends say, before the dark ages, everyone had the robes, beauty, white hair, and good wine of the Deva. Life was perfect and unbelievable. But later, the Deva became tainted and fell to Earth. Some began to forget their past and their hair gradually turned black in the mundane world. Only the elite still have their white hair. To protect their lineage, they cant marry others." "Its that strict?" Ye Qingxuan stuttered, "Does it work?" "Dont know. Its been a few hundred years and many families have disappeared because of war and natural disasters. Other than the rare occasion of Atavism, there are only nine pureblood families. Theyre known as the Dragon Bloodline Nine." Bai Xi continued, "More than two-thirds of all Eastern musicians are from these nine families. They have a lot of secrets and techniques. Apparently, theyre all protected by artifacts that bless their families. Every descendant must be tested by the artifact in the Ancestral Hall when they come of age. If they pass, theyll be enlightened. Maybe mysterious knowledge or sheet music appears in their minds. Or maybe its the even more treasuredtalent. Its a gift to the lineage and their eternal shackles." "So is Taiyi the Princess Yunlous talent?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Bai Xi chanted quietly, "An auspicious day, the pleased soldier and Emperor; stroke the long sword and jade earring, tinkling gems and glittering jewelsOf all the talents, Taiyi is the most powerful one. It means dominance. This type of talent is known as the Scepter in the West. Only high ranking musicians can have this power." "You know a lot." Ye looked at Bai Xi strangely. "Hey, cousin, are you a Dragon Bloodline girl who ran away from home?" "Cousin, you have such a creative imagination." Bai Xi gazed at him with disdain. "But theres only one elite family with the surname Bai in the East, okay? Its the regent who stole the countrys power thirty years agoBai Heng. But the rest of the family died when he caused all that trouble." Saying this, she gestured with her pinkie finger like a hooligan, "If Im his daughter, all I have to do is point with my finger, and everyone would rush over to beat up that Princess Yunlou." "I suddenly feel that its a blessing to the citizens that you arent a princess." A sharp pain suddenly came from the back of Ye Qingxuans head. Bai Xi had pulled out a strand of his hair. She also pulled out one of her own and put them together, comparing the two. "Hey, what are you doing?" "Nothing, just making sure." Bai Xi waved him away, focusing on the two strands of white hair, making noises of surprise. If one looked closely, it was clear that their hair was different. While Bai Xis hair was a pure silver white, Ye Qingxuans hair had a light shade of golden yellow flowing through it. It was easy to miss if one did not pay attention. "A mixed bloods white hairits incredible, no matter what." "Is it really weird?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I already told you. Only purebloods can have white hair. Ive never heard of a mix with white hair. The first time I saw you, I thought you dyed your hair. Even if theyre both Easterners, if a Deva and commoner married, their children would lose the white hair gene. How powerful must your fathers lineage be?" She paused, her expression twisting into shock, "Youare you the bastard child of some big elite family?" "Your imagination is too wild." Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head, interrupting her. "My father was an average musician. My mother wasnt anyone special either. Lets end this topic here." "What a pity," Bai Xi murmured. "If youre a pureblood, then you can become a musician, even if youre mute." Ye Qingxuan stayed silent for a long time before suddenly chuckling. "Whats pitiable about things like this?" He paused then said, "Okay, lets go. We should head back." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. Pushing aside the memories of the past, he stood up. "Oh," Bai Xi replied quietly. She was not very willing. It was rare to be out, and she had not had enough fun yet. Seeing her unwillingness, Ye Qingxuan laughed. Maybe he could bring her outside more often if they had more delivery or procuring chores. Just as they turned to leave, an ancient voice sounded behind them. 41 Reward "S-sorry, sir and madam, do you know where Hilda Alley is?" A lost old woman opened her eyes wide and stared at the two before her, her eyes hopeful. She wore an old head scarf, with messy white hair peeking out from under it. She looked very old, her pallor like tallow. There was a small parcel in her arms. It seemed that she had been lost for a long time. She wandered and paced around the square, but a passerby had thought she was a beggar and shooed her away. Her lips trembled, but she did not know what to say. She stammered out, "Please help me. I''ve been looking for the whole day." "I don''t know. Go find it yourself." The little girl rolled her eyes and waved the woman away. "I''m busy." "Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan raised his voice, his eyes becoming stern. "Be polite." Under his stare, Bai Xi''s annoyed expression faltered. Finally, it became helplessness, and she grudgingly pointed at a random direction, "There." Ye Qingxuan sighed and lowered her finger. Sighing again, he told the old woman, "We''ll pass by Hilda Alley on our way back. If you do not think we walk too slowly, we can take you along." The old woman''s mouth parted, as if dumbfounded. Her rheumy eyes were full of gratitude. "Thank you, kind sir. Otherwise, I...I wouldn''t know what to do." "No problem. Come with me." Ye Qingxuan smiled and, leaning on the cane, walked to the front to lead. Bai Xi followed him unhappily. Glaring at the woman, she muttered, "There are thousands of lost people in Avalon. Are you going to help all of them?" Ye Qingxuan lightly knocked her head, but did not reply. -- "Is this your first time in Avalon?" Ye Qingxuan started smalltalk with the old woman on the way back. "Call me Emma." The old woman tottered slightly behind him, her eyes sad. "I spent my whole life herding sheep in the Highlands and never left. But my daughter passed away a few days ago and my son-in-law forced me out. My nephew wrote, saying I can come here, but I can''t find him" Ye Qingxuan''s face blanched, and he pursed his lips, "I''m so sorry." "There''s nothing to be sorry about," Emma shook her head lightly. "My husband told me before that there will always be misfortunes in life. Sometimes you just have to bear it. He stayed by my side during all those hard days. Times are much better now. I can take it." Bai Xi huffed, but did not say anything. The old lady didn''t seem to mind. Instead, she smiled and asked, "Are you and your sister from here?" "Sister?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at Bai Xi and chuckled. "I guess, but she''s been here longer. I''m new here too." As the walk dragged on, Ye Qingxuan finally came to a halt. He turned into an alley behind a row of storefronts, and pointed to a corner not too far away. "Go from here and you''ll be close. I remember that not many people live in Hilda Alley. It''ll be easy to find him there." Emma stopped and looked at Ye Qingxuan with gratitude. "Thank you so much for leading me. I don''t know what I would do without you." "It''s nothing. We should all help each other." Ye Qingxuan smiled and nodded farewell. "People come with me. My nephew is a good kid. He''ll repay you." Emma grabbed his hand, hoping for him to stay. "You have a good heart. I''ll be so sorry if you aren''t rewarded." "It''s okay." Ye Qingxuan smiled, but when he tried to pull his hand back, he could not. He tried again, but the old woman had his hand in a death grasp. The wrinkled palm felt smooth and sticky like a dead snake. He could not escape. He gasped, looking up at the aged woman. Emma was still smiling, happiness was written all over her wrinkled features. But her green eyes were devoid of any lonely fearinstead, they were chillingly sinister. "Just as you said, we should all help each other." She grasped Ye Qingxuan''s hand, nails digging into his skin. Her hoarse voice was still filled with empty gratitude. "Sir, you are a good person. Won''t you help me again?" Her lips cracked open like she was mouthing something. The air was penetrated with the sound of icicles cracking. Ye Qingxuan''s vision went black, as if he were thrown into an avalanche. The instant coldness sapped all his energy, almost forcing him to his knees. "Hey, old hag, what are you doing?" Bai Xi finally felt that something was wrong. She rushed over, trying to free Ye Qingxuan''s hand. But she was caught with a backhand grasp. "Be polite, little girl. Impolite kids don''t sell well." Emma''s voice went from hoarse to sharp. In the sun''s dying light, her eyes shimmered with a green glow, like a demon. Ignoring Bai Xi''s kicks, Emma grasped her chin, studying her. "So similar" She laughed. "So similar." In the scuffle, a piece of folded white paper fell from her sleeve and into a puddle. There was a side portrait printed on it. Dirtied from the water, the girl in the portrait was still identical with Bai Xi. Ye Qingxuan gaped. He opened his mouth but could not find his voice. There was something wrapped around his neck, almost suffocating him. Bai Xi''s lips trembled, unable to fight back. The old ragged woman chanted quietly, her lips moving silently. There seemed to be a black hole inside her body. A disgusting scent accompanied her breaths, as if her body was rotting. It was like a spider web, noiselessly slithering around the two, taking away all ability to move. "Come with me. Return to where you should go. They''ve been waiting for a long time." Emma scratched the girl''s face with a sharp fingernail, taking in the fear that radiated from her eyes. "Do you still remember what I said? There will always be misfortunes in life. Sometimes, you just have to bear with it." She laughed quietly. In that empty alley, her laughter echoed throughout, spreading through the air. A shadow swayed, wrapping around Ye Qingxuan''s limbs and throat, like seaweed in the deep ocean. And so the pain increased, but he could only fight painfully in the asphyxiating misery. "Don''t" Bai Xi whispered, pupils dilating. "Come, don''t be afraid. Come with me." Smiling, Emma held onto her hand. Bai Xi moved forward like a puppet, going down the eerie alley. Suffocating, Ye Qingxuan crawled on the ground. He wanted to grab onto her clothes, but he had no control over his limbs. He had never seen Bai Xi so scared, frightened, terrified, as if she was going to fall into hell, or somewhere even worse. "Don''t" Under invisible shackles, the girl opened and closed her mouth, trying to speak. But her voice was weak, like someone trying to say their last words. It trembled, filled with terror, "Don''t." Her features suddenly twisted, as if under the most extreme pain. Her body started shaking. Emma halted, looking down in shock. Something was vibrating in her sleeve, like water boiling. A sudden wind blew through the large sleeves, revealing Emma''s wrinkly skin and a strange symbol carved into the skin. The music note embedded into her skin was shaking and blurring. A huge strength surged within Bai Xi''s body. It refused to be controlled. It grew wilder, crazily rushing forward, not even caring that Bai Xi''s skin was already cracked open. Her music note was out of control! Emma furrowed her brows, pressing down on her shoulder. A wail like the cry of a ghost sang in the air. Like prey being strangled by a cobra, Bai Xi''s bones sounded as if they would crack soon. Bai Xi''s shoulder shook. She stared at the palm holding her down and finally said something, her voice sharp and fearful, "Don''t touch me!" Bang! An immense tidal wave burst from Bai Xi''s body, shattering the invisible confines. The burst could almost be seen, tearing a giant hole in her clothes. Emma''s deathly wail was finally silenced. She let out a cry and stumbled backwards, doubling over with coughs and hacks. A few broken metal teeth, and strands of sticky blood spurted from her mouth, falling onto the ground. Under the dying light, the seven crevices of the copper teeth whistled in the breeze. Ye Qingxuan felt his confines disappear with the crying. There was no time to think. He rushed over and lifted the weak Bai Xi, running straight toward the alley in front of him. The burly man at the entrance of the alley wanted to stand up, but before he could stop Ye Qingxuan, something fell into his arms. It was a high quality cane, polished and radiating with a sweet fragrance. But then a youth grasped it, stabbing into the man''s heart like a spear. "Get out of my way!" The youth''s features twisted. The next moment, the youth''s action were deadly, like a street gangster''s. As if something awakened inside him, his eyes were no longer warm, but filled with unspeakable anger. As he stabbed the cane forward, he pressed on with all of his and Bai Xi''s weight. The man fell over quickly, clutching his chest. Holding the girl in his arms, Ye Qingxuan had no time to pick up his cane. Stumbling, he fled. -- Emma, still coughing in the original spot, bent down to pick up a tooth, studying it closely. It was covered with holes that looked like facial features. It could be taken as a disfigured face at a glance. The tooth had fallen because the insides were shattered. The woman''s features twisted. Her green eyes were sinister, like a wilted dahlia. The tooth was made with white copper and heavy metal, strong and resistant. When the musician craftsman made the seven crevices, it had become a high quality instrument. Paired with the tattoos, even the most average person would be able to channel the power of a music note. It was strange and secretive, difficult to fight against. "That d*mned little b*tch!" she yelled hoarsely. It echoed and harmonized with faraway sounds, and her emerald eyes grew icy, "You can''t run from me!" 42 Your Faul Ye Qingxuan stumbled, and ran down the winding streets. He had pretty much recovered, but every step felt like his body was about to fall apart, and it was getting harder to breathe. The invisible confines were back, solidifying with the wind. When he looked down, what he saw made his blood run cold. Reflected in a puddle, he saw a transparent and blurry shadow latched onto him, wrapping around his throat and limbs, stopping his movements. If he had not looked closely, he would not have be able to see it. He wanted to pull it off, but the thing was like air. "Theres no use, its invisible. Its the child of the Dark Mother. Its a leech that feeds off of fear and blood. Once it catches its prey, it wont ever let go," Bai Xi said weakly on his back. "That personis here to capture me" Ye Qingxuan cried, "Its my fault." "Its always been your fault." Bai Xi trembled with pain, her voice growing hoarse. "Peoplewhy should you help each other? You believe them, but theyll hurt you." Ye Qingxuan could feel her pain because blood was flowing from her open wounds, seeping into his clothes, warm and sticky. She tried suppressing the pain, but clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened. It was like an angry dagger was inside her, carving and tearing at her organs. She almost cried out. "Bai Xi, whats wrong?" Ye Qingxuan froze. Her body temperature was not normal. "It hurts. You cant tell?" Bai Xis finger spasmed, her voice shaking as well. "Its all your fault. If you didnt save me, none of this wouldve happened. And dont you know how to make conversation? Put me down. I dont want to talk to you anymore." She paused, her choked out voice weakening even more. "Put me down. I want to go home" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. He kept running, panting. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Bai Xis eyes from that nighthow much terror was hidden inside that mixed with that dazed confusion. "Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan quietly asked, "You dont actually have anywhere to go back to, right?" The girl didnt reply. "Then dont say so many somber things," the boy continued quietly. "Didnt you already start a new life? You dont have to go back anymore." Although he was talking to Bai Xi, it seemed that he was also talking to himself. "Really?" Bai Xi whispered. "Yes, really!" Ye Qingxuan grit his teeth and finally saw something in the corner up ahead. He already had a plan for getting rid of the footsteps following behind them like a shadow. "We just need to" Oof! Two objects crashed into each other. A short shadow crashed into his body. A person rushed from the corner and stabbed something ice cold into his chest. Ye Qingxuan froze in shock. Looking down, he met eyes with an eerily smiling dwarf. There was a dagger in the dwarfs hand. And the tip of the dagger was in his chest, drawing fresh blood from the wound. His strength left him along with the blood, and Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the ground. Quickly, the dwarf picked up Bai Xis hair. He produced something, pressing it onto Bai Xis face. It was a piece of cloth filled with the acrid scent of medicine. The girl struggled, but finally she stopped moving. "Tsk! These two kids are so much work. I almost failed." The dwarf grasped the weak Bai Xi, cradling her like a rowdy kid gazing at a doll, eager to break her. "Cuozi, be gentle!" The old woman walked over from the end of the alley. Seeing Bai Xis face, her gaze turned toxic. "Someone paid good money for this little b*tch. If you break her, youll need to pay." The dwarf known as Cuozi froze. He pinched Bai Xis face, his eyes full of hunger. "Dont scare me, Emma. This is such good skin. They wont notice anything, right?" "Those Easterners arent easy to deal with. You can play your perverted games with her if youre not scared of death." "I dont care. Maybe she wont want to leave after getting a taste." Despite what he had said, Cuozi stoped. Swallowing his saliva, he gave the girl to Emma. "What about the other one? What do we do with the boy?" "Him?" Emma gazed at the boy in the puddle of blood and laughed coldly, "Hes dying anyway, so lets not waste him. Bring him back for food." "Im not sure. Should I stab him again?" "Its alright. They like live ones" In the puddle of blood, the boys mind was in darkness. -- In his painful unconsciousness, Ye Qingxuan felt himself falling into the abyss. Within a second, he was asleep. Through a long yet short dream, he dreamt of the past. The sudden scene was like a memory, but also a dreamand it was much clearer than before. It was snowing a dirty kind of snow. He was humiliated, curled up in a trash pile in the corner of an alley. He breathed out a last puff of hot air. It evaporated in the cold wind. Where was the snow? He had forgotten. He could only remember the Christmas fireworks that shot up in the distance. It lit up the stars, and somewhere people cheered, welcoming the new year. Fireworks were great. Seeing their fiery red color, he could pretend to be warm. If he died like that, he would have no regrets. In a daze, he watched as the snowflakes fell from the sky and melted into the mud. If he felt a cold gaze sweep over him, he would use the last of his dignity to glare at them fiercely. Finally, they all left. "So pitiful." Those piercing words finally disappeared amongst the endless snow. In this quiet night, he was alone again. Faintly, he heard fragmented footsteps from the distance. The light steps turned snow to dust. As if sensing the small movements in the alley, a dirty dog stepped through the mud and looked at him. There was dirt all over its shaggy fur, covering its original color and appearance. Despite the hardened layers of dirt covering the dog, its hazel eyes were still clear and bright. Reflecting in them was the little beggars stunned expression. Seeing something that deserved attention, the dog stared at his face. After a long time, it waddled over. It raised its dirty front paw, and pressed it onto the boys shoulder. The dog smelled really bad, and there was a scar on its face from being torn or chewed at. Drool dripped from its mouth, and its breath was sour. It went up close to see the beggars face clearly. There was something in its eyesnot pity nor sympathy. But for some reason, the boy felt sad being looked at with those eyes. "What are you looking at? Go away!" Ye Qingxuan yelled. "Stop looking at me!" But he could not stop the tears from rolling down his face. The dog opened its mouth as if it was laughing. "Dont be scared," it seemed to say with a soft bark. It licked at the melted snow on his face, spreading its warmth to him. As if it had finally found family, it cuddled against the poor beggar. Comfortable, it closed its eyes and fell asleep. Ye Qingxuan watched the sleeping dog in silence. After a long time, he wrapped his arms around it. They were the same. -- As if snapping out of a trance, he woke up from his deep sleep and opened his eyes, coughing his lungs out. The closed room was filled with a vile smell. It was like a basement of some sort. His left arm was shackled to a metal chain. He hung above a deep well that bubbled with the sound of running water. The vile smell was everywhere in this tight space. Luminous fungi and dim lanterns provided a little light, letting him see the moss on the four damp walls. He could also see the metal plate embedded into the corner. It was covered in rust, but he could still see the simple serial number. D169C. And so he understood what this place was. -- This was the only river on Avalon Island. Its body was hidden in the maze under Avalon that had been under constant construction for three hundred yearsthe Avalonian sewage system. The ocean rushed in from one side, arriving under the palace after going through the water pump and various mechanisms. Then the mighty flow spread throughout the city via a complicated spider web of pipes. It came clear water, but left as viscous liquid, full of pollution, trash and rotting corpses. Some people called it the Thames River. Apparently, one hundred years ago, the Prince Thames drowned there for mysterious reasons. This dark river seemed to snake through all of Avalon. It was used by mobs and killers because it would leave no trace or evidence. Whether it was a horribly mutilated body, or evidence of a crime, it could be tossed down here and taken away forever. No one would be able to find it again. When the dagger had pierced his chest, Ye Qingxuan thought he was going to die. Maybe it was like he had saidsome peoples lives are so lowly that even the heavens do not want it. The dark light illuminated the hole in his chest. The purse theremade of strong and sturdy cowhidehad saved Ye Qingxuan. After piercing the cowhide, the blade only left a wound half an inch deep in his chest. Soaked with water and turning white, the wound trembled, but he could not feel the pain anymore. All he could feel was pain in his heart, spreading like icy water, unstoppable. "F*ck," Ye Qingxuan muttered, lowering his head. He could not remember when the last time since he had said that word. It had been a while since he cursed. He always felt that cursing was an expression of weakness. The people who insulted him had all been repaid with punches. Those who had wished ill on him had all paid for it. But now he really wanted to curse because he had no power to do anything. The girl he saved was hurt right in front of his eyes. But other than escaping, he could do nothing more. "F*ck!" Dust fell into his eyes, bringing stringing pain and distress. "Its always been your fault." Bai Xis voice rang in his heart once again, this time with a sigh. "Peoplewhy should you help each other? You believe them, but theyll hurt you." "Im sorry," Ye Qingxuan whispered to himself. "Ive always been the naive one." He could not help but laughlaughing at himself. The stillness was shattered by the opening of a metal door. The sound of the rusty door, and metal scraping against each other was sharp and piercing. Someone had arrived. 43 Food Two heavy steps came down the stairs. An unkempt man held a candle, illuminating the murky space. "got fifty thousand." "The bonus is that big this time?" "Apparently the buyer is some big name, and he specifically asked for the girl. Shes so pretty. Cuozi keeps drooling. So sad we cant touch her, and that shes gonna get taken away tomorrow morning" "Hariti came personally this time. I heard there was a big loss. Even one of the creatures got killed." "Shh! Dont say those things. What if someone hears?" "What are you scared of? Other than those creatures, the only things left is the food. Whos even here to eavesdrop?" "Did you forget what happened to the last guy who talked? Dont tell me you want to fill in that blank space." The other man shivered and did not reply. Ye Qingxuan listened wordlessly. He sighed in relief. "Shes still here; she hasnt been taken away yet Shes still alive. Thats good," he thought. Closing his eyes, he listened quietly as the footsteps approached. -- "Its such bad luck to have to feed those creatures." The dwarf holding the wind lantern cursed. "Whose fault is it? Youre the one that picked the raffle. I was dragged into this by you." His companion kicked him. "The guy who fed the creatures last time couldnt eat for days. Its so disgusting!" "Hey, dont be angry." The dwarf let out a devilish laugh. He produced a small aluminum foil parcel from his pocket. It was the size of his palm, but it looked heavy. His companions eyes brightened. "Opiates? Where did you get it?" "Those new Indians brought it as an offering. Its good stuff called Krishna. Apparently it has some extra ingredients to give it more of a kick." The dwarf cackled, "They brought so much. This little packet can last us a year." Like an addict going through withdrawal, the companion looked terrified. He swallowed heavily, "Give me some." "No sh*t. Why else would I take it out?" The dwarf carefully opened the parcel. Looking at the snow white powder, his hand trembled. "Lets get a high first to brace ourselves. When the creatures come out to eat, well pretend we didnt see anything." "How about we feed the mutt first?" The dwarfs companion, Scarface, looked at the youth hanging behind the lattice, his eyes full of regret. "What a pity. Hes so pretty, hed have sold for good money." "Hes almost dead. Whats the use of saying all that? Wait" The dwarf glanced at the deep well. When his gaze swept upward to the youth, his eyes brightened. "This kid hasnt been searched yet." Hanging by the chains, the youth was silent and unmoving like death. At his chest was a wallet, the hole revealing green paper--the color of money! It was the payment from the buyer after the delivery. The thick stack of money orders released from the Church was worth at least forty or fifty thousand pounds! "Where did this kid get so much money?" The dwarf swallowed, unable to move his eyes away. "All of those are money orders?" Scarface blanched too. "Have I gone crazy?" "What are you waiting for?" The dwarf kicked Scarface. "When the creatures come later, even his clothes will be eaten. Go get the money, and well talk about how to divide it later." Scarface broke free from his trance, and rushed to get the keys from the wall and open the heavy steel lattice. Picking up the steel hook from the side, he tiptoed around the well, aiming for the chains. "Wait!" the dwarf suddenly took the hook. "Youre so clumsy. What if it falls? Ill do it!" Scarface glared at him. The dwarf just did not trust him with the money. But the hook was already taken, so he could only curse under his breath and step back, letting the dwarf work on it. "Be careful," Scarface muttered coldly. "Dont fall in and become food yourself." The dwarf cackled. His hook caught onto the chain, and dragged the hanging youth over. He reached into the kids chest. "Were rich. Look at all this money" Before he could finish, a hand latched onto his wrist. Seeing Scarface still outside the lattice, he froze. Whose hand was this? In that moment, he saw the supposedly dead youth raise his head. Reflected in those black eyes was his shocked expression. The blackness was like a swirling vortex. In the swirling vortex was pure darkness. Before the dwarf could react, he was yanked into the lattice with a sudden force. The youth grabbed the hook and, using the momentum, jumped over the lattice. With a yelp, Scarface spun around. But all he could see was the youth flying toward him with the zooming hook. Boom! The hook slammed onto Scarfaces head, causing everything to go black. He collapsed on the ground. In the sudden pain, he felt the chain wrap around his neck and tighten. The gate only started closing slowly. It slammed shut with a push from the youth. Ye Qingxuan was panting, and stepped down firmly on the struggling Scarface under his feet. He gradually tightened the chain. The short chain could only wrap around once before reaching the end. Scarface pushed against the lattice, almost pushing his head through the slit. "Help! Help!" In the well, the dwarf struggled to hold onto the edge, trying to climb up. But something was pulling down on him, almost succeeding. "Shut up!" With his hook, Ye Qingxuan pointed at the finger gripping the wells edge. The dwarf instantly paled. Ye Qingxuan yanked Scarfaces chain, controlling this burly man. No matter how he struggled, the chain would not loosen. Gritting his teeth, he slowly released some strength and looked at the dwarf. "Where are we?" The dwarfs lips trembled, but he did not speak. Ye Qingxuans eyes went cold. He whacked a finger on the hook, eliciting a scream from the dwarf, causing him to almost fall in. "Tell me. Where are we?" "Ill tell you! Ill tell you! Its the bottom level of the Avalonian sewage system. Its an abandoned manhole. Hariti found this place and turned it into a pasture. The formless ghosts can be kept here without being discovered." The dwarf screamed, "Help me up! Help me up! Times almost up!" "Hariti?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "The woman from legends that raises demons?" "Yes, thats her! Thats her! She has a rune to control all the creatures and they all listen to her." The dwarf was close to tears, "Please, Im begging you. Help me up!" "Why do they want Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan interrogated. "I heard that an Easterner paid a lot of money to get her back. The Shaman wouldnt help, so Hariti took the job. I told you, really, I told you everything I know!" The dwarf cried, "Help me upthey, they" Rumbling water covered his screams. In the deep well, the stagnant and foul water started bubbling. Like countless man-eating fish that smelled blood, the water raged in an uproar. The bubbling dead water rose. A couple of blurry objects floated up in the murky water. They looked like melted humans, slowly surfacing with the rise of the water. From the depth of the well came the sound of a tsunami. The tide was rising These were the formless ghosts that Bai Xi had mentioned before. It was one of the millions born from the catastrophic Dark Mother. Many people thought they were the souls of the dead. But they were just living creatures, feasting on blood to survive. Their appearance would change depending on whatever blood they drank. Sometimes they would hide in the cemetery, eating the corpses. After leaving the tomb, they would be mistaken as dead souls and be worshippedor they would eat the person who discovered them. Some feared their powerit was like being possessed by an evil spirit. But the Churchs records showed that their greatest power was the ability of atomization. When they became infuriated, their body would dissipate into heavy fog. All creatures shrouded in the fog would be grasped by the terror of death and lose all sanity, thus becoming food. How could these man-eating creatures be kept and raised? Quickly, a blindingly white thing appeared in the boiling water. It was broken white bones, and maybe half a skull. These bones bubbled in the murky water. Ye Qingxuan finally understood what they used to feed these creatures. "You feed them with living people?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the dwarf. "Dead! Theyre all dead!" "Im dead too?" Ye Qingxuan shot back, causing the dwarf to freeze. The Dwarfs expression of terror froze too, before twisting. "Mutt, help me up" Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly, not answering. Restrained by Ye Qingxuan, the suffocated Scarface finally stopped struggling. His body went limp, falling unconscious. Ye Qingxuan retreated and picked up the wind lantern, getting ready to leave. The dwarf who had been spouting curses suddenly shifted. The murky water continued rising, the formless creatures squirming. "Hurry!" he screamed at the entrance. "The kid escaped!" Ye Qingxuans expression shifted too. Gripping the hook and staring at the dwarfs skull, his hand tightened then loosened. But he could not decide what to do. The dwarfs screams attracted footsteps. Faintly, someone called, "What are you doing? Why are you so loud?" "Theyre coming soon!" The dwarf kicked at the formless ghosts trying to drag him down. Almost in tears, he begged, "Save me! Save me!" Ye Qingxuan did not react, as if he had not heard anything. He looked around his surroundings, as if searching for something. Finally, he picked up the aluminum parcel and pinched some of the powder. Opiates were an infamous drug. Its powder was taken from an Indian plant that had started off as a painkiller used in the military. During the Asgard War, they found out that it was highly addictive. After using it, the hallucinations would cause people to become addicted, so the drug became illegal. Based on the texture, he guessed that something else was added to it. Styrax? White orange leaves? But no matter what, it looked useless. He sighed. The heavy footsteps were getting closer. The dwarf started getting excited. Shooting a death glare at Ye Qingxuan, his calls became louder. Ye Qingxuan stood at the foot of the stairs, quietly listening as the footsteps behind the door got closer and closer, until finally, the door opened. The moment the grating from the door sounded, the youth at the bottom of the stairs bolted. He rushed forward, stepping on those moss-covered steps, charging to the top! Entering the darkness from the light, the man who opened the door had not even adjusted his eyes before a wind lantern came swinging at his face. Boom! 44 Where is She? Boom! The burning wind lantern shattered immediately, shards of glass piercing into the mans eyes, instantly blinding him. Even more fatal was the scalding oil that followed, and the flame. It happened instantaneously. The man made one muffled noise before the flame spread from the oil. Ye Qingxuan could not even see the mans features clearly before the man tumbled down the stairs, screaming. The dwarf froze, staring blankly at the man rolling down in a ball of fire. His lips quivered, his eyes filling with hopelessness. Ye Qingxuan took one last look at him before preparing to leave. What met him was a wooden staff to the face. Boom! In that moment, there was only darkness before Ye Qingxuans eyes. His mind went blank. It felt like deja-vu. He stumbled back, missed a step, and fell down the stairs. Dazed, he tried to climb back up, but someone kicked him square in the chest. The waterlogged wounds reopened and fresh blood seeped through. He painfully curled into a ball. Something was being angrily slammed onto his body. Was it a sword? The wielder did not want him to die so easily, so he chose the flat side of the blade. Ye Qingxuans vision went black as the blade slammed against his skull. As the beating dragged on, the black became tinged with red. Finally, he could clearly see the men surrounding him. Within the crowd was an angered dwarf. "Long time no see," Ye Qingxuan could not help but think. "Cuozi, come save me! Come save me!" The dwarf in the murky water was still being dragged down by the formless ghosts. Soon he would be underwater. Seeing his companions, his desire to live was sparked once again. But Cuozi only gazed coolly at him, stating, "The formless ghosts have already arrived. If we open the gate, well all die. Is that what you want?" The dwarf froze before grasping at the lattice, trying to climb up. But more and more worming monsters latched onto his body. As they excitedly sucked his blood, a lifelike face appeared on their bodies.Their faces were twisted in pain, filled with wretchedness and hopelessness. But the eyes were empty, filled with a chilling eeriness. Staring at those eyes, the men felt their bodies grow cold. They knew that the formless ghosts would not be able to break free from the cage, but their fear could not be pushed down. "Break that mutts legs," Cuozi forcibly grabbed a rusty steel bar from his underling. After studying Ye Qingxuan, he pointed the bar at his face. "Itll be best to start from here. Dont worry, you wont die. Youll be able to earn more as a disfigured beggar, right?" After the painful beatings, Ye Qingxuan struggled and raised a hand, as if he had something to say. Cuozi furrowed his brows. "Theres actually something I still havent decided on. Before I take this thing out, if you stopeverythings fair talk. Really." Ye Qingxuan raised his head, earnestly saying, "I never lie." Bang! The steel bar that slammed down on his stomach knocked the wind out of him. With a kick from Cuozi, he flew against the wall. "You want to take something out?" Cuozi laughed as if watching a clown. "What thing? King Arthurs sword? Or a treasure given to you by a magical fairy? Hmm?" "Sorry, I dont have King Arthurs sword. As for a treasure from a magical fairy," on the ground and close to suffocation, Ye Qingxuan raised his head with difficulty. He lifted a hand and rasped, "Does this count?" He perched the heavy aluminum parcel on his fingertips, reflecting the fire on the ground. The man on fire was still rolling around in pain. The fires glow illuminated the mens eyes. Before anyone could react, Ye Qingxuan flicked the parcel. It rolled, landing and sizzling in the burning oil. In the parcel, the white powder melted into the flames. A light and beautiful cloud arose immediately. Like a chain reaction, all the powder ignited and a thick cloud billowed. It was the opiates, enough to last two drug addicts for a year. It was a drug created purposely for drug addicts who needed something moresomething even more intense than opiates. In that moment, everyone looked back in shock and heard a crisp sound. Boom! In the stillness, the aluminum foil expanded and exploded! The sharp scent rose with the thick smoke. Spreading quickly, it engulfed everyone within an instant. Everything disappeared, and yet it continued to spread! The sharp scent also carried a heavy fragrance. The smell made one feel as if he were floating. When it entered ones nostrils, they could not bare it. Over the sound of intense coughing, someone screamed, "F*ck, what are you doing?" Cuozi had finally came to senses and kicked Ye Qingxuan furiously. The boy did not defend himself, letting the punches fall on him. He watched Cuozi wordlessly. His eyes were full of sadness and scorn, causing Cuozi to roar. Cuozi took out his knife, wanting to stab that mutt to death. But he froze, feeling a fleeting instability as the smoke traveled into his nostrils. The immense amount of hallucinogens hung in the air, its power enough to reduce ones sanity to dust in no time. Cuozis hold relaxed and he stumbled backward, gazing suspiciously around him. The place was covered in smoke, so how could he see a beautiful rainbow? Soft laughter rang from the rainbow and he could no longer remember where he was. The world spun. Wrapped in empty satisfaction and happiness, he hugged the steel bar and devoured the nonexistent food in front of him, gnashing at the steel. Snot and tears rolled down his face, but he laughed gleefully. "I already said I have a secret weapon. Why did you force me to do this?" Ye Qingxuan murmured. -- In the smoke, the youth dropped to the floor and covered his mouth with his bloody jacket, taking careful breaths. He took a wine bottle from someone else and poured the remaining alcohol on his jacket. But then, he heard a sharp sound from within the steel cage. He froze, and looked behind him. This time, he might have failed. -- The cage was also shrouded in opium smoke. The formless ghosts were excitedly feasting on blood and meat, but were bathing in the smoke too. As if they had been dropped into lava, these sensitive monsters screamed immediately. Their screams were so sharp, almost piercing ones eardrums. The uproar only ignited them. They crashed wildly against the steel cage. Above them, the runes controlling them flashed continuously, but the color dimmed. Finally, the empty eyes of a formless ghost went from black to bloody red. Then his body expanded until the cage could no longer control him. And it burst. An invisible lock seemed to explode under the weight of the heavy smoke. And then a second, and a third until all the formless ghosts had atomized under the high of the hallucinogen! The steel cage protested, wailing, before it shattered. Amid the shattering noise, a tidal wave of smoke was swept by the wind, filling the tight space in an instant. It spread in all directions through the sewage system, going off into the darkness. Ye Qingxuans pupils dilated. He had not forgotten what was scariest about the formless ghosts. It was not their power to rip their prey to shreds, nor their need to drink blood. It was the sound of fear after their atomization! -- In an instant, hundreds of murmurs and whispers sounded from within the smoke. These murmurs seemed to be right next to ones ear. Like a hand caressing ones brain, they searched for the nerve of fear, pulling him into the abyss. Ye Qingxuans vision blackened, but the murmurs found a better prey and cast him aside. Only a cold, sticky feeling engulfed him, as if the monster had found something new while still feasting. On the ground, those hallucinating finally started waking up from their fantasies only to enter a nightmare. Screams and roars traveled continuously from the smoke. Some tried to escape, but still trapped by their hallucinations, they could not push themselves up. Some tried crawling, but they followed the broken cage and fell into the bubbling well. After struggling, they drowned. On the ground, Cuozi was still in a beautiful fantasy, flying in the sky. But then everything changed. Darkness fell from the sky as hundreds of ghosts and demons crawled over. They were indescribably ugly with saliva dripping down, corroding the ground. "My god" Cuozi froze. In the blink of an eye, they were onto him, devouring his blood and body. He struggled wildly, screaming, "Dont touch me! Help! Help!" His features twisted, each part squirming on their own, transforming into the face of pure terror. The slightest agitation brought on extreme fear; the slightest touch brought on endless pain. Ye Qingxuan gazed down on him and sighed softly. A malevolent shadow lurked in the smoke. His body emanated a bloody aurahis eyes were blood-red and he had two goat-like horns, but his body was rotten, with poisonous snakes and scorpions leeching on it. The shadow seized one neck after another, bellowing something. It rained blood. As the droplets splattered onto Cuozi, he screamed out, shaking. Annoyed, the monster swooped in and pinned him to the wall. The wall writhed like bloody meat. Countless poisonous snakes slithered about, wrapping onto Cuozis waist, pushing him to his limit. "Look at my eyes!" the evil spirit roared. Cuozi reflexively stared at his red eyes. The red eyes were like flowing lava, causing palpitations. "Wheres the girl?!" the evil spirit asked. His voice was raspy, but it echoed like rolling thunder. "What girl? I dont know," Cuozi sniveled. "Gods, please save me. I repent" "This isnt heaven. Theres no time for repenting!" The evil spirit continued interrogating, "Wheres the white-haired girl? The girl that Cuozi and Hariti brought back. Where is she?" "Upstairs! The bedroom on the second floor!" Cuozi screamed. "Emma said shell personally look over her. I swear, this is all I know. Let me go, please let me go, oh God..." The evil spirit loosened his grip, throwing him onto the ground, watching as countless monsters devoured him. Bang! Ye Qingxuan hit the back of Cuozis head with the steel hook. He blacked out instantly, but his body still writhed, stuck in an endless nightmare. Perhaps those fantasies would forever remain within his nerves. If he did not die from visceral spasms, he would probably have to spend the rest of his happy life in the Arkham Asylum. At least Ye Qingxuan would not go insane and commit suicide. At least he was still alive. He could only comfort himself like that. 45 Nightmare Faint cries and screams emanated from within the heavy smoke. Ye Qingxuan resisted the hallucinations, and forced himself to ignore the voices that were becoming clearer. He searched through the the smoke, crawling along the abandoned sewage system. Sometimes, he would open a door and find it empty. Sometimes, he would see the twisted faces of those in pain. He opened door after door, but he still could not find Bai Xi. He pulled himself up the last step, and used the last of his strength to push open the door. He saw her sleeping face. "Youre here," he murmured. She was still in a deep sleep, unable to sense all that had happened. "It would be so nice if youre always this quiet." Ye Qingxuan pinched her cheeks. Only now did he see that she was actually a very cute girl. With delicate features, she was quiet, cute, and pretty, like a little doll. He bent down to pick her up, but suddenly his expression changed, and he collapsed. "Youyou mutt," said a hoarse voice. A blade was held against his back. Ye Qingxuan froze. Behind him, the old woman with red eyes gripped the dagger. Her face was still twisted. "Do you know what you did?!" Kneeling on the ground, Ye Qingxuan reached behind him. His hand came away covered in blood. But looking into her red eyes, he was not scared anymore. He wanted to laugh. "Didnt you say that in life, there are always sudden misfortunes" He repeated the old womans fake words staring deep into her. His eyes were decisive yet condescending. "Sometimes, you just have to bear it." "You d*mned mutt!" Emma muttered angrily. But she bit her tongue, forcing herself to stay level headed. Thinking of her now insane underlings, her heart dripped blood. It had taken years to get a following of that size, and get a foothold downtown. But in one night, everything had been destroyed. For the first time, she felt regret. She had gotten herself into this, but now she could not get out. She wanted to turn around and flee, but greed was still burning in her heart. There was so much money to be made! Enough to make someone go crazy. She only needed to get the girl, and then she would never have to live in Avalon anymore. She could go to Burgundy, to the Corsica Islands, or sneak into the East and live a life of wealth. Those Easterners had even promised to restore her youth, and heal the body ruined by illegal surgeries. Youth, returning to youthit was an impossible dream. Impossible despite however much blood she injected into herself from young girls. "Go die!" she screamed and tackled him. Ye Qingxuan rolled on the ground. He felt his energy slowly leaving him. The old woman who had seemed so pitiful and lonely finally revealed her true nature as a ferocious and ruthless woman who used others to feed and grow her monsters. Ye Qingxuan never imagined her to be so fast. He used all his strength to roll on the floor, as the woman stabbed the position which Ye had barely managed to escape. In her hand, the light reflected off of the sharp blade. It was terrifying. As the undeniable boss of downtown, she had not gotte there just by raising monsters. After all this time people had forgotten that she had elevated her status from a prostitute by using her dagger to get her way. Her technique had been perfected at the cost of many lives. Even if she was being attacked by hallucinations, she could still take care of Ye Qingxuan! Her eyes were bloodshot as the fantasies have crept into her brain. She ceased the small talk and charged straight at Ye. She stabbed twice in a secondso fast one could not even react. Ye Qingxuan dodged, but he still bled from a new wound. "Come on, mutt. Come!" Haritis steps were clumsy, but her eyes never left Ye Qingxuan. She charged again and in an instant, two wounds appeared on Ye Qingxuans arm. But the fatal blow aimed at his heart missed. Behind her ear, her stringy hair blew crazily, revealing a hidden gill. "A gill?" Ye Qingxuan gaped at the inhuman body part. "What are you looking at?" Wildly, Hariti smoothed down her hair. She seemed to be furious, but her hallucinations were so joyous. She caressed the inhuman body part behind her ear. She cackled, the cold sound like singing wind. "Its the Siren Transformation" she murmured, trying to remember. "I exchanged thirty years of my life for this power. I have power, and you all have to die! They all died, killed by that white-haired creature. The white-haired creature died too." She continued muttering. When her gaze focused on the retreating Ye Qingxuan, she suddenly turned savage. "You must die too! Everyone like that creature must die!" The crazed women stepped onto him and plunged the dagger downwards! Ye Qingxuan used the last of his strength to roll over and heard the muffled sound of the dagger stabbing the floor. "Go die, go die, go die, die, die!" Emma screamed. She wrenched her arm back. The dagger that had been in the floor suddenly flew toward Ye Qingxuan! The floorboard creaked, wood splinters flying in the air. The dagger cut a gaping hole in the floor, going straight towards Ye Qingxuans throat. She had really gone crazy. She was willing to do anything to kill him. But the dagger that would have undoubtedly split his throat, and the floor in half suddenly stopped. It was gripped in Ye Qingxuans outstretched hand. In a daze, Ye Qingxuan was still conscious enough to try to grasp her arm. He grabbed the blade instead. But even if it was the blade, he still had to hold on tight! So he held on for dear life. The blade cut deeply into his palm, hitting the bone. The debilitating pain spread. His burning hand shook, but Ye Qingxuan stared at Haritis twisted face. He suddenly asked, "Are you scared?" "You mutt" Haritis breathing fastened. Saliva dripped from her twisted lips and she howled, "Im going to rip you to shreds!" She scratched at Ye Qingxuans face crazily, leaving behind bloody marks, but Ye Qingxuans body suddenly went stiff, as if he were frozen. The trembling pupils gradually dilated. Hariti stopped, suddenly laughing as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world! "Haha! Youre dragged into it too!" She cackled, overjoyed. "Your nightmare has started too!" On the ground, Ye Qingxuan was still stiff. His body was curled into a ball, trembling as if dropped in icy water. The formless ghosts had dragged him into a nightmare. "Then you can suffocate in your nightmare!" Hariti reached out and tightened her hands around his neck. "Theres no place for your naivety in this world!" -- In the countless cries of the hallucination, Ye Qingxuan could no longer feel the pain from his palm. He was separated from all the pain. He sensed that he had been stuffed into a black box, surrounded by cries. There was a sharp stab of pain in his brain. His represses memories had resurfaced. Countess faces swam in the mist. Those faces that had been pushed to the back of his memories reappeared. They stared at Ye Qingxuan, some with grief and others with ferocity. All of them cried and yelled endlessly. "Hes the traitors kid. Kill him!" "Get the f*ck out with that mutt. Hes not part of the Lancelot family!" "Dont be afraid, little Yezi, dont be afraid Dad is just leaving the family temporarily." "Get out! Theres no place here for beggars!" "Hey, Eastern mutt" "Is your mom a prostitute? I heard that bastards are like that." The faces surrounded him, appearing in an endless stream. He finally said, "Long time no see." Looking around, he said softly, "Ive almost forgotten about you all." The cries and roars dug into his heart, sending him into a daze. He had almost forgotten that Emma was still strangling him. Suffocation pushed him closer to the death bit by bit. But at the same time, there was an anger growing in his heart. Ignited by the drug, it expanded to a hundred times its size. The fury that had also been repressed came forth from the shadows. It was a spark that would never die out. Once it was ignited, it would rage until all reason was gone. It was as if a voice in the deepest corner of his heart had awokenit screamed and howled. The hidden beast slammed against its cage, trying to rip apart the heavy lock. Once! Twice! Thrice! In the end, it was covered in injuries. It howled in despair, close to giving upBut the lock finally showed a hairline crack. And so the memories locked in his unconscious mind, the pain covered by all the other pain finally reappeared. In an instant, he traveled through time and returned to the past. He lay there, but he could not feel his own body. The scalpel and metal bed clacked against each other coldly. Something beeped to the rhythm of his heart. He watched the light on the ceiling blankly. The light was dazzling but cold, beaming down on the blurry bodies that did not have shadows. "What are they doing?" He watched them as they swarmed about, holding knives, cutting him open. They were wearing pure white clothing, and their faces were covered, revealing only cold eyes. Why were their faces covered? Why did everyone choose to cover their faces in this world? "What are you doing? "What are you doingto me? "Stop it! Stop! Dont keep going!" He felt fear, but blood dripped down from his open forehead, blinding him. There was something being nailed into his bones, inch by inch. "After this, its complete" The covered faces looked down on him and laughed softly. Overlooking him, their eyes cold and faraway, they sent down the last bit of pity from their high status. "Are you sure its foolproof?" a man with a cane asked from the side. "The surgery is successful. There are no other possibilities." "Then get ready for the memory wipe." The man cast down a look, his eyes cold and full of disdain. "When its done, give it to that woman and tell them to get the f*ck out of Avalon. I dont want to ever think of this humiliating mutt." Ye Qingxuan stared at him, but he could not remember his face. The covered man lowered his head once again, laughing under the mask, and reached over to cover his eyes. Ye Qingxuan roared with difficulty, struggling with all his might. But no matter what he did, everything sank into darkness once again. The nameless fire and coldness exploded in his heart, but in this endless abyss of terror, he howled, reaching for the sliver of light up above. 46 I’m Back Hariti stepped firmly on his body, squeezing his throat. She watched as the youth struggled and slowly suffocated. But for a moment, the dizziness disappeared. He finally woke up from the nightmare, and looked up. He stared Hariti, but his eyes went through her, landing on the emptiness behind her, as if looking at the faces in uptown. "Do you all still remember me?" His bloodshot eyes seemed to be swirling with lava. "Im not dead yet!" His fists clenched. Reaching out, he gripped her wrist. Fresh blood flowed out of his wounds, bringing with it a burning pain. "Im back" Hariti stared into his eyes in shock. She felt that the boys body had withered, and had been replaced with something strong. It was no longer soft and weak under her touch. His grip on her wrist was like a clamp. Within his delicate strength was an unwavering conviction. In the terrifying hallucination, the boys features twisted. As if he had transformed into an evil spirit, he gripped Haritis wrist, making her feel cornered, although he was the one still being strangled. The d*amned mutt was still conscious. His eyes shone like the entrance to hell. "Youre still afraid?" Ye Qingxuans voice was like two pieces of scrap metal scraping against each other. He forced Haritis hand away and punched her face. "Im already used to it!" "F*ck, what are you doing? Youre" Hariti roared and struggled, but the boy did not care. He just raised a fist and kept punched. First after fist, punch after punch! Skin broke, but he could not feel it. The pain of his fingers was small enough to ignore. Hariti screamed, trying to say somethingbut he could not hear. Wordlessly, he continued to drown in the whispers from the hallucination, punching mechanically. The world fell silent once again. Lost, Ye Qingxuan listened for the cries that echoed in his ears, watching the floating faces. After a long, long time, Hariti finally stopped her crazed struggles and went still. Ye Qingxuan relaxed his hold and tossed her to the side. He did not take another look, even if she still seemed to be breathing. The hallucinations grew in intensity. Nonexistent ghosts and monsters paced by him, tugging on him, as if wanting to drag him to hell. But he stumbled forward. There was something more important there. "Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the girls pale faceher long hair stuck to her cheeks, faint and messy. She struggled in her nightmare, as if still submerged in horror. She was awake, but her dark eyes showed that her mind was still in pain. "It hurts" She stared at Ye Qingxuan. With quavering lips, she whispered, "Am I dead?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. Something like disappointment flashed past her eyes. "Sorry," he murmured as he picked Bai Xi up. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan realized how fake he was. He did not save Bai Xi because she was pitiful, but becauseshe was like him. When Old Phil brought her back that night, Ye Qingxuan chose to pull her through the door. Later, Bai Xi had asked him why he saved her. Ye Qingxuan told her it was because of her eyes. But it was not like that. Not at all. Those sad eyes had actually said, "Dont care about me. Dont approach me," and, "Dont save me." Maybe she had already known that anyone who had anything to do with her would be dragged into this mess. She was scared of being with anyone because she knew that this day would come, and those people would find her. Because at that day, everyone who loved her would start to hate themselves for knowing her She had always been scared. "Dont be scared." Ye Qingxuan hugged her. "I wont leave you." -- In the terrifying cloud of smoke, he stumbled towards out the door and tried to find the exit. The layers of hallucinations were suppressed by his pain, allowing him to stay lucid. But for a moment, he felt something wrap around his neck, familiar like a noose. It was the formless ghosts They had started regrouping slowly in the smoke. In shock, he craned his neck. Hariti lay in a puddle of blood, whimpering, her features twisted. With a speed the human eye could barely see, her facial muscles began to age and wither, her entire body began shriveling quickly. But the formless ghosts seemed to had been put under a new collar, regrouping under her silent command On that aged face, the runes writhed like worms. The runes that had been carved into her skin illegally by alchemists had awoken. They fed on fresh blood and exchanged it for strength. The face-like teeth in Haritis mouth sang a call for evil spirits, and more formless ghosts emerged from the aether. This was an illegal technique that exchanged a persons life for power. Alchemy transformed the human body into a tool. Additional vocal organs were implanted. By transforming the body to communicate with the aether, even an ordinary person who could not become a musician could awaken the music score on their body. With all the fresh blood available as sacrifice, the music from the Fallen Holy Spirit, "Tiryagyoni Prologue" had awoke. And so the crazed formless ghosts crawled out of the blood. Covered in sticky strands of blood, they floated into the air and began pacing. Finally, they stared at Hariti with their pitch black eyes, staring thirstily at the blood that represented life. Hariti coughed heavily and ingested a tube of dark green medicine. She sang again and more blurry monsters crawled from the puddle of blood, one after another. "Dont worry. Theres still a lot of blood" Haritis eyes were stormy. "After I give out the girl, there will be even more." From her pocket, she scooped out snow white ash. It was the ash from burning bodies. With the ashes scattered into the blood, the formless ghosts became more solid. The entire mud pit seemed to surge. Faintly, one could see the faces of children, as if they were drowning in the blood. The Formless Ghosts became calmer, listening for her orders. She smiled at Ye Qingxuans stumbling silhouette and chanted the words to control the Formless Ghosts. "You cant run. None of you will be able to escape. Youll all die here." -- The abandoned sewage system was entirely surrounded by blood. Blood seeped through the walls, painting it mournful colors. It lay on the stone, moving forward like black water. The moss in its path instantly withered, and the spider webs and bugs disappeared without a trace. Sharp yet hoarse noises sounded. The wails was like iron wire scraping against the walls, echoing in every corner. With every echo, Ye Qingxuan felt a bit closer to suffocation. His neck seemed to crack under the weight of chains as well. As his energy sapped, he fell to the ground. The wails started up again, and countless blurry hands reached out from the blood. They probed, as if searching for Bai Xis trail. Ye Qingxuan hid Bai Xi behind his back, silently trying to find a way to escape. But this, he realized, it did not exist. In his arms, Bai Xi gazed at his eyes and asked, "Is there no hope?" Ye Qingxuan hugged her and did not reply. "Oh, thats how it is." She seemed to understand and closed her eyes. Amid Haritis wails, numerous formless ghosts crawled out of the blood. They grouped together. It was as if a tidal wave of blood suddenly appeared in the tight space, shooting straight toward Ye Qingxuan. Along the way, their claws reached out, frantically scratching at everything they could touch. The walls, wooden boards, metal plates and everything touched by the blood was left scarred. Ye Qingxuan watched it charge towards him. Using the last of his strength, he pushed away the girl in his arms. This way, at least she could stay alive. But Bai Xi gripped onto his hand, catching him by surprise. She had not let go as he had planned. Instead, she stood in front of Ye Qingxuan, allowing the angry wind to come toward her and pull her into the crushing vortex. She took a deep breath. Her white hair glowed like fire. She faced the wave of blood, the skin on her healed face cracked open once again, as if the power of thunder was brewing in her delicate body. As if remembering something, she raised a palm in front of her, hooking her finger. Suddenly, a white-hot glow lit from her finger. Surging power tore the skin on her arm, blood spreading. But the scary power filled her body, as if it wanted to evaporate her from the inside and turn her into dust. Quickly, she snapped her finger at the bloody vortex. Music sounded once again, and a terrifying noise followed. As the roar muddled all thoughts, lightning spread from her fingertip. The flash of light entered the bloody flow of formless ghosts. The mysterious power seemed to have lasted for only a second, as long as the snap of her finger. But during that snap, the wave of blood was swallowed entirely. The electricity burned away the blood, tearing apart, and evaporating the ghosts. They roared in pain and turned to dust. The bloody vortex expanded and exploded. A thick mist of blood sprayed in all directions. But in the end, a sliver of blood pierced through the electric light and rushed toward Bai Xi. The crazed formless ghosts had saved their last attack to utterly destroy this now truly defenseless girl! In the last moment, Bai Xi looked at it and a smile appeared on her pale face. Maybe it would be okay to die like this. At leastit would mean something. 47 Please Save Me Faced with the metallic wind, Bai Xi closed her eyes, waiting for the blood to tear her apart. This would be okay. This was okay. Maybe if she died, hed be able to escape. "Im sorry. I dont want to live anymore," she thought. Out loud, she whispered, "Im sorry" But then, an angry roar sounded. A hand suddenly reached over, interrupting the almost frozen moment. It clutched her hand in a death grasp, pulling her into his embrace. And Ye Qingxuan flew up. An invisible force crashed against him, as if wanting to reduce him to dust. He could even hear the sound of his bones cracking. He tumbled through the air, and fell onto the ground. He coughed in immense pain. Strings of thick blood flowed freely from the gaping wounds on his back. The white of his bones was visible. Thankfully he blocked the attack at the last moment with his left hand. It was numb. The broken bones pierced through the skin. It looked comical and laughable. He saw countless shadows attracted to blood flow, blocking the entire room. They buzzed with energy, tracking them down like wild dogs. They seemed to sense the resonance from the formless ghosts and slowly gathered towards him. He tried crawling, but his body no longer moved. If it had not been for the hallucination that had blocked out all physical pain, he would have had passed out long ago. But if he had died in that state, it would have been better than seeing death come for him with open eyes. He sighed, feeling the girl tremble in his embrace. "Didnt you want to go home?" He used the last of his strength to hug her close, for the last time. Sighing, he breathed out, "Be good and listen, Bai Xi." "Sorry, sorry" He said. Sticky blood flowed down from his neck, falling into his lap. The girl made a strangled noise. Was she scared? She must have been scared this time. Would she be more obedient? Please be a bit more obedient. "Look at you. Its all my fault. Im sorry." Bai Xis tears splattered onto his neck. "This is my first time hearing you apologize. I cant believe its under this situation." Ye Qingxuan wanted to laugh, but he did not know how to. He truly wanted to comfort her and say, "Dont be scared. No matter what happens, this will end and well live happily ever after. There will always be a turn at the most hopeless moment" But things did not just end in this world, and there was not always a turnaround at every hopeless moment. This world was so cruel and scary. If only he could say those heartwarming and pretty words, and help more people like Bai Xi and him from the past. But with some things, he was powerless. Yes, this was how it truly was. No matter how many times the story would repeat, the ending was still the same. From the bottom of his heart came a mocking voice, full of contempt and disdain. "Ye Qingxuan, havent you already experienced this feeling before? Have you ever believed your lies, even for just a second?" Avalon was big. It was full of people drunk on money and wealth, but it had no room for someone without a home. It was no place for the weak. If only time stopped in the past. If only it stopped during that snowy nightthe only night he was able to sleep peacefully. Just like now, hugging someone like him, feeling warmth within his arms. This was gooda hundred times better than fire, a thousand times better than eyes filled with pity. No matter how cruel and cold the world was, there was nothing to fear, not even death, as long as he was with his own people. As long as he was no longer lonely. But everyone was lonely in the world. "You hug the girl in your arms, wanting to protect her until the end. But do you hear how she cries? "Her heart is buried in the abyss; she cant find you with her eyes. "And you are still powerless." -- Haritis wails shattered the stillness once again. Her high-pitched wails echoed through the sewer. Multiple limbs squirmed within the blood mist, as if something was crawling out of hell. Their shapes kept changing. Sometimes they were a headless prisoner, other times they were a three-headed dog, or a pile of scales like a deep sea monster. The twisted formless ghosts transformed and crawled out of the blood. It was the resentment called forth by reading the aether here. The piles of white bones buried in the deep well from over the years was their source of energy. The music score manipulated the resentment, transforming them into monsters and demons for Hariti. "Tiryagyoni Prologue"Way of the Animal. Its power had not been fully unleashed until now. It danced crazily in the darkness. But looking at them, Ye Qingxuan no longer felt fear. Instead, he felt loss, and relief. His heart felt light, as if something painful was soon about to be over. The hallucination finally started to lift. Misery was leaving him too. Even the cries in his ears were getting distant. Maybe this was the last pity the gods had taken upon him. The world before his eyes faded, but he still did not want to sleep. He wanted to talk to someone, to the girl beside him "Bai Xi, do people in the East really put out food for free?" he asked quietly. "It must be so nice to be a beggar in the East." "I lied," Bai Xi replied. "Something like that isnt possible." Ye Qingxuan forced a smile. "So no one revolted because they didnt want the Emperors meat pies?" "Nope." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Bai Xi, you really love lying." "I cant help it. Thats just who I am." Her shoulder trembled as she choked out, "Annoying, right?" "Yeah, so annoying." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He could no longer see clearly, but he could feel the girl looking at him, and he squeezed out a smile. Bai Xi froze. With her eyes on him, she asked, "Youll save me even if Im annoying?" "Yeah, I will." His head dropped. Using his last strength, he whispered, "Ill save you no matter what." Right before the darkness came, he heard Bai Xis murmur in his ear, "Thank you." The girl hugged him lightly, tears falling down. "You can save me now." It was as if it were a hallucination, but the cries had disappeared. The world was quiet for once. But in the quietness, Bai Xis heartbeat echoed, and she was still praying in a choked voice, "Please save me." -- In that instant, Ye Qingxuan heard thunder, screaming wind, and the soft sound of tears rolling down his cheeks. In an instant, he was embraced by the sun. Limitless heat and pain entered him once again. It was like lava had been poured into his veins, and the terrifying pain spread from his heart. The daze and darkness were swept away. Only the fire filled every crevice of his body, pulsing with his blood. He forced his eyes open, but was blinded by this thing in the aira brilliant light. It was as if the sun was enveloping the world. Countless aether collided, unleashing piercing electric light. Like sharp blades, they cut through the darkness, setting off something thunderous in Ye Qingxuans ears. It was in this thunder that he finally heard clearly the sound of Bai Xis breaths. No one imagined that such a little girl harbored such immense strengthso immense that she was about to tear herself apart. This awesome strength rushed into Ye Qingxuans body, following the embrace, igniting his soul, and raising it above the sun. Ping! Ye Qingxuan shuddered. The skin on the back of his neck split open, revealing bone. But then a long nail embedded in that bone shot out with invisible force and dug into the wall. The force did not stop there. It reverberated in his body, breaking through every obstacle in his joints. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! He did not know when those nails had been hammered into his bones, but they were being forced out now, flying into the wall and disappearing. Ye Qingxuans body was dyed red, but he felt calmer than ever despite the pain. It was as if he had finally shaken off his shackles and returned to the worldreturned to freedom! All light was extinguished. But the boys black eyes were ignited. Under his thin eyelids, they shone like the moon. He woke up from a memory-like hallucination, but he felt that he was not himself anymore. A different sense of awareness came over him from somewhere far away, and entered his body. It was foreign, but was manipulated by his vessels. It blended in with his own awareness. It guided his thoughts, leading him to look at the world from another angle, to see things as they truly were. For the first time in his life, he was able to clearly feel the presence of aether. It existed everywhere in the worldhidden in the wind, sleeping underground, burning in flames, flowing in water. "Is this aether?" 48 All Stray Paths Start Here In the clock shop late at night: "I see. That kid practiced more than a hundred thousand times over these past days. His determination is impressive." In the clock shop, blonde Hermes had his foot propped on Yes work table, playing with Ye Qingxuans aether ball. He whistled at the ball, and the quiet aether ball lit up. The clear crystal reflected the candlelight, displaying the shadows of complicated runes and images on the wall. If measuring aether was its most common usage, then this was the aether balls most valuable ability. The music score crystallized when it recorded every note, and melody interacted with the ball. It could display it as data and help the user compare notes, remove white noise, increase resonance with aether to help one reach the standard. But Ye Qingxuan had never once activated it, so he had never experienced the most helpful tool for other students. But Hermes woke it up, overrode its protective measures. He unlocked the music scores, and clucked in awe as he skimmed the data. "Amazing. One hundred forty-three thousand three hundred eleven times over eight days. Hed had to spend at least nine hours on this every day, right? Its amazing how he could continue this intense level. Too bad" Hermes shook his head, pondering. "He didnt succeed, not even once. What kind of bad luck does he have?" "Isnt everyone like this?" Setton asked. "Some people will never be able to sing the right note in their entire life, right?" "Thats because they didnt try one hundred forty thousand times. Even an ape that keeps dancing on a piano would be able to transcribe Ode to Joy. But this kid hasnt even gotten the chance to touch a piano key yet. With his luck, hed probably get kidnapped and sold just walking down the street. "Anyway, I havent heard something like this in my years of being an artist. So, he either has the worst luck in history, or theres another reason," Hermes said. "Another reason?" Setton asked. Hearing his question, Hermes laughed. Rather than replying, he asked, "Setton, do you know whats most important for a musician? Tell me. Im in a good mood, so I wont tease you." "Hey, you...isnt the most important thing to have resonance with the aether?" "Yes, but not entirely." Hermes squinted. "Its important for a musician to resonate with the aether. The higher the resonance, the better. But for a musician, the most important part within that resonance is merely the breakthrough between zero and one! "To go from nothing to something, from zero to one, is to create something from emptiness. A person will only have one chance. In other words, it is the door for musicians. No matter how hard you work, if you cant push open the door, you can only pace outside forever." He spun the aether ball on his fingertip, whistling and playing with the light. The silver light illuminated the mocking smile on his lips. "Some people say that pushing open the door is one percent luck, nine percent talent, and ninety percent hard work. But luck and talent are the most important. Some people can open the door only with their snores. Theyre known as geniuses. But then there are those who are stuck outside the door, never allowed in. Its cruel, but sometimes, hard work is useless." "Are you saying that the kid doesnt have talent?" "F*ck no," Hermes swore, his eyes full of disdain. "The nine families of the Dragon bloodline have the blood of the Deva. He was born more powerful than othersthose born with a golden spoon have no right to complain! "And he still has white hair even as a mixed-blood. If he was born in the East and had some powerful talent, he might have a spot in the Lingyan Pavilion someday!" Settons head hurt trying to process all the words. "What are you trying to say?" "I just want to say that hes very hard working, and he definitely has talent from his Deva bloodline. So if hes not unlucky, then theres only one possibility" Hermes laughed, but there was something sinister in his smile. "The Aether Seal." -- Setton went pale. He knew what Hermes was talking about now. The Aether Seal was a byproduct from early experiments and research on musicians. Word of it slowly disappeared afterward. But from what Hermes said, copies of it were still kept and could be used. When the Dark Ages had ended, many countries experimented on captive musicians to explore "the Originator." During this time, thousands of strange techniques were created, including the Aether Seal. Embedding more than nineteen silencer nails into the vertebrae of an ordinary person would shut his door to music forever. This type of surgery seemed to be useful, but it had three disadvantages that caused it to be discarded. It was too expensive, had a high death rate, and the aethers incompatibility with foreign substances made it impossible to use on musicians. So in the end, it could only be discarded. But what Setton did not understand was why anyone would put something so expensive into a boys body to make sure he could not become a musician. "Ha, who knows?" Hermes tossed the aether ball around, his eyes mocking. "The Aether Seal really is a good idea. The person would feel pain in the proximity of Aether. In the end, hed die under the pain of beautiful dreams. Logically, thats how it is. But no matter who did it, this was a waste. "They didnt understand the Devas blood, and didnt know what a laughable thing they had done. The lock could make sure he couldnt open the door, but it cant stop someone behind the door from bursting through "For some things, the more it is restricted, the harder it bounces back. Especially for this abnormal hereditary, Deva bloodline, its useless." Setton asked, "Is the Deva bloodline really that powerful?" "Of course, you idiot. It was built using countless bodies and lives "For hundreds of years, the Easterners have tried to get closer to the aether. They explored their bodies, even experimenting on themselves. Nine emperors in a row sent out their armies, just so they could have people to experiment on. Who knows how many died in the process? "The most aggressive was Emperor Qin. He even labeled the musicians who couldnt complete task as failures and burned the books of their schools. Until finally, one experiment succeeded. After letting the resonance of aether blend into blood, it transformed into talent. Like a wild beast, they turned this experiment into a hereditary ability." Setton was stunned. "Youre saying that the boy" "Yes," Hermes nodded. "You can forget memories and change your personality. But as long as youre alive, your instincts will remain. That boy pounded on the door one hundred and forty times. He only needs someone to give him a little push before he completely shatters that door." He paused, lamenting. "When the synchronization rate goes from zero to one, the musicians door will open. Easterners sacrificed so much just for that moment. When the aether first melds with ones body, it transforms the soul and becomes part of that persons life." Hermes murmured, as if regretful, "At that time, the aether would be the leader, guiding the lost rebel back to the Originator. Even if it was just for a moment, the humans conceited soul would try to escape from the Originator and return to its body, but only in that moment would they be able to see their true selves with the aether!" He traced a ring in the air, his eyes full of pity. "All stray paths start here." -- For a moment, Ye Qingxuan fell into a heavy daze. The pale blue moon rose from the edge of the sky, illuminating his eyes. The painful dreamland was back. Time flew and all living things wilted. Everything disappeared, and was replaced by indescribable ruins and graveyards. The pale blue moon hung in the sky. Cobwebs and dust lingered between the tombstones. The sharp and heavy stones were like palms reaching up to the sky, trying to capture the moonlight. -- Ye Qingxuan saw it againthat white-haired man. He paced among the tombstones in deep thought. Moss and fallen leaves clung to his long robe. Seeing Ye Qingxuan, he raised his head. His face was so familiar. It was like seeing himself, or his father, or an old man. But he had retained the features of a youth, pretty like a girl, yet handsome and masculine at the same time. The longer he looked, the less sure Ye Qingxuan was of his appearance. He did not know if this man was truly human, or was some ancient being. He was like some symbol from long agothe source of all bloodlines. He stood in the flow of time, taking in the past and future. But as he gazed at Ye Qingxuan, he came from the past to the present. He dropped from the future to stand before him. His eyes were cold and sad. "Do you regret it?" This time, Ye Qingxuan could finally hear his voice clearly. His voice was deep, yet bright, like the sound of shattering jade. It pierced through his fate and past. His eyes went through Ye Qingxuans body, as if landing on his heart. They saw those long years of pain and persistence, looking at the times he fell into mud and struggled to crawl out. His eyes were full of pity. "Do you regret it?" Ye Qingxuan froze. An ineffable sadness and misery surged in his chest. Those forgotten things appeared once again, bringing with them a burning bitterness, pushing him to face this question. The question transformed into a hook. It dug through his bones, looking for even the smallest shred of doubt. "No," a quiet voice replied in Ye Qingxuans heart. He stared at the man in front of him, bursting into laughter. Softly, he said, "And I wont in the future either." And so the man in the dream began to laugh too, as if finding reprieve in this vast land. "Thats great," he murmured, gazing up into the sky. Moonlight fell into his eyes, igniting the light of a spirit in his irises. The fallen leaves and moss sparked, flames gathered in his palm and turned silver-white. He reached out, pushing a palm into the boys chest. The flames burned in Ye Qingxuans heart, flowing with his blood. But something under Ye Qingxuans feet suddenly shattered. It was the birth of some type of power from underneath him. After brewing for so long, it finally broke through the ground. This was an invitation to step onto the road to death. It was a guiding light to the world of death and mystery. He finally signed the contract with the Originator in this fantasy dream. "All stray paths start from here," the white-haired man murmured behind his back. He pressed down on Ye Qingxuans shoulder. His voice had suddenly changed, becoming so familiar! "Little Yezi, this is the only thing I can give you." His soul seemed to latch onto the youths body, guiding him to raise his hand, reaching into the emptiness, and plucking at nonexistent strings. "Your Symphony of Predestination!" 49 Jiu Xiao Huan Pei 1 Hariti was like a ghost in the sewer. Blood mixed in with the poison boiling in her chest, the pain fueling her excitement. The formless ghosts fed on all the blood available, becoming more powerful and violent. But in her eyes, they were as obedient as dogs. As a deposit for her mission, the Easterners had given her medicine for the side effects, helping her to recover. It had been a long time since she felt so invincible. Even if it wasnt real, it was still intoxicating The more she walked, the more she could sense Bai Xis breathit was a sweet coppery scent, and she moved in haste. "Blessed Gift?" Intoxicated by the blood, Hariti suddenly uttered the Easterners descriptions and licked her lips. Something like a will-o-the-wisp shone in her eyes. It was such high quality blood. Even if it was sacrificed to Hyakume, it would be a high class offering Tiryagyonis music score gave her strength, but also a demon-like thirst. The thick scent of blood invaded her senses. For the creatures, the high of blood was stronger than any drug. Drunk in the blood, she laughed maniacally as she conducted the formless ghosts, dragging her underlings from the corners and splitting them open. The blood was so fragrant. She reached out, skimming blood away from the cracked skull. It tasted so sweet on her tongue, but her movements suddenly froze. The ground was shaking. Dust flew in the air, unsettled by the sudden quaking. They danced on the corpses, as if trying to escape. The entire tunnel quivered, but the trembling seemed to come from the ninth level under the Earth, shaking her senses. Everything trembled, unsettling like furious wind. Lightning and thunder sounded. It was as if electric light danced in the thundering clouds, split open by the wind. The formless ghosts stopped listening. Frantically, they tried to shake off their shackles. Blood rose to Haritis face, almost spilling out. She wailed, forcing the formless ghosts down, forcing them to follow her. Then, she finally saw the source of the shaking. -- In the darkness, the youth knelt, hugging the unconscious girl. As if something scary had latched onto his body, there was a low buzz from his lungs, like the howl of thunder and wind. Mighty strength gathered in his body, turning his face pale. One could see the sparks of aether in his bulging veins. The formless ghosts that had been wrapped around him were torn away by this strength, dissipating into the wind like smoke. There seemed to be cold moonlight in his lowered eyes. The blood around him retreated with his breaths, forming a perfect circle. And there was nothing else in the circle. "The Shine of Holy Spirits?" Hariti froze, terror flashing through her eyes. Quickly, she discovered that it was not the music to call forth the Holy Spirit. It was not the magnificent music, praised by millions, like the legends said either. It was hard to understand, but everyone knew what this pure and basic phenomenon wasan abnormality created by too much aether at once. "F*ck." Hariti stepped back. -- In the stillness, the youth seemed to wake from a long dream. He raised his eyes and looked Hariti. His eyes seemed to reflect moonlightcold, quiet and empty. Like a demons eyes, that gaze was full of nameless power. Just seeing it was enough to make one terrified, awestruck, andinsane! It was silent, but under the gaze of those eyes, the wailing sounds muted. The writhing runes started drinking Haritis blood wildly, playing "Tiryagyoni Prologue" in full force. And so countless painful wails sounded once again. The Formless Ghosts began sucking on Haritis blood, growing even fiercer. It was obvious to the naked eye that Haritis body had withered. The immense pain was driving her crazy. Clutching her head, she screamed, "Kill him! Kill him!" Her teeth played a strange melody and the formless ghosts in the blood followed her command. They started shaking wildly, then expanding. In the pungent metallic wind, the blood began to boil, and rushed toward the youth. Within the rumbling blood, Harati saw the youth raise an arm, spreading his left hand open. In that moment, she saw Ye Qingxuans lips curl into a smile. The strange feeling flashed past, stunning her. A bad premonition overcame her. Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth and, over the thundering wind, she heard him murmur something. As if a chorale had been added, a miracle occurred. Aethers light joined, resting on his broken left hand, pushing it back into place with a pop. Blood flowed back into the wound and the torn skin began to regenerate. All that was left was a bloodstain. In an instant, the shattered arm had been healed perfectly. There was a mysterious consciousness guiding him from the bottom of his heart, making him raise his palm reflexively, and pressing down on the emptiness. At his fingertip, aethers light glowed like fire, igniting the ring surrounded by keys. They shone and then vanished. Following it, a succession of sounds shattered Haritis thoughts. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The sonorous scraping of metal sounded. Like marbles dropping onto a metal plate, the sound was crisp. Music notes burst from the air, practically sparking fire! The crisp sound was like a heavy storm, reverberating through the air. Every reverberation created a tiny hole in the wall. Other than that, it seemed useless. But the formless ghosts halted instantly. In the same position, they stopped on the ground, in the blood, in the air, frozen. -- Hariti watched all of this happen in a daze. A chill spread through her body. The demons were still on the ground, unmoving as if set in concrete. But they could not be because there was nothing solid in the air, and time could not freeze either. They were not actually frozen. They were still struggling, but they stayed in the same place because they had been nailed there. The burning fire illuminated the scenethe aether had solidified into strings of thin yet strong silver thread! They shot out from the pores in the walls, ceilings and floor, stretched forward, and came out from another wall. This tight threadwork wound through the sewer tunnel like a web. It was as it should be, like an instruments strings stretched over the frets. No, they really were stringsstrings made from solidified Aether! The moment the evil spirits and creatures rushed in, the strings spread out on all sides, creating a complicated barrier to protect the youth in the center. The force of spreading out was too powerful. The thin strings turned into arrows, piercing through everything. They shot through the stone and evil spirits in their way. The closest string was only one step away from Hariti! Within the crisscrossed strings, the crazed formless ghosts began to struggle, trying to pull themselves out. But the strings were like knives, slicing through their veins and nerves, humming with vibration. The sound was as clear as a birds call, cold and distant. They came from nothing, disappeared into nothing, only leaving behind a delicate echo. "A trap?" Hariti was stunned. Quickly, she was overtaken by a feeling of absurdity. This was not a trap Those crisscrossed strings were not a trap at all. It was the base shape of something. It was forged by the aethers fire, formed by a melody, and originated from the runes. This was a sharp blade created by an alchemists soul; it was the instrument that could control aether and the universe! "In the quietness, music plays. It is beautiful, but is the weapon responsible for life and death." [2] At the bottom of Ye Qingxuans heart, the voice whispered, "Yezi, this is the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei." The sleeping soul opened its eyes. Using Ye Qingxuans eyes, it looked down at the world. Using his hands, it gathered the aether and guided his body to sit, as if seated at the front of a grave hall. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan thought of his lost notes. The messy notes that Wolf Flute had scribbled in, those blurry words, and music notes in his memory suddenly started changing. No, they had always been like that. But for an unknown reason, no one realized that it was the seals effect on the paper and in his mind. Now, the seal was broken, and he finally realized that there was something he had missed. The scrawled words started changing in his mind, turning into ethereal runes at last. The runes changed too, transforming into entirely new notes and melodies. The melody played in his heart, making him raise his hand unconsciously, pressing down on the strings. And so the ancient instrument that had slept for so many years was finally being played. For a moment, the musician known as Moon Chant was brought back to life by the youth, his consciousness flowing through his veins, guiding him to pluck at the strings and perform his Symphony of Predestination! [1] Jiu Xiao Huan Pei: an ancient qin (zither) passed down from the Tang Dynasty (around 700 A.D). It is a real instrument, made up of multiple parts. Five have survived to present day. Two are kept by collectors while three are in museums. [2] These phrases, among others, are carved into Jiu Xiao Huan Pei 50 The Moon Above the Ocean The moment the string was plucked, all sound muted. The silver haze suddenly joined together and swept into a frenzy. But the aethers glow disappeared, only leaving behind the sparse notes from the instrument. Hidden behind the beautiful music was a sharp and sonorous breath. Like an unsheathed blade, it scraped and hummed, gradually revealing its murderous intent. Within the sparse notes, weak ripples spread from Ye Qingxuans fingertips, extending in all directions. Everything in its path dimmed. Flames snuffed, fresh blood lost its color, and darkness turned into a muted gray. Everything looked unchanged, but something seemed to be dragging them further and further away. Mist was born from the sky then scattered. It wasnt thickit was thin and unnoticeable until it fully enveloped the space. Like a breath in winter air, it dissipated. A vague chill rose, seeping into every open crevice. Her body could still feel the heat left behind by the fire, but all her senses began to feel icy. Hariti turned pale. Reflexively, she tried to step back, but her foot stopped mid-step. The nonexistent coldness had already seeped into her brain, freezing her thoughts and consciousness. Finally, she stood stunned in the white mist, her mind frozen in shock and terror. In this cold mist, everything came to a standstill. -- In the dancing white mist, there was only the sound of the zither. Soon, the spattering of notes changed, turning into a continuous melody. The true overture had finally begun. In the silence, the zither suddenly produced a harmonized crispness and heaviness. Burning decisive thoughts appeared, and were hammered into everyones hearts. The notes reverberated through the air, shapeless and intangible, but powerful and awe-inspiring. In its path, all ghosts and demons were crushed by the majestic yet cold air. This was not physical interaction. It was purely resonance between souls. The music was sparse, but destroyed every evil spirit. The resentment harbored in the aether was easily crushed too. Resentment, dissatisfaction, and poisonous thoughts were nothing in the face of the music. Like a sand castle before a tsunami, it collapsed like a joke. Ping! The strong and persistent will solidified into a blade. Blended into the music, it swept in all directions, slicing apart the formless ghosts, trembling and frozen in the white mist. All that was left were white bones scattered on the ground. The remaining resentment spilled out, crashing toward Haritis fragile mind like a tidal wave! Her rheumy eyes bugged open. On her ancient body, Tiryagonis music notes were pushed to their brink, like a rag frozen on an iceberg. Quickly, the crazed resentment pulled on her, swallowing her last bit of consciousness. -- It was as if she was thrown into a bottomless pit. She could not see, could not hear, could not smell, could not feel The cruel zither tore her perception away bit by bit, until all that was left was a stooped soul, falling hopelessly down the into the abyss. Falling, endlessly falling, falling for eternity. An unprecedented loneliness engulfed her thoughts. She wailed, but she was not even sure if she could make a sound. Then she saw moonlight jump from the abyss. Cemented in the seemingly eternal loneliness, everything lost its meaning. Even living became a long nightmare. With time at a standstill in the abyss, the nightmares seemed to last forever. It would trap her for thousands upon thousands of years. But this feeling only lasted a moment, and ended before she could react. After that, Hariti was still standing in her original position, unmoving. Boom! The noise of a firecracker thrown into a ditch sounded. It came from inside her skull, as if some delicate and soft membrane had cracked open. Black blood ran from the corners of her eyes, nose, and ears. She was finally freed from that nightmare. In her last moments, she stared at the shadow behind the youth. Caught between tears and laughter, she cried, "Youyoure still herethat white-haired creature is you!" Her voice was dumbfounded. "Why are you here?" Those eyes were vaguely mocking, but were also tinted with genuine terror. It was the reflection of her last moment alive. Her eyes dimmed and she collapsed. Blood trickled from her body, collecting into a puddle and seeping through the cracks in the ground. -- The clang of music still reverberated between the tight walls. It spread through the alley until the scattered notes melded into rock, water, and wind. In that moment, everyone in downtown of Avalon heard a noise in their dreams. Clanging music from the zither entered their dreams, changing their dreamscape. They saw a mysterious ocean wave in the pitch-black night. In the endless tide, a silver-white moon rose up from the end of the sky. The moonlight illuminated everything, shining kindly and fairly upon the entire world. The moon above the ocean! At this moment, the moonlight was everything in the skies and on earth. -- After a long time, the strings began to scatter. The solidified aether lost its shape again, returning to a silvery mist. The mist dissipated quickly. Its vague shadow barely discernable in the cloud. Like a mirage from far away, his body was blurry, his face empty white. But when he looked at the youth before him, his eyes were gentle and soft. He caressed the youths white hair, as if wanting to touch him with the help of the mist, but he couldnt. When Ye Qingxuan awoke from that all-consuming dream, he could only see the mans shadow. He faded into the distance, dissolving with the mist. Sensing the youths gaze, he stopped and turned back slightly. His blurry lips seemed to smile, but it was impossible to see clearly. "Yezi, solve this mystery." His lips moved soundlessly. "Go to the end of that dream." Something rippled through the mist, then disappeared. Ye Qingxuan gaped at where he had been. He wanted to say something, but it was too late. It seemed to have been a hallucination, but it had felt so real. The man had come back, summoned because of the music. Yet he had to leave again after his short stay. Ye Qingxuan pounded the wall, venting out the sadness and frustration in his heart. If only he had woken up earlier, he might have had time to talk to the man. He did not know what to say. Maybe he would yell or accuse him. "But why do you have to leave so quickly?" he thought. Frustrated, Ye Qingxuan hung his head. He wiped at the corner of his eyes, as if wanting to get rid of the bitterness there. He finally saw the girl slowly open her eyes, as if waking up from a long dream. She opened her eyes with fatigue, and looked at the youth before her, trying to decide if he was real or a hallucination. "Youre awake?" Ye Qingxuan wanted to pull her up, but his body hurt like it had been smashed by a rock. But he did not realize until then that his shattered bones had been put back together. His fingers were still swollen and black, though. But maybe they had not complelely rotted, and could still be brought back to life with medicine. Ye Qingxuan tried moving his joints and smiled when a finger twitched. "Lets go," Ye Qingxuan said. "We should go back." Bai Xi gazed at him in a dazed confusion. After a while, she pulled on his sleeve and climbed up. She seemed exhausted, with no energy to speak. But now she was a good child. She no longer played around, ran, or disobeyed. She obediently held onto Ye Qingxuans shirt sleeve, quietly, like all girls. Sometimes, shed look up at Ye Qingxuans profile, her eyes confused and complicated. Sometimes, she would say in her weak and tired voice, "I just had a nightmare." "The nightmare is over," Ye Qingxuan said. "Theres always a limit to bad things. Once theyre over, they wont happen anymore." "Really?" "Really." Ye Qingxuan patted her hair. "I wont lie to you." Bai Xi looked into his eyes. "Will you get angry when I lie?" "No. Its okay, even if you lie to me" Ye Qingxuan grasped her hand, saying softly, "Thank you, Bai Xi." She froze, looking as if she wanted to speak. But she did not say anything. After a long time, she lowered her head and uttered, "Oh." And said nothing else. Seeing how she wanted to say something, but was too embarrassed to speak, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. He was very cold and hungry. He was tired too, and his body felt as if it been torn apart and put back together. But none of that mattered anymore. He had to take Bai Xi away, somewhere other than hell. "From now on, therell be a new life waiting for you." 51 A Pity Fifteen minutes later in the sewer, a burly man covered in tattoos stepped through the dirty water, done cleaning the trash. An old man climbed down the ladder. He stood atop the stone steps, gazing around. Dirty water flowed over his leather boots, leaving a yellow stain. He furrowed his brows. A cigar dangling from his mouth, he looked around. "Which direction did they go in?" Ten lean, vicious dogs sniffed the air. Their bloodshot eyes glared somewhere into the darkness, they began barking wildly. Muscular men tugged at their chains, but the dogs struggled until the chains pulled taut. Ghost Hand nodded and asked, "Is it all sealed?" "Yes, and there are men at every exit." The leader had a shaven head and a swarm of monsters tattooed behind his ear. His face fierce, he said, "Those kids wont be able to escape." "Then go. Dont let them get away." The bald man nodded. He pulled on the dogs to begin tracking, but realized that the dogs were rooted to their spot. Suddenly, they stopped barking. As if they had seen a ghost, the fearless hunting dogs dropped down into the dirty water. No matter how hard the humans hit them, they did not dare step forward. "Achoo!" Someone sneezed in the darkness. The sound of someone blowing their nose into a handkerchief followed. The person then threw the handkerchief into the ditch and pulled out a new one, tearing it in two. The handkerchief tore crisply. It seemed to be high grade silk from the East, embroidered with complex flower patterns. Held in the hand, it felt as light as air, as if it would dissolve like fog. It should have been hanging in a store, shrouded in incense, put up for show, but someone was tearing it apart, stuffing it up their nose. The man let out a nasally growl. "It smells so bad here! Why do you rats like to go into the sewer?" The group of men was angered. They hit their metal sticks and swords against the walls, clanging sharply. Some wanted to go over and see what was wrong with the man. But Ghost Hand stopped them. Expressionless, he took a lantern from his underling and held it up. A blonde youth was illuminated. His black formalwear was completely inappropriate in the sewer. He had a tie and even jewels on his sleeves, as if he was going to an elite dinner party. He sat on a high chair, taken from somewhere. Under his feet was a thick and soft fleece rug. After he was discovered, he glanced over and waited. His eyes were full of arrogance and irritating provocation. It was Hermes. "The Trader?" Ghost Hand asked coldly. "Oh, Ghost Hand, youre still alive" Hermes laughed and raised a hand. "Im back. Do you want a letter? I can give you an iron pomegranate." With that, he opened his palm. In it was a circular iron lump. There was a crisscross design on it. At the tip was a thin tube with a small ring. The ring was like a weird decoration that tempted people to pull it out. Hermes toyed with the little thing. He looked as if he could not wait to give it to Ghost Hand. "I dont need it," Ghost Hand refused coldly, his eyes dark. "Shaman already said that you are forbidden to be in this city." "Haha! Let the past pass. I accidentally fell into his hands and was a bit humiliated. Its good to forget those things though, so please dont mind it too much." He laughed carelessly, and then paused. As if puzzled, he revealed a little known secret mockingly. "And anyway, hasnt he been gone for a long time now?" Everyone gaped. The burly underlings paused, as if they had heard something incredible. Some shot doubtful glances at Ghost Hand. Some were confused, while others had a dangerous look in their eyes. But Ghost Hand remained cold and expressionless. "This isnt something for you to worry about. Even if hes not here, Avalon is still Shamans." "Oh, really? But I couldnt seem to find a bit of loyalty in the mafia." Seated on his tall chair, Hermes looked down on Ghost Hand. Shaking his head, he tsked as if seeing a rare toy. "None of the Corsicans, Caucasians, and Indians doing their business in downtown will obey his orders. That old lady who sells kids in the sewer is trying to find a new path too, isnt she? "The Shaman is already out of power, Ghost Hand. The newcomers dont even know who he is. Only youre still as loyal as a dog, hugging his leg like its gold." "I dont want to talk so much." Ghost Hand walked through the dirty water to look at the road behind Hermes. "You should move." "You want to fight me?" Hermes looked at the black leather glove on Ghost Hands left hand. Slowly bending down, Hermes whispered in his ear, "Dont forget where you bought that hand from." Ghost Hand said, "The Shaman is looking for two people." "The person whos looking for them isnt the Shaman, but someone with his keepsake, right?" Hermes laughed and hit his head jokingly, as if suddenly thinking of something. "Oh, I almost forgot. Someone bought a keepsake from me too. I think his name was Chang" "Trader!" Ghost Hand raised his black-gloved hand, and took out the cigar in his mouth. "You should know the rules here. Dont get in the way of things." "Call me Hermes. I like that name." When the blonde youth said the name, his eyebrow arched, and his expression became lively. "As for rules, Im sorry. Ive been away for so long that Ive forgotten everything." Ghost Hands expression became even colder. Hermes reached into his sleeves and pulled out a thick packet, and tossed it down. "Dont be so impatient. Lets talk after you take a look." He caressed the twin snakes on his cane, saying softly, "With me, everything is priced fairly. I never make people lose everything when trading with me." Without replying, Ghost Hand opened the packet. Illuminated by candlelight, he could see ancient papers. They seemed to have been burned in a fire. More than half were damaged, but one could faintly see blurry words and pictures. These words and pictures caused Ghost Hands irises to contract. "Avalons map? Which Avalon?" "The real oneFor all these years, the Royalty has been looking for it. You can also sell it for a good price. Without the Shaman, no ones protecting you. Divide it between everyone for a retirement fund. The money should be enough for you all to spend the rest of your life in a brothel or a casino. "But my condition isforget about this case." Ghost Hand looked up at him. After a long pause, he shook his head and returned the packet. "I can forget about the girl, but not the boy." There was silence. Suffocating silence. In the silence, Hermess smile disappeared bit by bit. His expression became cold and dark, his sharp eyes piercing Ghost Hand like daggers. He stared at the old man in front of him. His voice gentle, he uttered each word clearly, "Ghost Hand, dont take my kindness for granted." "This was an order given personally by the Shaman." Ghost Hand said softly, "He came back a few days ago." Hermess expression changed. His face overcome with shock. But Ghost Hands expression did not change. "Seeing you today, I can let the matter go. I wont even care if hes in your shop. But you must know that as long as the Shamans order stands, that boy will be our enemy." "So thats how it is?" Hermes pondered it. As if finally and suddenly understanding something, the iciness in his eyes melted. He laughed again, bright like the sun. "I suddenly know what the old mans thinking now." Saying this, he threw the packet back into Ghost Hands arms. "Take this back and give it to the Shaman as a gift. Tell him I hope he gets poisoned and dies in his toilet." "I will tell him." With one last look, Ghosthand turned to leave, the underlings following suit. -- When Hermes went back above ground, it was already dawn. The endless night was finally over. The sky was dark, but one could still sense weak sunlight filtering in through the mist. Hermes stood by his carriage and accepted the jacket from Setton. Without a care, he threw his sparkling formalwear, now tainted with the smell of sewage, into the sewer. Setton sat in the drivers seat, his large body almost squashing the seat. After Hermes was done changing, he pulled out a bottle of perfume and used up almost half of it. Finally, he let out a breath. "Ugh, it smelled disgustingWas there any trouble?" "Some people noticed and came over, but I took care of it." Setton pointed at the corner of a wall. There were two bags that looked like they were filled with soft mud. Faint red showed through, catching the attention of two stray cats. Hermes nodded and asked, "Where are they?" Setton pulled open the carriage door. "Sleeping." Hermes stood outside, looking at the children in silence. The wretched boy and girl leaned back in the seat of the ornate carriage, fast asleep. In their sleep, they had almost fully slid down the seat. Bai Xi leant against Ye Qingxuans shoulder. Their white hair was almost entangled. It was spacious inside the carriage, but they only took up a small corner, supporting each other. Weak sunlight washed over their peaceful features, as if shining into a dream. Their lips seemed to be smiling. Hermes had saved up so many weird complaints and things to say, but seeing them like this, he could not bare to disrupt them. After a long time, his gaze drifted to Bai Xi and his eyes softened. "What a pity. Youd be such a beautiful girl when you grow up." Taking one last look at Bai Xi, he closed the door and sighed. "What a pity. Not only do you have a saddening talent like Zhaodang [1]You also met someone youd willingly give yourself up for." [1] Zhaodang: wandering 52 Examined 1 Two days after the events in the sewer. Having held a grand banquet a few days ago, the auditorium had been redone. Lit by brilliant lights, even in the deep night, it had been filled with sweet wine and laughter. It was here that future musicians had met each other. Complex patterns had decorated the walls and pillars. The crystal chandeliers had shone and dazzled. Even the future had seemed brilliant. There had been ninety-three fine Persian rugs. The designs had formed an epic poem, depicting the tale of King Arthur and his twelve phantom beasts. Even the candlesticks had delicate and ornate details. But now, these intoxicating luxuries had all been removed. The rugs were rolled up, revealing the smooth marble floor. The candles on the silver candlesticks were snuffed out too. The fifteen windows were closed shut, heavy curtains blocking any light from the outside world. The wine, laughter, and dazzling lights had all vanished. Only the fierce sun shone through the glass ceiling, bringing a ray of light into the pitch black auditorium. Scattered about, it vaguely illuminated the portraits of the masters. Their eyes were sharp and cold, thunder and lightning brewing in their eyes. The final test was about to begin. Behind a row of long tables sat six examiners. They wore blood-red robes, and their expressions were serious, strict, and heavy. They flipped through the students paperwork like browsing in a store; if they found the tiniest flaw in a piece of porcelain, they would not hesitate to shatter it with a hammer. Among them was a bored young lady. Her face was covered with a veil and a red flower dotted her forehead. She exuded an exotic aura and did not fit in at all. She seemed distracted too. The lady was there just as a stand-in so the exam would seem a little fairer. No one paid her any attention because everyone knew that the principal had already made concessions for the mischief. Todays examination hall was for the elites! The side door opened and footsteps approached. The steps were sure and confident. All examiners rose, bowing to Head Examiner Sidney. "Good day, Sir." "Good day, sirs," Sidney nodded and took his seat at the center of the long table. Gazing around, his strict eyes revealed a bit of satisfaction. "It looks like we have a bountiful harvest this year. Sirs, do not relax at this most important time." "Sir, we are always alert," Ben said, his head lowered respectfully. "Very good." Sydney chuckled. "You are responsible for the honor of the Royal Academy of Music and Anglo musicians, did you know? A successful teacher must fulfill his duties and guide the right people down this path. Do not put rotten apples in your baskets." "Everything has been arranged," Ben said in a low voice. "Starting this year, the spirit of noble blood has been revived." "As it should." -- Before the last exam began, Sydney inspected the examiners once more. "Representatives from the School of Modifications, School of Summoning, School of Revelation, and School of Royalty are all present. Very good" His brows furrowed slightly. "Why is there an empty seat? Whos late?" "The professor from the School of Music History and Research. His name is" Ben thought hard, but he could not seem to remember the old man with no presence. "I think his name is Abraham." "Maybe his iron hand broke, so he went to the blacksmith," someone muttered, resulting in a wave of tacit giggles. Few people in the academy knew that the eccentric musician with an iron arm was actually a professor. He taught in the School of History, which barely anyone knew existed, unless they checked the catalog. If not for the fact that there was an empty spot, no one would notice this old man, who barely announced his presence. Amid the laughter, a white-haired man slipped in from the side door. Seeing that he was late, a bit of awkwardness made its way onto his stiff face. Sensing others eyes, he reflexively hid his iron arm behind his back to avoid the mockery. Sydney glanced at him and waved his hand, telling him to sit. And so, everyone was present. Soon after, the auditoriums door cracked open to the sound of the crisp mallet. Every examiner transformed into the face of seriousness. The final test to determine the fate of seventy-one students had finally begun. -- "Who is the first one?" "Edmund Rossi." Ben looked at the name and racked his brain. "Hes the second son of the Rossi family. His talent is quite good, he became a student three years ago. The School of Revelation speaks highly of him." Sydney nodded. "It seems that hes skilled in seeing patterns." "Hes talented in spirituality too," the examiner from the School of Revelation praised. "It seems that the family had put thought into raising their descendants." "Well see," Sydney murmured. As they discussed under their breath, a red-haired youth entered the examination hall. In this vast and dark auditorium, under the gaze of the examiners in the distance, the youth was a bit nervous. But it was obvious that he had had a good upbringing. He kept his elite air and bowed to the examiners, waiting for instruction. "Dont be nervous, Edmund." Ben pointed to the center of the hall. "Stand there and relax." Edmund turned until he finally saw the tall stone tablet he had missed. -- The stone tablet was at least as tall as him. Standing in the center of the still auditorium, it was a sharp and intimidating presence. After modification and polishing, it was as smooth as a mirror, glossy enough to reflect ones image. The sun shone down onto it, but it did not leave any shadow on the ground, as if the light had been swallowed by the black stone. Reflected by the darkness, ones face became pale and foreign. The mirrored reflections seemed to be missing a human characteristic, it was rather chilling. Before the tablet was a steel chair. It was bulky, like a machine used to contain patients at an asylum. Silver wires rose from the back of the chair, connecting under the tablet. They were parts of a whole. This was the tool used for this test. Though it was a stone tablet, it was actually man-made. If one overlooked the appearance and only looked at the science behind it, it was more like a complex aether ball. It was originally professional measuring equipment for the Royal Association of Geographical Exploration. It should have been in a laboratory four hundred feet under the ground, measuring the changes of the Earths crust. But it was here to accurately and precisely display the data of each student. It was scarier than any interrogation or judge. No one could lie in front of it. -- When Edmund sat down, a bit unsettled, the stone tablet brightened. At first, it was still a blur, but then the silver light became a changing pattern. It looked like random graffiti, but the examiners studied it closely. "It is sufficient in construction, but average. A bit lacking in modification." "The School of Revelation doesnt care about creators, but rather those who can correctly react." Someone nodded. "Hes skilled in Inspiration." "Its rare that the first one is this good." After discussing softly, the examiner from the School of Revelation nodded. "Edmund Rossi, you have been admitted by the School of Revelation. Please exit and turn left down the hall. Find the one in charge of our school, and he will help you complete the paperwork." The examiner paused and humorously said, "I hope youve prepared your tuition. The School of Revelation probably spends the most of the royal treasury." The red-haired youth froze in shock and joy. Then he raised his fist in excitement and ran out without a farewell. Halfway out, he came back to bow, causing laughter to spread through the examiners. "Hes still a kid after all," Ben sighed. "Next! Ron Furnia" -- When the next youth entered the examination hall, the relaxed atmosphere disappeared. The youth wore faded and threadbare clothes and looked at the examiners anxiously. But the examiners only glanced at the youths chest. Seeing no elite heredity, they looked away and did not look back. It seemed to be the youths first time facing something like this. He opened his mouth to speak, but was too nervous to say anything. Sydney furrowed his brows. He did not even know the basic formalities. "Sit there and we will test your qualifications." Ben smiled and pointed at the stone tablet. When the youth sat down fearfully, the stone remained dark. No patterns were displayed at all. The examiners nodded, looked amongst each other and crossed out his name on their lists. This test was specially designed to get rid of any commoners who did not have resonance with the aether, and had never received any training. Ben nodded with a smile, "Ron Furnia, you can go now." The youth gaped, not sure what happened. He did not even know what was supposed to be tested. He naively thought it had not started yet. "Im sorry to tell you, but you have no talent to become a musician. You can go now," Ben announced softly, though his face still had a hint of mockery. "Butbut Sir," Ron could barely speak. "I didnt even" "I said, get out." Bens smile faded and his cold expression stopped Rons words, leaving them in his throat. Ben moved on from him and hit the mallet. "Next!" Ron stared at the examiners, his lips trembling as if wanting to say something. After a while, he lowered his head and finally left. Outside the door, one could faintly hear him crying. This was Avalon, where the elites lived above the clouds, enjoying the sunlight. The commoners lived in the fog of downtown and could not even see the stars. If the principal were still here, he might have gone easy on the commoner. But this time, the exam was controlled by the elites. There would be no possibility for vulgar and rancid bloodlines to enter the academy. This was the place to foster the descendants of glory, not a farmers market. 53 Examined 2 The exam continued. The students that followed were all as the examiners had expected, and nothing was out of sorts. After a long time, it was finally evening. Of the hundred or so students, more than half passed. With fifty-four students accepted, the exam was coming to an end. But the name that Sydney was looking forward to had not been called until now. "Banner Adrian." The door opened. The thin blonde looked like he had not had a good nights sleep. His face was pale and his eyes were sunk in, his expression neutral. Faced with the examiners, he nodded slightly and sat in front of the stone tablet. Sydney jerked, wanting to say something, but Banner closed his eyes. With his eyes closed, he murmured something. The stone tablet shone with an unprecedented brightness! -- Radiated by the silver light, the reflection in the tablet was no longer a blurry spot of light. Instead, it was an abstract design that looked like a beast. In the image, the fierce beast had a leering smile and a general side profile. Seeing the blurry opening above its eye sockets, the examiners breathed heavily. Sydney froze in shock. "This is the symbol of Call of the Wild. Is he already an official level two musician?" Ben stared at the tablet. After a while, he breathed out, "Probably not. The symbol is still too unclear. He should only be level one." "Then what about the scratch mark?" someone asked in a low voice. "Hes only seventeen years old. Has he started raising his own beast already?" "Maybe an Adrian musician passed down their own beast to him. Dont forget that the Adrian family has always been a representative of the School of Summoning." "Thats possible," an examiner sighed. "Even if the manticore is gentle, its impressive to be able to control it at this young age." In the end, they all turned towards Sydney, who smiled in satisfaction. "Very good, you did not disappoint us, Banner. Your brother will be proud of you too." In a serious tone, Sydney proclaimed, "Congratulations. You have been accepted by the School of Summoning. This is the most elite school in the academy. It passes down the academys core knowledge and music. I hope you will continue to work hard." Banner stood and bowed, hand to his chest. His manners were impeccable. Sydney and Ben glanced at each other and chuckled. Mission accomplished. "There is only one more student. Which family does he come from?" The examiners studied the last name. "Is he even more important than the Adrian kid?" "Its just some kid from the East," someone sighed. "No need to worry. The principal was just doing what was required." "That commoner?" one examiner remembered. "The one brought here by Mr. Bach?" "Who knows?" Another shrugged. "We havent heard from Mr. Bach in years. The principal probably kept him to give us trouble." "Sirs, be honorable, please." Sydney side-eyed them. "You are all professors of the academy, shouldering the responsibility of enrolling the new generation." The examiners stared blankly, before laughing. They nodded carelessly. Yes, they had to enroll the new generation. But that was all they had to do. "Next, Ye Qingxuan." The door opened. Everyone gaped. -- When the youth entered the examination hall, everyones eyes bulged, and their mouths dropped to the floor. These men were originally full of coldnesscold expressions, cold eyes, cold auraas if they were ready to take all of that coldness and throw it at an unsuspecting kid to teach him a lesson. But when they saw this guy, they could not even believe their own eyes. What the heck?! In the past hundreds of years, there had been low class and humble students who had entered the academy. There had also been arrogant ones, prodigies without a care for anyone else, and geniuses who took the test wearing prison garb and handcuffs. But todayit was the first time someone came looking as if he had just been taken off of a surgery table. In the center of the examination hall, the youth stood with a pale face and a body covered with bandages. The pungent smell of medicine radiated from him. Leaning on a cane, his right leg and arm were held in a cast. Someone had drawn two turtles on the cast. His ten fingers were wrapped in gauze. Other than his bare face, the rest of his body was pretty much a mummy. He looked as if he had been run over by a few carriages, patched up on the spot, and sent here because he was still breathing! Was he going to die during the exam?! "Student, youare you okay?" Ben feared he would spit out blood and collapse then and there. "Uh, Im fine." Ye Qingxuan squeezed out a smile and the muscles in his face quivered. "Sorry, a carriage ran into me yesterday, and I almost couldnt make it. I arrived late too, but thankfully I didnt miss the exam." He worked hard in gesturing as he talked, but his movements were too large and pulled on his wounds. Face twisting in pain, he managed, "Please dont worry. Ive prepared enough." But the examiners looked uncomfortable. They had all prepared their sharp tongues and eyes, ready to pick out any of his flaws and put him in his place. At least he had to understand what this place was. If he thought he had the principals support and dared to complain, then even betterhe could be forced out for offending the examiner. Or at the very least, they had to make him unnerved. No one was going to tell this guy that he had to be calm and focused when sitting before the stone tablet. Otherwise, the results would be negatively affected. The elite children all took depressants before arriving to calm themselves down and not be distracted by the outside world. But now that Ye Qingxuan was there, their poisonous tongues did not know where to start. All they could say was that sometimes, being full of flaws was like being flawless. They could not do anything. His status was too sensitive. If something happened and he keeled over, he would hold something over the examiners. That could not happen! "That sly b*stard and this dirty boy" Ben ground his teeth in frustration and sighed. "Umcan we start?" Ye Qingxuan raised his hand, asking curiously. "What will the test be on? Do I need to play an instrument or sing?" He coughed, getting ready to start warming up his vocal chords. Seeing that, Ben quickly cut him off, "Just sit there." "Thats it?" Ye Qingxuan moved around on the chair, finding a comfortable position. "Is this okay? I feel like Im being impolite. I can stand." "Its okay. Just sit there and dont move!" This talkative guy was driving Ben crazy. "Just sit there!" "Oh." Ye Qingxuan obeyed and sat down properly. A small circle of light lit up on the stone tablet. Holding their breaths, the examiners waited and stared at the tablet. The dim light gradually brightened. Ben thought happily that as soon as the result came out, the principals joke would be over. But under everyones careful eyes, the light unexpectedlydimmed? What the heck? Ben rubbed his eyes in a daze and saw the light gradually brighten again. He quickly focused on the slowly moving light. And then it dimmed again! "" Ben felt like he was going to spit out blood. Before he could utter a word, it lit up again and then dimmed again, just as expected! The tablets design went between activating and resting for a whole ten minutes. Light, no light, strong, weak As if playing with everyones eyes, this random light would sometimes flash quickly and then disappear just as quickly. At times, it seemed that it would be complete soon. Then it would quickly change to another type of light. The examiners all felt that there was something in their throats that they could not spit out. In the silence, Sydney heard a faint sound come from the stone tablet. The sound grew in volume until it finally turned into loud snores! The youth with his eyes closed had literally passed out on the chair. His limbs were relaxed and his mouth was open, a string of drool slipping out. His snores were loud and clear as his chest moved. This mutt had dared to fall asleep! Asleep! He fell asleep in this holy examination hall! Sydneys face grew red as a tomato. He shot to his feet, but heard someone beside him shout, "It lit up! It lit up!" The shouts woke the youth up. In a daze, he turned around and saw the design on the tablet. -- Under that dim light, the tablet had finally completed reading Ye Qingxuans data and displayed the analyzation image. But it was obvious that the design was missing something and no one knew what to make of it. Something seemed to rotate in the fog, but it was too blurry and no one could see clearly. Crisscrossing, countless thin rays of light overlapped endlessly, interlocking into each other and finally creating a confusing picture. It was a strange and squiggly line. In the fog, the line changed every now and then. Vibrating randomly, it refused to stop. Sometimes, it shook like it had leprosy, other times, it was like a lazy bug, unmoving except for random spasms. In the long silence, the only sound was that of jaws dropping. "Whatis this result?" 54 Examined 3 "What is this result?" Someone said quietly, "It looks like it didnt display completely." "It didnt finish analyzing. There are too many possibilities," the one beside him muttered after pondering. "It must be the bandages and casts all over him that interfered with the tablet." "But there definitely is an image." The examiner from the School of Revelation smoothed his beard. "It doesnt look strong enough, but he seems to be very in tune with the aether." "Consistency is good too, but its not strong enough. The explosive force is too low." "So hes not fit for the School of Modifications? Maybe he can practice hymns?" "Dont joke. Do we have a School of Chorale? And anyway, the hymnists of the School of Chorale must be trained since childhood. His voice wont do." "His minds tenacity is very high." "He has high tenacity, but nothing matters if hes not strong enough." The examiners discussed amongst each other in hushed voices. Through all this, the white-haired man, Abraham, stayed quiet, wordlessly studying the image on the tablet. At times, his gaze would fall on the youth. Watching the youths confused eyes, his gaze would turn complicated and pitiful, as if he already saw the result. In the end, the examiners seemed to come to a decision. Ye Qingxuan had straightened by now, holding his breath as he waited. This would decide if he could become a musician. He had almost given up on becoming a musician, but after that night, his hope had sparked again. This would also decide whether or not he could enter the academy. He did not know what had happened with his father, but Ye Qingxuan knew that he was innocent and could not have betrayed humanity, so he had to investigate and see what had really happened. The Royal Academy of Music was a good starting place. After all, it was where his father had worked. Ye Qingxuan raised his head, looking up at the auditoriums domed ceiling. The stained glass created a complicated puzzle. Perhaps his father had looked up at it too? "Father, Im coming," he murmured softly. In the silence, he heard Bens voice. "Ye Qingxuan, youve passed." But when he looked over, he was met with their cold and distant expressions. Ben coughed, clearing his throat he said, "But the Royal Academy of Music might not suit you." Ye Qingxuan froze. He did not understand what was happening, but the unsettling feeling in him expanded. "IDidnt I pass the test?" Hearing this, the examiners exchanged glances. Some chuckled, shaking their heads. Trying hard not to laugh, Ben coughed and put on a serious face. "Indeed, you passed both the written portion and the tablets test. But I fear that none of the Schools here are suitable for you." The examiners gazed at each other. The one from the School of Summoning shook his head and said, "Your tenacity is too weak and probably wont be able to summon beasts. We dont need students to drag us down." "You have high homology, but it isnt stable enough. The School of Revelation isnt suitable for you." A stern and expressionless examiner gazed at Ye Qingxuan and stated, "Your resonance isnt enough to meet the School of Modifications basic standards." "The School of Royalty requires at least ten years of training. You dont qualify." When the old man finished, he turned toward the veiled woman. "Perhaps you can consider the School of Theory?" The woman furrowed her brows behind her veil. She did not want to be part of this, but the men had clearly kicked the can to her. She did not care about the arguments between the elite schools and musician schools. She was just there to watch. If it had been like before, she would just take this kid to show some attitude Thinking of this, she glared at Ben, a little upset. "Kid, youre too late." She shook her head. "The School of Theory is already full this year. Otherwise" "I understand." The youths voice cut her off, stunning everyone present. They had said so much, but Ye Qingxuans eyes never left Sydneys face. This familiar face was serious, but could not hide the gloating and scorn. Maybetheyve never planned on letting him pass. Disappointment replaced the fury in his heart. The uselessness was exhausting. He did not want to keep fighting. Maybe he really should follow the priests arrangements and study at the Trinity Theological College. At least there, no one would care whether this white-haired kid was a commoner or a descendant of a noble bloodline Thinking of noble bloodlines, he laughed lightly. Maybe he never should have returned to the city that had abandoned him. "So be it," he said softly, pushing himself up from the chair. "So be it." He did not want to say anything more and did not care what else Ben had to say. Hobbling on his cane, he rose to leave. Ben could no longer control his expression and glared at the youths backside. "Rednecks are rednecks. They dont even have basic manners." As if hearing the muttering behind his back, the youth suddenly halted outside the door. Turning back, he stared at those faces. Under his eyes, the stern examiners furrowed their brows. It was uncomfortable to be stared at by those annoying and piercing eyes. "I will become a musician." Quietly, he said, "I will become the best. I will." He shut the door. -- The auditorium was silent as the examiners exchanged shocked glances, wondering if they had heard correctly. "What did he just say? Hes out of his mind!" Someone scoffed, "He didnt even know who he was talking to. Its good that hes gone. We can stop wasting our time." "Whatever, why get hung up on a kid like him?" Sydney stood up with an unchanging expression, ready to leave. He seemed to not mind Ye Qingxuans violation at all. It only proved that the principal was out of luck now. They had won long ago, and now it was time to collect the fruits. No one noticed that the old and stiff man had walked from the corner to the stone tablet. Reaching over, he brought out Ye Qingxuans data and studied the strange line. After a long time, he seemed to understand something and snapped his fingers at the stone tablet. The line on the stone tablet began wavering. -- -- "Did you fail? Did you fail? Cousin, did you not pass?" Outside the Academy, under the waning sun, the youth sat forlornly by the fountain. Beside him, Bai Xi asked without restraint. But Ye Qingxuan did not know how to answer. "Dont be sad," Bai Xi murmured, poking his face. "Its okay. You can follow me and Ill protect you! Lets be in the mafia too! Its easy to make money. Our successful future is already waving at us! Dont be sad. How does it sound?" She counted on her fingers. "Look, Ive already found a really good territory. We can start from the bottom. Youll be in charge of ideas, Ill be in charge of the punching, and Old Phil will be in charge of biting. We can steal from thieves. Once we get rid of the Shaman, well be the boss! The kind that earns however much they want" As she talked, she ran out of things to say. In the end, she hung her head. Tugging at Ye Qingxuan, she said, "Hey, cant you laugh, or just smileWhat happened to you? There are so many jobs in this world. Why do you have to be a musician?" "I dont know." Ye Qingxuan managed a smile and scratched his head, sad like a defeated dog. "I guess I really dont suit it." Bai Xi fell silent. Watching him, she suddenly went on her tiptoes and hugged him. "Its okay. Theyre blind. Dont listen to them." "Umm, excuse me" Behind her, a white-haired old man asked quietly, "Is this Ye Qingxuan?" "Who is it?" Bai Xi craned her neck. She looked from the stiff and awkward face to the steel hand connected to his right arm. Impatiently, she huffed and said, "What do you want? My cousin is in a bad mood. If you piss him off, he might beat you up. Hes really powerful! Have you heard of the word undefeatable before? Thats him!" "I apologize for disturbing you. I am Abraham, a professor from the Academy." He seemed to not speak regularly, choosing his words carefully. "Would you like to come to the School of History?" "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan gaped. The old man rubbed his white hair in distress, trying to make himself seem more at ease. "I can teach you. Uh, even though I only have one hand, but I can still teach, and uh, I have a lot of experience I can tell you about." "" Seeing the doubt in Ye Qingxuans eyes, he panicked a little. "Uh, even though Im not dressed well, Im a musician too. Ive taught for more than ten years and have researched a lot and" "Youre willing to accept me?" The youths unsure voice interrupted him. Seeing his eyes, the old man awkwardly took back his hand. "Ofof course if you dont want" "I do!" Ye Qingxuan grasped his hand. His eyes shone, as if he was grasping his last straw. "I dont care about anything else, as long as you can teach me!" Abraham froze in shock. Suddenly he broke into a smile, letting out a breath of relief. Pleased, he said, "Thats just great. I meanthats great! Uh, please wait a bit, Ill be right back!" The old man seemed to remember something suddenly and ran off somewhere. "Hey, cousin, are you sure? He doesnt seem too reliable" Bai Xi watched as Abraham walked away. "What if hes lying? And anyway, why did you choose an old man? Couldnt you choose someone young and attractive?" "Because he never laughed at me." Ye Qingxuan watched the old man and remembered everything that had happened. "Not even once." 55 Long-awaited Reunion Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "But I still think hes unreliable. Musicians are all rich, but his clothes are so old, and he only has one hand. It seems weird. What if he cant even play a complete piece? A musician like that is basically trash. Youre going to live a hard life with him!" "Bai Xi, didnt you promise to respect other people?" Grudgingly, Bai Xi said, "Okay, fine, I wont say anything else." After a long time, Abraham finally came back, trying to catch his breath. There was something in his hand. "Im back. Thank you for waiting. This is for you" He handed them three ice cream cones. "This is the academys specialty. Its very famous. Try it!" He seemed to have run for a long time. Panting, there was sweat on his forehead too. But when he gave them the cones, his eyes were smiling. Ye Qingxuan looked at the cones decorated with fruits, honey and cream and felt a little bad. "Sorry, it must have been expensive." "Its okay, dont worry about it." The stiff man smiled, full of happiness. "Congratulations on joining the School of History. Its been a long time since anyone was willing to come." "Did you poison this?" Despite her words, Bai Xi began eating without shame. Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head, reminding her about manners before she remembered to say, "thank you." Ye Qingxuan felt speechless. "Bai Xi, when will you become a good girl?" he thought. In the long afternoon, Ye Qingxuan and the old man sat by the square, quietly watching those passing by. Sometimes there would be an awkward silence, but he felt comfortable. Silences when they ran out of things to say could be joyful too, he realized. But if they did think of something, they could easily strike up a conversation. "Teacher, they dont seem to want me to enter the academy. Would you get in trouble for accepting me?" Abrahams expression became unreadable at the youths question. After pausing, he shook his head. "I actually have a lot of troubletheyll give me trouble even without you." "Can I really enter if I didnt go through the usual process?" "No problem." Abraham chuckled. "No one signed up for the School of History, so the principal gave me the power to accept students based on my own discretion this year. I can accept whoever I want, as long as I dont go past the establishment." "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded, but beside him, Bai Xis eyes brightened with a mischievous idea. "Teacher, Teacher, do you still need students?" The girl scooted over to Abrahams side. Fluttering her lashes, she said in an overly sweet voice, "Im smart and talented. Why dont you take me as the senior brother [1], and he can be the junior under me?" "Uh, thisyou need to pass the test." "No problem, I can still do it now." Bai Xi took the aether ball from Ye Qingxuans pocket. "I just need to make this light up, right?" "Well yes, but" Before Abraham could even finish, the crystal in Bai Xis hand lit up with a piercing light. She did not even need to make a sound, move, or create musicthe clear aether ball suddenly shone silver just by being in her hand. The rays of light were like soldiers under command, flashing and changing in the aether ball. They joined, creating Ye Qingxuans angry face, or Old Phils head, or at times, even a middle finger. Bai Xi looked as if she was playing with a toy. Beside her, Ye Qingxuans eyes almost fell out of his sockets. He had always thought that having a man run naked at night in Avalon was already illogical. But he never thought that there would be someone even weirder next to him. And so well-hidden too! "Bai Xi, what did you eat when you grew up?" Ye Qingxuan asked dumbly. On the other side, Abrahams mouth was open wide enough to stuff two ice cream cones in. "Strength, execution, spirituality, and sense all meet the qualifications. No, its above average" he mumbled, not sure what to say. "Hehe, then I guess theres no problem." Proudly, Bai Xi glanced at Ye Qingxuan and then fluttered her lashes at Abraham. "Teacher, Teacher, can I be the senior?" "" After a long silence, Abraham finally collected hismself. "Uh, my apologies. Id love for you to join the School of History, but any school would want talent like you. Theres no reason for you to come here." "I dont care. I want to be at the School of History! I want to be this guys senior!" "But I already have a student before you." Abraham scratched his head. "Hes not very reliable and always gets into trouble, buthes still a good person." "Its okay, its okay, you can be the second senior!" Ye Qingxuan tried to comfort Bai Xi. "Thats good too!" "Get out. I dont want to be the second." Bai Xis face changed, turning a bit angry. "Okay, Ive decided that youll be the second and Ill still be the senior! Wheres the original guy? Get him here and Ill beat him up." "Uh, lets not fight. Thats not good." Distressed, Abraham urged quietly, "Hes suffering from insomnia these days and likes running around after getting drunk. But when you get to know him, youll see that he really is a good person." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan got a bad feeling. "Teacher, this senior" Pushing down bad memories, he asked with twitching facial muscles, "What does he look like?" "I look like this today! Attractive, right?" A bright voice sounded behind him, causing the hair on the back of Ye Qingxuans neck to stand up. In Ye Qingxuans strange silence, a blonde youth popped up out of nowhere and sat down by Abraham. This young man was probably two years older than Ye Qingxuan. When he saw them together, he smiled, bright like the sun. It was hard to deny that he truly was attractive, with distinct features, and bright eyes. Unlike Hermess weird coldness, he seemed innocent and harmless. "Ah, Teacher, why didnt you call me for the cones?" Seeing the ice cream cones, his eyes flashed and drool almost dripped from his mouth. "I havent eaten in so many days. Teacher, this isnt fair!" "Charles, calm down." Abraham sighed and gave him the untouched cone. "Where did you go? I can never find you." "Ah, so many debtors are looking for me so I had to hide. Teacher, dont tell them you saw me!" He had probably been starving for a long time. He stuffed his face with the ice cream. "Im starving. Ah, this is delicious!" "" Abraham did not know what to say. "Since youre here, just stay and eat dinner with everyone. Let me introduce you all. These are your juniors. You have to act like a senior." "Okay, okay, hello juniors!" He scooted over and shook Ye Qingxuans hand like a dumb chicken. "Please take care of me, take care of me!" "" "Brother, whats wrong? Why arent you talking? Is there something dirty on my face?" Charles rubbed at his face, a little embarrassed. "Dont just stare at me. Im shy." "" "Hey cousin, whats wrong?" Bai Xi looked at how he was in a daze and nudged him. "You dont have to be so hurt just because hes more attractive than you." "" Ye Qingxuan could no longer hear anything. He was still wrapped in the pain of almost going crazy again. He looked at this familiar man and finally remembered where they had met before! In just a moment, that night came back! The strange feeling of his perspective on the entire world changing came flooded his mind once again. The night, singing, running, vomiting, naked manthose keywords flashed through in his mind. Finally, his thoughts turned into the naked backside of the drunkard running under the moon. He ran and ran, running under the moon. "Hoho hoho!" The chime-like laughter came back, along with the smell of vomit in the wind. "Youre that midnight psycho, the naked guy with bird nest hair! How dare you appear before me?!" Ye Qingxuan grabbed Charless collar, and yelled, "Give me back my notebook!" [1] In China, students of the same teacher call each other senior/junior brother/sister. The senior brother has the highest status. 56 Logic of Success "Hey! Are you still not finished shining my shoes?!" In the room, an impatient voice yelled, "Housekeeper! Housekeeper! Is that lazy b*stard slacking off again? I told you before that these beggars are like donkeys. They dont work unless you whip them." "Young Master, please do not worry. Theres still a while before we reach land." "I dont care. Just prepare everything and make sure I have the best formalwear when we get there." The annoyed kid burped loudly. "Housekeeper, get me some more desserts. I want the lemon and honey kind. This stupid boat doesnt have any food. All we get is fish every meal." "Yes sir." The housekeeper walked out and gently closed the door. His face changed dramatically and kicked the boy beside him, glaring at him. "Hurry up, kid. If you ruin things for things for the young Master, youre in for it!" "Yes, yes. Sir, dont worry. Itll be done in a minute. Just a minute!" Victor squeezed out a smile as his hands scrubbed at the leather shoes. "Look, its almost done." "Be careful! Thats high grade calfskin!" The housekeeper kicked him again. "You cant pay for these boots even if you work your entire life!" "Yes, yes!" After scolding him some more, the housekeeper stalked away. Victors smile faded as the housekeeper walked further away. Touching the bruise on his face, his eyes turned cold. He had already been on this boat to the Burgundy Empire for ten days. In the beginning, he had been squeezed in the storage cabin with bankrupted businessmen and jobless commoners. He was ready to put everything in to dig for gold in Burgundy Empires new colony. He would gamble his life to get rich. But a few days ago, he used his fists to win the opportunity to be a temporary servant for the young Master in the ships first class. The little fatty was irritable and the housekeeper was cruel, but at least he would not have to eat and sh*t in the pigsty under the ship. He would get two more cups of fresh water every day too. Eating leftovers was better than drinking that swill. Andthis could be the chance. "Hey, you said there will be a chance to true success? Did you mean being a slave for this pig?" The Rain Artist in a small bottle in Victors pocket was getting impatient. "Are you a man? You willingly let that pig ride you like a horse yesterday!" "So what?" Victor retorted. "What should I do? Kill him? On this boat with no escape? And then get hung on the mast? All youve been giving me these days are horrible ideas." He continued, "Old guy, youre not a scary and important person anymore. Youre a slave now, just like me. Except Im on a boat and youre in a bottle." "What are you thinking now?" the Rain Artist asked. "Youre being dramatic. All I want is my wages." Victor glanced at the door and murmured, "But my wages are a little high. The old man has more than enough money though, so I think he can afford it." Hearing Victors resentment, Rain Artist could not help but sigh. "Thats how the world is. You can work your entire life, but still be nothing to a b*stard an elite conceived while drunk. Too bad you dont have the talent to be a musician. Otherwise, with your personality, youd be better off than me." "Anyone with a brain would be better off than you." Victor said mockingly, "Is what you think? That being a musician would put you above everyone? That being a musician would make you equal with the elites? Thats just because elites need a dog to bite people. Youre the type of easy guy who falls for any girl who looks at you." Rain Artist fell silent. He did not defend himself because Victor really had hit his insecurities. Before becoming a dark musician, he had always been played by an elite woman like a clown. But he had realized too late, and pleased that woman by becoming a musician, and even made sacrifices to Satan. After that first wrong step, every step afterward was wrong too. He had been reduced to this state, but that woman had married a rich man and became a true elite. "Its never wrong to be fierce. What do you plan to do?" Reminded of the past, his voice turned poisonous. "Just wait until we get to the port." Victor wiggled his fingers, reminiscing on when he used to work at the pier. "I saw that the housekeeper has a few hundred thousand franc money orders, and many jewelsWe can do something big." "You want to take out the kid and housekeeper?" Rain Artist asked excitedly. "Dumb*ss, losing money and losing a life isnt the same. Itll cause too much trouble if we take them out," Victor scolded in a low voice. "Dont forget that he has an entire family behind him. Do you want them to all come after me?" "I think its pretty much the same." Rain Artist scoffed. "Youre just scared of killing, right?" "" For a rare moment, Victor fell silent. Rain Artist had the upper hand in the argument and chuckled, but stopped talking. "Victor! Victor! Where the f*ck are you? Get over here!" In the room, the impatient duck voice sounded again. "I want to ride the horse!" "Yes, young Master, Im coming," Victor replied with a smile. Pushing the door open, he entered the room and was met with a slap. In the luxurious room, so different from the storage cabin, the fat kid gave him two loud slaps without a word. "What are you doing? Why are you so slow? I told you not to slack off!" "Im sorry, young Master. Im very clumsy and angered you." Victor gave a simpering smile while observing the room. In a gentle voice he suggested, "Youve been on this boat for ten days without going outside. Its so stuffy in here. Why dont we go take a walk? I heard that there are many elite ladies here. Maybe you can meet your destiny." "Really?" Hearing elite ladies, his eyes brightened. But very quickly, the boy threw the cup in his hands at the wall. "No, I wont go." "Oh, why?" Victor froze a little, worried that he would miss this great chance. "Why are you asking so much? Im not going out! Do you want me to reward you for kissing up to me?" The young Master rolled his eyes. "You scum always have a reason for wanting to get close to us! Let me tell you, I know what youre thinking! Dont think that Im a charity." "Oh, of course not," Victor simpered. Hearing the door open behind him, he sighed inside. This chance was going to slip away. "Young Master, I checked and were going to land at the pier soon!" the housekeeper said with a smile. "The marquis has received news of your arrival, and is preparing a feast to welcome you back. You must take care to not lose the elite style." "This quickly?" Victor thought. Victors chest clenched and felt a few bronze coins fall at his feet. The housekeeper waved. "This is your pay. You can get out now." Victor did not bend over to pick up the coins. Instead, he touched the blade hidden in his sleeves and let out a sigh. Did he really have to use it? He studied the housekeeper and the fatty. But before he could decide which one to kill first, there was wild shaking. In the sudden thundering, the entire steel boat shook as if it had crashed into a reef. The guests on the ship were flipped over and rolled on the ground. No, this wasnt a reef. As Victor pondered, someone outside the door screamed, "Help! Fire!" "The boiler room exploded!" "Theres a giant hole in the sideboard. Seal the cabin!" While rolling, Victor ended up under the bed. Hearing this, his face paled. The boiler room was right over the storage cabin. If it exploded, then it was bad news for those there. If they sealed the cabin, then the people in the storage area would have nowhere to go! But before he could get up, the housekeepers expression changed. Suddenly understanding something, he pushed the fatty toward a cabinet. "Young Master, please hide well. Ill go outside to check" Before he could finish, the rooms wall collapsed. The alloy cabin doors twisted and bent. A shadow flew into the room and pulled out a sword. The blade sliced through the air, singing. Like lightning, it flew toward the dazed fattys heart! The housekeeper pushed the young Master down and used his heart to stop the blade. Under his shirt, a complex design flashed. Its glow solidified the air, turning it into a shield. The sword crashed into the solidified air and pierced into the wall. The shadow pulled out the blade and ran toward the shield like a storm. The blade created a ripple in the shield. The housekeeper paled, but the shield still stood. "Whats going on?" Under the bed, Victor was shaken. "Hmph, its just basic alchemy. He branded the rune on his armor. But regular people need to pay for this. The Iron Wall uses up blood." Rain Artist saw everything clearly and chuckled coldly, "This is an assassination, kid. Its clear someone doesnt want this fatty to get back to Burgundy. If Im not wrong, the assassin will sacrifice blood too" As soon as he finished, the shadowy assassination jerked, and the blurry sword finally showed its true appearance. The sword was extremely sharp with a thin and narrow blade. On it, three lines of runes were engraved on the blade. The blade seemed ready to break. But the assassin fiercely gripped the swords blade. Without reserving any strength, it seemed he wanted to cut through his palm. Blood flowed from his hand, covering the entire sword. The runes on the sword shimmered and a metallic roar sounded. The clash of high and low notes seemed to pierce ones eardrums. Even the air around the assassin rippled. "Ha, the assassin has some good stuff. It even has Forging, Dragons Attack and Deadly Ivy." Rain Artist raised his voice, "Cover your ears!" Victor did so reflexively, but before he could ask why, it felt like he was thrown into a bulwark! An endless tide crashed onto him. He felt the stinging pain, as if his skin was getting ripped to shreds. But it was not a tideit was the wave created by the wailing in the air. Victors mind went blank. The assassin easily pierced the shield. It was so easily destroyed! The shield shattered instantly, shards hitting into the wall, creating holes. The housekeepers armor crumbled to dust too, turning his chest into slush. The blade passed through him, piercing into the terrified fatty on the ground. With a pierced heart, the great shaking broke his vessels, and the fatty died instantly. Confirming the death, the assassin went through the broken wall and dropped into the ocean, riding the waves away! In the chaos, no one noticed what had really happened. Victor was the only one left in the room. He pulled himself up in a daze, but he reacted quickly. Rushing to the housekeeper, he pulled open the pockets and stuffed all the jewels and the still-intact money notes into his own pocket. Then, he found two rings embedded with jewels on the dead fatty. He also found a letter close to the corpses body. He hesitated before quickly scanning it, reading ten lines at once. It was a good thing that the priest had educated him, so that he could somewhat understand French. "Dear Don Juan, fates cruel arrangement made you leave me when you were born. How are you in Anglo? My health has had some problems these days and I think of you more and more Its been seventeen years. You must have grown up now, right? The one with this letter is my close housekeeper. He will take you back to reunite with me. But please remember to keep a low profile on the road. Im worried people will cause you trouble because of me Im waiting to reunite with you" Seeing the letter, Victor sunk into a long silence. He was frozen, as if he had been fossilized. "Hey, kid, what happened? Stop spacing out!" Rain Artist called from his arms. "There must be a secret compartment in the drawer by the bed. Elites love that trick. Hurry up and get it before other people discover!" Rain Artist froze before he could finish. "Hey, what are you doing?" He watched as Victor quickly took the jewels out and stuffed them back onto the housekeeper. Those that would not fit, he threw them into the sea. Rain Artist screamed every time Victor threw something away. "Are you crazy? Dont you want to succeed? Thats the capital for your future!" "No, Im not crazy." Victor shook his head, looking at the dead young Master under the housekeepers corpse. He had died without his eyes closed, the whites showing, but this was the first time Victor found him cute. Seeing him, he could not help but laugh. "This is whats crazy." "What do you mean?" Victor studied the youth and his similar body and asked, "Old guy, dont you think that Don Juan is a nice name?" Rain Artist suddenly understood. He yelled, "Youve gone crazy wanting to succeed!" "Haha, youre funny. Who doesnt want to succeed?" He quickly exchanged their clothes and dumped Don Juans corpse into the ocean. Very quickly, the corpse was taken away by the rolling waves. The burning oil from the boiler room would disfigure it too. As for Victor, he had already changed into the luxurious clothes, and shoved Rain Artists bottle into a pocket. Lastly, he looked at the hole before on his left breast pocket. He was still missing something. Outside, the distant noise of people sounded. Someone had found the source of the boom and had come to investigate. "It seems that the opportunity to succeed is everywhere." Victor took out the knife he had prepared and aimed it toward his heart. Pressing against his check, he took a deep breath. "Sadly, it always takes some investment." Hiss! The small knife was pushed through to its handle. Victor threw the knife into the ocean and collapsed onto the floor. Blood was flowing too quickly, almost spurting onto the ceiling. He was a little dazed. Did he gamble too much this time? Using the last of his strength, he crawled to the housekeeper and pulled the corpse over him. He felt his life slipping away in the growing puddle of blood, and lost consciousness. The moment before he passed out, the door was forced open. "My God, what happened here?" the sailor yelped. The panicked footsteps that entered the room destroyed every last bit of evidence. The men checked the corpses. Pushing past the dead housekeeper, someone found the barely breathing youth. Reaching out to feel the pulse, he called, "Someone come! Hes still alive! Doctor! Doctor!" Hearing this, Victorno, young Master Don Juansmiled sweetly. He calmly closed his eyes. "Father, Im coming," he thought. 57 Battle of the Abyss Darkness. Black clouds covered the sky like complex layers of lead overlapping, solidified in the sky. Between the sky and the earth, a mighty city rose above the barren land. Dim starlight came from somewhere, illuminating the citys sharp turrets. But even in the darkness, it was easy to discern the high luxury and and dignity of the city. Perched on a copper and black iron foundation, its body was made of white silver, with gold decorating its tip. Created by iron, it was a legendary miracle. When sunlight passed through the sky, the entire city would bathe in the radiance of the sunsacred but grave. But now there was no sunlight, and everything was covered shrouded by the darkness of the night. Ye Qingxuan observed the city. -- In the darkness, he saw the earth shake and rumble. Blood-red light flowed through a crack, like blood seeping out from the earth under the city. It seemed to want to flow up and submerge it all. The rumbling grew. The mighty city shook as if something hidden under was about to be unearthed. The sound of thunder arose, continuous like an avalanche. But the sound was unclear, like thousands of people wailing together. Hell collapsed and Avci1 called! At that moment, the thundering seemed to explode. The rippling across the earth could be seen by the naked eye. Even the sacred city shook with it. Quickly, a crack appeared on the iron wall. It was the first crack. -- The top of the citys highest point, the place closest to the clouds, was also the darkest place. Someone looked down at the city from that point. Angry winds blew from the distance. The eye of the tornado enveloped this city. The storm wind blew at his robe, it fluttered loudly. His cigar stayed lit, despite the wind. He stood at the edge of the tall tower, looking down at the sacred city and the redness seeping from the ground, watching the earth shake. "The third layer of the Wailing Wall has been breached!" someone reported behind the smoking man when a third sound rang across the skies and earth. The pale secretary clung on to a pillar, his eyes full of fright. "Fifteen minutes ago, it had already entered the Sunrise Path, but the Hell and Purgatory left by Grandmaster Ding have already been destroyed. All that remains is Heaven." "Heaven cannot stop it." The smoking man shook his head. "The temple knights and anthem battalion are ready. Theyre arming at the armageddon now." "What of the Holy Spirits?" the man asked. The secretary listened with his eyes closed. Voice trembling, he replied, "Fire God Agni was hurt in battle and has fallen into a coma. Jupiter is waking up. The Wind God and Thunder God have entered the abyss. Hopefully, they can stop it." "Its pointless. That is the Doomsday Dragon with seven crowns." The man shook his head again. "When it was sealed and confined by the three kings of the past, one-third of stars fell into the abyss with it. A double-bodied Holy Spirit is nothing to it. Send out the command, under the name of Nibelungenlied2awaken all Holy Spirits." The secretary was stunned. Thinking of the consequences, he grew even more pale. "But if the Emperor Qing is angered again, the sacred city might" In the darkness, the man turned around and gazed at him like as if looking at a cowering idiot. "Then use a blood sacrifice and let him see the battlefield clearly." "" The secretarys lips trembled, but he could not speak. "Even if hes scared, he should be scared after the sacred city is destroyed," the smoking man said lightly. "If the abyss under the sacred city is set off, the city wont be the only thing destroyed." "Yes, my Crown" The secretary lowered his head. Mumbling to himself, it was as if the wind had carried his voice, sending it to the city below him. "Also" the smoking man suddenly said in the darkness, "notify all priests to get ready in the Bronze Hall. Its time to start Fate." The secretary looked up in shock. But he only saw the man put out his cigar and push open the door behind him. At his waist, the sword, Gate of Heaven, shone with a cold light. In the wind, his voice was like the ringing of a blade. "Tell them, the Pope will personally join the battlefield." -- The world shook, and the overlapping melodies could not subdue the thundering. The calling from Avici, nine levels under the ground, cut across the skies and earth. It pushed the black clouds, lightning brewed. The wild flashes of light were like an evil spirits whip, falling on the sacred city again and again. The entire city bathed in the glow of the lightning. A huge crack spread from the ground under the city, like an open mouth wanting to swallow it. Ye Qingxuan stood above the crack, looked down, and saw the swirling flashes of metal within it. It was the reflection of the Temple Knights formation. Tons of heavy armor covered the bodies of these warriors. It was impossible to imagine that armor this heavy could be moved by humans. When they moved, it was unstoppable, like the Gaia giant in the Bible. Now they numbered thousands upon thousands. All held their chains and spears over their heads as they charged into the darkness. Along with the thundering footsteps, as the steel shoes hit stone, the music notes carved on the armor shone, and began singing sacred hymns. This was the sound of Heaven. The Chorales power spread with a burning light. The light illuminated a huge eye. Under the cracks of layers of seals was a beastly eye at least ten meters wide. It looked past the darkness and light into the sky. For a second, Ye Qingxuans eyes met with it, and he felt as if he were spying at a beast from afar. An indescribable coldness poured into his eyes like a tide. He yelped. Suddenly, a loud noise sounded, shaking the earth. The sacred city seemed to scream in distress. Layers of metal were torn. Under its eyes, an indescribably heavy pressure spread out. The knights charging toward it were flattened by the pressure, their heavy armor clanging. Very quickly, it was flattened by the pressure as well. Blood spurted out from between millions of metal shards. Before the seal, the Hymn Battalion was almost completely wiped out. In that moment, the singing from the Chorale was cut off. Their aether was out of control. The holy strength had been taken by the monsters in the seal and turned into a group of bloody crows. The endless tide of crows flew from the darkness. Beating their wings and shrieking, they devoured the musicians. "Woe!" "Woe!" "Woe!" Countless wails suddenly emerged from the emptiness, like countless sinners singing together in Hell. Under the aethers influence, the blood glowed and swallowed everything it touched. This was the power of Catastrophe. Four hundred years ago, the strongest Catastrophe that the Three Kings sealedDoomsdays Dragonwoke from within the deep abyss. It tore away the layers of seal, and was about to fly into the sky and pour bloody fire from its wings. But just at that moment, white-hot light began to flow from the sacred city. The sleeping dead in the holy temple, turned into Holy Spirits by musicians, were finally awake! Like millions of stars, they soared to the sky! In the Popes hand was the sword named Gate of Heaven. He pointed it at the abyss, and those spots of light fell, falling into the dark abyss. Within the light, the awakened Holy Spirits. They raised their staffs, radiating light. In the endless darkness, these spots of light were like weak candlelight in the wind. They lit up one after another, creating a halo that stopped the progression of the darkness! In the abyss, the overlapping notes became a symphony, and an unimaginable strength rose from the dark abyss. The legendary music scores that could only be found in ancient literature appeared once again. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan thought that the Doomsdays Dragon was under control, but Avicis call sounded once again from the abyss. In the darkness, the angry red dragon opened its eyes. The seven crowns radiated with a terrifying blood-red glow. The earth shook. To Ye Qingxuan, time was no longer continuous. The world kept changing, and it was hard to see clearly. Endless light blinded him. In the light, dragons danced crazily. -- For a moment, everything was silent. The world froze. Ye Qingxuan turned around in confusion and saw a silhouette at the peak of the sacred city. Endless aether light guarded him, illuminating his stern expression. He reached out and pressed down on the empty air. The entire city lit up as if finally awoken. The black clouds shrouding the city were ripped apart. Starlight fell from the sky, shining upon the deadly battlefield. In the abyss, the Doomsdays Dragon kept growling, roaring wildly, as if sensing that something terrifying would arrive soon. In this frozen world, everything was locked in the cage. No one could stop what was about to happen. "Fate?" Ye Qingxuan murmured, watching the silhouette. Then the Pope lowered his hands, and it sounded as if the world had shattered! The sky shook. The chilling crack started from the east and fell toward the west, cutting across the night sky. Starlight and moonlight disappeared, turning into a dark vortex. The starry sky disappeared, as if it were being rolled up like a rug. God radiated fatal light from above the twisted sky. Ye Qingxuan could not see anything. He could only feel the continuous resonance beside him, but a humans eardrum could no longer stand that terrifying sound. When the first sound of stars crashed, his senses had already been shattered. Everything had turned into a hopeless nightmare. The world was at the brink of collapse. The ground had turned to coal, tar and fire burned into the sky. Everything was on the path to destruction In the end, all that was left was a shattering sound, as if the monster was chewing on the remains of the earth. -- Ye Qingxuan woke up from his terrifying nightmare in shock. He opened his eyes wide, panting. Screams continued by his ear. "Ah! Help! Someone help! Catastrophe! Catastrophe!" Continuous screams sounded in the classroom. Hundreds of students woke up from nightmares. Their faces were chalk-white as they tried to remember where they were. As the hallucination dissipated, the professor drinking black tea at the podium looked up. He gazed down at the frightened students. "What you all saw was the Battle of the Abyss from three hundred years ago," he said. "This is what I will teach you in the first classthe endless war between humanity and catastrophe." 1Avci Niraja means "Hell" in the Sanskrit language. 2Nibelungenlied is an epic poem from Middle High Germany. It tells the story of the Burgundian dragon-slayer Siegfried. 58 So-called Catastrophe One hour before, at eight in the morning, Ye Qingxuan arrived on time to the classroom he had been tested in. Today was the first day of school. According to the tradition of the Royal Academy of Music, the first class was there, no matter what school one was a part of. In the past, the principal would speak and encourage everyone to study hard. But this year, no one was anticipating such a terrifying experience, especially because the principal was not even present! But when the principal entered, everyone was dragged into the hallucination. Now the hallucination was finally gone. At the podium, the teacher carefully lifted the vinyl record from the stereo and placed it back into the box. "Wow, its the rarely seen record alchemy equipment. Cant believe I could get cool stuff by listening to first-year classes." Beside Ye Qingxuan, someone said while hitting his thigh, "The visual and audio effects are impressive. It was worth it to get up early this morning." Ye Qingxuan slowly looked over to see Charles happily munching on an apple. There was a pile of fruit skins by his feet. Beside him, the fruit basket had been taken over by Bai Xi, guarded in her arms. He glanced at Bai Xi, but was glared at instead. Sighing, he said, "Brother, its fine to come listen to lower classes. But is it good to eat like this?" "Cant I eat while watching a record?" Charles glanced over in confusion. "You tell me after I already finish a bucket of popcorn? Do you want some?" "Im okay" Ye Qingxuans lips twitched, and he smartly decided not to say anything else. He and Bai Xi had been living inside the of the academy ever since the entrance exam two days ago. Because they were both in the School of History, their dorms were together. It was not just their dorm, but all of the classrooms, offices, student dorms, and teacher dorms of the School of History were all in the same two-story building. They were in the corner of the campus. It was a building that was easily missed unless one was actually looking for it. When Ye Qingxuan first saw the little building, he felt a chill. "This house had to be over two-hundred years old, right?" he had thought. The speckled walls were covered in ivy, and there was a pile of fallen leaves before the door. A stray cat glared at him from the roof. Countless details recreated an atmosphere that only existed in horror stories. "Could normal people live here?" All of the buildings in the Royal Academy of Music were arranged strangelystrange to the point that those who lived there for five years could still get lost. The entire place was like a giant maze! When Ye Qingxuan found out that he had to memorize a map just to buy breakfast, he felt hopeless Usually, a warm-hearted senior would come to the rescue in this situation. But the problem was that this warm-hearted senior was not reliable at all! In only two days, Ye Qingxuan became well acquainted with Charles ability to get lost. They could be walking down a straight and open path, then in the blink of an eye, Charles would be gone! And then he would reappear somewhere weird Not only did he get himself lost, but he also dragged other people with him. Once, Ye Qingxuan followed him to the cafeteria and then somehow ended up in downtown Avalon. Then he realized why the professor had told him again and again never to let Charles lead -- They had only known each other for two days, but it had been a busy time for that senior! In two days, he had been found by debtors four times, and chased six times. The night before, and earlier this morning, he had been slapped by two random girls in public. Those two pretty girls did not even say anything before he started crying and ran away covering his faceWhat did he even do? "Yezi, you suddenly look like youre in pain." Beside him, Charles moved closer in concern. "Do you have hemorrhoids? Ah, thats bad. You have to discover it and get it treated early. Should we go to the doctors after class? Its okay, Im really familiar with them. If I take you there, the doctors can give you a discount" "No, its okay." With twitching muscles, Ye Qingxuan forced a smile. "Oh, thats good." Charles produced a durian out of nowhere. "You want some?" "" Ye Qingxuan looked away. The durian smell made him want to sob. "Oh, right, some people from your row keep looking over here. Are they that hungry?" Charles sighed. "If they want fruit, then they can just come over. Its bad to skip breakfast" Ye Qingxuan glanced at his row and saw some elite boys looking at him with disdain. The leader was a red-haired youth. He had been the first one to be accepted. Edmund-something? Beside him, Banner seemed to not be awake yet. He lowered his head and stared at his fingers, his feline eyes interested. No one knew what he was thinking about. Sensing Ye Qingxuans gaze, their expressions turned to disgust. They threw him a glance and looked away. "Whats wrong?" Bai Xi followed his eyes. "Spacing out?" "Nothing." Ye Qingxuan looked away. "Some psychos want to eat bananas." -- "Alright, you all seem to have recovered." At the podium, the professor looked down as he finished organizing things. "Here, I have some smelling salt. The girls who are pretending to be dizzy can take some. That student over there, you dont have to get so excited about CPR. Shes pretending, cant you tell? And that student eating, where did you get all that?" The professor looked in Charles direction, his expression turning stern. "Im talking about you, the student in the second row. I noticed you awhile ago. Do you know the rules about eating during my class?" "Uh" Charles froze. Awkwardly, he clutched the banana he had just peeled. Thinking for a bit, he carefully took it to the podium. "Would you like some?" "Brother, you have no hope." Ye Qingxuan covered his face, not wanting to admit that he knew that guy. "You do know the rules!" In the silence, the professor gazed at Charles and smiled, "A very bright student!" As everyones jaw dropped, he took the banana and nodded in satisfaction. "Mm, this tastes quite good!" "Of course! I stole this from the School of Modification this morning. Theyve been waiting for this for half a year." Charles felt around for whats left in his pockets. "Would you like to try an orange too?" The professor hesitated. Seeing the gaping students, he finally jolted back to reality and coughed dramatically. "Were in class now." Sitting in the front, Ye Qingxuan could clearly hear what the professor whispered, "Remember to bring one kilogram to the office" "" Was there still hope for this school? -- "Ha, that was just a joke. Now, well officially start the class." After finishing the banana, the professors aura suddenly changed. Even his expression turned stern. "If anyone relaxed just then, please get nervous again. Breaktime is over. "What Ill be teaching next is all in Discussion of Natural Catastrophe History and Research. There is also an entire textbook of exam material, so please dont ask me what will be tested." Ye Qingxuan sat up straighter. The good stuff was finally here! -- As the name implied, natural catastrophes were catastrophes unable to be prevented by humans. Generally, those that could not coexist with humans would move away from humanity, but most natural catastrophes would wander at the borders of humanity. Ever since the Dark Ages, there had been legends of catastrophes. Every catastrophe would result in a massive loss of property and life. Even before the Dark Ages, there were signs of natural catastrophes from cave paintings. There was a wide variety, each with unique characteristics. Some were animals, some plants, while others did not even seem to be living. The complex classifications were thick enough for a bookthe one in Ye Qingxuans hands now. But no matter what, they all followed the same basic law. Or maybe they were shrouded by the same mystery. Where did they come from? What did they want? And why did theyhate humanity? Ever since the beginning of humankind, the fear of natural catastrophes followed their history. Even after humanity had control over aether, horrible events still occurred in the five hundred years after the Dark Ages had ended. Till this day, humanity had only discovered and explored less than a quarter of the world. And of this quarter, less than half were arable, mild aether zones. Every inch of earth was with blood from humans fighting against the natural catastrophes. Every victory was built upon thousands upon thousands of lives. But what made people hopeless was that those creatures did not die. They were made from aether and would not experience conventional death. Even if their body was destroyed, only their memories would be wiped clean, and they would return to the dark world and sleep. When they reappeared, they would have new life. And they were becoming stronger -- To keep the natural catastrophes from coming, humanity put boundary markers in all directions. In the East, four emperors of the Aurora Empire constructed the Great Wall with millions of slaves. There was a beacon tower every hundred steps, with musicians guarding it every second of the day for their entire lives. One hundred thousand beacon towers meant one hundred thousand torches. If the torches were not extinguished, the natural catastrophes would not be able to easily enter humanitys territory. In the Northern tundra, the Asgard people built their entire empire on glaciers. Those who saw death as reprieve used broken battle axes and corpses for the Valhalla Defense Line. In the deserts of the West, the original defense line created by the Samnites had already been breached. Now it was under joint reconstruction by several empires. Apparently, at the end of the desert, fire still burned in the remains of the old defense line. The endless ocean of the West was the most peaceful. Sea monster Leviathan had not appeared for a few hundred years, but the city guarding it was where Ye Qingxuan was nowAvalon. Anglos own king had inherited the hundred-year old mission from King Arthur to stand in the Western front and fight against the sea monster. Even if it had not appeared for hundreds of years, they were still alert. Around forty satellite islands surrounded Avalon. More than twenty were completely locked. If anyone tried to get within ten nautical miles, they would be stopped and told that it was a forbidden zone. It would not be too late to turn back, but if they decided to go forward, they would die there. Other than that, there was a wide range of defensive measures and millions of fortresses. Humanitys art of war was not only to kill each other, but to prevent disasters. Here, the professor paused, and his smile became secretive. "You might have heard the name of the most dangerous natural catastrophe to mankindthe Dark Mother." 59 The Dark Mother The Evil Maternal, the Source of Beasts, the Vortex of Evolution For centuries, humanity had given the Dark Mother many names, but to the entire world the most dangerous was none other than the Dark Mother. When the Dark Ages ended hundreds of years ago, the Three Kings chased it to the northern tundra. It wandered in the dark world, reappearing every now and then, leaving behind mutated organisms in its path. It did not even have a shape that people could fully describe. It was difficult for mankind to specify what it really was, so it had never been completely destroyed, but had regenerated instead. It was like a virus in nature. One could sense its presence by seeing the ruined environment, but could never truly touch it. In many descriptions it was depicted as a writhing ring. Some philosophers believed that its true state was an indescribable ring, but everyone knew that philosophers were useless. In current descriptions, it consisted of many natural catastrophes, made up of countless beasts, animals, and mutated monsters. But this description was not accurate either because the Dark Mother did not even have a substantial state. People could feel where it was. Like a boundary drawn by an invisible force. It was difficult for any organism in the boundary to leave. There was a biological longing and fear of the outside world. But in the circle, all organisms would feel free, and experience wild growth and evolution. Then they would swallow each other or mutate into a mixture of both. All animals would evolve at a speed a thousand times faster than normal, turning into something different depending on the food chain or natural environment. Ultimately, even a regular forest would become a den of monsters. If there were humans there, it would be even more problematic because compared to those bloodthirsty beasts, monsters who were human were much scarier. When the priest and Wolf Flute opened the stone coffins, they saw the corpses of many strange animals. Despite dying long ago, they still had signs of struggling and fighting. The centuries of this bloody history proved only one point--blind evolution was disastrous. And yet, the "Evolution Ring" would collapse sooner or later. Using up all the energy in this round of "birth," the Dark Mother would then "die." At that time, the deformed beasts would massacre each other to become the most powerful, and would win the title "Child of the Mother." When the constraints lost its effect, the beasts would escape from the cage and spread in all directions The dead Mother would then reappear from the darkness after brewing for years. -- This deformed evolutionary ring had existed for hundreds of years. It did not have any meaning by itself. It only wandered in the dark world, planting its seeds along the way. But the Children of the Mother inherited the Dark Mothers hatred toward mankind, and thirsted for human blood and bone. They were like the most deadly cyst in the world, full of endless poison. Not even the deformed beasts that the Dark Mother left in this world centuries ago had been killed completely. If one tracked the bloodlines of all the monsters in the world, it would become clear that they all had the same mother. Because of this, it was known as the most dangerous of all natural catastrophes in existence. Any musician that discovered its presence must report to the church. A Scepter ranked musician would then lead a hundred-man group to attack it. Of all of the living natural catastrophes, the Dark Mother was undeniably the representative. "But not all natural catastrophes are as annoying as the Dark Mother. In actuality, some dont even know what theyre doingmaybe they dont know why they exist either." After all this, the professors tone became more relaxed. "An example would the most harmless natural catastrophe. When we look up at night, well see it shining in the sky like a laurel" "The Star Ring?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but ask. "Thats a natural catastrophe too?" "Correct." The professor nodded and drew a map of stars on the blackboard. Using chalk, he drew a horizontal line from west to east. This was the celestial phenomenon known as Star Ring. Whenever there was a clear night sky, without clouds, people would be able to see the countless shining stars in the sky. There would also be something that looked like a glowing river formed by stars that ran from west to east across the sky. Some called it the Sky Track. In line with the Earths axis, it became an important coordinate. All astronomy and geology in the world had been based on this coordinate. It had hung in the night sky for thousands of years. Everyone thought that it was the reflection of a star cluster. But according to research, this phenomenon was due to an impossibly high concentration of aether. Throughout all of the years, few people realized that there was a river of aether flowing in the sky. It was a natural catastrophe, but barely anyone could sense its presence. Throughout history, it never did anything to mankind and never killed anyone. Of course, there were two musicians who grew up gazing at the Star Ring and invented a plane to fly into the air, but it exploded in mid-flight, but they did not count. What were their names? The Wright Brothers? For a time, many musicians passed on this joke The strange professor at the podium told the joke and laughed by himself, pounding the table for a long time. But no student found it funny at all, and there was only awkward silence. "Uh, that was to lighten the atmosphere. Dont mind it." He finally finished laughing and dragged a chair over to sit. He propped his elbows on his knees. He was smiling, but his eyes seemed icy, as if there was a sword in his hands. "I hope you all will listen carefully to what I am going to tell you next. If an idiot thinks that it doesnt matter, thats okay too. It wont be a big deal to me if they fail the class because of this. "If the Dark Mother is the source of all fear and disaster of mankind, then the next will be a natural enemy that all musicians must be wary of. Ever since the Dark Ages, it appeared with the fall of the first musician, and became the Churchs mortal enemy. For hundreds of years, it has bewitched countless musicians to fall into the darkness and become its talons." He paused and quietly said its name, "It is Satan Hyakume." -- As soon as he finished, a commotion sounded outside the door. Ben had appeared and knocked on the door, "Sir, if its okay, may we talk outside?" The professor huffed and rose. Waving at the students, he said, "Read your books and Ill be back later. And that guyleave some durians for me!" "" -- "Mr. Administrator, long time no see." At the staircase beside the classroom, Ben put a hand to his chest in greeting. "I didnt think that the representative of the Musician Union would come personally. My apologies for not coming to welcome you." "I remember youreMr. Ben, right?" The administrator glanced down at Ben. "Hurry up and say whatever you need to say. Im a bit upset at being called out during class." Ben flinched and his expression changed, but he could not say anything. Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice, "The Academy has just learned that the person from the Musician Union would replace the professor of the first lecture. The Union has some control over all musicians, but isnt doing so a disrespect to the Royal Academy of Music?" "Maxwell asked me to teach this class. If you didnt know, then thats your problem. You can talk to Maxwell about it," the administrator said coolly. "If you disrespect your principal, that is." "If its arranged by the principal, then thats a different matter." Despite his words, Ben looked like he had just swallowed a fly. His expression made his thoughts very clear. Anyone would be pissed if they met an opponent that always gave them a hard time. Especially those that had the principal on their side. Arguing with them in public was the worst choice. So he chose another method. Glancing in the direction of the classroom, he said, "But Mr. Administrator, isnt it better to teach them about Satan later in their studies?" "Mr. Ben, have you been staying in the greenhouse for too long?" The administrator glanced at Ben strangely. "When did musician become a fancy title to catch the attention of others at elite parties? If you decide to become a musician, then isnt it natural to step onto the battlefield? Isnt it natural to learn about your enemies?" Bens face was almost green from the direct taunt. Working hard to control his anger, he said, "To them, its still too early. And anyway, the secrecy level of Satan is not something they can understand." "The material that I arrange clearly has reason behind it. If you have any problems, you can go talk to your principal." The administrator was annoyed. "Did you call me out just to talk about this stuff? Im going back. You can go do whatever you need to. When did musicians turn into this, plotting against each other all day" Face changing between green and white, Ben suddenly reached out to stop the administrator. "What do you want?" The administrator glanced at him. "Actually, Im not the one who called you out." Ben unwillingly let go and looked upward. "Today is the first day of class. An esteemed guest came to observe the new musicians for the Queen. He saw your class and wanted to catch up with you." "Oh?" The administrator thought for a moment and suddenly glanced at him, chuckling. "So thats how it isno wonder you sound so jealous. I stole the chance to shine from you." Ben turned around wordlessly and guided him. 60 Good Student, Bad Studen In the room above the amphitheater classrooms glass dome, one could see the entire classroom by glancing down. The administrator pushed the door open and gazed around. Seeing the man sitting in the center, he finally understood. "I was wondering who it could be to make them all so anxious that even I was scared." Accompanied by many teachers, the middle-aged man with salt-and-pepper hair sat on the sofa. Holding onto a cane, he studied the classroom. Sensing the administrator, he raised his head and chuckled. "Thats a bit of an exaggeration, Mr. Administrator." He shook his head. "I am just Her Majestys messenger. If there is anything to bow before, it should be her prestige." "Haha, you saying this makes me feel ashamed." The administrator pulled over a chair and sat down carelessly, ignoring the furrowed brows of the elite musicians nearby. "If Anglos guardian and modern Lancelot dont count as high-class, then wont those who pride themselves off of their bloodline be just like the rednecks from downtown?" Lancelot grew pale. In a helpless tone, he said, "Long time no see. Mr. Administrator is still so ruthless with his words." "I cant help my mouth." He shrugged. Lancelot shook his head. Without replying, he gazed down at the classroom. "What do you think about these kids?" "Look at you. They are Anglos future. Theyre no longer kids the moment they step into this school. But since theyre not kids, and also not adults, they still have the special right to be na?ve. Sometimes, these special rights can be annoying." "Wasnt everyone like that?" Lancelot laughed. "Oh, right." The administrator nodded. "As for specifics, theyre okay. Theres one that Im confident in." "Oh? Let me guess who it is." Lancelot lowered his head and looked around. His gaze fell on Charles. "Is it the brave one who is eating fruit in the classroom?" "Theres nothing brave about him. He just doesnt have shame." The administrator sighed. "Its the one next to him wit the very obvious white hair." "The little girl?" Lancelot looked at Bai Xi. Seeing her eyes, he froze. After a long time, he sighed in awe. "The girl with eyes like a lion. But she was making paper balls the entire time and didnt listen to what you were talking about." "Bah, are you playing with me?" The administrator rolled his eyes. "You know who Im talking about." Lancelot stayed quiet and shook his head slowly. "Of all the students, there is the naturally qualified Adrian, the uncontrollable and proud girl, and a shameless foodie who no one can deal with. There are many excellent elite students and ambitious commoners" he said. "The one you have your eyes on doesnt stand out at all." "Thats why youre not a good teacher," the administrator sighed. "Oh? Please explain." "For a so-called teacher, once you start class, you shouldnt care whos sitting before the podium. Theyre just idiots who dont understand anything. You dont have to care about them because even a smart idiot is still an idiot. But unfortunately, your job is to make these idiots less idiotic. "So thats what you have to work toward. Bias should not even exist in a teachers dictionary. If you like a student more, its because they cause less trouble." With that he looked over at Lancelot. "You say that teaching is so troublesome. If there is a student that doesnt give me trouble and makes me happy, why shouldnt I like him?" Lancelot did not answer. He watched the classroom as conversations started. His gaze landed on the boy next to the window in the second to last row. After a long time, he shook his head. "To be honest, I dont see it." "Thats because you havent stood in front of him, but its like that during class. We all need to face each other and look at each others eyes, like the etiquette before a fight. But the world changes too quickly. Theyre all used to private lessons and they can ask the teacher whenever they have questions. In the end, they forget the basic rules of a class." The administrator pointed at the classroom below them. "Look at those kids. Theyre making paper balls, sleeping, whispering, spacing out while staring at the board, and that Adrian kid is playing with his fingers. "Those that are a little better will nod, but wont remember anything you say, like the Scotland Yard taking notes. And that guy is just eating. He doesnt even care about the professors feelings or stomach! "In the entire classroom, theres only one person who watches you, and listens to you lecture. Only one person whose eyes say God, Im so happy to be in class. How could I not like him?" Lancelot studied him. "Is that the truth or an excuse?" "Guess." The administrator shrugged and chuckled jokingly. In the awkward silence, a huge boom came from the classroom below. Everyone looked down, all stunned by the sudden chaos. "No way. Do they have to be so dramatic on the first day?" -- -- Five minutes ago the classroom was silent. Ye Qingxuan flipped through the thick textbook, reading quietly. "What are you looking at? Youre so studious." In the silence, he felt someone stand beside him and knock on his table. "Your attitude is pretty good, but can you even read all the words? Do you need me to teach you?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows and closed the book. Without him realizing, that red-haired youth and his friends had kicked out the people in the row and stood before his table. Edmund looked down at the white-haired youth, his eyes taunting. But Ye Qingxuan did not reply and simply looked back at him. Taken aback, Edmund could not help but glance over at his original seat. Banner was expressionless, so his own features twisted, suddenly becoming menacing. "I heard you entered the examination center after someone broke your leg." He bent over to look at Ye Qingxuan and asked quietly, "Let me guess, you stole someones dog food, right?" Crash! Bai Xi threw the fruit in her hand at the chair and stood up, glaring at him. "Hey, watch your mouth. Did you eat breakfast in the bathroom?" The little girl cracked her knuckles. "Say one more word and watch out for your teeth." "What, you wanna fight?" Edmund glanced at her, shaking his head and laughing coldly. "The Royal Academy of Music isnt for people like you. There are rules here, you know?" Saying that, he squeezed the fat on his cheeks, face full of disdain. "If you touch me, the school board will take you back to the sewer downtown." Bai Xi did not reply. She chewed on her lips and stayed silent. The little girl was already angry, and her eyes turned dangerous. Usually in situations like this, she would not say anything else, and would take out her small knife. But this time she was disappointed because Ye Qingxuan still did not have any reaction. He was silent the entire time, looking down at the pamphlet he took out from his backpack. His eyes were focused and serious as if he could not hear anything. Beside him Charles chewed on his last two oranges with curiosity, looking back and forth in confusion. In the end, his eyes landed on Edmund. The strange gaze pissed Edmund off. "And you, what are you looking at? Get out before I make you regret it!" Charles froze and seemed to hesitate. But he threw away the orange peel and escaped with his head down. Seeing how he caved in without a word, Edmund and his friends laughed loudly. Bai Xis expression became even more disappointed. She shot at his backside, "I thought wrongly of you." "Yeah, why are you with these two failures? Its such a waste for your pretty face" Edmund squinted as he studied her face and reached out. Bai Xi glared at his hand, and her cold eyes made him freeze before retracting his hand. "I heard that she and the sissy havent even paid the tuition yet. I really dont know how they got in." Someone beside Edmund laughed. "If I was the academy, Id definitely kick these rednecks out" Hearing these words, Edmund became even braver. "You cant even pay the tuition? Do you want me to lend you money?" He took out a bulging money pouch and swung it in front of Bai Xi. Looking at her face, he could not help but swallow his drool. His eyes burning, he whispered, "Come find me tonight and Ill help you have funThen you can have as much money as you want." Ye Qingxuan remained silent. He flipped through the pamphlet furiously, but his eyes never left the pages. Edmund suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if he had used all his strength to punch but hit nothing, as if his opponent had not even budged. From afar, he could feel Banners eyes grow cold. Even more fiercely, he slammed his palm onto Ye Qingxuans table. "Hey, failure, are you pretending to be a mute? Cant talk?" "Hes reading," someone mocked. "The lower class is like this. They cant do anything other than read. They probably cant talk either." "What is he doing?" Someone else reached over and lifted the pamphlet in Ye Qingxuans hands. Seeing the emblazoned words, he could not help but snort. "Student guidelines?" Ye Qingxuan finally closed the book and let out a long breath. Seeing him pretend, Edmund wanted to laugh. He patted Ye Qingxuans face. "What? Is there some amazing story in the student guidelines? You were so into it." "No, I was just trying to confirm something strange," Ye Qingxuan replied quietly as he reached behind Edmund. In that silent moment, someone put a heavy thing in his hand. 61 Idio "No, I was just trying to confirm something strange," Ye Qingxuan replied quietly as he reached behind Edmund. In that silent moment, someone put a heavy thing in his hand. Edmund was stunned. He rubbed his eyes, trying to see the thing in Ye Qingxuans hands more clearly. It looked familiar, like a brick taken from the wall. It was blue-gray with sharp ridges. It fit perfectly in Yes palm and had substantial weight. In his ear came the youths voice, "I couldnt believe it at first, but" Immediately the thing started moving. It rose from his palm and sliced through the air in a powerful and beautiful arc. It was suddenly grasped in a stone-like hand that dropped from the sky. For a moment, time was at a standstill to everyone. They watched as Ye Qingxuan rose, and pushing off from the table, he raised his hand and the brick. He hurled it forward. As it whistled through the air, the ridges of the gray brick and its shadow grew bigger in Edmunds eyes. It grew bigger and bigger, until it took up his entire eye. Boom! There was a muted sound, and then the gray brick was deeply buried in the boys fat face. It left a perfect rectangular mark. Following it was a force that had been built up and unleashed full power on his face. Under the dazed gazes, Edmunds body moved backwards. He flew past the second row and crashed into the students in the first row. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan loosened the uniforms annoying tie and let out a long breath. Quietly, he said in awe, "I cant believe the rules dont include punishment for fights!" He stood on the table and looked down at the gaping elite boys. There was a strand of red on the gray brick. Two drops of blood landed on the floor and expensive table. Laying on the broken pieces of the table, Edmund finally started screaming while rolling on the ground. "My face, my face!" He clutched his flattened nose. His already fat face had swelled with a purple bruise. The tears from the pain would not stop falling either. "Kill him! Kill him for me!" he yelled at his friends. "That b*stard dared to hit me! He needs to pay!" -- On the side, Bai Xi looked at Charles, who had returned. That b*stard had come back from somewhere with a brick, a bottle of alcohol, and two door bolts. He had kept another brick for himself, but Ye Qingxuan took it. So now he only had half a bottle of brandy. Seeing how Ye Qingxuan fought, Charles could not help but whistle. "Oh, so you didnt really run away." Bai Xi patted his shoulder in praise. "I was wrong about you." "Please, ask the upperclassmen and see when I ever ran away from a fight!" Charles shoved a bolt into her hands. Like a ruffian, he proclaimed, "You think that the title of the academys most attractive boy just fell from the sky? No, I won it through fights! Just watch for my killer move later!" He jumped into the messy fight with the door bolt in hand before he even finished talking. He was almost mistaken by Ye Qingxuan as a sneak attack and was hit with a backhand brick. "Oh crap, junior, its me! Its me Ah, why are you so deadly?" -- The entire classroom was thrown into chaos. Bai Xi used her short height to her advantage and made successful sneak attacks. But it was a little worse for Ye Qingxuan. Other than the first two moves, the trained elites easily saw that he did not fight often and was taken down. After Charles thought for a moment, he lay down on the ground and screamed, "Help! elites are beating people up!" The skinny guy chasing him was confused. He had just been hit by Charless bottle, but before he could even react, Charles was on the floor. Had he finally become his familys knight and learned the so-called nerve reflect, not having to fear sneak attacks anymore? "Wheres the justice? Elites are killing people!" On the ground, Charles poured red ink onto himself and rolled around. "My leg! My leg! I cant feel my leg Oh God, Im paralyzed. Save me. I want to die!" "Hey, idiot, thats your killer move?" Bai Xi suddenly did not have the brainpower to process any of this. She just wanted to cover her face and pretend she did not know him. More and more people were dragged into the messy fight. With more students getting hurt accidentally, this strange conflict grew in size. The commoners were already upset that the elites purposely picked on others today. And the brash elites were not the type to swallow their anger. They rolled up their sleeves and jumped in. No one expected the first lesson on the first day of school to turn into a group fight. "This is an accident, Sir. An accident!" Gritting his teeth and face ashen, Ben explained to Lancelot in the room above the classroom, "Sir, two black sheep were causing troubleThe commoners are always so vulgar! I will lock them up later." Lancelots expression was still calm as he gazed down at the chaos. He only shook his head. "They are just a group of young people. Its good to have so much energy." But the dissatisfaction in his voice was enough to make Ben want to explode. The first lesson had been planned so carefully to show to the Queens messenger. But it had been ruined by the principal for no reason, and now this type of thing happened. It was like pouring a bucket of stinging medicine into his eyes! "Amazing, this makes me reminisce my childhood." The administrator whistled, satisfaction all over his face. "Group fights are a part of learning too." But then came a sound that changed everything. Someone was communicating with the aether and chanting runes! "This isgetting big." Shock flashed past the administrators eyes. -- The mess in the classroom was still chaotic. No one noticed that Edmund had climbed up. With difficulty he stood up, supported by the wall. He glared at Ye Qingxuans backside with his swollen eyes full of murderous intent. "You d*mnedstreet scum!" He spat out a broken tooth, his bruised face full of hate. "You angered me first!" Opening his mouth, he began chanting a standard note. The obscure voice was like icicles bumping into each other. They overlapped in the air and turned into the crisp shattering of porcelain. The first to react was Charles. He turned around in shock and stared in Edmunds direction. He knew this string of standard notes. The melody was the sign of the School of Modifications standard rune Frost! Unlike the other schools, even the most basic of Modification runes were unbelievably powerful. Extraction was targeted toward metals. If it was placed on a human, it could deplete half of ones bodys liquid in an instant. Frost was targeted at temperature, and if modified onto ones limbs, it would turn into assassins favorite technique: Frozen Touch. Just a touch was enough to kill a large area of skin cells. If it reached a vital organthe consequences were frightening. But the short chant was already over. He did not even have the chance to interrupt it. There seemed to be sunlight on Edmunds hand, radiating coldness, as if he had a thin silk glove on. The designs on the layers of frost were chilling. "Use your next life to repent!" he growled and charged toward Ye Qingxuan, his hand raised toward his face. Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw Edmunds fierce expression. He suddenly understood something and could not help but laugh. "Idiot" In that last moment, he sighed, "Idiot!" Banner, observing coldly from the side, could not help but mutter, "Idiot." Above the classroom, the administrator laughed while clutching his belly. -- Under everyones shocked eyes, the Frozen Touch covered Ye Qingxuans face. The entangled frost designs glowed immediately. In the silence, someone yelped, afraid to watch. But Edmund froze. Because the aether suddenly disappeared in that moment! He looked at his hand in shock, not understanding what had happened. He saw that familiar gray brick appear in his vision again. It grew bigger, bigger and biggerBang! With a wild roundabout, a broken piece of brick flew at Edmund and crashed onto the floor. In the suffocating silence, Ye Qingxuan tossed the other half of the brick. Shaking his head, he sighed. "The entire academy is enveloped with Requiem. Other than special practice rooms, not even Resonance Musicians have the power to make any effect. This is clearly said clearly in the student handbook. Why dont you read it?" "Kill him! Kill him!" Humiliated, Edmund lay on the ground, screaming in a choked voice. "Kill him! Why arent you movingThe Rossi family wont let you get away with this! My brother wont let you get away with this!" Ye Qingxuan froze. "You mean there are more idiots like you?" "You wanna die?!" Edmund tried to crawl over and tackle him in anger. "Enough!" Ben roared outside the door. The chaotic classroom fell silent instantly. Everyone stopped reflexively and turned to see the angry Ben, feeling unsettled. "Someone come take Edmund to the doctors office." Ben looked at the youth on the floor, and commanded a few students to take him away. Looking at the blood on the floor, he glared at Ye Qingxuan. "Such a young age and already so cruel to your classmate. How did you pass the character test?" 62 You’re Dead "Such a young age and already so cruel to your classmate. How did you pass the Character Test?" "I dont know. Maybe there was a test, but then it was changed into an observation," Ye Qingxuan replied pointedly. Ye Qingxuan had been angry ever since he discovered this guys true nature, and heard his professor explain the tricks they used during the test. There was not any reason for him to have a good attitude now either. "Talking back to me?" Bens expression changed. "It seems that other than leading group fights, breaking school rules, and beating schoolmates, I should also write you up for disrespecting elders!" Bai Xi could not take it anymore. "Hey, are you blind? Clearly it was that fatty who started it!" "I will take away three points for vulgar language." Ben glanced at her. "What School are you from?" "School of Revelation! Try telling my teacher there!" Without hesitation, Bai Xi put all the blame on Edmunds School. "Im telling you, our School isnt afraid of anything! If you dare to pick on us, my professor will teach you a lesson!" Just as Ben was about to burst in anger, Ye Qingxuans annoyingly calm voice sounded. "Professor, I dont know about group fights, but Im confused why you said I broke school rules." Saying this, he picked up the student handbook stained with Edmunds blood. He pointed out to Ben, "There are more than four-hundred school rules, from the dress code to forbidden drugs. I memorized everything, but I dont know which rule I broke." Ben froze and suddenly wanted to laugh. There were more than four-hundred school rules, with more than seventy thousand words. He memorized it all? It was only the first day of school! Who was he kidding? Ben was about to begin arguing, but when saw the hidden anticipation in the youths eyes, his voice died. A strange feeling told him that this guy might have really memorized it all His mouth opened and close, but he decided not to think into it anymore. Unfazed, he shook his head. "Youre being irrational. If you didnt hit him, then what happened to Edmund?" "Professor, Edmund fell by himself," someone pretending to be dead on the ground suddenly said, scaring everyone. "Hey, that guy from music theory, youre stepping on my hand, can you move? Yeah, you" When the crowd quickly dispersed, a dusty Charles finally stood up. He smoothed his messy hair and smiled his signature sunlight smile, bright like a flower. "I personally saw him fall by himselfIf you dont believe me, you can ask around." "Right, I saw it too." "He fell." Some students who could not stand the injustice whispered. The low murmur spread through the crowd. Hearing the words, Bens expression was cold enough to turn to ice. If it were any other time, he would throw all of them into the correction center. But there was an esteemed guest behind him, and the situation he wanted to solve quickly was getting even more out of hand. The continuous whispers made him angrier and angrier. "Enough! Silence!" Gritting his teeth, he stared coldly at Ye Qingxuan. "Youre Abrahams student now? Is this how he taught you to speak to professors?" "I only know that the gods tell me to be just and fight against injustice." Ye Qingxuan twisted his mouth into a safe smile, revealing eight teeth, no more and no less. Even the strictest worker at the Church would not be able to find any flaws. Before Bens hateful eyes, he transitioned into a priestly state, and made the sign of the holy emblem across his chest. Softly, he chanted, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord, your God, will be with you wherever you go." Then he closed his mouth, waiting for Ben to continue reprimanding him. He would then pull the topic closer to religion, where he could use his rich experience to win. He must use this topic! Otherwise, the hundreds of hymns he had memorized would go to waste! Beside him, Bai Xi was unimpressed. She muttered under her breath, "You told me yesterday that theres no point in winning a word fight." "Junior sister, you dont understand," Charles chuckled. "Theres no point, but it also doesnt hurt" "Go die! Im the senior sister! Ben had not felt this horrible in a long time. He wanted to just communicate with aether and force this student out of the Academy, but he also feared the recommendation letter that supported him. Ben did not know how to end this. The continuous attacks had destroyed all his dignity. At this time, a low voice that only he could hear sounded in his ear. "The kids are just fighting. Just let them be." He turned around in shock and saw the calm Lancelot standing apart from the crowd. Lancelot just nodded and looked away. Putting on his hat, he said something to the administrator and turned to leave. "Sir, Sir" Ben froze and glared at Ye Qingxuan and his friends. "The Academy will not allow any more of this foolery." Done speaking, he turned around and tried to catch up. -- And so the giant fight between commoners and elites, started by two youths, ended temporarily. But without doubt, it had planted the seed for more conflicts. Within the next month, challenges and fights between the musician faction and noble faction never stopped. But that was an issue for later. After Ben left, Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh of relief and turned to high five Charles in celebration. Ignoring Bai Xis raised hand, he patted her head, getting a roll of the eye and a kick in return. "Junior, I didnt expect you to be so good in fights. Youre a good man!" Charles squeezed his shoulder in praise. "After I get old, you can help me fight off the debtors." "Brother, can you just get away?" "I can leave, but Junior, you cant just not care about my livelihood." Charles latched onto him, grabbing his shoulder. "Come, Ill take you two to lunch!" "Dont lead us!" Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi exclaimed. "What are you scared of? I know the campus much better than you" "Get to the back and shut up!" "" "This isnt over yet. Dont get so happy." Just as they were getting ready to leave, an eerie voice sounded from the entrance. When Bai Xi saw that it was Edmunds sidekick, her face fell. "What, you want to get hit some more?" As she said this, she raised her fists. Though he had just been insulted by Bai Xi, Barts expression changed dramatically before calming down. Coldly scoffing, he said, "Dont forget! The Academy might not forbid fights, but they also allow the students to learn from each other! In one week will be the selections for the prime student of the class. The aether will be allowed in the practice rooms, and if Edmund challenges youyoure dead meat." Ignoring him, Ye Qingxuan walked past him, leaving his words behind. "If he can get up, then let him come." Rooted to his spot, the elite student froze, his face turned ugly. Ye Qingxuan never even looked at him. -- In the evening, a carriage pulled by a black stallion stopped in a secluded area of the city. This was the quietest place in the citys second ring. There were large trees on both sides of the road, and no sign of any urban life. As the heavy gate opened slowly, the carriage entered the yard. Before the door, the driver opened the carriage door respectfully. A slightly aged man stepped down. The white-haired housekeeper straightened his tie and came forward to welcome him. Sensing the fatigue in his masters eyes, he did not say anything and ordered servants to tell the kitchen to add a cup of brandy after dinner. "Where is the Miss?" All of Lancelots men entered the hall and walked toward the library. "She hasnt returned from knight practice," the housekeeper replied quietly. "Shall we call her back for dinner with you?" "No need. Theres no need for dinner either. I have no appetite." Lancelot pushed open the librarys door. The housekeeper stayed outside rather than following inside. He felt that his master needed a quiet space, but did not know what had happened that made Lancelot so depressed. Lancelots footsteps paused before the door. He seemed to be pondering something. After a while he turned around. "Tell Emma to come see me." "Emma?" The housekeeper froze, but quickly realized that he had acted out of conduct. Lowering his head, he replied, "Yes sir." Called forth by the Master, the unsettled old servant pushed open the door five minutes later. The library was dark, with only one candle lit, illuminating the man on the sofa. He seemed to be asleep, but when Emma entered, he opened his eyes. He pointed at the seat before him, telling her to sit. "Master, do you need anything?" Emma asked after sitting. "Tell me again, Emma." Lancelot leaned back in the sofa, exhausted. "Tell me what happened when you met that kid on the street." Emma froze. "Are you speaking of" Hesitating, she said the forbidden word, "Young Master?" -- -- In the second floor dorm of the Music Historys building, Charles gazed up at the sky and sighed. "Junior, why do I suddenly think that youre seriously dead?" "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan, reading on the bottom bunk, looked up. "Dont you know that elites music education is at least five years ahead of commoner musicians?" Charles looked at him with exasperation. "They have a bunch of drugs, research literature, and expensive personal tutors. Theyre usually official apprentices by the time they enter the academy. Ive heard that Banner Adrian has already gotten to the rhythm level! If they want to fight with fists, you can beat them with some dirty tricks. But if its a fight between musicians, what can you do? Its all my fault for not stopping you earlier." Charles sighed, burying his face in his hands. "What are we going to do? Professor will kill me if he finds out!" "Is the difference really that big? You make it sound like Im definitely going to die" "Isnt that the case? Im sure they already know at least ten runes very well. Youve just entered the academy. How many do you know?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He counted with his fingers and replied seriously, "I think I only know one!" Hearing this, Charles almost fell from the bed. "Then youre definitely dead. Yezi, youre dead, you know? From Heaven to Hell, no one can save you!" 63 What a Musician Is The hot afternoon sun passed through the layers of ivy surrounding the window, shining into the library. Outside the window, a lazy golden dog laid on the porch, sunbathing and sleeping. Beside it, Bai Xi earnestly combed its fur, then messed it up again as Old Phil slept. Inside the library, Charles stood in the corner crying without tears. With a bucket of water in each hand, and a thick "Analysis of the Samnium Culture: Volume I" on his head, he stood attentively against the wall. "Dont space out. Your posture is wrong!" With a rarely seen strictness, Abraham whacked Charles knees. "What did I tell you? Keep your knees together. Did you not eat? Keep this position for two hours. Youll start over if you move" Charles cried, "Junior, come save me!" Ye Qingxuan sighed and tried again. "Professor, it really isnt his fault. Its all because of me." "A juniors mistake is always because of his seniors wrongdoings." Abraham shook his head. "Charles has been like this for a long time. It didnt matter before, but now he should act like a senior." "Okay, lets ignore him and start our class." Abraham gestured at the chair before the messy table, and told Ye Qingxuan to sit. "I had planned on letting you read some books first and learn about the theories. But it seems that we dont have that much time now." As he spoke, he climbed up the ladder to take an old book from the shelf and placed it on the table. Using his metal hand, he flipped it open. This seemingly ancient library had all types of books scattered about. The air was filled with the scent of ink and paper, but nothing was moldy or damp. Someone had worked hard at dehumidifying the library. Other than the three walls filled with heavy books, the ground was also covered with books, and tea cups. There were notes strewn over the table too. It was obvious that Abraham did not organize often. Then again, anyone would become clumsy if their right hand had been turned to metal. This was Abrahams own office. After Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi entered the school, it became their classroom too. There would at least be enough room if it was organized a bit more. "First, lets define what it means to be a Musician." Abraham wrote some words with chalk. There were Samnite words, Asgard runes, the previous version of the lingua franca, and some Latin words. "In the earliest Samnite language, musician meant conveyer of missions. In the Rune language family, it became Vanaheim. In their belief, the world was divided into nine levels. Asgard was where the gods lived. Vanaheims settled in the Yingling Temple, fighting with demons. They would die at night and be reborn in the morning. They were immortal gods to fight for eternity. "Vanaheim has many meanings, including God,power,sorcerer and death. They saw musicians as fated to die. One could not defy this fate. It was also a glory that should not be defied. It was worth it to die in battle. "In the long-gone Romulus, musician was the same word as messenger because they also had the duty of sending commands. Though musicians were very powerful in their descriptions, they werent deities and didnt have powers. "They referred to musicians as Dark Dukes. They would be the messenger during a wedding and go between the two families for the groom. He would also participate in the Torch Sacrifice of the families. In the end, he would act as the brides father and chase her out of the home. He was also the grooms father and accepted the girl. They had the power to break others familial relationships, but were also responsible for finding homes for those without a family. From the perspective of the society, they werent very high up. They were more like a government official and were a part of the entire nation "In the lingua franca, the definition of musician is the simplest, but also the most unclear. If you look at its root, its created from two roots. Put together, it means controller of aether." Abraham paused here, but heard the youth mumbling to himself. "Aether is the messenger, bringing the descendants of the rebels back to the Originator" The words left Ye Qingxuans mouth without him realizing. He had suddenly remembered this phrase, but he did not know where he heard it from. It just felt very familiar. Abraham was stunned. He looked at Ye Qingxuan, as if he suddenly did not know him. After a long time, he said softly, "Ye, your comprehension is higher than I thought. Yes, musician means messenger of the Originator." -- It was undeniable that, in many cultures, there were many types of legends. But in all of these legends, there was something like the Originator. Some myths told that the world was first an insignificant dot in the universe. But after who knows how long, the dot exploded, and became the vortex known as the Originator. From there came four basic elements, which created the world. According to other legends, everything was dark at first. God lived in the Originator. He said he wanted light, and so aether came into existence. The Indians believed that the Originator was a sea. In the sea was a great tortoise, and on the tortoise were four elephants. On the elephants was a disc-shaped world. Musicians were the messengers that the elephant gods chose. But no matter what legend, there was one similarity: the Originator was the source of all aether, the core of all mystery, the assembler of all meaning andthe site of all power! Countless musicians through history had searched tirelessly for the Originator, hoping to enter it. Apparently, an Indian prince was willing to abandon his own country to become a musician. After traveling for more than ten years, he meditated under a sycamore tree for seven days, defeated multiple natural catastrophes, and finally entered the Originator. But there were too many legends. Ye Qingxuan could make up a few with just his creativity. He had once thought that the world was created from a bowl of noodles. Of course, that had been when he was starving. In this world, the only place that had evidence of deities was in the sacred city. It was a power that was enough to reverse common knowledge, and the worldeven death. Seven days after the first pope died, he was reborn under everyones eyes, and entered Heaven. From then on, every pope would inherit the divine power under the witness of the cardinals. They would be pierced through the heart at the coronation ceremony, and be reborn in the halo of the holy temple. But these were just things that Ye Qingxuan had heard of. He thought that these were probably rumors. But he could not ask the priest about these things. But the Originators significance toward the musicians of the world was undeniable. "Both mankind and musicians have kept trying to research the secrets of the Originator since the Dark Ages. The Nine Levels of Musicians were created after countless investigations and inductions. But that was the standard result after clashes and discussions between all of the different schools." Abraham quickly scribbled something on the blackboard. "The most important to you right now are the first three levels." -- The so-called Nine Levels of Musicians included apprentice level, rhythm level, musician level, resonance level, and others. For a student, the first three were the most important. After all, most musicians in the world could not move past the first three levels. For a musician, the most basic thing was the interaction between mankind and aether. To be able to sense the aether and use it to create a note counted as the first stepthe apprentice level. Those who were in that level would learn new notes, and start researching how to sing the right syllables. It was something that everyone had to do because everyone was different. Whether it was the voice, habits, or key, there were slight differences. And so the experiences of others could only be used as a model. The key part could only be achieved through personal trial and error. This was also why Wolf Flute had thought that Ye Qingxuan could never become a musician. Adding that to the fact that he could not sense the aether, it would have been impossible for Ye to complete the first level. Even if he made it past somehow, he would be a horrible musician who would accidentally kill himself. If an apprentice was able to learn hymns with multiple notes and perform a piece well, he could enter the next level. It was the step that decided a musicians futurethe rhythm level. -- If the first apprentice level was just accumulation, then the second step required decisions. After using multiple notes, and performing a short piece of music without help, the apprentice would choose a complete piece under the guidance of his professor to research and analyze. But before that, he must make an important decision based on his performance and experience as an apprentice. The result would decide his future path. No one could fully learn everything, so some things must be abandoned. Once an apprentice entered the second level, he would choose the school and specialization he was best at. All seven schools were enough for one to study for their entire life. To make learning more efficient at the Royal Academy of Music, this choice was put in the first step. The student could not choose the school; instead, the representative from each school chose their students. This process lessened the trouble. After the accumulation of experience in the first level, the students could receive professional guidance immediately after entering the second level. The owner of the clock shop, Sir Hermes, scoffed at this. "Choosing your own path after deep research cannot be compared with being chosen for mass production from the beginning? The first creates artists. The latter is just a group of average smiths. It is so crude" It had only been a few moments, but Ye Qingxuan could tell that Hermes disliked the Royal Academy of Music. 64 Equal Temperamen During the research of the rhythm level, a student no longer had to deal with single runes, but with an entirely new and much more difficult structure, syllables, created by combined notes! The effect was entirely different from single notes. Whether it was from the level of cohesiveness, or its effect, the same amount of separate notes could not even be compared to a measure. A measure was more stable and complete, a step closer to systematization. The ultimate goal of this level was for the student to combine several measures through research and create something whole. At that point, the measures would transform into a complete musical piece with its own life and energy. This marked the start of the third levelthe true musician level -- One could only move on from being a student to a true musician recognized by the Musician Union and the sacred city after they reached the musician level. Most musicians were at this level. Before this level, everyone else would only be seen as students, or seeds of musicians. Only those that had reached the third level were seen as truly useful because at this level, musicians no longer needed to manipulate aether for rushed live performances. They could store their musical scores into an instrument beforehand, and activate them using their thought. The tight structure of music scores meant that they were extremely independent. Even if they were taken out, they would not scatter quickly. Instead, they could be stored in another medium. Even a simple measure could set it off. The danger of musicians also sharply increased at this level. As long as they had stored the correct music sheet, a musician would be able to fight no matter what. At the musician level, a good instrument could be the reason behind life or death in a battle. This was why the Rain Artist had been so furious when he discovered that his instrument had been stolen. As for Wolf Flute, all of the music sheets that he used in his battles were stored beforehand. During a battle, each musicians instrument would bear the brunt for them. Otherwise, Rain Artists instrument would not have exploded so easily. Thus, a good instrument was like an assassins sword or a poets penit was a musicians life. -- "But for you, the musician level is still a bit far away. Youll spend a lot of time in the apprentice level." Abraham did not continue, yet Ye Qingxuan rubbed his hands excitedly. "Professor, when will you teach me the music notes?" Ye Qingxuan fluttered his lashes in anticipation. "Lets start now." Abraham closed the old book in his hands and knocked Ye Qingxuans head three times. Shaking his head, he sighed. "Professor, I understand!" After pondering, Ye Qingxuans expression hardened. He stood up and said seriously, "I wont disappoint you." "Huh, wait! Dont go yet, I didnt even say anything yet!" Abraham looked at him, stunned. "What do you understand?" "Did I misunderstand?" Ye Qingxuan sat back down awkwardly. "Doesnt closing your book mean that you wont teach me so easily? Hitting me three times means that I should come here at midnight to wait quietly. Shaking your head means that this path is difficult and I should prepare myself" Not knowing what to say, Abraham could only stare up at the sky and sigh. "Youve only been here for three days. Why is your imagination wilder than Charles? I just wanted you to stop being so impatient." He paused and scratched his head. "Let me finish what Im saying. Before officially teaching you runes, you must take a vow." "A vow?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "Vow that I dont tell outsiders about our secrets? I understand. Lets go!" "Its not that simple." Abraham stood up in the silence. Outside the window, the wind quieted down. -- "These are the three vows set by the Three Kings. All musicians must follow them, even if its just in theory." The time-weathered man stood before Ye Qingxuan. Gazing down, he reached out a hand and pressed down on the youths forehead. "It has become just a superficial ceremony in many places now, but I hope you can complete it seriously. So, I will treat it seriously as well." Instantly, all light dimmed. The noise and bird calls outside the window disappeared as well. Ye Qingxuans pupils contracted automatically. All was quiet. In the silence, he seemed to be able to hear his own breathing. The wind entered his lungs, left through his mouth and nose, and reverberated in his body, creating deep vibrations. Abraham stood before the light so that Ye Qingxuan could not see his face clearly. In the sound of the breathing, a faint but delicate murmur came from afar. The sound was too vague, almost like a hallucination. It was as if countless souls were watching them from the darkness. "Calm your mind," said the hoarse voice. And so Ye Qingxuans mind calmed. Abrahams hand pressed against his forehead. It was the metal hand, but it was not scary like a sword or dagger. His shadow protected the youth, blocking the eyes in the light, and the souls in the dark. "Let us begin. Listen to the voices," he said quietly. "Do not let the pioneers pace for too long." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. -- Abrahams hymn began in the silence. It seemed to come from afar, but it reverberated in Ye Qingxuans ear. There was an undercurrent of metal and stone scraping, as if wind was scraping rusted metal. Formless awe filled the youths mind. He heard low rumblings like thunder. It was the sound of hundreds of voices chanting in unison. The voices guided his will, forcing him to join them, speaking with Abraham. The silence was shattered. Ye Qingxuans voice became sharp like a blade, carving the vow in his fate and soul. "Obey fate and all life until death. "Follow restrictions, as human ability is limited. "Revere the aether; only the Originator is eternal." When the last chant ended, all that remained was the last echo of the metallic vibrations dissipating in the air. The youth suddenly woke up from the trance. He did not know when he began to sweat. In his extreme fatigue, he heard Abraham murmur, "Revere the aether." "Revere the aether," he replied tiredly with eyes closed. "Rest for a bit," his professor said. "I will teach you the first class for all musicians in two hoursEqual Temperament." -- Two hours later, when Ye Qingxuan was brought back to reality, he found the library packed. It had already been a tight squeeze with piles of books. Now, not only was Charles still standing in punishment before the table, Bai Xi had heard that there was something fun happening and came back from playing outside. Even Old Phil came to check it out. "What are we waiting for? Hurry up and start!" Charles rubbed his hands in excitement. "Senior, you stepped on my foot," Ye Qingxuan said dryly. "Ah, so sorry, sorryOw! Pain, pain, pain! Old Phil, let go, let go, it was an accident, Im sorry!" The idiot had stepped on Old Phil too. "Stop fooling around! Were in class!" Bai Xi slammed her hands on the table. The room became quiet instantly. But the problem was, she was the least serious one. There were still two apples in her hand that she stole from somewhere, and she was having a great time munching on them. Ye Qingxuan was pushed to the back by two excited humans and one dog. His chair had been taken over by Bai Xi too. He could only sit on the floor and sigh. "This is my class. What are you guys doing here? Bai Xi, didnt you say youre just here to play, not learn? And Senior, youre almost graduating. Why are you here?" "You learn something new whenever you review. Im here to review the basics." Charles pulled out a cluster of bananas from somewhere and started eating. "Its so much fun to be in class!" Bai Xis face was full of excitement. She was here only to watch the show. "Cousin, this is your first time. I have to witness it. Its so meaningful!" Old Phil barked. "" Not knowing how to reply, Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Abraham coughed and hit the old book in his hand. "Everyone, quiet down. Class is starting now." He paused. Seeing that everyone had quieted down, he nodded and showed Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi the booklet in his hand. "This is something that no Western musician can skip when entering the trade. It is the basics created by Mr. Bach, one of the Three Kings. We call it the Equal Temperament." "Oh, oh, I know!" Bai Xi raised her hand excitedly. "Its the same as the Pentatonic Theory from the East!" "Uh, maybe" Abraham said, a little embarrassed. "I dont know much about Eastern music theory." "Dont interrupt." Ye Qingxuan knocked Bai Xis head and sat up straighter. "Professor, please continue." -- Like Abraham had said, the Equal Temperament music score held undeniable importance in music history. The book seemed like shallow beginner material, but in the Dark Ages, mankind knew nothing about aether and musical notes. This books appearance was like a guiding star in the long night, illuminating all of the musicians futures. As everyone knew, music notes were the most basic tool to communicate with the aether. In a music score, every measure was an elaboration and structure of notes. The first musicians learned how to control aether by deciphering runes. Similarly, the deeper and more accurately they understood the runes, the better they could unleash its power. But in the Equal Temperament, Bach used forty-eight different music passages to give straightforward elaborations of forty-eight basic music notes. The forty-eight passages were simple, but the explanation of the runes was practically perfect. Going from shallow to deep, they established a music law. By fixing the notion of musicians, the law gave notes a new definition and categorization. At that time, the categorization of runes was revolutionary. Different from the "Pythagorean Tuning" and "Octave Interval," Bach directly created "Equal Temperament." Creating structure in chaos, it established a base of unprecedented size. Some even called it the start of the path to the Originator. Before that, all research was like scrambling in darkness. The birth of this musical score was the end of the Dark Ages and the beginning of mankinds golden erathe Renaissance. To a certain extent, Bachs position as the head of the Three Kings was established because of Equal Temperament. 65 First, There Must Be Ligh "The so-called runes are the aethers transcriptions of the worlds sounds." As Abraham wrote on the blackboard, he stated, "In all legends and myths, the beginning of mans history begins the same waythe birth of language. "The Asgard people believed that their ancestor Odin hung himself from Yggdrasil, the tree of truth, and sacrificed his own soul. That was how the world received its first languagethe Runes language. "In Sumerian myths, the wise man Prometheus helped mankind steal the secret of the godslanguage. Humans became stronger because of this, but Prometheus was thrown into Hell, forever drowning in the misery of the gods fury. "Its easy to see that language is the basis of all civilization and the source of all power. Voices and language allow humans to communicate with each other, and for musicians to control the aether. "The Churchs Bible says that mankind fell from the Garden of Eden because of their sin. They lost their first language and lost all power. But according to the Bible, the first humans spoke with the worlds voice. That language sounded like singing and held unimaginable power" Abraham turned toward Ye Qingxuan. "What does this make you think of?" Ye Qingxuan froze, and suddenly understood. "Musicians?" "Correct." Abraham nodded, his eyes flashing with light. "If my research proves correct, everyone had the power of musicians before mankind fell from the sky and entered the Dark Ages." "Devas," Bai Xi murmured. On the topic of his own research, Abraham started getting excited in front of the blackboard. He was practically dancing, and his usual stiff and quiet demeanor had vanished. "Ive always been researching the history of musicians, and the aether, and reading historical literature. If Im successful, maybe I can clear up the mystery of the Dark Ages and return the original nature of musicians." Abraham continued, "Where do humans come from? Is there still an Eden in the heavens? How did we fall to Earth? Andwhy are there natural catastrophes?" Ye Qingxuan was already in awe. Beside him, Charles patted his shoulder. "The Professor always gets excited when he starts talking about his research. Just smile. Here, have a banana!" "According to my research, the first written words were runes." At the blackboard, Abraham had finally reached the main point. "The purpose of all research is to find the original voice of the world and return to the Originator by deciphering runes." By that point, Bai Xi had already put her head down and fallen asleep. Abraham finally snapped back to reality and coughed awkwardly. "Lets start with the basic runes for todays first class." Ye Qingxuan quickly sat up straighter. -- "The first lesson is on the simplest runelight." Abraham picked up a piece of chalk and wrote a complex but clear ideograph on the blackboard. Beside it, he wrote nine syllables. "It is the most basic, but also the most widely used rune element. It can be grouped with others for various effects. "It is not only the basic rune for the School of Choir, but it is also important for the other schools. To my knowledge, there are over thirty uses. Let us start from the most commonly seen effect, "Light Dance." Abraham led the students to read the basic syllables out loud, but Ye Qingxuan had a strange feeling. After fifteen minutes, his feeling proved true. It was the same when he read his notebook aloud. The syllables were right, and there was nothing wrong with the runes. He understood all of the theories, but for some reason, he just could not do it! -- In the quiet classroom, a ball of light grew on Bai Xis fingertip. The light was the size of a glass marble. It spun on her finger, flashing. According to the theory, this effect could only create a light source with the same intensity as a candle. There was no reason for it to be so blinding, but from her calm expression, she seemed to have mastered it. "Professor, is it like this?" She played with the ball of light, poking it and watching as it flickered. Glancing at the stricken Ye Qingxuan beside her, her eyes became mischievous. "Cousin, you look jealous. But dont get sad. Its not that youre a slow learner, but because Im a genius" Expressionless, Ye Qingxuan raised a finger and flicked her forehead. "Oh, junior, youre pretty fast at learning." Charles took the ball from her fingertip and studied it with curiosity. "This brightness is totally blinding. Its still not as good as what I made, but I guess it passes!" Ye Qingxuan became even more motionless when he heard this. Charles could transfer a power someone else had made with runes? He started doubting whether he was dreaming or really awake. "Ah, this is Coherence. High-end musicians use this technique when fighting together in a battle." Charless face was full of pride. "Are you jealous? Theres nothing you can do, even if you are!" "Charles." Abraham pointed at the corner of the room without expression. Charles quickly stopped laughing, gave the ball back to the gaping Bai Xi, and went back to the corner with a book on his head. On the other hand, Ye Qingxuan was almost banging his head on blackboard in frustration, but he still did not understand. "What the heck?" -- He closed his eyes, sensed the aether, and chanted the syllable. The aether came and revolved around his fingertip. They collided with each other and solidified into a nonexistent crystal. In the end, a bit of light began brewing, about to expand, but in the next moment, everything lost control and fell apart. So close. It was always so close! Ye Qingxuan hung his head over the table in hopelessness and sighed. It was like this every time. Every single time he was close to success, but always lacked a tiny bit in control over the syllable. He had done everything the book said, but he still could not succeed. "How do you do it?" he asked Bai Xi helplessly. "The feeling. Its simple, just go with the feeling." "What does that even mean?" Ye Qingxuan did not understand at all. "It means to go with the feeling. Its so simple!" "You make it sound so simple that I almost believe you. I recited everything like you." "Its different." Abraham shook his head. "No two people on this world have the same exact voice. Even if you can imitate her timbre perfectly, the sound of your heart is different from hers. Its not a good thing to blindly imitate. Not to mention, we sing the same rune differently than in the East and in India. Abraham continued, "Dont blindly imitate another persons voice. Focus on your spirit. Everyone has their own frequency." He paused and said something familiar to the youth. "The voice is just the surface. What is important is the communication between your will and the aether." Ye Qingxuan thought carefully and seemed to understand something, his heart calmed down a little. He thought back to the night when he communicated freely with the aether. Closing his eyes, he sensed the beautiful and wavering light around him. The light known as aether floated randomly in all directions. He could sense as more and more aether joined in the distance, entering the vortex-like halo. He felt as the aether collided against each other, sparking white-hot light, like a sun rising over the dark earth. He was sensing the aether. It was the rune that Bai Xi had cast. "I think I slightly understand." Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes slowly and gazed at his outstretched finger. He whispered, "The theory is complicated, but its just like a machine, right? Use the correct syllable to communicate and youll get the correct result. If the result is wrong, then its because the syllable is different. Even though I cant grasp the vague feeling, at least I understand this. Ill succeed this time." The youth recited the syllable and stared at his fingertip. "First, there must be light." -- Only the youths murmurs sounded in the silence. A formless strength drew a faint outline. The rune slowly formed in his heart, guiding him to recite the syllable. In the faint sound, a dim ray of light formed from the emptiness, wrapping around his finger. The dim light was like a flickering candle in the windabout to go out, but struggling to survive. Finally, the weak light finally turned into a ring on the youths fingertip. The ring wavered, and finally transformed into an uneven ball of light. It was the result of insufficient control over the aether. The ball of light was barely there, as if it would fall apart within a blink of an eye, but Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Theres finally light," he breathed. Charles had run over sometime when Ye Qingxuan had be practicing. He blew and the glow dissipated, instantly extinguished. "Such a weak light." Charles shook his head. Seeing the unhappiness on Abrahams face, he cried, "Professor, dont get angry! I know what the problem is!" Abraham sighed. "If you know, then say it and act like a senior. Seeing you like this, Im scared that youll get beaten up when you walk at night" "Ah, Professor, what are you talking about? Im just above average in looks." Charles laughed and dragged over a chair to sit down. Patting Ye Qingxuans shoulder, he said, "Dont be sad. Bai Xis talent is a lot more powerful than yours. Its totally natural for you to be slower than her. Anyway, you learned a basic rune in half an hour. Even though youve only just learned it, and still havent gotten to the point of using it, youre still like a genius out there." "Sorry, are you complimenting me? I cant tell." "Of course. Most students will spend the entire day practicing and not be able to find the feeling, even with the guidance of a teacher, or if put in an aether immersive environment." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan thought of his ten days of fruitless effort and could not help but sigh. "I understand, I understand." "So, do you know what your problem is? Its the feeling!" "Feeling?" "Thats right. Feeling!" 66 Feeling "Thats right, feeling!" Charles put on a serious expression. "Thats the difference between geniuses and regular people. Why is it that only a few musicians can stand out from the crowd? Why is it that there are more musicians than I can count, but only Three Kings at the top? "Its a subconscious reflex that helps you communicate more closely with the aether. What do you have to do while chanting to group together more aether? Will the length of one syllable cause any changes? How can you use fewer syllables than other musicians to create the same effect? "These are all things that cant be taught, because a teacher cant give his feelings to his student. The student can only search around with his own feeling. You know, the rune itself is the power created from the communication between you and the aether. "Your power comes from the runes sentiment. The deeper the sentiment, the more intense the feeling is. You can only use your instinct to control it. Otherwise, youll need to spend time adjusting and getting used to it. Geniuses can even skip most syllables and immediately cast a rune. Like this!" Charles raised a hand and snapped. Immediately, a soft light appeared at his fingertip. It was not blinding like Bai Xis, but was rather stable and gentle, with a tinge of blue like moonlight. No matter how he shook or grabbed at it, the beam of light was still gentle as ever, unchanging. Ye Qingxuan gaped. After a long time, he sighed in defeat. "What if you dont have any feeling? Then youd just be making blind guesses?" "You can say that." Charles sighed. "But your sense of aether is very clear. You can even say youre at the top. But why do I feel like youre just blind even with your eyes open?" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuans expression turned bitter. "Okay. If I tell you that I was still blind three days ago, would you believe it?" "Are you kidding?" Charles pursed his lips, his eyes turned helpless. "If thats the case, then that sucks. Most elites start Meditation under a teachers guidance during childhood in order to block out any distracting thoughts, and focus on observing changes in the aether to raise their familiarity of each other. If youve just started sensing it three days ago," he trailed off. Theyve been practicing for more than ten years. Youre far from them." Charles tried to explain, "Its like trying to get a pretty girl. That other guy is her childhood lover, but youve just met! How can you compete with that? Are you attractive like me?" "Charles!" Abrahams book landed on Charless head again. "Youre getting off topic. Go stand." And so Charles was kicked to the corner again. "Actually, your interaction with the aether can be cultivated. Dont listen to Charles," Abraham comforted him. As if he suddenly remembered something, he asked, "I remember you said you knew a rune before?" "I didnt learn it," Ye Qingxuan said, a little embarrassed. "I looked at some notes. I couldnt understand at all, but then I suddenly understood something and I got it." "Can you use it now?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and nodded. "I can try." -- This rune came from his odd epiphany. When he had sensed the aether that night, his will broke through the seal on the notebook, and he sensed the information contained in those blurry notes. He had never read any explanation of any melody, but he subconsciously remembered that melody, and recreated the rune without any difficulty. He vaguely understood that maybe the rune had been hidden in that melody. But why did his father do so, and how? He had no clue. And he could not remember anything other than that. He could only remember that he somehow awoke the instrument. As if a god had been helping him, he played the overture of a musical piece. But the entire process had disappeared from his memory. Thats why he suspected it was just a hallucination. But if it was a hallucination, why could he still remember the first note? He was a bit nervous as he began the hymn. Under everyones eyes, he gazed around and decided to put his left hand on Old Phil. The dog squirmed and sneezed. The youths murmuring began. There were sixteen short syllables in total. They overlapped in Ye Qingxuans throat, sometimes vigorous, sometimes faint. Going to the rhythm of his breathing, they expanded naturally as if he had practiced many times. Like the faint vibrations of an instrument string, the notes left his mouth and scattered into the air, leaving behind a lingering echo. Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuans forehead. In his heart, a strange power drew a new outline. Like neon lights dancing in the night, it wove the outline of a rune. Was this the so-called "feeling"? The runes outline had never been so clear before! The rush from his soul pushed him to sing the syllables. Quickly, the aether began to group! The light appeared in the darkness like stars, grouping toward his right hand. He controlled the pauses and pitch of the syllables, guiding the light to the right place. It had only been a few seconds, but it felt like eternity. Silver light flashed from Ye Qingxuans hand and then vanished. The library was still silent, but everyone was holding their breath. -- Ye Qingxuans left hand was still on Old Phil, but there was an identical dog under his right hand! It had the same golden fur, the same open mouth, the same arrogant eyes. There was even a noodle from lunch on his nose. It looked like it had been made from the same mold. Shocked, Old Phil moved over and looked at the dog which mirrored his actions. They shook their bodies and wagged their tails, but when they turned to the side, their eyes became disappointed. This dog looked identical to Old Phil, but there was not any thickness. It was like a copy printed on paper. No matter how similar it looked, it was not a living creature. From the side, Charles poked the golden dog that only existed in a two-dimensional world. A ripple formed from his finger and the image blurred. But after the ripple, the image became clear again. No matter what Charles did, it persisted like the moons reflection in water. "Rune mirror?" Charles turned to look at the Professor, his eyes confused. "Professor, I dont understand." Abrahams expression was stiff. He did not know what to say. "Rune mirror" was the most complex of the common runes. Even for lessons, it was put at the back of the textbook. They had never seen someone who could jump straight to the end and learn the hardest part, but was still stuck on the first step. "The runes effect is very stable and the hymn was clear. From the runes perspective, youve already reached the apprentice level." Abraham gazed at Ye Qingxuan. "How did you do it?" "I dont know." Ye Qingxuan was confused too. Looking down at the reflection of Old Phil, he scratched his head. "The runes and syllables were in my head. I somehow felt that doing that was the correct thing to do, so I did it." He suddenly reached out and pressed onto Old Phil, doing it again. In a flash of light, the mirror reflection of Old Phil reappeared. The two mirror images changed continuously, revealing Old Phils upset face. Ye Qingxuan stared in awe at the two images. Pressing down, he did it again, calling forth another mirror image. As if he had gone crazy, he cast the rune over and over again. Finally, seven mirror images shattered at once. Ye Qingxuan collapsed to the ground as if he his energy had been sapped. Panting heavily, his forehead was covered in sweat, and his face was pale. "Hey, junior, are you crazy?" Charles quickly cleared the table and laid Ye on it. He opened his shirt buttons to help him breathe. Then he commanded Bai Xi to boil some salt water. "Casting runes requires strength! Mirror is a continuous effect, and you made seven at once. Youre trying to get yourself killed" On the table, Ye Qingxuan had fallen into a trance and was covered in sweat. In his daze, he grabbed onto Charless hand and panted, "I knowCharlesI knowI know how to fix the feeling problem." Seeing Abraham and Charless shocked expressions, Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Professor, can I borrow some books?" -- "Analysis of the Equal Temperament Prologue,""Research of Changes in Pronunciation of Basic Runes,""Victors Experiment Record: Changes of Rune Light,""Seventeen Uses of Rune Light,""Pattern of Basic Syllables,""Introduction to Jorde Hymns." Ye Qingxuan flipped to the last page of the Equal Temperament and found the books in the references list from Abrahams library. According to the books chapters and glossary, and other mentioned literature, he created another list of fourteen books. Of these, three were in Abrahams library. The other eleven books were kept in the school library, but identification cards were needed to enter the library and Ye Qingxuan was not allowed to yet, so he could only let it go. Two hours later, with a giant pile of books in his arms, he got paper, a pen, and "Dictionary of the Rune Language" from Abrahams library. "What are you doing with all these books?" Charles was shocked. "Can you finish them all?" "Some are just for reference. Others Ill flip through." Ye Qingxuan patted the pile of books up to his waist, his expression a little helpless. "Hopefully I wont need to read too much. Oh right, is there anywhere thats quiet so I wont be disturbed?" Abraham thought for a moment. "The basement. It used to be Charles workshop, but he owes too much money and cant work for now. People usually dont go there. If you need it, I can give you the key." "Thank you so much." Ye Qingxuan smiled, took the key, and bent over to pick up the pile of books. Looking back, he said, "Oh, right. I wont be coming out for two days. If there are any public classes, tell Bai Xi to take attendance for me" Bai Xi was still confused. "Hey, Cousin, what exactly are you doing?" "Reading. Doing what I do best." With the books in his arms, Ye Qingxuan left without looking back. His voice came from the distance, "Reading is my favorite thing." -- In the library, Charles and Bai Xi stared at each other. Abraham seemed to understand something and stayed silent. "Professor, did he go crazy?" Charles asked uncertainly. "Maybe, but maybe he found some feeling, right?" Abraham let out a rare smile and patted his shoulder. "Are your notes still here from when I taught you how to decipher ancient languages and runes?" Charles shook his head sadly. "Im not really interested in your research. I dont know where the notes are. Why do you want them? Are you forcing me to learn it again?" "Everyone has their own strong points. Its good that you have your own ideas, so I wont force you anymore. But please find the notes within the next two days." Looking down at the thick pile of handwritten notes on the table, Abraham laughed suddenly. "Professor, are you okay?" Charles looked at Abraham, his eyes full of concern. "Has work been too stressful recently? Is the school board cutting down on our budget again? Its okay, we can quit! Junior is already like this, we cant have you going crazy too" "Watch your words!" Abraham knocked Charles head, his expression becoming stern. "Go stand!" After comforting Bai Xi, Abraham left the library, leaving behind two confused students. He sat on a stone stool outside the building under the afternoon sun, humming an unclear tune. He raised his head to look at the specks of light shining through the verdure. Using his metal hand to fill his pipe with tobacco, he lit it with a lighter. Humming and smoking, he laughed quietly. He no longer seemed like a stern and rigid professor, but more like an ignorant farmer who saw that his crops had turned golden and suddenly felt happy. Maybe he was old now. Thinking of this, his smile became both helpless and relieved. The thought that he had a successor made him so, so happy. 67 Negotiation The next afternoon in the Westminster Palace, the atmosphere was serious and suffocating. Security kept all of the outsiders away. Usually, this place was full of people. Known as the capitol, the senators of the Upper and Lower House would play the game of politics here. But now, it was silent because a more important discussion was happening in secrecy. It was already the third day of conferences between Anglo and Yunlou City. It was an important event between the two nations, but the conference hall was empty. There were no government officials, no judges, and no military personnel participating. At the left of the long table, Yunlou officials clad in long robes clustered around a silent white-haired girl. At the right, other than the secretary for recording the meeting and the necessary representatives, there were only two men leading the talks. One of them sat in the chair casually. His eyes were not open fully, as if he had just been dragged out of bed. Not only was his white beard messy, but a button on his sleeve had been buttoned incorrectly too. He sat there spacing out, as if he was not listening to the talk at all. The smell of alcohol radiated from him. A few minutes earlier, the man, Maxwell, had even been snoring. Now, his eyes were open, and it was an impressive feat. No one understood why the Queen would give such an important task to him, and the "insane" guy wearing a white coat beside him. The old man was silent and had not said a word the entire time. As if he had just been let out of the asylum, he stared at the princess with wild and enthusiastic eyes. His hands shook as if he wanted to reach out and strangle the girl! Everyone in Avalon knew that the Royal Institute of Research was right next to Arkham Asylum. Even more ironic was that both places were full of crazy and insane people. If the officials went crazy, they would use up the nations budget, while the patients would use up all the taxpayers money. In short, they were nothing good! It was fortunate that Princess Yunlou did not lose her temper as she was faced with these two unreliable guys. But sadly, the discussion still had to go on. For international matters, arguing about every inch of land was basic. Arguing over every little pebble was expected. -- "The welcoming ceremony, the state guesthouse, the royal banquet hall. The attacks have not stopped since you entered the city. Until today, there have already been six attacks." Maxwell pounded the table, his old face filled with pain. "Terrorist attacks because of your presence have already killed and wounded dozens. Of these, one earl was slightly wounded, two viscounts were wounded heavily, and six barons suffered emotional trauma. Even now, they are bedridden and suffer from insomnia. "They were all talents who were the pillars of our nations future. But now they are useless things who hide under their servants skirts. Is there nothing that Yunlou City has to say?" "Ridiculous!" Without waiting for the girl to speak, the official beside her laughed coldly. "We traveled to Anglo as ambassadors. Shouldnt it be your duty to ensure the safety of the ambassadors? And if the Princess had been hurt, it would be even more embarrassing for you, would it not?" "Of course, but" Maxwell arched an eyebrow and laughed softly. "If the reason lies with Yunlou City itself, then its a different matter." "My apologies, but please explain." "According to our research, the assassins should be related to Yunlous exiled regime, correct?" Maxwell threw a pile of resources onto the table. "Theyve entered Avalon and caused chaos. According to others, theyre even performing human trafficking. The police are in a terrible situation. Maxwell continued, "According to our research, their leader is an Easterner named Yunlou Qingxi. He calls himself the true leader of Yunlou, and announced that he is just trying to find justice. What does Yunlou City have to say in regard to this?" "Absurd," the main official scoffed. "There is only one leader of Yunlou City and that is the Princesss fatherHis Majesty, Yunlou Qingshu. How is there an exiled regime? We hope that the royalty of Anglo wont be fooled by some hooligans." "Really? Then maybe we have a misunderstanding." Maxwell nodded as his eyes turned cold. "As everyone knows, Her Highnesss father, Yunlou Qingshu, is not the legitimate heir of the Yunlou title. He has always been criticized. As the leader, the ruler of the Eastern Aurora Empire has failed to recognize Yunlou Qingshus rule over Yunlou City. This has resulted in Yunlous endless chaos." Maxwells eyes were heavy with pain, he shook his head and sighed. "If Yunlou City wants to leave the Eastern camp, despite being riddled with inner chaos, make alliances with Western nations and become independent. Even Her Highness, the Queen, will find it difficult to support Yunlou." "If that is Anglos opinion, then what is the point of this conference?" The silent girl sitting primly in the middle finally looked up. As if sensing something interesting, she took in Maxwells appearance. Her tone was gentle, but her soft voice somehow stopped the commotion. The white-haired girl said quietly, "My father once taught me that there are all sorts of lessons in life, but in the end, it is all about two things: accepting and rejecting." She continued, "Nothing in the world is full of benefits, with no consequences to worry about. And even if we did give you the technology for creating the Bloodline of the Dragon, would Anglo dare to accept it?" "Really?" The crazed man in the white cloak beside Maxwell suddenly burst out in joy. "Accept it! Why not?" Maxwell rolled his eyes and kicked him. "Newton, dont forget that youre here just as an observer and have no right to speak. We do not need to support technology now." Newton pursed his lips and sat back down. -- "According to Yunlou Citys terms, you will exchange the purification technology of the Bloodline of the Dragon for Anglos support of Yunlou Citys independence. This is beneficial for both parties. After all, Yunlou City is alone overseas and the tribute relationship with the East only survives in theory." Maxwell spoke again, but this time, he spoke in fluent Aurorian Mandarin. His accent was native and flawless. "But there is still something I dont understand." He paused, gazing at the girls neutral expression. "The purification technology of the East is a byproduct created during the research for the Bloodline of the Dragon. No, it is more accurate to say that the medium for this technology is Dragon blood." "If you are to give us this technology, you are essentially giving us a Deva with the Bloodline of the Dragon. Or to put it more bluntly, the only one from Yunlou City who qualifies is Your Highness. Even the kings blood is not pure enough. Is it as the rumors say, that you are planning on marrying our Prince?" "That is not impossible," the girl replied softly. "If there is marriage, the relationship between our two nations would be more stable." "Yes! Good!" Newton became excited. "And if Your Highness is interested, you can come visit the research institute. Ill sweep, sweep that thing to welcome you!" "I told you to shut up, Newton." Maxwell glared at him and he quieted down. But Maxwells head started to hurt. This Princess was not as simple as she seemed. Whether someone placed obvious pressure on her, or said a sly insult, neither had any effect on her. He sighed. "To be honest, I was dragged back the manor last night and rushed here to to represent Anglo and speak with you. For public matters, Id love it if Your Highness would marry our nation and form a long-lasting relationship. But privately" Maxwells eyes filled with sadness. "To be honest, Your Highness may be young, but you are already so beautiful. You may be the most beautiful woman Ive seen in my life. But our Prince has had many ailments since childhood. Uh, okay, he is an idiot who believes hes a sheep. He-he-hehe isnt good enough for you!" He became visibly angry and slammed down on the table. "Lets just lets just let things go!" Newton asked in panic, "Hey, Maxwell! Whose side are you on?" "Manners, beauty, and justice are the essence of humanity," Maxwell stated. "Since beauty equals justice, I stand on the side of justice, of course! And anyway, compared to the lifelong happiness of a girl, this is nothing!" Newton was about to burst. The faces of the Yunlou officials darkened. This guy may have just reduced Anglo royalty to nothing, but he was really moving forward by retreating. If they really did just let things be as he said, it would be even more awkward for Yunlou. Aurora Empire, riddled with inner problems for many years, was finally recovering. The emperor had already started turning his attention toward Yunlou City, alone overseas and full of riches. If they did not receive the Wests support, Yunlou City would be in a dire situation. The officials stared at each other in silence. The lead ritual official opened his mouth to speak, but saw the white-haired girl lower her hand. His expression tightened, but he sat down without saying anything. The princesss voice shattered the silence. "Mr. Maxwell, youve worried too much. Compared to the nation, my sacrifices are nothing. And furthermore, if our talk ended just like this, your country would be troubled too, would it not?" "Its okay. Yunlou is not the only nation with the Eastern purification technique. We can find someone else to ruin! There are so many people in the East, and it shouldnt be a problem to find the right one. But King Yunlou might have to find another country to support his vision of an independent nation." "You may have misunderstood. Eastern nations are not very open to outsiders, and the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline fight constantly with each other. They dont even follow the orders of the Emperor. Anglo, which is so far away from them, will find it hard to offer something that will move them," the girl said lightly. "And furthermore, other than Yunlou City, which often interacts with the West, who else would be willing to risk offending the heavens and use the blood of their ancestors to exchange with barbarians?" "Oh?" Maxwell laughed. "Does Yunlou not fear the wrath of the heavens and ancestors?" Behind the long table, the Yunlou officials faces turned stormy, no longer able to hide their anger. Indeed, using the blood of ancestors to exchange with barbarians would be a big humiliation if others discovered, but Yunlou had prepared to be criticized by all. But now, the first to mock them was not one of the other families of the Dragon Bloodline, but their supposed "ally"! How humiliating was that? The light tone pierced their skin like needles. Their faces reddened, eyes full of fury. But as they glared in silence, the girls cool voice sounded. "Everyone, please calm down. What Mr. Maxwell said isnt without reason." Just like that, the white-haired girl confirmed everything Maxwell had said. "If the others hear of this, Yunlou City will be mocked by everyone. If the ancestors are angered and wish to punish us, it will be our own fault. Unexpectedly she said, "But what of it?" In the deathly silence, everyone gaped at the girl. Maxwell raised his head in shock. Looking at the girl, he seemed to see something and the "kind" smile on his face slowly froze. As if a fire had been ignited in her heart, the girl finally looked up. There seemed to be a blazing light in those cool eyes, forcing others to look away. Subconsciously, Maxwell stood up, the mockery in his eyes gone. He said, "I cannot understand the Princesss words." "This is something my father told me before I departed. Now, I am only the messenger." Lightly, the girl said, "The hundred years of a lifetime is like a white stallion galloping. The glory of morning dies away quickly. If one wishes to be accomplished, one cannot follow all of the rules. If one dreams of the world, one must be revolutionary, and have no limits. A mans words are insufficient to be pitied, the ancestors are insufficient to be law, and the changes of the world are insufficient to be feared!" -- After a long time, the talk finally came to an end. Maxwell remained in his seat, watching as the girls backside grew distant. He smoked a cigarette, his eyes full of fatigue. "Hey, Maxwell." Newton glanced at him, seeing how he was deep in thought. "Whats wrong?" "Nothing, just a little scared." Maxwell thought of the girls eyes and sighed. "The ancestors are insufficient to be law, the changes of the world are insufficient to be feared, and a mans words are insufficient to be pitied? She stepped on ancestors, principles, and ethics so easily. How wildly ambitious must you be to make such things sound logical? I dont think I can handle someone like this." "All these years, youve handled Royalty, the Congress, those elites, and even the budget. But now youre worried you cant handle a little girl?" Newton snorted. "Have you gotten old?" "To be honest, Im still not sure who Im negotiating with." Maxwell scratched his head. "Were those her words? Or Yunlou Qingshu? I feel like Im not talking to her, but an evil and greedy soul. All these years, people said that Yunlou Qingshu had a good daughter. Now I understand that he had never seen her as a daughter, but a weapon and tool." He sighed. "What a pity." "What is there to pity?" "Thats why you lunatics dont understand the beauties in life!" Maxwell sighed, shaking his head. "You stared at her for the entire afternoon, but could only imagine her tied to your surgery table like a white rat. Is there something wrong with your brain?" Maxwell was infuriated. "Newton, shes a girl. Shes only sixteen! Did you look at her eyes closely? They are pure black, like black pearls, shining with a lonely light. So beautiful, anyone would like her. Such a good girl should be living without worries in a garden, or in a fairytale like a lotus. But someone turned her into a tool and is willing to have her marry an idiot in three years to complete his vision. What a damn pity." Putting out his cigarette, he turned to leave. 68 Resul It was already the fourth day of school. At noon, the bored Bai Xi lay on the librarys sofa, yawning. When she felt bored, she would roll over and say, "Ah, Im so bored." Before the blackboard, Charles sighed awkwardly. "Sister, dont be like this. Im trying to teach you." "I dont want to learn. We agreed that I just have to enroll, and dont have to learn!" The little girl rolled her eyes. "I dont care. I want to go shopping! I want to play" "No, wait!" Charles waved helplessly. "Look, the professor told me before he left to take his place. You dont want to learn, but its okay if you want me to teach you something else. Were both experts on music theory. I charge a couple hundred per hour when I tutor. Cant you give me some respect?" "In my old home, you wouldnt be qualified to be my teacher if you werent at least an Imperial Nine Musician. And I had everything youre teaching memorized by the time I was thirteen-years-old." "Thirteen? Wait, that cant be right!" Charles froze, getting confused. "Sister, how old are you?" "Dont you know that you cant go around asking a girls age?" Bai Xi huffed. Eyes filling with resentment, she muttered, " I hit puberty late. Ill grow tall somedayeven taller than the white lotus!" Charles had good ears and heard what she had quietly muttered. "White lotus? Who?" "Why do you care? Anyway, its the pure little girl that you men all like. Pitiful and makes parents like her, has big boobs, and can make you have dirty thoughts just by wearing a white dress. That kind!" "How is that possible? A pretty girl like that that I havent met before?" Charles was suddenly infuriated. "Dont let those girls ruin junior! Let them come to me, and Ill teach them!" Bai Xi glanced at him and quickly looked away disinterested. "Senior, youre so weak. Even if there were ten of you, youd still get played." "No way. Im the famous prodigy of the Royal Academy of Music!" Charless expression was serious, but his words obviously had no substance, and Bai Xi burst into laughter. Charles expression turned helpless. He sighed, shaking his head. "Ugh, I was brave before, but a coward now. Whatever. If you want to go walk around, wait for junior to come out and we can go play together." "Who knows when hell come out?" Bai Xi suddenly became upset. "I called him for a long time last night and he ignored me. What is he even doing down there by himself? Can you learn the notes just by locking yourself up?" "I doubt it. That feeling isnt that easy to get." "Is it really that hard? Didnt I learn it easily?" "Thats what you think." Charles could not help but sigh. "Heres an example. Notes are just like pretty girls. They are cold and beautiful, and their personalities and moods are always changing. You need to have the charisma of a wanderer, the inheritance of royalty, the stubbornness of a fool, and the enthusiasm of a lunatic to be able to achieve resonance. But sadly, in the eyes of the notes, junior is just plain, poor, and has a weird personality. He probably cant even get onto the waiting list for reincarnation. Theres no way he can achieve resonance." "Is it that bad?" "Its worse than bad." Charles shook his head. "If it were, say, a pretty girl, itd be easier. At least there are other ways." "What ways?" Bai Xi asked. Charles smiled crudely. "Use force." "Go die!" A book whacked Charles in the face, knocking him straight to the ground. Charles crawled up and sighed. But before he could say anything, loud barking came from the hall. "Old Phil?" Charles looked over in suspicious, but finally realized, "I know, it must be spring." "Spring your *ss!" Bai Xi jumped down from the sofa and ran out without even putting on her shoes. As an evil dog, Old Phil always followed the rule silence is golden, and never barked no matter what. If the problem could be solved with teeth and claws, then he would use his teeth and claws to solve it. Problems that could not be solved with teeth and clawswell, he never ran into them. Old Phil was too powerful, and never ran into those problems. If there was nothing, Old Phil would never bark. That was why Bai Xi started to worry. What happened to Old Phil? Had he brought back something weird again? On the second day of school, there had been a mysterious theft in the academy. All of the doorknobs on the School of Revelations first floor were stolen! Who knew what the thief was thinking, stealing only the doorknobs and nothing else. The academy could only conclude that it was some students prank. Only Bai Xi knew that when Charles found all of the doorknobs in his bed, he almost peed his pants. After giving its welcome gift to his new servant, Old Phil turned and walked away without letting anyone know his name, as a hero should. So Charles and Bai Xi could only dig a ditch in the middle of the night and bury the doorknobs. Bai Xi walked down the hall with the same worry that Ye Qingxuan once had. And just as Ye Qingxuan had, she froze. "" Bai Xi stared blankly at Old Phil, who was panting, and at the thing that he had dragged from the basement and down the hall. Her expression twisted. "What the heck, Cousin?" "Hey, Cousin," the bedraggled youth on the ground said weakly. There was a trembling smile on his pale face. "Do youhave food?" -- Charles and Bai Xi sat in the big hall of the small building, carefully watching the youth stuffing his face at the table. Their expressions were unreadable. "I went down to the basement to check. This guy hadnt moved at all for the past three days." The horrors he had seen flashed before his eyes. "Nothing that had been covered by dust had been moved in a long time, but the bottle of ink on the table had been used up. There was a sign of struggle by the door. I guess he was too weak to open the door and had to be dragged out by Old Phil," said Charles. Bai Xis mouth twisted. "Was he trying to kill himself?" "The draft paper had been used up too. I found these on the table," Charles gave Bai Xi a thick stack of paper filled with words. Bai Xi took two glances and felt dizzy. The stack of paper, at least one fingers width thick, was filled with cramped handwriting and some confusing math symbols. Only some of the words were from the lingua franca, most were from other languages, all jumbled together. "What is this?" Bai Xi asked. "Some are the Runes of the Asgard language, some are Latin used by the church. It looks like he was trying to organize something." Charles tapped the papers. "Seems like these days hadnt gone to waste. Its hard work to organize all this." "This has nothing to do with notes." The little girl rolled her eyes. At the table, Ye Qingxuan was finally done shoveling food into his mouth and licked his fingers with satisfaction. He could not help but say in awe, "I never thought that pizza left out overnight could taste this good." "Its not just overnight." Charles slapped his knee. "That pizzas been there for three days!" "Senior, I just finished eating. Can you not ruin the mood?" Ye Qingxuan said. Bai Xi pursed her lips and threw the papers onto the table. "You spent three days just to do this stuff?" "Oh, thats useless." Ye Qingxuan glanced over and waved casually. "Toss it." "Toss it?" Bai Xis face grew pale in disbelief. "Yeah, Ive memorized it all anyway." Ye Qingxuan cracked his stiff neck, making popping sounds. "I just wrote it down as a habit, but I realized after I organized everything that its pretty easy to memorize, so its useless now." Bai Xi was so angry she could not speak. "What about the music notes? The notes?" She pounded on the table, shaking in rage. "Didnt you say that you found the way to learn the notes? Dont tell me you spent three days writing a book for fun." "Ah, cousin, you think too highly of me." Ye Qingxuan scratched his face coyly. "Writing is such a high class thing, I cant do it yet." Bai Xi did not reply and just cracked her knuckles in silence. She looked up and down his body, trying to decide where she should hit first. This guy locked himself in the basement and did nothing! She had been waiting and anticipating for nothing! She had even been a bit worried! "Dont hit me yet!" Seeing her eyes, Ye Qingxuan immediately raised his hands to surrender. "I have results!" "Then show me." Bai Xi slammed a fist on the table, her eyes flashing. "But let me say this firstif you take out another weird thing, just wait to be riddled with holes. Ill have red blades go in and come out white!" "Uh, Sister, its actually the opposite way," Charles reminded her quietly. "The white blade goes in and comes out red Ow!" Charles cried out in pain as Bai Xi cut him off and stomped on his foot. But amidst the painful cry, one could hear the youths murmurs. The notes that floated out of his throat had Charles raising his head in shock. -- In the sudden silence, the bedraggled youth raised a single finger, his eyes shining with the light of the aether. As his mouth opened and closed, both crisp and heavy syllables overlapped in his throat, turning into a faint voice. As if someone thrummed a nonexistent instrument string, the weak sound with a metallic feeling filled the room. It was no longer jerky and choppy. This time, the syllables flowed out like running water. Clear runes appeared from the light and transformed into the blazing sun, moving with his heart and soul! In his senses, the sleeping aether had finally been awoken under the bright light. The pieces of light combined from all directions, grouping on the youths fingertip, and transformed into a substantial light. The light on the fingertip was being threaded together, wrapping together and finally forming a tiny ring of light. This was the Rune Light! 69 He Really Used Force! Bai Xi stared at the ring of light on Ye Qingxuans fingertip. Through the ring, she could see the youths black eyes. There was a faint smile in those eyes. "It worked?" Charles murmured. "You used three days to make a ring?" Bai Xi stuck a finger through the light and the ring shattered, breaking from the outside force. But when she pulled her finger back, the deformed shape bounced back like tallow, turning into a ring again. It was bright as before. Charles nodded. "The shape is a little weird, but its very stable. It must have taken a lot of hard work to reach this level." Properly saying the syllables should have created a smooth ring equal on all sides, but at least Ye Qingxuan was able to improve the quality of the aether structure, and it was no longer a mess like it had been before. "Its okay. Youve worked hard to do this." Bai Xi sighed. "Remember to let us know before you lock yourself up. No one knew anything. Others might have thought you went to rob the churchs bank." "Dont be so impatient." Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his finger. "This is just the beginning" Saying that, he blew. Along his breath, a weak breeze went through the ring and ran into an invisible wall, turning back. The breeze seemed to have blew away the dust, revealing its true nature. There was a thin membrane pulled taught across the ring. It seemed like it would tear with the slightest touch. But as Ye Qingxuan blew, it slowly inflated. As if blowing a giant soap bubble, Ye Qingxuan carefully and patiently increased the strength of his breath. A bubble slowly appeared from the ring of light on his fingertip. Finally, with a slight push, a perfect bubble popped out from the ring and floated up toward the ceiling. Bai Xi watched, frozen. -- The breeze blew in from the window, and the delicate bubble slowly floated toward the girl. It reflected the sunlight and surrounding colors. The semi-transparent bubble emanated a magnificent glow, as if it were reflecting the image of another world. Bai Xi could see Ye Qingxuans face through the thin membrane. As if sensing the shock in her eyes, the youth smiled. "What is this?" Bai Xi carefully reached out to hold it, but was scared she would accidentally pop it. When the bubble floated over, she retreated, afraid she would ruin that beautiful thing. Charles reached out. The lightest touch caused ripples. It floated an inch above his finger, rotating lazily. This was another coherence technique, and it had been executed was amazingly. Charles studied the bubble on his fingertip. Seeing something unexpected, his eyes lit up with a pleasant surprise. "This is a variant of the Rune Light. Its the School of Illusions favorite effectBubble. Youre already able to use it in battle. If you can make this, then you should know the other twenty-three uses of Light, correct?" "The others are pretty easy, but I had to try this many times." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his belly and sighed. "I had wanted to make Old Phils shape, but the precision it needed was too high. Halfway through, I ran out of energy and almost died. That was so scary" "You learned the note and all twenty-three uses over three days? But three days ago, you had no interaction with the aether at all. How did you do it?" "A stupid method that everyone can think of." Ye Qingxuan pointed at the papers on the table and chuckled. "Practice." -- "In the end, a musician controls the aether by chanting. The aether joins together and creates the structure of the rune. Different runes have different effects. The principle behind it is complex, but since the proper syllable can achieve the proper result, I just needed to pronounce the correct syllable," Ye Qingxuan said. "As you all saw, I dont have the genius so-called feeling. So when I chant, I cant tweak the syllables according to the outside environment and the aethers reaction, so thats why the result was weak, right?" "Thats right," Charles nodded. "How did you fix it?" "It was easy." Ye Qingxuan snapped his fingers. "As long as I can anticipate outside disturbances beforehand, then theres no problem." -- In the silence, the youth spread out the papers with a smile and gazed at the scrawled handwriting. "All I did was find the proper syllable from different records. The theories used now, and corrections to pronunciation all come from each individuals sense of the Originator. Then they adjust their Sound of Heart and perform the rune. But it was noted in Ten Basic Problems in Casting, theres a non-mainstream School of Behavior. They dont believe in the existence of a soul, and only believe in action and reaction. It can be applied to Phantom Beasts, which are created from aether. So there should be a set mechanism to force a reaction from the aether too." There was a long silence following Ye Qingxuans words. After a long time, Charles processed Ye Qingxuans words with difficulty. "So youre saying that you read everything that had anything to do with Light, chant records, the aether environment at the time, the timbre, frequency, pitch, pattern of change, and everything else?" "Thats right," Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Everything?" Charles felt like he was hallucinating. "Everything." Ye Qingxuan nodded again. His voice trembling, Charles asked, "Thats what you did for three days?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and shook his head. "It took one day to organize all the material, and half a day to find the pattern of change of notes. Memorizing it all took the shortest amount of time." He paused and added, "Theres not much, give or take six-hundred variations. If you take out the two-hundred or so rare circumstances, its easy to remember the rest. The changes are complicated, but once you get the pattern, its not hard." "" Silent, Charles looked at the youth, his eyes wild like he was looking at two different things. His left eye was looking at an idiot, while his right eye was looking at a strange creature. "I cant believe it. Your *ss really used force on the runes!" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "If using force works, then I dont mind." Charles looked up to the sky and sighed. "Other people use their experience and look for shortcuts when trying to pass a mountain. I cant believe I met a lunatic who would try to flatten the mountain!" -- "The Royal Academy of Music has more than ten majors. Most are more specific divisions of the four major schools. This includes our school, Music History. It is considered a branch under the School of Revelation. But because the material we cover overlaps too much with other majors, and all of the professors left, the major was basically eliminated." Abraham sighed with a sense of loss. "When I first came to the academy, the principal saw that I wasnt good at anything else and put me in charge of this major. Thered never been many students. Thereve only been you two in these recent years." Here, his expression became bitter. "Im not the best at teaching and no one is interested in research-oriented studies, so it has never been popular. It probably wont even exist in a few years." "Professor, dont worry. You have a genius like me!" Charles comforted him. "Wait for me to take care of my problems at hand, and then itll be our time to shine!" "Dont be ridiculous. A major is a serious branch of study that needs the blood and sweat of many people. Its not just you getting attention!" Abraham knocked on Charles head and returned to teaching Ye Qingxuan. "Do you have any thoughts?" "Basic criteria of ancient writing, exploration of the sources, and changes of major language branches, the history of the Dark Ages" Confusion was written all over Ye Qingxuans face. "Why do we have to learn this stuff?" "These are our professional courses, my friend," Charles drawled. "Music Historys strong points are deciphering ancient literature, music scores, and runes. They produce scholars and archeologists." "So we cant fight?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Charles patted his shoulder. "Its okay, junior. Were different from the hooligans from the School of Modification. At least scholars dont have to go to war, right?" "Other than our professional courses, the classes arent much different from the other majors. And we have our own field in music scores too," Abraham said. "There are similarities between the ancient language and runes. Youre talented in deciphering runes and analyzing data. This major suits you." Ye Qingxuans was still somewhat confused. "Professor, you saying this makes me happy, but I still feel that the future is just bleak archeology." "Why dont you look at this?" As he spoke, Abraham placed a notebook before the youth. "These are Charles notes from when he first started. I think youll find something you like in it." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan opened the notebook, flipped through a few pages and froze. It was clearly Charless notes, filled with explanations of ancient languages found from archeology digs. Ye Qingxuan had never seen these things before, but it felt familiar for some reason. When he read the reasoning portion, a streak of light flashed passed through his mind. This book of theories and patterns used when deciphering ancient writing was identical to what he had been doing when looking for the changes in runes and syllables! In fact, the structure and direction was far more complete than his. Just by scanning and comparing, he realized that he had made many mistakes down in the basement. It was just theories and did not include any applications, but they seemed to target his weak spots, and goosebumps popped up on his skin. Compared to these notes, the exhaustive method that Ye Qingxuan had been proud of was like a sieve. If these theories were correct, then he could save at least seventy percent of his efforts when analyzing the runes and changes in syllables. At least seventy percent! "Whatis this?" Ye Qingxuan glanced up in shock, seeing Abrahams lips curl into a faint smile. He had never seen such pride in his stiff, wooden teacher. "I told you. Music History is the best at deciphering ancient history and literature. Music scores are part of literature. Most of the scores and techniques we know today were found from archeology sites. No one is better than us at reading music scores and runes." "But why have I never seen this in textbooks?" Ye Qingxuan gaped. "Ah this" Abraham suddenly seemed embarrassed. "Charles always complained that the textbooks before were too hard, so I created some new methods from my own research. But then this guy wouldnt learn them, and I didnt have a student to teach. Would you" "Yes! Yes!" The youth practically ran over to hug the professor, his eyes shining. "Professor, please teach me! How about we start with the runes? I have some questions about the variations of Light" "Uh, get down first." Abraham finally pulled the excited Ye Qingxuan down from his body. "I still need to organize the teaching material. How about we start class tomorrow? You still have five days. If youre only going to memorize it all, then you still have a big chance to pass." Ye Qingxuan finally calmed down, but he was still euphoric and would not let go of the notebook. "Hehe, theres always a road when you get to the mountain!" "Is that a saying from the East?" Abraham lowered his head, sighing, "I remember an Eastern professor used to say that." "Eastern professor?" In an instant, Ye Qingxuan woke up from his euphoric state. Finally remembering the things that Wolf Flute had told him, his eyes lit up. "Who?" "It was decades ago. You asked me so suddenly that I dont remember." The professors brows furrowed. "Was it decades ago, or just a few years ago? I remember the academy used to have a professor in the School of Mind from the East. I think his name washis name" The more he tried to remember, the more confused he became. "No, maybe he was Burgundian? Did I remember incorrectly? But why do I feel like I went to his wedding?" Here, he shook his head. "I really cant remember. Is it because Im getting old?" "" Ye Qingxuan stayed silent, not sure what to say. He suddenly realized that everyone had forgotten about his father. Abraham had lost his memories, and if those people in the academy had remembered him, they would have remarked how similar Ye looked to his father. Even Wolf Flute who had ditched school had started to forget what his father had taught. In this academy, everyones memories of the Eastern musician, Ye Lanzhou, had disappeared. It was like he had never existed in this world. Who did it? Someone else? Or was ithis father himself? Musicians of the School of Mind were the best at controlling others memories. He had surpassed the seventh level of the Scepter Rank, and he did not even need to make any physical movements to erase everything. But he was able to erase the memories of so many musicians, and even put a seal on Wolf Flutes lecture notes without even so much as a hand gesture. Such skill had surpassed everything. But with skill like this, why would he still join Satan? Since the beginning, Ye Qingxuan never believed the crimes that he had supposedly committed, but nowwhat did this all mean? He sank into contradicting thoughts. No matter what he did, he could not solve this mystery. 70 The Most Important Thing Is to Be Happy "Hey! Ye Qingxuan, your thing is everywhere!" Just as the youth lowered his head in thought, a roar sounded. He attacked on instinct, but hit empty air. "Hehe, you want to make a sneak attack on me? Youre still too young." As if he had predicted everything, Charles took a step back. "Hey, are you awake now? Youve been standing under the sun for an hour. Bai Xi said youre practicing some weird Eastern music called Nine Suns. Have you been enlightened yet?" "Enlightened my *ss." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" "Didnt I tell you? I didnt go out for two days, and I realized that today your thing is everywhere! Its amazing! Everyone knows." "Know what?" Instinctively, the youth had a bad feeling. "Know what? Your amazing reputation, of course!" Charles said, his features animated. "Practically the whole school knows that theres a mysterious student from the East. Hes brave and just, cant stand evil and injustice. The praises make you sound like the representative of chivalry and hope for Anglos future. "They say that on the first day of school, you couldnt stand seeing the elites bully others and stood up in a fury to help. You took on ten at a time and beat them all up. Then for the last show of bravado, you argued with evil teacher Ben until he couldnt reply and had his entire worldview changed. He even spat out liters of blood! "When Ben and the others heard, they went crazy! Someone said that theyre going to make you leave the public lecture on a stretcher in five days. Congrats, the elites hate you!" Charles exclaimed. "What the heck?" Hearing all of this, Ye Qingxuan was in a daze and wanted to cough up blood. "Who spread these rumors?!" "Hehe," Charles laughed shyly and pointed at himself, "me." -- "You *sshole! Charles, dont run!" Ye Qingxuans angry roars bellowed over the Royal Academy of Music at noon. "Im going to kill you!" "Ah, dont. I just said it for fun, but I didnt know they would all believe me!" Charles ran, dodging the bricks and wine bottles thrown at him and explained in panic, "I didnt want this to happen. Junior, calm down! Calm down! Theres a good side to everything!" "Good?!" Ye Qingxuan roared. "I was just staying home and now I suddenly have a bunch of enemies. How can this be good?" "Theres a good side. Really!" Charles put his hands up, pleading. "Did you know? Someone found out about your recommendation letter, and now youre a legend in the academy! I didnt even know that you had something to do with the legendary King of Black" "You make everything sound weird. Why dont I know about this?" Ye Qingxuan felt a little guilty about this. He had always thought that someone like Wolf Flute could only come up with a recommendation letter along the lines of, "I recommend Ye Qingxuan to take your exam. Please accept him." But then he somehow ended up with Bachs signature! After finding out, Ye Qingxuan had almost peed his pants. That b*stard Wolf Flute had dared to forge a recommendation letter from the most powerful King! "Okay, lets not worry about whether this is true or not. Youre so popular now, even the congress knows!" Charles praised. "When I went to the cafeteria this morning, I said that youre my junior, and I got more meat than everyone else! This is good! Its good, my friend! Without your reputation, where will I get my extra meat?" "Youre still thinking of your meat?" Ye Qingxuans face darkened even more. "Stand there and dont move. Ill fix the hole in your brain. Dont worry, everyone in Lute knows that my technique is the best." "Ah, junior, your image will be ruined if people find out!" Charles closed his hands, catching the wrench that had been hurled at his head. Feeling the pressure of the wrench, cold sweat beaded on his forehead. "Do I still have an image to protect?" the youth yelled. "Yes, yes! Its a great image! Junior, youre the leader of the commoners, and the heart of downtown. Everyone knows about the brave and Little Qingxuan! Its like a golden plaque." Charles continued, "So many people want you to join their club. Ive gotten so many buffet coupons just so I can introduce them to you. Now, you just need to find the chance to make an appearance, and the title of Prime Student of the Class will be yours without a doubt!" After chasing this guy for so long, Ye Qingxuan was out of breath and had no energy to do anything but roll his eyes. "What the f*ck are you joking about" "You dont believe me?" Charles smiled. "Come eat lunch with me at the cafeteria and youll see" -- Ye Qingxuan still had not figured out just how big the Royal Academy of Music was. It seemed like it only took up a bit of midtown, but going through the doors was like entering a whole new world. The size was unimaginable. Divided by layers of ancient trees and high walls, the campus was like a maze. If one did not know the roads, taking a few wrong turns would be enough to get lost. Very few people could figure out the exact location of the buildings. Apparently, only the principals office had the full map of the campus, and that the one on the last page of the students handbook had been torn out. Apparently, the map of every school was different. Some places that seemed far away could be reached within a few minutes if one knew the path. Others that looked close would somehow disappear once one got close. According to some students research, the parts used for teaching was only one-third of the entire campus. But when they decided to look into the other two-thirds, they somehow lost their memories and forgot their plan. There were many cafeterias in the campus too. To reach the closest one, Ye Qingxuan only needed to take a right turn and then a left turn after three intersections. It was already after lunch hour, so there was barely any crowd. Ye Qingxuan followed Charles into the cafeteria and gazed about. Smelling the food made him feel better. He would even forgive Charles for leading him into the ditch. Around them, students sat on the chairs and ate lunch, some talking quietly. Seeing them like that, Ye Qingxuan felt relieved. Good! No one had tackled him, and he was not being watched like a strange animal in the zoo. Nothing had happened yet. Everything was normal. He let out a breath. "This is nothing." Charles laughed. "Why dont you turn around?" Ye Qingxuan sensed something strange behind him. He looked back and saw that half of the cafeteria was silent. Everyone that they had passed had fallen silent. It was as if Ye Qingxuan had stolen their voices. The ones who were laughing and talking with their friends had all shut their mouths. Those who had been eating had put down their bowls. The ones who had been sleeping raised their heads, looking at his backside. Those in line for food sensed something odd. They understood when they turned and saw Ye Qingxuans white hair. "That guy is" "Yeah, I heard." "The first day of schoolI was there" "He made Edmund" As everyone was in shock. Charles quickly cut the line and threw two lunch coupons into the window, speedily piling food onto the plates, not feeling that anything was wrong. But the stares made Ye Qingxuans hair stand up. "Why are they looking at me like that?" he asked quietly. "Because youre a good man!" "Good man my *ss!" Not knowing what to say, Ye Qingxuan waited until Charles finally filled his plate, and walked toward a quiet corner. "Eastern Ye, good luck!" someone yelled above the whispers. "Dont lose!" a girl called out after gathering her courage, then ran away with a red face. In the crowd, a dark-skinned boy had a drumstick in his mouth and waved at him, saying unclearly, "Thats right. We support you!" "" Ye Qingxuans expression froze on his face. -- "Dont lose what?" he asked quietly from the corner. "Why do I need good luck?" "Ahaha, well" Charles looked away and replied a bit guiltily, "Probably because someone spread the rumor that you cant stand those elites, and proclaimed that youll beat up Edmund so badly after Fridays class that even his mom wouldnt be able to recognize him?" "What the f*ck?!" Ye Qingxuan wanted to cough up blood all over this stupid face. "You again?" "Surprise!" "Senior, do you want to find my corpse on the streets?" "I said this so that I wont find your corpse on the streets within a week!" Charles exclaimed as if he had been greatly wronged. "Wow, it seems that you kind of make sense and are trustworthyas if!" Ye Qingxuans features twisted. "Youve been busy these days, huh?" "Well, its not like you can escape the challenge during the public lecture next Friday, right?" the d*mned senior asked, raising his fork. "If nobody cared about it, do you think you can survive the elites tricks?" "Uh" "The school board is completely controlled by the elites. All the commoner professors have been replaced, and the principal isnt here either. The school is the elites territory." Charles continued, "Let me tell you, over these years, a lot of people have disappeared in the Thames Rivers sewage system. Those elites all grew up in the vipers nest. All of them are heartless. Do you think theyll let you go after getting screwed over by you?" Ye Qingxuan was disgusted. "They started it!" "In their eyes, it was the commoners fault for fighting back." Charles voice made him freeze. Seeing his helpless expression, Charles patted his shoulder. "Hey, I gave my all to help you make a hit. Thats all I can do for you at this point!" "So you think its better to die when everyones watching?" Ye Qingxuan could not believe it, and glared at the b*stard before him. "Why do I feel like youre just here for the show?" "Youre making me sad." Shrugging, Charles pushed a plate of food. "Here! The most important thing in life is to be happy. Youre so hungry, and the meatballs will get cold if you dont eat soon. Eat!" "Youre going to kill me someday." Ye Qingxuan grabbed his fork, turned his anger into hunger, and attacked the food. 71 Manners But as the two devoured their food, someone knocked gently on the table. Ye Qingxuan looked up to see a stranger. The thin young man had a pair of delicate and long hands. He seemed steady and sure. His robe was pure black, bare of any decorations, as if he was going to a funeral. But there were no funerals at this school, and he seemed out of place. After he appeared, the cafeteria seemed to get colder, and the vague commotion became muted, as if they had become distant. "Youre that Easterner?" he stared at the youth, studying him. Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Thats me." "Im Richard." He reached out for a handshake. His hand felt cold like steel. Pointing at his clothes, his expression was still calm. "Student council, executive office. I bet you dont like people who wear this." Charles kicked Ye Qingxuan under the table, hinting at him to be serious. Of course Ye Qingxuan was serious. He knew what the executive office did. If the seven-hundred or so school rules was the law, then the executive office was the department that executed them. The students did not like those people because they wore all black, showing that they stood opposite of the students. They carefully watched those that thought of breaking school rules, and would swoop in and capture them as soon as they crossed the line. The chief that had been fired last semester for using opiates had been because of the executive office. In recent years, the student council insisted on letting the executive office oversee the school rules. The principal tried to stop them, but they still did it. They were not close to anyone, were stubborn, and did not care about anybodys feelings. They would not let anyone get in their way. In the short five days since the start of school, more than ten new students had already been locked in their room. Ye Qingxuan did not want to be their next tally, so being careful around them was the best solution. As if he were used to the sudden cautiousness, Richard did not seem to care. He put a piece of paper on the table and said quietly, "The student council recently sent out notifications. The grace period for tuition has ended. Is Bai Xi here? You need to pay the tuition within two days." Ye Qingxuan froze. Charless expression changed too. Their dirty tricks had finally appeared. -- As the only senior, Charles obviously knew that Ye Qingxuan had not paid the tuition yet. He had been taking care of the paperwork for the delay too. But there should have been one more month for him to pay it. Why had the deadline suddenly been moved up? Ye Qingxuans financial issue was clear to Charles. His pockets were cleaner than his white hair! After buying necessities over the past few days, he only had around ten pounds left. Even their meal had been Charles treat. How could he pay the tuition? The Academys tuition had always been high. At sixty thousand per year, you could buy a nice house in the heart of Avalon City! Suddenly asking him for both his and Bai Xis tuition was practically kicking them out of the academy. "Wait." Charles stopped the youth from speaking and looked up. "Isnt there still one month?" "What you did on the first day of school forced the school board to reconsider your request to delay the payment," Richard replied nonchalantly. "The elites have great power. Many people dont like Ye Qingxuans attitude." "Attitude?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brow. Richard nodded, his expression neutral. "I knew the first time I saw you that youre the type to cause trouble all the time. I know what youre thinkinggetting provoked is trouble too." "Then should I apologize?" Ye Qingxuan asked, expressionless. "My brother is in the first year, and he was dragged into this too." Richard pointed at his calf. "He was hit here and still cant get up." Ye Qingxuan froze. After a long time, he sighed. "Im sorry. I didnt mean to." "He told me it was the most fun he had in a fight," Richard said, shaking his head. "So Im going to let it go." Ye Qingxuan and Charles both gaped, not knowing what to say. They did not really understand these brothers logic. "I brought the notification over, so this doesnt have anything to do with me anymore." Richard nodded and looked toward Charles. "Also, your debtor has already reported you to many people. If this keeps going on, not even Abraham can save you." Charless expression changed. His usual infuriating smile on his face froze, and he finally turned helpless. "Research requires investments. I shouldnt have to pay them back if they suffer losses, right?" "You can keep thinking that." Richard did not agree nor disagree with him. Glancing toward Ye Qingxuan, he asked, "I heard that you argued over the school rules with Professor Ben on the first day?" "Yeah." Richard nodded. "Our Head likes your style. Are you interested in joining the executive office?" Ye Qingxuan gaped again. He felt like he did not have enough brainpower. Under the table, Charles kicked him, hinting at him to hurry up and accept, but Ye Qingxuan was hesitant. Finally, he shook his head. "Im sorry, but I dont think I have time." "Oh." Richard turned and left without feeling disappointed. Ye Qingxuan watched him leave the cafeteria and could not help but say, "Hes so weird." "Who cares about him? Whats wrong with you?" Charles buried his face in his hands. "That was such a good chance to make connections and you let it go. If you joined the executive office, then I could get away with drinking in the future! Uh, okay, lets not talk about this anymore. What are we gonna do about your tuition?" He realized that he was too loud and lowered his volume. His expression serious, he said, "We cant keep dragging it out. Two days! We cant get that much money even if our lives depend on it!" Ye Qingxuan blanched and scratched his head. "Right. Thats a problem." "No sh*t! Of course!" He grabbed his hair, freaking out. After counting his fingers, he nodded. "You can borrow some from the professor. It wont be much though, maybe twenty thousand. I can get five thousand and take you out to borrow more. With your credit, you should be able to get around thirty thousand. Theres nothing to do about Bai Xi. She can only leave school temporarily. Hurry and help her apply for the governments scholarship, and next year" "Cant find enough money?" A mocking voice from behind them made Charles features twist. The guy who had challenged Ye Qingxuan on Edmunds behalf, Bart, had appeared beside them. He looked down at the two and whistled. "Seeing you two so frustrated, ah, how do I put it? Its pretty interesting." He muttered in amazement. "Youre like a dazed duck just over this small amount of money." Here he quacked like a duck, his voice dripping with mockery. "You need something?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at him. "Leave if you dont." "Hey, why are you so unfriendly? But I suppose its natural for downtown rednecks not to have any manners." Bart sighed dramatically. Purposely looking for trouble, he pulled a chair over and sat down. He swiped the tabletop with a finger and his face twisted in disgust. "I dont want to be in this smelly place either, so let me just get to the point." Ye Qingxuan remained silent and gazed at him coolly. His eyes reminded Bart of Ye Qingxuans calm and cool demeanor when he had been fighting the other day. Bart was taken aback. He could not help but snort. Ye Qingxuan was still proud, but it would be a different story in a few days. "Edmund said that if youre willing to apologize at the public lecture, he will consider forgiving you, and let you go." Bart paused, his lips curling into a taunting smile. "The kind of apology with kneeling. You understand, right?" "Really?" Ye Qingxuan still did not react and just said, "How about this? If hes willing to kneel and apologize to me, I can consider letting him go too." Ye Qingxuans calm voice entered Barts ears and his smile froze, and gradually turned menacing. "You dont know who youre messing with. Ill tell him exactly what you said." "Maybe he can come personally next time," Ye Qingxuan suggested genuinely. "I mean, I cant carry a brick with me wherever I go." "The lower class is always so lowly. Do you know who you are? You want the Adrian family to look you in the eye? You dont qualify!" Saying this, Bart glanced over at Charles. "Youre going to disgrace the academy too, especially if you keep hanging out with the academys embarrassments." Ye Qingxuan froze, but Charless expression changed. Seeing it, Bart realized something and his smile became even more vicious. "Oh, you didnt tell him yet?" "None of your business," Charles said through his teeth. "Its okay, I understand. Youre afraid of him knowing that youre useless?" Bart looked at Charles and snickered. "Its our first meeting, but Ive heard of you. The legendary genius who reached Rhythm Level in one month, but was stuck there for more than ten years, getting held back until now. Youre not even a musician! Youre still here after all these years. Its shameless! Dont you feel embarrassed?" Charles did not reply, the smile on his face was fading away. "What, did I say something wrong?" Barts confidence grew. "Dont forget, you also" Ping! There was a sound on the table, and a flash of silver flew past. Cut off, Bart looked down in surprise and was stunned. He saw the youth slowly open his fist, the handle of a fork shaking on the tabletop. But the fork was right between his fingers! When the fork shook, he could feel the metallic coldness, bits of pepper and salt on his skin! "Since its our first meeting, you shouldnt try to make conversation if I havent introduced you to him," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Otherwise, its impolite and youll seem uncultured. Do you understand?" But Bart could not hear him. He could only stare at the forks shadow. A fork! A fork! A fork! The shaking silver light flashed in his eyes until he finally processed everything. Stumbling back, he almost fell flat on his back. His expression changed from fury to embarrassment, his face finally turning white from fear. "Youyou dare to fight me?" "Why not? I still have a knife here." Ye Qingxuan looked down at the metal in his hands. He twirled the knife on his fingertips and suddenly stopped. "I dont know if youre worthy enough to look it in the eye." "Youre going to regret it. I swear," Bart growled from between his teeth and left in anger. -- Watching as Bart stalked out the door, Ye Qingxuan pulled the fork out from the table and put it back on his plate. "What date is it?" "August 17th," Charles replied listlessly. "Oh, it should be alright." Ye Qingxuan nodded. Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he rose. "Lets go." Charles blanched. "Where?" "To get some money and pay the tuition. We can pay back your debtors too." 72 Exchange It was afternoon in Avalons downtown. On the busy street, a white stone building took up much of Avalons golden mile. The front yard within the black gates was empty. Guarded by two statues of saints at the end of the yard, the front door of the Musician Union was always open. Even in the daytime, the candles were lit, exuding a vague coldness and seriousness. Here, people came and went in silence. In the stern atmosphere, everyone seemed grave and serious. This was the Musician Unions branch in Avalon. Across the street was the Westminster Church. Different from the Musician Unions silence, the church was bustling and full of commotion. There was an endless stream of religious followers coming over in carriages, or merchants going to exchange, or store their money orders or holy emblems. For hundreds of years, these two landmarks stood beside Avalons Royal Avenue. One protected the kingdom from demons. The other maintained the economy and livelihood of Anglos people, supporting the kingdom with the Royalty. But now, a few elites sat impatiently in a fancy carriage before the Musician Unions door. "Thats what he said?" Edmunds eyes were ice cold. His face was still bruised and swollen, and he looked laughable. But the coldness in his eyes sent chills down Barts spine. "Thats right." Bart grit his teeth. "He said he wants you to kneel in apology and forever be the academys laughingstock." "If thats the case, then we wont keep them" Edmunds eyes became even more poisonous. "Seems like I was too na?ve. After all, theyre scum and we shouldnt expect them to know their place." "You want to" Barts muscles twitched and he broke off. "Bart" Edmunds swollen eyelids lifted upward slightly. "You know that its always possible to make a mistake during a faceoff. The academy always has slots for the wounded or dead" Bart remained silent. They were in the carriage, but he seemed to smell the vile scent of the sewer. In the murky waters of the Thames, a white corpse could float into the ocean and disappear forever. What a pity that the girl, so white and delicate, would disappear into the sewer "Let them be cocky for a few more days. Life is short, after all." The corners of Edmunds lips twisted. "Wait for my uncle to come back, and Ill show them!" "Are you sure?" Bart asked quietly. "What if your uncle doesnt care about this?" "Thats impossible!" He rubbed his throbbing nose. "My uncle loves me the most in the family. He wont let a redneck mess with me." Edmunds eyes flashed. "Just wait until I get the Dragon Breath Ring, and that mutt will see what the end of the world is like! Not even the teachers there will be able to save him!" -- As they waited, the servant at the corner of the street noticed something. He waved his hat in the direction of the carriage. Everyone straightened. "Hes coming!" Under everyones intense gaze, a column of horses galloped out of the crowd. On the strictly monitored Royal Avenue, the group of men clad in gray cloaks galloped over on their stallions. As if they had rode through wind and dust, there was a layer of frost on everyones faces. Some of the burly men held swords, while others had bows and arrows forbidden to commoners. Some were wounded, blood seeping through their bandages. The most shocking were the heads that hung from their saddles. The faces were hidden behind scraggly hair. Four sharp teeth gleamed from within their wide mouths. Two pointed ears were on each side. Moon fae. They were the dark family that fell from mankind, a twisted demon tribe created by the Dark Mother. Often disguising themselves as humans, these creatures that hid within society were always on the list of the Musician Unions wanted list. These seemingly elegant creatures, skilled in archery and swordsmanship, would turn into bloodsucking monsters, unable to control their thirst under the moonlight. Following the middle-aged man at the head, they stopped before the Musician Unions entrance. He jumped off his horse and handed his dusty cloak to his servant. Under his cloak, his elite hunting gear did not show any sign of travel or wear. Taking off his bloody gloves, he replaced them with new pure white gloves. Instantly, he transformed from a weary traveler back into an elite. Seeing him, Edmunds eyes lit up. "Uncle!" -- Outside the door, the man conversed happily with his men. When he entered the union, he heard a voice behind him. "Uncle! Uncle Bradley!" The man halted. Turning back, his eyes lit up. "Little Edmund? Long time no see." He smiled widely as he walked toward his nephew, pride written all over his face. "I heard that you were accepted by the Royal Academy of Music. I was happy for you when I heard the news. Are you here to welcome me back?" He hugged his nephew. After studying him, his brows furrowed. "What happened to your face?" "Nothing." Edmund smiled like a little boy. "I heard that you went to take care of the group of moon fae. How was it? Ive been praying for you to come back quickly." "A group of pointy ears is nothing to me." Bradley guided him forward. "There was some trouble with finding a guide though. Those scared commoners actually hid when they heard we needed a guide. Such a disgrace to Anglo." "Those commoners dared to refuse an elites recruitment?" Edmund asked in shock. Bradley huffed coldly. "Her Highness is too soft with those people calling for human rights. Even the peasants and slaves are getting uppity. But dont worry, I have the intelligence and techniques to teach them. Lets stop talking about these unimportant matters. The contribution points for this mission are worth my effort." He entered the hall of the union. Studying the list on the pillar, his eyes lit up. "Its time to reap the rewards after working hard for so long." There were always three stone tablets in the center of the Musician Unions hall. They had already been there before the building had been constructed. As the building was built, different equipment and aether worked on the tablets. In the end, a dozen alchemy musicians worked together and carved a music score with a few hundred syllables and finally created the end result. The three tablets could display something different according to what the musician played. One of them recorded all rewarding missions and the contribution points that could be had after completion. This included attacks on natural catastrophes, capturing of dark musicians, and removing the demons that appeared. The one in the center displayed the rewards. One could exchange contribution points for alchemy equipment, instruments, and musical scores. This included the handwritten notes of masters and saints, classic scores such as the Goldberg Variations and Missa Solemnis in D, and legendary instruments made by saints. If one had enough points, they could exchange them for practically mythical instruments such as Heavens Horn. The last tablet showed the ranking of musicians worldwide. The Sacred City ranked a musician according to the missions they accomplished, and their actions. The musician could decide whether or not to display it. Of course, the top of the ranking was always the Three Kings. Following them were Haydn, Chopin, Shikuang, Boya, and other saints. This was why the Musician Union existed. Through everyones cooperation and hard work, all resources could be kept in the same place to encourage naturally arrogant musicians to do something real for the world. This time, Bradley was willing to go out for one month to obtain a rare alchemy itemDouble Snake Time Meter. Of the seven major schools of musicians, the School of Summoning controlled beasts, the School of Choir searched for the meaning of life, the School of Illusions was immersed in the nonexistent, the School of Mind controlled the mind and soul, the School of Revelation thirsted for the future, the School of Abstinence focused on aether. Of these, the most popular school was undeniably the School of Modifications. The musicians of this school were experts at controlling all living organisms nature and changes. This included the crazily powerful and dangerous Battle Musicians and the Alchemist Musicians who could create alchemy equipment and instruments with runes and music. In addition to his own power, this type of musician also needed other items. If he had good equipment, an average third level musician could even break through the Barrier of Knowledge and gain the upper hand over a Resonance Level musician. Alchemy equipment had always been considered rare. They were snatched up as soon as they went on the market. Those that could be on the exchange list were considered the best of best. Some of them could help the musician like the wind, or activate different music scores. Others could boost a musicians power. This included the Double Snake Time Meter that Bradley had been pining for recently. The third movement of the Brandenburgische Konzerte was carved onto it. One of its features was that the musicians sense of aether would double within one minute! It was ineffective to musicians above level six, and could only be used once per week, but it was enough to make everyone crazy for it! If someone timed things correctly during a fight, and let his aether sense and control double instantly, even just one minute could turn the fight around completely. Such treasured equipment obviously had a price. It costed two thousand points, but it was truly underpriced. Most people would never give up something like this, but the seller had been stuck at the Musician Level for too long and had no hope of enlightenment. He decided to go full out, and saved up his points to exchange for material needed for the Resonance Ceremony and break through the Barrier of Knowledge! Otherwise, he would never sell his treasure at the Musician Union. If other people knew, they would definitely fight Bradley for it. But a week had gone by, and the equipment with serial code ST101 still had not appeared on the exchange list. -- Thinking of this, Bradley could not help but smile proudly. He had heard of this news from his friend in the Union the day it had been sent over, and spent a lot of money to find a loophole in the selling process. Usually, an item could be exchanged as soon as it was registered with the Union. But it needed a period of verification and storage before it could officially be on the exchange list. According to previous rules, this process could only be one week long. But after simplification in recent years, these two steps would not even take half a day. In other words, Bradley had one more week than others to prepare. If he could exchange the item within one week, then no one would even know that this item had existed. No one would know about his secret weapon. With uncontrollable ecstasy, Bradley strode to the front desk. He showed his identification card and evidence of his mission. Behind the counter, the worker glanced at the thick book beside him. Silver font swam across the first page, displaying Bradleys information. "Congratulations, Mr. Bradley. You now have 2041 contribution points." Hearing this, Bradley could no longer hide his pride. "I would like to exchange ST101, Double Snake Time Meter. Please hurry. I cant wait any longer." "Okay, just a moment." The worker flipped open the book and searched for the records and documents of the union. After a moment, shock appeared across his face. "My apologies, sir, but the Double Snake Time Meter has already been exchanged." 73 Joke "What?!" In that moment, Bradley suspected that he had heard incorrectly and was hallucinating. He bent over and stared at the worker. Eyes narrowed, he demanded, "Are you sure? I said I want ST101." "Thats right, sir." The worker leaned back, slightly afraid. Turning around the book in his hands, he showed Bradley the text. "According to the records, someone with authorization directly searched through the inventory and chose it five minutes before you arrived." "Sh*t!" Someone had beaten him to it! His face practically green, Bradley slammed his fists on the table. "Who? Who? Where did he go?! He cant be far" he demanded, grabbing the worker by his collar. But he quickly realized that he had lost his temper. and quietly slid a thick pouch of money to the worker. "My apologies, I was a little excited. Can you check who it is?" The worker weighed the pouch and nodded in satisfaction, his furrowed brows smoothed out. But as soon as he searched, they furrowed again. "Sir, this is a transregional exchange." The worker seemed confused too. "Its an exchange request that came directly from Sacred City. I dont know why he asked specifically for this item, but it has already been verified with the administrators signature." Bradley froze in shock. Were they sure? Most musicians came personally to the exchange center so they could test out the item in the experiment room. And how had this person known about an item that was only in the records, and not even on the exchange list? "Hes from Sacred City?" Bradley murmured, angry and confused. "When did he take it?!" "Uh, according to the message, the item will be kept here, and someone will come to pick it up." Upon hearing this, Bradleys eyes lit up, something sinister flashing in them. He stretched over the counter and stuffed another pouch of money into the workers arms. Quietly, he said, "Tell me his name. Im sure hell know how to treat my family." The worker hesitated, but could not resist the temptation of money. "Let me see. His name is" he flipped through the record and made a double take. He sounded out the name, "Ye Qingxuan?" Edmund was shocked too. "What?" He gazed around the hall subconsciously. In the corner of his eye, he saw someones backside at another counter. That familiar, annoying white hair...Gritting his teeth, he tugged at Bradleys shirt corner. "Uncle, look!" -- Ye Qingxuan and Charles looked around the Musician Union, praising the three stone tablets. It was already August 17th and according to his promise with Wolf Flute, the reward money from Rain Artist would arrive soon. He only needed to take a holy emblem to any church to withdraw it. From what he knew, Wolf Flute was sometimes unreliable, and the money might be a few days late, but he had been unexpectedly quick, and transferred the money early. Faced with three-hundred thousand, Charles was stunned. If they found a good agent, they could probably buy a house in uptown with this money. If used for tuition, they would not have to worry for about five years. But if they calculated their expenses on the safe side, they had enough for at least three years. Besides everyday costs, they still needed money for materials for practice and exploration. If they added in Bai Xi, it was enough for two years. Ye Qingxuans plan did not rely entirely on Wolf Flutes help. With his speed, he could achieve Rhythm Level in two years, apply for an internship outside the academy, and take on his own missions. But he did not know that other than money, Wolf Flute had also mentioned their promise: if he was accepted by the academy, Wolf Flute would give him a gift. Ye Qingxuan had forgotten about this, and was surprised that Wolf Flute had remembered. They were not far from the Musician Union, so he decided to come and see what the mysterious surprise was. Standing before the counter at the other side, he bowed his head at the old woman. "Hello, madam, excuse me." "Is this your first time here?" The woman gazed at the nervous youth and smiled. "Relax a bit. What can I help you with?" Seeing that it was not as serious as he had thought, Ye Qingxuan relaxed and smiled. "Im here to pick something up. It should be kept here by a Mr. Wolf Flute." "What is it?" The worker flipped through the book, searching. "I dont know," Ye Qingxuan replied helplessly. "It should be a gift. Something mysterious" "Do you have any vouchers?" "Is this okay?" He handed over his identification card and holy emblem. After a while, the worker nodded. "Code ST101? It is stored here indeed. Let me go find it for you." Soon, she returned, holding a box sealed with wax. "Please check for any damages and sign here. The paperwork for the first time is very complex and I dont want to trouble you." Ye Qingxuan froze a little and smiled awkwardly. -- "What is it?" Waiting on the side, Charles was more excited than Ye Qingxuan. "Its time to make a splash. Dont hesitate, junior!" "Let me see." Ye Qingxuan used a paper cutter to remove the wax, and opened the metal box carefully. The box was the size of his palm, and was padded with foam on all sides. There was a piece of white silk in the middle, as if it were holding treasured jewelry. But there was not any jewelry in it, only a plain pocket watch. The steel gray watch seemed old and felt heavy in his hand. It did not have gems embedded in it like recent trends, and only had a detailed carving as decoration. Two snakes intertwinedone calm and cold, the other wild. They were tangled together, killing each other. The carving produced heart-stopping tension, making one want to hold their breath. "You can tell its good just by the decorations," Charles praised. "Come on, let me see it." "No way." Ye Qingxuan dodged his hand. Using his knowledge from working in the clock shop, he flipped open the lid and studied the rotary table inside. The needle was still ticking steadily. Ye Qingxuan looked up at the clock and saw that the time was accurate. He thought that perhaps someone at the union adjusted the time, but then he realized that there was no knob to adjust. If one wanted to, he would have the open the entire thing and adjust the core. But the seam was still wound tight, and it was clear that no one had opened it. Not even a speck of dust could get through the seam. Ye Qingxuan could only use the reflection to see that it was there. So it had never been adjusted since its creation, but it had the exact time. "Amazing precision." Ye Qingxuan clutched the watch. Feeling the faint vibrations in his palm, he could not imagine how the machines core worked. "I doubt its that simple." Charles touched the pocket watch with a finger and his expression changed. "Theres" A voice sounded from the side, cutting Charles off. "Sir, can I have a moment with you?" A well-dressed middle-aged man had appeared beside him. His smile was warm and his voice was soft and deep, but not far away was Edmund, his expression much uglier. Seeing Edmund, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows, not wanting to deal with him. "Im sorry, but Im a bit short on time." He glanced at Bradley. "Whats the matter?" Although seeing that the youth did not want to talk to him, Bradleys expression was still gentle and warm. Putting his hand to his chest in apology, he said, "Im sorry for bothering you. The thing is, the Double Snake Time Meter in your hands is very important to me. Would you be able to part with it?" Bradley looked him up and down, taking in his old jacket. A sense of understanding appeared in his eyes. He took out a check. "I can buy it from you for fifty thousand pounds" "Tch, did you forget a zero?" Charles could not help but laugh. He nudged the youths shoulder. "Junior, sell it to me. Ill give you sixty thousand!" "You!" Anger flashed through Bradleys eyes, but it disappeared quickly. "Its called Double Snake Time Meter? Sounds nice." Ye Qingxuan studied the watch in his hands. "And sir, isnt your price a little low?" "Fifty thousand for a stupid watch is good enough for you," Edmund said coldly. "Just see it as our charity." When he finished, he felt the glare from his uncle. His expression instantly changed and he shut up obediently. "Hah, really?" Ye Qingxuan laughed and held up his hand. "The shell looks like metal, but its actually ancient silver. The most obvious sign is the rare spots. Lapis like this isnt mined often. One gram should be around 700 pounds. This watch is around fifty grams, so the price should be at least thirty five thousand. I didnt check, but the watch core for an ancient silver shell should at least be made by the top mechanic in the West. Lets add twenty-thousand for now." Ye Qingxuan hooked his forefinger on the chain, twirling the watch beautifully around his wrist, letting it land in his palm. His finger slid down and opened the watch. He felt around and his finger stopped at the edge of the lid. His smile instantly became mocking. "It should be at least ninety years old. If we ignore everything else and just look at the wear and use on the surface, its clearly an antique. Using the price of items from the same time period at auctions as reference, its easily one hundred thousand. If the watch core is marked by a famous craftsman, the price can soar even more." As the youth spoke quietly, Bradleys features twisted more and more. Finally, Ye Qingxuan raised his head and asked calmly, "Are you sure fifty thousand isnt a joke?" 74 Charles "Hey, dont" Edmund wanted to say something, but Bradley raised a hand, telling him it was unnecessary. "The energy of young people is always so impressive." He maintained his gentle smile and wrote a new check. "I can give you twenty" "Sorry, but Im not selling," Ye Qingxuan interrupted. Bradleys smile froze. In the silence, his spirit crumbled bit by bit until all that remained was gloom. "Young man, this isnt the place for you to joke," he said quietly, running a thumb over the family emblem on his sleeve cuff. "Check who you are talking to. If I were you, Id take the money before its too late." He looked down at the youth and ripped off the check from the book. Holding it between two fingers, he held it out to him. "Would you like to reconsider? Even if you are brave, you should think about the others." "Uncle, theres also a little girl" Edmund whispered to Bradley, his eyes evil. Hearing this, Charles expression changed, fury in his eyes. He moved forward, but Ye Qingxuan stopped him. Ye Qingxuan put back the watch silently and straightened his collar. Looking up at Bradley, his eyes were cold and full of disdain, as if it were snowing in his eyes, and there was a black vortex under the snow. "Important figures are so ugly. They can make everything sound like a blessing." He lifted a finger and flicked the check away, glancing at Edmund. "If anything happens to Bai Xi, youll regret what you said today. I swear on it." At this, Edmunds features twisted, as if angry. But being looked at by those eyes made him feel scared for some reason. "Lets go, senior. Theres no point in talking to these wild dogs." Ye Qingxuan looked away and turned to leave. -- "Who does he think he is?" Behind him, Bradleys stared at his backside, his expression turned menacing. He pressed down on the flute in his robe and opened his mouth, chanting an activation spell. Suddenly, the faint and graceful sound from a flute entered Ye Qingxuan and Charles ears. The low sound was like eerie whispering, wrapping around their brains and growing quickly like mutated seeds. It was like poisonous fungus growing under the spring sun, sucking on the trees nutrients. Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt dazed. His legs weakened until he almost tripped. His body stiffened as if something had sapped his energy, and his body was no longer under his control. This was Telemanns Flute Concerto Op. 68Marionette. It was the most commonly played piece by the School of Mind. By entering ones consciousness, the rune would live like a parasite. Then it would wipe out the victims consciousness, turning him into a puppet of the cruel music. Under the control of the melody, the stiff youth turned slowly. Like a broken puppet, it tried to walk back. Bradley looked at the returning youth, satisfaction flashing through his sinister eyes. He reached out a hand. "Give me the Double Snake Time Meter." Ye Qingxuans moves were stiff, but he did not reach out. Bradleys eyes turned furious. He played the flute again, the music sharp and becoming higher pitched until it suddenly stopped. It was as if it had been caught in his throat and died. "Hey, Mr. Bradley, long time no see." Bradleys expression froze because a hand reached out from before and rested on his shoulder. The man who seemed to be wandering casually hung onto Bradley like he had no bones and whispered, "I know you have been out for a long time, but you havent forgotten about the rules, right?" The deep voice sent a chill down Bradleys spine and his arm trembled. A hand was on the flute in his arms, and eether radiated from that palm. It had the ability of rust and could destroy his beloved instrument in a second! There were many rules in the Musician Union, but not many were really that important. Of the few that had punishments, the gravest was that no matter the circumstances, one may not fight in the Musician Union! "Mr. A-administrator." He turned stiffly and said quietly, "I believe this is a misunderstanding." "Perhaps. Should we speak somewhere else?" The administrator smiled and pulled him to the side. Bradley instinctively tried to struggle, but he could not get free. The hand was like iron. The administrator turned to look at him. "I said, lets speak somewhere else. Did you not hear me?" -- Standing outside the door, emotions battled across Bradleys face. The administrator pulled a lighter from his pocket and casually lit his pipe. He smoked a bit, blowing out puffs of smoke. Sighing, he said, "I dont care what happened between you and that kid, but you better pray that nothing happens to him in Avalon over the next few days." Bradley flinched, his face darkening. "Avalon is so big. It might not be me who did it." "Avalon is so big, but why did you choose this place to pick a fight?" the administrator asked in reply, but Bradley could not answer. "Also, fighting with two students in the Musician Union will result in a fine. Would you have any complaints if I deducted two thousand contribution points?" Bradley gritted his teeth and remained silent. His expression kept changing, but he did not reply. "Then thats that. You can go now." The administrator waved, but his expression turned confused after seeing the man not leave. "Why are you still here? Do you want a ticket?" Bradley glared at him. After a long time, he spat out, "My family will remember your gift." Then he turned and took Edmund away with him. The administrator only one had one thing to say in response, "Ha." -- A long time later, Ye Qingxuan finally recovered from his numbness. Runes glowed on Charles hands, flashing with faint electricity. He massaged Ye Qingxuans shoulders caringly. "Junior, are you okay? Does anywhere else hurt?" Ye Qingxuan rubbed his face contorted by the electric shock and rolled his eyes. "Senior, if you keep massaging me, Im going to die." "Hehe, Im just trying to care for you." Charles stopped the electricity and laughed stupidly. "Seems like youve recovered." The administrator walked in and nodded, seeing the two of them. "If youre okay, then go back. Dont worry, this is Avalon and that guy wont try anything." "Uh, thanks." Ye Qingxuan looked at him, not sure what to say. Charles, on the other hand, tackled the man, saying, "I wouldve brought fruit if I knew you were going to be here" The administrator pushed the idiot away and sighed. "Call me Administrator, or Mr. Bayer. Theres no need to thank me. Its the Unions rule." He patted Ye Qingxuans shoulder. "I have matters to attend to, but you can come visit if you have time." He looked at Charles, "And you, remember to bring fruit next time. Ive been a little stressed recently." "Of course! What do you like to eat? Ill go see if Modifications has anything in their backyard. Or I can go to Revelations" Charles waved, sadly saying farewell. Ye Qingxuan groaned inside. All Charles thought about all day was stealing from peoples backyards! -- Bayer stood before the window in his office and watched as the youth walked away. But when his eyes fell on Charles, he became doubtful. Bradleys music was targeted at both of themhe had sensed it clearly. But why had Ye Qingxuan been hit, but that annoying idiot was okay? "Did Bradley lose control?" he muttered to himself, holding onto his chin. -- Ye Qingxuan remembered that this road was bustling with people at noon. It was so loud, as if the entire worlds noise was playing there. But now it was dusk, and the crowds had disappeared. Even Charles seemed quieter. He lowered his head as he walked, kicking at pebbles. "Are you okay?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him, feeling that something was off. "Yeah, Im fine." Charles scratched his head, but would not look at him. Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "If youre okay, then youd say, junior, you care for me so much. Im so touched, and other stupid things. But its clear youre not okay now. Is it because of the Union?" "Pretty much," Charles murmured. "Professor always told me that Im a senior now, so I have to care for you two. But all I can do is joke around and make you laugh. I cant do anything else." He paused and kicked a pebble under his foot. "Because Im useless, you know." Ye Qingxuan froze, thinking of Barts words in the cafeteria and Charles disheartened state. He opened his mouth to comfort him, but did not know what to say. He realized now that he did not have experience in comforting anyone. Charles turned and saw that he was sad too. Knowing why, he wanted to laugh. "You dont have to worry about me. Im actually fine. I just dont know what the problem is." He stopped Ye Qingxuan and patted his shoulder. "Sometimes, you get stuck and get used to it. My days are a bit sad, I owe money and get drunk a lot, but there are ways to solve those problems. "I used to get sad, get drunk, and have some weird nightmares. After I woke up, I wouldnt know where I was. Every time I opened my eyes, I always questioned what the point of staying here was. But other than here, I dont have anywhere else to go to." Ye Qingxuan stayed silent, not sure what to say. Seeing that he was even sadder, Charles laughed. "Its good here, actually." He hooked an arm around the youths neck and said softly, "Theres the Professor, you, and Bai Xi. Im not alone anymore. I have to protect them so this city can become beautiful." -- Walking down the empty street, the gold-haired youth hummed an unclear tune. He gazed around the city under the setting sun. He could see the faraway ocean in the cracks between the buildings. The sun set behind them, drawing a brotherly shadow on the road before them. It was the silhouette of two boys. Seeing that the shadows were no longer lonely, he was no longer sad and smiled. 75 Classic School A short while after they left uptown, a fancy carriage stopped before them. The stallion pulling the carriage was as tall as a man, and its flame-like mane blew in the wind. The carvings on the carriage were decorated with gold and silver, shimmering under the setting sun. The carriage door opened. The person inside looked at them and smiled, "Good day, sirs. What a coincidence." Ye Qingxuan had thought that Edmund came to make trouble, but froze when he saw the person. In the carriage was a youth, sitting on a sheepskin rug. His silver scepter was tossed casually onto the ground, the ruby at the top shining with a lonely glow. His golden locks fell to his waist and he looked like a girl, but not many girls were as pretty as him, nor did they have that heart-stopping handsomeness. Before, Ye Qingxuan thought that Charles was attractive, but he was different from this face before him now. While Charles looked like a good-for-nothing guy, this mans aura was like the eerie coldness from an ancient well or an icehouse, and refused to be overlooked. Plus, he had such an opulent carriage and fancy attire. Ye Qingxuan only knew one person like this in Avalon. "Boss?" He stared at the man in shock, having never expected to meet him here. Sir Hermes, the clock shops mysterious boss, and namesake of the famous artist from a few hundred years ago, smiled smugly when he heard the shock in Ye Qingxuans voice. "Long time no see since you entered the Academy, Little Yezi!" He waved his hand affectionately. "Come closer, a bit closer, thats right. Is this your friend? He looks like a handsome youth. Im happy that you have new friends." Seeing two dazed faces, he smiled. "Would you like to come and drink some coffee? The shop is going to reopen soon after its recent reconstruction. Itll bring some liveliness if I have two guests. I just brought home some goods from Burgundy. You wont find my coffee anywhere else in Avalon." -- -- Half an hour later in the newly reconstructed clock shop, Ye Qingxuan and Charles sat at the table with coffee mugs in their hands like obedient children. "Oh? Thats what happened? Youre doing well." Hermes nodded after learning of the situation. "Your professor is Mr. Abraham? Ive heard of him. I think hes retired from the army, right? Its rare to see a musician with a military background. Yezi, dont take this chance for granted." Ye Qingxuan could only nod. He always felt that he did not have enough brain power for this mysterious and weird boss. But after getting used to his strange thought process, he seemed like a good person. For once in his lifetime, Charles was well-behaved. He just sat there, drooling at the antique clocks in the store. Ye Qingxuan coughed awkwardly, and lowered his head to drink the coffee. For some reason, the coffee tasted weird to him. It tasted like cat. Was this how high grade coffee tasted? It did not seem right. "I thought you wouldnt be able to make it," Hermes said casually. He sat in his big chair and propped his feet on the table, finding the most comfortable posture without a care for manners. "The last time an Easterner entered the Royal Academy of Music was twenty years ago. But he was different from you. He was invited over to be a professor. Its so interesting that a mysterious Easterner would come to the most prestigious music school in the heart of the Anglo Empire to become the vice principal" "Vice principal?!" Ye Qingxuan exclaimed, stunned. "Thats right. But I left for a few years and when I came back, he had gone missing." Hermes shook his head and sighed, "Such a pity. I even missed his wedding. I heard that he quit right after his marriage to enjoy his two-person world. So envious, so envious!" "Boss, do you still remember his name?" Ye Qingxuan asked carefully. "Why should I remember a mans name?" Hermes rolled his eyes. "Worker one, dont look down on your boss!" "Uh, Boss, that would be a weird reason for you to be looked down upon." Hermes muttered something, then said, "Well anyway, I think that Easterner caused some chaos in the end. Dont be like him, Yezi." Ye Qingxuan sighed and asked, "Do you have any details?" "Youll have to check your schools records. Doesnt the library have archives of most staff?" The youth shook his head. "The schools library isnt for students." "Actually, theres a way if you really want to see," Charles said from the side. "If youre the concertmaster of the grade, you can choose any one day to enter the library and read material with a secrecy level of four or lower. This includes beginner music scores from any School, notes and material under Resonance level. Of course, if youre crazy enough to want to read peoples profiles, its okay too." Ye Qingxuan froze. "Concertmaster? How do you do that?" "See whos most attractive. Just kidding." Charles shrugged. "Of course you win the title by fighting. If you beat everyone, then youre the concertmaster!" "Are there any rules?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Charles rolled his eyes. "You put down a flag in public if you want to challenge them. You must win ten rounds. Note that its ten continuous rounds. You have to fight as a musician. Yezi, dont even think about it. You have no chance now, right? You should wait at least half a year!" Ye Qingxuan thought for a long time and finally said softly, "It doesnt sound that hard. I can get rid of Edmund and his friends too." "My friend, youre so confident!" Charles did not know if Ye Qingxuan was dreaming or thought too highly of himself. "Would they not fight me if I dont challenge them?" Charles was silent. "Oh, its good for young people to have such a fighting spirit." Hermes clapped. His eyes paused when they swept past Ye Qingxuans chest. Suddenly, he rose from the chair and somehow stood atop the table. Ye Qingxuan thought that he was hallucinating, but Hermes really was standing on the table. He stepped forward and swept a hand across Ye Qingxuans chest, his pinky hooking onto the pocket watchs chain, and lifted it from the pocket. It was no wonder he was the boss. He was as elegant as an elite lady picking flowers, even as he stood on a table and took an object from someone elses pocket Hermes studied the pocket watch and his expression changed. "I miss this thing Where did you get it from?" "Uh, a friend." Feeling a bit awkward, Ye Qingxuan took off the pocket watch and let the man look at it freely. Hermes ran a finger over the carvings and smiled happily. "Little Yezi, I can give you some pocket watches if you like them so much." With that, he pointed at the display rack behind the counter. It contained a row of extremely valuable antique watches. "Think of it as a late meeting gift. Choose whatever you like." Charles was ecstatic. "Thank you!" A cane whacked him on the head. He wailed and promptly shut up. Hermes grinned at him. "This is an employee benefit. You dont count." "So how about it? Did you choose yet?" Hermes pointed at his collection. "This is all good stuff." "I dont need it." Ye Qingxuan awkwardly waved a hand. "They all look expensive and I havent done much." "Tsk." Hermes pursed his lips and went back to his seat. With the chain caught between two fingers, he gazed as the watch spun around his fingertip. He murmured, "There is no way to take it back. Such terrible work should be destroyed like dark history." "What?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Nothing!" Hermes squeezed out a smile. "Since we met coincidentally, and Im in a good mood, Ill fix it for you." Without waiting for Ye Qingxuans reply, he tossed the timepiece into the air. Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to speak, but Hermes snapped his fingers. Low murmurs and chants came from the empty air, instantly going from thin to brilliant sounds. Countless instruments accompanied the singing, turning into thunder and flashing past ones ears like lightning! Amongst the countless chanting voices was the voice of an old man. "Time, please pause, because you are so beautiful" And so, everything stopped. Everything froze in the air, as if a drop of amber from the sky had embalmed the entire shop. All change was forced to stop, and the river of time froze as well. Catastrophe level music scoreMovement four of "Faust" had begun! "Dearest friends, all theory is gray. Only the Tree of Life is forever green." Transformed into the music scores demon, Mephistopheles, Hermes smiled as he reached out and lightly touched the watch in the air. The outer layer fell off instantly, from the shell to the complex watch core -- As if he had taken a nap, Ye Qingxuan blinked and saw the pocket watch fall back into Hermess hand. "Here you go." Hermes smiled as if his prank had succeeded. "It was just a joke. Dont take it too seriously." "Can I say that Im used to it?" Ye Qingxuan muttered. "Oh right, I almost forgot something." Hermes pushed himself up with his cane, and rifled through one cabinet after another, leaving a trail of destruction. Ye Qingxuan watched dumbly as he kept looking for something. Finally, he kicked down a heavy leather suitcase from the loft. The case seemed to have gone through wear and tear and was covered in dust. Ye Qingxuan had always put his mattress on it when he used to live here. He had never thought to open the heavy thing and see what was inside. Now, the leather suitcase fell onto the floor. The old leather cracked open, emitting the moldy smell of old books. "Here. Dont say that I didnt help you." Hermes knocked against the suitcase with his cane. "You can choose some from this pile of trash." "What is it?" Hermes chuckled. "Guess." -- Ten minutes later, the burly Seton pushed open the door and was met with a mess, as if a tornado had swept through the room. Hermes sat in the mess, casually drinking coffee. "Hey, Seton. Youre back?" Seton grimaced even more. "You brought more weird stuff out?" "Of course not. I just thought of the weird stuff I had collected before and took them out to organize and toss them." Hearing Hermess careless tone, Seton pursed his lips. He picked up a practically rotted book from the ground and tried to read the title. "MusicEqual TemperamentRecord. What is this?" "Oh, old teaching material eliminated over time," Hermes lamented. "Theyre just books that should be buried under heaps of paper, or are records that some think are worth nothing. Its really bad to be a hoarder. Why did I collect so many things like a squirrel?" "Speak more clearly!" "Okay, okay," Hermes sighed. "You know, all modern schools of music are built on the theory of Equal Temperament, right? Compared to previous rules, Equal Temperament created a new free body. Uh, it was a hundred times easier to learn and practice. With this as the base, we created the Nine Levels of Musicians that we know now, and other rankings. But the problem is, what did the musicians, or wizards, do before the Equal Temperament?" "With this?" Seton looked at the moldy thing in his hands. "Thats right." Hermes nodded. "Basic musician theory had not yet been refined in the late Dark Ages. The seven major schools hadnt been created yet. It was still the Classic Era. The theory of aether sensing didnt exist yet. "The main theory at that time was the Chaos Theory. It was the principle that aether could not be measured. Since you couldnt measure aether, then you could only keep trying. And so the wizards believed that the more records they collected, the more accurate their calculations would be. This created a problema surplus of resources created without standardization. Imagine an amateur musician who wants to learn the rune for fire. He would have to try thousands of different spells. So the School of Classics quickly died out after Equal Temperament appeared. What you have in your hands right now is one the useless, helpful things they left behind." As he finished, a familiar look appeared on Hermess face. It was the innocent smile of a child whose prank had succeeded. There was a bit of pride, a bit of secret joy, and uncontrollable happiness! "Haha, I cant wait." Hermes looked out the window and murmured, "Twenty-six runes and more than 4800 spells. To memorize so many syllables, I think someones brain is going to burst." 76 Jianlan Underground Palace Six days later on Friday, the hot afternoon sun shone down from the sky blindingly. Brian and Dominic stood in the shade of the ancient buildings entrance, quietly watching the students that had gathered at the square. "There are quite a few new students this year." Dominic looked into the eyes of the boys and girls. "Its clear that theyre more troublesome too." Brian smiled and went along with Dominics words, "Maybe they want to hurry and see how the real musician world is. That would all depend on Mr. Dominics guidance." Dominic stayed silent, raising a hand to feel the scar under his mottled white hair. Maybe it was the hot weather, but he felt pain stretching from his forehead to the scar on the back of his head. But hearing "real musician world" made him want to laugh. "If they really want to see how the musician world really is, why dont they go to the battlefield?" His mouth cracked open and his hoarse laughter was like a wheeze, full of unhappiness. "See some blood, see some corpses, learn the color of bone and organs, get used to the smell of blood, and then you can say youve seen the world. These weak challenges and fights only give you the right to talk at banquets." In the silence, Brian felt a chill down his spine. He did not know if it was the eerie coldness from the ancient building behind him, or because of the old mans laughter. He leaned back in fear and suddenly became angry, wrinkling his nose in disgust. It was brash on his part to talk to an old guy from the battlefield. Other than killing people, he could only guard the door like a dog. Suddenly, Dominic turned his head and stared at Brian with an eye covered with white substance like a nebula. A faint smile ghosted his wrinkled face. "Are you angry? I smell anger" Under the gaze of an eye that had witnessed the underworld, Brians face paled and he stepped back subconsciously. He forced out a smile. "It must be a misunderstanding.""This d*mned battle dog has such sharp senses even when hes this old" Brian thought to himself. "Ha, really?" Dominic laughed and decided to stop playing with this frightened child. He said in his hoarse voice, "The school board has nothing to do with me. Im just a guard, and I dont care about anything else. Since they know that Im stubborn and sent me an assistant, you can take care of everything else." "Including class?" Brians face changed, mixed between uncontrollable happiness and shock. He thought it would have taken some time to take the power from that guy who did not even care about the school board. But he had never imagined that his dream would come true on his first day. Was it really that easy? It seemed that even this stubborn man knew to watch the wind. Seeing the principal fall out of favor, Dominics had cleverly decided to give in. Brian tried to keep a stern expression and asked humbly, "Is that okay?" "Why not?" Dominic murmured. "Isnt that what youre here for?" He looked back at the teachers assistant under the blinding sun. With his back to the sun, Brian couldnt see his face clearly. But the eye covered in with the white nebula emanated a corpses coldness. It was like a tide that crashed over Brians joy. "Work well since youre here." He raised a scrawny finger. Hooked on it was a rusted old key. "Its time. Open the door." It was clearly a command, but Brian, who had never followed any commands, took the key without hesitation. He was in awe of the might in that voice. His emotions battled. For the first time, he felt that his mission from the school board would not be so easy. The rough key, at least two fingers width wide, scraped in the keyhole. The sharp sound pierced Brians ears. He used all his energy, twisting it bit by bit. The towering bronze door opened with a shudder, as if woken up by the turning wheels inside. Powerful shaking came from the bar and keyhole. Every shudder made Brian feel as if his bones were rubbing against each other. Finally, the ancient door cracked open. Behind the door, the world was pitch black. An eerie breeze blew out of the darkness, bringing with it the smell of something rotting. Brian stepped back, as if shaken by something in the darkness. "Dont just stand there. Bring the students in." Behind him, Dominic leaned on a cane and passed him. "Its almost time for class." -- All students let out a breath when they finally made it to the end of the long tunnel. The entire time, the darkness all around them almost suffocated them. The hidden underground palace emanated an ominous feeling from every corner, at every second. Very few people knew that there would be such ancient architecture hidden under the verdure of the academy. It looked like a church, about to collapse any second. But the Church would have never built something so sinister. They always had sharp turrets, like swords pointing up to the sky. Like in an abandoned building built from scraps and metal, there was a long tunnel behind the bronze door. Silence weighed down on everyones whispering. There was only the sound of heavy panting and footsteps, and the sound of Dominics cane hitting the ground. "Stop here." They were on a vast square, at the entrance of a different palace. Dominics footsteps halted, and he looked at the crowd behind him. "All public practice classes will be held here. Remember your location. This is still within the proximity of the entrance. If you keep going forward, you will stray." He paused and laughed hoarsely. "If you get lost here, no one will be able to find you, or find the pieces of your body and put you back together." He raised a hand and grasped the rope of an alarm. He pulled, and the alarm went off instantly. The sharp ringing pierced everyones eardrums. But then, some people yelped in shock. The aether in the air suddenly woke up and became active. As if freed from its shackles, it started accepting its sense and control again. Following that, light appeared in the darkness. Silver flames ignited above the dome, and the ancient candles glowed. The growing light chased away the darkness, and also illuminated the menacing statues and faded art. When these half-human, half-snake, or otherwise mutated statues became visible, everyone gasped. They were not in an underground palace. They were in a tomb! -- It was a tomba tomb that had buried a legend. Brian stared at the darker places and his breathing quickened. The legends were true. Legend said that after King Arthur died, his famous Sword in the Stonethe one that killed the catastrophe Red Dragon and created Angloand the armor and weapons of the Round Table Knights were sealed in the deepest parts of the academy. Apparently, the sword was still active every night, even after losing its owner. The soul of the Red Dragon sealed in its blade still howled during the dark nights. It was a weapon that had combined the skill of all Eastern and Western alchemists at the time. After losing its owner, it became a creature that preyed on men. The Royalty could not bear to destroy King Arthurs only relic, and could only seal it in the deepest part of a tomb-like underground palace. It was guarded by the armor of the Round Table Knights. Someday, a new king would be born and take control of it. There were more legends than one could count. But this was the only legend that was a secret every major family passed down. Brian had worked hard to win this position, just so he could add something bold to his resume. This was also why he had been so upset with Dominic. The resource that could help him win the world had always been taken by an old thing that needed a cane to walk? Such blasphemy! "What are you still waiting for?" Dominics hoarse voice sounded behind him like a ghost that could read minds. "Start the class." The old man hobbled away into the dark shadows. Only his eerie laugh remained. "I heard that the kids have prepared something. Im so excited. Can the gentlemanly elites learn to fight like dogs too?" Seeing his backside, Brians expression turned dark. He was starting to find this old dog an eyesore. -- Brian stood before the crowd, starting to lecture the rules and important points of musician battles. But in the crowd, Bai Xi hopped around in impatience. Everyone around them had an idea of what was going to happen that day. They sent over troubled and pitiful gazes. The more they did so, the worse Bai Xis temper got. "What are you looking at? Im going to gouge out your eyes!" Bai Xi stuck her middle finger up at everyone. "What? Not happy? Then fight me. Ill teach you a lesson!" They looked away, but Bai Xi was still pissed. "How long has it been? Why isnt he here yet?" she asked, stepping on Charles feet. "Why did you sneak out this morning? How come only you came back?" "Maybe because there are a lot of scrolls," Charles said mysteriously. "Dont worry, he promised to come back in time. It hasnt started yet." "Music History?" A dramatic voice sounded from the crowd. Bart gazed mockingly at the emblem before Charles and Bai Xis chest and asked his friend, "What department is that? Do we even have that in our school?" "Oh, Ive heard of it before." His friend giggled. "It used to be part of Revelations, but it was too much of a failure, so we kicked them out. They host our academys infamous failure too. How have they not been eliminated yet?" "Say one more thing!" Without waiting for Charles, Bai Xi walked over to the student. She looked up at him, her eyes full of anger and coldness, like a frosted dagger. Her eyes were different from Ye Qingxuan who always looked at others with pity in his eyes, as if he was looking at an idiot, and would not react no matter what. But Bai Xi did not care about getting on the same low level as those idiots. Once she was angry, she was willing to fight no matter what. When she stood in front of the boy, a full head taller than her, and looked up, he actually stumbled back. No one could believe that such a fierce glare came from that little girl. "A failure? Even if he is one, hes a failure Im protecting." She reached out, jabbing at the boys chest, forcing him to stagger back. "Say one more word and Ill rip your lips off. Just try" 77 I’ll Fight Ten "A failure? Even if he is one, hes a failure Im protecting." Bai Xi reached out, jabbing at the boys chest, forcing him to stagger back. "Say one more word and Ill rip your lips off. Just try" "Useless trash!" Bart thought angrily. He pushed the idiot away and stood before Bai Xi. He smiled, looking like a gentleman as he gazed down at the little girl. He could not help but glance over her white skin, lowering his gaze to her beautiful face and delicate neck. He wanted so badly to reach into that collar. But Bai Xis eyes pierced him, causing his smile to go stiff, turning into a cold grimace. "What use are your words? Where is he?" Looking behind Bai Xi, and not seeing the white-haired youth, he could not help but snicker. "I bet hes too scared. Weve prepared an amazing show today, but its a pity we met a coward." "What does this have to do with you?" Bai Xi side-eyed him. "You talk like youre the boss. If youre so powerful, why are you still Edmunds dog? Do you bark when he ignores you to get attention?" "You!" Barts face darkened and he glared at Bai Xi. Looking at the delicate beauty on her young face, and her slightly protruding chest, his eyes became angry and greedy. That stupid b*tch was willing to offend him over a mutt? He had even resisted his savage urges so many times! He studied the girl, wanting to find panic hidden in her eyes. But greeted by her stubbornness, Barts heart actually skipped a beat. His gaze softened, filling with pity and lust. Reaching toward her shoulder, he said gently, "Do you still believe that he can protect you? Do you know just how many people he has offended? Come with me. As long as youre obedient, I wont let anyone touch you" "Too bad shes with me." A hoarse voice sounded behind him, causing his hand to freeze. Bart turned around like he had seen a ghost. Behind him, a tired white-haired youth smiled toward Bai Xi. "Sorry, there were a lot of tests and it took some time." Finally, his gaze landed on Barts frozen hand, and his eyes became cold as if he were looking at a heap of garbage. "Can you take your dirty hand away now?" "Didnt you know you had the guts to come." Bart suppressed his fury and smiled without moving his facial muscles. "Hopefully you wont be scared. We prepared a long show and I promise itll be fascinating." He slit his neck with his finger. "Well see." "As you please." Ye Qingxuan bent over and wrapped an arm around the girls shoulder to taunt Bart. Smiling, he watched as fury filled Barts eyes, and the boy stormed away. And then his smile stiffened because Bai Xi had stepped on him where no one could see. "Im going to bite you if you dont let go," Bai Xi said through clenched teeth in a voice only the two could hear. Ye Qingxuan chuckled quietly. "Im just playing with him. Its so interesting." "How come you get to hug me?" Bai Xi glared at him. "Next time, you stand in the front and Ill carry you bridal-style. How about that?" "Cousin, with your strengthhow about no." Ye Qingxuan stroked her hair tenderly and Bai Xi nearly exploded. "Im gonna kill you!" -- "Okay, that is all for the general rules. Next, we can begin practicing." At the front, Brian had finally finished explaining the rules and paused. His gaze swept past Edmund and, seeing the boys expression, he nodded, revealing a chilling smile. Raising his voice, he looked around the crowd. "Next, which student will voluntarily demonstrate a duel between musicians?" He emphasized the word voluntarily. It was clear that Edmund had talked with him beforehand. Nothing could be said, even if Ye Qingxuan was injured later. "Sir, I want to challenge the student beside me. I believe he will voluntarily demonstrate for everyone," Bart said, raising his hand. The crowd split immediately, forming two separate circles around the two. Whispers spread throughout. It was clear everyone knew what would happen. Bart looked back at Ye Qingxuan. The youth stood quietly and just nodded, not revealing anything else. "I will make sure you lose your dignity in front of everyone." Bart talked as he smiled, his voice menacing and deep. "Something like Music History should never have existed in the Royal Academy of Music." "Dont brag about things that you have no control," Ye Qingxuan said quietly. "My father taught me this when I was three years old. It seems that elites start their education late." "It seems that you want to die." Bart wiped the smile off his face. -- "Please come forward." Before the crowd, Brian stood in the center of the square. A carving of a snake was under his feet. The long snake eating its own tail wrapped around the heart of the square, the fierce struggle displayed on the stone floor. The exaggerated yet detailed design made it seem not like an inanimate object, but like the corpse of a terrifying creature, its pain preserved in the stone. "Do you have anything else to say?" Brian stood between the two and asked, seeming fair and just. "No need." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I dont like trouble, so if we can solve this in one blow, then lets do it." Bart blanched. "What do you mean?" "I mean that today, Im going to fight ten students." The entire square fell silent at that. Ten? In the shadows, Dominic thought of something and laughed. "I thought it would be boring to see a bunch of kids play around, but I didnt expect that there would be a wolf today. Challenge to be the concertmaster in the first practice lesson?" -- "Concertmaster challenge?" When everyone finally processed what Ye Qingxuan meant, chaos erupted like boiling water. "Hes going to challenge to be the concertmaster within the first ten days of school? This is too much." "Is it possible?" The person behind the speaker shook his head. "Probably just go big or go home," someone murmured. "At least hell lose with more honor this way." Even Brian, as the judge, was shocked. "Concertmaster challenge?" He turned to look at Ye Qingxuan, carefully studying this quiet youth for the first time. Humble clothes, lack of alchemy equipment, no elite emblem, an Easterner. He furrowed his brows, as if he was looking at an idiot. "You?" Someone in the crowd snickered and laughter scattered throughout mockingly. Clapping, someone said, "Maybe itll work and Music History is going to make a comeback! The day of reunification is here!" His voice was full of mockery. Edmunds expression was twisted. He clenched his fist, running a finger over his thumb. His evil eyes said, "If this guy is allowed to speak freely, he might cause more trouble." "We cant keep a curse like him around," said a cold youth beside him. Edmund shivered at the voice and finally set down his determination. -- "Student, you need to pass the school offices assessment to qualify for the concertmaster position." At the front, Brian finally resisted the urge to laugh. With slight mockery, he said, "Its always good to dream big, but its most important to focus on reality." Laughter rang through the crowd again, but Ye Qingxuan did not move. "Really? Heres the pass from the school office. Take it." Ye Qingxuan pulled out a certificate stamped by the school office from his pocket. "It took so much work and there were a bunch of tests to take. I was almost late." Brians face turned as white as a sheet. Looking at the certificate in his hands and seeing the red stamp, he felt as if he was hallucinating. How many days had it even been? Someone passed through the school office? What did they even do all day? They just let a downtown redneck pass the tests? Little did he know, the school office was upset too. The dratted Easterner appeared at the door before the sun had rose, saying that he wanted to pass the test for the concertmaster challenge. He did not give them any time to prepare. They had wanted to skirt around the problem, but who knew that this guy would take out the school regulations and cases of past requests to fight back! Unable to refuse, the school office grudgingly called over all the teachers of the office and gave him six tests that a first level student should never be able to pass. They included the Battle of Asgard and Burgundy, music history of the Sacred City and other subjects that were notoriously difficult, labeled as "immediate fail" subjects. They even added in an Advanced Number Theory final exam question. The concertmaster challenge included many academic things too, so they decided to make this fool give up once and for all. But they had not known that this misguided white-haired guy had grown up in the hidden archive room of the Church library. Even theological debate would not be a problem for him. He even received full marks on the test problem that had been created just to eliminate students. When he received the test, Ye Qingxuan was ecstatic. In the end, the school office had no choice but to accept it, and give him the certificate. This guy was looking for death anyway. He was merely a student, while there were others who had already reached Rhythm Level in the first year. There were people who were close to becoming an official musician! -- "Are you crazy?" Bart cast a look of disdain at Ye Qingxuan. "This is a friendly fight between musicians, not crude fighting between commoners. If you do what you always do, youll get expelled." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "I think that I know the rules much better than those who dont even flip through the student handbook." "This, this doesnt follow the rules." Brian was completely taken aback by the school offices certificate. As if grabbing onto the last bit of protection, he said, "Even if you passed the test, you still need to notify the entire Academy. Now, you" "Please dont worry about this." Ye Qingxuan took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. "I think that everyone knows by now, right?" As he said this, he turned back and glanced at the crowd. The troll senior whistled and gestured that everything was going as planned. "Spread rumors? Im the best" Charles thought, laughing. Before he could finish laughing, a commotion sounded from the entrance of the square. 78 Despicable! So Despicable! A commotion suddenly sounded in the quiet square, along with hurried footsteps from the tunnel. "You in front, move!" "Its the concertmaster challenge. Hurry up! Itll be over if were late." "I want to see Eastern Ye beat up the challenger. Hurry up, hurry up" "Psh, I bet hes the one getting beat up!" "Look, Mom! Im going to be on the Notice List!" "Someone come and drag this psycho away" The dark crowd took up the entire square. Everyone was startled and stared at each other. "Did it start yet? Get on with it, Im in a hurry!" "Front row seat, front row seat!" "Hey, dont leave! You, you made me drop my drumstick!" "Shstop playing around! Its the concertmaster challenge!" Besides the rowdy students that came to see the show, there were many curious professors as well. Ye Qingxuan recognized some familiar faces, such as the gloomy Banner, and Ben who had rushed back to campus after receiving the news. Charles cut through the crowd like a fish in water. "I have stools. Does anyone want some? Anyone? Sit up close to the first concertmaster challenge of this year! Dont miss this opportunity! "Pumpkin seeds, soda and ice cream, anyone? Its all five pounds per set. Theyre not being sold individually. Dont want it? Okay then." Charles called out, "Hey, I have a rotating chair for you, Professor. Would you like one? Its only fifty pounds, very cheap! You want three? Great!" "Charles" Ye Qingxuan could not help but bury his face in his hands and sigh. He should have guessed this was what would happen when Charles had lugged a mysterious pile of things over. So this was what he had been waiting for! Rooted to his spot, Brians expression changed. He prepared to say something, but behind him, a hoarse voice said, "Good. Just like this." Dominic spoke from the shadows. He rolled the peanuts in his hands and threw them in his mouth, one by one. Seeing that they tasted good, he waved. "Hey, come here, give me two more bags" Brian grimaced, but he did not say anything. He took one last glance at Ye Qingxuan, not hiding his disgust whatsoever. "Since the school office has already verified it, we can start now. But its different from regular duels. You are allowed to injure and maim in the concertmaster challenge." Spitting out the word allowed, he announced the start of the challenge and left. The square silenced in an instant. It was finally starting. -- At the heart of the snake circle, Bart stared coldly at Ye Qingxuan. Facing each other, they put their hands to their chest for a bow, performing all the required etiquette. But when they looked at each other, Ye Qingxuan heard Bart say, "You will regret this decision. Ive been a student for two years!" Ye Qingxuan was calm as ever. He gazed at Bart with frustrating pity. "If I win, I hope you will promise me something." He sighed. "My time is precious. Can you all go and read more books and stop causing trouble for me?" He paused, shaking his head. "Wasting other peoples time is shameful." "Are you scared?" Bart chuckled. "This is only the beginning." Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. It was as if they were speaking different languagesit was a waste of time. According to etiquette, they were to take ten steps back after bowing, and stand at the rim of the snake circle. Outside of the ring, Brian flipped a coin. Bart kept his eyes glued on the coin, watching as it flipped in the air, cut through and landed in the center of the square. A sharp sound rung out as it bounced on the stone. It had begun! Bart raised a hand instantly and began chanting loudly. A mouthful of syllables hung in the air. Aether gathered at his fingertip, forming a blurry shield in front of him. "Planning and attacking" was the typical way Revelations fought. They believed that finding the right timing was more important than blind attempts. They first had to protect themselves, and store strength. After finding the right opportunity, they would destroy the enemy with one blow! As he chanted, a blurry rune rose from his heart. The rune seemed as strong as stone, standing in his soul, and calming his slightly panicked mind. This was the most common protection runeone of the uses of "Iron." By transforming the aether into an iron wall, one had produced a shield. This effect was long-lasting, and would not break unless it was hit with an explosive rune. It could also take in new aether and become stronger through chanting. But when he finished chanting and looked up, he froze in shock. His enemy was right in front of his eyes. -- The moment the coin landed, Ye Qingxuan moved and charged! Sprinting as if he were in race, he inhaled a lungful of cold air. Holding down his heart, he spat out unclear syllables. The syllables left his mouth and turned into ripples. Without caring if his breathing was stable, he began chanting while running! His skin instantly turned red, his veins bulging, as if he was burning with a high fever, but he continued to speed up! He traveled dozens of meters in the blink of an eye! Before Bart could finish his chanting, Ye Qingxuan had already crashed into the shield. Then he stepped firmly onto the ground, like a nail hammered into the dirt. Looking up, he saw Barts wide eyes and his own reflection in them. He tried to remember what Victor had taught him. Pushing off of the floor, his momentum transformed. Strength rose from the ground, following his calves, rushing into his waist and shoulders, pushing his clenched fist up, and up, and up until the raised fist smashed into Barts jaw. Crack! The aether dissipated! Jaw dislocated, Barts feet practically flew off of the ground due to the sudden force, and he toppled back. Still in the same spot, Ye Qingxuans face was expressionless, but he was cheering inside. Just like what Victor had said, that punch felt indescribably satisfying...and his knuckles hurt! The corner of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched, and he resisted the urge to shake his hand out. He grimaced in pain. On the other hand, Bart rolled painfully on the ground. Fighting though through the pain, he lifted his head, a bit of blood on his lips. "Des" Embarrassed to death, he could barely speak. But before he could finish, the world went black, and he passed out. This challenge ended in such an odd way within five seconds. As everyone gaped, Ye Qingxuan remembered Barts last words, "Are you scared?" and wanted to sigh. "I just wanted you to feel less humiliated." He looked down on Bart and shook his head. "Why couldnt you understand that?" -- "Despicable! So despicable!" Barts friends roared from outside the ring. "He broke the rules!" "This has nothing to do with a challenge between musicians!" "Foul!" Outside the ring, Brian furrowed his brows, his expression turning upset. "This is a challenge between musicians. How can you fight like youre brawling in the streets. You" Beside him, someone chomping on sunflower seeds interrupted him, "Professor, look again." With his usual infuriating smile, Charles pointed at Ye Qingxuan. Hearing him, Brian was taken aback. His gaze fell on the back of Ye Qingxuans neck. Red blood flowed continuously, faintly revealing the mark of a rune. Along with the rush of blood, there was a faint sound like a bubbling creek from the youths thin body. It was the sound of blood rushing and crashing against the shell of his body. "Rune Flow?" Brians expression turned ugly. "This is the runes effect. No one said that you cant use an auxiliary rune, right?" Charles littered sunflower seeds all over the ground. "Boosting the inside, increasing blood flow and physical strength, this is a rarely seen rune effect." As a basic rune, "Flow" was pretty much a useless rune at the student level. Its effect was not for strength, and could only control the movement of liquids, such as speeding up or decreasing the flow of water. A musician from the School of Choir once suggested a way to use itin ones own body, increasing blood flow, bringing along with it the rest of the organs to improve physical strength in a short period of time. The level of precision needed for that method was too high, and its effect was never as powerful as other runes, so it was forgotten. The precise manipulation of runes had always been an obstacle all student musicians had to face. It required long-term familiarization and research of runes so that one could become accustomed to the sense. One needed to repetitively cast the rune to reach the needed level of precision. No one would have imagined that there would be a crazy person who had forced himself to memorize who-knows-how-many syllable records of runes, and instead of mastering the control of aether, had adjusted the syllables based on the precision needed. Just as swordsmanship requires the wielder and sword to be one, and everyone worked to become familiar with their sword, there would always be someone who looked all over the world and found one sword for chopping firewood, one for hurting people, one for vegetables, and one for breaking down doors. The former was definitely easier, and if one wanted to do the latter, he would be considered crazy. No wonder Charles had said that he "used force" on the runes. Rooted to his spot, Brians expression changed as he finally processed everything, but it still felt wrong. In the end, he finally reacted. "No, its too fast. He chanted too quickly. It was less than half the normal time." Hearing Brian, a professor in the crowd reacted too. "Thats right. The effect was weaker than usual too." Finally, someone realized, "He weakened the effect so he could forgo some syllables. This is the fast chant technique from the School of Choir." -- "A bunch of idiots who dont even know what this is," Dominic spat from the shadows. "Hehe, its the chant style of war hymns. Its rare that someone knows this." Thinking of something, he cackled. "This kid is Abrahams student? Was he lucky or unlucky to fall into the hands of that old guy?" In the center of the ring, the unsettled Brian heard Dominics voice. "He didnt cheat," Dominic said. "The challenge continues." 79 There’s No Harm in Looking Decades ago, the Asgard people hatched a plan called "Wild Warrior" to strengthen their enforcement. This plan was to train inhumanly powerful soldiers. Because of the high cost of training and keeping musicians, they were rare on the battlefield. Most times, a small battalion might not even have one musician. Even using one musician on the field as reinforcement was too much of a luxury. The general would feel immense pain if even one was lost. That was why hope was usually on regular soldiers. And so, someone thought of a compromise: choose soldiers that had a musicians talent and train them. They did not need to well-rounded like a proper musician. They only had to be experts in chosen "war hymns." The main goal was not to kill the enemy, but to strengthen themselves and their comrades. Under this circumstance, achieving student level and learning some basic runes was usually enough. If they were able to reach rhythm level, the entire squads fighting power would be greatly transformed. Mass produced soldiers like these were not as expensive as musicians, but still had the ability to reverse the tide of the battle. The end result was that "Wild Warriors" were born. Not qualified as a proper musicians, these soldiers were seen as "defects" and "cannon fodder." But on the battlefield, they were surprisingly useful, and even invented the technique "War Howl." The Wild Warriors, clad in bearskin armor and wielding battle axes decorated with runes, had become a class of soldiers comparable to high class knights. Their War Howl could activate runes and music scores, strengthen themselves and comrades, and create miracles on the battlefield. Naturally, this had been imitated by others, including Anglo. Dominic had once been a trainer as a military Accompaniment Musician. As he knew, there was also a secret unit formed by these soldiers at the time called "Dragon Riders." Even most military insiders did not know of its existence because they lived in the Dark World, separate from the human world. The military at that time was continuously creating cheap "cannon fodder" to explore the Dark World. But the Wild Warriors contained secret techniques of Asgardian musicians. When other nations tried to copy it, they were destined for failure. After a while, the practice was stopped because of unknown reasons. Decades had passed and people no longer remembered that Anglo had once experimented with Accompaniment Musicians. What Dominic had not expected was a reunion in the eerie underground palace. Even if it was a simple chanting technique and rune, there was only one person in the entire academy who could teach that skill. "War Musician Quick Training Manual," Dominic sighed softly. "Abraham, why do you still remember these outdated things?" In the darkness, Dominic found his pipe and lit it. Breathing in wordlessly, he felt the smoke fill his lungs and his pain stopped. He squinted. "Have you not given up yet?" -- At 2:20 that afternoon, Sydney waited impatiently outside the school under the blazing sun. He wiped his sweat away and looked into the distance. Pacing back and forth, he seemed to be waiting for a guest. Amongst the passerby, a girl wearing a wide-brimmed hat arrived wordlessly. A black veil hung before her, covering her eyes and beautiful face. Her white hair had been hidden under the hat. She had not arrived in a carriage, nor did she have thousands of servants clustering around her. She looked like an average elite lady. Only a middle-aged servant followed her, holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun. Seeing her, Sydney swallowed nervously and went up to welcome her. In rough Eastern tongue, he said politely, "Welcome, Your Highness." The princess from Yunlou had stayed in Avalon for half a month now. Her ambassador mission had been completed yesterday, and now was preparing to leave. But for some reason, she requested to tour the city before she left and see what Avalon was like. She refused the path and guards provided for Royalty, and took one inconspicuous servant to begin her secret trip. The Royalty could not interfere with her plans. They could only secretly notify security of everywhere she planned to go so that they could prepare and make sure there would not be another assassination attempt. After touring the opera house and clock tower, Her Highness also went to Westminster Church. Apparently, she conversed happily with Archbishop Medan about theology. Even the archbishop commented privately that her knowledge on the Bible was comparable to his. Closely thereafter, the alchemists of the Royal Academy of Engineering were also enchanted by the princess, praising her intelligence and opinions. If not for her low-key actions, coming and leaving secretly, only observing and avoiding all secret topics, people may have misinterpreted this as Yunlou showing off her power. Thankfully, she had arrived at the last stop. Everyone let out a sigh of relief secretly. But Sydney faced immense stress. If the crazy principal was still here, dealing with that difficult girl would be no problem. But the principal did not care about anything, so Sydney was in control, but he did not have the confidence. He could only pray that the princess acted how she had before and not cause any trouble. In response to Sydneys welcome, the girl nodded. "Queen Mary told me that the Royal Academy of Music is an interesting place. This trip would have been a waste if I couldnt visit it before leaving Avalon." "Your Highness has spoken too highly. The Academy is nothing but a place for education," Sydney replied calmly. But he let out a sigh of relief inside and he could not hide the pride from his face. What was this place? It was had been the center of Anglos academia for centuries. It was filled with geniuses, and at least three saints came from this school. There was not any other place comparable, other than the sacred city. Countless country leaders had visited before. A little girl was nothing! "If you would like to know more about the academy, you must visit the auditorium. Weve already prepared it for your arrival." He walked in the front, leading the way. "Princess Chaoyue, please follow me." "Blasphemy!" The furious servant stepped forward and glared at him. "You lowly servant dare to call the Princess by her first name?" Sydney froze, his heart trembling as his mind went blank. He had offended her with his first sentence. But he had really forgotten that strangers could not call Eastern elite women by their first names. His lips twitched and hurriedly put on a smile. "My apologies, please forgive me." "Mr. Sydney is not an Easterner and he doesnt understand our customs. We shouldnt blame him and just do as they do in Anglo." The girl referred to as Chaoyue raised a hand, telling the servant to retreat. Neutrally, she said, "This isnt a formal occasion. There is no need to use my title. You can call me by my surname. Im sure there wont cause any confusion here." Sydney finally let out his breath and nodded. "Miss Yunlou, please follow me." The servant huffed and followed closely. Sydney walked in the front. Wiping cold sweat from his brow, he felt that his task was extremely difficult. -- "The Royal Academy of Music was established four-hundred years ago. A century ago, famous artist Hermes remodeled it. It is now a well-known site in Avalon, especially the auditorium, which is representative of the Gothic style." Sydney guided them down the wide street covered by verdure, endlessly introducing facts about the ancient architecture. It was clear that he had done his homework last night and memorized a lot. Yunlou Chaoyue listened quietly. She nodded occasionally, as if she was not paying attention, adding more stress on Sydney. Suddenly, she halted, stopping in place. Sydneys heart skipped a beat. He ran over to her quickly and put on an enthusiastic smile. "Miss Yunlou, whats the matter? Its truly too hot today. Shall we take a rest?" Chaoyue remained silent, ignoring him. She looked to the side, as if she sensed something. After a long time, she pointed to her right. "Whats there?" Sydney blanched. Following her gaze, he panicked inwardly, his expression turning troubled. "This" The fat middle-aged servant rolled her eyes. "When Her Highness asks a question, you answer it. What are you doing stuttering like this?" Sydneys expression froze and he could only reply truthfully, "Its the Jianlan Underground Palace." "Underground Palace? Is it like a prison?" "It is just a place to store old items." He wiped at his sweat. "Its not suitable for visiting today. Theres a practice lesson going on now, and the students are fighting. I cant have anything happen to you." He racked his brain for a way to drag the girl back on the right path. There could not be any straying! But Yunlou Chaoyues words made his blood freeze. "Sounds interesting." Sydney blanched. He had forgotten that although she was only seventeen years old, she was already a resonance musician! Her blood carried envious power since birth. What he said could scare weak elite ladies, but not a strong musician. He wiped his sweat, sending a pleading look to the servant. She was trying to persuade the Princess too. "You dont have to watch fighting to get rid of your boredom here. Yunlou City has more than enough fierce fighters. And anyway, Western fighting is so bloody. Broken limbs are an everyday thing. Its pitiful and ugly. Your Highness, your golden body is so precious. Please dont take unnecessary risks." Gazing in that direction, the white-haired girl seemed to be spacing out and was not listening the servant. The old servant stopped awkwardly. The girl finally looked away after a long time, as if snapping out of a daydream. "There are so many ugly things in the world," she replied quietly as she started walking away. "Theres no harm in looking." Without waiting for Sydneys guidance, she started in the direction of the underground palace. "Your Highness, Your Highness!" Panicking, the old servant rushed forward. Sydney stood in place, dumbfounded. He wanted to cry. Why did this have to happen? Why did troubling things always have to happen at the same time?! 80 Commentary "Its the fourth one!" When Sydney ran after girl into the underground square, he heard everyone cheer, "Fourth one! Fourth consecutive win!" "Go Eastern Ye!" Excited girls jumped around, waving their hands in the crowd. The people in the front row yelled, "Dont stop! Keep going! Its time for the fifth!" The girl stopped at the entrance. Not knowing what was happening, she looked around and saw the youth with white hair just like hers. Standing in the center of the snake ring, the youth stood quietly, panting and fatigued. There was a hole in his jacket, and one could vaguely see burn marks. A part of his arm had been burned too. He writhed in pain. Four overlapping Flow runes on the back of his neck had turned crimson red. They were swollen slightly, as if blood were about to seep out. It was like an ugly scar. Using Flow to control his blood flow, his physique had gone from that of a weak kid to a hundred times that of an average persons. That strength shook inside his body, causing sharp pangs of pain. His bare skin had already turned red, and was so swollen that it was ready to burst. That was the biggest downside of Flow. One must have precise control to achieve the strengthening effect, otherwise it would just harm and weaken the body. After using it four times, his body was at its limit in terms of strength and endurance. If he continued like this, his organs could be injured. He could even die. He sighed. He had overestimated himself. Using that type of shameless method to win five rounds had been his plan, but he had already reached his limit after the fourth round. But it was okay. He could still continue. He chuckled and took a deep breath. The cold air rushed into his lungs and his pounding organs settled down. Looking back, he raised his hand and announced, "Next one!" -- "He cant keep going any longer," Edmunds friend said sinisterly from the side. "This is a good opportunity." "Not yet." Edmunds expression was serious. "A student can cast more than ten runes in a short period of time. Even if he has no physical energy left, he can still cast runes." Looking toward his left, he said, "Jon, go up this round. Push him to his limit, but not all the way. I want to end him personally." "Dont worry." The thin kid named Jon smiled. His sickly pale face was flushed with excitement. Feeling the sachet at his waist, he said, "Im well prepared." With that, he walked out from the crowd and stepped into the circle. Seeing him, Brians eyes filled with satisfaction. Jon was different from the previous cannon fodder. He had been a student for more than a year. He may not have grasped combination runes, but he was already better than most students. "Are you ready?" he asked. Jon stated, "Teacher, Ye has already fought four consecutive rounds, and has used up a lot of energy. To make this round fair, I would like to use the challengers special rights and increase the density of aether. This way, itll be easier to cast runes." He paused and smiled. "I dont want to take advantage of him." Brian nodded in satisfaction. "Of course." Without waiting for Ye Qingxuans reply, Brian knocked on the head of the snake. Cold light shone from its eyes instantly. The density of aether increased four-fold inside of the ring! The crowd fell silent. But the commoner students quickly reacted and started yelling, "Despicable! Shameless! How is this fair?" "Do you have any dignity?" "Whats wrong?" Bai Xi glanced at Charles. "Isnt it good to increase the density? It should be easier to chant now." "It depends." Charles brows furrowed. "The strength of a runes effect depends partially on the density of the aether, but dont forget that it only applies to cast runes. For precision runes that require a precise structure, high density actually makes things harder. If Yezi keeps using that tactic, Flows burden on him will increase four-fold too! Theyve found his loophole. He doesnt have a perfect of a control on Flow yet." -- In the center, Ye Qingxuan sensed the thick aether in the air. After a while, he looked up at Jon. "Is this your tactic?" "Its not only that." Laughing coldly, Jon reached into the small satchel and pulled out a thin strand of spider web between his fingers. The audience erupted into shocked yells. "Recitation supplies!" "Hes using other supplies to strengthen the effect! Despicable! So despicable!" "Apparently, when high level musicians cast music scores, they can use specific supplies to strengthen the effect." "Ye Qingxuan is going to have a hard time! Only ten days have passed. How many runes does he know? Jon has been a student for more than one year." "I think hes dead." Within the ring, Ye Qingxuan could not help but roll his eyes. Looking out at the audience he called, "Senior, what are you yelling about? Its really distracting! Look, everyones ignoring you!" In the first row of the crowd behind Jon, Charles imitated the rest of the crowd and yelled happily. "No way! Im being a professional commentator!" he said loudly. "All races and games need a commentator. Dont you know the rules? What if the audience doesnt get it?!" "Continue! Senior, ignore him and continue with your comments." Beside him, a freshman enthusiastically handed him some peanuts and drinks. "Please drink some water. Can you please tell me more details? I need you to help me understand!" "Look!" Charles said, getting cocky, "no one will watch without a commentator or boobs! I dont have boobs, so this is all I can do for you!" "" Speechless, Ye Qingxuan looked back and saw Jons sinister face. "Done talking? Can we start now?" "Please." Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and prepared himself. -- As the coin landed with a crisp sound, Jon took a step back first, watching Ye Qingxuan carefully. That guys battle tactics from the first few rounds had scarred them. This time, he would attack first and plan later. But to his surprise, Ye Qingxuan stood rooted to his spot. Opening his mouth, he started chanting! "Not moving?" Jon smiled coldly. That could be effective against Revelations, but standing there was making himself the perfect target for Modifications! As a student of the School of Modifications with some expertise, Jon had already started researching the basic runes unique to Modifications. If not for the fact that he had not grasped combination notes, he would have been at the Rhythm level. But the long-term research had made him almost an expert at Modification runes. "Ill show you how powerful the School of Modifications is today! If you dont want to move, then dont!" he thought. A spider web thread between his fingers, he began chanting. The difficult syllables jumped from his mouth without any pattern at an unbelievable speed. "Fast chant!" Outside, Charles purposely pretended to be shocked and yelped in a surprised tone, "My God, he knows how to chant quickly!" Before long, a complex rune appeared in Jons heart. It was like countless ropes knotted together. The uneven rune twisted and transformed continuously. Aether gathered in the air from all directions, and using the changing spider web on his fingertip, it formed a blurry web that only Jon could feel! The aether snare quickly came into shape. It shone faintly like a star, appearing out of thin air. This was the effect of the rune ShackleSpider Web! But Ye Qingxuan was still chanting. Excitement shone in Jons eyes. He chanted the last syllable and threw the web toward Ye Qingxuan. The Eastern mutt was dead meat! Once he was trapped in place, he could only suffer Modifications wrath! The starry net suddenly appeared and shot forward to envelope the chanting youth, but in the next moment, everybody was in shock. "He dodged it? He dodged it!" Charles yelled. As if he had predicted his move, Ye Qingxuan stepped to the left the moment Jon cast the effect, and merely rubbed shoulders with the starry net. "Impossible!" Jon froze and stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan, not understanding what had just happened. How could a student discern the exact time that he would cast the rune and dodge at the moment he could not change anything? Not even one hair had been touched! He glared at Ye Qingxuan, but quickly realized that he had lost his temper. Stopping himself from wasting more time, he quickly began chanting another hymn. This was another fast chant, even shorter than before. He pulled out a small bottle the size of a thumb. The icy bottle was filled with semi-viscous liquid, and it radiated coldness. Rune Frost! Under his control and chanting, the cold light slowly solidified. A sharp crystal seemed to form inside. The cold light illuminated his deathly pale face and excited eyes. With a final roar, it shot out at a speed faster than light! Jons expression was menacing, as if he were taunting, "Dodge! Try dodging again! The frost arrow isnt as slow as the web! If you can dodge this one, then Illthen IllIll" Staring dumbly at the untouched Ye Qingxuan, his mind went blank. What was he going to do? 81 He Cheated! Unlike Jon who had been focused on chanting, the audience saw everything clearly. Ye Qingxuan had dodged at the exact moment the frost had shot out!? Like before, it was as if this were a planned performance. Ye Qingxuan stepped toward the left and only brushed shoulders with the frost! "Jon, stop playing!" someone yelled angrily. "Get him!" "Shut up," Jon yelled back, losing his temper. "I know!" "Lets see what tricks you have up your sleeve," Jon muttered from under his breath. He reached into his satchel again and pulled out a piece of metal. It was the size of a fingernail. The sharp thing emanated coldness. "If you cant dodge this one, then youll have to lie down obediently!" he muttered, and began chanting. "Objection!" Charles called, seeing the metal in his hands. "Thats too vicious! Hes using fatal runes! This is deliberate murder!" Brian gazed at Charles coolly. "It is normal to have injuries in a duel between musicians. Your objection is irrelevant. Please do not disrupt the challenge again, or else you will have to leave." Within the ring, Jon had completed his chant. The metal in his hands floated up and spun in the air, producing a piercing sound. Formless strength controlled it. It spun at a crazy speed, building up strength like the bow of an arrow pulled taut. This was Ghost Crossbowthe effect of Rune Magnet, one of the most advanced Modifications runes. Magnetic force was used to build up strength and fire the metal piece. Its power was comparable to a light military crossbow! As he chanted, Jons pale face flushed with excitement and effort. Gritting his teeth, he pronounced the last syllable and let the metal fly! The moment it shot out, the world went black for him. He had used up practically all of his energy to manipulate the aether. As he had fine tuned everything, he pushed the Ghost Crossbows strength to its max! It would even be able to pierce a slab of metal! But instead of the pained cry that he was expecting, he heard shocked yelps. His innards twisting, he straightened and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. Jon turned as white as a sheet. The metal had shot past Ye Qingxuan and crashed into an invisible wall. It warped instantly and fell to the ground with a crisp clank. "He dodged it again?" Jon thought. "Impossible, impossible" Jon stumbled backward as if he had just seen a ghost. In a confused daze, he mumbled to himself. As the audience laughed at him, he met Ye Qingxuans piercing gaze. He screamed hysterically, "Die!" Stumbling forward, he began chanting again, ignoring the fact that he was at his limit. The effect of Rune Fire lit up in his palms. He roared as he ran, clawing madly at the youth with flaming hands. There was no need to predict anything this time. Ye Qingxuan waited until Jon was close before stepping to the left. The burning palms pressed against the invisible wall of the snake circle and were extinguished immediately. His energy completely depleted, Jon collapsed. Right as he blacked out, he finally heard what Ye Qingxuan was saying. "Three pounds for tomato and chicken fried rice, one pound for mushroom soup, two pounds for noodles, two pounds for butter" These were not the syllables of a chant! It was the cafeterias menu! That guy had not been casting any runes that entire time, instead he had turned Jons tricks around, making Jon drag on until he had used up all his energy "Youre cheating!" Jon gasped out angrily from the floor. He forced himself to keep his eyes open and glared at Ye Qingxuan, almost in tears. "I dont accept this! You cheated!" "Ah, you found out." The youth looked down on him and smiled mockingly. "Youyouyoure shameless!" Even as someone lifted him and took him out of the ring, one could still hear his tragic voice crying, "Ye Qingxuan, you cheated! Put me down. I want to fight himI want to fight him!" The last cry rang louder than ever. But then he fell silent and did not make another peep. Under everyones dazed eyes, Ye Qingxuan watched calmly as Jon was taken away. Hearing his cries, Ye Qingxuan remembered something. He pulled out a strip of paper filled with words from his pocket and shredded it. "Oh, I almost forgot to destroy the evidence," he muttered. "I didnt have enough time, so I had to cheat for the exam. Sorry." -- Outside of the ring, Edmunds eyes were dark. "What the heck is this?" Beside him, someone replied uncertainly, "Perhaps, maybe he really" "You want to tell me that someone who just became a student ten days ago can sense aether like a musician?" Edmund retorted. "Are you stupid?" "Maybe he really is crazy like that" the guy muttered. Edmund turned around and his menacing glare shut the guy up. Clenching his fist, Edmund said, "No worries. If he wants to play, then well play with him. This is only the fifth round. Send someone else up, but be smart about it." -- The next three were smarter than Jon and even forced Ye Qingxuan to start using runes and battle like a true musician. But Ye Qingxuan seemed to guess every move before they made it, and they were all were taken out by him. Even the way in which each of them lost was strange. However, Ye Qingxuan was reaching his limit as well. It was like a high intensity relay race over a short period of time. After the fifth round, he faced three consecutive opponents who were much more skilled than him. To win, he had gathered together all of his potential so that he could quickly get used to a battle between musicians. His brain was aching, and his thoughts flew so rapidly that he was pushing his limit. But as if a god were helping him, Ye Qingxuan used Rune Light to blind his last opponent just as he had finished his chant, and pushed him out the ring. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan bent over, hands on his knees, panting in exhaustion. He had won the eighth round! -- The audience cheered excitedly. The giant tide of the sound angered Edmund more and more. In the beginning, people had just been curious as to what a new student could do. The first battle tactic had been enough to make jaws drop, but his uncanny ability to predict his opponent''s moves, and his senses were even more unbelievable. But what was even more exciting was that Ye Qingxuan clearly had the disadvantage in the three formal duels. But every time, he had been able to grasp the right timing, and his use of runes was so creative! Without a doubt, todays stage belonged to Ye Qingxuanthe Eastern genius! Faced with everyones cheers and praise, Ye Qingxuan blushed faintly. But he could not afford to be shy. He could only put on his poker face and confuse the opponent, making sure that none of them knew his cards. -- "Kids these days are getting better and better at cheating. Didnt know you could bully someone like this." Dominic snacked on his peanuts and smiled cruelly. During all of the matches, he had never looked inside the snake circle. Instead, his eyes fell on the spot under Charles feet. As the situation inside the ring changed, the angle of Charless feet would change too. "Since the aether is completely blocked outside of the ring, hes reading lips and postures to see what the opponent is planning and conduct virtually. And the other guy has amazing reflexes. He even has the ability to leave the commander and fight by himself. Kids these days are impressive." He sighed and murmured, "Abraham has some good students." -- "Next!" Brian glanced at Edmund and announced gravely, "This will be the ninth round." His eyes said, "Its the ninth round! When will you put this guy in his place?" It was his first day on the job. He hated Edmund for letting that d*mn commoner steal the glory from the honorable bloodlines on his first day at work. He could already imagine what the school board would say about this. They might even doubt his work ability! Edmund grew pale. He knew what that Brian meant to say, "You caused this so you deal with it!" Clenching his jaw, Edmund nodded toward the boy he had bribed with a large amount of money. "Duncan, youre up." The student named Duncan nodded. Cracking his knuckles, he walked out from the crowd. Coming from a fallen elite family, Duncan was different from the others. He knew since birth that he had nothing other than his title. Becoming a musician was his only hope. He had extraordinary talent, and his family had sacrificed everything to train him. When he entered the academy, he was already at Rhythm level. Under his genius halo, he found respect, but he was also scared to lose this title and be seen the same as a commoner. To climb higher, he needed money to buy better music scores and materials, so he had taken Edmunds bribe. He would go up and leave Ye Qingxuan with just enough energy to be destroyed by Edmund. But how would he do it? He walked out of the crowd while he thought about it, but just as he was about to raise his hand, he heard an unexpected voice. "I want to challenge him!" A girl standing in the very front raised her right arm and said fiercely, "Hes been annoying me since day one!" As everyone gaped, Bai Xi sauntered out and beamed at Ye Qingxuan. 82 Rune Stone "I want to challenge him." "You cant!" Brian protested when he saw Bai Xi walk over. But he quickly realized that he had said the wrong thing. "I cant?" Bai Xi put her face up to his. "Why not? Im also a first year student, and I just entered the school too. How come they can but I cant?" "Thisyou" Brian stammered. "What, cant find an excuse? Then move," Bai Xi huffed. "I want to challenge him and I want to be concertmaster!" "I support you!" Charles called out from the crowd. "Youre prettier than Yezi! It wont be a waste if youre concertmaster!" Faced with Bai Xis protests, Brian could only retreat. But he still would not Bai Xi enter the ring. Commotion erupted. They could allow his bias against the challenger, but not letting someone participate was too obvious. The audience started gossiping, and Brians expression turned ugly as he listened to the taunting discussions. Yunlou Chaoyue quietly watched the show from the entrance. As if she did not understand, she turned to Sydney and asked, "Why cant she? Is there a school rule about this?" "Uh" Sydney was troubled. He could not simply say, "This is just so a group of elites can show a kid his place. Oh, right, that kid is Eastern like you. Were really not discriminating. Really, dont think like that" "She can," he forced out with a tight smile. "Why cant she? Of course she can!" And so the most boring duel in the history of the academy unfolded before everyones eyes. -- It was unnaturally calm within the snake circle. "Cousin, are you thirsty? I brought water for you." "Oh, thank you!" Ye Qingxuan accepted the bottle and drank it in one breath. His burning throat finally felt a bit better. "Cousin, are you hungry? I brought peanuts." Ye Qingxuans eyes lit up. "Are they salted? Give me some. Seeing Charles eating made me so hungry." And so a bag of toasted peanuts landed in his hands. "Cousin, I brought a stool," Bai Xi said. "Take a seat." "Okay!" Ye Qingxuan felt like he was hallucinating and had the sudden urge to cry. "Cousin, youre being so nice to me all of a sudden." Over the audiences boos, Bai Xi asked politely, "Cousin, is my service good?" "Of course!" Ye Qingxuan had never been treated so well by his cousin before. It felt like heaven. "Of course. If you dare to say anything bad, Ill kick you out of here!" Bai Xi ground her teeth and threatened Ye Qingxuan, "Ive never served anyone like this in my entire life, but Im doing this for you. If you lose, kill yourself." "You dont need to tell me." Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist. "Ill win for you." -- "Edmund, you should personally go next round." Outside the ring, a hoarse voice sounded behind Edmund. He looked back in confusion and saw Banners eyes. His pupils were vertical like a wild beast and their green light shone in the darkness. They were thirsty for blood. "Youlost control?" Edmund yelped. "Not yet, but it is angry, you know?" Edmund studied him, seeing the murderous intent in those beastly eyes. The thirst they reflected upon Edmunds pale face was chilling and menacing. "Dont disappoint me," he or it said softly. "If we lose the title of concertmaster to him because of youthere will be no need for you to stay in this school." "I know." Edmund nodded, fierceness flashing through his eyes. "Ill take care of him." He rubbed the amber ring on his forefinger and turned toward the snake ring. -- "Ten minutes have passed." Brian looked impatiently at Bai Xi. "Stop wasting time if youre not going to challenge him." "Who said Im not going to challenge him?" Bai Xi rolled his eyes. "I poisoned him. Dont you see him eating it now?" "You poisoned him?" Brian echoed. "Yeah. In one-hundred years, when hes an old fart, the poison will be activated, and hell die after burping!" Bai Xi mimicked slicing ones throat. "Are you scared?" "Im so scared! What am I going to do?" Ye Qingxuan acted along, crying and putting on a terrified expression. Brians facial muscles quivered as he tried to keep himself from losing control. Clenching his jaw, he enunciated carefully, "Stop wasting time!" "Psh!" Bai Xi kicked Ye Qingxuan. "Are you ready? Im going to start!" "Oh, yeah! You can start!" Ye Qingxuan hurriedly wiped the crumbs from his lips and returned the stool, water bottle, and half a bag of peanuts. She had come stocked with supplies and was going back like that too. Under everyones annoyed gaze, Bai Xi stood at the edge of the snake circle. Ye Qingxuan lifted her by the back of her collar and dropped her outside the ring. Beside them, Brian announced listlessly, "The ninth round goes to Ye Qingxuan." He was starting to hate this job. -- "Are you done fooling around?" a cold voice asked behind Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan turned around. Seeing Edmund, he finally understood. "You waited until everyone tired me out to appear?" "Tire you out? Theres no need for that." Edmunds eyes were sinister. "Having others participate was just so we could all play a little longer. But sadly they were useless pieces of sh*t and couldnt help at all" "Pieces of sh*t are like birds of a feather. Theyre your friends so dont be so hard on them," Ye Qingxuan replied, obviously bored. Pa! A cold arc zipped past Ye Qingxuans foot. It landed on the ground, leaving a white frost burn. Edmund had cast a rune without chanting or with even any preparation, making the audience to yell in surprise. "Pay attention. Ive spent a lot of money to deal with you." Edmund blew away the cold smoke around his fingertips and cackled. "Next, Ill let you and all of the other mutts know whos the real boss." Studying Edmunds palm, Ye Qingxuans eyes finally turned serious after being sure that he had seen correctly. "Instantaneous rune?" he murmured to himself. -- "Yezi is dead meat." Outside the ring, Charless brows furrowed. "The opponent is starting to fight with money." "Are you talking about rune stones?" Bai Xi finally processed the fact. "You know about that?" Charles asked in surprise. "Id prepared a long explanation for nothing!" Bai Xi did not even bother to roll her eyes anymore. Rune stones were from the Dark World. There were many theories about where they had came from, but there were only two main output methods. One was to create a fissure in a region with heavy aether, and use large scale equipment to track the rune stones. The other method was the favorite of Pioneer musicians from the Dark WorldHunting. In regions where the aether was chaotic, most organisms would be killed by the aether. The few survivors would become even stronger, fiercer, and more violent. Just like the children of the Dark Mother, they would transform into demons. Some demons had a frequency inside their bodies after death that could help to find rune stones. Rune stones were naturally occurring crystallized aether in the structure of a rune. Because of its stable structure and pure state, they were able to be kept in specific circumstances. These rocks that had natural rune power were one of the most important alchemist resources. Most alchemy equipment depended on their power. Of course, there was an even more luxurious useSmelting Meditation. The musician would reach Coherence with the rune stone. By using the rune stones power, he could quickly increase his sense of the rune. In the end, he could reduce a complicated chant to a single syllable. That was the Instantaneous rune. It was a trademark of a Musician, but with the help of a rune stone, even a student could reach the same level after using enough rune stones. The only downside was that it could only instantaneously cast the rune that the stone could sense. And if one wanted to use this method, one would need a lot of money. Rune stones were in high demand. They were often sold out as soon as they were out, and the price was never low. Many musicians even used them as hard currency. At the moment, the price of a basic rune stone was about the same as two lapis bricks made by the church. If converted to Anglo currency, it would be at least a few million! For a student to reach that level of instantaneous casting, the rune stones he had used were surely enough for high grade alchemy equipment. That was why Charles had said Edmund had starting fighting with money. And it was because of this that he started to worry about Ye Qingxuan. -- Charles had been the one handling Ye Qingxuans practice and training over the past few days. He knew his juniors level better than anyone else. It had already been five days since Ye Qingxuan took those moldy books from Hermes. Over those five days, Ye Qingxuan stayed in the library and learned to read ancient literature with Abraham in the morning and started practicing in the afternoon. He would lock himself up in the basement, memorizing madly. Charles could not deny that Ye Qingxuan had improved immensely over the past five days. In fact, he had improved a dozen times faster than others. But it had only been five daysonly five days. Even with the "Light" and "Mirror" rune that he already knew, Ye Qingxuan had only learned five runes. They were the easiest auxiliary runes too. They were: Flow, originally designed to control liquids, now modified to increase physical strength; Blur, to warp the air and blur everything; Air, to create wind. None of them were attack runes. He had used practically all of them in previous rounds. Now, faced with an opponent who could use a rune stone and instantaneously cast Frost, and knew him like the back of his handHow could Ye fight back? Outside of the ring, Charles scratched his head in worry. He racked his brain for a battle tactic, but could not think of any solution. "Yezi, youre dead this time," he murmured. At this time, the center of the snake circle was already illuminated with Frost! 83 I’m Just Showing Off Arrows of frost flew all over the icy cold ring. The bone-numbing coldness spread with the arrows, crystallizing on the ground. The water molecules in the air froze, turning into icy powder scattered by the wind and falling onto the ground. Even the cold sweat on Ye Qingxuans body froze, turning into a thin layer of frost. It stuck to his skin, melting from the heat of his blood Ye Qingxuan panted heavily. He started hating that the circle was only a few dozen steps in diameter. Following Charless orders and dodging Edmunds frost arrows took up all his focus. The downside to Frost was that the effect wore off quickly. As an arrow, it was powerless after going more than ten meters. But they did not have ten meters between them. If Edmund stood in the center of the ring, he would be able to shoot in any directions without any effort. Known as the most cost efficient student level rune, frost arrows used up almost thirty percent less energy than other runes, and the chanting was twice as fast. With Edmunds experience, he could shoot twenty arrows in one breath. Ye Qingxuan could only find the right timing and dodge, dodge, dodge! When an arrow brushed past him again, Ye Qingxuan reached out and crumbled the ice on his shoulder, panting. He could not let the match drag on like this. He had to admit that he had really underestimated that d*mned fatty. Watching the humiliated Ye Qingxuan from the center, Edmund could not help but snicker. "Whats wrong? Thats all you can do? Come closer, Mr. Concertmaster! You dont even have the guts to fight back?" Three more frost arrows shot out with that, flying out with grandeur! "You want to tire me out?" Edmund laughed mockingly as if he saw through Ye Qingxuans little tricks. "Its not that easy." He took a small thumb-sized bottle from his pocket. Biting off the cork, he poured the blue liquid down his throat. The cold drug slid down his throat, pooling into his stomach, and spread through his body like an explosion. The powerful coldness spread through his entire body, finally flowing into his brain as a warm current. Edmunds face, pale and sickly from the energy loss, instantaneously recovered, flushing with an unnatural redness. He had taken a stimulant drug which sapped nutrients from his other organs to stimulate his brain. If a skinny person tried that, he would probably be bedridden for a long time afterward. But Edmunds body was covered with a thick layer of fat, and it had enough nutrients to feed the drug for awhile. Seeing Edmund take drugs in public, the audience booed. -- "Objection!" Charles yelled. "Edmund is using recovering drugs!" "Objection not valid." Brian gazed at him lazily. "Drugs, alchemy equipment, and chanting material are all part of being a musician. They are allowed during the challenge." Charles retorted angrily, "What the f*ck? Why dont you just get some opiates and have a drug party? Itll be so much fun!" "Please watch your language, or else Ill have to ask you to leave." Brian pointed at Charles and then at the exit. "I am the teacher here. If you want to stay, then you will follow my rules!" Bai Xi laughed coldly and opened her mouth to retort, but someone pressed down onto her and Charless shoulder. "Calm down." An old man suddenly appeared beside them. The faint smell of engine oil came from his metal arm. "Teacher?" Charles flinched. "When did you get here?" "Ive been here since the beginning," Abraham said. "How could a teacher be unaware that his students left early in the morning to take part in the concertmaster challenge?" Awkwardly, Charles said, "I was just worried that youd get worried." "Dont be so impatient. No matter what you do, the duel will still continue." Abraham patted Bai Xis shoulder, telling her to sit down. Seeing Charles send secret signals to Ye Qingxuan, he knocked on the side of his cheating students head. "Theres no need," he said quietly. "Yezi isnt looking anymore." Charles froze and glanced at the youth. He finally realized that the youth had stopped paying attention to his signals for a long time. Ye Qingxuan was completely focused. Staring at his enemy, his irises were filled the reflection of his enemy. The usual coolness and light pity in his eyes were gone, replaced by a fiery enthusiasm. The corners of his lips curled, as if smiling. He had begun putting his all into the fight. He wanted to winto win fair and square "The fight has suddenly become challenging." Ye Qingxuan studied Edmunds red face and murmured, "Lets just try a bit." In the bone-numbing coldness, he suddenly took a deep breath. The coldness pierced his lungs, but his mind finally became clear. He did not need drug stimulation or a long break. An enemy was the best stimulant. It was something that he could try out his new skills on. In the midst of the dodging, Ye Qingxuan suddenly stopped. Standing straight, he lifted up a hand. Aether from all over gathered in his direction, as if something was about to be awakened. Sensed by everyone, the ring on Ye Qingxuans finger sucked in aether and radiated cold, silver light. The instrument sleeping within resonated and woke. "An instrument! This guy" Features tightening, Edmund took a step back to wait and see. He had not expected that Ye Qingxuan would keep an instrument as his trap card. And this was Moldableone of the most valuable types of instrument too. It could be kept by ones side and used at any time! Just as he was waiting, the light on Ye Qingxuans ring suddenly extinguished. It was as if there had been rolling thunder, but not a drop of rain. The instrument went back to sleep just as quickly as it had woken up. Ye Qingxuan had tried multiple times to wake up the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei in his ring over the past few days, but sadly, his resonance with it had stopped halfway every single time. It was as if he lacked the most crucial thing and could not continue. "UhI guess I still cant do it," Ye Qingxuan chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry, I was just trying to show off" Edmund replied with countless angry frost arrows, almost turning Ye Qingxuan into an icicle. Ye dodged humiliatingly and took a deep breath, starting to chant. "Its too late to start now!" Edmund mocked, hearing the chants. He reached forward, continuing to shoot frost. Attacked with a gust of coldness, Ye Qingxuan began fleeing. Ignoring the tossing of his stomach, he chanted quickly as he moved. The air around him surged to the rhythm of his chants. Edmund glanced at the youth charging toward him, disdain flashing through his eyes. The closer Ye Qingxuan came, the less ability he had to dodge, and the more powerful the strength of the frost became! Yes, he was definitely out of his mind. Edmund raised a hand, pointing at Ye Qingxuans body once again. Frosty light began brewing crazily on his fingertip, icy coldness coming from all directions. The distance between them was closer than ever. The cold light illuminated Ye Qingxuans eyes. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was within five steps, murderous intent flashed in Edmunds eyes. Immediately, frost twice as strong as before shot out! Regular frost could freeze internal organs from that distant, but after raising the intensity, the coldness could turn someone into an ice statue instantaneously! At that moment, the audience yelled out in surprise because Ye Qingxuan was still charging forward, not dodging at all! The explosive arrows shot out, straight toward Ye Qingxuans forehead. But the air around him suddenly started rippling. It was as if the arrows ran into a boundary, and the scene changed. The wavering air twisted randomly, blurring Ye Qingxuans features. When the frost arrows pierced into blurriness, they shook and almost frantically changed their direction. They had slightly changed course by a few degrees, and the arrows brushed past Ye Qingxuans hair. Edmund gaped. His eyes reflected Ye Qingxuans face closing in on him. "What is going on?!" -- "Rune Haze!" In the crowd, Abrahams eyes lit up as he murmured, "Thats right. This is how you do it!" All of the runes that Ye Qingxuan had learned until then had been chosen one by one by Abraham for their effect. Light could provide illumination in the darkness and guide the sun; Flow could increase physical strength and purify water; Air could control wind, erase ones body scent to hide from animals and protect oneself from poisonous gas. Haze was for stealth and protection against long distance attacks! It was a rune that every scout musician had to learn. By stirring the air with aether, Haze could create a shield of air. It did not provide any protection on its own, but the musician could manipulate it and add pressure to it. The effect of the chaotic pressure was like a lens. Endless lenses overlapped, refracting and bending light randomly, blurring the object. In a dim environment with complex rays of light, Haze could blur the edges of an object and make it blend into the environment. It could not exactly shield one, but it could affect the arrows trajectory. There was not a more cost-efficient effect. Outside the ring, Abraham stared closely at the youth who had just brushed shoulders with death. Pleased, he thought, "Yes, this is how you should do it. Lead the enemy on and activate Haze at the last moment. After that, he should close in even more and then" -- Inside the ring, the youth stepped past the five-step boundary. He stalked forward, the complicated syllables overlapping in his mouth, sending shockwaves of aether. As he chanted, a vortex-like rune gradually lit up in his heart, preparing for launch! In the next heartbeat, Ye Qingxuan was right in front of Edmund. Seeing him raise a hand, Edmund shrieked instinctually. He raised his elbow, shielding his face, and stumbled back. He pointed a finger in panic, getting ready to release more frost. But the expected fist had not landed on him. Ye Qingxuan was no longer chanting for Flow anymore either. They were a hairs width apart as Ye Qingxuan uttered the last syllable! In that instant, Edmund shrieked again. Frantically and wildly, his hands scrambled to shoot frost arrows. Then he felt a hand press against him, gently on his chest. Boom! The shrieking silenced. 84 Dragon Breath Ring For a second, it felt like his entire chest trembled. His lungs spasmed uncontrollably, swelled, shook The moment Ye Qingxuans hand touched him, Edmunds chest suddenly ballooned, as if his lungs had filled with air, about to burst. The shrieking silenced. The runes he were about to say died in his throat. Shocked, Edmund grasped his throat, suffocating for a moment. The frost arrow that he had been about to shoot broke off. His ruddy faceturned a ghastly whiteso white there was no sign of blood in him. The betrayal of the aether took away all ability to fight back. Eerie silence fell both inside and outside the ring. -- Dominic chuckled softly in the shadows. "As expected, its similar to the standard reaction of captive musicians in warRune Air." Rune Air was originally made to create a small breeze, but he had gone past the muscles and bones of the chest, and aimed it directly at the lungs. All of the layers had weakened Airs effect though, and it had only resonated with the air inside the lungs. It probably felt likesomeone had punched his lungs? Application: air cavity resonance! It was a classic application from the School of Abstinence. It could directly cut off someones breathing and speaking. If the intensity was raised, it was possible to make the lungs implode too. This step used Saint Tchaikovskys music "Overture solennelle 1812." Its first movement was even enough to make a vacuum implosion on the battlefield. Everything within a thousand mile radius would be thrown into a hopeless and silent hell. All organisms would implode from their own pressure. Explosions would sound one after another like fireworks. But there was be a better choice now, right? "Why not use Flow?" Dominic muttered in dissatisfaction. Clenching his fists, he said, "Just press down on his chest and say the syllable, then hell pop like a pimple, bleeding from all of his pores and fall over. Too young, still too young. Or maybe his heart is too soft?" He studied Ye Qingxuans back and shook his head, "This one doesnt look like a wolf cub." -- In the silence, Edmund fell to his knees, panting heavily. After a long time, he finally knew how to breathe again, but tears and snot flowed out from his eyes and nose. He looked as sad as a stray dog. Kneeling on the ground, he lifted his tear-stricken face. His eyes were still fierce and angry. "You thinkyouyou won like this? Youyou b*stard!" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows, his expression changed quickly. He had wanted to raise his foot and kick that guy out once and for all, but then he realized that his foot would not move. It was rooted to the spot. "Ha, did you find out?" On the ground, Edmund laughed, wiping the tears and snot off of his face. "There was no way I wouldnt guard myself against you. Scum is scum. You dont even know to watch out for alchemy equipment" He pushed himself up with difficulty. Stumbling back, he smiled tightly and pulled down his collar. Under the collar was a golden button. A ruby flashed brightly on the elegantly carved button. Without a doubt, this was alchemy equipmentthe crudest kind. Five of the simplest runes were written on it: Shackle! Shackle! Shackle! Shackle! Shackle! It only needed a simple spell to be activated and cast those five runes. Anyone in the proximity would be shackled to the ground, unable to move. Now, Ye Qingxuan could not move at all. Edmund finally stopped retreating. He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his face clean. His eyes were filled with murderous intent, "You forced me to do this." "No one forced you." Ye Qingxuan gazed at him coolly. "You were just making things hard for yourself this entire time." Edmunds expression changed, revealing undeniable savagery. "Its a pity I cant rip your mouth apart. Scum never know how to show respect to the honorable bloodlines. But its okay, you can keep talking now," he paused and raised his right hand, "because, in a bit, youll never have the chance to speak again." The black amber ring on his forefinger shone brilliantly under the torch, radiating with cold and sharp light. "Dragon Breath Ring!" Outside of the ring, Charless face changed immediately. "How can they bring something like that?" One could say that the other defense alchemy equipment and drugs were just to protect against accidents during the duel. But that thingthat was to kill. Charles understood immediately what that thing was the moment he saw it. A century ago, mysterious Asgardian alchemist Elric once offered equipment to his king to be used in his royal guardWild Hunter Corp. This included thirty identical rings. The king ordered a two-headed eagle to be carved into the black amber and given to loyal subordinates. Those thirty rings were engraved with the third movement of the Song of Nibelungs. This movement recorded the natural catastrophe Black Dragon Nibelungs actions and strength. A Resonance musician could let out enough dragon breath to destroy a village. Even a student could create a light strong enough to smelt iron. It contained limitless light and heat. It was the catastrophic fire from the Black Dragon. Alchemists created it with destruction in mind, and it cast an eternal curse on its enemies. Even full knight armor would be melted into goo before it. "Yezi, surrender!" Charles screamed. "Surrender!" But the room had become soundproof and his voice resonated outside but could not enter the ring. Charles blanched. He turned toward the judge, saying, "Hey, stop, we surrender" But there was no response. Brian twiddled his thumb as if he had not heard anything at all. -- "Hey, I think theyre telling you to surrender," Edmund laughed coldly. "Ill give you one last chance. Kneel and apologize for what you did. Ill let you go." "Why do you think that Ill surrender? Just because you have Dragon Breath Ring?" Ye Qingxuan studied the ring on his finger. "Listen, Edmund. I wouldnt do that if I were you. You cant handle that" "Haha, scared?" Edmund cackled. "Its so rare to see you scared! But sadly, I have to tell you something" Smirking, he clenched his fist. The Dragon Breath Ring shone faintly with fire. "Youve missed your last chance!" He began chanting quietly. The dancing flames in the black amber grew wild, turning into the head of a dragon roaring soundlessly. Terrifying heat emanated from his ring. Despite his efforts to control it, Edmunds eyebrows and hair started sizzling from the heat too. The air before the ring started wavering. Catastrophic fire began brewing inside the ring. Seeing Edmund entirely focused, Ye Qingxuan suddenly spoke up in his hoarse voice, "Actually, I have something to tell you too." Edmunds head shot up. Ye Qingxuan dug into his pocket and clenched his fist, as if he were pulling something out. Before Edmunds shocked eyes, Ye Qingxuan slowly opened his hand revealing a small glass bottle. He had shattered the bottle and silver liquid flowed out. It hovered in the air, slowly melting into the aether. "I know instantaneous runes too." -- In the wild rippling of the aether, the mercury on his palm tossed like boiling water before disappearing. Silver light from who-knows-where illuminated their faces. It made Edmunds face pale too. Edmund glared angrily at Ye Qingxuan, and sped up his chanting. He would do whatever it took to completely obliterate Ye Qingxuan! But across from him, a crisp voice sounded. It was like the ticking of a clocks minute hand. The pocket watch decorated with two snakes lit up from Ye Qingxuans hand. He began chanting quietly, "All is dark, only the Tree of Life is forever green." Mysterious light ignited in his eyes. As if Ye Qingxuan had been pulled out of the shell of his body, his vision started climbing in altitude. He looked down upon the tight space. Was this the pocket watchs power? It did not do anything to him, but his communication with the aether was tighter than ever. The aether had become an extension of him. Even the smallest change was reflected in his heart. He could smell the rotting scent blown in from the underground palace. He could see the beads of sweat on Bai Xis cheek. He could touch the carved snake-mans twisted face. He could hear everyones breathing, like wind in the catacombs. It was as if he had returned to that night. Ye closed his eyes, and the changing rune appeared in his mind again. The ever-changing rune worked in favor of his tenacity, reflecting it like a river. When he sensed the rune, the rune also sensed him. It was an unprecedented connection. Was this the state of instantaneous runes? Opening his eyes, he chanted, guiding the waiting aether to gather in the front. The mercury in the aether lit up in all directions. The sound of ice cracking came out of thin air. It was the sound of countless aether crashing, changing, and crystallizing. The crystals appeared from out of the air. They bonded with each other and transformed into something solid. They shone with metallic light, solidifying into the object from the youths memory. In the end, the broken pieces fell into their spot with a slight metallic tremor. The mighty matrix had appeared once again in this world. Outside the ring, everyone held their breath. Someone murmured, "What is this?" 85 Winner Mirror! Mirror! Mirror! Mirror! Mirror! Mirror! Inside the ring, something finally revealed its true appearance like a blossoming lotus. Seventeen "Mirrors" hung in the air, forming a matrix. Like an active rail, it transformed, following a nonexistent track. Opening like a lotus flower in the rain, they were close to one another and wrapped around Edmund, creating a kaleidoscope of reflections. Mirror was the only rune that Ye Qingxuan could activate instantaneously. It was also his biggest accomplishment from the past ten days. After that night, that rune that had been left over in his memory was imprinted into his brain, turning into an instinctive ability. With the help of the double snake time meter, he had finally reached the ability to use instantaneous runes. Using mercury as supportive material, he was able to create mirrors identical to the ones in a lighthouse. But this rune seemed to be useless right now. Edmund froze in the surging heat. He could not believe that the mirrors were Ye Qingxuans last attempt. "You think this can stop my Dragon Breath?!" It was absurd. "Of course not." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "But if you stop now, its not too" "Die!" Edmund cut him off and raised a hand, eyes fierce. The energy building up in his ring had turned the amber a crimson red. The catastrophic Dragon Breath would spew out in the next moment. Some in the audience had already covered their eyes, too scared to look. But Brian finally reacted, his face changing dramatically. "Edmund, stop!" "Too late," Dominic laughed loudly at their misery. Brian had put up the soundproof barrier himself. It had nothing to do with anyone else. -- Aether surged wildly inside of the snake circle. Crimson red light lit up from within the amber, the piercing redness blinded everyone in a second. The wild heat spilled in all directions. Even the transparent barrier was revealed under this heat, restraining the bright radiance within it. But despite how terrifying it was, it was only the precursor. Edmund put everything into guiding the aether, but when he looked up, he saw Ye Qingxuans faint smile through a layer of fiery light. The smile was so full of pity and mockery. Under everyones nervous eyes, Ye Qingxuan raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Immediately, the mirror matrix began spinning, replicating the Churchs machinery with aether. Seventeen dazzling silver reflections joined together immediately. There were no sparks as they touched each other, no rotating, creaking, or grating. The lotus-like matrix closed in soundlessly. In an instant, the limitless red light disappeared. Replacing it was a wail that sent goosebumps up everyones skin. "Ah!!" -- The seventeen mirrors formed a seamless wall, trapping all light and heat within it. In the blink of an eye, the mirrors turned red hot from the terrifying heat. As if an oven was about to be melted to the ground, one could see melting metal and copper dancing in the flames. The Dragon Breath had yet to be released, but the heat brewing in the light was enough to evaporate the mirrors. But those mirrors which should have been surrounding a lighthouse reflected the light, increasing its power by one-thousand, turning the inside into an inferno. It was the matrix designed by the church! Even in its most basic form, it could transform a sliver of light in the night sky into a lighthouse! The mirror formation was sustained for a second before falling apart. But the light and heat had already disappeared. The Dragon Breath had lost all control. The aether that had flooded over dissipated soundlessly. All that remained was Edmund, singed black and laying on the ground. -- -- "My eyes! My eyes!" Putting a burned hand over his face, he touched his body, but he could only feel burned skin and charred clothing. "What did you do? What did you do?!" he screamed in hysteria, blood seeping from his face. "You b*stard, what the f*ck did you do to me?!" "I just wanted you to experience the Lighthouse." Ye Qingxuan walked over and bent down to look at him. "How did it feel under all that light? I hope you can be like the lighthouse and be a useful member of society." "Ye Qingxuan!" Hearing those words, Edmund growled hoarsely, "Ye Qingxuan! Im going to kill you!" His features twisted and his charred skin cracked open, revealing the bloody mess inside. "Edmund, calm down!" The barrier around the snake circle shattered and Brian rushed in. Frantically, he poured medicine over Edmunds body, keeping him alive. "Chorale musicians! Where are the chorale musicians?" Brian searched in panic, completely forgetting that he had gotten rid of the practice rings chorale musicians in order to help Edmund with his plan. "How can you be so cruel?!" He glared at Ye Qingxuan, unable to hide his panic. "Ha." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "You are allowed to injure and maim in the concertmaster challengeIsnt that what you said?" "You!" Brians face was practically black with anger, but he could not deny Ye Qingxuans words. He glared at the student coldly and turned back to help Edmunds friends pick him up and take him to the hospital, but someone stopped him. "Whats the hurry, professor?" Charles stopped him, seeing through his attempt to muddle through. Seeing his nervous expression, Charles laughed. "That was the last round. You havent announced the result of the challenge yet." "Nows not the time for this!" Brians eyes twitched, unwilling to face the result. "Really?" Grinning, Charles patted his shoulder. "Then please go do whatever youre busy with. When I was wandering around just now, I ran into an old man. He seems to be really dissatisfied with you." Brian flinched and turned around. Dominic stared emotionlessly at him from the shadows. Nothing was said, but for some reason, cold sweat beaded on Brians forehead. Under everyones anticipating eyes, his features twisted. Finally, he grit out through clenched teeth, "The winner of the tenth round is Ye Qingxuan!" The silent crowd erupted into cheers in an instant. After witnessing such a legendary fight, no one could resist the urge to jump up in excitement. Bai Xi yelled happily in the crowd. As she cheered, she turned around, looking for Ye Qingxuan. But all she saw was the youths lonely backside within the snake circle. As if sensing her gaze, Ye Qingxuan turned around. Seeing her smile, he gave her a thumbs up, smiling tiredly. Then, before her shocked eyes, the white-haired youth fell over, unconscious. -- Yunlou Chaoyue watched quietly from the entrance of the underground palace. Her face was neutral, as if she had been looking at mere hallucinations and nothingness in the air. "A bunch of uncouth things who dared to be so violent before the Princess. My apologies for ruining your experience." Beside her, Sydney wiped away his sweat and explained quietly, "Please do not misunderstand. These embarrassments are still the minority of the academy. The true geniuses are all chivalrous gentlemen. Weve also arranged a banquet tonight, you will" As if she had not heard anything, the girl focused on the center of the square, studying the unconscious youth and the frantic girl hugging him. Confusion entered her cool eyes, as if she had never seen something like that before. In the square, Bai Xi glanced up accidentally, looking into the direction of the girl. For a moment, their eyes met through an opening in the crowd, and they saw each other clearly. Elegant and downtrodden, reserved and panicking, mature and immature. One looked like a princess, the other did not. In the next moment, the crowd rejoined and the girl disappeared, as if swallowed by the ocean. The princess stepped forward subconsciously, but then hesitated. She did not take another step forward. After a long time, Yunlou Chaoyue turned around gradually, letting the girl remain lost in the sea of people. "Maybe its better this way" she murmured. "Huh? Miss Chaoyue, what did you say?" Sydney asked. "Nothing." She shook her head and suddenly said softly, "I said I want to leave, so let this be a farewell, Mr. Sydney." "Miss Chaoyue, Miss Chaoyue!" Shocked, Sydney ran over and subconsciously grabbed the girls sleeve. "Where" The words died in his mouth when the girl turned back, looking at him silently. There was not fury or bone-chilling disgust in those eyesonly coolness. It was as if she was high up in the sky, looking down at the mundane world, and so humanitys ugliness was reflected in her eyes. In the face of those eyes, Sydney let go reflexively and retreated. "No, II didnt" The girl turned and left without another word. 86 Expectation and Loneliness When Ye Qingxuan finally woke up, it was already dusk. He was in the school hospital. The Chorale musicians there told him that he was okay, but he used too much brain power and suffered from severe malnutrition. It did not seem like it was a big deal, but it was not a difficult illness either. "Your fee will be waived. Thanks to you, we were able to practice a big surgery." The doctor rubbed his hands together excitedly before leaving. "If you can send some more rich boys here to be our little whiteuh, to be treated by us, we can give you twenty percent off in the future!" With that, the door slammed shut. The only person left in the hospital room was the quiet Abraham. He studied Ye Qingxuan, eyes unreadable, making Ye Qingxuan feel a little embarrassed. "Professor, whats wrong?" Abraham remained silent. His metal finger tapped against his knee, as if trying hard to find suitable, gentle words to communicate, but in the end, he surrendered to his lack of social skills. Sighing, he gave up. "Why didnt you give it your all?" he asked straightforwardly, raising his head. "You went easy on him." Ye Qingxuan froze, the smile on his face stiffened. "You could tell?" He scratched his face, wanting to relieve the tension in the air, but Abraham remained silent, waiting for his reply. He had let go at the most important point. At that time, the Dragon Breath was still in the brewing stage. It had needed two breaths time to destroy the matrix, but that was enough for Edmunds plan to backfire and for him to burn to a crisp in his own catastrophic fire. He would not have lived, and he would not be so hateful either. If Ye Qingxuan had been a bit harsher, if he had killed Edmund "It would be worse if I had done that, right? The consequences for killing someone are heavy. Their retaliation would probably be even worse, and youll face pressure and" Ye Qingxuan stammered. But seeing Abrahams eyes, he could not keep going. Abraham gazed at him and asked softly, "Yezi, that isnt what you were worried about, right?" "Professor, I dont understand," Ye Qingxuan said, getting upset. "Didnt I put my all into it? Ive already worked really hard. Look, I won." "Winning is a result," Abraham said neutrally. "Giving it all you have is the determination to gamble everything." Ye Qingxuan froze. After a long time, he lowered his head in defeat. "Professor, are you saying that I shouldve killed him?" "Yezi, I dont know how you view musicians, but we arent as saintly as people make us out to be. Sometimes, it is just another job. Some jobs are dirty and some are not, but even the cleanest musicians might not have clean hands. Do you understand?" Abraham gazed at him. "Its never good to kill, but sometimes, bad things might be good decisions because no matter what you choose, you should never choose weakness. Weakness means that you can only survive on your enemies pity." Ye Qingxuan said, "Ihad a grasp on things." "You wont have a grasp every single time!" Abraham raised his voice. "Being weak in a fight between musicians is being irresponsible with your own life. Are your enemies weak to the point that you need to bestow pity on them?" Ye Qingxuan hung his head, unable to refute him. Seeing his gloominess, Abraham sighed and said softly, "I hope that was your last time doing that. Yezi, I dont want to see my students die before me." "I" Head lowered, Ye Qingxuan answered, "I understand." "Its not the best time for this topic. Rest and well talk later," Abraham said a little clumsily. He rose and bid Ye farewell. Before opening the door, he hesitated again and looked back at his student. "Yezi." "Yes?" The youth raised his head. "Congratulations," he said quietly, his expression filled with both awkwardness and happiness. "Thats what I had planned to say." The door shut soundlessly. -- After a long time, someone snuck in. Looking left and right to check that the coast was clear, they strutted to the bed. Picking up the fruit basket, they started munching. Seeing the youth deep in thought, he whacked the back of Ye Qingxuans head, "Hey, kid, whats up?" Charles lowered his voice and spoke like a weird drunk uncle, "Are you frustrated about the secrets of youth? Dont worry, let me tell you" What he got in return was a middle finger. "Senior, I wish your intelligence level was a bit more stable." "Oh, you seem fine! I got a bit worried when I was outside eavesdropping." Charles shrugged and patted his shoulders. "Relax a bit. Professor wants the best for you, just like me, right?" "I know." Ye Qingxuan massaged his temples and rested back against the headboard. "Thats why I have a headache." "Why?" Charles asked. "You know, Ireally hate it when other people have high expectations for me." Organizing his thoughts, Ye Qingxuan said quietly, "To me, expectations and anticipations make me feel that if I dont do something, if I dont reach a goal, or dont change myself, Ill be a big failure." He thought about the priest and his professors face and he could not help but sigh. "The more highly people think of you, the more disappointed they will get. Since thats the case, why do they still have high expectations?" "Thats what youre worried about?" Charles muttered. "Dont be so zhonger, Yezi." "Whats zhonger?" "Its a disease that lowers your intelligence and turns you into a hipster. In the late stages, youll think that only you can save the world. Youll take on the big demon for your girl, or youll just want to destroy the world" "That sounds pretty good?" "Its actually not that bad." Charles sighed and scratched his head. After a long time, he looked up. "Yezi, youre already seventeen years old. I dont know how to tell you this: expectations might not be a good thing, but if you dont want people to have high expectations, youllbe lonely." "Theres nothing wrong with being lonely," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "Im happy when Im alone too." Hearing this, Charles laughed as if it were a na?ve joke. "Yezi, you can be happy, and you can be lonely. But its impossible to be happy and lonely" Quietly, he said, "Youre lying to yourself." -- Yunlou Chaoyue strolled down the quiet alley at dusk. She gazed around at the strange landscape of the foreign city. She lowered her head, measuring the length of each tile with her footsteps. Behind her, the old servant followed her every step. Watching the princesss backside, she wanted to speak but hesitated. "Whats wrong, Nanny?" Yunlou Chaoyue gazed at her. "Is there something you want to say to me?" The nanny lowered her head and advised softly, "Princess, you are a descendant of the skies, but this is a barbaric land. If something happens" Yunlou Chaoyue shook her head. "Theres no one else here. Nanny, you dont need to call me by my title." "But you are the Princess, how" Hearing her words, Yunlou Chaoyue nodded, suddenly realizing, "It seems that Yunlou Qingxi hasnt told you anything." The old servants features tightened. After a long time, she finally moved her lips. "P-princess, you are joking again." "I am not joking." Yunlou Chaoyue halted in the quiet alley and looked back at her. "Isnt your loyalty to my uncle, the true ruler of Yunlou City?" The servant gazed at her silently. There was a pause before the fear in her eyes settled and turned cold. "Nothing escapes the princesss eyes, as expected. But I dont understand where I was mistaken." The girl shook her head. "Nanny, you have done well. You are loyal and a hard worker. There is no mistake." "Then why" "Nanny, do you know that the Westerners have a saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul?" Yunlou Chaoyue looked into her eyes, her gaze still cool as ever. "This saying is very accurate. Every time I look at your eyes, I feel that you are hiding something in your heart." Taken aback, the servant sighed. "I see. Have you knownsince the beginning?" She raised a hand and removed her hairpin, freeing her salt-and-pepper hair. Accompanied by the popping of joints, her stooped back gradually straightened. The age spots and wrinkles on her face trembled and writhed before finally disappearing. Under her skirt, her swollen muscles trembled, then tightened. Her bones expanded instead, hardening. The skin on the back of her hand tightened, turning scaly like a fish. In the blink of an eye, she was no longer an honest and humble servant woman. She had become fierce, her eyes sharp. Beastly faces swam about on her skin. "Where are the others? Tell them to come out." Yunlou Chaoyue glanced around the small alley. "Its hard to find a quiet place in Avalon." Light footsteps sounded as soon as she finished. Two men clad in robes walked out of thin air from both sides of the small alley. They moved swiftly and their faces were blurry, seeming like ghostly spirits. One carried a pipa and was surrounded by dancing ghosts. The other had a huqin on his back and a cloud under his feet. Their strange bodies resonated with the outside world. All three of them were powerful musicians who had broken past the Barrier of KnowledgeResonance Musicians. 87 Da Shao "Why are you willing to work for someone so ambitious? You are all so successful and accomplished. If you use your skills for good, you will help so many people," Yunlou Chaoyue sighed. "Silence, witch!" the huqin musician retorted. "Twenty years ago, Yunlou Qingshu took advantage of the ailing leader to revolt, and stole the power after his concubine had a bastard child! Now he calls the old leaders first son Qingxi Highness as the traitor. Is that not blasphemy?" The musician with the pipa laughed, his voice soft like a girls. "And you are not even Yunlou Qingshus daughter. What right does a phony have to judge my leader? Dont think I dont know that the true princess hasnt been in Yunlou City since last year." He continued, "Yunlou Qingshu is so sneaky. His real daughter disappeared and he replaced her with some girl to send to Anglo, but at the same time, he sent people to search for his daughter. Why would he send you here if it wasnt look for her?" Yunlou Chaoyue listened without replying. After a while, she nodded. "I heard that Yunlou Qingxis Eunuch Chang appeared here too, but I didnt believe it then. So youre all looking for her" She paused, regret flashing through her cool eyes. "Then I wont keep you here." "You boast shamelessly!" The beasts on the old nannysno, she could not be referred to as an old nanny anymoreskin roared soundlessly. Sharp blades sprung from between her five fingers, turning her hands into wolf claws, and she clawed at Yunlou Chaoyues face. "Watch me gouge out your eyes, b*stard!" Yunlou Chaoyue looked up, watching the incoming claws. Her long eyelashes trembled, but there was no fear in her bright eyes, only pity. Soundlessly, the wolf-womans claws froze a hairs width away from those eyes. "Righteousness and title again. Are they really so important?" Yunlou Chaoyue asked, gazing at the three. "Because of them, youve killed so many people and will kill yourself too." "What are you waiting for? Go! Kill this witch!" The wolf-woman attacked wildly, but her claws could only scratch against air. Sparks flew, but she could not move an inch closer. Wordlessly, the pipa musician strummed his instrument, clanging sounds resonated in the air! A giant torrent swept through the alley. -- Hot wind blew out of nowhere, flying crazily to the beat of the pipas music. There was manic heat in the wind, eradicating the humidity from the ocean, turning the alley into a scalding desert. A mirage of the setting sun rose from the wind, radiating heat. A crescent moon rose from the other side. It was so cold, but burned ones soul like fire. Amidst the hot wind, the neighs of battle stallions suddenly sounded. The century-old tiles on the floor of the alley cracked. On the shattered tiles were the imprints of hooves, as if the battle stallions had galloped across them. The thunder-like gallops sounded along with the pipa. It was the "Generals Mandate!" The musician plucked the pipas strings, releasing the clang of swords clashing. The echoes were full of murderous intent. As he played the instrument, the music notes flew above the hoof prints, flying and dancing in the air. The neighs of the stallions grew closer. Finally, dozens of black shadows broke through the yellow sand and torrential wind, galloping out of thin air. The hooves actually stepped on the shattered tiles, turning them to dust. Sitting atop the armored black horses were bodies that looked like demons. Their bodies burned with wild desert fire. The fire transformed into black armor, burning radiantly on the shells of their bodies. They breathed greedily, sucking in the flames as if they were galloping in Hell. They roared in the furious wind. Even the setting sun and crescent moon shattered in the madness. Sixteen demonic knights charged in the tight alley like a steel wall pushing forward. The quick blades in their hands sliced at the brick in the walls, leaving ugly marks and flying pieces of brick. Swords sang in the air; steel hooves clattered! Like a tidal wave, the black knights rushed out of nothing. They charged toward Yunlou Chaoyue, leaving shattered tiles and flying dust in their path. Even the air was ripped apart by the burning murderous intent. The huqin floated above the din. Its notes were long like plaints in the night. and they came in from all directions, creating an inescapable trap. Like strands of affection, they intertwined around ones body. Not only did they constrain the body, but they also wormed their way into the girls mind, awakening the lust and love in her. It worked to make her forget where she was and drown in the attack. But throughout all of this, Yunlou Chaoyue only gazed coolly at the thread around her body, the eerie Foehn wind, and the Asura that came in the wind. She closed her eyes and sighed in pity. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Explosive cracks sounded in an instant. They built on each other, overlapping into a fulmination! The threads of affection snapped and disappeared. The Foehn winds stopped and disappeared. The steel knights stopped and disappearedEverything that had been created by aether was stopped as if an invisible hand from the sky reached down and plucked the aether away from man, holding it in its palm. This was Taiyi! The immensity of aether manipulation sapped all color from Yunlou Chaoyues face. Following her hands, the aether grouped in the wind and transformed into a vortex, like a deposit of rain, snow, and lightning. The three paled at the thunderous cracks. Following Yunlou Chaoyues hands, the quiet emptiness was filled with a deafening roar. Metal clanged and electric sparks flew. A bronze bell rang, full of power, restricting all change in aether. Different instruments overlapped, distinct from each other. The music was grave and serious, pushing down ones spirits. The echoes were enough to shake ones soul. It was only the overture but the three already lost all ability to fight back. This was not a level that any ordinary person should be able to reach, and it had nothing to do with skill. In the west, this was an advanced technique that required the cooperation between multiple musiciansorchestra. In the east, this was the powerful scepter of an Imperial Nine Musician. Yunlou Chaoyues strength and talent were not the only terrifying things. There was also the grand melody that appeared from nothing. It rose to the top like a pathway to heavenIt was the heavenly music of modification. "Da Shao!?" The pipa musician muttered in shock, "Is it Da Shao?" "What is this? Only descendants of Yunlou can use the artifact Dijun!" The huqin musician stumbled back, his expression changing. "Shes a counterfeit! How is she able to" "You are here to kill me for something grand, like righteousness. I can understand and I agree with you," spoke Yunlou Chaoyues amidst the heavenly music. Even the sound of the sky falling and earth shattering could not drown out her quiet voice. This was the strength of Taiyi: nothing has meaning other than me! Despite the storm, her eyes were still full of pity. "But since the beginning, youve never realizedwho I really was." -- In an instant, the three seemed to understand something. They faces turned as white as chalk. As the loud bells rang, Yunlou Chaoyue moved her fingers, and thunder and lightning enveloped everything. All sound vanished. Even the thunder disappeared without a sound. There was only darkness in the alley. The darkness and electricity surged, occasionally flashing through the thick clouds. A dragon seemed to slither in the black clouds, showing a fierce horn every now and then. Da Shao Stolen Ash Movement! After a moment, the black clouds scattered and the electric light was nowhere to be seen. All that remained in the air was flying dust, floating like gray-white snow. In the falling snow, Yunlou Chaoyues cool eyes studied her enemy quietly. The three musicians were still standing in their original spot, as if turned to stone. The strange images wrapped around their bodies had disappeared, regardless of whether they were clouds, ghosts, or beasts. Their resonance with the world had been obliterated and so the images no longer existed. After a long time, the corners of the huqin musicians lips curled. As if mocking himself, an ugly crack cut across his face. "The Dragon blood of the Yunlou familythere is no doubt," he murmured. "Shes real." He had realized that the "disappearance of the Princess" was only a lie fabricated by Yunlou Qingshu to weed out traitors. But sadly, it was too late. His body cracked, fell apart, and melted into the gray ashy snow. "Hate, such hate!" the pipa musician cried before fading away as well. The musician who had disguised herself as the nanny gazed at Yunlou Chaoyues face without speaking. Close to death, her eyes softened and were no longer dark and wild. She opened her mouth and murmured something before her body collapsed into the ash. The world returned to peace. As the gray snow swirled, Yunlou Chaoyue remained silent. She had heard the nannys last words. Maybe those last few days of interactions had softened her, or maybe her inevitable death had blurred things. Maybe she had never hated the usurper princess. She had said, "Your Highness, please take care." Yunlou Chaoyue lowered her head and closed her lonely eyes. -- She seemed to sense something in the silence. Looking up, she gazed past the high walls and saw the white-haired girl again. "Are you leaving?" the girl asked softly. There was no reply, even after a long time. But Yunlou Chaoyues gaze never wavered. Perhaps understanding the meaning of the silence, she sighed. "If it wasnt for your allowance and talent Zhaodang, Da Shao wouldnt have had any effect. Bai Xi, stop hiding. Dijun had sensed you." As if hearing the girls long breaths, Chaoyue asked quietly, "How are you?" [1] Da Shao: this is one of the six generations of ancient Chinese dance and song. 88 Zhaodang "How are you?" "Good, of course. Better than ever. So please dont put me together with the high and mighty Yunlou family ever again." The girls voice sounded disgusted. "You can go back now. The dirt outside isnt suitable for you. If you want to be a white lotus, go and stay in the clean pond." The light in Yunlou Chaoyues eyes dimmed. "But you are" "Im nothing!" Bai Xi raised her voice, full of aversion. "Im a wild kid without parents. I dont know anything about Yunlou City, and have nothing to do with the Yunlou family. Your Highness need not worry. Now, Im going home and you can leave too." "" Chaoyue was quiet and lowered her head. After a long time, she whispered, "Thank you for saving me. If it wasnt for Zhaodang, I wouldve died today." "I said you can leave. Do you not understand my Eastern language?" Yunlou Chaoyues shoulder trembled. After a while, she nodded, "ThenIm going now. Be careful." She touched the high wall, as if wanting to touch the girls cheeks. After a long time, she turned and left. Everything was completely still in the alleyway, except for the ash floating in the wind. -- Behind the high walls, Bai Xi listened as Yunlou Chaoyues footsteps faded. After silence finally fell again, she collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion. As if her blood was boiling, fuchsia vessels bulged on her bare hands and face. One could faintly see her blood flowing like lava. Metallic blood dripped from her nose. Some of the blood fell onto the ground and turned the stone red as if the blood were scalding. Other droplets were bone-numbingly cold. Some blood droplets were black-purple. They sizzled on the ground, leaving behind signs of erosion. Beside her, a beautiful man with golden locks that hung to his waist leaned on his cane and watched her quietly. Seeing her pain, he offered her a handkerchief, but there was not any pity in his emerald eyes, nor was there any cruelty, but just an understanding that surpassed sympathy. The image of two black snakes entangled around each other was on the back of his hand. It was Hermes. "Riding over the orchestra, pushing down demons from the three worldswas it Taiyi?" Hermes said quietly in awe. "As expected from the most powerful of the Dragon Bloodlines." In the East, the Dragon Bloodline was a symbol of power because of the talent it contained. Taiyi was the best of the best. No matter where she was, as long as Yunlou Chaoyue made a sound, her voice would drown out all other sounds. The aether would only listen to her and ignore everything else. It was like an emperors ultimate, irrefutable demand. It was because of this that she could easily destroy others music, even if the strength of the three adversaries had been comparable to hers. But it had not been Yunlou Chaoyue who had called forth Da ShaoIt had been Bai Xi, who had been nearby. "It is an honor to have seen both Taiyi and its equalZhaodang in one day." "Dont put me on the same level as that little doll." In the stillness, Bai Xi pushed herself up, panting. Hermes offered her a tube of medicine. The girl pushed it away in aggravation, but he pushed it back stubbornly. "Dont keep pushing yourself. You know the side effects of Zhaodang more than I do." Using more patience than ever before, Hermes advised, "Just see it as taking advantage of me. Its not like I dont have enough money." "Are you kidding me?" Bai Xis eyes filled with annoyance. "You sent a message for me to come here just so I could take advantage of you?" -- Twenty minutes prior, Bai Xi had received a letter after taking Ye Qingxuan to the hospital. The letter only had two lines, as well as Hermess stamp: I know your relationship with the Yunlou family. Ill be waiting in the alley outside the Academys South Gate. "Actually, I just wanted to see Zhaodang." Hermes shrugged. "You didnt lose anything, did you? You even saved her life. As Easterners say, thats better than a nine-level tower." "And now youve seen it. Are you happy?" "Aw, dont say that. Im never unhappy with a pretty girl. Im still your boss though. You have to think highly of me." "Ha." While Hermes was still sighing sadly, Bai Xi scoffed and turned to leave. Hermes sighed again and reached for her shoulder. "Wait" Crack! In an instant, it was as if he had crossed a line and hot electricity jumped from Bai Xis shoulder! The electricity struck Hermess finger, creating a charred ring around the finger and splitting the nail. There was the smell of meat burning. Bai Xi stumbled and turned to glare at him. "As expected." Hermes looked down at his hurt finger. Murmuring something, the wound healed quickly. He squinted at the aether wrapped around the girls body, finally certain that, "The back bite of Zhaodang is deep inside your bones." -- All descendants of the Dragon Bloodlines were born with specific talents. Some said that talents were gifts from the gods. But Zhaodang was a curseIt was an extreme talent of the Dragon Bloodlines. Once awoken, it would go crazy in the aether. Wherever Bai Xi was would be cast into a black zone with wild aether. All aether would be uncontrollable, unable to be manipulated by anyone. But aided by it, even the simplest rune would be increased one hundred times its original strength. It would be powerful enough to destroy anything it touched, no matter who or what it was, including the one wielding it. "You cant control it anymore." Hermes lowered his head, gazing at the bulging bruised vessels on the girls wrist. Under her practically transparent skin, the vessels pulsed angrily. The flow of blood sounded like a tidal wave. That was one of the side effects of using the talentthe mildest effect. "I just want to chat with you. Why must you try to escape, Bai Xi?" Hermes sighed. "If Taiyi is the Emperor, then Zhaodang is the destructive civilian. Like wildfire, you cant control it or restrain it." "I can control it!" Bai Xi interrupted. "I found another similarity between you and Little Yezi. You both like to lie to yourself" Hermes chuckled, as if laughing at a childs naivety. "Its useless, Bai Xi. Youve felt it too. Even if you try to forget them, they wont go away. The more you try to restrain it, the wilder it will become. Every time they awaken, itll only become more powerful. "If you cant control it, it will take your life, expanding like a tumor until you collapse from your own strength. Youre what, seventeen? You still look like a fifteen year old. Two of your most precious years were taken by it, and it will take even more" "None of your business." Bai Xi glared at him coldly. Raising a hand, she wiped the blood away from her face with her sleeve. Transforming back the girl with the porcupine disposition, she no longer seemed weak. Her eyes arrogant and cold, she stated, "Sorry, but I dont need you to worry about me. Now, if you dont mind, please disappear and stop wasting my time. I have night lessons to attend." "Lessons?" Hermes laughed as if it were a joke. "Your Highness, who in Avalon has the qualifications to teach you? Abraham? A retired executioner? Just give up. Abraham can never teach you, but" He looked at Bai Xi, fire in his narrow eyes. It was not lust, but was like an artisan studying rough diamond, overjoyed at finding treasure. "But I can." Bai Xi froze. She had never thought that her strange and mysterious boss would call her for that reason. She had been ready to end everything, but now she was taken aback. It had always been her dream to control Zhaodang and live freely. But now, it felt as if reality was joking with her, but she could not laugh. "Why?" "Why? Haha, maybe this is fate?" Under the darkening night sky, Hermes turned around. Gazing at the fog, his eyes curved as if mocking something. "Some things are going to change, and someone or something will come find me. When it comes to that, I dont know if the result will be what I predict. Something will be ended, or I will be ended." Hermes raised a hand, waving away the annoying mist before him, his eyes focused and gazing faraway. "Before that, I want to find a student and pass down some things." "I cant trust what youre saying so easily." "I think its strange too, isnt it?" Hermes shrugged, mocking himself. "So lets use what Im best at. A lot of people call me the trader because Im too lazy to hide and lie. Since the world likes to price things clearly, why dont you make a trade with me? I get a student, and you get a new road to freedom." As Bai Xi remained silence, the man mocked a chivalrous bow. As if meeting a king, his grave tone had a tinge of mockery and his eyes were deep, as if seeing her future. "My princess, what do you say?" -- Ye Qingxuan woke up in the deep night to find that he had been pushed to the edge of his bed. Helpless, he turned and saw the little girl that had taken over the center of the bed. He could only sigh and carefully move her foot away from his neck. Bai Xi woke, glared at him, and flipped over to continue sleeping. "Where did you go?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "You came home so late." "Nowhere," Bai Xi answered in a muffled voice, as if upset. "Im tired and I want to sleep. Leave me alone." "Why are you in my hospital bed?" "Theres thunder and Im scared." Ye Qingxuan looked out the window and saw sparkling stars in the clear night sky. Well, if she said there was thunder then there was thunder. He sighed and shut his eyes, curling into the corner that the girl gave him. In the stillness, there was only a centimeter between his hand and Bai Xis cheeks. "Bai Xi?" "Hmm?" "Dont wipe your snot on my face the next time you cry." "Oh" 89 The Dark Legend 1 Early in the morning in the quiet Jianlan Underground Palace, Dominic hunched before the towering copper door in the square, pushing it open slowly. An eerie breeze blew out from the darkness. "Follow me." He glanced at the youth behind him. "Ill take you to the library." Ye Qingxuan nodded and followed closely, entering the darkness past the threshold. Behind him, the heavy door slammed shut. With the dim light from his lantern, he could vaguely see the person in front of him. A breeze blew past in the surging darkness, extinguishing the flame inside the glass. Ye Qingxuan froze, his footsteps halting. "Whats wrong?" Dominic looked back. Will-o-wisps seemed to dance in his eyes, shining faintly and sending chills down Ye Qingxuans spine. Seeing his expression, Dominic laughed eerily. "Dont be afraid. As long as you dont have a light, theres nothing to be afraid of on this path." The corners of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched. Not knowing what to say, he hurried to catch up, scared he would get lost. All was still in the darkness, but Ye Qingxuan could not shake the feeling that someone following him. There seemed to be laughter in the faint wind, but when he listened for it, he could not hear clearly. Things he could not see wrapped around him as if scrutinizing his face and bare skin. Some opened their mouths, wanting to devour that sweet piece of meat, but the small bell on Ye Qingxuans wrist rang gently and they did not dare to get close. They finally passed through the darkness. Torches lit up from the sides of the long tunnel. The flickering lights illuminated his body again, and he could finally let out the long breath he had been holding. His body had felt like it was going to dissolve in the endless darkness. "Weve arrived." At the end of the tunnel, Dominic reached out and pulled open the metal door for Ye Qingxuan. The metal door grated and creaked. The piercing sound echoed through the darkness like faint laughter. Behind the door was an empty, warmly lit hall. As if this place had been maintained year long, the glazed tiles were glossy enough to reflect ones image. The chandeliers on the ceiling were spotless as well. Unlike most libraries, there was no rotting or moldy scent, nor was there any dust. Everything was in perfect state. Lines and lines of ancient shelves, crammed with books, stood behind three rows of reading tables. Some of the books had been printed in recent years. They had innovative designs, and the ink smelled faintly of roses. Some looked like artifacts from the Dark Ages. There was sheepskin wrapped over the papyrus, emanating a metallic scent. "The Library of the Royal Academy of Music is the largest library in all of Anglo. It was established to preserve civilization when attacked by the natural catastrophes. The library holds many confidential materials, letters, and conference records. Other than precious music scores and secret books, there are also dark secrets" Dominic continued. "Everything here is top secret. If you accidentally see something you shouldnt see, watch your mouth. I dont need to say more, do I?" "No, no need." Ye Qingxuan shook his head forcefully, scared that doing anything wrong would end with his death. "Good." Dominic nodded. "Other than you, there are still some little things being raised here. Dont be startled if you accidentally see them. The license bell on your wrist is only effective for one day. If you dont get out of here before midnight, you will be treated as an invader. Understand?" "Yes, I understand." "There are five levels here. You are allowed to browse in areas at and under the musician level. If you go to the wrong place, you will also be dealt with by the little things, understand?" "Uh, yes." Ye Qingxuan had started doubting how little those little things actually were. "Do not damage the books and do not think about stealing. These little things treasure old ties and are very particular. If you anger themyou understand." "I understand," Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Ill be dealt with, right?" "Youre a bright student." Dominic nodded, signifying that Ye could enter. "One more question." Ye Qingxuan asked curiously, "There arent any signs here. What if I accidentally go to the wrong place?" "Its easy," Dominic chuckled. "If you hear footsteps behind you, it means you should turn back." His shadow disappeared into the darkness. The metal door slammed shut and Ye Qingxuan was left alone in the quiet library. But the feeling that he was being watched did not go away, in fact it got stronger. He sat on a chair in the reading section, gazing around. There was no one there. But when he closed his eyes, it felt as if the room were packed. The clearly nonexistent people were all obedient scholars. They read the ancient texts in the silent library wordlessly. They did not even make a sound while flipping the pages. They met each others eyes, deep like dark vortexes. Finally, their gazes fell on the youth who did not belong there, and they refused to avert their eyes. Their faces were blank white spaces! Ye Qingxuans eyes flew open. The fantasy disappeared from his mind as if it had never existed. He shook his head. He could not keep scaring himself. "Okay, lets find out where the teacher records are first." According to Charles, there was nothing that he would not know on the first level. Indeed, the shelves he walked past were all filled with geographical reports throughout time, and boring account books. Occasionally, he would see biographies, travel notes, and histories of other countries. But none of those meant anything to Ye Qingxuan. He continued past the records area. The next area was filled with records of currency exchange rates between countries and other trade information. This would have been heaven for an accountant, but Ye Qingxuan did not care one bit. What did the trade war between East Tianzhu Company and Yunlou have to do with him? Giant sums were involved in it, and reading into it could have great benefits. Maybe he could even grasp the markets future trends and make a fortune, but that was not Ye Qingxuans goal. The next area was finally the musician area. The amount of the research material was dizzying. Ye Qingxuan squatted by a shelf and stared at an entire row of basic runes from each School, almost drooling. In the end, he bid them farewell with a broken heart and continued searching for the documents he needed. Finally, he found a map of Avalon in the corner of the first level. "Wow, this place is big" He gazed around at the dozens of bookshelves. The shelves were more than twice his height, filled with all types of books. A majority of them did not even have titles and only had a serial code. Trying to find something there without any type of catalog was like finding a needle in the haystack. "Book management requires knowledge." Now, Ye Qingxuan finally understood what the priest had meant. Sitting on the floor, he looked up at the bookshelves that soared to the ceiling. He felt helpless. "Then lets just look for the needle in the haystack." Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the file closest to him. Opening it, he found that it was an intelligence record of downtown criminal organizations. "Shaman: Tracking Investigation Report?" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. Flipping through a few pages, he saw the faded text, "According to investigation, Shaman left Avalon secretly five days ago and is very difficult to trace. This seems to be related to smuggler ships" The passage was from six years prior. There were some bookmarks after it, marking later investigation results. Unfortunately, the results were, "untraceable,""did not appear" and finally, "disappeared." Shaman, one of the ten legends of Avalon, the King of Downtown, had justdisappeared from the Royal musicians clutches? There were no more investigation reports after that, much to Ye Qingxuans disappointment. The records had started when the mysterious Shaman had first appeared, and meticulously recorded every detail until his disappearance. He had gone from a nobody to the controller of all of downtown in just a few months. Of the downtown gangs, first was the Caucasian Bear Claws, then the Indian Union, and then the Corsican Mafia. Every criminal organization downtown pledged their loyalty to the mysterious man, offering one-fifth of their monthly profits in exchange for the Shamans permission for them to operate. The recorder had also made some hypotheses based on textual research, deducing how the Shaman negotiated with all of the gangs. He had also collected many rumors. The descriptions were so vivid that one could not put the book down. But at the most important part where the Shaman had fought with the elites who had ventured into smuggling...stopped. It ended with a disappointing "disappeared." "Did the author get castrated? Wheres the rest?!" Ye Qingxuan muttered angrily. He returned the file and took out another one from the shelf. This was one was"The Bloody Butcher: Analysis of the Chrysanthemum Hotel Massacre?" In shock, Ye Qingxuan chose another book. "Report of Handling the Soul Eater?" Following that was, "Ghosthand: Criminal Activity Record,""The Phantom Carriage: Path Analysis and Organization." Finally, he understood what that bookshelf was for. "Could it be the research files of Avalons top ten legends?" 90 The Dark Legend 2 Ye Qingxuan had always thought that the ten legends were just folktales and myths. Many people believed in them, but Ye Qingxuan had always felt that they were too incredible to be true. But now there was an entire bookshelf of their records in front of his eyes. Things did not seem to be so simple The Shaman was the mysterious man who had made the rules that guided the entire criminal underworld of Avalon. He was Avalons Dark King, and had ruled downtown until his disappearance six years ago. The Chrysanthemum Hotel Massacre, three years ago, was complete slaughter in Avalons classiest hotel. Everyone regardless of their gender and age had been pulverized. Viscount Filo, the target, had had his head yanked off from his body. This was one of the records of the Bloody Butcher. The Soul Eater was one of Avalons midnight horror stories. A series of research found its true forma musician who had turned himself into a snake demon after converting to Satanism. Hunted by multiple Royal musicians, he jumped into the sewer in the end. According to the records, the Soul Eater was injured and went crazy while fleeing. Motivated by hunger, he attacked a school. Because that had violated the Shamans rules, he had been killed by the Shamans assassin, Ghosthand. Ghosthand, known as the debtor in legends, and was the Shamans right hand man. Anyone who violated the Shamans rules would be hunted by him. Legends said that the Phantom Carriage soared through the air at midnight. The Musicians Union verified that it was alchemy equipment left behind from the Dark Ages. It was unimaginably fast and even to this day, no one could describe it clearly. No one knew who rode it or why it was there There was also some whom Ye Qingxuan had seen with his own eyes. "Analysis of Haritis Death." Ye Qingxuan opened the book with trembling hands. Hariti had lived undetected in downtown for countless years. She steered clear of the larger organizations, never tried to steal territory, and never tried to dabble in smuggling or the black market. Instead, she supplied the larger organizations with live items. Her clients were scattered throughout all of Anglo, and the demand was huge every year. The requests included strong workers for plantations, slaves for the mines, beautiful virgins, and more often, children When the Shaman had been around, there was no space for her. But after the Shaman disappeared, she no longer needed to follow the rules, and started her business again. Then half a month ago, she died. According to research, she had been commissioned before she died. It was unclear what it had been for, but some suspected that it had something to do with Yunlou Citys ambassador entourage. Then, she died. She died in her own nest, bleeding from every pore, her face completely hopeless. The survivors went crazy after overdosing on opiates. They were sent to the Arkham Asylum, but there was no hope for recovery. The Chorale musician responsible for the autopsy had reported, "According to the dissection, her body had mutated in what seemed to be the Siren transformation. This should be one of the missing experiments from the attack on the Royal Research Institute twelve years ago. Note: Please see file BP198 for more information on the attack on the Royal Research Institute. Must be Scepter level and" The words were crossed out after that point. According to the autopsy, Hariti had not only inhaled large amounts of opiates before her death, but had also experienced the back bite of the formless ghosts and had gone insane. The cause of her death was sudden mental trauma. The fatal trauma had destroyed her tenacity instantaneously, destroying her entire brain, turning it into mush. Swift and clean. Most of the evidence had been wiped out, but according to measurements from the aether ball, there had been a performance above the Scepter level. It was suspected to be related to the phenomenon of the moon above the ocean which had occurred in downtown that night. It was suggested that related departments investigate further. The last bit of conclusion had been scribbled over in black and was unreadable. After reading, Ye Qingxuan quietly put the report back in its spot. Originally, he had thought that the crazy woman was just a regular human trafficker. But now he had started to think that things were much more complicated than that. Thankfully he and Bai Xi had not left behind any traces, otherwise he could not know if he would have been at the academy or in prison. But this ignited Ye Qingxuans curiosity about the ten legends. Unfortunately, that curiosity was killed as he read about the nude man who ran about at midnight. The Avalon Police Force had used every type of investigation method and had finally established a hypothesis. "Spy theory: this d*mned nudist is a Burgundian spy. He wants to transmit some message to his cohorts by running while nude. According to experts, the locations he appears in, and the streets that he runs through are all predetermined codes. His cohorts can learn secrets about the Avalonian Royalty by decoding these." "Yeah right! The locations he appeared in were based entirely on how much money he had had at that time, alright? And the streets he ran through were determined by the debtors chasing him" Ye thought. Even more absurd was the phenomenon theory, the illusion theory. Many experts strongly believed that the nude man was a collective illusion representing that Avalonians were facing higher work stress and craved freedom. Some also hypothesized that the nude man was a mysterious natural phenomenon. An eyewitness said that a flying disk had appeared in the sky right before the nude man had appeared "Take care, Senior." Ye Qingxuan put the book back where it belonged. Soon after, he became enraptured by the most horrifying of the ten legends. It was the Ripperthe Whitechapel killer. Apparently, this mysterious serial killer had often appeared in the Whitechapel area, specifically targeting prostitutes and gossipers in the night. The police force had been hunting him for a long time but could never find any trace of him. To catch him, the police had even sent a beautiful policewoman, disguised as a prostitute, and had even used advice from criminals to wait outside the Whitechapel for half a year. She had countless clients, but had never met the Ripper. Instead, murders continued happened in other places, and the honeypot mission ended in failure. "This d*mned b*stard is, without a doubt, a complete lunatic," a psychoanalyst said in the file. According to analysis by criminologists, all murders had some sort of interest, wanted to fulfil his ideal, or wanted to silence someone. But the Ripper seemed to have no motive whatsoever. He seemed to only be venting his emotions through serial killing. The murders were ongoing, but not a trace had ever been found. Obsessed, Ye Qingxuan followed the books appendix and found more and more related records. Without realizing it, he had wandered into the deepest part of the library. And he finally realized that something was wrong. There seemed to be something behind the Ripper case. In many cases, the police force had an extensive and seamless trap, and were always one step away from catching the guy. But the Ripper always got away at the most vital moment. The police force hypothesized that the Ripper was a School of Revelations musician and could predict their plan. But not even a Scepter level Revelations musician would be able to toy with the police force for five straight years. Also, Anglo had skilled musicians who could block predictions as well. There were all types of coincidences, but if one looked closely, there were also all types of strange occurrences. The first couple of times may have been coincidences, but the others were too bizarre to be considered coincidences! The guy seemed to be able to teleport! According to records, other than the priest who had the gods tenacity, no one else in the world could teleport thousands of miles like characters in novels. No one could even teleport to the next room. The ultimate proposition of the School of Modifications was "human teleportation." But to that very day, even the Saints could only teleport everyday objects through the wind tunnel. If a human tried it, they would be torn to pieces or evaporate into a cloud of blood. No one was able to disappear instantaneously, unless he got rid of every last molecule of himself. So how did the Ripper do it? Could it be that Pope Beethoven had gotten bored and came to Anglo to kill people for fun? "Stop joking." Ye Qingxuan had made himself laugh. After reading through the last record, his gaze fell on a line in the middle of the analysis, "After investigation and research, we have reason to believe that the Ripper is somehow related to the Shadow of Avalon." Suddenly remembering Bai Xis cards, Ye Qingxuan was stunned. One of the ghost cards had a deserted palace! The Shadow of Avalon was one of this citys well-known horror stories. The legends said that there was a city sleeping in Avalons shadow. The dead, and souls of demons slept in that shadowy city, hiding secrets from the Dark Ages. Some said that that was the true Avalon, but that was just a made-up story. Why would it appear in the report by the police force? Unless there was some truth to it Ye Qingxuan fell into deep thought before hurriedly closing the book. Remembering the other cases mentioned, he walked to the other end of the bookshelf. If he were not mistaken, there would be more clues hidden in that shelf. Suddenly, it was as if he had crossed an invisible and forbidden line. A chill ran through his body. -- In the silence, the lights dimmed, and started flickering. A sudden wind blew through the sealed library. Faint wailing sounded in the wind. Ye Qingxuan gazed around in a daze, sensing that something was seriously wrong. He tried to step forward, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. There was no one behind him, but he could hear light footsteps. The steps were so gentle in the silence, as if someone invisible was walking behind him, following his every step, leaving no trace behind. Fifteen steps away from the bookshelf, he stopped. The footsteps shadowing him were right behind him. He could even feel cold breath brushing against his neck. This was the end. Some entity in this large library uttered its last warning, "You are attempting to solve a mystery you should never have touched." Ye Qingxuan froze in place and raised his arms in surrender. "Sorry, I just wanted to find the academys personnel files" He stepped back, showing that he did not mean to pass into the danger zone. After a long while, the eerie coldness finally disappeared. Sweating profusely, Ye Qingxuan turned back. As before, there was nothing behind him under the dim light, but it was the first time he had been comforted by the vast emptiness. Everything had returned to normal, but there was a faint trail of footprints on the floor. As if it were a guide, it stopped before one bookshelf. A row of books on the shelf had been pushed out half an inch. It seemed to say, "What youre looking for is here." 91 Death of Moon Chan The previous night, a flock of birds had flown when the clock struck midnight. One bird cut across the night sky of foggy Avalon, flying under the stars. It was a ravena white raven. It had been a moonless night, the moon hidden behind black clouds. The only light came from the stars speckled in the night sky. The white raven flew in the fog, circling above the sleeping city, looking down on the music and torches of the city. When the clock struck, it flew toward the clock tower soundlessly, landing on the tip of one of the clocks hands. At midnight, the clocks hand pointed up at the sky like a blade. The white raven gazed about and finally flew past the window and gears, then entered the dark clock tower. A single candle flickered soundlessly, illuminating the dusty tower. The glimmer of countless emeralds lit up in the darkness. They were actually the candles reflection in the beasts eyes, the eerie pupils of the predators. Their pure green eyes were full of coldness, and their gazes scanned across the room, studying each other as their heart beats hastened. At some point, the small room had filled with dozens of birds. They were all different types. Some were black vultures, others were gray seabirds, and there was also a giant pelican. Its long beak hung low as if it were laughing, but there was no mirth in its eyes. Instead, the eyes were silent and dark. Seeing the white raven, the pelican opened its beak and spoke, "Gentlemen, Im sure you all know why I have called you here today, so let us get straight to it." "Of course." "Is the investigation report out?" "I dont want to waste time either." The flock of birds all began speaking in human languages. If someone were there, they probably would have been terrified. But to a musician, it meant something else. These birds were not real, but were puppets made from aether. They were dead objectsdetailed but cold. The birds flew and spoke, manipulated by people far away. They did this to hide their identity, or because they worried others might discover the meeting. Though they were puppets, they were intricately made, and emanated the opulence of the elites. When they spoke, their frustrated tones sounded like a chorale. When the birds quieted down, the pelican looked around. In a voice hoarse like an old man, he said, "A strange phenomenon occurred downtown a few days ago. I believe everyone has heard of it." He paused, his voice reminding everyone of the event that had led to many sleepless nights. "The Moon Above the Ocean. According to investigation, it was created by the resonance between a musicians Symphony of Predestination and the world, disrupting realityYes, you are right to worry because he might have returned." As soon as he finished, the other birds erupted into chaos. Some angrily questioned him, some fell silent in shock, and others questioned every detail, trying to refute the possibility. The only thing they all had in common was the undisguisable fear in their voices. "Enough!" The pelican raised its voice, silencing everyone. He waited until they fell silent before he opened his beak to speak again. "In regards to the phenomenon, we have used many connections to find its origin. Sadly, we have no results. Everyone there turned into lunatics, and the survivors are now in the Arkham Asylum. They may never recover. The dead have already been taken by the Royal Institute of Research. That is the crazy Newtons territory, and we cannot interfere. All evidence had been destroyed at the site, leaving nothing behind. But the phenomenon seemed to have been done on purpose" "Hes sending a message," the vulture muttered angrily as if through clenched teeth. "He wanted us to see it!" The owls eyes were dark. "Thats right. He wants to tell us that hes back!" "His arrogance! Can he fight against the entire Anglo Empire?" "Hes dreaming!" "But" "Enough, what are we arguing about? Is now the time to argue amongst yourselves?" "What, are you scared?" It sounded just like a flock of birds cawing, but in actuality, there were different voices arguing. They were old and young, panicked and angered. Every bird looked back at the one in the corner. "White raven, you promised us that he was already dead." Even in the sudden silence and under the interrogation of his friends, the white raven was as calm as ever. He watched their eyes quietly and waited for them to calm down before he said coolly, "He truly is dead." As if igniting something, the birds exploded in anger. "Lies!" "Raven, Im sick of your lies!" "Then explain what happened!" "There is only one person in the entire world who could create something like that with his Symphony of Predestinationonly one!" "Moon Chant." In the commotion, no one knew who had uttered the name that seemed to represent disaster. Silence fell over the room. Shaken by the seemingly graceful name, their eyes gazed around helplessly. In the silence, the pelican spread its wings, pushing down the panic in everyones eyes. He said, "When he fled, he destroyed all of his own records. Nobody today can remember what he looks like. Are you sure you didnt kill the wrong person?" The owl beside him added, "And its not uncommon for a musician to return his soul to another body." "Ive heard that some musicians can turn into rats" The vulture said, "Its not impossible for him to have escaped." "Yes, Ive heard that musicians can crawl out of their graves after death" The birds lapsed into chaos again. "Everyone, stop kidding yourselves!" This time, the white raven suddenly spoke in his stern voice, cutting everyone else off. "By the rules of fate, everything must die. There is a limit to mans power, and he must obey such boundaries. Fear the aether, for only the Originator is eternal, this has been the vow for all musicians since the Dark Ages. Have you all heard of it before?" He observed his shocked companions and said mockingly, "Have you all been reading too many novels? Everyone moves toward death the moment they are born into this world. It has been arranged so by fate, and nobody can avoid it. Once someone dies, he will not come back. How can a corpse climb out of its grave? To return his soul to another body? Since when has mankind had something as luxurious as a soul? Even if we have had it, our ancestors must have sold it to Satan thousands of years ago. "He turned into a rat? Nonsense! If it were possible, then the law of conservation of mass from the School of Modifications would be wrong. Who knows how many people will die from the recoil of their music? Dont be misguided by the paganist Newton. He isnt even a musician! He was just a lunatic who was hit on the head by an apple! Moon Chant is dead. This is the truth!" "Hmph, who knows if Moon Chant has a hidden card or not," the vulture muttered. "Theres no lack of methods for longevity." The white raven huffed, "Longevity is not immortality!" "But the Pope" "Enough!" the white raven roared. "Are you so high up in our mundane world that you dare to question the gods?" "I dont dare, but dont forget what Moon Chant was doing in the Royal Institute of Research!" the vulture refuted. "We still dont know how extensively he researched the forbidden topics. Before he fled, he had erased all records and wiped the memories of every related person. Anyone who interacted with him before has forgotten his existence. After all these years, all we know is that he was an Easterner!" "And anyway, did someone really kill him?" The owl said, "Even if the lunatic Maxwell wasnt willing to fight him, the royal musicians were helpless against him too. Even Gaius lost half of his men when he tried to capture Moon Chant personally!" "Thats right! Gaius betrayed us after that mission. We still dont know what secrets Gaius learned." "I knew that Rumulusians couldnt be trusted! The Pope had bestowed so much power upon Gaius, but he betrayed us at the most vital moment, bewitched by an Easterner!" "Revolutionary army? Those d*mned traitors! I bet Gaius and Moon Chant were in on it together that entire time" "But what should we do? If Moon Chant is really still alive and they become allies" "Everyone, please calm down!" the white raven said, but no one paid him any attention. His eyes turned angry and he raised his voice. "Silence!" Finally, the birds fell silent. "Look, lets all calm down, alright?" The white raven said coolly, "There is no need to worry. There is no doubt that Moon Chant is dead." "How are you so sure?" the pelican asked after a long pause. "Even the strongest musicians may lose against him." "You dont need to worry about that," the white raven laughed. "Only this is undeniable. This person has never lost, and has never disappointed others. No musician dares to say they could win against him. Since he acted and told us that Moon Chant is dead, there is no way that hes alive." "How are you sure that he did not lie to you?" "Because there is no need!" The white raven uttered a name coldly. The watch tower fell into silence. The birds looked at each other in shock. After a long time, their worried hearts finally relaxed. Like dust settling, they were finally able to breathe comfortably. That sentence had been like magic, calming the chaos instantly. The white raven had said, "The one who killed Moon Chant was Bach." 92 Files Still in the library, more than half the day had passed but Ye Qingxuan was still empty handed. He had found no clues at all! He had looked through every record and file related to the Royal Academy of Music. The pile towered beside him. "Collection of Personnel Files at the Royal Academy of Music," courses and schedules of the different schools, records of school anniversary celebrations, summary of announcements, staff lists of each school, pictures of large-scale ceremonies, newspaper interviews about the Academy, the salaries for each year. There were even lists of the classrooms and dorms Ye Qingxuan had read through all of it from noon to mid-afternoon! He had a more holistic understanding of all four schools and sixteen majors, but it did not matter at all. He had not found anything that he had wanted, and accidentally learned too much about what he did not care about. In order not to miss any details, he had even held his nose and read through Sydneys autobiography! But in the end, all he got was the amazing adventures of the stupid mans youths, but they were probably made up. Moon Chant, Ye Lanzhou, Ye Qingxuans fatherHe seemed to have never existed. He had disappeared from every record and memory in the world. If Ye Qingxuan did not remember him, would he be entirely forgotten? -- After reading the last book, Ye Qingxuan had lost all hope. He collapsed onto the pile of books, sinking into a gray state. There was no sign of any Easterner in any of the records! And especially not an Easterner that had been the vice principal. Was Hermes lying? Even though Hermes had a bad personality, he did not seem like the type to lie for fun. What was going on? Who had erased all of the records? "He didnt even leave behind the lecturers name on the class schedules!" Ye Qingxuan punched the ground angrily and stuck his middle finger up at the air, "Why dont you go big or go home and get rid of the sign-in sheet too?" Of course, no one replied in the silence, but Ye Qingxuan froze. He shot up from the ground, finally having realized something. "Thats right. The sign-in sheetevery public lecture would have included the professors signatures! Otherwise, it would be impossible to calculate their salaries!" The best thing was that those useless pieces of paper counted as lecture material and would be collected by the library. "Sign-in sheet! Sign-in sheet!" Ye Qingxuan chanted like a lunatic as he started searching through the shelves. But after a long while, he was still empty-handed. He could not find it. In the centuries that the academy had existed, there must have been millions of lectures. If every lecture had a sign-in sheet, at least ten warehouses would be needed to store them all. Why would they be here? And even if they were, Ye would not be able to find them in the giant library, right? He sighed in despair, trying to resist the urge to slam his head against the shelf. When he looked into the surging darkness, his eyes lit up. He might not know butthey would know! If they knew where the personnel files were, then what Dominic called little things, raised in the library, would know the place like the back of their hand. "Hey, anybody here?" Ye Qingxuan looked around and raised his hand. "Does anyone know where the sign-in sheets from the Royal Academy of Music nineteen years ago are?" "" As if a group of people were staring coldly at him, no answer came from the darkness. "Come on, I know youre listening! Help me out!" Ye Qingxuans expression was still genuine. "Dont be like this. What if we make a deal?" The darkness remained silent. "Hey, if I can help you with anything, Ill be glad to do it!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. "At least consider it! Friend, Im the concertmasterwhy dont we make a deal? People should help each other! Theres a saying from the East that goes, everyone works for me and I work for everyone. Cant you at least give me a hint?" A long time passed before a voice said, "Marble." The soft voice that came from behind Ye Qingxuan was like a little girls. "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan looked back in shock, but there was nothing there. The voice rang again as if it had never spoken before. A faint hand made of dust reached out from the darkness. There was a shiny marble between its three fingers, and it shook it before Ye Qingxuans eyes. "Marble. Want." Ye Qingxuan was overjoyed. "Yes, yes! Ill get you a bunch of marbles when I get out! But its kind of hard to find ones made of bone. Is glass okay? What color do you like? Red? White? Or green?" The darkness surged and there were soft sounds, as if the beasts were discussing amongst themselves. After a while, the dust hand raised two fingers. "One hundred. Every kind." Ignoring the fact that they did not know how to count, Ye Qingxuan nodded quickly. "Great! Its a deal!" There was the soft sound again, then the dust hand rose slowly, pointing at Ye Qingxuan. "Promise?" Ye Qingxuan raised his own hand and gave it a high five. "I promise." Of course, the high five was silent. The dust hand dissipated, leaving no trace behind. And then boom! The floor under Ye Qingxuan suddenly cracked open and collapsed, a hole appeared. There was a sharp cry and then the youth was gone. -- Screaming, Ye Qingxuan fell into the darkness. Quickly, he landed with a thud on a giant pile of something. Dust flew and swirled in the air, choking him. Light from some unknown source illuminated the underground room. Ye Qingxuan climbed up from the pile of notebooks with difficulty. He looked around in shock, realizing that he seemed to be in a landfill. In the vast underground square, there were piles and piles of books. The tattered records had been tossed there, forgotten for years until a giant hole appeared in the corner of the wall. A pile of books tumbled down like garbage. Formless power rose from the dust and hands formed by dust quickly organized the fallen notebooks. They were organized into squares even before they could land on the ground. From a birds point of view, the useless papers and records looked as if they had been organized purposefully by some kind of power. They were like puzzle pieces in the hands of a child, built into the shape of a castle, city walls, fortresses, plazas Ye Qingxuan had fallen in the "pool" in the center of the "castle," splashed by the flying dust and papers. Within the countless flying dust particles, a tiny shadow appeared in the dust. It looked down at Ye Qingxuan and threw a heavy book at him. Then, it disappeared. A faint voice floated in the air. "Remember marble." "Thank you! Of course!" Ye Qingxuan waved at the darkness and hurriedly climbed out from the "pool." He flipped open the book as if he had found a treasure chest. The small bell on his wrist vibrated as a reminder that the day was ending soon. He did not have much time, but he did not care and quickly started skimming. "Introduction to Eastern Music Theory, Introduction to Eastern Music Theory, Introduction to Eastern Music Theory" The flipping of pages suddenly stopped. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan stared at the column of blank cells and the lonely name on the upper left corner. His expressions changed, oscillating between grief and joy. The dancing dust finally settled, dirtying his white hair and entering his eyes. Maybe because he had spaced out, tears flowed out from the faint pain. The tears rolled down his cheeks, landing on the sign-in sheet. Gradually, it dampened the ink, blotting the name in cursive. "I found it." Ye Qingxuan grasped the sign-in sheet and murmured, "Father, I found you." After five years, he had finally proven that the man had not left mysteriously. He had once lived in this world, and had left behind the smallest mark. Even if it was small, it was enough to fill Ye with happiness, tears streaming down his face. -- The ink blot on the sign-in sheet continued to bloom. The name had turned into a messy ink blotch, but stained by the tears, the words seemed to have been given a new life. They grew quickly on the page, transforming into a lively rune. Shocked, Ye Qingxuan looked down at the ink. They were words that someone had once written in elaborate script with equal amounts drunkenness and ridicule. "After talking to the old guy yesterday, I learned something of Western music theory and composed this piece. I shall record it here for future fate." The flowery notes took up practically the entire page. They danced like dragons and snakes, imprinting in the youths eyes. Following that, the entire page glowed with cool moonlight. The glow radiated from the paper like a fountain. Countless music notes brewed in the light, solidifying and streaming into Ye Qingxuan with the flowing light. The fantasy-like melody sounded in his mind, invading his soul! -- Suddenly, a sonorous melody played. Ye Qingxuan was pulled into a hazy illusion, uncontrollably submerged in the sudden music. It was the sound of a piano, but the melody was not gentle and graceful, but sharp and manic! As if a child were banging on the keys of a piano, the music was random and crazed. It was sharp like metal cracking, copper scraping, and glass shattering. Tritones alternated, impacting the soul. The unsettling chords were favored by Satan, and therefore no proper musician used them. But her they had been used to create a seamless melody! The music was like a demon roaring and wailing. One could not help but fall into despair and pain until the entire world turned pitch black, never to have light again. Ye Qingxuan shook, grasping his throbbing head. As his vision spun, a giant brush seemed to write calligraphy on his brain. It was forceful and aggressive, carving the music notes and melody into his soul. He would never forget the name of the music score"Black Friday." -- Late at night, when the youth was long gone, ghostly figures appeared in the corner of the library. They organized the mess of books and resources Ye Qingxuan had left on the ground, carefully putting them back in their places one by one. As they organized, the books scattered on the floor returned to the bookshelves. When they picked up the "Personnel Files of the Royal Academy of Music," a resume that the youth had missed fell out, and floated down on the floor. It was from a military report, and included a few lines of cramped text. At the top, there was a picture of an old man. His expression was wooden and dazed, and his white hair curled slightly. "Abraham Wilson. School of Abstinence, Resonance level. Receiver of the Royal Rose Medal (later stripped of it) and the title of Honorable Citizen (later stripped). Former commander of the Dragon Riders. Sentenced to life imprisonment by the Court for committing a grave sin during a mission. Vouched for by Earl Grey Maxwell and pardoned by the Queen. Now allowed to work in the Royal Academy of Music as a professor of the School of Music History. No record of marriage. Kin: AdopteeCharles. Note: this man is extremely dangerous. Repeat, this man is extremely dangerous! Do not let him come in contact with any swords or arrows. Forbidden to wield ironware. Do not threaten or attack him in order to keep him from overreacting! Anyone who interacts with him should be strictly recorded. Cease any attempts at removing the prosthetic arm. If he overreacts, send him to confinement. At the same time, at least three musicians must apply the aether seal on him. He must stay within three kilometers of the radius of the Royal Academy of Music. If he attempts to escape, shoot him at once. Do not question him about his position and mission from the military. In addition, do not mention any topic related to "Gaius" before him. The military is not responsible for any losses suffered if the Academy does not obey these rules. Over!" 93 Playing for Charles Late at night, at the downtown pier in Avalon, an old man stood in the shadows of the dark night, silently smoking his pipe. He was once the infamous and feared debtor of downtown, the source of many peoples insomniaGhosthand. But now, he sat on a worn wooden box, waiting. Finally, a boat that smelled strongly of fish came through the still waters and stopped by the pier. A wooden plank was laid down like a bridge, and tanned fisherman began transporting fish and crabs onto land. Ghosthand watched wordlessly as these valuables passed by him. First, there was the fish and crabs, then there was the wine, weapons, silk, and porcelain hidden deep inside the ship. "Is that all for this time?" Ghosthand took the cargo list from the boatman. Taking a glance, his brows furrowed. "Who added in their cargo halfway through?" The boatman hesitated before saying in a low voice, "Someone entered the boat through our channel in Wales. He seemed high-up, so we didnt dare ask too much." "Didnt you say that this shipment is very important?" Ghosthand squinted, causing the boatman to start panicking. "We did, but he insisted. And he also saidhe said" "What did he say?" Ghosthand took the pipe from his mouth, something sinister appearing on his old face. "I said that I knew you," said a voice in the boat behind him. "And so he brought me over." Ghosthand stiffened, his muscles tightened as if he were facing a great enemy. He could not sense the presence of anyone in the boat, but the man was there, standing in the shadows like a spirit. He had been watching Ghosthand that entire time. And his voice was so familiar! "Who is it?" Ghosthand turned around stiffly, suspicion in his eyes. Leather shoes stepped onto the deck. Someone walked out from the shadows of the boat and onto land, walking into the moonlight. His face was hidden under the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat, but one could vaguely see that the corner of lips were curled up, as if smiling. Ghosthand flinched, the dangerous look in his eyes dissipated. Shocked and surprised, he stepped back and took a deep breath. "Sir?" He stepped forward, trying to see the face clearly. "What, you dont recognize me anymore?" The newcomer took off his hat. Wrinkles covered his weathered face, but his eyes were sharp and bright like torches. "I thought everything had changed in the years I was gone. But youre still as slow as before, and I suddenly feel relieved." "SSir, is it really you?" Ghosthand moved closer to study the face as if he were looking at a hallucination. But when he realized that the man was real and not a figment of his imagination, he laughed as if the most wonderful thing had happened. "Welcome back, Sir." Ghosthand strode forward and embraced the man tightly. "You dont know how long Ive waited for this day." "My apologies. There were some matters to attend to, so I returned a bit late." The man known as the Shaman embraced his old friend and looked up into the distance, lamenting. The moon shone in the distance, its silver light spilled over the whole city. The towering landscape of the city against the mountains cast a huge shadow. The shadows points were sharp and menacing, piercing ones eyes. That was Avalon. "Old friend, Im back," the Shaman murmured with a smile. -- At the pier, there was only the sound of crashing waves. The Shaman produced two copper tubes from his pocket and handed Ghosthand one. "Want one?" Smiling, Ghosthand accepted it and took a cigar from the tube. He sniffed it and furrowed his brows. "To be honest, even after all these years, your taste still hasnt improved." "Youre still heartless with your words." Laughing, the Shaman lit his cigar and inhaled. He breathed out a cloud of wispy smoke. "So many years have passed. Ive almost forgotten what it looks like here." He looked back at the pier. Everything was the same but the people were different. Shaking his head, he said, "Its a pity. No matter how much it has changed, the rot in the bones is still the same." Ghosthand shrugged, "Thats how Avalon is, Sir." "Yes, that is Avalon." The Shaman snapped his finger and asked, "How are things? Friend, give me some bad news. You know I need it to get back into spirit." Ghosthand cocked his head and pondered. He shook his head. "If you want bad news, its everywhere," he said straightforwardly. "To be honest, youve been forgotten by the city. Sir, rules dont exist in Avalon anymore. Ever since that mysterious professor appeared, everything became messier and messier. "The Indian drug traders, the Black Hand Gang who charges people a protection fee, Asgardian soldiers who have nowhere to go after disarmament, pyramid schemes for the elites, black markets for silk and spices. Thanks to the professor who guided them, more and more people think that its easy to make a living by taking others lives." "Thats okay, they will know" The Shaman sighed, lamenting fate. "I am back and the good days are over." Ghosthands eyes brightened. "You are preparing" The Shaman raised a hand, stopping Ghosthand. "Lets change the topic, my old friend. Tell me something happy. Have you found that Eastern kid?" "Weve found his location. He is at the Royal Academy of Music. The Trader wont let us touch him and we didnt dare argue without you here." "It doesnt matter. Well just observe for now." "But the current situation might not allow us to continue sitting around." Coldness flashed through Ghosthands eyes. "Last night, the kids story spread throughout Avalon in one night. Now all of the head figures in downtown know that he has something to find the Blood Path, enter Avalons Shadow, and get King Arthurs hidden treasure." "Hidden treasure?" The Shaman was taken aback. "Who would think that the crazy king has some hidden treasure left behind?" "The greedy ones would. They spread rumors that you left to find a way to enter Avalons Shadow. Now, many people are searching wildly for him. The professor has already said that the boy is his." "Hilarious." The Shaman understood what Ghosthand was trying to say and could not help but laugh. "There are always people who think there are hidden treasures, magic weapons, golden fingers, legendary music scores, or secret books that can boost them to success, but sadly, reality is cruel and will always shatter their fantasies." The Shaman changed the subject, "You must know that the East doesnt only have silk, and porcelain. There are also terrifying creatures." "Are you talking about that kid?" "Have you forgotten," The Shaman closed his eyes as if reminiscing, "the mess that occurred because of the last Easterner Hermes favored?" Ghosthands expression changed as he remembered something. He grasped his right hand subconsciouslyit still hurt faintly. "So let the young ones deal with the young ones. Greedy old folks like us have more important things to do." The Shaman threw his cigar into the mud beneath him. Watching as it extinguished, his eyes darkened. "Look, the city that I had cleaned and made spotless is now a muddy swamp. The smell of rotting corpses is everywhere. Someone needs to stand up and bring back the rules that people have forgotten. Let the lost hungry dogs know who their leader is. Who the original master of this swamp is" "As you wish, Sir," Ghosthand replied quietly. His old body suddenly changed. His old eyes lit up as if reflecting the glory of the sun. Something was waking up in that thin and frail body. It burned inside of him, causing him to turn young, cold, and crazy again. He had returned to the beast in the darkness, grinding his teeth and drinking blood, waiting for the next hunt. Watching the dark city, Ghosthand opened his mouth and laughed heartily. "Those who had forgotten the rules will know now who the true sovereign is." -- In the silent basement of the Royal Academy of Music, the sound of sharp piano like steel plates scraping against each other broke the silence. It was like a spirit wandering and screaming. But instead of sounding like a tsunami as it should have, it sounded broken. Ye Qingxuan was sitting before the old piano, struggling with each note of the composition. Behind him, someone cut off his performance off heartlessly. "Wrong again! Did Old Phil eat your sense of rhythm?" Charles whacked the back of Ye Qingxuans hand with a thin bamboo whip, his eyes cold and serious. "Rhythm! Watch the rhythm! Do you think your rhythm is better the faster you play? Restart!" Ye Qingxuan looked at his numb hands and sighed, "Senior" "Shut up, failures dont have the right to speak. Hurry up and practice!" Charles was totally into the role of "coach from Hell" and waved the whip excitedly. "Or else Ill show you how it is! Cry and scream! No one will save you" "No, I was saying" Before Ye could finish, Charles whacked his shoulder. With a scowl, Charles said, "Your fingers have no power or finesse, and have no sense of rhythm. Every move is wrong! You think you can play piano like this? In your dreams! Hurry up and practice, or else Ill have you stand as punishment until tomorrow morning." "Let me finish" "Dont beg me! There is no weakness allowed here. This is the cruel classroom, where students exchange blood and tears for training!" "the professor is behind you." "Even if the professorwhat?" Charles froze halfway through his sentence. He turned around stiffly in the awkward silence and was met by the emotionless Abraham. Abraham stared at his student, his eyes full of aggravation. "Uh" Charless cocky expression shattered. He glanced back at Ye Qingxuan, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Why didnt you tell me earlier?" "I tried." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "You didnt give me the chance." As Charles shook in fear, Abraham finally spoke, his voice monotone. "Cruel classroom? Exchange blood and tears for training? Charles, is that what Ive taught you?" "I, I" Charles was close to crying "I taught myself." "Youve taught yourself well. I told you to help Yezi, and you discovered all of these principles. I am amazed." He paused and said through clenched teeth, "Go stand until the morning." Tears welling in his eyes, Charles obediently went to the corner with the Anglo encyclopedia on his head and began his punishment Abraham sighed after he dealt with Charles. He gazed at Ye Qingxuan. "It hasnt even been a month since youve started learning music notes, I think its too early to learn performances with multiple notes. Notes, phrases, sections, and pieces should be learned gradually. Sections made up of measures are already part of the Rhythm level." "Theres nothing wrong with learning earlier, right?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and played the piano somewhat adeptly. "Professor, didnt you say that the performance is pretty much the same, but you just need to use more notes? And anyway, Ive found a good practice piece, Black Friday?" At that, Abraham could not help but sigh. 94 Records of a Genius Half a month ago, Ye Qingxuan had come out of the library and slept for two days straight afterwards. When he had woke up, he told Abraham and the others something totally shocking, he seemed to have found a music sheet entirely suitable for him. But before Abraham could be happy for his student, bad news came. "Black Friday" was so unconventional that it barely stayed in line. It was a hairs width away from being demonic music. The relationship between its notes created an "interval." Usually, music pieces avoided using the "tritone" interval and instead used "pure tones." The disharmony of a tritone interval could activate the dark side of mans heart and of the aether, causing people to turn wild. Yet Black Friday almost entirely used those demonic intervals. Even the dark pieces that Satan had given to his own squire were not so hopeless, frantic, or eerie as "Black Friday." Faced with Abrahams questioning, Ye Qingxuan only said that it suddenly entered his mind when he opened a notebook in the library. This worried Abraham. He could not understand why any master from the School of Mind would hide such an odd melody in his notes, and imprint it into someones consciousness through a mark. The materials for a music sheet that could transport memory and imprint a mark were close to none. He could not comprehend why anyone would put something like that in a page of ordinary notes. "Black Friday" was a music score from the School of Mind. It was considered to be at the Musician level, but if one separated the measures, it was possible to be a practice piece for Rhythm level too. Analyzed by Abraham, its five measures could be paired with different music notes to create five different effects. First, the melody would evoke the listeners negative emotions, causing him to lose control. Then, guided by the melody, aether would influence and control the enemys senses. He would become a disabled person who could not see, hear, or feel. It was a superb composition with a wide range of uses. Interpreted by Abraham, if the five measures were connected, it could also activate a hidden effect. But no matter what he tried, he could not find it. It probably required a unique playing technique and instrument. Abraham became even more worried. He could not think of a reason as to why Ye Qingxuan insisted on learning such a mysterious piece. But to Ye Qingxuan, practicing Black Friday was the most important task at hand. Of course he had to practice! Why would he not practice it? When he tried playing it for the first time, he realized that the eternally sleeping Jiu Xiao Huan Pei actually had a reaction! Ye had been ecstatic then, practically jumping up and dancing. He had a premonition that he would be able to truly awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei when he finally learned the piece. He had grown up hearing about the zither that had accompanied his father. Apparently, it was a treasured instrument passed down through generations. He did not fully understand how the zither had turned into that, despite it always being in the case. But the most important task at hand was to awaken and learn it. Its help in controlling the aether would be the best way to climb to the top of the musician levels. It would make up for the lack of "sense." Then he would be able to grasp the complex notes easily, break through the student level and reach the Rhythm level. Knowing how much of his troll his father was, new clues were sure to appear after unlocking Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. -- "Youre moving too fast. What if your foundation isnt good?" Abraham tried to warn Ye Qingxuan. "Youve only learned half of the forty-eight music notes of Equal Temperament. If you want to enter Rhythm level, you need to at least learn all of them and practice for a few more years." He asked, "All you care about is speed. What if you lose control?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Professor, you know my situation. Im different from students who only rely on sense. My foundation is built on the experience of people before me, so Im okay as long as I memorize them all. And after learning your translation method, Im much faster at deciphering basic syllables and creating concise structures. "I dont like to use sense to control the aether, so if I need to cast runes, I only need to choose the right syllables based on the aethers reaction. Even if its a situation with no previous record, I can still calculate and create new syllables based on the environment and rules. Unless I miscalculate, theres no way I will lose control. And anyway, compared to that senior, Im not that fast, right?" -- Hearing this, Abraham only shook his head. "His situation is different." Remembering the rumors around school, Ye Qingxuan was suddenly curious. "Did he really go from the student level to the Rhythm level in one month?" Usually, if one relied only on talent and sense, it was a long and hard journey. From learning runes to complex notes and measures, and then finally getting to Rhythm level, the process required blood, sweat, and tears. A regular student needed three years. If he was smart and worked hard, he could do it in two. But then years ago, a guy named Charles destroyed that rule. He took only one month to reach Rhythm level and pass the Academys examination. He had shocked many people then and became known as the Academys hope, Anglos future master, and even a candidate for a saint. But then ten years passed, and yesterdays genius was still stuck between the Rhythm and Musician level, and had turned into a useless failure who liked drinking and running around naked Ye Qingxuan really felt bad for him. "It wasnt one month," Charles corrected Ye seriously from the corner of the room. "It was two days." Crash. That was the sound of Ye Qingxuans jaw hitting the floor. He almost jumped onto the piano in shock. "How many days?!" "Two days." Abraham sighed and scratched his head. "More precisely, it was one and a half. I was a bit busy then and had to squeeze out time to teach him." "Professor, stop joking!" Ye Qingxuans eyes almost popped out of his head. "One and a half days? And you had to squeeze out time?" "Thats right." Charles, with an encyclopedia on his head shrugged helplessly. "You know, I used to be a genius." Ye Qingxuan tried to put his eyeballs and jaw back into place. It took a long time before he could finally accept this truth. He slumped into the chair. "Only two days?" he murmured to himself. "I suddenly feel like Im a failure. What should I dowhy do they all say one month? Because they dont want to scare people?" "I didnt pay attention when I filled out the declaration record and wrote it wrong." Charless expression filled with regret. "Then I realized I couldnt change it, so it stayed like that." Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood but he kept it in. "Then why are you still stuck on Rhythm level? Senior, are you accumulating experience to make headlines?" "Yeah, right!" Charles rolled his eyes. "Look at the History departments sad state now. Who would wait if it were possible to get some glory and money?" "Then nothing else makes sense." Ye Qingxuan did not believe him at all. "You need to learn music notes, syllables, and musical pieces for Student, Rhythm and Musician levels respectively. There are only technical difficulties, but no obstacles or challenges. There shouldnt be any trouble if you practice and work hard! Senior, could it be that you havent learned a complete piece yet?" "Psh! Whats a musical piece to me?" Charles smirked. "I learned a few on my way home from the test ten years ago. I wouldve requested the Musician level test that day if I wasnt scared of being experimented on." "" Ye Qingxuan could almost feel the blood spray out of him. "Seriously?" "Actually, no one can surpass Charles talent in the musician world," Abraham nodded, his expression helpless, "but for some reason, there would be problems with every piece he put his hands on. All the techniques and melodies are correct, but there would always be some strange effects" "Strange effects?" Ye Qingxuan was in a daze. "Its complicated" Not sure how to explain, Abrahams expression was puzzled. "Professor, he wont understand if you just explain it." Shaking his head, Charles walked over to the piano. "Let me demonstrate. Junior, dont get scared." As soon as he finished, the sound of glaciers shattering shot through. -- It felt as if they had suddenly been transported to the tundra of the Asgard Sea. Countless icebergs crashed into each other, creating crisp and vigorous sounds. The overwhelming power forced Ye Qingxuan into shock. But quickly, his expression turned to fear. "William Tell Overture? Senior, are you trying to burn down the building?" William Tell Overture was a musical piece from the School of Revelations. Ranked by the sacred city, it was one of the most renowned pieces at the Rhythm level. It was way above the abilities of those at the Musician level. But this piece could call forth wild aether, transforming into a torrent, flooding the world. Blazing fire would fall from the sky, the burning souls of heroes would devour the enemy, destroying them on the spot! The master who composed this work of art had created it out of despair and fury when his country had been invaded, and his home burned down. He had called forth the souls of heroes to lead his people and destroy the invaders. But he died from exhaustion on the eve of victory. Without a doubt, his soul had assimilated into the music. As soon as it entered the second movement, a real iron legion would appear The wild aether surged in from all directions. Abraham had secretly used his highest authority to make it easier for the aether to group and create Musician level effects to help Ye Qingxuan practice. But this effect at the Musician level was enough to obliterate an entire army. Before Ye Qingxuans wide eyes, the burning aether transformed into red-hot flames. They gathered in the empty air, gradually taking shape. In the next moment, as the majestic overture raised in intensity, the effect came into shape. Next, the army of souls would come from the sky! Ye Qingxuan was ready to interrupt Charless performance, but Abraham stopped him, gesturing at him to look closely. Boom! Flames exploded and a figure appeared gradually. It solidified and was almost complete! Thud. It fell on the lid of the piano and made a soft noise. "Wait, something seems to be wrong?" The thing called forth by the majestic music stretched lazily and rolled around on the piano, purring happily. It was a gray-whitecat?! "A cat?" Ye Qingxuan rubbed his eyes and realized that it was not a hallucination. Charles had really summoned a lazy and annoying cat! Soon after, there was another thud, and something else fell from the sky. Ye Qingxuan stared, falling into a daze. The small thing was yellow, had big ears, a thin tail, and an innocent expression. As if it had just woken up, it smacked its lips and rolled on the piano. With its wagging tail, it was definitely cute. It was amouse? "What the f*ck?!" Before Ye Qingxuan could even finish, the cat and mouse went wild! 95 A New Legend As if seeing its mortal enemy, the gray-white cat instantly exploded in anger. Growling, it flew at the mouse. The mouse fled, scrambling around the small piano room. The big cat chased the mouse crazily. The yellow mouse was not weak, and kept throwing things at the cat. Sometimes, it was a great chase. Other times, they were entangled together or beating each other up. But for some reason, neither of them were injured at all. Instead, everything fragile around them was destroyed. The water pitcher was shattered, the wooden floor was ripped up, the wall was covered in paw prints, the carpet was covered in scratches, the framed picture on the wall fell with a crash, and even one of the piano legs broke. Like a tornado, the cat and mouse destroyed everything, turning the overture into a comedy. When the music ended, the cat and mouse disappeared. The classroom was in ruins. Charles was calm while Ye Qingxuan was completely in a daze. Abraham left shaking his head, unable to look at his room. "So you see now, right?" Charless hands left the piano. "No matter what I perform from the School of Summoning, it will turn into this. The Emperor Waltz, the Fourth Fantasy Impromptuthere are no exceptions. But its gets easier when you get used to it. I kind of like the cat and mouse now. Ive named them Tom and Jerry. Arent they cute?" Ye Qingxuan felt his forehead. He was not hallucinating, but it was still hard to believe. "Why dont you try music from the School of Modifications?" Charles shrugged. "The instrument would explode." "School of Mind?" "Itll be like Im drunk, and Ill run around naked somewherehavent you seen it?" "Yeah," Ye Qingxuan wiped the cold sweat off of his forehead. "School of Illusions?" "The listener would see a hallucination of a muscular and tanned man wearing a black trench coat and shades. He would open his hands and see a pink pill and a green pill" "Revelations?" "The listener would return to the past and discover that humans evolved from monkeys." "" Ye Qingxuan could not bear to ask anymore. It was a painful history full of blood, sweat, and tears that no one else would believe. Seeing his face, Charles knew that he understood the pain and held onto his shoulder, his eyes reddened. "All these years, I ruined whatever I learn. No matter what instrument it is, itll explode in my hands. But despite this, Ive still passed the sacred citys level ten examination for instruments. You must work hard too, junior." Ye Qingxuan shook at those words. The sacred citys level ten examination for instruments was infamous for being a difficult, precise, and hellish test. "What did you do?" "the triangle." Charles gazed up at the sky, his eyes full of tears. "Only the triangle doesnt explode." "Senior, I dont know why but I want to cry." Ye Qingxuan suddenly had the urge to hug Charles and sob with him. If Ye Qingxuan had been in that messed up situation, he would have given up long ago. He had not expected Charles to be so strong mentally, and so determined. After all those years, Charles had turned from a respected and famous genius to the embarrassment of the academy, but he still continued living happily. "Ha, you dont have to cry." Charles patted his shoulders. "Anyway, its getting late. You should go sleep now. According to my calculations, you wont be able to learn this piece in a short time." Ye Qingxuan sighed, understanding what he meant. Unlike single notes, the notes in and intervals connections and changes become extremely tight when put together in a measure. The relationship between the notes created an interval, and intervals created measures, and two or four measures could become a phrase. With each advancement, the precision for manipulating the aether would double. For Ye Qingxuan, that was as difficult as rowing a boat through angry waves, or galloping on a wild stallion. He would be completely dragged around by the aether and lose his own tempo. Even if he used his professors translation method to find the best grouping method, he still needed a lot of work over a long period of time. After all this time, he had barely managed to play the first measure and still made mistakes. He did not wish to be like Charles and play every piece smoothly like flowing water. Just the simple goal of being one hundred percent accurate and successful would need at least three months of practice. He envied Charless and Bai Xis natural talent. Bai Xi was not as messed up as Charles and did not like to learn, but the few times she went to class, it was as relaxing as a walk in the park. Sometimes she would fall asleep during class but still learn the material after flipping through the book. Thinking about that, Ye Qingxuan felt a wave of hopelessness. "Whatever. Ill just wait until Im rich, and then Ill buy a bunch of rune stones and make it work for me." Charles could only laugh at this. "Junior, you look good, and you have pretty dreams too." Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "Who knows, maybe a giant pile of rune stones will fall from the sky when Im walking." "Psh! That possibility is even smaller than if I woke up on King Arthurs hidden treasures" "Whatever, Im not talking to you anymore." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Ready to sleep, he turned back before leaving, "Oh right, do you know where I can buy marbles?" "Marbles? Why?" "I promised it as a thank you gift." "Oh, Ill take you tomorrow afternoon. Ive finished all my alcohol." Charles yawned and sighed, "The quality of my sleep is getting worse these days, I keep having nightmares. Could it be that another girl is stabbing my voodoo doll?" "" -- The next afternoon, Ye Qingxuan carefully packed a map of Avalon, and reminded Bai Xi to take Old Phil and get him from some ditch if he went missing. And then, taking a deep breath, he finally went out with Charles! "Senior, are you sure youre reliable?" Ye Qingxuan looked around with every step he took, scared that Charles would take him to some weird place again. "Dont worry, Ive been walking this path for five or six years. I can find it even with my eyes closed!" Charles walked in front, full of confidence, while Ye Qingxuan still was not convinced. There was no way he could feel relaxed after seeing that guys talent at leading! Was there anyone else who would take their junior to the cafeteria and end up at the Avalonian police station?! Just explaining to the police that he had been lost brought Ye Qingxuan close to tears. In the end, he could only go home when Bai Xi came with proof from the Academy. And Charles, on the other hand, had crawled out from the girls dorm. He had been so close to being discovered and beaten in public! "Its okay, theres Old Phil if you do get lost." He patted Ye Qingxuans shoulder but suddenly remembered, "Have you seen Old Phil recently?" "No, maybe he went running around again. Why?" "Nothing." Charless expression changed. "You know, after Hariti disappeared, theres a new member of Avalons top ten legends now?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly had a bad feeling. "No way." "Yes way. The new legend is a mysterious dog," Charles said, slightly scarred. "All the kids in Avalon know not to walk by themselves, otherwise an evil dog will jump out of nowhere and scare them half to death, and steal their valuables "Two days ago, when the Yunlou ambassador group was leaving, the royals hosted a banquet. All the officials were talking and suddenly, a dog with a drumstick in its mouth jumped out. And in front of everyone, it bit the Crown Princes leg and made him pee his pants. Before anyone could process what had happened, the dog ran away. Apparently, its judgy eyes had created some emotional trauma for a lot of people. The Crown Prince is still hiding in the sheep pen "This is a conspiracy! A despicable conspiracy to destroy the friendship between our countries!" Charles imitated the Secretary of States angry words and shook his head. "Now all of Avalon is on the hunt for dogs. You should tell Old Phil to hide and not be used as a scapegoat" Seeing the sadness in Charless eyes, Ye Qingxuans facial muscles quivered, not sure what he should say. They walked out of the Academy as they talked. But for some reason, a crowd ran past as soon as they left the school. Then a few pigeons flew to the sky and disappeared. There were still people running for some reason. "Whats going on?" Ye Qingxuan studied their backsides suspiciously. "Who knows?" Charles shrugged, "Maybe theyre playing with pigeons." "Avalonians have too much time on their hands." "Yeah." -- Ten minutes later at a bar downtown, smoke hung above the song and dance. Indian girls wearing golden hoops and silver chains danced to the single-strand fiddle and clay drums. Singing a hymn-like song, they swayed and twisted. In front of the stage, a bearded man lay on the cot. Smoking hookah, his eyes squinted as he enjoyed the drugs and hummed along to the music. Amidst the entertainment, a thin man with a turban pushed open the door cautiously. Bowing, he walked up and prostrated before the cot reverently, "Lord Shahrukh, Lord Shahrukh" "Hmm?" Shahrukh opened his eyes. Seeing the man, he sat up and put down the hookah, "Is there news?" "The Eastern kid has appeared," the man replied in a low voice. "They came out and are headed towards downtown. They seem to be looking for something." "You are not mistaken?" "No!" The underling nodded his head forcefully. "Very well." Shahrukh felt the ivory dagger at his waist, "What of the others?" "According to your commands, the pigeons have been stopped by Master Puspotkata. All moles have been taken care of." Fierceness flashed in the thin mans eyes. "No one escaped. Only well know where the kid is before they realize that their moles have disappeared." He paused and mimed a slashing sword. "Should we take the opportunity to" "No hurries. This is a blessing from the heavens to give us the advantage. Weve put in so much. How can a little kid be enough?" Shahrukh licked his lips hungrily. "Tell everyone to get ready! Prepare for an ambush, and use the kid to draw them all out. Well do something big this time!" 96 The Mantis Preys on the Cicada In a market downtown, amidst the smell of rotting leaves and sewers, the youth trudged through the mud, looking at the messiness around him. "Senior, are you sure its here?" "Dont worry, dont worry. I remember its right around here!" Charles nodded with extreme confidence. "Just walk forward and take a turn!" "You said that ten minutes ago when we were still on a main road, and now were in this weird place!" Ye Qingxuans face was full of regret. "This is Avalon!" Charles patted his shoulder strongly. "Its always full of surprises! Ah, these carrots look cheap. How about we buy some for stew?" "Can we do what we need to first? How cheap can carrots beoh, those seriously are cheap. And these pumpkins look nice too! Boss, give me one kilogram. And how much are the cabbages?" Ye Qingxuan was immediately distracted by the vegetables and started bargaining with expertise. After a lot of skillful talking, the seller added in two eggplants. In the end, he bought a bunch of stuff at half the normal price, and Ye Qingxuan was in high spirits. Satisfied, he picked up the giant pile. "My lucks pretty good today. Senior, youve been drinking so much, a stew can help youf*ck, whered you go?!" He finally realized that his senior had disappeared! "Boss, did you see where the guy who came with me went?" The fat woman behind the vegetable stand rolled her eyes lazily. "I think a girl wearing red waved at him when you were buying and he left" "" Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. He just wanted to scream, "Charles, you *ss, did you come to help me or to find girls?!" Quickly, that was not what he was worried about when he started walking again. The alleys of downtown were dirty and confusing. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and finally realized that he was lost. In the silence, he heard faint sounds from afar. Someone was walking over. -- -- "Lord, were here!" Outside the alley, a scruffy bum gave an affectionate smile. He rubbed his hands excitedly, watching the person before him. The man clad in a black robe stood at the entrance of the gate, looking into the distance. Under the blazing sun, his face and body were hidden by the thick hat and robe. He emanated coldness like a ghost, sending fear into peoples hearts. "Are you certain?" a scratchy voice asked from under the hats brim. "Youre giving me money, Id never lie," the bum said quietly. "I saw him go in with my own eyes. A white-haired Eastern kid. I cant be wrong!" Reverence filled his eyes, "And anyway, youre important. Everyone in downtown knows that if we want to live, we cant piss off Mr. Professor." "Good." The man referred to as Professor nodded. His voice was like bones scraping together. "Otherwise, you wont have any days left to spend the money." A pale and thin hand reached out from under the dark robe. It was pale as if it had never seen the sun, pale as death. Seeing the hand, the bums eyes lit up with enthusiasm again. His gaze fell on the wad of green money orders held between two fingers, and he could not look away. Looking at the money, the bum could not help but laugh dumbly. The pile of money orders from the Church, each one worth one-thousand pounds Tying the papers with a string, the Professor tossed it and it rolled on the ground. "You can scram now." The Professor waved a hand and walked toward the alley without looking back. "Thank you, Lord. Thank you!" The bum dived at the money like a starving dog seeing food. Picking up the money, he impatiently counted it and laughed ecstatically. "Im rich!" His dirty fingers gripped the money tightly. With burning eyes, he put the beautiful little darlings into his pocket. He froze when he looked up. A pair of feet was before him. He looked up in shock and was met by a cane adorned with silver and gems. It was held by a clean and elegant hand. A large ruby ring shone from the forefinger, a family emblem engraved into the gem. As if the wearer was preparing to attend a banquet, the precious stones on the sleeve cuffs of the detailed suit shone with a subtle but luxurious light. "Mr. Professor, whats with the hurry? Why dont we have a chat?" The man with the cane had an elegant voice, gentle and anchored like a warning from a friend. He wore a top hat and, and leaning on his cane, he looked like a gentleman. There was a polite smile on his handsome face, fake and arrogant like all Sicilians. But that was not enough for the bum to cry out in shock. Behind the man was a group of thugs wielding knives and metal staffs. The burly men had appeared suddenly and soundlessly in the small alley. Their dark eyes were filled with haughty ferocity, smiling mockingly at him as if looking at a clown. There was only one group of thugs in all of Avalon who dressed so brightly, and they were all Sicilians! "Black-black-black Hand Gang" The bum finally processed the situation and screamed as if he had seen a ghost. The young man loosened his grip, and the bum collapsed on the ground. He scrambled up, stammering, "III" The young man did not care about him and waved his hand, telling the bum to get out of his sight. The bum hurriedly crawled forward, and when he was far enough, he scrambled up and fled. He did not even dare to pick up the money on the ground. Now, there was only the surrounded Professor and the young man leading a group of thugs. "It seems that Im surrounded." The Professor did not act as if he were surrounded, and just gazed at his unfriendly "friends." "Nice to meet you, Mr. Professor. I am the second son of the Luco family. You can call me Lorenzo, Palermo Eagle Lorenzo." The young man put a hand to his chest like a gentleman. But when he looked at the Professor, his eyes were taunting. "The legendary Viper just jumped into a trap without even realizing? This is surprising." "Lorenzo? Schwartzs son?" The Professor studied the man as if he had expected this. "Youre faster than I had thought. I thought the first to arrive would have been the Indians." "Actually, they were indeed the first." Lorenzo shrugged and looked back. Behind him, blood flowed under the feet of the Sicilian thugs. The blood had come from another alley, and flowed into an open sewer. Some burly men were still tidying up the site. They threw two mutated corpses into the sewer and watched as they disappeared into the darkness. It was clear that the Indians had been taken care of by the Sicilians. They did not even have the time to realize they had been ambushed before they had been completely destroyed by an attack. At the back was a fat corpse with his eyes still open in shock. Shahrukh, one of the Indian leaders, had been slashed like a crazy painters canvas. He had died without a sound. -- "Seems like Ive underestimated you." The Professor looked back from the sewer. "It seems like you had prepared beforehand. Did you think like the Indians, waiting here and capturing your supposed partners? You also want that kid?" "Are you trying to make time?" Lorenzo saw through the Professors thoughts and laughed, cocking his head. "Theres no use. Weve already cleared out everything within a few hundred meters of here. Now, Professor, you better understand this clearly. We are enemies, but seeing that you once helped us with our business, we can let you leave here unharmed. What do you think of my offer?" "Oh? I must thank you for your pity," the Professor said lightly, "but Im afraid I wont be able to leave." "Youre worried that Im not trustworthy?" Lorenzo furrowed his brows, his eyes cold. "I am the second son of the Luco family. Keeping my word is something that my father has taught me. We Sicilians never break promises. Because of Ghosthand, Im willing to let you go if you promise to never interfere with this again." "Idiot." The Professor sighed. "You thought I was talking to you?" Lorenzo blanched. He opened his mouth to say something, but his expression changed. Suddenly, he felt the ground shake. In the stillness, the tiles beneath him trembled as if hammers were pounding the ground. Heavy footsteps came from both sides of the alley. The footsteps were sharp like metal scraping against stone. Lorenzo looked up in all directions in shock. It was like a nightmare. Metal shone from both ends of the alley. It was the color of heavy plate armor! "F*ck," Lorenzo could not help but swear when he processed what it was. -- Defenseless, he waited as the group of armored men rounded the corner. It was as if the hungry wolves meant for battle had taken a wrong turn and ended up the alley. The fully armored men walked in synchronization, like an army parade! The axes and swords in their hands shattered the tiles, creating fierce and piercing sounds. But this was not a battlefield! This was Avalon! Why would heavy armored soldiers be here?! 97 Unaware of the Oriole Behind In an instant, the army blocked both exits in the alley. Raising their weapons, their ferocity was overwhelming. "Look who we captured? Two big fish! The sissy Sicilian rich boy, and the sneaky Professor!" The short and stocky man at the front laughed. He held a heavy flame-shaped sword, and a horned helmet covered his face. His voice was scratchy yet icy. "Basset Werner?" Lorenzo finally realized who the army was. They were not in the army, or more accurately, they were no longer in the army. They were Asgardians! Born with the genes of pirates, these thugs, who could not do anything other than kill, spread around the world after their countrys disarmament. They made a living with their swords and were infamous for being heartless, never leaving behind any survivors. A portion of them had come to Avalon under the leadership of their former commander, Werner, and had become a cancerous part of downtown. "Yes, thats me." Werner laughed, "The Professor was right. None of you will be able to leave today." Lorenzos mind went blank. He knew that these people were crazy, but he had never thought that they were this crazy. He could not believe they had hidden so many weapons! The amount of equipment they had was enough to attack the headquarters of the Scotland Yard! What did they think Avalon was? "Are you crazy?" Lorenzo asked, his voice barely in control, and his features twisting. "The Scotland Yard will not let you get away with this!" "Haha, thats okay. Weve spent some money so now the guards will pretend they didnt see anything." Werner caressed his heavy blade which he also used to eat with. "Dont forget, Asgardians never go anywhere without their utensils. Its time to eat now. Is there anything you sissy Sicilians want to say?" Lorenzo laughed harshly. "You think that you can take us down with some steel cans?" "My boys will tell you the answer." Werner laughed like a maniac, the veins in his eyes prominent and red. The war dog living in his body had been awaken. Thirsty for corpses and blood, he raised his sword. "In your dreams!" His face dark with anger, Lorenzo unsheathed his cane sword. Behind him, the Sicilian thugs were ready to fight to the end. But just as the atmosphere was growing tense, a hoarse and jeering voice sounded. It came from the Professor in the center of the commotion. He was about to be turned to pulp by people on both sides of him, but there was no fear in his voice. Instead, there was mockery as he said, "Fellows, I wouldnt be so impatient if I were you. The friend on the rooftop hasnt spoken yet." With that, the alley fell silent. "Rooftop?" Both Werner and Lorenzo looked up on the high walls on either side of them. There came a hair-raising soundthe sound of bows tightening! Everyone tensed. Even Werner, covered with layers of armor, felt a drop of cold sweat fall from his nose. "F*ck!" he could not help but mutter. They could imagine the scene on rooftop with dozens of bows being pulled back slowly. As they watched, thin figures appeared on the rooftop one by one. They aimed their arrows at the "guests." There were sixteen well-maintained army bows, radiating with the piercing smell of curing oil. Bows and arrows that powerful and that close could pierce through even the hardest of armor. Sixteen was not much, but it was enough to turn them all into porcupines! "Ah, weve been discovered?" A short figure on the rooftop hid behind a large shield and peered out cautiously. He smiled at the Professor. "Mr. Professor, I didnt expect you to be as sensitive as a dog." "The Pyramid Scheme?" Werner and Lorenzo finally realized who these newcomers were. They had never expected that the elites dogs would want a piece of this deal too! The one who had just made his grand entrance was the leader of Avalons biggest smuggling group, and the obedient dog of the elites, Pyramid King: Sam Luo. "Despicable! Completely despicable!" Lorenzo practically shook in anger. "Sam Luo, do you even have shame?" "Ah, Young Lord, what are you talking about?" The man known as Sam Luo raised his bow in protest as if he had just been insulted. "All of you are good men who can fight, but the Pyramid Scheme is just a group of poor people who can only live on the elites scraps! "It would be sure death if we fought you face to face, alright? We had no choice but to move to a higher place." He paused. Shaking the thing in his hands, his smile became brighter. "As for this, its only for self-defense. Please dont mind it. Pretend that I dont exist and please continue, continue" Everyone in the alley remained silent, trying to look for a way to escape. The Viper Professor, Palermo Eagle, Basset, Pyramid King...all of the big names in downtown had grouped here under such an awkward and strange atmosphere. Each group was ready to fight to the death. -- "Mr. Luo, theres something I must remind you of." Faced with the Pyramid Kings taunts, the Professor only shrugged. "Do you really think well fight each other like fools and let you reap the rewards?" "Ah, how could you think of me like that? Im a pacifist. I hate fighting!" The Pyramid King looked around. "Arent we all here for the same reason? Would you like to listen to my suggestion?" Exchanging glasses, Lorenzo and Werner both spat out one word, "Speak!" "Look, were all here for that Eastern mutt, so theres room for discussion. You want the thing on his body, but were different. Arthurs hidden treasure is too whimsical. We only want something we can touch." "What do you mean?" Loreno asked coldly. "Its simple. We want his life." The Pyramid King smirked, "The Rossi family lost an important inheritor because of him. They paid a large sum of money for us to get rid of him." He paused and looked at the Professor. "But we all have too many people and theres not enough to go around. What if we get rid of the weakest and then discuss who the Eastern mutt belongs to?" The weakest? As soon as he spoke, everyones focus turned to the Professor in the center. They knew that the Pyramid King was trying to turn them against each other, but they could not help considering his suggestion. Indeed, the Professor was sneaky and held many fearful secrets even though he did not have any real power. It truly would be a good chance to get rid of that scourge. And he was just one person. Why should he be able to take the reward from them? Avalon was too small and it would be good to get rid of someone in the way. Lorenzo swallowed his saliva, and Werner grasped his sword, both seemed to have planned something. "Whats wrong? Everyones looking at me suddenly." The Professor sighed, "It seems that Im the weakest one?" "Are you not?" the Pyramid King smiled eerily and raised his hand. When he lowered it, the sixteen bows would turn them all into porcupines! "I think that everyone should think carefully before going on a mission. What ifI perform a magic trick for everyone to enjoy?" The Professor laughed lightly. He raised his hands and clapped softly. The crisp sound resounded through the alley. As everyone watched in confusion, the air behind him wavered. Suddenly, a beast appeared out of nowhere! Yes, a beast! There was suddenly a huge figure behind the frail Professor. Like the descendant of a giant, the menacing shadow was more than three meters tall! It could probably turn the Pyramid King into pulp with one hand! If they had not seen it with their own eyes, no one would believe that that thing was human! Yes, he was a human Wearing a dramatic and clownish donkey mask, the strange creature stooped behind the Professor. He held a folded bone saw like a butcher who had just gotten off work at the market. Everyone present felt raw terror in their hearts. The giant was naked except for a dirty apron. Caked on the rough apron was dried blood. The layers upon layers of blood had dyed the dirty yellow apron deep red! The bulging muscles on his arms pulsed with his heartbeat. One could faintly see the blood vessels under his scarred skin. The sound of everyone gulping was all that could be heard in the silence. Someone opened his mouth and murmured the name with horror, "The Bloody-Bloody Butcher!" The Undead, Strange Creature, Butcher, Child of the Demon, Horse-face, Bloody NightmareOf course, the most well-known name was the Bloody Butcher. He was infamous for his impossible height, fearful appearance, and successful record. He had no competitors and left no survivors. Rumors of the strange creature had spread through Londons streets like a nightmare. No one would have guessed that the Professor had hired the creature and hid it inside himself Lorenzo stumbled back, his eyes full of fear. His father had told him what would happen if the creature began his killing spree. Werner was more direct, and quickly stepped back. All the armored thugs raised their weapons, ready and waiting, but compared to rumors about the Bloody Butcher, the seventy armored soldiers did not seem to be of any competition. "F*ck." It was the Pyramid Kings turn to curse. -- Now, under everyones fearful eyes, the aggressive creature had not yet begun his massacre. He, or it, just raised his head and breathed in the bloody air. As his heart pounded like a drum, his skin turned red. An ugly smile cracked open on the clownish donkey mask. Under its feet, countless bugs crawled out from the tiles and fled in all directions. They seemed to have sensed the horrifying creatures presence and began to run for their lives. He did not speak, only lifting up the bone saw, and stood up from the ground. It was instantly level with the Pyramid King, and it stared at the short man hiding behind the big shield. Bloodshot eyes peered through the mask as if looking down at an animal waiting to be butchered. It was a human but it seemed like a demon. It was a creature bred with the citys darkness and bloodthe demon summoned from the citys ugliest side. 98 Darling, Please Turn Around The only sound in the stillness was gulps of fear. "What do you think of my magic trick?" The Professor laughed hoarsely, sliding a flute out of his sleeve. The instrument looked so delicate at his fingertips. "I think that we can discuss now. About that Eastern kid" He waved his hand and the silent butcher returned to his side. "A musician?" Lorenzo muttered to himself, his features twisting. "What level?" "At least the Musician level," a musician hidden in the group answered. "Just the Bloody Butcher himself would be hard to handle. Im not confident." "As powerful as the Butcher is, hes just a man." "No, when things get to this level, we call them beasts." The musician sighed. "The Professor has always been so shady. No one couldve guessed that hes a musician. Lorenzo, we fallen into the Professors trap." Lorenzo understood. If they attempted to fight both the Professor and the Butcher, they might not lose. But even if they won, they would suffer great losses. One had endless tricks, while the other was a beast that was practically invincible. There was no point in fighting a battle that they would lose either way. And there was still the Pyramid King and Basset. No matter what, everyone understood something as soon as the beast had appeared. The Professor had the upper hand. -- On the rooftop, the Pyramid King watched the beast, the corner of his lips quivering. "Professor, what do you really want?" "Its simple." The Professor gazed at all of them, "There are two solutions. The first one is that all of you leave and the kid is mine, or maybe youll like the second solutionfight to the end." In the suffocating tension, everyone glanced at each other, their eyes full of caution and greed. The first to back out was Lorenzo. The leader of the Sicilians raised his hand and announced darkly, "I dont care what you all plan to do. The Lucos will step out. Basset, tell your men to move." The Sicilian thugs slowly retreated. They gripped their weapons, cautious of the Asgardians behind them. Seeing the treasure slipping from his fingers, Bassets expression was unreadable. Tightening and loosening his hold on his sword, he finally grit out, "Move out. We will retreat as well" "An intelligent choice." The Professor clapped his hands and finally looked at Sam Luo on the roof. "Mr. Pyramid King, it seems that youll be brave and fight me?" It was a joke. The Pyramid Scheme was the most cowardice in Avalons downtown. Seeing his great plan fail, the Pyramid Kings eyes rolled. As if in physical pain, he lightly put down his hand, "We will retreat as well" The three groups watched the Professor and the beast closely, then stepped back carefully. The tense atmosphere slowly relaxed. Seeing that there was no need to fight, everyone let out a sigh of relief. But then a confused voice sounded throughout the alley. "Excuse me, anyone here?" A lost boy lugging a pile of stuff walked into the alley under everyones eyes. "Im sorry, I got lost. Senior, are youholy sh*t!" "What the f*ck?!" he thought. Ye Qingxuan almost jumped when he saw the sight before him. His mind went blank as he gaped at the battle axes, steel bars, heavy armor, bows, and that inhumane creature. As he stared at them, they also stared back at him. They gaped at the white-haired youth with one kilogram of carrots in his left hand, a bag of tomatoes in his right, and a giant lantern in his arms. He looked like he just come back from grocery shopping. As everyone stared at each other, the youth finally reacted. He stepped back saying, "Im sorry. Im in the wrong place. Please continue. Dont mind me!" Amidst the sounds of everyones jaws hitting the ground, he slowly retreated, turned, and stepped away. Panicking, the Pyramid King called out, "Halt!" "Okay" But despite his words, his body did not listen. As if shocked by electricity, Ye Qingxuan sprinted away. "Sh*t, he runs fast!" someone in the crowd murmured, which opened the dam and everything went out of control. The ones who had been retreating were now restless. "Catch him!" Someone yelled, "Whoever catches him gets him!" The still atmosphere had shattered, and the crowd went wild. Lorenzo, Werner, and the Pyramid King all forgot what they had said about retreating and charged forward wildly. The Professor was frozen in his spot. He had not expected for the situation to change so dramatically within seconds. As he watched the mass of people rush into another alley, he glared at his flute, anger flashed through his eyes. "Butcher, catch him!" The three meter giant roared and jumped up, then landed in the crowd. Swinging his bone saw, two people were instantly thrown into the wall, blood spewed from them. As he swung his saw, many people were instantaneously sliced into halves. Blood spurted out and people screamed. -- At the other end of the alley, Ye Qingxuan ran as if his life depended on it. Looking back, he saw the mass of menacing men, angry thugs, and one beastly creature. He wanted to cry. "Why are you chasing me?!" The Pyramid King screamed, "I want...no, hand over the treasure and Ill let you live!" Beneath him, Lorenzo yelled, "Friend, dont run. We can protect you" "Psh, yeah right!" Basset was clad in heavy armor, but he was the fastest, chasing without slowing down. "Kid, dont listen to them! Give it to me! Youll be the Asgardians eternal friend!" "What treasure? What friend?" Ye Qingxuan thought. He had no clue what they were talking about! Resisting the urge to cry, he sped up. As he ran, he suddenly had an idea and tossed something behind him. "Heres your treasure. Take it!" A black object flew from his hands, cut an arc in the air, and fell into Bassets arms. Forgetting about his sword, the Basset clutched it instinctively. He did not even get the chance to take a look before he was flattened by the crowd behind him. Someone yelled, "The treasures here!" "Catch him!" "Basset got the treasure!" As more and more people piled on, Basset subconsciously tightened his grasp. There was a squelch, and red liquid oozed out from between his fingers. The rush of people froze. Some of the drops fell into people''s mouths, and some people swallowed reflexively. "Tastes sour and sweetwe can eat the treasure? Mom, Im going to Avalon too!" Lorenzo who had rushed over was pissed. He kicked Basset, yelling, "Idiot, thats a tomato!" -- "Dont you want treasures? Here you go!" Up front, Ye Qingxuan was happily giving out treasures. He continuously tossed things behind him, "Heres a tomato! Heres a potato!" "Heres a lychee!" He decided to throw whatever he could get his hands on. He even picked up a frog from the ground and threw it. "Heres a frog! Heres a squid, and an angry banana!" The angry banana angrily stuck Lorenzos face. There were lychee bits on the other side of his face too. This gentleman now looked like a homeless beggar. Just as the angry Lorenzo began to roar, something was thrown at him again, and splattered his face with blood. He froze in shock. With trembling hands, he took a bloody tampon off his face and finally screamed, "Kill him! Kill him!" The Pyramid King finally realized that they could not keep going like this. His men immediately got into position on a rooftop. They aimed at the youth and fired! Amidst the whistling, an arrow brushed past the youths arm and dug into the wall next to him. The arrow twanged like a honeybees wings. Ye Qingxuan looked at the wound on his arm and froze. "Crap, you guys are for real?" "Who was f*cking playing around?!" On the rooftop, the Pyramid King yelled, "Get ready and kill this b*stard!" Consecutive twangs of bows sounded, sending chills down Ye Qingxuans spine. "I was just buying groceries! What did I do?" Taking a deep breath, he began chanting quietly. Everyones angry roars covered his frustration as he chanted the syllables. Under the hoarse melody, the youths body blurred, turning whimsical. RuneHaze! "Sh*t, forgot that this kid is a student musician!" the Pyramid King growled. "Shoot! Fire! Kill him!" Next, Ye Qingxuan added "Flow" to himself without hesitation. His pallor turned red immediately. Running while performing this task was practically death. Speeding up, he made multiple near-misses. His body grew blurrier, and after a turn, he disappeared. The mass turned into a mess. The people at the back did not stop running, pushing the people in front to keep chasing. Many accidentally hurt others in the mess, and there was no room for explanations for injured thugs. They could only start fighting each other. Numerous corpses fell to the ground in the axing and stampede. Blood flew amidst roars and screams. No one noticed that the blurry shadow next to the wall that quietly started to move. 99 This Is Avalon "Hush, hush, no one can see you" Ye Qingxuan murmured as he cradled his head and carefully crawled forward. Under the stress caused from both Flow and Haze, and performing precise manipulation, his face was almost green. After fleeing past another corner, sure that no one had discovered him, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the ground. Flow and Haze stopped immediately, and sweat poured out like a faucet. A damp print appeared on the ground beneath him quickly. He looked at the pumpkin he had forgotten to throw, and tossed it angrily at the wall. "What just happened?!" It was a bright and clear day. He had just gone to buy marbles and groceries, but instead he had been chased by people with axes and bows! And treasure? What treasure?! Ye Qingxuan felt around his body. The only thing valuable on him was his leather wallet! And he had bought it for twenty-some dollars. What were they after? What?! After thinking for a long time, Ye Qingxuan had a headache, and the only conclusion he could come to was that those guys were crazy. "Im so unlucky." He sighed and got up. Giving up on the marbles, he just wanted to get back to the academy quickly. Why did he run into such weird things whenever he left the school? But as he stood up, he felt wind above his head. Goosebumps rose up all over his body. He rolled on the ground without thinking, and heard a clang behind him! The stone ground cracked under the flame-shaped sword. "You re-really did run away!" Covered in blood, Werner panted for breath. His eyes widened under his horned helmet, gazing at Ye Qingxuan with wild joy. "Im so luckyhand over the treasure!" "What treasure?!" With a flying scissor kick, Ye Qingxuan kicked the pumpkin at Werner. But the man raised his sword and slashed the pumpkin in midair. The pumpkin exploded, pieces of pumpkin and juice flew everywhere. Ye Qingxuans neck grew cold. The flame-shaped sword was a heavy duty weapon that required handles on the blade. Its power did not come from the blade, but from its own weight. Only Werner, famous in Asgard for his inhuman strength, could wield the sword so effortlessly. It moved in his hands like a windmill. Each slash left behind deep cuts in the ground. Ye Qingxuan stumbled back but Werner was right at his heels. Werner was a dwarf but he moved so quickly that his legs were a blur. This type of sword required one to be steady and stable with a strong core. His feet moved like wheels. The short figure rushed forward, and he swung the sword down! Ye Qingxuan jumped back at the last moment. He felt the blade slice past his forehead, cutting two strands of hair. Hoisting up the sword, Werner had a sinister and weary smile. "Since you wont open your mouth like a crab, Ill just have to search your corpse!" "What crab? It should be a clam, okay?" Ye Qingxuan retorted in panic. "I have no respect for you thugs. You arent cultured at all!" Werner froze. His face reddened before darkening in anger. "Youre asking for death!" With that, he swung the sword down. "Hey, lets discuss this! Dont get angry, alright?" Ye Qingxuan really wanted to cry. "How about I teach you some grammar and you let me go?" "In your dreams!" Werner scoffed. "All of downtown wants your life. If you want us to all let you go, youll need to teach a big grammar class." "What do you even want?!" Ye Qingxuan asked, suddenly angry. "Im just one person. Theres not even enough of me for you all to stab! What do you get from killing me? Ill let whoever answers correctly to kill me, how about that?" "Stop playing dumb. The treasure to enter Avalons Shadow is on your body!" "Do I look like I have a treasure on me?" "I dont care! Ill see after youre dead! Try hiding again, huh?" Werner smiled menacingly as he brought the sword down. Gritting his teeth, Ye Qingxuan felt repressed anger and aggravation rekindle inside of him. "Does your brain work? Can you not understand the human language? Can you not understand?! All you think about is killing, killing, killing. Wont your mom be disappointed in you?" In his anger, the effect of Flow was pushed to the max. He did not dodge or retreat. Instead, he walked over, stepped on the lowered blade and sprang into Werners arms. Ye Qingxuan punched the only part unprotected by the helmetthe nose! Crack! The fist slammed into the horned helmet, and Werner cried out in pain. The sword fell from his hands as he tried to hold onto his nose. But Ye Qingxuan did not let him go so easily. Stepping on the tortoise shield, he flattened the man on the ground. He repeatedly punched the nose until he heard the sound of bone cracking, and his hand came away bloody. Furious, Werner ignored his wound and grabbed a dagger from his waist, stabbing Ye Qingxuans arm. Ye Qingxuan retreated as soon as he heard the sound of a blade unsheathing, but he had still been slashed in the arm. Nothing had gone smoothly ever since he had come to Avalon! Ye Qingxuan quickly began chanting a basic rune in angerinstantaneous rune! Following Abrahams deciphering method, he skipped more than half of the syllables. A solid coldness enveloped his hand, following his palm. This was the rune that Edmund had used to fight him last timeFrost! If he pressed down on Werners face, the aether would explode and turn half of his brain into icicles. But Ye Qingxuan hesitated at the last second. His hand moved and he pressed down on Werners hand. Werner whimpered as his arm suddenly went numb, and he could no longer feel his palm. "Dont move!" Ye Qingxuan aimed his clenched fist at the palm. "Otherwise Ill punch downwards and your right hand will shatter. If you dont move now, you can go find a Chorale musician at the church, it might be cured" "Hahacant believe I lost to a kid whos too scared to kill." Lying on the ground, Werner laughed at himself, his weary smile showing through the blood on his face "Whats the use of letting me go? You think Ill let you go just because you didnt kill me? Dont be na?veeveryone in downtown wants you!" "Im innocent!" Ye Qingxuan roared. Werner scoffed. "And innocent people cant die?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Ive heard these words so many times before. The people who dont want to pay, the people who broke rules, the people who were sold by others, they all say a bunch of pretty words before death, but it cant save them. Where do you think we are? This is Avalon!" Werner licked the blood on his face and laughed. "You wont be able to escape as long as you have the treasure." "You lunatics." Ye Qingxuan punched his face one last time and stood up. The murderous cries were getting closer, and he did not want to waste anymore time on this psycho. But behind him, Werner with a frozen hand laughed coldly. He grabbed a small dagger from his boot with his left hand and aimed the green blade at the youths back. The Indians were not the only people who knew how to use poison. But then a commotion rushed past. Stunned, Werner felt the world grow dark, and the wall beside him suddenly collapsed. Before he could even scream, he was buried in the rubble. The loud crash made Ye Qingxuan jump in fright. When he turned around, all he could see was red, and the bloody beast. The street behind the collapsed wall was covered with corpses. They were scattered all over, and all of them were mutilated. Standing above the fallen bricks was a wild figure covered in bloodthe Bloody Butcher! He had followed the youths scent here, massacring everyone in his path. Now, his blood-soaked apron had new liquid from the sewer. The bone saw in his right hand was filled with dents. Ye Qingxuan did not want to know what he had been hacking in order to have dented the bone saw. In his left hand was a severed head. It seemed to have been carelessly yanked off of someone. There was still vertebrae connected to the head. -- In the stillness, he tossed the head away and roared! Following it was faint singing like the cries of an angry spirit. The bulging muscles on his red arms pulsed according to his heartbeat and faint runes glowed. The runes lit up, attracting a tidal wave of aether. They entered his body turning him into a true beast! His heartbeat turned into drum beats, and the sound of blood pulsing turned into chanting. The screams in the air became the rhythm, and his breathing turned into a wild chorale as the aether grouped inside him, "God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness! "God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas? "God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for relief." Blood surged, and transformed into a menacing face. He cheered like a child along with the singing, "Lalala! Lalala! Lalala! The god in the song, take me back to heaven!" -- "Whatwhat is this creature?!" Ye Qingxuan muttered. He stumbled back in disbelief, the hair on the back of his neck rising in fear. The beast had turned his own body into alchemy equipment, an entire music score was tattooed on his skin! Only an inhumanly strong body could withstand the consumption of a music score. Haritis implants were nothing in comparison to this. Now, aether flowed through his vessels, turning into a power wilder than blood, hotter than fire, turning him into something not human. He was not a demon. His wild murderous intent made him something more terrifying than a demonhe was a killing machine! Amidst the crazed and painful singing, the Butcher raised his head. Two bloodshot eyes stared at the youth from behind the mask. The bone saw was raised. "The hunt is here. Are you praying?" he seemed to ask. 100 Fight to the Death It was finally falling dark. The night sky was shrouded with black clouds. It was a lightless night. Everything was enveloped in darkness. Somewhere in the complex downtown, Ye Qingxuan curled into himself inside of a shoddy hut, breathing painfully. His leg felt like it was broken. He could not run at all, but he was still surrounded by coldness. That feeling was calledfear. Grinding his teeth and swallowing blood, the beast paced in the darkness, following the preys trail. Ye Qingxuan did not know if he had really escaped. The cursed singing was still in his ears, making it impossible for him to relax. "God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness! God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas? "God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for reliefLalala, lalala!, lalalaThe god in the song, take me back to heavenlalala" The demonic song sent shivers down his spine and he could not stop trembling. How much time had passed? He did not know. He did not even have time to think about how long the ridiculous hunt had gone on for. The moment he saw the beast, he realized that every unbelievable story in the files and records were true. Only something so terrifying could leave behind those stories. Why did something so messed up exist in Avalon? And why would it want him? As heavy steps sounded nearby, he stopped breathing. He had been trying to get rid of the creature for the entire afternoon to no avail. Whether he charged into a crowd of people, jumped into the sewer, or hid inside an abandoned factory, nothing could get rid of the creature on his tail. A bloody trail would be left from the crowd of people. When he snuck out of the sewer, he heard the scary song that followed like a shadow. When he ran into the abandoned factory, it was like he had stepped into the beasts hunting ground. He tried everything to kill the beast with frost arrows, fire hand. He had even fired a military bow and arrow at the beast, but nothing had worked. He had hit the mark. The arrow had buried into the beasts chest completely. But the creature had methodically sawed open the wound, plucked out the arrow in his stomach, and tossed it onto the ground. That was when Ye Qingxuan understood that the beast was a beast because it could not be killed! -- In the darkness, the pacing footsteps finally faded. But the song was still ringing in his ears, and he could not relax. Panting, he felt the gaping wounds on his body. Just getting scraped by the bone saw would be enough to turn him into a bloody pulp. If he did not grit his teeth and freeze the wounds, he would have died from blood loss long ago. The beast had had multiple chances to kill Ye Qingxuan throughout the afternoon, but it kept toying with him, making him run along the line between life and death as if playing with food on its place. "F*ck," he muttered, clenching his fist in anger. But before he could finish cursing, familiar vibrations thudded in his chest and he looked down reflexively. Then he heard a shattering sound. Behind him, the hut was being demolished by the bone saw! Everything in the saws path was split into two. If Ye Qingxuan had not lowered his head, he also would have been demolished. In the darkness, the voice sang and blood flowed. A ghastly light shone down from somewhere, illuminating the angry shadow. No matter where Ye Qingxuan ran, he would be under the beasts shadow with nowhere to escape. "Motherf*cker, Im going to fight you!" He suddenly stood still and glared at the beast. "Whats the point of chasing me? Kill me if you can!" The beast seemed to be shocked by his courage and froze in its spot. Eyes full of anger, Ye Qingxuan quickly began to chant. Shimmering aether gathered from the sky. A blurry rune sharpened in his heart. He secretly pressed the button on the Double Snake Time Meter in his pocket, activating the power within. In an instant, his sense of aether had doubled, and the aether in his hands grew restless. As the aether grouped, the youth clenched his fist and charged toward the beast with a roar. As if applauding his courage, the Bloody Butcher did not move. The eerie song became clearer. The creature raised his bone saw, waiting for the youth to run to his death. But Ye Qingxuan suddenly halted and threw something at the beast. Under the mask, the Butchers eyes squinted, blinded by the sudden brightness. As the aether left Ye Qingxuans hand, it had finally formed a rune. Rubbing against each other, the aether radiated gloriously. Increased efficiency applicationLight! "Fight? Watch me throw all my runes at your face!" Ye Qingxuan thought. The Butcher reflexively shielded his eyes with his hand, but the youth stayed where he was. He raised his hands and frantically began to chant again. Instantaneous runeMirror! Staggered mirrors appeared out of thin air. Grouping together, they created a matrix surrounding the Butcher. The explosive light magnified, shooting down. There was nowhere for the Butcher to run! Roaring, the Butcher swung his saw. As the mirrors shattered, the light source also disappeared. But when the light dimmed, the youth was gone. He escaped?! His proud laughter still rang in the air. It felt so f*cking good to pretend to be powerful and then run away! The Butcher roared and swung the saw crazily, obliterating the hut. After a long time, the beast finally calmed down. He walked soundlessly into the shadows, and followed the faint trail of breathing straight in the direction of the youth. The maze-like downtown was his hunting ground, and there was no way a lost youth could escape! But as he followed the smell of blood and finally tracked the youth, his steps halted. -- The Butcher stood outside a cluster of abandoned buildings, looking at the ground. Under his feet were meandering cracks like something left behind by the chaotic slashing of knives. Blood seeped from within the cracks. A tinge of sweetness snaked into the air. At a glance, there was nothing special about the cracks. But the Butcher bent down to study it. Regret flashed through his eyes. It was a mark. Like beasts marking their territory, the creatures of Avalon did the same. This was the sign of the predators. Once past it, it would be a fight to death. The Butcher straightened and left. His scratchy sigh floated in the wind, as if pitying the youth who had voluntarily jumped into hell. The Butcher may have prefered to eat quickly, but there were some creatures that liked to carefully prepare their meals. -- In the rubble, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the ground panting, unable to get up again. He had used all of his strength. If the creature caught up to him again, he would not have the energy to run anymore. He would probably just give up. Lowering his head in despair, he closed his eyes and waited for death. But after a long time, the Bloody Butcher had still not arrived. He prepared himself to see the beast right in front of him when he opened his eyes. But when he opened them, there was nothing before him. The Bloody Butcher was gone. He had escaped? Unable to believe it, he froze. After a while, he could not resist the urge to laugh. It was seriously like a joke. He had gone to buy marbles, but somehow run into a gang war, somehow been chased, somehow was carrying a hidden treasure, somehow was chased by a beast for so long. "What the f*ck even is all this?" Restraining his anger, he pushed himself up with difficulty and walked, holding the wall. No matter what, it was over. But reality quickly slapped him in the face. Over? Keep dreaming! In the deep night, he gazed around at the rubble all around him, trying to find out where exactly he was. And then came an eerie sound. His footsteps halted and he turned back, listening carefully. Carried by the wind, it sounded like crying, full of sadness and pain. The cries spread in the darkness, wrapping around him like strands of hair. Staring into the direction of the cries, Ye Qingxuan decided quickly to stop. He turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction. F*ck cries! He had had enough! Gradually, the crying disappeared, but his steps also slowed. In the end, he could not even raise his foot. Was it really good to leave like this? Shouldnt he at least go take a look? Even though that was how characters died in horror stories. Why was someone crying with the lost souls in this empty place so late at night? He stood wordlessly in the darkness, looking back. It was empty and silent behind him. "If I die, its going to be because Im stupid." Ye Qingxuan scratched his face in frustration and kicked over some garbage while screaming. He turned toward the direction of the cries. The painful cries sounded again. Closer and closer. Closer and closer. Ye Qingxuan held his breath as he crept nearer. Flattening himself against the wall, he peered out from the corner at the source of the cries. The ground was covered in blood. 101 Calling from the Dark A naked corpse lay on the ground, fresh blood pooled around it. The eyes of the cold body stared up into the black sky. She looked like a typical prostitute from downtown. Her cheap dress was torn and had been dyed red from the blood. The deep red made the ragged dress seem more expensive, full of stunning beauty. "Im sorry, Im sorry." A frail figure kneeling in the puddle of blood choked out, "Sorry" The voice was weak and in pain. It sounded like a girl, but her thin figure was hidden under a cloak. All Ye Qingxuan could see was a strand of golden hair that fell from under the hood. But she was a living person. Thankfully, she was a living person. Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh in relief and walked out from the corner. He gazed around in caution, but besides the girl, the place was empty. It was good; he could attack and retreat. Taking a deep breath, he walked over carefully, ready to flee at the smallest sign of danger. But nothing strange happened, even as he approached the girl. She was still kneeling in the puddle, sobbing and choking out an apology. "I wanted to help you, Im sorry" "Hey, are you okay?" Ye Qingxuan gulped and lightly touched her shoulder. The crying girl flinched in shock. Her entire body stiffened, trembling with fear. Taken aback, Ye Qingxuan withdrew his hand awkwardly. "Dont be scared. Im not a bad guy. I just saw you crying. Can I help you?" "Did you touch me?" The girl spoke with her back facing him. Her voice was fragile, but there was no longer any trace of fear. Instead, there was unrestrainable anger. "Huh?" She turned her head stiffly, her neck cracking. The voice that came from the dark hood was distant and scratchy, like delirious cries after waking from a nightmare. "You-just-touched me?" "Im sorry, I" Ye Qingxuan reflexively tried to explain himself, but his voice suddenly broke off. When the girl moved away from the corpse, he finally saw the whole body. The dead prostitute stared up lifelessly at the sky. Under the dim light, two shriveled breasts sagged limply on each side because her entire chest had been carved open. Two rows of ribs reached out to the sky like an infants hands. The intestines were placed neatly on the ground beside the body. Still in the puddle of blood, the girl held a shriveled heart in her hand. The heart was almost squeezed to the point of bursting in the angrily clenched fist. The scene seemed so familiar to Ye Qingxuan. Shadowed by the hood, the face slowly rose. Fury filled the two beastly eyes, "You want to dirty me tooyou dirty" Ye Qingxuan ran without hesitation. -- Not even ten minutes after getting the Butcher off his heels, he had began to run for his life again. He probably broke the record for the worst luck in Avalon today! First, he had run into a gang fight and was chased by the Bloody Butcher. Then, because he was stupid, he had run into Avalons legendary Ripper! Avalons Ripper! The murderous monster from Whitechapel Church! The one who liked to dissect victims while they were still alive and take their inner organs. He could never forget the pictures from the files! First the Bloody Butcher, then the Ripperwere these lunatics so bored that they all came downtown to play? Before he could take three steps, a crazed scream sounded behind him. The piercing sound was filled with fury and murderous intent, almost breaking his eardrums. Ye Qingxuan really wanted to cry, "What are you angry about? Im too tired to be angry, alright! This isnt the East, where a girl cant be touched by a stranger, and youre not some lady either. How are you going to live if you get this angry just because I touched you?!" he wanted to yell back. But before he could speak, a crash sounded from behind. Ye Qingxuan looked back in shock to see the wall and floor shatter under the frail figures bare hands! As if hacked by an invisible ax, cracks appeared under the furious scratching. A sharp crack snaked toward Ye Qingxuan. If not for his fast reflexes, he would have been split in half by the invisible ax. Inhaling the cold air, Ye Qingxuan sped up, but the shadow behind him stayed in its place. Watching him run away, she murmured to herself, "Purify, purify" When he had finally lost the shadow and made a few more turns, Ye Qingxuan let himself relax. But before he could catch his breath, he heard footsteps getting closer. "Purify" The figure was suddenly there, walking toward him with empty hands. As "he" or "she" or "it" walked, everythingstone tiles, walls, abandoned houses, insects on the groundin its path was sliced into tiny pieces. "What do you want?!" Feeling a gust of cold air hit the back of his head, Ye Qingxuan turned and started running again. As he had predicted, the Ripper was in front of him again after a few hundred meters. "You dirty monsters must be purifiedfor this world" the Ripper murmured, walking toward Ye Qingxuan. "For what?" Going crazy, Ye Qingxuan could not stop himself from yelling, "If you really want to help the world, go and fix yourself!" But then his vision blurred and the shadow was right in front of him. He stepped back reflexively. A formless pressure sliced his finger. Blood flew through the air in an arc and landed within the creatures hood. Freaked out, Ye Qingxuan instinctively curled into a ball. But he realized that he had not been sliced in half as he had expected. As if sensing the liquid on her face, the Ripper raised a white finger, feeling the wetness. The blood seemed to have some strange allure to her. She licked the fresh blood on her finger and froze. "This isblood?" the Ripper murmured. "Whyis it your blood?" She sank into confused intoxication as if the youths blood was some type of poison, or was sweet like a drug. Ye Qingxuan took this chance to quietly retreat. Seeing that she did not react after a few steps, he turned and ran. He swore to himself that if he survived this, he would never get curious about crying sounds at midnight ever again! Maybe there was something wrong with his senses or something really had happened to her. After a long time, he had still not run into the eerie shadow. Did he really lose her?! Panting, he walked down an alley, wandering around the odd city like a headless fly. Finally, his eyes lit up after he made a turn. He had finally found a familiar street. Princess Street, named after Anglos second princess, was one of downtowns main streets. It meant that he was almost out of downtown and was not far from midtown where the academy was. A bit further was the police department. He could faintly hear the clattering of the surveillance polices horses. -- As always, the city was shrouded in fog. Every night, condensation would come with the sea wind, turning into fog as the temperature dropped. The fog was like a white sheet, layering and covering the entire citylike the white sheet put over a corpse. It was late at night. Other than the street lights being extinguished, the only sounds came from an occasional carriage, and the distant crashing of waves. As the clock tower struck eleven, storefront lights dimmed one by one. The city slowly fell into slumber. "Its finally over," Leaning against a wall, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his numb face and screamed. No matter what, his unlucky day was about to be over. But he had forgotten somethingthe day was not over until midnight. -- Suddenly, a gust of sea wind blew and the fog grew even heavier. The slightly obscured image in the distance disappeared. In an instant, the fog thickened and blinded almost everything. Light from an unknown source illuminated the fog, turning it the white of fresh bone. In order to not get run over by a carriage, Ye Qingxuan could only walk with a hand on the wall. As if a sewer had been broken, he stepped through a buildup of water. Splashing sounds filling the air. According to his mental map, he just had to walk toward higher ground. Thankfully, the Tower Bridge was right ahead. Once he crossed the Tower Bridge, he could say goodbye to all of this and enter midtown! With this in mind, he sped up, walking forward in the fog. Through the fog, the vague silhouette of the tall bridge began to appear. But there were no police patrolling it. The copper gate before the bridge that should have been shut at night was not locked either, causing Ye Qingxuan to turn pale. Where did everyone go? Standing before the gate alone, he looked around suspiciously. There was nothing in the heavy fog. He finally realized that he had not seen anyone in a long timenot a single person! At some point in time, everything had turned still. Night was supposed to be still, but there was nevertheless sound in that stillness. There should have been the howl of the wind, insects crawling in the dirt, and the sound of the crashing waves under the bridge. But now, all sound had disappeared as if the world had asphyxiated. He finally realized something was wrong, but he did not know what. It was as if the entire world was different from the one he had known. Soundlessly, a gust of wind came from afar, rippling through the fog. For an instant, the clouds and fog were blown apart and moonlight shone down on the still world. Ye Qingxuan raised his head, studying the moon. The pale blue moonlight fell into his eyes, reflecting the menacing contour. Tonight, the Indigo Moon that represented disaster was high up in the sky. 102 The Still City The entire city was in a nightmare. The Indigo Moon shone down from the sky, illuminating the suddenly menacing world. It also illuminated the blood-red puddle under Ye Qingxuans feet. Behind the Tower Bridge, the city revealed its sharp ridges in the dark night. It was completely different during the day. After losing all light and color, Avalon became an entirely different city. Its silhouette was sharp and menacing, like a demon reaching out for the sky. The distant fog shifted and changed according to the silhouette. It looked like a reflection of hell The stillness was shattered by a sharp sound. In front of Ye Qingxuan, the closed copper gate was pushed open by an invisible force. Moaning and creaking, it suddenly opened! Angry winds came from the other side of the city, bringing with it the smell of something rotten. The coldness in the wind sucked away Ye Qingxuans strength and he practically collapsed. "Seriously what is this?" He looked down at the puddle beneath him. Illuminated by the Indigo Moon, the puddle was a glistening crimson redness. The red liquid flowed continuously from the other side of the Tower Bridge like a river. It came from the peak of the city, flowed through the entire city, crossed the bridge, quietly went past the youths feet, and finally disappeared into the fog behind him. The bloody water meandered soundlessly, leaving behind a trail dyed reda blood path! "Blood path?" His face stark white, Ye Qingxuan stumbled back. He finally knew where he was. According to legends, Avalons Shadow, which hid King Arthurs treasure, was hidden in the shadow of this city, but no one had ever found it. If one wanted to find the city hidden in the world of nightmares, one must find the key to the locka path made of blood. Ablood path! "Its all real?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at the fresh blood flowing under his feet. He felt like he was in a hyper-realistic nightmare. So all the legends were true, everything they said was true, Avalons Shadow really existed, and hereally was at its entrance! He had spent an entire day running for his life, but he found this blood path and walked into hell. So "What the f*ck even is all this?!" he roared angrily at the other side of the bridge. "I dont even want to see you! Why do you have to drag me into this? I dont care about the stupid treasure! Get it away from me!" Of course, Avalons Shadow did not reply. The demonic city was still menacing under the moonlight, but the Indigo Moon dimmed gradually, as if its tired eye had closed. As he glared angrily, Ye Qingxuans vision suddenly blurred. Falling into a daze, a shapeless force shook his body. The Indigo Moon disappeared while he was in that drowsy state. The blood path under his feet stopped flowing, dried, and disappeared. The heavy fog shook crazily as if an outside force was moving it. "Yezi! Yezi!" He heard someone calling his name. Everything around him trembled and changed as if the nightmare was about to end, and the demonic world was collapsing. The fog dissipated quickly. Everything went black. When he opened his eyes again, everything was back to normal. "Yezi, are you okay?" Charles grabbed his shoulder, shaking the disoriented youth. "Yezi? Yezi? Can you hear me?" He stared at the blank youth, shaking a hand before him. "What happened?" "Senior?" Ye Qingxuan gazed dumbly at Charles stupid and annoying face. He really wanted to punch him, but he also found him so lovable at that moment. "Youre finally awake. Are you okay?" Seeing that he had recovered, Charles let out a sigh in relief. "How come you disappeared in the blink of an eye? I searched the entire city for you. I thought a human trafficker had taken you. Are you sure youre okay? You have wounds all over" Ye Qingxuan looked around. Everything was familiar but still felt strange. "Senior, where am I?" Charles sighed. "Idiot, youre in Avalon of course." "Which Avalon?" "Are there two Avalons in this world?" "There better not be." Ye Qingxuan smiled with difficulty. But his vision darkened. When his tense nerves finally relaxed, he fell unconscious. He had had enough of this unlucky day. -- In downtown, on a still street under the fog, a beam of cold moonlight illuminated even the darkest place. The Professor waited wordlessly under the ghastly light. Behind him, the darkness shifted and a menacing figure appeared slowly. The Butcher had returned. He held a broken bone saw in his left hand, but his right hand was empty. According to the agreement, he should have brought back the Eastern kid. But he returned alone, empty-handed. The eyes behind the donkey mask were still wild, but no longer red, like a tired beast. "You actually failed?" The Professor studied him. His gaze full of contempt and mockery. "Everyone has their firsts," came the hoarse reply. "Really?" the Professor stated coolly. "I always thought that you were a beast." "Dont beasts exist because humans need them?" The Butcher stared deep into the Professor''s eyes, threw the wad of prepayment back at him and left. -- Two days later, in Abrahams library, Abraham was giving a lecture. "According to current explanations of the Voynich Manuscript, we have some knowledge of events from before the Dark Ages. Unfortunately, the astrology and geography recorded in the manuscript is starkly different from what we can observe today." Abraham wrote on the blackboard as he spoke, "According to the Voynich Manuscript, the stars were entirely different. "Rather than the Star Ring, it mentioned a belt created by many stars. It was known as the Milky Way. Of the celestial objects closest to the Earth mentioned, there is only the moon. There is no mention of the Indigo Moon. "Most importantly, there are many stars that we cannot observe, such as Mercury, which represents mystery, and Mars, which represents war. These discontinued phenomenons are common in Eastern astrology. For example, a part of the star field passed down from the prehistoric timesthe Three Yuan and Twenty-eight Su can no longer be observed. "The South Star which represents life, and North Star which represents death have disappeared. Maybe these mysteries are part of the undeciphered portion of the Voynich Manuscript. To this day, inconsistencies between records and reality have confused many archeologists. Many star-seers and astrologers have even started doubting life and committing suicide. For those who analyze ancient texts, this is something that must be avoided. We mustYezi? Yezi, are you listening?" Abraham turned back to see his blank student and raised his voice. "Yezi? Yezi!" The youth snapped awake and scrambled to sit up, rubbing his face. "Im sorry, Professor. I spaced out. Where are we now?" "Analyzing the Voynich Manuscript." "Uh, sorry," Ye Qingxuan said awkwardly. "I dont think I heard that part clearly. Can you repeat it? Just start from the last part." Abraham sighed. Putting down his chalk, he sat down before Ye Qingxuan. "Youve been out of it recently. Did something happen?" "Uh, nothing." Ye Qingxuan chuckled, "Maybe Im just tired." "Have you been staying up to read again?" Abraham suddenly felt helpless. For the past half month, Ye Qingxuan had eased up on his studies on runes, and had officially began learning about the analysis and deciphering of ancient texts. The youths progression was pleasantly surprising. He had sped through everything. After learning the Translation Method, Ye Qingxuan could decipher and translate some more recent texts. After some more training, he could become Abrahams assistant and help with current work. In a few weeks, Ye Qingxuan had learned what most people needed two years to grasp. It was partly due to Ye Qingxuans talent, and partly due to prior knowledge. There were not many abnormal people who could memorize the Churchs entire archive, but this guy had also read through most of Abrahams library too. Abraham also did not need to worry about spending time on practicing different languages. Ye Qingxuan had become familiar with most languages during his time as a scribe. Other than the lingua franca, and the Latin language used by the Church, he had even learned the Asgardian language, known as the living fossil, from Father Bann. He had learned ancient Eastern language as a child too. Ye Qingxuan could read most research texts without much difficulty. Having a student like that would have been a dream come true for any ancient text researcher, but Abraham was starting to get a little worried. Ye Qingxuan had been off these past few days. When Charles had brought him back two days ago, he had been covered with blood and running a high fever. The fever had finally broken, but he refused to say what had happened. And now, no one knew what he was thinking about. He constantly spaced out and locked himself in his room. Everyone was worried, but when Charles had snuck a glance through the window, he had seen that Ye Qingxuan had just been reading in his room. He had flipped through the pages as if he spent day and night looking for something. Abraham shook his head, "Well end here. Go rest." He rose and began tidying his things, but when he turned around, he saw that the youth was still sitting there. "Professor, is what were learning really useful?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked. 103 Ven Ye Qingxuan stared at the words and images on the blackboard, spaced out. "Professor, whats the point of reading all of these ancient texts and trying to understand the world before us? I suddenly dont understand." Ye Qingxuan questioned, "Why should we spend all this time on learning how to translate everything?" "To find an explanation," Abraham answered, "To explain things." "Explain? To be honest, Professor, I really need an explanation now." Ye Qingxuan slumped in his seat and closed his eyes. "Ever since I arrived in Avalon, I always run into things. Somebad things. Like I suddenly entered a world that belongs to strange creatures. Everything is foreign and I cant communicate or understand anyone. I dont even know how to look at the world anymore." He thought of the wild laughter and hoarse voice, and lowered his head tiredly. "Everything is normal but why does it change at night? Or do I hallucinate during the day and the craziness is the worlds true appearance? Are they wrong or am I?" His memory had resurfaced, dragging him back to that unlucky day. Werner looked at him with a bloody face. No matter how much pain Werner was in, he still laughed crazily. Contorting his face into a demon, he roared, "All of downtown wants your life! Whats the use of letting me go? You think Ill let you go just because you didnt kill me? Dont be na?veeveryone in downtown wants you! "Youre innocent? And innocent people cant die? "Where do you think we are? This is Avalon!" Suddenly, Werner expanded and turned into a menacing black figure. It raised a bone saw and sliced through corpses, spraying blood. The sky darkened and the fog was there again. An evil spirit chased after Ye Qingxuan like a shadow. The sharp voice echoed in his ears, "Purify, purify, purify" He wanted to reason with someone, but there was nothing to reason about. He had just wanted to buy something, but had been chased after for some reason. He had just wanted to help someone, but was almost split apart and purified. This crazy world made no sense "I dont understand, Professor." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Is there something wrong?" "Yezi, this world is complicated. Sometimes, we need something to help us understand it." Abraham gazed at him. "I often felt confused or scared of things when I was young. This world changes so quickly. Other peoples ideas change quickly too, but Im too slow and cant understand them. "Because of this, I want to find a research method to help me understand these thingsto find a solution. At least, you wont be scared once you understand them." "Professor, have you found it?" Ye Qingxuan asked, looking up. Abraham chuckled dryly in response. -- Late at night in the basement remodeled as the piano room, sharp notes cut through the air like a chainsaw cutting through metal. It was full of ineffable frustration and unsettling pressure. A spaced out youth sat before the piano, blankly pressing down on the keys. The rhythm and melody that Charles had emphasized was not there. "Stop, stop, stop. Yezi, stop." Charles reached out to stop him and shook his head, "Yezi, are you playing piano? It sounds like youre breaking things" Ye Qingxuan stiffly retracted his hand. "Im sorry. I spaced out." "I know youre frustrated, but you cant keep going on like this." Unsure of what to do, Charles handed him an orange, "Here, eat some fruit and calm down." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "I just want to find a solution." "Did you find one?" "No," Ye Qingxuan huffed in exasperation and slammed down on the keys with an iron fist, "so I need to vent!" The piercing sounds of metal scraping sounded once again, echoing with frustration and anger. This was not musicthis was plain fury! Charles shook his head. Sighing, he left quietly and closed the door. It was better to leave Ye Qingxuan when he was like this. But the cacophony in the still basement resounded endlessly. The sharp melody had an indescribable hopelessness, sending chills down ones spine. Tritones appeared continuously like countless people wailing quietly. The music chased away all warmth and sunlight, bringing with it a cold night. In the dark winter night described by the music, aggravation and angst gathered in the sky like black clouds, casting the world into eternal darkness. Every surge in the angry music was like thunder booming across the skies. Without realizing, Ye Qingxuan began playing the music score carved into his memory, but this time, it was pure venting. He did not worry about the art, did not bother with the notes, and did not think about sensing and controlling the aether. He threw away all concern. Ye Qingxuan was just focused on venting out his anger. Only sharp piano music sounded in the darkness. The helplessness, confusion. and anger that had built up in his soul over the past few days was all thrown into the lonely music. Like a maniac dancing, he slammed his hand down on anything he could in despair, creating broken sounds. He shattered the silence, shattered all reason, and shattered all restraint. The irritation and depression in Black Friday was expressed to the extreme in this crazed performance. He had never connected with the anger andhelplessness in the piece before. Confusion was born from the helplessness, and gave birth to trepidation. Frustration grew in it, followed by fury, and finally turned into an explosion of hysteria. But when the music reached its climax, the piercing sounds suddenly lowered. The broken, angry, manic sounds became weak and soft, like murmuring in ones ears. It was as if something was brewing in the empty music, sucking away all of its strength and the musician''s soul. Ye Qingxuan had not purposely been controlling it, but he fell completely into the performance. He did not even know if he was playing the piece or if the piece was guiding him, leading his mind deeper into the melody. Like peeling a shell, layer by layer, lifting up layer by layer of disguise, he gradually sank into the soft melody. He was completely focused on the meaning of each note and measure. He began thinking, "What is this piercing yet broken melody trying to express?" Was it anger? Or frustration? Depression? Fear? Resentment towards goals unrealized? Loneliness? Utter despair? No, it was none of that. In an instant, lightning flashed through his heart, cutting through all confusion, ripping through all questions. For an instant, everything became real. Ye Qingxuan flinched, eyes flying open in shock. "Guilt?" Yes, it was guilt. It was the pain of not having enough time, it was gambling everything to try and save something, and it was the despair of failing in the end. It was being forced to disappoint family and friends. It was the helplessness of missing an opportunity and never having the chance to make up for it. It was a helpless guilt. Guilt, guilt, guilt, guilt Throughout the dark music, every note and interval bled with guilt. For a moment, the soul of the melody was finally revealed from the plain notes. The melody began changing wildly. Like a pool of still water suddenly rippling, consciousness suddenly glowed from within the shell. This was the life of this dark music pieceit was the soul of the melody! -- Charles paced outside the door with a pile of fruits in his arms. He did not know what had happened to his junior during that trip. Ye Qingxuan had changed completely, locking himself up in the basement, making everyone worry over him. Charles had gone to the backyard of the School of Modifications to get fruit to comfort Ye Qingxuan. He wanted to fill the youths stomach and then have a good talk about going to the therapist. But when he finally made up his mind and opened the door, he froze. The wailing music flowed from behind the door, echoing in his ear. It was alive, like an angry spirit softly singing a heartbreaking song. Charles was rooted to his spot. The fruit fell to the ground but he did not care. His eyes grew wide, almost popping out of the sockets. Whatthe heck was this?! He thought there was something wrong with his ears. Had this guy had locked himself in the basement, banged on the piano while venting, and somehow entered the state that all musicians dreamed ofresonating with the soul of the music? Ye Qingxuan had gone from a student with no foundation at all to grasping the essence of the music in one step. And a dark piece filled with despair at that? Features twisting, Charles shut the door carefully, not daring to interrupt whatever Ye Qingxuan was doing. He crept around, picking up the fallen fruits, and returned to the living room. He chewed on a banana blankly, his mind somewhere else. The girl brushing Old Phil in the corner looked up. Seeing Charles like this, she asked in confusion, "Charles, are you okay? You look like your girlfriend just got kidnapped" "Nothing" Charles mumbled numbly. After a long time, he slapped himself. When he was sure he was not dreaming, he could not help but slap his knee and mutter, "F*ck me!" 104 Long Time No See The dark wailing music was still continuing in the basement, but Ye Qingxuan had sunk into confusion again. He had felt the soul of the dark piece of music, but what was the soul like? He had found the essence hidden in the melody, but he could not describe it! As the melody resounded, Ye Qingxuan focused on one question: what exactly is guilt? As he fell into a daze, uncontrolled aether was pulled by the melody, gathering from all directions. It was like fog but also like light. The layers of apparitions hovered in the basement, unable to form a solid shape. Because Ye Qingxuan had never thought about what guilt looked like, he still could not find the true nature of the essence. Was it cold rain? An eerie breeze blew through the basement. Cold water vapor solidified near the corner of the wall and vanished quickly afterward. Was it a thunderstorm? Dark clouds suddenly appeared in the aether apparition. Roaring thunder shook the charcoal clouds. Heart-stopping lightning flashed at times. But the storm disappeared quickly as well. Was it the feeling of a thousand blades piercing the heart? But the flashing blades disappeared after cutting through the apparition. Was it like burning lava? A gust of heat appeared within the music, blowing like foehn wind from Hell. Illusions appeared and disappeared continuously within the aether, like flashing scenes from a dream, but the changes eventually slowed, becoming more and more difficult. Finally the illusion froze completely as if something great was brewing within. An untouchable emotion was solidifying, forming its structure. Slowly, there was the pitter-patter of dripping water. Water droplets solidified within the illusion, falling and grouping together, finally turning into a silent torrent! Although it was inside a closed basement, but there was the essence of a lonely sea. It was a rivera black river. The black water flowed soundlessly inside the aether apparition as if it wanted to cover the entire world. The water gradually rose, flowing over Ye Qingxuans ankles, rising to his waist, reaching his neck. It rose inch by inch, flooding the room with cold despair. It flooded into the soul from every pore, invading every inch of empty space. This was guiltan eternal black river in everyones heart. The black river was like a noose amid the wild melody, tightening ever so gradually, stealing every last breath, casting one into eternal despair and repentance. There was no redemption! When the soul finally suffocated, the quiet river would begin to rumble. It was like a hopeless spirit roaring wildly, crying helplessly, begging and pleading for salvation. The black river flowed on, crashing against every inch of the walls. Even the insignificant organisms hidden between the floorboards writhed in pain. They were caught by the hopeless melody and sank into the river of guilt. As the climax neared, explosive crashes sounded continuously. Rats and insects gone wild crashed headfirst against the walls, trying to find peace and relief from eternal death. The desperate souls struggling in the black river passed away just like that. The music silenced. Ye Qingxuan woke up from the crazed playing with a jump. He gasped for breath, sweat rolled down his back. "Is this-is this how to play complex notes?" In the silence after the storm, he gazed at his hands in confusion. His hands had lost all strength from the wild playing. Soreness radiated from every finger. It hurt his heart to move them even a little bit. After a long time, he lowered his head and pressed down on the keys. The piano was silent. The strings had broken. All of them had broken. How could such an old piano survive such a powerful performance? Or maybe a better word would be destruction? But for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. Maybe he had emptied all his dark thoughts while venting. "Yezi, do you feel better?" A calm and cool voice sounded behind him. The voice was like moonlight. Ye Qingxuan froze. It felt like an illusion, but the voice was so real. He turned around slowly. Seeing something impossible, his eyes widened in shock, "F-father?" All light had extinguished in the dark room during the wild music, but calm moonlight shone down from somewhere, illuminating the mans white robe and eyes. Those orbs were clear and quiet like the moon. He stood in the moonlight, gazing around and smiling at the youth. After all these years, his smile was still the same. It was filled with the enlightenment and desolation of having seen fate. "Oh, Yezi, long time no see." Quietly, he asked, "How are you?" -- "Is it really you?" Ye Qingxuan rose subconsciously, but was quickly stopped. He finally realized that there was an obstacle between them. It was made of instrument strings suspended in the air. The strings reflected the moonlight, creating an abstract and unclear instrument. It was the instrument that had been completely awoken by the musicJiu Xiao Huan Pei. "First, I must congratulate you. Youve finally earned the recognition of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei." Standing under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhou studied the youth, "Yezi, youve worked hard and become a musician." Ye Qingxuan stared at the man in shock. After a long time, he sat down as if his legs could no longer support him. "It was actually pretty easy." He lowered his head, a bit sad, "I just spent a little time." "My apologies for not being able to truly be by your side and congratulate you on your most important moment. As you can see, I am just a memory right now." Ye Lanzhou sighed as an apparition in the moonlight, "Youve awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This means that youve returned to Avalon and found what I have left behind. "But where did you find this music score? Sharon Hotel? The library? Queens Road? Or was it from some old guy? I feared that you would not be able to find it, so I left behind many identical carvings, but I did not actually want you to return. I didnt even want you to find it." Ye Lanzhou studied the youth in silence. He said softly, "Sometimes, I even wish that youll forget me and live as an average person. How great would that be? You wont have to experience all these dirty things. All youll have to do is work hard and you will be able to live happily." "Father, whats the point of saying all this?" Though Ye Qingxuan knew it was just an illusion, he still could not help but question him. As if sensing the youths question, Ye Lanzhous expression turned helpless, "Theres no point in everything now, right? Let me tell you what you must remember. Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important." 105 Old Guy "Listen carefully. What I will say next is very important," Ye Lanzhou said. "First, since you have awakened Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and received its recognition, you are now the master of the Ye family. "In other words, every word you say and every action you perform represents the Ye family of the Dragon Bloodlines. I messed up and ran from the East, but you dont have to worry about that. "But this zither is something passed down from your great-great-great-grandfather. You know, its an old thing, and old things have a lot of rules. Unfortunately, you can only use a portion of its features before you become an official musician, so just deal with it. At least you dont have to buy an instrument so you can save some money. "But if you really dont like it, you can get another one. Its an old thing. Just keep it as a memento," Ye Lanzhou calmly said such obscene things, as if he was not scared of their ancestors striking him with lightning. "To be honest, the Dragon Bloodline isnt as good as you think. There are a lot of annoying things. Thats why I came to the West. I sealed your talent when you were born because I wanted to let you choose what to do with the seal when you became of age. If Im not around, you can only wait until you reach Resonance level and it will unlock automatically." Ye Lanzhou shrugged, "If you need some secret tricks or talent, then all I can say is sorry." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan almost coughed up blood. He had never heard of a father who could ruin his sons life this much! "Ha, sorry, that was my mistake, dont mind me. But there is one thing that I hope youll pay attention to." Under the moonlight, Ye Lanzhous expression turned serious. "Listen, Yezi. Before you reach Resonance level, you cannot, must not research anything about me. "Ive already wiped away many peoples memories of me, but there are some strange creatures that I cant reach. Dont delve into these things before youre powerful enough to truly protect yourself. This is for the good of you and everyone around you. My only advice to you now is: if you are still in Avalon, leave as soon as possible. Its best to not have anything to do with Avalon. "The sins that the crazy King Arthur had committed centuries ago have put a curse on the Royal family. Anglo will pay for it. So, before that day comes, you must not enter Avalons Shadow, understood?" Ye Qingxuan listened to Ye Lanzhous message in shock. After a while, he could not help but chuckle bitterly, "Father, youre too late." Ye Qingxuan had already become tightly connected to Avalon. He had already almost entered Avalons Shadow. All of the thugs and gangsters in downtown knew that he had something to do with Avalons Shadow. "Your life must be hard now, right?" Ye Lanzhou suddenly said, "I created a key to unlock this melody. You can only truly understand it in your most confused and painful state. If you need help, go find that old guy. Even though hes heartless sometimes, hes the most trustworthy man in Avalon. He owes me a lot, so go and annoy him." Old guy? Ye Qingxuan blanched. He had seen this nickname in Ye Lanzhous notes. It was mentioned on Black Fridays sheet music. The inspiration for this composition had come from talking with this old guy, but who was he? Ye Lanzhou stroke his chin in deep thought, "Whats his name? I suddenly cant remember. I think hes called" Here, his apparition wavered. The moonlight began scattering. "Oh? It seems like were running out of time. This is all we have." He smiled helplessly and waved at the youth, "Goodbye, Yezi." A faint cacophony, like explosions and angry roars, came from the shining illusion. Ye Lanzhou looked behind him and sighed, eyes darkening, "These guys are faster than I thought." As if Ye Lanzhou could not hold it in anymore, he lowered his head and covered his mouth, and coughed lightly. Blood seeped through his fingers, dripping onto his ivory robe, turning it bloody yet beautiful. "Sorry, I have a cold these days," he chuckled with difficulty. Touching the corner of his lips, he had a careless smile on his face and waved at Ye Qingxuan, "Take care of yourself, Yezi. Dont be like me." Ye Lanzhou retreated slowly. Dust fell onto his white robe, making it look worn and sad. The moonlight gradually dimmed. His smile blurred, but as he looked at the youth, his eyes were filled with longing and satisfaction. The basement returned to pitch black darkness. In the scattered moonlight, the last farewell from a long time ago sounded, "Yezi, its so great that you can become a musician." The youth stared at the spot where the moonlight had been. He lowered his head after a long time, "Yeah." -- Late at night, the basement door opened soundlessly. Ye Qingxuan peered out from behind the door. After making sure that no one was around, he nodded in satisfaction. Good, everyone was asleep. He crept toward the empty living room. Starlight illuminated the deserted table and chairs. The only sound in the silence was the crickets outside. Taking his jacket from the hanger, he quickly put it on. He stuffed his hair inside a hat. "Thank god nobody saw me." Looking at his blurry reflection in the mirror, he nodded in satisfaction, "This outfit should do." A hand suddenly reached out from the corner of his vision, and slung over his shoulder. Ye Qingxuan flinched at the sudden touch, barely stopping himself from yelping. A drunken smile appeared. The man hooked an arm around him and waved at the boys reflection in the mirror, "Hey, Junior, you still awake?" Looking at Charles, Ye Qingxuan forced a smile, "Senior, youre still awake?" "I keep getting nightmares about bloody things these days and it scared me awake." Charles shrugged, "I was just getting ready to drink a bit and I ran into you. Want to come with?" "Its okay." Ye Qingxuan chuckled, shaking his head. "Where are you going? Youre all bundled up." "Imgoing for a walk." Ye Qingxuan racked his brain for an excuse and stated seriously, "Ive been in a bad mood these past few days so I wanted to take a walk. Maybe then I can think everything through." "Really? Then you have to be careful." Charles said lightly, "You know a ton of people in downtown want to get you to get rich." Ye Qingxuan looked into Charless drunk eyes and asked awkwardly, "You know everything?" "I havent been getting around these years for nothing." Charles picked his nose and studied the kid before him, "Lets put it like this. Its like all of downtown got drugged with aphrodisiacs over the past two days. Theyve practically captured all of the old guys with white hair to find you. All theyre missing is a wanted poster with your face plastered all over the city. "Are you trying to hand yourself over, wrapped up with a bow on top? Listen to my advice and stay in the academy. Here, at least the professor can protect you. If you dont leave, what can they do?" "But I cant keep hiding here, right?" Ye Qingxuan pulled down his hat sadly, "Look, Ive been hiding here for so long. Ive flipped through so many books, trying to find an explanation, but I still dont have a solution. "I can hide here for ten yearsI dont care. But what about you guys? You and Bai Xi cant stay here forever, right? We didnt do anything wrong. Why do we have to run for our lives when were just going out to buy something? Someone has to solve this. If I dont go, who will?" Charles did not reply. With a bottle in his hand, he gazed at the youth wordlessly. After a pause, he sighed and downed the bottle with a tilt of his head, "Okay, dont say that I wont help you. Follow me." "Where are we going?" "The basement." -- Charles turned on the lights one by one, illuminating the entire basement. He pushed the now-useless piano to one side of the empty basement and walked over to a pile in the corner, covered by a dust cloth. The pile of what looked like broken machines took up a good portion of the basement. When Charles lifted the dust cloth, the smell of oil and rust radiated from it. "Senior, what are you looking for?" the youth asked curiously, seeing all of this. Charles glanced at him tiredly, "Yezi, this was my workshop. Youve been here for a month. Have you never wondered what all this was for?" "No" Ye Qingxuan said, a bit embarrassed. "I dont usually touch peoples things without their permission." "Are you always so polite for such unnecessary things?" Charles tugged at the dust cloth with difficulty, "Come on, give me a hand." With both of their efforts, the heavy dust cloth was finally lifted and thrown to the corner. The sleeping workshop was finally revealed under the light. Ye looked at all of the unfinished items. They seemed to be a giant handicapped iron bat; a machine-powered carriage missing two wheels; an article of leather clothing that could cover the entire body, including the head, with two glass lenses for the eyes. There was also rusted copper full-body armor, but the chest piece was filled with chains "What is this?" The youth reached over to feel the inside of the armor, observing a sequence inside, "This conductive structure is to make it move?" "ThisI made this when I was thirteen or fourteen." Charles squatted beside Ye Qingxuan and scratched his head in embarrassment, "I was confident that I could create a mechanic puppet to play with me. I even decided to name it Pinocchio. But sadly, I never succeeded. Its so hard to get the center of gravity right." "You used all of these parts just to create a machine that can walk?" Ye Qingxuan could not comprehend it. "Haha, who knows how kids think? I guess I was just bored" Charles stared deeply at the puppets heart. On it were the words: my friend, Pinocchio. "Its all in the past. I dont need it anymore." Charles pulled the dust cloth over the junk, covering the armor. "Come with me. I have something to give you." 106 Dungeon Gentleman "You designed all this?" Ye Qingxuan glanced around at everything scattered throughout the workshop. "Yeah, you know, Im the nationally recognized failure. Nothing works out no matter how hard I try to be a musician, so to kill time, I just make some weird things. "There are a lot of mentions of machines from before the Dark Ages in ancient texts. All of them are so amazing they sound like myths. Apparently, they could shrink people and put them in a small box so you could watch them sing and dance. Till this day, people still believe that people in the past could shake a steel box and create a pretty girl to enjoy the night with. It was such an incredible era" As Charles spoke, his expression became dazed, but when he realized that he was getting off topic, he coughed and quickly refocused. "Anyway, please dont mind. I just wanted to make some things and maybe make some money, but I actually put a lot of money into this and now Ive got loan sharks on my back, but I still made some pretty cool stuff." He pointed at the giant bat-like iron structure with a membrane pulled over it, "Look at this one. Its a flapping aero-machine! I got the inspiration from the Wright Brothers! I jumped off of the Tower Bridge with this and flew for more than a hundred meters!" "Senior, the Tower Bridge is one-hundred meters tall. It would probably be the same as if you had just jumped down directly." "Uh, lets not worry about specifics. Look at this!" Charles pointed at the mechanic carriage in the corner, "This carriage doesnt need the power of horses. You can power it just by hand! Isnt it great? Its a totally revolutionary innovation!" Ye Qingxuans face twitched, "Senior, bicycles have existed for a long time. What did you change other than turning the pedal into a bar for hands?" "I changed a lot, alright? Look at this! Its seriously revolutionary!" Suddenly excited, Charles jumped onto the carriage. He lifted a machine the size of a melon and placed it before Ye Qingxuan. "Look, an aether engine! I designed an entirely new motor system so its powered by the aether! The metal inside is magnetized, creating a magnetic field that produces an electric current. This is just a model but it canuh, it can kind of work, probably? But unfortunately were in a chaotic aether zone and its not stable enough. I cant make it completely soundless." As he spoke, he stepped onto the motor. He stuck a handle inside and began spinning it furiously. Brought on by the spinning handle, the motor began shaking. As if it was already starting to run, it produced a thunderous and deafening sound! Ye Qingxuan was unsure if they had the same definitions for words, "Its not soundlessits practically a freaking explosion!" In early times, when man first started researching mechanic power systems, they had thought it would be a revolutionary and world-changing invention. All of humanity would benefit from it. But soon, the natural environment cruelly rejected the power system. It was okay in the safety zone of the mainland, but once the density of aether was raised to a certain point, the activity would multiply exponentially. If the density rose too high, it would create the Dark World, which was the black zone on the map. The aether would react to any sound there. It was a vacuum, entirely void of sound. Even the sound of clothes rustling would lead to unforeseeable changes, not to mention the sounds of multiple power systems activating. The uncontrollable aether would create disastrous results. The most common wasexplosion, explosion, explosion! "Senior, your inventions will be seen as weapons!" Charles face fell under Ye Qingxuans heartless criticism, but he became excited again quickly. Pointing at a small thing on the aether engine, he said, "Sh, dont talk. Use your heart to feel" Ye Qingxuan stared at the glass shade the size of a thumb sitting on the aether engine. Some type of metal thread inside slowly lit up. It flickered with the weak light of a candle, but at least it lit up. "What do you think? Isnt it awesome?" Charles gestured excitedly, "This is an entirely new type of illumination. You can turn the heat of gold thread into light! I experimented with hundreds of materials before I found the best match. Do you want to know? Do you wanna know?" He batted his lashes in anticipation. He seemed to be waiting for a chance to brag, his eyes saying, "All you have to do is ask and Ill tell you." Ye Qingxuan helplessly looked away, "Am I even allowed to say no?" He could not bear to remind Charles that the masterpiece he had worked so hard to light up was not even as powerful as a new students rune effect. He could only try changing the subject, "Uh, Senior, didnt you say you have something for me?" "Ah, I almost forgot. Just a second." Tapping his forehead, Charles began rifling through the pile of random trash. After a bunch of crashes and thuds, he finally cheered, pulling out something rolled into a ball. "Here it is! Try it on?" With that, he shook out the thing in his hand. "This is the result of all of these years of hard work and research." "For some reason, hearing you say that makes me not want to wear it" Ye Qingxuan sighed out of habit, but when his gaze fell on the thing in Charless hands, he froze and could no longer look away because in his hands was a black robe. It seemed to be made of crude and rough leather. Not only had the marks not been wiped away, but there were even some scales still on it. Red scales flashed in contrast with the black leather, covering the left shoulder and arm, making it seem beastly. Amateur cuts and skills sewed the leather into a crude robe. The beastliness was forced into the appearance of a gentleman, but rather than seeming civilized, it looked even more menacing. Rather than calling it a robe, it would be better to be called a strange leather vest. Only an explorer of the Dark World would wear something as unfeeling. Every corner was designed with a function in mind. Even the sleeve cuff had a place for a bow, and there were many slots for weapons on the belt. Ye Qingxuans mind went blank as he glanced at the robe. He walked over subconsciously, feeling it, "What is this?" "Last year, I signed up to explore the Dark World but I didnt get chosen." Charles shook the robe, "This is what I made when I decided to sign up. It was designed with the trendiest style in mind. I call it the Dungeon Gentleman." His features danced as he showed Ye Qingxuan his design, "I made the outer layer with dragon skin, and the inside is made from some leftovers from when I made a parachuteits fabric from the web of the white copper spider. Its strength is no joke. It can withstand piercings from any regular blade. But just in case, I added steel plates in the vital areas. "Because of how complex the Dark World is, this robe is fireproof. It keeps you warm when its cold, and is even resistant to acid. To deal with different situations, theres also some extra buttons and hooks. You can hang or connect other objects. Theres also a slot for chant materials." Shaking the odd robe, he sighed, "The only downside is that I forgot to measure it. When I finished, I realized it was too small and I couldnt wear it." He tossed the Dungeon Gentleman to Ye Qingxuan, "It should be perfect for you. Try it on!" The black robe landed in Ye Qingxuans hands heavily. It was not as light as its counterparts. After hesitating for a second, Ye Qingxuan took off his jacket and put the beastly robe on. It fit him perfectly as if it were tailored for his body! After he pulled up the zipper and did the buttons one by one, he suddenly heard a light pop from behind him, and his stomach sank. Crackle! Pop! An ice-cold steel plate in the lining stuck out as the robe was pulled tight, sticking to his spine. A similar feeling came from his arms, waist and joints, as if something had latched onto his body. "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan thought of a myth, but he was not sure. Charles smiled mysteriously, "Have you heard of the gospel armor of the Knights Templar?" "No way." Ye Qingxuan refused to believe it. The gospel armor was the biggest military mechanism of the Church, and the weapon of the Knights Templar. The Knights who wore the mechanical armor were blessed with strength from God and fought with extreme power. Whether they were fighting a demon or a monster, the enemy was nothing before these knights! "Haha, the formula for the alloy and design of the armor is top secret knowledge. How could I have gotten it? I just got the inspiration from the legends of Knights Templar. I call this Iron Bone. "Its a tight-fitting outer auxiliary bone. I replaced the heavy armor with leather and sacrificed the protection. This iron bone structure can bear the reaction force for you, so your own strength can increase. Its like having a prosthetic. Its a total savior when you need to run for your life. I swear on my soul that even a lame man can run faster than a regular person when wearing this!" "Senior, you used all of these fancy terms to describe it just to tell me I can use it to escape?" "Hey, youre lucky to get to wear it. Stop nitpicking!" Charles knelt down with a small wrench and began tightening and loosening various screws, tailoring the robe further. In the end, it was tight as a body suit and fit Ye Qingxuan perfectly. "Okay, try jumping!" 107 I’ll Be Back Soon "Okay, now try jumping!" Ye Qingxuan obeyed, but then his vision blurred and he almost crashed into the ceiling! Mind going blank, he was a heap on the ground before he could react. The basement ceiling was low but it was at least three meters high, which meant that just by jumping slightly, he had shot up more than one meter! Usually, he would need three layers of the rune Flow to achieve this. "Scared?" Charles smiled proudly, "Back in the day, I carved all of the auxiliary runes I knew, just in case. Its pretty basic as alchemy equipment, but at least you wont need to use Flow and other weird methods to run." He walked around the youth in satisfaction and patted his shoulder, "The effect is pretty good. With your physical strength, you can escape from everyone and anything as long as you dont come face to face with something as crazy as the legendary Butcher. "I also have openings and slots for upgrades. If you can find the frame of a complex note armor, you can instantly turn into someone awesome like Knight Templar! Just imagine you punch like usual, but now your fist can go through a steel wall! Then nothing in Avalon would be able to stop you, other than the armor of the Round Table Knights!" "But I have to get a complete frame of a complex note armor first, right?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes, "Senior, why dont you just wish that the Sword in the Stone will accept me as its master, and suddenly get taken to the palace to become the future king of Anglo?" "Wow, I didnt know you had such a good imagination! If youre the master of the Sword in the Stone, then shouldnt I be taken to the sacred city to be the pope?" "Hey, who was the one that first started fantasizing?" "I was just thinking for you!" Cackling, Charles tossed over a jar of something. "Here, rub it on yourself." "What is this?" "You dont want to be discovered as soon as you go out, right?" He pointed at Ye Qingxuans hair. "Long-lasting hair dye. Blonde. You cant get rid of it with water. It only dissolves with Tung oil. With this on, nobody will be able to tell youre Eastern." "Why didnt you give this to me earlier?" Ye Qingxuan grabbed the ointment and began rubbing it in carefully. When he was done, Charles brought over the mirror. They were both stunned. The boy in the reflection was purely Western. The long hair was now light blonde, completely different from before. Charles took two steps back, giving him a once-over. In the end, he realized that there was still something missing. Charles looked around for a long time before he finally put a hunting hat on Ye Qingxuans head. Now, the harmless Eastern kid had disappeared. Instead, there was a gloomy youth, pale face in stark contrast with his black robe. Ye Qingxuan smirked, instantly turning eerie. If not for the Dungeon Gentlemans menacing aura, he would look like a cheap version of Hermes at first glance. But Charles was still shoving things at him, like a salesman eager to get the rich customer to spend even more money. "Look at this. Helps you breathe underwater." "Uh, it might be useful?" "Hand-cranked lockpicker. Its totally easy to pick locks now!" "I dont think Id use that." "This catapult hook is a must for scaling walls!" "Do I need it?" Ye Qingxuan asked, at his limit. "What about this?" Charles shoved a mask and two steel canisters. "A gas mask and smoke bombs? I put a bunch of pepper into the smoke bombs. No one will be able to breathe after it explodes!" "Sorry, I dont need that either." When Charles finally could not find anything else wrong with him, his gaze fell on the youths fingers. "This one, this weird ring, take it off. If you want to hide your identity, you cant leave behind any trace." "No need," Ye Qingxuan chuckled. His fingers flitted over the ring. The instrument strings wrapped around it suddenly shot out, twanging. "I remember this is" He thought for a bit, thinking back to the frustration carved into his mind, and began chanting. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Layers of crystals suddenly covered the delicate strings. The aether rested on the surface, and transformed into something smooth like black metal. As a highly expensive adjustable instrument, its appearance was no problem at allthe technology was designed to make large instruments portable. Merely changing the outer appearance was as easy as lifting a finger. Under Ye Qingxuans careful control, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei slowly changed. Finally, it became a black cane in his hand. Ye Qingxuan gripped the cane and twirled it before tapping it against the floor. Rather than a muted thud, it created a crisp and delicate sound, like jade pearls rolling on a copper plate. It was the sound of an instrument string thrumming. "What about now?" Under the shadow of the hat, the youth smiled slyly. "This isan instrument?" Charles moved closer. Before he could say anything, a faint noise sounded in his ears. It was the melody of despair that flowed like a black river. The melody snaked into his ears, burrowing into his soul like a live creature, echoing coldly. As his vision went dark, Charles sat onto the ground subconsciously. Very quickly, the sound dissipated and he could see again. But when he looked at the youth, his eyes were full of shock. "The first measure of Black Friday? Since when could you play complex notes? Youve reached the Rhythm level!" "Im just a fake. Deep down, Im still just a student." Ye Qingxuan smiled in self-deprecation, "Most people go into complex notes after they learn all basic notes, but Im probably the only one who learned how to perform complex notes before I even learned all of the basics, right?" Charles did not say anything. "Anyway, just think of it as me cheating." The youth smiled mysteriously and grasped his cane."Since Im handicapped without any sense, I need a cane to help me, right?" Seeing how sure Ye was, Charless troubled emotions ceased. He smiled helplessly and waved his hand, telling the youth to leave, "Be careful." "Okay." The youth did the button on his sleeve cuff. Just as he turned around, he heard Charles say, "Hey, Yezi, you arent really stupid enough to take on all of downtown, right?" "How could I?" Ye Qingxuan pulled down his hat and chuckled, "I just want to let those people who want my head to understand how I feel. If they understand and stop chasing after me, Ill be thankful." Understanding what he meant, Charles felt a headache coming. "Sounds hard. Good luck." "Okay." The youth turned to leave, ""Ill be back soon." -- Ten minutes later, Charles stood in the living room, gazing at the moon. Downing one cup after another, he went back into his failure state. With a bowl in his arms and a fork in his hand, he mixed a salad in the bowl, trying to find a larger cherry tomato to eat with his wine. "That kid gives me such a headache." Charles sighed and muttered, "Hes like a totally different person now. What provoked him? As expected, you only realize youre old when you cant understand the kids. Ah, Im only eighteen" As he cried over his youth, a thin shadow crept up behind him, sneakily going toward the door. "Bai Xi?" Charles asked without turning, as if he had eyes on the back of his head. "Where are you going?" The shocked girl became petrified and stammered, "Uh, Im in a bad mood and I cant sleepI want to go out for a walk." "What a coincidence. Youre right after Yezi." Charles looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Theres a carnival in downtown now. Its dangerous." Bai Xi instantly lost her temper, "Ill go wherever I want to!" "But not now," Charles sighed and stood up, blocking her. He said seriously, "Its midnight. Do you know how dangerous downtown can be? I know youre worried about Yezi, but a little girl shouldnt run around. No one will even know if a human trafficker catches you. Be good and go to sleep, alright? Otherwise, Ill get the professor." "Hmph!" The girl glared at him unhappily, but Charles did not budge. The way he guarded the door, no one would be able to get past. Bai Xi gave up in the end. Sighing, she turned for her room, but when her eyes swept past a shadow in the room, she froze, "Professor?" "Professor?! I wasnt drinking" Charles denied instinctively, hiding the bottle behind his back. He nervously followed Bai Xis eyes, but there was nothing there. "Ah, thisthis is bad." By the time Charles finally realized what had happened, it was too late. In the moonlight, he saw Bai Xis shadow raise her arms. There was something heavy in her hands, and brought it down against his head without hesitation. Bang! Charles collapsed onto the ground. "Ha! No matter how powerful you are, youll fall under the brick." Bai Xi tossed the Anglo encyclopedia to the side. Gritting her teeth, she dragged Charles onto the sofa. After moving him into a weird position, she waved at the shadows. "Old Phil, come on! Well lose him if were not fast enough" Under the moonlight, the girl picked up the felt hat that Ye Qingxuan had left behind. Putting on her jacket, she walked out with a grumpy dog. -- The moon illuminated the dark city quietly. The city was silent as if it had fallen asleep. An intoxicated man walked down a small alley in downtown, swaying as he went. Suddenly, a burly shadow jumped before him. "Hey, you! Come here!" A cruel-looking man waved the mace in his hands as he studied the drunk, "Stand still!" Sensing that something was wrong, the man stuck his hands in his pockets and turned around. But another figure popped out on the other side, blocking his escape route. Seeing that he was surrounded, he pulled out his dagger, his eyes fierce, "I am Dean of the Luco family. Friend, dont do anything stupid" Bang! Whacked on the back of his skull, the man fell to the ground. A third figure jumped down from the wall. "Dean? Luco family? Who are you kidding?" The man with the mace kicked him, laughing proudly, "Ha, you dont know how long we waited here. You Eastern mutt, you think that I wont be able to recognize you in this disguiseyou even wore a wig!" 108 The Big Three of Darkness "You even wore a wig!" The man pulled forcefully, but after a cry of pain, he came away with a handful of bloody hair. He froze before becoming furious, "Look! This Eastern kid is too much. He glued the wig to his scalp! You think that can fool Sir Levy? In your dreams!" "In your dreams!" the two beside the man echoed in unison, waving their weapons. Dean covered his face and curled up in pain, studying the men, "You, what do you want? Who are you?" "You dont know who I am?" the man with the mace roared in anger. He raised his weapon and announced fiercely, "I am Levy, the one-eyed swordsman!" The man who had whacked Dean with the staff yelled, "I am John, wind of the dark night!" "I am Rabbie, the bloodthirsty Excalibur!" the last one called out. All three of them struck a menacing and handsome pose, calling out in unison, "Thats right, we are the fallen morning star, the prince of evil, the infamous Big Three of Darkness!" There was silence, a long silence. Finally, a weak voice came from the ground, "Whatwhat are you?" -- Dean did not know if there was something wrong with him or if he had run into three lunatics. To save himself, he forced himself to beg, "Friends, you must be mistaken, I really dont know who you are." Crack! "You cant even think of a better lie!" Furious, Levy dealt him a backhand slap. "Everyone in downtown knows us three! Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid Luo is looking for?!" Slapped into a daze, Dean shook his head reflexively, "No, no!" "Oh?" One-eyed Swordsman Levy opened his eyes wide, smirking, "Seems like youre not willing to talk! Brothers, show him!" Bang! Bang! Crack! Crash! Clang! Clonk! A flurry of pained cries rang through the dark alley. Ten minutes later, Levy asked while panting, "Answer me! Are you that Eastern kid?!" "You-you really got the wrong person," Dean cried, but was beaten again. Bang! Crack! Clonk! Thud! Ten minutes passed before Dean professed, "I am! I am!" This time, Dean had finally learned his lesson. Face covered with blood, he grabbed Levys leg and cried, "Im that Eastern kid! Please stop hitting me!" "Ha, you finally admitted it!" Levy laughed proudly, "I told you that your amateur disguise wouldnt be able to fool me!" Beside him, John suddenly asked curiously, "But Boss, isnt the Eastern kids hair white? Why is his hair reddish?" "Huh?" Levy furrowed his brow, fury written across his features. Dean hurriedly exclaimed, "Dont hit me! I dyed it! I dyed it!" Rabbi studied his face. Feeling that something was wrong, he turned and said, "Boss, his age isnt right either. He looks like hes thirty-something. Is he lying?" "Huh?!" Levys brows furrowed even more, "Youre lying to me?" Legs giving out, Dean fell onto his knees, "To be honest, I matured quickly." Gritting his teeth, through the humiliation as tears welled in his eyes, he choked out, "Even though I look old, Im only fourteen. I really am that Eastern kid. Please stop hitting me" "Hmph! Good!" Levy nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand, "John, tie him up and take him to Boss Luo. Show him how powerful we are!" With that, he whacked Deans head, knocking him out cold. "Which one is this?" he asked. "Seventeenth. Ive been counting!" John answered smugly. Levy put his hands on his hips and roared with laughter, "We found so many Eastern kids in one day, but that group of failures couldnt find any. Seems like downtown is filled with failures! This is the day that we, the Big Three of Darkness, will rise!" The figure eavesdropping in the darkness finally could not hold it in anymore and burst into laughter, holding onto the wall for support. "Whos there? Show yourself!" Furious, Levy raised his mace, "Do you know who we are?" "Yes, yes, I know." Trying hard not to laugh, the black shadow answered, "One-eyed Swordman Levy, Wind of the Dark Night John, and Bloodthirsty Excalibur Rabbi, Youre the Big, sorry, I cant go on. Please excuse me, I need to laugh!" The figure covered his mouth, but sputtering laughter still made its way into Levys ears. "You wanna die?" Levy slammed down his mace in fury, but it sliced through air! Air?! Stunned, he looked forward. When Levy had gone to hit him, the black shadow had rippled like water and almost dissipated. "Friend, can you not start fighting without warning?" A hoarse voice murmured in his ears, "I think we should put down our weapons and talk nicely." Freaked out, Levy spun around and attempted to strike him with his staff, but he heard a cry of pain and saw that he had hit John! "Boss, whats wrong?" Rabbi gaped at Levy who was yelling at nothing. He felt that something was wrong. Levy was still furious and could not be bothered with Johns pained cry. He glared at the nonexistent black shadow and danced crazily with his weapons, "Stop playing around and show yourself!" As he continued to wave his mace, the shadow continued to change. Like water, it rippled, scattering for a moment then becoming whole again. Just as one would start seeing things after staring into the darkness for too long, the shadow felt unreal. But the supposedly nonexistent shadow was right against Levys back, latching onto him like an angry spirit. Levy roared in anger. He could no longer take the infuriating feeling. Gripping his weapon, he slammed it down. The black shadow scattered with a pained cry, but after the shadow disappeared, he saw that he had brought the mace had down on Rabbis face. "Boss, why are you hitting me?" Rabbi gaped at Levy, his face bloody and his eyes full of tears and pain. He fell over. Levy blanched. The only sound in the alley was his heavy panting. An eerie wind blew through the alley. As it blew over the raised cobblestone, there was faint laughter. He finally heard the vague melody in the wind, like a black river of despair, the sharp yet wild sound melted into the wind, becoming extremely delicate. The delicate sound echoed in his ears, pushing at his nerves, flooding his senses in the black river. The wildness, hopelessness, and sadness echoed in his brain, awakening the most traumatic memories. "Failure! Failure! You useless piece of sh*t!" The angry roars seemed to sound again, as if the man who always got violent after getting drunk had returned. Levy cried out and spun around, but there was nothing behind him. Then the world went black and he could not see anything. His memory became clearer in the darkness. As if he had returned to the past, the darkness in the bottom of his heart awakened. It dragged him along, forcing him to relive the cruel abuse, the scars left behind from whips and sticks, and the helpless despair "Go away! Go away!" Levy screamed. He waved his mace crazily, but he could not hit anything. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground. He waved his arms, trying to fight the nonexistent ghost, but the monster was in his heart, snickering. "Who? Who are you?!" Levy yelled hoarsely. Picking up a rock, he threw it blindly, "Im going to kill you!" "I told you to calm down." Beside him, the figure leaned lazily against the wall. The moon shone over the high wall, casting silver light on his upper body, but his body was shrouded in a menacing black robe. Even his face was hidden under a wide-brimmed hat. All that could be seen was his delicate and pale palm. He rested against the steel-gray cane in his hands. Under the moonlight, the cane seemed to vibrate, rippling faintly. Not even Ye Qingxuan had thought that a simple shadow made by the rune Mirror, and the first measure of Black Friday could have controlled Levy, and made him hurt his friends, practically turning him into a lunatic. The ease came from Jiu Xiao Huan Peis help. The instrument had been designed to help the musician perform precise manipulation of the aether. Ye Qingxuan could only perform the music score carved into his brain with its help. With its aid, Ye Qingxuan was able to perform complex notes. He had entirely skipped months and years of practicing, and had jumped right to the Rhythm level. Unfortunately, Black Friday had five measures in total. Of these five effects, he only had the ability to choose one. Unlike a true musician, he could not pair the measures how he wanted to, or even use all five effects at once. The music piece influenced enemies senses by using the negative emotions in the melody as a medium. All Ye Qingxuan had used just then was the first measurevision interference. If he played the whole piece, he could make someone blind, deaf, and unfeeling. Even if he stabbed them through their chest, they would not even be able to feel the pain. In the end, they would die in confusion. This strange style was darker than the Dark Musicians! When he played this piece, Ye Qingxuan could feel himself becoming colder too. The music did not only influence othersit also affected his spirit. Ye Qingxuan really wanted to know why his father had created such a dark piece of music, but at the moment, he had more important questions to ask. Ye Qingxuan suddenly banged the cane against the ground. The melody jumped from the first measure to the third. The tide of despair spread with the melody, rushing into Levys brain. Levys vision suddenly brightened and he could see again, but his body was numb and he could not move at all. Someone stepped onto him and looked down at him, their face shrouded in shadows. "Good evening, sir!" The figures silhouette seemed well-dressed, like an elite, but why would an elite be in the dirty downtown? The strange cuts and material of the robe had a beastly aura, mixing wildness and grace. It was inexplicably strange. "Ill be honest with you. I need your answer about something." 109 How May I Help You "Ill be honest with you, I need your answer about something." The voice was polite, "Who is so intent on hurting an Eastern child? Can you satisfy my curiosity?" Levy roared, "F*ck youack!" Before he could finish, he was cut off by the pain of his limbs being sliced by knives! There were no wounds at all, as if the knives were inside of his blood and fat, cutting him from the inside. He could not even cry out at the sharp pain. An average person would faint instantly from such pain, greater than that of broken bones, but now, he could not even faint. His limbs spasmed and he writhed uncontrollably on the ground, his eyes rolling in their sockets. The third measure of Black Fridayphysical interference! "Sir, theres a limit to my patience." The gentle voice sounded in his ears again, but this time, there was an undertone of anger, "Tell me who is it? Who wants the Eastern kid? Answer me!" After minutes of pain that felt like eternity, the practically unconscious Levy finally spoke, "Sam Luo! The Pyramid King of the Pyramid Scheme! He accepted a large sum to catch that d*mned boy" "Whos money?!" "An elite. A family with a lot of money! They want the Pyramid King to use the cruelest method to get rid of the kid. Thats all I know! Really! Really!" The hallucinatory pain suddenly stopped, disappearing without warning, as if it had never existed. Levy continued writhing, his body not having recovered yet. "Okay, next question" the gentlemanly voice continued, "Where can I find this Mr. Sam Luo?" Levys eyeballs rolled around as he said, "The Pyramid King doesnt have a fixed location. He and his men keep moving" "Did you not understand my question?" the shadow interrupted him, pushing the cane against his forehead. The hopeless melody sounded once again. This time, the delicate pain appeared like a warning. The shadow articulated each word carefully, "IWantHisLocation!" "The cemetery! Highgate Cemetery near Whitechapel!" The warning pain pushed Levy to the brink of sanity, and the answer fell from his lips easily, "Thats where he takes care of traitors. Hudson wants to quit and leave the group, but he was caught. Hell definitely be there tonight!" "Give me the address." "221 B Baker Street!" "Very good." Under the shadow of the hunting hat, the youth curled the corner of his lips into a smrik, "Next, lets talk about how many men he has and what weapons they use" -- At midnight, the fog still shrouded the city with a whiff of rot and blood. A carriage stopped on one of the downtown streets. The door opened and a little girl hopped out. The girl turned and brought a large golden dog out. The dog landed on the ground and side-eyed the owner of the carriage before lifting its leg and peeing all over the wheels. Not caring at all, the owner glanced at the dog before looking at the girl with smiling eyes, "The Pyramid Schemes territory is right ahead. He should be there." Bai Xi nodded and said ingeniously, "Thanks for the ride." "No problem. You just hitched a ride. Your teacher isnt that stingy," Hermes said, shamelessly praising himself as if stating a fact. Bai Xi scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You knew that I was going to follow him out and was waiting outside, right?" "Understanding a students mind is part of a teachers responsibilities. Please dont mind." Hermes shrugged, "And anyway, without my guidance, you never wouldve found the Pyramid Schemes temporary location." The girl rolled her eyes again, "I havent been wasting my time in Avalon. Even without you, I wouldve found it, alright?" Hermes could not help but whistle, "I almost forgot that youre a bad girl whos always on the streets. No wonder you dont feel bad about hitting your teacher, but you have to be careful. The Pyramid Scheme specifically does the dirty work for elites. Kidnapping, trafficking, and prostitution is nothing to them. Theyre not as easy to fool as that group of idiots at the pier. "Even if youve learned a lot recently, youre still not a musician. And not only will you be outnumbered, but the Pyramid Scheme is known for being shady. Its not impossible to be beaten with a dirty trick. "My student is charging into the lions den. As a teacher, of course Im worried, but I have to respect your choice." Hermes dabbed at his nonexistent tears dramatically to show his pain, then he waved and said loudly, "Whatever happens next, just see it as a challenge. Unleash your potential, but remember that safety is the most important. Ill be sad if you die." "That means that even if Im close to dying, youll just watch and not help, right?" "Correct." Hermes snapped his fingers in satisfaction, "As expected of my student. So brilliant!" "I dont need to be brilliant. I just know your bad personality very well." Bai Xi slammed the door, locking that infuriating smiling face in the carriage. The carriage started moving again, taking Hermes annoying laugh into the fog. Old Phil side-eyed the carriage until it disappeared and bit the girls sleeve cuff, telling her to follow. Then, sniffing for the youths scent, he walked toward the darkness. Faint torchlight lit up in the distance. A strange scent was carried in the wind. It smelled like dirt and decay. "A cemetery?" Bai Xi hid in the alley, quietly watching the gate up ahead. A few muscular men stood on each side of it, the rotting wooden gate of the abandoned cemetery was ajar, revealing the menacing darkness behind it. In the darkness, one could vaguely see broken statues of saints, and dancing flames. "Are you sure hes in there?" Bai Xi glanced down at Old Phil who looked at her sideways. He did not reply and could not reply, but he seemed to be judging her doubt. "Alright," Bai Xi sighed, finally experiencing what her cousin often had to facebeing judged by Old Phil. "Can you get in? You go first and Ill be there soon." Hearing her words, Old Phil got up and padded into the darkness. Soon, his silhouette slid through a hole in the corner of the wall. Sometimes, it really was easier to be a dog than a human. Bai Xi stood in the darkness, staring at the gate. Two burly men guarded the gate, smoking and bored. An endless stream of people from every direction entered the cemetery. She could not count how many people there were. Although the cemetery had been abandoned for a while, the walls were not low enough for a little girl to scale, plus it was where the Pyramid Scheme often met. Who knew if there were traps? She thought for a moment before taking a clump of what looked like clay from her pocket. It jiggled in her hands like pork fat and seemed elastic, but as her fingers moved, it spread into a vague face. Hermes was not a good teacher, but Bai Xi was also not a good student; her habit of stealing had caused more than enough headaches for Ye Qingxuan. Hermes was well known as a hoarder, and would bring home whatever caught his eye for a second. As a student, Bai Xi obviously had to help her teacher clean out his hoards. This was one of the results of cleaning. The clay face fit her perfectly, becoming one with her own face. As she pinched and squeezed, it slowly turned into the face of a mid-aged man with thick eyebrows and a hooked nose. Coughing and clearing her throat, Bai Xis voice became thick and scratchy. With her white hair hidden in the hat, wearing Ye Qingxuans jacket, and face full of ferocity, she looked like a typical downtown thug. She was just a bit shorter. This was the face of one of Haritis former underlings that Ye Qingxuan had sent to the Arkham Asylumthe dwarf, Cuozi. Bai Xi strode over confidently, meeting the eyes of the muscular guards. "Hey friend, you seem a bit unfamiliar." The fierce man at the door held her shoulder. Crack! The girl, noCuozi shrugged the hand off and slapped the man without hesitation, "Are you f*cking blind?" Cuozi looked up, revealing his face in the torchlight, expression angry and cold, "Ive only been gone for a few days and you dont know me anymore?" "You f*cking" The mans face darkened in fury. He reached for his dagger reflexively, wanting to show the dwarf who was boss, but the man beside him saw Cuozis face clearly and stopped his friend, whispering something. "Cuozi? But that lunatic was" His friend cut him off before he could finish, scared that Cuozi would overhear. "Hey, what you talking about?"Cuozi cackled, his emotionless eyes flashing, "Talking about me behind my back?" "No, no!" The guard remembered the scary rumors of how this guy would chop off peoples fingers, and retreated in fear. If this were the original Cuozi, his fears would have been reasonable, but the real Cuozi was in Arkham. He had mental issues! The most laughable thing in the world was that no one dared to reason with a lunatic. The man forced a smile and bowed deeply, "Cuozi, how may I help you?" 110 Will the Night Be Dark "Cuozi, how may I help you?" the guard asked, bowing deeply. "Stand up straight!" Cuozi suddenly raised his voice, scaring the sh*t out of the man. "What, you think I''m short?!" "No, no, no!" The man hurriedly waved his hands, "I''m just-just a little tired" Cuozi narrowed his snake-like eyes. As he watched the two men silently, his fingers twitched as if his hand itched. The viper-like stare sent chills into the guards'' hearts. But very quickly, Cuozi lowered his hands as if he had lost interest. Instead, he walked past the gate, "I just got out of the asylum and need to see the Pyramid King. Take me to him." "Yes, yes," one of the men hurried after him breathlessly. There was a mass of people in the dark cemetery behind the gate. Broken tombstones were littered throughout the abandoned cemetery. Groups clustered under the torches, discussing something quietly. Bai Xi scanned the crowd. Seeing there were only about one-hundred people, she furrowed her brows. She asked in a voice full of disdain, "How come there''s not a lot of people? Where are all my old friends?" "We''re just taking care of a traitor tonight. Everyone here are newbies," the guard answered. "Boss Luo said he wants them to see the consequences of betraying us." "Oh?" Out of the corner of her eye, Bai Xi saw a ditch in the center, and she understood why they chose this location. "Boss Luo isn''t here yet. Please wait for a moment while I report the news. I''ll have Sandro come to chat with you." Rubbing his hands together, the man led ''Cuozi'' to a corner and ran into the crowd. "Wait," Bai Xi called suddenly, "what''s your name?" The man froze, "Ed-Edward" "Oh. Thank you for guiding me." Seeing that no one else was paying attention, Bai Xi''s expression changed and she used her original voice. The man stood frozen in place, not understanding what was happening. The girl reached over and pressed a hand over his heart. Plop! Like the sound of a bucket falling into a well, the man''s face suddenly reddened. It quickly turned deathly white and then he collapsed on the ground, most likely dead. Bai Xi was not as kind as Ye Qingxuan. She cast the Flow rune directly at his heart, causing his blood to flow so quickly that a portion evaporated. He had instantly lost the ability to fight back or speak, and fell unconscious. As to whether his heart would explode or not, and whether or not he would survive was all up to fate. A large dog jumped out and dragged the man under a bush. Bai Xi touched her face and she transformed into Edward. Sensing that no one noticed, Bai Xi whistled quietly in satisfaction. She took a few steps back and stood in a corner. "Old Phil, did you find him?" She glanced at Old Phil, but discovered that after sniffing around, the dog became frustrated, low whines coming from its throat. "You can''t find him?" Bai Xi was a bit shocked, but before she could process what it meant, the crowd became lively. With two men on either side, a hunched man walked out from the darknessIt was the Pyramid King. The Pyramid King observed the crowd around him and nodded, "Is everyone here?" Beside him, a man burly that looked like a fighter whispered into his ear. The Pyramid King instantly looked satisfied. Under everyone''s gaze, he stepped onto a tombstone. He stood at the peak so that he could look down at the crowd''s expression. Seeing the reverent gazes, his eyes filled with joy, "You are all new members of the group. Logically, there are some requirements before you officially join our group. I''ve called you here today as a reminder," he paused, his expression turning warm and genial, "a kind and gentle reminder." As the crowd started rustling, he clapped and the crowd divided. The burly man and two other underlings dragged a man out. Carried by two men, a torch was held closely to the man so the audience could see his face clearly. The crowd rustled and faint gasps sounded. Someone yelled quietly, "That''s Hudson" The old man''s entire body and face were covered in blood. Before everyone, he raised his head with difficulty and opened his swollen and bruised eyes. Muffled noises came from his mouth, which was practically toothless. "Sam" The world in his eyes was dark, "I want to see Sam." "Oh, my dear Mr. Hudson, I''m here. Don''t be scared." The Pyramid King moved up and lifted the man''s chin with a dagger. He studied how ''well'' the man had been treated and nodded, satisfied. "Long time no see, old friend." A hoarse voice came from Hudson''s mouth. It sounded like a broken shout, as if he was trying to breathe with lungs drowning in water. "Let me go, Sam. Please," he said with difficulty, "I just want to be a normal personI didn''t betray you" As he spoke, tears mixed with blood fell from his eyes. Sam Luo stared at him with a strange expression, then he burst into laughter. "You''re still so funny, Hudson!" The Pyramid King slapped his shoulders. "Haha! A normal person? Mr. Hudson, are you joking? You betrayed me, disappeared without a word, and ran to Wales to become a normal person?!" "I j-just wanted to stop" Hudson defended himself. "I''ve worked for you for so many years. Sam, I''m tired. I justI just want to quit. Why do you have to do this?" Tears of blood flowed from his eyes. He was suffocating. "Hudson, your words hurt me." The Pyramid King gazed at him sadly. "You''ve worked for me for so many years. I thought that I knew you well, but I can''t believe you lied to me," he sighed. He tugged at Hudson''s hair, roaring, "No one can betray me! No one! How many years have I raised you, old dog? How many years? Then that b*tch, Shaman, came back and you want a new master?! Let me tell you, there is no place for that old fart in this city!" With a flying kick, he forced Hudson into the ditch. He jumped down and stomped on Hudson''s face. When the poor man started gurgling, close to death, the Pyramid King finally stopped stomping. "Kruger!" He hoisted himself up with the help of an underling and commanded, "I want to build a fountain in this ditch. Come make a hole for me, and let these new kids take a shower" In the ditch, Hudson shut his eyes, all hope lost. But after a few moments, there was still no reply to the Pyramid King. Stunned, Sam looked up and raised his voice, "Kruger! Kruger! Where are you, you son of a b*tch?! Get the f*ck over here!" But no one replied. The crowd grew restless, everyone stared at each other awkwardly. The Pyramid King furrowed his brows and turned toward his guards, "Where is that motherf*cker Kruger? Did he not come? I told him to come!" The bodyguard was confused as well and shook his head, "He said he''d come in the afternoon. He should''ve arrived long ago." Suddenly a yell came from the crowd. Everyone looked back in shock, the crowd separated, revealing some latecomers. Under the moonlight, the men who had just arrived were deathly pale as if they had seen a ghost. A bad feeling emanated from them. The Pyramid King''s gaze fell to their feet, to the man they had brought over. On the ground, the burly, muscular man covered in tattoos shook. As if he had some terrifying disease, he giggled. The seemingly happy sound sent chills down everyone''s spine. "Boss! Something happened to Kruger" A gloomy man walked forward cautiously and reported in a low and hoarse voice, "We were ambushed on our way here an hour ago." "How many people? Was it those Luco sons of b*tches?" Sam Luo furrowed his brows. "O-only one" The man swallowed, thinking back to the nightmare. "He was like a demon. He stood in the shadows and blocked our path. He asked us if we were Sam''s men and asked us for help. And thenand then," He turned stiffly, looking at Kruger''s face, "And then Kruger turned into this..." The strong man convulsed under the pale moonlight, his body twisting into impossible angles as if a demon had taken over his body, but there was a sweet and innocent smile on his face. Looking at Sam, he giggled. Sam''s face darkened, "What did he do?" "W-we don''t know. He was like a shadow, and Kruger suddenly went crazy. He went crazy and wanted to kill us, and then he fell on the ground and started laughing. I swear, we must have run into a demon. You''d go crazy if you make eye contact with him. He saw me and the world went black. I don''t know what happened" The Pyramid King studied him. The emptiness in the strong man''s eyes was chilling, causing the underling to stumble back in terror. The Pyramid King studied his underling and pausing after every word. He said softly, "You''re saying that a man attacked you all, and everyone was so scared you needed your mommy. And Kruger turned into a lunatic, but you didn''t even see this demon''s face?" "N-no, we wanted to kill him, but" the man trembled. He tried to explain, but it was impossible. In the end, he suddenly thought of something. As if grabbing for the last lifeline, he quickly said, "He-he also said to say hi to you!" Sam was taken aback. "What did you say?" he asked. "The man wanted you to say hi for him?" The man shook, and words spilled from him like beans from a can, "He said that he''ll come visit you tonight, and that you should light some candles" "Candles? What candles?" The man gulped and said in a quivering voice, "He said that people like you do too many guilty things. There are-there are ghosts in your heart and you''ll be scared of the dark, right?" Bang! And then a thud. The man fell straight back. There was a hole in his forehead, with the bloody end of an arrow sticking out of his head. The arrow was mangled in a mess of blood, muscle, and bone. He stared up blankly at the moon, the pale light reflecting in his eyes. He had died with his eyes wide open. 111 Nightmare Attack Sam Luo stood expressionless before the corpse. He tossed the bow to his bodyguard Sandro, then took out a handkerchief and blew his nose forcefully. He tossed the dirty handkerchief on the corpse and turned to leave. After two steps, however, Sam Luo suddenly grabbed the bow from Sandro and rushed back, aiming at the corpse. He pulled back frantically, "F*ck, they, f*ck" Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! As everyone held their breath, he emptied a quiver of arrows. Furious, he slammed the quiver onto the ground and yanked on Sandros collar. Dragging the man to his face, he roared, "Dig another ditch and get those *sses who saw the demon! I want to see them in the ditch tomorrow night, understand? Otherwise I want to see you all in there" Seeing his stormy expression, Sandro gulped and nodded stiffly. Light laughter traveled with the wind. It had come from behind Sam Luo. "Who is it?!" the Pyramid King spun around, staring at the dancing darkness behind the withered tree. "Whos there? Get the f*ck out!" he roared in anger, glaring at the vague shadow. As the shadow laughed, Sam motioned for his men to investigate. Sandro gulped and shook his head, "Boss, theres nothing there." "No f*cking way!" The Pyramid King raised his bow, and under everyones confused eyes, emptied another quiver at the tree in the shadows. In the end, the dancing darkness finally shattered, and everything looked how it should. Panting, he threw down the bow. He grabbed a torch and marched over, but there was nobody there. There was only a shattered tombstone. The Pyramid King looked at the tombstone in shock. Putting the torch closer, the flame illuminated the name on the tombstone, as well as his deathly pale face. Beside him, Sandro yelped and stumbled back as if he had seen a ghost. -- The words on the tombstone were menacing under the flames light, "Here lies Sam Luo." There were also a few lines of an epitaph below it: "Buried here is a traitor, someone blind with greed, a rat." "Anta? Antas back!" Suddenly remembering something, Sandro became pale. "Boss, Antas back! He came back to" "Shut up. Anta is dead." Sam looked at him emotionlessly. Seeing those dead eyes, Sandro trailed off. Antas name was definitely familiar to the senior members of the Pyramid Scheme. When the group was first created, it was not called the Pyramid Scheme. Sam was not born as the leader either. At that time, it was called the Brother Gang. Anta was the leader, and everyone respected him, uniting under him. Anta had fled from Romulus. He had werewolf blood in him, and no one in downtown could win against this man marked by demons. He did not say much and was never greedy. He would share his profits with those who called themselves his brother and felt that he had a family like this. Sam was part of his family. Anta had protected this bankrupt merchant. Treating him like a brother, Anta pulled him out of his quagmire of debt. Sam considered Anta as his brother too. The man had treated him so well and never asked for anything in return. Even his own father could not compare. But then Sam no longer wanted to be Antas brother anymore. Anta was an obstacle, the elites told him. And then Anta died. He died in an alley, shot to death by his own brothers arrows. Until he died, he had never used his inhuman strength and skill that had given him his status in downtown, winning him the respect of his brothers. Anta had been surrounded by those he thought was his family, humiliatingly turned into a porcupine, but he did not die then. Instead, he growled furiously like a true werewolf. "Arent we brothers?" Anta finally asked Sam, who had planned it all. "Were family. Why did you do this to me?" "We are family." A little upset, Sam used a dagger to dig out Antas heart, "Cant you sacrifice a little for family?" And so Anta gave up his heart for his familys success. "I will not forgive you," Anta had said. Then he died, his eyes wide open. Later, Sam buried Anta to placate the others, or maybe to placate himself. But Antas tomb had been dug up. Some said that homeless men dug up his tomb to steal the burial items. Others said that it was opened from the inside. Everyone who had been there would describe to others how there were countless scratches on the coffin. There was blood and flesh all around. They all formed the same name over and over again: "Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam" "I will not forgive you," the murmur suddenly sounded in his ears again. Sam spun around, blood drained from his face. But there was not a decaying corpse staring at him in the deathly pale moonlight. There was nothing there except for the new members of the Pyramid Scheme. They watched Sam in shock, whispering amongst themselves, unable to hide their fear. "Anta? It really is Anta!" Staring into the darkness, scared out of his wits, Sandro stumbled back. "Youre back?! How can you" Crack! "Calm down, Sandro." The Pyramid Kings slap forced Sandro back to reality. Gazing around, he narrowed his hateful eyes, "Someone is messing with us." "Boss, I-I heard his voice." "That is Phantom Voice. Musicians love using it to mess with people." Sam Luo forced a cold laugh, repressing the fear in his heart. He had interacted with those legendary figures in all his years living in downtown. Those legendary figures would come do dirty work for money too. The Pyramid King had hired some before, and had even killed some. No matter how powerful a low-level musician was, he was still a man, and would die when he had lost enough blood. "He must be close if he wants to affect us, but theres nowhere to hide here" he murmured. His hawk eyes locked on his underlings, "Hes hiding within you!" The group instantly grew restless. They studied each other in shock. None of them had expected a demon to be hiding amongst them. "Everyone here looks familiar," Sandro said. "There cant be a musician." Growing sure of this thought, Sam spat out, "For a musician, changing a face is easier than changing his pants!" With his command, the men behind him raised their bows, aiming at the crowd. Stunned, the thugs began yelling. Some gripped the handles of their swords. "Sam, what are you doing?!" someone yelled. "Were here to make a living. How can you do this to us?" "No one is allowed to move!" Sam stared coldly at them, "There is a traitor amongst you! No one is allowed to move until we find him! Otherwise, I will be dragging you all to the grave with me. Dont blame me for being heartless!" In the crowd, Bai Xi stepped back subconsciously. She had started to regret being here. She was here because she worried about Ye Qingxuan, but now he was going to get her killed! But what had just happened made her suspicious. Could her gentle and kind cousin really be the one who had fooled all of those thugs? Or was there someone else? Someone even more dangerous She looked around instinctively, observing every terrified face. But there was no trace of Ye Qingxuan. Suddenly, she thought of something. Seeing the surging darkness outside of the area illuminated by torches, she finally knew where Ye Qingxuan was hiding. "That *ss" she thought. At the same time, a vague melody sounded. As if the hate sleeping in the cemetery had finally awoken, the melody resounded in each persons ears. The melody, containing countless feelings of franticness, turned into a black river, flowing into their hearts. And so the deepest and most painful memories in their hearts were awoken, bringing with it ineffable terror. "Monster! Theres a monster!" Bai Xi yelled in a deep voice, helping Ye Qingxuan create panic. "Run, the Pyramid King wants to kill us!" With that, some men could no longer take the strange tension and ran, but the Pyramid Kings men coldly raised their bows. The arrows whistled through the air, and a giant hole was made in the back of the running figures. The rune Explosion had been carved onto the arrow! Within a few moments, the writhing body on the ground stopped moving. Black blood flowed from the wound, dying the broken tiles on the path, seeping into the dirt. "Sam has started already! He wants to kill us all" Bai Xi yelled in another voice after changing her location. "Get rid of him! Hes crazy" The crowd rustled. Anger flashed through everyones eyes as they instinctively grasped their weapons, but they were met with a row of raised bows. "I said no one is allowed to move!" Sam roared. His eyes darted around, searching for the source of the melody. "Get the f*ck out! You motherf*cker, I know youre here!" But the sharp melody continued to echo like swords scraping against each other. It wailed with inexplicable frustration and depression, as if a vengeful ghost had climbed out of its coffin. "I said that I will come," the dark melody echoed in the dark and decaying cemetery. A deep voice sounded. It was polite like a gentleman, but filled with mockery. "Thank you for preparing such an unusual welcoming ceremony. To return the gift, I want to bring you the greeting froman old friend." With that, the dark melody grew in intensity, rushing into Sams ears like a tidal wave. The chilling sound was like furious roaring, like a demon singing in hell. Every note slammed into the weakest part of his heart. Every melody dug at his unspeakable past. The dark melody resounded in his consciousness, unearthing the nightmares entangled in his memories. The Pyramid King saw fresh blood flow from the ground. Before him, the corpse that he had just shot opened its eyes. The soulless eyes ignited with fury. It was raw hate. The corpses face gradually changed, becoming rough and wild, like a werewolf. His body was filled with arrows. He had been turned into a porcupine, but he refused to die. He stared at the Pyramid King, the man who had once been his brother, "Sam, Sam, Sam" The Pyramid King suddenly remembered the moment before the man had died. Lying in blood, Anta had stared deeply into him and murmured as if he were cursing him, "I will not forgive you, Sam!" It truly wasa lifelong nightmare! "It really is you" The Pyramid King stumbled back. Unable to accept the reality, his face turned ghastly white, "Youre dead! You should be dead!" 112 Dark Musician In the darkness, the youth gripped his cane, manipulating the dark melody with his eyes closed. He was in a place where it was impossible to be disturbed, and he could focus entirely on manipulating the aether. He could feel the music notes flowing with his mind, jumping out of the instrument strings, falling into the omnipresent sea of aether. The notes echoed and the ripple spread in all directions. It was his first time experiencing this sweet feeling. Before, precise manipulation had been close to impossible, but now, with the help of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, it was easy as pie. Maybe this was the feeling that Charles always spoke of. The dark music was a link, connecting man with aether. Ye Qingxuan was entirely submerged in this amazing experience. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was now fully awake, an extension of his right hand. For a millennium, this zither had resonated with his ancestors, becoming one with the Ye lineage. Now, it became Ye Qingxuans cane, helping him run down the road to becoming a musician. Just as his consciousness expanded with the aether, the melody suddenly stopped. "Bai Xi? Old Phil?" His eyes flew open in shock. "Why are you here?!" -- In the crowd, Bai Xi watched everything in bewilderment. Sam went crazy under everyones gaze. He screamed at the empty darkness and stumbled back, scared out of his wits. Chills went down everyones spines. Outside the illuminated area, the darkness surged. The dark melody was like the tragic song of a demon in hell, calling for death. "Its Anta, its brother Anta!" A thug with a bow in his hands looked around, his eyes filled with fear. "Hes back! Hes back for revenge!" Sandro gaped at his boss hysterical reaction. He moved to stop him, but as soon as he touched his shoulder, the Pyramid King screamed. He spun around and aimed the bow at Sandros head. "Go die!" The Pyramid Kings eyes were blood red. "Die!" Sandro froze, "Boss, I" Crack! His head exploded and he fell. Amidst the spray of blood, the Pyramid King stood atop of the corpse, bellowing with laughter. With his face covered in blood, he continued kicking the body. "Dead, hes dead! Haha, Anta, you died again! You died again. If I can kill you once, I can kill you again!" Stepping on Sandros corpse, he shot arrow after arrow. The hysterical laughter did not fade until Sandro became a porcupine. Finally, his reason won against his fear. He woke from his daze and touched the blood on his face, not knowing what had just happened. "Sandro? Sandro?!" The Pyramid King called his underlings name, not knowing that he had just shot his most trusted mans head open. Everyone stared at him in horror, stepping back as if watching a lunatic. In the silence, the Pyramid King seemed to understand. He screamed, "Get the f*ck out of here!" He stared at the crowd with dead and dark eyes, trying to see which face hid the demon. He continued screaming, "Get out of here! Im going to kill you, you son of a b*tch!" "D-dark musician!" someone in the crowd yelped. "Run, that guy is a dark musician!" Dark musician! In an instant, everyone was suddenly "enlightened," having realized the true nature of the monster, and the fear came soon after. Yes, only a creature like a dark musician could manipulate such an eerie melody, play with a mans mind so easily, and turn someone into a lunatic. All dark musicians were either wanted by secret authorities for exploring forbidden areas, or joined Satan, aiding in natural catastrophes. No matter what, dark musicians were synonymous with fear and monsters. No matter what, they had so much blood on their hands! Just like the Rain Artist who had given his hometown to Satan without hesitation, these things were monsters unable to be measured by morals or common knowledge. An indescribable panic radiated from everyone with the murmurs and whispers. -- "Dark musician?" Ye Qingxuans expression changed in the darkness, "Am I really like that?" He was troubled. All he had done was make a plan. First, he had learned of the Pyramid Kings past from multiple people, getting the information he needed. Then by attacking Kruger, he was able to make the Pyramid King angry. Then he guided the man to discover the tombstone he had prepared, instilling fear. Finally, Sandro uttered the name "Anta" in panic, successfully touching on the deepest fear in the Pyramid Kings heart. Thus, the Pyramid King was submerged in his nightmare since the beginning. Black Friday had just been the bait. It weakened his guard, leading him to hallucinate on his own until he lost all control. The process was just much more successful than Ye Qingxuan had anticipated. When Ye Qingxuan first hatched the plan, he had thought it would be difficult, but had never expected for the whole thing to be sonatural? It seemed logical, as if fear was supposed to be pulled out like that. It was so easy. How many sins must one commit for their heart to be filled with so much poison? A poisonous snake would kill itself in the end. Forgotten dark pasts would remain in ones heart, trapped in the body like a ghost haunting the soul. One day, they would have to face their sins and pay for it all. Ye Qingxuan had no pity. They should have known that this day would come; the day they started down their evil path! -- "Come out! Out!" The Pyramid King was still yelling hysterically under the torchlight. "Youre hereI know youre here!" He pulled something out, his eyes becoming cruel, "Im going to count to three. If you still dont come out, then youll be sorry." The object in his hands shone coldly under the moon. It was a mirror. But a menacing face was carved on the back of the mirror. It was covered with scales, and the hair was made of writhing snakes. The lively forked tongues movedthe Mirror of Medusa! In the crowd, Bai Xi recognized the item and her heart skipped a beat. It was alchemy equipment from the School of Summoning. The Summoning musician could release the demon sealed in the mirror through "Song of the Exiled." After the seal was broken, the reflection of Medusa would be summoned. This was rare equipment that could be used without any musical skills. The only requirement was to fulfill Medusas thirst for blood. Medusa was also known as the "spirit of vengeance." The moment she was summoned, she would exact revenge on anyone who had hurt the summoner. Even if it was just a melody to awaken the darkness inside his heart. It was not the worst in terms of destruction. This reflection of Medusa could only attack with its snake hair, and was not much for a third level musician, but it was infamous for its resilience. It was extremely difficult to win against it. If one made eye contact with it, they were sure to suffer the Stone Curse. This infamous curse would turn a man into stone, and they could not be turned back. Only a few music scores could protect against the curse, and most musicians were terrified of it, not to mention Ye Qingxuan, who had been a student up until a few days ago. -- Bai Xi furrowed her brows, trying to think of a solution, but before she could think of anything, a desolate melody spread from the ancient mirror. Desolation filled the melody, resounding under the moon. It was the melody carved into the mirrorSong of the Exiled! Reflecting the moonlight, a shadow flew from the mirror. It dove into the corpse on the ground, eating its fill. In an instant, the corpse turned to blood. Medusas reflection appeared slowly. Her snake hair danced. The venom on her teeth dripped onto the ground, sizzling. "Go," Sam growled, "find the musician." The summoned demon gazed around, studying each face before her. Her vertical pupils were filled with cruelty. She sniffed each breath in the air. Sensing the ripple of aether until she finally found a trace. In the darkness, Ye Qingxuan could feel the coldness closing in. The Jiu Xiao Huan Pei vibrated in his hands, warning him of approaching danger. He focused, preparing to fight back. Beside the Pyramid King, Medusas red eyes brightened and she hissed. Using a beastly sense of smell and her sense of aether, she found the direction of the enemy. The snakes danced crazily. The glow of the Stone Curse lit up. "Theres no way this time," Bai Xi sighed in the crowd. "Cousin, youre really going to get me killed this time" she murmured. "I just came for the show. Why do I have to do this for you? And for a pretty girl like me, shouldnt everything be solved by using my beauty?" Murmuring something, Bai Xi stepped forward, out of the crowd. Under the dancing flames and everyones eyes, she took off her mask. Bai Xi revealed her delicate face. Sam spun around. Seeing her, confusion flashed through his eyes. "Oh, good evening, my friend." The girl raised an arm. The silver bracelet around her wrist tinkled like a chime. Every movement created a crisp sound. Ding "Who are you?" Sam roared, raising the bow in his hand. "Im a messenger of justice, just passing by," Bai Xi stated, raising both hands. She had put on black gloves at some point. Fingers clasped, drum beats echoed faintly in the air. Faced with the bow aimed at her, the girl raised her arms obediently. "Dont kill me, I surrender" She paused, grinning, "Just kidding!" And so thunder boomed! 113 Pomp and Circumstance As the girl clasped her fingers, the black gloves pulled tight. Instantly, deafening drum beats burst in the air like frantic thunder. The explosion tugged at everyones hearts, turning into an irresistible rhythm. The bells on Bai Xis wrists shook, the broken yet crisp sounds joined together into the whistle of furious winds. In an instant, there was thunder and wind, transforming into a melody with the rhythm. There was no overture, no buildup, and it surged from all directions without any warning. It was powerful like a thousand war stallions charging forward, majestic like a royal procession. The mousy girl seemed to have suddenly stepped before the throne. Her eyes were arrogant yet stern. Her expression was no longer playful butpompous! School of Modifications: Pomp and Circumstance March, Movement One! The preparations and guidance of countless musicians were needed to reach the climax. But without warning, the climax came, along with the brute strength known as Zhaodang. Like a coronation, it was grave yet majestic, and destroyed all attempts at resistance! For a second, terrifying light shone from the girls eyes. This piece composed by Saint Elgar symbolized the coronation of King Arthur when he first established the kingdom. Working as the messenger of God, the Pope placed a halo over Arthurs head, representing that he had become an apostle and controlled divine power to rid the world of all evil. All musicians who performed this piece would receive the halo, temporarily having this divine power. This symbol was the halo above the girls head. It radiated thunder and electricity, feeding her with unimaginable strength. Even if it was a rushed performance, she possessed an inhuman strength by using her talent to forcefully perform this melody from another level. "K-kill her!" the Pyramid King screamed, but it was too late. Bai Xi disappeared in the blink of an eye. There was a footprint carved into the stone where she had stood, terrifying cracks snaked forward. Amidst the majestic performance, the girl rushed forward with electric light and furious winds, instantly upending the Pyramid Kings guards. Their bodies were lost in the storm, burnt to crisp by the lightning, becoming a bloody mess. The halo flashed, dimming a bit. Bai Xi charged again. Just as the Pyramid King yelped, Medusa shrieked. She appeared out of thin air, gnashing her teeth at the girl. Her snake hair danced, bloody light exuded from the snakes eyes, illuminating Bai Xis face. The glow of the Stone Curse dissipated when it came in contact with the halo around Bai Xi. Divine power was able to evaporate any demonic curse. But it was clear that the halo dimmed, and it began to burn up fasterthere was not much time left. When Medusa opened her mouth, Bai Xi snapped, "Move!" Clenching her right fist, thundering chimes sounded. A faint vortex appeared above her fist. The air constricted and it sounded like glass shattering. Boom! The virtual reflection of Medusa flew back from her punch. Her body shimmered and the snakes expanded, then exploded and spewed blood. The blood that had been sucked from the corpse a moment ago was forced out! The drum beats and chiming jangled messily. The halo above Bai Xis head flickered like a candle in the wind, but the girl did not care. She used this chance to raise her hand and reach out toward the Pyramid King. He collapsed in an instant, cradling his head and screaming in fear. But the hand did not burn him to crisp. Instead, it grasped the mirror in his hands. The music of Zhaodang resounding in Bai Xis body surged into the mirror like a tidal wave. The halo exploded into blinding light as if reflected tenfold. The Pomp and Circumstance March had finally reached the true climax. The runes on the mirror flashed and flickered. As if meeting a natural predator, they began extinguishing one by one. It was not because of outside pressure, but rather because the aether structure changed wildly due to having been enveloped by Zhaodang. It became extremely unstable. The last surge of aether extinguished more than half of the runes on the mirror. In the air, Medusa, who had been grasping for the girl, suddenly shimmered. She could only growl angrily before vanishing. With the mirror in hand, Bai Xi walked forward again. Clenching her fist, she brought it down on the Pyramid King, but her fist trembled in midair. The halo above her head burst and extinguished. The divine power aiding her disappeared. She went from the apostle of divine power to a little girl, weak and powerless. Her fist landed and she yelped in pain. Her punch had hit the raised groove of the bow. A wound opened, and blood flowed from the back of her hand. Sam gaped, not having processed everything. But he subconsciously raised the bow again, aiming at the girl before him, "Dont move!" Bai Xis face was pale, and she pouted and raised her arms helplessly, "I surrender. Ill surrender half, alright?" The Pyramid King studied how weak she looked with his small eyes. His fearful expression had not even disappeared fully before it was replaced by a sinister smile. It looked comical, "Hehe, so yourehis accomplice?" Seeming to understand something, he climbed up. Pulling on the girls hair, he pushed her to the ground. Cackling, he aimed the bow at her forehead. "He couldnt deal with Medusa, so he sent you to die? What other tricks do you have? Reveal them to me!" The already fearful thugs had run when Pomp and Circumstance had played. The new members did not have any loyalty to the Pyramid Scheme. All that remained was his best men. Seeing Bai Xi weakened, they unsheathed their swords and approached. "I didnt expect him to need help. Seems like he isnt as strong as I thought." The Pyramid King had recovered from his fear. Looking around, he roared at the darkness, "Im going to say this one last time. Come out! Or else Ill kill her!" "Just give up," Bai Xi sighed. "Im just a passerby. I dont know that guy." "It doesnt matter. With you here, hed be scared to kill the wrong person. He cant attack me anymore." The Pyramid King grabbed the girls hair, pinching at her cheeks, leering at her, "What a good little girl. Itll be a pity if you die. I cant promise what will happen if he doesnt come out." "I wouldnt do that if I were you," a hoarse voice rang from the darkness. "Shut up and show yourself!" Sam swept his sharp gaze around. A sigh came from the writhing darkness, "Then, as you wish" -- Deathly pale moonlight shone suddenly, lighting up the cemetery full of grief and darkness. The light fell on the broken gravestones, as if they were lit with light from Hell. In the suffocating stillness, creaks sounded, like the gate of Hell had opened slowly. Rotting dirt turned, as if the dead buried six feet under were awakening, pushing at their tomb so they could bathe in the moonlight. As the dirt turned, a coffin slowly opened, and a thin figure rose from the rotting earth. Welcomed by everyones fearful eyes and weapons, the figure walked out casually. He had just walked out of a coffin, but he was dressed finely in a beastly robe. The scales on his shoulder reflected the white moonlight. Holding a black cane and wearing a rotting hat from the coffin, he looked as if he were attending a banqueta banquet for demons! His silhouette was thin yet sharp like the contour made of steel wires. The face hidden in the shadows of the hat was unclear, but a vague smile was visible. It was all so odd. Everyone was taken aback. No one had expected for the terrifying thing to be hidden beneath their feet. It was impossible to discernwhether this figure was alive or dead. Even a musician was a human. Unless he had mutated himself, how could he live for so long in a rotting coffin? "Greetings, Your Majesty the Pyramid King," the polite voice sounded from under the hat. The voice carried the grace that all elites strived for. It was full of dignity and made him seem unapproachable, separate from the others. But no one noticed as he sneakily threw an underground respirator into the darkness. If not for that, he really would have suffocated. He had planned on hiding in the coffin and waiting until the Pyramid King had completely broken before interrogating him, but he did not expect the man to have such powerful alchemy equipment. Nor did he think that Bai Xi would be here because she cared for him. Plans never accounted for all possibilities. He was used to this. The best solution was to keep his image as a dark musician and terrify them. Seeing him, fear flashed through the Pyramid Kings eyes, but quickly, it was replaced by ferocity, "You dare to come out?" "Why not?" Ye Qingxuan laughed lightly, "Didnt I come tonight to fulfill my promise? But sadly, our game went astray and the entertainment disappeared early on." He emphasized entertainment, revealing his regret. The hoarse voice did not seem to fit the youth, and felt like the low voice of the dead. The thugs trembled with fear. This figure that seemed like a gentleman had the aura of something monstrous. 114 Question Session "Stop talking about useless sh*t!" Furious, the Pyramid King swung his bow, aiming the arrow toward Ye Qingxuan. "Did those gay Lucos hire you? Or do the Indians want revenge? Or is it that son of a b*tch Professor, or that old Shaman?!" "Im sorry, but none of them." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and strode over. With his cane propped on his shoulder, he looked like an energetic youth going shopping. He seemed oblivious to all of the arrows that could kill him in seconds. He simply gazed around at the view, "I came for myself. Your Majesty, I only came for some answers." "F*ck answers!" The Pyramid King suddenly pressed the arrow against the girls face. "Kneel or Im going to put a hole in her head!" He was not planning on making the monster surrender by just using this girl, but there was something between him and the monster, and with her in his hands, the monster would not dare to take a risk. The Pyramid King just wanted the monster to be shaken up. Even just a little bit would give him a chance. The Pyramid Kings hand twitched behind his back. The small movement was a command. Behind the youth, a shadow crept forward soundlessly. He pulled the dark green dagger out a little. This was the Pyramid Kings best assassin, a hitman hired with a fortune. The assassin had come from faraway Persia. He had taken medicine since childhood to make his bones strong but light. His body was as soft as cotton, but his inhumane training had made him impossibly strong. He could easily kill a tiger in the darkness. With someone like him, the Pyramid King had no worries, of course. He never had to fear powerful enemies. He only had to worry about people who used dirty tricks like him. What was a dark musician to him? As long as the musician was distracted and his spirit shaken, he could die just as easily from a blade to the heart. But contrary to his expectations, the shadowy gentleman laughed coldly. He did not even glance at the girl. The cold eyes under the shadow of the hat looked at Sam as if looking at an insect. There was a nuance of pity. "I told you, its best if you dont do that." Ye Qingxuan stumped the cane slightly, and a vague strumming sounded in the air. A cacophony of piercing noise followed the pounding of the cane against the ground. The sharpness pierced through everyones eardrums, making their vision blur. But the man behind Ye Qingxuan, who had crept over soundlessly and pulled out his blade, started shaking. It was as if his organs suddenly started tearing. His muscles jumped, trying to leave his body, and his veins writhed. The hallucinatory pain attacked without warning. He fell to the ground, shaking and crying out in pain. The man curled into a ball in pain, not even knowing that he had sliced himself with his own dagger. As he shook, his joints rubbed against each other. His bones had started to lock up. The man had wanted to make a sneak attack, but he did not know that with Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, the surrounding aether acted as Ye Qingxuans eyes when he was on guard. The theory of three hundred and sixty degree vision had confused Ye Qingxuan for a long time. He still was not used to it. The legends of how a musicians power would multiply with a good instrument was no lie. Sensing that someone was approaching, Ye Qingxuan quickly moved his tired mind and performed the third measure of Black Friday. He controlled the assassins senses, inflicting the burning hallucinatory pain on him! In the end, the man shrunk to the size of a dwarf, and continued to writhe with difficulty. Veins pulsed on his face like a living organism. He stared up at the Pyramid King in despair. His mouth opened but he could not speak, only making high-pitched gibberish. Chills ran down everyones spines. They finally understood what had happened to Kruger. "Kill him, kill him!" Sam shrieked. His men tried to shoot, but they realized that they could not move their fingers no matter what. Sams shrieking broke off, his voice caught in his throat. His body was no longer under his control. The dark melody rushed in like a river. It dug into their limbs, flowing through their mind, taking away all reason. And then it brought hellish pain. Under the shadow of the hat, veins bulged painfully on the youths face. The extreme performance was pushing his limits. The melody that was meant to be used on one person had been expanded to influence a dozen people. It was just to provoke their negative feelings, but it had surpassed his abilities. Thankfully he was prepared. Behind his back, Ye Qingxuan pressed the button on the Double Snake Time Meter. He chanted, "All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green." Instantly, a crisp rhythm sounded in his ear, lifting up his dazed mind, erasing the fatigue and pain. He became more in tune with his spirit than before. The sensitivity of his perception suddenly doubled, making him feel as if he had expanded. The three hundred and sixty degree vision freed him from his body. He rose into the air and looked down at the thugs drowning in pain. The difficult performance had changed too. Now it was as easy as rowing a boat along with the current of the water. With doubled sense and manipulation, Ye Qingxuans power soared to the limit of the Rhythm level. Guided by the melody, the aether transformed into nonexistent fire and blades, putting his enemies through hellish pain. -- Ye Qingxuan was only able to continue this all-powerful hallucination for a few seconds. but these short seconds felt like an eternity to the Pyramid King. The unprecedented pain pushed him to the brink of sanity. When the melody suddenly ended, he screamed as if waking from a nightmare and stumbled back. The girl in his arms had had enough. Jumping up, she slammed an elbow into him and stole the bow, aiming at his forehead. She kicked his crotch angrily, causing his eyes to bulge, and he rolled on the ground in pain. "Thats for grabbing my hair! Thats for pinching my cheeks!" Venting her anger, Bai Xi kicked him and prodded his forehead before retreating behind Ye Qingxuan. Close up, she could see the veins at the corner of Ye Qingxuans eyes and his trembling hands. Panic flashed through her eyes. She wanted to say something, but then saw his glance. Understanding his plan, she did not reveal any panic. "I surrender" Sam, panting on the ground, lifted his head and glared at Ye Qingxuan. "Do whatever you want to me. But dont think Ill just obediently wait for death. My men will avenge my death, even if you kill me. You wont be able to leave here unscathed." "Oh, really?" Looking down at him, Ye Qingxuan laughed lightly. He taunted, "Your Majesty, why are you asking for death so impatiently? Didnt I say before that Im just here for some answers? If you answer me truthfully, I might let you live. Of course, if you dont cooperate, I wont let you die either. Do you understand what Im saying?" Sams expression changed. He understood Ye Qingxuan: if he was not willing to cooperate, he would experience something more painful than death. He believed this completely. After all, he had just experienced hellish torture. "Do you swear?" Sam studied the shadow suspiciously. He was terrified, but he still had to grasp the last lifeline. "You want to know? I can tell you everything I know." "You surrender as soon as you hear that you can live?" The shadow scoffed, "As expected of the Pyramid Scheme." The Pyramid Kings expression was shameless, as if it was how things ought to be, "As if youd let me go if I was brave?" The shadow laughed but did not reply. He asked, "I heard that there was a big commotion in downtown a few days ago. To be honest, I want more details. Would you like to tell me?" "Youre here for the white-haired kid too?" The Pyramid King seemed to suddenly see the light. "Youre here for the Blood Path too!" "Youre the one answering me. Dont get it wrong." Ye Qingxuans voice turned icy. Though he did not get a reply, the Pyramid King was sure. What would make a dark musician ignore the authorities searching for him and come to Anglos capitol, other than King Arthurs hidden treasures?! "My friend, have you decided?" The shadow looked at his pocket watch impatiently, "My time is precious. Dont waste it." With that, he moved to start the melody. "Wait, wait! Ill talk!" The Pyramid King opened his mouth and spilled the beans on everything he knew. "Ten days ago, we heard a rumor. Avalons Shadow, which hid King Arthurs hidden treasures, is going to wake. The Blood Path leading to it will be activated soon. Some said that the key to activating the path is on the white-haired kid." Ye Qingxuan scoffed, "You believe this?" "To be honest, we dont believe in Avalons Shadow. The rumor is strange. The first who spoke of it was the Professor. He wanted to have the kid all to himself and wouldnt let anyone interfere. The Indians seemed to have concrete information from somewhere. They were willing to anger the Professor just to get the kid. The Lucos and Asgardians were just taking advantage of things" "And what about you?" "We just do dirty work for the elites. We dont care about the Blood Path. Really!" the Pyramid King explained hurriedly. "But they seem to really care about this news and ordered us to make things messy. Another family also offered a reward to capture the kid. "The kid wants to kill their heir. They couldnt influence the academy, so they offered one-hundred thousand pounds to kill the kid in the most painful way" For an instant, like an illusion, Sam thought the shadow grew darker. "Which family?" the shadow asked coldly. Body trembling, the Pyramid King answered loudly, "Rossi, its the Rossi family!" Ye Qingxuan fell silent, his eyes grew cold. It was Edmund. 115 Report Your Name Ye Qingxuan was furious. He did not care about being the key to Avalons Shadow now, only the fact that the Rossis had tried to hurt him and were now trying to kill him was enough to harden his eyes. It seemed that they wanted to force him into a dead end. But he did not remain silent for too long. He asked, "Then what about the Butcher?" There was an undertone of anger in his voice, causing the Pyramid King to misunderstand. He quickly shouted, "Thats the Professors fault! I swear, it has nothing to do with me. I just wanted the Eastern kids body, but that *ss hired the Butcher and escalated everything. It was ruined for everyone!" "Oh? Professor" Testing the name out, Ye Qingxuan could not help but remember the beast that had terrorized him that day, and the robed shadow beside it. He was a musician too. He quickly thought of all connections but there was still something important lost in the fog. He could not connect it all together. "If you want to find the Blood Path, you should hurry" The Pyramid Kings voice seemed to be happy at his misfortune, "We received news yesterday that the Shaman is back. He hates dark musicians. Once he gets into power, everyone who breaks the rules will be hung or drowned in the quagmire. Itll be impossible for you to work downtown." The Pyramid King paused. When he mentioned the name, fear flashed through his eyes, "Everyone is starting to panic now." "Youre all so scared of him?" the dark shadow asked tauntingly. "You dont understand. Youre not from here, you dont understand." The Pyramid King was bitter, "The Shaman is not just a legend. He was an entire era of downtown, do you understand? He was the Dark King back then "When he was the most powerful, he controlled half of Anglos Dark World through Avalons downtown. Everyone dreamed of kneeling before him to kiss his ring and pledge loyalty to him. "The elites couldnt control him, and the police were all loyal to him. The Royalty had to ask him if they could wear silk pajamas. He was the king of Anglo in the shadows! Some say that he had even met the Pope If he didnt go missing, all of downtown would probably be his now." His eyes flashed with discontent, "To him, were just rats eating his leftovers. Even if times have changed, all he needs to do is clap and many will want to follow him. If he really is back, we have to kill him before he can control everything" "Didnt he run after being persecuted by the Royal Musicians?" "Royal Musicians? They used to be his partners! How could the Royal Musicians live so lavishly without that mans money?!" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. He had never imagined the Shaman to be so powerful. He was just lucky that the legendary Dark King was still trying to get his own power back and was not focused on King Arthurs hidden treasure yet. "Last question." Ye Qingxuan looked at him, "Do you know who old guy is?" "Old guy?" The Pyramid King tried not to laugh. "Are you kidding me? There are thousands with that nickname in downtown. How do I know who youre talking about?!" "Really? Thats a pity." Regret flashed past Ye Qingxuans eyes as he looked away, "You can go now." Turning, he waved his hand, "Ive lost interest in you." The Pyramid King froze in disbelief, followed by ecstasy. He had not expected the man to really hold his promise. He could live now. But why did he feel so humiliated? He could feel the shadows eyes glancing at him for the last time. The gaze was cold, full of disdain and pity. It was as if the man was looking at a fly, a bug or some other insignificant thing. Was he just a rat the man could kill depending on his mood?! As if his life was so useless that he did not want to take it. "Youll regret it!" Sam screamed in his mind. "You will regret it" Crawling back, he pushed himself up and prepared to leave cautiously, but when he stepped out of the cemetery, he looked back again. The eerie shadow was standing under the ghastly moonlight, looking down at a tombstone. He seemed to have become one with the cemeterys darkness. The moonlight cast a sharp shadow behind him, like a beast dancing menacingly. The Pyramid King looked at the shadow and hesitated. Hate flashed past his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by fear. He gave up on a sneak attack. "Youwho are you?!" he yelled. "Tell me your name! I want to know your name!" Hearing his voice, the shadow in the darkness turned around, looking at him coldly. His dark eyes sent chills down the Pyramid Kings spine. They was arrogant and cold, like checking if the rat had the right to ask for his name. Silence. The Pyramid Kings face reddened and he turned in anger. But then he heard a voice behind him. "You can call me Sherlock," In the darkness, the youth was actually racking his brain for a name. When he looked down at the tombstone beside him, his eyes lit up and reported the name on the stone. He said, "My name is Sherlock Holmes." -- Ye Qingxuan finally could not take it anymore. After the Pyramid King left, he collapsed next to the tombstone, gasping for breath. If the Pyramid King had left a few minutes too late, he really would have collapsed. Skipping levels and activating the dark melody had pushed him past his limits. Beside him, Bai Xi scrambled to hand him a tube of green medicine. It was high quality recovery medicine. Ye Qingxuan did not have the energy to ask where she got it from. Taking it, he tipped his head and downed the medicine. After panting for a long time, he finally felt his mind recover. After he was back to normal, Bai Xi began to fidget. She tried to escape, but a hand pressed down on her shoulder, "Good evening, little friend. Do you want to play a game with Uncle?" Ye Qingxuan asked in a weird voice, "I have a lot of fun games here" Bai Xi suddenly felt a chill. "You...leave me alone!" "What, youre scared now?" Ye Qingxuan asked, "Then why are you out here in the middle of the night?" "I-Im not Bai Xi!" The girl covered her face, "You got the wrong person. Im John! Uh, John Watson" "Wow, you think of names pretty quickly." Ye Qingxuan snickered, "Do you want to add a middle name? Like H or something?" "Names are created by parents. You cant just change it." "Ha." Ye Qingxuan squeezed her cheeks, "Try to make up something better." "Im sorry! Cousin, Im sorry! I just wanted to help" Seeing Baixi suddenly become obedient, with her hands clasped together and lashes batting, Ye Qingxuan could not be angry anymore. He sighed and reached out, "Hand it over." "What? Hand what over?" Bai Xi looked at him confusedly, "What are you talking about?" "Really?" Ye Qingxuan scoffed. He reached into her pocket and pulled out a palm-sized leather notebook. Shaking it before her, he said, "You have guts. You couldnt forget your old job even with an arrow to the head. Didnt you promise to stop stealing?" "This is called fighting fire with fire! Its his fault!" Guilty, Bai Xi looked away. She whistled, her face full of innocence. "I just reached overand it came out." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, unable to do anything with her. He opened the book and studied the numbers. Thinking of something, his eyes became serious and he read through carefully. Old Phil returned soundlessly. The giant golden dog sniffed at the blood. He wandered around the cemetery as if it was a store, stepping over the corpses gracefully. His eyes lit up. He lowered its head and picked something up in its mouth. Trotting over, he put the thing at Bai Xis feet. He had gracefully and selflessly given this thing to his top student, Bai Xi. Gaping, Bai Xi bent down and picked up the bloody mirror. Flipping it over, she saw the carving of Medusa, and her eyes brightened. It was the Mirror of Medusa! Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was focused on the notebook, she put a finger to her lips, shushing Old Phil. And then she sneakily put the mirror into her pocket. She was just going to take a little thing. Her cousin would not mindhopefully. -- Ye Qingxuan flipped through the notebook quickly. He had a general impression of the content and stuffed it into his pocket. If the content was what he thought it was, he would have to think and plan carefully. Just as he pulled Bai Xis hand, getting ready to leave, he heard a moan from the unconscious man in the ditch nearby. The man seemed to have fallen into a nightmare, writhing painfully. Ye Qingxuan remembered him. His name was Hudson, and he had wanted to leave this dark world, but had been captured by the Pyramid King. It was surprising that he was still alive, but he was still close to dying. Thinking for a bit, Ye Qingxuan halted. He pressed his cane against Hudsons chest and the music of flowing water soundedRune Flow. Using Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan stimulated the blood in Hudsons heart, pulling him back from the nightmare. With the nightmare gone, Hudson woke with a cry. Opening his eyes, he looked at the ruins. When he saw Ye Qingxuans shadow, he seemed to understand something, "Am Idead?" "Youre still alive," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Did you save me?" "You survived because of your own luck. I just gave you hand. Since youre still conscious, go find a doctor before you really die." Hudson fell silent. He forced a bitter smile onto his bloody face, "Maybe its better for people like me to die. Even if I live, where can I go?" He sighed hopelessly, "I ran far away to start a new life, but I was still dragged back. On the way here, I realized that the day I jumped into the swamp, I would never be clean again. Ive sinned so many times. I have to pay for them some day." "Then live on and use the rest of your days to repent for what youve done." "Will I be saved if I repent?" Hudson asked, his voice full of hope. "No," The youth shook his head. Studying the bloody cane, his voice was hoarse and cold, "You will live on full of guilt. You will live in this darkness until death. But you can at least try to be a good person." With that, Ye Qingxuan turned to leave. Stunned, Hudson fell silent. Watching the shadow leave, he wanted to cry. He felt as if he had just been saved. "Thats wonderful" He knelt down onto the bloody dirt, seeing the shadow off, "Sir, thank you." The shadow in the distance halted, turning around. He finally looked away after a long moment, "And thank you too," he murmured. This was the most beautiful sentence Ye Qingxuan had heard over the past few days. "What happened?" Bai Xi asked quietly. "Why are you suddenly so happy?" "There was a question Ive been asking myself these days, but now I realize that the answer had always been in my heart." Ye Qingxuan smiled in the darkness, satisfied and freed, "Its not meaningless to be a good person." 116 The Seven Schools of Music The Royal Academy of Music had continued the tradition of having one public lecture per week for centuries. Every student could attend, regardless of major, school, or year. Sometimes, famous musicians or scholars would hold lectures to share their research or explorations with students, but nobody had put much effort into their lectures over recent years. It had become an empty tradition. The professors wanted to keep their findings exclusive, and only shared things that everyone already knew. Now, the public lectures were just a group of important people coming to move their lips. Other than textbook material that everyone knew, they would also say useless things like "work hard!" and "dont give up!" As expected, fewer students came every year. Now, it became a blow-off class for students who had cut class and needed extra points. But today, the classroom was no longer empty. Instead, it was filled to the max. In the crowded classroom, there were even students sitting in the aisles. But no one in the crowd spoke. It was silent except for the gentle voice from the podium. -- The academy had always upheld a strict etiquette system to produce students with the mannerisms of an elite. The etiquette system touched upon things like sitting posture, and was enforced throughout the Academy. The crazy dogs of the student council executive office made sure that the system was followed to a T. Every lecturer would stand behind the podium. Even a saint had to be polite and spirited, unable to show any weakness or laziness, but today, there was a chair behind the podium. A girl sat on the walnut chair, her feet hidden under her dress. The dress that rested on the ground was spotless. She looked nothing like a famous history scholar or renowned explorer. Instead, she looked like an eighteen year old girlLola Caput. Her skin was pale, as if she had a chronic illness, but her hair was golden and her long locks fell past her delicate neck to her chest. It looked like a beam of sunlight falling on plain brocade. She leaned back in the chair, explaining the content of her lecture in a gentle voice. Sometimes, she would get excited and start coughing. When her servant offered her medicine, she would refuse. After catching her breath, she would begin lecturing again. The students were silent. Everyone focused on her. Even if they whispered, they tried to be quiet, not wanting to interrupt her. They could not help but look into her eyes. Most who could enter the Royal Academy of Music were the best of the best. They had seen much of the world. They were bored of elite ladies caked makeup and had seen enough of weak girls who needed to be protected, but they had never seen a pair of eyes like these. They were like an emeralds in a mirror. They were filled with refined beauty when still, and when they moved, they shone an intoxicating light. They were close yet unreachable. Nine years ago, an elite girl from a fallen family had been physically weak since childhood and had become a musician. She began researching the Dark Age, becoming a researcher of the Dark Age history. In the beginning, everyone who heard this thought it was a joke. It was clear that this girl had a disadvantage compared to the exploration musicians who could enter deep into the Dark World. Her weak physique could not survive the harsh conditions of explorations. She also could not enter archeologist sites to search for ancient texts and evidence. All she could do was organize and decipher the texts that had been discovered. Everybody knew that research of the languages from the Dark Age had not progressed in the last three hundred years. "Was she sitting at home, waiting for research results to fall from the sky?" some people asked. But quickly, the mockery and doubts shattered after she successfully deciphered the first chapter of Voynichs Manuscript. Numerous scholars had been defeated by this manuscript; countless people spent their entire lives trying to decode it to no avail, but it was deciphered by a frail and sickly girl. The scholars who had doubted Lolas ability were slapped in the face by reality. Many quit their research in humiliation and anger. After deciphering the first chapter of Voynichs Manuscript, she found the foreword of the Emerald Tablet, a legendary alchemy manuscript that had been sealed for centuries, and filled in the missing parts of the Baidi Yinfujing. Over the next few years, this girl, who rarely ventured outside, would create a storm in the academic world every now and then with her findings. Five years ago, she accepted the title of Honorary Professor from Principle Maxwell. Every now and then, she would choose a day to hold a public lecture. Every time, the lecture hall would be packed. Within the last five years, more and more students decided to explore the Dark World after graduation. Miss Lolas influence was undeniable. But this time, the woman did not lecture about material that was way above their level. Instead, she followed the suggestions of some professors and decided to fill these impetuous and impatient students in on the basics. -- "When the Dark Age ended, the original Three Kings established an entirely new musician system on top of the School of Classics. They divided musicians into three levels: Musician level, Resonance level and Scepter level. These three levels could be further divided into nine sub-levels. This is the nine levels of musicians that we now know. "For everyone present, the most important is undoubtedly the Musician level. After your initial learning and research, Im sure you can all successfully enter the Rhythm level in a few years. "From here, your basic knowledge will enter a professional level. All students must choose the School that suits you best. This is the most important choice a musician will make in his life. Of course, the Royal Academy of Music had already chosen the field for you based on your natural skills. All you have to do is follow the course." At the podium, Miss Lola pursed her lips ever so slightly, as if disagreeing with this method of teaching. But she hid it well, smiling gently. Pausing, she waved a hand and a tree diagram appeared on the blackboard behind her. Below the same foundation, seven branches reached in different directions. Sometimes, they would combine or overlap. Other times, they were like parallel lines, staying far away from each other. "Today, I will lecture about the seven major schools of musicians." Lola said, "The so-called seven major schools is a classification system suggested by the third pope. They represent directions of research. Through the years, musicians have added and revised the school, forming seven different paths and fields. "They are the ones we know today: Modifications, Summoning, Choir, Revelations, Illusions, Mind and Abstinence. You may think that theres nothing to this, right? "Even an idiot knows this, right? Musicians from the School of Modifications can cast electricity and frost, Summoning can control demons and beasts, and Choir can heal like a doctor. Revelations are eccentric. They can predict dangers and avoid trouble. Illusions musicians can manipulate illusions, and the School of Mind can control the mindThe School of Abstinence can restrain the previous six schools, but its hard to truly become an expert and has many flaws. "There is another School that combines two or even three schools, producing unimaginable powerYou have all heard of this before and dont need anyone to repeat it. So today, I want to tell you something deeper." She paused. Her eyes were no longer light, but dark and serious. Now, she was not a girl anymore. Standing before her podium, she was standing in her field of expertise. Expression stern, she was ready to explain the reason behind the phenomenon to these confused students. "The seven schools all have unique core principles and goals. This is something no musician can get around. A musician only has to consider it after entering the Resonance level, or even the Scepter level. But if you only start thinking about it then, itll be too late. "No matter what school it is, in the end, its all to search for the Originator, but all seven schools have different starting points and direction of research. They are different in performance, function and final goal. "Heres an example. The School of Modifications uses changes in matter to create effects such as fire, frost and electricity. It has terrifying destructive power. But actually, they research the relationship between the nature of all organisms. "The School of Summoning explores the nature of demons and catastrophes. That is why they take out a piece of their personality and consciousness to raise beasts and demons. When a musician groups aether, these pieces can come together to form phantom beasts. "The most common school for the church is the School of Choir. They focus on the source of all life. That is why they are talented in healing. But do not forget that there is a branch of the School of Choir that researches the nature of death. So if you dont want to die from a strange illness or have your organs fail randomly, please do not anger these seemingly harmless musician doctors. "The School of Revelations works to unveil the future. They are skilled in analyzing, researching, and exploring. They can decipher and read ancient texts and music scores. They are also known as the School of Scholars. Almost all explorers who venture into the Dark World come from this school, including yours truly. The majority of developments in Dark Age research were found by Revelations musicians digging in the ruins. "The two schools that are feared because of their appearance are Illusions and Mind" -- Here, she slowed down, as if distracted by something in the crowd. Finally, she stopped. Brows furrowing, she looked to the back of the classroom. Her expression changed when she saw the youth who was stuffing his face with food. "That student, yes, the one with white hairthe student whos eating! Im sorry, but are you listening?" 117 Would You Like Some? Ye Qingxuan sat in the very center of the very last row. The only other person in the empty row was Bai Xi, who was asleep beside him. For some reason, the classroom was jam packed, but no one was willing to sit near Ye Qingxuan. It was understandable in the case of the elites. Most of them had servants save seats for them so they did not have to come early to get a seat, but the commoner students stood to the side and listened quietly. Seeing Ye Qingxuan writing something, they did not come over to bother him. When they passed by, they nodded to greet him, but seemed to be hesitant and scared of getting too close. "Its probably their teachers," Bai Xi snickered as she rested her head on the table. "The principal isnt here, so all the professors are won over by the school board. All the professors and school board hate us and wish they could just expel us all. Theyre scared that if someone sees them get too close, theyll get in trouble." She continued, "Its freezing now but theyd rather stand where the draft is, instead of taking a little risk to support those who spoke up for them. These people deserve to be peasants" "Bai Xi," Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head, "dont say things like that." "But its the truth! Did you know that there was a commoner genius a few years back? He was seriously a good person, and did so much for the students that were bullied, but he was forced to leave. The people he had helped just watched him kneel outside the door, crying. Thankfully youre not stupid enough to try to help them achieve something. Otherwise, youd also get ruined by them." "Dont overgeneralize. There were a lot of people who protested and quit school to accompany him." "Maybe there were a few," Bai Xi huffed and went back to sleep. She was exhausted after staying up all night then coming to this lecture with Ye Qingxuan in the morning. On the other hand, Ye Qingxuan was totally awake. He held the leather notebook Bai Xi had stolen, searching through them carefully. After reading two pages, he started writing on the letterhead at the front. The letterhead was made of high quality paper. It was a luxury item that costed ten pounds for a quire. He had bought it this morning, and now a stack of paper filled with writing was by Ye Qingxuans right hand, under the ink well. Ye Qingxuan had used the most fashionable elite handwriting for the letter. This script came from the sacred city. The priests who wrote in the church script when writing the lingua franca had also preserved a bit of their own handwriting. This style later spread and became a unique script. It was clean and crisp while still solemn, and was therefore favored by the elites. Ye Qingxuan had spent months practicing this script as a scribe and had been praised by the priest. He had become skilled at it. That was what had made the priest want to train him to be part of the clergy. But now, for some reason, Ye Qingxuan wore a pair of thin gloves when writing. Even his wrists and forearms were covered. Not an inch of skin had touched the paper since he had bought it. Curious, Bai Xi glanced over, but just one line was enough to make her head spin. He was using purple prose, and the structure of some sort of poem to write about boring content. Graceful yet considerate, he caringly asked about the health of a senior. Then he humbly, but not fawningly, expressed his gratitude toward the others care. Finally, he mentioned how they had met last month at a banquet and could not bear to part. From Bai Xis perspective, it was complete bullsh*t. If someone wrote a letter like that to her, she would definitely find the guy and beat him up. At the end of the letter, Ye Qingxuan wrote the name that he made up last night: Your loyal friendSherlock Holmes. "What is this?" Curious, Bai Xi reached over to take the letterhead but Ye Qingxuan flicked her finger away, "Dont touch." Taken aback, Bai Xi retracted her hand sadly. Ye Qingxuan explained, "Youll leave behind fingerprints and other evidence. Its best to not touch this without wearing gloves." "What exactly are you doing?" Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Writing a letter." Ye Qingxuan shook the notebook at her. "Its for those who need help." Bai Xi glanced at the book but could not understand anything. It was filled with weird symbols and numbers. "And what is this crazy thing?" "A code," Ye Qingxuan answered. "More specifically, there are three. The first is a replacement code. The alphabet and word list were switched around according to a specific method and put back together into a new order. The second is a mapping game, and the last uses code words. Deciphering this was fun. Its not that hard." He shrugged, "Compared to ancient texts and music notes, this is nothing." "Whats in it?" "The records of everything the Pyramid Scheme had done for others," Ye Qingxuan replied. "Sam is tricky. Hes scared that hell get killed for knowing too much, so he has to leave something behind to save himself." "If hes scared of getting killed, he shouldnt have done it in the first place." "If you can think of in the first place for everything, then the world wouldnt be so cruel," Ye Qingxuan replied lightly, shrugging his shoulders. He folded the letter, carefully put it in the envelope with a pair of tweezers, and sealed it with glue. Finally, he put the letter and the rest of the letterhead into a small box, and put it back into his bag. He was finally done. After finishing, he sighed and leaned back in his chair, suddenly becoming drowsy. He had not slept at all since yesterday. Now that he was relaxed, he felt exhausted, but he just could not fall asleep. He was hungry. The sleeping Bai Xi heard something like thunder beside her. She raised her head in confusion to see Ye Qingxuan sprawled on the desk, looking like death. "Whats wrong?" "Im hungry," Ye Qingxuan moaned quietly. Bai Xi gazed at him judgingly before sighing, "Idiot." Despite her words, she pushed her extra breakfast over. Ye Qingxuan snatched the bag, but his expression fell after he opened it. "Cousin, your breakfast is a bit too greasy." "Then give it back if you dont want it!" "Ill eat, Ill eat" Ye Qingxuan quickly lowered his head and began stuffing his face. But as he ate, he felt that the atmosphere gradually turneduncomfortable, as if the entire world stopped. Raising his head, he saw everyone staring at him as if he had just killed a puppy. He did not know when the lecturer had singled him out. "That student, the student whos eating, yes, thats right, you" Ye Qingxuan flinched, sensing something bad happening. Many faces flashed past his eyes, but for some reason, it stopped on his stupid senior. And so, as everyone watched, he awkwardly put down his breakfast and wiped his mouth. Clearing his throat, he put on a humble yet warm smile, and pulled a drumstick from the bag, and passed it to the front. "Would you like some?" his action said. In the deadly silence, Lolas facial muscles twitched. She shook her head slowly. Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. The trick did not work! Did it only work for Charles? As the crowd fell into extreme awkwardness, some could not help but laugh. Seeing his confused look, Lolas brows furrowed, "Are you paying attention to the lecture?" "Im sorry. I didnt eat yesterday and Im starving now. Im really sorry." Smiling awkwardly, Ye Qingxuan quickly packed up his breakfast. "Im actually paying attention though." "Oh, really?" Lola said. "Ive just introduced the School of Illusions and Mind. Why dont you explain these two schools to everyone?" "Me?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at himself and shook his head shyly, "I dont think I can." "If you cant, then Ill deduct points," Lola said lightly. "If you can, Ill let you go with breaking the rules and pass this class. "Oh, then let me think a bit" Ye Qingxuan let out a breath in relief. After pretending to think, he replied, "The School of Illusions explores the differences between reality and imitation. Theyve proposed the hypotheses of brain in a vat and ship of Theseus. They advocate exploring the mutual influences between the world and humanity. In the East, this principle is also known as heavenly correspondence. "The School of Mind explores the source of a mans soul. They are skilled in controlling ones consciousness and feelings, and advocate self-cultivation and training your spirit. This is why these two schools are the birthplace of many philosophers" Hearing Ye Qingxuans mature answer, Lolas expression became a bit gentler. She continued asking, "Then what of the outer appearance of the seven different schools? Try giving some examples." "The most obvious is the change in personality. Your personality is compatible with your school." Ye Qingxuan thought of what Charles had said before. Schools and musicians were actually a mutual choice. The school was not the deciding factor because all seven schools had an unseen requirement for musicians. If they based the decision solely on performance, most musicians would fit the style of a school. As Charles had said, most musicians of the School of Modifications were irritable; the School of Choir had two extremesthey were either amazingly happy or terribly gloomy; musicians from Summoning looked like a beast; those from Revelations all believed in fatalism; mind musicians were liked by everyone; illusions musicians were moody; those from Abstinence seemed to all have facial muscle paralysis. They were emotionless, like robots. But one could not be so straightforward when speaking. Hearing Ye Qingxuans answer, the upset in Lolas eyes finally lightened a bit. She shook her head, "It seems that your knowledge of this area is not bad. If you know all this, then you must have some thought about choosing a school, correct?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply for a long time, his expression turning awkward. "To be honest, this Im quite busy and havent thought about it yet" Lola furrowed her brow. "What is more important than your future?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled, but did not reply. Compared to ones future, maybe ones past was more important. 118 A Letter from a Stranger 1 It was a hot afternoon. Everything burned white-hot under the sun. Evaporated water droplets were blown toward Avalon by the lazy ocean breeze, adding to the suffocating humidity. As everyone sweated in the humid climate, the entire city smelled like burnt stew. But the library of an exquisite mansion uptown was filled with cool air. A steady stream of air conditioning blew in from the pipes, making it possible to be comfortable even in the summer heat. An aged man sat behind the table. He wore a monocle and was entirely focused on cleaning his beloved pipe. Panicked footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. He looked up, furrowing his brow, to see his old housekeeper push the door open hurriedly. The housekeeper was drenched in sweat, and he looked shocked. He looked at his master in fear, unable to speak. He panted as if he had run all the way from the gate. He was shaken, as if he had been running for his life, and gripped a letter in his hands. "M-master Spencer," he rushed over and placed the opened letter on the table, "I was getting the mail, please look at this." "Who is it from? Didnt I say that you could reply for me if it was insignificant?" Furrowing his brow, Spencer opened the folded paper. Skimming the content, it seemed unimportant. It looked like a letter from a junior. The sender asked about his health, thanked him for his care, and said they they felt lucky to receive his advice at a wedding last monthlast month? He froze, a bad feeling overcame him, "Did I attend a wedding on the seventh of last month?" "No, Master." Cullen, who knew Spencers schedule well, and shook his head, "The seventh of the last monththat was when they came for the goods." "They? Goods?" Spencers mind went blank and he froze. He looked down at the letter and read it again. The seemingly plain lines seemed to hint at the exchange that no one was supposed to know about. The amount of goods, the time they had left the pier, the distribution channels. The shipment of cargo that no one was supposed to know about, the illegal arms that should have been hidden in the darkness, the secrets that were never to be revealed were all known by whoever sent the letter! Six hundred heavy armor suits, seventy new watcher crossbows, and most importantly five archangel armor suitsthe new assassin weapon created by the Royal Institute of Research. These secrets should have gone soundlessly into the Dark World, unknown by anyone. They should have been, they should have beenthey f*cking should have been! But now someone had seen through it all. He had even left his name at the end of the letter, arrogant and mockingSherlock Holmes! That was what the man had written at the bottom of the letter. Reading the last line, Spencers face grew pale and he fell into a daze. "The goods have beendiscovered, Master." Housekeeper Cullens voice was hoarse. "Impossible!" Spencer was furious, but seeing the old housekeepers panicking eyes, he did not know where to direct his anger! "F*ck, f*ck" Gritting his teeth, he crumpled up the letter, threw it on the ground and furiously stomped on it. When he finally calmed down, he turned and asked, "Who delivered the letter?" "A beggar threw it into the mailbox. He escaped before we could catch him." The housekeeper wiped at his sweat, "Master, should we" "Keep calm!" Spencer squeezed out from between his teeth, "It is not completely out of control. We can still handle this." Trying to ignore his trembling lungs, Spencer muttered to himself as if trying to comfort himself, "We can still push it down. No one will know. No one" "Master, Master!" A servant knocked on the door. When he entered, he was met by the rooms suffocating atmosphere and two gloomy gazes. "What happened?" Spencers eyes were murderous, "Do I allow servants to disturb me when I am in the library?" "Th-there are two guests. They want to see you." "Cant you see that Im busy?!" Furious, Spencer slammed the pipe down, forgetting that it was his beloved possession. Venting his anger, he roared, "Tell them to get the f*ck out! I dont want to see anyone! Do you understand?!" "Th-they said" The servant gulped, "they said theyre from the Fifth Division. They want to consult you about something." Spencer froze. Old housekeeper Cullen turned stiffly, his eyes dazed, "The Fifth Division fromthe army?" The servant nodded. Cullen stumbled back and fell onto the ground. He had almost stopped breathing. The confident housekeeper could no longer keep up his proud stature. He suddenly seemed old, like someone with epilepsy. He gazed at Spencer, his eyes full of despair. "Master" The Fifth Division, the Hound Division, the crazy dog den, the executioner family, the cremation center, the nightmare division, were all of its nicknames. As all knew, the military only had four divisions. There was no fifth division, yet it existed. It had been established in secret after the Dragon Riders had been banned. They were responsible for monitoring, intelligence, assassinations, and getting rid of anything that could not see the light. It was not a part of any group. They were wild dogs loyal only to the Royal family. The man in charge was an old guy who had experienced three kings, the hated lunaticMaxwell. Under his lead, they had become Anglos nightmare. Everyone knew that this group of executioners only came if they had a reason "Master, Master go, Master" the servant frantically called his dazed master. He reached out but Spencer shrieked. Slapping the servants hand away, Spencer stumbled back, practically pressing himself against the wall. "I wont go!" Expression terrified, Spencer curled up in the corner, screaming like a lunatic, "Im not going anywhere! The Rossis are noble men. They wont do this to me!" "Master, theyve gone," the servant reported again, head lowered, "Theyve left." Spencer froze, unable to believe it, "They left?" "Yes." The servant nodded, "They said that you seemed to be busy, so they left an invitation. Youre welcome to visit them any time. They can also come take you there if you need them to." Spencer collapsed into his chair, and stared blankly out the window. Under the blazing sun outside, two men clad in black entered the carriage and left soundlessly. They left. Did those crazy dogs really leave? After a long time, Spencer finally recovered and commanded, "Out! Get out! I need to be alone" The servant helped the weak Cullen out the room. Alone in the still library, Spencer activated the hidden door and walked into a small room. He sat on the chair and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he had become a bird of prey. A vulture flying in the sky. -- When he arrived at the top of the clock tower, the secret meeting was already chaotic. The angry and panicking birds were all arguing and shouting at each other. The vulture closed its wings. Landing in the center, he realized that those in attendance were all very familiarthey were all partners he had worked with. The weathered pelican was trying to maintain order, "Everyone, please calm down. Do not argue!" "Pelican! Do you truly understand our state now?" the magpie screeched. "Whats the situation with the letter?" The vulture flinched. He was not the only one to receive a letter. Making his way around, he discovered that a total of fourteen families had received a mysterious letter. Six families had already been visited by secret police. "Wheres the green falcon?" the vulture asked. "Taken away," the owl answered coldly, descending from the sky. "I just received the news a few minutes ago." The flock of birds fell silent, panic in their eyes. "Please calm down." The pelican was much more composed in comparison, "Its obvious that our relationship with the Pyramid Scheme has been discovered. The records of our illegal trades have been revealed. There is no turning back at this point. We need to take care of the aftermath. The aftermath, do you understand?" "Who can this Holmes fellow be?" The owl grit its teeth in anger, "I want this b*stard to die without a complete corpse! Wheres the robin? Isnt he in charge of downtown?" "Panic not, friend. I am here." A blue robin descended from the sky, landing in the crowd. It said lightly, "My men are investigating." "F*ck, all they can do is investigate and investigate!" the vulture roared. "Those useless pieces of sh*t cant find anything!" The pelican nodded, "The only ones who are willing to work for us in downtown is the Pyramid Scheme, but are they still trustworthy? We must receive an explanation from Sam!" "Sam has disappeared. He knows that well look for him. Of course hell hide" someone said. The robin had a worse thought, "Or maybe he had already fallen into the hands of this Holmes." Hesitating, the pelican said, "I can ask a musician from the School of Modifications for help. Maybe they can find some evidence from the letter." "Theres no use. Weve already done so." The owl shook his head, "The master Monet had already looked at the letter. There is nothing that can be tracedno fingerprints, no sweat, no body odor. The man wore gloves, and no medium can be used to trace his identity. He is skilled in this. He might even be a musician." "What about the paper? The paper is the best medium!" "Weve tried it." The owl continued, "The things that the music score Yesterday Once More found was too messy. It includes the breaths of many musicians, but we cant find any matches. Its as if the letters were written in the Musicians Association! "We dont need the police either. Even a blind man can see that it was written by an eliteor the scribe of an elite family. Fellows, are your secretaries truly trustworthy?" The owl paused, his eyes flashing dangerously, "Or perhaps, is he one of us?" 119 A Letter from a Stranger 2 The birds exchanged glances in the silence. Finally, their gaze turned to the vulture. It was clear that, even here, the vulture was the least popular. Sensing their eyes, the vulture froze, instantly furious, "You suspect me of betraying you all? You d*mned b*stards, I was part of the trade. Why would I make trouble for myself?!" "I just want to remind everyone to not leave behind any complications" someone said. "Of course there wont be any!" The vultures voice was full of frustration, "What do we do now? Do we wait for the secret police to find us one by one and take us away?!" He continued, "The Royal family has been displeased with us for a long time. The Queen has been having some mental issues recently because of the curse. They are willing to seek outside help, to ask the Easterners for help. If they know that weve been messing around at this critical point, theyll never let us go." "Calm down. The Fifth Division has only heard some rumors. The green falcon has just gone to cooperate with the investigation. He wasnt arrested," the blue robin said coolly. "If they really did have evidence, we would not be chatting here. At that point, the Fifth Division would kindly open a VIP room for us in the Arkham Asylum. We might be able to have a party there." "You mean they cant do anything to us at the moment?" The vulture could not believe it. "Do you still not understand? Why did Holmes choose to send you all the letter?" the blue robin asked mockingly. "Hes blackmailing you all, my friends! This is clearly to provoke parliament!" The vulture panicked, "He can have as much money as he wants!" "Are you kidding me?" The blue robin laughed, "Gentlemen, let me remind you. You might have met the most arrogant kidnapper in the history of Avalon! He has already put blackmail letters containing the fingers of captives into the mailboxes of fourteen families! He has declared war on half of Avalon! How can you satisfy a lunatic like that with money?" The crowd remained silent. Everyone felt a chill go down their spine. Catching the attention of a lunatic was never a good thing, especially if the lunatic might be a dark musician! The scariest fact of the matter was that this dark musician had escaped past the Avalon Enchantment, hid from the Musician Association, and snuck into Avalon! No one knew what this crazy man could do! "What if we stop?" a weak voice sounded from the crowd. -- The flock of birds rustled, and turned to the source of the voice. At the back of the crowd, the magpie flinched, obviously scared out of his wits. He said, "As long as we dont get into the mess of Avalons Shadow and search for the Blood Path, the dark musician wont become our enemy, right? And and" he could not continue. The blue robins eyes had turned icy. "Do you think youre still able to stop now?" he asked coldly. "Weve put in so much effort to spark fights in downtown, and squash the Shamans comeback just to find the Blood Path. The Queen has been trying to reduce our power ever since she took the throne. She wants to turn the glorious bloodlines into nothing but a name. "The Royal family is at its weakest point now. We can only take the initiative if we have the Blood Path. Because at that time, even the Queen will have to listen to us! A dark musician is just an obstacle! What are you all scared of?! Didnt we work together and force the Shaman away before?" "But what should we do now?" the owl asked. "Let that dark musician Holmes continue making a mess of things?" "We dont need to do anything," the blue robin suddenly said. "Just wait patiently for Holmes to make a mistake. If he dares to leave any evidence behind, he will be dead." "If he reports us" "How?" The blue robin scoffed, "His biggest mistake was in writing the letter and giving us time to prepare. All we need to do is destroy all evidence and create a clear alibi. He wont be able to do anything to us! And anyway, the elites of Avalon arent all perfect like Lancelot. Everyone has done something illegal. The Royals cant kill all of us, can they?" As the crowd fell silent, the pelican sighed, "But we must give up on the Pyramid Scheme." Hearing this, the vulture felt a pang in his heart. Giving up on a hundred-thousand pounds of monthly profit and the tools for dirty work felt as if he was slicing up his own heart to give away. The money was not the most important either. Without the Pyramid Scheme, their eyes, ears, and influence in downtown would be wiped out. They would have to start all over. And the Shaman just had to come back. It was the worst timing! "Dont worry. If we can bring the Pyramid Scheme to power, naturally we can help others too. There are many in downtown who want to be connected to us." The blue robins voice was sinister, "Weve let the rednecks go free for too long. This is a good chance to clean them out. Just like nine years ago, the ones who are obedient can survive, but the Shaman, the Professor, and Holmes will die. At that time, all clues to the Blood Path would be in our hands." "And Sam," someone added. "Get rid of Sam first. That guy knows too much. If he calls us out, things will be messy." "Dont worry. Sam will die sooner or later," the blue robin replied. "To prepare for this day, I hired a Blood Sorcerer long ago to curse him. So there shouldnt be any problems if you take care of your own evidence." "Take care ofour evidence?" the vulture murmured to himself. When he opened his eyes, he was back in his own body. His eyes were ruthless. -- "Cullen! Cullen!" Spencer pushed open the library door, calling for his housekeeper, "Tell Cullen to come see me!" He paced in the library silently, his face dark, as he thought of every detail. But just as he was focused on his thoughts, faint crying and screams sounded. "Whats going on?" he yelled in frustration. The servant outside the door said, "Master, its Young Master Edmund. Hes crying again." "That useless piece of trash! How is he shameless enough to cry?" Furious, Spencer grabbed an Eastern vase nearby and shattered it at the servants feet. "The family had such high expectations for him, but hes nothing compared to Banner, or Banners brother, Gavin." Usually, Spencers voice was full of love when speaking of his youngest child, but now his heart was filled with anger he needed to vent. "Stealing something so precious from his uncle is one thing. But then he dared to get destroyed by a redneck! And hes crying?!" The servant trembled, too afraid to reply. Seeing that Cullen had arrived, he retreated quietly. All that could be heard in the silence was Edmunds cries. One could vaguely hear, "I want him to die,""Wheres Father? I want to see Father!" adding to Spencers anger. "Cullen, make him shut up," Spencer spat, "or else hell be locked up!" "Yes," Cullen nodded, still shaken from earlier. He turned to leave but heard a voice behind him, "Bring me everything that the Pyramid Scheme had given. Nothing can remain." He froze in disbelief, instinctively calculating the value of everything. "Everything?" Cullen confirmed. "Everything." Spencer nodded tersely, "Alert the workers in the boiler room. Tell them well need to use it soon." -- Half an hour later, the boiler room had become a furnace. It was hard to believe that someone had started the boiler in such hot weather. Servants threw coal in continuously, raising the temperature. Every breath was like swallowing lava. The pain was like a fifth degree burn. Spencer stood before the boiler, observing the giant thing that could heat up an entire manor in the winter. The door as tall as a man was wide open. Sparks flew in the blazing air, glowing red. Sweat rolled down his back. He held a handkerchief to his mouth, trying to breathe. "Master, its ready," Cullen reported quietly, walking in slowly. "Everythings here." Spencer turned to look at the dozens of trolleys. They were filled with antiques, account books, Eastern silk, Burgundy wine, Asgardian tobacco, and ancient books. His heart in pain, he closed his eyes and waved, telling them to hurry. Muscular servants pushed the trolleys toward the blazing boiler. Even from the distance, their hair curled, and their skin turned red. They did not dare get close to the boiler. They let the trolleys go from a distance, throwing them into the boiler. The precious items burned easily in the red fire and light that seemed to come from hell. Even the trolleys slowly melted before finally disappearing completely. Not even ash was left behind. One trolley, another trolley, yet another, and another, and another f*cking trolleySpencer felt his heart dripping with blood. "Are there more?" he asked. Cullen shook his head, "Master, theyre all here." "All here?" Spencer seemed unconvinced, "Are you sure?" "Yes, Master. Theyre all here." Cullen nodded blankly and suddenly felt pain in his chest. Lowering his head stiffly, he saw a silk gloved hand and the dagger in it. The dagger was Spencers favorite blade. It had been given to him by Sam, and could apparently slice through steel as if it were mud, but now it was in his heart. "MaMaster?" Cullen looked up in confusion, his eyes studying Spencers face hopelessly. "Youve worked for our family for three years. I thank you on behalf of my grandfather and my father," Spencer pulled out the dagger, him bidding farewell. "Goodbye, my old friend." His old friend could no longer speak. He collapsed on the floor, whispering something in despair before gradually closing his eyes. The blood dried quickly in the hot wind. It evaporated, leaving behind a dark red stain. It was hardly noticeable on the black floor. "Get rid of it with the other things. With their company, old Cullen wont be lonely in Heaven," Spencer tossed the dagger and gloves onto the corpse and left. The body fizzled and popped in the burner, and turned to coal. The coal gradually crumbled into powder, making small noises as if the soul was wailing in the fire of hell. Finally, the wails disappeared in the flames. Nothing was left behind. With his back to the blazing light, Spencer stared into the sky outside, his eyes bloodshot. He murmured the d*mned name like a mantra, "Holmes, Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, that d*mn Sherlock Holmes" 120 A Letter from a Stranger 3 Outside the boiler room, the weather was still burning as if it were an even bigger boiler. Even the ocean breeze had stopped at one point. The entire city seemed to be submerged in boiling glue. It was unbearable. Above the dazzling, radiant, heavenly city, a cloud of polluted smoke rose among the tall uptown buildings. As the boiler room workers fervently created wind, the ashes flew with the flames. The remains of sins rode the hot wind, rising from the crude boiler, finally escaping its hold. They were free outside the boiler, and expanded like a drop of ink in water. The black smoke seemed solid like metal in the windless air. It rose slow and thick as if it was determined to reach the stars. From afar, it looked like a black pillar reaching into the sky. Just like how one bird flying away in fright would lead to a flock of birds flying, a second cloud of black smoke rose soon after. And then a third, and a fourth Everyone in the city looked toward uptown in confusion, looking the smoke that seemed frozen in the air. The people discussed amongst themselves. Some counted the smoke stacks excitedly, "Five, six eleven, twelve sixteen, seventeen! Seventeen!" Under the blazing sun, between the ocean and the sky, above the dazzling city were seventeen clouds of black smoke. They rose from the earth to the air, like pillars holding up the sky. Just as the legends said, the glorious bloodlines were pillars that held up the empirebut these things were polluted to the bone. Many looked at the angry and humiliated clouds of smoke and laughed gleefully, as if seeing faces swollen from being slapped, but the well-informed witnesses became cautious, ingraining in their mind the name of the man who had practically set uptown on fireSherlock Holmes. Who was Sherlock Holmes? -- "This is a warning," Shaman said in downtown. "A challenge and a warning to everyone." "Warning?" Ghosthand asked in confusion, "To whom?" "To anyone who can see it." The Shaman studied the smoke pillars as if observing an art masterpiece. His eyes were full of appreciation. "Is this Holmes getting interested in downtown as well?" Ghosthand refused to believe it, as if it were a joke. "Why not? Every creature needs his own hunting ground, is that not true?" The Shaman chuckled in the darkness, "Those who have gone to the Dark World know that some fallen tribes like to put up a sign, marking their territory to show that they are sovereign. Some are delicate bones, others are dried corpses or wild totems. When you see them, you know that you should turn around and leave. Theyre waving at you. And when you look at the sign they are also looking at you." -- "What a great show. Amazing." The white-haired youth stood before the window, studying the black smoke in the sky. He chuckled lightly, "Really, it looks much better than all your faces from before." No one replied. "Lets just see this as an omen for the return of the wanderer." As if studying those faces, he murmured, "This is just an offhand reminder. Someday, youll need to finish paying the debts" The shadows of times past flashed through the youths eyes. He closed the curtains slowly, moving on from the scene. In the dark room, he sat in a chair, feeling the endless strength leave him bit by bit. The pain and contradicting feelings in his heart, the confusion and frustrations that kept him awake at night finally seemed to disappear. What replaced them was the long-awaited exhaustion. It drowned him like a tidal wave. Smiling, the youth closed his eyes. The nightmares of the past would not appear in his peaceful dream, right? Finally, he could sleep for a bit. -- "F*ck, f*ck, f*ck!" someone swore in a hoarse on a small boat slowly leaving the port. Cursing, the man flipped a table in rage, "F*ck Holmes. F*ck Holmes!" Glaring at the evil smoke snaking above Avalon, his eyes were wild and hopeless, "I shouldve killed you, you d*mned b*stard!" As if he had serious malaria or a strange disease, the mans skin was green and red, but his face was deathly pale and covered with chickenpox. He curled up in the corner of the ship, panic in his eyes. He was wrapped in a blanket, but his body shook uncontrollably. Under the blanket, his skin swelled, bubbling and rotted. No one could imagine that the arrogant and proud Pyramid King would be reduced to this state. He looked like a dead and rotting rat. Anyone could see that it was all over for him. Ever since he had realized that he lost his notebook last night, he started panicking. At first, he hoped that Holmes could not read his notes. But who would have known that his code could be read as easily as a novel? In the morning, he received the newsmany people were secretly searching for him. He had hoped the elites could protect him, but when he found out that they had received mysterious letters, he knew that it was all over for him. In the past, they had been the Pyramid Schemes protective shield, but now they were the ones out for the Pyramid Schemes blood. Soon, his hard work would be uprooted and wiped out cruelly, with a new face after they erased his existence. A new dog would be in place to continue working for the elites. He must diehe would die. Nobody would allow someone who knew too much to live, especially someone like Sam, who was willing to say anything to survive. As his innards twisted in pain, he bit down on the blanket, forcing himself to endure the dizziness and fatigue. He could not fall asleep. Once he did, everything would be over. "Faster, faster" he murmured, his eyes full of fear. He had thought that his escape was perfect, but when he boarded the ship, he realized that he had been cursed with the Blood Curse. He realized that the fatal noose had been around his neck all this time. If he moved even a little, he would die from asphyxiation. Now, he just wished he could leave Avalon as soon as possible. The musician who had cursed him was in Avalon. The further he was from the city, the weaker the curse would be. He could only hope that he could find someone who could undo the curse in time, but this was impossible. The crisp voice in his ears was getting clearer. It was the melody of the noose, digging into his bones and destroying him, "One blind mouse, two blind mice, three blind mice! See how they run!" All that could be heard in the stillness was the sound of the boils popping, and Sams pained moans. But somehow, he could hear children singing quietly. The song was cruel, eating away at his life like maggots in his bones, "Cut off their tails, dig out the small eyes, the cute furry body. Rip off their paws, shave the sweet bone marrow, the warm organs are gone" The crisp voice continued to sing in his ears, "Did you ever see such a sight in your life, as three blind micethree blind mice, three blind mice" Face ghastly pale, Sam suddenly opened his mouth and threw up the food in his intestines. They had rotted, like stew made from garbage Sam froze. He raised his hand blankly. His trembling hand was numb. It seemed to have disappeared, and that was left was a bag of skin and bones. He looked up at the drawer. The mirror on it had shattered. The shards landed before him, reflecting his withered face. Warm blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and mouth, cruelly taking away any warmth from his body. He tried screaming out in despair, but he no longer had the strength to scream. He wanted to cry, but had no tears. He prayed to the gods, to the demons, to the monsters, to anything that could help. He was willing to give up anything in order to live. "Including your soul?" a sandy voice asked softly in his ear. He used the last of his strength to raise his head, looking at the figure that had appeared. Sam no longer had the strength to be afraid. Bloody tears of gratitude rolled from the corner of his eyes. He blinked with difficulty. The blinks seemed to say, "Please save me, please save. Please, you must save me. No matter whatjust let me live." "Then sign this." The cold shadow tossed him a contract branded with a music piece, "If you still have the strength to sell your soul, you can live." Finally saved, the Pyramid King writhed painfully on the ground. Like a decaying caterpillar, he squirmed toward the open contract. He was like a sinner in hell squirming toward heaven, begging for salvation. Full of hope, full of humiliation, full of joy, he raised his rotting hand bit by bit and pressed it down onto the contract. The paper lit up with a cloudy light and lit up in flames, vanishing. "Very good." The black-robed shadow smiled in the darkness and snapped his fingers. The childrens voices suddenly stopped, disappearing with a scream. All that was left was a dying and decaying body on the ground, using its last breath. "Congratulations. You can continue living after selling your last item." The shadow reached out a delicate and white hand. The amber ring on his finger reflected a gentle yet eerie light. "Greet your new master." On the ground, the Pyramid King shed tears of gratitude. He kissed the ring sincerely, "Yes, my great master, the great Professor, the greatLord Moriarty." 121 Good Friend It was dusk. The last bit sunlight slowly faded away, but the basement light was still on. Charles studied the leather robe on the hanger, mending the tears and holes. The design had been perfect enough, but now he could see that once something was actually put in use, there would be problems. Many problems had arisen in just one night. Charles opened the lining, checking the steel bone structure inside. He muttered to himself, "The shoulders shock absorbance isnt good enough. There might be metal fatigue as time goes on. There are problems with the force guidance too, but it should be easy to fix. Its own stability juniors really good at coming up with hard questions. I have to make it lighter, but still strong" "Still working?" a voice sounded behind him. "Professor?" Charles turned around in shock, "Shouldnt you be teaching?" Abraham shrugged, "The only student whos willing to come also ditched today." "What about junior?" "Still sleeping. Maybe hes tired." "He can get tired too? Sounds like a joke." Charles shook his head, "Sometimes I feel like hes made of steel. But even if hes steel, he shouldnt put so much pressure on himself. He can get metal fatigue too. Hes already reached the Rhythm level in one month" "Its already been one month? It feels like only a few days have passed." Abraham sighed, "I had worried that you two wouldnt get along, but now it seems like you two are good friends." "Good friends?" Thinking of something, Charles laughed. "Whats wrong?" "Nothing, I just heard a joke a few days ago," Charles said. "Good friends are like stars. No matter how often you see them, you know that if you look up, youll see them watching you from afar, not doing anything." "Charles, why do I find you more and more annoying?" "Professor, I try not to be," Charles said helplessly. "Once I dreamed of a really interesting comic about a bat knight. He would fight against the evils in his city and had many powerful enemies. While he was fighting for justice, he met a group of powerful friends. "Some of them were able to fly, and their eyes could shoot lasers. Some were female warriors in bikinis, others had green light, and another one could talk with fish. They united and even became members of a tight-clothing club together. But no matter how many friends he had, the bat knight always fought by himself. When he faced powerful enemies, his good friends were uselessjust like Yezi." Looking back at the robe, Charles eyes darkened. "Professor, look, I want to be a superhero that can shoot lasers with my eyes too, but sadly, Im just a pile of useless trash. Sometimes, I really feel like Ill become the useless friend too." Abraham was silent for a long time. Finally, he patted Charless shoulders, saying, "Some people are not destined to receive help." Charles shrugged. -- "But anyway, I feel like Junior is a little weird these days." "Maybe he grew up?" Abraham nodded, "You were like this too. Youd always hide under the bed to look at porn." "Uh, Im not talking about that," Charles quickly explained, almost choking on his spit. "I mean that he looks the same as before but he looks scared of something." "Oh." Abraham nodded. "Professor, do you have any solutions?" Abraham shook his head. "You cant do anything either?" "From what I see, just let him be scared. Why should you force yourself to stop being scared?" Abraham looked at him, "Charles, didnt you have many nightmares when you were little?" Charless smile froze and he looked away, "Thats all in the past." "Yes, everything will pass," Abraham said. The room fell silent again. Charles studied the steel bone structure in the long silence. He suddenly asked, "Professor, are you scared of anything?" "Yes, many things." Abraham nodded calmly, though his eyes were bitter. "A few days ago, I was scared the academy wouldnt pay me You know, you owe too much money. If you cant pay them back, itll be hard for you to stay here." "Uh" Seeing his expression, Abraham laughed, "The older you get, the more things you worry about, and the more things you fear. When I was young, I kept thinking how great it would be if wasnt scared of anything, but is that really better? Do you really have to force yourself?" As Charles thought, Abraham reached over and lifted the robe. "Did you make this? Its good." Charles shrugged, "I cant be a musician, so I can just make these small things." "Theres nothing regretful about not becoming a musician. If you are a renowned artisan, you can be respected too. Theres no problem as long as you can live well. There arent any rules about what you must do. I had wanted to train Yezi to become a scholar, but sadly, it seems like he probably doesnt want to. I can only help him in a different way." With that, Abraham reached into the air, slowing opening his prosthetic fingers as if grasping something. Then the "Requiem" enchantment over the academy cracked open. The omnipresent enchantment in the air began turning secretly. Thick and solid aether rushed through the crack, flowing into the basement. It shimmered with a beautiful glow. A black violin appeared in the black metal hand. The strings vibrated, playing a graceful and quiet melody. The entire world seemed to hush. Everything stopped rushing around, entering an indescribable peace, as if falling into a beautiful dream. There was no more death, no more uncertainty, no more confusion. Everything returned to a calm state. This was a fragment of the legendary Wyrmrest Kekkai. It came from the calming Requiem and could make all Musician level scores ineffectiveResonance level music score: Tranquility! The aether rippled with the melody. Everything in its path fell asleep. Abraham stood within the ripples, conducting the melody. He guided the aether onto the black robe, transforming into music notes. Layers of complex music scores shimmered on the steel bone structure before dimming. In the end, they disappeared with the melody, reverting back to its original appearance. The music score of Tranquility had been sealed within. Abraham was not an alchemist from the School of Modifications, but he had used his studies in the School of Abstinence to turn the score into a seal implanted into the robe to become alchemy equipment. "Compared to professional alchemists, the seal Ive made can only be used once." Abraham shook his head regretfully, putting the robe back on the hanger, "But it should be enough for now." Charles felt the power within the robe, discerning it, "Once the Tranquility Enchantment is activated, everything within ten meters will become a silent aether zone. Its only for half a minute, but all music scores under the Resonance level, and musicians who havent gone past the Barrier of Knowledge will be unable to manipulate aether. No matter what, he can at least stay alive with it." Abraham remained silent, glancing at his steel arm. The constantly flashing rune on his inner arm seemed to be reminding him of something. He reached over, feeling the easily-activated rune and the power it held. The music score was enough to turn the entire building into ashthat was his shackle. Abraham looked away, sighing, "That is all I can do." -- Ye Qingxuan awoke from his dream, his entire body sore. The over-manipulation of aether made him nauseous. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei could help him with precise manipulation, but performing complex notes still exhausted him. Even if his father had made Black Friday just for him, he needed to create each interval by himself. He needed to overlap the music notes and put them into the structure of an interval. It was like putting words into a phrase, phrases into a sentence, and then making a paragraphthat was the measure of a music piece. Each measure needed his total focus. If he had not hid in the coffin beforehand in the graveyard, he would have been found easily. "Hopefully it wont be so tiring today." Rubbing his face, Ye Qingxuan climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom for a shower. When he saw himself in the mirror, he almost freaked out. -- Under the dim light, a white-haired youth stood silently in the shadows, staring at the mirror. There were dark circles under his eyes as if he had a lack of sleep, but his gaze was sharp, like a sword becoming sharper with use. He no longer looked at the forgotten friendships and indifferences. He was no longer full of enthusiasm. He had received some things and lost others. Maybe Charles was right. The classroom was where one learned by shedding blood and tears. The best way to learn was pain. Downtown was a good school, even if he learned things he did not want to. Ye Qingxuan looked at the mirror. After a long time, he sighed. "Junior, do you think youve gotten so attractive that you cant even recognize yourself?" a voice came from the side. Ye Qingxuan shook subconsciously. "Senior, can you not scare me like that?" he sighed. "I know, I know. Its annoying to get interrupted when youre drunk on your own beauty." Charles came closer. He fixed his hair, his eyes full of adoration. "To be honest, I get that feeling a lot. How can the handsome man in the mirror be me? Whenever I see that someone can be so handsome, my knees get weak. When I looked at the mirror a few days ago, I almost kneeled down to myself!" "Senior!" Ye Qingxuan seriously wanted to slap this guy. "Okay, I know. Shut up, right?" Charles shrugged and patted Ye Qingxuans shoulders. "But Junior" "Huh?" Charles played with the soap by the sink and whistled, "Youve been out of the shower for so long. Havent you noticed that youre not wearing pants?" "" Ye Qingxuan looked up into the sky, sighing. He did not care who was listening to his prayers, but he just wanted someone to strike this guy with lightning. 122 Deduction After Dinner In a remote tavern in downtown, a bedraggled man drank wine with large gulps under the dim yellow light. His eyes were dazed and his hair was messy. His clothing was originally clean, but had become dirty with its owners "care." Failures like him could be seen everywhere in downtown, getting drunk and escaping from reality. But he seemed to be rich, and could afford the expensive wines. "F*ck, a bunch of bullsh*t!" Lestrade spat. He downed the wine and snapped his fingers, calling the bartender for another bottle. The bartender seemed not to have heard and did not reply. Angry, Lestrade moved to flip the table over, but a bottle was placed before him. He was already wasted, but he could still see that it was black market whiskey from Burgundy. Thirty bottles were produced annually. It was a rare luxury. A figure sat before him. One could see from the contours that the man was dressed well and was full of grace. Voice gentle, he asked, "Hey, friend, mind if I sit here? Ive had a good harvest recently, and I want to celebrate. I need a friend to share with." Lestrade opened his eyes, but he was drunk and could not see clearly. The newcomer took off his hat, and placed it on the table. Then he opened the bottle smoothly and poured two glasses, "Cheers to the mighty Avalon." The gentlemanly figure raised his glass. Lestrade hesitated. Pursing his lips, he raised his as well. "F*ck Avalon." Downing the glass in one shot, the sweet liquor rolled down his throat, waking his drowsy senses. Pursing his lips, he tossed the glass and stuck up his middle finger, "Okay, you can scram now." "So uncivilized," the newcomer sighed. He finished the glass and set it down. "Friend, why must you drink by yourself? Life is short. You need a friend to talk about your worries with. You need a good listener." "You f*cking lunatic" Rolling his eyes, Lestrade slammed his hand onto the table and stood up, ready to leave. "Sit," the elegant voice said behind him. For some reason, Lestrades vision blurred, his knees buckled, and he sat in the chair again. "Very good. This is the basis of a conversation. You must be polite and open your heart." As Lestrades eyes widened in shock, the newcomer laughed quietly. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Holmes, Sherlock Holmes. Its a pleasure to meet you, Inspector Lestrade. Ive heard much about you" Lestrade was awake instantly. He opened his eyes, finally seeing the man clearly. A chill ran down his spine. The man who called himself Holmes sat in the shadow under the swaying light. Dim light illuminated his robe, but the robe was beastlymenacing and terrifying. The candlelight danced across his face but could not illuminate his features. It was all a blur. And in the blurriness, two dark orbs reflected the light like burning flames. The rest of the bar seemed to fade with the mans appearance. They seemed to be in a different world. People passed by, but no one spared them a glance. Holmes laughed, his voice hoarse. "Seems that youre still drunk. Why dont we play a game?" He pulled a marble from his pocket and tossed it into the glass before him. Then he flipped the two glasses over and moved them around at a dizzying speed. When the short but fast movements ended, Sherlock let go and pointed at the two glasses. "Guess where the marble is." Lestrade studied him cautiously, but the man just smiled, waiting patiently. Lestrade wanted to leave but the chill in his body made him hesitate. After a long time, he pointed to the glass on the right. "Beep! Beep! Wrong!" The man flipped the glass, revealing the emptiness. "Theres a punishment for choosing wrong." Crack! Before Lestrade could react, his face started burning in pain. It was a slap. A slap that was full of disdain and mockery, taunting him. "F*ck" Lestrade slammed his fist down in anger, ready to punch the man hard, but he saw the man look up and order, "I told you, sit down!" Thud! Lestrade fell into his seat, unable to control his own body. Biting coldness shot from his feet to the back of his skull. A chill known as fear pierced his mind, jolting him from his drunken haze, but he would have rather been drunk. "Okay, lets continue our game." The two glasses started moving again. Quickly, they stopped. The man chuckled, "Its time to choose again." "What do you want?!" Lestrade glared at the figure before him. "Behave yourself, *sshole, or else youll be in jail getting loved by all of the men!" "Ha, are you finally awake?" The ghostly man chuckled, "How unfortunate. I wanted to play some more, but now it seems that we can start conversing happily." "Converse? In your dreams!" Lestrade spat. He had seen through this guys nature. Sneering, he said, "Wait until tomorrow morning and well have a nice conversation in prison. Then youll know what regret means." He jabbed the mans chest, his expression dark. "Best if you find out who I am!" "So unfriendly," The man sighed, gripping Lestrades finger. "Just so unfriendly." Lestrade flinched. He tried yanking his hand back, but the mans grip was like a clamp around his finger! He could not budge at all. "I know who you are. But you dont know," there was hoarse laughter, "...who I am." Crack! There was a crisp noise. It was the sound of bone shattering. Lestrades face twisted and he opened his mouth to scream, but his voice was stuck in his throat. Pain attacked his nerves in waves, pushing him to the brink of sanity. He shook, holding his broken finger and screaming silently. His body twisted and trembled in pain. His eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "You can calm down now, right? Mr. Lestrade, I came to find you so we could have a friendly conversation. Why must you be so rude?" The man smiled. He lowered his eyes, looking at Lestrade. "Or has your argument with that rich lady made you lose all reason?" In extreme pain and fury, Lestrade finally understood one thing: the man before him wasa complete lunatic! Glaring, he forced out, "You stalked me!" "Stalk? You?" The man who called himself Holmes was taken aback, as if he had heard a joke. He gazed at Lestrades face and shook his head seriously. His nonchalant reply was full of scorn and coldness. Lestrades humiliation multiplied. He panted heavily, his face red and his eyes murderous. "I dont care how you found out, *sshole, but I will get rid of you. Understood? Get rid of you! You and everything you inquired about will be thrown into the sewer!" "Inquire? Haha, look at yourself, sir. Everythings written on your face." The d*mned fellow laughed. He suddenly rose, stepping onto the table to look down. He used is cane to lift Lestrades chin, gazing at his pale face. "Do you know the method of deduction? Should I demonstrate it for you?" He paused and let out a hearty laugh, "Now, its time for reasoning." 123 The Demon’s Dark Eyes "Its midnight and you, an inspector with a promising career, didnt go home but let yourself get drunk as a pig. I suppose that you must be in a very bad mood, and maybe saw some terrible things, so I shall give you my sympathy! "But I still cant imagine that you would pick such a dirty downtown tavern to buy a drink, even to relax. Are you strapped for cash? "What a surprise! If you go to midtown, Im sure those kiss-up men would know who you are, and would give you a discount. No doubt something happened, so you cant have a drink for free anymore, not at least now. "Hmm pale face, red neck, and dilated pupilsyou smoked opiates! Interesting! A cop smoking opiates!Have you always had such a special hobby?" Lestrade froze, his pupils constricted out of fearhis secret had been discovered! He tried to say something, but the hoarse laughter did not wait for his words. "Oh, sorry to digress! Lets get back on topic. Oh, look at those scratches on the neck and arms. Mustve been from someones sharp nails. Look at the pink nail polish left on the wound. Was it a prostitute? "No, prostitutes would choose a brighter and more charming color. Whats more, they know who you are. They wouldnt dare to harm a hair, even if you beat them up. "There is obvious ring-shaped mark, but no ring. Where did the ring go? Well, from your look, you didnt lose it. You just took it off, didnt you? "Your sleeves, oh, theyre turning black. Youre well-dressed, but a gentleman would never wear dirty clothes! And look at your nails. Is there dirt underneath them? Terrible! Youd better go home right now and take a nice bath. You havent been home these past two days, right? "Your hands caught my attention too. Theyre full of calluses. It tells me that you must have worked very hard before. Are you a craftsman? No, everyone knows that youre an inspector. The only explanation is that youve worked at a workshop before. "According to your age, let me guess, it was family workshop, wasnt it? You must have been in charge of tanning the leather, right? Your fingers and palms dont have the same skin color, which proves that your fingers must have been soaked in some kind of agent for a long time. The agents for tanning leather can corrode things to some degree. This explains why red marks appear whenever you drink. "Then, my next question is, how can the son of a leather workshop owner occupy such an important position in a national police agency where there are so many elites and noblemen? The only explanation is that you have a good wife and a father-in-law in parliament. "But it seems that her father doesnt really like you, and always finds fault with you. Otherwise, he wouldnt give you his old clothing as gifts. I can tell that you really like this coat, but its a pity that this coat was fashionable ten years ago. "Maybe you have made a name for yourself, but you just cant be acknowledged by those elites and become one of them. My advice for you is to find a mannerism teacher, or you will not even be able to correct your abnormal knees. "In conclusion, there must have been some conflicts between the gloomy inspector Lestrade, and his elite wife who regrets to have married such a poor man." There was deathly silence. The cane lifting Lestrades chin was lowered, but Lestrade could not move at all. In the silence, Lestrade felt that even the air had solidified. Something like an invisible boa twined around him, restricting him. He even felt the cold and wet scales on his skin, slowly dragging him into the chasm of fear. As if he was standing in front of his father-in-law again, he felt long-gone humiliation and fear. No, it was worse than that. He had no secrets that this man did not already know. "Youyou" Lestrade opened his mouth but had no idea what to say. It was like he was naked walking over the snow. Blazing sun shone on his body, but it gave him no warmth, only cruelly revealing his secrets. The whole world was laughing at him, laughing at this over-confident downtown redneck. He shook with great humiliation. "Dont be afraid. Arent I your friend?" A cold hand stroked his hair, "Dont worry, I wont tell anyone. You help me and I will help you." "You, what?" Gathering his courage, he glared at the man, "What do you want from me?" "We can talk about it later. As your good friend, I care about your situation right now." This man named Sherlock Holmes shook his head and sighed, "Youve been down on your luck ever since the Shaman came back. First, those downtown cases made you almost lose your job. You were a competent employee to your boss, but now youre just useless waste. Then your ways of earning money were cut off. Those big guys who used to pay you disappeared one by one, and Im afraid that the last rat willing to give you money disappeared last night too. "Youre used to indulging, but youve run out of money, havent you? Otherwise, you wouldnt have quarreled with your wife because you cant afford the expenses of holding dinner parties and luxuries any more, right?" Silent for a long time, Lestrade finally nodded slowly. He surrendered. A friendly hand grabbed Lestrades, clenching it tightly. A hoarse voice said, "There is still a chance, Lestrade, there is a chance, do not give up!" The man hummed a motivational song and said passionately, "No matter what, please don''t forget that you still have friends behind youYou have me!" What Lestrade felt was just a great chill from head to toe. His hands trembled, but he did not have the courage to break away from the ''friendship.'' He did not dare to. He was afraid that something would be waiting for him if he refused. "What do you want?" "I want to help you." The sound seemed to come from a demon, with a vicious '' friendliness."You will prove that you are not a waste, that you are a young and promising detectivethe nemesis of downtown''s criminals! In the eyes of your father-in-law, you will be the perfect son-in-law! As long as you provide some insignificant information, I will provide you with the power to rise up." Lestrade was speechless. In the silence, his breaths became heavy at times, stopping at others. His pupils dilated and constricted. His mind was struggling and hesitating. In his hesitation, Holmes took out a thick paper bag and pushed it slowly against Lestrades face. "The Pyramid Scheme is over, you know. Here is the Pyramid Kings contacts, and his secret channels for smuggling. Imagine what your future would be like when you catch him" At that moment, Lestrade almost subconsciously reached out for the paper bag. When a child gives in to the temptation of sweets, a whip will teach his hand a stern lesson. The cane cruelly swept Lestrades hand, pushing the lamp on the table to the paper bag. Bit by bit, the oil lamp tilted. The oil spilled, each drop spreading and reflecting the impending flames. Just as the oil lamp was about to topple over, Lestrade moved. He swept the oil lamp aside like a madman and grabbed the paper bag. He forgot the pain of his broken finger and the shame he had just endured. His eyes were full of fanaticism and greed, "Deal!" He clung to the thing greedily. "I can tell you everything you want to know!" On the ground, the overturned light jumped one last time, vaguely illuminating the side of the mans face in the shadow, as well as his lips, curled into a cheerful smile. Maybe he really had made a deal with demon. Lestrade stared at the eyes of the demon in a daze. The demons eyeswere black. - Ten minutes later, Ye Qingxuan opened the door of the tavern and walked into the night. Soon after, the sober Lestrade ran out, clutching the paper bag. He glanced around. Seeing that no one was following him, he ran to the police station like a mad dog. Starting tomorrow, he would be the nemesis of downtowns villains. Congratulations to him. In the shadows, Ye Qingxuan looked away and smiled, high-fiving the girl beside him. "I didn''t expect you to be that talented, Cousin." Bai Xi gave him a thumbs up, "I give you a ten out of ten for that act!" Ye Qingxuan shrugged, "For soft men like that, you just have to frighten them a little and theyll tell you everything!" Bai Xi smirked and imitated his hoarse voice, "Your neck, your palm, your ring! Oh, you smoked mandala! Did you and your wife fight with each other? It was so real that I almost believed you!" "Well, it was just acting. It was all because of you." Ye Qingxuan did not dare to take credit. After all, the nonsense that he had made up was based on information from Bai Xi. Everything he had pretended to analyze came from BaiXis research! He just searched for a reason, and then read the script "Psh, of course! What do you think I used to do in the Downtown District? The servants all have big mouths. If you ask them a few questions when shopping, you can even figure out the eight generations of his masters ancestors." She hummed with pride, but suddenly paused and asked, "Wait, how did you know his father-in-law actually despises him?" "Well ..." Ye Qingxuan smiled mysteriously, "Thats whats great about deduction." The girl rolled her eyes and looked in the direction where Lestrade had gone. She looked disgusted. "Even I can tell that guy is soft and completely unreliable. Cousin, what did you put in all that effort for? Even if you get him, he''s going to sell us out just like he did to the others if something happens to us." "Don''t look down on that guy, Bai Xi," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "Even if he is soft, don''t forget that he has the entire Avalon police force behind him. As soon as that guy can turn over, he will definitely be very useful. "With him, well have eyes in Avalon. With him, even the confidential files in the police department will be transparent to us, let alone the actions of the gangs." "Why are you so confident in him? What did he tell you?" "Well, I was just going to inquire about the situation in downtown, but I didnt expect to get such a good bargain..." "Bargain?" Bai Xi''s eyes lit up. "How much of a bargain?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a while, and smiled mysteriously, "That depends on how much those Indians are willing pay." 124 Empty Room In Ganlu Citys downtown, heavy incense burned in the fire. Smoke rose, snaking into the air of the hall, along with the sound of drums and the singing of dancers. Bare-chested men rested on the couch smoking hookah, their eyes drunk. Beautiful performing girls laid in their arms, rubbing against the mens chests. They were dazzling and intoxicating. Tanned servants in turbans shuttled through the hall with wooden platters, working fervently to provide each guest with wine, piper betel, betel nuts, and oyster powder. "My esteemed guests, please enjoy these delicacies from my home." The servants poured wine for the guests. Then they cut the betel nuts, dipped them into oyster powder, and used piper betel to wrap them into triangular shapes. The servants practically hand-fed the guests. Two young men stood behind the table, one tall and one short. They looked like brothers. Both were dark-skinned and clad in a long robe. Their black curly hair was wrapped in a turban, and a gold pendant hung from their necks. They looked just like every other Indian in Avalon, and complemented this Indian brothel. Yes, this was an Indian brothel. Ganlu City, also known as the sea of milk and drugs, was the biggest goldmine for Indians in Avalon. It apparently made one bushel of gold per day. Other than the women, they also had other more aggressive businesses in the beneath the surface, such as dealing opiates and soma wine. All of them were connected to Ganlu City. The elder brother smiled, tossing a piper betel wrap into his mouth. Patting his brothers shoulder, he said in a heavy Indian accent, "Shah, try one and stop being so down. Were here to entertain ourselves! Ladies, come and sing for this unhappy boy!" With that, he threw a handful of money onto the table. The performers giggled sweetly and began dancing and singing before the table. Shahs expression twisted instantly. He asked in a low voice, "Hey, cousin, your so-called bargain is to bring me here to look at prostitutes?" "Patience. The good stuff hasnt come yet,"cousin patted his shoulder and waved for the steward. He gave the man a thick wad of money and leered, "My brother Shah cant wait any longer. Please send the girls over." Seeing the cash, the steward smiled instantly, "Of course, of course." In a blink of the eye, the smell of heavy perfume rushed in from all directions. Bai Xi could hardly breathe. Amidst sweet and delicate voices, dozens of haughty and sexy girls appeared out of nowhere. The enthusiastic girls practically squeezed onto Bai Xis lap, hugging her arms and cooing. Bai Xi just wanted to throw up. Thankfully the dark oil on her skin hid the greenness. "Master, are you satisfied?" the steward asked Ye Qingxuan, rubbing his hands together. Ye Qingxuan glanced at the girls and furrowed his brows. "My cousin, Shah, doesnt like them. Give me another group!" Bai Xis expression changed quickly. Seeing more girls rushing over, she cried in panic, "I like them! I really like them! No need to change!" "Tsk," Ye Qingxuan shook his head and stated in the Indian accent, "Shah, this place is blessed by the gods. Youll be able to find your type of girl. If youre shy, let me look for you" Before Bai Xi could refuse, Ye Qingxuan turned to the steward and said sternly, "He likes girls like this, this, and this" He gestured with his hands. The stewards face practically turned green, "Isnt that a f*cking ball?" "Oh?!" Ye Qingxuan pretended to be furious. "No, no, no, beautiful! Beautiful!" the steward lied through his teeth. "Do you have this type?" "Yes!" the steward replied, clenching his teeth. "Butyour request is a bit unique. The person might not be able to serve you well." Ye Qingxuan shrugged, "Its okay as long you have it!" Soon, the floorboards began trembling. A fat and dark woman appeared. She shook her butt and smiled, and opened her giant mouth. Two splotches of blush had been applied to her cheeks. She looked as terrifying as the Black Bull King of Indian myths! After asking who her client was, the ball smiled and rushed forward. Bai Xis face was practically green with terror. "Cousin!" Ye Qingxuan coughed. Things would really get out of hand if they kept playing, so he reached out to stop the Indian ball. He grabbed Bai Xi, who had almost passed out in the womans arms, and laughed. "Theyre all beauties. My brother likes them a lot. Wheres the roomwe cant wait!" The steward froze. Studying them, his facial muscles twitched, "The two of you want to be together?" "My relationship with Shah is as close as the sacred mountain and the sacred woods. Weve sworn to never part. We eat together, sleep together, and of course we have to be pleasured together!" Ye Qingxuan laughed weirdly, looking at the steward aggressively, "What, is it not allowed?" "No, no, it is!" The steward felt his shattered worldviews crumble to powder. Peering at the ball that had been washing plates in the kitchen a few moments ago, he felt like he had really run into the devil today. Watching the drunken man walk away, one hand on his cousin, the other on the ball, he shook his head. He sighed, "Young people nowadays really know how to have fun!" -- In the room, Bai Xi stared at the dancing ball. She had never felt the need to wash her eyes so strongly before. In fact, she had the urge to perform Pomp and Circumstances and wash the entire room with blood. "Cousin, how much longer are you going to play for?" she grit out between clenched teeth as she pinched Ye Qingxuans waist. The corner of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched in pain. "Dont worry, dont worrysoon!" With that, he clapped his hands, telling the ball to stop bouncing on the ground. Smiling, he pulled out a rope from his pockets. "My lady, would you like to play something new?" "" The ball froze. She collapsed before she could reply. Behind her, Bai Xi put her hands down coldly. "Why a rope? Just get it done like this." "Cousin, youve totally ruined the atmosphere." Shaking his head, Ye Qingxuan sighed and tied the ball up. Then he poured anesthetics into her and finally let go. "Okay, shell sleep until morning." Bai Xi kicked him fiercely, "Wheres the great bargain? Is it this ball? Did Old Phil eat your conscience? You took an underage girl to a brothel!" "You were the one who wanted to come so badly," Ye Qingxuan replied helplessly. "And Cousin, you dont count as underage. In a few years, youll be the young master of downtown! Dont tell me youve never seen this stuff" Bai Xi kicked him again, "I dont care. Im angry!" "Dont be so impatient." Ye Qingxuan took off his long robe, revealing the tight black robe inside. He took off his wig as well and wiped off the oil on his face. Putting on his hunting hat and opening Jiu Xiao Pei Huan, he transformed back into the man who stirred trouble in downtownthe dark gentleman, Holmes. Bai Xi did the same, but she put on a cloth over her face. Then she pulled a bunch of stuff from her pocket, finally turning it into a bowit was her reward from the Pyramid Scheme, along with Medusas Mirror. "Okay, where do we start?" Bai Xi projected her anger of being harassed by the Indian women. She spat out, "I want to empty these currys treasure storage!" "Very good, very powerful." Ye Qingxuan snickered behind his hand. -- In the giant commotion that swept through downtown a few days ago, the group that suffered the most losses was not only the Pyramid Scheme. There was also the Indians who had thought themselves to be clever. They had wanted to catch Ye Qingxuan and use him as bait, but did not expect the Black Hands to be even dirtier. They hired a musician from a criminal family, chopped up their leader and a bunch of skilled men, and threw them into the sewer. The Indians power consisted of several illegal trade systems. Shahrukh dying itself did not have much effect, but the other gangs had taken advantage of their momentary weakness and took over one-third of their business and territory. It was a giant loss. To make a comeback, the merchants who traveled between India and Avalon decided to increase their strength. They spent a fortune to buy ninety percent of the alchemy material and precious items on the black market. They even transported am important treasure from India: the saints relic. According to the police forces hypotheses, they collected all the items such as rune stones and ancient silver so the Indian musician in their care could enter the Resonance level. The old Pusoptkata had been stuck on the third Musician level for decades. He was close to death, but still could not make a breakthrough. Due to various reasons, he decided to take a risk and perform the Resonance Ceremony. He planned to sign an agreement with the Holy Spirit and forcefully break through the Barrier of Knowledge. According to the estimates of other musicians, the saints relic that Puspotkata had found matched well. He had more than a ninety percent chance of success at a breakthrough. The Indians kept this secret well. If not for the police forces spy, this plan would still be unknown. And according to the news Ye Qingxuan had received, the ceremony would either be tonight or tomorrow. But there was a problem. Should he wait for Puspotkata to be bathing and fasting, take advantage of his weakest moment, anddo something major? Only an idiot would not! Ye Qingxuan loved to bear grudges, and he had amazing memory! He would never let his enemies become stronger. After calculating that he had more than a seventy percent chance of succeeding, Ye Qingxuan slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "Lets do it!" He had spent the entire day collecting information. Lestrade had also gotten some intelligence on the Indians. Using all this, Ye Qingxuan hatched an entirely new plan called "Empty Room." "So basically you just want to act cool." Bai Xi rolled her eyes with expertise, expressing her scorn, "Why dont you just call it Research of Blood Words?" "But there arent any words written in blood, and there isnt research," Ye Qingxuan shrugged in regret. "But thats a good name. Save it for the Professor." "Wow, cousin, you have great fantasies." "You flatter me. I need to work on them more." Ye Qingxuan acted shamelessly, just like how he had learned from Charles. "Wait a second." He pulled out a thick stack of white paper onto the table, as well as an aether ball. After gazing around, he brought a chair over and pushed Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to the ceiling. "Wait for me to make a map." Clang! The zithers strings twanged, shattering the silence, spreading like flowing water. The clear and crisp sound echoed through the room, bouncing against the walls without fading. The echoes snaked up the beams in the ceilingyes, the echoes went up the beams! As the strings thrummed, invisible strength poured into the beams. It spread instantly along the entire structure of Ganlu City like water. For a moment, the entire building trembled as if the illusionary music went through the beams, ceiling, walls, and foundation. The entire structure resonated softly. It seemed to be responding to the instruments calls. The distant and lonely music transformed into dreamy murmurs, echoing throughout the building. The music was like chimes but also the roaring of a dragon. It was a weapon which could control life and death. 125 Stealth This was the reason why the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had been hidden by the Ye family for thousands of years. No matter if one looked at its specifications or shape, this instrument could be regarded as a very rare zither, a treasure. There was only one string left, but its sense of aether remained unchanged. Ye Qingxuan had never played any instrument before, but he could feel that no other instrument could be compared to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. After all, the Ye familys reputation of being experts at aether was not just an exaggeration. With the zithers ringing, the aether ball began to light up. Then the ball heated up in the young mans hand like fire. Silver dust rippled violently in the ball. Like a conductor, Ye Qingxuan used Jiu Xiao Huan Pei as a signal amplifier, magnifying the aether balls detection accuracy hundred-fold. Large amounts of information poured into it, practically making the ball explode, but Jiu Xiao Huan Pei cleverly controlled the brink of collapse, maintaining the ball at the junction between overclocking operation and complete collapse, ruthlessly squeezing out each function to work at its peak. A brilliant light illuminated the room. The ball in Ye Qingxuans hand rose up slowly, suspended and revolving in the air. The silver dust inside shook along with Ye Qingxuans thoughts, faint images flashed through the ball. A crack appeared. The youth sighed. It was a basic piece of equipment after all. It could not manage much. If it was the legendary palace of the sacred citythe biggest aether ball in the world, it could detect the aether tide in any corner of the world. According to rumors, countless scholars would gather in the palace all any given moment to observe every aether movement in the world. Whenever a musician broke the Barrier of Knowledge and resonated with the world, the aether waves set off would create a rising star in the palace. Each musician''s data was recorded in the star field. All the powerful musicians in the world were under the observation of the sacred city. Even those who had seen some grandeur before would finally realize what divine power truly was. It was a point of view that only the gods had. Compared with this legendary ball, the one in Ye Qingxuans hand was nothing. Even so, it was enough to display the entire structure of Ganlu City. Gradually, more and more fractures appeared on the ball in his hands. Finally, it shattered with a snap, crumbling to dust. This luxury item had cost Ye Qingxuan half a years wage, and it burned to ashes with one use. Ye Qingxuans heart hurt. If he could not get the money back from the Indians, this trip would be a total loss! He took out a pen and leaned over to scribble on the paper. The structure of Ganlu City gradually appeared amongst his scrawls. As the largest brothel downtown, it had hundreds of rooms and countless corridors. There were also dozens of private rooms for distinguished guests, as well as secret doors, secret passages, basements, and more structures needed for dirty work. Most of these structures appeared on the paper as the youth sketched. "Wow cousin, youre really good at this. Where did you learn it?" Bai Xi took some sweets from the table. "My father taught me in a place called Hawaii." "It seems that your dad knows everything!" Bai Xi muttered. "What else did he teach you?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged, "Too much to count." As the girl glared, Ye Qingxuan finally sighed, "Alright, I studied some mechanical engineering by myself. Architectural drawings and mechanical drawings are pretty much the same, so I just learned both at the same time. Done!" Ye Qingxuan put down his pen and gazed at the map that took up the whole table. He nodded in satisfaction, "The general structure is here. There are still many details I remember, but theres no time to draw them all." Bai Xis eyes lit up. "Wheres the treasure?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at three blanks on the map. "There are total of three places that the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei cant get through. Theres either something interfering or there is an enchantment covering this area. The treasures should be hidden there." "We''re going to go through it all?" "No, at least one can be ruled outthe most dangerous one." Ye Qingxuan pointed at the blank in the center, "Of the three, theres one in the very center of Ganlu City, one in a secluded courtyard in the back, and one in the basement. "I suspect that the one in the back should be the place where the Puspotkata lives. He is a musician of the Indian School of Asceticism and does not like noise. Besides, hes old, and probably tries to avoid the prostitutes, so the treasure cant be here." "What if he put those things in his room?" "Not possible." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "The essence of the resonance ceremony is to let the Holy Spirits consciousness temporarily enter the body, then break the Barrier of Knowledge. "So he requires absolute purity, which must be established in absolute silence, isolated from the outer world. There can be no interference before summoning the Holy Spirit. "During this process, the musician himself must be bathing and fasting to remove all distractions. Puspotkata is probably deep in meditation now. Hes probably not even wearing underpants. For the sake of our eyes and safety, let''s rule out this possibility." Ye Qingxuan crossed out the blank on the back of the paper and pointed to the central blank area of the city, "Were close to this area. We can start here." "Awesome!" Bai Xi nodded and looked out the window. "We need to walk on the roof?" "Not the roof," Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Thats the fastest way but its also the most heavily guarded. If I had a lair, I''d start with putting beast traps all over the roof, and then have people guard it twenty four hours every day. I''m afraid we''ll be caught within five minutes." "So where do we go?" "The main entrance." Ye Qingxuan twirled his cane and grinned, "I know how to make them blind to us." Thinking of Black Friday, Bai Xi immediately understood. But just as she was about to leave, Ye Qingxuan stopped her. "Still remember what we agreed on before we came?" he asked gravely. "No matter what, dont make things more complicated! We take what we need and leave as soon as we can. Dont touch anything outside of our plan." "I know. You''ve said it hundreds of times!" Bai Xi pouted. "You promise?" "I promise. I swear." Her face fell. "You don''t trust me?" "I trust you more than anyone else." Ye Qingxuan smiled and pinched her cheeks. "My music score requires full attention to block other people''s senses. If anything happens, I probably wont even have the ability to fight, you know?" He paused and whispered, "So now my life is yours." "..." Bai Xi paused for a second. She looked up at him then lowered her head. Standing on her tiptoes, she patted Ye Qingxuans head, "Yeah, Ill protect you." "Thats great." Ye Qingxuan smiled and opened the door. Soon he heard someone coming through the corridor. -- In the corridor, the steward Salman paced in worry. He hesitated to knock the door. What if those two brothers were having fun and would blame him for disturbing them? It was rare to have such big spenders, but the two still confused him a little. He had worked here for so many years and had seen a lot, but he had never seen perverts like them. There must be something wrong with them. After a long time, he gritted his teeth and went to the door. For some reason, his mind went blank when he set foot in the corridor. He vaguely heard a plaintive melody, like a river flowing. The oil lamp on the wall flickered at just the right moment. He shook his head and could not hear the faint melody anymore. He stood outside the door, ear pressed to the door, eavesdropping on the room. Behind him a vague figure frowned and gripped his cane. The second measure of Black Fridayauditory interference. Salman''s expression suddenly changed. He heard heavy breathing behind the door and the sound of a whip. "These two kids know how to play," he murmured. Knocking on the door, he called out, "Sirs?" "Don''t bother us!" came a voice of disgust from behind the door. "No, no, sir!" Salman pursed his lip and his suspicion dissipated. It seemed that there were all sorts of fetishes these days. He turned to leave, not seeing the two shadows following behind him. They walked toward the atrium under his lead. On another corridor, Salman saw a dark, sturdy youth on the steps. He rushed over hurriedly with a smile. "Master Po Sinai, long time no see. Youre looking more and more chivalrous." The youth covered in gold jewelry hurried past. With no time to bother with Salman, he asked, "Where is my brother?" "Master Sila is in the atrium room. He has already been waiting for a long time." "Tell the servants to not disturb my brother and I. We have important matters to discuss." Po Sinai went past Salman to the atrium. After hesitating for a bit, Ye Qingxuan followed after Po Sinai. Soon, he found that Po Sinai was heading toward the atrium that he had planned to go to. But after getting closer, he realized he could not use the rune Blur. There was heavy aether interference there. It was probably in defense against musician assassins. Notes would go out of control there. Only a more stable measure could work. Ye Qing Xuan motioned at Bai Xi to be cautious, then he woke Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and began to play "Black Friday." Soon the black river began to flow through the mind again. A gloomy, despairing melody followed, spreading. The first measure was visual interference. Ye Qingxuan caught up quickly after making sure that the people around him were influenced by the melody. It seemed that the Indians had really spent a lot for the Puspotkatas breakthrough. No one was even left to guard Ganlu Citys enchantment. None of the search and defense measures Ye Qingxuan had expected were there. They passed a few transfixed guards and came to the fortified door, but he heard a faint voice behind the door before he could unlock it. That strange and shrill voice was full of astonishment. "The Professor is being hunted? Are you sure?" 126 The Vengeful Spiri "The Professor is being hunted? Are you sure?" Hearing the words, Ye Qingxuan sped up while still keeping watch. He did not directly use the aether to unlock the door from the inside, but used Bai Xis hairpin instead. The door opened with a click. Fortunately, the two in the room were so engrossed in their conversation that they did not notice the small sound. Ye Qingxuan felt a layer of aether the moment he pushed the door open quietly. It must have been from the enchantment that Puspotkata engraved in the room for defense. When touched by outsiders, it would activate and shred the invader to pieces. The ceiling was covered with dense scriptures. One could vaguely see some music scores. The notes were hid in ceilings, walls, and floors. Thank god Ye Qingxuan had not used aether to unlock the door, otherwise he would have been caught immediately. In the smoke from the incense, a skinny man in a gorgeous silk robe sat cross-legged on a cushion. Silo looked at his brother kneeling in front of him. "Are you sure about that, Po Sinai?" "Yes, brother." Po Sinai told him everything he had seen. "Its just like what the robin had told us. Yesterday morning, the Professor was betrayed and attacked when he was meeting his agent. The scene is a mess, but I''m sure he''s hurt. Someone has destroyed an entire building to kill him." "An entire building?" "Right, there were three musicians hidden outside. They performed a symphony," Po Sinai said. "I saw the whole building crumble and collapse. The bodies did not evaporate, but they turned into mud. You couldnt tell whos who. We didn''t find the Professor''s body, but I''m sure he was seriously injured! Robin really did it." "Robin" Silo murmured. "Po Sinai, hes showing us his power. This is a warning. If we dont listen to him, well end up like the Professor." "He wants us to work for him?" Po Sinais expression changed. "He wants to use us? We cant become his underlings." "You think that he just wants to use us?" Silo asked coldly. "He sent the warning to every gang in downtown. Were just one of them. More than half of the people have pledged their loyalty to him. The rest of them dont dare to offend him either." "That guywhat exactly is he?" "Po Sinai, have you heard of the parliament?" "The Parliament of Avalon?" "Not the Westminster Palace. Theres a more secretive one." Silo rubbed the hookah in his hands. His expression was troubled. "It is said that a few decades ago, Anglo elites were dissatisfied with the royal control, and secretly set up a new parliament in which almost all the great elites of Anglo are a part of. Those who govern the military and various departments gathered together. Theyre enough to represent half of Anglo. "Since there is no reason for them to pretend anymore, they use their power to benefit themselves. They enact laws and have many agents outside. The original Pyramid Scheme was one of the groups they had nurtured, but the Pyramid Scheme wasnt careful enough, so they became angry when they the Pyramid Scheme was discovered. "Like the thunder of a Shiva, the Pyramid Scheme was destroyed overnight" finishing, Silo sank into silence. Po Sinai could not believe this. "You mean, this robin belongs to the parliament?" "Most likely. Other than the parliament, who else could be powerful enough to force the Professor to flee like a street rat? The Professor had practically been in charge of downtown!" "What do they want?" "Maybe they are looking for clues about the Blood Path" said Silo, with a low voice. "I suspect that the disturbance a few days ago caused by the Eastern kid may have been provoked by them. Shahrukh, that fool, had thought himself a genius, but ended up without even a body." "Does that kid really have the key to Avalon?" "I''m not sure." Silo shook his head and began to tell a story from the past. - It is said that before the Shaman left Avalon, he spent a lot on asking the Trader three questions. According to their agreement, the Trader could choose not to answer, but could not lie. Shaman''s first question was: how does one enter Avalons Shadow? The Trader told him that the only way was the Blood Path. His second question was: who has ever entered it? The Trader told him that an Eastern man had. The third question was: What did he take? The Trader said nothing. The Shaman then changed his question: How did he get in? The Trader still said nothing. Then the Shaman asked his last question and the Trader answered. No one knew what the question or answer was, but then the Shaman disappeared for nine years. "When the Shaman decided to return, his first order was to look for a white-haired Eastern kid. The parliament concluded that the clue must come from the kid, but now it seems like that old b*stard Shaman was just trying to confuse people." Silo flattened the hookah in anger, his eyes cold. "We were tricked by that old b*stard." Seeing Silos anger, Po Sinai subconsciously shivered. He lowered his head, not daring to say anything. Finally, Silo calmed down. He leaned back in his chair, seeming to still have some doubts. "And...anything new about that dark musician?" Po Sinai shook his head. "Nothing new." "That vengeful evil spirit. Apparently he challenged the parliament. The robin wants us to track Sherlock Holmes." "Understood." Po Sinai rose. He was about to leave politely, but Silo stopped him. "Warn our people to be careful. Do not provoke him, understand?" Silo was full of prudence. "Sherlock Holmes is the dark musician that even Puspotkata thinks is a tough enemy. Just let the parliament deal with him. You don''t want to wake up in the middle of the night and see something standing in front of your bed, do you?" Imagining it, Po Sinai shivered. He cautiously shook his head. "Then go ahead." With the parliament and the robin in his mind, Ye Qingxuan quietly closed the door, and urged Bai Xi to leave. - "Vengeful evil spirit?" Once they were in a quiet place, Bai Xi finally could not help but speak, "Cousin, thats a cool nickname!" "Those are just rumors. Dont mind them." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. He was concentrating on controlling the melody and blocking the eyes around them, but in his mind, he was contemplating. Should he leave a note behind after taking the stuff, seeing as they had given him a nice nickname? He could not wait to plaster the warning onto Silos face! Those b*stards - "Should be here." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the entrance in the distance and frowned. Those Indians really sacrificed a lot in order to help Puspotkata break through! Flames lit up the darkness like huge bonfire before the door. More than twenty brawny men with white turbans sat outside the door. They kept a sharp eye in all directions, preventing anyone from getting close. There were also a number of stout and fierce dogs looking around with their red eyes. They were some rare mixed breed. Maybe some strange creatures blood flowed in them. And in the middle, there was a very strange-looking man. Clad in rags, he looked like a beggar. The only decent thing on him was something that might be underwear, covering his crotch. His bare skin was rough and scarred. He sat cross-legged on the ground. His smooth, rippling muscles were like twisted wire. It made him look as if he was made from scrap metal and iron pieces, his edges were sharp. His head was bare and his beard was scruffy. There was lice in there too. He was disgusting! Ye Qingxuan put up his guard. This guy...could he be an ascetic monk? According to rumors, those monks were known for their extreme training and tribulations, and often had unbelievable powers. Physical prowess was nothing to them. Some were even musicians at the Student level, and were experts in the mysterious Seven Note Chanting. When they became musicians, they would become Mahiraga, a mix of the School of Modifications and Choir. Really difficult to fight! Ye Qingxuan could not tell just how powerful the man was, but the situation seemed tricky. Fortunately, the man was not a musician yet. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and warned Bai Xi to be careful. He activated Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Even though Ye Qingxuan had improved after the last run-in, it was still tough to use Black Friday on forty people. Luckily, he had his trump card: the Double Snake Time Meter. He whispered gently, "All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green." With a small click, the second hand began to move. One minute. -- In the stillness, the ascetic monk, sitting cross-legged on the stone steps, suddenly became alert. Amidst the messy breathing sounds, a faint melody suddenly rang. It sounded like a wail. It was hard to distinguish it from the moans coming from the brothel. It was like a black river from the bottom of the heart. The feeling of desolation surged in his heart. He could not help but sighed, feeling great loneliness. A few decades ago, he had killed his junior fellow in order to be chosen. If that child was still alive, he might be beside him now. Having a companion would make the ascetic journey less lonely. Recalling that boys smile, he became sad. But he quickly recovered, thanks to his training. He looked up, as if nothing had happened, as if the illusionary melody had never existed. Beside him, the few drops of sweat on the stone steps gradually disappeared, leaving nothing behind. - In the tunnel, Ye Qingxuan staggered when he finally finished playing, and almost fell down. Bai Xi caught him and handed him a tube of the potion to restore his energy. Ye waved it away. He rested for a few seconds and felt much better thanks to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Without it, he would have been sapped. Cold wind blew in the tunnel. He looked up at the door up above. His expression turned serious. At the end of the tunnel was a brass door. It was covered with engraved notes and music scores. It seemed to be high quality alchemy equipment. At a glance, he could see that it was reinforced, had an alarm and more. It would take a lot of effort to open it. But the door that should have been closed was now opened, revealing the faint shadow behind the door. A gleam of scarlet seeped out. 127 Despicable and Shameless The two stood frozen in place in the silence. They gazed at the door that should have been closed, and exchanged glances. Considering the situation for a moment, Ye Qingxuan turned around without hesitating and gestured for Bai Xi to leave. The situation was too weird. It was best to avoid risks. But Bai Xi would not budge. She grabbed Ye Qingxuans sleeve, shaking her head. Ye Qingxuan stared at Bai Xi and chuckled dryly. When did he become less brave than a little girl? Had he really been scared out of his mind by the chase a few days ago? Sighing silently, he gestured for Bai Xi to get her weapon ready. He activated Jiu Xiao Huan Pei too. He was ready to grab Bai Xi and run at the slightest sign of trouble. One was in charge of fighting, the other in charge of escaping. They had distinctive roles which slightly overlapped. In the stillness, they padded soundlessly to the open door. There was a vast space behind the door. Countless torches illuminated the mighty formation of mercury, gold, ancient silver, gems, and other alchemy material on the ground. It was the Resonance Ring that required invaluable material. Amid the complex music score and notes, each node had a prayer flag. The flags were filled with runes and holy figures. They fluttered in the nonexistent wind, radiating aether like alchemy equipment from a school of music. They formed a structure with the Resonance Ring below. Huge amounts of aether flowed through the material, brewing power and radiating gloriously. The glow illuminated the script on the flags. Countless runes floated in the air, transforming the world into something holy. But in this holy room there was a corpse with a slit throat. All Ye Qingxuan felt was delayed fear. The corpse was the musician who was supposed to guard this place and perform the ritual, but he had been attacked and his throat had been slit before he could fight back. Blood flowed. In the stillness, Bai Xi tugged the corner of Ye Qingxuans shirt and pointed to the back of the Resonance Formation. When the Resonance Ring broke apart, it would not self-destroy when outside forces entered. The material inside could be taken out too. That included the object all musicians were crazy forthe saints relic! Maybe because of his absolute confidence in his plan, Ye Qingxuan was focused entirely on breaking through the formation and undoing the runes. He did not sense the two newcomers on the other side of the rippling aether. But when he saw them, he felt that they were extremely familiar. Bai Xi pulled her bow out wordlessly. She mimed slicing ones throat, as if asking for his opinion. "Cousin, his posture is so perfect. Should I give him some arrows?" Before Ye Qingxuan could reply, his expression changed. In the silence, even the slightest crinkling of clothing could be heard. The figure flinched and raised his head, looking over. His eyes were dark and sharp like an icicle in the darkness. They were filled with hair-raising coldness. When he saw Ye Qingxuans outfit, he remembered something and shock appeared in his eyes. "Holmes?" A hoarse voice came from the shadow under the hood, "The dark musician?" Seeing those eyes and hearing that voice, Ye Qingxuan realized who the man was and sighed. "I cant believe Id run into you here" He paused and narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Professor." Behind the formation, the Professor rose slowly. He sighed at fates arrangement. "And I to you, Mr. Vengeful Spirit." -- One was downtowns criminal mastermind; the other was the new infamous dark musician. Neither had expected to meet under this situation, in the Indians cellar As if old friends had met coincidentally, they made small talk through the formations barrier. "I heard you were injured?" Ye Qingxuan asked casually, leaning on his cane. "It doesnt feel good to be chased after, right? Have you become weak without the Butchers help?" "Sorry to disappoint you, but those worthless pieces of trash cant hurt me. As for you though" The Professor did not laugh, but his voice was full of mockery. "You used some low tricks on the Pyramid Scheme. You seemed to get cocky after fooling those idiots." "The human heart is a beautifully mysterious thing. No matter how many times you explore it, you still find something new." Ye Qingxuan laughed with a hoarse voice as if he had not enjoyed enough. Staring at the Professor, his eyes hardened. "If I have the chance, Id love to test your limits." "Oh? And Id love to see how it feels to kill a dark musician." Both smiled at the same time. As if finding their soulmate, they began laughing loudly. But in the next moment, a silver flute dropped from the Professors sleeve and began to play a vague and chilling melody. He had attacked! Ye Qingxuan moved too. He pressed the cane against the Resonance Formation, ready to attack. "If youre not afraid of me activating the formations self-destruction, then we can die together or get the people outside to come fight too," Ye Qingxuan thought. The flute music stopped instantly. The Professors face darkened under the hood. He did not put down the silver flute, but instead repressed one of the melodies. "Despicable!" he squeezed out between clenched teeth. "Shameless!" Ye Qingxuan retorted without guilt. "Youre the one who moved first. Why are you yelling at me?" His hands were still on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, ready to attack. Faint music hummed from the instrument. There was a hairs breadth between it and the Resonance Formation. Seeing him close to touching it, the Professors eyes became even colder. "You better stop" Ye Qingxuan scoffed, "Why dont you let go?" The Professor paused and finally gave up on fighting the youth here. He suggested, "Ill count to three and we let go together." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded. In the stillness, the two stared at each other and said in unison, "One, twothree!" The next moment, the Professor stopped the melody brewing in the flute. Ye Qingxuan retracted his cane as well. Good. They had both followed the rules and were true to their words. Very good. But then a murderous glint flashed past the Professors eyes. The cold flute melody sounded again. He was going to take this opportunity to kill the d*mn b*stard! But he did not expect that after Ye Qingxuan put his cane away, that his agile partner would aim her bow at the formation! Like an experienced assassin, she pulled the bow back half an inch! In the next moment, there would either be a shattering explosion or a fight to the death, but they halted once again. The flute music dissipated and the hand on the bow relaxed slowly. "" "" The deadly silence was awkward as h*ll. "Despicable!" the Professor cursed under his breath. "Low-class!" Bai Xi had found the chance to cut in. If this were an insult competition, the points would be 1:2 now! "Yay, we won!" Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi high-fived each other, whistling, their eyes bright with joy. For some reason, the Professor suddenly felt weak. It was an insult to his intelligence to fight with these two idiots. "" The stalemate continued. The Professor finally broke the silence, "We cant keep wasting time. Puspotkata might come back any time." "Right." Ye Qingxuan nodded, not without mockery. "You make so much sense. Im in awe." "How about we let go at the same time?" the Professor suggested. Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He jutted his chin at the formation between them. "Its easy to let go, but what about the stuff? How do we split it?" The Professor sighed. "Undo the formation firstWhoever does it first gets the stuff." "I agree." Ye Qingxuan nodded politely. "I have a partner. Do you mind if she helps me?" The Professor glanced at Bai Xi. Seeing that she was just a student, he nodded. "One, twothree!" both of them let go. But at the same time, they reflexively raised their hands. Sensing the others guard, they lowered their hands in regret again. "He will be a strong opponent in the future." For some reason, the thought appeared in both Ye Qingxuans and the Professors mind. They retreated in unison, showing that they had no bad intentions. Watching them exchange glances and their troubled expressions, Bai Xi could not help but shake her head. "Youre both so boring." -- When both were certain that the other would uphold the agreement, and that they themselves had no chance to make the first move, they gave up on attacking. The most important task at hand was to get the treasure. Everything would be lost if they did all the work and someone else took the reward. The Professor was focused on breaking through the formation on his side. He did not think about helping Ye Qingxuan at all. Sometimes he would glance over to observe what Ye Qingxuan was doing, as if trying to calculate his mysterious enemys skill and technique But Ye Qingxuan obviously could not let that happen. It was just breaking through a formation under a spell. He just had to reverse the steps and create it again. It should be easy with the deciphering methodyeah right! If Abraham, who could perform the Requiem enchantment, could do it, breathing through the Resonance Ring would be easy as pie. But Ye Qingxuan had only studied for a little over a month! He had not even finished the book! He could only manage to decipher single notes. He was completely at a loss when faced with a measure But no problem. He did not have the skillsbut he had Bai Xi! He glanced at the girl, his eyes saying, "Cousin, its your time to shine!" "Watch me!" Excited, Bai Xi moved over. Rolling up her sleeves, she pointed and looked at a point in the distance. Right before her finger, the aether above the Resonance Ring instantly scattered. Talent: Zhaodang! At its full power, Zhaodang could create a dark zone where the aether would be uncontrollably powerful, but when it was on her finger, it was like a knife that could slice through all enchantments and aether structures! Under Hermess guidance, she had learned how to control the terrifying power within her a few days ago. She no longer had to worry about using up all her energy. The little girl who loved to show off had performed it for Ye Qingxuan, winning the youths praise and satisfying herself. She had also erased all help from Hermes and credited the huge success to her own talent. As for the Professor on the other side of the formation, his eyes practically fell out of their sockets. He rubbed his eyes, scared that he had gone crazy. "What the f*ck?!" 128 An Arrow to the Clouds In all these years, the Professor had seen monsters, geniuses, and strange creatures but he had never seenan illusion like this. Holmes and his assistant worked together using a method he could not understand, undoing the Resonance Ring at an unprecedented speed! The two *ssholes seemed to have planned this out beforehand. Instead of trying to undo the spell, they were digging a hole directly on the ring. They went straight for the core rune, then stuffed the material on top into their pockets without hesitation. First they grabbed important rune stones, then the most expensive gold and precious gems. "Cousin, what kind of bone is this? Lets bring it back for Old Phil" Like two starved souls rushing into a restaurant, they did not leave anything that had any sort of value. They broke off anything they could carry and stuffed it in their pocket them. They broke things they could not carry either, crushing them after breaking them off! The big and small b*stards were like robbers, happily stealing the Indians treasures. Material goods worth hundreds of thousands of pounds had been taken in just a few minutes! Everything good would be gone if they continued like this! Clenching his jaw, the Professor gave up on trying to hurt Holmes, and began focusing on speeding up. Using his original process and proper methods, he caught up to Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi even though they were cheating! He was not hesitant either. He took anything that could help him recover from his injuries, and everything else he could get his hands on. In the tense atmosphere, the two would nervously look up every now and then to see the others progress, and they would feel the same sense of bitterness. "Thats supposed to be mine!" The same pain filled their eyes As they decoded nervously, Ye Qingxuan exchanged glances with Bai Xi. They jumped over what they had undone to the center of the formation. Hovering in the air amongst the aether glow shrouding the formation was the most important materialthe saints relic! Sensing their movement, the Professor looked up in shock. He reached out to stop them, but Ye Qingxuan was faster. Grasping the small fist-sized ball, Ye pulled it from the formation. With the ball in his hands, Ye Qingxuans palm went numb. His hair sizzled too. But holding it, his mind woke up. The weakness that he had tried to disguise went away too. He was spirited now, as if well rested. Shocked by the electricity, his body radiated with energy! This was undoubtedly a good object. On the other side of the formation, the Professor said eerily, "I wouldnt take it if I were you." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "If I dont take the saints relic when its right in front of me, wouldnt that make me stupid?" The Professor scoffed. "That is a relic from an Indian saint, but its also a giant bomb. If you arent able to perform precise manipulation, itll kill you when its activated. Hot potatoes arent that easy to use." Precise manipulation? Ye Qingxuan glanced at the Jiu Xiao Pei Huan in his hands and grinned. "I love potatoes. The hotter the better." The Professor glared at him and then looked away. Both sides sped up. Soon, they had undone the entire formation. Nothing was left behind as if a tornado had swept through the entire place. If the Indians saw this, they would probably shed tears of blood. As if he felt bad, Ye Qingxuan stopped at the last portion, giving away the material. The Professor took it without hesitation. "Time flies when youre having fun. Its time to say goodbye now." Pulling Bai Xi, Ye Qingxuan took a giant step backward. His expression was unwilling, but his feet retreated quickly. "Meeting you here today, we should have a great talk together, but sadly there is no wine here. But the days are long and we might meet again. At that time, we shall drink together and discuss the heroes of the world" He ran as he spouted farewells. Unfortunately, the Professor was still close behind. "Friend, you can just see me off. You dont have to follow me!" Ye Qingxuan waved, wishing that the man would stop. The Professor sneered. "You seemed to have forgotten something, Mr. Holmes." His eyes flashed murderously. "The formation has been completely undone. What are you going to use as a shield?" He gripped his silver flute as he spoke and sighed, "What a pity. You would have become a great opponent if you had more time to develop" Ye Qingxuan froze, but he began laughing quickly. "Oh, Professor, but do you know something?" Puffing up his chest, he stepped in front of Bai Xi. "We have something youll never be able to guess! Dont underestimate us!" "Oh?" The Professor scoffed as he closed in. "Then tell me. Is it the spirit of justice? Is it hot blood?" "No." Shaking his head, Ye Qingxuan said with a smile, "Its calling for help." The Professors expression darkened immediately. Before he could move, Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi began screaming in an Indian dialect as if someone had murdered their child, "Help! The Professor is here!!" The Professor quickly began playing his flute, cutting off their screams, but the brawny guards at the entrance instantly moved in. The ascetic monk sitting on the steps suddenly opened his eyes. They were bloodshot and full of murderous intent. He sprang from the ground and rushed down, leaving behind damp footprints on the steps. If one looked closely, one would realize that the footsteps had been imprinted deeply into the stone. They were covered in pores, as if they had been pierced by millions of silver needles. "Mou!" The monk yelled a sacred rune that represented realization. His body transformed from a withered old man to a three meter tall giant with green skin. He ran down with thunderous steps. A black river rushed out from thin air. It was not an attack nor was it defense. It was the turn of victory and escape! "Goodbye to you!" Ye Qingxuan thought as he waved at the figure. He saw the Professors angry face. Fury filled his eyes, as well as a flash ofconfusion? -- When Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi brushed shoulders with the dark giant, the strong Indian men wielding swords and countless canines, they finally relaxed a little. Then, exchanging glances, they began sprinting. Running for their lives, they finally returned to their original room in the brothel before the effect of Black Friday ended. But they did not stop there. First, they stuffed everything they had stolen into their bags. Then they put on their disguisesthe robe, wig and turban. Finally, they pulled out a small container and applied the dark oil onto each others skin. The oil dried quickly, leaving behind a dark color that appeared natural. Then, they finally rolled the fat unconscious ball onto the bed, and messed up the blankets as if they had been working at it all night. Bang! The door was kicked open. The two brothers walked out, arms around each other. Whispering amongst themselves, they walked quickly toward the main entrance. In the lobby, Salman watched as they came forward. Shocked, he ran over. "Its only been half an hour and theyre already done?" he thought. "Who wouldve thought that two people together were faster than one!" "Sirs, sirs, are you done?" Salman rubbed his hands together. "Are you leaving? Are you not satisfied with our service?" "Your people are too weak. They faint with just a touch," Ye Qingxuan said in the Indian lingua franca. Throwing a wad of cash into Salmans arms, he pushed the man aside. "Move. We need to go to the bathroom." "You go to the bathroom together too?" Salman asked, taken aback. "We are brothers. We eat together, drink together, get pleasured together, and go to the bathroom together. Do you have a problem with that?" They walked through the lobby and toward the main entrance without stopping. "But the bathroomthe bathroom is inside" "We like to piss outside. Whats it to you?!" Ye Qingxuan waved his hand impatiently. "Move, move, move" Pushed aside, Salman was stunned. Feeling that his shirt was damp, he touched it. His hand came away with dark oil. How come these sirs lost color as they walked? While he was still in a daze, Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi made their way out of Ganlu City. Ye Qingxuan was finally able to smile. It had been such a fruitful harvest! One million pounds worth of rune stones, gold, and the priceless saints relic were all his now! His! Starting today, he could live the luxurious life of using rune stones to learn music notes, and exchanging gold for music scores! He decided to first use thirty-thousand pounds to make Charles wash his underwear for one week! Yes, then he would toss out his old underwear and buy silk ones! Ye Qingxuan was deep in his dreams and fantasies of hitting the gold mine, but then he heard a painful cry from the backyard. "The relic! Wheres the relic?" the scratchy voice screamed. "Wheres my relic?" People who knew the situation would know that the saints relic had been stolen. Outsiders probably thought that a ghost had climbed out of its grave! Ye Qingxuan sped up, but felt a ripple spread from the backyard and brush past him. The ball in his arms vibrated, responding to the ripple. F*ck! He had forgotten to undo the tracking rune! Behind him, it sounded as if a wall had crashed. In the next moment, a holy-looking old man burst through the wall. Mighty drum beats radiated from him. It was awe-inspiring. Or would have been if he was not naked, of course. This was Puspotkata. He had broken through as soon as he had heard the news! "You cannot leave!" Furious, he glared at the youth at the entrance with red eyes. "Give me back my relic! My relic!" What other reaction could Ye Qingxuan have? There was only solution before himRun! Before anyone could react, Ye Qingxuan picked up Bai Xi and bolted. With the support of the steel structure inside the robe, he flew. A single step carried him more than five meters, and he quickly disappeared into the night. All that he left behind was an annoying cackle and his last words, "Catch me if you can!" In the lobby, Puspotkatas face turned from green to red, red to black, and finally settled on a bruised green. He had thought that the musician who had stolen his relic would say something after being discovered. He had planned on distracting the musician to awaken his drum and perform the movement of gods wrath from "Mahabharata," but he never imagined that the two b*stards would run without saying anything! When he finally processed this, he roared in anger. Without waiting for his instrument to wake, he jumped into the darkness and chased after them! 129 The Eye of Indrah In the night, two gangs were caught in a fierce fight on the chaotic streets in downtown. But suddenly, a giggling shadow passed through the scene like the wind, disappearing before anyone could react. Both sides paused at the same time. The two bosses could not help but exchange glances. "Was that ahallucination?" While both were still stunned. Then another shadow flashed by. This time, they were both prepared and saw it clearlyIt was a naked white-bearded old man?! In that short moment, one could see clearly his two rows of lean ribs, his naked body passing through the wind in a sultry posture, as well as that vague thing dangling between his legs. The whole picture was carved into the eyes of the two, scarring them for life. In the bizarre silence, the two looked to each other. They could see grievance and disgust in each others eyes. After a long silence, one tentatively asked, "Then...Shall we continue?" "F*ck! Lets just stop here." The other man threw his weapon down. He spat and covered his eyes saying, "Today is absolutely cursed!" The two gangs nodded violently, their hearts beat wildly. That night, the two sides decided to give up the fight and have a drink to calm down. They coincidentally met at the same pub. After getting drunk, the two bosses who had been fighting fiercely hours ago began talking about the naked old man. They ended up crying in fear. Finally, they felt the beauty of peace. They beheaded a rooster and burned some yellow papers to become sworn brothers...but that was just a legend. Now, on the streets of downtown, Mr. Holmes was facing the greatest crisis he had ever met since his debut! - On Ye Qingxuans shoulder, Bai Xi looked back as they ran. Seeing that the ferocious old man was still chasing them, her face immediately clouded. "Cousin, you were too obnoxious when we left!" She turned Ye Qingxuan''s face to make him look behind them. "That old turtle is catching up! What do we do?" Ye Qingxuan broke out in goosebumps as he looked back. He immediately sped up and comforted Bai XI, "Don''t be afraid! An old man like that can''t catch up with us. After a few kilometers, he''ll be exhausted to death!" The boy''s vicious curse turned Puspotkatas face green. "You bastard! II wont let you slip through my fingers!" Ferocity flashed past Puspotkatas face. He crossed his hands in front of his chest in a heart-like seal. As he thumped his hands, the heart started beating quickly like a faint drum! That heart seal seemed to drive his heart, and his energy rebounded. He began to sing with the drumming, "God is like the moon gazing at the sun, showering light! The flames kindled by his energy are like the occasional lightning in the clouds and thousands of suns above the clear sky! "He sits above the bull, brilliant and bright ..." As he spoke, a golden halo appeared behind the old man, like sunshine. He sped up again as if he were driving an invisible chariot! It was a hymn about Shivas divinity extracted from the Mahabharata. Puspotkata was reciting it quickly while rushing, but his rapid breathing did not disturb the effect. He had also sacrificed much of his remaining energy to keep up the intensity as well. It seemed that the years he had spent before the Barrier of Knowledge had not gone to waste. At least now he could recite all of the music scores smoothly, regardless of what else he was doing. When Ye Qingxuan turned and saw that Puspotkata was getting closer and closer, he freaked out. He tried to speed up again by slapping Flow runes onto his body without any hesitation. Suddenly, the old man rose up in the sky like a beam of light and jumped, and landed before them. Illuminated by the halo, his old face seemed majestic and great. "What a pity hes a naked freak," Ye Qingxuan sighed, shaking his head. Bai Xi nodded. Puspotkata practically spat out blood. His face was full of ferocity, furious like an angry Buddha. He could not wait to end their lives! "Sherlock Holmes!" he spat out the name, one word at a time. He roared, "I''m going to rip you to shreds!" Just as he was about to recite the music and chant to call forth divine fire, electric arrows, and even Gods dung to fight the d*mned dark musician, he saw Ye Qingxuan jump back with the saints relic raised high above his head. "Back off!" Ye Qingxuan cried. He stomped with his right foot, crushing the sewer''s rotten wooden lid. "Or else I''ll throw your relic into the sewer!" One could hear the ceaseless flow of the Thames River. Puspotkatas expression faltered. "No!" Puspotkatas eyes were as red as a rabbits. The aether in his hand dispersed, and he stepped back frantically. "Calm down! If it''s gone, I will kill you!" He stared at the relic with worry, fearing that Ye Qingxuan would actually throw his last thread of hope into the sewer. He had put in so much effort in convincing Silo to help him get this holy relic! If it was thrown into the sewer, everything would be over! "You give me the Eye of Indrah and I will let you go!" Puspotkata said through clenched teeth, "It is a holy item from my religion. Its no use to you." "So this is the Eye of Indrah?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the relic and suddenly, everything became clear. This relic belonged to Indrah, an Indian saint also known as the king of thunder. No wonder there was an electric shock! "Why is it useless?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged nonchalantly. "My chair broke a few days ago. It looks about the right size for padding. How about you let me keep it as a gift? Oh, and Ive just calculated that this thing is my toilets reincarnation, and its destiny for me to have stumbled across it. Just let me have it." Puspotkatas face turned beet red. His lips opened and closed, at a loss for words. At last, he crossed his hands before his chest, and the drum beats sounded again. "Holmes, you are courting death!" "Be nice or I will throw it!" Ye Qingxuan lowered his hand an inch while Puspotkata licked his lips, his eyes ruthless. "I dare you!" "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded and loosened his grip. Puspotkatas features twisted, his eyes opened wide. As if it were in slow motion, his face distorted into a look of shock, then anger, then extreme grief. He really threw it? The b*stard seriously threw it?! It was a f*cking sacred relic! "No!" Forgetting what he had said, Puspotkata dove at the relic without even caring about the aether. But it was too late. A few meters away, the ball spun in the air, then fell into the muddy drain. Puspotkata could not bear to look. His eyes were full of despair. At the last moment, a small, delicate hand stretched out from the side, and caught the Eye of Indrah. "Yay!" Bai Xi made a peace sign with her hand and threw the relic to Ye Qingxuan. The youth posed as well, and glanced at Puspotkata who was on the ground, close to tears. "You b*stard! You son of a b*tch!" "It was just a joke. Take it easy!" Ye Qingxuan teased in high spirits. "I dont think youve had enough fun. Why dont we try again?" "Good idea!" Bai Xi clapped. "I promise I will catch it again. Old man, you have to trust me!" "Trust you? No way!" Puspotkata stood up in resentment and shame, his eyes hardened. He had finally calmed down enough to understand that the two b*stards were just playing a trick on him. But if one wanted to play with fireone needed to be prepared to get burned. "What do you want?" Puspotkata asked coldly. "That''s right, lets have a talk. Talking is better than anything." Ye Qingxuan slowly retracted the Eye of Indrah and demanded, "Now you have an idea of what its like for a man to be hunted when he cant even explain himself, right?" Puspotkata was furious but he repressed his anger. "You can have the Eye. All you have to do is promise me one thing, and Ill tell you the spell to activate it." Ye Qingxuan paused for a second with his eyebrow arched. Suddenly understanding something, he chuckled. "What promise?" he asked in a bargaining tone. "Tell me." "Kill the Shaman." Something murderous flashed through Puspotkatas eyes. "Join us, kill the Shaman, then Ill voluntarily give this to you. We can even ask Silo to hire you as our sacrifice master. You can enjoy Ganlu Citys yearly profits too" "Are you kidding?" Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "You think too highly of me. Im just a nameless musician. How can I kill the Dark King?" "I dont know about others, but it shouldnt be too hard for a dark musician who could stay under the radar for so long," Puspotkata said seriously. "Mr. Holmes, I suppose that you must be here for the Blood Path. The Shaman will not allow you to find it. When he was here nine years ago, all those who dared to look for it were killed. "Now that the Shaman had made a comeback, hell go after you first. If you join us, its a win-win situation. Besides, dont dark musicians always pursue power?" "Well, that makes sense." Ye Qingxuan frowned slightly. "However, youre really not too sincere if youre just using something ornamental to lure me in." Puspotkata kept silence for a moment before setting down his determination. "As long as you promise to deal with the Shaman, Ill tell you the spell like I said before." Ye Qingxuan smiled as if he had expected it. "Since youre so sincere, its a deal!" Beside him, Bai Xi tugged at his sleeve, warning him that this old man was not reliable! The youth waved, telling her to be patient. He gazed at the Eye of Indrah happily. "Whats the spell?" Puspotkata''s face twisted again. After hesitating, he recited a paragraph in an Indian dialect. Ye Qingxuan was surprised, but he immediately processed it after repeating it mentally. "Do not turn three realms into ashes?" Puspotkata was shocked, his eyes showed a hint of fear. Who would have guessed that this guy could understand Indian dialects as well? 130 Who is the Most Hateful? In Indian legends, the demons created three metallic citiesgold, silver, and iron. Melded together, they created immense strength and an indescribable image. The gods were furious at this, and shot three arrows at the cities. Where the arrows fell, gold rusted, silver crumbled, and iron melted. The destructive fire killed all demons. Coldly watching as the earth burned to ash, the gods finally extinguished their destructive fire. The phrase had been left behind by the God of Destruction. Using this to awaken the Eye of Indrah proved it to be an important treasure of the School of Modifications! With this thought in mind, Ye Qingxuan tightened his hold on the orb. He was oblivious to Puspotkatas faint sneer. "Then let me try it. Who knows if youre lying?" As Puspotkata had expected, Ye Qingxuan grasped the Eye of Indrah and chanted, "Do not turn the three realms into ashes!" The moment the words left Ye Qingxuans mouth, his palm went numb, and the Eye crackled with a bolt of lightning. As if a layer of dust had been wiped off, a crack appeared in the carved orb, revealing angry light. It shed layers of rock until it looked like a gemstone. Within it, eternal lightning flashed. Faint rumbling of thunder came from the rock. Ye Qingxuans vision spun as a tidal wave of aether rushed from all direction into his control. Then, sapping Ye Qingxuans energy, it began to move on its own accord like a group of horses out of control. Countless silver light spots appeared around the youth. For a moment, all color disappeared from Ye Qingxuans world. All that remained was the black and white of aether. As if it was the end of the world, the clean air above the crack fell and putrid gas from hell rose. Two types of ineffable power existed in one spot. They rubbed and crashed against each other, sparking destructive light. "Itits moving on its own" Under the light, Ye Qingxuan began to panic. He frantically tried to control the music score that was way beyond his abilities. The Eye of Indrah suddenly shook and blood seeped into the gem. Ye Qingxuans panic intensified. "Help! Its taking my bloodthe powerIm gonna" Stunned, Bai Xi tried to take the d*mned thing from Ye Qingxuan, forgetting that the electricity would burn her to ashes. Puspotkata cackled. "Go die, Holmes!" The drum beats sounded once again. Manipulating the aether, he created the shadow of Vidy-rja, the God of Light. The god opened his eyes, furious! Puspotkata had said everything before to trick Holmes into reciting the spell. There was nothing wrong with the spell, but not everyone could use the power of the Eye! It was a destructive item that called forth the power of the Indrah, the God of Thunder! Otherwise, he would not use this relic as the medium to call forth the Holy Spirit. The destructive thunder was definitely powerful, but not even a Resonance level musician could control unless he was very careful. The smallest distraction would cause the musician to burn to a crisp. Now, Holmes was standing at the edge of the cliff. Puspotkata no longer had to battle with this d*mn dark musician. He just had to give the man a light shove, and he would fall down the bottomless abyss. "Do you feel the cost of greed now?" Puspotkata cackled, focusing the God of Lights image at Ye Qingxuan. "Die from Indrahs uncontrollable greed!" The God of Light attacked, but then someone snickered. Puspotkata froze. Behind the God of Light, he saw the dark musician raise his head, his eyes full of mockery. With a smile, Holmes said, "I was lying." He opened his hand. The ruby stone that seemed to be embedded in his hand lit up with destructive light! The wild electric current transformed into a dragon. It leapt into the night, and roared with mighty power. The electricity instantly shattered the God of Lights image and landed on Puspotkata, swallowing him whole. With a painful cry, the charred Puspotkata collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain. The holy-looking white hair and beard were all burnt now. His skin had cracked, and his body was numb. Ye Qingxuan walked over slowly and looked down at him. "Why?" Puspotkata sputtered his eyes lost. "Whycan you control" "Yeah, why?" The youth shrugged. Slowly, he put the Eye of Indrah into a groove on his cane. It fit snugly onto Jiu Xiao Huan Pei with a click. Without a doubt, this thing was his from now on. Ye Qingxuan bet that Puspotkata had never thought there would be an instrument that could control Indrahs thunder, or that Holmes had such an instrument. He had guessed Puspotkatas dirty trick the moment he was willing to hand the Eye over. At first, he was worried that Puspotkata would keep chasing him. He had planned on parting with his beloved, and throwing the Eye in the other direction while he and Bai Xi ran for their lives in the sewer. It wouldnt be the first time, after all. But who knew that this b*stard had ran out without bringing his instrument or defensive weapons and was struck by lightning? Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was unharmed, Puspotkatas eyes filled with anger. If not for his own injuries, he would do anything to kill the man, even willing to tear him up with his own teeth. "I-I wont give up!" he howled. "Thats supposed to be mine!" "Yeah," Ye Qingxuan snickered. "And Im not supposed to be chased by you all for no reason. If the world operated on supposed to bes, there would be no market for the medicine of regret. Oh, youre a monk, right?" With that, he put the cane on Puspotkatas head. "Have you counted how many sins youve committed after going against the creeds of your religion?" Puspotkata froze, his eyes filled with despair. "Dont kill me! I can give you the secrets of our School. I have six movements of Mahabharata. You can have them all! My uncle has the right Eye of Indrah too! I can trick him into giving it to you!" Ye Qingxuan just laughed. "Since you believe in reincarnation, try to be a better person in your next life." Puspotkata tried to say something but his words were caught in his throat. A wailing melody sounded in his ear. The despair and frustration dug into his brain, and transformed into a dark river that practically drove him crazy. "Sinful, sinful, sinful!" He seemed to hear Asuras welcoming cheers from Hell. Painful wails sounded in his memory as faces flashed by, drowning him in the dark river. They drowned him bit by bit. He struggled with all his might, but ultimately drowned in his own evil doings. Under the cane, Puspotaka trembled and then stopped. "Is he dead?" Bai Xi asked, stunned. "Of course not." Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head. "I may be underage, but I dont break laws." He paused, and gazed at Puspotkatas blank eyes without pity. "Im just sending him to the Arkham Asylum so he can make more friends." With that, he turned to leave, but his legs wobbled and he fell, almost landing beside Puspotkata. Bai Xi quickly caught him. "Whats wrong?" "I think I lost too much blood." His face as white as paper, Ye Qingxuan looked at the stone in his hands. "This stupid thing really does use the musicians blood for electricityI cant use this too much." Bai Xi pursed her lips. "He should be glad hes from the dragon bloodline," she thought. "Otherwise, hed be sapped dry." With Bai Xi supporting Ye Qingxuan, they started on the way home. But when they left the alley, Ye Qingxuan halted. He looked up at the end of the streetA figure stood under the cold moonlightThe Professor. He did not seem to be waiting to attack Ye Qingxuan. He just watched them silently. Seeing Ye Qingxuan, he scoffed. "Listen, I dont care who you are, but stay away from the Blood Path," he warned. "Or else youll regret it." Ye Qingxuan laughed and shrugged carelessly. "To be honest, I dont want to get into the messbut sadly, Ive been forced into it." The Professor did not reply. As if too tired to fight, he gave one last glance and turned around. Ye Qingxuan watched him leave, and turned in the opposite direction. Bai Xi looked at his eyes, then turned to look at the Professors silhouette. For some reason, her eyes became confused. "Hey, Cousin, you two are really similar." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. "Yeah." The girl nodded, her expression troubled. "You said youll follow me. Dont run off with that guy, alright?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh and hit her lightly. "Bai Xi, you know who we all hate the most?" Bai Xi shook her head after thinking for a bit. "Ourselves." Ye Qingxuan looked back in the darkness. "The more similar they are to ourselves, the more we hate them." -- In the backyard of Ganlu City, Silo looked at the charred old man on the rack, his eyes cold. The servants and slaves knelt on the ground, too scared to even breathe. "Hes a retard now." The choir musician checked Puspotkatas vitals and shook his head. "His physical injuries arent too bad. They can heal with treatment, but his brain is unfortunately gone. Even if he wakes, hell be a lunatic." "Is there still hope?" The musician shrugged. "Its harder than creating a new body. You cant afford it." Silo fell silent. After a long time, he waved. A servant cautiously pulled out three bars of gold for the musician and led him out. Po Sinai stumbled from the basement, face pale. He shook his head at Silo. "Theyre all dead." "How did they die?" Hesitating, Po Sinai replied quietly, "Theyve all turned into shriveled up corpses, as if mummified by wind. The martial monks that Puspotkata had invited from India died too. All that remains is bones." "Isnt the Professor also injured?" Silo asked coldly. "They deserved to die if they couldnt fight against an injured man." "Yes." Po Sinai could only lower his head. "Get rid of all guards tonight. Theres no point in keeping these failures," Silo ordered. "Doesnt the opiate factory need slaves? Send them all there. The dead ones can be used as fertilizer." Po Sinai lowered his head, sweat rolling down. "Yes." "Contact the robin," Silo said as he turned. "Tell him about the Professor and the Vengeful Spirit. Tell him that if he wants us to work for him, to bring us Moriarty and Holmes heads!" 131 Rune Stone Meditation Late at night, a lamp lit up in Bai Xis room. After washing off the stinky oil and stains, the refreshed girl changed into her pajamas. Her long white hair fell down to her shoulders, like silver reflecting light. She sat cross-legged on the bed holding a bunch of stuff. Her eyes seemed to sparkle under the light. "Thirty-thousand, twenty-thousand, sixty-thousand, one-hundred and ten-thousand! This ones cheaper, only twelve thousand, but better than nothing. Wow, this is good, the purity of the gem is really high. Ill price it at two-hundred thousand!" She smiled with satisfaction, and counted her war trophies over and over. She was so happy that she could melt into fluff. The most exciting thing after committing a robbery was sharing the booty! Just counting everything was enough to make her want to scream in excitement. Bai Xi rolled on the bed with a pillow in her arms. "Oh my God! So much money! I feel like dying. How can I calm down, Cousin?" "Die after we split everything." Ye Qingxuan reached over to knock her back to reality. "We agreed that you can take half of everything. Have you decided what to take?" "This is yours, this is mine, yours, mine, yours, mine." In the shadow of the lamp, Bai Xi quickly divided the stuff into two parts, then pulled the bigger pile into her arms. "The gold, silver, and gems belong to me. Everything valuable is mine! You take those useless rune stones!" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. This girl chose money without hesitation and gave away all the invaluable rune stones. "You dont want the rune stones and materials?" Bai Xi glanced at him. "Cousin, Im a genius, okay? It would only take me one day to master all the instantaneous notes. Do you think I need those? Plus, Im a girl. I cant be fighting all day, right? Its not easy for me to earn a lot of money, but now Ill be a rich girl and live a rich life." Ye Qingxuan was speechless at his lack of talent. But also, what did Bai Xi mean by "girl?" Since when did Bai Xi see herself as a girl? He sighed, having no say in the matter. He was about to argue, but when he looked at Bai Xis innocent smile, he could not say anything. He ran his fingers through her hair. "Youre the boss. Ill take it all then." He gathered the small mountain of rune stones, and counted again. He could not believe it. In all, there were more than two hundred runes. They were all the basic notes that Ye Qingxuan needed. The Indians had probably swept through all of the surrounding black markets to collect these. But soon, something occurred to him. He looked blank and amazed immediately. Bai Xi looked at him. "Whats the matter? The skys falling down?" "Well" Ye looked up at her and asked quietly. "Do you know how to use rune stones?" - As the dawn began to light up the room, the youth, with crossed hands before his chest, seemed to fallen asleep. He sat as if he were meditating like an ascetic Indian monk. His body faced upwards, and he created a seal with his intertwined fingers. In his entwined fingers was a crystal prism. A faint note shimmered within the prism. The light from the aether tripled with his breaths, and transformed into waves. The youth chanted the syllables in a low voice again and again, resonating with the stone in his hands. In his mind, a vague note appeared, and gradually became more visible. Finally, it became solid. The note suddenly changed on its own. It transformed into a dancing flame and began to burn. The burning rune flashed, radiating with a mysterious light as if it had become a star. With the will of the youth, the meditative notes in his mind rose slowly into the illusionary sky and shone together with the stars. More than thirty stars glittered in the night sky. The notes that had turned into stars flowed like a river, some dim and some ever-changing. As the rune Fire intensified, the position of the stars suddenly changed, rising gradually to leave space for the new notes. The starry sky changed slowly. The stars wandered aimlessly before finally stabilizing. There was a gravitational pull among them, formed from an uncertain force. The stars were moving under the momentum of that force. Crack! With a snap, the rune stones in Ye Qingxuans palms shattered and turned to dust. The youth slowly opened his eyes and took a deep breath, lifting his fingertips. Flames had burned on his fingertips with just a short chant. He smiled. All eleven stones of the rune Fire had been used up and internalized. He had reached the instantaneous level of yet another rune. It would be activated with just a thought! With so many rune stones, his mastery of notes as a beginner had reached the level of most third level musicians. After all, not everyone had the opportunity to spend so much on precious runes to cultivate these notes. Bending over, he swept the ashes to one side. Beside him, the runes'' ashes had formed a small hill! He had consumed sixty runes overnight. This would take most students one or two years. "Seventeen more notes." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the stack of stones before him. After mastering the remaining seventeen notes, he would have forty-eight in his mind. The forty-eight basic notes recorded in Equal Temperament would be fully mastered by him. At that time, the starry sky in his mind would revolve as if it were real. At that time, he would reach the Rhythm level. Next was the rune Extraction. He clenched a rune stone again and closed his eyes. But quickly, he was forced out of the serenity, and his vision spun. "Too much for today?" He rubbed his forehead and laughed bitterly. He had pushed twelve notes to the instantaneous level overnight. So many people longed to get even one rune stone to resonate in the same way starving people longed for roast turkey, but he had not expected that he had eaten too much! This dizziness made him so happy that he could cry. Ye Qingxuan sighed and put away his rune stones. He still had time to sleep for a few hours before his afternoon class. But when he got into bed, he could not help but think of the Professor''s warning before leaving: "Blood Path." Ye Qingxuan sighed. For many years, Avalons Shadow had been home to a bizarre legend. Some said it was Arthurs kingdom on Earth; some said that it was the secret home of the Maiden of the Lake; some even said that it was a storage area full of treasures and precious music sheets. The Blood Path was the only way to enter it. For all these years, people had been trying to find this path. How had Ye Qingxuan randomly run into the mysterious path? Truthfully, he was not even interested in the so-called "Avalons Shadow." He only wanted to be a musician, to find out what happened to his father, and to get revenge for his mother so she could regain her dignity and rest in peace. He had no interest in anything else, but now it seemed that his father was somehow connected to Avalons Shadow. Every time Ye Qingxuan thought of this, he would get confused. What exactly did his father do to make everyone hate him so much that he had to run for his life? Until now, the only things he knew about his father were from his own childhood memories and Wolf Flutes notebook... Ye Qingxuans eyes suddenly opened. The notebook! There might be something on it that he had not noticed before. What else did his father keep in the seal? He jumped out of bed and began to rummage through his things. The notebook! Where could it be? It was not on the table, not in the cupboard, not under the bedHe searched the whole room but could not find it. In panic, he pushed the door open and ran to the living room to keep looking. Beside the table, Charles, who had gotten up early, yawned while stirring oatmeal. Seeing Ye Qingxuan rush downstairs, he could not help but spit and cough wildly. "Wow, junior, youre just like me from a couple of years ago!" Charles gave him thumbs up. "Running around in just a pair of shorts is such a youthful thing to do!" "Senior, stop your nonsense, okay?" Ye began frantically rummaging through the living room. Still, he found nothing. "What are you looking for?" Charles came over with a cup of milk to watch. "Senior, have you seen my notebook?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "That one you stole the first time we met, but then you returned it to me. I remember putting it on the table, but now I cant find it." "Oh, that one." Charles thought for a moment, as if he knew something, and nodded. "Yes, I saw it." Ye Qingxuan was overjoyed. "Where is it?" "Isn''t that it?" Charles pointed to the corner of the living room. The youth suddenly froze. That direction...For some reason, he suddenly had a bad feeling. - In downtown at dawn, the noisy market had begun to sell vegetables. Women with baskets, butchers with lamb legs in their hands, and beggars all gathered amidst the hawking. The day had begun with the rising sun. The recent fighting and bloodshed every night was like another world. In fact, gangs existed in another world for most people, and did not feel real. Only when they opened the door in the morning to find blood in the alley would they understand what had happened the night before. Then they would wash the stains away with a bucket of water, and go on with their day. Beside the market, in the midst of all the bustling, the tavern was supposed to be closed during the daytime, but now its windows were open, allowing the morning light to enter into the dim room. All was silent in the room. The bustling outside was muffled. In the quiet tavern, the bartender behind the counter had already been driven out of the house. He obediently squatted on the steps to smoke, and smiled awkwardly at the burly guards. People sat around the only round table in the dim room. After downtowns infamous Vengeful Spirit and the Professor worked together, causing chaos that night, Silo was present as well. Silo sat in the chair, slowly smoking his hookah. Seeing his bloodshot eyes and knowing what had happened to him last night, the others laughed secretly at his misery. To his left was the Sicilian leader, the head of the Luca familyAlberto. He was known as the grandfather amongst the Sicilians. Lorenzo was his son. The man on his right was a short man with a scruffy beard. He was the leader of the Asgardiansthe Basset, Werner. The three most powerful leaders of downtown were gathered together. The Professor should have taken a seat as well, but he most likely would not come. So now, there was only one person left 132 Declare War? "Wheres the Shaman?" Werner slammed his fist on the table, frustrated with the endless waiting. "He said he wants to talk, but hes not here. Whats he doing? Toying with us?" Behind the round table was an empty chair. Behind the empty chair was an older man. Hearing Werners voice, the man known as Ghosthand just glanced at him, uncaring. "You can leave if you dont want to wait," he said. "No ones forcing you to be here, but know that the moment you walk out the door, youll be the Shamans enemy." "He still thinks hes the Dark King?" Werner scoffed, his expression scornful. "Dont think we dont know that Shaman has already been back for so long, but he still doesnt have anyone under him! If I were him, Id really thank you. If you werent such a loyal dog, hed be a one-man band!" Beside him, Alberto and Silo had similar mocking smiles on their faces. The Shamans era was over. Not many in the city could still remember him. The Shaman seemed to know this too, and stayed hidden in his lair over the past few days. Not only had he not gained any power, but he had even lost some of Ghosthands territory! Those in arrival had been a bit worried at first, but now it seemed like a joke. The Shaman was no longer the king from before, and yet he still wanted to pretend as if he were. It was laughable. Hearing their laughter, Ghosthands eyes hardened. In the silence, a knock suddenly sounded. A figure walked in, his back to the sun. He took off his hat and hung it on the coatrack, revealing his salt-and-pepper hair under the sun. His coat was old and looked as if it had not been washed in a long time. It was threadbare and worn. He seemed powerful at a glance, but if one looked closely, he seemed a bit pathetic and awkward. "My apologies for being late." The man walked over and nodded at the others. "Sorry for the wait." Ghosthand pulled out the seat for him to sit in. Silo snickered. "Mr. Shaman, you are very brave to come talk to us." Old Alberto looked over too. "Long time no see, Mr. Shaman. What did you call us over to talk about?" "Not much, actually." The Shaman shrugged. "As a senior, I thought it was necessary to check up on the rookies. After all, its always good to meet each other before the war." "War?" Werner burst into laughter. "Are you declaring war on us? Just you two?" "Are we not enough?" The Shaman shrugged and gazed around. "Everyone, you should consider coming to the right side and joining me. I will go easy on the ones who surrender now." Werner stopped laughing. Silo stopped laughing as well. The sleepy Alberto looked up too. His rheumy eyes were serious as he studied the former king, trying to see if he was joking. But the Shaman was not joking. He was serious, as if he were stating a fact. Even the wrinkles on his old face had a shade of wild graveness. Alberto could not help but sigh. The former Dark King, the one left behind by time...had he gone crazy? He was still caught in his golden age, and it was logical for him to reprimand the people who were supposed to respect him. He looked awe-inspiring, waiting for them to obey him. It was laughable. Alberto sighed. "Shaman, have you gone insane?" "This isnt the place to joke, Shaman," Silo said. He put down his hookah and squinted like a snake. "Dont speak nonsense." Instead of speaking, Werner chose to spit onto the ground. These men did not lose their temper yet because of the Shamans past glory. They were willing to be patient and see what the crazy old man was planning. There was vague pity in their eyes. "Whats wrong?" Sensing their gazes, the Shaman froze. "Have you not come up with a decision yet? Treasure this opportunity." Snick! A dagger sank into the table. It was Werners dagger. "Thats my reply," Werner said coldly. Alberto shook his head slowly. "Maybe you were the Dark King before, but dont forget that your time has passed. Downtown isnt yours anymore." "Get things straight, sir." Silo continued to smoke his hookah, his eyes cold. "If you need money, I can give you some so you can go to the Arkham Asylum. Im sure you can find people to talk to over there." The Shaman suddenly realized, "So you want to declare war?" "Since when did you think that we would just listen to you obediently?" Alberto glanced at him with his watery eyes. "Mr. Shaman, why dont you look out the window?" The market outside was bustling and filled with life, but there seemed to be people stationed in the crowd, surrounding the place. These burly men had swords hidden. They only needed a signal to rush in and chop the former Dark King to bits. Ghosthand furrowed his brow and stepped forward, but the Shaman raised his hand to stop him. "So it seems that you are keeping us here?" The smile on the Shamans face faded. "Do you know what youre doing? I suggest thinking about the consequences of angering me." "Get it straight, Shaman. Theres no way out for you." Alberto nodded. "Dont worry, weve hired three musicians out of respect. It doesnt matter that youre the Shaman, Ghosthand, or another legend. You wont be able to leave today. So can you finally wake up from your fantasy, former Dark King. "Seeing as you took care of me before, I can let you go. But you must promise to never come back." The old mans eyes were cruel and fierce. "Of course, well have someone give you a small curse so you cant go back on your word." "You have to give up your resources too," Silo added. "And the most important thingIm sure you understand what Im talking about. The Trader has already told us that he gave you something" "Oh?" The Shaman shook his head. "I dont understand." The Basset was the most impatient. Slamming a fist on the table, he spat, "What we mean is, give us the map of Avalons Shadow and then scram! Understand?" The Shaman chuckled and shrugged. "Even if you had the map, you cant go in if you cant find the Blood Path. And anyway, the Trader gave it to me as a gift for my return. If I just gave it away, Id be a bad friend." "Seems that we have to go harder on you," Werner said coldly. He knocked on his dagger and pounding footsteps sounded above, along with the scraping sound of swords being pulled out of their sheaths. The thugs hidden in the market had already surrounded the tavern. This was the trap prepared for the Shaman. "Mr. Shaman, look at the situation clearly. This isnt your world anymore. Why dont you hand over the map and exchange it for your safety?" Alberto advised quietly. "Even if youre not going to think for yourself, at least think on behalf of Ghosthand." Ghosthand remained silent. The Shaman sighed as if disappointed. 133 Declare War! "Look at yourselves, gentlemen, what have you done?" The Shaman stared at the men in disappointment. "I invited you all to come here out of respect for you all, to prevent more bloodshed, but youve disappointed me. "Ever since my return to Avalon, Ive smelled the stink youve left behind. You turned this city into a mess where there are no rules or dignity. All you can see is money and power. In order to obtain these, you even betrayed the Professor, who has guided you for all this time. You let him be hunted down by others. In order to earn a tiny profit, you made every effort to flatter your new boss. "I had hoped that my enemies would be stronger and purer. What a shame" The Shaman shook his head. "Im disappointed in both you and the master behind the scenes." For a moment, everyone was silent. Alberto, Silo, and Werner did not reply. The silence was not one of speechless embarrassment, but one of extreme of rage with no need for words! "I''m sorry, sir." Alberto sighed. "I''m really sorry." He raised his cane and knocked on his wheelchair. The cane and the hollow wheelchair collided with a crisp sound. It was sharp yet distant, spreading in all directions. In the next moment, dozens of crossbows aimed at the Shaman would shoot, burying two of Avalons legends in the tavern forever. But the expected moment did not come. Nothing had happened. All was still, but the stillness was unsettling. Stunned, Alberto knocked again, but there was no response. It was as if the people he had brought with him had all vanished. The signal faded without an echo. Alberto''s expression changed. "Gentlemen, youve gotten one thing wrong since the beginning." In the dead silence, the Shaman lowered his head. He lit the cigar between his lips and exhaled the pungent smoke, laughing lightly. "My era has never passed." Surrounded by swords and crossbows, The Shaman raised his eyes, gazing around at those who wanted to kill him. The men fell down immediately. One by one, they fell down on the ground for no reason. The heavy thuds kept repeating. The three men twitched with each thud. Then, there was silence. "Today, I just wanted to emphasize one thing." The Shamans voice was hoarse, like scraping iron, sharp enough to rattle ones core. "Even if Ive been gone for nine years, even if you have made this city into a mess...Do not forget that I am the master here. And do not forget that there have been rules here!" In the silence, Werner took the dagger out of the table and flew toward the Shaman. The Shaman reached out, grabbed his head, and slammed it down. Boom! Warners face was crushed on the table by the seemingly frail old man. Now one could see how he had done it so easily. The Shaman held him down as if scolding a disobedient child. His eyes were hard and cold as he said, "The rule is that when I say Im back, you should kneel down and greet your king!" Silo and Alberto''s expression changed quickly in the silence. Both of them wanted to retreat now, but Ghosthand looked at them with a smile. They could not leave. "Shaman, what do you want from us?" Alberto''s voice shook. "Alberto, you told me to look out the window just now. Why don''t you go and look yourself?" The Shaman pointed to the window. "Go! Go and have a look, and tell me what you see." Alberto hesitated, then stiffly rotated his wheelchair, and rolled slowly to the window. It was silent outside the window. The once raucous market had lost all its voice. All sound was gone. The market was still crowded, filled with merchants, farmers, butchers, beggars in the sewers, civilians, and workers squatting in the corner. They were still in their original spots with no differences. Everything seemed to have stayed the same. But they were not speaking, only standing there silently. The people who had been among them had disappeared without a sound. Replacing them were the crowds, gradually gathering from all directions. They came from the alleys, the big roads, the rubbish heap, and the magnificent carriages. The crowd gathered in silence. Some of them were old, and some were young. There were also beggars and children. In the past, they laid in the ditch like garbage, looked down upon by everyone. But now, their eyes were terrifying. The day had begun in the morning, but now it seemed that all of downtown had finally been awakened from a nine year sleep. It was as if an old beggar, who had gone through a long winter, finally opened his turbid and cloudy eyes, and gazed coldly at those who were stupidly attempting to take power. Their eyes were ruthless and downright vicious! - Everyone that had gathered seemed to be waiting feverishly, staring in the direction of the tavern. When they saw Alberto before the window, their eyes became scornful. Theyre lips were cracked open with a mocking smile. Under their stare, Alberto''s lips trembled. The blood in his face drained bit by bit until he became ghastly pale. "How is it? Are you satisfied?" The Shaman stood behind him, holding down his shoulders. He leaned over and smiled, and murmured in Albertos ear, "See? They are my dogs. I don''t need to recruit anyone, and I don''t need to bargain with you. If I want to fight with you, then I will. "If I say I gave you an opportunity, then I did." He patted Alberto on the face and shook his head. "Unfortunately, you missed the chance." The Shaman passed Alberto and stood before the window. His eyes were full of pride as he inspected his troops. He opened his arms as if to embrace them. The wildly enthusiastic people began to cheer. The sound was like a rushing tide, making even the ground tremble, startling countless birds. The tide-like cheer resounded in the still area. It was as if a king had reappeared, shaking the entire city with the will of a single person! Amid the deafening cheers, the Shaman raised his right hand and asked the cheering crowd, "My sons, my knights, tell them who is your master! Who is the true master of this place?" "Shaman!" the people roared. They raised their right hand and responded, shouting out the name, "Shaman! Shaman! Shaman!" It was a will that did not need to be described in words, an enthusiasm that could be felt without outright expression, an invisible crown and scepter of supremacy. The former Dark King, the Shaman, had returned! In the incomparable frenzy, the Shaman turned. Seeing the three pale faces, he smiled, genial and tolerant. "Dont be afraid. Today, I just brought my children with to say hello to you all. I will not do anything to you, but there is just one thing I want you to remember. Go back and tell your new master, Mr. Robin." The Shaman held his head up as high as he overlooked the parliament in the shadows. Eyes haughty and icy, he warned,"Avalons Shadow is not something you can touch. Dont play with fire." -- Soon, everything was over. The people who should have left did so, and the crowd that had gathered disappeared per the Shamans command. Stillness returned to the tavern. Behind the bar, Ghosthand carefully wiped a glass and brought a shot of tequila to his master. "Sir, you have just returned. Is it okay to declare a war on parliament?" Ghosthand commented on his masters declaration of war without restraint, "After all, theyre all important figures in Anglo. If they drive you away again, I''m afraid well have to wait many more years. The next time you come back, you might find my tombstone." "Dont worry! Even if thats the case, Ill take your tombstone to battle." The Shaman shrugged. "Remember to make your tombstone a little lighter than usual. Otherwise, I wont be able to carry it." "Ill tell the craftsman to make the tombstone look like a turtle shell, so it can double as a shield." "Your loyalty is really comforting," the Shaman sighed. "I can''t wait to carry your turtle shell to battle." Ghosthand downed his glass. Rolling his eyes, he asked, "The more you do this, the more theyll try to speed up the search for the Blood Path. What if they do find the way, and open Avalons Shadow?" "Thats impossible. Avalons Shadow is the power left behind by King Arthur in this world. Only King Arthurs will can activate the Blood Path." "But King Arthur is dead." Shaman smiled. "Do you really think that there is nothing else left in this world that can represent King Arthur''s will?" Ghosthand fell silent. After a while, he whispered, "Do you mean the sword in the stone?" "Yes." The Shaman nodded. "Crazy King Arthur created it by imagining the sea demon, Leviathan, the king of all natural catastrophes, as his enemy. The souls of sinners and the dragon were sealed in the sword. They wail every night, never allowed to rest in peace." "Isn''t it a royal seal?" "Not entirely. The most important part is now lost." The Shaman seemed to be drunk, speaking casually, oblivious to the fact that he had just uttered a deep and dark secret. "You know, King Arthur was a psycho. In the beginning, he was known as the Virtuous King, but later, he became Crazy King Arthur. "At that time, his had begun to crumble, and he was unable to harness his immense power. The sword in the stone went out of control. The power that could fight off natural catastrophes went crazy. Nine-tenths of that power was controlled by Arthur''s remaining strength, but the scabbard was lost. "Thats the most important part of the sword. Its not the most powerful, but it represents the scepter and will of King Arthur. Since then, the royal family lost the key to the Blood Path and could no longer inherit the holy name of Arthur." Shaman downed a cup full of liquor and burped heartily. "Over the years, the royal family has been entrusting the church to secretly search for it. They finally found it somewhere, secretly took it back to the human world, and sealed it. "But because of the advent of Avalons Shadow, the scabbard was secretly sent out of Avalon again. Unfortunately, there was an accident on the road, and the scabbard disappeared." Ghosthand stared at Shaman, completely unable to digest the complex information from the past. Seeing his confusion, the Shaman laughed joyfully. "Its a really sad story, isn''t it?" He poured himself a cup and drank it in one shot. He murmured in regret, "What a pity. Even if an ordinary person gets it, he can instantly inherit the name of Arthur and the power of the sword in the stone. It wont be impossible to become the king of Anglo in one day, right?" 134 Bolero When Charles said, "Isnt the notebook there?" a bad feeling arose in Ye Qingxuan instinctively. When he looked in that direction, his heart sank and he fell into silence. Charles had pointed to the corner of the living room. There was a painting on the wall; a cupboard; two chairs; and a finely-decorated, well-made, high-grade, amazingly warm and comfortabledog bed! The long-missed Old Phil was sprawled out on its bed, side-eyeing its first and third servants. Its eyes were arrogant as if he were the emperor in his palace. As it enjoyed the stupidity of mankind, it chewed on its breakfasta leather-bound, beautifully made, and familiarnotebook? "Senior, am I seeing things?" Ye Qingxuan asked after a long time. "Why am I seeing Old Phil eating my notebook?" "Ah, thats right!" Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was close to breaking down, Charles decided to give him a push. "Hes been eating it for half a month! He doesnt even eat dog food these days. He just eats two pages per day. Hes finally finishing it today! Old Phil loves studying. Junior, you cant lose to him!" "I feel like Ive lost at the starting point." Speechless, Ye Qingxuan bent down to pick up the shreds with shaking hands. In the end, fates cruel arrangement pushed him to his limit. "Old Phil!!" Putting the dog in a choke hold, Ye shook it violently. "How can you just eat it? This is a relic that my dad left behind for me! A relic! A relic! How can you just eat it? At least tell me! Do you know how hard life is for me? Y-you...spit it out!" His features twisted as he tried to open Old Phils mouth and save the last shred of paper. Old Phils mouth opened and then closed.He closed his mouth tightly around Ye Qingxuans leg, causing him to fall down with a strangled cry. Old Phil was Old Phil after all. He never displayed any mercy when he was biting. His mouth could definitely go down in history. It had never failed, from biting the crown prince to its servant! And this b*stard had chose the meatiest parts to bite, ensuring that one bite was enough for a scarred mind, and two bites were enough for mental traumano one could hide from it! With that fatal bite, Ye Qingxuan practically passed out, and just rolled to the other side of the living room. Taking advantage of this, Old Phil walked over to stand on Ye Qingxuan. It slapped the youth without any hesitation, making sure that Ye Qingxuan would never talk back to his boss. His action was so furious and straightforward, sending chills down ones spine, but it was understandable! Ye Qingxuan had broken the rules and offended his boss! -- When Ye Qingxuan woke, it was already noon. "Hey, Junior. You awake?" Charles squatted beside him, eating a durian. Smiling, he asked, "Want one? Its fresh! I just got it from the backyard of the Royal School" "What just happened?" Ye Qingxuan asked in a daze. "Why am I here?" He looked around and realized that he was lying on the living room floor. There was a mess around him, and his body hurt as if he had been beat up. "Oh, you forgot?" Charles gave him a sympathetic look. "This morning, you tried to steal Old Phils dog food and got punished. Even though you were beat up pathetically, I respect your courage! Come, good man, have a fruit!" "" Ye Qingxuan refused with a polite shake of the head. "Oh right, Professor said to go to the library after you wake up." Charles pointed at the closed library door. "Theres something important to discuss." -- Ye Qingxuan walked to the library nervously. He was ready to be scolded by the Professor for not going to class for the past few days. However, Abraham seemed to be busy, seated behind his messy table with a giant stack of revised drafts. He did not look up until Ye Qingxuan coughed. "Oh Yezi, youre here? Sorry, I was working" "Its okay, its okay!" Feeling guilty, Ye Qingxuan had the urge to rush over and give his teacher a massage. "Professor, I shouldnt disturb you, but what are you writing? You look so focused." "Oh, this" Abraham chuckled shyly, though a glimmer of pride appeared in his wooden expression. "I got new inspiration for the translation method. I realized that if I use this method to decipher Voynichs Manuscript, I might be able to translate the fragment at the end. If Im successful, I can apply for a bigger budget! And then our budget wont be so tight" "Voynichs Manuscript?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Professor, youre going to be big!" The Voynich Manuscript had always been an important piece of literature for researching the history of the Dark Ages. Deciphering it had been a challenge for many scholars and Revelations musicians. Unfortunately, other than the scholar, Champollion, from centuries ago, and Miss Lola from recent years, nobody else had made progress on it. Others would go astray or be seen as fakes If someone were able to use another method to decipher the remaining passages, it could be significant enough to shake up the entire academic world. Abrahams translation method would receive the sacred citys recognition and become its own discipline. The idiots at the School of Revelations would not be able to belittle them anymore. Maybe Abraham would receive commendation from the sacred city, and the academys funds! If the Church thought this method was an innovative breakthrough, he would definitely become a master musician! As his student, Ye Qingxuan felt honored as well! He might have been doubtful if someone else had said those words, but he believed Abraham completely. With the Professors wooden personality, he would never lie. He would never say anything he had no confidence in either. Since Abraham had said so, it would work! Thinking that Abraham would not be abject, and would receive recognition by everyone, riding the School of History of its awkward status, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel overjoyed. His happiness at his successful robbery from the night before was nothing compared to this good news. "Professor, youve hit gold!" Ye Qingxuan cheered. Then fluttering his lashes, he said, "Lets eat a good dinner tonight! Senior keeps asking for meat. I can go out and buy a kilogram or two and make something good!" "Uh, theres no need. Its not very certain yet," Abraham said, a little embarrassed. "Wait until I publish it. What if I miscalculated? Itll be bad to celebrate for no reason." "Professor, dont be so modest. I believe in you!" Ye Qingxuan danced, already planning a celebration. "Lets talk about the important matters first." Abraham organized his notes and coughed. His expression turned serious. He studied the youth. After a long silence, he finally said, "Yezi, Charles said that youve already grasped the performance of complex notes. Have you thought about what school to follow in the future?" "Huh?" "Look, you are considered to a Rhythm level musician now. You have to plan for the future." Abraham scratched his head. "I dont have that much experience, seeing as Charles has been stuck on the Rhythm level all these years. I feel likehell be stuck for a few more years, so I havent prepared anything in that aspect. But if you have any schools youd like to research, we can discuss it." "Uh, to be honest, I havent thought about it" Ye Qingxuan felt cold sweat forming. "There isnt a school that I really want to learn. Other than Black Friday, which I somehow learned, I havent looked at the music scores from other schools. So I want to wait until I have a sturdier foundation." "Reinforcing your foundation is one thing, but the earlier you choose your school, the better. Dont be like me and waste half your life before finally becoming a musician," Abraham said, a bit ashamed. "I was the best at the School of Abstinence, but I signed a confidential agreement with the military for this material, so I cant teach it. I started researching the School of Revelations halfway. You can see that I havent accomplished much now. Dont be like me!" "Professor, I think youre really awesome already. If anything, just let me learn Revelations with you. Our major is with the School of Revelations anyway!" Ye Qingxuan shrugged carelessly. "I can read and decipher ancient texts easily, so I can be a scholar in the future." "" Abraham knocked the side of Ye Qingxuans head. "This is about your future, not some meaningless thing. Yezi, be more serious about it." "Or you can just teach?" Ye Qingxuan suggested. "Ill learn whatever you teach. Im just at the Rhythm level now, and theres still a long time before I get to the third level. Maybe Ill find something that suits me as I learn." "That is very irresponsible, but I guess there isnt a better solution." Sighing, Abraham warned, "But you must keep in mind that different schools have opposing principles. You cant venture too deep when youre still experimenting. "Take the School of Mind and Summoning for example. The first focuses on will and humanity, while the latter focuses on instinct and the beastly nature. If you learn the two at the same time, they will contradict each other, and youll make no progress. The same applies to the School of Modifications and Illusions. One researches substances, and the other, emptiness. "Compared to those, the differences between the School of Choir and Revelations arent too obvious, but the former focuses on the nature of life, while the other focuses on the outside world. Its difficult to put them together as well." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan became curious. "What about Abstinence? Is there nothing that contradicts the School of Abstinence?" "It opposes every other school," Abraham sighed. "Thats why I dont want you to be like me." With that, he pulled out the blackboard and began to write with his prosthetic arm. "The focus of the School of Abstinence is on the nature of aether, so it contrasts with other schools. I am best at countering and deciphering, which is why I can find something similar in the School of Revelations. Other than these two fields, there isnt much I can teach you. "Here is a score that Ive deciphered myself. It consists solely of common basic runes, which is rare. Musicians from any school can learn it. It can help you form your foundation." As he spoke, he wrote the name of the score on the blackboardBolero. 135 Interpretation Method In the basement, a gentle melody sounded from the youths fingertips. The instruments strings vibrated softly. The melody was like fine dust floating in the sunlight, peaceful and melodious... As Ye Qingxuans played, strands of water vapor slowly condensed in the air, latching onto his body and fluttering out in all directions. Across from him, Charles whistled while eating a fruit. The corner of his lips curled up into a smile. "Good job! You succeeded on the third try?" Ye Qingxuan controlled the threads of water floating in the air and replied. "The melody is quite simple and only uses basic runes. The notes itself are difficult to understand, but you can use the interpretation method to figure it out. Its not so difficult in the beginning." "I was just worried about your confidence. I guess I dont need to say anything now," Charles muttered. He picked up a screw from the ground and flicked it at the white wall behind Ye Qingxuan. The screw smashed onto the wall and bounced straight at Ye Qingxuans head! In the air, a thread of water vapor had been grazed by the screw. Ye Qingxuan instantly reached behind as if he had eyes on the back of his head, and caught the screw easily. "Oh?" Charles laughed. "Not bad." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and tossed the screw back into the box on the ground. The barely visible threads of vapor danced stiffly around his body. He was still trying to get used to this feeling. Now, the threads were like an extension of his body. He could detect even the slightest touch. Gradually, the water vapor lines became more agile, which made Ye Qingxuan nod in satisfaction. "So far, the first measure of Bolero is not complicated. I''ll be able to master it this afternoon." "There is one thing you must be aware of, Yezi." Charles shook his head, patting the youth on the shoulder. "The most difficult part of Bolero is not about playing it, but applying it!" In the next moment, Ye Qingxuans vision swam, and he fell down. "Sorry, I did a sneak attack." Charles stretched his wrists out and showed Ye the slowly dissipating rune Air. He shook his head provocatively. "How about we practice together? The loser has to dress up like a girl and buy dinner!" Ye Qingxuan stared at him blankly. After realizing that Charles was serious, there was a glimmer of vicious intent in his eyes. "That means I can do whatever I want to you?" "Yes, come on, big man!" Charles beckoned with his pinky finger. "Let me see what the so called Vengeful Spirit from downtown can do." "I know youre just provoking me, but you have to know that Im still going to get angry, senior." Ye Qingxuan stood up, cracked his knuckles, loosened his neck, then grinned. "Ive been waiting for this day for a long time." "Hehe." Charles laughed shyly, but a ball of blinding light shot out from his hands without warning. Blinded, Ye Qingxuan sensed that someone was in his arms, with their palms on his chest. "Bingo!" Charles grinned, his fingers tightened Boom! Rune Air exploded. Severe wind pressure lifted the youth up. Ye crashed against the wall, and finally landed on a pile of dust covers, causing a cloud of dust to rise. "Forgot to tell you the rules." Charles had cheated skillfully. "Youre in as long as youre standing. In other words, if you want to surrender, just lie down." "Youre so considerate." Ye Qingxuan coughed violently and climbed out of the dust pile. "But I will not give you the opportunity to lie down." In the next moment, he snapped his fingers, and the crisp sound was like frost cracking. Rays of frost shot out. As if Charles had foreseen this, he stepped to the side and jumped back, escaping the youths attack. Before he got his footing back, Ye Qingxuan began to fight fire with fire, using the rune Air. Boom! Ye Qingxuan flew through the air, his eyes wide open in shock. "That''s why people need to be careful of their steps." Charles shook his head and looked down at the runes dissipating on the ground. They were the notes he had left before leaping by using the technique of delayed release. It was easy to lure someone into the trap "Seems like you have no experience with musician duels other than the concertmaster challenge." Charles shook his head and waved at the youth with great enthusiasm. "Hurry up, let me help you make up this lesson." Ye Qingxuan spat the dust out of his mouth and charged again. After three seconds, Charles withdrew his palm from Ye Qingxuan. The youth had lost his strength and knelt down on the ground, heaving violently. Sweat flowed freely from him, leaving wet stains on the ground. That was the note he excelled atFlow! "Are you done resting?" Charles leisurely paced around him. "Its alright. Take a rest and drag it out until dinner time so you dont have to fight anymore." Ye Qingxuan knew clearly that this b*stard was still provoking him. He simply sat on the ground, refusing to get up. His frustrated eyes gradually calmed. No, there was something wrong. He was getting completely crushed! It was like challenging a formless monster. Every defeat was weird and mysterious. It was not about how excellent the other sides strategy was, nor how powerful the enemy was. It was not because of his own weakness either. What was wrong? This guy acted as if he could predict his next step! PredictYe Qingxuans eyes flashed. He raised his head, eyes narrowing. Under the faint light, the dust disrupted by the two men scattered under the light. But when the youth looked closely, he realized that there was something different about Charles surroundings. Around him were dozens of slender and hidden threads of water vapor. They floated from his body, stretched through the air, and finally Ye Qingxuan looked along the thin lines, and it finally dawned on him. The threads were wrapped around his own body! "This is the application of Bolero?" "Great job. It only took you five minutes to realize. I wanted to play with you for half an hour before telling you. What a pity." Charles shrugged. "Shall we continue?" Ye Qingxuan pulled himself up. This time, he stood and stared at Charles. "How do you do it?" "What? You mean prediction? It''s just an illusion." Charles put up a finger. "Everything I know is from you. Think about it, and think about it more closely. How do I know?" "Because of the perception threads created by Boleros first measure?" "Youre getting closer to the answer, but it''s not enough." Charles wagged his finger. "If I only relied on the threads, at most, I could determine your location. If I wanted to beat you up completely, I would need some other thingsthings that you havent noticed yet. Think, Yezi, think! Dont stopkeep thinking! Never stop thinking when you''re in a duel. If you stop, you lose. If you lose, you die!" The next moment, Charles charged. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously stepped back and created a shield effect for himself. But then the image coming at himdissipated? Rune: Mirror! Charles''s hand sliced down on the back of Ye Qingxuans neck like a knife, pushing him down easily. Under the boy''s puzzled eyes, Charles whistled and wiggled his fingers. At his fingertips, a few threads connected to Ye Qingxuan glittered and flashed. "Passive defense is useless," he said. "I know all of your thoughts." A flame ignited on Ye Qingxuans fingertip in reply. He was expressionless as he burned the connected perception thread and pulled himself up. "Again." "Alright." The next moment, the two pressed on their own instrument in unison, the same melody sounded at the same time. It was the first measure of Bolero! In that gentle and quiet melody, a number of perception threads rose out of Ye Qingxuans body, and wrapped around Charles. Perception threads came from Charles hands as well. The threads ran into each other, becoming a tangled mess. The moment the perception threads wrapped around Charles, Ye Qingxuans expression became shocked and surprised. He couldsense the aether controlled by Charles? "What''s the matter? Is it really that surprising to be able to sense someone elses aether?" Charles did not care that Ye Qingxuan could perceive the changes in his aether and said lightly, "Now can you understand? The threads arent a replacement of touch. Theyre the extension of perception! That''s what they do. Theyre a musicians eyes. "A pair of eyes that knows the enemy''s every intention, every movement, and fluctuations of each note. Nothing can hide from these eyes." Then he said, "Congratulations, you are finally getting started." There was a crisp snap. Charles raised his hand and released a frost ray without warning. It was loved by students for being easy to cast, and requiring low exertion. Ye Qingxuan could not process it in time! He could clearly feel the changes in the others aether, but in the midst of everything, Ye Qingxuan did not realize that he was playing a note. His face was covered by weakened white frost. He could not even breathe. "What''s wrong? Ive put everything out in the open for you." Charles cocked his head. "You couldnt even tell that I was going to cast a rune?" "Instantaneous notes are so fast. You have to at least give me time to react." Ye Qingxuan reached out and wiped the white frost off his face. "The changes are so confusing that I can''t find the patterns." "Come on, use your brain." Charles sighed. "Translation and interpretation method. What have you been learning?" "Interpretation?" Ye Qingxuan froze, as if he had suddenly found clue. He involuntarily followed Charless guide and continued thinking. "Interpretation method" 136 Duel "Thats right. This is the interpretation method," Charles whistled. "Did you really think that the things Professor taught can only be used to explain music scores and ancient languages? Its teaching you how to read! If it can help you interpret music scores and runes, why cant it explain the changes of aether?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. His expressions changed as he pondered, but his brows quickly furrowed again. "Senior, cast a note for me." Charles obeyed. Once again, Ye Qingxuan was hit in the face with frost, but this time he did not move at all. As if fossilized, he let the rays of frost hit him with immense pain. "I think I feel something," Ye Qingxuan murmured, looking up. "Again." "Okay." Frost again! Whack! This time, Ye Qingxuan finally moved but he was too late. He had just started to raise his hand when the frost covered his face. It burned, but he started laughing. It was as if he had been running in the dark and found an open door. The sunlight that fell on his face was weak, but the world was completely different now. He finally understood why the translation method skipped many steps in order to quickly achieve an unclear rune instead of a developed one. It was to reduce his time of interpreting to its limit. He must ignore practically ninety percent of all information to be one tenth of a second faster. "Again!" "Okay." As Charles raised his hand, Ye Qingxuans expression changed. He begged, "Dont do it to my face. It hurts!" "Too late." Charles continued raising his hand, planning on covering his face with frost. Shocked, Ye Qingxuan gave up on begging for mercy, and quickly began chanting. He subconsciously gathered aether before him like a shield. The surface was smooth and sturdy. Rune: Mirror. Whack! The cool blue rays landed on the mirror, refracted, and disappeared along with the mirror. Coldness spread, and the flying dust turned to ice particles and fell on the ground. Ye Qingxuan froze while Charless smile stiffened. "Didnt you say you were going for my face?" Ye Qingxuan asked faintly. "Why did you aim for my chest? That wasnt what we agreed on." "AhaI pitied you and changed to somewhere meatier," Charles chuckled dryly. "Cant believe you improved so quickly that you could even tell where I was aiming!" The corners of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched. "If I didnt interpret it, Id have to get hit by your frost for no reason again, right?" "What do you mean no reason? What doesnt kill you makes you stronger!" Charles praised himself shamelessly. "Im doing this for your own good!" "" Ye Qingxuan was secretly amazed at his reaction in that second. He could not believe how fast his reaction speed became in a time of crisis. When he had subconsciously sensed the rippling aether from Charles, his body reacted instinctively. His brain had not even processed the information when he went into defense mode. "Junior, it seems like youve been enlightened!" Grinning cheekily, Charles asked, "Did you find the secret trick?" "I guess. I just have to pretend youre a music score and interpret that, right?" "Basically, butI wont be like a music score and stand here without moving!" With that, Charles finished chanting. The boxes of screws around them began shaking. The aethers magnetic field pulled the screws toward Charless hand. They spun at his fingertips, whistling and rumbling, ready to attack! For the first time, Ye Qingxuan felt just how terrifying Charless talent was. He had never seen anyone else who could control hundreds of screws with just one note. Charles had done so without any preparationeverything had happened with a simple raise of the hand. "Since you know the method now, I dont have to go easy on you anymore," Charles voice came from behind the layers of screws. "Next, Ill be entering destruction mode. Watch out." "Wait, Im not ready yet!" Seeing the dense wall of bullets, the hair on Ye Qingxuans neck rose. "Okay, Ill wait." Ye Qingxuan relaxed at those words, but then the screws whistled, shooting forward at his limbs and chest without any warning. Even though he had given up on Charles morality, seeing him act so perversely gave Ye Qingxuan a chill. There was no more trust between people! "Do you have to do that?" Clutching his head, Ye began darting around. "Ive only learned the first measure of Bolero!" "You think the Professor only taught you the first measure?" Charles was able to hold a conversation even as he shot out screws continuously. "He has taught you the entire thing." "How can it be that short?" "Quite the contrary. There is no music score longer than Bolero." Charles cackled. "Because the rest of the melody is a repeat of the first measure. With each repeat, you have to put twice as much effort in manipulation. The number and length of strands will also multiply. So you can overlap the melody as many times as youd like. Theres no limit as long as you can control it." As Ye Qingxuan dodged painfully, he began to interpret the aethers pattern at a furious speed, predicting where the screws would land. At the same time, he subconsciously calculated how much manipulation power was needed for each repeat. "Are you kidding?" His eyes and mouth opened wide. "With that exponential increase, the eighth measure would need 128 times the amount needed for the first measure! Only the devil can do that!" Charles used one sentence to shut him up. "Professors limit is the seventeenth measure." -- He could not keep getting hit like this. Ye Qingxuan could already feel the pain of being hit all over as he dodged pathetically. Charles was analyzing him just as he was analyzing Charles. He could see Charless every movement clearly. This meant that he could not hide his moves from him either. This training was tailored for him. He could get rid of the threads and use Black Friday to catch Charles off guard. But how was that different from admitting defeat? There were now two choices before him: surrender, put on girls clothing, and buy dinner for this *sshole, or actually fight him! "Youre going down!" Ye Qingxuan jumped out toward the flying screws, eyes determined. -- "Cant take it anymore?" Behind the numerous hovering screws, Charles shook his head. He studied the youth, but his senses were faster than his eyes. He could feel everything, even the dust flying in the dim room. He did not need to see the threads to feel the change in aether. The aether flowed like a river under his feet, under the stone floor, under the dirt, even deeper and it swirled like a hurricane above his head, above the building, high up in the sky. It changed freely in this vast world, joining together and scattering with sounds. Countless droplets of light hovered in this world, reflecting on everything and turning this world into something beautiful! It was a beauty that the average person would not be able to see, even with the help of perception threads, but to Charles, it was average and standard. He could analyze Ye Qingxuans aether completely just with his instinctive feeling. That was why he felt sympathy. "Why are you still like that?" Charles asked. He sighed, thinking, "A pity that you could use this on an idiot like Edmund, but it wont work here." "Junior." His fingers moved slightly. Pulled by the magnetic force, the screws grouped to the front like a shield. It vibrated and reflected the screws that Ye Qingxuan had shot forward using the same rune Magnet. Then he covered his eyes, ready to defend. Ye Qingxuan had grasped this moment and was going to launch an attack of light, a technique that had always worked. With the sound of icicles shooting through the ground, dozens of mirrors appeared out of thin air. A burst of light exploded from the youths hands, the blinding light swallowed Charles. Charles could feel and see the piercing light even with his eyes closed. His heart skipped a beat. This light could seriously blind someone if looked at directly. How was Ye Qingxuan able to push the rune effect to this intensity after just becoming a student a month ago? Children could not be underestimated these days He sighed inwardly. Ye Qingxuan had the upper hand now. But unfortunately, the essence of this game did not lie in the upper hand, but in the counter-attack or evenlying! This was a game more strategic than musician duels. It could not be won just by aggressive attacks. With both sides using Bolero, they were both in the same environment, receiving the same information, and knowing each other like the back of their own hands. It was like chess. When both knew their opponents next step, the difficulty level would skyrocket. This was a technique that combined strategies from the School of Revelations and Abstinence. It could not be won by the School of Modifications chaotic bombing! With the connection of perception threads, Charles knew everything about Ye Qingxuans tactics. "Sorry, junior." He shook his head and sighed. "Youre definitely crossdressing today!" First blinding him with Mirror and Light and then Magnetwait, was this multiple casting? Quickly, Charles felt a strange ripple through his thread. It was the chaos created by two runes forced together. "Oh, no way, right?" Charles was slightly stunned, thinking, "Where did you learn this? Its unique to the School of Modifications, created by those lunatics crazy for destruction!" Ye Qingxuan put his hands together. When he slowly pulled his hands apart, a blinding electric arc shot out. He smiled at Charles from behind the electric light. "Dont be so impatientwhos going to crossdress hasnt been decided yet." 137 Gentle Moonligh "Bai Xi, Ive witnessed many miracles and wonders in my life. Ive seen saints turn into demons, and Ive seen demons who received redemption. Its simple because love and hate all come so suddenly. "But is there anything that can stop him if neither love nor hate can change him? Is it the starry sky above him? Is it the morality in his heart? Or is it death, which no man can escape? "Ive only met one creature like this, and it was enough to me feel that all my efforts were in vain. He was the second person that made me doubt myself. Thankfully, I had prepared myself when I learned who he was." Hermes glanced at Bai Xi and sighed. "Havent you noticed his queerness? When he was being hunted by the entire city, his lenience was mocked, and his kindness trampled, but he still didnt change his ideas or give up on his beliefs. "Even when those pieces of trash wanted revenge, he stayed true to the standards in his heart. He only did to them what they did to him, and nothing moreHe never even thought about a much simpler solutionkilling them all!" "That just means hes a good person!" Bai Xi retorted. Bai Xis response stunned Hermes into silence. He burst into laughter as if he had heard the joke of the century. "A good person? Dont joke, Bai Xi. He was practically born to be a dark musician! If hes a good person, why would he learn something like Black Friday? Its intensity is prominent in dark music scores. "Music scores have souls, Bai Xi. It helps them choose the most suitable master. If it chose Ye Qingxuan, it proves that he has a dark nature that even he cant perceive! Havent you seen it? When he conducts the terrifying music, his movements are like flowing waterits practically an art! "For him, killing someone is easy." He stared at Bai Xi and uttered, "The reason why he hasnt killed anyone yet isnt because of kindness or mercy. He simplylooks down on them. He thinks that they arent worthy enough to change himself. When he realized that this world conflicted with his ideals, he didnt try to change himself. Instead, he wanted to change the world into what he wants "Hes that kind of monster!" Bai Xi fell silent, unable to reply. In the silence, Hermes picked up his teacup and drank elegantly. "My apologies for revealing the ugly truth. Pretend that I never said anything and forget about it," he advised gently. "Go back, study hard, and stop fooling around with him. Stay in your refuge and dont worry. "Downtown is an amusement park for these monsters. Its not a place for you to throw temper tantrums. If youre not willing to let go, sooner or later, youll die because of him. Youll die in pain" "Hermes!" The girls voice cut him off. Bai Xi stared at him with pure black eyes. There was thunder and lightning in those eyes, furious and destructive. As if she were giving the last warning, she emphasized each word as she uttered, "You can shut up now." "Okay, okay." Hermes smiled helplessly and raised his hands in surrender. Bai Xi looked away and continued reading the music score in her hands, returning to normal. It was as if nothing had happened. -- In the long afternoon, Bai Xi would sometimes look up and ask something, and Hermes would answer in detail. He seemed just like a responsible teacher, explaining the essence of the music scores in layman terms. Finally, the sun set in the sky. In the fading light, Bai Xi stuffed the music score from Hermes into her bag. Her fingers touched something cold and she hesitated. Looking up, she asked, "Youre a really powerful alchemist, right?" "Not just powerful." Hermes pointed at himself. "You should say that no one in the past or future can be better than me." Bai Xi put something on the table. "Help me fix this up." On the table was an army crossbow with the serial code scraped off. Under the dying sunlight, the dangerous weapon looked calm. Stunned, Hermes looked at Bai Xi. He seemed to understand something in her eyes and he smiled. "Yes, my monster princess." Picking up the bow, he walked to his workshop. His eyes softened when Bai Xi could no longer see him. They were full of tolerance, as if watching a stubborn child who wanted to scoop up the moons reflection in water. But how long could she play the game with Ye Qingxuan if she did not want to dirty her hands? -- Charles had ultimately escaped the cross-dressing punishment after crying, throwing a tantrum, and threatening suicide, but Ye Qingxuan now had so much blackmail material in his hands. It would be much easier to communicate with this annoying senior in the future. Charles had agreed to practice with Ye Qingxuan whenever and wherever the youth wanted. He had also promised to get hit without fighting back so Ye Qingxuan could become more familiar with the music score. With a talented prodigy like Charles to coach him, Ye Qingxuan would be able to make up for his lack of experience quickly. By that time, he would have consumed the rest of the rune stones, and he would be able to enter the Rhythm level within one month, recreating Charles terrifying achievement. Of course, it was nothing to Charles who had told the public it had taken him one month when it was only two days in actually. But it still sounded good! Maybe Ye Qingxuan could get some more money from the *sshole school board too! Late at night, Charles squatted in the corner of the basement, crying after not being able to fight back. Ye Qingxuan, who had basically grasped Bolero, pushed the door open in high spirits. As he turned back to see Charles, he could not help but hold his belly and laugh. Charles could fall to such a state too! Humming, Ye happily headed toward his bedroom. There was a pile of rune stones waiting for him there. But when he passed by the living room, he noticed the lonely girl on the sofa. As if she had finally come back after playing, she had washed up and was now curled on the sofa. She stared at the night sky, deep in thought. In the night, moonlight fell on the steps. It was silver-white, just like the girls long hair. But she was not supposed to be so quiet. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan asked softly, "Bai Xi?" The girl jolted up. She stared at Ye Qingxuan for a long time and then looked down, seeming unhappy. "Cousin, you havent gone to sleep yet?" "Whats wrong?" Ye Qingxuan reached for her forehead. "Do you have a fever?" Bai Xi swatted his hand away and rolled her eyes. "No." "Then whats wrong? Youre so serious and quiet, I thought I saw you wrong." "Im thinking," Bai Xi said grumpily. "Thinking." "" Ye Qingxuan did not know what to say. He did not know what expression to put on his face. He just wanted to say, "Cousin, you just have to play without care. Thinking doesnt suit you." But he would probably get beaten up if he said that, so he decided against it. "Ha, what are you thinking about?" Ye Qingxuan tried really hard to act like a good older brother and forced a smile onto his face. "You can tell me and Ill help you out." "Cousin, your smile is disgusting." Bai Xi moved back in disgust. The corners of Ye Qingxuans lips quivered. He really did not know what to say. Bai Xi sat beside him and went blank again, holding her chin silently. All that could be heard in the stillness were the chirping of insects. The moon shone through the window, landing on the girls hair. One could not tell what was moonlight and what was her hair. Ye Qingxuan gazed at her in silence for a long time before finally looking away. "Cousin," Bai Xi suddenly spoke up. "Yeah?" "Being hunted is something that you should get angry at, right?" "Yeah." "So are you angry?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Yes, very angry." "But" Hesitant, Bai Xi murmured, "Why didnt you kill those people at the cemetery and in Ganlu City?" "" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback, confused. "Youre still caught up on that?" "Yeah, am I not allowed to be?" Bai Xis eyes flashed. "Yes, yes, of course you can!" Ye Qingxuan put his hands together, begging for mercy. "I cant control what you think about." "So why didnt you kill them?" Bai Xi got up close to him, staring deep into his eyes as if looking for his disguises and lies. The orbs that were her eyes were so close and so full of pure focus that Ye Qingxuan leaned back subconsciously. He was nervous for some reason. Bai Xi studied him and murmured, "Do you have some unspeakable difficulties? Childhood trauma? Made some kind of vow? Or under someone elses influence?" "" Unable to reply, Ye Qingxuan could only shake his head. "Its not that complicated. Youre overthinking." He reached out to stroke her hair, laughing at her grumpiness. "Thats all you wanted to ask me?" "Yeah." Bai Xi looked away. "Since youre not going to tell me, just pretend I never asked." "Its not unspeakable." Lying on the sofa, Ye Qingxuan stared up at the moon. His expression softened. "Its because I promised my mom that Id be a good person." "Oh" After a long time, Bai Xi nodded as if she understood. She did not quite understand but, for some reason, she suddenly became happy. There was nothing to worry about. Maybe because it was too tiring to be curled up in a ball, she stretched and sprawled out on the sofa. Her feet rested on the armrest, and her toes curled and opening as if she were playing a game. Her hair fell on Ye Qingxuans body, covering him like moonlight. "Your momwhat was she like?" Bai Xi suddenly asked. She peered at the youths silhouette. After a pause, Ye Qingxuan said quietly, "Kind and gentle, but never had a choice." "Oh, just like my mom." Bai Xi nodded in agreement. "What about your dad?" "An *sshole." After hearing Ye Qingxuans straightforward reply, Bai Xi laughed. "Oh, just like my dad." "Yeah, were all the same. Whats so different about everyone?" Ye Qingxuan murmured as he got up. "Go to sleep. Its getting late." He was walking up the stairs toward his bedroom when Bai Xis voice sounded behind him. "Cousin!" "Yeah?" He looked back. Bai Xi was sitting cross-legged on the sofa, staring in his direction. She asked seriously, "Take me with you when you go out, alright?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and smiled. "Okay, I will." Satisfied and happy, the girl sprang up from the sofa and ran to her room. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan gazed at the moon outside the window. The moonlight was gentle. 138 Who is the Monster? While Charles was still stunned, the currents flew out under the guidance of magnet. Without any deliberate control, they thrashed onto the nearest metal items like long whips. The screws suspended around Charles! With a crisp sound, the screws in Charles control immediately went wild and shot out. It was fortunate that Charles had escaped from the range beforehand and was unharmed, but cold sweat seeped from the back of his neck, rolling down. An electric current thrashed the place where he had stood like a whip. "Wait! When did you learn so many instantaneous notes?" "This morning," Ye Qingxuan said vaguely. "It doesnt matter that you can read anyway. Im faster!" "Theres no skill in this at all." "I dont need any skills. I just need to win!" A flame then swept from Charless side and dissipated after crashing into the barrier formed by Air. The corners of Charless lips twitched, and his body became blurry. Rune Blur. Next, a frost ray brushed past him. As he stumbled back, Ye Qingxuan approached step by step. In this perilous situation, Charless expression finally became slightly serious. Even if he had expected this, Charles still could not help but get cold sweat. Facing such an endless fighting style, he could give Ye Qingxuan the chance to turn the tide if he remained on the defense. Charles deciphered the youths attack and dodged back. He left a string of Shackle runes at his feet to create a trap. Ye Qingxuan stopped on the edge of the trap. Charles smacked his lips. Fighting with such a fast learner was really annoying, but he could still win with his years of experience! But the next second, his expression changed. "The same thing again?" "It works!" Behind the trap, the youth threw a ball of light. The mirror matrix followed and expanded, and a sharp light flashed, blinding Charles. He subconsciously closed his eyes. Focused entirely on reading Ye Qingxuans aether, he grinned. "Sure enough," he thought. "You cant keep it up. Youre still just a rookie" Amid the fighting, Ye Qingxuans movement slowed for an instant, and his aether began to dissipate. Taking advantage of this, Charles charged rather than retreating. He could not see, but he pressed a note directly onto the youths chest. In an instant, Air and Flow collided, setting off a terrifying wave! Boom! Wait, it did not feel right. He opened his dazed eyes and saw Ye Qingxuan flying upside down. In mid-air, Ye Qingxuan''s body cracked onto mirror shards. It was an illusion created by the rune Mirror. When the illusion was gone, Ye Qingxuan was revealed. He stared at Charless startled look and smiled. "Hey!" He had fallen into the trapThe corners of Charless mouth twitched. His vision swam and the shadow of a fist zoomed Boom! Charles fell down, his vision went black. -- When he woke up, it was evening. There was beef stewing in the pot, emanating the scent of meat. He heard the sound of his belly rumbling. He was hungry. He climbed up from the couch with difficulty and rubbed his sore cheek. "Wow, I thought we were brothers. Why did you have to be so cruel? You lured me over there so you could punch me? Wheres your dignity as a musician?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "I knew that your sense and control were all better than mine, and clearly you knew my strategies Why would I stupidly fight you with runes? Am I a retard?" "Your ability can only be improved when you are exposed to the fight itself!" "Well, I would rather not improve in this way." Ye Qingxuan put a bowl of beef stew in front of him and said with concern, "Come on! Eat while its still hot." Charles was suddenly moved. "Rare to see that you also care about me." "No, I just don''t want to waste time." Ye Qingxuan smiled and raised a pink dress. "After all, you still have a little skirt to wear when you finish this" - Half a day before, it was just an average afternoon. Tick tocks sounded in the clock shop as always. It was peaceful and quiet of courseit was yet another day without much business. But the boss was not impatient at all. He drank his afternoon tea at ease. Sometimes he would raise his head and say something to the little girl who was reading behind the counter. Most of the content was nothing important, like how the ice cream vendor did not sell today or that the old man deserved to not make any money and so on. At two o''clock in the afternoon, an old man with one black glove came in and chatted with him for some time. The conversation seemed to be somewhere between pleasant and unpleasant. Soon he left. Watching him leave, Hermes shook his head and smacked his lips. "Shaman that old man, seems like hes really going to do it. Ive underestimated him. Is he really not afraid that the Royals will be provoked and force him out again? Or is he really certain theyre too caught up on the curse to care about him? "But his declaration of war has already made those dogs desperate. Im afraid theyve come to the point that theyll get outside help. At this point theyll probably accept any help, even the power of Satan." "You are so noisy!" The girl behind the counter looked up emotionlessly. "Im reading." "Havent seen you in a few days and youve become one of those musicians who love learning? Im so happy to be your teacher!" Hermes pretended to be moved, and waved his hand. "You must cherish life, study hard. Dont be like your monster cousin." "What?" "Ha, just a slip of the tongue. Dont mind me," Hermes shrugged. "Either finish your words," Bai Xi frowned, "Or just dont say anything at all." Hermes sighed and raised his hand in defeat. "Bai Xi, have you ever thought that you dont truly understand your cousin?" "What do you mean?" "I mean what I said." Hermes shrugged. "You have the same white hair, the same age, the same language, and even the same smile, but have you ever felt in any moment that you dont actually know him?" "No." "No as in you dont feel that way, didnt realize it, or have never thought about it?" Hermes raised his eyebrows. "You should know better than anyone else that this guy isnt normal." Bai Xi was silent. The clock shop resumed its stillness. - In the faint tick tocks, Hermes gazed down at the cup in his hand. In the afternoon sun, dark red tea rippled in the exquisite porcelain tea cup, shining like blood. It was supposed to be such a delicate and beautiful afternoon tea, but it somehow made one think of gloomy things. Perhaps the gloominess came from its owner, the seemingly smiling youth. The sunshine outside the window fell on his long hair, making it look like golden silk. It was indescribably beautiful. But his eyes were dark, as if the clouds of hell lingered in those emerald orbs. He asked, "Bai Xi, is there a moment where you thought you really understood death?" "What do you mean?" "If you have to describe it, it''s probably an immersive experienceit''s like you know what fire is, what iron is, and therell be a moment where you finally know what ''death'' means in the end. This experience may come from a funeral, a corpse, a sad story or the passing of a loved one, or...from your own personal experience. Answer me: Have you ever felt this way before?" Bai Xi nodded in silence. Hermes smiled. "Then you know how fragile humans are." He looked out of the window at the pedestrians. Looking at all the faces, he laughed with a hint of mockery. "Regardless of whether youre good or bad, when one truly comprehends what death is, therell be a moment of enlightenment. You will see your own fears and insignificance, your loneliness and powerlessness, and you will see who you truly are. Like a beast gazing at his reflection in the water. "Only through a realistic experience will you realize that the ideals, standards and bottom lines you believe in are nothing but dust compared to it. There is no better teacher than death. "It is greater than all the stars and morals combined, more indispensable than food and love, more inescapable than fate and hatred...If there really is an eternal truth in this world for mankind, then I believe it must be ''death. That is why the Three Kings wrote it into the oath. You must have seen it already." "Everything goes from life to death, only the Originator is eternal," Bai Xi muttered. "Thats right. Nothing can escape from death. This is the destiny of mankind," Hermes snapped his fingers with appreciation. "In order to avoid its arrival, mankind is willing to do anything, no matter how cruel. "Since the beginning of time, the vast majority of crimes committed by mankind are due to this. For some people, committing sins is okay in order to survive. It is understandable to make a mistake in order to protect your life, even if the mistake is intolerable to the whole world, right?" Bai Xi did not reply, but Hermes read the answer in her eyes. He whispered, "That is the scariest thing about Ye Qingxuan." Bai Xi was stunned. "What the h*ll are you talking about?" "Do you not understand, or do you just not want to understand?" Hermes snickered. "Have you witnessed it? "Your cousin has had countless encounters with death. He hasnt been lacking in life-or-death situations even after coming to Avalon. It can even be said that he spends his life flirting with death. He is closer to death than anyone else and has been more deeply exposed to the nature of death. "But whats frightening is that hes blind to those things. If he became a homicidal maniac or a cold-blooded butcher, it would make sense, butfear and death havent changed him at all! "Even if countless people threaten his life with a blade, or hes chased by monsters, or steps into hell after running into the Blood Pathhe still doesnt change. "None of the pain changed him; none of the happiness changed him. He did not rise, nor did he fallWhat is he thinking?" Hermess eyes were black, as if they were an abyss. 139 A Study of Blood Words I Early morning in downtown, dawn had not yet come and everything was still in darkness. "Last night, the police office received a message," Lestrade stood at the crossroad and said to the man beside him. "The man who betrayed the professor was found. He contacted us on his own prerogative. "After betraying the professor, he should have left Avalon secretly by boat last night. Unfortunately, the Professor somehow suddenly controlled all the smuggling routes. The guy was cautious and sent a man to take his place first. When the guy didnt come back after five minutes, he ran. "His buyer behind the scene had abandoned him, and he had no choice but to turn to the police for help. The guy said in the message that he knew a big secret about the Professor, an absolutely unbelievable secret. If we want to know the secret, we need to save him immediately. "When we received the message, we quickly organized a brigade of police to help him. The director personally applied for the ''Silent Authority, '' which is used to deal with musicians. "Unfortunately, it was too late." Lestrade sighed. "When the police arrived, all they found was a body. The upper part of the body was burned to ashes, as if it had been thrown into an incinerator, but the lower part was intact. "According to the coroner''s report, he was still alive when his body was lithe burned to death. Even most of his blood had been vaporized. He died in the flames of hell. The only clue was a line of words that the man had written in blood before he died." "Where are the words?" the man known as Holmes asked from the shadows. Lestrade pointed back at the house. Almost half of it was charred. "Its inside. The crime scene is well protected. I know you are concerned about the Professor, so I took it from the inspection" "Wait here." Holmes interrupted him without emotion. Lestrades smile stiffened. He stood at the crossroad awkwardly, and waited obediently. When they brushed shoulders, a small bag was thrown into his arms. A hoarse voice sounded by his ear. "You did a good job. This is your reward." Stunned, Lestrade opened the packet to see dense handwriting written on a stack of papers. He immediately became ecstatic and no longer dared to complain. -- "What did you give to him?" Bai Xi whispered after he entered the room. "Another part of the Pyramid Kings scheme. It includes some of his trade channels." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Anyway, we still have enough for at least ten more times. This guy is kind of interesting. Lets just have some fun with him." "..." Bai Xi pursed her lip, not knowing what to say. She looked around at the messy and cramped room and all the charred things. "What are we doing here?" "To find a big secret. The Professors big secret." Ye Qingxuan looked around, searching carefully. "Why dont you just fight him?" "Theres already a big difference between our abilities. If you dont even know your enemy well, and you try to fight him, theres no way youll win. Our aim is to force the Professor to withdraw from the fight for the Blood Path. Or at least ask him to let go of me, the Eastern kid" Ye Qingxuan stopped searching suddenly. He looked at the center of the wall and exclaimed, "Thats it!" - In the dilapidated room, Ye Qingxuan looked up and gazed at the vague handwriting on the wall. It had been two days since the crime was committed. The blood at the scene had faded, but the original shape could still be seen. The walls had been painted white. Now they were blackened by flames, but one could faintly see the dried blood. That was the mark the traitor had left before his death, but it seemed to have no patterns and no meaning at all. Even as Ye Qingxuan thought of all the languages he knew, he still could not figure out one that matched with the strange handwriting. The music notes were the same, but the handwriting looked as if it had been written casually, like a childs doodles. If one was forced to explain it, it could be understood as a variant of calligraphy, but that type of writing required time and energy. How could a dying person who was on fire write something like that? "How bizarre." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the bloodstains on the wall and shook his head slowly. By his side, Bai Xi was bored enough to roll her eyes. "What if he did it for fun?" "How could a man getting burned to death and suffering to that extent have the energy to write something like that for fun?" Ye Qingxuan understood that this was the guy''s revenge. Even if he was killed, he would reveal the Professor''s achilles heel and let others kill the Professor to avenge his own deathBut why would the Professor appear? It was too reckless if it had been just for revenge. If he were the Professor, he would definitely take it for now and find another chance. It could be concluded that the traitor must had been the Professor''s confidant who knew many things that he should not have known, including the Professors biggest secret! The professor was badly injured now and needed to recuperate. All of his allies had abandoned him, betraying him under the hunt by the parliament. It could be said that he was weak as never before. How important must the secret be for the Professor to personally go out and risk being killed by the police? The policemen might not be very powerful, but one must not forget that they were from the police department. As long as they had the Silent Authority, they could send a signal at any time and call up the silent enchantment over Avalon. At that time, the aether would be suppressed until it was useless. A musician would essentially be powerless. Moreover, the musicians stationed at the headquarters could arrive at any time. If the commotion became messy, it could attract the attention of the Garrison Corps. If he had bad luck, the leader of the garrison that day would be a knight of the round table, and then the best solution for the Professor would be to commit suicide. The Knights of the Round Table were the defenders of the knight''s virtues and the supremacy of the armed forces in Anglo. Before King Arthur had died, he had sealed his phantom beasts into twelve sacred sets of armor. He gave them to his knights who were asked to guard the empire he had established for eternity. The Knights vowed to guard Anglo with their lives, gaining the recognition of the twelve sacred armors, and came to possess extraordinary powers. The terrifying power that the armor contained was equal to that of the saints. Just one millionth of the power was enough to defeat any musician. So...What secret was big enough for the Professor to risk being besieged to personally kill the traitor? Ye Qingxuan fell into deep thought. "Why are you so interested in the Professor?" Bai Xi asked. "Is it because you two are fated?" "Stop kidding. That guy is still after my head." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "I was thrown into all this for no reason, you know. I obviously need to find out who started the rumors. I''m also curious about whose attention Ive caught." "You suspect the Professor?" "Its possible. When everyone was still skeptical, he was the first person to declare that he wanted the kid. He must have evidence to prove that I have something to do with Avalons Shadow. Or does he want me to join him because Im so attractive?" "...Cousin, youre self-love is getting to be as shameless as Charles." "I''m flattered," Ye Qingxuan accepted the praise unabashedly. The result was getting kicked on the shin by Bai Xi. "Then you have figured something out?" "Almost, almost." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his painful shin. "Let me look again." Bai Xi pursed her lips. Looking around at the ruins, she shook her head. "Look at this mess. Only a saint could find anything." "Not necessarily," Ye Qingxuan muttered. "Sometimes, a ruined site reveals more." He looked around in the silence. Suddenly a glimmer of enlightenment flashed through his eyes. "Its a murder!" And then he was kicked by Bai Xi. "No sh*t! Everyone can tell its a murder. Would you believe me if I said I even know who the murderer is?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "No, I mean the whole process was part of the Professors plan, including the traitor''s escape." "Are you saying that the Professor deliberately let the traitor go?" Bai Xi was stunned. "How do you know?" "Its easy. Look at the whole room." Ye Qingxuan stood at the door. "If I have some dirty secrets, Ill choose somewhere to hide and prepare everything. The least Ill do is conceal and closure, right?" "No sh*t." "Then here is the question." Ye Qingxuan looked around and asked, "How did the Professor get in?" Bai Xi thought for awhile and looked at the broken door. "Its obvious. The door was smashed in. Didnt he enter through the main entrance?" The youth shook his head. "Kicking the door in is the most barbaric way. Our lovely professor likes using his brain. How could he kick the door in?" "Then how did the door break?" "Its simple." Ye Qingxuan fiddled with the fragments of the door on the floor and put them together. Looking at the cracks, he laughed. "As I assumed, the door was smashed in by a hammer. The police equipment...They probably saw this strange state and just rushed in," he said. "This kind of hand-held hammer is made by machine springs and power. Even an iron gate can be smashed instantly." "How do you know it''s a hammer?" The girl rolled her eyes. "You haven''t seen it before." "I have," Ye Qingxuan replied lightly. "I dont think youd ever forget it if your door was smashed in by a hammer once." "..." Taken aback, Bai Xi did not question further and changed the topic. "Why not from the window, then? The window is broken too." "Thats even easier to understand. If the window had been smashed from the outside, the glass shards should have fallen inside. But now the shards are all outside with scorch marks. That''s because when the Professor used a music score to ignite the man, the flames expanded, and then everything exploded." "So its not the window or door and there is no other entrance. Theres not even a skylight. So how the h*ll did the Professor get in here?" "Well, there are two possibilities." 140 A Study of Blood Words 2 "Well, there are two possibilities." Ye Qingxuan held up two fingers. "The first is that the Professor followed the traitor like a ghost. The traitor didnt notice him at all and revealed all his minions and channels while escaping, providing clues for the Professor. In the end, the Professor followed the traitor into this safe house and killed him." "Then whats the second one?" "The second one is scarier. The Professor knew early on that the traitor would hide here." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Maybe the guy begged for help at the police station, ran all the way back here to hide, and then he turned aroundand realized that the Professor had been waiting here all this time." "So which one is it?" "I dont know." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Im not a bug living on the Professor. How would I know? But either one is scary enough." Bai Xis expression fell. "So you discovered all that, but its useless, so whats the point?" "No evidence is useless." Squatting in the center of the room, Ye Qingxuan gazed around. "Itll be easier to deduce once we know the pre-conditions. We know that, no matter how the Professor entered, the traitor was terrified" What would the Professor do to someone that betrayed and almost killed him? Cut him to pieces? No, that was too bloody and not the Professors style. Threaten him? No, that was too simple. The horror of being threatened was nothing compared to physical pain. Threaten his family? But someone as lowly as the traitor was most likely a poor bachelor with no family. Even if he had family, the Professor would probably bring them here and make him watch his family die before his eyes. Then what did the Professor do in those short minutes that suited his viper-like personality? Did he simply just burn the man? But that was not aesthetic. The man was still on fire when the police had arrivedIt seemed more likely that the Professor had killed the traitor to shut him up. So here was the questionThey had only been alone for a few short minutes. What could the Professor have done to take revenge for the betrayal? Ye Qingxuan began to ponder. Quickly, he bent down and began searching through the ruins. Unfortunately, the site had already been searched through and not much was left behind; however, there were many small traces. In the end, he managed to recreate the crime sceneeven though it still looked like a mess. He squatted, staring at the empty space littered with shards. He stepped onto it carefully and swung his arms before finally concluding that this is where the man stood when he was set ablaze. It was laughable. He had betrayed the Professor and fled with the last shred of hope to this secret hiding spot. Then he closed the door, turned aroundand saw the terrifying face. It was the Professor standing behind him. "You betrayed me!" The Professor must have said that, right? Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, entirely immersed in his imagination as he thought over and over. The man stood there and saw the Professor. Maybe he panicked and knelt down, begging for mercy, but it had been too late, so he fell into despair. In his last moments, he denounced this criminal who had hands dyed red with blood. Or perhaps he said something even uglier? Did the Professor become angry? Then the Professor Ye Qingxuan turned around and looked at the broken chair on the ground. Perhaps the Professor had sat there, listening quietly. His expression would have been calm and composed, his face gentle and elegant. He would not have even moved his eyebrow because he had been angered long ago. Not begging nor furious insults could change his decision to punish the man. Then the punishment cameWhat could it have been? Ye Qingxuan shut his eyes, focusing on his thoughts. In the darkness, he seemed to have become the hopeless criminal, waiting to be slaughtered by the Professor. The figure walked toward him step by step and hewhat did he do? Following it was endless pain. But the pain stopped suddenly. Something had surprised the ProfessorYes, it was the sound of the police. The Professors only mistake was that he had miscalculated how long it would take for the police to arrive. He decided to end the torture and quickly kill the traitor. But would it not have been better to use a sword? It would not have left any traces of aether. Why fire? Why did he burn the traitor to crispAnd why did the man leave behind those bloody words before he had died? What did the words mean? The blood words, blood words Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuans forehead. He racked his mind, flipping through the records in his brain, but he could not find anything related to those symbols. No matter if one looked at its structure or logic, this writing system did not exist! But then why would the traitor leave it behind? "Blood words, blood words" Ye Qingxuan murmured to himself. "It doesnt make any sense!" "Of course it doesnt make any sense." Bai Xi glared at him. "I told you the guy just randomly drew it." "Randomly?" Ye Qingxuan froze. An light flashed in his mind. It was like lightning at night, appearing and vanishing within a second, but revealing a hidden shape. Ye Qingxuan quickly came up with a ridiculous theory. The possibility of it made him want to laugh, but there was no better explanation. He opened his eyes slowly. "I think I got it." Bai Xi, who had been playing with marbles in a corner, looked up. "What did you get?" "The so-called big secret and what the Professor did to the traitor" Ye Qingxuan scooped up some ashes. He smiled as he studied it. "Its just a guess, but the Professor is seriously out of the ordinary." He rose and patted the dust from his shoulders. "Okay, lets go." "Youre being mysterious again." Bai Xi pouted. "So what do we do next?" Ye Qingxuan cocked his head at Lestrade standing at the intersection and chuckled. "Next, we need our inspector friend to help take us somewhere." "Where?" "The headquarters of the Avalon police department." -- At noon, dark and gloomy clouds covered the sky. Rain drizzled onto the streets. Lestrade stood before the entrance of the Avalon police department in a raincoat. His expression was dark as he glanced around every now and then. As people passed by, uniformed policemen would sometimes greet this man who was rising through the ranks. Lestrade would force a smile onto his face and reply to each of them. Finally, the anxious waiting came to an end. A black carriage stopped before him. The door opened slowly. The youth inside the carriage had his feet up and sat comfortably in the soft chair. He was not wearing the strange robe, but a new set of clothing. He seemed polite and endearing. Noticing Lestrade waiting for him, he looked down. Studying Lestrade, he smiled. "Seems like youve been doing well these days." "Thanks to you." Lestrade forced out a smile. "Ive arranged everything. Please come with me." He turned to lead the way, but his expression quickly darkened. Had he gone crazy? This was definitely not normal. He was a policeman with a bright future. Why was he bringing a mysterious dark musician into the Avalon police department? If someone found out, he would be dead! He shivered subconsciously, regretting the decision, but he had no choice and no means to protest. He had given all that up the moment he exchanged with this demon. "Stop standing there and hurry up." The voice in his ear was full of awe. "This place is usually so heavily guarded. You cant get in without someone leading you. Do you have a cafeteria here? Hows the food? Would you mind if I got a free meal?" As Holmes spoke, he looked around with friendly and harmless smile on his face. He waved at the passing policemen like a tourist. The guard wanted to stop him, Lestrade quickly threw his hand over his shoulder in a friendly manner. The guard hesitated and decided to turn a blind eye. Just like that, they had passed through the various checkpoints and entered the heart ofthe place with the most "justice" in Avalon. In the square behind many doors, Ye Qingxuan looked up at the towering gray-white building and emblem. A squad of policemen who had just finished assembling left for their mission with their weapons. When they brushed shoulders, Holmes raised his hand and waved at them. "Are you crazy?" Lestrade looked down, his features twisting. "If anyone here finds out who you are, youre dead!" Holmes laughed. "Dont be nervous. I trust you!" He patted Lestrades shoulder. "You wont let that happen, right?" Lestrades shoulder trembled and he did not reply. A voice sounded from afar. "Oh, is it Lestrade?" A man with an umbrella saw them and walked over. Lestrade froze. Ye Qingxuan could feel the panic radiating from him. The man neared. He was clad in a vintage musician robe and looked like a priest. The red dragon emblem of the Royal musicians was on his chest. He looked as if he was around thirty-years-old, but his hair had already started graying. His most striking feature was his eyes. Those blue orbs were as deep as the starry sky. One felt naked when under the stare of those eyes. They were the Starry Eyes, a superpower bestowed by the Originator after a musician from the School of Revelations broke through the Barrier of Knowledge and resonated with the world. All truth was revealed under those eyes. No one knew why a Royal Musician was here today! Nobody else would have cared, but Lestrade was terrified by Claudes eyes. Revelations musicians were experts at recognizing ones aura. The dark musician would not be able to escape! "Mi-mister Claude, long time no see. I didnt expect to see you here," Lestrade stammered. Claude nodded at him. His expression changed when his gaze moved to the youth, as if he sensed the darkness. "Sh*t." Despair and regret flashed through Lestrades mind. He was going to be discovered! 141 A Study of Blood Words 3 "Hello, Mr. Claude." Faced with Claude''s gaze, Ye Qingxuan took the initiative to greet him with a calm look. However, Lestrade was pale, his lips trembled. He looked as if he wanted to run right then and there. Perceiving his discomfort, Claude frowned slightly, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. He looked to Ye Qingxuan, brow slightly furrowed. "Are you from here? Why dont you have a badge?" "This ... is my fault." Ye Qingxuan hesitated with an awkward look. "It was me. I begged Mr. Lestrade to bring me here. Please do not blame him. Its because I have always wanted to join the police and become a good detective. Unfortunately, my family wont let me. "I will go back to my hometown in a few days, but I cant just let it go. So, I asked Mr. Lestrade whether he could bring me here to have a look, so that I can be comforted." Seeing Ye Qingxuans gentle appearance and skilled manners, Claude seemed to understand something and nodded in agreement. "Your family wants the best for you. No matter in what field you enter in the future, you can always make a career. There is no need to feel regret." "Thank you for your advice." Just the right amount of relief was present in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, and Claude nodded with satisfaction. "Take it easy, Lestrade." Claude patted Lestrade on the shoulder. "I came here to visit my friends and relatives. Im not your superior today and I am not as strict as others. These small infractions are harmless to the secretary too, so just relax." "Y-yes sir!" Lestrade lifted his head in disbelief, looked at the smiling Ye Qingxuan, and looked at Claude in wonder. He could not believe it. Had he really not been discovered? How powerful must the dark musician be that even the Starry Eyes of the School of Revelations could not see through him? After a while, Lestrade finally snapped out of thoughts and realized that Claude had already left. In the light drizzle, the youth who had pretended to be a young elite looked at him with a smile, but his eyes were chilling. "Just now, I was almost exposed." "Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. "You were really nervous. I thought you would just turn around and run away." Lestrades hands trembled. He dared not to look at the man, and lowered his head, not knowing what to say. "I dont want something like this to happen again." The hoarse voice came to him as amnesty. Lestrade nodded fiercely. "I assure you, sir, I promise." "Then lets continue." Ye Qingxuan took the lead, as if he was the man who was the most familiar with this place. "Time is precious. We better not waste it." - They were in the morgue of the Avalon Police Station. The acrid smell of disinfectants emanated from the silent cellar. Everything seemed ghastly under the dim overhead light. Here, even the moss in corner was dry due to the disinfectants. If a normal person stayed here for too long, he would feel as if he was lying in a coffin. The loneliness and silence was eternal. Lestrade whispered something to the man who was guarding the morgue. The old policeman, who seemed to be limping, left obediently, dragging his lame leg. "Here we are." Lestrade opened the freezer of corpses for Ye Qingxuan. Despite the chilly air conditioning, he pulled out the charred corpse. Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Go out." Lestrade wanted to say something, but he could find no words under Ye Qingxuans gaze. All he could do was walk out. The door was closed now. Ye Qingxuan took off his hunting hat, placed it next to the corpse, and then shakily put on a pair of gloves. He looked down at the charred corpse and smiled. "Since you left that signal, it means that there must be other traces. Whether or not your ridiculous revenge can be done depends on this now." He reached out to lift the victim''s wrist. On the charred upper body, the arm was still intact. Held in Ye Qingxuans hand, it felt the same as holding a living persons hand, only if one ignored the coldness and absence of a pulse. Unfortunately, the dead are dead and the difference in feel was obvious. Ye Qingxuan did not put in much effort to dissect the body. Instead, he just looked at the dead limbs. They were pale and very dead, of course, but were too withered. They were practically a bag of bones. Had the Professor evaporated all of this guys blood? That was too cruel. Ye Qingxuan was even more sure of his hypothesis. He took out a ballpoint pen from his pocket, unscrewed the cap and took out the core. "Sorry," he apologized to the body, and then pierced the hollow pen straight into the heart of the corpse. There was a sound like cutting leather. He pulled out the pen. Looking at the practically charred heart, he smiled in satisfaction. "Next is the last step." He reached toward the neck, feeling along the charred skin. After a long while, he took a deep breath. "As expected, its a small world." He took off his gloves and tossed them onto the corpse in disinterest, muttering, "Mr. Professor, counting you, Ive dealt with most of Avalon legends now, but I never thought that the self-proclaimed Professor was once like a demon..." He did not know where the Professor was hiding, but he already knew how the Professor had punished the traitor, what the bloody word on the wall meant, and...The Professors big secret! Just as he was about to turn and leave, he suddenly heard a cracking sound from the corpse. He looked back in shock, and saw that a part of the charred bodythe part that he had touchedhad cracked and caved in - Outside the morgue, Lestrade waited patiently with his head down. At times, he would look up at the steel door, his expression changing. Other times, he would look back down sadly to continue waiting. This was the Avalon Police Station, the headquarters for all Avalon policemen. All he needed to do was send out a small signal and thousands of armed men would surround this place. Even a dark musician, even Holmes, would not be able to escape! And if he moved quickly and shot Holmes, there would be no evidence! Only brand new glory would be left behind! Then he would not only have small and random cases on his resume. The dark musician that had been terrorizing the city would become a beautiful point in his profile. But just as he was hesitating, the door opened. Holmes walked out. Lestrade quickly adjusted his expression and caught up to the man, giving a flattering smile. "Sir, did you discover anything?" "Just a small secret," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "In a while, your resume will have a new case. Congratulations." Lestrade was overjoyed to receive Ye Qingxuans guarantee. "Thank you sir!" "No problem. You deserve it." Walking ahead, Ye Qingxuan turned and suddenly asked, "Mr. Lestrade, do you know where a mans biggest suffering comes from?" "Huh?" Lestrades heart skipped subconsciously. Slightly panicking, he forced out a smile and shook his head stiffly. Holmes laughed hoarsely as if he had seen Lestrades deepest thoughts. He reached out, patting Lestrades shoulder. "It comes from thinking that youre clever when youre not!" In an instant, it felt as if Lestrade had fallen into icy water. He trembled but could not speak. After berating Lestrade, Ye Qingxuan changed the subject. "Did anyone else come?" "No." Lestrade shook his head reflexively. Perceiving the angry flash in Holmess eyes, he quickly explained, "Everyone who enters the morgue must register. I asked the guard, and no one came before us!" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment before saying lightly, "There are many ways to enter without being discovered by that old man. If youre a musician, its easy to deceive his eyes." "There are six musicians here. Other than the heads office and highly classified files, they can go anywhere they want. Theres no need to deceive the guard." "What if they come from outside?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Like the man we just ran into coincidentally, Mr. Claude." He already knew who had just been here, as well as why the Professor turned the corpse into that state! - Just then, when the body''s charred ruins broke apart in a strange way, turning to powder, Ye Qingxuan instinctively knew something was off. After examination, he discovered that it was just as he had expected. There were signs of aether erosion. A large amount of aether had been forced into the body after the man had died. Although the body was still intact, the aether had weakened it to the point that it crumbled to dust as soon as Ye Qingxuan touched it. If one used Bolero to analyze it carefully, one could even deduce that it had happened half an hour ago, based on the spread of the aether. That was to say that, half an hour ago, someone came here and used music on the body. Coincidentally, a Royal Musician, who had nothing to do with the Avalon Police Department, came here to meet friends and relatives'' half an hour ago. Ye Qingxuan would rather throw his brain onto the ground than believe it was a coincidence. So a musician with the Starry Eyes, a Revelations musician who was skilled at deciphering the marks of all organisms, had suddenly come to the morgue, played music to a corpse burned by the Professor and then hurried away What did he do? He had evidently extracted the Professor''s breath from the corpse to track the Professor! But was that so? The corners of Ye Qingxuans lips curled into a mocking smile. The Professor had completely toyed with the traitor. Would he really deliberately leave traces so that others could find him? Other than the apparent reason for burning the man, another reason was probably to leave a clue, right? He had left a clue so that the parliament would continue to hunt him down. Then he could prepare an ambush, quietly waiting for the killer hired by the parliament to arriveAfter being betrayed by all, the Professors counterattack had begun! "Well then, let me join the fun too," Ye Qingxuan whispered softly, and smiled subconsciously. Avalon was getting more and more interesting. 142 Danger in the Rainy Nigh Late at night, clouds covered the sky and faint thunder rumbled. After the stars and moons had vanished, the only light in the entire city came from the dim streetlamps. The morning drizzle had intensified rather than disappearing. Layers of thick clouds hung over the city. Rain poured into every corner. Under a streetlamp in downtown was a figure seated on a bench. Clad in a raincoat, he was as still as stone. Droplets of rain rolled down his body into the puddle with soft pitter-patters. He seemed to melt into the shadows. As the sheets of rain fell, he became more and more unnoticeable. Only the puffs of white air from under his hood showed that he was still breathing. After who knows how long, Bai Xi arrived with an umbrella. She tossed a bulging parcel onto his lap. "Heres what you wanted. I searched through a bunch of shops before I could find it all." Ye Qingxuan reached into the leather parcel and scooped out a handful. Feeling the crude sand-like objects, he nodded in satisfaction. Then he rinsed his hands in the rain. Drops of silver light fell from his fingertips, joining the water flowing into the sewer. "How much longer are you going to wait for?" Bai Xi felt annoyed. "Until midnight. Itll be exactly twelve hours," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "The Professors breath extracted from the corpse can only be kept for that long. It will be ineffective after that, and the Professor will disappear back into the darkness. The parliament wont be able to find him ever again. If the parliament can bear it, well wait a little longer too." "Theres still more than one hour." "Its just an hour," Ye Qingxuan replied. Then his shoulder trembled under the raincoat. "Hes here." He heard the distant sound of a carriage. In the deep night, an unmarked carriage rushed out from a mansion, galloping down the street. "Dont look up. Stare at your feet. Revelations musicians are really sensitive. Dont even think about them." Ye Qingxuan looked down at the puddle beneath him. In the water, he could vaguely see the reflection of a black carriage getting closer. The wheels rolled rolled quickly through the puddles, creating splashes as it galloped away. The moment it swept past him, a blurry thread soundlessly shot through the heavy rain and stuck onto the carriage. The faint melody and thin rippling of aether were covered by the rainwater and condensation. No one could sense it. Watching as the carriage went off into the distance, Ye Qingxuan rose and reached out to Bai Xi. "Lets go." - On the carriage, Claude suddenly felt unsettled for some reason. He sat elegantly in his carriage. The soundproof walls blocked out the sounds of the rain. He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and fell into deep thought. A starry sky appeared in his mind. The stars shifted as if reflecting fate. He felt unsettled as he communicated with the aether, but he could not lay a finger on why. He subconsciously caressed the bone flute in his hands. It was heavy like gold and iron, looked like bone, but felt sturdy like steel. The coldness spread through his hands and the slight ripple in his heart calmed. All was still. He had entered a state of serenity. He was extremely peaceful, but he could burst out with all his strength at any time. His slightly furrowed brows relaxed. "How enviable. This is the Silver Virgo from the twelve zodiacs. It is a famous weapon created from the blueprint left behind by legendary divine artisan. Its the most suitable for musicians of the School of Revelations. With the Silver Virgo in your hand, youll be at the most perfect state for battle at any time. It can remove any disturbances on your mind. There is neither fear nor panicWith it, your ability will increase at least tenfold, would it not, Mr. Claude?" At the light voice, Claude furrowed his brows slightly and opened his eyes. Before him was the hovering apparition of the robin. "Revelations musicians are naturally unsuitable for battle. As per our agreement, Ive helped you trace the Professor. But why do I have to join the mission?" Claude huffed angrily. "Can you not find anyone for the dirty work?" "This is about the Professor. We must be careful. He has always been mysterious and if we slip up in the slightest, he will escape again. Then it will be even harder to find him," the robin replied smoothly. "You are the best choice. The Professor is skilled in the Schools of Illusions and Mind, but your Starry Eyes can see through all illusions and influences. He is nothing to fear." "But weve agreed that I am only responsible for aid and observation. I will not approach the site at all. If it fails, Im leaving. Dont think that Ill continue slaving for you." "Of course. Musicians are very precious and cannot be compared to assassins. You are even a Royal Musician with a great future." The robin gazed at the flute and said, "But the Silver Virgo is an invaluably precious instrument. The blueprint and material are all quite expensive. Weve put in much and you must prove that it was worth the cost." "I will." Claude nodded and closed his eyes again. He needed to ensure the most perfect conditions before it all began. The robin nodded as well and the apparition dissipated. -- Five minutes later, the carriage stopped. The door opened and a thin figure arrived with an umbrella. It was an old woman clad in a black robe that covered her body, but her beautiful curves still caught ones eye. "Mr. Claude? Weve been expecting you." She led Claude into an empty room. The only light source was the flame inside an oil bucket. A sharp and burly figure beside the fire caught Claudes eye. He gazed at the scriptures tattooed on the old mans face and the ring on his finger. There was a skull on the band and it seemed crude and worn. "The Chainsaw Fraternity?" he murmured. The old man looked up at him, nodded, and pointed at his neck. There was a ring of rust around his neck. It seemed as if something had been implanted into his body, restricting him from speaking. Claude thought of something and his eyes flashed. He looked away from the throat and subconsciously moved away. He looked at the pale-faced woman beside him. "Theres only two of you?" "And I." A hoarse voice sounded from the corner, causing Claude to stiffen. As an experienced Revelations musician, there were not many who could pass under his radar. He had even broken past the Barrier of Knowledge and resonated with the world, receiving the power that could see through anythingthe Starry Eyes! And yet he did not sense that there was another person in this cramped room. The man sitting cross-legged in the shadowy corner cracked a smile. There was no warmth in the menacing smile. Like a snake, his mouth opened from ear to ear, and two thin tongues peeked out. "You smell good," the man murmured to himself. The beastly eyes stared at Claude, forcing him to gasp subconsciously. A dark musician! Only a dark musician would betray the musicians vow and sell himself to the devil for power and forbidden knowledge, turning his body into a demon. "You areBlue Teeth?" Recognizing the man, cold sweat beaded on the back of Claudes neck. Blue Teeth, Yellow Foot, and Red Eye were three dark musician brothers who had entered the wanted list ten years ago. They were known for the missing persons case of Dea City. Half a year after they left the city, the tax official found countless bones in the basement. Apparently, forensics was able to put together more than seventy skeletons, but the amount people that had gone missing was many times that number. The three brothers had used civilians for their mutation experiments. After finishing the last one, they were accepted by Satan. Claude had never expected Blue Teeth to have the guts to enter Avalon. He sucked in a cold breath. "The Musician Union watches over the entire city at all times. Are you not afraid of being captured?" "No." Blue Teeth shook his head. "Isnt there another shameless fellow around nowadays, stealing everyones attention? Since the robin said that youre safe, Ill need you to cover for me later." Claudes hand trembled and he managed to look away. Under the Starry Eyes, the man was entangled in strings of blood and hate. If not for something that had blocked the enchantments sensors, he would have set off the alarm as soon as he neared Avalons borders. Claude finally knew why the robin had forced him to be hereit was so he could cover up for this d*mned dark musician! Otherwise, the entire military would be alerted! "Its getting late. We must finish before midnight; otherwise it will be difficult to escape." The pale woman looked at Claude. Claude forced himself to ignore the eyeball in Blue Teeths mouth and grasped the Silver Virgo, calming his mind. Following the whistling melody of the flute, the aether changed, connecting the souls of those present. He played a soundless melody and his body trembled. His pallor changed from dark to red, finally turning ghastly white as if he had lost blood, but his eyes brightened, reflecting the brilliant stars in the sky. Instantaneous casting of his sound of heart! His sound of heart, Starry Eyes, had been awoken. Physical boundaries were nothing but thin paper before those eyes. Only walls could blur his vision. All color disappeared, casting him into a world of black and white. What replaced the color was the radiance of the aether. Using the connections between their souls, he shared this strange vision with the other three. Blue Teeth whistled, yearning flashing through his eyes. The Eyes of Aether of the School of Revelations was so convenient. Would it still work if he took those eyes? "The Professor is hiding in the Rodrigo Church in this area." Claude waved his hands and the aether formed a reflection of the streets. The image zoomed in, focusing on the church. As the silver light changed, one could faintly see the layers of enchantment alarms. Even if he was in his hiding place, the Professor still did not let down his guard. "I can help you block out Avalons enchantment, but there is only half an hour. At midnight, the enchantment will begin scanning the streets again. If you are caught at that time, I will not be able to help." Claude stated. "With the help of the Eyes of Aether, most alarms wont be of any threat" he said to Blue Teeth. You can enter easily. I can decipher the Professors illusions and mind tricks too. You just have to do the physical work." The pale woman nodded and walked into the rain with the old man, disappearing into the darkness. Blue Teeths figure writhed and disappeared in a gust of vile wind. Claude sat in the empty room, focusing on blocking the enchantments scans. Everything was going as planned but for some reason, he grew more and more unsettled. -- A figure stood quietly on a roof in the torrential rain, gazing at the people approaching the church. Occasional lightning snaked through the clouds, bringing with it blinding white light. The flash of light illuminated his dark eyes. The Vengeful SpiritSherlock Holmes. 143 Alarm The rain from the sky fell endlessly as the sound covered everything. In the midst of the storm, the white-faced woman and old man walked down the street as the rain splashed on their black clothes. The woman lowered her head as she walked and tore off the ribbon wrapped around her waist. The large black robe slipped off, and as it fell, her naked body was exposed to the storm. Rain washed over her pale skin. Raindrops rolled down her slender neck and onto her chest, following a faint scar down her slender legs to the puddles on the ground.The wind picked up the black robe, and it tossed and turned before finally flying up to the sky. The bare woman drew two slender steel objects from the lining of the flying black robe. One was short, the other long. The set of double swords seemed to come to life in her hands. They easily cut through the rain, setting off a wave of water vapor. The blades had a strange design. There were many upturned pieces like the scales of a cold-blooded creature. As her blood flowed into the blade, the scales vibrated slightly. The spitting of snakes cut through the windAlchemy double swords: Snake Scales This was a weapon of alchemy, forged by the bones of a famous assassin from a century ago. It contained the assassin''s soul and murderous intent. The ashes of the deceased gave life to the blades, making them extremely sharp and the possessor of incredible power. In the pouring rain, the white-faced woman''s figure suddenly dimmed and disappeared. At first, one could still see a faint outline, but as the two swords danced, even the vague shadow disappeared. Then there was no trace of the white-faced woman in the heavy rain anymore. "Pay attention to the Eyes of Aether searching, be careful when decoding the alarms, and do not disturb the Professor," Claude warned through the soul line. In the storm, the old man halted. A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky and illuminated the building before him. Like the entire street, the church in the Rodrigo district was dark. All was asleep. The white-faced woman walked quietly and flipped over the fence without disturbing the alarm above. The old man stopped in front of the door. Under the Eyes of Aether, the lock on the door was wrapped in a complicated seal. Both using a key and opening it regularly would raise the alarm. The two began to act after exchanging a few sentences telepathically. Soon, the heavy door trembled and fell forward entirely. The sword Snake Scales had cut the door off its hinges and separated it from the building. The old man walked forward and grasped the heavy door. A strange power was brewing in his burly body. Then he gently and slowly pulled the whole door out as if it was light as straw and tossed it onto the grass. The two entered. Behind the door, the night watchman was shocked when he saw the door collapse without a sound. Eyes widening, he opened his mouth to shout something, only to be met with a sharp blade slitting his throat, blood spewing out. The blood gathered in the rain and seeped into the grass. The man crossed over the body and walked straight towards the church behind the courtyard. Along the way, the hidden woman unlocked the alarms and traps one by one under Claude''s guidance. Sometimes, the grass flipped over after some small crackles. Other times, the stone beast on the wall split into two. "D*mmit! What school does the Professor even belong to?" Even Claude, a Revelations musician who was an expert at insight, was forced to put his all into dealing with the Professors traps. This interlocking trap needed a long time to figure out, even for him. Without extreme caution, they would be caught easily. Fortunately, the white-faced womans Snake Scales double swords were the best dismantling tool. These two alchemy weapons were designed to decode and kill. In silence, the two quietly approached the door, their sounds covered by the rain. With the Eyes of Aether, they were able to see dozens of figures inside the churchs hall, guarding it from all directions. Gathering in the church at this time and guarding all entrances...They obviously were not religious believers who came to pray before bed. "They are all Professors men. Be careful of them," Claude said. He paused and instantly became shocked. "Wait, don''t do it yet!" He squinted, his Starry Eyes penetrated the wall and focused on a red light that represented danger. As he continued to probe, more and more red lights lit up from inside the hall. Practically the entire hall was covered in the light! "Be careful theres a trap." Claude swallowed heavily. Cold sweat seeped out from his forehead. "This hall is full of traps, and the Professor used his men as bait. There are no musicians, but there are two pieces of alchemy equipment. Wait for me to cast the silent enchantment and then" "Why so complicated?" Blue Teeth muttered impatiently. The dark musician walked out of the shadows and pressed his hands onto the heavy gates of the church hall. Two tongues poked out from his mouth and he began singing a very different melody. The hoarse tune loomed in the rain, calling up a puff of gray air. The puff spread from his hands and fell upon the heavy iron gates. The intricate patterns, the iron-cast Virgin Mary and the golden grains on the gates blurred. As if a millennium of weather had occurred in one moment, the iron gates crumbled to dust and were blown into the hall by the humid wind. Blue Teeth strode into the hall and looked around at the stunned thugs. His mouth cracked open and the melody changed. Suddenly, black smoke spewed out. The black smoke quickly spread as soon as it had left his mouth, engulfing the hall in a flash. Wherever the black smoke passed, everything was cast into absolute darkness. Even the sound of the alarm had disappeared. The hall was completely isolated from the outside world. Claude''s expression changed, fear in his eyes. This was the nightmare fog that dark musicians commonly used. Using Satans power to transform the aether, it could devour all light and sound to suppress the enemy''s actions. The white-faced woman and old man stepped into the fog. The black smoke rolled turbulently without stop, but there was no sound. Everything inside was unclear. Soon, the black smoke dissipated, revealing the blood and mutilated limbs scattered on the ground. The burly old man stood in the blood. His palms reached out from his heavy rain cloak, grasping the head of a survivor. The lucky survivor stared at him in great horror. He tried to scream but could make no sound. Then the old man clasped his fingers and the skull exploded! Boom! "What a waste," Blue Teeth said as he glanced at the old man. "Does the Chainsaw Fraternity not know to treasure these materials?" The old man remained silent and just glanced at him. "Hurry up! Lets get out of here. The trap could be triggered at any time!" Claude urged, gazing in the Professor''s direction. "Kill him while hes still unprepared. He has begun his treatment, and a great deal of aether is gathering in the prayer room!" His complexion suddenly changed before he finished his words. "Be careful!" A shrill scream burst out. The alarm had been triggered! Under the Starry Eyes, the entire hall quivered. The glowing red light began moving, trembling, and then it exploded! A piercing ray of aether light burst through the entire halldozens of traps were being triggered at the same time! In an instant, an invisible force attacked the mind. The little doll at Claude''s waist shattered. Blood drained from his face and oozed out from his nostrils, dripping onto the ground. He had taken all the psychological pain for the others! "F*ck, I told you to be careful!" Claude looked at his precious secret treasure and exploded in rage. "Which b*stard triggered the trap?" - Bai Xi stood on the rooftop outside the church. As the shrill alarm rang, she lowered the crossbow in her hand and whistled proudly. "Sneaking in is too boring, so let me help you make it more interesting," Ye Qingxuan thought. Seeing the chaotic aether in the church, he gloated. How could he enjoy being the mastermind if he did not take the initiative to make a mess? He must admit that it felt really d*mn good. - In the hall, a piercing melody suddenly sounded in the air. The fiery and manic music echoed between the pillars, creating tidal waves in the still aether. Notes flashed on the walls, stone carvings, and columns. It was the grand movement that described the image of Hell! A gust of crazed wind blew violently for no reason. The burning air was like a blade, sweeping through the wind. Seemingly out of nowhere, a strong wind blew ferociously like a blade with a burning breath. It was just an instant sweep, and the hair curled up. "Foehn wind!" Claude cried. He stared blankly at the trap, a chill running down his spine. "This is...Fire Cellar!" The next moment, a crack appeared in in the air. A drop of red light fell down like water. What followed was an incredible red tide. It was molten iron and lava. The red tide swept through like a tsunami, easily turning all ornaments in the hall to ash. Blurry figures rose in the flames. Lava oozed from their bodies. As the flames rolled, the fire demons slowly gathered from all directions. "Weve been discovered!" Claude shouted. "Dont hold back and attack! Break through or youll die!" As the firelight wavered, Blue Teeths expression changed, pain flashing past his eyes. Facing the incoming flames, he opened his mouth wide. Behind his sharp teeth, his two tongues began chanting crazily. The most strident and eccentric melody came from his mouth. The strange tune directed the aether, suddenly creating a suction force. The rolling flames were pulled by that horrible suction, flooding into his mouth. The dark mouth devoured the flames wildly as if it was bottomless. Even standing beside him, the heat practically ignited the old man''s hair. The heavy rain cloak was burned to ashes instantly. In the formless flames, the giant demons made of molten lava and iron burst out in shrill roars and darted toward Blue Teeth. They were demons born from the flames. The aether had endowed them with this strange life. The minstrels of Canaan named them "ifrits." Only heroes and demons could control and overcome their power! Amidst the thundering, the old man stepped forward. The scriptures on his face shone brightly. His heavy rain coat was ripped from the inside. A sabre that shone like black obsidian was raised. As he waved his arms, the blade, which had no sharp edge, sliced the air, sweeping toward the front. The ifrits in front were instantly chopped in half. The formless spirit was about to group together again, but a terrible quake ripped them apart completely. After a scream, the ifrits were defeated. They melted into a hot metal liquid and dripped onto the ground, sizzling. "The Sighing Sword that can cut through aether?" Claude muttered. "As expected of the Chainsaw Fraternity." 144 The Death of the Professor If the white-faced woman with the double swords had come as a quiet assassin, then the old man with scriptures tattooed on his face was there to demonstrate hard and true attacks! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Surrounded by dozens of fiery ifrits, the Sighing Sword slashed, creating a chilling wind. The old man seemed to be over seventy-years-old, but the wild power within him was demonic. The steel mechanics implanted in him provided limitless strength. As the aether fire burned, the old mans body expanded. His muscles swelled and his skin burned red as if his blood was boiling from the strength. With a single strike, the Sighing Sword cut down two ifrits. The Chainsaw monk stepped into the flames, wielding his black sword. Where the wind from the sword blew, the ifrits began trembling and dimming. The robin had prepared well in order to kill the Professor. The Sighing Sword was the natural predator of these formless spirits! It was a secret weapon of the Chainsaw Fraternity and tied with the Chainsaw of Punishment in terms of power. The air around the sword wavered. If one looked carefully, one would see that the crude sword was constantly vibrating. The thousands of vibrations per second could tear apart the aethers structure and turn these immortal spirits to dust! Within seconds, the dozens of ifrits were extinguished. The flames were swallowed by Blue Teeth. His upper body was burnt to a crisp, but the vitality that he had stolen from his experiments helped him recover quickly. Under his charred clothing, hot air poured out from his pores, as if the were a giant stove. "Stop fighting!" Blue Teeth roared. "Claude, wheres the Professor?" "Behind the middle hall. Hes hiding in the prayer room forty meters away from you!" Before he could finish, the Chainsaw monk raised his sword and rushed toward the end of the large hall. As he ran, the hall shook with a thunderous roar, as if a giant steel puppet was stomping on the ground. Under the Sighing Sword, a row of saints statues shattered. He raised his fist and slammed it down. Boom! A gaping hole appeared in the steel wall. Under the Chainsaw monks fist, the wall cracked as if it was made of paper. Something behind the wall rushed forward but was destroyed by the Sighing Sword. The white-faced woman and Blue Teeth followed without waiting for a command. Since the sneak attack had failed, they decided to charge openly. They definitely had the upper hand! The closer they got, the brighter the light in the Eyes of Aether. They could clearly feel the immensity of aether and the gentle singing in the air. The voice seemed to come from heaven, as if countless angels bathed in the sacred hymn. "The rebirth ceremony?!" Hearing the melody, Claudes expression changed. "The Professor is undergoing the rebirth ceremony. Without a doubt, hes gravely wounded!" The rebirth ceremony was an extremely high level healing ceremony from the School of Choir. As long as the head was still attached, even the most maimed body could be regenerated. Of course, there was a price to pay. The materials alone were enough to bankrupt a man. It seemed that the robins first attack had really hurt the Professor! As the last wall shattered, the sacred and pure light flowed from the prayer room like water. Merely being within the light was enough for their small cuts and wounds to start recovering. In the prayer room, countless runes were carved into the ground, set with numerous alchemy materials. Together, they created the angelic chant. Pure white light fell from the sky, shining on the Professor. He knelt in the center of the room, purging his rotting blood and dead organs. He was in the most important step of the ceremony, but sensing their presence, the Professor looked up, fury appearing on his face. As he moved, a formless barrier appeared out of thin air, blocking the room from the outside world! Under the holy light, his body continued to recover. The weak ripples of aether transformed into crashing waves, entering the field of the Resonance level. And there were still signs of further transformation! What level was this guybefore he had been hurt?! Resonance? Disturbanceor was it Distortion, the level second only to Scepter?! "He cant fight back right now. Hurry!" Claudes face was pale as a sheet. "Stop the ceremony first! If he recovers fully, well" Before he could finish, the Snake Scales double swords slashed through the air, piercing the flowing mercury and cracking the runes. Ding! Burning power radiated from the ceremonial cracks, scalding half of the womans face, but she did not retreat. Her muscles writhed like snakes, and her swords crossed, cutting through the bright light. The entire ceremony paused as the white light flickered unsteadily. Boom! A burly figure crashed onto the barrier. He spun the Sighing Sword and smashed the enchantment with the hilt. The inlaid diamond at the end of the hilt was pulverized, but the terrifying vibrations sealed by it traveled into the barrier. Boom! With a second crash, the barrier shattered. "No!" At the center, the Professors head flew up, his eyes bloodshot. He moved his hands toward the front and a broken melody sounded. It stirred the frenzied aether. Hot flames appeared out of thin air, going from red to blue and blue to white. The extreme heat from the heart of the furnace gathered in his hands and swept toward the front. The Chainsaw monk roared. Hoisting his sword up, he then brought it down! The obsidian sword trembled and shone with blinding light. The light cut through the flames, splitting the wave of fire into two. Behind him, a figure sprang up and lept toward the Professor! In midair, six holes appeared in each of Blue Teeths arms. The twelve holes were like the openings of a flute. Furious winds swept into the holes and resonated inside the empty bones, whistling. He had turned his arms into alchemy equipment with Satans technology and various experiments. This was Blue Teeths instrumentSkeletal Flute! Like the cry of a beast, the frantic melody sang in the air, performing the symphony of predestination by the musician, Saint-Saens, from centuries agoDanse Macabre. As the melody played, his body changed. Sharp bones protruded from his spine and scales replaced his skin. His features twisted as his entire body deformed. As if a young dragon had been forced inside his body, he cracked open from the expanding power. This was the fallen chant polluted by SatanDragonbone! As he landed, the bones of his fingers expanded, and sharp blades pierced through his skin! The Professor stumbled back, but the white-faced woman suddenly appeared behind him. She was still naked and as ugly as an evil spirit, but her swords pierced through the Professors shield, blocking his escape. In the next moment, the blades of Dragonbone fell from the sky. In the beastly dance, the Professors limbs snapped in half. Wounds crisscrossed down his chest, and his organs were completely cut open! Fresh blood spurted on Blue Teeths face, intoxicating him with the metallic scent. The burnt Chainsaw monk strode forward and slashed down with his Sighing Sword. The blade split the Professor cleanly in half from his head down. Blood flew everywhere. The Professors death seemed especially wretched under the moon. -- For a moment, no one spoke. "Is this real?" Blue Teeth asked quietly. "Yes." Claude nodded slowly after analyzing the breath in the air. He stared at the puddle of blood flowing under the moonlight, leaving behind a ghastly red. The proud Professor had just died inWait, moonlight? Claude froze. It was a night of pouring rain and dark clouds. How could there be moonlight? Using the thread connecting their souls, Claude saw the site. Mysterious moonlight shone on the corpse and the fresh bloodIt felt as if he was struck by lightning. "Illusion! Be careful! Its an illusion!" Claude howled. "We were tricked!" He opened his Starry Eyes wide, vigorously searching for any sign or flaw, but he could not find anything. They had fallen into the illusion long ago. He quickly looked at the broken resonance ring on the ground and his vision blurred. The markings of the Rebirth Ceremony changed suddenly. The ground, walls, and ceiling of the prayer room were covered in music scores, and had turned the entire place into a hallucination. When they had been attracted by the rebirth ceremony, no one suspected what the sacred white light represented. It was not the healing light at all, but the medium to lull them into the illusion! Boom! His vision went black as the starry sky suddenly cracked apart. Claudes face turned ghastly pale and blood seeped from his nose and mouth. His organs spasmed in immense pain as if he had experienced horrific trauma. His Starry Eyes shattered! 145 Hidden Arrow "My Starry Eyes! My heartbeat" Claude wailed, staggering back. His drowsy eyes held extreme fear. Without even physically fighting, his sound of heart had been destroyed by the Professor with an illusion! Having lost the sound of heart and being gravely wounded, he suddenly fell from the Resonance level, and returned to the category of a third-order musician. If he did not quickly find a Choir musician who could heal him immediately, not only would he never be able to return to the Resonance level, but he his organs would be at risk of necrosis! He suddenly turned pale and spit up a mouthful of blood. His body had suffered a heavy blow. In the sky far away, Ye Qingxuan sensed his situation and gloated. "Cousin, get ready! Lets give him a surprise arrow." His posture was too perfect not to shoot at. - At the scene, the entire picture changed suddenly. The dead professor had disappeared and was replaced by the Chainsaw monk who had been cut apart by Blue Teeth. The Chainsaw monks skull had been torn by Blue Teeths dragon blade, while his Sighing Sword was buried inside the white-faced womans chest. The double swords in the womans hand had disappeared. Blue Teeth sluggishly lowered his head and saw two blades protruding from his chest. Behind him, a shadow with a pair of swords gave a strange smile. "Thanks for the warm greetings from the parliament and your uninvited guests." The Professor slowly pulled out the double swords and began to weave them skillfully in his hand before assuming the standard pose for royal swordsmanship. Under the reflection of moonlight, his lips curled into a mocking smile. "--I have been waiting for a long time!" Blue Teeths face suddenly became ferocious. The swords in his body wriggled and clenched tightly! For dark musicians, mere destruction of the physical body was nothing. The Rain Artist from before was able to make a comeback even when his instrument had backfired and his entire body exploded! Without saying a word, the bone flute on Blue Teeths arm began whistling again. His body transformed into something demonic, and the dragon blade lit up with the light of runes. He appeared at the Professor''s back like lightning and chopped his head off with the dragon blade, but the professor''s figure shook and disappeared. His complexion changed as he looked up reflexively. Poof! Snake Scales pierced through his jaw and out under his cheekbone, leaving a bloody hole. He swept away the Professor instinctively and retreated, shouting, "Claude! Help me get out of the illusion!" There was no response on the other end of the soul connection. "Claude!" His complexion changed. "Claude, where are you?!" Claude did not reply. No one knew when the soul connection had broken. Then he heard a scream. - Half a second ago, Claude was stunned. For some reason, a strong sense of uneasiness flashed through his heart. He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to find the source. But then a suppressed roar sounded over the rain. The walls began shaking, and a cold arrow pierced through the rain, darting toward his chest like a viper. Boom! There was a crisp snap. A faint shield appeared on his arm, deflecting the arrow, but the huge impact almost made him lose feeling in his arm. A cold sweat seeped from his back as the feeling of ferocious hostility made him numb. "Who is it?" In the dark, Claude clutched his right arm in horror and curled up in the corner. "Who''s out there?!" No one responded. The walls shook again. Feeling another crisis looming, he gave up on keeping his dignity and rolled in the dust. An arrow scraped his calf and shot into the wall, leaving behind a hole the size of a pinky finger. It was terrifying! On a roof outside the empty house, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes in the rain, receiving information from the perception thread. With the rain, water vapor was everywhere, making it perfect for Bolero! Beside him, Bai Xi was kneeling on the ground. The heavy crossbow on her shoulder, which had been modified greatly, was aimed at the empty house. Rain fell on it. The splashes were chilling. "A bit to the left, slightly lower," Ye Qingxuan ordered, "and shoot!" Bai Xis body shook, rain flying off. The arrow silently shot out and drilled out a hole in the sheet of rain. The silver crossbow arrow was like lightning. It flew across the long distance in the blink of an eye and entered the wall silently. Only Ye Qingxuan felt the enemys pathetic state. "These crossbows are too powerful nowadays! The precision is crazy!" "Who knows, maybe mine just happens to be a good one!" Bai Xi huffed and elbowed him a bit. "Stop wasting time. I just got into the swing of things. Where did he go now?" "Two centimeters to the left, keep the height, hes in the corner..." - In the dilapidated empty house, Claude''s premonition flashed constantly. He rolled from the corner without thinking. An arrow brushed past his ear immediately after and buried into the wall, twanging. The sharp, icy sound stung his eardrums as goosebumps rose all over his skin. His sound of heart had been destroyed and he was greatly wounded, but he still had the strong intuition of Revelations musicians. He was keenly aware of the danger and crisis. It was said that the "voyeurs" of the School of Revelations could even sense when others said their names and the context after reaching the scepter level. Their fighting ability might not have been the best, but perception and insight were the key skills of the School of Revelation. But he could not remain trapped here! Claude''s features twisted. He could not believe that as a Revelations musician, he was trapped in a corner and could not even find the enemy! If he remained here, he was waiting for death. Were these d*mn killers arranged by the Professor? Hiding beyond his range of perception, they wanted to make him die in humiliation, like a mouse in a ditch.. "In your dreams!" His eyes were bloodshot. He took a deep breath, but a sharp pain stabbed his organs. In his eyes, the broken stars gathered again. Like a candle in the wind, he temporarily restored the power of the Starry Eyes, but at the cost of serious injury! In the soon-to-be extinguished starlight, he looked around and it suddenly dawned on him. "Is it because of this?!" A dim thread of water vapor was illuminated by the starlight. It crisscrossed in the empty house, forming a dense network. He was caught in this spider web like an insect, unable to escape. His pupil followed the thread out. His eyes penetrated the wall, looked past the rain, and focused on two figures. After seeing the aetheric fluctuations in them, his terrified eyes settled into disdain. "I may be injured, but you think two Rhythm musicians can kill me? Professor, you are dreaming!" His face overcast, he grasped the Silver Virgoeven if he was injured, he could still manipulate the aether! This was the real difference between musicians of the Musician and Rhythm levelas long as there was a good instrument at hand, there was a concrete gap in their combat effectiveness! At the Musician level, it was unnecessary to prepare or even perform live before using a music score. All they needed to do was seal the entire score inside the instrument beforehand and it could be called upon at any time. With the snap of a finger, a torrent could be triggered! "If I had the brocade of heaven..." He chanted the spell and the Silver Virgo wailed. The sealed movement was awakened. Wind whistled through the flute, bringing a distant and cold sound. The sound gradually grew, like wind howling in the winter! Silently, the water vapor perception threads froze and snapped. In an instant, Ye Qingxuan had lost his perception. In the empty house, white frost spread from Claude''s feet, instantly blanketing the ground in white. As if a wind tunnel had been opened, sharp winds blew in palm-size snowflakes. They whistled around his body, emitting a cold chill. The sharp snowflakes cut through the walls easily and crushed another incoming arrow. This was not pure energy change released by the School of Modificationsthis was the Blizzard Suite from the School of Revelations! It had been created by a genius who simulated the heavens rather than hell. He put celestial phenomena into his mind, empowered them with the aether, and created something comparable to natural catastrophes. Though he was destroyed by his own wild fantasies in his final attempt, he had started a new path in the School of Revelations. With the additions of others, it became a new school. They were Revelations musicians, but most would also use music scores from other schools in case of emergency. This was the precious movement that Claude had earned from the royal family after entering the Resonance level. With this melody, the aether would form a blizzard zone like a giant shield. In this zone, external energy attacks would be diluted and frozen by the layers of blizzards. Enemies approaching brashly would become a pile of crushed ice. And its greatest power wasFlight! Boom! The roof of the empty house was suddenly lifted up by a huge force. His body rose and he flew up into the sky! The wind and snow rolled in reverse, emanating with icy coldness. The icicles cut into countless water droplets and Claude was instantly dozens of meters aboveground. If he was still at the Resonance level, he could have affected the weather of the entire street. Now, flying in the air, he was invincible. "Cousin, hes flying," Bai Xi murmured. "Just as you said" Ye Qingxuan smiled and did not reply. He slowly lifted up his cane. Bolero''s perception threads extended from his body again and spread in all directions. A plaintive melody sounded faintly. 146 The Divine Horn As Claude looked down on the two standing on the roof, hate flashed across his menacing features. He seemed to have sensed Ye Qingxuans defense, but his expression was still one of scorn. He awoke the music score in his bone flute once again and began playing! In an instant, the lion began to roar like an angry copper elephant. It was a fulmination! As if thousands upon thousands of horns were blown at once, the aether rushed together amid the avalanche-like melody. The light was dazzling. When the horrible melody seemed to shatter eardrums and evaporate the rainwater in the skythe storm ended under the melodys deterrence. It was logical. The Divine Horn: This was a hymn created by saints centuries ago during the era of mission art. The song praised the mighty sounds created by divine power as it acted upon Earth! "Before long, I will shake the oceans and lands of the heavens and earth once again. I will shake the universe!" It was a majestic roar that exploded from nothing and controlled every organism, forcing them to sway with the melody. Everything in its path shook until it crumbled to powder! In the next moment, music burst from the horn. A thin ripple shook through the air from Claudes fingertip. The chaotic aether surged forward, instantly transforming the heavy sheets of rain into thick fog. The cone-shaped ripple advanced toward Ye Qingxuan without a sound. The walls in the ripples path was reduced to powder, the water vapor evaporated, and even dust particles cracked apart. Even the air seemed to break with a sound like glass shattering. Everything in the path of the ripple was pulverized. The white fog billowed. Destruction was coming. Claude cackled in the air. He focused on controlling the destructive ripple. He would surround the two d*mned ants, close in on them, and finally squash them! This way, the Professors plan would completely fail. He would be able to receive some consolation as well. He was ecstatic about his clever attack on the Professor, but for some reason, guilt arose in his heart. He would survive, but his partners would most likely die in the Professors handseven the strange Blue Teeth would have a hard time fighting back. He did not do anything during the time when they needed him the most! The guilt and humiliation surged, and expanded without control. When he finally came back to his senses, he had already sunk into the guilt. Even his control over the Divine Horn had slacked. A wailing melody sounded in the rain, as if the dead were roaring in his ears! The dark melody had already burrowed into his heart. It was like mercury, seeping into every pore. As his emotions swung from fear to excitement, the melody snuck into his heart and slowly began stirring chaos. The darkness in his soul was awoken by the frantic yet hopeless melody. He sank into confusion and pain. If he was still a Revelations musician at the Resonance level and could sense the changes in aether, he would have noticed this poisonous snake in his mind, but his sound of heart had shattered, and there were gaping holes all over his defense. He did not know how many holes he had left as his swung between emotions. D*mn it! D*mn it! In the air, Claude struggled. The remaining starlight in his eyes was extinguished without a sound. His expression changed continuously. Sometimes it was innocent, sometimes menacing, sometimes crazed. He had sunk deeply into the darkness of his soul, as if he would drown in the dark river at any time. Pain, loneliness, anddespair! Just as he was about to break down, coldness spread from the Silver Virgo. He shook, keeping his mind clear with difficulty. What was happening? He looked around in shock, and discovered that the power of Divine Horn had disappeared. It was storming again. The rain drove away the thick fog, revealing a dark figure. Sensing Claudes eyes, the figure smiled mockingly. In an instant, the wailing melody rose amid the sound of the rain. The murmurs in his ears transformed into howls. The rain began to pour wildly as if the skies had gone crazy! Claude could barely keep his balance in the air. The area with the blizzard began quaking. A formless force was trying to take his body. The dark melody had seeped into him, shaking his tenacity, forcing him down! Suddenly, the ecstatic soul fell into the abyss. He finally realized that it was a dark musician! Another dark musician! The person who had attacked him was just a distraction. There was a dark musician hidden between two Rhythm musiciansA dark musician who acted without care for Avalons enchantment! But how? How could the enchantment not react to this wild melody? What had this guy received from Satan that hid him from the enchantment?! His eyes were frantic and hopeless. He could not figure it out at all! But he could not waste more time. He must leave now Without thinking, he began riding the blizzard to escape from this d*mned place, but he was in was Avalon. If he ran, the dark musician would definitely chase after himNo dark musician dared to fly in the air of the capitol. No matter how the Dark Musician blocked the enchantment, if he rose up in the air, he would set off the highest class of alarms, then the Round Table Knights would arrive and destroy him! Yes, that was the only way Claude sped up, his body flying with the wild wind. He did not see that the cold figure shook and almost collapsed behind him. Under the pouring rain, the exhausted youth watched as Claude faded into the distance. He shook his head. "How can I let you go after putting in so much effort?" he thought. "The weather is good today." Smiling, Ye Qingxuan raised his staff. Indras Eye reflected the lightning in the sky. "Do not turn the three realms into ashes!" As if he had pressed a fatal button, the clouds began to tremble and blinding light appeared. It was as if an angry fire was burning behind black paper. For a moment, the black clouds glowed from the hot lightning, and the world was blindingly white! As if the gods above the clouds were angry, the world shook with the destructive sounds of beating drums. Amid the thunderous roars, a bolt of lightning tore through the clouds, striking the earth! Even if one shielded their eyes, the burning light was still painful. The anger of Indra, the god of thunder, was like a sledgehammer, completely ripping apart the blizzard. It obliterated the shields and defensive alchemy equipment as well, and surged into Claudes body. Electrocuted, Claude let out a painful cry. He fell to the ground, his body burnt to crisp. Thud! He landed in the mud. On the rooftop, Ye Qingxuan was once again dizzy from the blood loss and almost fell down head-first. Thankfully, Bai Xi caught him and poured medicine down his throat. "Hurry, theres still a bigger fish to catch. This guy is just a small shrimp." Soon, Ye Qingxuan was energized again. He looked down at the dim Indras Eye and sighed. "But this thing seriously is powerful." If an average person used it, they would probably be sapped on the first try. Even Ye Qingxuan, with his dragon blood, suffered from blood loss. But its power was definitely worth the price! Because of the weather, Indras Eye was able to manipulate the lightning and thunder in the clouds. Just as a Resonance musician used the worlds strength, Indras Eye used blood, but its power was uncomparable. This was what Ye Qingxuan relied on. With Indras Eye, he was confident even facing three musicians, not to mention someone like Claude, who had fallen from the Resonance level and was badly injured, and could only fight using his instrument. Ye Qingxuans plan was going smoothly. He first used the arrow to lure Claude over, purposely let the man discover him, and used two Rhythm level measures so he would lower his guard and walk out. Ye Qingxuan had won the battle the moment Claude shot up to the sky, laughing maniacally. -- The empty room was in ruins. After the blizzard had swept through, everything had turned to ice. Then in the aftermath of the quakes, it had all turned to dust. That was Indras fire. Everything in its path would shatter to pieces! Ye Qingxuan dragged Claude into the room and tossed the man onto the ground. The raging thunder landed on his body, and all the alchemy equipment was destroyed instantly. Ye Qingxuan had miscalculated and used a bit too much force. He had almost burned this guy to ashes. Even so, the man was barely alive. Thankfully, musicians were accustomed to aether, and after years of penetration, their bones were strengthened. And when a musician resonated with the world, his physical strength would soar too. His vitality would be as strong as a cockroach. If musicians did not have such vitality, Ye Qingxuan would seriously go crazy. He had worked so hard just to have someone he could question! After having a vessel of medicine poured down his throat, Claude moaned painfully and spat out black blood. "Who" He opened his eyes with difficulty. They were filled with confusion and resentment. "Who are you?" "Ah, you can still talk! Thats great." A foot stepped onto his body and a smile appeared on the shadows face. "It was first time using that technique, so I didnt control it well. My apologies. But youre so powerfulwhat if I dont kill you and you fight back?" "Whos there?" Claudes face was shockingly white. He tried to see what the man looked like but it was all a blur. "You cant see?" The youth with a cane stooped down, politely lowering his hunting hat. "We meet again, Mr. Royal Musician Claude." "Itsyou!" When he finally saw the smiling face clearly, fear enveloped Claude. He could still remember the scared and confused youth from the daytime, but now, the smiling face was filled with a terrifying strangeness. He tried to speak, but could only cough violently. "Whowhowho are you?!" "I almost forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Holmes. The Vengeful Spirit, Sherlock Holmes." The youth grinned. "Thats right. Im the dark musician whos been making headlines recently." 147 Moonligh "Thats right. Im the dark musician whos become a bit famous in recent days." Claudes vision went black. As if he had fallen into icy waters, he almost passed out from the shock. The only thing more terrifying than death was wishing one was dead. Most of those who fell into the hands of dark musicians would alternate between these two experiences. The torture of being alive, but worse than death, was the despair of wishing to be dead but unable to die! "You and the Professor werent actually fighting!" Claude muttered in despair, finally seeing the light. "Youre working together." "Dont make wild guesses if youre not smart enough. I just passed by and pushed you further into the ditch." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I mean, you all want to jump in and cant be stopped. I cant let the Professor get all the good stuff, right?" "You!" "I strongly suggest you dont act brazenly," the youth stared into his eyes and reminded him. "Or else were done talking, understand?" Claude froze, panic flashing past his eyes. "If you cant satisfy me, I can promise that whether you die or live, the entire world will know tomorrow that youve betrayed the Royal Musicians to work for the parliament! You dont want to become a traitor after you die, right?" Claude froze and hacked up a mouthful of black blood. He roared hoarsely, "Despicable!" "If youre scared of people finding your weak points, then you shouldnt have done it in the first place." Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "But it doesnt feel good to be a slave to others when you have such a bright future, right?" "What do you know" Claude forced out in resentment. "Do you know how much Ive put in to climb to this position as a commoner? If not for the parliament, I wouldnt even be part of the Royal Musicians!" "That is not an excuse," Ye Qingxuan interrupted coldly. "Im not here to listen to how hard your life is. If you dont want to be forced out of the Royal Musicians, youre going to have to talk nicely with me." "What do you want to know?" "Who is the robin?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I dont know." Claude laughed, mocking both Ye Qingxuan and himself. "Youve made a mistake. Ive never seen him in personI dont know anything about the parliament." "You think Ill believe that?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Claudes eyes rolled back, his gaze unstable. "If Im not injured, I can resonate with the world and swear to the Originator but if I wasnt injured, why would I compromise with you?" "Seems like youre not giving up." Ye Qingxuan stared at him. Suddenly, he grasped Claudes chin and reached into his mouth. With a snap, he broke off a fake tooth and yanked it out. Ye Qingxuan crushed the porcelain tooth in his hand, revealing the blood-red crystal inside. Seeing that the crystal was in Ye Qingxuans hand, Claudes face grew pale, and his eyes dimmed with defeat. "The Crystal of Virtue? Its been ten years and you still havent changed where you hide it?" Ye Qingxuan scraped off a bit of powder with his nail and flicked it into his mouth. The powder melted in his saliva and transformed into heat, spreading through his body. Ye Qingxuan shivered. His face, pale from blood loss, instantly turned ruddy. In fact, the blood had come back so strongly he almost had a nosebleed. The Crystal of Virtue was a precious medicine known as the second life. As long as they promised to be loyal to the royal family for life, all Royal Musicians could receive one. As long as the musician was not completely dead, he could be brought back to life with this medicine. "What a good thing," Ye Qingxuan praised as he stuffed it into his pocket without hesitation. "Im keeping it." Seeing that his last shred of hope had been stolen, Claude screamed in anger. He tried to climb up and take it back. Besides fury and hate, an ineffable fear rose in him. Why did the dark musician know so much about Royal Musicians? Why could he see every move? Did he have the Starry Eyes sound of heart too?! But Satans power was supposed to deform the sound of heart. Why could this guy act so brazenly in Avalon? Sensing his thoughts, Ye Qingxuans eyes turned mocking. Under those scornful eyes, any struggle became laughable. It was the humiliation of having every thought read by the other; it was the fear of walking up naked under the blazing sun. "If youre good and tell me about the parliament, I can bring you to the doctor. You might be able to return to the Resonance level with the help of the Chant musicians. Otherwise, you know how valuable you are to dark musicians, right?" Claude did not reply. His burnt face was filled with despair. Finally making his decision, he said hoarsely, "Ill talk. I know how to contact the robin. Every time I contact him, I" For some reason, his voice trailed off and his broken face suddenly bloated. Ye Qingxuan reacted quickly, yanking Claudes collar. "He cursed you and you didnt even know?! Talk! Times running out!" Because he had spoken the forbidden words, Claudes body quickly expanded to twice its original size. He looked like a balloon now. "I justwhen!" Claude struggled in panic as the curse within him was awakened. "Robin, youmy body" "Finish what youre saying! Ill avenge you!" Ye Qingxuan stared deeply into those hopeless eyes. "Where is the robin? What does the parliament have to do with Ye Lanzhou?!" "I, I" Claudes blood vessels were about to explode. "Lanzhou" "Spit it out!" Ye Qingxuan stared at him, eyes wild and frantic. But a hand grabbed him and dragged him out of the house before he could react. Then Bai Xi tackled him. Boom! The ground behind Ye Qingxuan shook like an earthquake. Scalding blood and fire spewed from the crack in the wall. Claude had exploded from the curse within his body "Are you crazy?!" Bai Xi glared at him as if looking at a madman. "He was going to explode and you just stayed there! If I didnt drag you out, you wouldve died with him!" Ye Qingxuan pulled himself up. He watched as the rain washed the blood away in silence. He lowered his head, disappointed. "Im sorry. I had some questions to ask." "He clearly didnt know anything." Bai Xi eyed him. "Ive seen a lot of people like him, stupid people who think theyre clever and work so hard for the people who betrayed them." "" Stunned, Ye Qingxuan chuckled bitterly. "Cousin, why do I think that youre using him to scold me?" "Ha." Bai Xi knocked the back of his head. "What are you still waiting for? There might be some stuff left over." Shaking his head helplessly, Ye Qingxuan walked into the room and scavenged through the ruins. All he could find were some common performance material. The alchemy material had either shattered or broke. There were no other clues. On the other hand, Bai Xi cheered. She had found a high grade aether ball and stuffed it into her bag without hesitation. It was an extremely precise aether ball unique to the School of Revelations. They had to be custom-made by special alchemists and were extremely expensive. It would be a waste to throw away. She could take it back and reuse it! "Ah, what a pity." When Bai Xi finished searching, she still felt that it was a pity. Why couldnt this guy be more like the Indians and be loaded with treasure? Just as she was moping, she kicked something and a white bone flute rolled out from the dust. Her eyes brightened and she picked it up. After washing off the blood in the rain, she studied it and her face brightened with surprise. She did not care anymore that Ye Qingxuan had almost got himself killed. "Cousin, look at this!" she called, showing her discovery. "Its an ecliptic instrument! And its a high grade replica. He probably put all his life savings into this thing! In the black market, its worth more than a hundred times its weight in green gold!" "You know what this is?" Ye Qingxuan took it in confusion and studied it. "Of course!" Bai Xi wagged her finger. "See, this is made of bone, but its an ecliptical instrument, so it must be precious material taken from the corpse of a natural catastrophe. The effect is actually better than metal. "And I dont know what powers the alchemist had put on it, but if it enters the market, all the Resonance musicians will kill each other for this!" "Its that powerful?" "Of course." Just as Bai Xi began calculating the value in her mind, continuous pops came from Ye Qingxuans hands. She turned in shock to see an equally dazed Ye Qingxuan. A crack had appeared in the bone flute. Wait! A crack?! This was a rare instrument! It was sturdier than green gold and could withstand the force of aether! It should not have just broke like that! But the cracks did not stop. Instead, more and more appeared. The bone flute shook and a hole began to appear. The bits of bone that fell turned into powder and landed in the puddles. Through the hole, one could see the complex runes carved inside. One would need a magnifying glass to see the markings clearly, but now, all the runes and music scores were disappearing, like faded inkvanishing without a trace. Crack! Crack! Crack! The Silver Virgo shook continuously as if it was dying and could not defend itself In the end, it cracked in half. As if an urn had broke, starry light floated from the crack and floated into the air like dust before surging into the offender "Whats going on?" Bai Xi asked, her eyes wide. "To be honest, Im not really sure." Ye Qingxuan was a bit dizzy too. "I never knew that it had this function" At his fingertip, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei glowed dimly. It sucked the Silver Virgos essence without stop, like a greedy and starving beast. As it hummed lightly, it delicately and familiarly broke the Silver Virgo apart, bit by bit. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei did not return to its original shape until the Silver Virgo was turned to dust. Ye Qingxuan flipped it around, still not sure what had just happened. Bai Xi moved over too. After studying it for a long time, she looked up. "Do you think it broke? What if it broke?" "No way!" Ye Qingxuan gasped. According to his father, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had been passed down from his great-great-grandfather. If he broke it, he would be a shame to his ancestors! He quickly expanded Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. After trying to play some measures, his expression changed. "Uh" he trailed off. "Whats wrong?" "I dont know why butI suddenly remembered an extra section." He looked at Bai Xi with a strange expression. "Black Friday should only have five parts, but now theres suddenly an extra part and its totally different." "An extra one?" "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I think even the name has changed." "What did it change into?" Bai Xi had not processed it yet. "Moonlight," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "Its name is Moonlight." "Cousin." "Yeah?" "Your dad really knows how to be dramatic." 148 Revenge Musician The prayer room was covered in blood. Blue Teeth was covered in wounds, but compared to his injuries, his appearance was more terrifying. He had completely turned into a monster! The mutated skeletal system had burst through his skin. The sharp protruding bones were like blades. His body was covered in bloody scales. The blue teeth that poked out from behind his regular teeth looked as if they were made of steel. He seemed to be a baby dragon that had been dragged out of the egg before it could finish growing. He was ugly, menacing, and terrifying! The double swords Snake Scales shattered as he chewed them, falling to the ground in metal pulp. Across from him, the Professor gazed at his mutated body coldly, and shook his head. "So the natural catastrophe you signed the pact with was the Dark Mother?" Blue Teeth roared and his two tongues began chanting. A dangerous light flashed in his vertical pupils. Everything he looked at began growing wildly, maturing, withering, then finally turning to dust. It was the Withering Eye! Even the Professor weakened under this gaze. The surrounding illusions were destroyed without a direct attack. Blue Teeth had been forced to his limits by the Professor. He had opened his mouth wide and swallowed the white-faced woman and the Chainsaw monk, and began growing until he turned into this monster. Not caring about Avalons enchantment at all, he transformed into a dragon, mutating into a demon. But even so, he did not have any confidence in winning. He was so fast that one could barely see his movements anymore. He chased after the Professor, toppling many walls in the process. The traps that the Professor had set were all ineffective in the face of the strong and aggressive body. Not even the acid, crossbows, and spears protruding from the ground could damage the demi-dragon. For the first time, Blue Teeth had the upper hand, but he still did not have a grasp. He wanted to escape, but he feared that he would be dead as soon as he showed his back to the Professor. "Oh, youre scared? You want to escape?" the Professor taunted him after noticing the fear in Blue Teeths eyes. He laughed mockingly. "Dont be afraid. Ill try not to destroy your body completely. After all, a dark musician changed by the Dark Mother is very valuable to research." "In your dreams!" Blue Teeth roared. His bony tail suddenly shot forward and ripped the Professors robe in half like a crossbow. And so the injured body was revealed. In contrast to the awesome contours of the outer robe, the Professors shoulders and arms were thin and delicate. They were the pale white of sickness, and had faint blue-green veins under the skin. Across his shoulder blades was a wound deep enough that one could see the bone underneath. Blood still flowed from the various wounds. The fresh blood flowed in complex lines, like a thread sewn into the skin. They crisscrossed until it formed a chain wrapped around his body. "The Oath of Revenge?!" Blue Teeth gasped in a hoarse voice. He stumbled back as if he had seen a ghost. When he looked at the Professor again, it was as if he was looking at a creature crazier than himself. His eyes were full of awe andfear! "Youre crazy! You pledged your soul to the Indigo Moon?!" Blue Teeth exclaimed. "If I really have a soul, why not?" The Professor looked down, taking in his wounds. "Its a pity. I had wanted to get some answers from you, but I guess I cant keep you around since youve seen this." With that, he faced Blue Teeth and thanked him. "Thank you for giving me so much information about the parliament." Blue Teeth stumbled back. Panic and shock were written in his beastly face. Only maniacs who had no hope for the world would choose the power of the Oath of Revenge. After resonating with the world through a complex Abstinence ritual, the musician would swear an oath to the Indigo Moon which represented death and catastrophe, pledge everything he had, give up any pleasure, and become an apprentice of the Moon. He would then transform into a Revenge Musician. From that moment on, there was no meaning in life, other than revenge. Even if he died, he would become a demon and chase after his enemies. Only catastrophe and nothingness existed in that life. The Professor smiled at Blue Teeths extreme fear. He raised the silver flute to his lips and a thin melody floated from the instrument. It was delicate and beautiful with a tinge of dreamy grace. It was intoxicating. But amidst the beautiful melody, Blue Teeths face twisted and he began howling. As if he had lost all reason, his body bloated as if it was filled with boiling water. His body grew and grewuntil he completely transformed into a bloody and messy dragon. He could not care about Avalons enchantment anymore. When the flute began playing, the church seemed to enter another world. The moon shone down in this world. The Indigo Moon hung in the air, radiating with catastrophic light! The moonlight sonata! The cold indigo moonlight shone past the churchs dome and scattered evenly throughout the room. The light covered the bloody dragon. And so the dragon became immobile, frozen by the cold light. While everything had dulled, the moon was indigo and the blood was red, in stark contrast with each other. A decadent and desolate aura emanated from the light. The melody hung in the air, radiating with the serenity of a dream. On the ground, the immobile dragon wailed in pain. As Blue Teeth wailed, his body broke apart and melted into the moonlight. Now, only the moonlight was real. Everything else was just an illusion that would dissipate at the snap of a finger. Destruction had arrived. Blue Teeth finally surrendered. A menacing face appeared on the collapsing dragon. The face broke down quickly, but the smile was still wild and sinister. "Ha, hahayoull have a bad ending." Blue Teeth cackled and roared like the curse of an evil spirit in hell. "There is no good ending in becoming the apprentice of the Indigo Moon! Your future will be more pathetic, more hopeless, and darker than mine! Youll fall into a deeper hell! No, things like you wont even die. Youll forever be the puppet of the Indigo Moon, an insignificant tool!" The Professor gazed at him silently. His eyes were emotionless. Cold moonlight seemed to flow deep in his eyes. "So what?" The Professor clenched his fist and the bloody dragon turned to pulp. All that was left of it was the mighty but broken essence of its life. -- When the Indigo Moon disappeared, the cold and still world vanished as well. The Professor reappeared in the church. As if exhausted, he half-knelt on the ground, panting and sweating. By manipulating the Indigo Moons power, he was able to use Satans power to kill Blue Teeth, but it was a great burden on him. The Indigo Moon was not an entity he could just order around! The Professor was clearly weakened, but the wounds all over his arms, back, and under his robe quickly meshed together as if he had applied precious medicine. Medicine would merely heal him, but now the wounds seemed to have never existed. No sign of the injuries were left behind. All that remained was the blood-red curse that wove around his body as if it was woven deep into his bones. He snapped, fixing up his torn robe. With a wave of his hand, he swept away the marks on the ground. It was as if he had never been here. But when he made to leave the church, he suddenly turned. His flute sang and a dark green arrow shot into the darkness, landing on the broken statue of a saint. The statue was pulverized instantly. Behind the statue stood a figure supported by a cane. He was wearing a beastly black robe as if he had just returned from a demons banquet. Broken light illuminated his silhouette and the mocking smile on his face. "Its not good to start fighting as soon as we meet, right, Mr. Professor?" the figure said. Standing in the center of the hall, the Professor gazed coldly at the uninvited guest. He stated, "Oh, Mr. Holmes? What a coincidence." "Yeah, such a coincidence." Ye Qingxuan nodded as he chuckled, but he gazed at the Professors flute with a bit of fear. "Can you put down your instrument? I just want to talk." The Professor did not move. "Dont mind me. This is the standard treatment for uninvited guests." "Ah, youre so heartless," Ye Qingxuan sighed as he shook his head. "Being heartless is better than being brash, is it not?" The Professor closed in. He said in a cold voice, "You ran away last time. Where did you get the courage to stand before me once again? I wont go easy on you this time. You should know that theres no one here for you to call on." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Thats okay," he said, shrugging. "I have something more precious, like a just heart, hot blood andthis." The Professor halted. 149 What the Professor Truly Is The Professor halted. Silver dust suspended in the air before him, drifting in the wind like catkins. Under the dim light, they glittered slightly, clear and translucent. But as soon as they fell on the Professor''s body, they began to sizzle as if burning! Ye Qingxuan smiled. He slowly raised his right hand which carried a heavy and thick leather bag. When he loosened his grip, the bag fell on the ground and a huge amount of silver sand flowed out. Bai Xi had spent the entire day searching through Avalon''s jewelry processing workshops for them. A bag full of pure silver sand. "What''s the matter, Professor?" Ye Qingxuan squatted down, picked up some silver sand from the bag and held it in his hands. He watched as the silver metal dust fell from his fingertips. They reflected a beautiful rainbow under the dim light. "I bought these just for you. What do you say? Do you like it?" The Professor was silent. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to get closer. But his eyes were full of a rage that Ye Qingxuan feared! Seeing his reaction, Ye Qingxuan smiled. He seemed to like it. That was great. "Mr. Professor ..." In silence, the young man gazed at the Professors cold and cynical face hidden under his hat. "Or perhaps I should call you one of the legends of AvalonMr. Vampire." The Professor remained silent, but Ye Qingxuans voice came from the darkness. He spoke at a steady pace with a calm voice that was full of annoying arrogance and elegance. "Its been so many years and no one discovered that youre the legendary vampire, a moon spirit hiding in Avalon. No wonder youve always been mysterious, nocturnal, and never one to show your face...Do you vampires really have pointy ears?" Suddenly changing to topic, he looked curiously at the Professor''s hood, wanting to have a look at his ears. The Professor finally spoke with extreme coldness. "Holmes, knowing too much is not a good thing." "Oh, really?" Ye Qingxuan played with the silver sand through his fingertips. "But I love this feeling! If this is a crime, Im willing to spend the rest of my life in the prison." The Professor gazed at him and asked coldly, "How did you find out?" "It was probably because ofthe blood words. I really have to thank that traitor of yours." Ye Qingxuan slowly stood up, supported by his cane, and leaned lazily on the wall. "Did you want to use his death to lure the parliament into the trap and retaliate against them? Its very clever! I went to the scene." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and exclaimed, "It was so tragic. You burned his entire body to crisp. But was this for the sake of killing him, or to conceal what you did to him?" The Professor froze. Ye Qingxuan reached out and touched his own carotid artery. "There were two very small holes on his neck here, where it had been burned. If you dont look with a goal in mind, you wouldnt even notice. But the moment I saw the two holes, I realized what the so-called ''Professor'' is. "The coroner said the murder was very cruel, and that the temperature was high enough to evaporate half of his blood, but the blood had actually been drained by you, right? He betrayed you, so you drained his blood. Maybe it was to heal yourself, or maybe just to punish him. "Finally, you set him on fire in order to destroy the corpse, silence him, leave your own breath to guide the house to come, and supply your healing with blood...you hit three birds with one stone!" He paused and smiled lightly. "But youve underestimated his revenge on you." The temperature around the Professor seemed to drop, but Ye Qingxuan was still enjoying it all. "Let me guess, when you noticed someone approaching, you lit him on fire and watched him scream and die before turning away, am I right? "But a viper can only raise another viper. He used his last moments to take revenge. He left some words in blood on the wall, revealing your ''big secret''. Initially, I was very confused because Ive never seen that type of text before. Finally, I suddenly realized that what he left was not words, but just blood." He narrowed his eyes at the silent "legend." "This is the secret he wanted to tell the othersthe criminal mastermind of Avalon, the mysterious man who has been hiding behind the scenes, the fearsome Professor...is the a moon spirit of the fallen clan, a bloodsucking demon! ''Professor'' Moriarty is the legendary vampire of Avalon!" He pointed to the Professor and said in cold voice, "That was my study of the blood words. Please correct me if Im wrong!" After a long, long time, the Professor laughed hoarsely. "There is nothing to be corrected. Your reasoning is all correct, but you could identify me with just that?" "Maybe its because of my amazing imagination." Ye Qingxuan raised his finger and pointed to his forehead. "I actually discovered something recently. Whether I want it or not, but for some reason, I always have something to do with the legends of Avalon. Even if I try to avoid it, I always run into something strange. "If you were me, when you encounter something like this, youd thinkwhat the h*ll is it this time?!" "Your deduction is correct and the inference is very clever. To be honest, Avalon has been boring without the Shaman. If I had an enemy like you, my days would not have been so meaningless." The Professor exuded something murderous. His eyes locked onto Ye Qingxuan. "What a pity" "Ha" Ye Qingxuan responded with cold laughter. "Stop acting, Lord Moriarty! No matter what you are, and even if you have sucked the blood out of all those guys and healed your wounds, youre still weak right now. "Dont take me for a fool. Even if moon spirits can suck the life blood from others, its still a burden on you. The stronger and more powerful the enemy''s vitality is, the more difficult it is to absorb. "It''s not about your accomplishments as a musician, but the limitation of the moon spirits talent! Now, after being injured for so long, just draining that dark musician was exhausting enough for you." Ye Qingxuan kicked the bag away, sprinkling more silver sand everywhere. When he gazed at the Professor, his eyes were emotionless. "To be honest, I dont care what the h*ll you are. I can keep this secret for you, but you''d better have a chat with me now. Otherwise, Ill let you have a chat with the silver!" He gripped his cane, looked at the Professor in silence, and asked in a coldly, "Tell me, is the Eastern kid really the key to Avalons shadow? Where did you get this information...and why are you so determined?" The Professor remained silent, seeming to not have heard anything. Even at his most vulnerable, he kept quiet and did not show any intention to negotiate. He seemed to be meditating. A long and deep meditation. Finally, The Professor looked up. All of his thoughts and resolutions were expressed in a sigh. "What a shame." Ye Qingxuans expression changed. A sword was thrusted at him! - The dome in the hall shattered. A gleam of dim moonlight fell down through the gap, illuminating the glowing silver dust on the floor. Amidst the glow, two piercing cold rays of light suddenly shot out from the Professor''s sleeve. They cut through the air soundlessly. As if he was made from gravel, the Professor''s figure became faint. It seemed as if he would collapse with the wind, but in the next moment, he stepped onto the silver dust. In his hand, the two swords crisscrossed, aimed at the youths throat. Unlike the Chainsaw monks big with his dramatic movements, like lava flowing, one could not tell when the Professor was about to move. There were no indications, not even a slight movement. The two swords melted into the moonlight and attacked in silence without any ferocity or brutality. They only brought quiet beauty and a dismal air. It was heart-stopping! But the youth seemed have perceived the Professors intention. His complexion changed when the Professor moved his muscles. He picked up the bag under his feet and scattered the silver sand generously. They created a radiant silver sheet that fell on the sword of moonlight. The blade cut through the silver with a sizzling sound, forcing them to fly to the side. When residual silver fell on the Professor''s body, they changed suddenly, creating red sparks. Flames were born out of thin air. The red flames danced. In an instant, the Professor was enveloped by the terrifying flames. The fire covered his body, burning him. It was the same thing he had done to the traitor a few days ago. Now it was happening to him. This was the inborn flaw of the Moon Spirit clan. After abandoning mankind and the Silver Moon, they had been cursed to be poisoned by silver. They could absorb the vitality from others through their blood, but they would lose all control and reason under the Silver Moons light. Any type of silver would turn to poison at a touch and burn them to ashes! But Ye Qingxuan did not expect that the Professor was willing to fight to the death. Did he just attack?! Ye Qingxuan staggered back with a music note in his hand. Gas rolled over the sand, resisting the Professor''s onslaught. Ye Qingxuan had the obvious advantage and had grasped the key moment when the Professor could not use aether, but he found that he still did not have the upper hand. The burning Professor revealed a faint and ferocious smile from behind the flames. He said hoarsely, "You wouldnt think that the Moon Spirit clan is only good at sucking blood, right?" Ye Qingxuan immediately processed what he meant and cold sweat rolled down. The Moon Spirits, good at swordsmanship, the clan of good swordsmanshipThey were the most terrifying assassins of all the fallen races! Was the Professor not only an accomplished musician but also a monster at swordsmanship? 150 A Sudden Call It was not about the giant gap in musician skills now. There was no way for Ye Qingxuan to defeat an expert swordsman who could fight perfectly despite being on fire and make every move fatal. He had miscalculated Ye Qingxuan had thought of many what-ifs, but never expected this trump card. This talent was rare even amongst the Moon Spirits, right? Otherwise they would have dominated the world and mankind would have died out long ago Thankfully, he still had Boleros perception threads. Ye Qingxuan dodged the onslaught of the Professors double swords as if he could predict the future. The two blades followed his throat, heart, and groin closely. Each move was meant to be fatal. Ye Qingxuan felt a chill whenever he came close to the blades. If not for the threads, he would have certainly died. Doing two things at once, he did not forget to keep fighting and throwing the silver dust at the Professor. They landed on the Professor, popping and sizzling as they set fire to his body. It made the Professor seem as if he had fallen into lava. As he continued to burn, even the bones of his arms could be seen under the charred mess. If an ordinary man was in such pain, he would have gone mad, but the Professor did not even make a sound. His attacks were still fierce. In fact, they were even more furious than before, as if he was oblivious to the Ye Qingxuans counterattacks and the silver dusts natural effect against him. The Professor was determined to kill Ye Qingxuan here, even if it meant using all of the vitality he had received from Blue Teeth! "Why are you trying so hard?!" Ye Qingxuan thought. His expression was dark as he gazed at the Professors charred face and furious eyes behind the flames. "What a pity, Professor. You could have been a good opponent!" The fluctuations of the aether on his body suddenly grew frantic. He was no longer going to hold back. He was out for the kill. At the top of the cane, Indras eye suddenly glimmered! As if sensing the call, the heavy rain outside the church that had paused suddenly began falling from the sky again. Thunder shook the world. Surrounded by crimson red, the Professor breathed in the flames and suddenly let out a roar. Immediately, his body began shaking. The burning silver dust was shaken off his body and his two swords buzzed. A line of blood flowed from the moon-like blades. The melody on the blades repeated over and over. The effects Dragon Attack, Blood Knot, and Rot were activated. It could be seen by the naked eyes that wind was being swept up by the blade and even the stone tiles cracked, as if ravaged by a dragon. There was also a hidden curse that the opponent would never heal once he bled. Sensing that Holmes was about to call for thunder and lightning, the Professor prepared his power, his ferocity surging. At this time, he was no longer a musician, but a warrior with sword. Hidden in his sleeves, the two swords shook like a roaring dragon. If Ye Qingxuan could not kill the Professor with this blow, then he would be the one dying! The moment the swords whistling rose to the peak, frenzied aether erupted from Ye Qingxuan''s body. As the silver dust danced, Ye Qingxuan suddenly reached out and pointed forward. Bright light illuminated the Professor''s eyes, stunning him. Boundless light glowed as if the sun had fallen from the sky. It was not the thunder of Indra''s wrath, but the note Light played to its peak! With the control of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan overlapped dozens of instantaneous Light runes. The power increased tenfold. The light that shot out from his fingertips was enough to blind someone, or even pierce through the body to reveal the silhouette of the bones. The light swallowed everything. The Professor instinctively raised his hands and covered his eyes, but the silver dust dancing in the air spontaneously multiplied. They combined with each other to create a mirror. Dozens of large mirrors sprang up, forming a matrix and swallowing the Professor. Only he was able to "enjoy" this brilliant light. In the matrix, the glow was as bright as ten suns in the sky at once. The silver dust in the light could tear ones flesh into pieces with crushing pain in an instant. This light was kryptonite for the Moon Spirits. It was like the light of the Silver Moon! The Professor screamed and roared. Blades whistling, he cut the matrix and broke free! But the church was emptywhere was the enemy? "He ran?!" Standing in place, the Professor''s mangled body quickly recovered. The deadly wounds created by the silver regenerated slowly as well. The white bones, flesh and pallid skin gradually returned to him, but his eyes were so furious, so startled, and so...depressed! Holmess laughter seemed to echo in the air. Running away after pretending to be cool was so fun! - "Lalala, lalala, Im the best at running away, not afraid of the wind or rain...lalala, Im the best..." A man pushed a small cart in the pouring rain, like someone who loved to work. As if he heard the angry roar in the distant church, he turned back and revealed a cheerful expression under the hunting hat. He ran? "Of course I ran!" Ye Qingxuan pouted. "You were trying so hard to kill me. Why would I stay to die?" He sped up as he muttered to himself. Thankfully he had sent Bai Xi back earlier because the Professor was too dangerous. Otherwise, he would not even be able to run now. He looked at the "loot" in his cart under the pouring rain. It was supposed to be the Professors loot: a huge heavy sabre that he carriedthe Sighing Sword, as well as the ''steel skeleton'' left behind after the Chainsaw monk was ingested by Blue Teeth. The skeleton could be implanted inside the body. It was entirely blue-green because green gold had been mixed in while casting. Even the face had a layer of twisted mesh made from the material. This was the Chainsaw Fraternitys craft. After separating from the Church, these monks became the worlds largest arms dealer group. They were the best at body mutations. They could implant steel machinery into a body and turn the fragile human body into an invincible warrior. If one added the Sighing Sword, designed for breaking through defenses, the monk would practically be a musician killer. The technology not as powerful as the Gospel armor, but it was still powerful enough! The parliament had probably spent a fortune on hiring this Chainsaw monk to do their dirty work. What did senior say before? The skeleton was far from the technology of the Gospel armor, but with some modifications and repairs, there would be no problem in adding it to the "dungeon gentleman," right? Imagining the Chainsaw monks ability to break through walls as if they were made of paper, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "I didnt expect the Professor to fight full force, but this was worth it..." Ye Qingxuan whispered, comforting himself. This was worth it! In the rain, he pushed the trolley and jogged, getting away from the church bit by bit. But then a figure appeared. It was a homeless man perched on a heap of garbage. He should have had some sense of self-preservation and stayed away from those he would not be able to beat, but for some reason, he summoned up the courage to stop Ye Qingxuan. "Mr. Holmes?" he asked cautiously. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Someone wants to see you." The man was stung by Ye Qingxuans sharp gaze and stepped back subconsciously. He timidly uttered the name that gave him courage. "Shaman." Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. As if a message had been sent, a black carriage soon arrived in the rain and stopped beside Ye Qingxuan. A grizzled old man in the wagon pushed the door open and removed the pipe from his mouth. "Mr. Holmes?" Ghosthand studied him. "How did you know I was here?" Ye Qingxuan took in how prepared they were. Ghosthand smiled and raised his finger, pointing to the sky. "To tell the truth, youre too high-profile to ignore. The Shaman said you were here, so we came." As he spoke, a steady stream of people stepped out of the alleys onto the streets. The group practically guarded all entrances in the vicinity. Ye Qingxuan could not tell how many people had been used to block every entrance without seeming to have any strategy. "I guess you can only do that if you have enough people," Ye Qingxuan thought. "The Shamans order was that if we found the Professor, we would keep him here," Ghosthand said. "And if we found Sherlock Holmes, we would invite him back." "Invite?" Hearing this word, Ye Qingxuan raised an eyebrow delicately. "So do I have a choice?" "Yes, invite." Ghosthand repeated. He smiled and pointed to his back. "Do as you please. We wont force you." "Oh, then I wont go." Ye Qingxuan laughed and pulled the small cart back, waving goodbye. "Everybody can go home now. No need to see me off. Ill be gone soon. See you la" "He said that the old guy will be waiting for you there," Ghosthand interrupted. Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a long while, he sighed softly. "Can you help me look after this small cart? It''s not easy to get a set of things like this and I don''t want the scavengers steal them." Ghosthand waved and two strong men appeared, taking the cart to the carriage. "Please." Ghosthand got out of the carriage and opened the door for Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan looked at him and took off the hunting hat before climbing into the carriage. "Where''s the Shaman?" "A place you are very familiar with." Ghosthand closed the door. "No.221 B, Baker Street." 151 Long, Long Ago No. 221 B, Baker Street was a graveyard. The fog suffused the gloomy night. This was the lowest place in Avalon. After summer ended, the wind and currents from ocean would be gone, and this place would be covered by mist. It was extremely hazy, even during the daytime. After tonights rain had pierced through the fog, it seemed to become thinner. The rain fell down on the ground with audible pitter-patters. The decayed soil full of water became muddy like a bubbling quagmire. The carriage stopped before the graveyard. Ghosthand opened the door for Ye Qingxuan. "He is waiting for you in the yard," Ghosthand said. "Dont keep him waiting too long." "How long do you think Im going to take for such a short distance?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at Ghosthand, put on his hunting hat, and strutted into the cemetery. The cemetery was vast and silent. There were few people. Shadowy figures occupied the surrounding high points and entrances, sealing the entire cemetery. Ye Qingxuan looked away and walked forward, treading on fragments of white flowers. There seemed to be a funeral. There was no priest or guests but an emcee in a black gown stood beside the tomb, leading the sacrificial ceremony. Beside him was an open coffin. The coffin was covered with white petals and a brocade but it was empty. The emcee stood beside it, studying the tombstone in deep thought. The men stood far from him, not daring to interrupt his trance. But he was not so mysterious and scary. Instead, he looked just like an average old man. He was the Shaman. "Whose funeral is this?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the empty coffin, and interrupted the Shamans trance. "WellI havent decided yet." The Shaman slowly shook his head. "Funerals are serious matters and the protagonists identity is always the biggest puzzle piece." With that, he turned around and his eyes fell on the strange and young dark musician. "There are many small gangs that have been instigated to rebel against my rules. They are troublesome little rats. I sent out six assassins to clean them up and Im looking forward to finding out whose head will be the first to be brought back." He stared at the youths face with his rheumy eyes. "Who do you think itll be? Take your time guessing it. Theres nothing fun about spoilers." Ye Qingxuan responded coolly, "What did the infamous Shaman invite me here for? Is the coffin for me?" The Shaman was silent for a moment before chuckling softly and changing the topic. "Its our first meeting and its not appropriate to talk about these unpleasant things. Lets talk about something else. Mr. Holmes, what do you think of this city?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After thinking for a while, he shook his head. "I dont know. I always have a feeling that this place is like an old widow whos moody and vicious." "Pretty much." The Shaman nodded in agreement, but his expression grew dismal. "Even though its an old widow, it was once a charming beauty. In its youth, gentleness and charm exuded from its body. Heroes gave it their swords; Musicians appraised its holiness and mercy. "At that time, the King of Destiny was ruling his mighty kingdom. All land was peaceful then and Anglo was in the most western point of the world. But when the man died, everything changed." He sighed and offered a cigar to the youth. Ye Qingxuan waved his hand, rejecting it, so the Shaman lit the cigar for himself. In cloud of smoke, his eyes became blurred. "Mr. Holmes, lets talk about the citys history. I want to tell you about this citys past, this countrys pastits greatness and glory." Ye Qingxuan leaned on his cane, prepared to take it all in. - "You know, King Arthur built this place to commemorate his love, the Maiden of the Lake. That was when the Dark Ages had just ended and the golden era of the Renaissance had just arrived. This was the most brilliant pearl of the West, heaven on EarthAvalon! "He gathered worldly treasures, countless poets, mighty knights and legions, the most magnificent brocade and the most fragrant incense here...But not even the beauties of the world could express his love for the Maiden of the Lake, because everything he had was gifts from her. In the darkness, the Shaman told of the other history hidden behind the known history, the past buried in past. This was a secret hidden behind a heavy curtain. "Before he met the Maiden, the great King Arthur was just a fishermans son. He was a commoner. But when he strayed into the Shadow World he met the Fairy of Lake. Nobody knows what happened during that time but all that matters is that King Arthur won her feelings. Its the thing that is most worthy of appraisal, the so-called love." Shaman chuckled, mockingly or in praise. "The Maiden gave Arthur her love and strength, so he became and expanded his territory. With her help, he forged the Sword in the Stone, became the strongest of the strong, and created Anglo. He became the true King of Destiny! "It was his era. The Knights of the Round Table galloped above the sky and the demons hid from their radiance. Even the natural catastrophes were banished one by one. The Western frontier of the human world had never been more peaceful. "Everyone dressed in brocades and no one went hungry. It was such a beautiful age. Brilliant, great, and worthy of all good words to praise it. It was like a fairy in a fairy tale. "Then everything changed." The Shaman paused. His voice grew hoarse. "Arthur went mad. The power was so strong that it drove him mad. But at that time, no one knew that the man sitting on the throne had gone crazy. "The older he became, the more he hated his son for being younger than him. He thought that the child was stealing his life. He drowned his son in boiling oil. When he was sober, he felt guilty and depressed and cried for three days and three nights. "He suspected that his wife was unfaithful to him, so he ordered his men to strip her, and forced her to walk naked on the street to be humiliated by all. The street still retains its original look, but some people have forgotten that this is why it is called Queens Road. "In order to maintain his sovereign authority, he executed almost half of his Round Table Knights. His relatives gained those rights and shot to power. This became what is known as the glorious blood of the Empire. In order to become King of kings, he could not even allow the existence of the sacred city. He enlarged his army to prepare for destroying the sacred city. "In the end, the Maiden also disappeared because of his madness. The brilliant Avalon, the city of glory, fell to the state of a ghost city." Shaman''s voice was hoarse and odd, emitting real darkness and madness. "At that time, the entire city was covered by his distorted projections from the aether world. This formed the eerie space known as Avalon''s shadow. In that world, gallows were erected everywhere like a forest; the guillotine became a fountain from which the blood extended, meandering out the gate as the Blood Path. "At last, mad King Arthur was deserted by all and was killed by his greed for power. All that remained was the Blood Curse, which is passed down the generations." "This is the city''s past. It was once beautiful and brilliant, but now it has become a gloomy, fickle, and dying crazy woman. It stares with her cloudy eyes, cursing the inhabitants with her vicious gaze. "So far, all youve seen were the problems on the outside, but the real blight and the cancer, the root, are hidden in the shadows of the city. The evil had been planted hundreds of years ago " He sighed and snuffed out the cigar, his rheumy eyes growing nostalgic. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. Then he asked quietly, "Did you tell me all this to make me give up on the Blood Path?" The Shaman shook his head. "No, Im just worried about the city. If I wanted you to give up, I would say it directly." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him and sighed. "I never expected that the Shaman was so concerned about the country and people." "Everyone wants to make their living environment better. Aren''t you the same?" Shaman asked lightly. "Even if your fortune and fate are bad, youve been working hard all this time, havent you?" Ye Qingxuan fell silent but the Shaman chuckled. "I think you''ve felt something vaguely, haven''t you? Mr. Holmes, or should I call you by your other name?" "I''ve thought about the possibility before and now Im sure." Ye Qingxuan looked up to the Shaman, or rather, the old guy his Father had mentioned. "I just never imagined that my fathers so called friend is the former Dark King." "I never imagined that the son of the evil hunter, Moon Chant, would be known as a dark musician." Shaman patted his shoulders and sighed nostalgically. "Ive had my men keep an eye on you ever since you returned to Avalon, but I didnt expect that this would bring you so much trouble. When I heard of the melody you use, I knew that you were back. Youre better than I expected." "I''d rather know what my father had done to set me in this situation." "I don''t know." Shaman shrugged and said, "When he was on the run, I was still hiding in the Southern Isles. When I came back, I realized that he had vanished, and you and your mother had been banished from Avalon. Unexpectedly, even the famous Lan..." "Don''t say that name." Ye Qingxuan interrupted. "Dont say that name if you want to continue to talk." - Shaman was taken aback. He studied youths face and shrugged as if he perceived the indifference and anger behind those gloomy eyes. "Well then, I wont say it." He sighed. He wanted to say that someone had been caring for Ye Qingxuan all these years and wanted him to go back... But this child probably would never return. Who would trust the so-called family again after being betrayed once? He had wanted to meet Ye Qingxuan and talk about the stories of him and Ye Qingxuans father as an uncle and comfort him. But it seemed that it did not matter to Ye Qingxuan. It would never matter. He sighed. He inhaled the smoke of the cigar and blew out the memories of the past. Ye Lanzhou was known as a unique gentleman and a peerless musician with a son who seemed to be made from steel. Would he be content or sad, seeing the current state? 152 Savior in the Quagmire "Dont worry. Ill help you deal with the rumors. You have nothing to do with the Blood Path and shouldnt be in this mess. The least I can do is make sure you stay far away from the dark side of life," the Shaman said lightly. "Just return to the Royal Academy of Music and stay there. Soon, order will return and Avalon will become peaceful once again. Youll be able to live your own life too, Ye Qingxuan." But the youth did not reply and instead just lowered his head. After a long time, he asked in response, "Do you think I will?" The old man was stunned. "Is my promise not enough?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled and shook his head. "Its not about promising to solve the problem." The Shaman was about to say something, but the youth continued. "Even if you can protect me, if I do get involved with the Blood Path one day, would you choose Avalons Shadow or the insignificant child of an old friend? "Whether you like it or not, Ive already been pulled into this quagmire. Since Im here, I need to at least understand what happened. Closing my eyes, stuffing my ears, burying my head into the sand and pretending nothing happenedthats not my style." "You dont believe me?" "Im just saying that no ones promise is enough for these things," the youth said lightly. "You can make thousands of promises but I only have one life. I cant hand it to someone so easily. If my rejection hurts your dignity, then Im sorry. I need to live carefully and cautiously. I dont want to die before I accomplish things." The rooms temperature seemed to drop. The Shaman no longer spoke. He studied the rebellious confidence in the youths eyes. "So youre saying that its okay to die after you finish those things?" Ye Qingxuan considered those words and nodded. "Perhaps." - The Shaman stared deeply into his eyes and then looked away. His voice turned from gentle to serious. He was no longer "old guy," but was the Shaman now, the former Dark King. "If you dont plan on getting out of the mess, then why dont you help?" "The Shaman needs my help too?" Ye Qingxuan asked back. The Shaman nodded. "As youve seen, Ive declared war on all of downtown. Theres also the parliament standing before me. The Professor is an obstacle." Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. "Youre not scared of the parliament but youre scared of the Professor?" "You dont know how destructive he is," the Shaman said. "To me, as long as you have a worry, then you have weakness; as long as you have a goal, then there is a path toward it; as long as there is a benefit, then its worthy to go after. "In this gamble I have many bargaining chips, so I never worried about the parliament. But the Professor is different from them." His eyes were chilling. "The Professor is a maniac, an unstable element because he doesnt care about gambling. No one knows what hes thinking, but he knows too much. That is the most terrifying. "Nine years ago, he appeared in Avalon and singlehandedly ruined the order and rules I created. He forced this city into the quagmire. All these years, he has been walking freely in this quagmire, digging for the dirty and dark secrets. He has also bought associates and created a network "But even if hes alone, he can still cause destruction. Do you understand?" He looked at Ye Qingxuan. "I cant have a variable in my world. The Professor must disappear." "So you want me to do it?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Werent you planning on it before? Im also curious why hes so determined to get you, and why he thinks you have something to do with Avalons ShadowYoure also curious about him, are you not? Or you could say that youre even happy that youve found a good opponentthe best counter to you." Fear flashed past the Shamans eyes as he spoke. "I hope you dont think the Professor is a beaten dog now. Who knows what else he has hidden? Ive also heard that he has prepared to attack the Royal Academy of Music. You might see him in the classroom in a few days." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He was stunned by the Professors audacity. So many people in downtown had thirsted for Avalons Shadowbut no one had ever gone after the Royal Academy of Music. If Ye Qingxuan did not go out, he would only be challenged by the elites. No one else would care about him. It was the birthplace of Royal musicians and the breeding grounds of Anglos musicians. Other than the visible defenses, there were countless hidden research labs. And if the alarm was activated, the Round Table Knights would come from the skyThe Professor wanted to attack the Academy? Was he crazy?! "All you have to do is find the Professor. I believe in your abilities. I can also help you too, or even hire the Bloody Butcher to deal with the trouble. But I dont want you to be distracted by him at the moment." He focused his eyes on the dark shadow of the towering city behind him and said softly, "After all, I want to put all my focus on the true enemy now." "The parliament?" "Someone in the Parliament. I suspect that Satans power has already seeped into Avalon. His follower might be hidden amongst them." Ye Qingxuan fell silent and then suddenly asked, "You mean they did all this on purpose?" The Shaman nodded. His voice was filled with battling emotions. "Avalon doesnt care about the mess in downtown, right? They just watch on as downtown falls further, rots further, and becomes a bloody quagmire. "The parliament wants to see this. If they want the Blood Path, they wont leave any witnesses for the Royal family to interrogate. They must make everything into a mess. But unfortunately for them, they wont get what they want as long as I am here," he said lightly. "The creator of the quagmire should be buried in it. I will personally bury their corpses." "So you came back to stop them?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "You were free from the quagmire. You couldve just gazed at it from afar and stayed away. Why did you come back?" - After a long silence, the Shaman said, "Maybe because of responsibility." "You think youre responsible for this city?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Why not?" the Shaman asked back, but his eyes became helpless. "To be honest, I dont understand it either. My era has passed and this city doesnt welcome me anymore. Why did I come back? Im just making it hard for myself." Ye Qingxuan remained silent. Sensing the awkwardness, the Shaman chuckled. "Sorry, I said something you dont understand." Smoking his cigar, he sighed. "Actually, I was an author for some years after leaving Avalon, and published some books. "They were all bad poems and folktales, so the sales were very low. But some people liked my poems and so I loved them. Sometimes I would meet them and drink and talk with them. Many of them were students or researchers. They were young, stubborn, and innocent. "We would sit in a tavern and drink bad beer. The owner was my reader too and would give us discounts. Sometimes, he would play an instrument. To be honest, he was really bad at it. "Sometimes Id wish that I had a few female readers. Even if they were far away and just wrote me a letter, it would be nice. But sometimes, I would get drunk, hang on their shoulders and say some random things. But Id be satisfied and everyone would be happy. "The world is big and people desire many things. But some people just want recognitionits that simple. Ill keep writing as long as theyre there and someone wants to read my books. Ill keep writing until I die. I want to respond to their voices." He gazed at the youth. "To be honest, Im sad that the city has become this mess after I left. Some people felt that they were living without dignity and wanted me to return. So I did. Im the only one who can give them hope. This is what I want. Do you understand, kid? "I want to respond to their wishes and change this dark quagmire. I want the people who cant live under the sun to have dignity too. So many corpses have been buried in the quagmire all these years. Theyre all begging me for help. If I dont do these things, who will? "Ill recreate the rules and give these people a way to live. Even if theres no sunlight, they should have rules and order. If no one will do it, then let me do it. If these people are abandoned by the king, then let me be their king. Do you understand now?" The Shaman stood in the cemetery. His black shadow covered the tombstones, reaching into the distance. He studied Ye Qingxuan, but there was no blazing light in his eyes. Instead, they radiated with piercing darkness. "I returned because Im their savior, their king!" He stepped forward and stared at the youth, reaching out his hand. "Ye Qingxuan, come help me, just as your father did." There was a long, long silence. As if he was deep in thought, it was a long while before Ye Qingxuan looked up and said, "Ill help you." He stared at the Shamans outstretched hand and saw the power hidden behind the handit was an invitation and a great gift. If he reached out, he could become the Shamans right hand man and control Avalon. But he did not reach out. Instead, he took a step back and shook his head. "But Im helping you for myself, not for your so-called order of the underworld." The Shaman fell silent. "To be honest, I dont understand what youre saying about the savior, the king, the order of the underworldbut theres one thing I know." In the silence, Ye Qingxuan looked up into the Shamans eyes. "No matter how glorious the title is, evil is evil. It will never make this city good. Everything youre doing will only make it not as bad. When those people abandoned living under the world, they should be ready to die in the sewer. They shouldnt be hoping for some savior to give their lives more dignity. "In the end, the savior of villains is still a villain. And no matter how orderly this world is, it is still a quagmire. Youre trying to find a savior in the quagmire?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head, his eyes becoming cold and scornful. "Youre looking in the wrong place." In the silence, cold rain fell through the fog to the still cemetery. When the rain drops landed on the Shamans palm, they broke and turned to water vapor. He retracted his hand and sighed soundlessly. "Ye Qingxuan, you look identical to your father." "Were not the same," Ye Qingxuan said as he put on the hunter. "Not the same at all." 153 The Beautiful Life of the Academy’s Disgrace 1 It was an afternoon two days later in the Royal Academy of Music. After several days of heavy rain, the summers heat seemed to have vanished. The mist suffusing downtown seemed to be a sign that autumn was coming. Even the scorching sun had become cooler and in the afternoon. Calm sunshine filtered down from the sun, warming instead of scalding the people. Even the ever-gloomy academy seemed to have brightened. It was full of brilliance and everyone felt comfortable. But one girl paced uneasily in the street outside the Music History department. As if there was something at the end of the road that made her frightened, the girl with a ponytail stood at the intersection and hesitatingly looked back, not daring to walk further. "Come on! Shirley, you can do it," Shirley murmured as she gripped her clothes, encouraging herself. Her face, pale with fear, calmed down gradually. She hid her panic carefully and transformed into a look of seriousness. Feeling calmer, she let out a breath and clenched her fists as she stared at the Music History building. Her eyes looked heavy and determined as if she was gazing at her mortal enemy, the root of all evil. Shirley was one of the students who had just entered the school, but because of some physical reasons, she had to leave and recuperate for a period of time just after enrolling. She had returned two days ago. But when she came back, she found that all had changed. The academy that had been harmonious, pleasant, and gentlemanly, but was now full of tension. Students treated each other like enemies. The news that someone was injured in a duel came every day. The fact that the mannered elites were humiliated by commoners saddened Shirley. But when she tried to mediate the fights, she would receive taunting gazes from the commoners. Some people would advise Shirley not to care about these matters, while others laughed at her, saying that she was just an ignorant and na?ve little girl. She was not like that! All the servants knew that Miss Shirley was the most concerned about their sufferings. Every time she went downtown and saw beggars, she could not help but shed tears in sympathy and give them some money. Seeing their happiness at receiving money, Shirley would feel the real meaning of the elites existence. As expected, the Blood of Glory existed to make Avalon better! Her father and brothers all approved of her charity and kindness. They always said that commoners just did not know the rules, but if the elites guided them with kindness, everyones lives would be better. That made Shirley believe even more strongly about the importance of elites being role models. But now everything had changed. The Academy was all messed up! It was no longer that warm and harmonious family she had imagined. Shirley was worried and sad about this, and she tried to figure out what was going on. She heard the same name from everyone. The source of all this trouble, the synonym for evil, the culprit who made the academy into thisYe Qingxuan! "He''s a villain, Shirley! Do you understand? A villain!" Her cousin, Bart, was wounded badly. With a sad and indignant face, he waved his fist at her and said, "That d*mned Easterner is a savage who doesnt know any rules. He not only stole our glory shamelessly, but also defeated Edmund with his dirty tricks and wounded him badly too." "Thats right!" the student next to his bed said resentfully. "Its all because of that d*mned guy." "Dont say his name!" another mentally weak student exclaimed. "Dont mention the disgrace of the Academy, that Easterner!" "Easterner? Wheres the Easterner?!" The sleeping Jon woke up in shock. Hearing the name, he shot up. "Come on, somebody help me up, I''m going to fight him! What are you doing? I''m going to fight him! Don''t stop me. I will " Before he could finish, he was cuffed by the nurse next to him. She shut his mouth and sent him to the emergency room. "Doctor, patient no. 06 is going crazy again!" Shirley watched as brother Jon was taken away with tear-filled eyes. She felt pain and sadness deep in her heart. Why did it have to be this way? Cousin Bart, brother Jon, and everyone else were all very good people! Why did the guy do this to them? The girl made up her mind. She was going to change this situation, change this brutal reality and save the endangered Royal Academy of Music. She would stand up bravely and become...a heroine! Thinking of this, Shirley was suddenly full of courage. She continued walking down the path with her head held high, going toward the dark core of the Academy to look for the villain Ye Qingxuan. Soon, she turned with a scream and crawled out of the path, hiding behind a statue and trembling. It was so scary! So Scary! This place was horriblethey had even raised a scary monster! Just as she was trembling, the huge golden monster with a hairpin on its head walked past her at a calm and leisurely pace. Seeing her shaking, it opened its mouth in pride. "Woof! Woof woof woof!" it roared loudly, as if it was going to pounce. "Ah!!" Shirley screamed. She collapsed onto the ground and did not move. "Eh, what''s wrong with you? Youre just gonna stay there and not get up? You want to scam me?" Next to the big hairy monster was a girl with an unpleasant face, glancing down at her. "What, have you never seen a dog before?" "I...I" Cradling her head, Shirley cautiously lifted her eyes. She was stunned when she saw Bai Xi. "Are you that Easterner?" "Huh, another challenger?" The girl with white hair pursed her lips and pointed behind her. "See that road? Go straight to the end and turn right." "Oh." Shirley got up timidly, and gingerly kept a distance from that horrible monster. It was too big to even look atHow was that a dog? What a lie! She had had a dog before. How could dog grow so big? Her uncle once gave her a Chihuahua and it was only the size of her palm. This thing must be a demon. A demon! At the thought that the Easterner was breeding demons in the academy, the timid Shirley suddenly felt a burst of anger. How dare he! No wonder so many students were so afraid of him! Seeing that Bai Xi had left with that golden monster, Shirley took a deep breath and went on her way again. This time, she would stop the guys mischief! She held her head up and set foot on the path again. Walking through the dense woods, treading on the withered leaves, enduring the buzzing mosquitoes, she finally saw an eerie building before her. Just after the towering woods, the dilapidated little building stood in the gloom. It was covered in moss and fissures, and emanated a ghastly chill. The cracks on the walls seemed to be a menacing smile. Shirley felt her legs go weak suddenly, and had the urge to escape again. But soon, she finally found her goalthe one who turned the academy into this state! Before the small building, the shining sun illuminated the stone bricks on the ground. In the genial sunshine, there was a spacious and comfortable sofa, and a cup of freshly squeezed apple juice on the table beside it. A hand stretched out from the couch and the fingers snapped. The rune Frost immediately covered the cup with a layer of white frost. Then the cool juice was sucked into the vicious mouth with a straw. On the couch was a lazy youth in a gaudy short-sleeved shirt and a pair of shorts. He lay on the couch, two naked feet peeking out. On his face was a pair of sunglasses and his hair shone in the sun like silver. His expression was leisurely and comfortable, and he just looked really bored as he enjoyed the summer sun. But.he did not look evil! "No, no, Shirley, you have to be alert, not to be blinded by his appearance..." Shirley thought. Shirley rubbed her face hard, took a deep breath, and then slowly, seriously, walked toward the Eastern youth step by step. There were no attacks, traps, or nets that fell from the sky as she walked. The Eastern youth did not rush up and tie her up either and do the embarrassing things that books often omitted. But Shirley still did not let her guard down. She finally went to the juvenile, looked down at him and asked with a trembling voice, "Excuse me... Are you Ye Qingxuan?" - In a daze, Ye Qingxuan felt a shadow cover him. Slowly, he opened his eyes and saw a nervous girl staring at him. She seemed to be staring at something scaryit was that kind of weird look. Wait, was this another evil trick from the elites? Wait, it''s not a conspiracy of the aristocracy. "Excuse me... Are you Ye Qingxuan? Ye Qingxuan pulled down the sunglasses with a finger and raised his eyes, but he could not see anything other than her nervousness. After a long time, he realized that he could not keep wasting time and he nodded slowly. "Yeah." Shirley''s face instantly paled. It was him! It was really him, that Eastern demon! Under that "aggressive" sight, her legs turned to jelly again. She almost fell onto her butt. "No, Shirley, you can''t lose! You are the family''s pride! How could you fall here?" she thought. She took a deep breath and loudly challenged ''the criminal'' in a trembling voice, "...Please don''t do this anymore!" "..." Ye Qingxuan did not reply. There was a long silence. He looked at the little girl in confusion and began to wonder whether there was something wrong with her brain. But from Shirleys perspective, he was angered by her fearless courage to challenge evil! She was growing more and more afraid, but she still tried to look serious and solemn, and stared back. "You can''t lose, Shirley! Dont surrender to the devil!" she thought to herself. After a long awkward silence, Ye Qingxuan uttered in confusion, "Eh?" "I mean, the ...concertmaster thing." Shirley finally opened her mouth and spouted the lines that she had prepared. "''Cheating'' is a provocation to the rules of the Academy and it is despicable behavior against the spirit of chivalry! Becoming the concertmaster in this way is meaningless. Bullying students and other things can only prove that your mind is not sound! Why fight and kill? Isnt it better to get along with each other harmoniously?" "Oh." After a long time, Ye Qingxuan slowly nodded and said softly, "Can you stand to the left a little?" "Huh?" Shirley was confused. "You''re blocking the sun." 154 The Beautiful Life of the Academy’s Disgrace 2 "Youre blocking the sun," Ye Qingxuan stated. "This is when the suns at its best and time is precious. I havent been able to relax in such a long time. Cant you not bother me like this? And also, Im busy even though Im the concertmaster. I beat four people today. If this continues, the hospital will run out of beds." Shirley froze, her face reddening. Angered by his nonchalant attitude, she pointed at the lazy youth, stammering, "Youyouyoudont you feel any shame?!" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Why do I have to feel shame? Im the concertmaster, Im the best! If I feel shame, then wont the others have to commit suicide or something?" "Youyou" Shirley was too angry to talk and even her eyes were red. "Youre justlow-class!" "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly and went back to the sofa to sunbathe. He picked up the glass of juice and drank happily, smacking his lips. This was how life should be! This was how beautiful life should be! It was okay to be a bit low-class if he could enjoy this kind of life, right? "So are you done?" He looked up at the girl who was close to tears and waved his hand, wanting her to leave quickly. "Tell the people who sent you that if they want to find trouble to come personally. Theres no point in bullying a girl." Shaking but trying really hard not to cry, Shirley glared at Ye Qingxuan. "Im not going to admit defeat. No matter how much you bully me, I am not going anywhere!" But as she spoke, she could not control the tears anymore. Just as she was about to cover her face and run, a gentle voice sounded behind her. "Are you okay?" Shirley turned around and saw a handsome blonde youth. He gazed at her caringly and, seeing her red eyes, he offered her a handkerchief and a bright sunny smile. "Dont cry. Wipe your tears. Miss, dont waste your beauty and youth on tears." Shirley stared at him blankly. She took in the handsome youths warm smile, his bare chest, the gentle cascade of hair, and the words "I lost, Im a pig" on his chest. The sun shone down warmly on his perky and livelyButt, butt, butt Shirley looked down at the naked man and her shoulders shook. Her mouth fell open but her mind was blank. In the end"Wah!!!" With a scream, Shirley covered her face and fled. "" "" The two boys stood rooted to their spot, utterly confused. "She left?" Charles asked softly. "Yeah, she left." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "She was probably scared of the naked pervert." "Thats bull! Im wearing boxers!" Feeling wronged, Charles pointed at the skintight nude-colored boxers innocently. "Look, it even has my favorite elephant on it" "Wearing that is worse than going nude!" "" Charles gave him a glance that said, "Youre just jealous of me." He pushed Ye Qingxuan off the sofa and picked up the juice, freshly-pressed from the grapes he had taken from the academys backyard. "Junior, get me some ice!" Annoyed, Ye Qingxuan pointed his finger to plaster Charless face with a rune effect, but Charles expected it and dodged it easily, cackling. "Aha, you missed! Youre still too amateur!" Ye Qingxuan continued to sunbathe. Charles layed down as well, getting into a comfortable position. They sprawled on the sofa like dead dogs, letting the sun fall on them. At times, they would raise their juices in unison. Throwing their heads back and taking large gulps, they let out satisfied sighs. Life was too beautiful! "Sad that we dont have money. Otherwise, we could dig a swimming pool!" Charles sighed. "Were at the height of summer. Look at Old Phil. He always goes to the fountain in the School of Royal Musicians for a quick bath. Its so embarrassing. "But dont worry, Junior. Wait until I get this research done and well be rich! Well have more than enough money for a pool. We can even hold a bonfire party! All the junior brothers and sisters will wear bikinis and sit by the pool. And when you come out, theyll call sweetly, Senior Qingxuan" Ye Qingxuan retched. "The girls are okay but why are the guys wearing bikinis too?!" Seeing that Charles was ready to explain, Ye Qingxuan quickly cut him off. He really did not want to know why guys would wear bikinis... "Senior, what are you researching now?" he changed the subject. "I found the mystery hidden in material!" Charless eyes brightened at the mention of his own research. "According to my hypothesis, all material is made from different microstructures. Even the structure of steel and copper are extremely different. "We can perform an experiment and have these two dense materials crash against each other at a set speed in an environment with high temperature and pressure. The moment the structures break will create a really powerful energy, even if the material is smaller than a grain of sand. "Using my calculations, I created an equation. To put it simply, its e=mah, whatever, you dont care about this stuff. Just know that Im working on something great in the basement!" "No, dont!" Ye Qingxuan jumped up in fright. "If youre going to do anything, go to the backyard of the School of Revelations. Dont mess with this house anymore. Look at how sad it already is. If you make something explode and it collapses, we wont have anywhere to sleep!" "Aww, you should support my research" "Support your *ss!" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "Go ask the Professor if he supports you." Charles shrugged and glanced toward the library. He froze when he did not see the figure behind the window. "Where did he go?" Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. Lying on the sofa, his nostrils to the sky, he forced out, "The school board!" "The qualifications audit again?" Charles furrowed his brows. "Arent they tired by now?" "Who knows?" Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Maybe theyre bored. Anyway, its not the first time theyve made things hard for us." "Theyre not just making things hard for us. They act like were lice in their hair and the disgrace of the academy. Theyd love it if they could kick us out." Charles shrugged. "But dont worry. Professor is retired from the military. The school board cant do anything to him without Principal Maxwells permission. They can just reduce our budget and insult us. "Budget thief, unaccomplished and useless, weird clownsthe money we get every year is less than the other schools cafeteria allowance! They just cant get over the fact that we dont kiss their *sses." "What a group of idiots." "Yeah, a group of idiots." Charles nodded. He picked up the juice and clinked glasses with Ye Qingxuan. Downing the drink, he felt much better. But his eyes grew curious after he gazed around. "Where are they?" "Who?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "The challengers," Charles said. "Didnt they swarm over like flies when they heard that you showed up again? I thought they wouldnt give up until they took the concertmaster title from you. How come only a girl came to challenge you today?" "Oh, those people." Ye Qingxuan squinted his eyes as he enjoyed the sun. "There was probably a dozen challengers today." "Huh? Where are they? How come I dont see any of them?" Ye Qingxuan grinned. "They all lost." Under the blazing sun, the youth hummed Boleros melody and the faint water vapor around his fingertips transformed into thread that extended in all directions. With a snap of the finger, the aether began to ripple vaguely. Before them, various lost figures emerged from the shadowy forest. The ones that were bent on beating the disgrace of the academy and restoring the glory of pure blood now looked bedraggled and travel-worn. Their pristine school uniforms and gold-lined jackets were torn by the thorns and branches. Their faces were covered in cobwebs and dust and their eyes were terrified. This was a forest that they would never be able walk out of. They were like insects stuck in an endless loop. They would walk down the paths that seemed to be familiar and follow every branch, but would never be able to find the way out. They were lost in utter darkness. Even the afternoon sunlight became eerie after filtering through the dense treetops. The only sounds in the silence was the cold wind and soft writhing of insects and snakes. Some of the students were roaring something, but their voices were unclear. Others were running, finally collapsing after using all their strength. Confused and dazed, they were like bugs thrown into a glass box. They could flap their wings as hard as they could, but would not be able to find help. All twelve of them were trapped in a forest of only a few dozen square meters. They could not perceive that they often brushed shoulders with each other. Manipulated by the youth, they were like puppets stuck in a maze. Charless eyes brightened. "Rhythm level?" "Yeah." The seemingly tired youth on the couch squinted as he enjoyed the sun and focused on controlling the enchantment at the same time. "I told the Professor that I reached the Rhythm level this morning and asked if there was anything I could practice with. He gave me the control of the nearby Requiem enchantment. Its kind of hard but good for practice." Charles rubbed his hands together and got closer. "Is it fun?" "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Let me play with it!" Charles fluttered his lashes. The youth rolled his eyes. "You just want to go to the girls shower house." "I cant believe you think Im like that. You break my heart!" "You have a heart?" "Of course!" Charles puffed up his chest and stated, "Touch it if you dont believe me. Feel my beating heart! Can you feel my absolute sincerity?" Ye Qingxuan felt the urge to hit him again. "Ah, whatever." Charles shook his head, sighing. "Remember to come to the basement tonight." "Huh?" "I finished modifying the skeleton. If you have time, come try out your new clothes." 155 Concussions and Sighs Late at night, the sound of steel scraping came from the underground workshop occasionally. On the ceiling, the only lamp in the dusty workshop shone dimly. A hideous shadow stood under the light, allowing Charles to modify it. The youth stood still, his body wrapped with some metal skeleton that clung to the skin. The fine structure of the rafting mechanic matched his body perfectly. They cooperated perfectly without any conflicts, as if he was born that way. With Charless actions, the parts that were originally taken apart were now joined together on the skeleton, and the cold metallic surface was covered by black leather until it could not be seen. Standing in his spot, the youths face was hidden in the shadow. One could not see his expression. His height had suddenly shot up half a foot. His muscles were also stronger. Even the power of a slow move could make the air whistle and dust fly. The light shook and flickered. "Yezi, this set has always been part of you, right?" Before him, Charles lifted the lantern in his hands, illuminating the young man''s face hidden in the shadow. The youth raised his eyes and looked at him expressionlessly. "You look like youre made of iron," Charles murmured. He took two steps back and dropped his tools. When he could not see Ye Qingxuan''s face, he always felt that he was assembling some kind of fine machine. It was silent, quiet and precise, like a clock. It could not feel fatigue, would not stop, and would not become weak. But when he saw Ye Qingxuan''s face, he suddenly found himself in front of a youth who was only one year younger than himself. "How does it feel?" Charles asked softly. "It feels a little heavy. Im not used to it." Ye Qingxuan stretched his arms up and was about to jump, but Charles stopped him. "Jumping here is the same as crashing into the wall. You will get hurt or even get a concussion." "Its that dramatic?" "Chainsaw monks were real machines of war. As a borderless organization, they had always been the most invincible army on the battlefield for hundreds of years. They would fight only for money or the Holy Scriptures. "That group of men would even ignore the orders from the sacred city. The only thing that could call them up was the ''East Order'' decreed by the sacred city when it was determined to invade the Dark World again. "Do you think they conquered people with the Holy Scriptures? Don''t be silly. Theyre the dark side of the church and they concentrate on mechanical technology. Don''t underestimate their madness," Charles stated. He continued, "The original Chainsaw monks were transformed into a machines through surgery. This skeleton would be thoroughly implanted into his flesh and blood, truly becoming one. "Now, what you have is a little less powerful, but the core technology is still from them. Trust me, it is like a beast. You need a period of time to get used to it." "So youre saying that it can do more than just run quickly?" "Of course." Charles shook his head. "With your weak and untrained body, youll be able to chest press 200 kilograms and squat 500 kilograms when wearing this. Thats the limit for the human body. "But the forces are reciprocal. The shock absorption system isnt that perfect yet. Your maximum output is limited to 200 kilograms. Of course, you can adjust yourself but beyond that, you should be ready for your muscles to be torn apart and even your bones to be broken. "Yezi, you have to be careful. Dont wear out yourself. You dont want to live your rest of life with a wheelchair like that bald man from the School of Revelations, do you?" "Dont worry. This is good enough for me." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He was obviously very satisfied with this. He had officially reached the Rhythm level and could control the aether to protect himself. With this set, he was able to let go of his hands and feet. He did not need to worry about being dragged down by his physical strength at a critical time At the thought of this, his heart stirred painfullyphysical strength was always his critical defect. Since the beginning of time, the Ye family had never had any burly men. Most of the time, they were the physical manifestation of elegance and grace. Not wanting to dirty themselves in fights was one thing. But alsothey really were just lacking in the physical department. He knew how weak he was when he was beaten by a dog. "Stop spacing out." Charles shook his head and tossed over something. "Try this one." Ye Qingxuan caught it and saw under the light that it was a silver arm. It was originally Pinocchios arm, but now it looked completely different. Now it looked light and exquisite, like a piece of art. With a snap, it was embedded seamlessly into the reserved slots on Ye Qingxuan''s right arm. The youth moved his arm. With the aid of the skeleton, he could hardly feel the increased weight. "What is this?" "Something you brought back." Charles smiled and pointed to the weapon that had been dismantled on the table. "The Sighing Sword." On the workbench, the heavy black sword had been torn apart. The hilt, blade, hand guard...all scattered. The obsidian-like material was actually some kind of coarse alloy which silently exuded a chill even after being torn apart. "Why is it like this?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Charles shrugged. "The Sighing Sword looks like a sabre, but its essentially alchemy equipment that can destroy most shields and enchantments. "It relies on the internal solid and precise structure to have the perfect effect. There are strict requirements for the size, weight, and material of each part. I took it apart and found that most of it was damaged, but luckily the core part still works. Try to clench your fist and try to punch with all your strength. Remember, all your strength." Ye Qingxuan hesitated, but then obeyed. Boom! A muffled sound came out of nowhere. Instantly, it was as if a giant blister burst in the sealed basement. Wind blew from the front of the fist, causing a flurry of dust. Even the basement door was forced open. The air pressure rose and fell quickly. Ye Qingxuan only felt a shock going through his body. His vision went black and his ears buzzed. He could barely even breathe. An indent the shape of a fist silently appeared on the wall meters away from his punch. It was the mark left by the high air pressure. It gradually disappeared as the dust flew. "Feels good, right?" Charles, who had been prepared, was hiding beside him and gloated at the youths dazed look. "Don''t worry. It''s like this when you miss the target." "MissWhat?" "" Charles was seemed to be talking about something. "A little louder. I can''t hear you!" "I said concussion!" Charles raised his voice which dispelled the hum in Ye Qingxuan''s ears. "The key of the Sighing Sword is that it creates a shaking like a concussion, which is the source of its power. With this shaking, the sword can easily defeat all obstacles. "The more fragile the object is, the more likely it is to break under the shaking. The harder the structure is, the more likely it is to twist under the pressure. Even if there was only one small flaw, it would be infinitely magnified to the point of self-destruction. The object would then collapse and disintegrate." Charles put on his gloves, removed the burning arm, and showed the youth the steel plates that fit in the inner lining of the arm. "This is the corea very compact ''interval. "It consists of seven basic notes. The effect is Shake, which makes the body able to resonate with the aether. The scariest thing is that the Chainsaw monk is able to duplicate this interval thousands of times on a sheet of solid metal. This is the reason why so many countries have failed to duplicate the Sighing Sword. The Chainsaw monks skill at smelting and printing is unmatchable!" With a snap, the arm was put back into place. Charles exclaimed, "Non-lethal weapons meet your needs perfectly. If you control it well, anyone will kneel before you, no matter how much he has on his body. Whats more, you can tear down a wall when escaping more easily. Its really a good thing to have when committing a crime. "However, it is best to note that your body does not have the Chainsaw Monk''s aether ax, which is used for fine control or other components for stability. Dont use it too frequently and give it some time to buffer. Otherwise it could explode." "Explode?" Charles mimed exploding into pieces onto the ground with a cheerful expression. Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh, "Senior ..." "Yeah?" "Why do I feel like you told me all that just so you can have fun when telling me that Ill explode?" "... Aha, you know me pretty well." Ye Qingxuan sighed and turned toward the door. "Don''t go, there are still many new inventions here for you to appreciate!" "Later. Im going out for a walk." Ye Qingxuan took the hunting hat on the wall, and put it on. Looking back at Charles, he smiled. "I want some fresh air. Be back soon." Charles shook his head and waved. "Be careful." - Late at night, on the quiet street, an old lame man leaned against the corner of a wall. He had a pipe in his mouth and he smoked leisurely. From time to time, he would look up to the distance, as if waiting for someone to arrive. Heavy dew dampened his trousers, making seem even older. During the long wait, a cane stretched out from the darkness behind him and rested on his shoulder. "Did you leave the sign?" the hoarse voice sounded. "Mr. Holmes?" Shocked, the old man looked back in a surprise and saw the shadow. "You remember me?" He pointed to the bruises on his face that still had not faded. "It''s me, Hudson, sir." Ye Qingxuan frowned. He remembered the old man whom he had rescued from the cemetery. The man had wanted to quit his dirty life but was captured by the Pyramid King and tortured. Ye Qingxuan paid no attention to him after rescuing him. Unexpectedly, the Shaman had sent Hudson to contact him. "Mr. Hudson, long time no see." Holmes asked softly, "Looks like you''ve gone to the Shaman?" Hudson''s look was somewhat apologetic. "Mr. Shaman said that you hated to come into contact with unclean people, so he found me and told me to contact you specifically. But please rest assured that I never took any illegal jobs after that incident. Mr. Shaman also arranged for me to go to guard the cemetery." "No. 221 B, Baker Street?" "Yes." Hudson nodded. "Then, if the Shaman wants to contact me, just leave a sign in the cemetery. Ill go there regularly." Ye Qingxuan thought of something and chuckled softly. As Sherlock Holmes, his tombstone was there too, was it not? Hudson nodded quickly and turned to lead the way. "We found some clues about the Professor." 156 Tomorrow is a Good Day An old man with black gloves stood at the end of a long street. He lit his cigar and inhaled deeply before letting out a puff of cool blue smoke. He waited quietly. After a long time, his shoulders twitched and he turned slowly. A figure had appeared behind him. "Mr. Holmes," he nodded. "I have been waiting for you." "Mr. Ghosthand, long time no see." Ye Qingxuan smiled and took off his hunting hat. "I remember our first meeting was outside the White Horse hotel. You gave me directions before, but now its the opposite." Ghosthand gazed deeply into the youths eyes. He could not help but sigh in lamentation. A few months ago, he and the youth had met for the first time, brushing past each other on the street. At that time, he was still the debtor, Ghosthand, an infamous legend of Avalon. Ye Qingxuan was just an Eastern kid who had just arrived. At that time, the kid was like fish on the cutting board. Ghosthand could do whatever he wanted to him. But in a few short months, Ye Qingxuan had made a name for himself. He used his actions to incite fear and respect from many people. He was the Vengeful Spirit of Avalon. Even the Shaman wanted to have him as a right hand man and had high expectations for this young man. Fate was not something the average man could predict. "Please help us with the Professors traces." With that, Ghosthand turned to lead the way. Ye Qingxuan walked into an alley. Stepping over puddles and broken tiles, he walked into a hut. The empty hut was covered in blood. And the corpse in the center was already stiff. The cold night had preserved the body well. Instead of decaying, the corpses skin was deathly pale. The sight was chilling. "Who is this?" "A smuggler. His nickname is Lychee. Lychees are a rare Eastern fr" "I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "A Westerner with this name? Thats rare." "Its because the thing hes most famous for is smuggling in ten tons of lychees. He got it through customs and sold them throughout the entire Anglo market." "A fruit smuggler?" "They look clean and cute, but its just a disguise. There were refined opiates inside the lychees," Ghosthand stated. "It was all high-grade stuff. The Indians called them Krishna. With this boat-load, the Indians were able to buy ninety percent of the market, creating the basis of their illegal drugs market. "Lychee had always been Silos right hand man and was hated by others. But he was very careful. Sometimes he would even disguise himself as a pregnant so no one could get any dirt on him." "Pregnant?" Ye Qingxuan squatted and looked at the swollen body. Seeing the beard and thick chest hair, he could not help but furrow his brows. "He really put in a lot of effortWhen was the corpse discovered?" "Three hours ago," Ghosthand said as he smoked. "According to the Shamans rules, illegal drug smugglers should have their feet and hands chopped off, but he was already dead when we arrived. The Professor was a step before us. This is probably revenge on Silos betrayal." "Not just that." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "If its just for revenge, the Professor would hang Silos brother Po Sinai before Silos bed. When Silo wakes up from a nightmare, hell see his brothers twisted features and forever live in fear" Ghosthand flinched. "How do you know?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at him coolly. "Thats what Id do if I were the Professor." Ghosthand fell silent. Ye Qingxuan felt around the corpse, looking for any marks left behind on the body. It was much easier with Bolero. He pressed a hand on the corpses chest and transformed the liquid in the body into perception threads to investigate the organs. Quickly, he let go. "His heart stopped suddenly. There was internal bleeding in his organs and his brain seemed to be poisoned" Ye Qingxuans eyes hardened. "Lychee wasnt killed. He scared himself to death." Ghosthand immediately understood the fury in the youths eyes. "This is what you often doIs the Professor trying to provoke you?" Ghosthand knew that Holmes was a dark musician who hated to see blood and kill others. He would always make the enemy torture themselves. No matter how cruel he was, he would never take any lives. He was merciful and valued lifehe was not like a dark musician at all. But that was the cruelest. His enemies often wanted to die but could not! Such as the ruined Pyramid King and Indian musician Puspotkata who had turned into an idiot, and the many others who had been sent to the Arkham AsylumIf Ye Qingxuan had wanted to punish Lychee, he would undoubtedly use this method; however, the Professor was much crueler. No matter what the process had been, it was horrible enough to create nightmares. In the stillness, Ye Qingxuan gazed coolly at the corpses dull eyes. After a long while, he stood up slowly. "I think hes challenging me. Most people would think I did this." If it was just Lychee, Ye Qingxuan would not care, but this was a warning. If he still could not find the Professor before the next kill, the victim would be someone different. Ye Qingxuan could think of many that he could be used as a scapegoat for. An important figure in the police department, the son of a nobleAt that time, it would be much more difficult to work in Avalon. The Professor was taking revenge on Ye Qingxuan for knowing that he was a Moon Spirit. He wanted Ye Qingxuan to know that if he revealed the truth, he would also make it impossible for Ye Qingxuan to survive in downtown. But what was the point in killing this person just to warn Ye Qingxuan when he could plan further and take revenge on the parliament? Or was this a plan to kill two birds with one stone, and just happened to be a warning? Studying the corpse, Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked, "Mr. Ghosthand, is it true that you can capture an enemys soul and make them work for you? If its true, can you do it on Lychee?" Ghosthand chuckled and shook his head. "Im sorry, Mr. Holmes, but when did humans ever have something like a soul? Its probably just philosophers spreading false information," he said. "The only thing I can do is kill people. And I cant do anything after that. After all, you can only kill someone once. So, I have to disappoint you on this." Ye Qingxuan had not had much hope on this strange rumor in the first place. Hearing Ghosthands explanation, he just nodded and said lightly, "Im not disappointed. Sometimes, its not bad to have a solution that can solve everything." "Oh?" Ghosthand looked up. "Do you not think that its a shame to be a murderer like me?" "No, I just think its laughable." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him, not scared of angering the old man. "Everyone knows that killing cant solve everything, but so many people still think that everything can be solved by killing. Its strange, isnt it? Some things cant be changed, no matter how many people you kill." Ghosthand did not reply. Ye Qingxuan squatted down to check the corpse again. He would not let anything past his eyes. He could tell that the man had suffered a long torture before his head. The first thing to be attacked in the terrifying hallucination was the brain. His mind would be tortured by unprecedented horror and blood would rush to the brain. When his subconscious mind found something it could not understand, fear would be born. When the fear reached a certain level, his subconscious mind would search for salvation in death. His heartbeat would quicken, his panting would become heavier, and his glands would secrete more hormones. The hormones would stimulate his organs, causing internal bleeding. The hormones in the blood would reach his brain, poisoning it. That was how someone could be scared to death. But soon, Ye Qingxuan found something strange. "What is this?" He carefully squeezed the corpses stiff wrist. Flipping it over, he studied the grain-sized sore on his palm. "Ringworms?" "It should be formed by the bacteria or fungi on him," Ghosthand said. "Sailors often have this type of skin disease." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Its different from what sailors have. Their skin diseases are usually caused by sunburn, allergic reactions, and organisms in the seawater. This looks like he caught it by working in rotting and humid places. He hadnt been infected for long either. He shouldve been at a very dirty place recently" Quickly, he thought of something. Tossing the hand down, Ye Qingxuan cast a rune and called forth a water bubble. He splashed the water on the corpses feet. Under his manipulation, the water regrouped into a dirty ball. He cast another instantaneous rune for fire and evaporated the bubble. The water vanished quickly. A clump of dark red dirt remained in the air. It radiated with a rotting smell. There were also specks of white crystals in it. "What is this?" Ghosthand furrowed his brows. "Dried mud." Ye Qingxuan rubbed the dirt in his hands and watched as it fell through his fingers. "Theres only one place in Avalon with this kind of dirt. Only the mud in the sewer is dark red like this." "Are you talking about the mud diggers?" Ghosthand thought of the occupation. "Actually, Lychee had hired many mud diggers who used to unclog the downtown sewers to put traps all over the tunnels, like he was looking for somethingHe probably found it, or else the Professor wouldnt have come for him. "Lychee is partners with the Indians, so it also means that hes working for the parliament. The Professor is still searching for clues about the parliament." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Where do they mostly work?" "The proximity is too large." Ghosthand shook his head. "Avalons sewage system is complex. Not many people can navigate it well. If they wanted to do something, they could only put traps everywhere." Ye Qingxuan guided the dust on the ground into a map of Avalon. "Show me where they had traps." Ghosthand paused before drawing a circle on the map. Practically half of the downtown was included, as well a portion of midtown. "No, its too big. Its like searching for a needle in the haystack," Ghosthand said, shaking his head. "There are thousands of stores in this area, not to mention the sewage system underneath. One portion even goes toward Queens Avenue. Itll be even harder to distinguish there." Ye Qingxuan scanned the map. A string of names flashed past his mind: Kings Cross, Bay Queen Park, Amersham and Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened and he pointed to a spot on the map. "Its here." Ghosthand looked at where he was pointing at. "The Arkham Asylum?" "Correct." Ye Qingxuan showed Ghosthand the small bits of white in the clump of dirt. "This should be saline and other chemical materials. The asylum just happens to have a factory nearby that produces these things for the Royal Research Institution. No other places in the sewer would have such heavy chemical residue. "Lychee must have been working in the sewer under the chemical factory. If we want to find the Professor, we should look there." Hearing Ye Qingxuans analysis, Ghosthands eyes brightened and then dimmed again. The youth could feel the murderous intent and fear in his heart. Ye Qingxuan looked up and gazed at him, smiling. Ghosthands lips twitched and he lowered his slightly raised finger. He had suddenly felt the urge to kill after hearing Ye Qingxuans analysis. If he did not kill the youth now, he would be even more difficult than the Professor in the futureNow, he was already able to be the Professors opponent. If he rebelled against the Shaman in the future, it would become a big problem. But quickly, his logic pushed down this urge. Ghosthands expression returned back to normal and he sighed. "As expected, Mr. Holmes. You are more of a detective than a musician, and youre quite awe-inspiring. No wonder the Shaman thinks highly of you." "A detective? That was one of my childhood dreams." He rose and dusted his shoulders. "I feel accomplished for scaring Mr. Ghosthand as well. But I hope we wont have this type of misunderstanding again." He enunciated clearly and his voice was neutral, but his meaning was clear: If there was a second time, if Ghosthand showed any hostility, Ye Qingxuan would fight back without hesitation. What was more headache-inducing was that Holmes was able to discover the truth from the smallest clue. If he sensed that Ghosthand saw him as an enemy, he would not act brashly. Instead, he would set a string of traps. Even if he did not kill Ghosthand, it would still be torture. If Ghosthand wanted to kill him, he would have to be well-prepared and have the determination to fight to the death. Holmes was the most difficult enemy and no matter what, Ghosthand did not want the youth to be above him. Sensing that the youth was unhappy, Ghosthand sighed. "My apologies, please do not mind me." "No problem. Id be honored to be your enemy." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand and moved on from the small test and returned to the main topic. "Its almost daybreak. If we act now, itll be hard to cover our tracks, and we might fall into the Professors trap. I plan on going to the factory tomorrow. Would the Shaman be able to give me some aid?" Hearing this, Ghosthand fell into deep thought. He waved his hand, telling the others to leave. In the stillness, he stated, "Tomorrow isnt a good day. If you can, I hope you can wait a few more days. Im sure thats what the Shaman would say as well." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows slightly. "Why not?" "The Shaman had asked me to work with you, but tomorrow, I have to be his bodyguard and I wont be able to help you." Ghosthand smoked his pipe and said quietly, "The storm is about to arrive. Mr. Holmes, please reconsider." Considering this, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Are you planning something big tomorrow?" "Our battle with the parliament has reached its climax. There are hundreds of corpses thrown into the sewer every day. We received news that the parliament is planning something big tomorrow. There had already been a large amount of armaments sent to the thugs, including two archangel armors with serial numbers erased. We will also fight back officially tomorrow." His words shocked Ye Qingxuan. "Is Avalon just going to let you fight in downtown like this?" "If Avalon wants this battle, then it will happen. Hasnt it always allowed fights in downtown to go on?" Ghosthand replied lightly. "Downtown will be a mess tomorrow. Mr. Holmes, I hope you dont fall deeper into this quagmire. We wont be able to aid you in your mission, so why dont you change the date?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and sighed. "Whatever, lets just do our own thing. You work on the parliament and Ill work on the Professor. We all have our own missions at hand. Its just killing people so why do I have to choose an auspicious day?" Ghosthand saw the determination in his eyes. After considering for a moment, he pulled a card from his pocket. "If you insist, dont reject the help of this man." "Who?" Ye Qingxuan took over the card. There were no words on it. The white paper just seemed to be a design of a horse stained with red. He understood instantly. "The butcher?" 157 The Thames Gate "The butcher?" Ye Qingxuan had the urge to laugh. "He hates me. Are you sure he wont try to kill me?" Ghosthand chuckled. "Mr. Holmes, there are two types of killers. The first kind are like me. We kill to reach a certain goal. But the other kind is a true killer. To them, killing and goals arent important. Whats important is the money and working for their employer. "Its their work ethic. Theyll work hard if theres money. And if there isnt money, they wont do anything even if their family is dying before their eyes. The butcher is that type of person. "Weve already contacted him and reserved all of his time in the next month. Seeing as were giving him money orders, hell definitely work well with you." "Hopefully." -- It was the afternoon of the next day. Dozens of burly Asgardians were grouped at the warehouse near an abandoned port in downtown. Under the orders of a middle-aged man, servants transported an endless stream of wooden boxes from the carriages. Seventeen large boxes lay in scattered piles on the ground. With every box hauled in, the men waiting in the warehouse would breathe a little heavier. Their eyes practically shone. The man with a monocle checked the order list and nodded, telling the servants to leave. Quickly, the door closed and the only light was the dim sunlight shining through the warehouses broken roof. Beside a wooden box, the excited Werner jumped up and grasped the monocle mans hand. "Youve worked hard, Mr. Hall." Hall gave a reserved chuckle. He subtly retracted his hand and handed over a crowbar. "The gifts from the parliament are all here. Mr. Werner, you can check." "No need." Werner waved his hand, rejecting the crowbar. He clenched his fist and punched the box. His calloused fist was like a steel hammer, crushing the corner of the box. Using both of his hands, Werner tore the box apart. Sunlight fell onto it and the armaments sleeping between hay and cloth shone with a chilling glint. He smirked and grabbed a sabre. He gazed at the blade under the sun, studying the beautiful designs of the crystals. He reached to the side. His men understood immediately. One man took out his dagger and chopped down on the blade! There was a whistle and then the ringing of metal clashing. With a clank, the broken dagger fell to the ground. The underling gaped at the vibrating sabre in Werners hands. There was not even a dent on the blade. Seeing his mens shock, Werner laughed. "This is high grade forging with the secret formula from the Woratian people and made from the third Royal factory. Its codename is Dragon Scale III. After a batch is produced, the general must test a random sword. If it cant break through armor, the entire batch needs to be brought back. "There are twenty swords per box, so there are two hundred swords in total. Its enough for you trained soldiers to destroy the nobodies under the Shaman!" Werner opened the other boxes with the crowbar. Under the blazing eyes of the Asgardians, he lifted the heavy cloth. "Here are also twenty military crossbows. Each bow has fifty three-sided arrows that can pierce through armor. You can have a feast." Seeing the crossbows, Werners eyes turned red with want. But he became unsatisfied after gulping. "There arent enough bows." "Military crossbows are different from regular bows. With intense use, each bow can be used fifty times. As a former soldier, you should know this. You might not even use a bow fifty times in a battle. How is it not enough?" Hall asked. Werner chuckled and did not reply. He wielded the sabre. The sword was a head taller than him but it danced like a stalk of hay in his hands and left a gash in the wall easily. Finally, Werner grunted and slammed the sword down. With a crack, the heavy sword buried deep into the stone. It went past the foundations and was buried to the hilt. For a soldier, weapons were more tempting than women, especially something as powerful as this blade. It was more satisfying than the most beautiful and seductive woman. Ignoring his impatient underlings, Werner glanced at Hall and sighed meaningfully. "This is all good stuff. Are you really sure about giving it to us?" "Arent weapons like utensils to the Asgardians?" Hall answered, ignoring the question. "You dont see such a large feast every day. The parliament has already prepared the plates and utensils. How much you can eat depends on yourself." As soon as he spoke, the Asgardians laughed, caressing their blades. "Of course." The scar on Werners face seemed to bleed with excitement. "Asgardians are eternally hungry. We will never be satisfied!" Seeing their excitement, disdain flashed past Halls eyes, but he continued smiling warmly. He guided Werner to the last box. "Those are all for your men. Your gift is here." Unlike the other wooden boxes, this one was made of metal. It was seamless and if not for the keyhole, Werner would have thought that it was a solid clump of metal. When the box was opened, he practically stopped breathing. Inside the box was a puddle of clear liquid with a subtle harsh smell. But compared to the giant object submerged in the liquid, the smell was nothing. Submerged in the liquid was a sleeping "steel giant." This armor was able to cover his entire body, but it was more special and menacing than regular armor. The spikes on the helmet were close to two meters tall. With the care of the liquid, it shone like new, as if it had just come out of the factory; however, one could vaguely see scratches and marks from the battlefield. On the armors back, there were two giant sockets where there should have been wings. But even without the wings, this "giant" was still fear-inducing. Submerged in the oil, it looked as if it was sleeping, and even heavy breathing would wake it from its dreams andbegin killing! "This" Werner stroked the metal shell with trembling fingers. "Is this the archangel armor?" Behind him, Hall laughed. "Yes." Centuries ago, alchemists of the Royal Research Institution used the blueprint of the Round Table Knights holy armor to create the first generation of archangel armor. As limited edition armaments, they became a frightful site on the battlefield. When the royal knights rode into battle with archangel armor, they brought with them eternal death and nightmares. Thirty years ago, when Anglo and the Burgundy Empire began to fight over historical remains, six knights in archangel armor were ordered to guard the Voodoo Crypt with their lives. Their opponent was the Burgundian Plantanaget Legion. The archangels guarded for four days and nights. The Plantanaget Legion charged sixteen times and left behind sixteen layers of corpses. Finally, the legion from the Burgundian capital arrived and took control of the historical site. At that time, the Anglo reinforcements were only a few hundred kilometers away. If they had another archangel armor, the result would be entirely different. "Mr. Werner, what do you think? Are you satisfied with this gift?" Hall asked with a smile. "Its an old model from the first generation and doesnt have the aid of wings, but the parliament really worked hard on this gift." Werner stared at the armor in pure ecstasy. Finally, he calmed down and shut the box. He took a deep breath and exhaled out the heat in his body. "Tell the parliament that Im very satisfied." Lowering his head, he leered in the darkness. "Ill use it to take the Shamans head." Hall smiled. Putting on his hat, he nodded and left. -- Today was a busy day for Avalon. Busy figures rushed down the streets and carriages galloped down the roads. They passed down order after order, list after list. Those that received an order set out to kill. Those whose name appeared on the list would be killed. The warehouses in the pier, the secret rooms of Ganlu City, the cold and elegant mansions Strong servants moved heavy wooden boxes to the last stop before the battlefield. They distributed these "toys" amongst the men who had nothing but their lives. The entire city was filled with a dangerous feeling. It was the feeling suffused with the rotting smell of the sewer and spread with the windit was bloody. Night fell gradually, darkening gradually. -- "Is Bai Xi sleeping?" "You took her out to shop for the entire day. She started yawning as soon as she got back and is probably sleeping now. She was exhausted." "Shell probably have a good dream, right?" With a sigh, Ye Qingxuan bid Charles farewell, put on his hunting hat, and pushed the door open. "Hey, Yezi," Charles called behind him. "Yeah?" The youth looked back. Charles shook the crystal ball in his hands and stated, "A mysterious power told me that todays a bad day. Why dont you change the date?" "When did you start learning fortune telling like a witch?" "I learned by myself." Charless expression was serious. "Senior, your research is never reliable and you spend your days trying to figure out how to blow up the school. I dont really trust stuff that you learn by yourself." Seeing Charless complicated expression, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Dont worry. Ill be back as soon as I get it done. IfIm successful, I probably wont have to go out at night anymore." Charles watched as the youth walked into the distance. He tossed the crystal ball away and got onto the couch, looking out the window. The starless night sky was pure black, like a slab of steel in the air. But in Charless eyes, the clouds seemed to be on fire and shone with a vague redness. The red firelight shrouded the entire city. When it fell onto the ground, the entire world seemed to go up in flames. "Did something happen?" He closed his eyes, no longer listening to the faint roars and wails in the wind. He murmured, "Even Avalon turned into this mess. F*ck." -- It was late at night. The entire sky was covered in black clouds. The moon and stars were hidden under the layer of charcoal. One could vaguely hear the crashing of ocean waves. The city built on the mountainside was submerged in darkness. The sharp shadow seemed to pierce into the clouds, reaching into the sky. It was sharp as a blade. At the very bottom of the city, under the towering mountain, there were no longer any buildings. There was only the sound of the rising tide and the roaring of water. Under the opened black gate, murky water rushed into the ocean. The splashes smelled foul and fell onto the rusted gate. The mighty gate trembled and wailed. This was the Thames Gate, where the Thames River flowed into the ocean. The complicated sewage system under Avalon grouped here. Everything hidden under the city would rush into the ocean here with the murky waters. The foul and decaying smell emanated. Beside the flowing water was an old man, sitting on a weathered rock. He looked like a homeless man, killing time with boredom. Beside him, Ghosthand stood in the mud. Cocking his head, he lit his pipe and inhaled before letting out a cloud of smoke. All that could be heard in the silence was the unclear melody coming from the Shaman. It was distant and hoarse, like a traveler reminiscing on his hometown. And so the song was lonely. In the long night, the clock at the top of the mountain suddenly rang midnight. The thunderous sound spread, resonating with the steel gate beside them. The gate began to tremble and countless wheels and gears began to turn. The first tunnel opened, then the second, and the thirdThe time for discharging had come. The current of the Thames River become frenzied. The crashing of waves came from the darkness behind the steel gate. As if a copper kettle was boiling, bubbles appeared and the foul smell surged in the wind. Boom! A thunderous boom sounded in the towering city. Firelight appeared in the darkness of downtown. The fire appeared out of nowhere and burned without restraint, as if it was the only light in the dark world. The light illuminated the din of the fighting and faint roars of anger. Dilapidated buildings wailed and collapsed in the fire. This was only the beginning. Quickly, the second, third, fourthballs of fire lit up continuously throughout the vast downtown district. It was the angry thugs setting fire everywhere. The sea wind brought with it hoarse roars and the clanging of weapons. The serenity was instantly shattered. Illuminated by the firelight, commotion and chaos spread at an incredible speed. Countless buildings were set aflame. No matter if they were low huts, old buildings or the luxurious Ganlu City, all were lit on fire. The thugs carried their weapons onto the streets in groups, smashing their enemies territory, stealing loot and finally setting everything on fire. The fighting that had always been behind the scenes now broke through the darkness and unfolded in every corner of downtown. The burning light illuminated the dark city. The sharp city now looked like a fiery blade, piercing into the sky. Behind the towering city walls, the nearby midtown and high-up uptown seemed to still be asleep. They opened an eye coldly, gazing as the beggars killed each other. The Shamans white hair was illuminated by the firelight. "Havent seen such a commotion in years, huh?" he murmured, raising his eyes. "The parliaments defense is scary. Its like they want to burn the entire city." "They want to fight to the death." Ghosthand furrowed his brows. "Otherwise, their power in downtown will be wiped out by us. This time, they wont quit until you die." "Then let them come. My head is here." The Shaman laughed loudly and produced a metal flask from his pocket. He unscrewed the lid and drank the cold wine. The wine entered his throat like a blazing sword, almost burning his soul. "Ghosthand, where are my knights?" "In the flames." "Are they fighting?" "Yes." "Are they dying?" "Yes." "Theyre dying because of me." The Shaman emptied the wine in the flagon and tossed it into the murky waters. "Let me watch as they die." He reached out and took the heavy wooden drum from Ghosthand. He caressed the taut skin. The old drum was covered with scorch marks and cracks. One could vaguely see the design on it, but it was unclear. It had aged along with its owner. The Shaman sat cross-legged on the rock with the wooden drum in his arms. Like a warlock from the Dark World, he stared into the blazing fire and began beating the drum. The drum beats were distant and blurry, like faint heartbeats from the underworld. The old man seemed to be submerged in the drunkenness. He beat the drum and, feeling the unsteady rhythm, he sang hoarsely, "In the turmoil, in the brightness, in the breathing that moves all! Sinkdrownfaintgo toward the carefree world!" Boom! The flow of murky water surged! The Thames Gate shuddered and the water built up behind it followed the riverbed and rushed into the ocean. The darkness hidden under Avalon was taken with it, forming ripples in the ocean as the foul smell burst from the gate. The gate was finally opened and water from nineteen tunnels joined together, tilting without restraint. The burning smell of fire came with the water, as well as ashy remains. Something seemed to appear within the foul yellow water. Angry winds tore apart the black clouds. Cold moonlight fell from the sky, illuminating the faces and white bones in the water. Dozens? Hundreds? Or was it thousands?! An endless stream of bones and remains flowed from the darkness, entering the ocean. It was a river ofcorpses! In the roaring waters, the broken bodies rolled, revealing white bones, decaying intestines and blind eyes. The bodies had come from all directions. They had been thrown down from every sewer, tossing and turning in the turbid waters, brewing in Avalons guts, until they finally rushed out from the Thames Gate! The Thames River was a hardworking bone collector. It collected the skeletons and corpses of those that had died in the fighting and kept them like treasures. It enjoyed their hopeless eyes, sucked away their last bits of warmth, before tossing them to the side without any nostalgia. On the bank of the impatient waters, the Shaman looked down on the pairs of dull eyes as he sang the funeral song. "We will all die and we shall never part again. Forever, forever, for eternity, we will never wake, never fear" The broken voice melted into the darkness and spread in the foul remains of despair. It guided the angry souls into the dark world. The corpses floated into the ocean. 158 Rio In an instant, the entire district was cast into a nightmare. The peace and serenity was gone, replaced by nightmarish spasms and struggles. Buildings were on fire. Illuminated by the flames, the streets crawled with thugs armed to the teeth. Some were the Shamans men, some came from other places, and others took advantage of the chaos to break into homes In a desolate alley, blood flowed over the stone tiles. Bodies were dragged and thrown into the sewer where they disappeared with the bubbling water. Amidst the roaring and screaming, the people who had nothing to do with the fighting hid in their homes, trembling. They burrowed under their covers and prayed that this long night would end quickly and that disaster would not fall on them. The dark downtown was thrown into turmoil under the blazing firelight. Even Ye Qingxuan had fallen into some small trouble. Two figures suddenly appeared before him in the alley, blocking his way. He looked back and saw that the other end was blocked by two men with swords as well. "Im just passing by. You dont have to do this, right?" He sighed. "Im in a hurry. Can you not waste my time?" Two muscular men with daggers exchanged glances and laughed. They closed in, eyes fierce. It seemed that it was impossible to communicate with words. Ye Qingxuan sighed again, fixed his hunting hat and reached out. Boom! The approaching man flew back, as if they had been smashed in the face with a steel hammer. The man blocking the entrance was stunned. Before he could react, a black shadow charged toward him at an impossible speed. He raised his dagger instinctively to protect himself. But then an arm swung over, bending the dagger and crashing into his chest. He was slammed against the wall. Boom! Dust flew and the dagger fell, shattering. The two men behind Ye Qingxuan froze. They reacted quickly and charged with a yell. Ye Qingxuan turned around, clenched his fist and swung! In an instant, his fist hit a shoulder blade. There was a crack, and the strong man fell to his knees. The other man was flipped over by Ye Qingxuan and was now under his feet. After implanting the Chainsaw monks skeleton, the Dungeon Gentleman was able to give Ye Qingxuan enough strength to flatten these thugs. If he ignored the consequences and put all his strength into it, he felt that he could arm wrestle with an elephant. Doing all these moves and dealing with four men without even needing to catch his breath felt really good. The only problem wasthey did not seem to have been dealt with completely. Wrinkling his forehead, Ye Qingxuan looked down and saw that the men who had collapsed were now climbing back up. Someone picked up a sword and was rushing toward him. Ye Qingxuan reached out and gripped the blade. The steel skeleton in the black gloves slowly closed in around the blade and shattered it. Then he threw the attacker onto the ground. An average man would have been knocked unconscious with that thud, but this man was just dizzy for a bit before he started struggling again. Ye Qingxuan stiffened his body and broke their right leg. But the strange thing was, they did not scream in pain when their right leg broke and bone pierced through their skin. Their movement did not even slow down. This was not natural. "What is this?" Y Qingxuan poked their broken bone and saw no painful expression. His brows slowly furrowed. "Do you not feel pain at all?" Suddenly, he flipped the others over and grabbed one man by the neck, bringing him closer. Under the dim light, he saw that the mans eyes were bloodshot and crazed. His breath smelled of alcohol, but there was something bitter in the smell, like extremely thick medicine. "Illegal drugs?" he questioned, suddenly coming to the realization. "Looks like the Indians work." At this time, the other guys slowly crawled over. Ye Qingxuan looked at their zombie-like state and grew helpless. "You guys are so annoying. Do I really have to kill you?" Boom! Before he could finish, one of their heads was crushed. Boom! Boom! With two more sounds, the other two mens heads were crushed as well. Brain matter flew, splattering onto Ye Qingxuans shoes. Under the distant glow of the fire, a burly and inhuman shadow walked into the alley. It easily flattened the thugs on the ground as if it were stepping on bugs. When he walked into the alley, he practically filled up the entire space. It was chilling for one to see this figure walk towards oneself. He then took the man from Ye Qingxuans hands, put a hand on the head, and twisted. Crack. The ripe fruit fell from its stem, blood spewing out. Ye Qingxuan looked up at the face of the newcomeras expected, he was wearing a comical and menacing donkey mask. It was the Bloody Butcher. The Butcher gazed at him and turned to the side, motioning for Ye Qingxuan to lead the way. The giant folded chainsaw was at his back. There were layers of dried blood on it and one could not see its original color. Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. He could not see the Butchers expression under the strange mask, but he just wanted to laugh. The Professor had hired the Butcher to kill him, but now he was taking him to kill the Professor. How interesting. "Come with me," he said as he took the lead. "There are a lot of people near the factory. To avoid getting too much attention, I" Ye Qingxuan paused, his voice cutting off. The youth looked up and saw a man on fire. He ran out of a burning building and rolled on the ground before finally crawling toward a dirty water ditch with a wail. His movements stopped before he reached it. He was dead. Behind his dead body was an entire street was bathed in light emanating from the dancing flames. Amidst the flames, the crazed and dazed thugs swallowed the drugs and were submerged in ecstasy. They broke into every home and dragged the hiding civilians out Ye Qingxuan sighed. He could not walk further. "What a group of scum," he thought. -- As the fire spread gradually and illuminated the entire downtown, the din was suffused in the ocean wind. The guards of the only entrance to midtown from downtownthe Tower Bridgegazed at the fire from afar and readied their weapons. Occasionally, someone with sharp eyes would see the group of armed thugs and would doubt whether his police weaponry had any meaningif a few dozen men rushed over, the checkpoint would collapse entirely. Behind the checkpoint, the officer in charge of tonights shift had turned ghastly pale. He had received a message that there would be some riots in downtown, but he did not think that it would be this big. It was like the carnival had come early. The bonfire was lit and the cheering people drank and partied through the night. But instead of flowers, they held swords, and instead of decorated masks their faces were covered in blood. "These thugs" He took a step back subconsciously and raised his voice. "Riders, be fully prepared. If someone attacks the checkpoint, push them back! Why hasnt the message from the headquarters arrived? Do the higher-ups not care about this at all?!" As soon as he spoke, the clattering of hooves traveled from behind him. He spun around as if his savior had arrived and saw a black horse. The messenger raised a lantern, illuminating the road before him as he galloped through the dark night. The badge of the Royal messenger was on his saddle. It would occasionally bounce up and fall into the light, reflecting a chilling flash. He had rushed over from uptown, passed through midtown, stepped onto the Tower Bridge and galloped before finally stopping at the gate before downtown. He raised his badge and announced, "Everyone gather and retreat behind the bridge. Call back all riders. All Avalon policemen must stay behind the Tower Bridge!" The officer was stunned. "Then what about here?" The messenger gazed coolly at the distant firelight and squeezed out between clenched teeth, "Drop the gate." "But" "Both sides are trash and its best if they all die out. Just let them fight each other." He waved coldly, motioning for the hesitant officers to hurry up. "Your task now is to control the chaos and make sure it doesnt expand. As for these dogs, just let them burn!" The officer fell silent. After a long time, he sighed and took the hammer from his saddle. Raising it up, he swung it down on the cable before him. Boom! The hammer buried into the wood and cut the cable in two. The cable whirred sharply as it was pulled by the powerful group of pulleys and flew into the air. Above the Tower Bridge, the heavy gate hovering in the air shook. Large pieces of rust and metal dust fell. Piercing groans came from the pivots and axis that had not moved in years. Amidst the scraping of metal, the gate fell from the sky and crashed onto the ground, sealing the only path between downtown and the rest of the city. In the chaos behind the gate, someone let out a shocked cry. The commoners that had been running gasped as the gate fell from the sky, blocking their way to safety. The chasing sounds behind them neared. "Wait! Wait we" A frantic woman shook the gate with all her might. Hopelessness was written all over her bruised face. "Please save us!" The distant group of thugs with their torches gradually approached while shouting. The infant in the womans arms was frightened awake and began crying. The man beside them fell into despair too. He tried to crawl in under the gate. "You cant just leave us here! Let us in! Let us in!" "Stand back! Stand back now!" In panic, the officer yelled repeatedly, "Dont attack the checkpoint! Do not attack" But he could not continue. He could no longer bear to look at those pleading eyes. Turning around with difficulty, he gazed at the messenger. His lips quivered as if he wanted to beg on their behalf, but he did not know what to say. The messenger on the horse seemed to sense his eyes. Sighing, he turned the horse around and uttered the final command, "Kill everyone who attacks the checkpoint!" -- The fires of the burning buildings along the street had been put out. The only sound in the deathly silence was the wailing that had melted into the wind. The chilling melody wormed into the peoples ears. A lonely figure stood in the heart of the blood-covered road. He gazed around in silence. Other than he and the Butcher, every other living thing was now lying on the ground. Some were shaking. The horrifying pain from the deepest part of their soul attacked their minds, and now they would forever be submerged in a nightmare, drowning in the black river. Some had dared to approach the Butcher and now they were broken, scattered all over the ground. He was in the distance, finding the ones who he had missed the first time. He would gently caress the back of their head before wrenching it off. In the end, he gazed toward another street as if he still wanted more "Enough, we still have our own thing to do. Avalon is too big for us to take care of everything." The youths voice traveled over and the Butcher stopped. He turned and saw the youth walking in the direction of their final destination, no longer stopping here. The wind carried his hoarse murmur. "But I think I can understand the Shaman now." The voice was quiet, but cold and resounding. "This city needs to be cleaned up." -- Ye Qingxuan quickly discovered that having a beast like the Butcher really helped save time and effort. Ghosthand was old and could not perform some physical tasks, but they were all no problem for the Butcher. With his donkey mask, it was clear that he was not a good guy. Ye Qingxuan did not feel bad about ordering him around either. He had paid, after all! The money was from the Shaman, but Ye Qingxuan was still the direct boss. After he calculated the location of the sewers, the Butcher used his inhuman strength to punch a hole in the ground without much effort. He stuck a head in to look around and then jumped in. Following right behind him, Ye Qingxuan slid down a rope into the darkness. It was undoubtedly Avalons sewage tunnel. There was even a nameplate on the wall with a raised serial code. But it seemed as if it had been abandoned for years. This was not strange, or rather, Ye Qingxuan had expected this. Ever since Avalon was created, the underground sewage system had been continuously expanded into a vast and complex system. Sometimes even the construction workers would be lost. When a new tunnel was created, the old one would be abandoned. Some of the abandoned ones were sealed, while others were simply forgotten. After centuries of additions and changes, this place had become a complete maze. No one knew where the water would flow. This was heaven for rats and trash. It was used specifically for hiding dirty secrets. Haritis old lair had been made from an abandoned well in the system. The smuggler that the Professor had killed had something to do with this, too. Being tortured to death was partly his fault. "It should be here." Ye Qingxuan ran a hand over the moss on the walls. He could feel the powdery texture through his glove. "I dont know what the Professor is trying so hard to find, but if we go down this trail, well discover something." As he searched in silence, Ye Qingxuan suddenly halted and lowered his head. He seemed to be able to see something clearly through the heavy darkness. In the corner was a weathered and withered skeleton on the ground. The skull had rolled into its arms after the neck snapped. Its mouth was open wide to the sky in a leering smile. For some reason, there was something raised subtly on the skull like a broken horn. The bones before its chest had been broken entirely, as if the man had ran here with the last of his strength after being stabbed by a sword and had finally ran out of strength. And so he had died here in this dark corner. Ye Qingxuan reached over to pick up a fallen bone fragment. The fragile thing snapped between his fingertips and fell to the ground. "Its been at least ten years." The silent Butcher had suddenly spoken in his scratchy voice. The eyes behind his donkey mask shone blood-red in the darkness, as if he could see everything clearly in the dark. "Ten years?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He did not understand how a tunnel that had been abandoned for so long would have a ten-year-old skeleton. He waved his hand and a breeze appeared to blow away the thick dust on the skeleton. It revealed the ragged clothing underneath. It was a thin coverall with a strange design, like the uniforms given to prisoners. Was this a dead prisoner? Quickly, Ye Qingxuan went further down the tunnel. For some reason, the further he walked, the more unsettled he felt. There was a strange smell in the wind. "Wait." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand, motioning for the Butcher to stop. He gazed around and his brows furrowed. The smell was not right. In the tunnel, a breeze came from the distant darkness, bringing with it a pungent smell. It was neither a vile nor fragrant scent. It was the smell that often lingered in a dream. "Disinfectants?" Why would a long-abandoned sewage tunnel have this kind of smell? Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan felt dazed. Bits of scenes flashed past his mind as if the memories sleeping in the darkness were finally awakened. The ghastly white light, the cold metal bed, the men wearing white robes, the sharp lancet blades in their hands andthe pungent smell of disinfectants. In that unique smell, there was also the smell of blood. Blood. Suddenly, the hair on the back of Ye Qingxuans neck rose and he spun around. Before he could move, the darkness began dancing, disturbed by the wind created by a giant figure. It was the Butcher. The Butcher stepped forward and expanded his bone saw. When folded up, it was like a giant razor. But after expanding, the bone saw became a terrifying weapon that could split bodies. Chop! The bloody bone saw swung in Ye Qingxuans direction. The sharp edge practically grazed his head! Boom! As if a bag of water had suddenly split open, something that had fallen from the top of the tunnel was cut in half by the bone saw. It smashed against the wall with a piercing screech. 159 Welcome to Arkham It should have pounced straight towards Ye Qingxuan, bit off his head, and enjoyed the meal. The plan should have been flawless, but the only mistake was that it had overlooked was the monster that was hidden beside them. It smashed against the wall and it fell to the ground. Its chest was split wide open by the bone saw. The plate-like ribs collapsed, even the internal organs were exposed. Before it could climb up from the ground, the plaintive melody sounded out of thin air, as if a black river rushed in from the void, pulling it into endless nightmares. It screamed as its body twitched. Soon its eyes rolled to the back of its head, but it only became even more ferocious and full of madness. It had no heart, so it did not fear madness. But then a palm covered the ferocious face. Ye Qingxuan clenched that face and lifted it from the ground. The thing tried to struggle and reached out, trying to tear at the youths face, but between the fingers, all it could see was the youths sneer Bang! Like an illusion, the whole sewer seemed to startle suddenly. The invisible tremors spread from the youths hand, raising a cloud of dust, dancing disorderly. The thing lost consciousness instantly. Ye Qingxuan deliberately suppressed the power of the "sigh shock." The aftershock rushed into its body and echoed throughout. All one could hear was the cracking and popping. The frantic shaking actually loosened all its bones from its sockets. It shattered! Now, Ye Qingxuan had the ability to take a look at its face... "What the h*ll is this?" He stared at it, his eyes dilated. Now he finally understood what was going on with that skull in the sewer. In his hand was a humanoid body. It was bent and small like a child, but its fingers were sharp as knives. On its bony face were two horns, one long and one short. This was a demon. In the dark, screams could be heard occasionally. Ye Qingxuan cast down the demon in his hand and the cane in his hand unfolded. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei made a ringing sound. The Butcher raised his head in silence, looking up at the dome in the darkness. The pair of bloodshot eyes reflected dozens of bony-faced demons walking on the dome. Gripping the seams in the stone tightly with their fingers, the deformed bodies moved quickly like a beast walking on the ground. When Ye Qingxuan and the Butcher entered this deserted sewer, they had been surrounded by these kinds of creatures without even realizing it. In the distant darkness, there were constant screams that could be heard from all directions. The sharp sound of the teeth scratching the slate came faintly. There were countless of them. Even a monster like the Butcher had never thought that there would be such a large group of demons living in the sewers of Avalon. "Tut-tut, this feels really uncomfortable." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Im afraid that we were tricked by that professor guy." There was no more time for conversations. The bony-faced demons on the dome had been attracted by the blood of their own kind, and they seemed to be starving. They screamed at each other, urging their companions to go up against the d*mned monster, eager for a feast of gluttony. The Butcher silently clenched his bone saw, his muscles bulging. A music note appeared faintly on the muscles under the blood-stained apron. He was going to transform into a beast. But at this time, the cold voice of the youth sounded beside him. "Stand firm." At that moment, the boy squatted on the ground, his right hand pressed on the floor. Bang! In an instant, the violent shaking spread downward from the iron bone in his palm and smashed into the sewer ground. The invisible shaking spread like waves, sweeping in all directions. For a moment, the checkered slates struck each other, sending out a sharp sound, and emitting a huge cloud of dust from the seams. The slabs, walls, domes, the entire sewer, and even the burning buildings above the sewer were all affected by this horrible shaking. Bang! Above the burning hut, the flames burst, rising up into the night sky. It illuminated the black clouds, and then collapsed. As the hut collapsed on the ground, the demons in the sewers were swept off the dome. Losing their footing, they fell to the ground. Even the Butcher was dazed for a moment, but soon, his pupils lit up againthey were bloody red! The monster had arrived! Facing all the falling demons, the Butcher roared. His originally bulging muscles expanded even further. He swung his bone saw with force! Cracks sounded constantly, like a water sack breaking, like a mouse being crushed, like a worm being pounded down into powder. He chopped, swept, and spun his bone saw wildly, set off shrill screams. Even the air was cut apart, revealing a white trajectory. Blood splattered and sprayed from the bone saw. Blood flowed from the blade, spilling in the air. It grew more ferocious as bones broke and flesh separated. Dozens of demons were chopped into pieces before they had even landed. The plaintive melody sounded out of thin air and sipped on their sanity, temporarily plunging them into a trance. Faced with a monster, even a temporary trance could be a VIP ticket to hell! This time, Ye Qingxuan could finally appreciate the Butchers terrible madness. The violence and ferocity from deep in his bone marrow was enough to send chills down ones spine, even without using aether or music scores. In an instant, the fallen demons were sawed, smashed, and trampled in twothey were torn apart as if they were thin pieces of paper. Ye Qingxuan was attracted by the berserk actions and forgot what he was doing. But in his moment of inattentiveness, a monster which was split in half on the ground suddenly shot back up. The bone-faced demon with only its upper body crawled with its claws, leaving behind a trail of blood, and suddenly pounced at the youth! In the blink of an eye, it went from a few meters away to right before his eyes! It was impossibly fast! Ye Qingxuans pushed his palm forward suddenly. The steel bone inside his body brought with it an impact of hundreds of kilograms. It was like an axe swung by a knight riding on a galloping horse! Bang! The demon flew back, its bony face smashed into two with a deep dent in the center. After struggling for a bit, it never moved again. Even so, in its final attempt, its claws grazed Ye Qingxuans face, leaving a narrow and cold wound on his cheekbone. One more inch and it would have pierced his bone. One second later and the claw would have pierced into Ye Qingxuans brain and churned his brain matter into a clump of mud. In a sudden, cold sweat trickled down Ye Qingxuans back. He no longer dared to be careless in such a fatal fight. Even if he had the full upper hand, he still would not stay in one place and wait for the demons to come. Instead, they followed the pungent smell of the disinfectant in the air and rushed forward along the dilapidated sewer. The demons in their path were turned into corpses by him and the Butcher. They had no intentions of retreating, even if Professor Moriartys trap was right in front of them. Ye Qingxuan''s eyes darkened. He had to understand the relationship between the pungent smell, the picture that had flashed through his own mind, and this d*mned place... In the end, the sounds from behind became closer together. The monsters in dark caught up by sniffing the smell of blood. The youth''s footsteps stopped suddenly. Before him, the road had come to the end. The end? No, there were only exits in Avalon''s sewer. How could there be an end? But there was a huge black iron gate before him. - There were no marks or patterns on the solid iron door, nor a keyhole or complex mechanism. It was as if the designer had left no way to open it. Beside it, there was only a giant winch that was wrapped in layers of chains and locks. The handle had been taken away as well. Ye Qingxuan was stunned, but he processed it quickly. In somewhere as damp as a sewer, any metal with a precise structure would be corroded by the water. Only pure and basic structures could be preserved for a long time. The way to open the door was obvious. Dozens of people would have to turn the handle by using special machinery and mechanical force to then turn the winch. That was the only way to pull open this mighty and heavy door. The pungent smell of disinfectant came from a gap above the iron gate that was no wider than a finger The heavy machinery that had been here before had been disassembled. There was no time for Ye Qingxuan to find another solution. He hesitated for a moment, unwillingness flashing past his eyes. He was ready to lead the Butcher out of here, but he did not expect for the Butcher to shove him away. The Butcher stuck his bone saw directly in the ground, and then clenched the heavy chain attached to the door tightly. The chain was as wide as mans waist. Now, it was pulled taut in his hand. The chain loops rubbed against each other, creating sparks and a harsh sound. The gate did not budge. The Butcher''s body shook abruptly and suddenly swelled, growing about a half meter taller. His feet sunk deep into the stone slabs. Over the distant shrill screams, he roared and jerked his arms backwards. The iron gates made a screeching sound and surprisingly began to tremble, dust falling. Then, the meter-thick iron gate was pulled open by his strange force?! Ye Qingxuan was shocked, but he reacted quickly and stopped wasting time. He rushed into the narrow gap between the iron gates. Then he felt cold wind blowing into his face. He could feel that there was a vast space behind the iron gate, and even the perception threads ten meters long could not sense the end. The Butcher quickly came through the gate and pulled it with force. The iron gate slammed shut, crushing a charging demon into mush. Through the door, one could still hear the demons pacing outside but not daring to come closer. When the Butcher turned around, his blood-red eyes opened wide in shock. Before him, Ye Qingxuans expression was solemn. He had finally found out the source of the pungent odor. In the darkness, Ye Qingxuan snapped his fingers emotionlessly and uttered a short syllable. The rune Light sparked at his fingertips and glowed. The glaring light illuminated the darkness, the huge underground square, as well as the numerous hooks hanging from the ceiling. In the vast space behind the gate, hanging from hooks were men and women, old and young, beautiful and ugly, complete and brokenBodies, bodies, bodies! In the wide underground square, hanging from the countless hooks werenaked bodies! The ghastly pale bodies swung slightly in the pervaded cold wind, emanating the pungent smell of disinfectants. This was a forest of corpses! - The Butcher quickly processed everything. He looked down at the Ye Qingxuan with a clear message in his eyes. "What the h*ll is this?" Where was this? Where else could it be? Ye Qingxuan recalled the map in his mind and the tracks they had covered to pinpoint their location. Finally, he could not help but laugh coldly. "This is the Arkham Asylum." The soft words seemed to be the trigger for bad luck. The next moment, a shrill alarm wailed. - It was late at night in the clock shop. In the duskiness, a single candle on a candlestick was lit. It illuminated the darkness, but the quiet and old clocks had disappeared in its light. As if the candlelight brought an illusion, the chaotic streets of downtown as well as images of thugs fighting appeared where the light shone. It always showed the burning buildings and piles of bodies "When there are too many crows, they have to be killed; when there are too many monkeys, they need to be controlled; now there are more and more people, but the number is still increasing.No matter how we pray to gods, no one has ever seen a god, have they?" The seemingly-youthful blond man sat in a chair, surrounded by the chaotic illusions. He carried a seven-stringed harp in his arms and sang with gusto. The music was broken and its ups and downs were irregular, but there was a kind of beauty in the hysteria. The singing was hoarse but full of youthful innocence, and it echoed in silence. "I did not see it with my own eyes, but I saw it from the paintings, and every god looked like a human being. Is it a coincidence? Is it fate? Or is it just a stupid guess based off of their imagination? What is this all about? What is this all about?" "You are so noisy! Hermes, cant you be quiet!" Behind the counter, the white-haired girl raised her eyes and glared at him. "The entire city is killing each other like mad dogs. Its so interesting. Bai Xi, come look." Hermes pointed excitedly at the wild apparitions. "Gee, wheres all the pride and dignity that humans are always so proud of as the masters of the world? Would the Three Kings be sad if they could see the people they died protecting acting worse than wild dogs right now?" "Its just killing. What are you so excited about?" Bai Xi asked. "Killing is boring, but its different if you look for the funny parts." Hermes pointed at those dead pale faces and mocked them, "You see, these fools, they dont even know what they died for. They were just trash when alive. Theyre only useful when theyre dead. Their employers just want their lives, blood and bodies." Bai Xi was stunned. "Bodies?" "Yes, their bodies." Hermes sneered. "The parliament never treated them as their men. The only thing the parliament needed was war and blood "Werner and Silo are all idiots. The first only knows how to kill. The other only thinks of benefits. Only that guy Alberto is a little shrewd and received the parliaments special treatment and exemption, so he didnt have to take part in this meaningless battle." "Arent the parliament and the Shaman fighting for downtown?" Bai Xi was puzzled. "If they lose, then everything would be meaningless, right?" Hermes laughed and asked in reply, "Why do you think the parliament wants to fight with the Shaman? Is it a last struggle or is it for control over the district? Of course not! They''re all important figures at the top. Why would they gamble their lives like the commoners of downtown? "They ruled over half of the Anglo. Why would they fight with mad dogs over this tiny downtown district?" Bai Xi did not let Hermes down. She understood immediately. "They just want the Blood Path?" "That''s right!" Hermes snapped his fingers in appreciation. "So far, theyve been deliberately acting secretly to deceive all the royal agents and the Fifth Department. They took advantage of the fact that the Royals are trapped in the curse and cant bother with other affairs. Theyve done so much just for this one thing. "For so many years, the Royal family has been restricting the Elites and supporting the commoners to get rid of these pretentious guys. If not for the fact that the Queen of this generation is cursed and allowed them to recover, they would have nothing now. "After being repressed for so many years, the parliament knows better than anyone that they can only negotiate with the Royal family by mastering the Blood Path and waking up Avalons Shadow. "They want the immortal power left behind by King Arthur and to replace the fallen royal family! For this, they even dared to borrow the power of Satan and the natural catastrophes" Hermes waved his hand and the illusion in the candlelight changed. As if overlooking the entire city from the sky, all of downtown was held in his hands like a small toy. "Bai Xi, if youve been searching for a key for many years and you havent found it but you really need it... What would you do?" The sudden question made Bai Xi fall into deep thought. At last she seemed to think of something, and her face turned pale. "Make a new one?" Hermes smiled. "Ever since four years ago, the parliament had turned downtown into a quagmire. They let the men kill each other while they collected the bodies and blood secretly. They wanted to use this incomparable amount of deaths to recreate the path to Avalons Shadow. "Tonight''s struggle is the climax of the blood sacrifice. The blood of countless people would be offered tonight. At that time, countless bodies would be piled into a high tower and activate the Blood Path for them!" He paused meaningfully and whispered softly, "That is, if no one disturbs them" "...the premise is, if there is no one to disturb... " The seven-stringed instrument in his arms made a sharp and taunting sound. 160 Breaking in Professionally The alarm went off with a wail. The blinding red light flashed on in the dome, shattering the darkness and stillness. The guards were awoken and confused, and heavy footsteps sounded in the distance. Between the hanging corpses, Ye Qingxuans brows gradually furrowed. He finally understood. "This is where the trap is?" He sighed. "I really underestimated you, Professor Moriarty. Was this your original goal?" If he had thought in the beginning that the Professor would set an ambush here, now he could not believe that the Professor could do something like this even if his life depended on it. If the Professor could turn the Arkham Asylum into a demon-creating workshop and transformation center for illegal techniques, then why had he fallen to the point of being hunted by the parliament? But this time, Ye Qingxuan had really fallen into the Professors trap. This guy really took revenge for the smallest thing. This was payback for falling into Ye Qingxuans trap last time. When he interrogated the smuggler, he had purposefully imitated Ye Qingxuan to catch his attention and provide the next clue. Just like that, with him as bait, the Professor easily guided Ye Qingxuan over. He had found the path for free, led the attack, tested the truth and, along the way, attracted everyones attention. Now, the Professor was probably hiding in the darkness, watching the two idiots who had taken everyones attention off of him, cackling with pride. -- When Ye Qingxuan saw the forest of corpses, he realized that Ghosthand had been wrong since the beginning. Lychee and the other smugglers had not been in the sewer searching for something. They were transporting corpses! The sewer was really a great place. It was the best location for destroying bodies and evidence. No matter what it was, it would sink to the bottom of the murky waters once thrown in then disappear without a trace. Who would really care if the body floated into the ocean or somewhere else? For a long time, the parliament had provoked the wars between the downtown gangs. It allowed them to kill each other, waste lives and provide with them an endless supply of corpses and bloodand missing people! Everything was transported here through the abandoned sewers. After selection and preservation, they were hung on metal hooks, waiting for further processing. After understanding this, the confusing process was quickly organized in Ye Qingxuans mind. The parliament had controlled the Arkham Asylum for a long time, right? After all, what would be a better place than the asylum? This was a trash can that was both hated and indispensable. No one would investigate if an asylum hid any secrets, and no one cared what happened to the madmen here. Who cared if they were really able to turn back into regular people after treatment and return to the society? Beside the Arkham Asylum, there was still a shiny golden plaquethe Royal Research Institution was there to cover for them. They could leisurely collect bodies or living people to explore demonic illegal techniques. They could turn these bodies into demonsFor growth, for power, or to collect bloodAnd create the Blood Path! At this thought, Ye Qingxuan felt goosebumps form. But the more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. Why not? "Are they crazy?" he murmured as he looked around at the bodies and their blind eyesSome of them were beggars from the dirty ditches of downtown. Others were bankrupted men who had smuggled themselves into Anglo on cargo ships. There were even thugs and gangsters covered in tattoos. Undoubtedly, these were the lowest of the low. They had died without a sound or without even knowing why they were killed. They might not have been able to make the world a better place, but that was not the reason why they had died. A shrill scream cur through the air. Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and felt his arm vibrate. Thud! An arrow bounced off his arm and spun in the air before landing on the metal floorboard with a clang. The surrounding figures had come in. One could vaguely see their menacing faces under the scattered red light. "Kill them!" a somewhat familiar voice roared. "Remember to leave a survivor and find out how they got in!" "His orders are contradicting. Was downtowns grammar all taught by the same math teacher?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows and stared coldly at the figures closing in on him, their bows aimed at him. "Cant we talk it out? To be honest, I dont really want" Thud! An arrow grazed his face and buried into the corpse behind him. "Okay, if we cant talk, then Im sorry" Ye Qingxuan looked down and slammed his cane into the ground. "Kneel!" Thud! The heavy staff clanged against the steel floorboard underfoot. The instrument strings twanged and played the mournful melody. The hopeless and frantic music spread. Amidst the screams, a black river flowed out of thin air. In an instant, the charging figures were sapped of energy and collapsed onto the ground before the youth. And then the bone saw was hoisted up and swung down! Blood flew. The wild screams stopped awkwardly and were replaced by the Butchers crazed roars. In the heavy metallic scent, it was as if a beast had been let out of its cage to cause bloodshed. "Thethe Butcher?" the commander recognized the wild figure from amongst the crowd and screamed. Ye Qingxuan looked up. His gaze went past the group of thugs and landed on the pale face. He suddenly realized who it was. "Oh, Mr. Lorenzo? Long time no see. I cant believe youre herePerfect, I have some questions that I really hope you can answer for me." Stared at by those cold eyes, Lorenzo felt a chill shoot to the back of his head from his feet. He stepped back subconsciously. Ye Qingxuan knew those eyes. He had often seen them on his enemys faces. If he had to describe it, it was something like, "Saw a f*cking ghost." "ShSherlock Holmes" Hearing him utter the name, Ye Qingxuan revealed a cool smile. "Its great that you know me. So can you tell me whats going on with all these corpses?" It hurt Lorenzo to be stared at by those eyes and he retreated subconsciously, yelling, "Shoot! Shoot! Kill him" But even he knew that crossbows were useless before an evil spirit like this, not to mention the monstrous Butcher beside him! Seeing his drugged men charge forward without any fear, Lorenzo could not help but creep backward and run for the elevator in the distance. "Godd*mmit, where are the musicians? Where are our musicians? And those experiments? Why do I have to face the beasts by myself?!" he thought. Amid the concentrated arrows, Ye Qingxuan saw the people with bloodshot eyes scream and run over. He sighed and stepped back. Behind him, the mighty figure suddenly expanded to three times his original size. The Butcher roared and he emanated wild heat, as if his blood was boiling. The hoarse roar caused all the bodies on the hooks to sway, as if angry wind swept in when he roared. Even those submerged in the effects of the drugs were stunned by the furious spirit. Then they fell onto the ground in two or more pieces, cut cleanly by the bone saw. At the back of the crowd, Lorenzo turned to see the splattering blood and his face paled.Amidst all this, a thin figure walked toward him soundlessly, conducting a dark melody. Lorenzos legs quivered. He hurriedly ordered his men, "Shut the door! Hurry!" His dazed men tried to pull the handle but it would not move. Angered, Lorenzo kicked him away and grabbed the handle, pulling with all his might. The mournful melody entered his ears, but was cut off by the bright sound from the pendant around his neck. The pendant was enchanted with a rare psychological defense music score. It was activated when attacked and prevented him from falling into the dark river. The steel gate fell suddenly! Amid the killing, the Butcher roared and charged forward. The bone saw flew as well, whistling through the air toward Lorenzo who was behind the gate. Boom! The saw buried deeply into the heavy gate. It twanged and flakes of dried blood fell down. Angered, the Butcher flattened a drugged lunatic beside him with a fist and walked through the blood puddles to the gate. Then he began punching the gate furiously. The gate was at least as tall as three men stacked atop each other. It shook wildly, each punch leaving an indent, but it still did not break. "Its useless. This is even stronger than the other one." Ye Qingxuan stood beside the steel gate and studied it. He scraped off a bit of rust and rolled it between his fingers. "Heavy silver, wrought iron, with some green gold added in for extra ductilitythis door must be expensive. "This kind of material was originally used for cages for demons captured from the Dark World. You can punch it for two hours without making a dent, unless youre a Modifications musician and use wild power to make an explosion. Its practically perfection." Boom! In an instant, the alarm above began flashing wildly. The countless corpses hanging on the hooks swayed and shook as well. With the snap of a finger, Ye Qingxuan shot back a few meters and stumbled, trying to find his balance. The immense shaking made his vision go black. The Sighing Sword carved onto his arm was now burning redwith one punch, it had already reached its maximum capacity. Before him, amidst the rising smoke, a giant hole appeared in the large steel gate. The entire door had been bent out of shape, like a wrinkled rag. A handprint was clear in the center of the gate. Even warped and distorted to this state, the door was still intact and not shattered. But then with continuous cracks and pops, a crack snaked from the gate to the wall beside it. Stunned, the Butcher pushed it. The bent gate with the girth of a man fell back and ripped out from the wall with a roar. "" 161 The Butcher and the Youth The engineer who designed the gate would have never expected that there would be a psycho who would tear the gate apart just because he could not open it. Stepping on the gate with gravel lying on the ground, Ye Qingxuan walked inside, but he did not see Lorenzo. As expected, the guy had escaped quickly. This was a good quality to have in downtown, otherwise he would not have survived up to this point. "Lets go." Ye Qingxuan looked back at the Butcher. "Since were here, lets see what the Arkham Asylum really looks like." Through the long path and up the stairs, it seemed like they were entering a complex building. The air was still filled with pungent fumes of disinfectants. The smell was so strong it seemed to not only kill bacteria, but also people. The only sound in the silent hall were of echoing footsteps. The lights from the ceiling were white and dazzling, illuminating the iron bars on both sides, as well as the exhausted shadows behind them. The people seemed to have come from all over the place, and were different in age and appearance, but all of them had some abnormalities on their bodies. Some had bones outside the skin; some peoples limbs were so slender and thin that they could only curl up in the cage; some had thorns growing from their joints, making them extremely ferocious; some were covered in muscles and the bars were like noodles to them, but they did not want to escape. Then there were some who had fish gills behind their ears. They were similar to the marks on the late Haritiit was the Siren transformation. They were modified in different ways. Even if it was the same type of modification, it was done in a different direction. The only similarity they shared was their expressionless faces. Neither the distant thunder nor the strangers walking by the fences could attract their attention. No one even tried to ask for food or beg to be let out. As if indulging in their own small world, they curled up in the cages, rubbing something on the ground carefully, mumbling to themselves, spitting bubbles, giggling... "This must be the patients ward," Ye Qingxuan murmured, looking at them from top to bottom. They were all dressed in the same clothes as the skeleton in the sewer. The clothing was similar to prisoner''s garb - a white shift designed for convenience at the surgery table. Ten years ago, there must have been a riot that allowed some people, like Hariti, to escape. Others did not escape. Like the withered skeleton in the sewer, they could only stare at the direction of the sky as death came. Since then, they must have tightened security, just like...like this. The butcher looked at the modified patients coldly. He held the bone saw with his guard up, but beside him, Ye Qingxuan looked calm. "Don''t be nervous. They won''t react." He casually pulled a man out of a cage. The man did not struggle and allowed Ye Qingxuan to move him around. Ye Qingxuan gripped his chin and looked at his head and ears. After seeing the abnormality in the eye, he realized something. "I was right. Their frontal lobes have been surgically removed." Ye Qingxuan mimed stabbing his eyes with his fingers for the Butcher. "Stab an ice pick through the bottom of the eyes to the skull, then stir the frontal lobe into a mess by feeling After this process, no matter how vicious a person was, he would become a good boy and be manipulated easily. "Once youve mastered this surgery, it only takes a few minutes. Its safe and harmless. Whats more, it wont have any effect on the later modifications. Its really safe and convenient. " The youth sniffed the intensifying smell of disinfectants in the wind. Illusions flashed past his eyes. The buried memory appeared again. Those broken memories had actually become unclear through the years. He was unwilling to recall what had happened to him. But for some reason, anger burned hotter and hotter in his heart. That wrath was like lava under the earths crust, crossing in the darkness quietly, burning people without any fire. He didnt even know who he was supposed to be angry at. "Hey, big guy, lets split up here," he suddenly said softly. "The Shaman actually gave you another task, right?" The Butcher did not reply. "He knew since the beginning that the Parliament controls the asylum, right? He let me explore this place to find out whats really happening. And he asked you to come here with me, not to protect me, but to kill his enemies. Other than the Professor, there are also people from the parliament." The young man looked at him silently. "Am I right?" Under the youths gaze, the Butcher was silent and still did not answer.Ye Qingxuan could not help but purse his lips. "Mr. Seton, you cant just keep pretending, you know?" The Butcher froze. His eyes finally changed, from ferocious to gloomy, and then to menacing. But the youth just looked at him, until an impatient sigh finally came from behind the mask. "How did you know?" "You can''t expect me to cooperate with someone who had been hunting me, can you?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I had to investigate." "In one day?" "More than that, actually," Ye Qingxuan said. "In fact, I started suspecting that you were being lenient after I realized that I was actually able to escape from the infallible butcher. Later, every time I thought about it, I would think it was suspicious. I dont think Im strong enough to escape from the butcher. So there was only one possibility: the butcher deliberately let me go." "The butcher," or Seton, was speechless and did not reply. "...As long as you connect the dots, it makes sense. After all, I dont have that many friends and there arent many people with your body. Im still grateful that you let me go. I really thought I was going to die." Ye Qingxuan cocked his head. "But does the boss know that youre making extra money on the side?" "" In the silence, Setons face must have been very angry under the horse mask. "D*mmit, go away!" He smashed the bone saw onto the ground, cracking it. He threw Ye Qingxuan one last glance before turning away. But behind him, the youth stared at him and suddenly shouted, "Seton!" "Yes?" Seton looked back. "Be careful!" the youth bid farewell quietly. The Butcher scoffed. "Youre the one who needs to be careful." He waved without even looking back. "Dont worry. Ill take revenge for you if you die, for Old Phils sake." "Oh, thats great." The voice of the youth came from the distance. As he walked away, Seton could not hear it anymore. - The Butcher walked slowly through the darkness, following the scent of blood in the wind. According to the map that his employer had given him, he needed to walk through the corridor, go up the ladder, cross the third operating room, turn to the right, breach the sixth hall, go down the elevator, and land in the central security room. All the places in the path needed to be destroyed, all the information about the blood sacrifice needed to be burned, and all the living things needed to be killed, including the thugs from the mafia, the original caretakers of the hospital, the minions of Parliament, and the hireddark musicians. The Butcher suddenly halted his soundless march. The white light above his head flashed, and a babys cry came from behind a closed door. The plaque engraved with "Third Operating Room" on the steel door was rusted. A surgery was being performed. Blood seeped out from the crack under the door. There was an eerie yet gentle singing that could be heard over the babys crying, as if a dead woman was screaming and wailing while gazing at the world. The Butcher opened the steel door silently and saw blood everywhere. Under the pale, hot light, a figure in a white gown had his back to the Butcher. He carefully soaked a string of entrails in an antiseptic solution, meticulously cleaned every ending, and finally threw the emptied baby into the trash. When he turned, the eyes behind the mask saw the newcomer and froze. "Butcher?" His hoarse voice seemed to come from dozens of mouths. The voices overlapped and became a shrill noise. The Butcher stared at him, eyes landing on his body. Through the clothes, he could see dozens of open mouths on the body. It dawned on him. "Yellow Foot, the dark musician?" Yellow Foot, brother of the dead Blue Teeth, lowered his head slightly. "A few minutes ago, Albertos men told me that someone had come in. Where is your companion? Where did he go? To tell you the truth, I''d rather see Sherlock Holmes than you. Were both dark musicians, so there must be a lot of topics we can discuss together." A scoff came from the mask. Yellow Foot seemed to understand something and his eyes grew pitiful. "Forget it, its ok if its you. Its rare to find such good material for experiments" The butcher silently clenched the bone saw. The joints in his body popped and cracked. His body expanded, expanded, and expanded even more! Finally, he transformed into the ferocious giant again. "God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness! God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas? God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for relief" The music score engraved on his body was awakened, transforming the flow of blood into a tidal wave. His heart beat like a drum, causing the aether to vibrate. Blood flowed from his pores, transforming in the air into faces of the dead. The faces laughed and echoed, "Lala, lala, lala~" The light was snuffed without a sound. In the darkness, the singing of the dead overlapped with the dark musicians chanting. The din and the quakes spread, raising a shapeless cloud of dust. The heat of the blood and the tangible evilness spilled in all directions. The darkness swallowed all. - In the quiet corridor, the youth watched as the Butcher faded into the distance. He looked around at the blank faces and sneered. "Well then, let''s wreak some havoc, shall we?" He knocked his cane on the ground violently, emitting a metallic clang. "Whether its the Professor or the parliament, lets get everything straightened. Since I am called Vengeful Spirit, Ill have to make them pay for what theyve done!" 162 Welcome to the Black Parade Alberto woke up with a shock from his nightmare. Twisting his head, he gazed at the deep night sky outside the window. Firelight rose, burning the sky red. The dew was heavy. He sat on his wheelchair and placed a blanket over his knees. The flames in the fireplace flickered and the high grade pinewood burned soundlessly. It emitted a fragrant scent, calming one down subconsciously. Even if fire was burning downtown to ashes outside, it was still serene and peaceful inside, as if he belonged to another world. This was the reward that he deserved. As the leader of the Black Hand Gangthe Sicilian Mafia that had once controlled one-third of downtown, Alberto was now old. He did not have the energy anymore. While being old had its disadvantages, it also gave him the ability to see through things with old wisdom. For a leader, having good vision was the most important thing. And the current events proved that he was right. When the parliaments messenger had appeared before him for the first time, he had not even waited for Mr. Hall to make his request before pledging his entire clans loyalty to the parliament. This sincerity had won him the parliaments trust and allowed him to enter the heart of the parliament, becoming the guard of the asylum. If this was the boat to success, he was already in first class and watching as his former enemies and partners struggled and killed each other in the ocean. No matter what the result was, everything would be changed if the ritual in the final laboratory of the central security room was successful. All former enemies would be eliminated and he would replace the Shaman as the ruler of downtown. He would be the new Dark King! Yes, if the ritual was successful. For some reason, he still felt slightly unsettled. But no matter how much he thought, he could not find a flaw or loophole in the perfect plan. "Father" The Shamans main force had been held down. Everyone had been blinded and distracted by the riots that had taken over the entire district. No one would be able to stop the parliaments ritual. "Father." But then, where did this unsettling feeling come from? Alberto racked his brain but he could not find anything. "Father!" Lorenzo raised his voice, shocking Alberto out of his thoughts. Albertos shoulders twitched and he looked back toward Lorenzo, who has beside him. Seeing the dissatisfaction in his eyes, Lorenzos face paled. "Father, someone broke in through the warehouse!" "Warehouse? Which warehouse?" Alberto asked reflexively. But then he reacted immediately and his face turned whitewhat other warehouse could it be? Of course it was the most important one! "When?" "A few minutes ago. Someone in the central security room discovered that the black door in the sewer was opened. The bone primates kept outside started going crazy too and they still havent been calmed down." "They broke in from the sewer?" The unsettling feeling in Alberto intensified. He forced himself to stay calm and waved his hand, ordering, "Take care of it. Dont let them cause too big of a disturbance, understood?" But Lorenzo did not move. He stood in place, opening his mouth to speak but hesitating. "What are you waiting for?!" Furious, Alberto slapped the armrest of the wheelchair. "Go!" "I already went but" Lorenzo swallowed heavily and said in a trembling voice, "Theymight be Holmes and the Butcher." "Impossible!" Alberto practically jumped up from the wheelchair as he glared at Lorenzo. "What the f*ck are you saying?!" Quickly realizing that he had lost his temper, Alberto forced himself to calm down. He massaged his temples as he thought. After a long while, he suddenly looked up and stared at his son. "Why did they show up here?" "I dont know either." Stared at by those eerie eyes, Lorenzo felt goosebumps. He quickly explained, "They just suddenly popped up out of nowhere. They came along the supply tunnel. Oh right, the smuggler that always transported the supplies was killed yesterday. Do you think Holmes did it?" Alberto froze. But he instantly reacted. "True, hed never give up this chance if he knew that the parliament is holding the ritual here. He even hired that butcherKill them!" His eyes grew fierce. "You must not let them into the central security room! Where is Red Eye and Yellow Foot? Werent they sent here by the parliament to protect the ritual?" "Red Eye is still in central security. Yellow Foot already disappeared with the Butcher." Lorenzo gulped. "The third surgery room is surrounded by the dark musicians fog. Yellow Foot and his corpse puppets were all in there but we dont know what happened." "What about Holmes?" Alberto stared deeply into his sons eyes. "Is he separated from the Butcher?" "I think so," Lorenzo replied in a trembling voice. "He split up with the Butcher and didnt come out after entering the patients wardHe seems to be interested in the mutants." "Good, good!" Albertos expression turned sinister. After a short pause, he suddenly ordered, "Take some men and the four musicians from the parliament and seal the entire ward. I dont care what you do, but kill Holmes! He and the Professor are the scourges of the parliament. They must be killed. And if hes dead, the parliament will not let down our sacrifices." "M-me?" Lorenzos face turned ghastly pale. He had heard about the dark musicians cruelty more than once in recent days. He had singlehandedly destroyed the Pyramid Scheme, and turned the high and mighty Indian musician Puspotkata into an idiot. And apparently, the mysterious Professor had lost a lot to him too. Now Lorenzo had to go deal with him? "What are you scared of?!" Alberto roared in anger. "No matter how powerful Holmes is, hes just a liar who plays tricks! Have you heard of a psychological dark musician who can do more than just scare people? "Red Eye already said that he hadnt even broken through the Barrier of Knowledge. He probably hasnt even sacrificed himself to Satan yet. The only thing he can do is scare people. So if you arent scared of him, what can he do to you? No matter how good he is at controlling people, can he control demons?" Lorenzo froze. He was slightly reassured, but his mind was still shrouded in an eerie cloud. Were matters really this simple? He was not sure. Lorenzo took a few deep breaths and set down his determination. Turning around to leave, he saw a pale face beside the door. Lorenzos face was reflected in those terrified eyes. He stumbled back and practically fell to the ground. "Disaster, sir, disaster!" The man, face white in horror, reported in a trembling voice, "Out of control! Sirwhat do we do?!" "What the f*ck are you talking about?" Alberto glared at the man who had rushed in. "What is going on?" "Its Holmes, its Holmes!" The mans voice quivered as he replied, "A few minutes ago, all the guards in the patients ward disappeared. No one knows what that guy did. When we went in, everyone was gone. There wasnt a single reply. And then the cries came and our mentheyre all dead!" Lorenzos knees wobbled and he collapsed onto the ground. "Holmes?!" -- Ten minutes ago, under the ghastly white light, the patients ward was completely silent. Even the sounds of breathing seemed to be suffocated by the heavy smell of disinfectants. "Looking at the time, they should be here right?" Ye Qingxuan strolled down the quiet hall, gazing at the bars to each side. Behind the bars, pairs of blank eyes looked at him. There was no light in those eyesonly numbness, unfamiliarity, and nothingness. These people were still alive, but their bodies had been turned into monsters, their memories shattered, and their souls thrown into a bottomless abyss. They were still alive, but it was worse than death. "So scary," Ye Qingxuan sighed quietly. "I cant even find a trace of humanity." There was no excitement, no sadness and no anger or desolation. They breathed purely to survive, like a zombie. Really, was there nothing left behind? In the silence, he pressed down on his watch. The snap was crisp. "All is dark. Only the Tree of Life is forever green," Ye Qingxuan recited. His eyes flashed with a dazzling light. In his hand, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei abruptly began shaking and played a gentle melody. Amidst the faint yet warm melody, water vapor gathered from all directions, transformed into perception threads and spread out again. After the first measure ended, the second began right after. The vague melody suddenly changed and every note rose in key. The second measure had begun! Just as Charles had said, the difficulty rose exponentially. The invisible perception threads suddenly trembled and split into two. They spread again, reaching in all directions. The proximity doubled! Before the echoes of the second measure dissipated, the third replay began once again. The vague melody had gradually become clearer. It was like the rushing sounds of a river in the springtime to the ear, flowing in the air. Once again, the perception threads lengthened and expanded. Forty-six threads floated in the air, reaching out in all directions. Ye Qingxuans hand trembled but the music did not stop. The fourth measure quickly began. The aether began rippling and the perception threads shot forward under the flowing melody. They lengthened, went past the bars, wrapped around the living organisms and lengthened, lengthened, lengthened! The fifth measure, the melody floated in the air. Though the vague clanging and exalted melody was the same, the notes were rising to a much higher octave. The sixth measure! The crisp melody was no longer insubstantial like before. The intensifying melody resounded in the wind, becoming more awe-inspiring. Like a command that was impossible to defy, it spread forward slowly. Transforming from thin and insignificant to dense rain, the souls sleeping in the melody was slowly stirred awake by the youth. Now, the melody had turned from the fleeting sounds to a military march! Ye Qingxuans forehead was covered in beads of sweat. Even with help from the Double Snake Time Meter, manipulation at this level was still too much for him. He had actually reached his limits at the fifth measure, but he could not believe that he was able to force himself to the sixth measure. The length was multiplied six times! Now, Ye Qingxuan felt as if his body was like a giant shapeless beast. His mind had expanded in all directions along these hundred-meter long perception threads! He could feel all the complex levels of the Arkham Asylum, the wild aether rippling from the lowest level and also the heavy footsteps that surrounded the patients ward. They were the armed thugs or the musicians with rippling aether, their eyes murderous and cruel. They came here with orders to make this place his burial ground. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes again. He stared behind the bars and gazed at the pairs of blank eyes. He asked softly, "Everyone, are you content being turned into experiments?" No one replied, but he could not help but laugh. His voice had an undertone of anger. "Are you really willing to have someone strap you onto a gurney, cut open and turned into a demonto rot and die without a sound? "Look at you right now. You cant even feel angernot even a bit of fear or joy can be felt. Are you truly willing?" In the silence, the dazed eyes behind the railing gazed blankly at the youths figure. They seemed unable to understand or comprehend what he was talking about. No one replied. They just smiled blankly, drooling, curled inside their cages. Bang! The gate suddenly opened with a fulmination. The figures exuding wild evilness rushed in. They held crossbows or swords and their eyes were ice cold. With a single command, they would swarm over and turn their enemy into a honeycomb or hack them into minced meat. At the back of the crowd were a few figures clad in black robes. Aether rippled wildly around them, as if a music score was brewing within it. They stared coldly at the cornered dark musician, hiding in the safest spot to search for his weak points and wait for the fatal kill. There were more than a hundred guards, sixteen crossbows and four musicians. Ye Qingxuan did not even need to think about it to know that he was in deep trouble. But gazing at all those cold faces, there was no fear in Ye Qingxuans eyes. There was only coldness and pity. As if their roles had been switched, the high and mighty judge gazed down coldly from the clouds and asked quietly, "Have you ever repented for your sins?" The hoarse voice spread in the silence, wrapping around everyones ears as if it came from their hearts. In an instant, they all felt as if they were hallucinating. They stared at the figure in shock. They saw Ye Qingxuan slowly raise his arm and slam the cane down by his feet! Thud! The plaintive melody sounded! It was a melody filled with wildness and hopelessness, as if one had fallen into the abyss of despair. The sharp and broken melody shot forward like nails, resounding between the walls. A roar sounded out of thin air. It was the surging black river! The thousands of long perception threads around Ye Qingxuans body suddenly shook and moved like a living object. They covered the entire ward; passed through the layers of obstacles; wove past the ventilators, bars and cracks; and finally pierced into the sleeping minds. Then, the hopeless melody played! The melody of judgement transformed into a black river surging from thin air. It followed the perception threads and rushed into the muddled souls. Like a spark landing in a withered forest, it lit up the fallen leaves, the dried branches, a dead tree, and then a second tree, a third, a fourthuntil finally, the entire black forest was bathed in wildfire! Beside Ye Qingxuan, a dazed man behind the railing shook and grabbed his head, crying out painfully. Cries burst from the layers of bars like a chorus. The sleeping souls were shocked awake, the wooden eyes began trembling and the blank features began twisting. They were writhing in pain from the horror, tortured by despair, and pulled from sleep by the furious melody. Shards of memories appeared before their eyes without permission. Yes, they were remembering, rememberingRemember what those people did to you. Remember the pain and despair you have felt. Remember the fury and wildness sleeping in the deepest part of your soul! Even their nerves were lit on fire by this wild melody. Behind the railing, the prisoners shook uncontrollably, drowning in their past nightmares. They screamed and cried, or roared in anger! The memories and pain broken and sleeping in their minds were awakened and surged into Ye Qingxuans mind along the perception threads. All of it entered the thundering black river. The river trembled and changed once again. Now, countless pained faces appeared in the river. The dark memories that formed the water had never been so clear before. It was the river where all hopeless memories converged. At this moment, it was almost solid and flowed beside Ye Qingxuan. With one more step, it would be able to resonate with the Originator and become real! In that instant, Ye Qingxuan saw the pain, fury, and the hopelessness in their heartsit was so similar to his own hopelessness from beforethe fury of being held onto the surgery table and having his future path cut off! Bang! Inside the cage, a frail man buried his head in his hands and howled, ramming against the wall painfully. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands scratched mindlessly. They cut through the steel bars and left deep gashes in the walls and ground. The souls caught in nightmares had awakened and were now roaring in anger! Their eyes were blood-red. In the blink of an eye, the musicians in the crowd suddenly realized what was going on and their faces turned pale. "Kill him! Kill him! Hes resonating with the mutants" "Too late." Ye Qingxuan sneered and raised his hand under the angry stares from behind the bars. "Next, you will repent for your sins!" Bang! A deformed and bloated woman crashed through the bars and broke free. The gills behind her ears shook and she let out a shrill noise. The sound was solid like an ax and it spread, slicing everything in its path into pieces. Beside her, the guards were swept into the scream before they could react and shattered instantly. Then, roars came from all directions. The empty eyes within the cages rose again. Tangible fury and wildness filled those eyes! The 312 mutants suddenly broke free from the cages and began devouring the uniformed guards. Even if they had lost their memories, they still remembered the hatred that was engraved in their hearts. They still remembered the appearances of those people, the disdainful eyes and the menacing smiles. A mutant covered in bone material crashed against the cage and rushed into the crowd through an opening of the arrows and axes. He opened his mouth full of sharp teeth and closed it around someones throat, rolling on the ground. The beastly nature implanted into them had awoken along with the anger and they knew how to kill without being taught. Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound of bars shattering rang continuously. The wild experiments charged toward the defenseless guards under the guide of the dark melody, and exacted revenge for the pain and despair they had suffered! Sirens, bone primates, blood demons, hyenasthe mutants with inhumane body parts wailed and threw themselves onto the enemies. They did not care about their own lives. They attacked as if they wanted to die with the enemy. In an instant, the white lights were covered with a layer of blood-red. The tearing and shattering of meat and bone sounded continuously. This was a feast of revenge! Under Ye Qingxuans command, these mindless mutants converged into a tide of people. They extinguished the screaming and fleeing enemy, swarming upon them and venting their hatred! In the end, the bloody room was in ruins and there was no longer any noise. Silence had returned. Ye Qingxuan stood in the puddle of blood. The crazed beasts turned around and stared at the only one standing in the blood that was still alive. They stared at the pair of dark eyes. Finally, they lowered their wild faces and fell, kneeling before him. They accepted the melody in the black river and the guidance from deep within their souls. "Welcome to the black parade." In the puddle, Ye Qingxuan looked down and studied the figures kneeling before him. Gazing at the subdued beasts, he quietly assured, "I promise, this will be your night of revenge!" 163 Do Not Struggle The stillness and tranquility was destroyed in the blink of an eye. Arkham Asylum was thrown into chaos and madness. Sirens rang from every corner. Fire was everywhere. Frantic patients rushed out of the cages like a tidal wave into this bloody and dark building. The pungent smell of disinfectant could not conceal the smell of blood. As the unrest spread, one could hear the screams and cries from every corner. In the corridor, the terrified doctors and nurses fled, but countless figures broke through the cages and pounced on them, tearing them into shreds. Candles were knocked over by someone and fell onto the ground. The fire spread wildly as clothes were ignited and people ran in fear. It first came to the corpse warehouse, then the patient ward in B1, and then the laboratory and special research area in B2. Quickly, dozens of the mutants sleeping in petri dishes also went out of control. Those who were close to completion suddenly transformed into demons and went mad. They furiously killed the researchers, leaving blood all over the ground. In the chaos, someone opened the black door of the warehouse to escape. As a result, he was torn into shreds by the group of bone primates pacing outside the door. Then, those demons raised outside rushed into the asylum too, spreading quickly with the chaos. As the sirens rang, the vengeful spirits hunted frantically for every living thing that had ever been involved in their transformation. Blood was shed wherever they went. Amidst the chaos, a fleeting figure was three stories below ground in the guarded library. He leafed through the files and quietly looted this treasure cove. Here were all of Arkham Asylums records, including notes on transforming patients into demons, all reports of clinical observations, drugs use records and distribution methods, as well as the transformation skills left by those dark musicians. As he searched, he pocketed all of the the achievements that the parliament had worked so hard on. Finally, the figure stopped. He had found the most critical file at last and carefully put it in his pocket like it was a treasure. Now, he had accomplished more than half of his goals. The man known as Lord Moriarty laughed hoarsely and walked out. Quickly, he noticed the chaos outside and the screams from all directions. After reading a dead mans memory, he learned of the reason behind all this. He fell into silence. "No wonder he is Holmes, the Vengeful Spirit," he sighed with shock and pity. "What a shame that I didnt kill you at the first time I saw you." He did not stay any longer. Like an invisible spirit, he walked through the wards and corridors of unrest and entered deeper into the darkness. There, the aether was rippling wildly. The blood sacrifice was reaching its climax! - "B1 is completely out of control!" "The sixth lab is unresponsive!" "Sir, the imprisoned mutants broke through the gates and ran into the second operating room ..." "The Black Gate was breached! Holmes is going to reach the central security room! We cant stop him anymore!" "Mad! Everyones gone mad!" a crazed man yelled. "They''re all dead! Dead!" "Somebody get him out of here!" Alberto roared angrily, but his eyes were blank and panicking. What was going on? How did this happen? How did everything go out of control? "Where are our musicians? Where did they go?!" Alberto had forgotten all the deaths that had been reported. He screamed, "Where is Yellow Foot? Isnt he in the third lab? Where is he now? Make him deal with these d*mn pieces of trash!" "Sir, Sir..." A man stumbled in, fear written all over his face. "We dont have any more time. Someones going to break in" Alberto''s scream stopped abruptly as if he was choked. He had never felt a fear this close. He could almost hear the approaching footsteps through the door. "Drop the gate! Seal the hallway" He clung to the guard tightly, screaming like a madman, "Why are you standing here? Go, go, go!" The man pressed the button on the wall under his instructions. The door shook as a loud noise sounded outside the hall. The gate fell, sealing off the only exit and isolating him from the outside world. Alberto would never let himself fall into a hopeless situation. A man who planned for the future must always have an escape plan. Including now. There were many luxurious offices and rooms in the asylum, but he had picked this one room because there was an escape route! "Come on, hurry up, hurry" He urged his men to push his wheelchair faster past the secret door, forging into the darkness along the icy damp walls. At times like this, he could no longer worry about Lorenzo, who was commanding at the front line. Anyway, Lorenzo still had two brothers who would be much more successful than Lorenzo after they matured. As they escaped quickly, he heaved violently with fear, but he could not help but smile happily. But soon his smile froze. At the end of the passage, at the only exit, stood a burly figure that almost took up the entire passage. The figure seemed to have waited for a long time here. When it noticed Alberto approaching, the broken horse mask revealed a ferocious smile. "The ButchButcher?" Alberto yelped and shook his head, "No, its impossible, Yellow Foot should have" "Yellow Foot?" The butcher sneered and tossed down a spherical thing. "Are you talking about that dark musician?" Alberto lowered his head dully, and looked at what the Butcher was holding in his armsan insect-like head with six compound eyes. It felt heavy, like holding an iron ball. No flesh could be seen. But one could vaguely see the original distorted features on that broken face. "Ive never met such a weak dark musician." In the flickering firelight, the Butchers charred bones could be seen. He twisted his neck, producing cracking sounds. His chest had decayed, revealing white bones. A large heart beat firmly behind the white ribs. Caged by the ribs, an inhuman purple-black heart slowly opened an eye. It glanced at Alberto coldly and then shut again, as if there was nothing interesting. It went back to sleep. That man behind Alberto could not stand the strange stare. He broke down and ran away, screaming. The next second, he was pierced through by a giant bone saw, lifted up and nailed high up on the wall. "Youre next." The butcher walked forward. Alberto screamed and hurriedly spun the wheelchair backward, trying to escape. But the wheelchair overturned in the chaos. He fell down onto the ground, and quickly climbed up again, crawling backwards with both his hands and feet. Under the terrifying shadow of death, he moved quickly. Like a worm writhing on the ground, he tried to escape back the way he came. The butcher followed behind him. When he passed the corpse he had crucified, he pulled the bone-saw out and put it behind him. He tried to slow his pace down, but he still caught up with Alberto when the old man reached his supposed safe house. It was still so quiet and peaceful here. Pinewood burned in the fireplace, exuding a fragrance that calmed the mind. But when Alberto fled here, he stopped, not for recalling this warmth, but bout of despair. The only exit in the room had been sealed as per his order. He cried out in despair. Crawling all over, he tried to hide from the huge figure, but he was pinned to the ground by the butchers foot. He blubbered nonsense, like "I still have a family," like "I can give you a lot of money," like "the Shamans era has passed, come with me to the parliament, youre so strong, youll definitely get a higher position than me." Or, recalling the past, he asked the Butcher, "Dont you remember me? I hired you before, we worked together so well before" "Do not struggle," the Butcher interrupted him. "What?" Alberto froze. "I said, do not struggle," the Butcher said softly. "It annoys me and its useless." He picked Alberto up with one hand and gripped the frail neck, his fingers tightening slowly. His voice was cold and calm. "My employer said that since youre a part of downtown, he wants me to try and leave you a whole body. So, you can''t die in a faster way. Im really sorry." "ShShaman..." Alberto squeezed the last syllable from his throat painfully. He clawed the Butcher''s hands and mask, struggling in the slow process of suffocation. His eyes closed slowly, his body twitched and finally stopped. But the Butcher still stayed in his position. One second, two seconds, three seconds passed The still body suddenly began twitching and the tightly closed eyes flew open in fury, glaring at the killer before him viciously. He used his last strength to kick him. In the end, his face turned purple. After a violent twitch, his body stiffened completely. After the long ordeal and planning, death finally came. That was vicious even in death, the eyes reflected the burning flames outside the window. He was the first one. 164 Many Acts of Unrighteousness The Ganlu Courtyard of downtown was brightly lit. In the past, this place was suffused with the smell of spices and hookah, and filled with the laughter of girls. It was elegant and opulent, and enthusiastic servants bustled around every corner. Red sleeves and white veils floated in the fragrant air. It was like paradise on Earth. But now, there was no more paradise, and no more spices and hookah. The girls were all hiding in their rooms; the red sleeves and white veils burned in flames. There was fire and armed thugs everywhere. The angry men in turbans rushed in from the broken door. Like a tidal wave, they surrounded the man, gripped their weapons and waited in formation. One person. The enemy was only one person. Attracting the gazes of all the thugs, Ghosthand took out the pipe in his mouth. "Is Silo here?" A sympathetic sigh came from the back of the crowd. Among layers of guards, Silo gazed at him, his eyes turning regretful. Ghosthand had truly become old. When he first came to Avalon as a young man, everyone said that Ghosthand was the best assassin. No one in history could top him, and his skills were unique to the world. Everyone he had his eye on would die. He was almighty. But then he took a job he should not have taken, touched something he should not have touched, and broke the Shamans rules. His hand was personally chopped off by the Shaman. Ghosthand did not accomplish much after his hand was chopped off. Even though the hand was put back later, the broken bones could never fuse together and he became the Shamans dogNot only had he aged after all these years, but had he lost his skills and techniques too? "Why are you sighing?" Ghosthand heard his voice and laughed. Lifting his head, he studied the hawkish eyes in the back of the crowd. "Silo, Im here to take your life but shouldnt you be happy that two old friends like us are meeting?" "Shouldnt sneaky things like you be coming in in the dark?" Silo asked coldly. "Did you think that Id give myself to you obediently after you said youd come and find me?" "Im sorry, but you misunderstood." Ghosthand smiled and shook his head. Snuffing his pipe, he put it back into his pocket. His voice grew gentle. "I was a killer before, that is true. But I was never good at sneaking and secret kills. Ive never done any work that required lurking and patience. You can say that Im completely unskilled at that" He paused, taking off the glove on his right hand. "Because I like to enter from the front door." Six covered buckles on his black leather glove opened as he moved. With each opened buckle, a leather strap tied around his hand would snap up. Snap, snap, snap, snap Finally, the glove that had constrained his hand for many years fell to the ground without a sound. As Ghosthand slowly rolled up his sleeves, the true appearance of the hand hidden under the long glove was finally revealed. There was nothing under the light of the torches. Nothing at all! Silos expression changed, some severe emotion flashed through his eyes. The fingers held behind his back fidgeted. Something whistled through the air from the darkness above the roof. Ping! An arrow dipped in dark green poison suddenly appeared, but then it froze in the air, right before Ghosthandit was as if an invisible hand was gripping it. Seeing everyones shocked expressions, Ghosthand chuckled. He "clenched his fist" and then the cracks and pops of joins came out of thin air. The arrow shattered, crumbling to dust. Then he reached out his "hand," explored the chest of the enemy before him, and slowly pulled his hand out. There was no blood, no wounds, or anything strange, but now there was a beating heart in his hand. The man who had lost his heart fell to the ground and did not get up again. No matter how many drugs he had taken, no matter how much vitality had been squeezed out, he could not grow another heart and was useless against this technique. "Its like what you see, Mr. Silo." Ghosthand stepped forward, his voice was polite. "I dont know how to use a sword or arrow. I dont understand poison or ambushes either. This is the only technique I know. Fifteen years ago, when I still had my right hand, I would use it to open up my enemies chests and dig out their hearts. When I lost right my hand, I realized that I could skip some steps. Your actions during that period brought shame to the city. But today, the shame will end." Boom! The heart in his hands suddenly burst. Blood spewed out from between his clenched fingers like a spray of bloody rain. A drop landed on Silos face. Feeling the hotness on his face, Silo blankly raised a finger and wiped his face. Seeing the blood on his finger, he froze, his face turning white. He stumbled back. He screamed something in the Indian language. It was probably something along the lines of "Kill him" or "Destroy him without leaving his body in tact!" And so a roar sounded abruptly through the crowd. The ascetic monk hidden amongst the muscular men suddenly acted. In an instant, the frail figure rushed out from the crowd, chanting in Sanskrit. His voice was like booming thunder. Om His skin transformed into a copper bronze. He had suddenly transformed into a golden man. Even his body weight had multiplied and a sharp noise sounded when his bare feet hit the stone tiles. As he breathed heavily, faint thunder seemed to roar within him. Strands of electric light appeared on his metallic skin, traveling and projecting. In the blink of an eye, the god of enforcement from the scriptures descended from the sky. It lifted wind and thunder out of thin air and it was terrifying. As the monk recited the secret spell, a temporary blankness appeared in the minds of everyone in the notes path. But after this blankness, the golden monk wrapped in lightning and thunder had already rushed forward. His right hand was bent into a holy sign and he swung it down like a Vajra! The fist whistled through the air and created ripples in the air current. It transformed into the dharma against demons! As the Vajra fist fell down, Ghosthand raised his hand, meeting it halfway Boom! Instantly, a muffle sound burst in the air. Rays of lightning shot out, blinding everyones eyes. They could only feel something quickly moving around in the ball of light. It was something faster than sound, and shorter and faster than thunder. It came and left in a moment, soaring past the long distance. It was as fast as a dream that had been awoken in shock. After that instant, there were no more loud bangs. After the blinding light faded, only two figures remained. Ghosthand was still in his original spot. The ascetic monk that had bursted into action was rooted to his spot as well, unable to move. "What are you waiting for?" Silo yelled, urging the unmoving monk. "Kill him! I didnt bring you here from India just so you could scare people!" The ascetic monk still did not move. Ghosthand studied the monk who was glaring at him. A tinge of respect appeared in his eyes and he sighed. "I cant believe there really is a spell in this world that transforms a human body into metal. The Indian ascetics are full of hidden talents. I am impressed." "I lost," the metallic monk said hoarsely. He closed his eyes, sighing. "Silorun." As he spoke, the breath held in his chest finally leaked out. Without the breath, he could no longer support the spell and he returned to his body of flesh. And then he collapsed, bit by bit. He sank to the ground like liquid and became a pile of mud. The cool moonlight shone down from the sky onto Ghosthands invisible hand, illuminating what was held there. It was a white skeleton, complete from head to toe. There was a shade of ashen green to the ghastly white, and it swayed in the cold wind as Ghosthand moved. In that instant, he had pulled the ascetic monks skeleton through the metallized flesh, and had not leave a single bone behind! "Ten years ago, everyone knew that my hand was fast," Ghosthand murmured, gazing at the dazed eyes and white faces. "So many years have passed. I cant believe Ive gotten even faster." Ten years ago, Ghosthands technique was one-of-a-kind. Now, it was still unmatched! He loosened his fingers and the white skeleton fell to the ground. It crashed with a crisp sound, like a wind chime made of bone. This was the straw that broke the camels backBoom! A roar suddenly sounded in the crowd. A crazed man brandished his sword and rushed toward Ghosthand. His head was chopped off! The mass of people rustled. The original equilibrium in the courtyard had been disrupted and the drugs began to go into the effect. The men who had lost all reason smelled the blood and went wild. Roars and howls sounded continuously and Ghosthand disappeared in the crowd. Ten minutes later, all sound had vanished. Ganlu Courtyard had never been so peaceful and quiet in the decades it had existed. It was like a tomb, filled with deathly silence. The only one still standing had been dyed red by blood. Lips trembling, he lit his pipe and took a deep breath before blowing out a puff of gray smoke. The drugs in the tobacco were ignited and entered his lungs with the smoke. It spread through his body, pushing down the pain from his wounds. His shoulders, chest, back, legs and even head were dripping with blood. Some of the blood was from his enemies, some was his. "Im old, after all." Ghosthand sighed and furrowed his brows in pain. The dew in the night was heavy, and his rheumatism was acting up again. He had sprained his back while dodging a dagger earlier, and now he could barely walk. Yes, he was old. Why would he deny it? Deep down, he was a bit vexed. He was old now, so why did he have to be like the Butcher and turn his enemys lair into a bloodbath? Not everyone was a beast like the Butcher and would not die no matter what He sighed and raised his bloodied eyebrows as he gazed around. "Silo? Are you still here?" No one replied in the silence. In the shadows, Silo held his nose, almost suffocating himself. He quietly stumbled back, but he fell onto the steps and could not move again. "I see you. Please stay there and dont move." Spotting him, Ghosthands eyes brightened. He slowly moved toward the man. There was still nothing where his right hand should have beenonly an empty sleeve cuff. But blood had dyed the invisible hand red, revealing its menacing shape. It was like the realistic reflection of a nightmare or hell. That must be what death would look like if it was something solid. How superb must a killing technique be to reach such a terrifying state? Silo gazed blankly as Ghosthand closed in on him. His eyes were hopeless, but in the end, relief appeared in the bottomless despair. "Ha, so karma is hitting me today, is it?" Silo laughed, mocking himself, and his eyes became relieved. "Karma will come after committing many acts of unrighteousness. Bring it on!" He yanked down his collar, revealing his chest. He was determined to face his death. "This is the logic behind karma, right? Everyone who sins must face the punishment from fate" "No." Ghosthand stuck his hand into Silos chest and gazed at his seemingly relieved eyes. "Actually, there are people who are much more evil than you, but they lead happy lives. Theyll die in happiness with a large family. Why do you want everyone to be unlucky like you?" Silo froze. His eyes grew stormy. The forced "relief" had been shattered and his face twisted like an evil spirit. He glared at Ghosthand and opened his mouth as if he wanted to yell or snap Ghosthands neck in the last struggle. But then a soft crack sounded inside his chest. His body trembled and began spasming on the ground. Finally, he stopped. There was a short period of peace before the end of his lifebut sadly, it was useless. He had wanted to die with some dignity, but sadly, death was death. There was no dignity involved, and he still died like a dog. Under the moonlight, his corpse slowly stiffened. The dull eyes reflected the firelight he had personally lit. He had died with his eyes open. 165 Somewhere With Flowers The pale moon in the sky illuminated both the quiet cities and the rioting cities. The moonlight shone on the cold white marble palace, as well as the sheds that collapsed in the turbulent flames. Strands of mist suffused the flames, like living creatures walking through the city. Mist floated above, covering the blood and deaths in cold whiteness. Deep in the mist came a hoarse yet distant song. It was a mourning song for the sacrifice. Highgate Cemetery was located in the Whitechapel area of downtown. Mist hung above the quiet and desolate land. The black iron gate of the cemetery was open, revealing the path to the world of the death. Gray-white tombstones stood haphazardly in the ground like tree stumps. Withered trees grew obliquely toward the sky. Everything was deathly silent. The seabirds had brought seeds here from far away, and countless white flowers grew from the muddy decayed soil. Delicate petals surrounding a yellowish core and stained with dew swayed gently in the cold wind, like the last breath of the dead buried under the earth. The Shaman, clad in a black ceremonial robe, stood among the tombstones in the mud. He gazed at the tomb before him and the shabby wooden coffin within it. The corpse in the coffin was already cold, but it seemed to still be alive. The corpses eyes were open, glaring at the sky as if he was prepared to pull out a knife and kill his enemy. But his enemies had cut off his head, and he had died. However his companions had won and brought back his body. "Everley." The Shaman pressed on the wooden coffin with a complex look of pity. His hoarse voice echoed in the graveyard, as if he was introducing this new member to the afterlife. "He was my loyal subordinate and a heinous villain. He followed me until his death and never swayed. He was addicted to alcohol and violence. The man was neither a good husband nor a good father, and definitely not a good man. Now he''s dead." The Shaman extended his hand. He put the two coins in his hand on the pair of eyes still open in death. He paid the fee to cross the Styx River. Taking one last glance at the dead man''s face, he bid farewell quietly. "Avalon thanks you for your devotion." The coffin lid closed. The Shaman nailed it for him and watched as the dead man sank into the darkness to enjoy his eternal peace. A new wooden coffin was carried up. Neither ferocity nor serenity could be seen from the dead face. He was just sleeping peacefully. "Eric?" The Shaman looked at that face and said, "I know you. I cant believe youre dead too." He wiped the dust off the victim''s face in pity, and announced softly, "He was a small gangster of downtown, someone who played on both sides. He went with the flow and did a lot of things, but never succeeded. He once had the enthusiasm for doing big business. He couldnt wait to stand out among the people, but he spoiled everything. He achieved nothing in the end." The Shaman put the coins on his eyes and whispered goodbye too. "May you find the meaning of living in your endless rest." The coffin lid was closed and the Shaman took the hammer, nailing the "luggage" marked for the afterlife. The wooden coffin sank into the mire and disappeared. - A new coffin was brought in. This time, the Shaman could not help sigh. "Silo, an Indian." He looked at the twisted face with compassion, rather than sadness or joy. "We meet again. Let me send you off." He smoothed the twisted features for the corpse, and whispered, "He came here sixteen years ago and the city did not reject him. In order to stand out, he sold illegal drugs and ran many brothels for a living. He had two sons. One of them died because of this, the other has been sent back to India. He did not dare to let his sons know what he was doing. "In order to make money, he poisoned many innocent people, but his arrival also resulted in the regulation of illegal drugs. A small handful of people were spared. He deserved to die, but he was not the most evil. He was just a poor man who was stuck in the middle. He had given a lot to the city and once obeyed the rules. Unfortunately, he went astray." The Shaman put the coins on Silos eyes. He closed the coffin and nailed it shut for him. "Rest in peace. Your name will be remembered by Avalon." The last one was a heavy iron coffin. The man with heavy armor in the coffin had already passed away. The deceaseds body was broken as if he had been hacked by swords, burned by fire, and shot by arrows. But even in death, he did not give up the sabre in his hand. Heavy scarlet remained on the broken blade of the sword remained heavy scarlet. The blade shivered in the cold like a soul sighing. "Basset Hound Werner, the leader of Asgard people, you died with dignity." The Shaman wiped the blood off Werners face with a handkerchief and folded his hands on his chest. He looked at Werners face as if seeing all the bravery and roars in throughout his life. "More than a decade ago, he and his men came and replaced One-Eye. They sold their own strength, and robbed others for wealth. Avalon accepted him generously and gave him a place. "He did not have any survival skills or an outstanding long-term vision. He never relied on friendship and only worshipped strength, following strength. He died without fear and was an excellent warrior. He could have made the city a better place. However" He put the silver coins on the dead man''s eyes. His look was cold and regretful. "He let down the city." The iron coffin was closed and sank into the mire. The Shaman turned back, looking at the coffins sent in from the other end of the white mist and the death resting in the coffins. Some were his friends while others were his enemies. Those who were not able to live under the sun had all died tonight and were buried in the darkness. They would forever be in the citys shadow. He would witness their deaths and give meaning to their meager lives, even if the meaning was light as a feather. - During the long funeral, Ghosthand limped behind the Shaman on a crutch and whispered something. The Shaman nodded to show that he understood. Ghosthand was silent for a moment before asking lightly, "Do we really not need to worry about the Asylum?" "I told the Butcher to go and bring Alberto''s corpse back, and he did it. Thats enough. Someone else would take care of the rest," the Shaman said. "We only do what we must do." Ghosthand nodded. He heard the Shamans hoarse murmur. "Ghosthand?" "Yes?" He raised his head and looked at the Shamans silhouette. The old man gazed at the tombstones that sprouted from the mud. He seemed to be speak to himself or lament quietly, "We planted so many corpses this year. A lot of flowers will bloom next year, right?" There was no response. 166 The Blood Ritual Begins The clouds in the pure black sky were blood red with the reflection of the flames. Ashes flew in the hot wind. They rose into the sky and faded, vanishing. It was like fiery stars were rising gradually. The fire was at its climax. On the street, the killing had reached fever pitch. In the fighting and attacking that had spread to every corner of the city, roars and wails rang in everyones ears. An eerie and strange chill was in the air, but it was covered by the burning flames. The vague laughter and chanting snaking around everyones ears was replaced by the roars and screams, and then became too faint to hear. Covered by layers of bricks, hundreds of meters underground, the glorious yet hoarse singing boomed like thunder. This was the final laboratory in the central security room. The resounding singing and music echoed above the circular plaza. It rolled between the walls, rushed into the darkness above the dome and spread in all directions. The burning mercury flowed in the cracks between the bricks, forming secrete music notes and scores. The scores transformed quickly, warping like an asphyxiated snake. "How sweet is the grace of god! Sinners as I have gone astray but have gone been led back, have gone blind but can now see again" Above the designs, dozens of musicians clad in blood-red cloaks stood in the eye of the resonance. Their souls were connected as they sang the fallen hymn with fervor. Their eyes rolled as they chanted and sang. It was as if the song had ignited their nerves and they were immersed in the endless song. It was a holy hymn and melody, but now, it was indescribably wild and ferocious. A tidal wave of aether rolled off their bodies, transforming into a hellish red light. Bursts of roars and rips came from thin air. It was as if the gate to hell was about to open and the demonic world would descend! This was one of the twenty songs from the Codex Calixtinus. As an ancient record written by earlier saints, it was a treasure passed down through the generations of a certain sect. Later, it was stolen by the followers of Satan during a war in the Dark World. Using Hyakumes power, all twenty hymns were tainted and transformed into satanic hymns! As they sang the hymn wildly, fresh blood poured out of thin air. It was an immeasurable amount of red, flowing and converging from all directions. It formed a surging river. The red tide covered the dome, the earth, and everyones breaths; it overlapped and built up into an ocean of devastation. It was the blood that had been filtered and purified countless timesthe vitality squeezed out of so many lives! The tidal wave of blood surged in the air, seeming to create a giant vortex. Even the air around the vortex seemed to be warped. "Red Eye, the Blood Path is about to be activated. Hurry up!" the masked Robin ordered outside the blood formation. He gazed at the light brewing inside the blood with fanatic eyes. At the heart of the blood formation, the dark musician Red Eye consumed the immeasurable amount of vitality. The chanting leaving his mouth grew more and more hoarse yet shrill. The vortex quaked. Soon. It was soon! The Blood Path would soon be activated! The Robin chuckled and his figure melted into the darkness. - Boom! A burst of thunder boomed in the black clouds above the burning downtown. This was the natural phenomenon formed by the enormous flow of aether, but it was as if the gods above the clouds had been angered and were roaring. A crack of lighting fell from the sky, hitting the tip of the Tower Bridge like a whip. The faces of the police turned white in fear. After the thunder ended, the sounds of crashing waves outside the city disappeared strangely, but the wind did not stop. The wind brought an eerie chill that made ones scalp numb and body shiver. The thunderstorm had arrived! The world seemed to hold its breath. In this moment of suffocating stillness, the police officer at the Tower Bridge felt waves of uncertainty. They were so intense. Behind him, the clattering of hooves came from the darkness at the other end of the bridge. Dozens of metal wheels rolled over the tiles in the darkness, producing thundering noises and flying sparks. They were carriages. At least an entire squad was rushing over from uptown! The officers legs began to tremble. He subconsciously looked in the direction of the messenger, but he saw no onethe messenger had been there a second ago! In his shock, the thunderous galloping neared. "Halt! Turn immediately" the guards at the other end of the bridge ordered angrily, but the carriages sped up abruptly. They rolled over the center of the checkpoint, crushing the fragile obstacle. Like a nightmare in the dark night, the line of carriages crashed through the checkpoint, charged onto the bridge and galloped across the narrow lane, charging directly toward downtown! The giant stallions were at least three meters tall and were large as demons. They pulled the carriages at a gallop. Their metal hooves shattered the green tiles, called up wind and thunder, broke through the darkness and obstacles, and charged toward the large gate without hesitation. It was as if the gate did not even exist! "Are they crazy?" The police officers face was deathly pale as he stumbled back. "Move out the way, move" Boom! The giant horses and carriages swept past him with a whoosh. The wild wind forced him to the ground. The din as countless metal wheels rolled over the ground sounded in his ears. The line of carriages came like demons riding the wind. The checkpoints and obstacles in their path were all crushed. The carriages rammed directly at the steel bars locking the Tower Bridge. The two stallions that did not seem to be made of flesh let out shrill whinnies. There was no fear in their black eyes as they went toward the obstacle before them, their hooves clattered against the ground like thunder. And then came a furious shake that forced everyone to the ground. First, it was distorted, then it caved in, and finally it warped and broke down! Faced with the giant stallions attack, the bars thick as an arm suddenly shattered. Metal shards flew and buried into the stone ground. The black carriages broke through the last lock and charged into the flaming downtown. The police officer gaped as the large line of carriages crossed over the checkpoint brazenly. His mind was completely blank and dazed. There was only raw terror in his heart. "Catch," someone beside him said and tossed something into his arms. He looked down blankly and saw a headit was the head of the royal messenger that had just been ordering them around. His body shook and his lips quivered, but he could not even scream in fear. "Dont be scared. Hes fake." The man in a dark gray raincoat patted his shoulders. "His death has nothing to do with you." "Fake?" The officer looked up in confusion. "But he had the royal em" His voice cut off because a silver emblem of a dragons head was placed before him. The man in the dark gray raincoat shook the emblem. "Have you seen a real one before?" The man took the emblem back. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the last carriage and flipped up, flying back and disappearing with the line of carriages. In the last moment, the officer saw the raincoat flapping in the wind. The last bit of firelight illuminated the dark red emblem on the coat. It was a red dragon and a sword! "The Royal Musicians?" the officer muttered as he gazed blankly at the carriages disappearing into the burning darkness. 167 Guest From the Blood Path In the darkness, the ghostly fleet rushed through the burning streets, ran over the struggling crowd, left a straight mark on the road, and charged toward the Arkham Asylum. Finally, the two galloping horses halted before the burning building. The door of the carriage at the front opened. A man with a long beard clad in a gray raincoat descended. He stared at the asylum before him. Hearing the screams and someone chanting madly underground, he frowned. "Everybody get off! Get ready! We havent got an emergency order for so many years, especially an order from Avalon, next to the Royal Research Institute...This time, those psychos must be planning to report us to the Royal family." He shook his head and raised his voice, asking, "Where are the people at the scene? Where are they?" "Im here," a young man in a gray raincoat answered. The handsome man looked very elegant. He saluted Jerome and raised his grey eyes. "Long time no see, Mr. Jerome." "Gavin?" Jerome was surprised. "I heard that you reached the Resonance level and joined the Royal Musician Division. Its unbelievable! I remember that youre only nineteen years old this year and haven''t even graduated from the Royal Academy of Music yet." "Its all thanks to my familys training." Gavin smiled. "Im about to graduate and my teacher arranged me to join the Royal Musician Division to get some more experience. I dont count as an official member yet." "Youre close enough." Jerome nodded approvingly. "Three years ago, your teacher told me that youd be a more promising musician than him, and now I see that he was right. Your father wrote to me two days ago that your brother Banner was also accepted by the School of Royalty. Hes also a genius who doesnt lose to you at all. The Adrian family really has a distinguished heritage." Gavin nodded. "Banner is much more talented than me. Hes already at the Musician level. Im just his elder brother, but our family has to rely on Banner in the future." Jerome saw the pair of steel gray eyes and understood quickly. He patted Gavin on the shoulder. "This is not the place to catch up. Lets talk another day." With that, he motioned for Gavin to rejoin his unit, and turned to look behind. Behind him, nineteen Royal musicians descended from the carriages and were waiting quietly. The leading musicians selected from the School of Royalty exuded powerful aetheric fluctuations. Some of them even had phantom beasts beside them. Their raincoats blew up and fluttered in the winds of the rainstorm. "Gentlemen, you mustve learned of the situation on your way here." With his back to the burning asylum, Jerome announced, "This time, we are going to destroy the grand blood sacrifice to Satan. "Right now, there are at least ten musicians involved in this satanic sacrifice inside, including at least four dark musicians and a group of demons who have been transformed by them. Next, split into groups of three to carry out the mission. The remaining guard the entrances and exits as planned. Clear?" "Yes sir!" "Very well." Jerome nodded with satisfaction. "But before we act, there is one thing to keep in mind. No matter what the enemy is, don''t show your mercy." His face was as cold as iron. "We werent given a crusade order. The order was extermination. Dont leave anything alive!" Behind him, the clouds above the Asylum burst and erupted with a suppressed roar. Underground, the suppressed hymns suddenly rose up, and a shrill voice echoed in the firelight, creating the shapes of countless demons. Jerome lowered his head and looked at the aether ball in his hand. Through the reflection of the ball, his sight seemed to penetrate dozens of meters into the ground and landed above the quivering vortex of blood. A hint of fury flickered in his eyes. "Go now, charge!" - Boom! Boom! Bang! The dome of the final laboratory shook violently. Cracks spread on the wall as rocks and dust fell in the air, dissolved in the blood, and disappeared. It was the turbulence caused by the royal musicians breaking in from the outside. But now, nobody cared about those matters. The Blood Path was about to be activated! In the solemn ceremony, Red Eye raised his voice. The shrill song guided the blood light, causing the huge vortex to shake and swirl wildly. Soon! It was soon! He grinned in extreme ecstasy and a frantic song tore from his soul. The wave of blood rippled and collapsed toward the center of the vortex. Something metallic in the vortex clanged and solidified. Right in the center, it wavered like thick mist and gradually cleared. Bang! With a quiet sound, all frantic singing was cut off. In the silence, everyone stared madly at flickering vortex. The silhouette of a ferocious city was revealed partially in the white mist deep inside the vortex. "Its activated?" Red Eye murmured. He burst into shrill laughter like a night owl. "Yes, the Blood Path has been activated! We did it! Avalons Shadow is ours now!" All the musicians cheered wildly and, in unison, praised the glory of God, shouting madly. But amidst their praising, everyones expression changed in the blink of an eye. They looked toward the vortex in disbelief. Everything was thrown into deathly silence. Soft footsteps came from the vortex. A vague shadow loomed, coming closer and closer...On the other end of the Blood Path, something was coming to this world from Avalons Shadow. The musician maintaining the whirlpool at the front could not help but gulp, his face bewildered. Avalons Shadow was a no-mans land forged by King Arthurs Sword in the Stone. When the mad king was still alive, it feasted on blood and turned the whole city into a demon territory. No one knew how many bodies were buried there or how many monsters lived there. But that had been hundreds of years agoWas there anything still alive in the world behind that door? Everyone''s breathing grew heavier, their bodies tensed as they stared at the vague figure in the white mist. In the silence, all that could be heard were the faint footsteps in the vortex. It came closer, closer, and closer. Finally, the frightening figure was about to step out of the swirl and reveal itself. Everyone held their breaths and braced themselves. The next moment, everyone sawAn indescribably arrogant gaze. The eyes seemed to be gazing at dust, scum, worms, pebbles blocking the way, or something even more lowly. The pair of eyes looked at them, but the gaze clearly passed through those shallow and ridiculous bodies, and fell into the void. There was nothing that deserved to be looked at. Its hair reflected the blood light, but had a metallic golden tinge. Its teeth were sharp, exuding a terrifying coldness. It was a "Dog?" Red Eye practically heard the sound of his jaw dropping. Immediately, he was horrified and shocked. Was it an illusion?! What kind of illusion was this? He had fallen into an illusion without realizing. Cold sweat rolled down his back, and he quickly added on a variety of effects, but he still could not find any clues. He only saw a pair of contemptuous eyes. "A dog?" "Yes, its a dog ..." "Why would a dog come out of Avalons Shadow?" "Is it really a dog? Maybe its some kind of scary monster?" The musicians beside him could not help but discuss amongst themselves quietly. Their gazes on the vortex grew doubtful. Could it be that this vortex led to a dog kennel instead of Avalons Shadow? As everyone talked and pointed, that golden dog padded around the room like a king inspecting. After it found nothing interesting, its look became even more contemptuous. Finally, it stopped before Red Eye, squatted down, and looked up at him. Red Eye was stunned, finding the situation a bit ridiculous. He pointed at the golden dog and stared at the people beside him. "Is it looking at me? I dont even know if it really is a dogOh!" The last sound was a painful cry because the golden dog had opened its mouth wide and bit his hand mercilessly. The sharp teeth sank deep into the flesh, almost piercing through his whole hand. The cruel pain spread from the wound. Suddenly, Red Eye could not feel his hand anymore. Then came a terrible pain, like being hacked by an axe. His knees wobbled and almost he almost collapsed. But he was now certain that this really was a dog. And it had f*cking bit him! That dog shook its head like a human, spat on the ground and finally sneezed. It sounded like a disdainful snort coming out of its nose. Getting up, it turned its butt and went back to the vortex... Did it mean that this place was too boring and that it would rather go somewhere else? "You b*tch!" Red Eyes eyes had really turned blood-red now. He roared hoarsely, "You wanna die?!" Suddenly, his arms twisted and squirmed. His flesh flowed like water, clinging to the deformed skeleton that was multiplying and lengthening. His arms turned into a black python in an instant. Before the whirlpool, the dog turned back. Its eyes were still full of disdain and a scoff came from its nose. Then the vortex trembled. A roar that shook whole room came from the darkness beyond the vortex, and the foul hurricane swept out of thin air. The vortex rippled and the darkness at the heart was torn apart. A black hand reached out, silently unfolding and covering the huge dome overhead! The palm dozens of meters wide seemed to be made of ashes. The vague silhouette created by countless pieces of ash had only reached a hand out, but it was enough to fill the entire vortex! 168 Palm From the Sky A horrifying melody surrounded the hand of ash. It radiated with deathly aether. Everything in its path was ruinedthe walls weathered, the ground separated, and there were cracks in the wind. Everything was destroyed by the hand in an instant! Reality was distorted! Everyones faces were white from fear. This extreme power was only a step away from the Scepter level, and every Resonance musician dreamed of having it, but this was only the strength of one hand and it had already reached this extent. What strange monster was it?! Red Eye gaped as the hand rose clenched into a fist, and then slammed down on him! The only thing he could liken it to was the sky falling. A glob of meat then shot out from the black hand and splattered onto the nearby musicians face, eliciting shocked screams. The giant palm swept from side to side in the tight space. Black air heaved and grasped many musicians before returning inside the vortex. Painful cries came from the still vortex. It was the cry of falling into hell. The chilling noises of chewing sounded. Then all was silent. The blood-red vortex continued to spin, but the hand and dog were gone. The faces of the survivors were still deathly pale. It had only been a single hand and yet half of them had disappeared in an instant. Even the mysterious Red Eye had died! Some people shook, already thinking of ways to escape. "Dont panic. Stabilize the Blood Path!" the robin voiced. The man with the strange mask had replaced Red Eye and stood at the center. "The Royal Musicians are going to be here soon. The most pressing task at hand is to solidify the Blood Path and take itRed Eye, are you alive? If you are, then get to work." "Recoveringnow" Beside the robin was Red Eyes remains. His body had been turned into minced meat. But in the meat, the half of his head that remained still had a single red eye open. His sigh was hoarse. "But I cant use this body anymore. What a pity. Its been three years and Ive gotten used to it" The pile of ruined flesh burst into flames, sizzling with a destructive aura. The remaining half of Red Eyes head hovered in the air. It side-eyed the musicians who had never seen such a thing before and ordered coolly, "Lets start. Theres not much time left. Perform the ninth movement of the Codex Calixtinus as a symphony." The musicians swallowed and forced themselves to calm down as they obeyed. The aether began rippling again. Under the piercing hymn and melody, the Blood Path vortex slowly began to cave in. It released a blinding light, and the insubstantial state slowly solidified, but painful cries abruptly sounded amongst the musicians. The musician at the very front suddenly stopped singing and began rolling on the ground in pain. He had clearly stopped, but his voice still continued. In that wild song, his body withered bit by bit. The vitality in his flesh and blood was sucked into the caving vortex. A second musician followed, then a third, and a fourthTerrified, the musicians wanted to leave the resonance, but they found that they had stepped into the quicksand. Even if they wanted to stop, the melody and wild aether inside them would urge them on, ravage their bodies, and force them to burn up the rest of their lives, pushing this satanic song to its climax! Breath of Boiling Blood! This was a technique that the former Rain Artist had used before, but now it became the hidden trap in the music score. Other than the robin and Red Eye, every single musician was sapped dry. Bits of light flew from the openings of the empty shells and converged before Red Eye. The light transformed into an ancient leather scroll. Lines of scriptures were written in blood, describing how to use life and fresh blood to hold the ritual and please the gods in exchange for the reward. It was the Codex Calixtinus! This was the copy created by the lives of sixteen musicians. The robin turned to look at Red Eye. His eyes were eerie and cold, rather than angry. "Those are my men. Arent you afraid Ill be angered if you just kill them like that?" "Theyre just a group of cannon fodder that knows too much. Even if I didnt do anything, youd take care of them too, right? But if I do it, the trash wont go to waste." Giving it no mind, Red Eye just glanced back at him with his single remaining eye. "Besides, my two brothers died because of you. You owe me." "You better not ask for more." The robin looked away and raised his head toward the vortex in mid-air. It had solidified into a glow the size of a fist and was slowly descending. This was the sign of the Blood Path, created at the cost of the battle of downtown. From now on, he would be able to use this to open the Blood Path at any time and enter the dark, shadowy world. Under the mask, he revealed a faint smile and reached out to grab the ball of blood light, but in that moment, his body shook and his eyes turned fierce. "Who is it?!" A chilling laugh sounded behind him. "Youve worked hard." It was the Professors hoarse murmur. The alchemy equipment under the robins long robe was activated immediately, forming layers of guards. He grabbed the ball of red light immediately after. Red Eye acted immediately. He spewed out a green ripple that expanded in all directions. A black shadow was revealed in the ripples path, despite nothing being there. The Professor was revealed, but he did not hesitate at all. He sped up and charged toward the sign. His left hand reached out, grabbing the rim of light. His prepared right hand rose from his sleeve and pointed the silver flute at the other two. "I have a gift for you." The music score within the flute was awoken. The icy melody burst out of thin air and instantly brought forth a freezing wave. Was he from the School of Modifications? Red Eyes pupil moved. He flipped open the scroll before him, and the hymn sounded out of thin air. The pile of skeletons were yanked from the ground and dragged toward the overwhelming cold tide, but the tide passed through the wall like an apparition and it swept away everything except for Red Eye and the robin! This was not Modificationsthis was Illusions! Red Eye realized it immediately, but he was submerged in the hallucinatory melody. This was the trap that the Professor had set just for them! In an instant, layers and layers of frosty hallucinations surrounded him. A wind vane, a river of frozen tears, a Bodhi tree, a recollection, a ghostly fire, a spring dream, loneliness, a street sign, an inn Perfect "mental images" rushed into his mind one after another, invading his thoughts. There was the freezing winter wind, or the flowing icy river, or the frosted Bodhi tree, or the eerie, ghostly fire. Then it became a gentle spring dream and he felt so lonelyIn an instant, his mind was torn to pieces. He had been swallowed by the hallucination without his permission. This was Winterreise, written by Saint Schubert of the School of Illusions. In the freezing winter, it was like an endless dreamlike travel. This music score was not the most destructive, but even the most powerful musician would be trapped by the twenty-four cages. He would never be able to leave once he fell in. Red Eye was caged in by the illusion immediately, but it gave the robin a sliver of a second to escape. The layers of guards around the robin burst and blocked the cold tide. Then, a black robin flew out from his pocket. The phantom beast had taken the blow from the illusion for its master. The pieces of consciousness in its mind had been killed by the hallucination, destroying the bird instantly. The robin, however, was unharmed. He had escaped from the trap that the Professor had planned for so long! No one had expected the robin to be a musician from the School of Summoning! Sparks floated from his fingertip and flew toward the corpses surrounding himWhen the sparks wormed into the corpses noses and mouths, the bodies swelled up. Burning light could be seen under the skin, as if the blood and flesh had been ignited. In an instant, the corpses were nothing but empty bags of skin. A tidal wave of sparks surged from their pores, charging toward the Professor. It was a swarm of phosphorescent insects. It was harmless to dead objects, but it was the natural enemy to living flesh! The Professors movements did not change. He still charged directly toward the sign, not caring about the tidal wave of phosphorescence at all. Something rippled through the swarm, and a giant boom sounded. Light danced wildly as a burning figure ran through it all. The Professor had pushed through the torture from the insects and used his demonic blood to fight against their gnawing. After sacrificing so much, he was only a fingers breadth away from the blood light! The robin had miscalculated! Shock flashed through his eyes, but he quickly grew ruthless again. Gritting his teeth, he slid the ring off his forefinger and tossed it in the air. "If you want to take everything straight on, then try taking this!" he thought. The ring flew toward the Professor. The inlaid ruby cracked soundlessly and turned to powder. An eye appeared in the crystal light of the gems powder. It was the Fleeting Glimpse! Endless malice and wildness seeped from the single eye. It was practically tangible. The Professor shook as if he had been struck by lightning. His body stopped abruptly, and he quickly tried to escape. Under the stare of the "eye," the Professors palm shattered bit by bit, turning into a pile of deformed flesh. His entire body was tainted by the gray aura of defeat, and seemed to be close to toppling over. His shield was useless, his defense was useless, his caution was uselessGazed upon by that eye, all defense was meaningless. Even though the Professor had dodged it quickly, he had barely escaped being turned to ashes! If he was not powerful in both Mind and Illusions, he would have gone mad already and become a fanatic follower of the eye "The Eye of Satan!" The Professor fell to the ground and broke his own left shoulder. The warped arm dropped onto the ground and started moving like a living thing, crawling around. It had become a dependent of Satan! How did the robin have an eye from Satan Hyakume? This was a fleeting glance cast at humanity from the god that was responsible for sin and evil. It was enough to destroy any mortal being! In an instant, the tides had been turned. "This was specifically prepared for you uninvited guests! How does it feel, Mr. Moriarty?" The robin began cackling as he looked down on the writhing Professor. He reached out to catch the descending ball of blood light. As it was about to be in his hands, his smile became distorted in excitement. No matter how hard anyone tried, it belonged to him and would always be his! No one would be able to take it away from him! "Wow, youre laughing so happily! Did something good happen?" a youths voice suddenly rang in the darkness. Boom! The entire laboratory shook as if a giant had smashed down his hammer. The air pressure changed dramatically, and a furious wind swept through all directions. In an instant, the shaking sigh turned the dome to pieces, and the heavy shards fell to the ground, whistling. As the broken pieces flew, the wild mutants poured in endlessly from the darkness, charging toward the robin. Then the Vengeful Spirit descended from the sky, going straight for the blood-red sign! "What a nice thing. Its mine now!" 169 Despicable Demon! Seeing that the descending shadow was about to steal his sign, the robin roared mournfully, "In your dreams!" As he roared, an endless wave of black birds flew from his sleeves. These black robins spread their wings and soared into the sky with angry caws. As the phosphorescent insects continued to dance, the robins were painted with a layer of firelight. The flames were ice blue and radiated with frigidity. Everything in the path of these cold flames, even the stone tiles, were turned to mud. This was what the phantom beast Robin truly looked like! "Really?" Faced with the wave of robins, Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth and smiled. Between his teeth, the Crystal of Virtue glittered. With a crack, he broke and swallowed half of the crystal. Then he gripped his cane and showed the gem on the cane to the robin. Lightning flashed through the gem, as if it was a projection of a thunderous world. "Do not turn the three realms into ashes!" In the next moment, the black clouds over Avalon city resonated with his voice. The gods had been angered! Lightning poured from the cane like a tsunami. It swallowed the cold flames and transformed the entire laboratory into a hell of furious electric light. The extreme light and heat illuminated all the demons. "Holmes!" The robins expression changed dramatically, and he squeezed out the words from his mouth. "You b*stard" He charged forward, not caring that he was rushing toward destructive lightning. He was going to charge and take back his Blood Path sign, even if there was the risk of being turned to ashes. The destructive light swallowed everything. When the light faded, Ye Qingxuan was on the ground. Even with the Crystal of Virtue, the extreme blood loss still made it hard to breathe. On the other hand, the robin was burnt to crisp and badly injured. But he held the blood light in his hands. He had gotten the sign to the Blood Path! "Haha haha!" Even though he had fallen to this sad state, he still could not hold in his laughter when he saw Ye Qingxuan. "You can try to take it but its mine! Mine!" "Really?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled and raised his hand, showing the robin what was in it. "Then whats this?" The laugher cut off abruptly. The robin gaped at what was in Ye Qingxuans hand and then back at his own blood light. What was this?! Ye Qingxuan held a blood light identical to what the robin had! In the moment of fighting, the blood light had been split into two? The robin took one half, while the other was now Ye Qingxuans! They split it equally? "What the f*ck!" The robin could not accept this realityF*cking why? He had worked so hard for five years, putting in mental and physical work, planning and strategizing, pressured by the Royal family and the Shamans attacks. He had risked being caught by the Royal Musicians, and finally had hope for successbut now someone else had taken half the reward! How was this fair?! And he did not know if he could activate the Blood Path with just half the sign! The bloody light finally dissipated in Ye Qingxuans hand, revealing its true shape. It was a crystal clear ornament, like a conch carved from jade. "You b*stard! Give me the sign!" the robin roared, gripping his half of the conch. "You think youre good enough to take my things?!" "Of course. The treasures of the world belong to the virtuous!" Ye Qingxuan stuffed the conch into his pocket shamelessly. "This was my bench in a past life. It belongs in my pocket. Dont even think about taking it. And anyway, you dark musicians have wretched lives. Do you think you can handle it?" "Youyou" Under the mask, the robins face turned purple in anger. His vision had gone dark, and he felt the urge to cough up blood. "Silence!" Ye Qingxuan interrupted, glaring at him. "You despicable demon, how dare you fight with me? Do you feel no shame?!" "Good, good!" The robin cackled in anger. He listened to the commotion coming from afar, as well as the Royal musicians music, and his eyes hardened. "Even if you have half of the sign, you might not be able to keep it" Shrill music came from his broken sleeves, and the dying embers on the ground shook abruptly. Fiery blue robins jumped from the flames as if a gate had been opened. Hundreds upon thousands of robins flew out endlessly. They spread their wings, grouped, and swarmed toward Ye Qingxuan! Ye Qingxuans expression changed. He raised his cane to activate Indras Eye again, but the surging fire suddenly shook and disappeared. The robin had vanished in the dissipating flamesHe escaped? Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He let out a sigh in relief, but he was still a bit upset. "Wheres your courage?" he thought. "I saw you as a man and was going to fight to the death!" But then he realized what the guy had wanted to do. How could he forget? There was still trouble here He raised his head slowly and glanced at the one-armed figure. The crippled arm was regenerating from the flesh. Ye Qingxuan looked at the blood-red conch in his pocket and then at the sharp sword peeking out of the others sleeve. He sighed. "No way, more fighting?" The sword thrusted toward him! - "Its so funny seeing dogs fighting each other!" In a hidden room, the robin watched coldly at the fighting figures in the water mirror. He sneered. "I dont care if its the Professor, Holmes, or those Royal musicians. They wont get it!" "The sign was stolen?" The remains of a head trembled in his hands and shook off the hallucinatory frost. A bloody eye opened. Red Eye had escaped from the cage. "Just half of it." The robin swallowed the expensive medicine and his burnt skin began to flake off, his flesh regenerating. He stared coldly at Red Eye. "What use are you if a mere illusion can trap you?" "A mere illusion? Thats the winter hell created by the Saint Schubert. In its full extent, it can leave a reflection in the aether world!" Red Eye said hoarsely. "If the Professor hadnt been defeated by the satanic eye, I wouldve probably died in there. I cant believe he has weaknesses like that. This guys powers keep fluctuating" "Whatever." The robins eyes were icy. "Awaken your spare body." Red Eye was taken aback. Hesitation flashed past his eyes. "Are you sure?" "Is there anything more important than the Blood Path sign now? Do you want those royal musicians to take everything weve accomplished?" The robin gazed at him gravely. "Awaken the spares and activate the praise ritual." Under that stare, Red Eye hesitated but acquiesced. "As you wish, my lord." As Red Eye chanted quietly, the Codex Calixtinus opened slowly. It reached its peak in an instant. The ritual book that depicted the feast in Hell and chaotic killing had nothing in the end. There was only a black eye. It seemed to stare into the human world from a deep abyss. The messy sketch harnessed an immeasurable amount of wild darkness. "The long night has arrived," he heard something murmur from the abyss. 170 Elegy Memorial In the final laboratory, swords brandished. The sounds of notes exploding came constantly. A thin nine-foot-long blade shot out of the Professor''s sleeve and fell on the ground. Like a snake dancing, it weaved layers of dreamy coldness. The notes engraved on the blade lit up continuously, dazzling ones eyes and confusing them. If one became lost in it, one might shatter into pieces from one moment of absent mindedness. "By the way, dont you think that Ive improved a lot?" Compared to the pathetic escape last time, Ye Qingxuan dodged more easily this time. With the reading and interpretation of perception threads and the modified "steel skeleton," he dealt with the blades and notes easily while trying to distract the Professor by endlessly spouting nonsense. "Sorry. It seems that I spoil your plan every time we meet. But everything is gonna be okay, isnt it? Look at me. You played me, but Im not angry at all. I even saved you just now. Since were old friends, cant we just take a seat and have a talk?" "Old friend?" The Professor scoffed. "Your friendship gives me insomnia..." "Its okay. You friendless and eternally lonely people are always like this, I understand." A cold light flashed in Ye Qingxuans eyes. "When I strip you and hang you later, well be best friends forever." With the swords intertwined, he took a sudden step forward and pounced onto the gorgeous cold light, as if embracing death. The Professor''s robe fluttered slightly, and the blade bounced like a snake. Dancing, it wrapped around Ye Qingxuan, layer by layer. It would then be tightened in a second and he would be torn to shreds. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan raised his arms. The plain black armor on it glowed with burning red light. Boom! The ''Sigh'' had finally cooled down and unleashed a frantic quake once again! In a blink of an eye, it was as if a balloon had exploded. The bloody air suddenly swelled, forming strong wind pressure, and blowing in all directions. The tornado swept by, flicking away the tightened blade. Ye Qingxuan''s fingers tightened instantly, two fingers clamping on the drifting blade of the sword with perfect timing. Shakes rushed into the nine-foot blade like a tide, causing it tremble crazily and crack bit by bit. This dangerous weapon, which required extreme skill to manipulate, was practically out of control under the high pressure from the Sighing Sword. Under the hood, the Professors pupils dilated and he stepped back. A gloating light flickered in the youth''s. In the next moment, the black river, which gathered countless feelings of resentment and hatred from the mutants, expanded under Ye Qingxuans control. It was accompanied by a plaintive melody, suddenly winding toward the Professor. He had been waiting for this pause for a long time. For a moment, the Professor froze. Ye Qingxuan let out a sigh of relief, but suddenly, a bout of dizziness attacked him. A memory surged from the depths of his brain uncontrollably. There was the snow, the burning huts and flames that evaporated his tears. "Little Yezi, don''t be afraid," someone whispered in his ear. "Don''t be afraid..." Ye Qingxuan''s body stiffened, his vision darkened, and the feeling in his limbs and body was being sapped quickly. He finally understood that the blade and notes were just a cover-up. The Professors true weapon was the melody produced when the blade vibrated! He had hid the music in the piercing scream! But this stiffness was particularly familiar. Memories of guilt flashed constantly in his brain. He could hardly breathe, as if he was going to drown in the black river. Visual distortion, olfactory interference, body sensory deprivation, auditory control... This was...this was...this was Black Friday?! It suddenly dawned on him. He gaped at the Professor before him. They were drowning in the black river they called forth for each other. Then, it was the same action again. They reversed the melody, undid the intervals and control, dispelled the effects. In the end, they got out of the abnormal state of mind at the same time. Coincidentally, they attempted to attack first to occupy the upper hand at the same time, but were both forced back. They stared at each other with vigilance. "Ye Qingxuan?" The Professor''s voice drifted into his ear with the wind. "...It really is you?" Ye Qingxuans pupils contracted instantly. "Who are you?!" The Professor was silent for a moment, and could not help but chuckle softly. "Who am I? Who else can I be? I am just a homeless demon." He raised his fingers and lifted the hooded hood. The illusion of darkness dissipated and, for the first time, he revealed his true appearance. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan heard the sound of his jaw drop. He almost thought that he was in another illusion. The criminal think-tank of Avalon, the shadow and demon musician of downtown, Professor Lord Moriartywas a woman? It was not a big deal that the Professor was a woman. What was unbelievable was that he had seen this charming and beautiful face before! "This is the true face of the Professor. How is it, my old friend?" On that slightly pale face, her eyes were like the shadow of the moonlight. They gazed silently at the youth before her, and her thin red lips curled into a smile of delight. One had to admit that she was indeed the most beautiful woman Ye Qingxuan ever seen in his life. Just a smile could make people distracted and unable to look away. "How can it be you?" Ye Qingxuan muttered, but the misty illusion gathered again and recovered the face. "I think we have more important things to focus on than this, right?" She sighed, looking toward the door of the laboratory. There, roars had gotten closer. The destructive melody played by the Royal Music Division was already clear in their ears. The flames, rays, and frost of the School of Modifications tore through the layers of barriers, and kept marching toward the core. The fierce phantom beasts of the School of Summoning followed closely behind, killing all living creatures in their way. The scent of blood in the air thickened as they killed everything they in their path. No matter if it was a mad mutant or an innocent doctor, all were taken care of in the same way. This was the so called "extermination order" given by the royal family, and this decree of destruction was only enacted to clean up polluted villages and towns. Appearing here today, the royal family must have really wanted to eradicate them. "Im starting to regret not killing you." She glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "Now its too late to leave." "Theres eighteen of them." Ye Qingxuan emitted the perception threads to detect and had roughly pinpointed their location before the line was interrupted by turbulence. His eyebrows slowly furrowed. That group of people was really cruel. They did not miss a single inch. It seemed there were Revelations musicians as the conductors as they were not affected by the complex crossroads or the dark surroundings at all. The eighteen of them were divided into six teams. Each team leader exuded strong aetheric fluctuations. There were also three Resonance level musicians who had breached the Barrier of Knowledge. This lineup, enough to destroy a town, had scorched every inch of the place. "I''m afraid theres more than that." The Professor shook her head and looked up at the shattered dome overhead. "The robins people dared carry out a blood sacrifice in this Asylum, so Im afraid they worked out the method to deal with the Royal musicians..." Before she could finish her words, a drop of black mud fell from the broken openings of the dome. The thumb-size droplets of mud fell on the ground, squelching. Mud splattered on the ground, forming a palm-sized stain. But something seemed to be squirming vaguely in the stain. As if this were a cave that lead to darkness, a foul wind blew from the stain, bringing the wailing hymn. This was the first drop, followed by the second, the thirduntil it began to fall like rain. The strange ''mud'' quick seeped from, not just the cracks, but also the floor, and crevices in the walls...If this did not stop, they would soon have no place to stand! "It has begun." The Professor''s eyes grew cold. "The Elegy Memorial." 171 There Should Be Moonligh "Strum the instrument and sing the mournful song with me!" In the hidden room, Red Eyes head hovered in the air. There seemed to be snakes writhing under his twisted features, and they changed constantly. Before him, the sharp sacred music appeared from the ancient scroll and resounded in the darkness. Waves of hoarse singing followed immediately in the darkness. In the faraway "warehouse," countless empty metal hooks on the ceiling shookthere was nothing there already! Those dead corpses had already started moving again! They crawled, writhed, walked and grouped outside the central security room, pacing through the complex underground palace. Without exception, all of their eyes turned blood red! When the hymn sounded, all of the corpses began trembling. They turned toward the direction of the sacred scroll in unison. Their red eyes shone with fiery light as if they had been ignited. The shrill hymn echoed in every corner. Under the music, the corpses raised their heads and opened their mouths, singing the fallen hymn in unison. This choir of the deadchoir from Hellhidden in the darkness was the result of Red Eyes longtime experimentation. He did not care about his physical body because each of these mutants could become his new body. Now, his consciousness jumped out of his shell and flowed in these innumerable bodies. Under his control, the thousands of people were like one. They sang hoarsely, "Strum the instrument and sing the mournful song with me!" When the song resounded in the darkness, every Royal Musician looked up abruptly. They saw the shapeless darkness above their heads writhe. An open mouth seemed to form and chant the destructive hymn. "The wheel of fate turns heartlessly. Destruction falls and pain is here! Do not hesitate now. The most courageous warrior has already collapsed under fate and is crying in pain. Offer petty alms, but for the extortion of greed" The Carmina Burana which required dozens of musicians to perform together was now produced by thousands of mouths howling, murmuring, and harmonizing. The fallen hymn moved the darkness and ignited the mercury runes carved into the layers of stone tiles. In an instant, nightmarish fog poured out of thin air and swallowed the entire hospital. In the darkness, the silhouettes of countless demons danced. They wailed, impatiently waiting to take over the flesh and become substantial. In the underground palace, mud dripped from the ceiling. A Royal Musician that was raiding outside felt something cold drip onto his neck. He wiped it away, but the squirming mud spread on his hand. The mud shot up his shoulder and burrowed into his heart, traveling through his blood. The flesh and bones in its path were turned into pure blackness. He yelped and stumbled back. When his companions looked over, they saw him holding onto the wall and vomiting. "Asa, whats wrong?" A musician raised his lantern to illuminate the man. "IIm fine." With his back to the others, Asa shook his head. He wiped away the mud at the corner of his lips and breathed with difficulty. But an empty smile appeared on that stiff face. "Im justa little hungry." Outside the central security room, layers of blood-red music notes and scores appeared on the walls and dome. It was as if hemp and rattan were entangled with each other. The darkness swallowed everything, turning the underground maze into something otherworldly. It was isolated from the outside world! This was the song of despair dedicated to fate. It was the ceremony of death dedicated to Satan. The entire underground palace was now a giant quagmire. Everyone in it had sank and was struggling. They struggled with all their might, but all that awaited them was hopelessness. - "Just immerse yourselves in hunger. Tonight, you can feast here. Everything here is an offering to Hyakume!" The robin gripped his half of the sign. His eyes were eerie and devoid of any pity, but when he looked at the two incoming figures, he felt slightly unsettled. These twoHolmes and Moriartymust be killed! "Red Eye, first corrode the two in the final laboratory. The sign must be in our hands!" Red Eye closed his eyes and his sleeves shook before him. The hymn rippled and the dark mud moved under his control. It was as if the walls had turned into an angry current. It rushed toward the final laboratory instantly. - In the laboratory, the sticky black mud surged from cracks in the ceiling, floor, and walls. They transformed and corroded every living thing in its path. Ye Qingxuan retreated slowly, but the mud was closing in on him. It radiated with a corrosive strength that made his vision go black faintly. Even the tiniest bit on him would have bad results. Now, there was no way for him to leave. The phrase "no road towards the heavens, no door toward Hell" was probably made to describe these kinds of situations, right? "I was too bold." He chewed on his lips and his brows furrowed. "Miss Professor, can you not space out now? We can talk about our matter and who the sign belongs to later. But now, do you have any idea how to let us get out of here?" "Huh, even Holmes is powerless now?" The Professor chuckled, as if she were happy that Ye Qingxuan was lowering himself. "I have an idea. Ill tell you if you beg me." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan fluttered his lashes and gazed at her with innocent eyes. "Sister, please" "" The Professor heard his plea, but she did not feel proud at all. Instead, there seemed to be something caught in her throat. "Dont you have any dignity?" "Its just asking someone for help. Theres nothing to do with dignity. Life is precious and begging someone isnt too bad." Ye Qingxuan turned. He punched the ground and the vibrations forced the incoming mud back, keeping this small space temporarily. "Ive done much more lowly things to survive. If you want to see me humiliated, youll be disappointed." "" Gazing at his backside, the Professor fell silent, but the look in her eyes was complicated. She could not help but sigh. "Since you know Black Friday, do you know Moonlight, the advanced movement?" "Its in my head, but I cant play it." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Thats a Resonance level movement. I can somewhat read the overture, but I dont understand it." "What about Jiu Xiao Huan Pei?" "Its here." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and showed her the instrument that was now a ring. The Professor smiled. "Then, do you want to go into Coherence?" She looked into the youths eyes as if wanting to find the hidden fear. "If you want to leave this place, I can give you some energy. But arent you scared of being sucked dry by a demonic musician like me?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment. Then he gripped her hand. Her hand was soft and cool, but it was not frightening. Instead, it felt familiar. There was that feeling of familiarity again "Okay," he said quietly. "Lets have a moment of silence for your choice." She licked her lower lip and chuckled. "Falling into my hands is worse than death." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, letting her do whatever she needed to. He could feel a cold finger flitting across his neck, bringing a cold feeling. Then sharp teeth sank into his skin, piercing his blood vessel. His life was being sucked. He could feel his blood being sucked continuously. A strong emptiness appeared in his heart, but Ye Qingxuan still did not feel shocked. He began playing Bolero again, taking in the water vapor and forming perception threads. The threads wrapped around the Professor and entered her body. For the first time, he could sense the aether in her body. In an instant, his pupils dilated. "This is your sound of heart?" - It was as if he was listening to the morning tide crash onto the shore. The waves overlapped into a symphony. The roaring music filled his ears and the world quieted down. This was her sound of heart! The sound rushed into Ye Qingxuans body through the perception threads. His vision went black, and the hallucination of endless ocean waves appeared before his eyes. He was practically drowning. "Cleanse your soul." The Professor embraced Ye Qingxuan from behind. Her voice, gentle and delicate, murmured in his ears, "Awaken Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and Ill cooperate with you." The waves changed. Her sound of heart was tuned to Ye Qingxuans fluctuations. He felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless sea, falling, falling, falling to the deepest part of the sea The sound of heart resounded in his body; the sound of tidal waves flowed endlessly to his fingertips. Burning light radiated from the instrument string and it vibrated without stop! Finally, it let out a crisp sounda beautiful sound, but in actuality, a weapon responsible for life and death! "Long time no see, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei." Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. Waves were reflected in his eyes. He looked down at the entangled strings around his body. They silver-white strings crisscrossed in the air, but the beginnings and ends could not be seen, as if they had stretched out from nothingness. After such a long time, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had expanded fully once again. His strength back then was incomparable to the Professors sound of heart. The forgotten jewel had finally revealed its true power. Ye Qingxuan only had to lightly touch it for all the mud around them to start shaking. The crisscrossed strings strummed, resonating with each other, and produced a clear sound that entered every pore. Tuning with the perception threads and blood, Ye Qingxuan seemed to turn into the Professor and looked down at the world with her eyes. He could hear the waves in the darkness, the old song under the earth, the clanging of clouds rubbing in the skyand his own heartbeat, now beating to the same rhythm as the Professors. He could hear her breaths, the sound of blood flowing in her veins and the unclear melody she was humming. It was the melodythe familiar music scorecarved into his mind. "Is this Moonlight?" he murmured. With his eyes closed, he strummed the instrument. In the sea of aether, ripples spread in all directions, brewing with immense power. In that instant, Ye Qingxuan forgot everything. The moment he pressed down the first note, his heart and mind were completely taken over by the music score in his memory. As if the music had come to life, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei expanded as he played. It guided his consciousness, controlled his body, and performed the cold and sparse music! Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes, focused completely and immersed in the incredible powerimmersed in Moonlight. There should be moonlight. - In the dark underground palace, the chaotic hymn of thousands of demons roaring had reached its climax. The solidified pieces of darkness contained power from Satan and extreme evil and wildness. Contact with a bit of it would cause it to invade ones body, tainting the blood, burrowing into the lungs, polluting the mind, turning a human into a demon, twisting all reason into insanity. The changing mud transformed into countless distorted figures. They walked through the underground palace, singing the crazed hymn in unison. Under the songs influence, everyone turned wild. They could no longer restrain the irritation and anger within them. Some had already lost control But a gentle sound appeared over the shrill and cacophonous hymn. No one knew where it came from, but it echoed throughout the underground palace. It was as if a small white dot had appeared in the black mud. It was extremely glaring and strange. In the hidden room, Red Eye furrowed his brows. He conducted the hymn and began the climax again, trying to destroy all resisting sounds. The fanatic hymn drowned the melody, but when it reached the peak, the cool melody reappeared. In fact, it had strengthened, and was brewing "What is this?" Red Eye murmured, opening his sole eye. In that eye, a sliver of light shone in the empty darkness. There was light. His head flew up and he looked in the direction of the central security room. There, the cool music was rising as if the long brewing process had finally ended. The rise and fall of tidal waves were crashing down on the wild hymn! In an instant, the angry rhythm was interrupted. A blank space appeared in the shrill chorus of the countless zombies! And then, a beam of light shone through the darkness. "What the f*ck?!" Red Eye roared. He extended his perception in that direction and used the zombies eyes to gaze into the mud-covered final laboratory. He saw the darkness surging and tossing as if something huge was brewing within. It crashed against the locks repeatedlyit was about to burst out! "Holmes? What is he doing?!" he muttered hoarsely. He tried to add more power into the locks, but the sudden change caught him off guard. Boom! In an instant, the black mud exploded. The youths figure was finally revealed, as well as the vibrating instrument strings in his hands, and something rising slowly behind him. It was some sort of solidified power. It grew out of the darkness, but it shone with pure yet terrifying light. Like a lotus, like clear water, like a mirror, like an illusion of ones heart, like an ancient song, like the convergence of all purity in the worldIt was moonlight as pure as white jade! The melody changed suddenly, transforming from cold and sparse to a surging wave. The resounding melody grouped behind him, lifting the nonexistent moon into the sky. And so, there was radiant light in the darkness! It was not burning, blazing or wild. It was merely cool and shone selflessly, giving its flawless light to the ceremony filled with evil. He was only illuminated by it, but Red Eye felt a wave of pain. The eyes of the body he was using suddenly exploded, as if it could not make eye contact with such pure light. The illusion-like moonlight shone through the walls and tunnels, illuminating all that was dark, far and beyond. The moonlight was like a tidal wave, but there was no thunderous crash. In its path, the black mud began to tremble, toss and turn. It evaporated into strands of black gas and disappeared in the moonlight. As if a hammer was striking his heart, Red Eyes single eye went black. If he still had a body, he would have started vomiting. He could feel the walking dead, the twisted humans, start to break apart and break down, swallowed by the moonlight. Even the Royal Musicians who had huddled together and used countless secret treasures and scores to avoid the mud were now immersed in the moonlight-like melody. Their eyes changed dramaticallysometimes ferocious, sometimes wild. They tried so hard to fight against the moonlight. But in the end, they sat onto the ground soullessly. All that remained in their eyes was serenity. A drunken smile appeared on their faces. They were immersed in the all-consuming moonlight. Crack! Before Red Eye, the Codex Calixtinus trembled suddenly. A crack appeared on the old lambskin scroll and the words written in blood began to fade. The treasure created from the lives of dozens of musicians had been damaged too, but Red Eye did not have the time to feel sad. He had to worry about himself now. The frantic hymn began wildly again, fighting against the moonlight melody like a tsunami. It still held the upper hand and still had the absolute advantage, but it still could not eradicate the melody of the moonlight. No, even worse, the moonlight had started toseep in! In that moment, the bodies of the countless zombies in the underground palace shook and tremored. With every tremor, Red Eyes reason would shake. He could barely keep sane. It was a shaking between his body and mind! The moonlights gentle melody seeped into the zombies bodies, resounding in the long-dead minds. A crack appeared between the consciousness and bodies that had become one. The dead bodies and Red Eyes consciousness had always been two entities. With each shake, the differences between them enlarged. They were close to tearing apart now! As the consciousness did not belong to the dead, Red Eye felt his manipulation and control grow more difficult with each shudder. Every music note that rang struck his weakest spot, causing his mind to grow heavy. This was so cruel. Holmes was trying to cut off his source! Red Eyes broken face twisted. He roared suddenly and broke the connection, giving up on the advantage. During a fight where both sides were entangled, the worst was becoming muddled and confused. Cutting it off now was better than Ye Qingxuan taking over the connection completely and using the walking dead to control him. It would be truly problematic at that point! His facial muscles twitched violently as sweat beaded on his forehead. It was difficult to breathe, but for some reason, something lit up in his eyes. He froze. Coldness spread through his bodyit was the moonlight, the d*mn moonlight! What was going on? When did it invade his will and plant such a fatal seed in his mind?! He roared angrily. The Codex Calixtinus before him cracked abruptly and burned without fire. As it burned, the satanic power within it rushed into the remains of his skull. It transformed into horrifying anger and wildness, using his mind as a battlefield to fight the moonlight. But the light was like a tidal wave, drowning the darkness. No matter if it was heinous hatred, wild murderous intent or uncontrollable anger, nothing could stop the invasion on the deepest part of his soul. Under the moon, hatred was smoothed, murderous intent dissipated and anger vanished. All will and emotions were assimilated under the moonlight. Even terror had disappeared without a trace. Like water, the moonlight seeped into his soul. It was not cruel, but it washed away the dark memories in his mind like a god. All despair and darkness were washed away, transforming everything into tranquility and peace. All was pure. Red Eye had never felt so relaxed and unrestrained before. He had become free of Satans control, as well as the evil thoughts and greed in his mind. The redness in his eyes dissipated, gradually clearing. The clear eyes stared at the moonlight, shedding tears of repentance. "Its so beautiful," Red Eye mumbled, drunk from the beauty of the flawless moonlight. Like that, he bathed in the moonlight and took his last breath. Eternal peace fell upon him. He was dead. "Beautiful?!" the robin muttered hoarsely, curled up in the corner. No, he did not see any beauty. The satanic blood within him had practically burst into flames. It pierced into his heart, burning his consciousness, torturing his soul. He felt uncontrollable anger andpure terror! "This is the moon of purity! The moon of purity!" He bit his lower lip and thought of the strange rumor passed between the dark musicians. And the man who was like the Grim Reaper 172 It’s Only Moonligh A faint hymn resounded in the sky outside the hospital. Heavy rain covered the world, extinguishing the flames in downtown. With the last bit of fire put out, the world fell into darkness. Occasionally, there was a flash of lightning. It would illuminate the menacing silhouette of the Arkham Asylum. Jerome stood in the downpour, studying the asylum quietly with dark eyes. The aether ball in his hands shone dimly. Dozens of dim light spots shone within. They represented the Royal musicians swallowed by the darkness. The spots floated, sometimes converging and fighting against the darkness. They were like candles flickering in the wind. Some of the spots had already been completely extinguished. Jerome''s brows furrowed. He held onto the leather case beside him. As an experienced commander, he did not move brashly. If he were outside, he would be able to detect changes at any given time and could provide help when needed. If he had charged in brashly and something changed, the entire group would be destroyed. But if things did not improve in three minutes, he would use the secret royal order to open this leather case and take out what was sealed within. It was an instrument made from a saint''s bones. Once it was awoken, he would have the scepter temporarily. But everyone who used it would be corroded by its strength. Those who could not withstand it would die on the spot. If he used it once, he might fall down one level and never be able to return in his life. This price was too much to pay. As the seconds ticked by, the darkness surged and the hymn grew even wilder. He could not wait anymore and finally made his decision, but then the aether ball in his hand changed. In an instant, the lights, like fragile flames shivering, suddenly extinguished. All light disappeared. As if they had been devoured by beasts, their connection was completely broken. Nothing he tried could reconnect them. Jerome froze, horror flashing past his eyes. What had just happened? Then something pierced his eyes. It was the brilliant light shining from the aether ball. He saw a giant tidal wave of aether appear from the darkness. The wave disturbed all the other aether fluctuations and muted all other noise. An abnormally angry wave surged in the sea of aether. In an instant, the complex changes had passed the limits of the aether ball. It went in overload and overheated. Even the raindrops that fell on the ball steamed and evaporated. Jerome''s expression changed and he tossed it away. In the air, the metallic aether ball suddenly exploded, but Jerome did not have the time to worry about the object. In the downpour of rain, he raised his head in shock and looked into the surging darkness. "Whatthe f*ck is this?" - Above the Arkham Asylum, the crazed darkness suddenly froze. As if it was a dying snake, it writhed in pain and slowly expanded. The hymn stopped abruptly and turned into the dying cries of the huge beast. The screams filled with despair and wildness shook the sleeping city awake. The terrified men crawled out of bed in fear. Some people opened the windows carefully and stared in the direction of the screams. They saw the darkness twist like a living thing, struggle and expand. Finally, it exploded! It had been killed. The destruction from the inside out dissipated with the wail. Something brewed in the darkness and broke through the various locks, rising to the sky! In its path, all darkness was forced back, and the crazed hymn disappeared. Even Satan''s anger could not restrain it and was instead forced back into the abyss by it. It was the pure moonlight! Under everyone''s gaze, the pure white moon rose from the ground to the sky. Where its light reached, the storm stopped and the black clouds covering the sky retreated as well. Even the unsettled ocean calmed down. The moon shone. All chaos became serene in this moment. The commotion and unrest disappeared and everyone''s hearts settled down. This was never seen before. There was no longer any fear or confusion. They were intoxicated by the moon and the pure gentleness of the light. Under the moon''s light, sweat rolled down Jerome''s back. He struggled against the moonlight''s power, but his mind was a mess. "Whose music score is this? Just resonating with the Originator is enough to form a Scepter in the aether world" he murmured, trying to recall this familiar power. A name paced between his memories, but he just could not remember. This was his first time experiencing this situation. Then why was his hand shaking?! That person, that personWho was it?! Clang! A cold noise sounded behind him. It was the sound of a sword pulled out of its sheath. The blade and the sheath rubbed against each other and vibrated without stop! The whistle of the sword was like a lion''s roar. It sank into his mind and shook him from his thoughts. The nightmare was finally over. Jerome stumbled back and panted heavily. He did not dare to gaze at the moon''s radiance anymore. Behind him, someone pressed down on his shoulder. He looked back and saw a thin armored knight. The knight was enveloped in a huge armor, hiding his face. The heavy armor covered his entire body and seemed majestic yet grave. Under the moonlight, the ridges were menacing. Jerome did not dare to make eye contact. The knight''s other hand held a strange sword. This was the sword that had yanked Jerome out of his shaken thoughts. Its design was just like a large cross and looked as if it was forged by two steel bars. It was heavy and crude, but in the knight''s hand, it seemed to radiate with power. Seeing him, Jerome no longer panicked. Thud! Under his ardent gaze, the knight wielded his sword, stepped forward in the moonlight and thrusted the blade into the stone ground. "In the name of the knights, eradicate all sorcery and evil!" The stern and majestic voice that came from the visor was a woman''s, but there was nothing gentle about it. Instead, it made one feel solemn. Then, a heavy and regal bell rang in the distance. The enchantment that enveloped Avalon had been awoken. Shapeless power converged like a flood. Brilliant light fell from the sky! The light shone onto the long sword and pierced into the darkness underground. This was the resonance with Avalon''s enchantment directly from the heart of the Westminster Palacethe strength from god attracted by the Elizabeth Tower. Any power that came from outside the enchantment would be forced away, regardless of whether it was a natural catastrophe or Satan! The moment the light fell onto the blade, the sword roared like a dragon. The roar resounded in the moonlight, awakening everyone in the underground palace with the Royal Musician''s emblem from their stupor. The dazed men finally regained their sanity. Drenched in sweat, they gaped at each other. No one knew what had just happened. They could only remember that they were sleeping in peace and could have slept for eternity. Soon, the search began once again. This time, there was no more struggle. The demons were still dreaming and were killed one at a time. The power in the blood ritual was completely eradicated. It would never be an obstacle again. Finally, they broke through the door of the final laboratory to search for the culprit, but the room was empty. The prepared Royal Musicians exchanged glances awkwardly, not knowing what had happened. Holmes, the Professor, and the illusionary musichad all disappeared. The pure white moon hung in the sky, radiating with cool light and illuminating the world. The abnormal strength had vanished, but it was still so beautiful and dazzling. "If this is the case, its power will be isolated outside the enchantment. A phenomenon from resonating with the Originator won''t last for long. It''ll dissipate in a short while. There''s no need to worry," the Round Table Knight said as she sheathed her sword, but Jerome was still worried. "Knight Galahad, thank you for your aid." He saluted the knight. "It is my duty." The knight known as Galahad returned the salute. "Even if I didn''t act, you wouldn''t be afraid, right?" Jerome shook his head with a bitter smile. He did not know how to start. Looking up at the heart-stopping beautiful moon, he asked quietly, "Do you know what this strange moonlight is?" "Moonlight?" Galahad was silent for a while, as if she had sighed. "It''s just moonlight." It was moonlight from the past. - "The moon above the ocean, long time no see." In the cemetery, the Shaman gazed up at the sky. He did not fear the demonic power at all. "Ye Lanzhou''s symphony of predestinationAfter a decade, it''s still so impressive." "Is this really only the overture?" Ghosthand gazed blankly at the moon. He felt as if his soul would assimilate with the moonlight, and quickly tore his gaze away. "Yes, it''s only the overture. He had used this to break through the Distortion level and possess the Scepter of the School of Mind. He had this unmatched instrument and shook the world with his charm. If not for his sensitive status, he could''ve placed amongst the saints." The Shaman lowered his eyes and gazed at the dirt under his feet. Seeing the moonlight shine onto the dirt, his eyes grew melancholy. "Sadly, he trusted the wrong person" - Under the same moon, some were melancholic while others cheered in excitement. "As expected of the moon above the ocean! You didn''t let me down!" In the clock shop, Hermes gazed at the moon contently. His expression was spirited as he watched the drama without caring for the consequences. "And so, months of riots can finally end with a beautiful period tonight. Congratulations!" Hermes was so happy he wanted to celebrate with a bottle of champagneno, he really did open a bottle. The fragrant smell of wine burst into the air. It must have been a name brand. But unfortunately, Bai Xi was not into it. She looked at Hermes with doubtful eyes. "Is everything really over?" she asked. "Of course." Hermes nodded. "The Shaman won, the parliament lost, and the Blood Path''s sign is shattered. Even the ''moon above the ocean'' was brought out. Are there still any problems left unsolved?" "Yeah, there is." Bai Xi gazed at him and asked coldly, "Who was the one that said he has the key to the Blood Path and got everyone on his trail?" "Of course it''s me!" Hermes pointed at himself and praised himself matter-of-factly. "Think about it. Other than me, the Trader who never lies, who else in Avalon could make everyone believe that the Shaman came back for the Blood Path and that the key was on that kid?" And so the coldness in Bai Xi''s eyes intensified. "You want to kill him?" "No, of course not! Bai Xi, you''ve wronged me. Why do you always think of me as the bad guy? How can you be like this to your teacher?" Hermes shook his head sadly and pretended to sigh, but there was no sadness in his eyes. Instead, he propped a foot on the counter and downed half his bottle of champagne. Wine trickled from the corner of his mouth and stained his collar, but he did not care. Wiping his mouth, he continued, "To be honest, I think of highly of that kid! After all, I was friends with his dad. I''ve watched him grow up all these years. Even if he was thousands of miles away in Luther, I was still caring for him "Don''t think that I''m always so crazy. I just wish he could wake up one day and break through the Barrier of Knowledge, perform his symphony of predestination, raise his soul, become a saint, defeat Bach and become the best musician in the world! "But he''s slow and never improves. It was making me impatient, so I had to give him some pressure." Hermes shrugged, his face innocent. "Look, everyone has to be forced. Look how powerful he is now. He''s almost Avalon''s new legend!" Bai Xi gazed at him blankly. Disgust was in her face. "You just do this for fun, right?" "Aha, I can''t believe I''m like that in your mind. It makes me so sad. I''m the Trader, the one who never lies." Hermes burst into laughter. He tossed his head back and finished the champagne in one shot. However, he did not say the second half of his sentence: After all, hasn''t the key to the Blood Path always been in his hands? 173 Entrustment and Compensation "It smells so bad" Ye Qingxuan held his nose and opened his eyes with difficulty. He could see blinding sunlight behind half a rotten leaf. The light was hot and it hurt his eyes. He lay in the foul odor and surrounding him wasoh, it was a pile of garbage. He was in a garbage pile? Wait, why was he here? He remembered that he had played the overture of Moonlight and sank into the melody. He did not even know to fight free. Then he became dizzy and the Professor Yes, he fell into the Professor''s clutches! The thought gave him a headache. His head really did hurt. The blood loss and exhaustion gave him empty pain and uncontrollable hunger. He quickly felt around his body. Good, his equipment was still there. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and Indra''s Eye were untouched too. Butthe Blood Path''s sign was gone. In its place was a folded piece of paper. He opened it with difficulty and held it close to read the small words. The elegant and flowing script only wrote a few sparse words. "Come find me." The somewhat familiar face appeared in his mind again. Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. His head began to hurt again. That d*mned woman threw him in a pile of trash! He pulled himself up and stumbled out of the garbage, but he felt extremely weak. His head pounded, his body hurt and he was hungry. He could barely even stand up straight. "Hey, friend," he said to the beggar squatting beside the garbage. "Got any food?" "No!" The beggar froze before quickly hiding his bowl behind his back. He had half a bowl of leftover porridge! "You have porridge! Why didn''t you tell me" Ye Qingxuan''s eyes brightened and snatched the bowl without hesitation, using his hands to eat. He did not feel anything was wrong until he saw the beggar''s hurt eyes. "Ah, sorry. I''m too used to stealing food." He chuckled awkwardly and coughed, trying to put on a serious face. "How about this? Go tell the Shaman''s men that Holmes wants to see their bossIf you''re lucky, in twenty minutes, you''ll be sitting insitting in" Ye Qingxuan thought for a bit and pointed at a classy restaurant that had not opened yet. "I promise you''ll be sitting there eating steak!" The beggar gaped at him in doubt. Seeing him like that, Ye Qingxuan just shrugged instead of urging him. "Even if you don''t go, your porridge''s gone and you can''t beat me so" Hesitating a bit more, the beggar stomped his feet, grit his teeth and walked away with tears in his eyes. - - Twenty minutes later, faint perfume filled the air, along with soft music. A tidy server led the stinky beggar across the fine carpet to the best spot in the entire restaurant. The server pulled out the chair politely, gesturing for the beggar to sit. Then he gently offered the menu. On the other side, another server brought over freshly-poured red wine and introduced softly, "Sir, today''s main course is Burgundian escargot. I also recommend you try the fried lobster and swan liver" The beggar sat on the chair in a daze. He felt dizzy, as if he was in a beautiful dream. The guy who stole his porridge was telling the truth? Was he dreaming?! "I want this, this and thisand that!" He stared at the menu filled with delicacies and pointed randomly. In the end, he was completely dizzy. "I want everything on here! Uhcan I get take-out too?" "It''s no problem, sir," the server replied with a smile. "Please wait a moment. I will notify the head chef now." "Good! Hurry and go!" The beggar was close to tears. They could even do take-out? Didn''t they say that there was a dress code here? Thank godno, thank the mighty Sherlock Holmes! - Downtown, in an insignificant tavern, the Shaman stood before the bar and studied the youth beside him. After a long while, he nodded. "You look pretty good." "I smell horrible. Stop lying through your teeth." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He stuffed rolls of paper up his nose but still could not block out the stench. "Fine." The Shaman sighed as well and moved to the side in disgust. "Can you go shower?" "Sorry, but no." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "Then whatever." The Shaman shrugged and motioned for the bartender to leave. Soon, the tavern was empty save for the two before the bar. In the stillness, the Shaman pinched his nose and sipped from the cup of alcohol. He finally felt a bit better. "Let''s talk about your work." He gazed at Ye Qingxuan. "How did you do with what I entrusted you?" "It was smoother than I''d expected. It was solved without any effort." Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow and whistled. "Things happened as you wished, Mr. Shaman. From now on, the Professor won''t be an obstacle." "Really?" The Shaman fell silent and studied the smelly boy. As if he had been angered, metallic light reflected in his eyes, its edges sharp. "Ye Qingxuan, have I told you the rules of trading with me?" His voice was cold as he enunciated each word, "Never try to lie to me!" "You think I''m lying?" Ye Qingxuan looked at those furious eyes and could not hold in his laughter. "But I feel like you already trust me." He paused and uttered the Shaman''s name. The Shaman''s true name. Silence. Deathly silence. The Shaman froze, as if he had turned to stone. He gaped at the youth. After a long time, he pulled out his pipe, lit it and took a deep breath before exhaling heavily. When he had almost finished the pipe, he finally asked, "When did you guess it?" "Last night," Ye Qingxuan replied lightly. "The Butcher''s actions confirmed my suspicions. At that time, I thought that you knew too much. Then this morning, when I stole a bowl of porridge and ate while squatting on the street, I suddenly had inspiration." "Inspiration?" "Yes, inspiration." Ye Qingxuan looked up at him. "It''s too coincidental, don''t you think? You''re really careful, but there are still too many coincidences. I read the files that the Avalon police department compiled about you. To be honest, you''re practically a legend and really impressive. "A few minutes ago, I compared your tracks and the times you appeared and disappeared, and I suddenly thought of a name. I finally understand why you''ve always trusted me." "That''s it?" the Shaman asked coldly. "That''s it." Ye Qingxuan shrugged helplessly. "I have to say, it''s not your fault. The problem is that my father really didn''t know that many people in Avalon." "So it was Ye Lanzhou that messed up?" Stunned, the Shaman laughed at himself. "For all these years, I''ve gone through everything, trying to be mysterious. I thought that the secret was kept perfectly. But now, I''m old and you caught mef*ck." He could not help but curse. "That''s how life is, isn''t it?" Ye Qingxuan raised his cup toward him. "Cheers to the Shaman''s victory." The Shaman did not reply. Ye Qingxuan shrugged and downed his cup. Then he rose to leave. "Thank you for everything you did for me, Mr. Shaman." He put on his hunting hat and bid farewell. "Please take care of me in the future too." "It''s not over yet." The Shaman''s voice stopped him. It was followed by the sound of wind. Something flew over. Ye Qingxuan turned and caught it, realizing that the Shaman had thrown over a metallic plaque. The finger-sized plaque had a name on it. It looked like one could string a chain through it and wear it around one''s neck. "What is this?" "Since there''s an entrustment, there should also be compensation," the Shaman replied lightly. "There''s an old guy called Dominic who guards the Jianlan Underground Palace at the Royal Academy of Music, right? He owes me. Take this to him and he''ll understand. You don''t have to reject this. This is the compensation that you exchanged your life for, so of course it''s a bit more bountiful. Be prepared for the surprise." "Surprise?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but chuckle bitterly as he stuffed the plaque into his pocket. "Let''s talk about surprises tomorrow. I still need to go to class. I''ve been ditching a lot and even though the Professor won''t get mad, I still feel bad." "You''re a good student?" The Shaman gazed at him strangely. "That makes me pleased." "Your news is outdated, Mr. Shaman." The youth walked through the door, only leaving behind a self-deprecating chuckle. "I''m the infamous disgrace of the Academy now." - - In the afternoon, sunlight poured from the sky. The busy streets were bathed in the warm glow. It was the type of relaxed, long and warm afternoon that made one tired. Even the stray cat on the wall had lazily fallen asleep in the gentle sunshine. After the rioting last night that was apparently terrifying, no one took the sunlight for granted. A few men sat in a caf on the busy street, describing what had truly happened last night. It was something about a Vengeful Spirit and the Professor dueling in the asylum. The Vengeful Spirit had turned into a giant bat and dropped from the sky. The Professor''s face was painted white. He opened his mouth and laughed crazily after seeing the Vengeful Spirit fall into his trap. They described the scene as if they had witnessed it. 174 Nowhere to Return to According to that man, the Vengeful Spirit and the Professor fought intensely for the key to the legendary Blood Path. In order to fight, the Professor hired the Butcher, but even the Butcher had been defeated by the Vengeful Spirit. In the end, the formerly undefeated Professor miscalculated and died in the Vengeful Spirits hands. After Holmes killed the Professor, he offered the body to Satan. The entire Asylum was turned into demonic territory. Even the Round Table Knights had been startled. The knights Lancelot and Galahad worked together to attack Holmes, but Holmes had fought back and played an ancient score from the East. It was called the Xuanyuan Sky-breaking Melody or something scary like that. He wanted to completely destroy Avalon. But god bless Avalon. The Royal Musicians activated the enchantment, called forth the pure white moon and purified him! "Hey, I was there when it happened and I saw everything!" someone else said with exaggerated features. "You were wrong about the Vengeful Spirit. After he called up Satans power, he escaped!" Everyone burst into laughter. Another witness revealed that this guy had been hiding in a doghouse and almost peed his pants. How could he have seen the Vengeful Spirit? As they laughed, no one noticed that the door was pushed open. - Outside, someone opened the door and entered. The sunlight outside the window shone on his white hair and prosthetic arm. He quietly passed through the hall and sat down in the corner. He put on an apologetic expression for the friend who had been waiting. "Sorry, Im late." He sighed. "I havent gone out in a while and got lost" "Its okay. Ive just arrived too," the muscular man across from him said. The mans burliness was over the top. It seemed as if his entire body was covered in bulging muscles. Even his face was muscular and fierce, and he seemed unapproachable. The people around him all kept their distance subconsciously. They did not even dare to speak loudly, in fear of angering this guy and getting beaten up. Seeing Abraham arrive, the giant man quickly put out his cigar. Rising, he raised his arm in salute. But when he raised his arm halfway, he finally realized what he was doing and sat back down awkwardly. Relieved sighs sounded around them. Everyone was worried for the old man who sat before him. "Is that guy going to hit him?" "This place is regulated. He wouldnt, right?" someone replied quietly. "It looks like the leader of a gang coming to extort money. Look how scared the other guy looks." "No, I think he looks respectful. Look, he laughed." "Of course hed laugh if he got money! I think that old guy sold everything to get this money. Otherwise hed get killed on the spot." "Yeah, I heard" "" As if he had heard all the murmurs, the burly mans expression darkened. He clenched his fists which were bigger than a jug of beer. His joints popped and cracked, scaring the onlookers and forcing them to look away. Abraham cast a soundproof wall between them and the voices became unclear and distant. The corner was quiet again. "Long time no see, Seton." His expression was worried. "You havent contacted me in a long time. Did something happen?" Seton shook his head quickly. He sat straight as a rod with his chest puffed and head up, like a studious little kid. Hearing Abrahams words, he pulled a book from his pocket and offered it up with both hands. "General, I finished reading this book. I can return it now." In his hands was a thin pamphletCollection of Anglo Fairy Tales. It was obvious that the reader had treasured it. Even the corners of the pages had been flattened carefully and preserved its original state. "Seton, you finally learned how to read? Thats great." Abraham became happy. "Ill get you some more books. Dont worry, they wont be too complicated. Ill find ones that suit beginners. Youll like them." "General, II dont want to read anymore." "Why?" Abraham was stunned and a bit confused. "These are all good stories. Look how interesting they are." "General, whats the point of reading these things used for fooling kids?" Seton mumbled, avoiding Abrahams eyes. "Stop forcing someone who can only kill to read those things." Abraham stared at him for a long time before finally understanding something and growing dejected. "Okay, I know. Some things dont work even when forced." After he took the book, he looked up and saw Setons dark eyes. "Old George died a few days ago," he said. "I went to his funeral." Abrahams expression darkened and he nodded lightly. "Becoming free after living so many miserable years is a good thing." "He was mocked until he died. Those people didnt believe him. All his life, people thought he was a liar who could only fantasize." Seton hung his head. "General, these years...these years, weve all been sad." "Everyone has a hard life." Abrahams eyes were dark. "Not many things are difficult, compared to living." "General, arent you the same?" Seton said in a hoarse voice, gazing at him. "We live in the cages that the country made for us every day. They draw the circle and dont let us take a step out of line. Every breath we take has to be investigated. Every word we utter has to be harmless. Even if we want to buy a razor, we have to make a request and record it. What is this? How is it different from being a prisoner?" "Seton" "I know, I shouldnt think like this. I know!" Seton interrupted. "At least were all alive. At least we dont have to go onto the battlefield and return to that dark worldbut are we only living? "No, were also humiliated and looked down upon. Were like wild dogs in a cage for people to look at! Why is it like that? When Gaius defected, he dragged us all down!" "Seton, enough," Abraham ordered, raising his voice. "General, do you still not understand?" Seton roared in anger. "That despicable old b*stard insulted our loyalty and belief. Hes the culprit for destroying our glory and breaking apart the Dragon Riders! Do you still believe that hes going to save us? He didnt appear when we were like dogs without a home. He didnt come back when we were captured and killed one by one. Its been ten years. Do we still have to believe that trai" Bang! The table was flipped over and a crude metal hand tightened around Setons neck. It lifted him up and threw him against the wall in a cloud of dust. Dust fell from the ceiling into a furious eye. "Seton," Abraham uttered, emphasizing each word, "I said, enough." No one expected this old man to be so terrifying when angered. Seton was like a little kid before him. He did not even have the chance to react before he was rolling on the ground and hacking, trying to catch his breath. But he still pulled himself up stubbornly. His eyes were forlorn. "General, are you really content?" he asked hoarsely. "We sacrificed so much for the country, put in so much, but this is how were treated. Wewe were heroes!" Abraham was stunned. After a long while, he dejectedly sat back into his chair. "Seton, that is all in the past," he murmured, as if talking to himself. "Its all in the past." "As long as were still alive, its not the past." Seton held onto Abrahams shoulder, his eyes full of anticipation. "General, the Dragon Riders havent died out. They cant keep us caged. We can break free and take back what weve lost. Even if theres no place for us in Anglo, its okay. Even if we go back to the Dark World as mercenaries, its okay! We just need your word, General! Just one word" But Abraham did not reply. He just lifted his hand to remove the hand on his shoulder and made Seton sit again. He waved the terrified server over to clean up the mess, turn the table over and change the cups. Everything was returned to its original state. "Seton, we were soldiers, obedient killing machines. We started learning the cruelties of this world since birth. They taught us how to use daggers, spears and poison and taught us how to kill people or monsters. But no one taught us how to live like a regular person." He sighed dejectedly. "To be honest, even now, Im still confused by this world. I dont understand their trendy jokes, and I dont know what the mood of a room is. If someone speaks a little less than straightforward, its hard for me to comprehend it. "Sometimes, when I sit in a banquet, I feel like I dont belong there. When I sleep, I wake up with a start, thinking a beast will come in. Im scared without a weapon. Sometimes, I want to return to the battlefield. Thats where I belong. But then I realize that even if I go back, its meaningless. "Hadnt we spent the first half of our lives there? There is no death or life thereTheres nothing in the Dark World, other than darkness. So, Im sorry, Seton. I want to stay here." Softly, he said, "Theres still something here that I must do." Seton was stunned. He saw the sharpness in Abrahams eyes disappear. Dim light fell onto his face, illuminating the wrinkles. He had returned to the submissive man. Insipid, wooden, and slow, he was as harmless and as average as a fallen leaf on the ground. He often rambled when he spoke. Now, his voice was slow and gentle. "You know, Seton, I have a really troublesome kid. When he was little, he often had nightmares and would cry softly when he woke up. Hed get scared when I wasnt around. I raised him and now, hes still troublesome and often gets beat up. "Now, I have a smart student. He has white hair and is stubborn and brave when deciding his future. He likes to cause trouble too. I have another student. Shes a girl who likes to cut class and go play. Shes innocent, cute, and carefree. Shes going to be a beauty when she grows up. But she likes to cause trouble too. "To be honest, theyre all children that make me feel helpless and worried, but when they call me professor, I feel happy." He looked up at Seton and asked quietly, "What will they do if I leave? Who will take care of them" "But" Seton stared at him, unable to speak. "But" Abraham shook his head and did not say anything else. And so, it was a long silence. Finally, the time-telling bell rang in the distance, outside on the street, and resounded through the city. The sun had traveled across the sky without either realizing and descended into the ocean. The sun had set. - "We havent met in such a long time and things turned out unhappily. I guess I really dont know how to talk," Abraham said. "Im sorry, but I must go. Its almost time for class." Speaking of class, he could not help but chuckle. The chuckle and smile were filled with substantial happiness, as if he had finally found a home. Seeing the smile, Seton remained silent. There was nothing more he could say. Abraham rose. Giving one last glance at Seton, he turned to leave. But for some reason, he stopped after two steps. "Seton, you have to look forward. You cant live in the past." He bid farewell quietly, not daring to look back. "The Dragon Ridersare something eliminated by time." The door closed. All was silent. Seton stared blankly in the direction Abraham had gone. He stared at the door, as if he was waiting for Abraham to return. But the figure did not turn back, even after a long time. It was as if he had disappeared forever. After a long, long time, Seton finally understood something. He hung his head listlessly and his shoulders shook. Everyone in the caf turned in shock to look at the lonely figure in the cornerthe burly beastly man was crying? He was crying like a child. Beasts would cry too, when they realized that they had nowhere to return to. 175 The Cursed Blood The evening bells came from the direction of the Westminster Palace. The glow of the sunset fell from the sky and cascaded over the white city, making the royal palace shine majestically. Light passed through the narrow, colorful window and dimmed. The dim light fell on Hermes''s face. Sitting on the chair, he looked at the intricate patterns on the stained glass in boredom. Behind him was a heavy curtain. Compared to the splendor of the royal palace, this room was too simple and too clean. There was not even the slightest bit of dcor. The smell of medicine hung heavily in the air. A womans hoarse cough sounded faintly behind the curtain, making the room seem like a hospital; however, this was not a hospital room, but the bedchamber of the Queen. - Through the curtain, one could vaguely see a black iron coffin shaking crazily. The iron coffin was shaped like a gigantic infant. It had complete facial features and limbs. It seemed that something strange was sealed inside of it, and it emitted a strong smell of blood. Some monks with gloomy expressions stood around the coffin. They were dressed in white, and were bald and barefoot, standing in a pool of blood. They took sharp iron thorns from their assistants and nailed them into the prepared holes on the coffin with expertise and cruelty. The thorns pierced into the living creature inside, digging into the bone. The coffin trembled wildly as each nail was put in. The woman imprisoned inside screamed painfully with a hoarse voice. Blood spilled out from the holes endlessly, and dyed the monks white robes and hands black. Yes, it was black. The sticky black blood gathered beneath the iron coffin and meandered along the reserved grooves before finally dropping into a silver urn. "Enough." During the long ordeal, Hermes suddenly spoke up, making the monks pause. Someone carefully lifted the copper kettle from the stove. Some sort of light golden liquid boiled inside quietly. It flashed with red light as if it was melted iron. The burning melted iron spilled out as the copper kettle was poured. It flowed through the coffin into the mouth of the woman. Gulping sounds could be heard from the coffin. They were full of greed. The long nails stabbed into the coffin shook as they were forced out by the power brewing inside. The nails fell on the ground one by one, making crisp and heart-stopping sounds. Finally, the melted iron had all been drained into that mouth. Not a drop remained. The monks collected the long nails and tools, then silently retreated and disappeared into the darkness. The only sound in the stillness was the heavy pants from inside the iron coffin. "More." In the iron coffin, the womans hoarse voice came again, "I need more" "It is beyond the limit, Your Majesty." Hermes shook his head. "If we add more, even the Red Dragons blood vessels would break down. The effect of the potion is getting worse, and if the guys at the Research Institute still cant find a new way, itll be hard to maintain this situation, let alone find a cure." "...It is because the curse is getting stronger," the hoarse voice said. "Its getting stronger and stronger. I wont be able to suppress it soon." "Yes, Avalons Shadow is calling. Itll wake soon. Thats why the perception of the curse is intensifying," Hermes said. "Your Majesty, you shouldve known long ago that there is no cure. Unless the curse is eradicated, itll always haunt the descendants of the royal family. You have to pay for what youve done." The woman in the coffin was silent for a long time. Then the hoarse voice asked softly, "How much longer do I have?" "Five years is the maximum. Then, you will die in pain and madness as Arthur did. Or in one year, you will die in your sleep as the Prince of the Thames did..." Grimly and bluntly, Hermes continued, "If I may say, the most important thing for you now is to choose an heir since the crown prince is a retard...True, he didnt inherit the curse, but if he inherits the throne, the entire country will be cursed, rather than the royal family." Faced with such blasphemy, the Queen was not angry. Instead, she pondered and asked, "How about the crown princess?" "Her Highness Mary?" Hermes thought for a while and nodded. "She could be considered, but her cursed blood is no less than yours. Youre the one on the throne, but Im afraid that shes been affected too. Ive heard stories about her since five years ago." "" The Queen was silent and sighed softly after a long time. "When will the humiliation of the past generations be cleared? I''ve given so much. Isn''t it enough? " "Because everything youve done has been useless." Hermess voice became cruel. "Whether its the secret research that the Royal Research Institute is doing, or the purification technology for the Eastern Dragon Bloodlines, they are all in vain. These things cant solve the core of the problem at all. "Thats why you let the parliament study taboo technology freely, and let them explore the Blood Path, right? Unfortunately, its impossible to reverse the situation with these things. Even if they succeed, theyll only worsen the outcome." After a long silence, the Queen in the iron coffin sighed. "Is Anglo doomed?" "Perhaps. But, Your Majesty, you have another choice." Hermes raised his eyes and smiled meaningfully. "Why don''t you try to trust me? I am the greatest artist, alchemist, composer, and musician in the world. This curse is a desperate situation, but if the royal family is willing to let me study it, there might be a way." These words seemed like a frivolous joke, but everyone knew that the trader would never lie. If he said he could solve it, then he was certainly able to solve it. If he said there was a way, then there must be a way. He seemed to be able to do everything in the world, as long as one paid the price... If these words were heard by other people in desperate situations, they would have definitely been ecstatic and see it as a glimmer of light in the darkness, as their last lifeline. But the Queen did not refuse or agree. She did not have even the smallest bit of joy in her expression. Instead, she fell silent. Fury exuded from the silence. It was murderous! "Hermes, have I not tolerated you enough?" she asked in a cold voice. "Do not provoke the limits of the royal family, and do not do unnecessary things! Letting you live in this country is already the limit. Its been so many years. Dont you understand? No matter what you do, no matter where you are, all you make is chaos and destruction." "Oh, that really hurts me." Hermes sighed. "Have I gone from your good friend to a prop? Passion is so fragile. Arthur deserved to..." The one behind the curtain was silent, but the smell of blood was full of murderous wrath. Hermes, feeling the sting of the murderous intent, revealed a respectful expression. "Rest assured, Your Majesty, Ill keep my promise. All these years, Ive never done anything, right?" "Good, because you don''t have to do anything, Hermes. Theres no need for you to be here either," the Queen said coldly. "Don''t you like watching? Sit there and be quiet. Thats all you need to do." "Yes, Your Majesty." Hermes bowed, and the corners of his lips curled into a wistful smile. "As I witnessed the beginning from Arthur, I will witness the end from you." - In the long corridor, the door to the bedchamber opened silently, and Hermes exited. He seemed to be in a good mood, but he was always like thisa frivolous expression, cheerful gait, and a strange, elusive smile. Just behind the door, an old man stood near the wall, as if waiting for the Queen''s summon. When Hermes saw the old man, he stopped and smiled more warmly. "Ah, I didnt expect you, old guy. Long time no see." Hermes studied at the old man before him. "You havent died yet?" "Im old but vigorous." The man known as the Shaman glanced at him. "Also, Im not the one Ye Lanzhou referred to as old guy, Hermes." "Oh, thats why I wish you would die soon. Two of men sharing a nickname is as shameful as wearing the same pair of trousers." Hermes looked expectantly at the Shaman. "Please, hurry up and die. Deal?" The Shaman just shook his head. "Sorry, Ive recently learned from someone that life is precious, so I refuse." "Thats okay. You dont have much longer to live anyway." Hermes stretched out his hand and carefully fixed the Shamans collar for him. Finally, Hermes patted him on the shoulder and gently comforted him, "The life of trash is hard. Enjoy the rest of your life, for, after death, there is no more joy to speak of." The Shaman was silent but Hermes chuckled. Humming, he turned away, disappearing at the end of the corridor. - After a long while, the door opened again. The Shaman entered in silence, lifted the curtain, tread over the dried blood on the ground and approached, kneeling one knee. Facing the iron coffin, he lowered his head. "Long time no see. I thought you had really gone." A hoarse sigh came from the coffin. The Shaman shook his head. "Avalon is here. How can I leave? I will never leave you, Your Majesty." And so, the hoarse voice in the iron coffin laughed in pleasure. "Hearing such heartfelt words of love as an old woman feels really good. Its as if Ive returned to my younger days." "You are beautiful as ever." The Shaman stared at the iron coffin as if his vision had penetrated the hideous ridges and fell upon that gloomy face. "Don''t say such sad words." The Queen''s voice had an undertone of fatigue. "Youve appeared with this look again. Do you have good news for me?" "Yes, Your Majesty." The Shaman whispered, "From now on, all of Avalon is in your hands!" 176 Nibelungenlied Late at night, the midnight bell dissipated in the sky above the Sacred City. The main hall was in darkness. The pillars rose as if extending into the darkness. Small spots of silver light hung in the air and shone like stars. Sparks flew when they crashed against each other. It was as if the entire starry sky was hidden inside the hall. An old man clad in a red priestly robe sat under the starry sky. He raised his head, watching the shining stars intently, staring at the dazzling Milky Way. This was the reflection of the Aether Sea that represented the resounding power between the skies and earth. Each star represented a Resonance level musician. Each crash represented a ground-shaking battle and fight. The light from the countless aether illuminated the hall. Stars filled the sky. Those that had not broken past the Barrier of Knowledge had no right to be included. Resonance musicians were in the lowest, dimmest section. The starry sky was ordered from high to low and divided into nine levels. At the highest point, three stars shone like the sun in the dark starriness. Those lights were the scepters of the three kings, Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart. For centuries, they fought the darkness and illuminated the world. They had announced the end of the Dark Ages and the arrival of the Golden Age. Like blazing suns in the sky, they glowed day and night. There was endless darkness outside their darkness. That was the Dark Worldthe dark territory that humanity had not yet and could not enter. As time passed, the old monk in a red robe sat in the darkness, focused on meditating and pondering. Until the clanging of metal boots on the stone ground rang out in the distance. The old monk was startled from his thoughts. He could not help but yawn and ask quietly, "Its so late. Who would come?" "It is Father Bann of the Knights Templar. Youll see him in three minutes," a mature yet gentle voice answered. "Bishop Albert, you should tidy up. If you meet a knight from the Knights Templar like this, you might lose credibility and prestige." "Ah, here again." The corners of Bishop Alberts mouth twitched. He raised his sleeve to wipe the saliva from his beard. "This is okay. Were both servants of God, no need to worry about too much. And anyway, what prestige does an old guy like me have before the Knights Templar that represents the power of God?" Soon, the distant figure neared. His old armor reflected the starlight, glowing with a cold shine. "Bishop Albert." He saluted to the old bishop gravely and then looked up at the dome overhead. "Your Majesty, Nibelungenlied, long time no see." "We meet again, Father Bann," a gentle voice came from above. "We meet again. I have already sent the new robe to your home. Tomorrow is your promotion ceremony. You should rest earlier tonight." "Thank you for your reminder. I will do it," Bann nodded. Albert gazed at Banns forever-emotionless face and could not help but sigh. "I always feel like I cant breathe when Im with you serious people. You should smile some more, Bann." "I will take note of that." Bann was still emotionless. "Never mind, you just keep doing that." Albert shook his head helplessly. He lifted a hand to move the starry sky and asked, "Youve just returned from the Armageddon Defense Line and tomorrow is your big day. Why are you here at midnight instead of sleeping? You want to talk to an old guy like me?" "No," Bann replied. "I just came to look." "Has anyone told you that you dont know how to hold a conversation?" "Yes." Bann nodded. "Many." Albert suddenly felt weak. It was so tiring to communicate with someone like this guy. "Then look around. Ill keep observing." He stopped talking and raised a finger, guiding the starry sky down. He zoomed into a certain point and retrieved the records with experience. One could see time turn back and stop somewhere. Before Albert, the stars shook violently. Flash after flash burst out. Those flashes were blood-red and filled with an ominous aura. There was the vague mark of an eye within it. "What is this?" Bann asked with furrowed brows. Satan?" "Yes, its the mark left behind by Hyakume," Albert said. "Those men will do something big again in recent days. Im afraid theyll need the Knights Templar to take care of the mess in the end." Bann studied the distribution of the stares and compared it to the map in his heart. His expression darkened. "Where?" "Avalon," Albert stated. "The source of all evil in Anglo. Its getting messier these days." Bann seemed to think of something, his expression darkened even more. There seemed to be thunderstorms in his eyes. "Are there more detailed records?" he asked. "If there is, then I wouldnt be squatting here analyzing everything at midnight." Albert scratched his chin, messing up his beard. "Look, heres the recorded image of last night." He pointed at the wavering sky and the streaks of light that flashed, extinguished and disappeared. "Nibelungenlied first sensed the aether tide that burst in Avalon and discovered it was related to the blood sacrifice to Satan. It raised its security two levels and reported to me directly. But because of the enchantment over Avalon, we have no way of knowing exactly what happened. The message from their Musician Union was unclear too. Seems that they dont want the Church to look into it. But through our observations of the aether world, we found many interesting things." "Interesting?" Bann furrowed his brows. "Thats right. Look." Albert adjusted the starry sky and redisplayed the recording. Stars lit up and went out continuously in the chaotic sky. But there seemed to be a thin veil over it that made one unable to see clearly. But in the blurriness, a stark celestial object appeared in the darkness and crept up. Its brightness was blinding. In comparison, the other stars were like dust. All flashes of light and blood were dispersed by the giant star and disappeared. Even Avalons enchantment was unable to stop it, and it rose to the sky. All there was in the night sky was that single shining star. The brightness rose and illuminated Banns eyes, causing him to arch an eyebrow slightly. "What is that?" "A unique phenomenon created by a musicians resonance with the Originator. At first, we thought that it was the ripple caused by someone breaking through the Barrier of Knowledge. But now, it just seems similar. Its essence is completely different. It is too complete" Albert paused the starry sky and enlarged the star. It grew bigger and bigger until the two of them were enveloped in it. Bann gazed around and saw numerous music notes jumping and connecting with each other. The notes formed a detailed yet complete music score. The constantly changing music score was breathtakingly meticulous. Each detail was perfect. "Do you see it?" Albert murmured, drunk in the beauty. "Its been years since Ive seen such a unique music score. It doesnt contain any impurities. It is pure and clean like moonlight." He paused and sighed. "Its beautiful to the point of being terrifying. Its as if it contains a soul." "Is it a projection from a saint?" "Ive already compared it to the records." Albert shook his head. "Of the nine saints, six are exploring the Dark World, and the remaining three were nowhere close to Avalon. Ive also consulted Mr. Haydn. He seems to know something, but he wont tell me." Bann froze. "Does Nibelungenlied not have any records?" "This is what makes me feel the most defeated." Albert pursed his lips and looked up above. "What was your exact quote?" "Sir, Nibelungenlied is not all-powerful," the gentle voice stated. "We are only recorders." Bann wrinkled his brows. As a judge for a so many years, he had sensed an unsaid meaning. Nibelungenlied did not directly answer Alberts question. It did not say it knew or it did not know. It did not even coldly refuse to answer and say "no comment." This question had sunk to the bottom of the ocean. No matter how many times the question was asked, Nibelungenlied would answer like this, adding another mystery to Banns mind. "But I tried to research what happened in Avalon through other channels and found an interesting thing." Albert pulled a small paper box from his pocket and opened it for Bann. "Do you want to play? These are the much-loved legend poker cards of Avalons gamblers." "Legend?" "Thats right. Many legendary figures are printed on the cards. Some even update their content according to changes in eras. Its surprisingly interesting. Ive decided to take this opportunity and tell the Church to release a set too. Itll be called musician poker. What do you think?" Albert spouted as he shuffled the cards with expertise. "Dont stray from the topic," Bann reminded him. "Right, lets continue. Some of the content is quite good, but others arent so reliable. Like that weird guy who runs naked under the moon, and some dog? I dont know what theyre thinking. But that isnt the main point. The main point is that in the newest version, theres a new card." The cards flipped in his hands and one shot out, flying toward Bann. He caught it easily and looked at the front. It was a pure black card, but in the blackness, one could see a faint shadow. The silhouette of the robe revealed a subtle ferocity. The figure gripped his cane and his posture was polite, but it felt so strange. The artist had clearly put in a lot of effort to make the aura so realistic. "Whatis this?" Bann asked. "Sherlock Holmes," Albert said. "Everyone calls him Holmes, the Vengeful Spirit. According to our research, it can be said that this man inadvertently caused the riot and became its biggest winner. "Hes become a terrifying legend in Avalon. People who broke the rules will wake up from their nightmares and see him standing before the bed to punish them for their sins." "A dark musician?" Bann asked. "No, the Silence Governance looked at his reports and made comparisons. They havent found any characteristics of dark musicians on him. Otherwise, he wouldve been on our wanted list a long time ago. "In addition, this guy is like a dark musician killer. Its been confirmed that the brothers Blue Teeth, Yellow Foot, and Red Eye were all killed by him. But some also say that Holmes never kills peopleit sounds like a contradiction, right?" "No." Bann shook his head. "There are punishments crueler than death in this world." Albert stared deeply into him. He could not help but smile in self-mockery. "Yes, thats true. Thats why he seems even crueler" "Do you think the phenomenon has something to do with him?" "By process of elimination, theres the possibility. But elimination isnt the most reliable method. As of now, we dont know anything. Ive already told Nibelungenlied to record the melody. The next time it appears, well be able to collect more detailed information." Albert paused and looked up. "But no matter what, many abnormalities will become more obvious as Avalons Shadow wakes. So Bann, are you ready?" "Ready for what?" "Ready for fighting against natural catastrophes." Alberts words stunned Bann. "What do you mean?" "I mean what I mean. Dont forget that King Arthur created Avalons Shadow to fight against the weaponry and power of the sea monster. Its awakening means that the sea monster Leviathan, one of the four living creatures and more powerful than most natural catastrophes, will come back to life as well." Albert rose and said quietly, "If Anglos royalty still cannot complete the task given by their ancestors, well have to act out of our responsibilities. At that time, Avalon will become another Armageddonanother battleground for humanity and the gods to fight to the death. This is Nibelungenlieds decision." Bann looked up at the dome in silence. Above the dome, the gentle voice sounded. "This will be a tragic sacrifice. We have no other choice. We can predict that there will be the possibility in the near future." Bann was silent for a long while before shaking his head slowly. "Since this is Nibelungenlieds prediction, the Knights Templar will obey." "Dont tell anyone of what weve said today. The Cardinal hasnt made an official decision yet. We can only wait and see for now." Albert patted his shoulders. "Go home and rest. Dont think about these heavy topics. Starting tomorrow, youll be the third commander of the Knights Templar." With one last glance at Bann, Alberts red robe disappeared in the darkness. Bann raised his head and studied the starry sky. After a long pause, he suddenly asked quietly, "Nibelungenlied." "Yes, lord Bann," the gentle voice replied. "Is there any word on what I consulted about a few days ago?" "Yes, there is news," Nibelungenlied told him. "The child you adopted is living happily in Avalon. He has been accepted by the Royal Academy of Music and became a student with good grades. As you wished, he has a trustworthy teacher and a new life. Occasionally, there are problems, but life is mostly average." "Thats great." Banns eyes grew content. "In a few days, youll receive his letter," Nibelungenlied said. "But if you cant wait, I can read it to you." "No need." Bann shook his head. "There are so many hardships and troubles in this world. I should leave some good news for tomorrow." He turned and left as he had come. All that remained in the darkness were the shining stars. - Under the starlit sky, the city was shrouded in fog. The dark streets were still and silent. "Is it here?" Ye Qingxuan stood before an old mansion. He stared past the iron bars and thick fog into the hidden building. According to his imagination, the Professor would live in a sewer or some eerie ditch, or even a hidden room in the slums. Either way, it would be a place filled with sinister darkness and secrets. But he had never expected thatthe Professor had bought an old mansion with a garden on Queens Avenue, the wealthiest street in Avalon. Ye Qingxuan quietly estimated the cost and suddenly wanted to cry for being poor as a dog. How could this woman be so rich?! After thinking for a long time, he finally raised his hand and rang the doorbell. Ding! The crisp bell sounded behind the gate and resounded in the white mist. Soon, a hunched figure with a cane appeared in the mist. He hobbled over and raised the lantern in his hands. Illuminating the youths face, his voice grew dark and complicated with unrestrained hatred. "Oh, what a rare guestlong time no see, Mr. Holmes." Ye Qingxuan cocked his head. Using the lantern, he saw the ugly face clearly. The face was unbelievably disfigured, as if there was a layer of chicken pox and measles on it, but one could still see his original appearance. "Sam, the Pyramid King?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and understood. He could not help but laugh. "Truly long time no see. How have you been?" "Come with me." Instead of replying, the Pyramid King took out his key and opened the gate. "Master has been waiting for a long time." - The next time Ye Qingxuan saw his master, it was at the very back of the mansion. There was only one lonely lantern in the vast library. Under the light of the lantern, one could vaguely see the four walls crammed with old books. The books seemed to fill every crack and reached upward, extending into the darkness that light could not reach. "You came later than I thought," a cool voice came from beside the lantern. She was leaning back in an ottoman with a blanket over her knees. Her expression was lazy and seductive, as if she had woken up from a short nap. Sensing that the youth had sat down before her, she raised her hand and pointed at the tea set on the table. "Newly arrived flower tea. Pour a cup for yourself and, while youre at it, pour me one too." Ye Qingxuan stared at her and she stared back. After a long pause, Ye Qingxuan sighed and picked up the kettle to pour her another cup. Flumes of hot steam rose from the delicate enamel porcelain teacup. It blurred the beautiful face like mist. "We finally meet again." Ye Qingxuan looked into her eyes and asked, "Should I call you Lady Moriarty orProfessor Lola Caput?" "Lola is fine." An authentic guest lecturer of the Royal Academy of Music, the up and coming star of the School of Revelations, the renowned history scholar, the weak and ill-bodied ladyLola Caput smiled. "Now that I see it, you look exactly like the Professor back then when you furrow your brows." 177 Something Seems Wrong It was the next day at the Jianlan Underground Palace. As the eerie door opened slowly, darkness surged, and the smell of ancient dust surged forward. Sinister wind came from the darkness and snuck into the collars, causing ones scalp to go numb. "So cold" Bart shivered subconsciously. Hearing the small sounds in the darkness, his face paled slightly. "Professor, is this really part of the Academy?" "Dont make such a fuss. There are haunted places even in the Academy," Ingmar replied lightly. The middle-aged man wore a spotless long coat and had attractive features. His long hair had grayed due to studying Revelations for so long and was tied behind his back, making him seem elegant and mysterious. Whenever he looked into the darkness, his expression became disdainful and proud. As the director of the School of Revelations and an important member of the school board, he could not stand having something out of his control. Every year, Jianlan Underground Palace would carve out a sky-high budget from the school board for no reason. And yet, it had never handed in a report. It was absolutely absurd. Who knew what was going on in there?! "Is your student ready?" The guard at the door glanced at Barts pale face and chuckled. "Do as you please. Im leaving now. Therell be someone inside to guide you." Perceiving the disgust in Ingmars eyes, the guard chuckled lightly and turned to leave. "Pretending to be mysterious," Ingmar huffed as he watched the man walk away. If not for the special circumstances, he would not even be willing to come. Every time he saw Dominics cold eyes, he felt humiliated. This was the only place those old war dogs could pretend to be powerful. At this thought, Ingmar became even more upset. "Bart, stop spacing out. Its highly difficult to enter the library of the Royal Academy of Music. You must know that our school has given a lot to win this chance for you. Dont let me down." Bart nodded quickly. "Good." Ingmar ordered coldly, "Remember the titles Ive told you. Dont be like the disgrace of the Academy and come out empty-handed." "I will take use this opportunity well." Barts eyes were determined. "Very good." Ingmar nodded. "The school anniversary is soon. You must prepare beforehand so you wont be defeated by a student taught by that blasphemous and crippled Abraham. This time, well show the old cripple our true colors, understand?" "I understand" Bart rubbed his still-hurting chin and his eyes turned sinister. "I understand." "Then go." Ingmar watched as Bart walked past the doors and the corner of his lips curled into a smile. One day, that blasphemous old guy who dared to disagree with him would be forced out the Academy. - An eerie wind blew. Footsteps echoed in the dark passageway as Bart raised his lantern and looked around in confusion. He could still hear the small broken sounds around him and could not help but tremble. This place was just too creepy. He rubbed the ring on his finger and gathered his courage. This time, his professor had given him the quota of the School of Revelations so he could enter the library and read the handwritten music scores collected there. Though they were scores below the Resonance level, they were all personally handwritten by previous saints. They contained the soul and mysteries of music scores. Readers could grasp the melody and strength much faster than the average person. Ingmar had tailored a book list for this reason. As long as Bart learned all of the melodies according to the list, his skills would skyrocket. These scores were templates carefully chosen by Ingmar to help Bart further grasp his unique music score: the first movement of the Crown Sonata. If he was able to use it to break into the Musician level and be blessed by the gods, there would be even better things waiting for him. There were only twelve hours, but it did not mean he had no other choice. Bart squeezed the ring on his forefinger and smiled faintly. This was the secret memorizer ring that he had spent a fortune on. Once activated, it would increase the wearers comprehension and memorization abilities. There were also hidden ways to record what the user read and saw into the gem. Even if copying was forbidden, he could still duplicate the files without a sound! The day he officially entered the Musician level would be the day that Eastern b*stard and his useless teacher was kicked out the Academy! A ruthless look flashed past his eyes. The School of Revelations had been enduring the humiliation brought on by the History Department for all this time. That old cripple had strayed and stubbornly insisted on researching his interpretation thing, ignoring their kindness, refusing to return to the right path. Karma would get him one day! Bart had already decided. During the school anniversary celebration, he would make the d*mned Easterthe disgrace of the Academykneel before him. "Youll have to pay sooner or later," he murmured, clenching his fist. The entrance to the library was before him. Bart felt the bag of money he had prepared beforehand for the manager and nodded in satisfaction. Good, the plan was perfect. As long as he had a warm smile and offered the generous sum at the right time, he believed the manager would make things easier for him. At this thought, his lips curled into a smile and he pushed the door slowly. And so, he opened the door, and saw the ground covered in marbles - In the librarys vast empty space under the warm lighting, columns of old bookshelves radiated with mysteriousness. The shelves rose like trees, extending to the limit of his vision. He could not see the end. But in the office area at the entrance, the tables and chairs had been pushed to the side into a careless pile. What replaced them were marbles scattered all over. A figure sat amongst the marbles with its back to Bart. It grasped marbles and studied the situation attentively, not even noticing that Bart had entered. Then with a soft sound, the marbles suddenly started rolling even though there was no wind. They crashed against each other, producing crisp sounds. It was extremely strange. In the eerie atmosphere, Bart felt his hair standing up. "Excuse me," he asked in a trembling voice after gathering his courage, "is the librarys manager" "Sh!" The squatting figure raised a finger, telling him to shut up. Bart could only shut his mouth awkwardly and wait in his spot in fear. After thinking for a long time, the person flicked the white marble in his hands. The marble left his hand but jumped dramatically on the ground! Endless clatters sounded instantly. Along the way, all black marbles were forced away and began rolling randomly. They created complex crisscrossed lines, hitting each other, but all landed inside a chalked circle in the end. None missed. "Tsk." It seemed like someone had made an upset sound. "Ah, I won without meaning to again?" The manager whistled proudly and wagged his finger. "Dont be a sore loser. Pay up, pay up..." There was the sound of a childs cold humph. Then a few old collector bottle caps fell out of thin air, landing at the managers feet, as if saying scornfully, "Take it!" "Hey, you should be more polite. You dont have the manners of a gambler." The manager picked up the caps without looking down on it at all. "We agreed that ten bottle caps can be exchanged for one copy written by a saint. Dont go back on your words." Slam! An ancient yet thin pamphlet appeared out of nowhere and was slammed down like a fly swatter, falling onto his face"Take it!" "Whatever, I wont bother with you." The manager took the book from his face and sighed. Then he flipped through, nodded and rolled it up carelessly before stuffing it in his pocket! He took it for himself! This guys movements were so smooth and natural. He did not feel bad for taking public property at all! Barts eyes reddened but he pretended not to see. Instead, he made a note of this corrupted b*stard in his mind. "When I get out, youll be waiting to be interrogated by the school board!" Bart thought angrily. But for some reason, he felt that the figure looked so familiar. There was something wrong "Was there someone asking for me?" The manager yawned and looked back lazily. His eyes lit up instantly. "Oh, what a coincidence. I know you!" With that, the white-haired youth smiled his trademark hearty smile. "Bart, how may I help you?" "Youyouyou" Bart gaped at the youth, feeling like he was in another nightmare again. He could not help but yell out the name, "Ye Qingxuan! Why is it you again?" "Oh, you dont know?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled in embarrassment. "Starting today, Im the manager of the library. How is it? Are you happy? Are you surprised?" It felt as if a steel hammer just wacked him in the face. Bart felt his vision go black and he almost coughed up blood. "Impossible!" He was speechless. "Justjust youyou canin your dreams!" "Youve misunderstood me. Mr. Dominic forced me to come. I had no other choice." Ye Qingxuan sighed, his expression sad and depressed. "Maybe its because Im too attractive? Being attractive is so annoying." Barts face turned beet red. It looked as if he was going to die from holding his breath. For some reason, he felt a deep stomach ache. What was that saying? It was like he had been cursed! 178 Demon The sound of a wall collapsing came from afar. In the darkness, the dome trembled. Dim candlelight flickered from the faint shaking causing dust to fall. It stung slightly when it fell on ones face. The terrified crowd inside the sealed sanctuary let out restrained cries of shock. A sharp wail sounded faintly. Through the thick dirt, one could sense them approaching and pacing in the ruins of the village. They had come. In the silence, even the sounds of breathing became harsh and terrifying. The refugees tried to hold their breath as thuds sounded continuously overhead. The entire village was shrouded in the sudden disaster. "Oh god" In the claustrophobic atmosphere, the priest prayed hopelessly. The survivors curled up in the darkness and closed their eyes. - This was the frontier of humanity, the place with the dimmest light. Tonight was destined to be the darkest moment of this small village. Death, disaster and chaos had come. Waves of demons and beasts had arrived without any warning, and the traps outside the village could not stop them. The high walls and garrison were weak as thin paper. The alarm rung. That was the one fortunate event of all the misfortunes. The alarm rang seventeen times, shocking the sleeping villagers awake. They opened their eyes and saw the burning village and the demons on the streets. In the end, only a few dozen people had the chance to hide in the churchs sanctuary. The others, the remaining oneshad all become the demons food. "Theyre finished" someone murmured. The survivors sat on the ground in exhaustion. They stared at the fear in each others eyes and tried to restrain their breathing. Through the heavy gates, there was the sound of something approaching. It was the sound of the demons rampage in the village. They followed the scent of blood to find their prey. The roars of beasts and painful cries of men sounded continuously. "Mommy, Im scared." A childs restrained crying sounded in the darkness but his mouth was quickly covered by his mother. Teardrops fell on his cheeks. "Dont be scared, dont be scaredthe demons are all gone. Dont be scared?" Had they really gone? Everyones eyes were filled with deep terror because the sounds were still above their heads. The demons were still pacing on the ground above the thick dirt and layers of stone tiles. They had feasted on fresh blood but were still not satiated. There were still remaining breaths lingering above the ruins, leading them to patrol lazily for the existence of any living person, even if it meant digging six feet deep. Boom! The looming clock tower suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground, raising a thud and a cloud of dust. Deep underground, restrained cries sounded among the people in the sanctuary. They shook. Someone was pushed to the ground and let out a muffled cry. She curled up in pain and could not stand up. "Youare you okay?" The panicked man was at a loss. The woman froze before squeezing out a ghost of a smile. There was something magical about the smile, mesmerizing the man. "What are you looking at? B*tch!" A bloated woman sneered and dragged her man back. When she looked at the other woman, her expression was full of disgust, as if she were looking at something dirty. The woman on the ground was taken aback. Sensing that she was not welcomed, she curled up in the corner and hung her head. Fiery red hair tumbled down her shoulders. Like dim flames, they revealed a strange beauty under the candlelight. The men could not help but look over. Even in such a dangerous time, they were still seduced, and their eyes were lustful. "Shouldnt have let her in." The bloated woman glared at the pitiful woman, her eyes full of jealousy. That b*tch was still flirting The red-haired woman heard her words and carefully curled up in the corner. She worked hard to squeeze a favorable smile onto her face. Unclear sounds came from her mouth. "Uhuh" She was mute. The bloated woman froze. But when she saw the raised stomach, the disgusted expression intensified. She spat, "Wh*re" The red-haired woman was taken aback. Her pale face darkened and she breathed quietly in pain. "Dont be scared, my child." The priest wrapped his rosary beads around her hand, his expression sympathetic. "God will protect you." Her body trembled, but she lowered her head and grasped the beads as if God really would protect her. - This woman had come last winter. She had not come with a merchant group or from the road. She had come from the direction of the Dark World. That afternoon, a hunter saw her in the swamp. She was wearing ragged white clothing and walking barefoot in the swamp. She was on her last breath. Everyone thought that the red hair was like dying flames and was beautiful, as if it were a gift from the demons. "She must be cursed," was what everyone thought when they saw her. No one knew how she came out of the unknown darkness. She was mute and could not talk. She could not write either, but no one here knew how to write. It was obvious that she had wandered for a long time. In the end, she stayed in the village. The village "selflessly" accepted her. As long as she was willing to sell her body, she could receive precious food. Was this not common sense? She had no money or any skills. If she wanted to survive, she had to pay something. In the beginning, she protested, but then she stopped. Maybe she had accepted her fate. "She does it willingly," was what everyone said. Later, her stomach grew bigger day by day. No one knew whose child it was. Every man had fallen for her beauty and loved this wh*re, forgetting their crude and bloated wivesShe was so beautiful. The young priest snuck a glance at her side profile and gulped. Even restrained by his vow, he could not help but thirst and lust. "Dont be scared. God will protect you" He reached out to caress her cheeks. But a rumbling forced that thought away. - The earth began to shake. Another wall had fallen with a crash. The roars of beasts echoed in the darkness, as well as faint cries. In the sanctuary, everyones face was deathly white. This was all in their mind, right? No sound should be able to get past the heavy gate. But the sound was there, resounding in their hearts. Their fear caused them to hold their breaths. Had a demons voice gotten closer? They were attracted by something. Was it the smell of fear? Or was it the pained whimpers? Because of the wails of grief? Everyone was stunned. They looked behind them at the woman curled up on the ground, whimpering in pain. Her face was white and she covered her mouth, trying to suppress her pain, but she could not stop moaning. Redness spread over her lower body and dyed the ragged dressIt was blood. "Shes giving birth?" Everyone finally realized it. F*ck, her water had broken from the fall and now she was going to give birth soon! That d*mned baby just had to come out at this time! Pain ripped through her body and she shook, using all her might to stop herself from crying out. Tears rolled down her pale face. The cries of demons neared. "Thats her voice" someone murmured in horror. "Shut up!" The bloated womans expression changed abruptly. "Shut up, do you want to kill us all?" "Stop crying!" "Are we going to let her give birth here?" "Strangle her" someone yelled quietly, "Dont let this b*tch endanger us all." Instantly, all sound vanished. Everyone froze. In the long silence, the crowd stared at her, but the fear in their eyes had been ignited and turned into a beastly glint. That was all they could doright? Someone stepped forward subconsciously. The red-haired woman froze. She watched as the people crowded around her. Their expressions became fierce and vicious as if they were going to do something. "Im sorry." A woman holding a child looked at her. Her eyes were blank but filled with cruelty. "My son is only two years oldIm sorry, but he cant die yet." "Uh, uh" She finally realized what would happen next. She screamed and shook her head with force, edging back until her back was to the heavy gate. There was nowhere to run. The cold eyes fell on her with malice. They murmured, "Shouldnt have let her in here!" "Its all your fault for wanting to have the kid." "Dont blame us. If that d*mn b*stard wasnt born" Tears fell from the red-haired womans eyes. She tugged at a mans pant cuff and knelt before him, begging, "Uhuh" "D-dont touch me." The man stumbled back as if he had seen a ghost. The terror in his eyes was tinged with menace. "B*tch, you want to get me killed?!" She was kicked away. The rosary beads in her hand broke and tumbled onto the ground, rolling to the priests feet. He looked at her fiery red hair and his eyes moved once. Twice. He felt that he should do something and save this poor woman, representing God, but he could not move under those cruel gazes. He could not find the weak lambs who prayed. When lambs went crazy, they were more terrifying than wild beasts. "W-wait!" he forced out. But the gazes cast upon him scared him. Those gazes were like nightmares. "Shell kill all of us." The woman holding a child stared at him coldly and said in a hoarse voice, "Cant you hear it? Those beasts are going to be led here because of her!" "Theres another way. I have a way" He blocked them, his face pale and hesitant. He looked back at the hopeless woman on the ground, his expression twitching. "Dont be scared. God will protect you." After hesitating, he took off the holy emblem from his neck. It reflected the light and illuminated his pale face and dark eyes. "Just abort the child. Without it, youll be pure" the priest murmured. He stared at her, mesmerized by the red hair. She froze and tried to crawl back, scared of getting close to him. "Dont be scared. Ill help you." The priest forced a look of benevolence onto his twitching features and placed the holy emblem before her. "Come, kiss it and God will forgive you. You wont feel pain anymore. God will protect you." She shook her head fiercely, hiding from the emblem. Its light illuminated her tears and fear. "What are you doing? Im helping you" The benevolence in the priests face stiffened and gradually broke down, becoming eerie and terrifying. He clenched the womans chin and forced the emblem to her lips. "Kiss it!" Crack! The holy emblem fell to the ground. Its light extinguished as it tumbled. The priest froze in the darkness. He gaped at the woman before him, stared at her hand and felt the stinging pain on his face. Shehit him? She dared to "Of all the men here, Im the only one that didnt f*ck you! Only me! Im the only one who truly cares for you! But why wont you look at meyouyou b*tch!" The priest wrapped his fingers around her neck, strangling her as his expression twisted. "I was trying to save you! You asked for thisyou asked for this!" The woman choked, unclear moans coming from her throat. Gradually, she stopped moving. Her eyes went blank, reflecting the priests twisted features. Maybe she had given up. Or maybe "Shes dead?" The priest stumbled back and looked at his two hands. She was deadhe killed her. He turned back at the dazed crowd and his face paled when he saw their eyes. "You were the ones who killed her. Why are you looking at me?! II didnt want to" he mumbled, running out of words. "I did this for her own good, to save everyone!" That was what he told them and what he told himself. He weakly knelt on the ground, not daring to look at the woman in the corner and her dull hair. He did not dare. In the stillness, there was only silence. The demons voices disappeared and the footsteps faded in the distance. The people exchanged glances, pleasant surprise in their eyes. "They left?" "Were saved," the woman with the child said in surprise. "Were saved." "Were still alive. Oh my god, were still alive" "Hurrah! The demons finally left!" The people began cheering and danced, celebrating the end of this long night. They forgot about the red-haired woman on the ground behind them. They also did not see that the metal door behind them was gradually melting like a candle. When a crack appeared, there was darkness and red eyes. The demons who had returned licked their lips and took in the smell of life. They cracked open their mouths as if they were laughing. As if they were celebrating with them. Among the crowd, the child in his moms arms looked back and saw the menacing creatures. He froze and began crying, howling in fear. The dim candles went out without a sound. Cries of despair and terror came from the darkness, as well as the sounds of carefree munching. One could vaguely hear the holy emblem clattering to the ground and a wail coming from a ripped throat. "Oh God" There was only darkness. - In the darkness, the blood-curdling screams and wails gradually disappeared. The gluttonous feast was about to end. But suddenly, a chilling roar sounded from the darkness outside the sanctuary. A deafening roar, a rumble, a tremor, a flash and burning firelight swept through, turning the earth to scorched dirt. Horrible cracks appeared on the ground. The ceiling of the sanctuary shook. It was as if a giant was walking in a humans world. There was thunderous wrath and destruction fell upon the earth. The destruction was mighty. It lifted waves of air, ignited flames and spread lightning and frost. The deafening sounds approached the sanctuary. A burly figure ripped the metal door apart and entered the darkness. His upper body was bare and he wore a horse mask on his head. His large body shone with layers of detailed runes. Blood vapor hovered around him, transforming into faces that sang hysterically. Two burning bone saws were in his hands. The sticky blood of demons evaporated, sizzling. The demons whinnied and roared wildly. It was as if they had seen a truly strange creature. Under the music of deafening roars, the giant creature swung his bone saw and massacred what was left in the sanctuary. The demons in his path were halved, shattered, shriveled and slaughtered completely. Finally, the stillness returned. The flames on the bone saw were extinguished. The burly creature took off his mask and revealed his exhausted face. "Commander, we were late." Behind him, the frail middle-aged musician gazed around. The prosthetic arm lit up a ball of fire and shone in the heavy darkness. The firelight illuminated his long-whitened hair and dark eyes. "Keep looking," he murmured. "Keep looking. There must be someone still" The cries of an infant interrupted him. Stunned, he looked at the corner in confusion. There, an infant cried with difficulty in a puddle of blood. His voice was weak and his skin had turned blue from the cold. The umbilical cord was still wrapped around his body, and he was embraced by his dying mother, lying in hair red as dying embers. This was the cursed child. He was born in the massacre of demons, born in death and sin. "Still alive?" The one-armed musician cried in joy. "Someones still alive! Doctor, wheres the doctor? Miss, please hold on. The doctor will come soon" But his voice died off because of the womans mournful yet relieved eyes. She lowered her head and kissed the infants cheek. The terror and despair in her eyes were gone, as if she had received the most precious treasure on earth. The infant opened his eyes and stared at her. He raised a hand, touching her cheek. She smiled and quietly hummed a lullaby. Her voice was full of content and unwillingness to part. Cold blood flowed under her dress. It was extreme blood loss. The wild refugees did not kill her; the wild demons did not destroy her. But now, she was going to die. How nice it was that the misfortune and darkness was all going to disappear. The long life of misery and torture was finally going to end. There would no longer be redemption and pain waiting for her She used all of her strength to lift up the child, and gave him to the dazed musician. Her eyes were grave and pleading. The cold prosthetic arms scooped up the child clumsily. The middle aged man carefully took him, stiffly yet gently, as if he was holding the weight of the world. She could not help but laugh seeing the musicians awkwardness. Her expression was one of relief and peace. Finally, she reached out a hand. Her finger brushed against the infants cheek and slowly gestured using sign language, one word at a time. She said, "Please tell him that I am happy." The musician froze, and then slowly nodded. And so, she closed her eyes. She died. In the stillness, only the infant touched her dropping cheek. When he did not feel any warmth, he began wailing, as if he knew what he had lost. After a long time, the musician lifted the infant and turned to leave this giant tomb. After a few steps, he could not help but look back at the dead woman. She was curled in the corner, her red hair as beautiful as dying flames. All pain had left hershe was so lonely and so serene. The steel door slowly fell and darkness swallowed her content smile. All was still. 179 Past Mistakes Ye Qingxuan woke from his nightmare with a start. He climbed out of bed, sweat pouring down his back. Before him, a bloody conch hovered above a white palm. There were fine veins in the conch, detailed to the point of abnormality. Tiny music notes in the veins formed a vast and mighty music score. The only sound in the silent sealed room was the youths breaths. A faint breeze blew past the conch, producing a faint echo. The echo was like a person murmuring in ones ear, describing an unspeakably dark secret. As one listened, one could not help but focus on it entirely and become obsessed. "Failed again?" On the chair, Lola played with the conch, unperturbed. "You need to get used to it." Ye Qingxuan was dazed for a long time. "I had a nightmare." "As expected. I told you to be prepared because it wont give you good dreams or sleep." In her hands, the conch-shaped sign shone with the red glimmer of blood. It illuminated her cheeks, adding a shade of seductiveness and magic to the peaceful and mysterious face, making it mesmerizing. This was one of the signs powers. There was an endless amount of hopelessness and wildness crystallized within it, naturally connecting it to the Avalons Shadow. It sent the sounds in the darkness to this world. Though it had lost the ability to activate the Blood Path, with some refinement, it was still a rare and perfect instrument. With this as the medium, it could cast ones consciousness into the dark side of Avalon, enter other nightmares, and use them for exploration and practice. However, the pressure was a bit too much. "You cant take it anymore?" Lola asked lightly. "Seems like you need to practice your endurance a bit more." Ye Qingxuan heard but did not listen. He just thought back to the dream in fear. "Whose dream did I just see?" "It could be anyones. Youre just a passerby in the dream. Dont lose yourself in it, otherwise youll die from the chaos in your mind." "Im just sad." Ye Qingxuan raised a finger and wiped his tears. "Lets stop for a bit. I want to rest." Lola tossed a handkerchief onto his lap. "Five minutes." - A few days ago in the hidden room under the building. Frost covered everything. Ye Qingxuan was suffocating. Deathly white frost flowered at his feet and snaked up his calves. His frozen blood transformed into icicles, piercing his body. Thousands of frost blades tore at his body bit by bit, pushing his consciousness into endless darkness. Finally, he woke with a yelp. He found himself sprawled on the ground unharmed. It was as if nothing had happened. Lola rested in the chair before him, looking down at his pathetic state with a mocking expression. In her hands, the silver flute twirled and radiated with the remains of the dispersing melody. "I told you before. There should be a limit to not knowing your limits," Lola stated. "If youre throwing a fit, can you do it somewhere you have the upper hand?" Ye Qingxuan straightened out with difficulty and sat on the ground. He rubbed his face, dispelling the drowsiness in his brain. He grit out, "Again!" "Okay, any time." Lola lifted the tea kettle easily and poured another cup for herself. Steam rose from the red tea with a light fragrance. She seemed to not be prepared at all. Bang! Ye Qingxuan pressed his finger and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang out, but it stopped abruptly. He froze and reflexively tried to retreat, but he could not move. He only felt unbearable heat. It was as if his blood was boiling. Scalding heat rose in his chest, turning into flames. The flames burned his body dry and shot out from his pores, dissipating in the air. He turned into a pile of ashes and scattered in the wind before vanishing. But in the next moment, he opened his eyes in shock. Before him, Lola was still lifting the tea kettle. The cup was not yet filled with red tea. The fragrance of roses spread from the red liquid. "Want a cup?" Lola asked softly. She placed the warm cup into his hands and her voice grew gentle and caring. "Youll feel better after you drink it." Ye Qingxuan looked down at the tea in his cup. He threw his head back and downed it. Placing the teacup on the ground, he grit out, "Again!" Lola shook her head and sighed. "So reckless." The sound of a rope tightening came from the darkness behind the youth. Ye Qingxuan spun backward, but a menacing and burly giant threw a sack over his head. In an instant, his vision blurred and there was a rope around his neck. He could vaguely see cruel sunlight through the sack. "Hang him! Hang him!" an angry crowd roared. "Hang this d*mn murderer!" The wooden boards under his feet were opened and his body fell abruptly, but the noose around his neck tightened, pulling him up harshly. Crack. Was this the sound of his neck cracking? An endless period of suffocation followed When Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes again, he had practically forgotten how to breathe. "Continue?" Lolas smile was cheerful. Ye Qingxuan had almost lost the strength to grit his teeth. "Yes." - When he woke up for the last time, it was already light out. As morning birds chirped, he wore the robe of a housekeeper and knelt before Lola in the living room of the old building. He enthusiastically recited a poem that would make even traveling poets blush. His entire body was sore. - "What is wrong with me?" He looked around blankly and realized that the living room was clean as if it had been washed with water. He could see his reflection on the shiny floor. Lola smiled without saying anything. Beside him, the Pyramid King handed him a crystal prism to show him the recorded video. The youth sang drunkenly under the moonlight. He took off his clothes as he ran around the building. Then he started to fetch water, chop firewood, wash dishes and clean the entire building. Finally, he changed into the housekeepers uniform and allowed himself to be ordered around like a loyal dog. He enthusiastically served the noble lady Lola, pouring tea and taking care of all details After watching all this, Ye Qingxuan felt weak. He fell into a chair and shook his head. "I surrender. I give up." "Oh? What a pity." Lola tasted the breakfast that Ye Qingxuan had made and nodded in satisfaction. "Your breakfast is quite good. Id planned for you to make lunch." "Do you lack cooks?!" "Whats that saying again?" Lola thought for a moment and revealed an elegant and charming smile. "It makes me happy." This f*cking womanYe Qingxuan glared at her and swore in his mind. "Someday, Ill make you massage me and play the harp while singing" Lola said out loud as if she could read his mind. "Should I praise you for your impressive goal or tell you that youre too weak?" She gazed at the awkward Ye Qingxuan and shook her head in pity. "Are you too scared to think about something excessive?" She paused meaningfully. A flirty smile appeared on her white and lovely face, making one feel the heat. "" Ye Qingxuan cleared his mind, killing the growing thought in his mind. He did not dare to think about it. This story proved that you should never think about weird things in front of a musician from the School of Mind. You would be eavesdropped on without even knowing it. But it was crazy! When she was still the Professor, Ye Qingxuan had control no matter what. He could fight when he wanted to and escape when he wanted, but now that she had revealed her true identity, he became the one that was eating dust. This made no sense! "Give up?" Lola asked. "I thought the same trick wouldnt work on you twice. It really scared me." She patted her chest dramatically, pretending to be relieved. "Stop patting. Your chest is so flat already. What if it disappears now?" Ye Qingxuan retorted. "You just beat me. Whats there to be proud of?" "But it makes me happy to beat the dark musician Holmes." Lola shook her head in mocking pity. "But its a pity that youre so weak and were just getting beat up by me. I couldnt even get serious." Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. "Youre at least a fourth level Resonance musician. Youre a whole realm and two levels away, alright? And I cant even use any equipment. If you cant beat me like this, then you shouldnt even be a musician. Just go back and be your noble lady in peace." "Really?" Lola giggled. "If I told you that everything I used was from the Musician level, only one level above you, and didnt even use my sound of heart or other powerswould you think that the problem lies in you?" "" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He thought back to the process of their duel and furrowed his brows in the end. "Are you joking?" His answer was the glow of the aether ball. The ball with gold thread and jade embedded in it shone in Lolas hand, flashing slightly. This was the easiest way for musicians to measure their levels. Their skill level could be measured with the aether balls sophisticated sensing capability after projecting their spirits into it. The nine levels of musicians were all different. The indications were all different for each school as well, but it was enough for a basic diagnosis. But now, Ye Qingxuan was already shocked. "Whatis this?" - Light shone within the aether ball. The light was unstable, like a candle flickering in the wind. It was worse than Ye Qingxuan! In fact, it was quickly weakening, until it fell into the Student level, and then went even lower than that. One could only say that it was better than nothing. The sight simply made one speechless. "Whatis this?" Ye Qingxuan pressed a finger onto the aether ball and fell into a confused daze after confirming that Lola was not cheating. She could not even be compared to a student now! "Its simple," Lola stated. "If your symphony of predestination was destroyed, youd be like this too." "Impossible!" Ye Qingxuan insisted. - On the musician path, ninety-nine percent of musicians were stuck in the Musician level for life because of the Barrier of Knowledge. That was the first obstacle. But following that, there was an endless stream of challenges. Like going against the current and retreating rather than moving forward, the road would only become more and more narrowmore and more dangerous. Sooner or later, one would venture into uncharted darkness and continue in solitude. The Resonance level, the Disturbance level, the Distortion levelEvery level required a tremendous amount of resources and hidden rituals to break through. And finally, the road would come to a dead end. Here was the limit of humanity. After it was a sheer cliff over an abyss of darkness. Only one out of every ten-thousand musicians could break through the abyss and create their own scepter to become a saint! These musicians either had incomparable power or were absolutely brilliant geniuses. What they used to break through the abyss was the power brewed by their soulthe symphony of predestination! This was a music score created by upgrading a musicians sound of heart and tenacity. It was unique and represented the musicians soul. Their tenacity, thoughts, and heart were all contained within. If destroyed, it was not just the music score that was destroyed, but also the musician, his life and all its essence. This represented the overturn of ones sanity. Ones personality would become unstable. But the mental breakdown was only the beginning. After that, one would die from the backlash of ones symphony of predestination. There was no cure. For centuries, so many musicians had rushed forward in an attempt to break through the last obstacle, but ended up scattering like ashes with his symphony of predestination. Countless people had left behind examples of mistakes. They were all bloody lessons to be learned. If Lolas symphony of predestination had truly been destroyed, then the thing before Ye Qingxuan should be a cold tombstone. Ye Qingxuan had seen an example with his own eyesthe Royal Musician Claude. Only his sound of heart had been destroyed, but he was instantly crippled. If he had not found a doctor from the School of Choir, he would have died. If it was the symphony of predestination that contained everything? "Dont scare me, Moriarty!" Ye Qingxuan looked into the Professors eyes and said coldly, "If your symphony of predestination had been destroyed, the best situation would be dying from psychosis." Lola laughed. "Its normal to be suspicious" She was speaking lightly, but Ye Qingxuans vision blurred. His collar was grabbed by her and he was yanked forward before he could react. He saw Lolas pale face and dark eyes. There was a tinge of blood in her eyes. The angry blood-color was like flames, burning away her rationality day and night. She was constantly at the border of insanity. Then strands of blue-green veins appeared on her white face. She looked fierce yet fragile, as if she would break apart at the slightest touch. "Death from psychosis?" She laughed. Her sneer was cold and twisted, devoid of any grace or elegance. "How far do you think I am from being a psycho?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. Which was the real her? Tortured day and night by the backlash of her symphony of predestination, she was constantly at the verge of mental and physical breakdown. On this wire, death was on the left and psychosis was on the right. Beneath her was a bottomless abyss. They were only a hairs breadth away from her. In the long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked away first and surrendered. "Sorry." "Its okay, I forgive you." Lola slowly loosened her grip and tidied his collar for him. Her eyes softened. "Dont worry. Youre my only companion in this worldIll forgive you no matter what you do." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Arent you curious how I survived?" Lola returned to her seat and lifted the red tea that contained drugs. Her trembling hand finally stabilized. Dont forget, Im not the same as the average person. The natural talent of the moon spirits kept me from dying on the spot." She smiled, revealing her slightly sharp canines. "To be honest, I never thanked my demonic bloodline. To live, I signed a contract with the Indigo Moon, but my power can never return to how it was. It wavers with the moon phases, sometimes strong and sometimes weak. "My old injuries still havent healed completely. A large portion is used so I can manage to maintain my sanity. Ye Qingxuan, dont you think its laughable? At my strongest point, I was only a step away from the Scepter level. But now, Im sometimes weak as a child. For exampleyou can reach over and strangle me now." She raised her chin, revealing her neck to the youth. Her neck was long and pale. It seemed that one could grasp it completely it with one hand. And if one tightened slowly, she would die. So easy. "How about it? Do you feel the urge?" Lola smiled tauntingly. Ye Qingxuan did not look. Instead, he asked quietly, "Are you injured because of my father?" Lola fell silent. After a long while, she sighed softly. "That was in the past." - "As you know, I have the moon spirits blood in my veins. I was born as a demon. This was my original sin. My original name was very long. You can just call me Moriarty. Lola is actually an alias. "My father was killed before I was born. My mother was human. The musician thought she was raped by my father and did not see that she was pregnant, so he brought her back to the human world. "Then I was born. When I was three, my mother passed away. I was taken by an elder of my clan. I returned and stayed there for a long time before coming back out. Later, I became your fathers student. Someone with demonic blood became the heir of the natural enemy of demons, the Moon of Purityit sounds like an incredible joke. "Because of this, I severed ties with my clan. I designed a battle for them to think that I was killed. After that, no one knew I was a moon spirit, except for my teacher. After a while, he got married and I went to travel and study. "When I came back, I found that everything was different. Teacher had disappeared and you and your mother were exiled to the frontier. At that time, I wanted to find out the truth. But in the end, I fell to this state. I could only change everything and sneak back into Avalon to investigate what had truly happened back then. "Until now, I still havent solved many mysteries. I just know that he has some relationship with Avalons Shadow." A pregnant pause. "Thats it?" Ye Qingxuans mind was muddled. "Yes." Lola nodded. "Thats how simple things are. How can there be complicated matters to speak of?" "But its too simple." The youth furrowed his brows. "Its suspicious." "You think Im lying?" "Not exactly lying, but you didnt tell me everything." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "How did you meet my father? Why did he accept you as a student? What did you find out? And who destroyed your symphony of predestination? You didnt talk about any of this. Dont say that they dont matter. And" His gaze as he looked at Lola was strange. "You fell for him?" "" Lola froze and grew angry. Ye Qingxuan nodded in understanding. "It seems that you fell for him." "That was one of my many mistakes." Lola looked away, finding excuses for herself. "Superstitions are engraved in a demons beliefs. And anyway, I was young" Ye Qingxuan had no words and did not want to keep insisting on this awkward topic, so he changed the subject. "After all these years, have you found anything from the parliament? I just know that he taught in the academy before." "Yes." Lolas expression changed slightly. "Later, he worked in the Royal Research Institute, but they dont have his files. His documents during his career are in the Arkham Asylum." "Where?" Ye Qingxuans expression darkened. "Did he participate in the forbidden technology for mutations?" "Back then, it was only a secret department of the Institute, specifically for researching the habits and structures of demons and finding the essence of natural catastrophes. Later, he was assigned elsewhere and the department was abandoned too. The mutations came after. As what he did afterward, I cant find anything else." Lola sighed in regret. "You should know that he rarely went home for a time." "Where did he go?" "I dont know." Lolas eyes were cold. "But undoubtedly, its the place that killed me." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and corrected her, "Hes still alive." "Hes dead." Lola raised her voice, eyes growing troubled. "Ye Qingxuan, accept reality. I saw with my own eyes" "Hes still alive, I can feel it," Ye Qingxuan repeated. His expression was determined. "This isnt refusing to accept reality or fantasizing. I can only say that hes still alive in some corner of this world." After a long silence, Lola asked softly, "Are you sure?" "To me, the only good thing about the Dragon Bloodline is that we can sense each other. When I entered the Student level, I felt the resonance between us. So Lola, rest assured. Someday, Ill yank him out with my own hands." "Yank him out?" She felt that something was wrong. "And then what?" "And then?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and flexed his fingers, face full of anticipation. "Well talk after I beat him up." 180 The Fast Method In the large library of the old building, sparse instrument strings hovered in the air. They crisscrossed, wrapping around the youth. As his fingers pressed down, a crisp crack-like sound was produced. The sound was distant, and its echoes snaked up to the ceiling beams. Before him, Lolas eyes were slightly upset. "Long time no see, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Sadly, youve fallen into that guys hands and wont be used to your full potential." Hearing the bitterness in her voice, Ye Qingxuan snickered. "Would you take it if I gave it to you?" With that, the strings were pushed forward. Lolas eyes grew angry and she glared at Ye Qingxuan. It would be okay if it was a regular harp, seven-stringed or twelve-stringed instrument, but Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was the kryptonite for demons. No one knew how many demons had died because of it over thousands of years. Back then, Ye Lanzhou came to the West by himself. He came by land rather than sea! He had gone directly through the Dark World, cutting a path through the sea of demons and beasts. No one knew how many demons had died from the music of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. A small clan had even been wiped out by it. The lives of innumerable demons had given Jiu Xiao Huan Pei its powerful name. No one could remember it, but Jiu Xiao Huan Peis lethality was no joke. This was the reason why Lola had chosen to work with Ye Qingxuan instead of playing it personally. If she tried to use the instrument, it would be like a rat eating arseniccomplete suicide. "Keep it for yourself," Lola stated coldly. "Youve had it for more than ten years but only officially awakened it for the first time a few days ago, and you dont feel ashamed to brag about it?" "Of course I have to brag. I have to make it obvious too! After all, it was thanks to you, wasnt it? Look, look" Ye Qingxuan picked up the instrument and shook it before her. Lola was annoyed, but whenever she was about to unleash her anger, Ye Qingxuan would give her some time to buffer, causing her emotions to stop at the awkward border. After a few times, she finally processed it. Clenching her teeth, she grit out, "Ye Qingxuan! Is this how you use the heart mirror?!" "Uh, Im just experimenting." Ye Qingxuan awkwardly looked away. His eyes were black, but under the candlelight, they looked like copper mirrors, reflecting Lolas image. In the reflection, red light representing anger was wrapped around her and burned. This was one of Jiu Xiao Huan Peis abilitiesheart mirror. All instruments in this world, other than those made for students to practice on and produce goods, were the finest items created by alchemists with blood, sweat, and tears. Not only could the instruments timbre adjust according to the musicians thoughts, but they also had a wide range of uses to make a musicians playing easier. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was a legendary item that reigned over the entire range of string instruments. In fact, it could change its key and take over parts of the pianos range. In addition, all instruments had a unique point. Take the ecliptic series for example: all twelve instruments had their own unique and mysterious point. Maybe it was sensing danger or reducing energy useEvery time one was released, people would flock to the market to spend fortunes for one. But with Ye Qingxuans current abilities, he could only use Jiu Xiao Huan Peis most basic feature: heart mirror. As the name implied, it was the mirror of ones heart. With this effect, he could easily see every change in emotion of the living things before him, whether it be anger, frustration, hesitance, confusion or fear. The specific applications required large amounts of practice and trials, but at least he would be able to scare people more easily from now on. "Seems like youre determined to become the Vengeful Spirit," Lola scoffed. "Speaking of which, youve really become a legendary figure of Avalon after killing me. Do you feel happy?" "Its okay." Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. "After being beaten by you this morning, that small amount of fame wont make me happy anymore." "Oh? Seems like youre not as stupid as I thought." Lola put down her book and said lightly, "Then lets continue our topic from this morning. Where do you think you lost?" Where else? Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. He could only say that he had no way of fighting back. He had been played by Lola the entire time and was under both the School of Illusions and Mind. He could not have died a better way. Seeing his pain, Lola laughed, but her mouth was still merciless. "Youve won so much, but it was never because of your music skills. You won because of your calculations and plans. Ever since the beginning, youve relied on sneak attacks and the enemys weak points. You even take advantage of their crises, dont you?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He was not lowly enough to deny his weaknesses. "Ye Qingxuan, dont let the fame get to your head. Youre only at the Rhythm level. You havent even fully grasped Black Friday yet, so dont even think about Moonlight, which is even more profound. "In a face-to-face battle, even a regular third level musician would be able to win you easily, if you only use your own skills. Face your situation clearly. You cant live lawlessly in this world with your amateur illusions. Otherwise, youll be like me and fall to this state." Lolas voice grew hoarse and her eyes darkened. Ye Qingxuan wanted to comfort her, but he realized that he did not know what to say. Lola was just like him. She was not the type to cheer up after hearing those warm and pretty words. They did not need pity. - Neither Ye Qingxuan nor Lola was the type to drown in negative feelings. They quickly pulled themselves back together and began discussing what action to take next. No matter what, the parliaments preparations and plans all these years had completely failed after the Arkham Asylum. The giant beast had gone into hibernation and the robin had disappeared too. It was clear that there would not be any new traces in the short-term. This meant that they had received precious time for a break. "But you cant let down your guard because of this," Lola said gravely. "Your most important task now is to make up for what you lack. Just live here starting tomorrow." "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "I still have to go to school! It was so hard for me to get in. I cant get expelled because of my attendance!" "Just say that youre my student now." Lola made it sound simple. "My identity as a Revelations musician is fake but I still have a bit of fame. Those old guys at your school wont stop you." "A little bit of fame?" As a renowned history scholar and Revelations musician, Lola was practically seen as a grand master. Without speaking of her beauty, so many people would kill to be her student just for influence and power. But Ye Qingxuan felt a bit helpless. "Actually, I have a teacher." "Abraham?" Lola chuckled. "Indeed, hes a good musician, but what can he teach you? Hes an expert at the School of Abstinence, but those are classified secrets from the military. Without special permission, he wont dare teach you a single word. Otherwise, hed be hurting you." "I think hes good at teaching Revelations too. The interpretation method is pretty useful!" Lola scoffed. "Dont you know that the academic world sees his stuff as blasphemy? It has its advantages, but compared to the mainstream theories of Revelations, its a completely different school. Unless he can prove that his theories are actually effective, the interpretation method is just a joke to most musicians!" "Thats because theyre short-sighted." Ye Qingxuans expression was still neutral, but his eyes were determined. It was clear that this topic was not up for discussion. Lola looked at him for a long time. She laughed suddenly. "Whatever you want." Ye Qingxuan felt his hair rise at the smile. With that, she tossed over a heavy book that she had just finished explaining, and was densely filled with annotations. "Just come over every other day," Lola said. "At least I can teach you what I learned from Teacher. "I dont care what Abraham teaches you, but I at least have to make you inherit Teachers mantle and become a musician from the School of Mind. Dont be scared. Ill start from the basics." - "The School of Mind?" Ye Qingxuan accepted the book and flipped it open. After reading two lines, he felt his scalp go numb. Flipping to the end, he felt his body go cold. Closing the book, he could not help but inhale sharply. "Are you sure that I wont turn into a madman if I learn whats in this book?" He had just scanned it quickly, but under Abrahams guidance, he had become sensitive to resources and music theory. The result was that he was scared by the brewing evilness in the book! How was this a beginner book for the School of Mind? This was practically a Wikipedia page on how to play with someones soul! Every line, every passage of information was about how to destroy ones sanity. Every chapter was suffused with poison, wanting to push ones soul into the deep abyss. All the material and methods were for one goal: to make the enemy lose their sanity and play with them like a puppet. Was this woman trying to turn him into a dark musician?! "Holmes can be scared of this stuff too?" Lola laughed seeing his shocked expression. "You should like this stuff. They all say that youre the guardian angel of the Arkham Asylum now." "Thats not my fault." Ye Qingxuan widened his eyes. "I didnt do it on purpose!" Lola nodded and patted his shoulder, comforting him gently. "Yes, after you learn all this, you can do it on purpose." "" Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt slightly depressed. It was so painful to not be understood by the world. He looked through the content more and discovered a problem. "At least I have some knowledge of Revelations, but I dont even have a foundation for Mind. Are you sure I can learn all this in a short time?" "Of course." Lolas smile gave him a bad feeling. "Naturally, its hard if you go step by step, but fear not. I have a faster method." She pulled out something that Ye Qingxuan predictedthe blood-red conch. The sign shone lightly, tugging at ones heartstrings as if it had some magical power forcing one to become drunk in it. "What faster method?" Ye Qingxuan felt coldness at the back of his head. Lolas voice was extremely gentle, making one panic. "According to my experience, if you can go crazy ten times, youll be able to find a way to make others go crazy. Seeing that youre talented in this aspect, as long as you cooperate" "Uh, what are you saying? I didnt hearah, Im sorry but Im busy this afternoon. Ill be going now." Ye Qingxuan shot up with a stiff smile on his face. He quickly retreated, almost running for his life. "Only an idiot would cooperate! I dont want to be a crazy dark musician!" He had to leave. If he did not run now, it would be too late when he was pinned to the chopping board! "Now you want to run?" Lola shook her head as her gentle voice sounded behind Ye Qingxuan. "Too late." There was a flash of red. Ye Qingxuan fell to the ground with a thud. He was immobile. All that could move were his large eyeballs rolling around in confusion. "Dont worry, youll get used to it quickly." Lola breathed softly into his ear, causing him to shiver despite the temperature. Then the Pyramid King pulled on his legs and dragged him to the secret room behind a bookshelf. A gentle laugh sounded in the darkness. "Its just a nightmare" 181 So Many Love the Joyful Times of Your Youth When Ye Qingxuan walked out of the old mansion the next day and felt the sun, he had the urge to cry. "Its so nice to be alive" he said. For the past two days, he had been tortured by that crazy woman Lola in so many ways. When he was awake, she would use excuses to order him around. When he was asleep, he would have different nightmares. He could not live nor die. It would be okay if it was just consumption of physical and mental strength. After all, Lolas food was pretty good. She would use different ways to nourish him. It could basically make up for his exhaustion. At first, Ye Qingxuan had been touched, but when he finished, Lola held down his neck and revealed two small canines to start eating. Ye Qingxuan realized her ulterior motive! "That crazy woman completely turned me into a personal blood bank!" Ye Qingxuan rubbed the two small holes on his neck and felt his heart hurt. There was no trust between people. Now, he just wanted to get home quickly, sleep, and go to the library tomorrow to read everything on Lolas book list. Thinking of how he had been busy every day for the past few months, and was about to become even busier, Ye Qingxuan was depressed. Life was so hard and the days were impossible. - After his long wait on the side of the road, bells finally chimed in the distance. It was the public horse carriage returning to uptown. Ye Qingxuan pulled himself together. He did not need to walk anymore. "Stop, stop!" He blocked the carriage in the front and flashed his academy badge. "Give me a ride." "Concertmaster Ye?" came a shocked voice within. Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan looked up and quickly reacted. "Wow, what a coincidence. What school are you all from? All of you ditching together?" "" The extended carriage was filled with at least a dozen boys and girls wearing school uniforms. They were all from the academy. Hearing his words, they became speechless. Someone muttered, "Concertmaster Ye, todays the returning day." Ye Qingxuan was confused but then he remembered that every ten days, the Academy would have a three-day break. Coincidentally, today was the day break ended and everyone returned to school. But Ye Qingxuan had ditched too many classes and did not have this concept in his mind. "Sorry, forgot about that." He chuckled awkwardly and went past the seats to the very back. He quickly closed his eyes and began sleeping. Along the way, students entered the carriage constantly. They were stunned when they saw him, but they would all come forward and politely greet "Concertmaster Ye." After all, the only ones who would use the public carriage to return were commoners who did not have money or their own carriages. As for Ye Qingxuans concertmaster position, there was widespread recognition and respect. But for some reason, they all looked at him strangely today. In his drowsiness, he vaguely heard the whispers in the carriage. "Look at him" "Seems real?" "Yes, its him." "If its me" "Hes the concertmaster. Stop the delusions." The voices caused Ye Qingxuan to furrow his brows. He opened his eyes to look over, but everyone avoided his gaze and pretended that nothing happened. The weird atmosphere persisted until the carriage stopped at the academys entrance. The students got off one by one, but Ye Qingxuan still did not know what had happened. He randomly grabbed a student. "What were you all saying?" "Uh, you still dont know" the student replied. But when he turned and saw the white hair, his eyes widened and his tongue tied as if he had seen a ghost. "N-nothing." He shook his head forcefully. He was too scared to run but showed that, no matter what, he would not tell. Helpless, Ye Qingxuan let go and told him to scram. "Are they all crazy?" Enduring the strange glances his entire way back to the history department, he felt a giant burden lift after he closed the door. This was the best place. He could relax entirely after coming back. "Hey, Cousin, you finally decided to come back." Bai Xi, who was sitting on the sofa looking at pictures, looked up. Her gaze had a strange distance and she complimented him, "Seems that youre pretty fit. You can last two days." "What are you talking about?" Ye Qingxuan felt that something was wrong again. "Oh, Yezis back?" Abraham walked out of the library. When he saw Ye Qingxuan, he thought of something and stopped talking, his expression turning awkward. "The age gap isnt much and youre at that age, but" He paused and advised with concern, "Yezi, youre a student, after all. You must control yourself." "Huh?!" Ye Qingxuan was confused again. "Wait, Professor, whats going on?" Abraham shook his head, smiling bitterly. "I wont involve myself in young peoples matters." With that, he patted Ye Qingxuan on the shoulder and left. Ye Qingxuan felt all his strength leave. "Who can tell me what happened?" "You still dont know?" On the sofa, Bai Xi hooked her finger. "Come here and Ill tell you secretly." Seeing her mysteriousness, Ye Qingxuan hesitated. But he still placed his ear close to her. And then he felt Bai Xi open her mouth andlet out an evil burp! "Bai Xi!" Ye Qingxuan roared as he cracked his knuckles. "You feeling antsy? Ill fix you up!" "Wait!" Bai Xi raised a hand and gazed at him suspiciously. "Cousin, did you really not hear? What you did has spread through the entire academy! Everyone knows the details except you?" "I wouldnt be asking if I knew!" "Okay, then Ill let you know your crime." Bai Xi cackled and slammed down on the table, fury written in her expression. "Ye Qingxuan, stop pretending! Everyone knows about you and Professor Lola!" "" Ye Qingxuan blanched. "What?!" "Are you still pretending?" Bai Xi scoffed. "The entire academy said that you sold yourself and became that womans pet! These past two days, youve been living the happy life of doing it three or four times per day! And you still say you dont know?" Here, she shook her head and sighed in awe. "I cant believe youre so powerful. Youve mesmerized Professor Lola in these short few days. I thought you were a righteous man, but I cant believe youre the reserve for the crane-control supervisor!" "I dont know what crane-control supervisor means, but I bet youre insulting me, right?" Ye Qingxuan tried to explain, "Youve all misunderstood. Im such a clean person. How could I do that with a teacher? Those are all vicious rumors trying to hurt me! I just went to find Professor Lola about some questions." "You still wont confess?" Bai Xi sneered. "Charles, show the evidence." Suddenly, there was a whoosh and a figure appeared out of nowhere behind Bai Xis voice. There was a giddy smile on his face as he offered a crystal prism. "Here is the evidence!" Ye Qingxuan eyed him. What the f*ck was this? Charles shrugged. His pitiful eyes seemed to say, "Junior, you really did it this time. I cant save you either." In Charless hand, the prism flashed and then projected an image. The image was blurry but one could make out that it was in the courtyard of an elegant and peaceful mansion. Ye Qingxuan was wearing a black housekeeper uniform and kneeling on one knee, his hands to his heart. His eyes gazed enthusiastically at the lovely woman before him. He recited a love poem with a sweetness that even traveling poets would blush at. "Ah, so many people love the joyful times of your youth. They love your beauty, which may be real or in pretense, but only one loves your pilgrims soul" Ye Qingxuan felt his scalp go numb. "Where did you get this from?" "Junior, you started a trend! This thing is everywhere now. Its fifty dollars for one but demand is higher than supply!" Charles said excitedly. "You dont know how many girls had their hearts broken after seeing this! Some people bought it and changed the girl inside to themselves. They have to watch a few times every night, or else they cant fall asleep." "Senior, how do you know so much?" "Because Im the one whos selling the most! I even have a Concertmaster Yes Confession platinum commemoration version. The price has doubled but people still want it!" Charles exclaimed spiritedly. "Junior, how could you not include me in this great money-making chance? If it wasnt for my quick reaction speed, I wouldve lost this opportunity and missed out on all this money!" "Senior, you just want to kill me, right?" Ye Qingxuan thought. He felt he was going to break down. He wanted to spit out three liters of blood and yell "Lola ruined me!" and then fall down, face to the sky. He finally understood Lolas strange smile after refusing to become Lolas student. This was waiting for him here! But even if there was no other way, she did not have to explain their relationship like this, right? He wanted to cry but had no tears. "Let me explain. Its not how it seems." "I know, I know. It must be even more incredible and low, right?" Charles patted his shoulders and exclaimed, "Look at you. Your face is pale, steps are feeble, and the two dark eye bagsIts obvious you had too much fun! I cant believe Professor Lola is that powerful. Should I buy some medicine to nourish you?" This comment made Ye Qingxuan want to cry tears of blood. He finally understood the pain of not being able to explain himself. How did he suddenly have a relationship with that crazy Lola? But it really was him in the prisms video. He could not explain at all. His reputation was ruined! "Hey, tell the truth. What did you do these past days with her?" Bai Xi slammed a fist onto the table. "How did she seduce you? When, where, how long, what position, report everything!" "Uh, dont ask about the position." Charles grabbed a pen and paper and said softly, "Its more important to ask how they flirted. The elite girls love this stuff!" Just as Ye Qingxuan was about to die of embarrassment and find something to strangle himself with, the sound of a savior came from the sky outside. "Hello, testingtesting" 182 Doomsday "Hello? Hello? Can you hear me?" A thunderous noise came from the sky. It was so loud that the students ears rang and they were nearly forced to the ground. Even the lakes in the school rippled. Everyone was stunned and raised their heads in astonishment, looking into the sky. There was a voice in the sky. That familiar voice coughed and seemed to complain, "Does this work? You Modifications always make such unreliable things" A more quiet voice said faintly, "Mr. Principal, your voice is too loud, try lowering your volume." "Oh? Is that so? I see! I get it now. Move aside and let me play with it." Rustles sounded in the sky. Finally, that voice quieted down. It was no longer thunderous, but still in everyones ears. "Long time no see, students! How are you all?" The voice was passionate and emotional. All students stared at each other. Comprehension and panic flickered past their eyes. Someone murmured, "No way." "Thats right!" The voice sounded again with great passion. "Your principal, Maxwell, is back! Ive been out for so long. Have you all been missing me?" "" The students were all silent with no idea how to respond. "First of all, I would like to express my sincere greetings. I hope that everyone has had a happy and fulfilling life during this period of time. Im sure youve learned a lot, benefited a lot andthats it." The principal spoke in a verbose manner for a long while. Then he paused and grew serious. "Next, I have bad news to announce!" All of a sudden, the expressions of many upperclassmen changed as if they had seen a ghost, including Charles. They wailed "Wait!" and "Again?!" "Thats right. The day after tomorrow is our school anniversary!" The principal yelled in excitement. "The anniversary day, the annual day of death! The day of trials! Students from first to sixth grade, are you prepared to fail your classes and be held back? "Recently, my investment agent from the Eastern Indian Company told me that the cigar factory Ive been longing for has been officially bought. So in order for everyone to pay some more for exam make-up fees, Ill make it more difficult this time. I hope you wont be scared and treat it like normal. Well, that''s all!" He chuckled. "So, please enjoy the youth that everyone sings about! I will anticipate all of your struggles and performances." The sound voice stopped abruptly. It was like an illusion, as if it had never existed. Before Ye Qingxuan could react, he heard commotions from around the school "No, no!" "Are you kidding?" "Didnt they say its canceled this year?!" It was as if the entire was thrown into a demons den. The air was filled with wails! The students cried and pounded on the ground as if the person closest to them died and they had lost all hope in life. "Whats wrong?" While Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi looked at each other in confusion, Charles had already pulled a huge suitcase out of the basement a huge suitcase and was digging through everything! "What are you waiting for?" Charles glanced at them. "Hurry up and pack your things!" Instead of waiting for their reactions, he filled up the whole suitcase like a criminal on the run. He shouted toward the study room, "Professor, did you finish packing? Lets go out to collect folk songs! How about Burgundy this time? I heard that there was enough rain last year so the red wine this year must be good and cheap!" Abraham sighed gloomily. "We cant go out every time this year." "Professor, Ill die if I dont go." Charles panicked. "You have to consider it more thoroughly!" "Isnt it just a school anniversary?" Ye Qingxuan was confused, "Whats so scary?" Charles looked back with a complicated expression. The left side of his face showed that it was a long story, while the right was full of despair. "Yezi...do you think anniversaries are like in stories where every class has to perform, play some music, open a caf or haunted house and thats it? The anniversary day is Doomsday!" "It''s not that scary, is it?" Ye asked. Charles turned back and looked at Abraham, who sighed and nodded, "Give Yezi a good explanation so he can prepare himself." Charles shrugged helplessly, revealing a despair look. "At least half," he said. "Eh?" "At least half," Charles said, "During this anniversary, at least half of the students will fail, and half of the graduates are going to be held back from failing their graduation trials. Within the next week, the entire Royal Academy of Music will turn into hella den filled with tears and despair." Ye Qingxuan was freaked out. "Its not that bad, right?" "Listen up." Charles said hoarsely, "What I want to talk next about is the eternal horror that lingers over the academy. Its the history written by blood and tears of countless students." Ye Qingxuan held his breath reflexively. It was as if a bloody storm was rushing toward him! - In the past, the anniversary of the Royal Academy of Music was the most celebratory time of the whole year. Countless departments decorated their buildings and grand banquets were held in the auditorium with unlimited champagne and beer. There were even bonfires at night and a show for countless girls to confess their crushes. All hotels in Avalon would be booked by the students that night. Two months later, it would be a period of high incidences of pregnancy before marriageThere were all kinds of shortcomings, but generally speaking, it was still a beautiful and sweet holiday that made ones heart flutter. But all of this changed when Mr. Maxwell took office. The banquet was canceled, the show ended, and the bonfire only appeared in dreams. Most of Avalon''s hotels suffered losses as all the students stayed silent in the dark. This day had become a synonym for the trials of hell. From then on, ''Anniversary Day'' became a terrible activity lasting a week. It was also a test for the graduating class. In short, it was a brutal competition. One would not die, but it might be better to die. And the worst thing was that all students must attend. It was mandatory! It was great if one could pass the activities of anniversary day. The unsuccessful ones would have points deducted by the executive office. The worse grade one had, the more points deducted. Being held back was not the worse; having ones effort go to waste was not the worst either. The worst was that the Academy would divide the budget and resource allocations for the year according to the performance of the students. If the pass rate of a department was less than sixty percent, then the resources and budgets of the next quarter would be cut in half. The abilities of all professors would be doubted and their year-end bonuses would be reduced. Admittedly, the teachers did not care much about the small bonuses, but their dignity and pride were at stake! This meant that if a student tested badly, the whole department would try to destroy him! Even the school board had no right to speak up about the principals decisions. They had snatched control over final exams from the principal''s hand, but they did not expect that he, who could not intervene in the final exam, would go and turn the schools anniversary day into a hell worse than the final exam. There was nothing the school board could do. It was clearly written in the principals responsibilities that he had the right to arrange all celebrations. Only the principal could stop this absurd celebration. "Ahaha, that doesn''t sound scary." After hearing Charless explanation, Ye Qingxuan clapped his hands and laughed. "Its just a test. Im best at those!" "You can call it a ''test'', but the principals so-called test isnt just filling out a piece of paper, okay?" Charles side-eyed him. "One of the death trials at the anniversary of the year before last was the death shotput. You had to control the aether and carve a cube of lead into a standard ball. No tools were allowed and no other equipment could be used. And one hour later, you had to control your work in a race. "The six-kilometer long track was full of traps. During the entire process, the musicians had to maintain long-distance perception and high-intensity marathon-like precision. The smallest distraction would lead you to a ditch. Youd failed if you broke the ball halfway, or it got off the track... "And in order to embody the spirit of competition, it did not prohibit interferences. In other words, you got bonus points if you forced others into traps. Can you imagine that? How many people''s friendships had broke during this race?" Ye Qingxuan fell silent. Thinking of the difficulty and imagining the tragic scene in his mind made him get goosebumps. "How many people passed?" "Six." Charles said coldly, "Of the thousands of students in the entire academy, only six people passed. Only one of them reached the end. The other five used the points they got from causing others to fail and passed the graduation exam. "The rest of the students all failed miserably. They created a new low. The next year, the entire school was broke enough to have to beg on the streets because of the budget cuts!" At this, Charles mimed getting slashed in the throat. "Now do you know what the anniversary day means to us?" "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan finally felt uneasy. "Youre saying that if we fail the test, theres no way to get the next year''s budget?" "Yes." Charles nodded, "I dont know about the others but the school board definitely wont let us go." "Why dont you tell me this before?" Ye Qingxuan almost jumped out of his chair in fear. "Who knew the crazy principal would suddenly come back?" Charles sighed. "Besides, whats the point? Our entire department only has four and a half students! That half is Old Phil! We cant even cheat off of each other!" "Then what should we do?" Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. "Run?" "Its too late." Charles pointed to the sky outside the window, "Didnt you see that I stopped packing? The enchantment over the school has been activated. Now you can enter but cant go out. Who dares to do so will be regarded as abandoning the test. Todays the return day too, so just forget about it. If you came back, you wont be able to leave anymore." Ye Qingxuan pondered but could not figure out a good solution and sighed helplessly. "So youre saying that all we can do is waiting for death?" "Don''t give up. Its still necessary to struggle." Charles showed a serious look. "What if were the underdogs?" Seeing Charless expression, Ye Qingxuan knew that this time, he was done for. 183 Before the Trial 1 The following day, people gathered in the auditorium. It was a drowsy afternoon and sunshine fell from the skylight. In the silence, only the voice from the podium could be heard. Almost all of the students in school were gathered there, and there were clear distinctions among them. The red clothing of Modifications; the yellow of Revelations; the blue of Summoning; and the School of Royalty, which was a branch of the School of Summoning and had the least number of students, were clad in white with gold thread sewn in their cuffs. Only the graduating students would be given the uniforms unique to their school by their professors. They occupied the positions at the front. Their expressions were slightly nervous and troubled. The test of the school anniversary was also one of their graduation trials. If they could not pass, it was very possible that their future would be full of obstacles. After so many years of practice, their future relied all on this. Whether they were going to train at the border with the Garrison Corps, travel the nations as a minstrel, or join the Royal Orchestra that countless people dreamed of, there was no doubt that it all depended on the Academys endorsement and recognition. It was said that in the past few years, the principal would not play fair and use this as an excuse to hold back a group of people''s diplomas for half year. He only let them go after the Queen inquired about it by charging twice the amount for exam make-up fees. Everyone hoped that this tragedy would not happen to themselves. - Ye Qingxuan did not want to attend this kind of large meeting at all because he was not involved and it was a waste of time. But seeing as he had a senior who had applied for graduation every year but had never succeeded, and the fact that concertmasters must attend, he pinned on the badge he had thrown to the bottom of his suitcase and arrived late. After arriving, he found that the concertmasters had to sit in the front row. Feeling the gazes from the school leaders at the podium, it made him feel particularly uncomfortable. But it was inevitable since his white hair was too eye-catching. Beside him, the disdainful and exceptionally cold senior concertmasters seemed unwilling to acknowledge his appearance. He could not be bothered to talk with them and get jinxed either. It was only after he took his seat that he found that he was not the latest. Another concertmaster came late too and crossed through the aisle very calmly. He sat beside Ye Qingxuan as if nobody else was around. "Richard?" Ye Qingxuan recognized him. Unlike the others, Richard''s school uniform was pure black. His look was still cold with eyes that always seemed to be looking for mistakes. It made people particularly dislike him. "Long time no see. Im really honored that Concertmaster Ye still remembers me," Richard responded emotionlessly. Of course Ye Qingxuan remembered him. It could be said that the people from the schools executive office were unforgettablethey all looked the same. Moreover, when Richard was in the cafeteria, his words had been cold, but he did have a hint of kindness, which was rare. But Ye Qingxuan still had not expected that he was also a concertmaster. After a polite smile, Ye Qingxuan no longer spoke, but heard Richards voice. "Talk?" Richard had a subtle look in his eyes. Ye Qingxuan sighed and suddenly felt helpless. "You wont ask me about the same d*mn gossip, will you?" He had really been ruined by Lola. Why did everyone want to ask about that sort of stuff? "What gossip?" Richard shook his head, his eyes emotionless. "We at the executive office dont care about gossip ..." The long-lost feeling of being touched came to Ye Qingxuan instantly. As expected of the executive office to not be part of such vulgar things. Then Richard drawled, "We like to catch people on the spot, with both the criminal and the evidence." "..." Ye Qingxuan was speechless. So these guys knocked on doors to arrest people? With tears rolling down, he said, "Im innocent." "Well decide if youre innocent or not." Richard spoke to him with a meaningful tone, "Relationships between teachers and students are forbidden in the academy. I hope that Concertmaster Ye wont give us the chance." Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt indescribable grievance. So he had not done anything, but was already on the executive offices naughty list. Was he just waiting to get locked up? It was hard to describe how he felt during the transition from the disgrace of the academy to the infamous lewd player. As he sighed and was about to explain, he saw Richard signaling him not to speak. "Sh, the most important part is coming." At the podium, Sydneys long and boring speech had finally ended and he looked at the audience with an enthusiastic expression. "Next, lets welcome the former president of Student Union, sixth grade concertmaster, representative of the School of Royalty, Gavin Adrian, to give a speech on behalf of all the students who will take the graduation trials!" With that, Sydney took the lead and began clapping. Offstage, cheers rippled through the crowd, along with wild applause. The sound made Ye Qingxuans ears hurt. Some girls shouted the name wildly, their faces excited. Ye Qingxuan looked around in confusion and found that only he was not moving. He quickly began clapping half a beat later. Under everyones gazes, the man seated at the very left of the first row rose. He nodded toward the crowd and went to the podium. He looked to be in his twenties and was still very young. His eyes were azure, and his posture elegant and charismatic. The School of Royaltys white uniform on his body complemented his looks beautifully. Even someone like Ye Qingxuan who never cared about the aristocratic demeanor had to admit that Gavin was indeed worthy of the title of the glorious bloodlines. He was born to be a noble. If he put on armor and rode a horse, it would probably be the picture of a legendary knight. No wonder so many girls screamed when they saw him. Who did not like Prince Charming? But at the podium, Gavin happened to glance at him. His eyes grew colder and he furrowed his brows. "Much thanks to the school for allowing me to speak on behalf of everyone." At the podium, Gavin began to speak. His low and gentle voice had a mature huskiness to it and was full of charisma. The whole hall quieted down instantly, listening attentively to his voice. But in the seats, Ye Qingxuan was confused. "Who is he?" Ye Qingxuan asked quietly. "He seems impressive." "Gavin, sixth grade concertmaster, president of the student council last year, is the new star of the Adrian family," Richard responded. "I thought you knew him. "I feel like I should know him too." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "He looked pissed when he saw me. Did I accidentally offend him?" Richard was speechless for a while because of Ye Qingxuans shamelessness. He asked, "Do you still remember Banner? The one who really hates you and even arranged for others to mess with you before his retreat? Banner is this guys brother." It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. He looked at Richard with admiration. "You really know everything! Are you the biggest gossiper?" "That''s what the executive office does," Richard said lightly. "There''s always a source of information that others dont know." Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and looked at the stage. "It sounds like hell help his brother deal with me? I feel stressed now." "It''s possible, but he doesnt have that time." "Why?" "He joined the School of Royalty two years ago. Starting at the musician level, he went through more than six refinement ceremonies, and I heard he entered the Resonance level a few months ago. The Royal Music Division thinks highly of him, and hell be recruited directly after graduation. Hell be too busy to deal with you before he leaves. And what excuse will he have to meddle in your affairs after he leaves?" "That sounds right." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I trust you." Indeed, Gavin did not have time to pick a battle with him, but just looking at his pile of titles, it was easy to see that, even if he himself did not have the time, someone would do it for him if he said the word. Ye Qingxuans head hurt at the thought of this possibility. He had no time to waste on these silly things. "How annoying," he muttered. "Would you like to consider joining the executive office?" Richard suddenly asked. "You get paid and you can also avoid a lot of trouble." It was the second time. It was the second time that the executive office had recruited him. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Are you that short on staff?" "Theres people everywhere, but it''s hard to find the right one." Richard looked at him, "I''m going to apply for study abroad. Before I go, I want to add some new blood into the office." "Sorry." "Ye Qingxuan shook his head." I dont have time." Richard was silent for a long time. He sighed as if sorry and handed a card to Ye Qingxuan. "If you change your mind, you can come to this address." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan accepted the card. On the stage, the speech was finally coming to an end. Everyone''s voice died off as they waited in anticipation. It was finally here! The first trial of the anniversary would be announced soon! Under everyone''s earnest gazes, Gavin held up the sealed envelope in his hand. He opened it in front of the people, pulled out the letter and slowly unfolded it. He was shocked for a moment, frowning slightly. Everyone held their breaths instantly. "Next, the first trial of the anniversary will be announced." Gavin paused. He raised his head and announced, "Mimicry!" In an instant, the whole auditorium burst into shocked cries. Like an explosion, the voices rumbled, faintly mingled with wails and sighs. "Are you kidding?!" Among the graduates, some were about to bury their faces and sob. In the back of the room, Charles whistled. Since he could not graduate, he came just for the drama. "As I said before, it wont be easy." He shrugged and shook his head while sighing. Mimicry could be said was a skill that all musicians must master. As the name implied, mimicry was to simulate the appearance of other substances through a variety of methods by the use of aether. When one delved into the deepest parts, he would even be able to transform the material. There were Modifications musicians who specialized in this skill. One of their graduation trials was to transform a finger-sized piece of iron into gold by change of elements. But the trials difficulty this time was not that high. After all, gold refining would take an experienced musician more than two months. Therefore, this trial was intended to assess the musician''s own ability to use the environment, as well as their own camouflage skills. According to the principal, musicians were the pioneers of the Dark World. Thus, one must have the ability to survive in the dark world filled with dangers. Therefore, the Requiem enchantment would be officially activated tomorrow during the school anniversary and transform the entire school environment. At that time, the entire school would become a huge examination room. The students participating in the graduation trial would have to turn themselves into all kinds of unmoving objects through mimicry and hide well Next, the cruelest round would begin. 184 Before the Trial 2 Next, the cruelest round would begin. All participating students had to find the graduating students. Before the trial, all students had sixty points. If they wanted to pass, they needed to get at least one hundred! Every wrong find deducted ten points. If they failed six times, they were out. Fifty points were awarded for one successful find. If a graduating student was caught five or more times consecutively, he would fail the trial and be out. If he was not caught by visual mimicry of objects, it was possible for their points to double. The crowd instantly formed two groups It could be imagined that by the time the sun rose the next day, the familiar campus, the same environment, the warmth and peace would never be seen again. This would become a terrifying battlefield. A cruel war would begin. But "Isnt it just hide and seek?" Ye Qingxuan finally reacted. "I guess?" Richard rose and patted his shoulder. "Remember not to cheat. The executive office will be maintaining order the entire time. Thanks to the school board, youre one of our top suspects." Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt weak. Other concertmasters had the best times of their lives, but he became the top suspect? It was depressing. And what was wrong with this school anniversary? Tests in rumors had everyone face off each other until a winner of the school was created. Why did it turn into this here? And to encourage the students to tear each other apart, the academy had also prepared all sorts of prizes and gifts. The first five students could go into the Cave of Sleep in the Jianlan Underground Palace for a weeklong meditation period. They could also use their credits in exchange for more time Hearing this, Ye Qingxuans eyes grew red with desire. The Cave of Sleep was one of the Requiem enchantments cores. There, a vast magnetic vortex captured aether constantly, used up the massive amount of aether, and performed Benevolence, the overture of the Requiem. If one meditated here, he could easily resonate deeply with the aether. Apparently, the meditation effect would shoot up incredibly fast once in there, like a wild dog off its leash. It was the best location for meditation. If Ye Qingxuan could enter, he could fill in the foundation built with his rune stones. He also had a few handwritten drafts from saints that he had taken from the library. That was the most important! Those were all classic scores from the School of Revelations. There were twenty-four in total and needed at least one year to learn at the regular speed. With the interpretation method, the time could be reduced to half a year, but if he had an environment like the Cave of Sleep, he could roughly understand it all within seven days. After the most difficult obstacle, he would just need to keep practicing and woodshedding. No matter what, he had to work for this important chance. - Ye Qingxuan decided to look through information of past school anniversaries from the library for preparation. But at the very back of the auditorium, he saw a sighing and grieving crowd. They were probably the seniors who were not good at visual mimicry and were hopeless now. Ye Qingxuan recognized a few. They were all Charles comrades. One of them was a girl. Ye Qingxuan remembered Charles crushing on her seriously before, but it ended without any results. After all, who would date a failure? Now, Charles stood beside her, comforting her softly. According to him, he lacked experience in every field except for failing classes. After getting stuck in the Rhythm level years ago, he had never passed again. Now, all his friends were graduating. He was probably the saddest now, right? Ye Qingxuan sighed and walked forward. - At the back of the auditorium, the gloomy girl hung her head, her eyes red. She probably did not have much confidence for this test. "Dont worry, Heather," Charles consoled her softly. "Therell be a way out of every dead end. If you hurry and practice visual mimicry, you can still make do. I have a lot of experience. If you" "I know. Stop yapping," Heather interrupted, her expression annoyed. "Whatever, Im just like this and cant learn anything. Im not a genius like you!" "But its still good to be prepared." Charless voice had weakened and he hung his head. "I just wanted to say that I have some notebooks. If you hurry and look through them, your grade wont be that bad." "Dont I have your department below me?" Heather glared at him. "No matter how bad I am, I wont be as bad as you." "" Charles froze, his face growing red. "Youyou cant say that." People around them laughed mockingly. Some people seemed to make comments. Charles stuttered, trying to reply, but in the end, he hung his head sadly and did not try to explain. He had just wanted to say that he had some resources and notebooks that were written by himself. Heather would have no problem if she looked through them, but Heather was right too. He could not even help himself. Maybe he should not have come. "Senior, lets go." Charles heard a voice beside him. The white-haired youth stood before him, blocking the mocking eyes from him with a neutral and cold expression. "Whats the point of talking with these failures?" Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Its a waste of time. Let them fend for themselves." His voice was gentle, but each clearly enunciated word made the gleeful and mocking expressions turn uglier. "Failure? What are you talking about?" The eyes of Ryan, Heathers boyfriend, darkened. "At any rate, were your seniors. Do you not know what manners are?" "I was just telling the truth." Ye Qingxuan looked down and toyed with the concertmaster badge on his chest. Looking up, he asked, "What, you dont agree? If you dont, get a concertmaster badge and show me." "You Eastern b*starddont go too far." "Eastern b*stard? Do you still remember the ninth line of the second chapter of the school rules?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "What do you call me when you see me, no matter the situation?" There was a long silence. The people stared at each other. In the end, Ryan squeezed out the words with a dark expression, "Concertmaster Ye." Someone beside them forced a smile and tried to soften the tension. "Sorry, Heather didnt mean it that way. She just feels stressed." "Its okay. Im not the one you were annoying." Ye Qingxuan scanned the group. "Go back and study well. I know youre all good kids, so be good and obedient." "You!" Ryan clenched his fists as his breathing grew heavier. "Sorry, I didnt mean that. Im a bit stressed too." Ye Qingxuan slowly straightened his collars and bent down to look at Ryan, then whispered in his ear, "If youre upset, you can hit mecoward." - Unrest happened just as Ye Qingxuan had predicted. In actuality, it ended pretty quickly. After all, the executive office people were still wandering around, and Richard had not gone far. Even though the school did not forbid fighting, it was not allowed to get too out of hand in the auditorium. Just as Ryan was about to move, Ye Qingxuan punched him in the eye and pummeled him, not giving him the chance to fight back. The unrest ended quickly. They were pulled apart by members from the executive office and kicked out of the auditorium after being scolded. Ye Qingxuan was totally unharmed, but Charles had helped him block some kicks while trying to stop them. Now, he sat beside the fountain pathetically like a defeated dog. "Senior, dont be sad. You were just wrong about some people, right?" Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "Look, I already helped you vent. Why are you still sad?" "I just think its a pity." Charles lowered his head and rubbed his nose. "I just wanted to help them. After all, they were still willing to talk to me. I thought they were my friends, but sadly" Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He patted Charless shoulders, not knowing what to say. After a long while, he suddenly asked quietly, "Senior, are you free tonight?" "Huh?" Charles glanced at him in confusion. Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Throwing an arm over his shoulder as Charles used to do, he said quietly, "How about we work hard this time and help you graduate first?" - It was a night without words. Early morning the next day, a crowd gathered soundlessly in the campus square. Bai Xi yawned and swayed amongst the crowd. Her eyes were still dazed, not yet understanding what had happened. After staying up until midnight the last night, she was dragged out by Ye Qingxuan in the morning. It felt like she had brushed her teeth and eaten breakfast while sleepwalking, but she was still not awake. Her hair was a mess. Some parts were sticking up like a bird nest. Her short hair had gotten long at some point and she finally looked like a little girl. But sadly, she was still the sloppiest type of girl. "Even if you dont put on makeup, girls should at least brush their hair in the morning." Ye Qingxuan sighed and pulled her over. He turned her around so her back was to him and held down her head so she could not move. Then he pulled a comb from his pocketdont ask where he had gotten this from. He felt more and more like a single mother now. Bai Xi sleepily let Ye Qingxuan do whatever. Quickly, her messy hair became neat. Then Ye Qingxuan pulled a hair tie from her pocket and collected her hair into a bun with experience. Good, now she was clean and simple. "Done?" Bai Xi leaned against the youth lazily. She yawned and forced her eyes open to a slit. "Cousin." "Yeah?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at her. "You feel like a sister" Bai Xi looked up at him. "Can you be my sister?" Whack. Ye Qingxuan flicked her forehead, forcing her awake. "No." The crowd rustled. The long-awaited principal finally appeared at the front. 185 Requiem On the square, Maxwell stood amongst the crowd of silent professors with his top hat. He studied the students before him quietly. "This group of kids is full of youthful energy," he chuckled. "Every time I see them, I think that the change of eras might not be a bad thing." Sydney glanced at him in confusion, but Maxwell whistled proudly. "These kids are at least luckier now. When I was their age, I didnt have all these long-legged girls wearing short skirts to look at! Everyone had class in church. Men had to be gentlemen and girls had to be covered up. They could only show their faces and talk about Gods teachings. They were just like nuns" Sydney coughed softly and glanced at the girl standing quietly nearby, hinting at Maxwell to stop. This old b*stard did not think about the situation before speakinghe did not need to be full of praise, but he should not be acting like a gangster in public. This time, the second princess had come to observe as the queens representative. "If she writes you down for being disrespectful before royalty youll be okay, but dont drag us into it!" Sydney thought. The girl stood away from the crowd in the light morning mist. Seeming as if she did not hear anything, she was cold and serene as she studied her surroundings. After a long while, she nodded and glanced at Maxwell. "Mr. Principal, is it almost time?" "Thank you for waiting, Your Highness." Maxwell took off his hat and tossed it to Sydney. "Lets start now. The school anniversary should be livelier. How can it be so quiet?" Crack! He raised his finger, and with the crack of his joints, he produced a clean and crisp snap. Behind him, a mighty sound came abruptly from the thin morning mist. The sound was not grating, but it was shocking. The bell! The bell had rung. Above the school bell tower, the great gears began turning, moving the iron plates and hinges. The iron rods rubbed against each other and the machinery turned as the huge bell shook. The first time the bell tolled, the mist began moving and the students gazed around in confusion. After the second bell, a wild wind suddenly blew in from the sky. It transformed into blurry ripples, spreading in all directions. The third bell caused a thick white fog to rush in from thin air, covering everyones eyes and swallowing the school whole. Amidst the heart-stopping and glorious bells, a faint melody appeared. It was the gentle song of a clarinet. The melody was extremely tender. Beautiful like a dream, it was like a lullaby and embraced everyone gently. In an instant, everyone sank into a long daze, captured by the sweet melody. Maxwell waved his hands and the fog promptly transformed and rippled like a tide. Submerged in the beautiful melody, he conducted the music notes and created waves in the aether sea. He closed his eyes and murmured, "God, please give me the worlds eternal peace." This was the music piece that Mozart, the King of Yellow, had carved here centuries ago. The notes had sunk deeply into the aether and became the enchantment that surrounded the academy. It was the Requiem! Of the professors, some had already become immobile by the majestic power. Sydney grasped the top hat and stumbled back, his face pale. "The school board still needs to talk and coach" "Didnt you all speak yesterday?" Maxwells chuckle came from afar. "All you have no substance and are filled with empty words. Where do you find so many things to talk about?" Sydneys face changed. He wanted to say something, but he found that he could not speak. In fact, he found that he had forgotten speech and did not know how to speak anymore. The Requiem enchantment had been activated. Who needed such annoying noises in eternal sleep? - In the mist, all the students looked around in confusion. The thick mist had covered everything. All objects began changing like a hallucination. Everything became unreal and distant. Even the people beside them slowly faded and disappeared. At first, some still did not know what to do. But soon, they heard a voice. "Thirty minutes." Maxwells low voice sounded in their ears. "The academy has already been transformed. You still have thirty minutes to look for a position. After thirty minutes, the trial will begin" Before them, the white mist dispersed and revealed the large school that slightly retained its original appearance. The graduating students who could not see each other froze for a second. Quickly, they rushed toward their previously scoped out locations and hurried to start the mimicry. The trial was about to begin! - Ye Qingxuan only remembered that white mist was spreading. He was stunned and when he processed everything, the mist was already dissipating. Everything had returned to stillness. He had been tossed into an unfamiliar place unknowingly. Everyone around him was gone. They were probably thrown somewhere else by the Requiem enchantment. Everything in his vision had become unfamiliar. It was still the academy, but everything had been changed slightly. Some buildings were gone, other places had new buildings. Even the design and structure of buildings had changed. The basic shape was still familiar, but one could no longer see its original shape. The Requiems power had shone into the material world from the aether world and changed everythings appearance. It had changed soundlessly. In the distant parts of his vision, he could faintly see participating students looking for the graduated students who had completed mimicry without wasting time. Charles should have found his place, right? If nothing went wrong, it should be easy to get past this round according to the plan they made last night....If Charles was not unlucky. "Cousin" Bai Xi shook her head forcefully. "Can you let down my hair?" "Huh? Oh, sorry, I didnt notice." Ye Qingxuan quickly let go of the hair in his hands. When the mist had creeped in, he had subconsciously grabbed Bai Xi. Then he was in a daze until now. "Is this the Requiem?" Unlike the cautious Ye Qingxuan, Bai Xi was much braver. She poked around and nodded. "Yeah, the effect is similar to Cloud Gate, but there are differences in the specifics. One is fine and detailed while the other is more generalbut both are part of the School of Illusions field of thought realization." "Bai Xi, stop playing. The trial already started." Ye Qingxuan pulled her off of some wild flowers. "Stop stepping on them. What if that flower is actually a big guy?" "Huh? Thats gross." Bai Xi got up in disgust and looked at him with uncertainty. "Should I examine it?" With that, she pulled out her school badge and prepared to spend ten points to test the flowers, but Ye Qingxuan stopped her. "These arent mimicry. Dont waste your points." Hearing that, Bai Xi happily squashed the flowers with her feetOne could only say that she was still a kid. However, Ye Qingxuan was now worried about the trials increased difficulty. Technically, one could not use mimicry to become something smaller than oneself. But with the Requiem enchantment, a musicians mimicry could cover an objects original shape and project something to cover himself. So the difficulty level skyrocketed. After three hours, there would be a change. Every graduating student had to pick a ballot and would be required to mimic what they chose. But that was for later. If he thought of the worst case scenario, Ye Qingxuan would have to get all his points before the difficulty was lowered. Not just himself though. Bai Xi and Charles also had to get their points. They could not let the History departments comprehensive score be too sad. Otherwise, the school board would give them a hard time again. "Lets just hurry and start looking." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Hopefully I can go to the library again this afternoon." "Going to read that womans books again?" Bai Xi side-eyed him. Looking elsewhere, she said quietly, "Professor is sad these days." Ye Qingxuan knocked her forward, slightly upset. "Dont speak nonsense. I already told him. Anyway, Im just going for lessons occasionally. He wont mind." "Tsk." Bai Xi was unhappy after her lie was seen through and muttered, "I think youre going to get played and destroyed by that woman sooner or later and get abandoned." "Professor Lola and I are innocent." "Then how did you get her attention?" Bai Xi rolled her eyes and glared. Ye Qingxuan instantly became speechless. After stammering, he could only say, "Its just academic communication." It was not as if he could say, "Hey, remember the Professor? Right, that really dangerous and talented one. The Professors actually a girl and my dads student and now shes really good to me" It was even more unbelievable and even more unspeakable. He sighed. "Just see it as fate." Bai Xis eyes changed and she stopped looking at him. With her head low, she walked forward and muttered, "Liar" The weak voice traveled in the wind. Ye Qingxuan froze. He tried to grab her, but she shook him away. "Bai Xi?" He furrowed his brows and said quietly, "Stop it. Lets talk about this when we get back, okay?" "No need." Bai Xi shook her head and did not look at him. "Theres nothing to talk about it. Its just fate." These were Ye Qingxuans words thrown back at him. He felt a bit annoyed. "Bai Xi, why are you throwing a tantrum? Cant you just say whats on your mind?" "Am I throwing a tantrum?" Bai Xi looked back with an expressionless face. "I just dont want to hear you lie." "I" "You can just say that you like her or you need her help. Its okay. Or you dont have to say anything," Bai Xi said as if talking to herself. "I dont care who youre with, right?" Ye Qingxuan could not reply. "I just dont want to hear you lie." She finally looked at Ye Qingxuan. Her eyes were slightly red. "Cousin, youre lying to me now." She spun around and sprinted, running away without looking back. The ribbon around her hair broke and fell to the ground. Her hair flew, like a beautiful flash of light fading in the wind. The light disappeared. Bai Xi disappeared too. Ye Qingxuan was rooted to his spot. He wanted to run over, but he felt exhausted. He did not even have the energy to move his feet. He did not even apologize. - The youth sat onto a stone bench in the corner in fatigue and picked up the hair tie from the ground. Looking at the tear and two strands of short hair, he let out a bitter self-deprecating smile. What was this? Getting what he deserved? Looking for trouble? Or some strange humiliation? Until now, he finally realized he had made a mistake. It had been a long time since Bai Xi threw a tantrum. If he wanted to drink water, she would go boil water. If he did not have time, she would go walk the dog. If he stayed up late, she would sit on the side and read comics. She was quiet and truly an obedient little girl. He had thought that girls just needed to be coaxed. He just needed to coax her a bit and everything would be okay. If he coaxed her, she would listen, right? But then reality slapped him in the face. Stop joking, Ye Qingxuan. How can you use a lie to restrain her? She didnt want to deal with you and didnt want to get angry. She was just bearing your lie. But now, even the lie is useless. It broke, just like the ribbon you tied around her hair. She had enough of your lies and chose to run. What can you do? You cant even catch up to her. - As time passed, Ye Qingxuan sat on the stone bench without moving. He just stared at the ribbon in his hands sadly. Faint yells came from the distance, as well as excited cheers. Those were the noises made by participating students. But this small yard was silent like it belonged to another world. It was silent like the forgotten times. After a long while, a pained voice sounded. "Hey" The voice was filled with helplessness as it called quietly, "Hey?" Finally, Ye Qingxuan looked down and saw the bench under his butt. "Hey, can you move?" The long bench could no longer bear it and said in pain, "Youre sitting on my back." " Sorry." Ye Qingxuan scooted to the side. "Im just sad and didnt notice." The bench was speechless. Shouldnt he get up before talking? Why was he still sitting?! But he could not do anything, other than let Ye Qingxuan keep sitting. After all, Ye Qingxuan had not reported him. It was not as if he could say, "Get up, you *ss. Try using your badge on me!" That would be suicide Seeing his sadness, the bench was silent for a long time and finally sighed. "Dont be sad. Everyones like this when theyre young. Youll do some things youll regret." "And then what?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "And then?" The benchs voice became bitter. "Then youll get used to it." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. "That sounds worse." "Nothing you can do. Thats how the world is. There are so many misunderstandings, but only a few people who stay by your side." The bench sighed. "Thats why you need to treasure people. If you dont grab her, shell run off. And then, youll be by yourself. Shell be alone too." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Go chase her back," the bench said quietly. "Shes waiting for you to comfort her." "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan rose and glanced at the bench. "I was going to sit a bit longer, but thanks for your advice. I wont blow your cover." "" The benchs said in shock, "You already discovered me?" "The flaws are too obvious. I saw through it easily." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Its really damp these days. Bugs and fungi are growing like crazy. But you dont have a bit of moss or spider webs. Anyone would think somethings wrong." "I cant believe" The benchs voice was troubled and so were his thoughts. He had thought that Ye Qingxuan was upset and just happened to sit on him. But this guy was just playing with him because he was sad? This instantly made him feel like his good intentions had been eaten by that vicious golden dog. "Well then, bye Bench." Ye Qingxuan left and waved without looking back. "Hope you pass this round." "Bye," the bench bid farewell weakly. After a long while, it sighed. "Hope you get that girl back." - At noon, the sun was blazing. The energetic students had started becoming tired now. There were already people squatting in the shade, trying to catch their breath. All these people became insignificant in the large campus. Compared to the hunters, not many graduating students had been found. The most tragic thing in life was that there were many wolves but only a bit of meat. Andthe meat could run. Actually, it was not the first time Ye Qingxuan saw the following scene: a tree running for his life and a cluster of people behind him, flashing their badges wildly. With howls and wails the entire way, it was too tragic to look at. Alarms sounded continuously on students as their points were cleared and they were forced out. After clearing out a batch of totally unqualified graduating students, the rest of the students were just trying their luck blindly. They started looking through the flowers and trees for those that they had missed. And some had actually been found, so the crowds determination was activated! With this mess, no skills or plans were useful. Everyone just relied on their luck. At first, Ye Qingxuan had been worried for Charles, but when he investigated every location according to their plan and finally found Charles, he was not worried at all anymore, but "Senior, your transformation is a bit" Under the blazing sun in the empty square, Ye Qingxuan shielded his eyes and looked up at the fountain. He looked at the naked statue in the fountain The statue had a symmetrical body of golden proportions. It had chiseled features and the realistic face turned to the side to stare at the sky. Its eyes were persistent and powerful. It was clear that a famous artist had made it, making one feel as if he had returned to the beginning of the golden era. But for some reason, if one looked too long, one would think that the statues smile had a vulgarity that one could not put a finger on 186 I’m Going to Ven The scorching sun, On the quiet square, Fountain, youth and naked man. The most shameless poet would not be able to such a wretched poem! "Senior, what the h*ll is this?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. But the statue was silent and gave no response. It was as if Ye Qingxuan had guessed wrong. "You want to keep pretending?" Ye Qingxuan looked around. Finding no one, he decisively approached the statue and kicked its crotch harshly. "Ow!" The statue''s face twisted instantly. A trembling voice sounded near Ye Qingxuans ears. "Junior, spare me please!" "Spare your *ss." Ye Qingxuan asked softly, "We looked for so many places and positions last night so why did you end up in this wretched way?" "The real hermit lives in the bustling place. Thats the saying Im following." Seeing Ye Qingxuan prepare to kick him again, the statue waved hurriedly. "Fine, fine. The other places were all occupied, even the stone ghost statue on the wall! So I can only take the risk" "Senior, you''d better change places as soon as possible. That group of guys started to take pictures already. If you get beat up, even I cant save you." "Okay, okay. You don''t have to worry about that. I''m smart. The first round should be no problemIt is just that the graduation design is a bit difficult." Charles clenched his teeth. "But you didnt have to kick that hard! You were going to ruin my mimicry!" Ye Qingxuans lip twitched. "Sorry, Im in a bad mood." "Wheres Bai Xi?" Charles looked behind him, "Where did she go?" "..." Ye Qingxuan shook his head wordlessly and turned to say goodbye, "Senior, may God bless you. Im going now." "Oh, wait!" Charles was taken aback. "Where are you going?" The youth had already walked away and waved without turning back. A frustrated voice came from afar, "Im going to vent!" - The conference room was on the second floor of the auditorium. The entire academys aerial view was projected on the wall. Countless small black dots could be seen moving, as well as many red spots sprinkled in like stars. Red dots constantly lit up, burst, and disappeared. These were the mimics that had been discovered. But there were more black spots that were fading. They moved aimlessly like confused flies before eventually disappearing completely. The students had used up their credits and were eliminated. Beside the aerial display was a ranking list with different names flashing on it, showing the change in credit. The credits on the list were constantly changing, rising and falling at every second, showing the fierce competition. In the conference room, all the teachers stared at the list, looking for a familiar name, and nervously watching the scores rise and fall. Occasionally, their gaze would fall onto the girl in front, and become awed. At the very front, the girl sat primly and looked at the map on the wall in silence. She did not say a word. After such a long time, she looked colder, and had more of the royal dignity, making the people dare not to offend her. "Your Highness, what do you think of this?" Maxwell asked quietly beside her. After a moment of contemplation, the girl replied softly, "This was unexpected. I had thought that there would be some one-on-one battles to pick the strongest. Now, it seems a little showy." "Your Highness Mary, are you speaking of the boorish bracket competitions?" Maxwell shook his head. "Since this is a school, it is better to keep it like a school." "Shouldnt a musicians school teach its students what a musician is?" Mary asked in reply. "They should be ready for the future." "Actually, I thought so too." The principal reluctantly shook his head. "At first, I wanted to let them to go through some hardships and experience early on what real fighting and pioneering are like. Let them grow with the strictest standards and real combat. But seeing so many young faces, it felt too cruel...They''re still a bunch of kids. And to me, so are you, Your Highness." Mary looked at him puzzled, but the principal laughed. The guy picked up a bottle of champagne from nowhere. He opened the bottle and poured expertly, stuffed a glass into her hand, and clinked glasses with her. "We can talk about the future in the future. We dont have to put everything at the present, do we?" Maxwell raised his glass, his features animated. "Since its the anniversary day, lets see it as a holiday and have some fun." Mary looked at his smile in silence, and the coldness and frost in her eyes melted slightly. "Then I shall do what you say, Mr. Principal." She took the glass and sipped it lightly. It was a little sour. - As time went on, the trend in the rankings became clearer. Some people were happy while others were not. The professors from Revelations were practically happy enough to start whistling. Of the top one hundred, more than fifty were Revelations students. The School itself was skilled at exploration, detection, and searching for specific items. A slightly flawed mimicry was riddled with flaws to them. This trial was a gift for them. Seeing names squeezing into the top ten one by one, the Revelations professors grew happier and happier. But beside them, the Modifications expressions darkened more and more. Ingmar gazed intently at the names on the list, watching Bart rise step by step with animated expressions. His efforts on Bart had not gone to waste. This child had suddenly become enlightened recently and so his performance was outstanding. He even showed the potential to catch up with Banner. He was going to be in the top tenalmost! He was so close Ingmar clenched his fist and stared at the rankings, until Bart''s credits flashed and jumped over the red line. He could no longer resist the urge to wave and cheer quietly. Bart succeeded! As long as he had the upper hand in the first round, he could get into top five in the second round with a bit more effort. By then, he would be able to enter the Cave of Sleep. Through the special strength of the Cave, he would quickly reach the threshold of the Musician level, and enter Devas Induction. If he could then establish the core of Revelations, then it was foreseeable that Bart was going to be the most promising one of the School of Revelations Noticing his excitement, a bearded man from Modifications pursed his lip and muttered, "Another phony from the Revelations." "So far, it seems that the School of Revelations is taking the lead." The principal glanced at the rankings. "The other schools are lagging behind a bit." Mary thought for a while and asked, "I remember that the head professor of the Revelations is Mr. Ingmar, who worked out the Babylonian riddle, correct?" "It is me." Hearing this, Ingmar rose and bowed. He could not help but grow excited at the thought that even the second princess had heard of his name. "Ten years ago, Mr. Ingmar became the famous dark-age historian. Your research of ancient music theory is for all to see." Mary nodded approvingly. "I didn''t expect for you to return to the Academy and continue producing so many outstanding students. Its really admirable." Ingmar disguised the pride in the eyes and lowered his head in reservation. "To give ones knowledge to others is also one of the responsibilities of a musician. Of course, the most important thing is to pick out the material that can be crafted, rather than working on deadwood and mud..." He glanced behind him secretly, but found that the man with a single arm was writing intently with his head down and had not heard Ingmars words. "Mr. Abraham." Ingmars eyes turned cold. "No offense, but are you writing something important? So important that you can forget your manners before royalty?" Abraham looked up blankly and froze. He quickly put down his pen. "S-sorry, I just suddenly had some ideas about interpretation, so I couldnt help but write down it." "Is that so?" said Ingmar coldly. "Then you must write it down well since there arent many ideas that support your absurd theory. But Her Highness came to visit on behalf of the Queen, so youd better think about how youll explain your disrespect of royalty to Her Highness" Abraham looked at the girl and finally processed everything. Somewhat flustered, he lowered his head. Mary noticed his steel prosthetic limb and seemed to recall something. She was a little taken aback, but soon shook her head. "The School of Revelations pursues inspiration, so this is normal. I hope Mr. Abraham''s interpretation method will soon have results and I anticipate hearing of them." Seeing that the reckless Abraham was let go so easily, Ingmar could not help but scoff. "You should thank Her Highness for her forgiveness. You might not be so lucky next time." "Since Her Highness has forgiven you, then learn from your mistake." The principal waved to Ingmar, motioning for him to move on. Then he asked Abraham, "I remember that your students are also taking part in this trial?" "Yes, one graduate and two freshmen this year." Abraham sighed, "I''m afraid they won''t do well." "Don''t be too pessimistic, Abraham." The principal patted him on the shoulder. He seemed to laugh as he said, "You cant be sure until the last minute." There was the soft sound, like a blister popping. On the aerial display, a red dot representing a graduate student quietly dissipated. At the bottom of the list where no one would notice, a name moved up quietly. There was another sound and the name rose again. Then a third sound - Boom! The door at the front of the central building collapsed and crumbled. Everyone in the courtyard looked back in astonishment at the white-haired youth who walked in from outside. "The material is wrong. Go and take the class again" he said. The white-haired youth holding the school badge pursed his lips, looking coldly at the dispersing iron door. "How can you use mimicry when you dont even know what material iron is?" Ding. The badge made a crisp sound as fifty more points entered it, but Ye Qingxuan did not even check. Instead, he walked straight toward the crowd. "The Eastern guy..." someone remembered him for his notorious actions at the academy and exclaimed softy. Seeing him coming towards them with a rude expression, the crowd rustled. "What do you want?" Someone stood out to stop him. But seeing Ye Qingxuans pair of cold eyes, they froze and stuttered, "Private fights areare banned on anniversary day!" "I''m sorry, but youre in my way." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him and patted him on the shoulder. "Excuse me." "Oh, oh." The student subconsciously moved to the side and watched as Ye Qingxuan walked past. Behind Ye Qingxuan, the people saw his posture, thought of the bad rumors about him and they shivered. What was the academy bully, the demon from the East going to do? But the Eastern guy stopped before them and suddenly said, "You know what? Most of Anglo is near the sea, so most places are influenced by the ocean currents and belong to the temperate climate." "Huh?" The crowd thought they must have heard wrong and did not understand what he was trying to say. 187 Shopping "When the School of Royalty was established centuries ago, they transported alder, elm, Populus euphratica, white birch trees and much more from all over to make the campus green and ensure spring all year long" Gazing at everyones confused expressions, Ye Qingxuan suddenly kicked the sapling beside him. "But there werent any indus trees, which had spread from the East two hundred years later!" Crack! The tree trunk trembled and the tree was suddenly uprooted. It wanted to run and unbelievably fast. But the youth was even faster and raised his badge. Light flashed from the badge and landed on the trunk. With a shake, it disappeared. Ding dong...The badge vibrated. Fifty more points were now his. Everybody was completely shaken. They had never imagined that a graduating student was hiding right behind their butts! Ye Qingxuan gazed at them and stated, "The moral of this story is that illiterate people who dont even know about botany dont deserve to graduate." With that, he turned to leave. There was a clatter in the hall in the distant, like something being kicked over. The people could not help but shiver. They looked over, but could only hear, "A trash can? How can there be such a clean trash can? Your mimicry isnt up to standard. Go take this class again." "Whats wrong with him?" Everyone stared blankly at each other in confusion. "Should we go look?" someone made the suggestion that they would deeply regret in the following months. Butf*ckthey actually agreed! - Hum... There was a quake in the clouds and the expressions of all students in the enchantment changed. In the campus, someone in the volunteer crowd furrowed his brows and pressed something invisible in the air. A faint tune spread in all directions and reported back. "Hurry, theres only ten minutes. The enchantments going to change again. "Ten minutes is enough." Banner raised his head. His eyes were emerald and the vertical pupils trembled. His body burned with glowing flames. His lower body was a gold lion and his tail had a dark green hook like a scorpion. Beside it was a youthful musician who had the same face but an entirely human body. There were two Banners, but their companions did not find it strange. Seeing that Banner had called forth the manticore, his friends sighed in relief. Banner waved and the lion roared, galloping away instantly in the campus. The manticore was the phantom beast unique to the Adrian family. Its talent was high sensitivity to the breaths of living creatures. Even with the double blockages of the requiem enchantment and mimicry, it could still sense all living things around it. Compared to others who had to use music scores and other methods, Banner undoubtedly had the biggest advantage. Furthermore, his brother Gavin had given him his former confidant to help in this trial. Banner had broken into the top three in a few short hours. "As expected of Gavins brother," an upperclassman at the front looked at him from afar and murmured. "His manticore is already humanized and hes just gotten into the Musician level." Humanization was a phenomenon unique to the School of Royalty. This school was a new branch of the School of Summoning. It was different in that Royalty had inherited the theories of Arthur, the most powerful Summoning musician. Because of this, it was also known as the Anglo School. All phantom beasts summoned by Summoning musicians were demons created by the broken pieces of their consciousness and raised in their minds. The School of Royalty abandoned most beasts and focused on those that fit themselves the most. They developed the beastliness of these demons in their minds and gave them their characteristics, allowing it to be continuously refined. In the end, it would practically become the beastly version of the musician. A well-experienced musician could allow himself to temporarily have some of the beasts characteristics. But the other characteristic of the School of Royalty was that the beast could be from a different school than the musician! Those who liked destruction and creation would study Modifications on the side, those good at observation and predictions would study Revelations Taking advantage of the fact that the phantom beast came from the same source and heart, the two of them had an effect of more than two. In the School of Royalty, there were also secret sublimation rituals that could make the phantom beast also study from the School of Summoning. Through these rituals, the musician could create a frightening wave of beasts whenever and wherever. This belonged to the secret occupation of the School of Royalty. Because of its feathering abilities, they were referred to as the "descendants of the phoenix." "Looks like the School of Royalty is going to groom him next." The upperclassman Cullen stared deeply at Banner. It seemed that the new Adrian power could not be stopped. Five years later, the family would have two musicians. If both became descendants of the phoenix, the School of Royalty would be the playground of these two brothers. With Gavins skills, he might even be the concertmaster of the Royal Musician Division in fifteen years. The humanized manticore roared once again. It rushed out from a collapsed library, a trembling dictionary in its mouth. "Very good." Banner took the dictionary and placed his school badge on it. The dictionary crumbled and vanished with a flash. It was yet another idiot who thought he could turn into a book and hide in the library to hide from the searches. "Number thirty-seven," a student helped Banner count. The badge vibrated and made a crisp sound. With the press of a finger, a light display jumped from the badge, showing the results of all students. Of the top ten, Banner was the first. He was three hundred points away from second place. There were not many students like him who had an enormous amount of resources and underwent Deva sensing to officially become a musician after a few months in the school. Usually, those at this level could already request graduation. In fact, there were many in this class that paid money but were still in the Rhythm level. With help from Gavins followers in the student council, it was natural that he was first. Banner reread the top ten list multiple times. After confirming that the white-haired b*stard was not in it, he nodded in satisfaction. "What about that guy I told you to watch?" Banner asked. "That Easterner?" Cullen thought for a moment. "The last message was that he argued with his female companion and seemed sad. He sat down and didnt move." "Hes like this because of a girl? I thought too highly of him." Banner sneered and put his school badge back. "Then let him keep spacing out. We need to hurry. The enchantments going to change soon. Everyone group together and dont get lost." Under his command, the people crowded over. Someone cast a music score to connect everyone. Cullen lowered his head and hummed something as he bent over to draw a white line on the ground. The head and tail of the line connected, forming a ring around all of them. The moment they finished, the bell sounded in the air again. The ringing resonated. The seemingly tangible bell stirred the air, creating ripples that spread outward. Everything in its path blurred. In the shaking, everyones visions swam. In their dizziness, they could only feel the white mist rise out of nothing and swallow everything. Before, the students were able to transform freely and the setting was in the campus that everyone was familiar with. It was time for the students to grow accustomed to the trial. But now, the short period was over. All graduating students must choose a ballot and accept the object they were required to mimic. The setting would also be transformed into a random corner of the city, according to the aether memory read by the Requiem. Without a doubt, everything would become more complex and unfamiliar. The mist changed dramatically and the bell rang. Commotion could be heard deep within the mist, like the low voices of passerby and the loud voices of peddlers. The mist dispersed quickly and the blazing sun once again shone down on everyones heads. They were met with a dense stream of people. Within the slowly disappearing white ring, Banners group were jostled and squeezed. They could barely stand straight. Looking around themselves, their expressions turned ugly. "F*ck," Cullen muttered. They had really hit the jackpot this time Under the bells of the tram carriages, the crowd surged at the large intersection. The passerby bustling against each other turned into a dense wave of people. There were peddlers pushing their carts along the road, fortune tellers sitting in the messy alleys with their crystal balls and homeless beggars with ragged overalls and shirts. A carriage brushed past them. The old elite inside leaned on his cane and glared at the passerby outside. There was also a strange family emblem branded into the side of the carriage. It really looked like some elites carriage. "Hey, what are you all doing there?" A mounted policeman wearing a copper helmet walked. He knocked his baton against his shoulder and examined them. "Is this your first time in Avalon? Stop blocking traffic." They jumped to the side as if they had just woken from a dream and watched as the carriages galloped across the street on either side under the policemans conducting. Was this really the Royal Academy of Music? Cullen sucked in a deep breath, confirming that he had not seen it incorrectly. Yes, welcome to the heart of Avalon, the most flourishing part of the cityQueens Avenue! - Amidst the dense crowd on the long street, Ye Qingxuan stuck his hands in his pockets and strolled lazily, looking around. He hummed an unclear tune and murmured some words. At times, he would suddenly grab a person created from the enchantment and ask some questions like a prank. He would walk, stop, touch around and look around. In the end, he even stopped by the old man playing an instrument on the street. He knew the man was fake, but he still pulled some coins out and tossed it into the mans hat. Behind him, the cautiously following students exchanged confused glances. Someone asked quietly, "Its already been half an hour. What is he doing?" "" The students were silent. Someone asked weakly, "Maybe hesshopping?" 188 You Don’t Have What I Use "Maybe hesshopping?" Hearing this, the surrounding people all shot gazes that said, "Are you an idiot?" Someone said, "Its impossible even if you think with your *ss. Who would have the mind to shop during the trial?!" "What are you talking about?" A voice full of curiosity sounded behind them. "Were following that East" Someone turned around and his voice stopped abruptly as his eyes and mouth widened. Behind them, the Eastern kid held a large paper bag and cocked his head as he gazed at them with cool eyes. He seemed dangerous. "Why are you following me?" "N-nothing" Everyone shook their heads like a rattle drum. Some brave person rubbed his hands and went forward, asking with a fawning smile, "Concertmaster Ye, you havent done anything in awhile. Are you investigating?" "Are you an idiot? Im shopping." As if it was logical, Ye Qingxuan pulled a donut from the paper bag. He stuffed it in his mouth, chewed, and nodded slowly. "As expected of the requiem that soothed ones mind. Its just like the real one." Seeing everyones shocked expressions, he pulled a baguette from the bag. "Want one?" All students shook their head blankly. "Whatare you doing?" someone murmured to himself. "Eating?" Ye Qingxuan was looking down on their intelligence more and more. "I havent eaten lunch yet." "But its all fake!" "Then yall can just stay hungry." Ye Qingxuan scanned them and looked away. He stuffed the last donut into his mouth and licked the powder on his fingers. "Im in a bad mood right now. If Im hungry, my mood will be even worse. I have to calm myself down, for your safety." "" Hearing his voice, the group did not know what to say. At this time, were they supposed to thank Concertmaster Ye for being merciful and not killing them, or feel bad for themselves? "Whatever. Just follow me if you want. Youre just wasting time." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and turned to leave without looking at them. "Yo, Concertmaster Ye!" A jeering voice sounded not so far away and Ye Qingxuan sighed. It was them again? Bart was leading a group of Revelations students to search for traces there. When he saw Ye Qingxuan, his expression grew mocking and he asked warmly,"Hows your grade?" How was his grade? How good could it be? It has been almost four hours since the start and Ye Qingxuan had only found two people. He had passed, compared to regular students, but it was far from enough for a concertmaster. In fact, one could not even find his name on the rankings. This made many of the people who did not like him happy. Many had already decided secretly to question his concertmaster qualifications after the trial. Someone beside Bart took Ye Qingxuans badge and let out a laugh. "Theres only two. Bart, stop asking." "What? Only two? That few?" Bart put on a shocked and confused expression, but could not hide his glee. "I already found dozens. How come you only have two?" With that, he moved closer and revealed a friendly smile. "Do you need my help? To be honest, I can give you two if you follow me." "Bart, Im busy. Its best if you dont get in my way." Chewing on his bread, the youths face was expressionless, but his eyes were pure black like a deep well. Merely staring at it would make one feel eerie wind against ones face. Ye Qingxuans voice was gentle as he said, "To be honest, Im not in a good mood right now. Dont waste my time. Tell your people to move out of my way." Hearing his words, Bart was angered. He sneered and nodded, waving behind him. "Okay, everyone move out of Concertmaster Yes way." He paused and called tauntingly, "Since youre so busy, why dont we call everyone over to see what Concertmaster Ye is playing?" "Thats a good boy. So obedient." Ye Qingxuan reached out casually to ruffle Barts hair, causing the fake smile on his face to crack. He glared at Ye Qingxuan. "You" Before he could finish, Ye Qingxuan exploded. He suddenly smashed his fist on the face of a random student in the group, pushing him down. A flurry of punches and kicks followed. The baguette and donut in Ye Qingxuans hands, and the hot canned coffee and the few pounds of change in his bag, were all used. The beating was like wind sweeping away the broken clouds! Everyone was stunned. Barts expression changed and his face darkened. "Ye Qingxuan! Are you crazy? What are you doing?!" Ye Qingxuan had finally let out his anger, but he kicked the unfortunate soul one more time, as if he had not had enough. Finally, he pulled out his school badge and shone it on the boy. "Bye." Crack! Under everyones dazed eyes, the student on the ground broke apart and disappeared with a flash. A curse traveled from thin air. Silence. Everyone stared with their mouths open. "You asked what Im doing?" Ye Qingxuan rose, slowly tidied up his collar, and cocked his head at Bart. "A mimic got into your group and you didnt even know. How are you a leader?" "B-b-but he" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "No one said you cant mimic a student." Hearing this, his group of followers was stunned. Their expressions became guarded and they stared at each other, gripping their badges and ready to examine the most suspicious one. "Stop looking. There isnt one in you," Ye Qingxuan drawled. "I already checked." He paused and his lips curled. "Its a pity." "" The students were speechless, but their eyes grew bitter. What was pitiful about it? Now they finally understood that Ye Qingxuan had come over for a chat to look for suspicious targets. Once found, he was ready to turn against them and fight. He was too cruel. Where was the trust between people? "No!" Bart stared at him and suddenly asked, "What music score did you use? Theres no way you discovered him and I didnt" "No point in asking. You dont have what I use." Barts expression grew more humiliated and angry. He had the urge to rip Ye Qingxuan apart. "Not many people would notice that the uniforms of the different schools are made from different workshops. So the fabric will be slightly different too." Ye Qingxuan asked coolly, "Wouldnt you think something was wrong if a Revelations students uniform fabric is the sea silk from Modifications?" "Just with that?" Someone was completely stunned. Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Its just wasting ten points anyway. I have to try if theres the possibility." "Stillyou still cant hit him!" Bart filled in angrily. "What if you hit the wrong person?" "Then thats your problem." With one last glance, Ye Qingxuan turned to leave. His voice came from the distance, "Who told you to be so annoying? It wont be a pity even if I hit the wrong person." - The manticores roar came from the sewer. Soon, the giant human-faced lion broke through, a rusty plaque stuck on its tail. Banner petted the manticores head and pulled out his badge. Shining it on the plaque, it broke and disappeared. "Number forty-five!" Someone beside him nodded in admiration and opened the badge to check the rankings. "Youre already four hundred points ahead of second place!" "Very good, Banner. Keep up the pace." Cullen nodded approvingly. "Indeed, youre Gavins brother." "I dont need you to teach me." Banner gazed at Cullen coolly, causing his smile to stiffen. "Lets change places. This place has basically been cleaned out." With that, he turned to leave. Cullen was speechless but he could only follow. Behind him, the student responsible for keeping count and checking the ranks let out a shocked noise. "Wait, this isnt right," he muttered. Scanning the changes in the ranking, his eyes trembled slightly. "Is someone cheating?" "Whats wrong?" Cullen looked back. "Up ahead, graduating students have started getting caught continuously starting just now. The speed isunnatural." The student thought for the right adjective for a long while. His expression grew grave. "Someones cheating." "Thats impossible. The executive office is watching the entire thing." Cullen shook his head. "Maybe Modifications has started using destructive tests?" Those destructive maniacs could definitely do that! A group had already done a full-out search in the beginning. They did not care whether something was a mimic or not. They just burned everything! Some unlucky soul would be captured after testing everything that had not been burned. But after the setting change, people had appeared. If students made purposeful damages, the fake police would not turn a blind eye! In fact, a few students had already been shot by the mounted policemen. It was still possible for Modifications to go all-or-nothing, but the answer made Cullen freeze. "Hes not from Modifications." Cullen furrowed his brows. "Then which school is he?" "Theres no marking before his name. Hes not part of any school" The student in charge of the rankings paused and gazed cautiously at the expressionless Banner. "Banner, you have to take a look!" Banners eyes grew cold. Cullen looked over and his expression grew shocked when he saw the name shooting up from the bottom, charging across the ranking freely like a hearse. "YeQingxuan?" Eighty-ninth place: Ye Qingxuan; seventy-sixth place: Ye Qingxuan; sixty-third place, sixtieth, fifty-secondthirtiethtwentiethfifteenth Finally, the drifting hearse broke through powerfully and rushed to the top of the rankings. Not too long after, it squeezed into the top ten. The chart had not yet refreshed fully and it left the name behind in its path. Ye Qingxuan, Ye Qingxuan, Ye Qingxuanf*ck Ye Qingxuan. Why was it all Ye Qingxuan? The count behind his name had reached a dumbfounding number in five short minutes. Thirty-five? An average of seven per minute? He found one mimic every ten seconds on average? "Impossible!" Cullen chewed on his lip and his expression was panicked. "Didnt we send people to watch over him? What music score is he using? Is it some rare score handed down through generations?" Someone pulled out an alchemy accessory and spoke to it with his head down. He quickly received a reply and his expression changed as if he had seen a ghost. He verified it three times. "Hehe" The student was tongue-tied. "He never used any music scores." "Are you kidding?!" Cullen roared in anger. "Then is he using his mouth to talk it through?" The students expression gave Cullen a bad feeling. He gulped and said seriously, "Actually, thats possible." 189 Stage On the long avenue, a galloping carriage suddenly stopped and disappeared in a flash, revealing the youth behind it, and the dumbfounded group behind him. "Design mistake." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "What kind of carriage has uneven wheels and can still be so stable and fast?" Passing through the graduating students remaining shocked apparition, he continued forward. In passing, he flashed his badge on a sign beside the road. "F*ck!" the sign yelped and quickly disappeared. Ye Qingxuan side-eyed him. "The perspective is completely wrong. Go back and study again. How bad does a woodworker have to be to make a sign like that?" Continuing forward, he slapped his badge on a streetlight. Looking up at it, his eyes were reluctant as he sighed. "Tell me truthfully, what streetlight looks like a chimney?" The streetlight shook. It turned to light before it could reply. His wail dispersed in the air, "Is it my fault for being fat" Ye Qingxuan continued. The dazed students behind him had already turned into zombies. They followed his each step and had lost all capability to think. What was going on? Seriously, what was going on? Why did this world suddenly become so weird? Where were the professors? There seemed to be something wrong Under everyones stares, Ye Qingxuan suddenly halted. He turned and entered the crowd. The students moved, quickly getting out of his way. They watched as he took a right and entered a caf. The enthusiastic server greeted him. "How may I take your order?" Ye Qingxuan ignored him and pushed him away, entering the caf. Outside the window, everyone saw clearly as Ye Qingxuan walked past the bar, lounge and stopped by the corner. He looked up at the oil painting and seemed to say something. The painting did not move and did not reply. Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes and snatched the lighter on a nearby table. With a crack, he lit the fire and held it close to the painting. "If you dont own up, Im going to burn you." "Wait, wait, dont! Dont burn!" The painting actually moved and climbed down from the wall. "Whats wrong with my mimicry? I checked!" "Go back and study art history." Ye Qingxuan mercilessly lit the painting on fire. "This entire street is decorated with classicism, which was popular centuries ago. Why would there be a Rococo wall painting from one hundred years later? Its too obvious." He flashed his school badge and the burning oil painting disappeared without a trace, save for a pile of hemp ash on the ground. "Heres your lighter." Ye Qingxuan tossed the lighter back at the dumbfounded customer and picked the lit cigar out of his mouth, snuffing it in the coffee. Ye Qingxuan smiled and waved farewell. "No smoking in public. Thanks." - When the sixth hour ended, the environment changed once again, transforming from the streets of Avalon to a barren island. Beasts thrived and the students even faced the challenge of survival now. Ye Qingxuan had just seen a parrot being chased by a tiger and screaming, "Come get me, come get me! I dont want to get eaten" And so Ye Qingxuan happily obeyed the fifty points that had given itself up and killed the tiger for the heck of it too. The tiger actually had resistance because it was born in an area of dense aether. Its mutation level was not low either and required a lot of effort on Ye Qingxuans part. He almost tripped and fell into a ditch. "But if youre gonna be a rock, cant you at least be something cooler?" He raised his hand and kicked the rock under his foot. "Granite? Diabase? Or limestone? There are so many volcanoes on this island. Cant you at least turn into volcanic rock?" The rock trembled with every knock. Finally, it gave up. "Who cares what rock? This is what I look like!" "Then you deserve to die." With a scan of the badge, fifty more points entered his hands. "Where are you going?" Ye Qingxuan looked back out of the corner of his vision. Behind him, the weird shrub that had prepared to tiptoe away and escape suddenly stiffened. The shrubs movements froze and it warped, as if slowly turning around. "Whwhat did I do wrong?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked, "You dont have friends, right? Know why?" "Huh?" The shrubs voice was obviously lacking in self-confidence. "I dont know what youre talking about" "Obviously its because youre too ugly!" Ye Qingxuan flashed his badge on the shrubs face. "Even your mimicry is so ugly and you want to graduate? Repeat the d*mn year!" "Wah" The shrub disappeared with a snap. One could faintly see the brokenhearted face of a graduating student. "And you!" Ye Qingxuan pointed at the ruins of a boat stranded on the beach. "I didnt even look at you. Why are you shaking?" "I-I" The damaged boat lay in the ocean tide innocently and tried to justify himself. "Im cold, alright?" He got a school badge on his face in reply. "Come back after you change your clothes!" Snap! The boat disappeared without a trace. The school badge vibrated once again with another fifty points. "Is there still anyone who doesnt understand the rules?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head slowly. In actuality, the emphasis of this trial was not the students grasp on aether and music scores at all, or attainment of mimicryit was observation skills. From the Academy, the familiar safe zone they were used to; to the Queens Avenue, the messy place full of commotions and changes; to the dangerous volcanic island; the students had to find the incongruous objects no matter how the environment changed, and remove them! The seemingly joke-like trial tested a students eyesight, determination, and decisiveness. This way would they be able to find hidden dangers, or transform into it and become someone elses danger. Only this way would they be able to survive in the dangerous Dark World where even gravity was unstable. Ye Qingxuan gazed around him and continued forward steadily toward the bubbling volcano at the heart of the island. The closer he got to the volcano, the more cracks there were on the ground. Scalding steam surged from the cracks. It was the boiling sulfur hot spring. Faint bells rang in the air after noon, signaling that the next round of changes would soon come. "Were running out of time?" Ye Qingxuan murmured to himself. He cast a frost ray to cool the rock under his butt and sat down with his back to the volcano without hesitation. He gazed at the ground around him. The vast abandoned island was covered with jungles, beaches and yellow sand. A gale blew from the distant, bringing with it boiling and scalding steam that curled his hair. The lava cast a layer of fire-red glow on his white hair, as if it was burning. He looked down at the world and murmured while cracking his knuckles, "I should take the last chance and do something big." Boom! The silver ring made of instrument strings at his fingertip produced a vague sound. Strings expanded in the sky continuously, crisscrossing and erecting beside him. He raised his finger but hesitated before pressing it down. After pondering for a moment, his fingers changed slightly and guided the changes in the strings. The crisscrossed strings began moving, all of them changing soundlessly. They became long and thin and grouped together. Three strings dissipated into dots of silver light and converged into a long violin bow in his right hand. This was the visual mimicry of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. It was not just the appearance that could change once fully activated. It could also adjust its structure and frequency to the level most suitable for the music score. "My ancestors will probably be roll over in their grave if they find out that I dont have their repertoire and use Jiu Xiao Huan Pei as a violin." While Ye Qingxuan danced on the Ye familys graves carelessly, his right hand rested on the strings near his neck. A melody clean as light mist sounded. A faint and unnoticed melody sounded in the faraway echo of tidal waves, in the roaring of hot steam shooting to the sky from cracks in the earth, in the crisp pops of scalding blisters in the bubbling lava, and in the cacophonous noises that filled the island. It floated in all directions like mist and seeped into every sound. It was small enough to be insignificant, but it was everywhere. "What is he doing?" The confused students at the foot of the mountain looked up at the youth casually playing his violin at the peak. He looked so comfortable and calm, as if he had given up on the trial and was completely immersed in the melody. In the cracks under their feet, scalding steam rose from the boiling hot spring. The steam hung in the air, vaguely solidifying into a long water line. The unnoticeable water line seemed to ride the melody and music notes, and spread in all directions with the vague melody. One line, two linesdozens of lines spread from the peak. The hot wind carried them further away. After taking advantage of the geography, Boleros melody resounded above the entire island. The first measure ended and increased intensity along with the imperceptible melody. It melted into the ocean wind and tides, and seeped into every corner. The second and third measure followed immediately. The amount and length of water lines multiplied exponentially with the start of each measure. But the melody was still mild and hidden. One could not recognize its existence, even if one listened carefully. This long melody came silently and seeped soundlessly into every organism, hiding in every corner. It fed off of the water vapor and aethers power and strengthened, strengthened, and strengthenedIt was the sixth measure! The sonorous melody finally broke through the disturbances of all noise. It resounded above the island and in everyones ears. The students raised their heads in confusion and looked in all directions. They tried to see where the melody came from, but to no avail. But the melody sounded in everyones ears like a murmur. It was easy and bright, like sunlight, subconsciously guiding them into it. They could no longer differentiate between near and far. The water vapor hung and countless perception threads rode the sea wind, floating and dancing over the island. They were like dancers with gentle moves that were heart-stoppingly beautiful. A spirited and sonorous beat was revealed in the gentle dance. The melody lengthened and changed along with the beat, growing in intensity. Like a flood that had brewed for the entire summer and finally broke through the dam, it resounded above the entire island aggressively and quickly. Without anyone realizing, the gentle melody intensified. It rang in everyones ears, projecting a bright yet strong image in their minds. With their eyes closed, they seemed to be able to see a lovely and beautiful girl dancing wildly. She was clad in fiery red and her skirt lifted when she spun, like burning flames. She moved to the rhythm of the melody, dancing in everyones hearts. In the fanatic dance, the fiery red dress seemed to cover the entire island. This had become her stage! 190 Drifting Hearse Ye Qingxuan stood above the volcano that was about to erupt and leisurely closed his eyes. He was immersed in the aggressive melody that was a wild and uncontrollable galloping horse. The performer in red was dancing in his heart, setting off flames. Thousands of threads wrapped around his body, weaving into a dense net that completely covered the island. His senses stretched along the perception threads, as if he had detached himself from his insignificant human body and became one with the vast island. No, he could even feel that this island was only a mirage that had been created. But at the moment, he seemed to have become an extension of the illusion. The perception threads were like his eyes, hands, and soul, sensing the existence of all organisms and the waves of the aether. It was like having a pair of eyes higher up that were overlooking the whole world, looking at the scenery that Ye Qingxuan had once overlooked. The island, beach, dense forest, yellow sand...and the countless students and mimicry were right before his eyes. They were so close that Ye Qingxuan could see them like the veins in his hand. Under the reflection of the "heart mirror," they shone with different colors, even when covered by mimicry. After discovering flaws through focused studying, Ye Qingxuan was vaguely aware of their changing moods. "So thats where you all are." Ye Qingxuan ginned. "Let me give you a surprise." He thrummed the strings. Boom! The badge was tossed up. It flipped in the air, reflecting the sun overhead and the lava below, and a red light glowed. The thousands of credits he had hoarded inside the badge were depleted in an instant. The name at the top of the list that hung over everyone''s heads disappeared instantly. Everyone focusing on the rankings was stunned. They had no idea what happened that caused Ye Qingxuan''s name to fall from thirteenth to the thousands in an instant. In the midst of consternation, they did not see the flash of light like a falling comet in the sky overhead. Like countless meteorites breaking through the outer barrier, a blazing light was created as they rubbed against the air. They transformed into a meteor shower, falling from the sky! "What is that?" In the midst of the jungle, the dusty Bart looked up at the sky. In the distance, rays of light flew from the mouth of the volcano out of the thin air, and scattered in all directions. Ding, ding, ding! Everyones badges began to vibrate wildly. They lowered their heads blankly, looking at the list that seemed to be burning. The order of the entire list began to change instantaneously. The ranking connected to the Requiem enchantment broke down in this dramatic change, showing a crack and losing its luster. At the bottom, a name began burning up. It took a step forward, followed by another step. As the meteor shower fell, the name trembled wildly, breaking through all the obstacles and soaring upward without hesitation. First, it fell from thirteenth to thousands away; then it rushed back wildly. Everything in its path was in ruins. Nine-hundred, eight-hundred, seven-hundredone- hundredit whizzed past! And then, like a flash of lightning, it jumped into the top ten. "What the h*ll is this?" Bart, who had been relieved before, now felt his vision going black. He had been completely forced out of top ten, but immediately thereafter came a distant scream. "Hes cheating! Cheating!" a student from the School of Royalty roared. "That Eastern b*stard! I''m gonna tear you to shreds!" The meteor shower was still falling! All of the mimicry where the meteors fell disappeared in a flash like absurd fireworks! Instantly, the number of credits behind that name soared again! It jumped to 1950 points from zero instantaneously. His depleted credits had returned. Then it turned into two-thousand points, three-thousand, four The name zoomed forward, pushing everyone elses names down in its path. It was like a mad dog off its leash, a drifting hearse, a military ox on fire destroying the list. Top ten, top five, top three...In the end, the silent and bleak Banner clenched his fist. With his face twisting, he roared coarsely, "Ye Qingxuan!" The situation changed in the snap of a finger. On the list, in first place was Ye Qingxuan! And the points behind him were still rapidly soaring. Five-thousand, six, seveneight thousand! Nine-thousand! "Nine thousand?" Richard from the executive office was on the beach. His face twitched and looked back at his assistant. "Are you sure he didn''t cheat? We should talk to him..." He paused and muttered a curse in astonishment, "F*cking crazy!" In an instant, the mimicry of more than one-hundred and ninety graduates had their covers blown by the light. The points that followed put a five-thousand point difference between Ye Qingxuan and Banner, who was in second place. The completely unreasonable change made everyone feel suffocated and powerless, as if they saw the abyss between the two. At that moment, countless students squeezed a hopeless moan from their throats, "That Eastern f*cker" - In the conference room in the second floor of the auditorium, the professors felt the change much more directly than the dramatic changes of the ranking. The aerial display projected on the wall flashed at that moment. A black spot in the middle of that desert island emitted a blinding light. It was the overlapping depletion of hundreds of credits. Immediately thereafter, the red dots of the entire map began to vibrate wildly. Patches disappeared at a time. It was as if an invisible palm descended from the sky and swept across, wiping away all the mimics. Finally, only a few sparse ones that had slipped through the net remained on the entire map. And in the few seconds of total chaos of the rankings, Ye Qingxuan completed the big jump from the bottom. Under everyones eyes, he moved unbridled. He broke through the rankings and rushed to the top, leaving all other students behind him. The gap between them was as large as a natural moat. The whole conference room fell into a long silence. Nobody had processed what had just happened. When they finally did, there was an explosion of movement. No matter how they tried to restrain themselves, nothing could stop the professors from whispering to one another. Amongst the crowd, Ingmar''s complexion was livid. "The Easterner...is he mad?" He gritted his teeth, clenched his fist under the table, and looked angrily at Abraham. "Abraham, what the h*ll just happened?!" Everyone became quiet in an instant and looked at the silent man. Under everyones gazes, Abraham dully looked up with a puzzled expression. "Even if you ask me, Im not sure either" "Are you f*cking kidding me?" Ingmar took Abraham''s obtusity as mockery. His face reddened as he said through clenched teeth, "Your student rushed to the first place as if he was cheating, and you tell me that you dont know. What kind of professor are you?" "This..." Abraham thought for a moment and shook his head. "Yezi is a very good student. He learns things quickly. And, well, he constantly gives people surprises. Just like now. Well, its not a big deal if everyone gets used to it ... "He squeezed out a reluctant smile. "Yes, just get used to it." Get used to it your *ss! Ingmar practically spat out blood. He glared at Abraham with hatred and took out the aether ball. Connected it to the Requiem enchantment, he began to analyze the fluctuations in the illusion and aether directly. After years of immersion in the School of Modifications, Ingmar instantly had his aether ball reflect the changes in the illusion, as well as the complex changes in the aether. The layers of silver tracks revealed intricate music scores and melodies. The notes that had practically solidified intertwined and formed an illusionary image. It was essence realized by a musician who had thoroughly mastered the heart of the music score. He saw it. There was a reddish turbulence in the silver dust of the aether ball. It was a red skirt on the stage. A coquettish girl was dancing. Her moves were sometimes gentle and sometimes passionate. It was a captivating dance, wild enough that it seemed the red dress was set on fire. One could not help but be captivated. "A music score from Modifications?" Ingmar said to himself and immediately reacted. No, the movement of Modifications had always been known for its explosiveness and change. There would not be any human intention. So, what score was it? It was seemingly frenzied and passionate, but it always followed a rhythm. The interpretation and construction of the music score was incredible. The aether followed the rhythms guidance, changed from a gurgling stream into a torrent, thunder-like power brewed silently within. The composers undeliberate breath, and his round and smooth movements were admirable enough. Not to mention the unimaginably high control of aether neededThe source was unknown, but Ingmar was sure that there was absolutely no score from Revelations that had such an image! In an instance, something seemed dawn on Ingmar. His expression changed drastically and he stared directly at Abraham with ferocious eyes. "Abraham, if I find out that you violated the militarys confidentiality agreement and taught that eastern kid the School of Abstinence, I will make sure youre punished for it." The atmosphere of the entire conference room became stifled. Everyone looked at Abraham with suspicion. At the front, even Princess Mary frowned. Given the immense destructive power of the School of Abstinence, its teaching must be carried out under the supervision of the silent authority of the Musicians Union, endorsed by the military, and after multiple agreements had been signed. If anyone violated the law, the most lenient punishment was that both professor and student would be thrown into the Mithril Cellar and never be able to come into contact with aether ever again. If Abraham had really bypassed the agreements restrictions with some trick and taught the School of Abstinence to his studentsthen not even the Royal Academy of Music would tolerate him anymore! Abraham suddenly became everyones target. He froze in bewilderment as if he had not yet processed everything. After a long time, he looked at Ingmar and asked uncertainly, "You... have you misunderstood something?" 191 Let’s Go Back Together "Misunderstand?" Ingmar sneered. "Was the image in the melody not from the School of Abstinence?" "How could it be?" Abraham shook his head and said earnestly, "Ive never taught him any of the battle scores from the military or from the School of Abstinence. This is proof." With that, he raised his prosthetic limb and showed them the unbroken seal. This was the eternal shackle the military had put on him. Unless he received royal permission and amnesty, Abraham could not get around the agreement. "This entire time, I have only taught him the Revelations music theory that I know, as well as how to decipher ancient texts. Yezi is a good student that I dont need to worry about. He grasped the interpretation method quickly and has a natural talent for Revelations. I think hell be a good scholar in the future, so there must be a misunderstanding." The direct rebuke came from Abrahams straightforward speaking style and had a nice effect. After all, everyone knew that this guy basically had nonexistent social skills and was the worst at lying. Ingmars expression instantly darkened. The quiet principal also stood up and poured salt on Ingmars wounds. "Abraham has reported to me every class he gives. Everything he taught follows the school rules. Ingmar, you dont have to target Abraham. Please dont bring private matters into this." The last sentence was practically accusing Ingmar of not separating public and private matters to his face, causing Ingmars expression to change. He squeezed out a smile and nodded, clenching his jaw. Finally, he glared at Abraham and scoffed. Interpretation method? He understood completely what Abraham was doing now! That d*mn b*stardhe wanted to make his students a heretic like him! An Abstinence musician under the guise of Revelations? No, this was not allAbraham could be telling him the truth. It was okay even if he did not teach the School of Abstinence to his student or give him any music scores. He had already taught the interpretation method, which contained all of his findings and realizations, giving Ye Qingxuan a stable foundation. For the rest, Ye Qingxuan only had to fathom on his ownWith only a bit of guidance, he would be able to comprehend and grasp the following steps by himself. He looked like a Revelations musician, but was a true Abstinence musician in disguise! And he was a musician killer without the constraints of any laws or agreements. A silent musician free from the Silent Authorities? This was every musicians nightmare! Ingmars eyes grew icy. "Seems like this honest man has started to use tricks to make a name for himself too?" He clenched his fist and swore to himself, "Abraham, someday youll be taken to the gallows! Someday" But now the question was: how could they slow down the Eastern creatures reaping? Thankfully the change in illusion disrupted his second round of reaping. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. Now, the professors of the major schools in the conference room all had uncharacteristically uncomfortable expressions. Nothing this laughable had happened in the centuries since the Royal Academy of Musics establishment. No one had thought that the Eastern kid, the disgrace of the Academy, was actually a beast under the disguise of a human. He had forced down the scores of all graduating students in a few short minutes! This meant that no one would be able to receive higher than an A during this years graduation test. If he continuedhe might be able to wipe out all graduating students in the first round of trials! "This cant continue." The bearded Egor from Modifications furrowed his brows and said soundlessly in the secret language, "We must stop him." "Stop him? How?" Ludwig, coach of the School of Summoning, could not help but laugh. "We cant do anything to whats happening in the Requiem enchantment. He hasnt cheated either. Should we personally break the rules?" Ingmar, his expression ruthless, cut in, "If we unite and question the fairness of this trial, an emergency stop might be possible." "Dont be stupid. The three of us isnt enough. If the School of Royaltys coach doesnt join, the school board wont be able to use its veto power." The School of Royalty was its own school, independent from the other three schools, and undoubtedly held an important position in the Royal Academy of Music. Though Thomas, the one in charge this generation, was an Elite, he rarely ever participated in these things. If not for the fact that the principal had once forcefully expelled a concertmaster and caused too much trouble, Thomas would not have even joined the school board. Moreover, after teaching his final disciple Gavin, he had already decided not to worry over school matters anymore and focus on his symphony of predestination to try for the Scepter level. If he succeeded, Thomas would be the fourth saint since the establishment of the Academy. It would be an amazing thing for both the School of Royalty and Anglo. If they disturbed him because of such trivial matters, they would have to face the blame and probably be rejected. Hearing this, Ingmar could not help but scoff and asked, "Do you have any better ideas? Are you going to let the disgrace of the academy continue his mischief?" An argument began in the secret conversations channel. In the end, Ludwig cut them off. "Stop arguing!" Ludwig glared at them and sent the message, "That Eastern kid has already stopped." "Stopped?" Ingmar blanched and looked at the aerial display in disbelief. Yes, Ye Qingxuan really had stopped. The score that had shot up like a fountain was stuck at nine-thousand and seven-hundred and no longer moved. It was as if he had already become bored of this unchallenging trial. There were no terrifying meteor showers in the village that the illusion had turned into. The ominousness had disappeared. All graduating students ran to spread the good news with tears streaming down their faces. It had been short, but the hellish ten minutes had finally ended! "Yes, he stopped" Ingmar studied the wandering black dot. He furrowed his brows, feeling a bit unsettled again. "Is he preparing something strange again? What does he want?" "I dont know." Egor shook his head. His expression was troubled. "It looks likehes looking for something?" "What is he looking for?" "Who knows?" Ludwig sighed. "But its finally over, right?" Yes, the ridiculous trial was finally ending soon. - At dusk, the streets of the crude village were still. It was just like the countless villages Ye Qingxuan had seen before. Its ground was muddy, and chickens and ducks ran amok, but they seemed to be scared of him and went the other way when they saw him. The village was crude, and there were scorch marks on the crumbling walls. Under the setting sun, smoke rose from all the low-rise houses. The air was filled with the smell of burning firewood and cooking rice. The dusky sunlight shone lazily on the people. It seemed to chase away all unhappiness and gloominess, making ones footsteps lighter. Ye Qingxuan strolled through the village. He constantly stopped the students he passed and asked them something. Some shook their heads; others were blank, while even others pointed in an unclear direction after pondering. And so Ye Qingxuan walked toward the villages center square. A group of kids ran around in the square. They played with simple toys or fought for candy. Their faces and bodies were covered in mud. It seemed that they had too much fun. A clown with a colorfully painted face danced in the middle of the group of children. As he laughed, he played a three-stringed instrument and sang a country song. "It rained hard this morning and the flowers scattered all over. Ah, but so what? Were happily togetherWere together, holding hands, laughing, singing and going on a trip. Dont care if its sunny or rainy, were happily together..." Ye Qingxuan remembered that this was Charles favorite childrens song. He seemed to have sung it when he was drunk, and it would make one feel safe and warm. As if all sadness had vanished. "So youre here" Ye Qingxuans footsteps stopped in the distance. Looking at the silver-haired girl with her back to him, he could not help but sigh. During this long trial, he had found practically everyone in the Academy, but could not find Bai Xi. The mimicry of the graduating students could not fool Ye Qingxuan, but he was helpless faced with this little girl. He had never imagined that she would be the biggest challenge in this game of hide-and-seek. Now, she sat on the grass and propped her chin on her hands, spacing out in boredom. Sometimes, she would look up at the playing kids. Like a child who had had an argument, she only looked from afar, but her eyes were wishful. Sometimes, Ye Qingxuan really felt that even if there were one-hundred girls that looked like Bai Xi put together, he would still be able to find her. She was always the most antisocial child. Her eyes were always like thatstubborn and determined. She liked to stare directly into others eyes, as if wanting to see clearly if they were lying. She was not polite and not very likeable. If one got close, she would distance herself. If one made her scaredshe might never look at them again. Ye Qingxuan sighed and snuck over, standing beside her. Bai Xi saw him and looked away. Ye Qingxuan raised his hand, but Bai Xis shoulder trembled and tensed. He froze. The accomplishment and pride in his heart disappeared and he could not help but feel sad. Scratching his head, he said softly, "I looked for a long time." "Okay," was Bai Xis quiet reply after a long pause. Ye Qingxuan reached out and opened his hand before her. "Lets go back." Bai Xi looked up at the hand. After hesitating for a long time, she nodded lightly. "Okay." She grasped Ye Qingxuans hand and allowed him to pull her up and knock the dirt and dust off her. Finally, the broken ribbon was tied around her messy hair again. She looked immature and laughable, but even more like a little girl. She allowed Ye Qingxuan to hold her hand and start on the way back. "Youre not allowed to run away when youre mad in the future," Ye Qingxuan suddenly murmured. "If I cant find you, Ill get angry." "I know." Bai Xi lowered her head and kicked him lightly. "Such a nagger" 192 Another Crisis The setting sun, withered vines, old tree, evening crows, and a heartbroken man at the horizon. "I heard that you were caught by that white haired guy?" a crow asked quietly, standing above the old tree in the backyard. "Yeah." The trees branches trembled as if it was reminded of a nightmare. It asked in a hoarse voice, "And you?" "I was caught too." The crow was heartbroken. "Me too." The withered vine asked in a low voice, "How many times for you?" "Twice. You?" The withered vine was quiet for a while before replying, "Three times." The crow looked at the withered vine pitifully and raised its wing to pat the vine. "Dont be sad. I heard someone was caught four times." The old tree burst into tears, and the crow was shocked. "Bro, whats the matter?" "The guy who was caught four times was me." "Thats sad." The crow shed tears of sympathy. The withered vine nodded too. "Yeah, really sad." "Don''t worry, its all over." The three fellow victims huddled together in the cold, crying on each other''s shoulders. "It''s all over now." But footsteps and voices could be heard faintly in the distance. "How many did you get?" "Not even one. I even got points deducted because I damaged the scene." The girls voice sounded a little disappointed. "There''s only ten left." "Well, then Ill look for a few to let you raise it a little." "Great!" In the distance, the last glimmer of light was about to disappear. It was a sign of the arrival of the long night. When the white moon rose to the sky, everyone was relieved for some reason. The f*cked up first day was finally over. "Students, I am so pleased!" The excited principal at the podium whistled, ignoring Her Highness who was beside him, and the gloomy Sydney and other coaches behind him. "Everyone did great today! Chef? Chef! Add a chicken leg to everyones dinner to replenish their energy!" Maxwell waved widely and increased the benefits for all of the students. Unfortunately, no one cheered because they were all exhausted. But Maxwell was not in a hurry and instead gave a mysterious smile. "Next, I have good news to announceIn order to help everyone keep up the good work in the next two rounds of trial, the royal family prepared a prize for first place in todays trial." Maxwell paused. Looking back at the girl behind him, he smiled. "The prize is a complete set of materials needed for the sublimation ritual! It includes the resonance rails unique to the School of Anglo, and the highest quality aether crystals. It can turn any music movement into a Heart Mark, and allow the musician to accept the knowledge during the sublimation ritual!" The audience was silenced instantly, followed by an explosion of noise. Everyones eyes grew wild, but more people were lamenting about their unluckiness, forcing them to be so far behind. The jealous eyes that fixed on Ye Qingxuan in that instant were almost too much for him to bear. Among the secret rituals mastered by countless musicians, the "sublimation ritual" was undoubtedly the most popular one. It was highly sought after due to its excellent effects and near-absence of side effects. The recipient in a "sublimation ritual" would submerge his mind in the aether ocean and fall toward the Originator. This was the optimal opportunity, close to Deva sensing. In one short hour, the recipient would gain as much in music theory and power as others would in several months. The sublimation rituals held by different schools were never the same. The School of Anglo had a special sublimation ritual. It lasted the longest and practically took an entire night. By consuming huge amounts of material and aether, the musicians strength would be improved as well. The effect was three to four times that of a regular sublimation. Many rhythm level musicians sought inspiration to no avail, but received inspired during the sublimation ritual. Then under the Deva sensing, they stepped into the third stage and officially entered the musician level. It was also the best way for ordinary people who had limited talent and found it difficult to improve. It must be known that a sublimation ritual was practically the only hope for the majority of students to become musicians! The ordinary man could not afford its high cost and precious material. Even an elite family would feel the loss too Furthermore, this time, the royal family had also provided the aether crystal, resonance rails and other treasured materials to produce the Heart Mark. The Heart Mark! This was a creation unique to the School of Mind. It was an alternative modeled after the once-in-a-lifetime nirvana that Scepter level musicians of the School of Mind experienced. As the name implied, the Heart Mark was passed on by the heart, rather than words. Its purpose was to pass down the feelings of a music score and allow instant acquisition of the score. The musician could skip months and years of studying and practice, especially since some music scores above the Resonance level chose its owner! If a musician could not comprehend the spirit of the music score, he could be stuck even after decades of hard work, but if a musician studied with the Heart Mark, he could directly obtain the sentiment and essence left by the creator, thus omitting the years of practice. It was just as Ye Qingxuan had inherited his Heart Mark through the notes left by his father; however, Ye Lanzhou was so unique in his accomplishments of the School of Mind that he could even attach his Heart Mark in his signature for fun. The Heart Mark even contained compounding pieces of music, hiding Moonlight within Black Friday. The precision of the structure and law, and clearness of the music theory was jaw-dropping. For most musicians, the inheritance of a Heart Mark depended on ones fate, so there was no need to emphasize its preciousness. There was no doubt that Ye Qingxuan was most likely the one to gain this opportunity since he had an absolute advantage over Banner in second place, with four thousands points between them. Therefore, those envious eyes were basically understandable. Ye Qingxuan looked at the principal helplessly. Why did the principal have to roast him like that? But Maxwell was not done enjoying himself and added another remark. "At that time, Ill invite a musician with unmatchable skills in alchemy to hold the ritual. The music scores needed for the Heart Mark will be provided by the library. The recipient can choose any Resonance level score!" Boom! Ye Qingxuan practically saw fire falling from the sky. Now, all the students in the academy seemed to be ignited by the sudden prize. If they were warm before, they were frenzied now. A resolute look flashed through everyone''s eyes as they looked in Ye Qingxuans direction. Irreconcilable hatred was written all over their faces! This included the cold eyes from Banner behind him. The sublimation ritual was not a big deal for the Adrian family. Gavin had used it many times. It was also the reason why Gavin could enter the Musician level. But the Resonance level music scores from the library was a different story Even if one did not speak of the highest level saintly scores and the symphony of predestination, any score that entered the Resonance level was worlds away from other scores. Before this, a musician was on his own, but after resonating with the Devas, his power would be completely incomparable. The feeling of danger behind him made Ye Qingxuan smile bitterly. "What is this? The disgrace of the academy is now the enemy of the academy," he thought. "Then next, all we have left to speak of is tomorrows trial" The principal pretended to cough and stopped! The old man was pretending to keep everyone in suspense. Several coaching members of the school board looked at each other. In the end, they looked at Sydney at the same time. His expression grew distressed immediately. Helpless, he followed the principals plan and asked, "Mr. Principal, do you already have plans for tomorrows trial?" "Thats right." Maxwell patted Sydney''s shoulder in satisfaction and said, "Since it''s the school anniversary, we should continue Anglos glorious tradition!" "Eh?!" It was not only Sydney who felt a bad premonition. Maxwell smiled happily. "Lets...play soccer!" Sydney: "..." Coaches: "..." Students: "..." Silencedead silence. Everyone was stunned and they looked at each other, speechless. Much later, someone asked quietly, "Soccer?" "Thats right, soccer!" Maxwell waved excitedly. "We should get some exercise since this is the campus of youth! The Royal Academy of Music aims to develop all-around students, so how can there be no sports?! "So, lets play soccer! Kick in your youth! Kick in your style! Kick in a new era of the Royal Academy of Music! "I had originally planned to suggest to the royal family that we hold a musician soccer game and invite Burgundy, Asgard, Canaan and even the Eastern Imperial College to participateSydney what do you think of this proposal? Isnt it good?" "What do you think about this proposal? Could it be called a proposal? It was completely decided already!" Sydney thought. "What else can I say?" "I support it, I support it." Sydney could only nod. Wiping his cold sweat, he quietly looked at the princess who was still calm, and said in a low voice, "Think long-term, Mr. Principal. Long-term!" Sydney was afraid that the principal would digress and propose more troublesome things. If Maxwell wanted soccer, then it was soccer. At most, everyone would just play along and kick some balls. "Oh, there''s one more thing I forgot to say," Maxwell added. "The soccer I''m talking about is the kind where you can use music scores." Use music scoreshow the f*ck was this soccer?! "Is this killer soccer?!" His words stirred the crowd. Everyones expressions changed. Ye Qingxuan tried to imagine the scene, but found that he could not because his imagination was limited this time. For some reason, he just felt very uneasy. But in the crowd, Bart seemed to think of something. He suddenly laughed, overwhelmed with joy. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan full of schadenfreude. "Haha, youre dead meat, Ye Qingxuan! Youre doomed, you know? No one can save you now" Ye Qingxuan froze for a moment, but quickly understood where the uneasiness came from. He met Charles eyes and could not help but curse. 193 Do You Mind if I Play Soccer? It was late at night in the living room of the Music History department. Ye Qingxuan, Charles and Bai Xi stared at each other in awkward silence. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan took the lead and asked with a serious expression, "So what can we do now?" "Nothing." Charles scratched his head. "That *sshole from your grade was right. Were probably dead this time." "One-thousand points per win, five hundred each for a tie, and five hundred deducted for a lossIf we dont find a solution, well lose horribly this time. Im okay but senior, you wont be able to graduate!" "Well, its okay if I cant graduate." Charles asked with some hesitation, "Im used to it anyway. So what if I wait some more and try again next year?" "Okay, so we wont worry about graduating now. But the Cave of Sleep and sublimation ritualwe wont get that opportunity again." Ye Qingxuan grew impatient. "Senior, you have to work too. Look, even Bai Xi got a few hundred points today! You already passed the first round, so cant you put in some effort?" "But putting in effort is useless for these things, isnt it?" Charles shrugged. "If working hard can solve everything, then why isnt everyone working hard?" "Then were definitely dead meat this time." Ye Qingxuan sighed helplessly. "I dont have enough points to deduct if you want to graduate. The school board can happily force us to beg for food next year." "Theres nothing bad with that, actually." Charles scratched his head. "To be honest, I was doing really badly here for some time. Professor had been worried that Id have to beg for food in the future. But then I suddenly got it!" "Got it?" "Thats right." Charles became spirited. "I spent a few months observing Avalons beggars and studied their techniques. You wouldnt know it, but Avalons charity is pretty good. Theres no stress either. Im telling you, I found some spots where you wont go hungry if you beg there! So Junior, dont worry. Even if we have to beg, I can still take you to the top!" "Senior, where are your ambitions?!" Ye Qingxuan cracked his knuckles, kind of wanting to hit Charles. "Ive even memorized the most valuable golden spots for begging in Avalon! I may be unaccomplished normally, but if I go beg, Ill be the king of beggars! How is that not a pursuit?" "Your dream is to beg for food?!" Beside them, Bai Xi could not take it anymore and interrupted, "Hey, youre off topic!" Ye Qingxuan returned to the sofa and crossed his arms. He said seriously, "The most important thing now is the manpower problem! If we dont solve it, well be dead!" Charles and Bai Xi exchanged glances and sighed in unison. There really was no solution to this problem. Yes, the most fatal problem for the History department currently wasmanpower! They did not have enough people! Even if one did not look at the three major schools of Modifications, Summoning and Revelations, even the other departments like Music Theory and Classicism had handfuls of people! As for the major schools, forming a league was no problem, not to mention a soccer team! But the History department had no allies and was unloved by all over the years. Their annual budgets were not even as much as what the others received for cafeteria reimbursements. No wonder Bart said they were dead meat. They could not even form a basic team! There were currently only three students in the entire department. If Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi were not here this year, it would be even worse. Charles would be a one-man band. They would not even be able to catch up if everyone on the field only took one step, not to mention playing ball! "Actually, I think us three are okay." Charles coughed. "If its us three, at least we have chemistry. Isnt that how fantasy novels are all written nowadays? Three people form a small team, and we charge and retreat together. You come as one person and we have three people. You come as one hundred, and were still three" "Those people are usually the antagonists, alright? And even if they come as three, theyre still beaten by the main characterand the main character isnt alone either. He can easily find twenty-some people, along with replacements, coaches and a cheerleading team! How can we do this as three people?" Ye Qingxuan said in exasperation. "Ha, Junior, you shouldnt be so pessimistic. Dont Easterners have that saying, the mountains and rivers multiply and theres a road to the underworld; the willows are dark and blossoms shine, and there is a godly village ahead? Theres always hope." "Senior, what kind of weird saying is that? It makes it feel like were definitely done for now." Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt powerless and kind of wanted to go crazy. "And we totally dont have enough people! Even if we have a forward, a mid-field, and a defender, we still need a goalie! Where do we get a goalie?" "Uhheres the goalie!" Charles lifted the big golden dog that was sleeping on the ground and shook it before Ye Qingxuan. "Look, what a great goalie! Imposing! Aggressive! Cold! Merciless! Practically the Academys nightmare, a dark legend!" The sleeping Old Phil opened its eyes and looked around in confusion, not understanding what was happening. Ye Qingxuan was stunned too. "Can that work?" "I think so!" Bai Xing raised a hand in support. "Old Phil is much better than humans!" "Yeah!" Charles nodded. "They didnt say we cant use dogs and Old Phil isnt an average dog, either. Right, Old Phil?" "Ow!" Old Phil had turned around and bit Charless hand in annoyance. Charles yelped and began rolling on the ground. Seeing him get beat up by Old Phil, Ye Qingxuan did not show any sign of going to help. Instead, he began pondering. What Charles said was not entirely illogical. There was no reason why Summonings phantom beasts could go on field but Old Phil could not! There was an advanced level amongst the musician categories called the "jungle chanter." These guys hung out in the jungle all day. Their most unique characteristic was that they were skilled at interacting with animals, and they usually had an animal companion. The animals were part of the jungle chanters strength. Even the Sacred City recognized this. So if this was the case, Old Phil might be allowed too. Ye Qingxuan chewed on his nails and began racking his brain for loopholes in the school rules and soccer game rules. If there was really no other way, they could only bring Old Phil Just as he was pondering, a knock on the door of the living room sounded. Everyones heads shot up and looked over. Who would come so late at night? One could vaguely see a student wearing the Revelations uniform in the dim light outside. He looked like this years graduating student. He came late at night, knocked politely and waited quietly, not impatient at all. "Who is it?" "Its me, that unlucky guy from today. You havent forgotten, right, Concertmaster Ye?" The voice sounded familiar. He was definitely an acquaintance. After thinking for a bit, it suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "Youre that Bench Guy from today!" "What is Bench Guy?" The boy was taken aback and felt helpless. "Whatever, you can call me that." It was not illogical for Ye Qingxuan to call him Bench Guy. He stood outside the door now in his school uniform. His posture, clothing and greeting all followed the school rules. He seemed polite and kind. But for some reason, his head was covered in a squarerock. Yes, rock. Ye Qingxuan raised a finger and tapped it. The echo was crisp. Yes, this really an actual piece of concrete brick. It seemed that Bench Guys had studied mimicry well. He had mimicked the material and hardness perfectly! But coming at midnight in this mask-like headpiece and being unwilling to reveal his identity was just suspicious! "Uh, arent you going to invite me in?" Bench Guy cocked his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan imagined that he was smiling. Ye Qingxuans lips twitched and he moved away from the door. "Come in. The History department cant let guests stand outside." Soon, Bench Guy was on the sofa. He gazed around as if he could see the furnishings surrounding him. Finally, he nodded and praised, "Small but complete. Its not bad. I didnt think the History departments atmosphere would be so relaxed and gentle. Its much better than the coldness of most schools." "Here you go." Bai Xi brought over a cup of tea maliciously and studied the concrete headgear seriously. She wanted to know how this guy would drink it "Thanks." Bench Guy lifted the tea cup, but put it down after hesitating, much to Bai Xis disappointment. "I didnt come here tonight to drink tea. I think Concertmaster Ye must have guessed why Im here already, so Ill just cut to the chase." "Please." Ye Qingxuan nodded, showing that he was all ears. "Tomorrows the second trial, which is a soccer game. But, as far as I know, the History department only has three students. If I didnt guess incorrectly, youre probably worried about your number." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while before nodding. "Thats correct." "So, do you need my help?" Bench Guy suddenly said. "To be honest, I havent found a team yet. If the History departments willing, I can join you. If you agree, I can call some people over too. You need people and I need points. Its a win-win, so how about it? If we win, we can split the points. If we lose, its just like I invested poorly. There arent any losses for you." Indeed, according to what Bench Guy said, they would not have any losses. It was a pure win. Bench Guys arrival was like receiving coal in the winter, but the coal was too perfect and was naturally suspicious. "I know why youre here now. Thanks for your help, but I have some questions." Ye Qingxuan exchanged glances with the others. After thinking for a bit, he asked straightforwardly, "Since youre here to help, why do you have to hide under that cover?" Bench Guy chuckled bitterly and touched his concrete head. "Concertmaster Ye, dont you know that youre everyones target now? Someones already said that anyone who helps you will be sent to the Whitechapel Hospital. Im going to graduate, so Im not scared of their threats, but I still have to worry about my safety, you know?" "If youre worried about your safety, then why are you here?" "Teaming up with strong people is always better than being dragged down by those stupid teammates." Bench Guys voice had a natural tone, as if everything made sense. One could not help but trust him. But Ye Qingxuan did not budge. "Actually, I have a hypothesis that can explain all of this." He looked at Bench Guys boxy head and his eyes hardened. "For example, someone, like Bart or Banner or someone who doesnt like me, wants to eliminate me in the second round. So they make you and others join me. Then youll make me lose on purpose at the most critical pointDoesnt this sound logical?" 194 I Do Mind Bench Guy was silent. "If thats what you think, then I have nothing to say. But if I wanted to harm you, why would I have advised you this morning?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head slightly. What he said did make sense, but it was still not enough to prove his innocence. Charles, who had been watching for a while, moved over and asked softly, "Is this guy reliable?" Ye Qingxuan looked up at Bench Guy''s eye and shook his head. "To be honest, he''s not very reliable." "Can you not say that in front of me?" Bench Guy said. Bench Guy was filled with awkwardness, but Ye Qingxuan changed the topic immediately. "But at least hes good at talking, especially with his chicken soup for the restless soul!" "Is that a compliment?" Bench Guy''s voice grew more troubled, but Charles came up and grasped his hand enthusiastically. "Then we must be the same type of person! Nice to meet you! Ive been here for so many years, but I didnt know there was another graduate student who liked chicken soup like me. We should interact more closely." As he spoke, Charles touched Bench Guys hands, and his tone became flirty. "Wow, your hand feels really soft..." "Youwhat do you want?" Bench Guy got goosebumps from Charless tone. He tried to draw his hand back, but he found that his hand was held tightly and he could not pull away. "Don''t be afraid, I just want to read your palm." Charles grabbed Bench Guys wrist and leisurely pried the fingers open one by one. Understanding filled his eyes. "No calluses, unlike a commoner, but theres also no cream applied, so hes not like an elite either." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "There are no injuries on the fingers, his nails are finely trimmed, skin is cared for properlyhis family probably isnt short of money." At last, the two of them stopped pretending and circled around while studying at the nervous Bench Guy with their sharp and harsh eyes. The two exchanged views with a few words, never considering that who they were talking about was right before them. "His clothes are clean and well-ironed. He cares about his appearance and has a sense of honor, but a little shallow..." Ye Qingxuan paused and suddenly realized, "He wants to make people think that he is a careful and serious person." "The headset is of poor taste, but it looks just right. Its accurateto the millimeter? Ah, Junior, bro, he has OCD!" "Yeah, so hes not poor." "But not an elite." "But hopes to make a good impression." "with OCD." The two people glanced at each other, and Ye Qingxuan said, "Hes the son of a merchant?" "Or maybe the descendant of a scholar." "What about a local lord?" Ye Qing added. "It''s possible too." Charles nodded. "But theres no doubt hes a utilitarian, an ambitious one with high aspirations...none of the above should have anything to do with that group of the second-generation failures." The two people nodded in satisfaction. "Reasoning complete." "Explanation finished." "Yay." The two *ssholes high-fived happily and made synchronized peace signs. On the couch, Bench Guy subconsciously moved to pull out a handkerchief from the bosom and wiped the cold sweat seeping from his forehead. Soon, he realized that he could not pull out a handkerchief or wipe the sweat on his forehead. "Did I pass the inspection?" He smiled wryly. "So, how many people are we going to look for then? I heard that there are more than twenty people on Revelations main team this year." "You don''t have to look for more. Five is enough." "Five?" Bench Guy counted on his fingers for a long while. "There are only four people. Is there someone else who joined?" "Not a human, but we do have a dog." Charles waved to him with Old Phils paw. "What do you think? This is one of your teammates. Do you want to come and say hello?" "..." Under Old Phils disdainful gaze, Bench Guy was shocked and could not react immediately. "Since we have enough people, theres one last problem." Charles slapped his thigh and looked up. He asked, "Has anyone played soccer before?" "..." It was dead silence and no one raised their hand. Ye Qingxuan asked in a low voice, "Senior, havent you played before?" "Of course not. I was really annoying when I was little, so no one would like to play with me. It was really sad. Yezi, dont tell me that you havent played before?" "Uh" Ye Qingxuan''s gaze suddenly drifted up. "I used to have a lot of homework. How would I have time to play?" Stunned, Charles turned to Bai Xi. "What are you looking at me for?" Bai Xi snorted. "Why would I fight over a ball with dozens of people for no reason? Its not like I can eat the ball!" Charles looked at Old Phil with the last shred of hope. Old Phil glared at him as looking down on his IQ. Did he think a dog would play soccer for fun? Charles was completely hopeless. He turned toward Bench Guy. "You?" Bench Guy felt a little awkward all of a sudden. "Well, when I was young, my tutor was very strict. I thought all of you would have played before." "That is to say, none of us have ever played before?" No one responded. And so, Charles sighed. "Its late tonight. Everyone go take a bath and sleep. We still have to go get killed tomorrow. Hope that it wont be too ugly..." - The next day, was a breezy and sunny day. In the Requiem enchantment was a vast stadium with every seat occupied. As far as one could see, it was a dark mass of noisy people. Ye Qingxuan stepped onto the field, feeling the green grass underfoot, the wind with the smell of grass, and the light earthy smell of the soil. It made him nostalgic. Even the sound of the tide that had haunted his ears was gone now. It was as if he was back in a vast prairie on the mainland instead of this distant and strange city. "It feels so good to be standing on firm soil, Charles." he suddenly said without any particular reason, making Charles bewildered. When the crowd in the audience noticed that the youth had appeared on the field, they suddenly began rustling. Quite a few people booed him while there were a lot of people with painted faces who waved flags and cheered, despite the pressure from the school. "Concertmaster Ye! I support you!" "Concertmaster Ye will win! Show those guys your power!" In the crowd, someone suddenly screamed, "Eastern Ye, I want to make babies with you!" "Making babies is unnecessary." Ye Qingxuans expression slacked and he waved to the spectators. Soon the referee appeared on the field. It was the first game of the day, and captain Charles went to draw on behalf of his team. Ye Qingxuan had strongly opposed this because Charles was always unlucky; however, it seemed that no one in this team was lucky, so he just went with it. The result was as predicted "It really is the shortest draw." Ye Qingxuan looked at the returning Charles with an expressionless face. Charles squeezed out an awkward smile. "The rainbow comes after the storm. The rainbow comes after the storm" "After the storm your *ss! The first is the seed team of Modifications. Of the twelve players, there are three graduates! The others are all destructive maniacs..." Ye Qingxuan wanted to die. "We dont even need to play. They can just put the soccer ball aside and shoot a frost ray or palm flame per person and I dont even know how dead well be!" "Hey, Concertmaster Ye, we''re ready. Can we start?" On the other side of the field, the Modifications guys were ready and filled with anticipation. With the current situation, everyone knew that Concertmaster Ye, who had had his time to shine in the first round, was now the easiest to bully. If it was the ordinary students who had the advantage in the first round, then the second round was completely reversed. This was the graduates home turf. These guys had been in the school for years and had learned countless music scores. Even the stupidest person could reach the Rhythm level after five or six years. The outstanding students would at least be at the edge Deva sensing and would become formal musicians soon. Not to mention, there were a dozen of them who already had the qualifications to officially become a musician. For those guys, defeating the juniors was easy as pie. Regardless of the others, the weirdos from the History department meant nothing to these people. If they did not seize this chance to squeeze out few credits, it would be against their morals. "Don''t be impatient. We''re still talking about our strategy." Ye Qingxuan squeezed out a smile. The referee looked down at his pocket watch. "Ill give you five minutes." "Its okay. We''re not in a hurry. You can talk as slowly as you wish, Concertmaster Ye. How about ten minutes? Is that enough?" James, the captain of the Modifications team, waved his hand with uncharacteristic generosity. Meeting the eyes of his teammates, they burst into laughter. "Twenty minutes is okay too." Someone on the team whistled. No matter how one looked at things, this round was their stage. Even if they gave Ye Qingxuan ten more minutes, would he be able to make ten more people appear like magic? So, the people of Charles team turned green. Bai Xi stuck her middle finger up at the other side defiantly. "What should we do?" Charles whispered. "Nothing. Theyre ready to destroy us, so what else can we do?" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth. "Do as planned! I don''t believe that theyll be more shameless than us..." Soon, under the referee''s arrangement, the two teams stood on the dividing line at the center of the field. Before the game began, they shook hands with each other. Looking at the team twice as large as Ye Qingxuans and their eager members, the supporters in the audience began to lose their faith. But soon, the enemies were stunned. "Wait, who is that?" Bench Guy with a concrete brick on his head looked at the sky like nothing was happening. He whistled innocently as if not aware of how strange he looked. In an instant, everyone looked at him and he abruptly stiffened. "Uh..." "This is our new member, his nickname is little Zhuzi. You can just call him Dunzi." Ye Qingxuan waved to Bench Guy with an emotionless face. "Dunzi, stop spacing out and come to say hi." Bench Guy seemed to glare at Ye Qingxuan, but soon, he sighed helplessly. "Hello everyone. Im little Zhuzi." What the hell? Little Zhuzi? James did not believe him at all. He frowned and stared at him, "Are you from the History department? Why haven''t we seen you before? Isnt your costume a bit suspicious?" "Its because he''s ugly. He doesnt want to scare you,"Ye Qingxuan lied shamelessly and squinted at them. "Moreover, he just has to be from our school, right? Would you like to check the student ID? You care about this too much. People who dont know better might think you''re from the executive office." "You..." 195 Friendship Firs "You" Jamess voice died off and he scoffed, no longer willing to argue over this topic with Ye Qingxuan. But he quickly felt that there was something else wrong! "Wait, what is this?" The gold dog sitting on the ground scoffed and rolled its eyes, not wanting to bother with him. "Oh, that." Ye Qingxuan picked his nose with his pinkie finger and stated, "Thats our goalie. Let me introduce you to him. His name is Old Phil, and he is an irreplaceable member of the History department" James stared, dumbfounded. "Itits clearly a dog!" "So what?" Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Even dogs are better than you allwhat are you scared of?" "Referee, objection!" James twisted his head toward the referee. The referee was also confused and subconsciously looked behind him to the top of the stands. He quickly received the sign and his expression became strange. Eyeing Ye Qingxuan, he coughed and said, "Objection ineffective. Special circumstances call for special treatment. James, stop wasting time and shake their hand to start." James practically thought that he heard incorrectly. Special circumstances call for special treatment? But that was clearly a dog! But he quickly forced down his shock and depression, and gloomily stretched his hand toward Ye Qingxuan. "I hope to learn from you." "And I, you." Ye Qingxuan shook his hand and swung it forcefully. His smile was full of enthusiasm. Seeing his cheerful smile, James felt anger coming from everywhere. Clenching his jaw, he grit out, "Rest assured that friendship comes first and the game comes second. We wont go for the kill. At most, youll just lose horribly." "Oh, really? Then thank you so much." Ye Qingxuan gave a fake laugh too. "Were really not very confident, so please have mercy on us." "Of course, of course." James moved his facial muscles into a smile and grasped Ye Qingxuans hand, shaking it. Clunk. Something fell from Ye Qingxuans sleeves and landed on the ground with a crisp sound. Under the sun, everyone was stunned. It was a heavy iron wrench and it shone blindingly with silver light. "This" James was frozen. Ye Qingxuan calmly picked up the wrench and stuffed it back into his sleeve. "As you can see, were a team that loves mechanics, so its normal for us to have wrenches in our pockets." He fluttered his lashes innocently, as if he was really telling the truth. Clunk! There was another sound behind him. A hammer fell from under Bai Xis skirt. Its reflection shone with cold light, making Jamess expression change dramatically. His lips quivered, but he could not say anything. "As you can see, were also skilled at woodworking," Ye Qingxuan explained seriously. "Thats why its also normal to have a hammer in our pockets. Bai Xi, quickly put it away. Arent you scared of the seniors laughing at us?" He pretended to scold Bai Xi and then pushed a smile back onto his face as he gazed at James. "Please dont mind us. That was just a small episode." Ye Qingxuan patted his bulging chest that was filled with who-knew-what and promised with a serious face, "Believe me, this game will be very fun!" For some reason, Jamess team felt an eerie chill go down their spines. - "Both sides get ready!" The referee stood at the midline of the field and gazed at the players on either side of him. He gently placed the customized soccer ball down at his feet and carefully retreated. Once the game started, this place would be a battleground. They were only students, but they were musicians after all. Those who still dared to stand in the center of a messy fight between dozens of musicians were either suicidal or had something wrong with their brain. Now, the eyes of both sides were scanning for weak points in the other team. Some were already murmuring to themselves, preparing the syllables they would chant later. The three graduating students unabashedly pulled out their instruments. After hesitating for a bit, Bench Guy pulled out an average-looking flute from his sleeve. It was clear that this was not his usual instrument. It looked like the cheap and mass-produced stuff made for students to get used to playing. With the heavy load of aether, it would be hard to last one game. If not for the fact that they could play and communicate with the aether only after the game began, they would have started preparing now. "Huh, they look unfriendly." Charles whistled. "Three!" The sound of the referees countdown traveled over. At the back, Old Phil opened its mouth. Its sharp teeth reflected a cold glint under the sun, chilling ones heart. It seemed as if it would charge over as soon as the countdown ended. Jamess blood ran cold. Had these History department b*stards really decided to squash a musicians dignity and get into a fist fight right at the start? They were not even giving him time to play his music scoreWerent they scared of breaking the games rules and getting a foul? "They wont dare" He gritted his teeth and glared at Ye Qingxuan furiously. Ye Qingxuan, the offense, smiled at him. "Two!" Under everyones gazes, the youth on the field smiled innocently, but his hand reached for his chest naturally and grasped something. Was it a hammer? Or a bat? Or some weird Eastern weapon?! "One!" Ye Qingxuan moved his lips into a strange smile, slightly shaking up Jamess teammates. "He wont dare." Clenching his jaw, James turned to see his teammates slightly scared expressions. His own darkened. "He wont dare!" "Start!" The second the countdown ended, chilling coldness lit inside Ye Qingxuans eyes. The menacing flash made ones scalp numb. He charged forward with giant steps! For a moment, James was stunned. Everyone waited guardedly and took a step back reflexively. They quickly began chanting runes and cast a iron wall-like protective effect around them. He was close! Close! The hand Ye Qingxuan had reached into his bosom was suddenly taken out. He swung at James aggressively, as if he was going to throw something. This guy was seriously crazy! Jamess expression changed and his shoulder shook. He quickly reached his hands before him. After a few sparse syllables, an instantaneous rune was cast, creating a faintly visible wall before him. But the thing in Ye Qingxuans hand did not fly out. Instead, he shook it before James like it was a prank. A crude and simple ragged sweater sewn after being stuffed with cotton. It wasa doll? Yes, it was a doll. Just as everyone was stunned, Ye Qingxuan moved quickly and kicked the soccer ball at the center line. He had successfully stolen the ball and brushed past James with it. Was passing someone really that easy? Yes, if he was not close to tripping as he kickedAll the spectators that had been anticipating an intense fight were dazed now. They had probably never seen someone kick a soccer ball so horribly. He stumbled and limped like an old lady walking on the street with a shopping basket, and was ready to fall beside a carriage at any time and start scamming people. But despite how horrible the kick was, James just let him pass? He passed? Who could believe that? There was a mass of boos! The Modifications students all had quick tempers. Some people started yelling and insulting on the spot. All of the different dialects verbally battered James without repeating each other. James was dazed too. He looked at what was in his hands. When Ye Qingxuan had brushed past, he had tossed the doll into Jamess arms. "A gift for you!" Jamess face alternated between livid and white before turning an angry red. "Ye Qingxuan! You asked for it!" He spun around. A beam of light shot from his hands, going straight for Ye Qingxuans back. The instantaneous rune Combustion turned the air red-hot and flew out with raging heat. The ripple of aether created by the hasty casting was as stark as a lighthouse in the darkness. Ye Qingxuan did not even have to use Bolero to decipher the aether, and feel the time and direction of his actions. Compared to the parliaments criminals and dark musicians who loved bloodshed, the academys students were just so loveable! Ye Qingxuan made a turn without even looking back. The fireball brushed past him and fell onto the ground, igniting a whole patch of grass. It scorched the soil instantly. "Wah, youre playing for real?" Ye Qingxuan shrieked and sped up. He had already run to the backfield of Modifications and was pretty much in the middle of the crowd. But now, even the stupidest people would have realized that they had been played by the white-haired Eastern kid! "Block him!" James yelled. The graduating student in the defensive raised his palm and guided a string of piercing notes with his finger. No, those were not notes but a complete melody. He was already a musician and had implanted his music score into his instrument. As he moved, a ray of green stuff shot forward from his finger. It swam in the air like a snake, heading straight toward Ye Qingxuans face. The faint green light illuminated the paleness of Ye Qingxuans face. It was a direct strong acid arrow! "Try dodging that!" The graduating student laughed arrogantly. He had stuffed his violin with music scores in the morning for the game. To have the advantage in this fast-paced battle, he had given up on destructive music scores and packed dozens of short syllables repeatedly. Other than speed and protection effects, the rest were all direct strong acid arrows! His viciousness was hair-rising. Compared to the slower fireballs and nondestructive frost rays, these arrows had a natural corrosion effect and could shoot out acid. It was just too useful. Though the destruction was a little less than that of a fireball, it had an unnaturally large amount of related effects. Someone could force themselves to endure freezing ice or burning fire, but once acid fell on them, they would basically be out. Acid had sustained damage! But the moment the acid arrow fell from the sky and was shooting down, a beam of yellow light abruptly landed on Ye Qingxuans head. It exploded, turning into a ball of dirt-yellow smoke. The acid dropped into it and sizzled, evaporating quickly and vanishing. The ghastly green and dirt-yellow colors battled with each other and disappeared at the same time. The graduating student who had shot the arrow froze. He looked back and saw the student in disguise next to the other sides goal. There was a crack in his concrete break, revealing his lips. He played his flute soundlessly. Ye Qingxuan laughed loudly. "Thanks, Bench Guy!" "No problem." Bench Guy sighed in concern. "Worry about yourself first." In the distance, a rumble sounded. 196 Turn Up the Volume of the Taunts Hearing Bench Guys words, Ye Qingxuan looked up to see the student before him already producing a melody. The sound was fierce like a rippling flame. A line of red appeared in thin air and swept forward. It was meters away but Ye Qingxuans hair still curled slightly from the heat. His steps halted abruptly. Immediately, the redness expanded before him, turning into a wall of fire. His eyes turned red before the spewing flames. If he had reacted a bit more slowly, he would have charged right into the sea of fire and died with glory. He almost kicked the ball in out of fright and hurriedly dribbled the ball back. But then the wall of fire actually charged forward. Ye Qingxuan looked to either side in hesitation. He saw students shrouded in ice and covered in white frost charging toward him on both sides. These guys had really put everything in. In order to save time, they did not even put up a vacuum shield and just cast an instantaneous rune, covering themselves in frost to lower the temperature before rushing toward Ye Qingxuan. The defense were all muscular and burly men. Ye Qingxuan did not know what they ate, but they were at least two heads taller than him! If they worked on their arms a bit more, they might be thicker than his waist! Ye Qingxuan neither had his steel skeleton nor the Sighing Sword. It could only be death if he charged directly. After hesitating, he clenched his jaw and ran toward the fire wall, yelling, "Bench Guy, protect me!" "" Bench Guy sighed. "So youre just going to keep using me, huh?" Placing his flute beside his lips, he pressed his fingers down and played a light melody. The melody hung in the air like mist, but it created a gale. Faint mist solidified into a white line that shot into the fire wall. "Hold your breath." Bench Guys low voice sounded in Ye Qingxuans ear. He no longer hesitated and charged headfirst into the blazing wall of fire. Boom! Something exploded in the fire wall and it shook. The redness instantly darkened. The playing student behind the wall froze. His melody and the following notes were cut off and shattered! Following that, he found there was a gaping hole in the fire wall. A ball shot through the hole, flying directly toward his face "Go!" Boom! The students vision went dark and he bent down, holding his face and rolling on the ground in pain. The soccer ball landed on the ground and returned to Ye Qingxuans feet. "Neutralization? Or qualitative change?" James stared blankly at the ashes of the shattered wall of fire but it suddenly dawned on him. He stared back at Bench Guy as if he had seen a ghost. "No, its elemental breakdown!" That guy had completely broken down the aether formula of the fire wall in that instant! He had not created a vacuum to extinguish the fire, nor had he added a new material to qualitatively change the flames. Instead, he had broken it down from the music theory level and completely destroyed the enemys melody so that the base of the fire walls existence was gone. This was entirely a Modifications technique But when did Modifications have someone crazy enough to completely break down an enemys music theory and melody within the snap of a finger?! - Just as the School of Mind emphasized "mental images," the power of the School of Illusions came from "fulcrums" of reality, and the foundations of all melodies of the School of Choir came from "equilibrium of the four liquids," the destructive power of the School of Modifications was built on complex "formulas!" The change between acid and base, the secret of rusting steel, the technique of igniting flames or bringing frostall of these were effects created by aether following the guidance of music theory formulas. The complex and intimidating formulas were the foundation of everything, but since they were formulas, there was a way to crack them. This was the countermeasure against the School of Modifications. But to accurately find the enemys formula and substitution variables, control the changes in aether and neutralize the produced effect all during the rapid aether changesJust how experienced of a technique and how strong of a control was needed to perform this countermeasure? James suddenly had an epiphany. Was he from another school while the other team the actual seed team of Modifications? But when did such a madman appear in the school?! James totally did not know who had this skill! Even he could not accomplish this! Maybe his professor could? But who the living h*ll was this? For a moment, James was completely shaken. But on the backfield, Ye Qingxuan had already charged forward. Using his extremely awkward dribbling skills, he had actually grasped the chance and rushed to the front of the goal. Seeing him rush over with a vicious expression, the goalies face paled instantly. "Is he going to carry the ball over and beat me up?" he thought. But Ye Qingxuans eyes were extremely excited, as if he was burning up and every cell in his body was screaming, "Goal! Goal! Goal!" This would be the first goal of his life! "This thing called soccer is actually pretty interesting," he murmured to himself as he sped up in the direction of the goal. He was close! Close! Getting closer! "Good job, Yezi!" Charles yelled excitedly. "Goal! Goal!" Even Bai Xi called loudly, "Come on, cousin!" Concertmaster Yes supporters in the stands went wild with joy. They roared, pushing back the insults from Modifications and giving their vocal support. Amid the thunderous noises, Ye Qingxuans steps slowed. Coldness flashed past his eyes. He swung his right leg back and suddenly kicked forward! The goalie tensed up too. Seeing Ye Qingxuan raise his leg, he roared and dove in the direction of his kick. But he met thin air. His expression changed. He had been played again! Ye Qingxuan had not even kicked. He just raised his leg and then put it back down quickly. Seeing that the goalie was tricked, he smiled and raised his leg again. This time, the goalie on the ground had no way of blocking him! Under everyones cheers and focused eyes, it felt like every cell in his body was on fire. Immense power poured from his body. There was a muffled sound. The soccer ball flew out! As everyone held their breath in anticipation, the soccer ball cut an arc through the air and flew forward like lightning. It was so fast one could not even process it. The goalie shrieked and pulled himself up, diving for the ball. But he was late. The ball grazed his fingertips and flew forward. And then itmissed? Everyone widened their eyes. The ball missed? Yes, it missed! Because that kick was not aimed at the goal at all. After the ball made its arc, it flew out the field and into the stands. Everyones roars and cheers stopped. They stared at each other in dead silence. Only Ye Qingxuan lowered his head awkwardly and scratched his face. Even someone as shameless as him felt his face reddening. The spectators could not accept the result and immediately began wailing. "Bro, youre right in front of the goal. How could you kick in the wrong direction" What kind of horrible kick was that? "Heh, its my first time playing, after all." Ye Qingxuan put on a smile. "This is already impressive. Dont you know how hard I worked?" How hard he had worked? A bunch of water bottles, vegetable leaves, and even a tomato flew at him, almost drowning him and making him uncharacteristically pathetic. The referee soon made his decision. "The ball is out. It goes to Modifications now." When they brushed shoulders, James glared at Ye Qingxuan coldly and gritted out, "Ye Qingxuan, you forced me to do this!" He tossed the completely charred doll back into Ye Qingxuans hands and walked to the boundary to serve the ball. Ye Qingxuan looked back and saw that his teammates were still waiting, grouped before their own goal. Their eyes were filled with regret that he did not live up to their expectations. Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt depressed. This wasnt his fault, right? This was already pretty good for a newbie. But he had also wasted their best opportunity. Ye Qingxuan sighed and pulled his spirits back together. He prepared to steal the ball, but the later beating had become inevitable. He could only try his best. But at the boundary, the Modifications team was not in a hurry to serve. Practically all members went up and clustered around James. It looked like an on-the-spot meeting. After three graduating students discussed for a bit, their expressions changed. "You cant be afraid of putting your all into it at times like this." James gazed at Bench Guy in the distance with suspicion and said quietly, "We must destroy them first. Otherwise those guys can really" Quickly, everyones expressions turned serious and they solidified their determination. The three graduating students exchanged glances and pulled out their instruments. It was clear that they were all rich students. Their instruments all had the logo of the Hephaestus workshop. This workshop was known for their instruments high portability and professionalism. During the Hundred Year War between Anglo and Burgundy, they had even created an organ that could be transported in a carriage for Anglo. One must know that the organ was usually a fortress weapon and supersized. Rather than an instrument, these things should be called military fortifications or battle weaponry. Back then, in the Central Templar of the westernmost barrier, they had used up an immeasurable amount of money to create this supersized organ. The prototype had already been planned at the start of the barriers construction. It was six hundred meters tall and had forty-six levels of keys, and was known as the Weeper. The ability to compress such an enormous organ into a single carriage was enough to show the skills of the Hephaestus workshop, not to mention the grand piano in their hands right now. Ye Qingxuan watched as they expanded the piano. Aether apparitions wrapped around them and appeared in the air above the black and white keys. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan knew that these guys were not just playing anymore. Seeing that they were about to harmonize with tacit agreement, Ye Qingxuan began to break out in cold sweat. "The taunts this time are a bit too loud" When the three pressed down the piano keys in synchronization, sound shot out from thin air. The confused melody practically sliced the air. The dramatically changing melody contained an unsettling charm, making one instantly feel panic and caught by surprise. In that melody, the wind broke and the ground shook. Water and fire were no longer stable either and became muddled yet brutal. Broken shards of light illuminated in all directions. Electricity connected them all, pricking at ones hair. James, radiating with fierce waves, stood before the soccer ball and flashed a sneer at Ye Qingxuan. "I promise youll like this." A ray of firelight shone in the corner of his eye and transformed into a flame, covering his entire pupil. Soon, his entire body was bathed in fire and radiating with wild heat. 197 Ta-da! Soon, Ye Qingxuan could no longer see his face in the distance because the soil beneath his feet had boiled and turned into lava too. Lava stretched upward along his ankles. The black crystals extracted from the soil rapidly proliferated, covering his body and making it burlier and burlier. A dense red circuit appeared on the black steel-like stone armor, continuously radiating high heat. One dared not to be less than five steps away from it. But on the top of his head, a clump of black clouds gathered in the air. It radiated with piercing coldness. Occasionally, a cold wind blew, leaving a ghastly frost mark on the ground. It was like a devil from hell coming to the world, setting off flames and frost, the land shaking while the wind wailed. The other two graduates kept playing their melodies, but their faces were getting pale. It was obvious that the force of this frenzy had gone beyond their control. Even the teammates stayed far away from James, afraid of being swept away by the frenzied force. "Are you ready?" James stepped on the soccer which had been frozen into a huge ice hockey rink, showing a ferocious look to the teenager. "The game begins!" Boom! All Ye Qingxuan could feel was a red stream of light shooting toward his face! - "Saint Liszt''s movement Mazeppa?" Above the stands, Ludwig, the coach of the School of Summoning, was slightly astonished. This was the resonance movement the saints created according to the deeds of legendary hero Mazeppa. It transformed the musician into the controller of the four elements. He could manipulate earth, water, wind and fire, and become a destructive machine. If one played this movement to its fullest, it was possible to turn a whole town into ashes. Liszt, Paganini, Chopin. These three saints, who had made outstanding contributions to the School of Modifications, were known as the Three Heroes of Modifications. In history, they were centuries apart, and not all of them specialized in modifications, but they all laid the foundation and paved the way for the Modifications with their own theories. Their music theories and styles effect on the entire school had become well ingrained. Liszt, who specialized in Modifications, directly adapted many music scores for the format of the Modifications, which made the score more destructive and violent. He had spent his whole life studying Modifications and made unparalleled achievements on piano. After he died, he was welcomed into the Sacred City and became a Holy Spirit. To avoid the taboo, he became known as the King of Wind, Creator and Destroyer. It was this music score that gave the School of Modifications known the nickname "school of "battlefield musicians". But soon, Ludwig realized something. "Unbelievable! The younger, the stronger. I didnt expect that the Modifications skill in divided coherence had developed so maturely." He could see that this movement was not the original version of the "Mazeppa," but a rearrangement that had lowered the level and usage requirements. After all, this famous symphonic poem was a movement of the resonance level, and was known for its extreme burden on musicians. It was clear the adaptor had lowered the level of the original movement. In order to reduce the difficulty, it was divided into three parts played by three musicians at the same time so the movements great pressure was shared. But this movement that was derived from Liszts work indicated his power as a revolutionist at the time. The moment the effect was formed, the aether on the entire soccer field began changing wildly. In the observation of the aether ball, a faint aetheric eddy was formed on the field. Huge dark currents spread around and everything was thrown in the turmoil. Ludwig put away the aether ball, slowly nodded. "As expected of the School of Modifications. Though its only an adaptation, Mr. Egors remarkable accomplishments on the Modifications are obvious now." "You flatter me." Egor nodded and smiled slightly. This music adaptation was not his favorite work, but it still gave him pride. But at the other end of the stand, someone chuckled, causing Egor to glance over and frown slightly. The uninvited blonde man sat beside the principal. His face was hidden in the shadows and he stared toward the field. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was going to fail, he grew gleeful. "Haha, that guy is going to suffer," he murmured. No one knew who he was talking about. - The wind and the fire rushed toward Ye Qingxuan suddenly. It was like a flow of light, and left a burning scorch mark in its path. Controlling the fire and storm, setting off frost, James had passed by Ye Qingxuan in a blink of an eye. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously wanted to block the ball, but James just looked at him and waved his hand. A foehn wind was created as his hand pressed down. Dark red fire emerged out of thin air, pouncing toward Ye Qingxuans direction. The high pressure was like a gun barrel. It roared and shook. The furious winds contained high heat, burning hot enough to scorch the heart. Even if there was a block of iron before him, it would instantly burned red by the scalding wind. Obviously, James had gone easy and did not end his life completely, however he was not exactly gentle either. If the foehn wind was sent directly toward Ye Qingxuan, he would probably be sent to the emergency room immediately. In the blink of an eye, the running youth only had the time to raise his hands and cover his head. Then, he felt a sharp pain on his face. He was upended and rolled in the air. After falling down on the ground, he began to cough out his lungs. Soon, he froze. Looking at his intact limbs, he realized that nothing had happened to him, other than getting flipped over. In the distance, James, who had been running into the midfield, looked away and hummed, gazing at Bench Guy beside the goal. It was this guy who had grasped the moment and deconstructed half of his foehn wind. But Bench Guy was gaping at the grinning man beside himCharles. The moment before, it was he who had acted at the same time with Bench Guy. No, he had even acted earlier than him. While Bench Guy was focused on deconstructing the foehn wind, Charles had worked directly on Ye Qingxuans body. In the snap of a finger, countless notes were performed like flowing water. First, he changed the air pressure, blurring Ye Qingxuans features with the rune Haze. It was followed by the twisting of light, causing James to instantly lose his target with runes Bubble and Light. Then it was Mirror, which Ye Qingxuan was best at. A target was created beside him to attract the fire and shared most of his burden. Just as the foehn arrived, another ray of frost was shone on Ye Qingxuan, decreasing the Foehns heat. Finally, it was the merciless Gas. It expanded the air pressure beforehand to lift Ye Qingxuan and helped him escape from the impact of the Foehns aftermath. These deconstructions and attacks in that instant weakened the foehn too much to reach Ye Qingxuans. Ye Qingxuans pathetic upending was all Charles... "What''s the matter?" Charles sensed Bench Guys eyes and revealed a "shy" smile. "Are you really shocked, stunned, and want to compliment me? Come on, hero..." Bench Guy suddenly did not want to talk to him anymore. Now, he needed to be prepared for James''s attackthat guy was the problem at hand. After gathering the strength of his teammates, James had transformed into a miniature destructive giant. He sprinted at full speed down the field, continuously obliterating the dozens of obstacles set for him. Whether it was the stone walls rising from the ground or the pawn formation made by ice, they were all wrecked completely, leaving ruins scattered on the ground. Under the cheers of Modifications, James sped across the field. No one could stop him. Well, if the slim figure before him did not countWait, there was someone before him? Charles was stunned. Soon he realized who it was and his expression changed. "Bai Xi?" Dammit! Bai Xi stood blankly in the center of the field, directly ahead of James. She seemed have not reacted yet and gazed at the charging firelight. Charles had no time to speak and rushed toward Bai Xi, but it was too late. Off-field, the spectators could not help but cry out. Concertmaster Ye received both praise and blame, but the people mostly praised this cute little girl. It was just that, in the few months after the start of school, it was mostly Ye Qingxuan who was always under the limelight. Bai Xi was not involved. Most people saw her when she was trampling flowers and walking the dog. Facing the burning light, Bai Xis figure was silhouetted became incomparably miniscule in contrast. Like a reflection in the water, she would be crushed easily in the next moment. James looked at the vaguely dazed face and his heart suddenly softened. He could not help but slow down. Maybe he would just blow her away. He turned the flames spewing around him into a storm shield, harmless in comparison. He decided to just blow the little girl away. But in the storm that was enough to lift giant stones, Bai Xi remained unmoving. It was as if her feet were rooted. Only her dress, unsuitable for the occasion, fluttered like white petals blooming in the storm. James''s expression became one of faint regret. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see what would happen next. "What a pity." Bang! In an instant, the two figures crashed. The storm and fire created a torrent, burning the grass within a few meters into ashes. Fire and frost intertwined, turning into a thick fog that engulfed them. The predicted scene of Bai Xi being knocked down and broken did not happen. The spectators were stunned into silence. Bang! There was another great noise, and a pained cry sounded in the fog. The voice sounded like James? In the stands, Egor stood up in astonishment and looked at the field blankly. Others might not have understood, but he had seen it clearly. In that moment, he saw the little girl wearing a white skirt take a step back and stand firmly. Then, she settled into a punching posture, waiting for the charging James. She shouted in a crisp voice, "Ta-da!" 198 Who Is Shameless? "Ta-da!" She laughed as her first flew towards James nose, easily moving past the blazing flame, furious gale, and the armor of melted earth around him. It was easy, like a shovel digging into dirt. Thud! Jamess vision went black and he flipped over, falling on the ground as if he had crashed into a steel wall. In pain and confusion, he opened his eyes wide, not understanding what had just happened. Did he just get upended by a little girl? "No, this isnt right" He rubbed his numb face and raised his head dazedly to see Bai Xi before him. He vaguely saw Bai Xi striking a weird pose at him through the thick water vapor. He had never seen her stance before, but it seemed powerful, as if it contained some deep meaning or terrifying strength. "Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-dadadadada!" she yelled weirdly and rushed forward. Another first landed on Jamess face. It was as if the defense was made of paper and was broken through again. Jamess vision went black and he fell once again. Bai Xi mercilessly stepped on the ground and beat him with a flurry of punches and kicks. Her moves seemed to be the real thing, but they had no pattern and were abnormally bad. If an Eastern martial artist witnessed this, he would definitely become furious and remove this horrible imitator. But here, it was indescribably useful. Waves of Zhaodang were wrapped around Bai Xis hands like a steel chain. They followed Bai Xis movements and continuously destroyed the defenses around James. No matter if it was the windstorm enchantment, the melted earth armor, flames or frosts, none of them were effective. Zhaodang was the talent at the top of the School of Modifications and was the power of turmoil within the Dragon Bloodlines. All of James teams music scores put together were nothing compared to it. Before it, other than ones own strength, it was impossible for music scores to retain their structure. They could only break down in the furious shaking. There was practically no way to fight back. In the end, Bai Xis hands started to hurt, so she pulled a wrench from her dress and started hitting with it. James could not even yell out anymore. - In the stands, everyone waited with their breaths held and watched the patch of thick water vapor. In the patch of dancing whiteness, one could hear terrifying booms, followed by the earths shaking. Finally, an unfrozen soccer ball rolled out of the mist pitifully. A little girl jogged behind it. Her expression was calm, as if nothing had happened. Behind her, the water vapor gradually dispersed, revealing James. He was on the ground and covered with bruises, as if he had been trampled by a stampede. What had happened? "That cant be right." "James fell?" The spectators rustled. Even the Modifications students were dazed and could not make any sounds, as if they had lost their voices. In the end, everyones gazes toward the School of Modifications turned strange. "So everything from before was just for show?" Modifications did not know how to refute these claims. Who would have guessed that the attack, which they were completely confident in destroying the history department with, would have been picked apart by a little girl? Just as everyone was stunned, Bai Xi jogged and kicked the ball past more than half of the field. She passed by the dazed teammates and kicked the ball into the forbidden zone. Finally, she kicked the ball straight into the goal. The goalie on the side had not even processed everything fully. He could not help it. The impact was too much. Who could promise that he would not be beaten up like James if he had tried to block it? In the absolute silence, Bai Xi looked back at the similarly fossilized referee. "This counts as a goal, right?" - The stands were silent, but someone began clapping and cheering. "Yes, yes!" The blonde man clapped excitedly and hit the principal, who was beside him. "This girl is so intelligent! I like her! Which school and department is she from? I dont know who her teacher is, but shes too amazing!" "Ha." The principal coughed and glanced at the man, then asked quietly, "Hermesare you really this bored?" Others would not know, but how could he, the controller of the enchantment, not know? The girl was practically covered in shining like a gold coin! She wore a hydrophobic necklace on her neck, firewalker boots on her feet and hid an eagle wing ring under her hair tie. The gloves on her hands were the invaluable tomb-digger hands. Things like breaking into tombs were nothing to her. Even a dog with such a complete outfit would be invincible to regular elemental damage, not to mention someone with Dragon blood like her. "Ah, dont look at me like that." Hermes covered his mouth and snickered. "At the end of the day, its still because their melodies are trash." Egor, at the other end, heard the words, and his already gloomy face darkened further. "What do you mean?" "Dont you know what I mean?" Hermes glanced at him and stated, "Adaptations that abandon the essence are just hysterical venting. Modification is the essence of the School of Modifications. Change fire to water, change water to wind, and change wind to dirt. This is a school born from the four element theory. "But this symphonic poem by Liszt furthered the concept of hero Mazeppas death to turn mankinds original sin into redemption. This is the ultimate goal of the School of Modificationsto change death to life." Here, Hermes could not help but snicker. "Those kids started playing without even knowing where the road was. Its so meaningless, and of course its natural that they lost." Egors face turned red and white, but could not refute Hermess words. Thinking of the mans status, Egor could only swallow his anger and sit down silently, looking onto the field with a livid expression. Soon, the professor beside the field received a message from the coach. "Tell those b*stards that if they dont win this game, they can kiss graduation goodbye!" The Modifications team quickly requested a five minute break to reorganize. The beaten James was carried over too. After treatment from the Choir musicians beside the field, he could finally move, but his eyes were still dull, as if he had not yet recovered from the shock. Soon, the other two who had become exhausted from the pressure of Mazeppa were replaced with two new players. Seeing that they had withdrawn, the spectators began jeering. A group of fans took the lead and began stirring up trouble. "A retard for a retard, getting more retarded!" Since the beginning of time, Anglos game manners had never been good. A game in a tavern could cause a mass fight. The drunken men did not care whether someone was an Avalon policeman or a demon. They would just hit and crash and burn anyway. They were practically cancers for security. Now experiencing this for the first time, indescribable shame rose in everyones hearts. Insulted like this, James actually became more clear-headed. He rinsed his face with clear water and his expression instantly grew somber. "Were probably going to lose to the history department this time" "Are we really going to lose?" The students exchanged glances. Someone looked down at the time and found that the half-hour game was almost over. After all, this was not a standard ball game. There were thirty-seven teams in total and the principal had to think of the other games, so they were not given much time. "Seems like we have to use that strategy." James swept his gaze around his companions and drew a circle in the air with his finger. His teammates expressions changed instantly. "Wait, if we use that strategy, wont we be bashed and hated even if we lose?" "Do you really plan on competing against them fairly?" James was furious and his expression was forlorn yet decisive. "If theyre shameless, then well be even more shameless!" The break ended soon. Everyone entered the field, ready to play and glared at the four people and one dog before them. The history department had now retreated to the defense and gave up on midfield. Sensing that there would be a fierce counterattack, Ye Qingxuan had decided after a detailed discussion to just defend this time. But when faced with the Modifications offensive horn, he still could not help but be stunned. This time, he felt that something was wrong - As before, James carried the ball forward alone. The remaining twelve students formed a strange formation How should one describe this formationUh, to put it plainly, they formed a moving ring and advanced. Yes, when the melody played, these guys carried the strongest shield and connected with each other. They formed a ring around James and pushed both man and ball forward. It seemed that they would steadily push the entire formation into Ye Qingxuans goal What could Ye Qingxuans team even do now? They could not even touch the ball! "Wait, isnt this formation against the rules?" Ye Qingxuan was completely stunned. The referee glanced at them and calmly flipped through the rule booklet from ten years prior. He shook his head. "It may seem to be against the rules, but its not written here, so it doesnt count." The Modifications strategy was on another level of shamelessness, but it had been forced onto them. After all, it wasnt their fault that they were using rules from ten years ago. In the stands, the students who had originally supported the School of Modifications began yelling too. It was not that they were not accepting enough. This game was just continuously setting a new low for their bottom line. Now, their bottom line had been pierced three times. Who knew what would happen next in this game? Where was the soccer game that they had agreed on? Where was the fair competition? Where was the friendship?! Now, Ye Qingxuan stared as those Modifications b*stards moved toward him like a steel wall. He was a little dazed. "Now whos the shameless one?!" 199 Are You Satisfied Now? "Now whos the shameless one?!" Charles stood out. He was shameless enough to put on a righteous expression and accuse the other side. "Where is your game spirit? Where is your shame?" "Its a good strategy if it helps us win!" James yelled back from behind the human wall. It was clear he did not care about his integrity anymore. He could not help ithe had been forced to do so. Especially since the authorities had sent the message, he had to do it, no matter how shameless it was. What would he do if he could not graduate? Would he be held back a year in a prestigious school like the Royal Academy of Music? No, he would be looked down upon no matter where he went if this was included in his record! If he would be looked down upon no matter what he did, he would choose the one that did not affect his future. The other side had done it first after all, so it was not as stressful if he continued. Seeing that the other side had gone full out, Ye Qingxuan was a bit dazed. He glanced at Bench Guy. "Any solutions?" "You think Im that weird blue cat from childrens bedtime stories?" Bench Guy glanced at him in annoyance. "The most famous technique from Modifications is divided coherence. Even someone from the musician level wont be able to get rid of that steel shield made by the dozen of them. Do you want me to go over, ignite the aether within me and die with them?" The moment he uttered those words, he regretted it because both Ye Qingxuan and Charless eyes brightened. "Thatsa good idea!" "Bench Guy, we wont stop you since youre willing to sacrifice yourself. Well miss you!" Bench Guy roared, "Is it not enough that I slave for you all? You want my life too? Wheres your humanity?" "Society doesnt even care about shame anymore. Why do we still need humanity? Is it edible?" Charles shrugged and eyed the "ring" coming for the goal. He could not help but sigh. "So all we can do is get out of the way?" Bench Guy nodded. "If you dont want to get trampled by the wall." "I cant believe someone as invincible as me is going to fail before this human tank!" Charles sighed and gritted his teeth as he stamped his feet. "D*mmit, referee! We think this game" "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan uttered, cutting him off. He squatted in the forbidden zone in front of the goal and stared at the steel wall advancing toward him. His eyes changed but hesitated. "Let me think, theres still a solution. There must be a solution" He used his peripheral vision to stare at the ten-year-old rule booklet in the referees hand and racked his brain, ignoring the fact that the steel wall was going to trample him. It was not the time to surrender yet. There was still a way. If they lost now, there would be no room to struggle later. If they surrendered in every game, his points would be sapped dry from these continuous games. He might even go into the negatives. If the opponent was more ruthless and requested for the wager of double the amount of points, the history department, already close to the edge, would be pushed to the brink of death. That d*mn school board, d*mn graduation trials, d*mn game rules from ten years agoWaitten years ago? Ye Qingxuan stared at the steel wall formation that would soon be on him and his eyes lit up. "Hey, James," he called. "Begging for mercy now?!" James controlled the ball and advanced without hesitation. His voice was hoarse yet full of hatred. "Too late! It was already too late the moment you humiliated me and the School of Modifications!" "Thats why Im so annoyed at people who only look at others and not themselves." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. "I just wanted to ask that youve read the game rules, right?" "So what?!" James roared. His eyes grew cold. "Hurry up and run over this Eastern b*stard!" Seeing that the Modifications players were about to roll into the forbidden zone and crush toward him, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Old Phil, youre turn!" As soon as he spoke, he picked up the confused Old Phil and tossed it. The heavy golden dog bit him in the last moment, causing him to roll on the ground in pain. But Old Phil actually flew through the air in a short arc. He went past the Modifications steel wall and went within their ring. The next moment, James felt the sunlight above him dim. The falling Old Phil flipped with agility and landed before him. Before he could raise his foot, Old Phil fell with its back to the ground and whined. It began rolling on the ground, like a total mucker. Fraud! This was fraud! Seeing that Ye Qingxuan had made such a shameless and despicable action, James roared, "Ye! Qing! Xuan! You think this can stop us?!" But Ye Qingxuan remained calm. He glanced at the steel wall that was almost to his face and raised a hand slowly. "Referee! Someone fouled!" A sharp whistle sounded abruptly and everything on the field froze. All was forced to a stop, including Jamess shocked expression. "Iwhat did I do?" He gaped at the referee, his expression changing. "No, the ring strategy became illegal two years ago! Its not a foul! Referee, did you see wrong?!" The referees expression was helpless and he shook his head slowly. He watched since the beginning as James fell into the trap. Even if he was biased, he did not know how to help James now. "Are you entirely clueless as to what you did wrong?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at the white line under Jamess feet and sighed. "If I were you, I wouldnt choose to hit the goalie within the forbidden zone." Yellow card. The referee held up a yellow card and unfroze the field. He gazed at the players rooted to their spots and grew more upset. Why were they so hopeless? "What are you still waiting for? Restart the game!" The referee huffed and turned to leave. "F*ck them, I dont care anymore!" he thought. Jamess expression twitched. He glanced at the dog with a mouth of sharp teeth and resisted the urge to kick it. Extremely grudgingly, he retreated and handed the ball over to Ye Qingxuans team. But before he had even made a few steps, he saw the strange smile on Ye Qingxuans face. Jamess expression changed quickly. "F*ck." Before he could even make a sound, he saw Ye Qingxuans body move and step forward quickly. Then he punted the ball forward! A long shot! The soccer ball flew past the Modifications team in an instant. Charles and others had already gone to the back. The ball landed and rolled between their feet, going directly toward the Modifications goal. There should have been defense players there, but because of their own strategy, all Modifications players were still standing before Ye Qingxuans goalBehind them was an empty field. It was empty of any defensethere was not even a goalie! It was practically an open door. Without time to say anything, Jamess team rushed back to defend their goal. Thankfully, the history department had not reached midfield yet. They could still catch up But suddenly, a yellow blur flashed past them, fast as lightning. It caught up with the ball instantly and rushed toward the empty goal. It was that dog! No one could have guessed that Old Phil, who had been lying on the ground like a dead dog, would suddenly jump up and go for the ball. The people were slow, but that did not mean a dog could not catch up. Had anyone ever met a person who could run faster than a dog? And this dog was not a Chihuahua raised by an aristocrat for entertainment. One could see from its bone structure that this dog was a natural hunting dog. Not even a fox could escape from it, let alone a ball. "Block it!" Jamess eyes twitched and he pulled out his instrument, ready to cast a melody and music notes, but he did not expect Ye Qingxuans sudden hands. "Whats the hurry? You just got here, dont leave yet." Ye Qingxuan stood before James and waved his right hand. Thick fog appeared out of thin air and blinded them. His left hand shot out five rays of frost, blocking their path. If James had not dodged quickly, he would have fallen victim to the surprise attack! During the moment of disturbance, Bench Guy stood before Old Phil, showing that he would block all their attacks and protect the dog the entire way. Seeing that Old Phil was getting further and further away, James panicked. "Ititisnt it the goalie?" "Oh, look at you." Ye Qingxuan could not help but whistle. His smiling face was truly infuriating. "Its a goalie, but it dreams of being the offense too." The gears in Jamess brain whirred. There was a flash of light in his panic and he yelled, "Objection! Objection! That dog fouled!" He could not help but laugh loudly. Pointing at Old Phils back, his expression was of wild glee. "Even dogs need to follow the rules! It cant use its front paws to touch the ball!" "" The spectators booed instantly. Even Charless jaw practically dropped to the ground. People always learned bad things quickly. No one expected James to become so crazy so quickly. Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "Where is your shame? Do you want it to kick with its hind legs?" "Well, this doesnt follow the rules!" James huffed and looked like he would call for the referee the next moment. But thenit might be his eyes playing tricks, but he saw the dog stop and look back at him. Its eyes were filled with disdain, like a higher being looking down at his insignificant soul, making him feel humiliation from the bottom of his heart. Then Old Phil snorted in disdain. And changed to its mouth Yes, it started using its mouth! The dog actually opened its mouth, picked up the ball and ran toward the goal?! It ran so gracefully, fast as lightning, quick as thunder. It was even faster than when it kicked the ball. James was dumbfounded and yelled instinctively, "Obj" Beside him, Ye Qingxuan snickered. He crossed his arms and watched the show. "Dont bother. The rules dont say you cant use your mouth." In the end, Old Phil slowed down more and more. It walked to the goal as if strolling in the garden and set the ball down. Then it turned around. Glancing tauntingly at James, it raised its hind legs and kicked the ball in. It was as if it was asking, "Are you satisfied now?" James felt something in his throat and his body swayed. He was close to coughing up blood. And regardless of anything else, this was definitely the most b*stardly goal made in the history of the Royal Academy of Music 200 Fatal Weakness In the next fifteen minutes, almost every one of Modifications was attacking in full force. Those guys were getting desperate. They seemed not to care about their lives anymore, gambling with their own dignity and credit despite everything. They looked at the Music History department as if they were looking at enemies who had killed their fathers. They were so angry, so desolate. If a dirge was played now, it would be a great epic poem of revenge. The turbulent aether burned most of the field into ashes. Ruins were scattered on the rest of the place. Even the goals on both sides had become crooked, almost razed by James''s self-destructive attack. Unfortunately, it did not work. The history department was two points ahead. Their players stood before the goal, thenCharles, that b*stard, froze the goal into a giant ice cube. Bench Guy guarded outside and demonstrated how to build battlefield fortifications. It could be said to be a model example. Even the most fastidious professor would nod and praise it. The history department gained a lot fans back with this move. In the end, the referees shrill whistle announced the end of the most humiliating game held by Royal Academy of Music. It finally ended On the stands, everyone let out a sigh relief, as if they were the survivors of a catastrophe. In this short game, all of them felt that their views towards the world had been strongly tested and shattered. In thirty minutes, their limits had been challenged four or five times. When the whistle sounded, they were already numb. The eyes looking towards the music history team grew strange. Some of them were stunned and some of them were disdainful; others were slightly frightened. No matter what, the team that had always been ignored by others had just won the game. They only had four people plus a dog to fight against the promising team of Modifications, but they managed to win two to zero. They did use some means which were indescribably shameless, but they did win at last, and that made them legends. They were the classic example of underdogs, causing many to be secretly shocked. Gazing at the young people hugging each other and cheering, their expressions involuntarily grew awed. On the field, Bai Xi cheered excitedly while hugging Old Phil, running all over around and screaming. Ye Qingxuan saw her excited appearance and smiled wordlessly. Behind him, Charles patted Bench Guy on the shoulder. "Its all thanks to you. I''m sorry that I doubted you before." "I''m just doing my job." Bench Guy smiled, not upset at all. "Besides, now you trust me, dont you?" Charles sighed and looked into the eyes of Bench Guy with a troubled expression. "Hey, you, are you a saint?" He always felt that he was blinded by Bench Guys radiance. Was this the so-called human brilliance? "Dont you care about being doubted and distrusted?" Hearing this, Bench Guy shrugged after a moment of silence. "Maybe I''m just used to it." - Right at the exit, Ye Qingxuan saw James, who had waited for a long time. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was coming over, James hummed coldly. He shook off his companions who were propping him up and limped over. He said hoarsely, "Dont be too proud. Youre just two points ahead." Ye Qingxuan looked up at his dark expression. He felt no pressure and just shrugged. "Two points still made me a winner." James immediately wanted to hit him. He clenched his jaw and growled, "Id like to see how far you can go with that set of despicable tricks." Ye Qingxuan smiled and patted his shoulder. "Dont think too much. You lost the game, but you gained our friendship!" What f*cking friendship was this? Winning hatred was more like it! But this did not stop Ye Qingxuan from emphasizing Jamess previous words of "friendship first, competition second." There was nothing to be won with snide comments, but that did not matter. Behind him, James growled angrily, "You won''t be so proud for too long! People who use those crooked means will never win the final victory!" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Win? Who said we want to win?" Yes, Ye Qingxuans team, since the beginning, had never gone intended to win the trials, but to not lose. It was clear from the players of the music history team. What they had was: a failure who was stuck at the Rhythm level for eight or nine years; Ye Qingxuan, who had just entered the Rhythm level and was still building his foundation; and Bai Xi, who was not interested in music and always cut class; and a dog. Bench Guy could count as useful companion, but compared the handfuls of players and golden combos, he was not enough. To win this game, they had mainly relied on Bench Guys strong aid, Charles fast reaction, Bai Xi supernormal performance...But in the end, they just won the game with despicable tricks. If the enemy in the next round put in every effort to keep steady at the beginning and avoided strategic mistakes that Modifications had made, they definitely would not lose. After all, they had obvious advantages. The number of players itself was an impassable moat and a fatal weakness. It was also a weakness that Ye Qingxuan could not avoid. He was not afraid to compete with technique or brain, but muscles Ye Qingxuan had learned with the exhaustive method. He gave up on illusory feelings and chose to study with the interpretation method. It was more difficult and he learned more slowly because of this, but he was confident in his technique. This was the benefit of the interpretation methodas long as one mastered it, one could never go wrong. But he was very afraid of the situation at hand! Since his debut, he had never fought face to face unless he had absolutely no other way. On the one hand, it was because sneaky attacks worked well; on the other hand, he truly lacked the skillsSo if he had to fight face to face without any equipment on his body, he would definitely die. But if he wore the set of steel skeleton and Indras Eye, it would be like he was declaring to Avalon that he was Sherlock Holmes. "This sucks." Ye Qingxuan sighed and covered his face. "This feeling of being stuck really sucks." - In the current competition, the hot contenders for the final victory were all from the four major schools. Two teams were from Modifications, one from Summoning, two of Revelations, and one team from Royalty. In addition to these six powerful teams, practically armed to the teeth, there was also a faculty team and a team of students. After the first round of selection, a total of more than thirty teams successfully extracted credits from their opponents and qualified. But when everyone looked at the current list, they involuntarily looked at the bottom of the listMusic Historys team, five players. Every time they saw this name, the students who had passed the last round of trials could not help but feel a strong sense of uneasiness. This name had been forced to the bottom, but they always felt that it would be like the last round of trials, and suddenly soar to the top, trampling over everyone else. One must say that this feeling was really bad. Really, really bad. - "You saw this round of matches. Do you have any ideas?" A disembodied voice rang out around Bart. It was Ingmars voice. At the moment, Ingmar was still sitting on the bleachers, seeming to focus on watching the game without a word. But his voice sounded from the void, coming from all directions, as if he was wandering in the room. His voice was deep and clear. This was a skill of the School of Revelations. They mastered information, as well as nearly all means of communication. Once a Revelations musician reached the Scepter level, they could even send their voice over thousands of miles. Today''s worldwide communication network had been created by alchemists from both the School of Revelations and Modifications. Most of the functions of the aether ball were drawn from the music of Revelations as well. After hearing the professor''s question, Bart mused for a moment and reported the names of several teams. "These people will be our main competition, as well as Banner. Itll be difficult for us to win if the School of Royalty prepares to cultivate Banner, and if Gavin uses the power of the student council to help his brother." "Of course. The School of Royaltys status in Anglo is unshakable. Youre a freshman this year. Don''t think about touching them yet," Ingmar said lightly. "What you need to do in this trial is to show your potential. Let the school board see that, and put you in the list of seeds. Later, in order to suppress the civilian musicians, the board will be biased toward the seed students. You have to seize this chance. Ill tell our graduates of this year to cooperate with you." "I promise." "Good. But remember; dont let those crooked guys swagger in front of you." Bart naturally understood who Ingmar was talking about. He subconsciously cracked his knuckles and his expression darkened. "I saw their game. If we meet on the field, Ill let them understand the gap between us." "So youre confident?" Ingmar asked lightly, taking a seemingly-unintentional jab at him. "Even now, you havent won that Eastern kid even once, have you? You were defeated by him. He made you lose your dignity and face." Bart lowered his head and gritted his teeth, his expression unpleased. "Yes, sir." "Then how can you have the confidence to beat them?" "Strength and skills, sir," Bart said. "Those musicians can never catch up with the Revelations heritage and strengthnot even in their dreams. No matter if its the practice of all aspects, the materials offered, or the teaching of precious movements, we all have the advantage. Moreover, they have a fatal weakness." 201 You Again! "Moreover, they have a fatal weakness." "Tell me." Ingmar seemed interested. "Its true that the history department has enjoyed the limelight since the start of school because of that failure and Eastern kid. Theyve even entered the concertmaster group. But that doesnt mean the department is any different from before. Its the opposite. Because of Ye Qingxuans activeness, the department is in an even more dangerous and awkward position. "Their advantages have always been reaction speed and tough tricks, but their weakness is just as obvious. Its their actual strength. Their strength cant even be compared to other schools," Bart said. "Because of this, they prepared so many ways beforehand to offset the difference in numbers. Yes, their strategies were very successful and shook the School of Modifications, allowing them to completely control the rhythm. But these tricks can only be used once. If we prepare well, its only a matter of time before theyre defeated." Bart looked down at the illusion in the aether ball. A sliver of cold light flashed past his eyes. "And anyway, isnt controlling the enemies situation what the School of Summoning is best at? The same tricks wont work on us." Ingmar was silent for a while before chuckling lightly. "Very good, Bart. I am pleased. You didnt allow your hatred and anger to make you hot-headed. Logic and knowledge are the best weapons for the School of Summoning. I anticipate the day you defeat that Eastern kid." - "Did you all hear clearly?" In the other locker room, a leopard cat on the ground side-eyed the students sitting obediently on the benches. Beside the cat, a silver fly fluttered its wings. Ingmar and Barts voices traveled from the other room. The sounds gradually stopped. The cat glanced at the fly and the fly disintegrated into a pile of dust. Only two "fly wings," which were used as summoning mediums, floated down. This was one type of phantom beasts developed by the School of Modificationsa certain type of byproduct of detection technology. They were not as sensitive as originally thought, but they were more secretive. If they were hidden and unmoved, they would not create many aether waves. The leopard cat yawned lazily. Its beastly eyes were filled with humane brilliance. It was Ludwigs incarnation. "Look at them and then look at you." Ludwig exhaled loudly through his nose. "Ill be much less worried if you all can have some brains! You dont even care about strategy and just do everything forcefully. Dont be like the unlucky team from Modifications and get toyed as soon as you enter the field." "Rest easy, Professor." The lazy girl before the leopard cat whistled. "That wont happen, even if we get the history department next." "Huh, James and those idiots thought the same thing." "But we have different strengths, and a game is still a game. Unless were allowed to kill people, Modifications will always be the most restricted team." The girl scoffed and suddenly laughed. "After all, if we have an advantage in numbers, then well have the biggest advantage." The large black cheetah in her arms woke and yawned lazily. It rubbed against its owner with its head, squirmed, and went back to sleep. Under the bench, beside her feet, in the lockers of the room, behind her, in the cornernineteen black cheetahs yawned in unison, as if their yawns were contagious. One seemed to have slept enough and stretched, scratching the ground. With a screech, a deep gash appeared in the smooth floor. Above the cheetah, a colorful parrot cawed. It flapped its wings and flew. The locker room, large enough for thirty people, instantly became filled with flying and jumping animals. Shadow leopards, steel-back apes, six-eyed lava dogs, eight-limbed crawlers, silver-scaled snakes in clay pots, constantly-changing mist spirits sealed inside a glass flaskthese strange creatures that had been raised inside musicians minds were now let loose in reality. They cried happily, making a flurry of sharp noises. "Preparation is a must." Ludwig gazed at the girl helplessly. "Elsa, have I spoiled you all too much? The Professor is talking. At least sit properly." "Professor, relax." Elsa rubbed her hands in excitement. "Other than the School of Royalty, just wait for me to completely cream the rest" Ludwig sighed. The leopard cat blurred and disappeared. The last moment before vanishing, it looked back in a certain direction with a gloating smile. It seemed that some people were going to lose their temper. - The locker room of Modifications was in ruins now. After fiery winds and thunderous storms had swept through, all the students looked like refugees. Their faces were burnt black and they looked pathetic. "You lost?! You actually lost!" The cracking of ice and crackles of flames mixed together, forming Egors roar. James and others hung their heads and stood obediently in the corner of the wall for punishment. The other team had been dragged into this for no reason and was not far better. "I can accept losing to Revelations, Summoning, or Royalty, but you lost to the department that is close to being scrapped? How humiliating is that? Tell me, how humiliating is this?!" The students hung their heads obediently and did not dare to reply. "Seems like your training is too light. After today, everyone will meditate in the thunder pool for three hours before you sleep! If you cant make it, no ones allowed to eat. James, did you hear me?!" James nodded with a bitter expression. "Yes, Professor." "And you!" The frost and fire voice turned, landing on another student. "What are you still waiting for? Glenn, go pick the lot! If you get those b*stards from the history department, use your most powerful music score to wipe them out! Did all the formulas go to waste?!" Glenn hurriedly stammered a reply and fled. He heard another boom come from the locker room and wiped cold sweat from his forehead. In all these years, no team had caused all four schools to become unlucky at the same time Now, the history department was a durian-like player. Spiky, inedible, and with a foul smellThose *ssholes would drag their opponents to their lowly level and then use their rich experience to defeat the opponents. They were tricky as f*ck. Apparently the East believed in star reincarnation. Was Concertmaster Ye the reincarnation of some baneful star? It seemed that no one related to him would have good results. Thinking of this, Glenn could not help but sigh. "Hopefully I wont get him again. Otherwise, everyone would have it bad." Thankfully, they might be able to win if they went all outThey could use strength, numbers or observe each and every of the opponents moves. Each school had their own solution. And if they could set down their determination, they could win a lot. The history department probably had more than ten thousand points now, right? A glimmer of cold light flashed past Glenns eyes. The risk was worth all those points. He began calculating carefully. Similarly, at the high podium for the lot picking, everyone exchanged glances. After collecting all the information, they all glanced at the history department. It was such a rich lump of meat. It all came down to how it would be eaten. Glenn, Bart, and Elsa glanced at each others expressions. After realizing that they all had the same idea, they instinctively grew cautious. Behind them all, Banner watched coolly from the side. Rather than joining their fight, he looked off into the distance. Beside him, the manticores eyes rolled, making it seem more menacing. Stared at by those beastly eyes made one feel like prey and was filled with fear. This was todays last event. The lots chosen would determine tomorrows competing teams. All team representatives were at the podium. "Have all the representatives arrived?" Sydney took attendance and his brows furrowed. Why was it the history department again? No one had come! F*ck, it was always them who did not follow the rules? "History department? Have they arrived?" His expression darkened. "If not, then itll be seen as quitting the game and all points will be cleared" The crowd was silent. Someone coughed awkwardly. "Mr. Sydney, their representative has arrived." "Then why did no one answer when I took attendance?" Sydney roared. "Where? Come out! Where are your manners?" The crowd moved and quickly separated. And out camea dog. Yes, it was that golden dogthat evil dog who was prouder than a king, more confident than a prime minister, and more disdainful than the principal! It was him again! They met once again after all these months, but the disdainful gaze scarred Sydney again. "What the f*ck is this?" Sydneys face reddened in fury. "Do they look down on everyone else? Are they causing trouble on purpose?" The dog glanced at him lazily and dropped the crumpled paper in his mouth at Sydneys feet. It was written on the paper that Old Phil was an honorary member of the history department and had all the qualifications of a regular player! There was also a signature in the bottom right corner that Sydney was extremely familiar with. "Maxwell?" Sydney thought he was going crazy. He looked up at the stands and saw the principal whistling with an innocent expression. "Just keep thinking of ways to mess with people! One day, youll get hit with karma!" Sydney thought. His face turned livid and he looked back, squeezing out from his teeth, "Begin choosing." 202 The Draw and Express Shipping In fact, it was not the Music History department purposely being the troublemaker. It was just that everyone was used to their bad luck. They always had a bad time. Each one was worse off than the one before. Ye Qingxuan knew very well how unlucky he was. He could end up getting hunted just by being on the street. Bai Xi was worse, and Charles was the worst. He drew one of the strongest six teams in the first round, which almost destroyed their department. As foreign aid, Bench Guy said that he refused to draw on behalf of them and disappeared. In such an extremely helpless situation, they could only let the boss Old Phil to do this draw. Since Old Phil used to find dozens of dollars from time to time, it must have better luck than anyone of them. Soon, every group finished their draws. Every team held a nameplate and looked urgently at the arrangement of their next duel. Soon, the registration was over and all the arrangements were displayed on the list. "09?" Glenn looked down at the nameplate in his hands, looked at the opponent on the list, and finally looked in the direction of the School of Royalty. Seeing Banner and those elite graduates by his side, Glenns face darkened considerably and he muttered a curse. The others gloated immediately. It seemed that the two teams of Modifications would both fail in the first two days. Elsa of the School of Summoning whistled and squinted at the other team of Revelations. Watched by Elsa, the leader''s complexion suddenly paled. Revelations were not good at face-to-face combat in the first place. Now they had to face a crowd of psychos from Summoning? Musicians who raised monsters in their brains were more or less neurotic. As their leader, Elsa was the craziest. Apparently their opponents today quit the game because too many players were taken outHe already began to calculate how much time they could last facing this female lunatic. After the game had been arranged, each team leader began to find their opponents according their number. Some were happy; others were complaining. In the end, the six big teams confirmed with each other, and unexpectedly found that...no team was going to fight with the music department in tomorrow''s game?! Suddenly, everyone''s eyes fell on the golden-haired dog, their eyes full of hatred and jealousy. They wanted to know who had gotten the juicy morsel that was the history department. Facing those troubled eyes, Old Phil huffed out its nostrils. Without even looking at the list, it threw the nameplate in its mouth under the podium. Ye Qingxuan casually caught the card and took a look. His expression went slack on the spot. "No way, Old Phil..." "Let me take a look!" Charles also came to join the fun, but after reading, he also fell into complete speechlessness. He had no idea whether to cry or laugh. "What on earth is this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him. Their complex expressions and troubled eyes reached a new level. Seeing their expressions, the people on the podium instantly began to whisper. In the end, Elsa raised her eyebrows, growled at her players, "What do you mean you dont know? Go and check! Who are their opponents...Who dares to take them from me? Do they want to die?!" "No need to check," Bart suddenly said. "The result is out." In just a few minutes, Bart had confirmed the result by calculating the numbers in his mind. By comparing the list of arrangements, he had reached the conclusion. To be honest, Bart did have some talent for the School of Revelations, especially for information processing and summarization. In just a few minutes, he had already guessed the result through various clues. Hearing his voice, everyone looked over at the tree diagram in his hands. At the end of the list was a lone number035it was an awkward odd number. It seemed impossible to pair and had no arranged opponents. "Are you kidding?" Glenn''s face stiffened. Elsa''s mouth twitched. "How can it be?" "They drew nobody." Bart clenched his teeth with a livid look. "They have no opponents." Hearing this, everyone looked to Elsa. It was this girl who had forced a team to retire its players until they could not even gather enough people, and finally gave up the game. Yes, they were short one team. Therefore, there was bound to be a team who had no opponents and qualified directly for the next round...But how could they be so lucky? And it was a dog that had drawn! Seeing that the juicy morsel had suddenly flown away, the leaders of the six strongest teams suddenly grew furious. They were so angry they could tear the quitters into pieces! Old Phil coldly watched them sink into silence. It huffed from its nose again and turned away. Huh, a group of weaklings. But Ye Qingxuan and the others did not know what to say. Even a dog''s luck was better than theirs. Old Phil was not a regular dog, but they still felt slight frustration, as if they had been defeated from all aspects! "Ive decided!" Ye Qingxuan patted his thigh. "From now on, let Old Phil do all the drawing!" May the almighty Old Phil cheat you! - However, the good mood did not last long. Just as Ye Qingxuan was excited and the music history department cheered, a man in a postman''s uniform outside the crowd arrived on horseback. After asking around, he looked into the direction of the youth and squeezed in from the crowd. Studying Ye Qingxuan, he asked quietly, "Are you Concertmaster Ye?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan asked in confusion, "Whats the matter?" "Theres an urgent letter for you." The postman pulled out a sealed letter from his bag. Ye Qingxuans name and address were written on it in beautiful flowing handwriting. The pronunciation of the Eastern characters were even written in the lingua franca. Also on the envelope was the heraldry which Ye Qingxuan was very familiar with. "Lola?" Feeling the envious eyes on him and Bai Xis unhappy expression, Ye Qingxuan felt his scalp going numb. What had Lola planned this time? - It was late at night, at one of Avalon''s abandoned ports in downtown. After mixing with a large amount of industrial waste, the seawater had a disgusting stench. The lantern shone on the oil film and reflected a sickening rainbow. In the sea breeze that smelled of dead fish, the waves crashed on the rotten stakes, echoing emptily. A hunched man with the scars on his face stood at the front of the dock with a cane and a lantern in his hand. The shadow of his hunchback left an ugly projection in the thick mist. From afar, it looked like a beast stooping to eat a corpse. Illuminated by the lanterns lights, his eyes under the shadow of hat flickered. He looked around with vigilance, waiting quietly. A chuckle seemed to sound in the distant mist. Instantly, the hunchback spun around in shock and pulled out a crossbow, aiming in all directions. "Who''s there?" "Me." Behind him, someone bent over and whispered in his ear, "Don''t get so excited. Put that little toy away." Hearing that familiar voice, the man paused for a moment, and slowly put away his crossbow. He whispered indignantly, "Young Master Sherlock Holmes, why bother frightening a cripple like me?" "Just wanted to say hello. After all, you were once the Pyramid King. Theres no reason for you to be so scared, right?" The newcomer chuckled. Leaning on his staff, he lifted the edge of his hat, revealing his eyes. It was Ye Qingxuan. He had come as invited. At dusk, Lolas letter made Ye Qingxuan the topic of gossip again and thoroughly proved the rumors of "seducing the professor". But he did not expect that Lola would make such an effort in front of everyone to send this letter to him, just to ask him to run an errand for her. "I havent been in a good mood and I dont want to go out for my delivery. Go to Pier No. 19 tonight and get me something. That guy will show you the way." At the end of the letter, some extremely ambiguous words were written: Remember to be fast. I prepared a candlelit dinner. And then there was a lip print. What the f*ck was a candlelit dinner? The so-called candlelit dinner was just dinner for Lola. If she was hungry, she should have just said so Ye Qingxuan could already imagine him lying on a plate, all tied up. Lola would pick up a knife and fork, open the red lips that had left the lip print on that letter, and enjoy her dinner. He sighed and stopped thinking about those things. He would just wait for the ship to arrive. Soon, on the sea, light reached out from the thick fog. It was the fog lamp necessary for sailing in such a heavy fog. Under the rhythmically flashing lights, the Pyramid King raised his lantern and skillfully responded to the code. Soon, a ship''s shadow silently appeared in the mist. "I didn''t think you still had people under you," Ye Qingxuan exclaimed in amazement. "I thought the Shaman had already wiped the Pyramid Scheme clean." "I was the leader after all and theres nothing strange with having some smuggling resources." The Pyramid King glanced at Ye Qingxuan meaningfully, and said slightly, "Moreover, you should always leave an alternative for yourself. The cusp is not a good place to be." "Is it?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "It seems that you didnt do that for yourself." At the thought of being mercilessly betrayed by his employer, the Pyramid Kings expression grew serious and he stopped talking. Soon, the ship docked. Naked black-haired men carried a large box and stepped ashore. Behind them, the grizzled captain came ashore as well. He glanced at the Pyramid King and Ye Qingxuan, then drew back his sight. "Erzi, put the things down and go back to the boat," the old man commanded the sailor in the Eastern language, and put on a smile to greet the two men. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He did not expect that this smuggler was an Eastern man. The old man smiled and handed a list to the Pyramid King. Then he said in fluent Western language, "Everything the Professor asked for is here. Take a look?" "Youre half a month late." The Pyramid King looked at him. "A full half month." "The Professor''s request was too strict. Even scrapped waste is hard get," the Eastern old man said in a low voice. "The workshops of Shaofu are under the management of the martial law. If were found to be smuggling these things, I wont be the only one to be executed. You have to let me think of my family." "Hows the quality?" "It was better than expected. One batch from the Tai Lok Department happened to come." "Very good." The Pyramid King inspected the things in the iron box and nodded with satisfaction. He threw a leather sachet to the old man. The old man used the fog lamp to opened the sachet and inspect it. Under the light, the blue gold sand in the bag shone intoxicatingly. It was no exaggeration to say that the sand in this bag was worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. The old man smiled and put it away. "The Professor is always so generous. Never disappoints." Here, his expression grew curious. "Last time I came here, the fighting in Avalon was white-hot. How is it now? Many lines of the Pyramid Scheme are cut off. Now, not many in the East are willing to go to Avalon. If the Professor isnt an old customer, I wouldnt want to come either. Sam, do you know what''s going on?" The Pyramid Kings face darkened and he did not respond. "The Pyramid King no longer exists. You should change your partner now." Ye Qingxuan said slightly. The old man froze. "Who is the winner?" "The Shaman." Hearing Yes response, the old man grew astonished. He obviously knew about the conflicts between the Shaman and the Professor. He instantly became a little hesitant. "Then the Professor ..." "Dead!" Ye Qingxuan coldly said. No matter what, the Professor was dead. Only Lola was alive. He could not let the Shaman know that the Professor was still alive. Hearing the cold voice from the mysterious man, the old man froze and looked up at him. He had thought that this man was the Pyramid Kings man, but he did not expect that he was the real boss. When he looked into the mans eyes, he found that the man was looking at himself too. The eyes under the hat were hidden in the shadows. They reflected pale mist and the dim fog lamp, like a wisp in the abyss, emanating piercing cold. It was like an abyss with a limitless magnetic force. "Now I''m the Professor''s replacement. If you want this business, just keep your mouth shut. Pay particular attention to..." Ye Qingxuan paused. His hoarse voice contained a murderous chill. "to not ask around." The chill of the night was brought in the sea breezes blowing. It stung the old man''s eyes, making him look away and nod hurriedly. "Yes, I had crossed the line." He lowered his head and stopped looking at the shadow in the mist that could not even be illuminated by light. Now that the transaction had been completed, the ship would set sail again soon. The next stop was Birmingham, and there was a whole warehouse of silk to unload there. In the end, the old man glanced carefully at the shadow, and drew a brocade name card from his pocket. "May I know your name?" "Holmes. Call me Holmes," the shadow responded to him with the Eastern language. His voice was soft, but it seemed to hide the darkness behind the whole city. "But some people like to call me the Vengeful Spirit." 203 Family The drawing room of the old mansion was filled with gentle light and the fragrance of red tea. The high quality tea from India perfectly covered the bitter smell of the other medicine, but it could not change the painful flavor. There was nothing to critique about how Lola drank the tea though. She did not even wrinkle her brows and was pleasingly beautiful. She was like a true noble ladyelegant, graceful and impossibly perfect. Whenever Ye Qingxuan saw this, he would involuntarily wonder where the evil Professor that he knew had gone. "Youve taken another large portion of the Pyramid Kings resources." Lola glanced at Ye. "Are you trying to take over the illegal trade market from the East?" "Just helping you hide your tracks." Ye Qingxuan glanced back at her and replied in annoyance, "Even if youre using the Pyramid Kings channels, theres no need to use your own name for orders, right?" "I cant help it. The name Professor has some power amongst the smugglers. Some risk is worth it." Lola patted the iron box between the two. "I used a lot of connections to get this stuff. Im praising the Lord that it arrived safely." "Whats in it?" Lola raised her teacup and glanced at him. "You dont want to look for yourself?" Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and flipped the lid off, but then he froze. The giant iron box had been filled to the brim. There was a pipa with broken strings, a broken guqin, a huqin bored through by termites, a cracked xiao, a flute covered in hairline cracksThis entire iron box wasfilled with broken instruments. "Yes, all these instruments are broken," Lola stated. "Theyre cheaper and have deeper resentment." "Resentment?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Inanimate objects have resentment too?" "Of course not. Its just something placed upon them by humans. If its positive, it can be known as its spirit,spirituality or something elseBut there are still debates over whether this thing actually exists. Otherwise, the School of Choir and Revelations wouldnt keep arguing about the existence of a soul every year. But it doesnt matter. Some things feed on it" "Feed on thoughts?" Lola smiled. Lifting a broken pipa string with her finger, she studied it. The pipa had been used for many years and multiple places had been worn smooth. It was clear that it had not been treated well and was damaged under aether stress. Parts of the inner layer had cracked apart. Two words were carved into the bottom of the pipa: Green Willow. This was its name. "This should have been handed down through generations and used by musicians for centuries. Its spirit was born naturally and grew with the music scores for decades. Thats why it has deep resentment after being abandoned." Lola studied the instrument and suddenly tossed it at Ye Qingxuan. "Catch." Ye Qingxuan panicked and caught it clumsily. The pipa landed in his arms with a slap. The instruments neck vibrated and a crack appeared. Then an endless chain of cracks and pops sounded. The paint on the pipa cracked too and grew dull. In the end, an entire layer of the pipa had broken off and fell to the ground like snow. It smelled like the dirt from an ancient tomb, with an eerie dampness. "Uh, thats not my fault." Ye Qingxuan panicked. "Its all Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. I dont know" "I know. No need to explain," Lola explained. "I bought these to help develop Jiu Xiao Huan Peis spirit. After being damaged for so many years, its spirit is pretty much all gone. Since you cant use music scores to nourish it, it can only steal other peoples things." "Itsspirit?" "Instruments have spirits. A good instruments spirit can even resonate when in distress. Musicians need to use suitable music scores to nourish it, otherwise the spirit will disperse. I found all these abandoned instruments with deep resentment so Jiu Xiao Huan Pei can recover soon." Lola paused and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "If it recovers during Deva sensing, it might even let you see what it sees." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan strummed the instrument. Its sound spread out in all directions like a ripple and echoed within the old mansion. Everything in its path revealed a blurry silhouette, as if he was staring at them with his eyes. Unlike the blurriness from before, Ye Qingxuans perception of the world had become clearer. He could even vaguely recognize the material of the objects. "The recovery of its spirit will make Jiu Xiao Huan Pei more applicable. If it undergoes targeted absorption, it can improve its imitation of related instruments. Have you felt that it cant do as much as you want when you use its modified versions? Its not that easy to cross the chasm between Eastern and Western instruments." Ye Qingxuan nodded in agreement. He had felt its limits when he changed Jiu Xiao Huan Pei into other instruments. "Itll change for the better after its spirits recovery. But with that, the operational difficulty will rise too. If you cant reach the Musician level quickly, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei will ignore your playing after it absorbs all these instruments." "Then why would I still want it?" "A millennium of the Ye familys history is in this instrument. If you really dont care, you can just let it die." Lolas words made Ye Qingxuan speechless. "Okay, okay, let it absorb more. Come on baby, eat slowly" Ye Qingxuan picked up the instruments one by one and gave it to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to nourish its spirit. He could feel that there really was something inside the instrument that was slowly recovering, but he still could not touch it. It was a strange and fleeting feeling. No matter how many times he tried, he still could not touch a shred of the spirit. After trying dozens of times, he was sad enough to cry. After the resentment in the third instrument was ingested, Ye Qingxuan felt his vision go black and he almost passed out. The flute in his hand fell back into the iron box. "You should slow down. It uses your energy to ingest the resentment. Be careful you dont get sapped dry." "Why didnt you tell me something that important?!" "Its not too late yet." - Interrupted by her, Ye Qingxuan almost forget his other reason for coming. After resting for a bit, he pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to Lola. "Here, look at this." "What is this?" Lola opened it and her brows quickly furrowed. "You want this?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Do you have any scores that meet these requirements? Its best if its easy so I can learn quickly." "You really want to learn this?" Lolas lips curled into a smile. It was clear she knew about Ye Qingxuans situation. "Seems like your schools trial has made you desperate." "I helped you so much and let you suck my blood every week like Im a buffet. Cant you pay me back?" Ye Qingxuan asked straightforwardly, "Do you have it or not?" "Of course." Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened at Lolas answer, but his heart dropped at her next words. "I know a bunch of similar effects, but as for ones that you can learn theresnot much." "Stop joking. Im seriously desperate now," Ye Qingxuan sighed. "For the sublimation ritual and Heart Mark music score?" Lola looked at him with a smile. "If you really want it, you can ask me for it. Or do you think that I dont have enough money, or cant create a Heart Mark? If you ask, I might be able to give you the nirvana that Mind musicians can only experience once in a lifetime." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "Why dont you just send two girls to warm my bed?" "Are you being serious?" Lola leaned down and cocked her head at him with flirty eyes. She raised a pale finger and hooked her long hair behind her ears. Leaning over, she exhaled in his ears. Even her voice had become moist, with a charming yet lazy sweetness. "How can little girls be better than me? The moon spirits care much more about pleasure than humans" "I was wrong, I surrender. Stop playing." Ye Qingxuan raised his hands in defeat. "Just say you dont have any. Its okay. Its rare for me to want to work hard, so why do you have to beat me down?" Lola smiled. The dignity and calmness returned to her surface and she sat back down in the chair. She uttered the name of a music score and Ye Qingxuan froze, a bit doubtful. "Are you sure I can learn it?" he asked. "That depends on how much you put in." Lola toyed with the small conch in her hands and looked up at him. "Are you ready for nightmares?" "Great." Ye Qingxuan sighed, suddenly feeling a headache coming. "I cant wait." - Soon, Ye Qingxuan flipped through the extra resources in the library. Looking at the checklist, he realized something. "Youre still researching the parliament?" "Yes. After the robin disappeared, the parliament went underground. Or rather, most of their businesses are still going on, but theres not much thats worth our attention." "So everything they do has become legal?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "They move stuff." "Thats why they are dangerous. For centuries, theyve become one with the city and can hide in the darkness whenever and wherever. We dont even know where their true weaknesses are." Lola sighed. "For a while, the entire city was controlled by the parliament, until the Shaman appeared and destroyed their monopoly. But now, theyve retracted and become even more careful. Its harder to find anything that can be used against them." "Youre still researching the robin?" Ye Qingxuan flipped to another book of information. "Did he really not die? You know how powerful the moonlight is. I dont think Satans follower could withstand it." "I cast a curse on him. The Originator will tell me if he dies, but theres still no news." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuans lips twitched. "Seems like getting lucky is the trend this year. But since Im here, let me help. Get me some related accounts and information on import companies. Maybe we can do something with the equity." "Now?" Lola looked up at the clock and shook her head after seeing it was ten at night. "Its rare for us to meet up. Dont say those boring things after we finished discussing such a mentally exhausting topic." Ye Qingxuan froze, but she pulled the youth up with a smile and walked toward the candlelit dining room. "Didnt we say that we would eat together?" She gave an anticipating smile. "I made my special risotto with red wine. Teacher really liked it. You should try it." Ye Qingxuan let her pull him around, but seeing her rare happiness, he could not help but feel a bit dismal. "Lola, Im not my father," he said lightly. "Dont get us mixed up." "I know." Lola turned back. Seeing his shocked expression, she laughed and reached out to caress his cheeks. Her eyes softened. "Were family, arent we?" 204 The Phantom Sun The next day, the game had reached an intense level on the field. Summonings leopard shadows had been ignited. They roared, tangled in the multiple destructive music scores from the School of Modifications. The entire fields atmosphere had reached its peak. The spectators yelled the players names; their cheers were like a tsunami. Compared to the unspeakable shamelessness of the first game, the following games had reignited the students confidence in soccer. Whether it was the teamwork, defense or offense, all were amenable. The power of music scores and aether were even more amazing, making the game much more interesting to watch. Victory, defeat, and the advantages of each side had become ambiguous and widely different. No matter how large of an advantage one team had, they could still lose if they did not pay attention. In the short half-hour time, all players on the field were sapped of their energy. In the end, they were practically carried off by Choir musicians and given emergency treatment. On the field, the victor, Glenn, wiped at his sweat and enjoyed the cheers of victory. Even Egors gloomy face relaxed slightly, growing pleased as he nodded lightly. The negative stigma on the School of Modifications had been wiped away. They had once again proved their unbeatable place in face-to-face fighting. Next, they had to find that guy who had used despicable strategiesJamesand teach him a lesson! Glenn suddenly clenched his fist and the shadow of a fiery claw flew behind him. It dispersed in the air and exploded with blinding firelight. Shocked cries rippled through the spectators. His expression grew more arrogant. Controlling the scalding heat, he scattered it. He blew away the cinders and ashes, solidifying the ground into hard rock again. He glared at the music historys rest stand through the forceful aether waves. "Do you see? This is the enemy youll face next. This is the furious fire burned just for you! This is" He froze. Something felt wrong! No one was looking at him. There was only a lazy dog sunbathing on the empty seat. Its head rested on the seat in the front row. Drool dripped from its mouth, landing on the bunny on the front row. The bunny trembled, but could not move from under the dogs paws. Old Phil rubbed it like a toy and was indifferent about the field. Charles, that *ss, was using binoculars to look at the hot girls in the stands on the other side. His expression grew more and more sleazy. Bench Guy had disappeared to somewhere. As for Ye Qingxuanwhat was he doing? Glenn glared with a livid expression before realizing that no one had seen his showy moment. That guy had actually fallen asleep while sunbathing right in the middle of the noisy stadium! Ye Qingxuan was draped over a chair in the rest stand of the history department. He slept with his head back, mouth open and was thunderously snoring. It was as if he was in the late stages of tuberculosis. He was completely asleep, despite the noisy environment. He did not even wake when Bai Xi moved him into a strange meditating position with his hands put together as if praying. Now, Bai Xi was focused on drawing a small turtle on his face. There was also a bunny, alpaca, and fox on his forehead. Sensing Glenns eyes, she turned back and looked at the pained student in confusion. She quickly understood and waved, motioning for Glenn to wait. Then she bent down, messed with something and lifted Ye Qingxuans stiff arm. Four fingers had been bent down by her, while the middle finger stuck straight up. "The f*ck you looking at?" Bai Xi shot a taunting glare at him. The aggressiveness and disdain on her small face was enough to make someone burst a lung. Soon, she stopped looking at the pissed Glenn and looked down to continue pranking Ye Qingxuan. But for some reason, the drawing she had just finished quickly turned blurry from sweat. It looked extremely ugly and strange. Ye Qingxuan was covered in sweat within a few minutes. Bai Xi furrowed her brows and wiped him with a tissue. Looking at Charles, she asked, "Hes sweating again? Should we wake him?" "Oh, hes probably just hot from the sun." Charles glanced at him and shot a frost ray at Ye Qingxuans seat. When the sweat turned to frost and froze on his face, he nodded in satisfaction. "Look, he should be cooler now." - Cooler? Ye Qingxuan was not just "cooler" now. He was practically frozen to the bone! Gusty wind blew over snowflakes the size of a thumb. They crashed against each other in the air and turned to powder. Landing in Ye Qingxuans eyes. They melted and flowed out as tears, freezing on his face again. He looked up, but all was dark. Endless wind and snow flew against his face. In the icy snow beneath him, his feet had turned numb. Every step in the snow was like stepping on nails. One would only feel life burning like a fire at times like this. But in this icy world, the fire was like a candle in the wind, flickering and sputtering. Every breath made the flames disperse from the mouth and nose, turning into steam and dissipating. Slowly, slowly, he froze in this endless blizzard. Ye Qingxuan could practically hear the sounds of ice forming. It was the sound of his eyes freezing. He looked up, through the heavy snow, at the sky. There was no light in this dark world, only endless blizzard. But there were clearly three suns in the sky. They burned exuberantly and radiated with dazzling light. But the light did not reach Ye Qingxuan and had nothing to do with him. They stood in the distance and gazed coldly at the world invaded by ice and snow. "That is not your sun." A hoarse voice sounded in the whistling wind, like resentment that had paced in this blizzard for a millennium. "Find "Find it "Findthe sun that belongs to you!" Ye Qingxuan used the last of his strength to make a step. He felt his legs go out and the ground came into vision. Thud. He fell into the snow and felt suffocation coming on, but before he suffocated, he turned into a frozen corpse. He woke from the nightmare instantly and felt the warm firelight. The blizzard was outside the cave. The gentle firelight caressed him, waking him from the dream of freezing to death. But there was no joy in his expression. He just stared at the dancing firelight before him. The nightmare had started again. He climbed up with difficulty. It was time to leave. - The seemingly gentle firelight could only cause death. In a short while, the blizzard would grow and completely block his exit. The firelight would burn out too. In the end, he would be stuck in this cave and slowly freeze to death. But now, Ye Qingxuan silently stared at the burning fire. After a long time, he gathered his courage and reached into the flames. He grasped something and pulled it out. The flames trembled and dimmed instantly. Then it died out gradually, turning into a pile of ashes. A completely burned and disfigured corpse was in Ye Qingxuans hands. Yanked out from the flames, one could vaguely make out its original appearance. The height, bone structure, and the unburned white hair. "Is this my frozen corpse from the last round?" It dawned on Ye Qingxuan, but he was not happy at all. "Burning my own corpse for warmthhas the nightmare gotten to this level?" He took one last glance at the corpse and kicked it into the extinguished fire. Then he walked out the cave. The world was dark in the endless blizzard outside the cave. "I saw three suns in the sky" the hoarse voice sang in the sweeping wind. "I stared at them long and hard, and they stared at me too, as if unwilling to leave me. The phantom sun, the phantom sun" Ye Qingxuan walked barefoot in the snowy plain, facing the frosty wind. Sometimes, he would look behind him. There was still warm light there, as if calling him back. He suddenly grew afraid. Turning around, he began sprinting, getting further and further away from the fire. Gradually, the illusionary firelight disappeared in the blizzard. The endless wind and snow swallowed him. A lonely sound resounded amongst the wailing wind. This feeling seemed familiar. It was as if it had solidified into something tangible and melted into the frost and snow. It bore through Ye Qingxuan from the outside in. His steps suddenly halted because a memory had appeared in his mind, but the memory was covered with dust. "It was snowing like this that day too, right?" a voice murmured in his ears. "You were this pathetic that day too, right?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He did not dare to think back. He stepped forward, running forward in pain, as if fleeing for his life. He wanted to escape from here, escape to somewhere farat least, get away from that d*mn voice. But the voice followed closely. It followed his footprints like a shadow. It murmured gently, whispered hoarsely, asked angrily and roared furiously. In the end, the voice shook the wind and snow. The blizzard resonated with the icy voice. It roared Ye Qingxuans name. Its voice was like burning fire and like cracking firewood. It was like a call from the past, calling for him to return from the darkness. And so the dark world was suddenly illuminated with firelight. Ye Qingxuans steps stopped abruptly. He looked at the burning light. It was the glow from a dilapidated house on fire. The flames were so exuberant, as if it would never be extinguished. Within the flames, the wooden house collapsed, but a gentle call sounded from it. "Shut up!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth and lowered his head, not daring to look anymore, but the calls grew louder, as if wanting to rip him to shreds. Within that icy frost and wind, the voice ruled over all. It shook the heavens and the earth. It called his name as if wanting to tear him apart. The sky shook, the world quaked and the voice roared in his ears, "Ye Qingxuan!" His eyes flew open with sweat rolling down his back. He practically jumped up from the seat. Now, he finally realized that Bai Xi was shaking his shoulder. It was already afternoon and she grasped Ye Qingxuan, shocking him from his nightmare. "Cousin, wake up, wake up!" "What happened?" He looked at the joyous atmosphere in confusion and sat back into his seat, panting heavily. He summoned clean water and frost. After wiping his sweat-covered face, he took a deep breath and looked at Bai Xi. "I hope its good news." "Youll never guess what it is." Bai Xi revealed a strange smile. She picked up the disdainful Old Phil from the ground and shook it. "We didnt get chosen again!" 205 So-called Flames It was late at night in the music history department. As always, Abraham had locked himself in the library. It was at the critical point of the deciphering of the Voynich manuscript. A few days ago, he finally found the true deciphering method. He scrapped everything he had done and restarted. This time, his speed was shocking and he completed the last portion as smoothly as if he was writing it. Now was the critical ending point and he was entirely focused. Ye Qingxuan did not want to bother him. He was deep in thought as well, pondering about that frosty nightmare. He had frozen to death time after time in that nightmare, and then woke from the dream after dream of fire. Fake suns hung in the sky and the earth was frost, still as death. In this lonely world, he walked alone, looking for that so-called sun. - According to Lola, she had implanted the "key element" of the music score into his memory through the Blood Path. The element would use his memory and turn into a dream. It could be a pleasant dream, a nightmare orsomething totally unrelated. If he wanted to grasp the spirit of the music score, he must pass through the endless dream. If he could escape from the dilemma, then he would have undoubtedly grasped the element. He could then easily learn the music score. It was just like how the backstroke and butterfly stroke was just a change of posture to a good swimmer, but this element was impossibly hard to grasp. It was the essence and core of the entire music score, the foundation of the music scores realization and spirit born from it. Wanting to pass it and grasp the element was highly difficult. Moreover, sometimes there was more than one element. The elements had different terms for the different schools. For example, it could be a formula,equilibrium,beastliness, or fulcrum. But without a doubt, it was the most important aspect. So, Ye Qingxuan was still doubtful if he could grasp the element implanted into his memory. According to Lola, the element could only remain there for three days before dispersing. If he could not find it during that time, he could only give up. Ye Qingxuans head hurt at this thought. In the living room, Charles was still excited over having no competitors. It was late at night, but he was still drinking and flipping through pictures of pretty girls. He was just having fun by himself. Even though this *ss of a senior made one want to kill him at times, Ye Qingxuan had never met someone more easily satisfied than Charles. Just give him a bottle of alcohol and the newest photobook of the season, and he would be happy. Ye Qingxuan wished he could live like Charles too. At least he would not have any frustrations. He sighed and sat down beside Charles. Picking up a glass, he shook it before Charles. "Give me some?" "Huh?" Charles looked away from the photobook. Realizing what Ye Qingxuan said, he froze. "You can drink?" "Just a little." Ye Qingxuan grabbed the bottle and poured himself half a glass. He shrugged. "I learned a bit of everything before." Charles was quiet for a long while before sighing. "Junior" "Yeah?" "For people like you, I wouldnt even be surprised if you learn how to give birth one day." The corner of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched. "Sorry. Thats the only thing I cant learn." "Oh, what a pity." Charles shrugged. He was already drunk and did not even know what he was feeling pitiful about. Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt helpless. He sighed and emptied his glass. He leaned back into the chair as if he was jelly and stared at the moon, spacing out. After a long time, he looked back and asked quietly, "Senior, what would the world be like if there was no sun?" He looked into Charless eyes, but in his mind, he involuntarily saw an endless, endless expanse of ice and snow. It was an endless wilderness. It was a dead world. "Huh?" The words startled Charles, but he quickly rubbed his chin and stated seriously, "Then wouldnt we have to start fires? And it doesnt sound like a bad thing." "Why not?" Charles laughed. He said with animated features, "Look, we all say that well drink till the sun comes up. Now, the sun wont come up, so that means we can drink our fill and" "No, then everyone would get alcohol poisoning and get sent to the hospital." "Ah, that makes sense too." Charles immediately became depressed. "If only humans did not get alcohol poisoning. Then wed have no shortcomings." Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and ignored Charles. After a long while, being affected by the alcohol, he could not help but open his mouth again and ask, "What if even fire disappeared?" Charles pondered for a long time. Then he nodded gravely. "Then the sages would probably be happy, right?" "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan suspected he had heard incorrectly. Charless expression grew even more serious. He got close and stuck up a finger. "Did you know? In many ancient texts from the Dark Ages, at the beginning of the School of Modifications, there wasnt any evidence backing up materialism. Instead, the four elements theory was the most popular. "When the sages debated what exactly the world was, they were also confused about humanity. What am I? And so it led to a theory: elements are actually a reflection of human emotions." "Emotions?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Thats too conceited. They thought that the world was created by mankinds thoughts?" "It was really popular back then. Some people even thought that the world we live in is just some bored guys dream. When he wakes up, we disappear. Ha, but were getting off topic. "Anyway, the sages compared our emotions and the elements. This created the foundation of the four elements theory. It was overturned by the elemental cycle theory later, but theres still some logic to it." Here, Charles finished his glass and set it down. "Do you know what fire represents?" "What?" "Pain." Charless smile became mocking. "Its ironic, isnt it? Fire make you think of life, ascension and creation, but its actually the physical embodiment of pain. Fire and pain. It is this pain that brought about light and illuminated the world, allowing life to exist." He poured himself liquor. Looking at the liquid toss inside his glass, he studied his reflection. He murmured drunkenly, "So if the sun disappears one day, then there wouldnt be any pain in the world, right? Maybe itll be a good world. Yeah, maybe." He paused and nodded. "At least therell be a peace of mind." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After Charles finished speaking, he seemed to have become drunk. He gulped down the liquor and hummed a strange song. After a while, he suddenly asked, "Yezi, why are you asking? Is it related to your dreams?" "Dreams?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "Did you think that I couldnt tell?" Charles chuckled. "Bai Xi was panicking so much she almost strangled you, but you still didnt wake up. I thought youd died and I even took you to the emergency room. But in the end, you woke up." Ye Qingxuan did not reply for a long time. Then he said in a muffled voice, "Im just a heavy sleeper." "Do your eyes have to be so frightened when you wake up?" Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. After a pregnant pause, he replied quietly, "I just dreamed of some things." "Unhappy things?" The youth shook his head. "No." "Terrifying things?" The youth still did not reply. It suddenly dawned on Charles. "Oh, so it must be sad things, right?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. He just drank and did not set down his glass until his eyelids felt heavy. "Its just somesome things from the past. Thats all." He rose with difficulty and stumbled to the stairs. "Senior, dont care about me. I just drank too much and Im going to sleep now." Charles watched him go upstairs and disappear. Charles pursed his lips. "Psh, he just drank a little" He picked up the bottle of liquor on the table, but it was not as heavy as he had expectedit was empty. Charles ended up picking it up with too much force and almost fell over. After a stumble, Charles regained his balance. His expression grew slightly bitter. "Huh, he drank an entire weeks worth of my supply without even letting me know. Whats he trying to do?" With a sigh, he flipped the bottle over and shook forcefully. Two, three drops fell into his mouth. Charles tossed the bottle, closed his eyes and fell into deep sleep. He probably would not dream this time - On the field, the game was still going on intensely. Off the field, at the music history departments seat, Ye Qingxuan was still sleeping calmly. He did not seem to care how horribly he would be defeated soon. "Is he okay?" Bench Guy looked at him in concern. "I feel like hes not being normal." "Hes been staying up a lot lately and hes just catching up on his sleep." Charles patted his shoulder and dragged him aside. "Its just sleeping during class. Dont tell me youve never done it before." "Uh" Bench Guy instantly grew troubled. "Sleeping in class isnt good." Stunned, Charles stared at Bench Guy as if looking at a strange creature. "You dont sleep during class?! What do you do usually?" "" Bench Guy could not reply. He realized that he thought differently from these weirdos. Many times, he could not even converse with common sense. Helpless, he could only change the topic and ask straightforwardly, "I heard that the other teams have all prepared secretly to divide usWere the public enemy now. Tomorrow, its eight to four. Shouldnt there be a strategy or game plan for the next round?" "Theres no point in thinking so much. Well die no matter what" Under the sun, Charles yawned. "Just relax. I looked at the stars and they say we have good luck these two days! And anyway, weve gotten lucky these past two days. Maybe well draw empty for the next round too." "Friend, you look pretty and you have such pretty fantasies too," Bench Guy thought. His shoulders trembled. If not for the mask on his face, he probably would have spat out blood. 206 Impartial, Fair, and Open At the same time, the locker rooms door was closed. Several team leaders sat on the chairs, looking at each other with gloomy and dark faces. "What are we going to do now?" Glenn began. "Having been classmates so many years, were all familiar with each other. Theres no need to pretend. Our school has made the final order that we cant keep the music history department in the next round. Don''t you feel a little bit of pressure?" Hearing this, everyone was speechless. He felt the pressure, she felt the pressure, and so did everyone else. But what else could they do? Forcefully? No one thought that the music history department would survive until now. Who would have imagined that the publicly accepted rubbish team would happen to have no opponent twice? Staying until now had gone beyond the school boards tolerance. The four branches alone could not tolerate such a department, as obscure and at the edge of abolition as it was, to stand above them. Otherwise they would be the laughing stock wherever they went. Look! Those guys were completely destroyed by a team in the graduation trialThinking of this scene, everyone here felt a hit to their dignity and face. "Even if we have the determination, we cant do anything if we dont win." Someone sighed. "Its not that we dont work hard, its just the music history department is too cunning." "Hasnt the student council come up with some regulations?" Glenn looked to Cullen, who attended in the place Banner. He was the henchman of Gavin, the student president. Gavin had mostly resigned by now, but his influence on the student council was still huge. What''s more, since the next president had not yet been elected, most decisions still depended mainly on Gavin. From another perspective, the reason why the music history department could survive until now was mainly because of the student council. Unlike student councils in other schools, the student council of the Royal Academy of Music was part of the school management. In some cases, their control was even larger than some professors. Including now, if the student council wanted to, they could even directly affect the arrangement of the game. They had so many ways to do that. The student council had been silent and low-key this entire time, as if they were transparent. Even the notorious executive office had more of a sense of existence than they did, which confused other concertmasters. What was Gavins plan? Cullen was very clear about this. After being silent for a moment, he said quietly, "You do not have to feel stressful, just let them be. Even if they dont follow the rules, they wont keep at it for long." "Are those Gavins own words?" "It''s just my guess." Cullen said, "The president has his own plan for the music history department." In an instant, Glenn and others widened their eyes. When they exchanged glances, their expressions became somewhat complicated. Did that guy Gavin do all of this just to hand the history department over to his brother? It seemed like he was determined to make Banner his successor. He not only sent his most competent men to assistant Banner, but also gave him a shortcut. By that time, after having accumulated enough experience, Banner would naturally become the next president of the student council and have a stable status. "What a good brother." Another bad-tempered leader sneered, and took the lead in leaving the locker room. "The Royal Academy of Music is just the background for these two brothers!" When everyone left and the locker room became empty, the smile on Cullen''s face faded away. His look became confused. What did the president mean? Even he himself could not figure out it. - "Is my brother going to give this department to me?" Below the drawing podium, Banner looked at Cullen. When he gazed at the guy snoring in the distance, his expression gradually changed from disgust at the beginning to cold. That was the coldness of completely neglecting and overlooking him. "Why didn''t he come and talk to me in person?" Cullen paused, squeezing out a smile. "Perhaps the president has more important expectations for you." "Really?" Banner glanced at him and said lightly, "Well, since that group of failures is just there for the number, you cant expect too much of them. Let me teach him what the world is like." But beside him, Cullen saw the hostility flash in Banner green eyes and sighed. Why were these brothers so different? "What are you looking at?" Banner seemed to be sense his gaze and suddenly turned back. Cullen hesitated, shaking his head. "Nothing." "Then lets go. Since its arranged already, we shouldnt waste time." Banner took the lead to step on the platform. Cullen followed behind, but under his sleeves, his fists were clenched fists until his knuckles turned white. Like an illusion, he seemed to hear Banner scoff softly. In a place he could not see, Banners eyes grew cold. This time, Banner would not let that Eastern b*stard, who usurped his reputation, remain arrogant for too long. - "Is everybody here?" After two days of complicated matters, Sydney seemed numb. He looked at everyone here and that proud, disdainful dog, waving his hand feebly. "Then lets begin to draw." It was the last round before the semi-finals and hopefully there will not be any problems." "Wait!" An unsatisfied student looked at Old Phil and said, "The history department has sent a dog to draw for them several times. Are they unsatisfied with the school arrangements? Or do they look down on us? I think the music history department should give us an explanation, or else I refuse to continue to be insulted so..." "If you dont like it, you can go," the dog suddenly said lazily. Everyone was stunned and they looked at each other. What the h*ll is this? A talking dog? And it sounded like a little girl? Soon they found that it was a music note on the dog''s collar. Bai Xi stood in the stands, remotely controlling the collar. Her words were sharp as always. "What do you mean?" The students face turned red. "Wanna fight?" "I just don''t like people saying nonsense in public." Bai Xi hummed. "The school approves, the principal approves, but you dont? Who are you? Why don''t you just kick us out?" Old Phil was abnormally cooperative. It looked at the student disdainfully, doubling the mockery. Excellent! The student visibly began to breathe heavier. He almost shot fire with his glare. "Enough!" Sydney huffed coldly. He slapped the table heavily and glanced at all present with his gloomy eyes. Finally he looked at Old Phil. "This time, the board will supervise the whole drawing process with a fair and impartial attitude. I hope you do not try to pass with a fluke but go all out." The words go all out were squeezed out between his teeth. Anyone could tell how angry he was. In the first two rounds, one simply reached his hand into the box and took out number. But this time, the three coaches from Modifications, Summoning and Revelations gathered around. The three people and six eyes stared at every hand that reached into the box. A dim light even shone in Egors eyes. He saw through the box with a modification formula and observed the whole process. Surrounding by such onlookers, all the students who were going to draw felt very nervous. Under this situation, it seemed that once they made a subtle mistake, they would be killed. Why were they so dramatic? It was just a soccer game, not a vote on the Parliament, which needed six musicians present to isolate all the aetheric influence for fairness The team leaders came forward to draw the lot under all the eyes. Every person who came to draw would be searched by the three coaches. Even the fat on the belly was not spared. Finally, it was Old Phils turn. Facing three pairs of sharp eyes, Old Phil took it naturally and stepped forward as if nothing around him existed. Seeming to have sensed their scrutiny, Old Phil produced a disdainful snort from its nostrils. It raised its palm to flip over the box and bit the last board, then turned away. It did not even look at the three in the eye. Both Egor and Ingmars faces darkened, but Ludwig, who was accustomed to animals, did not mind. Instead, he followed and began to look up and down at Old Phil with great interest. He mumbled Summoning terms as if he was analyzing Old Phils characteristics and body shape. The more he looked, the more interested he became. He could not resist the urge to pet it. Old Phil looked back at him and opened its big mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth, as if saying, "Do you dare?" Ludwig immediately withdrew his hand. Sensing the eyes of his colleagues, Ludwig felt a little embarrassed and smiled stiffly. "This dog is strange. It has a really bad temper." Sydney coughed twice, motioned Ludwig to pay attention to his actions and then grew emotionless. "The draw is finished. Now, please check your opponents according to the list. If you have questions, ask now. No more questions will be allowed after the fact." He lowered his head and coughed again. He hid his sneer at his mouth corner. Questions? What question could they have? With the three supervisors watching, all processes were fair and open. Even if he had secretly mobilized his authority as vice principal and influenced the result of the drawing through the Requiem enchantment...No matter what, the legendary luck of drawing empty two days in a row was ending for the history department. He had prepared the best enemies for themthe School of Royalty. Soon the team leaders put their signs on the tree diagram. In the commotion, some people rejoiced, others wailed. "No objections?" Sydney asked three times with a smile. Hearing no response, he slowly nodded. "Then the discussion is over. Everyone put your sign on the list and write it." Under his anticipating eyes, Banner looked coldly up. Soon the crowd fell silent and slowly parted. In the silence, Banner stepped forward and hung the sign of the School of Royalty onto the first position. Besides the sign, a place was prepared for its enemy. Thats right, the place for the enemy. He slowly turned back and looked coldly at that evil dog that was sunbathing. The dog sensed his eyes and glanced back at him. It seemed to sense everyones anticipation and the gleeful gazes. Old Phil looked back disdainfully, picked up the sign in its mouth and came forward. It passed through the crowd and went straight past Banner. Before the tree-shaped diagram, it stood like a human being and gazed at the empty spot next to the School of Royalty. Then, according to the number on the sign, it hung the sign at...the outermost place of the list. For a moment, everyone was stunned. "Wait a minute!" Sydney''s complexion changed and shouted at Old Phil, who was about to turn away. "Ive said before that you shouldnt let a dog, which cant even figure out what the number means, to draw. It doesn''t even know where it is, does it?" He turned, abruptly picked the sign of the music history department down, and hung it to the side of the Royal School. "It shouldshouldshould " He froze and his voice changed too. He looked down incredulously at the sign in his hand. Should what? It should be hung beside the Royal School. But, how...how the h*ll did they come up empty again?! "Empty." "Empty?" "Empty" Everyone looked at each other with a strange and ugly look. Finally, Sydney stopped stiffly and opened his mouth but he did not know what to say. What could he say? He had dug the hole for himself and jumped in...The time for objections were long overdue! He said that afterward, no matter who had an objection, no one was allowed to dwell on it any more. Should he go back on his words in front of the whole school? With a livid face, he put the sign back to the most outer place with difficulty. He turned back and announced hoarsely, "The history department drew empty again." For the fourth round, they had no opponent again The spectators were in an uproar. On the stands, Charles cheered while Bai Xi screamed. The Bench Guy was stunned. Ye Qingxuanwas still snoring. 207 The Illusionary Sun It was late at night at the Royal Academy of Music. Two figures met in the main building without meaning to. When they discovered each other, they instantly felt awkward. "Good evening, Mr. Egor." Ludwig, who had descended the staircase first, uttered a greeting. Egor, who had just came through the door, returned the greeting. After some small talk, the awkward atmosphere had almost disappeared, but the insubstantial conversation continued. Ludwig realized that Egors thoughts were elsewhere and he suddenly cut to the chase. "Are you here to investigate the results of the draw too?" "No, no." Egor chuckled as if he did not mind at all, but his eyes grew cautious. Ludwig was ten years older than him, but his actions were always faster. He was sensitive to every change and always got to things first. This time was not an exception either. Egor had just entered, but Ludwig was already leaving. He did not know what the result was, but how could someone who liked saving face as much as Egor admit his reason for coming? He stated, "The drawing was done under our monitoring. How could anything happen?" "Oh?" Ludwig glanced at him with a smile. "Then why are you here so late at night? Dont give me the excuse that you forgot some documents. You never bring documents to meetings." Egors expression grew even more awkward, as well as humiliated and angered. "Ludwig, arent you the same?" "To be honestI just wanted to satisfy my curiosity." Ludwig chuckled. Under the moonlight, his eyes became the vertical pupils of snakes. They fluttered and fluttered, making Egor slightly unsettled. The musicians of the School of Summoning developed beastliness inside of them and controlled demons during battle. At the same time, their sanity would be even more powerful. But no matter what, they would be affected by it. Because of this, Summoning musicians would have strange fetishes. Ludwig was not an exception. For example, he was overly curious. Egor scoffed. "I just wanted to ensure the fairness of the results." Hearing Egors refutation, Ludwig could not help but chuckle. "Egor, when humans start talking about fairness, it means that unfair things are going to happen. Did you sense something?" "Dont beat around the bush, Ludwig. Get to it." Egor rolled his eyes. "I hate philosophy and theories." Ludwig shrugged. "Im just saying that things like drawing lots are never fair." "Are you saying that the music department has problems? But all three of us monitored the drawing" Egor said. "Dont forget that this is under the Requiem enchantment. Even the results of the lots are controlled by the enchantment. We can only monitor the students, but cant do anything to do the enchantment." "Its impossible for the enchantment to have problems" Egor argued. "Of course. It wont have problems, but humans can," Ludwig said lightly. "The results of my investigation confirmed what I felt during the day. Im not the most familiar with the School of Abstinence, but I still felt this afternoon that the enchantment had been shifted three times." "Three times?" After pondering, Egor felt something wrong. "Theres no need to use ones authority three times to change the results. Unless" "Yes, there were three authorities trying to change the result." Egor fell silent, finally sensing the complexity behind this event. "Of the three authorities, the lowest one came from the student council. One came from the school board, which is obviously Sydney." "Thats not strange," Egor said. "Sydney doesnt want to the history department to draw empty again. And hasnt Gavin been trying to help his brother inherit his position? The history department is the best stepping stone to becoming the head of the student council." Ludwig just snickered. "But its a pity because nothing they do will be successful. The third authority canceled out everything they did." "Canceled out?" Egor glanced at him, eyes suspicious. "Only one person can cancel out the school boards authority." "Yes, its our principal." Ludwig kind of wanted to laugh mockingly at how he and his colleagues had acted these days. "What are we so worried about? The principal had probably already dug a ditch for us to jump in. Egor, Im afraid weve all been tricked by those guys." He patted Egors shoulder and saw a bitter smile on his old friends face. Egor sighed and gave up on the urge to continue asking. If he continued investigating, he would just increase the tension between the school board and the principal. But he did not understand why the principal would go against the school board for such a small thing. "What is he trying to do?" "How would I know?" Ludwig slowly filled his pipe with tobacco. Thinking of what had happened during the day, he could not help but mock himself. "Ive lived so many years, but I dont even know what a dog is thinking. How can I understand whats hiding in someones heart?" - Ye Qingxuan had slept for twenty hours. He was sleeping so heavily that not even the sky falling down would wake him. It seemed that he could still continue sleeping After being carried back from the field, Ye Qingxuan was thrown onto the sofa. Traces of Bai Xis off-handed graffiti still remained on his face. He was still in his original posture, like a wax figure. "Charles, is he okay?" Bai Xi poked Ye Qingxuans face as if she had found a giant toy and was playing happily. Across from the sofa, Charles shrugged. "I dont know either." Ye Qingxuan had sweated for the first few hours. Now, he had no movements other than his heart beating. His pupils had no reaction when shone with blinding light, but at least he was still breathing. There were no other strange conditions. He just looked like he was sleeping. "Did he get some weird disease?" "I dont think so. His health was good during the physical examinations at the beginning of the school year, just a little thin." Charles paused and shook his head. "Hes like a girl, ughBoys should be like me and have an eight-pack!" "You talk like you have one!" Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Should we take him to the hospital?" "To be honest, I think that we should just let him sleep if its not an emergency." Charles took a bottle of liquor from a cabinet. Opening it with expertise, he took a whiff and let out a satisfied breath. "As the saying goes, get drunk today if you have wine. There arent any other solutions, right?" Bai Xi was stunned. "But we cant just leave him like this." "Maybe he just wants some peace. Huh, dont ask me who peace is. Anyway, just let him sleep a bit more. Hes played soccer for so long. He should get a halftime break, right?" Charles looked down and wiped his glass. His eyes filled with lamentation. "No matter how powerful or strong someone is, they still have a time where they want to escape from reality. Saints are like that, not to mention mundanes like us. "Cheers." Charles stuck a glass into the youths stiff hands and clinked glasses with him. He tilted his head back and downed the glass. When his gaze fell on Ye Qingxuan, it grew distant yet troubled. He seemed to look past Ye Qingxuans body to some unknown place. "Hope you can escape, kid." - A blizzard fell from the sky, falling into Ye Qingxuans eyes. The sky was still the empty whiteness from before. Numerous snowflakes fell from the sky. He walked barefoot in the ice and snow. His soles had been pierced and his footprints were tinged with stark red. But later, the red disappeared gradually, freezing into the ice. He panted and forged on. He tried to feel his lower body, but his legs were almost numb. Sometimes, he would look back at his long trail of footprints. They extended from deep within the field of ice. Slowly, the footprints were covered by snow and disappeared. It was no longer like a search for something. It was an endless escape. The shattered snowflakes and crystals crashed against each other in the cold wind, producing tiny yet fine sounds. The countless sounds rose like rainwater, but in the "rainwater," a hoarse voice sang an unnamed song. The voice was sometimes close, sometimes far; one could hear it clearly but could not grasp it. But in the end, the song disappeared as well. Only mocking laughter rang in the silence. Mockery. Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes and looked at his cracked and frozen feet. His toenails were tipped up and his toes no longer had feeling. There was just a trail of frozen dark red blood. It was familiar. So familiar. Maybe these was his real feet. When he studied his feet for the first time, they were like this too. They were numb and deathly pale, but with a dull pain that reached his bone, reminding him that the long trip had not ended yet and that he was still alive. It had been snowing then, too, but there had been the light of fire burning behind him. Yes, the light of fire. He held his forehead in pain, not daring to think further, but those memories had awoken and haunted him like a ghost. They tugged at him, telling him to turn around and look at his past. The forgotten past. Ye Qingxuan saw shards of memories appear continuously on that pale, white, icy field. In the shards, he saw those scornful eyes, a dilapidated cabin, and a gentle voice. "Little Yezi" she murmured in his ears. "Little Yezi, have you returned?" "Shut up!" the youth growled hoarsely. He covered his ears, but a strand of dull blonde hair floated past his eyes. Like a hallucination, it disappeared in a flash, but left behind a whiff that made one want to remember. "Dont be afraid." Her voice returned, sounding in his heart. "Little Yezi, dont be afraid." Dont be afraid, dont be afraid, dont be afraid, dont be afraidThe voice echoed endlessly, overlapping and building on each other. It was as if the entire world was comforting him gently, but the voice only terrified him. He roared in anger. And so the voice disappeared, as if nothing had happened. The only sound left was the whistling of the wind. He saw that the snow underfoot was red from the reflection of the firelight behind him. Behind him, something was burning. Burning. Ye Qingxuan froze. He stood stiffly in his spot, not daring to look back, but the smell of burning wood traveled over. Was it a cabin? The cabin lit on fire, the burning cabin, the collapsed cabin, the cabin He turned back blankly and saw the vaguely familiar cabin, and that apparition. The apparition stood amongst the flames and gazed at him quietly. Its eyes were compassionate and gentle. Just looking at those eyes made one feel sad. "Little Yezi, dont be afraid." The wind carried over the sad murmurs from his deepest memories. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head in silence. He gritted his teeth, trying to disperse it, but he was helpless. Charless voice seemed to ring again in his ears. He said, "Fire and pain." Ye Qingxuan froze. He could not help but laugh at himself. He had been escaping for so long and had worked so hard just to go in a giant circle and return here. "So this is how it is." He looked up. Tears fell as he stared at the apparition in the fire. "Ive almost forgotten this memory." Havent you been trying to find the sun? Ye Qingxuan, this is the sun. This is the source of your pain. This is where your mother died. - "Its been so many years and youre still waiting for me here" In the long stretch of silence, the youth stared at the burning cabin. After a time, he stumbled into it. "Mom, Im back," he murmured as he stared at the flames that swallowed himself. The burning pain spread, but it made him feel settled, as if the pain had found where it belonged. After all these years, he had become used to its existence. He would not even know how to live without the pain. The youth studied the blurry apparition through the dancing red. The apparition studied him as well. Her eyes were gentle, just like before. But seeing those eyes, Ye Qingxuan smiled. He knelt in the ashes and flames. Its been so many years. How have you been? Ive been well. Just like you told me to, I havent been afraid. Im not afraid of anything after you left. "I returned to Avalon and now Im studying at the Royal Academy of Music. Im looking for what father did back thenI havent gone to Grandfather yet. "Ive been obedient all these years and never did anything bad. I made some new friendsVictor, Charles and Bai Xi, and some other people. I really want to introduce them to you." "" He lowered his head. Caressing the skeleton, he murmured, "Im sorry. Its been so long and I never came to see you." The fire burned and rose. It touched his cheek like a gentle hand, giving him pain and life. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. He took in the pain and let the flames of pain wipe away his tears with such gentleness. He suddenly felt the urge to stay here. It was so nice and so quiet here. It made one feel calm. He would not have to think about the coldness and scary things of the outside world. Stay here a bit morejust a bit more. Stay in this warm fire, even if there was nothing here but pain After a long, long time, the youth stood slowly and bid farewell. "Mom, Im going." He turned around and took one last look at the apparition in the fire. "Ill miss you." The youth walked out from the burning cabin. The blizzard fell into his eyes and melted. Water vapor solidified in the wind and floated toward the sky. It was like a sigh resounding in the air. He continued forward, welcoming the blizzard and frost, embracing every snowflake that flew toward him. His clumsy steps were branded into the snow and reached forward gradually. Gradually, gradually, the youths figure turned into a black dot in the distance. It was covered by the wind and snow, swallowed, and then it disappeared. As if seeing himself off, Ye Qingxuan watched as the silhouette grew more distant. He heard a faint melody in the wind. It was the sound of frost crystallizing, but it transformed into cool yet forlorn piano music. It sounded in his ears like a murmur. Someones hoarse singing was brought over by the wind. "I saw three suns in the skyI stared at them long and hard; they stare at me too, as if unwilling to leave. But youre not my suns. Before, I had three suns too, but the two I loved most had disappeared" It was as if the long dream had finally ended. Under the hoarse song, Ye Qingxuan felt himself dissipate, melt into the cold wind and transform into frost. He rose, rose and rose; he passed the wind, snow and icy clouds and gradually left the earth. The burning cabin in the snowy field disappeared too. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and waited for this dreamscape to end. If living without pain was like this, then living in a world with some pain was better, right? At least, youre in that world. At least Ill still remember you. Goodbye, Mom. - Ye Qingxuan woke from his dream at dawn. The morning light illuminated his eyes. He sat up on the sofa and found that a glass had appeared in his hands. The liquor reflected an illusionary sun. He smiled and raised the glass, drinking the fulcrum that he had been searching for in one shot. The liquor slid down his throat like fire, bringing him the pain of living. He moaned in satisfaction. The girl sleeping on his knee was startled awake. She rubbed her dazed eyes and looked up at him. "Cousin, youre awake?" "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan petted her hair. "Sorry for waking you." Bai Xi looked at him. After a while, she asked softly, "Did you cry?" "No." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Why would I cry? I just thought of some things." Bai Xi looked at him without a word. She did not worry anymore after seeing his smile. Putting her head back on his knee, she found a comfortable position, closed her eyes and fell asleep. Her white hair had grown long and it spilled on the sofa like silk. Ye Qingxuan looked at her sleeping figure and smiled slightly. He could not help but squeeze her cheeks. She must be having a good dream. 208 Complex Situation At dawn, the dew on the branches of the garden froze. The petals fluttered to the ground, soundlessly sinking into the dirt. The fragrance of flowers and red tea floated in the air. Lolas eyes were slightly misty, as if she had just woken up, but they were indescribably enchanting. She studied the youth before her and smiled. "Did you come so early in the morning to give me good or bad news?" "To be honest, I dont know if its good or bad." Ye Qingxuan sighed and scratched his head. "But you should probably know already, right?" "Then it must be good," Lola realized. She smiled gleefully. "Why didnt you tell me?" Ye Qingxuan asked helplessly. Lola raised her eyes and asked in reply, "Didnt tell you what?" Ye Qingxuan could not answer. Lola had already warned him of the various difficulties and hardships. The only thing she did not reveal was the key element of the music scorethat its fulcrum was pain. The pain brought about by life. It was also what Ye Qingxuan was worst at facing. Moreover, even if she told Ye Qingxuan, it would probably only create the opposite effect, right? The key element was not something that could be used just by knowing it. One must experience the resonation with it. Ye Qingxuan was successful on this aspect, but it was also what multiplied his pain. After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. "Thank you." Lola chuckled. "If youre saying thanks now, what are you planning on saying when I give you this? That youll pledge your life to me?" With that, she pushed a thin music score across the table. It was the score that Ye Qingxuan needed to learn. "After grasping its fulcrum, the music score will be as easy as drinking water. Youve already learned the hardest part, so theres nothing to worry about," Lola said lightly. "But are you sure you can learn it in two days? Its music theory is easy, but its still a part of Winterreise. Its not as easy as you think." Ye Qingxuan smiled. His interpretation method was made just for these sorts of problems. As the product of Abrahams blood and sweat, the interpretation method was seen as a crooked method because it did not care about feelings or anything abstract. It was just a music theory that was precise to the extreme and had no room for mistakes. It was like a fixed mathematical theory. It either was or was not. There was no room for anything ambiguous or emotional. It was difficult to learn, but once learned, its speed was incredible. Just like solving a math problem, one only needed to find the correct formula and go through each step. There would be no errors. With it and the fulcrum, deciphering the score according to the music theory in the fulcrum was easy as could be. "Your confidence is unexpected." Lolas lips curled as if she was disappointed and that a plan had been ruined. A chill ran down Ye Qingxuans spine. He felt that he had just brushed shoulders with something dangerous. He really did not know what other traps Lola had laid out for him. It would not be worth it if he died. He shook his head and changed the topic, asking, "What did you implant into my mind? How come it can create a nightmare with my memories?" "Its just a guide," Lola stated. "In the east, its known as the mind demon guide and is what Mind musicians are best at. They can put demonic thoughts into ones mind. As time passes, it buries itself deep and can control the person like a puppet. Are you scared?" Ye Qingxuan shuddered, but quickly calmed down and glared at her. Seeing his fright, Lola smiled even happier. "Dont worry. Thats a technique that Teacher modified by tying it into a secret technique of the Moon Spirits. You can refer to it as intent inheritance. Instead of demonic thoughts, its the musicians comprehension of the score thats implanted. It guides your memories and dreamscape, allowing you to transform into the composer and directly experience the meaning withinBasically, there are a lot of benefits." Done explaining, Lola glanced at him expectantly. "Winterreise is a suite. There are still twenty-three pieces you havent learned. Do you want to keep going?" "Ill pass." Ye Qingxuan thought of his painful experiences over the past few days. If he was going to have twenty-three more difference experiences, he would probably go insane. He would rather get past this obstacle and then learn steadily "Tsk." Seeing that she did not lure Ye Qingxuan in, Lolas eyes were a bit regretful. "Thats a pity." "" - It was noon at the Royal Academy of Music. The youths white hair shone with a metallic light under the blazing sun. He sat on the steps before the main building in the empty campus and flipped through the thin booklet. Hearing footsteps, he raised his head. "Bench Guy, youve refreshed?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Bench Guy, with a concrete brick on his head, was stunned. He had not expected Ye Qingxuan to be waiting for him here and panicked slightly. "Uh" "I have something I want to talk about." "Very important?" "Of course." Ye Qingxuan nodded seriously. "Weve drawn empty for three days in a row. Tomorrow are the semifinals. I feel like the school wont let us keep drawing empty anymore, so I need to discuss tactics with you." Hearing this, Bench Guy let out a breath of relief. For some reason, he felt both touched and wronged. For the past two days, Ye Qingxuan had always been sleeping. He went to find Charles, but Charles was unreliable. He went to find Bai Xi, but Bai Xi did not care. He went to find Old Phil butwhat use would finding Old Phil have? It was as if the nation was in a crisis, but the emperor and officials were still playing and did not care, and only the servant was worried. He was especially skilled at bragging, but faced with a group as weird as the history department, he had no clue what to do. But he never expected that Ye Qingxuan would wake up just as he was giving up and come find him to talk about the game plan! This made him want to cry. Finally, someone was reliable! Deeply touched, Bench Guy nodded. "Im happy youre thinking about this. Do you have any ideas?" "Yeah, I need your help for something." For some reason, the youth smiled brightly, which gave Bench Guy a bad feeling. "Youll help me, right?" - The game on the field was still intense and the audience still roared. Amidst the cheers, Ye Qingxuan held a teacup and sipped slowly. He let out a breath. "Its so lively." "Yup." Beside him, Charles ate baked seeds and snacks. He also held a big glass of cold beer. "You dont say. Drinking and watching the game, every day is like paradise!" "Yeah, as long as we dont have to play." "Ah, Junior, its so nice out today. Dont say these sad things." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded lightly. "Ill go draw tonight. You dont have to worry about these things. Just go onto the field when its time." "Wait! Are you sure youre going to draw? Youre so unlucky" "You want to draw empty again and go directly to the finals?" Ye Qingxuan eyed him. "Its already past my expectation that weve lasted until now. Senior, lets just quit while were ahead. We just need to make sure we dont lose. If we want to win, we need to win the third round. Are you ready?" "Everything is under control!" Charles whistled. "This time, Ill produce something so amazing and incredible and beat every graduation product! At that time, graduation will be a small matter. I might accidentally get famous, become known in Anglo, and enter the peak of my life!" This let Ye Qingxuan know that it was entirely unreliable. If this were not his own business, he would really want to find some caf, slam a fist down on the table and say, "The history department is done for!" - The eight-to-four round finally ended. Every player was exhausted and had used up the last of their energy. The history department just sat on the side the entire time, drinking tea and eating snacks as if they were just having fun Seeing that Charles was cheering in the stands, the taunting multiplied instantly. Every eye that looked over was bloodshot and shone with the cold message, "Im going to end you!" They gave Ye Qingxuan goosebumps. It was as if someone had killed their fathers! "You wont be proud for too long" someone muttered to him when they passed by after the game. Ye Qingxuan looked over, but could only see a mass of people and Banners cold eyes in the distance. Those emerald eyes had the vertical pupils of a beast. - "Is everyone ready?" Sydney asked weakly as he stood on the podium. After being messed with for three continuous days, he really did not want to do anything. The team leaders facing him exchanged glances with troubled eyes. The semi-finals were tomorrow, but no one knew why there were five teams after the eight-to-four round. But since there were five teams, there would be one that wasthe odd one out? At this thought, they exchanged glances with helpless eyes. It would probably be the history department again, right? "If everyones ready, then lets start drawing" Sydney dragged out the last word weakly and cursed under his breath. But suddenly, he froze. Wait, there was something wrong! Why didnt he feel those familiar scornful eyes? Did that dog not come? Sydney looked around and instantly smiled. It did not come! He also felt a little bit at a loss, but he still could not help but feel his fighting spirit reignite. "Did the music history department not come?" He rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Then it counts as them giving up! Half their points will be deducted and they voluntarily" "Isnt deducing half of our points a bit dramatic?" Someone behind him sighed and patted his shoulder. "Teacher, dont overlook me. Im standing right here. Can you not see?" Sydney spun around. When he saw the white-haired youth, his eyes almost fell out of their sockets. "You?" Glenn was stunned but then he scoffed. "Youre not going to hide in the back anymore? You might be able to get to the finals just by using that dog." "I thought it through," Ye Qingxuan stated. "I dont need any secret weapons to deal with you all. I can do it myself." The podium fell silent. Then everyone burst into laughter as if they heard an incredible joke. No one said anything, but someone patted his shoulder in admiration, praising his amazing confidence. "Then, good luck." Glenns facial muscles twitched as he tried not to laugh. "I really anticipate meeting you all on the field." "Me too, me too!" Someone came over and shook his hand warmly. "And please give us advice so we can improve together." Welcomed so enthusiastically by them, Ye Qingxuan smiled sweetly. "Dont worry," he said. "No matter what the results are, Im sure everyone will return in disappointment." Hearing his words, the coldness in their smiles grew. Sydney was quiet for a moment. Then he shuddered and looked to the podium. He quickly looked away and his gaze toward Ye Qingxuan became extremely strange, with a tinge of mockery. "I just received a message that the school board had created a new rule. This time, you cant draw empty." "Thats okay! Participation is the most important!" Ye Qingxuan laughed mysteriously, as if he was planning something, making everyone worried. Huh, maybe he was just trying to mislead everyone. Sydney sneered and raised his hands, announcing, "Lets begin the draw." Below the podium, Charles paced back and forth. His expression was troubled and helpless. When he looked up at the podium, he felt a wave of nerves. He had no clue what the results would be. "Is he actually reliable?" Charles scratched his head and glanced at Bai Xi. "Yezi went up so confidently. What if something happens?" "How would I know?" Bai Xi was a bit annoyed. "This is the third time you asked since he went upDidnt the results come out? Look for yourself" She pointed at the list that had just been announced on the podium. Charles looked up in confusion and immediately felt his world go dark. It was the worst draw, as expected. No, it was worse than their expectations. Amidst a wave of boos, the arrangement for the first game of the next day was announced. The music history department against the School of Royalty! - Everyone let out a sigh of relief in the faculty section. Finally, no one had drawn empty and everything was back to normal. Everyone looked much happier. This included the sneering Ingmar. Faced with a group of elites, and Banner who was already a musician, this guy was definitely dead As for Ludwig, he was completely focused on playing with the miniature version of the black leopard cat. It was curled into a ball and gently gnawed on his finger. The human and cat were immersed in the fun and did not even care about had happened. Nothing was more fun than playing with a cat, so he shouldnt he play with cats? Only Egors face was grave, with his brows knitted. In the wave of cheers, he was the only one with a dark expression and stood out from the crowd. "What now?" Ludwig glanced at him. Egor replied emotionlessly, "Theres something I dont understand." "No one drew empty this time." "I know." Egor eyed him. "But I think we neglected something." "What are you talking about?" "They drew empty for three days. They might have gotten lucky the first day. If the principal wanted to help them for the third day, then" Egor murmured, "What happened the second day?" Ludwig immediately understood his question. After pondering, shock flashed past his eyes. "Are you saying" Egor nodded. "Yes." The two met eyes and their expressions changed in unison. "If thats the case, then things are much more complicated." 209 Life or Death is Determined by Fate The next day at noon, they stood at the entrance of the field. Ye Qingxuan could hear the raucous spectators inside. The noise felt solid, like a tangible sound wave. Ye Qingxuan had never thought that such a big noise could be produced when so many people sat together. It resounded in all directions and one could not describe it. It was like a cheer, but also like a growl. One could not tell if it was in anticipation or spite. It was just a declaration. It was as if the entire world was urging him onto the battlefield. He sucked in a deep breath and looked behind himself. "Are you all ready?" "Yes!" Charles pounded his chest with a serious expression, producing clangs. Ye Qingxuan was suddenly felt out of character. "Uhyou really prepared well, huh." Behind him, Charles was covered in heavy football gear and pads, making him look stuffed. There was a knights helmet on his head and a mask on his face. The cheap, mass-produced instruments that filled his back stuck out messily. He looked like he was going onto the battlefield, rather than the soccer field. "Can you even run with all that?" Ye Qingxuan was suspicious. Charles smiled secretively. "I made this entire set. Its really light andits upgraded too." He lifted up his sleeves to show Ye Qingxuan the steel auxiliary bones hidden underneath. This was the battle armor he had produced by staying up late. It was not as good as a musicians robe, but with his creativity and weird techniques, it was pretty useful. "What do you think?" Charles struck an impressive pose, but he clanged whenever he moved, like a peddler trying to run away from the police. "Senior, I have the urge to hit you." Ye Qingxuan sighed, then scanned his teammates. When he realized that only Bench Guy seemed reliable, he really wanted to cry. They would be hopeless without Bench Guy. "Lets go." Ye Qingxuan felt powerless with these teammates, no matter how enthusiastically the spectators cheered. This time, their life and death would be up to fate! He gritted his teeth and walked out of the shadows into the light on the field. "Lets go!" - "This game uses the revised international rules released three years ago. I hope both teams have prepared well and wont try to find any loopholes. Do you have any questions?" The referee grasped the special soccer ball and stood on the midline, gazing at both team leaders. "If yes, we can revise it now." "No need," Ye Qingxuan replied first. It seemed that the school board had filled every loophole to stop him from doing anything weird. Thankfully, he did not put his hopes on that. Across from him, Banner nodded slightly, showing that he had no objections either. But just as the referee was about to announce the start of the game, he opened his mouth. He shot a challenging look at Ye Qingxuan and said, "Mr. Referee, I request changing the game system!" "Huh?" The referee was shocked. "What do you want to change?" "To be honest, one thousand points per victorious game is no longer attractive," Banner stated. "Why dont we link the points to the goals? One thousand points per goal. Im willing to bet half of my points on the winner. What does the history department think?" Off-field in the stands, the drowsy principal opened his eyes wide. He straightened and smiled. "Its getting interesting" The faculty and spectators stands were also quiet as everyone stared at each other, wondering if they had heard incorrectly. Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows; he knew what Banner meant. It was one of the tricks that the students liked when they bet on games in private. Other than official soccer games, the academy also allowed the students to form teams and play in private. But unlike the academys conservative style, the students were much more open minded. No matter if it was the official game or players, no one would refuse playing in private. After all, everyone needed more points, so the stakes grew bigger and bigger. The strong preyed on the average, the average preyed on the weak, and the rankings changed dramatically. Many teams had already lost all their points and were forcefully eliminated. Some other teams had used their foresight and skill to move forward many places. Compared to them, the history department was continuously passed over. Now, they had fallen to sixth place with fourteen-thousand points. Banner was different though. His team was the most powerful. After two days of chaotic battling, he had returned to first place with twenty-six thousand points. If he bet half of his points, it would be practically half of the history departments points. This was a difficult choice for Ye Qingxuan. If he won, he would have twenty-seven thousand points and would jump from sixth place to first. But if he lost, his points would be completely wiped out. The winner would win all, the loser would be eliminated. It was a difficult choice. "Banner, if you have this idea, you can talk about it privately, but our school will not recognize this type of bet," the referee announced. He had seen enough of these suggestions throughout the past two days, but the academys attitude has always been neutral. They would not approve of, refuse, support, or forbid it. They just let the students do whatever they pleased. Actually, without the schools guarantee, the losers could renege on their bet, but if they did that, they would never be able to erase their shame. Hearing the referees words, a smile appeared on Banners pale face. There was a ruminative shade in his eyes. "Dont worry, Mr. Referee. Hell agree." Ye Qingxuan was silent under everyones eyes. He was lost in thought, as if weighing his choices. But to everyone else, there was nothing to think about. Why would he bet on something that he would definitely lose? The failures of the history department against the expert fighters of the school council That was a joke! If they fought face to face, the history department would not even last three minutes. Of Banners nine-member team, there were two Musician level students of the four graduate students. Banner was also a well-known genius. There were three musicians in total. The other six were specifically chosen by the student council from each school, including the School of Royaltys cream of the crop. Play against them? It was impossible! It was already a miracle that the history department lasted until now. If they quit now, they could still squeeze into the top ten with their remaining points. This had been Ye Qingxuans goal this entire timeto break even and keep his accumulated points during this disadvantageous game without losing much. From that perspective, he had already succeeded and had no need to take the risk, but then he would put the pressure on the third round of "graduation product demonstration" and lose the initiative. One side was breaking even. The other side was hitting jackpot. Which one should he choose? "Ill do it," Ye Qingxuan suddenly raised his head and said, breaking the silence. The crowd booed and jeered. Well, why not? The one who had nothing feared nothing, was that not right? Ye Qingxuan smiled at Banner, who squeezed out a cold smile in reply. They seemed friendly. The referee looked at Ye Qingxuan as if he was a lunatic and revealed some pity. The teammates that should have had the biggest reaction were actually calm. As foreign aid, Bench Guy had no opinion. Bai Xi did not care at all, and Charleshe had not expected to graduate anyway. He was just here to have fun and it was more interesting this way. The remaining player was a dogand dogs did not care what stupid humans did. He was just responsible for protecting his three followers. "Hope you wont regret it," the referee murmured. Then he raised his voice and said, "Shake hands. One minute countdown!" He set the ball down and exited. Under everyones eyes, the two team leaders walked forward with smiles. They studied each other across the fields midline. They both seemed confident and polite, but no one knew what they were thinking inside. This was the first time they were so close. Ye Qingxuan finally realized that he had never even talked to this guy who had caused so much trouble for him. They had not even spoken to each other before and had become enemies. The world was so laughable. Ye Qingxuan broke the silence and asked with a smile, "I heard that you dont like me? Are you jealous?" Banner could not help but laugh. The joke was so funny. He shook his head slightly. "Youre more powerful than I imagined, but its in terms of luck. You shouldnt be so arrogant." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow. "But Im still the concertmaster." "Does that title give you the illusion of being better than us?" Banner sneered. "Its supposed to be mine, but you stole it while I was busy with Deva sensing. Now, this joke will end." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan shot back. "It must be difficult to be so confident, since youve never beat me before." Banner fell silent. His already-pale face turned even paler. It was white enough that it seemed to exude cold blood. As if he had been pierced by that sentence, his emerald eyes darkened. Even his voice grew hoarse. "It will happen today and I promise itll happen again in the future. Someday, youll get used to failure." "To be honest, Im already used to it." Ye Qingxuan reached out and grasped his hand with an enthusiastic smile. "Did you know? The day I came back to Avalon, I was already prepared to completely lose to someone one day. But unfortunately, that day is not today, and that someone is not you." Banners expression changed because Ye Qingxuans hand tightened like a vice and brought waves of pain. He did not even have time to become angry before he was thrown into shock. The scrawny youth closed in, but he changed suddenly. He was still smiling warmly, but there seemed to be a burning mine in his eyes. They were as aggressively bright as fire. "Shut up now," he murmured in Banners ear. "Lets start the game. I cant wait." In the youths shadow, Banner clenched his jaw. His pupils constricted into a small black dot, radiating with heart-chilling coldness. "Then, as you wish!" 210 Tragische Ouvertüre The game was about to begin. Soon the two lowered their hands and returned to their original positions with smiles. They rotated their wrists and knees as they began to warm up. "Banner, what happened?" Cullen could feel the faint coldness in Banners eyes when he returned and whispered, "What did he say?" "Just some ridiculous joke," Banner said slightly. "No need to care. Are you ready?" "Weve finished warmups." "Good." Banner lowered his head and chuckled softly. "Tell everyone to get ready. No matter whether its him, his friend, the little girl, or the dog ... I''m going to make them kneel outside and watch their own defeat!" He clenched his still painful fists, with his eyes full of rage. The residual pain in his palms seemed to penetrate into his bones, making him feel the long-gone humiliation. It felt like a flame burning his heart. He glanced across at the enemy. When he saw the last musician with his weird headgear, his expression became guarded. If there was anything in the music history department that deserved their caution, it would be this guy who did not show his face. From the beginning to now, the guy had not exposed himself to them. He hid his powers and dealt with matters easily, no matter what the situation was. An unknown enemy was the most worrisome. "Countdown begins now," the referee''s voice sounded. "Five, four, three, two...one!" In an instant, the whistle rang, and the game finally started. Everyone''s body tensed, but then Banner saw Ye Qingxuans suddenly spring forward and steal the ball! At the beginning, all the musicians prepared to play, in favor of defense, but this guy gave up his defense and took the initiative. Banner sneered. The musicians of the other departments might be intimidated by his trick, but the School of Summoning would not, let alone someone from the School of Royalty who studied both. He closed his eyes. In the darkness, a pair of beastly eyes seemed to light up. It was the phantom beast that grew in his brainthe manticore. "Marchosias!" he whispered its true name and suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils, quickly, elongating into the slender pupils of a beast. With the swing of his hand, the ring on his finger lit up. He pressed his palm down, and crisp piano sounds burst into the air. The piano was sharp and grand, like a lions roar. Five shadows sprang from his body. They were the projections of the demons in his mind. But then, a sharp sound burst from the arms of the young man opposite him. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei! Bang! Countless strings were played at staggered times, but the sounds overlapped, becoming sharp and harsh, and piercing ones eardrums! This was composite note playing, but at a more advanced level, because all the notes were played simultaneously. This was a complex technique that could only be done with multiple stringed instruments. The musician controlled the sound of all the strings according to the different order and level, and mixed the sounds into one chord with absolute control. The more strings, the harder the chord was. After Jiu Xiao Huan Pei absorbed the large amount of spirituality, Ye Qingxuan managed to achieve the level of six chords, which meant...Six notes were released in an instant. In a sudden, layers of mirrors proliferated behind the youth, forming a looming mirror matrix. Fierce light shone from it immediately after. In a sudden, it seemed that everything dimmed. Pure light rushed forward like a canon and everything seemed dim in contrast. The sharp light stung everyones eyes. The light came like a tidal wave, causing Banner to freeze. His mind became blank for a few seconds due to the intense stimulation. Just in an instant, the manticore, who was in the middle of projecting, screamed. The shadow trembled under the intense interference of the light. The strong light disappeared, but the world was still dark. The soccer ball was already under the youths foot. "Ye Qingxuan!" Banner roared while the beastly shadows around him paused. They screamed and the five shadows instantly turned into a consolidated blackness. The five dark shadows quivered and suddenly rushed toward Ye Qingxuans direction. Although they were the manticores projections, they were all different. Some were like giant scorpions, some like pythons; others were silhouettes of dragons, or had the posture of a lion, the determination of eagles...These were the five animal characteristics that the manticore contained. The five completely different kinds of beast fused together and formed the manticores strength. Now they split up and projected out, charging at the youth with five different forces. This was one of Banner''s special techniques. In the previous games, Banner used this trick to defeat the other teams offense right at the start. When he charged forward, his teammates also showed their abilities, pulling out instruments and alchemy equipment to play melodies surrounding the rest of Ye Qingxuans teammates. In an instant, the whole frontline pushed forward like a boulder rolling from the top of the mountain. The history departments situation became grave, but this was what most people had expected. With the music history department''s strength, it was taken for granted that they would be defeated at the opening. But this time they were destined to be shocked. As the five shadows attacked, Ye Qingxuan leisurely advanced with the ball, going straight toward the shadows. His fingers played in the air. The next moment, a dark melody was produced unexpectedly. Like sadness surging from the heart, it swept through the field, instantly chilling everyones hearts. The music sounded tortured and brought melancholy that was engraved in ones mind. The five shadows froze abruptly. In the sound of the music, the beastly spirits became sluggish under the influence of the aether... The stands were silent. Ludwig suddenly stood up with a startled expression. "Tragische Ouvertre?" he mumbled blankly. "What''s going on? How can that kid play the Tragische Ouvertre from the School of Summoning?" Silence overcame the professors seats. Most of the professors who had identified the song were astonished. At the very front, Ingmar of Revelations seemed to think of something, and his face grew serious. No way... - At the same time, a startled feeling overcame Banner. In the School of Summoning, Tragische Ouvertre was practically a compulsory course, but its extreme difficulty was also a big problem for graduate students. As an auxiliary music score, it could greatly enhance the phantom beasts nature so that it could transform and enter into an upper level. It also produced the same effect on enemies. But now, the effect had been reversed. It was degeneration...degenerating in sorrow! In that cold and sad melody, the five shadow beasts suddenly shook and involuntarily began to tremble. In the end, the shadows gradually blurred under the influence of the melody. The originally strong beastly nature was consumed bit by bit until it was eaten away and could not be maintained anymore. How could he...How was it possible? Banners face changed and he subconsciously swore. His eyes grew cold and he slammed his hands down. It was the same melody, the same Tragische Ouvertre, with the same sound. The two melodies overlapped each other, but Banner''s performance was more intense and sharp. "Marchosias!" he roared the phantom beasts true name in a low voice. The aetheric wave strongly fluctuated around him. In the midst of the wave, a fire was ignited. The illusory silver firelight tossed violently, and a large figure emerged from it. It was the demon named Marchosias, which was the most powerful phantom beast bred and fed by the Adrian family through the generationsthe manticore! The lion suddenly roared. Ye Qingxuas melodies in the roars path shook violently and then collapsed?! In both the East and West, lions had their own unique status. The monks said that a lions roars could silence all heretics. Then the manticore jumped out of the void. This time, Banner no longer used projection, but directly put the phantom beasts seed in the aether and gave it a physical shape. After centuries of inheritance, it seemed to have grown abnormally old, but there was still a fierce light in its eye was a fierce light. It was a burning fire. When it trampled on the field, the grass withered. When it breathed, a lions fierce roar echoed in the wind. This was the monster created by combining the generation power of the Adrian family and deep research of Summoning music theories. People familiar with it knew that it was created by the musician for their enemiesit was a musician killer! It was good at finding the living and it could disturb the enemys music. With sharp claws, it could easily tear shields. Its speed was swift as a shadow...It was best at jumping from the dark, tearing through shields, putting all strength into one blow, biting off the enemys throat and pulverizing his skull! The moment the old manticore landed, coldness flashed in its eyes. Suddenly it blurred and disappeared. Banner looked at the enemy and sneered. When the manticore appeared once again, it would be the moment the enemy was killed! But Ye Qingxuan was not panicking as he had expected. Instead, he seemed to be hesitating, but soon, his hands swung down again. This time, he performed a sharp sound. The disorderly music echoed around his body. It was like countless swords rubbing with each other, a wire being pulled by a winch, and nails scratching the blackboard. It made ones scalp prickle. There was no rule to it. It was neither a music score nor a melodyit was pure cacophony. The noise influenced the aether disorderly so that the aether zone in his perception fluctuated suddenly. Countless faint silver points of light collided with each other, producing crackling sound. No one could understand his performance. Was this guy going to blow himself up? But in the irregular melodies, the disappeared manticore vaguely revealed its figure. The illusory figure quietly moved forward. In the extremely chaotic noise interference, the aether changed without pattern and revealed the manticores trace. The youth raised his wrist and put two rings on the forefinger and middle finger of his left hand. He pointed the two fingers at the manticore. Then, the two separated fingers slowly closed like a pair of small scissors. 211 Dig a Ditch, Add Some Dir From how slowly the fingers closed, there seemed to be great repulsive force between the two. But the air solidified and thunder boomed out of nowhere, as if giant stones were rubbing against each other. Red and white light appeared. They were the red-hot flames and cold frost. They appeared out of thin air as the two fingers moved and converged as the fingers closed. Though they crashed against each other, they did not put each other out. Instead, they began rubbing even more intensely, creating explosive sounds. In the stands, even the teachers could only gasp in awe. This technique of polarization from the School of Modifications was flawless! The aether had been manipulated hurriedly and was not very powerful, but the hidden manticore retreated quickly. It escaped the moment the ice and fire exploded. Banners expression changed. How did this b*stard know the manticores weakness? When it suddenly dawned on him, he ground his teeth. It was the library! That guy was the manager of the library. As long as he had Dominics permission, he could read about every musician school within AngloF*ckwhy did it have to be him?! The manticore became invisible by diluting itself and becoming a cloud of aether atoms, then melt into the environment like a chameleon. Because its body was so ghostly, no biological attacks could touch it. But if the environment changed too quickly, it would be unable to change with it and thus reveal its shape. Furthermore, that white-haired b*stard had produced an alchemist armor from the School of Modifications! Any Modifications music score posed the greatest threat to an invisible manticore. It was most wary of things as extreme as polarization. Once the extreme cold and heat exploded, it could cause the atomized manticore to lose part of its body. At that time, Banner would lose his opportunity and must put in great effort to project it back out. He might even face the manticores resistance! This was the biggest concern for musicians of the School of Summoning. Their phantom beasts were usually more powerful than they were. Controlling this overly-powerful strength and ensuring it would not go out of control and hurt the musician was already difficult, not to mention the backlash that would follow. When Banner first inherited the beastliness, he had practically turned into a zombie trying to stop his brain from creating more creatures. Thankfully, all effort was worth it. He had already seeped through the manticores surface awareness and branded it with his badge. The once-uncontrollable lion was now like his right hand. The manticore only retreated temporarily. Soon, it charged forward again! Attacking while invisible was only one of the ways for the manticore to huntif it really wanted to kill, it would use its teeth and claws! And the School of Royalty was best atdouble majoring! Its unique rituals and techniques allowed the phantom beast to be modified and store music scores within. To the musicians who had become the descendant of the phoenix, their phantom beasts were their instruments! The giant phantom beastas tall as a mansuddenly pounced, its body going up in flames. As it roared, lava flowed out of thin air like a waterfall. Covering its body, the lava transformed into a scalding dark red armor. The wild heat spread. "Go die!" But in that instant, Banner saw Ye Qingxuan smile. The mocking smile gave him a bad feeling. The next moment, a whistle rang out. "Goal for the history department!" the referee announced. Banner froze instantly. Goal?! How was that possible?! The ball waswas right under Ye Qingxuans feetBut then the ball under his feet trembled, blurred and finally turned into a round stone. It was fake Banner roared and looked back at his goal. And saw that the goalie was hanging on the post and a little girl stood before the goal, panting for breath. The white-haired girl was covered with sweat and breathed heavily, but one could not tell what had just happened. She seemed to have teleported there. It did not make any sense! Everything had been flawlessly arranged in the game plan. Banner would deal with Ye Qingxuan. As for the rest, Cullen would take the two strongest musicians to attack the mysterious guy with the headgear; two would focus on the difficult Charles; he had even arranged for someone to block the dogbut he had overlooked the girl. He had arranged for some to keep an eye on changes, but no one had expected that this young little girl with a ponytail would suddenly transform into a beast. "Pomp and Circumstance," the principal sighed in the stands, shaking his head slightly. It was either a lament or praise. "As expected of that guys student. As expected of Pomp and Circumstance." When everyones attention had been on Ye Qingxuan and Banner, Bai Xi had sucked in a breath. And then the players before her saw that the girls eyes shone like the sun! The talent of the Dragon Bloodline, Zhaodang, had awoken. A grand symphony had followed immediately after. The seal had been broken easily. Even though it was just the overture, even though it was just a few secondsThe girl had transformed into a saint crowned by the gods and advanced fearlessly with the holy power. She ran with the soccer ball, fast as lightning. And when she had reached the goal, she kicked. The soccer ball had crashed into the goalie. Before he could react, he had been flipped over and hung onto the post. The electrified ball flew into the goal and practically broke through the net. That was when the ground-shattering resonance finally spread like thunder. Everyone was stunned. - For the past few days, everyone had dug for information on the history department. This included the Eastern youth who had been in the limelight and offended countless people at the beginning of the year; Charles, who had been seen as a genius and then a failure; the evil dog that should not be crossed; and Bai Xi, who never went to class. But no one had expected that the bad student who just ditched class to walk the dog was actually a Modifications musician! And she was such an expert that she could perform a heavyweight score like Pomp and Circumstance! Everyones jaws dropped and their eyes fell out of their sockets. In the stands, all professors glanced subconsciously at their similarly stunned colleague. "Egor?" "You taught her Pomp and Circumstance?" "When did you" "That girl is your student?" Faced with all the eyes and questions, Egor felt that his head was going to explode. "I didnt teach her!" "Ha." "Really?" "Lying straight through your teeth is unnecessary." It was obvious that no one believed him. Who else could teach Pomp and Circumstance in this academy, other than Egor from the School of Modifications? "Shut up!" Egor was close to spitting out blood and had the urge to flip his seat over. "There are branches in Modifications too! That girl clearly played something closer to Classicism! It features God-given strength and becoming the physical embodiment of a saint! "I inherited the school from Saint Liszt, which focuses on elemental change and transformation. Theres nothing given by God! Even if I play Pomp and Circumstance, it will only feature the changes of the four elements and a thunderstorm. How can I teach a student Classicism?" Seeing Egors worked up expression, all the professors became more confused. Then who taught the girl? Abraham? No way, that guy had come from the School of Abstinence, which naturally stood against all other schools. Even for the School of Summoning, he had just dabbled in it and did not count as an actual musician. It was hard to teach studentsnot to mention such a core music score from Modifications. "Stop arguing." At the front, the principal sighed. "I know her teacher. He isnt from the Academy, but his status is sensitive, so just stop asking." Hearing this, everyone shut their mouths, but they could not help but let their imagination run wild. There were crazy guessesmaybe she was the bastard child of some important guy, or the student of a grand master, or the seed of the School of RoyaltyIn the end, everyones gazes landed on Abrahams empty seat and grew strange. What exactly was this old guys background? - It was silent as death on the field as well. Banner held down the furious manticore and glared at Ye Qingxuan. "When?" "Huh?" The youths voice was hoarse and strange, as if he did not understand. Banner stepped forward. His eyes were filled with anger. "When did you switch the soccer ball?!" And so Ye Qingxuan laughed. When? It was from the start The ball had been kicked to Bai Xi when the beam of light flashed past. Then, the prepared Bai Xi dug a hole and buried the ballYes, she buried it right under her feet. When everyones attention was on Ye Qingxuan, Bai Xi began to act according to plan.And so, she scored a goal logically and naturally. One point. It was so simple and so extremely easy, but no one else knew how to react. "One thousand points." Across from Banner, the white-haired youth opened his mouth without a word, but revealed almost tangible mockery. Silent, Banner stared at his face and his own grew white as a sheet. He was just like a transparent wraith. Angry fire continued to smolder in his beastly vertical eyes. The fury was sealed under his pale face and the fire hurt his brain. That d*mn *sshole, that d*mn *sshole, that d*mn *sshole! That white-haired b*stard, lowly redneck, beggar in the palace*sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole *sshole He covered his face, pushing down the wild beastly nature within. Once he could not retain complete sanity, he would easily be controlled by his beastly nature. The chaos was not completely bad though. It would at least make him wilder and morepowerful! "Go into coherence with me." Banner revealed an emerald eye between his fingers. His voice behind his hands was hoarse and unclear. "Haydns Symphony No. 8Night!" His voice was like a choking beast. 212 Small Episode 1 "Haydns Symphony No. 8Night!" Hearing Banners voice, Cullen froze. All the players looked over. Cullen hesitated but he gritted his teeth and waved his hand. Do as he says! The teammates were stunned, but they quickly followed the order. Instantly, melodies of the same frequency sounded from their hands. Their well-adjusted and arranged instruments played at the same tempo. The aether between them worked in concert, connecting into a whole. The lack of a conductor resulted in some flaws, but they remained steady at the same frequency. Every players breathing quickened, and perspiration beaded on their foreheads. The pressure arrived. The manticore roared and stood before Ye Qingxuans team, blocking their disruption. Banners hand slowly left his face and pressed down in front. A gleam of light shot out from his ring and a gentle sound spread from it. But suddenly, a sharp cacophonous melody rose out of the stillness. Instantly, all instruments resonated with it and created a mighty sonority. As if nine ripples formed in the water at the same time, they overlapped, combined, and created turbulent waves. Light dimmed in the snap of a finger as the melody spread out on the field. The sun seemed to disappear quickly.Darkness followed immediately. Immense aether was summoned and assimilated into the darkness. It transformed into a curtain, blocking out all light. "Hey, hey, how angry are they" Charles wisely picked Bai Xi and Old Phil up, and hid behind Bench Guy. "Yezi, you taunted them too much." At the front, Ye Qingxuan heard but did not listen. Now, the entire field was pitch black. One could not see their hands before themselves. Only the mighty resonance and melody echoed. As the melody advanced, stars lit up in the sky. There was moonlight. The stars were too far away and were blurry, as if there was frosted glass before them. Unable to resonate with the world, they were unable to borrow power from the outside world and create a real starry sky. But this darkness was already terrifying enough because the dark night had come. The first movement of Symphony No. 8! This was composed by the late Saint Haydn and was known as "Night." Its strength represented the arrival of beastly nature and night. If mankind lived under the sun, then the deep night was the beasts territory. If Banner was strong enough to achieve Deva sensing and call forth a moon, then just the side effects of the wave of beasts in the darkness now would be enough to destroy the history department. But in the darkness, the manticore at the midline suddenly trembled and howled, either in pain or happiness. There was the crisp sound of bone growing and skin cracking in the darkness. The manticores body shook violently, but it grew bigger and bigger. Its beastly nature increased in the darkness. The seed of wildness hidden in its aetheric body grew, sprouted, and developed toward its final shape. A fist-sized hole suddenly appeared where its spine was, like a whales blowhole. Then came a second hole, a third, a fourth The moment its transformation was complete, blazing flames shot out from the holes. It was like the air had been distorted by the wild heat, or like blurry yet strange wings. The manticore had expanded multiple times its size. All critical body parts were covered with scales and dark green liquid seeped from the stinger on its tail It was known as the evil b*stard beast in its final stage. It was the king of demons with a body covered in scales, six pairs of fiery wings sprouting from its back, the ability to spit fire like a dragon, but with the majestic presence of a lion. But now, it was only in its beginning stage. It was not the only one. On the field, the other phantom beasts transformed quickly as well. They rose to a another stage instantly. Menacing and terrifying, they radiated with the odor of rusting metal. The grass in the path of the pungent smell wilted, eroded by the almost demonic breath. In the dark night, the five phantom beasts excitedly clawed at the dirt. They threw their heads back and howled like wild animals. The howls were filled with craze and hunger. It made ones pallor lose its color. Actually, the freshmen in the stands did not understand why their professors constantly reminded them to stay friendly with the School of Summoning until Banner played Symphony No. 8. These people who controlled beasts could transform into things more terrifying than beasts at any given moment. In the stands, Ingmarwho had always disliked Ye Qingxuans teamwas not the slightest bit gleeful seeing that they were about to be destroyed. He just pursed his lips, furrowed his brows, and stayed silent. "It looks a little out of control." The principal furrowed his brows in slight concern. Sydney froze and coughed. "Yes, the psychological coaching for Summoning musicians must be increased" "Is that my fault?" Ludwig curled his lips. "Banner is from the School of Royalty, alright?" He meant, "The School of Summoning was not taking responsibility for this!" "Should we stop the game?" someone asked. After a long pause, the principal shook his head. "Let it continue. I believe this is only a small episode." It definitely was just a small episode to the principal. The problem waswhose episode was it? - "Ye Qingxuan!" On the field, Banner ground his teeth and chewed on this name. His right eye glimmered with light as he stared at the white-haired guy who still was not retreating. He was still standing before Banner, unmoving. "Seems that you want to die!" The white-haired youths body stiffened. He shrugged and seemed to laugh bitterly. His voice was unclear and hoarse. He looked like a patient older brother who had been dragged out to play by little kids and embraced it with open arms. "What are you waiting for? Come on, Ill play with you," he seemed to say. The proud posture entered Banners eyes, and even his fingers trembled in anger. He clenched his jaw and something cracked, as if he had ground something to pieces. Two of the most hateful figures seemed to have overlapped and he just wanted to rip them apart! "Its going to suck for the Eastern kid." In the stands, Ludwig chuckled. "Is this a talent? Infuriating a musician from the School of Royalty to his breaking point without even a wordThis is so interestingAn enemy with weakened sanity and increased fatality. Is he wishing for death?" What Ludwig had said was true. Banner had fell into blind rage. He opened his mouth and howled. The face of the old manticore changed suddenly as Banners rage appeared on it. In that wild howling, Ye Qingxuan said something. His voice was distorted by the howls, but one could vaguely hear that he was telling Banner to calm down. The gentle words were now the stalk of hay that broke the donkeys back. The angry fire exploded. The manticore howled and roared; its voice was like a command, forcing the phantom beasts in its vicinity to listen. They immediately charged toward the lone youth. Everyone held their breaths. In the next moment, the youth would be swallowed by the phantom beasts. But some saw him shake his head helplessly and pull something out of his pocket. It was a small aluminum bag. Boom! The bag burned in his hands, swelled and exploded. The dark gray powder within melted into the flames and was ignited instantly, thanks to the combustion agent. Not even ashes remained. A spray of thick white fog poured out of the youths folded hands like a waterfall. The thick smoke danced in the air and flowed to his feet before spreading out. It quickly thinned, spread, and rose. In the end, his entire figure was shrouded in the indistinct fog. No one knew when the youth suddenly put on gloves, but the steel gloves looked like a knights armor and covered his arms up to his elbows. When he clenched his fists, sparks flew as his fingers rubbed against each other. The fog surged and the fastest phantom beast rushed into it. Boom! The well-prepared youth took a step back and raised his arm. The metal scales of the ice snake scraped past his arm, creating a dazzling spark. Then the youth reached out and grasped the snake. All Summoning students gasped. The scales of a steel ice snake were sharp as knives. Touching it would anger it and force it into killer mode. Even an iron block would be turned into a distorted piece of metal from the thrashing of thousands of knives, let alone an arm that was merely protected by armor. But then everyone blanched. For some reason, the snake suddenly froze. The hand gripped the fatal spot of the ice snake. A chain of booms followed, resonating from the five fingers. It was the electric light contained at the palm. The thunder resounded, completely damaging the armor, but also scattering the snakes scales. Even the snakes bones moved, making it unable to fight back. This was a textbook example of beast training! The ice snake weakened instantly and was tossed out of the youths hand like a whip. After whistling through the air, it wrapped around the incoming shadow leopard. "No!" One could faintly hear shocked cries in the distance but the youth did not stop. He moved abruptly and stepped on the ice snakes tail. Boom! The sharp noise of steel plates scraping together sounded. The ice snakes scales bristled instinctively, shooting out like blades. As the youth pulled, the snake whip with blades constricted. The shadow leopard howled and blood spewed out. For some reason, it collapsed onto the ground without another sound. It did not even fight back? It was like a fraud product! Two phantom beasts were defeated by him instantly as if they were domesticated animals waiting to be slaughtered. The youth waved his hands and his rings glimmered. Fire shot out as the melody played. It was a formula from the School of Modificationsthe Fire of Soul Burial. It was a flame that erupted and extinguished in an instant, but the heat was strong enough to destroy an enemys body, as well as his soul. Above the youths head, the fog demon that had appeared soundlessly now shook. When hit by the firelight, it shrieked and trembled. Half of its body had evaporated. It shot back with a scream and paced in panic. The youths body appeared and disappeared in the heavy smoke. The onlookers in the distance could not see what was happening at all. There was only smoke. 213 Small Episode 2 Smoke permeated the heavy darkness and no one knew what had really happened. They could only feel that all attacks were pointless. In the end, even the phantom beasts seemed to have become lost and could not find Ye Qingxuan. In the vicinity of Symphony No. 8, smoke continued to spread and covered the entire place. The manticore paced outside the smoke. Sometimes, it would pounce, but it never succeeded. The enemy was like a slippery fish. It would always miss or brush shoulders with him. It seemed that failure was only a matter of time, but he stood at the edge of danger without falling. It looked as if he was trying to ensue a time out, but it was taking too long. Slowly, the spectators grew numb. They no longer had any worries; instead they began animatedly discussing how long the Eastern guy could last. But to Banner, this situation was horrible. Now, no matter what music score he used or how he controlled the manticore, it was all ineffective. On one hand, the beastly side had been awoken. After the beast lost its masters control, its reaction speed was affected. But on the other hand, it was because the enemy was truly too tricky. And this guywhen did he become a Modifications musician?! He had not used a complete music score, but his wrist and technique, as well as the smooth and casual posture, were all so fierce and awe-inspiring. Banner no longer had any thoughts of immediate victory. He had sunk into this unexpected stalemate and his fighting grew more panicked. And the opponent seemed to know his moves like the back of his hand. Banners well-planned actions were easily countered, as if Ye Qingxuan wasplaying with a kid! "How much longer are you going to hide for?!" Banner growled. "Get the f*ck out!" The music score in the alchemy equipment around his neck was activated. It created a gale, blowing the heavy smoke apart. As the smoke spread, the world grew dark again, making one feel the urge to sleep. What the hell was this? In the stands, Ludwig waved his hand and grasped a wisp of smoke. It floated past his nose. It smelled pungent, with a tinge of hidden Soma wine, which was exactly what he had predicted. "He purposely made Banner lose his reasoning." Ludwig sighed. "This is the Incense of the Lost." Volatile substances, combustion agent, borneol, bovine marrow, incense, Suma wine, white orange wood, green saltSummoning musicians had found inspiration in Indian spices and created this formula after decades of experimentation. It was the best narcotic and hallucinogen to beasts. It was like opium for humans. It would make the crazed beast become confused with slow reaction speeds. Its abilities would weaken and sink into extreme fatigue. Just like how a cat would become excited with catnip, a snake would become drunk with dogwoodthis was the beasts nature. When a phantom beast lost its musicians total control, and its beastly nature gained the upper hand, it meant that it would be controlled by its nature. If it was unable to receive its owners clear orders, it would become drunk. It would be a miracle if the beast did not get into the way, let alone cooperate with the musician. Furthermore "This is your fatal weakness, Banner." Ye Qingxuans voice floated over in the darkness. "Indeed, youve become an official musician, but whats the difference between an official musician that only has strength and an upgraded student?" Yes, this was Banners fatal weakness. It was just how Ye Qingxuan had practically no experience in face-to-face combat. No amount of sublimation rituals, heart mark inheritance and Deva sensing could make up for Banners lack. He had no experience in using his power. Personal experience could never be replaced by coaching, learning, and reading. It was something that came from failures and defeat. Those that had never lost before would not know what was the most important in battle. Furthermore, something as large as the manticore was too much for Banner. Indeed, it was the phantom beast passed down through generations of the Adrian family. It was also very powerful, but it was too powerful. In fact, even an official musician would have difficulty controlling it. For a musician with barely any experience, this situation was like a child playing pretend. The Adrian family was too impatient and gave it to Banner too early. This strong power was enough to be a terror in the schoolyard, but was not much for his enemies, especially when he faced someone who made a name for himself in downtown by using sneaky attacks like Ye Qingxuan. Hearing Ye Qingxuans voice, Banner felt silent. A spider web of purple veins bulged across his pale face. The melody halted before it began abruptly once again. It was the same symphony piece, but the melody was completely different from before. It was much grander, with brewing wildness. It had jumped directly from the first movement to the fourth?! "Banner! Dont force yourself" Cullen gasped. "Fully playing the symphony is out of your control." "Shut up!" Banners voice was like grating metal. "I want to crush them. I must" Under the coherence, the melody grew in intensity! A storm wind swept through as the melody surged once again. Another layer of dark clouds appeared in the black sky above the field. The layers of clouds were like frozen ice cubes with a charcoal gray color. But lightning flashed through the layer of black clouds. The faint electricity illuminated the giant figure hidden within. The gradually condensing and swimming shadow was like a humongous sea creature hidden in the deep sea. It appeared slowly out of the darkness, spread its wings and roared! It was a dragons roar. The fourth movement of Symphony No. 8 was referred to as a thunderstorm by the composer. It originated from the legend of the Dragon of Disaster. The giant dragon rode in the sky, spread its wings and brought about darkness. When it flapped its wings, it would bring a destructive thunderstorm. Calling forth the dragons shadow was the fourth movements power. The dragons roar was like thunder, making his own teammates pale. Even if they put their strength together, it would still be difficult to disrupt the sea of aether. Only resonating with the world could create that influence. Even if they could only resonate with the sea of aether, this was still a Resonance level music score! Banners joints cracked under the pressure of the aethers reactionary force, but rather than stopping him, it drove him even wilder. An average musician would probably have broken down or gone unconscious under this huge pressure, but Banner was still fine. The manticore roared beside him. Its body became a bit smaller as it took some of the backlash from Banner. The biggest advantage of the School of Summoning was not their human wave attack or their strange phantom beasts. Their most basic strength was in their extraordinary resilience against pressure. Unlike musicians from other schools who fought alone, they were able to share their psychological stress with the demons in their minds. When they reached the Scepter level, they could even have the phantom beast take fatal injuries for them. It was as if they had multiple lives. In the East, these musicians were given names such as "the cat with nine lives," Nekomata, and "seven-headed snake." But their enemies probably would not be so lucky. Seeing that Banner was about to reach the climax without any care, Cullen thought of the consequences and gasped, "Banner, what are you doing?" "Shut up! I dont need you!" Banner spun around and glared at Cullen. His eyes were the same sharp emerald as the manticores eyes. He had been eroded by the beastly nature. The realization dawned on Cullen, but it was already too late. He no longer had the strength to speak. All of his energy was put into fighting against the melodys pressure. As strength brewed in the clouds, the shadow of the dragon grew more consolidated and the pressure on the players grew as well. Everyone trembled and forced themselves to endure the sharp headache. They used all their energy to maintain the melody. If they succeeded, they would only become sick. But if they stopped the coherence right now, the backlash of the music theory was enough to shatter their perception. The lightest consequence would be getting sent to the emergency room of the Whitechapel Hospital! As the pressure grew, some were already at the brink of collapse, but suddenly, a new melody joined this chaotic music score. It entered the coherence like a savior at the most critical moment. The arrival of this new force lightened everyones load. They let out a breath of relief, but they did not know who had helped them. The melody fit perfectly with their frequency and reacted to their sudden changes, melding into the resonance. It took away most of the pressure and even then, the person did not seem to be losing control. The coherence technique was quiet and stable, and the melody flowed like water without a bit of hardness. It was flawless! Overjoyed, Cullen looked over with his perception. He had never realized that there was such a genius on his team. This skill was something that others could only dream of. The man had saved the entire situation at the most critical moment. He had practically held up the sky and parted the sea! But when Cullen found the source of the coherence, he was completely flabbergasted. Wait, wait a minutewhat was this? Was it a hallucination? Had he suddenly teleported to some weird parallel universe? Was the history department fighting within themselves? The one who completed the music score at the most critical point and relieved everyones stress, pushing the history department to the point of no returnWas Charles? 214 Small Episode 3 It was like the whole world was going wrong. Cullen blacked out and his ears rang. He was completely clueless as to what was happening. Why did Charles join in their coherence and work so hard to help them play the music, share the pressure, and help Banner to complete the movement? Was it because of his long-time hatred for Ye Qingxuan that he took this opportunity to kill Ye Qingxuan? Or did he want to betray his friends so that he could join in the student council? Or was he going to do something bad? No, that was not right. The main control of the coherence was in the hands of Banner. Charles could only help after joining in. If he wanted to spoil it, he would be the one to take the pressure when the music theoretic balance was destroyed and be the first to die. So why did he do this? Cullens face paled instantly and every cell of his body was screaming, "Somethings fishy! Fishy! Fishy! Fishy!" There must be something wrong here! They must have some kind of trick! But what was it? He wanted to call off Banner, but Banner was already immersed in the immense power, calling the shadow in the clouds, and had fallen into madness. In any case, the fourth movement was nearly complete! The shadow of the giant dragon would be summoned to completely destroy the Eastern kid. Whatever Charles had intended to do, it was too late. In the next moment, in the heavy darkness of the night, a rainstorm fell from the sky. Everything lost its color under the roaring thunder. Mighty was the natures power. Even people outside were shaken to numbness and were immobilized. They were frightened by the terrible pressure in the clouds. The clouds broke apart, from which the embryo of destruction was finally born. Banner laughed because in the next moment, the dragon would descend from the sky and destroy everything. "I havent seen such a crazy student in decades." "Hes only eighteen years old but he dared to challenge the Resonance level and is even able to resonate weakly with the aether sea ..." "Is this a skill of the School of Royalty? Its really impressive." "Although this is too bold, but his talent should not be denied." On the stands, the professors exchanged views with each other and looked to Ye Qingxuan with some compassion. Perhaps this talented youth who recently became infamous would become Banners stepping stone on the path to success? Startled shouts also came from the spectators. Many graduates were pale with the horror of the horrible astronomical phenomenon. They were full of astonishment, fear, confusion, and exclamation. Was this the difference between geniuses and mortals? It was like they finally realized how shallow their abilities were. After such a long time, they had barely touched the edge of Deva sensing. How old was he? How was he able to reach the Resonance level? Under all the troubled eyes, the clouds, dark as iron, cracked apart. A pair of ice-blue eyes opened within. They lit up with the majesty from the top of the food chain. The eyes were cold, serious, dignified, and high and mighty. It was the emperor sitting on his throne. Everything was only dust before it; all living things were his slaves. Under the call of the music, the hideous shadow rose from the throne made by those iron clouds. Then it descended from the sky and uttered a thunderous roar, "Meow!" At this moment, whether it was on the field or outside the city, the bleachers or the auditorium, the locker room or even the entire Royal Academy of Music, it was all thrown into silence. There was a deadly awkward silence. Everyone stared blankly at each other and could not believe what they had seen. Only at the very edge of the field, Old Phil suddenly raised its head, opened its mouth excitedly and began barking. "Is it the effect of the fourth movement from Symphony No. 8?" The bleachers were still silent as Egor asked weakly, "Or am I seeing incorrectly? Why do I see a...a..." "Cat," Ludwig replied blankly. "Yes, it''s a cat." At this moment, everyone felt the limitations of their brain and suddenly felt that their IQ was too low. What the h*ll was going on? There was such a big buildup, such strong aetheric fluctuations, such an awesome prestige and majestic momentum...but all that was summoned was a f*cking cat! Next, was the most embarrassing, most difficult and darkest minute since the establishment of the Royal Academy of Music. Countless people began suspecting their own eyes and sanity, asking themselves if they smoked too much mandala last night. How could they have such an illusion? A cat? Why was it a cat The gray cat had four pure white paws and a strand of white at the tip of its tail. It walked back and forth in the arena. Banner''s face was pale as he watched the cat rubbing around himself sweetly. The cats face revealed a fawning expression. The expression was even more exaggerated than that of a human. It was b*tchy, just like the b*stard standing in the corner of the field, almost passing out from laughter! "Hahahaha ..." Charles was now rolling on the floor laughing, and had almost lost his breath. He pounded the ground with indescribable joy in his heart. After so many years of disappointment, he finally let others experience how he had felt before. This world was like this. After one suffered, watching others suffer again was a great enjoyment. Especially for Charles, who was a b*stard that was best at feeding others sh*t, seeing this scene made him cry tears of joy. As Banners face twisted, Charless laughter gradually spread like an infection until, in the end, everyone in the stands laughed involuntarily. Both on and off-field were suffused with this light atmosphere. To quote Charless dream talk about computer games, all the laughter lacked was someone saying "good game!" But this was not the end. Three kittens fell down one by one, in the dark clouds which had not dissipated yet. After landing, they started torturing Banners teammates like a windstorm. Then came a strange pile of pots and pans, chairs, tables, grilled chicken with cheese and turkey. Finally, a cute yellow mouse fell from the black cloud. Then the war started... As the autumn wind blew the fallen leaves, the yellow mouse and the gray cats began to fight, ignoring everyone else. Armed with various weapons, they frantically beat each other amongst the fossilized players. They looked so lovely and cute, but each was more brutal and bloody than the last. They fought with such intensity that children would cry in fear if they saw. During the fight, the gray cat kicked the soccer ball that was in its way, and then grabbed a chopper and iron bar to chase the yellow mouse. The ball that was kicked cut a sad arc in the air. It passed over the blank goalie, and finally fell into the net. The whistle sounded. The music history department got one more point... Cullens heart almost broke at the whistle. Two lines of tears rolled down silently and he practically broke down sobbing. Gavin gave his younger brother to him, so Cullen put so many of his best men into this team to help Banner regardless of the cost. But what was the result? They were beaten like dogs by amateurs of the music history department. From beginning to end, Banner had not adopted any of his suggestions but held his own stubborn thoughts, aiming all hatred to that Eastern kid. He fought in full force early at the opening, and just now, he even directly absorbed the other''s power. This extravagant tactic was like the legend where a man used one-thousand green gold coins to kill a tiger. It was forthright and strong, but he had completely hurt himself and it was unnecessary. Moreover, the music history department had a set of strange skills. Ye Qingxuan, especially, was still mysterious. Was this guy trying to imitate the wolf disguised as the sheep? But it did not look like that! Cullen still could not figure it out. Even with his years of experience, and was sly as a fox, he still had no idea what Ye Qingxuan was intending to do. He could not help but be so depressed he almost spat out blood. Actually, according to the current situation, there was a more straightforward wayfor example, they could bypass Ye Qingxuan directly to defeat the rest one by one, but Banner would never admit that he could not handle Ye Qingxuan. Even if Banner tried to be like Gavin and pretended not to care about school matters, he still could not copy his elder brother''s essence. Instead, he was so easily provoked by Ye Qingxuans joking words before the game. Cullen sighed. He suddenly looked up and shouted, "Referee, request for a timeout!" - The request was accepted and the spectators booed. Banner''s face turned white and green. He looked at the others like a beast looking at its prey. His teammates were too afraid to look him in the eye, but Cullen stood still before him. "Why stop?" Banner asked hoarsely. "I just need a bit longer because I" "Before you lose miserably," Cullen interrupted him with a solemn look. "Banner, don''t be childish. You were played in his hands from the beginning. Dont you remember how Modifications died in the first round?" "That''s because they''re too weak!" Cullen frowned. "But you might not be strong either." "You ..." Banner fell into rage. He did not understand how the submissive guy who had always obeyed him suddenly become so brave. He wanted to yell but turned speechless in front of Cullen''s eyes. In the awkward stillness, Cullen lowered his voice and looked at him. "You are the leader, but don''t drag the others down because of personal reasons. Gavin didnt tell us to help you embarrass the whole student council!" Hearing his voice, Banner face turned white with splotches of lividness. Fury built up in his features, but when he looked at the players, he was forced to restrain his anger. Those players had no objection to Cullen''s decision. In other words, they were practically cheering. One must know that although the leader was Banner, all the players were the backbone of the student council. In their eyes, when Gavin was absent, the real leader was Cullen. Banner was after Cullen...If not for Gavin''s orders, these guys probably would not even respond to him. Having thought it through, Banner forced his anger back, chewed his thin lip, and lowered his eyes. "Iunderstand." "Good. It''s not too late to fix things." Cullen patted him on the shoulder with a sincere expression. "Don''t be upset. Gavin is my good friend so Ill definitely help his brother. Don''t worry, this time well win beautifully!" He cheered up and led his teammates to form a circle. He quietly cheered the frustrated students on. He might not have had Gavins extraordinary influence, but Cullen''s speech undoubtedly lifted the teams spirits. "The next tactic is to secure the offense. Ignore the interference of the music history department and absolutely do not get affected by them. The best way is to turn a blind eye. Never get caught up in their rhythm, okay?" Cullen looked solemn. "...This time, at the opening, well bypass Ye Qingxuan and go straight to the goal. The white-haired girl is exhausted and theres no need to worry about Charles. The remaining players pay attention to the guy with the headpiece Follow our original plan and turn the tides in the second half! Are you confident?" "Yes!" The players roared and their muscles bulged. They were energized with their morale lifted. Cullen smiled and patted Banner heartily on his shoulder. "This time, Banner, youre still main offense. As long as you do follow the strategy, the victory will be ours!" Banner''s shoulders trembled. He lowered his head and said, "I know." In a place where no one could see, his eyes darkened. That green in his eyes was like frozen ice, hiding the deep abyss underneath. The manticore beside him felt his inner chaos. It turned its head and looked at him in bewilderment. He smiled. "Don''t worry about me." He stroked the manticores hair and thought, "Its just there are some facts that they can''t understand" His fingers were cut by the scales among the hairs, but he did not feel it. He just silently recalled that white-haired youth''s face and chanted in his mind, "No one can look at me like that, no one." 215 Big News "F*ck, Yezi, I think this is going to be bad." Faced with the opponents that were getting ready again on the field, Charles was a bit panicked. He said quietly, "They probably have another lowly and evil trick! You have to be careful." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "You think they can be lowlier and more evil than us?" "Oh, that makes sense!" "" Ye Qingxuan did not want to bother with him anymore. He glanced at Bench Guy, who sneakily made a hand gesture to show that he was ready. On the other side, Cullen was stunned. The history departments formation had changed. This time, the guy with the headgear had run to the front. Ye Qingxuan played center and they gathered their strength in the back for defense. Cullen sank into deep thought. He actually did not care about Charles, Bai Xi, and Old Phil. Charles had his own limits, Bai Xi was already exhausted and sitting beside the goal, and Old PhilEven the most powerful dog was still a dog and was nothing. Ye Qingxuan had many tricks up his sleeves and was both evil and lowly. But if Cullen fought fairly against him, he would win naturally. Ye Qingxuan was just a bit annoyinghe could not make up for the difference in skill, unless he pulled out a magical weapon now and turned the tide. But if he really did have a magical weapon, he could even fight all the way to the palaceif he had this power, why was he still playing soccer? Therefore, the only trouble that remained was this headgear guy who had never revealed any clues or weaknesses. The man who Ye Qingxuan called "Bench Guy," had not shown his face even once. They could not even tell which school he was from. A mystery, a mystery. Even Cullen, who had been the secretary of the student council for so many years and had seen many geniuses, had a thorny feeling when facing this guy. "Be careful of this guy later." He glared at the headgear guy and pulled out his instrument, playing a faint melody when he movedit was a rarely seen organ. Specifically created for musicians, this organ had forgone most of the pieces. After the makeover, it turned into geometric crystals that hovered around him. The silver crystals reflected weak light and manipulated the air pressure. Vibrating the springs of the instrument, it created a light and ethereal sound. It sounded as if a young boy was singing gently of Gods glory. After the spirit of the music score was awoken, it let out the echo of a hymn on its own accord. As the song spread, rays of light fell on the spectators. Their spirits instantly began recovering. There seemed to be incense burning in the air, bringing with it an ineffably mysterious and distant smell. It made one feel as if he was in a temple. In the Academy, Cullen was one of the few who chose to study the School of Choir. His family had close connections with the Westminster Chapel. He had been a choir apprentice as a child and learned about temperament and music theory from the hymn singers. Thus, he learned the most classic mass from the School of Choir. The serial code of this mass was Op. 35. Its name was nothing special and had no holy characteristics. It was very easy too, but became widespread due to its ability to help others recover their spirits. Used here, it was perfect. It energized everyone, helping them quickly recover from fatigue. His teammates cracked their knuckles and stared at the history department across the midline. Anyone could see that these guys had finally stopped underestimating their opponents strategy and had grown serious. "This is going to be interesting." In the stands, the principal whistled. No one knew why he was excited. In stark contrast to him was Ingmar, in the faculty seats. His face had been gloomy this entire time. He said nothing and just stared at the players on the field. The only thing in his eye was the reflection of the student with the headgear. He murmured something quietly. "Start!" The referee blew the whistle, creating a sharp sound. As if they had prepared beforehand, Bench Guy instantly stepped back. Walls and shields shot up in front of him. Colored lights followed immediately, shooting across the air. The shields broke continuously in the resonance. It was the instantaneous attack made by the student council. It was so aggressive and explosively fast that everyone was astonished. Just behind the midline, Bench Guy had no time to steal the ball. The shields around him rose and crumbled continuously, suppressed immediately. He could only defend passively. The suddenly activated attack caught Bench Guy by surprise too. It was difficult to handle at the moment. But in the midfield, Ye Qingxuan just stood in his spot. He gazed at Bench Guy, who had been surrounded, and muttered something. He waved his hand and light fell down into the dirt under his feet, forming a shapeless bump. Instantly, hundreds of light spots scattered in all directions under Ye Qingxuans murmur. One must admit that Ye Qingxuan was highly skilled at music note variations. Note variation application was only a slight increase of difficulty for students, but rarely was anyone able to create so many variations in such a short period. There was barely any pause between each note, and each was perfect. Hundreds of notes became touch-activated traps after modification. They created "ditches" all over midfield. Even if the opponent was well-prepared, they would be in trouble once they stepped onto one. At that time, the opponents formation would be thrown into disarray and Ye Qingxuans team would find an opening. Off field, not even the strictest professor could help but nod. It was as expected from an Abstinence teachers student. His music theory foundation was firmer than regular students, but unfortunately, his teacher could only help him this much. In the midfield, the light spots in Ye Qingxuans hands flowed out like a faucet and scattered in all directions. The speed was incredible. The energy usage was large, but the effects were fast as well. Within ten minutes, the entire field was covered in traps. The touch-activated music notes connected with each other, creating a mind-numbing formation. Under the student councils full-out attack, Bench Guy finally showed signs of breaking down. He began retreating and dodging those students forceful music. After all, he would be forced off the field if he was not careful Finally, as the student council began closing in, Bench Guy sighed helplessly. He retreated and no longer blocked their attacks. If he continued, he would probably cut his lifespan in half. Seeing that he moved to the side so easily, the spectators suddenly felt a pity for him, but he had already worked hard enough to face them alone for so long. No one thought that he was slacking off. Seeing that Bench Guy had given up on stealing the ball and had given them a free pass, Cullen ignored him and went straight for midfield. If he kept dragging things on, there might be more problems. Who knew what tricks the Eastern kid had? The student council finally released their crushing power and recovered their aggressive attitude. Their fans in the audience instantly began cheering, but when they saw the dense traps, they grew hesitant. The notes were all single-use notes and were not very powerful, but would be troublesome once activated. The white-haired kid was also especially crafty with the formation. They were basically all connected in a domino effect with no blind spots. Stepping on one would cause a whole area to explode. It was as if nails had been strewn all over the field, but Cullen did not have the time to worry about them. It would take forever to undo the notes one by one. Cullen glanced back at his teammates. The student who had already undergone Deva sensing and was a formal musician moved past Banner, who had the ball, and ran to the front. He charged straight into the traps! Explosions sounded instantly. But before that, a melody wrapped around his body and played abruptly. Under the passionate music, the students skin turned into a metallic rock color. His height instantly shot up and transformed into the rock giant Gigalith. The melody intensified again as he roared. A shapeless burst of air spread from his body. Boom! The explosion of air swept through, instantly activating all the traps. Frost rays, air, fire, erosion, ice, explosionsHundreds of music notes were set off instantly. The power from the explosion converged under the guide of the chain reaction. It was comparable to a regular music score. But had the musician really chosen to forcefully absorb the shock? The string of explosions and light instantly swallowed him. When he rushed past the danger zone, his body was covered in wounds. His melody had been interrupted too, and the backlash of the music theory made him dizzy. He stumbled and could not move after a few steps; he sat down and panted in exhaustion. He had not cared about any restraints, targeting or dodging. He had just charged forcefully. No wonder he was from the School of Modifications! He had taken everything in stride. The trap zone had been devastated too and completely emptied. On the field, Egor nodded lightly. He was not angered by the practically mindless tactic, but sighed as he looked at the exhausted musician. "What a determined child." As an important figure in the team, sacrificing oneself when needed was one of a musicians responsibilities. Cullen had made the decision in an instant to use his main force here in order to destroy the history department as fast as possible. Clearly, the student council was very determined. Seeing their ferocity as each rushed over with almost suicidal determination, even Ye Qingxuan with his tricks felt a headache coming. "Yezi, what should we do?" Charles asked. The youth thought for a moment and sighed. "Seems like I underestimated them." Soon, the white-haired youth moved away from the student council. He did not block them at all and just let them charge forward. "Senior, move away. Let them have this goal." Having witnessed the student councils determination, he gave up on the pointless defense and sighed. He had grown na?ve after the recent success and thought that everything would work as he had planned. But once his opponent took things seriously, he did not know what to do. Whatever! He would just see it as treating them to dinner. He gritted his teeth and thought, "Welcome and come play!" Confused noises sounded in the spectator stands. No one had thought that Ye Qingxuan would just move aside like this! But then a piercing roar sounded behind them, giving them no time to marvel over anything. The beastly roar sounded out of thin air. Then, with a rumble, something soared toward the white-haired youths back, which was completely unguarded and open in the attack! Instantly, everything fell silent. Everyone looked toward midfield in shock. It was Banner, who had completely transformed into a beast. Whatwas this? The moment the beastly roar had sounded, Cullens scalp went numb and he knew that things had gone wrong. When he saw that Banner, who was at the front for offense, had rushed toward Ye Qingxuan, he knew that it was too late. It was over. His vision went dark and he felt heavy remorse. Banner had not planned on listening to any commands since the beginning. He had sunk too deeply into hatred and could not see anything else. And so, he had used the taboo technique of "beast fusion!" Under the crazed and disorderly melody, the manticore roared and transformed into a writhing black shadow. It slammed into Banners body and Banners eyes instantly turned red as he roared like a beast. The thin youth had instantly transformed into a giant demon with fiery wings and black fur! This was "beast fusion"a technique that musicians had taken from werewolves. The Romulus people had wandered across the world after their country had been destroyed by a natural catastrophe and were known as the wolf people. Because they were cursed by the natural catastrophe and lived in eternal pain, their bodies contained hundred times the beastly nature than the average man. The beastly nature would awake once per month and turn them into crazed werewolves, unable to resist their thirst for blood and death. After dissecting and analyzing many werewolves, Summoning musicians extracted the technique from them and modified it for themselves. By forcefully fusing themselves together with their phantom beasts, they could instantly receive the beastly strength and transform into a killing machine. But the beastly nature was too powerful, and one could easily fall into darkness and turn into a dark musician. Thus, this technique soon became forbidden, but many Summoning musicians would learn it secretly and use it at the most critical point orjust in case. But no matter what, it was a taboo and something Summoning musicians should never be allowed to touch. No one had imagined that Banner would know this technique and use it in broad daylight just sojust so he could rip the youth before him into shreds! Cullen had thought that he was reasonable and that Banner would listen to him, but he had forgotten that Banner was not his followerBanner was Gavins brother. This guy had never cared about Cullens warningsThere was no time to be angry. He tried to stop Banner, but it was too late. Too late. Too late. It was already too late. He saw Ye Qingxuan turn around, his pupil reflecting the beast that was Banner. The large shadow swallowed Ye Qingxuan before he could even struggle There was a fulmination and the wild waves of aether transformed into a hurricane, lifting the broken grass from the ground. The fire that shot out of Banners mouth blinded everyones eyes. They could only hear the continuous roars from the beast, and the cracking sounds that followed. An explosion, and an explosion, and an explosion, and another explosion. There was the fanatic music score, the piercing melody and finally, the youths hoarse roar. The audiences faces paled instantly. Some girls already started screaming in fright. In the stands, Egor jumped up subconsciously. The power of the four elements wind, water, fire, and earth shone and spun in his hands, forming a faint black hole. Dazzling light brewed in the darkness of the hole. He disliked the history departments ways, but he could not allow a student to be killed in such a cruel way in front of him. Ludwigs eyes shone with the light of a beast as well. He growled and summoned a dragon eagle out of thin air. It flew down to force them apart. Ingmar did not move. There was no joy in his eyes, but rather more and moreanger? "A joke." He stood and left with flapping robe sleeves. The principal did not move either. He sat in his chair without any movement. In fact, he even forcefully stopped the two coaches interferences. Egor looked at him in shock. "Mr. Principal?!" "Dont worry." The principal chuckled. "Something interesting is going to happen." - On the field, there was an instantaneous boom and dust rolled. Fire, light, and the beastly roars shot out continuously. The fierce single-sided killing at centerfield finally ended. A scorched figure rolled out of it all. Everyone yelped in surprise as they stared at the wounded figure. Soon, there was uproar. No matter if it was coaches or the spectators, everyone yelled in shock. The one who was scorched and covered in wounds wasBanner! He rolled pathetically on the ground, as if some terrifying power had tossed him out. He crashed and practically rolled off field. The manticore jumped out of his body and the beastly fusion was forced to an end. The phantom beast disappeared soon after, dissipating in the air. He raised his head in anger and roared, staring at the rolling smoke. When he looked at the figure walking out of it, his eyes were filled with terror and confusion, rather than hate. "You arent Ye Qingxuan!" he growled hoarsely as he glared at the figure slowly walking out. "Whoare you" The man walked out of the thick fog without any hurry. His clothes had been burnt and he coughed because of the smoke. "Who am I?" The figure walked out of the dust and revealed his white hair. "Arent I the unlucky b*stard that you want to kill?" The wounded youth shone under the sun, revealing the shadow hidden behind him. With a flash, the face and white hair grew blurry, as if it was behind a blurry lens. With another flash, the illusion broke down completely. Finally, the man under the disguise showed himself. Under the sun, the burnt concrete block around his head showed signs of cracking and crumbling. The crowd cheered and booed. It was Bench Guy! 216 Perfect Illusion "Impossible!" Cullen could not help but yell when he saw the man clearly. How could he not be Ye Qingxuan?! He had clearly seen that it was definitely Ye Qingxuan! Why was it that Ye Qingxuan had been hit, but the one who walked out of the fog was "F*ck!" He spun around to look in the direction where Bench Guy had been. Directly behind them, beside their goalthe youth with a concrete block on his head was clumsily kicking the forgotten soccer ball and strolling toward their goal. "Yo! Did you finally realize?" Sensing their gazes, the student with the headgear looked back, waved and kicked! Goal! The referee was too shocked to blow the whistle, but no one would deny that the history department had scored another point! But, what was this?! Under everyones stunned eyes, the "Bench Guy" slowly took off his headgear, and revealed the trademark white hair and mocking smile. "Its just a headpiece. Theres no reason to be surprised, right?" Finally, everyone realized that Ye Qingxuan had changed identities with Bench Guy at some timeand no one on the field could tell the difference! "As the saying goes, its the darkest under the light." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I have the same uniform, the same body, and height, but how come you guys got mixed up when I put on a headpiece?" "When" Banner gaped at him with red eyes and roared, "When did you switch?!" Ye Qingxuan gazed at his crazed expression and shook his head, sighing in sympathy. "Idiot, of course, it was at the beginning." The one who had fought Banner, in the beginning, was not Ye Qingxuan! "You thought too highly of me." Ye Qingxuan walked over and looked down on him. "How can I fight against the manticore or all those phantom beastsIts just that you mistook Bench Guy for me since the beginning." "Illusion trick?" It finally dawned on Banner but he still could not accept it. "How can it be an illusion? The manticore can see through any illusion! How did you" "Maybe, but you couldnt. You thought Bench Guy was me at the beginning. Even if the manticore saw through the illusion, it wouldnt find anything odd, right?" Ye Qingxuan shot him a glance. He shook his head and turned to leave. "The bottom line is, humans can only see what they want to see." - He and Bench Guy had switched identities when he had released the beam of light and blinded everyone in the beginning. It was not just the soccer ball that was switchedhe was also switched. The entire time, it was not Ye Qingxuan who had fought with Banner, but the disguised Bench Guy. This was the strategy he had discussed with Bench Guy yesterday. He knew clearly that Banner saw himself as the mortal enemy and would do anything to attack him at the beginning. Thus, he let Bench Guy, who was more powerful and had better attainments in music, take the beating; so that Ye Qingxuan could have the space to move. To do so, he must be prepared to quickly switch identities at the critical moment. All Ye Qingxuan had to do was put on a headpiece, which was easy. It was hard for Bench Guy to turn into Ye Qingxuan though because he had never learned music from the School of Illusion. But that was okay. At that time, Ye Qingxuan had laughed and waved a thin booklet. It was what Lola had given him and was the piece he had just learnedWinterreise- Die Nebensonnen, the phantom suns. Now, people finally heard the faint melody in the wind. It faded in and out of existence, resounding like a song in everyones hearts. "I saw three suns in the sky. I stared at the long and hard, and they stared at me too, as if unwilling to leave me" The spiritual chant was like Cullens hymn. The aether echo would only appear after grasping the movements essence and be able to sing the mournful melody. Winterreise was Saint Schuberts composition and was a highly regarded piece from the School of Illusion. It was comprised of twenty-four different movements, each with a different theme and power: Die Kr?he, the crow which brought the premonition of death; Der Wegweiser, the signpost which made one lose direction; Der greise Kopf, the gray head that eroded the will to fight; T?uschung, deception which cast one into a tranceits last piece was Der Leiermann, the hurdy-gurdy man which, if played in full, could force someone down the ranks and become an unsuccessful, good-for-nothing musician for life. The penultimate piece was Die Nebensonnen, also known as the phantom sun. It represented "a nonexistent fantasy." It could make one see what they wanted to see, even if it was a nonexistent sun. As long as the viewer did not suspect anything, he would quickly be drawn into it. In the end, he would be in too deep and completely unable to extract himself from it, no longer able to differentiate between fantasy and reality. The phantom sun, the nonexistent sun, the nonexistent hope The School of Illusion referred to the essence of a music piece as the "fulcrum." The illusion was able to exist in this world thanks to the fulcrum. And the fulcrum of Die Nebensonnen was pain. The pain that was brought forth by life had the name of Helplessness. Helpless. As long as one had this feeling, one would quickly be captured by the illusion and unable to escape. This was why Ye Qingxuan had said so much to Banner at the beginning to humiliate him. When Banners actions hurt Cullen and his teammates, they fell into the illusion as well. Therefore, the phantom sun shone on them, letting them see what they thought was real. Under all of this support, Ye Qingxuans illusion was practically perfect, as long as he did not speak. This was why Bench Guy did not say anything directly to Banner. If he did speak, he imitated the unclear and hoarse voicebecause if he did speak and revealed his own voice, the enemy would sense his identity. Only Ingmar had realized instantly because the School of Revelations was the School of Illusions nemesis, but he could not do anything other than watch the student council be played by Ye Qingxuan. In the end, he left because he could not stand it any longer. - When Egor learned of this, he sucked in a cold breath involuntarily. "This kiddoes not seem like Abrahams student at all," Ludwig lamented. "Yes." Egor nodded. "No one would have thought that an Abstinence teacher could have a student that likes to make illusions." "You misunderstood. Thats not what I mean." Ludwig shook his head. "Even beasts have inherited genes. A dragons child is definitely a dragon. A venomous snakes offspring can spit venom as well. But that Abraham is like a dying lion and he produced" He paused and glanced at the youth on the field. He seemed to see an invisible web under the youths feet, as well as the enemies trapped in the web. They could not move no matter how they struggled. The preys energy was sapped bit by bit until they did in the asphyxiationbefore that, even death was a dream. "a student like a spider." Ludwig sighed and looked away. Hopefully, it was a misconception. - Soon, someone broke the silence by slapping the chairs armrest in fury. Hearing his angry voice, all professors felt a chill go down their spine and spread through their body. They looked toward the front in fear. It was the principal who was furious? "Enough! This is too much!" Maxwell stood and yelled angrily. Everyone blanched, but his next words made them incredulous. "How is this soccer?!" Maxwell demanded. "All of you are competing with music scores, but what about soccer? Wheres your soccer playing?! Wheres the soccer we agreed on? All of you are brutish. Where are your soccer skills? These ugly techniques are worse than stuffing the ball into the goal with your hands!" With that, he suddenly paused. As if he had thought of something, he sank into deep thought and murmured, "Picking up the ballstuff it into the goalwrestleit can work!" He looked up with bright eyes. "Thats a good idea. Everyone can put on armor, pick up the ball and toss it into the opponents goalWhat if we do that for next year?" Upset, everyone looked away. The principal was going crazy again and had let his imagination run wild. "Principal, please stop before things worsen!" Sydney, whose patience had been tested during the entire game, finally exploded. He glared at the excited and determined Maxwell with unwavering anger. He stated seriously, "If this continues, the prestigious reputation of the Royal Academy of Music will be ruined in your hands! The school board will not let you do this! And what is the significance of this type of childs play? It will only increase the students pain and hatred! Where is the educational significance? If this continues, the academy will become a vortex of hatred!" Maxwell was taken aback. He glanced at Sydney with a slightly arched brow. "Oh?" He chuckled. "So you think that this is just childs play?" Stared at by those ancient eyes, Sydney did not know what to do. The just and responsibility in his heart vanished, replaced by vague regret. Maxwell patted his shoulders like coaxing a child and pressed him back down into his chair. Sydney froze. He wanted to struggle, but the hands on him felt like a vice, immobilizing him. Before him, those deep emerald eyes were like the deep ocean. They contained hidden currents and indescribably scary things. Maxwell looked at Sydneys stunned eyes and caringly helped him tidy his collar, stating, "I really like your straightforward way of speaking. Your brash suggestions are cute too, but for some suggestions, I hope that you can think more carefully before you stand up. Dont forget who you are and dont forget who they will become." Sydney did not know what to say. He did not understand what Maxwell meant. But Maxwell just studied the students on the field, off the fieldlooking at those faces, his eyes grew compassionate. "These are future musicians, gentleman. These are heroes that are born from the cradle that is the Royal Academy of Music. Since we are a cradle, we shouldnt talk about those fake and polite things. Since they want to become heroes, they should not expect gentle treatment either. You are all teachersyou are their educators. If you want an infant to become an adult, you must be cruel. If they cannot even win in this childs play, then how will they fight against demons? Actually, I dont mind if your students embarrass the academy, but please consider their lives and safety." No one spoke in the silence. Pushed into the chair, Sydneys shoulders trembled. He wanted to say something, but nothing came out in the end. It was fortunate for him that he did not say it. "Let the game continue," the principal ordered lightly. Everyone exchanged glances. Someone stood out and asked cautiously, "What should we do about Banner using beast fusion?" "The matters of the School of Royalty should be taken care of by the School of Royalty." The principal waved his hand without any care and swept away the nuisance. "Well talk about other matters after the game." - The game continued, but it could be said that it had long ended. The student councils dignity was destroyed the moment Banner had attacked. Plus, he had not been successful. No one had realized that everything they did was part of someone elses plan. If not for Banners surprise attack, they probably would not have noticed it was an illusion until the very end, right? It would have been even more embarrassing if it was revealed at the end. This game was completely humiliating. No matter who spoke now, they would be unable to gather their morale. Everyone went through the actions as if their heads were not in the game. Banner had been forced off the field by Cullen and sat in the replacement spot wordlessly. His eyes were blank, like a mental patient who had been injected with an overdose of stabilizer. He mumbled something, but no one could hear clearly. The game ended ten minutes later with three to nothing. The history department had won and entered the final round. Naturally, Ye Qingxuan chose to quit. He announced that they would leave the game and not participate in the next round. After paying the fee of two thousand points, they were still first place. It was all thanks to the points from Banner. "What a good comrade," Ye Qingxuan thought, shaking his head in lamentation. Then he transferred four-thousand points to Bench Guy, who accepted it without a word. But Ye Qingxuan still felt guilty. "To be honest, four thousand isnt a lot, but its all I can give you to ensure the rankingI owe you the rest. If you need any help, you can find me at the history department at any time. Even if its something outside the school, I have some connections to help you." Bench Guy smiled and shook his head, rejecting him politely. "But can you help me with something inside the school?" he suddenly asked. "I need your promise." "What is it?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Ill help you, as long as its not too hard." Bench Guy was about to speak but stopped as he looked behind Ye Qingxuan in confusion. Ye Qingxuan turned back and saw the pale and frail studentBanner. He had shaken away his teammates and walked over. His eyes were eerie and his lifeless face was filled with hatred. He tried to grab Ye Qingxuans collar, but the youth dodged his hand. "Banner!" Cullen growled behind him, trying to force down his anger. "How long are you going to keep up the tantrum?" Banner froze. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his hand back and glared at Ye Qingxuan. He rasped, "Do you think you won? Its not over yet!" "Why dont you think about how youll face the schools interrogation?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Beast fusion is forbidden." "You think Im destroyed like this?" Banner cackled in anger. "Stop dreaming! The School of Royalty wont let anything happen to me! Ill just disappear for a few months until everything is over. I wont lose a hair! But you, youll pay for what youve done!" "Ha." Ye Qingxuan just scoffed and was too lazy to say anything else. Seeing the totally annoying smile, Banner practically lost all control. His face was white and also had the eerie wildness of a skeleton. He jabbed at Ye Qingxuans chest and muttered in his ear, enunciating each word, "Listen, Ill do everything I can to make you, your failure senior, and that other white-haired b*stard disappear. Ill make your teacher, that old dog, get tossed back to his steel cageEverything you took from me, Ill take it back from you in thousand-fold!" Ye Qingxuan did not reply and kept smiling, as if he did not hear anything. His eyes silently grew cold though. Crack! Banners voice stopped abruptly. The crisp sound shocked everyone, including Cullen, who was behind Banner. It was a slap. A crisp slap. And it had come from the man with the headgear who had not said a single word. "Enough, Banner!" "You" Banners movements slacked and he gaped at the man. The headgear guy hid Ye Qingxuan behind him and said harshly, "Youve disgraced the Adrian family!" The voice was so familiar that Cullen froze and forced down Banners anger. They gaped at the man before them in disbelief. Under everyones eyes, Bench Guy lowered his head and slowly took off the headpiece. He revealed a hard and cold face. His features were sharp, as if he was a statue carved from marble, and were awe-inspiring. The most eye-catching feature was his steel gray eyes, which had an unusual dignity and solemnity. Everyone fell into silence instantly and began doubting their eyes. "GaGavin?" Banner finally processed everything and stared blankly at him and Ye Qingxuan behind him. "Youyoustood on their side?" "Its you who didnt stand on my side, Banner." Gavin looked at him with disappointment and retorted, "How many chances did I give you?" "Chances? You gave me chances?" Banner laughed as if he had heard the funniest joke. He suddenly raised his voice and roared, "Im the one giving you chances! Im the one who can represent the Adrian family! Not you!" The onlookers gaped at the argument between the brothers. No one dared to step forward. Emerald and steel gray, the two brothers stared at each other. One was filled with eeriness and wildness, the other was filled with extreme disappointment. They were so similar and yet so different. 217 For Wha A bored youth sat in a quiet little courtyard in the corner of the academy. He sat on the bench where the two first met, lazily basking in the sun, humming softly and waiting silently. Hearing the footsteps in the distance, he raised his head and smiled. "Did you finish educating the kid?" Ye Qingxuan, looking at the newcomer, expression sympathetic. "You must be tired." Gavin sat beside him, sighing wearily as if he was tired. After a long time, he asked quietly, "Did you guess it?" The youth nodded. He raised his finger and gesticulated. "Just a little bit, like the bench you pretended to be." "I...Whats the flaw? I paid so much attention to everything." "No, your disguise was perfect from beginning to end. I could not figure out your true identity until you uncovered your head. Unfortunately, youre too strong. Sometimes I couldnt see through you at all. There are few people in this school who can give me such feeling." "Just because of that?" "Moreover, I can tell that you have brilliant attainments in Modifications, but theres no one like you in Modifications. Therefore I thought that maybe you just minored in it. The majority of the people who minor in Modifications are from the School of Royalty. Only they study two departments before becoming a musician..." Hearing this, Gavin looked bitter. "And Im the most famous one among them." "Yes, you haven''t appeared all along, right? They said that youre too proud to compete with other students, but I thought...there must be another reason." Gavin sighed. The two of them basked in the sun without speaking. It was a long silence, but it was made from tacit agreement. - After a long time, Ye Qingxuan had enough of sunbathing and asked, "The second day, was it you who made us come up empty? The student council has this right, but, generally speaking, shouldnt the student councils president be the school board''s pet?" "You should always set your sights further. Sometimes if you see far enough, youll find that its very stupid for the school board to only put their efforts into the school. " Ye Qingxuan was amused, "You arent afraid that theyll give you a hard time?" Gavin shrugged. "Ive already graduated. What could the school board do to me?" "Did you sneak into the history department just to slap your brother?" "I just want to know more about you." "...Me?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "How am I worthy of the student council presidents interest?" "Don''t underestimate yourself. Its only been three or four months since you started school, isn''t it? But youve become everyones nightmare, the Eastern demon, the disgrace of the academy...As a good brother, I have to at least make some preparations for my brother when he enters the school after I leave." "So you came to me just to be a good brother?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head, totally not believing it. "There must be another reason, right? Is it necessary for you to lie in front of the disgrace of the academy? Or did you really do all this for your brother?" Gavin was silent. His steel gray eyes were troubled and filled with self-deprecation. "If there''s any other reason, it''s probably because...you live freely?" Gavin looked up at him. "To tell you the truth, when I first saw you from the podium, I was very envious...because sometimes I really want to live like you." "What''s so good about this kind of life?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "You said before that, as the disgrace of the academy college, the Eastern demon, I would be challenged wherever I go. Moreover, the school board sees me as an eyesore...Its horrible, alright?" "Would you like to switch with me then?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely without any hesitation. "Exactly." Gavin arched an eyebrow and chuckled. "Theres nothing good about being the student councils president, right?" "No, no, no. Youve done well as the student councils president. Everyone can see that. Unfortunately, you may not be able to be a good brother anymore." Hearing his words, Gavin''s expression immediately became melancholy. "You and Banner actually could have been friends. I''ve arranged so many opportunities...if only he was friendlier..." "To be honest, you overthink." "Perhaps." Gavin smiled bitterly. "At least, don''t hate him. Banner isnt bad in nature...He''s just stupid." "I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "A priest once told me that no one wants to be bad. That''s true, isn''t it?" Gavin nodded. "But if everyone in the world wants to be a good person, then why is there so much misery?" Ye Qingxuan understood Gavin, so he asked directly, "The promise you want from me is that you hope I wont make things harder for your brother, isnt it?" Gavin nodded. His expression grew powerless. "But now, Im ashamed to say so." "Rest assured, I promise you," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "His IQ is so low. He wont make me feel threatened." "...Thanks." Although he felt many emotions, Gavin still thanked him politely. "Youre welcome. You know what, your brother sometimes reminds me of a friend." "Friend?" "Yes, my friend." Ye Qingxuan recalled the figure of that young man and smiled. "Hes also the kind of guy who shouts all day, In the future, no one will dare to look down upon me!'' but hes actually totally different from Banner. He knew why he was being looked down on, although what he thought might not necessarily be right. To be honest, that guy has a lot of flaws, many of whichI couldnt stand, but he probably saw me in the same way." Gavin sank in thought. "In this case, there must have been many conflicts between you two, right?" "Yes, but thats what so-called friends are like, right? To tolerate each other, and tolerate and tolerate until theres no bottom line to speak of between friends ... Luckily, he never made me give up my bottom line. I think thats what a good friend is like, right?" "Yes." Gavin was a bit dejected. "Thats a good friend." Ye Qingxuan laughed gleefully. "Are you jealous?" For some reason, Gavin wanted to hit him. "It''s getting late, I''m leaving." Shaking his head, he got up to leave, "The school board asked me to attend a meeting to deal with the mess you guys left behind. Meetings are always annoying." Ye Qingxuan waved goodbye lazily and said, "Remember to say some good things about me to those respectable old people, Mr. President." Gavin looked back at him, speechless. Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Well, please, Bench Guy." "This sounds better than Mr. President." Gavin smiled, and turned away, disappearing in the afternoon sun. Ye Qingxuan sat on the bench in the warm sunshine. He yawned tiredly and almost fell asleep. Half asleep, he could not help but recall the figure of that youth. How was Victor now? Was he successful now? Was he all right? Ye Qingxuan sighed. He kind of missed him. - The First National University of Burgundy was known as the cradle of future statesmen and elites, was under the same afternoon sun. People crowded into the auditorium. They feverishly looked to the podium and raised their voices with the young man''s speech, shouting in response. The speech was nearing the end. "My friends, don''t you understand? Our motherland is in a crisis!" The young man clenched his fists. His voice was loud and strong, full of anger and pain. "The administrative system is bloated; the ruling party is irresponsible; the fatuous royal family only knows how to exploit people. And that group of socialists who occupy the Parliament can do nothing but blow their horns. "Spit on the fat bureaucrats who neglect their duties! Spit on those incompetent bastards who can only escape from the reality! Spit on the defeatists, the anarchists! Because of them, the economic is getting bleaker and bleaker; the border patrol is morally deficient; farmers have lost their own land and become slavesOur motherland is humiliated and our sun is about to be quenched. "Tell me, my friends, what should we do? Whats the fate of our motherland? Should we put our hopes on those high and mighty musicians? Should we wait for a savior to fall from the sky? Should we wait for those greedy foreign capitalists to squeeze enough profit from us then turn away while wiping their mouths, and push the country into the abyss of misery? "No. Absolutely not! Those musicians never care about the miseries of the regular people! There''s never been a savior! Those capitalists would never stop their greedy plundering! "We cant wait for others to show their mercy to us, to save us. If we want to let our motherland rise, we must rely on our own power! Rely on you, on our advanced policy agenda and on the people''s strength! We cant keep silent anymore! We cant let this country fall and cry! Everyone present is the best of the best. You are the future of this country...Should we stand by and be silent? "No, absolutely not! Friends, we must stand up. We must be responsible for this country! Who would love our motherland, other than us? Who can save it, other than us? We must unite, my friendswe need each other''s strength! I believe that with the help of our strength, our motherland will rise and walk out of the shadow of recession! I believe that our days of glory will soon arrive. "At that time, I will take the flag of Joan of Arc and charge the frontline for this great country! Just as she once led fearless warriors to kill the enemy, I will fight until my last breath for this great country. If I die, Ill be worthy of the ancestors; if I die, then there must be the next hero to stand up and carry my flag!" In the large auditorium, the young man''s emaciated figure was like a giant. He cried out in the eyes of countless fanatics, "God bless Burgundy! God bless the National University! God Bless the great people! Long Live Burgundy! " "Long live Burgundy!" There was a roar like thunder. It was applause, it was the cheering, it was the frantic shouts and praises. All the students shouted his name, raised their hands, and waved vigorously, responding to his gaze. The young man stepped down, and the students rushed to embrace him, feverishly roaring, "Long live Burgundy! Long live Burgundy!" "It was a perfect inaugural address, distinguished Mr. Don Juan!" Under the podium, the student councils secretary came forward, holding his hand strongly with an overly excited expression. "Youre the first to give such an inspiring speech among all the student council presidents" "I just expressed everyones thoughts." The youth who was called Don Juan hugged him with grace and said sincerely, "From now on, I hope that everyone in the student council will support me as we work hard together." The secretary nodded excitedly. "For Burgundy!" "Yes." The young man named Don Juan smiled meaningfully. "For the motherland." And for myself. 218 Routine Meeting It was afternoon at the Royal Academy of Music. The school board held a routine meeting every week. The large conference room was silent. Draping red curtains blocked the blinding sunlight and the weak light illuminated the dim room. Other than the coaches of the major schools, there were also some guests sitting on either side of the long table. They did not belong to the Royal Academy of Music, but what they represented could not be overlookedthey were all agents of important figures of the board. They represented the will of the families, institutes and grandmasters behind them. These lawyers, personal secretaries and housekeepers were all responsible for solving the trivial matters for the masters, ensuring that their ideas could be realized smoothly. Before them, Sydney could only sit in the lower-ranked area. Beside him, there was another seemingly young representative at the meeting. His eyes were steel gray and his features were handsome yet determined. He looked like a twenty-something student. It was Gavin indeed. He had used his skills and performance in the student council to receive the boards recognition. As the Adrian family rose once again after their decline, he was absorbed by the school board and became a member. Now, he finally expressed his thoughts on the recent troubles of the school board after a long silence. "Gentlemen, we must admit that weve mismanaged the academy recently. Weve used the wrong countermeasures, especially in some areas." He paused and stated gravely, "We are creating enemies for meaningless reasons and baffling purposes." Here, he gazed at Ingmar, coach of the School of Revelations. Ingmar did not say a word, but his expression turned ugly. One representative looked at the report. "Are you speaking of the matter with the history department?" "Correct." Gavin nodded. "To be honest, I still do not understand the strife between the school board and the history department, as well as why the department must be abolished. They have not wasted money or gone against our decisions. They have not disturbed us, or even participated in our arguments with the principal. Why must we turn them into our enemy? Are we not trying to unite any force we can to protect the glorious tradition of the academy?" "Gavin, you are still young. Do not question the school boards decisions," Ingmar said coldly. "Cutting a meaningless department from our overly bureaucratic academy will increase our efficiency. This is also part of our job." "Meaningless?" Gavin furrowed his brows. "Excuse me, but are you saying that a department that can produce a concertmaster and receive such an impressive score at the school day trials without any funding or support is meaningless? Then what about the four schools that make up more than ninety percent of the budget? Are they tumors? Then what about the School of Revelations that was completely destroyed by the history department this year?" "Watch your language, Gavin!" Ingmars expression darkened even more. "Even if youre about to become a royal musician, you have no right to point fingers at my school!" Sydney began coughing violently and kicked Gavin secretly, telling him not to confront Ingmar, but Gavin did not stop. He just looked into Ingmars eyes and stated, "Furthermore, do you insist on abolishing the history department to raise our efficiency or because of your personal grudge? I hope you wont bring your feelings into this meeting." "Blasphemy!" Ingmar spat in fury. Images of stars, the sun and moon, and black holes flashed past his eyes. The air of the entire conference room seemed to thin. The angered Starry Eyes disturbed the reality and vaguely changed the environment. He glared at Gavin and said in an ice cold voice, "How dare you question me? Gavin! Do not forget that you are here because the school board appreciates you. I see that youve become arrogant and proud recently!" "Im just speaking the truth," Gavin stated and turned toward the representatives. "Im sure you all will see that this suggestion is illogical, based on my report. Perhaps the history department itself is not enough for us to place importance on, but what Abraham once represented, and his students letter of recommendationI hope that you all will consider it more carefully and not push them to the other side." In the silence, Ingmar was too angry to speak. The other representatives flipped through Gavins report and began discussing with each other quietly. Finally the secretary that was chosen looked at him carefully. "Weve heard of related rumors but they are not credible enough to be proof." "If you dont know if its true or not, why dont you treat it as if its true?" Gavin asked in reply. "If we settle things with the history department, then even if the rumors are untrue, all we need to give in is a bit more budget. They only have four people and one dog in total. How much can they spend even if they feast every day and spend lavishly? But if the rumors are true" The representatives understood before Gavin even finished speaking and began pondering. If the rumors were true, what more needed to be said? They would have hit jackpot! After a long pause, the old housekeeper looked up and nodded slowly. "Perhaps this is a mistake." "We must reconsider our actions toward the music history department." "At least, we should not push them to become our enemy" The representatives quickly exchanged their opinions. After reaching consensus, the housekeeper looked to Gavin. "This is your suggestion and Im sure you have already made the necessary considerations. How do you think we can express our good intentions?" "Its simple." Gavin smiled. "I am about to graduate and enter the Royal Musicians. I will unfortunately be unable to attend the boards routine meetings as the transcriber for five to six years. Before leaving this position, I recommend Ye Qingxuan as my replacement. His abilities and talent are comparable to mine. I believe he will bring much to the school board." Hearing this, the representatives fell into deep thought. "Would this be too deliberate? The school board might lose its dignity" "There wont be any big problems at the routine meeting, correct? It is just the position of a transcriber, without any real power. Its just to show the boards well meaning. You need not worry about qualifications. As a concertmaster, he naturally has the right to take on the position. If we prove the rumor during this process, we can reward Ye Qingxuans phenomenal contributions to the school board and bring in the entire department" Gavin shrugged and continued with a smile, "From the beginning to the end, all we need to put in is some kindness." Hearing his words, the representatives were all moved, but Ingmar exploded in anger. "What are you saying?" It was rare for him to lose his temper. He slammed a fist down on the table and rose, demanding from Gavin, "Abraham? Its the limit of my tolerance for that cannon fodder and quick product trained for a few months in the army to stay in the academy for retirement. How dare you let him be our equal? In your dreams! No music academy in the world will let this defective mass produced product become part of the school board! Those guys are a disgrace to musicians! Do you want our academy to become a laughing stock?!" The furious Ingmar stunned all of the representatives. They stared at each other, but Gavin remained silent, not saying a word. Ludwig, who had been yawning and spacing out the entire time, finally snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at Ingmar. "You cant say that, Ingmar" Ludwig asked lightly, "You should know if he really is a quick mass produced musician, right?" "What do you mean?" Ingmars expression changed. "He means that theres something wrong with your brain." Egor tossed a file to Ingmar with a cold expression. "Im sure youve seen this file long ago. I went to the library to check. It had been destroyed, but the backup attachment was still there. If not for Gavins reminder, I would never have known that youve done something like this before!" Seeing that Egor had thrown down that file, Ingmar froze, but expressions flitted past his facethat was Abrahams file. When Abraham had reported to the School of Revelations to become a miscellaneous teacher, Ingmar had personally destroyed the file. He saw Abraham as an eyesore since that day, but he had never guessed that there was a backup fileF*ck! Indeed, the incomplete remains of the file recorded that Abraham had voluntarily joined the military as an engineer. Because he learned quickly and was agile, he joined the militarys program for quickly producing musicians. When the training ended four months later, he became a military musician. The next thirty years of files were incomplete, but merely the first part of his resume was shocking enough. Yes, the musicians trained by the military were mass-produced defective products, discriminated against by mainstream musicians and seen as amateur studentsBut the musician title that Abraham received after training was not the one irresponsibly given by the militarythe ones who were given that training could go no further than the Student level. But what Abraham received was the official Musician title, recognized by the Sacred City. He was an official third level musician and had been given his own title by the Sacred City! In other words, a quiet engineer soldier had become an official third level musician within three months of the militarys crude trainingWho knew what he could achieve in the future? When Egor and Ludwig saw this file, they finally understood that they had been tricked by Ingmarthe man had used the school boards power to suppress talents. He had even encouraged the other two to charge to the front and act for him! Thanks to Ingmar, so many years had passed and Abraham was more than fifty years old. He had long passed the golden period for musicians and might never reach the Scepter level now "You hate him?" Egor scoffed and said directly, "No, you just fear him. With his talent and the support of the Royal Academy of Musicyou would have no place in the School of Revelations." Ingmar was silent for a long time before spinning around in anger and leaving. - Sparse sounds traveled from the bedroom. Through the door, it sounded like the sticky air blown through a rubber tube. The sound of a hookah was also thrown into the mix, as well as occasional coughs. The coughs were low and wet. In the late night, Gavin walked down the quiet hall and exhaled a breath of cold air, feeling the slight chill. He reached out and wiped away the dust gathered on the windowsill. It finally looked better. He took a deep breath and lightly rapped against the door. "Father, Im back." He pushed the door open and the hinges creaked. The man with thinning hair sitting on the patients bed behind the door looked up. His hair had practically all fallen out; age spots and wrinkles covered his face. He was only around fifty years old, but he looked like a withered skeletonit was the backlash of the music theory. He was the head of the Adrian family. Six years ago, he had tried to complete the levels without care for anything else. In the end, the shaking of the Originator broke down his heart of sound and he could no longer use aether. Now, he could only survive with the help of machines and medicine. From then on, the Adrian family began to fall, but miraculously started reviving in recent years. It had been six yearsthe years were so long and dreary. Gavin became lost in his thoughts. A scoff sounded. Before the window, Banner was holding the old mans hand. Seeing that Gavin had come, he glanced over in distaste. The old man murmured something and Banner nodded. He rose, brushed past Gavin, and left. The room fell silent. The old man with the respiratory only stared coldly at the ceiling. "Father, Im back," Gavin raised his voice. There was no irritation in his features. The old mans chin trembled, showing that he had heard. Gavin moved forward and lifted the beds headboard. The old man was raised up in this way. He gazed at Gavin in silence for a long while. Gavin looked down, his expression tame. Bits of the majesty and coldness from before remained on his face, but before the old man, this genius musician respectfully lowered his head and waited for the expected scolding. "Today" the old man uttered. His voice was like wooden chips trembling, mixed in with the sound of blisters popping. It was both piercing and scratchily unclear. Gavin stepped forward and put his ear closer to listen carefully. But then he froze. "Today, the Royal Musician Division brought over a musician robe. You already have one, so I decided to give it to Banner." The man looked at Gavin. "Banner was treated badly outside. As family, we should care for him. There will be no second time, understand?" Gavin looked up in shock. He knew about that robe. It was a musicians armor and what gave the performer the prestige. The robe that the Royal Musician Division had brought over was one-in-a-million alchemy equipment. Many music scores were inlaid in the inside and it was practically like an instrument on his body. It ensured that the musician would not be in danger in any situation. "But, Father" He opened his mouth to speak, but the old man was suddenly angered. The withered hand hit his face weakly, but it cut off his voice. The man glared at Gavin and panted. With a turbid and hoarse voice, he said, "Youre the elder! Why are you fighting with your younger brother?" he reprimanded harshly. "The decision has been made." Gavin was stunned but he quickly lowered his head. Rubbing the corner of his worn robe, he replied quietly, "Yes, Father." "I heard of what you did at the school board meeting." His expression was extremely displeased, but he did not continue. He just said, "Youre leaving the school soon. Dont interact with those lowly people and ruin the good tidings for no reason, understand?" "Yes, Father." "And when you join the Royal Musician Division, do not do stupid things and disgrace the Adrian family. Remember, mention your brother when you have the chance. Dont just think about yourself." Gavin hung his head. "Yes, Father." "Good." The old mans angry expression softened a bit. He said coldly, "You can go now. I want to rest." Gavin nodded and left politely without arguing. But when he looked back, he glanced at the old man, seemingly without meaning too. Seeing the aged face, rheumy eyes and rheumy irises that were totally unlike his "Were really not similar." He sighed inwardly, closed the door and left. - The old man on the patients bed closed his eyes and fell asleep. After a long while, the sound of a bird flapping its wings traveled from outside the window. Something had come in the night and appeared out of thin air. In the heavy darkness, one could vaguely make out its blurry silhouette and white color. It was a white raven. - - "Professor, are you here?" Bart knocked on the door, but there was silence. He waited for a long time and called again. Finally, a cold voice sounded from the office. "Come in." Bart pushed open the door, but he frozethe room behind the door was nothing like the elegance and finesse from before. It was in ruins, as if a tornado had swept through. Even the porcelain that his professor loved had been shattered to pieces. "What are you waiting for? Come in." Behind the office table, Ingmars expression was dark. He was dignified as always, without a single strand of hair astray, and was fear-inducing. Seeing that his teacher was in a bad mood, Bart did not ask or look. He lowered his head and stood before the table, saying politely, "Professor, do you have any tasks?" "Go to the history department for me in a few days." Bart could not believe Ingmars words. "Ask Abraham if hes willing to return to the School of Revelations. I can give him the treatment of an associate dean." Dumbfounded, Bart gaped at him. "Butbut" "I told you to go, so go! Why do you have so many questions?" After hesitating for a long time, Bart finally said, "Professor, arent you afraid of leading the enemy in. If he accepts" "Then wouldnt it be great news?" Ingmar sneered. "The history department is too influential now. We need a new planIf he knows his place, hell be obedient. Otherwise, I have one million ways of dealing with him in the School of Revelations!" He looked down and said lightly, "Genius, so what? Once I publish my findings, hell have to look up to me for his entire life! Even if he returns to Revelations!" Bart froze, but then happiness appeared in his features. "Professor, did you make a breakthrough in the explanation?" Ingmar looked down at the drafts on his table. After countless years of blood, endless hours, and even setting aside the breakthroughs and research in music theory, he had finally completed this masterpiece. Once this was published, Abraham would never be able to compete with him. An amateur from the School of Abstinence should not even dream of being equal to Ingmar from the School of Revelations! "So what if the school board fosters him?" Ingmar muttered. "After two months, when the Sacred City Summit is held, Ill become an internationally recognized grandmaster. Abraham can only be forced under my feet!" 219 Graduation Work 1 "Cheers!" Charles, who was already drunk and sitting beside the dining table, cheered. Bai Xi sat beside him with Old Phil and rolled her eyes helplessly. Ye Qingxuan chuckled and continued his dinner. Abraham had surprisingly been dragged out from the library to celebrate with them. After surviving the first two rounds of the school day trials, it was quite certain that Charles would have enough points to graduate. No wonder he was so happyhe had never thought that he would graduate one day! "Anglo, Im coming! World, Im coming! Pretty girls, Im coming!" Charles yelled. He ran around the table in excitement. Annoyed to the max, Bai Xi stuck out a foot and tripped him. After falling, Charles was finally a bit awake. He stuffed a napkin up his nostril and went back to the table to continue eating. He was already full, but it was rare to have meat, so it would be a shame to waste it! Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Senior, dont get happy so fast. Theres still the last round in two days." "The last round is just for looks. What are you scared of?" Charles whistled. "Dont worry. With me, well definitely win!" Done eating, Ye Qingxuan put down his utensils and asked the question he had been avoiding. "How exactly is your product for the graduation work exhibit on the last day?" - The last trial was the graduation work exhibit. It was a fixed show. It was actually an easy task because one could make whatever one wished. Most would not be too harsh either. Even if it was made horribly, the student would just lose some points. For musicians, the graduation works of each academy were completely different. This was decided by the local culture and aim of the academy. For example, the graduation works of the Asgardian Iron Rock Academy was a demon captured by a musician digging through the glaciers with a hook. In India, the students would have to use the form of a debate to discuss music theory with the guru of their monastery. In some places, the graduation work was tokill their own teacher. Of course, the Royal Academy of Music was not this cruel. Insteadits process wasuh"unique." Two hundred years ago, when the graduation work was still "composition," a waterway mechanic learned by himselfThe academy accepted this self-learned mechanic as an exception and he graduated with high grades. But because he did not have much foundation and could not compose, he used a different way to show his learnedness on music theory. He requested to use the Requiem Illusion and then created something newYes, it was the illusion that everyone used for hide-and-seek on the first day, but hundreds of times smaller. In the illusion, the musician must use music notes to guide a waterway mechanic through challenges, defeat various demons and the demon king, save the captured princess At the time, this work was critically acclaimed and well-liked by all the students. It almost created a craze in the musician world and trended in every academy around the world. In fact, some students quit school because they were so obsessed. In the end, alchemists even implanted the work as music score into aether ballsthe tool that never leaves a musicians sideso musicians could play when they were bored. To the academy, this work not only displayed the creators achievements in music temperament and grasp on music theory. It also touched on aether usage of the Resonance level and the mechanic mind of the creator and more Anyway, Ye Qingxuan did not know what happened, but all graduation works were changed to be that type after that. Because of the amount of work, graduation students usually teamed up. Each school would have their own proud work. The best would even be sent to the Sacred City, receive critique from all the musicians, and spread widely. Being in the limelight like this as a student, it was the best way to make a name for oneself. Outstanding works had been created continuously through the years. Most started preparing one year in advance for their work. Charles, who had never thought about graduating, did not even think in that direction. Even if he worked quickly, Ye Qingxuan was not sure that he had enough time. "There are only two more days. Will something go wrong?" "Dont worry. Its basically set!" Charles drank alcohol and pounded his chest. "The music theory within is practically impeccable and shows my glorious spirit. Through this graduation work, Ive expressed the impermanence of life, changes of the world, and the troubles of fate. It also has the dreary feeling of being forced into a dead end, with nowhere to escape but to fight. Theres no way I cant pass!" The more Charles bragged, the more Ye Qingxuan felt doubtful. "Anyway, just show us first." Charles smiled mysteriously and snapped his finger. He maneuvered the enchantment using the temporary creator authority given by the school. Boom! There was a muffled burst. An iron box, 1.5 meters tall, suddenly appeared in the room. It looked like the refrigerator that had recently been invented. There was a suspicious lever on the right side. There were also three runners going down the middle of the box. Colorful designs were drawn on them. It seemed that the runners would turn with a pull of the lever. There was also a circle of slightly-dazzling colored lights around the knobs. All in all, it did not look like something good! "What the h*ll is this?" Ye Qingxuan felt a headache coming. "My graduation work! Look, Ill show you!" Charles moved forward and abruptly pulled the lever. The machine began playing a horribly cringe-worthy kids song. The lights around the turntable lit up, blinding everyone. Then the three wheels inlaid in the machine began rolling wildly. The designs on them changed quickly before gradually slowing. Finally, the clanging sounds of coins falling traveled from the box. As the lights flashed wildly, a giant pile of coins fell from the opening. Ye Qingxuan was fossilized. "Thats it?" "Thats it." Charles nodded. "You can use it if you pay some points. If the designs on it create a group, you can receive different amounts of points. I havent connected it to the point calculator though, so I replaced it with coins. Anyway, I played a bit after finishing it and I couldnt stop. I almost put all my drinking money into it and still havent taken it out." Ye Qingxuan felt his vision going dark. There were no words to describe what he felt. Walking around the machine, his gaze fell on the three runners. "Whatis drawn on it?" "No wonder youre my junior! You always get the main point." Charles whistled. "Look, its the pineapple from the backyard of the School of Revelations, banana from the School of Royalty, cherry from Modifications, and thisthis is my best workI drew a five-pointed star with one stroke! What about it? Arent I awesome? If you want, I can teach you!" "Uhwhy does this dog look like Old Phil?" "Because it is!" Charles slapped his knee and said excitedly, "I drew each stroke while looking at Old Phil! What do you think? Doesnt it look like him? Its the biggest prize! If you get three Old Phils, you can win a hundred times the school points!" "Senior, your drawing skills probably havent improved since you were eight!" Ye Qingxuan thought, but he had no strength to speak. He just wanted to get drunk, but Charles kept holding him and rambling about his design, this things bright future, and finally ended on the name. "Oh, I named it the Blood Lion. Dont you think its really mighty and domineering?" "Why does it sound like bad news? And there isnt any blood or lion." "Then lets call it Destructive Duke." "No." "Dark God of Destruction Four." "You want to graduate after ten more years? And you dont even have one, two or three!" "Half a Lifespan Three?" "Shut up!" After talking on and on, Charles finally stopped. Ye Qingxuan already felt dizzy as his intelligence dropped like a diver. To save the academys students and save their points, the youth slammed a fist on the table and announced, "Anyway, this thing wont work!" - They soon returned to the dining table. Ye Qingxuan sighed and said, "So you used one month to create a gambling machine?" Charles panicked. "Im sure it will have a good future! When it comes out, well be able to live happily with just the money given to use it!" "Senior, dont you want to graduate?" Ye Qingxuans words hit Charles in the guts. He sighed in pain and abandoned the idea. "But I cant redesign something. Where do I find a new script?" "Script?" Beside them, Bai Xi grinned. "I have it." "" "" Ye Qingxuan and Charles stared at her as if looking at a ghost. Bai Xi was a little scared by their eyes. "Why are you looking at me like that? I want to contribute sometimes too!" "Yezi" Charles sighed with teary eyes, "Bai Xi is all grown up." Ye Qingxuans eyes were slightly red too and he dabbed at the corners. "Yes, Im so pleased." What they got in reply was the double performance of "source" and "frost." A large basin of freezing water poured from the sky, chilling them to the bone. "Are you done?" Bai Xi glared at them. "Leave if you dont want it!" "We want it!" Ye Qingxuan nodded quickly. It was rare that Bai Xi was willing to help. Even if she could not, her thoughts were enough to make him and Charles touched. With their coaxing, Bai Xi finally described her plan. "This graduation work is called Soul Warrior. In Indian, its called Soul" 220 Graduation Work 2 In short, Bai Xis work was in her usual style. It was simple, straightforward and crude, totally unlike a little girls work. She had practically included all of downtown Avalons violence and gathered everything that would make a mans blood boil. According to Bai Xis description, the work would be like this: Musicians would control two strong men to charge bravely with crossbows. One wore blue pants and the other had red pants. They were shirtless, with a weird ribbon on their head. They would descend from the sky and land on an island taken over by revolutionary soldiers. Killing the entire time, they would kill the soldiers, kill the more important figures, kill the demons, kill the monsters, kill everything living, and finally kill the general who had already fused with a natural catastrophe. They would succeed when there was nothing left to kill. Then, they would board a plane and leave the poor island that sank to the bottom of the sea after exploding. Bai Xi had also designed eight secret underwater challenges for the players to find. However, the difficulty level was extremely high. The two shirtless guys would die from just one arrow or being hit by an enemy. The player had three respawn chances. After that, they could only restart the gameBut Bai Xi was the creator, soshe hid a command within. If they inputted the right music note, they would have thirty respawns! "I told you, you cant leave a creators cheat!" Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head. "Youre a little girl. Why are you so violent? Everything is about killing, but cant you think of something more heartwarming?" "Heartwarming? Sorry, but I cant." Bai Xi rolled her eyes. "Why dont you try?" "Like a game where a little girl travels the world and changes clothes?" "Changing clothes for girls? Are you a pervert?" "Maybe seven girls stood up to save their soon-to-be-abolished academy and after much hardship, they finally became musicians?" "How is it interesting if no one dies? Why dont you say they went to India with a monkey to collect music scores?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He really did not understand what Bai Xi was thinking. "Anyway, this wont do." "Why not?!" "One, its too violent and doesnt contain technical skill. Two, the procedure is too long, the mission is too big, theres too much content, and theres not enough time. Three, some of the content requires high-level music theory and complex structures for support. Probably only a Resonance musician can complete it, but Professor is busy. So, no." "Psh." Bai Xi glared at him. "You dont want this, you dont want that. Why dont you just get rid of everything and make a graduation work with nothing?" "How is that" Ye Qingxuan suddenly stopped speaking halfway as if stunned. No matter what the others called him, Ye Qingxuan began murmuring something to himself with furrowed brows and a solemn face. Seeing him like this, Charles wrinkled his forehead and fell silent too, sinking into deep thought. Seeing that those two had gone crazy, Bai Xi curled her lips and ignored them. She grabbed Old Phil and went to play. Ye Qingxuan looked up after a long time. "Youre thinking the same thing as me, right?" "I think so." "Having nothing at all might work." "If everything goes according to plan." "The process is short but can be dragged on." "Even though the structure is complex, you just need to repeatedly use a single music theory. Even a Rhythm level musician can complete it." "I did some calculations. It shouldnt be much work." "How should we do the specifics?" "I have a new idea, but we need to split the tasks." "With just the two of us, working together shouldnt be a problem, but I have a new idea. What if" The two became immersed in brainstorming. As they exchanged ideas, they began drawing music notes on paper and experimenting then and there. Abraham quietly watched as they discussed seriously. After a while, he smiled and left without a sound. Maybe this was satisfaction. - It was late at night, two days later. In the workshop of the School of Royalty, Cullen sat down heavily in his chair. With bloodshot eyes, he opened a can of beer and downed it in one shot, letting out an exhausted moan. Beside him, his teammates also drank coffee tiredly as they added last-minute touches to their work. "Were almost done. We can do it!" Cullen patted a friends shoulder. "Ill treat everyone to breakfast when were done." "To be honest, I just want to sleep." A teammate raised his tired eyes. "Can anyone give me the energizer? I want the increased amount." The guy beside him tossed over a beam of frost without even looking. The frost landed on his face and even his hair turned to ice. He woke up immediately. "Thanks," he said with chattering teeth. "Cullen, are you done with the difficulty control? If yes, come help. Im the worst at balanced music theory. I think Im going crazy." Hearing this, Cullen chuckled bitterly. "Wait a sec. Ill come over after I do one last thing." He wiped the sweat on his forehead and gathered his spiritsmusic theory was just like math equations. Sometimes, having one wrong note or being a little offbeat would create drastically different effects. Plus, he was responsible for the most troublesome part of the processdifficulty control. The last trial of school day was the day after tomorrow. At that time, all graduation works would be presented and the other students would use points to experience them. All points earned from that would belong to the production team and be added to their test grade. Of course, many teams would give some points to the winners to entice students to try their works. This was the only way for people to come try, and the more players, the better. Of course, the teams had to make sure the works were not impossible to play, and that they could personally succeed in the game. That led to a problem: how could their raise the difficulty while ensuring that they could pass through the obstacles themselves? This then led to another question: how could they tempt more people to play after ensuring the high difficulty? This was something that gave all graduates headaches. They must reach a balance between difficulty and attractiveness. If it was too difficult, most people would be scared away. If it was too easy, they would lose too many points. Therefore, the control of difficulty must be calculated many times. During the long test, time passed second by second - In the basement of the music history department, Charles held his notebook under the lone light and wrote, "4:30 a.m., first test" Soon, he lifted his head and said, "Start." Ye Qingxuan nodded and pressed a button. And thenBoom! Redness swept through and the entire building shook. The basement became a mess. Ye Qingxuan and Charles turned ashy and were slammed into the wall by the explosive air pressure. Thankfully they had protective measures and were unharmed. In the walls human-shaped dent, Ye Qingxuan spat out dust as his ears rang. Charles picked himself up from the ground and looked around dazedly. "What happened? It exploded?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply and just glared at Charles. Charles instantly became dejected. "Junior, you cant look at me like that! Its not my fault it exploded! You cant blame me, right?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and rechecked the information on the Requiem enchantment. He soon found the reason. "Okay, theres a conflict in the music theory of the overture. It continuously created unnecessary notes in this structure, which entered the second movement and created an endless loop." Holding his chin, he looked at the music score. "The intervals structure isnt stable enough. We need to change it." But changing it was annoying. It was one of the important intervals in the beginning. Changing it meant adjusting the rest of the music theory. They would basically be starting all over again. "What about this?" Charles had been looking for a long time. He reached over and gestured on the music score, adding a legato and repeat symbol. Instead of fixing the root of the problem, he had chosen to fix the surface and moved the endless loop to where it was not a problem. Admittedly, this was cheating and definitely not a proper solution, but with Charles quick thinking, he made it work. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Grinning, he gave a thumbs up. "Nice!" Charles nodded and stepped back carefully. "Then, lets start our second test." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He stood to the side and pressed down the activation button. And thenBoom! This time, even the light was blasted away. Charles and Ye Qingxuan were pressed into the ceiling beside each other. They could not even get out Thankfully they had used temporary Requiem enchantment to create an isolated zone. What happened in here would not affect the outside world. Otherwise, Bai Xi would be kicking down the door now. "Junior, whats the problem now?" Ye Qingxuan hacked out his lungs and wiped the corner of his eyes. He stammered, "The sixsixth interval, why is there a glissando?" "Okay, thats my fault." "Its always your fault. Why dont we add a natural notation?" "It can work. Then, third test" Boom! 221 A Long Nigh One night later, Ye Qingxuan stared annoyingly at the similarly-ashen Charles. Who had ever heard of sixteen explosions in one night? They were even better at music theory than other students. It must be Charles fault. "Okay, blame me." Charles opened his mouth and blew out smoke from the explosion. "Ill go stand in the corner for the next test." "I think Im going deaf. Lets sleep first." Ye Qingxuan yawned and felt he was going to pass out. "Ive been waiting for you to say that for two days." With a laugh, Charles collapsed onto the ground and soon began snoring. Ye Qingxuan sighed. He laid a piece of dust-cloth over Charles and crawled onto the broken sofa covered in parts, without caring if it was clean or not. He fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes. In the morning, Bai Xi kicked the door open and saw that the two were deep in sleep. She curled her lips in disinterest and drew a turtle on their faces, then she took Old Phil out. Today was the one day she had class. At noon, Abraham visited. Seeing that these two were still unconscious, he shook his head and smiled bitterly. After looking through their music score, he made some small changes, wrote down a message and left to report at the military. In the afternoon, a rare guest knocked on the history departments door. - "Anyone here?" Bart stood outside and patiently knocked on the door for the third time, but there was still no reply. The ancient building was silent as if no one was there. He furrowed his brows and knocked more forcefully. Creaking, the dooropened. "Anyone here?" He peered carefully. Seeing the cracks in the wall and the wall shavings in the corner, he wrinkled his nose. What was this weird place? There was also the smell of alcohol in the air, which made his expression even uglier. Had these guys stooped so low that they drunk for enjoyment? Musicians needed absolute quiet and focus. Drinking was like suicide Holding his nose, he walked into the living room, which was empty. He waited for a while but still, no one came. Finally, he rose in annoyance, feeling that he was wasting his time. Coming here to lower himself to the history department was already his bottom line. Waiting for so long was just humiliating. He no longer waited and pushed open the door to Abrahams library. He tore off a piece of paper and wrote that he would visit another day, leaving his professors card. "Huh, history department," Bart huffed. He took one last glance at the messy library and turned to leave, but after taking two steps, his feet stopped and he froze in place. As if finally dawning on him, he turned around in shock and glanced at the tableat the stack of notes on the table. He hesitated for a long time before finally gathering his courage. He carefully opened the stack of paper and began flipping through it. The more he read, the uglier his expression became. In the end, he did not dare to look anymore. He raised the ring on his finger and began recording everything in panic. When he still had a few more pages left, he suddenly heard noise in the basement. His fingers shook and he speedily returned everything to how it was. Taking back his message, he carefully erased all trace that he had been here. Finally, he opened the door without a sound and ran as if escaping for his life. He sprinted under the blazing afternoon sun, stumbling and muttering to himself, "How is this possible, how is this possible, how is this possiblehow is this possible?" - "How is this possible?" In the office, Ingmar watched Barts video and compared it to his notes, his expression livid. Over and over and over againevery time he watched, his anger worsened. In the end, he flipped the table in manic rage and roared at Bart, "How is this possible?! How can I be wrong?!" An invisible tornado enveloped the room. Everything began shaking crazily with almost cracking cacophony. It all fell to the ground in the end. Bart stood in the corner, trembling in fear, not daring to make a sound. He was thankfully from the School of Revelations, which was not good at destruction. If it was Egor who was raging today, the entire office would be burned to ashes. After a long, long time, Ingmar finally calmed down. He compared his notes to the video one last time, flipping through the pages. As he flipped past every page, it would crumble. They broke apart soundlessly and scattered on Ingmars robe like cinders after a fire. In the end, it seemed as if Ingmar was sitting in a pile of ghastly white cinder. His hands were empty, but his face was as white as skeletons and dead ashes. "It seems that my direction truly was wrong" he murmured. His hands shook, veins bulging on his forehead, and he sounded as if he was crying. "Why am I wrong? Why me? Why" Bart froze. He heard his professors heartbeatit was incomparably loud and heavy, like drum beats. The drum beats grew faster and faster, pulling him into it. He seemed to see a spinning starry sky, but the stars shook crazily and patches were extinguishing. When it finally dawned on Bart, his face paled. This was a sign of his sound of hearts collapse. Bart rushed forward and forcefully shook Ingmars shoulders to clear his mind. But Ingmar was like a piece of wood that had no reaction at all. Finally, determination flashed past Barts eyes. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Ingmars hand and stabbed it with a sharp pen. Boom! The air pressure shot up. Bart was forced away by shockwaves from Ingmar and slammed into the wall. His vision went black and he spat out blood; his arm was broken. The entire room fell to ruins and the buildings alarm went off. Everyone panicked, but the alarm quickly disappeared again. Everything in the office was dragged to its original spot by an invisible strength. The shattered vase was put back today, the torn carpet was sewn together and the pulverized wall painting emerged out of the dust again. It was as if nothing had happened. Ingmar was sitting in his original position and his eyes were no longer crazed, but his body was soaked with cold sweat. Not caring about the pain of his hand being nailed to the table, he yanked the pen out. He glanced at Bart, whose arm was continuing to heal, and finally regained his senses. He finally knew what had happened. "Bart, you are a good student. If not for you, Abraham might have" He gritted his teeth, his expression becoming fierce as a beast. He sprinkled medicine on his hand, wrapped it and put on a glove, covering the wound. Bart was still terrified and stammered out a reply. "You said that no one saw you when you went to the history department, right?" Decisiveness and ruthlessness flashed past Ingmars eyes. "Are you sure?" Bart froze. Understanding something, his face paled even more. Under Ingmars heavy stare, he finally nodded forcefully. "Yes, no one knows I was there" "Good." Ingmar suddenly smiled. It did not suit his pale face at all and was instead terrifying. "Come to the Musician Union with me in a bit." Barts suspicions were confirmed and his expression became one of fear. "Would they do anythingif they realized?" "Youre still too young, Bart. Too young and na?ve" Ingmar looked up. There was a shade of gloomy pity in his eyes. "These things belong to whoever publishes it first." - Late at night, a carriage stopped before the clock shop. The man pushed the door open and entered. "Mr. Bayer?" The blonde youth drinking tea by the window looked up. Shock appeared on his face. "A guest from the Musician Union? How rare. You havent visited since you received this position. How can I help you tonight? Are you here to buy something?" "No need." Bayer waved his hand and smiled sadly. "I cannot afford your products." "Ah, dont say that." Hermes shook his head. "Im well-known for having great things at great prices. If you look carefully, youll be able to find something you like." "Actually, I am here today to ask you to help me appraise something." He sat across from Hermes and pushed over a copy of a black folder. "I think you have some knowledge about this." "Oh?" Hermes arched an eyebrow. "The experts at your Union arent sure? How rare." Bayer chuckled bitterly, shaking his head. "Actually, the scholars of our union and the Sacred City have been arguing over this. When I left, they were still fighting over whether this is qualified research results." "Oh? Let me seeVoynich Manuscript? After all these centuries, you all still havent given up and are still trying to decipher this?" Hermes opened the folder and quickly flipped the pages. He scanned through, not like reading, but rather like confirming something. His gaze grew stranger as he read. "It really isinteresting! Are you all trying to use weird ways to restore the original because all other paths are impossible? This is a strange side path, but has returned to the correct direction. Let me see the authorIngmar?" He furrowed his brows. "Ive met this guy and, quite honestly, I dont think he has the guts to overthrow all previous theories. Have I misjudged him?" Joy flickered past Bayers eyes. "So you confirm that its fake?" "Tsk, of course its real. Its obvious he started bullsh*tting at the end, but the direction is right, at least." Hermes waved the folder around in irritation. "Congratulations. Youve found another direction to let you to bullsh*t for a few more decades. What great news. This time, you can bring that old thing out again, knock on it and celebrate. But isnt it annoying to ring bells every holiday? Why cant you think of a more graceful method?" "Sir, please do not joke. That is the Philosophers Bell. Its naturally different from others," Bayer said with a smile. "In contrast, the gates of heaven contain Gods prestige. It does not often show the way." "Dont compare my work to that piece of crap," Hermes spat in distaste, seeming extremely vulgar. "Philosophers Bell? Psh, its clearly like" He uttered the words very unclearly and Bayer pretended not to hear. He gathered the papers, handed over a large sum of money, and left. Hermes opened the sachet with his pinkie finger. Glancing at the crystal-like things inside with disgust, he called, "Bai Xi!" "What?" Bai Xi, who was being punished by copying music scores behind the counter, looked up. "Theres a saying from the East that says students should help when the teacher needs it. I dont like this thing so take it home for Old Phil to chew on." He tossed the sachet into Bai Xis arms. Something seemed to suddenly dawn on him and he revealed a strange smile. "Ah, my association skills are just so amazing," he muttered to himself. "It seems like something interesting is going to happen again soon? Im soexcited!" 222 Exhibition Begins After two days of fierce competition, the rankings had changed dramatically. The School of Modifications was chasing fiercely, the School of Revelations was staying in place, and the School of Royalty seemed to have fallen down again. At the last moment, the School of Summoning began going all out. Their teams filled the entire competition and they practically sacrificed everything, even their girlfriends. Their scores and rankings shot up quickly and leaped past Modifications. During the critical countdown in the end, they reached 271,400 points. Finally, with the cooperation of the entire school, Summoning beat the history department with a difference of one-hundred points and hoped into first place. It was such great news! This time, the history department was finally beaten. Otherwise, all other schools would have been defeated by a department that was close to being exterminated. So many people secretly let out a breath of relief, but sadly, good times were always short-lived. The end of the second round of trials was soon announced. All teams disbanded and the points were split between the teammatesand so the situation became fierce again. One could not bear to look as everyone looked at their rankings and wailed. Everyone knew that even if a team had more than ten-thousand points, each personwell, it depended on how many players they had. On the smaller side, the teams had seven or eight members. The bigger teams had dozens, and some even had cheerleaders! They all took their portion of the points. And the worst thing was, the history department did not have many people! The entire time, their actual members only consisted of three students and a dog. The dog did not need points soif one rounded up, the two-hundred seventy-thousand points would be divided by three. That was just too much! Bai Xi did not care about the academys prizes and just wanted to have fun in the exhibition round, so she took ten-thousand points and became number seventeen...Charles was simplerhe just wanted to graduate. To be safe, he took more and left with ninety-thousand. This guy instantly shot from the bottom of the rankings into top ten. He became number six! As for Ye Qingxuaneveryone went crazy because the remaining points were all his. With one-hundred and seventy-thousand points, he shot forward like a rocket, pushing him to the front of the list. Finally, after another the notifications rang out like an earthquake, Ye Qingxuan had returned to the top of the rankings. He was more than twenty thousand points aheadFirst place! Where was the justice in this world? The students could not help but swear when they saw the flashing gold Eastern name on the rankings and went to mope in the corner with red eyes. They could not keep living like this. While they were still fighting tooth and nail over a few hundred points to become middle class, others were already millionaires and shining with gold from the inside. Their facial muscles began twitching whenever they saw someone like that. It was like a toothache, but during their painful toothache, the school day was drawing to an end. The final round had finally begunthe graduation work exhibition! - "Its finally starting," Cullen sighed in exhaustion from behind his exhibit. People had surged into the campus square at dawn. After the principals short speech, the last round of the torturous school day finally began. There was a long line of students before the School of Royaltys exhibit. They were all waiting to test out their product, but the team was still doing their last check nervously. "How are the results of the last check?" A student with bloodshot eyes turned around. "Wait a sec. Itll be done after I finish testing this portion." "Good luck. The final check is necessary." Cullen sighed. "Go sleep after its done. Ill take care of this, and members of the student council will come over later." Soon, his teammate cheered, packed up his aether ball and instrument, and collapsed onto the ground. He gave Cullen the thumbs up. "All set!" "Then, let the testing begin!" Cullen smiled and pushed open the exhibits door, waving to the crowd. "Please line up in order and dont push. This time, our graduation work will only cost ten points to experience. Hopefully, youll find it worth it." "Oh, it looks exciting here." The old man on the side took off his hat and smiled. "Can an old man like me cut in line and try it first?" "Principal?" Stunned, Cullen quickly moved to the side. "Please, please, come in." Maxwell chuckled and placed his hat on the table and asked, "What did you prepare this time?" "Just battle simulation," Cullen replied modestly. "We found inspiration from the war between the Asgardians and the revolutionary colonies. Our project this time mainly used war chariot battles. The musician is responsible for driving the iron chariot forward on the map. We can use aether cannons on the chariots to destroy blockades and enemy chariots. The command group that destroys the enemies wins. "But you also need to protect your fortress. Look here, this ring of rock blockades represents the fortress. The Griffin emblem within represents the command center of our camp. "You can use the points earned in the game to upgrade the material of the fortress, transforming it into green gold at the end. The Griffin emblem cant be upgraded though. One aether cannon can destroy it. You must protect your command center. If the Griffin is destroyed, the battle is over." "Oh, so if the camp is destroyed, itll be impossible to continue fighting, correct?" The Principal nodded. "I only have one chariot?" "Yes." Cullen nodded. "But the enemy has many chariots. Please keep note to use the blockades to protect against the enemys cannons. As the levels increase, the amount of enemy chariots and their difficulty level will increase too" "Oh, sounds interesting. Let me try." Maxwell rubbed his hands and activated the illusion before him. A large birds eye view appeared before him soon. Right beside the stone fortress, a rectangular steel chariot slowly powered on under his control of the music note. The entire battlefield was like a chessboard. There was a river in the middle that the chariots could only cross with the bridge, but the enemys cannons could be shot across. The cannons were not very fast in the simulation, and one could dodge it if they reacted in time. The principals chariot quickly passed through the levels with a passionate battle melody as background music. He solved each problem as he faced them and charged straight toward the enemys camp without regard of anything else. Beside him, Cullens scalp tingled. Most people would take it slow and steady when they entered the simulation. They would first guard their commanding center and destroy all the enemy chariots before pushing into their nest. He did not expect that the principal would be so fast and cross the river right at the beginning, flattening everything in his path and going for the enemys stronghold without a care for his own weak commanding center. Maxwell had chosen to gamble on speed with the much more powerful and supplied enemy. He delved deeply alone and killed the others before they could kill him. "So decisive," Cullen murmured. Thinking of the principals usual vigorous and resolute manner, and the dark stories he had heard from his family, awe filled his eyes when he looked at the principal. But soon, the principals speed and well-practiced manipulation bewildered him again. Maxwells familiarity with the work grew speedily. By the time he was at the sixth level, he was practically more familiar with the chariot than Cullen, the creator! "Not bad. As expected, the School of Royaltys work didnt disappoint me." Just as Cullen was spacing out, the principal had finished the game and won one hundred points. He intimately patted Cullens shoulder. "The quality is good overall this year. I am anticipating which project will be the most popular." Cullen froze and quickly asked, "Did you see the other schools works already?" "Want to get insider information from me?" The principal smiled mysteriously. "I cant say anything, but I recommend you take a look around. Maybe youll see something unpredictable." After he left, Cullen sat in his spot for a few minutes, becoming more and more unsettled. Soon, he gave the works copy and control to a teammate and put on his jacket. "Huh? Youre leaving?" "Im going to look at the other exhibits." Cullen rubbed his face and sighed. "It seems that I still need work on my resolution. The principals few words unsettled me." "You dont have to go personally, right?" The teammate yawned. "We have eyes on all our competitors exhibits." "Actually, Im not worried about the predictable things." Cullen glanced at him. "Im scared of the unpredictable." - After Cullen had made a circle, he sat down heavily on the chair. Sighing involuntarily, his brows furrowed. It seemed that he really had underestimated the other schools. Many of the competitors were unexpected. After personally experiencing them, Cullen realized that their quality was comparable to his own. Rather than creating a sequel to last years King Kong as expected, the School of Summoning created a new workBeast Eater. The musician entered a large maze and must use music notes to guide his phantom beast. He must go forward, explore and eat the dots of "beastly nature" on the path. At the same time, the demons raised by the natural catastrophes paced in the maze. Once it met the phantom beast, it would start chasing and was difficult to lose. Once the beast entered a dead end and was unable to turn around, it would be eaten by the demon. Meanwhile, the musicians phantom beast could evolve by eating the dots of beastly nature. After becoming complete, it could turn around and eat all the demons. A yellow ball with a mouth represented the phantom beast. It would evolve to perfection by eating the dots, becoming stronger than the demons and swallow them. This represented that willpower restricted and controlled the beastly nature, and finally succeededthis was the purpose and meaning of the School of Summoning. The School of Modifications created a new product called Thunder. Looking down at the sky, the musician controlled a new plane model, and faced various fleets and demons in the air. He must dodge the enemys attacks in the bullet-filled screen and fight back using the continuous energy. The plane contained three large annihilation bombs to respond to various attacks. They could clear the screen instantly and kill all enemies. This also provided a period of no enemies so the player could hide in the sealed screen. Winning against the stronger and bigger enemy, winning with formulas and energy, the game was also filled with an indescribably urgency and stimulation. The feeling of unleashing power was intoxicating. This was the School of Modifications classic style! It could be predicted that this product would definitely be well received by Modifications students after its release. After all, they liked to do things forcefully. The Joker game by the School of Revelations could not be underestimated either Cullen calculated in his mind, but his unsettledness grew. The question mark in his mind grew, grew and grewFinally, he sighed and glanced toward the music history departmentAs expected, he could not be assured, no matter what! What had the history department done this time? He hesitated a bit and decided that he would personally take a look. But when he got near, he saw some people stalk out of the crowd angrily. "F*cking no one can pass!" "Those psychos" "I was so close!" "No, still too slow." Hearing their voices, Cullens suspicion grew. He was about to go up and ask but heard messy footsteps behind him. Turning around in confusion, he was met with a dark mass of people rushing over. It was amazing how many people there were. They brushed past him and charged straight toward the history departments exhibit. Everyones expressions were of excitement and anticipation, as if they could not wait. "Hurry up! Youll be late if youre this slow!" "Dont let them get there first." "Im going to save a seat first. Hurry over." "Whats happening?" Cullen grabbed a familiar-looking student and asked quietly, "Did something happen to the history department?" "Cullen, havent you heard yet?" The student glanced at him strangely. "The rumors have spread through the entire school." "What?" For some reason, the bad premonition grew in Cullen. The students expression instantly grew troubled. "A few minutes ago, that Eastern concertmaster bet all his points that no one could successfully complete his work!" "All his points?" Spots appeared in Cullens vision. "One-hundred and seventy-thousand?" "Yeah, one hundred and seventy thousand!" Cullen felt his vision going black. He forced his head up and saw the white-haired youth, sunbathing casually, at the front of the crowd. "Has this guygone crazy?" Chapter 217 C Exhibition Begins After two days of fierce competition, the rankings had changed dramatically. The School of Modifications was chasing fiercely, the School of Revelations was staying in place, and the School of Royalty seemed to have fallen down again. At the last moment, the School of Summoning began going all out. Their teams filled the entire competition and they practically sacrificed everything, even their girlfriends. Their scores and rankings shot up quickly and leaped past Modifications. During the critical countdown in the end, they reached 271,400 points. Finally, with the cooperation of the entire school, Summoning beat the history department with a difference of one-hundred points and hoped into first place. It was such great news! This time, the history department was finally beaten. Otherwise, all other schools would have been defeated by a department that was close to being exterminated. So many people secretly let out a breath of relief, but sadly, good times were always short-lived. The end of the second round of trials was soon announced. All teams disbanded and the points were split between the teammatesand so the situation became fierce again. One could not bear to look as everyone looked at their rankings and wailed. Everyone knew that even if a team had more than ten-thousand points, each personwell, it depended on how many players they had. On the smaller side, the teams had seven or eight members. The bigger teams had dozens, and some even had cheerleaders! They all took their portion of the points. And the worst thing was, the history department did not have many people! The entire time, their actual members only consisted of three students and a dog. The dog did not need points soif one rounded up, the two-hundred seventy-thousand points would be divided by three. That was just too much! Bai Xi did not care about the academys prizes and just wanted to have fun in the exhibition round, so she took ten-thousand points and became number seventeen...Charles was simplerhe just wanted to graduate. To be safe, he took more and left with ninety-thousand. This guy instantly shot from the bottom of the rankings into top ten. He became number six! As for Ye Qingxuaneveryone went crazy because the remaining points were all his. With one-hundred and seventy-thousand points, he shot forward like a rocket, pushing him to the front of the list. Finally, after another the notifications rang out like an earthquake, Ye Qingxuan had returned to the top of the rankings. He was more than twenty thousand points aheadFirst place! Where was the justice in this world? The students could not help but swear when they saw the flashing gold Eastern name on the rankings and went to mope in the corner with red eyes. They could not keep living like this. While they were still fighting tooth and nail over a few hundred points to become middle class, others were already millionaires and shining with gold from the inside. Their facial muscles began twitching whenever they saw someone like that. It was like a toothache, but during their painful toothache, the school day was drawing to an end. The final round had finally begunthe graduation work exhibition! - "Its finally starting," Cullen sighed in exhaustion from behind his exhibit. People had surged into the campus square at dawn. After the principals short speech, the last round of the torturous school day finally began. There was a long line of students before the School of Royaltys exhibit. They were all waiting to test out their product, but the team was still doing their last check nervously. "How are the results of the last check?" A student with bloodshot eyes turned around. "Wait a sec. Itll be done after I finish testing this portion." "Good luck. The final check is necessary." Cullen sighed. "Go sleep after its done. Ill take care of this, and members of the student council will come over later." Soon, his teammate cheered, packed up his aether ball and instrument, and collapsed onto the ground. He gave Cullen the thumbs up. "All set!" "Then, let the testing begin!" Cullen smiled and pushed open the exhibits door, waving to the crowd. "Please line up in order and dont push. This time, our graduation work will only cost ten points to experience. Hopefully, youll find it worth it." "Oh, it looks exciting here." The old man on the side took off his hat and smiled. "Can an old man like me cut in line and try it first?" "Principal?" Stunned, Cullen quickly moved to the side. "Please, please, come in." Maxwell chuckled and placed his hat on the table and asked, "What did you prepare this time?" "Just battle simulation," Cullen replied modestly. "We found inspiration from the war between the Asgardians and the revolutionary colonies. Our project this time mainly used war chariot battles. The musician is responsible for driving the iron chariot forward on the map. We can use aether cannons on the chariots to destroy blockades and enemy chariots. The command group that destroys the enemies wins. "But you also need to protect your fortress. Look here, this ring of rock blockades represents the fortress. The Griffin emblem within represents the command center of our camp. "You can use the points earned in the game to upgrade the material of the fortress, transforming it into green gold at the end. The Griffin emblem cant be upgraded though. One aether cannon can destroy it. You must protect your command center. If the Griffin is destroyed, the battle is over." "Oh, so if the camp is destroyed, itll be impossible to continue fighting, correct?" The Principal nodded. "I only have one chariot?" "Yes." Cullen nodded. "But the enemy has many chariots. Please keep note to use the blockades to protect against the enemys cannons. As the levels increase, the amount of enemy chariots and their difficulty level will increase too" "Oh, sounds interesting. Let me try." Maxwell rubbed his hands and activated the illusion before him. A large birds eye view appeared before him soon. Right beside the stone fortress, a rectangular steel chariot slowly powered on under his control of the music note. The entire battlefield was like a chessboard. There was a river in the middle that the chariots could only cross with the bridge, but the enemys cannons could be shot across. The cannons were not very fast in the simulation, and one could dodge it if they reacted in time. The principals chariot quickly passed through the levels with a passionate battle melody as background music. He solved each problem as he faced them and charged straight toward the enemys camp without regard of anything else. Beside him, Cullens scalp tingled. Most people would take it slow and steady when they entered the simulation. They would first guard their commanding center and destroy all the enemy chariots before pushing into their nest. He did not expect that the principal would be so fast and cross the river right at the beginning, flattening everything in his path and going for the enemys stronghold without a care for his own weak commanding center. Maxwell had chosen to gamble on speed with the much more powerful and supplied enemy. He delved deeply alone and killed the others before they could kill him. "So decisive," Cullen murmured. Thinking of the principals usual vigorous and resolute manner, and the dark stories he had heard from his family, awe filled his eyes when he looked at the principal. But soon, the principals speed and well-practiced manipulation bewildered him again. Maxwells familiarity with the work grew speedily. By the time he was at the sixth level, he was practically more familiar with the chariot than Cullen, the creator! "Not bad. As expected, the School of Royaltys work didnt disappoint me." Just as Cullen was spacing out, the principal had finished the game and won one hundred points. He intimately patted Cullens shoulder. "The quality is good overall this year. I am anticipating which project will be the most popular." Cullen froze and quickly asked, "Did you see the other schools works already?" "Want to get insider information from me?" The principal smiled mysteriously. "I cant say anything, but I recommend you take a look around. Maybe youll see something unpredictable." After he left, Cullen sat in his spot for a few minutes, becoming more and more unsettled. Soon, he gave the works copy and control to a teammate and put on his jacket. "Huh? Youre leaving?" "Im going to look at the other exhibits." Cullen rubbed his face and sighed. "It seems that I still need work on my resolution. The principals few words unsettled me." "You dont have to go personally, right?" The teammate yawned. "We have eyes on all our competitors exhibits." "Actually, Im not worried about the predictable things." Cullen glanced at him. "Im scared of the unpredictable." - After Cullen had made a circle, he sat down heavily on the chair. Sighing involuntarily, his brows furrowed. It seemed that he really had underestimated the other schools. Many of the competitors were unexpected. After personally experiencing them, Cullen realized that their quality was comparable to his own. Rather than creating a sequel to last years King Kong as expected, the School of Summoning created a new workBeast Eater. The musician entered a large maze and must use music notes to guide his phantom beast. He must go forward, explore and eat the dots of "beastly nature" on the path. At the same time, the demons raised by the natural catastrophes paced in the maze. Once it met the phantom beast, it would start chasing and was difficult to lose. Once the beast entered a dead end and was unable to turn around, it would be eaten by the demon. Meanwhile, the musicians phantom beast could evolve by eating the dots of beastly nature. After becoming complete, it could turn around and eat all the demons. A yellow ball with a mouth represented the phantom beast. It would evolve to perfection by eating the dots, becoming stronger than the demons and swallow them. This represented that willpower restricted and controlled the beastly nature, and finally succeededthis was the purpose and meaning of the School of Summoning. The School of Modifications created a new product called Thunder. Looking down at the sky, the musician controlled a new plane model, and faced various fleets and demons in the air. He must dodge the enemys attacks in the bullet-filled screen and fight back using the continuous energy. The plane contained three large annihilation bombs to respond to various attacks. They could clear the screen instantly and kill all enemies. This also provided a period of no enemies so the player could hide in the sealed screen. Winning against the stronger and bigger enemy, winning with formulas and energy, the game was also filled with an indescribably urgency and stimulation. The feeling of unleashing power was intoxicating. This was the School of Modifications classic style! It could be predicted that this product would definitely be well received by Modifications students after its release. After all, they liked to do things forcefully. The Joker game by the School of Revelations could not be underestimated either Cullen calculated in his mind, but his unsettledness grew. The question mark in his mind grew, grew and grewFinally, he sighed and glanced toward the music history departmentAs expected, he could not be assured, no matter what! What had the history department done this time? He hesitated a bit and decided that he would personally take a look. But when he got near, he saw some people stalk out of the crowd angrily. "F*cking no one can pass!" "Those psychos" "I was so close!" "No, still too slow." Hearing their voices, Cullens suspicion grew. He was about to go up and ask but heard messy footsteps behind him. Turning around in confusion, he was met with a dark mass of people rushing over. It was amazing how many people there were. They brushed past him and charged straight toward the history departments exhibit. Everyones expressions were of excitement and anticipation, as if they could not wait. "Hurry up! Youll be late if youre this slow!" "Dont let them get there first." "Im going to save a seat first. Hurry over." "Whats happening?" Cullen grabbed a familiar-looking student and asked quietly, "Did something happen to the history department?" "Cullen, havent you heard yet?" The student glanced at him strangely. "The rumors have spread through the entire school." "What?" For some reason, the bad premonition grew in Cullen. The students expression instantly grew troubled. "A few minutes ago, that Eastern concertmaster bet all his points that no one could successfully complete his work!" "All his points?" Spots appeared in Cullens vision. "One-hundred and seventy-thousand?" "Yeah, one hundred and seventy thousand!" Cullen felt his vision going black. He forced his head up and saw the white-haired youth, sunbathing casually, at the front of the crowd. "Has this guygone crazy?" 223 Consider Carefully… In the hustle and bustle, people queued excitedly, wondering if that Eastern concertmaster was a fool who wagered his all points on such a rough work. Even if it passed the schools audit, many problems would be found by the students who tested it out, since it only took those guys a few days to make the thing. How did he have such courage to wager all his points on it and to claim that no one could pass the game? Or did he get too carried away because of the rewards for the top prize? People who looked depressed constantly came back from the front and were surrounded by people who excitedly inquired about what kind of work it was. "Is it really difficult?" someone asked. "It wont be too difficult," someone beside interrupted. "If the creator isnt able to do it himself, then the school will never let him pass the audit." The experienced student shook his head with a complex expression. "No, actually, it''s very simple..." He gesticulated for a long time before finally shaking his head in frustration. "Forget about it, you can see for yourself." Finishing his words, the student went away regardless of other people''s tugging. After having waited for half an hour, Cullen lost his patience. He went directly to the front using his own privilege as a student council member. Fortunately, the music history department prepared dozens of copies this time, so multiple people could experience it at the same time. Otherwise, the people in line would have to wait until the next morning. "Hey, I know you!" Charles, who stood in front of the door for taking points, looked at Cullen. He reaching out his hand and smiled. "One-hundred points, please." "Its that expensive?" Cullen was dumbfounded. "Are you mad?!" "It might be a little expensive, but its worth it! Think about the reward if you win. Its one-hundred and seventy-thousand points!" Charles explained exultantly. "Pay one-hundred points and you can get a reward of seventeen-hundred times that! Even a bank robber wont get so much so fast, okay?" Cullen hesitated. Under the mans urging, he paid one-hundred points very reluctantly and entered. "I wont let you go if I find out that you are cheating," he gritted out between clenched teeth in a low voice. Charles smiled. "Okay, no problem!" Soon Cullen was taken to a vacant field in the illusion. Nothing could be seen in the white mist. Cullen frowned. "Is this group of guys too lazy to even make the surrounding background? And they charge one-hundred points for this shoddy stuff? How f*cking crooked are these men?!" he thought. Boom! Before he could react, a square brick fell from the sky and crashed before him. He froze, "What is this?" "This is my graduation work." Charles rubbed his hands. "Its starting soon. Arent you going to prepare?" Before Charles finished his words, there was another boom. A rectangular brick descended slowly from the sky and landed next to the other brick...Following immediately, another brick in a right angle fell slowly, filling the gap between the square and rectangular brick perfectly Ding! After a crisp sound, the line that was filled with bricks disappeared. The piled bricks fell down and fell back into the bottom row. "Do you understand now?" Charles smiled and asked. "This game is called Bricks. The work will produce intervals randomly, which are represented here through the form of bricks. You need to use notes to control where the bricks fall, and then combine those various intervals cleverlythat is, by putting them in a row and filling the empty spaces. The filled intervals will disappear. The longer you last, the faster itll get and the more scores youll receive." Before Cullen could react, Charles disappeared in the mist. "There are only nine levels, so enjoy yourself!" "Wait! Thats all?" Cullen muttered blankly, not having processed anything He had been ready to face the difficulty of hell before he came, but this was just too simple. It was as simple as a puzzle. If he passed the game, he would have one-hundred and seventy-thousand points? Where did these psychos get their confidence from? Soon the bricks began falling slowly again. This time, Cullen carefully controlled the whole process for fear that something strange would happen. But after ten minutes, he realized that it was just so simple! Without surprise, he passed the first level. At the beginning of the second level, the speed of the falling bricks seemed to have become a bit faster, but it did not matter. Cullen did not care about this speed at all. But why were there so few rectangular bricks? "Give me a rectangular brick! I don''t want strange corners and squares, just a rectangular brick. Rectangular brick, come on, rectangular brick!" he thought. Soon, a belated rectangle fell from the sky. Cullen breathed a sigh of relief and carefully put it into the corner-most space. Instantly, four dings rang in a row. Four rows had disappeared! Cullen let out a long sigh, and felt light and happy inside. He had to admit that this game was quite interesting! Soon, he passed the third level, the fourth... By now, the bricks were falling at around the same speed as they would in real life. Cullen could barely handle it all. In the midst of the chaos, the bricks had piled up into a tall tower Give me a square! A square! "Give me a square!" Cullen shouted. At last, the square came belatedly. Cullen was overjoyed, but then his facial muscles slacked. It was too late to move the square over; there was a rectangle in its way. There was a loud bang. The pile of bricks finally reached the top and all the bricks collapsed. Game over. Cullen shook his fist angrily. "Dammit! I almost made it. Almost!" In the illusion, a strange folk music sounded. A dog with arrogant eyes came, singing and dancing. After glancing at Cullen judgingly, it went away, singing and dancing... In such a cruel ending effect, Charles appeared, rubbing his hands. He smiled and asked, "How was the experience? Want" "Again!" Cullen interrupted him resolutely, and transferred five-hundred points. "No need for change. Just deduct it automatically and dont bother me!" "Ok, if you pay up, then youre the boss. Boss, enjoy yourself." Charles waved his hands and floated away like a ghost. Immediately, a square fell from the sky again. Cullen rubbed his hands and prepared himself. This time, he would succeed! Twenty minutes later, Cullen swore. The bricks before him had collapsed again because the bricks had piled up too much, before he could get the lifesaving rectangular brick. He was so close to the eighth level! "Again!" he gritted his teeth and growled. Boom! "Again!" he shouted again. Bang! ... "Again!" he growled. "..." No bricks fell down this time. Cullen froze for a moment and turned back angrily, only to see Charless unscrupulous smile. "Ah, Mr. Secretary Cullen, your points are used up. You want to recharge?" "How can it be this...fast?" Cullen became dazed before finishing his sentence and carefully thought about it. It was true that he ran out of the points, without even realizing it...Was he going to give up here? He had gained so much experience and was almost there! "Again!" Gritting his teeth, he transferred one-thousand points. "I don''t believe it!" "All right!" Charles clapped. "Are you tired of standing? I also sell small benches here, it only costs ten dollars; theres also ramen and iced water!" "I don''t need anything, go away!" "Okay, okay..." Charles said sadly. The bricks fell from the sky again. There were endless sighs in the environment. It was not until noon that Cullen came out of the illusion. The last time, he had reached the ninth level but failed in the last few seconds He was so close and had brushed shoulders with one-hundred and seventy-thousand points! D*mn, he was so close! Just a bit moreand he had spent more than half of this thirty-thousand points on this thing. He gritted his teeth to keep himself from trying again. He finally understood that this thing was a bottomless pit. With that difficulty, no amount of points was enough! But he did not see Charless original work. That was a real bottomless pit...Countless points were put in, the wheel turned two rounds and the points were gone. One could only hear a ring. "Oh, youre leaving?" Charles came up with a regretful expression. "A pity, you were so close." "Shut up! I don''t want to talk to you!" Thinking of the twenty-thousand points he had lost, Cullen shivered inwardly. "Ah, what a pity!" Charles sighed. "I was going to tell you that the version had been updated." "Updated?" "Yes, a lot of people responded that the final levels are too difficult, so we made a small adjustment." Charles took out a flyer. "You see, with this, the difficulty is lowered a lot!" Cullen paused. "What''s this?" "This is..." Charles smiled meaningfully. "I call it the khorium system. "There are three new items that can be purchased with points. Theres a small shovel that can help you clear some of the wrong bricks. One is an explosive barrel that can help you clear a row of bricks. The last one called the siege hammer, which can directly clear the entire screen of bricks...Well, you see, since these things are so powerful, it''s understandable that the charges are expensive, right? "But," Cullen looked at the price list on the flyer and gulped, "but isnt it too expensive?" "It''s worth it." Charles put his arm around Cullens shoulder, and whispered in his ear like a devil, "Consider it carefully. Will you become stronger if you dont recharge?" 224 Explosive Maniac "Consider it carefully. Will you become stronger if you dont recharge?" Where was the logic? Cullen fell into deep thought. After a few minutes, the student councils moderator felt his school badge vibrate. He realized it was Cullen after answering it. "Ingres, do you still have points?" Cullen asked quickly on the other end of the call. "Yeah, and some saved up." Ingres counted in his head. "Probably around ten-thousand." "Is anyone around you? Ask them." "I asked and we probably have thirty-thousand together. Cullen, whats wrong?" "Dont ask, just transfer them. Im in a hurry and I need them now" "Youwait a bit. Ill do it now." Ingres felt slightly unsettled, but he trusted Cullen and transferred the points. After a few minutes, Cullen entered the illusion once again, armed with a bag of small shovels, gunpowder, and siege hammers, and the grave determination of dying if he could not succeed. Outside the door, Charles watched as the number on his badge grew rapidly and was overjoyed. "I hit the goldmine, the goldmine." He laughed quietly. "Ten-thousand points in a few hours. This is faster than robbing a bank! The khorium system is so amazing. Im a genius!" Done with counting his money, he cackled weirdly and looked at the long line of students. In his eyes, these students had all become man-shaped ATMs for school points. They looked lovable. "Please be patient and dont shove. Take your time. Weve added ten more locations" The surging crowd came in waves and left in waves after using up all their points. In the end, everyone finally gave up and lost confidence in this thing. "Theres no way to pass this!" someone yanked Charless collar and yelled. "Youre just scamming us!" "Ah, dont get so worked up." Charles patted his shoulder. "Theres always hope in life, dont give up so easily. Want to try again?" "In your dreams!" the student roared. "You still want my money? This thing is just for scamming people! Its impossible to pass! Give me back my points!" The other depressed students crowded over. Passerby were angered by the injustice and pulled at Charles too, yelling, "Give us back our points!" "Otherwise well report you to the school board!" "Cant believe youre like this" But just then, a hoarse cheer rang out. Like a firework, the burst made everyones head spin. They turned toward the exhibit in shock. "No way?" A dazed man with bloodshot eyes ran out of the illusion. He danced and yelled, "I passed! I passed! I finally passed!" A group appeared around him in the illusion. They crowded around him and clapped energetically in celebration. These people clad in extremely weird clothing had smiling and satisfied expressions, as if humanity had been saved. "Congratulations Cullen!" "Congratulations!" "Congratulations on your victory!" "Congratulations on finding the meaning of life" "Humanity has been saved" On the side, Bai Xi felt chills at this and quietly asked Charles, "Where did you think of all this?" "I dreamed about it." Charles glanced at her in confusion. "Dont you think it fits?" "Not at all!" Bai Xi did not want to talk anymore. "Congrats, Cullen. Youve finally received the final victory!" Charles went up and shook his hand strongly. "Youve become stronger with the khorium!" "III" Cullen was speechless and felt tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. "I finally passed." "Yes, I saw it!" Charles nodded. Before Cullen could speak, Charles pressed his badge onto him. "Here are your points. Take them!" With a ding, Cullen had one-hundred and seventy-thousand more points. It was incredible. The happiness made him feel as if he was on cloud nine! "Did you really pass?" someone asked. Cullen nodded; he was so happy he could cry. He had spent more than one-hundred thousand points on khorium, and had practically used up all of the student councils points. If he still had not passed, he would have had to kill himself as an apology. But for some reason, he felt empty after the short period of joy. But he plastered a smile onto his face to make it seem as if his efforts were worth it. "Is there a trick to passing?" someone asked enviously. Cullens smile stiffened and said, clenching his jaw, "Its actually really easy. You just have to focus." The crowd rustled as they mused, but before they could speak, they saw Charles hang up two-hundred thousand points. "Whoever passes this time will get two-hundred thousand points!" Charles raised his voice as his smile grew stranger. "Two-hundred thousand, first come first serveanyone want to try?" The crowd rustled again. This time, there was an example of success. The ones who had failed felt determined once again; they borrowed points from friends, used khorium to buy tools, and charged into the illusion. "Are you stupid?" Bai Xi muttered. "We lost one-hundred seventy-thousand and now youre giving two hundred thousand?" "Everythings going as planned." Charles smiled mysteriously. "Theyll forget their own failures once someone succeeds and want to try again. The people who were just looking will want to try too. Just watch, more and more will come give us pointsAnd were not losing either." With that, Charles showed her the income from the short period secretively. Bai Xi gaped for a long while and gasped. "Did you rob the Churchs bank?!" "Are you kidding? This is better than robbing a bank!" Charles whistled and smiled at the students in line. He suddenly sighed. "Ah, I dont know why, but I keep thinking they look like chivesAm I seeing wrong?" - At the entrance, Cullen, who was getting ready to leave, suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. It felt as if an eerie wind blew at the back of his head. He glanced around in suspicion, but could only conclude that it was his mind playing tricks. "Oh right, wheres Ye Qingxuan?" He glanced at Charles, who was not far away. "I remember he was still sleeping here when I first came." "Dont know." Charles ate baked seeds and spoke casually, but his smile was mysterious. "Maybe he went out to play." For some reason, Cullen had a bad feeling again. He shook his head, trying to shake it away, but his badge that he had blocked began shaking wildly after he left. Dozens of student council members were trying to contact him. He froze and then connected with a bitter smile. "Cullen, you" "I know, I know" He sighed, "Ill return the points right now. Im sorry." "Its not the points!" Ingres interrupted. "Theres a problem! Hurry back, that Eastern concertmaster is coming! Hes almost here!" The call cut off. Cullen sprinted back without even thinking. Something has still gone wrong! - When he got back, it was already too late. Everyone at the School of Royaltys exhibit sat in their seats in the settling dust without a word. "What happened?" Cullen rushed in, panting for breath. "What did the Eastern concertmaster do? Did he fight?" "No, its already over." Ingres chuckled dryly. "An hour ago, he went to the Modifications exhibit. Forty minutes ago, he went to Summoning. Ten minutes ago, he was still here" The bad feeling in Cullens gut enlarged quickly. "And then?" "He just tried twice. Twice." Ingress face was ashen. "He passed in two tries and he even found some loopholes and cleared all the stages on the spot. He took the sixty-thousand points" "How is that possible?!" Cullen yelped and quickly said, "Wheres the video? Show me!" The recording was quickly brought to him. In the video, he saw the steel chariot slowly pass through the complex map. It waited patiently on the path the enemy must use and destroyed them all, one at a time. There was no hurrying or panic at all. The entire process was calm and steady, even when he reached the sixth level and all enemy chariots had upgraded to the newest military strategy and surrounded him. Instead of caring about his commanding center under fire, he hid behind two small blockades and actually destroyed all the enemy chariots. When he destroyed the last chariot, his fortress had been blown apart completely. The Griffin emblem was out in the open without any protection. He would be defeated with just one aether cannon. Just one. It was a miniscule difference, but the results were completely different. "How did he pass the last level?" After pondering, Cullen skipped directly to the last level. Ye Qingxuans second fail had been here, because here, all enemy chariots were upgraded with music scores. They could become temporarily invincible. There were always nineteen chariots; if one was destroyed, another would take its place. They were arranged in a previously-planned formation and forged on until it pushed into Ye Qingxuans camp and destroyed the Griffin emblem. The recording soon jumped to the last part, but the familiar style came once again. It was as if the principal had returned. Ye Qingxuan used all the saved up points to upgrade the fortress in the beginning until the camp became green gold. Then, he welcomed the incoming enemy. His actions were crazy and desperate, yet calm and steady at the same time. Each round was flawless, whether it was dodging the attacks or dragging the pursuers through a maze of blockades. No action was a waste of time. In the end, when the enemy had entered his camp, he had pushed into the enemys nest as well. But the moment the enemy flattened his camp, he successfully shot a cannon at the broken fortress before him. He instantly turned the tides. He used space to exchange for time, entered enemy grounds alone and used flawless speed and control to win. The line between victory and defeat was still miniscule. He had gambled everything on his speed. If he was a second late or took one wrong step, everything would be flipped and he would be the one dead. After finishing, Cullen felt his scalp go numb. This strategy was even scarier than the principals wildnesshe had that every action and reaction of the enemy was in Ye Qingxuans control the entire time. After a long silence, Cullen looked up. He sucked in a cold breath and rubbed his numb face, asking, "Is hea robot?" Ingres shook his head wordlessly, either disagreeing or just saying that he did not know. Despite the strict difficulty level, Cullen had been prepared to have people succeed, but this method was still dumbfounding. Thankfully he had won some "advertisement fee" from the history department. After paying his debts, the remaining amount was enough to make up for the loss. Cullen could not help but chuckle bitterly. What had he been doing this entire day? Working for the history department for free? Or had that white-haired dude thought of this from the beginning? He shook his head, gathering his senses. "Wheres Ye Qingxuan now?" "Now?" Ingres thought for a moment and a gleeful expression appeared. "Probably at Revelations." The four major schools were connected. If they must die, they would die together. - At the same time, Ye Qingxuan was in the Joker illusion of the School of Revelations. On the card table, the default illusion had gone from energetic to extremely stiffone could faintly feel the heat rolling off of it. It was calculating every possibility, guessing the youths cards from the cards already put down. Across from it, Ye Qingxuan was still leaning back in his chair lazily. His cards were face down on the table; he could not be bothered to even look at them. The more casual he acted, the worse the student behind the illusion felt. He had no clue how to calculate what cards the *sshole had. As if he was bored, the white-haired youth tapped the table and said composedly, "Are you going to follow? Hurry up and stop wasting timeDont think I cant tell that the person playing changed a few minutes ago." The features of the student behind the illusion twisted. He said through the illusion, "Im following!" He pushed the coins forward. The mountain of coins clacked against each other. "Then flip the cards." Ye Qingxuan did not even glance at the coins; he just stared at the illusions eyes. He was clearly looking at that nonexistent image, but for some reason, the student felt as if Ye Qingxuan was looking at himself. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead and his pupils dilated. This guywas still pretending! Gritting his teeth, the student flipped the cards. There was one nine of hearts and aces of all suitesfour of a kind! "Ha, pretty good." Ye Qingxuan smiled and showed his handjack of spades and ace of spades. With the three visible cards, he hada royal flush. The student behind the illusion instantly felt as if his eyes had been stabbed. He shook involuntarily and finally reacted, but realized that his shaking had caused the illusion to flash. He pale and sweating self had been revealed. "How about this? I wont take the extra money." Ye Qingxuan swept all the illusionary coins into his school badge and turned to leave. He halted at the entrance though and half-smiled at the dazed illusion. "Good game." The youth walked away. The only sound in the still illusion was a tired roar. - This was destined to be an unfortunate day. After the tricks and lowly actions of the second round, the white-haired youth had taken a good nap. Then he climbed out of the chair and started harvesting points from each exhibit. The entire academy began thinking of the fear brought on by the Eastern concertmasters harvesting in the first round, and the scarring memories of when that guy robbed them of their points. That Eastern devil Ever since midday, that guy had been continuously testing everyones heart. Practically every graduation work had its flaws and errors revealed after his testingAnd after he finished, he would also rate them, writing down different solutions and ways of improvingThis could be seen payment for taking their points. He came and left lightly with fluttering sleeves, leaving behind ruins. The only one left unharmed was Modifications graduation work, Thunder, because Ye Qingxuan was truly unskilled at controlling energy scores and those packed battle techniques. There were no other survivors. - "You should stop before its too much." Gavin shook his head and sighed. "Everyones about to unite together and report you to the student council. You should give them some hope." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan snickered. "But I heard that some people were going to play each other for the last round and make sure I dont win, even if it means theyll lose." Gavin could only chuckle dryly at that. He had heard the rumors too, but he could not do anythinghe did not care, but how could the others let this Easterner win so much in their school? He cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Is first place really that important to you?" "Ah, what are you saying? I dont care about that shallow stuff. Bench Guy, you still dont understand me well enough." Hearing this, Gavin really wanted to spit at him, but Ye Qingxuan suddenly said, "But why should I give what belongs to me to other people for weird reasons? If they really have an eighty or ninety-year-old mother at home who wants their kid to get first place before they die, then I wouldnt care. But if I cant get what I deserve because of some racists, isnt that unfair?" "" Gavins expression grew troubled. "Fairness is a rule created by the majority. If you want to maintain the fairness, youll have to make sacrifices sometimes." "Thats why its unfair, isnt it?" Ye Qingxuan asked back. Gavin could not reply, but heard Ye Qingxuans chuckle. "Dont worry, Ive already stopped. I wont go and clear all the machines anymore." Gavin blanched. "Really?" "Because I have enough points. If someone wants to spam and push me down, then they should get ready to sacrifice everyone else in order to win alone." Gavin was speechless. Indeed, Ye Qingxuan did not need to do anything else now. If one estimated a bit loosely, this guy would probably have one-third of all points by the end of the day. The other two-thirds would be scattered in everyones hands. The scattered forces could not fight with him at all. He had won the moment he decided to stop. "Go back and tell them," Ye Qingxuan imitated how passionately Charles spoke when he was talking in his sleep and smiled. "First place is mine." 225 Congratulations It was afternoon in a cramped room. "If he wants to be first, then let him be." As Gavin spoke, the expressions of the others changed dramatically. The other student council members were stunned. They whispered to each other, expressions powerless and displeased. "I understand that you dont want an Easterner to become so successful in the Royal Academy of Musicthis is Anglos glory, after all," Gavin stated. "But if people want to win, shouldnt they do it fair and just? Were all musicians and not some lowly thieves. If you cant even think about winning fairly, then how are you qualified for searching for the Originator and the ultimate truth?" Someone hesitated and said quietly, "Actually, if we unite all the schools" "Must I remind everyone of something?" Gavin interrupted expressionlessly. "The world is large and there are many types of people. All types have been investigated by early saints. I wont say much about this, but you must understand that no matter how many types of people there are, Ye Qingxuan is definitely the most difficult to manage. The more pressure you give him, the stronger hell bounce back, and the more terrifying hell be. Im sure youve all experienced this personally, yes?" Gavins words caused everyone to sink into silence and let out wry chuckles involuntarily. Indeed, had they not experienced enough? Not only had that Easterner been forced out due to the pressure in recent months, he had even risen higher and higher. He was definitely not the kind who tolerated injustice well. Whenever he felt that he was being insulted, he would slap them right back. It was fast, harsh, and painful. Nowthey were powerless against him. Cullen shook his head and sighed. "So should we just sit here and ignore it?" "Why not?" Gavin asked in reply. "If we follow the rules of the game, isnt it logical that hes first place?" "But" "There are no buts. He deserves this, doesnt he? What right do we have to deny this result?" Gavin shook his head slightly. His expression grew serious and he gazed at the others. Raising his voice, he said, "I will officially graduate and leave after one more month. The student council will be handed over to Cullen. Weve all seen his working ability and contributions to the school, so there arent any objections, correct?" Gavins words stunned everyone. Cullen could not process them. After one minute, he pointed at himself in shock. "Me?" They did not expect that Gavin had chosen his right-hand man Cullen. He had become used to being the right-hand man and had never thought that he could one day become the president. "Icant?" Cullen was a bit hesitant. "Wasnt I far worse than you now when I first entered the position?" Gavin chuckled and patted Cullens shoulder. "Everyone here are the elites of the academy and the core of the student council. Nothing will go wrong with all these people. Dont worry. Im going to report to the Royal Musician Division tonight, so lets part now." He rose, put on his jacket and hat, and nodded toward everyone in the room. "I hope that everyone will be as united as when I was here and continue to maintain this excellent order. Do not let dust gather on our glory." "Do not let dust gather on our glory!" The youths rose and chanted the motto of their school, seeing Gavin off respectfully. Gavin smiled and turned to leave, walking into the afternoon sun outside the door. He faded into the distance. - As the afternoon sun descended gradually, dusks glow illuminated the world. The school day had finally ended as well. After the series of weird events and psychological attacks that caught them by surprise, the hellish trials that tested everyones willpower and hearts finally ended. It was such great news. Everyone thought of the beauty of a peaceful life, and content smiles filled their faces; they were practically celebrating. If this was in the East, the students would definitely use firecrackers to send the bad luck away. In the auditorium, everyone sat gravely in their seats, waiting for the arrival of the last moment, but there was a light and cheery atmosphere between them all. The authority figure at the podium was saying things that sounded impressive but were actually useless bullsh*t. Behind the podium, Ye Qingxuan was nervously tidying himself up. He had put on formalwear just for the occasion. Charles yanked and the collar tightened. Ye Qingxuan abruptly felt like he was putting on a noose. "Senior, be gentle! You want to strangle me?" "Be more serious. You have to go up for the award later." Charles dumped a thick wad of hair wax onto Ye Qingxuans head, slicking his hair up. His bare forehead glistened. Seeing the youths discomfort, Charles said seriously, "Later, the principal will award you personally. Yezi, dont be nervous." "Why do you want to make me look so weird?!" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "And anyway, its just the principal. Its not like Ive never seen him before." Charles raised an eyebrow. "My friend, you pretending to be cool reminds me of my younger self." "Ha, youve taught me well." "The feeling is mutual." The two snarky friends started praising each other, not caring that the people around them had quietly moved away and pretended not to know them. "Senior, did you notice that no one wants to deal with us anymore?" "Really?" Charles glanced around and chuckled. "Theyre probably jealous of our beauty." Ye Qingxuans lip curled; he did not want to deal with Charles anymore either. Just as they were talking, cheers traveled from the stage. The students backstage waved hurriedly, reminding him that he was supposed to go on soon. Onstage, the principal could wait no longer. "Wheres our first place? Wheres Concertmaster Ye?" He whistled happily and continued on, making things worse. "It was really unexpected for an international student from the East to win first place at the school day trials of Anglos Royal Academy of Music. All of you must work harder not to be passed by too much!" The audience was deathly silent; clearly, it was a blow to their dignity. The coaches behind the principal did not have pretty expressions either, but they could not do anythingthis was reality. Ye Qingxuan just felt his scalp go numb. He had not even accepted the award yet, but already felt the strong resentment. "Come, youth. Come to my side." The principal made a show of dragging Ye Qingxuan over. He took a once-over of the youth as if studying some rare treasure. After a long while, he suddenly sighed in regret. "I cant believe you wore a Western suit. What a pity. Your hairstyle is horrible too. Your hairstylist must be lucky that he isnt killed yet." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed again. Embarrassed, he glared at Charles, who was hiding behind the curtains. Maxwell patted the youths shoulders and lamented, "To be honest, I was anticipating your Eastern clothingthe wide robe and big sleeves, the aura of a junzi, the intoxicating exoticness! An Eastern silkworm caretaker gave me a black lan robe. Would you like to try it?" Here, he fluttered his lashes and gazed at Ye Qingxuan expectantly, wishing the youth would nod right away. "Uh" Ye Qingxuan did not know what to say. "Its okay. I came to Anglo when I was young and probably wont look like it even if I put it on." "Really? What a pity." Maxwell shook his head in regret and said seriously, "The East is a great place. You should go visit." Behind them, Ingmar coughed, reminding the principal to stop dragging things on and get it over with. Either because it worked or that the principal was done bullsh*tting, he cleared his throat and finally stopped. He clapped and stately music began playing. Beside the podium, two girls in long white dresses walked over with a silver plate. The youths award and certificate were on the plate. One must admit that the old pervert had good taste. As the two girls walked over elegantly, their curves could vaguely be seen under the white dress, attracting many eyes. After putting on makeup carefully, their cheeks had a fine texture, flawless like Eastern porcelain. Their red lips were like fire and moved hearts. As Charles would say, one could not help but get a little excited. As the music played, the principal smiled and took the lead in clapping. Soon, the audience began clapping as well. Of the coaches in the background behind the principal, Ludwig clapped happily as if nothing was wrong. Egor was a bit unwilling, but he also managed some claps, giving Ye Qingxuan recognition. Seeing that everyone was clapping, Ingmar glanced at Ye Qingxuan. He could not help but sneer, smiling without moving his facial muscles, and clapped as well. But just as the youth was about to accept the award, the principal suddenly stopped. He whacked his forehead, as if suddenly remembering something. "Ah, my memory is so bad! Theres more big news I need to announce!" The mood suddenly dropped. The music stopped as well. Everyone gaped at the principal, who was fluttering his eyes animatedly, as if he had found gold on the road and was overjoyed. Seeing how happy he was, everyone instantly had a bad feeling. What was going to happen now? God bless Perhaps God did bless them, because this time, his words did not seem like bad news. In fact, everyone was caught by surprise by this amazing news. He said, "This morning, I received news that one of our highly renowned professors found inspiration in his teaching and decoded the hardest question of our professionthe last part of the Voynich Manuscript!" Everyone fell into a long silence. The students who did not know about the Voynich Manuscript, which had troubled Revelations musicians for decades, looked around in confusion. The students who did know were speechless from shock. The last part of the Voynich Manuscript had been decoded? There had been no progression made for centuries, other than bits and pieces. Even Miss Lola Caput, known as the new grandmaster, had stated that the last part was impossible to decode within a few decades if there was no development in music theory. But it had been decoded now? If this news was spread, all Revelations musicians in the world would be ecstatic. The Voynich Manuscript not only contained ancient history; the decoding method was a big step forward for their music theory! This would undoubtedly create a new storm in the worldthey could practically see a theoretic revolution! But in the dark corner behind the principal, Ingmars heart sank. He was completely confusedhe did not understand how Maxwell had known this news that would be published in the Sacred City Conference in two months, whereas he had just found out before coming here. He looked into the crowd subconsciously. Seeing that the d*mned fellow did not appear, he let out a breath in relief. "Please rest assured that I am not joking this time." Under everyone eyes, Maxwell took a thin booklet from his pockets and waved. "This accomplishment has been recognized by the Sacred City. The scholars of the evaluation committee commented that its a brave and revolutionary decoding method that has opened a whole new path. A shining star has risen! The last section of the Voynich Manuscript has undoubtedly been decoded! "In a few days, the Philosophers Bell of the Sacred City will be rung and announce this giant breakthrough of music theory to the world. Ah, hes really so low-key. If not for my friends in the Church, even I wouldnt know that hed made such fruitful findings! Lets bring our hands together to congratulate this professor." He paused and abruptly dragged an unprepared coach from the back. "Let us congratulate Mr. Ingmar!" Caught by surprise, Ingmar was dragged under the spotlight. His face was slightly pale. In the silence, he only had time to force a hurried smile onto his face, before thunderous applause sounded. The clapping and cheers that sounded like a tsunami practically overturned the auditorium. It must be more than ten times louder than before! In the warm applause, Ingmars heart slowly stabilized. Calming down, he smiled and waved reservedly, nodding his head. He did not notice the quiet white-haired youth behind him. Deep in thought, the youth looked at Ingmars trembling calves and furrowed his brows. Dark clouds slowly appeared in his eyes. - "My apologies," the youth opened his mouth and murmured soundlessly. Without anyone realizing, he slightly lifted his foot and stepped onto the dress of the girl beside him. He pulled back forcefully. The shoulder of the girl smiling gracefully on the stage suddenly trembled. She stumbled back and involuntarily retreated. Following that, her heels scraped against the floorboard and she lost balance. The silver plate flew out of her hands and she fell backward. The audience stared and cried out in shock. She had lost balance instantly, and she shrieked when she realized she was falling. She squeezed her eyes shut, but then she felt someone step forward and grasp her waist. Her falling stopped abruptly. The falling motion transformed into a spin under the gentle push, like a dance move. Her white dress flew as she spun. The silver thread reflected the light with a dazzling shine. It was pure white as a peony flower. She was stunned. She felt a hand supporting her so that she did not fall onto the floor. As if she was flying, her cheeks pressed against the suit, against that foreign chest. A steady heartbeat and heat traveled from the chest so that she was no longer terrified. Her shriek died off. In the awkward silence, she forced her eyes and was met with the white-haired youth. The youth held her tiny waist with one hand, the other holding the silver plate and award that had fallen from the sky. The young but defined face looked down on her; her panicked expression reflected in his eyes. His slightly scratchy voice was gentle. "Are you alright?" Blush tinted the girls face as she shook her head. Putting her weight on him, she stood up and regained her elegant posture. However, her eyes could not recover its indifference and grace. As they spun, Ingmar had been pushed forward. He stumbled and looked back, glaring at Ye Qingxuan. He was angry that the clapping had been interrupted. Ye Qingxuan did not care about this. He just looked down and picked up the booklet that he had "accidentally" swept from the principals hands. He brushed off the dust on it. "Ah, Im sorry, your notes were knocked down too." Ingmars expression stiffened. He reached over to take the notes away, but Ye Qingxuan casually flipped it open, scanning the pages. Ingmar tried to take the notes, but realized that he could not. It was as if the pages had been embedded in stone. The youths movements stopped too. He looked at the papers in his hand and froze. As his hands loosened, the bent pages opened. The pages flashed past his eyes, the quickly disappearing words barely leaving any shadows. One page, one page, another page were so familiar, as if he had seen it before. In the end, the youth looked up, but his eyes had changed. There was only blackness in those orbs. There were neither reflections nor any fury. It was as if everything had been swallowed by something hiding in the darkness, and so only pure blackness remained. Stared at by those eyes, Ingmar blanched. He stepped back involuntarily, but his eyes soon darkened as he forced himself to remain calm. "Hey, Ingmar." The youth suddenly asked quietly, "Dont you get scared walking at night when you do something guilty?" "What do you mean?" Ingmar furrowed his brows. "I mean" The youth clenched his fists in his sleeves, the muscles pulling taught like a bow, producing furious cracks. Then he raised his fist and slammed it down on that d*mned face. "You b*stard who lost all dignity as a musician!" 226 Questioning Boom! The whole auditorium sank into silence in an instant. Below the stage, before anyone could respond, the youth propped up the girl on the ground, but the next second, suddenly punched Ingmar. Amidst the yells, Ingmars eyes shifted, mingled with both panic and wrath; his mouth subconsciously recited a spell, but his face became pale and had almost lost control of the aether. Luckily, his protective shield was stimulated and the repulsion field blocked the young man''s fist, but the power to reverse the quake also staggered him. With a crisp sound, a gash cracked open across Ye Qingxuans fingers. He completely ignored it and stepped forward, hysterically pounding Ingmars shield without stop. Under the shield, Ingmar sat on the ground. Frightened by Ye Qingxuan''s madness, he forgot to fight back. Boom! Boom! Boom! In silence, only the broken sound of a hammer pounding on the shield could be heard. He was not pulled away by the people beside him until the fourth time that Ye Qingxuan tried to break the shield. "Enough!" Egor frowned, and grunted angrily. The young man flinched; a pair of huge shackles and stone rings suddenly appeared on his limbs, immobilizing him. But he glared at Ingmar who was climbing up from the ground, and roared hoarsely, "Say something, Ingmar! Youre a b*stard!" Looking at his helpless situation, Ingmars panicking heart settled down. He could not help but scoff and patted the dust off his body. "Please be a gentleman, Mr. Ye! Don''t act like a mad dog. How can you not have basic manners?" "Yezi, calm down." The stunned Charles rushed up from backstage and pulled Ye Qingxuan away. "Whats wrong?" "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan was angry enough to laugh. He threw a piece of paper bloodied by his hands to Charles. "Look for yourself." Charles took the manuscript and scanned it faster than Ye Qingxuan had. But before he finished half, Charles suddenly raised his head. "No, Is this...the interpretation method?" He finally realized something and the smile on his face disappeared. He just glared at Ingmar, "Mr. Ingmar, where did you get the theory?!" "Enough!" Ingmar cried. "Is it your place to question me? I haven''t charged you with assaulting a professor yet! Someone come and drag these two scums away" "Why, are you afraid?" Ye Qingxuan sneered and raised his voice, "Youre afraid that Ill expose the truth about you? Or" "Enough! Shut up!" Ingmar was nearly roaring. He interrupted Ye Qingxuans words, but Ye Qngxuan''s voice was louder than his. It was like iron scraping against each other, with almost tangible fury. "Or are you afraid of everyone knowing that your so-called academic achievements, your great breakthrough, was plagiarized?!" Dead silence. In a twinkling, everyone looked at Ingmar, and then the two furious youths. They thought of their professor and seemed to understand something, but also sank in a greater confusion. Plagiarism? Did Ingmar really copy the results from others? If this was true, then it was definitely one of the biggest scandals ever made in the Royal Academy of Music! Feeling the subtle changes in their eyes, Ingmars face instantly turned livid. The maliciousness in his eyes was spewed out. "Ye Qingxuan, this is the auditorium, not somewhere for your nonsense!" He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "I''ve never heard of anything called the interpretation method!" "Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled gently, but it was inexplicably chilling. He raised his hand, and Charles unfolded the manuscript in his hands. He towed the shackles and stone rings which were heavy enough to bend over his back and moved forward, his eyes staring at that face full of wrath. "Then please explain to me, how did you organize the connections in the last chapter of Voynich Manuscript, when the written language of the Dark Ages hadnt been sorted out yet?" He stepped further and asked, "In the language, how did you distinguish whether the nouns are feminine, masculine or neutral? How did you find the rules of conjugations? What music theory do you use to explain the man-made language of Dark Age? And what is the important logic of this text known as the coded language? "What are your references? Where did you get the inspiration? When was the breakthrough made?" While Ye Qingxuan was approaching step by step, Ingmar gritted his teeth and kept silent. However, Ye Qingxuans voice was getting louder and louder, until finally, he was practically roaring and hurting everyones eardrums. "Why did you declare it to the Sacred City secretly? Were you afraid that others would know about your achievements before the convention? Were you afraid that others discover your so-called results were actually stolen from others efforts! "Ingmar, why are you retreating? Why are you silent? Why dont you even dare to fight back against me, a student? Why don''t you dare say a d*mn word?!" Ingmars face twitched. He glared at Ye Qingxuan with his eyes widen enough to crack apart. What he feared most had finally happened. If it was two months later at the Sacred City Convention, his achievements would have been published. Everyone would be informed and he would naturally take the position of a grandmaster. Then, both Abraham and Ye Qingxuan would just be some clowns to people. What they said would mean nothing. But, but...Why was there such a neurotic principal who got insider information in advance? And why must it be announced at such an occasion? Why did he have to get caught by this f*cking white-haired b*stard? Why was he being questioned by this f*cking guy? It was really...really...D*mmit! At the moment, he was too nervous to deal with such a situation. He was being forced by Ye Qingxuan too tightly to win his face back. "What''s your status?" he squeezed out from between his teeth. "You are just a kid who knows nothing. You arent even a formal musician. How dare you question me like this?" "Well, how about a qualified one?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "For instance, let the Musicians Union judge this?" Ingmars face instantly lost color. A hint of murder flashed in the eyes full of malice. "You have offended enough rules today, Ye Qingxuan..." "Gee, why are you arguing all of a sudden?" Suddenly, a figure stood out from the side in the perfect place to block him. His face seemed to have genuine loss and confusion. It was the principal who had ''disappeared'' for a long time. "Alas, it is my fault, I lacked consideration. I didnt expect that it would cause such a fierce quarrel. It seems that there are some controversies about the achievements of Professor Ingmar, but we need friendly discussions and friendly exchanges. Yes, be friendly." As he said these unapologetic words, he suppressed all aetheric fluctuations quietly, and took control of everyone. "This matter will be discussed later. We will carefully, seriously and thoroughly find a solution at the teacher''s meeting tonight." The principal did not say a word about Ingmars plagiarism or Ye Qingxuans offensive attack. He pretended to be blind, smiling affably without mentioning Ingmars gloomy face or the blood on Ye Qingxuans fingertips. He was like a kind parent who tried to reduce the tension between the two. "Well, Ye Qingxuan, time to stop making a fuss." Maxwell patted his shoulder, which seemed to be meaningful. "You cant always bother the Musicians Union with school affairs, can you? That is too much. If its like this, what will the school board do?" As he spoke, he put the badge on Ye Qingxuan and forcibly put the certificate into his hand, as if the award ceremony was completed. "Tomorrow morning, remember to come register at the library. Theres a big reward waiting for you." He patted Ye Qingxuan on the shoulder and whispered in his ear, "I promise, it will be great enough to surprise you. "As to Mr. Ingmar..." He paused for a moment, and gloatingly looked at Ingmars expression. "I think he must have a lot of things to explain to the board." 227 Before it Rains At dusk, the school boards conference room was silent. Other than some representatives, the only faculty members who had arrived on time were Sydney and Ingmar. Everyone else was absent, for some reason. The empty seats added to the suffocating atmosphere of the room. After the representatives of the school board of directors finished reading the report, they sank into silence. After a long time, the old housekeeper took off his monocle. He had thought for a long while, but still could not help but sigh. "The principal had restrained himself for so long. Is he finally going to act against the school board?" "Do you still need to ask? Hed been determined to do so ever since he acted on his own accord and expelled the concertmaster weve chosen. But the question is, must we keep enduring it?" "We must treat it carefully and not fall into his trap." "No, we must show him our power!" someone said. "The Royal Academy of Music was established by our ancestors. Theres no place for an outsider like him." "We cant retreat this time, otherwise well always act passively." Many nodded in agreement, but someone was still worried. "But the power behind Maxwell shouldnt be underestimated either. Its been so many years and the royal family still supports him. If we" "Actually, I dont think we need to worry about that aspect," the middle-aged advisor who acted as a representative said after pondering. "If we really have a conflict, the royal family cant be too biased toward him. If we express our attitude, Im sure Her Highness will remain neutral." The old man shook his head. "But no matter what, Maxwell is still the principal." "If we recognize that fact," someone else said coldly. "We can start a proposal of distrust and request impeachment. If more than seventy percent vote yes, he wont be able to ride over us anymore." With that, everyone stopped talking. In the Royal Academy of Musics centuries of history, the school board had never truly used this power before, although there was this rule and they would restrict things from the surface. Through history, the principals had all been one-of-a-kind talents and important figures of the congress, especially Maxwell. This mysterious old man had always been trusted by the royal family and no one knew how many dirty secrets he held. He was a madman too. Who knew what he could do? If they really wanted to declare war on the principal, it would not be something these representatives could decide. They instantly looked into the corner of the room involuntarily. On the coat rack in the corner was a gray sparrow. It stared outside without a care for anyone else. It had not made a single sound this entire time. When it turned around, its eyes were humanlike. It studied everyone present, cold and confident. This was the only one who could make the decision. When it spoke, its voice was steady and calm, as if stating a fact. "Centuries ago, our ancestors established the Royal Academy of Music and it still stands. It has been managing the cradle of future musicians for the royal family to this day. For these centuries, our families have put in so many resources and effort. The school board exists to help the school improve. All these years, the school is the school board; the school board represents the school," the sparrow stated. "If Maxwell truly wishes to cross the line, then he should be prepared to face the entire school." Hearing its voice, all representatives seemed to let out a sigh of relief. But its next words made everyone tense up again. It looked toward Ingmar, at the far end of the long table, and said pointedly, "But theres another problem, isnt there?" Someone caught his meaning and his eyes grew suspicious. "Ingmar." The old representative looked at the dazed man with a grave expression. "Is Maxwells accusation of plagiarism true?" The sharp gazes instantly shot over like arrows. Ingmars hands trembled under the table. He sank into hesitation, but he made his decision almost instantly. If he confessed here, everything would be over! Not only would he lose the school boards support, his reputation would also be destroyed and lose everything! This was the path of no return! "Of course not!" Ingmar looked at everyone in mocking fury and yelled, "Do you believe those unfounded rumors too, and doubt my hard work?!" "Then why didnt you report to the school board when you made such accomplishments?" Ingmar forced down the panic in his mind. His brain whirred and he explained with all his might, "Ive always been reporting my research to the school board. Gentlemen, please check the related documents. As for the resultII was just trying it and I wasnt even sure if it was right. I found out this afternoon that it passed the Sacred City and didnt have time to report." His explanation was logical and the representatives exchanged glances with each other. Someone could not help but sigh. "Maxwell really seized a good time. Hed declared war before we even processed everythingClearly, he prepared for a long time. Now, does anyone still want to give in?" the old man said. No one replied. And so, the old man at the front nodded. "Then its Maxwells turn to pay for his brash actions." "Also that brazen Eastern kid he pushed to the front." Ingmars eyes were vicious. "This is where the glory of Anglos musicians is. Its not the place for him to play in!" The meeting was about the end now. There were still a few details left, but the sparrow was clearly not interested. It flew from the coatrack to the window and gave them one last glance. "If something else happens, Ill come again. Mr. White Raven pays much attention to this. Do not disappoint the parliament." With that, it flapped its wings and left. Even the sparrows gray wings had a gold tint under the sun, and seemed high and untouchable. - Late at night, the music history department was silent. Everyone sat in the living room and waited without speaking. Bai Xi rested on Old Phil, close to falling asleep. Old Phil and Charles stared at each other. Ye Qingxuan just hung his head and ran his fingers across Jiu Xiao Huang Pei. Charless eyes finally felt sore from the staring contest. He rubbed his eyes and sighed. "Its already ten and Professor still isnt back. Do you think the meeting was successful?" "No," Ye Qingxuan stated. "You know Professors personality. He doesnt know how to talk. Other than music theory, he probably cant even go grocery shopping." "I know" Charless expression grew dejected. "But this just sucks." "Not entirely." Ye Qingxuans expression was composed. "People who arent good at talking will have two main reactions to this stuff. The first is pretending he understands, the other is not understanding no matter what you say. Which one do you think Professor is?" Charles chuckled dryly. "Of course the latter." "So, no matter what the school board says or brings out to pressure him, the result is still the same. The biggest possibility is that they cant persuade Professor and he cant persuade them. Theyll just have an awkward stalemate where both just express their stances. "But the situation doesnt allow Ingmar to keep things this way. This had already started brewing in the school this afternoon. Ingmar has many supporters, but as time passes, more and more will start to suspect him. He must take care of this before this event grows too large and influential." Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Senior, get ready. The conflict will grow in the next few days." "Will he use despicable ways to pressure us?" "Why not? He has this ability and he knows that he cant lose. If he does, hell lose everything. His old secrets would be revealed too, so hell definitely grow desperate" Ye Qingxuan grabbed an apple and bit down. He chewed, producing crisp sounds, until Charles got goosebumps. Then he said, "But we might not be powerless." Charless eyes lit up. "Tell me, do you have a plan A, B, and C?" "A, B and C? How can I have that many? Why dont you ask me to compile one-hundred and eight strategies?!" Ye Qingxuan suddenly had the urge to chuck the apple core at Charless throat, but decided against it. It was not suitable to kill right now. "Actually, there are two results when somethings stays the same and both are in a stalemate. The first is that it stays like this. The second is that the problem upgradesNow, whether it upgrades or not is up to us." "Are you talking aboutthe Musicians Union?" Charles was a bit hesitant. "Isnt that making too big of a splash?" "Why not?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled, but there was no warmth in the laugh. "Doesnt Ingmar want to get famous? Then lets satisfy his wishes. I love helping people." - The seconds ticked by in the stillness. Soon, heavy footsteps sounded outside. Someone was knocking on the door. Charles jumped up and ran over. "Professor, youre back" His voice cut off and his eyes grew confused. "Who are you?" "Is Ye Qingxuan here?" A large shadow stood in the dark night outside. "Tell him to come with me." 228 Precautions "Yo! Boy, you look great." Under the desk lamp, the blonde youth laid lazily on the sofa. On the back of his hand, the entangled double-snake heraldry reflected a silver gleam. The faint light illuminated his fully enthusiastic smile, but the youth sitting opposite him was expressionless. He put his face closer to the lamp, showing his pair of dead eyes. "Boss, look at my face, how do I look great?" "Aha, I just wanted to compliment you. Dont mind me." Hermes waved and pointed to the table. "I made a good cup of tea. Have a taste. In the East, this thing is priceless!" "Heres a suggestion," Ye Qingxuan said bitterly. "When you want to find someone, can you not wake up the drunken Seton? I felt like he was always looking for a chance to kill me on the way here" "Haha, its my mistake, my fault." Hermes whistled gloatingly. Looking like a pretty boy, he was curled up on the big, pompous couch and looked at Ye Qingxuan with a subtle smile. "Don''t get mad, I was just worried about you, wasnt I?" "Worried about me?" Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. "Boss, your worry is really special." "You''re fearless because you know nothing, aren''t you? I''ve heard about what happened today." Hermes exclaimed, "Fighting with a teacher in public...How dangerous! If the principal came out a little later or you kept staring at him like that, maybe there would be nothing tonight." "What do you mean by nothing?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Oh, in layman terms, it means dead, or some people say go to hell, or..." "Okay, I got it," Ye Qingxuan interrupted him with some uncertainty. "You mean, Id die if he glared at me?" "Well, kid, have you been getting too cocky?" Hermes was amused by Ye Qingxuan. He squinted at this guy, his eyes full of ridicule. "Ye Qingxuan, dont forget that he has broken through the barrier of knowledge and has been a Resonance level musician for many years. "If one is below the Resonance level, the musician could still be regarded as a person. But one at the Resonance level is regarded as inhuman and has the ability to intervene with things. "And you, youre just a little shrimp at the Rhythm level. If he wanted to mess with you, he doesn''t even need a music score! "Modifications can turn the iron in your body into a blade to travel in your heart and brain; Summoning can use your beastly nature to erode you; if it is the School of Choir, their interference will basically get you all kinds of strange diseases, which may also be contagious. The School of Mind and Illusion are even more vicious... "The interventions from Revelations are the most difficult. Itll bury the cause of your death in you. When its time, youll naturally get your result. You may suddenly fall into cardiac arrest, fall down and get a stroke, or be hit by something that falls from the sky...Anyway, you''re going to die in a very ''normal'' way. In short, all seven schools of music are difficult to deal with! If Ingmar wants to kill you," Hermes rubbed his two fingers and said casually, "youll be dead in just few minutes." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sank into silence for a long time. Suddenly, he could not help but want to laugh. "Then he must regret not killing me before things got worse." "Yes, if hes going to kill you, he can only do that quietly when things are over. Now, hes riding on the tiger. He needs to ensure your safety by all means. If you die, he won''t be able to explain it," Hermes said lightly. "But in some sense, shouldn''t you be more careful?" "Be careful of what?" Hermes glanced at him with a cold smile. "Beware of the principal." Even though it was only a few words, the words from Hermess mouth was like an axe slicing through the air. Even though there was no murderous intent, even though he said it casually, the lingering meaning quietly opened a door in Ye Qingxuan''s brain. Indeed, if he died, then the most obvious suspect would be Ingmar and the school board behind him. They would fall into absolute public disfavor in this fight. Ye Qingxuan could easily think of dozens of headlines for those newspapers. And behind the news, principal would definitely be there, looking calm but actually laughing and gloating in his mind. "The principal...he wont do something like that, right?" "Do you really think so?" Hermes leaned closer and studied him as if looking at Ye Qingxuans tombstone. His voice was like a breeze in the tomb. "Child, there is an Eastern proverb that says theres skin around the heart. Even dead Arthur cant guess what he was thinking. You don''t think you know him the best, do you?" Ye Qingxuan subconsciously leaned back a little. "But the biggest trouble Im facing now is still Ingmar, yes?" "Yes." Hermes nodded. "Now the situation is very bad for you and your professor. Youre besieged on all sides. Ingmar is going to do everything he can do to get rid of all the ideas you shouldnt have" "No one is blind. People can discern whats wrong and whats right," Ye Qingxuan said coldly. "I believe my professor will get his due honor." "So na?ve!" Hermes snickered. "One is heretical, one is orthodox; one is nameless, one is the descendant of nobles; one is an old man from the music history department thats at the verge of being abolished, one is a professor from the School of Revelations...Who do you think people are going to trust? Moreover, why do you think they''ll give the interpretation method recognition?" "But the result was clearly made from the interpretation method." "Haha, so na?ve, so na?ve...one and one is two, which is right, but as long as you know in advance that the result is two, no matter what reason you use to explain it, the process seems to work. This is one of the ridiculous things about human beings: the limitations of vision." Ye Qingxuan was speechless, but Hermes expression became soft, full of kindness and gentleness, and his smile was full of sincerity. "Ye Qingxuan, I came to you tonight to tell you, if you really want to right things for the interpretation method, win back honor for your teacher, you need bring out new achievements and related corroborations only through interpretation." After a long pause, Ye Qingxuan shook his head slightly. "I...dont have time." To interpret ancient literature was a long-term project for anyone. Not only must one combine the music theory at the time with long term study of the ancient language family, one also needed fleeting inspiration. In addition, it would often take a few years for one to discover that their direction was wrong. Then all they could do was restart. Ye Qingxuan''s understanding of interpretation was based on pure theories and had never had any experience in interpreting ancient writings. Even a genius such as Charles dared not to say that he was confident in this aspect. Moreover, Ye Qingxuan had only been an aide to Abraham for a few months. He was powerless. "Don''t worry. You dont need to get great results." Hermes smiled with his voice ringing in the youths ear. "Even if you use the interpretation method to interpret only one phrase, you can still prove the validity of the method. And coincidentally, I have just the perfect model here." He slipped a piece of broken stone from his sleeve; it fell into Ye Qingxuans palm with the turn of his hand. The remains of mysterious wedge-shaped words remained on the palm-sized stone. A faint coldness emitted from the sharp and unfamiliar words as if it was a truth hidden deep in the sea. Ye Qingxuan understood from a glance that it was by no means possible to be forged. It contained some kind of theory that resonated with aether and was definitely a note written by ancient musicians. Fragments such as these were very common in the field of Revelations. They were usually unearthed from ancient ruins, but could not be solved. They were like gold for the scholars concerned, but were worthless for ordinary people. "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan asked subconsciously, rubbing the cold stone in his hands. "It seems like a piece of trash I picked up before, but it''s just right for you to practice, isn''t it?" Hermes patted him on the shoulder, his voice full of enchantment. "Its said that when one undergoes Deva sensing, his induction of music theory is particularly clear. The waves of the aetheric sea will push your mind to the heavens, like ghosts wandering between the ethereal sky and the tossing sea. "If you can find peace in that turmoil and chaos, you can sense the existence of the Originator. If youre willing to use the interpretation method in that realm, even only for a moment, you may be able to interpret it." In the shadow of the light, Hermes smiled like a devil. "This is a gamble, Ye Qingxuan. If youre really willing to use this chance, which you may not have again for your rest of life, bet on Deva sensing...then give it a try." 229 The Least of Two Evils The next dawn, Ye Qingxuan woke up from an obscure dream. His body was covered in cold sweat. Rather than being clear-headed as he usually was, his thoughts were muddled now. He could not remember what he had dreamed, just that there was obscurity, shaking, scratchy whispering, and low utterances in the darkness. His memories of the nightmare diluted, scattered, and vanished. Soon, he could not say anything about what he had dreamed. He sighed and picked up a strange stone from his bed. He had tried to communicate with this ruin last night with the interpretation method; he had wanted to decipher the strange words on it but to no avail. Then he had fallen asleep without realizing and tossed in his sleep, struggling nonstop. Now, it seemed that this rock truly was filled with strangeness. In the weak morning light, the wedge-shaped words on the stone shone dimly with a dark green light. It looked like toxic poison left over from ancient times and made the hair on ones neck rise. "What weird thing is this?" Ye Qingxuan really did not know why he suddenly wanted to bring that thing back and try deciphering it. Maybe it was a random urge, or that thing truly had an attractive pull on him, luring him into it. He sighed and stuffed the stone into his pocket. He rose to wash up, crept past the silent living room, and walked out. Not many were awake at five in the morning and the academy was quiet. Faint white mist shrouded his surroundings. There was only a stray cat crossing the grass in the stillness. Sensing his presence, it looked up with emerald eyes. For some reason, stray cats really liked him that day. They continuously ran over and rubbed against him, purring. Ye Qingxuan felt a lot better with this furry guy clinging onto him; however, like a misconception, he always felt that the stone vibrated slightly whenever the cats meowed, but nothing seemed different when he pulled it out. He sighed. He had not been sleeping well these past few days and would often have these misconceptions. Ye Qingxuan did not get up this early voluntarily either. In reality, he was so tired he could sleep for a whole day after recent events. He just could not stay in bed any longer. The sublimation ritual had already been prepared. Once all materials were put in, he would not be able to wait much longer. Unless he really wanted to give up on his award, he must run to the library early in the morning and go through the ritual. This should be something great, but he could not be happy with what Ingmar had done and the following solution. "We shouldnt live in a world where we cant sleep in" Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself. He could not help but sigh. It looked like he was destined to be laborious and could not even catch a break. Just as he walked toward the library gloomily, he heard a familiar voice. "Oh, good morning." On the road-side bench was the former leader of the School of Modifications who had been defeated by Ye Qingxuan, James. As if he had stayed up the whole night, there were dark circles under his eyes and he waved weakly. When he saw Ye Qingxuan, his expression became upset. "Uh, good morning." Ye Qingxuan was a bit confused, not knowing why James would be here. James shoved the heavy leather case beside his feet over. "My professor wanted me to give this to you." "Mr. Egor?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Looking at the stuffed leather case, he did not know what he would receive from the professor who had never liked him. "There are some treasured resources from the School of Modifications." James sneezed and sniffed. This guy had gotten a cold from being in the wind for too long. Even his voice had changed. "The School of Revelations is huge. Their archives are bigger than your entire department. How can you fight them with just your sad amount of books?" Ye Qingxuan opened the case. It was filled with old books of Voynich Manuscript interpretations. There were also rarely seen resources and research, as well as brand new notes. They were simply stapled together; it was clear they were copies made overnight. He could not believe the School of Modifications supported him so much. It was only a box of books, but he still felt touched. "Thanks." "Dont misunderstand. No one likes you." James scoffed, turned, and left. After a few steps, he had already sneezed continuously multiple times. Even his snot had come out. It was clear that he had been keeping it in so he would not lose his dignity before Ye Qingxuan. The corners of Ye Qingxuans lips twitched. Just how much did this guy care about his dignity? Ye Qingxuan sighed. He lifted the case with some effort and continued toward the library, but after a few steps, he was blocked by a black shadow that had jumped out from the side. It was a black shadow leopard. Agile yet huge, it was half of his height even while sitting. Stared at by those eyes, Ye Qingxuan felt goosebumps all over. "Hey, Junior!" Beside the leopard was Elsa, the leader of the School of Summoning. She studied him, her eyes filled with anticipation. "Wheres your dog? It sounds really impressive and Bier was unhappy when she heard. Youve been getting the limelight recently, so why dont we find some time to have fun together?" She rubbed her hands together excitedly as she spoke. Her eyes flashed too, like a beast that had found something interesting and wanted to try it out! Sensing this girls serious challenge and pricking pain, Ye Qingxuan stepped back and shook his head. "Sorry, I cant fight now." "Ah, so not fun!" Elsas face fell instantly. She tossed a giant satchel into Ye Qingxuans arms. "This is for you." Ye Qingxuan almost stumbled back from the impact of the satchel. He felt his hands being weighed down and almost missed. Before he could ask, Elsa and the black leopard shadow were already far away. Her voice traveled back, "These are some old books that the school wants to get rid of. Professor wanted me to throw them away but I didnt feel like walking. Please take them to a suitable landfill." Ye Qingxuan chuckled wryly and called, "Thanks!" In the distance, Elsa waved to him without looking back and disappeared in the mist. Looking at the satchel and case, Ye Qingxuan sighed. He pulled them up with difficulty and continued on. After a few steps, a familiar figure appeared. "Cullen?" Seeing Ye Qingxuans state, Cullen was shocked. He looked down at his small suitcase and could not help but chuckle dryly. "Seems like someone got here before me?" With that, he handed the suitcase over to Ye Qingxuan. "The School of Royaltys resources have aged badly these days and need to be copied. Since youre coincidentally a copyist" Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to speak, but Cullen stopped him with a hand. "Dont thank me. To be honest, I really want to expel you. Your white hair is too blinding. Cant you dye it?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Cant help you with that." Cullen shook his head and waved, motioning for him to leave, but Ye Qingxuan did not move. He just looked at Cullen and asked, "Why are you helping me?" "To be honest, I really wont if I have the choice." Cullen sighed. "But if I think about it, compared to you annoying Easterner, someone who stole research results and disgraced all musicians is worse." He patted Ye Qingxuans shoulder. Without saying more, he turned and left. Ye Qingxuan stood in his spot for a long while before hoisting up the satchel, suitcase, and case. These things were heavy and annoying but for some reason, he was in a much better mood now. He smiled involuntarily. He continued on in the still academy. When he walked past students, they would stand in place and see him off until he disappeared in the mist. Unclear humming traveled from the thin mist; it was hoarse yet drawn out. - When Ye Qingxuan finally set down all the stuff before the librarys entrance in the Jianlan Underground Palace, it felt as if his entire body was going to fall apart. He could not help it; physical labor was always his worse subject. He would be out of breath from just running a few thousand meters, let alone transporting things. Bai Xi had judged him for this too many times to count. A slight earthly breeze blew through the deserted library. There was an upset huff in the wind. "Help me look over this stuff. Ill take it back when I come out at night." The youth smiled apologetically at the air. "Sorry for not coming for so long. Ill play marbles with you all when I have time." The huffing in wind seemed to be a bit more pleased. An invisible power pulled the suitcases and satchels, moving them into the shadows until they disappeared. "Youre a bit later than I had expected." Dominic, the guard Ye Qingxuan had not seen in a while, pointed to the stairs behind him. "The alchemist the principal hired is getting impatient. Hopefully you have a good excuse." "Uh, sorry. I ran into some problems." Ye Qingxuan chuckled apologetically and hurried away. There seemed to be a path waiting for him in the darkness. The stairs came alive slightly. After being in the darkness for who knew how long, Ye Qingxuans steps halted before an ancient door. He felt his skin pulling taught. In his perception, he seemed to see a burning sea of light behind the door. The blinding brightness practically crushed ones perception. It was like a giant vortex. The sea of aether revolved, sleeping peacefully. A gentle melody caressed it, creating faint ripples. This was the source of the entire Requiem enchantment, the location where the music score of benevolence was performedthe Cave of Sleep. A blonde youth sitting cross-legged in the dazzling silver light behind the door smiled at the shocked Ye Qingxuan, "Hey, kid, Ive been waiting for a long time." 230 Sublimation Ritual "Hey, kid, Ive been waiting for a long time." Ye Qingxuan stood at the entrance, unable to process what he had seen. Hermes looked at his shocked expression and laughed joyously. Behind him, the silver vortex spun silently with faint ripples. Under the vortex, a large track made of mercury, gems, and other material Ye Qingxuan could not recognize transformed slowly. It absorbed the endless strength from the aether and opened an invisible cavern that seemed to lead into another world. This was the sublimation ritual. Under Hermess manipulation, the mercury in the gully flowed soundlessly. The thick and heavy silver-white liquid radiated with burning brightness. Ye Qingxuan could never have guessed that Hermes would be the one performing the ritual for him. "Are you shocked?" Hermes asked with a subtle smile. "A little." Ye Qingxuan nodded honestly. "Your principal spent money and I had time, so I came over for a look." Hermes shook his head and lamented, "I havent been to this stupid place in so long but Im surprised youve all been maintaining it well. Its just that the newer buildings are too ugly. Theres no style at all. If would be fine if you just followed the original design. Why did you have to add stuff? Tsk" Ye Qingxuan listened obediently as Hermes judged and destroyed every inch of the Royal Academy of Music. In the end, Hermes finally looked down at the flowing mercury. Without caring about being poisoned, he reached a hand into it. Pulling out, the mercury in his hand shone and quickly dissipated from his fingertip. Hermes nodded in satisfaction. "The coherence of the track will be complete soon. Other than the sublimation ritual, the heart marks inheritance will be done at the same time. Musicians have really regressed these days. They cant even do these compound alchemy processes, how can they call themselves musicians? "Hey, white-haired kid, have you thought about which heart mark you want? This is a treasure chest. Theres Bachs Chaconne, Mahlers Symphony No. 2Resurrection, Nocturne, The Four SeasonsThere are even dozens of Concerto No. 1s. Since your principal said that you can choose whatever you want from the Resonance level, just go all out. Youre not the one paying, after all." Hearing Hermess words, Ye Qingxuan finally snapped out of his daze. After hesitating, he said, "Night on Bald Mountain. I choose the Night on Bald Mountain from the School of Abstinence." Hermess smile stiffened and instantly grew odd. "That reallysuits you" He really wanted to say something along the lines of, "the apple doesnt fall far from the tree" or "like father, like son." He had not thought that Ye Qingxuan would happen to choose this out of such a large archive. It was not that this music score was very weak, but that it was just really weird. Not only was it from the School of Abstinence, it was also created for targeting fallen dark musicians and demons. These days, other than judgement musicians who hunted dark musicians and strange beasts, no one else would choose this extremely difficult and unpopular piece. Its composer had concealed his identity and joined the satanic believers and witches that worshipped natural catastrophes. The so-called Night on Bald Mountain was a fiesta for the fallen ones. Every year, bonfires would be lit in the middle of a certain night. Witches, satanic believers, and dark musicians would praise Satan, perform blood sacrifices, receive blessings from Satan and dance crazily around the fire until daybreak. At dawn, the composer, hidden among them, would join with the judgement musicians hiding in the surroundings and kill all the celebrating satanic believers. They would use a majestic melody that announced the coming of dawn to kill the cantos to Satan, and thus created this music score. Only judgement musicians would study this piece because it was infallible at defeating demonic followers. No matter what type of demon or dark musician, anything with the aura of natural catastrophe would be sealed by this music score, nailed onto the stake and burned to ashes in the fire. No matter how dark it was, the night on the bald mountain would be illuminated by a forest of stakes. But if the enemy was a human, it was powerless, save for the shackle and sealing effect. "It reallysuits you," Hermes finally said after his mind went blank. Ye Qingxuan had considered his choice for the heart mark carefully beforehand. He was not qualified to look through many of the librarys important music scores, but he could at least look at the catalogue, so he copied it and asked Abraham and Lola for advice. After Abraham looked at the catalogue, he marked some scores from the School of Revelations and Modifications. After hesitating, he also marked Night on Bald Mountain as Ye Qingxuans backup. Lolas suggestion was to improve on his shortcomings rather than further strengthening his strong points. For pure destruction, he already had Indras Eye and the Devas blood to help him fight with furious fire at a level far above his own. Even if he learned other music scores, it would be useless in the meantime, due to his own restrictions. In comparison, Night on Bald Mountain was more specialized, but offset his weakness at lasting face-to-face fighting. He would also be able to kill the enemy without worrying that he would go too far. Understanding Ye Qingxuans intentions, Hermes could only lament, "Children these days are so creativeOkay, the preparation is almost complete. You can go in." He moved aside, motioning for Ye Qingxuan to hurry inside and stop wasting time. Ye Qingxuan entered and instantly felt that he was about to suffocate. The almost tangible aether flow shone in the air, thick and heavy. It felt as if he was in a pool of water and he could barely breathe. After looking around, Ye Qingxuan had a new discovery and almost jumped out of his skin. "Wait, wheres the most important medium for the ritual? Boss, are you cheating?" "Medium?" Hermes side-eyed him. "Isnt it on you?" With a hum, the palm-sized stone flew out of the youths pocket. It hovered in the air, absorbing the aether almost endlessly, and transformed into a small sun. Within the blazing sun-like glow, the words on the surface transformed. They seemed to have new changes and dazzled before his eyes. His mind was shaken and he could not control himself. "Hey, kid!" Hermes suddenly hit him on the shoulder, shocking him out of his thoughts. "Let me warn you though, the alchemy Im good at is pure classicism. There arent many safety precautions and its definitely not comfortable. You can say that the longer it lasts, the more torturous it gets. During the ritual, youll see unexplainable hallucinations, hear weird sounds, or feel something frightening. Im not taking responsibility if you go crazy from all that. So, are you ready?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless and could not help but sigh. "To be honest, I cant wait. Can we start soon?" "Good kid, I can see that youre a true man." Hermes pressed a hand on the top of Ye Qingxuans head. His fingers were icy without any warmth. Ye Qingxuan shivered at the cold, steel-like hand. "One last question." Hermes suddenly asked, "You know that its highly possible to die during the sublimation ritual, right?" "Huh? Wait" Ye Qingxuan yelped but then his vision went black and he lost consciousness. - Just as he sank into unconsciousness, a solemn song and melody rose above the ritual. The aether seemed to ignite in that hoarse singing and majestic song. It echoed like a tidal wave. The immense strength fell onto the youths body like a flame, burning his clothes. It dug into his limbs and bones, forcing him to struggle involuntarily and scream in pain. However, his eyes were soulless as if his spirit was gone. It had already risen to the sky or had fallen into the abyss. "We grow under aether and die as aetherwe must be in awe of aether!" Hermes announced gravely. He held down the youths forehead. He did not seem happy or sad, but there seemed to still be emotions in his expression; he was like a saints figure carved by the Church and was awe-inspiring. Behind him, twelve wings of light burst through his robe and unfurled, covering the sky. The wings of light flapped soundlessly, creating huge ripples in the invisible sea of aether. "Ye Qingxuan, the so-called sublimation ritual is to purify your soul." He gazed at the youths dull eyes and murmured in his ears, "You shall see your true self in the muddled chaos." - Ye Qingxuan felt as if he had fallen into a nightmare again. In that endless nightmare, the ineffably immense chaos swallowed him. He felt himself being thrown into the sky, leaving the world of men, and entered a cold world that was icy yet difficult to describe. There was nothing. In the blink of an eye, something extremely solemn and large brushed past him. It seemed to be a strategic response by the gods. But when he inadvertently turned around, he seemed to see the bottom of the abyss underfoot. There was a burning hell and it was wailing. He understood instantly: perhaps this was the "aether world" that had been described in countless books. It was the true appearance of all organisms, as observed by the aether. Under the illumination of the blue moon, the city was shrouded in fog. Its fierce, sharp, large, and dark silhouette was revealed. The church and palace stuck through like piles of bones. Blood flowed into paths and rivers; countless vague shadows wandered through the city of the dead, unable to be freed. This was Avalons Shadow Instantly, Ye Qingxuan felt his body going slack. It was flying toward himNo, he was falling into itit was pulling him! He struggled fiercely but to no avail. As he fell rapidly, he felt the strength of Avalons Shadow pulling at his mind, almost ripping him into pieces. For a moment, he could feel two of himself, three, fourThis was the precursor to schizophrenia. Urgent danger filled his brain, but for some reason, a line of strange words flashed past his mind in that instant. They were the wedge-shaped words on the stone. Those strange words overlapped and formed an unfamiliar interval in his mind. It lengthened and swelled endlessly, turning from a few words to a novel with tens of thousands of words. The immense amount of information practically filled his consciousness to the brim. Then, the terrifying music score with a compact yet large structure quickly began closing up and collapsing. Ye Qingxuan could not comprehend any of the music theory within ithe had never heard of it before and could not even distinguish a general direction. It expanded to its extreme in an instant; it collapsed to something miniscule in an instant. Ye Qingxuan could no longer observe that tiny dot. Even his consciousness was pulled and dragged into the dot that was so small it did not exist anymore. Just before he passed out, he heard the earth-shaking majestic chanting in his ear, "As if you are above, as if you are below, as if all is beginning!" - "Ah!" Ye Qingxuan shrieked and jumped up from his table. The entire classroom was silent. All the students who were reading their books in the morning class looked over. Even the drowsy teacher at the podium had a scare. Ye Qingxuan looked around in confusion, not sure where he was. His memories in his mind were disappearing as if it was a dream. He gaped at those eyes without knowing what to do. "Ye Qingxuan, how many do I have to tell you to not sleep during morning class!" The balding teacher at the podium furrowed his brows. "Go read at the back of the room!" Ye Qingxuan finally realized that he had fallen asleep during class and had had a weird dream. He awkwardly looked down, picked up his English textbook and obediently went to stand at the back of the classroom. Maybe it was because he had a good attitude and was usually a good student, so the teacher did not give him a hard time; he was able to sit down when the bell rang. His desk mate Wang Qiang came over with a gleeful smile. "Yezi, Ive seen a lot of people who sleep during class, but never someone who talks in his sleep and makes such a big commotion." "You didnt even wake me up!" Ye Qingxuan rubbed his eyes and yawned. "I stayed up the whole night playing GTB5 and accidentally fell asleep." "Its the second mock exam today and youre still playing? Wow." His desk mate glanced at the "eighty-eight more days until the college entrance exam" on the blackboard and asked, "Do you still have lead? Give me some, I ran out." "Its in my pencil bag. Go get it yourself." Ye Qingxuan was spacing out. "Hey, whats wrong? Fever?" "I dont know." He shook his head. "I just feel like I forgot something." "No!" Wang Qiang panicked. "I need you for English during the exam! If you do badly, what am I gonna do?" "Its not a big deal." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "When has my grade ever been bad? Just turn your phone on and its okay." Wang Qiang shook his head. "I heard that you cant do it this year. Apparently the school blocked all signal for this mock exam. Your phone wont have any signal." "So, you cant use your phone without signal?" Ye Qingxuan side-eyed him. "Turn on your bluetooth and then just change the phone name into the answer. Dont tell me your phone doesnt even have bluetooth." "" Wang Qiangs expression suddenly changed dramatically. He gaped for a long time before finally uttering, "Why didnt I f*cking think of that?!" "Because youre stupid." "This mock exam will be given by Professor Xia of our school. It will be strict to realistically simulate the college entrance exam. I hope all students will answer seriously and not cheat," the teacher said gravely. "Understood?" "Understood," came the scattered responses under the podium. Soon, the test was handed out to everyone. Ye Qingxuan accepted it and put it down. He yawned involuntarily and looked outside restlessly. He looked as if he was deep in thought but he knew that his mind was blank. He was not thinking of anything. He was just spacing out. Something felt wrong. "Focus on the test," the supervising teacher minded, knocking on his table. Ye Qingxuan flinched. He nodded dazedly as if he had just woken up. When he looked down at the test paper, he went slack. This was not language, not mathematics, not English, not geographyWhat the h*ll was this? 231 The Moon in the Mirror, the Man in the Dream Maxwell had suddenly appeared in the silver light of the Cave of Sleep beside the sublimation ritual. He glanced at Hermes and asked quietly, "It started, right?" Hermes nodded. The wings of light on his back floated soundlessly. They illuminated Maxwells eyes, making him laugh. "I havent seen you like this in a long time, Lord Merlin." Hermes glanced at him. "Call me Hermes. You all gave me the title Merlin but Ive never accepted it." "Youve lost a bit of your humanity after revealing your true nature. I still like your slovenly style. At least then it feels like were the same." "Dont come here trying to feel likeness, Maxwell. No ones the same kind as you," Hermes said disdainfully. "No one." Maxwell chuckled. "Thats why were the same, right?" "Ha." Hermes chuckled too. Maxwell did not find it offensive. He just squatted and studied the steaming mercury. Understanding filled his eyes. "You chose the classicist sublimation ritual. The danger level increased a lot." "This is the true nature of the ritual. Only this way will its power be the strongest." Hermes snickered. "The thing that you all like and find importantincreasing the musicians sensing of aetheris only its side effect. Youve been changing it over and over all these years and have forgotten how it originally was." "As expected of the fallen serpent, the most ancient alchemist," Maxwell said. "Id like to hear the details." "The original purpose of the sublimation ritual was to increase human sensing of aether and give humans the right to manipulate aether. Humans refer to this as Deva sensing. Its the sensing between humans and the heavens. You can see the heavens and it can see you. But youve mistaken something before this all," Hermes stated. "The purpose of the sublimation ritual is not Deva sensing, but the preparation for it." "What preparation?" "The Originator never needs preparation, but you do," Hermes said. "You must understand your true nature and true self. If you dont even know where you are and what you are, how can you sense the Originator? So thats why you all are like thislike walking blindly at night, using the fleeting luck and experience to grope in the darkness, or practicing and trying endlessly, day after night. It can work but it has gone astray. The true path will never be so difficult and annoying." "The true path?" Maxwell pondered for a long while before chuckling wryly. "Perhaps, to humans, finding their true selves is the hardest thing. After all, theyre the best at overestimating their abilities." "Thats why its the sublimation ritual, is it not?" Hermes studied the youth and looked at his painful expression. "The burning incense, pulverized gemstones, flowing mercurythe aether will enter his body, letting him see himself and his true spirit." - It seemed as if everything had thinned in an instant and quickly became distant. Ye Qingxuan had forgotten what date it was, where he was, and what situation he was in. He just looked down in shock and stared at the test. Only the test and his pencil remained in this world. "You can begin now." It felt as if something put that pencil into his hand and curled his fingers, one by one, until he gripped it tightly. "You only have one chance. Dont waste it." But for some reason, he felt scared. The first problem on the test entered his eyes. Problem: "Xiao Ming had a happy family with a dad and mom who loved him. Xiao Mings dad committed a crime and went missing when Xiao Ming was very young. Because of him, Xiao Ming and his mom were exiled. One winter, Xiao Mings mom died and Xiao Ming was alone. Please describe Xiao Mings feelings." "Xiao Ming?" Ye Qingxuan muttered. Xiao Ming, why the f*ck was it Xiao Ming again? Its been Xiao Ming since childhood! Xiao Ming at the grocery store, Xiao Ming riding a bus, Xiao Ming going out with friendsand then something happened. One had to figure out how much half a pound of cabbage cost, how much longer it would take before the next stop, how four people could slice a cake with three knivesHe knew that this was Xiao Mings story, so he could relax. It was just Xiao Mings story. Something had happened to him, so you must help him, just as you would help yourself. He was just unlucky. Bad things would happen to him no matter what he did, but he did not know how to do anything. If no one helped him, he would not even be able to buy fruit. If you did not help him, he would not be able to live. But how could Ye Qingxuan know how Xiao Ming would feel in this situation? "Xiao Ming" Ye Qingxuan wrote down these two words and then stopped. After hesitating for a long time, he wrote in the space, "Xiao Ming is very sad." The next question: "What should Xiao Ming do?" Ye Qingxuan hesitated some more and wrote, "Xiao Ming doesnt know either." The third problem: "Xiao Ming is riding a carriage and sees a child playing on the street. The child is about to be run over. Xiao Ming can choose to change the direction and kill an innocent old couple. What should Xiao Ming do?" Ye Qingxuan thought a little and answered, "Run over the kid." "Why?" Without hesitating, Ye Qingxuan wrote down, "Because Xiao Ming hates kids." The fourth problem: "There are two boats. The left one has fifty people on it; the right one has one-hundred. If one boat is going to explode and sink, which one should Xiao Ming choose?" Left side. "If the boat on the left has fifty people, but his mom is the only one on the right boat, which one should Xiao Ming choose?" Without thinking, Ye Qingxuan wrote, "Left side." "If the left boat has ten-thousand people" Again, without thinking: "Left side." "If it has one-hundred thousand people" Still left. "If it has one-million people" "Enough! How can a boat fit one-million people? And even if its one-billion, one-bajillion, or one-gazillion, it would still be the left side! As long as he can live, Xiao Ming will bomb the left side without hesitation, even if everyone on the world is on it!" The test paper was silent. After a long time, a new line of text appeared: "if a man from the mafia with many connections told Xiao Ming that he could resurrect his mom if Xiao Ming became his follower, what would Xiao Ming do?" Ye Qingxuan emotionlessly answered, "Xiao Ming will tell him to go eat sh*t." "If Xiao Mings father has already joined the mafia, Xiao Ming will" "Xiao Ming will tell him to go eat sh*t." "If Xiao Mings father is actually a spy" "Xiao Ming will still tell him to go eat sh*t." If there was a new virusif a meteorite fell from the skyif there was a giant ball of lightif there was an old grandpa in the jade pendantHow the f*ck were there so many ifs?! Why did they not ask how great life would be if none of this happened? How happy life would be if she did not pass away, if the father did not abandon them? Even if they had nothing, even if they were forced to wander the world, it would be better than being abandoned by the whole world. Finally, Ye Qingxuan flipped through the entire exam. There was only one problem left, which made him sink into a long silence. "Do you think Xiao Mings dad abandoned him and his mom on purpose, or was there an unspeakable hardship?" On purpose or unspeakable hardship? Xiao Ming did not know; Ye Qingxuan did not know either. His pencil paused. Time crept by, the clock on the wall ticked by, and everyone handed in their test, leaving Ye Qingxuan alone in the testing room. In the last few seconds, he wrote down his answer and handed it to the teacher. Xiao Mings story ended now. The light was snuffed and the classroom fell into darkness and silence. He sat in his seat, leaning against the desk behind him and closed his eyes in the darkness. He let out a long sigh, as if wanting to exhale all the pain and annoyance in his guts. A sudden exhaustion overtook him. He lowered his head and fell asleep. The night was long. - A lantern lit up slowly in the deepest of the darkness. The examiner made a cup of hot tea, looked at the only test he needed to grade, and sat down onto his chair. The middle aged teacher pushed open the window, letting the moonlight outside illuminate his body and white hair. Behind him, someone knocked on the door. "Excuse me, is Mr. Ye here?" someone asked quietly. Before he could reply, the door was pushed open. The lanterns light illuminated the newcomers robe, gold hair, and seemingly youthful face. He studied the mid-aged man with troubled eyes. After a long time, he sighed. "Its so hard to see you, Ye Lanzhou." The man sitting before the window shook his head slightly. "Mr. Hermes, youve found the wrong man. Im not Ye Lanzhou." "Moon in the Mirror," Hermes uttered the true name aloud without any emotion. "I know that youve hidden a portion of your own memory in Ye Qingxuans mind, and the you right now is just a humanized reflection of those memories. Even though youre not Ye Lanzhou, its okay." Ye Lanzhou shrugged, as if acknowledging his words. The moon in the mirror, the flower in the water, an illusion in the fire, a hallucination. Ye Lanzhou did not exist here, right now; he was just a mechanic reflection in response to previously arranged commands. "You really thought far ahead." Hermes pulled a chair over without caring about manners and glared at him. "First the seed for Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, then all the markers on the roadyou really put in a lot of effort so your son can inherit your legacy." "Yezi isnt me. He has his own ideas and choices." Ye Lanzhou shook his head. "Ive never thought to let him inherit the possessions and curse of the Ye family. He would create his own path, so I never taught him any of the power and music scores passed down through the generations." "But what about you?" Hermes asked back. "Did you think that you could escape the consequences of what you did? You dont need me to repeat what youve down before, right?" Ye Lanzhou replied lightly, "It doesnt matter if its paying for what Ive done or letting fate decide. Whether Im alive or dead, or whatever state Im in, its all my own choice. It has nothing to do with anyone else." "I didnt go through all that to come here and talk about fate with you. I have a question to ask you, Ye Lanzhou. One question." Hermes stuck up a finger and looked at him coldly. His voice was like the explosive sound the iron in a hammer made when transforming into gold. "What exactly did you bring back from Avalons Shadow?" Ye Lanzhou did not reply; he just shook his head. "Hermes, that has nothing to do with you." "Of course it does!" Hermes rose and walked three steps forward. Within three steps, he transformed from a frail noble to a god with wings and immense majesty. Everything in the world was willing to resonate with his voice and this dreamscape trembled endlessly. "Ye Lanzhou, tell me, did you takethe holy operation carved into the Sword in the Stone?" Ye Lanzhou smiled. He stared at those majestic eyes and said quietly, "You should leave." "Wait" Hermess expression changed dramatically, but Ye Lanzhou waved and his figure dissipated. Hermes had been forced away. In the silence, the room resumed its stillness. Ye Lanzhou picked up a pair of glasses and uncapped a red pen, starting to grade the test paper. When he saw the last problem, he could not help but smile bitterly. "Do you think Xiao Mings dad abandoned him and his mom on purpose, or was there an unspeakable hardship?" At the bottom, the youth had used resolute handwriting for his answer, "No matter what the reason, the result can never be changed." Indeed, even if there was a hardship, what could it change? The consequence had already happened and the woman most important to them had died because of it. Nothing could be turned back. After a long silence, Ye Lanzhou slowly took off his glasses. His eyes were troubled and exhausted, as if he could see the youth sleeping in the darkness. "Yezi, its been so many years and you look so realistic, but youre still just living in your dream," he murmured. "Perhaps this is fate and the future you chose. The Ye family has inherited the Devas blood for millenniums and has always suffered the curse and prophecy. It will be tested in your hands." Ye Lanzhou picked up his pen and wrote his comments at the bottom of the test. It was the ancient name created from passing between reality and dreams, brewed from the thoughts and dreams of manyDreamweaver. 232 Night on Bald Mountain "Hey, kid, wake up!" In his sleep, Ye Qingxuan felt someone slapping his face. Drowsily, he opened his eyes with difficulty and saw Hermess vague features. "How much is this?" Hermes raised some fingers. "Three." Hermes seemed to nod and asked, "What is forty-four times six plus fifty-two divided by two?" Ye Qingxuan was a bit dazed. "Seems like your logical thinking hasnt recovered. What about your sense of time?" Hermes asked again, "What time is it?" Ye Qingxuan looked past his shoulder and up at the sky. "From the sun, I think its afternoon?" "Hey, this is Jianlan Underground Palace! How is there a sun?" Hermes lit a string of incense and swept it past the youths nose. "The ritual was successful but your mind hasnt recovered yet. Go to sleep." "No, I clearly saw" An extreme urge of sleep attacked Ye Qingxuan. His vision went black and he fell asleep once again. In his dream, he saw a blazing sun in the sky. There was also a moon hiding below the horizon, radiating pale white and blue light. The moon seemed to be murmuring to him but it was too far away, and Ye Qingxuan could not hear clearly. He saw the sun fall closer and closer to the horizon as the moonlight rose inch by inch. In the end, the sun and moon shone for a short period at the two ends of the sky. Their radiance fell upon the youth like the pupils of gods. Ye Qingxuan finally clearly heard the phrase they repeated endlessly in his ear. It was a murmur from ancient times, the truth carved into stone. Ye Qingxuan woke from the dream at that moment. He did not know when he had been lifted out of the Cave of Sleep and into the resting room of the library. The room was empty and completely still. He thought back carefully, but felt that only a few ridiculous scenes remained in his mind. He could not remember anything else. Just as he was sifting through his memories, he touched the heavy stone in his hands. The stone was icy cold with a metallic feeling. The wedge-shaped words jolted his memory of the blazing sun and moonlight murmuring in his ear from his dream. They said, "As if you are above, as if you are below, as if all is beginning." The youth caressed the runes on the surface and finally understood what the wedge-shaped text was. They were not simple words; they were music theory precise to the extreme. They were the result of research and evolution using the School of Modifications as the starting point and the Creator as the proposition. It used the process of alchemy as an analogy for music theory and created a new categorization for all organisms physical substance. In addition, it suggested an incomplete but reliable tree diagram, allowing one to trace all organisms to their source and beginning of all...if the diagram was complete, of course. If alchemists could understand this, they would definitely be overjoyed and use all their fortune in exchange for it, but to Ye Qingxuan, it was useless. However, though Ye Qingxuan did not dabble in the School of Modifications, he felt as if a new world had opened up and the music theory in his mind had changed with this knowledge. When he looked, he could practically sense the source of all. He was clearly sitting inside the room, but he seemed to be able to feel the radiance of the gradually setting sun. Was this a hallucination? "Dont space out," an ancient voice suddenly said. "Being slow is a musicians mortal enemy." Instantly, a wind with a bloody scent blew past. Ye Qingxuan started rolling on the ground without thinking. Then there was a giant explosion and a large hole appeared on the ground. Right where he had been standing, a strange metallic creature with long and thin limbs appeared. It seemed to be ripped apart by someones bare hands; its body was skinned and replaced with a layer of rusting bronze. A bone face mask seemed to grow out of its flesh. There were three eyes on the masktwo on the left and one on the right. There were small dots on the rheumy yellow pupils, like the compound eyes of an insect. "A stray?" Ye Qingxuan felt a chill go down his spine. Why was there a low-level Satanic demon here? But there was no time for him to think. With a scream, the stray pounced at him. The limbs with a metallic luster cut through the air and yelled terrifyingly. Ye Qingxuan stumbled back and felt its sharp nails sweep past his eyes. His previously unfeeling eyes suddenly felt something cold brush past. With no time for hesitation, Ye Qingxuan quickly tightened his fingers as if he was squeezing something. The Jiu Xiao Huan Pei on his forefinger flashed dimly. Amidst the sound of crystal multiplying, the instrument strings sprouted out of thin air. Then, out of Ye Qingxuans expectations, it changed abruptly and transformed into the unstable apparition of an instrument in midair. After swallowing all that spirit, Jiu Xiao Huan Peis own spirit had recovered a bit. It could now change its appearance to suit the music scores requirements. Yes, very good! Excitement flashed past Ye Qingxuans mind and he began playing an intense melody. A sharp sound instantly shot out. It was a tight swirl and the melody reached its climax in a few short moments. Then Jiu Xiao Huan Pei vibrated, letting out the majestic roar of a horn. The melody called to the aether and formed an invisible rope. It wrapped around the stray like layers of shackles, immobilizing it. During the roar, the strays body shook. Its limbs doubled and clawed at Ye Qingxuans face. He stared at the sharp incoming hand without moving. Because a silver chain had already extended out of thin air, wrapped around the beasts limbs and tightened! With a crack, the bone shattered. The stray wailed and was immobilized within the chain. The horn sounded once again. The melody was light the sun, breaking through the darkness and announcing the coming of morning. Within that melody, the cold noise of grating melody sounded. Iron sand appeared out of nowhere. They crashed against each other, turning red-hot with friction, melting into each other and transforming into numerous sharp nails. The long black nails still had a shade of hot red and they pierced downward, following the horns guide. Instantly, they buried into the strays body and ripped it apart. They pierced through easily and nailed it onto the wall. The burning runes and oaths of defeating demons shone blindingly on the long nails. The shine was like fire, burning the stray from the inside out. Furious flames spilled out from the eyes, nose, and mouth of its strange mask. Within a few seconds, its insides had turned to ashes from the explosive fire. The demon vanished instantly like a hallucination. Only deathly white ash floated down from the air. "Long time no see, Night on Bald Mountain," the ancient voice sighed. "Back when the court of the Church had not been replaced yet, youd be able to see the stakes set on fire whenever the melody sounded. The sky would turn red from the burning flames." Dominic had appeared behind the youth at some point. Seeing the youths shocked expression, he seemed to understand something and chuckled strangely. "Did you see it too? Good, youve improved. It seems that youve improved on observation skills during Deva sensing. Good, youre not far from the official Musician level" He turned as he spoke and went off silently with his cane. Ye Qingxuan was still rooted to his spot. What was that? The moment he turned around, he saw the stooped and old Dominic, as well as the illusionary mountain of bones. It seemed to be an enormous cave formed by the withered bones of countless demons. Dark fog hung inside the cave like a calling from Hell. The apparition quickly disappeared as Dominic left. All that remained was a plume of black smoke and footprints like rising flames. The footprints reached into the darkness and vanished with Dominic. This was a terrifying sight that Ye Qingxuan had never seen beforehe was frozen. "Did you do this?" He looked down and touched the stone at his fingertip carved with wedge-shaped words. Totally confused, he finally said self-mockingly, "Whatever, why am I all hung up on this?" Were there not other things waiting for him to do? - "Wooh, cheers, cheers!" Charles cheered in the tavern. He chomped on a large sausage kebab and danced happily. He could only reveal his true fighting spirit when eating buffets as he stuffed his mouth crazily. In a mere half hour, he had already eaten a few days worth of food for a strong man. But according to him, it was a rare opportunity to eat meat, so he should eat a months worth before thinking about anything else. Bai Xi, who had come with him, sat on the side with a neutral face and pretended she did not know Charles. Ye Qingxuan did not have much shame, but he still felt pressured by the managers angry eyes when he sat next to Charles. This time, even the Professor, who did not leave often, came out to eat and celebrate Ye Qingxuans sublimation ritual. This restaurant was right across from the academy and was not too far. Maybe he was happy because of the rituals success and picked up a cup of beer after eating a little, watching his students stuff their faces with a smile. During the small break after finishing, and before the server brought over a new platter of meat, Charles mouth finally had time to rest. He wiped his hands and asked the question he was most concerned about, "Yezi, stop being mysterious. Ive been waiting for the whole day. What results did you get from the sublimation ritual?" Ye Qingxuan grinned. He looked to the sides and snatched a deck of poker cards left over from the customers on the table beside them. After washing the cards, he looked up at Charles. "Which one do you want?" 233 To Not Lose "Which one do you want?" "Really? Why don''t you give me the little joker?" Before Charles finished his words, Ye Qingxuan had directly drawn one card from the deck and thrown it at Charles without even looking. The card turned over in the air, and it was indeed the little joker. After staring at the card for a long time, he looked up and said, "Give me the big joker!" The youth popped another card out from the deck and flipped it on the table. It was exactly the big joker that Charles asked for. The two jokers together looked particularly bizarre. Bai Xi raised her hand. "I want a king." "Well, I''ll give you all four." Ye Qingxuan quickly popped up four cards. The kings from four different suites flipped in the air, reversed, and finally landed on the table in a row before Bai Xi. Ye Qingxuans fingers did not stop. He kept popping up a few cards, dazzling their eyes. "Let me give you a flush." In his hands, that pack of cards was like a living thing which continued to fly out and stack on the table in different suits, finally becoming four neat stacks. In the end, there was only the queen of spades in his hand. As his fingertips reversed, the card revealed its figure hidden in the mist. That hideous and dignified figure stood with a cane, politely standing in the dark as if he was looking at you through the cardIt was the vengeful spirit, Sherlock Holmes. "Well, I like this one." Ye Qingxuan looked at the card, laughed involuntarily, and stuffed it into his pocket. "Yezi, lets discuss something!" Charles was simply too happy to function. "Tomorrow, Ill take you to a good place..." "Ha, I wont go to the casino." Ye Qingxuan curled his lip. "Senior, don''t expect to make a fortune through this. This is only a small trick brought on by the sublimation ritual. You can use it for fun, but if you really meet a casino expert, youll still lose. Youll lose no matter how much money you bring." "Oh, fine." Charles became dispirited immediately. "Then at least tell me how you did it." "Its very easy. You just shuffle, like this..." As he spoke, the young man rearranged the cards randomly and shuffled it with his ten fingers. After a few actions, the deck was placed on the table and spread again. Within just two seconds, the disarranged deck had been sorted out, arranged orderly according to its suits and numbers. It was practically like a new deck. It was so simple and casual, so easy. If Charles and Bai Xi did not know that Ye Qingxuan had never played a card before, they would think that Ye Qingxuan was possessed by an old gambler, a dead cheater, or a dealer. "Everything has its source." Facing their startled eyes, Ye Qingxuan shrugged and smiled. "No matter how chaotic a deck is, it was in order at the beginning, just like now. All I have to do is reorganize the order so that they can recover their original position." "Oh?" Abraham, who had been on the sidelines, suddenly chuckled. "Its an interesting idea, Yezi." Then he picked up the poker on the table and waved it at the youth. "Play a round?" Now, not only was Ye Qingxuan stunned, but also Charles. Abraham had never played poker before; he did not even know the rules and still needed Charles to explain it for him. Ye Qingxuan also rarely played poker, but with his own super memory and calculation ability, Ye Qingxuan still covered Bai Xi, the gambling queen, with white strips of paper. There was some disparity as to who would win! "Professor, since you are interested, Ill definitely play with you. But if you can''t beat me, don''t you think it''ll be embarrassing?" "Its just a game, no need to be pressured." Abraham recognized the cards under the Charles guidance and said with a serious face, "Ill try not to lose too." - Ten minutes later, it was a draw. Ye Qingxuan looked blankly at the scattered cards on the table. He was dazed. Before him, Abraham still had a dull and emotionless face, but he made Ye Qingxuan feel ridiculous. Abraham did not even know the rules and still needed Charles to guide him. Ye Qingxuan did not understand why it was a draw. He was holding a good hand that he had not been able to put down yet. He just felt that there was something wrong. "Play again?" He asked. Abraham nodded. This time, he persisted for fifteen minutes, but still, it was a draw. This time, Bai Xi, who had been standing on the same side as him, discovered that Ye Qingxuan had bad luck and was not able to do something. This hand was extremely painful to play and Ye Qingxuan was like a completely novice who did not know the rules at all. Abraham was holding an average hand, but Ye Qingxuan was still forced to welcome a draw. "Play again?" asked Ye Qingxuan, and Abraham nodded. Twenty minutes later, a draw; again, a draw; again, a draw... One hour later, Ye Qingxuan was already covered in sweat, breathing heavily, and a little bit dizzy...For the first time, he felt his brain power was limited. This was even more exhausting than when he went to Revelations to play the Joker game last time. He felt restricted and had completely lost his confidence in defeating the enemy in the end. He was holding a good hand, but he did not even have the opportunity to play it. This time, it was still a draw. Ye Qingxuan did not win and Abraham did not lose, but the frustration of not knowing the opponent was more painful than a bloody defeat. "I dont want to play anymore." Ye Qingxuan gave it up with a bitter expression. "How did you do that, sir?" "The rules decided it, didnt they?" Abraham''s awkwardly put away his scattered cards with his steel prosthetic arm and said, "Don''t be upset, I''m not a very smart player compared to you, and my calculations arent accurate either. But if winning requires the right time and place, then it''s easy to be not to lose. Just follow the rules." "The rules?" Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. "What rules? Poker rules?" "Everything runs from life to death; the sun and moon rise from east and set to the west; the ocean brings tides; a year is divided into four seasons; fruits will mature after sowing and the ripe fruit will fall to the ground...these are all rules, Yezi. Or, a term that youll understand better, its called music theory." Abraham''s words stunned Ye Qingxuan, like blow to the forehead by a big ax. There was enlightenment in the moment of pain. The professor''s voice sounded in his ear, "The core of the Abstinence is to know the rules and music theory and apply your strength to it...What we are concerned with is not the object outside the body, but the music theory followed by the aether. Thus, we can remain undefeatable." He paused, clinked his beer with Yezis, and let out a relieved chuckle. "Now do you understand? This is the first step in the field of the Abstinence and the deeper core of the interpretation method." He murmured, "Congratulations, Yezi, you have stepped into enlightenment through your own understanding, even if I have not taught you anything. You''re a genius, and moved faster than Id ever expected." Immediately after the enlightenment, Ye Qingxuan finally grasped the inexplicable sentiment brought by the sublimation ritual, but when he finally thoroughly digested this understanding, he could not help but become a little frustrated. "Sir, you shouldnt teach me Abstinence, right?" "You thought it up yourself, didnt you?" Like an illusion, Abraham''s smile seemed vaguely sneaky. "After all, I haven''t taught you anything about it. What youve learned has nothing to do with me." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan suddenly laughed. It was a rare burst of laughter. He practically slid over on the table. Who told him that his professor was an honest man? Mr. Abraham had been honest for so many years, but the rare time he played tricks, he passed the oath of the military and musicians. All these years, he had been regarded as a fool or a dull man, but compared to the achievement of his musical theory, the academy''s mediocre and struggling people were absolutely the idiots. "I told you so." Charles blocked his shoulder and clinked glasses with him. "Our professor is the best teacher in the world, the best." "Yes, the best." Ye Qingxuan smiled, toasted him, and drank the beer in the cup in a gulp. - "Right, theres another good news. Yezi, you were late today, so you probably still don''t know this." After another large cup of malt beer, Charles looked at Ye Qingxuan with sleepy eyes and began retelling the story of today''s meeting animatedly. At the school review that day, Abraham submitted his interpretation process and related documents, and vaguely faint grasped Ingmars Achilles heelthe guy had interpreted the final part in his own way, but the result was in a completely wrong direction and there was a clear break in logic. Ingmar seemed to realize this, so his arrogance was far less rampant than at the beginning. Speaking of this, Charles whistled. "Tomorrow well publish the correct interpretation and process in the school review meeting, and if Ingmar doesnt withdraw his manuscript before the news is announced to the world, then hell be done." Ye Qingxuan did not expect the progress to be so unexpectedly fast. He could not help but feel happy too. "Cheers!" Everyone raised the cups and looked at the professor who was a little shy. "To Mr. Abraham, whos about to become a famous master of the ancient studies!" - The office came with a fierce broken sound. "B*stard! B*stard! B*stard!" Ingmar furiously swept everything on the desk and crushed it into pieces. "They''re all a bunch of b*stards who want to see me embarrassed!" he shouted angrily, raising his bloodshot eyes and looking at Bart. "Did you see?" "Yes, sir." Bart stood in the corner, responding cautiously, "Not only the School of Royalty stood on their side, but also Modifications and Summoning. I saw it with my own eyes this morning. Cullen quietly handed the information to Ye Qingxuan. If they cross-reference that information with your manuscript, the contradiction in the last part of your interpretation might" "No wonder." Ingmar was so angry that he laughed. "No wonder they were so arrogant at the meeting today. They thought they had found my weakness just by those things?" He punched the table, forming a faint dent in the solid table. A crack even appeared in his hand. Blood dripped from his fingertips dripped and flowed into the cracks in the table like a grinning face. Ingmar squeezed his crazed voice from between his teeth, "In their dreams!" 234 The Ashes and the Youth Ye Qingxuan never thought that a meal could be finished so late. Not until the foreman implied by all means that the restaurant was going to close, with an extremely detested expression, did Ye Qingxuan finish his last beer and go. But soon, Ye Qingxuan found that there was a bigger problem in front of him: Charles was drunk. On his first day in Avalon, Ye Qingxuan had seen what a drunken Charles was likeBut he was about to discover that he had not seen the whole thing. So, under the lonely moonlight in the middle of the night, the singing and bolting legend of Avalon reappeared again. "La la la la!" Watching the drunken Charles pulling at his clothes while singing a song and running on the street, Ye Qingxuan wanted to die. "Professor" He looked to Abraham for help, but Abraham also did not know what to do. He could only follow behind and pick up the clothes that Charles had taken off, and then give him a music note to keep warm so he would not catch a cold. But even more troubling than a drunken Charles was a drunken Bai Xi. Of course, a drunken Bai Xi was also troublesome. She still remembered the humiliation of Charles touching her head when she did not notice. She shouted, "Charles, don''t run, Ill kill you...Ew!" She vomited too. But the problem was, she was now on Ye Qingxuans back! If Ye Qingxuan had not bent over immediately, he would be thrown up on. What else could Ye Qingxuan do? With two lines of tears, he wiped Bai Xi''s mouth while looking to Abraham. "Sir, I want to die." "Just get used to it." Abraham sighed and patted him on the shoulder. "Really, just get used to it." Hearing him say so, Ye Qingxuan, who had been under pressure for so long time, finally could not stand with anymore. Hoisting Bai Xi onto his back, Ye Qingxuan held down the running and naked Charles with great anger. He pointed at Charless nose and shouted, "Charles, calm down, youre twenty-years-old now. Cant you be more like a senior? You can drink, but cant you admit that youre a lightweight? Different people drink different amounts so stop pretending! And you sing after getting drunk. Do you want to dance too? If you dont know how to dance, I''ll teach you! Still running? What the h*ll! There''s no wolf chasing you" After the scolding, Ye Qingxuan felt much better. He had confided all the grief and indignation he had from the beginning to now. At the end when Ye Qingxuan finished his words, Charles was stunned and stared at him blankly. Looking at his startled and blank face, Ye Qingxuan felt a little bit regretful and thought that he might have said too much. But after staring at him for a long while, Charles suddenly smiled dumbly and came to give him a big hug, patting him on the shoulder. "Okay, okay, dont throw a tantrum." Charles looked at him kindly with a tolerant expression as if it were Ye Qingxuan who made a mistake. "Junior, let''s go home." Before Ye Qingxuan could react, the silly smirk reappeared on Charles drunken face. Again, Charles started his crazy song and ran to the front. "La la la la ..." Ye Qingxuan helplessly hit his own forehead. "Senior, youre really hopeless," he thought. On his shoulder, Bai Xi finally seemed to be a little bit sober now. She looked at him with sleepy eyes and asked, "Cousin, where are we going?" "We''re going home ..." Ye Qingxuan was startled after saying this. Soon, he could not help but laugh. "Yes, lets go home." "No, I''m going to hit him!" Bai Xi stared at Charles in the front, clutching Ye Qingxuans hair as if riding a horse. "Cousin, giddy up!" "Fine, fine. Sit tight" Ye Qingxuan smiled. He helped the girl up on his back and strode to the front while imitating the whining of a horse. Gentle moonlight shone on the empty streets, illuminating the unruly blonde youth in the front who was like a wild dog, as well as the teenager and girl chasing closely behind him. Their teacher reluctantly jogged and chased behind them, shouting at them to slow down. There was an off-key song from the street and a cheer from the girl, mingled with the sound of a donkey braying. The silence was broken and the cold city seemed less cold. Everything became lovely. Under the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan carried the girl, running and laughing loudly. They were going home. He suddenly had an impulse to pray so that God could stop time at this moment forever, and they could stay in the fleeting happiness. Perhaps what he had been trying to find was a place to return to. There was a teacher who could not talk well, a naughty girl, and a poor bastard at that place. Sometimes life was simple; sometimes it could be troublesome. But this was how life was. Even it was so, it was still his dream. Unfortunately, no matter how long the road was, it had an end. When he stopped, he stared at the sky in confusion. The distant sky reflected the light of flames, the light made the youths white hair look red. That direction...That direction...He gritted his teeth and began sprinting. That direction was... - When they arrived, it was already too late. The old deserted house was bathed in flames. The flames crackled and swallowed everything. Ye Qingxuan stood before the burning house, watching the flames dance. There was a faint laugh in the wind, like a mockery of something. Soon, the flames finally triggered the school''s enchantment. The alarm sounded and Egor, who was on duty tonight, descended with a storm from the sky. When he saw the burning music history department, he also could not help but be startled, and then lifted his hands. As he moved, a large black cloud gathered from the sky and cold wind spread. But soon, something held onto his hands and the impending storm did not come. Egor turned back in astonishment, looking at Abraham who was pulling him. Abraham''s face was expressionless, but he lifted up the steel-prosthetic limb and dashed forward. Ding! In a twinkling, the huge flame leaped and disappeared. It was as if the fire was just an illusion, as if it had never happened. The only proof of it was the old house that had been charred and collapsed. Burning Abstinence. This was the Interference level skill of the School of Abstinence, but Egor had never seen a similar one from Abraham. Abraham stood beside Ye Qingxuan, gazing silently at the ruins of charred. "Everythings gone." Charles came out and threw the ashes in his hand to the ground dejectedly. He said to himself, "Everythings gone." "Wheres Old Phil?" Bai Xi ran in the ruins, looking around with panic, but was held back by Ye Qingxuan. She stared blankly at Ye Qingxuans face. "Cousin, Old Phil...it ..." "Old Phil is fine." Ye Qingxuan touched her head. "Old Phil doesnt stay at home these two days. Even if it was in the house when it burned, it mustve been able to run away." "But ..." Bai Xi tried to calm down as she sobbed, but heard some familiar barks from the distant field. The golden dog ran out, looking in all directions. Seeing Bai Xi, it barked louder to comfort her. Knowing that it was fine, Bai Xi rubbed her red nose. She hugged Old Phil but did not know what to say. Ye Qingxuan wandered silently in the ruins, flipping through the things for anything that could be used. At last, he found that only the things in the basement had escaped from the fire. There was nothing flammable there. His own set of equipment had been put into the iron box by himself and hidden under the floor. But other than that, everything else was gone. Their rooms and beds, Abraham''s study and all the books...Within a few hours, the traces of life that everyone had accumulated had disappeared. Ye Qingxuan stood in the ruins and felt himself standing in a strange place. The flames had swallowed everything, leaving only the ashes and cinder. "It was a very big fire. The whole house was engulfed within a minute. Its most likely the recent dry weather that caused the objects to combust spontaneously." After the examination, Egor did not find anything strange. But thinking of recent events, he sighed involuntarily. "Fortunately, there are no casualties." "I know, thanks for the schools help." Abraham was not angry and just said, "Let us clean up then." With a complicated look, Egor nodded. "If you do not have place to live, you can come to Modifications, I will let the students clean up a few rooms." With that, he left. There was only silence in the ashes and ruins. No one spoke. They just quietly cleaned up things that could be recycled. After a while, footsteps sounded in the distance. "What a tragedy that the house suddenly burned. We never know what will happen next. Please accept my sympathy." Bart stood outside the ruins with a sympathetic face. "My teacher told me to send his condolences. After all, the music history department was once an important branch of Revelations. If necessary, you are welcome to..." "How dare you show up again!" Charles interrupted him angrily, tugging at his collar and glaring at him. "Guess if I..." Bart sneered. "Next, are you going to say that we did this? Dont slander others without evidence. In my opinion, maybe you set the fire yourselves to get sympathy from others. If not, why else are you guys not even hurt at all?" Hearing this, Charles was suddenly not angry anymore. He just clenched his fists so tightly that the sounds of joints cracking could be heard. They were like grating iron with a kind of crazy power. He had no desire to speak anymore. It was replaced by an unprecedented feeling; it was icy and gloomy, like a snake coiled on a clammy rock. The rubbing scales made a creepy sound. Maybe this was murderous intent. One hand grasped his wristit was Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan stood before him, looked into his eyes, and shook head slightly. "Yezi..." "Senior, listen to what he wants to say." Ye Qingxuan loosened his hand, looked back at the frozen Bart, and said quietly, "Bart, you can continue now. But you''d better know what you''re saying..." The coldness in the youths eyes made Bart step back involuntarily. Soon, he processed everything and collected himself. He scoffed as if he was the one who was so ''generous'' that he did not haggle over Charles actions. "That''s right, calm down. Its good for everyone." He grunted and looked up. "My teacher said that he is willing to admit his commonalities on academics; after all, there is always only one truth. But that doesn''t mean that he will admit your charge. Its just..." "Just what?" Ye Qingxuan cocked his head at Bart. His expression was not as curious as Bart had expected, but just cold. "Bart, finish your words. Your teacher did not let you come to tease our appetite. Since you want to be a dog, you have to have the sense of a dog. You don''t want to cause some mistakes that your teacher doesn''t want to see, do you?" Bart''s face twitched and became wry, but still, he chose to finish his words. "Its just, if youre willing to withdraw those false accusations, he can add Mr. Abraham''s name to the manuscript, and submit it to share this achievement and glory with him." In the silence, he sneered. "How is that? A ''second author'' for compensation is already a great thing for a poor place like the music history department. This is the last chance. I hope you dont miss it because my teacher wont take another step back." This was the final choice Ingmar had made. No matter how crazy he was, he could not let this event continue to ferment. Moreover, after this warning, the music history department must have learned to be a bit smarter and stop this entanglement. This compromise was good for everyone. But to his surprise, no one made a sound after he spoke. They all had a strange look as they gazed at him. Only the white-haired youth nodded slowly. "Is that so? I understand," he said. "You can go now." Bart was stunned and was unable to react. "What do you mean?" "I mean, you can go now, Bart," Ye Qingxuan repeated. His expression was careful and serious, but his eyes were cold, like the wind in the long winter nightcold enough to chill ones blood. "Dont make me repeat myself. I hope you can see that Im in a bad mood." "You, you...Are you crazy?!" Bart looked at him in astonishment. He did not know what to say, but he did not dare to remain there so he just left with a red face. He walked speedily as if he was chased by some kind of invisible ghost. Not until he had gone far did he dare to look back and spit on the ground. "A group of guys who dont know whats good for themselves." - Ye Qingxuan stood in the remains of his home. He watched Bart leave silently and saw the secret actions in the woods. After a long time, he took back his sight and gazed down at the ruins underfoot, looking at the burned ashes. Beside him, Charles looked at him anxiously, sighing softly. "Yezi..." "I know. No need to persuade me." Ye Qingxuan looked up at him. "Things have become like this. Our building has been burned, and the data is all gone. Sadness cant solve the problem. We dont even have cards to play at the school board anymore. After all, we dont even have the original manuscript, do we?" He looked at the silent Charles and, after a long time, lowered his eyes. His eyes were like ashes which hid his unseen fury. He said, "Senior, Im angry now." 235 In Your Dreams! At dawn, the mist froze on the branches and fell down. Sparse and cold, it was like raindrops in the fog. The morning bell rang and students who had risen early walked to and fro. When they sensed the two youths walking quietly down the road, they stopped and nodded. "Morning, Concertmaster Ye." "Good morning." "Concertmaster Ye, good morning." When Ye Qingxuan saw girls smiling at him, he would smile too and say, "Good morning." Like a regular walk, everything was normal and nothing out of sorts. The only thing difference was the briefcases in their hands. They swung along with their steps like a small book bag. Though Charles had no smile on his face, Ye Qingxuan seemed to be in a good mood. He replied to all of the greetings from the students they passed and even hummed a childrens song he had learned somewhere. "Lalala, lalala, lalalal!" The song did not sound very good and carried his characteristic hoarseness. It was like cold wind blowing in the long night through the darkness, sending chills down ones spine. As he hummed, the books in the cases hit the sides with rustling sounds like a vague tide. The sounds were small and faint but traveled far. The students moved to the side and watched them leave with troubled eyes. When the music history department went down in flames, rumors spread through the night. It seemed like an accident, but everyone appeared to know what had happened. Conspiracy theorists among them believed they had orchestrated this whole thing but many were sympathetic. However, sympathy was useless. Sympathy could not be used as food to eat, water to drink, or blankets when it was cold. Sympathy was just sympathy; sadly, anger was not just anger. It could give birth to much more. "Youre going to the Musicians Union?" Cullen asked. The next president of the student council finally caught up to them at the square with a bitter expression. Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Senior Cullen, since youre so enthusiastic, we can change and go to the student council." Cullens expression grew even bitterer. "The school board set more regulations yesterday. Modifications and Summoning became a mess from the business. Some teachers from the School of Royalty also talked to mesorry, we cant help you." "Really? Thats a pity." Ye Qingxuan shrugged regretfully."Well go find the Musicians Union then." "Why go to that step? Once you report to the Musicians Union, this will become magnified." Cullen instantly became more troubled. "Youre all too extreme. If each side took a step back, the problem can be solved. Why make it so extreme?" Ye Qingxuan just patted his shoulder and said genuinely, "If Bench Guy was here, hed definitely not say something like that. You know why?" Cullen blanched, causing Ye Qingxuan to chuckle. "Because he knows that the world is never as beautiful as he thinks." He walked past the stunned Cullen and continued toward the schools main entrance. Each take a step back? Forgive each other? What a joke! These seemingly fair solutions were the biggest mockery towards fairness. Why make things so extreme? The moment the history department was burned to ashes, Ye Qingxuan no longer thought about keeping an exit open for himselfthere would no longer be any exits. Otherwise, he would abandon himself as well. The sunlight rose gradually in the morning, and the youths smile disappeared gradually. All that remained was indifference, like a vast field of ice. Before him, the schools main door opened slowly. The copper branches and rusted iron roses entangled around the large iron door scraped against the ground. Behind him, the last bell rang from within the schools bell tower. The bell was like a tide, washing away the last shred of mist. The early morning sunlight scattered about, illuminating the youth before the door, and his white hair with a metallic shine. In an instant, Ye Qingxuans muscles pulled taut. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as if something cold was pressed against him and spread through his limbs. The mysterious premonition immobilized him, rooting him to the spot. The feeling of danger echoed within him, intensifying. A hand pressed down onto his shoulder, pressing down the unsettledness in his heart. Charles stared at the busy street across from the academy and the people drinking their morning tea in the caf. Finally, his gaze fell on the figure before the window and grew serious. "Yezi, its Ingmar." The figure in the cafs window had his back to them, leaning against the chair. The server arrived with a silver platter and handed him coffee. It was high-grade coffee shipped from Asgard by sea, and steamed warmly. There was also a newly received newspaper. Ingmar opened the newspaper and looked down, reading the news. He did not notice the academys door in the distance behind him and the two youths. The bad premonition became more and more obvious in Ye Qingxuan and Charles hearts. Sugar cubes dropped into the coffeeone, twoEach drop of a cube was like a giant rock falling into their hearts, suffocating them. They were only a step away from the school door but in this moment, they suddenly, unreasonably, inexplicablyfelt fear. The world outside the school was filled with danger. There was nothing there, save for a warning: this is it. Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He understood what Ingmar meant: if they still had any space for turning back in this controversy before this, then it would be over the moment he stepped forward and went to the Musicians Union. It would be life or death from now on. Ingmar would use all of his power to kill Ye Qingxuanto strangle this Eastern concertmaster that had been in his way for so long. Maybe it would be immediately, maybe it would catch him by surprise, maybe a black carriage would fly past when he stepped out the school and crush him on the roadSo he should not be so blindly determined. He must turn back immediately. "Turn back?" Ye Qingxuan seemed to understand Ingmars message and sneered. "Youre too scared to kill me and too scared to admit your plagiarism. You think that Ill fall down with just a threat and retreat obediently? Sadly, the world isnt as beautiful as you think," he thought. "In your dreams!" Ye Qingxuan stared at Ingmars back and gritted his teeth. In the almost glue-like air, he raised his foot and stepped toward the world outside the Academy. Thud! The light sound was like a hallucination. The moment the youth stepped out, the danger and pressure on his heart vanished like a hallucination. Nothing happened as if nothing before had happened either. But in that instant, Ingmar looked down. There was the reflection of a black starry sky in his icy blue eyes. The stars rotated, bringing with it a chilling murderous intent. As the stars rotated, it reflected the image of the two walking into the distance. Countless invisible threads were tangled in them, connecting to their fatal spots. It seemed as if a casual tug could cause them to fall apart like a broken puppet. The murderous intent shot out from his eyes, but he pushed it down and did not act until the two youths walked out of the proximity of his senses. "Tsk, just a sheep in wolfs clothing," came the youths soft scoff in the wind. The originally smooth newspaper had become a crumpled mess in Ingmars hands. "Sir? Sir" the server asked timidly beside him, "Does the coffee not suit your taste?" Ingmar raised the coffee emotionlessly and tasted it. He furrowed his brows and set it down. "Its too sweet," he said. "Give me another cup." The server picked up the cup and fled as if finally freed. Ingmar folded up the newspaper again. In just a few seconds, the ink had become a faded yellow like centuries had passed. He squinted as if he was communicating with it. "Its me, Ingmar. Yes, theres something I need to ask of you" - One hour later, someone leaned on the railing of the Musician Unions second floor and looked at the long line below. He saw two youths and a mocking smile appeared on his face. "Dont worry," he said quietly to the alchemy communication tool in his hands. "Ive prepared it already. Those two kids cant do anything. Ill make them leave obediently tonight." Behind him, the guard of the Unions main lobby went up and stood politely behind him, rubbing his hands. "Mr. Leo, did you call for me?" "Yes, I need to ask something of you." Leo patted his shoulder and pointed at the two youths in line on the first floor. "Keep an eye on them. Kick them out if they make a scene. Mr. Bayer is busy today, so I dont wish anything to disturb our meeting later, understood?" "I understand." The guard smiled understandingly. "If they make a scene, they wont be able to enter for three months." - Thirty minutes later, the long wait on the first floor finally came to an end. "Itll be done very quickly. Senior, if you dont want to wait, just wait for me for a bit." Ye Qingxuan patted Charless shoulder. Charles sighed and relaxed his annoyed expression. Squeezing out a smile, he handed his form to the worker behind the table. The worker seemed to be telling a joke to his coworker. They talked quietly for a long time and the two could not help but laugh. After they finished, he carelessly took their forms but quickly tossed them back. "Your forms are all incorrect. There should be additional resources, but why did you just write it directly on the form? And here and here are for me to fill in." He pointed to various spots on the form with annoyed eyes. "Did you two listen to what I said or not? Youve filled this in three times incorrectly. Not only are you wasting your time, youre holding others up." Charless muscles twitched, but Ye Qingxuan held down his shoulder and smiled at the worker. "Im sorry, well fix it now." "No, you must start over." The worker glanced at him. "You cant have any signs of revisions on the form and be careful of your handwriting too. Your writing is clearly not standard. Who taught you how to write?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at the flowing calligraphy style of the Sacred City on the form and nodded, pushing down his anger. "Yes, yes, well start over now." "This is your own matter. You should be more careful instead of having people remind you all the time. Do you want to get anything done with that attitude?" The worker threw a glance at them and waved at the next one in line. Ye Qingxuan practically dragged Charles to the side and comforted his nearly exploding emotions. At the form-filling location, someone perceived their situation and revealed a sympathetic expression. "Youre new here, right?" 236 Easy to See the King "Youre new here, right?" "Huh?" "Its obvious youve never been here," the guy lamented. "The other places are okay, but only this section is annoying. You wont have to come here if you have a musician license. You can just let them know and go to the special resting room for tea and talk. Otherwise, you can only wait in line obediently and mind their attitude. Its not just fixing things three or four times. If you dont come from a good background, you might even have to fix it ten times, wait three to four weeks, and then start all over again" Charles was stunned. "What should we do?" "Just bear it." The man shrugged. "Or do you want to hit him and never get this done?" Charless instantly grew depressed. The emptiness he felt came from wanting to go crazy but not knowing where to vent his anger. "Senior, sit here and rest. Ill fill out the form and call you when Im done." Ye Qingxuan picked up the pen and quickly began writing. The youths speed attracted much attention. The middle aged man saw his frustration and shook his head helplessly. "Theres no point in hurrying. You have to start over if you mess up one word. Take your" Before he could say the word "time," he saw the youths writing clearly. He swore that he had never seen someone able to write the complicated and inhumanely strict Sacred City text so smoothly in his life. Ye Qingxuans speed was so fast his pen was a blur. Within one minute, he had filled out the thick stack of forms, without any mistakes. His writing speed was faster than his speech. Ignoring the others shocked eyes, Ye Qingxuan put down his pen, blew the ink dry, and began waiting in line again. This time, the line was abnormally long for some reason, and the speed was so slow it made ones heart itch. It was not Ye Qingxuans turn until three in the afternoon. The worker had changed to a fat middle aged lady. She seemed to be talking about her kids with her coworkers. Excited, her laughter was loud and high as she showed the other her childs picture. "Hes starting school this year. I heard that Kelton Public Schools has high quality education." "But the tuition is expensive, right?" "Its okay." She pretended to be nonchalant. "His father made a lot of money from business recently. He brought back a lot of things for the child a few days ago." "When will you bring your son over?" "Ah, when theres time. Hes in his naughty years and doesnt have any manners. Itll be so embarrassing if hes impolite" "Its normal for kids to be naughty." "Ahem!" At the table, Ye Qingxuan coughed many times before the worker finally realized he was there. The worker glanced at him unhappily. "Whats wrong?" "Nothing, my throat hurts. Sorry." Ye Qingxuan smiled and pushed the form over. The woman sneered and lifted the form with her pinky finger. After scanning it, she tossed it back. "Your documents arent complete. Come back when you have them all." Beside Ye Qingxuan, Charless expression stiffened instantly. "Not complete? Why didnt you say that earlier? The last person didnt tell me." "How would I know? Go ask him. Anyway, your documents arent complete." Charles felt his tooth ache and his fists clenched under the table; he wanted to beat someone up. Ye Qingxuan held down his wrist and squeezed out a smile. "Which documents do we need?" "Complainants Ye Qingxuan and Charles?" the worker picked up the form and pronounced the names with difficulty. She coughed and mumbled something along the lines of what kind of f*cking names are these? causing the two to darken their faces. "Ye something? Wheres your household registration number? And a copy of your Anglo household registration?" She glanced at Charles. "And you, whats your full name? Your surname? Do you only have one name? No parents?" "Thats my full name, its just one word," Charles muttered without emotion. "Sorry, I dont have surname and dont have parents." The worker blanched and glanced toward Ye Qingxuan. "And you?" "Im not from Anglo and dont have the Anglo household registration." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and pointed at his hair. "Sorry, Im an Easterner" The worker furrowed her brows and put on a professional expression. "Then Im sorry. You must be a citizen, those are the rules. Come back when you have citizenship." Ye Qingxuan handed over another document emotionlessly. "I have a passport and code from the Church." The worker glanced at him. "No, you need household registration documents! Cant you understand the rules? If you cant, dont hold other people up." "What kind of stupid rule is that?" Charles could no longer hold down his anger. "So Anglo citizens cant come to the Musician Union if they dont have household registration?" Seeing him lose his temper, the worker seemed to have experienced this many times and scoffed. "Complain to the higher ups. Whats the point of yelling at me?" The guard waiting in the back of the crowd finally saw something happening and approached them with his baton. He was ready to kick these guys out as soon as they started protesting. But Ye Qingxuan pushed Charles down and held him down. He forced a smile at the worker. "Sorry, well come back once we have the documents." "Hmph." The woman glanced at him and scoffed loudly before ignoring them. But she would never have guessed that the white-haired youth was sitting before her one hour later. "Sorry, Im back again." The guys smile was extremely annoying as he pushed over the form and papers. "Everything you want is here. Please tell me if anything else is missing." The worker looked at them in shock and furrowed her brows. "I hope you wont waste any time." But soon, she tossed the form back with an annoyed expression. "Why didnt you fill this out?" "Oh, really?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the form and it suddenly dawned on him. "Ah, sorry, this is the wrong one. It should be this one." He took another form from his suitcase and handed it over. The worker froze before snatching it. After scanning through it, she tossed it back. "Sorry, this doesnt have a stamp from the Avalonian police department. We cant accept it." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and handed over another form. "Then check this one." "You!" The womans face changed as if she was going to lose her temper, but Ye Qingxuan pointed at the sign on the wall that reminded her to work with a smile. Her expression slackened and she grabbed the form, gritting her teeth. This time, she discovered that it really did have the police departments stamp. This guy had prepared everything! Gritting her teeth, she scanned it again and tossed the form back in annoyance. "We cant take care of this. Youre in the wrong place. Go to the next department." "No way." Ye Qingxuan chuckled again. "They said you could do it here. Are you sure?" "Youre the one whos wrong," the woman retorted. "This is not our responsibility." "Thats strange. Then why did they give us a certificate that we can come here?" Ye Qingxuan scratched his head and took out a certificate signed by the other department. The workers expression twisted. The stamp could not be faked and she was unable to find fault. She glanced at Ye Qingxuan and sneered as she took the form. She had worked here for more than a decade. She could definitely take care of him. After checking carefully, she smiled mockingly. "Sorry, but we cant be sure if its you or someone using your identity. We need proof from the police department." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan casually asked in reply. "Please tell me everything I need at once so you dont waste my time. Your time is not valuable but mine is. It cant be wasted." "Ha." The woman smiled thinly. "Take care of that and well see what else is missing." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan reached into his pockets, causing her expression to stiffen. Then, that guy actually took out a f*cking certificate stamped by the d*mn Avalonian police department, proving that he was Ye Qingxuan. F*ck, why did the police have so much on their hands?! "Anything else?" Ye Qingxuan smiled for the third time. The smile was like a fuse that ignited the gunpowder in the workers heart. "Sorry but Im getting off work now. Come back tomorrow." The worker stood up abruptly and began organizing everything. "The Musician Union closes at six but its only 4:45 right now" Ye Qingxuan glanced at his pocket watch and eyed the woman. "Does it count as leaving early if you get off now?" "What does it matter to you?" The worker glared at him. "Report me if you can! I hate you annoying people, the problems never end!" "I dont mind, but the manager behind you seems upset." Ye Qingxuan pointed behind her and she froze. She turned around stiffly. "Mr. L-Leo?" Leo glared at her. "Look at your attitude! You dont need to come in for work tomorrow." "II" She panicked. "Didnt you tell me to make things hard for them? I was justjust" Crack! Leos expression changed and he slapped her face. "Are you crazy? When did I ever order that?" "IIit was clearly you!" The woman stared at Leo in panic, speechless. When she saw the coldness and annoyance in his eyes, she screamed in hysteria and pounced on him. "Im going to kill you!" The hall instantly fell into chaos. 237 Tough Small Figures "What happened? Why is it so loud?" Leo came out of the office on the second floor and glared at the guard. "What did you do?" "Its not us." The guard shook his head in confusion and gazed at the crazed woman below held down by many people. "Jennifer suddenly went crazy. She started screaming and yelling your name for some reason" Leo froze. He suddenly had a bad feeling. When he rushed downstairs, he was met by the messy workspace and an unruly fat woman forced to the floor. She was glaring at him and cursing him out. Amidst the chaos, a white-haired youth sat on a chair with a leg propped up. He looked into the distance as if this had nothing to do with him and whistled in satisfaction. "She went crazy, Mr. Leo" The guard helplessly came over and showed the bite mark on his arm. "This b*tch bites so hard, f*ck!" When Leo saw Ye Qingxuan, he finally understood everything. After checking Jennifer, he was sure that this woman had sunk into an illusion. A silver ring shone dimly on the youths hand. He had his leg propped up as if he was enjoying the show and he hummed, "Ah, I saw three suns in the sky. They looked at me as if they knew me" Even though he was furious, Leo felt mockery toward the kid. He was just some kid who had not experienced the real world and had made such a commotion for a small thing. He had broken the Musicians Unions rules and used a music score here! Leo was just waiting for an excuse to kick him out! "Enough!" Leo looked down on him coldly. "Do you know the consequences of using a music score in the Musicians Union?" "To be honest, Id love to talk about rules with you. After all, I know the rules better than you." Ye Qingxuan was still nonchalant. He looked up at Leo, but his eyes seemed to be looking down on the man. "Using music scores in the Musicians Union can result in fines from thirty-thousand to four-hundred thousand pounds, depending on the seriousness and revocation of the musician license. If a death occurs, it will be handed over to the Sacred City. But I dont have a license so you cant revoke it even if you want to. As for the fee, no one was injured or died. I caused some ruckus, so I suggest you follow the previous cases and just fine me thirty-thousand pounds. If its too high, I can report you to the Sacred City. Oh, you dont look happy? Dont worry, Ill pay the money." With that, the youth pulled out a sacred emblem. Leos expression grew even uglier and slapped the emblem away. "You think its that simple? You think you understand our rules well?" His expression darkened. "Dont forget that I make the rules here!" "No, no, no," Ye Qingxuan said, smiling and waving his hand. "Neither I nor you make the rules here. It should be Mr. Bayer, the man in charge of this branch of the union. Where is he? Im kind of excited to get my fine from him" Leos expression changed at the youths words; he had finally realized the youths true purpose. He had used the music score just to get past all the levels of the Musicians Union and see Bayer directly! When he had realized that the workers were purposely holding him back, he had decided not to follow their rhythm. Throughout history, wherever one went, it was all the samethe higher-ups were easy to see, but the lower figures were hard to get past. If he could not see Bayer through the regular process, he would just have to use special ways. Leos expression turned panicky for an instant before darkening again. "Guards!" He glared at the youth. "Drag this b*stard out for disrupting the order! Blacklist him and make sure he can never enter the Musicians Union!" "Really?" A confused voice rang out behind him. "What happened that made such a commotion? I could hear the noise from my office." Leo froze as his expression changed quickly and he spun around. "Mr. Bayer?" He felt as if he was hallucinating, but the smirking and dirty blond youth leaning against Bayer caused him to understand everything. "I was told what had happened." Bayer patted Leos shoulder, telling him to move aside. He walked toward the youth. "Theres a fine of five-thousand pounds for purposely disrupting the order." He did not mention the usage of music scores and just used Leos words for categorizing the crime. "I know, Ill pay up, Ill pay." Ye Qingxuan pulled out an emblem from his pocket and gave a sneaky smile, similar to Charless. "But would you have the time to chat with us?" Bayer looked down at them and sighed. "Come to my resting room on the second floor. I hope you two didnt make a mess of my lobby just to drink tea with me." - Five minutes later, Bayer sat in his resting room, his face a ghastly pallor. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Im sure." Ye Qingxuan pushed the suitcase to him. "All the resources, documents, and related evidence are here. Ingmar thought that we wouldnt have the original documents and wouldnt be able to do a chronology test if he burned down our house, but he doesnt know that Ive already seen the originals and copied them last night. Not even a punctuation mark is wrong. If you need it, I can also provide a comparison to Ingmars version." "No need." Bayer shook his head. "His papersIve already seen them." With a dark expression, he picked up the papers and flipped through the pages. In the end, he set them down and lit a cigar, inhaling sharply. "You two really didnt come just for f*cking tea, huh?" he muttered, feeling close to a breakdown. "How am I so f*cking unlucky? I was unlucky just to get sent to somewhere like Anglo, and now something this big just happened without me even doing anything?" He was in pain; of course he was in pain and he wanted to die. He was the one who went to Hermes to verify Ingmars papers; he was the one who sent it up. If news of this problem spread, it would definitely be a scandal in the entire academic world. How did this giant drama just occur so suddenly? "Ye Qingxuan, Charles," he said, smoking and looking at them gravely. "Once you report this, itll become huge. There might be another solution. Please consider carefully, are you sure you want to report it?" "No need. I already considered it for five minutes last night," Ye Qingxuan said nonchalantly. "There arent many things that are worth five minutes of my consideration ever since I turned sixteen." Seeing the determination in his eyes, Bayer felt his tooth ache. "Okay." He reached out for Ye Qingxuans papers. "I" "Wait!" Leo, who had been standing to the side quietly with a livid expression, suddenly held down the papers. He looked at Bayer with a professional look. "This is an internal conflict of the Royal Academy of Music. If the Musicians Union wishes to intervene, they must file a case and at least have the principals signature with paper documents." Bayer instantly grew helpless. Why would they come if they had the principals permission? Why would they not do things through public negotiations? Leo was clearly forcing them out. But before he could speak, Ye Qingxuan revealed that creepy smile again. "Ive said many times for you to tell me what else I need at once so I dont have to keep running around." Ye Qingxuan looked at him with a genuine expression. "Are you sure I dont need anything else?" With that, he pulled a piece of paper from the briefcase and placed it before them. Maxwells signature was on itit was clearly a certificate of permission. This was the inside of the Musicians Union and right before Bayers eyes. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to use illusion tricks so this certificate was definitely real. Leo froze. He had just randomly thought of an excuse but did not expect Ye Qingxuan to really have the principals signature. Charles was shocked too; he did not think Ye Qingxuan would be so well-prepared. "Now, you dont have to be like that worker and require something from the Avalonian police department to prove that Im myself, right?" The youths question was like a slap to Leo, causing his features to twist. He left angrily. Bayer glanced at his furious backside with pity and shrugged at the youth. "To be honest, he annoys me too, but I cant do anything. There are all kinds of people in the world. It would be difficult for the Musicians Union to work here without his family either." Ye Qingxuan smiled but did not reply. Bayer sighed helplessly. "I will represent the union and process the case." He sighed and gathered the files. Rising, he said, "This case involves many parties. Youll need to wait a while." Grinning, Ye Qingxuan waved at him. "Okay, come back soon." Bayers facial muscles twitched; he sighed and left. When the resting room fell silent, Charles glanced to each side. Confirming that there was nobody watching, he moved closer with a curious face and asked quietly, "Youve been with me since last night. Where did you get the principals signature?" Ye Qingxuan smirked. "Do you still remember when he gave Old Phil special approval as the history departments honorary member?" Charles was dazed. "No way." "I just copied it then, just in case." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Its not like hell actually go ask the principal, right? Oh, and I secretly carved the academys seal too" Charles was speechless. There was a saying that the world was as large as your guts, but he had never expected that his junior had even copied the academys seal! 238 I am Ashamed In the silence of the dark room, silver light converged out of thin air. The shining silver light soon formed an old mans face. Wrinkles covered the face that was pale and bloodless as if it had not seen the sun in years. And yet, his eyes were like the vast sea. They were awe-inspiring by themselves. "Doctor Norton, I am Bayer, in charge of Avalon." "Emergency line?" Norton recognized the signal and furrowed his brows. "Has sign of Leviathan awakening appeared again?" "No, theres something else." Bayer sighed and stammered out, "A few days ago, I submitted something related to the Voynich Manuscripts interpretation. Do you still remember?" "Of course! The Revelation musicians of Trinity College went crazy arguing over what you submitted. If not for Hermess vouch, theyd still be arguing now. Whats wrong? Is it fake?" Seeing Nortons seriousness, Bayers expression instantly grew troubled. "Its not fake butalright, Ingmars research results may possibly be plagiarized." There was a long silence. After a long while, Norton sucked in a cold breath and massaged his temples. "If thats the case, then its a big problem. F*ck, weve already requested to ring the Philosophers Bell. Who filed the case?" "Professor Abraham Wilson from the Royal Academy of Music." "Abraham?" Norton thought for a bit and shook his head in doubt. "Ive never heard of a Revelations musician skilled in deciphering ancient texts. Am I mistaken?" "Uh, actuallyhes a musician from the School of Abstinence. His status is sensitive." "Is he reliable?" "Thats the problem." Bayer sighed. "I already had Nibelungenlied check the identity of the student who had come to report it. Guess what happened?" Norton furrowed his brows. "Just f*cking say it! Stop being dramatic." "Oh, okay." Bayer shrugged. "He doesnt have household registration or a place of birth. He doesnt exist in Anglo. Even though he has white hair, there is no report of Eastern Dragon bloodline entering Anglo within the past two years. Isnt it strange? This youth seemed to have jumped out of a rock. In the end, I used the Churchs archive to find his identity" Norton froze. "Hes a member of the Church?" "Not exactly. Hes not part of the clergy but his background is scarily interesting. I could not even dream it up." "How interesting? Is he the b*stard child of some archbishop?" "From his status, its pretty much like that." Bayer scratched his head. "His godfather is Bann Randle, commander of the Knights Templar. He is the manager of Heavens Door and the swordsman personally appointed by the pope. I cant say anything if you still find this kid untrustworthyif you dont fear the Fourth Corps coming to your home with swords tonight." Another long, long silence. Norton also lit his pipe and inhaled sharply. After blowing out a long breath, he said, "Okay, no matter if the plagiarism is real or not, Im just happy that we havent rang the Philosophers Bell yet." "So this passed?" "It passed." Norton sighed. Frustration was written in his features. He had lived long enough and seen enough to become so pessimistic. How many more arguments would happen over the Philosophers Bell that had not been rang in close to a century? - The tension was almost tangible in the large conference room in the afternoon. None of the professors present spoke. In the stiff atmosphere, they looked at Abraham in the corner. Abraham sat in his seat as always, staring at his steel hand without a word. He had no presence as if he was insignificant. But today, the eyes looking at him were filled with troubled pity. News of Ye Qingxuan going to the Musicians Union had spread in the morning. The school board had grown furious because this action had jumped past their zone of control and furthered the doubt of their ability to solve matters. This would be a scandal to the academy if news spread, no matter what the result was. Before this meeting, Abrahams duties had been halted, and the disbandment of the history department had gone into consideration. Everyone understood that this time, the school board was really going to act. In an instant, the rising history department of yesterday was now on the verge of collapse. "Im sure everyone has already heard of what I will speak about today," Ingmar said coldly at the front. "These past days, Ive been thinking of the big picture and hoping for a compromise. Ive taken many steps back and was even willing to hand out the position of a second author to solve this mess. But I cant believe others saw this and thought I was weak! I never thought that they would blow things up to this level for their unspeakable goal!" His voice was like nails smashing into stone with each word, creating cold echoes. "Now, this is no longer about my personal defamation, but an unprecedented scandal for the Royal Academy of Music. Our academy has followed a glorious and serious guidance for five-hundred years, but nothing like this has ever happened! Abraham, do you bear to ruin the school for your own desires?!" The conference room was silent. Abraham continued to sit in silence. Though he looked forward, his eyes did not focus on anything, as if he was looking into another world. As always, he did not fit in, as if he was participating in something that did not pertain to him. He could not understand and did not want to participatehe was just standing outside the crowd, gazing in from afar. They could talk and he would continue on. He seemed slow but his attitude was so arrogant it made one annoyed of him involuntarily. How could someone like him be here? "It seems that youre determined to report to the Musicians Union," Ingmar gritted out coldly from between his teeth. "I advise you to stop daydreaming. Do you really think theyll care about your unfounded tomfoolery? Your two troublesome students have probably already been kicked out!" He paused, coldness flashing past his eyes. "Abraham, you can still turn back now before its too late! Otherwise, the school board will not overlook what youve done for the academys reputationDont forget your status, Abraham! If the academy could save you from Tower Green, it can send you back too!" Tower GreenA chilly wind seemed to suddenly blow through the conference room. Everyone felt the temperature drop and tensed involuntarily. This time, the school board was going for blood. If anything else happened next, Abraham, a classified criminal vouched for by the principal, would be sent to the militarys jail and never see the sun again. This was a tower built four-hundred years ago on a barren island to the side of Avalon. Countless criminal musicians had spent their last moments in this tower and had died in the gallows, or behind the bars of the underground prison. There had been no wails or howls for centuries, only the waves of the sobbing sea. Perhaps this was his final destination. Abraham suddenly looked up as if he had woken up from his daydream and finally reacted. Ingmar chuckled coldly as if sensing his fear. "Its not too late for regret now, Abraham. Your students are the same as you, but theres no need to make them end up like you, right? The academy has given you all too much freedom. Otherwise, this wouldnt happen! Especially that Easterner who doesnt know good from bad and acts so evilly. He even went to the Musicians Union to defame me" "Yezi is a good child," Abraham interrupted him. His voice was neither angry nor panicked; it was calm as if stating a fact. This was his first response and Ingmar could not react quickly. Under everyones suspicious eyes, Abraham thought throw his words and earnestly repeated, "Yezi is a good child. He never lies." Ingmars expression instantly stiffened and darkened considerably. "What do you mean?" "I mean that if he says you plagiarized, then you most likely plagiarized." Abraham gazed at him and said slowly and earnestly, "In the end, its just some handwritten notes. Its not worth my worry if someone takes them, but please do not insult my students because they all work hard." Abraham pushed himself up from the table and gazed around the silent conference room, looking at the stunned and perplexed expressions. He spoke for the first time before them, "As you all have said, I am a quickly made non-mainstream musician. Ive had no accomplishments in my entire life and now that Ive aged, I can just wait for my time to be up. To be honest, the history department has survived because of my kids hard work. I am ashamed to be their teacher." His voice resounded heavily like a steel plate pounding into stone. It held unwavering calmness and persistence. "Theyve put in a lot for the music history department, much more than me. Therefore, Ill believe and support them, no matter what decision they make, even if I must be imprisoned in Tower Green again. Otherwise, I wont even have the qualifications to be their teacher." Finished, he nodded slightly to show his politeness and turned to leave. However, he suddenly hit his head just as he reached the door and turned back awkwardly. Coming back, he pulled a notification letter from his pocket and handed it to Ingmar. "Oh right, I actually came to the meeting to give this to you." Ingmar froze and looked down. When he saw the wax seal and letterhead of the Musicians Union, his expression changed as if he had seen a ghost; his face lost all color. This was the notification from the Musicians Union for him to attend the academic appraisal in ten days. "Youyou" Ingmars arm shook as he pointed at Abraham, tongue-tied. "Why would the Musicians Union tellclearly" Abraham did not mind him. He just looked at everyone else and said quietly, "To be honest, Im a wooden man. I dont understand atmospheres or rules. The only thing Im good at is the militarys straightforward way of speaking. I really dont understand why all of you like sitting here and talking about things without meaning. But the Musicians Unions appraisal might be a good thing. Itll at least be simpler and everyone will believe the result. "If anyone still doubts the results of their appraisal after all this, why dont we use the militarys rule and have a fight to the death?" He said "fight to the death" as if it was something like eating and drinking, but his expression was extremely serious. Eating and drinking were things important to life as well and deserved to be treated seriously. A fight to the death should be the same as eating and drinkingat least, that was how Abraham saw it. Now, those people finally rememberedthe wooden old man before them was once a Dragon Rider. He still contained the bloody and deathly aura of the battlefield. He did not belong here and did not know what they were good at it, so he was dull and silent, slowly getting used to their rules. Now, he did not want to play with them anymore. He was going to act seriously. For his students, he did not even care about himself anymore. What could they do to him? It did not matter what methods they would usebring it on! This time, he would not step back again. 239 A Scholar’s Execution Ground Half an hour later, it was the school boards internal meeting. Only Ingmar and the old man who had hurried over were in the conference room. The old lawyer, who had served many families, sat behind the table with his fingers clasped. He quietly gazed at the panicking Ingmar with a cold and serious expression. "Mr. Ingmar," he said in a low voice. "I shall represent the school board and once again perform interrogation regarding the interpretation results of the Voynich Manuscript. Is Abrahams plagiarism report valid or not?" Ingmar seemed not to hear him. He stared at the table and muttered something, his spirits entirely shaken. "Impossiblehow could it passI clearlythat Abraham" "Ingmar!" The old lawyer suddenly slammed the table. The loud sound caused Ingmars shoulder to shake as he slowly looked up. "Do not avoid the question and face the school boards interrogation! Did you plagiarize Abrahams results or not?!" Seeing his furious face, Ingmar seemed to see the shocked and stunned expressions of the noble school board members. His expression changed and, after a long while, he suddenly chuckled. It was incomparably mocking. "Does it still matter to you if I plagiarized or not?" The old lawyers face darkened. Without another word, he picked up his folder and left quietly. Only Ingmar remained in the silent conference room. He looked at the empty seats before him in the stillness. Broken laughter sounded once again; it was both evil and carefree. Until a sigh sounded behind him. A seemingly familiar voice rang in his ears. "Now, there is no way out for you all, other than supporting methats what you think, right?" The laughter cut off abruptly. Ingmars expression stiffened; he looked back with difficulty but only saw a crow. The crow looked at him too; its eyes seemed to be looking at dust. When the crow perched on his shoulder, his body bent under the light figure. Its pressure was too heavy. The crow said, "You think that the parliament has entered the path of no return and will support you to the end, right?" Ingmars finger trembled and his facial muscles twitched, but he did not reply. "Congratulations, youre correct," the crow said lightly. "Well support you even if you did plagiarize. Ten days later, the Musicians Union will openly verify and debate the charges. The parliament will use our connections to help you win. Are you happy?" Happy? Ingmar felt no joy but rather a chill go down his spine. This was the chill of having all his secrets revealed and laid out under the sun. And the oddness of the parliaments generous blessingwere they not angry at all? "You" Ingmar gulped and tried hard to speak but his voice trembled. "What do you want?" The crow sighed as if helpless. It was lamenting on an idiot. "Ingmar, you should know that what makes you proud is meaningless to us," it said. "If you want to talk about money with us, you can leave now. The parliament wont make any deal with you. But you cant leave, right? You know better than anyone that once you exit this room, no one in this world will be able to save you." Ingmars shoulder trembled. He wanted to stand up and leave but the crow was perched on his shoulder. It was such a light crow but its weight bent his spine. He did not dare to risebecause he knew that if he showed the slightest bit of protest, everything would be over. His future, his accomplishments, his everything would all be buried in darkness. And he would follow. And so he lowered his head submissively, voluntarily putting on an invisible chain. "Indeed, the parliament has wasted a large amount of resources on you through the years," the crow said lightly. "Im sure you know that even a Resonance level musician can be hired by the parliament. Its only a matter of money. The parliament never fears to pay any price, Ingmar. We do not fear any price. "We think highly of you because there arent many scholars who are skilled in explaining ancient texts. Coincidentally, we need you to explain a certain thing at a certain time and help guide our path. You know that there are still many replacements, manyso dont do any other stupid things and test our patience, alright?" "Guide?" Ingmar was covered in sweat. "Guide what path?" "Didnt you already guess it?" The crow laughed. "The Blood Path on the back of this city, Ingmar. Now is the time for you to know but youve already guessed a lot, havent you?" Cold sweat dripped down Ingmars face, dropping on the ground and evaporating. In the end, he closed his eyes and said through clenched teeth, "II will help you." "Ingmar, its not you who is helping us, but us who is helping you," the crow murmured in his ear. "Now you can open your eyes. Take a look at your friends." Ingmars finger shook. He opened his eyes in confusion and could barely breathe. The quiet conference room had become filled with newcomers without him realizing. Not a single seat was empty. Sharp eyes gazed at him; they were chilling and terrifying. Hundreds upon thousands of birds had flown in without a sound. They filled every corner and looked down on him. "Welcome to the parliament, my friend." The crow laughed meaningfully. "Welcome to the true core of the country." - In a suburban manor of the Burgundy capital, hurried knocking sounded. A messenger knocked on the door of a library and called, "Master Barthlmy, master Barthlmy!" The knocking lasted for half an hour before the door was opened angrily. The old man behind the door had messy hair and unruly clothing. This was definitely not the look for meeting guests, but he glared at the messenger as if looking at someone who had intruded on his territory. "Shut up!" The library behind him was filled with ancient books but they did not smell of mold, thanks to the careful maintenance. The books contained strange wedge-shaped words and were overflowing with an ancient aura. But his research had been interrupted, so the old man was abnormally angry. "Im at the critical point of my interpretation. Didnt I say that no one can bother me? Do you not understand the lingua franca?" He had been studying the Emerald Tablet passed down from ancient musicians for more than a decade. This was an ancient book of first generation music theory, apparently taught by the gods. Now, after overcoming many difficulties, he had finally found a clue, and was in the midst of excited studying, but had been interrupted by a guest. Even a cultured fellow would be furious. Even though the guest was a messenger from the Musicians Union, he still berated him until he had vented all his anger and glared. "You better have a good excuse. Otherwise, even the Musicians Union wont be able to enter my home. Never!" "I am only here under an order. Please understand." The messenger instantly felt weak. Smiling dryly, he offered a letter from the Sacred City. Barthlmy angrily snatched it, tore open the letter, and tugged out a piece of paper. "Plagiarism?" Barthlmy was stunned. He could not help but furrow his brow. Of course he knew about the interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript from a few days ago. Though it had not been officially published, he had many students who worked at the Sacred City. He had received a copy the third day. One must admit that though it seemed illogical. The interpretation was undoubtedly a masterpiece. A portion of it had given him new inspiration for the Emerald Tablet. He had never thought that such a masterpiece would have this problem When he finished reading the report, his anger had already dissipated. All that remained was shock and melancholy. "Ingmar and Abraham? Whywhy do something like this?" Scholars who were obsessed with deciphering history usually stayed away from quarrels and disvalued honors and titles. Most were not complicated; in fact, they were usually na?ve. To them, their research was everything; academics and theories were life. Something like plagiarism was the mortal sin. That was why Barthlmy was so despondent after hearing of this. "What a pity." He invited the messenger into the library. After pouring tea, he was silent for a long while before taking off his glasses and sighing. "I understand the Unions intentions. Do they want me to attend the appraisal as an appraiser?" "Correct." The messenger nodded. But Barthlmys worried look grew richer. "I chose to become a scholar with a Starry Eye once I entered the Resonance level because I detest fighting and hurting others. I cant believe now you want me to be the executioner." The messenger was stunned. "Master, what do you mean?" "You dont understand." The old man shook his head bitterly. "To a scholar, their research and study is like breathing, and their results are life. No matter what the final result is, one of these two scholars will die. To a scholar, this is not an appraisal but an execution." After a long pause, the messenger hung his head. "I was presumptuous." "You are not to blame. In the end, this is a matter of the academic world and must use the academic worlds methods to solve. Who else can play the role of the executioner other than us old fellows? You must have sent an invitation letter to Sergey, correct? That guy has such a fiery temper. He will definitely agree." "Yes." The messenger nodded. "There are five in total who were invited. Other than you and master Sergey, there is also Miss Lola Caput from Anglo, master Heisenberg of the Rock Institute, and a great master of ancient Eastern runes who is staying in the Sacred City." "Ancient Eastern runes?" Barthlmy was stunned. "Its been lost for so many years but there is still someone studying it?" The messenger replied honestly, "Its a scholar from the East. He arrived in the Sacred City half a year ago. Not many know about his identity and I only know that his surname is Hu. The cardinal refers to him as Sun." "I must be ignorant." Barthlmy nodded and thought for a while. "When do we set off?" Hearing that he was willing to attend, the messenger was instantly overjoyed. "Weve prepared the fastest light-rail carriage and a ship. You can arrive in Anglo within six days." The Musicians Union knew that Barthlmy rarely left his home and was not used to planes, and had therefore prepared the fastest route. Barthlmy nodded in accord. After setting the time of departure, he sent a servant to see the messenger out. When the representative of the Musicians Union left, Barthlmy sat in his library and sighed helplessly after a long time. He was no longer in the mood to continue researching. "What a pity. I almost had a breakthrough for the Emerald Tablet" Shaking his head, he took off his glasses. He wanted to go out for a walk but ran into the servant who had quickly returned. "Sir, you have an urgent letter." The servant offered him the letter that he had just received. "Letter? Who sent it?" Barthlmy accepted the letter but there was no name on the envelope. There was only the trace of a wax seal. It was the silhouette of a crow. 240 Boss Isn’t Home Today For the next few days, the history department did not accept any guests. Because of their home, and that they must prepare for the appraisal in ten days, the principal specifically gave them a building near the library for their temporary residence. They rejected all who wanted to see them and closed the door tightly. They used the Requiem Enchantments strength to isolate both the inside and outside of the building. Not a peep could be heard, let alone the ability to record videos. The white-haired youth moved between the library and their residency every day. Inside the school, everyone started paying attention to this event after news of the Musicians Unions appraisal spread. For a time, it created a storm. People argued over both the reasons and the results. The many fights gave the executive office giant headaches. On the other hand, it was not just the school that was in a flurry. It could be said that the entire ancient world of academia was shaken by the Musicians Unions notification. Most scholars had not heard of the news that the Voynich Manuscript had been successfully interpreted and were shocked when they received the message. Then, they realized that this giant breakthrough had such a hidden flaw. Many scholars obsessed with interpretation had begun traveling to Anglo from all over. The one who traveled the farthest was a monk who hailed from India. There were still many days before the appraisal but many had already arrived. They stayed at inns near the Musicians Union and chatted in their free time, exchanging ideas of academia. If not for the fact that everyone had come for the appraisal, this would have become an academic event. Abrahams notes had been attained by people with connections to the Union and spread secretly. An argument over whether this was a crooked solution or a clever path instantly exploded. The appraisal had not begun yet, but there were already signs of the debate. On the ninth day, the three grandmasters, Barthlmy, Sergey, and Heisenberg arrived. After conversing shortly with the local scholar, Miss Lola Caput, they rejected other welcoming procedures and went to rest in their arranged inns. On the tenth day, the long-closed door to the history department was finally opened. The principal was also called to the palace by the emperor. He had been watching the show for so long; now it was time for his unfortunate event. - In the quiet hall, Maxwell stood at the bottom of the steps without a word, head lowered politely. On the other side of the curtain, a graceful females voice traveled from the throne. Her voice was steady and majestic. "Is my mind playing tricks on me? Maxwell, why do strange things always happen in your academy?" Maxwell could not help but chuckle bitterly. Lowering his head, he answered, "Perhapsbecause Im unlucky?" The queen was not angry. Instead, she calmly advised, "The academy belongs to the royal family. If anything happens, it damages the royal reputation. Now is a stormy time and you must leave some space for the royal family. You should understand what else I must say, correct?" "Yes." The bitterness in Maxwells face grew stronger. "To be honest, Ive already tried my hardest not to add more grief to the royal family, but this involves the ringing of the Philosophers Bell. I must be careful. Youve called me this time because of the Musicians Unions appraisal, right?" Behind the curtain, the vague silhouette nodded. "The Union will think that this event happened in Anglo, so the royal family should send a representative to partake in the appraisal." Maxwell thought for a moment. "Your Majesty, are you thinking of sending me?" "You work with national matters and work hard. These small matters dont concern you." The queens voice was tinged with anger. She was clearly not praising the blood, sweat and tears he had put in for Anglo. Maxwell froze. "Then" "Let the crown prince go." The queens words stunned Maxwell. "The crown prince?" Your Majesty, are you joking?! Though it is the royal familys scandal, everyone in Anglo knew that the crown prince, the first heir of the throne, was a retard. His brain had not developed since he was four-years-old, and he still thought he was a sheepIf he represented the royal family and said something weird, the royal family would have no more dignity! Thankfully, the empresss next words gave him some relief. "His health is not good these days. Ill have someone go with him." "Who?" As Maxwell asked, he suddenly heard a tidal sound from the throne. It was the sea tide. It was the sound of countless flames flowing together and burning everything to ashes. The broke sounds formed a roaring tidal wave. This was the terrifying power brewing in the royal familys bloodthe Dragon Bloodline! This power and mysterious curse was passed down the generations of the royal blood. After centuries, it had grown stronger rather than weakening. In that instant, Maxwell almost thought that the empress had risen from her seat, but he quickly realized that it was not the empress because it was controllable. A manageable power was not the Dragon Bloodline because the Dragon Bloodline was uncontrollable. If the empress had truly risen, the entire palace would be reduced to ashes. Someone who could control this powerhad someone in the royal family awoken their bloodline? "Is it Queen Mary?" It suddenly dawned on him. Mary had awoken her bloodline three years ago and had already reached this levelWas there another empress in this generation after Empress Elizabeth? Behind the curtain and beside the throne sat a youth in a white dress. She did not speak, but the practically inhuman gaze made one feel danger lurking. After her eighteenth birthday a few days ago, Arthurs bloodline had further awoken, causing her coldness to become even more inhuman. Now, there were signs of Hermes arrogance in her. When King Arthur had used the holy operation to cleanse his blood, he had transformed into a demigod, unique to the world. A demigod was neither a god nor a man. To the heirs of this bloodline, the human world was probably as boring as a desert. It seemed that the queen was determined to foster Mary and let her take over the throne. Next, she would be given all kinds of orders to develop her popularity and ruling experienceten years later, there would be another queen similar to the one currently on the throne. Understanding this, Maxwell lowered his head and answered, "I understand." The queen on the throne seemed to nod. "This matter involves too many parties. During this, I hope that you will not play any inglorious roles, understand?" "As you wish, Your Majesty." Half-kneeling on the ground, Maxwell lowered your eyes. "All will go as you wish." Behind the throne was a long and narrow window. The sun had risen to its peak in that window. The blazing light shone down, elongating the thrones shadow like a long sword. In the air, a faraway bell rang out, echoing in all directions. - As the midday bell rang, the bustling city seemed to suddenly become muted; it was peaceful and quiet. Under the afternoon sun, a white-haired youth sat lazily on a bench in a square of midtown. It looked as if he was sunbathing. After sitting in the dark room for nine days, he had finally finished everything. Charles, Bai Xi, and he had all been close to going crazy. So for the last day, they decided to take a break and enjoy the last moment of relaxation. They could gather their spirits and be prepared for tomorrows battle. Then Ye Qingxuan realized that he did not have anywhere else to go. The Shamans? He did not want to interact with the Shaman when unnecessary. Lola? Lola was one of the judges and it was improper to interact with her privately now. The clock shop? No, the boss was looking at him more and more strangely these days, like a cat playing with a mouse. Ye Qingxuan did not know what he was planning. The library? No, he had almost gone crazy from nine days of deciphering without sleep, and he should give himself a break. So on this last dayYe Qingxuan found that he had nowhere to go. And so he wandered aimlessly down the streets. He bought some vegetables and meat to refill their supply; he could make something to treat themselves tonight. He also bought a bunch of snacks for Bai Xi, as well as alcohol and new Sacred City machinery magazine for Charles. After doing all that, Ye Qingxuan discovered that there was nothing else he could do. He usually could not get any break, but now, he could not stand it. He could only sunbathe. Sunbathing could supplement vitaminsYe Qingxuan did not know what vitamins from Charles dream talk meant but it sounded like a good thing. Under the gentle midday sun, he drowsily closed his eyes, close to falling asleep. After a long time, he felt the sunlight weaken and a shadow envelope him. "" Someone seemed to say something but it was not in the lingua franca. Instead, it sounded foreign. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes in confusion and looked at the figure with his back to the sun. His contours were strange; his hair was tied and his head covered. "Brother, may I ask for directions?" the man repeated. This time, Ye Qingxuan heard clearly that it was an Eastern dialect. The youth straightened on the bench and stared. The middle-aged black-haired man stood beside him. He was clad in a blue-green Eastern robe and his hands were clasped in greeting; he exuded grace. Was this really an Easterner? Ye Qingxuan asked, "Are you from the East?" "Yes, yes." The man nodded with an emotional expression. "My surname is Hu and I am just a traveler. Being in a foreign country, I was worried because my lingua franca is not very fluent, but I cant believe I met my brethren. Its such great news." With that, he handed over a wrinkled strip of paper. "Would you know how to travel to this destination?" His pronunciation was strange, like some Eastern dialect, and he spoke quickly. Ye Qingxuan had not heard Eastern languages in many years and had a hard time understanding. Taking the paper, he froze when he saw the address. He quickly processed it and pointed in a direction. "This place is easy. Just turn right up front, walk to the end, and then walk toward the busiest direction. The place youre looking for is in the center of the right. If you cant read the names, its the one with least business." Hearing his directions, Mr. Hu let out a sigh of relief and grasped his hands, spouting words of gratitude. "No problem." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Seeing that it was late, he picked up his belongings and got up to leave. The middle-aged scholar remained frozen in confusion, watching the youth leave. After a long while, he muttered, "A Dragon Bloodline wandering around in the barbaric west? Whatever, lets just see it as good luck. Those nine families do the weirdest things." - Following the youths directions, the scholar quickly found the place. In the end, he stood before the quiet clock shop. Studying the deserted shop and the other bustling stores, his expressions grew rich. "It really is the quietest storedoes this man know how to do business? He doesnt even have a hawker." He sighed quietly and stepped forward but he froze when he moved to knock. He had only raised a hand but the hair on the back of his hand stood up as if electrocuted. Sweat seeped out of his fingertips and his palm was moist but it instantly dried as if it was baking in an oven. After a long time, he put his hand down and sighed. He wanted to leave but was not willing. He stood before the door for one full hour. He raised his hand three times and set it down three times. Everything fell silent before the silence was covered by the bustling noise again. "Boss isnt here." After a long while, an unfriendly voice sounded behind him. The burly man eyed him. "What are you standing there for? Blocking the way?" The scholar froze but quickly laughed at himself. "Then I shall return another day." He put his hands together and turned to leave. "Crazy." Holding a bucket of beer, Seton eyed the man as he left and looked away. But when he entered the shop, he felt there was something wrong with what he was standing on. Looking down, he realized that the mat had been ripped to shreds of cotton. The tatters of cotton and yarn had been forced into the cement as if they had grown there and seemed abnormally strange. Seton squatted and grabbed a handful. He ended up pulling up two blocks of cement. "You *sshole, when did you piss off Easterners again?" Seton pushed the door open and glared at the counter. Behind it, Hermes sat amongst a pile of beer bottles. He was drunk with dazed eyes, but Setons expression suddenly went slack. "Whats wrong?" Hermes looked up at him. "You look like you saw a ghost. Im still alive, alright. Be happier." Setons expression was still shocked. After hesitating for a long time, he asked quietly, "Yougot taller?" It had been more than a decade since Seton had been discharged and Hermes gave him his first illegal job. Hermes had always looked like a youth since then. Seton was sure that Hermes had been like this for who-knew-how-long since before he knew Hermesand he would continue living like a devil. But now he suddenly realized that this guy seemed to have gotten taller. It was as if the frozen time had finally started flowing. The childhood years that had lasted forever had finally ended and adolescent years had come. After measuring, Seton discovered that Hermes had grown around three centimeters and his frame seemed to have grown too. His clothing was slightly unsuitable now. "Youve really grown." Seton asked in confusion, "Whats wrong with you?" "Im happy." Hermes stared at him and then, unexpectedly, did not make any snarky comments. Instead, he just laughed weirdly and drank alcohol as he muttered to himself with a serious tone, "After such a long time, my childhood is finally over. What good news, good news" 241 Why Not Just Hit Him The next day at the palace, the doors opened slowly under the heavy ringing of the morning nine oclock bell. A low-key, but elegant carriage drove out. All guards before the palace gates lowered onto one knee to welcome the carriage. Before them was a silent giant. The knight was clad in a metallic armor of black steel. Its features were sharp and menacing but the body was thin rather than burly, making it seem abnormally agile. This was the divine armor passed down through the Round Table Knights. Contrary to other heavy armor, this one was not paired with large weapons such as spears or shields. It only had a sword. The cross-shaped sword hung at the knights waist. Precious stones and diamond pieces were inlaid in the hilt. It looked like a gorgeous and finely made piece of art rather than a killing weapon for the battleground. The carriage stopped beside it. The knight lowered onto one knee and lowered his head politely. The sound of metal grating was like weak thunder. "Greetings to Your Majesties from Galahad." The voice that came from the armor sounded like a young girls but it was not gentle or sweet; instead, the voice had indescribable awe-inspiring seriousness. After a long pause, Marys greeting sounded in the carriage. "Long time no see, Christine." "Long time no see, Your Majesty," the knight known as Christine replied stiffly. "Please call me Galahad here. Christine is too soft of a name for a knight." "Ever since you put this armor on, youve become" Marys voice paused in the carriage as it became troubled and lost. "Never mind. Who isnt like this?" "In my humble opinion, Your Majesty is still as before," Christine replied gravely. "Even if Ive inherited the position of Galahad, I am still captain of your guard." After a long silence, Mary seemed to chuckle. "It seems that Im the one who overthought. Its getting late, my captain of guard. Escort my brother and I to the Musicians Union." "Yes, Your Majesty." Galahad stepped back, mounted her horse, and rode forward. The guards in the back hoisted the ceremonial euphorbia, pulled the ropes and steered the carriage behind the steel knight as they marched forward. Ever since the queen went into reclusion, the royal family fell into silence. Now, the royal procession once again appeared in the city and it did not represent anything simple. All was silent in the carriages path. The citizens all bowed and did not begin discussing quietly until the carriage had gone. Some with foresight saw the emblem of the second queen on the carriage and understood the queens decision. In the end, the carriage stopped before the Musicians Union building on Queens Avenue. Mary, clad in a formal dress, descended from the carriage with the help of a servant and reached toward the carriage. "James, stop hiding and come here." Soon, a frail figure covered from head to toe in white grasped her hand. Unwilling to come out, he lifted his mask and whispered in her ear. "Bear with it. Itll be over soon." Grasping his hand, Marys voice was gentle. "Ill go with you later, alright?" The white-clad figure held her hand and wanted to say something, but seeing the eyes that looked like his mothers, he lowered his head obediently. "Welcome, Your Majesties." Bayer walked forward and took off his hat in greeting. He was completely polite. Mary nodded slightly. "Thank you for the welcome by the Musicians Union. My brother has caught a cold and cannot speak. Please understand." Feeling the dangerous coldness, Bayer smiled wryly. He still uttered a well-formulated response, "Of course. Weve prepared a resting room for Your Majesties. Please follow me." "Thank you." Mary held the crown princes hand and followed behind Bayer. After two steps, she still did not hear the clanking behind her. The steel knight Galahad was still in her original spot. Rather than following, she stared at the distant crowd as if spacing out. "Christine, whats wrong?" The knight quickly turned around. After a few seconds delay, she replied, "Nothing, Your Majesty. There is no problem." She caught up amidst the clanking sounds and stood beside the royalty with her sword. Before stepping through the door, she looked back to the crowd subconsciously. There, the white-haired youth disappeared like an illusion. - Curious scholars had filled the large hall of the Musicians Union. There were not many musicians who were dedicated to theories, and there were even fewer who had become famous. Now, those who had hurried to Anglo were practically all from the School of Revelations. The seventy-some people were all acquaintances and waved to each other in the hall. Most had white hair already; the youngest were over thirty-years-old. "Ah, if someone bombed this building, it would be horrible! The ancient word of academia would be pushed back four-hundred years! It sounds exciting!" This came from Charles. It was a serious time, but he still could not help but spout nonsense. Beside him, the expressionless Ye Qingxuan sneakily kicked him. Bai Xi hated these serious events so she did not enter the building. She stayed outside with Old Phil and waited for them to finish. Ye Qingxuan, Charles, and Abraham sat in the corner, seemingly insignificant. No one recognized them, so while the scholars were discussing quietly, it never occurred to them that the stars were right beside them. Ye Qingxuan had never expected that the arguments outside would be this interesting. "Mr. Lennon, you are too na?ve. Academia is a serious theory. Someone who has not been taught properly cannot easily make a breakthrough. Mr. Ingmar is orthodox and is a famous figure in the academic world. Its logical that he can create such results. You cant jump out, say that he plagiarized, and take the results for yourself." "The orthodoxy has been helpless against the Voynich Manuscript for centuries. All the grandmasters were unable to do anything, even grandmaster Miss Lola, but Ingmar can?" "At least hes more reliable than some quickly-produced musician!" "I heard that hed only been educated for three months! He probably didnt even have times to learn all the runes!" "Yeah, those rookie folk musicians just love public attention. Like some alchemy powder that turns water to oil, or that perpetual motor, arent they all just jokes made by those folk musicians?" The crowd laughed quietly. It was obvious that the term folk musicians accurately described what the amateur civilian musicians were like. Ye Qingxuan had good hearing and could hear the voices clearly from dozens of meters away. He maintained his poker face but Charless expression grew worried. "It seems like Professors situation isnt good." He sighed quietly. Ye Qingxuan nodded. This was Abrahams biggest weaknesshe had no reputation in the academic world and was not even a Revelations musician. The academic world was isolated and everyone knew each other. Compared to the familiar and well-known Ingmar, it was difficult to trust Abraham. The situation looked bleak but Abraham did not seem worried. Instead, he was calm and composed, and expressionless as alwaysthis was how he was. At least being "slow" was a positive trait here. "Theres no need to rush." Abraham looked at his watch. "Theres still one more hour. Theres no need to be here so early." "Its better to be prepared!" Charles pointed his chin at a figure in the crowd. "Look at Ingmar, hes dressed up like a butterfly. Ah, seeing him even makes me fall in love." He had proudly used an Eastern idiom, instantly making Ye Qingxuans features twist. The other half of the idiom was "let alone that old guy!" Idioms could not be used so carelessly. But Charless description was amazingly accurate. In the crowd, Ingmar wore a musicians formalwear and a pure white coat. There were medals on his chest and his sleeves were lined with gold. His long salt-and-pepper hair was tied back, his eyes were deep like a starry sky, and a polite smile was on his face. He was the perfect example of a musician. On the other hand, Abraham wore the same coat he had for the past few decades, and Charles was dressed slovenly (because he did not have anything else). Only Ye Qingxuan was slightly formal, which was not very formal. "I feel like weve lost on looks." Charles instantly grew dejected. Ingmar easily made small-talk with all the scholars in the crowd. He talked about life, made jokes, and caused many smiles. The appraisal was coming but he was still charismatic. As if on accident, he saw Abraham in the corner and his lips curled into the slightest sneer as he walked over. "Hey, Yezi, hes coming." Charles grew excited but Ye Qingxuan just looked and nodded. "Yeah." "Im nervous, what should we do?" Charles asked quietly. "Whats he coming over for? Is he going to talk trash again? What should I do?" "He cant beat you in talking trash so what are you scared of?" Ye Qingxuan thought to himself. Beside him, Abraham thought for a moment and suddenly slapped his knee, concluding, "If you dont know what to do, why not just hit him?" 242 A Lot Behind This "If you dont know what to do, why not just hit him?" "Huh?!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He had always thought that Charles ability to talk nonsense was amazing, but he had never imagined it was inherited from their professor! And Abraham truly was incrediblehow did he suddenly come to this weird conclusion? "Professor, no!" Ye Qingxuan almost jumped up in fright. "If you fight here, youll probably lose the appraisal!" "Uh, Im confused again. Isnt that the rule?" Abraham said awkwardly. "In the military, if you bring it to the military court and threaten someone in their face, its normal to fight back, isnt it?" "No, no, no, its not normal at all! And what military did you come from? Its so wild" Ye Qingxuan thought. "Then why dont I do it?" Charles jumped up to add to the mess with the expression of a lonely elite fighter. "Dont worry, hell definitely lose to me for talking trash!" "Oh, so you do know?" A stampede of what-the-f*cks charged across Ye Qingxuans mind. The appraisal had not even started yet but he was already close to breaking down. Just as Charles was getting prepared, Ingmar was five steps away with a strange smile. Suddenly, the door opened. A majestic bell rang outside the Union. The sound was soul-shaking as if it rang in ones heart, shaking all thought away. The echo resounded in ones skull. "The Westminster Church" someone murmured. "Its nine forty in the morning so its not telling time. Why is it ringing?" The room was silent as no one replied. Under everyones gazes, a line of priests clad in black, and holding holy emblems and incense furnaces entered the Union building. They had come from the Westminster Church across the street, silent the entire way there. Plumes of incense smoke hung in the wind. The warm scent drove out the cold dampness and evils in the wind, warming ones body. However, the priests expressions were stern and cold like a god. They stood outside the hall and did not enter. Amongst them, an old man with a holy crown walked out, entering the hall with his secretary. He wore a long black robe with a dark gold emblem. Silver thorns were pressed into his sleeve cuffs, seeming a bit old-fashioned and odd. But here, the old-fashioned style was incomparably solemn and dignified. Ingmars frivolous outfit was nothing but dust before this robe passed down the Church for centuries. It represented the majesty of the Church; wearing it before someone was the same as the cardinal visiting. "F*ck! I just invited them for the show, but I didnt think theyd actually come" Inside the building, Bayer wiped at his cold sweat. He hurriedly fixed his clothing and rushed down the steps to welcome the old man clad in black. "Look down." In the silent crowd, Charles was looking around in curiosity but suddenly felt a kick from Ye Qingxuan. The oblivious Charles finally realized that, other than Bayer who represented the Musicians Union, everyone else had lowered their head politely before the stern old man. He quickly copied them and said in code, "Whats wrong? Who is that guy" "Senior, are you blind? You can tell just by his clothes." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. "Who has the right to wear that robe other than the metropolitan archbishop?" Who? Who else could it be! Ye Qingxuan had realized who was arriving the moment he heard the bell. Otherwise he would have memorized that Church rituals for nothing! In Anglo, only one person was qualified to wear the dark gold robe, have a bell ring when traveling, and represent the glory of the Church. That was the highest person in charge of the Anglo church and the Westminster Churchmetropolitan archbishop Mephistopheles! After he aged, he would be in reclusion except for presiding over the prayer sessions for the start and end of the year. Ye Qingxuan did not know why he appeared now, but he undoubtedly represented God and the Church wherever he went. Everyone must bow to him. The holy theory stated: one must bow and not meet the eye of the God to show ones sincere devoutness and awe. "Wow, this effect is awesome." Charles continued to say in code. Peeking at the old man, his eyes were filled with gossip and he muttered, "Wow, is he really Mephistopheles? I heard that he had the chance to become a cardinal! Apparently he had a conflict with Knights Templar and was banished here. Ah, that must have been more than thirty years ago" "Senior, watch your mouth." Ye Qingxuan really wanted to kill him. "Dont think that speaking in code is safe. Archbishop Mephistopheles is a highly-acclaimed musician. Hes one of the few grandmasters of the School of Choir!" "Oh, really? I cant tell. There arent any aether ripples at all!" Charles coaxed quietly, "Yezi, dont get nervous. Hes probably just a purely theoretical musician." "" Ye Qingxuan wanted to speak more but, to stay safe, he intelligently closed his mouth. After speaking quietly with Bayer, Archbishop Mephistopheles nodded. Without speaking more, he passed through the hall toward the conference room. It might have been his mind playing tricks but Ye Qingxuan felt the black robe pause slightly as it passed by him and a pair of rheumy eyes swept past him. The formless gaze was like an electric shock, making those in its path feel pricks on their skin and hair crackling. Soon, Archbishop Mephistopheles entered the conference room. After a long while, Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his head and let out a long breath. For some reason, things felt worse now. "Hope it wont be what Im thinking" the youth murmured to himself. - Ten minutes later, a hurried priest avoided everyones eyes and entered a single meeting room. Ingmar, sitting nervously inside, instantly welcomed him with a warm and devout expression, and grasped his hand. "Father Kyle, Im grateful you came!" Kyle smiled. "As members of the parliament, we should help each other out." Before Ingmar was an important figure of the Westminster ChurchKyle, assistant bishop and Archbishop Mephistopheles personal secretary. It was obvious that this secret meeting before the appraisal was a sensitive subject. If a caring person saw, it would be a problem. In other words, this was not a simple meeting. Ingmar still had not recovered from the shock of seeing Archbishop Mephistopheles. He had never thought that the parliament was so powerful that even he could be influenced! The meaning behind this chilled him. He lowered his head politely. "Its just a small matter. I am shaken that even Archbishop Mephistopheles was moved to come." Kyle smirked. "This was unexpected for me as well. Archbishop Mephistopheles cares strongly about justice. I had just mentioned your problem to him, but I didnt think he would come personally. Though hes a member of the parliament, hes actually the representative of the Church and rarely expresses his opinion. All remarks and decisions would be handed to me so you shouldnt worry." Hearing that, Ingmar let out a relieved sigh. "Have you prepared the details?" Kyle asked with a smile. "You shouldve received all the answers from parliament members." "Yes, Ive prepared them." Ingmar nodded, relief flashing through his eyes. "There will be no problems." The appraisal procedure was very simple. Both parties would submit resources and describe them. Then, it was the questioning and interrogation segment. It was simple, but the emptier the segment, the more it had behind it. Kyle said quietly, "After all members arrive, theyll read what you submit and listen to your explanation. The most important part is the questioning. The first half will focus on your rsum and personal achievements. You will be before Abraham." It seemed like simple ordering but the effect was entirely different. Ingmars rsum and achievements were flawless and a perfect example. No one would be able to question him on this aspect. In comparison to Ingmars example, Abraham would seem empty and insignificant. This was his biggest disadvantagehe had neither a rsum nor any achievements to speak of. "For the second half, the interrogation of interpretation results," Kyles smile grew secretive, "Abraham will be before you." Ingmar froze until it dawned on him. Indeed, when the appraisal council members truly began to learn of this interpretation method, they would definitely be enraged by this unorthodox and almost satanic theory. At that time, Ingmar, representing the true orthodox academia, would arrive. He could almost see the moment Abraham would be defeated! Ingmar paced in excitement. Finally, he grasped Kyles hands with an ecstatic expression. "Thank you for your great help, Father Kyle." "For some things, the result has been decided at the beginning." Kyle smiled and patted his shoulder. "Mr. Ingmar, you have my vote, at least. You must know that Im not the only one who received a letter from the parliament." 243 No Commen The waiter lit the silver lights. The crystal chandeliers shone above, illuminating the silent venue. No one whispered. The room was not very spacious and it was packed. Most of the people were qualified academics or curious nobles, as well as a number of newspaper reporters who came from all over the place to get first-hand news. Those men wore caps and sat in the front row with notebooks and pens. They were excited and gestured to each other, scribbling notes onto their notebooks. Seeing the audience, Sergey on the council grunted. After all, this was a disgrace to the academic community. No matter who was wrong, it was still a great storm if news spread. As one of the famous masters of academia, he naturally did not like tabloid presses. There were only five people sitting on the panel. They were Barthlmy, the ancient language scholar from Burgundy; Sergey, the researcher of ancient folklore from the Prophets Tower; Heisenberg, a researcher of ancient music from the Rock Institute; Mr. Hu, an oriental scholar from the Sacred City; and finally, Lola Caput, the local researcher of Anglo who studied the history of the Dark Ages. Whether it was status or seniority, the five people were all eligible to make a ruling on behalf of the academic community. The crown prince who represented the royal family, and Archbishop Mephistopheles, who represented the church, would be the notary public to confirm the fairness of the result. The bells from the distant Elizabeth Tower could be heard vaguely through the thick walls. The muffled chime of the bell formally announced the start of the appraisal. Both doors opened and representatives of both sides formally entered the venue, causing a low murmur. At last, they took seats on the left and right sides opposite the panel. They looked serious and did not communicate with each other, acting as if the other did not exist. But obviously, even though he had high possibility of winning, Ingmar still did not look well. Once he stepped foot inside, it would always be a stain on a scholar''s career no matter what the final outcome was. Abraham, who had no interest in this, remained silent and emotionless. One could not survive solely on reputation and so it was meaningless to him. - After a brief announcement, the several members spent ten minutes to finish reading the documents submitted by both sides. They also read the proceedings and antecedents handed by the Union and the school. At the end, they all frowned involuntarily in silence. No one spoke. "Who is the first?" the bald old man, Sergey, suddenly asked. He looked around at his companions. Barthlmy was silent, Mr. Heisenberg still had a cold face as if nothing could disturb him, and Mr. Hu from the East was in a daze. As for Lola, she just smiled and looked at him. There was everything yet nothing in her eyes, as if something was unutterable and indescribable. "After all these years, you''re all still so fussy," Sergey grunted. Among the five, he had the worst temper and definitely could not stand these matters. The most annoying things to him included plagiarism and impersonation. There he was the most impatient one. "Ill do this." He picked up the briefing on the side, roughly skimmed it, and then looked up and said, "Then, the appraisal council will officially begin. First, may Mr. Ingmar come up please?" Ingmar stood up slowly, stood behind the speakers podium with a smile, and graciously greeted the committee. Unfortunately, this did not mean anything to Sergey. "Mr. Ingmar, next I have a few questions about your personal resume. Dont be nervous and just answer truthfully." Sergey paused and his expression became cold. "But bear in mind that youd better tell no lie here. This is for your own sake." "I understand, Mr. Sergey." Ingmar nodded. His expression was neither arrogant nor too humble. He even smiled as if he did not feel any pressure at all. He had already practiced this part. He would never make any mistakes no matter what questions would be asked. "When did you begin to study ancient literature?" "Twenty-four years ago," Ingmar replied immediately after counting. "I entered the Royal Academy of Music at that time and met my teacher there, the former mentor of the School of Revelations. From then on, my teacher guided me. Three years later, I graduated as a formal musician and have been working on related research since then." "What are your main achievements?" Sergey asked routinely, though he actually knew the answer very well. "The highest achievements include Induction of Anglos Historical Legends; Exploring the Origins of Human Development from Ballads of the Dark Age; and Inquiry on the Origin of Ancient Avalon, completed with my teacher." Ingmar paused for a moment. He glanced at Abraham subtly and replied with a smile, "And the interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript." There was a sudden murmur throughout the hall. Abraham was still expressionless but the two young men besides him looked very furious. This was a real provocation! "If we look past the controversies, that is." Sergey said lightly, "Please give a brief introduction about the school that you inherit, its major music theory, and its direction of interpretation." "As we all know, I am a professor of the School of Revelations at the Royal Academy of Music. The school that I inherit is Ancient Anglo Revelations, also known as the Purple School. The major direction of music theory..." Sergey continued to ask questions from the committee seat. His questions were meticulous and harsh; he interrogated about even the smallest of flaws in Ingmars reply until a reasonable explanation was given. Soon, Ingmar''s back was covered with a cold sweat, despite his preparations. He felt a little exhausted. He could only thank himself for always being very cautions on his records. Otherwise, Sergeys queries could possibly expose his Achilles heel. But below the platform, seeing Ingmars faint awkwardness, Ye Qingxuan did not feel any pleasure. Instead, he was worried. The problem had arrived. He sighed softly and looked at Abraham with worry. If they would delve so deeply, then Abrahams record would probably be very problematic. Even a blind man could tell that there were many large blanks and ambiguous parts in his resume. It would raise doubts. Later, Abraham would face ten times more difficulties than Ingmar. Ye Qingxuan exhaled irritability and looked to the platform. The situation was very bad. Among the five judges, he had heard about Sergey''s temper long before. He was basically a container of dynamitehe was easily provoked. He could not get along with anyone other than in academia. He was always a lone ranger wherever he went. He was definitely the most unbiased from that point of view, and he would never bear any flaws. But it was worsehe was grumpy and stubborn. If his judgment led him to make the wrong choice, he would follow it to the end. No one would be able to pull him back. Of the rest, Ye Qingxuan was least worried about Lola. He believed that with the adultery between him and this sister...Ah, no, with the ''mutual trust'' between them, she would still vote for him even if his enemy was the queen. Seeing as Ye Qingxuan was her mobile blood bank and treasure box, she had to help. Otherwise, there was really no justice in this world! But the rest were really tough. To his knowledge, master Barthlmy had always distanced himself from dispute and refused to participate in any fights. Master Heisenberg was far away at the Rock Institute. Though he had many academic achievements, he was isolated after his inheritance of his school, and so was more difficult to deal with. Mr. Hu, who was said to be from the East... God only knew whether he would recall when Ye Qingxuan had once helped him with directions. Moreover, he did not even hide his extreme pleasure. He was definitely just an audience member who came for the show. While he was deep in thought, the most nervous part finally came. "Please come up, Mr. Abraham." Sergey, seeing Abraham standing behind the speaker, asked harshly, "Can you guarantee that every word you going to say is the truth?" "I promise, sir." Abraham''s answer was straightforward and non-imposing, but his expression was still dull. He just stood behind the speakers podium, waiting for the questions. After the commissioners skimmed the biographical notes submitted by Abraham, their expressions suddenly became complex as they began to whisper to each other. "This is practically a piece of white paper." Sergey slammed the resume on the table and said quietly, "There''s almost nothing on it. With all due respect, this thing is wasting our time." The other members, other than Mr. Hu who was spacing out, all agreed. It was not that they were impatient; it was just that Abraham''s resume was too simple. The most considerate, Barthlmy, thought for a moment. Thinking of that letter for himself, he grew serious and sighed. "In this case, just ask the questions. Itll be cleared up somehow." Master Heisenberg, who had been resting his eyes, suddenly opened his mouth. "I don''t think so." His face was as cold and chilling. "If he wanted to lie, he could possibly manage to deceive us. Perhaps we should put an end to this farce as soon as possible." "We should finish this part at least, even if its just routine work," Lola who was always silent suddenly said. She was only around twenty-years-old and was especially conspicuous in the group whose average age was over forty. "I think it''s better to ask first," she suggested. "If theres anything confusing, we can just ask him to give more proof, hows that?" "It seems that that is the only solution," Sergey huffed coldly. He glanced at the resume in hand again and looked up to Abraham. "Mr. Abraham, you were a soldier, weren''t you?" Abraham nodded. "As far as we know, in the military, you only had three months of musical training." Sergey frowned. "What did you learn during those three months?" "..." Abraham was silent for a long time and then asked softly, "Can you ask another question?" Everyone was stunned. This was the first question that had been rejected today. No one had ever refused to answer a question from the members of the council at the appraisal so directly. And it was such a simple question! Below the platform, the reporters were shocked and immediately began recording excitedly. It seemed that dozens of wonderful headlines had already been drafted. Hearing Abraham''s words, even Sergey, who tried to be patient for once, could not help but be infuriated. Was it necessary to refuse to answer such a question? His expression turned cold and he glared at Abraham for a long time, but Abraham was still expressionless. After a long pause, Sergey asked again, "Who is your teacher?" The answer was still silence. The discussions in the hall gradually became noisier until Sergey pounded his gavel. "Silence! Do you refuse to answer this question too, Mr. Abraham?" He looked to Abraham with obvious anger. "Sorry." Abraham sighed and looked bitter and helpless. "Unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Department, I cannot answer." "Cannot answer?" The audience was again in an uproar and even the commissioners were startled. "" The Fourth Division was a division of the governmental system after centuries of evolution. The First Division included all administrative organs of Anglo, such as commercial business, tax management, and so on. They were the foundation of the kingdom''s administrative system management. The Second Division included the police force, epidemic prevention, fire protection, and so on. It was an indispensable part for the kingdom. The Third Division was agriculture, education, land, population survey, and more. It was in charge managing the people''s livelihood. As for the Fourth Division, it was a war department. Combining the army, logistics, weapons forging, the destructive technical research, it was in charge of all acts of violence and active defense of the armed forces. It was what ordinary people called the ''military. It was said that there was also a Fifth Division, but no one had ever directly acknowledged its existence. "I Cannot answer." Hearing his professors reply, Ye Qingxuan slapped his forehead, covered his face and sighed. He suddenly wanted to die. His worst nightmare had come true! No one knew how many strict confidential agreements Abraham had signed with the military. Abraham did not even have a photo of himself as a youth. Fortunately, Abraham had submitted a resume certificate from the military and managed to account for the past. After a brief discussion of the commissioners, Sergey forced down his anger and asked, "Mr. Abraham, according to the Unions investigation, you had thirty-one years of military history before you entered the Royal Academy of Music, but your resume says that when you were only forty-two-years-old when you were discharged. So exactly how old were you when you enlisted?" "Sorry," Abraham replied woodenly. "Unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." Sergey''s face turned livid. Emotions battled on his face fascinatingly. After a long while, he gritted his teeth and asked, "As far as I know, your birth information is not complete. You claim to be the son of a gardener, but according to the Union''s investigation, there are no local gardeners and there is no Wilson family. Can you explain this?" "Sorry, unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." Sergeys expression was pained as if he had a toothache. "Is this confidential too?" "Sorry, unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." "What are the military designations that you served?" "Sorry, unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." "What about the last year before you retired?" Sergey was totally outraged. "Your resume says that you were locked in the Tower Green because of some significant punishment. Can you not answer this either?!" Abraham was still numb and everyone could guess his answer. "Sorry, unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." "Enough is enough, Mr. Abraham!" Sergey furiously banged the gavel in his hand. "Who is your immediate superior? I believe the Union can receive permission... " "I''m sorry." Abraham sighed. "Unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division, I cannot answer." "What else can you say other than I cannot answer?!" "Sorry, unless you, uh..." Abraham realized halfway through his sentence and sighed powerlessly. He could say a lot, actually, but why did they only ask what he could not answer? He asked tentatively, "Why don''t you ask something else? I taught three very talented students, they are... " "Enough!" Heisenberg, who had been indifferent this entire time, interrupted him. He fixed his cold eyes upon Abraham and said in an extremely serious voice, "Mr. Abraham, do you think that since the Fourth Division is a shield allowing you to act so recklessly? You should know that the Musicians Union has special-purpose phone lines with all Anglo''s major departments." "Sorry." Abraham shook his head. "Somebody get me the Fourth Division! I want to see Abraham''s detailed file!" Sergey squeezed from clenched teeth. "I''d like to see what else he can''t say!" Soon, the Modifications musicians outside managed to directly contact uptowns military office through an underground cable. On the other end of the line, a gentle female voice said, "Hello, this is the sixth receptionist, do you have an appointment?" "Hello, Madam," Sergey said coldly. "This is the Musicians Union. We need to check the history of a citizen." Soon, after a simple confirmation, the soft and sweet voice asked, "Please provide us the registration number and name you need to check." Sergey glanced at Abraham. Seeing his still-numb expression, he huffed and reported the information on his resume. The call disconnected instantly. Everyone was stunned and bewildered. Then, after a few busy signals, the call was connected again. This time the sweet female voice was gone, replaced by an indifferent and wizened voice. "Who is it?" he asked. "This is the Musicians Union" Sergey was interrupted before he could finish his words by a cold machine-like and monotone voice, "I''m sorry. Whatever you want to ask, we cannot answer unless you have the approval and written permission of the Fourth Division." "Dammit!" Sergey was stunned and immediately became furious. "This is the Musicians Union!" "I''m sorry, unless you have the permission from the Fourth Division..." the cold voice repeated. "We have members of the royal family as witnesses! We have the Churchs recognition!" Sergey growled. "Do you know who I am?! I am" "otherwise we cannot answer." The line ended; only a busy tone could be heard. An awkward busy tone. In the awkward atmosphere, everyone looked at each other in silence and embarrassment. In the end, they all looked to the royal family behind the curtain. Soon, a note was sent out from it. After reading, those council members expressions changed until they grew helpless. "Uh, lets skip this part." Barthlmy could not help but cough a little. "At least, now no one doubts that he is a member of the Fourth Division." Sergey''s face was gloomy. He grunted without saying a word. The room was silent. 244 Waiting for the Right Momen The room was silent. Now, everyone looked at Abraham. When they looked at that expressionless and plain-looking old man, their eyes were filled with awe as if looking at a blinding sun. He passed? He passed just like that?! Since the birth of the academic world, there had never been someone who dared to directly refuse a question and still pass! This guywhere did he come from? Ingmars expression grew livid. He glared at Abraham as if looking at a demon and cursed under his breath, breaking out of character. "Yeah, thats my teacher! My teacher!" Overjoyed, Charles grasped a reporters hand and would not let go. "Write a few more words! Write a few more words! This is the Royal Academy of Musics best teacher. Ingmar or whoever is nothing compared to him! Look, look, that guys face is all green from this jab, do you see?" "Uh, senior, you should stop insulting him for your own safety." Charles whistled and made an annoying face at Ingmar, causing Ingmars expression to grow even uglier. - The appraisal council discussed for a bit before deciding to enter the next segment. Just as Sergey prepared to ask questions, a hand reached over and took his notes. "Let me do it," Grandmaster Heisenberg, who had been silent, finally said. His scarred face had a slightly chilling aura. "Sergey, you drag things on too much." Sergey scoffed. "In my opinion, its better to go steadily when things regard a scholars reputation." "So you still believe that a quickly-produced musician could decipher the Voynich Manuscript? For these obvious matters, going steadily is just being indecisive." Heisenberg glared coldly at the podium. His voice, ruined by drugs, sounded like a broken bellow. "Mr. Abraham, next we will investigate your interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript. If you cannot answer those questions either, then we can stop wasting time." Abraham just nodded. "Please begin." Heisenberg scoffed. Raising his voice, he asked, "When did you start deciphering the Voynich Manuscript?" "One year ago," Abraham answered calmly. "My student Charles couldnt understand the textbook and came to ask me. I realized that the explanation in the textbook was wrong, so I wanted to create a more accurate version." One year ago? So he had gone from nothing to deciphering the Voynich Manuscript in just one year? Hushed discussions instantly started in the room; the scholars all had incredulous expressions. Ingmars expression grew uglier once again. Of course his expression was ugly! The Revelations textbooks were written by him and the other professors. If Abraham said the theories in the textbook were incorrect then he was practically slapping Ingmars face in public! Hearing this, Heisenberg was silent for a bit before his lips curled into a mocking smile. He seemed to be tickled by this outrageous moment. He hit the gavel to silence the room. "I noticed that, other than the conclusion of both yours and Mr. Ingmars interpretation content, the style is different as well. Even if some ideas areabsurd, they all seem able to be self-justified. I still have a question though." Heisenberg stared coldly at him. "You arent even a Revelations musician and never advanced in that direction, am I correct?" Abraham nodded, answering, "But my translation method found its inspiration from the School of Revelations." "Really?" Heisenberg wrinkled his forehead. "Thats odd. Your translation method contradicts with the core principles of Revelations! How can you explain that?" "Actuallythis is what I think," Abraham said slowly, seriously considering his every word, but his answer was like a bomb. "Since the principle contradicts with the truth, then the principle might be wrong?" Silence. No matter if it was a scholar outside or an appraisal council member, all thought they had heard incorrectly. The music theory had been edited hundreds of times by saints and verified by countless musicians for centuriesit was tried and true. If there was a mistake in the theory that all was built upon, the sound of hearts of countless Resonance level musicians would probably collapse hearing this! "Blasphemy!" a scholar retorted. "Outrageous!" "The biggest joke of the century!" Many scholars could not stand it anymore and protested loudly with furious expressions. "Silence! Silence!" Heisenberg pounded the gavel forcefully and stared down the podium with blazing eyes. "Abraham! Are you overruling the music theory body of the School of Revelations?" "I just think that the music theory still isnt perfect and cant be used in every situation." Below the podium, Abrahams expression was still wooden. "Furthermore, the Voynich Manuscript records the research of classicist musicians toward music theory. Its logical that there are errors when using modern music theory to understand it. If you cannot let go of the principles, youll be at a dead end. "Therefore, you must change your direction and find another solution that can be paired with the changes in music theory for targeted translations. At least, thats what I think." "So your translation method was born from this?" Abraham nodded. "No wonder," Heisenberg scoffed. "A mechanic and dull theory without any spirit or aesthetics. No offense, but I dont recognize its effectiveness or rationality. Its existence is a stain to the spirited theory of the School of Revelations. "Every year, there are dozens like you who excitedly publish those outrageous and ridiculous theories for attention. They often cannot withstand the tests and have hundreds of flaws. They dont even deserve to be jokes. Hmph, the academic world wouldnt be so polluted without you folk musicians!" Abraham remained silent; he could not reply. In the audience, Charles rose angrily but was pressed down by Ye Qingxuan. "Senior, calm down." The youth glared at the mocking Ingmar. "We dont have the right to speak here. Dont do anything that negatively affects our teacher." Heisenberg took one last glance at Abraham from the podium and threw down his notes. "My questioning is complete." The gavel slammed down; the echo was heavy. Abraham looked down. As he returned to his seat, he brushed shoulders with Ingmar. In that moment, Ingmar tidied up his clothing with a taunting smile on his lips. "Abraham," he whispered in the old mans ears, "I said that Id destroy your reputation and throw you back to the garbage dump. Remember to take your failures of students with you." The council members did not hear, the audience did not hear, and Abraham did not seem to hear, but Ye Qingxuan did. He did not move. - Next was Ingmars turn to answer, and he acted how a renowned scholar should. The questioning round ended easily and they finally came to the conclusion. In the audience, Ye Qingxuan did not listen and just spaced out. "Ever since my teacher passed away, I took over his unfinished work. For six years, I poured my heart into the Voynich Manuscript and tried countless wrong methods. But, as everyone can see, my hard work has finally paid off. I successfully interpreted it. But I never expected" Ye Qingxuan spaced out. "Something like this is a disgrace to the Royal Academy of Music! Gentlemen, this is unprecedented humiliation! Its an unprecedented ripple in the academic world! And this was all due to my research results. For that, my heart hurts!" Ingmars expression was heavy, depressed, and angry. "I dont wish to think so badly of others and think that their intentions are evil! This entire time, I thought that perhaps Mr. Abrahams results were similar to mine or that he had some unspeakable hardships, causing him to do something so heartbreaking. But I was wrong!" Ye Qingxuan continued to space out. "After this event occurred, I tried to compromise and kept silent, hoping that Mr. Abraham could understand my intentions. To quell this unreasonable fight, I was even willing to write Mr. Abraham as an author of the study! But as you all can see, I was very, very wrong!" Ingmar slammed a fist down on the table. He uttered in a tragic voice, "My tolerance and concessions were taken to be weak and powerless. Abraham followed closely as I yielded, tossing the entire academy into this storm. Not only did the academy lose all dignity, he also created such a humiliating storm. "Now, this is no longer about my own glory, but the three-hundred year old glory of the School of Revelations and the name of all grandmasters. They cannot be ruined in my hands and should not be tarnished by the slander of an evil and petty man! I hope all council members will make the correct decision today." Ye Qingxuan continued to space out. He looked but did not see, heard but did not listen. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tapHe tapped his finger against the table. The taps were soft and gentle but spread soundlessly. Like icy rain falling from the sky, they chilled one to the bone. Tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tap tapRain fell endlessly. Until a reporter with a gray fedora flinched and slowly widened his squinted eyes. Looking like he had just woken from a nap, he yawned and off-handedly murmured, "Sir, the Shamans gift has been prepared." And so the rain sound dissipated and Ye Qingxuan looked up. "Senior." "Yeah?" "Can you go get a delivery for me?" Ye Qingxuan looked down and organized the notes on his table. He said softly, "Its almost time for our counterattack." 245 Evidence "Today, I am not the only one who is humiliated. The path of Revelations and the entire atmosphere of the academic world has been humiliated as well. If this lowly trend cannot be restrained, countless of others will be humiliated like me in the future!" At the podium, Ingmar was still speaking with gusto. Angry and sad, he did not realize that everyone was looking behind him in confusion, and continued speaking. "Therefore, I advise the council members to seriously consid" Just as he was getting to the main point, he felt someone poke him, and poke him, and poke him again. The pen cap did not hurt but it was annoying. "What the f*ck are you poking me for? How annoying!" Ingmars voice suddenly stopped. He spun around and glared at the other. "Presumptuous!" Under everyones confused eyes, the presumptuous youth in question looked at Ingmar calmly and waved his pocket watch around. "Mr. Ingmar, you only have three minutes to speak but youve spoken for an extra minute and a half. Do you want to start a talk show or something?" Ingmars expression changed, filling with dark fury. Finally, he huffed and left with billowing sleeves. When he brushed past the youth, he squeezed out, "B*stard, you wont be laughing for long." "Ha." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Dont overthink. Its bad for your health." The two brushed shoulders. The youth stood on the podium and smiled, bowing politely to the judges. "Sirs, if its okay, Ill start now." Sergey finally reacted and wrinkled his brows, asking, "Wait a minute. Why isnt it Abraham? Who are you?" "My name is too lowly to be spoken." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "I am Abrahams student and the witness to this case. My teacher is not skilled at speaking, so I will conclude things for him. Is that not allowed?" "There have been no precedents," Heisenberg huffed. "But its doable, is it not?" Lola glanced over with a smile. Without waiting for their decision, she stated, "Mr. Student, please begin." Shocked, Heisenberg glared coldly at Lola, who rolled her eyes and seemed to smile. The glare was like a sword pierced into water. Other than insignificant ripples, there was no other reaction. The dark gaze quickly moved away and Heisenberg no longer spoke. Barthlmy opened his mouth but did not say anything. The Eastern Mr. Hu looked at the youths white hair with interest. His eyes brightened as if anticipating some good show. No one disagreed and so the youth at the podium smiled. - "To be honest, Mr. Ingmars speech touched me." The youth uttered his first words with a somber and hurt expression. What he said confused the audiencewhat was going on now? Was he going to side with Ingmar and cut ties with Abraham? But that did not seem right. At the podium, the youth was still speaking with regret. "Mr. Ingmars misfortunes are tragic and should be pitied. If I were you all, I would definitely feel that he had suffered the worlds greatest wrong, even greater than snow in June. If you dont support him, then youre totally unjust and unreasonable. Even the Sacred City would shed tears for him." He paused. The heavy sadness disappeared from his face, replaced by a mocking and evil smile. "But sadly, nothing he said was about the content of his interpretation! Excuse my brashness, but Mr. Ingmars talents are more than enough to be the reporter of a small newspaper. Maybe he can even start a popular column like music theory life or voice of Anglo. "But for the scholarly fields that speak in the language of theories and research, hes far from enough. This is not the place for kids to roll around. This is also not somewhere one can win by telling a sob story and painful pasts!" There was a crack. That was the sound of ones teeth practically breaking. Offstage, Ingmars face twitched as he clenched his fists, too angry to speak. Heisenberg pounded his gavel. "Abrahams student, this is not the place for you to attack others!" he said coldly. "If you dont have any conclusions to make, you can leave now." The youth shrugged helplessly and looked at the eyes around him. He asked seriously, "Didnt anyone find it strange? Why does the beginning and end of his interpretation contradict each other? Why is there such an obvious break in logic? Is it really a rare mistake? "If he really isnt guilty, why is he so nervous that we filed a complaint? Why did he keep blocking our right to receive what we deserve through official means? And is he really as great as he said? Why didnt he mention how he threatened and harmed my teacher? Why didnt he mention how he reduced the music history department building to ashes? Did he think that no one could see these obvious things?" "Ye Qingxuan!" Ingmar roared, shooting to his feet in anger. "This is the appraisal council, not somewhere for you to act wildly! You must speak with evidence! Do you really think that your unorthodox method can interpret the Voynich Manuscript?!" Ye Qingxuan sneered. He was about to make a retort but heard the gavel. "Silence!" Grandmaster Barthlmy interrupted them from his seat. He gazed at the two of them and said with a neutral tone, "May both parties please control themselves. This is an appraisal council to discuss the Voynich Manuscript. Other subjects are not within the scope of our trial. "Also, young man, in our opinion, both you and Ingmar provided effectual interpretation methods. However, Im sure that all who are present understand that its easy to use abductive reasoning to create a specific method when deciphering ancient texts if one knows the result." Ye Qingxuan already understood what he meant before he finished. If he could not provide substantial evidence, they could only look at this argument from a traditional and conservative standpoint. Then, Ingmar was the victor without a doubt. This was Abrahams biggest weakness. The translation method did not have the recognition of many. Compared to the mainstream Revelations system that had been revised by countless people, Abrahams theory did not have enough credibility. But hearing Barthlmy, Ye Qingxuan laughed. He had been waiting for these words for a very long time. Ye Qingxuan raised the notes in his hands. "To prove the rationality of the translation method, we used the few days before the appraisal to provide new evidencea new result!" Everyone was stunned. New evidence? A new result and translation? In these few short days? Offstage, hushed discussions began again and did not stop; even Barthlmy was stunned. He quickly looked down at the youth. "A new result in these few days? Young man, perhaps you do not understand that the interpretation of ancient texts is measured by decades! A few days are not even enough time to gather material and compare with texts from the same time period." "Perhaps everyone present doubts my words, but I swear that I am speaking the truth," Ye Qingxuan stated lightly. "To verify it, I underwent the sublimation ritual and used the opportunity for Deva sensing. The school can prove this. The council can also use the aether record of the Cave of Sleep for evidence. For this, I gambled my chance to become an official musician. I believe that it can prove the effectiveness of the translation method." With that, the entire room fell silent. The sublimation ritual, Deva sensing. Indeed, he would be able to find the correct direction and result by transforming into the ripples of the aether sea, resonating with the music theory, and using the power of the Originator to activate the translation methodeven for a moment. But who would do such a stupid thing? For the translations of a few words, he gambled his chance to become an official musician and wasted his one-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Deva sensing on this?! Crazy! He was crazy! At that moment, everyone looked at Ye Qingxuan with pity and regret. What a pity, if it was not like this And how old was he? He had just entered school a few months ago, right? It had only been four or five months and he was already close to becoming an official musician?! That speed was frightening. He was comparable to the freak student of Anglo legends who had broken through the Student level in one month. He was even more powerful than the geniuses that each School trained in secret environments since childhood. A pity, what a pity - Under all the sympathetic and pitiful eyes, Ye Qingxuan walked forward emotionlessly and passed a piece of paper through the council members. Only a few sparse words were written on the extremely thin paper but they all fell into deep thought and silence. When it was Heisenbergs turn, he took it and put it face down on the table, refusing to look. Ye Qingxuan did not stop. Finally, he offered the paper to grandmaster Barthlmy. Barthlmy hesitated but accepted it. When the youth lowered his head in gratitude, he felt vague guilt in his heart. Would he really be able to make a fair decision? Holding the paper, his eyes wandered between Ingmar and Abraham; his mind was a mess. In the end, he looked down in dejection and sighed. But then his eyes could not move away. He stared at the words on the paper and his hands shook uncontrollably. "Thisthis" It felt as if he was struck by lightning. The aether around him instantly began tossing like stormy waves and showed signs of losing control. He quickly reigned in the strength but he could no longer keep calm. Head shooting up, he looked at the youth. "As if you are above, as if you are below, and so all can beginIs this the Emerald Tablet?!" 246 You Must Speak Carefully "As if you are above, as if you are below, and so all can beginIs this the Emerald Tablet?!" The youth nodded silently with a humble smile. Amidst the commotion, the still doubtful Sergey looked up at Barthlmy. "Are you sure?" Barthlmy managed a bitter smile. "The original is the Emerald Tablet, without a doubt. It is more complete than what I have as well. However, I cannot confirm the translation results within a short period." Hesitating, he set down his determination and said quietly, "Of course, its possible he made it all up." "Its not made up, dont worry." The Eastern scholar who had always been silent finally spoke up now. Mr. Hu, who was not as learned in Western classicism, made a decision before everyone else. Looking down, he twisted the corner of the white paper. There was a faint watermark there. It was the design of two entangled snakes. "Hes correct." Mr. Hus expression was strange and troubled. "Perhaps someone else has already confirmed it before us." Without waiting for the others reply, he called a servant over and murmured to him. The servant hesitated but walked before the curtain of the royal family and said something quietly. He quickly returned with a strip of paper. The paper was passed between the judges, causing everyones expression to grow complicated. There was only one short sentence: the translation is correct. Since royalty vouched for it, there was nothing more to say. Though they did not understand the reason, it seemed to involve the royaltys privacy and it would be best not to question things. Barthlmy chuckled wryly. If he had known this, he would not have said anything. "Well then" He looked up and prepared to speak, but another sound rang out. "Wait!" It was another unexpected change when the audience was still shocked. Now feeling a bit numb, they looked toward the Churchs curtain in confusion. A priest with a dark expression walked out slowly, holding Ye Qingxuans translation. He looked at Ye Qingxuan coldly. "Please bear with my ignorance. But as if you are above, as if you are below, and so all can begin how should one interpret this phrase?" Ye Qingxuan froze. He quickly pulled himself together, organized his words, and opened his mouth to answer. "This is a conclusion of the nature of aether from ancient musicians. If you expand the phrase, it means, The aether fills us and is omnipresent. With this as a medium, the worlds Originator and the origin within a human can communicate. With this as a fulcrum and using the correct method, we can grasp the strength of all" "Blasphemy!" Kyle cut him off. He stepped forward with furious eyes and interrogated, "Is everything not created for aether? If that is so, then where is the holy theory? Where is God?! You must speak carefully!" The last question was a roar. It finally dawned on everyone. When they looked at Ye Qingxuan, it was with shock and suspicion. This interpretation of music theory described the origin of all organisms. Without a doubt, it contradicted the holy theory. It would be okay at any other time, but the Church was here. They would never admit its rationale, otherwise, they would lose dignity. If God lost his role as the master of all, how was he different from those demons? No matter what, this sentence was enough to overthrow any of Ye Qingxuans evidence and cast him beyond redemption. Thankfully this was not centuries before. Otherwise, this youth would have probably been judged by the Church and sent to be burned at the stake after they found more than one-hundred crimes. In the near distance, Ingmar looked at Ye Qingxuan tauntingly. His lips curled into a cold sneer. Kyle would not be able to do anything if Ye Qingxuan had provided the translation of any other document, but he had run straight into this. He was looking for death. "Ive already said that using such a satanic method can only help you interpret satanic writings." Ingmar chuckled coldly. "I suggest the appraisal council carefully consider why this Eastern kid provided such a document and almost caused the grandmasters and the crown to be unrighteous. He must have an ulterior motive." The tides turned instantly. No one expected Ye Qingxuan would fall to the state of being accused of all. However, there was no panic on the youths face. When he looked at the furious Kyle, his eyes showed tired pity. "The God described by the holy theory is empty. There is no definite form of God. Mankind cannot imagine what God is like. Aether is Gods hand, strength, and his eyes. Aether is Gods messenger. Therefore, we can use aether to probe into the holy world and prove the existence of a god. That is how the Church can receive the holy essence. "In my opinion, the holy theory does not contradict this phrase. It instead complements it. Father, if you think that this phrase will shake the foundations of the holy theory, you have no need to worry." "Outrageous!" Kyle was livid. "Such nonsense and heresy!" "Really?" the youth asked in reply. "I quoted the preaching of Pope Bartholomew from two-hundred years ago. Do you think the Popes words are nonsense too?" "You" Coldness flashed past Kyles eyes. He quickly retorted, "The Popes words are undoubtedly correct, however, each sentence has a specific context. They contain different meanings when in different context. Do not twist Bartholomews words to prove your heresy!" Ye Qingxuan looked at him without expression. "This sentence discusses the relationship between aether and the world. There is nothing nonsensical about it, nor had it been led astray. How can it be heresy? If you can really prove its existence, then would we have to close our eyes and pretend we dont see it? Father, prejudice causes one to fall. Hubris is one of the original sins!" His last words quoted the Churchs bible and undoubtedly were a slap to Father Kyles face. "Silence!" Kyle roared. "How dare you twist Gods thoughts" "Twist Gods thoughts?" Ye Qingxuan smirked. He raised his voice and pressed harder. "Id like to ask something. Who is truly heretic? Me or someone who falsely uses Gods name to fulfil his own wishes? "Gods thoughts are above the truth. We are unable to look into the depths but should never stop trying! How dare you cover the believers eyes and fool them into abandoning the path of justice?" The youths hoarse voice covered Kyles roar. In the end, it was like metal grating. The harshness of his voice had an almost tangible strength. His eyes shone as he spoke the holy words and one could not meet his eyes. "The holy theory says: the road to justice is surrounded by evils. Those who guide their companions through the darkness with love and kindness will be protected by God, for he is the true guardian. For those who dare to hurt and kill my people, I will exact revenge upon them! When the fire of my vengeance falls from the sky, you all will know that I am the king of all, I am the king of kings!" The youth spoke with a low voice and followed Kyle closely. His voice was serious yet awe-inspiring, forcing Kyle to stumble back. Ye Qingxuan seemed to be the true representative of God while Kyle was the heretic he had tied to the stake. Kyle had seen that high and mighty coldness on old monksthey had spent their entire life immersed in Gods teachings and became agents of God after they reached middle age. There seemed to be fire in their eyes when they gazed upon mundanes as if they would judge all sins. "Silence!" Kyles face was deathly pale and he panted for breath. "How dare you dispute the holy theory with me? I am the agent of god. You are a mundane! You must not speak of God in vain, you must" "Enough, Kyle. Stop making a fool of yourself," came a wizened voice from behind the curtain. The heavy voice was like a giant rock and resounded soundly. All fell silent. The voice caused Kyle to stiffen. He looked back in confusion and looked at the silhouette of the old man behind the curtain. He said with a trembling voice, "Father Mephistopheles, I only wanted to" "Kyle, that child understands the messages of God more deeply than you," the old man said lightly. "Let us stop here today. Believers of God should not participate in matters of fame and glory." This was not some mighty scolding but it was more terrifying than anything else. Kyles face became sheet-white. He understood that Mephistopheles might have already known that he made a deal with others and was using Mephistopheless name to do something. Perhaps he was not upset but Kyles role as a personal secretary had probably come to an end. Kyle opened and closed his mouth multiple times but could only stutter something. Finally, he looked down and stumbled back behind the curtain, almost falling. Ingmar had sunk into a daze. In panic, he looked from Ye Qingxuan to the Churchs curtain. Watching Kyle leave, he reached out to grab Kyles shirt but was shaken away. Seeing Kyles deathly pallor, he felt chills all over. "Howhow is this possible" For a moment, he finally realized that he might lose. - After order was reinstated, the wizened voice behind the Churchs curtain asked, "Young man, why did you come here?" His question was targeted at the youth. Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment before answering, "To prove the truth." "Oh? But the truth is self-evident." "Being self-evident takes time and I cant wait." The youth looked down. Voice heavy, he said, "I came here so my teachers efforts wont be snatched away. I also came so the translation method wont be seen as unorthodoxy and will have its own place in the academic world. "In my opinion, if justice really exists in this world, it should be shown. If not, Ill personally prove it." There was a long silence. It ended with a sigh. "Your ideas are a bit stubborn but its rare to have such thoughts," Mephistopheles said. "May the council bring me the report? I would like to see the ideas of this Professor Abraham." 247 All Dignity Gone A servant brought the report behind the curtain. There was no reply for a long while. The reporters buried their heads and scribbled furiously about the amazing plot twist. After a long silence, Mephistopheles lamenting voice sounded behind the curtain. "I see now. It feels strange when one looks at it from the Revelations angle but this method feels familiar when one reads it closely. "Ignoring the spirit and sense, using only basic patterns and rules, using the number theory to move forward. Your teacher must be an accomplished musician in the School of Abstinence, yes? Its such a pity that I have never heard of his name or theory in all these years. What is the theory known as?" "Just the translation method," the youth replied politely with his head lowered. "If one wishes to distinguish it from others, I call it Abrahams Translation Method. I hope more can know my teacher and this theory." "A very simple and straightforward name," Father Mephistopheles mused softly. After a short suffocating pause, he declared, "The translation method is valid." Everyone shuddered when the long wait finally ended. This was giant news! The Church had vouched for the translation method! No matter how the gavel was pounded, the low rumbles would not stop. The discussions could not be restrained no matter how one yelled "Silence!" The people discussed in shock and excitement. No matter what the result was, they had witnessed the birth of a new theory. As wooden as he was, even Abrahams eyes turned red and his hands shook. He had never thought that his lifes work could one day be recognized by all. If Charles was here, he would definitely be jumping up and yelling in happiness. Perhaps the only one in despair was Ingmar. "Impossible! This is impossible" Ingmar yelled, losing his temper. "Why is the Church disturbing the academic appraisal? The validity of the translation method should be decided by scholars. It has nothing to do with God!" He had completely forgotten that he had used the name of God to add salt to Ye Qingxuans wounds. In his anger, he had lost all of his original grace and calm. His features twisted and twitched as if he was possessed by a demon. He roared, "Ill never acknowledge it! Ill never acknowledge the theory from that fool! A plagiarizer dares to be on the same level as me? Im the grandmaster of the Royal Academy of Music! Hes nothing compared to me!!!" His roars caused the entire room to fall silent. Everyone watched his hysteria in shock. In the dead silence, one person chuckled and clapped with enthusiasm. "Well said!" Ye Qingxuan smiled brightly but the smile made one feel chills. "How can a plagiarizer be spoken of with a grandmaster of the Royal Academy of Music? How can the glory of interpreting the Voynich Manuscript be shared with lowly scums?" "You" Ingmar glared at Ye Qingxuan. Ripples of aether surged from his body but were forced down by the Unions enchantment. Only his piercing voice burst forth. They grated ones eardrums and made everyone wrinkle their brows. "Mr. Ingmar is correct," the youth said hoarsely. "We are here today to decide the ownership of the Voynich Manuscript and who is the plagiarizer. Let us return to the main topic." He looked to the grandmasters before him with cold and menacing eyes that one could not look at directly. "Therefore, I request for the council to call forth our witness, a critical but overlooked player who had disappeared for dozens of days." Ingmar froze. Suddenly thinking of something, his face grew even paler and he yelled, "Objection! I object! They didnt request this beforehand. I refuse to acknowledge" The door was thrown open. The strong afternoon sun surged in like a thunderstorm, illuminating his white face. The blonde youth entered the hall, pushing someone on a wheelchair. The chair passed through the stunned, dazed, and puzzled eyes before finally stopping before the podium. The youth on the chair looked at Ingmar and said quietly, "Professor, long time no see." Ingmar gaped at him and fell into his chair as if he had truly seen a ghost. "B-Bart" - Bart Williams. As the second son of a small family from Birmingham, he had neither a great nor horrible background. He did not have any big future eitherhe could become a tax official and work until retirement. When he had revealed signs of musical talent, his fathera lordmade the biggest gamble in his life. He sent Bart to Anglo to enroll in the Royal Academy of Music. Since then, Bart had done many immoral things so he could become successful and never return to his home in the countryside. He threw away his dignity to be associated with Edmund and Banners families. After enduring so many years, he finally became Ingmars close student and the future of the School of Revelations. It was celebratory news. But no one expected that he would fall to this state after a short few days. Sitting on the wheelchair, Bart was covered in blood and seemed to be on his last breath. Tubes were stuck all over his body; an IV bag hung above the chair, endlessly sending lifesaving medicine into him. Hearing Ingmars voice, he forced his head up and looked at Ingmar through his blurry vision. A weird soundhalf laughing, half cryingcame from his throat. "Bart, let me explain." Shaken, Ingmar stumbled back. "Professor, what did I do wrong?" There seemed to be a block of iron stuck in Barts throat. He looked at Ingmar and shed tears of blood. He lifted his ragged hand and tugged at his collar. "Why must you do this to me?" Three large staples were nailed to his throat. The staples dug into his messy and bloody flesh; it was cruelly disgusting. They held together a gaping opening that covered his entire throat. It was the fatal wound that should have taken his life. As Bart spoke, the wound opened further like an infant crying for help. "Why must you do this to me?! Professor" "It wasnt me! Bart, it wasnt me!" The stark wound was like a spear that pierced Ingmars forced calmness. "I-I neverBart, you must believe me. Believe me!" He was telling the truth. It really was not him and he never thought things would turn into this. But he had some good friends who wanted to help him. Such asmaking a student who knew too much disappear. Many things had happened within the past ten days. When the Shamans eyes in the school told Ye Qingxuan that Bart had secretly packed his belongings and left school, Ye Qingxuan did not think much of it. To stay safe, he had secretly told them to follow and capture Bart on the road. It could have been his winning card. But he had never expected that what happened next would be more evil and cruel than he had ever imagined. The Shamans men had kept an eye on the entire event: first, the carriage exploded. No one died with a complete body. When Bart managed to survive with his alchemy equipment and crawled out, someone slit his throat and left soundlessly. Thanks to priceless medicine and the intensive care of Choir musicians, Bart was able to stay alive and return to his professor in Avalon. The professor and student had reunited. What joy. But there was nothing joyous about the current atmosphere. There was only undisguisable guilt and fear, as well as chilling sadness and hatred. Seeing them like this, the scholars who had guessed things instantly booed. The commotion could not be stopped by the gavel. "Mr. Bart Williams," Ye Qingxuan said loudly as he gazed at the stunned faces. "Please tell everyone where you were on that afternoon, thirteen days ago, the day the second trial of the school day ended, when Mr. Ingmar reported that he successfully interpreted the Voynich Manuscript." "The music history department," Bart replied hoarsely as he looked at Ingmar. "I was in Mr. Abrahams library." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan smirked. "Why were you at the history department?" "Someone at the school board meeting proved that my professor had unreasonably tried to harm Abraham. My professor wanted to pretend to be nice and allow Abraham to be the associate dean of the School of Revelations. And thenand then frame him to destroy his reputation." "Irresponsible nonsense!" Ingmar roared. He charged forward to stop Bart but was held down by people from the Union. He yelled, "Shut up! Bart, youre lying!" Ye Qingxuan snickered. "Bart, please tell everyone what you saw after you got to the music history department." After a long pause, Bart uttered, "I saw that nobody was there so I wanted to leave a note, and thenthen I saw Mr. Abrahams interpretation results. So I took pictures to copy it and gave it to my teacher." "Then what was Mr. Ingmars reaction?" "His sound of heart broke down. If not for meif not for me" He looked back at Ingmar with bitter resentment. "If not for me, he would have died." His voice was so sharp and high that it was as jarring as a steel wire scraped against rock. His wound almost reopened and fresh blood seeped out. "What happened next is as you all can see," Ye Qingxuan said with a cold laugh. "Mr. Ingmar reported the findings overnight. Unfortunately, he couldnt copy the last part, which is why theres such an obvious break in logic." "Its all false!" Ingmar picked up the ink bottle in anger and hurled it at Bart crazily. "Slander! Its all slander!" Bart did not dodge and let the bottle crash into his face. The ink rolled down his cheeks, dying the ugly wound on his throat black. The wound was happily distorted like a ghastly smile. Ye Qingxuan continued to ask before everyone, "Bart, what did he say after we filed the case?" Bart fell silent. He raised his damaged hand and ran it across the huge wound on his neck. When he spoke, his voice was calm and mocking as if telling someone elses story. "He said hed take care of everything. I could go home and stay away from the trouble. I believed him. But on the way thereha. An accident happened and I turned into this." "I didnt! I didnt do anything! It was all Abraham!" Ingmar roared, but he could not see any believing eyes. It was all suspicion and disdain. In the end, he no longer had the strength to yell. He collapsed onto his chair and mumbled to himself, "I clearly, I really wanted to protect you. Bart, I only wanted to protect you." Bart closed his eyes and no longer spoke. Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. He had never seen Bart as a mortal enemy and even thought he was despicable before, but seeing him like this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel pity. The last round of conclusions had ended. Charles began pushing Barts wheelchair again and took him away from the noisy hall. He was no longer able to stay in the academy after this treatment. According to his deal with the Shaman, a Choir musician would give him plastic surgery and a new identity after he recovered. Then, he would go to India or Asgard. Perhaps he would be able to start a new life there. No matter what, the youth named Bart Williams had died the moment he was abandoned by his teacher and had his throat slit. He would not appear on this world again. Now, Ye Qingxuan no longer had to argue with Ingmar about the truth or validity. He only had to let everyone see Ingmars ugliness. The curse known as Bart would forever haunt Ingmar. All dignity was gone and his reputation was destroyed. The world was so large but there was no longer a place for him. It was just how Ingmar had said himself: he would send trash back to the landfill! - After witnessing this mess, the five grandmasters who acted as judges fell silent. "The witness was not approved beforehand and his proof is too wild. Its not impossible that it was fabricated. We must consider it carefully," Heisenberg said coldly. "I suggest we adjourn for fifteen minutes and give the last judgement afterward. What think you all?" The first to nod was Barthlmy who had a heavy expression. Sergey followed closely after. Finally, all members agreed. The gavel pounded and it echoed like a mourning bell, startling a crow in the distance. This was the last moment of respite. 248 Why Is the Dove So Large? "So it seems that everythings set?" In the carriage, Bai Xi stared at the silver plate on the ground. The plate reflected the sunlight outside the carriage. A beam of sun seemed to hover between the carriage and the Musicians Union in the distance. Finally, it shone onto the plate and scattered into shards of light. The image of the large room appeared within the broken light. It was blurry but extremely bright and everything could be seen on the plate. An alchemist would probably feel his guts twisting if he saw this. No one would put so much effort in carving a music score onto a dinner plate and flatten aether waves until they were undetectable just to peek into the meeting room. Hermes had really just grabbed a dinner plate and made this. If one asked him why a platethat was because he was currently feasting on a chicken leg in his luxurious carriage. This guy had grown a few inches in the past few days. He had gotten fatter too; his stomach had started showing thanks to the binge eating, causing his clothes to be pulled taut. If this continued for a few months, he would probably turn from an eerily handsome youth to a fat foodie. No one knew what had happened to him. Hearing Bai Xis words, he said without looking up, "Not definite. After all, people can lie, right?" Bai Xi froze in disbelief. "Would anyone think that Barts lying? Hes already fallen to this state." "Its not just Bart. Anyone can lie if they have a mouth. Why do you think those grandmasters would tell the truth? If they really want to protect Ingmar, youll see the best example of lying through ones teeth." As he spoke, Hermes wiped the oil off his mouth with his sleeves and smirked. "But most people who lie would just be lying. If a grandmaster lies, people would still think theyre speaking the absolute truth. And whats sad is that most so-called truths come from this." Bai Xi scoffed. "So those grandmasters are just like scum who work for money?" "Grandmasters are human, scum are human. What difference is there?" Hermes rebutted. "Who can claim that theyve never done anything wrong? In the end, committing sins is too easy for a man. Grit your teeth, stamp your feet, harden your heart, and you can do it. "The first half of the phrase respect elders and care for children said that you have to respect people when they age. Its not just to respect their age but the fact that theyve done more evil than you. Youre respecting who youll become after committing those sins." "Can you spit out the chicken bones before you talk?" Even though Bai Xi had prayed many times for her cheap teacher to get run over by a carriage, she was still a bit worried seeing how he was stuffing his face. "Youve been eating non-stop for the past two hours. Are you okay? Did you get dumped?" "Some things happened. Theyre not the best but its better than a breakup, so my appetite grew." Hermes used his teeth to open a bottle of champagne. Tilting his head back, he took a large gulp and exhaled in satisfaction. "Life is hard. Eating is one of the few pleasures. Bai Xi, youll understand me in the future. Thank you for your concern, but shouldnt you be more concerned about the appraisal result?" - A handful of rice was scattered onto the ground. White doves flapped their wings and descended from the shelf like flurries of white snow to eat. A breeze blew lightly through the flowers and grass refreshingly. A youth sat on the bench of the Musician Unions garden and played with the doves. Stumbling footsteps grew closer. It had only been a few minutes, but Ye Qingxuan could barely recognize Ingmar now. His face was sheet white; his expression was pathetic and haggard, completely different from the original pride. As if he would melt under the sun, he avoided it and stumbled through the shadows, mumbling to himself. He seemed to be cursing or refuting, or just madly raving. When he saw the youth sitting quietly before him, he stopped abruptly. This was probably the worst coincidental meeting. "Ye Qingxuan," he muttered hoarsely. Ye Qingxuan looked back at him with cold eyes as if observing his pathetic appearance. Ingmars features twitched. He instinctively wanted to leave but his dignity forced him to stay. He looked at Ye Qingxuan toostaring at him. Ghost fire seemed to burn in his dull eyes. But as he looked, he laughed involuntarily. It was an ugly laugh full of complicated self-mockery. "I never thought that I would lose to Abraham, fall into your hands, even after all my efforts." "If you want to think like that, then do that," Ye Qingxuan said lightly as he looked back. "Its more embarrassing if you lose to me." "Dont be so na?ve," Ingmar clenched his teeth and said hoarsely. "The winner hasnt been decided yet. You think I dont know about you and that wh*re Lola? What a joke! She cant decide anything by herself. You think you have a sure victory?" Ye Qingxuan did not move. He retorted, "Is that not so?" "" Ingmars face practically turned purple. Face twitching, he said through clenched teeth, "Since you thought youd definitely win, why did you drag Bart back? Why?" "Its simple." Ye Qingxuan scattered a handful of rice. He looked up and smiled under the sun. "You wouldnt lose horribly enough otherwise. Ingmar, that would be too easy for you." "Ye Qingxuan!" Ingmar roared. "Dont push things too far!" "Yeah, youre right." The youth nodded and wiped his smile away. Under the sunlight, he opened his hand. The rice fell and a few doves flew over to eat it. The pure white feathers crisscrossed and scattered the sunlight. The youths face was shrouded in a mass of blurry light and shadows. He looked at the flying birds and muttered to himself, "Sadly, I understand the principles but why are these doves so big?" - Sunlight fell onto the long hall, cutting open the darkness and casting jagged shadows. Barthlmy paced soullessly and saw Heisenberg sitting by the corner. Taken aback, he nodded at the man and continued forward. He could not help but pause when he passed by. Grandmaster Heisenberg looked up and took a cigarette out his pocket. Barthlmy hesitated but accepted it. He breathed in after lighting it and began coughing. He was old now and nothing like before; this fact saddened him. Holding the cigarette, he sat beside Heisenberg in silence. After a long while, he said quietly, "Anta, Im starting to have doubts." "Youre just indecisive," Heisenberg said lightly. "Youre always like that, avoiding problems. Thats why Professor chose me in the end." "Yeah, youre decisive and much better than me." Barthlmy sighed sadly and felt his thinning white hair with a bitter expression. "Anta, do you still remember things from before?" "Before? How could I not?" Speaking of the past, a tinge of nostalgia appeared on Heisenbergs sinister face. "Back in the day, everyone liked you. I was that annoying guy that couldnt fit in. I always watched you all from afar and wanted to be like you. I used to envy you back then. But then the inheritance book was lost and they found it in my room. For my punishment, I had to guard the abyss for six months and missed the inheritance ceremony." Barthlmy smoked and said hoarsely, "I did that. I framed you." "I know." Heisenberg nodded. "I regret it." "I know too," Heisenberg said. "Thats why I never envied you after that." Barthlmy remained silent. Heisenberg looked back at his old friend, at the man who never became involved in disputes after this, and his eyes grew pitiful and complicated. "Its all in the past, Barthlmy. It has passed," he said. "Thanks to you, I was no longer weak and became who I am." "Its my fault." Barthlmy hung his head. "Anta, I dont want to make mistakes anymore." "The parliament sent a letter to you too, didnt they?" Heisenberg saw through his pain. "If you reject them, most of your research funds will be cut off. You wont be able to continue researching. Thats why youre in painyou cant face yourself." "What do you think I should do?" "Thats your problem, not mine." Heisenberg gave him one last glance. "Sometimes you must commit evil to survive in this world. Youre scared of becoming like that but Im not." He rose and left. Barthlmy sat in the quiet yard alone. - When Ye Qingxuan returned to the hall, there was still no one there. The grandmasters had not returned; the scholars and reporters could not enter before the session reopened. The hall was silent and still. A servant cautiously took down the Churchs curtain. There was no one behind it. After Archbishop Mephistopheles had proved the translation methods validity, the Church leftthis was their usual style. Believers of God should not be involved with matters of fame and fortune. But after he had left, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt a little worried that the parliament would try something. "Thatboy over there, come over." Suddenly, a crisp voice sounded behind the royaltys curtain. It sounded like a little boy. Taken aback, Ye Qingxuan walked over after a short hesitation. The steel knight guarding the curtain did not move as if he had not heard anything. Ye Qingxuan was not sliced in half for approaching the royalty either. "Come closer," the child-like voice urged. 249 I Have Something to Say "Come closer," the child-like voice urged. Ye Qingxuan stepped within and half-knelt in greeting. "Your Highness, crown prince." "You, look up. Let me see," the child-like voice commanded. Ye Qingxuan looked up and could not believe his eyes. In the seat before him was a little boy wrapped in white clothing. Was this the legendary retard crown prince? He must be twenty-four years old now. But why did he look like a seven or eight-year-old? The boy sat on the chair with a youthful face and curious eyes. The quiet girl beside him saw that Ye Qingxuan dared to look up and furrowed her brows, her eyes growing upset. "Come closer," the prince said. Ye Qingxuan took another step forward. He felt the boys eyes on him, doubtful yet focused. Then the boy reached out and touched his face, finally carefully touching his eyes. "So pretty, like Auntie. Too bad its white hair." He sounded disappointed. Suddenly, he asked, "People with white hair are always bad. Are you bad?" Ye Qingxuan froze. He did not know what to say and could only chuckle wryly. "I was born with kindness in my heart." The boys eyes grew more curious but the girl beside him wrinkled her brows and said quietly, "James." The boy instantly became dejected and waved his hand. "I know, Igo away. I shouldnt talk with people I dont know." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head, turned, and left. The boy watched his silhouette from behind the curtain. "Mary, I like his eyes," James said quietly. "His eyes are like Aunties. When I saw him, I remembered that Auntie hugged me before." Mary was silent for a moment. She petted his hair and said gently, "James, did you forget again? Auntie has already left Avalon." "Shewill never come back?" James looked hesitantly at the steel knight outside the curtain. "Christine, will Auntie never come back? Can you make her come back? They all say Im going to be King. I can forgive whatever crime she committed." "My apologies, Your Highness." The girls reply under Galahads armor was hesitant and troubled. "Sheshe went somewhere far, far away. We cant catch up to her." James looked at her blankly. "Shes Uncle Lancelots sister. Can Uncle Lancelot not catch up to her either?" "Your Highness, even FaLord Lancelot has things he cannot do," Christine replied quietly, lowering her head. "Your Highness, please do not be sad. If she knows that you still remember her, she must be happy." Jamess expression darkened and did not reply. - Ten minutes later, the final break was over. The appraisal council began once again. The doors opened in the silence. The council members returned to their seats emotionlessly. The gavel pounded, lifting heavy echoes as if it had fallen onto each persons heart. This was the final voting session, but no one wanted to be the first to speak. They stared at each other. Finally, they turned toward the royal seat as if waiting for something. After a long while, a cold feminine voice sounded. "The verification of theories will be analyzed by scholars. The academic disputes will also be managed by the academic world. Here, the Anglo Royalty has no reign and does not wish to be involved in academia." Marys cold voice seemed to travel from a great distance. "The result of this appraisal should be decided by the grandmasters." The royal reply was as many had expectedthey would not express their opinion easily. The royalty had a detached status here and had not participated in the appraisal. They were only here as a witness and to ensure the effectiveness of the result. Seeing that the royalty was set on not getting into this mess, the grandmasters instantly felt a slight headache. The hot potato was once again in their hands. Who would catch it? It did not feel right for anyone to speak first. This was not just a simple appraisalit held the weight of the academic world and involved the lifelong reputation and career of two scholars. A careless mistake could drag them into this as well. Even the hot-tempered Sergey who hated hypocrisy had fallen silent. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel annoyed. He glared at Lola who was pretending to contemplate. Where was the support that they had agreed on? What was she waiting for? Waiting for midnight snacks? As if perceiving his annoyance, Lola subtly raised an eyebrow toward the youth. There seemed to be ineffable resentment as they exchanged gazes. Ye Qingxuan felt his blood chill. Her eyes clearly said that she had been starved for too many days and was about to feast soon! Ye Qingxuan subconsciously touched the base of his neck, feeling a bit pained. "Lola, you bad woman, Ive finally managed to recover, but all that meat I ate will go to waste if you bite my neck!" Clenching his teeth and stomping, he quietly made a hand gesture. "Fine! You can suck as much blood as you want!" And so Lola smiled in satisfaction. - "Here, Im the lowest in both age and experience. Why dont I go first?" No one had expected Lola to end the silent stalemate. The others nodded after hesitating. "There is no difference between low and high before the truth, but ladies should go first to show that scholars are also refined," one said. "In my opinion, Mr. Abrahams achievements in classicism and interpretation of music theory cannot be denied. The appearance of the translation method has created a new path in the academic world. In comparison, Mr. Ingmars interpretation results have many points of doubt. Its difficult to be self-explained. Therefore," After a pause, she said quietly, "I agree that Mr. Ingmars results are plagiarized." "I disagree," someone quickly expressed before the others could speak. The audience froze and looked to the center of the judges seats. Heisenberg. Amidst the crowds boos, Heisenberg stated coldly, "The validity of the translation method has been proved, but there is no direct evidence of Mr. Ingmars plagiarism. One cannot make arbitrary judgement. In comparison, Mr. Abrahams evidence cannot persuade me. Testimonies that did not pass the Unions audit cannot be counted as evidence. Therefore, I disagree with the accusation." The room instantly fell into controlled chaos as everyone discussed in low tones. Within the chaos, the haggard Ingmar could not help but feel a bit of joy. The parliament still had not abandoned him. His sacrifice was worth it. "Silence! Silence!" The gavel pounded thrice, shattering the chaos, and reinstating silence. Everyone looked toward Sergey, who had a dark expression. His own gaze shifted between Abraham and Ingmar. Finally, the angry eyes weakened. "At first, I thought that Abraham had plagiarized. Then I thought that Ingmar is terrifying. Perhaps he was framed, or perhaps Abraham is the correct one. Im sorry, I cannot remain unbiased." Sergey was known for his strict personality and ways. Everyone knew that he could not stand any injustice. The more he understood the weight of the consequences, the more cautious he became. In the end, he was no longer sure who the true plagiarizer was. He sighed and uttered, "I abstain." Seeing Sergey abstain from voting, Ingmars expression grew excited. He practically could not stop himself from dancing. Abraham and Ye Qingxuan had done everything they could, but so what? What could they do! They were still powerless against him. Clenching his jaw, excitement burned in his eyes once again. Barthlmy was next. He remained silent though expressions battled. After a long while, his expression turned bitter and complicated as if he was mocking himself. Before stating his opinion, he had held hope he might not need to do so. Now, he finally realized that he could not escape from this. Who was this appraisal really for? Ingmar and Abraham offstage; Lola, Heisenberg, and Sergey onstage; or himself? He looked up at Heisenberg whose expression was cold as still water. Heisenberg had voted against the claim, following his heart. Once this appraisal ended and the details were spread, his lifelong reputation would most likely be doubted. Barthlmy knew that Heisenberg had committed a sin but he did so without hesitation or regret. Now, Barthlmy finally realized how fake he himself was. He bitterly murmured, "Anta, Im sorry, I cannot continue doing wrong, but I have no courage to fight back and refuse the parliaments funds. Ive finally realized how laughable I am." He looked up and said loudly, "I abstain!" The room fell silent. Ingmars smile froze. No one had thought that the voting would be so unexpected. First, Lola, who had always remained neutral, voted for Abraham. Heisenberg followed closely after and voted against. Then Sergey, who never gave in, and Barthlmy, who held the highest status in the academic world, both abstained from voting. Of the five judges, one agreed, one disagreed, two abstainedAnd so everyone looked toward the last man. The Eastern man who had just been watching the show froze. The show was interesting but once it involved himself, it was not fun anymore. He raised his hand and subconsciously scratched his face. "So its up to me?" Silence. He sighed. "To be honest, Im only learned in Eastern runes. I dont know much about Western music theory and took this position with many fears." Everyones expressions grew stunned. "Took this position with fears? Then why did you come?! Why dont you abstain too!" This appraisal had turned into a joke! But Mr. Hu did not disappoint everyone. "Since neither side can compromise, the situation now is very messy and difficult to distinguish. I have a suggestion, if you all can hear me out." Mr. Hus words had caused everyone to hold their breath but this *sshole was going to keep them in suspense! 250 You Shall See Me "Since neither side can compromise, the situation now is very messy and difficult to distinguish. I have a suggestion if you all can hear me out." Mr. Hus words had caused everyone to hold their breaths but this *sshole was going to keep them in suspense! He lifted his teacup and drank slowly. After pretending to cough for a long time, he stated, "Why dont the two both publish the Voynich Manuscript at the same time and give up any copyrights or profits, putting it in the public domain. This way, both men can enjoy the name and glory and wont have any disputes in the future. What do you all think?" Finished speaking, he blinked at the scholars in the audience. Everyone sank into silence as if they had been thrown into the vacuum and were about to pass out from suffocation! It was a moment of silence for their wasted anticipation. For a moment, they had thought that Mr. Hu, this Eastern scholar, could give some effective suggestion but "Do you know what the f*ck youre saying?" they wondered. This was such a sh*tty suggestion! It was practically ruining the Unions reputation. Seeing everyones anger, Mr. Hu chuckled awkwardly. "Ha, that was a joke. Im sorry, I practiced this joke so many times in private but I guess it still doesnt work. Im so sorry. But it seems that someone got the joke." He paused and gazed at the man who did not have the time to wipe the grin off his face. "Mr. Ingmar, can a scholar who had spent decades working on an accomplishment be so happy hearing that they could split it with someone else?" Ingmar froze like a wooden duck. "I-I" he stuttered, blanching at Mr. Hu. "I didntdidnt we agree" Clunk! A cup of tea crashed onto the table before him. Hot water splashed onto his face but it chilled him to the bone like frost. At the podium, Mr. Hu had risen. The smile was gone and he no longer looked like an onlooker. His eyes had transformed into pure gold and blazed with terrifying fire. The people finally remembered that this Eastern scholar was referred to as the Sun by the Cardinal and the name came from this tremendous power. Now, he glared down at the man below the podium and asked seriously, "Agreed on? Are you speaking of what the uninvited lobbyist discussed with me at midnight? If I support you, Ill receive five kilograms of gold, a robe, and a century-old Indus branch. Ah, its a good plan but sadly, I have been a scholar of the Imperial College for thirty years but I cannot accept such a large gift!" He spoke in Eastern dialect but most scholars here were fluent in many languages and could understand a bit. Thus, they gasped in shock at the fact that Ingmar was now suspect of underground dealsthis was another huge scandal! "Someone only worthy to be compared to a dog, unscrupulous, vile, unrighteous, harsh and merciless, stealing others work to be your own, cheating others of their kindness and for your own interests, speaking nonsense to fool the massesyou have no right to be called a musician! Do you still not give up?! If this was in the East, I would have written a letter to the censorate long ago to remove all your accomplishments and toss you into the tianlao!" His voice was not very high but it exploded in ones ear like thunder. Its weight made ones vision spin and mind go blank; the people were completely speechless. This was the "thunder voice" that Eastern musicians strived for. Ingmars entire body trembled. A thin layer of blood-red appeared in his eyes and his mind was shaken. He had started to lose control of his aether. "There is no doubt that Ingmar plagiarized the interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript!" Mr. Hu declared. "This involves many matters and parties. I hope that the Sacred City and Anglo Kingdom will fully investigate this event!" Thud! He slammed the gavel down, creating a heart-shaking boom. The appraisal drew to an end in the dead silence. Ingmars plagiarism was confirmed and all achievements of the Voynich Manuscript were returned to Abraham. All costs of the appraisal would be paid by Ingmarthese were all small details. The most important thingIngmar was ruined. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The crowds commotion could not hide the ghastly popping sounds. Soon, everyone realized what was happening and all looked toward Ingmar. The endless pops came from Ingmars body. Every pop was like a steel hammer crashing onto his bones, causing his body to spasm. Ingmars face paled with each pop. In the end, he could only produce unclear gurgles. There was no more life in his eyes. "His sound of heart has shattered! It has completely shattered!" Under everyones shocked scrutiny, Ingmar, who had collapsed onto the chair, pulled himself up with difficulty. He stumbled forward as blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears like a stream. He practically crawled to the spot before the people. His body slipped, but his hands gripped the side of the podium, refusing to fall down. "Abraham, Sergey, Barthelemy, Lola, and the Paryou liars! I wont forgive you" he yelled as he stared into everyones eyes with his bloody orbs. It was difficult to say whether his eyes were filled with more craze or more despair. Pointing at everyones faces, he roared, "Youre all liars! Liars!" Screaming out the last word, his pale face abruptly swelled. Boiling blood spewed out from every pore. Boom! The aether around him went wild. In the storm, the wooden stage quickly rotted, cracked and turned to ash. Ingmar fell into the ash and closed his eyes. Someone rushed up nervously and felt his neck. He cried, "Not dead, hes not dead yet! Take him to the Church!" - Amidst the commotion, Abraham sat in his seat and looked around in confusion, not understanding the situation. "Professor, whats wrong?" Charles reached out in concern and waved. "Say something!" Abraham flinched as if snapping out of a daze. He looked at his student and asked with uncertainty, "Charles, did we win?" "Of course! We won!" Charles nodded earnestly. "Youre the true grandmaster! The Sacred City is going to ring the Philosophers Bell for you!" Stunned, it took a while before a smile appeared on Abrahams face. He murmured, "Thats great. Charles, I think I left the bag in the resting room. Can you and Yezi fetch it for me?" Charles was unsure but nodded slowly and left with Ye Qingxuan. Abraham watched as his students walked away and smiled involuntarily. But for some reason, his eyes also reddened. He looked down at his steel hand. His shoulders shook as he buried his face. He knew he should smile now but the tears flowed out for some reason. He just wanted to sob. This was great. "I cant believe that I can do more than kill in my life." - After the appraisal ended, all the grandmasters left without caring for the scholars and reporters gathered outside. Before leaving, Lola threw a flirtatious glance at Ye Qingxuan, causing the youth to shudder. It was afternoon by the time all the paperwork was done. Abraham was still registering in the Musicians Union, Charles was somewhere, and Bai Xi was still having fun outside. Ye Qingxuan became bored after pacing around and decided to wait in the lobby. However, a priest clad in black walked over and handed him an invitation. "Archbishop Mephistopheles?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Yes." The priest nodded. "He told me to wait here and invite you to the church after youve taken care of everything. Are you available now?" After thinking, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "The others are still here. Ill leave them a message and go afterward." "Then I will wait for you at the entrance of the Westminster Church." The priest nodded in farewell and left. The Westminster Church was not very far. Queens Avenue was vast and wide. The Musicians Union was on the left side while the church was on the right. They were right across from each other and he just needed to cross the street. Not much time would be wasted. But Ye Qingxuan was stopped right when he left the Musicians Unions door. "Ye Qingxuan?" The man did not wear anything flashy but his accent was deep yet elegant. The retroflex consonant was playful yet clear. This was clearly an Avalonian accent with an aristocratic air. The foreign country bumpkins all felt proud if they could speak standard Avalonian. Of course, this did not include Ye Qingxuan. The lofty and arrogant tone instantly dampened Ye Qingxuans mood. He glanced over and nodded. "Yes." "Good." The stranger looked up and down before stepping to the side to show the way. "A sir would like to talk to you." "Who?" Seeing the showiness, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows and looked in his gestures direction. In the distance behind him, a black carriage was stopped under a tree. There was a familiar family emblem on the carriage. Looking away, his expression turned cold. "Sorry, I dont have time." The stranger furrowed his brows and stopped the youth from leaving again. His voice was impatient as he said, "His time is precious and he specially took time out to meet you. Please do not drag things out meaninglessly and waste this precious chance." He did not say the phrase uppity but it was clear that was what he thought. When they saw this emblem, even the most successful musicians or scholars in Anglo would be polite and humble, or pleasantly shocked, or pretend to be calm. No one had dared to say this. Hearing the mans words, Ye Qingxuan laughed and gazed mockingly. "Sorry, please tell that sir that Im just a lowly orphan. I dont dare interact with the Lancelot family. Please tell him to return." "You" The mans expression changed and wanted to manhandle him, but Ye Qingxuan just gazed at him coolly. He said, "You must be new, right? I advise you dont do this. Otherwise, youll lose your job even if I go over there. This is for your own good." The man froze mid-movement. "Indeed, like master like dog." Ye Qingxuan sneered and left. Seeing Ye Qingxuan walk away, expressions battled on the mans face. Finally, he returned to the carriage and reported what happened. The person in the carriage nodded, telling him to leave. After a long time, the steel knight in Galahads armor came over and stood beside the carriage. She took off her helmet, revealing her feminine features and gold hair. It was Christine. "Father, did you see him?" she asked quietly. In the carriage, Lord Lancelot was silent for a long time before he hung his head. "Christine, that boy really hates me." - The Westminster Churchs chapel was quiet. Dim afternoon sunlight shone through the long and narrow stained glass windows, falling onto the youths shoulders. Under the light, his white hair was not as obvious as before. This was not an official meeting and Mephistopheless attire was casual as well. He did not wear his majestic robe or crown and only wore a simple robe. "I heard what you said in the morning." He studied the youth before him and nodded slightly. "It seems that Bann has taught you well." "I did nothing but accept the Fathers teachings," the youth replied modestly. "How is he?" "He was well when I left. He had aged but was still strong." "You often reminisce on youthful days when you age. Its as if youre living inside memories. But in the blink of an eye, Bann is still like before and yet I am old." Mephistopheles sighed. "What a pity. We shouldve switched back then. He would be a musician and Id be in the Knights Templar." After a short pause, Ye Qingxuan said quietly, "Father often told me that God has his plans. Please do not feel regret. This must be Gods plans." Mephistopheles was stunned and chuckled. "I often use Gods words to comfort others, but its rare that I can be comforted by him one day. Bann wrote to me saying you dont wish to be in the clergy. Its a pity. Perhaps you are more talented than I had expected. Are you sure you wont reconsider?" "Both you and Father take care of me well." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "But unfortunately, my passion is not here." After a pause, Mephistopheles nodded. "Since that is the case, then alright. God has his plans, does he not?" These were Ye Qingxuans words and he did not expect the Father to use them and comfort him. "Come closer. Let me see you." Mephistopheles waved toward the youth. Ye Qingxuan hesitated but stepped forward and finally saw Mephistopheless eyes. Hidden in the shadows of his brow bone, the old mans eyes were rheumy, blank, and lifelessYe Qingxuan finally realized that Mephistopheles was blind. A wrinkled hand swept across the youths face. There seemed to be static on that palm. Crackles sounded as his hand moved in the air and invisible power flowed across the youths face. And so Mephistopheles saw it. He studied it. As if meeting an old friend, he smiled in satisfaction after a long while. "What a good child. That Bann is much luckier than me." He rose and patted the youths shoulders. "Go now. Come back when you have time. If you dont wish to hear about the church, I wont speak of it, but you might be interested in theories of the School of Choir." "I would be so grateful." The youth nodded and bid farewell. The old priest stood in the dark church, watching the youth leave with his lifeless eyes. He seemed to see the setting sun cast a gold halo around the youth. "You will go forth to an unknown destination," Mephistopheles quietly recited as he caressed the bible beside him. "To the final destination of all beginnings, to the end of dreams, to the furthest point of the world. There, you shall see me." 251 Bell of Original Sin It was eight at night. The academys auditorium was packed, and a dark mass amidst the commotion. All students, from freshmen to graduating students, had received the notification and grouped here. The meeting had not begun yet but they already knew that the academy would make an official statement after the appraisal of the plagiarism scandal that everyone was caught up in recently. However, some people were not happy. "Its just an announcement. Why are we forced to come?" a Revelations professor said coldly. "Ingmar did all that. Why do we have to be involved? We dont even dare to go out now. Are they still not satisfied?" "Hey, thats not what you said when Ingmar was getting all the limelight." That came from a Modifications professor. It was just drama to him, after all. The Revelations professors face darkened. He glared at the other and did not reply. His eyes filled with disgust whenever he looked at Abrahams seat. "That guy is so annoying. He stirs all this trouble without doing anything." "Just want to see us lose face, huh?" he muttered angrily. "Well give him face this time, but that guy better not take it for granted." His coworker coughed quietly, causing him to finally realize that the room was silent. He quickly shut his mouth. Sydney, with a troubled expression, appeared onstage. The principal had not appeared yet. It was clear that Sydney had been tossed out by the school board to take the brunt. He was responsible for all the humiliating things. This was why he did not look well. "Were here today to announce something." He pulled out his script and lowered his head to read it monotonously. The more he read, the lower his head went. Each word was like a painful slap to the face. "After the Sacred City and Musicians Unions assessment, the claim Ingmars results are plagiarized is validBecause the influence is too negative, Ingmar will now be relieved of his duties and be judged by the Musicians Union after he has healed. During this case, the music history department was wrongly accused and had their innocence proved with the support of the Academy." Hearing him say this, the audience booed endlessly, interrupting him. He lowered his head and ignored them, continuing to stutter out the script. "According to Abrahamgrandmaster Abrahams own wishes, the new music history department building will stand on its original site and officially restart classes after the queens honoring ceremony. Next, let us give a round of applause and welcome Concertmaster Ye, representative of the history department, onstage." Sydney gathered his script and looked backstage with a numb expression. Strange applause sounded as the audience split into two clear groups. One group was excited and clapped loudly. The other group was numb like clay figurines. "The drama is here." Offstage, a student scoffed. "Id like to see how he brags as an underdog." "Dont worry. This Eastern concertmaster should be smart." The third-year concertmaster sat in the first row and picked at his fingernails. "If he still has a mind, he wont brag too much. Otherwise, hed piss off too many people and the future will be hard. After all, the days are still long, right?" "If he doesnt know his place, then its not our fault." "Whats the most he can do? Dont forget, this is the Royal Academy of Music. Hes not even an official musician. Does he think hes the best when hes just at Rhythm level? If he thinks he can do it, he can duel with me. Then he wont be able to say anything, huh?" After they snickered, the graduating students at the back glared coldly at the podium. The long wait was silent. No one came out from backstage. Bewildered, the audience looked toward the stage and began discussing. Onstage, Sydney with his frozen smile could not bear it anymore. He called someone over and quietly urged him. The man ran backstage but soon came back and blankly gave Sydney a letter. Stunned, Sydney opened the letter and skimmed it. His expression grew uglier. This guy had refused to come and only sent a letter? He had only won an appraisal and was already this arrogant? The entire academy was here but this guy was acting like a hot shot? The annoyed students became even more frustrated. "Hello everyone, I am that Eastern freshman concertmaster, Ye Qingxuan. I couldnt make it due to personal reasons so I wrote a letter," Sydney gripped the letter and read woodenly. "Im sure everyone has heard of the recent news. Thanks to everyone who supported me. I will remember each and every word said in support of my professor during this mess and repay you. However, I know that many people still dont like me." Here, Sydneys brows furrowed and his expression stiffened even more. "To be honest, I dont care. I wont beg everyone to give me, an antisocial freak, the luxury of friendship, and I dont really want to interact with you all. I just hope that, through this, some people can stop provoking us meaninglessly. After all, theres no sense of accomplishment in dealing with these problems." "Presumptuous!" The students with dark expressions were angered by Ye Qingxuans attitude and began yelling. Exchanging glances with each other, they could not push down the anger. Onstage, Sydneys expression grew even stranger. He had reached the end of the letter and stammered out each word with difficulty. "In addition, I hope that such things will not happen in the future. To help with some peoples memories and remember this, Ive decided to leave a small memento in a very obvious spot. I hope theyll like it." Here, he froze and looked at the very end. "Your faithful friend, Ye Qingxuan." Without a doubt, Ye Qingxuans impolite tone had angered most of the students. The auditorium instantly fell into chaos. That *sshole, was he using this chance to scold the entire academy? Who does he think he is? And what was that small memento? This obvious warning made one want to laugh. Did he want to upend the entire academy or something? But soon, they heard shocked cries from the back, as well as a sluggish silence. Onstage, Sydney seemed to have seen a ghost; his stiff expression shattered bit by bit and turned into one of shock. And so everyone looked back in confusion. And saw that the sky outside the auditorium was pitch black, but in the black sky was blazing red firelight. Something was on fire? Where? - Under the same sky, a white-haired youth sat on a bench, bathed in firelight. The light illuminated his white hair, turning it red like fire. Before him, the main building of the School of Revelations bathed in firelight as well; it was dazzling. It was as those people had saidit had transformed into a torch that broken the darkness, illuminating the bright and mighty future of mankind. The ancient texts, precious collections, and opulent furniture in Ingmars office were submerged in the flames, turning into ash and cinder. They were carried by the hot wind and floated in the sky like beautiful and dazzling stars. Soon, the professor on guard descended from his wind spirit. Seeing the burning building, he quickly raised the alarm. Then he saw the loitering youth and his brows furrowed. "What happened?" "Simple. It caught on fire." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and quoted what the academy had said to him a few days ago, "The weather has been dry recently and the objects spontaneously combusted. Its normal." He calmly looked at the suspicious eyes with an innocent and dazed expression. No matter what, the investigation results would be just thatthe weather was dry and the objects spontaneously combusted. This was just an accident, just like the last accident. Since people could accept the fact that the history department had an accident, it was reasonable for the same to happen to Revelations, right? He sat on the bench quietly and looked up at the fire as if enjoying the most beautiful view in the world. He sighed, "So pretty." A bell rang faintly in the air. - "Great tea. I didnt know the West would have such good tea." In the clock shop, Mr. Hu set down his teacup and sighed. "I havent had tea ever since I left the East all those years ago." "Get to the point." Across from him, Hermes clutched a box of cookies and munched. He looked at Mr. Hu with a strange gaze. "Im kind of interested in seeing what that figurehead queen sent you to Avalon alone for. Is it to contact the revolutionary army and kill those treacherous ministers from both the inside and outside? If thats the case, then youve come to the wrong place. The entire world knows that the revolutionary army is hiding in the Dark World. You cant find anything in Avalon." "Oh no, our queen has nothing to do with those rebels," Mr. Hu stated, waving his hand. "I am just here to investigate some things and find someone." "Ye Lanzhou? Psh!" Hermes snickered. "You didnt regret anything when that guy Bai Heng committed a coup and killed all of the Ye family. Theres no point now." "As this is my duty, I beg you to tell me." Mr. Hu rose and cut to the chase. "Where exactly is Ye Lanzhou?" Hermes rolled his eyes. "How would I know? Ye Lanzhou has legs and can go wherever he wants." Mr. Hu sighed and pulled an old silver coin from his sleeve. Pushing it toward Hermes, he said, "I hope you can provide aid, seeing my payment." Hermes furrowed his brow. "According to the rules, I have to answer your question if you give me something, but are you sure you want to ask this?" "Yes." Mr. Hu nodded. Hermes replied emotionlessly, "Hes dead." "Impossible." Mr. Hu shook his head resolutely. "I was ordered to find him, dead or alive." "Tsk, why are you guys so stubborn?" Frustrated, Hermes tossed the cookie box to the side and took a large jar from a cabinet, slamming it onto the table. "Here! Heres the dead youre looking for!" Mr. Hu froze. After a long time, he reached out and lifted the dust cloth covering the jar. Dust floated down. Under the dust and cloth, a head was submerged in the amber colored liquid. The stark white yet handsome head had closed eyes as if it was sleeping in the liquid. Long black hair floated in the liquid like seaweed. There was no handsomeness of yesterday, but he was calm as moonlightserene and beautiful. He seemed to only be sleeping, rather than having died long ago. "This is the head Bach personally chopped off. Take it if you want!" Mr. Hu winced. He shook his head and set down the dust cloth, drowning the face in darkness once again. "Why must it be like this?" He sat down heavily in the chair. After a long while, he sighed and no longer spoke. A heavy bell rang in the distance. It resounded in the night sky, spreading in all directions. The bell had a mysterious power as if it contained the cheers and singing of countless people. The aether in its path swelled as if it too was dancing. In the darkness under the dust cloth, the head seemed to awaken temporarily from his slumber. His lips seemed to curl into a fleeting smile. Like a hallucination. Like moonlight. - Thousands of miles away, the high tower of the Sacred City was illuminated with lights. It was the critical moment of defense changes at the ice field barrier close to Asgard, but the bishops dressed in red were arguing until they were red in the face. "It has been six years since an abomination level natural catastrophe appeared. If we continue the alert status as if were close to war, it will undoubtedly be a burden to both Asgard and the Church. There is a minimum expense of one-million pounds of gold per year!" "It has only been six years! If something happens during the defense change and a natural catastrophe enters human territory once again, we might not be able to recover from the consequences in even six-hundred years! The nations flattened by the Silver Tide still yet to show any signs of life. Are these previous examples not enough for us to be cautious?" "Sure you can talk but do you know the expenses of merely maintaining the stronghold? Furthermore, our research of natural catastrophes has not moved in decades. Not only are there no results in explorations into the Dark World, that b*stard Gaius and his revolutionary army are still roaming free! "And of course the nations are all declining now. They have high internal expenses and cannot care about the scary things in the Dark World. Outside their barriers Psychological decay is more terrifying than material emptiness. If we continue, itll be a knock-off product even if the stronghold remains!" "The Church does not involve itself with national politics. Do not find excuses for these sinister actions!" "Idiot! Does procedural justice have any effect on the result?" The arguments had lasted for three days without any outcome. But today, the figure seated at the end of the long table seemed to be deep in thought and did not listen to their opinions. He looked up into the starry sky where the sound of a bell resounded. "Your Holiness! Your Holiness, may you please decide quickly?" The bishops looked at the silent pope with confused yet solemn expressions. Beside the throne, the servant called quietly, "Your Holiness, the bishops are waiting for your decision." The King of Red raised his hand, blocking the noisy arguments so he could only hear the bell. All was silent. Save for the bell from the skies. - The bell rang in the long night. The massive bronze bell vibrated, shaking dust off and revealing a blazing bronze glare. It shivered like a flame as the bell resonated. The ringing spread in the air toward extreme distances. Riding the wild wind, it traveled tens of thousands of miles and echoed within the Dark World. It shook the ice and snow of the northernmost barrier loose, it shook the signal flames of the eastern Great Wall, it lifted the sand of the southern clay walls, and it melted into the ripples of the northern sea. The bell traveled far and wide, ringing in every humans ears. "Mr. Gaius, this is a report just received from Avalon." In a secret room, an old man with white hair put on his glasses and perused the message under the light. After a long while, he smiled in satisfaction. "Congratulations, Abraham," he murmured, looking in the direction of Avalon. "Youve finally found your purpose in life as you had wished." There was no reply. Save for the faint rings of the bell. One could hear the low and distant bell everywhere, whether beside a bonfire in the barren wilderness or in the city under a snowstorm. "The Philosophers Bell?" In the Dark World, Bach, who had been silent, looked up. The old crowned man traveling above the stars looked down at the Sacred City. Within the Holy Temple, the flames of seventy-six un-extinguishing lanterns trembled under the bell. The spirits of saints sleeping within them opened their eyes and exchanged glances. "Forty-two years." "The Philosophers Bell has been rung." "The Bell of the Original Sin." "Humanity is nearing the truth of the Dark Ages." "The shaking of the Originator shall arrive soon." "The decisive battle is nearing once again." The spirits in the lanterns murmured amongst themselves and finally closed their eyes, returning to their long slumber. In the darkness, only the lights remained. The bell continued to ring. - Amidst the ringing, a drunken young man was shocked awake from his dream and moaned painfully. He picked up the bottle beside him and drank the last few drops. As the strength of alcohol coursed through him again, he pushed himself up from the table and panted heavily. "Another nightmare, Charles?" Abraham pushed open his door with concern. "No, Professor. Just drunk." Charles managed a smile and climbed up from the floor. "Ah, I accidentally got drunk. Im really getting out of hand. If Yezi and others saw me, theyd probably scold me for half a day." He pushed open the window to diffuse the scent of alcohol in the air. Moonlight spilled on his face. Charles sat in the corner and felt around his pocket for half a cigarette. Lighting it, he inhaled deeply and managed to smile at the door. But the door was closed and no professor was there. Abraham was not there either. Seeming to understand something, Charles looked away darkly. "Still dreaming?" Plumes of smoke rose out of his hand, dissipating in the moonlight of the dreamscape, and disappeared. Under the moon, the walls slowly broke down. Blood seeped out of the cracks of the ground like a spring. Countless hands embraced him from the blood, warm and soft like a mother. A voice from his memory murmured in his ear, "Please tell him that I am happy." The faint voice resounded in his heart emptily and went somewhere. He smiled and closed his eyes, still embraced by the dream. "Mom, are you truly happy?" - Under the same sky, there was a silent white-haired youth before the firelight, a young man sleeping before a window, a young girl between rows of clocks. At the same time, a figure wrapped in a gray robe stepped foot into Avalon. A crow landed on his shoulder as he listened to the bell. He looked up into the starry sky but there were no stars in his eyesonly an abyss-like darkness. "The human world," he murmured hoarsely. "Humanitysvileness!" The bell resounded in the sky. Who was it ringing for? 252 The Sacrifice The tide reflected the fine moonlight. The cold moonlight crashed onto the reef, with the waves like splashing frost. In the long night, the tide mingled with the cries from the depth of darkness that wandered around the white city like a call from a dead country in the deep sea. The scattered vapor rose from the sea, heavy and cold like the angry souls of the dead. The white mist was so heavy nothing could be seen. It submerged the whole city and swallowed everything. There seemed to be a young boy singing softly in the mist. The song wandered across the streets and alleys. It could be faintly heard as long as one listened carefully, it. "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams. We have power and the sea so which direction should we wanderOh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, well have eternal life" Under the chilling song, the patrol man with a lantern in his hand breathed coldly. With a chill, he sped up his patrol but the song followed behind him like a shadow, making his face pale. Avalon late at night was by no means a good place. This glorious city, which shone brightly in the daytime, hid countless unknown truths within. No matter which of the tens of thousands of truths was accidentally seen, it was enough for the witness to evaporate and disappear totally. Every dark street was like a doorway to hell, calling out to the lone patrolman. In the dark, the youthful singing sounded clearer and clearer. It wound around the patrolman''s ears, making him shiver. It was as if something in the song lured him to march toward the sound. His mind emptied gradually, gradually. On the silent streets, only the sound of footsteps echoed. The vacant-eyed patrolman lurched forward. The homeless, also lured by the song at some point, joined in as well. They walked toward the direction of the song. Water puddles reflected the icy pale moonlight and illuminated their dull and wooden faces. In the darkness, the little boy''s voice twisted at some point, turning into the cackles of countless ghosts in their ears. "Its key has been inserted into the box. The devil will realize our dream. The bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paidOh ho, raise the sails, well return home. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we will be immortal in death!" Boom! The lantern fell from the patrolmans hand and hit the stone steps, breaking suddenly. The oil and flames fell on him, igniting his body. The pain finally woke him. He screamed in pain and found himself kneeling on the cold altar without realizing. The shadow of the sacrifice covered his face under the twisted firelight. The dark figure was clad in red. There seemed to be a hundred pairs of eyes under the hood of the shadow. They were full of compassion but also indifference. The patrolman was overcome by the eyes. He could not help but pray on the ground, kissing his blade, and singing softly. "We will be immortal in death." Blood splattered. The warm liquid flowed silently, spilling over the ground. - Two hours later, it was a deeper night. Lestrade walked out of the crime scene with a pale face. He gritted his teeth for a long time and pulled out a silver coin from his pocket. There was a vague face on the silver coin, as well as a name of darkness and secretsSherlock Holmes. The silver coin fell from his hands and into the flames, shaking endlessly. After a long while, it suddenly collapsed into a ball of mist. A crisp sound came. Ding. The buzzing sound swept past his ear and penetrated into the darkness. Cold wind blew in the night like the chuckle of the vengeful spirit. Somehow, the sound that was once so daunting was now so reassuring. Lestrade lit his pipe and gazed into the distant darkness. He held down his fear and waited patiently. After some time, a hoarse voice sounded behind him. "Ive said before not to disturb me if its not important. I hope you wont disappoint me." That husky voice clung to his heart like a sharp and cold razor. He shivered. "According to your co-command... I should contact you if something strange happens," he stammered. Pausing, he took a deep breath and summoned up courage. "Theyre in there." "They?" the shadow asked. Lestrade swallowed hard and said, "I dont know how to describe those thingsthose things, I cant say." The angry spirit standing in the mist pondered for a moment and nodded. "Lead the way." - "Recently, the capital is being secured secretly. The policemen patrol with alarm bells, and the police department check the situation through the big enchantment of Avalon at any time. An hour ago, we found out that a patrol officer was killed and when the forces were called out, it was too late." Lestrade walked in front and wrapped his overcoat tightly as if he was afraid of the wind. Occasionally, he looked around, revealing a pale face. Ye Qingxuan could not help but shake his head. "You never seem to be on time." "You always need some time from receiving the signals to organizing teams and acting. Avalon is so big. A few minutes arent even enough to pull the horse out of the barn." "And you also need some time to react for those who work at night, right?" Ye Qingxuan''s rhetorical question made Lestrade speechless. His expression grew bitter. What cleverness was he pretending in front of this one? He was only clearer than Lestrade about those private activities. "Anyway, when we arrived, it was too late." He shrugged and looked at the young man guarding the door, who was leaning against the wall, stooping to vomit violently. He had vomited all the bile and was now dry heaving. Ye Qingxuan stopped and glanced at him before walking straight toward the scene. The other gatekeepers were totally unaware of his arrival, but forced a solemn expression onto their face and saluted Lestrade. Lestrade paused for a moment, quietly watching the silent Vengeful Spirit beside him. The figure had melted into the mist, making him faintly invisible. It was as if he did not exist at all. This was good too. He sighed out of relief. This saved him an explanation in case any clues and traces would be found. When they entered, several others were lifted out with vomit on their pale faces. The people who held them looked bad as well and their legs were a little weak. "Have they never seen dead people at the scene?" Ye Qingxuan asked quietly. "That''s not the scene." Lestrade lowered his eyes. "Its hell." - "Actually, I won''t laugh at you if you puke." "Shut up." "Youre expressions changing. It will be much better to puke it out." "Shut up." "Holding it in is harmful. You''re going against your nature." "I said shut up!" And so Lolas voice disappeared. Ye Qingxuan stood in the middle of the scene, looking around expressionlessly. A few minutes ago, he was still looking down on that bunch of cowardly and weak policemen, but now he had sympathy for them. Who would run into such a hell if it was not their duty? In short, this place was littered with carnage. If one were to describe the details, one could write tens of thousands of words. Then it would be spread widely amongst the dark enthusiasts and receive critical acclaim. Unfortunately, the people who came here generally lacked appreciation for the arts, and were unaware of the vast business opportunities. "How many dead are there?" Ye Qingxuan asked, furrowing his brows. Lestrade, pinching his nose and replied, "The forensic analyst just told me that there are seventeen." "Your forensic analyst should go back to school," Ye Qingxuan said slowly. "There are nineteen of them. One is hanging on the tree, and one is trampled under your feet." Hearing this, Lestrade jumped back in fright and looked at his feet. Ye Qingxuan plucked the baton from his waist, put it into the pool of blood, and lifted piece of skin filled with black scripture. It was new, hot, and exciting. Seeing the skin with hair dangling on it and blood dripping from it, Lestrades face changed. He covered his mouth, ran to the corner, and vomited violently. Another one had failed. All in all, the scene was almost like an accident where a wagon carrying dead pigs crashed into a wagon laden with rotten tomatoes. Then, one-hundred and eight cooks came to cut the pork stained with tomato sauce into mince meat, while also leaving some scraps for frying and other tricks. Moreover, there was so much evidence left at the scene. "It''s none of your business anymore. Report it to the Royal Musician Division." Ye Qingxuan patted Lestrades shoulder. "It is the ritual of Hyakumes followers." Lestrade paused. It seemed that he had not made the connection yet. But when he really understood the meaning of that name, the already-pale face got paler. "Hyakume?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan took his baton and poked it in the eye sockets of the corpse. They were empty with only blood flowing out. "You see, all the bodies eyes have been dug out. These guys gathered here to please their gods by sacrificing mortal lives and pain. It seems that the ceremony was a success." Lestrades face was ghastly pale. "Whawhat do they want?" "How would I know?" Ye Qingxuan answered indifferently. Lola''s chuckle sounded in his ears again. "Little Yezi, youre really cute when you lie." "I let you borrow my eyes, not to just watch the show," Ye Qingxuan responded coldly. At this moment, the more serious he was, the more easily he would be played by the evil Lola. The best way was to ignore her and change the subject. "Don''t waste time anymore time. Have you decided?" 253 The Amazing Adventures of the Vengeful Spiri "Pretty much." Lola seemed to see into Ye Qingxuans mind and chuckled. "Then lets get to the main event." Ye Qingxuan instantly felt dizzy as a strange auditory illusion sounded in his ears and faint numbness spread through his body. This was the phenomenon of an outside force controlling his body. His vision went dark before it brightened again. There seemed to be moonlight before his eyes. "How is it? Are my eyes nice to use?" Lola asked. "Theyre okay," Ye Qingxuan said with mocking indifference. His brows furrowed as he looked around. Under the gaze of those eyes, layers of distorted music notes appeared on the blood-covered walls, ground, and withered corpses. The notes wriggled like maggots. Having lost control and support, they were gradually fading. One could vaguely see the original large structurecountless black music notes pierced the poor slain men, stringing them together as if on a string, creating a vast ritual. An extremely strange insignia was carved in the center of the ritual, at the heart of dozens of concentric circles. There seemed to be dozens of sub-eyes in the single giant eye. They wandered and swallowed with chilling eeriness. It was the Eyes Within the Eye. "Its true, Lola." Ye Qingxuan squatted and studied the insignia of Hyakume. "The parliament has gotten together with Hyakumes believers, and they are starting to think of ways to open the path." Lola fell silent. After a long time, she sighed quietly. "No, perhapsits worse than this," she said. "They have a mark too and had just sent a group of people into Avalons Shadow through this ritual." "Mark?" At that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt heat in his arms. The blood-colored shell began trembling and shone dimly. A song sounded within the shell. This song seemed to come from thousands of miles away. It wrapped around ones ears, faint but clear. "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams" "Lola, did you hear the song?" "What song?" Sensing something wrong, Lola was instantly shocked. "Theres power remaining from the ritual. Be careful, dont reply to Avalons calls." "Too late." Ye Qingxuan looked down and chuckled dryly. "I think this thing is automatic." In his hands, the blood-colored shell grew hotter. A warped gleam of fire shone faintly, singing by its own accord. The song grew closer and closer, but Lolas voice was quickly becoming distant. The connection was becoming blurry and broken until he could only hear static. In the silence, thick fog surged like a tidal wave, swallowing him. He was surrounded in ghastly white. Something seemed to be hidden inside but he could not see clearly. The fire within the mark grew brighter. It chased away the fog, allowing him to see clearly the river of blood under his feet. The Blood Path. Lola had given him the road mark so he could use the nightmares to practice the basics of the School of Mind. It was also an abnormally effective amplification tool. It could magnify the effects of music scores from various schools. But he had not expected to be pulled into this again. "Huh? What do you mean by again?" Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself. He could not help his habit of talking sh*t. How unlucky was he to keep getting pulled into this place?! The thing that the guys at the parliament dreamed of was just unavoidable to him. But there was no way out of this now. The only fortunate thing was that the connection between him and Lola was not completely broken. After all, she had sucked so much blood from him. She could use the mark as a fulcrum when needed to enter coherence, allowing Ye Qingxuan to use some of her strength. Today was a full moon. Lola was at her strongest. Someone prepared to enter the Scepter level and was above the Resonance, Interference, and Distortion level was behind him. He actually felt a little safe. "I cant hear what youre saying but there arent any other ways. After all, Im already here." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Ill go first and then well see if there are any ways to leave. Maybe I can beat them. Just pay attention and help me when needed." He repeated it four times and Lola seemed to have heard. The static faded gradually and a faint message traveled over. "Uh, Ill just take it that you told me to be careful." Ye Qingxuan shrugged and activated Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. The long-awaited steel black hand snapped out and knocked against the stones under the Blood Path with a heavy and clanging echo. "Now, lets start the amazing adventures of the Vengeful Spirit. Uh, therell probably be at least eight books if this gets turned into a comic. People would love it." He raised the road mark of the Blood Path. Using the sliver of light, he walked down the road. His steps stopped abruptly as he walked. A bubble-shaped glow appeared when he snapped his finger. It illuminated the ruined wall beside him, as well as the extremely smooth crack on it. It looked like the claw mark of some beast, but also like the mark from the full-out effort of a terrifying weapon. Ye Qingxuan walked forward emotionlessly. He reached out to touch the crack and could not feel any other cracks. It felt entirely natural, as if it had always existed on this wall, had been planned since the beginning, and had existed on the blueprint. But it was notIt had been clawed out by bare hands. If Ye Qingxuan had not remembered incorrectly, someone he knew had this talent. "The Ripper?" he muttered. "When did she get together with the Parliament?" This was undoubtedly bad news. Raising his guard, he continued on the Blood Path. In the end, the fog thinned, revealing faint blue moonlight that fell onto his shoulders. It was the Blue Moon The moonlight that represented catastrophe and destruction shone on the youth as well as the silhouette of the fierce city in the distance. Under the moonlight, the city that pierced into the sky slept in darkness. It emanated with eeriness. The rusted iron gates of the black city opened, and a rotting scent blew in with the wind. Everything, from the organization to the details, had the same contours as Avalon. It was as if he had instantly traveled millenniums and witnessed the city immersed in death and disaster. "Yo!" Ye Qingxuan stared at the dark city before him and waved. "We meet again! Howve you been?" No reply. Under the moon, the black shadow of a giant bird suddenly rose out of the darkness. It swept across the moon and hovered in the air. The silhouette looked like an oddly shaped moth. It screamed in the air and fell back into the darkness. The Blue Moon hung high in the sky. The moonlight in Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened a bit as well. Using the light, he could see the ripples of aether on the strange bird even from a distance away. The ripples were strong and aggressive; it had a faint wildness that could spread out at any time and tear apart any living thing. The air around it was slightly distorted. The aethers strength forcefully distorted reality, upending everything. Otherwise, how could the bird fly with these strange wings? Ye Qingxuan did not know what it was, but if it was under the Resonance level, it would definitely die if it tried anything. "I havent even entered yet and theyre already trying to scare me off?" Ye Qingxuan murmured, stopping before the entrance. He gazed at the darkness within. The city felt too strange to him, as if it was a living thing that had opened its mouth greedily, waiting for anyone to enter so it would swallow all life into its stomach. Anyone with some common sense would reconsider if they wanted to go in and die, but no matter how Ye Qingxuan thought about it, he still felt unsatisfied. If the parliament could go in, why couldnt he? What a joke! Chuckling, the youth rested his cane on his shoulder. Humming, he stepped into the moonlight and Blood Path, and entered the gates. A bell rang from the deepest part of the dark city as if welcoming the guest, as if it was crying, as if it was pleading. - There was only temporary darkness in the citys tunnel, but Ye Qingxuan involuntarily let out a sigh of relief when he re-entered the moonlight. The darkness was too sticky and slightly suffocating. Walking in it was uncomfortable, like walking in a quagmire; however, the strange road after the city gates was not any better. The Blue Moon hung high in the sky. The buildings on either side of the street were dilapidated and sad. Though they managed to retain their original form, they were definitely ruins. Corpses were littered all over. Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see a destroyed stand and the frame of a carriage. It was as if all living things had disappeared in an instant and left the city behind to decay for a millennium. But in his memory, Avalon was still bustling in the daytime. Comparing the two, one instantly felt dazed and unsure as to which was real. In comparison, the corpse hanging before Ye Qingxuan felt friendlier. Yes, a corpse. It was clear it had not been dead for long. It should still be warm if Ye Qingxuan touched it. Under the cold moonlight, the corpse with a red robe hung on the wall from a rusted chain, swinging in the breeze. The withered arm seemed to be waving at the latecomer. The Eyes Within the EyeHyakumes insigniaon his chest had been torn apart. All that remained was a charred mess. He swung in the wind during this endless night. The lower jaw under his lowered neck swung as well with the song in the wind. The voice sang quietly, "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams. We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander? Oh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, well have eternal life" Receive eternal life in death. 254 Black Zone The song rode the cold wind but instantly disappeared, giving Ye Qingxuan the chills. The guy hanging on the tree was clearly sent by the parliament. Before coming, he was definitely like a tiger and could take on ten enemies at the same time. Now, he had become a corpse for some reason and hung from the tree like a ragged doll. All his blood had run dry and flowed into the Blood Path. His corpse was dry as a matchstick. Ye Qingxuan looked at the matchstick and the matchstick looked back at him. He looked and looked, and a sticky tear rolled out of the dried out eyes. "Save me, save me," the mouth without a jaw stammered. He begged with a muffled voice, "Please helpno, killkill me" He was still alive? The moment he spoke, his withered body suddenly swelled as if dozens of rats were scuttling within him and chewing something. It swelled larger and larger. In the end, something ate the last bit of his flesh and broke through! Boom! There was a muffled sound. Ye Qingxuan quickly retreated but he still felt his vision going black. Then he felt something pounce at him. With no time to think, he raised his hand. A complex music note appeared out of thin air. Instantly, hundreds of notes were flattened and were complete at the same time. They formed a music score and shot forward. The melody overlapped, transforming into a hoarse murmur that announced gravely, "Do not turn the three realms into ashes!" The darkness was torn apart by the wild electric light. The electricity shot out like a flood. Heat surged, swallowing the thing coming toward him and that corpse. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to hold back during this moment. He used his strongest weapon at onceIndrahs Eye. After the sublimation ritual, his power had finally reached the lowest threshold and no longer needed to use his blood to activate the Eye; however, it was harder. Indrahs Eye was the best at destruction. Even if there was a third level musician clad in full armor and shield, he would still be destroyed. Soon, the moonlight in Ye Qingxuans eye brightened again, breaking through the darkness. The hanging corpse had fallen onto the ground in pieces. The weird thing that had jumped out of its stomach rolled on the ground, already charred. It looked like a child, but it had four long and thin limbs. Its burnt face was like a beast. As it writhed on the ground, its burnt body cracked open and something dust-like floated out of it. The dust melted into the wind. Soon, it stopped moving. It fossilized and then broke apart, turning into powder. The powder disappeared quickly as well. All that remained was its skeleton and the stunned Ye Qingxuan. He soon snapped out of it. After pondering, he took two coins out of his pocket and hurled them toward the deep end of the street. The coins flew through the air and landed with a crisp ding. After the small sound, Ye Qingxuan saw the dust around the coin rise up for no reason, converge, and swallow the coin like a living thing. The dust scattered quickly but the coin had already lost all luster. It had been eroded into scrap metal. Then, it broke into a few grains of sand without anyone touching it, and rolled into the darkness with the wind. Ye Qingxuan was covered in cold sweat. This truly was a black zone. The so-called black zone was actually a general term for the Dark World on the map. The safe zones for living were white zones, unstable areas were yellow, and dangerous areas were red. The black zone was the area of death. In actuality, not even the Dark World had many places that could truly be called a black zone. In a black zone, the aether had already mutated and was uncontrollable. It had eroded the environment, turning it into unreliable and abnormal territory. Any sound could create unpredictable reactions and consequences. It was like causing an avalanche by coughing on a snowy mountain but worse. To a human, it was an entirely different world. Just like now According to Ye Qingxuans guess, any outside interference could lead it to be eroded and assimilated by Avalons Shadow. In other words, it would become one with Avalons Shadow. This was probably what had happened to the guy who had been hung. He most likely awakened the sleeping darkness and instantly fell to the painful state of not even being able to die. His companions did not dare to help him and abandoned him. Ye Qingxuan was terrified too. Thankfully, he did not fully activate Indrahs Eye. Otherwise, the crack of lightning would be enough to kill him, or at least skin him. Any music score would probably create unpredictable consequences here. But he was not exactly safe, even if he did not make any sound. The flash of light just then had attracted many of theweird things living here. Cracklecrackle Amidst the broken crackles, some things appeared under the broken tiles behind the decayed wall. Sticky black aura emanated from them. Under the pale moonlight, they latched onto everything and transformed into primates, formless ghosts, water demons and other unstable figures. They solidified and came from all directions. Red eyes looked toward Ye Qingxuan. They froze and then burst into roars because there was nothing there. Hearing the screams behind him, Ye Qingxuan sped up. He ranof course he ran! Why would he wait for those things to come fight him as if he had run into a beehive? Who knew what would happen if they got into a fight if things were already this bad? Life was short and he did not need to try that. Ye Qingxuan did not stop until he had run far enough. Gasping for his breath, he just felt that Avalons Shadow was too weird. He was far into downtown now. The farther he went, the slower the connection between him and aether. Like a fish out of water, the connection was getting weaker and more broken. A musicians roots had been taken away. If he was a regular musician, he would probably be like an average person now. "This sucks. If youre so powerful, then give me something even worse and Ill respect" Ye Qingxuan muttered. Suddenly feeling something wrong, he looked up. Pairs of red eyes looked down at him from a withered tree. The eyes were cold and the things opened their black wings, shooting up. Sharp caws followed immediately after. What was worse than angering a beehive? Angering a crows nest! Hundreds upon thousands of these sinister birds flew up from the withered trees instantly. They hovered around Ye Qingxuans head like a black cloud that screamed like a siren. Broken sounds rang out endlessly. They were the demons that had been attracted by the calls of the birds that announced death. Amidst the cries, darkness flowed like a stream. Demons crawled out of destroyed homes and wells, surrounding this place seamlessly. They charged toward the shocked Ye Qingxuan without needing any commands, but the youth laughed rather than become angered. "You think you can eat me, huh?!" Gritting his teeth, he raised his cane and made two slow circles. Boom! A heavy yet majestic horn sounded out of thin air. Aether rippled and quickly converged toward Ye Qingxuan. Unexpectedly, he could still use aether in this messed up environment! So what if he could not sense it? He never used sense to play music scores! He had never relied on the outside environment. The translation method was a music theory created by Abraham, using his experience in the Dark World, in the first place. In terms of adaptation, it was suited for every environment. No matter if it was a black or white zone, as long as the essence of aether was the same, he could still use the translation method to play and retain basic fighting ability. Now the formulas that Ye Qingxuan had memorized, the five-hundred plus ancient records, the books that no one had been able to organize fullythey finally proved to be useful. Now, it was Night on Bald Mountain! The majestic horn sounded abruptly, followed by a thunderstorm-like melody. The melody was like demons singing in the fire, and countless witches and satanic followers dancing around the bonfire. Because dawn was arriving, they were filled with unprecedented craze. The demonic shadows instantly froze in the air. Invisible ropes extended through the air, restraining them. Immediately after, the horn sounded again. It contained the strength of a blazing sun and had a realistic glow. This was Avalons Shadow. There was no sun here, but at this moment, a blazing light was illuminated in the dark downtown area. It was firelightthe light from the burning stakes. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Countless black crosses shot out of the ground like a forest. They were already red-hot and covered in purple-blue flames. Invisible strength pulled the demons and nailed them onto the crosses. They screamed in pain as flames shot from their limbs, mouth, nose, eyes, and ears! The firelight chased away the darkness. Even the downtown district had sunk into silence. At this moment, there was only the sound of the fire of punishment and the horn of judgement. In only half a minute, all demons were burned to ashes. The dark aura had been eternally purified and disappeared. The crows fell from the sky, landing in the embers and burning. This was Night on Bald Mountain, the trademark score of past inquisitors that caused countless demons to tremble in fear! Then Ye Qingxuans vision went black and his legs gave out. He was a bit exhausted. This purification score had a range wide enough to target hundreds of demons. Though Night on Bald Mountain had helped, Ye Qingxuan was only at the edge of a third level musician. Even with Lolas aid, it still took a toll on him. Resting against the wall, he panted heavily and glared at the shadow of the distant city, flipping it off. "If youre so powerful, come at m oh f*ck, Im sorry! Dont do that!" Before he could even finish, a thunderous sound rang in the distance. Wild pressure shot out of thin air. Ye Qingxuan just wanted to slap himself. Why did he say that?! The pressure was getting stronger and stronger; it felt as if his bones would break. Even with the distance, he could sense a pair of dead eyes lock onto him. And then war stallions neighed! What was that saying...kill the minions and attract the big boss? He cried inwardly. If he knew this would happen, he would not have used such an attention-grabbing move. Unfortunately, he had no alternatives and there was no pill for regret on this world. The walls at the end of the street suddenly shattered. Steel hooves pulverized the tiles. The shards flew and were lit by the sparks from the horses hooves, turning into flying embers. The crazily dancing embers illuminated a giant black stallion. Black gas wound around, solidifying into the shadow of a menacing head for the headless stallion as it screamed. The demons in its path were forced to the ground by the aggressiveness and shattered. This was only a domesticated stallion, yet it was already this powerful. The knight on the stallion was covered in heavy armor and held a long sword. A pair of deadly eyes in the darkness underneath the helmet was filled with murder. Ye Qingxuan could not help but swear. He recognized the armor clearly. Anyone who had read Illustrated History of Anglo would know in his heart that this was the Round Table Knight that had been a decorated warrior under King Arthur, killed countless demons when expanding the kingdom, was remembered by all for his loyalty and bravery, and was finally beheaded by King Arthur! "Percival!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth but he felt an invisible strength push his body. He crashed against the wall with a thud and was pressed deeply into it, unable to move. It was just from the gazethe gaze! The war stallion whinnied. Percival rode the huge headless horse as if he was riding a wave of darkness. He stepped on thunder and roars sounded. Amidst the wind and lightning, he unsheathed his sword. The blade vibrated with a sharp echo. It was only an echo but it cut the music score that Ye Qingxuan was preparing. He could not even fight back! In that instant, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and growled in his mind, "Lola, if you keep watching, Im going to die!" No one replied. Stunned, he looked up at the dim moonlight. He had gone too far without even knowing. "Its just going to end like this?" In the next instant, Percivals helmet was already too close. In the pair of dead eyes, the sword blades reflection was lifted, cutting the moonlight apart. And thenIt swung down! The moonlight shattered and the youths head flew up. He had died with his eyes open. 255 Chase Ye Qingxuan saw his own head fly from his shoulders. It flew into the sky and fell onto the ground, rolling into a corner. Stunned, he felt his neck and then his head. His neck was fine and his head was still in its original spot. There didnt seem to be any problem. Then whose head just flew off? "My illusion cant fool him for long. What are you waiting for?" Lolas voice sounded again. "Hurry up. Hes already become one with Avalons Shadow. You cant kill him here!" The Blue Moons glow in the sky grew stranger, with a tinge of sultriness in the dimness. Just looking at it made one dazed. Relying on the resonance between them and the road mark, Lola used the Blue Moons glow to forcefully send her power into this world. The distortion level. This was definitely the distortion level. In that instant, she used the moonlight to erode the sword blade and assimilate it. The steel blade turned into illusory light. The moonlight and the youth passed each other. They did not make contact, but a thin line of blood appeared on Ye Qingxuans neck. He did not expect Lola to use the extremely uncommon thought realization method. She could make the illusion tangible or turn real objects into illusions. She had combined the School of Illusion and Mind together. It seemed that Lola did not choose an easy level for her Scepter. Ye Qingxuan was thinking about random things but he had no time to hesitate. The moment Lolas voice rang out, he spun around and ran. Percival was fooled by the illusionary head and did not notice the youth that melted into the moonlight. Becoming one with the Blue Moon was a strange experience. It felt as if he had lost all physical weight and floated in the air. His speed was unimaginably fast too. He crossed dozens of meters with one step; it was as if his legs were the wind. But after two steps, he suddenly stopped and turned around, running back! "Wait! Where are you going?" "He came from that direction and had blood on his sword. Whose blood do you think it is?" Ye Qingxuan passed Percival and sprinted toward the direction he had come from. He could practically here Lola gritting her teeth. "Ye Qingxuan, do you want to die?" "Haha, youre funny," he grinned and uttered. "What have I done in Avalon that wasnt flirting with death? I finally found a trace so lets talk after I find it!" A pair of eyes appeared in the moonlight and they rolled in displeasure. However, Lolas power did not dissipate. Instead, it wrapped around the youth even tighter, transforming him into the omnipresent light. A small breeze blew from the ruins. Ye Qingxuan soon stopped because he had seen a horrible corpse. Clearly, a sacrifice left behind. The poor guy had probably taken Percivals sword straight on. Half of his body had evaporated. Yes, evaporated. He had seriously evaporated. Half of the medium-rare corpse lay on the ground. It was cut into large portions by the surrounding demons, who were thinking, "The benefits of Avalons Shadow are so bad. Its been so long since there was a hot meal. Eat it when its still hot." This time, Ye Qingxuan did not need to speak for the moonlight to flow like water and melt the strange creatures. Seeing it gave Ye Qingxuan the chills. "What are you still waiting for? You came to see and you saw it. What now?" "What else?" Ye Qingxuan tugged his leather gloves. "Youre not as good as me at collecting evidence. Just watch." He had not used his skills in this field since he participated in the school day trials. He was a little excited to be able to use them now. The moonlight in his eyes blazed and swept across the corpse. His vision went through the messy flesh and looked to the broken bones underneath. "From the bones, I think hes around forty-years-old. The aether in his blood is heavy. He should be a musician. His race" He picked up the incomplete skull and nodded after studying it for a while. "From the brow bone, cheekbones, and structure, he probably isnt from Anglo. As for his upper bodyaha!" Lifting the clothing on the corpses chest, he saw the distorted design on ithe was Hyakumes follower. "Lola, can you tell which natural catastrophe this guy signed a contract with?" "Theres scale-like soft tissue under the skin, and residual signs of webs on his fingers. Behind his ears, there arent any gills, so it shouldnt be a pure aquatic catastrophe. It should be a demonic mutation of the amphibious type." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan pondered deeply. "Forty-years-old, dark musician, has the ancestral protective charm that border countries like, has harp as his instrument, is mutated from an amphibian. There are only three on the wanted list that fit these characteristics. One died last year, one is a girl, and the last is probably this one before us. Hes the Kirin that has been on the list for twenty-one years." After a long silence, Lola asked, "So?" "So nothing. I was just acting cool." Lola did not bother replying. Ye Qingxuan speedily moved around the corpse until he finally found a hand-drawn map from the corpses bag. A large portion had been torn and only one third remained. Thankfully, the crude map marked their destination. However, there were no related words and it was pretty useless. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes to think. He compared the routes endlessly. If this Avalons Shadow really came from Avalon, things would be easy. Avalons overall layout had not changed in centuries. Therefore, if he used the exhaustive method, he might be able to find it. But soon, his eyes flew open as confusion flashed through his mind. "Whats wrong?" "This isnt Avalons map. Its weird." He began to think while holding his chin. "There are many similarities but theyre all insignificant. Its so weird. Did the parliament risk so much to send people in just to send them into the incinerator? But the layout here is similar to Avalon. If this isnt Avalons map, then what is it?" "Well, hurry up. I can tell that Percival has seen through my illusion." Just as she finished, an angry roar sounded in the distance. Following immediately was a solid pressure that spread, causing the moonlight on the youth to flicker. But Ye Qingxuan was not listening; he was deep in thought. He subconsciously paced back and forth until he kicked something. Flinching, it dawned on him. "Lola, this isnt Avalons map." Bending down, he looked at the manhole before him in shock. "This is the map of the sewage system. There are too many dangers on the surface, so they traveled in the sewage tunnels." The angry sounds of Percivals horses clattering hooves neared. It was already difficult just for Lola to maintain the illusion on Ye Qingxuan. "Whatever, just hurry up and move!" "No problem." Ye Qingxuan jumped into the sewer without hesitation. In the darkness, he heard the angry fulmination above him and a string of explosions. Another large creature seemed to be infuriated and jumped out of the darkness, fighting Percival. Amidst the roars and screams, Ye Qingxuan sprinted without thinking of looking back. No matter what those things were, he would be dead if it just looked at him. The sewage tunnel was extremely quiet. It did not have any of Avalons dirtiness and was abnormally clean. Walking in it was like walking in a tomb. He walked into the deepest darkness step by step, walking toward death. Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight in his eyes to walk and quickly discovered traces of others being here recently. There were also signs of fighting, and he found two incomplete bodies. There were many demons but Ye Qingxuan used the moonlight illusion and sneaked past without any trouble. In the middle was a fork in the road. It was completely dark without any trace of life; it was quiet as a dark abyss. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan began feeling chills from a distance and did not dare to get close. After hesitating, he bypassed it. He heard Lolas voice in the long silence, "Ye Qingxuan?" Shocked out of his thoughts, he replied, "Here." "Talk so I dont think youre dead." "Sorry, I was thinking about what they want." Deep in thought, Ye Qingxuan said, "If Im not wrong, their destination should be the Royal Musician Division." "The Royal Musician Division?" Lolas reply was shocked. "What will they have in Avalons Shadow?" "I dont know. Maybe theres a group of demonic musicians," Ye Qingxuan half-joked, but he fell silent quickly. His thought scared himself. According to his knowledge, Avalon and the Shadow were the same on the surface and corresponded with each other. However, there were demons rather than civilians on the street. So the musicians of the Royal Musician Division herewould become what? He did not know and he did not dare to think. "Ye Qingxuan, I wont be able to help you if you keep going." Lolas voice was fatigued with a tinge of apology. "Forcefully crossing the sea of aether is too exhausting. Im not at Teachers level yet." "Who can reach the level of the moon above the sea, other than freaks like him? Forceful resonance across the borders is already difficult. You dont need to feel bad." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Leave everything to me now. Dont worry, Ill find a way out." After a long silence, Lola sighed. "Ill wait for your return." The moonlight on Ye Qingxuans body immediately began to shake. Finally, it became solidified on his body like thin crystal. Lola used her last strength to lock the illusion on his body, hiding his breath and trace. Then the resonance ended. Ye Qingxuan sucked in a breath, relaxing the faint fatigue from his limbs. Thankfully, Lola had taken most of the pressure and he was mostly unharmed. Lifting Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he closed his eyes. He had not practiced in a long time. It would not be unfamiliar, right? An undetectable melody sounded, melting into the silence and spreading. Bolero. Water vapor quickly converged, forming strands of perception threads. They extended in all directions, growing and growing until stopping at the fourth measure. He had four-hundred meters of perception. It was not that he could not continue, but that the melody would go from hidden to sonorous if he continued. He would not be able to keep restraining it. It would not be worth it if he caused Avalons Shadows weird mutations. Four-hundred meters was already out of the regular detection range for the complicated sewage system. It was enough. Ye Qingxuan quickly discovered many touch-activated traps. He gathered his spirits; he was close. The parliament probably did not expect for anyone to follow them into Avalons Shadow. Their traps were very simple. They would be set off if a demon passed by, but they were easy for a musician to undo. It was easy as pie for someone like Ye Qingxuan who used the translation method and was an expert in music theory. To be safe, he checked repetitively. Confirming that these were not chain reaction traps and nothing strange was hidden, he sneaked past. Who knew what would happen after he undid the traps? He still had to be careful. The Bolero threads soon perceived something. Someone was guarding the front. He was living. 256 Surprise Attack The youth closed his eyes and sensed in the darkness. From the perception thread, he could feel the figure behind the corner two-hundred feet away. The man was guarding an entrance to the sewage. Aether rippled around his body; he was a musician. This was the deepest part of Avalons Shadow, yet he could still communicate with aether. He should be at the top of third level musicians. According to the perception threads, he had covered his body in different equipment for this situation. From the messy aether waves, there were at least three pieces of equipment. He may be a dark musician. There was no one around him and the entrance behind him had signs of being opened. He should be the one left behind to guard the entrance, so he must have something to send emergency signals. The perception threads lay above the dust and extended quietly. Ye Qingxuan could feel the countless traps and alarms around and on the man. It was obvious that the surroundings had been changed into a battleground. He could feel the slightest movement. It would be difficult for a sneak attack. But if Ye Qingxuan tried to fight him directly, the enemy could send an alarm when given the chance and reinforcement would come quickly. Taking on dark musicians who were all more powerful by himself Ye Qingxuan could not even bear to think of the end. He could only find another way. After thinking, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Let me see," he pulled Jiu Xiao Huan Pei out and looked down, "just how much emotional trauma has Avalons Shadow left you?" - Herbert sat on the ground in the darkness with a deer-head instrument, deep in thought with his eyes closed. He played the instrument mindlessly but there was no sound. However, the seeds he planted grew quickly. The roots dug into the rock and they sprouted. The thin veins grew across the stone tiles and wall. The thin vines were mutants he had developed with care. They were not eye-catching but were filled with numbing poison. It could numb a mammoth in an instant and paralyze it. This was his most infamous tactic. Using the development method and music score from scripts passed down his family, he had killed many musicians and stolen their research material and inheritance. Because of this, he was able to go from a folk musician with no background to such a well-developed state. But when he gathered enough materials to become an official musician, he realized that he was a jack of all trades, not sophisticated in any one topic. It was difficult to continue on the path of becoming a musician. This was why he accepted the parliaments invitation and traveled so far for this exploration. He wished to find precious texts and methods from the Royal Musician Division. However, he realized that it was not as perfect as he had imagined when he arrived. This d*mn place was nothing like Anglos capital. Instead, it was even eerier than the legends of the Dark World. What was in King Arthurs scepter that had created such a group of demons and such a strange place? And he could not help but get goosebumps and cold sweat. There was also that d*mn freak on the horse. Was King Arthur crazy enough to turn his knights into demons too?! Just one strike, one strike Six layers of protection had been split apart. A dark musician known for defense and resilience had been pulverized. Herbert had almost been cut in half from the wind. If the leading musician had not used a secret trick to muddle the knights mind and won the chance to escape, they would have all died. The one who had invited Herbert to join had died when they first entered the city. Herbert had not even dared to get close and just watched him get eaten from a distance. Now, he no longer hoped for any texts or rituals. He just wanted to leave this d*mn place safely. This was why he chose to be the guardit was safer. He could call for reinforcement if anything was wrong, or escape quickly if there was a problem inside. It had already been an hour. His original tension and fear had relaxed, but he still did not dare let his guard down. He continuously planted his seeds, ready to fight at a moments notice. However, a doubt that he could not face kept appearing in his mind. Was this really useful against these creatures? There seemed to be a soft chuckle in the darkness. Herbert shot up, gripping his alarm. "Whos there?!" No one replied. He looked around repeatedly in defense, but after a long while, all he could hear was the chilling wind from the cracks. It sounded like someone chuckling and singing. The voice wrapped around eerily. It was wind. It was only wind. He sighed and his trembling finger finally became stable, but he quickly heard a laugh in the wind again. The wind came from the far distance and had the aura of disaster. The soundthe soundwas it the sound of a war stallion neighing?! The horses hooves sounded from far away. They clattered on Herberts heartthose were the hooves, the hooves! They were like thunder and lightning beating against the earth, causing the earth to shake and dust to fly. Even the poisonous vines curled slightly. The hooves pounded against the tiles. They had instantly become close. The almost-tangible pressure surged in like a tide, rushing into his limbs like solidifying cement until he was immobilized. Herbert was practically suffocating in that instant. Was it it? It wasthat d*mned creature! Boom! The wall at the end of the tunnel before him crumbled. Broken tiles flew and darkness surged in. The headless stallion neighed in the darkness. On its back, the fallen demon knight unsheathed his sword. The heavy sword vibrated and sliced through the wind with a dragon-like roar. Percival! Herbert subconsciously pressed the alarm in his hands but he could not press it down as if it was broken. Press! Press! Press! Press! Press But there was no reaction no matter what he did! Screaming, Herbert threw it away and grasped his deer-head instrument, strumming it harshly. The eyes of the sleeping deer-head flew open. Strange green light shone from its eyes. It opened its mouth and screamed out a hoarse melody. The poisonous vines between the rocks shot forward to wrap around Percival. But Percival vaporized abruptly and re-solidified after it passed the vines. The dragon-scale sword roared in his hands and it swung down! It was over Herbert felt his vision go black. Thud! As if a siege hammer had been rammed into his chest, he flew up and crashed against the wall. Immense pain spread from his chest to all his bones. He had broken at least four ribs, suffered internal bleeding and a concussion, and lost all sense of aether. Butwhy was he not dead? "Im not dead?" he murmured painfully, opening his eyes wide in confusion. Before him, the wild dark knight dissipated, disappearing in a puff of black smoke. All that remained was an eerie shadow. He stood before Herbert with a cane, staring coldly. His left hand moved nimbly; the alarm that Herbert could not press had been torn to pieces, falling to the ground. "Good evening, sir." Ye Qingxuan pressed the cane against Herberts throat, forcing his chin up so he could look at Ye Qingxuan. "The weathers good tonight. Its a good time for a chat, dont you think?" Under the black hat, the youths lips curled into a cold sneer. "I believe youll tell me everything you know." - It was Die Nebensonnen in the beginning. Using Herberts fear of Percival, Ye Qingxuan had caused him to panic merely by mimicking a horses neigh. He then successfully guided Herbert to hallucinate the dark knight. Then, bearing the burden, Ye Qingxuan took advantage of Herberts panic to control his fingers with the perception threads, making him unable to press the alarm. Thankfully Herbert was already frightened. If he had any determination to raise the alarm even if it meant sacrificing himself to forcefully set it off, Ye Qingxuan would not have been able to win so easily. After all, an illusion could not kill. The final success was the sighing arm. He punched through all defense with one fist and smashed him into the wall. In half a minute, Ye Qingxuan used all his tricks to control Herbert. Thankfully the shoes Charles had made had thick rubber soles. The vines could not pierce into the robe either. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would be paralyzed on the ground now for anyone to kill. Unfortunately, other than the deer-head instrument that required special playing techniques, this guy only had a few bags of seeds. However, he also had two rings with shield and attack effects. Ye Qingxuan took them without hesitation. After asking a few questions, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sneer. "The parliament, as expected. How many people came? What level are you all?" After the torture from Black Friday, Herbert surrendered easily. "Fourfourteen. Five died already, nine are left. There are eight without counting me. Two are Resonance level and the leader is Disturbance level." "How did you enter?" "Avalons Shadow will wake soon. One of us is Hyakumes priest. He opened the path with the gods power." "And you came in to die?" Ye Qingxuan laughed coldly. "How do you plan to exit?" "I dont know. The leader has all the methods." Herbert shook his head bitterly. "Id escape long ago if I knew how to get out." "Why did you come to the Royal Musician Division?" 257 The Strange Parliamen "Why did you come to the Royal Musician Division?" Ye Qingxuan regretted it as soon as he asked because the guys face was filled with confusion. The shock of "What, this is the Royal Musician Division!" was written all over. He did not know anything! Then what use did he have? Furrowing his brows, Ye Qingxuan was about to speak, but the broken alarm by his foot suddenly trembled with a strange sound. It traveled far instantly, causing his expression to darken. "N-not me!" Herbert yelped when he saw Ye Qingxuans face change. "I didnt do it! Its someone elses alarm! Someone else!" The cane on his throat pressed down, almost suffocating him. The hoarse voice said, "You have five seconds to explain." "This alarm connects to another touch-activated trap. I dont understand either." Tongue-tied, Herbert screamed but his eyes suddenly brightened. "I know, there mustmust be other people who followed us in!" "No sh*t, I did!" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. But when he heard the faint crashes and shuddering above him, he understood what Herbert meant. Did someone have the same idea as him? Regardless, he did not have much time. Looking down at Herbert who was crying pathetically, he could not help but sigh. Seeing Ye Qingxuan like that, Herbert froze. Understanding something, he yelped, "Dont kill me! I can give you the secret implantation technique of the School of Choir to youand money. I have sixty-thousand gold coins in my account. Sixty-thousand!" He looked at the youth and forced a fawning expression onto his face. "Ive heard of you before. Youre the Vengeful Spirit, right? You dont kill people." "Yes, youre right. I can let you go." The youth lowered his eyes and slowly moved the cane on his throat away. Herbert was ecstatic, but then he felt a hand on his forehead. "But youve done so many immoral things with those dark musicians. Are you really innocent?" The youths voice was filled with pity and overlooking coldness. "I can let you go, but will the people who you killed let you go?" Herbert froze. His relieved eyes changed, the fawning smile and politeness disappeared, replaced by sinister eeriness. He looked up at the youth but his gaze was dragged into the youths eyes. Those eyesseemed to be filled with hellish pain. Flames licked inside themthat was the resentment of the dead burning with heart-stopping beauty. Then a black river rushed over and swallowed him. Herbert fell onto his back under the plaintive melody and sank into an endless nightmare. Ye Qingxuan slowly retracted his hand and left. After two steps, he paused and looked back. Having a mental breakdown, Herbert spasmed continuously but his body turned gray bit by bit until he stopped moving in the end. He had turned to stone. Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows at the strange transformation. He did not know his music score had this odd feature. If it was not him then there was only one answer. The youth looked around in the darkness. Wind blew past, bringing with it a faint laugh. It seemed that there had been someone watching him ever since he entered Avalons Shadow, being happy or sad for him, cheering him on. Perhaps this was a hallucination; perhaps it was not. Anything could happen in this f*cked up place. He decided to stop scaring himself now. - When he crawled out of the narrow opening, he found himself in the backyard of the Royal Musician Division. It used to be a garden but it was clearly not anymore. There were only shriveled and dried rhizomes stuck haphazardly in the dirt. They looked like an odd art piece made of steel wire under the faint light. Lightthere was light here. Ye Qingxuan looked up and saw a lantern hanging on the wall in the near distance. The light was weak and the lantern was covered in dust as if it had been burning for a millennia. Under the dim light, the barren garden had an unsettling atmosphere. Using the marks in the dirt, Ye Qingxuan found signs of people leaving as well as some alarm traps. These dark musicians really were careful. They had left traps after arranging sentries. Under the seemingly-average traps, the perception threads sensed a chain-reaction of explosive traps. The aether within those was enough to blow half of the garden into the sky. Just as he was sneaking around the trap area, the ground suddenly shook. A fulmination sounded by the door in the distance. The shaking almost set off the traps; Ye Qingxuans face paled in fright! It would be really sad if he died for these stupid reasons. He quickly ran to the safe zone and closed his eyes in deep thought. He pulled the perception threads into one spot and floated toward the source of the sound. After going past various buildings, the threads began to sense the scene. The perception broke the moment it was created. The water vapor threads had evaporated due to the terrifying power at the scene. Ye Qingxuans forehead throbbed as if a hammer had hit it. He opened his eyes; his body was covered in cold sweat. For a moment, he could not see anything. He could only feel the darkness that hovered like mist. The darkness was burning. If he had not cut off the connection simultaneously, the burning would probably have rushed into his mind along the perception thread. Then things would be fun. If he had died because of this, it would probably be number one in "The Hundred Thousand Ways to Die in Avalons Shadow." Of course, the prerequisite was that someone was bored enough to write a book like that. It was clear that the Parliaments brash move had attracted something terrifying and big. It was now ramming against the enchantment around the Royal Musician Division. The enchantment, long abandoned, would not be able to survive for long. Ye Qingxuan and the dark musicians of the Parliament did not have much time. So what did these guys want? Fleeting moonlight appeared around Ye Qingxuan once again, causing his body to become thin and difficult to detect. He followed the marks quickly. He was getting excited at the thought of putting a leg in this dramatic event, stirring things up, and feeding those guys some sh*t! - Dim moonlight swept under the eerie building. The illusion Lola put on Ye Qingxuans body was clearly very high level, and contained music theory from the disturbance level. The distortion level was the peak of the resonance level. Going from resonance between the musician and the world, to limited disturbance of reality, to distortion of the laws of physicsthis level was power was the peak for a musician. If one went further, it would be the path to becoming a scepter and saint. Especially since Lola was focusing on thought realization and could switch between reality and illusions by choice, she would enter the territory of nothingness and not nothingness if she continued to rise. Though this path was difficult, its power was incredible. Moonlight covered his body and dragged him into another world where there were no obstacles. While it was exhausting, he continuously passed through various barriers and enchantments. Most of the enchantments set by the Royal Musician Division were nonexistent before the moonlight. The more he traveled the more chills he felt. He became more and more cautious. He was now at the heart of the Royal Musician Division building and should be in the side hall. Though this ancient building no longer had any life to it, the lanterns were still lit. After burning for who knew how many years, the lanterns still had a trace of kerosene. It was clearly out of the ordinary, but black zones were had always been out of the ordinary. This fact was strange but not unacceptable. This entire time, Ye Qingxuan had not met anyone else, but he had seen many strange things, such as statues. Whether he was in the backyard, the garden, the halls within the building, or even the servants resting room, he could see these realistic statues. They smiled and stood in different places, maintaining their action at that moment. It was as if they had been transformed into stone at that moment. There was a strange smile on their faces rather than terror. Their eyes could still move. From the distance, they could see through Ye Qingxuans disguise. The stone eyes rolled over; nothing was in their empty eyes except for his face. They watched him come and watched him leave. They had not done anything but Ye Qingxuan shuddered. What was with these weird things?! The entire way here, he saw signs of forceful cracking of the codes and traps. Broken statues lay in the center of the road. Fine red sand flowed from the cracks, floating in the air as if they were dancing in the dim light. Ye Qingxuan covered his nose and bypassed them. He quickly caught up by using his understanding of architecture of familiarity of the Royal Musician Division and got ahead of the dark musiciansthis was all thanks to Ye Lanzhou. Ye Lanzhou had not stayed in the Royal Musician Division for long but he had taken his song everywhere. Ye Qingxuan still remembered how to go from the conference room to the bathroom. However, the more he remembered its original appearance, the more unsettled he felt. The statues along the way were all dressed like servants or nobles. No one wore the robe of the Royal Musician Division. Where did all the musicians go? During his rushed walking, his steps suddenly stopped. He looked up and saw that the clock on the wall had stopped moving. It was forever paused at that moment. It was 8:10 at night. Eight ten Ye Qingxuan quietly memorized this time. He compared the direction of the parliaments dark musicians and finally locked onto the final destinationthe banquet hall on the third floor. "Youve come this far just to have a picnic at dinner time?" he could not help but mutter as he looked toward the stairs. "Too much time on your hands?" Boom! An explosion sounded from the direction of the front hall. Smoke rose; the smell of rusting metal sand traveled with the cold wind. The enchantment had finally shattered. 258 May My King Protect Me The dust-covered steel gate suddenly shook. The black aura around it danced, scraping past the musicians face like a blade, causing sparks to fly. Before the steel gate, a burly and unfamiliar man raised his hammer. The strange and muscular skeleton enlarged his body. As the strange music played, he expanded to more than three meters tall. The ragged red robe around him showed signs of battle. There was also the Eyes Within the Eye before his heart. A distorted song came from his chest as if his internal organs were singing. His already-exaggerated muscles bulged once again amidst this song. His hammer swung down but there was no sound! All the power had been poured into the single nail, forcing it through the thick steel gate bit by bit. The dark cloud around the gate weakened a bit with each inch the nail dug in. There had already been six nails hammered into the gate. This was the last one. Enchantment-breaking nails. These were alchemy items used for unearthing ancient ruins. By pushing the nails made of alloy into the node of the enchantment, one could disrupt the flow of aether and force an entrance into the enchantment. "Eziz, hurry up," said Aloise, the dark lord clad in a red robe behind him. He held an aether ball the size of a fist in his hand. Silver spots shone on the ball, representing the surrounding aether waves. In the distance, a writhing ball of darkness approached quickly. The darkness changed but no matter how he tried to investigate it, he could not see what was truly under the darkness. An abyss was approaching quickly, choosing prey to swallow. One must know that even a Round Table knight who had transformed into a dark knight after falling would be revealed on the aether ball. So what demonic thing was this?! To be honest, he did not want to know at all. He just wanted to finish his mission before this thing arrived and then use his powers to escape. Narrowing his eyes, he recited the gods name, pushing down the unsettled feeling. He had entered the Disturbance level long ago with Hyakumes blessing, he still felt unsettled hereafter all, Avalons Shadow was where the late King Arthurs scepter was. And why did the Royal Musician Division turn the banquet hall into a fortress? What did they hide inside? "The doors almost open. Everyone, be careful," he ordered quietly. The six dark musicians behind him emanated with an aura of destruction thick enough to be tangible. The black zone completely immersed with negativity was their paradise. Merely entering here had increased their power, practically allowing them to pass a whole level. The steel gate vibrated lowly but the darkness around it scattered. The seal had been forced apart by the enchantment-breaking nails! Pop! There was the sound of a bubble popping. The area surrounded by the seven enchantment-breaking nails shattered abruptly, flowing down as steel sand. A rotting odor thick enough to be liquid spewed out from behind the door! At the very front, Ezizs expression changed abruptly. He squatted and rolled, barely missing the attack. The gray air instantly moved through the hallway and disappeared. Eziz climbed up from the corner with difficulty. Seeing the grayness crawl up his skin, he quickly grabbed a bottle of medicine from his waist and poured it onto himself. Sizzle! After the sounds of corrosion, the rusting scent disappeared but the muscular arm and half a chest had been corroded to the bone. Ezizs face twisted. Gritting his teeth, he pulled his ragged red robe tightly, covering the bones that made up his body. He had been lucky and dodged the attack, but his companions were not as lucky. Lord Aloise had been swallowed completely. Gray mist snaked around his entire body as if Avalons fog was wrapped around him, eating away his body bit by bit. His body changed dramatically under the grayness. He transformed into a large werewolf instantly. After the werewolf was corroded by the grayness, the wolf quickly caved in and shriveled into a short and ugly dwarf. When the dwarf was corroded, he changed again, this time into something half-eagle and half-man. This transformation survived longer but still could not fight the grayness off. Having already lost two bodies, he took off a bell from his waist with difficulty and shook strongly. And so the sharp cry of an eagle sounded out of thin air. The apparition of a man with an eagles head and two wings appeared behind him. It waved, dissipating the rusting odor, murmured something, and disappeared. Aloise knelt onto the ground and fervently recited a scripture. He did not look back until his gods physical incarnation had been sent away. Of the six dark musicians behind him, only three and a half were still alive. Two had been completely turned to stone after being shrouded in the gray mist. One had abandoned his body. In his last moment, his head had been yanked out of his neck, along with half a spine, with feet sprouting out like a centipede. Now he wandered aimlessly, still in shock. "Lets not waste any more time. We must grasp the timing." Aloise coughed hoarsely and held his aether ball. He crossed the crack after confirming that there were no more dangers inside. The gentle light fell onto his face. His wizened face was covered in wounds and blood seeped out; it was a mournful sight. But when he saw the inside of the banquet hall, deep fear appeared on that face involuntarily. Who were the true dark musicians who worshipped Satan? "What did you do exactly?" he muttered hoarsely. - The banquet hall finally had new guests after such a long time. It was still filled with light; the chandeliers hung above the room, untouched by dust. It was a glamorous sight with pure white walls, pillars covered in gold foil, finely embossed and luxurious tiles, and gentle music that still echoed. The melody was gentle and beautiful. It wrapped around ones ears, causing one to feel peaceful and serene. But here, it gave one the chills. This was not a melody that should appear at a banquetthis was Requiem No. 6 that Anglo musicians only played at funerals! "With the aether above, the dead would not decay." Of course their bodies did not decay. The noble guests sat on either side of the only table in the room. Not a thread was out of place on their formal wear; their expressions were dignified and lifelike. There was the leader of the thirteen orchestras of all Anglo musicians. He was a Distortion musician, second only to a saint. In the center was the commander of the Royal Musician Division. He wore a crystal crown and white clothing and sat elegantly in his seat. His expression was serious and awesome. However, everyone was constrained to their metal chairs by heavy shackles. The shackles had been nailed into their bones and extended from their joints. They had become one with the heavy metal chair. How were they a group of musicians? They had been treated like a group of rabid dogs, but their expressions were so solemn, demanding respect and awe. Time seemed to have stopped at the moment they raised their glasses to celebrate and drank the wine. The glasses were still in their hands but they never moved again. Aloise looked at his companions. Someone went forward and cautiously stuck a finger into the glass. He dabbed a bit of the dried powder and tasted it. Crackles came from his throat instantly. He doubled over and began vomiting out fossilized flesh. The blood and flesh dropped onto the ground with echoes. "Drug of Penglai," the man said with difficulty. "F*ck, where did they get so much of this? Many of the plants went extinct before the Dark Age ended!" Most dark musicians studied the School of Choir to transform their bodies, so many were experts at drugs and medicines. Some had even contributed to the School of Choir and were pioneers in the forbidden field of mutations as well. Hearing this, everyones expressions changed. According to legends, the drug of Penglai was the key to immortality, but everyone knew that that was bullsh*t. No one on this Earth could be immortalno one. In the beginning, alchemists and herbalists from the East had wanted to create a drug that could help one sense the Originator. They had succeeded and those that took the drug received the power to undergo sublimation in the Originator. The cost was that they would lose their body and life. Their flesh would turn into stone and never decay as if they were immortal. For a moment, their minds were able to cross through the limitations of time and see the distant past and future, see the stars in the sky and the demons behind the stars, or see the fire underground and the sins hidden inside the fire. Perhaps they melded into the Originator at the end and reached all-knowing enlightenment. Perhaps they had merely died. Who knew? No one knew No one knew why this group of musicians that made up Anglo had joined here at this time and chose to swallow this drug to commit suicide. Expressionless, Aloise walked past the musicians on either side and stopped before the solemn leader. He reached out and picked up the thin piece of paper before him that had degraded through time. The names of the thirteen men and their last words were written there: "Here, we sacrifice our life to the almighty and all-powerful king. May the gods protect the kingdom and may my king protect me." A breeze blew past, crumbling the paper to powder and blowing it away. Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire banquet hall suddenly shook. Cracks appeared on the walls. An enormous object seemed to be charging against the wall on the other side of the banquet. It was a ball of burning of darkness. It had come. 259 Purification Boom! Boom! Boom! The entire banquet hall suddenly shook. Cracks appeared on the walls. An enormous object seemed to be charging against the wall on the other side of the banquet. It had come "Everyone, stop wasting time and hurry up!" Aloise commanded loudly. "The object is here. Hurry and find it! Otherwise, wed have sacrificed everything for nothing." The remaining three-and-a-half men quickly began moving without needing his command. Eziz took his bag off and flipped it over, dumping out a pile of metal plates onto the ground. The music scores carved onto the plates flashed. They absorbed the aether and transformed into hundreds of spiders. The teeming metal spiders spread from him and combed the ground, looking through everything carefully. The others showcased their skills as well. Even the musician with only a head was looking nonstop. The ceiling, walls, corners, tables, cups, the fossilized royal musicians Soon, the entire banquet hall had been searched over but they did not find anything except silver utensils! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! NothingThere was nothing! "Search again!" Aloise roared. He began hacking at the floorboards in hysteria, searching for the object that did not belong there and destroying everything he touched. Boom! Boom! Boom! The crack on the wall grew bigger and an almost-tangible black aura seeped in from the crack. The seal of the entire banquet hall had collapsed. Time that had been at a standstill for a millennium began flowing again. It transformed from a small trickle to a waterfall. Years flashed past in a snap of a finger. Everything began aging, eroding, and turning into dust. The gentle melody now transformed into a howling and wailing cry. It broke down and dissipated. All opulence quickly faded, turned obscure, and became rubbish. The bodies of the thirteen musicians at either side of the table quickly cracked as well. The solemn faces caved in, wrinkles growing. They instantly became aged. Their hair turned white and fell, revealing the ugly scalps. Wrinkles covered the fossilized flesh and decayed, revealing white bones. Everything turned to flying dust. Flying dust and smoke. Boom! The wall collapsed! Eziz turned in shock and saw it, and his upper body disappeared. All that remained were two legs standing on the ground. However, Eziz did not feel anything. He just looked at the guests of the banquet hall in ecstasy. Something shone within the thirteen weathered skeletons. As the skeletons shattered, the glow hidden within reappeared with the wind and burned like fire. As if sensing the reappearance of the glow, the clock tower at Avalons peak abruptly began ringing. The bell was grave and awe-inspiring. The corpses dissipated; the light shot to the sky and transformed into meteorites, flying in all directions of Avalons Shadow. "Capture them!" Aloise reached out and his ten fingers left his hands. Blood spewed from his fingers like living snakes and enveloped the scattering light with a wild melody. The other dimmer rays of light had scattered in all directions, but four beams were caught. There was a solemn sword, an odd black hat, a crystal eye, and an ancient scroll "Here!" Ecstatic, Aloise grasped them. "Youre here! Oh, God bless!" "Really?" Someone smiled in the darkness. "Then, thank him for me." A beam of moonlight suddenly shone in from outside the steel gates crack. It rushed toward the four meteorites stopped in the air. This sudden change caused everyones expression to change. The youths speed under the moonlight was incredibly fast and he flew into the sky instantly. "Stop him!" Aloise yelled. The bodiless musician flew up. He sang a dark hymn and swelled into a strange bird that rushed toward the youths face. Boom! In the air, the human figure waved and a flame ignited on the arms armor platethe Sighing Shake! The strange bird was hit squarely. The power enough to siege a city stronghold poured onto him without restraint. Six levels of defenses crumbled instantly. Being so small, the bird exploded. The newly-born feathers fell to the ground. The hairless bird caved in, turned into a ball of ground meat, and was slapped onto the wall. One could not even peel it off. Immediately after, the human figure raised his cane toward the other preparing musicians with an odd smile. With a shake, the cane narrowed and a mist of blood seeped out, dying the amber tip red. Chaotic lightning brewed inside the bloody red. "Do not let the three realms turn to ash!" Blinding light shot out, a scalding flood surged, and electricity flew. Thunder dragons plowed through two musicians in the way and finally converged on the cane, tearing apart the surroundings of the blood light. The four beams of light instantly flew in all directions. In a hurry, he randomly snatched the closest one and found that it was the strange hat. Though it was old fashioned, it seemed durable and easy to clean. The inside was also carved with music scores and had strong waves of aether. This suited him well! "This hat is nice. Its mine now!" The youth laughed in the air and rolled onto the ground. Aloise had no time to bother with him. Abandoning everything, he pounced onto the crystal eye shooting toward the wall. A ray of blood light flew out of his aged body, shedding the flesh like taking off clothing. He transformed into a sinister demon with a mans body, eagles head, and two wings on his backhe was clearly a soldier transformed by a natural catastrophe! Using all his power, his speed was unbelievable and instantly caught up to the eyeball that was about to fly out the wall. Butdid he forget something? "Garbage, back off!" Outside the broken wall, a sharp roar sounded in the surging darkness. A translucent jade-like hand clawed at his face. They were meters away but his five sharp claw-marks appeared on his body, practically ripping him apart. Blood shone and his wounds could not heal. It was as if he was naturally incomplete. Firebird! It was Firebird?! Aloise screamed instantly, ordering the two others to protect him. The two dark musicians were forced to transform into their true nature and pounce on the creature attacking from the dark. The darkness swallowed them and there was no more sound from them. In the blink of an eye, Aloise had the crystal eye in his hand, quickly swallowed it, and rolled onto the ground. The two dark musicians that had charged into the darkness finally reappeared. Their corpses rolled out from the darkness. They were completely broken as if they were wearing many layers of clothing. One layer was skin, one was flesh, one was internal organs, one was bone. It was as if they had been sent to the surgical table, were quietly dissected by dozens of doctors for hours until each organ was dissected, and were now placed neatly on the ground. They were a beauty and joy to look atas if! "No way!" Ye Qingxuan muttered. Seeing the corpses roll out, he was tongue-tied. He looked toward the ball of burning darkness. It danced and thinned, revealing half a scaly claw from within. It was a slim yet wild body. The white clothing had been dyed red. For a moment, the figure was beautiful, dazzling, and flirtatious. The Ripper! "What drug did you take? How are you suddenly this powerful?" Ye Qingxuans entire body froze. Those two dark musicians were many times more powerful than him, but had been turned into that state instantly. If the Ripper was this powerful last time, it would not be enough for her to play with even if Ye Qingxuan had two hundred legs! "Dirty." a hoarse voice sounded in the darkness as if in reply or just a monologue. "Dirty again, dirty againPurify, must purifypurify the outsiderspurify disgracepurify garbage, purify, purify, purify, purify, purify" "Hey, can you say something else?" Of course, Ye Qingxuan was not stupid enough to say that aloud but it felt good to mutter it silently. It was clear that the Ripper found him dirty and wanted to clean him out. "But isnt it tiring to clean the entire Avalons Shadow? When will you even finish? Wont you go crazy? Waitthe Rippers probably crazy already." For a moment, realization flashed through Ye Qingxuans eyes and he felt pity. It was so sad that she had gone crazy from cleaning. To be honest, he was impressed by himself for being able to talk nonsense to himself under this kind of situation. However, it was clear that he was not the Rippers main target. It was Aloise, Satans soldier who had a much darker aura. That guys destructive aura was almost thick enough to be juiced. If Ye Qingxuan was the Ripper, he would be the first to go! But what happened next was totally unexpected. On the ground, Aloise watched as the Ripper walked toward him. He suddenly laughed and shook the small bell in his hand. Ding dong~ The crisp sound was mixed with the odd cawing of an eagle. The blood light around him shook, left his body, and flowed into the bell, which shattered immediately. It transformed into a bloody vortex. A hand reached out and pulled him away. He escaped? Escaped! That *sshole had activated Avalons Shadows exit and escaped! Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "F*ck, wheres your dignity as a musician? Arent you afraid of embarrassing your god by running without a fight?! And if you ranthen what am I going to do?" Not only was his wish of leaving shattered, his body began trembling before he even had time to fear, because the Ripper looked over in the darkness, as if looking at something dirty. The cleaning was about to begin 260 You Probably Won’t Believe Me… Not only was his wish of leaving shattered, his body began trembling before he even had time to fear because the Ripper looked over in the darkness as if looking at something dirty. The cleaning was about to begin Frozen, Ye Qingxuan stared blankly behind the Ripper. His eyes were in despair. "Percival?" In the silence, the Ripper did not look back. Unmoving, she just stared at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan froze, swore in his mind, and ran. "This is horrible! Even psychotics didnt fall for these distractions anymore! How can I live anymore?!" In that moment, he felt the moonlight on his body shake violently. A large majority of it was used up in an instant. It was dim like a flickering candle in the wind. A shallow claw-mark was scratched onto his back. The burning darkness chased after him like a sarcoptic mange. Panicking, Ye Qingxuan could not worry about his body anymore. He adjusted the steel skeleton within his robe to the most extreme mode and shot forward like an arrow. Each step taken was as painful as doing a split, but his speed had increased by three times. And it was thirty times with the help of the moonlight. His body transformed into a shadow and rushed inside the Royal Musician Divisions building. He did not look back as he ran crazily but fulminations sounded continuously behind him. He did not dare to look backhe was scared that if he did, he would see the Ripper right before his eyes, reflecting his pale face in hers. In situations like these, he should just focus on running until he ran out of energy! The moonlight was used up quickly, dying away like a candle in the wind until all that remained was a small flicker. The tiny moonlight made Ye Qingxuans face ghastly pale as he panted. He discovered an even worse problemhe was too tired! "If I can survive, Ill start running from today. Ill practice for the marathon and exercise for Anglo," he vowed silently. With the last of his strength, he sprinted toward the corner, covered his head, and broke through the window! Boom! The youth spun in the air and landed in the center of a silent street. He climbed up with a roll and rushed toward deeper into the dark street. The Rippers cruel figure was only a step away but did not chase after him. The figure stopped behind the broken window and looked at him coldly. Having escaped, Ye Qingxuan could not help but be proud. After a few more steps and turns, he would have widened the gap and lost the Ripper; however, there were no "few more steps." Under the cold moonlight at the end of the street, a headless stallion screamed. The dark on the horse hoisted his dragon scale sword. The blade reflected the moonlight, chilling Ye Qingxuans heart. It illuminated the bitter tears in his heart. "You really came! Uh, I was just kidding about you coming. Can you please go back?" he pleaded internally. But it was obvious that that was impossible. Ye Qingxuan stopped and looked back at the Ripper, who was staring at him coldly. Then he looked forward to the dark knight, who was preparing to charge. This was depressing. The dark knight before him, the Ripper behind himHe was dead! But unpredictably, there seemed to be a sigh. A familiar shadow jumped down from the wall. It looked at him with disdain and turned around. Nudging the manhole beside him, it opened its mouth and said, "Bark!" This meant, "What are you waiting for? Jump, dumb*ss!" Ye Qingxuan swore that he had never felt so mindblown in his entire life. The last time he had a similar feeling was when he saw his senior running down the streets nude. This time, it was seeing Old Phil appear in Avalons Shadow. "Y-y-you" Tongue-tied, it felt as if all his world views had been shattered. "IIyou" Old Phil rolled its eyes and jumped down. It meant, "You can keep waiting if you want to die but Im leaving!" Not daring to hesitate, Ye Qingxuan quickly jumped in and followed Old Phil forward. The dog walked quickly and twisted and turned in the complicated sewer system. Ye Qingxuan soon lost his sense of direction. Thank god the Ripper and dark knight did not follow. Perhaps the entrance was too narrow for them or too dirty, or perhaps they had started fighting on the surface. Anyway, Ye Qingxuan had survived sure death and his eyes teared up involuntarily. As he continued walking for who knew how long, he started hearing a trickle of water under his feet. Ye Qingxuan had stepped into a puddle. Soon, he discovered that it was the Blood Path he had lost. Old Phil picked up the pace; Ye Qingxuan had to run to catch up. Suddenly, he heard the roar of water. When he rounded the corner, he saw the foul-smelling populated water rush down the sewage pipe. There were rotting vegetables in the water, along with a rotting scent. When he looked back, the Blood Path was no longer there. There was only a dusty wall covered in spider webs. He hadexited Avalons Shadow? - Under the weak light of dawn, Ye Qingxuan carefully pushed the manhole cover and peeked out at the world. He saw the chaotic market, the weak street cleaner, and a muscular middle-aged woman with a basin of dirty water. Waitdirty water? With a slosh, the water splashed all over Ye Qingxuans face. It was the smell and feeling he was familiar with. Yes, it was the dirty water used for boiling chicken feathers; however, he laughed involuntarily after the shock. He had really come out?! Under everyones stunned gazes, a strange man climbed out of the sewer with a giant dirty dog and began cheering as if he had received a new life. The terrified middle-aged woman gaped at his happy state. After a long while, she spat out, "This isnt my fault. Theres something wrong with his head." - Ten minutes later, he arrived at the large hall of the Caput mansion. Pinching her nose, Lola looked at him in disgust. "Did you climb out of a landfill?" "Probably," With a wry chuckle, Ye Qingxuan collapsed onto the sofa and waved. "Stop caring about all that. Give me something to eat and then let me sleep." Seeing how he did not take himself as an outsider, and his unapologetic expression, Lolas face instantly darkened. "You think my home is a hotel and you can come and go as you wish? Also, why do you bring everything here? Get that dog out of here!" "Huh?" Confused, Ye Qingxuan looked to Old Phil. It was sitting beside him on the sofa. It was dirty and left a bunch of black marks on Lolas favorite lush Indian rug. Now, it was side-eyeing Lola arrogantly. Ye Qingxuans expression grew wry. "You might not believe it, but thats my savior. Im alive because of him!" "Ha!" Lola was clearly close to losing her temper. With a dark expression, she gritted out, "Your savior sure is special! Ye Qingxuan, can you think before you make things up?" "Anyway, just believe me. Im so tired." Ye Qingxuan held Lolas shoulder with his dirty hands, leaving two handprints on her white shirt. "Can you let me sleep first? We can talk about things later." "Ye Qingxuan, youre getting more and more reckless." As a clean freak, Lola was so angry her eyes were twitching. Squeezing out an eerie smile, she said, "Sure, you can sleep. Would you like Sister to accompany you?" Ye Qingxuan instantly grew shy. Scratching his face, he stammered, "ThisThanks but no thanks, Auntie." Thud! He flew out and landed outside the door. "Ye Qingxuan!" In her original spot, Lolas hair had turned snow-white from anger. Sharp fangs poked from her mouth, her eyes were murderous, and her face was cold. Though she had bad temper, anyone would be pissed at this! First, she used up all her strength to save him after learning he had entered Avalons Shadow. Then, she waited for an entire night in worry, and finally, he came back with a dirty dog, smelling like he was pulled out a landfill. Furthermore, he did not even say a single word of thanks. Not only was her night of worry and waiting were wasted on a dirty dog, Ye Qingxuan had said something no woman could bear. One must admit that Ye Qingxuan deserved it! But after a while, Ye Qingxuan was still unmoving on the ground. Blanching, Lola went over and kicked his face. On the ground, Ye Qingxuan rolled over and snored. He was sleeping like a dead dog. He was so infuriating that he made one want to step on that face. Yes, Lola felt much better after stepping on him. She looked up and called, "Sam!" Soon, the ugly and lame servant stumbled over. Lola glanced at him and pointed at Old Phil on the sofa. "Get it some food and wash it. Note, it eats whatever you eat. It must eat better than you, understand?" Sams features spasmed but he nodded. Looking away, Lola bent down and tugged at Ye Qingxuans pant cuff. Dragging the youth as if he was a dead dog, she stumbled clumsily up the stairs. Finally, she pushed open her bedroom door and tossed him on the bed. She finally remembered that he smelled really bad! Heart breaking, she gazed at her bedroom and her bed. When she saw Ye Qingxuan, she was so angry her teeth were sore. But after a while, she could only sigh. Whatever. They were all useless now, so she would just change everything. There was no need to feel sad. Glancing at how deeply Ye Qingxuan was sleeping, she felt her own fatigue. After all, she had used up too much strength and had waited for a whole night. She yawned and turned to leave. After two steps, she turned around angrily and glared at Ye Qingxuan. Why did she have to sleep in the guest room? This was her bedroom and her bed! And so Ye Qingxuan was kicked to the side. Lola pulled down the curtains and carefully rolled out the unsullied blankets. Rolling herself into a cocoon, she closed her eyes. However, it felt weird without a pillow. After a while, she surrendered and pulled an arm over. Putting the arm under her head, she closed her eyes. She felt much better imagining she was using a bag of the worlds best blood as her pillow. She slept heavily. 261 Holy When Ye Qingxuan woke, he discovered that he was sleeping on a soft bed. The emptiness and fatigue that filled his body had disappeared too. There was a bitter taste in his mouth as well. It was probably medicine that Lola had poured into his mouth. He did not know what medicine it was but it was clearly expensive. His tensed nerves had finally relaxed a bit. Even the disgusting sewer smell had mostly faded. But for some reason, his arm felt sore. Was this a side effect of the medicine? Rubbing his face and sitting up, he felt the heaviness of sleep. When he saw the note at the top of the bed, he instantly woke up and felt chills. "Dearest little Yezi, a hot bath is ready in the bathroom, food is on the table, and Im in the library. Do you want to shower first? Or eat first? Or get the f*ck over and explain what happened?" Of the short few sentences, the first part seemed gentle and teasing. However, Lola seemed to put all her anger and frustrations into her pen. The red ink pierced his eyes. This was not teasing! If he did not deal with this correctly, it was basically a death letter! Here, he finally realized that Lola had worried about him for the entire night and he did not even thank her. No wonder she was so pissed. One must never anger a woman, especially a woman like Lola who could kill easily kill someone. Avalon had four full years of bloody history that could prove this point. Ye Qingxuan was going to get killed by her too. At this thought, he did not dare to waste any more time. He scrambled out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, quickly got rid of the smell, rushed out, stuffed some pieces of bread into his mouth, and rushed into the library. Half an hour later, Ye Qingxuan sat in the silent and dim library like a good student. He placed his hands on his knees, and smiled demurely without speaking. Lolas expression was heavy. After listening to Ye Qingxuans story, she sipped her red tea. The knocking of porcelain created a heart-stopping sound. The old-fashioned hat was placed on the table between them. It quietly emanated an ancient aura. The so-called ancient aura sounded powerful but no matter how one thought, it did not seem to be of much use. "So youre saying that you were out the whole night and almost died just to bring this back?" "Yes." "What did the parliament take away?" "I dont know." "What happened at the Royal Research Institute?" "Not clear." "Where did the Ripper come from?" "Not sure." And then a long, long silence. After the long silence, Lola finally looked away and Ye Qingxuan secretly let out a breath. Sweat rolled down his back. If he really thought about it, he did not accomplish anything other than bringing back a stupid hat after working the entire night. Yes, he made things difficult for the parliament, but only bringing back a hat from Avalons Shadow was not allowed. "The parliament went wild trying to take this. Maybe its some holy weapon." "All the holy weapons in the world are in the Church with serial numbers. There are only sixteen at most. How can a new appear out of nowhere?" Lola glanced at him. "Do you really think that you can find something at the level of the Sword within the Stone from Avalons Shadow?" "Uh, I was just suggesting the possibility." Ye Qingxuan flipped the hat over. "Look, at least its alchemy equipment. Can you test it?" "Yes, Im disguised as a scholar of ancient studies, but Im not an alchemist." Lola rolled her eyes. "Why dont you put it on?" "Good idea!" "Hey, you want to die?" Ye Qingxuan had actually started considering it seriously. There was a large possibility that he would die, but it would not be worth it if he put in so much effort to bring a hat back and did not even try it! After repeatedly checking for satanic traps or controlling music scores, Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and put the hat on. All was still. Nothing happened. Lola looked at him seriously. She was ready to destroy the hat at any odd sign but Ye Qingxuans face was blank. He moved his neck, touched the hat, and tried many poses, but nothing happened. "How do you feel?" Lola asked gravely. "Its pretty comfortable and the size is just right!" Ye Qingxuan grinned, feeling quite happy. "Do you have a mirror?" Lola suddenly had the urge to kill him. Ye Qingxuan pretended nothing was wrong while listening closely. He heard a song. A boys youthful voice sounded in his ears again. Like a dead spirit, he sang quietly, "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams. We have power and the sea so which direction should we wanderThe bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paid" The song sounded faintly again, but then disappeared like a hallucination. This thing undoubtedly had a definite relationship to Avalons Shadow. But what mystery was hidden inside? And what did that chilling song mean? He did not understand. The song disappeared after that one time and did not reappear no matter how Ye Qingxuan waited. It was as if the curse haunting the hat had left, dissipating with the rotting scent. The wrinkled surface became smooth again after the dust fell off. It had returned to its original graceful and elegant appearance. The dim music score inside the hat brightened again, waiting to be called upon. "It seems that this is its true appearance. What did you do?" "I dont know. I just struck a pose. I guess it likes to see me pretend to be cool," Ye Qingxuan praised himself shamelessly, however, his eyes twitched. Seeing something inside the brim, he reached in and felt a line of slightly protruding words. Too much time had passed so the silver thread had turned black, making it difficult to make out. Relying on the touch, Ye Qingxuan subconsciously sounded out the words, "There is a limit to mans power and he must obey the boundaries." This was one of the vows for a musician set by the first three kings. Every musician must abide by them. But why were they carved here? Unless He froze and his smile stiffened. "Unless this was the spell to activate the hat." Putting weird and mysterious alchemy equipment on his head was one thing. Being close to uttering its activation chantThis could definitely be in the top ten of "One Hundred Dumb Ways to Die for a Musician." He subconsciously tried to take his hat off but it was too late. The world went black. All he could hear was a crisp sound. And then the sky fell down! The experience at that moment was painfully pleasing. It was indescribable. It felt as if someone hacked a giant hole into his head with a hammer. Then, something like mercury was forcefully poured in. An immense amount of runes and images flashed past his eyes, drowning him. Inheritance of a heart mark? This should definitely be the inheritance of a heart mark but why was this so weird. Did they want to kill him? He fell unconscious before he could react. After who knows how long, he opened his eyes and found himself on a metal bed. He saw the pale white light of a shadow-less light. "How long was I out?" "One full hour." Lola grasped a cup with two hands and looked down on him. "You wasted another of my recovery medicines." "Sorry." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his swollen forehead and got up with difficulty. "My brain is a little messed up." "Seems like it really is the heart mark inheritance." Lola looked at him gleefully. "The bad thing about old-fashioned alchemy equipment is that the load is too heavy. What school is it?" "AncientSchool of the Stone Heartit combined Abstinence and Modifications," he said with pauses in between as he searched through all the new information in his brain. "We werent wrong. The hat is its inheritance ceremony. Its previous owner isthe first concertmaster of the Royal Musician Division, Andrea Casiraghi. Unfortunately, there isnt more information related to the user. There arent any more records on Avalons Shadow. The music score carved in this comes fromthe Requiem?" Taken aback, he carefully distinguished the aether music score in his memories and let out a long breath. "Its the Requiem!" "Which Requiem?" "What else can it be? Of course its the Requiem composed by Mozart, King of Yellow, which the Royal Academy of Music uses for its enchantment!" Ye Qingxuan waved his fists in excitement. This reward alone made all his dangerous life-or-death experiences worth it! Worth it? No, he had hit jackpot! "Dont get happy so soon," Lola dampened his excitement. "Which movement does the score come from? Itll be fun if its Dies irae. Its a supersized forbidden score that requires more than three orchestras in coherence to play. Were not enough even if you sap us dry." "Its Holy." Ye Qingxuan felt the aether waves in the hat with his eyes closed. "This piece is called Holy. It seems that its effect is protection abandonment." After a short silence, Lola nodded slowly. "This is one of the most famous core elements of the School of Abstinence. It really does have the School of Stone Hearts style. Youve really gotten lucky. Its the prototype of the School of Abstinences scepter. It can create a completely pure territory and reject any outer music theory. As a defensive music score, it is definitely one of the best. Furthermore, it can completely protect you against one fatal blow. Its a savior for musicians." Ye Qingxuan instantly grew overjoyed. "So Ill be able to do whatever I want now?" "If you can bear its burden." Lola glanced at him with pitiful eyes. "You probably cant wear it pastthirty seconds at your current level." "" "Dont just stand there. What else is there? What else did the heart mark inheritance say?" Lola asked. "The School of Stone Heart went extinct after appearing during King Arthurs reign. Maybe the reason is in the inheritance." "What else? Theres also" Ye Qingxuan searched through his memories and recited seriously, ":?xt=urn:btih:WCJX3P5C5HZT26SKSHMWTD7WJW4LPM3Yhuh? Is this a password?" "This should be the result after transforming music notes into binary numbers and modified with music theory. Its purpose is to ensure that others wont know about its secret core technique." "It must be something good! Let me do it! Ill finish decoding in three hours!" Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened and he excitedly climbed out of bed, not caring that a medicine bag was still hanging to him. "These century-old tricks are outdated. Do you have pen and paper?" Lola shook her head helplessly and gave him the pen and paper. She also placed a translation dictionary of the lingua franca from one hundred years ago on the table before he could ask. And so the room fell silent once again. Ye Qingxuan began focusing on the decoding and moved quickly. It was from years ago but the changes in sentence structure and music theory were headache-inducing. There was a multitude of problems. However, the further he went, the more excited he became. His eyes practically shone. He was so focused he had forgotten everything else. Beside him, Lola gazed at his expression. She sighed after a long while. "Youre growing more obsessed with decoding. If you continuedo you really want to be a scholar?" "To be honest, I havent considered it." "Huh?" Lola was taken aback. "Never?" Ye Qingxuan looked up and, after thinking, asked, "Lola, did you ever think about what you wanted to become when you were a kid?" After a pause, Lola nodded. "Yes." "Same with me. When I was little, I wanted to be a toy buyer. When I matured, I wanted to inherit the family business. After the catastrophe, I wanted to become a filial son. Then later, I wanted to become a priest. I wanted to pray for those who had died and live in a rural church until my death. "Those are all pretty good, arent they? Now that you mention it, I think being a scholar is pretty good too. But these are just for thinking. Anyway, for me, a lot of things are like that." He paused and chuckled. "Just think about it and thats it. Itll never happen so you dont need to think too much." Lola fell silent. Seeing the youths self-deprecating expression, she wanted to speak but stopped herself and looked away as if avoiding something. For some reason, she suddenly felt sad. The only sound in the silence was the pencil scratching against paper. After some time, Ye Qingxuan set down his pencil. He stretched and moaned happily. "Done! Lola, come look." Lola snapped out of her thoughts and accepted the stack of notes Ye Qingxuan offered. Her expression grew stunned. "The Sub-Originator Theory? Youve really taken back something impressive." 262 Sub-Originator Theory The Sub-Orginator Theory. Its full name should be "The Exploration and Production Method of the Sub-Originator Within the Human Body." This was the technique passed down from the School of Stone Heart, which had abruptly declined centuries ago. It contained a large amount of music theory and related scores that Ye Qingxuan sorely needed after entering the School of Abstinence. However, the most important was the core technologythe production method of the sub-originator. The School of Stone Heart had fallen from its status as a major branch of the School of Abstinence in a few decades because they had lost this technology, making it unable to be passed down. The Originator was the basis of the world, the core of the aether world, the source of the sea of aether, the birthplace of all music theory and miracles, and the location of all power and mysteries of the world. So many people dreamed of finding it. Musicians had studied it day and night for countless years. After the pioneers of the saints and three kings, they established the foundation for the seven schools of musicians. These seven paths of aether led to the Originator. Within these seven schools, there were hundreds of different theories and views with countless of research directions. One of them was the School of Abstinence branch that had been renowned for a time: the School of Stone Heart. This school did not have many members and its music theory was mostly secretive. This was the School of Abstinences unique point. They did not focus on appearances and just explored music theory fervently, searching for the aethers pattern. Thus, the others did not truly understand their direction of research and music scores. They were also the most mysterious of the seven major schools. The School of Stone Hearts research direction was known as the sub-originator. This was a concept they suggested in contrast to the worlds Originatorevery human body contained a sub-originator. By opening up, developing, grasping, and strengthening its power, a musician could store large amounts of aether inside their bodies. There was no need for outside help. "With this as the fulcrum, one can lever open the sea of aether. One day, we will resonate with the Originator, and join the unknown." This was how the original creator had described it in the book. "It truly is a good idea, but unfortunately," Lola could not help but shake her head, "Its impossible." The sub-originator theory had natural restrictions. Ancient Eastern musicians had done similar research, which was the research of the dantian. A distinguished work even suggested that the zifu,tanzhong, and danfu were one. If one ingested mercury and lead, one could open three sub-originators simultaneouslybut what of it? Even if one took illegal drugs, used up ones life, and opened one-hundred and eight sub-originators in their bodies, what would happen? Mankind had its limitations. The saying that man would win against nature was nonsense. Mankind had natural limits, so how could it be compared to the sea of aether? In theory, it was not impossible to develop the sub-originator so that it could resonate with the Originator; however, later experiments found that its success rate was a few thousand zeros after a decimal point, and then a lonely one. And then add a percentage sign at the end. It was a dead end. However, Lola sank into a long silence after finishing reading. She had never expected the School of Stone Heart could achieve so much in a dead end. They had reached the peak of findings on the sub-originator. They were able to develop their own aether by opening up the sub-originator within their bodies and use precious materials to push the strength to its max. In the end, it was transformed into a strong heart. Different from the flesh heart, this was the stone heart. With this, musicians could temporarily use more than ten times the strength they had and perform music scores above their level! There was even a technique to assimilate their instruments with their own aether. By aether-izing their instruments and storing it in their stone hearts, the heart would become a cavity, creating a unique instrument. Seeing this technique, even Lola was tempted. Unfortunately, she could only learn from these techniques. She had her own path and music theory. If she tried to use it forcefully, it would be painful and impractical. Her damaged symphony of predestination would break down once again. Furthermore, the materials needed to realize the theory was ridiculous. Merely opening up a sub-originator was enough to bankrupt her. The materials needed for strengthening the aether was like a bottomless hole. No amount of money was enough. "Its a good plan but too expensive." Gritting her teeth, she set it down. "Yezi, can you find something more useful next time?" "Dont you think this stuff suits me?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at her with something like a smile. "It might be useless to you but its perfect for me!" "In your dreams!" Lola snickered. "First, you need to develop a medium that has the nature of aether and blood at the same time. Where are you going to steal such a precious thing? Of the dozens of formulas, not one is easy to find. Youll spend up to three-hundred thousand just to find the rare material. Then you must hire an alchemist to refine it and the failure rate goes without saying! "In addition, the possibility of death when implanting it into ones body with our current technology is more than seventy percent! Only rich people who want to die choose to undergo this type of surgery!" "But I dont need surgery." Ye Qingxuan tugged down his collar, showing Lola the bite mark on his neck. Lola froze. "From a certain aspect, I already have whats needed since birth, right?" Ye Qingxuan smiled secretively. "I dont think theres a medium more suitable than the Devas blood within me." - It was already late at night when Ye Qingxuan returned to school. The rebuilt history department was silent; everyone was asleep. Of course, everyone did not include Charles. He was about to graduate and suddenly did not have stress anymore. His sleeping habits were completely messed up too, and he had become a full nocturnal creature. He slept during the day and went out to drink and eat at night. He just ate and slept all day but would not gain any weight. In fact, he grew more handsome. Ye Qingxuan could only saylife was unfair. "Hey! Yezi, youre back." Charles waved at him with a beer bottle. "Youre just like Bai Xi, always going out to play. I dont see you for the entire day. Come, come, drink with me!" "Uh, I was studying in the library." Ye Qingxuan coughed awkwardly. Sitting down, he asked, "Senior, how was the recruitment interview?" "Pretty good. Im going to work tomorrow." "Senior, dont feel dejected. The institutes that recruit in school are usually stricter. Even if youre rejected, its notAch!" Halfway through, Ye Qingxuan spat out the water in his mouth. "You passed? Youre going to work tomorrow? Where? The Musicians Union? The military? Or did you give up on yourself and sign up for the Dark World exploration team?" "Calm down and listen to me." Charles could not help but excited as he spoke. "Heres what happened. Yesterday, I went to the Royal Research Institute" The Royal Research Institute? Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. This was the place all theory musicians fantasized about; it was every graduates dream. It only had one opening annually and its interview was extremely strict. They would check up to three generations of the family and had fastidious requirements on morals and experience. No one had been accepted for more than three years. Even so, it was still filled with hopeful interviewees each year! "Senior, you really were confident." "Right? You have to have big dreams. Stop getting off topic and listen to me." Charless expression turned serious. "So the Royal Research Institute came to recruit yesterday, right? So I just went to see! And guess what?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "What?" "It was packed!" Charles gestured exaggeratedly and sighed. "I knew from one glance that there was no way for me. I planned on leaving after walking around, but then at the back, I saw an old guy. He was pretending to be cool by wearing a doctors coat and was sitting on the wall eating grapes! "It looked so familiar. Then I realized that it was the cluster from the School of Revelations that Id been waiting for two months! That guy stole my food from me, such blasphemy! I was so pissed!" "And then what?" Ye Qingxuans scalp felt numb. "What else could I do?" Charles shot a judging glance at him. "I went up and beat him up. He stole my food! I hit him until his nose bled. You werent there but a lot of people cheered me on." "" Ye Qingxuan was speechless now. Charles really had the talent of causing trouble wherever he went! It was a feat to return in one piece! Even if there were one-hundred of him, it was no enough to worry over Charles. "But that old guy was actually happy to get beat up. He seriously said to me, Very good. You successfully caught my attention. Now I can give you a chance to show me your resume." "And then?" "And then I beat him up again." Charles shrugged helplessly. "Why are people so fake? He was that beat up but he was still pretending. He was just a janitor but thought he could be Newton in that doctors coat!" "" Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. "And then?" "And then I thought he had good taste, even though he stole my grapes, so I decided to show him my resume." Charles took it out and pointed proudly at the mass formula he had come up with a few days ago. "Look at this amazing research and world-changing discovery! That guy saw it and ran like he saw a ghost. If I reacted slower and didnt snatch my resume back, I wouldnt have even gotten to apply!" "And then you found out that you got accepted?" "Yeah, someone just came to give me the notification." Charles whistled proudly. "Indeed, gold shines anywhere! Yezi, my era is here!" Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt a headache coming. He took Charless beer and gulped it down. Letting out a long breath, he asked, "Senior, did you realize that everyone was looking at you strangely when you were beating that old guy up?" "Dont they always look at me weirdly? Dont worry, I dont mind. After all, geniuses can never fit in with the others." Ye Qingxuan did not know what to say. He could only get up and pat Charless shoulder with pitiful eyes. If he guessed correctly, his stupid senior had accidentally beaten up the interviewer at the school recruit session. He had wanted to see the resume to remember Charless name, not to see his accomplishments! Charles had it in for him after entering the Royal Research Institute! He might only be sent to clean the toilets. He might even be taken to the dissection table to be experimented on. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuans eyes grew even more sympathetic as he looked at Charles. "Senior, youve done so many stupid things but I really cant help you this time. Good luck!" he thought. He sighed and patted Charless shoulder. "Senior, do something with your life before you die. Come help me. Is your alchemy equipment set still there? I need to use it for an experiment." "Its still there but what do you need it for?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled and said lightly, "Blood test." 263 Bad News Preheat the crucible, wash the test tubes, organize the lab table, and purify the air. Charles had done this procedure countless times and was an expert at it. It was obvious from how many things he had created. He had some weird problems as a musician but his talent in mechanics and alchemy was undeniable. Of course, fooling around like this was risky. Ye Qingxuan had taken out the needle, removing the fresh and hot Devas blood, as Charles was cleaning up. The more he drew the blood, the more unwilling he became. Devas blood was a high quality medium. If this worked, every drop was an essence hundred times more precious than similar material. It was practically liquid gold! And Lola drank all that money like beer. It was a stab to Ye Qingxuans heart. Beside him, Charles looked at his pain and fell silent. Suddenly, he patted Ye Qingxuans shoulder in pity. "Junior, I see that youre drawing blood in pain. Is there something youre not telling me? Youre so young and yetah, you must go to the doctor quickly for these illnesses. Dont be scared." "Thats enough." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. He pulled out the experiment material that he had just bought. If he had not taken advantage of the Shaman and those Indian smugglers, he would not have been able to find these illegal items so quickly. These things were not rare, but were unpopular, and not many would buy them. According to the theories of the School of Stone Heart, regular people had aether inside of them too. Musicians often interacted with it; therefore the aethers fusion rate was higher. However, unless the musician used healing music scores for the body, the rate would not be higher than ten. And then he would die. A medium was created by large amounts of alchemy equipment so there would be an environment where aether and man could coexist. When receiving a suitable medium, one must first test its nature. One must also understand its fusion rate with aether. If it was too low, implanting would be a waste of effort. Ye Qingxuan was a bit unsure about this. He did not know if it was a one-sided relationship. But Devas blood sounded powerful and it had been sitting inside his body for all these years. There had to be a time for it to shine, right? While he was lost in thought, the preparation had drawn to an end. Drip drop, drip drop, drip drop The material had assimilated into the rosin after multiple filters and processing. Now it flowed thickly and dripped into the beaker. In the end, they solidified in the beaker, shining with warm glow like amber. Ye Qingxuan sucked in a breath. He twisted the valve, allowing his blood to flow into the beaker along the tube. And so dark red blood seeped silently into the amber. The redness bled through the amber. In the end, it stopped in the center like a blood crystal wrapped in amber. Crack. Ye Qingxuans eye twitched at the soft crack. He glanced into the beaker. The solidified blood crystal had shattered and something flowed out. It filled the amber, swinging gently with faint ripples. The silvery ripples reflected with a dazzling color. There was a serene beauty in the fleeting lightit was moonlight. The gentle moonlight flowed endlessly out of the blood crystal like liquid. It undulated on the amber and faintly rose to the air, transforming into flamesthe moonlight flames. Ye Qingxuan turned off the lights. The moonlight stood in stark contrast to the darkness. The amber rippled gently in the beaker. It faded, melting into the moonlight, transforming into pure silver-white. The light illuminated the youths face and he smiled involuntarily. "Success," he murmured. "As expected of Devas blood." There was no doubt that the strongest nature of his blood was the moonlight inherited from Ye Lanzhou. Its fusion rate was a shocking one hundred percentno, it had even passed that. He had only put in the standardized amount of test drug. It was impossible to see how far it had gone out of range. Now, he could only be in awe of Devas blood. As the source of power for the nine Dragon bloodlines, it had such a high fusion rate with aether. He was right. His blood was the most suitable medium for putting the sub-originator theory into practice. It was inside of him naturally and did not require surgical implantation. This removed the risks and the need for more medicine and funds. He could skip the most dangerous step. As long as the moonlight in his blood could strengthen to the needed level, he could open the sub-originator within him using music score, and cross into the core technique of the Stone Heart. They had provided many formulas and tedious techniques to strengthen the nature of the medium. However, Ye Qingxuan had a better solution. He was the clearest about his own matters. The moonlight in his blood came from Ye Lanzhou. If he wanted to strengthen it, he would just have to continue studying the Moonlight score that Ye Lanzhou had left behind. Being so close to becoming an official musician, he could manage to play the movement with some outside help. However, it was clear that Moonlight was a score to purify demons. He must have demons to purify if he wanted to strengthen it. "But where can I find a bunch of demons in Avalon?" His head hurt but he stopped before he finished speaking. DemonsWasnt there a place with too many demons to count? Gazing at the burning moonlight in the beaker, he suddenly grinned. It seemed that some things required long-term planning. - Though he had slept the entire day after that busy night, Ye Qingxuan was still sleepy after finishing the medium testing. The parliaments exploration into Avalons Shadow had failed. He did not know what they wanted but they probably would not act in recent times. That meant he could relax for a few days and sleep in. He had received a precious life saving hat. The heart mark inheritance that had been an obstacle in learning the School of Abstinence had been solved too. He had even verified the possibility of the sub-originator theory. Avalons Shadow had become a goldmine for him. Ye Qingxuan felt as if a weight had been lifted after solving all these problems at once. Autumn was ending soon and winter was coming but he felt the comfort of spring warmth. What was that Eastern saying? It was the best season if there were no worries. He sprawled on the bed and closed his eyes. There was nothing tomorrow so he would just sleep now! Soon, cruel reality slapped him in the face, shocking him awake. Old Phil pushed the door open and tossed a letter onto his face. It looked like an unimportant bill from the Church bank; however, Ye Qingxuan swore at the content after decoding the message hidden in the numbers. He felt chills all over. He hurriedly tossed his clothes on and ran out. The letter said: The Shaman has been attacked. Life status unknown. - Half an hour later, Ye Qingxuan pushed open the door to a hidden room and saw the old man on the bed. Resting against the headboard, the Shaman was reading the newest paper with his glasses on. Seeing Ye Qingxuan enter, he looked up and motioned for the youth to sit. Ye Qingxuan pulled a chair over and sat across from him. The Shaman had all his limbs intact. It seemed to have been nothing but a fright. "I heard that you got killed." "Its not that bad but also not that good." The Shaman chuckled and tossed the newspaper to the side. "As you can see, Imhanging onto life." There was a gaping hole on the chest of his white patients shift. Ye Qingxuan could see the bloody bedsheet behind him through the hole. He could also see the quivering lungs; the heart was missing. Choir musicians had implanted various auxiliary organs to keep him alive. Keeping him alive was the extent of their abilities. Ye Qingxuans eyes twitched and he looked away. "How unfortunate." "Yeah." The Shaman nodded in agreement. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, "How did you fall to this state?" "Last night, at dawn, a man with an eagle head descended from the sky. All my guards died. The six musicians that tried to stop it were torn apart like paper bags. Finally, it clawed at my chest and my heart was gone. If Ghosthand hadnt helped me escape, youd probably be looking at pieces of the Shaman now." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He had seen this creature with a mans body and eagles head last night in Avalons Shadow. Hyakumes priest had transformed into that too. "An eagles head and mans body is the characteristic of the natural catastrophe Eagle Wing Mother. Its one of the lower gods of Hyakume. Dark musicians that sign a contract with it will turn into it. It seems that the parliament had fully joined Hyakume." "As expected," the Shaman said. "The true background controller of the parliament has always had something to do with Hyakume. But you came here for something else, right? Good or bad?" "Bad," Ye Qingxuan said. "The parliament had started entering Avalons Shadow." The Shaman did not show any shock or anger. He just nodded. "I know." He pointed at the newspaper he had tossed away, motioning for Ye Qingxuan to look. The youth froze when he opened it. The first headline of the second article: Mysterious damages have been caused to the building of the Royal Musician Division. The banquet hall is in ruins. May have been caused by activists. There were also a few blurry pictures. Ye Qingxuan did not need the pictures. He had seen it with his own eyes! But he had seen it in Avalons Shadow 264 Authority of the Bell "Thats not unusual," the Shaman said. "Avalon and its shadow have always been one of the same. If the Shadow is damaged, the surface will be damaged as well. This isnt something surprising but what it represents is unsettling." Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment. He looked up and asked, "Do you know what they want to do?" "The authority of the bell," the Shaman replied. "They want the bell authority that controls the enchantment of Avalon. "This is the custom of the Royal Musician Division. Theyre responsible for guarding the Elizabeth Tower since centuries ago and ring the bell at dawn and dusk. The Elizabeth Tower is the heart of the Avalon enchantment. "Its heavily guardedthe Royal Musician Divisions most important task is to maintain its safety and existence so Anglo wont fall into the hands of a natural catastrophe. Thus, the Royal Musician Division is given the bell authority. This authority could be in the form of anything. It can be a ring, a piece of white paper, a sword, a hat, or an eye." The Shamans voice was meaningful. "The parliament can enter the Elizabeth Tower with this authority. They can enter the heart and destroy the equilibrium of Avalons enchantment, whether it be inside the Shadow or outside. "Once it loses control, the natural catastrophes power can truly enter Avalons Shadow, enterthe palace in the Shadow. That would be the worst result for me, you, and the entire country." The Shaman studied the youth. Dying embers seemed to spark again in his dull eyes. They were inexplicably somber. "So I must ask something of you." "What is it?" "Slow their exploration down. Stop them from entering the Elizabeth Tower." The Shaman began coughing violently. Bone fragments and blood spewed from the giant hole in his chest. His organs trembled painfully. His servant rushed in to change the machine, but the Shaman pushed him away with an order. The servant hesitated before leaving obediently. Only the Shaman and the youth remained in the silence. Ye Qingxuan looked at the Shaman and the Shaman looked back. "You can do it. I know it." The youth shook his head. "I cant do it alone." "The Butcher will help you. I also have a group of secretly recruited musicians. When neededthe Ripper will help too." "The Ripper? Are you kidding?" Ye Qingxuan laughed involuntarily from shock. "He almost killed me. Twice! And once was last night in Avalons Shadow!" "Helost control." "Okay, so lets not talk about what Hyakume wants the parliament to do. Anglos at the brink of danger, right?" The Shaman nodded. Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel incredulous. "A jubilant western country has no idea that its close to danger. And theyre going to rely on an executioner, a bloodthirsty madman, and an Eastern kid in a vest. Isnt that funny?" After a long pause, the Shaman sighed. "After all, your mother is" "She is but Im not!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice and interrupted the Shaman furiously. "She is, so she trusted her husband, her family, and her countryand everything she trusted betrayed her. Shaman, shes already dead! If you want to keep discussing things with me, dont use her to admonish me. Never do that!" The Shaman did not reply. Expression troubled, he remained silent. After a long while, Ye Qingxuan, who had closed his eyes, opened them again. He let out a long breath. "Okay, Im calmer now. We can continue." After a pause, he asked directly, "Whats in the palace of Avalons Shadow? Shaman, you must tell me what the deal with Avalons Shadow is. Why has the royalty tried to hide it for these hundreds of years? Where do the skeletons piled under the city come from?" "Whats in the palace?" The Shaman had a strange expression. He looked at Ye Qingxuan regretfully. "Avalons Shadow is a reflection of King Arthurs era. What do you think will be in the palace?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly shuddered. What was in the palace? Was that really a question Why did he not think of it? Why had he never thought of it? The palace of Avalons Shadow obviously had King Arthur! But after centuries, was King Arthurstill alive? What had he turned himself into - "There are many secrets in this world, Ye Qingxuan. Many. As the Indians say, its like the amount of sand and rivers," the Shaman said with his eyes closed. "Some secrets are unimportant. Some must be buried in darkness forever, for eternityany attempt at uncovering them will create disasters. Thats how your father died. Do you remember the musicians vow? You must obey the boundaries, Ye Qingxuan Obey the boundaries." Ye Qingxuans shoulders trembled. He looked up at the Shaman with confused and troubled eyes. After a while, the troubled gaze faded and he recovered his usual calm coldness. He said coldly, "Shaman, I dont like how you keep hiding things." "To be honest, I dont either." The Shaman sighed. "I hate it." Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly as if trying to find a shred of pretense in the mans expression. After a long while, he said in a low voice, "Tell me what happened to Ye Lanzhou after all this is over. This time, you cant hide anything. Otherwise, were over. No matter what natural catastrophe or parliament it is, Ill take my friends away from this country. You and Anglo can go to hell." "I promise." The Shaman nodded. He had no way to refuse these conditions. Ye Qingxuan left and forcefully slammed the door. - Boom! The room was silent again. The Shaman looked in the direction Ye Qingxuan had left with bitterness and helplessness. He understood the youth. Or rather, he deeply agreed. Anyone would be furious when they realize they had been betrayed. It was human. After a long time, Ghosthand entered. He put a letter with the double snake watermark into the Shamans hands. "These are the results from the Trader. You dont seem to have good luck." The Shaman opened the letter and closed it after a long time. He asked, "Is Hermes sure?" "Yes, Ive confirmed it repeatedly with him," Ghosthand said. "You werent attacked last night by a man or dark musician, but the result that dark musicians dream of. Its a demon that had reached the Distortion level after completing the natural catastrophes transformation." There was a scribbled picture on the letter as if someone had drawn it with a finger sticky with sauce. However, it was extremely realistic and menacing. In the messy ketchup drawing, the black eagle had hundreds of wings and three eyes. It was awesome as if it would burst through the paper. It was the eagle motherKehlsteinhaus. It had already sent its children into Avalon. - In the dark night, a giant eagle descended from the sky. After landing, the bones scraped, the feathers changed, and it transformed into an old man with a black robe. His face was still sinister, like an eagle, and inhumanly cold. He looked at the man on the long bench. "Well met. I am the head of the parliament," the man said. "You can call me Robin." The eagle demon looked down at him as if sizing him up. After a while, he nodded curtly. "Malpas. In the human world, just call me Malpas." The robin nodded. Malpass voice was monotonous but he was clearly displeased. "I thought the White Raven would come meet me." "The White Raven? I havent seen him in a long time." The Robin glanced and pointed at himself. "You must know that Im in charge of things. Im the only main priest of lord Hyakume. The others arent important." "You replaced him?" Malpass eyes were suspicious. "I cant see how youre more powerful." "Its just a replacement." The Robin furrowed his brows. "If you can find the White Raven, then go find him. Otherwise, lets move on from meaningless matters." After pondering, Malpas nodded. He tossed a crystal eye into the Robins lap. "As per Hyakumes order, this is what my wings have brought back. According to him, youll be in charge of this mission. Not many have entered Avalon so you must use them carefully. Weve already lost six men to the Ripper last night." "I know." The Robin put the eye into his sleeve. "Dont worry. After all, the Ripper had killed believers of the lord. Ive already asked the lord to place a mark on him." With that, he opened his hand. There was a red mark on his palmit was a distorted eyeball. "Hyakume has the Ripper in his eye. He wont live for long." "Since this is the lords decree, I will obey it." Malpas lowered his eyes and asked, "Theres also the Vengeful Spirit. Hes always in the way. Is there a punishment for him?" "Hes just a clown. I can take care of him," the Robin said lightly. "I remember he defeated you twice." "I can take care of him." The Robins voice grew sinister. "I have my own thoughts. You neednt worry or care." Malpas stared deeply into him. After a while, he understood something and nodded. "As you wish. The hatred between humans is too much of a hassle." His body suddenly scattered a bit. The eagle head flickered back; he could barely maintain his human figure. Looking up, he saw the fleeting rainbow in the night sky. It was Avalons enchantment. The rainbow hung in the air, sweeping in all directions. It would arrive soon. At that time, Malpas would be unable to hide his catastrophic power. "It seems that I must go." Malpas sighed and took a step back. He unfurled his strange gray wings. A feather with the length and sharpness of a blade fell and floated toward the Robin. It curled in the air until the feather transformed into a black iron bell. The fist-sized bell landed in the Robins hands. It was heavy yet cold to the touch, and he could vaguely hear an eagles cry. "To call me, ring the bell." The black shadow soared into the sky, yet the heavy voice seemed to hover in every inch of the sky, vibrating. "I am omnipresent." 265 Sudden Happiness The eagle soared into the sky and disappeared in the night. The Robin looked up into the night sky, not looking away until a long while later. He scoffed. "Hes gone?" A figure walked silently out of the shadow of a tree behind him. He gazed in the direction Malpas disappeared with mock interest. "The demon transformed from his shell and was given an aetheric body by the natural catastrophe. From a certain aspect, omnipresent is not an empty word. Itll be more convenient now that you have this. Ring the bell and hell immediately descend from thousands of miles away. Fast and speedy. Seems like the lord truly trusts and loves you, my priest." The Robin glanced at him. "Naberius, youre late." Naberius was a middle-aged man. The hair on his temples was graying and his hands were stuffed in his sleeve cuffs. He looked like bookish scholarnot a bit like a dark musician. Hearing the Robins accusation, he just chuckled. "I was actually early, but Malpas is still a messenger who represents the natural catastrophe. I do not dare approach him. After all, Im not the type of person who likes to play around with contracts. Its one thing to take advantage. Its another to hang around a god and annoy them." "Whose fault is it that you thought yourself clever and found a loophole while exchanging with a natural catastrophe? You were locked in the Resonance level for eighty years by the god. I thought youd learn after that punishment." Naberius was not angry. He just shook his head and sighed. "Thats how I am. I cant help it. Taking advantage of a natural catastrophe is difficult. I ought to suffer some losses too." "Next I will start preparing to explore Elizabeths Tower." The Robin handed him a blood-colored conch. "The Vengeful Spirit is for you." "Thats a small matter." "Small matters should be done seriously, shouldnt they?" The Robin glanced at him coldly. "Youve slaved for so many years for your crime. You dont want to have done it all in vain, right?" "Of course." Naberius glanced casually at the holy symbol before the Robins chest. The Eye Within the Eye seemed to be staring at him. One was smiling lightly, the other was cold and shrouded in darkness. "With your blessing." Naberius bowed politely and left, disappearing into the darkness. - The Royal Academy of Music was bright and sunny in the afternoon. The warm sunlight passed through the window and shone on Old Phil, covering him with a layer of gold. He looked so holy, so stalwart, somajestic. Passing him, the sunlight shone on the bowl of aromatic ribs and the youth prostrated before it. "Boss, Im relying on you this time." Ye Qingxuan grasped its front paws with anticipating eyes. "You have to help me! Please just guide the path. I really need to get into Avalons Shadow. Oh, and can you come take me out again when I give you the signal?" "" Old Phil did not reply. Of course, dogs could not speak. However, its disdainful eyes seemed to be reprimanding the failure before him. "Yes, yes, yes, youre right!" Ye Qingxuan scooted over shamelessly and petted his fur. "Im so weak. I cant be compared to you, Boss! Right? Humans are stupid, so can you please be kind and merciful and show me the way? Ill give you anything! Ribs, lobsters." Old Phil glanced at him and then looked away coldly. As Ye Qingxuan was still lying on the ground awkwardly, he heard a confused voice behind him. "Cousin, what are you doing?" "Uh" Ye Qingxuan froze. He squeezed out a smile and chuckled. "Aha, I thought the weather was nice today. I want Old Phil to take me out." "Its walking the dog but why does it look like Old Phils walking you?" Bai Xis lips curled. "Oh, and you looked really stupid." "All geniuses are mad," Ye Qingxuan said, trying to keep his pride. "My intelligence has already exceeded the limit, so just stop talking if you dont understand." "Ha." It was rare to have a chance to make fun of Ye Qingxuan, so Bai Xi obviously would not let it go easily. After munching on baked seeds for a while, she petted Old Phil. "Its rare to see him so pathetic. Cant you just help him? Take us out later to play, please?" Old Phil glanced at Ye Qingxuan. Finally, he nodded unwillingly. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan had the urge to cry. Times were changing and Old Phils top follower had somehow turned into Bai Xi. No wonder his words were useless. All those years of hardships together were nothing compared to a few words from a little girl. Ye Qingxuan felt wronged and dejected. Seeing him like that, Bai Xi snorted proudly and patted Old Phil. "Im going upstairs to get something. Wait for me." Watching Bai Xi leave, Old Phil rose lazily. He slapped the youth with his tail, telling him to follow. After twists and turns, they left from the schools back door and entered a deserted alley. Old Phil squatted on the floor and eyed Ye Qingxuan. He barked like a hooligan driver looking at his client, asking where to go. "As long as its in Avalons Shadow." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his hands with a fawning smile. "If possible, Id like there to be demons nearby." Old Phil nodded. It offhandedly pushed aside a manhole and barked. This time, the meaning was much simpler. It was just one word: Jump! "Uh" Ye Qingxuan looked at the heavy smoke somehow rising from the sewer. There was also the pungent odor that just felt unreliable. "Is this okay?" Woof! Old Phil was starting to get impatient. It meant, Jump if you want but dont waste my time. "Fine, fine, Ill jump! Ill jump!" Ye Qingxuan sighed inwardly. Old Phils temper was getting worse and worse but what could Ye Qingxuan do? Would he have to act so servile whenever he wanted to get in and out of Avalons Shadow in the future? The nice and cooperative Old Phil had changed. Crying silently, Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, closed his eyes, and jumped. Plop. And no more sound. Old Phil quietly gazed at the fog that had swallowed the youth for a long time. Then it nodded, put the manhole back, and left with its tail wagging. The alley was quiet once again. - Plop. Ye Qingxuan felt like he had jumped into some messed up pool. His surroundings were suddenly covered with something sticky. As he struggled wildly, he suddenly lost balance and crashed against the wall. In the darkness, he lit a lantern. The fog dissipated slowly. The Blood Path flowed forward in this deserted and deadly still sewage tunnel. It was like blood rushing in a vessel, guiding him to an unknown place. "I really got in?" Ye Qingxuan froze. He quickly tossed his heavy bag to the ground. He put on the heavy coat and various equipment from the bag and folded it, hanging it to his waist, after checking everything. He snapped out his cane and carefully walked forward. Avalons Shadow was creepy. Who knew what he would run into this time? As he walked silently, his steps suddenly halted and he looked in all directions. The boys singing had started again. Maybe it was because he was wearing the hat, but this time, it was clearer. The boy was practically singing into his ear. He could even feel the singers cold breaths. He spun around but there was nothing there. "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams" It was this song again. It haunted the citys shadow like a curse. Every corner, every inch, was filled with this chilling hatred and evil. After a long, long time, it was still there. It was just lingering in the ear, in the wind, and the broken sounds. If one listened, one would sense it. Ye Qingxuan sucked in a breath and ignored it. The Blood Path had disappeared. He had re-entered Avalons Shadow. - When he finally pushed aside the manhole cover and climbed out of the sewer, the first thing he saw was a thick layer of cotton. The dusty cotton and thread was scattered all over the large room. One could vaguely make out that this was a large mansion. However, it was filled with strange eggs for some reason. Giant eggs the size of children were piled in the dust and cotton. He could see hundreds upon thousands at a glance. It was as if he had walked into an egg market. He stepped back instinctively. The sticky glue-like feeling underfoot finally made him think something was wrong. This was not cotton! The thing crisscrossing all over the large room was a giant spider web! Thud! A sound came from midair. Something like a giant cocoon fell down. Ye Qingxuan expressionlessly brushed away the webs on it and saw a corpse that had been sucked dry. He could vaguely make out the painful expression as it had died. Cracks and pops sounded above. Things in the dark seemed to have awoken and climbed down the webs, waving their bones. Ye Qingxuan looked up and saw the green stars that filled the sky. Those were the compound eyes of countless spiders. They were staring at Ye Qingxuan with open mouths secreting liquid that represented their hunger. "Old Phil, you really understand me. Youre my soulmate!" The youth suddenly wanted to cry. When Old Phil had asked him where he wanted to go, he had said somewhere with many demons. So then Old Phil opened the door andas expected, Old Phil never disappointed him. Indeed, there were many demons herebecause Old Phil had led him to the demons nest! He was so happy to have such a caring friend. The demons looked happy too. They had been sleeping for so long that the bones had lost flavor. Today, something meaty had given himself up and he looked fresh. Anyway, everyone was happy, but this happiness was a bit too sudden. 266 Thunder and Moonligh Soon, something humongous climbed out of the darkness. The giant shadow practically toppled the walls. A large compound eye appeared in the crack. Pungent wind surged behind it, along with a shrill shriek. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop All the giant eggs in the room cracked open. Oddly shaped spiders covered in stickiness climbed out. Struggling in the dust, their shells quickly hardened and became menacing. "It wants me to feed its kids?" With the sudden realization, Ye Qingxuan looked at the sea of spiders flying out of pores in above and around him. A mere glance was enough to see it was a terrifying amount. Though he could not rate the giant spider mother he had not yet seen, the other spiders were not very high quality. But if he added them together, it was enough for quantity to be over quality. Should he run? He looked down at the manhole cover. After short hesitation, he could not help but sigh. "Let me show you something good first!" Boom! He slammed the black iron cane on the ground. The majestic boom was the horn that represented the coming of dawn! The clanging of iron sounded continuously under the fast melody. The tangible sound hacked at the thick spider webs like an ax. The ringing stunned the newborn spiders. Dozens of long silver nails appeared out of thin air and pierced in all directions. They passed through the black wave of baby spiders and shot into the direction of the strange aura. Shrieking sounded instantly. Many half-transparent spiders appeared amidst the black mass of bodies. Their large tails shook. Pungent venom shot out and sizzled on the ground. Even their own brethren had melted. Ye Qingxuan felt chills. He thought he could practice with the babies! Why were there matured ones hiding amongst them? The dozens of long silver nails crisscrossed, piercing the faces of the transparent spiders. The scriptures carved onto them flashed with a blazing light and spat out burning flames. The fire that burned within the spiders used their flesh as fuel and burned gloriously. A burning ring instantly appeared around Ye Qingxuan. The melody was pressing to the point of suffocation. Under it, the flames danced like living beings. They melted into the rhythm and swallowed the endless spiders under Ye Qingxuans guidance. At the moment, it was a stalemate. The most pressing matter had been solved, but Ye Qingxuan began to sweat under the high pressure. Unfortunately, he had not prepared well enough. If he had time to prepare the materials needed for Night on Bald Mountain, he would be able to create a massacre. The dozens of silver nails were the materials for singing Night on Bald Mountain. If Ye Qingxuan could hire an alchemist to create a similar set for himself, he would have the confidence to face that giant spider mother. Unfortunately, that was expensiveToo expensive! Back when the Churchs Ministry of Faith was still called the Inquisition, they were known as the monster department. They used up to forty percent of the Churchs budget each year! At that time, the discipline musicians used this piece as their weapon. Pure silver flowed out from them like water. Lethality created by the buildup of money was more terrifying than any other type of power. They did not only use the sacred metals created by green gold and pure silver. They also used large amounts of holy water. All of that was money, money, money If the Church was not the biggest financial support of the world, they would probably go bankrupt from this. For Ye Qingxuans financial status, the materials needed for strengthening was too much of a luxury. Boom! The entire nest of spider demons was shocked awake. The spider mother shrieked. At the same time, dozens of metallic spiders dropped from the air with incredible speed. However, Ye Qingxuan had already raised his cane. The amber gem at the tip brewed with thunder and lightning. "Do not let the three realms turn to ashes!" Lightning shot out and wrapped around the youth. Ye Qingxuans vision went black as he almost suffocated. It was a total overload to withstand the burden of Night on Bald Mountain and Indrahs Eye at the same time! Boom! Boom! Boom! He guided the lightning to criss cross around him. The light brewed from blood was like a glowing pen that sketched with sharp strokes in the air. The beams of light converged rather than dissipating. They joined together, transforming into complex designs that one could not stare at for long. Then they scattered in all directions. Ye Qingxuan felt his blood dissipating quickly. He used all his energy to guide the lightning. Cracks appeared in the ground and air around him. The lightning died away in a snap of the finger. However, the complex cracks had already connected. The complicated music theory had completed its structure under the guidance of the lightning. As if they were made of silver, the complex notes crisscrossed and overlapped. They were branded into the stone, air, and pillars. They resonated with the wild aether, sucking dry the aether within a hundred meter radius! "Success." After the flames were extinguished, the exhausted Ye Qingxuan leaned on his cane, panting for breath. With the flames gone, the black mass of spiders shrieked and converged toward him quickly. The darkness surged. The only noise in the silence was the chilling broken scraping sounds. In this terrifying silence, someone sucked in a breath and raised his hand. Snap! The crisp snap spread. As if it was an order, the hidden music notes in its path exploded with lightning. They connected with each other and affected the complicated threads of music theory, causing them to reveal their true appearance. It was a music score created by lightningthe movement Moonlight! Amidst the cold melody, moonlight descended from the sky. The illusionary moonlight illuminated the youths face and scattered equally in all directions. The spiders in its path screamed in terror. The sharp shrieks rose in waves but were unable to cover the sparse and cold music. A pure white moon appeared over Ye Qingxuans head, scattering the clear radiance. All demons trembled violently under the moonlight. Restricted by the formless moonlight, they were forced to ground, shaking. The all-reaching moonlight passed through their shells and compound eyes, melding into the spiders bodies. Gently, yet undeniably, the moonlight purified the demons from the inside out. All chaotic auras were flattened and transformed into moonlight. They integrated into the silence and order, causing the clear radiance to shine even brighter. The moonlight converged onto Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, making up for Ye Qingxuans energy loss. He suddenly recovered from his exhaustion. In fact, he was stronger than before. He could feel the Devas blood within him strengthening gradually. "As expected of moonlight." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He was covered in cold sweat. Thank God this idea worked. Otherwise, he would have had to run for his life! - An idea bloomed in his mind after reading the sub-originator theory. Since his blood contained moonlight and Indrahs Eye sucked his blood, could it activate the music in his place? If it could withstand the enormous pressure, he could activate the overture of Moonlight with his current power. It was doable in theory. The most difficult was the conversion stage. After studying for the night with Lola, he had used the newly-acquired music theory from the School of Abstinence and his enlightenment from Deva sensing to create this idea. The Emerald Tablet was known as the source of all current alchemy techniques. Its content was deep and difficult to grasp. Ye Qingxuan was not an alchemist, but he had touched upon it during Deva sensing and was inspired by it. The inspiration could also be called creativity. For some reason, any method would become an unorthodox and astray path in Ye Qingxuans hands. Otherwise, he would not have turned into this from an average person in a few short months. Using the compatibility of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and Indrahs Eye, paired with the translation method, he was able to create a one-time alchemy object by carving the music score in the surroundings with lightning. Thus, Moonlights effect became an alchemy ceremony. He could not personally create the effect, so he used other objects to make up for it. He was then able to perform the overture of Moonlight. Here, Ye Qingxuans headache worsened. Moonlight did not consist of only one movement. The entire score comprised of forty-five movements. There were three overtures, four main sections, twelve pure sections, nine mixed sections Other than the sections own effect, different combinations had different effects as well. Back in the day, Moon Chant had played around and created his own rules for purifying demons as the first demon hunter. Not only was there an immense amount of music theory, it also included the complete profiles of most demons in the world, their weaknesses, things to keep in mind, and ways to deal with them. It could help people in the future inherit his role and continue to kill. Ye Qingxuan could only say that this was crazily boring. Crack. A crisp sound traveled to his ears. Ye Qingxuan rolled forward without thinking. The moonlight above him dimmed. It had been covered by white spider webs without him realizing. His original spot had been gouged by an invisible blade. It had been going for his head. Strands of spider webs hung in the air. He did not know where they came from, but they hovered in the wind, quietly covering everything. Ye Qingxuans head shot up. The giant spider mother behind the crack in the wall had disappeared. All that remained was the strands of webs falling to the ground like snow. However, they carried chilling murderous intent. Shadows that the moonlight could not shine onto began writhing like living creatures. Endless streams of tiny spiders climbed out and flowed forward. A huge and oddly-shaped shadow had appeared above the empty wall without him realizing. There was nothing there but when the moonlight shone upon it, it cast a menacing and dim shadow. There was something there! 267 Elegy of the Crow It was as if a giant beast had quietly seeped from the wall. Sensing Ye Qingxuans gaze, it looked down. One of its compound eyes lit up. And so rock-like material and color began spreading under the path of its gazethe fossilizing gaze! This spider mother had the slight bloodline of the stone statue demon! The moonlight struggled to maintain equilibrium. Where it met the gaze, powder would fall down. It was the dust bloated after turning to stone. Broken noises continuously came from the spider. The youth could vaguely see the menacing shadow of the spider slowly raise two pincers. "This is kind of difficult." Ye Qingxuan rolled his stiff neck and gripped his cane. "Its challenging!" Boom! - Three minutes later, Ye Qingxuan was running for his life in the dead-silent street. The giant building behind him was covered in spider webs. Countless spiders rushed in all directions like a flood. They passed through some other demon nest, causing a commotion. The guy who had started all this was squatting in a tight corner, wiping away his sweat. He let out a sigh of relief as he watched the chaos in the distance. As expected, he could not beat it! He sighed. Once again, this strengthened his decision to take shortcuts and use tricks whenever possible and never fight face-to-face! Ever since the infamous Vengeful Spirit debuted, he had never fought straightforwardly. He had always relied on despicable tricks. He could not help it. His actual abilities were not enough. Using tricks was more fun too; it was less troublesome. He just set it off and everything was fine! Sighing, he caressed his cane. The gem Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had been sullied. It was ruined in his hands. He could only awaken its true strength when he became an official musician. A hat could contain so much music theory. Ye Qingxuan believed that the Ye family had put some good stuff into the instrument as well. He did not need powerful scores like "Guangling Zhixi" or "Eighteen Songs of a Nomad Flute," but there should at least be "Changmen Yuan," right? There should be at least two or three copies of trademark Modifications scores too. Ye Qingxuan felt much better from fantasizing about the impossible but beautiful future. But soon, a caw sounded again, shattering the silence. Furrowing his brows, Ye Qingxuan looked up slowly. On the withered tree above his head was a giant black crow. It was staring at him and screaming, attracting all the surrounding demons over. This was how they lived. The crow could eat his decaying flesh after the demons killed him. Unfortunately, the demons living in surrounding neighborhoods were either attracted by the commotion caused by the spiders or were hiding in fear. "Caw! Caw!" Seeing that no one was responding, the crow panicked. It cried louder, "Caw caw!" Still, no one came. The only sound in the silence was the youths sympathetic whistling. He rose slowly and walked over, an eerie smile on his lips. "Caw caw caw!" The crow tried to fly away, but Ye Qingxuans off-handed frost ray froze its wings together. It dropped to the ground and cried pitifully while curling up in a corner. Sadly, all cries for help were useless. The youths black shadow swallowed it. His smile was cold. "You like to scream, huh?" After thinking for a bit, Ye Qingxuan pulled some ropes from his waist. Tugging it, he smiled in pleasure. "Then Ill let you scream some more." Five minutes later, the tortured and damaged crow was tied up and hanging from the youths cane. It trembled as it swung side to side. Two mussed feathers fell amidst the cold drizzle. It looked so pitiful but the crow was much more obedient now. It knew when to scream and when to shut up. "No wonder they say crows bully the weak and fear the strong." Ye Qingxuan sneered. He strode into an alley while holding the bird. When he found a dead alley he liked, he hung the crow on the wall. After preparing everything, he pulled some beast traps out of his bag, placing them all over. Finally, he wiped his sweat in satisfaction. He looked up at the trembling crow and began hitting it with his cane. "Scream! Hurry and scream! No ones gonna save you even if you scream your throat out!" And so the crow began to scream under the immoral torture. It did not scream stupid things like "Your throat out! Your throat out!" but it did have some effect. When Ye Qingxuan heard scattered footsteps from the distance, he hid into the shadows, gripping the trick Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. He was happily waiting for the prey to fall into his trap. - Today truly was the day of misfortune for crows in Avalons Shadow. They used to be so loved, but today they were being hunted cruelly. A shameless black shadow was searching for these poor fellows and tying them up one by one. He would lure demons into his trap and then destroy them all. If he killed a crow, he would switch to another one. If the second one died, he would get a third. In a few short areas, all the crows of South Buck had become victims. They had practically all died in this guys hands. The demons were confused too when they rushed forward at the signal only to find a seductively tied up crow. And then they would get hit in the back of the head. Boom! Another primate demon fell to the ground. Before the shaking crow, Ye Qingxuan expertly pulled out his knife and slit the demon to let out the blood. After collecting the most valuable material, he kicked the thing into the sewer without hesitation. After accumulating enough, he used one-time moonlight to purify them all! The most valuable material to a primate demon was the two vertebrae. Ye Qingxuan soaked them in alchemy liquid and stuffed them into his bag. His bag was already filled to the point of bursting now. Seeing that he had made ten-thousands of pounds in a few short hours, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt that Avalons Shadow was a good place to get rich. He just had to catch some crows. If the demon attracted was too powerful, he could turn around and run, and catch another crow to start over. It was all gain and no pain! Unfortunately, his could not put more in his bag. After purifying the last group of demons, Ye Qingxuan was tired enough to collapse onto the floor. He had used Moonlight multiple times in one afternoon. Indrahs Eye took the burden, but he was still mentally exhausted. He decided to take a break and wait for Old Phil to contact him. However, he saw faint mist in the distance when he looked up again. Stark white fog creeped in from every corner under the eternally-unchanging night. The heavy whiteness swallowed all commotion in its path, causing all to sink into deadly silence. The fog had appeared though there was no water vapor here. It was like the mist that shrouded Avalon in the morning, but it had a slight decaying odor and it swallowed everything. He could not see his own fingers in the heavy fog. Thunder roared in the distance, resonating faintly. Ye Qingxuan halted. He studied the white fog heavily. As more surged in, the song that had haunted his ears disappeared as if it had been strangled. The youth shivered at the thought. Though the song disappeared, he felt that the animosity of this shadowy city had multiplied tenfold or thousand-fold. Each inch of air and earth was filled with disgust and animosity toward outsiders. He could barely even breathe. "Traitor," someone spat in the fog. "Traitor" The voice was old and hoarse. It seemed to be a roar that had traveled from far away and was filled with raw hatred. It repeated over and over, "Traitortraitortraitor" Ye Qingxuan froze. He subconsciously tugged his hat but the power sleeping within it seemed to have awoken. The fleeting sound grew clearer in his ears. He could hear the unclear yet spiteful murmur. It was a list of all the traitors; it was a declaration filled with hatred. "Guinevere, Gawain, Percivaland Merlin. Merlin, you clown, you b*tch, demon" The voice was filled with deep-rooted wildness and fury. "Traitorsall traitorstheyre all traitors!" Ye Qingxuan felt a chill to the bone as he listened. To be honest, he did not want to know who was talking, but he could not help but suspect the undead king sleeping in the palace. "Arthur, what exactly did you all do?" he muttered to himself, not daring to think. Perhaps the Shaman was right. Some secrets were too dirty and should sleep in darkness for eternity. Brashly going after them would lead oneself into danger. In the few short hours, he had thought that he was getting familiar with Avalons Shadow, but now it was unbelievably unfamiliar now. He could not sit here and wait. Even here, he could feel the breath of danger sweep past him. It was obvious that the closer he was to uptown, the more dangerous it would be. After Avalons Shadow was covered in fog, it had transformed into an entirely different place. He began packing immediately, throwing away everything unnecessary. With a lighter load, he walked quickly toward the city gate. He could not help but let out a breath of relief after brushing past the dangerous aura. He sped up but suddenly, he halted. All was unclear in the silent fog. He could only see a few meters ahead, no matter how many Revelations scores he used. This was the limit. Gazing around, he looked at the citys serene silhouette in the fog. It was silent and cold as always. There was nothing wrong. But for some reason, he had a bad premonition. "Is it my mind playing tricks?" 268 Honest and Open "Is it my mind playing tricks?" After hesitating, he took a few coins out of his pocket. They were pure silver coins carved with tiny music notes. He had stayed up all night making them to test the paths in this dangerous place but had, not used them yet. Now he tossed one coin forward. It created a soft arc of light in the air like a lantern. Landing on the ground, it rolled on the crumbled stones and stopped moving. The light on the coin extinguished but nothing happened. He tossed another one. It landed before the previous coin. Rolling forward, it lit up and then extinguished. All was silent still. He tossed yet another one but still, nothing happened. Satisfied, Ye Qingxuan nodded. He turned around and walked without any regret. He should have decided early on that if this place made him feel unsafe, it was either paranoia or he had detected something subconsciously. Either way, it was better to take a safe path than putting in all his effort to test things. However, after three steps, a sigh came from behind him. And then someone soared toward him. Ye Qingxuan dove forward without looking back, and rolled on the ground. He felt a metallic hand brush past him and slam onto the table, flattening a large mass of stone and wreckage. He looked back as he rolled and saw a strange figure appear gradually beside the silver coins. It looked like the average stray that he had seen in the Jianlan Underground Palace. It had a bony face and long and thin limbs, like steel wires coiled around a skeleton. However, this guy was unbelievably long. Just squatting on the ground like a dog, it was already two meters tall. Other than two long and narrow arms, it also had seven other arms of different lengths and shapes. The youth felt goosebumps all over after seeing it clearly. This *sshole had been sitting on the ground, waiting for Ye Qingxuan to walk over him unknowingly, then give him a warm hug. And then Ye Qingxuan would be shattered. But who had hidden it? Ye Qingxuan had tested three times without finding anything weird. This was too scary. Even an expert at the School of Illusions would reveal some flaws under this type of targeted test. He did not have any time to think. While rolling, he heard a noise under the stone. It was as if there was a pot of bubbling stew under the stone tiles. Strange bubbles kept appearing with a string of popping sounds. He raised a hand cautiously and pressed down. Boom! The shaking Sigh. The stone tiles shattered instantly as the terrifying shaking lifted all the surrounding tiles. Ye Qingxuan had been propelled to the air too. In the air, he felt that polluted blood was spewing from under the stone. He had killed the demons that had been called over at their most fragile state. An ear-splitting scream followed. A hysterical melody rang out of thin air. The violin wailed, faintly freezing the air. An eerie deep-rooted chill spread out. First, it was the School of Illusions, then Revelations, and now it was Modifications? Ye Qingxuan had no time to think further. He pressed his chest and unleashed the music score sealed onto his jacket. The gentle melody rang out! Abraham had been worried for his safety when he had decided to jump into the quagmire of downtown a few months ago. He had sealed the score Tranquility into this jacket. After all this time, Ye Qingxuan would have forgotten about this awesome thing if not for this life-or-death situation. Tranquility was known as the trademark Resonance level score of the School of Abstinence. It was also proof that Abstinence could counter the other six schools. Once activated, everything in a ten meter radius would become a silent aether zone for half a minute. During this time, the aether would reject calls of any music score. Nothing lower than the Resonance level would work. Sharp cries sounded as soon as Tranquility was activated. The color of frost spread in the sky. Icicles appeared out of thin air. Modifications formulas were carved onto the triangular icicles with an unbelievably eerie aura. It was obvious at a glance that they were piercing attacks designed for defense and protection. Hundreds upon thousands of frozen arrows appeared in an instant, enough to turn Ye Qingxuan into a sieve. However, once they entered the silent zone, they broke apart. The coldness disappeared and they dropped onto him as snow, scattering on the ground. The fatal shots were now as laughable as a snowball fight. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to relax though. He had already heard the mutated stray with nine arms run over. It was as if a giant rock was rushing over. As it ran, it opened its nine hands, wanting to rip Ye Qingxuan to shreds. Ye Qingxuan quickly raised his cane. He narrowed his eyes, waiting for this guy to reach the most suitable distance. Then he would remove Tranquility and unleash the power of Indrahs Eye. However, the stray seemed to receive some order. It halted abruptly and stopped in place. Then it hurriedly crawled back to its original spot. A demon created by Satanwas just like a dog. Ye Qingxuan squinted. He could finally see the figure walking out behind it. He was hunchbacked and walked slowly. He reached out and stopped the frantic stray. Then he looked up toward Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan could not see the face clearly due to the fog but he could sense the taunting smile. "As expected of Avalons legendary character." The man raised his hand and clapped lightly. "That was a beautiful counterattack. Decisive, unhesitating, careful, and yet with above-average decision making skills. It was not a waste in coming here." Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly as he tried to guess the mans identity. This dark musician could control demons and was well-versed in music from various schools. Ye Qingxuan did not know if the man was hiding here for him or just anyone, but the parliament had hired a troublesomeno, headache-inducingenemy. He seemed to be at least at the Resonance level. It was rare for a Resonance level to be skilled in so many schools. Ye Qingxuan could not defeat him. One did not even have to think to know that Ye Qingxuan could not defeat him. So what were his odds? He began calculating quickly. "Mr. Holmes, do you not like talking?" The figure cocked his head as if waiting for a reply. "Did I disgust you with my impoliteness or do you like being called the Vengeful Spirit more?" "You flatter me. Why dont you just choose whatever you like?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged, pretending to be relaxed. "I dont mind." "Oh? Then what if I use your abbreviation S.H? S.H., S.H., S.H" As he sounded out this name, his eyes filled with anticipation. "This name is cute and lovely. Dont you think were closer now?" "Ha." Ye Qingxuans smile was devoid of warmth. He did not understand this man. Did he want to talk? Or just kill? This confusing attitude was freaky! "Close?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Your way of getting close with others is unique." The man laughed. He said warmly, "I was just greeting you. After all, weve interacted for a long time. Please dont find it strange that I had to greet you warmly. I believe you wont mind, no?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Would you apologize if I said I do mind?" Pop! There was the sound of a water bag popping. Ye Qingxuan stared at the figure before him in blank confusion. The moment he spoke, the dark musician had raised his hand. His fingers slashed to the side like daggers. Foul blood spewed out and the strange strays head flew to the sky. As the head landed with a thud, the giant body continued to spew blood like a fountain. It died the fog read. The menacing figure looked clearer in contrast. "This stray was a gift from Hyakume from before," the dark musician suddenly began explaining for some reason. "Its a new breed from the Dark Mother, called hymner. The nine hands can use holy power. Theyre indestructible. Lets skip the other features for now. Its a rare but fine specimen, and of precious material. For a dark musician, the technology within is the true gem. Theyre great to use on your mutations or to transform yourself." He glanced at Ye Qingxuan with a genuine expression. "Think of it was a meeting gift from me to you. Can you feel my sincerity?" Ye Qingxuans eye twitched. This was too weird. What did this guy want? He asked, "Are you from the parliament?" "Yes." The man put a hand to his chest. After a pause, Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Do you all have the habit to give gifts before killing someone?" "Normally, no. I dont, at least." The dark musician laughed and shrugged. "Would you believe me if I said I think highly of you?" Ye Qingxuan nodded seriously. "Of course. For people like me, were as eye-catching as the sun in the darkness wherever we go. Its not strange for you to think highly of me." The dark musician blanched and coughed awkwardly. He could not reply to this. In all these years, he had seen many geniuses but this was his first time meeting someone so shameless. "To be honest," Ye Qingxuan said, "there are too many people like you who talk in circles. Everyone has the disease of not knowing how to speak correctly. So can you stop making me think so hard? Why dont we be honest and open?" 269 The Cost of Sixty Years "I like being honest and open." The dark musician nodded in agreement. "I just came on the parliaments orders. For example, helping the Robin solve some problems. However, I feel that killing isnt the only way to solve problems. Killing is the final solution but not always the best. Do you understand?" "I agree greatly." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He suddenly felt he could identify with this man. "However, Im sorry if you want to recruit me. I dont plan on worshipping Hyakume." "Hyakume isnt the only one for dark musicians. There are many natural catastrophes. In comparison, my god is one of the stingiest. Theres a lot of work but not much money. The contract is long too. You can easily die if youre not careful. The main work is mundane work, like being a loan shark. To be honest, anyone with a brain would avoid it." The dark musician laughed. "So its okay if you arent willing to become a follower. You just need to become a dark musician. What do you think?" "Hey, giving your life and future to some weird thing." Ye Qingxuan laughed too. "Why would I jump into the abyss for no reason?" "Whats that saying? Theres a great future in the abyss." The dark musicians voice was meaningful. "I can help if youre willing to sign with any natural catastrophe. Idealistic people like you will have high goals for natural catastrophes too, right? Let me guess, the highest orderis it the Three Outer Gods? The Three Saints? The Four Living Objects? I believe people like you would be a great follower to any of them." "I reject." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I reject you, Mr. dark musician who isnt willing to reveal his true identity. I wont accept any natural catastrophe." "Then well have to use the most barbaric method." The dark musician scratched his head in frustration and sighed. "I didnt want this." "Theres a question I need to ask though," Ye Qingxuan suddenly stated. The dark musician nodded. "Please ask." "Have you ever felt regret and guilt from your actions as a dark musician all these years?" The man fell silent. After a long pause, he nodded slightly. "Mr. Holmes, a man is destined to feel guilt toward things you are powerless against. This is the original sin. No one can avoid it, other than gods." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Thats good." "Huh?" The dark musician froze. He watched as the youth lifted the cane and slammed it on the ground. Boom! The thud was heavy yet cold. A crazed melody sounded instantly. The song of hopelessness filled in all directions. The black flood had come! He could not see, could not hear, and could not feel; he was tormented. Even his sound of heart was trembling. The black river swallowed the dark musicians mind. However, the negativity pouring out of his heart was abruptly restrained by a powerful strength. After the short confusion, he was already clear-headed again. The moment he felt something was wrong, he instinctively put his hands together. Crack! A sharp noise sounded, echoing through the air. Ten thousand tons of pressure dropped from the air, smashing toward where Ye Qingxuan stood. The stone tiles were pulverized, instantly creating a crater. However, the moment he moved, the youth had already adjusted his steel skeleton and shot forward like an arrow. He was running! This boy acted when he wanted without hesitation, acting even faster than the dark musician. He was also better at escaping than expected, disappearing in the blink of an eye. "Hehe, what an interesting opponent." The dark musician stared in Ye Qingxuans direction. He did not hurry over, but instead went to Ye Qingxuans original spot. He looked at the cracks on the ground. After a while, he dabbed his finger on the insignificant trace of blood. The drop of blood moved as if it was alive. It coiled up his finger, finally swimming to his palm and pointing to the distance. "Run, run, run quickly." Dark musician Naberius gazed at the city shrouded in fog and chuckled. "Barbaric killing is so boring. If its you, this will at least become interesting, right?" - Ye Qingxuan fled for his life in the fog, panting for breath. Practice marathons, practice marathons, practice marathons. "Ye Qingxuan, why didnt you practice for marathons? Look at you now, you cant even run," he thought to himself. He mocked himself in his head. Sprinting, he crossed dozens of meters in an instant and rushed deep into the darkness. His perception threads could sense that the strange dark musician was slowly but steadily following him. He needed Old Phil now buthe did not know where Old Phil was. His life depended on himself. Boom! There was another muffled boom. The spot he was in instantly began a black wind tunnel. It sucked in everything within ten meters of the tunnel like a vacuum. Then it exploded; the air pressure shot up hundred-fold. If Ye Qingxuan was a second later, he would be sucked into that hellish change. If he did not implode in the vacuum, he would be pressed into a meat pie. The School of Modifications Immediately after, innumerable insects rushed out of the cracks in the tiles, charging toward Ye Qingxuan. His face changed and he began sprinting again. He did not want to see what would happen if he got bitten by things called by the Summoning The School of Summoning Immediately after, the ground before him began bubbling. Water demons covered in mud began climbing out continuously. Ye Qingxuan was stunned but immediately sneered and charged through them. Ripples spread through the illusion of the demons and quagmire, and the image collapsed. The School of Illusion Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt dizzy. He wanted to gag as his heart pounded like a drum. The moonlight in his blood hummed; it flickered and extinguished by itself. It was hard to breathe and Ye Qingxuan spat something black out of his throat. The thing squirmed on the ground as if it was living. It was a curse from the School of Choir! There were thick layers of fog between them but the dark musician would not give up. It was as if Ye Qingxuans every move was in his control. This was the probe from the School of Revelations. Ye Qingxuan lost control of his panic and fear. He also felt despair and the urge to go crazy, which he should not have. He swore inwardly. When did this *sshole plant the hint? The School of Mind Modifications, Summoning, Illusion, Choir, Revelations, Mind Within a short few minutes, Ye Qingxuan had suffered attacks from the six major schools. They had been activated hurriedly but they were already enough to kill him. This d*mn guy had learned all of this! Other than the School of Abstinence, he was an expert in all six schools. How bored was he?! "Mr. Holmes, are you scared?" The taunting voice traveled through the fog. "Are you thinking who would be bored enough to withstand the incompatibility and backlash of the different theories and forcefully learn the six schools?" Ye Qingxuan leaned against the wall and panted without replying. "Its simple. Its really because I was bored." Naberius voice floated from left to right like a spirit. This was an auditory illusion. "To be honest, when I was still young sixty years ago, I was a genius. Really, I was just like you right now." "Ha." Ye Qingxuan flicked a coin forward. The music note carved onto it activated an auditory illusion, creating a snicker. Then the coin was swallowed by a giant snake that reached out from the fog. Cold sweat seeped from Ye Qingxuans temple. As expected, this guy had no good intentions! - "Seems like I made you laugh." Naberius sighed in the fog. "I was once like you, hungry for power. I fell because of this and became a dark musician. I had no hesitation or moral torment. It was just a choice I made after deep thought. To a genius, the rules and sense that average people insist one are just jokes. Mr. Holmes, do you understand this?" Ye Qingxuan flicked a coin and scoffed. "Unfortunately, I was too arrogant. I thought I could trick the gods so I did something to the contract." Naberius sighed. "I succeeded and gained some more power. I also avoided being controlled by the gods and being transformed into a demon. But unfortunately, I failed too." He suddenly waved his hand. Wild wind blew forward under the piercing music, blowing past Ye Qingxuan. Everything in its path split apart as if hacked by an ax. "This was Hyakumes punishment to me. I will forever be restricted to the Resonance level. It has been sixty years! Sixty years! Sixty years is too long. "It was long enough to make me die of boredom. I raised my music theory for all six schools to the Resonance level. It was long enough for my brother, far less talented than me, to become the king of dark musicians and fall in the hands of saints. "Yet I am still paying for my crimes." He paused and said in a low voice, "To be honest, taking care of you is my final mission. Once complete, Ill be free again." Another coin rolled in the fog, bringing with it a mocking voice. "So were you bullsh*tting just then?" "No, no, everything I said was the truth." Naberius expression as solemn but his lips curled into a fanatic smile. "I want to trick him again! Mr. Holmes, lets play again! Losing isnt scary. Whats scary is if you dont have the courage to challenge himIm going to use my own ways to complete my last mission. Im going to gamble my sixty years of fury to lie to the gods again! It will pay for my sixty years of torment!" 270 Your Heart and My Heart on a String His eyes grew wild as he spoke. "Think about it, Mr. Holmes! Isnt tricking a god a challenge? Avalons Shadow is a blind spot for him. He wont know anything that happens here. If youre willing to work with me, well definitely win! Ill win freedom and youll win power! Isnt it a double win?" "Youre crazy." The youth in the fog sighed. "Im sorry. I acknowledge your pride and motivation but please allow me to reject you." He did not use an auditory illusion this time; he spoke with his own voice. Perhaps this was respect, to some degree. "No need to apologize." Naberius lowered his eyes. "I should be the one to apologize. Ill use your respect to kill you." The aether around him swelled, ready to destroy the enemy with destructive power. However, the drop of blood that guided him suddenly began burning. It shone with a cold yet deadly light. The blood instantly became scalding lava. The moonlight burned in his hand, sizzling, piercing through his hand, and dropping to the ground. A hole appeared in his palm. Naberius instinctively tried to reconnect the broken music theory, but he discovered that his senses had been cut by that light! Confused, he looked at his hand. The flesh around the hole writhed but was unable to heal. Raising his hand to his eyes, he studied the wound. Did the youth turn the tides? One could vaguely see his pleasantly surprised smile through the hole. It seemed that this hunt was becoming more interesting! It was so great that he could have such an enemy for his last mission! - The silent fog was like a dark forest. He could not see anything three steps ahead. Everything was unclear yet eerie and filled with murderous intent. This was the worlds best hunting ground. The hunter and prey seemed to have returned to an equal starting point. They sharpened their teeth in the darkness, looked for their enemys flaw, and thenperformed the fatal blow! "Chirens once said that bitter fruits await during a long ascetic practice. I truly love this phrase." Then Naberius suddenly asked loudly, "Mr. Holmes, do you read poetry?" "Never." The reply in the fog was short and fleeting. And so Naberius nodded with a sense of loss. "Seems like you dont like literature. What about life? How do you view life?" "Sincere and priceless." "Well said! Life is priceless! To live, nothing counts as insulting." Naberius chuckled as if praising him rhythmically. "Then, Mr. Holmes, Im willing to take a step back. Are you willing to leave Avalons Shadow and never return?" "Sorry, I cant." "Theres nothing to be sorry about. I knew you would reply like that." Naberius bent over. He took off the steel box from his waist and took the accessories out one by one. Holding them, he studied and chose the accessories. He said conversationally, "You know, youre very famous. Many dark musicians know you." "Oh?" "Regular people think youre a dark musician. Dark musicians think that youre not a regular person. Without a doubt, youre rational. There arent many rational people but I like those types of people. We can discuss everything." After a pause, he suddenly asked, "To be honest, you suit me. Are you interested in becoming my student? Join me. I promise you that in thirty years, youll be powerful enough to be top ten on the wanted list." The youth in the fog seemed to be shocked. After a while, he chuckled lightly. "I have a teacher." "Really? Thats a pity." Naberius sighed. He looked at the accessory he had finished assembly. "Your teacher must have never taught you what special skills the guys on the wanted list have." Boom! Ye Qingxuan felt his vision go black. Blood rose to his head and he barely managed to stay standing. Boom! With another muffled boom, Ye Qingxuans face flushed. It was difficult to breathe and he could barely make a sound. His heart was pounding furiously and almost jumped out of his chest. In the distance, a metallic heart suddenly appeared in Naberius hand! The gentle yet sturdy heart assembled from metal pieces had seven holes like a flute. Naberius held it in his hand and played it. The sound was heavy yet fine; the music was melodious like the song of life. However, this song was despair. It was the song of life withering away. Within a few moments, Ye Qingxuans blood was chaotic and his heart almost cracked from pounding. "Youve never personally experienced a battle with a Resonance level musician, right?" Naberius sighed. "Musician duels under the Resonance level are focused on countering different schools. Its like chess. But above the Resonance level, its the defense and crashing of the sound of heart. Once the frequency of your sound of heart is grasped by your enemy and broken down, youll have no room to fight back." Ye Qingxuan stooped low. Blood trickled from his lips. Hearing this, he asked hoarsely, "Youyou can hear my sound of heart just from my speech?" "No, no, that would be too idealistic. You must have well-rounded calculations and a series of guidance with much experience. This is probably my most unique skill. Because of this, the Sacred City calls me the heart hunter. So, give up, Mr. Holmes." He looked down at his metallic heart and studied the pulsing atrium. "Thanks for talking to me for so long, letting me prepare with ease. Now, your heart is in my hands." "Ha." The youths weak voice traveled in the fog. "Do you really have improper thoughts about me?" "To be honest, I dont reject close relationships between two men." After short and serious consideration, Naberius nodded and said, "Lets decide the technicalities after I see what youre like. After all, everyone loves beauty." "Ha, your fantasies are pretty beautiful." Ye Qingxuan coughed violently. "But fine. Come over and Ill show you something good." "Okay," Naberius said. However, his footsteps stopped thirty meters away. Thirty meters, thirty metersthat was a critical distance. "You want to show me that alchemy equipment that shoots lightning, right?" His expression was cautious. "Im sorry for being a coward, but according to the information Ive received, that extremely powerful weapon is a saints relic, correct? So how about no. Ive already been transformed but I still wont be able to withstand that type of power at a short distance." Ye Qingxuan muttered a curse. The cane that he had raised now fell to the ground listlessly. Indeed, a trick would lose effectiveness if used too many times. This time, his enemy was well prepared. The parliament had probably grown defensive of Indrahs Eye. "You tried so hard to make me fall but youre too scared to come over. Dont you think thats laughable?" "Safety first. I dont mind being laughed at." Naberius looked down at the metallic heart and murmured, "In my opinion, this isnt enough. I must be more cautious when facing enemies like you." Ye Qingxuan was caught between laughing and crying. "You still need to be more cautious?" "At leastI should at least make you too weak to speak." Naberius clenched his fist. With a boom, Ye Qingxuans face turned red and purple. He gagged and spat out sticky blood. "Look how pitiful it is for someone to control your heart." Naberius voice traveled from afar. "Your sound of heart represents having control over your life. Once it is controlled by your enemy, it means that your life is controlled by him." "Yeah, just like the relationship between you and that god of yours" Before Ye Qingxuan could finish, his vision went black again. The pressure in his eye was so strong that it felt as if his eyeball would burst. Under the guidance of his frantic heart, his organs started rebelling as well. The blood, veins, lymph nodes, and bone marrow all over his body were influenced as well. It would be easy for Naberius to kill him. The man only needed to hold that heart and play a few tritone intervals. After a few measures, Ye Qingxuan would be more dead than dead. But that *sshole clearly wanted to keep him alive. And the bad thing was that he could really do it! Ye Qingxuan realized that if this continued, he really would not be able to speak anymore. Lowering himself, he tore open the hidden button in his sleeve with difficulty and injected the cardiac needle, local anesthesia, and stimulant. The prick of the needles brought immense pain. His lungs trembled and swelled as he said hoarsely, "You know whyI dont want to be a dark musician?" "No, normal people all want to be dark musicians, right?" Naberius could not help but whistle. "Let me guess. Is it because of prejudice?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head painfully. He collapsed onto the ground involuntarily as he lost support. After pondering, Naberius asked again, "Is it because of your ideals? Are you like those revolutionary soldiers who want anarchy?" The youth laughed mockingly. His voice was weak and hoarse. "Oh, then is it because the rewards arent enough? You must be the core student of some school then, right? Indeed, a contract with a saint is looser than relying on natural catastrophes." This time, the youth in the fog did not even feel like replying. Naberius chuckled. After thinking again, he sighed involuntarily. "If its not because of interest, prejudice, or idealsHey, are you really into keeping the vow as a musician?" No one replied. The youth in the fog could no longer spoke. Even his breathing had become irregular. The breathing sounds came once every few seconds. Wait, once every few seconds? Naberius froze. He counted in his head, five, four, three, two, one, exhale, five, four, three, two, one, exhale His expression changed drastically. Cutting through the fog, he rushed to where the youth was. No one was there. There was only a coin with an auditory illusion shining there. It would make a breathing sound every five seconds. Beside it, he could see the blood the youth had spat out. As well the trail of him crawling away painfully. Beside the coin, he could also see the answer that the youth had written with his blood: Why dont I want to be a dark musician? The reason is simple. Its because youre all too stupid. Naberius face changed. In the end, he could not help but burst into laughter as if he had heard the worlds greatest joke. Rather than feeling anger or confusion, he felt appreciation from the bottom of his heart. "He really escaped? Mr. Holmes, youre an opponent I must respect from every aspect!" Watching the direction the youth had crawled in, he rubbed his hands excitedly. "Then lets see how far you can run!" 271 The Most Dangerous Place is Not the Safest Place How far would he run? Of course he would run as far as possible! After escaping from Naberius range, Ye Qingxuans heart recovered. It no longer pounded crazily but he was still in bad state. In other words, he was pathetic. There was a music score that was popular amongst dark musicians called the Devils Murmur. It could vibrate the aether and create terrifying sounds that humans could not hear. The capillaries of all organisms would burst under that sound. The organs would be affected as well, going crazy until bursting. The organism would swell into a giant due to the bursting vessels while the innards would turn into messy paste. Naberius attack was no weaker than that; however, it was more specific. It worked directly on the sound of heart. Ye Qingxuan could not even fight back unless he was at the Resonance level. He was probably bleeding internally right now. Other than the stimulant for his physical strength and the hemostatic agent, he also gulped down the recovery medicine Lola gave him as if he was drinking water. The side effect to all these drugs was that his mind became muddled. Now, it was as if he was drunk. He could no longer maintain the rational thinking he was so proud of. In reality, the fact he could escape had nothing to do with his brain. It was actually because of the jacket that he had neglected and had gradually forgotten aboutthe Dungeon Gentleman. Created by Charles, this was not alchemy equipment and had average quality. It could only protect the critical locations. Its essence though was Charless kinetics masterpiecethe steel skeleton that fit closely to his body. After adding the chainsaw monks technology to it, it provided ten times the amount of strength support than regular humans, making up for his fatal weakness. Here, it had saved his life. He had no more strength, but thankfully, Naberius sound of heart interference was ineffective against steel. He was able to crawl out of range with the help of the steel skeleton. It seemed that Charles was usually unreliable but could really save his life when needed. Ye Qingxuan had never felt so grateful to Charles in his entire life. Charless image in his mind now was an angel with a halo and two chicken wings. Angel Charleshuh, it sounded pretty nice. Having slow and wandering thoughts and difficulty concentrating was another side effect. Ye Qingxuan felt like he had taken some opium. He started hallucinating uncontrollably. He swayed as he walked on the street in the fog, using the last bit of his sanity to avoid the wandering demons. He instinctively searched for a safe spot. Danger lurked at every spot on the road. Many times, he brushed past a terrifying aura. He hid in the darkness, not daring to find out what demons were there. His steps finally came to a stop after some time. He finally realized that he had somehow run to the lakeside of midtown in Avalons Shadow. He had run to the place his subconscious mind thought was the safestthe Royal Academy of Music. - "But where the f*ck is this?" The youth looked up under the heavy fog. He gazed at the slightly hidden building. It had a menacing silhouette and, hidden in the fog, it looked like a crouching beast. The gates had been pushed open by some mysterious power. The surroundings looked like a battlefield. The ground was covered in corpses of demons, including strange creatures that terrified Ye Qingxuan. A trail of footprints led into what was supposed to be the academy. Behind the walls of this place, rows of stakes rose toward the sky like a forest. Under the ghastly fog, they looked like ghosts restricting souls. If Ye Qingxuan guessed correctly, this was not the Royal Academy of Music. It had not yet been established during King Arthurs reign centuries ago. But no one had ever said what it originally was. Ye Qingxuan knew now. This was a prison! Darkness oozed under the pale fog. Under the silence, Ye Qingxuan walked through the gates and saw the sinister buildings sleeping in the mist. He also saw dried blood on the ground, corpses abandoned after torture, unruly weeds, and various dilapidated scenes. The uniformed jailers had long died and lay on the ground as skeletons. Their long swords were rusted and looked like warped snakes. Recently, this was also a demons nest. But It was not anymore. Now, they were deader than dead. Their pieces were scattered about, and blood covered every inch of the ground and walls. There seemed to have been a massacre. So what the h*ll was this? Ye Qingxuan was chilled to the bone. He really wanted to look up into the heavens and sigh. What was this? He had just gotten out of one danger, only to walk into another? He knew he was always unlucky, but thiswas unprecedented. His heart suddenly twitched and pain began to spread. Turning around in shock, he heard footsteps approach. That d*mn dark musician had actually caught up. What had he used this time? He was able to put a tracker in Ye Qingxuans heart without any sign, so he was probably able to follow without any traces as well. Faced with an old creature who had been stuck at the Resonance level for sixty years and had an unreasonable amount of experience, Ye Qingxuan was clueless no matter how clever he was. There was no time to hesitate. Gritting his teeth, he ran into the ruins. Since he was going to die either way, why not choose the slowest death? - The ancient gates opened abruptly with sharp grating sounds. Dust flew up, falling onto the youths white hair. Ye Qingxuan used all his power to close the gates. He leaned against it in exhaustion and looked up at the empty hall. Scattered corpses lay under the strange and dim lantern light. Half was dust; half was blood. Half were decadent images that had been weathered for thousands of years. The other half was covered in blood from demons fighting. The bones of the jailers who had died long ago were still sitting in their original positions. One could still faintly see their serious solemnity from yesteryear. The demons corpses and blood were poured on them, adding a menacing color to them. The dark eye sockets on these withered faces seemed to study the suddenly-appearing guest. It was as if they would rise and unsheathe their swords at any moment. "What is this? Are you planning a Christmas party or something?" Ye Qingxuan stared back at them. "Want me to join? I have some new poker cards we can play with too." No one replied. The corpses obviously would not open their mouths to retort at them. They retained their original posture. They would shatter if he touched them. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuans tensed body relaxed a bit. He could not help but laugh. What was he thinking? Was he truly panicking? How could these dead things come back to life and kill him? If that was the case, he should be overjoyed instead of afraid. Rebirth was a miracle that the School of Choir had been searching for for a millennium. It was a great proposition second only to the man in a beaker from the School of Modifications. Ye Qingxuan shook his head, chasing away the ridiculous thoughts. He must hurry. Sensing the Rippers traces, he quickly followed it. Along the way, everything was barren. There was no life at all. In the prison that had been turned into a school, all was in ruins. He gazed around at the decadent scenes and felt more and more anxious. If this was a prisonwhat was kept here? After thousands of years, were theweird things here still alive? Extremely cautious, Ye Qingxuan pushed open the gate to the underground. Dust fell in clumps, dropping through his suddenly thinning figure onto the ground. He carefully raised his lantern and illuminated the darkness. The dungeon was silent. The only sound was the dripping of water. He padded down the stairs and entered the darkness. The jailers dried corpse at the entrance fell down the steps. Its head bounced on the stone tile until it broke into three pieces. The empty eye sockets rolled into the darkness with the other shards. The silence returned. There was no sound on either side of the cells. There was nothing there, other than the dust-covered chains and the bedrolls which had decayed to dust. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan let out a relieved sigh. And then there was laughter in the darkness. Laughter Laughter came from the cell beside him. Ye Qingxuan spun around. And saw himself. 272 Must Treat the Disease "Sir, I have sinned." In the cell, the white-haired boy in shackles gazed at the newcomer. His dirty face had a fawning expression. "I betrayed my mothers hopes and came back to Avalon." "Sir, dont listen to him! Im the sinner!" In another cell, a white-haired man yelled in fear, "Im the one who had sinned! I betrayed the priests discipline and did many unethical things!" "Sir, I have sinned as well!" A frail old white-haired man in the cell up above poked his head back. His face still looked vaguely like Ye Qingxuan. He studied his younger self and cried, "I missed so many opportunities and wasted my entire life for a shallow excuse. Ive accomplished nothing in my life." "I was born a sinner, sir!" an angry white-haired youth pounded on the bars and yelled. "I was born locked up in this cell! I was destined to lead a painful and pitiful life!" "I have sinned too! In order to return to Avalon, I purposely became closer to Wolf Flute, gained his trust" "Ive sinned! I broke the Fathers heart to follow my own ideas." "No, Im the sinner! I harbor sinister thoughts and keep my teacher and senior in the dark. I never tell them what I truly wish to do" "I took advantage of a little girl! That girl sees me as an elder brother!" "Ihave sinned!" "Have sinned!" "Sinned!!" "Sinned!!!" The quiet dungeon was filled with rising voices. The boy, youth, man, and old man behind the bars screamed hoarsely, pleaded fawningly, accused angrily, cried, yelled, shrieked, laughedThe sounds rose like waves, digging into Ye Qingxuans heart, cutting apart his mind. He could barely breathe. It was as if he had been torn into thousands of pieces. They accused and denounced his crimes without talking. Sinned, sinned, sinned, sinnedHe was a great sinner with multiple crimes! Sweat rolled down Ye Qingxuans back as he began to pant. All that remained in the world was the angry and chaotic accusations, until finallyboom! A crisp sound shot out. The echoes from the instrument head resounded in his brain. They transformed into rolling thunder, dissipating the cacophony. Everything returned to silence. The cells in on either side were still silent and empty but Ye Qingxuan was somehow kneeling on the ground. The dagger that had been in his boot was now pressed to his chest. It nicked at the flesh with a cold stinging pain. Freaked out, Ye Qingxuan threw the dagger away. Looking down at the faint wound on his chest, he seemed to feel the pain of piercing his heart. "What is this" This time, he felt goosebumps as he looked at the empty cells. There was a strange atmosphere everywhere. Each inch of air was filled to the max with the thick negativity. Darkness surged. Burned. A hoarse moan sounded deep in the darkness. Ye Qingxuans head shot up. There was a figure shackled with layers of chains in the burning darkness. The figure emanated a wild aura. The demonic twisted silhouette was hidden behind a veil. The golden hair was dyed red and dust covered the white dress. Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see her eyes behind the red veil. There was endless darkness and wildness in those eyes, as well as sulfur and burning firelight. It was like a dragon at the brink of deaththe Ripper. - Ye Qingxuans body tensed instantly. He finally understood how those demons outside had died Like him, they had probably been affected by the Rippers wild aura and fell into frenzy. Had the Ripper lost control again? Ye Qingxuan scared himself with the sudden thought. However, nothing changed in the Rippers eyes after he waited and held his breath for a while. They were still empty and unfocused, filled with chaos and craze. Even when the gaze fell on him, it was as if the Ripper was looking at grass. There was no sign of perception. Ye Qingxuan stared at the Ripper silently. After a while, his gaze moved to the shackles and it finally dawned on him. All those handcuffs and shackles were probably put on by the Ripper herself, right? She knew that she was going to lose control so she came here, closed all the doors, and restrained herself here with the chains. Along the way, the affected demons could not withstand the craze. Going wild, they killed each other. This all came from the terrifying aura she emanated subconsciously. Ye Qingxuan would have dug out his own heart and died in this dark dungeon if he did not have Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Compared to the terrifying aura, the Rippers own strength was extremely weak. She was as weak as a candle in the wind. She seemed to be burning herself up and venting out this strength. Thinking of something, Ye Qingxuan held his breath and looked into the unclear darkness. Moonlight lit up in his eyes. Under the moonlights glow, the darkness finally grew clearer and he could see what was hiding deep in itit was the Eyes Within the Eye, the evil within evil. This was a mark of Satan! The mark of the satanic eye was carved onto the Rippers chest as if drawn with blood. It was embedded in the flesh, engraved in there. A dark and crazed aura flowed from it endlessly, eroding the Rippers body. This was the curse of Hyakume. The mark was where Hyakumes gaze was focused. He had put the Ripper in his eyes and reflected his power from the abyss into her body. This meant that the Ripper was being transformed into a demon every second of the day. Her original wild power was also rebelling against this process. The two powers used the Rippers body as a battlefield to fight to death. There seemed to be an invisible ax in their path. Blood spurted out but the wounds quickly healed, only to be torn apart under another battle. Bending down, Ye Qingxuan looked at the puddle of blood that had turned into a stream. The Ripper had probably been stuck in this torture for days. He slowly approached. "Presumptuous!" When he was only a step away, a sharp crack suddenly appeared under his feet. Pebbles flew up and shot at Ye Qingxuans face. The Ripper screamed as if she had either woken or was trapped in a nightmare. She raised her eyes but emotions battled in her crazed eyes. She was looking at Ye Qingxuan but it was as if she was looking at something horrible. She murmured in panic, "Dirty, its dirtyits all dirty" Looking at her eyes, Ye Qingxuan felt as if he saw faces hidden in the darkness. He could not find a focal point. There seemed be thousands of people. And it was the ancient lingua franca Had she been possessed by King Arthur? Turning into a psychotic killer after being possessed by King Arthur. This was an unfunny joke. "Calm down." Ye Qingxuan raised his hands. "I dont mean harm. Maybe I can help you. We dont have much time." "Its you! Mordred." The Ripper stared at him from behind the shackles, though her eyes were unfocused. Her voice was hoarse and wild. "Why do you not kneel before me? Youre clingy and lingeryou b*stard can never be shaken away, I know! I know! I shouldve killed you long ago! No, youre already dead Mordred, youre already deadMerlin? What is Merlin doing now?!" The Ripper yelled as she convulsed, "Traitor! You group of traitors! Guinevere, Percival, and that creature Merlin, you all want to betray me!" Ye Qingxuan suddenly heard metal grating. The chained Ripper suddenly jumped forward to rip him apart but was stuck in midair, restricted by the shackles. The strength cast forward scraped Ye Qingxuans cheek, leaving behind a bloody mark. Blood flowed down his face and joined the bloody stream on the ground. He stumbled back in the silence. His heart had started convulsing painfully again. Looking back in shock, he heard footsteps approaching from outside the dungeon door. That f*cking dark musician had caught up again "My friend! Where are you?" Naberius voice resounded amongst the ruins and neared. His tone was filled with anticipation. "Escaping cant solve any problems. How much longer are you going to hide for? Are you testing my sincerity? Please be rest assured. My enthusiasm will melt your cold heart!" "Are you crazy?!" Ye Qingxuan thought. If possible, he really wanted to slap that question on Naberius face. That man seemed determined to force Ye Qingxuan into becoming a dark musician and make headlines. But why?! How come everyone was crazy these days? There was a crazy dark musician outside the door and a crazy Ripper inside the door. The entire Avalons Shadow was crazy. "This is a disease. They need treatment." Ye Qingxuan clenched his jaw and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Finally deciding, he muttered, "Friends, you all need treatment!" - "Mr. Holmes? Why must you reject my enthusiasm? Cant you see my sincerity?" Under the fog of the ruined square outside the dungeon, Naberius paced and gazed around. His smile was filled with warmth. Every few meters, the dirt of the ruins would rumble and a corpse would climb out to show him the direction Ye Qingxuan had gone in. He gradually walked straight to the youths location. In the end, he stood outside the dungeon and gazed happily at Ye Qingxuans hiding spot. "Did my enthusiasm make you shy? Thats understandable! Understandable! Chasing so bluntly is truly impolite. You must feel embarrassed, right?" 273 Danube River of Blood The fog was silent. No one replied. Naberius seemed to hear the youths curse and he opened his arms cheerfully. "So you have nowhere to run now, huh? Why are you insisting on your prejudice? Why dont we hold hands and walk toward the beautiful future together? Come, I can play a waltz and we can dance together with this beautiful melody!" The instrument pounding like a heart in his hand gradually swelled and distorted, transforming into something like a French horn. Holding the odd instrument, he announced enthusiastically, "Next, please enjoy the musical piece brought to you by NaberiusThe Danube River of Blood!" An eerie breeze abruptly rose in the stillness. The French horn began playing energetically. At first, the sound was delicate. There was a tinge of bloodiness in the aura that spread in all directions. Gentle and strange, the melody sounded like the murmurs of lost souls. Then the horn suddenly jolted. It crescendoed and a melody flowed from thin air like a river. The music notes resounded as countless notes overlapped, shot out, and transformed into the graceful and gentle melody. This music score required dozens of musicians to play in coherence. However, the power gifted by Hyakume seemed to give Naberius hundreds of hands. The hundreds of fingers on each hand played the layered tune. One could not resist the urge to walk forward and dance to the melody. However, the melody was incomparably eerie. It was like skeletons hugging and dancing together in the cemetery. It was like embracing death. This was not the original Resonance level score. This was a dark melody modified by dark musicians. The witches and followers at the ritual would embrace each other, perform intercourse, dance with skeletons, and offer themselves to the glorious lord under this melody. The fog had been forcefully scattered by this intensifying melody. Immediately after, a blood-red river trickled out of thin air. This was not the Blood Pathit was the Danube River that had been dyed red by skeletons, corpses, and death! Everything covered by the river was isolated by the world. This place had already been turned into a demonic abyss! The melody ravaged the souls of all living organisms, snatching away their reason, dragging them into the dark territory. The bloody river tossed violently. Countless illusionary figures walked out, dancing to the melody. Naberius bowed slightly and reached out a hand. A hand gloved in white lace reached out from the bloody river and rested on his hand. He stepped back and a girl dressed in a pure white veil was led out. Her figure was enchanting yet pure, like a girl attending a wedding. However, the girl was clearly a rotting skeleton. Even the wilted flower crown could not return youth to the ugly face. With a happy and strange smile, she walked into Naberius arms. She held his hand and began dancing. This was the spirit hidden in this music scorethe spirit of the dark music. The overture finally ended with her appearance. The river of blood surged in all directions and flooded into the dungeon, swallowing everything in its path. Countless skeleton girls in veils climbed out. They enthusiastically yet gently welcomed all living things into the dance of death! "Youre still hiding?" Naberius asked hoarsely amidst the eerie dance. "Mr. Holmes, are you really allowing me to do whatever I want? Your kindness makes me feel guilty." The melody suddenly intensified and crescendoed. Naberius laughed loudly and sang along with the song. "Ah, ah, you worry so much. Youre young and beautiful, gentle and kind. Youre like a piece of gold shining in the mine. True love awakens here beside the Danube River, beside the beautiful Danube River of blood!" Boom! The bloody river jolted, interrupting Naberius song. His expression changed drastically, and he turned toward the river. A crack had appeared within the water. It looked like a claw that was frantically tearing the river apart. The waves surged but were unable to heal the scratch. It was sharp as a blade with pure and solid murderous intent. It was like the furious roar of a dragon who was about to die. The Firebird?! Naberius froze. Who The youths hoarse voice came from the darkness, "Thank you for the waltz, my friend." He laughed with inexplicable cheer. "Sadly, I already have a dance partner." Sharp murderous aura flooded into the darkness. The veiled girls who had climbed out of the blood river were shattered to pieces. They were all in ruins! "The Ripper" - Fresh blood flowed in the dark dungeon. Under the layers of chains, the wound-covered youth embraced the Ripper. The formless but tangible murderous intent solidified into an ax that fell upon him. His layers of shields counteracted them so he was not torn to shreds. He only suffered ghastly wounds. The immense pain rose in waves. Now, he finally understood the pain that the Ripper suffered at every moment. The little defense equipment that he had stolen from the dark musicians was unable to protect him against the Rippers heavy murderous aura. She had not activated it yet, but it already felt like thousands of knives. He would have died long ago if he did not have the lifesaving hat. The music score Holy had maintained his minimum lifeforce. Bearing the pain, he looked down at the Ripper. He could not see her face clearly but the eyes behind the bloody veil were wild yet hollow. She seemed to be trapped in a nightmare. "I dont know who you are but it doesnt feel good to be controlled by either King Arthur or Hyakume, right?" Ye Qingxuan murmured. "Its useless to just bear the abuse. You must fight back to receive freedom!" He paused as the eerie waltz played on. He squeezed a smile onto his painfully twitching face. "The waltz has already started. Dont let the guests wait for too long." Ye Qingxuan reached out and grasped her cold wrist, murmuring in her ear, "Dance with me, crazy killer lady!" - Above the rippling Danube River of blood and within layers of chains, Ye Qingxuan gripped her hand and guided her to take the first step. The surging murderous aura shot in all directions. It disrupted the river, tearing the bloody brides into pieces. Half of Ye Qingxuans body was covered in wounds as well during this attack. Blood rolled down his face but he did not stop. Ye Qingxuan guided her to step to the rhythm of this eerie and strange melody, twirling gently. The moonlight in his eyes illuminated. "Let me see what youre hiding inside!" Coherence began instantly with the moonlight as a bridge! If Lola was here, she would definitely slap him for not caring about his life. Coherence for the School of Mind was the most dangerous of all schools. This represented the clashing and assimilation of two minds. If their strength was too different, he would be destroyed if he relaxed for a second. The terrifying emotion was contagious as well. He would definitely be influenced if he underwent coherence with someone as crazed as the Ripper. This meant that there were now two maniacs. Unfortunately, this was not the first time Ye Qingxuan flirted with death. In fact, as for going crazyHe had never been this calm since he decided to return to Avalon. How could he be normal if he wanted to overturn the verdict for humanitys number one traitor? He instantly passed into the Rippers damaged heart and entered her mind. He was at once practically brought to his knees by the tidal wave of negativity. Nope, there was no hope. Even someone as determined as Ye Qingxuan suddenly had the urge to give up. The Ripper seriously had no hope. The moonlight guarded his mind, allowing him to see the Rippers current situation clearly. Right now, there was a large consciousness spreading quickly in her. It was a negative emotion that was as bottomless as the sea. This was the curse of Hyakumeanger, fear, jealousy, greed, brashness, cowardiceevery negative feeling known to man appeared continuously. The Ripper was powerless. Her mind was already at the brink of cracking. Now she had completely lost control under the erosion of the negativity. Some power gradually awakened and appeared. Now, it was too large to control. She could only vent out the anger in vain. Ye Qingxuan was frustrated. Was she really possessed by King Arthur? What terrible thing had she done to fall to this state? What was this constantly swelling power? It was obviously a curse! Now, they were entangled and could not be separated! It was as if a mentally ill patient on the brink of schizophrenia suddenly had another even more debilitating disease. Adding madness to madness and a disease to a disease! Hyakume was not the strongest. Ye Qingxuan could casually extinguish any bit of it. The scary part though was that it would reappear just as fast. It had no true form or core that could be attacked. The thousands of negative feelings rose in waves, forming dark chaos. It was just chaos. Even if a shred remained, it could instantly come back to life. Now, the chaos had polluted more than sixty percent of her mind. This meant that it was going to succeed. The patient was beyond saving! Seeing this situation, Ye Qingxuan had a migraine. He could not help it. At this point, it would require a true miracle. No medicine could help. Furthermore, if he rushed in with his consciousness, he would be attacked by both sides. The best case scenario would be to be assimilated by one of them. At that time, he would be worse off than becoming a dark musician. He would be completely obliterated! His features twitched; his expression was troubled and ugly. It was not that he did not want to help her. It was just that nothing could save her at this point. Unless the Ripper woke up by herself and truly grasped her power. But was that possible? She would not lose control and run to kill people at the Whitechapel Church if that was possible. So there was only one solution. "Im sorry." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Im not an official psychologist. I only learned some random music theory from the School of Mind. Youre unlucky for being stuck with me." The youth had opened his eyes again after a second. "Clench your jaw!" He glanced at the dull girl before him and punched her forehead suddenly. "Lets try the trick of fighting fire with fire!" Boom! 274 Chapter 269 In a twinkling, Ye Qingxuan blacked out. Then the crazy dark melody sounded in the minds of the two like a chorus of hundreds of people. The image of the black river, emerging from Ye Qingxuans heart, rushed into her brain. It was the river of darkness that had been absorbing the guilt and negativity of countless people. At this moment, it was like a waterfall. Flowing with the plaintive melody and rhythm, it rushed into the battlefield of two emotions. This was the strange movement Black Friday. It was not sinister but it was more powerful than that. Having not fully played this movement for a long time, the black river of sighs had reached to a scale much larger than Ye Qingxuans expectations. In a second, the river came crashing down. It did not help strengthen the Ripper''s own will, but it melted into the curse of Hyakume! The river already contained immense darkness. Now, it suddenly joined the negative emotions so that the original slowly eroding curse was immediately strengthened! No, its power was more than just strengthened. It soared with Ye Qingxuans aid. In a twinkling, the Rippers positive emotions were pressed down but the negative emotions flourished as if fuel was added to the fire. In the blink of an eye, the Ripper''s will was at stake... Good, good! Ye Qingxuan seemed to have forgotten his stance and practically danced as he felt the inflation of negative emotions. He wished it would continue to rise. Soon, the curse of Hyakume prevailed. But then a faint fury came from the evil-eye seal which was contained in the curse. This rage was against Ye Qingxuan, the uninvited visitor. It did not welcome him at all. If it could speak, it was probably saying, "What the hell are you doing here, b*stard?" Indeed, its power soared, but the chaos created by the negative emotions was broken! The negative emotions that came with the death were now out of the music theorys control. If they were a rigorous and orderly team on the battlefield, then at this moment, even though the forces at the frontline were strengthened, the formations were destroyed. Its original subtlety and complexity no longer remained. It had become deformed. Ye Qingxuan forged the black river into the ''wrath. The Ripper was already invaded by this rage. Now her power grew to several times the original. Fortunately, there was a very good outlet: the Danube River of Blood. Under Ye Qingxuans skillful guidance, all the murderous intent was thrown at Naberius, who was far away in the dungeon. During the gentle maneuver of the dance, the vacant-eyed Ripper suddenly looked up and growled hoarsely. Under her roar, countless hands waved in the burning darkness, tearing the Danube River into pieces inch by inch until it was a broken mess. A storm rose above the calm scarlet river. Ye Qingxuan did not wait for the mad curse to act. He manipulated the black rivers direction in the Rippers brain. This time, it was disgust. The ''disgust'', which was so strong by nature, suddenly occupied the subject of the curse. The Ripper''s eyes turned blood-red. They stared at Ye Qingxuan. A cloud of blood mist burst around Ye Qingxuan, but he still smiled. He embraced and spun her to the mournful music, again and again... Come, let us dance on the Danube River of Blood! Outside the dungeon, the instrument in Naberius hand suddenly burst. Even half of his body exploded bloodily. In a blink of the eye, the flesh and bones were healed again. However, the tame corpse bride in his arms now attacked him frantically. Her spirituality was out of control. The original love and sweetness had now been replaced by disgust. It was as if there was a real aversion that was eroding every summoned object. The apparitions embracing and dancing on the blood river were now killing each other. It was the backlash of the music theory. Naberius eyes suddenly burst, leaving only two dark holes. The eyeballs grew back quickly again. This time, his eyes were solemn. "You always surprise people, Mr. Holmes." Naberius sighed softly. "Since it is so...I''m sorry, but I wont show anymore mercy." Under the crazy waltz, one could hear the sound of bones growing. A giant sarcoma swelled on his shoulders and immediately burst. A new skull grew on his head amidst the splashing of the disgusting sticky mucus! Two heads! One head sang the melody of the Danube River. The new head, with a strange smile, soon began to chant another movement. This was not the power of Hyakume anymore! It was the gift from another notorious demonthe Eastern natural catastrophe Sukuna! "Thankfully, Ive saved some stuff from the past seventy years," Naberius laughed. Over the past seventy years, he had the time to quietly do many crazy things. This included using six names and identities to sign contracts with six natural catastrophes. From the ignorant Tide of Silver to the two-headed Sakuna. If he still could not break through the Resonance level after this, he was almost ready to reinvent himself and try to sign a contract with the god of humans. It was just selling himself, right? It was all the same. Now, his one heads guarded the Danube Rivers territory while the other chanted the movement of Modifications, throwing the wind and fire of destruction into the dungeon. In an instant, the movement of destruction turned into a mighty torrent, rushing toward the two in the dungeon! At the same time, the curse of Hyakume suddenly struck back. Ye Qingxuan and the Ripper were suddenly besieged from both inside and out. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. He controlled the Black River continuously to switch between all the negative emotions, breaking the balance again and again. Perhaps the Ripper had the instinctive awareness of imminent danger. She somehow gave a reaction and began to subconsciously cooperate with Ye Qingxians actions. Her stiff body gradually softened. She even cooperated with the performance of the waltz. Ye Qingxuan stared at the blank eyes behind the veil. She seemed to be drifting in the space between nightmare and reality. Holding Ye Qingxuan hand, her hand subconsciously tightened. "Mom..." She seemed to be talking in her sleep. Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment. He whispered in her ear, "Don''t be afraid, the nightmare is about to end." The Black River came crashing down in the coherence. In a twinkling, after repressing the counterattack of the curse, Ye Qingxuan guided the sudden outbreak of ''pain'' and ''weakness, locking them into Naberius body. The frenzied power surged again. The blue fire that could evaporate people dozens of meters away suddenly cracked apart. This was completely unreasonable. The Firebird solidified and reached a ''distortion level '' effect. This disobeyed the law. It turned the illusionary flames into powder, which was then blown out by the wind. The storm, blizzard, raging fire and golden steel were crushed once they rushed into the dungeon. The repercussive waves of murderous intent spread out the dungeon and along the connection of their music theory association, biting Naberius right arm into pieces. Naberius shook his hands but the arm was still fragmented. Bones fell out of the wound. He froze for a moment. "Oh, its the Firebird." Then he held his fingers tightly like a knife and cut off the whole arm. Sticky medium quickly emerged from the severed arm, followed by the rapid multiplication of bones and flesh. The super recovery of severed limbs was another means used by demons. Six kinds of demonic power were sealed in six of his body parts. They appeared orderly one by one. Six sets of chaotic music theory were in orderly in his hands, without the slightest hint of the chaos caused by musical conflict. "Now it seems that Hyakumes curse is too weak," he muttered in a low voice, cynically mocking his own gods. He said to himself, "If you don''t do it again, don''t blame me for running away." If Hyakume heard him, he would be furious. He would release a bolt of thunder and chop this wild follower to death. However, his rebellious words did not reach the heavens. In fact, the curse of the Hyakume was not in vain. The battle was now burning white-hot. Provoked by Ye Qingxuan, the curse of Hyakume strangely changed again like mutating virus. The mark of the Eyes Within the Eye split into a dozen pieces. They manipulated their respective negative emotions. They echoed with each other, setting off a sinister symphony in the Rippers body. In a twinkling, the declining stopped and steadied itself at the brink of collapse, fighting back once again. The battle had now quietly switched from the competition of strength to the aspect of music theory. The music theory contained in the curse had quietly expanded. It seemed to be disorderly but there was actually some kind of inexplicable connection. There was a subtle rhythm to the movement. That subtle force was like weeds in spring wind. It expanded, deflated, sped up, and slowed down at random. Like thousands of malicious intents working together, they firmly suppressed the Rippers will! Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He expanded the Black Rivers image to entwine with the curse. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan''s will pierced through layers of music theory and probed the core of the curseit was an eye that seemed to be sleeping in the abyss. The eye seemed to glance at him as well. It was full of malice. Just the periphery vision could easily break down the Black River. The music theory entangled. In this instantaneous contact, Ye Qingxuan was defeated completely. It was unsurprising. It would be strange if he won. Whether it was the attainments of the School of Minds music theory or the control of negative emotions, Ye Qingxuan was nothing compared to Hyakume As the ruler of all the wicked evil spirits of the world, Hyakume had eroded and transformed countless black musicians through the years. Whether it was music theory confrontation or emotional hedging, Ye Qingxuan was definitely not his opponent. Ye Qingxuan was suddenly losing...But it did not matter! He could learn. As one who had received full marks in every subject and won first place in written examinations, Ye Qingxuan was the best at learning! The main battlefield was not in his own body, anyway, so he could just start over again if he could not do it. The tiger retains its shape even in death,a broken boat has three pounds of nails,a starved camel is still bigger than a horseThere were many proverbs like this from the East. They meant the same thing. Now, the curse not only had to fully erode the Ripper, it also had to be cautious of Ye Qingxuan. He could cause trouble at any second. In a twinkling, Ye Qingxuan prepared himself again. The black river sprang out again, followed by another defeat. Ye Qingxuan''s head seemed to be smashed by a staff. He blacked out immediately and blood oozed out of his nostril. Shaking his head, he gritted his teeth and went back into the battle again. "Again!" This time, he at least found the right feeling and method. A shameless song sounded on the battlefield amidst the repeated defeats and charges. "Make, make, make a friend, make a good friend. Hello, lets shake hands. Now youre my good friend" 275 Wash Away the Black River In an instant, Ye Qingxuan had lost completely. A saying amongst Indian monks was, "One snap contains twenty instants, one instant contains twenty thoughts, one thought contains ninety moments, and one moment contains nine-million lives and deaths." During the nine million lives and deaths of that moment, countless thoughts and emotions arose. Music theory overlapped messily, and Ye Qingxuan was hit hundreds of times. Every time he gathered himself again, he was completely obliterated by the curse. During this process, he gradually created an understanding of the black river. The various negative emotions had clear layers and were integrated. The hundreds upon thousands of negative emotions gradually became one. As they were destroyed and reborn, they formed the black river. Extra notes and unsuitable music theory were taken out. After nine rebirths, the black river became clearer than ever. It was colorless and formless. Ye Qingxuan could barely trace it. In the East, Mind musicians would plant demonic thoughts into others minds. An extremely high level was free transformation. This seed came and left without warning, like the spring wind transforming into rain. The victim would be transformed into a puppet without any realization or sign. Now, Ye Qingxuan could survive a few seconds of the battle between music theories. The mark of the demonic eye seemed to understand something and grew furious! This *sshole was secretly copying its ways! No School of Mind musician had ever tried these tricks! The mark was a music note that represented godly power but it was still an object created by Hyakume. The average man would either struggle painfully and transform into a demon or commit suicide to avoid the pain. No one was so bold and reckless! Ye Qingxuans constant challenges angered the consciousness sleeping inside the rune. It jolted and separated into nine. It had given up on the Ripper and now charged at Ye Qingxuan against the tide! "Finally!" Ye Qingxuan grinned. The colorless river in his heart surged again. This time, it was broken down, of course. However, it did not retreat after collapsing. Instead, it entangled with the music theory of the curse. The next step would be for the curse to use this as a springboard and jump into Ye Qingxuans body. However, there was no next step. The colorless river suddenly caved in. The broken music theory reconnected and transformed into something else. The new theory swallowed Hyakumes. Covering the nine satanic runes, it finally revealed itself. Moonlight! It was moonlight! A huge moon that covered the sky rose in the Rippers heart. It broke through the endless darkness. Everything in its path was purified equally. The black river was washed away and a bright moon rose in the heart! It had finally transformed into moonlight! This was what was born after Black Friday washed away all stray thoughts and grew to its peakthe image of Moonlight that Ye Lanzhou had planted! It had not yet reached the terrifying level of the moon above the sea, but it showed signs of that phenomenon. Ye Qingxuan had to thank Hyakumes curse to some extent. He had always focused on unorthodox and shady tricks. Not only did the curse teach him the basics, it also contained various application techniques for mind battles. It was practically like the old man who taught secret tricks in adventure novels. Now, the old man did not need to exist anymore. The mark of the eye was washed countless times under the moonlight. All satanic auras melted. A consciousness thousands of miles away felt something. Fury shot out from the deep abyss with bone-numbing hatred and evil. Roars spread from the music theory. "Ye Lanzhou, youre here!" Then the wild power spun. It surged from thousands of miles away using the entangled music theory, wanting to destroy everything. However, the moonlight cut the eye mark completely like a blade at that moment. The twisted mark shattered and the layers of negativity disappeared. The curse was completely destroyed. As the connection of music theory broke, the power that had come out of nowhere vanished as well. Angry roars sounded angrily in the air. The fury scattered in all directions. In an instant, countless people across the land woke up from their nightmares with sweat rolling down their backs. At the same time, Naberius, observing outside the dungeon, felt Hayakumes aura disappear completely. He flinched and shock appeared on the two skulls. "Is the curse really lifted?" The darkness that had been restricted now shot forward like a fountain. The burning darkness surged and broke into the territory of Naberius bloody Danube River. His vision went black and he stumbled back. The almost-tangible murderous intent had transformed into a cyclone. His face hurt from the wind. The Rippers power was awakening. "Mr. Holmes, it seems that youd rather work with the Ripper than accept my feelings?" Naberius stared into the dark dungeon and shook his head. "Im so disappointed. Im so hurt." Despite his words, he left without hesitation. He had stayed here for too long. There was no point in remaining. He might even attract a creature of the same level. The consequences were unimaginable. He was just running errands for Hyakume, not giving up his life! So what if he could not deal with Holmes this time? He would wait for the youth to be alone. Why must he fight something as strange as the Ripper? "See you next time, Mr. Holmes," he chuckled. The ground beneath his feet rumbled. A giant snake opened its mouth and swallowed him. Then the snake returned into the mud and disappeared. In the distance, the Elizabeth Tower remained standing. When the three hands of the clock joined at the top, an eerie bell rang. It resounded in the again-silent city. Midnight had arrived. - In the dungeon, the surging dark aura disappeared quickly. Naberius thought that the Ripper had recovered her original state. Actually, she was completely spent after Ye Qingxuans cure of sacrificing themselves to destroy the enemy. Sensing that the animosity was gone, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious. Ye Qingxuan sat down. There was no part of his body that did not hurt. Thankfully, he still had many lifesaving medicines that he had swiped from Lola. After all, Lola had money and taking all the drugs was just like Lola drinking his blood. But nowwhat was he supposed to do? He looked down at the girl sleeping beside him. The Ripperhe could not connect the crazy psychotic killer with this girl. They were too different. Possessed by her uncontrollable power, the darkness in her heart had been enlarged continuously. If she woke up now, she would realize that her long dress had been dyed red by blood. She would wake up from a nap to find herself dyed red by the blood of innocent victims. This nightmare had haunted her day and night. Was she still in a nightmare now? Ye Qingxuan tidied the messy hair on her forehead. His fingertip accidentally grazed her skin. Soft crying sounded in his ears. This was the side effect of coherence. He sighed and laid his jacket on her. He could see the seemingly familiar and beautiful face behind the torn veil. There were tear stains by her eyes. The coldness and arrogance were gone. All that remained was fragility and loneliness. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan lightly brushed a teardrop away. "Princess Mary, youre so weak," he murmured. "The curse has been lifted. Dream well." After a long while, the youth walked out of the dungeon and closed the door for the sleeping princess. He disappeared in the mist. - When the midnight bell rang, all the clocks and watches in the clock shop rang in unison. The man gorging before the window finally stopped. He sucked on the sauce on his fingers, enjoying the aftertaste of the stewed pork he had just eaten, and moaned happily. He had probably gained ten pounds but who cared? Hermes did not. Now, he was nothing like the frail and eerily beautiful boy from a few months ago. After growing ten centimeters taller, he had also gained at least thirty pounds. It seemedhe had aged a lot. He was a twenty-something man nowuh, a fat man. It was not a problem that he could no longer wear his old clothes. The best tailors visited every day to measure him and make customized clothes. After loosening his belt, he realized that he could keep eating so he happily rang the bell beside him. The servant quickly sprinted away. Ten minutes later, another hot and steaming feast was brought over. He could eat another meal. How great! "Bai Xi, want some midnight snacks?" He glanced at the girl sitting behind the counter. Bai Xi raised her head and glanced at him. "No need. Teacher, please enjoy your food. I hope you die of obesity soon." "Youths shouldnt be picky eaters!" Hermess smile seemed more honest after he became fat. "Youre still growing. What if you lack nutrients and grow up like a stick? You wont even get married." A dagger suddenly landed on the table, cutting him off. His expression grew helpless. Hitting his forehead, he nodded and said, "Since we have time, why dont I give you a history lesson?" Without waiting for Bai Xis reply, he went with his own ideas and said, "Bai Xi, did you know that King Arthur actually passed down his lineage?" 276 The Secrets I Cannot Tell You "King Arthur actually passed down his lineage" "No sh*t." Bai Xi glared at him. "Otherwise, wouldnt the current royal family be adopted?" "Im not talking about the regular lineage. Its something more dangerouseven more dangerous and strange than the Eastern Devas blood." Hermes glanced back at her. "You dont think only Eastern musicians have bloodline inheritance right? Western musicians dont strive for intangible experience, inspiration, and talent. They like more direct things, more direct powerincluding our King Arthur." Bai Xi froze. She asked, "Dont the legends say hes a demigod?" "A demigod? Oh, thats not entirely wrong." Hermes nodded. "Back in the day, he received the status of a god as a mortal. He forcefully instilled power above his level into his body and turned himself into anon-human and non-demon demigod. The people of Anglo say he has the red dragons blood because his blood is boiling, scalding, crazy, and inhuman. "Its the almighty Holy Grail that the Maiden of the Lake blessed upon him. He wanted power so his blood gave him power. He wanted more so his blood gave him more. At the same it, it cursed him, causing him to be restricted to his madness for life. "Near the end of his life, he became greedy and insatiable. He wanted more and more power, but that only brought more and more curses. The bigger the curse was, the more power he needed to contain it. This was a vicious cycle caused by greed. The result was that he began going crazy." Hermes savored the taste in his mouth and squinted as he recalled the past. "Within ten short years, the glorious days were gone forever. The blood from Avalon had flowed into a river. The heads chopped off had been piled into a tower. The dead added their anger into the aether that wrapped around the crazy kings scepter. Avalon had transformed into a city of demons. "Ten years ago, the city was perfect as heaven. Ten years later, it had fallen to Hellthis was how Avalons Shadow came to be. The greed from a thousand years ago resulted in endless disasters." Bai Xi said, "But King Arthur is already dead." "Hopefully, but he still has many descendants, doesnt he?" Hermes glanced at the night outside the window. The Elizabeth Tower below the palace extended into the sky like a hand reaching up. "This is the cursed blood." He lowered his eyes. "The power and curse are all in the blood and passed down the generations. This is the original sin theyre born with and destined to live with for eternity. There is no cure." - Late at night, an unmarked carriage appeared at the highest point of Avalon, outside the palace. The driver was a knight covered entirely in armor. With his guidance, the carriage silently passed through the checkpoint without anyone noticing. A weathered elevator was behind the checkpoint. The brass had turned smooth from years of friction. It had a gentle brassy shine. The carriage stopped on it and the elevator was activated, pulling the carriage up. This was the only way to the top level of Avalon. When the carriage stopped on the square before the palace, the knight walked down. He opened the door and an old priest walked out. "Father Mephistopheles, please follow me." The knight pulled down the helmet, revealing a panicking girl. "We dont have much time." Mephistopheles nodded and followed her. "How is the Princess? Are you sure its Hyakumes curse?" "Yes." Christine lowered her head. "It is my fault. I didnt even notice Her Highness was cursed." "You cant approach when the dragon blood is out of control. This is not your fault." Mephistopheles sighed. "If the disease of the dragon blood acts at the same time as Hyakumes curse Her Highness is most likely much tormented. Unfortunately, St. Georges spear was lost years ago. Otherwise, this would not happen." Eyes filled with pain, Christine lead the way quietly. Soon, a white-faced servant hurried over. "GaGalahad, Her Highness, Her Highness" She froze halfway through and murmured something in Christines ear. Christines expression changed drastically. "Why didnt you stop her?!" "Her Highnessshe said shes going to lose control and was scared shed do something she wouldnt be able to take back." "B*stard!" Christine glared at her. "How can Her Highness go into that place again in her state? This is different from before! If you cant stop her, shouldnt you notify me? When did she leave?" "Her Highness knocked me unconscious as soon as you left." The servant lowered her head as her shoulder trembled. "Excuse me." Christine bid farewell to the old man without bowing. "I will go find the Princess right now." With that, she put on her helmet, gripped the sword at her waist, and rushed into the palace. Behind her, Mephistopheles suddenly called, "Sir Galahad." He looked up with muddled eyes. "Please do not be anxious. I can still feel Her Highnesss sound of heart. Sheshe has returned already." "She returned?" Thinking of something, Christine gripped her sword. Her expression grew grave. Sensing her thoughts, Mephistopheles shook his head. "Its not as you think. Her Highness did not lose control. According to my perception, her curse has been lifted." "Lifted?" Christine froze. Mephistopheles fell silent. Sensing something, he nodded after a pause. "Yes, I can sense that Her Highness is still very weak but Hyakumes curse has undoubtedly been lifted. Even the frantic dragon blood has been calmed. It seems that Her Highness is loved by God. I am not needed anymore." He smiled, signaling for Christine to relax. She quickly processed everything. Without bidding farewell, she charged into the princesss chamber. Her footsteps broke the stillness of night. Without caring for manners, she pushed open the bedchamber door. "Your Highness!" The room was not the mess she had expected. Everything was orderly and undamaged. Hearing the door open, the girl standing before the window looked back. She was still wearing the dress that had turned black from dust. Her face was covered with dirt and looked nothing like a princess. The ragged leather jacket on her shoulders was ripped and burnt, making her look especially like a trash collector girl. But this time, she had not lost her sanity. Seeing the intruder, she smiled. "Christine." Christine gaped at Marys smile, unable to react for a long time. She did not know what happened but the princess did not look like she was cursed. In fact, she had not smiled so calmly ever since her bloodline had awoken. "Your Highness, are you alright?" Christine squeezed her sword handle. It felt like she was dreaming. "I am well." The leather jacket was too strange and big for Mary but she wore it as if it was a luxurious wing. Her expression was calm and serene. "I think I had a good dream," she said. "I feel much more relaxed." Christine studied her for a long time before finally relaxing. "Has the curse been lifted?" Mary nodded. She showed Christine the wound on her hand. When she cut herself, warm blood dripped out. It was neither hot nor wild. There was nothing abnormal. "Look, even the dragon blood is sleeping again. This time, I can remain clear headed for a few months." Sensing the bitterness in Marys words, Christine looked down. Unable to reply, she just took out the bandages and medicine and skillfully bandaged the wound. The slender arm was covered with faint scars. These were wounds left behind when she tried to end her life during her periods of pain. Unfortunately, she was not allowed to die. How much longer must this vicious cycle go on for? Christine lowered her eyes, unable to look. She prayed quietly, "God bless you." "No, God must hate me, right?" Christine looked up at Marys quiet murmur and saw the girl staring at the moonlight. "Doesnt he?" Mary asked softly. "I inherited the dragon blood at birth and am controlled by the power. I go crazy, turning into a psychotic killer. I wake up every night in the blood of innocent people, night after night, dying myself black from my sins. Christine, I was born a sinner. "Sometimes I hate James. I hate my own brother, hate how hes so average, hate that hed never be able to inherit this evil that should be his. When I go crazy, I feel that the entire world has been polluted by the dirty people. But when I wake, I realize that I am the dirtiest one "Christine, youre my only friend but I feel guilt when I see you. I dont deserve you to sacrifice your time for me. You should be eighteen now, right? But youve never even had a playmate because of me." "Your Highness, Ill be by your side no matter what kind of person you turn into. If your fate is to inherit the crown, then my mission is to be your sword and shield." Christines expression was solemn. "There are no men in my generation of the Lancelot family. I am my fathers only child. My life has been decided the moment I was born, just like Your Highness. I was once unhappy but now I feel that its a good thing I met you. Becoming your guard wasnt an order by my family but my own wishes. I perform my duties voluntarily and willingly. So please do not blame yourself." Mary was taken aback. After a long while, she grasped Christines hand. "Then, youve worked hard." Christine nodded. - The night was deep. After talking about Avalons pop music and current news, the sleepy Mary leaned against Christine and fell asleep. Christine glanced at the girl curled up on the sofa. Marys face was no longer in fear. She picked Mary up and placed her on the bed. Even in sleep, Mary seemed unwilling to take off the ragged leather jacket. She gripped it tightly. After a few attempts, Christine gave up. She did not know where Her Highness found such a strange jacket butChristine was concerned because it was clearly a mans jacket! Had someone sneakily approached the princess without her realizing? Maybe it was related to the curse but if this was true, then what was the mans reason? Christine thought carefully but something bitter appeared in her heart. Her Highness must be looking so relaxed because of that man too! Christine had accompanied her for all these years but was nothing before some random man. That man must have an ulterior motive! She gripped her sword. Coldness flashed past her eyes. If she found that evil man, she would definitely show him how powerful Galahad was! "Christine," came a murmur behind her. "Huh?" She flinched and turned to see Mary, half asleep. She hugged the jacket as she stared at Christine, making her panic subconsciously as if her thoughts were laid out. "Y-your Highness, do you need something?" "Teach me to dance later." Mary looked at her with pleading eyes. "I want to learn the waltz." "UhYouve never been interested in those things, right?" Christine was suddenly nervous for some reason. "Christine, I just want to learn it so teach me please." Christine froze. Hesitating for a long time, she lowered her head in embarrassment. "UhIve trained to inherit Sir Galahads power since birth. A knight doesnt need to learn something as weak as ballroom dances. Ive never learned it before." "Oh?" Faint disappointment appeared in Marys eyes. "Seems that even Christine has things she cant do." After a pause, Christine made her decision. She gritted her teeth and said, "I will start learning tomorrow!" Mary snickered at her distress and moved on from the topic. Burying her face in her pillow, she suddenly said, "Christine, I justdreamed of the prince." "Prince?!" Christine yelped. Her vision went black. It felt like the sky had fallen. She was right! Her Highness had really met some evil man! However, she quickly fixed her reaction and squeezed out a smile. "Uh, really? Thatprinceis he handsome?" She really wanted to chop up that stupid prince and feed him to the dogs. "I cant remember. I just remember him holding my hand. Oh, I cant tell you the rest." Mary slyly batted her lashes. "That dream is my secret and the prince is my secret too" Smiling, she closed her eyes and entered her dream world. There was moonlight there. 277 On the Giant’s Shoulder 1 Under the same moonlight, dim lantern light shone in the silence. An old man clad in white gazed at the rows of thick books on the large bookshelves gravely. He looked to be around forty-years-old. He had lost almost all his hair. The remaining strands of graying hair were scattered messily. His white research coat was covered in dirt and dust. It probably had not been washed in a long time and had a strange sour smell. It was the smell of pickles and distillers grains that had gone bad. He looked like a beggar but when he was deep in thought as he focused on the books, his eyes looked bottomless. "Charles," he suddenly said. "I always felt that I was successful only because I stand on a giants shoulder. What do you think?" "Hmph!" The gold-haired youth snorted. "Think that way if you want." "No, I was asking" The old man jumped energetically and stomped strongly. His features were animated as if he wanted to tap dance happily. "Would you like to become that giant?" Under him, Charles carried the weird old man in humiliation. "Can I insult you?" "Sure, its not like you can win against me." The old guy named Newton stepped on his shoulders and whistled. He took an ancient book from the top of the sixth bookshelf. Overjoyed, he laughed. "I finally found it! Charles, youve accomplished something great as a mount. Ill reward you on behalf of the Institute!" "What the f*ck!" Charless features twisted. The sound of him grinding his teeth sounded like a knife rubbing against the pallet. He could barely keep himself from chopping this man into pieces. There is always someone more talented than you or more annoying than you. Charles had roamed freely in Avalon for so many years as an annoying *sshole. He never thought there would be such a big trap waiting for him. It was one thing to accidentally sign the work contract for the Royal Research Institute. Then he came to work excitedly and was kicked into the trap by this freaky old man. On paper, he had become successful. He was now the personal secretary and lab assistant of the worlds first mechanical engineering master and dean of the Royal Research Institute. But when he came to work, all his coworkers looked at him with sympathy. "Dont think about catching up to me," Newton had said. "You mundanes are unable to understand geniuses, so just perform your duties and shine somewhere people cant see. I dont need you to toil in experiments or studies. After all, its the same whether you have a brain or not. Oh, as for your specific duties, just perform some tricks to entertain me and reduce my stress." So basically, Charles job was to be tormented by this old man. For example, to satisfy Newtons wish to take a bath while looking down at Avalons beautiful scenery, Charles searched the entire city for workers and material to add a pool to the top level of the Institute. Yes, it was a private pool. It also came with a set of fine wine and the best sommelier. When it was finally built, Charles had organized an opening ceremony. The world class sommelier had traveled leagues to attend. When he was reporting in a noble and gentle voice, that *sshole Newtonblew up the swimming pool before him! "Okay, youre not needed anymore. You can go now." Seeing everyones dumbfounded expressions, Newton had burst into laughter. He had wasted one-third of the entire Institutes monthly budget like that! That was why people said a madman was not the scariest. The scariest was that after someone went mad, idiots would still give him money to play with. To all this, Charles could only say that those idiots had problems too! Thankfully, after spending all of the Institutes money for that month, the budget review department of Anglos First Division sent a very polite letter telling Newton that he had played around for six months and should get to work, otherwise they would be unable to reimburse his bills at all of Anglos brothels and personal clubs. The letter was very polite because this *ss once had been the financial advisor of Anglos national bank for one month. He had played around for one month but solved problems the former advisor could not solve for decades. Actually, he had finished the solution on his first day of work and spent the remaining twenty-nine days at the brothel and casino. If his secretary had not discovered this, he could have kept going for half a year! Anyway, since the patience of his piggy bank was wearing thin, Newton thought with the lower half of his body and decided to pay some more attention to work so he could keep his VIP member status. And so Charless tortuous life began. Within a short few days, he began a battle of wits and courage with the cold man to keep his honorable job. After holding the man like a mount for a few hours, Charles finally found what he wanted in the archive of documents piled into a mountain. He was extremely curious about this. What document was worthy enough for Newton to abandon the important secret demonstration he was about to begin and leave the entire research team hanging? It was in the top secret archive as well "What, you want to see?" Newton, who had been focused on reading, sensed Charles curiosity. After thinking, he nodded. "I guess youve worked hard for this project and have the right to share this masterpiece with me." Charles was stunned. He did not expect this guy to be so generous. He hesitated but scooted closer. The pages of the old book had yellowed. Many pages were stuck together. Something seemed to have been spilled over the critical part and the words were blurry. "Ah, my powerful knight, please take your dragon sword out of the sheath. I can wait no longer Ah, what a majestic holy spear. I bow to your chivalryAh, ah, ah, ahCome quickly, my wolf pup, abuse me" Charles expression grew uglier as he read on. Finally, he threw the book onto the ground. "Isnt this just f*cking erotica?! You ditched all those people, even the representative from the Royal Musician Division, stood on my shoulders for three hours, and delayed the last step for activating the experiment just to find an erotica novel in the top-secret archive?!" "What do you mean? I saved this a long time ago." Newton picked it up lovingly and said seriously, "Dont you think that you need some erotica to keep up your spirits at this time?" He pointed at the yellow spots on the pages. "Look, I used it so many times already! I was going to reward you with this for your hard work." "Please dont!" Charles looked like he had seen an actual ghost. "Not only is it erotica, but its all old ladies! There isnt even a younger girl! And they randomly get their stockings torn or go lick a shoe. Cant you have some more class?" "Young man, youre quite picky." Newtons smiled mysteriously. He scooted closer and said quietly, "I have some with younger girls too. Holy Land is a handwritten draft by Marquis Sade from a hundred years ago. Its the story of a nineteen-year-old girl being depraved in paradise." Charless eyes brightened. "Really?" "Of course!" Newton grew more mysterious. "There are three unpublicized chapters too. Youll definitely be amazed." The two murmured quietly under the dim light, their expressions changing constantly. For some reason, the secretive and solemn atmosphere had disappeared. All that remained was perviness. - Hurried footsteps sounded in the silent hall. A hopeless worker finally found Newton and quietly reported to him what happened at the lab. "Everyone was present but you disappeared for four hours?" "It was just four hours and you all act like youre dying. Would I find you all dead the next time I come back after five days of playing?" "B-but the Royal Musician Divisions representative has gotten impatient." "So? Hell still have to wait if Im unhappy." Newton glanced at him and sauntered forward. Seeing his confidence, the worker felt like he was going to go crazy. "The thing is, we didnt go through any modifications of adjustments before this and just started production after completing the original model. If your calculations are incorrect" "Idiot, is that even a question? Then it means the entire world is wrong." Newton brushed him off and sauntered away, leaving the poor man rooted to his spot. Beside him, Charles whistled gleefully and patted the workers shoulder. "Hey, bro, want some erotica?" "" - - The quiet underground research lab was filled with an irritable atmosphere. All the commissioners who had arrived to view the results sat in the crude chairs specifically prepared for them with dark faces. They drank cup after cup of the low-quality lemonade but the anxiousness was not put out. Instead, their bladders were in pain. No one would be happy if they were made to wait for four hours, let alone these commissioners of various secret departments! The Royal Research Institute was known for their annoying ways but this wasinsufferable! Yet they continued waiting like dogs. At the very least, the deputy head of the Royal Musician Division, responsible for safeguarding Avalon, had not shown any impatience. Mr. Andrea sat in his seat as he had since the beginning with his eyes lowered and expression serious. He looked like a statue. Now, the statue gradually raised his eyes. "Hes coming," he said. 278 Standing on the Giant’s Shoulder 2 With a slight sound, the gate of the underground experiment lab opened. The old man dressed in a dirty white coat walked out of the lift with a bundle of things wrapped in black dust-proof cloth. "Mr. Newton..." "Mr. Dean!" "Sir!" The delegates rose and walked over. However, Newton just waved his hand in boredom and impatiently said, "Well, I guess you all cant wait any longer. You all arent very good at hyping up technology, so without further ado, the demonstration will officially start now. " The delegates returned to their seats awkwardly. Newton carried the bundle of things and swaggered to the center of the room. He slammed the black dust-proof cloth onto the ground, raised his head and voice, and said, "Todays demonstration is an emergency commission by the Royal Musician Division half a month ago. I designed this sealed object specifically for the task. I named it Mary. If you don''t like this name, you can think of something more imposing." As he spoke, a huge iron cage was slowly lowered through the padlock opened in the ceiling. In the iron cage, crisscrossed chains shackled a huge black figure. The human-like thing was bound by the shackles and the chains. It had white bony barbs all over its body. Its messy hair was black as oil, and it smelled as if it had not bathed in a long time. That thing was more like a gorilla than human being. However, the gorilla was too large. Even people standing dozens of meters away would get chills by looking at it. It gazed at the living creatures and struggled frantically. The iron cage whined plaintively, almost collapsing under that strange force. "Mature primate demon?" Almost all the representatives subconsciously moved behind Andrew, the deputy head of the Royal Musician Division. Everyone knew that Newton was a psychopath and that a psychopath would surely be a troublemaker. He had definitely caused his share of trouble. So, if there was any problem, it was the safest behind Andrew. "The introduction is finished. Now, lets start?" Newton looked at their faint pallor with undisguised mockery in his eyes. "This is taking your hearts into consideration." "Excuse me, Mr. Newton," Andrew suddenly asked. "Where is your work ''Mary''?" "Well, isn''t it here?" Newton kicked the bundle of things under the dust-proof cloth beside him. "Mr. Andrew, do you have bad eyesight? Come and see me sometime. I''ll get you a pair of glasses for free. " Andrew frowned. Narrowing his eyes, he studied it carefully. A long time later, he asked, "Sorry, I do not feel any aetheric waves. I can perceive that the things you brought are just ordinary steel instruments without any notes or movements. " "Well, it is so. Recently, those alchemists responsible for the process got their periods at the same time. Irregular periods. Theyre too troublesome, so I made a difficult decision." Newton undid the buttons on the black dust-proof cloth. "I gave them six months'' leave to have a good rest. Now, one of them is probably at beach in Burgundy, I think? Oh, by the way, I paid for them. I didn''t spend any of the budget, but since everyones on break, there was no other way. I could only solve the problem by myself. Therefore, no alchemy was used throughout the process. This thing is pure mechanical engineering." His words stunned everyone. Under everyones dumbfounded scrutiny, he took off the dust-proof cloth, revealing the steel creations. These things that looked likethe long cones used as markers to fix the target during geological missions? The slender and heavy long cones were about a meter long with a tip sharp enough to hurt ones eye if they looked. The six long cones did not need to be bound by anything. They were connected by inserting into each others gaps, as if they were made like that. Those things looked like spears for killing. There was no doubt about their lethality, but they just looked...nothing like what a musician would use. "What kind of weapon is this?" Some were shocked. "It''s not a weapon." Newton weighed the long cone in his hand and smiled mysteriously. "This is a musical instrument, my friends." There was a silence in the crowd as if they could not understand the common language. They looked at each other, exchanging only confused and blank eyes. Finally, the youngest of them, forced by the others stares, stood up and said, "But Professor Newton, this is not alchemy" "Who said it was impossible to play music without alchemy?" Newton lifted the long cone and thrust it into the ground. It pierced into the ground easily with its great sharpness. "I told you, the people who come here wont need brains. Its useless even if you have a brain. Just listen to me carefully. Now, listen up." He glanced at the young man who had a troubled expression. "If I say it is an instrument, then it is an instrument." At the very front, the musician Andrew slightly frowned but did not speak up. Newton watched as the crowd fell silent again and chuckled. He pierced the spear-like things into the ground around the iron cage. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three long cones embedded perfectly in an invisible ring, forming an equilateral triangle that surrounded the primate demon in the cages. He fumbled around his pocket for while and found half a twisted cigarette. After another while of fumbling, he grew impatient. "Charles, where are you? Come on, light it for me!" In the distance, Charles pursed his lips. He rubbed his hands and a line of fire flew past, accurately lighting the cigarette. Newton inhaled deeply. Puffing out blue smoke, he tapped the ashes behind him. Boom! Ignited by the fuel splashed onto the iron cage, flames burst. The feeble primate demon grew furious. It struggled forcefully. The precarious iron cage complained. In a series of shrill sounds, the iron shackles twisted into a strange shape. The chains broke one by one and the iron scraps burst. The pieces scattered to the ground, creating sparks and breaking the stone tiles. With a roar, the burning iron cage completely fell apart. The raging demon in the flames completely lost all restraint. Under its sharp roar, even the flames weakened like a candle in the wind from the frantic tremors. "Newton, are you mad?" There was a scream in the crowd. Newton sneered at him with a mocking expression, his back to the burning demon. The primate demon grew furious. It twisted, twisted the lock, and pounced toward Newton with hiss. It still remembered the old rascal who had been too lazy to find a toilet and peed next to his cage! In a twinkling, everyones faces grew pale. Andrew, who had always been calm as statue, was stunned too. He lifted his fingers, about to trigger his sound of heart and release a music movement. However, he stopped immediately because electricity flashed out of thin air! The moment it crossed the invisible boundary, the three long cones that were pierced into the slate in an invisible ring suddenly jolted. The sound springs rubbing came from the long cones. The long cones pierced into the slates suddenly pulled up and popped out. The fine gears and reeds hidden within were revealed. They were densely hidden inside the slender grip and rotated quickly. The people were instantly dazzled by it. The crystals inside were shaken. It triggered the electric light, which flew over sixteen links under its guidance. In the end, hundreds of reeds vibrated at the same time. The waves in the air resulted in rising sounds. The fine yet staggered sounds converged and transformed into a maiden singing. The ethereal and tender song passed to all directions. In that moment, invisible walls sprang up and turned into a cage even stronger than iron. When the furious primate crashed against the wall, the three long cones buzzed. The electric lights were in tandem so that the invisible resistance became more obvious. It was like a miracle. But compared to this, the guests were more concerned about something else! "Singing?" The colonel of the second division paled visibly. He almost jumped from the chair, pointing at the long cones with trembling fingers. "Ititit...that thing is singing!" Andrew stared at the three long cones in astonishment and listened to the ethereal sounds in the air. It was so pure and beautiful but with a terrible precision that humans could not possibly achieve. There was not even the slightest error and it was horribly stable! "Mary?" he muttered; he finally understood what it meant. The ethereal female voice was singing softly, "Mary has a little lamb, its fur as white as snow. Wherever Mary goes, it always runs along...The little lamb loves Mary and Mary loves the lamb..." Mary Has a Little Lamb. It was as simple as a nursery rhyme. It was possible to hear it once and know it all. This was just a temporary ploy by a nameless musician. It was simple yet widespread. Most students learned this melody before they started. All the intervals used the most basic and common relationship. They were just like textbook exercises and were too simple to be taught. The melody composed by the notes had only one effect of a fence. This way, the flock could be herded and Marys lamb would not run awayThe song that had been sung by everyone and had almost forgotten now was recorded into the machine. It was split into thousands of different voices and composed together again into a song that called to the aether. The aether was called forth and created the effect. There was no musician guiding, no alchemy, no recording of any notes, and no induction to the aether. But it unexpectedly... worked? And what was more bizarre was that the fence had no defensive force at all. It was the most basic of the basics. A strong shackle could be more useful than it! Then what the h*ll was it that made its power strong enough to imprison the mad primate demon in it? Andrew''s mind turned. His fingers faintly pressed down, carefully detecting every fluctuation. In the end, he was stunned. "Coherence?" The three inanimate machines were in coherence! The method of uniting musicians with each other and performing a symphony was applied to inanimate objects?! "Thats right, coherence." Newton chuckled softly. He pulled out another ''Mary'' and gazed at its faintly trembling blade. "Its the same alloy formula, casting method, structure, and assembly method. Each of them is made on a dedicated lathe to make sure there is no observable error among them. "The result is an extremely enhanced ''resonance'' effecthehe, anyway its just a more complex resonance effect. As long as you find some special fulcrums and then like this...the effect is doubled!" Boom! He suddenly forced the long cone into the ground. ''Mary'' shook in a strange way and popped out again. The machine springs trembled and the light female voice melted into a trio. When the four voices fused into one, the electricity from the four long cones pierced the spectators eyes. In the ''fence, the frantic primate demon stopped moving and was forcefully ejected backwards. The strength of the barrier had instantly doubled, and there was no more space left for it to struggle. Boom! The fifth long cone was pierced in. The resonance coherence effect surged and doubled again! In an instant, the whole area bounded by the long cones was filled with invisible power. As if it was thrown into the deep sea, the large demon suddenly curled into a ball and shook violently. It seemed to feel something and cried out. It struggled but nothing could be done. Outside the boundary, Newton lifted the last long cone. Cackling, he pierced it down with a cackle. Boom! With a loud boom, the frenzied power exploded. The aftershocks forced Newton to the ground. He rolled pathetically and a group of people scrambled to help him up, but he kicked them aside. His nose even started bleeding from the shock but his eyes were still fanatical. He stared at the six long cones. In a series of resonance with each other in the electric light, the six long cones on the fulcrum had been burnt red by the wild power. They released terrible power. The slate could not bear the doubled power anymore. It fell apart, leaving a frantic six-pointed star on the ground! Within the thrice-multiplied ''fence,'' the primate demon screamed in desperation. The sound was muffled and thin as if it came from behind layers of walls. Furious pressure gathered from the surrounding area. The sounds of bones shattering came continuously as if it was sandwiched between iron walls. It was collapsing! It was collapsing inside! Everyone looked at the center of the six-pointed star. The frantic demon was shrinking and collapsing in midair. It had become so bloody that it turned into a quickly spinning ball of meat. Finally, it exploded! Charles''s eyes lit up. He asked quietly, "Should we tell the kitchen to make meatballs this way? Itll be chewy!" Newton froze. Then he immediately patted on his bare forehead. "D*mn, why didnt I think about this earlier?" "...." 279 Standing on the Giant’s Shoulder 3 The electric current stored inside the long cone Mary was used up. The six cones close to collapsing finally stopped. They were red-hot from the burning and sizzled loudly. Many inner springs had broken apart the moment it stopped, burning completely. The girls ethereal and beautiful voice gradually grew choppy. Finally, it became hoarse and disappeared. It was as if the spirit within it had died. Neither the corpse nor skeleton of the primate demon remained. Newton climbed up from the ground. He picked at the ashes inside his pocket. Finding a cigarette he had not finished, he grinned. Charles, his loyal dog, quickly came over to light it for him. With half-lidded eyes, Newton inhaled happily. Looking up, he asked, "Do you all have anything else to say now that the demonstration is over?" The room was silent. No one spoke. What had happened here tonight had destroyed their world views and faintly shaken the education and common sense they had had since young. They all doubted their own eyes now. "What is that?" someone asked in fear. "Its not alchemy equipment, not a musiciana pure machine can resonate with aether?" "Yes, its just like the strange phenomena in a black zone," Newton stated. "In an environment with heavy aether, pure sounds can lead to aetheric changes. The crack of lightning, the crashing of tidal waves, the eerie rumbling from deep within the earth. Humans use music notes to record these sounds because all sounds can resonate with aether. "Unless theres absolute silence, any noise will influence the aether. This is the aether effect. Unfortunately, the Churchs enchantment weakens the aether reaction within the white zone to the extreme. You can only observe this with your naked eye in a black zone." "Youre sayingyou can use machines to play music notes?" someone realized and furrowed his brows. "How can you guide and control it?" "Oh, I solved this problem two days ago while talking to my assistant." Newton picked his nose. "That guy was boasting about how his junior cant sense aether so he memorized all the key data and organization process of each measure. It sounds stupid, right? But then I thought that since people can control aether without relying on sense, then why cant machines do it? You just need to make the aether think someones guiding it." He paused and cackled. "Perhaps the aether doesnt need guidance at all. We just choose what we need from one of the various results created by the aether." "Why do you need electricity to power it?" someone asked. "Weve only started using this type of energy from magnetic field cutting five years ago." "Only this way will maintenance be the easiest and simplest," Newton explained lightly. "Even an idiot can use it after training. I need the lowest cost and widest application. I must guarantee that it can become a standard. With this standard I can perform the follow-up research." "Follow-up research?" Everyone was stunned. Why did he need follow-up research? Or did he mean that he wanted to create music scores other than this simple one? Newton just grinned at this and did not reply. Everyones expression in crowd changed from shock to solemnness. In the end, they pondered with grave faces. "Thats that. I dont have to bother anymore now that the demonstration is over. Mass production has already started and should be completed after five days. I hope the Royal Musician Division will hurry up, give the money, and take the stuff away." With a yawn, he turned around to leave. However, Andrew, who had closed his eyes, raised his head and said coldly, "Im sorry but we cannot accept these results." Newtons steps halted. He looked back slowly and his eyes darkened. "Mr. Andrew, you cant back out of the deal. If you dont give me a reason I can accept, the Royal Musician Division will never get any equipment from me again." All Andrew said to Newtons anger was, "It doesnt meet our requirements." "Marys features are above your requirements," Newton huffed. "Its portability and concealment are flawless. What a joke! Even an aether failure like me can use it. Dont tell me musicians cant handle it." "We need alchemy equipment, not a music box." "Ha!" Newton snorted. "Its production cost is lower than alchemy equipment, especially after mass production. Its stability is flawless too. If they give you the same effect, why dont you use the cheaper and better one? Even a music box is better than what you want! Tell me, are you stupid?" "Mr. Newton, Im sure youre clear that I dont want a low-grade product." He emphasized the last two words, pausing between each word. Taken aback, emotions flashed past Newtons face. After a long pause, he sighed. He went up to Andrew with a smile and patted his shoulder. He said with an uncharacteristic voice, "Good boy, dont throw a tantrum. The royal family made the request and order. Now you say you dont want it anymore. What do you mean? Mr. Andrew, youre not a kid anymore. Dont throw tantrums." Crack! A cluster of flames suddenly shot out from Andrews shoulder. It slapped onto Newtons hand, causing the fingers to spasm. Andrew slowly rose and looked down at the old man. He said coldly, "Mr. Newton, Ive tolerated your arrogance for too long. Perhaps this is a mistake. Since when didpeople like you get the right to say what goes for musicians?" Newton looked up at him and chuckled. "You wanted to say failure right?" Everyone knew that Newton from the Royal Research Institute was not a musician at all. He did not even pass the Student level test. He was a failure who could not even sense aether. He had reached his current position by relying on his genius and attainment of mechanical engineering that no one could pass. This was why the Sacred City had given him the name of a saint from the dark ages. "I want to tell you something, Mr. Andrew." Newton gazed at the man and slowly raised his finger. "Just one thing." He raised the black Mary before Andrews eyes. The sharpness reflected a dazzling and blazing light. "One day, this low-grade product you look down upon will rule over the trends of the era. It will bring power into everyones hands, regardless of talent, teacher, attainment, or status!" Andrew furrowed his brows. Newton put the cone into his hand, forcing him to hold it tightly. Newton murmured in his ear, "Feel the power, you ignorant fool!" The veins on Andrews hand bulged. He gripped the cone, practically breaking it in half. He silently gazed at Newton for a long time before turning to leave. - After Andrews sudden exit, the others who came for the demonstration also bid farewell. When Charles came back with a new pack of cigarettes, he found Newton alone in the underground research lab. The poor old man sat on the cracked ground, caressing the burnt cone dazedly. "Andrew left." Charles tossed the cigarettes over. "You really pissed him off today." Flinching, Newton sneered. "I gave it to him nicely but he just wanted to show his attitude. Is he crazy?" "People are like that. You solved something within a few days that people have to spend decades learning. Why should he like you?" Charles yanked a cone from the ground and studied the melted gears within. He suddenly asked, "But if you keep researching thiswont it replace musicians one day?" "Huh?" Newton was stunned. "Will it?" Charles was stunned too. "Havent you thought about that?" "Why should I? Researchers only focus on their research. What do musicians matter to me?" Newton shrugged. "Why dont I go be the Pope if I want to think about everything? Pluswhat kind of idiot thinks that I can actually come up with a follow-up?" "Uhhuh?" Charles was practically fossilized. "Its already the limit of current industrialization to create something like this! I can suggest more theories but unprovable theories are all just guesses. Unless the Sacred City undoes the sixth seal, allowing each nation to receive new technologyincluding studies on material science and forging scienceunless that happens, itll be forever, kid." Newton looked down and said after thinking, "Itll be at least six-hundred years later. My technology is six-hundred years early. If you think like that, I guess Im pretty powerful!" "But people are already scared." Charles scratched his head. "Some people think far into the future. What if they try to kill you?" "Im not scared." Newton whistled. "The royal family protects me. Its not like there hasnt been anyone who wanted to kill me. Why should I be scared? You should be the one getting scared. Youre my personal assistant." "" Charles froze. He could not help but curse. "Why am I so unlucky to end up with a psycho like you?" "As my assistant, you have to sacrifice something for research. Its the best to sacrifice your youth and descendants. Now, its the time to sacrifice your life. Charles, dont be a coward." Newton looked at him sympathetically and said comfortingly, "Everyone has to go through this. When I was young, Ihaha, no, I was much better than you when I was young! All those old farts at the Institute treated me like a gem! They were scared I would just quit if I was in a bad mood. Theyd give me everything I wanted. Even if I wanted to set the Institute on fire for fun, theyd pour the gasoline and lay down the lead for me, then hand me the torch. In the end, theyd clap for me!" "" "They were all good people but they had bad luck and all died early." Here, he froze. Looking down at the cigarette ash from his hands, his eyes grew sad. "To be honest, theyre probably the only ones on this world that would treat me so preciously, right? This research institute was their inheritance. This project is their unfinished research. Even that erotica novel was the coming-of-age gift they gave me. Now that I think about it, those guys left behind a lot of things. But the things that I can leave behind are getting fewer and fewer." He sighed and fell silent. After a pause, Charles said softly, "You kicked out all the alchemists, forcefully dragged everything on to now, ensuring that theyre unable to back out and must accept your designits all because of this, right? People who have foresight will understand what it represents, old man. At that time, theyll do everything to send you to the gallows. Youve played all these years. Do you really want to die?" Newton could not help but laugh. Pinching his cigarette, he shook his head. "Charles, Ive said long ago that Im so successful because Im standing on a giants shoulder." Newton yanked up the cone. Studying the dull gold shine, he murmured, "After all these years, the group of giants that allowed me to stand on their shoulders has died. Someone needs to complete their journey for them." 280 Let Me Show You Something Good It poured heavily through the late autumn night. A man wearing a black raincoat stood beside a carriage and opened the door for Andrew. Andrew paused and nodded. "Apologies for keeping you waiting, Gavin." "It''s my duty, sir." Gavin smiled. When the door closed, the carriage charged into the rain and toward the uptown district. In the silent carriage, Andrew placed the long cone on his knee and slowly loosened his grip. He had held it too tightly. His whitened knuckles cracked like stones scraping as he opened his fist. "You can take care of the docking work with the Research Institute," he suddenly said. "Assemble four-hundred within nine days." Gavin nodded. "Yes, sir." "Thank you." Andrew closed his eyes. "It''s late. Let the driver take you home. I''m tired too. We can discuss the Musician Division tomorrow." "Yes, sir," Gavin replied. He did not have any complaints. The carriage soon stopped. After Gavin bid farewell, he left with his black umbrella. The carriage began moving forward again. Even the sound of breathing had stopped in the once again silent carriage. However, there was a pair of eyes that shone faintly like a sword. Andrew pressed down on the cone on his knee. As if he was touching red-hot iron, his finger split open after brushing past a sharp edge. Scarlet blood oozed out and fell to the floor along the blade. The cone silently turned to powder and scattered on the ground. "A machine that can replace musicians? What a joke" Andrew looked up at the darkness before him and said in a low voice, "Someday, Newton, you''ll go to Hell too." - The sound of the rainstorm traveled through the window. The faint whistling of wind seemed to blow past the sole lantern in the hall, dim light weakening under the rain sound. The once glamorous hall was now a blur under the light as if it was covered in dust after years of weathering. The drenched young man entered quietly through the door but froze when he saw the old man under the light. The aging man still had a respiratory on his face. The tubes were tangled in his graying hair as if it grew naturally. The rumbling of pulmonary water accompanied the faint breathing. Hearing the footsteps, the old man raised his eyes and looked at Gavin. Gavin''s steps paused. He said softly, "Father, I''m back." After a stretch of silence, a voice of disgust came from the respirator, "You know to come back? You still think I''m your father?" Gavin hung his head. "I''m sorry, Father, the Musician Division is busy these" "Enough. Don''t say things that I don''t want to hear." The man waved his hand in annoyance. "Gavin, do you still see yourself as part of this family after joining the Royal Musician Division? Don''t disappoint your mother!" Gavin froze. His gray eyes trembled and he looked down after a long time. "Yes, Father." The old man huffed coldly. His expression was filled with dissatisfaction. "Deputy Head Andrew took you back today? Why didn''t you invite him to stay for dinner?" Hesitating, Gavin replied quietly, "He said that he''stired today." Undisguised disappointment flashed past the man''s eyes. He looked away from Gavin. "Whatever. I never expected much from you. All I need is for people like you to not trouble the family." Gavin gripped his sleeve cuff and did not answer. "Also." The old man panted heavily. Rising from the wheelchair, he looked at Gavin. "About Bannerhow has it been going?" "Mr. Flynn has promised to me that Banner will have a spot three years later." "Three years?!" the old man exclaimed in anger. He glared at Gavin and demanded through his muddled breathing, "How many more years do you want Banner to waste? You have no space for your brother in your heart! So disappointed. Gavin, you disappoint me so much!" He was attacked by a bout of coughs. It sounded like a steel hammer slamming down into an empty cavern. Gavin rushed over to support him but was pushed aside in annoyance. A hand reached out from behind and pulled him away. Then the newcomer walked forward, gently pressed down on the old man''s back, and injected the cough medicine with ease. Gavin froze in his spot. "It''s okay, Father. I can become a royal musician even without my brother''s help," Banner comforted the old man softly. He glared at Gavin as he pushed the wheelchair. "You''ve waited for too long. You should go sleep now." The youth pushed the old man out of the hall. Gavin stared as their silhouettes disappeared into the distance. He reached out, wanting to say something. But after a long while, his hands fell down weakly. Under the dim light, he sat on the dust-covered sofa and closed his eyes in fatigue. Outside the window, lightning flashed past, illuminating the rain. A robin on a withered branch looked away and flapped its wings, flying away. - During the same thunderstorm, a gold-haired youth returned home and took a nice bath. He sat in the basement with a towel around him. Looking at the completely different metal skeleton, he smacked his lips. "The internal power cycle is jammed, the pressure pump is broken, eighty percent of the synthetic muscles are torn, and the aether nerves are paralyzed from the overload." He scanned the skeleton and shook his head. "No, it''s completely broken. Yezi, you really went hard this time. Did you really fight the legendary Ripper three-hundred times?" "Pretty much." On the other side of the worktable was Ye Qingxuan, his entire body covered with bandages and face covered with two medicine patches. He looked away. Right now, he was practically paralyzed. The slightest movement would send searing pain through his body. For some reason though, his eyes looked different under the light. They were supposed to be pure black, but now they seemed translucent. Glancing at them was like gazing into a clear yet deep pool. They were bottomless and borderless. A vortex seemed to be hidden inside that pulled at one''s mind, making him space out involuntarily. After checking for a while, Charles tossed his wrench down and shook his head. "Nope, can''t fix it." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan froze, starting to panic. "No way." This steel skeleton had accompanied him through so many life-or-death experiences. Without it, Ye Qingxuan would have long been dead, thanks to his bad physical shape. Hearing Charles''s words, he suddenly felt sad. How could he do stupid things without it? "It''s completely done for. Look at this." Charles pointed at the core of the skeleton, showing Ye Qingxuan the hairline cracks. He knocked on it, creating a hollow echo. Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "You can hear it too, right?" Charles lifted the skeleton and shook it. Broken noises sounded. "The inside is completely broken. I can try to fix it but then it might break apart if you try to move. Well, breaking apart is the best case scenario. What if it gets stuck somewhere? Heh, you probably don''t want to find your leg stuck when trying to escape, right?" "So what do I do now?" "Toss it." Charles shook his head and sighed. "In this state, it''ll be better to make a new one than fix it. After all, it''s a feat that something I made when I was fifteen can last ''till now." After a pause, Ye Qingxuan reached out to caress the skeleton and sighed sadly. "I guess." "Don''t be sad." Charles patted his shoulder and smiled mysteriously. "Let me show you something good." With that, he took an old and thick pamphlet out of somewhere and tossed it into Ye Qingxuan''s lap. "Look at this." "What, your hand-copied erotica?" Ye Qingxuan studied the pamphlet with its blank cover. He opened it suspiciously and sank into silence. After a long while, he looked up again with a pale face. "Senior, do you know how many years of jail time you''ll need for stealing this stuff?" "It doesn''t matter if I don''t get caught." Charles grinned. "You should pay me if you''re gonna make me work, right?" The book in Ye Qingxuan''s hand was filled with tiny cramped writing and a detailed yet compact picture. It was clear that this was an original sketch. There was even a scribbled signature and words. It looked like a dead giant had been dug out of stone. The corpse radiated with menacing coldness. Just looking through it made one shiver. At first, Ye Qingxuan was confused. However, he was able to guess what this was after putting the content together in his head. "This is thearchangel armor?" Ye Qingxuan asked in a hushed voice. "Technically, it''s an old version from sixty years ago. Relax a bit. This is just the internal skeletal system. It doesn''t include the aether system and weaponry system." Charles whistled. "I carried that old guy for two hours in the secret archive to find this thing. Thank God I have sharp eyes, hehe. Otherwise, I would''ve gone through all that for nothing." "Sharp eyes my ass!" Ye Qingxuan''s features twisted. "You just swiped it because you couldn''t control yourself." "Stop getting off topic. Do you want this or not?" "Yes!" Ye Qingxuan clutched the book reflexively. "Why not?" "Good!" Charles hooked arms with him and rubbed his fingers. "Now we have all our tools. We just need the material. Junior, you have connections so can you think of something?" A prepared list was put before Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. Charles had clearly been waiting for Ye Qingxuan to agree so they could do illegal things together. "" Ye Qingxuan looked at him with a strange expression. He wanted to speak but stopped himself. "What?" Charles froze. "Is there something wrong?" "No but" After a pause, Ye Qingxuan covered his eyes. "Senior, did you realize that your towel fell a long time ago?" "" 281 The Son of Lamentation It was an afternoon in the downtown district. The shabby taverns door was pushed open. The smell of smoke and cheap alcohol that spilled out was thick enough to suffocate someone. In the noisy bar, the men smoking while playing cards turned and looked at the entrance. A silhouette of a man stood under the harsh sunshine by the door. He had a cane and wore a bowler hat. Being so well-dressed, he seemed out of sorts here. However, everyone shivered involuntarily when they saw him. Through the murkiness, there seemed to be a pair of breathtaking eyes staring at them. Across the long distance, they could see their own reflections in the eyes. Their reflections were pale like a corpse that had fallen into an abyss. Deep inside the tavern, an old man with his back to the door turned around and saw the figure. He was stunned momentarily. Then he immediately waved, motioning for everyone to get out. When everyone was gone, the newcomer sat opposite him, took off his hat, and laid it on the table. "Long time no see, Mr. Ghosthand," Ye Qingxuan said. Ghosthand looked deeply at Ye Qingxuan. The hairs on his neck stood as if he saw something extremely eerie. After a short few days, Ye Qingxuan hadbecome even stronger. Even Ghosthand was gradually growing afraid of him. "Mr. Holmes, you have recently become much scarier." "This is not what I want." Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. "To be honest, Id rather go out with sunglasses, but even then it doesnt work." "It seems that you have gained a lot in Avalons Shadow." Ghosthand withdrew his sight and pointed to the cards on the table. "Shall we?" Ye Qingxuan couldnt help but laugh. He casually grabbed a joker and shook his head. "Forget it. I am not confident enough to play cards with Ghosthand." He put down the card on the table but it had somehow become a red ace. Soon, it went back to normal. The red ace had returned to Ghosthands hand. He dropped the card and sighed regrettably. "What a pity! I havent cheated for a long time. My hands itch badly." "How''s the Shaman?" "I would like to say that he has healed. However, he is still the same." Ghosthand shrugged. "He is still half dead but should hold on for a while." "Thats normal. With that kind of injury, it wont be surprising whenever he dies." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. Taking the checklist out of his pocket, he handed it over. "Im here today because I hope you can help me collect the things on here." He paused and added, "As soon as possible." Ghosthand waved his hand without glancing at the list.The bartender came to read the note on the table. After thinking, he whispered a few words to Ghosthand, who then said, "Four days." "Ok." Ye Qingxuan was about to get up, but Ghosthand put a wine glass in front of him and poured the amber liquor into it. "Since you''re here, why don''t we have a drink? You just scared off the guys I was drinking with." Ye Qingxuan looked at his lazy half-smile and shrugged. He accepted the glass. "May we have many days ahead of us." Ghosthand toasted to him and drank up. "Hows the taste?" "Good." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "To tell you the truth, your taste is better than I thought." "In Avalon, the lower class of downtown district likes drinking ''kerosene'' the most. Its bad liquor but saves money since people just drink to get drunk. I used to like that kind of liquor. The more drunk I get, the faster my hands would become." Ghosthand played with the cards. The colors changed at his fingertips. As if lamenting, he said, "Then I got money, got a status, and no one called me a pickpocket anymore. They all called me Mr. Ghosthand. I became upper class so I gradually started drinking good things. Actually, until now...I didn''t even know the name of this bottle. "The Shaman always laughs at me and says I just like pretending. But a guy like me is already satisfied to pretend like this. Besides, people like me, we cant do anything with our money in their hands except to buy some satisfaction." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a pause, he asked, "Ever think of finding a woman? It might be better after you have a family." Ghosthand grinned. "Ive had two lovers but they both got married. One of them even had my kid, but sadly, he didnt live long. He wasnt blessed by God. These things bring me much more sadness than happiness. Mr. Holmes, some people arent suitable for the happiness of the ordinary man." "So youve never been happy?" "I have but very rarely." Ghosthand poured the wine for himself. Rather than pressuring Ye Qingxuan to drink again, he just drank it all by himself. "Look at your life. How many times are you truly happy? Especially in a place like downtown. We can only try to live less miserably. Sinners like us probably wont even get to enjoy heaven after death." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. "The Shaman said that he wants to save you all. Has anything changed?" "Well, I guess there are some tiny changes." Ghosthand scratched his head. "But thats enough since we used to have nothing. You see, Mr. Holmes, this is the place where the great men neglect. There are gutters, beggars, and prostitutes everywhere. No one has a future but the Shaman told us that people who have no future should also live with dignity. The inferior should also walk in the street with their heads up, even if they arent bathed in the same sunshine as the great men. We still need to die with dignity." "Is that what he calls the rules of the dark world?" "Perhaps, I don''t quite understand," Ghosthand said frankly. Seeing Ye Qingxuans startled expression, he could not help but laugh. "But Im always honored to have the chance to participate in it. The Shaman gave me dignity. He told me that a wicked man like me has a value in life too, so Ill live for this value." Saying this, he raised his glass. "Mr. Holmes, I can see that you are also very confused. I hope that one day you will find your own value." Ye Qingxuan froze a moment and toasted his glass. "For our own value." With the liquor finished, the youth rose. "I should go. Thanks for your wine." "If you don''t mind, come here for a drink next time," said Ghosthand. "My treat." "Thank you so much." The youth smiled, put on his hat, and vanished into the sunlight outside the door. - The Jianlan Underground Palace was in the darkness. The gate opened in front of the youth. Behind the door, only the light shone in the still library. Ye Qingxuans footsteps echoed in the empty hall. The door closed silently. Ye Qingxuan looked around the open place and raised his voice. "I want to search information about Avalons Shadow." Silence. Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. "I know youre here. Don''t act like a child. Do me a favor. You''ve helped me so much so just help me one more time." It was just like a naughty child. After a long time, the silence was broken by the sounds of shelves moving on the ground. It was as if suddenly the hall had become a Rubik''s cube. Layers of shelves moved along invisible tracks from the back to front, from left to right. After changing like a maze, the darkness hidden behind the layers of shelves was finally exposed. Cold wind and dust blew past. Finally, an old and heavy bookcase slowly rose from the moving tiles and was pushed to the front of Ye Qingxuan. The password hub on it rotated by itself. Amidst the crisp sound of friction, the six-layered lock opened. The door opened and broken pieces of paper floated out of the darkness, landing on the ground. The papers looked as if they had been burned and then put back together. The writing was faded and blurred. It was as if it would crumble if touched. A faint voice came from all directions. "...destroyed...only these...the rest..." "Thanks" Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and gingerly held up the broken pieces of paper. He perused the fragmented messages on the paper. This was a travel journal of a Revelations musician from hundreds of years ago. He had come by boat and wanted to see the pure white city, but he was startled awake from his dream the night before he arrived. His sound of heart talent reinforced the sixth sense. With the great sense of danger, he ran up to the deck. He wanted to jump into the sea and leave this place. Then he saw that the whole of Avalon was illuminated in an instant by a destructive radiance. The light dimmed immediately after and everything was engulfed in darkness. In the darkness, he witnessed the whole process through the aether ball. A mournful cry was heard in the mournful song. Then, huge tides rose in the sea of the aether. The material world was turbulent toothe ''scepter'' of King Arthur was collapsing. The vast boundaries built by music theory enveloped the whole of Avalon, pulling half of the city''s lives from the material world into the aetheric world, into the Avalons Shadow. They disappeared without a trace. The damaged record ended here. Ye Qingxuan put it down and picked up a new one. He found that this was a study on the Blood Path and analysis on the nature of Avalons Shadow by later scholars. They argued that Avalons Shadow had not totally vanished. The fundamental laws of the Modifications had the following explanation: matter is not born out of thin air nor will it vanish. Therefore, they believed that Avalons Shadow had not gone to the ''other world'', nor had it entered the disembodied soul state. It was the composition of King Arthur''s scepter and had blended with the material world. The next part was burnt. Ye Qingxuan pounded on the floor angrily. The thing he hated most was only being able to read something halfway. This kind of author deserved to be arrested and beaten one-thousand times. He picked up the other pieces and found that they were all records about members of the Knights of Round Table. Among them was Percival, who had been beheaded by King Arthur. He had never heard of the majority of this content but currently, they were useless for Ye Qingxuan. He thought for a while and asked, "Do you have the contents of Elizabeth Tower? I mean the one in Avalons Shadow." In the dark, the tiny voices fell silent for a moment before chaos sounded again. It was noisy like dozens of children talking at the same time, one after another. "Elizabeth TowerIt''s dangerous. afraid..." "Dont go there" "He doesn''t like you... He doesn''t like anyone ... He''s gonna kill you." "He''s pitifulDon''t annoy him..." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Who is he?" The little voices paused. Then a fearful voice said, "Hes the successor to the Knights of the Round Table...the crown prince...the perfect man...the son of lamentation...the first inheritor of the curse..." Ye Qingxuan paused for a long time. He felt a chill down to his toes as if freezing water was poured down his back. Who is he? Who else could he be? "Mordred?" In the darkness, the small noises suddenly dissipated as if they were frightened by the namenothing could be heard. Mordred. Ye Qingxuan repeated the name in his mind. He walked toward the history zone with a bitter expression. If it was really Mordred, then he was in deep trouble this time. 282 That Is How Big a Pigeon Is! Robin, clad in a red ceremonial robe, walked into the dark basement. His eyes were cold under his hood. Thick blood bubbled inside the pool. Naberius walked out of the pool without any clothes on. His skin continuously withered away and grew back. After shedding the aged appearance, he recovered his youth. He was no longer injured. He stepped onto the stone and walked forward. Darkness wrapped around him like a black robe. "I really waited for so long." He smiled at the Robin. "Were you busy with something?" "None of your business." The Robin glanced at him. "Didnt I say to not message me unless necessary?" "Frankly, I dont want to see your face either." Naberius sighed helplessly. "But I couldnt help it. Theres a problem with the decoding of the Elizabeth Tower." The Robin furrowed his brows. "The enchantment was created by the Purple Branch and has a core inheritance. Does Ingmar not even have the ability for reverse decoding?" "Its not the ability." Naberius shrugged and pointed at his head. "Its here." With that, he pulled open the secret door and guided the Robin. There was another door at the end of the tunnel. A frail old woman was sitting in a chair before the door and sleeping under the dim light. Seeing their arrival, she moved aside without speaking. "Did he take the medicine?" Naberius asked. The old woman nodded and pointed at the foul-smelling kettle in the corner. "He just had it and calmed down after a bit." Naberius nodded in satisfaction. He motioned for the Robin to be quiet and opened the door. The room behind it was covered in colored paper. Some were filled with orderly music notes. Others were scribbled with messy brainstorming. Still, others had the alchemy process written on them. Even more pages were covered in strange and undecipherable doodles. They looked like pictures of various horrible deaths. One could vaguely make out a one-armed man pierced by thousands of arrows, a white doll with a big head that was ripped apart by horses, a blonde man hacked into pieces A man with graying hair knelt amongst the papers, fervently scribbling on a piece of white paper with a crayon. The frail sickly body and wild eyes were terrifying. Naberius stood beside him. Bending over, he called softly, "Ingmar, Ingmar." The man known as Ingmar continued to draw with his head down. Naberius reached out and took the paper away. "What are you drawing? Why dont you show Uncle? Come, be good kids and show Uncle!" Using all his strength, he yanked the paper from Ingmar. Without it, Ingmar stopped moving. He sat on the ground dumbly and muttered something to himself. The Robin took the paper and furrowed his brows at the scribbled sketch for a long time before looking up. "Is thisa pigeon?" Hearing the word pigeon, Naberius expression changed. However, the Robin had already said the word and it could not be taken back. On the ground, Ingmar began twitching and screamed as if seized by psychosis, scrambling around on the ground. Finally, he had nowhere to go except curling in the corner. He tried to cover himself with the ripped pieces of paper. With terrified yet blank eyes, he chanted, "Pigeon, pigeon, pigeon" Suddenly he began cackling and looked up at Naberius. "Why is the pigeon so big? Such a big pigeonit flew!" No one reacted to him. He tossed the shreds into the air and cheered happily, "It flew! It flew! The pigeon flew! But why is it so big?" "" The Robin glanced at Naberius and waited for an explanation. "Cant help it. This is the aftershock from breakdown of his sound of heart." Naberius sighed. "His blood pressure shot up and his brain was already messed up when he was treated. He couldnt be saved even if he was turned into a dark musician. I never thought that the first follower who trained in the name of God in these sixty years is a retardha." They left the room and closed the door. "You cant mention anything about deciphering ancient texts before him now. You cant talk about the Voynich Manuscript either. If youre lucky, hell be lucid the entire day. If youre not luckythen its hard to say." Naberius sighed. "He cant do anything in this state." "We dont have time for him to go crazy like this," the Robin stated coldly. "Inject opiates, raise the amount, and use the prescription for the dried petals agent. Inject it until hes lucid." "What if he dies?" The Robin glanced at him. "Does it matter if hes alive or not if we get the result?" "Fine, hand this over to me. No dark musician is more knowledgeable about drugs than me." Naberius nodded and changed the topic. "However, Holmes is a bit more difficult. Im worried that he might be planning something. He hasnt appeared in a while." "Just do what you need to do," the Robin said lightly. "Dont take your work lightly. Its easy for God to punish you for sixty more years." "Dont say those scary things. Im already scared." Naberius sighed in disappointment. "I had wanted to hear some encouraging words from you. But what if I cant do it?" "I have plans." The Robin turned around and left, disappeared into the darkness. - It was the afternoon three days later by the port. Rotten leaves flowed through the sewer with the dirty water into the sea. Amidst the scent of fish and sounds of hawkers, a cargo vessel stopped by the bank. The second shipman Bonin directed the two sailors to move a wooden box to land. "Were finally here." They had sailed for three days and nights. During the entire trip, people had handed items to him continuously. When they finally reached Avalon, the wooden box was already stuffed completely. The items were covered in wax paper and seemed to be iron. They made him curious but Bonin did not dare to open them. Having lived off the sea for so many years, he knew well what happened to the guys who did not follow the rules. It would be okay if they were other smugglers but this was what the Shaman asked for. No one dared to try anything. Those who had were all dead. Furthermore, who knew if it was something troublesome or not? Sometimes, one could lose their life just for a glance. It was stupid. As a small smuggler, Bonin had been forced to take this tricky job. Of course he felt anxious. These past few days, he had imagined countless scary schemes and evil plans. He had been nervous the entire trip. Now that he was in Avalon, he just wanted someone to take the things off his hand. But why was the connection not here? Did they For some reason, he was nervous. He was standing under the blazing sun but he felt an eerie chill haunting him. God bless, did I really get dragged into some untouchable mess? He swallowed thickly and glanced fearfully at the crowd. He was not sure if he should remain here anymore. "Bonin?" a cool voice sounded in his ear. Jolting, he spun around but saw nothing. A blurry shadow looked at him from the distant. "Come see me," the voice said. Bonin looked up instinctively and saw a pair of cool eyes. The eyes were pure black but felt like they were made of colored glass. They were bottomless as if an invisible vortex was hidden within them. One could not look away. When Bonin snapped out of it, he was standing in the middle of a busy market. A youth sat on the steps, leaning against the corner before him as if sunbathing. He was squinting his eyes and humming an unclear and distant song. Beside him, the hawkers yelled loudly. Sailors had taken over every bit of the dock to transport the goods. Passersby came and left; some crude sailors had already started to fight, filling the air with cheers and insults. But for some reason, no one noticed the youth. It was as if he did not exist in this world. Then what was there? An angry spirit? Bonin was covered in cold sweat and he trembled. However, the youth tossed a strip of paper into his arms and pointed at the empty space at the front. As if freed, Bonin threw down the box and ran away without looking back. After going far, far away, he finally had the courage to turn around and look through the crowd. This entire time, the youth had never opened his eyes. It seemed that he was napping in the afternoon sun. Bonin looked away, not daring to look anymore, and ran to the port. No matter what, this creepy job was over. After a long, long time, the youth finally woke up from his nap. Rubbing his face, he climbed up from the ground with a troubled expression. "How did I fall asleep again?" he muttered. "I knew I shouldnt have spent the whole night playing cards. I lost so much too. AhI hope Auntie wont be mad." He jogged into the bakery on the side of the street. Soon, angry scolding came from the store. The youth ran out while bowing submissively and brought a fresh loaf of bread to the inn across the street. The box had been tossed onto a carriage by the workers transporting vegetables. The carriage galloped down the street and stopped before a restaurant. Workers unloaded the fresh vegetables, meat, and seafood. The wooden box that was mixed in was taken by the workers to an Indian restaurant. A man with a turban and a hookah pipe ordered a few kids to bring the things into the kitchen. "Boss, isnt there another box?" a child worker asked in confusion. "What box?" The boss glanced at him. "This is how much we order every day. Why would those stingy Angloians give us an extra box? Its already a feat for them to not cheat us ten pounds." The child glanced back in confusion but the wooden box was already gone. Just like that, the wooden box was accidentally taken around Avalon the entire afternoon. Finally, it was tossed into the postal carriage as a regular package and brought to the Academy. "Three hours and twenty minutes." Ye Qingxuan sat in an open air seat of the caf across from the school. He stopped his stopwatch. "Ive already calculated but theres still a ten minute difference. Theres still room for improvement." 283 The Governor "Three hours and twenty minutes." Ye Qingxuan sat in an open air seat of the caf across from the school. He stopped his stopwatch. "Ive already calculated but theres still a ten minute difference. Theres still room for improvement." He went through the process again and finally found the problem. Then he picked up the coffee before him and drank it up with a smile. For the first time, he realized the power of the School of Mind. The power of free transformation" had been imperceptibly and cleverly inserted into the gap between thoughts. The musician could use others as tools to push the matter toward their desired direction. Those involved were often dragged in without realizing. They would not even know why they died. No wonder Mind musicians were often feared by others. Once this kind of power was abused, it would destructive enough to destroy any kind of relationship between people. After all, there was no way to ensure that a close companion had not been planted with a hint. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan also became alert. He began planning how to prevent others to use this trick on him. Actually, the easiest way was to strike first and to plant an automatic hint in everyones mind. Lola used to enjoy doing this kind of thing. She planted several layers of hints into each of her followers minds. It was a ring set and each ones trigger was different. Those guys who wanted to betray her or had evil intentions would often fail at this time and be fooled by her. Lola had many tricks that were worse than that, especially from the book she had given Ye Qingxuan. She was not a dark musician but was more evil than them. Every skill was terrifying. If someone could learn all skills in the book, it would be a pity if he did not try to destroy the world and retaliate against the society. Ye Qingxuan shook his head and got up to pay the bill. At the end of the street, a black procession came silently under the afternoon sun. The black line of cars was branded with the Royal Music Division''s heraldry. The cars windows were blocked by curtains. One could not tell how many people there were. There was a truck among the procession. It carried dark iron boxes seals sealed in red wax. It seemed to be transporting something. "Bench Guy?" Ye Qingxuan, looking at the head of the team, found that Gavin was with several royal musicians on horseback. Gavin seemed to have found him too and looked over. Ye Qingxuan waved. He did not expect that Gavin would ride over quickly after hesitating and whispering to the person beside to him. "Bench Guy, youre looking impressive," Ye Qingxuan teased, seeing him riding on the dark horse and dressed in uniform with a grim look. Gavin managed a smile. He seemed to be very worried about something and whispered, "Ye Qingxuan, some bad things will happen in this city. The Royal Music Division has imposed martial law. Dont go out if you dont need to and just stay in the academy. Its best if you can leave Avalon for one month and come back after it passes." Hearing his words, Ye Qingxuan paused then nodded with smile. "I see. Rest assured. And please just call me Yezi. " "...Yezi, take care." Gavin took a final look at him and then turned the horse''s head to catch up with the rest. Ye Qingxuan stood still, watching the convoy gradually disappearing in the sunsets residual light. He finished the coffee in his hand and threw it into the wastebasket. "Big event?" the teenager youth murmured. "It seems that I have to be faster." He turned and walked into the academy. - Late at night, the studys door was pushed open. Abraham raised his head and saw the white-haired youth at the door. He took off his glasses. "Yezi, whats the matter?" Ye Qingxuan grinned. "Sir, about the interpretation...I have some questions." Abraham immediately understood. Pressing down with his prosthetic hand, the requiem enchantment silently covered the whole school district, blocking all the aetheric fluctuations. Ye Qingxuan closed the door. Sitting behind the desk, he respectfully handed over a stack of manuscripts. "Professor, Im interpreting an ancient movement but I am confused by some of the music theory. How should I interpret this paragraph?" Abraham looked at the manuscript. A startled look flashed through his eyes. Soon, he smiled. "Its quite simple." He picked up a piece of chalk and began writing on the blackboard behind him. "This interval is a relatively rare form of continuity that is the key to the whole ''musical phrase. You should take this as the theme and start from here. As for the notes deconstruction, you can refer to the writings of Bach, the sixth generation saint." The first question about ''interpretation'' was so easily solved. Ye Qingxuan understood it quite well. After a long while of thinking, something flashed past his eyes. He handed over another manuscript. "I dont really understand this part." Abraham took it and stared at the broken passages and questions. After a long time, he laughed. "From the perspective of interpretation, you should..." It took a total of five hours until three o''clock in the morning. The questions Ye Qingxuan had accumulated over the past few days were finally completely solved. Throughout the whole process, the two only communicated about the interpretation of the movement, just like the teaching between the scholar and his student. Ye Qingxuan did not mention that the Abstinence score had come from the School of Stone Heart. Abraham also did not mention any of the School of Abstinences terms. One asked and the other answered. There seemed no logic in the questions; the answers did not sound like answers. But in the end, Ye Qingxuan was so excited. After the final question was solved, he closed his eyes and thought for a long time. The aetheric fluctuations in his body suddenly soared and collapsed. After a strange change, the fluctuations calmed down again. "I see." He opened his eyes and smiled. "Thank you for your guidance." "You can ask me anything about interpretation." Abraham waved his hand to undo the enchantment. "When are you going to attempt to become an official musician?" "To tell you the truth, I have no idea yet." Ye Qingxuan''s expression immediately became troubled. Abraham frowned and patted the young man''s shoulder. However, he was soon startled. "How can you have not yet advanced yet? Your resonance with the aether has reached far beyond mine when I was your age." "But I dont show signs of Deva sensing yet." The youth smiled wryly. "I can feel that recently my strength has raised more than in past months. Logically, I should be a formal musician now, but nothing has happened yet." Abraham mused for a long time and said, "Probably because you haven''t reached your limit yet? You study the theory of Abstinence, Illusion, and Mind at the same time. I''m afraid the difficulty is much higher than for the average musician." Hearing him say so, Ye Qingxuan immediately became a little embarrassed. "In fact, I also study Revelations. It seems that learning too much isnt good." "It''s your gift, Yezi." Abraham laughed. "You started learning music theory less than six months ago, right? You are a real genius." "Compared with Charles, I''m not a genius all." The teenager shook his head and stood up to say goodbye. "Yezi," Abraham called him. The youth turned. "Yes?" "When you become an official musician, whats your research direction? Have you decided yet?" Abraham asked, "What about the transfer? If you want to work as a Mute, I can find some former colleagues to help you." "Well, actually Ive already made my decision." Rubbing Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan recalled the name that had been lingering in his ears these days and smiled. "Maybe the Dreamweaver?" - Three days later, Charles and Ye Qingxuan were in the basement. On a pile of discarded parts, Charles, with heavy dark circles, yawned. After drinking a bottle of beer, he pointed to the things on the table. "Its done, try it on." Ye Qingxuan looked in the direction of his finger but only saw a bunch of strange parts placed on the Sigh armor. He did not see the alloy skeleton he had expected. He looked at Charles, but the man was busying drinking. Ye Qingxuan could only pick up the arm shield suspiciously and wear it on his left arm. With a crisp snap, the metal armor fit tightly on his body. Then, the notes on it lit up one by one with a buzzing sound. Shocked, Ye Qingxuan heard the scattered parts on the work table behind him began trembling and colliding with each other with crisp sounds. This was like...Resonance? Faint electric light flashed from Ye Qingxuan''s arm. In the blink of an eye, the machine parts on the work table were pulled to the teenager by invisible magnetic attraction. Ye Qingxuan reflexively raised his arm to defense. However, the parts connected together on the armor with a snap. The electricity made the scattered parts evolve around Ye Qingxuan. In a twinkling, a series of crisp sounds could be heard. The attraction of the magnetic force pulled the parts and rivets together. Metallic color expanded rapidly on Ye Qingxuans body. In the end, it covered his limbs and back, forming a strange metal skeleton. With Ye Qingxuans actions, the runes on the metal skeleton constantly extinguished and lit up again. They supported his movements lightly and flexibly without any resistance. The weight was only one-third of the original one. "Theres no power system?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. Charles finished the beer and wiped away the wine from the corners of his mouth. He grinned. "The aether is the best power. Innovation is the life of the designer. It''s not my style to work on the original plan." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He tried to move forward but did not expect to create a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, he moved a few meters forward and almost hit the wall. With cold sweat, he looked down at his feet. He tried to bend his knees slowly but felt a repulsive force between the metal bones on his legs. It suddenly dawned on him. "Its the impetus and repulsion of magnetic forces?" "Thats right!" Charles whistled. "I was inspired by Newton, that old man. Electricity can be used as the power so the repulsion and attraction between magnetic fields should also be useful. "If you don''t want to break a hole in our ceiling, you''d better not jump here. Theoretically, you can jump around ten meters. Both the power of a single thrust and stability are more than twice as strong as the original skeleton!" "Its more than that." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He looked down at the iron rod that he had twisted into a mangled mess. Charles had definitely made a conservative estimate. If he did not take his endurance in consideration and went all out, he could even fight with the Butcher for a short period. And... Moonlight lit up in his eyes. He looked up and could sense the stars and aetheric clouds in the heavens through the ceilings. He could even look through the surface and vaguely sense different rhythms and beats. The feeling was fleeting, but there was a kind of intoxicating beauty. That was probably the Sea of Aether. One could only sense this after becoming a formal musician. "The aether resonance...has been strengthened?" "You don''t think that something as dangerous as the ''archangel armor'' can be played by most people, right?" Charles laughed. "Its a musicians armor. The fragile musicians used it to become destroyers on the battlefield. Many of the alloy formulae were the product of alchemists. They naturally enhanced the power of musicians. All I did was just to lead them out. "You cant store any movements after my simplification and modification, but its not inferior to any of other robes at the same stage. You dont have your own robe yet, right?" Charles patted him on the shoulder. "Take this as a gift before you become a formal musician." Although what Charles said sounded very simple, Ye Qingxuan had learned some mechanical engineering principles before. He obviously knew that to modify archangel armor into this and to retain the original function was very difficult. Thinking of this, he could not help but feel moved. "Senior, you are really a good person!" He said earnestly and patted Charles'' shoulder. "Ill remember you my entire life." "..." Charless face twitched. "Can you say something nice?" "Well, how''s the job? How much do you earn every month? How much do you have after the tax? When are you going to bring a girlfriend back? When are you getting married? Have you bought a house in midtown?" Charles looked more and more miserable. He was obviously about to die. "Ye Qingxuan! Do you hate me? Why do you hurt me like this?" "Im just kidding." Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh and held onto Charles shoulder. "Thank you, senior!" "Just remember how good I am." Charles rolled his eyes and patted the skeleton on his shoulder. "This is yours. Name it." Ye Qingxuan mused for a moment and said, "What about the Governor''?" "It sounds a little strange but as long as you like it." Charles picked up the tools and knocked against the youths body. "Take it off and Ill adjust it again. After all, this thing can save your life. The more suitable it is the better. I didnt know you had grown so much these days. Youre almost as tall as me." After taking off the ''Governor'', Ye Qingxuan sat beside the workbench and said, "Senior..." "Eh?" "Seriously, it''s almost Christmas. When will you bring back a girlfriend?" "Yezi, dont force me to kill you..." "Okay, okay, Ill shut up." 284 The Gate of Traitors Red-hot fire burned under black clouds. Lightning danced crazily between the clouds. Furious waves tossed in the limitless sea. Chaotic vortices appeared one after another before crashing and disappearing the next moment. The skies and earth cracked apart under the fulminations. A majestic yet unclear sound rose, shaking the earth. Shadowy flames burned above the silver-white throne. The sitting figure looked down at the pure white city under his feet that was being invaded by the spreading fire. The city was breaking apart. The flames pulled the carcasses away from the material world and sank into the deepest part of the aether sea together. The giant shadow rose from the throne and unsheathed his sword. The dazzling light spread in all directions as if a blazing sun had descended to Earth. He pointed the sword to the sky but the flow of the blade suddenly extinguished. The blade shattered, the pieces shooting away. The man roared in the darkness and fell into the shadows. He had fallen into eternal darkness. Eternally isolated. "What a lonely ending," the Shaman murmured as he opened his eyes. The only sound in the quiet secret room was the gentle noises of the alchemist machine maintaining his life. Ghosthand, sleeping in the corner, looked over. "Whats wrong?" "I had a dream. Its a bad premonition." The Shaman reached out for Ghosthand to help him up. Candlelight shone through the hole in his chest and cast menacing spots of light on the wall behind him. One could vaguely see the shadows of the pulsing incomplete heart. Snot flowed from his nose as he stood. He looked sad and pitiful. Ghosthand sighed and handed him a handkerchief. "What day is it?" the Shaman asked. "Sixteenth." "Oh." The Shaman nodded. "It should be today, right? The astrologers told me that the Blue Moon will awaken within the Pure White Moon today. The stars will stop moving. After the power of Avalons Shadow enters the low tide, Elizabeth Towers power will be at its weakest point as well. If the parliament wants to act, theyll choose today." Ghosthand nodded. "Mr. Holmes already took what you prepared for him and set off. He came before he left but you were sleeping. He did not want to wake you." "Did he say anything?" "Nothing except to remind you to uphold your end of the deal." Guilt flashed past the Shamans eyes and he closed them. When he slowly opened them again, the twilight in them was gone. His eyes were determined once again. Like a blade cleaned of rust, it had a tinge of blazing light. "Guard outside the door," he said. "Dont let anyone come in." Ghosthand nodded and left. Silence returned to the room. The lone candle flickered before finally dying out. A pair of dimly glowing eyes closed in the duskiness. Darkness swallowed everything. - "He has arrived, he has arrived." That same night, Naberius shook his bell in the dark city of the demonic territory. "The great one has arrived, the lord has arrived, the dark officials have arrived! The followers shall arrive!" Behind him, countless followers in red ceremonial robes began chanting the poems and songs in unison. Under the nightmarish recitations, the shell in Naberius hand broke apart. The blood-colored shell shattered into a scarlet haze. The demon with an eagles head and a mans body was called forth. He unfurled his wings, covering the moonlight, and cawed into the darkness. It was Malpas, one of the sixth incarnations of the natural catastrophe Kehlsteinhaus! He looked down at the city that had fallen into the shadows. Heavy dissatisfaction appeared on his face. "Such pure power tainted by such dirty resentmentthe scepter is forgotten, what a joke, what a joke" Layers of overlapping feathers sprouted from his back. Each one had an unclear face on it. The thousands of faces opened their mouths in unison and uttered with the same voice as Malpas, "Your Majesty sleeping in the shadows, the time for anger has arrived!" Malpas raised the crystal eyeball high and called to the White Tower that shot up to the sky like an illusion, "Wake! Wake! Wake!" The illusionary White Tower deep in the city instantly rumbled. As the pivot swung, the lever moved, the gears rotated, and the enormous copper bell vibrated. The enchantment that enveloped the entirety of Avalons Shadow shook under the grave and terrorizing ringing. The darkness in the path of the sound waves surged wildly. Crazed shadows shot to the sky. The eagle wing unfurled and countless feathers floated down into the shadows. Absorbing power, they transformed into thousands and thousands of pure black falcons. They swept past like a tidal wave. The city of demons finally woke from its slumber. The demons that had been sealed in their spots felt the calling of the natural catastrophe and awoken one after another. They crawled out of their shells. Bathing in the cold moonlight, they howled. The dead city instantly began moving. Downtown, midtown, uptownthey all began rotating with the Elizabeth Tower as the axis. Under the ear-splitting explosion, the illusionary White Tower solidified. The path hidden under layers of fog finally appeared. The gate of traitors had opened! "Go, my servants." Looking down at the dark musicians on the ground, Malpas ordered seriously, "Offer all water and earth you see to Hyakume!" "He has arrived!" the dark musicians chanted together as they stepped onto the path to the White Tower. "He has arrived!" - Amidst the quaking, a bloody vortex was activated soundlessly at the other end of the city. Figures in black cloaks walked out. Their cloaks fluttered in the furious wind. Above the cloaks, the silver-white emblem of the Red Dragon and sword seemed to come to life and roared soundlessly. They were the Royal Musician Division! Jerome at the head bowed at the vortex behind him. "My Princess, thank you for your trouble." At the other end of the vortex, a weakened girl nodded lightly. "Please do all you can in Her Majestys name to protect Anglos glory." "Yes, Your Highness." Jerome watched as the girls figure disappeared in the vortex. He turned and gazed at the royal musicians behind him. "Enter battle mode now. There will be no reinforcement here. Your names will not appear on any lists of those killed in action. If we fail, you will die here without anyone knowing. I hope you are already determined to return all glory to Anglo!" "Return all glory to Anglo!" the royal musicians replied in unison. Their aether waves were entangled together. "Good." Jerome nodded in satisfaction. "Are there any other questions?" "Sir, I have a question." A young man in line raised his hand timidly. Jerome furrowed his brows. "Yes?" "Sir, Im innocent! This is a mission for royal musicians so why does a technician like me have to go with?" Charles cried from the crowd. "Can you let me go back? Im just here to provide technical guidance!" Jeromes brows furrowed more. "Yes, your mission is technical guidance, but didnt Newton tell you that you have to be with the team?" Charles froze and his face paled drastically. He wailed to the heavens, "Oh gods, Newton, you *sshole! You cant do this to me! I want to see that *sshole! Ive shed blood for the research institute! Ive made achievements for Anglo! I want to see that *sshole." Jerome clenched a fist and Charles voice cut off abruptly; he was shut up. He tried to say something to the musicians beside him but found he could not make any sound. All he could do was show his anger and feeling of being wronged. Charles sat onto the ground shamelessly but the musicians on either side forced him up. He looked like he would rather die. "Okay, no one should have any problems now." Jerome turned around and ordered, "Lets go!" Their destinationthe Gate of the Traitors! - "Finally here." The youth with a bowler hat stood under the White Tower and looked up at the giant arch. Corpses long withered hung above the eerie arch. "The Gate of the Traitors," he murmured. Tower Green, Cross Road, and the Gate of the Traitors were the three largest punishment grounds of Avalon. Tower Green imprisoned the major felons. Each year, musicians with serious crimes would be tossed into the Silver Cellar and be eroded to nothing by the wild aether there. Cross Road was an execution ground. Criminals would be taken to the guillotine there and beheaded. Their blood flowed into a river. This large arch before the guillotine was just for the elites. The traitors of the country were hung from the gate! Bloody words had been left by the executioners. Ever since the country was established, countless elites who had betrayed the nation put on robes and accessories and were hung here for an honorable death. Hundreds of years had passed. The robe had turned to dust and the accessories no longer shone. Only the corpses still hung from the lock, swaying with the wind with an eerie song like a wind chime. The youth walked through them like an apparition amidst the song and climbed the steps of the White Tower that pierced the black clouds. The tower stood upon steps and spun violently with the rest of the city. It had come out of the illusionary world and became tangible. Twelve paths converged under it with twelve respective gates. There were no activation knobs on these gates. There was not even a crack as if they were solid blocks. Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. He reached out to knock and discovered that faint aether waves came from the door. There was also a faint rhythmthe iron gates had melded into the Elizabeth Tower. If he wanted to force it open, he would probably need something more powerful than the Avalon enchantment. "So I cant go in?" 285 Strange White Tower "So I cant go in?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. However, his bowler hat suddenly vibrated and a glimmer of light flashed before his eyes. A complex star map suddenly appeared on the black iron gate in front of him. After looking carefully, it dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "Aries?" he muttered. Walking briskly around the tower, he realized that he was right. Each of the twelve gates had a different star map on it. The doors of Leo and Capricorn showed signs of being opened earlier. People had already entered. No matter how Ye Qingxuan hurried, he was still slowed down by the demons that had awakened along his path. "Seems like every second is precious in this battle?" Closing his eyes, he pressed his hands onto the gate and instantly resonated with the music score within. This prohibitionwas definitely from the School of Abstinence! Many of the techniques used were familiar. Some had appeared in the music theory from the School of Stone Heart. The School most likely had something to do with the entire construction of the White Tower. Ye Qingxuan could feel that the twelve gates led to twelve different places. All led to the core of the Elizabeth Tower in the end but had different lengths. According to his calculations, the distance behind the Leo gate was the longest but it led to the core directly. There were not many blockades. The path behind the Capricorn gate was difficult to distinguish. It emanated with a sinister feeling and had already been tainted by the natural catastrophes power. The paths of the other unopened gates were hidden in the fog. "So Ill just have to gamble?" Ye Qingxuan began thinking but his hat vibrated and resonated with one of the gates. "Libra?" It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. As the developer of the sub-originator theory, the School of Stone Heart focused heavily on the balance of both inside and out, as well as the structure and resonance between music theories. They would not sacrifice strength on one side to reinforce another side. Thus, there was neither a strongest point nor an obvious weak point. It was sealed as tightly as stone and sturdy enough to be intimidating. "If thats the case, then I shouldnt wait any longer." Ye Qingxuan pressed his hands onto the door and began resonating with the music score on the door. "Im the best at things like interpretation!" he muttered softly. His consciousness entered the gate instantly and began fighting against the defensive prohibition. After grasping the core theory for the School of Stone Heart, the seamless and flawless prohibition quickly showed many loopholes. Analysis, interpretation, and eradication! Just like picking a lock, Ye Qingxuan could easily create his own key after understanding the locks core structure. The establishment and undoing of enchantments was one of the School of Abstinences specialties. The orthodox method of cracking defenses was never to force ones way through. It was to use music theory and the musicians experience to perform reverse interpretation. Ye Qingxuan calculated his time. With his current progress, he could probably open the gate within three minutesif he was not disturbed. A rotting odor suddenly blew in with the night wind, and small footsteps sounded. It sounded like dozens of marbles had fallen onto the ground. Something that smelled sour was coming. At the most critical point of the cracking, Ye Qingxuan saw a black shadow project onto the gate, grow angry, and pounce toward him. Then it snapped into two halves in the air. Ye Qingxuan smirked and closed his eyes, focusing entirely on the cracking. When he opened his eyes again, the small noises were gone but the sour smell had multiplied. He looked back. Two meters away, demons that looked something like centipedes lay on the ground in pieces. All the pieces were two meters away. Their blood and bodily fluids formed a mournful arc. Anything that tried to pass that arc had shattered. Ye Qingxuan looked away. Only an idiot would not put up defenses when cracking codes in a creepy place like this. With a crack, aether solidified into a strange key in his hand. He pushed it through the gate and the stars on the surface extinguished one by one. Finally, an invisible force swept past him and disappearedBell Authority Confirmation Complete! A monotone mechanic voice sounded in his ears. Then, the seamless door rumbled and slid into the walls, opening the path. Ye Qingxuan stared into the empty space and his expression changed. The youthful song had started again. It echoed in the darkness behind the door. "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreamsWe have power and the sea so which direction should we wanderThousands of pairs of hands will raise the sails" The song was filled with resentment as if the trapped souls were singing. He could not tell where the song came from. If he listened closely, it felt as if the song was everything. Someone was murmuring in his ear. The moonlight in Ye Qingxuans eyes flashed. It put out the seed someone had planted in his mind without him knowing. He sighed in relief. This place was too strange. The moment he opened the gate, the aura that emanated from it had planted a serious shadow into his consciousness. Just as walking under the sun would create a shadow and going through water would create ripples, it had planted a seed in Ye Qingxuans mind without meaning to. Jiu Xuan Huan Pei shot out from his cane. Ye Qingxuan activated the mirror heart and checked repeatedly. He could not find any emotions in the surroundings. The darkness was empty. As the silent youth walked in, the gate slammed shut. The bell at the top of the tower rang. The enormous Elizabeth Tower sank back into emptiness - A gentle light rose from Ye Qingxuans fingertip in the darkness. It transformed into a bubble and illuminated the surroundings like moonlight. He could not see the ground or ceiling of the tower. He seemed to have walked into an abandoned hall. It was covered with dusty furniture. A plate of dried lamb chops was left on the dining table. Opening a door, he walked into a long and narrow hall. It tilted upward slightly. After another door, he saw an empty storage room. It seemed to have displayed weapons but they had all been taken away. Pieces of low quality items were piled in the corner. Ye Qingxuan picked on up and knocked on it; it crumbled to pieces. He pushed open a door and continued. Along his way, some rooms looked like banquet halls; other rooms were spotless. In one corner was a large glass container. It had been filled with something but now, only sticky green liquid remained. Another room was a big bedroom filled with a wooden horse, handcuffs, whips Face twitching, Ye Qingxuan continued. Next was an underground exhibition gallery of a water tribe. The ceiling was made of glass, separating the blue-green seawater. The water had become murky and filled with bones of various fish. There was no place for logic here. Every room was filled with things that made no sense. The room behind each door was unpredictable. All he could feel was that he was walking and climbing in an endless hall. He still had not seen any living thing. There was no living thing at all. He felt a bit unsettled. Because he had passed the resonance bell authority, he did not run into any enchantments or prohibitions. After all, this was the maintenance pathway that the School of Stone Heart had made during construction. He could reach the heart without any worries. However, the things he saw were just too strange. He could never figure out what was hidden behind each door. Once, he tried to go back and return to a room that had been a dungeon. But he found that it had turned into a musicians cigar room. The tobacco had already turned to dust. Toilet, bathroom, kitchen, garbage room Ye Qingxuan stood at the entrance and shut the door expressionlessly. He opened it again after each minute. It was different every time. "This place really changesdo you guys like to play with Rubiks cubes?" he muttered. He decided to sit down and not go any further. He pulled out some fruits and crackers from his pocket and a water kettle. It looked like he was at a picnic. He ate slowly and unhurriedly as if savoring the taste. Once every minute, he would open the door to see what was there and throw something inside for a mark. Thirty minutes later, he felt it was enough. He rose slowly and set off again. This time, he moved quickly. He did not check anything and passed through the rooms directly to the next door. He was twice as fast as before. However, he discovered interesting things in some rooms. There were signs of large groups walking past, as well as corpses and dust. Sometimes, he would feel a sudden trembling. If he pressed his ear on the wall, he could faint rumbling and sounds of destructions. Then he would find incomplete bodies in the next room. The aether in the room would still have signs of battle. Ye Qingxuan could distinguish that one aura was the Firebird that he had personally experienced. This should be the Royal Musician Division. Their emblem was the red dragon and sword because they would receive instruments bathed in royal blood when they were sworn in. Instruments with the Firebird were much more destructive than other instruments, thus becoming their trademark. The other aura was also familiar. It was the taste of natural catastrophes and demons 286 Dagone It seemed that the Royal Musician Division had clashed with the dark musicians already. They had fought but it was hard for both sides to win in this strange place. It was a different world once the door closed. They could not even chase each other. Compared to their bloody struggles, Ye Qingxuans path was much easier. His good luck was frightening. He passed without any danger and finished half the journey as if it was a hike. And then it seemed as if he had used up all his luck. When he opened another door, dust fell from the dome in clumps. As he pushed the iron door, the rusted bronze cups on the ground rolled and clinked against each other. Then they broke under his feet. And then he stopped breathing. Ye Qingxuan saw another door in the large and open roomit was a big menacing copper door. The faint carving on the surface depicted a battlefield with countless fighters. The image was unclear from years of weathering. No, what made him hold his breath was the giant nailed to the door. A burly man covered in menacing armor was nailed to the middle of the door, amidst the wild carvings of the battlefield, by a sword stuck through his chest. His armor still reflected with cold metallic light after all these years. However, it was covered with a layer of dried blood. He had long run out of spewing blood. All that remained were the murky stains. Different from regular knights who wore armor for protection, this three meter tall knight seemed to be a captive of his armor. Every joint and section was nailed with a giant nail. The openings made for wearing had been fused together. It imprisoned him like a cage. Ye Qingxuan pushed the door to leave the moment he saw the man. However, he froze because the door would not open anymore. Even more terrifying wasthe small noise awakened the knight from his sleep. He raised his head slowly under the grating of metal. Lava-like light lit up under his helmet. He looked at the youth. The emotionless gaze chilled Ye Qingxuan. He uttered the forbidden name, "Dagonet." Dagonet was the least known knight from the Round Table. He had no war accomplishments, no impressive legend, and had not even held any official titles. He was not glorious like Lancelot; he was not noble like Gawain. He had never even stepped foot on the battlefield. It could be said he was mocked by his colleagues. Historians even thought that Dagonet had become a Round Table Knight by using his wifes nepotism. He did not have any accomplishments to leave in history books even until his death. Hundreds of years ago, King Arthur called the best alchemists in the world to create his weapon, the Sword in the Stone. They also made the masterpieces of armor for the knights. However, Dagonet was not gifted anything. He lost his temper due to this and questioned the king. Angered, Arthur ordered his alchemist to give this clown the armor he deserved. The gaps of the armor were filled with melted copper; he would never be able to take it off. Then King Arthur personally poured the boiling iron paste into the helmet, burning Dagonet to death in the glory he had dreamed of. One could say that Dagonet was like a clown his entire life. Even his death was laughable. However, Ye Qingxuan could not look down on him. Even the weakest Round Table Knight was still a Round Table Knight! The hair on his neck stood up straight the next moment. "Arthur!" Dagonet finally woke up under the armor and roared furiously. The sound waves rushed forward like a steel plank. The voice resounded in the sealed room, making Ye Qingxuan dizzy. Dagonet yanked out the sword from his chest and he dropped to the ground. The sole red eye under the helmet looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Every debt has a debtor. Bro, how do I look like Arthur?" Ye Qingxuan could not even cry. "Tell me where I look like him and Ill fix it!" Thunderous footsteps sounded in reply. The steel boots crashed against the floor. Sparks flew and dozens of pits appeared in the ground. He charged directly at Ye Qingxuan. The youth threw himself to the ground and rolled. The sword brushed past him and slammed into the ground. Rolling on the ground was a lifesaving trick. Otherwise, he would have died long ago, right? Ye Qingxuan was still able to have nonsensical thoughts while dodging. After the steel skeleton was upgraded to the governor, its speed was so fast Ye Qingxuan could barely handle it. He crossed dozens of meters in an instant and nimbly dodged outside the swords range. "Arthur!" Dagonet roared again under the armor. He charged at Ye Qingxuan. His posture was not pretty. In fact, it could be described as scrambling like a dog, but his craze was terrifying. He swung the sword wildly, leaving messy gashes on the ground. The flying pebbles shot toward Ye Qingxuan like a thunderstorm and were deflected. He dodged in panic and raised his hand to bite his finger. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei let out a clear melody. The aether changed. Strands of blood flowed from the wound on his finger. They floated in the air like mist. It was Bolero. Moonlight brewed in the faint blood. It transformed into hundreds upon thousands of strands. Extending in all directions, they wrapped around Dagonet, causing Ye Qingxuan to wrinkle his nose. "Whats going on" Deciphering the aether waves he received, his expression changed. The aether reaction in Dagonets body came from nineteen different sources within an instant? Within a second of his hesitation, the count of aether waves shot up to more than thirty! Dagonet sped up instantly again and charged like a rabid dog. Ye Qingxuan dodged to the right but Dagonets waist spun one-hundred eighty degrees against all laws of science and threw his sword. Ye Qingxuans expression changed. Something roared. The protective rings that he had stolen extinguished one after another. His various layers of shields cracked under the aggressive strikes. Ye Qingxuan flew into the sky from the shocks and slammed into the wall. He was smashed flat like a pie! Ye Qingxuan barely managed to stay conscious from the shock. He grew more and more confused. This guys speed and strength was still increasing butwhy was it only speed and strength? There was none of the legendary sword aura that could split mountains or the glorious and dazzling light that could burn all enemiesnot even the Round Table Knights trademark phantom beast emblem had appeared. Back then, King Arthur had used his symphony of predestination "The Chapter of the Golden Victory" to call forth twelve phantom beasts for his knights. The beasts had become one with the armor, giving them incredible power close to the level of gods. Perhaps King Arthur did not like Dagonet so he did not receive one. But what about the rest? Did Dagonet never go to battle because he could only fight like a rabid dog? What a joke! So there was only one possibility left. Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes at the furiously charging Dagonet. He did not use the weapons because he could not. He was also the corpse of a Round Table Knight but was a completely different entity from the headless Percival. If Ye Qingxuan had to distinguish them"Its the difference of quality," he murmured. With a jolt, he climbed out of the dent in the wall. He pushed himself through the air, brushing past the rabid knight. Dagonet did the same trick and grasped at Ye Qingxuan with reversed limbs. However, the youth calmly raised his hand and aimed at Dagonet. Electricity shot out from Indrahs Eye. It jumped around him before pouring out from his hand. It was the Governor! Boom! The two men in the air suddenly shot apart from the formless strength. Dagonet crashed onto the floor; Ye Qingxuan flew to the ceiling. He clung to a crack in the dome and hung in mid-air. Getting rid of the static on his arms, he whistled. "Sorry, its my first time using this function. I used too much power." He had forcefully activated the repulsion rune on Governor. Indrahs Eye strengthened it to the max. It was Dagonets fault for having so many nails on him! "Sorry." The result was that the two had crashed strongly and bounced away. With one above and one below, they had dozens of meters between them. They stared at each other. Strands of moonlight entangled between them. Ye Qingxuan observed that the aether reactions within Dagonet had now shot up to more than one-hundred. His body swelled again, practically breaking the glamorous and majestic armor. "More than one hundred aether reactions?" Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes under the creaks of metal. "Let me see, whatis hidden in your armor?" He suddenly dropped from the sky. His eyes were determined. Dagonet roared and hoisted up his sword. The blade that had been stuck in the ground split the tiles with inhuman strength. The sparks burned red-hot. An aggressive arc sliced through the air. Unfortunately, it was too early. He was a second too early and his actions too sudden. The incoordination made him stumble and almost fall onto his back. The almost-tangible malice in Ye Qingxuans eyes disappeared, replaced by a cool calm. The hot-bloodedness seemed to have beena hallucination. This was the technique that School of Mind musicians lovedhints. A formless and colorless river flowed along the moonlights path. Ye Qingxuan continued planting contradicting hints into the armor. A regular person would understand what was happening and come over to kill him. However, Dagonet grew more and more confused. He twisted as if his limbs were following different commands. It looked like he was about to drown. Convulsing, he tried to strangle Ye Qingxuan, who easily read his intentions and dodged. "I see. You arent controlling hundreds of aether reactions in your body." Understanding flashed past Ye Qingxuans eyes. "Or better yet, theyre controlling your corpse!" Dagonet roared and lifted the sword. Grabbing the blade, he slammed it down like a hammer. However, it was useless. Ye Qingxuan moved nimbly as if he was stepping on the tips of swords. He continuously dodged Dagonets attacks, floating past like a ghostly shadow. He approached Dagonet, brushing shoulders with death untouched. Dagonet reached out to crush his throat but Ye Qingxuan flashed past. He stepped forward and somehow squeezed into the steel giants lap. Raising his palm, he pressed down on the crack that split Dagonets chest. The Sigh! Boom! With a thud, Dagonets body shook. He stopped abruptly. The already-damaged armor had been weathered by time and now shattered from the hundreds of thousands of vibrations. A crack snaked from Dagonets chest to his helmet. It split abruptly with a giant crack. Under the crack was a withered corpse. Layers of foul yellow liquid wrapped around the corpse. The liquid moved up and down like a living thing, nourishing his veins and muscles, allowing the withered corpse to look as plump as before. In fact, black scales had appeared, making him stronger than before. Once the liquid saw light, they began bubbling and wailing. The aether waves that the moonlight read were even more chaotic. There were thousands of reactions now. "As expected, parasitic shapeshifters," Ye Qingxuan murmured with his eyes narrowed. "Youve really found a good house." - This entire time, Dagonet had been manipulated by these strange creatures. Just as Ye Qingxuan had thought, Dagonet had not become part of Avalons Shadow as Percival had. Dagonet had died long ago, the day he wore this armor. However, demons began to live in his corpse, which was why he had turned into this terrifying state. Parasitic shapeshifters were a rare type of parasitic demons. Rather than demons, it was more accurate to call them parasitic insects. Their larvae were usually laid on the corpses of flying insects or birds. They would then manipulate the corpse into a trap to find a more comfortable bed for themselves. After they entered a beasts stomach, they would start infesting and assimilating into the organs and blood. In the end, they would reside in the hosts brain, replace it, and begin reproducing until another cycle began. However, Ye Qingxuan had never heard of this many parasites born in a single body at once. There were probably millions of them. The aetheric reactions were probably the ripples created when they absorbed aether to strengthen their host. However, in order to support and strengthen so many parasiteshow inhumanly strong had Dagonet been? With Ye Qingxuans physical fitness, he would probably only be able to support seven or eight parasites at most. Yet Dagonet had bred so many demons. Even with a giants lineage, he was still one of the strongest. He was close to killing Ye Qingxuan instantly with only his corpses reflexes stimulated by the demons and pure muscular strength. Ye Qingxuan would argue with anyone who said he was a useless member of the Round Table! If he was useless, then were the other knights actual angels? However, how unlikeable was he to not be given the opportunity to fight, even with this power? The youth complained to himself silently. And then a strange neigh sounded. 287 Light and Shadow A strange neigh sounded. After a moment of suspense, the frozen Dagonet began moving again. After their shell had been shattered, the parasitic demons instinctively felt terror. Frenzied, they scurried around the corpse. They stimulated the long dried-out brain and attempted to utilize the last bit of emotions remaining in the corpse. "Arthur" Dagonets body shook and he slowly looked up. Burn marks from the scalding metal paste still remained on the damaged face that had been covered in foul fluids. "Return to me" the remaining anger said. The hatred hidden in the corpse was awakened. He roared, repeating the same name. It was raw hatred from the bones. He wanted to win back the honor and status he deserved. "Arthur!" he screamed. The stone tiles under his feet shattered abruptly. His body swelled and the already exaggerated strength increased again. His armor creaked sharply, harmonizing with his angry roars. On the ground, the sword was crushed by his feet. The steel was pulverized into powder and sank into the cracks of the tiles. Finally, the single blazing red eye looked toward Ye Qingxuan. And then the furious giant charged. "Arthur!" He had not yet reached Ye Qingxuan but his strength created a torrential wind, forcing one to close ones eyes. But Ye Qingxuan stood still. Only his black robe fluttered in the wind. He looked like an eagle unfurling its wings. A tightly coiled melody shot out from his hand like a sharp blade. It resounded within the wild wind. The youth focused on the demons hidden within the cracks of the armor. Countless eyes appeared within the bubbling fluid. They were looking at him too. However, there was no panic on his face; there was only coldness. If Ye Qingxuan had any fear toward the former Round Table Knight before, he had nothing to be afraid of after seeing the true nature of these demons. Faced with the overwhelming power, the youth raised his cane and slammed it onto the ground. Boom! Instantly, the vibrations of iron transformed into the majestic blaring of a horn. It had the wild heat of a blazing sun as if it wanted to chase away the endless and desolate night. It announced the coming of dawn! The darkness was instantly illuminated by firelight. Countless half-meter long nails carved with music notes and scores flew from his bag. Sensing the clear breaths of demons, they spat flames and shot forward like cannons destroying a city. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! It was the sound of iron being torn apart. Sixteen silver nails instantly pierced into the cracks of the armor. The giant Dagonet flew backward from the shock and slammed against the wall. The nails pierced the sticky demons, dried corpse, and the armor before finally digging into the wall. Hellish fire spewed from the nails. It overtook Dagonets body from inside out, transforming it into ashes and burning the countless demons. The nails were the chant material the Shaman had given Ye Qingxuan. Alchemists had created these pure silver nails in the short few days. They were customized alchemy equipment for Night on Bald Mountain. Now, the music scores fatality had more than doubled! Dagonet struggled in the fire but was unable to free himself. The flames ate at him from the inside. Sticky bodily fluid spewed from the cracks of the armor. Trying to escape, the demons poured out like a fountain. However, they were already burning. After the violent spasms, not even ashes remained. Through the heavy firelight, Dagonets body returned to brink of death. He protested pathetically and pounded the wall that restrained him. The cracks extended. Finally, he stopped moving. The aether waves disappeared. All that remained was the armor that was red from the heat. Ye Qingxuan could finally let out a sigh of relief. Cold sweat seeped from his back but he smiled. "Im not an official musician but Im pretty good, huh." While he spoke, a scoff sounded in the wind. His expression froze but he comforted himself, "A normal person cant compete with those beasts. Gotta compare myself to people below me." As he muttered things others could not understand, he walked forward and yanked the silver nails from the red armor. The already crumbling wall now shattered and revealed a giant hole. The damaged wall and the armor in it fell into the night sky outside the tower. They broke apart in mid-air. "Im already this high up?" Cold air from the high elevation rushed into the room. Ye Qingxuan stood beside the crack and gazed at the clouds. Looking down his expression froze. Between the gaps of the clouds, Ye Qingxuan saw a bustling and busy city. It was covered in lights. Carriages raced down the streets. There was the solemn graveness of uptown, the bustling song and dance of midtown, and the messy chaos of downtown. Countless ships were anchored in the harbor. The departing ship sounded its horn, which rang in the night sky. This lively city was like a pearl shining in the night. Everyone who saw it would be genuinely shaken by the sight. "Avalon?" Ye Qingxuan looked back blankly. He felt the thick aura of natural catastrophes in the room and then glanced at the flourishing city outside the crack. His expression was filled with shock. He was in the heart of Avalons Shadow so how could he be looking down on the real Avalon? If he was not looking at an illusion thenwhere was he right now? In the Shadow? Or - Under the same night sky, the clock shop was filled with light ticks. Hermes had finished his late night snack and rested on the sofa. He had loosened his belt and his impressive belly bulged. He had a vintage floor mirror before him. Resting his double chin on his hands, he gazed at the scene in the mirror. In it, demons and barren sites flashed past. Finally, the image stopped on an overlooking angle. Demons surge in the dark city. A white tower rose to the sky with a strange aura. "Avalons Shadow?" Bai Xi, passing by, stopped before him and knocked against the mirror curiously. "You can see another world with this?" "Sorry, no." Hermes shrugged. "But Avalons Shadow isnt in another world. At most its just a difference of here and there." "What does that mean?" "Would you believe me if I said that were in Avalons Shadow right now? Okay, you wont, but thats the truth." Hermes smiled his trademark evil smile. "Everyone knows that when King Arthur failed, his Sword in the Stone split apart. He lost control of his scepter Kingdom Come. It dragged broken pieces of Avalon deep into the sea of aether and buried everything, creating Avalons Shadow. But a shadow must be behind light. So how far is the shadow from the city?" Hermes raised his hand. The light passed through his arm and left the shadow of his hand on the wall. The shadow changed as he moved his hand, causing Bai Xi to shudder. "The answer is that its right here." Hermes studied his shadow. He pressed his hand onto the shadow and the two became one. "Its funny, isnt it? In Avalon, hundreds of thousands live, die, breathe, eat, sleep, matebut nobody has realized that theyre only a step away from the deep abyss." Hermes glanced at Bai Xi cheerfully. "You live in the same city as demons. You brush past each other and live in the same houses. You interact every day but neither knows. For example, right now, theres a spider mother above your head." Bai Xis expression darkened and she smacked Hermes with the dictionary in her hands. "How would a clean freak like you let demons into your house? Do you think Im a three-year-old kid?" "Ha, as expected of my student!" Hermes reached out and caught the dictionary with a chubby hand as he laughed loudly. "Explain clearly if youre going to talk about it," Bai Xi said coldly. "Dont beat around the bush." "Im getting there, be patient." Hermes shook his head and sighed. Drawing in the air with a finger, he stated, "The three kings of ancient times called their place the material world. The place of the Originator was the aether world. There were nine levels of the aether sea between the worlds. "However, there isnt such a large distance between the material and aether worldRather, it overlapped long ago. The nine levels of the aether sea have connected the two. "The saints used their scepters to create music theories and used the formless territory as a high tower that reached into both worlds. They wanted to create unbelievable miracles and hoped they could enter the Originator one day. "King Arthur was not an exception. In reality, Avalon was the foundation he created for his scepter Kingdom Come. Everything was done to increase his strength to the max. Thus, he practically became a demi-god. When he died, the piece of heaven that had descended onto earth fell apart as well and sank into the aether sea with him. It entered eternal sleep in the darkness. "At first, the demons hiding in the shadow would have the chance to cross the door and appear here whenever fog shrouded Avalon. But as Avalons Shadow sank deeper and deeper into the aether sea, they became further away from here. In the end, only the Blood Path connected them. For centuries, only the royal family would use their blood to open this path for some unspeakable secrets. "Unfortunately, some people have been meddling recentlythis demonic world that had sunk into darkness is awakening again." Hermes paused and his face twitched. "In the end, you have to blame that troublesome guy. The Ye family had almost died out in the east and they still wouldnt rest in the West. Its been thousands of years and none of them have been normal! Including that cousin of yours." Bai Xi fell silent. She stared at the world in the mirror. Her slowly-maturing face was heavy and unreadable. However, Hermes arched an eyebrow. "Are you worried for him? Dont be. Why dont you worry that your Yunlou daddy has finally decided to snatch you back to keep his cause alive? His life is sturdier than yours." Hermes huffed in annoyance. "Ye Lanzhou had used all his tricks to hide many good things. Unfortunately, he didnt know his son would be so stubborn. He looks colder and more realistic than anyone else but hes actually so na?ve." As he spoke, he grew gleeful and sighed, "Im really excited. I wonder how interesting Ye Qingxuans expression will be when he finally realizes that hes always been purposely overlooked because of his naivety." 288 Took the Bait? Actually, Ye Qingxuans facial expression was already rich now. He quickly hid his astonishment and calmed down again, continuing his path of exploration. After Dagonets interference, his progress was behind. He walked across a number of rooms in which there were traces of battles, including a wide room where there were a large number of corpses. Those corpses were dark musicians who had turned out to be the hideous monsters as well as royal musicians who turned themselves into elements and died without leaving behind a corpse. All that remained were their broken instruments. Ye Qingxuan spent a long time in that room identifying their cause of death one by one. He carefully deduced the battle process and frowned. If he was right, he was probably going to run into the two teams soon. If they were dark musicians, then of course he could fight or just run away. If they were royal musicians...they would probably not regard him as a friend either. The royal musicians had come so strangely that Ye Qingxuan had not yet figured out their purpose. The Royal Music Division''s concertmaster position had been vacant for so many years. It was still a question as to how much control the royals had over their own team of musicians. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and thought for a moment. He continuously superimposed several layers of illusion disguise. He did not move on again until his figure was completely disguised into a vague outline and blended in with the surroundings. Soon, he finally saw someone alive in this d*mn tower. It was a dark musician who was left behind. Among the bodies, the dark musician leaned against the corner. His legs were broken and had a large hole in his belly. He was probably left behind by his companions because he could no longer fight. Now, a pair of scissors materialized in his hand. He used it to cut his intestines emotionlessly. Pulling out his broken stomach and liver, he searched good ones from the corpses and put them in. He drew a thread from his robe and turned the aether into a needle to sew the rest of the entrails together. In the end, he poured a layer of something like frozen fat. Once it entered the body, it combined with flesh and blood to stabilize the displaced gut. He completed the actions so fluidly. Lurking by the side and watching this, Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Soon, the dark musician was about to close his belly and finish the final treatment. But at that moment, some fine sounds suddenly came from the corner of the room. The dark musician suddenly looked up and his eyes turned into pale compound eyes. This was the alchemy equipment Eyes of Petrification! Half the substances of the room were transformed into stone and became dreadfully pale. But at that moment, a shadow emerged from the obscurity behind him. Assisted by armor, it came close as swift as an arrow in just the blink of an eye. The alarm enchantment that the dark musician had casually set around was completely cracked in just a few minutes. It was nothing compared to the difficulty of the enchantment of the Elizabeth Tower. The dark musician''s complexion changed. Layers of shields surfaced around him, but that shadow lifted his palm and suddenly pressed the air. Boom! The force shield ruptured. His body shot back like a ball, smashed against the wall, and the newly stitched gut flowed from his belly. His sound of heart was in turmoil. Before he could react, the shadow pounced on him and used a stick-like thing to beat his head. This was a wake-up call. He must wake up quickly! Bang! The dark musician blacked out but felt an invisible river pour into his head and swallow him whole. The invisible psychological attacks infiltrated his brain and scattered all his thoughts. The dark musician was muddled. He entered a state of dementia and became powerless to resist. The young man standing before him put the cane between his eyebrows. He said in a soft voice, "Surprise! Congratulations! You''ll get a chance to receive a bonus and a mystery gift from the Vengeful Spirit as long as you give the correct answers to my questions!" The sluggish dark musician struggled but could not think about resistance. All he felt were different emotions raising and setting in his brainrage, sadness, joy, disappointment...all sorts of emotions. He was about to lose control and die while vomiting blood. Ye Qingxuan once again triggered another wave of psychological attacks. The skills that he learned from their gods were applied perfectly. "Now, please listen to the first question..." - Just as the youth was interrogating in hushed whispers, Naberius silently appeared in the dark shadow of the corner. He stared at Ye Qingxuans back with a cheerful smile. He finally took the bait! He hid into the shadows and moved quietly. His palm changed and multiplied. Five soft and cold tentacles molted from his palm with a ferocious suction cup in the middle. There were also sharp teeth that suddenly pressed to the back of Ye Qingxuans head. The slender tentacles flung out into the air with explosive bursts as the whip unfurled so Ye Qingxuan had nowhere to hide. But at almost the same time, the originally preoccupied youth suddenly turned over as if he had expected this. He looked at Naberius and smiled. He had been waiting for Naberius for a long time! Stunned, Naberius immediately felt chills all over. In a twinkling, Ye Qingxuan flipped over and threw the captive into the Naberius hand. The five tentacles changed colors with an unexpected gold tint. They crossed and gathered, cutting the unresponsive dark musician into pieces. He died with his eyes open. One could not accuse Naberius of cruelty. Who dared to catch the thing that the Vengeful Spirit threw over? He also had the habit of making the enemy a bomb and throwing it out. What if that dark musician''s brain was planted with a hint that would be triggered at the time? He would die! However, he did not understand when he was exposed. He had great confidence in his own illusion. He definitely did not have any flaws. Soon, he found that there was no time left for him to think it over. After the body was chopped up, Ye Qingxuan grasped the opening. He shot over with a speed at least five times faster than before! What drug did this guy take? Or was it a physical transformation? Naberius howled. His musical temperament changed as if dozens of mouths repeated the same tone at the same time. He chanted too fast for people to hear clearly. Screaming, he finished the chant in an instant. Iron from the void gathered; layers of notes lit up above it. The paper-thin metal skin now seemed to turn into an iron wall. But the iron wall meant nothing. Ye Qingxuan maintained his speedeven speeding up a bitand charged toward the wall. When he reached Naberius, he quickly pressed down. The Sigh! Boom! He could feel that the armor on his arm was burning red-hot after the three consecutive activations within half an hour. It was scorching like fire having reaching its limit. However, the effect was that the iron wall was broken and burst out toward Naberius with him. The flying metal shards dug into Naberius and scraped against the bones, leaving ghastly wounds. But then he hid into the void and disappeared. He was lurking in the dark again. He did not even have a chance to breathe. Ye Qingxuan suddenly turned strangely, followed in his direction, and caught up with him. Naberius was exposed again? His scalp tingled. An inexplicable sense of crisis made his figure flicker and dissipated again. Ye Qingxuan unexpectedly caught up once again before Naberius could stand his ground. He was found again?! This time he had made sure that he had cut off all the ties with Ye Qingxuan. Even the eerie moonlight guidance line had been severed completely. How did Ye Qingxuan find him? Malice flashed in Naberius'' eyes. Fiery bloody mist spouted from his palms. He pressed the bagpipe in his arms. The instrument gave a mournful wail, releasing the movement contained in it. The blood mist instantly gushed like a waterfall and engulfed Ye Qingxuan. Where the blood mist fell, everything was torn to dust by the violent forces contained in it. The walls were instantly penetrated, revealing a strange and twisted room behind them, and left deep ravines on the floor. With a blow, even the air was sucked dry. The entire cone-shaped region became a vacuum. Nothing existed. Including Ye Qingxuan. The youths figure became illusory and broke soundlessly. He disappeared like the moons reflection in water. It was fake F*ck! Naberius expression changed. He finally heard the faint chant in the wind. It was the Phantom Suns from Winterreise! He was startled at the moment of the counterattack which gave Ye Qingxuan the opportunity to plant a hint. "Wrong, Im here!" Ye Qingxuan whispered behind him. The youth pressed his cane to Naberiuss waist. At the head of the staff, the amber gem shone with glowing light. The Eye of Indrah! In a flash, frantic electricity engulfed him, drowning him in the glaring light. The destruction had arrived. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the air. They became a complex movement, releasing the cool and majestic melody. A bright moon emerged, hanging right above Naberius, who was now charred. The moonlight swallowed Naberius like fire. Thunder and moonlight doubled the destruction. Instantly, half of Naberius body turned to ashes. However, his flesh and blood quickly withered in the moonlight. His blood gushed and shielded the moonlight. Next, he molted like a snake. He shed most of his flesh and skin, shaking off the moon''s lock. He instantly jumped dozens of meters out of the moonlights range. Ye Qingxuan did not expect that Naberius could escape in such a way. Tired as he was, he could not easily catch up. However, the Naberius eyes showed no calm or mockery; they were full of panic and fear. He was distraught. 289 Six-Sided For the first time after being punished by the gods for decades Naberius felt humiliation and fear. The thunderbolt was just regular destruction and he did not worry over it. However, the moonlightthe moonlight Gritting his teeth, he abruptly broke his arm. Moonlight also surged from the arm like fire. It purified the arm, turning it to dust. He had vaguely heard of this terrifying thing before. It was the natural enemy of dark musicians, the nemesis of all demonsa fatal curse. He only truly understood the horror after experiencing it personally. He did not even know how to fight against the benevolence purification. The only solution was to be heartless and get rid of it before he was tainted. He could still feel the horror of being powerless. How could Holmes possess such a cry power? Naberius continuously activated the alchemy equipment embedded into his flesh and let out music scores. He constructed a fortress around himself. Looking up at the youth with a halo of moonlight, his expression changed from shock to horror, ferocity, awe, marveluntil it finally turned to respect. No wonder Holmes was a genius that could be compared to him! "What a pity." Naberiuss flesh quickly recovered and his broken limb regenerated. Looking at Ye Qingxuan, he gritted his teeth and said hoarsely, "Such a pity!" "Whats a pity?" The youth furrowed his brows. "I feel pity for you." Naberius smiled in rejoice and said with sincerity, "If you didnt relax at that moment and used all the music scores in your instrument, I probably wouldnt be able to fight anymore. No, if you used your best card, Id definitely be destroy" Here, Naberiuss smile suddenly froze. The last part of destroyed was stuck in his throat. "Wait, youseem" As if discovering something impossible, he gaped at Ye Qingxuan and stuttered, "Why do you always play and chant live? You never use scores stored in your instrument. Your best card No, the level I could sensethis isnt right! This is too unbelievable! This ishow can it be? Its impossible! Impossible! Impossible!" He roared in confusion. Subconsciously grabbing at the newly-grown hair, his scalp turned bloody. His fingers and scalp scraped against each other with a jarring sound. "How is this possible?" Finally, he turned his head stiffly while convulsing and looked at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes were huge and bloodshot. They practically shone. "I finally understand, Mr. Holmes. You really impress me. No, youre a once-in-a-lifetime, no, hundredonce-in-a-millennium genius!" he cried as if going crazy. Pointing at Ye Qingxuan, he cackled wildly. "The enemy Ive been battling for all this time isnt even an official musician?" Losing all sanity, Naberius laughed so hard he was crying. "What a joke! The infamous Vengeful Spirit of Avalon that had purified countless demons and dark musicians isnt even an official musician! Dear lord, I used compare you to myself but now I realize that Im nothing compared to you! Even at my current state, I cant be compared to you." He gazed at Ye Qingxuan fervently. He lowered his head and, casting aside the fact that they were enemies or that they were at vastly different levels, he performed the most sublime rite. "Mr. Holmes, please allow me to offer you my highest respect. Your talent has caused me to realize my weakness for the first time in my life. Right now, I amshedding tears because of the talent you have shown!" Naberius lowered his head. Bloody tears rolled past his cheeks and fell onto the floor. "Its really such a pity and such cruelty that someone like you cannot become my companion. Why did God allow me to enter this world and meet you? Why were we forced into such different and incompatible grounds?" He choked as he sobbed. The aether around him lifted like furious winds. The crazed power broke through the shell of his body. It burned with aggressive light, almost suffocating Ye Qingxuan. Despite Naberius weak words, the power coming from him was terrifyingly strong. Cracks even appeared in the walls around them. The surrounding objects had started breaking apart. Naberius also swelled as his flesh expanded. When he raised his head, the now-inhuman face was still filled with respect and solemnity. "Now, let me use my strongest power to end you! Let me give you a battle you will not regret! A battle that fits your status even if you go to Hell" No, I wont blame you if you go easy on me! I wish we can go back to how things were and start over, Ye Qingxuan yelled in his mind. However, Naberius had already started his final transformation. A vertical pupil had grown on his forehead at some time. It was filled with endless satanic craze. This was the manifestation of Hyakume. An identical face appeared on the back of his head. It chanted the same poemthis was the talent given by the natural catastrophe Sukuna. Black scales sprouted throughout his body. Each one shone with the light of the night sky. One could see that blood no longer flowed in his bulging veins. Instead, it was a fluid that looked like mercury. Every time he had a new transformation, Ye Qingxuan felt more pain. In the end, he was completely numb. How many satanic gods did this f*cking psychotic motherf*cker sign with?! Naberius finally revealed his true nature. He was not a human anymorehe was a beast with six sides! Six different Resonance level aether waves crashed around him, practically asphyxiating Ye Qingxuan. "I havent had this feeling in a long time," Naberius growled. He clenched his fist and sparks flew from his fingers. "Let us begin now." "Wait!" Before him, Ye Qingxuan suddenly raised his hand. "Were going to fight anyway so can you answer some of my questions first? At least let me die without confusion." Naberius laughed heartily. "You think Im those villains from stories that talk for a long time instead of killing the main character, giving him time to turn the tides?" Ye Qingxuans face twitched. "I am," Naberius stated, causing the youth to blanch. "For people like us who pursue the absolute choice, the only thing worse than death is dying with confusion, right? Due to my respect for you, you can ask me anything. If I cannot answer, I will not. If I can, I will tell you everything. "If you have any other tricks, please try them. If your intelligence and talent can turn the tides in such a disadvantageous situation, I will lose without complaint. I am wholeheartedly willing to be the stepping stone for someone like you." In other words, after the question, he would fight without mercy or holding back. He would fight with death as his goal. So Please describe the biography of a saint of Anglos diplomatic history using ten thousand words? He obviously could not ask such a question to make more time for himself. What if Naberius decided to just kill him? He still needed to hold onto this sudden chance. The gears in Ye Qingxuans mind turned. Finally, he uttered the biggest question he had, "You all made such a big commotion in the Elizabeth Tower. Werent you afraid of attracting Mordred? Or were you confident in winning?" "Mordred?" Naberius was stunned. He did not expect Ye Qingxuan to ask this question. A secretive smile appeared on the inhuman face. "Why should we be careful of something thatwas never there?" "Was neverthere?" Ye Qingxuan froze and his face slacked. "It doesnt exist?" "Correct. Arthurs descendant, the traitor who stabbed him in the legendsnever existed. The supposed achievement was just a legend created by poets and authors!" Naberius casually stated something completely different from history. His expression was cold and grave. "Mordred died when he was still in the womb!" "Impossible!" Ye Qingxuan retorted reflexively. "Why is it impossible?" Naberiuss eyes were cold. "His mother was killed when she was still pregnant. Some said that Arthur suspected his queen was unfaithful but Mordred was undoubtedly King Arthurs son. This much is definite. However, he was not human. He was the inheritor of the cursed blood and his blood was more powerful than his fathers! "He would be born a demon. His mere existence represented that King Arthur was tainted and was proof he had fallen. Arthur would never allow him to live in this world. And so Mordred was killed in his mothers womb, dug out, and burned for seven days, mourned for seven days, and finally sealed under this Elizabeth Tower for eternity." Naberius looked at the youths shocked expression and extended his arms, sweeping at his surroundings. "So many years of resentment. That child is still submerged in lycoris flower solution, not decaying for eternity and singing every night. Mr. Holmes, have you heard his song?" The song that haunted his ears sounded again, sending chills down Ye Qingxuans spine. 290 I Have a Killer Weapon… The boys voice sang the quiet song from the deepest darkness of the white tower. The song resounded within the dark city, snaking into everyones ears. "The king and his helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams We have power and the sea so which direction should we wander? Oh ho, millions of pairs of hands raise the sails high. Pull, the thieves and beggars, well have eternal life The bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paid Oh ho, raise the sails, well return home. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we will be immortal in death" Immortal in death! Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth. "What exactly are you planning to do?" "Thats a second question, Mr. Holmes." Naberius clenched his fist. A majestic melody resounded around him, calling for power from the deep abyss. "Unfortunately, you dont get any more answers! So let us fight!" Boom! A wind tunnel opened behind Ye Qingxuan. It hung above his head like a black vortex. The moonlight flickered like a candle in the wind. Once again, he almost suffocated from the power. "Wait!" His face white, he raised his hand for a time out. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed out, "Mr. Naberius, I advise you to stop when you still can. I still have a killer weapon hidden. I hope you wont force me to use it." "Oh? Please take it out." Naberius laughed heartily with a joyous expression. "Now, Ill believe you even if you say you learned destructive scores like Genesis or Ode to Joy! Is your best card Fate which the average person cannot understand? Or is it Ride of the Valkyries? Or is it Symphony No. 1819?" "Naberius, those that you mentioned dont have true power." A sliver of regret flashed through Ye Qingxuans eyes as he sighed. "The thing more powerful than music scores iscalling for help. Butcher, get him!" Roar! A thunderous roar exploded in the air. A chainsaw appeared out of thin air. The crude yet sharp blade was covered with layers of dried blood and shining music notes. When the raised chainsaw sliced down, it practically ripped the air. It left behind a thick bloody gash in its path. Blood spread through the air like ink and transformed into various youthful faces. A river-like roaring sounded; it was the sound of blood pulsing through veins. The thunderous bursts transformed into a rhythm; it was the echo of an enormous heart beating heavily. There seemed to be devil bathing in lava and singing happily under the crazed melody. "God, please give me mercy. I kneel in the river of souls, attempting to wash away the dirtiness. God, please give me salvation. I am waist-deep in curses. Can you hear my pleas? God, please give me your blessing. I am neck-deep in blood. I beg for relief" And so the countless faces in the bloody cloud laughed and replied, "Lalala~ lalala~ lalala~" Within an instant, the chainsaw appeared behind Naberius. There was a roar, it swelled, and it fell down! The protective enchantments crumbled. The defensive music scores were useless. The wind tunnel that reached into the abyss was split cleanly into two by the bone saw. The overlapping music notes on the blade shone brilliantly, crushing the fine and majestic music theory; unable to heal, it broke apart completely. Naberius expression changed drastically. He dodged quickly but the saw had already scraped past the face on the back of his head. It hacked down the middle, leaving an ugly wound that extended to his waist. It practically dug his spine out. Something sharp flashed past Naberius eyes. Mercury-like blood flowed out of the wound. The blood contained countless aetheric changes. They revealed different properties, such as earth, water, fire, and wind. Leaving his body, the power in his blood fought against each other with destructive strength. However, the bone saw abruptly pulled back and blocked the bloods path. When the blood sprayed onto the saw, they were battled down by the aggressive music theory within the saw. Shattered pieces of bloody mist flew and burned like fire. When they attached onto something, half of a menacing silhouette appeared. It was like a dragon hiding in gray cloudsit only revealed half a claw and more dangerous objects hidden in the darkness. Even though it was attacked, its disguise was still intact. This was the highest level of Illusion scores. Its effect has entered the rules of nature through resonance. This was at least at the Distortion level! "When" Naberius scurried back, trembling with chills. "Since the beginning," Ye Qingxuan stated coolly. "You practically creamed me last time. Did you think that I wouldnt have learned my lesson?" Lola had put the highest level illusion onto the Butcher so he could follow Ye Qingxuan into Avalons Shadow. The Shaman paid for the Butchers fee and the materials needed for the illusion. Not only did Ye Qingxuan have a helper, he also helped the profiteer Lola earn some extra pocket money. He had hired the Butcher this time just to deal with Naberius and the Robin. He had fooled everyone by hiding him. Other than at the entrance of the tower, the Butcher did not do anything else. Ye Qingxuan had not asked for help even when he was close to dying. The Butcher had been calmly watching by the side too. He had hidden his murderous intent while watching Ye Qingxuan practically get killed. It was as if he had not existed. But now, he burst into action and practically dazed Naberius with one strike. However, the Butcher was still hidden in the emptiness. He only revealed fleeting and terrifying shadows. This beast was wearing armor like the archangel armor. However, the armor was black and much bigger and menacing. As if it was made of sharp raw metal, it spewed out scalding evaporated gas as he moved. The sharp sound melded into the music scores on his body, causing the singing to grow more frenzied. One could make out the emblem that had been scraped away on the shoulder of the armor. "St. Georges Spear? This armor is fromthe Dragonriders?" Clenching his jaw, Naberius forced out a smile. "I know you. Youre the Butcherhaha! I didnt expect to see the results that Gaius had left behind! It seems that youve been transformed many times, right? How much demon blood do you have in you? You look more like a beast than I do now" The Butcher remained silent. Mournful red light shone from the eyes under the helmet. There was the sound of metal scraping, like a sword being unsheathed. The silhouette of a huge blade appeared in the air. The chaotic aether waves on the blade could barely remain hidden by the illusion. Merely its appearance could make any living thing feel the pain of its flesh separating from bone. The bone saw and blade knocked against each other crisply like a beast lusting for bloods gratification. The thin youth raised his hand before the Butchers fierce silhouette. He steadied his hat and revealed his taunting eyes. "Using your wordsnext, let us fight!" As soon as he spoke, the halo of moonlight brightened and the cold light bathed the surroundings. The Butcher roared and charged with the youth. Naberius growled angrily. His two faces chanted simultaneously, the muscles on his spine writhed, and his two hands shot out. It was hard to fight against two enemies so he added another pair of hands! Blades of wind and swords of fire materialized in his hands. Destructive light surged around him. He guided the aether and darkness flowed like a tide. Power from the abyss re-appeared, transforming him into the physical incarnate of destruction. The originally vast room began extremely cramped in this terrifying battle. Within a few rounds, it was already covered in traumata and broken walls. Naberius had been smashed into the freezing storage room and began to fight amongst the rotten food! The Butcher countered Naberius strength directly. He had been the best fighter of the Dragonriders and fought with natural catastrophes. Now, this executioner released the wild power from before. Under Hermess customized armor, his blood flowed like lava, turning him into a beast. A beast fighting a beast! A demon killing a demon! It was the clashing of pure strength and the pursuit of destruction. The saw raised gales of wind and grew more powerful under the music score. It could face Naberius at his strongest state! They were fighting forcefully! Amidst the illogically-powerful battle, everything between them broke, shattered, crumbled, and turned to dust. Chop! Chop! Chop! Chop! Even the recruiter Ye Qingxuan had never seen the Butcher fight with his all before. Naberius retreated continuously under the wild power. However, Ye Qingxuans floating moonlight continued to help the Butcher. Moonlight stretched from his body and latched onto the Butcher and Naberius. He read, analyzed, reacted, decodedhe saw each and every move from the two and added his own strength when needed. Moonlight, thunder, hallucination, hints The relentless power was an obstacle for Naberius. The endless eroding moonlight caused him to struggle. How was this an exhilarating fight? This was torturous like being skinned alive slowly. He grew furious. Everyone who fought against Ye Qingxuan had felt the same pain. It was like sinking into a quagmire. No amount of power was effective. Under the relentless attacks, he retreated gradually. He could only watch as he sank powerlessly and slowly into the quicksand. Suddenly standing still, he forced the Butcher back and roared to the air. His voice contained the calls from the abyss and it spread instantly. He rang the black bell in his hand. "Which demon are you trying to call?" Ye Qingxuan knew what he wanted to do. "Its useless!" Rather than retreating, he grasped this chance and charged with the Butcher again. He completely controlled the rhythm of the fight now. Naberius froze. He rang the bell again but Malpas did not appear no matter how the bell echoed. Seeing his confused eyes, Ye Qingxuan smirked. "Did you notice thattodays moon is really big and really round?" The Blue Moon hung high outside the hole in the wall. Like water, the moonlight turned this world into an ocean. If one looked from the bottom of the sea, one would discover that ripples of light appeared above the sea, above the layers of clouds. An illusionary laugh sounded amongst the ripples. It was light like a dream. Endless snow and hallucinations came through the dream. 291 You Hurt My Hear Above the endless snowy plain, Malpas transformed into a black eagle and broke through the blizzard. He flew into the sky, angrily chewing the sun. However, the sun hung high in the air like a taunt. Lolas gentle voice sang amidst the endless wind and snow. "I see three suns in the sky. I stare at them and they stare back as if they dont wish to leave me" "Come out, b*tch! Come out!" Malpas roared. His feathers stood straight up and godly light shot from his eyes. It broke the hallucination but then he fell into another one. Endless black crows poured out of thin air, brashly attacking the lone eagle. Black feathers scattered in the wind. They ate hungrily and chewed up the steel-like eagle feathers. It was Die Kr?he of Wintereissethe crow! Crows brought the sign of death and emerged continuously. Angered, Malpas shot out his feathers, ripping through the flock of crows, shaking them away, and flying high into the sky. But no matter how he flew, he could not escape the d*mn hallucination. Seemingly familiar scenes appeared before him; he was going in circles but the tide of crows was catching up. He was lost It was Der Wegweiser of Wintereissethe signpost! Next, it was Der greise Kopf, the gray head which eroded determination; and T?uschung, the deception of countless changing illusions. Finally, amidst the hoarse singing of a seemingly-ancient musician, the power brewing in him started fading quickly. It was Der Leiermann, the hurdy-gurdy man that could force one to a lower level! "You f*cking clown!" Malpas roared in anger. "You maniacs playing with illusions! You dareyou dare!" The power around him shook. With a limitless explosion of strength, he tore through the hallucinations one after another and fell into another one. Once all twenty-four movements of Winterreise were cast, it would turn into an endless hellish loop. Last time, Lola had just done it casually and the dark musician was practically dazed. He had assimilated into the illusion and disappeared! The Blue Moon was born on the night of the full moon. It was the peak of Lolas strength. All knew that Illusion musicians would definitely die when forced to fight face to face. However, once the enemy fell into an illusion, he would be the one to die. After days of detailed arranging, she and Ye Qingxuan had left an immense amount of mediums. Once illuminated by the Blue Moon, the hallucinations power would be at its max. The Distortion level music theory wrapped around Malpas tightly, forcing him to fly around like a headless fly, unable to escape. Because she had all the Devas blood she needed, Lola was able to throw away her worries and put her all in! The terrifying illusion ability inherited from "Moon Chant" was deep in her bones. Lola was able to toy with the big demon after her detailed calculations. It was difficult to maintain for long but she could temporarily trap this godly demon in her illusion. Between layers of shadows, Lola sneered. She guided the deathly rays of the Blue Moon, blurred the difference between hallucination and reality, and used all her power! "Are big demons scary?" She chuckled. "I was like that before" - In the Elizabeth Tower, Naberius was at the brink of defeat. His right hand was completely hacked off by the bone saw. He was failing. Six new wounds opened on his body instantly. He was practically cut apart. Roaring, he tore off the face on the back of his head and hurled it at the Butcher. It flew through the air and stuck onto the Butchers damaged armor. Whistling, it exploded. A giant bloody vortex appeared in thin air. Like the mouth of the abyss, it closed abruptly and chewed. Crack! Steel cracked apart and the armor shattered. A giant gaping hole opened in the Butchers abdomen. Hot blood poured out. This was a fatal hit but the Butcher did not care. He forced his bone saw outboom! He pierced through Naberius chest. The flesh exploded and Naberius could not mend the hole. The youth passed the Butcher. Moonlight covered his cane and he pierced into the chest. Naberius body shook with the explosion that followed. He fell out of his demonic state and returned to his original appearance. He fell to the ground pathetically, four limbs up. Ye Qingxuan stepped onto his shattered chest, prodding his face with the cane. He said coldly, "Naberius, your side lost." In the pool of blood, Naberius was a mess of flesh. He forced his remaining eye open and squinted at the youth, trying to see clearly. When he heard the youths words, he could not help but laugh. His shattered lungs writhed and he spat out fresh blood. In comparison, his laugh was pathetic and mournful, but also mocking. "You stilldont understand" His throat was sliced. One could see his vocal chords shaking as strands of blood flew out. "Im just a clown to Hyakume, Mr. Holmes. Who would gamble everything on a clown? Did you forget something?" Bone stuck out of his face but he still managed a smile, mocking both himself and Ye Qingxuan. "The true winner has already reached the top. The Royal Musician Division that you put all your hope ontheyve probably been massacred." Ye Qingxuan blanched but quickly grew furious. Seeing his anger, Naberius laughed loudly, bloody spittle flying out. "We already have the power in our hands Ha! Ha! Ha!" Amidst the maniacal laughter, his heart shattered. Blood poured out, melting his body and taking his laughter into the cracks of the tiles. Ye Qingxuan could not stop the sudden changethis *sshole still had a backup plan! But Ye Qingxuan did not care anymore. He threw down most of his medicine and bandages; he did not even have time to care for the fatally wounded Butcher. His nerves were on fire. The Butcher waved his hand, motioning for Ye Qingxuan to leave. He tore apart his broken armor and expertly gave himself emergency first aid. Ye Qingxuan had already sprinted out the door. The entire way, he could only see charred black ruins. The bodies of dark musicians and royal musicians were everywhere. Every room was covered in blood, looking menacing and sad. No, no, no, no! Gritting his teeth, Ye Qingxuans expression darkened. He kicked down door after door, flipping through the bodies. Itll be okay if theres no body. No news is good news. He comforted himself again and again but he could not push down the feeling of anger and failure. Crazed, he kicked aside all obstacles and sped up. God help you, Bench Guy, please be okay! Boom! Ye Qingxuan kicked down the last door and foundit was a dead end. He had reached the endthe top of the Elizabeth Tower. In the coldness and gales of the high elevation, cold moonlight illuminated the ghastly blood at the top of the tower. Corpses lay scattered around the sacrificial altar in the center. They had been fighting even to their death. He could find signs of suicide and the dark red stains of evaporated blood. They hadall died. He was too late. Ye Qingxuan lost all strength and practically collapsed. "F*ck! F*ck! F*ck! F*ck!" Naberius maniacal laughter sounded in his mind. Roaring, Ye Qingxuan flipped through the corpses, looking through the unfamiliar faces over and over again. Finally, he stopped and froze. "Bench Guy" Gavin lay in a pool of blood under two bodies. His chest was dyed red; his steel gray eyes were blank and reflected the moonlight. Ye Qingxuan touched his neck. He could still feel some warmth. Gavin was still alive! Overjoyed, Ye Qingxuan almost cheered. He pulled out all his medicine and began injecting them into Gavins veins. "You have to live!" he muttered frantically. Drenched in sweat, he pressed onto Gavins chest again and again. He cast electricity with his hands to give the weak heart some strength. Finally, Gavins blank eyes trembled. His body convulsed as he was shocked awake. "Dont come over!" As if finally breaking free from a nightmare, he stared at Ye Qingxuan in sheer terror and screamed, "Dont come over!" "Bench Guy, its okay, its me!" Ye Qingxuan grabbed his hand but then it loosened. The arm fell from Gavins sleeves. The blood on the wound was already dry. He gaped; Gavins right hand had been broken long ago. "Yezi?" Gavin seemed to finally recognize Ye Qingxuan. Unrestrainable terror appeared in his eyes and he enveloped Ye Qingxuan. "Natural catastrophe! Yezi, you gotta go! Its the natural catastrophe! Its here!" Natural catastrophe? Ye Qingxuan froze but his expressions changed quickly. Then a crisp sound came from his arms. Snick! Ye Qingxuan stiffened. Looking down in confusion, he saw the dagger sticking out of his chest. Gavin was holding the handle with his unharmed right hand. The blade had been pushed through all the defenses and flesh. Now, he finally felt the cold pain of his heart being cut apart. It felt unrealistic. "Bench Guy?" Ye Qingxuan looked up in confusion. "Whatare you doing?" "Yezi, I told you not to come. Why didnt you listen?" The fear and terror disappeared from Gavins face. His gray eyes recovered its coldness as he studied the youth. His voice was gentle and clear, elegant as always as he said, "Mr. Holmes, you hurt my heart." Ye Qingxuan flinched. Finally understanding, he chuckled bitterly. "Its you" When it dawned on him, he uttered, "Robin." 292 Friend "Its youRobin." Ye Qingxuan saw the truth that he had overlooked."So its you, Gavin." He had been looking for the Robin for such a long time but he had never thought that the Robin would be hidden so close to him. So close they had become such good friends. He should have known that no place in Avalon would have a musician so well-versed in Summoning and Modifications other than the School of Royalty. Why did Gavin, from the School of Royalty, only show his attainment in Modifications and never Summoning? Other than the royal musicians who had Galahads help, who else would be able to escape from Moonlight that night in the asylum? This was how it was It was so natural yet felt so sudden when he realized the truth. It was so sudden that Ye Qingxuanwanted to cry. "When?" the youth asked tiredly, "When did you discover me?" "The school anniversary day. You used Bolero the first time we met. That was your only flaw." "As expected, showing off isnt a good habit." Ye Qingxuan laughed at himself. "So you didnt approach me because you liked me?" "Yeah." Gavin nodded and lowered his eyes. "But I was telling the truth when I said Im jealous of you." He let go and Ye Qingxuan collapsed. Blood flowed out soundlessly. Ye Qingxuan looked up at the moonlight from the pool of blood. He just wanted to laugh. Laugh at himself, laugh at his naivety "I thoughtwe were friends." "We are but why wouldnt you listen?" Gavins eyes were upset. "I already warned you, didnt I? We would still be friends if you stayed in the academy, Yezi. As long as you didnt come, wed be friends forever." "Thats great." The youth panted weakly. "I didnt die in the hands of a friend." "Yes, how can the Robin and the Vengeful Spirit be friends?" Gavin closed his eyes sadly. When he opened them again, only coldness remained. He yanked the dagger out. Blood poured out onto him. They dyed the steel gray eyes red. "Farewell, Yezi," Gavin said quietly as he walked across the youth. "Someone as na?ve as you doesnt suit this dirty world." The youth lay in the spreading blood and sank into darkness. However, Gavinno, Robinchanged into his blood-colored ceremonial robe. He climbed the corpses to reach the highest point. The crystal eye in his hand caught the moonlight and shone with cold light. The light fell upon the enchantment of Avalon. When it fell on the tip of the Elizabeth Tower, the enormous white tower boomed and shook. Above the sacrificial altar at the tip, a huge hole opened up. The entire tower trembled and whined as if it was about to break apart. Darkness poured from the hole. The container held down by layers of metal chains lifted, escaping the restrictions. Finally, it emerged from the darkness to see the moonlight. The cold song sounded once again. "The king and helpers kidnapped the queen, imprisoning her in dreams" Something was singing softly inside the small metal coffin. It carried centuries of hate and desolate; its voice was gentle yet lonely. Gavins dagger flashed. He brought it down, hacking away the seal covered in metallic paste. The coffin shattered. Clear fluid shook inside the glass beaker within. The moonlight illuminated the charred oddly-shaped infant. The wounds on its ruined face slowly opened and closed, singing the chilling song. Gavin stared enthusiastically at it. He pressed against the glass, feeling the power within. "After all these centuries, youre still alive. What kind of power did Arthur give you?" As if sensing the living organism close to it, the infant cracked its eyes open. The eyes were empty and cold with the natural arrogance and eeriness of demons. "Drink and enjoy the fountain of life!" Gavin cracked the seal open. Cackling, he slit his wrist. Fresh blood flowed into the crack. It diffused and drowned Mordreds body. All that remained was a faint shadow. In the blood, the strange shadow began to distort and grow. It absorbed the blood and grew rapidly. After waiting for hundreds of years, it finally came to this cold world. The lycoris flower fluid bubbled and the cracks of the container extended quickly before finally shattering. The song grew clearer and clearer. It echoed in all directions, making anyone pale. It grew from a weak mans voice to the roars of countless demons. The song resounded in the darkness, transforming into a majestic ode and the frenzied song of revenge! "its key has been inserted in the case. The demon will realize our dreams. The bell has already rung in the cemetery. Did you hear the eerie song? Respond to our calls, the blood debt will be paid Oh ho, raise the sails, well return home. Pull, the thieves and beggars, we will be immortal in death!" Be immortal in death. Under the cold moonlight, the ball of boiling blood suddenly shattered, evaporated, and disappeared. In mid-air, the cold and handsome boy slowly opened his eyes. The orbs seemed to contain endless thunder and fire. One could not meet his eyes. Within a few snaps of the finger, he had recovered from his burned state. He grew quickly and already looked to be seven or eight years old. His gold hair danced under the cold moonlight. He was ineffably strange and majestic. The rebellious child who had been sealed away for centuries had finally arrived to the world from death! Mordred looked up slowly. He gazed at the moonlight and smiled with malice. Reaching out, he clenched a fist. Gold light flashed in his hand and countless demonic apparitions appeared! It was the Chapter of the Golden Victory! Boom! Waves crashed in the sea of aether! Mournful cracks appeared on the Elizabeth Tower. Its core shattered abruptly. The entire Avalons Shadow began to quake violently. The enchantment was collapsing! The enchantment that had enveloped this golden city for centuries was now like a candle in the wind. It quickly died away in Mordreds hand. The collapse quickly moved from the shadow to reality. Everyone felt the oceans cry, the earthquake, and the cracks on the Elizabeth Tower. The faint glow enveloping the night sky extinguished rapidly; the aether rippled wildly, signaling the coming of darkness. Avalon had lost all protection. However, deep inside Avalons Shadow, darkness was quickly dissipating along with the thick and endless fog. The bell rang and echoed through the city of darkness. At the highest point of the city, the gate chained by layers of darkness and fog suddenly opened! The gate of the palace had opened! And in the endless darkness deep inside the layers of doors, the throne was burning. A pair of sleeping eyes slowly opened a crack within the flames. The sleeper was about to awaken. - "Yezi?" For a moment, Lola felt a sudden heart palpitation. Deep inside the hallucination, she spun around. The marker she had put on Ye Qingxuan suddenly disappearedthe resonance was over and the heart of sound had dissipated. What had happened? The angry Blue Moon lit up inside her eyes. She scanned the dark city, seeing layers of corpses and demons dancing within the blood and ruins. And the youth awaiting death at the top of the tower. "Yezi?" She froze. The surrounding moonlight went out of control and flashed. Immense hatred and gloominess appeared in her eyes. Darkness surged and the demonic blood within her roared. Who did it? The moonlight burned like the sun. It became tangible outside the hallucination and the blade swept across Avalons Shadow. In its path, demons were split apart, their blood absorbed by the moonlight, and transformed into cold dust. Who did it?! She screamed and her broken scepter appeared around her. She performed her symphony of predestination again and transformed into a towering shadow. This was the god that the moon spirits worshippedthe physical incarnation of the Blue Moon. Her scepter was the Dark Side of the Moon! The insubstantial shadow shook and dissipated. The broken scepter broke once again. A crack appeared across Lolas face. She spun around and looked inside the hallucination. Malpas was no longer flying. He had stopped in mid-air, allowing the hallucinations to eat away at him and drag him in. Countless eagle feathers floated above the thousands of black feathers. It all transformed into a black vortex. He was going togive up! The moment he felt the Avalonian enchantment end, his restrained power suddenly shot to the peak of the Distortion level. He distorted the hallucination and rays of light as if they were real. However, this guy did not think of turning the tides when he recovered his ability. Instead, he chose togive up?! Malpas body swelled rapidly because his blood absorbed the aether. It bubbled as if boiling. Each feather contained burning power that could wipe an entire street off the map. "I offer this feather to you, the creator of all, Eagle Wing Mother!" Murmuring hoarsely, he recited, "I offer this blood and bone to the mighty followers of the darkness; I give this soul to the almighty lord!" "He has arrived!" "He has arrived!!" "He has arrived!!!" The wild incantation came from the black vortex. His screams lifted wild waves in the nothingness of the aether sea. The power that had shot upward from the Distortion level now transformed into flames that burned the hallucination. The endless snow field and blizzard were ignited instantly, turning this place into a hell. Deep within the hell, Malpas had swelled to his limits. The giant eagle that wanted to swallow everything radiated with light and fire. He burned himself endlessly, transforming into an aggressive sun. The overlapping music theory shattered and the hallucination scattered. Huge tremors traveled thousands of miles with the broken music theory and crashed onto Lola. She shook. Slicing the air with her fingers, the music theory suddenly disappeared. The dozens of demons trapped in cages around her suddenly shook and died with an explosion. Blood trickled out of her openings. Her entire body jolted violently as her moon spirit blood boiled. She could barely control it. Demons were maniacs after all. They would explode without any forewarning. If she had not retreated in time, she would have been swept into that ball of light and burned to death as well. Before she could catch her breath in the dark alley, she injected the remaining Devas blood into her body to forcefully cover her wounds. Gritting her teeth and holding onto the wall, she stumbled toward the slowly crumbling white tower. Yezi, you must live. If you dieif you die She lowered her eyes. Sharp fangs pierced her scarlet lips. Then let this entire city die with you! - In the heavens, Malpas finally burned completely inside the sun. His body transformed into a black vortex that endlessly sucked in the aether and exploded. However, a heraldry appeared in the center of the vortexthe Eyes Within the Eye. The skies and earth shook! The vortex pierced the boundary between light and shadow and opened a crack that led straight to the abyss. And within the abyss, somethingwas coming! 293 Final Words "Am I finally going to die?" He was at the top of the white tower, the highest point of the dark city. It was silent amidst the corpses. The Robin and Mordred had gone. Only the youth was alone in his puddle of blood. He had given up on struggling. Emergency sewing was useless. He had not learned any healing scores and they would be useless too. As for the medicine, he had eaten them all and they were useless. In other words, he had tried everything to no avail. His heart had completely shattered and the poison had spread to all his organs. He had lost two-thirds of his blood. Ye Qingxuan lay in the warm blood and stared at the sky. He felt himself going closer and closer to death. "Its so quiet." Gazing at the darkening world, he unexpectedly did not feel any fear. He only felt regret. There were so many things he had not done and so many things he had not said. A pity. It was such a pity Faint footsteps sounded in the silence. The footsteps walked through the puddles of blood and stopped beside him. Clear eyes looked down on him. "Ye Qingxuan, youre dying soon." The faraway voice sounded in his heart. It seemed like a hallucination but was so familiar. However, he could no longer hear it clearly. "To be honest, I dont want this either but I cant do anything, Ye Qingxuan. No one is immortal." "Are there no other ways? I think I can be saved." "Ye Qingxuan, you cant be saved." The comer gazed at him pitifully and shook his head sadly. "Ill miss the days we played marbles together." "Really? Seems like there arent any solutions." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes in regret. "Im sorry. Its been so long but I never asked your name." "Gawain," they said. "You can call us Gawain." "Gawain?" The youth sank slowly into darkness. "Since you can read my mind, can you help me leave some final words?" "Yes," Gawain agreed. "Anything else?" "Takemy heart out" - Late at night, the waves of Avalon were abnormally angry. First, the rumbling from the Elizabeth Tower sounded throughout the city, shocking everyone from their dreams. However, they then sank into another nightmare. Next, the enchantment of Avalon collapsed. The entire city fell into chaos. Without the restrictions of the enchantment, the heaviness of aether rose rapidly. Within a few hours, the white safe zone had become a yellow zone. It even showed signs of becoming a red zone. The Musician Union and Church had acted and activated their own enchantments. However, they hardly had an effect. Who would have expected that the century-old enchantment would collapse? Then a black sun appeared in the sky. The chaotic vortex of Avalons Shadow emerged and hung above the moon. It swallowed everything and emanated the thick aura of the abyss. Every musicians heart shook. They were afraid any movement would cause their souls to be tainted by the aura. Every connection and message to the outside world was suddenly cut off Right now, Avalon had truly become a lonely island in the sea. However, a man sitting on a bench in the dark alley of the chaotic downtown slowly opened his eyes. Outside the alley, the noise of metal scraping sounded. Hundreds, thousands The military had acted at this critical moment. At least a small battalion now rushed into downtown. They raised their shields and were covered in armor as if they were stepping onto the battlefield. Their spears reflected the cold moonlight. Endless clangs of metal sounded in all directions. Countless people swarmed over. Their eyes were filled with cold murderous intent. Their steel boots crushed all obstacles; the rumbling rang in their ears. "It seems that the parliamenthas finally acted." Coldness flashed through Ghosthands eyes. He looked back at the closed door. "Sir, itll be too late if we dont go now." The dark room behind him was silent. The Shaman opened his eyes as if he had woken from a dream. "Lets wait a bit longer," he said and closed his eyes again. The darkness was still. Taken aback, Ghosthand sighed in frustration. "Is this what you mean by guard the door and dont let anyone in?" Ghosthand rubbed his face and sighed. "Mr. Shaman, this is an entire armored battalion. Your command is a bit hard to follow." Clunk, clunk, clunk. The locks snapped. The black glove restricting his invisible arm fell onto the floor. The cold light of metal appeared at the entrance of the alley. The incoming heavy-armed military hoisted their spears and aimed at the old man before them. Amongst the group of soldiers, someone yelled, "Kill him! Kill him! Drag the Shaman out. Anyone who fights back will die!" The wizened man with a hunchback waved the heraldry in his hands and yelled, "These are the Queens orders! Do not be doubtful and follow the command!" Elegance and grace no longer existed in Ingmar. His hair had practically all fallen out during these short few days, revealing his spotted scalp. With his hunchback, he looked decades older. The immense withered flower medicine cured his mental illness but also twisted his mind, causing him to become heavily addicted. Within the short few days, he had sunk to this crazy state. He would obediently follow any command if his mind was filled with hints, no matter how strange it was. He was like a ragged puppet. "What are you waiting for? Hurry! Hurry!" he yelled and hurried them like a clown. The mind of the commander beside him was clearly controlled. He sat woodenly on his horse. Hearing Ingmars orders, he raised his hand and pressed down. Boom! The armored soldiers stepped forward in unison, charging like a forest. They shattered the wall and crumbled the tiles as they pushed toward the lonely old man. "Werestarting now? At least let me get ready." Ghosthand was taken aback. He quickly ripped a piece from his shirt and tied up his graying hair. His face was filled with regret. "I shouldve drank some wine." His muddled eyes raised and reflected the wailing and growling battalion. Ghosthand licked his lips. "Give me some blood" - Ten minutes before, the sound of metal scraping sounded in the center of the city swallowed by fog and darkness. In the heavy fog, a large door suddenly appeared. Before it, all men were as insignificant as dust. One could vaguely see a terrifying shadow between the tightly closed crack. "Whatis this?" Charless voice almost cracked. "What else can it be? Its the palace." Jerome tossed a piece of paper into his arms. "Dont waste time. If Gavin fails, there wont be time for you to hesitate. You have to create a defense with fifteen people and four-hundred spears of Mary. Newton promised that you can do it. I hope you wont disappoint me." "Thats impossible!" Charles shook his head in shock. "Do you know how many calculations I have to do for the defense fulcrums of four hundred spears in such a big place? You need to at least give me a manually-powered calculator." An aether ball was tossed into his arms. "You have four minutes and forty-five seconds." "An aether ball is useless!" Charles threw the aether ball in anger but then picked it up again. "Whatever, its better than nothing. F*ck, theres even the Tetris that we developed. Your score is pretty high." "You still have four minutes and thirty seconds." "Okay, Im working now. Shut up, old man." Charles glared at him. His expression was crude and frustrated as if he was glaring at an idiot who was disrupting his work. Taken aback, Jerome quickly looked away. "Whatever." He spread a few feet of paper on the ground. Charles used the aether ball as light and studied the complex map and aether parameters. He was immobile as if he had turned to stone. No one spoke in the silence. The only sound was his heavy breathing. His pupils trembled as he scanned the map over and over. Sweat seeped from his neck and forehead, rolled down his chin, and dripped onto the map, leaving wet trails. Three minutes. Swallowing thickly, he took out his pen. After short hesitation, he quickly pressed down and drew three overlapping ovals on the map. The palace was the center of the ovals. He rapidly marked the parameters and positions with scrawled handwriting amidst the fine ink blots. He focused entirely on it to the point of forgetting his surroundings. Two minutes. He tossed his pen to the side. The sound attracted Jeromes attention. He looked back and saw Charles, collapsed on the ground, and the map filled with markings. "Done." Charles glared at him and panted. "What are you looking at? Im awesome when I get serious." Two minutes and fifteen seconds. He was so fast! Jeromes eye twitched. He waved and the royal musicians with sealed weapons quietly disappeared into the fog. Sharp sounds came continuously from the still mist. It was the sound of long nails being driven into the ground. "Youre even more amazing than what Newton described." Jerome stood before the towering gates and looked back at him. "No wonder youre the genius of the Royal Research Institute. Your calculation abilities are incredible." Charles shook his head. "I just have a good head. Theres nothing impressive." As if! Charles actually felt guilty inside. He was drenched in sweat and now his expression froze. Have a good head? When had he ever used his brain since he started?! Charles had used his good looks and gut feeling to survive in Avalon for so long! So basicallyhe had just made wild guesses for the positions. This type of work would take a group two weeks even with a mechanically-powered calculator but he only had five minutes! What a joke? It would be easier to suddenly fly! Thus, he became even more anxious after he turned in the results he had guessed with his instincts. If the activation was not successful, would he be killed by those angry royal musicians? And what did these *ssholes even want to do? Holding sealed weapons before the palacedid they want to pull a coup and start a revolution? Who else would try to seal the palace?! No, this group was too weird. He had to find the chance to escape. But the moment Charles made this decision, he realized that everything was silent. 294 It Comes! Everything was silent. Even the gradually dissipating thick fog solidified in the air. The musicians breathed heavily in the depth of the mist. Before the iron gate, Jerome took the bag from his back and opened it layer by layer. He melted the red wax of the royal seal and the broad seal to unlock the shackles. Thus, a coarse black iron spear was revealed from the linen cloth. With dried scarlet blood on it, it was captivating. When it was swung, it howled like dragon roaring. It cut the fog but also stung the eyes. "St. George''s spear?" Charles gasped. Something felt wrong. "Wasnt this thing lost long ago?" Among those few remaining artifacts which were admitted to own the power of a scepter, Anglo possessed three of them nominally. They were respectively the Sword in Stone for governance and declaration of kingship; the St. Georges Spear which could completely destroy the natural catastrophic dragon; as well as the Holy Grail of Destruction, which was known as the worst and wildest deterrence. Once it was triggered, both the whole country and the enemy would go to ruin. Among these three deadly things, the Holy Grail of Destruction possibly did not exist in the world. The successive emperors would only tell the next successor the relative information before death. No one else in the world knew where it was. As for the Sword in Stone, it had disappeared since the fall of King Arthur. It was claimed to be kept by the royal family but no one knew whether it was still there. St. George''s Spear had appeared once. However, it was said that ten years ago, it had disappeared too for some unknown reason. Now the spear appeared so abruptly before Charles that he temporarily could not accept it. "This was the spare made by the current King of Black after St. George''s Spear was lost." Jerome clenched the weapon in hand with all his strength to restrain the force that could erupt at any moment. "I never thought that I would actually use it one day." Jerome looked determined. "I''m afraid this is the worst solution." "Hey! Hey!" Charles was terrified. He immediately clenched Jeromes pant legs. "What the h*ll are you going to do, man? Dont mess around! Can someone please tell me what the h*ll are we doing here?" "Don''t you understand, Charles?" Jerome looked back at him with a serious look. "When necessary, we will isolate the area with a seal and then, with the power of St. George''s Spear, completely destroy Avalons Shadow and banish the palace to the deepest place of the aetheric world." "Is it necessary?" Charles was confused. "If you''re going to do this, you''ll definitely be killed by the royal family. And youll die in the most painful, cruelest way!" "Rest assured. At that time, Ill be banished forever along with the palace." "But I''m still here!" Charles was speechless. "I have an eighty-year-old teacher and an underage sister to care for. Cant you just let me go? How come you don''t think about anyone else? I dont even have a girlfriend. How unlucky am I!" He was trying to squeeze out some tears and cry, but his collar was yanked up. "Listen, Charles!" Jerome glared with cold and solemn eyes. "Complaining cant solve any problems. You have your own responsibility! Today, even if we all lose our lives, we shall not allow those d*mned dark musicians toto defile His Majesty''s remains! Understand?" Charles froze. "Re-remains?" "Hundreds of years ago, His Majesty failed. Kingdom Come fell into the Shadow and the westernmost line of humanity was crumblingsince then the royal family had tried all means and sacrificed many people to maintain this fragile balance. "Now, His Majesty''s throne and remnants is the core of Anglos security. Once this security collapses, all the sacrifices of hundreds of years would all be in vain." Jeromes voice was resolute and hoarse like rubbing metal. "We will make every effort to protect His Majesty from being transformed to a natural catastrophe by those guys!" Bang! The whole world shook. The whole city trembled. Burning light spread above the dark sky and illuminated Charless pale face. In the distance, the white tower stretching to the starry sky trembled, crumbled, and collapsed. A dark vortex turned into the sun and slowly rose into the sky. It was telling the coming of destruction. The breath from the abyss descended from the sky. "What a shame." Jerome lowered his eyes. "It seems that we have no time to hesitate." In his hands, the dark sacred spear dug into the ground. The earth echoed as if the dragon sleeping underground woke up and roared with wrath. Around the palace, the spears of Mary wedged into the earth on the dozens of fulcrums. They roared with a sharp resonance. Lightning projected and hot light connected to each other, which turned into a huge matrix of melting gold. As Abraham had said, Charles was a genius, and there was no one who had more gifts than him on the musician''s path. He could find the best fulcrums merely using his guts. The four hundred spears of Mary trembled. They resonated and projected electric light among each other. On every fulcrum, there was royal musician in black, chanting the movement. "...It''s me, I shall confess with my hands and feet in Hell." They cut their wrists and their blood fell into the earth. The blood spread under the chant, flowing like a snake into the vast matrix. Life passed in that rapidly growing power. The resolute musicians chanted hoarsely. "My soul shall be whipped and shackled, as you have suffered..." Passion. This was the movement for the martyrs of saints. They offered their lives in exchange for the miraculous melody. Once it was triggered, their lives would be forever buried in a dark world whether they would succeed or not. The vast enchantment started from the fulcrum and covered the entire palace in a twinkling. The palace was totally isolated. Before the enchantment, Jerome held St. George''s Spear. The majesty that could overwhelm everything surfaced silently on the blade. Charles almost suffocated. He raised his hand and shouted hoarsely. "Hey, old man, don''t be impulsive. Wait!" "Gavin has the Royal Musician Divisions resonating bell. Its enough to temporarily borrow the power of all the royal musicians outside of Avalon, including the four grandmasters besides me...If he fails, then we have no other choice." Jerome lowered his head toward the slowly opening gate and the shadow on the burning throne. "Im sorry, Your Majesty. If I am a sinner of Anglo, please let me accompany you in Hell forever." He grasped his spear and lifted it up with all his strength. Thus, the magnificent movement burst out of thin air. In the void, countless souls praised together as if divine power fell from the sky. It ran in the water, land, fire, and wind. It had created all and could now destroy all as well. The heart of Avalon''s Shadow roared and shook. Outside of the kingdom of shadows, the grandmasters of the Royal Musician Division closed their eyes and resonated with each other in the dark room. They injected all the power into Jeromes body so that he would not be quickly burned out by the horrible flame. Jerome was covered with mournful wounds by the terrible power. Blood flowed but soon evaporated. Above his head, the ring of the aether that resonated with the world surfaced silently. It glowed and trembled. Overwhelmed by that terrifying power, it was about to crumble. "May all glory be vested in Anglo. May we rest in this great glory," he roared. Grasping his spear, he thrust it down his feet. It was earth shattering. Amidst the booms, blazing light projected from the spear. Twisted ripples appeared around the vast enchantment that enveloped the palace. The shadow world had been distorted and was about to be completely torn apart. Vigorous power emerged from Jeromes body and melted into the holy spear. It was going to throw the palace into the depths of the aetheric world, making it vanish from this world forever. Charles body was lifted by the power like a fallen leaf. He floated in the air, involuntarily flipping. He forced himself to look back at Jerome''s shadow. Enveloped in a frenzy of flames, Jerome held the holy spear high. Before the holy spear, the music theory within Avalons Shadow broke apart layer by layer. But at that moment everything became still. The flames solidified in the air, the blast became stagnate in the air, the cracks stopped spreading, and the rumbling stopped. Everything stopped in the sudden stillness. It was as if time was at a standstill. Charles gazed at the gravels hovering before him. All he felt was fear in the depth of his heartat that moment, everything in Avalons Shadow ceased. Everything seemed to be rooted to the spot, unable to move. Even the magnificent aetheric sea solidified under this terrible majesty. This was the most extreme example of Modifications. It was a force terrifying beyond human imagination. In the dark vortex overhead, a hand slowly stretched out. It pressed into the void. So everything stopped in time. "He has arrived!" "He has arrived!" "He has arrived!" The dark musicians enthusiastically praised, cheering and dancing. They offered blood and bones, water and earth, souls and the life of their prey to welcome his coming. Having planned for decades, consumed countless treasures and accumulations, and Malpass resolute sacrifice, they finally exchanged the coming of the power. It was a terrible shadow cast from the aetheric world; it was the incarnation of the abyss. It was the root of all evils, the master of darkness, the mother of chaos, the king of destruction and killing. The God who ruled all the sources of darkness of this worldthe natural catastrophe Hyakume! Gods incarnate had descended. Thus, a frenzied song of destruction played in the world in the shadows. 295 Believe and it Will Be Real When that hand reached out, the dark vortex immediately collapsed silently. All the power was drawn by that palm to turn itself into a faint figure. There seemed to be layers of curtains in the middle. The shadow was so vague but kept disturbing the surrounding music theory. Everything it passed all fell into the black zone of the rioting aether. The dark area trembled, making the figure seem especially unreal. This was the resistance of Avalon''s Shadow. Here was Arthur''s scepter, the fallen ''Heaven on Earth. Its music theory rejected the invasion of external forces. The immense presence in the aetheric world could not enter the physical world. If he wanted to pass through that door, he must suppress his power from the level of God and truly become his incarnate. That figure huffed coldly. The aura of the abyss changed violently. Instantly, countless music theories interweaved. When the terrifying aura was gone, the figure grew gradually clearer after the blurry illusion. An old face first emerged. That weathered face had thirty-two faces. They changed constantly but were full of gloom and deceit. The two eyes were overwhelming like an abyss. He wore a vague robe that contained the splendor and majesty of the world. He was one of the nine incarnations of Hyakume in the World, the king of change and chaosthe Dark Lord. He stepped into the void, walked toward the direction of the palace step by step leisurely. Looking at Jeromes stagnant figure, he sneered. "Presumptuous." Boom! The frozen world broke free from the shackles and began moved again. But under the rumbling, everything was different from before. The enchantment collapsed instantly. All the royal musicians were fatally wounded and bled from all openings. The matrix of the spears of Mary fell apart. This was only from the aftershock. Jeromes body warped. The symphony of predestination brewing in his heart broke immediately. The ring of resonance disintegrated and dense blood mist spouted from the body. He collapsed to the ground soundlessly. The sacred spear fell from his hands and rolled in the pool of blood. The Dark Lord fell upon the Earth. Gavin, dressed in a red robe, knelt. The dark musicians knelt as well and dared not move. The Dark Lord passed his disciples and went toward the palace. At the end of the line, Naberius shook and twitched. He forced himself to raise his head and look at the approaching shadow. He made his all effort to ask with his hoarse voice, "Ive met my promise! After sixty years of penance, where is my freedom?!" The Dark Lord passed by without looking at him. A finger pointed vaguely between his eyebrows. The hoarse voice said, "As you expect, clown, you are free." Naberius only heard a snap in the brain. Blood flowed down his face, tragically and pathetically. He bowed his head, vomiting blood, but he could not help but smile in ecstasy. The shackles that had restrained him more than sixty years had disappeared. He lowered his head and grinned widely. "Well, what else can I do, your Majesty?" "These realms are beyond thou. Thou shall only look up." The Dark Lord laughed disdainfully and thoughtfully gazed at the dark palace ahead. "Witness the wonders of the world! A new member of the dark followers is born!" - "Hey, are you alright? How can you die so easily? At least struggle a bit!" Charles shook Jeromes body in the pool of blood. "You couldnt act cool for more than three seconds! How can you go?" Jerome was still breathing. He opened his eyes with difficulty and vomited foul blood. The theory of the abyss was lingering in his body, dragging him into the Hell. He was rapidly aging and dying. "Wait a minute. I''ll treat you right away." Charles wanted to bandage Jerome but he froze. He did not know where to start. He did not even know how Jerome was hurt. "Its no use." Jerome was very weak now. "Charles, nothing can save me." "Then what will I do?" Charles wanted to cry. "You all pretended to be cool, but why do you have to take me with when you die! Help! Help! If anyone can help me, Ill marry them." "Shut up." Jeromes face was pale with wrath. He vomited more blood but stared at Charles seriously. "Can you be a man? Charles, where is your dignity? You shout for help but who''s going to save you?" "If I believe it, itll be real." Charles wiped his tear and choked out, "Perhaps in the next moment, my junior will descend from the sky and save me. Hes really powerful!" "You..." Jerome kept vomiting out blood with no strength to scold him again. Then just enjoy your dream, at least you can die with hope. He lay in a pool of blood and looked wearily at the dim sky. He saw the moonlight. Among the dim stars, moonlight shone from the sky. - Fifteen minutes ago, the dying youth lay in a pool of blood at the top of the Elizabeth Tower. The blood was guided by an invisible power to sketch out his ''last words. The scarlet blood spread like the complex branches of thorns and vines. That was the music score Moonlight. The scarlet expanded as if there were thousands of hands moving at the same time. When the blood crossed, the aether was agitated and projected sparks. In the end, the whole tower was enveloped in this scarlet red. Cold moonlight fell down and seemed to melt into the blood, making the blood reflect with a soft glow. The silent melody of that bloody message flowed in the moonlight, echoing in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. "It''s so beautiful." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the bright moon in the sky and felt the last bit of his body heat drift away. He could no longer feel the weight as if his body was flying up into the sky. However, his consciousness fell into the darkness, slowly sinking. This was the effect of the potion. The short time of lingering finally ended. Death came quietly without pain. The lethargy gradually engulfed him and his eyes closed slowly. His breath severed and he walked into the eternal serene slumber That was a joke! How could he be serene?! He was barely twenty years old! He would absolutely become an angry spirit. He had only been stabbed. How could he just lay down and die? In that instant, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes. He clenched his fists with his last strength and smashed down at the bloody movement under his body! To live or to die depended on the last fight! Faint light brewed in the amber jewel on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. It was like a candle in the wind. But when it fell into the blood, it turned into a wild forest fire. Lightning cracked instantly. Indra''s Eye absorbed the blood and turned the blood of Deva into thunder and lightning. Thunder stretched to the sky, extending to all directions along with the blood. The alchemy matrix was activated and instrument strings emerged from the thunder. They crossed and erected in the void, playing out the gloomy melody. With this frenzied thunder and blood, the melody echoed with the moonlight. Thus, moonlight descended from the sky! The moonlight soon dispelled the Gawains apparition like a torrent. It melted into the bloody movement and illuminated! In that light, Ye Qingxuan trembled as if he was struck by the lightning. He yelled with great pain. Endless moonlight rushed into his shell along with the residual blood. It melted into the aether and flowed through his veins like fire. His body seemed to extinguish in an instant. Every inch of his flesh and blood felt severe pain. Finally, he breathed again. He regained his senses slowly. The youth''s blank eyes reflected the moon above the sky and brightened again. The power that was stronger much more than his expectations gathered in his blood. It glowed like lava and illuminated his empty chest. Gritting his teeth, he put his hands on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to control the melodys changes. He guided the moonlight and aether to rush into his shell. The cold light rushed out of the rift in his chest. Endless aether gathered in the empty chest. It brewed and gradually produced a pulsating sound. It was the construction of the sub-originator! If there was no heart, then he would just make a new one! By losing sixty percent of his blood, Ye Qingxuan finally gathered the final moonlight and melted it into him to create the body''s source of aether. He created an interval with a present note to then create a music theory. The music theory guided the aether by overlapping. At last, the fiery power was awakened from the aether. "As above it, as under it, so is the beginning of all things." Based on this alchemical matrix, he was going to build a heart for himself by using the sub-originator technology! Ye Qingxuan suddenly crushed the blood conch in his hand. So far, it was no longer useful since he had mastered the basic theory of the School of Mind and could freely enter Avalons Shadow. He would rather use the conch here. After all, he was creating a heart. The more the power the better it was. In a twinkling, the essence which was condensed from thousands of people''s blood burst. It surged into Ye Qingxuan''s body and slowly and continuously transformed into the blood of Deva. At this moment, under the stimulation of the movement, Devas blood was also extracting the bright moonlight greedily. The hidden strength contained in it was getting stronger and stronger. In the end, it almost glimmered. Not only was the Pure White Moons light attracted, the Blue Moon was also melted into it. The two moons light blended in his body; the aether was transformed into a new power. Ye Qingxuan carefully controlled the glow that was enough to destroy his body. The light gathered in his empty chest and emerged from the rift in his chest. A gentle melody sounded under the light. It was like the sound of gentle water and soft wind. Amidst the water and wind, the moonlights melody lingered. All began to grow in the barren land. It was as if all the good in the world converged here. It was so gentle and charming, fascinating. It was the Spring Song. 296 Invite the Moon into Arms The Spring Song. It was the key movement of School of Stone Heart, the origin of sub-originator technology, as well as the mystery that could make the soul and the aether coexist in the same shell. This was not merely a pure healing movement. Under the extreme complex guidance of the theory, one could achieve the balance between two, eliminating conflicts, so that all could coexist in the realm without harm. The original pain and suffering seemed to vanish in an instant, freeing Ye Qingxuan from the hell-like torment. In his body, the aether sewed the broken veins while singing the movement of rebirth to turn destruction into creation. For an instant, he perceived a faint resonance beneath the body. In the Elizabeth Tower beneath him, Avalons vast enchantment which had already fallen apart seemed to be awakened too. The shattered core responded to the call of the Spring Song. The collapsed theory within it showed signs of recovering. At this moment, Ye Qingxuan did not notice his surroundings. He was totally absorbed in constructing his sub-originator. If there was sweat, he must have been drenched already because the sub-originator was much more difficult to build for him. The sub-originator should be attached to an organ in the body, but now, this was reversed. It would replace the hearts function, so the construction was very difficult. Had it not been because of the precise operation of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he would have been burnt to ashes. He continuously extracted the moonlight to make the notes appear and assemble the intervals, transforming them into music theory. Then, the sub-originator constructed in the void could become tangible. Moonlight condensed into an ethereal embryonic heart. Vast aetheric light was brewing in it. In just a twinkling, the phantom of the heart twitched, trembled, and almost collapsed. Ye Qingxuan only felt a burst of emptiness and was immediately terrified. The aether extracted from the moonlight into the blood was not enough! He had miscalculated. Building a heart out of thin air not only had a great difficulty, but required great strength too! The moonlight he drew with the blood of Deva was quit a lot, but the consumption was also soaring. The moonlight had been completely depleted without him realizing. The strength that he got from the moonlight on the tower was running out. However, he could not stop once he started the sub-originator construction. Otherwise, he would not only die, but die without even leaving a body behind! "As expected, youre flirting with death." A sigh came from the distance that made Ye Qingxuan practically start cheering. "Lola, come help me!" "Yezi, you are really mean." Lola''s eyes grew sad. She squatted down and touched the youths cheek. Her fair face was full of resentment and sadness. "I am so worried about you. Coming here is not easy thing, but you just greet me by turning me into a tool?" Ye Qingxuans face twitched. He squeezed out, "One thousand CCs, no more than that!" "Deal." The resentment on Lolas face disappeared. She revealed a charming smile. "I like a straightforward man like you." Before Ye Qingxuan could say anything, Lola bent down. She put her hair up and moved closer. Her eyes reflected the teenager''s startled face. A soft touch came from the lips. As if being struck by lightning, Ye Qingxuan was unprepared and thoroughly frozen. What followed was a heavy heartbeat echoing in his brain like the deep sea. The sound was unprecedentedly clear. With the support of Lola''s resonance, Ye Qingxuans range of induction was instantly enlarged a lot. Too busy to be startled, he seized the opportunity to send his mind into the Elizabeth Tower. For a moment, all he could see wasutter destruction. Avalons enchantment had been forcibly destroyed from the core and was completely out of control now. The layers of music theory were deadly silent and falling apart. They were like giants who had been beheaded and were rapidly collapsing and dying. Working in concert Spring Song, Ye Qingxuan put his mind into it. He could also feel the pain but, at this moment, there was no time for him to lament. The world was cruel. People with pain should always help each other since they were suffering together! Relying on the power borrowed from Lola, Ye Qingxuan suddenly pushed the stagnant enchantment forward. His will ran through the center of the disintegration. Since the moonlight that he drew by himself was not enough, he just looked for something bigger. With his own bell authority and the music theory of the School of Stone Heart, Ye Qingxuan obtained the control of the enchantment effortlessly. Then, his will rushed into the complex music theory cycle and began to reactivate the movement! Wasnt it just fixing something? He had fixed things in Luther for three years! The enchantment began falling apart more rapidly. Under Ye Qingxuans violent maintenance, the collapsed notes and movements were directly removed from the entire system. Ye Qingxuan demolished those things violently and removed those that could not be fixed. Since there was no possibility to repair it completely, he just robbed Peter to pay Paul! The weakened enchantment truly suffered in the hands of someone like Ye Qingxuan. A large amount of music theories in the core were mercilessly demolished to mend the parts that were comparatively complete. He forcefully activated the dead silence. Protection music score? Demolish! It was already so damaged that there was no use in protecting it! Climate adjustment movement? Demolish! Did anyone need a rainstorm for entertainment at this time? Contact score? Demolish! Control movement? Demolish! Demolish! Demolish! Demolish! Ye Qingxuan practically demolished all the music movements engraved and constructed by hundreds of past musicians. Through unprecedented high-speed interpretation and manipulation, and the help of so many materials, Qingxuan quickly repaired the remaining areas. He reconnected the relatively complete music theories with each other. Fortunately, he had the experience in manipulating the Requiem enchantment and was not nervous before such a large operation. The enchantment instantly contracted. Two-thirds collapsed while almost the whole downtown district was abandoned. Next, the dying enchantment began to recover rapidly and was activated. Broken movements lit up continuously from everywhere in the tower. The Elizabeth Tower, which was originally falling apart, stood again on the ground. A mass of aether approached and gathered on the enchantment to ignite the flame at the top of the tower again. The enchantment, sewn back together and now horribly ugly, was finally restored to its full. Then, next... "If I die or live all depends on you now!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth, clenching his fist. The Elizabeth Tower began to tremble. Bang! Bang! Bang! The thunderous bell suddenly rang, producing a desolate and hoarse yet grand sound. Sound waves were set off and spread to all directions. A faint curtain of light suddenly lit up in the sky. The enchantment riddled with holes had finally unfolded again! Avalons enchantment had resurrected! The moon that hung high in the sky suddenly came down. As if suddenly pulled to the ground, the moon enlarged as if it was falling. In the end, it covered half the Avalons sky. Light illuminated the entire city of demons. The darkness trembled and dispersed. Both the sky and the land became an ocean of moonlight. Endless moonlight surged into Ye Qingxuans body along with the enchantment, making him roar hoarsely. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei produced a gloomy but unique melody. The moon was still falling! Falling! Falling! Ye Qingxuan laughed and spread his arms to greet the moons arrival. Come here and invite the moon into ones arms! In the blink of an eye, that moon flowing with white and blue light had covered Avalon. Carrying a cold melody, it descended silently. The closer it came to the tower, the more unreal its silhouette became. Countless music theories were interwoven with each other inside the light as it played the eternal movement. Through the layers of aetheric waves, the moon''s ''spirituality'' descended from the aetheric realm to the material realm. The huge moon gradually shrank, until it finally became into a ball of faint light and entered Ye Qingxuans arms. In Ye Qingxuan''s chest, a heart as illusory as the moonlight quietly emerged. It beat silently, leading the Devas blood to flow. The sub-originator was created! At that moment, a new pulse was born. It was the sound of a heart beating. Together with the bells ringing that resounded through Avalons Shadow, it spread to all directions. In its path, waves were created in illusory moonlight, and later became the tides! The rumbling bells echoed, roaring and melting into the ripples of the heartbeat. It abruptly transformed and became erratic. It was vaguely between the real and the unreal. No one knew whether it existed or not. But no matter where it passed, there was always a terrible roar. All the demons screamed, crawled, and trembled. They tumbled under the moonlight tides and illusionary bells. Numerous demons were startled in the shock of the bell. Their skulls burst and they died on the spot. The dark musicians were not better either. For a time they unexpectedly felt the bells penetrating into their own consciousness to control their pulses. They could feel their heart swaying. They sweated and breathed heavily in the shock of the ringing. "Whos there?" In the midst of the bells, the Dark Lord''s footsteps stalled. He turned back, looked behind him, and gazed at the thin figure on the top of the tower. Under the pale moon, the youth awoken from his sleep. Moonlight burned in his eyes. His figure looked like the man from back then. "What a pity that it isnt him." There was a glimmer of disappointment in the Dark Lords eyes. However, it soon became disgust. "But the eyes are also unpleasant. Gavin, it seems that you didnt finish your job as well as I thought." Gavin listened to the bell blankly. He seemed to have not yet processed it. After a long time, he lowered his head and gritted his teeth. "I''ll take care of him." Hyakume waved. Behind him, the dark musicians retreated while kneeling. Demons and beasts were called out and pounced toward the tower. "Do not let me down, Gavin. Dont let your deeds be defiled by folly." The Dark Lord looked away and went ahead to the dark mist. The palace was not far away. Under his feet, the earth trembled faintly. Darkness gushed in his path and turned into the soil of the abyss. In the sky above, moonlight surged. 297 Deva Sensing Above the tall tower, Ye Qingxuan studied the rift in his chest with a shocked expression. The heart of the enchantment of Avalons Shadow had somehow moved into his own heart. A heart created by the royal capitals enchantment? A one-of-a-kind sub-originator? No one would believe him, right? It was too theatrical He closed his eyes and connected to the rhythm beating within him. He was instantly intoxicated by the heavenly heartbeat. His vision seemed to leave his body and rise up to the sky with the moonlight. It rose, rose, and roseuntil it was at the top of the heavens. Avalons Shadow instantly became too small to see. His mind hovered above the sky and looked down on the large world. Light dotted the endless land. Above him, stars dotted the heavens. The stream of aether created a large "star ring." It shone like stars and ran across the skies and earth like rivers and streams. For a moment, he could not tell the sky and land apart and was lost. Then, he heard the song. Waves of aether rolled between the two extremes and formed a faraway song. It spread long and wide but was fleeting and untouchable. It disappeared within an instant. However, it left an odd enlightenment in his heart. "Is this Deva sensing?" When it dawned on him, Ye Qingxuan reached out toward the world. The complex music theory weaved at his fingertip and played the melody. Small ripples formed in the aetheric sea. The ripples spread in all directions and instantly reached thousands of miles away. Melting into the endless lights, the stars were touched as well before the ripples disappeared. In that moment, Archbishop Albert, who was sleeping inside the Sacred City, was startled from his sleep. Opening his eyes, he saw the full moon rise from the darkness that had covered Avalon and enter the musicians world. "Whatis this?" he murmured. Deep within the aetheric world, the sleeping minds opened their eyes and looked at the ripples in the starry sky with confusion. It was a small greeting. Someone was saying, "I am here." - "An official musician now?" Lola, layed weakly on the ground and asked softly. "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan chuckled and helped Lola up. "Thanks to you, Im finally on the third level." "Youve just become official but you made a bigger commotion than when I went for the scepter level." Lola coughed quietly and spat out fresh blood. "Are you injured?" "I accidentally embarrassed myself. I couldve succeeded but that guy committed suicide." She managed a smile, revealing a bit of disappointment. "And then he dragged that big thing down." "Youve worked hard." The youth took off his long robe for her. "Take a rest and hand everything to me. Old Phil will come find you after it takes the Butcher away. Just follow it." "Youve finally survived and now you want to die again?" "To collect my debt." Ye Qingxuan rose and patted the wound on his chest. "He broke my heart. I should express something." Lola managed a smile and closed her eyes. "Remember to run if you cant beat him." "Dont worry, Im the best at running." The youth pushed the brim of his hat down. He slammed his cane on the ground. "But first let me act cool." Boom! The white tower trembled and the twelve zodiac gates fell open. Moonlight swept into the darkness like a tide! Amongst the dark musicians, Naberius froze. Seeming to think of something, he subtly retreated and hid inside the darkness. "What is this?" The dark musician in the front wrinkled his brows. He shook his head when the broken moonlight fell upon him and he looked at his companions. "It looks likelike" Like what? Suddenly thinking of it, he raised his hand to pat his head. However, his arm loosened and a clump of sand fell onto his face. He was stunned. His companions stared at him as if they had seen a ghost. The dark aura of demons flowed in that place covered by moonlight. The aura writhed like a dying snake and dissipated. The moonlight surged like waves that destroyed the castle on the beach. It destroyed the dark musicians body as well. Shrieking, he stumbled back. However, his companions could see that his mutated body parts were rapidly deconstructing and scattering in the wind and moon. "Whatcurse is this?" he stuttered. His face became weathered, baring the goat-like skull. Three eyeballs trembled in the eye sockets as they were invaded by moonlight. Horror, panic, despairand finally, a terrifying serenity. "Its so beautiful." The dark musician had eroded into a skeleton but he bathed in the moonlight. His remaining flesh smiled and waved at the others. "Come on, come look! I-I sublimated!" He abruptly yanked out his demonized heart and then put a hand to his forehead. His sound of heart was activated and his body shudderedhe had killed himself! What kind of f*cked up sublimation was this?! Freaked out, the other dark musicians hurriedly avoided the moonlight but it was too late. The semi-realistic, semi-illusionary moonlight fell upon each person equally. Agonized cries sounded one after another. The abnormal power quickly eroded under the invasion of the moonlight. The music theory that controlled the power extinguished as if its spine had been yanked out. It collapsed without a sound. Practically every dark musician had undergone the ritual to strengthen themselves with demonic blood. While receiving power, they were also tied to this power. When the power began to dissipate, it was undoubtedly the end of their lives. "Hurry and release the nightmare fog. Hide yourself!" someone finally reacted in the silent horror and yelled. "Push down your strength! Leave here!" The dark musician had cruelly broken the lower half of his own body. Gray mist rolled out of his body and covered the moonlight, allowing him to recover his strength. His body quickly regenerated. Overjoyed, he called a shadow wolf to carry him. "Leave this place! That guy had transformed the enchantments power into a curse! If you leave, hell be powerless." A hand reached out from the moonlight and yanked him off the shadow wolf by the collar. A smiling face appeared before him. "You want to leave after pissing off the Vengeful Spirit?" His eyes changed and the shadow under his feet trembled. An immense object rose from it and was instantly shattered by lightning. The pouncing shadow wolf was ejected. Lightning burst from it and it shattered. The dark musician was now charred. His expressions changed and quickly showed decisiveness. "Let me leave and I promise to be loyal" "Dont worry, I wont kill you." Ye Qingxuan glanced over coldly and cut him off. The dark musician froze. But he saw moonlight shoot from Ye Qingxuans fingers and surge into him. The undefeatable purification had begun from inside him. "To be honest, Im not good at killing and I never force myself." He tossed the dark musician to the floor and gazed at the others. "The moonlight only purifies demons. If you cut off the contract with Satan then you wont die. The asylum and Hell are two places soyou can decide if you want to live or not." Darkness rose out of nowhere. Thick fog spewed from the dark musicians. It contained the moans of countless people and snaked into their ears, murmuring endlessly. This was the nightmare fog that dark musicians often used. It was aether transformed by satanic power. Not only could it swallow light and sound, it could also create boundaries and suppress their enemys abilities. This was the dark musicians reply. The moonlight that poured from the door was just scrap material left from creating Ye Qingxuans sub-originator. It was powerless against the nightmare fog with complex music theory. "Ye Qingxuan, still alive" A cold voice traveled in the wind. Behind the Dark Lord, Gavin looked back. He studied the face with steel gray eyes. "As expected, I shouldve been more direct. This is my mistake." "Youve made many mistakes, Gavin. This isnt the only one." Ye Qingxuan gazed at him from the other side of the endless wind and moonlight. His face was expressionless. "Dont worry. Ill help you fix them all!" Clenching a fist, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei shot out. The cane thudded on the ground with a crisp echo. Strands of moonlight appeared and scattered in all directions. "You dont know your place!" A beastly musician roared amongst the dark musicians. Under the nightmare fog, his figure changed dramatically and fused with his beastly nature. Then he disappeared. This was the upgraded version of the formless ghostthe void predator! A hoarse song came from somewhere. It left behind a thick decaying aura in its path. Even aether lost its liveliness and fell into slumber. This was compound beast fusion! He had fused multiple demonic powers at once. After Modifications musicians turned to Satanism, they no longer needed to worry about the backlash of the beastly nature. They could use the skill to their full extent and was beyond human imagination. He had fused four types, including toxic poison and the curse of burning blood. He charged to Ye Qingxuan instantly under the nightmare fogs cover. He opened his invisible arms and embraced! He was able to suck the vitality out of living things with just a touch and enhance the originator within him. In reply, the youth pulled a long nail from his bag. The silver nail reflected the moonlight as if it contained hellish fire. Sensing the demonic aura, it began ringing. In the embrace of death, the youth raised his hat, revealing icy eyes. "Since you looked over, then Ill show you all something nice!" Chaotic aether shot out instantlybut it came from all directions instead of Ye Qingxuans hands! Without communication, pre-planning, hesitation, waiting, or mercy, this was an all-out and aggressive attack with nothing held back. The dark musicians had begun! 298 That’s All The dark musicians did not even need to think in order to know what the guy was holdingholy nails from the Silence Governance! These days, the only ones who would carry these chant material were either ascetic monks from the Churchs Ministry of Faith or silent monks from the Sacred Citys Silence Governance. Either way, it was not good news! The former were executioners trained by the religious judiciary. They existed to tie everything heretic onto stakes to be burned. The latter were the trademarks of the Silence Governance. They were musician killersmusicians who existed to hunt musicians! Neither of them were anything good. This guy looked like a newly official musician but everything could happen in this strange place. At this critical moment, they would not have any hesitation or relaxation. If they acted, they would not hold backthey would rip him apart and burn him to dust. Otherwise, they would be the ones being burned to dust. An explosion happened amidst the cacophony of sharp and chaotic singing. The wind tunnel in the abyss was opened. One could see the darkness going wild beyond the tunnel, creating waves in the air. Thick darkness poured out and covered the moonlight, swallowing everything. A ferocious demonic limb flashed across the darkness. It was abruptly torn apart. Blood sprayed out like rain. Fireworks of sparks and light flashed and cast destructive power like meteorites. There was also cursed ghastly green fog and a spray of splitting rays. It destroyed all illusions, shields, and obstacles; sealed all exits; and made sure the prey could not escape. Thena skeletal hand emerged from the wind tunnel. It reached out, tore the air with a deafening boom. No one knew which Summoning musician had risked burning his blood to use his best card and summon this mysterious existence from the aetheric world. The hand was so big that merely a knuckle was meters long. It shot torrential winds, thunder and lightning, fire, and frost to the youth. Explosions boomed. The scrapes of giant stones sounded continuously. Even pure iron and a fortress would be pulverized under this orangutan pressure. Powder flew, scorched dirt cracked, and a gaping hole appeared on the earth. Finally, the giant skeletal hand disappeared. The darkness in the fog was ravaged. There was only the sound of the dark musicians breathing heavily. They sensed the aether waves with confused eyes. "Is he dead?" "Cant sense any breathing." "No corpse or skeleton." A dark musician scoffed. "Ha, thats all he is." "Yeah." A soft sigh came from the nightmare fog. "Thats all." All the dark musicians instantly felt a burst of cold air shoot from their feet to their heads. Their expressions flipped and they attacked again in their shock. The nightmare fog swelled and the demonic shadows overlapped. This time, they did not care about keeping their best cards secret anymore and acted as one. However, a pure white light emerged from the fog at the same time. It was so clear and pure. This flawless light was not moonlight nor did it come from the sun. It did not belong to this world. It was as if heaven really existed. God was sitting on his throne and radiating with this glow. Under it, all strength became submissive, all demons were purified, and all heresy surrendered. God lived within this light. Though the light only existed for a flash, countless dark musicians screamed. Their eyes were scorched and they had become useless trash! This light could not be looked at directly! "The Requiem!" someone yelled while covering his eyes. "Dont look at the light! Thats from the Requiem!" "Holy!" The youth stood upright in the ray of light, amidst the dissipating nightmare fog. He lifted the brim of his hat and smiled. He bathed in the light. The glow was thin but isolated him from all the dirtiness of the world. It seemed to come from another world. All the power in this world was nothing to it. "This was personally created by the gods. Its a priceless holy gift" Countless deities seemed to sing in the light, "Holy! Holy! Holy!" This was Holy, the music score passed down from the School of Stone Heart, one of the sources of the School of Abstinence! The power was not expressed in elements, nor did it create or destroy. This was a pure territory created by music theory, the prototype of all scepters, and the foundation of all precincts. Ye Qingxuan used the resonance between his sub-originator and the Elizabeth Tower to borrow the power of Avalons enchantment. Using the music theory and chanting, he activated the inherited music score in his hat. Thus, the source crossed the nine layers of aetheric sea from the aetheric world and covered the material world with the song. It changed the rules, twisted the laws, and created a protected zone that could not be violated. No music score under the Scepter level could disturb it. The dark musicians fatal mistake was that they did not know Ye Qingxuan had moved the enchantment into his own heart! Now, the large enchantment of Avalon was his source of power. It continuously supplied him with endless aether. As long as he was under the Elizabeth Tower, he would have no shortage of strength. Only something as strong as the Avalonian enchantment could provide the strength required for the music score Holy. Ye Qingxuan could feel the terrifyingly large amount of aether being put into the music score at every second to maintain this absolute boundary. Merely acting as a fulcrum caused him to feel that his soul had been ignited. Using Jiu Xiao Huan Peis detailed control to guide the strength used up all his energy. However, now "Is it my turn?" Ye Qingxuan grinned at the dark musicians. The long nails in his hands clanged. The frantic melody and blaring of the horn shot out! The majestic melody resounded under Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Using the sub-originator within him as the fulcrum, Ye Qingxuan was able to experience the aether he had transformed for the first time. He could interact with the aetheric sea and tried resonating with the world. Thus, the world replied with a boom. He was performing above his level! For the first time, the Resonance level of Night on Bald Mountain shot from his hands. Using the sub-originator as a fulcrum, Ye Qingxuan leveraged the majestic strength from the aetheric sea. In the next moment, the expressions of the rapidly retreating dark musicians changed. Because the ground cracked open, blazing red light spewed out. It was as if the entrance to hell had opened. All sinners were dragged toward the fire. The rapid melody resounded in everyones ears. Silver light shot out and dozens of long narrow nails trembled along with the song of punishment. The endless darkness seemed to solidify. It shook under the crashing song. Then the horn blared and black steel stakes broke through the earth, wrapping around the dark musicians. The stakes were like a forest. They overlapped and sealed all exits. The silver nails whistled through the air. The runes carved on the surface glowed with blazing light. The invaluable alchemy equipment had now become one-use material. They let out all their power in the blazing light. Piercing sounds came one after another. Everything with a demonic aura were pierced cruelly and nailed to the stake, cutting off their ties to the aether. Then wildfire poured out from the cracks in the earth. Firelight shot to the sky, burning it red-hot amidst the cries of pain. Hellfire burned vigorously. This was the infamous score used by the Ministry of Faith when it was still known as the Inquisition. The stakes that were rooted across the wilderness lit up every dark night. Using demons as firewood, they created inextinguishable flames that announced the coming of dawn! The judged ones paid for their sins in the fire. Otherwise, they would burn to the end of time! Within a snap of the finger, the unlucky souls nailed to the stakes were burned completely. Their bodies turned into flames and melted into the music score, providing Ye Qingxuan with an endless source of fire. The remaining dark musicians huddled together. They resonated with each other and kept trying to fight back. However, this was Ye Qingxuans show the moment Night on Bald Mountain became complete. They did not have the chance to turn the tides. The melody roared and pushed the score to the climax. Ye Qingxuan charged and commanded the fire of judgement. Firelight rolled and burned the surviving dark musicians. The fire burned away the aether they had gathered and counterattack melodies as well. Once a music theory from the School of Abstinence was formed, it would reject power from the other schools and suppress them. With the enchantment as a power supply, Ye Qingxuan finally experienced how it felt to have the upper hand. He would return to his original state once he left the Elizabeth Tower but he had to have fun here and practice with the dark musicians! He had to hurry though. He did not know how long he could maintain the temporary enchantment. "So scary," Naberius murmured as he gazed at the youth from the shadows. "How much has he accumulated? He had just become an official musician and is already close to the Resonance level. If not for the barrier of knowledge, he could probably upgrade directly. So terrifying" Listening to the youths thunderous melody, his ears moved as he distinguished the weaker rhythms. His hands quickly created pieces of metallic muscle. "Sorry, Mr. Holmes, lets not fight face to face. I havent transformed this new body yet and dont have much powerbut Im a dark musician. You wont find it odd if I make a despicable sneak attack, right?" 299 Unable to Help Himself "Sorry, Mr. Holmes, lets not fight face-to-face," Naberius muttered. "I havent transformed this new body yet and dont have much power. But Im a dark musician. You wont find it odd if I make a despicable sneak attack, right?" Looking down, he studied the metallic heart in his hands. Coldness flashed past his eyes. "Since youre not at the Resonance stage yet, lets undergo the sound of heart duel fairly!" He abruptly clenched the beating heart. There was a sharp sound and it resonated with Ye Qingxuans heart. This was a direct attack to the sound of heart that acted as life itself. This was the basic competition between two musicians! Ye Qingxuans melody instantly weakened. His face darkened but then became red as if his blood was boiling. The aether in his hands practically dissipated. Naberius cackled. He played his odd instrument and continuously controlled Ye Qingxuans new heart. It beat wildly as if it would not stop until it exploded. The surviving four dark musicians used this chance and screamed the dark music score from the Calixtinus Codex. They showed their true appearances, called forth the power of demons and the abyss, and surged toward the gaping youth. But in the next moment, Ye Qingxuan looked up and grinned toothily. "Tricked you!" Boom! The sluggish melody burst forth once again. This time, it was accompanied by the fire of Night on Bald Mountain and the thunder of Indrahs Eye. A frantic flood swept past instantly and swallowed the four. Naberius instrument exploded too. A giant hole appeared in his face, creating a bloody mess. He looked at the shards embedded into his palm and shock flashed past his eyes. He had used this skill to break countless musicians sound of hearts through the years. However, this time, Ye Qingxuan destroyed the instrument he had created?! Before he could react, rows of stakes flew toward him with rolling flames. His figure separated and six shadows dodged the pursuit of Night on Bald Mountain. However, the youths figure suddenly appeared amidst the rolling flames and he pressed downthe Sigh. Boom! Naberius flew back and slammed into the wall; he was pierced by a silver nail. The fire within did not spew out but clamped down on him so he could not escape. "Capturing the sound of heartwas useless?" he asked hoarsely, staring at the youth before him. "Why?" "If you want to know why," Ye Qingxuan looked down at him chest. A crystal-like heart beat between the crack. It swallowed blood and aether with a dreamy moonlight glow. "Maybe its because I have a stony heart." Naberius froze. He coughed out black blood and forced on a self-deprecating smile. "I lost. I lost completely. But sadly, theres no winner in this game." "What does Gavin want?" Ye Qingxuan asked coldly. "That thing, the physical incarnate of the godwhy is it here?" "Didnt you already guess it? Mr. Holmes, why are you asking me?" Naberius looked up with difficulty. He looked at the black shadow that filled the sky. "Look, the god has descendedour existence is less significant than dust to those creatures. Youve already failed, Mr. Holmes. The winners win all in this game, but ordinary people like us cant get anything." He suddenly spat out blood and pieces of his organs. Blood flowed from all openings and his body split apart. Ye Qingxuan froze. Naberius was destroying his last chance at surviving! "No need to be shocked. This choicedoesnt deserve your furrowed brows." Naberius looked down and said with his last strength, "Humans were born with shackles. Even someone as clever as me could not escape them, even with sixty years of struggling. Thankfully, I still havethe freedom to choose death. Mr. Holmes, if Hell exists, Ill wait there for you. Hopefully there, well be able to becomebecomefriends." Naberius head hung and he stopped breathing. He was dead. Ye Qingxuan gaped at him. His outreached hand froze in the air. Behind him, an ear splitting thunderous boom sounded deep in Avalons Shadow. Harsh cracks emerged on the ground and snaked out. The quaking could even be felt deep inside the ocean, resulting in tsunamis. The Dark Lord could no longer resist the resistance of Avalons Shadow while advancing. Even if he suppressed himself to such an insignificant level, he still could not avoid the arrival of the limit. This was the country of King Arthurs scepter. The clashing of their respective music theories were at the extremes. If a spring was suppressed to its limits, it would rebound. The music theories overlapped and the aftershocks from their collapse warped the material world. However, he did not stop. He continued forward to the heart of this shadowy world. One step, two steps Ye Qingxuans expression changed. He could barely breathe under the pressure of the air. The damaged enchantment could no longer resist the aftershocks and was close to collapsing. Now, the enchantment was like the other half of his body. If it broke apart again, he would be forced back to his original state. He might even be fatally wounded. "Shaman, I hope youre not waiting for me to go back and help you." Ye Qingxuan clenched his jaw. His body shook and his sanity was almost robbed by the terrifying shadow behind him. However, he still could not help but worry. If the dark musicians were so unscrupulous, the parliament would definitely be causing a commotion too. They had controlled many places secretly all these years. With more than a century of accumulation, they had the connections and power to cause a mess in Avalon if they did not have to worry about the royal family anymore. The Shaman probably was in a dangerous situation now! - Avalon was in darkness now. The enchantment was Avalons most important defense. The guards were sent into action the moment it collapsed. The nine city gates slammed shut, isolating the city. The citydowntown, midtown, and uptownwere divided into sixteen sections that were completely isolated from each other and the outside world. The bright city filled with lights suddenly fell into darkness. Scattered firelight shone and illuminated the metal armor in the streets of downtown. The armed soldiers charged down the streets, obediently following commands. The Parliaments connections in the military were finally put into action. They uprooted the Shamans strongholds one by one. This was no longer a street fight. It was complete war. All resistance was laughable before a proper army. The darkness of downtown was spotted with firelight. Amidst the fire, a horn was blown and the armored soldiers hoisted their spears to break down the defenses and buildings. They left a trail of rubble and dust. All resisters were pierced by the spears and tossed to the side. Snaking trails of blood formed red police lines that blinded anyone who saw. The violent gangs of downtown could not unite to form any sizeable resistance at the short notice. They were squashed easily and turned into carcasses littered on the ground. Thunderous booms sounded continuously. Those were the terrifying sounds of cannons flattening buildings. One could faintly hear pained cries before they were cut off. All that remained were the dull clanks of armor. The sound of metal echoed in the chaotic darkness. As well as the sound of dripping blood. Another armor plate was torn apart in a ravaged alley. A hole appeared in the chest and blood spurted out. A heart was crushed by an invisible hand. Ghosthand panted and roared. Boom! The armored soldier flew out and crashed into the crowd. He upended the incoming soldiers. Ghosthand sucked in the foul air. The rotting scent of the sea and the decayed odor of the sewer entered his lungs like fire burning at the remains. Merely breathing hurt like fire. His mottled white hair was dyed red by blood. His torn shirt revealed ghastly wounds. Creamy blood flowed across his invisible hand, sketching the contour of his broken limb. The hand was not fixed; it kept changing. Sometimes it was a human hand, other times it was a claw with scales on the five sharp nailsterrifying. "Fourth time." He breathed heavily as his legs trembled. He truly was old now. This was only the fourth time. Within a short few minutes, the garrison had charged four times. No matter how many fully armed soldiers charged, they were pulverized when they reached this old man. Without exception, they were like waves crashing onto a reef. The mill was on the right and the steel mills warehouse was on the right. These two large buildings sandwiched the small alley and the narrow terrain was his biggest advantage. No matter how many charged forward, he would only have to face a few. He could deal with them easily without fearing the large masses. Howeverhe could not retreat. He could not let anyone pass Roaring, he stepped forward. Brushing past the blades, he forced himself into the soldiers arms. The invisible ghost hand sank into a neck. With a crisp crack, it was shattered and the soldiers neck was broken. Then the soldier shook. Holes appeared on his back and a crossbow arrow pierced through his chest. Stuck in the armor, it was only a hairs breadth away from his eyes. Ghosthand bent down and dodged an incoming sword. His hands closed around the blade. He turned and the blade shattered. Following his hands, it pierced through the helmet, through the skull, and wedged in the brain. Another soldier fell. A broadsword hacked at his shoulder, jamming into bone. Ghosthand roared. His invisible hand twisted and yanked the soldiers head off as if there were no joints. The wind howled. A strong arrow was close to his face before the invisible hand grasped it. Sparks flew; it brushed past his face and dug into the chest of the soldier behind him. Blood splattered like rain. A flurry of blades streaked through the air under chaotic clashing. Howling sounded endlessly. Finally, only the bloody old man remained standing in the alley. He painfully yanked a dagger out from his leg. He pushed himself up from the two piles of corpses and stood up. His glare at Ingmar was chilling. "Ingmar, youve wasted too much time." The man in a gray cloak behind Ingmar raised his head. Ingmar shuddered. He stuttered out, "Mi-mister Sparrow, I justMr. Robin told me to" "Enough. Robin isnt here. Im in charge of the parliament." The Sparrow moved past him and glared at Ghosthand, who was surrounded. He looked past the man, saw through the wall, and looked into the dark room. His brows furrowed. "That dying old man is the Shaman?" He scoffed. "I always thought he was just hidden but I didnt knowhe really is dying. Ugh, how disappointing." The Sparrow raised his hand. "No need to fear anymore. Fire the arrows!" Thus, chilling whistles sounded in the darkness. 300 The Value of Sacrifices Boom! The walls on either side shook with the explosion. Hundreds of holes appeared and a downpour of arrows flew in. Two groups of archers squatted behind the walls with black crossbows fit for the military. One needed the help of a pulley group to pull the bow taut. Shot at this short distance, the arrows were enough to tear down the wall before them and create a bloody path through the crowd. Ghosthand roared. Like a flash, he transformed into a shadow and practically teleported countless meters away. His invisible arm turned into a beastly claw and blocked the storm of arrows. His speed was incredible. The arrows shot forward and scattered onto the ground. Boom! The alchemy arrows mixed into the flurry exploded. Red flames sprang up and overthrew the walls, swallowing Ghosthand. He flew out of the fire and landed heavily on the broken door. Half of his body was charred and blood seeped from his pores. His heart quivered and he spat out blood. The room was ravaged. The machinery maintaining the Shamans life had shattered. The Shaman himself was on the ground, his flesh torn out by the broken tubes. It was unclear whether he was alive or not. "B*stard!" Gritting his teeth, Ghosthand climbed up with difficulty. "Hey! Sir, are you still alive? Please dont die." "Iguess" The Shaman cracked open his eyes. "Ghosthand, can you do it? I want another bodyguard." "To be honest, I want another boss!" Ghosthand sighed. "I dont think we should complain about each other now, right?" "Oh, then good luck." "Thats useless!" Ghosthand coughed out some blood. "Hurry up and take out your hidden tricks. The kind that can bomb all of them." The Shaman looked at him as if looking at an idiot. "Would I have ended up like this if I had those things?" Ghosthand sighed. "So youre saying that were dead meat?" "Yeah." The Shaman nodded. "Go. I wont blame you. As long as the forest still remains, you will have firewood for another day." "I cant move anymore." Ghosthand shook his head with a wry smile. "Ive been with you for more than thirty years. My bones are old enough to be used as firewood. I dont need any forests. I just hope theyll be merciful enough to bury me." "What about me? You dont care about me?" The Shaman widened his eyes. "So I should just be dried out under the sun?" "Yeah." Clenching his jaw, Ghosthand pulled himself up and shielded the Shaman. "Sometimes, I really wish I could chop you to pieces." The wind whistled and howled. A torrent of arrows suddenly broke down the wall. Ghosthand shielded the Shaman and roared. His invisible hand transformed into an ax and hacked down! This time, it was an unavoidable hardness! Boom! Like a tidal wave curling backward, the black cloud of arrows halted and shattered onto the ground. Blood streamed out of Ghosthands wounds. Clenching his jaw, he waved his reddened arm to welcome the destructive wind and rain! "Hey, sir," Ghosthand said hoarsely as he looked back. "Do you still remember what you said before?" "You still remember what had happened. Im sorry, I lied." The Shaman lowered his head ruefully. "No one stole that money. I took it to buy liquor." "It was you!" Taken aback, Ghosthand grew furious. "I wondered why everyone was so poor. It was you who took our money to drink!" "Its been so many years so dont mind it." The Shaman shrugged awkwardly. "Didnt I pay you back?" "I cant feel any sincerity now!" "Im sorry, Ive lied to so many people. I feel guilty and these are my sins." The Shaman sighed and coughed. "Im sorry, I lied to you too." "Whatever." Ghosthand shook his head and chuckled. "Imused to it." He walked forward to face the roaring arrows. He chopped down and his invisible arm sliced the air, creating torrential winds. The incoming arrows were all blown away like weak waves that broke apart on the rocks. Ghosthand shook. He was pushed back by the aggressive strength; arrow shards dug into his face and chest, ripping a gaping hole in him. Sticky blood flowed out. The ghastly red was menacing and uglyhe looked like a monster. Outside the alley, there was the sound of metallic explosions. Countless soldiers had grouped from all directions. They were advancing toward the monster; cold light reflected off their spears and blades. The Sparrows face darkened. He dropped his hand. "Fire!" Ghosthand roared. The bloody flames quaked and blood-colored dragon scales appeared on his invisible hand. He grabbed at the thundering rain. The arrows shattered in his fist. Boom! His invisible hand was toppled under the rain of arrows. Ghosthand stumbled back. He was pierced by dozens of arrows. Blood spewed out and mixed into the dirt under him, turning it into a bloody quagmire. "SirI never regretted trusting you," Ghosthand murmured. He wiped the blood away from his lips. "Look, people like me were born like dogs. Theres nowhere to go but the dog pen. Im willing to do anything in order to not be a dog anymore. All these years, only you told me that no one has to live like a dog. Lowly people can have value and meaning too." For all these years, the homeless fallen ones in the dirty sewer could only look up at the sunlight of the big figures. They wallowed in darkness with no hope of salvation or knowledge of how to live with dignity. But even the lowly ones should be able to walk with their head held high. Even if they could not bathe in the luxurious sunlight, they should go to the grave with pride. This was a wild wish no one had ever thought about. This was enough. This was already enough to satisfy one who had nothing. "To be honest, I never understood what you said." Ghosthand looked at the Shaman with eyes filled with hope. "But I want those things called dignity and meaning. I lived for this, sir, and Im willing to die for it." "Idiot, you only have dignity and meaning if you live!" the Shaman roared. However, Ghosthand started laughing. He welcomed the advancing soldiers and stumbled toward the ruins before him. "Sadly, theres no more liquor." Ghosthand lowered his head and licked at his blood as if drinking. He happily recited a toast, "Hope there are more days to come." Roaring, fire shot out of his bloody invisible hand. The flames burned at his body, turning it into a shocking red. Terrifying power surged from the old mans frame. The strength coursed through his veins and body until he was bathed in flames. The weapons could not kill him, the storm could not break himhe was on fire! If the gods were looking from heaven, they would see his figure jump into the mass of steel. The steel light in his path were dyed red. The red stretched forward in a straight line. It bloomed in the mass of metallic light. Like blood dropped into mercury, it was ghastly and wild. For a moment, Ghosthand was so fast he was a blur. "Come, b*stards!" Ghosthand cackled. His scarred face was as menacing as a wolf. "The banquet has just started!" The crazy old man was covered in injuries now. The horrible wounds revealed the white bone underneath as if he was a monster who had crawled out of a pile of corpses. He fought in the crowd, drinking bloody wine and roaring. Everything in his path was torn apart by his invisible hand, turning into a pile of ruins. "Stop him!" Ingmar yelled from his stallion. His expression was twisted and fanatic. The commander parroted him. His voice sounded more and more laughable. Boom! Blades cracked, armor shattered, bodies twisted, heads splintered, hearts were crushed. Ghosthand felled an incoming spear. He abruptly jumped like a bird and stepped onto the soldiers shoulder. It caved in and the soldier fell to his knees. Ghosthand flew past the formation and pounced directly at Ingmar, his face bloody and monstrous. Ingmar screamed. He twisted and pulled the commander before him. However, the commander shattered into pieces. Under the spray of blood, a red figure dropped from the sky. The invisible hand grabbed at the Sparrow behind Ingmar. The Sparrows expression changed dramatically. He retreated and his cape billowed as he shot out a music score. The earth cracked apart to spit endless flames, swallowing Ghosthand. Within the fire, all steel turned red-hot and melted. The mud bubbled like liquid. Ghosthands figure instantly turned to smoke and disappeared. "He died?" In the silence, the Sparrow looked at the empty hole. The fear in his eyes finally disappeared but the aftershock crept in. This was only an old killer close to death and yet he killed hundreds of fully armored soldiers without any music scores. He had almost killed the Sparrow as well. The Sparrow looked at the silent old man and gritted out, "Shaman, you raised a loyal dog." "Hes not a dog." The Shaman looked up coldly from the mud. "His name is Keirin Moria. Do not underestimate my friend." In that instant, the Sparrow received a shock. A hoarse song traveled from the burnt dirt and ashes. It came from the faraway barren landsit was a prayer by Theban priests. They offered fresh blood and sacrifices to beg the cold deities for a miracle. Thus, there was a miracle. The shattered invisible hand was regrouping and the power hidden within erupted completely. Evaporated blood and fiery ashes came together to construct that figure. As if crawling back to the realm of the living after struggling in hell, the figure slowly opened his blood-red eyes and howled soundlessly. "Once this thing accesses your body, youll truly receive Hells arm. You will have the strength you want and no one can stop you." Hermess cold and low voice sounded in passing. "This is the strictest contract. Theres no turning back once you sign it. Youll receive strength but it will gnaw at your life. Youll become its food and prey. Youll suffer day and night from the curse. "After you die, there will be neither heaven nor hell waiting for you. You will crumble to dust without anywhere to go. Answer me, is this the future you wish for?" Good. That kind of future was carefree! Ghosthand roared and his shattered body regrouped. Blue flames shot out from his body, giving him strength and the furious fire of the dead! Die! This time, the formation of steel could no longer stop him. He advanced and shattered the rows of armor with his hands of fire. He bathed in the blood. He was no longer old or in pain; he no longer had human restrictions. With the power from the burning souls, he reached unprecedented speeds. Layers of armor disintegrated under a wave of his hand. The flesh under the armor ripped off in chunks and their hearts shattered silently. All obstacles were destroyed under his invisible hands. Only blood flew forward. Amidst the endless blood, Ghosthand roared and charged at the Sparrow. "This guysigned with the life of the aetheric world?!" The Sparrows face was deathly pale. He gritted his teeth subconsciously and swore. He beat the drum in his arms with a rhythm from the abyss. The dead on the ground suddenly began withering. Demons grew from them and climbed up, charging at Ghosthand. But all the demons were nothing before him! "Fire!" Sparrow yelled. "What are you waiting for?" Black arrows rained down but Ghosthand did not care. He let them pierce his body as he tore through the demons before him. One step, two step, he was advancing! He advanced slowly without any disturbances, charging through the obstacles. Blood splattered and covered everything, dyeing it all red. The burning Ghosthand created gales of wind and thunder. Transforming into the god of death, he used his regenerated hands to tear into the military. He was unstoppable! The Sparrow screamed. A giant snake sprung out of the earth. It opened its mouth wide and swallowed Ghosthand. But then it writhed painfully, cut open by daggers, then disintegrated. Ghosthand roared. The fire he had received from the burning souls shot out. Blood increased around him and he charged past the last obstacle. The Sparrow was right before his eyes. The Sparrow stumbled back. Layers of shields appeared before him but they were shattered immediately. Broken light was swallowed by blood chillingly. Fire and wind emerged abruptly and charged at Ghosthand. He drowned in the fiery cage. He pushed forward with his hands and a melody shrieked out. The aether changed, transforming into different elements. The surrounding dirt rolled and melted blazing red steel appeared out of thin air. It created two incomparably sharp blades that shot out. Damocles Movement. The thundering was endless. The figure knocked aside countless swords with his bare hands but more descended from the sky, stabbing into his chest. He roared and shook. Pulling out the blades with his right hand, he parried and his invisible left hand whistled. The blade warped, curling backward. The Sparrows expression changed. He barely dodged the blade coming for his head. Growling, he pressed down. Blood burned and melted into his music score, causing the blades to multiply by the thousand-fold. Ghosthand chopped down. Countless blades flew backward and cut apart the Sparrows robe and drum. The drum exploded and the Sparrow screamed but Ghosthand charged forward relentlessly! Two arms fell off cleanly. Blood spewed. "Ingmar, what are you still waiting for?!" the Sparrow screamed as he stumbled back. Ghosthand closed in and his hands cut through the air. A gaping crack appeared in the Sparrows chest. Blood streamed and Ghosthand grasped his heart. It would disintegrate in the next second. But Ghosthands movements suddenly stopped. He froze in place. "Oh, theres a time limit," he murmured in shock. He watched as his body quickly withered and fell apart, cracking like a piece of pottery burned too long in the kiln. He was so close! He looked at the pale Sparrow and then at the beating heart in his hands. Just a bit more! Just a bit more and all of this would be over. Pop! His body fragmented. "I stilldidnt do anything." A shattered face fell to the ground and lifted into a self-mocking smile. "Sorry, sir, a life as meaningless as mineIve no value even in death." He was smiling but tears slid down his cheeks, seeping into the broken cracks as if he was a crying clay figurine. "What do you people know? You cant even look at the situation! You almost" Clenching his jaw, the Sparrow looked down on Ghosthand. He stomped on Ghosthands face, one foot at a time until the smile was completely shattered. "The Shaman failed long ago. He failed, you understand?!" A wind tunnel from the abyss appeared in the sky above him. An immense shadow flashed by, causing the world to shake. The gods incarnation had descended in the shadow world. This country, this city, everything herewas destined to be buried in the abyss. "Did you see?" The Sparrow looked up at the shadow earnestly. "You couldnt stop anything! Everything you did was meaningless! You have no value even if you die." "No, Ghosthand, your life wasnt meaningless." The Shamans hoarse voice hung in the air. Everything in the path of the sound waves froze. The Shaman rose from the mud and yanked out the tubes in his empty chest. He crossed the frozen world, stepping on the ruins and carcasses, until he was beside Ghosthand. With a wave, the Sparrow turned to dust under the Modifications theory. "Thank you, Ghosthand." The Shaman lifted him from the mud. His voice was harsh as grating metal as he said, "You helped me win time at the most critical moment." Ghosthand forced his eyes open and clutched the Shamans hand as if grasping salvation. "So did I reallysave anything?" "Yes." The Shaman closed his eyes. Turbid tears rolled pathetically down his wrinkled face. "My friend, the fifteen minutes that you created saved all of Anglo andchanged the world." "Really?" Ghosthand smiled. "Thats great, sir. This feelingis so great." His expression froze. The cracks extended across his body and he shattered. His life spent, he turned to dust and scattered. The Shaman stared at him, grasping the hand until it turned to dust and flowed from his fingers. He could freeze the world but could not keep this life here. Ghosthand was dead. "My friend, the pain in your life has ended. I hope youwill receive eternal slumber in death." The Shaman looked up, allowing the tears to roll down his face. He glared at the abyss in the night sky. Raising a hand, he declared, "Open the Fifth Seal in my name!" 301 Surprise "Open the Fifth Seal in my name!" Thundering came from deep within Avalon. Lightning shot out from the endless black clouds in the eerie sky. It illuminated the ghastly white palace. Within the palace, the queen sleeping on the throne opened her eyes. "Allowed." Sir Lancelot stood below the throne. The seal in his hands, created by royal blood, instantly began to shake. The bell at the top of the Elizabeth Tower began to ring. The ringing cut across the skies and earth, resounding nine times. Dominic stood before the door of the Jianlan Underground Palace. The bell slowly pushed the door open. Darkness no longer resided in the world behind the door. Endless light rolled out like a tidal wave. The sound of a choir singing in a low voice resounded in everyones ears. The tide of light surged and shot into the black sky. The fog was swept away and the aura of the abyss no longer remained because an immense sun was rising slowly. The world was instantly brightened. A ray of red light brewed within the sun and descended from the sky. The frozen world was shattered by its power and light fell into the Shamans palms. He clenched his hands. It was as if all the power in the world was in his hands. The light illuminated the true appearance of the beam of radiance. It was an ancient and majestic sword! The hole in the Shamans chest was quickly repaired. His bones grew and mended the crack. He instantly recovered. Blazing wings of light burst from his back. The large wings created a flood in the aetheric sea. Endless strength converged above the Shaman, transforming into a halo. Now, the Shaman was no longer the lord of darkness. He was now the only king of the worldthe noble one who ruled over the world with dignity. It was as if King Arthur had come back to life. After centuries, the absolute power given to Anglo by the heavens, the legendary weapon that had killed the natural catastrophe Leviathanthe Sword in the Stonehad finally re-appeared! This world had changed drastically. In the mud, Ingmar finally processed everything. He gaped at the glowing figure. His muddled mind was somehow stimulated. He shuddered and finally became clear-headed again. However, he felt ineffable fear. How could this be? How could this be? How could this be?! "Ma-Ma-Maxwell!" His features twisted. Pointing at the one shrouded in light, he shrieked as if in a nightmare, "How can you be here?! You clearlythis is impossiblethis is impossible!" "Its simple." The majestic man with wings stood in the light and looked back coldly at him. "Because I am the Shaman." The wings of light flapped. Ingmars body sagged and scattered like dust. The Shamanno, Maxwellflew into the sky, reigning from between the heavens and earth. He asked gravely, "Where are the knights?" The sound of swords unsheathing came from every corner of Avalon like thunder. Eight beams of light shot into the sky. The knights clad in armor had finally regrouped. Galahad, Geraint, Gareth, Bedivere, Kay, Lamorak, Aglovale, TristanThe knights of the Round Table were ready to fight! "Good." Maxwell nodded. "Royal Musician Division." In an instant, overlapping waves of aether flashed from every corner of Avalon. In a hidden room, six grandmasters and hundreds of musicians resonated with the sword. There were even two Scepter-level waves that surged from the end of the sea. They came from thousands of miles away and contained all the strength. The light around Maxwell burned brighter as if he truly was the sun. The sunlight shrouded the Round Table Knights. It cut the barrier between the aetheric and material world and fell into the black shadow realm. Immediately afterward, wild thundering resounded in the air. "Men, follow me to kill the god!" - The shadow realm instantly shook. Amongst the earth-shattering thunder, a blazing sun rose from the eternal night. It illuminated the world from its place high up in the sky. Blazing sunlight fell and swept the gray fog away from the city. The countless black dust wailed and shook. They shot up into the sky and scattered under the violent brilliance. The still city awoke again under the light and finally resonated again. At that moment, Maxwell had already descended from the sky. The Sword in the Stone played the Chapter of the Golden Victory, awakening the lost royal power in Avalons Shadow. Four immense shadows emerged under the brilliance. They carried terrifying auras and slammed down on the aether world. They said, "Come." The sun that descended from the sky contained the kings crown and descended onto the ground. The control of Avalons Shadow was instantly robbed. Maxwell entered the shadow world easily and swung his sword down with might. The darkness shook. Infinite light pierced into the depths along with the blade. It instantly crossed thousands of miles straight to the heart! Before the palace, the Dark Lord froze. The ancient sword pierced his chest and shone with royal power, imploding. Lit on fire, he roared. One moment he still had control. The next moment, Kingdom Comes strength fell from the sky and fatally wounded the Dark Lord who had been focused on opening Avalons Shadow. "Sword in the Stone?" he asked hoarsely, looking down at the sword in him with shock. "Yeah, you didnt expect it, right?" Maxwell sneered behind him. "Its finally awakened after being hidden away for so many years. The sheath was even repaired. Mr. Deity, are you surprised?" It suddenly dawned on the Dark Lord. "This was all your plan." Maxwell leered from within the flames. His smile was filled with malice and craze. For centuries after Arthur had fallen, this Dark Lords influence had been seeping into Anglo and snooping from the shadows. For all these years, the royal family had cast a blind eye, allowing it to become stronger. Downtown, the Parliament, the Blood Path, Avalons Shadow, the Bell Authority Everythingall the years of quiet endurance and waitingwere done in order for this deity to lower his guards and walk his incarnate into the prepared trap. For this, so many people had lost their lives, so many had died soundlessly. They even used Arthurs corpse as bait just for this moment to arrive. They uprooted the evil hand that reached into the mortal world and destroyed it completely! They would even kill the incarnation of a deity! This was a battle between men and gods. After centuries of planning and decades of acting, it was nowjust starting! Boom! Flames shot from the Stone in the Stone. It shattered the Dark Lords chest. The strength from the abyss shook and collapsed. The root was cut off. "Youve been watching from the side all these years, making everyone panic. We put in so much to invite you down so well definitely welcome you warmly." Maxwell asked, "What do you think about my Starry Sky? I personally made it. Does it suit your taste?" The Dark Lord growled. His broken chest seemed to contain a bottomless abyss. Inside it, countless faces continuously appeared and hoarsely chanted a blasphemous song. Darkness swept through again. Light and darkness battled amidst the turmoil. Tsunamis were formed in the aether sea. The aftershocks and waves shook the shadow world, pushing it close to collapse. The war was only just beginning in the realm of the fallen scepter, before the aether and material world. Amidst the resonance, Ye Qingxuan hid under the Elizabeth Tower. He closed his eyes and cut off all communication with the aether. Even so, he was practically paralyzed by the wild ripples from the core. Lofty beams of light hacked down from the Sword in the Stone. Each movement caused floods that disappeared once it flowed into the darkness. The sun and dark night crashed and wrestled in the sky. Everything swept into the air waves were scattered like dust. But this was Avalon, after all. It was the home turf of the Sword in the Stone. Even faced with the majestic incarnation of a god, Maxwell was able to have the upper hand for a bit. In addition, he had the Round Table Knights to add some hits in between. The phantom beast in the holy armor had been completely awakened too. Nine different beastly features materialized. The claws, eyes, flames, teeththe nine features combined and formed the Red Dragon. It let out an earth-shattering roar. Spitting fire, its majesty became tangible and spread. It destroyed all the demons in its way and restrained a portion of the abyss power. It was nine against one. The royal musicians were also sending reinforcement from the outside too. All of Anglos strength was united to fight against the god. Soon the world shook and the darkness was furious. A giant crack opened leading to the abyss. Countless demons swarmed from the crack. Dozens of big demons appeared and wrestled with the Red Dragon. The Dark Lords figure flickered and dissipated. "You want to leave?" Maxwell scoffed. "The doors closed. How can I let you escape? That guy over there, stop wasting time! Its time for you to shine!" Ye Qingxuan froze. He flew toward the top level of the Elizabeth Tower. Pressing down onto the center of the enchantment, his heart flashed behind the crack in his chest. The core had been activated. He immediately felt immense power surge into the enchantment from the outside world. He could barely control the waves from the aether sea! He looked around carefully and realized the power was right beside him. "Outside Avalons Shadow?" he murmured. An old man stood under the moonlight at the top of the white tower outside Avalon. He seemed to be meditating. The young musician beside him lowered his head respectfully. "Grandmaster Hadyn, you can begin now." 302 It Is Always Here "Well, things cant be delayed." One of the thirteen present saints, the greatest musician who inherited the name of ''Haydn, opened his eyes and spread an ancient scroll from his hand. On the ancient scroll, there were dark strokes that made up the notes and composing mysterious movements. They suddenly turned into several scenes with the aetheric fluctuations. They changed from emptiness to the darkness of the abyss, to an indescribable existence above the water, to...a glimmer of light! "Let there be light," said Haydn. And so there was light. In the middle of the sky and earth, nine layers of the aetheric sea resonated. Everything sang for the birth of light. The countless light blended into the collapsing enchantment of Avalon, and completely integrated with it. The miracle was here. "Genesis?" Ye Qingxuan looked up blankly at the light falling from the sky. This was the peak of the School of Abstinence, the origin of the universe observable from the nature of aether, the origin of all, the movement of creation and destructionGenesis! For a moment, Ye Qingxuan almost melted and integrated into the light. On the top of the tower, the bell thundered, singing for the creation of this world! Infinite power sprouted from the depths of the enchantment, almost crushing his tiny consciousness into pieces. Ye Qingxuan only had the time to trigger Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. He used all his effort to guide the endless mighty torrents and gather them in the sky. "So this is how it is!" Ye Qingxuan was ecstatic. His mind had melted into the enchantment to help the enchantment absorb the light. It was as if he was experiencing the magnificent changes in Genesis by himself. It was the peak of the School of Abstinence, the origin of all music theory, the essence of the aether. Creation or destruction was just the difference of a thought! Instantly, his understanding of the School of Abstinences Nature increased. His confusions about the School of Stone Hearts music theory were also solved. The movement in his mind fell apart and reassembled. His view of the world was suddenly offset but soon recalibrated. This feeling was unprecedented. His soul seemed to be infinitely magnified and he was drunk in the light of creation. It was like observing the world with the eyes of aether. The world became brand new. Next, time seemed to be reversed! The dark cellar under the Elizabeth Tower had been silent for hundreds of years. The alchemy had long disintegrated and fallen into silence. Now, it was revived. On sixteen dark stone tablets, layers of notes lit up. The melody of the movement roared. This was the control center that the alchemist made for Avalon hundreds of years ago. The alchemy technology that transcended that era created the world''s largest ''tuning instrument'' at that time. No ''differential machines'' or ''analyzers'' in the world could be more efficient than it. The ''aether ball'' was only its research sub-product. Its control of movements meant nothing when compared to this tuning instrument. Only such a behemoth could perform the accurate control that the vast enchantment of Avalon and kingdom required when running. When ''Kingdom Come'' shattered hundreds of years ago, it also fell apart with the city and became legends and secrets hidden in the ancient scrolls. But under the shining light, it seemed that time had become an ancient book whose pages could be turned arbitrarily. The past, which was recorded in the aether, was drawn out to be rewritten. It was reflected in this space, returning to their glorious moment. Thus, the tuning instrument lit up again. Countless notes flickered on the sixteen tall. Countless complex music theory flashed until, finally, the notes re-accessed the enchantment under the control of the core. Bang! The enchantment quaked under that wisp of mysterious light. It was intensified and even took over Avalons Shadow. The kingdom of shadows was completely sealed and isolated from all interferences outside. In Avalons Shadow, the magnificent melody and voice sang the song of creation. The enchantment and Scepter field gathered in one place and were upgraded endlessly. The extinguished stars lit up again one by one and started running. The zodiacs released dazzling light. In the end, a ring crossed the sky like a river of stars. Endless starlight converged into the lofty sunlight and moonlight. In a moment, the oppressive scorching sun and cold moonlight descended from the sky. The dead Scepter field was resurrected? In that glimmer of light, a new world seemed to be created. "Of course this is here," someone said. "It is always here." Boom! The Dark Lord, who was about to disappear, was suddenly ''bounced '' back into the world and was almost chopped into two pieces by the sword that followed. He growled furiously and enlarged the narrowing world. The intensity of this realm was enhanced. This meant he could use all his strength! But before Maxwell''s frenzied onslaught, his actions had been constrained as if he was afraid of something exceedingly dangeroussomething even more terrifying than the Sword in the Stone. Only another natural catastrophe could scare a natural catastrophe. He could perceive that there was another natural catastrophe, another one in this realm But who was it? This incarnation of God quickly pondered. Continually ruled out other clues, he finally located the target. "I see..." The Dark Lord ground his teeth. His face became hideous. His angry voice spread from the aetheric world. "Hermes! Why did you betray the contract?" "What! Watch your mouth, Hyakume. How can you just accuse people like that?" a frivolous voice responded. "Ive followed the contract well. I never meddled in the war between man and natural catastrophe. So far, I did not say a word, nor did I touch a hair. I havent even been to Avalons Shadow for many years. Sorry, its not my fault!" "Liar!" Hyakume roared. "Well, if you insist, I did interfere a little in this, but...what can you do to me?" Hermes''s tone became cold and vicious. "You are on the wrong team, Hyakume! You think I dont know that you''re secretly hooking up with that son of a b*tch East Duke to make a mess in the East? "Three wise men, three pillars of God, four living creatures. There are so many other natural catastrophes, and I dont care who you hook up with. However, if you dare to help him, I will definitely object! "I advise you to stop quietly. Dont meddle in the things between us two. Otherwise, Ill throw away my dignity and partner with Sacred Blood." "Someday, you''ll pay for this!" Hyakume was so furious that hundreds of waves crashed in the aetheric world. Hermes just sneered. "Take care of yourself first! I''m also curious as to whos watching you." The communication was cut off. But in the abyss, Hyakumes rage did not stop, but...his incarnation had fallen into the physical realms. The connection between him and the incarnation had been severed. He could not do anything, even if the incarnation was sealed, imprisoned or even killed! It was one of his nine incarnations. It was also one-ninth of his essence. This was not only one-ninth of his strength. This was like one-ninth of his shadow. Just as human beings had different images from nine directions, each one was vital. None was dispensable. With the loss of the one, the other eight incarnations would surely be weakened. Over the years, it had not been easy to accumulate so much strength in order to occupy more large tributaries and create a complete River Styx. But now he had taken a hit. For a time, dark musicians all over the world could sense the murderous intent and rage condensed in the Abyss. But there was a more disturbing question in the midst of chaos. If the other natural catastrophe was not Hermes, then...who was it?! There was one possibility. But that possibility may even make the abyss tremble. Countless secrets were hidden deep in the darkness. - In Avalons Shadow, the Dark Lord was defeated. Cracks staggered across his body. The complex music theory in the depths of his body continued to crumble. He could barely suppress it anymore. This body made of aether and movements had reached its limit. He roared hoarsely, took off his right eye, and angrily crushed it. In the darkness, a shadow suddenly projected and infiltrated into the Sword in the Stone. The flame suddenly dimmed from the pollution of curse. The Dark Lord opened his hands and suddenly smashed his chest. The wound made by the Sword in the Stone cracked again. Under the tear, his whole body split into two. One pounced toward Maxwell, burning its own power to keep Maxwell in place. The other rushed to the collapsing palace! Here was the home of the Sword in the Stone. With the incarnations strength, it was difficult to contend with the power accumulated by Avalon, so he would just...solve the root of the problem! Since this incarnation was on the verge of collapse, he just used another one. As long as he found King Arthur first, converted him into a dark follower under his command, and took over his body, the advantages of Anglo would be completely undermined. Both the Sword in the Stone and the continuously intensifying enchantment of Avalon were all things of the past and the extension of Kingdom Come to King Arthur. In Arthurs body, these things would no longer be a threat to Hyakume. In fact...they would be useful for him! "Stop him!" Maxwells face changed but he could not catch up now. The shadow struck down. Then, in the city, eight beams of light rose in succession. The first one was Tristan. That burly knight sprang up and waved his sword, dashing toward the shadow. Storms were set off. In an instant, Hyakumes shadow staggered and dissipated into mist. It fell through Tristan to the earth. Tristan''s body shook. Frozen in the air, he was almost engulfed by the evil intentions therein. Geraints armor was like the flesh and blood of a living thing. Like a beast, it ran on its limbs, roaring and leaping from the earth, and gnashed forcefully. However, even its swift speed could not stop that swift shadow. Following were Gareth, Lamorak, and others. They attacked at the same time. The Red Dragons shadow flashed and spat out blue fire. However, the dragon lost its agility and its wings were sliced off. Traces of cracks immediately appeared on three knights. Their weakness was seized in that blow and they were deeply wounded. "In the name of the knight, put an end to all evil intentions!" Under the armor of Galahad, Christine drew her sword and proclaimed seriously. Swords clanged. The sound of the sword condensed into something tangible and spread to all directions. Everywhere the sound passed, aetheric connections were cut off and forcibly suppressed. But the shadows speed was not reduced. It stretched out a hand and suddenly pressed down. Boom! Christine''s sword fell out of her hand, her body was trembling. The face under the helmet was bright red. She vomited black blood from the backlash and was unable to move. The breath from the abyss This was a ubiquitous breath of abyss. She could perceive the germination of evil intentions from the heart. It almost took the control of her mind. Murderous intent, greed, lust, and anger that she had never experienced now burst out endlessly. Even the sword of Galahad could not suppress it. Anyone infected by that breath would reveal the evil in their nature and they would be eroded by the movement. If one did not strive to contend with that power, the evil intention would possibly be deeply implanted into the heart. It would be unable to be expelled until, one day, the victim would completely degenerate into a follower of a natural catastrophe. It was horrible. "Right at this time..." It had to be during this situation! If she was stronger, if she had foreseen this earlier, if her father had not been seriously injured during the early years and could fight now, this would never have happened! Christine gritted her teeth and sank into a deep humiliation. Unlike other families, the Lancelot family had been trusted by the royal family since the kingdom was found. What the family inherited was not just one but two titles. As early as the first generation, Lancelot and Galahad were son and father, both of whom were among the Knights of the Round Table. Therefore, every generation of Lancelot''s title must be inherited by Galahad after the death of his father. In other words, Galahad was Lancelot''s reserve. And in all knights that currently existed, Lancelots position was the most exalted. In addition to the lineage, it also required absolute integrity. One needed to have all seven virtues of knighthood to obtain the recognition of the phantom beast and become the legendary Lancelot du Lac. Only Lancelot and Gawain had the highest moral standards. They had neither the fear of the natural catastrophes infectious breath nor the risk of depravity. Unfortunately, the current Lancelot was severely wounded while protecting the royal family from an assassination in his early days. His lungs were damaged. Although there was no harm to everyday activities, he could no longer set foot on the battlefield. Otherwise, such a horrible situation would not have occured. "This sucks." Maxwell ground his teeth under the curse, his expression gloomy. The situation instantly grew dire. The Dark Lords approaching could almost break the seals on the palace gate. Once he entered, the preparations and planning of the years would all be in vain. So many peoples sacrifice and effort would mean nothing. Now the only one that could stop him was... "Charles!" 303 Before the End "Charles" Charles seemed to hear a moan from hell. He turned around. Jeromes withered face was in a puddle of blood with its mouth open. The man had withered and dried out under the erosion of the abysss breath. He looked like a weathered skeleton but the glow of his soul still remained in his body. "Pick up" He used the last of his strength to grasp Charless hand. Ghostly fire burned in his eyes. "Pick it up, Charles! Pick it up! Only you" Only you can stop him! "Me?" Charles froze. He looked down blankly at the spear in the pool of blood. This was the replica of St. Georges spear, a powerful ancient artifact. "You w-want me to go?" he muttered. Looking up at the incoming black shadow, he trembled. He wanted to say, Can you give me an easier job? Im innocent. Ive accomplished things for Anglo, Ive bled for the Research Institute. I want to see Newton! Why should a researcher go onto the battlefield? Im not even a f*cking musician! If you can do it then you go! I dont have a girlfriend yet. I have old and young ones and a junior to take care of. I cant go, no way. I havent showed off my good looks and amazing talent yet. I cant just die here But Ill die if I go or dont go. Cant I choose a better death? But neither is a better death. "SoI have to go?" he muttered to himself. His body followed Jeromes words. Perhaps it was because it was an order from a dying man, or perhaps his tone was filled with anticipation and power, ordeep down, he was attracted. Power. Power was under his feet. In the pool of blood, Jeromes eyes were hopeful. Charles, do you want to be a failure for life and see peoples disappointed eyes or be a hero? Even if just for a moment And so Charles bent down and picked up power. It was like holding a piece of burning iron. He yelled in pain and fell to his knees as he convulsed. Fire coursed through his body, trying to burn him to ashes. Immense power surged from the spear and engulfed his mind, shattering it. Furious fire emerged from his broken mind, causing him to scream. Like a dying dragon, the tangible power of the dragon burst from his body. It lifted and tore apart every living thing. Jerome was swept in as well but he smiled in satisfaction. Yes! Just like this! Charles, you can do it and you must! Jerome grinned before he disintegrated. His remaining strength converged in his blood and flowed into Charless cracked skin. A mortal who dared to enter the realm of a deity would be burned by the radiance. Even though this was a backup product, St. Georges spear still contained a large enough power that could scorch him. He only needed one moment; one moment would suffice. If Charles could stop the Dark Lord, everything would be worth it, no matter how horrible the sacrifice! Scalding blood burst from his body. Charles howled in pain. He was ruled by the power and searing light shot out from his eyes. It was as if the sun was blazing in his body. Power and the scepter, pain, and torture came together. Roaring, Charles grasped the spear. Blurry music notes on the spear lit up with blinding light. The spear seemed to have lost its confusion and become a terrifying existence that had been suppressed forcefully. The dragon spirit sealed within roared wildly. The sky and earth shook. Charles held the spear tightly amidst the light and pierced forward. All the aether before the spear burned away, creating a vacuum. Everything in this area was destined to die. "Dont you dare!" the Dark Lord bellowed from the wave of darkness. He seemed to drag the entire abyss with himhe was unstoppable! The power of the abyss and St. Georges spear clashed directly. Even Avalons enchantment could not detect the changes of aether. It was just a muddled mess. In the turmoil, the abysss aura seethed, creating wild ripples. Charles stood within the burning light and screamed in pain. "Charles?" In that moment, Ye Qingxuan was taken aback at the top of the Elizabeth Tower. There was no time to hesitate. Clenching his jaw, he pressed the crack on his chest. It resonated! The bell rang instantly. With the sub-originator as a fulcrum, he levered Avalons enchantment. In the dark cellar, sixteen stone tablets began turning amidst rumbling. They changed their positions and angles, creating a new structure. Under the great shaking, the moon in the sky turned. As if time had passed in an instant, the full moon waned and fell above Charles. Moonlight crashed down like a waterfall and encased Charles within the turbid mess. "Please work, please work, please work" Clenching his jaw, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and prayed. He used his will to guide the enchantments strength from the sky, transform into moonlight, and enter Charles body. Using his own experience of constructing the sub-originator inside him, he suppressed the wild aether within Charles. It felt like he was trying to block an erupting volcano. Ye Qingxuan paled and spat out a mouthful of blood. He was only shouldering part of the pressure but practically collapsed from it. Charles was not even an official musician but he could control that strength and keep his body intact. How talented was he actually?! With the support of the tuning instrument, Ye Qingxuan transported all the pressure to the enchantment through the sub-originator without hesitation. He utilized all the strength he could and instantly fought into the chaos through resonation. Moonlight wrapped around Charless limbs. It evaporated from the fire but reappeared as soon as it disappeared. Ye Qingxuan endured the intense pain that flared every moment and forcefully maintained the connection and resonance between the two. "A mere replica" Deep in the dark abyss, the Dark Lord ground his teeth. He changed his shape and the oddly-shaped skeletal shell opened its hands, gripping St. Georges spear, which was being stabbed at his chest. His hands scraped against the light; sparks flew and different music theories constantly tangled, twisted, and destroyed, creating abnormal aftershocks. He angrily studied Charles and looked past him. He seemed to be able to see the youths mind in the moonlight. In the abyss, pure evil intent rushed into their minds along with the moonlight. "I didnt expectits you two" "This trick doesnt work!" Ye Qingxuan shielded Charles. The formless river in his mind welcomed the various images from the abyss. It broke at the touch but a moon rose in the defeated river and withstood the momentary attack. Then he opened his mouth and used all his strength to yell, "Maxwell, what the f*ck are you still waiting for?!" A blazing sun descended from the sky. Whistling, the Sword in the Stone pierced the darkness, destroying everything. Sixteen layers of feathers broke through the air. The Sword in the Stone had been filled to the brim and now it sliced down! It had been a millennium years since this was last seen! The Chapter of Golden Victory burst forth. It created an immense vortex in the aether sea. All power that it could touch was swallowed and shot out from the sword blade, forming the ultimate formula of the School of Modificationsthe Elemental Vacuum! The sword descended from the sky and hacked off the abyss and head. It also pierced the incarnations core, cutting apart its brain. After a muffled boom, all was silent. The chaos dissipated; the abyss dissipated. St. Georges spear pierced the Dark Lords chest and destroyed his last attack with an explosion of power. "Soit is" The Dark Lords face had shattered as if weathered by wind. However, it was still vicious and furious. "Ye Lanzhou, so you already" With his last strength, he reached out to strangle the youth in the moonlight. However, his trembling hand shattered and fell apart. His entire body was pulled at by the Sword in the Stones power. It caved in and distorted. Wailing, it was sucked into the blade. In the end, it became a wandering shadow in the clear blade. After it was sealed, Genesis power scattered as well. Haydn resealed it into the codex. He sat tiredly onto his wheelchair; he had clearly aged. Everything returned to how it was. The enchantment quickly weakened until it was close to nothing. The tuning instrument in the dark cellar broke apart. The reborn music score returned to silence. It came from death and returned to death. Maxwell stood still as his wings of light faded and his halo crumbled. Half-kneeling on the ground, he vomited broken shards of light. However, he looked at the fading ancient sword with satisfaction. "A success. All those lives lost were not in vain." No one replied because they were all dead. No one knew if happiness and satisfaction waited for them in the underworld. Maxwellno, the Shamanclosed his eyes and murmured, "I hope they found their value while they were alive..." Crack. As St. Georges spear shattered, Charles stumbled back. His entire body was red with burns. Strands of blood seeped from his pores. He doubled over and spat out fresh blood. Staring at the broken pieces of the spear, he reached out as if he had seen a nonexistent hallucination and dream. "Dont go" he said. But the hallucination and dream dissipated. He closed his eyes and sank into darkness. Maxwell reached out and caught him. He handed Charles over to a Round Table Knight. "Contact the Churchs Choir musicians for emergency treatment. After this case is reported to the Queen, seal it for eternity with the Sixth Seal." "Yes." Lamorak nodded and carefully walked toward the exit with Charles. In the silence, Maxwell gazed at the city that was cold and dark again. He sighed. "Its finally over." "No, not yet." The youths hoarse murmur traveled in the wind. Maxwell looked up in confusion but he saw no one atop the white tower. 304 Before Dawn Not until the real riot was over did the city begin to be dazed and fearful. Emergency police officers rode horses on the streets to maintain basic order. There were even more troops running on the street under the clanging of metal armor. They were following the Queen''s orders to catch traitors. The silence of the uptown district was broken by the heavy footsteps. Lights dimly lit up in the dark, mixed with faint discontinuous cries and chaos. The sounds were quickly strangled as soon as they were born. So, it was still vaguely quiet. All the manors and mansions involved with the parliament were surrounded. Soon a figure with a black wig was escorted into the carriage and sent to the nonexistent Fifth Department. People who cooperated with the arrest could still keep their last bit of dignity while those who dared to rebel would be killed on the spot. Thus, all members of the parliament were uprooted in this suffocating darkness. For a long time, the Fifth Department had been silently searching for clues and was ready for this day to come. These nonexistent figures suddenly appeared on the street like illusions and brought the prisoners into the nonexistent place. The prisoners disappeared from the world silently. It could be expected that soon after the secret trial was over, countless corpses would be hung on the Traitor''s Gate. They wound sway in the wind like chimes, paying the price for what they have done before. The tower stood in the white palace, glowing with the only light at the top of Avalon. The light silently overlooked its own territory like a dragon''s cold eyes. It watched the group of rebellious officials struggle against death. "It''s all over." Gavin staggered out of the scarlet vortex. Leaning against the wall, he coughed violently. He looked up at the lights in the sky, his eyes flashing with resentment and gloom. Gritting his teeth, Gavin ran home. He had to completely get rid of all the clues before the Fifth Department found out about his situation. Fortunately, he had sent all of his family to another location at the beginning, and arranged backup and escape plans for himself, just in case. He only needed to trigger the prepared equipment and leave a little spark. Everything would go up in flames. Suddenly, he knelt on the ground. He vomited out a large mouth of rancid blood and felt the power disappearing quickly in his body. This was the penalty from the god. Hyakume, who had lost his incarnation, was very furious. As a priest, Gavin had lost all the providence. If he had not prepared precautions beforehand, he would have died like the scapegoats in those chambers. Stooping, he threw up the deadly green poison. He took out a silver needle and stabbed it into his neck and head. This sealed up the evil in his body temporarily. Now, it was a race against the clock. He did not have much time now. Gazing at the distant firelight in the tumult, he ground his teeth. He climbed over the walls and fell into the garden of an old house. The chamber contained Robins puppet, his correspondences, the password of his secrete lines, and the deployment that he arranged before. All of this must be destroyed. He must destroy as much as possible. Otherwise, he would spend the rest of his life being chased by the Royal Musician Division. What a pity He had planned for so many years but lost everything overnight. Gritting his teeth, he regained his composure from the rage and pushed the door. And then he froze. "Father..." He saw the man in the wheelchair in the hall. The old man still wore his respirator and his breathing sounded like water sloshing in his lungs. He was still here; he did not escape. "Father, why havent you left yet?" Gavin looked at him in astonishment. He quickly went forward, reaching for the frail old man. "Its too late. Let me take you away..." But his hands stiffened in the air. After two steps, Gavin lost all his strength and collapsed to the ground, unable to get up. "Father..." He gaped at the old man before him. On Gavins face, the tattoos hidden under his skin lit up one by one. As if he was born with them, they were wedged into his flesh and bone marrow. He could not get rid of them. They had been carved in his body at birth. Now, they locked his strength and he lost all his power to resist in a moment. A cane jabbed his face angrily as if the old man wanted to smash his cheekbones in. He did not expect that the dying old man could have such great strength. "How dare you call me Father?" The old man gasped. He climbed up from his wheelchair, raised his cane with shaking arms, and smashed it onto Gavins face again and again until his feeble strength was exhausted and Gavin''s nose was broken completely. "The Adrian family is done for!" He glared at Gavin as if looking at a bastard, a scourge that should not be left in the world. "Its all because of you, Gavin! Because of you! All our ancestors'' names are tainted because of you!" Purple-blue veins bulged across his face. Staring at Gavin made him grind his teeth. "Sure enough, a b*stard like you shouldnt have been kept in this world" Gavin froze and gaped at the furious man. His lips trembled as if he wanted to explain something but did not know what to say. In the end, footsteps sounded in the distance. Someone was leading the brigade here. A familiar voice shouted, "Hes inside! Don''t let him get away!" It was Banner. "Wh-why?" "Only by sacrificing you could the family be saved." The old man looked coldly at this shameful son. "Youd better go with them obediently and distance from the family, understand? Don''t get the family involved." "But...didnt..." Gavin looked at him blankly. But werent you the one who asked me to join the parliament? Father! Youre the one who asked me to join the parliament to get those big men''s favor It wasiIt was you who gave the name of Robin to me... It was you... It was you... "Ive clearly done it, Father." Gavin closed his eyes, grinding his teeth and trying to hold in the tears. "Ive done much better than youd wanted!" In the approaching footsteps, Gavin roared. He drew out his dagger and gouged out the restrictions on his face. Scarlet blood spouted out and his pale cheekbones were revealed, full of cracks. He looked like a rotting corpses. He growled with pain but he finally broke free from what had chained him down since birth. Flesh and blood came off, leaving behind pale bones as hideous as an angry demon. Seeing Gavin climb up from the ground and go toward him, the old man froze. He trembled in the wheelchair and tried to retreat. "You... You What do you want to do? Gavin, I" "I don''t want to do anything." Gavin smiled. He reached out to caress his fathers sparse white hair and said gently, "Father, all this time, it has always been Banner took care of you. Its the first time were so close. Youre old and not in good health. You should just sit and rest." As he said this, he gently pushed the dagger into the withered chest. The blade pressed against the heart and nailed into the back of the wheelchair as if it was part of it. As the old man screamed. Gavin bent down and gazed at the old man''s eyes with his grey eyes. "As you wish, please put all the blame on me. As you said, the family will be saved if Gavin dies." He kissed the old man on the forehead and laughed, turning his face into bloody pulp. He took out Robins mask from his pocket and put it on his face. For the first time, there was no estrangement between the mask and the flesh, and it truly became his face. However, blood seeped out of the eye holes and fell down his cheeks. He just could not hold it back. The Robin laughed with tears of blood, pushed the door to go out, and pounced on the fire that was going to burn him. Hissing was heard in the darkness but it quickly fell silence. The roar stopped while the sound of the music finally dissipated as well. During this long night, the blood of countless people was doomed to be buried under the rotten soil with their enemies and bones, as well as despair and anger. In the dark, the Blood Path quietly extended. - When dawn was about to come, a broken wooden boat drove out of a hidden port and quietly left Avalon. In the cabin, the wounded Robin leaned against the wall. He looked at his bloody hands and laughed softly. His laughter, full of emptiness and desolation, echoed in the cabin before finally dissipating in the gloom. "How long are you going to wait?" the Robin asked, without looking behind. "Shouldnt we end this now?" "Youre right." In the darkness behind him, that seemly sleeping teenager opened his eyes and looking at his back with compassion. "You discovered me long ago?" "No, I don''t have the strength sense anymore." The Robin lowered his eyes tiredly. "But I didnt see you along the way, so I supposed you were waiting for me here." "I see." Ye Qingxuan sighed and slowly rose. "Gavin, the eldest son of the Adrian family, present of the student council, the top student of the School of Royalty who entered the Royal Music Division after graduation, and even became the master''s deputy" "These things I know better than you. Theres no need to read my resume." "I just want to ask, with your ability, why did you choose to be a dark musician?" "Yeah, why? I also want to know why." The Robin laughed wryly. "If I had to say, its probably because of my family that had fallen for so long? Since the previous patriarch, the family was expelled from the top level of society. My father failed to resonate and was reduced to a man who would suffocate if there was no wheelchair and respirator. After all these years, all that remained of the Adrian family was the name. Theres nothing but the name. "Do you understand? Mr. Holmes, all the education, all the things I ever heard in my entire life were related to making this family to rise again. I could sacrifice everything for this, even the destruction of Avalon, as long as the family of Adrian could return to its peak. Being a dark musician is just a small part of it." "Revive the family?" Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "Do your father and brother really care about you? Banner sees you as an eyesore. Didnt your father betray you just now? You give everything for something that doesnt love you and you dont love either." "Love or not, is there a difference?" The Robin looked back at him with mockery, as if he was mocking Ye Qingxuan but also himself. "As you can see, a family with nothing but a name, a father who uses me as a tool, a brother who hates me from the heart, these are the only things that I have in this world. I know they don''t love me. How can they love me? Im their eternal disgrace. "Im just an illegitimate childI was born a sinner. If they didnt discover that I had musical talent, I would have been drowned in the gutter. "I was raised by the maids, ate my younger brothers leftovers, and wore clothes that I could touch only when go out. If I dirtied the clothes a little, I would get beaten. This is good enough for me, very good. At least Im still alive, even if the cost is to be a slave for my entire life. What other options do I have? "I was born with no choice and no way to run. Ye Qingxuan, this is my destiny!" The Robin looked at him, exposing his steel gray eyes dyed red by blood. Behind the mask, they looked dark and dead. "Thats why Im...so jealous of you." In the silence, the youth closed his eyes sadly. "Actually, you needn''t have done so much wrong." The response to him was a cracked dagger. The dagger passed through the corner of Ye Qingxuans shirt, nailed into the cabin, and broke. The iron pieces broke in the hands of the Robin and embedded into his palms. Fresh blood flowed out and melted into the dry old blood. One could not tell old from new. "Enough, Ye Qingxuan." The Robin glared at him. "Dont talk about those ridiculous ideals. Is it necessary to show mercy to a dying person?" Ye Qingxuan stood still in silence. "Come on! Ye Qingxuan, what are you waiting for?" The Robin roared as if he was mad, but his angry eyes seemed to be begging. "Enough! Stop pretending to show mercy like a friend!" - Ye Qingxuan was stunned by those eyes. After a long time, he revealed a bitter smile. "Youre right, how can the Vengeful Spirit and the Robin be friends?" He lowered his eyes and lifted up the cane. "Gavin, you broke my heart." Moonlight shone and poured into the Robins body. It rose like a flame and engulfed him. In the illusory flames, the Robin, stained with blood, closed his eyes and sank into the endless darkness. All was silent. - When the boat returned to the dock, it had been already tightly blocked by the members of the Fifth Department. The lone youth came out of the cabin, which was silent as a tomb behind him. He returned to the shore, going against the tide of soldiers who rushed into the boat. He seemed to be exhausted and sat wearily. Under the awed gazes, he took off his hat and threw it beside him along with his cane. Someone gingerly stepped up and whispered, "Mr. Holmes, please..." The youth did not seem to hear anything. After a long time, he looked up at the guy. There seemed to be a corpse buried in that pair of quiet and dark eyes. It was so terrifying that the guy dared not to meet his gaze. The comer bowed in awe. "Got a cigarette?" the teenager asked. "Eh?" The man froze but soon reacted. He looked back and soon, a pack of crumpled cigarettes was given to Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan awkwardly tore open the package and put one in his mouth. The glow of the flame flashed. The teenager took a deep breath and exhaled the ashes of murder and darkness. He said hoarsely, "Go. Leave me alone." The other dared not to say anything and he gestured to his companion. A black bag was carefully removed from the cabin and placed on the wagon. The people of the Fifth Department quietly left. Ye Qingxuan was the only one left on the silent dock. Only the vaguely sound of tides accompanied him. After some time, a faint light lit up behind him, between the sea and the end of the sky. The sun quietly leaped from the tide, glowing faintly. The faint light illuminated the youth''s solitary figure. The long night was over. It was dawn. 305 Stein Chamber The next day, the weather was fine in the afternoon. It was almost impossible to detect the chaos of last night. For most people, last night was just a rare earthquake, causing tsunamis and chaos. It caused much shock as well, but after the shock faded, it became a story to talk about after dinner. People talked cheerfully about last nights unlucky guys. They discussed the magical power that the musicians had shown when they were involved in infrastructure repair and rebuilding. Only a few sensitive people felt something wrong, but they couldn''t tell what it was. Maybe it was the fact that there were more soldiers on the streets, the rangers seemed to be working harder, or maybe there were more musicians in robes standing at the gates. The mysterious unrest in the uptown district was too far away for them to know. It would take a long time before it was brought up again as a strange rumor. "Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes! What a dragon! It flew in the sky." In the tavern, a young man exaggerated his gestures and drew a burst of laughter. "Don''t be silly. You probably saw things because you were scared out of your mind." "Dragon? There wasnt even a dragons hair! " Under the storm of boos, the young man sat down awkwardly and knocked on his brothers head beside him. "Drink less, don''t get drunk." "I wont get drunk." His brother lowered his head with displeasure. "Well, you can drink everywhere, but well miss the boat if we dont leave now." Being laughed at, the disgraced young man picked up his brother, paid the bill, and prepared to leave with his bag. "Hes your brother? Hes cute." The middle-aged bartender smiled and rubbed the little boy''s millet-colored hair. The child glared at the bartender discontentedly. When the bartender came to again, he found that the brothers had already gone. He patted his head awkwardly, only to find that he could not remember how they had left. He could only remember the child''s eyes. They were pure gold like gems. Somehow, the memory began to blur and fade quickly. Soon, he forgot that someone had come and returned to his busy yet peaceful routine. At the city gate, the long line heading out of the city moved slowly forward. At the front, the examiner looked at the two brothers before him. "Vladimir, Avjevich... Are you from the Caucasus? It''s thousands of miles away." "A true painter is one whos willing to give his life to art, right?" The elder brother, known as Vladimir, smiled. His accent was not Caucasian at all. Instead, it was elegant and smooth, like the accent of Anglos upper class. "Anglo is just our first stop. We intend to travel to Burgundy, to Asgard by sea, and finally to the Sacred City." Faint light lit up in the musician''s eyes but dimmed when looked at the brothers. He nodded and stamped their passports. Smiling, he handed the passport to them. "Have you seen the murals of the Covet Opera? It''s a rare baroque mural. Youre still in the town so you can still go back to have a look." "I''ve been there already. What a pity. I didn''t know until I got here that it was destroyed by that fire few decades ago," Vladimir lamented. "Anglo truly doesnt care enough about the preservation of art. Uh, I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to" "Its alright." The musician smiled, waved, and signaled to the knights behind him to let them go. "Have a good journey." "Thank you. I''ll definitely come back again if I get the chance." Vladimir smiled, took his brother''s hand, and went out of the gate. Behind him, there were some riders in ominous black clothing. They surrounded the crowd and patrolling with sharp eyes under their hoods. Soon the distant passenger ship whistled and drove away from the port. On the deck, the brothers from the Caucasian Federation gazed at the city as if they were unwilling to leave; the fading white city reflected in their eyes. "What a pity. The members of the parliament are probably being hanged now. I feel a little uneasy about my lack of conscience seeing as Im the only survivor." In the serene sea breeze, Vladimir sighed and waved. "Goodbye, gentlemen. I may not avenge you, but Ill remember you. Youll be recorded in my autobiography as an example of failure so that youll be remembered forever and your names would be left in history!" No one responded. He smiled, drew back his gaze, and looked down to his side. The young boy also looked up at him; his golden eyes were like amber. The pupil inside the amber was vertical, with the cruelty and gloom of a demon. "Naberius, I''m hungry." "Be patient, theres only a moment longer." The dark musician named Naberius reached out and gently caressed the boy''s millet-colored hair as if caressing a rare treasure. "Poor little Mordred, let me take you to see the big goldfish, okay?" - That same afternoon, a dark carriage drove into the underground square and stopped before the gate of the Jianlan Underground Palace. Ye Qingxuan stood in front of the huge dusty door, still dressed in the camouflage he wore in downtown. Behind him, Dominic''s figure seemed to melt into the darkness. There seemed to be something wrong. Two minutes later, the princess in a white dress pushed the door and descended from the cart. She cleared her throat and lowered her head in greeting. "You must have waited a long time, Mr. Holmes" "No, I just arrived," Ye Qingxuan replied quietly. For some reason, the cold princess did not even look at him this time. Did he leave a bad impression? No, after all, he once helped her remove the curse! She should at least be friendly. He did not expect any ''respect'', but it should not be coldness at least! But thinking of how he had once experimented upon her Highness, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel somewhat regretful. Fortunately, the feeling was not hatred. Otherwise, he would be done for. After a short silence, Mary coughed and walked ahead. "Come with me, please." She passed over Ye Qingxuan and gave Dominic an old key. Taking a glance, Dominic nodded and turned to insert the key into the door. It opened with the sharp sound of friction. Dominic did not lead the way as usual. Instead, he handed over a lantern and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "What a lucky kid." In the distant darkness behind the door, the princess clad in white held the lantern and looked back at him. The dazed Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his thoughts and hurried over. The gate rumbled and closed behind them. In the silence, he heard Mary''s footsteps ahead. The maiden lifted the lantern, illuminating the winding steps below. The spiral staircase seemed to extend endlessly. Every time Ye Qingxuan entered a door, he saw something completely different and surprising every time. He looked around at the cracks in the wall as well as the broken ornaments. It felt like he was in an abandoned castle. He took a deep breath but could not smell the dust and decay. There was no wind and no other smells. He could only smell the perfume that drifted in front of him. Well, your taste is quite good, your Highness, Ye Qingxuan quietly praised in his mind. Mary, walking ahead, seemed to be unaccustomed to such a long silence. She coughed lightly and said, "Mr. Holmes, you dont seem surprised. Have you ever been to such a place?" More than just been to; I work here every day. I come here much more frequently than you do. But he could not say that aloud, of course, so Ye Qingxuan just nodded. "To tell the truth, I feel puzzled. Some small places feel different from the outside world. Some feel like black zones, but they are more stable." Mary smiled softly and said, "The Jianlan Underground Palace is a place where the physical world and aetheric world overlap, so there are so many things that don''t quite make sense. "Because of its special nature, it was transformed hundreds of years ago into what it looks like now, just in case. This is the best vault and seal. You can say it is a natural ''field''. "Unauthorized personnel can only see two walls behind the door. Only people with a medium and a key can walk into it, but what they see are quite different." "I see." Ye Qingxuan nodded slightly. The key Mary had handed Dominic was like his librarian''s certificatethey were all keys to the path. There was one key for one path, but everyone walked through the same door. He was bewildered by this distorted spatial relationship, but it actually appeared in many places. The laws of physics that man perceived were often subverted in front of the fickle world, but it all happened for a reason. This had much to do with the music theory of the School of Abstinence which studied aether itself, including the phenomena caused by aetheric interference. With Ye Qingxuan''s current attainment, he could not understand the occurrence of this kind of situation. He could only keep it in mind and ponder slowly. "Where we are heading now is the Stein Chamber, the core of the Royal Museum," Mary said. "It contains the collections of emperors and precious objects from all over the world. There are even movements that had been rated as natural catastrophes, as well as rare ancient flutes and harps." She paused and looked back. She looked very solemn. "Therefore, please keep what you hear and see as a secret, Mr. Holmes, or the royal family will be disturbed." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I understand." Mary averted her gaze quickly, as if unwilling to look at him for one more second. Ye Qingxuan''s face twitched a little. His face had been disguised but it was not that ugly, right? "Due to Mr. Holmess outstanding performance yesterday and great contribution to Anglo, I shall answer to Mr. Maxwells request. We shall open the Stein Chamber for you to choose any item." 306 Indecisive "Due to Mr. Holmes outstanding performance yesterday and his great contribution to Anglo, I shall answer to Mr. Maxwells request. We shall open the Stein Chamber for you to choose any item. "I shall represent the royal family, witness your choice and result, and approve it. Of course, I will not agree if you choose something that affects the nation. Otherwise, you can choose freely." Marys voice was polite. It was obvious she was purposely keeping her distance, but the act was not annoying. "Rest assured that I do not covet Anglos authority." Ye Qingxuan looked down and his lips twisted into a self-mocking smile. "I genuinely wish that this country can prosper for a long time." "That would be" Before Mary could finish, she tripped and toppled over. They had closed the distance as they spoke and walked in step with each other. However, Ye Qingxuan, troubled and distracted, accidentally stepped on Marys dress. Amidst confused yelps, Mary swayed and her lantern fell from her hands. It tumbled in the air and fell toward the ground. It was about to shatter but the crash did not happen. Someone caught it the moment before it landed. Mary was caught as well. In that moment, Ye Qingxuan had stepped forward to Marys right. One hand held up the lantern while the other held Marys left shoulder. The princess who had lost her balance almost fell into his arms. Flustered, Mary looked down. She was not used to being so close to others. A soft voice sounded from under her veil, "Mr. Holmes, please let go of me." Ye Qingxuan stepped back and raised his hands, showing his innocence. Mary lowered her head. Hiding her face behind the brim of her hat, she bit her lip and said softly, "Were here." - The next few minutes, Ye Qingxuan followed the rules and closed his eyes. He did not see anything. He could only hear gears turning. It seemed to be some elevator moving, but he could not sense any changes. When he opened his eyes, he was already inside the large stone room. Light shone down from somewhere, illuminating the room that was filled with stuff. It was as if he had walked into a huge vintage store. It was a dazzling sight. There was a mask from an unknown era, an ancient Eastern book, a strange sword with complex patterns, a damaged yet majestic armor, a body wrapped up in ancient bandages and placed in a gold coffin. "You have this too?" Ye Qingxuan froze when he saw it. After processing it, he ran over and caressed the seemingly plain tablet. He sighed, "The earliest tuning device, Rosetta Stone? This is the foundation of all the current research of ancient texts and music theory. I cant believe its here! And the inheritance knot of the Semitic people from the Theban desert, and this sword." Attracted by the legendary and precious items, he forgot to remain polite and mannered. Just as Mary had said, there were plenty natural catastrophe level scores herethe handwritten original of Pomp and Circumstance whose inheritance seal had not even been used yet; Nocturne, the core music score of Illusions; remains of the Emperor Concerto left behind by the first King of Red, Beethoven... The handwritten drafts of various saints were kept carelessly on the ancient shelves as if they were regular books. According to Ye Qingxuans guesses, the mummified corpse in the gold coffin was not a relic of a saint. It was a saints body! The main body of Avalons enchantmentthe blueprint of the Elizabeth Tower bellwas in the center. The Chapter of Golden Victory, King Arthurs symphony of predestination that combined the essence of both Modifications and Summoning, was placed in a golden box. Many more things that Ye Qingxuan could not distinguish were scattered about. If they could be in the same room, then they were undoubtedly at the same tier. However, everything had been sealed up. There were no aether waves at all. Without a doubt, this was to better preserve the objects. After all, there were countless alchemy items here. No one knew what weird things would happen if they influenced each other. This also made it hard for Ye Qingxuan to choose. He did not want to take home something that seemed cool but was actually useless. He could only rely on his eyes? Deep in thought, something flashed past the corner of his vision. He looked back in confusion but saw a half-transparent shadow walk out from a wall. It was Gawain. Mary seemed not to realize anything. Gawains shadow raised a finger and made a shushing motion. Ye Qingxuan blinked and kept his poker face. Thinking a bit, he looked over at Mary. "Is there anything that suits me?" Mary snapped out of her thoughts and smiled. "You should choose personally." She was not planning on helping. It was clear that the royal family was going to let Ye Qingxuan choose by himself. He would not be allowed to choose something too powerful that could affect the nation. But if he chose a relic that a past king liked but was actually uselessthat would be his fault. "So I guess I have to choose by myself?" he murmured to himself while looking at Gawain from the corner of his eye. The Gawains heard Ye Qingxuans voice. They instantly started moving as if sinking into deep thought. A few shadows debated soundlessly with each other. They made hand gestures as if discussing something. They were the moderators of the Jianlan Underground Palace, in charge of maintaining and cleaning this place. They obviously had knowledge about the things here. Hearing Ye Qingxuans needs, they began discussing fervently. A normal person would just jump between different thoughts in their minds. Gawain, however, suddenly turned into a group of shadows and argued amongst themselves. Like kids, they practically started fighting. Finally, the victorious shadows proudly chased the others away and stood before the places they had decided on. A relic was before each one. They varied in size; some seemed weird while others looked normal. Ye Qingxuan could not tell what some were. The first item was a crystal bone. It was translucent and seemed to contain some mysterious intelligence. Smoke flowed within the refracted light. Occasionally, a shadow would appear, but it was too fuzzy. Looking at it too long would make one entranced. This was alchemy equipment from one of the schools of Mind. It was not cheap. According to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, there should be a heart mark in there too. A Mind musician might have sealed his nirvana into his bones before death to pass onto later generations. The second was a tobacco pipe. It was carved from stone and seemed useless. However, according to analysis of the shape and the autograph within, it was probably something from the School of Summoning. He could summon the spirit sealed within after lighting it. The smoke would give the spirit a body. It probably had the effect of flame transmission as well. It had a wide array of usessecret kills, investigation, and defense were possible. The third object was a basic monocle. If one looked from the side, one could see the tiny music notes carved onto the lens. Alchemy equipment like this was probably a rare result from the School of Revelation. It was the best aid in probing. The fourth was a flat flagon with a lid. It looked to be made of pure copper and was covered with scratches. It was an ancient artifact but there still seemed to be liquid inside it. There was a small sound when Ye Qingxuan shook it. He could not tell where it came from but he felt a strong thirst. Even with the flagon between them, he still had a strong desire to drink the fine liquor. The fifth item was huge. It was a large piece of armor. The right hand and helmet were damaged; the inside was even more broken. It seemed completely broken but Ye Qingxuan could not overlook itit was still the armor of a Knight of the Round Table! He could not tell which one it was exactly and the phantom beast had been taken out. However, it was still a rare masterpiece given by God. If he could find a good alchemist to fix it, its past glory might be brought restored. Ye Qingxuan paced around the chamber in silence. He gazed at the five items but still could not choose. He was too indecisive. It was too hard to come to a decision. After a long time, he sighed. He reached out and took the monocle. "This one," he said to Mary. She flinched but nodded and undid the seal on it. Faint aether waves seeped out. "The Eye of Silence?" Ye Qingxuan studied the side. It contained the alchemists name and a meaningful quote, Sometimes, knowing the truth is not a simple task. The Eye of Silence was an auxiliary tool created by ancient alchemists. It permanently solidified the realistic vision. It could break all influences of Illusions and increase the musicians overall sensory range. It also came with zoom and magnification features. However, the most valuable was the special music score carved into it. This was a complete development took. If the musician recorded the items in the glossary, the monocle could quickly mark the item in the wearers vision. This included medicinal plants, alchemy equipment, minerals, animals, and demons. Then it would read and measure the objects. Measure distance, explore aether waves, estimate the enemys ability, analyzethis was like receiving the Starry Eye from the School of Revelations. It was great help for interpretation as well. "Are you sure?" Mary seemed a bit sad. The Eye of Silence was not the best of the items here. It had a wide range of uses, but only impressive ability was that it could see the realistic world. "If you want to switch, I also" 307 The Past and Future "If you want to switch, I also" "No need." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and placed the monocle before his eye. "One that suits is the best." Just as Ye Qingxuan had thought, this could make up for his shortcomings, especially his weakness in the School of Revelations. There were not many musicians who studied and did well with four schools like him. For the School of Abstinence, he had improved a lot after inheriting the School of Stone Heart. The core of the Avalon enchantment was like a surprise experience gift package. Personally experiencing the power of Genesis, he had improved even more. Now, this school was his strongest point. He did not have to worry about the School of Mind and Illusion either, thanks to his talent and the guidance of that witch Lola. The School of Revelations was the one he had wanted to learn. However, he barely qualified. Other than Bolero, he had not learned many other music scores. The Eye of Silence would make up for this shortcomings, as well as boost his overall abilities. It would be much easier to distinguish the other objects. Just as he had guessed, the crystal bone was the inheritance of nirvana from the School of Mind. He had Lola for guidance and coaching though, so he did not need it. The stone tobacco pipe was a good thing. The phantom beast inside was alluring to people buthe really did not want to become an addict that always held onto a pipe so he had to skip it. He did not know what the flagon was for but, according to the Eye of Silence, its true value came from its material. Shards of some sacred weapon had been melded into it so the flagon could automatically convert any liquor inside to fine wine that could act as recovery medicine. Drinking it could help recover energy. Long-term usage would probably help improve ones physique as well. It was definitely high quality recovery alchemy equipment. For most musicians, it was a great thing to be able to forever save on the expenses for recovery medicine. For Ye Qingxuan thoughhe did not lack this money. Lola was rich and bought high quality recovery medicine from the Cavendish Laboratory by the trunk. In addition, Maxwell had transferred most of the smuggling business to Ye Qingxuan as thanks for saving his life. This meant Ye Qingxuan could rule over downtown for Maxwell. As long as occasionally showed up for a meeting, he could sit and reap in the benefits. Just the annual interest from this dirty money was enough for Ye Qingxuan to live lavishly. To be honest, the strangest life was to have money he did not know how to spend. It felt great! As for the damaged armor, everything was great except for one fatal flawit was too big! If Ye Qingxuan tried it on, he would turn into a two-meter tall giant, which was obviously a problem. He would not be able to do any secret attacks in that, so he had to pass. "Ill settle with this one." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. He activated the monocle and information flooded into him. He almost went blind from all the glowing aether marks. Soon, he became used to it. He adjusted the inner intervals and tuned it to his needs. Now, he was able to see everything with his right eye. When he looked at a tile, the Eye would tell him the material, production site, and length of creation. If he focused on his palm, he could look past the flesh to his bone. Under the Eye of Silence, blood flowed like a silver river through his semi-transparent arm. It shone with serene moonlight. That was the Devas blood that contained aether-like qualities after flowing through the sub-originator. When he looked up, he felt like he was going blind. The frail princess Mary in her white dress suddenly became a human-shaped beast. Her entire body shone with blinding red light. It overlapped into a pair of dragon wings. Even the air she exhaled that hung in the air shone with dragon breath. Ye Qingxuan gulped and looked away. Mary saw his reaction and blanched. For some reason, she looked away and hid her face inside her hat. "Please dont" She looked down as if upset. "Dont look at what you shouldnt." No, no, no! You misunderstood! I wasnt looking at that! Ye Qingxuan secretly wiped away some cold sweat. No wonder she was the Red Dragons descendant. Just a glance was terrifying. - After the short awkwardness, he finally walked out of the chamber. At the thought that the princess with prejudice against him was finally leaving, he could not help but sigh in relief. Royalty all had weird tempers and were hard to get along with. Easterners said that being with royalty was like being with a tiger. This Red Dragon princess was pretty scary too. A carriage was waiting at the front of the Jianlan Underground Palace but Mary did not get on. Instead, she stood in her spot, as if considering something. Ye Qingxuans heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling. Did she notice the exchange between him and Gawain? "UmmMr. Holmes," with her back to him, Mary looked down and suddenly said, "thank you." "Huh? Uh, what?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Thank you for saving me. I am eternally in your debt. Would you be able to leave your address so II can pay a visit?" "It was nothing, Princess. Please dont mind." Seeing her awkwardness, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. He wanted to say something but suddenly saw the person waiting beside the carriage. That person was looking at him. After a pause, Ye Qingxuan looked down. "Your Highness, I apologize for the impoliteness, but I must take my leave." Stunned, Mary reached out to hold him but Ye Qingxuan had already passed her. He walked toward the square without hesitation. Mary gaped at his back. Seeing the man waiting beside the carriage, she grew more confused. "Mr. Lancelot?" The middle-aged man beside the carriage leaned on his cane and coughed quietly as he looked at Ye Qingxuans figure. The youth walked away with an emotionless face as if he saw nothing. "Maxwell cant block Lancelots perception. I know its you," Lancelot said when they brushed shoulders. "You want to hide from me your entire life?" Ye Qingxuans steps halted. He just smiled without saying anything, as if mocking the man. "Cant you justlet the past be past?" Lancelot coughed. "The nobles who forced the Queen to punish your father had all failed with the parliament. Isnt that enough? Come back, the armor of Lancelot is still yours to inherit. You should understand the expectations the family has for you. Why must you hate the family so stubbornly?" "Mr. Lancelot, I think youve misunderstood something." Ye Qingxuan looked back as if he had heard something hilarious but his expression was somber. "I never hated the Lancelot family. Not a bit. I am justdeeply disappointed." Lancelot lowered his eyes and did not reply, letting Ye Qingxuan leave. When Ye Qingxuan was far away, he heard a low murmur carried by the wind. "Ye Qingxuan, youve been insisting on those unavoidable things all these years. Can you really be happy?" Ye Qingxuan froze and turned to look back. Lancelots expression was somber with expectant eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but the youth suddenly looked up and smiled. He said, "Sorry, my surname is Ye." So I dont belong to the Lancelot family. So Im not happy. He turned and left. - Metals clashed in the heavy darkness. It sounded like cold surgical knives and forceps hitting each other. "No need to stop the blood," said a hoarse and strange accent. "Start changing all the blood now. Match it with the patients blood type. Give me blade number three." "The heartbeats almost gone. Do the cardiac injection. If theres no effect, use a music score to control the heart. We only need half an hour." "Where are the spare organs? Change it if it gets rejected. I wont believe it if none of the five work." "Is the brain under anesthesia? Idiot! Why didnt you say so earlier? Give him another shot!" Darkness and dizziness fell again. He closed his eyes. After who knows how long, he opened his eyes again. Everywhere hurt and his body seemed to be shattered. There was a respirator over his face and layers of tubes connecting his body to the alchemy machine maintaining his life. It was strange In disarray, he suddenly thought that he was just like the man he had once called father right now. "Open your eyes and look here." A man that smelled of antiseptics looked at him. The old mans head was wrapped with an Indian turban that was so old one could not tell its original look. "What number?" The Indian pulled his eyes open and held up some fingers. "Five," he said scratchily. The old Indian man nodded in satisfaction and let go. He vaguely heard voices beside the bed. "As you wished, the surgery is over. Hes still alive and will live for a long time. If hes careful, he can live for at least sixty years." "Very good, Ghandagar," a young man said. "Youve fulfilled your promise to me." "Just as we had agreed on, I used all my knowledge to complete this surgery. No one will know. Ill cooperate and have my memory wiped as well. This will have never happened but I hope youll remember your promise to me." The youth smiled. "Ghandagar Rahul, I promise, under the name of the Vengeful Spirit, that you can live peacefully in downtown for the rest of your life. Ill protect your son as well. The mistakes that the imperial physicians of the chief made will no longer have anything to do with you." "Ganesa will bless you, kind sir." "I hope," the young man said lightly. "You can go now. I have something to say to him." Footsteps sounded. The old Indian left politely and closed the door. The man on the patients bed opened his eyes. His breathing was turbid and his voice was weak and unclear. "Im still alive?" "Yes." The white-haired youth dragged a chair over and sat beside the bed. "Thankfully, it was easy to find a corpse to replace you that night in Avalon. You should thank Lola. If not for her illusions, you wouldntve been able to live so long and pull through the surgery." "Surgery" The patient breathed with wet sounds. It seemed to be a sigh. "What did the surgery do?" "Some good things," the young man answered. No matter if its the familys restrictions, the flesh mutated by dark musicians, demonized organs. I helped you get rid of all everything. Everything that isnt human was purified by the moonlight and you got a new face too. "I also put something into your heart. If you try to have anything to do with natural catastrophes again, no onell be able to help you." "My sound of heart is so messy now. Did I fall from the Resonance level?" "Yeah but you can probably get back up with your abilities. But" Here, the young man sighed heavily. "One vertebra was too tainted so we could only cut it out. You might never be able to stand up again." "Being alive is better than anything." "Yeah, being alive is great." The young man pulled something from his pocket and placed it beside the bed. It was a stack of identification cards and a notebook filled with cramped font. "This is your new identity. I made it for someone else but shes busy studying now and probably doesnt have time to play, so you can use it." The cards were laid out before him. They seemed old but were flawless. The picture was his current appearance; there were no flaws in the mark and signature either. "You graduated from the Imperial Anglo Medical College and became a medic. Later, you were sent to the Northumberland Fifth Corps in India. The Bahata War erupted. Your group was sent to Bahata to fight the followers of the natural catastrophe. You were sent back after getting injured in the second year. All your comrades were killed so dont worry, no one will recognize you." The man stared at the profile picture on the card. After a while, he asked quietly, "So this is me from now on?" "From now on, you no longer have anything to do with the past. Embrace your new life." The young man glanced at him and uttered quietly, "Mr. John Z. Watson." 308 Nightmare Charles heard the sound of blood flowing. It flowed on the floor, snaked across the walls backwards, and writhed toward the ceiling. It moved without regard to gravity, humming a love song of death. He gazed at the elegant dcor stained with bloodthe dark red pillars with dark red baroque carvings, the dark red walls with dark red oil paintings, and the dark red ceiling with dark red chandeliers. The large hall was bloody as well. Corpses were scattered about the world covered in blood. The dead faces were torn into pieces and each one was unfamiliar. Charles stared at them in fear. Finally, he looked down and saw Abrahams face. Abraham looked at him as well. Charless pale face was reflected in the blank eyes. A pleased smile seemed to still remain on the dead face. "Charles, youre a hero." He grasped Charless hand and said gently, "So impressive. Im proud to be your professor." "Professor" Charles gaped at him. "Charles, be good and dont run around anymore," Abraham advised quietly. "You must stay safe. You always speak nonsense and insult too many people but can never win in fights. You worry me." "Professor, you" A gaping hole opened in Abrahams chest. It was empty. Blood flowed out, hurting Charles eyes. "Run, Charles." The dead man looked at him with a gentle yet strange smile. "Dont look back and run. Ill look after you even in the underworld." Charles shook but could not move his feet. He wanted to say something but the dead died once again. All was silent in the large hall. He could hear the panicked footsteps outside the hall. Screams sounded over and over. Everyone was running in panic. Someone pounded on the door, wanting to hide in here, but the door remained closed. The blood behind the door trembled and transformed into light rain. It fell through the air; it was so beautiful. Blood finally flowed in from the world outside the door. The entire world was still. Someone walked toward the hall through the pool of blood. Under the heavy creaks of rusted bronze, the large door opened slowly. The sound was deafening and Charles froze in place. A bloody youth with black clothing and white hair stood amidst the corpses outside the door. He looked at Charles coldly. There were no reflections in his eyes, only cold cruelty and darkness. "Yeziall those people, you" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. He unsheathed his sword and walked through the puddle of blood. His murderous intent was heavy. Charles trembled and looked about in terror. All he saw were the dead faces looking at him. Those gazes came from the underworld. They seemed mocking and gleeful. "Run, Charles," they said. "Dont look back and run!" But those faces were ripped apart by the sword; they became ugly and bloody. Like an executioner, the white-haired tore the corpses into thousands of pieces. His eyes were vicious and cold. Blood splattered onto his face, covering his features and making him seem menacing and monstrous. He looked back at Charles, who was retreating. His mouth opened as if he wanted to say something. Charles stumbled back and Ye Qingxuan stepped forward. The blade pierced through his chest. The flesh lost its color; a bright yet cold blade poked out of his back. "Yezi" Charles gaped at Ye Qingxuans face; it was so unfamiliar. "You came to kill me." Chuckling, he embraced the youth beside him. "Whatever, why should I run? Its allwhatever." Fatigued, he closed his eyes and darkness surged. "Senior! Senior!" Light flashed through dazed eyes. There seemed to be someone moving before him. He was shocked awake from his sleep; spirit returned to his eyes. "Yezi?" he asked, stunned. "Youre finally awake." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Move, I want to see." Beside him, Bai Xi squeezed in and pinched Charless cheeks. "Charles, youve been sleeping for days without moving. Let me see, did you get fatter? Wow! So oily" "Stop messing around." Ye Qingxuan knocked the side of her head. "Get Old Phil out of here. Dont you know the doctors are about to go crazy?" "I dont care. Old Phil can go wherever he wants, right?" "Woof, woof!" Beside the bed, Old Phil barked. Then he reached a paw out to pat Charless face. This meant: follower number three, rest well and dont worry about anything else. Abraham sat in the back. Seeing them fool around, he chuckled lightly. After a long time, the doctor finally heard the news and hurried over. He checked and nodded. "I dont see any problems but you should still stay for observation. You should only be discharged after were sure there are no sequelae. Dont worry, others will pay for the medical bills anyway." "Thank you all." Abraham nodded and saw the doctor out. However, the doctor sent a meaningful gaze at the entrance. Abraham flinched but he quickly followed him out and closed the door. "Sir, is there a problem?" he asked quietly. "Its not really a problem but a hidden trouble," the Choir musician said after a short pause. "He still has strong psychological trauma. We must observe for a bit more before we can conclude if this event will trigger the old wounds." "Old wounds?" Abraham was shocked. "You dont know anything?" The Choir musician was shocked as well. He requested a projection of the checkup from a nurse. One could see a vague shadow on the skull. "What is this?" Abraham furrowed his brows. "I dont know." The doctor shook his head. "This shadowy patch has been repressing his nerves since childhood. His frontal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus have probably been affected. Now that he has suffered trauma, it might become a problem." "Will it cause perceptual disorders?" "It wont be that serious. This shadows disturbance is quite small and may even be benign. At most, itll just cause nightmares." Abraham fell silent. The doctor patted his shoulder and left. Abraham slumped on the bench in the quiet hall. He gazed at the ward. "Is itnightmares?" - As the day grew late, Ye Qingxuan brought Bai Xi back to the school while yawning. Abraham made some tea for Charles. "Drink some. Youve fooled around for the whole day after waking up." "Professor, dont you know me? Ill die if no one talks to me." On the bed, Charles laughed and accepted the mug. He blew at the hot steam. "As long as youre okay." Sitting on the chair, Abraham stared at Charles for a long while. Charles looked back and laughed dumbly. Abraham suddenly asked, "Charles, do you still get those nightmares?" "No, sir." Charles scratched his head and looked down. "I probably wont in the future either." After a short pause, Abraham chuckled. "Thats great." He chatted with Charles for a while until bidding farewell when the bell rang in the night. He shut the door gently. In silence, Charles watched as Abraham left. Then he looked down at the mug that was now cold. He instantly fell into a trance. The reflection in the mug was red, along with his pale face. Amidst the blurry red world, Charles gazed at the wailing souls that had emerged from the wall and looked outside the window. People would pass by occasionally. When the bloody and mangled doctors and nurses passed, they would sense his gaze and look up. Their withered and ugly faces would distort. Was that their smile? He imagined they must be very gentle. The decorations in this room must be heartwarming as well, right? There were pure white walls and a soft bed. There was soothing incense as well, even though it smelled like bodies burning. Late at night, the church bells rang faintly. The sound of hymns traveled over too. The holy voices sounded like the wails of the dead. It was indescribably tragic. The fleeting imaginations passed again and everything reverted back to normal. Everything was normal. It was good. "SoIm the only one with problems?" Charles looked down at the bloody water in his mug. He drank it all expressionlessly and closed his eyes. There were no more nightmares in the darkness. All was peaceful. 309 How Are You? The inside of the Sacred Citys basilica was dark but the starry sky shone. The flickering lights formed the brilliant aether sea. "Is the observation record of Anglo still not ready?" Father Albert gazed at the westernmost corner. There, the starry sea was dim, almost swallowed by darkness. Only faint light flickered but he could not distinguish anything. "Bayer, its too slow," he said. "Archbishop, the Musician Division is short of hands as well." Bayer shrugged helplessly. His image was projected from Anglo. Floating beside Albert, his image flickered with instability. "With the current situation, its difficult just to maintain this call." Nibelungenlieds gentle and warm voice came from the starry sky, "After all, a gods incarnate had descended. Clutter and noise still remains in the aether sea. Mr. Mephistopheles has already sent the records of the Westminster Church. I am comparing it to Mr. Bayers resources. Soon, the noise will be filtered out soon." "Please hurry." Albert shook his head. "I hope that I am just overthinking, but I become unsettled whenever something happens in relation to Anglo." "Archbishop Albert, no need to worry. It is already over," Nibelungenlied said. "Mankind is victorious in this war." "I hope so." Albert lowered his eyes, thinking of something. Soon, the cleaning of the clutter and noise began. Changes appeared abruptly in the vast starry sea. The darkness above Anglo magnified and the images changed quickly as if it was replaying at a hundred times the original speed. The interfering signals in the murky darkness were filtered out layer by layer until the original nature was revealed. Avalons contours slowly emerged. The ripples that represented aether waves were born from it. However, they covered the details and one could only see the general image. Within it, the atmosphere of the battle between the blazing sun and abyss was unmistakable. Their ripples and waves had torn apart all other waves and suppressed them. A strand of pure light floated above, locking the entire battlefield until there was a victor. This was the boundary marked by Genesis. The influence shook violently until the abysss aura finally dissipated. "After all these years of inactivity, the Sword in the Stone is still so sharp and terrifying." Albert replayed the image and looked carefully. He deduced the music theory in his mind. "I dont know how far it is from its prime but seeing this, I dont think its too far." Bayer asked, "I think every other nation is concerned about whether it has the strength to continue Kingdom Comes." "Anglo is very tricky," Albert said lightly. "They placed the battlefield in Avalons Shadow. Not only is there the geographic advantage, it also hid Sword in the Stones specific situation. This question will have no answer. "This is unimportant to the Sacred City. As long as Anglo is willing to use this power against natural catastrophes, we have nothing to say." "Thats the attitude of the Sacred City?" "This has been the Sacred Citys attitude for centuries." "Thats so straightforward." Bayer sighed. "No wonder the Sacred City is not likeable." "Bayer, this city contains thirty percent of mankinds power. If we learn how to be tactful and talk in circles, many would feel fear and be unable to sleep. Its okay to be unlikable. At least, its better than being seen as a beast. "Compared to the diplomats that are insignificant to natural catastrophes and demons, we wish to focus more on developing more musicians who can expand our land. Theres no point in fighting over power within the walls." Hearing this, Bayer laughed. "Is this arrogance?" "This is awe, Bayer. Awe of the dark world." Albert stared deeply at him before looking away. He gazed up at the image in the starry sky. If the mundane world was under this sky, then the Churchs duty was looking past the brilliance to the darkness. - Under the illusory starry sky, the record of the battle was replayed at hundred times its original speed. As it played over and over, the unclear image gradually sharpened. Suddenly, Albert raised his hand and paused the video. "What is this?" Below the starry sky, amidst the darkness of Avalon, a large moon rose gradually. It entered the aether sea and created violent waves. It was nothing compared to the battle between the Sword in the Stone and the abyss, but the music theory construction within it was unbelievable. The moon seemed large but was actually very fine and detailed. Under careful observation, it seemed to be an extremely precise and perfect object. Like a clock, hundreds upon thousands of music notes were transformed into rotating gears. They grouped into intervals, turned into music theory, and constructed the music score. Finally, it entered the aether sea and created this perfect and flawless moon. "Deva sensing? In Avalons Shadow?" Albert was stunned. "Thats impossible!" After studying for a bit, Bayer nodded. "The construction is very fine. Its like an art piece." "No, compared to the preciseness on the surface, I care more for the aura it emanates." Albert pondered for a while and sighed. "Its completely natural and made real from an illusion. If it completed the process, it could meld into the true moon." "Are you sure this is merely Deva sensing of someone becoming an official musician? Its not something stronger, such as resonating with the world?" "It is not, but its not far from it. I didnt know Anglo had such a genius in recent years. With such fine detail, he can easily try for the Resonance level with a few years of preparation." Albert looked at Bayer. "Which grandmasters student is this?" "I dont know." Bayer shook his head. "Of the questions we posed, only this was overlooked. Maxwells clerk remained silent. He seems to have been authorized to do so." "Not willing for their countrys talents to be stolen by the Sacred City?" Albert shook his head. "Before the end of the decade, he will most likely become a grandmaster. Its understandable that Anglo does not want to give him up." Bayer chuckled. He submitted the additional information and his projection faded. After all, this was a long-distance projection crossing thousands of miles. Every second was expensive. Even if they had a generous budget, they still needed to save on certain aspects. Silence fell back over the hall. In the silence, Albert replayed the records over and over. Finally, he caught an insignificant detailthe moment the moon entered the aether sea, the intersecting ripples that spread in all directions seemed to carry a message. "Iam here?" Albert slowly deciphered the message. He could not help but laugh. "Hes announcing his existence to the world? This musician really doesnt like to be lonely. Its good he didnt attract something from the depths of the aether world." He quickly moved on from this detail. However, when the recording came to an end, he froze again. He sensed another signal from within the upheaval of moonlight. However, the waves were too unclear and he could not decipher it. "Moonlight again?" Albert furrowed his brows. "What did he say this time?" No one replied. "Nibelungenlied, are you here?" "I am." Nibelungenlieds voice was gentle. "How may I help you?" "What was that signal?" "Archbishop, you were mistaken," Nibelungenlied said lightly. "There was no signal; it was only regular white noise. You will not run into this type of disruption anymore." Albert nodded and refocused onto his observation. After a long while, he finished. He recorded the result and data into Nibelungenlieds book and left. However, the recording of that night kept replaying in the silent starry sky. The stars changed and ripples appeared one after another; it was dazzling. In that starry sky, someone said, I am here. After a long, long, long time, someone asked quietly under the same starry sky, How are you? 310 Secrets of the Pas Late at night, the lights from the palace still shone and illuminated the dark clouds as well as the boundless ocean in the distance. Amidst the sound of the lift, the carriage drove into the stillness of the palace square. Soon, a servant ran over to guide the dignified man on the carriage. "What time is it?" Lancelot asked. "Two o''clock in the morning, sir," the servant responded reverently. He opened the gate for him. After Lancelot silently walked into the gate, the servant remained in place, not daring to see the direction of his departure but closed the gate for him. As Lancelot walked, doors opened in front of him one by one. In the end, there were no more ornate dcor, exquisite paintings or carpets, but only a serene air in the corridor. Lancelot pushed the door open. The chandelier was always bright and there were only one table and several chairs in the room. The seats were filled with people; only the one left for Lancelot was empty. An iron box and several ashtrays were on the table. The iron box looked unadorned but there were many cigarettes piled in the ashtray. Hearing the sound of the door, someone looked over. Most of those men were old, well-dressed, wore glasses, and looked dignified. They sat in this lifeless and cold monotonous room without looking out of place. They were like statues that had always belonged there. Waiting in silence, they did not speak to each other. They just smoked and pondered silently, patiently. This was the "chamber" that all of Anglo talked about. It was the core of the empire and the legendary place full of conspiracies, bloodshed, and secretsthe Privy Council of Anglo. It was originally the supreme information institution that reported only to the king. It was composed of the king''s think tank to formulate political and diplomatic strategies, and the beginnings and the ends of the war. Then the king transferred more and more authority to their hands. Now, it had become the highest administration in Anglo, a political organ composed of the royalty, ministers from National Defense, Foreign Affairs and Internal Affairs, as well as the Privy Seal. The last time so many people were summoned here late at night by the royal family was decades ago. Everyone looked dignified as they had last time, but there was the feeling of slight inhibition this time. Either consciously or unconsciously, all eyes fell on the iron box in the middle of the table with uneasiness, but also solemnity as if they were looking at their enemies. The box looked like a solid iron block with no lines or emblems. It was very smooth but with sharp angles. There were no openings or cracks at all. But after looking for a long time, people would feel that the iron box was squirming and exuding a disturbing aura. "Im sure that the purpose of bringing everyone here today is quite clear," Maxwell started bluntly. "Then I wont waste any time. Lets just take a look at thisthe worst situation now." Maxwell stretched out his hand and pressed the iron box. He looked up at the others. The secretary of state was silent for a moment and placed his hand on it too. He was followed by the foreign minister. Finally, Lancelot took off his glove, exposing a hand covered with scars, and pressed down on the iron box. When the identities of five people were verified at the same time, there was a crisp sound in the box like cranking gears. The complex gears started to turn. With slight tremors, many cracks suddenly appeared in the smooth surface. The box shrank until it became a stylobate-like object. The thing that was sealed inside was finally exposed to the pale light. On the black iron stylobate was a glittering crystal prismalchemists had melted iron and silver into the purest metal and turned it into glazed gold by transforming the nature. It looked like a crystal but not even closest explosion or shock could damage it. It was used to make the windows and glass of politicians'' cars. Its good lighting could allow people appreciate the scene outside through the glass while still feeling a great sense of security. However, no one felt safe right now. Amidst the gasps, an eerie sensation spread through their bodies. Under the cold light, what the prism sealed was a bloody face. One could not tell what that face was like. It looked human and inhuman at the same time, like the face had not developed completely. It was not beautiful but when one looked at it. They would feel the beauty of life. That horrible beauty overwhelmed peoples souls, making them unable to move. It was solidified in the glass as if it was sleeping but the creeping granulations and capillaries spread above it and penetrated the entire crystal prism, turning it into heterogeneous flesh. The tiny veins were like purple-red tentacles, slowly growing and winding the prism. The exposed parts were slightly undulating as if it was alive. This d*mn thing was breathing! "A few days ago, it was just a piece of dried out fingernail-sized meat," Maxwell said. "Now, as you can see, it has felt the calling of the body and come back to life." The people there looked at it in amazement, finally snapping out of their daze. Even though they had been prepared, seeing everything was still unbelievable. The foreign secretary stared blankly at the prism in the iron box and reached his hand to touch. "Is this real?" "Don''t touch it!" Maxwell held his wrist quickly. The mans fingers had almost touched the tiny creeping tentacles but were yanked away. "It''s not something new and fun, sir." Maxwell''s eyes were terrifying. "Living things are nutrients to it.You will be sapped dry." The foreign secretary withdrew his hands as if he had been shocked by electricity. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his fingers though he had not touched anything yet. He stared at that thing with horror. The secretary of state smoked in silence. After a long time, he said, "Is it really that thing?" His voice was hoarse, sounding unpleasant but with a gloomy and dignified breath. "Yes." Maxwell nodded, gazing at the prism that was turning into flesh and blood. "It is one of the four natural catastrophes, Leviathan, the monster whose fate is entangled with the kingdom of Anglo. Gentlemen, we are in trouble." If there was anything that would make this group of powerful people so frightened, this was the first thing. Since the founding of the nation, the scourge of natural catastrophe, monster of monsters, the shadow that shrouded AngloLeviathan had begun to revive! Having just solved the infiltration and conspiracy of the evil gods, they had to confront this now. It was awful! Lancelot pulled out a cigar from his colleague''s case but hesitated. Rather than lighting it, he put it back in the end. Covering his mouth, he coughed softly and wiped the blood from his mouth. He asked quietly, "How long do we have?" "Archbishop Mephistopheles told me that the power of Westminster Abbey can maintain this for five years at most. After five years, we will have to face the enemy that had killed countless of our ancestors." Maxwell''s expression was grave. "A true catastrophe will befall the world." Hearing this, everyone''s face turned pale. Five years? It was not enough at all... Five years was enough to make a man rise up, earn a fortune, and become an influential millionaire. Five years was also enough to train a group of elite soldiers; it was enough to make a group of students achieve success and become the best musicians. Five years was enough to build countless weapons and launch wars to plunder countless cities or states and accumulate priceless wealth. But what could a country do for five years? For a natural catastrophe, five years was so short. That was even truer for mankind. "Its too short." The defense secretary put out his cigarette and lowered his eyes. "The times too short." The Three Saints, Three Pillars God, Four Living Creatures...they were the monsters standing at the top of all natural catastrophes. When compared with the senseless ''phenomenon-level'' natural catastrophes, they may be less destructive on the aspect of pure force. However, there must be something very scary about them since they could be ranked at the top of all natural catastrophes, As one of the Four Living Creatures tied with Hecatoncheir and the Dark Mother, Leviathan did not have the omnipresent divinity like the Three Pillar God, but it also did not require descending and risking the aetheric sea. These creatures did not exist in the aetheric realm but in the material world. Once it was truly resurrected, Anglo would face something that had entirely come to the world and could freely use all its power without any limitations. Imagine a monster that could perform natural catastrophe level music scores with a wave of the hand. "No way to stop it?" someone asked. "Sir, we have our limits." Maxwell shook his head grimly. "We don''t live in a world where we can get everything done by shouting hot-blooded slogans." "What about Hermes? He''s charges so much consulting fees every year. Will he just stand by?" "He says he has a way but Her Majesty forbade him to step in." "Why?" Lancelot met Maxwells eyes and explained, "Hermes behaves absurdly and is not trustworthy. He has no loyalty either. If he is allowed to step in, it will only get worse." "Then we just wait for the war?" the defense secretary asked. "Yes." Maxwell nodded. "Then...the break of the Royal Fleets seal should be put on the agenda. I dont wish to have a bunch of useless men when I have to fight a natural catastrophe." "The Royal Family is ready. Except for the key number zero, the rest of the Stein Chamber will open one by one." "Let all these years of accumulation gradually turn into strength. This year, Avalons great enchantment will be fully restored to the power of Kingdom Comes era. Otherwise, we have no chance at all." "The holy spirits of the grandmasters should also begin to be awakened. Five years should restore them to their current level. How many saints bodies can we gather?" "The Three Kings should not stay out of the western defense. If we fail, no one will be able to get away." Someone thought for a while and asked, "Where is the Sword in the Stone?" "It is still in the Jianlan Underground Palace. It was already very reluctant to force its power last time." Maxwell rolled up his sleeve and showed them the cracks on his wrists and arms. Those cracks were like burning glows, stinging peoples eyes like coal burning in the stove. "It''s not just the sword. I have also reached my limit." "So, where are we going to find the final weight?" "Guixu." During the long silence, Lancelot suddenly said: "St. George''s Spear is still in the Guixu. Do we have to negotiate with the Sacred City to retrieve this artifact?" "Guixu..." Everyone became silent. In the silent room, the faint sounds of wind blowing in vortex echoed. Sometimes, in order to retrieve the things of the past, people had to dig out the secrets buried in the past. But once the tomb had been dug, was anyone else willing to look at the bloody and dirty secrets? 311 Are You Willing? The next day at noon, salute cannons wet off. Amidst the majestic melody, musicians played the stately yet celebratory march. As everyone cheered, a handsome man rode out of the gates on a white horse. He was dressed according to the ancient law. He wore a laurel crown made of white silver and a gold cloak and armor. He sat straight-backed on the white horse, regal like a prince. The girls who had been invited to the wedding and were standing on the grass of the manor stared and yelped. Donna, wearing a wedding dress and surrounded by girls, lowered her head shyly when she saw her fiancs enthusiastic gaze. Under the emcees guidance, the best men walked the white horse and cheered Donnas name in unison, blessing this new couple. In the crowd, Brady gazed at his daughters shy yet happy expression, and grinned from ear to ear. As the descendant of a fallen noble family, he had toiled his entire life in the customs department of the First Department. After many conspiracies, plans, and exchanges of interest, he finally rose to top and established a large family business in Avalons midtown. He had been worried over not having an heir, but seeing his daughters happiness now, he was satisfied. As long as she was happy, everything was worth it. "Congratulations, Lord Brady." The wedding guests all came up to him and he welcomed all of them. At certain points of the conversation, he would hold his belly and laugh heartily. Life was hard and there were not many days of celebration. One must learn to be content. "Dear Brady." A middle-aged man with a white turban walked over and embraced him with a warm smile. Like the other wealthy Indian merchants, he was covered in gold and silver accessories. There was also a giant and breathtaking gem on his turban. Of course, there was also the smell of curry. Brady furrowed his brows imperceptibly but quickly smiled again. "Thank you for coming. Today is a day worth celebrating. Please do not hold back." The Indian merchant chuckled. He waved for a servant to bring up the prepared gift. A golden holy emblem embedded with gemstones and diamond pieces sat atop the red velvet in the box. Brady was instantly overjoyed. "Is this a holy emblem blessed by the Pope? How could Ithis is too precious of a gift." "This is insignificant compared to our friendship." The Indian smiled meaningfully. "I hope our friendship will continue." "Naturally." Brady nodded. Their gazes were in tacit agreement. No one would reject such a generous friend. Plus, one only needed to help out a little to maintain this friendship. Receiving this promise, the Indian merchant left in satisfaction. Soon, all the guests had arrived and the priest overseeing the wedding finalized the last preparations. In the flurry of movements, everyone was getting ready nervously. However, Brady had finally relaxed. He sat below the stage and gazed happily at the couple in the distance. They were a perfect pairtheir families were of the same status, the groom was handsome and the bride beautiful, and both had high morals. The more Brady looked, the more satisfied he was. It was great he could have a young man like that to inherit his business and connections. "What a nice young man," someone praised. He placed his bowler hat on the table and sat down beside Brady. "A lawyer graduated from the National University and working for the government; young and accomplished. In fact, he is highly regarded by his superiors. He should be sent to the Eastern Indian Trade Company soon, right? What a bright future!" Hearing someone speak of his son-in-law, Brady instantly grew proud. However, when he turned around, he was met by an unfamiliar young man. He had an enthusiastic smile that made one feel happy just looking at it. However, this was a wedding, but he was dressed entirely in black as if he was attending a funeral. As he smiled, his long and narrow eyes squinted, hiding the coldness within. "Who are you?" Brady furrowed his brows. He looked to his guards; the burly men paced through the crowd but did not acknowledge the youths presence. "Mr. Brady, please do not be nervous." The youth shrugged. "Me? Im just a guest at this wedding." "Are you a musician?" Seeming to understand something, Bradys expression darkened. Many unaccomplished musicians in Avalon would use their position to get free food at others ceremonies and ask for money. Others might be helpless against this, but if this guy planned on trying this at Bradys event, he was at the wrong place! He coldly pulled a checkbook from his pocket and scribbled a large sum. Tossing it over, he said, "Sir, today is my daughters big day. There are many members of the Musician Division here today as well. I hope youll understand and not try to destroy your own future." "Ah, Im sorry, you seem to have misunderstood me. I am not here to cheat you." The young man smiled awkwardly and pulled a small box from his arms. "Today is my first visit and its coincidentally your daughters big day. I did not have much time to prepare a gift. I hope you like it." "A gift?" Brady scoffed and took the box. What kind of gift would people who came for free food give? "Wont you take a look?" The mans eyes were eager. Brady scoffed again. If the man wanted to be humiliated then there was no harm in looking. However, he froze after he opened the box. In the box was a large egg-sized ruby. Its color was flawless. He could not find something at this level even in Avalons best jewelry store. But why did this lookso familiar? He picked up the gemstone in confusion and felt that it was wet as if it had been dipped in water. His thumb came away scarletit was blood! It finally dawned on him that this gem was the one that the Indian merchant wore on his head and valued more highly than life itself! Chilled, he yelped. "Youwhat did you do to him?" He stood up abruptly and wanted to retreat but realized that he could not move anymore. His yelp seemed to have been swallowed by something. No one noticed them. "Sit down." The young man looked up at him. His long and narrow eyes were open now. His pupils were pure black, like a wind tunnel leading toward somewhere. They were terrifying. His voice was not gentle; it was an irresistible command. Brady softened involuntarily and collapsed onto his chair. He finally realized there was a small note on the bottom of the box. The words on it were sharp yet inexplicably elegant: Your loyal friend, Sherlock "Youyou" His pupils constricted instantly; he almost suffocated. Here, it felt as if he had fallen into an icebox. The legend, the shadow shrouding Avalon, the controller of the dark rulestruly existed! "Do not say the name aloud, sir." The young man casually raised his forefinger and placed it before his mouth. "This name doesnt suit this joyful event. Just view me as a wedding guest." Brady shuddered. He wanted to yell for help but his instincts told him that it was best to sit quietly. He gazed around with his periphery vision and discovered that everyone was still bustling around. No one noticed them as if they had been isolated and became a lonely and hopeless island. A few men in musician robes furrowed brows. They had been invited to this wedding and looked up after sensing the aether waves. When they saw the young man at the table and the trademark hat on the table, they blanched. They quickly looked away and pretended that nothing had happened. Some even rose and left quietly. Seeing this situation, Brady was completely hopeless. Drenched in sweat, his face paled and he slumped into his seat, almost slipping off. In the crowd, the blissful Donna looked back. Seeing her fathers expression was off, she walked over. "Father, are you alright? Do you feel ill?" Bradys lips quivered and he tries to speak, but no words come out. His daughters concern deepened his fear. She should not have come over. Donna, go! Hurry and gohe yelled in his mind. "Relax, sir. A wedding is a sacred ceremony and only happens once in a lifetime. Do not act out of sorts here and do not disappoint your daughter," a hoarse voice sounded in his mind. The young man drinking tea glanced over with dark eyes. "She doesnt know that youre working with the Indian drug smuggler, right?" It felt like Brady was struck by lightning. He forced himself to calm down and placated his daughter gentle. However, his fear grew. "Whatdo you want?" he gathered his courage and asked. He waited for his final result. Before, the Vengeful Spirit was just a legend. However, starting last month, it became a nightmare that haunted everyone. One monthapparently only one monthafter the Shaman disappeared, hundreds of mafia leaders who dared to have their own ideas were personally thrown into the sewer by the Vengeful Spirit. He was extremely cold and cruel. Apparently, everyone in the family, regardless of age, would disappear. Some were killed in horrible ways as a warning. The site was a total nightmare. Brady had always thought that a downtown redneck would not dare to do anything to an official like him. However, the man was now right in front of him. "I am an important figure of the Anglo customs department!" His voice shook. "If you do something to me, the country will not let you go!" "Has my reputation really become that bad?" The young man was stunned but then he chuckled wryly. He muttered to himself, "That Watson, what did he do in my name?" Before Brady could reply, the priest walked over and asked, "Mr. Brady, can the wedding begin now?" Brady looked back stiffly and gaped at the priest. He did not know what to say. "Father, in just a moment. I still need to speak to this man." The man gazed at the priest and the priest froze in place. Then the man asked, "Are you religious?" Brady nodded stiffly. "Did you know that theres a passage in the Bible like this?" The young man rose slowly and took the Bible from the priest. He flipped carelessly to the middle and read a passage to the stunned man. His expression was solemn and powerful; his voice was raspy like scraping metal. "Thou shalt hold the self-evident truth in awe and advocate justice; this is well. Thou shalt love thy neighbors as thyself; do no injustice. Thou shalt know sinners suffer. He carries poison and nurtures nothingness. His flame is short-lived and his light does not shine." After finishing, he closed the Bible and looked down at Brady. "Do you understand what I mean?" There was no smile in his eyes. It was replaced by metallic fierceness tinged with blood. Brady could not meet his eyes. The man had stopped talking but the raspy voice still echoed in Bradys mind like thunder. It pounded at his last bit of sanity until he practically broke down and cried. "Whatwhat do you want..." "Brady, I want you to be a good father." The young man petted his hair sympathetically, like a saint petting his lamb. "Not a dead father, but a live one with a good career and family. Be a good man and make your family proud. Youve made many mistakes but you can still survive to old age with a large family and die happily. Are you willing to be this type of father?" "Iyes!" The next moment, Brady nodded wildly as if he had received salvation and choked out, "Im willing!" "Good." The young man nodded in satisfaction. "A wise and just choice, sir. Just as the legends say, you will receive happiness due to your reverence of the self-evident truth." Putting on his hat, he gave Brady one last glance. In that moment, all barriers seemed to disappear. The hustle bustle and blessings of the outside world finally traveled to his ears. Hearing the sounds, Bradys sweat poured out and he practically passed out. It had only been half a minute but it felt as if he had returned to the world from hell. He was so happy he could cry because the sudden grim reaper had bid farewell. - Amidst the solemn music of the wedding march, the guests watched as a young man with a Bible replaced the priest and stood between the couple. "It is obvious that you love each other and will last for a long time." Under everyones shocked scrutiny, the young man held Donnas hand with his left and the mans hand with his right. He asked Donna, "Donna, do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, to love him, care for him, respect him, accept him, until death do you part?" "II" Donna looked below the stage. Seeing her father nod, she let go of her worries and gazed at her lover with gentle eyes. "I do." "What about you, Groom?" The man who had replaced the priest looked to the groom. Faced with the solemn question, the groom puffed up his chest and replied, "I do, sir! I love Donna and Im willing to protect you with my life!" "Good, all of your words are genuine." Pleased, the man placed Donnas hand into the grooms. "I am overjoyed in seeing you vow to love each other. I now declare thee as husband and wife. Please exchange rings and the groom may kiss the bride." Under everyones gazes, the shy bride and groom exchanged rings. As the people applauded and cheered, they kissed deeply. Today was their day of joy and this moment would never be forgotten. The young man who had overseen the wedding had now disappeared. 312 I Wish You Luck Outside the door, the young man with a bowler hat climbed into the carriage. One side of the seats in the carriage had been removed and replaced with a wheelchair. The young man on the chair was reading a book. He had plain looks. Other than his defined features, he had no other unique points. However, sometimes his squinted eyes would flash with terrifying steel gray light. "Arent your tricks too gentle?" He closed his book and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "Its just a small punishment." Ye Qingxuan lay on the seat lazily and fanned himself with the hat. "And anyway, Ive already attended four funerals today. You should at least let me relax at a wedding, right, Mr. Watson?" Watson shook his head. "When you wallow in that fake mercy every day, dont you feel like youre slacking on your duties as the manager of the illegal trade in Anglo?" "Watson, youre so heartless." "Sorry, thats how I am." Watson scoffed. "If you arent willing, you dont have to throw everything to me. Ill get onto a ship to Wales, buy a manor, and retire." "Ah, dont be like that. Wales is so boring. They only have sheep there. And are you sure you can move around like this?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Dont you think Avalon is beautiful in comparison? Theres work every day and money to take every month!" Who do you think did this to me?! Watsons mouth dropped open but he did not know how to respond. Never in his life had he met someone who spoke so shamelessly while pretending he was doing it for the interest of everyone. After a long while, Watson sighed dejectedly. "Ye Qingxuan, lets fight. I really want to kill you right now." A blue firebird jumped out from his sleeve and sang beautifully. "To be honest, I just love it when youre angry and want to kill me." "Where did you learn to talk like that?" "Thats just how I am," Ye Qingxuan answered. A thick investigation report was thrown at his face in response. "This is what you wantedthe investigation on the parliament." Watson clenched his jaw. "People like you cause messes when youre bored. Please find something to worry about!" Ye Qingxuan got up and flipped through the report. His expression changed subtly. "The White Crow really exists?" Watson replied lightly, "The parliament looks like a loose organization that works in the interest of many people. However, there is someone in charge. The participants provide the resources and receive dividends. After aggregating a good portion of Avalons resources, all the power obviously goes to the one in charge." "Using other peoples hens to lay eggs, right?" "Thats one way to put it. It seems that everyone in the parliament has autonomy, but thats just the appearance. Once you look under the disguise, you realize that the Parliament is just a dictatorship. All the true power lies in the hands of one person." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "Isnt that you?" "You think too highly of me." Watson scoffed. "The Adrian family has fallen for so many years. How would I have the capitol to be the leader? Even my mask was given to me by my father after he failed resonance and was upset. The one who helped me to my position was White Crow." Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "The former leader?" Watson smiled. "Yes. In fact, he found the dark musician to host my fallen ritual. He helped open the gates to power for me. To be honest, Im a bit grateful to him." "Did he order you to do everything?" "No, he disappeared after he handed me the parliament. Maybe he was happy to see what I wanted to do." Watson shrugged. "Like you, I once secretly ordered men to track him." "And?" "Hes vanished off the face of the planet," Watson said lightly. "Both White Crow and the people who searched for himthey all seemed to have evaporated." "White Crow put you, someone who does everything for power and authority, into the position to replace him. He must want the results you gave him." Ye Qingxuan pondered. "But if Anglo is destroyed by a natural catastrophe, everyone will be infected. This will turn into a world of demons. How does he benefit from this?" "Who knows?" Watson replied. "There are more than enough saints who want to save the world and madmen who want to destroy it." Ye Qingxuan flipped through the files wordlessly. After a long while, he looked up. "According to your investigation, the last time the White Crow showed himself was more than a decade ago?" "Yes." Watson nodded. "After that, he chose me and went behind the scenes. Five years later, he disappeared. Do you have any clues?" "No, but this timestamp is meaningful." Coldness flashed past Ye Qingxuans eyes. Was that not the time his family was massacred and exiled? What role did the White Crow play in this? Sensing the heaviness in Ye Qingxuans heart, Watson sighed. "The parliament is already destroyed. All the smuggling channels are either divided up or closed down. The rest are under our control. Even if the White Crow reappears, he wont be able to do much. If I were him, I would definitely have not showed up during recent times. Ye Qingxuan, youre doing unnecessary work." "Unnecessary work is better than doing nothing." Ye Qingxuan tossed the files aside. "Tell them to continue surveillance. I dont believe someone can just evaporate like that. When I catch him, Ill show him." The coldness in his tone stunned Watson. He closed the book in his lap and took off his glasses, rubbing his nose. "Your most important task right now isnt to waste time on meaningless stuff. Have you finished reading the music theory your professor gave you?" "I dont have much trouble on Mind and Illusion." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Right now, Im reviewing some stuff for the School of Revelations. I hope I dont fall short." Watson wrinkled his nose. "Its my first time seeing someone who learns from so many schools." "Isnt the School of Royalty like this?" "The School of Royalty is just Anglos own School of Summoning. The main focus is still Summoning, but we put the characteristics of other schools onto our phantom beasts, like this" The robin in Watsons hand flapped its wings and flames jumped. "I put elements of the School of Modification into my phantom beast. The limit is nine hundred and forty elements. If I utilize this bird well, I can easily burn down a whole house. In other words, I can destroy this entire street with just a wave of my hands." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned; his eyes were impressed. "That sounds cool." "Thanks." Watsons expression was cold. He did not seem happy at all. "The most mainstream schools right now are the schools of Modification, Summoning, and Choir. After all, the first is the cradle of battle musicians; the second researches natural catastrophes and demon nature; and the School of Choir studies life. The more medical advancements there are, the more stable their theories, and the more branches they have. "But the ones you chose to studyperfectly avoided all the realistic schools." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan finally reacted and counted on his fingers, "Abstinence, Revelations, Mind, Illusionhey, youre right. I didnt learn any of the three. Can I still start now?" "In your dreams," Watson scoffed. "You think youre a freak like Naberius and can change schools as easily as changing clothes? Of the seven schools, Modification counters Illusion, Summoning counters Mind, Choir and Revelations dont counter each other as much but its still hard to combine them. "Plus, the schools youve learned already counter Abstinence. If you want to learn new music theory, itll be a feat to remain sane. If you want to learn other schools, wait until you reach the completion stage before trying for the Scepter level." "Thats kind of depressing." Ye Qingxuan nodded but he did not seem upset at all. "What does that have to do with my task now?" "Ye Qingxuan, this is the worst thing." Watson looked at him with troubled eyes. "Youve already fallen into Hyakumes eye. When you look into the abyss, it also looks back at you. When you observe each other, you establish some sort of connection." "That sounds intimate." "Right." Watson nodded. "So intimate that as soon as you step out of the enchantment hell whisper in your ear at any time. Hes hurt now and wont be able to control the material world. However, once he recovers, do you think hell let you go? You dont want to stay stuck in Avalon forever, right?" Ye Qingxuan inhaled sharply. "So, my most important task right now is to try for Resonance?" "Yes, as soon as possible." Watson nodded. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. "I get the theory but how come you talk about the Resonance level like its as easy as buying cabbage from the market?" "Is it not?" Watson eyed him and finally said with mock surprise, "Ah, I forgot that youve just become an official musician." "Is there any point in provoking me here?" Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips and yelled, "Stop!" The carriage stopped beside the road and Ye Qingxuan jumped off. "Where are you going?" "Didnt you say to try for Resonance as soon as possible?" Ye Qingxuan looked back at him. "Im going to find a former Scepter musician and ask for advice." "Oh?" Watson arched an eyebrow. Remembering that resentful woman, his eyes turned sympathetic. "Good luck." 313 Seven Questions for Musicians Ye Qingxuan was in the library of the ancient mansion. "The Resonance level?" Lola asked lightly. "Its simple." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened. "How simple?" "Didnt you become an official musician after dying a few times?" Lola side-eyed him. "Just die a few more times." Ye Qingxuans expression twisted. This woman really held grudges! Ye Qingxuan had only stayed inside the academy and given himself a break for half a month! "Miss Lola, please accept my small offering." He sighed. Taking out the bag of blood he had prepared, he pushed it over cautiously. Lola glanced over and weighed it in her hands. Satisfied, she accepted it. Lolas best trait was that she accepted when she saw something good and never insisted on too much. Working with a shrewd woman was straightforward. There were no cons other than having to shed a lot of blood. "The Resonance level is still too far for you right now," Lola said. "The distance isnt due to your ability but the way you look at problems." "What do you mean?" Ye Qingxuan asked. After pondering, Lola suddenly asked, "Do you know what the seven questions for musicians are?" - The seven questions for musicians were the hardest problem that musicians faced when trying to break into the Resonance level. Compared to the vast world, the endless aether sea, the distant Originatorcompared to these huge entities, humanity was too insignificant. If an insignificant man wanted to resonate with the world, move the aether sea, and receive limitless power, he must first determine the origin within himself. Even the highest towers were built on flat ground. If one wanted to go higher, one must have a foundation. One would only be able to reply to the aether sea after determining ones origin and utilize the limitless strength. Thus, musicians ran into a huge problem. How could they look past the confusing fog, glimpse into the aether sea and the music theory hidden within, and find the origin that they could use? The sub-origin technology of the School of Stone Heart stemmed from this. By turning ones internal organs into alchemy equipment, they completed this process and could temporarily play music scores above their level. However, this was still a foreign object. Their own body still needed to have a breakthrough. Thus, past musicians had made countless studies. However, not many were successful. If there was no method, one man out of a dozen musicians may be lucky enough to accidentally succeed and become a dabbler. It was a strange problem that countless people could not understand. To this, the East had the saying "pass down with the heart rather than relying on words." The West also had concepts such as inspiration and awakening. All in all, people who understood would understand. People who could not understand would not understand no matter what. The more one thought, the more confused one would become. It was like a towering wall with no top that stood before all musicians. They must break through this wall to move forward. This wall was known as the Barrier of Knowledge. The Seven Questions for Musicians was a solution that various musicians had concluded. Basically, if one could understand the propositions from the seven schools, then they would be able to break through the Barrier of Knowledge, see the true nature of music theory, and find the origin. In other words, one must be able to solve all seven propositions. They include the eternally unchanging object of Modifications, the intangible object with a tangible spirit of Summoning, between life and death of Choir, the unknown of Revelations, who am I of Mind, the origin of dreams of Illusion. "The origin of dreams?" Ye Qingxuan gaped at Lola. "Are you sure?" "I have hundreds of books on the sixth shelf of the bookshelf behind you that explores this topic, but its best if you dont look around. The more you read, the more confused youll become." Then Lola asked lightly, "You already have an idea?" "No, not at all." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. "But he told me in a dream that hes waiting for me at the origin of dreams." "Its been so many years. No one even knows if hes alive or not." Lola looked down and sipped her tea. "What really happened to Teacher? I dont understand." "Lets change the topic." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Theres still one more. Whats the proposition for the School of Abstinence?" After a moment of silence, Lolas eyes grew sympathetic. "Abandon oneself," she said. "The School of Abstinence studies the essence of aether. To them, theres a barrier between the flesh and oneself. You must abandon yourself. Yezi, I really hope you dont choose this. "Do you know how many Abstinence musicians die from the backlash of music theory at this point? Some are burned to ash, some are suffocated, some turn into mist. In the East, musicians created a set of skills to study this proposition. Youve probably heard of it before: autopsy, military autopsy, and the hydrothermal cadaver refining method. "In ancient times, they referred to Resonance musicians as fay. In order to become one, they are willing to give up their flesh body. Sadly, doing this will definitely kill you. This is the biggest obstacle in the School of Abstinence. Maybe one in ten musicians can start learning. However, not even one in a hundred can break through the Barrier of Knowledge." Considering this, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "So what youre saying is that if I want to reach the Resonance level, I must choose one of these four propositions, right? The unknown,who am I,the origin of dreams, and abandoning oneself. None of these are easy." Actually, Ye Qingxuan had realized this when Lola first mentioned the four propositions. These were the questions that stemmed from the final goal and music theory of each major school. The direction pointed out by the four propositions caused him to suddenly discover some details and theories he had overlooked. It felt abnormally difficult. If he could have a breakthrough, it meant that his study of music theory and aether had reached another level and was closer to the final stage. However, everyones method was different. Their Knowledge of Barriers were different as well. Using other musicians methods would only confuse him further. "But Im still curious." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his face with a gloomy expression. "This doesnt make any sense. Im a genius but Im still stuck here. How can so many people break through?" "Everyone faces different problems. The more you accumulate, the bigger the reward, but the more difficult it is to break through. In addition," Lola paused and smiled mysteriously, "do you really think that everyone uses these methods?" "Are there other methods?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Why wouldnt there be?" Lola asked in reply. "In the end, the Barrier of Knowledge requires you to think outside of the box and escape from previous restraints. Free yourself from the shackles of the material world and see the true face of music theory. "After this stage, the musician would have a complete grasp on the essence of music and start to develop their own style. Usually, a musician who had been stumped for years would experience a drastic change or emotional attack and suddenly be enlightened. Then they would break past their old beliefs and enter a new world. "Thus, as long as you can reach this result, you can try some loopholes." "What loopholes?" Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened. "You can sign a contract with a holy spirit that the Sacred City enshrines. Resonate psychologically and pull yourself out of your own perspective to see the world from a higher angle. Your problems are nothing to saints at the Scepter level. They can easily see through it. "In addition, you can improve your sound of heart. The most popular is the fire spirit Akane. People who sign a contract with him and freely add fire effects into their music. The twin spirits of wind and thunder are hot picks too. So, how is it? Does this method sound familiar?" "Why does it sound like the fallen ritual for dark musicians?" "Is there any difference? In the end, its borrowing from others strength." Lola snickered. "People who use this method just bypass the obstacle and use someone elses perspective. However, their entire life would be influenced by others as well. "To those failures, becoming a Resonance musician is the highest point of their life. True power comes from ones internal self and mind. People who try tricks will never reach the Scepter level. "For true musicians, the Resonance level is only the starting point!" - Ye Qingxuan returned to the academy in the afternoon. He had left with much confusion and was still confused when he returned. In fact, he now had propositions that he had to think about. He still had no clue how to start with these four problems. Thankfully, he had time to think. Compared to the depressive thinking that entire day, good news boosted his spirits. The principal that had disappeared for half a month had finally come back. It seemed that the mess with the parliament had been dealt with. Even if the Fifth Department, they still needed time to remove the parliament completely. There must have been many unhappy moments. Maxwells secretary left a message at the history department for Ye Qingxuan to go to his office as soon as he returned. This was the deal he had made with Maxwell. When the matter with the parliament ended, he would tell Ye Qingxuan what happened to Ye Lanzhou without holding anything back. Ye Qingxuan quickly reached the office and knocked. "Oh, finally back?" Maxwell said. "Come in." When Ye Qingxuan entered, he realized that Maxwell was not the only on in the office. 314 The Pas The smell of tobacco hung in the air. It seemed to contain the dust of traveling. A man in a gray canvas robe sat on the sofa beside Maxwell. His aether was as still as dead water as if it was swallowed by the darkness in his robe. He looked as if he had come from thousands of miles away. He held an old pipe; his face was hidden in the darkness and difficult to see. He was talking to Maxwell. "After all, with our relationship, I will definitely agree to help you with this." He rose and bid farewell. "Youre leaving now?" Maxwell tried to keep him. "Why dont you stay a bit longer? Its not too late to leave tomorrow." "The distance is far and it will be a difficult journey. The sooner I leave the better. My goal for coming to the academy has been reached as well and there is no point in staying. Thank you for your hospitality." "Then, safe travels." Maxwell rose to see him off. The traveler-like musician moved silently as if he was floating. When he brushed past Ye Qingxuan, he could feel the pair of eyes under the darkness sweep across his face. Those eyes were meaningful. "Who was that?" Ye Qingxuan asked when the man was gone. "Since he doesnt wish to reveal his identity before you, its obviously a secret." Maxwell smiled mysteriously and motioned for Ye Qingxuan to sit. "Whisky or brandy? I also have the strongest kerosene from downtown. Maybe youll like it." "Dont you have anything nonalcoholic?" Ye Qingxuan eyed Maxwell. He rummaged through the cabinets. Finding some black tea, he boiled water to make tea for himself. Maxwell sat with propped legs and watched as Ye Qingxuan scurried about. He did not care at all and just chuckled. "Sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I thought you would get impatient." "No matter where you go, you still have to come back here." Ye Qingxuan sat across from Maxwell, poured a cup of tea, and pushed it over. "Oh?" "This is for you," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "I have a lot of questions so get ready to be thirsty, Mr. Principal." "If I knew this, Id choose an easier topic to discuss." Maxwell sighed and downed the cup of tea. He wiped the water on his beard like an old swordsman getting ready to fight after drinking wine. "Okay, lets start. Dont worry, I wont hold anything back." "Then," Ye Qingxuan asked his first question, "who is White Crow?" "You know about him?" Maxwell was shocked but he shook his head. "Unfortunately, I want to know the answer too. More than a decade ago, the Sacred City ruled that your father was a heretic and had fallen. It caused uproar but your father ran away. The Lancelot family was the first to be questioned. "I dont know the specifics, but the former head of the family closed himself off to the world. Due to all the pressure, he was forced to exile you and your mother. After that, he fell ill and died two years later. "At the same time, Ye Lanzhou used his Scepter to erase his existence. Other than people with special status, everyone forgot about him. Unfortunately, he couldnt undo his mistakes. Amongst them, the one who put in the most effort to attack the Lancelot family was the White Crow that you speak of." "I see." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. "Then why did Ye Lanzhou come to the West back then? An Eastern Devas blood with a bright future and scepter would be the star of any school and the hope of the entire family. Why did he leave his hometown to come here?" "Twenty-seven years ago in the East, Bai Heng inherited the noble Bai family. He led his soldiers to rebel without care for his family in the capitol Changan. The emperor was furious and killed his entire family. However, Changan was breached three days later and the royal family was practically massacred by Bai Heng. "Bai Heng was the sole survivor of the Bai family. Due to outside pressure, he did not kill the youngest princess. He allowed her to inherit the throne, change her title to Wu. She became the first empress. After that, Bai Heng became the high and mighty regent, and the worlds most treacherous minister. "One year later, the Ye family was secretly ordered by the empress to fight under the name of removing treacherous officials. They partnered with the Eighth Battalion to besiege Changan for five years. However, the Ye family was betrayed by his ally. The head of the family was beheaded and given to Bai Heng as an apology. "After that, the Ye family was cut up and punished by the crown. All direct blood lines were imprisoned for life. Your fatherthe successor of the Ye familyYe Lanzhou was twenty-two years old at that time. "There was no place in the East and no reason to stay there, so he came to the West alone to start a new life. To be honest, I dont know what he did to break free from all those bars and shackles. Maybe no one could stop him if he really wanted to escape. Anyway, the result was that he came here and started a new life, just as he had wished." Maxwell sighed. "Unfortunately, the new life here wasnt as easy as he had thought." "Then what happened?" "Then what?" Then I met him for the first time." Maxwell chuckled. "He applied for a position at the Royal Academy of Music and became a visiting professor. One year later, his talent and ability was acknowledged, and he became the youngest vice principal in the academys history. "You know what happened next. He met your mother, they got to know each other and fell in love. In the end, they endured all the challenges and married. I officiated their wedding. That was the most honorable thing Ive done. Unfortunately, now I always think that maybe what happened next would not have happened if Id protested their marriage." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, "So what happened next?" "The Lancelot family is practically part of the royal family. In order to marry your mother, Ye Lanzhou agreed to many terms. One of them was that he must work for Anglo for ten years. He agreed and received a secret position in the Royal Research Institute. The following year, he represented the Institute and participated in a research project in the Sacred City." "The Sacred City?" Ye Qingxuan pondered. "Is it the Church or the Musician Union?" "Both and even more. The Silence Governance participated as well," Maxwell said lightly. "This was one of the results of the Third Amendment Act." The Third Amendment Act was a secret agreement made two hundred years ago between the various countries and the Church. According to this agreement, each country would respect that the current King of Redwho was also the Popewas the only representative of God. He would make no fallacy and protect the Churchs legitimacy and Gods undeniable status. In return, the Church would not have any political power; it would separate from the government. Churchmen were forbidden to join the military, government, or interfere with any countrys laws. They were even forbidden to accept the worship of believers. All funding came from the various countries. The Sacred City Parliament led by the Pope established the Sacred Citys position as the core of the world. The first thing the Sacred City Parliament did was to establish the Musician Union to unite all musicians. At that time, the Inquisitionan organization that had grown astraywas abolished. The musicians were added into the Silent Authority that was under the Musician Unions sole authority and became judicial musicians. The non-musician priests returned to the Church and formed the Ministry of Faith that had the authority of final interpretation of the Bible. From then on, God belonged to God and mankind belonged to mankind. The Pope was responsible for guiding the lofty spirit while the men of the world were ruled by their kings. Whether it was metaphysical or physical, everything found its place. A new order was born. The secret research institute that was not part of any organization was established at that time. The research that Ye Lanzhou participated in was started eighteen years earlier. The Sacred City Parliament gathered scholars and alchemists from each country, secretly deployed musicians of dozens of research fields and sixteen different schools, and began an unprecedented researchWhat is a natural catastrophe?" Maxwells voice was like stones rubbing and creating blazing sparks. "That was the goal of the researchto understand the nature of the natural catastrophe. For this, all of the worlds strength was secretly united and captured a natural catastrophe. All the preparation, process, and actions of this plan had been sealed. No one knows what happened, other than country leaders and the Pope." "Natural catastrophe?" Ye Qingxuan was shaken. "Which one?" "Of the natural catastrophes, the ones with the most characteristics are the Three Saints, the Three Pillar God, the Four Living Objects, and the Eight Phenomena." Maxwell smoked his cigarette. "Its impossible to even prove the existence of the Three Saints. The Three Pillar God is too large and far away from humanity, making it hard to understand. The Eight Phenomenaare just phenomena. Theres not much research value. Therefore, the most suitable target is one of the Four Living Objects." "Hecatoncheir?" It suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. The Four Living Objects was Hecatoncheir, Leviathan, the Dark Mother, and Cereus. Of these four, the Dark Mother did not have a specific shape and was difficult to observe. Leviathan of the deep seas had already died. No one would be able to find it before it is reborn. Cereus seemed to be the easiest but its nature was difficult to grasp. It lived in the black zones across the world. It was where the aether was the most disorderly. Cereus existed between real and intangible. Like an unrealistic bubble, it could burst at touch. Merely observing it could cause it to scatter, let alone catching it. Therefore, the most suitable choice was undoubtedly Hecatoncheir. "Butthe Sacred City was actually able to capture him?" "Yes, with grave losses," Maxwell said softly. "To my knowledge, since eighty years ago, four of the current eleven saints disappeared and two of the nine Eastern imperial musicians died. The other participants were all gravely wounded as well. The former King of Yellow was lost due to this. But thats not the worst. The worst is that we succeeded." 315 Graduation? Maxwell spoke of some of the events very vaguely, but Ye Qingxuan could imagine the bloodiness and sacrifices behind the vague words. Even musicians as powerful as the Three Kings could fall in a battle against a natural catastrophe. Scepter musicians were not even able to enter the battlefield. "Did Ye Lanzhou participate in the research of Hecatoncheir? Hes talented but hes not even a Summoning musician. What use does a Mind musician have?" "Did you forget your fathers title?" Maxwell glanced at him. "Moon Chant, the purifier of all abnormalities, the only one who can resonate with the Pure White Moon and the Blue Moon at once. Hes the one who most understands the differences between natural catastrophes and men. I would find it odd if he didnt participate." "And then what?" "And then?" Maxwell put out his cigarette. "And then its as you know. Your father turned and fell into the territory of natural catastrophes, becoming a dark musician." "I know that." Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist. Looking at Maxwell, he asked gruffly, "Is it true?" "I dont know." Maxwell looked away. "When he left, he caused too big of an upheaval. The entire research institute was practically destroyed. All the files were destroyed and all the people "After all these years, I often think if that young man had already turned into my enemy. Will we meet on the battlefield one day? Sometimes, I even thinkitd be better if hed died." "I dont want to agree but I think that too." Ye Qingxuans words stunned Maxwell. The young man lowered his head and hid his expression. He said coolly, "Those guys that only know to cause trouble are better off dead. But I dont want him to die without a clear reason." After a long silence, Maxwell patted his shoulder. "Humans are unable to interfere with the past but if you want to investigate the truth, you must become stronger. You should at least be a Scepter musician to have insight on the secrets." "Isnt it too early to talk about this? Im still lost about the Resonance level. The Barrier of Knowledge is enough for me to get headaches over for a few years, let alone finding the origin of the resonance." Maxwell froze and fell silent. Thinking of something, his gaze turned odd as if he was looking at an inhuman creature. "Whats wrong?" Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling. "Ye Qingxuan, youve only been in school for half a year!" Maxwell held his chin and praised. "You went from nothing to an official musician within half a year and are learning four schools at once. According to the Academys rules, you can graduate already." "Uh, ah, huh?" Ye Qingxuan froze too. "Graduate?" "Yeah!" Maxwell nodded. "The Royal Academy of Musician has a six-year schooling system, but realistically, you can graduate after becoming an official musician. You must know that not many of the graduates this year are official musicians yet! With your record now, youre more than ready to graduate! What if today I" "Wait! II" Ye Qingxuan was dazed. Finally, he slapped his thigh. "I paid for one full years worth of tuition! I still half a year left!" Maxwell looked at him as if looking at an idiot. "I gave all those downtown businesses to you and you still need money?" "I dont care! Im not graduating!" Ye Qingxuan sprawled on the sofa, throwing a tantrum. "Otherwise Ill go lie down before the palace and starve myself in protest! You better believe that. Maxwell is a ruthless and corrupted principal! A commoner student is expelled! Ill get you onto the Musician Unions complaint board, the headline!" Even someone as thick-skinned as Maxwell was taken aback by this. He had experienced many who could not graduate but he had never seen someone who was not willing to leave the Academy. "Hey, dont be like that. Help me out. I havent reached the quota for this years graduation. With you, Id at least be able to ask for a bigger budget for next year," Maxwell said. "Its your own fault that you cant reach the quota, alright?! What kind of school has such weird graduation exams?" "So youre set on not graduating?" "What are you so impatient for?" Ye Qingxuan picked his nose with a rogue expression. "Im just a first-year student. Wait until Im in my sixth year before talking about graduating!" "Youre really not leaving?" "Nope! What can you do about me?" "Oh, thats great." Maxwell rubbed his hands and smiled mysteriously. "Then you wont reject the trial task that the Academy assigns you, right?" Ye Qingxuan was instantly stunned and it finally dawned on him. "You were waiting for me to say that!" "Youre the one who doesnt want to graduate. I didnt force you." Maxwell shrugged. "You can choose between graduating and working." Ye Qingxuan ground his teeth and stared daggers into the old guy. "Just tell me what you want!" The Royal Academy of Music had the tradition of trial tasks. It was like summer internships of other schools. The Musician Union would assign some simple missions for students so they could accumulate experience. Of course, some bad teachers would take advantage of their students and make them work for free. For example, people like Maxwell, who set up traps for students "Dont be scared. Its pretty simple." The prepared Maxwell took a document from the drawer and tossed it at Ye Qingxuan. "It suits you too but its just a bit far." "How far?" Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been scammed. After thinking, Maxwell said casually, "Around five days by sea, six days by train, and then half a month by foot?" Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. "Why dont you just say going across the entire world?!" "Yeah, something like that." Maxwell shrugged and stated, "You know about the Romulus people, right? A few centuries ago, after Romulus was destroyed by a natural catastrophe, these people scattered throughout the world. Decades ago, their leader established a new tribe in the north." "Do you want me to represent Anglo and ally with them? And then well have" "Do you think the nations would allow a group of refugees to take a land that is rich in resources?" Maxwell side-eyed him. "Youre going to save people. Recently, theres a large-scale infectious disease is going around. The local Church suspects that this is related to the digging of archaeological sites and is recruiting scholars who can interpret and understand history. Youre just going over to help out." "An infectious disease?" Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened. "Does it turn people into" "Sorry, its just a regular disease." "Psh, thats boring." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "You think all musicians make the headlines every other day?!" Maxwell suddenly grew furious. "Hurry back, pack up, and get the f*ck out! If youre still here the day after tomorrow, Ill have the Fifth Department exile you!" "Theres no need to be in a hurry, right?" "Hey!" Maxwell was pissed at the mention of this. "Thanks to that Mr. Demon and those guys who messed around, Avalons enchantment is still damaged and riddled with holes. Its protection is basically nonexistent. The royal musicians have been tearing their hair out these two days. Do you know why?" Ye Qingxuans heart skipped a beat. "Why?" "Because someone in this room is the biggest interference!" Maxwell was practically jabbing Ye Qingxuans face. "After you messed with the enchantment, your aether waves are connected to the core! The enchantment wont be able to be repaired as long as youre in Avalon! "If not for me covering you, youd be hanging from the Traitors Gate for destroying national defenses by now! And youre asking me whats the hurry?!" "Uh" Ye Qingxuan felt guilty about this too. It had been an emergency, but it truly was a bit too much to make national defenses into his own body. No one had investigated for so many days that he thought the crisis was over but it was actually waiting for him here. "Okay, okay, Ill go!" He dejectedly prepared to go back and pack but Maxwell called, "This is for you." He tossed over a ring. Ye Qingxuan caught it and realized it was high-grade alchemy equipment. He could see that it was a product by Avalons famous alchemist workshop Cavendish Laboratory. It was much better than the defense rings he had stolen before. When he touched the inside, he felt some vague letters carved on it. "007SH? Whats that?" "I help you record a file with the Fifth Department under the name of Sherlock Holmes. From now on, your code is number seven and is directly under me. You basically have amnesty now," Maxwell said casually. "Theres no reason to make you do everything by yourself out there either. Someone will give you messages later. Remember to burn them after memorizing the content. They can help you muster a considerable amount of people and power. Use them carefully and see it as a gift." "That simple?" Ye Qingxuan cautiously put on his ring. He did not know why going to help cure a disease in a refugee camp would have something to do with the mysterious Fifth Department, but seeing Maxwells actions, there must be hidden dangers. It was better to be safe than sorry. "Oh, right, whats that refugee area called?" Ye Qingxuan asked before he left. "Auschwitz," Maxwell said with a smile. "A place filled with peace, friendship, and kindness that accepts the poor refugees with no home." 316 Safe Travels Ye Qingxuan was prepared, but he was still shocked when the man from the Fifth Department knocked on his door. "Richard?" He gaped at the senior who had graduated and apparently went back to his hometown. "You?" "Oh, you still remember my name?"Richard still wore a black uniform and a strange smile. "Then you can call me Richard. Mr. M told me to give this to you. See, I told you were fated." Ye Qingxuan was speechless. So the schools executive office was the reserve for the Fifth Department? Maxwell truly was creative. Ye Qingxuan could not think of how a student organization in a musician academy was related to the Fifth Department. Not even ten minutes after Richard had left, someone else came. Ye Qingxuan, frantically packing and with a sweater on his head, opened the door and froze. "Seton?" The burly man who practically blocked the door turned and pointed at the carriage behind him. His gesture meant, the Boss wants to see you. - "Heard youre going to Auschwitz?" The fat middle-aged man across from Ye Qingxuan smiled warmly. But seriously, who was he? Hermes? Where did the handsome young man go? Ye Qingxuan felt lied to. "Ah, you cant recognize me? Seems Ive changed a lot." Hermes rubbed the bristly hair on his chin and cackled. "Dont mind me. Ive been growing quickly these days but it should settle down soon." Trying not to insult him, Ye Qingxuan just sighed. "Boss, how may I help you?" "Didnt I already say it? I heard youre going to Auschwitz?" Ye Qingxuan blanched. "I just found out an hour ago. News travels fast." "No need to bother with the details." Hermes pulled out a check from the Church and wrote a long number. "Since youre going there, help me bring some money over. I fund a child there" "Boss, can you just get to the point?" Ye Qingxuans expression was troubled. "That is the point." Hermess was serious. "Go and check for me. Youre just going there to study some stupid books, right? Youll have a lot of free time so just help me take care of the girl. If she doesnt need anything then you dont have to care. Spend the extra money for yourself. Ive also helped you buy a first-class ticket for tomorrows luxury cruise so you can travel comfortably!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After a while, he said awkwardly, "I misunderstood you. Ive never seen you care so much about other people." "Shes not other people!" Hermes grew troubled. "Shes likemy daughter?" Ye Qingxuan spat his tea out. "Your what?" "Im kidding. Dont take it seriously." Hermes whistled and raised his hand. "Seton, come and send him off! Look at you, you dont have any manners. He still has a sweater on his head and you dragged him over. What if you keep him from packing?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. He finally had the time to pull the sweater over his head. He had not worn it in a long time and, as expected, it was a bit small. In the end, Hermes saw him to the door and asked casually, "Oh right, are you still wearing that pocket watch?" Confused, Ye Qingxuan looked down at his chest. The tick-tocks from the Double Snake Time Meter answered him. - For dinner, they held a celebration at a restaurant outside the Academy for Charless discharge from the hospital. Charles was like a starved beast. When Ye Qingxuan arrived late, he discovered that his portion was practically gone already. Hearing Ye Qingxuans mission, Abraham nodded. "Since it was assigned by the Musician Union, it shows that they think highly of you. Ill prepare some resources and books related to interpretation tonight. You can read them on the way there." "Youre leaving?" Bai Xi squeezed in. "Where?" "Auschwitz. Its a small place but its a pressing matter. Im leaving tomorrow." Hearing this, Bai Xi went blank. "Why didnt you tell me earlier? I havent packed yet." "Im going by myself." Ye Qingxuan tapped her forehead. "You still want to go out after failing all those classes? Focus on your credits first." "Oh." Bai Xi lowered her head and did not say more. Soon, she lowered her utensils. "Im done." Without waiting for the others, she rose and left. They heard the door slam in the distance. Old Phil, chewing on a bone beside the table, looked in the direction she went, then back at Ye Qingxuan. He shook his head judgmentally, picked up the bone, and ran off as well. Charles snorted. His mouth was stuffed with meat and he could hardly breathe from laughing. Ye Qingxuan looked to his teacher for help but Abraham just shrugged helplessly. Ye Qingxuan sighed and chased after Bai Xi. They ran all the way to the music history building. Bai Xi ran into her room and slammed the door. After organizing his words, Ye Qingxuan got ready to knock on the door but then he heard a click. She locked the door. "Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan knocked. "Bai Xi?" "Theres no one here!" a voice traveled from behind the door. After thinking, Ye Qingxuan grabbed a chair and two books. I dont believe youll never open the door! If you want, try staying there the entire night! But Bai Xi really did not open the door the entire night. Good girls were not supposed to open the door for men at night. Bai Xi was a good girl and kept the door closed. If she said there was no one there, then there was no one. She said nothing the entire night. The next day, Ye Qingxuan waited by the Academys gate for a long time but Bai Xi did not come to see him off. "Shes probably angry youre not taking her with." Charles patted his shoulder. "Dont worry, shell get over it. Shell probably forget by the time youre back." "I hope." Ye Qingxuan scratched his face awkwardly and climbed into the carriage with his luggage. - When he arrived at the pier, he realized that another unexpected person was waiting for him. It was a black carriage without any marks. The driver raised the brim of his hat and smiled at the youth. It was Maxwell. Ye Qingxuan did not know why Maxwell suddenly wanted to dress up as a driver, but he was used to his principals oddities. "Oh, youre here to see me off?" "Not me." Maxwell shook his head and tossed something over. "This is for you." The small box felt heavy. Ye Qingxuan opened it and discovered a black velvet pouch. It was filled with dried tobacco that smelled expensive. What attracted his attention was the thing beside the bag. It was the familiar stone pipe. Under the Eye of Silence, the pipe was covered with beautiful flowing light. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan looked up. Maxwell smiled and jutted his chin toward the carriage. "She thinks this suits you." He could see a vague but delicate silhouette in the carriage. "The princess?" Ye Qingxuan gaped at Maxwell. "Hey, old guy, did you" Maxwell looked away. "Her Highness used the Queens authority to read your files. This isnt my fault." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand expressionlessly, showing the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei on his finger. "Principal, can you at least shield your heart when you lie?" Maxwell hit his forehead awkwardly. "Sorry, I forgot." "Maxwell, Id be dead long ago if I believed you." "Well, its nothing bad for you." Not only was Maxwell unapologetic, he even extended a hand as if nothing was wrong. "She hurried over to see you off so early in the morning and even brought a gift. Are you going to let her return empty-handed? Wheres your gift for her?" After a short pause, Ye Qingxuan felt around his body and took off a defense bracelet, putting it in Maxwells hand. "Its not really auspicious but this is the only thing I can give now. It saved me many times and its meaningful to me." "You really ruin the mood." Maxwell shook his head. Casually glancing at Ye Qingxuans chest, he said meaningfully, "Whatever, its the thought that counts." "Also, say sorry for me," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "I lost that thing a while ago." Maxwell froze. He looked down at Ye Qingxuan; Ye Qingxuan looked up at him. After a short staring contest, Maxwell looked away. He sighed; regret flashed past his eyes. "Safe travels, kid," he said, and whipped his horse. The black carriage faded away into the distance. The vague gaze from the carriage disappeared as well. - Not too far away from the pier, a big yellow dog squatted on the rooftop of a shop and gazed in Ye Qingxuans direction. Beside it, Bai Xi scribbled on the ground with a tree branch. Hearing the whistle in the distance, she pursed her lips. "Old Phil, did that guy leave yet?" The dog barked. Not yet. Bai Xi looked back and saw the youths lonely figure on the empty square before the ship. The stressed out worker beside him was trying to convince him of something. He did not move. The whistle sounded again but he still did not move. He looked in Old Phils direction, saw Bai Xi, and waved. However, he still did not move as if he was waiting for something. If it did not come, he would not go. Bai Xi pursed her lips and huffed. She jumped down and walked over unwillingly. "Why arent you leaving?" Bai Xi muttered in annoyance with her head down. "Stop making things hard for others." This was totally uncharacteristic for her. She always did what she wanted and never cared about others. Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Im waiting for you." "Oh." Bai Xi looked up and then looked away. She asked quietly, "Are you going to spend Feast of Winter Veil there too?" "It wont take long." Ye Qingxuan fluffed her hair. "Its just two months. Ill be back before winter ends." Bai Xi broke free and smoothed her hair. "You dont have to tell me that." "Sorry, I havent had time to play with you. Ill bring a gift for you." "Oh." Bai Xi lowered her head. Ye Qingxuan asked, "Then Im going now?" "Oh." Nibbling on her lower lip, Bai Xi looked away. Ye Qingxuan chuckled. With one last glance, he picked up his luggage and walked toward the ship. When he started climbing the steps, he heard someone call out, "Cousin!" Looking back, he saw a small figure duck under the workers blocking and run over. Without waiting for his reaction, she opened her arms and hugged him lightly. "Safe travels," she said. Ye Qingxuan was stunned but he quickly laughed. "Okay!" - Under the blaring whistle, the ship slowly left the port. The white-haired girl and yellow dog at the port gradually faded into the distance. Ye Qingxuan stood at the bow and stared at Avalon as it grew further away. When he came here, he only had a suitcase, a few thousand dollars, some clothes, and a dog. He left all of that in Avalon. Thinking like this made him sad but he still had himself, at least. And a hug. It was great. No matter what, he would not be lonely anymore. 317 Smooth and Calm Three days later, all was calm in the blueness of the sea and the sky. The ship cut through the still sea, leaving behind ripples that spread in all directions. The sea wind was moist with a slightly fishy smell; it was relaxing. Under the afternoon sun, Ye Qingxuan leaned against the mast. He squinted up at the end of the sky and sea. He was both spacing out and focused. "Mr. Ye, its dangerous there!" The second mate looked up at him from the deck with concern. Putting a smile on, he asked, "Can you come down?" Ye Qingxuan leaned against the mast at the top of the sail and looked down. "You dont have to worry," he said. "Let me stay here alone." "O-okay." The second mates expression stiffened but he sighed. Official musicians were all weird. If Ye Qingxuan wanted to be somewhere, then let him be. The sailor just hoped nothing would go wrong. He did not know how to answer to the captain; he just hoped he would not get screamed at again. He prepared himself to return to the cabin with a bitter expression when he heard a voice from above him. "Also," the young man said calmly while looking into the distance, "the boiler in the kitchen is going to explode. If you send a repairman within five minutes, it can still be fixed." "Huh?" The second mate froze. When he processed the message, he scrambled into the cabin, screaming. The sailors fell into a flurry. After a round of broken sounds, some ashen repairmen walked out. It was clear that the hot-tempered captain had screamed their ears off. However, their gazes grew reverent when they looked up to the mast. The youth in the air seemed to be napping. However, a majestic melody hung over his fingertips. The powerful melody resounded with the sea wind and blew to all directions. It even traveled higher into the sky. It was hard to hear. However, countless water vapor lines spread from Ye Qingxuans hands. Hundreds upon thousands of water droplets were woven into a beautiful radiance, sensing all changes within a radius of countless nautical miles. At this moment, all changes within that range were under Ye Qingxuans control. It was the tenth measure of Bolero! The water vapor lines thrummed with his breathing. They wrapped around the large ship and spread into the sea, leaving behind fine ripples as the ship moved forward. The ripples were interwoven like a heartbeat. The beat was rhythmic and strictsixty beats per second, never more or less. It was precise to the nanosecond. Though the ripples were small, they spread at an incredible speed to impossibly great distances. However, they quickly rippled back to Ye Qingxuan with feedback. The come and go created a simple and fast loop. On the mast, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes. His raspy voice echoed throughout the bridge along the perception threads. "Sailors, get ready. Theres a rogue wave at nine oclock direction coming in two minutes." Commotion erupted. The first mate in charge of steering frantically adjusted the direction. Soon, just as Ye Qingxuan had said, wild waves suddenly appeared on the calm waters in the nine oclock direction and swept toward the ship. Usually, the sailors could only raise the sails and speed up to dodge the full hit or move passively. However, they had a warning this time. The ship had already adjusted direction and charged past the rogue wave. The wave collapsed and they dodged the worst hit. Shocked cries sounded across the cabin. "Thank you, sir!" The second mate happily climbed up the mast just to say thank you. He even brought a bottle of red wine. The captain had just taken it out of the cold storage and it still had cold smoke. "This is a gift of gratitude from the captain." "No need for the wine," Ye Qingxuan said. "I still have to thank him for opening the ships large-scale observational aether ball for me. These opportunities are rare and Im glad to help." The middle-aged second mate was a Rhythm level musician from the School of Revelations. He was responsible for observing and whiled his days away on the ship. After learning that Ye Qingxuan was the student of Abraham who had recently been awarded by the Queen, he was extremely attentive. He took care of all the details, from pouring tea to massaging Ye Qingxuans leg. When Ye Qingxuan mentioned that he wanted to see the ships aether ball, he had hesitated for a long time but still asked the captain. The captain had screamed at him but gave Ye Qingxuan authority after the second mate vouched for him. Even without the second mate, a request from an official musician was already enough for the captain to consider seriously. At first, he feared that Ye Qingxuan would mess around. Soon he felt he was fortunate for making the right decision. It was clear that Ye Qingxuans observation skills and interpretation speed were much better than the second mate. With his help, the ships speed was sixty percent faster than usual. They had not run into any trouble either. The originally tense and long twenty-four hour ride had now become a relaxing vacation trip. The captain was so happy that he practically smiled in his sleep. If not for Ye Qingxuans status as a musician, he would probably have had him sleep on the bridge and work without rest. "Tell the captain to drink less." Ye Qingxuan steadied his monocle and gazed at the ocean. "In a few hours, well leave the yellow zone and enter a red zone. My perception range will shrink." Different from land, aether zones in the sea changed like tides. The majority were slightly chaotic yellow zones. Sometimes, they would turn into red zones for silent sailing. Other places were the unapproachable black zones. If a ship accidentally ventured into it, the ship would have to power off and pray they could float out of the area. Otherwise, they would remain there for eternity and become a ghostly ship. Therefore, ships were required to land occasionally or use lighthouses to receive the newest star map from the Sacred City. This way, they could avoid the most chaotic aether currents and find the most stable path within the tides and aether. Hearing Ye Qingxuans words, the second mate pulled out his small aether ball. Connecting it to the bridge, he scanned it and sighed in relief. "With our speed, we should pass through it within half a day. Mr. Ye, theres no need to worry." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "You can go now." The man hesitated. He asked quietly, "About lunch" The gaze behind the monocle seemed to reflect some absolute truth with a cold and distant shine. The second mate froze. He looked away respectfully and did not dare to say more. Climbing down timidly, he ordered the kitchen to work overtime and prepare the best food for the man. - Actually, Ye Qingxuan did not hear his question. He was thinking. He needed to travel by ship for five days from Avalon to Auschwitz. He would go from west to north and, after passing by Burgundy, go from north to south. Then he would ride the train for one week and finally, travel by foot for half a month. He had never traveled as far as practically half the human world. The further he was from Avalon, the livelier the aethers power. In the first few hours, Ye Qingxuan had the auditory hallucination that his body kept popping quietly. As if chains were breaking apart, his power kept rising. As the aethers density rose and he left the restrictions of the enchantment, his suppressed power was quickly recovering. After increasing more than thirty percent, there was still room for growth. Having his strength increase rapidly felt good, but Ye Qingxuan wished it would stabilize. He forced it to the point of one-third more than usual and let it out slowly and gradually. Once past this threshold, his precision of the manipulation would decrease. Perhaps some musicians would be overjoyed by the increase in strength. However, this was nothing good for Ye Qingxuan who needed precise control. Thankfully, the sub-originator in his heart gave him the best aid. It had weakened a bit after leaving Avalon but it quickly recovered with the immense amount of aether. It even helped Ye Qingxuan control his explosive strength. Without the enchantments restrictions and with the increased strength, he was also unprecedentedly sensitive to aether. This was the best opportunity. After destabilizing, he would be able to reconstruct his music theory and explore the Seven Questions for Musicians. He had been thinking for all these days. The Seven Questions for Musicians were actually just ones summary of music theory. One could only answer the question if one truly grasped the changes in music theory and essence of ones school, understood deeply, and explored it. Compared to the blind searching from before, he discovered many places he had neglected and unclear parts of his understanding after being given the question. These were holes in his foundation. The music theories of the seven schools were like a giant web. They came from different places but reached toward the same goal and tangled with each other. In this process, the Seven Questions for Musicians represented the focal points of each school. The unknown,between life and death,origin of dreams,abandonment of oneself While deciphering the music theories repeatedly, he discovered that the distance between the different questions had lessened. They gradually merged into one direction and were linked together by some power. This power told Ye Qingxuan that the propositions were all on one important axis! This power came from his blood. Ye Qingxuan looked down at his palm. Through his Eye of Silence, he could see the silvery aetheric blood flowing silently. It crashed against the walls and shone vaguely. "Devas blood." 318 Sea Fog "Devas blood" Ye Qingxuan could feel that the power sealed in his blood was getting closer after he became an official musician and went through Deva sensing. Ye Lanzhou had sealed it, and although he could not truly utilize it, it somehow affected him. He could often feel an instinctive urge when he was half-asleep. It was urging him to hurry and enter Resonance so he could have his talent again. And also, the most important "Dreamweaver?" Ye Qingxuan murmured the name that had appeared in Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This was the guide that had grown clearer after Deva sensing and was an advancement he had never heard of before. As the musician paths became more refined throughout history, musicians of the same school began to specialize in different aspects. It created specializations for musicians like the ones for alchemists. Different musicians had their own strengths, which required different advancements. For example, musicians of the Anglo School of Royalty would combine the theories of Summoning and Modifications when they become an official musician. This allowed them to grasp the technique of changing between elements and beasts. Compared to other advancements, the Dreamweaver had much higher requirements. Simply put, someone under the Resonance level should not even think about it. When going through resonance, one must target ones origin in a special place according to the theory. However, Ye Qingxuan thought that reaching its requirement was more than difficult. The position of the origin could move! Located between the realms of existence and nonexistence, the origin floated in the nine levels of the aetheric sea. It could move up and down and jump between the levels. The first time Ye Qingxuan saw this, he almost cried. It was weirder the more he thought about it. Why did this origin not follow conventions? The more he thought about it the more confused he was. In the end, he decided to ignore the problem. Deciding to relax, he started to read the books Abraham had given him. It was research about Romulus. He should at least know some basic facts before arriving there. - The Romulusian culture originated in a riverbank area and developed into the desert and oasis areaThebes. This was one of birthplaces of civilization. The ancient Theban School was also born there. After the three legendary cities of gold were destroyed, the culture spread in all directions. The people established various city-states. Finally, the hero Aeneas guided by the Originator left his hometown and established the City of Wolves in a new land. He united the city-states and created a large empire. This was Romulus. The empire flourished within the century and created many legends. However, it was destroyed and flattened by the natural catastrophe Wave of Silver. The survivors were tainted by the natural catastrophes breath. From then on, they were seen as lower-class citizens and the descendants of demons. They had no home. They finally found a barren piece of land and began to live there. People referred it to as Auschwitz, which meant heaven in ancient Romulusian. It was the biggest irony. Reading ancient history and music scores was very difficult and time passed quickly. Ye Qingxuan soon stopped reading. He closed the book and looked down. The sailors were busy again. The whistle was muted and the bells were taken down. The hammer was taken out and wrapped in cotton. All passengers were politely sent into the cabin. The wheel cabin was extinguished and the tied up sail was taken down. The entire ship began to float solely with the wind. The entire process was complicated and fast. Soon, the deck was silent. Ye Qingxuan tugged on the rope and dropped down. He glanced at the man beside him. "Should I go in?" "No need." The middle-aged captain had typical Asgardian features. His edges were sharp and his brow bone was high. He looked cold, handsome, and unfeeling. "Theres still one more hour before we enter the red zone. The passengers paid money so we have to worry for their safety. However, musicians like Mr. Ye dont need our concern. Instead, well need your concern if anything happens." With that, he took out his silver cigarette case and opened it for Ye Qingxuan. The youth shook his head and took out the pipe he had not used yet. "Thats a good thing. Youve maintained it well." The captains eyes were envious. "Can you share some tobacco?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled and did so. "The atmosphere is so tense even I feel pressure. Mr. Captain, are you nervous?" "Relax. Were using the safe path for civilians and its just passing through the red zone. Nothing will happen if were quiet. You just need to get used to it." He lit the tobacco with ease and inhaled deeply. Letting the smoke out, he tilted his head back in satisfaction. "Are you familiar with black zones?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yeah, accidentally brushed past one once." The captain nodded. "The sight was so scary I still remember it. We just bumped into a reef and it was like the entire ship was alive and singing. Everyone was" A sailor approached and he stopped talking. He did not want unrelated people to hear his words. Rather than being secretive, it was for the good of the sailor. After all, not everyone could stand those unbelievable stories and terrifying rumors. The sailor glanced at Ye Qingxuan and lowered his voice. "Captain, look behind you. Theres something" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. When they approached the red zone, he had pulled in his sensory proximity and precision so he would not be disturbed. Before the sailor came over, he had felt something floating over with the current but he thought it was just trash. Hearing the sailors words, he narrowed his eyes to focus and quickly nodded. "Captain, you should go take a look." Hearing that, the captains eyes instantly grew serious. After taking two steps, he looked back. "Together?" Ye Qingxuan nodded and caught up with them. When they arrived, the onlookers were forced away. Only he and the captain remained. The captain looked down past the railing at the tossing blue waves. Something floated over and softly bumped into the side of the ship. It sounded like a polite guest knocking on the front door. It was a broken sharda broken piece of a lifeboat. All that remained was the bow and was toyed by the waves like a dead fish. On the bottom of the boat, poking out from the surface, one could see a bloated corpse. He had been nailed to the bottom. Someone had taken out a nail from the boat and stabbed it through the mans hand, nailing him to the bottom of the broken boat. Half of his body was soaked in the water, allowing him to float with the waves but it was not enough for him to drown. "He nailed it himself," a sailor said quietly. When the disaster happened, the man did not have the strength to grasp the boat anymore so he nailed himself onto it. He prayed for savior but sadly, nothing answered his prayers. A seagull had pecked his eyeballs away. All that remained were two empty eye sockets that stared deep into the distance. Ye Qingxuan looked away. They had not entered the red zone yet and already saw something so pathetic. This was beyond his imagination. The first mate asked, "Captain, thiswhat do we do?" In the stern, the captain smoked and thought for a long while. Finally, he muttered, "What are you waiting for? Hes already dead. Do you want to pull him up and pray to him? Lets continue." He turned and left. Thus, the ship continued to sail. - Half an hour later, the ship that floated with the wind finally approached the red zone. Ye Qingxuan could feel that the aether in the sea and wind was close to saturation. In a musicians senses, it was like steering into a world of star clusters. Passing through the dazzling clouds, every breath seemed to shine. "Theres fog." Ye Qingxuan stood on the deck and stared at the fog rising in the distance. Soon, it was thick enough he could not see his own hands. It was damp and cold and swallowed the ship. Amidst the pale whiteness, the sailors on the deck put on respirators. Even Ye Qingxuan put on a mask that looked like a pigs snout. It was difficult to breathe with it but at least he did not feel like he was suffocating anymore. Of course, there was nothing to see with the fog. He sensed that the water surface was empty and still. There was the sound of tides in the faraway distance. Everything was normal. Ye Qingxuan returned to the cabin. He was ready to continue reading but he froze after two steps. Taking out his book, he realized it was wet. "Illusion," he murmured. His finger trembled. "Did someone cast an illusion here?" Abraham had not said anything but after the fire, all resources were given moisture and fire protection. The books and files were not flammable and would be dry even if they were soaked in water for a few hours. He had used the School of Abstinence to refuse changes in the objects nature. If this was the case, then did this odd fog truly exist? After thinking for a long while, he snapped his fingers. The Bolero net was awoken. He had been adding bits of music theory from the School of Revelations. Now, Bolero, which did not have any characteristics before, had started showing signs of the Revelations style. He had given up on other aspects and turned it into pure investigation and reading. Accompanied by the light melody, the perception threads were awoken again. Faint moonlight shone from it. In Ye Qingxuans eyes, the fog instantly became dreamy, beautiful, and ethereal. Though it was beautiful, he did not dare to look around. The more he saw, the more he would be eroded by the illusion. Right now, he had noticed it but could not get rid of it. Once a musician became an official musician, the structure of all music scores would change. It would become more complete and the effects stability would be incomparable to the past. This was especially true for illusions. If he could not find the core and origin, he would sink further into it. In the end, he would not be able to tell reality from illusion and would be vulnerable. 319 Fulcrum Musicians had two ways to decipher illusions. No matter what illusions the enemies made, the School of Modifications could form music theories into formulas and destroy the illusion by force. With a big fireball, the entire terrain would be gone. The illusions attached to the reality would certainly be defeated. But for Ye Qingxuan, this was nonsense. He knew nothing about the movements of the School of Modifications at all. He was never good at interfering and influencing matters. Plus, there were so many innocent people onboard that he could not do this at all. Since he could not do it forcefully, the only way he could go about was through his technique. The core of the School of Modifications was formulas, the core of Summoning was the beastly nature, and Choir was the equilibrium of the four liquids. The core of the School of Mind was ''intention''. As for the School of Illusions, its core was the ''fulcrum. All illusions needed fulcrums; otherwise, it was impossible to build one. As long as the fulcrum was found, then the illusion would fall apart. Under the mask, Ye Qingxuans Eye of Silence lit up faintly. It connected to the water vapor threads and spontaneously began to analyze the data in it. This rare auxiliary equipment was the treasure of the School of Revelations. It was the equivalent of a formal Revelations musician. It could easily interpret and explore illusions. However, in the realm of illusions, a faint song sounded like a Sirens voice. Compared to the illusionary voice that could move the white mist, Hariti from the sewer was nothing. The whole ship was in chaos in an instant! The passengers screams came faintly from the cabin. "Beware of the sea!" the first officer yelled. "Theres something in the sea." The sea tossed as if it was boiling. The sailors, too, were out of control. They waved frantically, chopping down the indistinct mist before them. Hideous figures appeared in the mist. They were burly green mermen more than two meters high. They stepped out of the illusion, climbed up the ship''s side, and began to attack with sharp cries. They clutched rusty iron bars and swords. Their scales were like armor that swords could only leave white marks on. Some fat mermen with barbs on their backs stepped on the vulnerable deck, rushing towards Ye Qingxuan. Startled, Ye Qingxuan quickly retreated. He knew this was an illusion but letting the illusion attack him would cause him to sink deeper. The more one interacted with the illusion, the less likely one could break free from it. There was a plop in the distance. The second mate fell down to the ground when trying to retreat. The next moment, a few mermen rushed to him excitedly. They pinned him down and started to munch his body. He screamed painfully, reaching out to the youth. "Help me! Mr. Ye! It hurts" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth but did not move. He did not dare make any actions. He was not even sure whether that second mate was made by the illusion to shake his will or not. He could only speed up and cooperate with the interpretation of the Eye of Silence at full force. If he removed the illusion before the second mate became brain dead, the second mate still had the possibility to live. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would also be trapped! His steps did not stop while he was interpreting. He managed to dodge the attacks of several mermen, retreating into the sailors defensive circle. But then, a sword was thrust from behind The sailors eyes were blood-red. They were looking at him but their eyes reflected a hideous monster. They did not know who they were anymore. Ye Qingxuan smashed down, forcibly took down the sword from a sailor, and chopped his side. The rope of the sails was cut off and the wheel began to spin. Ye Qingxuan took the chance to seize the rapidly rising cable by his side and rose to the apex of the mast. Soon, a thick shadow emerged from the fog in the sky. An eagles hiss came from the distance. Several shadowy figures loomed in the thick mist... It was a harpy! Ye Qingxuan could not catch a break! Gritting his teeth, his eyes darkened. There was absolutely a musician manipulating this illusion! He did not know why the ship was attacked but he definitely would not allow this to happen no matter what their purpose was! He cast the Bolero net without even looking up. In a few seconds, the harpy pounced toward him. Coldness flashed in his eyes. The fulcrum of the illusion was found! "Thats it..." He jerked off the damp-proof mask on his face and clenched it. Lightning that burst at his fingertips burnt down the mask. In a twinkling, with a crisp sound in the void, the harpy and hideous mermen disappeared silently. This was the fulcrum of the illusion! The mist that was almost tangible squirmed. Suddenly, it dissipated with a hiss. Now, he finally realized that the ship had deviated into a strange bay while it was enveloped in the heavy fog. Some indistinct figures were singing softly on the distant reef. Around the ship, water splashed as something swam excitedly around the ship. A childlike laughter was heard, which was particularly bizarre. Ye Qingxuan hummed coldly and his Eye of Silence locked onto the dark figures so he could see them clearly. They were sirens that had been completely demonized. Ye Qingxuan immediately drew back his sight and looked over the ship that was in chaos. The point was there. The fulcrum was hidden in his damp-proof mask so it was obvious that the musician was one of the passengers on board lurking on this ship. It seemed that someone had seized the opportunity to trigger the illusion. First, he made the people out of control; then, he drove the ship to the lair of these sea monsters. What was more, judging from the broken lifeboat before entering the red zone, this must have happened more than once... "Its you!" Following the guide of the fulcrum, Ye Qingxuans eyes glittered and his sight fixed on a man. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei popped up from his hand; thunder boomed and fell down from the sky! Under the roars, the prepared captain twisted his body and rolled on the ground. He unexpectedly dodged Ye Qingxuans attack. "I wasexposed?" Staring at Ye Qingxuan, who was descending from the sky, the captain suddenly smiled strangely. Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Youre still human?" "Yes," the captain replied earnestly and nodded. "Of course I am. How else could I be their captain?" "It seems that Ive misjudged you. I didnt expect that youre a musician from the School of Illusions." Ye Qingxuan tread forward with no expression. "You did all this to lead the people to this demon lair, but...for what? "I couldnt help it. It isnt easy to raise children." The captain sighed and turned back. He looked down at the side of the ship. Hearing the childlike laughter, he showed a helpless face. "Especially because there are so many children and theyre hungry, so hungry Every day, they say to me, dad Im hungry, Im so hungry, I want meat I can only do my best to find meat for my children." He paused and sneered. "Oh, by the way, do you remember what I told you about the black zone? Its a long story but some things just happen, right? You need to try to accept it, just like me. "To tell you the truth, the plan should be perfect. Unfortunately, you appeared before we sailed. This is the flaw but you just cant reject it. This is your misfortune, Mr. Ye." As he spoke, a strange figure emerged behind him. It was like some sort of weird shellfish without shells. It squirmed in the air, releasing faint fluctuations that rippled the fog. It was the strange demon in the aether world that was born from those who had died in the seathe Mirage. It often appeared in the material world through its contractor. It would project its power through fog and illusions. The ignorant would be attracted and immersed in the environment, allowing themselves to be sapped dry. Finally, they would become a withered corpse. "Sorry, Mr. Ye." The captain laughed. "My illusion has been launched. I hope you wont make any unnecessary action. When the children are full, I''ll let you go." Boom! Before the captain finished his words, lightning projected from Ye Qingxuan''s cae. It twisted sharply in the air and suddenly drilled under the side of the ship, pouncing toward the childlike laughter. The laughter cut off; it was followed by a dying scream. The captain''s figure wavered; his face slacked. "Mymy fulcrum..." "Youve worked very hard to attract my attention with those words, however..." The youth suddenly smashed his cane on the deck. Steel collided, producing a sharp sound. "You speak too much nonsense!" There was a snap as if glass was shattered. As the fulcrum was destroyed, the crumbling illusion finally disintegrated. It was double Illusion. This meant adding an illusion to the basis of another illusion by using something nonexistent in reality as the fulcrum of the next illusion. Only musicians who specialized in illusions could make such an ingenious trap full of murderous intentions. After the enemy had broken a layer of illusion, who would expect that he was still trapped? The exquisiteness and meticulousness in it was really breathtaking. At least, with Ye Qingxuans ability, he definitely could not escape from the original illusion movements range to build such an enormous illusion. But the most fatal flaw of the opponent was that he had created demons with the illusion. How could an Illusion musician who could resonate with the Mirage have no response to Devas blood? That was impossible! With pops and cracks, the surrounding eerie bay, sirens, strange-looking captain, and the Mirage behind him all disappeared. Time seemed to turn back quickly. All that had just happened was just a short dazed moment. There was no fog on the sea. It was cloudless and sunny. The ship remained outside of the red zone; it was still half an hour before it entered the red zone. Ye Qingxuan and the captain stood at the stern. The sailors beside them were whispering while the captain was still frowning. Only five seconds had passed. The atmosphere was peaceful and there were no problems at all. "Except you." Ye Qingxuan picked up a harpoon from the sailor beside him and aimed it at the broken lifeboat beneath the ship. The swollen corpse was still staring at him. Its eyes were empty and dark. 320 The Intangible is Tangible "Nameless Mr. Illusionist, can you give me your name?" Ye Qingxuan focused coldly on the what was left of the lifeboat. However, his gaze passed through the bottom of the overturned boat. There was a small air pocket between the boat and the water surface. Who would notice what was hidden in the narrow space? "No need to keep hiding," Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Your first fulcrum was the eye sockets of that corpse, right? You used the sound of the piece knocking against the ship to attract attention. Then you created a shock with the pathetic state of the body. Finally, ones gaze would fall on the eye socket. "You hid the fulcrum there. Seamlessly and unnoticeably, the people who saw it would fall into your illusion. The field of illusions that you specialize in is into absurdity, right?" No one spoke in the silence. The captain and sailors stared at Ye Qingxuan as if he was crazy. Expressionless, Ye Qingxuan pulled the trigger. Ping! The harpoon in his hand shook and shot through the air with a steel rope. The already rotten corpse burst from the piercing. Foul fluid flew in the air. The harpoon dug into the bottom of the ship, piercing the darkness. There was still no sound. However, through the analysis of the Eye of Silence, there were small changes in the aether within the perception threads. The boat instantly became transparent in Ye Qingxuans eyes, revealing a black shadow that was quickly sinking. "You want to leave?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Friend, do you know what an electric fish is?" At his fingertip, Indrahs Eye shone. Electricity surged down the harpoon into the sea, instantly illuminating the black waves. Burning electric light scattered in all directions of the deep sea. Ye Qingxuan did not hold back this time. He had directly used his sub-originator and gave the guy an electric treatment! This was his first time using Indrahs Eye since becoming an official musician. Even he was shocked at the strength he had when he did not hold back. After leaving Avalons restrictions, the high density of lively aether created wild friction. Blinding white sparks scattered in the deep sea. The lifeboat that took the brunt of the force was burnt to crisp; the body evaporated into dust. The electric light shot into the deep sea like a spear of lightning and pierced the black shadow. Under the bubbling of water, a streak of lightning rippled in all directions. In its path, countless dead fish floated to the surface. The ship crackled and popped. Even protected, everyones hair shot up. There was the weird smell of seawater decomposed from the high heat in the air. A scream sounded from the bottom of the sea. With a sharp crack, the burnt boat was broken through. The musician who had been attacked by Indrahs Eye without warning screamed weirdly. He shot up to the sky; his boots were clearly not average objects. A gentle melody reacted with the wild wind and he flew up more than one hundred meters in an instant. "Get back here!" Ye Qingxuan clenched his hand and a horn blaredNight on Bald Mountain! This guy was not a demon, and did not sign a contract with a natural catastrophe, but Night on Bald Mountains basic effect still showed. Under the targeting of the perception threads, countless silver ropes emerged from thin air. They curled toward the figure like snakes and wrapped around his ankles. He yelled and his figure became transparent. However, moonlight flowed down the ropes and broke his illusion. Boom! The ropes curled back and dragged him onto the ship. He slammed onto the floor. He tried to roll over and get up, but a foot met him halfway and stepped down onto his neck. Then, a smiling youth expertly reloaded his harpoon and aimed the coldly glinting thing at the mans face. "Whats your name?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Simon," the young burnt musician replied obediently. "Simon, a Siren musician of the Indefinite Earth." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan was interested. "I didnt expect you to be from such a place" The Indefinite Earth, Voodoo Crypt, and Fantasy Swamp were all prestigious houses of the School of Illusion. They were incomparable to the School of Royalty that was supported by the entire country, but they still had very unique and powerful techniques. The Indefinite Earth was the best at large-scale illusions. The Siren musician was a profession of the School of Illusion that utilized the talent and research of the Siren demons. They specialized in using fog and water vapor to create large-scale battlefield illusions. When they fought on the sea, their fatality would skyrocket to the level of an entire battalion. They were comparable to the Wave Warlocks of the schools of Summoning and Modifications. However, Sirens were strongest in ultra-wide ranges and ultra-precise illusions. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would have had a much harder time. "Youve just reached the Resonance level?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows after sensing Simons aether waves. "Im just an average musician who hasnt graduated yet. What did I do to attract the attention of the Indefinite Earth? The double illusion was very finely constructed. Im impressed." "Hmph, I dont like the sound of your tone." Simon gritted his teeth; his eyes were filled with hatred and regret. "Youre not a pure Revelations musician? Im going to argue with anyone who says youre just a soft persimmon scholar. F*ck, none of you Angloians speak the truth!" "Hey, Im confused as to why I just randomly walked into an illusion trap!" Ye Qingxuan wrinkled his brows. "And soft persimmon? What does that mean?" Simon blanched and gaped at him. After a long while, his expression grew incredulous and he cackled. "You dont know yet? Oh my God, you dont know anything. The moment you left Anglo, you entered the hit list of so many genius musicians! Hahaha hahaha" "I f*cking knew it!" Clenching his jaw, he turned toward Anglo. As if he could see a certain old man, he repeated the vilest curse he could think of inside his head. He had calculated carefully and was cautious, but he had still fallen in that old b*stards hands! "You think you won?" Under his feet, Simon glared at him and sneered. "Its not over yet." Ye Qingxuan instantly felt a fleeting shadow flash over the distant sea. A cackle soundedit was Simon, who was under his feet. "Ye Qingxuan, its only our first meeting and youve already seen through the double environment." Simon glared at him. "If you can see through the last one, I admit defeat!" Then the shadow dissipated like a dream. Ye Qingxuan looked down dumbly. Under his feet, Simon had somehow stiffened into a corpse. It was clearly a replacement. "I cant believe its a triple illusion!" The hair on Ye Qingxuans arms instantly rose and he shivered. This guy had actually created a triple illusion, which was incredible. But when did he drag Ye Qingxuan into the last layer? Where was the fulcrum hidden? On the boat? In the sound of the waves? In his meal? A hint in the guests conversations? Or was it before he boarded the ship Ye Qingxuan instantly remembered the server who had urged him to hurry onto the ship. An odd light had flashed through his eyesit had started then. No, it might have been even earlier. Or The youth trembled and he looked down furiously, suddenly stomping his feet. Simon, who had been playing dead, squeaked. He could not pretend anymore; his escape music score that he was preparing was interrupted too. This time, Ye Qingxuan was decisive. He yanked the wind flute off from Simons neck, taking away all chances of fighting back. "So scheming!" Ye Qingxuan spat. "You used the trick you prepared beforehand to fool me into thinking Im still in the illusion. After I stop focusing on you, youd be able to escapeYour plan is pretty good. You tossed alchemy equipment for making illusions into the sea beforehand, right? You can activate it when needed. It can trick your enemy and buy you time." With his last trick gone, Simon had a defeated expression on his face. He had already been gravely wounded by Ye Qingxuans sudden Indrahs Eye attack and had been forcing the pain down. With no hope in sight, he lowered his head and coughed violently. Blood seeped from his openings. "I lost." His voice was hoarse and unwilling. "How did you discover it?" "Any trick will lose its effectiveness after a few times," Ye Qingxuan said coldly. "Its true that there is tangibility in the intangible and intangibility in the tangible. However, if you go past three, even the most incredible setup becomes a joke." "I see" Simon hung his head; he stopped fighting and spoke no more. Ye Qingxuan pulled a small pouch from his waist and tossed it down. "Swallow this if you dont want to die." Simon followed the orders. He opened the pouch and swallowed the refined silver sand without caring if it was poison or what. Soon, Ye Qingxuan sensed that the sand had reached the stomach. He used Night on Bald Mountain to group the silver sand into clusters and block his stomach. "Dont move if you dont want to be burnt to dust from the inside," Ye Qingxuan said coldly. Simon felt the weirdness in his stomach. He could not help but shiver and nod like a bobble head. The captain decided it was safe now and came over cautiously. He glanced at Simon, who was on the ground. "Mr. Ye, what do we do with him?" "Lock him up." Ye Qingxuan looked down and smiled mysteriously. "I have use for him." 321 Want to Die? It’s Not That Easy! They restarted the journey. There were no more dangers, and they passed through the red zone safely. Late at night, a sole lantern illuminated the bottom cellar. Simon, starved for the whole day, wolfed down the dinner Ye Qingxuan had provided, without caring if there was poison in it. Ye Qingxuan propped up his legs and watched. "Lets talk. Why did you attack me?" "You really dont know anything." Done eating, Simon wiped his mouth. He asked slowly, "Do you have some enemy who doesnt like you and decided to throw you in here? No, this opportunity is so rare. No one would waste it on youoof!" Ye Qingxuan retracted his hand and stopped the pain hint. He said lightly, "I ask and you answer." "Auschwitz," Simon answered obediently. "The Auschwitz trial." "Whats that?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "What does that have to do with you attacking me?" "Me attacking you? Ha, I wont be the only one attacking you when you land." Simon shook his head. "Let me start from the beginning. You know the King of Yellow, right?" Mozart, the King of Yellow, was a genius musician who grew famous ten years ago. He used thirteen years to go from a country bumpkin to one of the most powerful men on Earth. He was a respected musician and was comparable to the best musicians Bach and the Pope. If there really was a template for a protagonist, it would be him. However, he disappeared five years ago. He vanished off the face of the planet. One of the three kings just disappeared without a trace. A few days ago, someone found a relic in Auschwitz. It contained various precious technologies. According to analysis, it may be the Scepter Tomb of Aeneas, the first king of the Romulusians. This was like Avalons Kingdom Come. However, the relic had been occupied by the Romulusian refugees. It was clear that they had regrouped here just for the relic. They received support and aid from the Chainsaw Fraternity and rebuilt their home, fighting off any outsiders. "Its a bad coincidence." Simon shrugged. "A few days ago, the Sacred City discovered that the King of Yellow was last seen there before disappearing. Everyone has been sending people there to explore the secret of the King of Yellows disappearance and the ancient music of the site, but the Romulusians fought all of them away. "But with everyone stopping each other, they all kept calm and nothing big erupted. Everything was peaceful and solving the problem was only a matter of time before the Popes order." "Order?" Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling. "What order?" "The gist of it is that the King of Yellow is the first of the three kings. This issue pertains to the dignity and safety of humanity. Anyone who can decode the relic and find where the King of Yellow went can receive a reward from the Sacred Citythe permanent blessing of Concerto No. 5." Ye Qingxuan felt as if he was struck by lightning. "Concerto No. 5? Which one?" "What else can it be?" Simon glanced at him mockingly. "Of course its the one known as the emperor concerto." The king of all kings, the emperor of all concertosthe Piano Concerto No. 5! Its strength was above that of the material world but it was carved within aether. Kings ruled in the material world, but the aether world was the musicians territory. People blessed by it would have their own land in the aether world! Once they entered the Scepter level, they could combine it with their symphony of predestination and create an unparalleled scepter! "Do you know what this means?" Simon gritted his teeth. "With that power, youll have the chance to become one of the next three kings once you enter the Scepter level! You might even be able to inherit the throne and become the king of all musicians after the current King of Black falls!" Silence. Long, long silence. Ye Qingxuan turned blankly and stared in Avalons direction. After a long time, he jumped from his chair and yelled, "Maxwell, f*ck your entire family! You *sshole, old mother*cker, how much do you hate me to make me do this sh*tty work?! Ive contributed to Anglo, Ive bled for Avalon! And you make me go fight with all the musicians in the world for this? Why dont you just hang me on Traitors Gate? F*ck you" No one replied. Shocked by Ye Qingxuans burst of fury, Simon gaped from his position. When Ye Qingxuan finally finished ranting, he returned to his chair. He stared at Simon with red eyes and slammed a fist on the table. "And what does this have to do with you attacking me?!" Seeing Ye Qingxuans terrifying eyes, Simon spilled the beans. "In order to avoid conflicts between countries, the Sacred City turned this mission into a trial for the next generation of musicians. Only musicians under the age of thirty and hadnt received a title from the Sacred City can participate. "Now, many of the grandmasters have gone to Auschwitz but no one entered. Instead, they camped around the site and let their juniors go and fight for clues. This fight is restricted to young musicians but its still intense. Because of this, everyone has the mutual understanding to try and get rid of competition before entering the city." Here, Simon peered at Ye Qingxuan. "Everyone thought that Anglos School of Royalty would be the strongest competition. But no one expected that they would send you instead of the royal musician Gavin" "So then I became the top soft persimmon of the world, right?" It dawned on Ye Qingxuan and he snickered. "That *sshole Maxwell mustve secretly sent out my information, right? Tell me what youve heard!" "Youre the student of ancient scholar Abraham, a Revelations musician and genius in ancient history and interpretation, but youve only been studying for half a year. Youre the weakest of all the nominees. Everyones been keeping an eye on your tracks ever since you left Avalon." Here, Simons expression grew furiously sad. "My teacher was right. You Angloians never tell the truth! How are you f*cking Revelations? Look at you! Nothing on you, except for the equipment, looks like Revelations! You look more like an Illusion musician than me, and you minored in Mind too. And if thats not enough, you even majored in Abstinence. Youyouyoure actually the representative from the Silent Authority, arent you?!" Ye Qingxuan could not help but scoff. "You came to kill me but got destroyed by me and youre still playing victim?" "I wasnt planning on killing you, I swear." Simon raised his hand and swore with an innocent expression. "Of everyone, youre the best at exploration and interpretation. I just wanted to capture you and make you explore for me. I never used any harmful illusions." "But then you failed, right?" Ye Qingxuan said lightly. "Anyway, I lost." Simon closed his eyes and tilted his head back, baring his neck. "Life or death, its all up to you!" Silence. He opened his eyes cautiously and looked at Ye Qingxuan. The youth was studying him. Gripping his chin while considering something, Ye Qingxuan suddenly started chuckling creepily. "You want to die? Its not that simple." His smile was hair-rising. "Wholl help me if youre dead?" "Youyouwhat do you want?!" Panicking, Simon tried to retreat but he was cornered. "Dont be scared. Itll just hurt a little bit." Ye Qingxuan activated Governor and pressed Simon to the wall. He pointed at the ceiling. "Relax. Itll be over by the time you count all the specks up there." Simon was in despair. "No!" A chilling scream sounded in the cellar and lasted for thirty minutes. The sailors who overheard all trembled but did not dare to approach. They looked on from afar and whispered amongst themselves. One hour later, Ye Qingxuan exited. He tidied his collar and slowly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat on his forehead. It looked as if he was wiping his face after a feast. His smile was indescribably strange under the dim light. The cabin behind him was silent. - The young man woke up from his daze. His entire body screamed in pain and his throat was parched. "Iwhat happened to me?" He climbed up from the broken lifeboat and rubbed his face, trying to organize his thoughts. "I rememberI was attacked by an illusion? But, Iwho am I? Why am I here" "Young Master, youre finally awake." The old man at the stern looked up. His voice sounded like grating metal. There was a giant turban on his head and he looked Indian. There was also a sword in his chest, nailing him to the boat. He was immobile and seemed close to death. The young man froze. "Whowho are you?" "Young Master, Im Asan." The old Indian man looked sad. "Im your servant Asan. Are you sick again?" "Sick?" The young man blanched. "What sickness? Youre my servant so do you know who I am?" "Young Master, your name is Ye Qingxuan!" the Indian yelled with all his might as he grabbed the young mans hand. "Roll up your sleeves and look." The young man looked down and did so. He saw tiny words on his wrist: your name is Ye Qingxuan. 322 Naica Cave of the Crystals Your name is Ye Qingxuan. You will lose a portion of your memory every few days. You should trust Asan. He will take you to your treatment. "Ye Qingxuan?" the young man murmured blankly. "That name sounds so familiar. Ye Qingxuan? Im Ye Qingxuan? Im an Easterner?" He looked down and saw his reflection with trademark silvery-white hair in the water. His broken memories instantly reconnected. It dawned on him. "Is itlike this?" "Yes, Young Master." Tears of joy appeared in the old Indian mans eyes. "You finally re-re-remember." Ye Qingxuan was stunned but he embraced Asan. He did not know what to do; there was just the feeling of pain and tension in his heart. "Young Master, Im gravely injured. I might not be able to accompany you anymore," Asan said in Ye Qingxuans embrace. "Next, you must be careful about others attacks" "Asan, get yourself together!" Ye Qingxuan could not help but panic. "IWhat should I do?" "Go to Auschwitz," Asan exclaimed with his last ounce of strength while grasping Ye Qingxuans hand. "Go to Auschwitz and find your father!" "Father?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Yes, your father. His name is," Asan choked out, "isOld PhilOld Phil Wang!" Ye Qingxuan nodded with tears in his eyes. But soon, he felt something was wrong. He asked, "Asan, why is my fathers surname Wang?" "Becausebecause" Asans mouth opened and closed with difficulty. Then his expression slacked and his breath cut off. His hand fell from Ye Qingxuans; his pulse and heartbeat stopped. He was dead. "Asan? Asan!" Ye Qingxuan shook his shoulders forcefully but no one replied. He sobbed and screamed but Asan was forever gone. After a long time, the lifeboat floated to a shore. The crying young man stumbled onto the shore and took one last glance at Asan who was on the boat. "I-Ill take revenge for you," he sobbed. Wiping away his tears, he turned and left. After a while, Asan, who was long dead, climbed up on the boat. He massaged his neck and sighed. "Ah, the tears were so tragic. I shouldve just said that I was your father. Ah, would that be too sad?" With that, Asan jumped off from the boat and watched as Ye Qingxuan faded into the distance. He waved. "Safe travels, Ye Qingxuan!" Seeing his determination as he traveled westward to Auschwitz, his journey must be very interesting! - According to the original plan, Ye Qingxuan needed to get there within one month. After the ship landed, he needed to take the carriage train for five days and walk for half a month across valleys and mountains. In the end, he would find the grouping area in the barren land. Simply put, he would get there when he had no other place to go. That was what he was supposed to do. But Ye Qingxuan refused. Since he knew that everyone was targeting him, he definitely would not keep traveling on that dead end. Why not let Simon forge on under his name? After all, Auschwitz was not going to move. Ye Qingxuan could go in a circle and take it slowly. - Six days later, a hunter on horseback pointed deep into the mountains for the youth who was still dressed as an Indian. "Go around this and keep going for two hours and youll be there." The youth nodded. He pulled two pieces of paper money and offered them. The hunter thought for a moment and rejected it. Instead, he pointed at the youths ring. "I want this." "Sorry, I cant give you that." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Tucking the money into the saddle, he turned to leave. Two steps later, the hunter was in front of him, blocking him with the horse. Looking down, he repeated, "I want this." This time, he pointed at him with a dagger. Sometimes, in these faraway mountains, the line between hunters and robbers was very blurred. Faced with the blade, the emotionless youth smiled after a short pause. "Good, I like this too. I want this one." One minute later, the youth was on horseback with a dagger, humming a tune from Avalon as he restarted his journey. Two hours later, Ye Qingxuan came to the big conclusion that horseback riding was hard. He had used a Mind score to make the horse cooperate but the lower half of his body was practically numb. If he did not have the Governor to help support his body, he would have probably slid down from the jolting horse. Thankfully the hunter had provided a good horse. Otherwise, all the brambles and obstacles on the road would probably take his life. Ye Qingxuan had learned his lesson: he should never overestimate his physical strength, especially since he was too weak to even run a marathon. But he somehow reached the destination. The chestnut horse snorted and stopped in place, refusing to go forward. Before them, the dense forest had disappeared. The vegetation was sparse and the black dirt looked as if it was crystallizing. The signs grew stronger further in. The crystallization of dirt and dust spanned a few hundred miles in radius. This was a flat plain between the hills. He could practically see crystal crumbles scattered on the ground. In the middle was a giant cave. The black cave seemed bottomless. He could only see huge overlapping crystals. Just as fungi grew in a damp tree hole, translucent and beautiful crystals grew here. He tossed a lantern into the darkness. The dim light fell onto the humongous crystals and created magnificent reflections. The cave instantly became a multicolored dreamscape. But the light was quickly extinguished and the cave fell into still darkness again. "Its been centuries. Has the environment not recovered yet? The aether is still so dense and messy. Its like a red zone" Ye Qingxuan stood before the cave. Looking around the barren territory, he sighed. He peered into the crystal cave, his eyes growing solemn. "Its our first meeting but Ive heard much about you, Naica Cave of the Crystals." This was where the natural catastrophe Diamond Snake was killed by the Silent Authority centuries ago. At that time, this was not the hinterland of the human world yet. Within the chaotic red zone, waves of beasts and natural catastrophes fought. The Diamond Snake built its nest here. After that, grandmasters from the Sacred City came to kill it. The place turned into this state after that. Nothing grew for hundreds of years. There was not even a worm or caterpillar within the radius of a few dozen miles. This was the legendary battlefield relic between the mountains and forest. There was no life here. Other than exploratory musicians who studied history and geography, no one else cared about this place. And other than the fact that the Silent Authority would periodically survey this place through the Sacred City Hall, it was practically forgotten by the world. If Ye Qingxuan did not flip through Abrahams archive and the schools library, he would not know that there was such a place near his path. Since it was along the way, he decided to come take a look. After all, someone was taking the brunt for him, so it wasnt a problem for him to vacation and do some archeological digging, right? Thinking like this, Ye Qingxuan pulled out a pendant to measure depth and tossed it into the dark cave. He did not feel the weight lighten until the rope was almost to the end. "Three hundred and seventy meters?" Ye Qingxuan eyed the scale and started to pull the pendant back. When he retracted it, he realized that the pendant was actually severed by the sharp crystals halfway down. The cave was actually much deeper. "How deep is it actually?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. He nailed the rope on and added two protective measures after pulling it tight. He adjusted the aether ball to the illumination mode and hung it at his waist. Then he started going down. The fluorescent light illuminated the colorful crystals. They looked like mirrors that led into an inhuman world. He stopped to rest many times along the way. Even with the Governor supporting him, he was close to giving up and going back several times. However, he gritted his teeth and forged on. Unfortunately, the rope was used up before he got to the bottom. He stepped on the wall of the crystal cave and stared blankly into the darkness below him. Under the aether balls illumination, the layers of gorgeous light grew like a forest. They had stood there silently for hundreds of years, growing slowly as they absorbed the chaotic aether. It probably took a few decades to grow one inch. After short hesitation, Ye Qingxuan let go of the rope. He stood on a crystal a few meters wide and walked into the center of the cave. Below him was bottomless darkness. Above him was a sliver of weak light. All was silent; there was no sound at all. It was as if he had left the world. The bottom of this cave probably led to the underworld of legends. Loneliness and fear were magnified here. Explorers would most likely breakdown from their fear before they landed and leave this inhuman place. Especially because Ye Qingxuan glanced at the aether ball in his hand. Its light was blinding and he could see countless tiny waves crashing against each other, struggling to break free from the prison. It was its reflection of the outer aetheric environment. If this was overly still and eerie for regular people, this place was the convergence of radiance and fury for musicians. The chaotic music theory remaining in the crystals would randomly ripple and distort the environment. This was caused when the Diamond Snake was killed. Just like the Jianlan Underground Palace, the material and aether world overlapped here, creating a strange realm. However, this place was not as stable as the Jianlan Underground Palace; it was filled with chaos. If Ye Qingxuan was not an official musician and did not have a deep understanding of music theory, he would probably suffocate here. "Its been so many years but there are still remains of large-scale reverberations?" 323 Are You Starving? Under the Eye of Silence, disorganized lights and ripples flashed through the dark cave constantly. Every crystal was like a piano key that was silently playing a melody. He could see all the way to the sky from the abyss. The war had ended centuries ago but the song still hung over the battlefield. It was the scars left in the aether by the glorious battle. Ye Qingxuan leaned against the wall and sat on a jutting crystal. He stared at the radiant glow. Compared to such a large relic, humanity was as insignificant as dust. "Abandon oneself," Ye Qingxuan murmured as he pondered. The core of the School of Abstinence was the construction of order and disruption of nature. He felt that he might be able to find some inspiration in this chaotic aether environment. However, he realized he was too idealistic after he came here. Boleros perception threads dissipated the moment they extended from his fingertips. The water vapor was too fragile and could not explore in this type of environment at all. He could only change the medium. He slit his finger. A strand of blood floated out and spread in all directions, reflecting the pale moonlight. The moonlight spread as well, rippling like water when touched by stray aether currents. Next, a heartbeat sounded in the darkness. The dust began rippling in the air. They floated and danced. Called forth by the heartbeat, they formed various small rings. They gradually enlarged and enveloped Ye Qingxuan. Within the dust rings, the restless aether seemed to enter a stable white zone. They no longer crashed or changed and instead grew still. The small dust rings enlarged to about five meters in diameter before bursting like a bubble. Ye Qingxuans heart beat furiously and his expression twisted. After a short pause, the dust rings began to spread again. He was trying to create a zone of stable music theory within this restless environment. After dozens of attempts, he finally managed to maintain a range of five meters. Within that range, all was calm, even if all was in turmoil outside of it. Perspiration began beading on Ye Qingxuans forehead. If he did not have his sub-originator, he definitely would not dare to mess around in a black zone-like place. However, this was a rare opportunity so there was no reason why he shouldnt try creating a stable white zone. Establish order, disrupt the nature, and create music theorythese were the essences of the School of Abstinence. There was no better way to grasp the essence than personally experiencing it. However, the pressure was so heavy it felt like he was suffocating. It was too much to manage. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan could only hear his heavy breathing and his tired heartbeat. Each beat felt like it carried a burden of a thousand tons. It took a long time before he was slightly accustomed to the giant pressure. He slowly took out some food and nibbled at it. The rest went back into his pocket. He was already ready to fight a long war. He would not leave unless he discovered something. Three days later, Ye Qingxuan climbed out of the black hole. His face was white and his vision blackened occasionally. He was well-prepared but he had forgotten one thing. Unless he had special containers, preserving food was a joke in such a chaotic environment. Six hours after he had descended, he discovered that all his food had all molded, dried out, or changed color. A portion had no changes but Ye Qingxuan did not dare eat them. So he starved for two days. And did not discover anything. Actually, his understanding of the School of Abstinence and aether had both increased but he made no progress with the question about "abandoning oneself." Instead, he had almost "abandoned" himself in this giant ditch. He was starving. If he did not have the help from the Governor, he would not be able to climb up. Right now, Ye Qingxuan was the definition of "hunger" and "sad." He even had the urge to eat dirt. An even sadder fact was that the horse he had tied to the tree had run away too. Staring at the gnawed rope, Ye Qingxuan wanted to die. "Oh heavens! Such hatred! I have to starve and" The youth with a turban lamented to the sky. His sad cries traveled countless miles and mixed with the howls of wolves. It was indescribably pitiful. - "Wolves?" Beside the fire, Donald subconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword. However, he quickly relaxed. Dozens of carriages surrounded a notch in the mountain and set up a camp around the various bonfires. The merchants had traveled for the entire day. Now, they were holed up inside their tents and fell asleep instantly. Only some burly men were still sitting in the carriages and conversing casually. Beside them, oiled crossbows shone. There were even some alchemist bows. Usually, these illegal items would not appear in caravans. However, who really cared about laws in these barren places? The robbers did not. For their own safety, the merchants did not care either. "Boss, I told Rabbit to set all the traps," a muscular man with a sword said beside the fire. "Those guys who want to come play at midnight need to worry about their life first. But to be honest, I kind of wish theyll come." "Dont say that." Donald shook his head. "Its unlucky." "Best to be careful, right?" The man laughed, playing along. Donald did not reply. Looking at the steel basin hanging above the fire, he thought for a bit and tossed some wild vegetables in. The stew inside the basin bubbled and emanated a smell that was not exactly delicious. It was good enough to have food in the wilderness. Who cared about the details? The stew was soon close to boiling. However, the basin suddenly started shaking as if it was shivering. An earthquake? No Donalds expression changed. He pressed his ear to the ground. "Its a horse." Before he finished speaking, a stallion neighed in the distance. It was followed by a sharp whistle but it stopped as suddenly as it began. The muscular man jumped up from the bonfire. "Boss, theres a situation!" Donald rose. He wished he could push this guy who had jinxed it into the fire. "No sh*t!" The camp soon fell into unrest. Everyone who could fight gathered with their swords, daggers, and crossbows. They stared nervously at the torchlight in the distance and the approaching caravan. Someone was yelling enthusiastically in the wind. "Whoever is there, please stop!" Donald stood up and unsheathed his sword. "If you want money, we can manage to give you enough for a drink. Were all out here trying to survive. Cant we help each other out?" The caravan stopped not too far away. The distance was enough for a charge and assault. They could see people unsheathing their sabers and scraping them against their saddles. The sound was grating. "How much money?" a raspy voice asked. "How much money to buy your lives?" Donalds face changed. He looked back at the pale merchants behind him. He turned around said a sizeable sum. The leader laughed hoarsely. Someone nudged a horse forward until he was just outside the crossbows range and tossed something in. The defense group was stunned. They quickly retreated but the thing rolled in the air, fell within the illuminated area, and rolled to Donalds feet. It was a head. "Rabbit?" He recognized his companion, as well as the whistle that he was not able to take out from his mouth. The horse had walked past him and cleanly beheaded him. There was no pain on his face. "That money isnt enough at all. Keep it for your chickens," the raspy voice said lightly. The bandits guffawed. "Think a bit more and tell me another number." Gritting his teeth, Donald looked back at the merchants. "We cant give more." The lead merchants face was white as paper. "We already wont have any profits and we all came with debts. We hired you so you have to help us and defeat them" With a dark face, Donald picked up the severed head. "Look at this cut and their sabers. They arent typical bandits. Theyre the elite cavalry who fled from the Caucasus Federation. They have thirty horses and at least forty men. One charge can flatten our camp. One of my men has already dead. I took your money so I dont care about dying, but how many do you think can escape if they charge into the camp? If you can escape, can you keep the goods?" The merchants fell silent and exchanged glances. They soon said a new number. The hoarse voice did not laugh. He seemed to be in deep thought. "This number isnt that small and youre very genuine, but" His tone changed and became taunting. "Did you count the goods in your wagon from the Chainsaw Fraternity?" Donald froze. He turned back to the merchants but they could not meet his eyes. Someone said, "Thats a trade secret. We couldnt help hiding it." "F*ck, youve killed me!" Donald clenched his jaw. "These motherf*ckers even know what goods you have. They definitely have spies in your group and targeted us when we left!" "What do we do now?" someone asked with a trembling voice. What else could they do? Whistles sounded in the wind as arrows shot out. Donald raised his arm abruptly and blocked an arrow with his sword. The arrow split into pieces but the ridge of his sword fissured as well. Donalds face twitched. Clenching his jaw, he chanted quietly, "My heart is like steel, my blood like fire." Firelight shot out from his blade. His sword transformed into the Blade of Fire. This was high quality battle alchemy and was his bottom line. But it was too late. The pounding of war stallions was right before him. 324 Do You Really Need to Be Like This? The sound of hooves trampling on the ground was like thunder rolling. With the help of special horseshoes, the steeds ran fast. In the twinkling, the thunder came from afar, almost entering the range of the flames. It was too late. Donald''s face slacked. The Caucasian Cavalrys frontal array was charging forward. Even the fierce heavy armors of Asgard needed to weigh the consequences, let alone such a motley caravan. He gritted his teeth and rushed forward against the thunder. He struck down his sword to block the enemy sabers. The outcome could be seen in seconds. But at that instant, the steed under the Caucasian bandit was startled. It stood up, hissing uneasily. Then with weak legs, the steed foamed at the mouth. Its expression twitched with extreme fear. The bandit fell down to the ground with the steed. He broke his legs on the spot and was unable to climb up. Looking at the Donald with the sword, his eyes were filled with despair. Donald hesitated. Rather than seizing the opportunity to cut off his head, he quickly retreated back to the defensive camp. That was weird! That was too weird! His entire body was tense. He restrained the mysterious outbreak of unrest and fear. He turned back but saw his companions pale faces. Suddenly, the horses tied in the camp hissed painfully and collapsed to the ground, twitching. They struggled to escape as if they perceived something horrible was approaching. They even trampled each other... The Caucasian bandits were already in chaos. They were in an even worse situation than the camp. In the darkness, only a mess of roars was heard. Then the horses caught in chaos were forcibly injected with sedatives. Deprived of their mind and ability to think, they temporarily became puppets that could only react mechanically. But this was not over yet. "Who is it?!" someone screamed in the darkness but was quickly cut off. Suddenly, there was a burst of unrest that was immediately set to the silence. The voices of the bandits vanished as if they were engulfed by endless darkness. A black figure slowly approached in the darkness. One step, then another step As if he was stepping on everyone''s heart, every inch he approached magnified the pain and panic in their minds. Finally, the ethereal figure walked toward the camp, shrouded in heavy black mist. The black mist seemed to carry some sort of nightmarish beast. It constantly revealed hideous scales and claws. Sometimes it was like a beast, sometimes a tsunami, and sometimes the faces of the dead surfaced, spouting persuasive words. Those who saw froze and trembled as if they were cursed. At the very front, Donald''s blade suddenly erupted with a fiery glow that aroused him from the vertigo. He gritted his teeth, raised his sword, and aimed at the man. "Halt!" The figure instantly stopped in the mist and his eyes swept over. That pair of eyes were green like wolves eyes and contained some sort of unspeakable greed. His gaze swept past the peoples face like a blade grazing over them. Donald heard the trembling sounds of the people beside him. Those who had never experienced true fear before hoisted their crossbows and aimed at the gradually approaching figure. Their fingers on the trigger twitched uncontrollably. "Hold on!" Donald kept down his voice. "Do not shoot the arrows, do not shoot!" The Caucasian bandits had already shown them what the outcome was if they shot the arrows. In just a few seconds, they would be completely destroyed. No one knew if they were still alive or not. No, death was better in front of that kind of guy. He looked at the dark figure. He was drenched with cold sweat and he shuddered uncontrollably. "Mymy friend!" He could barely suppress his fear. "Were all trying to survive. How about we help each other." "Give me." The figure spoke with a husky voice. His gaze seemed to penetrate Donalds body and into the camp. The merchants shuddered and paled. In the end, they gritted their teeth and nodded. "Give it to him!" Soon, men carried a dozen coffin-like iron boxes and placed them outside the camp. "Everything is here." Donald looked at the figure with vigilance and horror. "Friend, we just ask to live" Before he finished his words, the figure pounced on the box and ripped the iron box off like tearing a piece of paper. The power armor that was hidden in it rolled out and stopped at his feet. The latest model of power armor was the Chainsaw Fraternitys prestigious product. Each one could be exchanged for a fist-sized piece of gold. But the dark figure froze and immediately upended the iron box with rage! "Who the h*ll wants this?!" the figure roared and glared at Donald. In the silence, the members of the caravan blanched. The dark figure bent over, seeming to be sniffing something. Suddenly, he cried desperately, "Its overcooked! Its burnt! Hurry up or nothing will be left. I helped you to settle such a big trouble. Now I just want to eat something. How can you fool me like this?" He looked at the stew on the fire with grief and indignation. It had already been overcooked. He pounded his chest. "Tell me, do you really have to be like this? Really? Really?" - "Would you like some meat, sir?" "Would you like some water, sir?" "Would you like a chicken leg?" "Sir, I made some soup for you. It can nourish your body." "Sir... Sir... Sir..." Ten minutes later, they sat next to the fire. The caravan''s chief and Donald sat carefully by the figures side and kept offering food to him. They behaved like waiters in a pub. The figure, stuffing his face, ignored them. He kept eating anything that was offered to him. His stomach seemed to be bottomless. Finally, he gnawed on Donald''s last brisket and sighed with dismay. "Ah, Im finally full." Donald''s face twitched. Was there an incinerator in this guys belly? "Well, sir..." He hesitated, pointing to the dark mist around him, and forced out a smile. The figure froze for a moment and hit his head. "Ah, I was too hungry just now. Sorry, I forget that extremes bounce back. Ive been forcibly suppressed for such a long time. As a result, the power grew too much, almost beyond my control..." He took a deep breath and flicked his fingers. After a desolate string sound, the dark mist around him as well as the terrible power that made the horses scared gradually dissipated, exposing a young face and big dirty turban. "Do you have a bed?" The young man got up and looked around. The caravan leader hurriedly pointed to his tent and gave it to him. "Thanks." The young man nodded with satisfaction. He pulled some cash from his pocket and stuffed it into the leaders hand. The merchant froze. He tried to refuse it but the young man waved his hand. "See this as pay for the next few days of food and travel." Wait! The next few days? The merchant froze and soon became depressed. Was this sir going to stay for a few more days? The young man crept into the tent without any suspicion and fell asleep quickly, snoring. The people exchanged blank glances with each other. Finally, Donald, with grimace, was pushed out. He carefully approached the tent to say something but felt coolness against his throat. A line of blood appeared. Donald touched his neck blankly and felt a small wound there. With a scream, he collapsed to the ground, trembling. He finally realized that the tent was surrounded by faint smoke. A figure stood in the smoke like a ghost, overlooking him coldly. Donald dared not say anything. He looked at it in awe and crept away. "Its a blessing, not a curse." He touched the wound on his neck and said to the caravan''s leader, "You''d better be respectful to that gentleman. He''s not interested in what you want to do. Youd better treat him well. Otherwise...I dont know if you can get to the place safely." The caravan leader shivered and nodded. The night deepened. - It was not until after daybreak that the caravan had the courage to look out of the camp. They saw the chaos, the horses that ran into each other and fractured their bones after being frightened, and the bandits that had fainted and lay on the ground in a mess. They quickly broke the bandits legs and threw them into a carriage. Any one of these guys was wanted with great reward. The city-states along the way had probably all prepared gallows to hang them. As long as these guys were identified, they could get a windfall. As for this group of bandits, they would get a beautiful rope necklace. Ye Qingxuan just said that they could do away with those guys in any way they liked. Then he gathered all the swords and other weapons and put them in his backpack. Now he looked like an Indian wanderer who sold swords. "This is fun," Ye Qingxuan said to Donald. "Don''t you think that collecting about one-hundred enemy swords is really cool?" "Well, as long as youre happy." Donald could only boil it down to the strange hobby of a mysterious musician and kept his mouth shut. From then on, Ye Qingxuan lived a cozy life in the caravan. After breakfast, he just laid in the carriage and slept. After dinner, he laid in the tent to read some books. Sometimes he would hunt some wild animals for a meal. This kind of life was sweet as honey when compared to having no food to eat and no place to sleep. Well, other than the fact that he often had to see the captain who was disgruntled for having to share a tent and carriage with his deputy hand. But Ye Qingxuan could definitely ignore this since he was such a generous man. "Boss, do you have more food?" Ye Qingxuan poked his head from the window and asked with a smile. "Can I have more? Im a little hungry." The caravan leader looked behind, frowning. Donald was at a loss. Finally, he ran into the distance to hunt some rabbits. Ever since Ye Qingxuan joined them, the guards duties only involved catching rabbits to eat. Soon, Ye Qingxuan''s lunch was brought to the carriage. Ye Qingxuan lay there. He hummed and read a book while eating roast rabbit. Watching those guys outside the wagon eating dry food, he felt a great satisfaction from the bottom of his heart. The life was so simple and fulfilling. There was nothing to complain about! But in the afternoon, the convoy stopped for some reason. Some noise came faintly from the distant. Ye Qingxuan frowned and poked his head out to ask, "Why is it so noisy outside? Whats the matter?" A man ran to the front, quickly ran back while panting. "A madman stopped in front of us. Hes asking us to take him to Auschwitz." "Oh?" The young man frowned and a strange premonition appeared in his mind. When his perceiving thread extended over there, he could not help but want to whistle. Then he heard a familiar voice shout seriously, "Yes! I am Ye Qingxuan!" 325 Rain "My name is Ye Qingxuan and it will not change. Food is free in the East so why cant I hitch a ride?" The proud youth with mottled white hair and ragged clothes blocked a caravan. His clothes were ragged because he did not start off with much clothing. His hair was mottled becausehis hair dye had faded. Now, Ye Qingxuan pointed at his fading white hair and said proudly, "Do you see this? Its the noble blood of a Deva! Hurry up and give me your best carriage. Otherwise, Ill lose my temper." "Uh" Donald gripped his sword as his expression twitched. With this situation, he could not fight the man but he could not not fight. Who knew if the man was a musician or not? He looked to the carriage in the center of the caravan for help but the youth there just blew his whistle without a care. What was wrong with this trip? Why did he keep running into such weird things? Before he could react, a cackle sounded in the air. "Ye Qingxuan? Im looking for you!" A black shadow instantly descended from the sky and clawed Ye Qingxuans shoulder, lifting him up. The three-footed eagles wing spanned a dozen meters. It was clearly a summoned phantom beast. The musician on the eagles back played his flute and cackled. "Going to Auschwitz is a death trap for a weak musician like you. Why dont you form a team with me? You can try decode" Before he could finish, something whistled through the forest. A blinding beam of light flashed in the air. It sliced off one of the eagles wings and burned half of the Summoning musicians body. Yelping, the musician urged the handicapped eagle forward. "You think you can get to Auschwitz?" A woman with a tattooed face rode a python. She beat her copper drum and chased after him. There were thunderous rumbles and booms. Melodies overlapped each other, creating dizzying and complex ripples. One could faintly hear Ye Qingxuans say indignantly, "Psh, stop dreaming! Bring it on" The entire caravan seemed to be fossilized. The mortals always suffered when the gods fought. "Whatwhats going on?" The caravan leader was close to tears. "Why do people keep fighting when theyre talking? They blocked our path!" "Boss, be happy they arent drag racing!" The turbaned youth beside him munched on baked seeds as if this did not bother him. "If I were you, Id choose a detour. If they come back" Before he finished, the leader jumped. He almost bounced off of his horse. "Detour! Turn around! Hurry! What are you still waiting for? For those unlucky b*stards to pay your salary?" The long caravan turned around and carefully avoided the musicians battlefield after going in a big circle. - After ten days, Ye Qingxuans happy days of lounging around finally ended. He could only hitch a ride to here. There were no more after this. He had traveled slowly and casually for so many days but, according to the arrangement, Ye Qingxuan was still on time. It was good enough that he had arrived! He had already planned on whiling his days away like this. With his small physique, killing was not his thing. He should treasure his life! "Sir, youre leaving now?" At the fork in the road, the caravan leader bid farewell to Ye Qingxuan politely. "Youre leaving so soon. Why dont you stay a few days? We will treat you with hospitality." He regretted his words as soon as he uttered them because Ye Qingxuans eyes brightened. "Really?" "Uh" The leader wiped at his sweat and stammered, "But we shouldnt hold you back. Your time is precious. How can a small caravan like us waste your time?" "Ah, no, not at all. And furthermore, you even dare to sell powerful things like the power armor. Your business is probably pretty big, right?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him with a subtle smile. Moving from the topic, he lifted up his bag and spoils. "Oz is up ahead. Thanks everyone for letting me catch a ride. Lets part here." The youth turned to leave. After hesitating, Donald called out, "Sir, can youcan you tell us your name?" "Me?" Ye Qingxuan looked back from his horse with a strange expression. "ImSimon! Right, Simon. Just remember me as a peace-loving Indian musician." "Simon?" Donald sounded out the unfamiliar name. "Then, may we meet again, Mr. Simon." "Yes, may we meet again." Ye Qingxuan whistled and patted the stallions neck. The horse neighed and galloped off. Watching as the youth faded into the distance, the caravan leader sighed, "What a miracle. I never expected to meet such a figure on the road. Its a pity he left so hurriedly. Do you think hes a Resonance musician from the legends with that power?" "Maybe. I cant tell," Donald lamented. "I didnt know youd be so generous as to gift him your horse." "Huh?" The man froze. "Didnt you give him it?" He stared at Donald; their expressions changed drastically. The leader stared at the youths silhouette. After a long while, he muttered, "He even steals horses? This *sshole Simon is so shameless" "Yeah. That Ye Qingxuan is shameless too!" - The youth whistled as he raced through the wilderness. After the long journey, he was finally close to Auschwitz. After five kilometers, he would be at the small village of Oz. It was the last rest stop before Auschwitz. Under the blazing sun, he could only see clumps of withered brambles and half-dead shrubs on the prairie. This was not far from the ancient Thebes civilization and still contained old relics and remains. According to ancient literature, there was a radiant city here in the past. Innumerable people lived here and created a glorious culture. Sadly, the times changed. The once-fertile soil had become a barren desert through the changes of aether and rivers. There was no sign of the original glory. The city was now reduced to crumbling walls. "Is this really the place that fed one hundred thousand citizens?" Ye Qingxuan looked around. He saw a small creek not too far away but the beach was covered white salt. It was undrinkable. Ye Qingxuan dismounted and reached out. He wet his fingers but almost threw up after tasting it. It was extremely salty and bitter, with a pungent metallic and fishy smell. The underground water here was clearly not drinking water anymore. It might be close to standard after several filtrations, but the citizens here could not even afford it, let alone use it for irrigation. It was impossible to herd livestock or grow anything. Transportation to this place was difficult too. It was hard to develop an artisan industry. There were no specialties either. "One-hundred thousand people? Itll be hard to support a couple hundred, right?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. He rose and looked into the distance. An old woman was waddling over with a heavy wooden basket and a cane. Her head was lowered as she looked through the shrubs for wild plants to eat. When she occasionally chanced upon a palm-sized vegetable, it was like she had found a gem. Ye Qingxuan stopped beside her. "Excuse me, how far it is to Oz?" The old woman looked up and squinted at him for a long time with eyes covered in cataracts. Her accent was difficult to understand. Finally, she raised her finger and pointed in a direction. The general meaning was that it would take three hours by foot. Ye Qingxuan nodded. She stared at him. Her gaze was not pleading or full of prayers. It was just blank. Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel sad. He glanced at the basket on her back and saw dried vegetables, roots, and berries. "This is all you eat?" "Theres nothing else to eat," the old woman said unclearly. "It hasnt rained in months. Everythings dried out on the ground. No water either" She looked down at the roots in her hands. "Its all we can eat." Ye Qingxuan fell silent, not knowing what to say. He suddenly realized that it was a mistake to ask. So what if he knew the answer? He could not change anything. Even if he gave her money, what could she buy in the wilderness? "Sorry." He did not know why he said that either. With one last glance, he mounted his horse. As he galloped away, he turned back and saw that the old woman was still standing there, staring at where he had stood. There was nothing there, but her rheumy eyes seemed to see something. A drop of water fell onto Ye Qingxuans face. Stunned, he touched his face. It really was water. Water had fallen from the sky. Gray clouds had gathered in the sky without him realizing. Thunder boomed in the distance like resounding horns and drums. No, it really was horns and drums. Booming like thunder and whistling like wind, it roared in the sky and swept through the gray clouds and wind. Ripples appeared in the aether sea and performed a wild and coarse melody. The earth shook with the thunder. Boom! Boom! Boom! Ye Qingxuan froze. Raindrops the size of beans fell from the sky. One drop, two drops The dry land instantly became wet under the rain. It was raining! Under the thunderstorm, Ye Qingxuan stared at the clouds. A massive music theory made of aether and incredibly large formula was slowly being organized. The formula stirred the aether sea, guided power from the sky, transformed into wind and rain, extracted water from thunder and fire, and tossed down the countless water droplets. Rain fell in torrents. "Its raining?" On the barren land, an old woman dazedly reached out. Feeling the wetness on her hand, she looked up incredulously. A raindrop splashed onto her face, washing away the murkiness in her eyes, and rolled down like tears. "Its raining!" She danced and yelled happily, "Its raining! Its finally raining!" 326 The True Meaning Within "Its raining! Raining!" In Oz, a village in the wilderness, the villagers in rags cheered and worshipped the panting young man as if he was a god. The man had short hair, defined features, and dark skin. Looking at the pouring rain, he plopped onto the ground. Mud splashed onto him. "Stop celebrating. I havent even grasped a bit of the essence from the movement The Tempest. This storm just uses the water vapor in the air. It can only last a few hours. Hurry and collect the water." The villagers froze before hurrying back to their homes and flipping through the cabinets for anything that could hold water. The bustling place quickly emptied. Only the young man remained. "Hey, at least help me up?" he muttered as he pulled himself up. Looking at the large alchemy array surrounding him, his expression twisted in pain. This was enough to buy an entire village, and he had used it all up for a rainstorm. But seeing how these people acted as if they had been saved, he did not know how to ask for money. "Teacher was right. Doing unprofitable things makes you happy for a while and sad for a lifetime. It took me forever to borrow all that moneyand now its all gone?" He slapped the mud on him. It quickly dried and fell off; his clothing was as good as new. When the pouring rain fell onto him, it transformed into water vapor and disappeared. "Thankfully Auschwitz is only half a day away. Otherwise, Id really have to beg for food." He felt around his pocket bitterly and realized that it was cleaner than his face. Behind him came the sound of horse hooves hitting mud. He looked back. There, a youth held back his horse and stared back at him. He looked like an Indian with a bunch of weapons on his saddle. He looked like a musician but a musician would not have so many cumbersome weapons. He looked like an arms seller but it did not feel right. "Who are you?" "Me?" The young man smiled and adjusted his turban. "An Indian who sells swords. You?" "Sam," the man replied seriously. "Everyone calls me Hammer. Youare you here to challenge me too? Lets start after I take a break." Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment and shook his head. What a joke! Challenging a Resonance level musician under this situation? It was Modifications which countered him the most too. He would rather pass. Seeing Ye Qingxuan shake his head, Sams expression grew regretful. "What a pity." "Huh?" He looked at Ye Qingxuan longingly. "Before I left, my teacher told me that if I meet musicians who challenge me, I have to beat them. I can take their money and belongings too" Wait, what kind of logic is this? Your teacher has problems too! With that logic, does your school come from bandits? "Uh" After some hesitation, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Actually, I have a question." "Huh?" "If you need water, why did you do all that to make rain?" Ye Qingxuan asked seriously. "Wouldnt it be easier to find the right place and make a well?" Sam froze. He gaped at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes were filled with shock and respect. There was also a tinge of enlightenment and confusion. Basically, why didnt I think of that? was written all over him. "You can do that?" he exclaimed, hitting his head. "Why didnt I think of that?!" This isnt a matter of thinking of it! Friend, how badly do you lack common sense? Ye Qingxuan wanted to insult him but he could only chuckle and move on. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, something flashed in the sky. Lightning streaked across the sky. The surging aether waves had reached their climax and somehow began transforming with the earth-shattering boom. They instantly heard the sound of crystallization. It seemed that something had come to this world under the guidance of the waves. "Noway?" When Sam processed everything, he gazed at Ye Qingxuan blankly. Ye Qingxuan could not believe it either. He wiped his face and said, "Lets check it out first." He turned his horse around and galloped toward the direction of the sound. Sams body shot up like a rock. He was enveloped in layers of gas and crashed forward in the same direction. An instant later, he dropped from the sky, creating a giant hole. He landed ungracefully and stumbled. He quickly climbed up and pounced toward the sensing. Immediately after, the youth covered in electricity activated the Governor and sprinted over. He landed beside Sam soundlessly. The two stared at the thing before them and held their breaths. It was a long, long silence. The rain continued to fall and drenched them. Sam took a deep breath and sighed. "Worth it." - The heavy and freezing torrential rain turned the earth into a swamp. Ye Qingxuan and Sam lay on the ground and stared at the thing before them like idiots. Before them was a blooming sunflower. It seemed to grow from nothing. The lower the stem went, the more translucent it became. In the end, it became nothing. However, the giant pale yellow petals bloomed like the sun. It seemed to glow in the darkness shrouded by black clouds. It was too beautiful to look at directly or touch. Rain and wind passed through it like illusions, unable to move it. It was so small but the entire world seemed illusory in comparison. After staring for a long time, Sam said with uncertainty, "Is it really" "Yes, its the Cereus." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He reached out to feel the sunflower but his fingers went through it as if it was air. In his vision, he saw his hand dissipate to fog before the flower and regroup after leaving it. The flower was the one that did not exist. However, before it, everything else turned into apparitions. It made no sense but it was real. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "One of the four living natural catastrophes, the Cereus." - To musicians, the categories and names of natural catastrophes were a required course. Some natural catastrophes were kept secret for various reasons but most were not. This included the Cereus. In reality, it was way at the bottom of the danger list, along with the Star Ring. The latter was an aether river in the sky; the former was a mysterious plant. They had no effect on mankind. Except for providing topics to discuss. The true body of the Cereus did not exist in the material world. What they saw now was just a projection from the aether world, like an objects shadow when sunlight fell upon it. Different from Hyakume, it had no influence other than the fact that it looked like a plant. It never reacted to interferences or interacted with other things. It even ignored the other natural catastrophes. Nothing could touch it either. According to observational records, it appeared through pure coincidence. It would appear periodically anywhere that had an overly high density of aether and messy music theory. It would appear silently, bloom silently, wither silently, and disappear silently. It would be categorized as a phenomenon like the Silver White Tide rather than one of the four living things if not for its various botanical characteristics, such as growing toward the light. "What a miracle." After gaping for a long time, Sam nodded in satisfaction. "Teacher was right. It always maintains distance between itself and the outer world. It looks like a hairs breadth away, but no matter how you approach it, the distance will never disappear. It doesnt want anything to do with anything." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan replied mechanically as he stared at the Cereus. He did not even know what Sam had said. The man seemed to say a lot before realizing that Ye Qingxuan was not listening. This Indian youth sprawled in the mud and stared at the Cereus with fiery eyes as if it was a diamond. He murmured something and wild waves of aether rippled around him. He seemed to have received something. Enlightenment? Sam was a little dazed. How could someone receive enlightenment from something like this? It was too weird. Actually, it was totally worth it for most musicians to go thousands of miles to personally see the Cereus. However, it was just a rare sight for most. After all, not being able to interfer it meant not being able to research it. They could not even touch it. Without its appearance, it basically did not exist. And what value did nonexistent things have? After thinking for a long time, Sam left without bothering Ye Qingxuan anymore. Ye Qingxuan remained in the mud. He stared at the sunflower before him and mumbled something, deep in thought. Only the rain sounded in the silence. As it pitter-pattered and the aether waves changed, the Cereus bloomed and slowly began to wilt. The petals withered, fell, and scattered in the wind. The flower bloomed and wilted. Ye Qingxuan stared as the Cereus disappeared. The petals faded one by one as well. In the end, he could barely see the Cereuss silhouette clearly. The final dreamy golden petal fell, withered, and floated in the wind. Ye Qingxuan reached out mindlessly. His thumb and forefinger closed around the floating petal. He seemed to catch it but, at the same time, did not. The hallucinatory petal disappeared. Ye Qingxuan remained in his position. He stared at his fingers blankly as if the nonexistent petal was still there. "I see," he whispered. Boom! A thunderous sound shot out from his throat. The rain on him shook, turned around, and spread into the sky like fire! These were flames transformed from water vapor. Amidst the fire-like rain, the youths eyes lit up. "This is how it isthis is the change of aether, interference of nature!" This was the core essence of the School of Abstinence! To this school, everything on this world was an image of aether. Therefore, there was no difference in nature. Everything could be constructed through music theory and could be changed through interference of nature. Therefore, by changing music theory, he could create fire and burn the rain. The Cereuss existence seemed to be still, but that was only to the outer world. It was actually maintaining its independence by continuously changing its nature, stubbornly keeping distance from the world and breaking the connection of theory. It was like a moat. It was on that side while everything else was on the other side. They could see each other but could not meet. What linked this process was the essence of interference of nature. During his moment of enlightenment, the unclear understanding he had received during his days in the Naica Cave of the Crystals and his deepest confusion were linked together. Ye Qingxuan had finally touched upon the core of the Seven Questions for Musiciansthe true meaning behind the question of abandon oneself. Since everything in mankinds eyes was constructed by aether, then did this include himself? Did the concept of self come from aether as well? He sank into deep thought. 327 Retreat When Difficult? The camp outside Auschwitz was under the same thunderstorm that night. The high gray walls were covered by dark clouds. There was only darkness in the world; there were no stars or moonlight. Only darkness and rain. One could see countless raindrops falling from the sky and the dim lights of the grouping area through the city gate that was ajar. The city gate was dozens of meters high and seemed to be made of iron. It was rusted from years of wind and rain. Without maintenance, it was practically impossible to push now. They could only manage a crack a meter in width for people to pass through. The lights were dim under the rain but illuminated the figures standing before the gate. Their clothing was all different. They had come from all over the world; the only similarity was the almost tangible aether waves and animosity exuding from them. Even if they had a truce, sparks practically flew from their eyes when they stood together. It was obvious that if someone made a move, the others would break out without any hesitation. However, they were restraining themselves now and no one shattered the truce. They were all participants in the Auschwitz trialthe strong ones who survived the journey here. The others had all died, retreated, or escaped. Those who could remain here were the next generation of elites and prodigies from each school. They represented the dignity and pride of their schools. If one overlooked the musicians who had already become accomplished, the musicians present would be the mainstay of the next generation in twenty years. They represented the future of each school. This was why they forced themselves to be calm and''unite'' to some extent. This would lessen the problems later in the trial. According to the proposer Colt Flagg, the journey here was difficult for everyone so why create new enemies? Many of the hot picks of the trial were moved by his words and came here so they could keep all variables outside Auschwitz before the deadline. Simply put, they would make the unqualified ones give up after finding out how difficult it was. The participants included Colt Flagg, Revelations musician and representative of the Rock Institute; Choir musician Paul Bunyan from the archipelago; the Hauser brothers, Summoning musicians from Burgundy; Ariana, a Mind Musician; Rebecca, representative of the School of Illusion Voodoo Crypt; and more. Most people would be smart and turn around as soon as they saw this group. Even if they didn''t, it was okay. They would just be invited into a friendly duel before entering Auschwitz. Private battles were not allowed inside the city so was it better to create the winner beforehand? Of course, they did not go overboard. Unlike the secret fatal attacks in the wilderness, they would stop once the point was across. "After all, the Sacred City is watching." Someone looked up into the sky with a half-smile. - Thunder clapped amongst the pure black clouds. The rain poured in sheets. Occasionally, lightning would streak across, illuminating the figures flying in the air. They had strange postures and seemed to come from different places. However, they all radiated with strong aether waves that slightly distorted the material world, changing it into the aether realm. This was a Scepter''s power. They were all of the Scepter level! But in this solemn atmosphere, someone suddenly sneezed and pathetically took out a handkerchief to blow his nose. "Sorry, this stupid place is too cold. I should''ve worn more." With that, he looked down at the grouping area. "It''s almost eleven and it''s still not over? These kids don''t know how to sleep. What are they doing at midnight? A nude party?" Someone beside him glared. "The deadline is midnight. After the clock strikes twelve, no other musicians will be able to enter the trial." "Yes, yes, I understand. You''ve all worked hard." The guy who had appeared in Maxwell''s office blew his nose and complained, "I''m so sad. I was just messing around and then I was sent to this place to be a babysitter. Look at these kids! Each one is more troublesome than the last and they add even more trouble at night. What if we just let them be and go sleep?" Everyone ignored him. Amongst them, a man in Eastern clothing comforted him, "Great burdens come to those with great abilities. Why don''t you wait a bit more? After all, your representative from Anglo hasn''t arrived yet." "Mr. Hu, are you talking about that white-haired kid?" The mysterious man stuffed his handkerchief into his pocket and sighed. "He''s probably lying dead in a ditch somewhere if he''s still not here." "I think highly of him." Mr. Hu chuckled. "Then what about your kids? They must be sad if they hear your words." Mr. Hu continued to smile. "The Imperial College had me bring them here to open their eyes. We''re just here for the fun." Someone glanced over and shook his head coldly. "Undisciplined." Mr. Hu just chuckled and started singing, "Oh, I''m the undisciplined of Wollongong" The mood became so awkward that everyone looked away, pretending they heard nothing. In the long silence, someone finally looked up. "Someone''s here." - "Someone''s here!" Under the heavy rain, Colt Flagg suddenly opened his eyes. The mark he had buried at the end of the road had been activated. He sensed that someone was crashing through the rain on horseback. The apparition of a giant whale appeared beside him. Rather than stopping it, the torrential rain became the whale''s aid and helped it fly. The huge shadow floated across the sky with a mournful song. The whale song shattered the sheets of rain, transforming the world into an ocean. Sensing the animosity from the city gates, the musician on the horse sneered and sped up. The whale sang loudly, creating rolling echoes. "Summoning?" Colt distinguished the musician''s beastly nature. "Seems to have great attainments too." "It''s just for looks," someone replied huskily. "It''s not the bigger the better. Enlarging the whale to such a laughable size without caring about its limits is justshallow." The one who spoke stood at the end of the crowd. He looked like a twin with two people joined at the shoulder. Only one spoke while the other stayed silent. They were the Hauser brothers from Burgundy. The one who spoke was Terry, the elder brother. He looked down and said something to his brother Kasper, who nodded. Under the hood of the heavy raincoat, he opened his mouth, took a deep breath, and screamed. Thunder clapped in the sky. Boom! The giant whale apparition wailed. The pouring rain curled back and the whale broke apart abruptly. The musician on horseback was lifted up from the backlash. He fell off the horse and rolled in the mud. In the end, blood spewed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Convulsing, he could barely climb up. His sound of heart had been disrupted. He struggled in the mud. In the end, his energy spent, he stopped moving. He looked up with difficulty and saw a traveler in the distance. Another person had come. Seeing the musician''s pathetic state, the newcomer was stunned. He looked toward the city gates and felt the tangible animosity even across more than a thousand miles. Thenhe grew excited! He stepped forward. Boom! An earth-shattering boom exploded under his feet. He advanced forward, drummed his sound of heart, awakened his instrument, andthe mountains shook! "Copper mountain?" Many of the musicians recognized the instrument. One man''s expression changed. "Someone can actually receive recognition from a saint''s relic of this level?" The rumbles got closer. Immense amounts of aether crashed, creating sparks. Practically all the rain had evaporated; the figure grew blurry as well. Each step he took was like a copper mountain and steel drum banging against each other. Ear-splitting thunder rumbled. However, the large amount of aether and wild changes were restricted inside the formula. They raged with furious fire but could not break free. It was unbelievable that this immense power was controlled by one person. "Interesting." A Modifications musician at the gate looked up. He slammed down and a roar shot out from his fingers. A majestic melody resounded and collided with the earth-moving sound in the air. The sheets of rain shook; a vast amount of rain evaporated, turning to steam. However, the heavy footsteps continued forward. The attacker at the gate stumbled back. He panted heavily and even coughed out blood. His face was stark white. He was completely defeated before an actual round. It had just been a virtual test! Everyone''s expression changed. "No sign of borrowing power from the saint," Colt Flagg said hoarsely. "I can''t believe he had used his will to break through the Barrier of Knowledge and received recognition from a saint''s relic." "Finally someone''s here to challenge me!" Amidst the approaching thunder, the newcomer was enthusiastic. His eyes flashed. "Does someone want to fight? Come on, come on." "Sam?" Colt was stunned and his eyes darkened. "How come youaren''t you still practicing asceticism in the Lava Dungeon?" Why was he here? Colt had a headache. 328 I am Ye Qingxuan… If Colt had to name someone he did not want to see at Auschwitz, this guy would definitely be in the top few spots. In fact, he had passed Gavin, who used to be number one. Musicians who only emphasized the destructiveness of music scores and specialized in wide-range destruction were too powerful. "Oh, Colt?" Recognizing him, Sam''s eyes brightened. "Stop talking. Wanna fight?" Colt scoffed and tried to ignore him. However, he stopped the other musicians. "He''s the only inheritor of the Vacuum, a battle musician who specializes in large-scale destruction music scores. If he tries, maybe no one will be able to win but he''ll make at least half of Auschwitz into the grave with him. In addition" Colt did not finish his words. He just whistled and exchanged a meaningful glance. In addition, his teacher is watching from the sky! Aren''t you scared of being discriminated against during the trial? Soon after Sam passed, someone else stumbled in under the rainy night. The young man wore shabby clothing and his body was covered in bruises. He looked like a bedraggled beggar. Rain and mud had poured into his shoes during this journey and he panted for breath. It was hard to imagine what he had experienced to survive the fierce competition on the way here. "Is he lucky?" One of the Scepter judges in the sky glanced over and said coolly, "It''s useless to come here. He can''t get through the gate." Amongst them, an elder with an illusory body furrowed his brows but said nothing. When the youth approached and faint light illuminated his bruised face, the elder was stunned. "Simon?" "Simon?" Rebecca, another representative of the School of Illusion, recognized this pathetic youth. However, she never thought he would end up in this state. She could barely see the strong opponent in him anymore. "What Simon?" the young man spat. "Haven''t you been looking for me for a long time? I''ll never change my name, no matter whatYes, I''m Ye Qingxuan! Come at me!" Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack Those were the sounds of jaws literally dropping and hitting the ground. Everyone gaped at this proud guy in bewilderment. Did this guy think he could pretend to be an Easterner with that crappy hair dye? The Angloian grandmaster was watching from the sky! Did he think this was okay? "Ye Qingxuan?" In the sky, Mr. Hu was shocked too. He glanced at the grandmaster beside him. "He looks so different. What happened? A bad breakup?" The mysterious man who had appeared in Maxwell''s office coughed violently with a troubled expression. After a long while, he tried to suppress his laughter and looked over. "Sorry, I don''t know him" On the ground, ''Ye Qingxuan'' was staring down the people before the gate. "You!" he declared seriously. "Do you know Old Phil?" Old Phil? The musicians stared at each other. No one knew who Old Phil was and their eyes grew serious. Was there a powerful and mysterious musician hidden in Auschwitz? After long hesitation, someone asked timidly, "Who''s Old Phil?" "Heh, scared now?" A sneer cut across ''Ye Qingxuan''s face. He widened his eyes and declared, "Old Phil is my dad! Aren''t you scared! If you''re scared then scram! Otherwise, my dad will squash you all" Silence. Dead silence. In the crowd, Rebecca stepped back. Lowering her head, she felt humiliated. Why did she view this psycho as a strong opponent? In the sky, the illusory elder could stand it no longer. His deep voice rang out, "Simon, enough! Stop fooling around!" ''Ye Qingxuan'' looked up. Seeing the elder, his eyes grew confused. His expression changed dramatically as if thinking of something. After a long while, it dawned on him. "You''re Old Phil!" He opened his arms in ecstasy. "Dad! I finally found" Boom! A formless hand appeared in the rain and grasped Simon. It tightened and disappeared with a pop. Simon was gone too. All that remained was the shuddering elder who roared, "You disgrace!" The musicians on the ground were silent for a long time. They had no clue what had just happened. "Does Simon have some hereditary disease?" someone asked. "If I''ve guessed correctly," Mind musician Arianna said dryly, "he was probably brainwashed." "By whom? One of you Mind people?" "Stop joking." Arianna glared at the speaker. "You think brainwashing is as easy as wiping words off a piece of paper? You have to block the memories, reset the personality, correct the self-recognitionyou need at least one hundred hints. This involves inheritance. It''s impossible if you don''t have a teacher who is also an expert and ultra-precise operation. Especially with a musician like Simon, you can easily ruin everything with the slightest moment of inattentiveness. It''s so much easier to just kill him!" "What if you do it? Is it hard for you too?" It was obvious the asker did not have good intentions. Arianna scoffed. Her smile was indescribably enchanting and demonic. "What do you think?" The other''s heart shook and he quickly looked away in regret. Why did he mess with the psychos from the School of Mind? Arianna smiled as if nothing had happened but it was clear she would remember that man and deal with him later. "Enough, stop fooling around," Colt uttered, snuffing the start of an internal war. "There are ten more minutes until the deadline. If you have any conflicts, wait until dawn to fight." He looked away and calmed himself down. He focused on the surrounding marks he had set and felt for aether waves. However, he heard someone else''s voice in the silence. "Hey, Colt, someone else is coming." Stunned, he looked up and saw fire. In the distance, at the end of the road, the rain was burning like fire. A youth was walking forward on flames. He strode over, ignoring the group in the distance. As if he was in his own world, he hummed an unclear and faraway song. Raindrops fell onto him and rose like flames. When he stepped onto the ground, mud splashed like water. It was pure aetheric change. The nature changed without any sign. It transformed into wind, condensed into rain, converged into fire, and turned into dirt. It was like an illusion. Colt furrowed his brows in discontent and looked back. "There''s been enough weird things," he growled. "Rebecca, stop joking and get rid of the fulcrum." Rebecca froze under everyone''s scrutiny. Suddenly understanding, cold sweat appeared on her forehead. "I-it''s not me." She waved in panic. "That''s not my fulcrum." Everyone''s eyes grew serious in the dead silence. A song traveled to their ears. The youth''s hoarse song resounded in the rain and spread in all directions. It seemed to be some diddly but was so unclear. It was indescribably pleasant and distant as if it came from the mountains. The song hung in the air. And under it, everything began to change. The youth came forward with fire in the darkness. - All was silent in the air. "It''s an Eastern language." Someone looked to Mr. Hu. "Is this your student from the Imperial College? I''ve never heard of this music score" "No, it''s just a folk song. It''s not a music score and it doesn''t have any effects." Mr. Hu chuckled wryly. "And we don''t have any Indians. If I''m not wrong, this is probably the other youth I''ve seen." "Who?" The grandmasters exchanged glances. None of their schools had a young man like him. "Is he a student from a secretive school or fraternity?" "He''s finally here?" the mysterious man blowing his nose murmured from the back as he smiled. "You made me wait for so long, kid." - In the silence, only the song sounded. Everyone gazed at the young man singing and advancing with fire. They watched as he walked in the mud without any obstacles. The footprints he left behind burned in the rain. Rain drenched his body and he looked pathetic but he did not seem to care. In fact, he smiled happily. Faced with so many menacing musicians, he was still relaxed as if this was a day trip. Rain fell on all his swords and knives, rolling down the hilts and blades. The average swords seemed mysterious now too. The atmosphere grew heavy, pressing down on everyone''s hearts and making it hard to breathe. "Who is he?" Someone in the crowd furrowed his brows. "A sword seller?" In the flowing flames and burning rain, the youth took off his heavy turban and revealed his trademark white hair. The whiteness shone in the fire, piercing their eyes. "I am Ye Qingxuan" The youth gazed at their faces and smiled warmly. "I''m here to sell swords." 329 You Are Late "Selling knives and cutters, yo!" At dawn, a white haired youth squatted in a corner of the messy and shabby market of Auschwitz and hawked dispiritedly. The rug before him was covered in the swords he had stolen along the way. There was also a carrot he had bought from a nearby stall. After he washed it, it would be his breakfast. So early in the morning, no one was here other than some vegetable sellers. The dilapidated grouping center was like Avalon''s downtown district. It was filled with chaos, unruliness, and coldness. It seemed horrible but not horrible enough to be unlivable. It was stuck in the middle, filled with the feeling of living each day as it happened and wishing for nothing more. Ye Qingxuan had lost his will to fight. He had been prepared to battle it out with the locals but after he entered the city, he realized that no one paid him any attention. They did not discriminate against outsiders; they just acted as if the outsiders did not exist. This made Ye Qingxuan feel indescribably upset and disappointed. Scraping his carrot clean, he gnawed it mindlessly while making disgusted faces. Carrots grown in this kind of place definitely would not taste good. It was dry and felt like he was chewing on dirt. "How do you guys live" He sighed and yawned. Last night, he had predicted a full-out war but the others were very restrained. They only tested him a bit and then left. The others had no confidence and did not dare to fight. It started off with a big drumroll but ended with nothing. He had acted cool for nothing. According to the plan, he should meet with the Angloian grandmaster that was here to oversee the trial and learn about the situation, listen to some suggestions, receive some advice, undergo vigorous training, and hopefully learn some secret tricks. However, none of that happened. Ye Qingxuan did not even know the grandmaster''s name. He hid his face in dark mist the entire time and did not even come out for food. After he saw Ye Qingxuan last night, he took the youth to a shabby inn. Pointing at a room, he said something along the lines of I live here. Don''t come if you don''t have any problems. If you doit''s best to not come either. Anyway, just pretend I don''t exist. "You''re here now so it''ll all depend on you," the grandmaster had said seriously while patting Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "I promised Maxwell that you won''t die. As for the rest, whatever. I believe in you, Ye Qingxuan." Ye Qingxuan could only chuckle sarcastically. The other grandmasters showered their students with good stuff in hopes that they would not be eliminated. But for Ye Qingxuanit was so unreliable. Oh, this mysterious grandmaster did give him something. "But it''s useless!" Ye Qingxuan stared at the object. It was asmall whistle that the grandmaster had made from a doorknob. Yes, the type of toy whistles for kids. That man had even told him seriously to not play with it. No sh*t! Why would he? Ye Qingxuan tossed the whistle onto the rug before him. But after thinking, he sighed and put it back in his bag. What if it wasn''t entirely useless? Right? But it probably was useless "Hey, knife, how much?" A man squatted before him and asked with a strange accent while looking around. Ye Qingxuan gazed at him and replied in local Romulusian, "Which one? I can give it to you for cheaper. Buy one get one free, just forty pounds, how about that?" Hearing his words, the man looked over with a strange gaze. "Yeah? My accent is good, right?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled proudly. The emotionless man stood up and left without saying anything. Ye Qingxuan blanched. Wait! Why are you leaving? I''m so friendly and nice! I won''t hit you! Is it wrong to have a good accent? But he did not do anything and just watched the man leave. It was his only customer. Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. The Sacred City had strict regulations that musicians could not disturb the civilians during trials and missions. They were also forbidden to use music scores on locals. Once discovered, the musicians'' rights to the trial would be revoked. For serious cases, they could even be forcefully brainwashed by the Silent Authority to become someone useful to society. "But his beastly characteristics are obvious," Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself as he watched the passersby. Compared to other races, male Romulusians had slighter frames and rusted copper skin. Because of their environment, their skin usually was not very healthy. However, thick hair grew on their faces and limbs. Many also had sharp fingernails that were thick and hard like a beast. This was due to their blood tainted by the natural catastrophe. Apparently, these signs were especially prominent in recent newborns. Fear of light and water, aggressive If this continued, Romulusians would probably really become werewolves after five or six generations. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan sighed involuntarily. What other hope existed in this kind of place? Auschwitz was practically the wilderness. There was no sign of life outside the towering gray walls. They suffered droughts. The land was covered in weeds and non-arable. There were no geographical advantages or possibility to be suitable for life. It was just a place to stay. If he had to name something that could be developed, it would be the sparse copper mines. But with the discovery of the relics, even the mines were gone. There was no way to better the environment. It was understandable that the people here were just whiling their days away. A bell shocked him from his thoughts. The dilapidated church across from the market slowly opened its doors, revealing the shabby yard and building within. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan rose, knocked the dust off, and walked forward without a care for his stall. If the locals ignored him and the big guy from Anglo was unreliable, he could only try the Church. They would not ignore a candidate for clergymen like him, right? Furthermore, Ye Qingxuan had been sent here by the Church. Rather than the trial, he had come here to help the sick! - Just as he had expected, there were no official mission members in this tiny church. There was only an old pastor who could not really see and two mixed local children who cleaned the place. There were no believers in Romulus. The annual budget was barely enough for the pastor to eat. Maintenance was a huge sum as well. The pastor stared at Ye Qingxuan''s identification card for a long time with his old eyes. "Oh, the flu? I reported it years ago but there was no news. I thought they gave up on it." He patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "I didn''t think someone would actually come. You scared me. But sadly, you''re late." "Late?" Ye Qingxuan blanched. "Did they all die?" "No, it''s just a common fever. They get better after a few days." The pastor shrugged. "So, Mr. Ye, you''re late. The flu died out half a year ago." Ye Qingxuan gaped. He could not accept this. He had come here passionately to help the sick but everyone was cured before he even got here! It was like the villain of an adventure novel died from the plague when the hero just embarked on his journey. The world was saved and everything was peachy butYe Qingxuan did not feel happy. "Then why didn''t you withdraw your request?" Ye Qingxuan just wanted to cry. "Otherwise I wouldn''t have been fooled by that *sshole Maxwell and came here." "Let me finish." The pastor sighed. "The flu was put out butit''s still here." Ye Qingxuan froze. It was still here? What did that mean? - There was a basic surgery room in the church''s basement. After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked away from the small microscope. Rubbing his eyes, he muttered a curse. He was sure that the flu was man-made. Someone had created a flu targeting the Romulusians with room for maneuvering. The observation sample was a Romulusian who had recently died from old age. He could clearly see the virus in the blood and organs. It was dormant and essentially harmless but it was still integrated with the body. Regular people would be able to kill the virus with their immune system and remove them through metabolism. Demons were not affected either; their bodies were completely different from humans and were immune to ptomaine and other diseases. It was a different story for Romulusians who were mixed with human and demon blood. This disease clearly targeted their lack of immunity, filling the gap between their two sides. This meant that the demonization process of Romulusians could be sped up until the demon blood would completely replace their human side. "This is horrible." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "How many people were infected?" "Practically everyone." 330 Have a Friend from Afar "Practically all of them." The old priest shrugged. "A few years ago, the flu spread very widely. Normal humans were all right, but all Romulusians were infected. The infected experienced symptoms like fever, vomiting and skin bleaching, but recovered after a few days. I found that the virus wasn''t extinguished by chance." Ye Qingxuan was horrified. "Why didn''t you report such a big event?" "I did," the old priest said earnestly. "The nations placed great importance onto this matter." "But why didn''t they take action?" "They did. Didn''t you see it when we entered the city?" The old priest pointed to the direction of the gate and stated, "Many countries paid to build the high walls. It was expensive." "..." Ye Qingxuan fell into silence. After a long while, he asked bitterly, "You mean that people here have to fend for themselves? Do they know about this?" "No one else knows," the old priest said. "I have only informed their elder. That is" Before he finished his words, a coarse laughter sounded outside of the door. The raspy voice shouted, "Doctor? Is the doctor here? I''m here to see you! I heard that we have a new doctor from the Sacred City? Let me have a look!" Hearing this voice, the old priest''s face twisted. "That''s him." - There were no officials among the refugees of Romulus and there was no government in the enclave. They only had a clan system. The noblest of them was undoubtedly the ''elder'' who was elected by the masses, the wisest, and the most far-sighted.But in reality, this elder who was in his fifties looked...well, he looked very Romulusian. In other words, he looked like a tramp. This was the first time Ye Qingxuan had seen such a passionate Romulusian. As soon as he went out, the black and thin old man pounced on him like a monkey. He was stooped, had eccentric paint smeared on his face, and wore a ragged robe with apparently nothing else. The elder grabbed him and looked up and down. He asked about his day with genuine interest and looked as happy and enthusiastic as if Ye Qingxuan was his son. If he did not smell like strange spices and charcoal, Ye Qingxuan could reluctantly accept such an elder. "So you''re the new doctor?" The elder grabbed Ye Qingxuan and sighed. "We Romulusians love new friends. Since you were sent by the Church, then you are our friend too. Oh, do you want something good?" Pausing, he took out a little sack from his pocket, picked out a handful of powder. He dropped it into tobacco, and then deftly rolled it into two, one for Ye Qingxuan and one for himself. "Please don''t refuse! This is the custom here." Ye Qingxuan held his and looked at the elder who was puffing joyfully. He could faintly smell many familiar scents that made him slightly dizzy. Yes, there was opium, white orange leaves, false shamrock, and white mugwort... the familiar ingredients and the familiar formula. Ye Qingxuan suddenly wanted to vomit. How could he call this something good? This was obviously a kind of psychedelic incense made by many drugs and stimulants! What was this man doing? Was the custom of Romulus taking drugs? If he were in Anglo, he would be arrested! Ye Qingxuan was caught between lighting it or not. Both were inappropriate. He could only put away that cigarette, planning to throw it away when he left. But when he was about to leave, he was stopped again! "Come, come, I heard that you just arrived last night." The elder took his hand eagerly. "Let me show you around Auschwitz. This is a nice place. You must have not grasped it yet." "No, no, no. I have fully grasped it." Ye Qingxuan was preparing to decline but was forcibly pulled away. The old priest could not help him. Instead, he just wished him good luck, making Ye Qingxuan especially depressed. On the chaotic streets of the enclave, Ye Qingxuan followed the elder awkwardly, wanting to say something. "Elder..." "Just call me Caligula." The elder looked back and smiled at him. "This is the name of my ancestors and also mine." "Well, Mr. Caligula, where are you taking me?" Ye Qingxuan was very nervous. He was afraid that the elder would take him into an alley and then eight-hundred Romulusian youths would rush out to tear him into pieces on the spot. "The answer is quite obvious." The elder whistled. "I''m taking you to my home." "But I still have a stall to pack up." "I''ve got someone to help watch it for you. There''s no business early in the morning and you''re an outsider selling swords. Do you know how many people have talked to me saying that they want to teach you a lesson?" "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan was speechless. Rather than being upset, the elder praised him. "You have a good accent. Where did you learn it?" "I am a scholar of ancient studies. My teacher is a master of ancient languages and historical studies." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. "I learned a little on my way to here but I didn''t learn it well. The locals don''t seem to like my accent." "No, they just don''t like you." The elder''s bluntness startled Ye Qingxuan. "The people of Romulus have been unable to speak their own language for a long time. Only the accent is left. You can only make them feel ashamed if you use this accent to speak the lingua franca. "The elder patted him on the shoulder. "Don''t do that again. The people of Romulus do not need this kind of fake sincerity or compassion." "...Ok." As they talked, they made a few turns and found that they had entered the core of Auschwitz without realizing. Several narrow streets leaded to a huge market. All kinds of goods were displayed in the busy fair. Traders hawked fervidly and the people pushed and shoved. It was not desolate as the outside. "This is the real market. Only outsiders go the place where you were." The elder patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "If you really want to sell something, come here, say my name, and the locals won''t bother you." "Uh, thank you." Ye Qingxuan managed a smile but involuntarily looked to the center of the fair. It was empty spot in the middle of the circular plaza. In the clearing, several long black iron poles rose into the sky. Several withered corpses hung from them. As the breeze blew, the withered corpses swung like leaves, looking extremely hideous and grim. But who would hang such things in the center of their own enclave? Ye Qingxuan was confused. "What are you looking at?" It dawned on the elder when he followed Ye Qingxuan''s gaze. "Oh, those are past elders, my colleagues. Unfortunately, they were hanged for making mistakes." "Mistakes?" Ye Qingxuan asked curiously, "What did they do?" The elder raised his eyes. He looked extremely sympathetic as if he was looking at a retard. "If they knew what would be mistakes, they wouldn''t die, right?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He asked, "This... Who did this?" "I did, of course. Who else is qualified to judge them here?" Caligula said lightly. "Let me think. It was five or six years ago. They''ve been hung for so long. Now, if they''re not hanging here, I''ll feel that something''s wrong." "Why? Why hang them? They''re already dead, right? Is it necessary?" Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s question, the elder was puzzled too. "This..." He scratched his messy hair and gesticulated. "I don''t know if there are such people outside or not. They''re young and ignorant but they think they know everything. They want to change fate but they also don''t know what the real world is likeWhat is this kind of person called? Young... young" "Angry youths," Ye Qingxuan supplied. "Yes, that''s right!" The elder hammered the palms with satisfaction, lamenting, "The mistakes of youths are unavoidable and there has to be something to warn them. At least, this will make them calm down when they try to make a fool of themselves." The elder paused and said lightly, "After all, there''s no chance for Romulusians to make more mistakes, is there?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He did not know what reply was appropriate. They did not talk the rest of the way. When passing a stall, the elder conveniently took a dove for free. Ye Qingxuan had no idea what he was planning to do. Soon they got to the place. "Come in." The elder pushed open the door and invited Ye Qingxuan to take a seat. However, instead of chairs, there were only several cushions on the worn carpet. Ye Qingxuan casually picked one. After putting down the dove, the elder went to the back room, grabbed some spices and sawdust, and sprinkled it onto the stove. Flames rose soon. Caligula whispered a few words of prayer to the family flame that had lasted from the ancestral age to today. Romulus valued ancestors greatly. Each family of Romulus had their own set of etiquette to worship the family flame and ancestors with strict observance. Caligula was certainly no exception. Soon, he ended his prayers and returned to the hall. Several servants brought over a few cups of water and placed the prepared dove before the elder. Now the poor dove was plucked and had its feet strapped. It cooed innocently. Ye Qingxuan looked down at the dove. "This is..." The elder smiled mysteriously and pulled out a short knife. "You''re a guest from afar. Let me divine for you. I used to be the best wizard in Romulus." Before Ye Qingxuan could react, the elder brandished the knife and split the dove''s belly. In the psychedelic incense flavor mixed with drugs, the elder held the dove and the knife. He sucked in a mouthful of white smoke. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he began dancing crazily. Under the husky strange humming, his body twitched, his eyes rolled, he gasped violently, screamed, shivered, and suddenly sat down on the ground. Clenching his right hand, he flattened the poor dove. The elder cleverly used the knife to pick out the dove''s thin intestines. He split it carefully and stared at it intently. He murmured something that no one could understand. It sounded like an ancient language. After a long silence, Caligula put down the knife and bloody dove. Someone offered a basin of water. He calmly washed hands and then sat back to the opposite of Ye Qingxuan, hesitating. Seeing his serious expression, Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his daze. "How''s the result of the divination?" Seeing the dramatic build up, Ye Qingxuan was actually excited to hear the result! 331 Better to Return Earlier "How''s the result of the divination?" "Sir, your fate is very strange," the elder said with a sigh. "The revelation says that you will meet what you are destined to meet." Ye Qingxuan''s features twisted. He would meet what he was destined to meet? Well, no sh*t! What was the point of getting his fortune told?! The elder laughed. "Don''t be angry. This is one of the best results." Ye Qingxuan had no words. He did not see how this was a good result! "When the Romulus Empire still existed, wizards were fortune tellers who stayed beside the emperor to decipher the messages from the heavens. Sometimes there would be messages of catastrophes or good news. However, no fortune is better than this. "The future will always go toward the future. Your fate is your own choice and uncontrolled by others. If you''re the emperor, you would be overjoyed with this fortune. You can continue forward with your destiny. I can see that your future stretches into the darkness. There are twists and turns but you might see the light." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I hope that is so." "Then let''s talk about the important matters." The elder sat across from Ye Qingxuan and loosened his collar. He said lightly, "If I''ve guessed correctly, you also work for the Underground Palace? Let''s talk about that." Ye Qingxuan straightened and prepared himself. - Hundreds of years ago, after the Romulus Empire officially dissolved, the remaining city-states survived for decades and centuries. Until fifty years ago. Just like the original empire, the City of Wolves, the Romulusians'' last home, was destroyed by the natural catastrophe. The mindless phenomenon Tide of Silver had swept past. Everything in its path was flattened. The thousands of miles were still flat has a mirror''s surface. If one looked from above, one would see a smooth silvery expanse like a wound on the earth. The Romulusians had no homeland thereafter. The wandering Romulusians took up the lowliest jobsphysical labor, porters, thieves, bandits, prostitutes The beastly nature in them meant they would forever be ostracized from society. But twenty-six years ago, Gaius from the City of Wolves made great accomplishments in the exploration of the Dark World. He received high status in the Sacred City Parliament as refugee with demon blood. He received recognition by various kings and the Pope''s blessing. Under his hard work, Romulusians were recognized and gradually accepted back into society. Their image grew more positive. They received much sympathy and aid. They saw an improvement in quality of life and profited from craftsmanship and similar industries. However, six years later, twenty years ago, Gaius defected. His soldiers occupied the new colony on the other side of the sea and openly rebelled against the rule of the other nations and the Sacred City. The other nations instantly grew furious and began to chase the Romulusians away. Within a fortnight, the improvements were all gone. The entire process lasted fifteen years. The Romulusians had lost everything. With nowhere to stay, they became wanderers on an endless road under flying insults and stones. Finally, they were led by six elders and followed the calling of ancient notes. They traveled to the barren lands of the south and found the land once promised to them by god. However, years had passed. The fig trees and grassy plains no longer existed. The river no longer flowed with milk and honey. All that remained was a desert. It was Auschwitz. It was a paradise with nothing and it was where the Romulusians'' stayed. "We had to find an industry if we wanted to survive here." The elder asked, "Mr. Ye, if it were you, what would you do?" Ye Qingxuan did not know how to answer. He really did not understand how to survive in a place like this. It was arid and impossible to grow agriculture. Without lush grass, breeding was out of the question too. All they had was yellow sand and barren land. They could not hunt either. Trade? To be honest, there were no specialties here other than the Romulusians themselves. Other than slavers and traffickers, no one else would be able to find any business opportunities. The only thing he could think of was what the Romulusians had done before. "So did you open the mine?" He sighed, understanding the context now. After arriving here, the Romulusians had dug a mine in order to survive. They signed a deal with the Chainsaw Fraternity to borrow a huge sum, but the mines they found were not rich. There were only sparse copper mines, metal mines, and some green gold. There was no value in digging. They could feed a small town but not Auschwitz. Even worse, they discovered the relic left behind from the Romulus Empire while digging. "It''s even worse than the relic." "It''s a cemetery," the elder corrected. "Past elders had flipped through ancient texts and realized that the construction was ordered by the emperor when the Romulus Empire still existed. It''s the final resting place for the great men. "And then? And then digging stopped. No Romulusian dared to continue exploring. Disturbing the ancestors'' spirits will put out the family flame. We could only seal the Underground Palace. Even the digging of copper mines stopped. To be honest, we still owe a huge sum to the Chainsaw Fraternity." The elder rolled his psychedelic cigarette expertly and said lightly, "When the ten years are up and the loan matures, us old guys will probably have to sell ourselves and become their mechanic slaves." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. "Kid, don''t be upset. This has nothing to do with you." The elder leaned on the rug. One hand grasped his smoke; the other caressed a bloody red rock. Squinting, he murmured, "Where were we?" "The cemetery." "Ah, yes, cemetery." The elder sucked in a mouthful of smoke and exhaled slowly. "You know the rest. One of your three kings, the King of Yellow, came to the cemetery of our ancestors for some reason. And then he disappeared. "If bad luck is a curse, then we''ve been cursed by the gods. Everything bad happens to us. Now, your little group of musicians is here, stirring up trouble at our home. Next, you''re all going to run into our graves and mess around. And we can''t do anything about it. "Tell me, what did we do wrong to be punished like this?" Ye Qingxuan could not answer. "To be honest, I came here without knowing about the King of Yellow or the cemetery or Underground Palace," he said. "I thought I was coming as a history scholar to help patients. I never even thought about the Sacred City''s reward. I hope you believe me." The elder held his bare and dried belly and laughed. "I can hear the truth in your words. Continue. I''ll do everything I can to help you." "There''s nothing to continue." Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. "These things are outside my capabilities. I just wanted to find a guide and take me around the Underground Palace so I can at least find out if the flu has anything to do with the palace. Elder, can you recommend anyone? I can pay him." The elder fell silent. He smoked while seeming to space out. He stared at the plumes of smoke, sinking in the high of the illegal drug. He did not snap out of it until it burned to his fingers. Then he raised his eyes, climbed up, and snuffed out the smoke. "I''m sorry, Mr. Ye," he said. "This is the only thing I cannot do. To the Romulusians, there are three things that will make them be out for your bloodinsulting their ancestors, putting out the family flame, and digging through their ancestors'' graves. "We won''t agree whether if it''s your request or the Sacred City''s. You have a lofty goal, but don''t say things like that in the future." "Sorry." Ye Qingxuan felt a bit awkward. "I''ll take note." "You can go to the Church. That old guy should still have the records of the dig and some traces." The elder rose. "That''s all I can help you with. The rest has nothing to do with us. I hope the Sacred City won''t drag us into your matters either." He paused and looked at the tiny scales on his toes. "After all, we''ve already paid enough for the sin we were born with." - After lunch, Ye Qingxuan left the elder''s home. Lunch was very simple but it had been days since he had edible food. It was clear that this counted as a rich meal in Auschwitz. Afterward, Ye Qingxuan rejected the offer to ''have some fun.'' The elder warmly saw Ye Qingxuan to do the door. However, when they were about to part, he reached out and grabbed Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. In Ye Qingxuan''s shock, the elder came up and embraced him tightly. "Mr. Ye, here is some advice," he murmured in the youth''s ears. "You are a good person so this will be my only advice. No matter why you''re here, leave this place as soon as possible for your own good." 332 Stranger After leaving Elder Caligula''s home, Ye Qingxuan decided to explore the rest of the Auschwitz market and see the overall terrain. Multiple places had been bought and radiated with obvious aether waves. He could see invisible walls if he used the Eye of Silence. Some places were flattened and the sole remaining building emanated a cold aura. Some places were deep in the residential area but there was no sign of life. He could sense a mass of dark fog but did not know what was hidden inside. There was nobody like Ye Qingxuan who slept happily in the inn at night and went to sell in the market in the morning. However, when he returned to his stall, he found that someone had come over. There seemed to be a customer sitting before the empty stall. He picked at the weapons, looking at this one or touching that one like a picky customer. In the end, he picked a short sword and stroked it. "Hello, Mr. Ye." Hearing the footsteps, the musician turned around, revealing the face Ye Qingxuan had seen last night. "I''m Colt," he said. "Colt Flagg. My teacher has mentioned you before." "And your teacher is?" "Heisenberg," Colt answered. "Grandmaster Heisenberg of the Rock Institute." Ye Qingxuan thought of the cold hawkish face within the council members of Abraham''s appraisal. He could vaguely see traces of it in Colt''s face. They had the same cold hardness. He nodded. "My apologies, I was impolite." "Nothing to apologize for. After all, our teachers don''t have a great relationship." Colt glanced at him. "My teacher said that he isn''t as good as Abraham. Abraham has a perfect student who can continue and develop his legacy. To be honest, I am envious." Ye Qingxuan''s eyebrows shot up. He did not expect Heisenberg to think so highly of him. "He flatters me." Colt chuckled. Rather than replying, he toyed with the sword. "Want to work together?" he asked suddenly. After thinking for a bit, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I''ll pass. I''m not really social." "That''s a pity." Colt looked at him coldly. "Your answer is such a pity." With a snap, the sword was unsheathed. The blade shone coldly. Faint waves of aether rolled off of Colt. It was heavy with animosity. Ye Qingxuan stared wordlessly. He would be a bit worried if Colt was a hot-tempered Modifications musician constantly troubled by his beastly nature, or a mentally unstable Summoning musician. He would not be worried at all if the opponent was a logical and introspective. No sane person would go against the rules of the Sacred City and put the locals at the market in danger by fighting with him. Revelations musicians also had low lethality so every action was precious and made for the kill. In some extremist schools, a Revelations musician would not act unless he was at least sixty percent sure he would be successful. Instead, Ye Qingxuan had to be careful to not fight back and give this guy something to latch onto. During the quiet stalemate, Colt laughed at himself. "As expected, this trick doesn''t work on you." He sheathed the sword again and put it back. "Nice sword." With that, he rose, bid farewell politely, and disappeared into the masses. Ye Qingxuan looked coolly as he walked away and returned to his spot. After a long time, he picked up a rag and wiped away Colt''s fingerprints. Sheathing the sword, he smiled into the distance. Under his feet, the rag silently burned to ashes. - At the end of the street, Colt stopped after turning. He looked at the girl hidden in the shadows. "Arianna, how is it?" he asked quietly. Arianna''s expression changed. She shook her head unhappily after a while. "There''s still no reaction. Are you sure you put my personally-made ''hint'' onto his stall?" "I swear," Colt said lightly. "I''m the only Revelations musician in all of Auschwitz that can discover hints." Before he could finish, a small sound shot from Arianna''s fingertip. Her expression changing, she looked down and found that the ring had cracked. "Really?" She took off the expensive alchemy equipment and tossed it into the trash. "There''s another one now." After a moment of silence, Colt lowered his eyes. "It seems like we should raise Ye Qingxuan''s threat level. Tell the musicians teaming up with us to be careful of him. Treat him as a Resonance level enemy." "That dramatic?" Arianna furrowed her brows. "They won''t accept it if there isn''t any evidence. How can the weakest guy suddenly jump to the top of the list?" "No problem. If they want evidence," Colt scoffed and turned, "there''ll be evidence once Ye Qingxuan takes care of some stupid guys." - Ye Qingxuan was not thinking about what Colt had planned. He just took it was a test from a fellow competitor. After checking the illusion fulcrums he had hid in nearby stalls, he started thinking again. He soon discovered that someone strange was keeping an eye on him. And the person was really close. And really cheeky. Cheeky to the point of squatting before him and staring with a curious and focused gaze. It was a little Romulusian girl around the age of eleven or twelve. She wore a dirty robe like everyone else. Her hair was brown with strands of gold. She was mixed. Her old backpack was filled with little trinkets, from hair clips, scissors, pieces of paper, to a dead white rat. It had been turned into a specimen and she took it everywhere with her. Someone had drawn on her face with weird paint, making her look like a little witch that would be burned at the stake in olden times. Now, she squatted by the stall and looked up and down, creeping Ye Qingxuan out. "Youwhat are you looking at?" Ye Qingxuan scooted back and gazed blankly at the girl. Hearing his question, the girl was stunned too. She quickly shook her head and replied honestly, "I forgot." Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. He coughed violently, not knowing how to reply. The girl remained squatting and rested her chin on her hands. She looked at him curiously. "Are you a foreigner too?" she asked. "I saw some others looking at you too." "How many people?" Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "Are there still a lot?" "Probably?" The girl scratched her messy hair. "Can we not talk about this? I can''t remember." Ye Qingxuan could hear the sound of his sanity shattering. What do you mean you can''t remember? And talk about what? We''re not talking about anything! Don''t act like we''re already familiar with each other! "Sorry, I don''t know what you''re talking about." Ye Qingxuan forcefully himself to calm down. "How can I help you?" "Oh, we don''t know each other?" The girl looked at him in confusion. Finding her answer in his upset eyes, she nodded. "Then you''ve already bought a map, right? Just pretend I was never here." "What map?" Ye Qingxuan had never had such a hard time talking to someone. He was even doubting his own intelligence. Was this girl crazy? "Oh, so you haven''t bought it?" The girl''s eyes brightened. "You want it? The map''s really cheap! Don''t you foreigners all wanna go to the palace under the mine? I''m the only one who''s been to it! I can''t take you but if you spendspend" She paused and flipped through her pocket. Taking out a price sheet, she glanced at it and stuffed it back. She stated, "Spend three-hundred bucks and you''ll get my hand-drawn map!" You think I''ll believe you and give you money? Ye Qingxuan made a face but did not know what to say. "Oh, you think it''s expensive?" The girl misunderstood and scratched her head apologetically. "Yeah, I think it''s expensive too. How about you give me a hundred? If you still think it''s not worth it, I can tell you a secret passageway." Without waiting for Ye Qingxuan''s reply, she took out a strange ''map'' and started drawing on the back. Her drawing style was, wellextremely ''spirited,'' filled with wildness and emotions. Simply put, Ye Qingxuan could not distinguish anything other than two statues and a door. Soon, she stuffed the map into Ye Qingxuan''s hands and gazed at him expectantly. She was waiting for money. Was this a new kind of scam and beggar technique? Ye Qingxuan was numb. He thought, fine, it''s just a hundred bucks. Please take it and stop damaging my sanity and logic. "You should''ve just told me you want money!" He sadly took out one hundred dollars and gave it to her. The girl accepted with a smile but realized the money would not budge. She tugged it again. Ye Qingxuan let go and grasped her wrist. She looked at Ye Qingxuan, but Ye Qingxuan was looking at her wrist. There was a tattoo of two snakes entwined on a cross on her wrist. Ye Qingxuan took out his pocket watch and realized that there was no difference in the design. "Where did you get this tattoo?" 333 Elsa "Where did you get this tattoo?" The girl thought for a moment and shook her head. "Forgot." "Forgot?" You can forget this too?! He thought. Feeling weak, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his face. "Do you know someone called Hermes?" "Probably?" "Do you or do you not?!" The girl pouted. "I don''t know, I forgot! None of your business!" "You remember your own name, right?" Staring into her eyes, Ye Qingxuan enunciated, "Tell me your name." The girl fell silent. She dodged Ye Qingxuan''s eyes and tried to take her hand back sadly. "I''m not selling you the map anymore. Let go. Seriously, you''re so annoyingyou keep asking weird questions," she murmured. She would not meet Ye Qingxuan''s eyes as if she was avoiding something. "L-let go, I''m leaving." She tried to pry Ye Qingxuan''s fingers but he just stared at her seriously. "Tell me your name." "Her name is Elsa." Someone reached over and placed a hand on Ye Qingxuan''s hand. "Relax, Mr. Ye. She''s my daughter." The hand was covered in calluses and abnormally old. He patted the back of Ye Qingxuan''s hand and loosened the fingers. Then he embraced the little girl. She began laughing dumbly after he murmured something. "Take her home." He gave the girl to a young man behind him. The young man placed the girl on his shoulders and walked away. After seeing his daughter off, the stooped old man turned back to the youth. "I just sent you off and I can''t believe we''re meeting again." "Uh, Mr. Caligula." "Good afternoon, Mr. Ye." Caligula held his pipe. Studying Ye Qingxuan''s Double Snake Time Meter, it dawned on him. "You''re Hermes'' man. I didn''t expect that." "It''s a coincidence." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I actually came to Romulus to help him check on Elsa but it seems that things aren''t as bad as I thought." "Hermes still remembers the poor child?" Caligula nodded. "I met him once when the flu erupted five years ago. At that time, my daughter was close to dying. He helped me find the best doctor, but sadly, he was too late, leaving this sequela. Mr. Ye, were you bothered?" After a pause, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Is there a problem with her memory?" "You guessed it." The elder lowered his eyes and said softly, "The fever damaged a portion of her brain. Some of her common sense remained but her memoryonly lasts five minutes." Five minutes? Ye Qingxuan was stunned. After a long while, he lowered his eyes and sighed deeply. "I see." Only this way could he understand her strangeness. However, he could not imagine that kind of life. A world of five minutes was like an infant looking at the world. There was no past or future. She did not even know her name. "No need for pity, Mr. Ye. She''s very happy." Caligula patted his shoulder after seeing his sympathy. "It''s not necessarily a bad thing to having no past. This is not bad. At least, she won''t be troubled by sadness or pain." The youth nodded. "I hope that is so." "I almost forgot why I came." Caligula pulled some dirty scrolls and placed them onto his stall. "I wanted to give you these. These are relics from those elders. Some of our history is recorded, and I think you can use them." Ye Qingxuan took them and flipped through. He looked up in shock. "These are allRomulus'' history? They''re invaluable treasures to any scholar!" "Mr. Ye, you told me this afternoon that you originally came to help the patients. These things are insignificant gifts of gratitude. They''re only useful to scholars." Caligula knocked his pipe against a rock. The non-flammable ashes fell out and scattered in the wind. "If possible, I hope someone like you wins the trial. If you still think it''s too heavy of a gift, then please find a better doctor for Elsa." Chuckling, he turned and left. Ye Qingxuan remained in his spot and watched as Caligula disappeared into the distance before looking away. "Victory?" he murmured. "I''ll try." - At dusk, the smell of burning tobacco and alcohol hung in the air of the inn''s lobby. There was bustling busyness under the quiet chaos. Though it was messy, it was rare for Romulus to be so spirited. However, the lobby was split into two clear parts. One half was filled with the shirtless natives who drank and talked loudly. The other half was silent. The musicians who had worked the entire day ate their food quietly. After all, if one had enough money, one could even buy respect, let alone a place to eat. It was not sumptuous but it was already the best treatment in Romulus. The table in the center was empty. There were only a few cups of liquor and half a bottle of gin that could make many alcohols drool over. There was a gold sticker on the bottle. It was clearly a good imported product and the best of the inn. There were even some slightly-dried lemons paired with the good drink. However, the three musicians did not seem to want to talk while waiting. They just sipped their hard liquor and waited. Soon, the door opened. A musician in gray cloak shook off the dust at the entrance and walked straight to the table. Something invisible seemed to follow him, leaving behind small footprints. A flash of coldness seemed to thicken the air. It was heavy beastly nature that practically became tangible under the aether''s projection. The musician did not seem old. His blonde hair was messy like a lion''s mane. He had the vertical pupils of Summoning musicians who interacted with beasts too often. His gaze was wild and terrifyingly beastly. "School of Dragon Rock" "Baro, the Gold Lion." "Baro Hoffman." Sensing his arrival, the other musicians started whispering amongst themselves, discussing the hottest topic of the Auschwitz trial, the star of the School of Dragon Rock, an elite branch of Summoning. When Baro casually sat down at the middle table and started drinking the gin, everyone''s gazes grew serious. Now, the three popular picks for the champion were sitting together. They seemed to have teamed up and would explore the relic together. There was Sam, nicknamed Hammer, the School of Destruction''s representative; Gold Lion Baro of the School of Dragon Rock; and Miller, the rising star of the northern School of Choir. Putting the three names together was terrifying. Something negative flashed through the eyes of the other musicians. They finished their food quickly and left. Seeing those gazes, Baro sneered. Unperturbed, he grabbed a lemon and squeezed it over the gin. Then he tossed it to the side and emptied the cup of gin. "Nice." He sighed. "I was outside the entire day and now I can finally get rid of the taste of dirt in my mouth." The musician on his left picked up the flagon with a smile and helped him refill the cup wordlessly. Baro wiped his mouth. Looking at his companions, he started with the main topic. "Sam, I heard you found another partner?" "I think he fits," Sam muttered while nodding. "He has a good head." Baro furrowed his brows. "But we already have three people." "It''s better with one more," Miller said on his right. "I don''t object. The more the better, right?" "Not necessarily," Baro huffed. "It depends on who it is. I''m not willing to work with any weird guy. Sam, you''re too sympathetic. Don''t just add whoever into our team." "You''ve heard of him, Baro." Miller smiled. "It''s that Easterner who made things hard for those guys last night. Let me" "Ye Qingxuan?" Baro interrupted with a furrowed brow. "The nominee for the weakest of all participants?" "Uh" Miller froze, his expression strange. "What''s the use of deadweight like that?" Baro shook his head in dissatisfaction. "I heard that he wouldn''t''ve even been allowed in the city if the Angloian grandmaster wasn''t there." Miller drank his gin awkwardly and said softly, "Look, a Revelations musician that''s good at exploration is always a plus for relics like these. He''s also historical studies grandmaster Abraham''s student. He can help with exploring the Romulus relic. You can relax too" "Relic exploration isn''t a game!" Baro raised his voice. The scar on his forehead reddened under the alcohol''s stimulus. He was filled with disdain and disgust. "It''s already a feat if a newly-made official musician doesn''t add trouble. Don''t put your hopes on him for being useful. And anyway, my Scale Demon can explore relics too!" Unable to refute the claims, Miller looked away. "This is Sam''s decision. He must have his reasons." "I don''t agree!" Baro''s expression was dark as he tried to keep down his anger. "Do you think anyone can join our group and split the reward? Those gold-digging pieces of trash are useless!" "Talk after you''ve seen him," Sam finally uttered. Rather than being angry or wanting to argue, he stated, "He has a good head. I think it''ll be good to have someone like him on the team." Baro''s expression changed. In the end, he gritted his teeth and stepped back. "Okay. If he''s not good, don''t think I''ll agree." 334 Good Cooperation Baro stepped back. However, it was apparently just because of his fear of Sam. Surrendering in such a situation made his mood worsen and grow manic again. Just like beasts, Summoning musicians were easily angered. Except those who had no emotions since birth, few people could suppress this beastly nature and control the agitation. The stronger the musician was, the more difficult for him to manage this. "That d*mn b*stard," he muttered. He indignantly grabbed a lemon, squashed it, took the glass, and drained it. The musician beside him filled the glass up for him wordlessly and handed him a new lemon. Angered, Baro drank cup after cup. During the long wait, Sam stared blankly at the glass while Miller looked up at the dust on the ceiling. After several cups of gin, Baro''s patience finally reached its limit. He angrily smashed the table so that the whole hall was shocked into silence. "How long do we have to wait for that guy? Does he want us to wait for half a night?" He angrily squeezed the lemon in his hand and threw it on the ground, reaching for the gin on the table. But he grabbed nothing. That bottle of gin was taken away by someone. The remaining liquor shook in the bottle, reflecting the light like amber. "Don''t be angry. The most important part of life is to be happy." The musician sitting next to him handed him a glass of water. "Come on, drink some hot water. Are you hungry? Let me cook some noodles for you." Baro froze. He turned and looked to the man beside him. The man was looking at him too, smiling politely. He had been sitting there in silence since the very beginning, filling the glass for Baro and handing him lemons, smiling and listening without a word. The squashed lemons were piled into a small hill before him like a hapless but organized family. It was only then that Baro felt the sour and stinging pain in his mouth as well as the turbulent churning in his stomach like the pain after eating dozens of lemons. But, more importantly, how did he not notice this guy if he had been sitting there for such a long time? Snap! His fingers sharpened, scratching five deep gouges into the table. He stared at Ye Qingxuan angrily. "Who are you?" "Me?" The young man smiled helplessly and took off his hat. His long silvery hair reflected the light like metal. "I''m the heaviest burden you were talking about." Looking at his smiling face, Baro''s face twitched and he growled softly like a furious lion restraining itself. Now, he finally understood Miller''s complex expression and Sam''s daze when he was speaking. The youth had been sitting here since the beginning, quietly watching his restlessness for fun. Thinking of this, he could not help gritting his teeth. The grinding sounds were jarring. "Ye Qingxuan, what do you want?" "Nothing. I just don''t want to be involved in your bad luck." Ye Qingxuan piled the withered lemons into a small tower and carefully placed a small umbrella onto it. Well done. Facing Baro''s furious gaze, the young man lowered his eyes, gazing at the little umbrella. He said softly, "Mr. Baro, perhaps the most important thing to you is strength, so you despise powerless people. But you need to understand that the strength you''re proud of...means nothing to me." Boom! A lion roared in the void. It was overwhelming like a hurricane that almost overturned the table. It also destroyed the pagoda of withered lemons. "Ye Qingxuan, you''d better shut your mouth!" Baro was on the verge of losing control. The beastly nature in him was about to absorb the aether and condense into phantom beast. "Mr. Ye, I think that..." Miller stood out to smooth things over, but when he turned back, he saw that Sam was motionless. He froze for a moment and his expression changed subtly, shaking his head helplessly. "Forget it. Do whatever you want." Seeing that they would not meddle in the matter, Baro smiled. He rubbed his fingers and harsh notes burst out, almost sparking in the thin air. "Should we go out and practice?" he said with a challenging smile. "If you''re a man then be a man." "Go out?" The youth shook his head. "No, let''s just do it here." Baro was stunned but immediately laughed out of extreme anger. "Do you think the ban of the Sacred City can protect you? There are locals around here, so I can''t do anything to you? You''re too na?ve, I" "You think too much," Ye Qingxuan interrupted him. He looked up and there seemed to be a quiet moonlight flowing in his eyes. He said, "I''ll admit defeat if you can use any music score." Baro froze. His face twitched as if he was either furious or grinning crazily. "Good!" Crimson light shot from Baro''s eyes. "Very good!" His voice was followed by a lion''s roar. An impassioned melody sounded. The head of a giant pure white lion emerged from the void. Its hair was like knives reflecting light of the metal. In the blink of an eye, half a body had appeared. The giant mouth covered half of Ye Qingxuan and suddenly shut. It could be seen that he did not want to end Ye Qingxuan''s life. However, he also needed to teach this guy some lessons! Bang! The big lion''s mouth closed but the scream was Baro''s. The lion vanished like dust and dissipated in mid-air. The beastly nature returned to Baro''s mind; the conflict between the beastly nature and rationality made his vision go black. It felt as if his head was about to burst. "The white lion is the representative phantom beast of the School of Dragon Rock, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked lightly. "I can see that the beastly nature has other parts mixed within. You have an iron lion in your mind? Very creative, I like it. But what a pity." "You" In the throbs of pain, Baro covered his face. Veins bulged on the back of his hand. The eye visible between his fingers had become red. It trembled as it focused on Ye Qingxuan''s face. In his lethargy, Ye Qingxuan''s face was as illusory as mist in his eyes. The youth seemed close to dissipating. Dimness surrounded them, leaving only a solitary lamp for illumination. Behind the lonely lamp, Ye Qingxuan''s smile was very secretive. "Illusion!" Baro gritted his teeth. "Your illusion...is Winterreise?" "Yeah, I learned it on the road for self-defense." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. "As you know, it comes from Winterreise. The movement is called T?uschung, which means deception. Its effect is to construct illusions while make the enemy''s movement lose target, sending it back at the enemy. It is quite good against the School of Summoning." The white-haired youth seemed defenseless. He told Baro every detail about his movements and secrets. Then he pushed the lonely lamp to Baro. "I can tell you one thing: its ''fulcrum'' is this lamp before you." In the crackling sound of the burning light, the hum of the teenager came faintly. "There was a fire, swinging lovingly before me. I followed it around and followed it close, watching it wander around, luring the vagabonds to come. Oh, how pitiful am I to be deceived so happily. I see a warm and bright house in this dreadful night. The one I love is inside-even if all I see are just illusions..." "Do you think this illusion can trap me?" Baro gritted his teeth. "Even the ''Voodoo Crypt'' candidate, that b*tch Rebecca, doesn''t dare to expose her fulcrum to me!" "No, I just want a fair fight." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "I got the geographical advantage while you don''t need to worry that the destructive phantom beast will hurt the innocent. It''s good for you, too. What do you say?" "Just what I need." Baro grinned, revealing sharp canine teeth. A shadow slowly surfaced behind him. It was a huge and hideous black organ. The six-layered keyboard was engraved with countless beastly claw marks. The flowing notes transformed into different music theories, performing the war between a great beast and dragon. This was the wuthering sound, the trademark instrument of the School of Dragon Rock. Baro''s eyes were crimson. They had absorbed the beastly nature and seemed to burn. He had entered the phase of deep resonance. "You''ll regret it, Ye Qingxuan," he uttered, emphasizing each word. "I''ll tear you to shreds." "Then you must hurry." Ye Qingxuan smiled and closed his pocket watch. "We still have the time to play a few rounds before the dinner. I hope I can convince you." - Late at night, there was only the sounds of heavy breathing could be heard in the silent hall. Before the already cold dinner, the musicians were silent. Only Baro was staring at the lamp before him with a pale face drenched with sweat. "Shall we eat first?" Sam sighed. "The dinner''s getting cold and we have to pay to heat it again. How much longer did Baro want to hold on for? He did not mind eating cold food, but he did mind spending money. It had cost a lot to get the best table here too. If this was in the past, he would not care about it, but he had just wasted a lot of money for the rain in Oz. Now his wallet was empty. If Ye Qingxuan had not said that he would treat them, Sam would have stolen food from Miller. "It won''t be long before Baro runs out of strength." Miller stretched out his hand to hold Baro''s wrist and shook his head with a sigh. "I hope Ye Qingxuan can persuade him. Is the School of Summoning filled with stubborn guys like him? Researching beasts really messed with their heads." "At least the School of Dragon Rock is so. My teacher told me that if I met a psychopath from there, I should just beat them up. Otherwise, it''s not possible to talk." "Your teacher tells you to beat them up no matter what school they''re from!" The two reached a stalemate for a long time. Finally, they decided to eat first. Ye Qingxuan reached out to pinch out the light on the table and the light dimmed. Baro shook and almost slipped from his chair. He was sweating like a pig and panted heavily. He gasped as if he had broken free of asphyxiation under the sea. His lips faintly flushed with purple, his fingers trembled, and sweat fell from his hair to his collar. Miller stretched out his hand to check but was refused by his waving. "I surrender." Gasping for breath, he looked up at Ye Qingxuan. He was not content but he still squeezed from his teeth, "I''ll listen to you in the relic." Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Then, let''s cooperate well." 335 Just Watch It was silent at night. A shadow stood amongst the clouds and wordlessly gazed at the city below him. Holding a notebook and a feather quill, he recorded silently. Endless stars were reflected in his Starry Eyes. Behind him, a silhouette emerged from the condensation. "Grandmaster Koch, how is everything?" "As usual." Koch ripped out a piece of paper for the man. "A total of nineteen musicians have gone against the Sacred City''s order and involved the locals during their personal fights." "There are many kids who think too highly of themselves." The shadow in the clouds glanced at the notes and nodded. "They want to fool around when the Silent Authority''s here? They''ll have to pay for not following the rules." Grandmaster Koch continued to look down. He finally stopped recording when the midnight bell rang out. His records were filled with various names. Ye Qingxuan was the last participant to arrive before the deadline of midnight last night. Now, there were one-hundred and sixty participating musicians in Auschwitz. The group''s average age was not even thirty, but there were more than twenty musicians above the Resonance level. The others had delved deep into music theory years ago. They were the elites of their academies and the stars of their schoolsTorre Hauser, Sam, Casper Hauser, Colt Flagg, Ye Qingxuan, Baro, Arianna, Rebecca Grandmaster Koch gazed at the lines of names under the moonlight. Perhaps the new king of musicians would be born from this list. They were destined to shine. - The next morning, they were at the center of Auschwitz. If one looked down from the sky, one would see a yawning hole in the circular area. The eerie crack was like an eye in the earth staring up to the heavens. Within the eye was bottomless darkness. According to scholars, Auschwitz was built on a complex but fragile geological rock formation. The smallest earthquake would cause a chain of disasters. If the crack enlarged, everything might be swallowed into it. One could vaguely make out some rusted machines and the remains of a helicopter around the crack. Those were the digging equipment that the Chainsaw Fraternity gave to Romulus. They were only able to enter the mines with these things. However, they were abandoned when the relic was discovered. Now, only the scar-like hole remained. At daybreak, the musicians gathered here, waiting to cross through the mine and enter the relic. Of course, many of them held mysterious maps and suspicious unreliable mine road maps. They did not know if the maps were useful but they only costed around two to three hundred dollars. They could use the maps as commemorative gifts. Soon, the grandmasters supervising the trial appeared. After publicly taking away the dozens of rule-breaking musicians, the trial officially began. The sealed entrance to the mine was opened. Some musicians flew down, some started climbing, and others summoned phantom beasts that could fly. Seeing everyone use their tricks to enter, Ye Qingxuan casually got into the line for the lift. The lift was a piece of equipment from before. It used to transport the miners and heavy machinery every day. It was dozens of square meters and could easily transport dozens of people and their luggage. Beside him, Baro had wanted to summon his griffin and fly down. However, due to his promise, he followed Ye Qingxuan''s command with a dark expression. "You don''t have to waste your energy at the start. Attracting attention at the start will make you a public enemy, right? The Sacred City won''t care what we do once we''re in." Ye Qingxuan carried his package to the very front. Compared to the other light travelers, he looked like a snail. Sam eyed his own giant bag with a pained expression. "Is all of this necessary?" Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "I hope a lot of it is unnecessary but you''ll be happy to have it when we need it." Sam sighed. He obediently put on the heavy bag and walked into the lift, lowering into the darkness under the loud rumbling. Another rumble sounded under their feet. Blinding red light illuminated in the darkness. Fire was burning. Screams spread - Far from the entrance of the mine, a middle-aged Easterner stuck his hands in his sleeves and watched the chaos with a smile. Beside him, a few white-haired youths and girls anxiously wanted to do something but could only stand there obediently. "Sir, are we really not going to help?" someone asked softly. "All is destined by the heavens so just let it be. Those who understand this fact will not stand under danger." Mr. Hu patted the youth''s shoulder and remained still. "After all, this is not the East, and we are not locals here. For complicated matters, it is not good to be involved but there is no harm in watching" He paused and watched as the white-haired youth enter the mine. "No harm in watching." - The chaos started in the entrance. Someone said that two musicians who were fighting for space in the lift were squished together, and one of them touched the other''s chest. Others said that they kissed publicly and blinded the singles in the crowd. Others said that they already had feelings for each other and this was a well-planned conspiracy. Anyway, many rumors came out of this event. And the end result was that there was a fight. It was an all-out fight! This meant thatother people were dragged in as well. In the beginning, Ye Qingxuan saw sparks fly from below the lift and heard the commotion. Someone in the first batch awoke the music score sealed in his instrument, transforming aether into a hungry fire. It exploded in the center of the crowd! Amidst the explosion, the lift began to shake furiously. The steel cable pulled taut and swept over Ye Qingxuan''s head, popping in the air. Then there was a huge quake. People screamed and the lift visibly tilted. Amidst the grating sounds of steel warping, three of the six poles under the lift cracked. The other three were warped under the music score''s effect. Inside the mine, the riot had grown uncontrollable. As competitors, they did not have the grace of being friendly and calm. It was an everyday matter to fight now. For these musicians, survival of the fittest was the way! The intensity of the fight burned white-hot. Under Ye Qingxuan''s observation, dozens of aether waves shot out one after another in the darkness peppered with sparks. This meant thatdozens of musicians were part of this messy fight. Most of them were for self-preservation and covered themselves with shields. Thenthey started messing with the others! The Eye of Silence immediately sensed reactions from six different music scores: a sonata that got a head start, an overture that planned slowly, a symphony performed by multiple musicians, a concerto, a fantasia famous for explosive power The high and piercing sounds was interwoven in indistinguishable cacophony. Chaotic aether were guided by the music theory and came crashing with the destructive music. Boom! With an earth-shattering explosion, immense pressure shot out from the darkness of the mine and into the air, making Ye Qingxuan''s vision go black. This time, he was unable to keep observing. The wobbling lift had finally toppled over! The musicians quickly showed off their skills to escape the sinking ship. However, some were unlucky and did not prepare music scores for this situation. They had no time to perform one from scratch so they could only grab onto other musicians or equipment and pray. The moment Ye Qingxuan felt the shaking, he was grabbed by someone. He felt a boom above his head and heavy wind whistled by. A griffin with a wingspan of a few meters had emerged from the air. With a caw, it began flying. Its claws were agile like a man''s hands. It hooked onto Ye Qingxuan''s collar and grasped his waist. The other claw grabbed Miller, who had not yet processed everything. Baro and Sam sat on the griffin''s back. Seeing Ye Qingxuan''s pathetic state, Baro huffed sadistically. "Who was the one that said it''s best to save our energyah, f*ck!" The last half of his sentence was swallowed by a scream. Metallic light surged like a thunderstorm in the darkness. Under the eerie bamboo melody, countless steel edges emerged out of thin air and swept in all directions like rain. Either meaningfully or not, they blocked the griffin in place. "I told you" Ye Qingxuan sighed and activated the shield on his ring, getting ready to charge. No matter how many times he had failed in Avalon, Ye Qingxuan still liked to act cool. However, he also had learned some things. If everyone else is suffering and you''re acting all majestic, of course they''re gonna come for you! "Bro, don''t hit my face!" He only had time to raise a hand and block his face. The metallic light swept over with a roar. The griffin had just been summoned and Baro had no time to control other music scores. He could only yell, "Sam! What are you waiting for?" "We-we''re fighting now?" Sam finally realized. He was so excited he even stuttered. "You could''ve said so!" The mass of iron had not come yet but the griffin suddenly cried out. Their altitude decreased as if an invisible hammer had pounded its head. This was because of the Copper Mountain! The majestic yet wild melody shot out, extending the music theory, performing equations, and connecting the shaking aether. Then, a gale of red wind appeared in thin air. It transformed into a tornado that stretched from the sky to the ground like a wildly dancing snake. In the eye of the storm, Sam''s eyes were ablaze with flames. They shone like lava. Wild wind swept through. This was not the music score''s effect; it was only the prelude. This was 336 I Want to Fight Ten! "Sound of heart?" Ye Qingxuan looked up in shock. His Eye of Silence looked past the semi-transparent griffin and fell onto Sam. In his semi-transparent body, countless rhythms had combined into one tempo. The tempo resonated with the sea of aether. It poured into the music score, performing its own effect. This was ''Foehn Wind,'' the sound of heart that only musicians loved by Saint Agni! Burning wind instantly swept through. The mass of iron was swept in and burned instantly, creating a stream of melted iron that solidified in midair. In the crowd, the musician''s expression flipped. He tried to escape but it was too late! "It''s not over yet!" Sam cackled. He slammed his fists into the air. A passionate melody shot out. The flowing melted iron was pounded by invisible hammers and instantly began to weather. Countless music notes flowed within it, adding to the music theory until it transformed into a terrifying alchemy weapon. This was Les Preludes by Saint Liszt. It was also known as the Score of Damocles! Everyone held their breaths because a sword hung in the sky. In the silence, Sam held his breath too. He reached out cautiously as if cutting the invisible thread. The sword descended instantly. Hundreds upon thousands of red meteorites fell. The shooting sword multiplied and returned under the giant boom! The musician who had performed the secret attack was aghast. With a scream, he tried to escape but it truly was too late now. The wild aetheric vortex was born in an instant and disappeared in the next. Amidst the continuous rumbling, countless gaping holes opened in the deep end of the mine. The swords that lost their strength pierced and melted into the rock. They gradually dimmed and all that remained was evaporating bloody vapors and dots of shocking dark red. "Hey, that''s a bitoverdramatic?" It was not just Baro. Even Sam was frightened and wiped at his cold sweat. Now, he finally realized the eyes on him. They were full of fear, darkness, hatred, shock, murderous intent, terror, awe "Sam, I have a question," Ye Qingxuan uttered. "How many can you destruction musicians fight at once?" "Uh, if we''re at the same level, maybe three?" Sam answered uncertainly. "Why are you asking?" "So you can''t win if there are more than three?" Sam nodded. With so many eyes full of malice on them, Ye Qingxuan could not help but bury his face and sigh. "Baro, what are you waiting for? Run!" This time, Baro did not need Ye Qingxuan''s urging him, and cast a bunch of music scores. The griffin''s wings shook and it rushed into the darkness. "Get him!" someone yelled. The crowd swarmed after them like an angry beehive. Sam''s aggressive reaction had been too over the top and had attracted everyone''s attention. They were all competitors here, so if one performed so wellthey would go after him, as usual! Numerous music scores were cast in an instant, targeting the extremely visible griffin in the air. Next, an attack much denser than before swept through the air. At the same time, explosions sounded outside the mine. In that instant, waves crashed in the aether sea. Outside the tolerance range of most aether balls, the fragile crystal balls exploded, blinding their owners. Faced with an intensity that was more than enough to kill them, the group paled collectively. "Sam, do you have any solutions?" Baro glanced at the culprit. Sam thought seriously. After wasting the last bit of time they had, he stated, "I don''t think so." Baro almost coughed out blood. He was ready to accept death when he heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice. "Speed up," he said. "I''ll take care of the rest." In the next moment, a hymn rose up. Beside Ye Qingxuan, Choir musician Miller felt boundless radiance emerge from the darkness and illuminate the earth. "Holy?" In awe, he sensed the Choir music theory brewing within and murmured, "The realm of God has descended onto Earth and operates as if in the heavens" In the light, the boundless realm unfolded in thin air. Music theory of the School of Abstinence joined with Choir theory, creating a perfect shield. There were no shakes, hits, or explosions. All attacks disappeared into the shield and landed in an unknown place. When the dust settled, they were already gone, as if they had disintegrated. In the crowd, Colt Flagg gazed through the sky. His gaze turned meaningful as if his Starry Eyes saw something. After the chaos, the musicians spread out into the mine. A rope was gradually lowered into the darkness, falling into the riddled mine. Baro and Sam were close to collapsing. They were practically carried down by Ye Qingxuan. They had no time to escape and instead hid in the crevices of the wall. In order to stay hidden, they did not even dare to use any music scores. They depended on pure physical strength. Ye Qingxuan would not have been able to hold himself without the Governor, let alone care for the other two. In comparison, Miller was relaxed as if he was vacationing. He was not even out of breath. "The School of Choir studies life, you know?" Miller explained with a smile. "My research field is the resistance of the physical body. Many techniques do not require music scores. The theory is simple. You just need to adjust the ''four liquids'' inside your body and maintain equilibrium. It''s just like how you Modifications uses changes of formulas. One of our seniors survived two days in the deep sea by maintaining the equilibrium to study the limits of the body. This is a small case." Hearing that, Baro sprawled onto the ground listlessly. He decided not to ask anymore. "Let''s get going after a ten minute break." Ye Qingxuan looked around. He pulled some chant consumables and created an illusion barrier. "We''re already behind. Hopefully, we won''t fall too far back." "Shouldn''t we be fighting every second now?" Sam asked. "That''s for the last step. Right now, it''ll be okay if we catch up. If we''re too far ahead, the others would probably team up against us." Ye Qingxuan held his chin emotionally. "Trust me, I''ve dealt with these situations too much. You don''t want to experience it." Hearing his words, everyone else''s expressions grew strange. They wondered what this white-haired guy had actually experienced in the past. "I''m sure everyone understands after that riot that you can''t survive by yourselves. Now, even the ones who didn''t want to join groups will try to find someone." Miller sighed. "The rest of the journey will be difficult." "You can''t do it by yourself but explorations aren''t the more the better," Ye Qingxuan mumbled with a mouth full of breakfast food. "The Eastern Empire called for tens of thousands to excavate the ancient royal tomb but only a handful is actually useful. The four of us is enough. In fact, we have advantages." Ye Qingxuan had joined this team as a Revelations musician. He was responsible for investigating the path and exploring the relic. When needed, he would decode enchantments. The destructive Sam was responsible for martial power. Miller''s job was healer and backup. Baro was multi-talented and had many phantom beasts. He was responsible for filling in the holes. They made up a pretty standard exploration team and were enough to explore the Dark World, let alone a relic. They restarted the journey after a short rest. However, Ye Qingxuan cautiously pulled out a sealed flagon this time. It was the size of a fist but heavy as if it was solid steel. "What''s this?" Baro scooted over but Miller dragged him away after taking a whiff. "Live mercury?" Miller furrowed his brows. "This is fatal poison. You won''t want to get a drop on you." "Relax. It''s just a chant consumable." Holding his breath, Ye Qingxuan carefully opened the lid. Inside, the endlessly and silently flowing mercury rippled. This mercury was transformed by an alchemist. It was more active. Even in this flagon, it was still moving. It began bubbling slightly under the gentle melody. Strands of silver snaked out and hung in the air. Ye Qingxuan let out a breath. "Done." Next, the gentle melody repeated. Two, four, eightcountless strands of mercury extended from the flagon into all directions with the Bolero melody. Under the intensifying song, the entire flagon was transformed into microscopic strands. They flashed faintly in the darkness. The mercury perception threads extended, allowing Ye Qingxuan''s senses to stretch into the deepest darkness. This was Charles'' creation. After realizing that Ye Qingxuan''s water vapor perception threads were too weak and hard to use, he suggested directly changing the material. The two had stayed up the entire night, adjusting intervals and music theory. They had finally applied it onto mercury, overcoming water vapor''s weakness. The mercury threads were flawless, save for the fact that it was slow to prepare. Ye Qingxuan soon put back his empty flagon. The group began foraging deeper into the mine. The darkness swallowed their figures. A serene breeze blew from the distance, light as a laugh. 337 A Good Start? Using the mine map from the church, the group moved quickly. In fact, they had even overtaken many people. Under Ye Qingxuan''s perception, a complex yet detailed map formed in his mind. There were barely any fights during their journey. Ye Qingxuan had avoided all the musicians. However, he suddenly halted during their wordless walking. "Wait, there''s a situation." During the journey, his teammates had acknowledged his exploration abilities. Hearing his words, everyone grew guarded. Ye Qingxuan tossed down his bag to lighten to weight and cautiously walked forward. One step, two steps The mercury threads extended and sank into the soil, sensing something hidden under the decaying dirt. Ye Qingxuan froze and was immediately covered in cold sweat. "Who the f*ck did this cruel thing?" With his Eye of Silence, he looked past the disguise. The entire tunnel was covered in alchemy arrays and carved music scores. It looked like a wall covered densely in Boston ivy. Though beautiful, it was terrifying. This thing was activated by the slightest touch. Without using help from aether, he took out a small shovel and carefully drew some circles on the ground. "Come over one by one and follow me," he turned around and said seriously. "Step in the circles, alright? There are three layers of traps buried here. One layer is mechanic, one is an aether trap, and the last should be some parasitic phantom beast. It won''t be good if it gets onto you. If you take a wrong step, the entire tunnel might collapse from the chain reaction." The others were stunned. They gulped. Buried under hundreds of thousands of tons of dirt, meters under the groundno one would be able to survive. Soon, they passed through the trap safely under Ye Qingxuan''s guidance. The pissed off Baro raised his hand, ready to destroy the trap, but Ye Qingxuan stopped him. "What are you leaving it for?" "If you want to mess with others, you have to be ready to get messed with." Smiling, Ye Qingxuan opened his bag and took out some tools. "I''ll change it a bit and add some new stuff. When the person who set this trap tries to go back, he''ll have fun." His hands did not stop moving while he talked. He quickly changed the activation requirements of the traps. By changing the positions of a few music notes, the intervals of the complex array were changed completely. He connected the rhythms, changed the notes, edited the intervalshe did everything in one breath. Compared to changing Avalon''s vast enchantment, this was nothing. The outer appearance was still the same in the end. "I just changed the activation requirement," Ye Qingxuan murmured to himself. "It''ll be fun when that friend comes back, right?" His three companions felt something evil and cold radiate from him and they took a step back in unison. - They soon started forward again. This time, Baro summoned a dark falcon to discern the direction and he froze. "Did we go the wrong way?" He looked from the map to Ye Qingxuan. "Why are we going south? The entrances are in the north and east" "Huh? Did you buy your map from a local?" Ye Qingxuan took Baro''s map and studied it with a nod. "Look at mine." He took a new map from his pocket. Comparing the two, Baro shut his mouth obediently. Yesterday, he had spent a sum to buy a layered map from a Romulusian engineer who had entered the mine before. However, the map drawn from memory was incomparable to what Ye Qingxuan had. God knows where the guy had gotten it from. It was detailed to the point of noting the width of the tunnels, situation, and even a scale and depth differentiation. "Where did you get this from?" Baro asked after a moment of shock. "How much did you spend?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him as if he was a retard. "The church''s archive has resources from the mine''s early days. Anyone can go look at it, and it''s easy to copy the map. Why would I spend money?" Baro shut his mouth. The saying was, ''you do it if you can.'' Ye Qingxuan could so Baro had no need to embarrass himself. In Baro''s map, there were three entrances to the second level. In actuality, there were five in total. One of the other two was made by early engineers and was abandoned now so few knew about it. The other one was cracked by earthquakes and had been buried. It was only recorded in the safety records. "If we don''t want to get slowed down by fights, we should have gone by the path made by the earliest explorative engineers." Ye Qingxuan raised his lantern and illuminated the darkness before him. However, the ones here did not need these tools. The lantern was just a prop. "What do you mean ''should have''?" Sam asked. Gripping his chin, Ye Qingxuan smiled weirdly. "Because things seem to have changed." Before he finished, there was a giant boom up ahead. Something seemed to be fighting intensely. Ye Qingxuan studied the footprints illuminated by the lantern and realization flashed past his eyes. He was definitely not the only smart one. Others must have realized they could take advantage of church resources and discovered this place. However, few knew why this path was abandoned. "At first, I planned on barging in, but now someone has tested the waters for us." Ye Qingxuan pulled out a chair and sat down. "Let''s wait for ten minutes. We can go and take advantage of things after they clear the way for us." Ten minutes later, Ye Qingxuan led the way, and the group entered a giant underground cavern. The ground was littered with carcasses of snakes as thick as a man''s thigh. The engineer who discovered this place had noticed the hibernating snakes. They were not big threats to musicians, but it would be bad news for miners. After all, no one wanted to wrestle with a bunch of poisonous snakes on their way to and from work. Therefore, they abandoned this path while exploring the mine. They even sealed off the center and put up warning signs so brash people would not come dig around. He could imagine how happy the musicians must have been to see so many little friends, starving and ready to prepare for hibernation, waiting for them. "Should we collect some?" Ye Qingxuan looked back at Miller. "Snake marrow makes great chant consumables. They can act as live substances and help with many Choir scores. Miller shook his head. "I can buy them in other places. No need to waste time here." "True." Ye Qingxuan nodded and turned toward Sam. "It''s up to you now." For some reason, Sam felt goosebumps from the gaze full of anticipation. "Do what?" He stepped back subconsciously. Ye Qingxuan stepped through the pulverized snake corpses and kicked aside the junk. After clearing out a circular space, he looked toward Sam. "Please make a hole here." "A hole?" Sam was dazed. "Yeah, a hole." Ye Qingxuan pulled out a map. "If I''m not wrong, we should be right on top of the relic. Instead of going around, why don''t we just make a hole and go down?" "You can do that?!" "Why not?" Ye Qingxuan waved. "If I say we can, then we can, even if we can''t! This is a great chance to get some experience. Pretend you''re digging a well for the people of Oz!" After a long silence, Sam obediently took out a chant consumable that looked like white ash. He sprinkled it onto the ground while murmuring and humming something. He pressed down. A faint melody sounded in the next moment. It was gentle with a shade of sadness. The white cinder melted into the stone, softening it like water. Under the calling of the melody, the stone gradually rose, increased, and wrapped around the others. They were enveloped in something rectangular likea coffin? The coffin sank gradually as if bringing them into the ninth level of hell. Did this count as resting in peace? Ye Qingxuan''s expression was strange. Smelling something decaying in the white ashes, his eyebrow arched. "Funeral March?" The Funeral March by Saint Chopin was extremely widespread and widely used by every school. In the School of Illusion, it could create the illusion of death and the afterlife, such as dancing with skeletons. In the School of Choir, it could fake deaths. The musician could retain the sliver of life and enter hibernation. It was much more aggressive for Modifications. Usually, they would stuff the enemy into a coffin and add fire for a cremation. The good thing was that it was efficient. They could burn the enemy into ashes which could be used as consumables for future use. Ye Qingxuan began thinking wildly in the darkness. Suddenly, he chuckled. "We won''t disrupt any lost souls by playing this melody while entering the tomb, right?" The downward motion abruptly turned into falling. Then, with a crash, the coffin landed on the ground. It seemed to have passed through the layers of rock and slammed onto the ground. Cracks appeared on the coffin. He did not feel much shock inside though. Ye Qingxuan pushed the slabs aside and climbed up, taking a shallow breath. There was the smell of decay in the air but there was no poison, just as he had expected. This was a good startnot just good but very good! However, Ye Qingxuan''s beautiful fantasy quickly shattered. A stone hammer came whistling toward his face! "F*ck!" 338 Native Specialty "F*ck!" While cursing, Ye Qingxuan shot back instinctively, rolling out of the coffin and onto the ground. He had had so many near death experiences that his body could act on its own accord. This thought made Ye Qingxuan both happy and sad. Who wanted a talent that could only be had after almost dying too many times?! Immediately after, the hammer shattered the coffin with a roar. The sounds of metal and stone clashing rose in the darkness. Ye Qingxuan scrambled back. Cautious of his surroundings, he snapped his fingers and the rune Light appeared, hovering over his head. Everything looked normal in the long tunnel but two columns of three-meter-tall statues lined the two sides. They looked like armored warriors and held Romulusian swords and shields. However, their abnormal size was terrifying. Many of the weapons in the burlier statues were even more terrifying. There were long-handled stone axes and square-headed stone hammers. Someone even carried a fasces The statues looked extremely overbearing with beautiful intricacy. If it was any other time, Ye Qingxuan would study them closely and enjoy the art. However, he could not enjoy anything when the statues were activated by a foreign sound, their eyes flashed red and slowly walked toward the lower platform. Hehad no tricks against these things. Mind? Did these things have minds? He was not at the point that he could control everything in the world. It was impossible to control stone statues without being at least a Resonance musician! Illusion? These things did not even have real eyes. Would they fall for illusions? Revelations? Ha, what a joke. The School of Revelations did not lack anything other than combat abilities. Ye Qingxuan did not know if the School of Abstinence was useful but he specialized in the construction of music theory. It could help him with controlling enchantments but was powerless against these soulless objects. He looked down at the amber gem on his black caneIndrah''s Eye. Was electricity useful against these non-flammable things? Before his thinking ended, something cold whistled past him. It brushed past his body and fell onto the gradually incoming statue. Cold frost instantly spread and giant ice crystals formed rapidly, swallowing the entire statue. The sudden coldness froze the statue in place. It was Sam. "What the f*ck is this?" Sam had just climbed out of his coffin. His reaction speed was only a beat slower than Ye Qingxuan. Baro and Miller crowded over as well. They looked around at the few giant statues that were advancing toward them. In the distance, the statues that had slept for eternity were now shaking off the dust. There were enough of them to form two battalions! Ye Qingxuan had a headache. "I think these are the clay puppets, sacrificial objects made by Romulusian alchemists for the nobles. They replaced live slaves to guard the tomb. These guys are replicated from the most powerful Romulusian warriors. They even have some techniques and know how to work together so be careful." Baro suddenly had a headache too. "How the f*ck are these things clay puppets?!" "They''re made out of clay." Ye Qingxuan had seen this with his Eye of Silence. "These guys have been burned to a ceramic-like quality and their durability is comparable to iron. Iron can corrode in a tomb but porcelain won''t!" Now, he was sure that Indrah''s Eye was useless. It would not have any effect other than raising the temperature. Porcelain did not conduct electricity. "So what do we do?" Baro asked impatiently. "They don''t have weaknesses?" "Don''t rush me!" Sweat beaded on Ye Qingxuan''s forehead. The Eye of Silence was getting hot too. He could see the alchemy arrays buried within the shells of the clay puppets. Those were the things controlling the objects. Ye Qingxuan manipulated his mercury threads to read the music theory within! "The joints! The weakest parts are the joints and heads!" Ye Qingxuan said quickly. "Their observation loops are in the heads and should use old-fashioned heat and auditory sensors! Try not to use attacks with high temperatures. Otherwise" Glancing at the two columns of warriors that stretched into the distance, he gulped. "Otherwise, it''ll be like attacking a beehive!" "I get it. You''re annoying!" Baro spat. Beastly nature appeared in his eyes as he began murmuring in a raspy voice. Under the faint melody, the wind around him instantly grew wild. Dozens of tiny vortexes appeared. Bat-like things flew out with incredible speed. Immediately after, cracks began appearing in the charging clay puppets as if a sword was hacking at them. The eyes of a thin and lithe warrior flashed red. It flipped in the air and took out two scimitars. Gashes formed in the air. Slice! With a small sound, the beasts in the wind had their wings broken and were revealed. Two bat wings fell from the body, which also ablated into the wind. It was the phantom beast Flying Sycle! If one died, Baro would add another one. Instantly, Ye Qingxuan could see around fifteen Flying Sycles hovering around them. They hid in the wind and continuously attacked the awoken clay puppets. "Only fifteen? Make some more." Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. "I''ve seen musicians who could summon a pack of wolves and each one was realistic and powerful! They could even break through shields" "You think phantom beasts are mass produced? I''m not the kind to specialize in phantom beasts either. Raising fifteen of these aggressive things is already hard enough!" Baro''s face was beet red and he almost spat out blood. "Don''t compare me to those who had written their symphony of predestination and entered the Scepter level!" "Really?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Just say you can''t do it." Baro seriously was going to spit out blood as he glared. "Ye Qingxuan, if I really do reach the Scepter level, everyone like you will die!" Pissed off, Baro was much more generous in casting the music scores in his instrument. The speed of the fifteen Flying Sycles instantly tripled. They broke through the air silently but when they attacked, they were like angry axes. They were so fast one could not process their speed. With a roar, Baro played three accented notes. The Flying Sycles immediately grouped and transformed into a vortex of death, swarming toward the approaching clay puppets. With a muffled boom, even the cracks were cut off by their wings. Four burly clay puppets broke apart instantly. They fell to the ground, the red light in their eyes dimmed, and they shattered. Ye Qingxuan''s eyes twitched as he saw the artistic statues be pulverized. His heart was in pain. "Don''t do it too hardah, whatever!" Ye Qingxuan forced himself to stop. He never thought that he would do such a taboo thing. Romulus''s history had already been cut off. There were not many resources or evidence in the world. Their history was a mystery as well. If the researchers saw them destroy these precious objects like this, they would probably get a heart attack. But for now, it was more important to save themselves than ancient relics. Otherwise, the relics would not be protected and they would be dead. They would probably be written into the next edition of "Dumb Ways for Musicians to Die" and be tormented in death. His thoughts were muddled but the historical scrolls Caligula had given him flashed through his memory. There was an entry in it that suddenly shocked him. "We can''t stay here for too long. Leave here first," he called. "Hurry upas fast as possible!" "Huh?" Sam, who was constructing a shield array, looked back. "What''s wrong?" "If I guessed correctly, it''ll be worse later." Ye Qingxuan looked around at the gradually awakening warrior statues. More and more red eyes lit up in the darkness. He wiped at his cold sweat. "Do youdo you know what the Romulusian army is most famous for?" No one replied. The three who did not know history at all exchanged confused glances. Ye Qingxuan moaned and sighed dramatically. "Anyway, just hurry the f*ck out!" What was the Romulusian army famous for? Was that even a question? Of course it was the Romulusian formation! Boom! The giant boom was the sound of giant shields crashing onto the ground. "Hoo ha!" Roars sounded amongst the clashing of metal and stone. Deep within the tunnel, nine statues stood shoulder to shoulder and put their shields together. On the ground, the metallic porcelain reflected the young musicians'' faces. Then, the wall of shields pushed forward. "Hoo ha!" The ground shook and whistles shot through the air. Lances! They were two-meter long red lances! The giant lances shot from the wall of shields like a thunderstorm. They broke through the ground with terrifying booms. The booms sounded one after another. Scars were left in their path. The red lances burned like lava and arced through the air like falling stars. They had not yet arrived but the pressed down on the air, asphyxiating them. 339 Snake of the Atrium In the last moment, Ye Qingxuan pushed Baro behind him. He reached out to guard everyone. A hymn sounded. "Holy! Holy! Holy! The god of all authority!" Dozens of lances fell onto the shield and landed on the ground silently. However, more lances fell in other places and exploded instantly. Red fire and wild explosions shattered the walls and bricks. A violent current of air swept across. The entire tunnel shook to the brink of collapse. After the fleeting hymn, all was changed. The area had been turned into a giant and empty crater. The land that they stood on was still whole but everywhere else was covered in lava Using Holy two times in a short period made Ye Qingxuan''s face stark white. He practically collapsed onto the ground. Behind him, Miller pressed onto the back of his head. A gentle melody accompanied the chanting of a saint, helping him recover. "Two more rounds!" Ye Qingxuan exclaimed. "At least two more rounds!" Behind the steel wall, the lancers took off their lances once again. They slowly raised their hands, getting ready to throw again. "If you have any good tricks, let them all out! We''re facing the alchemy puppets made by Romulus at their golden age. They''re the two-hundred-soldier Romulusian formation! They can flatten the Chainsaw Fraternity''s heavy artillery group!" Ye Qingxuan''s words extinguished the last bit of Baro''s wishful thinking. Of the power and weapons that the Chainsaw Fraternity sold, the cost of hiring a heavy artillery group was enough to bankrupt an entire merchant city-state. Their performance also proved how terrifying the killing machine made of pure money was! "How rich were these guys to have guards like these?!" Baro complained. There was a flash of pain. He pulled out a bone flute and played harshly but Sam was faster. The copper mountain rumbled and the Foehn wind swept through. Red wind surged along the tunnel instantly. Within it, a roaring melody shot out. It was filled with wild aggression. Hundreds of formulas rose from the music theory one after another. They combined and changed until finally transforming into something complex yet detailed. Under the music theory, dirt was burned into lava. It climbed up Sam''s body and quickly cooled down into blocks of sharp black rock. Sam instantly became a flaming giant radiating terrifying heat. Mazeppa! This was the music score written by Saint Liszt according to the legendary hero Mazeppa. He had come back to life and received holy power. He wielded the four elements of earth, water, fire, and wind. He was unstoppable on Earth! The flames transformed into the hero''s stallion and the violent winds became his wings. The iron rumbled in his hands, singing highly. Sam roared and rode the melody, charging forward! The next instant, he faced the Romulusian formation. Before him, the lances shattered in the air. His black rock armor was damaged but quickly regenerated seemingly endlessly. The long lances pierced his giant hands but the steel wall was crumbling under the deafening rumbles as well. Countless shards flew out. Sam crudely grabbed at the clay puppets that were not able to escape and threw them at the lancers. In his hands, the clay was melted into lava by fire formulas. They fell and splattered in all directions, melting the clay puppets in the vicinity. Next, Sam took a deep breath and the black giant''s chest swelled. His exhale was an extremely cold gale of wind. The ghastly white wind instantly shrouded the formation, freezing the clay puppets. Following Baro''s flute music, the roaring deep within the earth grew more and more dramatic. Something huge seemed to be coming. Within the formation, Sam retreated under Baro''s cries. Then, the tunnel''s walls shattered. A yawning mouth emerged from the side and, brushing past Sam, rushed toward the formation. The mouth was more than a dozen meters wide. It easily swallowed everything and returned into the wall, the giant body following. After a few good minutes, it finally faded away. The crack formed from its appearance and disappearance was dozens of meters deep. Sam and Ye Qingxuan were rooted to their spots. "What was that?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. All he knew was that this was a projection from the aether world. "It''s the great king earthworm that the School of Dragon Rock has raised in the aether world for centuries." Baro''s face was pale. "It''s sixteen kilometers long. The entirety can only be summoned by Scepter musicians. It''s known as the ''snake that can wrap around the atrium of the world''." He sadly put his bone flute back. The instrument was covered in fissures and would not last much longer. Sam removed Mazeppa''s effect, revealing horrific burns all over him. Thankfully, Miller could heal them. Otherwise, they would all have to go home. After this mess, none of them looked down on the Romulusian relic anymore. No one knew what kind of person needed all these creepy clay puppets as guards However, they soon understood. - "This is a large-scale public cemetery!" Inside the large underground square, Baro looked into the distance. He used his night vision to see endless rows of stone coffins standing on the ground. They had seen more than a thousand coffins along the way and there were most likely even more! When Ye Qingxuan saw this public cemetery, he was silent for a long time. Then he took out a crowbar and walked toward the nearest coffin. Baro tried to stop him but Ye Qingxuan had already pried open the coffin. Amidst the muffled scraping, the coffin was activated. Dust that had settled over the centuries rose up and the dried bones were revealed under the light. The skeleton slept in the coffin, its mouth open as if in a smile. There were no traps, poisonous snakes, or beasts. "As expected." Ye Qingxuan reached out and carefully took the burial sword from the dead. He waved it lightly but cracks snaked across the blade as it corroded and weathered quickly. "These are all Romulusian civilians." He looked around at the densely packed coffins. "If I guessed correctly, the statuses of the dead will get higher the deeper we go. There may be soldiers, generals, priests andeven their king, Augustus. The Romulusians are pagan and worship the family flame. They believe that the souls of their ancestors live in the flame. Their ancestors'' bodies are buried here so foreigners can''t taint them." "But didn''t you just have fun tainting it?" Baro murmured. However, his eyes quickly lit up. "What about musicians? Where are the graves of the musicians?" Hearing that, the eyes of the other two brightened as well. It was difficult to track the King of Yellow but the cemetery would not move around. This trip would not be made in vain if they could find some classical music scores, precious instruments, or alchemy equipment. "Musicians?" Ye Qingxuan laughed and shook his head. "First of all, you have to know that ancient Romulus specialized in alchemy but the instruments were all handed down the family. The sons inherited their fathers'' business. Other than damaged or extremely meaningful instruments, they''d rarely be buried with their owners. Literature and scores are archived in their temples and rarely spread amongst the public. "Secondly, there are so many coffins here. Are we going to open each one to find which is a musician?" "They''re all together?" Baro furrowed his brows. "Musicians are buried in these public cemeteries too?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "In Romulus, musicians are just another job. They were known as the ''black marquis,'' and were couriers. They had high status but were still only civilians. Only nobles, priests, elders, philosophers, and Augustus had the right to be buried alone." "Philosophers?" Baro was stunned. "Why? Are they more useful than musicians?!" Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips. "It''s because they''re too annoying during life. No one wants to be their neighbor in death. Would you want that?" Baro was speechless. "Shall we continue?" Ye Qingxuan put on his backpack again and extended his perception threads, walking to the front. They passed by many more traps but it was obvious much time had passed without maintenance. The mechanics of the traps had all rusted and could not be opened. Some doors were unmovable as well. Sam had to forcefully destroy them. The more they walked, the more amazed they were at the scale of this underground palace. They had walked two levels down but they still saw coffins and rooms for descendants to worship in. According to their judgements of the burial items, they were still civilians. However, they were richer. Many of the burial items were jewelry cost thousands. However, musicians could only use these things as chant consumables. Of course, they could fill the emptiness in Sam''s wallet. The others, some took for the memory. When they opened the next door, they saw ruins littered on the ground and heard whistling wind. The well-prepared Baro huffed. His figure shook and a lizard-like scale demon emerged from the shadows. It stuck its head out and smacked its lips like an alligator. Crack. A cracked stone monkey shattered all over the ground. The scale demon spat it out in distaste and disappeared back into the shadows. However, Ye Qingxuan''s group''s attention fell onto the corpse amongst the ruins. It was still fresh and the blood had not dried yet. He had probably died a few dozen minutes before their arrival. 340 The Eye of Resentmen "It''s a Revelations musician," Ye Qingxuan said after scanning the corpse. "His frame looks to be about twenty-seven years old. The design of his amulet seems to be from the south. And the thing in his hand isa shovel." Ye Qingxuan pulled out the broken spear-like thing from the corpse''s hands and nodded. "He''s probably an exploration scholar from the School of Geological Studies. Geological exploration and underground relics are the stages Exploration scholars are most experienced in. It''s not strange that he would be before us." Rising, he looked around. It was a large room with six side doors that probably led to six different places. Straight ahead, there was a tunnel that stretched into the distance. Finally, his gaze landed above the door frame. The dust contained the obvious mark of a monkey. The stone monkey had probably been there originally. If an intruder entered, it would jump down to tear him apart. "There aren''t any actual obstacles other than the clay puppets so he was probably careless." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He placed the body into an empty coffin outside and closed the lid. The good thing about dying in a cemetery was that there was an abundance of coffins. "Dust returns to dust; dirt returns to dirt. What must leave should not be kept." Ye Qingxuan drew a holy emblem on the coffin and performed a short funeral for the trial participant. This was probably the first of them to die and served as a warning. Everyone gathered their spirits, not daring to be careless. Who knew what else they would run into? There would definitely be stranger things as they went. Other than Ye Qingxuan''s perception threads, Baro would also let out a dozen white pathfinder rats every now and then. These rats were not very strong and had short lifespans, making them efficient. He could let out hundreds at a time without feeling the pressure. One was a bit stupid and died from rolling down the steps but the others were okay. However, everyone''s expressions grew uglier as they went. How could there be such a long staircase in the world? They had been walking for ten minutes! Baro''s legs had turned to jelly but they could not even see the lower level. Ye Qingxuan made a rough calculation and furrowed his brows. "We''ve descended for a few hundred meters. Even if there were a sh*t ton of ancient Romulusians, they wouldn''t make such a meaningless structure. This design doesn''t have any meaning either." "An illusion?" Thinking, firelight surged in Sam''s hand. The heat spread and the rest prepared to shield against the attack. Sam looked as if he wanted to destroy this section of steps. Modifications musicians were great. Performing highly destructive music scores was as easy as drinking water. However, Ye Qingxuan stopped Sam just as he was getting ready. "It''s useless," Ye Qingxuan stated. "I''m a Revelations musician and I came in unknowingly. If it''s an illusion, it must be large-scale with multiple fulcrums. It may be on our bodies. If you destroy it brashly, it might lead to more changes that make us sink in further." Hearing this, everyone fell silent. They did not have any better ideas and it felt strangely uncomfortable to hear this guy say he was a Revelations musician. "So do you have a good idea?" Baro asked. After a moment of silence, Ye Qingxuan smiled yet grew serious. "Nope." The other three tried very hard not to explode. Baro glared. "Then what are you pretending for? You''re a Revelations musician and you led us into an illusion but now you don''t even know what to do! You''re useless!" "Calm down. It was a joke to lighten the mood." Ye Qingxuan waved with a smile. "My specialization in Revelations is recognition and explanation of music theory, not illusions. But don''t worry" His tone suddenly changed and he pulled out a palm-sized velvet pouch. One could vaguely see some small balls inside. Ye Qingxuan grabbed the string and swung the pouch around casually. However, something foul and cold spread as the pouch swung. It was almost tangible malice. "This is" Thinking of something, Miller stepped back with a pale face. "That''s the Eye of Resentment. You made that sh*t?" Hearing Miller''s words, Sam and Baro''s expressions changed too. They stepped back instinctively as if the pouch contained a demon. The Eye of Resentment was technically just a universal chant consumable. Any music score could be added in to be reinforced. It was named like this because it was made from a fossilized eyeball that expressed resentment and wails from the underworld. This chant consumable must be personally made by the user in order to be effective. However, it was forbidden by the Sacred City because the production process was too cruel and went against all ethics. How cruel was it? Well, it was developed by dark musicians. Its biggest function was not breaking through illusions. Instead, it turned into a fulcrum itself and embedded into the illusion. Through this fulcrum, it could taint the entire illusion. Any illusionist knew how troublesome a foreign fulcrum was in their illusion. "I can''t help it. I had to make up for my weaknesses," Ye Qingxuan said nonchalantly. He took the dried eyeball from the pouch and weighed it. The pupil still rolled in the eyeball. When it met someone''s eyes, it radiated with an almost tangible resentment. Thinking of the bloody ritual recorded in the files, Sam and the others looked away, not bearing to look. "Oh right, what date is it?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked. "September th" someone replied reflexively but was cut off as if someone muffled their mouth. The voice was gentle like a woman''s. Thus, Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "What''s your name?" "Rebeumph!" a voice said with difficulty. She seemed to be struggling against Ye Qingxuan''s questions but answered involuntarily until her voice was forcefully cut off in the end. "Seems like there''s more than one, huh?" Ye Qingxuan''s smile grew colder. He slowly raised the eyeball but there was no eyeball in his hand. It was just a glass marble. "Sorry, you should know what I''m going to do to you if you''ve already accepted the ''hint,'' right?" he asked lightly. "I try not to torment girls so why don''t we all take a step back? You remove the illusion and I remove the hint. Otherwise, you know what happened to Mr. Simon. You don''t want to be disabled like him and only be able to enter the men''s bathroom in the future, right?" Pained cries repressed anger but Ye Qingxuan''s expression suddenly went slack. He rolled the marble in his hands. The girl''s moans of pain sounded again. She seemed to be enduring immense pain. "You want to undo my hint? Seems like you have a mind musician with you" Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow. "Sorry, I haven''t learned other skills but unless you''re at the level of my ''teacher,'' don''t even think about undoing my hint." He had used the marble in a hurry to attract their attention and put the hint and imagery in, but Lola had taught him personally and it was not easy to undo. They needed more than ten minutes. During these ten minutes, Ye Qingxuan could use the marble as a medium to do whatever he wanted in the mind of the Illusionist lady. It was her fault for being so worried at Ye Qingxuan''s Eye of Resentment and staring at Ye Qingxuan''s hand for so long. "Enough, Rebecca. Your illusion can''t stop them so just let them in." It was another familiar voice. Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Another friend? Mr. Colt, what are you doing now?" "Come look and you''ll know." The illusion disappeared with Colt''s voice and all returned to normal. There was still a staircase before Ye Qingxuan but it was only three steps. They had been walking on these three steps for a dozen minutes. There was a large hall below the steps. The empty room was held up by a single pillar. Colt and five other familiar figures stood before the large door at the end of the hall. Ye Qingxuan had seen these musicians during that night. Amongst them, Rebecca from the Voodoo Crypt stared at Ye Qingxuan. Her face was filled with anger and hatred. Smiling, Ye Qingxuan tossed the marble over. Another female musicianAriannacaught it. After checking it, she destroyed the marble, ending Ye Qingxuan''s hint. The two other musicians glared at Ye Qingxuan''s group. They hid in aether in their sleeves in preparation. Between them, Colt leaned on a cane. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan and said, "I didn''t expect you would come after us." "We''re not first place, after all." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I didn''t think you''d be nice enough to wait for us. Let me guess, did you run into something difficult?" "Let me repeat myself." Colt turned, revealing the door behind him. "Come over and see for yourself." The prepared musicians guarded the door behind him and glared. They were not welcoming Ye Qingxuan over. Instead, they seemed to be waiting for Ye Qingxuan to willingly fall into their trap. 341 Hadess Door Miller wanted to speak but hesitated. Baro grabbed Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "Don''t go. Who knows what they''re planning?" "Don''t worry." Ye Qingxuan glanced at Colt and smiled. "Mr. Colt isn''t like that, right?" Colt smiled without replying. Coldness was hidden inside his emerald eyes. "Stay here. I''ll be back soon," Ye Qingxuan said to Sam. "If there are any problems, don''t worry about me. Kill Colt first." Sam nodded. Putting down his bags, Ye Qingxuan walked toward the five musicians. Colt watched as he moved forward step-by-step with an unchanging expression. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan''s footsteps suddenly stopped. He stared at Colt; Colt stared back at him. They exchanged meaningful gazes. In the short pause, faint animosity appeared in everyone''s eyes and the atmosphere tensed. However, Ye Qingxuan''s smile did not change in that suffocating moment. In the end, Colt sighed regretfully and took a step back. There was a faint sound in the air as if something had disappeared. Ye Qingxuan continued forward as if nothing had happened. He walked past the two musicians with challenging gazes without a care in the world. "What a pity," he whispered as he walked past Colt. "If I were you and was fifty percent sure, I''d act." "Revelations musicians never gamble." Colt''s expression was still cold. "Ye Qingxuan, you still lack too much." "No, what I meant was that a fifty percent chance becomes success in my hands." Ye Qingxuan smiled and looked away. "But not for you." Colt seemed to not have heard anything. He did not look back at the youth either. However, his lips pursed and veins bulged on the hand that gripped the cane. His emerald eyes were still cold. Fearless against those cold eyes, Ye Qingxuan gazed the door behind him. The Eye of Silence scanned every inch. He trailed a finger down the veins of the door. As if studying a precious treasure, he did not overlook any detail. After a long while, he rose and went back. The three did not relax until Ye Qingxuan returned to the range of Sam''s sound of heart. "What''s the situation?" Sam asked. Ye Qingxuan pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the dust on his hands. He looked up and said, "There''s trouble." - Ten minutes later, Ye Qingxuan said, "So basically, there''s only one road ahead of us now. According to the trend of this underground palace, all the tunnels will reach here. In a while, after everyone else is here, it''ll be even more fun before the door. "The problem we''ll all face is that, compared to the poor civilians and soldiers, the ones behind the door are probably rich and powerful nobles. They won''t be buried so simply, you know?" Miller reacted first. "Is it an enchantment or a seal?" "The problem is that it''s both." Ye Qingxuan jutted his chin at the large stone door. "In Romulusian legends, there''s something called the Hades'' Door. It''s over-reaching like an enchantment and independent like a seal. It should be the specialty of some school. There are signs of at least five Abstinence musicians working together." "Can you do it?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely. "I might have some chance if I reach the Scepter level. Colt probably can''t either. Otherwise, he wouldn''t be here." "Should we try digging a hole?" "Do you really want to dig a hole on an active volcano?" Ye Qingxuan used a metaphor. "If you dig a hole without undoing the alchemy array, you won''t be better off than that guy. Remember the Romulusian formation? That was just an appetizer. Once Hades'' Door is activated, it''ll activate all the protective measures in the first floor too. Then the main course will come" Ye Qingxuan gazed at the vast palace. It was enough for hundreds of people to come out and fight. He said with a mocking smile, "Let''s not look too far but how many clay puppets do you think can fit here?" Baro''s face twitched and he cursed. "I knew it was bad news for Romulusians to make such a big place!" "So what do we do now?" "Eat some food?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "There are three solutions. One, we stay here and see if anyone else can figure out a plan. That''ll waste time though. Two, we go up and try another path. It probably won''t work though" "What about three?" "Three?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. Checking his watch, he said, "It''s getting late and there''s no point in waiting. Why don''t we go back, sleep, and come back when we''re refreshed?" Everyone thought that he was joking, but seeing his serious expression, they did not know what to say. In the end, the three were convinced. They packed their bags to leave. The group on the other side seemed panicked. Shock flashed past Colt''s eyes. He opened his mouth to speak but saw the mockery in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. Boom! Ye Qingxuan slammed his cane on the ground, tipped his hat, bowed politely, and got the h*ll out of there. He did not know what Colt had planned, but he would not fall into any traps if he did unpredictable things. After all, the relic would stay there for a while. If they wanted to stay there, they could. Ye Qingxuan''s group would go sleep. The four of them actually left just like that. However, Baro suddenly froze while climbing the steps and grabbed Ye Qingxuan. His eyes had turned into the beastly vertical pupils at some point. The hair on his hands stood straight up like a beast about to go wild. His aura was already wild as if he had met his natural enemy. "Something crazy''s coming." Gritting his teeth, he stared into the distance. "Really strong beastly nature, really strong" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. How strong must the beastly nature be for the inheritor of the School of Dragon Rock to be so affected? Ye Qingxuan had become desensitized to phantom beasts after seeing the great king earthworm. It was hard to imagine something even more shocking. Footsteps quickly sounded on the spiral staircase. There were two pairs of feet, one after another. Whenever the person in front took a step, the person behind him would step as well. It was orderly as if the latter was earnestly stepping into the former''s footprints. "CasperCasper Hauser." Baro gouged the wall with his sharp fingernails; sand fell to the ground. His body tensed. "It''s the Hauser brothers. Torre Haiser and his freak brother." Just as he finished, a gray and a black shadow appeared before them. The one clad in gray stood up straight. His features were coldly handsome and serious. In the dimness, his eyes were like amber. The slouched figure behind him was like a monkey. His old black clothes were dirty and ragged. His features were unclear because his face was covered with cloth. His greasy waist-length hair was stuck together into locks like a wild beast. For some reason, his eyes did not contain the beastly nature representative of Summoning musicians. They were just blank. Casper. Casper Hauser. This was the legendary musician raised by Summoning musicians according to the optimization theory. He was the beast of beasts. The atmosphere stagnated when the two parties met. Then the elder brother, Torres, nodded slightly. Without giving a greeting, he moved aside. After a short pause, they ''brushed shoulders'' against each other on the not-very-narrow staircase. The stairs were at least five meters wide but right now, it felt too, too narrow. It was narrow to the point of suffocating. When he passed by, Ye Qingxuan''s peripheral vision fell onto the faint designs on Casper''s black poncho. The design was faded from the years of wear and tear. It was the emblem of a black hound. It hid in the darkness of the long robe, its silhouette faintly revealed. It was grinding its teeth and drinking blood, preparing to kill. - It was a fleeting interaction but Ye Qingxuan could still hear Baro''s pounding heart after they had walked for a while. He was panting heavily as if they had fought a war. Baro''s eyes were dark. He chewed on his nails subconsciously, making annoyed cracking sounds. "Is the rumor true?" Miller asked. "He completed the inheritance of the beastly nature?" "Most likely," Baro muttered. "I was doubtful before I saw him but now I''m pretty sure it''s true. Compared to that kind of result, the research of my school has fallen behind." "Inheritance of the beastly nature? What''s that?" "Heresy!" Baro spat and looked back at Ye Qingxuan. "You know how the hound was created?" How was the breed of the hound created? Of course it was done by looking through thousands of dogs and choosing the most aggressive, most violent, fastest, and strongest one. Then, by interbreeding the best bloodlines, they would observe the children and choose the strongest to continue training, developing, strengthening, and breeding. Finally, the bloodlines of countless strong ancestors would be joined in one powerful hound. Aggressive, strong, fast, violent yet obedientall the positive traits were combined, creating a new hound. "Some schools believe that we can breed hounds like that, so why not Summoning musicians? After all, aren''t humans just a more advanced type of beast?" Here, Baro stopped talking. After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked into the darkness behind him. The darkness shook as if a large black hound had once walked past it. This was a Summoning musician created by Summoning musicians. A beast of beasts. "I see." 342 Sunbathing Leaving the underground palace was not as hard as they had imagined. Most musicians were rational. They would not fight if there was no definite reward. Small tussles happened continuously but real fighting never happened. However, when they were going up toward the exit, they realized that the path they had first used had collapsed. The surprise they had left had probably been given to the owner. It must have been very interesting. When they left, the musicians were still exploring enthusiastically, but there had been no real breakthroughs. It was as if they had run into an obstacle in the aether ball games. However, no one expected that they would be stuck for days. - During these few days, Ye Qingxuan had gone to the palace every day. When he saw that the musicians before the door still had no solutions, he would go back and sunbathe happily. Yes, sunbathe. While everyone was racking their brains trying to solve the problem, this *ss would lay in the Romulusian market and sell the swords that no one wanted to buy while sunbathing on a ratty chair. He would read when he was bored, eat when he was hungry, and drink juice when he was thirsty. The afternoon sunlight was warm and bright. He was relaxed as if he were on vacation. Musicians that passed by him would practically break their teeth from grinding them too hard. They wished they could drag this guy over and beat him up. He must be so lazy that not even the Angloian musician could stand him. He needed to clean out his student! But actually, they were overthinking. The Angloian musician, the mysterious ''big guy,'' had never appeared again after that first day! According to Ye Qingxuan, he just ate and slept, ate and slept in his room. He was even lazier than Ye Qingxuan! Since the teacher was like that, the student should not be blamed. Ye Qingxuan irresponsibly stirred up the serious trial. During this, Mr. Hu brought his students around the city. Sometimes, they would go over to say hi to Ye Qingxuan, talking about Eastern culture and specialties or discussing their thoughts on interpretation and ancient history. In the beginning, the stars of the Imperial College felt competitive against the white-haired boy of the same race. However, they were disappointed by his indifference and unprogressive style. They murmured, "The environment changes people" and decided to ignore him. If someone this lazy was in the Imperial College, he would have been expelled early on! However, Ye Qingxuan quickly discovered that his happy days were over. What was the phrase? The villain had his own devils. Just as Ye Qingxuan was sprawled on his chaise, sleeping and drooling, he felt a shadow fall over him. Opening his eyes, he saw a familiar map and Elsa''s gleeful face. "Sir, would you" Before she could finish, Ye Qingxuan shot up from the chair in fright. "I bought the map! Please let me go!" "Oh" Elsa instantly grew dejected. "Do I know you?" "Uh" Ye Qingxuan looked around to see the Romulusians around him. Their faces said, ''try bullying her and you''ll get it.'' Face twitching, he answered honestly, "Kindof?" Elsa nodded. Seeming to have some thoughts, she circled his chair in confusion. "What are you doing here?" "Sunbathing." "Oh." Elsa was instantly satisfied. But instead of leaving, shelied down! She actually lied down! Ye Qingxuan''s head promptly started hurting. He watched as the girl lay down beside him and copied him. She squinted and started sunbathing. Girl, you can''t do this! Ye Qingxuan felt the shocked eyes on him. Complaints stuck in his throat, his grew both sad and furious. If you keep doing this, I''m going to have to call you ''dad!'' Having bad memory doesn''t mean you can extort people like this! Thankfully, Elsa climbed up after a short while. She stared at Ye Qingxuan blankly. "What am I doing?" Ye Qingxuan''s headache grew worse. He answered weakly, "You''reprobably sunbathing?" "Oh, I like to sunbathe? No wonder I''m so tan." At this realization, Elsa looked at her bronze skin and started laughing happily for some reason. Ye Qingxuan had never seen someone so happy just from sitting under the sun. She seemed to have made this her home turf. She sat down while humming and took everything out of her bulging bag. Then she used a dirty handkerchief to wipe each item ''clean'' before returning it. The objects formed a small mountain. Small pencils, small hair clips, small lids, small dolls "What''s this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at a small bottle that had rolled to his feet. Picking it up, he asked in confusion, "A toy?" "I think it''s something I like." Elsa scratched her head. "I have bad memory so I keep everything I like with me. Look at this, isn''t it pretty? And thisoh, and this!" She excitedly showed Ye Qingxuan her collectionthe hair clips, dolls andthe dead white mouse. Seeing the dead rat so close to his face, Ye Qingxuan''s face twitched. He tried to scoot back. "You like this?" "Yeah. I don''t remember it, but I bet I liked it a lot before!" Elsa started petting the little mouse in her hand. She said gently, "If only it liked me too." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. He reached out and petted her head. "Don''t worry. It likes you too." "Really?" "Really." Elsa became happy again. She spun around him for a while before suddenly taking a notebook out for him to sign. "What''s this?" Confused, Ye Qingxuan accepted the notebook. The crooked title on the cover read Elsa''s friends. The notebook was almost filled completely with messy handwriting but the content seemed to be repeated. Some names had been written four or five times. The newest page had an inked paw print, for some reason. The ink was still wet and it looked like graffiti. Beside it, Elsa had scrawled, Big dog can''t write. Ye Qingxuan really did not know what her friends actually were. Sighing and chuckling, he wrote down his name. After all, she would forget after a few minutes. He should just make her happy for now. Seeing his signature, Elsa cheered. She grabbed the notebook and started flipping through. As her hair moved, the faint words on her neck were revealed. Ye Qingxuan gazed at them curiously. "What''s this?" "This?" Elsa felt around. She found a mirror and answered with assurance, "I think it''s my name? And my address! Oh, this way people can bring me back home. Wow, no wonder everyone knows me." Ye Qingxuan made a face but he was unable to reply. Elsa suddenly reached out to pet his hand. "Good luck to you too. Your family must be looking for you too." He turned stiffly. "Huh?" Elsa looked at him in confusion. "Didn''t you forget where your home is too?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head expressionlessly. "Liar." Elsa pouted. "Everyone thinks I''m pitiful when they look at me. But when you look at me, you look sad, like you can''t find your home. You must have a bad memory too, right? That''s why you got lost and can''t find where your home is." Ye Qingxuan looked at her for a long time before glancing away. He replied nonchalantly, "No, you''re overthinking." "No, I''m right." Elsa glared at him angrily but her expression soon turned to sympathy. She got onto her toes to touch his white hair. "It''s okay. Pat, pat. I know this place really well and everyone''s nice. Maybe someone will find you one day and take you back home!" Ye Qingxuan did not know what to say, or whether to be angry or chuckle dryly. He stared at the little girl for a long time. Staring at the amber-like eyes, he suddenly felt scared for some reason. She could see through him. She could see through his lies. It was not because of her instincts or any other reason. It was solely becauseshe thought Ye Qingxuan was like her. The creepy thing was that she was right. She was f*cking right! "My homeisn''t here." Ye Qingxuan broke the staring contest and avoided her eyes. "You don''t have to worry." Elsa seemed to understand and not understand at the same time. "Did youforget too?" she asked with uncertainty. Ye Qingxuan pushed down the anger that had risen for some reason and said nonchalantly, "You''re overthinking. I''m not to the point of forgetting where my home is." "Where is it?" Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to answer but he was stuck. Yeah, where was his home? In the East? In Anglo? In the burned wooden cabin where he had been banished to? The music history department of the Royal Academy of Music? Or the luxurious mansion on Queen''s Avenue? "You''re right." Ye Qingxuan laughed at himself and looked down. "I forgot." He had had no home since he was ten years old. A small hand pressed onto his forehead. "Pat, pat. It''s okay, don''t be sad." Elsa tiptoed and petted his hair. Her eyes were gentle and quiet, pure like the sky. "I''ll make you a straw doll, okay? That''s the only thing my mom taught me that I didn''t forget. My mom said it can protect me. It''ll help you find your home too." Ye Qingxuan gaped at her. He squeezed out a smile. "I hope so." Elsa soon cleaned up her collection. She waved goodbye and ran off somewhere. When she left, her expression was determined and serious as if she was going on an unknown adventure. Perhaps everything in this world was new and unknown to her. Perhaps living without any worries was not as painful as Ye Qingxuan had thought. After all, she was much happier than him. "Make a straw doll?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled softly as he stared at her receding back. Hopefully she''ll remember. 343 Fifty Percen In the evening, crazy Elsa was caught at the fair by the Caligula''s servants and taken home to bathe. "Bye, big dog!" said Elsa, sitting on the man''s shoulder, reluctantly saying goodbye to the friend she had just met today. The dirty boy, known as ''big dog,'' copied her and waved. When he giggled, his nose streamed and his voice became vague and hoarse. He squatted on the ground and watched the girl fade away. His eyes grew sad and he whined. Someone pressed onto his shoulder, pulled out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped his snot. "Casper, having fun?" Torre squatted down to look at him. Together, they watched as the girl left. He took Casper''s hand. "Let''s go back. We can come to her next time, alright?" Casper looked at him, puzzled. Then he laughed happily as if he understood what Torre had just said. He followed behind his brother, and they disappeared in the crowd. - Just before closing, the guest that Ye Qingxuan had been waiting for finally arrived. "Hey." Ye Qingxuan, lying on the couch, raised his eyes. "This is just the third day and you''re here? You''re less patient than I thought." Colt sat opposite him with no expression. They looked at each other across the unorganized swords on the stall. Their eyes were cold like steel and clashed when they exchanged glances. "How long are you going to stare like this?" Colt asked coldly. "If you''re okay with it, I can keep looking at you until the trial is over." Ye Qingxuan whistled. "Anyway, I''m here because an unreliable guy scammed me. At first, I didn''t think that I must get the Emperor''s blessing. The ancient information here is enough for me to study for a couple of years and get five or six awards and medals from the Sacred City. As a scholar, what else am I unsatisfied with?" "I''m right." Hearing him say so, Colt frowned. "Caligula did give you the information. That guy! I spent so many resources and money to finally see him but he told me that the ancient information about Romulus''s history is lost" "Sometimes, we have to believe in fate." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "What else are you here for? I''m going to close my stall if there''s nothing else." The boy''s words darkened Colt''s face again. "Well, there''s nothing to hide now." He decided to be straightforward. "Let''s work together temporarily, what do you think? This is mutually beneficial." "Other than the word ''temporarily'', you seemed to have just repeated what you said earlier." Ye crossed his legs, looking indifferent. "Although you just added a word, you seem more genuine this time. But do you really think that if we two work together, we''ll really be able to to crack the prohibition of Hades'' Door?" "Hades'' Door is strong but it was built hundreds of years ago. Its theory is outdated now. As long as everyone cooperates, there may be the possibility to crack it." "Everyone?" "Yes, everyone," Colt said lightly. "All the candidates now understand that the battles are meaningless if we can''t open the gate, so we decided to join hands temporarily." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "You know, the number of people doesn''t matter in the excavation of ancient ruins. Only few are actually useful. There are not many Revelations musicians here in Romulus. Only you and I are good at interpreting. Hades'' Door is a piece of work that spans a number of schools. It''s a strategic defensive facility by itself. With the two of us, we can''t even break the shell and access the alchemy matrix. We might even lose our lives." Hearing his words, Colt just smiled and pulled out a dagger from his pockets to show Ye Qingxuan the music scores engraved on it. "What if we have this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at his dagger. His pupils could not help but contract. "Anti-tune?" "Yes, Anti-tune." Colt stroked the blade of the dagger and tapped the ridge. The sword quivered with a shrill noise. This was the "probe" of the ancient School of Revelations for the large enchantment of the ruins. It looked like a dagger but it was actually rare alchemy equipment for interpretation. The anti-tune could destroy the music theory and directly break down any defensive matrix to make the musician''s induction directly get to the core. The casting method was lost and only six of the anti-tune swords remained. And this was one of them. Ye Qingxuan mused for a moment and shook his head. "It can help us damage the outer defense but just the two of us aren''t enough." "What if I join?" A voice sounded behind Ye Qingxuan. He finally realized that someone was coming towards him. The newcomer, looking unprovocative, stopped five paces away from him. "Torre?" Ye Qingxuan recognized the musician who he once met in the underground palace. He knew it the moment he sensed Torre''s body. "So you''re a discipline musician?" Torre nodded slightly. Ye Qingxuan finally understood why Colt had so much confidence. Among the seven schools, Abstinence was best at controlling music theory while Torre was a discipline musician, the branch of Abstinence most adept in playing against music scores. With the three of them working together, coupled with the rest, they may be able to crack the gate. Looking at Ye Qingxuan thinking, Colt nodded. "What do you think? "What''s the success rate if us three work together?" Ye Qingxuan raised his head and asked. "You must have calculated it." "Fifty percent," Colt answered nonchalantly. "In the worst case, Hades'' Door will self-destruct and we''ll be annihilated." Stunned, Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes. "Have you told the others?" Colt looked up at him and smiled. Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant and gasped. "Don''t you hate gambling?" "Even the sanest people occasionally long to hear the sound of the dice. And I have a reason to gamble anyway." Colt gazed at him. His dark eyes were like two deep caves. "Ye Qingxuan, this is the first time in my life I''m asking someone for help and it''s also the last time, so don''t let me down. If you really will get definite success from a fifty percent chance as you said, then why hesitate?" "Hesitate? I''m good at betting on life so I never have to hesitate. I just need to value it." Ye Qingxuan paused and stared at him, smiling meaningfully. "Colt, since you''re willing to bet, what''s the price you''re willing to pay in order to get the ''definite success'' from me?" - The following morning, Colt stood silently in front of the rift outside the mine, gazing down at the darkness below. He seemed to be lost in thought but rather than staring blankly, he stared directly and firmly into the darkness. Under his eyes, the darkness was disturbed and the vague contours behind were revealed. There, his sound of heart beat. All disguises were revealed slowly and certainly; there were no more mysteries. Light danced, faintly weaving out the shape of the huge mine and palace. However, the sharp corners of the underground palace were just the tip of the iceberg. Most were still stubbornly hidden in the darkness. Hades'' Gate cut off all the detections and obstructions. After attempting for a long time, Colt withdrew his gaze with disappointment, no longer wasting his efforts. Behind him, a burly man clad in armor approached slowly. Countless notes were engraved on that hideous armor. When the notes collided against each other, a low and sonorous sound burst forth. Only the man''s face was exposed. It was also engraved with a strange tattoo which looked gloomy and ferocious. His eyes were full of anger and anxiety. The dust around him was ignited, turning into sparks of fire, illuminating the dark streets before dawn. "It''s rare that you''re up so early, Glen." Colt looked back at his teammate calmly. "What''s the matter?" Glen asked directly with a gloomy face, "Did you give that Eastern kid the priority to explore?" "Yes." Colt nodded. "After Hades'' Door is open, they''ll have the right to select three pieces from the underground palace first." "Why?!" Glen stepped forward, suppressing his anger. He loomed over Colt and gritted out, "I need an explanation, Colt." Colt looked at him indifferently. "I said before that I make the decisions in the team. I know a lot of people are dissatisfied with this matter but there''s no room for negotiation." "Is it fair that we''re working our *sses off but he gets to pick first?" "Because your efforts will mean nothing without him." Colt glanced at him and advised, "Glen, there are so many people struggling all over the world but few reach the goal. Those who are able to reap what they sow are favored by the gods. All the geniuses of the west are gathered here so why should you be rewarded for your efforts?" Glen ground his teeth and uttered with a hoarse metallic voice, "What the h*ll is he without us?" "You care what you can get from it but he doesn''t," Colt said lightly. "From how he behaved before, we know he was selling his ability. The longer the delay, the more benefits he can gain. There is an Eastern idiom that says, ''those who are willing take the bait.'' Everyone who wants to win the emperor''s crown all need him to help them open the gate." Glen''s eyes narrowed. A sharp gleam flashed by. "He''ll be useless when the door opens, right?" "I advise you not to entertain the wrong idea." Colt glanced at him and sneered. "Do you think you can compare yourself to Gavin?" 344 Nature of Danger To Modifications musicians like Glen, his biggest enemy was no doubt the School of Anglo that specialized in both Modifications and Summoning. As the rising star of the School of Anglo, Gavin had become everyone''s enemy at the start of the trial. However, he never appeared for some reason. He was replaced by a Revelations musician that had just entered the academy one and a half years ago. No one knew who he was. It was as if Anglo had no interest in the future Three Kings and had just sent someone over patronizingly. In other words, he was here to court death. No one was sure if the position of a future saint and the crown that represented authority were unable to tempt Gavin? Or had that guy gone crazy? "What do you mean?" Glen muttered after a pause. "Be straightforward. I hate going in circles." "Do you know why Gavin didn''t represent the Royal Academy of Music?" Colt stared at him coldly. "I received the news yesterday that the pride of the School of Royalty, the one that everyone had thought would be the next grandmaster, Gavin, had disappeared right before the trial. He just vanished. "All evidence points to Ye Qingxuan. If I''m not wrong, Ye Qingxuan probably killed him. Even the Royal Musician Division doesn''t dare collect Gavin''s body. I also received a list of all Avalonian musicians that had died this year. I suspect more than half of them are connected to him. "If we''re talking about qualifications, you can''t even get into top ten! Do you understand, Glen? Don''t get any dangerous ideas. The deaths he''s suspected of can fill up the entire Queen''s Avenue. Adding you in would just mean a few more inches of land. He probably won''t feel too bad. After all, it''s just this much." Colt reached out and drew a small circle in the air, marking Glen''s future burial spot for him. The circle was merely enough to place a box of ashes. Glen stepped back involuntarily, shivering. "I''ll verify it myself." Glen''s features twitched. In order to hide his anxiety, he turned to leave without arguing any further. Colt watched him leave. Scoffing, he turned to side. "You''ve been watching all this time. Anything to say?" A figure had appeared beside him at some time. "If I have to say somethingI must say the rumors are really exaggerated. Don''t believe them," the white-haired youth said sincerely with a pipe in his mouth. "I''m good friends with Gavin, seriously. Honestly, don''t trust those rumors. And Queen''s Avenue is so big. I can kill until my hand goes numb and it wouldn''t be enough." "Mr. Ye, stop joking around." Colt shot a meaningful glance at him. "I''ve experienced the nature of your danger." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. He looked down at the embers burning in his pipe. "The natureof my danger?" - Only footsteps sounded in the silent palace. Dozens of musicians stood quietly in the large expanse. Compared to this vast area, humanity''s existence was so insignificant. Even everyone put together would not be as thick as a pillar here. Now, it was as if they had entered a heavenly realm. Hymns floated from the stone door before them, catching the attention of gods. Unfortunately, this was not in the sky but in the underworld. Rather than heaven, it was Hades behind the door. It was a tomb that had been buried for centuries. The musicians willing to work together and break the seal had come here long ago. It was more than half of the participants. Anyone with common sense understood that a single person was too insignificant in this large-scale relic. If they did not know that beforehand, they had all understood after the clay puppets taught them a lesson. The loose union was built on the foundation of breaking Hades'' Door. They had agreed to work together but everyone was still guarded. They did not get close to each other or make any conversations. Within the crowd, before the door, Miller tugged Ye Qingxuan over and asked quietly, "Are you sure you can undo this thing?" "Nope," Ye Qingxuan said casually. "How can I? I''m not even at the Resonance level. It''d be weird if I have confidence." Miller''s face practically turned green. On the team, Sam did not care about anything other than formulas and music scores and Baro''s stubborn brain did not work that well. The only one who thought was Miller from the School of Choir. After all, being the doctor required technique and he was more careful. However, he never imagined that asking a question out of curiosity would get him such crazy news. He yelped but quickly covered his mouth. "But you" "There''s nothing bad about agreeing." Ye Qingxuan whistled. Patting Miller''s shoulder, he murmured, "If you see things going bad or see my signal, just run. Otherwise, thing will probably get worse." "Worse?" Miller froze. "How bad?" "On the lighter end, the enchantment will self-implode, bringing down the entire palace to bury us." Miller''s face was stark white. "That''s light?!" "Of course," Ye Qingxuan said. "Hades'' Door is a battle-scale object created by more than five grandmasters. It absorbs strength from the aether world through music theories. If we fail even more at undoing the seal, the disrupted music theory might get dragged directly into the aether world. Then it''ll be strange if you don''t get pulverized in the aether sea" Miller''s features twisted. He shivered, imagining himself getting assimilated by aether and drowning in the aether sea, or falling into the strange yet famous aether world. However, he soon snapped out of it. "What will you do if we run?" "Don''t worry." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder and smiled proudly. "I don''t know about other stuff but no one''s better than me at running away. No one." - Torre, clad in gray, soon walked through the crowd and gave Ye Qingxuan a sheepskin scroll. "This is the official agreement. Sign it if there aren''t any problems." The agreement ensured that everyone could work together without concern. They would not attack each other during the union. The terms were concise and detailed; the intervals and music theory within the music score were compact as well. Ye Qingxuan could not find any problems. "As expected of discipline musicians." Ye Qingxuan nodded and signed his name, allowing the music theory within the agreement to flow into his body. Soon, he felt something cool against the back of his neck. It was like a blade. This was an agreement from the School of Abstinence. If he went against the agreement, he would suffer from the backlash of the aether within his body. According to the terms, the aether would transform into iron and pierce through his neck. In other words, he would be beheaded. This way, everyone could let down their guards and truly work together. Ye Qingxuan was also an official Abstinence musician. However, the School of Stone Heart that he had inherited specialized in the construction of the sub-originator and territorial enchantments. That was in the ''field'' category. He only had basic knowledge of the ''discipline'' category of countering and agreements. Torre just chuckled at Ye Qingxuan''s compliment. "You flatter me. It''s nothing compared to your ''aether furnace.'' We can discuss techniques in the future." He casually glanced at Ye Qingxuan''s chest while speaking as if he could sense the immense aether and Abstinence music theory there. However, he had mistaken the sub-originator as the ''aether furnace'' that could strengthen music scores. Ye Qingxuan did not correct him. After leaving the limitless supply of the Avalonian enchantment, the sub-originator could only provide him fifteen minutes of resonance. After that, he would need twenty-four hours to recharge. This was both his strongest and weakest point. Of course he would let others guess incorrectly. - Torre left soon after he signed the agreement. The man was still wearing the faded gray clothing and he did not have any alchemy equipment on him. He looked inflexible and strict. Each step was thirty-five millimeters, not a millimeter less or a millimeter more. His steps seemed to be measured with a ruler and his speed was shockingly balanced. He breathed once every five seconds and blinked once every seven secondsnever a millisecond late. An invisible rule board seemed to box him in, covering every detail. Every move, from how he walked to how he breathed to how his heart beat, was made with extremely fine precision. This was the cost of becoming a discipline musician. It quantified everything, extending rules and music theory into every crevice of his life. Casper, who followed behind him, emanated a wild aura. His bloodshot eyes seemed to be searching for someone to eat. One brother was like a wooden puppet. The other was a beast. Both were abnormal. Ye Qingxuan quickly looked away and returned to staring at the stone door. "Have you started interpreting?" Colt asked beside him. "How are you going to start?" Ye Qingxuan was trying to find an ''entrance point'' amongst all the strands of music theory within Hades'' Door so he could start interpreting. This was the most important preparation step. All he did was take out a marker and draw two straight lines on the door. They intersected at the bottom right and was marked with a small dot. "How about here?" He drew a circle around the dot casually as if doodling. "It''s a seam that the alchemists had made while working together. It should be enough buffer." Colt gaped at him. "You''ve already calculated before?" "It''s just preparation." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "When do you prepare to start?" "We shouldn''t wait any longer." After a moment of thinking, Colt checked over all the preparation work. He pulled the ''anti-tune'' sword. Slowly but surely, he stabbed it toward the door. Three inches away, the door started shuddering and dust flew. Boom! 345 Besiege Boom! Booms sounded constantly as the sword advanced. The levels of transparent shields seemed to be breaking apart under the anti-tune. Every boom created tidal waves in the aether sea. Standing in the center of the tides, Ye Qingxuan felt his body shaking. It was suffocating. Something flashed past Colt''s eyes. He stepped forward. The blade entered the door. The underground palace shuddered abruptly as rumbles continued sounding. Brilliant light shone from the door. Countless precise yet wild music notes were overlapping with one another, forming intervals and music theories. They formed an ivy-like formation, snaking across the door. They covered every inch. As the anti-tune entered, a circuit was cut apart, creating a scalp-numbing shriek. This was the melody of the interpretation completely turning the music theory and notes around. This was fatal poison to Hades'' Door! The protection on the door instantly fell apart. Wild waves of aether shot out. The underground palace shook with a giant boom. Countless sounds crashed and converged, pouring out under the pushing of the immense air pressure. Finally, a tsunami-like ''wave'' erupted out of the mine and into the sky. The chilling sound was like the earth cracking apart. The grandmasters in the sky looked down in unison. Realization flashed past their eyes when they saw the mine. It had finally begun. - Deep inside the underground palace, Ye Qingxuan, Colt, and Torre had all stepped forward the moment the roaring began. They forcefully pushed back the suffocating aether tide. Pressing against the door, they connected with the complex and vast music theory. Connection was completed. The interpretation would begin now! - At the same time, all musicians waited and looked in all directions. The sound of a rushing river had appeared out of nowhere. It echoed throughout the grave palace like a flood. The guarded musicians looked around but could not find any changes. Until something sticky fell onto someone''s face. "Rain?" Someone touched his face. Seeing the sticky mud, he was stunned. He looked up and saw that mud was pouring endlessly from the crevices of the stone ceiling. "The ground!" someone yelled. "The ground too!" As mud seeped from the ground, a crack appeared in the wall. A beastly head floated out. It opened its mouth and mud shot out like a tide. "Wh-what is this?" Inside the crowd, Miller looked at the mud that was now over his feet. It felt wrong but could not pinpoint why. He could see that it was not poisonous or anything special. It was justmud. "Are the Romulusians trying to drown us in mud?" Someone laughed involuntarily but was quickly cut off. Sam raised his hand. The Copper Mountain roared and Foehn wind heaved. A heat wave spread instantly, practically igniting everyone''s hair. Screams sounded throughout the crowd. "Sam, are you crazy?!" The next moment, the boiled mud dried and evaporated. Faint shadows left the mud. Roaring angrily, they dissipated with the water vapor. However, even more shadows rose up from the mud. One, two, four, eight The mud fell off, revealing the metallic porcelain-like texture of the burly bodies, as well as large shields, heavy spears, and lances. They were the clay warriors that everyone had struggled against! As they started climbing up, everyone was stunned. They now stared at the mud in terror. This was not mud anymore. This was the raw material for making the clay puppets! In other words, they could make a limitless clay puppet army if they wanted! The musicians struggled to keep them back. Puppets rose from the mud and fell apart back into the mud. Finally, the first ten-man group stood together with the second ten-man group. The musicians'' pressure doubled! When the first hundred-man group was formed, the musicians started truly struggling. This was the protective alchemy array that had been hidden since the construction of the underground palace. It represented the peak of Romulus'' artistic technology. Clay warriors could be created at any time, any place. This kind of protection was comparable to the secret defense of larger schools. Faced with these guys that would continue to multiply and be born as long as the underground palace existed, the easiest solution would be to destroy the palace butwho would do that?! And who could actually do that? The musicians'' attacks slowed but the clay puppets did not! In the blink of an eye, the battalion had become four-hundred-men strong. They advanced forward, tossing the exploding lances and spears without caring about expenses, forcing the musicians back. However, the scariest was that musician assassins were hidden within them. They would jump out from the mud without the musicians realizing. They moved like ghosts and caused bloodshed with a mere jump. Glen had used his Modifications formulas to move freely within the formation. However, he was hit by a hidden assassin and almost died. Drenched in cold sweat, he retreated back to the shield in cold sweat. His armor was practically covered in cleaved traces. Thankfully, many smaller groups worked together well. They went into coherence and performed symphonies to block the clay puppets. Otherwise, the musicians would be forced to fend for themselves. On the battlefield, small enemies were was easy to pick off as small morsels of desserts. Faced with these extremely powerful enemies, everyone used all their strength to maintain the completion of the shield ring. Many musicians with fast reaction speed had started to attack the root of the problem by getting rid of the mud under their feet. However, the supply of mud was limitless. Even if they used all their tricks, they still could not clean a large enough area. As a choir musician, Miller walked around the circle, singing hymns and healing the gravely wounded musicians. He supported the musicians. In a large-scale battle, a choir musician was like an angel. However, he was spread too thin as well. If he let his guard down for a moment, he would be beheaded by an assassin from the sky. Right now, enemies could attack from everywhere and anywhere. If not for Baro''s Sycle, he would probably be headless by now. "Where''s your giant worm? Your snake of the atrium?" Miller shook Baro. "Get rid of the mud!" Baro practically spat out blood. "I have limited chances! Even if I''m the future inheritor, I can''t keep dragging them out of the aether world. If they get pissed and slap their tails out of the aether world, we''ll all die!" "Then what do we do?" Miller suddenly discovered that the defense ring had contracted. They had been in the safe zone but now they were left behind. Within the moment of inattentiveness, they were discovered by the clay warriors. Countless spears and swords were about to come for their blood Sam, the best fighter, was far away and could not come help. Miller''s expression grew bitter. He really regretted choosing ''physical resistance'' as his specialization. The only thing he could do was make diseases and viruses. He was powerless against clay and wooden statues. "Do you have any solution?" He looked at Baro with teary eyes. "Anything that can save us." Being looked at like that, Baro gritted his teeth in determination. "That''s what you said so don''t regret it!" As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled out a really weird chant consumable. It was a white dress embroidered with roses using silver thread. It looked extremely elegant and luxurious. It even had a faint fragrance. However, it just felt wrong in Baro''s hands. He was like a pervert who had stolen a dress at night and was planning on doing something weird to it. Sensing everyone''s gazes, he forced his tears back. This was a strange Summoning score from a lost school that he had found in an exploration years ago. It did not require much energy but had explosive power which suited this situation. Baro had sworn to never touch this again after using it once because it was so embarrassing. But now He could not keep this hidden anymore. Surviving was more important than keeping his dignity. Under the ethereal and graceful melody, the white dress suddenly floated up. The spirit born from the music score had emerged, transforming into a beautiful girl. From her side profile, one could see her skin as white as snow, hair as black as coal, and lips as red as blood. She was beautiful and her voice was otherworldly. With a tinge of sweetness, she was pure as a fairy. Countless musicians were attracted by the song. They turned to look and practically drooled. Under those enthusiastic gazes, the girl slowly turned around, revealing her sexy beard, straight and big nose, and a giant mouth. In the halo of spirituality, even the knife scar looked charming. Her eyes were flirty and she was ugly to the point that it was impressive. It was Baro''s own face! 346 Low Quality Goods "F*ck!" All the anticipating musicians choked at the same time and wished they could gouge their eyes out. Amidst the retching sounds, Baro''s face darkened. Covering his face, he muttered, "I was forced to, I was forced to, I was forced to" The moment the girl turned around, the tiles started shaking. Seven holes appeared on the ground and seven dwarves jumped out. "To fight for you, my princess!" the seven muscular and bearded dwarves yelled in unison. Waving hammers, axes, flails, and swords larger than themselves, they rushed into the Romulusian formation. The giant shield formation crumbled under their attacks. The dwarves jumped up and down around the clay warriors, deftly shattering the metallic porcelain armor. Their speed and strength were both incredible and unbelievable. They were extremely agile as well. None of them slacked off, and they all worked together, one kicking and the other hacking away These were not summoned objects! They were practically seven top-class knights! Everything in their paths was destroyed. They had no enemies! Within ten minutes, the hundred-man clay battalion was forced back. Finally, the dwarves disappeared along with the white dress. Baro and Miller had also returned to the protective ring and even gotten the upper hand temporarily. There were no problems other than being embarrassed. Many of the musicians stared at Baro, hoping he could do that again. Some girls were even willing to give him their dresses "Don''t even think about it!" Baro roared with a red face. "I''d rather die than humiliate myself again!" "Psh" Many pursed their lips and looked away in disappointment. Pained cries sounded again. However, this was from a musician rather than the wildly advancing clay warriors. A man with half his chest ripped apart was brought over. Blood flowed like a river and he was on his last breath. Miller and two other choir musicians rushed over without hesitation. Many of the musicians looked into the distance while fighting. They were in the side wing and, other than the few united groups, someone else was fighting against the Romulusian formation. One person was at the very front. The dirty and pathetic-looking young man squatted on the ground with his sharp teeth bared. He roared and his wild aura spread in all directions. He was not singing a melody but was roaring like a wild beast. The thundering melody had a crazed beauty. The music notes played like a group of beasts growling while killing. It was fierce, crude, and shockingly pure. Countless strange apparitions flashed in his vicinity as the melody changed. Wild beasts appeared one after another. It was enough to destroy one''s mind but the deathly wild beastly nature had no effect on him. Instead, they worked reverently to his roars. He did not clean the mud under his feet. Instead, he let the clay warriors emerge, tearing them apart immediately after. Countless invisible mouths were hidden around him. The being squatted obediently in the area Casper had marked for it. Anything, even teammates, that dared to approach were ripped to shreds. It was like a rabid guard dog or wild wolves supervising their territoryit was a pure beast. Casper Hauser. Even while interpreting, Ye Qingxuan could feel the strange wolf-like aura that rose to the sky like smoke. Turning around involuntarily, he saw the hunched yet wild figure with shocked eyes. He had never seen alienation to this extent! "What''s wrong?" Colt''s thin voice floated into his ears. "Curious?" Ye Qingxuan looked away. He knew it was wrong to ask about others'' personal matters but he could not help it. "What''s wrong with him?" "You really don''t know?" Colt''s tone was meaningful. "He was born as the result of the inheritance of beastly nature. As a natural-born musician, he carries the anticipation of his ancestors. "His father wanted to isolate him from other influences, so he was locked in a cellar until he became a Resonance musician at age fifteen. He''s a true genius with incredible talent, but he doesn''t know how to talk. He doesn''t have any common sense and doesn''t know how to socialize. He doesn''t understand others either and can''t communicate at all. To him, human language is meaningless, like empty music notes." Stunned, Ye Qingxuan almost lost control of the interval in his hands. "Is he still human?" "His father had wanted to turn him into a beast since the beginninga pure beast." Colt''s voice was indifferent. "That''s the only way for him to completely fuse with the beastly nature and enter deep into the aether world to complete the transformation. Then he could become a phantom beast in a human''s body." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "His family is too cruel." "Aren''t musicians all like this?" Colt chuckled. "The way to the Originator is long and hard. It''s already passed the realm of ethics. Sometimes, you have to throw away some things to go further. Ye Qingxuan, don''t be shocked. You''ll do this one day if you keep going along this path." Ye Qingxuan did not answer. He focused entirely on interpreting. The complex and vast array on the stone door before him shook. About half of the flowing veins of light were extinguished. This was the masterpiece of ancient Abstinence musicians, but it was still something centuries removed from current technology. After the anti-tune had let them close in the gap, the three were able to chip away at the seal slowly but surely. It was just a matter of time, but the problem was, how much time did they need? Ye Qingxuan had viewed this as a big job and planned to fervently work six hours per day for seven days. But for some reason, the progress this time wastoo fast! Everything went on unbelievably fast. Of course, he was responsible for half of that. After all, the core of Abraham''s interpretation method was ''fast.'' Its goal was to interpret the enemy''s next move in battle so it must be fast. He had to overlook the details and focus on the big picture to solve the core problem. He did not care about anything else. Ye Qingxuan performed the interpretation method smoothly and expertly. He was as fast as a rabid dog freed from its leash. When he ran into harder parts, he would toss it to Torre. The latter was responsible for forcefully undoing the unavoidable obstacles in the music theory. In other words, he stormed the obstacles. This was their first time working together, but they cooperated well after the run-in period. After all, Ye Qingxuan''s interpretation method was Abstinence music theory disguised as Revelations. He had also inherited theory from the School of Stone Heart. This collaboration made things easier for him. He did not lack anything on the aspect of theories but had some shortcomings for real-life application. This opportunity allowed him to see how the School of Abstinence worked. He was able to copy Torre and secretly learn everything. With them decoding in the front, Colt had undone a good portion of Hades'' Door''s prohibition. His speed was increasing too. His understanding and investigation of music theory was beyond Ye Qingxuan''s expectations. He was not like a twenty-five-year-old at all. Sometimes, Ye Qingxuan would get the misconception that there was a grandmaster beside him. He did not agree with Heisenberg''s character but the Rock Institute''s ''secret bearer'' inheritance lived up to its reputation. Working with someone like Colt cut down on the worry and effort. However, for some reason, Ye Qingxuan felt like he had overlooked something as he continued. He even had time to turn around at times to check on the others. The clay warriors grew back as soon as they were destroyed and were getting stronger but the musicians had started standing their ground after the earlier panic. The overall situation was good. Not just a bit good but very good. Yet he felt something was wrong. It was so successful that he felt sorry for the Hades'' Door and such a large alchemy array. Ye Qingxuan was confident in his abilities, but he did not think he was good enough to tear through Hades'' Door as if it was a counterfeit good. Were ancient Romulusians all fools? There must be a plot twist hidden somewhere he would never think of. While he was distracted and thinking through the Romulusian history he had read, trying to find something he had missed, he felt the pressure decrease. The music notes flashing on Hades'' Door had suddenly started extinguishing. It was as if they had been poking holes into rock for a long time and finally pierced through the surface layer. He thought the next step would be even more difficult but then he realized that the stone was hollow "Is it actually low-quality?" 347 Good Star Ye Qingxuan froze in place. He gaped at Hades'' Door. It seemed that no one had been regularly maintaining it through the centuries. The music theory array within it had actually eroded by itself and fell apart quickly with their outside pressure. The speed was unbelievable. As Hades'' Door broke down, mournful cracking sounds began one after another. The wildly advancing clay puppet battalion froze in place. They quickly began to melt and cave in, returning to the mud and disappearing. "It''s over?" "We won!" "They''re outdated puppets. They have a lot of tricks but they''re all too rigid. They''re not threatening anymore once you understand the pattern, no matter how large the quantity is." "Is the Underground Palace open?" Everyone started talking at once. They surged to the door, rubbing their hands in anticipation to start exploring again. "Wait! Don''t rush." Ye Qingxuan stopped them, still not feeling exactly right. "Don''t you guys think something''s wrong?" Amidst the noise, some grew serious and started pondering. Others thought that Ye Qingxuan was just scaring them and started interrogating him. He could not reply either. He did not know what the problem was. Even the bad premonition was just a strange feeling. The door opened gradually amidst rumbles. Dust fell down in clumps onto his hair, shocking him from his thoughts. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan turned around and furrowed his brows. "Who opened the door?" No one replied. Before the door, Colt and Torre stared back at each other. They exchanged glances. Suddenly understanding something, their faces changed dramatically, turning stark white. No one had opened the door. This meant that someone had pushed the door open from the other side! "Oh, Tityrus," someone sang hoarsely from the solid darkness behind the door. A foul miasma spread out. A tall withered figure limped forward. The shackles on his legs dragged on the ground with grating clanks. The chains seemed to be red-hot. Sparks flew as they scraped against the ground. "Tityrus!" the pained voice sang hoarsely. "You, ''neath a broad beech-canopy reclining, on the slender oat rehearse your silvan ditties." In the darkness, the hunched figure slowly straightened up. The creaking of joints sounded painful like cracked wood. He stepped into the palace outside the door. Firelight shone and illuminated his face. The shackles on his feet were still singing painfully. "Look," they sang. "I from my sweet fields, and home''s familiar bounds, even now depart. Exiled from home am I; while, Tityrus, you sit careless in the shade!" When the dim flickering firelight illuminated the figure''s face, everyone shivered. It was a withered skeleton. It walked through the darkness and crossed Hades'' Door, stepping into the grave palace. The bone-dry skeleton still wore a pure white robe. The silver thread tattoos had broken down but he was still abnormally solemn. Even if he was now a shackled prisoner. Now, everyone realized that there was nothing on his neck. He was holding his skull in his right hand. Someone had poured melted gold into his mouth, twisting his face into something menacing and ugly. However, his lips were still open, chewing on the dark gold and singing The Eclogues. He gripped a sacred and solemn scepter in his left hand. The scepter thudded on the ground with a sonorous sound like a whip cracking in everyone''s hearts. Waves crashed in the aether sea the moment he stepped from Hades'' Door and shook along with his hoarse singing. It finally dawned on Ye Qingxuan why it was so easy to break Hades'' Door. The power source was connected to this skeleton! He could see through the Eye of Silence that countless strands of gold light extended from the entire Underground Palace and wrapped around the skeleton. That was the music theory that should have been on Hades'' Door. Now, this skeleton was the core of the array and the controller of Hades'' Door! It did not even have reinforcement but it was terrifying enough. It was a complete "A saint''s remains!" someone yelped and stumbled back, finally recognizing it. "Those maniacs! Those Romulusians-theythey turned a saint''s remainsinto that thing!" This saint''s remains that had been sealed for centuries now dragged his shackles forward. The skull singing in his hand seemed to smirk. Flames of fury burned in his eyes. He opened his mouth and roared soundlessly. The scepter slammed down. Boom! There was a rumble like a mountain crashing down. Mud fell to the ground like an endless waterfall. Under the sound of mud bubbling and boiling, countless burly clay warriors walked out again. The hundreds upon thousands of clay warriors held square shields and spears. Like soldiers from Hell, they knelt in the palace and bowed to the ''prisoner'' who had walked out of Hades'' Door, offering him pure respect. They were welcoming their ruler back! "Their rulerI see!" As if struck by lightning, Ye Qingxuan''s muddled thoughts suddenly cleared. He finally realized what was wrong. The Romulusian formation contained everything they needed, from lancers, javelin-wielders, warriors with shields and swords, to chariots. Only one thing was missing. This entire time, they had used set processes and modes to chase away invaders but they lacked their leader and commander. How could an army without a commander fight to their full strength? Now, Ye Qingxuan finally realized why it was so easy to decode Hades'' Door. This was probably a trick the dead Romulusians had designed! When the core of Hades'' Door decided pure defense was unable to fight off the invaders, the music theory would break off and guide all the power into the saint''s remains behind the door. Next, the invaders would be celebrating ecstatically, thinking they had succeeded. At that time, the saint''s remains would walk through and lead the endless Romulusian formation into a massacre! It was all a trick! The deceit was pure evil! Ye Qingxuan felt numb. Those dead Romulusians had really put everything into keeping their dead safe from outsiders. But what should they do now? Those that could be acknowledged as a saint were undoubtedly powerful musicians who were influential in the material world and had status in the aether world. Their power in the material world would dissipate once a saint had fallen but their scepter would still remain in the aether world. This meant that this corpse before them was at least a Scepter grandmaster! He had also covered this underground palace with an alchemy array, continuously supplying Hades'' Door with inexhaustible power. In Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, this skeleton was a giant vortex. Other than the skull shining like the sun in his right hand, the ''scepter'' in his left hand was also covered in complex music theory. This was his symphony of predestination! This was the unique music score the saint had used all his soul and will to write before his death! Under everyone''s stares, the saint straightened and slowly raised the cracked scepter. A majestic horn sounded out of thin air. A holy realm was about to descend. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan slammed his cane down. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang with a cold and sharp sound. Dozens of silver nails shot out of his bag. Countless shackles wove together in the air, forming a net and tightening. It locked the saint in place. Cracks appeared on the shackles instantly. Ye Qingxuan felt as if he was restricting an active volcano rather than a dead object. The strength of the anti-shock was enough to make his vision go black. Blood seeped from the corner of his lips. The silver nails shooting toward the saint pulverized silently; the shackles fell apart. Ye Qingxuan was not trying to restrain a mere body. He was fighting against the entire realm that had descended from the aether wallthe miraculous power that had been called forth by the symphony of predestination. It was light fighting against the entire Avalon''s Shadow It was as laughable and incredulous as an ant trying to stop a car. At this moment, everyone finally realized what they were facing. There was no need for hesitation. There was no need for yelling. There was no need for communication. At this moment, everyone awakened their instruments in unison and cast their most destructive music scores at the skeleton! If they were still in a daze and allowed this guy to finish expanding his scepter, it would be a massacre They could imagine hundreds of ways to die! For a third or fourth level musician to fight against a saint in his territory was as useless as a chicken trying to fight the butcher on the chopping board. No matter how quickly the chicken waved its claws, it was nothing against the butcher''s knife. So if they wanted a chance to live, they had to do it before getting placed on the chopping board! Frantic music scores sounded continuously in an instant. Fierce melodies collided, resonating with the aether sea, and performing the blazing light of destruction. The earth spat out fire, lightning cracked Countless streams of liquid fire descended from the sky amidst the rumbling, enveloping the eerie saint. 348 The Hole of Destruction and the Holy Spirits Incarnate Ye Qingxuan observed the aether sea and saw countless wild waves. Rays of light shot out like ripples in a starry sky. They rose, exploded, extinguished, and formed an unobservable black territory. The explosions were swallowed by the darkness. All sound became unclear and strange. However, a speck of light appeared. Someone sang The Eclogues hoarsely, "O traveler from afar, ''twas a god vouchsafed this ease to us" Amidst the clanking of chains, the burning skull was lifted. Its mouth was filled with melted gold but it continued to sing loudly in the darkness. "See how it totters-the world''s orbed might; Earth and wide ocean, and the vault profound; All, see, enraptured of the coming time!" Thus, the aether sea was in turmoil. The radiant song that had recorded years of glory awoke the power sleeping within the aether world. It passed through the nine levels of the aether sea and fell upon the material world. A blazing sun ascended. It shone with boundless radiance. This was the Romulusian Empire''s light of glory! Darkness shattered the moment his scepter was ignited. The aether sea was no longer in upheaval. All chaos returned to serenity; all aether was singing for the empire''s radiant glory! All other music scores stopped abruptly. The musicians who had reached the Resonance level paled, their organs close to failing. Their sound of hearts had been hit by the Romulusian saint''s symphony of predestination and almost shattered. It was worse for the official musicians who had not finished the sublimation of their heart of sounds. Just the aftershock was enough to completely break them down. Black blood seeped from the noses and mouths of those who were still standing. They suffered grave internal injuries. In reality, those who had not collapsed from directly facing a Scepter were already considered elites of the group. Amongst them, Ye Qingxuan was in the best state. He was only an official musician, but his heart was the sub-originator created by the Avalonian enchantment. He had made the sub-originator independent from the outside world after understanding natural interference. Thus, he was affected the least. However, the situation at hand was worse than worse. Ye Qingxuan did not know who the saint was but he was definitely a fervent protector of Romulus to sing of Romulus''s former glory in his symphony of predestination. Blessed by the territory, everything that had fallen now regained their luster. The most obvious were the clay puppet warriors Under the light, they upgraded from dead objects and transformed into giants. They were covered in dragon scale armor and held weapons shrouded in lightning and fire. They seemed to be blessed by a god. Countless breaths overlapped. Like the muffled wind before a thunderstorm, the destructive power of wind and lightning brewed within. Under the light, they became god''s messengers and an immortal army. As the saint raised the scepter, the almost-legendary army under the dazzling light yelled in the ancient language and advanced toward the invaders. The survivors paled considerably. This army was enough to kill all of them, let alone the skeleton in the center. Under the symphony of predestination''s pressure, the majority of them could no longer fight. If they could not orchestrate a decent attack, it was only a matter of time before they were defeated. The gears in Ye Qingxuan''s brain spun as his expression darkened. Originally, his worst case scenario was the entire underground palace being pulled into the aether world. However, this situation was not much better. Territory from the aether world covered the material world, changing the rules and physics. They were reduced to ants under the scepter. Scepterscepterwait, why did the supervising grandmasters not come out yet? Were they waiting for these young elite musicians to all die and be buried in this palace before they came and avenged their deaths? Or did they think the musicians could solve this crisis? If that was the case Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. He pushed back against the heavy light with difficulty and looked back at Colt. The man''s expression was calm under the heavy pressure. He did not seem to feel any fear. Sensing Ye Qingxuan''s gaze, he smiled mysteriously. Twisting his ring, he quietly put several layers of shields on Ye Qingxuan. Then he stepped back soundlessly and hid into the crowd. Before Ye Qingxuan could react, there was a mind-numbing wail. Spears! Spears from the Romulusian formation! Countless spears fell from the sky. Like lightning striking a tree, they crashed down toward the musicians. They grouped in the sky and, in the end, created a terrifying shadow. The shadow was shirtless. His muscles knotted and he slammed the long spear made of countless lightning streaks toward the ground! This was the Father of Lightning from Romulusian legends. Scholars had verified long ago that all Romulusian gods were idols created by average people and priests. Their gods did not exist but when the shadow appeared in the palace, it still brought about the tremendous pressure of a god''s descent. Ye Qingxuan felt like he was getting struck by lightning even before the electric spears fell. His hair stood up straight and his skin stung; he was almost losing control. Supported by both Hades'' Door and the Scepter of Glory, the Romulusian formation had become a true battle machine. The mere throwing of spears could evaporate all obstacles. They could even destroy city walls so what were flesh bodies to them? That instant, Ye Qingxuan lifted the brim of his hat, preparing to activate Holy. However, the next instant, he felt a large vortex open abruptly in the calm aether sea. The source of the vortex was amongst the musicians. Right before the tip of the lightning spear, a musician clad in a scarlet robe lifted the amber ring on his hand and quietly chanted a spell. Next, a black hole opened in thin air. Strength also from the depths of the aether world was called forth, forming a giant vortex in the air. It instantly swallowed the boundless electricity. However, it did not dissipate after the electricity disappeared. The vortex remained in the air, radiating with wild attraction, swallowing everything it could touch and transforming them to nothingness. Ye Qingxuan could not tell what the thing was made of even with his Eye of Silence. He could only feel that there was another large hole in the aether sea but it was distorted, shattered, and dragged in by the music theory in the vortex. It was neither warm nor cruel; it was like a natural occurrence but everything that it touched was sucked into the blackness. It dawned on Ye Qingxuan and coldness spread through his body. This was the Hole of Destruction from Modifications! It was known as the product closest to total destruction! It was a destructive music score that imitated the signs of the end of the world created by Modifications musiciansthe dark vortex that covered the world and swallowed all. How courageous must one be to put this thing in one''s ring and take it around everywhere? The slightest careless mistake could destroy a city! And how irresponsible must a senior be to give something like that to a student for protection and let him bring it to a trial? Ye Qingxuan had not expected for such talents to be hidden within this group of musicians. His scalp tingled as he tried to keep his body in place, resisting the attraction of the expanding dark vortex. The vortex was not caring about the musicians under it either. It was battling against the glorious scepter. Boundless light fought with the blackness, creating murky waves in the aether sea. At the center of the formation, the saint stood on a chariot. His eyes were bloody red. Raising his scepter, countless music theories were interwoven, creating dazzling light and pushing back the Hole of Destruction. Boom! With a soft sound, the cracked scepter cracked once again. The glorious territory shook violently; the light flickered. In his other hand, the singing skull suddenly opened its eyes. The dark eye sockets stared forward with a soundless command. The godly army roared. Unsheathing their swords, they charged! The earth shook. In the crowd, the musician controlled the Hole of Destruction with all his might. His face had turned red and was almost swept into the terrifying shaking. "The Hole of Destruction can only exist for one minute! What are you waiting for? To die?!" Before he finished, the anxious Sam let out a long breath. "I don''t care anymore!" Gritting his teeth, he decided to ignore his senior''s warnings and pressed down on the Copper Mountain. "Let me have a good time!" The Foehn wind whistled. Sam''s body shook and lit up with a halo of light. A ball of light bright as the sun emerged in his chest. Replacing his heart, it sent lava through his veins. Half of his body cracked like a turtle''s shell. One could see his fiery blood through the cracks. Behind his head, a red halo gradually solidified into a menacing shadow. It was Agni, the spirit of fire! The Copper Mountain roared and the Foehn wind billowed. The earth began to shake instantly as countless flames rose from the earth like an abruptly appearing forest. The blue flames transformed into solid spears and instantly swallowed the formation, piercing through it, evaporating itThe scalding temperature scattered with the wild wind, turning the place into a true hell. Sam walked forward within the forest of fire. Flames licked around him like a throne of molten iron. He was the incarnate of the spirit! Miller yelped as he gaped at Sam''s figure. "That guy''s able to bond with Agni like that?!" Baro had not expected for Sam to be this powerful and be acknowledged and deeply bonded with a spirit merely at the Resonance level! The skull in the saint''s hand slowly swept its gaze to Sam. Its song became mournful. The two warriors manning the chariots beside him suddenly shifted. Mud surged and their bodies reformed. This time, they were two priests with unclear features, war drums, and horns. 349 Under the Shell Shocking waves of aether shot through. One of the priests beat the war drum. The drumbeats were desolate and bleak. The quagmire bubbled and six heads gradually rose from it. It was a giant six-headed snake. Dozens of meters tall, it was covered in dark green scales. It emanated coldness and pounced toward Sam. The other priest blew a horn. The blare was deafening and seemed to contain tangible malice and murderous intent. With the help of the horn, the clay warriors instantly sped up and strengthened. They attacked the musicians with crazed strength. The horn sound contained Mind music theory. At the same time, it eroded at the musicians'' will to fight. It magnified their fear to thousands times the original, causing them to panic. Within a few seconds, dozens were torn apart by the soldiers. They did not even have a complete body. No one had expected for there to be musicians hidden within the clay warrior battalion to provide large-scale help. The saint regained his upper hand. He raised the scepter. Though cracked, it radiated. Under the pressure of the scepter territory and the collision of music theories, the Hole of Destruction had contracted to half of its original size. It only knew how to swallow matter rather than defending itself. Its structure began falling apart and was close to collapsing. The skull in the saint''s other hand continued to chew on gold and sing hoarsely. Electric light shot out of its black eye sockets without stop. The lightning jumped through the crowd. Each flash evaporated an enemy. The lightning seemed to have a special sensory as well. It targeted those that it deemed musicians of special threats. Within a few seconds, six musicians had been swallowed by electricity. Only two survived. One flickered in and out like a bubble but was unharmed. He had clearly used a special defense score. The other was worse off. He crawled out of his burnt shell like a shedding snake. He was a bloody mess but quickly recovered with the help of a Choir music score. These two were clearly from famous schools and had many life-saving objects. Their instruments were above average as well. By going all out rather than hiding their true ability, they were able to push back the immense pressure and save many people. The skull in the saint''s hand slowly turned, locking onto those two. Electricity brewed in its eye sockets, ready to shoot out. A beam of light cut in diagonally. Crack! The electric chain of hundreds of meters long cracked across the skull''s face. The temperature was hot enough to reduce on to ashes but it did not damage the skull at all. This type of electricity was more like humiliation to the skull rather than an attack. It was as if someone had waited for its moment of carelessness and ran over to slap it across its face. The electricity winding in its eye sockets rose and looked into the distance, locking onto a figure in the crowd. There, the youth with a cane waved excitedly at the skull as if saying "hey, look here!" In that moment, moonlight guide lines extended from the wound in his fingertip. They floated in the wind. The real yet unreal moonlight gently wrapped around the saint''s skeleton. Next, an invisible river of imageries emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s mind. They traveled down the moonlight lines, whistling and invading the saint''s consciousness. If it still had a consciousness. Technically, even a miraculous saint could not retain his consciousness after death. At most, he would leave it with the aether and sublimate into a holy spirit to be enshrined in the Sacred City. Corpses of regular people would decay completely within two to three years but saints were not the same. Transformed by their symphonies of predestination, their bodies could be preserved for thousands of years. Their bodies would still contain their original strength and were unmatchable treasures, such as the Indrah''s Eye that Ye Qingxuan had. In addition, this complete corpse had been modified by alchemists. It was connected with the music theory of the entire underground palace and could even awaken the fallen scepter. Ye Qingxuan suspected that something else was hidden in the corpse! He instantly felt that he had jumped into a dazzling glow. The boundless light swallowed his senses and practically burned him to ashes. It felt as if he had walked into the sun. Nothing was able to hide before the light. It was the symphony of predestination! Ye Qingxuan''s vision went black. He had almost evaporated but thankfully, the ''invisible river'' was tiny and existed between real and unreal so it was not destroyed by that instant. He had not expected that the symphony of predestination''s spirit was supporting the skeleton. The music score sang of Romulus'' glory. Its spirit was like the blazing sun as well, majestic and aggressively shining in all directions. Even more shocking was that the Romulusians had carved the music score directly onto the saint''s body, turning him into a puppet through alchemy. This explained why a dead person could have a musician''s scepter and awaken the territory. It was unmatchable alchemy equipment by itself! It was just made from a saint''s relic. Musicians often said that excellent music scores contained a spirit which was the score''s soul. However, it was too weird to use a music score''s soul to replace a human''s soul. Ye Qingxuan was going crazy. How many messed up studies had the Romulusians done? Didn''t they say they wanted to respect the dead, let them rest in peace, and worship their ancestors? The remaining bit of the symphony of predestination was almost beyond his limits, let alone the saint''s consciousness! He struggled at shrinking the invisible river to the extreme, reducing the speed of evaporation. His vision flickered. Soon, a sliver of moonlight rose in the river. "I can interpret it if it''s a music score, right?" He guided the moonlight to meld into the sunlight and began to decipher the music theory of the symphony. Blood poured from his nose. The extreme expenditure sapped him of his energy. Unable to care about anything else, he drained a bottle of medicine, forcefully maintaining his connection with the saint''s body. He had not delved too deep into the School of Mind. It was much harder to try interpreting a music score in someone else''s mind. He could only do his best and ignore everything else. The saint had not perceived Ye Qingxuan as a threat but it felt the connection. Disturbances of its music theory structure had clearly been classified as an alert. The skull quickly locked onto Ye Qingxuan. Its eyes burned with electric light and it shot out without warning. In the last instant, a white lion jumped from Ye Qingxuan''s side. It absorbed the lightning. Its metallic body was burned red-hot, almost melting. Behind the iron lion, Baro wiped at his sweat and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "You''re spacing out here? You wanna die?!" "Forget about all that and shield me!" Ye Qingxuan did not even have the time to wipe his blood away. Gritting his teeth, he grasped Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and put all his effort into deciphering the symphony. "Done shortly!" - Shortly? No one knew how long ''shortly'' was. As mindsets changed, even an instant could seem like eternity. Ye Qingxuan transformed his consciousness into moonlight and assimilated it into the music score''s spirit. He worked at interpreting the structure but felt his own insignificance when he realized what this immense entity was. He did not know what the symphony of predestination was called but it undoubtedly included music theories from Modifications, Choir, Summoning, and Abstinence. Countless music notes had intertwined to create something as vast as the sun. It had dimmed and broken through the passage of time but it was still beyond Ye Qingxuan''s abilities. Merely observing it used up all his strength. Compared to the huge music theory system, Ye Qingxuan was even smaller than dust. There was no way he could use it to his advantage and attack it. In the black consciousness, the spirit of the music score hung in the air like the sun. Its radiance was like Romulus'' past glory. It rotated as the scepter territory changed, transforming into layers of light. The music theory scraped past each other, creating a majestic melody. It was incomplete and unable to fully operate but it still resisted the musicians'' attacks and maintained the territory. Wait A bizarre idea flashed past Ye Qingxuan''s mind. Deciding upon it, he grasped something invisible and closed his fist. Boom! The faint sound of a bell spread out. The faraway and eternal ringing hid within the chaos and quickly disappeared. However, moonlight shone in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. He had activated the sub-originator! As if he had broken free from the restrictions of his body and received unparalleled freedom, Ye Qingxuan felt unprecedented closeness to the aether. His strength was exploding as well. This was his first time experiencing Resonance-level power in a red zone. He had not expected for his power to raise this much The sub-originator reinforced it. The higher the density of aether, the more strength it supplied. He only had fifteen minutes but it was more than enough. In the space of his consciousness, Ye Qingxuan smiled. He transformed into moonlight and flew into the ball of light! 350 Hellhound Boom! Everyone saw it in an instant. Light continued to burst from the scepter. If it shone like the sun before, now they had entered a holy realm. Burning light was everywhere. All mundanes were about to be purified to nothingness! The saint''s hoarse singing resounded on the ground as if it was in the sky. The air was filled with the majestic praises of Romulus. "Ye Qingxuan" Colt turned around in shock. He saw Ye Qingxuan''s faintly discernible connection to the saint, as well as Ye Qingxuan''s explosive waves of aether. Colt sensed an immense cold shadow emerge from the youth''s chest and then disappear. Like a sliver of moonlight amongst the black clouds, it was distant and untouchable. However, the saint seemed to have taken a tonic or something. It instantly went all out, singing the symphony of predestination powerfully. The glorious territory was completely activated! Everyone was at the brink of defeat Colt knew without thinking that Ye Qingxuan was messing around. "*sshole! What are you doing?!" But he had no time to care about Ye Qingxuan. He felt the light burn above his head like a tidal wave. Something was coming. The Eclogues resounded throughout the palace. Under everyone''s stares, the saint rose into the air. The cracked scepter transformed into the blazing sun, illuminating everything under it. Countless shadows emerged from the light, looking down like deities. The ground shook. Covered by the light, the silent palace erupted into cheers. Layers of stone steps suddenly appeared on the walls. Countless shadows in white robes appeared on the steps. They watched the musicians fight against the Romulusian military, dancing and cheering. This moment and location under the scepter''s territory was no longer the quiet and empty palace. It had transformed into the location of the sacred battle that the Romulusians had built in legends. It was the Romulusian Arena! From its construction to after it was destroyed by natural catastrophes, countless gladiators, beasts, and musicians had fought and killed in competition. Countless men had either died under the eyes of the audience or seized victory and sat onto the throne. This was a sacred place to all Romulusians. It was a paradise for warriors and competitors. However, under the cheers and praises of the audience, the clay warriors now threw their heads back and yelled, raising their swords and spears. Their already-muscular bodies expanded again. Their hair burned like fire and they walked across the earth, banging on their shields with the swords and roaring in unison. The shadows of a bull and eagle appeared above the formation. According to legends, the Romulusians were descendants of gods. However, these clay soldiers seemed to have truly transformed into the descendants of gods now. Their roars were like thunder, their movements like wind. Their power had more than doubled. They instantly destroyed dozens of musician shields. The faltering defense line was practically washed away. If some musicians had not taken out their strongest defense music scores, they would have been completely defeated. The scepter''s glorious territory was still rising It would be much more powerful if the symphony completely unfolded. If the territory was completely constructed, the audience would also contain priests, nobles, and the emperor. At that time, the duelists would also have to fight against giants, phantom beasts, and even true spirits that walked off the altars to battle against the mortals! But at that moment, everything stopped. It should not have stopped. A fatal crack appeared in the singing. It was as if someone had suddenly clamped around its throat. A horrible hole appeared in the music theory. A new crack appeared in the already-cracked scepter in the saint''s hand! The light flickered and the territory shook. If the army had seemed to be drugged and abnormal before, they were even more drugged up now. The drugs changed but quickly went back to normal. It was so fast it was imperceptible but the changes could not escape Colt''s eyes. "That''s how it is" Finally dawning on him, he understood what Ye Qingxuan was trying to do. That guy was not trying to damage the symphony of predestination. Fighting against a saint''s symphony was laughable. The backlash from touching the music theory''s structure could break down his mind and implode. Rather than damaging it, Ye Qingxuan was fixing it Right now, the territory was like an ancient clock from Hermes''s shop. After thousands of years, many of its pieces had stopped working due to the lack of maintenance. It was able to operate now and then, but if it had to keep operating without changing its parts, there would be problems sooner or later. Ye Qingxuan had somehow assimilated into the symphony and purposely used very crappy and crude ways to fix the holes and damages that he saw. There would definitely be many side effects in the future but now, he pushed the music theory to move and perform the climax of the music piece! There would not be any problems in the meantime. In fact, it might even feel smooth but once the symphony reached the climax, various problems would arise in the vast music theory system. It was okay to make an old guy take a walk. However, it would be interesting if one made the old guy put on knee pads, take some stimulants, and go run a marathon! Crack! Another jagged crack appeared on the scepter but the strength of the territory increased again. The soldiers shone with tangible light. They had all seemed to turn into gold like in Middle Eastern legends. God''s power operated on the earth. There would be horrible after-effects, but the power now was undeniable. Colt practically broke his teeth while clenching his jaw. Ye Qingxuan was gambling everyone''s lives! It was like a bunch of amateur athletes had to survive until the old decathlon winner died! This time, Colt was not even fifty percent sure. While his expression changed, the symphony rose to another level. Crack! Crack! Crack! Three cracks appeared on the scepter at once but the sea of light was unfaltering! Even the sun was on the brink of falling All the musicians trembled. Their gut instincts told them to bow down. This was beyond the Distortion levelthe scepter was brewing true godly power! "We really can''t avoid it?" At the front, Torre gazed at the aggressive sunlight and sighed. Looking toward his brother, he waved lightly. "Casper, come here." Enshrouded by layers of beastly mouths, Casper seemed to hear him. He twisted around and scampered over on all limbs like a black wolf. Torre reached out and he stopped. Torre placed his hand on his forehead. "I''m sorry, Casper," he murmured with eyes lowered. Thin rings of music notes appeared on Torre''s wrist. They spun and fastened until they meandered to Casper''s face. Chains of music notes dove into Casper''s features until they reached his bones. There, they connected into a music theory and the aether transformed into a key. Torre closed his eyes and the ''key'' began to rotate. [Surface humanity seal C Unlocked] Casper stiffened but his limbs began convulsing. The light in his eyes dimmed bit by bit until it sank into darkness. In the last moment, he stared at Torre. His lips opened as if he was speaking. His thin and unclear voice called, "Brother" When he opened his eyes again, they were startling red. Overlapping roars sounded from the empty air around him. Countless mournful wails appeared without stop as if thousands and thousands of beasts were killing each other. This was the elegy of beasts dying and demons being reborn! Countless beasts continued to die but the beastly nature were reborn in Casper''s body, controlling him with the humanity''s seal. Fiery red shadows appeared in the aether sea. Strong resonance shot out from Casper''s body and stirred the aether sea as he roared. The resonance reflected upon the fiery shadow which then covered his body. The frail youth expanded, changed, and burst with lava-like firelight. The destructive firelight blinded all who saw. The slovenly youth had vanished, replaced with a ball of fire that shot to the sky. Amongst the flames, a giant dragon-like tail swept across. Black hair flowing with lava followed. The hairs writhed like venomous snakes. Next, three giant heads spitting sulfur rose from the fire. Black venom dripped from their mouths, falling onto the ground and eroding the tiles with crackles. The poisonous aura spread. The Romulusian warriors eroded and quickly lost the strength from the legend, returning back to normal Four eyes on the skull searched around. When its gaze reached there, it froze and stiffened. The firelight expanded and transformed into the gates to hell. The manmade demon that resulted from centuries of Summoning musicians'' work walked out of the fire. It roared! This was beastly nature that no human could control. Merely looking at it would make one cave in and tremble from fear. It was the Hellhound! 351 Past Hallucinations The moment the Hellhound appeared, the entire territory started trembling. The symphony of predestination was at its limit, and it could no longer take it, especially faced with the ''scepter killer'' created by the School of Summoning. Amongst the various beastly natures that created the Hellhound, the strongest were the three heads that controlled the hound. And amongst them, the most important was the demon wolf that could swallow the sun in legends. In order to fuse the beastly nature and human body completely, the school had wagered the phantom beast saved within the aether world and drew its essence into the inheritance of the beastly nature. Now, the Hellhound raised its three heads. They roared in unison. The menacing wolf in the center threw its head back. Opening its mouth, it tore at the invisible music theory and swallowed all light. The sea of light poured into its throat but could not sate it. It was a key point in the School of Modificationsthe nemesis of ''heat'' of ''light.'' With its existence, the territory that relied on endless light was in danger. After swallowing much light, the Hellhound tripled in size. The dark aura around it thickened. Roaring, it charged into the Romulusian army. Its tail swung, tearing through the formation. It cut through the dying six-headed snake and roared without waiting for the priests to start beating the drum again. The drum exploded; the priest broke down and was divided by the three large mouths. The wolf forcefully pushed back the saint''s boundless electric light and the territory''s immense pressure. It ravaged the territory. Extreme pressure focused onto the Hellhound but the wild beast did not care. It charged at the sun in the air again and again. It allowed itself to be burned all over. Whenever the beast was injured, Torre''s body would shudder. Various ghastly seams cracked open on his skin as if an invisible chain connected him and the beast. The cost of turning into a complete beast was sealing one''s humanity. The ''result'' was completely losing control and falling into the abyss of demonization. This was something the School of Summoning would never allow. Thus, there must be restrictions. Casper''s restriction was his brother Torre. When Casper''s humanity regressed and was replaced by the beastly nature, Torre took charge of controlling him. Discipline Abstinence musicians had placed a large shackle on the wolf. Torre gripped the shackle, constraining the wolf within it. With the Hellhound''s hindrance, Sam, still in the state of spirit incarnation, started up again. He quickly attacked the saint. Torrents of fiery thunder and layers of icy metal fell upon the sun. He must extinguish Romulusian''s former glory! - Above the sun, the Hole of Destruction had contracted to the size of a thumb. Its music theory was one touch away from breaking apart. The musician controlling it sensed the shaking of the territory. Determination flashed past his eyes and he clenched his fist, The Hole of Destruction exploded soundlessly. The energy created from the destruction of everything it had sucked in now poured out like a waterfall. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Tragic cracks appeared on the scepter continuously. Even the saint''s body cracked. Through the cracks, one could vaguely see burning light flowing in his body like blood. The symphony of predestination was nearing its climax but it suffered attack after attack. It was close to the end. Behind Sam, the shadow of the Copper Mountain rumbled. Under the frantic melody, countless bolts of lightning grouped in his hand and transformed into a spear hundreds of miles long. He hurled it into the saint''s chest. The spear did not fly outit dove straight toward the core of the territory. Then it broke apart and swept in all directions as streams of light. The territory in its path shattered. The Romulusian formation evaporated into steam. As the lightning spear continued to attack, the Hellhound roared. The three heads spat out true dragon breaths! Red light that represented ultimate destruction fell upon the saint''s body. There was a thunderous roar. The scepter in the saint''s hand shattered! The endless sea of light, the countless cheering spectators, the shadows of spirits, and the hoarse yet solemn eclogue all disappeared. The incomplete realm within the aether sea completely broke apart. Disorderly streams of light shot into all directions. The glorious scepter was destroyed! - That instant, Ye Qingxuan''s body shook. Lowering his head, he vomited scarlet blood. His consciousness had almost gone with the symphony of predestination''s spirit. Thankfully he had constricted at the last moment and escaped the terrifying storm. However, streams of chaotic hallucinations came toward him in the empty space of consciousness. He saw everything this saint had seen. He saw the clouds in the sky and, in the clouds, he saw the vast black shadow that covered the earth. The shadow hung in the Romulusian air, covering the sun, announcing the arrival of the spirit. He saw a bustling city fall apart. Countless people wailed, blood flowed into a river, bodies separated, countless people died in horrible ways, and infants cried in their cradles. He saw a seemingly familiar face. The eerily handsome blond youth held his head. Smiling, he closed the unseeing eyes of the dead saint. Ye Qingxuan could faintly see the design of two entangled snakes on the man''s palm. Next, it was the golden era of Romulus again. Countless historical miracles replayed before his eyes. He could feel that everyone was calling out one man''s name in unison. In the next memory, he saw a spirit burning in flames. This was Romulus''s first emperor. He had created the glorious empire. Worshipped as a god, the hero rose from the holy flames. Looking up into the sky, he shed scarlet tears. At the end of the hallucinations, Ye Qingxuan saw a large door open. Beyond the door was the familiar palace. However, a sad middle-aged man walked into Hades'' Door through the palace, walking into the darkness. The man wore a sacred robe but he did not care for it at all. The robe was ragged and nothing like its original appearance. The ring of entwined rings told Ye Qingxuan who he was. The King of Yellow! He was the King of Yellow! He walked through Hades'' Door and into the darkness that Ye Qingxuan could not see. There, someone lit a torch, illuminating three figures. "Let us begin." And the hallucination ended. Ye Qingxuan''s body shook. He escaped from the space of consciousness but he had no time to think closely. Activating the Governor, he wielded electric light and used all his power to shoot up into the sky. As if he was launched by a catapult, he pounced toward the falling saint''s body. What was most important right now? Of course, it was fighting for the loot! This horrible battle had lasted for so long. Now, it was finally time for the victors to divide up the goods. Countless figures amongst the musicians flew up instantly. Sam was the closest and had an advantage. He grabbed at the saint''s skeleton but the Hellhound under him reacted speedily. It opened its mouth and pushed in. The unfair thing was that it had three heads. One head went for the saint, another gnashed at Sam, and the last one turned one-hundred-eighty degrees and blew a gale of wind at the other guys who were coming. Because of the agreement they had signed, they could not hurt each other. Therefore, no one used techniques that could kill anyone. However, anyone who was a step late would go home empty-handed! A large majority of them were still letting out relieved sighs and had not yet processed everything when more dark shadows leapt from the crowd. They had clearly held back during the earlier battle. Now, they burst forward with incredible speed. Seeming to have prepared for a long time, they were instantly before the saint''s body. Then Sam turned around. Behind him, the saint''s shadow let out a desolate song. A mass of air actually solidified, wrapping around the figures like amber. Flames erupted in Sam''s hand and he pushed it onto the Hellhound''s head. Pop! The head was forced back. A large crack appeared on the skull but healed in the next moment. Wounds that did not injure the core were nothing to the Hellhound. The man and hound wrestled in mid-air. Swelling aether scattered; icy winds and fiery rain appeared one after another. Sam gripped the saint''s shoulder tightly but the Hellhound bit the corpse''s waist. As they tried forcing the other to let go, the musician who had summoned the Hole of Destruction appeared behind the saint like a hallucination. He grabbed at the back. Tapping with his fingers, his rings lit up again. The shadow of a woman with hair made of snakes rose behind him and gazed at the others. Sam''s expression changed. Letting go, he twisted in the air, dodging the incredibly strong fossilization ray. One of the Hellhound''s heads turned into rock instantly. This guy was clearly well-prepared. Grabbing the saint''s body, he turned to leave. However, something mysterious appeared before him and slammed down on his head before he even had time to smirk. He blacked out and dropped to the ground with a thud. Ye Qingxuan emerged out of thin air. He shook his cane, turning it into an extremely thick instrument string that curled toward the saint''s body. "Let go!" someone huffed coldly. A mass of steel plates came whistling. Burning light appeared behind him and the quagmire underfoot bubbled. An unbelievably big snake head poked out, snapping its mouth at Ye Qingxuan. In the air, Ye Qingxuan''s scalp went numb. He had nowhere to hide in the air. Everyone was restricting themselves and he would not die from all of these powerful direct hits, but he would definitely have to go to the intensive care unit. Here was the problem: There was one cake and one knife. How could five little kids split it? Most musicians would think that they would just have to kill the other kids. However, if he could not kill the other kids but still wanted the cake for himself, there was only one solution 352 Skull of Truth The youth''s eyes were determined. Opening his hand, he let out a beam of blazing light. The sun had descended. Without warning, countless mirrors refracted the light, practically turning into the sun and blinding everyone. Amidst the pained cries, Ye Qingxuan hurled a mass of metallic wind and thundering rain toward the saint''s body. There was an blast. The saint''s body exploded into dozens of pieces! Good friends had to learn how to share! Countless people cried out in shock and anger. Chaos ensued. However, people still rushed against the blinding light to snatch up the broken pieces. Sam was first. He descended with flames and reached into the mass of light, grabbing with two hands. Various pieces fell into his pocketthe left arm, a rib, and the heart! The three-headed hound burst into action. All three mouths opened. Taking a deep breath, they swallowed all the shards of the scepter and escaped quickly because all the other musicians had swarmed over. Broken pieces flew in the air. With a rumble of thunder, a musician with dreadlocks broke through the air with shocking speed. He left behind white air waves in his path. The guards on his hands and feet were bright red from the friction. Everything blocking him were upended. Pushing against the dazzling light, he grabbed two things before he was swallowed by a thunderstorm. When he rolled out, he was charred black and no longer able to compete. A giant hand appeared from a crack. It grabbed the saint''s right leg before disappearing. Baro''s flying Sycle flew across sneakily and bit a crystal that had fallen from the saint''s chest. It quickly disappeared, hiding its achievement. A handful of groups acted at once, dividing up the saint''s right leg. With an angry roar, a three-meter tall black giant ripped open his clothes and jumped from the crowd. He kicked a competitor aside and snatched half of the left hand. After a few jumps, he was out of the crowd. His body shrunk and his manmade muscles scattered in the wind. Miller walked out, cheekily putting his loot away and taking out a transparent test tube. The liquid inside the tube was clearly not something good. He shook it before the musicians who had crowded around him with evil intentions. He acted as if he was going to break the tube. The others froze in place, features twisting. All the musicians fell into chaos during the messy battle. One musician had lost his temper and plunged his dagger through another''s back. That competitor collapsed and he froze in place as well. Metallic light spewed from his throat, wrapping around, and his head fell to the ground. Violators would die. The majority pined after the saint''s spine. As a few musicians dueled, the spine was lifted by an air current. It flew in an arc overhead and landed outside the crowd. It landed perfectly into someone''s hand ss if it was a coincidence. "I''m so lucky." Colt seemed to have planned to stand there. Faced with everyone''s shocked eyes, he sighed softly and collected the vertebrae without any effort. He subtly stole a glance at the white-haired youth on the other side of the crowd. Ye Qingxuan remained in his spot, watching as everyone fought over the precious saint''s body. He smiled and put his hands behind his back as if he was not interested at all. There was a circular bulge in his bag though. The cover showed a strand of burnt hair. The saint''s most valuable body partthe Skull of Truthhad entered his bag without anyone realizing. Every part of a saint''s body had different uses according to the saint''s territory and scepter when he was still alive. For example, some saints'' rings could provide the ability to breathe and live underwater. The hearts of others could be implanted into another musician''s body, allowing him to be practically immortal. However, the similarity of all saints was their skulls. Carved with their symphony of predestination and all their spirit, these skulls were known as the Skull of Truth. It could only be used once but if the schools were compatible, the musician could borrow the saint''s remaining power and receive a mysterious experience. Lifting the fog of reality, the musician could see the true appearance of the aether sea. After this experience, he would receive a large majority of the saint''s previous enlightenments, allowing him to take a giant step forward in music theory and knowledge. In Ye Qingxuan''s opinion, special alchemy equipment and supernatural abilities were incomparable to the development of one''s own abilities. If he could use this opportunity well, he might be able to answer the Seven Questions for Musicians and reach the Resonance level. Seeing how Ye Qingxuan had taken his treasure so easily, Colt did not blow his cover. Instead, he just said, "You didn''t even have to let out your hidden ability. Seems like you''re more powerful than I thought." Ye Qingxuan just smiled meaningfully. "Try a few more times. There''s always hope." Hope my ass! I don''t have any hidden abilities, alright? It''ll be funny if you can force it out of me! You want a hidden ability? Here, I have a whistle that the weird grandmaster gave me. You want it? Take it! he thought. During the intense fight, everyone took turns pulling tricks and finally, they finished cutting up the saint''s body. Sam called Baro over, giving his loot to him and said something to Ye Qingxuan. After Ye Qingxuan nodded, his eyes rolled and he passed out. Beside him, Miller had already prepared various medicines and music scores. He put all of them on Sam for emergency treatment. Seventy percent of his body had been severely burnt, and he had extreme blood and energy loss There was a cost to being the incarnate of a spirit. Sam had only entered the Resonance level recently. He was still too unfamiliar with Distortion level strength. The stronger the power, the more difficult it was to control. The scarier the music score, the worse the consequences of losing control. One incorrect music score could cause a catastrophe. Baro summoned a bear to take Sam away. An invisible Sycle guarded them. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked, "What now?" Ye Qingxuan looked back at Hades'' Door. It had cracked open. "Now we''ll see what''s behind it" Colt, Torre, and Ye Qingxuan, who had walked over casually, stood before Hades'' Door. They stared at each other but no one took a step forward. One saint''s body was already hard enough to deal with. What if they walked in and six saints climbed out of their coffins?! It was not that probable, but what if? Colt smiled at Ye Qingxuan and broke the silence. "You first?" According to the rules, Ye Qingxuan should go first and pick what he wanted. However, he was the one who set the rule so he did not have to follow it. Thinking a bit, he looked at Torre. "You first?" Torre smiled. He carried his unconscious brother without any intentions of moving. Instead, he looked to Colt. "You go." They had gone in a circle but Colt was not surprised. He had expected this. He was the most observant of the three and would definitely know if there was danger behind the door. The other two were unable to rule out the possibility of something hiding there. Colt only had to pretend a little for them to scare themselves. Hearing their words, Colt smiled. Seizing the chance, he walked toward the door. His frail figure disappeared in the darkness. There were no more sounds. All was silent. Technically, Colt should give them a sign no matter what he found. It was inevitable for them to think the worst after such a long stretch of silence. Just as Ye Qingxuan and Colt stared at each other awkwardly, there was an angry roar. It was Colt. It was like a wild roar after losing all sanity, filled with unrestrainable shock and hysteria. Ye Qingxuan and Torre froze before sprinting into the darkness. They quickly saw Colt. He was rooted in the darkness, his eyes dark and furious. Veins bulged on the hand that gripped his wooden staff. This was the first time Ye Qingxuan saw him lose control. He could not even control his aether waves anymore. If this was a black zone, he would have imploded from the backlash of the music theory. Furrowing his brows, Ye Qingxuan looked around. He froze as well. Torre looked in silence; only his expression changed. After a long while, he sighed. "I''ve used up all my ideas," he said before turning to leave. In the darkness, Ye Qingxuan focused on everything the Eye of Silence would sense. After a while, he took a torch from his pocket and raised it up. Under the illumination, Ye Qingxuan scanned every inch of the dark hall. The walls were covered in paintings of heaven. The colors had faded after the thousands of years and had become speckled. The angel''s faces were unclear. When they looked down at the newcomers, their gazes were blurry and muddled, as if they were looking here from long, long ago. Eleven statues stood in the hall among countless dust and cobwebs. These eleven Romulusian gods had stood here for thousands of years and had become damaged beyond repair. This place was like an abandoned temple. It had been years since anyone had come to worship. There was an altar under the various statues but the sacred fire had long been extinguished. All that remained was white ash. The fire watcher''s chair beside it had rusted and one could vaguely see the image of the saint sitting there. There was nothing else here. There was none of the noble graves that they had expected, nor any challenges. There were not even any spiders. There was only an empty temple. It was terrifyingly still. There were no paths either. This was the end of the underground palace. "So what''s this?" Ye Qingxuan gaped at the giant broken statue before him. After a long while, he threw down his torch and glanced at Colt. "Did you discover any secret paths or hidden rooms or any other traces?" Colt turned around. There was mockery in his dark eyes. "Would I be like this if I did?" Who knows? A tricky b*tch like you can do anything Ye Qingxuan thought. Of course, he could not say that out loud. Otherwise, Colt would have flipped out. But despite the fact Ye Qingxuan could still crack jokes, he was disappointed as well. The Eye of Silence did not detect any hidden rooms or secret paths. There were no double layers either and there was nothing behind the paintings. Ye Qingxuan cut some pieces down, only to find yellow dirt. There were no messages in the paintings. The ground was smooth and had been cut from stone, just like the statues. He reached for the broken ''probe'' he had found in the palace. Poking the ground, he discovered that there were hundreds of meters of dense stone underneath. There was no empty space at all. That meant there truly was nothing hidden here. That posed another question Ye Qingxuan sank into deep thought. Where did the King of Yellow go? 353 Barrier of Knowledge Five days. There were no traces or progress in five whole days. The frustrated musicians had flipped through the entire palace, pushing aside and smashing the statues and looking through all the coffins but they found nothing. They did not find the King of Yellow, but they did find a dozen yellow cloths wrapped around corpses. It was enough for everyone to use for blankets at night. Some musicians were still investigating closely but many impatient ones had gone home already. Others had just started fighting the palace, practically beating each other''s brains out. However, there was no progress. The King of Yellow was still missing. His disappearance was strange and unnatural, dumbfounding everyone. As the days passed, autumn was coming to an end and winter was coming. With the wind, Auschwitz''s temperature dropped lower and lower. Many people changed into their winter clothes. In the sky, gray clouds clumped together, brewing with a blizzard. It was rare to see sunlight. Under this suffocating atmosphere, many had either lost the motivation to continue searching or felt anxious to do something big. Ever since Colt returned from the underground palace, he locked himself in the church''s library. He rarely came out and his teammates gradually stopped contacting him. In the library, the bedraggled Colt sat amongst scattered books. He read book after book of records in silence, trying to find some clues. However, it was to no avail. After he flipped through the excavation records for the fifth time without any results, he closed the book expressionlessly. The book turned to dust under the angry aether waves and fell from his hands. The white dust fell into the scattered records on the ground. "Those Romulusians" Coldness flashed past his narrowed eyes. "They must''ve hidden something important!" It was a pity the Sacred City forbade musicians to do anything to the Romulusians. Otherwise, Colt definitely would not have wasted all this time. As he pondered in silence, his expression changed. He tried to think of a way to make the Romulusians talk. Unfortunately, Caligula was a trickster who did not care about anything. He took drugs and drank every day. It was clear he was the worst off mentally of these refugees. If Colt did something wrong, he could ruin it all. If there was a commotion, the School of Rock might get ordered directly by the Sacred City to modify itself and pay for it. The current pope was not merciful. His tactics were comparable to the fifth pope who had resealed the Dragon of Armageddon. He was never lax with those who went against the Sacred City''s orders. The ring on his finger suddenly flashed while he was deep in thought. His eyes brightened. Pulling out a pitcher of water, he poured it out seemingly carelessly. However, the water never reached the ground. It turned into a thin water mirror in the air under the gently flowing melody. This was just a medium. It was actually a projection from a scepter in the aether world. The ''Torchlight'' that shrouded the School of Rock thousands of miles away now projected into his mirror. It also established the connection between him and miles away. A blurry figure soon appeared in the water mirror. He said, "Mr. Colt, there is news about what you wish to investigate." In the North, above Asgard''s frozen earth, the School of Rock was perched at the peak of a cluster of mountains. It rose out of stone that contained a rich iron mine. It was the highest point on Earth and was the closest to the stars. There contained the world''s oldest School of Revelations and the source of all "Starry Eye musicians"the "Secret Keepers." Colt''s teacher, Heisenberg, was one of those grandmasters. For millenniums, the Secret Keepers received signs of the future from deep within the stars. They also listened to the voice of the earth. Under the guidance of the few generations of grandmasters, there were people all over the world to provide information to the Secret Keepers. They continuously provided secrets and messages, pushing the School of Secret Keepers closer and closer to the legendary point of ''all-knowing.'' As Heisenberg''s student and the future inheritor, Colt naturally had the right to use this vast information web to his advantage. Now, days of silence later, he finally received feedback from the informants. Colt only nodded. "Speak. "Ye Qingxuan is a member of the music history department of the Anglo Royal Academy of Music," the man in the mirror said. "This music academy is particular about heritage and knowledge. However, he was able to enter the academy with unprecedented full marks on the written exam. "Because of his qualifications, he was seen as the disgrace of the academy, but those who mocked him all disappeared within the academy. During this year''s school trials, he went against the entire academy by himself and won first place. At the same time, he helped an infamous failure of a senior graduate with the highest score "Within half a year, he went from a student with nothing to an official musician. He may even break into the Resonance level within a short period of time. His teacher is Abraham, who made the biggest ancient academia discovery within decades due to his interpretation of the Voynich Manuscript. "I''m sure you''ve heard about the plagiarism scandal. According to investigation, Ye Qingxuan played a major role in this. To take revenge for the plagiarism, he singlehandedly forced Ingmar, professor of the School of Revelations, to insanity. Ingmar died in the asylum two months later, mysteriously just like everyone else who had wronged him before. "This includes Gavin''s brother Banner. Gavin had become enemies with Ye Qingxuan due to this and was affected. The entire Adrian family had fallen during Anglo''s political cleansing last year "According to our investigations, the second princess had seen him off when he embarked on the journey here. She is the heir to the crown. His relationship with Anglo''s royal family is not average. "According to informants, there are rumors that his recommendation letter when he entered the Royal Academy of Music was written by the currentKing of Black?" When he finished reading, the man in the mirror laughed, thinking the last sentence too incredulous. However, Colt did not laugh. After a long silence, his face darkened. "I see." Colt raised his eyes and asked, "What does my teacher think about the King of Yellow''s traces?" The man in the mirror answered, "According to the grandmaster''s speculations, the Sacred City already knows where the King of Yellow went but isn''t willing to publicize it. He doesn''t understand why the Sacred City organized this trial. However, the end result will be to use your hands to tell the world where the King went or completely bury this matter." After pondering, Colt nodded. "I understand." He raised his hand to end the water mirror but the man spoke. "The grandmaster has another word for you. He hopes you can listen carefully." Confused, Colt looked up. The man in the mirror looked at him and said coldly, "The grandmaster said that, if you wish to accomplish something during this trial, then Ye Qingxuan is your enemy. If you really can''t win against him, don''t even think about inheriting the mantle. I would rather end this school in my hands than have it ruined by incapable musicians." Colt nodded after another stretch of silence. "I understand," he said. "Please tell him that I understand." The water mirror dissipated. In the silence, Colt looked down, staring at the yellowing scrolls. He hid his gaze in the darkness. - At noon, a merchant caravan unwillingly stepped onto the barren earth and traveled dozens of kilometers to Auschwitz. The market near the gate that had been deserted for a while was finally filled with the sounds of hawking merchants. Most caravans were unwilling to come here because there were not many people and they did not have much money. The merchants just sold some grains, meat, salt, and other unprofitable goods. The money they could make after all that effort was probably not even as much as the profit of a batch of silk. If the Sacred City did not give merchants tax redemption for going to Auschwitz, no one would come. Amongst the hustle and bustle, a white-haired youth lay in the best spot and slept. Bathing in the sun, he slept so well it was shocking. Someone in the passing carriages was confused. He raised a and to lift the curtain of his carriage. He stopped when he saw the young man. His eyes were meaningful. "What''s wrong?" his companion asked. The man looked away and let down the curtain. In the dimness of the carriage, the man with a hood stated, "For some reason, I really want to kill him" - For some reason, his train of thought was interrupted. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and sighed dejectedly. When he looked at the passing carriages, he yawned and flipped over to continue sleeping. With his eyes closed, he could practically see the dazzling symphony of predestination. Other than the dead saint, he was probably the clearest about this symphony. He transformed into moonlight and entered it, experiencing every change in the majestic music score. Countless music notes formed intervals; the intervals worked with each other to form the music theory, expressing incredible miracles. It was vast yet detailed, fine yet majestic He was in awe whenever he thought about it. Ye Qingxuan knew without a doubt that his Moonlight could be developed to this extent if he had the ability. After merging into this symphony of predestination, his knowledge of music theory had improved a lot. Symphonies of predestination were the crystallization of a musician''s soul. It contained his life, experiences, personality, and everything else. Entering it was the same as that saint giving him everything to learn. If not for the Barrier of Knowledge, Ye Qingxuan would probably have risen to Resonance on the spot. Ye Qingxuan still did not abandon his path, step around the Barrier of Knowledge, and use the symphony of predestination to break into Resonance. If Lola found out about that, he would probably get hung on Traitor''s Gate for being a disappointment. But what should he do now? At a loss, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and stared blankly at the sun. After a long period of accumulation, he finally ran into the enemy of all musicians, the eternal shadow, the impassible wallthe Barrier of Knowledge! 354 Existence of Knowledge For the first time, Ye Qingxuan experienced the depression that came with not being able to make any progress no matter how hard he worked. It was not serious enough to be traumatizing, but he could imagine how crazy he would feel if he were stuck here for three or four years. So many musicians were willing to turn to the dark side just to obliterate this obstacle. One must make sacrifices and be determined to abandon everything. Otherwise, they had to be prepared to never take another step forward. Ye Qingxuan sighed and closed his eyes. Reaching out, gentle music notes sounded as his fingertips pressed down. The fog dissipated. The formless aether sea gradually showed its vast appearance, filling the sky and earth. Compared to it, he was even smaller than dust. However, in this speck of dust, his perception extended boundlessly and delved deep into the aether sea. Ye Qingxuan could feel four paths slowly unfurling before him. They varied in length and led in four different directions. They represented the four schools that he had knowledge in. One of them seemed to be made from countless stars. The stars rotated, illuminating the fog for him. They faintly pointed out the direction of the end. This was the music theory path for the School of Revelations. One path was fleeting like a hallucination, fading in and out of existence. This was the School of Illusions. One path extended from under his feet and spiraled upward. Countless unclear faces appeared, stared at him. They were filled with incessant temptation, luring him to come forward and walk to the end. This was the School of Mind. The last path was the longest and the firmest. It extended from his body into the sky, extending steadily inch by inch to the core of all. This was the School of Abstinence, which was the school Ye Qingxuan grasped the most of. He could feel that he was only a tiny bit away for his consciousness to go through the musician path and enter the heart of the aether sea. Then, he could project into the aether world, nail himself into a spot, and resonate with the world to enter the Resonance level. He only needed a bit more. However, this little bit was as vast as an abyss. Ye Qingxuan knew he could not cross the abyss until he broke through the Barrier of Knowledge. This was why he was frustrated. The Barrier of Knowledge would not be known as the cliff of despair if it were easy to cross, would it? Only the cream of the crop could use their ability to cross the Barrier of Knowledge. The cost of using a spirit or demon was too small, so small people easily lost sanity due to this difficulty. Ye Qingxuan retracted his senses and opened his eyes again. "Is it time to eat?" he muttered to himself. He touched his stomach and it grumbled. He was once again whiling his days away. During the day, he would go to Caligula''s house if he was bored. They would talk about classics and history and other small talk. He had learned a lot about Romulusian history and the elder had given him some drugs to get a high as well. Ye Qingxuan memorized the former and tossed the latter into the trash. Other than that, he had no accomplishments. Occasionally, he would go to the Church to see if the priest made any progress in the virus research. As for the King of Yellow? Ye Qingxuan had forgotten all about him. After all, he did not come here for the Pope''s reward. Just as he was tossing on the chaise and wondering if he should eat some fried pancakes or dried grains, a shadow fell across his face. "Hey, sunbathing?" The white-haired senior from the East bent down and smiled at him. "Mr. Hu, you''re taking a walk again?" Ye Qingxuan rose and invited him in. He poured a cup of coffee from the stove for the man. "I''m taking a stroll," Mr. Hu said, kicking at the covers. "I used to really like walking. When I was still a student, my teacher would tell me to take a walk whenever I am feeling down or feeling indecisive about something." "Does it work?" "I guess?" Mr. Hu scratched his head. "Once, my teacher met with the emperor. He was troubled when he returned so he took me out on a walk. We left from the capital and walked west for ten years before coming back slowly. In the end, my teacher thought it through." Ye Qingxuan was curious as to what question had taken Mr. Hu''s teacher more than ten years to think through. "Then what?" "Then?" Mr. Hu shrugged. "Then he died and I took his ashes back to the capital. He was enshrined in the Lingyan Pavilion. It''s been many years." Ye Qingxuan did not know what to say. He cleared his throat for a while and sighed, "The East is a strange place." "Yeah, it''s a nice place." Mr. Hu pulled out a thin pipe and stuffed it with tobacco. Lighting it, he sucked in two breaths and let out a plume of smoke. He smoked while squatting on the ground like a farmer taking a break rather than a scholar with students. He smoked happily and lazily. "Hey, kid," he suddenly said. "Have you thought about visiting the East?" Caught by surprise, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "You should go." Mr. Hu glanced at his white hair and said, "Otherwise, you''ll regret it." After a moment of silence, the youth could not help but scratch his head. "Sir, there''s nothing regretful. There''s only a few things people like me can do. Everything will be good if I can do it right. If not, nothing will happen. But right now, I can''t even handle the things that I need to do. I don''t have the effort to think about the East." "But have you ever thought that there''s something waiting for you there?" After thinking a bit, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Never." Mr. Hu nodded. He suddenly chuckled. "Then that''s that." He let out a breath and rose as if he was relieved. "It''s good this way." He nodded in farewell but Ye Qingxuan called out to him just as he turned to leave. "Mr. Hu, you''re an important figure in the Imperial College. You must have your view on music theory, right?" Looking at him in confusion, Mr. Hu nodded. Thus, the youth smiled happily and moved closer to him, rubbing his palms in anticipation. "Can you help me with a question?" Half an hour later, they were in a quiet corner of the inn''s hall. "I see." Mr. Hu nodded after listening to Ye Qingxuan''s current troubles. He had some ideas. Soon, he asked, "Ye Qingxuan, have you ever thought about what the source of the world is? How does life produced and evolved?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "The nature of time and space, the laws of the natural world, the existence of souls?" "I don''t know." "The relationship between humanity and the world?" "Never thought about it." Ye Qingxuan nodded crisply, but Mr. Hu looked at him with sharp eyes as if trying to see through his disguise. "You''ve never thought about it or you''re not willing to think about it?" Ye Qingxuan froze, his expression stiffening. After a long while, he scratched his head awkwardly. "Sir, what do you mean?" "The upper path of mind and thoughts is intangible, the lower path is tangible. This is the explanation of the musician paths by the ancient East. There is a separation between inside and outside. The seven schools can also be categorized as such. If I''m not wrong" He reached out and grasped Ye Qingxuan''s wrist. His three fingers fell lightly onto the youth''s pulse. Sensing his sound of heart, understanding filled Mr. Hu. "Revelations, Mind, Illusion, and Abstinence? I see Ye Qingxuan, how long has it been since you''ve dreamed?" "Dreamed?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "I dream every d-" He stopped. He just realized that it had been a long time since he had dreamed. At some point, he had stopped dreaming and he no longer remembered any dreamscapes. Thinking back, he could only remember that person in the dream telling him to go to the end of the dream "This is where your problem is." Mr. Hu toyed the thin pipe in his hands and asked lightly, "Ye Qingxuan, other than the way of abstinence that focuses on aether, you''ve learned practically all the ''paths of self.'' However, there''s disparity between your sense of self and reality. You''ve felt this before, correct?" Ye Qingxuan stayed silent because Mr. Hu was correct. He had long realized that there was something wrong with him but he could not pinpoint what it was. "That''s why you feel you don''t fit with many musicians. You never saw yourself as part of the same world as them, and you lack the real sense of being a musician. So many people swarm by and you''re caught in the middle as a bystander, unable to integrate into them. It''s just like how a zebra can''t find their place between black horses and white horses." Mr. Hu studied him with pity and sympathy. "Ye Qingxuan, what would you do if you realized the world is completely different from what you thought?" Ye Qingxuan hung his head. He could not reply. Mr. Hu rose to bid farewell. He patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder, saying, "This is your Barrier of Knowledge." - In his room late at night, Ye Qingxuan finally snapped out of his deep thoughts. To be honest, he really had no other solutions. If this problem was his Barrier of Knowledge, then he truly had no idea how to solve it. "So I have to rely on you?" He looked up at the weathered skull on his desk. The eye sockets were pure black as if it contained all the darkness in the universe with unknowable secrets. It was the Skull of Truth. 355 Jiu Xiao Huan Pei Ye Qingxuan lifted the skull and stared at the eye sockets. The skull was cold as tone and seemed to be made of metal. Its mouth was filled with solid gold, making it look like a menacing piece of art. However, waves rippled through constantly, resonating with the aether world in death. This was the source that the saint left behinda connecting point between the aether and material world. Through this point, Ye Qingxuan could experience the saint''s lifetime accumulation and absorb understanding of music theory. This way, he could see the truth through the fog. After he broke through the Barrier of Knowledge, he could enter the aether world, anchor his own point, and enter the Resonance level. He did not need to sign with a spirit or demon so he did not need to be restricted or affected by the contract. This was the more stable solution but it was not entirely harmless. After all, the aether world was not a paradise. It was an illusory realm enveloped by the Originator. Unknown dangers were hidden in the shadows there. To them, rashly entering musicians were the best feast. If he entered without enough accumulation and was not protected by a saint or natural catastrophe, he could attract the attention of something scary without realizing. Plus, Ye Qingxuan already had Hyakume''s eyes on him! That natural catastrophe had established a bottomless abyss in the aether world and was not some nice guy. The aether world was his territory! If he was not gravely injured as expected or had recovered a bit, he would definitely ''welcome'' Ye Qingxuan to visit and perform a bunch of ''tricks'' for him "So should I gamble it?" Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself as he gripped his chin. He laughed involuntarily. Should he keep dragging it on until Hyakume recovered? It was just a matter of time. After all, the aether world was huge. He would not be so unlucky that he would fall into Hyakume''s territory, right? As the saying went, you only live once. He would be like any other loser if he had such a good opportunity before him and he did not try. Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The strings on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei quickly extended and crisscrossed through his room. They vibrated and established an aether blending music theory, constructing a small enchantment. Moonlight creeped on the instrument strings and connected above the sub-originator. The sub-originator''s music theory came from Avalon''s enchantment and brought together the wisdom of several generations of musicians. It was overqualified to be used here, but it was better safe than sorry in this situation. Ye Qingxuan did not want to get stabbed in the back while his consciousness was extending into the aether sea through the musician path. When everything was ready, he cut open his finger. A strand of silvery moonlight blood dripped from his finger. It fell onto the skull and disappeared. The skull absorbed his blood like a bottomless and insatiable hole. Ye Qingxuan''s expression quickly changed. His blood was flowing faster and faster as if it was being sucked by an invisible vortex. A bout of dizziness besieged him. In his daze, he saw that flesh was growing on the skull. The withered face grew plumper and a pair of eyes slowly opened in the empty sockets. It looked at him and sighed, singing a hoarse song. Ye Qingxuan was swallowed by the song. He sank into a daze and could not move. The fog that constantly shrouded the world before him suddenly disappeared. Once again, he could observe the omnipresent aether sea. The sea was boundless. Waves surged to the rhythm of the world''s breathing. Light flowed from another world in the depths of the sea. The four musician paths appeared before him again. Mind, Illusion, Revelations, and Abstinence. They were waiting for Ye Qingxuan''s choice. However, before Ye Qingxuan could think, the moonlight inside him started burning. The sub-originator rose up and a gentle melody spread out. The sleeping Deva''s blood woke again under the melody. It radiated inside him. It felt as if his head split apart under the illumination of the moonlight. Sealed memories boiled in his mind, emerging one after another. They dragged him in, going deeper and deeper inside, deeper Finally, amidst the immense pain, he saw the seal made of moonlight inside his mind. Influenced by the Skull of Truth, some kind of power was awakening behind the seal. It was the power hidden in his blood, a melody that had accompanied his life since his birth. It was the talent within his Deva''s blood! Ye Qingxuan could only feel that his blood had turned into some sort of medium. Countless complex sleeping music theories emerged in his blood. They connected with each other, transforming into a detailed but vast structure. Finally, it turned into a complicated music score. That was the nature of the Dragon bloodline, the source of the white-haired Deva''s strength! The music score''s power continuously charged against the seal that Ye Lanzhou had set. The music notes inside the seal shook, pounding against Ye Qingxuan''s head, engulfing him in debilitating pain. However, the seal was undamaged. Influenced by the music score, the Skull of Truth''s guidance suddenly changed. The talent within the Deva''s blood had chosen for Ye Qingxuan. Its power entered the Skull of Truth. It burned with the saint''s enlightenment and knowledge, quickly enacting one of Ye Qingxuan''s propositions. Flames lit up inside the dark eye sockets of the skull. The inheritance was starting! Countless music theories started emerging from the Skull of Truth. They wove with each other until the thousands of strands connected with the four paths made of music theory. Like tendrils and ivy, they grew quickly. They formed a complete entity where Ye Qingxuan had never thought of before and seeped into the four paths. They combined with the four entirely different music theories, starting an unexpected chain reaction. The first to collapse was Revelations. Of the four, Ye Qingxuan''s study of Revelations was the shallowest. Therefore, the music theory in that path was the easiest to change. In his mind, the School of Revelations quickly evolved until it became a beam of light that flowed into the path of Abstinence. There was a rumble. Countless music notes flowed on the path of Abstinence. They rose like flames and changed on the spiraling path. It wrapped around the Revelations music theory in an unimaginable way and became more solid. A dazzling star rose slowly at the end of the rode, illuminating the future path. Next was Illusion. It evaporated and seeped into Abstinence. Countless music notes emerged and fused. The Abstinence path became both real and illusory as if it was between the real and nonexistent realms. Finally, the path of Mind merged completely with Abstinence. Rays of light and shadows instantly appeared on either side of the path. They seemed to pass through hell and heaven, going to an unknown destination. After the three changes, the path of Abstinence was nothing like before. It seemed to have turned from a bungalow to a tower that reached to the sky. Countless music theories were combined by the saint''s enlightenment, enveloping Ye Qingxuan''s music theory within. This path transformed with the entirely new state, transforming into a structure that Ye Qingxuan could not understand. It was majestic and solemn. More moonlight spirit was merged into it. It had some signs of a symphony of predestination but was hard to grasp. Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded before this tower. He had no clue what was happening. The seven schools were different but it was possible to merge. However, one needed to be at least the Distortion level to merge to this extent. Before writing the symphony of predestination and entering the Scepter level, musicians must go through the ''completion stage.'' They must merge his specialized path with the other six schools and complete the evolution. Only a complete and stable system could support the vast symphony of predestination. Ye Qingxuan never expected that the Skull of Truth could cross all that at once and help him merge four paths before he even entered Resonance. This change had solved one of Ye Qingxuan''s hardest problems though. All four paths were long and hard to choose but now they had become just one path. The downside wasthe enlightenment within the Skull of Truth that could help him break through the Barrier of Knowledge had thinned. If it was a blazing fire before, now it was only a weak flame. All that power had been used up by the Deva''s blood! Ye Qingxuan wanted to cry. What kind of musician was he now? Now, the sub-originator was the core within his body. His blood formed a system that merged four schools together It looked like he had formed a special school but there was no sign of Ye Qingxuan''s Dreamweaver! It seemed that the world hated him. However, he had no time to waste. His perception climbed the tower of music theory and charged into the depths of the aether sea. It felt like he was flying in the air. Breaking through layers of fog, he soared like an eagle. Riding the waves of aether, he flew higher, higher, and higher until he reached the end of the sky. The scenery around him was bizarre. Figures appeared in the countless rays of light. Those were the silhouettes of musicians that had left in the aether sea when they entered Resonance. They spanned throughout history and were of all ages. Some wore noble clothing while others were in rags. Some may have died but their consciousness was carved within the aether and shone like stars. The higher he went, the closer he was to the depth of the aether sea. He could sense more and more vast realms operating within the distant world. He ''stepped'' on the tower with stars of music theory guiding him overhead. Rather than being distracted by the absurd scenery, he walked steadily along the star''s guidance. Passing countless paths, he walked in his own direction and entered deep inside the aether sea. As he walked, the figures around him lessened. The remaining aether waves were stronger. Finally, the figures turned into Eastern musicians in elegant robes. They were of different ages and genders but their marks in the aether sea rippled with familiar waves. The same family emblem was on their long robes. The sameJiu Xiao Huan Pei! 356 The Shadow of the Aether World For thousands of years, the Eastern Deva''s blood, the Ye family of the nine dragon bloodlines, and all musicians who had reached the Resonance level had left their mark here. Whether near or far, they guided the road for Ye Qingxuan. However, there were very few people up ahead. Ye Qingxuan began to feel weary and exhausted but the flames of the Skull of Truth still provided him with the power to fly to the depths of the sea. Finally, he saw the familiar figure. The ethereal figure stood alone at the highest point, hanging high like the moon as if waiting for the successor with a smile. "Father?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He had been walking down the musician path into the depths of the aether sea. His sense of the aether world also reached an unprecedented clarity. As if standing at the peak of the land, he gazed at the stars and saw countless sweeping nebulae in the starry sky. It was either the territory and lair of natural catastrophes or the scepters and temples of first generation kings and saints. The most striking of all was the Sacred Temple, which was shrouded in divine light. Countless magnificent songs played in the temple. Saints stood like star, illuminating layers of darkness like the sun. It was the Sacred City founded by the first three kings, around which countless saints and the scepters of the holy spirits revolved like satellites. Together, they created a galaxy. In another distant place, Ye Qingxuan sensed a huge abyss, full of darkness. Endless cries emerged from it. There seemed to be countless huge figures hidden in the dark. Those shadows loomed in the dark with terrifying outlines. As he gazed at the abyss, the abyss seemed to be watching him too. The horror emblem of the Eyes Within the Eye emerged from it. It was the territory of Hyakume, the original darkness of the world where all the evils gathered. Ye Qingxuan felt distraught with a mere glance, growing breathless. He dared not to look again. Somewhere else, there were countless scepter territories operating. One of the scepter fields was like a huge scorching sun, overbearing but lacking agility as if it was sleeping. It was the throne of the Burgundy Kingdomthe evidence of the Sun King. However, the position of the Sun King had been vacant for hundreds of years. No one had risen to it yet. In the east, Ye Qingxuan could feel a huge wall extending tens of millions of miles. On that high barrier, countless beacons burned with eternal light. They were the physical incarnation of the holy spirits. The light interwove into an enchantment, resisting all the darkness and attacks, firmly shrouding the eastern land. For hundreds of years, the saints from the nine Dragon Bloodlines were not welcomed into the Sacred City after their deaths. Instead, they became a part of this horrible realm. The Eastern emperor and the nine families had spent hundreds of years creating this weapon of terror to keep natural catastrophes away from. Then, Ye Qingxuan perceived the direction of Anglo and the faintly revealed Holy Grail. This was the legendary artifactthe destructive Grail covered the country, emitting cold murderous intention, keeping people from approaching it. Deeper in the void, Ye Qingxuan sensed a broken city... It was the fallen Avalon''s Shadow! The moment he sensed it, a bell rang from the shadowy city. The resonance between the enchantment of Avalon and the sub-originator was clear and unguarded toward him. If Ye Qingxuan wanted to enter sub-originator with others'' power, he should anchor himself in Avalon''s Shadow. This way, not only could he reach the Resonance level, he could also inherit the Avalon''s Shadow in the future and leap into the Scepter level. Unfortunately, he was not planning to get involved in this rotten legacy from hundreds of years ago. In fact, he intended to keep as far away from it as possible... At the same time, he sensed another realm that seemed to have lost touch and drifted into the depths of the aether world. When he looked in puzzlement, he saw countless tombstones in that realm, desolate and old like a cemetery. He could see his own name on one of those tombstones! All the lights under the tombstones were extinguished; only a solitary lamp was lit before his tombstone. It suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan when he saw the light. That was where he had pushed open the door of musicians and made a pact with the Originator. It was also the realm that had been passed down the Ye family for the past hundreds of years. The moment he sensed it, he felt his vision spin. His induction quickly blurred. In his hand, the flame of the Skull of Truth trembled like a candle in the wind. It extinguished. It had to be now! Before Ye Qingxuan could react, he felt his perception decline rapidly and fall from the sky. As he was falling, he looked back and saw his previous direction. Light was surging on the desolate land of Romulus! Countless lights flowed under the earth like rivers and gathered in the underground palace where he vaguely saw a door. It was the door that could only be seen through the flames of the saint''s remains! A door? Late at night, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes in the darkness. In his hand, the Skull of Truth had turned to ash and dropped from the fingers. But Ye Qingxuan did not feel down. He was ecstatic! He had completed the ''completion stage'' in advance and organized his chaotic music theory system. It was worth the price. Moreover, his strength had made great progress with this experience. He believed that he could enhance his perception to find the origin in the near future, even if he could not break through the Barrier of Knowledge. Now, the most important thing was that he finally found the clue hidden in the underground palace! "Sure enough, the problem is still hidden in the temple..." Ye Qingxuan murmured to himself. He quickly packed things up and wore the Governor under his coat. Opening the window, he silently ran toward the mine under the dark night. - Upstairs, the loudly snoring Angloian grandmaster turned amongst the scattered plastic containers and dirty dishes. He stared blearily in Ye Qingxuan''s direction. "It''s so late. Why is he running around instead of sleeping?" he muttered. He snapped his fingers and continued to sleep. By his bedside, something flashed vaguely. - Ye Qingxuan sped through the silent underground palace, bypassing the musicians who stayed up late looking for clues. He did not attract anyone''s attention and walked into the temple. In the silent shrine, there was only debris all over the ground. The statues were shattered by the musicians in anger and the precious artifacts had become fragments. This was also the reason why Ye Qingxuan was unwilling to come here. As a scholar of ancient studies, it made him uncomfortable to see all this. The eleven statues had all been smashed. The walls were also pitted. They had truly dug three feet under and even the ceiling was full of holes... Ye Qingxuan sighed, slowly shaking his head. A nation''s history and past was completely destroyed. Some places had been pulverized. Nothing could fix it. Ye Qingxuan wandered in the decadent temple, staring at the eleven statues. They were proved to be the holy spirit Aeneas, the father of Thunder; Aeneas''s wife who was later worshipped as the mother of the gods; and several of their children including the God of Light, Cupid, Goddess of Hunt, Two-sided Ares, the God of Secrets, as well as the God of Wine and the God of Wealth Ye Qingxuan walked around while counting the statues again and again In the end, he was finally sure that his guess was correct. There were twelve deities in the ancient book that Caligula gave to himself but there were only eleven here! Ye Qingxuan stopped between two statues. There should be another one here. It should be Mercury, the messenger of the gods and the spirit of the traveller. In Romulus''s pantheon, Mercury''s domain was of traveling and messengers. In the ancient language of Romulus, both musicians and messengers were known as ''Dark Duke''. On the day of his introduction, Abraham once told him that musicians also served as messengers. In ancient Romulus, musicians were loyal to the temple and conveyed the will of the gods. The aether was the messenger that led those who had gone astray back to the Originator. Therefore, Mercury also served as musician! The missing deity''s archetype came from the oasis in the Desert of Thebes, the origin of mankind centuries ago. People called it Thoth, the god of wisdom. Although Mercury''s position was not very high among the gods of Romulus, he was obviously still very important. It was not possible to omit his existence in order to save space. So, this meant that his statue was ignored deliberately! In order to hide something... Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment, looking at the gap between the two statues. The longer he gazed, the more familiar it was. He had seen this somewhere. All of a sudden, something flashed through his mind. He took out a crumpled map. Comparing them, he became confident in his guess. He had seen this place amidst the graffiti he had bought from Elsa. On the back of the map, Elsa''s graffiti clearly depicted this corner of the image but the graffiti looked vague and strange so he could barely recognize it. However, the space was not empty in the graffiti. There was a door! Ye Qingxuan walked forward, touching the potholes on the wall. He could only feel the cold and solid rock. How could there be a door? There was not even an empty hole! He looked down at the back of the map to look at the scribbles. After a long while, his expression became helpless. Elsa''s drawing was too messy. She was really a ''soul painter.'' Everything was crooked and nothing could be figured out. There was something strange drawn on the door as well. Ye Qingxuan struggled at it for a long while. Suddenly, something dawned on him. He pulled out his pocket watch and compared them. He was almost shocked to death. The two squiggly lines was the double snake emblem! Did she draw it here to test his imagination? 357 Goodbye If it was not midnight, Ye Qingxuan would have definitely rushed into Caligula''s home to interrogate Elsa on how she had entered. However, Elsa only had five minutes of memory so she probably could not explain clearly, right? But why was the double snake emblem here? There was one on her wrist too... Ye Qingxuan stared at the pocket watch and thought for a long time but he still did not understand. He grew depressed. The worst thing in the world was when the door was right there but one could not find it. He sighed. Looking back at the shattered statue, he shook his head slowly. "It''s been so many years. The Romulusians have probably all forgotten about it. Otherwise, it wouldn''t be this damaged." Shaking his head, he turned to leave. But then he froze. The holy fire The holy fire! When the Romulusians left the oasis, they established seven City of Wolves and created their own empire. Many races had come from all over and assimilated into Romulus. They also brought their own gods which was why Romulus'' temple was known as the ''thousand god temple.'' However, the Romulusians maintained their worship of their most primitive ancestors. They believed that the souls of their ancestors lived inside their family flames. Thus, the family flame must always be lit. A family must worship the same flame. The connection was closer than blood relationships. The elder of a family was also the priest of the family flame. Every family had a unique prayer and ritual. When a daughter married, a musician needed to witness the marriage before the family flame in place of the ancestor''s spirit. This way, the girl could leave the family flame and enter another family''s flame. Therefore, the holy fire that represented the many gods in the temple would never be extinguished. Even in the temple, the saint''s relic acted as the fire watcher. When he resurrected, he absorbed the fire and transformed it into his own power, and the fire was no more. "ThenI''ll light it up for you again!" Ye Qingxuan returned to the altar and cleared away the ashes. He broke the rusted chair and tossed the parts in. He created a spark of fire and tossed it in as well. Fire lit up in the darkness. Ye Qingxuan took off the Eye of Silence and studied the temple. Under the weak firelight, a solemn aura appeared around the broken statues. Centuries ago, the Romulusians had come here to create a cemetery for their heroes. They also built a residence for their gods and sacrificed slaves and beasts to them. With the fire''s return, the gods seemed to have returned from darkness. Their broken faces gazed at Ye Qingxuan, the foreign worshipper. Before the weak fire, Ye Qingxuan felt his pocket watch vibrate. Taking it out, he saw the double snake emblem lit up slowly before dimming. Even the dark design disappeared. The mirror-like outer shell reflected the holy fire''s glow. There seemed to be small contours on the surface, producing rectangular shadows on the wall. The light floated on the wall as Ye Qingxuan moved his wrist. It finally moved between two statues. It looked like a door. A door Ye Qingxuan gaped at his pocket watch and then looked at the door of light and shadow. He put his watch away but the door''s contour was still there. "This is possible?" Doubtful, he walked over and pushed. The door opened. It really was possible! He stared blankly at the open door and the bright space behind it. After a long while, he stepped through. In the secret room behind the door, there was a statue holding flames. There was a line of dark gold words carved on the statue''s foundation. Made of green gold and copper, it did not rust. Under the firelight, discipline from ancient priests shone brilliantly. "Dis te minorem quod geris, imperas." Thou rulest because thou bearest. Before the words, someone had abandoned a ragged robe. It was covered in dust but Ye Qingxuan could tell immediately that it was from the King of Yellow. He had abandoned it here as if abandoning the glory and position that countless people dreamed of. Before Ye Qingxuan could take a closer look, the thing beside the robe caught his attention. He suddenly wished he had never come here. He''d rather have never discovered the secret behind the door, wishing he had never come here in the first place. It was pure regret from the bottom of his heart! He wanted to run away. Staring at the thing, it felt as if he had fallen into an icy gorge. He shook violently and practically collapsed. He had never hesitated, even as he faced the strongest enemy, the most terrifying beast, or natural catastrophes. Ye Qingxuan had once thought that there was nothing in the world that could shake him up like this. But looking at this, Ye Qingxuan felt raw fear. "What in the living f*ck is this?!" - Late at night, a heavy yet sad bell rang from the peak of the Sacred City and spread in all directions. Outside the Holy Spirit Temple, a few solemn archbishops clad in red stared at the flickering firelight within the faraway temple. They sighed under the bleak bell and lowered their eyes. The Holy Spirit Temple was the most important place of the Sacred City. It was the core and even more important than the pope''s palace. However, it was not heavily guarded. Rather than knights guarding it, there were only priests clad in gray. This temple enshrined the saints who placed their consciousness into the aether after death and transformed into holy spirits. The spirits slept inside the temple and slowed down their decay, waiting for the time they needed to step onto the battlefield. However, a man''s consciousness was so insignificant and temporary compared to the world. When the slow death finally came, the bell would ring to announce the passing of a holy spirit. This was the sixth this century. The archbishops outside the temple murmured amongst themselves. "It must extinguish in the end?" "He is a saint but it is the sixth hundred year, after all. No living thing can escape it." "But he''s different." Someone sighed then they fell silent. The one that would soon extinguish was the powerful musician who had started the age of Romulus six hundred years ago, the eternal emperor of the Romulusiansholy spirit Aeneas. Someone entered the temple. The traveler from faraway walked past the stone coffins on either side and stopped before the altar. There, the unclear face of a holy spirit looked up from the weak flame and looked at the comer. The newcomer was completely different from before. He was no longer eerily handsome, but his long hair was still as golden as before. Within a few short months, he had aged to a middle-aged man. He looked timeworn but was still fat. The double snake emblem on his cane still shone. Seeing the holy spirit in the fire, he smiled. "Hermes?" In the fire, Aeneas looked at him. His eyes filled with recognition. "Long time no see." "Yes, long time no see." Hermes sat beside the altar and rested against the pillar. He said softly, "I''m here to see you off." "Thank you." Aeneas nodded. Hermes lowered his head and pulled a pipe from his pocket. Sadly, the lighter was wet and would not ignite. After struggling for a while, he sighed helplessly and cursed. Aeneas pressed a finger onto the pipe. The weak embers lit up the tobacco. "Thanks." Opening his mouth, Hermes sucked in deeply and let out a long breath. "I sat on a carriage for days. I''m so tired." Aeneas looked at him. Hesitating, he asked quietly, "Are theyokay?" "Of course," Hermes answered. "It''s good enough to be alive nowadays, right? And anyway, it''s good enough for them to have a place to stay as a group of homeless wanderers. What about you? You stay here like it''s a prison. Want me to take you out for a walk?" "I had a dream before you came," Aeneas. "And you were here when I woke up. What a coincidence." "It''s good to dream. What did you dream? Tell me about it." "I dreamed of my family flame." He sighed. "I dreamed that I left this place and returned to the family flame, reuniting with my ancestors. But when I woke up, I felt scared. I''ve done so many things wrong. I don''t know what they will say to me." "Don''t worry. You did many things right too," Hermes said. "If there''s an afterlife, you''ll definitely be rewarded there." "Is there really an afterlife?" "No." Hermes shook his head. "You''ve lived for so long, Aeneas. Do you still not understand? Humans are just as you can seeseventy percent water, calcium in the bones, blood in the body. They breathe when they''re alive, and when they''re dead? There''s nothing anymore." Pointing at his head, he said softly, "There''s no ''soul'' here, Aeneas. I''m sorry, but there''s no afterlife." "I see." Aeneas sighed as if he had settled down. "Thank you." "No need to thank me. This was my duty. You were the first man I ever met. I have the responsibility of witnessing your death. I just didn''t think that this day would be six hundred years too late." "Soon, it''s coming soon In the blink of an eye, it''s already been six hundred years." Smiling, Aeneas closed his eyes. In the fire, the holy spirit half knelt on the altar and lowered his head to the person before him. "I once stepped onto the path of destiny as guided by a god and accomplished something great. Now, six hundred years have passed. The traces I''ve left on the earth have disappeared and I will disappear as well. You''ve witnessed all of this." Hermes lowered his eyes. "Aeneas, you''ve witnessed me as well." "For people like me, we had strength while we were alive and did some things so we were known as heroes and kings. Sadly, I have my limits. After living emptily for six hundred years, I wish I could do something for those lost folks. But sadly, I can''t do anything. Hermes, I hope you can guide them just as you guided me before." "Everything has a life, Aeneas. Fate guided you," Hermes said softly as he smoked. "I will take care of them for you. Don''t worry. There''s still an old man with a good head. They won''t live badly in the future." "That''s great." Aeneas smiled in content. His dim figure flickered in the flames and gradually dissipated, turning to ash. Amongst the ashes, the old face slowly shattered. He uttered his last farewell, "Goodbye." "Yes, goodbye." Hermes closed his eyes. The flame extinguished. The ashes scattered like birds flying in the sky. Hermes reached out. Catching some falling ash, he clenched his fist. "Goodbye." 358 The Fire Will Soon Extinguish Only the dim family flame burned in the dark room. According to legend, this flame contained the spirits of the ancestors. Now, it flickered unstably like a candle in the wind. Caligula, sleeping before the fire, opened his eyes and sighed. The dove in the cage beside him had felt the unrest and flapped its wings in fear. Caligula grasped it and slit its stomach open, taking out the thin intestines. He hummed the ancient song lightly and deciphered the obscure sign under the firelight. After a long while, he tossed it into the fire. "The fire will soon extinguish." He read the message from the heavens. Looking up, he stared in the distance blankly as if he could see the spirit far away in the temple, dissipating into flames. "Your Highness, I hope your gradually leaving spirit will gallop through the starry skies just as you raced across the landsBut sadly, there will be no family flame for you to rest in" Caligula lowered his eyes as he murmured. Thick blood flowed from his nostrils and dropped onto the back of his hand. There, grayness spread with the smell of disease and sickness. Scales slowly grew on his ankles like an awakening demon. The disease that had been hiding inside the Romulusians had finally awaken and broken out. His vision went black and he stumbled, almost falling. "Has this day finally come?" he murmured to himself as he pushed himself up. "Whatever, Romulus''s era should have ended long ago. The ashes of the old age should be pushed into the garbage." Behind him, the door was pushed open cautiously, revealing a young face. Elsa had been startled awake from her nightmare. She clutched her doll and looked at Caligula. "Daddy, I''m scared." Caligula smiled with difficulty. He hugged her and petted her long hair. "Don''t be scared, Elsa, don''t be scared." Wiping away his nosebleed, he asked softly, "Do you still remember Mommy?" "Mommy" Elsa hung her head. "I dreamed of Mommy. She told me not to be scared but I was still scared. Then she left. Daddy, will you leave too?" "No." Hugging her, Caligula hid his tears. "Mommy won''t leave you either. She loves strong children." Behind him, the family flame burned faintly. Wind seemed to blow. The fire would soon extinguish. Thus, a mournful song sounded in the flames. - The mournful song resounded over Auschwitz during the silent night. "Come, let me tell you about the future, tell you the honors the descendants of god won, how your descendants will be" This was a canto from long ago. It recorded the honors the saint had made on this land and the ballads that Romulusian poets had sung. However, these ballads were ineffably sorrowful and bleak. As the song resounded, the Romulusians woke from their sleep. They saw the gray spots expanding on their bodies and the blood flowing from their nostrils. The family flames went out one by one as if the ancient souls living within them were dying. However, those dying souls were singing of the glory of the olden days, the city, and miracles that the Romulusians had once made. Finally, all flames extinguished in the darkness as if their ancestors had burned to nothing in the fire. All was in darkness. Then the earth started shaking. A terrifying rumble came from deep underground. The entirety of Auschwitz started trembling. Enormous slabs of stone collided against each other with shattering roars. Under the deafening roars, countless cracks spread through the walls and buildings. Intense shaking followed one another. The musicians startled awake from their dreams, sensing the changes in the world and the roars in the air. "What''s going on?" They looked up reflexively to the sky. "Grandmaster Koch?" In the reflections of those eyes, the black clouds were burning. Pained cries sounded. Behind the clouds, firelight surged. The frail old man turned into withered bones that fell apart in the air. Dust fell from the sky, bringing murderous intent from the heavens. Darkness came with disaster. - Five minutes ago, the clouds were illuminated by the bright moon. In the sky, Grandmaster Koch opened his eyes, his brows furrowing. On the ground, aether waves rippled through the entire city. As if gales of wind had swept through, the family flames that had been lit for millenniums suddenly extinguished. The earth was thrown into darkness. The moment the firelight was extinguished, his head shot up to see the abnormality. Darkness came from the starry sky, extinguishing the starlight. The darkness seemed to be a living creature. It enshrouded Auschwitz, instantly creating an immense shadow. He could not see his own fingers in the darkness. Grandmaster Koch furrowed his brows. He drew in the air with his pen and a music score emerged on his sheepskin scroll. Gentle starlight rose from his scroll like a small sun. This was the ''glow of insight'' from the School of Revelations. It allowed him to see all truth. The darkness in the light''s path faded, shrunk, and revealed the dark music theory within. Under the glow of insight''s illumination, hundreds of rays of blood light appeared in Auschwitz. Koch''s face paled and he gasped. Every dot of blood light represented a dark musician The dots were mostly hidden in the outer inns and around the market. That was where the caravan that entered Auschwitz in the morning lived but how could a caravan be so scary? This place had turned into a demon nest! Koch did not understand. He had been here since the trial began to supervise everything. How could so many people go undetected from his Starry Eye? "No need to blame yourself," an easygoing voice said. "They''re all believers blessed by the dark followers. They''re deeply protected and it''s quite normal that you couldn''t tell." The voice was polite and filled with chivalry but Koch felt as if he had fallen into an icy gorge. Trembling, his pallor turned ghastly. Even with the glow of insight, he still did not feel anything behind him. However, an empty hole appeared as the voice spoke. A black hole suddenly opened in the mass of light. An unclear figure came out. It stared at him and spoke in the human tongue. However, the hole seemed to reach into an abyss. The figure was inhuman and terrified him. "I didn''t think the School of Akasha''s Book still has inheritors. You must be the current Recorder, yes?" The empty hole ''stared'' at the sheepskin scroll in Koch''s hand and nodded in understanding. "What a pity." "Paganini!" Koch''s voice was hoarse. He stared at the comer. "Fallen saint Paganini''s Garment of Original Sin No wonder I couldn''t tell! Are you all the ''perishing praise?'' You''re Crowley Ergo?" "No wonder you''re the recorder of Akasha''s Book. You even know this." Crowley chuckled lightly. His true appearance was revealed from the Garment of Original Sin. His white face was like a youth but his withered hands were wrinkled. Centuries ago, the sixth generation Paganini had crossed the forbidden line to search for the essence of music theory and turned to the natural catastrophes, thus becoming a dark follower. The holy name of Paganini had fallen and was no longer passed down. At the same time, the musicians who had inherited his music theory also fell into the demonic realm. They formed the perishing praise and were third of the sixteen fallen orchestras blessed by Hyakume. They were guided directly by the dark followers. These fallen musicians wandered through the world. Some even lived inside the dark world. When they acted, they were a synonym to natural catastrophes. Everything in their paths were reduced to ruins. No one had expected this group to dare to appear here! Seeing Koch''s cautious expression, Crowley laughed. "You want to drag things out so the others can spread the news? It''s useless. We''ve obviously made some preparations since we''ve come so far. We at least have all of your information. There are people taking care of things below. You don''t have to worry." Koch''s expression darkened. "Is there something in Auschwitz important enough for the perishing praise to come out for? Or are you planning to declare war against the Sacred City?" "I didn''t think you''d worry for us. How touching." Crowley smiled, his youthful face filling with innocence and joy. He pointed at the land below them. "Look at that flower" In the darkness, the world shook. Auschwitz drowned in wails. There was no flower but Crowley was captivated. "The seed was planted a century ago. Now, it''s finally blooming." He reached out as if gently caressing the city. "I thought it would take a few more centuries of care but sadly, His Majesty was gravely injured and we had to put the long-term plans to the side. "After tonight, other than the mermaids, demi-dragons, and black moon spirits, our lord will have a new race following him I''m sure the Romulusians will give birth to many demon children." "Your wishful thinking!" Enraged, a dazzling light glowed within Koch''s wizened body. An immense star seemed to surge from his body, practically burning him to dust and breaking through! 359 The Gift of Life The symphony of predestination instantly solidified and transformed into a cold star, practically leading the stars outside the Dark Atrium to move. The starlight was murderous and the twelve constellations rotated unstably. One could faintly see music notes surging and a grand melody shooting out. There seemed to be a muddled world within the glow of starlight. The Originator opened and all organisms began growing. The sight was splendid and dazzling. This was the amazing miracle in Akasha''s Book created by countless Recorders who wove music theory through the centuries. Now, it was called forth, bringing strong murderous intent. Then the music score stopped abruptly, shattering. Crowley reached out. His figure went past the star map and pressed onto Koch''s neck, raising him slowly. The explosive starlight fell on him and was swallowed by something, disappearing without a trace. This was the artifact weapon that fallen saint Paganini had made from Crowley''s body and instrumentthe Garment of Original Sin. Back then, Paganini''s heart was captured by the abyss due to his greed for power and the Originator. He had sealed the secret of the abyss into his instrument, thinking that he would not be tainted by it. However, the listeners would see a demonic shadow when he played the instrument. His appearance looked normal but the abyss had already devoured his insides. When he joined the natural catastrophes, his body and instrument had practically become the abyss''s physical incarnate on earth and led to the gates of hell. He had transformed his body into a fallen instrument. Those who wore this garment would be wrapped in the abyss and supported by the natural catastrophe. One must have a killing artifact of the same caliber to penetrate it. Though the Recorders had passed Akasha''s Book down the generations, it was still not used for killing and could not penetrate the garment''s defense. The power of the Garment of Original Sin immediately counterattacked. Layers of black aura seeped into Grandmaster Koch''s face, moving under his skin like a snake menacingly. The darkness was eroding him. "Do not struggle." Crowley gripped Koch''s neck and looked down with a cheerful smile. "You must know that there is a grand future in the abyss." Koch raised his head with difficulty. Staring with his bloodshot eyes, he suddenly laughed. "It was hard to have you come closer Then, as you wish." Crowley''s expression changed. Koch surrendered and allowed the power of the Garment to taint him, transforming him into a dependent of the abyss. However, his symphony of predestination on Akasha''s Book still in his hands quickly moved and released explosive starlight. In the gales, the book recorded by countless musicians from different schools slowly opened and flipped to the last page. There were only eight words on that page: The stars will fall. The world will end. Printed with Koch''s symphony of predestination, it now contained his scepter. Now, the prediction of the world''s ending had arrived. Boundless starlight shot from the page and swept toward Crowley who was so close by. Koch had ignited his scepter so Crowley could die with him! The School of Revelations had always lacked the power to kill. It was the same for grandmasters such as Koch. The best way to use his shortcoming was to be decisive, even if it was deadly to himself. Burning light instantly swept through the sky, engulfing Crowley. Even with the Garment''s protection, he was still gravely injured at once. Half of his body was burnt to crisp, turned into a torch by Koch''s self-sacrificing attack. His symphony of predestination was also damaged. The Dark Atrium that covered Romulus shook. Koch, burnt to crisp, fell from the clouds amongst the blazing light. The burning Akasha''s Book flipped in the wind, recording the life of the last user and burnt away with him. Grandmaster Koch, the second clerk of the Sacred City Parliament, passed away. - In the sky, Crowley''s expression was dark. His burnt face twitched. The shaking from Koch''s self-destruction of his scepter had caused the Dark Atrium, Crowley''s scepter that had sealed Romulus, to practically break apart completely. The one attack had stirred the music theory. Even the general structure had become slightly warped. If he could not fix it, he would not be able to maintain the Dark Atrium''s lock. Not only had the self-destructive attack created a big problem for Crowley, it also revealed his arrival to the other musicians. Even worse, these were all the small details. Koch had actually wanted to create a hole in the Dark Atrium, break through the lock, enter the aether world, and transform into a lighthouse to warn the Sacred City. Thankfully, the Garment of Original Sin had sealed the last beam of energy. Otherwise, the problem would be worse. Knights Templar, the Sacred Choir, and the saints could not hurry over because they were thousands of miles away. But the Pope of the Sacred City was apparently a demi-god! Known as the interpreter of the holy message, the master of holy power, the holder of sacred authority, the Pope had inherited ten generations of the King of Red. The most intimidating thing about him was not the countless destructive music scores such as Fate, Emperor, and Ode to Joy. It was the ability beyond human limits to enter unimaginable states. Such as resurrection, incarnation, and teleportation, the extreme wish of the School of Modifications He could be at the church the last moment and be right before Crowley the next moment. So many infamous dark musicians had died due to this "Reinforce the lock." Crowley''s voice was hoarse and vicious. "Tonight, this is the land given to us by our lord. Do not let anyone out." "Yes." In the empty market of the dark Auschwitz, the hooded musician looked away from the sky. His lips twisted into a sneer and he looked back to the goods in the wagon behind him. Under the moving of a few muscular men, the precious goods that had been transported thousands of miles were now thrown mercilessly to the ground and shattered. Finally, all that remained was a steel box. They placed it before the hooded musician. Taking an excited breath, he grabbed a crowbar and pried the box open. Inside it was a writhing piece of flesh. It seemed to have grown into the steel. Veins appeared on the box, fusing the two together. The lump of purple flesh writhed in the night wind. A girlish face appeared within. It quietly sang a song about life. It sang of all organisms growing, intoxicating all who heard it. "The Dark Gaia" the hooded musician murmured, his eyes filling with intoxication. "I am so honored to finally be able to see you." The steel box contained the flesh of the Dark Gaia. Or rather, it was a ''container'' created by fallen alchemists that could bear the power of the Dark Gaia. The formless power had entered it and become one with it so the dark musicians could transport it. "This power of lifethe vitality of the abyss is so touching." The hooded musician caressed it, allowing the flesh to eat away at him. However, the flesh was unable to seep into his skin and was sealed outside. Merely opening the steel box made all dark musicians feel as if they had arrived in heaven. The demonic blood within them became unprecedentedly active and waited to evolve. Many prepared dark musicians took off their robes and stood beside the box naked. They fervently sang the fallen hymns and praises of destruction. The flesh boiled under the song. Viscous liquid seeped out and trickled on the ground, crawling up the singers. The singers ignited. They dance and sang crazily in the fire, letting their bodies burn to ashes and scatter in all directions. Like the seeds of a dandelion in the spring. They would bring the blessing of the deep abyss to all of Auschwitz. A few moments later, those countless seeds had fallen into the Dark Atrium and mingled among Crowley''s scepter territory. It was as if the Dark Gaia had personally arrived to where the Dark Atrium enveloped. She selflessly gave the deformed lifeform to her children. With their true nature revealed, the dark musicians grew more menacing. However, they were not the lifeform''s true target. Its target was the Romulusians who contained the demonic bloodline! The rich vitality flowed into the Romulusians as a catalyst for their vigor and woke the demonic blood within them. This strong catalyst could complete hundreds of years of change in one night, completely awakening the demon in them. The panicking Romulusians gradually fell unconscious. A layer of thick horn-like material grew on their bodies, cocooning them within. After this night, they would break through as newborn demons This was the true goal of the perishing praise. They dragged the Romulusians into the abyss using the Dark Gaia''s flesh to create true dark descendants. At the same time, they could capture the next generation of powerful musicians. It was two birds with one stone! To most musicians captured within, the danger was much more serious than that. They quickly realized that the density of aether in Auschwitz was quickly rising after the Dark Gaia''s power had flowed into the Dark Atrium. It would quickly rise from the red zone to the black zone and enter the zone of absolute danger. The rising trend was not showing any signs of slowing down anymore White zone, yellow zone, red zone, black zoneif they pushed through another level, it would be the phenomenon that all musicians spoke of with terrified expressionssinking. All of Auschwitz was like how Avalon''s Shadow had been. It sank toward the aether world. One night later, Auschwitz would disappear from the material world and fall deep into the aether world to be swallowed completely by Hyakume''s territory! Five short seconds later in the underground palace, Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his shock. 360 Dusk of Hell Ye Qingxuan bent down in the mysterious temple and stared at the thing that was half his height. It clearly did not belong here and had been brought in by someone else. The copper kettle-like object seemed like a lotus. It was delicate and detailed without a single seam throughout the body. Ye Qingxuan cautiously put on a mask and gloves and opened the lid. He counted the grooves of varying sizes. "Dispatch pool, fusion pool, cultivation pool" Fungus grew in many of the grooves due to the long period without maintenance. The cistern was murky and smelled horrible. The detailed inner paths were clogged and rust covered everything. This priceless cultivation kettle had been completely damaged due to the lack of care. As a specially-made alchemy equipment, it was useless to regular musicians. It could neither be used as a weapon nor perform any music scores. It was only used as aid for some Choir musicians. Its main use wasgrowing viruses! With his last shred of hope, Ye Qingxuan reached out and scraped off a remaining white dot from the bottom of the kettle. He observed it with his Eye of Silence, magnifying it one-thousand times. He could vaguely see that countless dead viruses had dissolved but there was still a tiny bit of lively ''survivors.'' As an outsider, Ye Qingxuan did not understand what they were. The Eye of Silence was not professional equipment either, and could not determine how the virus was made or what effect it had. He only knew one thing: this virus was identical to the one he saw in the church! Understanding this, his gut dropped. The virus that had exploded a few years ago and contaminated all of Auschwitz had come from this cultivation kettle. This site also contained traces of the King of Yellow. Everyone on this planet knew that the current King of Yellow was a once-in-a-century genius. In addition to high attainments in alchemy, he was also unparalleled in his studies of the School of Choir. Knowing this, who would believe that the King of Yellow did not create this virus? Ye Qingxuan believed it. He did not dare to not believe it. If the King of Yellow really did do it, then he would have to think about what the Sacred City was doing The Romulusians had already been driven to barren Auschwitz because of their demon blood. However, the various nations still viewed them as a cancer that must be removed no matter the method Caligula had once showed him the scales on his leg, saying, "We''ve already paid too much for the sin we were born with." At that time, Ye Qingxuan did not understand what Caligula had meant but he seemed to know now. If all of this was due to the Sacred City, then "If you''re so powerful, why don''t you just become a god yourself?" Sighing, Ye Qingxuan thought for a bit and pointed his cane at the kettle. Under blinding electric light, the cultivation kettle quickly melted, distorted, and finally turned into unrecognizable liquid. The words carved onto the Eye of Silence were true. Sometimes, knowing the truth was not an easy thing. Ye Qingxuan decided to let this secret rot in his gut. It affected too many people. He could not tell anyone; he could not even let people discover that he had been here. He did not want to suddenly die in his sleep. The countries did not keep assassins for fun. Plus, there was also a nightmare that hung above the heads of all musiciansthe Silent Authority. The only thing he could do was leave this place immediately and find an excuse to bring Caligula and Elsa to somewhere else. He believed that the Fifth Department could easily hide the two. Before leaving, he took one last glance at the statue. It seemed to be looking down at him too. Its face was half-hidden in darkness and its lips were curled into what looked like a mocking smirk. Ye Qingxuan quickly looked away. He closed the door and extinguished the holy fire. Looking back, there was no trace of the secret room. However, when he was carefully getting rid of his traces, something above him rumbled. Dust fell down and a giant crack appeared in the ceiling. "An earthquake?" he muttered subconsciously. But then he felt the blood boiling as it flowed through his veins. Moonlight flashed uncontrollably. It had sensed the overwhelming breath of the abyss"Dark musicians!" Stunned, he gaped at the Eye of Silence. The Deva''s blood sensed aether with music theory from the abyss appear endlessly. Both near and far, he could sense nearly one hundred dark musicians! There was also a distorted ripple in the sky that he could feel even through the rock layer in the underground palace. He sprinted out of the palace. Just below the entrance of the mine, a burnt body fell from the sky. Boiling blood fell like rain. Ye Qingxuan looked up. He could see through the ghastly crack that the black sky was red from the flames, bright as morning. It was like dusk in Hell. - With no time to hesitate, Ye Qingxuan quickly started climbing out. When his head peaked out, all he saw was a mass of killing. Torre was surrounded by a group of beasts. He tore through them. When he saw Ye Qingxuan, his eyes brightened. "Ye Qingxuan, did you see Kasper" Before he could finish, countess cold lights flashed past. The silver nails turned red in the air and pierced Torre''s throat. A horn rang out and flames exploded, burning him to crisp. Ye Qingxuan waved emotionlessly and retrieved his nails. "Trying to fool me with illusions?" The corpse fell down. The thing had no face. As the vitality was sapped, it stiffened. The soft scales that continuously changed colors quickly withered. Finally, it became a pile of black ash. "Faceless actor." Ye Qingxuan bent down and picked through the ashes until he found half a bone. The skullcap looked like a mask with a mocking smile. These were the children the dark followers created with the Dark Gaia''s power. Different from cannon fodder like the strays, the faceless actors were the best demon assassins born with illusion powers. They could imitate someone pretty well with just a mere glance from the distance. One would not be able to distinguish the differences in a hurry. Plus, these things specialized in the imitation branch of the School of Illusion. They could imitate practically all music scores without any flaws other than a reduction in strength. They could act as one''s lover for years without anyone realizing, let alone acting as a musician. However, no matter how they changed, they were still demons and would activate the moonlight from dozens of steps away. In a hurry, they were unguarded against Ye Qingxuan. He easily cast Night on Bald Mountain, which he had saved in Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and used the power of the stakes to kill the faceless actor. Otherwise, there would be more trouble. He did not know what the demon would do if he dragged things on. The disguises were nothing to him butwhat about the others? Ye Qingxuan looked around. Under the Eye of Silence, he saw that Auschwitz was covered in red light. He seemed to have gone to another world and fallen into the lair of dark musicians. "Will the others be okay?" - "Garbage!" Glen huffed as he was surrounded by demons. His armor was red-hot and blindingly bright. Under the song, dazzling flames shot out from under his feet, swallowing the incoming demons. The fire was more powerful than an incinerator. The demons were practically cremated instantly but these things continued to crawl out of holes and walls like bugs. They just kept coming. If one died, ten more would appear. After eating the ashes of their dead, their bodies expanded and grew more menacing. They kept swarming over, surrounding Glen. "Glen, don''t delay!" Not too far away, Torre was killing with Kasper. He looked back and said, "Go first and regroup with the others." "Doesn''t matter how much of this sh*t there are." Glen grabbed a random demon. He closed his iron grip and turned the struggling demon into dust. Laughing wildly, he unsheathed his long sword. Musicians rarely used swords because to them, regular weapons were incomparable to music scores. However, Glen''s school was unique and combined music scores with swordsmanship. Paired with a sword and armor, they looked more like warriors than musicians. They fought as wildly as warriors too. With his sword out, the fire everywhere was stifled. Wild wings wrapped around the blade, almost tangibly. One could faintly see a blurry layer of whiteness. As the blade swung, the invisible wind cracked the earth apart. Blood sprayed. Glen jumped into the mass of demons, cutting apart everything in his way. He struck with his sword, creating splatters of scarlet. Within an instant, the demons were all cleared away. Amidst the bodies, Glen sneered. He sheathed his sword and turned toward Torre. "Look at these" Before he could finish, the flesh scattered on the ground pounced onto him like a living thing. Caught by surprise, Glen was swallowed whole. The flesh had instantly become rotten and sewed together crudely. The stitches were made of white bone and looked mournfully abnormal. The sewed up corpse roared. Its giant ''head'' twisted and locked onto Torre. A beam of scarlet fire lit up in his abdomen. It screeched and Glen, covered in fire, broke out of it. However, the armor that covered him had been eroded by the terrifying acid. Even his skin was gone. All that remained was a layer of desolate red. 361 The Dead "Torre, help..." Glen rushed out of the corpse''s belly and fell to the ground, screaming for help. However, the giant corpse suddenly bent over and swallowed him again. It started to chew wildly. After a few snaps, the dull screams disappeared, leaving only a curved sword poking out of the corpse''s mouth, hanging on the face like a strange strand of hair. Casper bared his teeth. His muscles pulled taut, and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He wanted to pounce but Torre grabbed him and turned away without hesitation. No one knew what was going to happen while fighting with demons here. He was already aware of the strange aether fluctuations coming for him. Just around the corner ahead, a faint aether wave suddenly emerged. Torre did not stop but his voice suddenly turned gentle. He chanted soundlessly, playing a silent movement in the stillness. The music theory was being constructed in his hand, ready to be sent. In an instant, two figures met in the corner. Coldness flashed in Torre''s eyes, but the other person jumped back and raised his hands to protect his face. "Wait!" The white-haired young man exhaled when he saw it was the Hauser brothers. "Torre, it''s me, Ye" But Torre continued without hesitation. He pressed his palm down and the other person froze. Crimson blood boiled under his skin. His face distorted. Then, an invisible giant head descended and bit. The flesh and blood burst. Soon, the flesh disappeared without trace. It was just a phantom. In the distance, Ye Qingxuan''s figure appeared. He looked at them, full of vigilance. "How can you do that? It''s me, Torre, what''s wrong with you?" Torre narrowed his eyes and watched him for a while. His taut body finally relaxed. "Sorry, I''m too nervous. I thought you were an enemy in disguise." Ye Qingxuan''s face twitched a bit. He sighed helplessly. "Forget it. I understand. What''s your next step?" "Look for other people first. The more people who gather together, the bigger the possibility of survival," Torre said. "I wonder what is going on with the Masters." "I''m afraid we can''t worry about them." Ye Qingxuan walked forward with Torre. "I did not expect that those dark musicians are so rampant. They even..." Boom! Behind him, Casper rampaged. Layers of huge mouths shrouded Ye Qingxuan''s back. Ye Qingxuan''s expression changed. He tried to roll forward but found his feet were anchored to the ground. The air around him was solid like a lock, tightly clamping him in. The next moment, the flesh and blood burst. The phantom dissipated and a hideous, hollow head rolled to the ground. Torre smashed the head with his foot expressionlessly and lightly said, "Play such a trick before discipline musicians? Are you kidding me?" In the silence, someone coughed behind the corner not far away. "Well..." Under two sharp gazes, a white-haired youth came out, holding his hands high with a complex expression. "If I said I''m real, would you believe me?" Torre paused for a moment and glanced at Casper. Casper looked as he had before. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan then looked away, continuing to hang his head. Casper never recognized people by their face, temperament, feeling, breath, or fluctuation. Beasts only judged beasts. As the result of the animal genetics, he could sniff the beastly nature hidden in one''s mind. Almost no camouflage could cheat its eyes. Seeing Casper''s such reaction, Torre sighed softly. "You''re real." "So can I come forward?" Ye Qingxuan took a step cautiously. Then after another step, he stopped and thought for a while. He stepped back to his original spot and smiled. "Or I just keep being like this. This will also be more convenient for us to escape." "" Torre was speechless. In the end, he just sighed. "Whatever. Do you have any advice?" "Just do as you discussed with the previous ''faker.'' Find the others. At the very least, figure out what''s going on." Mercury threads spread from the youth''s body and melted into the hellish crimson wind and flew into the surroundings. At the same time, his face slacked. He looked back to the collapsing burning house. His smile stiffened. Torre followed his eyes but could not sense the breaths of any living creatures. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while. He whispered, "Can you ask your brother to help lift the wall up?" Torre looked at Casper. Casper growled and the wall was flipped by some unknown force. There seemed to be an invisible giant beast scratching; even the flames were extinguished. The body under was revealed. When Torre saw the clothing of the corpse, he soon understood something. He lowered his eyes. Ye Qingxuan bent over to sweep the dust off the deceased''s face. The dead looked grim and full of anger as if he had suffered an incredible betrayal. "It''s you." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes, sighing sadly. He put a holy emblem in the palm of the deceased and folded his fingers so he could firmly hold it. Thus, in the ashes, the dead''s angry expression faded and his eyes closed. "Dust to dust, earth to earth." Ye Qingxuan gave him one last glance. "Goodbye." The figure slept in the fire and blurred. The sound of the flames was muffled as well like a farewell. After a long time, there was no more sound. - Sam was thirsty as he slept. Some sweet liquid fell onto his face and flowed into the dry and cracked lips. He moaned and subconsciously sucked the droplet by the corner of his lips. What filled in the mouth was a cold iron taste. It was blood. He awoke from his dream and saw the burning town. Miller was carrying him on his back. He was still thin but a faint deep blue showed under his skin like steel covered with a layer of leather. "You''re awake?" Miller smiled wryly. "I thought you would sleep for six months." Then Miller applied the medicine for him again. He hesitated but took out a tube to give Sam a shot. Now, Sam was finally sober. His tiredness disappeared and he became energetic again. Even the cracks on his face revealed some faint glow. He had slept for so many days that, if it were not the dark musician''s attack, he would still be lying in the church. At the beginning of the attack, the first to be destroyed was the church. Miller had rushed into the burning church, carried out the sick Sam, and ran until now. When Baro found him, he was surrounded by a group of demons. If it was a little later, the demons might have feasted on him and Sam. It was Baro who had come all the way to gather the musicians. There were about thirty flustered musicians. None of their usual demeanor and reserve could be seen. They were like a group of wandering beggars. Baro had a broken hand and bloodshot eyes. He muttered something like a psychopath. He had forced too much beast nature out, which was about to crush his sanity. However, the crazier a Summoning musician was, the more powerful! In particular, he unified the phantom beasts with the sound of heart "Tiger Bone" to forcibly repress the beastly nature. He barely managed to stay sane. Around him, the invisible flying sycles were inflated several times, emitting strong murderous intent. Even the recently-stitched giant corpses were torn up by the furious phantom beasts. "Now that the grandmasters disappeared, where are we going?" After understanding the situation, Sam looked to Baro who was guiding the road. "Rushing out is impossible. This is the dark atrium that the dark saints had evolved with their scepters. They probably want to capture all of us. And..." He smiled wryly and looked at the high wall up to the sky in the distance. Maybe those nations didn''t expect that the elite musicians of the new generation would be trapped in behind this wall when they built in order to isolate the plague. "Go north." Baro wiped the blood on his face. His voice was hoarse. "First we evacuate to the Snow Hotel where I came from. There is a grandmaster there." "Which one?" Hearing this, all the people became excited and began to ask questions. The morale turned high when they got to know the details. Even the effect of the music scores became stronger. "Be careful! Don''t attract any monsters." Miller sighed. "We''d better save our strength. I already feel my body starting to fade. The dark atrium is suppressing us." As a Choir musician, he was obviously the most aware of his physical condition. He could surely detect the silent erosion from the dark atrium. The repression on the strength was not the worst, but the dark atrium''s force directly influenced the spirit. If they did not pay attention, they could be turned into demons without realizing it. Hearing this, everyone became alert. After a short break, they began to walk north. However, Sam stood still. He sat on the ground, looking at Baro''s back. "Where did Baro go?" Sam''s voice was hoarse but the words stirred in the crowd. Baro looked back at him, frowning. "What are you talking about?" Sam''s expression was unchanged. He asked, "I said, where''s Baro?" In the silence, only the sound of distant flames and collapsing buildings could be heard. Sam looked at Baro coldly. After a long while, Baro chuckled. His eyes were no longer bloodshot. "I thought I was perfect." He sighed. "What''s wrong?" "There''s nothing wrong with you. You are playing well." Sam coughed violently and spat out bloody phlegm. His voice was still hoarse. "Baro likes to bully others and hold grudges. He''s narrow-minded and neurotic. He despises those who are weaker than him. He is a paranoid b*stard. So, never once did I hear the word ''let''s'' from his mouth, not to mention helping so many people along the way. He''d never be as ''kind'' as you." When saying the word ''kind'', Sam''s eyes became harsh like the scorching sun. Among the charred cracks on the face, blood lit up like lava. "Let me ask again. Where is Baro?" "Is he such a man in your mind?" ''Baro'' sighed. "If he heard that, he must be very sad. His last words before dying were, ''Sam you finally woke up. Great...'' When I killed him, he thought he was dreaming." "Grandmaster What about the master?" Someone in the crowd was about to break down. "Where is the grandmaster?" Miller finally processed everything. The former friend beside him had been replaced by a demon. A wisp of redness emerged on his ashen face like boiling blood. Master? There was no master at all. This was only a well-prepared trap! What could be easier than letting the prey come voluntarily? 362 Opponen "Where''s the grandmaster?" ''Baro'' just smiled cynically at this in reply. "What did you prepare at the northern inn? A trap? Or an ambush?" Sam stared at him. "Tell me. I''m interested." "There''s nothing interesting there, just a transformation ritual."''Baro'' pursed his lips and chuckled. "After all, you''re all stars of the next generation. My lord thirsts for talents. He would never do something like shedding blood. The perishing praise are just bandits that only know how to kill. I''d love to have more companions, especially elites like Mr. Sam" Before he finished, a cry sounded in the distance. Dozens of wild aether waves appeared. A bloody head was tossed over. ''Baro'' looked at Sam as if he could see the subtle hand movement. He chuckled meaningfully. "Do you still have more questions? I will answer everything I can." Sam''s expression darkened. Those who wanted to escape froze, their eyes filling with despair. "I admit I had other intentions but I was still the one that protected you all along the way, right? How can you leave without a word of thanks? I''m so sad." He reached out and picked up the head. He flicked the dead lips mischievously. Looking at the people gently, he said, "Come, say it with methank you." No one replied. In the silence, someone finally set his determination. He jumped up, calling, "I''ll stop them! Everyone split up and leave" But before he could finish, his body split in two. His body was cut apart, and blood splattered onto everyone''s pale faces. "Leave?"''Baro'' smiled tightly. "We''re already here. Where else do you want to go?" Blood fell endlessly like rain. Washed by the blood, the hallucination fell apart. The burning city and broken walls all disappeared. Finally, all that remained was the bloody hall. The northern inn that had transformed into a demon''s lair was covered in bodies. Sixteen dark musicians stood around the vast alchemy array and played an eerie music score. They performed the ritual and praise. The ''sacrifices'' that had escaped here were standing within the array. The solid black aura constrained and immobilized them. Those who had ''died'' along the way had already been tossed onto the altar. They were being slowly transformed into the dark race. Soon, the ''newborns'' crawled out of the puddle of blood one by one. The dark musicians waiting beside them called out their names and helped them put on black robes. "The transformation ritual has been prepared for a long time." The faceless actor finally revealed its true nature. The empty face smiled at them and opened its arms to the panicking musicians. "Now, what do you all think?" The musicians'' faces turned ghastly white as they stared at the menacing demons around them, unable to move. Then some familiar faces walked out of the group of demons. "Asa?! How can it be you? And Lorenzo" Someone was stunned. "Aren''t you guys dead?" In the crowd, a girl whose face had been burned yelped as she looked at a familiar face in the back. "Benny! Howwhy are you still alive" Those who had reappeared were all musicians who had died during the attack. Some had even died before their friends and were buried. But now, they were all here, looking the same as before. "Illusion!" someone roared. "It''s an illusion!" Miller finally reacted. He glanced subconsciously at his companion who was an Illusion musician. However, the musician''s face was colorless and decadent. Forcefully shattering an aether ball, his expression slacked. After a while, he shook his head. "It''sreal?!" It was real "Anna." Amongst the dark musicians, the man known as Benny gazed gently at his lover. "We finally meet again. This is God''s blessing. Please don''t doubt me. Do you still remember when we first met? We" The more he spoke, the more incredulous Anna grew. Finally, tears sprang from her eyes. Stumbling back, she covered her burnt face and choked with sobs. "Don''t look at me, my dear. I''m...I couldn''t save you, I''m sorry!" "Ailments are just the surface. Don''t mind it. My dear, we''ve reunited." Benny opened his arms and waved at her with gentle eyes. "Come here, my love. Come to my side." Hesitating, Anna walked over cautiously. She embraced Benny and they kissed. The love in Benny''s eyes was genuine. Finally sure that he was not an illusion, Anna broke down sobbing. Benny murmured something to her. She quickly made her decision. Taking off her clothes, she stepped onto the altar. The other musicians were enraged, but she walked into the center of the transformation ritual. One by one, the musicians were convinced by their resurrected friends and walked toward the altar willingly. The faceless musician hugged each one, welcoming them. Finally, he looked to Sam. "Mr. Sam, you were personally requested by leader Crowley. I''m sure you''ve witnessed our lord''s ability to turn back death. Why are you unwilling to face reality?" The faceless musician stood before him and looked down. "Is it humiliating to bow down before the truth? And what about you, Mr. Miller? The School of Choir has always been the cradle of dark musicians. Aren''t you interested in the transformation between life and death? All you have to do is bow down and you''ll see the treasures given to you by our lord." Miller''s lips were pale and trembling. He stood in front of Sam and stared at the faceless musician. He rasped out, "Your god is not my god." "How can the clay idols you worship be compared to the majestic existence?" The faceless musician''s expression hardened and he raised his hand. "I''m sorry. You only had one chance." Miller closed his eyes, waiting for death. However, the hand was caught by someone else. "Wait, Will." The newcomer stopped his comrade and said lightly, "Let me talk to them." "ThenI''ll hand it to you." Will glanced at the man and stepped back with a vague smile. The man turned around and took off his mask, revealing a familiar face. "Baro!" Miller was dumbfounded. Even Sam''s dark eyes flashed with confusion. "It''s me." Baro chuckled but his expression was extremely peaceful and calm. His eyes were not bloodshot, nor was there any mania. He looked like a gentle and quiet youth, undisturbed by his beastly nature. "Our time apart felt like years. How have you all been?" he asked quietly. Miller''s expression changed and he stumbled back. He wanted to say something but he shut his mouth. Sam glared at Baro as if looking at an abomination. "Baro, you''re already dead," he said. "The dead should not crawl out of the grave." "You''re worried I''m fake?" Baro walked up. "Don''t worry, Sam. I''m great now. I didn''t actually die. It''s just that Will helped me see my true strength. Do you still remember how we met three years ago? At that time" "At that time, you looked more normal." "That''s because I''m normal now." Baro laughed. "I''m no longer troubled by anger and mania. Calmness feels so nice. I''ve defeated the beastly nature within me. It was a gift from His Highness. Now, I''ve recovered" Snick! Blood spewed out, flowing from Baro''s heart. A dagger had appeared in Sam''s hand as if he had practiced it thousands of times. He was clearly too weak to move but he was still incredibly fast. He had yanked the dagger from his boot, flipped his wrist, and sent it forward. The blade had swum through the air like a fish and disappeared into Baro''s chest. It had pierced into the heart, creating a ripple of red. Blood spewed onto Sam''s face. "III''maghah" Baro gaped at Sam. He tried to say something but blood had poured into his lungs. He could no longer speak and fell onto his knees. Sam pulled out the dagger and wiped it against Baro''s neck. He fell to the ground. In the last moment, he gaped at Sam. His dull eyes reflected the bloodied face. "Sorry, Baro." Sam sat on the ground and lowered his eyes. "Since you couldn''t die bravely in battle, I hope you can die in shame. That way, you''ll still be like before" "Sam!" Will could not process this. He roared, "What the f*ck did you do?! That''s your friend! He had come back to life just to see you!" "He''s not my friend." Sam looked up with cold eyes. "He never was." "You" "Friend? How could he have friends?" Sam raised his hand and closed Baro''s eyes. He said gently, "People as paranoid as him only see wins and losses, strengths and weaknesses. Something like friendship probably never existed to him. He''s an opponent that I acknowledge, and an enemy that I must kill with my own hands. That''s what I thought when I first met him three years ago. He thought the same. "Even without you, he would have challenged me before the trial ended, justly like a true musician. Dying would have been okay. But he chose this crazy path to challenge me. Now I feel sad seeing how weak he had become. I feeldisgusted!" "Reckless b*stard!" Will laughed in anger. "If that''s the case, there''s no point in keeping you." Pop! He flashed like a hallucination and reached out. His sharp finger bones ripped Sam''s chest apart, breaking through the back. He squeezed the heart as if it was clay and fresh blood spurted out. Sam was lifted up and moved around like a burnt and ragged doll. Blood flowed down his face like tears. As if he was crying. He closed his eyes, letting the blood or tears roll down his cheeks. Finally, his breathing cut off. However, fire crackled within his shattered chest. "Did you know? I''ve been waiting for him to challenge me" His dead eyes opened again. Now, they were red as lava. There was no fear, uncertainty, anger, or sadness in those eyes. It just burned like fire. It was terrifying just by burning. "I''ve waited three years for this day!" The Copper Mountain rumbled! 363 The Last Mazeppa Faceless musician Will screamed because the blood that splattered onto him had turned into burning melted metal! The shattered heart in his hand turned into a furious sun, burning his hand to charcoal. He convulsed in pain and tried to escape, but Sam grasped him as if embracing the dead Baro. "Aether? Aether" The faceless musician cried out as he burned. "How can youno! No" "Idiot." Sam hugged him and said hoarsely, "I can''t but Agni can. He''s so much more generous than your lord!" As he spoke, flames seeped out of his every pore. His flesh burned into a rosy crystal. He sublimated in the fire into something that the average person could not speculate He had become a beast more terrifying than any demon! Since you killed Baro, then witness it for him! Witness this last Holy Spirit Transformation! This was the ultimate resonance, sacrifice, and offering. For years, musicians had used pure Modifications music theory to create Agni, the holy spirit that represented fire and destruction. It only responded to the most aggressive thirst for strengththose who reached into the fire even if it meant burning themselves. It was the strictest holy spirit. Only musicians who sacrificed everything for Modifications could receive its acknowledgement. At the same time, it was also the most generous spirit. As long as you were determined, it would give you unlimited strength and transform you into the physical incarnate of destruction. You would become this flame until you were burnt to nothing! At that moment, the alchemy array under Sam''s feet lit up. The melody from the darkness thundered. Aether from the deep abyss burst forth from all directions and entered coherence. It integrated music theory changes from the abyss and fused with the dark atrium. Transforming into an invisible shackle, it pushed the fire down. However, the illusion of the Copper Mountain appeared in the flames. It was the dazzling harp amidst the roaring of the fire. He used fire as his body and thunder as his instrument. Blazing Foehn wind blew and swept in all directions. Countless thunder and lightning appeared. They collided against each other, playing the majestic music notes. Thus, the sleeping hero of legends woke. He attached onto Sam, making him invincible. Heavy armor appeared out of thin air. Countless music notes sang of destruction and miracles. Fire turned to water, water turned to wind, wind turned to earth, and fire burned within the earth. The original sin could transform into salvation! This was the music score that Saint Liszt had written based off a legendary hero. It contained the ultimate desire of transforming death to life, allowing the immortal hero to appear in the world. It was Mazeppa! "The state after the Distortion level" Besieged by dozens of dark musicians, Sam opened his eyes in the fire and murmured, "I see." The earth cracked apart. Scalding lava swept up from the ground like a reversed waterfall and soared into the air. The extreme modifications path appeared in his hands and descended into the world. The world shook in anger and the red pillar that represented disaster rose. It would reduce everything to nothing. Shrouded by flames, the alchemy array instantly turned to ash. Firelight permeated and swallowed the dark musicians, turning them into a mass of redness. The moment the fire and destruction descended, Anna and Benny embraced. They turned to ash, the dark musicians followed, and then everything else For an instant, practically everyone in Auschwitz could feel the scarlet glow pour out of the Earth''s crust. It was fire. Fire seemed to transform into a red pillar that continued to rise, extending inch by inch to the sky, crashing against the dark atrium of the abyss. Then the skies and earth shattered. - "Sam?" Ye Qingxuan looked up at the pillar of destruction. His face paled. With no time for hesitation, he bolted. But when he finally arrived, everything was over. At the center of Auschwitz, there was a tragic patch of black burnt dirt. There were no more traces of demons there. There was only a figure on the ground that seemed to be burning like a candle in the wind. The half-burnt Miller knelt on the ground, healing him in panic. But it was useless. Ye Qingxuan could barely recognize Sam''s face. The broken face looked like dying ashes. It was inexplicably ugly and menacing. Hearing the approaching footsteps, he seemed to see Ye Qingxuan''s arrival and he smiled in regret. "Ye Qingxuan, you''re late." "The holy spirit''s incarnate?" Ye Qingxuan finally understood what happened. He looked down blankly. His mouth opened but he did not know what to say. "I accidentally killed people I shouldn''t have killed," Sam murmured. "Sorry. People like me, we only know how to set fires. We try to do the right thing but we can''t If only you were here. There must''ve beena better solution" Miller gritted his teeth. He choked with sobs. The burnt dirt cracked apart and a bloody dark musician crawled out. However, he abruptly screamed. In Sam''s hand, the Copper Mountain glowed with blinding light. It burned him completely like fire. Far away, roars sounded one after another. A mournful melody played in the sky. The dark atrium fell inch by inch, bringing with it a mighty pressure. In the bed of flames, Sam stared up at the sky. He chuckled weakly and closed his eyes. The Copper Mountain harp descended slowly into Ye Qingxuan''s hand, bathing him in warm firelight. As if returning to land from the deep sea, the terrifying pressure and shackles disappeared. The sense of aether was clear again. "They''re coming soon. Go," Sam said quietly. "Take the Copper Mountain with you. Remains of Agni''s symphony of predestination are still there. It can help you If you can leave this place alive, bring it to my teacher. The School of Destruction will repay you." As he spoke, the firelight in his eyes lit up again. He seemed to be totally fine. He had revived his spirit and stood up again. No hardships could knock him down. But that was just a reflection of the light. The darkness in the sky thickened. Pressure of thousands of tons fell quickly, about to completely seal everything off. "Ye Qingxuan!" In the distance, Torre rode a beastly hound. He yelled, "You''re running out of time!" "Go! What are you waiting for?" Sam took one last glance at Ye Qingxuan and smiled in farewell. "I won''t thank you even if you stay to accompany me." Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to say goodbye but nothing would come out. He took a step back and another. With one last glance, he pulled Miller left and turned around, direct and unhesitating. Sam smiled. This was good, this was how it should be This was very good. "At least my sacrifice won''t go to waste." Sam raised his head and looked at the pressing blackness in the sky. Smiling, he murmured, "Sadly, I can''t win with you all" The darkness swallowed him. The fire extinguished. - In one short hour, Auschwitz went from stillness to fire. This hour felt like eternity to everyone. More than half of the musicians passed away in this attack. The remaining ones huddled together in the ''front'' that the grandmasters had left. They anxiously observed the demons writhing in the darkness. The only sound was a deafening rumble. It was the sound of the giant beast made of hundreds of corpses patrolling in the darkness. The screams and cries of demons traveled from the burning city. After multiple attacks, the dark musicians seemed to have temporarily given up on this difficult prey and retreated. However, the music theory of the ''front'' showed signs of breaking apart under the pressure of the dark atrium and abyss music score. If this continued and the front collapsed, everyone would be sitting targets for slaughter. The dark atrium had already recovered from Koch''s self-destructive attack. It had permeated even further. Under it, the abyss gained the upper hand and rewrote the rules of all music theories. Everyone''s resonance with the aether world was forcefully cut off. All music scores under the Resonance level were distorted and could not be cast. They could not fight against the dark musicians. Plus, the enemies were not average foot soldiers. They were the infamous ''perishing praise'' from the Dark World. All was quiet in the small courtyard front. Some girls had broken down and started crying. Everyone''s expressions were dark and heavy. "Stop crying." A Revelations musician by the entrance paled. "Something''s coming again!" Low rumbling sounded in the silence. The bloody corpses fused into something like a giant centipede. It started crawling in the darkness again. Bones stuck out of the flesh and turned into scales. The bony scales opened and moved forward with the giant centipede, crushing the walls with a thunderous noise. It was attracted by the smell of blood. It wriggled over and paced outside the front. Though it could not see through the illusion, it was still attracted by the dead beings. It moved around eagerly, the many eyes on its ugly head blinking constantly, trying to distinguish the building before it. Finally, it slammed against the wall fiercely. Under the boom, dust flew and fell from the ceiling beams. The lights flickered and everyone paled. The centipede seemed to have gone insane. It charged crazily at the defense outside the front, scratching, gnawing, spitting acid, scraping with its scales Amidst the thunderous booms, it danced like a kid who clutched a gift and could not wait to rip off the wrapping paper. Then the sounds stopped. The crazed centipede froze. Its thick and unnatural limbs were broken by an invisible power. An unseen beast was besieging it, causing it to roll on the ground in pain. The countless corpses all cried out. Then the cries stopped. 364 Where to Go? The horn rang, signaling the coming of dawn. Flames blazed from every mouth, every eye, every void. After dozens of silver nails punctured to and fro, countless fire drops fell on the demonized bodies, burning exuberantly. Finally, a muffled explosion sounded. The ball blew up and exploded. Minced meat and blood fell down from the sky like sticky rain. Everything was covered with shocking red. In that dark red, a few figures slowly came. The young man at the front stooped, picked up the silver nails on the ground, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it, and put the nails in the backpack. He looked bloody like he had just crawled out of a bloody hell, but his hair was pure white like burning silver. At last, he raised his eyes and looked over. Seeming to see through the illusion, he saw the man behind the door. Then he came forward. "Open the door." The weary young man knocked gently, and his hoarse voice came from the outside. "I am Anglo''s representative, Ye Qingxuan. Miller and the Hauser Brothers are also here." The people in the front still had not recovered from earlier. They looked at each other with fear. Someone hesitatingly went to open the door, but someone screamed, "Don''t open it! Who knows if they are real or not!" For a moment, the hand that reached to open the door drew back quickly as if touched a red-hot iron. There was still shocking dark red blood on the door and walls--that was the trace left by the last faceless actor who had sneaked in. Open the door or not? If they were fake, then...could this front suffer another loss? "What if they are real?" "Real? How could someone play music movements in the abyss? They must be fake!" "But..." "We need to get rid of them quickly." Some people became vicious and touched their instruments. "If we let them stay outside, who knows what they will attract..." People looked at each other with uncertainty. They whispered, disputing the identity of the newcomer. For some unknown reasons, they subconsciously kept away from the door and dared not approach it. But in the dreary silence, only the leisurely knocking on the door could be heard. That sound was like a hammer beating everyone''s heart again and again. In the end, someone looked at the back with hesitation. "Colt ..." "Open it." The brooding musician lowered his eyes and stroked the wooden staff across his lap. He said lightly. "When they come in, we will see if they are real or not." "But..." "I said open the door." Colt glanced at him. "Or do you not trust my ability?" The man shut up and stopped talking. It could be said that all the survivors here were gathered by Colt. Even this front was arranged by the Rock Institute. If it weren''t him, all the people here might have been annihilated. Soon, the door of the front opened a crack. The musicians who had been waiting for a long time slipped in. Then the door was closed, and everything was engulfed in silence. In the silence, all the people looked toward those figures. They looked very pathetic. Their whole bodies were bloodstained. No one knew what they had experienced along the way. The Choir musician fell down on the floor, exhausted, as soon as he entered. But soon, someone exclaimed. A gentle light lit up slowly in that musician''s bosom. The Copper Mountain suspended in the air like a gentle sun, dispelling the cold air. Left in it was the symphony of predestination of Agni. The flames not only brought about destruction but could also banish darkness and bring about life. A glow seemed to light up in the dark. In the land transformed by the abyss music theory, a piece full of order was unexpectedly made. The fractured front also ceased to collapse. It even began to be repaired. They finally understood how these men had survived in the abyss outside. After seeing the Copper Mountain, Colt narrowed his eyes slightly. Thinking of that huge fire pillar half an hour ago, he guessed where Sam had gone. He had not expected that Sam would die so soon. Although he regarded Sam as a great enemy in the trial, the death of Sam in this dangerous environment was still a bad news to all, including him. - On the floor, Miller had been gasping for a while before he climbed up. But soon he noticed the gazes from all the people and the faint hostility in the air. Several musicians had surrounded them, occupying a favorable front. There were faint aetheric fluctuations emitting from their bodies. A Revelations musician came up with an aetheric ball in his hand. "Excuse me, please cooperate. Don''t fight back." Ye Qingxuan looked back at him indifferently. The Revelations musician unconsciously stepped back and swallowed. "This, this is the necessary examination." Ye Qingxuan ignored him, skipped over those guarded musicians, and looked directly at Colt. "What are you playing?" "In this time, we have to be more cautious." Colt looked at him. "We risked letting demons and opened the door. You have to show your sincerity." "Don''t scare them, Colt." Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Real or not, can''t you tell?" Colt was silent. He looked at surrounded Ye Qingxuan. He looked still the same, but the original gray cloak had been dyed scarlet. The scorch marks all over were very shocking. But for some unknown reason, he felt Ye Qingxuan was a little different... Something had changed. But he couldn''t tell what it was. The silent staring contest was soon over. Colt waved and motioned all the people back. Ye Qingxuan put down his heavy backpack. After loosening his muscles, he sat opposite Colt and took out his pipe. He filled it with tobacco. "Do you mind?" Colt gestured to him that he did not mind, and just asked, "Is there anyone else out there?" The teenager lowered his head to ignite the pipe. After a whiff or two, he exhaled the blue smoke and sighed with his hoarse voice. "The grandmasters left behind six fronts that can be used as shelters. Only this place has people," he said. "The other two places had people..." He didn''t finish his words but Colt could obviously understand what he meant. Two places had people. How about now? They must have died. Only ruins remained. "Do you have any information?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "You know what I''m asking." "The ''perishing praise'' is a music division of those dark lords. The head is Crowley, a fallen musician of the spirit level. He inherits Paganini''s music theory. The dark atrium, you see it? That''s what the saint''s scepter looks like, known as the Devil''s Shelter... "If I am right, the dark musicians wanted to seize this opportunity to turn all the people of Romulus into a dark race. Just like the Moon Spirits and Half Dragons. Anyway, they were already eroded by the Dark Gaia. They have the demon bloodline by nature. They can be said to be the demons'' reserve. "The reason why they didn''t act is to leave a nail in the human world before the fruit was ripe. Now they have no time to wait for the fruit to ripen so they planned to catalyze it forcibly." "If you see any cocooning Romulusians, you''d better kill them, or else they''ll all turn into monsters when dawn comes," Colt said coldly. "It''s a pity the Sacred City was too kind to clean up this group of variables earlier." Ye Qingxuan listened and smiled weakly. He just nodded. "I see." In the silence, only smoke rose. "Where are the grandmasters?" he asked, "Still not in touch?" "There is no news yet. I''m afraid they''re trapped in the deeper areas of the dark atrium. We can do nothing," Colt said. "We still have fronts here. Now we need to assemble all the forces to defend it. "It is impossible for the Sacred City to have no interest in Auschwitz, especially as there are so many masters here. As long as the Sacred City reacts, we can be rescued. Just make it through this period." "Defend here?" Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes and looked at him. "The dark musicians have noticed here. When they have cleaned up the rest, they will come back and concentrate their efforts against this place. We can''t stop them. Staying here is to wait for death." Crash. In the silence there came a noise of chaos. It was a frightened musician who had knocked down a cup. Under everyone''s scrutiny, he scrambled to pick up the cup. "S-sorry..." But everyone looked at each other with fear. They totally ignored his apology. "Ye Qingxuan, do not overstate." Colt''s voice was serious. "Everyone can criticize, but those who tell the story are often the most unrealistic. Do you have a better idea?" "Go to the underground palace," Ye Qingxuan suddenly said. "Hades'' Door can still be repaired..." "Do you know how far the palace is from here?" Colt sneered. "The dark musicians will let you go into the underground palace? Although it is big in the mine, there are not so many ways for you to escape. Even if we manage to get into the underground palace, we''ll be in another trap. What''s the difference between here and there?" "I know a secret chamber." Ye Qingxuan lightly said. "It''s the chamber left by the King of Yellow" Hearing this, everyone fell into dead silence. Colt''s lowered eyes turned up like he was struck by lightning. He stared at Ye Qingxuan and subconsciously clenched his wooden staff. His muscles pulled taut as if he was going to crush it. "You" Everyone looked at Ye Qingxuan in shock. Even Miller did not expect that he would find the secret chamber that didn''t exist in the underground palace. "The sacred flame. Everyone forgot the sacred flame." Ye Qingxuan said, "There are all together twelve gods in Romulus, but there are only eleven in the hall. One was hidden the secret chamber. It is Mercury, the god of travelers and messengers. There was also a clue that the King of Yellow left before." Colt tightly pursed his lips. He sneered after a long while. "I see. So I''m a step behind. It seems that the people of Romulus choose you? It really didn''t occur to me that Caligula, that old man, would take so highly of you... Unfortunately, you can''t save them." Ye Qingxuan was silent as if he had not heard. He just clenched his fist tightly beneath his burnt sleeve. 365 Cannot Go Anywhere "Prove your words." Colt reached out. "Do you have proof?" "No." "Any way to get in?" Colt asked again pressingly. "You came here to take us all into the underground palace but you won''t even tell us how to get in?" "I''m the only one who can do it," Ye Qingxuan replied indifferently. "I don''t plan on publicizing the details." "Ha." Colt scoffed. "You must have some results, right? What about the King of Yellow? Any trace of him?" Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a long pause, he said, "I don''t know." Colt looked at him strangely as if looking at a lunatic. "So, you have no proof and you''re unwilling to provide any details or the exact location and method of entering, yet you want everyone to risk their lives and help you find a possibly non-existent secret room?" Colt raised his voice, "Ye Qingxuan, are you dreaming?" "Colt!" Miller shot up instinctively and glared. Torre looked over too, and Casper opened his mouth, revealing sharp canines. Colt stared back without fear. In his corner, a few musicians with clenched fists walked forward silently, preparing to surround them. "Wanna fight?" Colt sneered and looked at Ye Qingxuan. But Ye Qingxuan stayed silent. He smoked, blowing out plumes of gray. An eerie phantom appeared from the smoke. It was a wisp but wrapped around the two. It seemed that it would appear behind Colt at any time and place invisible swords on his neck. Colt stiffened. He looked at Ye Qingxuan darkly. "I was kind enough to let you all in but you''ve wanted to fight since the beginning?" Ye Qingxuan still did not reply. Finally, the pipe went out. The figure in the smoke disappeared. Lowering his head, he knocked off the ashes and wiped his pipe clean with a handkerchief. He slowly rose and put his bag back on his shoulders. "Since you''re all willing to wait here and die, I have nothing to say." Without looking at Colt, he said nonchalantly, "We''re leaving in two minutes. Those who are willing to believe me can come." Sensing his contempt, Colt''s expression darkened. However, the confused crowd rustled when they heard Ye Qingxuan''s words. Some hesitated but walked toward them. "Hey, are you really going?" "What if it''s true? We''ll just be waiting here anyway. Doing something is better than not doing anything at all. If I go and attract the dark musicians, I can make it safer for you." "Thenthen I''ll go with you." "What about you?" "I" The whispers snuck into Colt''s ears. Coldness flashed past his eyes and his lips thinned. With Ye Qingxuan''s arrival, everyone forgot the things he had done. They''d rather believe that demagogic guy. It was always like this! As long as that guy was present Already five or six people were preparing to leave. The others started having doubts too, panicking especially when Miller prepared to retract the Copper Mountain. Hiding the darkness in his eyes, Colt made his decision. "Wait!" he raised his voice and looked at Miller. Miller turned around, his hand stopping in mid-air. "I''m not against your leaving." Colt stared at him coldly. "But if you take it away, then what about the rest of us?" Hearing this, everyone grew anxious. Menace appeared in some eyes. Miller finally realized that he had become surrounded at some point. "Leave the Copper Mountain behind if you''re leaving." Colt looked at him with a cruel expression. "With so many people here, any resource is valuable. It can''t go to the grave with you." Miller froze. Seeing all these people around him, he was helpless. "B-butthis is Sam''s" Ye Qingxuan waved, gesturing for him to stop. "The Copper Mountain is what Sam left behind and I''m taking it. Even if I don''t, I still won''t give it to you all." He glanced at the people surrounding him. His cane popped out of his fingertip and thudded on the ground. "If you want to fight, then come. If you want to talk about philosophy, then here''s something for youwhat does your life and death have to do with me?" Hearing this, Colt laughed. He pounded his staff and asked quietly, "So you''re set on going alone?" "Stop the nonsense, Colt. Haven''t you been waiting for that?" Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow, his lips twisting into a smirk. "But are you confident in winning against me? Or are your teammates really that useful? Think carefully. Since I''ve come here, how many times could I have put a hint in your minds? Or put down fulcrums? Plus" Plus what? Behind him, Casper''s figure slowly expanded. A wild shadow scurried up the wall like a burning flame, emanating with beastliness. The music note key on Torre''s arm had appeared. He could activate the ''humanity seal'' instantly. "Are you ready?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Are you ready to make chaos in the front? Are you ready to face self-destructive methods? Or rather, are you ready to make this broken front completely fall apart? Colt fell silent. He grasped his staff with a dark expression. Then everyone''s vision went black. Boom! A sharp sound shattered all their eardrums. Messages from the darkness sounded outside the front. Countless girls screamed in despair but they sounded so beautiful. Their screams were gentle and graceful, inexplicably lovely. Music theory descended from the dark atrium, slamming against the shields of the front. The music notes and theory of the front cracked with tiny fissures. It was close to the end. In the air, the firelight within the Copper Mountain dimmed, close to going out. "Dark musicians!" the musician on guard before the window yelled. "The dark musicians are here!" "Don''t panic. How many" "I think-think there''s only two?" The Revelations musician looked down at his aether ball but his vision spun. "No, there''s seven, eighttwelvethere''s more than thirty!" "Give it to me!" Ye Qingxuan snatched the aether ball. Glancing at it, his expression darkened. "There''s only two and only one has acted but there are more than thirty aether waves. This is the largescale symphony that dark musicians specialize in!" Boom! The aether ball exploded. Outside the front, the hooded musician who had just overseen the transformation ritual of the Dark Gaia sensed that someone was watching and mercilessly cut off the connection. He immediately played his French horn. The shields around the front groaned and twisted. A hand reached out of thin air to get rid of these annoying obstacles! The slender and feminine hand tore at the front frantically but it was somehow beautiful, like a girl waving at her lover. Under the strange melody, girls reached out from the abyss, searching for their dance partners. Then blood rain fell from the sky. The bloody thunderstorm converged into a rumbling river. It burned like a river from hell. Brides in their wedding dresses emerged from the bloody river. The skeletal faces were covered in pure white veils. They looked gentle and lovely but their slender fingers had no warmth. The aura of death wrapped around them. "Skeletal brides?" Ye Qingxuan froze, remembering something. But then, a high and energetic song started. "Ah, ah, you worry so much. You''re young and beautiful, gentle and kind. You''re like a piece of gold shining in the mine. True love awakens here beside the Danube River, beside the beautiful Danube River of blood!" The hooded musician opened his arms wide and sang loudly. His sonorous voice was unusually attractive, making one envious. But there was no time to envy him. The world was shaking. Above the boiling blood river, the front was quickly covered in a layer of red. The redness seeped into the music theory outside the front, aiming to upend the entire yard. Tiles scraped and twisted, the walls shook and collapsed, the ground roared and quaked A ghastly crack appeared on the earth and the bloody river sprayed out. A slender and white hand instantly reached out. Then a white veil and skull shot out with a smile. A blazing silver nail burst forward. Boom! The nail went straight into the forehead, embedding into the bone. Ye Qingxuan held the silver nail with one hand. He clenched a fist with the other and slammed down. Bang! With a tragic wail, the silver nail broke through the skull, digging into the bride''s core. The music notes burning on the nail burst forth with a horn. Flames exploded! The skeletal bride was nailed into the blood river. She struggled but the blazing fire was like a four-sided sword. It exploded above her skull and rose up in flames to the ceiling. Within the pillar of fire, the bride wailed and screamed, turning to ash. Before that, Ye Qingxuan had already collected the Copper Mountain, stuffing it into Miller''s arms. He yanked the dazed boy up to get the h*ll out of there. He was confident in his bad luck but he never thought his predictions would come so quickly. The dark musician was almost there. Who knew what would happen if they stayed here? It was better to make a definite choice. After all, these guys were adamant on going toward the dead end. Ye Qingxuan would just let them be. "Leaving again?" Miller froze and looked at the dark shadow in the distance. "There''s only one. If we all fight, we might win, right?" "You knowanyone who says that in novels fail." Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. He did not know how to explain the sense of danger that finally besieged him. He could only drag Miller up. While everyone was still dazed, he kicked down the swaying wall and ran out from the side. Hesitating shortly, Torre and Casper followed behind him. "Ah, I thought you''d live and die with them." "Living with them is okay but I''d pass on the dying." Torre sighed. "You ran without even thinking after seeing him. I''d be stupid if I stayed there." "That makes sense." Torre glanced at his troubled look. "You know that dark musician?" "I don''t but I have my guesses. I can''t believe it." Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. "If I''m right, then we''re in trouble." Before he finished, a frail figure appeared in the ruins before them. He was a boy around thirteen or fourteen years old. "Uncle said I can''t let you leave." The youth put his doll into his pocket and looked up. His eyes were gold, pure gold like a dragon, and wildly bloodshot. He said, "You must stay." 366 See Enough and You’ll Know "You have to stay..." Just before the teenager finished his words, Casper roared furiously. For the first time, Ye Qingxuan saw Casper become so furious that he even broke free from Torre''s control. He seemed to have sensed something very dangerous. The roar of a beast resounded through Auschwitz. Then, countless beats'' giant mouths suddenly loomed toward the boy. Casper rushed forward and his body expanded crazily in the midair. He even slightly broke free from the ''seal of humanity.'' Swallowing the beastliness in his consciousness, he forcefully evolved into the three-headed hound. It was a veritable fusion of beastly nature. Dozens of species of phantom beasts were fused in his body. Each one was a huge phantom beast from the remnants of his ''beastly inheritance.'' In the blink of an eye, he turned into a half-human, half-beast covered in fiery flames. Immense toxicity spread. Not expecting the enemy would attack directly, the teenager was shocked for a moment. He watched as Casper rushed to him. Then, he reached a hand out to Casper''s forehead and suddenly pressed down! Bang! The earth trembled. It was like a falling rock crushing Casper''s skull from high above. Casper was crushed into the ground by the boy''s palm. The huge fulmination spread and the trembling earth made one''s vision go black. Dust flew but soon froze in the air. The teenager suppressed Casper''s fury merely with his own strength. An invisible power extended out from his hands to freeze the air and formed twisted shackles. Casper frantically struggled in the shackles but was unable to move. Ye Qingxuan was drenched in cold sweat. He knew this power; he was so familiar with it... "I said you all have to stay." The youth looked up. There seemed to be melting gold boiling in his eyes. "No one can leave." This feeling was definitely it... "The dragon breath..." Ye Qingxuan whispered softly. This was the ''dragon breath'' that only phantom beast ''Dragon'' could produce. It could interfere with reality at will by attaching the thought to the aether, condensing it into substance, and transforming into an intangible but qualitative force. That power could turn into a bone-picking knife and completely tear the body into shreds, but it could also attach to the body and strengthen the human flesh to an unimaginable level. It was said that at its extreme, one could turn into the wind, into clouds, into a fire or even thunder and lightning! But in this youth''s hands, it was used as skillfully as his arm. Ye Qingxuan had never seen such powerful dragon breath that could suppress Casper''s outbreak in an instant. At the same time, behind them, in the distance of the crushing position, the breath of the abyss pierced into the sky in the distant crushing front. Blood fire burned. In the dismal song, the skeleton brides danced with desperate grooms. They embraced their partners tenderly and immersed themselves in the burning blood river. In the chaos, the frantic musicians were determined to surround him at all costs. ''The Hole of Destruction'', ''Catalysis of Beastly Nature'', ''Mimicry Illusion'', ''The Eyes of the Exterminator''... These strange movements and alchemical equipment emerged endlessly, but no matter what kind of power, they were all jokes to the hooded musician even though he was only at the Resonance level. Holding the Hole of Destruction from the sky, the figure seemed to suddenly teleport. The figure easily took away that strangely glowing ''eyes'' and swallowed them. Then an arm grew out of the shoulder, playing a gentle tempo. However, a Modifications movement cut into the beat, forcibly causing the music theory''s backlash. The musician instantly swelled and turned into dust. He seemed to have anticipated what would happen next. Using only the Danube River of Blood and countless strange music scores, the hooded musician was able to sweep the stage with his destructive power. He seemed to be toying with the musicians with his skills. Thus, the musicians sank into the blood river one after another and were sealed by the skeletons, waiting to be transformed. "Is that all you got?" The hooded musician chuckled. "I was expecting all the school''s elites to have some new tricks, but you all play the same trick? I saw nothing different from what I learned when I came into your school with a disguise." "Well, then, try this!" a voice said behind him. It was a dark-skinned youth with a head of braids. His body was painted with all kinds of strange tattoos. Under the tattoos, layers of notes flowed. He was like a phantom treading on the blood river. He crashed through the air and set off a white blast. Then that frantic speed brought by his left foot was thrown into the blood river, setting off frenzied waves. The power went into his body with this action. It crossed his waist and went along the shoulders. His muscles fluctuated like waves as if they were alive. They grew and expanded three times so that he practically became a giant in that moment. Then the power that was enough to break a wall gathered into his fist and he punched forward! The fist broke through the air again with a blast. The speed even went beyond the speed of the sound. It penetrated layers of shields before the movement changed, smashing through layers of defense and slashing toward the hooded musician''s shoulders. Boom! The hooded musician''s shoulder and even half of his chest was blown up. His body flew out but he recovered in mid-air and landed slowly on the ground. A hint of pleasant surprise flashed in his eyes. "That attack was a bit like ''nudge inside'' of Eastern martial arts, but the speed and strength..." He gazed at the young musician and muttered, "One''s body would have vaporized in this speed. Hey, young man, what''s your name?" "Paul Bunyan." The young musician with braids rolled his neck. His joints cracked and popped. His muscles had turned into an abnormal dark color. "The strengthened Choir?" The hooded musician recognized the power in his body but immediately shook his head. "No, there is also strengthened Modifications. That''s it! "You combined it with the music theory of the school of Choir and transformed your body with the power of Modifications so that your physical fitness could almost be improved endlessly... Was it inspired by the dark musicians?" He applauded with joy. "New theories and levels produced after just a few decades? Amazing! I am impressed. I never thought that the weak human body could be strengthened to this degree. You are almost like steelno, you''re far beyond steel! If we didn''t appear, you would surely be able to shine in this trial! Becoming the elite of this new generation musicians is also possible for you!" "It is the same even with your appearance!" Paul Bunyan suddenly flashed and his body came like thunder. He seemed to grow three heads and six arms. His fists smashed forward like storms. Every fist would penetrate through the air and bring about an explosion. There was thunder! The strength and fist were pushed to the limit. He solved all the problems by meeting them head on. No matter if it was a shield, walls, or anything else before him, everything must be mercilessly destroyed! During battle, Paul Bunyan''s blood almost boiled. Strands of blood gushed from his pores like burning flames. In an instant, the hooded musician was beaten into mud but then recover soon as if he had endless vitality. However, he could not fight back against Paul Bunyan. "...My weakness wasfound...?" "Sure enough, you''re spent!" Paul Bunyan laughed. "What Colt said was true. You have run out of your strength after fighting with so many musicians! As long as I restrain your change with speed, you have no ability to fight back!" "Col...t... Well, he must be the elite of the Rock Institute. I did not expect that I''d be revealed..." After the flurry of beatings, the ball of ground flesh and mud could still talk and even laugh tauntingly. "But where is the Colt that you mentioned?" Paul Bunyan was stunned. He turned back but only found several figures behind him. Colt, who had been conducting them, had disappeared. No, he had escaped! "Distraction in battle...is very dangerous." At that instant, the hooded musician''s voice sounded in his ear. His vision went black as if the back of his head was hit by a siege hammer. His body flew out and smashed against a wall. He quickly climbed up and looked over blankly. Standing still, the hooded musician had already recovered. The palms under the broken cuffs constantly changed. They were dark as iron and cold as silver. At the end, they seemed to have transformed into dark purple crystal. "How could..." Paul Bunyan almost suffocated. He had figured out the method used by the hooded musician. It was the core music theory of his schoolImmortal Alchemy! The frail body sublimated into a more solid golden iron, and finally, to an immortal state. "Is it really strange?" The hooded musician laughed. "What''s so strange thing? See enough and you''ll naturally know." The next moment, Paul Bunyan''s face turned. The enemy was pouncing toward him! - In the darkness, Colt was running wildly. His footsteps were silent and the figure was misty. In the huge Auschwitz, he was aware of the existence of many dark musicians and demons. He ran at the edge of their range of perceptions and quietly ran through many battles. No one noticed him. Soon he sneaked into the outside of the mine and hid himself in a half-collapsed building. He held his breath warily and gazed at the demons wandering around the mine in the distance. 367 Master of Justice Since the front was destroyed, they could only venture into the mine, use the complex paths to escape the pursuers, and find the hidden room with Ye Qingxuan''s clues. This was the best solution now and was they were close to success. However, the closer to success they were, the more humiliated Colt felt. This was the solution he had looked down upon but now, reality proved Ye Qingxuan was correct. This guy who was not even good at Revelations! So who was wrong? Colt''s face twitched. This guy had used his words to lower everyone''s morale and led all the musicians to run away with him the moment the fighting started. With all the people they had, they would not have been captured by that dark musician if they had stayed! He lowered his head. His face hidden in the shadows was livid. Ever since Heisenberg returned from Anglo, he no longer praised Colt and instead grew distant and cold. Even when Colt broke through the Barrier of Knowledge and made all sorts of accomplishments to prove his talent, he only received four words: I have no successors. "I''m so envious of Abraham," Colt still remembered how Heisenberg had murmured that day. "If I have a successor like him, the School of the Secret Keepers must have a glorious future, right?" Glorious future From that day on, the future of the secret keepers dimmed because the cloud called ''Ye Qingxuan'' hung over his head. No matter where he went, those three syllables followed him like a shadow. It wrapped around his ears and took everything from him! "That''s the smell of jealousy. Can you smell it?" Behind him, a blurry face reached out of the shadows. He inhaled deeply around him, his eyes intoxicated. "This sweet and heavy smell like wineI haven''t encountered it in years." Behind Colt, Crowley came out of the shadows. He gently held Colt''s shoulder and said with a soft and curious voice, "Young man, you have not yet fallen. Why is the dark abyss in your heart as deep as the sea?" "I" Colt gaped at him. His hand quietly reached into his sleeve and grasped the dagger''s hilt. His hand tightened and tightened until it loosened weakly. "What are you scared of? Me? Orsomeone else?" Crowley chuckled meaningfully. He pressed onto Colt''s forehead with an eye-crinkling smile. "I see The Rock Institute? Why help those old gatekeepers?" He paused, looking down at the shocked Colt. "I allow you to become the concertmaster of the perishing praise within five years." In the silence, Colt collapsed onto the floor as if all his energy was sucked out. He was covered in cold sweat. He looked at Crowley but saw no reflection in his eyesonly darkness from the abyss. Colt seemed to have found his true nature in the darkness. He lowered his head. - In that moment, Ye Qingxuan and Torre, who had been shaken by the dragon breath, met each other''s eyes. Behind them, no more sound came from the shattered front. They could only sense a writhing shadow. It seemed to solidify into a human with thousands of hands, hundreds of feet, crawling over to them. They could not keep going! Torre tapped his finger onto the air. The emptiness shook. His bloody gray robe suddenly expanded. Blazing light glowed within. Under it, the blood and grayness warped, burned, and transformed into a flame. Hoarse singing rang out from him, guiding aether to descend. A star shone in the black sky and rose gradually. It told of a holy arrival! The strange youth suddenly looked up. Something murderous flashed past his eyes. Invisible dragon breath surged and tore through the air like a white dragon shooting toward Torre. Everything in its path was pulverized by the iron. However, Torre closed his eyes and started praying. "Who can bear it when he comes? Who can remain standing when he appears? He is like the fire that smelts gold, the alkali that cleanses one" As he sang the holy hymn, radiant light fell from the sky, breaking through the dark abyss and falling on everyone. Ye Qingxuan was untouched but the strange youth shook, practically falling to the ground. The dragon breath dissipated! All of the aether was forcefully converged into the glow. The power was comparable to how Yunlou Chaoyue had awakened the ''Taiyi'' and transformed into the sole master of aether. All white noise and demonic sounds were chased away. This was the Messiahthe music score that announced the coming of God and Heaven! This was a specialty of Discipline musicians. After investigating the true nature and rules of aether, they created the discipline way in the School of Abstinence. Thus, they were able to see the patterns of all beings and learned ways to counter them. It was the same faced with Modifications, Illusion, and the dragon breath. But even for Discipline musicians, performing the Messiah at the Resonance level was still too dangerous. Torre had only chanted the beginning but his body was already burning. His skin cracked apart and blood flowed from his eyes. The light burst through but flickered like a candle in the wind. Ye Qingxuan did not waste the precious time Torre fought for him. He unfurled his Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and instrument strings overlapped, abruptly playing a melody. Sub-originatoractivate! Layers of thunder and lightning overlapped and shot out, carving a complex music score in thin air. The electric score changed with the melody. The image of a moon instantly rose behind Ye Qingxuan. The music jumped past the overture and straight into the ''main melody.'' Without stopping, it swept past ''cold,''''calling,''''death,''''qi'', ''soul''until it reached the eighteenth measure of the main melody''sword!'' "Moonlight is the symphony of predestination that Teacher could not complete even after he entered the Scepter level," Lola had once said to Ye Qingxuan. "It contains all of his work. And even though ''sword'' sounds graceful, it''s actually contains ten steps of murder. It''s similar to the deadly phenomena of the white rainbow, a comet crashing into the moon, and the black eagle who assassinated the emperor. All of Teacher''s murderous wishes are put into this measure." Thus, the image of moonlight turned black like a steel curtain of black clouds. The clouds wavered as if they were inside a thunderstorm. The sword! Moonlight broke through the clouds, falling down like a sword! The cold light swept across. Nothing in its path was harmed but the implied negativity disappeared. All sadness, fear, and coldness vanished. All that remained was the flashing sword of moonlight. The moonlight broke through! In that instant, the boy shook. He forcefully broke free from Messiah''s halo. Torre spat out blood and stumbled back. However, the boy sensed danger and looked up. Golden fire burned in his eyes. Scales appeared on his limbs and his fingernails sharpened. Digging into the stones, he charged at Ye Qingxuan before the moonlight fell. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth and roared, "Mordred, you dare disobey me?!" The voice was not like his at all. It was hoarse and low, seeming to contain endless hysteria and furythis was the roar from crazy King Arthur who had paced through Avalon''s Shadow for centuries! This voice had given Ye Qingxuan immense fear in Avalon''s Shadow. This was why he remembered it. As the voice sounded, the sub-originator in Ye Qingxuan''s heartthe core of Avalon''s enchantmentradiated with the king''s aura. "Ah!" Terrified screams broke out. The boy''s movements suddenly stopped. His face filled with fear as if he was swallowed by a nightmare. He screamed deliriously and scrambled on the ground as the deadly moonlight sword fell down! Silently, the moonlight blade cut through his shoulders, piercing into his chest and nailing him to the ground. Cold moonlight entered his body and spread, fusing into his blood. It transformed into thousands of tiny blades, tainting his blood, destroying his organs, and turning him to dust from the inside out. "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts" On the ground, the boy named Mordred rolled and writhed in pain. He scratched at his chest, tearing his flesh as he tried to dig out the nonexistent moonlight. However, specks of cold moonlight wrapped around his body, turning his organs into dust again and again, and they died away and regenerated. Like a real kid, he rolled in pain without even thinking of fighting back. "Daddy, don''t hit me I''m sorry, daddy, I''m sorry Don''t lock me up, I''m scared" Mordred wailed, rolling on the ground. He cried, "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Don''t hit me, daddy, my head hurts" The dragon breath turned into destructive electric light, shooting up to the sky! Under the light, Mordred transformed into a demi-dragon. He lowered his head and dragon breath poured from his mouth. This was the true nature of the dragon''s destructiveness. Not even he himself could stop it. Half of his body along with the moonlight dimmed in an instant. But then it grew rapidly, flesh growing and bones extending. The blood of the red dragon had given him endless vitality, causing him to grow wilder! "Split up!" Ye Qingxuan only had the time to stuff his bag into Miller''s hands. "Don''t worry about me and go to the mine! Everything to open the room is in here! I''ll find you guys after I get rid of this beast!" Without waiting for Miller''s response, he activated the Governor and rushed toward the other direction. Mind-numbing murderous intent followed, whistling past. He heard a string cracking sounds. It was the furious Mordred crashing through layers of obstacles. Ye Qingxuan looked back. The sight he saw made the hair on the back of his neck stand up straight. Mordred had transformed into a dragon completely. He was chasing with blood-red eyes. "Daddy, don''t go!" it roared hysterically. "Let me kill you! Let me kill you! I''m going to! Kill! You!" Boom! Ye Qingxuan''s vision went dark and he flew out. In the air, he felt himself get hit at least ten times. Each time was enough to pulverize him. If he had not activated Holy in time, he would be a mass of blood now, raining onto Auschwitz''s dry dirt. Maybe there would be flowers here next year. But before he could keep thinking nonsense, he smashed into the ground. He rolled and finally crashed into a burning home. In the next moment, the flames were extinguished by Mordred''s dragon breath. Furious, he grabbed Ye Qingxuan. His red eyes were murderous. He raised his other hand, about to scratch his face into shredded flesh! "Mordy" A hand reached out of the darkness and tapped the back of his head. "Stop." The sharp claws stopped. Mordred abruptly came out of his dragon state. Losing all strength, he collapsed onto the ground. His eyes were blank like a broken doll. The hooded musician walked out of the darkness and picked Mordred up by the neck as if he was a pet. Then he looked down at Ye Qingxuan''s pathetic state and tsked. "Such a small world. My friend, you always surprise me." "The feeling is mutual." Ye Qingxuan coughed and tried to catch his breath. He looked up at this ''old friend.''"Naberius, aren''t you dead?" "The musician''s stage is cruel, my friend. Every important character needs the skill of faking deaths. Coincidentally, I''m the best at this." Naberius lifted his hood, revealing the familiar face with an arched eyebrow. "How about it? Are you surprised?" "Surprised your *ass," Ye Qingxuan swore weakly. "Why are you always here? You''re so annoying!" Naberius sighed and scratched his head awkwardly. "I couldn''t help it. The abyss has a shortage of people and I have a shortage of money so I had to come work." He suddenly changed the topic and his expression grew more cheerful, "However, compared to the destruction before, we''re here as lofty masters of justice this time!" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but scoff. "Justice? Since when do dark musicians have the right to talk about justice with me? Is it justice to turn people into demons?" Naberius glanced at him with a strange expression, smiling but not smiling. "Youdon''t think that no one discovered when the Sacred City did those small things to Auschwitz, right? Who do you think asked us to come and save the Romulusians from the disaster?" In that moment, Ye Qingxuan froze. He had guessed the answer but he did not believe it. "That''s right! The answer is" Features dancing, Naberius uttered the name, "The elder of Auschwitz, the last saint of the RomulusiansCaligula!" 368 I’ll Whistle for You When Ye Qingxuan regained consciousness, it felt like his head was cracking apart. In the underground room that had been transformed into a prison, he was half naked and soaked in some sticky liquid. Breathing was difficult. He could not feel blood flowing and had lost his sense of aether. He felt drowsy too and could not collect his thoughts. "Hey, do you have to be so serious?" Ye Qingxuan rasped out, struggling to open his eyes. "Can''t you just use a rope?" "How can a rope be suitable for someone of your status?" Naberius snickered. "You''re experiencing the treatment of a grandmaster right now. How is it? Happy?" "F*ck you." "I''m reassured seeing how feisty you are." Naberius nodded in satisfaction. "I''ll have Mordred accompany you during the wait so you won''t be lonely. He''s really obedient and you can ask him for anything you need, even bedtime stories. Don''t worry, it won''t be long. It''ll be your turn in a few hours." He paused. His narrow eyes squinted in anticipation. "Don''t be afraid. You won''t feel anything being taken away when you fall into darkness. All you''ll receive is liberation. I''m really excited. How powerful will you become from the evil thoughts and unimaginable darkness locked away in your mind?" Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes, no longer listening. He quietly sensed his surroundings but he was disappointed. The dark musicians had really given him the grandmaster treatment. There was not even a handkerchief on him. He obviously did not have something as powerful as Jiu Xiao Huan Pei either. Thinking of this, he could not help but look over at Naberius. All of his belongings were hanging on the wall behind the youth reading fairytales on the ground "How long was I unconscious for?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Two months." Naberius chuckled. "So don''t worry, Auschwitz has already been burned to the ground. As for the trial, the good news is that all your competitors are dead. The bad news is, you didn''t gain anything." Ye Qingxuan did not even glance at him. "Tell the truth." "Tsk, half an hour." Naberius shook his head. "Being too familiar isn''t a good thing. I can''t even crack a joke." Just as he finished, footsteps appeared outside the dungeon. A black shadow walked toward Naberius. "Leader Crowley calls for you." Naberius nodded. He glanced over at the newcomer, eyes filled with involuntary shock. "He chose you? He has good taste. Since the leader thinks highly of you, I''ll leave this to you. I''m sure you and the prisoner will have a good time." He patted the man''s shoulder and left. All that remained in the cell were Ye Qingxuan, shackled in the cage, and the man outside the cage. "Hey, Colt" Seeing his cold expression, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh in amazement. "Your new clothes are pretty handsome. I didn''t expect this to suit you, really." Faced with the undisguised mockery, Colt remained cold. "Whatever. Even with your abilities, aren''t you in this state too? People have to know when to give up so they won''t become as pathetic as you. "I can''t believe Naberius is so good to you. He even added some of the Dark Gaia''s flesh into the treatment liquid. Other than treating your wounds, you''ll have an extra ability after your transformation. You should thank him. He treats you well." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I didn''t know dark musicians were so hospitable. I can''t wait to join this loving family! When will you take me to meet the ''parents''?" He paused, his expression turning into disdain. "Oh, right! You''re not a dark musician yet either. You haven''t even seen ''daddy'' yet and you''re already here to sing the praises? Your teacher at the Rock Institute will be sad, you know." Colt''s expression remained unchanged. In the corner behind him, Mordred suddenly raised his cold eyes. A dragon scale fingernail shot out of his fingers like a blade. Seeming to sense this coldness behind him, Colt stepped back. The fingers clenched around his sword loosened one by one. "You''re on your own, Ye Qingxuan." He stared long and hard at the youth in the cage and left. In silence, Ye Qingxuan watched as he disappeared and let out a relieved sigh. He really could not control his mouth. What if he accidentally pissed this guy off completely and Colt decided to end him? "Thanks, Mordy." Ye Qingxuan waved at the youth in the corner. The youth glanced up with disdain. Ye Qingxuan was speechless. However, time dragged on forever in the silence. Finally, he could not help it anymore and asked, "Can you really read me fairytales?" Mordred looked up in confusion. After confirming that there really were such bored adults in the world, he looked down and tried to read the fairytale out loud. He stumbled over the words and butchered the story. Ye Qingxuan suspected this was a new type of torture. "Hey, Mordy." Ye Qingxuan coughed, clearing his throat. "Can you get the clothes on the wall for me? And my bag" Mordred raised his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan as if he was stupid. "My uncle said that if you said that, I should tell you, ''do you think I''m an idiot?''" What Ye Qingxuan felt at the moment was indescribably. He sighed. "What can you do other than reading fairy tales? Can you whistle?" "Do you want to hear?" Mordred glanced at him and shook his head. "Because I can''t." "I didn''t expect you to either." Ye Qingxuan sighed weakly. "There''s a whistle in my bag. You can take it out and play it." Mordred froze. He thought about it, hesitating. "Why should I play your whistle?" "Then whistle with your mouth." "I can''t." "Then you can only find a whistle to play, right?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged innocently. Then he started rolling on the ground, moaning, "Help! I really want to hear whistling. I''m gonna die!" Mordred hesitated for a long time. Finally annoyed by Ye Qingxuan, he got up and kicked the bars. "Shut up! It''s just whistling" Ye Qingxuan shut up obediently. He watched as Mordred yanked his bag off the wall and started trifling through. "Ah, it''s not there. The bottom-yeah, your right side, beside that box-yes, yes, that one!" He could not help but clap his hands. "Whistle, whistle, whistle!" he cheered like a kindergartener waiting for a performance. Mordred glanced at him suspiciously. He checked the whistle in his hands but found that it was just a regular thing. It could do nothing other than make loud noises. This showed the importance of being cunning. If Naberius was here, he would definitely break the whistle and burn it to dust. But Mordred was different. After hesitating, he picked up the whistle given to Ye Qingxuan by the Angloian grandmaster and put it in his mouth. He blew. The sound was thin yet sharp and traveled into the distance instantly. In that moment, Ye Qingxuan was overjoyed. Cackling, he almost flipped inside the cage. Then a long, long while laternothing happened in the silence. Ye Qingxuan waited blankly for a long, long while. Still, nothing happened. His smile stiffened on his face like a withered cabbage. Outside the cage, Mordred was tired. He threw the whistle into the cage in annoyance. "If you like whistles then you blow it yourself. I''ve never seen someone so happy from whistles. Are you some kind of dog demon?" Ye Qingxuan clutched the whistle and cried without tears. - Somewhere in the deep abyss, darkness filled every crevice. Six captured grandmasters sat cross-legged in the cramped space, their brows furrowed. Someone pounded the darkness furiously but the darkness showed no sign of weakening. "Stop wasting your energy." Mr. Hu sighed. "This is a projection of the abyss. We''re all inside the Garment of Original Sin. There''ll be no use unless someone breaks through the dark atrium or if we self-destruct. It sucks here but at least it''s difficult for them to move or hurt us. We''re just locked up temporarily." "You make it sound simple!" A grandmaster rolled his eyes and glared. "Your studentsthose Easternershad gone home long ago! You''re by yourself, of course you''re relaxed!" "That''s a reason, of coursebut ''home is where the heart is.'' There''s nothing wrong with making the best of things, right?" Mr. Hu waved with a smile and pointed at the kettle on the small stove before him. "The tea''s almost done. Would anyone want some?" "The tea''s done? Great, great!" The Angloian grandmaster, snoring in a corner, suddenly woke up. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. "Ah, it''s been a while since I slept so well." "Dreams come from the heart." Mr. Hu chuckled. "Maybe you''re the type that can only sleep well in the abyss." The Angloian grandmaster laughed as well. Rather than correcting him, he picked up the thumb-sized teacup. Looking at the green tea, he drank it all. "Someone told me this is life." He shrugged. "I give in." In the silence, Mr. Hu lifted his teacup as well, smiling in reply. Then he suddenly looked up and listened hard. "Is someone blowing a whistle?" "Is there? Whatever" The Angloian grandmaster yawned. "I''ve been lacking sleep these past few days. Let me sleep a bit longer." He laid down in the corner and started snoring as soon as he finished. He slept soundly as if he dreamed of a peaceful home in the abyss. 369 Something Flying in the Sky! After a period of time that was not long but felt like eternity, Ye Qingxuan finally heard a raspy voice say, "Ye Qingxuan, it''s your turn." He was instantly tied up and covered in shackles and chains. As if he was the source of some pollution, he was also covered in two layers of what looked like body bags. Then he was carried by two strange demi-dragons to the altar. He only realized that he had been locked inside a cellar when he was carried out. All that remained in Auschwitz was death. Among the corpses, he could see black ''cocoons'' everywhere. The sleeping souls within the cocoons were slowly transforming to receive their new life. After tonight, there would be a new race in the abyss. Hyakume''s status amongst the natural catastrophes would rise again. He was close to ruling over the others. If these things really had upper and lower positions, that was. The demi-dragons carrying him were one of the abyss races. This race had appeared hundreds of years ago in the Dark World. They combined different demonic traits and created a new race and society. Many musicians were born from them and they showed signs of establishing a kingdom like the moon spirits. However, most demi-dragons had low intelligence. They could not even be compared to a child. They were also aggressive, competitive, and loved to fight. However, they were loyal and thus liked by dark musicians. They were often hired as part of their retinue. Though they were demi-dragons, they were more like lizards. They did not have talents like the ''dragon breath.'' They had natural hard scales and could pass down their memories to their descendants. All of them could be soldiers. Such as the two carrying Ye Qingxuan. Soon, a disgusting scent hit him in the face. The smell of rotting blood was extremely familiar and forced Ye Qingxuan to recall many unhappy memories. There was also the faint smell of mercury and sulfur. The dark musicians ordered the two demi-dragons to force Ye Qingxuan to the ground. Shackles went around his hands and feet, chaining him into place. Rings were put around him into an alchemy array. He could vaguely see the complex music theory from the abyss. There were many other musicians around him with the same treatment. However, they were all pale-faced and glared furiously at Colt in the distance. An old musician who looked like a night owl went up and checked all of them. He cackled. "All are high quality. Colt, your information is pretty good!" "You flatter me. I''m just trying my best." Colt nodded. "It''s great that I can contribute to the perishing praise." Night Owl laughed. "Don''t worry, the leader will definitely remember you when this succeeds. At that time, he will ask the lord to transform you personally. The last one who was given this honor is still the lead priest of Anglo!" Colt chuckled quietly but did not reply. However, the musicians who still had some sanity left started yelling and cursing. If Colt had not revealed their information, they would not have been caught so easily. Colt acted as if he could not hear. He injected the louder ones with tranquilizers until they went blank. The room returned to silence. No longer looking at them, Colt walked to the corner. He gazed as if enjoying the view. However, he froze for some reason, as if seeing something scary. Ye Qingxuan, who had been sneaking glances, thought it strange. He could even seefear in Colt''s eyes? But Colt''s expression quickly went back to normal and he stepped into the shadows. The night-owlish musician rubbed his hands. Lighting incense, he prepared the transformation ritual while muttering to himself, "I''ve been saying that the faceless actors are unreliable. They ruined the transformation array in the northern inn and wasted all my efforts. Now I have to do it all over again. And that, Ye Qingxuanwhich one''s Ye Qingxuan?" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and pretended to be dead. However, this was useless. The old man still found him. He coughed awkwardly and opened his eyes. "What do you want from me?" "You''re Ye Qingxuan?" The old musician studied him and cackled. "You look handsome. No wonder Lord Naberius thinks so highly of you." "Hey, don''t say nonsense!" Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. "No one wants to be thought of highly by him, alright?" The man cocked his head. He took out a bone from his pocket and munched on it like a snack. The action gave one the chills. "Don''t worry. Lord Naberius has requested that you''ll have the best transformation. Your materials are ten times better than everyone else. When you''re done, you''ll be the next black star!" His features danced as he spoke, "When you''re successful and still haven''t forgotten me, please take care of this old man." Ye Qingxuan''s face twisted. "No, no, no, I take revenge for the littlest things. You''re so ugly, I''ll definitely kill your entire family when I''m successful! So what if you let me go now or reconsider?" "Haha, that''s what everyone says but it''s all different after the transformation." Mr. Night Owl patted his shoulders. "You''ll like the feeling." This time, he got up without waiting for a reply. He grabbed a bone staff from his assistant and hit the air as if it was a gong. Boom! Drumbeats resounded. It felt as if the staff had fallen on their skulls. Everyone''s vision went black and the world spun; they practically lost their sanity. The drum sounded again and again like muffled thunder. Each beat was agitating, making one nauseous and muddled. Hallucinations appeared in their minds; they could barely control themselves. Ye Qingxuan was the most clear-headed of them all. However, that probably was not a good thing right now. He was forced to watch a dark cloud rise from the array, creating various hallucinations, and slowly close in on them. This was the gift and transformation of the deep abyss. Once swallowed by itYe Qingxuan would probably have to live the rest of his life hiding around. No, the moment his transformation succeeded, he would probably be burned to dust by the moonlight within him! He really did not want to try such a sad death. He suddenly had an idea "Ah! Save me!" Ye Qingxuan suddenly started yelling with a pale face under the solemn drumbeats and satanic chants. "Oh no! A hairy and uglyuh, no! It''s justsomething bad is gonna happen!" The drum stopped abruptly. The old night owl looked over with furrowed brows. The captured musicians looked over too. Their eyes contained hidden anticipation, waiting to see his amazing trick to turn the tides. Under those complex gazes, Ye Qingxuan was covered with cold sweat. He pointed to the sky with difficulty. "Look, there''s something strange flying in the air! It looks like a disc. It even glows!" Awkward silence. Everyone looked at him as if he was an idiot. "You" Night Owl glanced at him in disbelief. "You really think someone would be stupid enough to look?" "Uh, you won''t?" Ye Qingxuan looked away in embarrassment. "Then I''ll try something else?" Everyone''s expressions changed. They were hard to describe but basically carried the message, f*cking dumb*ss. Night Owl sighed and raised his bone staff. "Continue the ritual! Everyone work harder and transform this annoying guy first!" The rumbling drum sounded again. And Ye Qingxuan started screaming again. "Help! There''s seriously a situation! Look behind you, seriously! Someone''s trying to stab your back. Look, he even took his knife outNo seriously, I''m the b*stard child of the Anglo royalty. If you let me go, we can work together and get rich, alright? "One of my bros is doing well in Burgundy. Don''t you want to get to know him? Let me go and anything''s okay! Hey!" He spouted nonsense but the dark musicians were unmoved. They sped up the transformation ritual instead. He felt that he was swallowed by the darkness already. Nothing he could say was useful now. It was true what the old proverbs said: when in doubt just do it; life or death is nothing, longitudinal just do it. He did not know what ''longitudinal'' meant, but basically, just do it! He would just do it! Something flashed past his eyes and the moonlight within him gradually glowed. The sub-originator was inside his body, after all, and its roots were in his blood. If the dark musicians were so powerful, why didn''t they rip his chest open and check his heart? The sleeping sub-originator was activated. It pulsed with his heart like a drum, agitated yet heavy. Moonlight appeared in his blood instantly and flowed through his body. Within a second, it was as if he had run thousands of meters. Sweat evaporated and his muscles swelled. It felt like his body would explode. As his veins cracked, strands of blood met in the air, transforming into pure moonlight. It flashed, removing the shackles on him. Ye Qingxuan felt his mind clearing. He recovered his sense of aether and jumped up, moonlight burning around him. Under the light''s calling, something whistled through the air and fell into Ye Qingxuan''s hands. It snapped open and turned into overlapping instrument strings. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had come. It pierced into the transformation array and disrupted the music theory. The ritual came to a screeching halt. The drumbeats shook. The old night owl stepped back under the counterattack. Eerie green light shot from his eyes. "No wonder Naberius thinks highly of you. You tipped the scales so easily. But sadly, you can''t esc" Before the last syllable fell from his lips, it was replaced by the sound of black organs shattering and a scream. Behind him, someone forced a dagger into his heart. Before the blade, all alchemy equipment and shields collapsed. Wild waves rippled through the body, mixing the internal organs and destroying the sound of heart. One shot kill! Night Owl tried to look back blankly but someone held his head. He did not even know who killed him before he died. The corpse fell, revealing Colt behind it. "There''s something flying in the sky?" He looked at Ye Qingxuan disdainfully. "That''s a horrible excuse." 370 Something Really Is Flying! Colt''s sudden return was a surprise to everyone, including the dark musicians, but even more so for Ye Qingxuan. However, he had no time to worry about the details. He must gain the upper hand and get rid of the dark musicians before they reacted! Sparse notes sounded. Under the cool melody, moonlight rose and seeped into the restraining music score. Like water, it was instantly wiped away like water. As something designed specifically to counter natural catastrophes, it was too easy for the moonlight to dissolve the dark musicians'' shackles. Next, Ye Qingxuan''s voice rang in every sleeping musician''s mind. "Wake up!" Everyone startled awake as if they were wacked in the head. There was no time to wait for them to recover. Ye Qingxuan unethically planted the hint that all dark musicians were enemies, causing them to start attacking without even thinking. They were going to fight anyway. This was just faster. However, what was beyond his expectations was Colt''s speed. He never thought that this guy would be so skilled in fighting. Within a few snaps of the finger, Colt floated like a ghost past two dark musicians, leaving cuts on their throats. Their blood instantly evaporated and spewed from the cut as thin as a fingernail. The anti-tune sword was not very harmful to the body but once it entered music theory, it would be absolute destructionespecially if it was wielded by a Modifications genius. It was clear that Colt was extraordinarily talented. He had developed such a function targeted at enchantment breakthroughs and could use it so easily. The dark musicians started fighting back after a few moments. The awakened musicians did not hold back either. Both sides fell into a flurry of fighting. Ye Qingxuan retracted Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, turning it back into a cane, and thudded it against the ground. A horn rang out. Dawn was coming. A mass of silver nails appeared in thin air and shot into all directions. Fire lit up continuously, gravely injuring many of the dark musicians. Like sarcoptic maggots, the silver nails entered their bodies. Touching the abyss music theory, they rubbed against each other, creating sparks of fire that burned the victim. Centuries ago, the Inquisition had used this method to burn too many heretics to death. Its power remained to this day. Practically all the old creatures in the crowd started screaming and could no longer fight. Many of Ye Qingxuan''s comrades were stunned as well. He usually did not fight but now, his tactics were so cruel. Their morale was boosted instantly. Inside his head, Ye Qingxuan sighed. It was a pity that he was still restrained by the dark atrium and could not use the silver nails as chant consumables. Now, it was barely qualified to fight against the dark musicians. If Torre was here and he could team up with a Discipline musician, he could end at least four enemies at once. He would not be this tired! The dark musicians'' biggest mistake was not being guarded against the traitor Colt, letting him observe them for so long. He could sell his companions'' weaknesses to the dark musicians; he could also learn all about the dark musicians'' weaknesses. A few minutes later, the battle was over. Everyone was wounded; one musician was on his last breath. Colt stumbled back. With a pale face, he spun the anti-tune sword around and stabbed himself. He ripped his stomach open in the mangled flesh. Taking out a black bug inside a crystal, he slammed it onto the ground. The sleeping bug quickly woke up and started biting everything crazily. Then he stamped on it, burning it to ashes. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Colt mended his flesh and poured medicine over it. Under the sizzling, the flesh forcefully grew back together. He would be fine for now. "I had no other choice to save the imprisoned musicians. If I''m still alive after this and you all still suspect me, you could report me to the Sacred City." He looked at the shocked musicians with an adamant expression on his pale face. "It''s not safe here. We should split up and leave before they respond." Under Colt''s guidance, they quickly found their confiscated instruments and equipment from the cellar. They were still angry at Colt, but the guy had used his actions to prove himself. After putting on black robes for disguise, they quickly split up. However, Colt realized after a few steps that the one beside him wasnone other than Ye Qingxuan! "Why are you forcing yourself to be with me?" His tone was not without mockery. "Seems like you''re not that confident in the underground palace''s secret room." "No, I just have some questions." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I thought you really planned on searching for your great future in the abyss." "Sometimes, you have to make some sacrifices so more people can survive, right?" Colt covered his mouth and coughed. Blood seeped from his fingers but his expression was still indifferent. "It''s a little too much to risk everyone though, isn''t it?" "Being fifty percent sure means sure victory. Isn''t that what you said?" Colt shot back. "Plus, they would''ve all died without me." "And then let them go attract the dark musicians while you save yourself?" "This might be the result but you can''t say it''s my goal." Colt peered at him. "Or do you have a better idea?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "What you did was the best choice under the circumstances but I''m curious about something else." Staring into Colt''s eyes, he said, pausing between each word, "Were you prepared to turn at the beginning or did you sense something?" "Anything can be as you imagine," Colt replied without shying away from his stare. "The result is that I sacrificed myself and saved everyone, right?" "Well said!" Someone suddenly clapped in the silence. Naberius stood in the shadows and praised, "If leader Crowley heard this speech, he would reward you greatly." After a beat of silence, Ye Qingxuan looked at Colt with a troubled expression. "You said that I chose a bad path but yours isn''t that great either." Colt''s face darkened considerably. He had racked his brain to choose the safest path but he did not expect someone would skip over everyone else and come for him If he knew that Ye Qingxuan had suspected this early on but still chose to go with him, he would probably have had a heart attack. Ye Qingxuan had expected this worst case scenario but this time, he did not have the Avalonian enchantment to help him. He would probably lose now "My dear friend, you''re always beyond my expectations." Naberius looked at Ye Qingxuan and said darkly, "Don''t worry. For safety, I''ll have Mordred rip off your limbs this time. They''ll grow back after your transformation. However, you''ll probably be the only one in hundreds of years to be transformed while soaked in tranquilizers." Ye Qingxuan laughed involuntarily. "Are you sure you can catch me alive?" "It''s okay. You can commit suicide." Naberius waved generously. "Lord Hyakume has already extracted the Acheron from the Originator and has control over the territory of death. As long as he can get the body, he can resurrect you. Don''t worry, you''ll be just like before and even better!" No matter how prepared Ye Qingxuan was, he was still floored by the news. If Naberius took advantage of this moment, everything would be over. But Naberius'' words were seriously too shocking. If Hyakume was truly able to find the Acheron from the Originator''s projection and introduced an entirely new power into the abyss, then he had broken through the territory that all musicians were troubled with and grasped the power of the Philosopher''s Stone! There may be some restrictions but who could resist the temptation of resurrection? For some people, it was more valuable than anything, even if they could not resurrect completely! "My friend Naberius, when did you become such a jokester?" "You can experience for yourself if this is a joke." Naberius stepped forward. "Now, do you still have doubts?" He saw Ye Qingxuan''s expression change. The white-haired youth''s gaze went past his shoulder and into the sky behind him. His expression was shocked. When he looked back at Naberius, his expression had become extremely strange. "If I said that there really is something flying in the sky, would you believe me?" Admittedly, Naberiusreally did believe him for a moment! But when he snapped out of it, he was furious as if someone had looked down on him. "Ye Qingxuan! Not even a pig will believe that after kindergarten! Are you sure you''re not insulting your own brain?" "I''m serious!" Ye Qingxuan pointed behind him. "I''m not lying." "Nothing you say matters now." Naberius sped forward. The heart in his hand prepared a strange melody. "No matter what''s flying in the sky it has nothing to do with your end! I will" Before he finished, something exploded. Light burned above the clouds, melting the dark atrium! 371 Whale Fall Half an hour ago, the clattering of hooves sounded in the barren fields outside Auschwitz. A dark stallion walked through the field. The knight was covered in armor without an inch of skin showing. The heavy armor was created from hundreds of detailed yet hefty pieces. Rather than seeming fat and cumbersome on him, it looked like another layer of skin or a sharp skeleton outside the body. He carried a black kite shield covered in gashes and scratches. One could vaguely see the design of two keys. This was the representative of the Sacred City. The two overlapping keys represented the joining of heavenly and human power, expressing that the pope had indisputably high status. A bladeless sword hung at the knight''s waist. The hilt was narrow and all forty centimeters was pure black. It clanged against the leg armor as the stallion moved. The crisp sound seemed neither powerful nor fierce. "Sir, this way," a fawning voice said. A ragged old man carried a lantern and walked quickly beside the horse, guiding it. "Sir, let me guide you." The entire way, this old guy kept talking nonsense while the knight kept silent. The old man''s words were extremely dramatic. Even if he saw a crack, he would exclaim, "Ah, watch out, sir!" When the stallion crossed the crack, he would praise, "Sir, you are so impressive. You''ve worked hard!" The knight remained silent. In the still wilderness, the man and horse walked forward in solitude. After a long while, the knight suddenly stopped his steed. He looked down at the old man beside him. "Mr. Caligula." The man halted and looked up. "Sir, how can I help you?" "Here will be enough." The knight looked down at his small meter for a while before putting it away. Knowing his place, Caligula took a few steps back. The knight grasped his sword with both hands and raised it to his eyes. With a spin, a holy chime seemed to sound in the distance. Blazing flames rushed from the sword! The dark night was suddenly illuminated by the blinding light. The blade of flame that spanned countless meters rotated slowly. When it shot up to the sky, the blazing light swallowed the knight. Grasping the sword of light, he raised it to the sky. The blade flickered and changed its length to an unknown rhythm as if calling out to the distance. Then hundreds of thousands of whales started singing above the black clouds. It was a thunderous rumble from thousands of meters above the sky. The dust on the earth shook and hundreds of waves rippled through the sea-like clouds. Under this majestic thunder, fire was ignited above the blackness. It was as if hundreds of meteorites were burning and about to fall. The steel curtain of clouds was torn apart. A black shadow rode the flames and broke through the long night. It pressed down slowly and hung in the air. There were suddenly dozens of suns. Under the blazing light, the entire world was covered in a layer of silver white iron. Above the flames, a giant object covered the entire sky. The iron dazzled, turning the entire sky metallic. Like a group of whales, countless flying ships migrated from the endless sea and rode the wild wind into this wilderness. Using invisible technology and secret collaborations between alchemists from various countries, the Sacred City created this terrifying fleet that could soar through the skies. It was Knights Templar! Explosive thunder rumbled in the air. Among them, countless black dots fell from the largest Holy ship like rain. These were landing capsules that did not contain any deceleration measures. They crashed toward the earth, tearing the air apart. They burned red from the friction with whistles that sounded like roars. The earth shook. Rumbles sounded continuously like the wail from dying whales. It was the whale fall! As the world shook, a landing capsule landed before the knight. The cabin door opened, releasing scalding steam. A burly figure walked out of the white steam. He was covered entirely in solemn armor. The bronze and dark gold on him wove into a holy emblem. He looked like the iron men who guarded the throne in the Holy Temple. His servants walked out of the cabin and helped him put on the heavy chainsaw sword and large shield. The iron knight stood on the wilderness under the blazing light, casting a vast shadow on the earth. Before him, the guidance knight lowered onto one knee. He lowered his head with the respect of a follower to a god. "His Excellency Bann," he reported solemnly. "I await your orders." The iron giant slowly opened his mask, revealing a coldly handsome face. He nodded slowly and looked over. "Elder Caligula." "I''m here, here!" The old man came over and put on a smile. "My lord, how can I help you?" "Before coming, his majesty the Pope requested for me to take the utmost care for everything related to Auschwitz and to not harm the innocent. However, we arrived too late." Bann looked behind him to the city covered in darkness. "Do you have any suggestions now?" "How can an old guy like me have any suggestions?" Caligula shrugged. "We''ve been watched by dark musicians for so many years. Isn''t Knights Templar here to save us now? I have nothing to say. I hope that you can act without holding back." Bann looked down at him. "Even if we kill all Romulusians who had turned into demons?" "Sir, that''s nothing," Caligula said softly as he bent over. "With something like war, casualties must happen. If my family and brethren can break free from the natural catastrophe, then all sacrifices are worth it. I just hope the Sacred City can remember our sacrifices." "Of course, all sacrifices should be remembered." Bann gave him one last glance. "But I hope you understand that you won''t be the only one making sacrifices." He turned and gazed at the dark city in the distance. He raised his sword; the chainsaw blade shone with the light of god. "Holy Choir, ready!" he commanded gravely. His voice was like steel and it echoed in the air. The iron whales responded one after another and shone. "Battle Mass!" The world was stifled. Under the solidified wind, a hoarse song began. This was a sacred song that announced the gospel from heaven. Thus, God''s apostle told the mortals, "I am here, not for peace, but to call you to arms." Soon, God''s apostle would shake the heavens, earth, the sea, and the nations! A grand melody sounded along with the drums and instruments. It filled the air with bells and resounded in all directions. The bell at the peak of the Sacred City rang; countless bells followed. Ripples started in the aether sea. The bells traveled into the aether world, awakening the holy city within flames. In the sacred resting place, countless burning souls opened their eyes. They sang hoarsely and joined the majestic battle mass. In that moment, holy light fell upon the darkness in Auschwitz. A crack appeared in the black sky like a path to heaven. Thus, heavenly light shone under the Holy Choir''s grave singing! However, the glow was neither warm nor merciful. It was cold as steel and full of murder. The darkness began shaking under the light. Cracks appeared on the dark atrium from the holy light. The Garment of Original Sin was burning and crying out like countless dying demons. Between the sky and earth, between the light and darkness, a flat and blurry crack seemed to appear. This was the battlefield of countless music theories. The temperament was distorting; the boundary between existence and nonexistence was blurring. The foundation of the material world was torn apart and dragged into the aether current, dying in the quakes. The center of this was Auschwitz. The high walls shattered instantly, caving in, revealing the burning city. Countless figures soared into the sky instantly. The hiding dark musicians now went into coherence to fight against the battle mass. Immediately after, a wind tunnel from the abyss opened. The Dark Gaia''s flesh appeared from the ashes. It transformed into countless statues and rushed toward the Knights Templar fleet. Bann looked at the wailing city. He raised his hand and commanded, "Falling Star!" A roaring music score played under the help of Modifications musicians and alchemy arrays. The immense meteorites from the aether world came forth. They passed through the nine levels of the aether sea and crashed toward the material world. They passed through the dying ''flesh enchantment'' and exploded with light! This was an attack that burned and killed everyone it touched. Everything was shrouded in destruction. Both friend and foe. "Yezi, I''m sorry" Bann murmured. He pulled down his mask and climbed onto his steed under clangs. The war stallion whinnied. Sparks flew from its nostrils and its eyes were blood red. Its whinny sounded like a dragon''s roar. "Notify the second legion" The chainsaw sword in Bann''s hand lit up in flames, transforming into the blade of God''s punishment. Hoisting it, he declared, "Prepare for Whale Fall!" Countless black dots fell from the fleets again like a thunderstorm. The Knights Templar descended from the sky. The moan of the Whale Fall filled the sky. God''s apostles had sounded the horn of slaughter! 372 This Is War The moment the Garment of Original Sin tore apart, the dark atrium trembled. The invisible cage in the abyss was at the brink of collapse. A crack appeared and six beams of light shot into the sky. Within a few hours, Auschwitz turned from a barren city into Hell on Earth. The grandmasters gazed at the tragic state with furrowed brows. After closing their eyes and sensing, their faces darkened. "At least half are gone" "I can''t sense Grandmaster Koch. He was probably slain." "Is this Knights Templar from the Sacred City? Have they already started fighting? It''s too fast. The young musicians haven''t left yet!" The grandmasters exchanged glances. During their confusion, a bell rang vaguely. A light projected here from thousands of miles away, falling into the hands of the lead master. The blockade music theory came undid automatically. It attracted the aether and transformed into a scroll. The end was stamped with the Pope''s seal. "An order from the Sacred City?" Stunned, he looked up. Broadcasting his voice, he announced, "The order decrees for all nations and the Sacred City to call for all musicians. The trial''s goal has been changed: defeat the dark musicians, foil the plan of the natural catastrophe, and safeguard humanity from the Dark World!" The survivors who had been dumbfounded and helpless were now ecstatic. They quickly shrugged off their disguises to reveal their aether waves and approached the Knights Templar. They either went for protection or to join the battle. In the city, the dark musicians and knights fought furiously. The knight on the mountain outside the city galloped in on his eight-footed horse. Covered in armor, he lowered onto one knee in the bloody dirt before Bann. He looked extremely tragic. He reported something quietly. Bann nodded and waved. He turned and joined the battle again. Beside Bann, something downcast flashed past Caligula''s eyes. "Still haven''t found her?" "The knights have already searched within a hundred meter radius of the location you provided. Sadly, they still have not found Miss Elsa." Bann glanced at him. His words were emotionless. "You should be prepared. She is probably dead already." "I know." Caligula hung his head sadly. "I know." "Actually, the Sacred City has another question that we hope you can answer for us." Bann supported himself with his sword and looked down at Caligula coldly. "What did the King of Yellow do in Auschwitz behind the Sacred City''s back?" Caligula froze but quickly laughed. "I am equally confused. However, no matter what he did, isn''t the result as you see now? As sinners, we Romulusians were born with curses and fated to fall into darkness. Now we are shrouded by the disease and will never be cured." He looked down and said hoarsely, "The average mortal cannot guess what the high and mighty three kings wish to do. But for the Romulusians who live under others'' mercy, we can refuse neither your torture nor blessing. After all, our demon blood is our original sin." After a long silence, Bann shook his head. "What the King of Yellow did has nothing to do with the Sacred City. Before he disappeared, he had forced his way into the palace and discussed with the two other kings. However, things ended unhappily. We could not find him after that. "Before I arrived, Nibelungenlied told me that the ''lighthouse'' had observed that the King of Yellow''s scepter has been in Auschwitz all these years without moving. I believe he has been hiding and observing us. Or even worse." Bann stopped and did not continue. Without a doubt, the Sacred City had already suspected that the king who had never gotten along with the others had joined the natural catastrophes in anger. If this was the case, then it would be the biggest betrayal to humanity. No nation or the Sacred City could allow this to happen! "If I may ask," Caligula suddenly said with a troubled voice, "if the worst case scenario truly happened, what will the Sacred City do?" Bann looked down at his sword of punishment in silence. His eyes reflected the cold sharpness of the sword. He had never hesitated or weakened. Ever since the Dark Age had ended, the three kings were the pillars of the human world. If a king betrayed his throne, there would only be one solution for the Sacred Citykill the king! - As the destructive light shattered the dark atrium and fell into Auschwitz, it seemed to come to life. It moved in the air, continuously refracting into thousands of small rays. The light that was attracted by the abyss music theory fell onto the shocked dark musicians. It was as if a bucket of boiling oil had been poured into a jar. Pained cries sounded one after another. The strongest beam crashed down onto Naberius. Even hundreds of meters away, the heat was enough to make his hair curl. The power was terrifying. The Battle Mass contained a requiem for heretics and demons. Under this glow, everything burned. This was great. The problem wasYe Qingxuan was right next to him! In that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt his scalp go numb and his vision go black. Coldness jumped from his toes to his head and exploded. Every pore was screaming for help. Without waiting to think, he subconsciously activated the Governor. To increase his strength, he even added the power of Indrah''s Eye! He shot back like an arrow! The electric current was enough to burn him to crisp. The Governor acted with the overload, each piece radiating with strong magnetic power. If he had not worn the Governor outside and anchored his bones, this movement would probably have dislocated his neck. However, the destructive light started falling before he could get far enough away. Gritting his teeth, Ye Qingxuan activated Holy. An invisible realm descended and covered him. Then chaotic light swallowed everything. There were piercing screams that cut off abruptly. The shattering sounds did not stop. There was extreme heat but Ye Qingxuan could only see whiteness. Wild aether lifted him into the air and threw him back, crashing into a wall. He rolled out in the rubble. Thankfully, he was able to cover his face. However, he was now as ragged as a beggar. The explosion still rang in his ears. The blazing light seemed to have forever stopped before his eyes. Every pore on his body was screaming in pain. The air seemed to be burning. He could not breathe; every breath was like swallowing lava. After a long, long time Ye Qingxuan finally recovered. He crawled out of the rubble but everything was spinning. Images flashed by. It sounded like he was underwater. He could vaguely make out cries and fighting. When his mind was finally clear, he bent down. With difficulty, he found a surviving vial of green medicine from his broken first aid kit with his left hand and drank it all. As if cold water had rushed into his brain, all murkiness was gone. Then he gasped and stopped himself from crying out. Clenching his teeth, he held his right elbow and yanked it up. After the crack, Ye Qingxuan gurgled in pain. He was seriously crying but his dislocated arm was back in place. Thankfully, his body was still complete. Nothing was missing even though he was now as pathetic as a beggar. Without a doubt, the Governor had taken the brunt of the attack and was nowdestroyed. Hissing from pain, Ye Qingxuan yanked out the metal shards stuck in him. The bent plates were still red from heat. They fell onto the ground with sounds like ice shattering. Breathing in the burning air, he climbed up. He saw that Auschwitz was burning! - The dark atrium had been completely shattered. The earth that had been transformed by the abyss now smoked with black steam. Demons crawled out of caves of flesh and roared to the sky. And in the sky, an immense shadow moved, roaring. Like giant whales swimming in a red ocean, they continuously rained down seeds. When they landed on the ground, they broke apart. The ''fruit'' jumped out. Fully armored knights wielded swords of fire and fought the demons and dark musicians. Blood, screams, and explosions were everywhere. The blood fell onto the scorched earth like a black river within the fire. Other than the redness of fire and blood, all that remained in the world was the cold metallic light of swords and aether. Black figures walked in the glow. Whether burly or frail, they seemed to dance in the fire. The world was instantly thrown into hysteria. "Is thiswar?" Ye Qingxuan gaped at everything. He seemed to have left his familiar world and gone into hell. That was why the world so unabashedly showed its ugly side. For some reason, the Sacred City''s aid had finally come but he could not be happy. It did not feel good to be saved. Instead, he felt exhausted. In the rubble, he lowered his head and gazed at the fire burning in the distance. Everything here was destroyed. Everyone he knew was most likely dead. His friends, his enemies, and even strangers They would all be wiped from this world. But under the chaotic din, he heard a gentle song. It came from afar. 373 The Last Advice Amidst the collapsing and burning city, under the rumbling and screaming, the gentle song flowed. It was whimsical like a hallucination. "Please give me the courage to fly." The tender voice resounded amongst the flames. It evaporated like a dream and scattered. Only the echo remained. "Test my heart; don''t say you regret it" There seemed to be a music box spinning slowly under the voice with a clear melody. The song was gentle and out of place in this cruel world. "The old house is glowing yet sighing. There is only silence for evermore" The song was so clean and clear that it felt fragile as if it would break at a mere touch. Ye Qingxuan raised his head and stared blankly into the distance. He crawled out of the ruins and stumbled toward the song. He could still remember. It was Elsa''s voice. She was still alive! Ecstasy supported Ye Qingxuan. He tossed down the cumbersome weight and raced through the ruins, searching clumsily. He followed the gentle and weak voice. Along the way, he saw the shattered bodies of demons and the distorted metal of the Knights Templar after they were torn apart. He also saw broken cocoons. The bloody bodies within had been yanked out. They were speared with bayonets and hung in the burning wind. Finally, he found the source of the song on the burnt street. The long hemp-colored hair was covered in dust. The white nightshift was charred and dusty as well. She curled in the corner of the street, alone, hugging her knees and watching the chaotic world. Beside her, a broken music box spun with difficulty. Finally, after managing a circle, the gears cracked. The voice cut off too. Elsa looked down at the broken box. She opened her mouth but did not know what to sing. Without the box, she could not remember the melody clearly. Her memory was evaporating rapidly. "Elsa?" Seeing her, relief filled Ye Qingxuan. "You''re still alive!" She looked up with confused eyes. "Do you know me?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. He reached over to pull her from the crack but she did not move. She just looked at him as if he was a stranger. Rumbles sounded in the distance. Some knights were swallowed by demons and blinding light exploded from their helmets. After the light and explosion, both knight and demon were gone. All that remained was the scorched earth. In the shaking, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Why aren''t you hiding?" Elsa tilted her head. "Why should I hide?" Ye Qingxuan blanched. He wanted to ask why she wasn''t afraid that this world had become so crazy. But then he realized that maybe she did not remember what the world should be like. Maybe she thought it was always like this, with fire burning, the ground pitch black, the sky burning like a red sea. The best comfort when living in hell was not knowing that one was in hell. That was why she did not run away. She still thought she was at home. This was how to feel happy "Where''s yourdad?" In silence, Ye Qingxuan looked around for Caligula but he was gone. There was no trace of him. He may be dead or may have gone into the abyss long ago. "Daddy?" Elsa shook her head. "I don''t know. Maybe he disappeared like Mommy I remember I was looking for someone but my friend book is gone and I can''t find anyone." She looked back. The burning road was littered with corpses. Their eyes were closed, seemingly in peace. There were even ragged blankets on them. "Everyone''s asleep. I know it," she murmured. Lowering her head, she curled up. "I''m a good girl and gave everyone blankets but they don''t feel cold and don''t talk to me. But I''m scared by myself." Ye Qingxuan reached out and ruffled her hair. He said gently, "Your dad won''t leave you behind. Let''s go find him, alright?" As if this was a joke, someone laughed in the rubble behind him. "You''re the first person I see after opening my eyes. Such fate." After a string of sounds, the broken tiles were pushed away. A bloodied man climbed out. He was covered in burns and he breathed with difficulty. But when he looked up and saw the two, a ghastly smile appeared on his face. "My friend, as expected, you and I are both alive. Or have we met in the afterlife?" "Who knows?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged and looked at him indifferently. Naberius snickered and climbed up. Unabashed about his naked body, he looked up at the red sky. "It''s become like thisIt must be Caligula''s tricks. He sold Auschwitz to the abyss and now wants to use us as sacrifice for the Sacred City''s forgiveness. I really don''t know if he''s cutely na?ve or stupidly brash" Cackling, he cocked his head and looked to Ye Qingxuan. "If I were you, I''d be more careful." "Oh? Please tell me more." Ye Qingxuan looked interested. To be honest, he really wanted to act now and truly end this guy for good. However, Naberius'' fearlessness scared him. After all, Mordred had not appeared yet. If possible, he wanted to drag things out longer and wait for the Knights Templar. At that time, Naberius would not be able to escape. He heard the scraping of metal close in from the distance. "Mr. Holmes, it seems that I must go." As if sensing Ye Qingxuan''s plan, Naberius chuckled. He wiped the blood from his face. His eyes were filled with greed and pity. "It''s such a pity that I couldn''t drag you in this time." "There shouldn''t be regrets in life. You can keep trying," Ye Qingxuan suggested earnestly. "After all, the worst case would be ''dying with regrets.'' Plus, your friends are all fighting heroically now. Isn''t it bad to just abandon them?" "The bond between two is precious but sadly, life is more valuable. The perishing praise still has some tricks to turn the tides but I''m worried that more will happen later. Leaving when things go wrong is the best way to achieve longevity." Clanging metal sounded from all directions. The Knights Templar with their swords of fire were approaching in formation, their murderous intent thick. Naberius bowed, giving him a very polite farewell. In the night sky, Mordred descended as a half dragon and grabbed Naberius'' shoulder. The man laughed as he flew into the air. A black cloud swallowed them. The two disappeared. Finally, a voice rang out in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. "Mr. Holmes, do not continue to be so na?ve. This is my last advice to you as a friend," Naberius said. "Caligula is ambitious. He sold us to the Knights Templar, but the Knights Templar might be one of his products too "Things aren''t over yet. They''re not as simple as I thought and not as simple as you thought." 374 Cereus Naberius had hidden meanings in his words, but Ye Qingxuan was unsure whether it was a genuine reminder or if he was trying to sow discord. Something strange flashed past his mind like inspiration but he could not catch or remember it. While he was thinking, the Knights Templar surrounded them. The lead knight raised his hand and the other knights put their weapons away. The former walked forward and studied his trademark silver-white hair. "Ye Qingxuan from the School of Anglo?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "That''s me." "Very good." The knight nodded. He turned and reported to the lion head emblem on his shoulder, "Found Ye Qingxuan and a Romulusian girl." An unclear voice came from the emblem, low and full of static. The knight nodded. "Understood." To Ye Qingxuan, he said, "It''s too chaotic here. Please follow me. We''ve established a safe zone outside. Leave the rest to us." To be honest, Ye Qingxuan sorely needed that. Having found survivors, the knights formed two teams. One continued with the mission. The other team of three took Ye Qingxuan and Elsa away. No major dangers occurred during the journey. They quickly passed through the toppled city walls and left the center of the battle. Ye Qingxuan turned back. Seeing the battlefield shrouded by smoke and fire, it felt like worlds away. They soon arrived at the refugee camp. There were injured musicians crying out everywhere. Choir musicians in white walked amongst them. Some doctors walked over to give Elsa a checkup. A knight who was waiting by the entrance walked to Ye Qingxuan. His armor was made of green gold and was slimmer than others. He had sacrificed a lot of defense mechanisms to raise the agility. This was a messenger knight who sent the orders of the commander. He showed Ye Qingxuan his identification and moved to guide him. "Please follow me. The commander wishes to see you." "See me?" "You are the musician we''ve found deepest in the battlefield. Perhaps he wishes to learn more about the dark musicians'' situation." The knight did not say much and gestured to guide him again. "Please follow me." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. He was prepared to go but he heard a shriek. He frozeit was Elsa. Ignoring the knight, he walked in that direction. The two knights standing outside the infirmary tried to block the charging young man but they missed. The moment the mirror illusion dissipated, Ye Qingxuan kicked the door open. He saw the cold infirmary and Elsa who was strapped down to a surgery table. The three doctors under the cold light looked up at him, frowning. "What are you doing?!" Ye Qingxuan pushed aside the assistant and glared at the doctors. "She''s a little girl!" "She''s Romulusian," the messenger knight behind him said. "She''s the only normal Romulusian we''ve found in Auschwitz as of now. The others have all been cocooned and demonized. We must ensure that she isn''t tainted" "So?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him darkly. "So she has to be dissected? She can''t even remember anything. Do you think you can find it yourself?" "Listen, Ye Qingxuan. Don''t get worked up." The knight walked up. "The Choir musicians only want to give her a checkup. There will be no harm done. If you''re worried, you can wait here with me. After the checkup, she''ll be taken to the resting area to be cared for" Before he finished, everything started shaking. The earth seemed to be an old carpet that was beaten by a stick to get the dust out. The walls groaned and cracks appeared. Under the pale light, everyone stumbled. At the center of Auschwitza solid plume of black smoke rose to the sky. The perishing praise had started their counterattack! - Ten minutes ago, dozens of steel whales hung in the air. They radiated and shone as they circled Auschwitz, forming a ring. At the center, a hole opened up in the aether world. Light that represented heaven solidified and shone down from the crack. For centuries, countless kings, elites, and musicians grouped in the Sacred City. They created a path to the Originator using music theory from the seven schools, reaching into heaven. When the light created from those music theories descended from the sky, it crushed the music theory from the abyss. It wiped away the geographical advantage that the dark musicians had and endlessly purified them, causing them to run from the light like flies. With help from the light of heaven, Knights Templar was able to advance steadily. But just as the battle was at its most intense, Crowley sighed sadly within the broken dark atrium. "It seems that the Pope has only sent Knights Templar and won''t come personally." Dozens of black figures in the shadows beside him cackled. "It''s okay. Capture all the knights will be an incredible achievement too. The Lord will be happy." "Then let us do so." Crowley reached out. The dark night solidified into a violin and appeared in his hands. The strings sighed faintly like murmurs in one''s ears, producing hallucinations. This was the weapon blessed by Paganini, the fallen saint and one of the dark followers. As the abyss grandmasters went into coherence, Crowley lifted the bow and played the violin. The plaintive instrument sounded. However, the melody was filled with joy. It was like a captured prisoner thirsting for freedom and waiting for liberation. In the darkness, a terrifying power was accumulating and brewing. As the melody spread, the demons and dark musicians in Auschwitz trembled. A mysterious power suddenly surged in their bodies. It was as if the deep abyss was projected inside them. They no longer feared the light outside. The abyss music theory blessed them all, pushing them to fight back without fear. As the mournful melody brewed, boundless darkness rose from the earth. It wrapped around every inch of land, catalyzing the demons, making them go wild. However, no matter what they did, they could not sate the fury and impulsiveness inside them. It kept growing, growing, and growinguntil finally, everyone felt that the wild fire would burn them to nothing. The moment they would explode, the mournful melody changed. The freedom that they had yearned for in the darkness, the fresh blood they had thirsted for, and the murder burst from their bodies. Thousands of aether fluctuations set off at once like a symphony. Everyone was connected and they played the hysteric melody together. The melody burned like fire and shot forward crazily. It was an once-in-a-lifetime celebration. They must let out their anger and fury now. The abyss music theory surged forth like a fountain once again. It battled with the heavenly radiance. All dark musicians were raised up three levels. Never had so many dark musicians gone into coherence in such a small place. The tangible wild power converged, creating countless hallucinations. The illusions were the inner desires that could not be satisfied! This was the Carnival of Venice! The fallen saint Paganini had composed this score the day he betrayed the Sacred City. It celebrated the bottomless abyss within one''s heart. A crack opened in the abyss and their hearts. Every dark musician became one who acted on behalf of the abyss. They instantly crushed the Knights Templar back. The broken Garment of Original Sin changed abruptly. Mended again, it transformed into a vast wind tunnel. The dark tunnel clashed with the heavenly light. Countless music theories were created and torn apart each instant. They crashed, intensified, burned, and self-destructed. The density of aether shot up. It went from a red zone to black zone toall of Auschwitz was completely covered by the wild aether sea. The sea that could only be observed descended onto this land as the many music scores clashed. At this moment, the aether world and material world overlapped in the sky. In the dreamy silver sky, the waiting Sacred City attacked the deep abyss. Countless rays of light and tides of darkness annihilated each other, creating a turbid vortex. On the earth, the knights and dark musicians reached the climax of their battle. Cries and roars sounded every minute and every second. "The holy must carry on!" the knights roared. They wielded their swords of fire and chainsaws, hacking in the bloody sea. Their armors were stained red but they walked in the puddles with their cracked armor. They swung their swords, slaying the desperate demons. The chainsaws hacked the demons into pieces and the fire burned them to dust. As they advanced, the buildings collapsed. The bloody knights walked into the ruins. Their chainsaw swords whirred and they slew the Romulusians who had become demon cocoons. Boom! Cracked tiles shattered. The knights froze. The demon cocoons were unharmed. The whirring swords went past the cocoons as if they were nonexistent. No matter how they hacked, they could not harm it. Even the swords of fire could not burn it. Everyone in Auschwitz realized with shock that the demon cocoons had become something untouchable. The sleeping Romulusians had become shadows, unharmed no matter what method was used. Deep inside the scorched earth, a faint light and unclear glow rose. It rooted itself in the burnt dirt, grew, and branched into a blurry body, radiating with color from another world. The faint and blurry flowerthe Cereus! 375 Embers It was like rain falling on the ground. There were just few drops at first. Then the color spread and covered everything with the blue color. Countless shadowy Cereuses grew out of the burning land and covered the demon cocoons. In the turbulent music theory, countless ice-blue flowers constantly bloomed on the earth. They were so exquisite and beautiful that they seemed unreal like a mirage. On the battlefield, everything was in silence. The blood-stained knights walked amongst the knee-high flowers and looked around blankly. The scratches and blood on their armors were illuminated by the flowers'' fluorescence which made them look tender. But in the tenderness, the knights lowered their heads to feel the gentle wind. A small piece of ash flew with a red light, dancing gently in the wind. In the wind, someone was singing softly. "What is...this?" For a moment, countless fireflies seemed to have been startled. They flew out from the flowers, soaring in the wind. It was the fragments of countless souls that had been burned so that the fragments still contained the glow of the dead. They were so weak and small, but radiant. It was the family flame that was extinguished with the death of Saint Aeneas as well as the shelter of countless ancestral souls of Romulus. Fragmented lights rose slowly from the fire that had been extinguished earlier and danced in the darkness. In the dark night, countless flames soared in the sky, drifting like tidal waves, setting off faint waves in the wind and converging into the ocean. Up in the sky, the Knights Templar''s iron whales soared with the heavenly glow. Above the earth, the abyss music theory of the perishing praise was interwoven. It constantly let out whines. Endless tides of flames surged between the sky and earth. It was the souls of the ancestors of Romulus. They could not ascend to the heaven but were unwilling to fall into the abyss, so they wandered between heaven and earth, forming the grand river of souls. They gathered, swelled, and sang hoarsely. So everything faded and the sudden shadow was cast. At that moment, everyone could feel that there was something in the glow of the aether sea where music theories of heaven and abyss were entangled. Between the heaven and earth, something huge was...slowly forming! A maiden''s sang softly there. The voice was so soft and mournful. "Elsa..." Caligula looked up at the light of the flames and whispered, "Sorry." - "Elsa!" Ye Qingxuan turned back blankly. At the moment that endless flames drifted, a soft song sounded from the girl''s chest. The plaintive but gentle song seemed to come from ancient past. Sad and gloomy, it mourned the beauty and glory that had vanished in the torrent of time. Thus, faint aetheric fluctuations emerged from her body, spreading and covering entire Auschwitz in an instant. Countless blue shadowy Cereuses danced for this. Even that huge but invisible object in the sky resonated with it. Some faint lights lit up, silently breaking the garments and ropes that restrained her. Nothing was left. She was suspended in the air. Threads of gold appeared in her flaxen hair; she glowed. Layers of alchemical matrices emerged on her skin, overlapping. The matrix was so complex. They had been hidden in the girl''s body for a long time and melted in her life with the heartbeats and blood. And now they finally woke up. They were singing. "Stop!" The herald knight stepped forward and uttered coldly from his armor, "Romulusian, stop your music immediately!" In mid-air, Elsa was still sluggish. However, lights constantly flashed in her dim eyes, interpreting the inner chaotic changes. The herald knight was startled. He quickly sighed. "Sorry, I will atone for this." Before he finished his words, hot steam spewed from the dark armor like a dragon''s shouts. The sound was sharp. The high temperature emerged under the armor, driving the gears of the armature, the power loading, the structural operation...until it reached the end. In an instant, the herald knight stepped forward with an inconceivable speed. He set off a severe storm in the closed operating room only in three steps. The air pressure was almost suffocating. In these three steps, the curved narrow knife in his waist popped out of the sheath. The ejection mechanism in the scabbard added to it the horrible speed like a crossbow arrow flying. It combined with the impact of the knight''s tread. When the knight straightened his back, a perfect arc was made in the air. Screams cut out the soft song. The blade stabbed into the girl''s chest. He rampaged too fast without the slightest sign or process as if the result had come at the same time that he acted. Ye Qingxuan did not even react. He had only raised his hand when the knight''s blade cut Elsa''s clothes into pieces and stabbed into the flesh and blood. Then everything suddenly came to a halt. The knife was frozen in mid-air, unable to move. The frenzied potential energy and momentum had not been spent. The energy rolled back, cracking the knight''s armor, exposed the blood oozing skin under. The soft voice was still singing. However, the voice was vaguely different. It seemed to be colder and more resolute like scraping steel. Elsa raised her head. A kind of serious glow appeared in her eyes. Like the gods overlooking the earth, it was so majestic yet so indifferent. [Unknown situation, terminate coherence] [Analyzing...] [Threat is found. Launch the plan-The Majestic March, third movement] [Continue coherence] Thus, impassioned melodies burst out of thin air in an instant and a dignified ring of light appeared above Elsa''s head. Behind her, three pairs of huge wings of light emerged and wrapped her in it. The wings flapped. It fixed the wind, destroyed the iron, and set off a frenzied storm. In the blink of an eye, the knight was pushed away by the strong wind. The whole room was completely destroyed. Ye Qingxuan''s sight went black. He was crushed into the ground; his bones cracked and popped. What was worse, the Governor was already broken! He could hardly stand up with his weak body. But...what was going on with Elsa? He looked up with difficulty, looking at Elsa suspended in mid-air. On her chest where countless gold-smelting matrices intersected, a double-snake heraldry emerged. She seemed to be the Apostle of the Gods in the world. The immense toxicity, beasts, or swords could not hurt her. What was more shocking was that even though the blade was pushed away, a thumb-sized crack still remained in her chest. It was disturbing. No blood oozed from the crack; there were no traces of broken flesh and bone. It was empty Like an empty shell. Behind that rift, the faint glow of fire leapt silently, unleashing indistinct lightit was the remaining family flames of Romulus, the Sacred Fire passed down from the Pantheon. It existed in Elsa''s body as if it were kept in a seedbed specially tailored for it. 376 Faus In the sky, the burning river of souls was called forth. It flowed into the flames. They transmitted the last bit of fire and heat between each other, pouring the light and power into the Sacred Fire. Finally, it turned into white ashes that fell down like a blizzard. The souls had been burned completely, sacrificed in exchange for the powerful Sacred Fire! This was the flame created by the memories, lives, and souls of countless Romulusians! "Elsa!" Ye Qingxuan pushed back the terrifying pressure and stood up, looking up at the now-unfamiliar girl. He seemed to understand something but he refused to believe it. "Can you hear me?" he yelled. "Answer me!" A drop of rain fell from the sky onto his face. It was a tear. Amongst the fire, the blank eyes finally brightened. She curled in pain, enduring the agony of burning to death. When she looked at Ye Qingxuan, her eyes were blank yet pained. "Don''t be scared. I''m coming" Ye Qingxuan pushed forward in the ruins. When his feet sank into the gray-white ashes, it felt like walking in freezing snow. "Don''t come!" Elsa murmured. But her voice was like thunder. Frantic pressure appeared, lifting him and blowing him away. Ye Qingxuan gripped onto a crack in the wall. He looked up at the girl in the air. She held her head and struggled. "I amherno, I''m notI''m" She murmured incomprehensibly but her voice suddenly cut off. She stared at the crack in her chest and the inhuman flames in the crack. "What am I?" she asked. Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to answer but a flood of fire fell from the sky. It swallowed her. - In that moment, everyone saw the dazzling and majestic Sacred Flame reach into the sky. It hid the heavenly light and covered the dirt of the abyss. It evenswallowed the aether flood when absorbing the strength of the two! "What is this?!" Within the shaking dark atrium, Crowley furrowed his brows. Under the gloomy melody, darkness shot into the sky. It transformed into a giant hand that clawed at the firelight. But then the hand froze in mid-air. A pocket watch carved with a double snake emblem somehow flew into the Sacred Fire. A low and faraway voice said, "Let time stop." It said, "Verweile doch, du bist so sch?n." Stay a while, you are so beautiful. It was as if a key was inserted into the lock. In that moment, countless alchemy arrays in the sky, on the earth, and within the ruins were awakened. They absorbed the power of the Sacred Fire and turned. Time seemed to stop because the fire was so beautiful. All foreign music theory was frozen in this dimension; all change was forcefully stopped. Even dust could not escape its clutches. This was Faust, the culmination of the School of Modifications and Abstinence! All was frozen. All that remained was the Sacred Fire formed by countless family flames, burning in mid-air. Under the light''s brilliance, illusions appeared in the sky one after another. Those were the last traces left behind by passed away souls and time. Called by the Sacred Fire, the seam where the material and aether world overlapped suddenly rippled. The looming shadow over the earth grew heavier. The seam swelled under the rumbling melody. It grew andas the world shook, the vast city ''fell'' from the aether world, fell past the nine layers of the aether sea, and appeared in the material world! The city seemed to have slept for thousands of years. It was covered in elegant carvings and soaring spires, radiating a sharp but graceful beauty. It was also carved with the hideous design of two giant snakes. The Sacred Fire slowly descended onto the altar within this city, glowing brightly. Amidst the stunned silence, the sharp and rugged city hung between the sky and earth. It cast a terrifying shadow over Auschwitz. The world held its breath! - "That''show it is That''s how it is!" In a pile of rubble, it suddenly dawned on Colt. He gritted his teeth and murmured, "The Romulusians used all their effort to absorb strength from Heaven and the abyss to create a Scepter and turn humans into natural catastrophesand become a god! Caligula, that guy, he seriously" Seriously what? Was fearless? Daunting to the extreme? He could not even imagine it. He was shaken by everything he saw. From the ground to the sky, as far as one''s vision extended, everything was covered by the alchemy array''s glow. Everything was connected and turned into parts of a whole. They had become variables in an ''equation'' and all struggles were futile. The result on the other end of the equal sign had long been decided. Was there someone else in this world who could create an alchemy array at such a terrifying scale and hide it under everyone''s eyes? What kind of beast had the Romulusians found? Colt was swallowed by the coldness. - "Yes, I did it." Hermes nodded in the Holy Temple. "I set up the alchemy array in Auschwitz and I was the one who transferred the Sacred Fire into Elsa''s body. I created the array to attract Cereus and I helped them find the King of Yellow. And finally, I gave that city to them." "Hermes, why?" the gentle voice asked in the air. "We all know what that city represents to you. It''s your source. If you gave yourself to them, you will end. It''s suicide." "It''s simple, Nibelungenlied." Hermes smoked and suddenly chuckled. "Have you ever thought about truly becoming a person? Not a creature, not a spirit, but a real and live human?" Nibelungenlied fell silent. "To be honest, it was quite hard to make this decision." Hermes sighed. "Thinking that my body would change and get fat, I almost couldn''t bear it. But it doesn''t matter. After all these years of hesitation, there had to be a result. Now, I''m finally not a strange creature. To be honest, this feeling isn''t bad. Other than dying, there aren''t any shortcomings." "Aeneas'' death affected you." "That''s part of the reason." Hermes shrugged. "It''s my fault for owing him. At that time, I didn''t mind but now, I realize that the interest of this debt is too high. I want to pay him back, but the hole in the bill is so big I can barely fill it inSo why shouldn''t I be generous and make a sacrifice, giving something I don''t want to others?" Nibelungenlied paused. After a while, it said, "We cannot understand." "You don''t need to understand." "Don''t you hate killing?" Nibelungenlied asked. "Then why did you sacrifice Caligula''s daughter." "First, Elsa is not Caligula''s daughter. She inherited Aeneas'' blood. She was born with the duty to inherit the fire," Hermes replied indifferently. "If the empire still exists, then she would be the current emperor of Romulus, the ''Augustus'' of all Romulusians. "Unfortunately, the empire no longer exists and the people have no home. They were at the brink of extinctionshe must take this responsibility. Only she can inherit the seed of the Sacred Fire but she won''t die. Instead, she will receive the power and become a new holy spirit. The price is that all her memories will be used as firewood and burned completely. "This is a cruel matter, I know, but someone must make sacrifices. And" He paused, his expression turning troubled yet filled with anticipation. He murmured, "And I am curious. Is there anything in a man''s heart that cannot be burned?" 377 Mus Clumps of white ash fell to the ground like thick snow. However, rather than coldness, what met the people was a burning heat. The shadow covered the earth as far as one could see. Everything was covered with a layer of gray-white, distant and cold. In the ruins, Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky. Where the material and aether world overlapped, one could vaguely detect the distorted boundary. There, everything froze, creating a world of eternal stillness. There, one could only see a cold yet sharp city. It used the power of heaven and the abyss to go through the material and aether world. Absorbing the energy, the Sacred Fire burned, brewing something terrible. Ye Qingxuan gaped at the shadow. After a long while, he hung his head and caressed the object in his hands. It had fallen to the ground and was covered in ashes. It looked like something left over from the fire. It was the only relic. "F*ck" he muttered, clenching a fist weakly. After who knew how long, the stillness shattered. Clanging sounded again. An old man in armor walked through the ruins. Dust flew, pushed to the side. "Ye Qingxuan?" It was a familiar voice. Ye Qingxuan turned around and sank into shock. After a long while, he lowered his head with a wry smile. "Father, long time no see. It seems that I''m in a pathetic state whenever you see me." Bann did not reply. He gazed at the child whom he had raised. The boy''s features were still the same and he was still stubborn, but something was different. He could not describe it and did not know what to say. "Long time no see." Bann reached out and patted his shoulder. "Youas long as you''re okay." Ye Qingxuan looked at Bann''s sword and the badges on his shoulder. Noticing the respectful knights around them, he laughed. "I didn''t think Mr. Wolf Flute was right. Father, you really rose in rank." He still joked around but Bann could not sense any cheer. Ye Qingxuan was like an awkward actor forcing himself to recite lines with fatigue. "This isn''t the place for reminiscing. Go rest." Bann patted the dust from Ye Qingxuan''s hair. "I heard about what happened. You did your best and it''s good enough. You remembered what I taught you and did nothing against your morals. As for everything elseleave it to God." Ye Qingxuan turned to leave but a knight walked over. He wrapped Ye Qingxuan in a blanket to take him away but he did not move. He stayed there, watching Bann''s back. "Father," he suddenly called hoarsely. "I need to ask something of you." Bann halted and turned around. "Ye, you never begged me for anything but today, you called me ''Father'' and are requesting something. I will not reject you if it is something I can do." Ye Qingxuan chuckled bitterly. He said, "Bring me there." Bann froze and frowned. "Ye Qingxuan, you''re asking for death!" "That''s okay but I can''t let her be alone there." Staring at him, Ye Qingxuan rasped, "I should have understood early on that she''s scared" "She has nothing to do with you!" Bann said coldly. "Ye Qingxuan, do you really think that you''re her friend?" "Father, she must have sensed something. Perhaps she realized that this wasn''t her home, her family might''ve already disappeared, and everyone she knows is dead. When I found her, she was hiding in a corner. She said that she''s waiting for someone. I thought she was waiting for her father but now I realize that she waswaiting for me." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and unclenched his fist. One could vaguely make out a small doll in his palm. It was a strange doll made of dried grass. Crude and simple, it was extremely ugly. Ye Qingxuan had found it in the ashes. Elsa had been holding it without letting anyone see as if it was her most precious item. She did not have her white rat, her hair clips, or even her friend book anymore, but she still remembered to take this. As long as she had it, someone would remember her. Even if she no longer remembered why she made the thing and that she once had a friend "She still remembered that she needed to give this to someone." Ye Qingxuan looked down and clenched the straw doll. "That''s why she was there, Father. She was waiting for someone to find her. She was waiting for me. Father, I can''t let her wait for too long. I must go there." Ye Qingxuan uttered, "If I abandon her, no one on this world will remember her anymore." In silence, Bann furrowed his brows. He soon raised a hand. The knights around them walked over to drag Ye Qingxuan away, but another voice rang out. "Wait, waitdon''t be so impatient." The Angloian grandmaster that had been MIA for a while ran over. He stopped some knights and pulled Bann to the side. "Don''t rush to lock him up, Father. Just let him go. I''ll look after him!" The master did not speak like a musician. Instead, he sounded like a gangster trying to do business. "As for Faust''s frozen time, you don''t have to worry about him at all. How do I say itwell, he''s thought of highly by that man. With him in the next step, he might be helpful." "This has nothing to do with you." Bann looked at him coldly. "Even if you''re the grandmaster from Anglo, please do not disturb the Knights Templar." "Ah, don''t be like that." The master stomped his feet and sighed. He discreetly stuffed something into his hands. "Look at this. Do you still not trust me?" Bann looked down at the object and he frowned. He looked coldly at the grandmaster who still wore a hood and chuckled. After a long while, Bann looked toward Ye Qingxuan in the distance. Ye Qingxuan was looking back at him. "Someone give him armor!" After issuing the command, Bann left without another word. Soon, an iron whale in the sky threw down an iron cabinet. The black cabinet was carved with complicated designs. Two knights opened it, revealing the armor sleeping within. The dark movement armor was assembled around Ye Qingxuan under the help of a few knights. The heavy metal armor did not hinder his sense of aether. In fact, it was even clearer now. The last piecea manmade spinewas put against the iron muscles and pulled tightly. The complex yet sturdy pieces went taut without any open seams. The heavy armor fit Ye Qingxuan well as if it was tailored for him. His movements became more agile and his body felt light as if he could fly. The armor''s style was similar to the heraldry knight''s. Without the cumbersome structure, it ensured lightness and agility. It only had added protection to his vital parts. Finally, the knight passed him a document with a wax seal. "This is the activation command for the Blade Dancer. It also has critical parameters and usage methods. You have ten minutes to memorize everything and you are forbidden to pass on the information." Ten minutes later, the knight burned the document in front of his eyes. Before leaving, he said, "His Regency ordered to report in three minutes. We won''t wait." Only then did Ye Qingxuan have the chance to thank the grandmaster who never really cared for him. "No problem." Under the hood, the grandmaster seemed to be laughing. His voice was strange and flirtatious. "I have to take responsibility for you, right?" Ye Qingxuan could not reply. He just scooted back so this mysterious and unknown grandmaster would not do anything he truly needed to take responsibility for. - Three minutes later, a small cabin descended under the shadow of the iron whale with a wire. It opened. Other than Mr. Hu who was not under the Sacred City''s jurisdiction, the other temporarily recruited grandmasters entered. Ye Qingxuan, who arrived last, was stopped at the entrance by Father Bann. "You will now accompany the grandmasters there as part of the Knights Templar," Bann said seriously. "Remember, the Sacred City does not allow the Romulusians to enter the abyss'' territory. Half an hour. You only have half an hour. If you all are still not back after half an hour, I will activate Heaven''s Door and request His Highness, the Pope, to use Fate." Fate Thinking of the ultimate music score that represented God''s judgement and punishment, Ye Qingxuan shivered. He quickly nodded and walked in. Bann gave him one last glance before closing the cabin door. It was pulled up with rumbles and rose into the sky. One minute later, it would whale fall into the frozen city. Bann watched as the cabin disappeared into the distance. After a long while, a knight approached him and whispered, "Caligula is finally willing to speak." - The raw material from the iron whale was quickly used to construct a command center. Caligula sat on a chair within the metal prison cell, his hair unkempt. He did not seem to have been treated cruelly but he was still thin and pallid. He seemed to have aged decades within one night. Father Bann gestured for the others to stand guard. With the door closed, he sat before Caligula and studied him. "You asked the natural catastrophes for help. Why?" Caligula looked up at him and laughed. "Was I supposed to ask your non-existent god?" Bann remained indifferent and just raised his voice. "I asked you why?" "Why?" The elder scratched his white hair and repeated the question in confusion. "If you want to know why, I''m not sure either. PerhapsI had to." 378 Into the City "Probably...this is the only way." Looking at Bann, Caligula took out a stone, placed it on the table, and slowly pushed it to the middle. The fist-sized scarlet stone looked exquisite and beautiful. "What is this?" Bann frowned. Caligula smiled. "You know what? When I was young, I lived in Burgundy." "That was a good place. My wife and I got married there. She was smart, beautiful, and attractive. She was the best. She died so early and it was my fault. She lived a bitter life with me. In that year, the nations expelled the people of Romulus, which caused riots. The kingdom wanted to imprison me. She stood up to vouch for me. She promised that this matter had nothing to do with me. "Then she... Later, she died. She swore to the gods that if I were innocent, her heart wouldn''t wither. But how will gods bless such a man like me? I was imprisoned for ten years, soaked in a dungeon, and was not even able to attend her funeral. I didn''t even know she was dead." Caligula stretched out his hand and rubbed the stone red as flesh. "Look, this is her heart... She confirmed her oath. I took it to visit many people, but ten years had passed. Everyone forgot her. Even the files of that year were gone. No one in the world remembers her, and no one remembers me either." He looked at Bann and said in a measured, slow pace, "The cruelest thing in the world is this: there are some things you haven''t forgotten, but the world has forgotten because they don''t care." After a long silence, Bann lowered his eyes. "So you have resentment against the nations because of this?" "No, I don''t hate them." Caligula shook his head. "Hatred is meaningless. Any sensible man can see that there is a reason for everything the kingdoms have done to Romulus. You can say they are forced to do so but are we doomed to perish? "We are born guilty. There is no door for us to heaven, so should we just die obediently before falling into the abyss?" Caligula, holding the scarlet heart, gazed at Bann. "A sinful man is also entitled to salvation, Mr. Bann. If you don''t care, I''ll do it." - The dark steel cabin was in silence. Ye Qingxuan felt a sense of weightlessness, like suddenly falling into the deep sea, surrounded by pressure that almost crushed him. It was a sudden shock caused by the whale fall. But at that instant, his sight went black as if everything fell into stillness. He fell into the icy sea, and every part of his body was frozen. His thoughts, as well as the sub-originator in his body, stopped operating. All music theories were completely solidified in situ. But then the odd feeling disappeared again. The sub-originator slightly vibrated, emitting inexplicable fluctuations. Where the fluctuations passed, those shackles were untied. Ye Qingxuan''s stiff body suddenly trembled. He was drenched in sweat, gasping intensely. In the cabin, the grandmasters glanced at him in astonishment. They did not agree for this knight to join the team although it was the Knights Templar''s delegation. Unless someone unfolded the symphony of predestination and temporarily prevented him from being intervened by Faust by breaking a hole on the wall between the material world and aether world, everything would be frozen in time under Faust. Since the Knights Templar had ensured that the new knight did not need any care, they had no objection to his participation, but they had not expected that Ye Qingxuan could overcome such a strong power. Even they needed to unfold the symphony of predestination to resist it in all force. Only the grandmaster from Anglo looked at him meaningfully and whistled. To tell the truth, Ye Qingxuan also did not understand what was going on. He just vaguely sensed that the melody and music theory of Faust did not work on his body as if he was totally ignored. "We have entered the range of Faust. Once landed, you need to be more careful," the master whispered in his ear. "Although we are masters, we need to use the symphony of predestination to resist the influence of Faust, so we will be equivalent to the ordinary distortion level when we fight. No one knows what will happen. If you see something wrong, do not worry about us. Just turn around and run." Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He complained in his mind, who was the one that guaranteed the priest he would protect me? The black-robed master smiled. Before he could say something, the earthquake came. It was like he suddenly hit a wall. Ye Qingxuan only felt the shaking all over his body, his bones rattling. Even if there were two layers of shock absorber system, his body still almost fell apart. The cabin landed! Bang. The cabin''s door snapped open and flew away. It was designed to save time and make it easier for the Knights Templar to operate the whale fall. But now, the cabin, which had just been detached from the masters'' protection, was frozen in the air. A few of the masters under the cover of the symphony of predestination stood up and reached out to press the door. The frozen door crashed and then flew for several meters before freezing in the air again. The door opened. Ye Qingxuan breathed heavily. He untied the chains and fixtures on his body and staggered to get up. He followed behind and poked his head out to look. The whole world seemed to be frozen and covered in an icey blue. The cabin had crashed into the ground of a square. Layers of fissures spread around. Gravels flew but were solidified in the air. Time stopped at the moment of their whale falling. It was so bizarre. At this moment, they had entered the strange city, but when looking at the towering buildings, they were overwhelmed by that kind of dark and sharp beauty. This was definitely not the style of the Romulus. This was completely different. The Romulusians advocated squares or circles with preference of white. The frame of their buildings was magnificent. But in this city, there were no white buildings. These emaciated gray buildings towered with their sharp tops piercing the sky. On both sides were carved lifelike statues and on the floor, every piece of tile had slender complex lines drenched in gold. Meticulous and exquisite decorations filled every corner. But such magnificent architecture had not brought any sense of closeness. Instead, it increased the distance between each other so that the buildings became sparse and lofty. Along the way, Ye Qingxuan could not tell the specific role of those buildings. It was as if this was not a city built for people, but a huge artwork. The whole city was like a huge shrine, enshrining the only god. However, the god had left the throne and disappeared. Only a light was forever illuminated in the Holy Church at the center of the city. However, the only light that illuminated the dark city made people more repressed. Along the way, it seemed that they were climbing the stairs before the temple. The closer they got, the more they could feel a nameless majesty. The majestic oppression pressed onto their backs. It was to force the comers lower their head to worship the god, to respectfully serve their all. "Is this city built by the Church?" Anglo''s master murmured with displeasure, "Why is it like the Sacred City? It makes you feel like dust wherever you go." "This has nothing to do with the Sacred City. Although it feels the same, the style is totally different," Ye Qingxuan lightly said by his side. "If I must make comparisons, it is more like..." He suddenly stopped and sank into speechless silence. He unexpectedly found that the style was most similar to the Anglo Royal Academy of Music. Ye Qingxuan looked back, staring at the square they landed. After coming so far, he looked back, only to find that on the ground of the square was engraved with a huge emblem that showed its presence to the comers. Double-snake emblem. It was the double-snake emblem again. "Boss, why the f*ck is it you again?" Ye Qingxuan cursed. He had known that the guy Hermes always acted secretly and mysteriously, but he did not expect that he was so crazy... If Hermes descended from the sky with small wings on his back right now and said that he was actually an angel, Ye Qingxuan would also believe him! However, no one descended from the sky with little wings. Instead, thick blood emerged from the ground between the green tiles. Wailing suddenly sounded as distorted faces emerged in the void. The darkness pumped, rising up like mist. "Dark musicians!" Ye Qingxuan whispered. "That bunch of bastards came too! How can they be so fast?" Unprepared, they did not realize that they had stepped into the dark musicians'' trap. The dark musicians had the Garment of Original Sin as camouflage. They did not find anything wrong at all. How the h*ll did those guys have time to arrange this trap? Before he could figure out the reason, the trap launched. In the dark movement, many masters were instantly suppressed and fell into the blockade from the Garment of Original Sin. In the blink of an eye, the music theory suppressed them completely. The tiles under their feet quickly decayed into the rotten soil of the abyss. The soil was pushed up, pale palms stretched out and grasped at the living men. The master from the School of Modifications huffed angrily and waved his hand. An inexplicable fierce melody sounded. In a few seconds, the rotten soil was burned into pure white tiles again. The tiles'' color was so pure like milk. Ye Qingxuan saw this and his face twitched. This grandmaster really had a peculiar taste. He had crushed the pale hands and dried them. Then they were put into the soil and together burned to make ''bone porcelain''. Just in an instant, the master separated the bones and burnt them into the stone. It was impressing. He even prevented the enemy from playing any other tricks with the bony hands. The sticky blood evaporated, drifted in the air, and melted into the black mist. In the dark, a few vague figures sneered, playing strange melodies, and pounced toward the crowd. This time, Ye Qingxuan was not nervous anymore. If the sky fell down, there were taller ones to hold it up. There were so many grandmasters here. He did not need to fight at all. But, even at the same rank, the grandmasters were coming off worse! Those dark musicians seemed to be free and unrestricted in the shadow of Faust. They fought back and in an instant, the struggling people were forced to a precarious situation. Then the sound of the gurgling water rang out. In the darkness, a cold river emerged with a biting blast, extending around the crowd. In the river, colorful illusions constantly flashed. People would be trapped in it once they glanced at it, dazzled and unable to wake up. In the trance, Ye Qingxuan felt a hit on the back of his head. "It''s killing you! How dare you look at Styx," the master from Anglo hummed coldly. Ye Qingxuan was shocked awake. He hurriedly drew back his sight. The moonlight lit up in his eyes to resist the deadly illusion''s erosion. But he felt more chilled. It was the Styx! Hyakume had truly retrieved the Styx from Originator. It was true... With the power of the Styx, no wonder the enemy had no fear at all. Even Faust which could solidify time could do nothing with the Styx which represented the death and end. When everyone grew gloomy and became too tired to fight, suddenly a voice sounded, "Don''t be afraid. Watch me!" 379 You Flatter Me "Don''t be afraid! Watch me!" That came from the mysterious Angloian grandmaster. However, then he gripped his chin and pondered for a long while before suddenly asking, "Oh right, little Yezi, what school do you study?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. Why did he have to call his name so intimately? Were they that close? But despite being annoyed, he replied honestly, "Abstinence, and also Illusion, Mind, and Revelations." "Ohoh?!" He was shocked. "Uh, you learned all that? That''s great! But how come none of them are for fighting? Are you a pacifist?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless again. "Just tell me what you need." "Sure!" He pointed somewhere. "Later, watch my face. Once I make a gesture, take your most destructive music score and bomb in that direction, got it?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. Then he looked up at the shadowy ''face'' under the hood and almost died. "Can you show me your face first?" "Ah, then just watch my eyeserr, whatever! Just do it!" Here, the weird master gave up on faces and eyes. He just rolled up his sleeves. Taking out a very familiar flute, he created the echoes of wind and sand. Instantly, a wolf howled. It seemed that pair after pair of beastly eyes lit up in the long night. Those eyes shone with green light, like will o'' wisps. Then pained cries sounded in the darkness. The Styx halted. A tiny and practically imperceptible ''opening'' was created. Without time to think, Ye Qingxuan pulled out the sword in his knight''s armor and wiped his finger on the blade. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei''s strings surged with lightning. Layers of electricity lay on the blade in his finger''s path, forming music notes. It instantly wove into a complex yet majestic symphony of predestination. Then the blinding electricity disappeared, replaced by moonlight as blue as water. The sword seemed to reflect the nonexistent moonlight and cast a tangible murderous spirit. All grandmasters within ten steps felt the hair-rising murderous intent converge on that sword. Even the fierce green gold sword could not bear the heaviness and clacked as if it would crack soon. Ye Qingxuan gripped the hilt and hoisted the sword up. Scalding heat sprayed from the plate of armor on his back, giving him unprecedented power. Then he thrusted the sword forward. Under the chilling melody, the sword of moonlight whistled and flew out! It was the symphony of predestination of Moonlightthe eighteenth measure Sword! The sword that seemed to be singing buried into the darkness. Like a pair of scissors, it cut apart the black velvet. The darkness cried out and evaporated. The moonlight left a straight slash in the air. White waves rushed forward. Everything was collapsing! An explosion followed. Pained cries sounded again. One could vaguely see a grandmaster hidden in the darkness get slashed by the blade. A hole burst in his chest. The sacred bell in his hands was pierced too. It shattered, destroyed by the explosive moonlight, and transformed into black shards that flew in all directions. The Styx called forth by the bell shook and disappeared. Ye Qingxuan was more surprised that he had hit the mark. The moonlight was destructive against demons and dark musicians but was uncertain against people at the grandmaster level. A properly trained knight would never give his enemy to chance to aim at him. The purification music theory within the moonlight could be sensed in a hundred-foot radius. Without waiting for the dark musician''s reaction, the abyss music theory within him would turn on its own and try to avoid the moonlight. It could instantly destroy Ye Qingxuan. However, despite the odds, he had hit his mark and even pierced the weapon that controlled the Styx. He quickly saw the answer. The spreading moonlight illuminated a silver arc that swept back and forth. Its speed was incredible. It jumped and spun in place like a beam of refracting light. Everything in its path was ripped apart. No obstacle was an obstacle to it. The dark musicians did not expect that a music score could cross the Styx and be used on them. Shocking gashes appeared on them. The one who had been fatally wounded by Ye Qingxuan''s Sword had his legs bitten. Unable to dodge, the silver light returned and pulverized his head. All that remained was a pile of writhing meat. It could not resist the moonlight''s corrosion. It was instantly close to death. "What the f*ck is this!" Crowley roared. The Garment of Original Sin appeared to swallow the silver light. Darkness closed in instantly, blocking off all escape. However, the silver light disappeared strangely and the Garment missed. The light appeared behind its master. This time, Ye Qingxuan finally saw the true nature of the lightIt was extremely familiar. It was a seemingly real, seemingly illusory silver wolf! In that moment, it flashed freely within the aether sea while appearing in the aether world and material world at the same time. Then it disappeared at once, ''jumping'' out of the surroundings. With this power, it was understandable that the Styx could not block it. All enchantments, obstacles, and defenses were useless before this silver wolf! "You?!" Ye Qingxuan gaped at the familiar flute in the grandmaster''s hands. It finally dawned on him. "Who is it?" Crowley roared. He stared at the man hidden in the darkness of the hood. "I know all the information of the grandmasters from these thirty years. There is no symphony of predestination from Summoning like this! Who are you?!" "Grandmaster? I''m not a grandmaster anymore?" The man lifted his hood, revealing his hidden features. Facing everyone, he grinned. "You flatter me. I''ve only recently entered the Scepter level. You all can call me Wolf Flute." Wolf Flute! Ye Qingxuan''s mouth dropped open. His shock was partly due to the pleasant surprise of meeting an old friend and partly due to Wolf Flute''s abilities. When he first met Wolf Flute, he thought the man was a highly skilled musician. Ye Qingxuan never thought that he was a grandmaster! Within eight short months, he had upgraded his ''symphony of predestination'' to a ''scepter.'' Rather than a grandmaster, he was closer to a saint! This was different from ''mock scepters'' that masters such as Koch made from combining their symphonies of predestination with sacred weapons. The difference was like that of a sword and plain metal. They were both weapons but worlds away. This was the first guy Ye Qingxuan had met who upgraded faster than him! "Scared?" Wolf Flute whacked the back of his head. "If it wasn''t for you, I wouldn''t even come this time. So, the letter of recommendation I gave you was pretty good, right?" "Ha, yeah, pretty good." Pretty good? No, it was f*cking amazing! Other than a document stamped by the King of Red from the Pope''s hall, nothing was more highly regarded than a letter of recommendation from Bach! Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan almost coughed out blood. It was rare for Wolf Flute to be reliable but that was too reliable! But as they spoke, an abyss musician suddenly shot out a green beam. Ye Qingxuan rolled back reflexively. Then he felt dust falling from his helmetit was all rusted flakes! The green gold that was touched by the green light instantly rusted into dust. A foul odor lingered in the air. If Ye Qingxuan was not covered by the Blade Dancer and breathed using the liquidated oxygen within it, his lungs would probably be rotten now. Wolf Flute''s face changed, darkening considerably. The most infuriating thing in the world was someone coming up and slapping you when you''re happily pretending to be cool "Yezi, stand behind me. Let me kill these failures!" 380 Wolf "Yezi, stand behind me. Let me kill these failures first!" Wolf Flute rolled up his sleeves and suddenly joined the fighting. Behind him, the silver shadow flashed constantly. It transformed into a shooting beam of light that swept a melody of wind and sand. With its speed, it could travel thousands of miles in an instant. The body of the translucent silver wolf was like smoke. It would disappear under a slight breeze. However, it ripped off a large chunk of flesh from the musicians whenever it appeared. When it closed its teeth, it was filled with undisputable beastly aggression. It did not come from a man''s wild thoughts. The wounds it created was only secondary. The biggest concern was that whenever it gnashed its teeth, everything around it would be shattered. Demonic flesh was chewed! Mutated organs were chewed! The dark music score was chewed! The abyss music theory was chewed! The silver wolf''s beastliness contained a strange music theory. The damages it created could not be recovered as if it was forever gone. It was terrifying. The dark musicians subconsciously scooted deeper into the dark atrium. The musicians from the abyss instantly fell back. With Wolf Flute''s scepter, the grandmasters fought even more fiercely. They were even able to surround the musicians within the dark atrium. However, Crowley who had been quietly observing now looked up with a strange smile. "That''s it?" He reached out. Layers of music scores lit up on the Garment of Original Sin. The dark atrium shifted and a black cubic enchantment appeared out of thin air. The cube closed in, swallowing the silver wolf, and spun wildly. With a flash of light, the silver wolf jumped out of the cube. However, when it jumped again, it realized that it was still inside the enchantment. Under everyone''s eyes, the strange black cube caved in and contracted. Then another cube appeared outside it. In an instant, it doubled, tripled, quadrupled, octupled, sexdecupledit endlessly caved in and regrew. Before composing a symphony of predestination, a musician must go through a completion stage. During this stage, he would learn the basic theories of all schools in addition to his own to complete his shortcomings. However, Crowley''s attainment of Abstinence was far beyond Ye Qingxuan''s expectations. The compound enchantment of sixteen layers was a masterpiece and top skill even in the ''territory path.'' In addition, he was inside the dark atrium and was supported by the Garment of Original Sin! The silver wolf continued to jump inside the cube to avoid being destroyed by the collapsing enchantment. However, it could not escape. Wolf Flute''s expression stiffened. So what if the beast could jump freely through the material world like a wind tunnel? As long as it could ''jump'' faster, all of the wolf''s destructive power could only be wasted on endless jumping. Wolf Flute furrowed his brows. He let go of the scepter''s power and the silver wolf disappeared. It re-appeared beside him. This time, he did not order it into the dark atrium. "So that''s your scepter? I''ve never seen such a weak one before." Crowley peered over amidst the wild melody. "Even though we''re both at the scepter level, there is still a difference! You think you''re qualified to defeat me?" "Mr. Cowley, isn''t that a fact?" Wolf Flute looked at him with pity. "There''s a difference between those who break through the Barrier of Knowledge by themselves and the cowards who beg gods. There''s also a considerable difference between self-made scepter musicians and fakes like you who need objects like the Garment of Original Sin to reach the scepter level. Don''t you think so?" "You are overreaching!" The dark atrium shook. Piercing bloody light flashed in Crowley''s eyes. "Then let us see!" Instantly, the dark atrium that everyone thought had been restricted now expanded suddenly. It combined with the scepter from the Garment and stirred a storm in the aether sea. It instantly swallowed everyone. Wolf Flute furrowed his brows. Silver light snaked around him and tore the darkness apart. However, the grandmasters had already disappeared. He flashed and reappeared. But the darkness was still around him. There was layer after layer, dimension after dimension. If he jumped across an enchantment, there would be another one. If he passed through the dark atrium, there would be another one It was as if he had walked into a kaleidoscope and was lost in the endless darkness. Now, everyone was separated under the dark atrium. They were all fighting for themselves. However, Wolf Flute was imprisoned in the depths of the dark atrium alone. It would be so easy for Crowley and the abyss musicians to destroy his helpers and then kill Wolf Flute. His expression darkened. But he quickly smiled in pleasant surprise. "You''re here!" The melody of wind and sad sounded. The silver wolf pounced and transformed into a beam of light with him. They followed the darkness and shot forward. Their tracks were very strange. Sometimes, they would turn; other times, they went straight or even retreat. After hundreds of turns, he gathered his energy and burst through the enchantment! Then he saw what the darkness had hid. The abyss music score rumbled and Crowley cackled crazily. A dim moon managed to rise under the smile but it was quickly pushed down by the dark atrium. The moonlight disappeared completely before it even fully appeared. Ye Qingxuan spat out a mouthful of blood. The sub-originator within him dimmed. The Garment had transformed into a quagmire that swallowed him bit by hit. He could do nothing about it. Isolated within the four-fold enchantment, destroying a musician was easier than drinking water for a Scepter level man! But unfortunately, no one would think about his surroundings when drinking Wolf Flute smiled. "Your vertebrate is pretty nice." He poked out of the air and caressed Crowley''s neck. He grinned. "It''s great for teething!" The man''s expression changed instantly. He charged forward but the silver light followed him closely. The wolf gnashed its teeth and tore a hole through Crowley''s chest. If not for the Garment''s automatic protection, he would have been hacked apart by now! Even so, he had been still been wounded. Strange silver hair grew around the injury, messing with his internal organs. Half of his body was contaminated, turning him into a werewolf. It was the beastly nature''s encroachment! However, the intangible beastly nature was incredibly thick. It seemed to have combined the wildness of a pack of wolves and transformed into a poison! Crowley dodged quickly and the Garment covered his twisted body. After terrifying sounds of scraping bones, blood sprayed but his body recovered. What truly injured him though was the music theory that had entered his body. Coming from the School of Summoning, it was detailed and complex. It spread the moment it entered his body, wrapping around his muscles to transform him into a wolf. Like a starved wolf pack charging into a city, it lapped up blood aggressively. The music theory seemed to be alive. Spirited yet cunning, it turned his body into a battlefield. Crowley had no time to act methodically. He could only use the most violent method and destroy both his own music theory and the enemy''s using the Garment''s power. It was like burning an entire village to kill the wolves. The wolf poison was gone but his body was still damaged. He could not recover unless he reconstructed the abyss music theory. As the Garment recoiled, Ye Qingxuan struggled out. Panting, he glared at Wolf Flute. "You''re so slow!" "Your hints were too vague. I didn''t even discover" Chortling, Wolf Flute looked at his waist. There, he saw an undetectable thread of light. It was the perception thread made from moonlight. The source was gripped in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Wolf Flute had followed this thread. Ye Qingxuan had cast these threads to help with Wolf Flute''s attack but it had unexpectedly saved his life. "We meet again, Mr. Crowley." Wolf Flute looked back at his enemy. "How about we decide the winner now?" "I see nowno wonder you don''t feel the backlash of the beastly nature" Under the cracked sound, Crowley vomited blood. Looking at Wolf Flute, his bloodshot eyes filled with understanding. "The transformationbetween human and beastly natureYou fused your humanity with the beastly nature! The scepter isn''t with your human part but with the beastYou turned yourself into a demon!" "No, no, no. You''ve misunderstood again. I didn''t turn myself into a demon" Wolf Flute smiled but it was incredibly evil. His green eyes seemed to glow like a demon ripping apart his disguise. "I turned myself into a human!" For a moment, Ye Qingxuan had a hallucination. In his daze, wind and yellow sand swept over a barren land. Under the cold moonlight, Wolf Flute grew tall but his back hunched. He grasped a gold cane and a scale; he was clad in white clothing and green gold. Under his grave crown was an indisputable jackal head! This was the god from Theban myths, the existence who guided the dead to the Underworld, the king who judged one''s sins, the god who represented death and eternal peace! "Anubis" Ye Qingxuan gasped. Wolf Flute lifted his nail and played it with his eyes closed. Blazing wind blew from the desert. Howling sounded in the distance. The melody''s theme was no longer cold moonlight or burning sand. The hot wind and barren land were all changing under the howls. The wolves had arrived. 381 Darkness and the Wolf Wind and sand swept in from somewhere and the cold moon hung in the air. Deep in the dark atrium, Crowley felt that something out of his control was born. It was fluorescent green light like will-''o-the-wisps. One pair, another pair, another pair Wolves were coming from the darkness. Hundreds of silver light arcs lit up. Huge wolves emerged soundlessly, coming from an unknown place like dream monsters. Anyone who saw them would be terrified. Wolf Flute''s scepter had been completely unfurled. None of these wolves were lesser than that one silver wolf. They could only be stronger. The wolf that had accompanied Wolf Flute all this time was only one of them. It was more like a scout. Under the wild melody that hinted at the start of a hunt, a chilling and powerful howl sounded in the wolf pack. It was the alpha''s commandthe hunt was starting! In an instant, a chill spread from all directions and came whistling with the overlapping light! Crowley''s disdain was wiped away. His expression stern, he clenched his hands. A hoarse cry burst forth in the darkness. A disorderly piano melody like steel clanging sounded from the dark atrium. The grave singing began. Above him, the abyss opened up. The boundless power from the abyss swallowed Crowley. Under the deep well, he wore the Garment of Original Sin and bathed in the solid darkness. Behind him, a shadow emerged. It was a giant tree with a human''s face. It was rooted in the decaying soil of the abyss. The hundreds of branches reached out, heavy with fruitscountless rotting skin and fresh organs. The branches held the strange flesh like hands, gathering different strengths. An eerie pale face grew on the trunk. The left eye was pitch black while the right was covered in countless compound eyes. The tiny pupils swept around. Everything under their gazes turned half-transparent, revealing the skeleton and veins beneath like a skinned specimen. Being stared at by those compound eyes was not it. The most terrifying was the black left eye. Evil light shot from it. Under its gaze, Ye Qingxuan felt dazed as if his sanity was snatched away. Seething sin from the abyss was called forth by the hoarse singing. The tree absorbed the will of the darkness. It sprouted with leaves. Strange and eerie, the countless branches grabbed at the silver wolves like arms. The wilted branches left scratches in the dark air, like the remains of evil thoughts. Under the pressure of the fierce malice, Wolf Flute''s symphony of predestination fell into chaos. It was as if weird static suddenly appeared in a light allegretto melody. Amidst the cold singing, blazing darkness shot out, attacking the foundations of Wolf Flute''s scepter like a tidal wave. It forced the whimsical silver wolves back as well. The fallen musicians sang an ode to HyakumePchs de vieillesse. Sins of old age. With the hoarse singing, it was as if Hyakume had truly arrived. Even if the god did not speak, the will of the chaotic abyss would restrict all melodies, causing them to collapse onto themselves. Wolf Flute trembled; his face paled. The wolves flew through the air, endlessly appearing beside Crowley. However, the branches of the giant human-faced tree swept across. Even if they were touched by only a shred of darkness, the wolves would lose control and decay. Finally, they would be pierced by a branch and become fertilizer for the tree. As they died, Wolf Flute''s expression grew uglier. With every loss, a crack appeared on his flute. They were all parts of his scepter''s territory. The wolves'' deaths were undoubtedly a grave damage to the scepter. But for Crowley, he had an unlimited supply of power after the Garment opened the well of the abyss. He would cut off the parts tainted by beastly nature without hesitation because they would grow back immediately. It was a competition to see who would burn out first. Crowley used his years of attainments to force Wolf Flute back. The younger musician furrowed his brows. The melody of his flute grew more mournful. The wolf at the head suddenly swelled. It gathered all of the scepter''s power and became as wispy as smoke. It pounced at Crowley. Rather than teleporting, it bolted toward Crowley with incredible speed. Along the way, the branches swept at it but it was as insubstantial as smoke. It broke apart at touch and then regrouped like an untouchable spirit. In an instant, the silver wolf jumped like a wraith with sharp fangs and pounced at the tree. It gnashed the face and tore it off. The tree cried out like an infant and trembled, having been gravely injured. However, in the shadows, Crowley sneered. The bait had finally been taken! The tree branches instantly closed in like thousands of arms going for a hug. It closed around the somewhat imaginary wolf. An enchantment rose from the shattered face and locked all of Wolf Flute''s power within. Wolf Flute''s face turned white and he spat out blood. In the next moment, he could retract the power forcefully and summon the wolf again. But would Crowley give him the chance? The answer wasno! Cackling, Crowley controlled the solid darkness. It transformed into a giant hand that grabbed at Wolf Flute. The Garment''s power sealed the surroundings, blocking all paths of retreat. Wolf Flute was stuck there with nowhere to run to. His expression froze. Then the hand of darkness tore through the illusion. The air rippled and Wolf Flute''s figure shattered, disappearing. In his place, within layers of locks and murder, was a white-haired youth. He played Jiu Xiao Huan Pei with his eyes closed. Sensing Crowley''s blank expression, he looked up and smiled. "Yup, it''s me." Now, Crowley finally realized that Ye Qingxuan had fused his music score into Wolf Flute''s scepter, entrusted onto the rim of moonlight in the air! What the f*ck? When did they go into coherence? Crowley thought in shock. He started doubting his eyes. This guy had only just become an official musician! How could a third level musician go into coherence with a scepter? They had worked so well together as if they were one person and totally fooled Crowley. And more importantlyIf Ye Qingxuan was here, then where was Wolf Flute? In that instant, another howl rang out. Under the crescent moon, flanked by a pack of wolves, an aggressive and large figure walked out slowly. The alpha had appeared! For a moment, Ye Qingxuan could hardly believe his eyes. It was a bare-chested dark youth covered in scars! Flanked by the wolves, he sat high up on a throne. His eyes shone with green light just like the wolves and radiated with a bloody and cruel aura. His face was like Wolf Flute''s and his flute had transformed into a tooth, hanging at his neck. The scepter''s power had converged in him. The moonlight was above his head. He looked down at Crowley and sneered like a wolf. He howled, commanding the wolves, and burst forward with silver light. The fulminations were like wolf howls. In shock, Crowley forgot about Ye Qingxuan who he could squash easily. Instead, he turned to stop Wolf Flute. The problem was that the Garment''s power was all used to shackle Ye Qingxuan right now. It could not protect Crowley! Without ithe had never been so vulnerable! Cold silver light rose around Wolf Flute. Then, like a phantom beast, he jumped into the aether world and seemed to teleport. He was so close! He reached out! Crowley screamed. Wolf Flute used his bare hands to tear Crowley''s chest apart. As if devoured by a pack of wolves, the internal organs turned into mashed pulp. Then the wolf poison poured into the abyss music theory within him. It imploded and the music theory broke apart! Flesh fell in chunks. Crowley turned into a skeleton, cutting off connection with the abyss. He opened his mouth and rasped out, "Wait" Pop! His skull shattered and his brains flew out. The fire within him extinguished completely. Crowley was finally dead! Without its owner, the Garment of Original Sin and dark atrium caved in. They exploded and the endless darkness disappeared. Wolf Flute stumbled back and practically collapsed onto the ground. The scepter''s power retreated and the wolves disappeared. The frail youth changed quickly until he was back to normal. Ye Qingxuan steadied him but looked at him with troubled eyes. "What just happened? You''re a demon?" "Ha, you saw it?" Wolf Flute barked out a laugh. "Thatwas probably what I looked like before. Don''t worry, I''m not a demon. Just a kid raised by wolves. Mature men all have some dark history. Don''t ask." Ye Qingxuan was stunned but he obeyed. Without the dark atrium''s protection, the dark musicians were forced to use their own symphonies of predestination to fight against Faust''s power. They instantly fell back. Already, two of them died. The victor had been determined. But Ye Qingxuan kept looking at Wolf Flute and their surroundings. He still felt unsettled. "Wolf Flute, are you sure you killed that guy?" he asked quietly. "Don''t worry. Am I the type to be merciful?" Wolf Flute made a face. "That guy is a failure who relied on a special weapon to upgrade. Without it, he''ll be completely dead in my hands. He can''t even leave an impact. Don''t worry, there''s no way even if their god wants to resurrect him." "But" Ye Qingxuan''s mouth opened. Before he could finish, he felt his hair standing up straight. He pulled Wolf Flute back reflexively. A dark shadow rose up under their feet and melded into a dark musician''s body. His power exploded and instantly pushed the destructive thunder back. Reaching out, he grasped a grandmaster''s head. His fingers closed and the skull shattered. The grandmaster from the School of Dragon Rock died instantly and tragically. Then his power was sucked into the dark musician. Crowley''s sharp laughter rang out, returning from the underworld! Ye Qingxuan''s face paled and he looked back. "Didn''t you say that he''s totally dead?" Wolf Flute froze too. He was sure that Crowley had died in his hands, so who was this before him right now? Solid darkness shrouded this abyss musician''s body. Crowley''s face slowly appeared, totally unharmed. He could not help but laugh when he studied Wolf Flute. "Mr. Wolf Flute, I agree with what you just said." He studied the other with a mysterious smile. "A self-made musician is naturally different from failures that rely on special weapons But sadly, I''m not a failure who used the Garment of Original Sin to enter the scepter level." "Wolf Flute" Ye Qingxuan''s hand trembled. He stared at Crowley. As if seeing through his disguise and seeing his true nature, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes widened in shock. He muttered, "Heis the Garment!" "That''s right." Crowley opened his arms. The Garment of Original Sin trembled as he laughed and bellowed, "I am the scepter!" 382 Miracle Crystallization In Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, the moonlight lit up, illuminating the reality. The moment the Garment and the flesh became one, he finally saw Crowley''s true appearance. Within the solid darkness, countless tiny music notes connected, constructing an entirely different interval like a vast music score. At just a glance, Ye Qingxuan knew this music theory was too far beyond him. It contained the School of Modifications, Revelations, Summoning, and even Abstinence These different theories were combined under one wild rule, transforming into the power of the abyss. It revealed itself using the aether. This was the true nature of the Garmenta weapon carved with a symphony of predestination and even containing a scepter! But amidst the complex music theory, within the rising and falling notes, music theory intertwined and countless music sheets twisted together. They vaguely formed a menacing face that changed with Crowley''s expressions. It seemed to cry, laugh; it seemed to be furious or depressed. It was tempting, luring one into its emotions. Just as the Romulusian alchemists had used a music score''s spirit to replace a man''s will, this music theory had created something comparable to a man''s will. No, this came from a man''s will! The moonlight traced the roots and Ye Qingxuan used the interpretation method to find a critical point among the messy music theory. The point was using the way of raising beasts by the School of Summoning to cut a person up psychologically and join the pieces into the music score This was where Crowley had come from. He was a beast born from the pieces of a man''s personality and soul! But who could create the Garment while cutting himself apart and joining it at the same time? Here, Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew bitter. Who else could it be? "You''re ''Paganini,'' right?" Studying Crowley, he said haltingly, "You''re made from the pieces of Paganini He cut out the wildest, darkest part of himself and you were born!" Crowley studied him in return. He seemed to smile and his eyes changed. Under the menacing mockery, a shred of pleasant shock flashed by. However, it quickly turned into an unnerving murderous glare. "You must be Ye Qingxuan." He looked at the young man behind Wolf Flute and lowered his head slightly. "As expected of the genius highly recommended by Naberius. That picky fellow was right." "What did he say?" Ye Qingxuan felt a chill. "For people like you, if you can''t become a right hand man, then one day you would become a scourge!" Crowley narrowed his eyes. "But sadlyyou won''t get the chance!" Wolf Flute''s expression changed. He shoved Ye Qingxuan to the side. Ye Qingxuan stumbled but silver light flashed before his eyes. The light changed, flitting past countless images in a second. In the last instant, he saw darkness swallow him. The armor of the Blade Dancer instantly rusted as if a millennium had passed. The moonlight only held on for a moment before breaking down. He spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling his organs fail. During this dizziness, he saw Wolf Flute jump into the aether world with the help of his scepter and land back in the material world. He crossed hundreds of meters in an instant. Darkness swallowed everything. However, this time, the power was like a blazing sun. It created storms in the aether sea. The darkness rushed into the sky, practically enveloping the entire city. It called for the abyss''s power and activated the huge wind tunnel again. It was like a ring of darkness. It loomed over the city and pushed down! At the city''s peak, the Sacred Fire wavered. "F*ck, is this shirt high on crack? It''s too powerful." Wolf Flute''s hoarse voice sounded in his ears. "Leave us and run! These guys must''ve planned something. The entire city will sink into the abyss. You have to find that d*mn Romulusian girl!" "And then?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "And then you know what to do." Wolf Flute''s answer was calmcalm to the point of being chilling. Then the voice disappeared. The moonlight threads snapped. Wolf Flute had cut off the coherence between the two. Ye Qingxuan could only sense that terrifying changes were happening on the other end. - In the darkness, Wolf Flute''s lower body had already been corroded. The silver wolves'' hair were gray and mottled as they continued killing. "You sent the kid away like that? You might be too confident in him." Crowley snickered. "Without your protection, he''ll be devoured by the city." "No, he doesn''t need my protection," Wolf Flute said indifferently. "He''s the representative of the School of Royalty and is the future of all of Anglo" "Really?" Crowley shook his head in dissatisfaction. Something fierce flashed past his eyes. "Then let''s have the future of Anglo be buried with you!" The plaintive melody sounded. The darkness swallowed everything. - At an altitude of thousands of meters above sea level, wild wind raged. Ye Qingxuan thought he was being blown by the wind like a leaf. He had never hated his weak body more than now. Why didn''t he exercise more? Even if he was not a muscular pig, he would at least not be blown by the wind. Every element in Faust''s world should be frozen. However, Ye Qingxuan still felt aether flooding around him like furious tides in the ocean. Here, the aether and material world overlapped. The ripples of the aether sea had seeped into reality. Inside the large temple, it was as if a thousand ton sluice had opened. The aether formed a hurricane and wind, sweeping in all directions. The aether density was far beyond a black zone. It was almost solid and within it, Ye Qingxuan was suffocating. He yanked out a steel nail form his damaged armor and anchored him to the steps. He trudged forward like a lonely mountain climber. The steps spanned thousands of meters. The two sides were filled with delicate yet dark statuessuffering saints, lonely travelers, meditating girls, dying old men, tired merchants, terrified officials, furious kings The weakest parts of a human''s heart were presented here, transformed into realistic statues, frozen as beautiful pieces of art. Every statue was flawless and touching. One could feel the hearts of the characters. At the end of the steps was the temple at the highest point of the city. Ye Qingxuan forged on, going against the aether flood. He approached it step by step but did not dare to make any sound. In a black zone, a sound slightly too high could create abnormal changes. In a place where the aether was as terrifyingly dense that it was, even a cough could probably cause a chain reaction. The most common being explosions He climbed amongst oil that the alchemists had created. The slightest spark could cremate him. When he reached the last step, his armor had crumbled under the aether flood. His revealed clothing weathered until he looked like a beggar. Thankfully, he could still use the sub-originator. In fact, it worked better than before. The surging aether filled the empty sub-originator, replenishing his energy. Now, his condition was unbelievably good. At the temple gate, the flood disappeared completely. Like the eye of a storm, there was not a ripple. He could feel the thing burning like a star within the temple, even through the thick doors. Dumbfounding music theory was being born within the Sacred Fire, creating something awful and awesome that Ye Qingxuan had never seen before. This was something that was far beyond a symphony of predestination, the Garment of Original Sin, or anything he could imagine. If this thing could still be called a music score, it was undeniably a terrifying power that sat above all knowledge. However, the larger a music score was, the stronger of a spirit it needed. It was like how a symphony of predestination''s spirit could replace a man''s soul and control him. So where the spirit of the Sacred Flame come from? He held his breath and gaped. As expectedin the large hall, atop the altar, the Sacred Fire that contained all family flames and the countless souls of Romulus burned. It absorbed the power of both heaven and the abyss, unleashing a grand melody. Elsa slept within the flames. The Sacred Fire had already become tangible in the crack of her chest. It had transformed into the crystals of a miracle. The crystal came from the fire where countless memories and souls were burningincluding herself. Everything was to create a realistic miracle within the Sacred Fire''s flame. "Those Romulusians wanted to use this to make a scepter or even a more terrifying thing. It can be called" The hoarse voice paused to find an apt description. "The core of a natural catastrophe." 383 Heavy Responsibility The moment he heard the sound, Ye Qingxuan''s expression changed. The dagger in his remaining leg armor popped out from his movement. The blade was strangely twisted like a snake. It tore through the wind and left a chilling metallic light in its path. Finally, it landed in his hands and spun, stabbing into the front. The movement was crisp and practiced. Ye Qingxuan used up all his remaining strength to be extremely fast. It was only one moment. When the dagger pierced through someone''s body and came out the other end, there was no sound. There was no feeling as if he had pierced thin air. But he had not missed. "Young man, brashness is poison." The stabbed man shook his head and sighed. "It''s even more poisonous than so-called ''bravery''." He reached out, grasping Ye Qingxuan''s wrist, and pushed it out. It was not strong but it was filled with a stability that could not be defied. He gradually pulled the dagger out. It fell onto the floor with a clink. Ye Qingxuan was immobilized. For a moment, he was shaken by the sudden prestige. Every inch of him was frozen in horror, not daring to act before the ''giant object.'' Even his brain was silent and could not move. There was a frail figure behind Ye Qingxuan. He was covered in a black feather cape and was at least two meters tall but was not muscular. His waist-length hair was like gray ash and his face was colorless. Ye Qingxuan could not tell if he was angry or calm. Just as being stabbed was an insignificant matter, the young man before him was like dust. He looked down at Ye Qingxuan as if studying an interesting object. There was no frustration or annoyance. "Whoare you?" Ye Qingxuan forced out. "Me?" the man replied indifferently. "I''ve had many names but I''m afraid many have been forgotten. Only my least favorite one still survives. You can call me" He paused and uttered, "Paganini." - Ten minutes ago, the Knights Templar and iron whales were in the center temple. Colt had been called for. He entered quickly and came before the hanging emblem under the priest''s guidance. He lowered his head politely. "I am Colt, representative of the Rock Institute. May I ask what the Sacred City requests?" "Colt, get ready for coherence." A hoarse voice rang out. It was familiar and emotionless, just purely issuing an order. "Enter the prayer room in ten minutes and guide the lighthouse''s light." Stunned, Colt''s head snapped up. He looked at the holy emblem as if he could see the elder in the distance behind it. "Teacher?" Overjoyed, he said, "I am not yet a grandmaster but I am already qualified to touch the ''lighthouse''?" For centuries, all secret keepers passed down the same command to finally construct the scepter of a ''lighthouse'' in the aether world. From then on, the lighthouse was finally illuminated. It hung in the aether world, transmitting the wishes of generations of secret keepersto light the Dark World, observe the global environment, and enter the territory of omniscience. It was difficult to actually operate it, they could not maintain the global environment observation, and there were huge costs but the power was still huge. Throughout history, the secret keepers had worked with the Sacred City closely. They enjoyed high status and became a force within the School of Revelations. This was the reason why they were so highly regarded within Revelations. To any other Revelations musician, going into coherence with the Lighthouse and guiding the light was a huge honor. Controlling that power was like transforming into an omniscient spirit, able to see through all darkness and secrets. Even as the current heir to the secret keeper position, the Lighthouse was still a faraway honor to Colt. This was why he was unsettled and scared it was a joke. Heisenberg''s voice was still indifferent. "Colt, this is your chance," he said. "Grandmaster Koch has passed. Now, you are the only Revelations musician in Romulus. I am giving you my authority to represent the School of Secret Keepers and become the eye of the Sacred City. You will report straight to the Papal Chamber to supply information for the Cardinals. Do you understand the weight of this responsibility?" Colt was overjoyed. Forcing down his ecstasy, he lowered his head, answering, "I-I understand, Teacher. Please don''t worry, I won''t disa" "Do not forget your place!" The voice, icy as the deep sea, froze Colt. Heisenberg reprimanded coldly, "The way of Revelations lies in focus and calmness. You can only observe the situation by placing yourself out of it. Otherwise, you will lose independence and be blinded. How can you speak of the truth then? After all your years of studying, you still cannot control yourself. Can you not even understand the simplest principles?" "Teacher, I" "No need to explain. Go get ready." Heisenberg''s voice faded and the holy emblem dimmed. All that remained was an echo, "And still, unable to accomplish anything" Colt stared at the emblem dumbly. After a long while, he thought of something and lowered his head. "I understand." Ten minutes later, a servant walked over respectfully. "The prayer room has been prepared." When Colt looked up, the servant froze and stepped back subconsciously. Those eyes were empty and cold, indescribably so. They were like a vortex in the deep sea. Just glancing at them was asphyxiating. "P-please follow me" He did not dare to keep looking. Colt nodded and followed. On the way, he casually asked, "Excuse me but has the Sacred City called for other musicians before me?" The man answered. Just as Colt had expected, he heard that name again. "I see." He nodded with a smile but his eyes hardened, reflecting the coldness of the tundra. Fire brewed in the wilderness. - The prayer room was in the center of the iron whale temple. With its help, the coherence with the Lighthouse went smoothly. But it was surprising to Colt that he was so calm. He felt no nervousness or excitement. It was as if all his emotions had frozen and there was no longer anything to anticipate. All that remained was deadly stillness. He closed his eyes. Using the Lighthouse''s light, he looked into the faraway city. There, he saw it. He saw the abyss musicians and the grandmasters fighting them. He saw the immense power and terrifying rhythm contained in the strange city''s Sacred Fire. And he saw The white-haired man at the peak of the city who pushed the door open and approached the fire. It was familiar and coincidental, just as every other time. Colt could only watch his back as he disappeared into the hall. As if blinded by the white hair, Colt closed his eyes. "Ye Qingxuan" he muttered. As if chewing on flesh, he tasted something metallic between his teeth. "Ye Qingxuan." Colt suddenly laughed as if finding a solution within his pain and craze. Illuminated by the Lighthouse, he reached out and instantly saw the boundless information. He wiped away one and connected two different logic lines together. The result was very different. Wiping away his smile, his expression turned serious and shocked. Using his authority, he connected with the Sacred City. "Teacher, the situation is hard to maintain. The abyss is directly controlling the core and the grandmastersare at risk!" There was a long, long silence. Then Heisenberg exclaimed, "What did you say?!" "The abyss is well prepared and has the upper hand now," Colt answered with a quivering voice. "I''ve sent all the observation data. In a few minutes, everything might fall into the abyss''s control." "Colt, do you know what you''re saying?" Heisenberg checked the data sent from the temple. His voice grew hoarse. "Are you sure?" "Yes, Teacher." Colt''s lips twisted into a sneer. He repeated, "We must act. Please tell the Cardinals to quickly decide! Otherwise" The connection cut off. Colt sneered and counted backwards. Ten, nine, eight, seven Before he got to ''three,'' the connection was restored. This time, it was an unfamiliar and serious voice. "Colt, this is the Cardinals. You will temporarily have the authority of a bishop and command Knights Templar on behalf of the Papal Chamber." The voice paused and grew resolute. "The Sacred City shall sign the ''purification document'' and give Knights Templar the activation code for Heaven''s Gate! Even if Auschwitz is wiped from the map, do not allow the abyss to succeed!" "Understood." Colt lowered his head, bowing before the almighty power. And then, helaughed silently. Only one thought went through his mind. Goodbye forever, Ye Qingxuan. 384 Iron Rules Fire burned in the darkness of the hall. Paganini stood before the Sacred Fire. His black shadow covered the youth''s face like an abyss pushing him down. He said, "Ye Qingxuan, I know you." Under the extreme pressure, Ye Qingxuan''s face was pale. Sweat trickled down his back. There was no need for any words, movements, or thoughts. The man''s mere existence suffocated Ye Qingxuan. The Eye of Silence was carved with the words knowing too much may not be a good thing. He had never hated his knowledge of Revelations more than now because he saw the stars under Paganini''s hood. They fluctuated like the original darkness of the universe. He could distort the temperament and reality by merely standing there. Every word was like a clap of thunder in Ye Qingxuan''s soul, causing his consciousness to shake. If the moonlight had not soothed his terror and psychological wounds, he would have been destroyed. Now, he forced a smile onto his pale face and rasped, "I''m flattered." "Your actions deserve my praise." Paganini studied him. His voice had an undertone of approval. "I have paid attention to you from the abyss, including everything you''ve done in Anglo. You are the most talented genius I''ve seen this centurysecond only to your father." Ye Qingxuan''s pupils constricted. "Myfather?" "Someone has to remember him, right?" Paganini said indifferently. "Ye Lanzhou''s talents were beyond myno, everyone''s expectations. He turned his name into a hint and wiped my memories. Thankfully, I have a habit of backing up my memories periodically. That was how I noticed a gap in them. "I used six years to undo his hint, thus noticing his talentIt is unprecedented. Sadly, someone so talented had to be my enemy due to our different views. It is such a pity." He looked at Ye Qingxuan and said in a low voice, "What do you think?" "It''s probably because you did something wrong." "Oh?" Paganini laughed. "I only followed my heart and did everything for the path to the Originator. I''m nothing different from the other musicians except for the fact that I found the abyss music theory to suit me better." "If you think you''re right then why must you prove your innocence to me?" The more scared Ye Qingxuan was, the more serious he seemed. "If you wish, why don''t you to the Ministry of the Sacred City and appeal for innocence? I''m sure the Sacred City will understand your efforts." Finished, he closed his eyes, waiting for Paganini to lose his temper and kill him. To be honest, he regretted it but it was useless. His mouth could not be helped. However, Paganini did not grow furious or even show any embarrassment. Instead, he said as if discussing dinner, "If there''s a chance, I''d go, but not now." "So what now?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "What do you want to do now?" "I want to talk to you," Paganini said. "I had become one of the dark followers after all these years but I don''t want to put my wishes on sword point. At my level, strength and effectiveness are no longer important. The most important thing is to follow my own way. If possible, I don''t wish to use violent ways to solve problems." "Talk?" Ye Qingxuan was bewildered. "About what? Joining you?" "There are many dark musicians in the world. We don''t need you," Paganini said lightly. "I will welcome you if you did, but it''s okay if you''re not willing. You can continue being a musician of your kind. "On the path to the Originator, we are all travelers. If one day, you reach my position and have the same attainments, I will be happy for you as well." "Ohreally? Thanks." Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. He was slightly relieved but also disappointed for some reason. It was weird! "Now, I wish to talk about something else." Paganini turned to look at the Sacred Fire. Elsa slept within the fire as if she would sleep for thousands of years. "About her." "Her?" Stunned, Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes. "There''s nothing to talk about. Mr. Paganini, she''s just an average girl. The dark followers are above her." "Just an average girl?" Tickled, Paganini burst into laughter. "For hundreds of years, so many people have used all their tricks and gave up everything but no one expected that the first new natural catastrophe would be a little girl. And she even inherited the position of the three wise men" He paused. Looking at Ye Qingxuan, he raised his voice. "You''re here to take her away, right?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply. It was not that he was speechless but that words were useless. They knew each other well. Lying would only make him seem laughable. "Give up," Paganini stated. "Do you think the Sacred City would allow a natural catastrophe outside of their control to survive? Or do you think that the Romulusians would thank you? Caligula nurtured her so she could shine one day. After today, she will burn completely and give them strength She can''t leave with you. She herself will not allow it. Ye Qingxuan, you understand this, yes?" After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan forced between clenched teeth, "It might not be how you say it is." "Really?" Paganini retorted. "Why don''t I think that Wolf Flute thinks so too? He said that you know what to do and you lied to yourself but you don''t actually know what to do, yes?" He paused. Looking down at Ye Qingxuan''s dagger, his eyes became tinged with mockery. "Otherwise, why did you bring a knife?" Ye Qingxuan did not reply but Paganini continued. "You''ve already prepared for the worst scenarioto kill her, yes? I know you, Ye Qingxuan. I''ve seen countless people over thousands of years. Therefore, I know you better than you know yourself. "People like you seem to be friendly towards everyone. But actually, you''re indifferent to everyone. From the start to now, from Avalon to here, your pain and appeals don''t come from the outside. They come from yourself because you realized that this world is different from what you thought! "Even if you save her, it''s not to become a hero but because you feel that you owe her and don''t want to feel guilt! You are always living in your own world!" "Bullsh*t!" Ye Qingxuan roared. He used all his energy but his voice sounded so thin and weak. He hung his head tiredly. Paganini laughed in his face. "The time for immaturity is over, Ye Qingxuan. Face reality." He pressed a hand to Ye Qingxuan''s forehead and said seriously, "Since you don''t understand, let me tell you something. Some iron rules and truths of this world. "In this world, everyone must pay for their choices. The Romulusians abandoned her for power and the Sacred City will abandon you all for that reasonYou have no reason to sacrifice yourself for the Sacred City and have no right to take her away because you shouldn''t have come!" The voice seemed to have invisible weight that crushed Ye Qingxuan''s shoulders. It forced his head down and immobilized him. Unable to fight back, he fell into the abyss of asphyxiation. "I understand that you are unwilling. You may have experienced so I will give you a satisfactory ''compensation''." Paganini rose and murmured in his ears, uttering the secret of a demon, "For example, how Ye Lanzhou died." Ye Qingxuan''s expression changed. His head snapped up. He saw Paganini''s eyes and his pale face in the reflection. It was filled with weakness and confusion. After a long while, he looked away weakly. All his power was sapped. He closed his eyes. "I understand," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "This is my cost?" "It seems that you''ve thought it through." Paganini nodded, appreciation filling his eyes. "It''s the hardest for men to face reality. It is very difficult for you to make such a choice. The road ahead is still long. Wise men do not worry about a moment. I anticipate your development in the future." "Thank you, Mr. Paganini, for your guidance." Ye Qingxuan bowed politely. Paganini smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but heard the youth''s hoarse voice. "In return, let me tell you something too!" Cold moonlight lit up in Ye Qingxuan''s chest. The sub-originator shook. The vast music theory from the Avalonian enchantment forcefully chipped away at Paganini''s restrictions. The gap was only large enough to fit a youth. Ye Qingxuan moved forward, welcoming the terrifying figurethe abyss''s physical incarnate. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei hummed at his fingertip. A slender cane shot out, transforming into a sword in his hands. It stabbed to the front! In that moment, thunder rumbled. Complex notes were carved into the cane. Moonlight flowed out like a flood, transforming the blade. The murderous feeling cut to the bone. It was the Sword! Boom! The blade pierced through Paganini''s body, cutting out a giant hole in his chest! Paganini''s slender body twisted from the sudden attack. He looked up in shock and stared dumbfounded at the youth. Ye Qingxuan''s face was emotionless. There was no confusion in his eyes. He bent over and uttered the truth, "Your iron rules are bullsh*t!" 385 Infinity With a snap of the finger, the frosty moonlight sword broke out, piercing through Paganini''s body. He was like a broken scarecrow but no blood existed in his chest. Instead, solid music theory was revealed. In the cleaved darkness, the broken music theories were like broken chains and disordered music scores. They tried to recover but could not connect again under the moonlight. The abyss music theory fell like a house of cards before the moonlight. This was the purification score that Moon Chant had created for the abyss. It was only a shred of its original but it was not able to be overlooked. However, even with his body damaged, Paganini still had no reaction. It was like a breeze to him. There was no pain. He just looked at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes changed from shock, confusion, toscorn! "That was your last desperate attempt?" He looked at Ye Qingxuan with uncertainty and disdain. "It''s wild, shallow, and completely illogical. I am so dis-disa-" His voice cut off as if frozen. His expression froze as well. Rattling came from his body, rising and falling until a horrible scream came from the thousands of cracks in unison. "Ah!!!" Countless black feathers flew from his hood like a crow molting right before death. They burned to dust. His body instantly shattered. The peacefulness of the hall was also destroyed. The copper mirror shattered, transforming into shards of light, revealing the hall tainted by blackness. The entire hall had been corroded by a flesh-like darkness. The pure black color seeped into the stones. The abyss music theory transformed into pulsing veins. The entire hall had turned into the body of a giant beast. And Ye Qingxuan was inside of it! In the heart of the darkness, tentacles dropped down. The layers thinned and narrowed, delicately reaching into the Sacred Fire. However, the corrosive music theory did not stimulate the Fire''s counterattack. The music theory changed nine times and the end of the tentacles were completely different. They grew radiant like fire as if coming from the same place as the Sacred Fire. This was Paganini''s specialtyChanneling Change. Otherwise, how could he be undiscovered for dozens of years as a demonic follower until he suddenly dragged half of the Holy Choir into the abyss in one day? That day, he had shaken the world. Hundreds of years later, the human world would once again be shaken. Within the abyss, Paganini immediately rose to the top of the ''dark followers.'' His status was even above that of Hyakume''s first daughter, the Eagle Wing Mother. Before Ye Qingxuan''s arrival, he had already transformed this place into his territory. He used his music theory to imitate the Sacred Fire and quietly meld into the flames. Then he slowly, carefully polluted it until it became part of him! He would then swallow everything and he had almost succeeded! The outer edge of the Sacred Fire had already blackened. The hardest part was complete but with Elsa sleeping, the Sacred Fire did not even know. Next, he could have gone with the flow, pushing it easily until the Fire was completely swallowed. But someone had burst through, stirring up a mess without following the rules, respecting authority or manners, and pulled out his sword! With an unhesitant throw of the sword, he had shattered the body Paganini created and jumped into the Sacred Flame dozens of meters away. Compared to the immense power, the moonlight was nothing. Ye Qingxuan''s action was like sticking an elephant with a needle. The problem though, was that he had stuck the elephant when the giant snake was halfway through swallowing it and the elephant reacted Countless delicate and complex purification theories solidified into pure moonlight. It stabbed into the fire to disturb the abyss theory. It was like a drop of water in a pot of oilit exploded! The Sacred Fire blazed furiously. Terrifying power converged, destroying all power that dared to invade it. This included the moonlight. It also included Paganini. When the moonlight clashed with the fire, the fighting only lasted for a moment. The music theory twisted, fought, and rejected, creating thousands of changes in an instant. Ye Qingxuan guided the fight toward the way of Modifications. He obviously did not have any knowledge of it and was defeated. However, his goal was achieved. The music theory changed constantly but the abyss theory that had used the Channeling Change could not keep up. The slight disparity was obvious. Even water was divided between pure and murky. Thus, the Sacred Fire began rejecting and purifying! In an instant, the lively and writhing darkness screamed. It jumped from the fire like black oil splashing out of a well. It was endless. But the oil had already been ignited. The layer of firelight shrieked and could not continue. Paganini''s hard work had failed! "From your saint''s position, you abandoned your human body. This must be your body now, right?" Ye Qingxuan stared coldly at the sticky darkness with mockery. "How is it? How does it feel to be burned from the inside out?" "Wh-why-" the voice rasped. "Why?!" Paganini''s question was unclear but Ye Qingxuan understood: why would Ye Qingxuan choose to fight a dark follower so far above him? "Firstly, thank you for lowering yourself to waste so much time talking to me." Ye Qingxuan bowed in gratitude. "To be honest, I almost believed for a moment that you really just wanted to talk." "Why" Why didn''t he believe it? "It''s simple. I don''t deserve it." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Someone as powerful as you doesn''t need to waste so much effort on talking. There''s nothing wrong with talking about principles but ants and dust don''t need to know this. Just squashing them is a much better choice. Unless" Ye Qingxuan paused. His gaze was mysterious. "Unless you''re trying to drag out the time!" "You''re more difficult than I thought. Ye Qingxuanyou''re beyond my expectations, just like your father." Black tar bubbled on the ceiling, the walls, and the ground. Countless bubbles burst with a hoarse laugh. "Sadly, you don''t know what you missed You missed the only chance to learn about Ye Lanzhou You will never, never know how he died." Under the strange laugh, the ball of blackness surged. A vague figure slowly emerged. It transformed into a black cape again. A white face reached out of the mud and opened its mouth, exhaling deeply. A suffocating wind blew through the hall. Ye Qingxuan paled. He had recovered? If one wanted to use the Channeling Change to steal the Sacred Fire''s power, he needed to undo all defenses and enter it completely. He should be extremely weak. In addition to being burned and cleansed by the Sacred Fire, he also suffered the abyss music theory''s backlash. It was a fatal wound. It was as if someone had a third degree burn and his immune system broke down. It was even possible to drop down deadeven though this may be too insignificant to Paganini. But Ye Qingxuan had not expected for him to recover so quickly! It was too fast. So incredibly fast After a few short exchanges, Ye Qingxuan had not even found a weakness to stab but Paganini had quickly extinguished the fire on himself. He had reconstructed the broken music theory and scepter. He had not recovered fully but he was not weak and defenseless now. For someone as strong as Paganini, who had already become an elite of the scepter level hundreds of years ago, had been a saint, and was a dark follower in the abyss He could completely destroy Ye Qingxuan with just a pinky finger! He could die from the backlash of his music theory breakdown. He could be tormented to death. He could have a mental breakdown and go crazy until death. His body could degenerate and wither until death. Hundreds of ways to die flashed past his mind. If Paganini was creative, he could probably think of more fun ways. "Infinite movement," Paganini suddenly said. He stared at his regenerated hands. They were slender and white. Different from regular humans, each finger had four joints. They were mesmerizing when he stretched them out. "You must be very confused as to how I could instantly heal a wound that should take decades," he said. "It''s simple. Back when I became a saint and inherited the name of ''Paganini,'' the ritual known as ''infinite movement'' happened. "After that ritual, I am able to construct music theory thousands of times faster than the average man. That means that, as long as I can withstand it, I can achieve results in the snap of a finger that others need tens of thousands of times more for. "There are many restrictions for the ritual and the Sacred City''s tastes are very annoying. If not for your reminder today, I would have forgotten all about it. A pity." With that, Paganini reached out. Blackness came in plumes, weighing down with thousands of tons. Ye Qingxuan was dragged to the air. He spat out blood but could not move. He could sense that the aether around him was quickly extinguishing as if he had fallen into the abyss. The slightest breath could cause his music theory to fall apart. On his heart, a crack appeared on the sub-originator. He could barely maintain his heartbeat. It would collapse at the slightest touch! 386 The child of peace "You still won''t give up. You must hold some kind of faith or hope in your mind, right?" Paganini seemed to have made up his mind to torture him to death. "Even to this degree, you still think that someone will come to save you? Stop dreaming, Ye Qingxuan. That little girl has burned down long ago. Do you think she can wake up to call your name again? Or...are you still waiting for him?" Just as the voice fell, a man was thrown in from outside. Then, a glow of light flew into Paganini''s body. In an instant, black feathers were flying around. Paganini''s emaciated body was enveloped in a robe. The robe was embroidered with golden silk threads and decorated with stars and roses. The gospels of the Scriptures were depicted on the clothing. After falling into the darkness, the cloth turned dark and gloomy without deducting from its grandeur and mystery. It was the Garment of Original Sin! What surprised Ye Qingxuan more than this was the dying young man on the ground. He was on his last breath. Wolf Flute? He was almost shocked to death. Ye Qingxuan had been waiting for him to rescue or to request the Knights Templar for reinforcements! In the blink of an eye however, Wolf Flute was beaten into such a pathetic state. Come on man? Where is your dignity as a new Scepter? Ye Qingxuan thought. "Well, those guys are so impudent! I had to fight with six people at the same time..." Wolf Flute spoke embarrassedly with a helpless but angry face. "Shouldn''t it be one-on-one?" "Why are you so unreliable?" Ye Qingxuan wanted to cry. "From the first time to now, you''ve never come in handy! Man!" "Who said that?" Wolf Flute became angry. He looked so wronged. "I gave you a whistle!" Whistle F*cking whistle! Thinking of the whistle, Ye Qingxuan became furious. "I had blown it earlier. It was useless!" Hearing him say so, Wolf Flute was overjoyed. "You blew it? That''s good..." In spite of the harsh melody in the dark, he lowered his eyes, calculating the time. It was about time - "My Lord," a husky voice sang softly in the still sky. Thus, pious praising melodies sounded above the dozens of large iron whales. In the clear melody, countless priests closed their eyes and whispered, "Make me your child of peace and see your presence in hatred." Holy light shone from their bodies, melting into one another. There seemed to be lights from heaven shining above the dark iron whales, countless like the stars in the night sky. There were stars shining above the burning iron curtain in the sky. The solemn praises of countless people echoed here. They were praying. They were chanting. "Make me your child of peace, and sow thy light in this darkness!" As if dozens of great silver bells were ringing, the deafening roar spread. In the roar, the lights gathered like an ocean, flooding the sky. At this moment, the sky was like an ocean of light hung upside-down. In the countless ripples, the iron whales hissed, playing the sacred melody. On the dark scorched earth, the city hung frozen in the sky and sea of light. Many priests worshiped before the emblem, and solemnly praised, "Make me your child of peace and in forgiveness, we shall receive amnesty." Between heaven and earth, everything was in silence at that moment. Only the first husky voice was heard. It informed the whole world of the only truth of the world. "We receive when we give and we will enter eternity in death!" In that hoarse chanting, the mighty solemn music finally reached the climax. The iron whales'' hissing was heard here and there. It was the sound numerous organs roaring in the steel temple. In the belly of every iron whale, there was a huge steel temple. The green gold and the black iron emanated with an eternal stillness and solemness. All priests knelt reverently before the holy emblem and prayed. Under the emblem was a huge organ embedded in the iron wall. The enthusiastic musicians separated into groups of threes and became one with each other. They cooperated with each other, playing the six levels of meters-wide keys. This was just the tip of the iceberg! Under those nimble fingers, the complex melody was deduced and turned into a complex command. The keys were played, involving countless gears, levers, springs, and precision components. The organ, which occupied hundreds of cubic meters of the iron whale, huffed and puffed with hot steam, hissing. The majestic water vapor and the whale song ejected from the organ''s pipe. It unleashed tides and waves of frenzy in the sea of light. In the sky, the hanging ocean was slowly changing. Among the dozens of iron whales, inside the vague circle, a lotus blossom bloomed. Countless rays of light overlapped and shone down, stagnating in mid-air. The light loomed over the solidified city. The bloom of the light lotus was so huge but it looked so peaceful. It was as if all the beauty in the world was gathered here so that all the lost souls could rest in peace. "Mr. Bann, the Requiem ritual has been completed." In the middle of the temple, the priest with a sword half knelt before Bann and said seriously, "The power of the Holy Spirit has been assembled in the Sacred City, and Heaven''s Door will open here in your will! Please issue the order." Behind Bann, Colt gazed the long sword with a hint of ecstasy. The Heaven''s Door! It was the Heaven''s Door! It was the artifact cast by three generations of Pope, the sword of all Kings of Yellow throughout history, and the legend that had beheaded one of the seven catastrophic dragons! According to the prophecy, the sword will open Heaven''s Door on the final battlefield "Armageddon" of human and natural catastrophes, purify six hundred and sixty-six natural catastrophes and annihilate Hyakume completely! Colt lowered his head, kneeling under this magnificent power, and dared not even gaze at the unadorned sword. It was the light! To him, it felt like the first light in the world creation myths that had split the chaos. It was enough to pierce one''s eyes, to destroy one''s senses, and to let the mortal man who was born with the original sin evaporate completely at just one glance! But in everyone''s eyes, what Bann was holding in hand was just a simple sword cast by black iron, without any decorations or any specialty. They couldn''t see its significance and solemn status at all. Now, everything was ready and the melody of the Requiem resounded between heaven and earth. Heaven''s Door was about to open but Bann remained silent. He looked cold, neither feverish nor excited, and held the sword. As if he had sunk in meditation, he was as motionless as iron. "Your Excellency." For a long while, there was no response. The priest with the sword looked up at him in confusion. "Your Excellency, would you issue your order?" Bann did not speak. He looked up silently, staring the huge city that solidified in sky out of the porthole. There were no emotions in his eyes. Five minutes left There were still five minutes to the appointed time he made with Ye Qingxuan. But there was still no sign of success. He only felt the fountain of darkness erupting, about to envelop everything. Five minutes left... He retracted his gaze, his voice hoarse. "It is not the time yet." Colt was stunned. He looked up at Bann''s back. His eyes changed in an instant and finally, a hint of rage flashed. "Sir, this is the order of the Sacred City!" Colt stepped forward seriously. "The Cardinals are waiting for your reply." "I said, it is not the time yet," Bann responded indifferently. "I am in charge here. You need not say more." "Not the time? This is the last chance!" Colt raised his voice high and glared at him. "Your Excellency, do you want to watch the abyss swallow Auschwitz? Now is not the time for indecision. Please do not delay. Issue your order now. Or..." He paused. A hint of malice showed in his stern expression. "Are you going to sit back and watch the situation deteriorate for some personal reasons?" "What did you say?" Bann raised his eyes. There seemed to be something in them, cold as iron. Colt unconsciously stepped back. At that moment, he felt something crush down above his head, like the sword from God''s punishment. But soon, but he revealed a hint of sneer. "You think I don''t know? Among those who landed there is your adopted son, right?" He grinned and uttered the name as if chewing it between his teeth, "Ye Qingxuan! "You disregarded the order of the Knights Templar and put a mere musician into the exploration team in order to earn credit and honor for him. Now, the situation deteriorated but you continued blundering, allowing things get out of control. You ignored the overall picture because of your own purpose! Your Excellency, how do you explain this?" Bann remained silent with an indifferent look. He just looked at Colt. Faint cold light flowed under his sharp eyebrows as if the sword was ringing angrily in the sheath. Being looked by that pair of eyes, Colt paled. Soon, he clenched the holy emblem in the hand as if the emblem can give him infinite strength. He slowly lifted it. "I command you on behalf of the Pope, Commander Bann! Open the Heaven''s Door now without delay! Otherwise..." He showed a nasty look. "Otherwise, I will now tell the Cardinals to deprive you of your command!" The emblem hung high before Bann. It felt like tons weighing down on him. "How dare you?!" All the Knights Templar who guarded the surroundings came forward with swords held in hands. Their eyes glared at Colt. "Stop!" Bann roared. He pursed his lips, his shoulders trembling as if he was suppressed by the emblem that represented the scriptures After a long while, he bowed his head and spoke with his voice hoarse. "As His Holiness''s oracle." He closed his eyes. "Sorry," he whispered. Little Yezi, I''m sorry. In his hand, Heaven''s Door slowly lit up and issued a long and low roar. But at that instant, it suddenly trembled as if it sensed the arrival of something. Then, the sea of light set off the waves of fury. Layers of huge ripples visible to the naked eye spread out of nowhere. Some kind of invisible pressure came down from the sky, tearing the burning red iron curtain. It was falling down. Just in a second, the vast sea of light was chiseled, exposing a huge hole. Behind the hole was the universe''s original darkness. There was something descending from heaven! The stars were falling! 387 Pull When the blazing object fell, it created a thunderous dragon-like roar. It shook the entire temple. The ground trembled, the walls vibrated, and the air seemed to solidify. Clashes sounded like giant stones rubbing against each other, setting off the acrid smell of something burnt. "What is that?!" Paganini''s head shot up. His eyes narrowed, trying to distinguish the thing that had fallen before him. The darkness around him swelled. Layers of music scores emerged; strange melodies overlapped into a grating cacophony. But there was still an odd rhythm and completeness. It was as if the beast in the darkness had revealed a scale or clawshocking but unable to see the entirety. "Haha haha!" Wolf Flute danced, pointing at Paganini excitedly and yelling, "Die, f*cker! You''re dead now!" Paganini''s face darkened. The surrounding darkness thundered. The falling object was approaching. From the distance, he could feel the sudden sharpness. It was terrifying. The object tore through the air, causing gales of wind and thunder. It was closer, closer, and closer! And thenunder everyone''s dumbfounded gazes, it cut a beautiful arc and fell somewhere on the edge of the city. Boom! Something exploded in the distance. And then silence. It missed the target? It f*cking missed?! Wolf Flute''s smile stiffened. The silence dragged on. Paganini looked down at the two with a mocking yet sad smile. "Seems like your savior got lost. And what did you just call me?" "I-I" Scratching his head, Wolf Flute chuckled awkwardly. "What did I just say? Maybe you heard incorrectly. I didn''t say anything. Mr. Paganini, you look so nice and merciful. What if you let us go? "We will do anything to repay your kindness. If others hear of this, it''ll be a great story and reputation for you as well. What do you think?" Ye Qingxuan almost cried. "This is the help you''re talking about? Bro, where''s your dignity? Can you not just surrender like this?" Paganini laughed heartily. He gazed at Wolf Flute in satisfaction. "Well said." He slammed his hand down and darkness surged. "But sadly, it''s meaningless!" In that moment, there was light. - Hundreds of miles away, moonlight illuminated the crater in the barren land. The giant ditch was shocking. The gravel moved and a hand reached out. "Myold bones" A raspy voice sighed helplessly. A hand reached out of the dirt but nothing else could be seen. There was only a wrinkled hand covered in age spots moving around, picking out his broken body. Finally, the dirt was wiped away, revealing half a burnt face. It slowly recovered and regenerated. Looking at the moonlight, he sighed. "Business trips are seriously difficult. If I knewI would''ve stayed in the underground palacewatching the door Getting the principal to say the truth is harder than persuading the natural catastrophes to be good people." Trembling, he pieced his body back together. Finally, he was back to normal. There was a rag stuck on his body and a rock embedded into his head. He looked pathetic as if he had just climbed out of his grave. It was Dominic. "Seriously old now." Bending down to look, he coughed violently as he talked to himself. "Sent the package to the wrong place, got too excited and almost crashed when I saw those familiar faces. But how come Paganini still looks like that after all these years? He doesn''t even get some surgery" As he rambled, he finally dug a hole in the ditch and used all his energy to drag something out of it. The narrow steel case clanged onto the ground. It buzzed as if something was struggling furiously inside. "Thankfully the case''s quality is pretty good." Dominic checked it over and sighed. "If the thing is broken, I''ll probably get tossed into the Queen''s boiler to take a bath." With that, he picked up a rock and slammed it down. The lock cracked. The sleep case shook and was pushed open from the inside. Radiant light shot into the sky like a reversed meteorite. The flash illuminated his withered face. "Open up, delivery''s here!" He grinned. "Who''ll sign for it?" - The light flashed soundlessly. Paganini''s laughter cut off. A few seconds later, the boom exploded belatedly. The terrifying speed that overpowered the air created wild wind pressure. It felt solid and swept in all direction, leaving ghastly cracks on the stone tiles. The temple''s door shattered. The Garment''s enchantment shattered as well. With a thud, something fell onto the ground. It was a hand Paganini looked down dumbly and saw his stub of a wrist. Then he looked ahead at the thing that was sticking out of the floor. It had cut off his hand. Now, it poked out of the tiles, waiting silently as if it had sprouted roots. Ye Qingxuan gaped at it. He could only hear his heavy breathing. He walked forward involuntarily. His blood had become calm after moonlight was added but now it bubbled. His blood screamed with an indescribably urge. He studied the seemingly familiar thing. Realizing what it was, his eyes almost rolled out of their sockets. "Why are youhere?" he murmured. He seemed to hear it speak in his ears, "Pull me! Hurry and pull me! Come pull me!" Wolf Flute laughed, shattering the silence. He literally rolled on the floor laughing. Before coming, Wolf Flute had gotten a seemingly average whistle from the principal. He had fallen silent. "Mr. Principal, is this truly useful?" "Yes." Maxwell had smiled. "You have to know that his blood isn''t just Deva''s blood. Half of it comes from Lancelot andhis mother''s identity is very special." "What do you mean?" "The Lancelot family has always been a pillar of the kingdom with unwavering loyalty to the royalty. The royal family does not stop at rewarding them and pulling them closer either. For example, the simplest waymarriage." Maxwell''s smile grew mysterious. "Few people know that his mother''s motherhis grandmotheris the sister of the previous Anglo king. Do you know what this means, Wolf Flute? One-eighth of his blood is royal blood. That means that he is qualified to be the thirty-seventh successor of the throne! "That is why he has the rights to represent the School of Royalty. That is also why he could be chosen by ''it'' for his accomplishments in Anglo and have the right to control its power." In that moment, understanding flashed past Paganini''s eyes. He finally recognized the thing that had only appeared in legends and fairytales. "Wait!" he roared. A hand reached out of the crack and pressed down, weaving wild melodies. He wanted to destroy that youth and burn him to dust. But at the same time, Ye Qingxuan reached out and applied pressure. He pulled out the dusty, average-looking, rusted, and chipped Sword in the Stone! 388 Sword in the Stone It was as if a sun was stuffed into his body. He burned! His blood boiled. If cold moonlight did not pour into the crazed veins to take away some heat and frenzy, Ye Qingxuan would probably be on fire now. The ancient sword lit up in his hands. The rust flaked off, the chips were filled in, and it radiated. The vibrations were like a dragon''s roar! Under the mind-shattering roar, Ye Qingxuan''s chest thrummed. The sub-originator that had replaced the Avalonian enchantment was activated, creating unimaginable changes. Countless melodies were born from the disordered theories and connected to the inside of the Sword. A vast cycle was created. Ye Qingxuan could feel the aether density of his blood rising rapidly. Ten times higher, one hundred times, one thousand times The immense power was unleashed from the Sword. It turned the blood into flashes of light until Ye Qingxuan could no longer perceive how much his strength had increased. He no longer felt pain or discomfort. In an instant, he had become one with the Sword in the Stone. He was no longer out of control. It was just what Maxwell had told Wolf Fluteno one was more qualified to wield this sword than Ye Qingxuan. It was not only due to his bloodline, his certified accomplished, and his recognized merits There was also the sub-originator in him. Ever since Arthur built his kingdom hundreds of years ago, the Avalonian enchantment had existed as the Sword''s sheath. Now, hundreds of years later, they became one again because of Ye Qingxuan. It was as if he had suddenly transformed into a Holy Spirit. Ye Qingxuan felt an explosion of power within him like celestial movements. He looked up. Blinding light shot from his eyes. A burning halo appeared above his head. He faced the tide of darkness head on. Stepping forward, he hoisted the sword and stabbed the ground. For a moment, darkness swallowed him. There was a harsh clang of sword against stone in the darkness. Clang! Blazing light shot into the sky! It was light emitted by the Sword in the Stone. Power from Avalon''s enchantment had fused into it. Thus, the light cut through all obstacles like a sword and rose. Under the illumination, Paganini''s tacky body shuddered and bubbled. He quickly shrank into the darkness under the Garment of Original Sin. The light illuminated everything. The abyss music theory that had seeped into the temple now evaporated and fell apart. It was replaced by the music theory of Avalon''s enchantment. Its expansion did not stop until it ran into the Garment. Now, half of the temple was in control of the enchantment. "I see" Ye Qingxuan had expected this. He looked down at the sword in his hands. The blade was covered in countless interwoven and beautiful music scores. He could make out the ancient carved runes. It said that the wielder of the sword was the king! Everything in the Sword''s path became part of Anglo. Both earth and heaven were covered by Avalon''s enchantment. The sub-originator connected and became one with the Sword. The music theory changed instantly, creating dozens of music scores equal to a symphony of predestination. They joined and created the scepter of Heaven on Earth! "The Sword in the StoneI see" Under the Garment, Paganini suddenly laughed. It started gently but lost control until the laugher was grating. "I see I did not expect it! Fate is as such If Ye Lanzhou knew, he would probably be rolling in his grave! His son actuallyactuallyhahaactually teamed up with his killer This is so ironic!" "You think I''ll believe you?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him and walked forward. "Let''s change the topic and end this meaningless talk." Under the Garment, a ball of sticky blackness moved. Paganini looked up amidst his crazed laughter. Seeing the youth''s serious face, his eyes changed imperceptibly. "You''re much more confident now, young man. Is it because there''s hope in defeating me?" He sighed. "But you must know that, even though I came about after Arthur, he would not become one of Hyakume''s dark followers even if he fell into the abyss. What makes you think that a dead man''s broken thing canbeat me?!" He waved his hands and a black violin appeared. The Garment transformed into a bow. Placing it on the violin, a chilling melody burst from the instrument. When he grasped the violin bow, the sinister menace disappeared from his face. He looked calm and peaceful. His eyes were solemn, full of respect and genuineness as if looking at the truth. His loyalty and desire toward music theory was why his power did not decrease after falling into the abyss. Instead, his power became more pure and moreoutrageous! The Garment instantly began fighting back. It was not even a true music scoreit was improvisation! It was like a hearty splash of wine, filled with romance, warmth, and genuine feelings. It was like an honest friend walking towards you and murmuring his secrets in your ear. Under the mournful and gentle melody, the Garment fluttered. The abyss''s power was instantly there. Modifications, Choir, Mind, Illusionmusic theories from all seven schools were combined into one cadenza. It crashed like a tide. Each wave was higher than the last; each time was more powerful than the last. It seemed endless. It was unbelievable! The territory of Heaven on Earth passively endured the charges. The shaking traveled down the sub-originator. Each attack rattled Ye Qingxuan until he was pale and unable to continue. It was so hard to imagine how a casual and improvised performance could shake the Sword and shake the scepter until it was about to fall apart into twelve symphonies of predestination. No wonder he was Paganini! Ye Qingxuan coughed out blood and put his all in stabilizing the territory. Thankfully, he had specialized in the ''way of the territory'' of Abstinence. Using the sturdy principles from the School of Stone Heart, he had the movement Holy from the Requiem and Haydn''s Genesis as reference He was knowledgeable in composing music theory and territory structures. Otherwise, he could only watch as Heaven on Earth fell apart before his eyes. Paganini was just using the enchantment to force him down. Improvising did not mean he slighted Ye Qingxuan. In fact, all saints who inherited the title of Paganini were the most talented performers and musicians. They had practiced more etudes than one could count to receive this title. He specialized in improvisation. Based on the conditions, he could jump past traditional restrictions and create something targeted specifically at the enemy. He used almost godly talent to defeat his enemies. All saints had composed a total of twenty-four caprices until Paganini became a dark musician. They were all masterpieces composed from the inspiration when facing a powerful enemy. Ye Qingxuan should count himself lucky for Paganini to use his true talents on him. But now, he really did not have time to wonder about his talent at self-mockery. He could barely hold on anymore. 389 Back-up Plan If Heaven on Earth could fight back, and he could use all twenty-four Chapters of Golden Victory, Ye Qingxuan would not be so powerless. But he just could not do anything! This was the scepter left behind by King Arthur! Combining all twenty-four Chapters, aided by Avalon''s enchantment, the Heaven on Earth from the golden age was created. When activated, the entirety of Anglo was needed to activate Avalon''s enchantment and supply energy for Heaven on Earth. The Royal Musician Division was needed to help with the music theory changes. This was undoubtedly a supersized war machine. He did not have a higher level of resonance, the strength to move the aether sea or any other aid As a mere official musician, it was already a miracle for Ye Qingxuan to cast a miniature Heaven on Earth with help from Avalon''s enchantment''s music theory. But it was okay. He could resonate now! Despair flashed past his eyes and he tossed Heaven on Earth to the side. Moonlight threads extended from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to the Sword. Coherence began! As if riding a wild wind onto the instrument, his mind broke through the shackles of reality and rushed into the aether world. This time, he used the Sword''s power to find the source. He instantly jumped past the once-long path and forged along his musician road deep into the aether world. He moved past the strong temptation of Avalon''s Shadow, brushed past the attraction of the abyss, left the radiance of the holy city, avoided the wall of the East, and moved in deeper. He moved toward the scepter that the Ye family had left behind in the aether world. In a moment, the silent world was before his eyes. Ye Qingxuan was alone with a light amongst the countless tombstones. "You''re here!" Laughing, he urged the Sword and rushed into it. With the Sword''s help, he already sensed that this was the source he needed to anchor in! A whimsical dot swam in the nine levels of the aether sea created by countless music theories. To describe it, it was not a solid object but a gap It was a gap that kept moving, created by the changing music theories. It was just like how a tiny gap would appear as the countless gears of a complex machine spun; there was always a small dim spot as the stars turned It was part of the whole yet also separate from the whole. The Ye family''s scepter relied on that spot. Generations of Ye musicians had put in everything to create this hereditary scepter and captured that source. It was like a giant star pulling a meteorite to become its satellite. After that, the source dot began to revolve around the scepter and exchange radiance with it. It was only complete if both were combined. Without either part, it could not be whole. The moment Ye Qingxuan found the spot, he heard Paganini''s furious huff. Under the Garment of Original Sin, how could Paganini not sense what Ye Qingxuan was doing? When he used his music theory''s fragmented feedback to discover the kid neglected Heaven on Earth to forcefully enter resonance, he burst into anger. In a duel, a desperate attempt at a breakthrough was hope for the weaker side. But to the enemy, it was pure humiliation! "You want to enter the Resonance level before me?" Paganini raised his dark eyes. "Where did you get that confidence?!" The melody instantly rose and screamed from the Garment. Behind him, the abyss''s shadow rose as well while its coordinate in the aether world sank. The huge attractive pull created a vortex in the aether sea. Pounding streams covered hundreds of thousands of miles in an instant. The equilibrium of the aether sea''s music theory was shattered, transforming into furious waves. Paganini had used one action to adjust the abyss''s territory, forcefully stirring the aether sea into turbidity. Gales of wind blew, blocking any paths. Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness was instantly swept by the wild tides and was almost lost in the aether sea. Thankfully, the Sword''s light pulled him back into Heaven on Earth. In the cracked territory, Ye Qingxuan''s pallor was pale and the halo above his head was dim. "Didn''t know you could do this. So impressive!" Wiping away the blood from his mouth and nose, he asked quietly, "But even for you, it must be tiring to influence the aether sea like this, right?" There was no fear or panic in his voice. It was as if he had predicted this long ago and everything was in control. He did not look menacing with blood flowing from his nose and mouth. Instead, he smiled brightly. Paganini frowned. "What are you thinking of now?" "At any time," Ye Qingxuan held up two fingers, "you must have a back-up plan, even if you prepared everything and every segment seems flawless. This is something I learned recently from a certain b*stard." With that, he slowly raised the Sword. Spinning it around, the blade was reversed and aimed at his heart. As Paganini looked on in confusion, he brought the sword down! Ye Qingxuan screamed in immense pain. Inside the Heaven on Earth, the Sword dug into his heart and came out from behind his back. He had stabbed through his sub-originator! The two were finally one! Like melting gold, bubbling gold color flowed in all directions from the beating sub-originator, invading Ye Qingxuan''s flesh. In a moment, Ye Qingxuan''s body was about to evaporate under the immense strength. Paganini gaped. The youthstabbed himself? What was he trying to do? Seeing his shock, Ye Qingxuan grinned through the pain. He was not crazy, of course. He stabbed himself because of the relationship between the sub-originator and the Sword. For the time being, before the sub-originator broke down, he would not be destroyed by this power. He just wanted to get rid of something in his body that did not belong to him. It was something in his brain that had accompanied him all these years The seal! In an instant, the blade melted into his blood. The radiant light coursed with his blood through his body until, in Ye Qingxuan''s mind, a vague sword appeared and came down on him. Crack. It was the sound of shackles shattering, stone crashing, and an instrument playing. Deep inside Ye Qingxuan, the layers of hints from Ye Lanzhou that restricted him were cut apart by this aggressive sword! He had broken through the seal! Now, the Deva''s blood that had been sealed since birth and the sleeping talent was finally awakened! 390 This Road Leads to the Sky "For goodness sake!" Outside Auschwitz, Mr. Hu sat in the ruins and kept sighing. There was bright gold burning in his eyes. He could see through all the camouflage. When he saw Ye Qingxuan with the sword and the spirit of musical theory emitting from his body, his face twisted as if he had a toothache. "Ye Lanzhouwas that guy crazy?" His looked as if he saw someone burn an instrument to make goose stew or kill hens to get the eggs. He almost banged his head with his hands. "If the Ye family still existed, this child would be scheduled to be the next family leader just by virtue of this talent! Ye Lanzhou, what the hell were you thinking?" That guy had sealed the next family leader and destroyed the hope of the Ye family''s revival. How much did he hate Ye family? Or...how much did he hate the Deva''s blood in his body? Thinking of this, he became more troubled. It might sound impolite, but because of the late emperor''s dotage...a lot of mistakes were committed. He sighed. Among the nine dragon bloodlines, other than the Yuan family who chose to live a secluded life for the inheritance of swordsmanship, the remaining eight families were all musicians. The Modifications of Yunlou family reached a summit. They dominated the sea by virtue of ''Di Jun'' in hand. The Liu family was known as ''haunted night stalkers.'' With the inheritance of pipa score ''Flying Devil,'' they could summon ghosts and beasts and govern deaths. Many grandmasters came from this family. The Bai family had been annihilated so their achievements in Revelations were cut off. The Zhangsun family was known for its ''Moon in the Well.'' Blending water and moonlight, they found the essence of Abstinence The problem though was that there were only seven schools of musicians, but there were eight dragon bloodlines This was where the Ye family came into play as a variable. Since ancient times, the Ye family had never been dedicated to one school. What school was chosen or what research was done depended on individual interests. There were also some people who studied multiple schools, but there were also some who never aspired to be musicians. Instead, they were poets, painters, doctors or workers. Someone even became a carpenter... The family never meddled in their choices on what to learn and what to do. As a result, this family tended to be good at quite weird things. To be musicians, the most important thing was inheritance. Fickleness was one big taboo. Usually, a single music theory''s development needed generations of musicians to accumulate and research untiringly. How could such a family like the Ye''s compete with others? Now the most important problem was this: except in ring duels, the Ye family was always able to win the other families when meeting a greater enemy. It was their d*mned talent! It was known as the most shameless, the most undignified, the most unreasonable talent "Heaven Ladder!" Mr. Hu gazed at the arc in the sky with a complex expression. "The steps to heaven have disappeared for forty years." It was a strange power that only the Ye''s had. Every previous family leaders was gifted with this. The rarity of this was second only to the one and only matchlessness of Ye Lanzhou. With that talent, the user would be able to cross the seven schools and operate perfectly. No conflict of music theories would happen during their studying. They could even transform all the schools into one, confirming mutually under the united ladders. If one way was temporarily impassable for them, they just took another one. After the breakthrough, they could go back and make it up. It was like having a meal card to eat in seven canteens and an IOU to get seven loans. They just had six more roads than others It was not much. They just started earlier than others and their advancing speed was a little bit faster. To be a genius may sound scary, but there were always one or two of them every 10 years. However, the most shameless part about ''Heaven Ladder'' was its name It was the ladder to heaven! It could break the blockade of "Disconnection of Heaven from Earth". It started from the earth, extending endlessly. It had neither a destructive power like Zhaodang nor so absolute a domination like Taiyi. It was not like the Nether that could almost bear the infinite beastly nature, nor could it load theories endlessly as the Heaven Book did. It only had ''distance.'' As of today, no one had measured the extent of its distance. Placed on this land, whether in the east or the west, in the sky or the deep sea, or even in the Dark World, no matter how far away, it could help musicians to carry out coherence with their own people! You fought the young then the old came. You fought one then a group came out The former Ye musicians practically carried their entire family with them wherever they went. As long as they had the time and chance, so long as the other party was willing to accept coherence, then the two would be able to be connected by the ''ladder.'' There would be no energy loss, noise, or interferences. The recipient and senders could even be replaced at any time! In other words, the enemy never knew who they were fighting with Perhaps it was Modifications the first moment and then there would be a Mind hint the next moment. Although there were many constraints on the ''coherence between different schools,'' once the talent was started, the result would be the Ye family beating the others in various ways. "What a pity that your talent came too late." Mr. Hu heaved a sigh and lowered his eyes. "You are nineteen years late..." Sorry, Ye Qingxuan. Nineteen years later, there are no more Ye''s in this world except you. Where can you borrow power from? You came too late. - And just at that moment, his shoulder suddenly shook. He raised his head in shock. Above the sky, a symphony of predestination was played passionately. "Who is it?!" he gasped. - When the seal was broken, Ye Qingxuan''s sight went black. He coughed out blood. The blood evaporated. Soon, some force bloomed within him. As if opening his eyes again after thousands of years, a disappointed sigh came to the ear. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei suddenly shivered. It turned into fine silver lights that flew into Ye Qingxuan''s body. In an instant, the lights mingled with the path of musicians that was made by four music theories in his consciousness. Then, the imaginary road suddenly soared, rising inch by inch! Ye Qingxuan stretched straight into the aether sea from where he stood, heedless of the turmoil of chaos, the noise of every corner, and the majestic gravity of the abyss. He went through the aether sea in an instant, fell into the silent cemetery of the aether world, and combined with the scepter that drifted there. The instruments strings seemed to have crossed the aether and physical world. Merely shaking, it created an illusory sound, crisp as glass breaking. Combined with the music theory from the talent, it could finally detach from the material and restore its original state. It seemed to be nothing but something; it was misty as fog but connected the world! This was the complete device that Ye''s had been passing down. The real Jiu Xiao Huan Pei! Then Ye Qingxuan saw it. It was the long-lost dream. It was as if he had arrived in a world where everything was dead. Barrenness and coldness spread all over the tomb and tombstone. In the silence, only the cold wind crossed the forest-like tombstones. The wind was like some kind of soft call, calling for his arrival. Perhaps this was his long-lost dream, a dream that slept in the heart of every Ye family member. This was the end of his dream. He finally realized that this was what Ye Lanzhou wanted to leave to himthe Ye family scepter, the dream left by countless dreamers. But those who dreamed the same dream were all dead, so this place was dying, becoming so dilapidated. But when the cold sound of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang out, the extinguished lights suddenly lit up before the countless tombstones. There were one, two, until countless lights illuminated this still and dark world. The will awoke from in the Scepter now. The will remaining in the dead opened his eyes, gazing at the youth who returned after a hundred years. A familiar figure appeared. The figure''s black clothing was decorated with a silver emblem. His white hair was like flowing silver. He was old but young, a man or a woman. He looked like Ye Lanzhou but also like himself, like every man of the Ye family who had once lived in this world. He looked like a giant bred from chaos. That was the spirit, the last power born from the scepter. As he appeared, countless silent graves and twisted tombs quickly dispersed, leaving behind an empty and gloomy dream. In that vague dream, he stepped forward. A radiant sun rose from the east, brightening the world. The earth stretched under his feet and stars emerged from the night, creating a starry night. Everything on Earth was aroused! As he moved on, the world changed, until at last, time shifted and everything rebirthed. Between the heaven and earth, everything existed as they should. The sun was shining and there was no more haze. The spirit of the scepter, which had gathered all the remaining will, stretched out its fingers onto Ye Qingxuan''s forehead. So the finally seal came undone. The memories of the past, the longings that had sunk in his brain, and the long-forgotten pains all appeared. They were not like mist nor water, but angular pillars and stone bricks with the weight that was enough to crush everything. They came together. The huge shadow engulfed the young figure but also penetrated his body and disappeared without trace. Ye Qing closed his eyes subconsciously, feeling the wind whistle. He opened his eyes but saw thunder and lightning. Countless stone bricks collided with each other, sparking with fiery electric light. That roar could even be heard above the sky. Layers overlapped before the teenager; countless textures emerged from the strong and long-lasting memories. They were invited to come and materialized under some kind of strong power. They integrated into a white giant tower piercing to the sky. The giant tower stabbed into the sky, piercing the clouds and the sky, and extended to the horizon It seemed endless. "Take the path you chose." the voice sighed softly. A stone ladder unfolded under the giant tower, stretching around the tower and coiling up toward the top until it was obscured by clouds and could no longer be seen. "This way leads to the sky." The figure took a final glance at him and dissipated. The dream scepter suspended in the aether world quickly collapsed, contracted, and closed again. This was the last power that remained in it. Unless Ye Qingxuan advanced to scepter level to awaken it again, the dream might never be activated again. He opened his eyes. There was no time for melancholy or nostalgia. At that moment, the fragile realms of Heaven on the Earth were finally shattered. In the mournful melody, countless dark movements came roaring like an earthquake. He took a deep breath and uttered the first call of his life, "Lola, save me!" The next moment, Ye Qingxuan was pulverized. 391 It’s All a Trick Burn to death, drown to death, freeze to death. Flatten into a pancake, twist into a braid, burn into dust. Turn into a demon, cremate into cinders, dig out his own eyes and heart while laughing crazily, die from a broken neck, die naturally, die from a curse, die when poisonous algae grows on his body, die from heart failure, die from high blood pressure, die from music theory breakdown, die from psychosis Die, die, die. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan experienced dozens of ways to die. The hallucinations flashed past his eyes but the pain crashed fully onto his body. They were not hallucinations; they were real. The only unreal thing was Ye Qingxuan. For a moment, he could not separate real from illusion. The difference was blurred. Seeing dozens of himself die horrible deaths, Ye Qingxuan''s mind went numb. How many times did Paganini want to kill him? "How long are you going to be shocked for?" a furious voice rose in his mind. "Do you know how much it takes for one ''illusion wipe''? Going into coherence without even asking, messing everything up and making me wipe your *ss, do you really think I''m a cheap relative?" It was obviously Lola''s voice. To be honest, Ye Qingxuan had felt hopeless when he realized how much of a scam his talent was. However, at the same time, he realized that although he was the only true Ye, there was still a ''distant relative!'' She was Ye Lanzhou''s inheritor in Anglo, the moon spirit with the same music theory and path as him, the criminal mastermind of downtown, the professor of sinner cram schoolsLola! The application goal of Heaven Ladder was the Deva blood of the Ye family. However, Deva''s blood was just an inheritable product from combining music theory structure and blood. The Ye''s were born with it, but that did not mean others could not achieve it. Lola had been taught personally by Ye Lanzhou and had tailored lessons. Other than Moonlight, which was too destructive for dark tribes, she was able to absorb everything else. No music scores or theories were hidden from her. Ye Lanzhou had treated her better than his own son. Now, Lola had no other flaws except for her surname. If this could not work, then Ye Qingxuan would have to surrender and give up his neck. Thankfully, the result was just as Ye Qingxuan had guessed. Lola had reacted quickly and instantly accepted the coherence, successfully saving everything. Ye Qingxuan had lost count how many times she had saved him. "Aha," Ye Qingxuan laughed shyly. "You''re so good to me. I''m almost in love with you!" "I''m old enough to be your grandma! Kid, your taste is quite wild." Lola was used to Ye Qingxuan''s ''flirtatious'' words. She scoffed. "That''s your talent?" "Yeah, isn''t it powerful?" "What are you proud over? You''re even better at making messes but I''ve never seen you feel bad! What are you facing this time?" "Uh, how do I say it? This enemy''s pretty significant. He has a high status and has been around for a while. I guess he''s a senior. Lola, you should be prepared mentally. Don''t get too excited." "Spit it out!" "Ha, uh, it''s Paganini." After Ye Qingxuan replied, the line seemed to have cut off. Lola had no reaction and everything was still. So he added, "Yeah, the one who fell two-hundred years ago and became a dark follower." "Ye Qingxuan!!" He could feel an eruption of fury from the other end of the Heaven Ladder. It was like an explosion. Lola screamed without any grace or ladylike manners, "Do you want to die?! If you want to die, then go hang yourself with a rope! Why are you making more trouble? You know what you''re doing? Get ten of me from my strongest time and I couldn''t even defeat his finger? Are you f*cking crazy? "You''re cool, huh? You just keep making bigger messes! First the Parliament, then Avalon''s Shadow, and now you just go and challenge dark followers! I haven''t seen you in a bit, and you go and get yourself killed" Ye Qingxuan listened quietly until she finished cursing and spitting out her thousand-word rant. Then he asked, "So are you going to help?" Lola fell silent and Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Thanks, Lola. I owe you." Sensing the power sent by the other end, he opened his eyes. "Now, give me a hand!" - Twelve thoughts was one instant. Twenty instants was a moment. Minds could communicate back and forth countless times but it would only be one moment in reality. When Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes, he sensed his horrible situation. Countless strands of abyss music theory had invaded him, turning his body into a demon''s lair. Bugs scurried through his organs, gnawing away at him to replace him with wax so he would turn into a humanoid beehive. This was a very creative way to die. Light flashed and the dead Ye Qingxuan disappeared like a hallucination. An unharmed one appeared in its place. This time, he raised the Sword in the Stone. Blazing light glowed on the blade, creating golden ripples on the ground. This time, a heavy bell rang out. Wind blew from the sea, filling the temple with water vapor and smell of fish. Waves crashed and the shadow of a pure white city rose behind Ye Qingxuan. It was Avalon from tens of thousands of miles away, hanging in the sky like the sun. In the reflection on the sea surface, the city''s shadow was dark. Countless demons rested there. In the blur, an eerie and bloody moon appeared. "As commanded by the king." Ye Qingxuan held the Sword upside down and dug it into the soil. "This is the sacred soil of the Kingdom of Anglo. Heaven will descend here!" Thus, Lola brought her broken scepter down. Heaven on Earth returned! A cold voice rang out, dissipating the darkness. "Impossible! I already shattered Heaven on Earth! Impossible! Impossible!" Screams of disbelief came from the Garment but quickly turned into a scoff. "You thought I would say that? Let me see You got a broken scepter from somewhere to pair with the dead guy''s weapon? From a certain aspect, it''s a great match! But you think using the same trick twice will have an effect?" In that moment, Ye Qingxuan''s expression froze. He forgot about the Channeling Change. Paganini was the best at music theory changes. He could combine Modifications, Abstinence, and Illusion to create power in the abyss! He was the creator of the ''faceless actors,'' the strongest man who could be disguised as a saint for decades. Once he understood the structure and music theory and grasped the pattern of change, he could change himself flawlessly and enter into it. It was just like the countless musicians who had been invaded by the jumping music theories and fell into the abyss with him. Avalon''s image started shaking and falling apart as soon as it began solidifying. Paganini''s music theory had somehow fused into Heaven on Earth until the differences were undetectable. Like a leech, it sucked on the Sword''s power, turning it into its own power. Avalon''s enchantment inside Heaven on Earth and countless music theories instantly became infected. They weakened and became dull. Ye Qingxuan was powerless. He could only watch as they were corroded. "This situation is so familiar." He suddenly sighed and looked up at Paganini. "Thinking closely, I realized that I had experienced this before. Avalon''s enchantment had a bunch of demons inside and was attacked by enemies on the outside. This situation is so familiar" It was like dj vu of the war in Avalon''s Shadow. "How was it solved back then?" Ye Qingxuan pretended to think for a bit. He suddenly smiled, giving Paganini a bad feeling. "Oh right" He paused and declared, "Let there be light!" Boom! The Heaven on Earth shook. All music theories at the core were swept into a wild vortex. Deep inside, countless theories changed, creating an empty turbidity. An ancient scroll emerged out of thin air. It moved on the water like majestic strength even though the surface was dark. Thus, the empty murkiness was opened. Light appeared. All was singing for the arrival of the miracle. It was the creation of the world! "It is here," a hoarse voice said from the scroll. "It shall be here eternally!" The countless abyss music theories froze. An uncontrolled roar burst out. "Genesis!" Paganini shook. He glared at Ye Qingxuan, yelling, "Haydn! It''s you! I see. It''s a trap, as expected" He seemed to finally understand. This was a trap the Sacred City created to capture him. They suffered extreme losses to lure him out while the saints hidden in the darkness bided the time. He instantly grew cautious. Aether waves rolled off of him crazily. All strength was put into defense. He reactivated the ritual of ''Infinite Movement,'' instantly putting hundreds of shields around him, constructing an aether citadel. But nothing happened. Within Heaven on Earth, the power of Genesis continued running to the climax and thenit disappeared. Paganini blanched. The light, the murkiness, the miraculous scroll, and the terrifying aura of life all disappeared like a hallucination. It was as if an actor attended a ceremony as an emperor. No matter how many gold accessories and glamorous robes he wore, he was still nothing inside. There was no need for anyone to test him. He would be found out as soon as he opened his mouth. It was fake. Everything was just a trick. There was no sincerity. Under the fading light, Ye Qingxuan grinned creepily. "I don''t even believe that I can create the Genesis. How come you believed me?" 392 Moon Fall Everything Paganini saw after Ye Qingxuan said "let there be light" was an illusion. If he did not feel guilty and always thought that the Sacred City was out to get him, he would not have become so nervous and be influenced by Lola''s School of Mind movement. Ye Qingxuan had just been imitating the Genesis that he had experienced. He created a paper tiger and Paganini believed him. This was the magic of illusions. Because of Ye Qingxuan''s lies, Paganini missed the opportunity to kill this guy once and for all, giving Ye another chance. Ye Qingxuan smiled. The pure white city behind him toppled. The dark city of Avalon''s City rose from the surface of the sea. Above him, the blood-red moon hung in the air. That was the core he used to control Heaven on Earth. It was Lola''s scepter. Under the scepter''s rule, Heaven on Earth''s territory expanded. The red waning moon radiated with a strange aura. It had an indescribable beauty and loneliness. Like a beauty drenched in blood putting on makeup before a mirror, she was heartbreakingly gentle and terrifying chilling. However, this waning moon was damaged. It was covered in fine cracks, revealing the slight water-like ripples. The scepter''s true body was the reflection of the moon in the sea. Yes, it was the Moon in the Water! At this moment, illusion and reality had switched positions. The broken moon in the water hung in the air. It shone, seemingly replacing the true object''s position. In comparison, the entire world felt unreal. "Within the frozen time, the flowing languages, and black fog, there is dim light" A cold yet peaceful voice traveled vaguely like a ghost singing under the moon. "The flower withers in an instant. The flower blooms in yesterday." Under the Sword''s strength, Lola''s damaged scepter managed to recover and unleash the strange power of alternating between illusion and reality. It was this moon that had imitated Genesis just then. The realness of it scared even Paganini. "You were beating me for so long. It was hard for me to get the chance to fight back." Under the moon, Ye Qingxuan looked at him with an eerie smile. "Let me show you something good!" The temple shook. Immense pressure came from the sky, dropping onto the ground and cracking the land. Every music theory began trembling under this vast theory, almost breaking down under this solid pressure. The air was red as if it was burning. A deafening thunder came from the sky. The moon was falling! The illusory waning moon suddenly fell toward Paganini. The moon in the reflection now radiated with tangible pressure. It crushed every obstacle, pushing down with raw yet impossible strength. It was as if a comet was falling. It was the Moon Fall! The world was burning. When Paganini saw its nature, he scoffed. "It''s too weak. Those tricks of putting oneself in an illusion do nothing." He smirked. "You cannot find anything in the void. These cocooning music theories are even more laughable than lying to oneself!" With that, he reached up to shatter the illusion of the moon in the water. But then his expression changed. His power ricocheted. It was real! It actually was real! It was actually f*cking real! The moon in the reflection was tangible! It was just a damaged scepter. Even if it could realize illusions, how could it solidify such a large moon? It dawned on him. It was the dragon breath. It was one hundred percent true dragon breath! Formless but solid, one could use only one''s will to give aether shape and weight. The Moon Fall was just an illusion. The real deal was the dragon breath released by the Sword that the scepter controlled. During the crazed falling, the air burned the waning moon until the disguise fell apart, revealing the resplendent Sword! The temple shattered. Countless delicate statues and opulent decorations were crushed to dust. Paganini took the brunt. His Garment was shredded completely and the darkness cracked apart. It could barely mend itself. Under the earth-shattering attack, half of Paganini''s body evaporated and was pierced by the sword. The twelve Chapters of Golden Victory on the blade dazzled alternatively, restricting his body. Paganini roared. The abyss wind tunnel opened behind him. A large object charged through the narrow tunnel crazily, dropping from the material world. He was completely furious now. He wanted his true body to descend without caring about anything else and destroy both this strange city and Ye Qingxuan. In a moment, the black mud bubbled and swelled. Ignoring that he was stabbed by the Sword, he reached out a giant odd hand and grabbed at Ye Qingxuan. There was a face chained to the palm. It was both happy and sad, singing a cacophonous hymn. The melody was grating and shattered all music theory. Even the score of Holy on Ye Qingxuan''s body, the top defensive territory, was destroyed under the furious attack. Next to go was the moonlight on his body. He could no longer turn the deaths into illusions. Finally, he tightened his grip cruelly. Crack. Ye Qingxuan''s body shattered. Paganini''s expression twisted more and he roared in fury. It was fake! Everything since the beginning was fake; everything was a trick. This d*mn b*stard never fought honestly. In that moment, Ye Qingxuan poured all of the scepter''s power into the Sword, urging the dragon breath and simulating the fall of the moon. He hit Paganini''s double, nailing and immobilizing him. But then he abandoned the Sword and this rare advantage. He even abandoned the hereditary weapon of the School of Stone Heart, just leaving behind an illusion and escaping. Where did he go? It suddenly dawned on Paganini. He looked back at the burning fire. Beside the Sacred Fire that would burn the entire world, he saw Ye Qingxuan''s back. He reached out to touch the girl in the fire without regard to his own safety. In the Sacred Fire, Elsa''s eyes were empty and still. They reflected his sad smile. "Hey, long time no see." Ye Qingxuan reached out, caressing her cheeks. "I was looking for you. Do youstill remember me?" 393 Philosopher’s Stone His hand was in the fire but he could not feel the heat. The flames were not realthey were the brilliance of countless interwoven music theories. They seeped into his body at the touch, fusing with him and lighting the aether within him. They wanted to ignite everything and turn them into flames. "Ye Qingxuan, what are you doing?!" Lola raged after sensing the strange situation in his body. "Probablyflirting with death?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled wryly. "Sorry, Lola. Thanks for taking care of me all this time. If anything happens, please help me take care of Bai Xi." "You think I''m your" Before Lola could finish, Ye Qingxuan cut off the Heaven Ladder connection. Her angry voice disappeared along with the strength. Without anymore obstacles, the flames swept into his body. Covering every vessel, they burned at the moonlight and aether in his blood, dismantling his life from the inside out. At that moment, he finally broke through the flames'' outer shell and grasped the Double Snake Time Meter floating within. Even under the intense pain of burning, Ye Qingxuan was still shocked by the beauty. It was definitely a masterpiece countless alchemists would go crazy over. The core was created by complex music theories, even more complex than a symphony of predestination. It was compressed into a tiny square inch of space. Flowing like water, there was nothing forced. It was a true piece of artwork and inhumanly perfect. It not only contained Faust''s power. After the music score was unfolded, it embedded perfectly into the Sacred Fire, adjusting the vast structure and manipulating the powerful operations. It also constructed another alchemy array on top of it to hide its true appearance The three overlapped in almost bizarre way but did not disturb each other. It was a perfect three-part whole. "Life or death, it depends on this." In immense pain, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and prayed, Boss, if you have any heart, don''t mess with me this time! Taking a deep breath, he recited, "All is faded. Only the tree of life is forever green!" After all this time, he recited the activation code for the Double Snake Time Meter. Everything stopped. The dark emblem on the time meter lit up. [Ultimate authority Verification complete] There was a sound in the daze. It sounded like Elsa''s voice but it was supernatural and cold. [Controlled handover, coherence begins] Ye Qingxuan sank into a daze. Countless wings of light seemed to sprout from his back, connecting the sky, the earth, and everything else. His consciousness expanded, covering the world. He saw the dark aether river streaming in the underworld; the brilliant star ring in the sky; the earth, wind, fire, and wind hidden in objectseverything in the world showed him their true nature. In the end, he even sensed the Originator. That was the source of all; everything flowed from it. It was magical and hidden yet omnipresent. For millennia, so many musicians had never reached this close distance. He could use all of the power in the Sacred Fire. Everything was under his control. He could seemingly do whatever he wanted. It felt as if he had transformed into a Holy Spirit. "The world is created such that it can create miracles!" A seemingly familiar voice rang in his ears. Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his daze and looked down at his hands. The time meter was slowly disassembling. Countless parts dissipated. Finally, all that remained in his hands was weak firelight, flickering in the wind. It was hard to imagine that this flame carried all of the Sacred Fire''s strength and brought him to the state of a god. Now, this unimaginable power was in his hands. It was right in his hands and yet he sank into confusion. Was it this easy? He only had to utter a sentence and could receive such a powerful gift. It felt unreal like a dream but he could feel that he was not dreaming. It was reality. But it was unbelievable. Ye Qingxuan, you have received the strongest power in this world, someone seemed to murmur in his ear. Make a wish to the flame in your hands. You can have any glory, strength, or power you wish. But what do you truly desire? Think about it. Think carefully. There is enough time for you to ponder. In the stillness, Ye Qingxuan stared at the fire. He quickly chuckled. "What I desireisn''t that simple? I just want her to live." He looked down at Elsa. "Not as a puppet or shell but live as a real girl That''s what I want." Clenching his hands, he pushed the flame gently into Elsa''s chest. The power that could break the aether world''s equilibrium entered the girl''s body. "Let her live," he ordered the flame. "Now!" A hoarse voice sounded. It was filled with pity and was meaningful. The voice was fleeting and he could not tell if it came from his heart or ears. "As you wish." Then the firelight jumped, expanding explosively. Between the sky and earth, between the soil of the abyss and the gates of heaven, the vast power that covered everything suddenly caved in. It compressed, returning to the inside. It overlapped, converging on Elsa''s body. Inside her body, the Sacred Fire glowed, radiating in all directions. The majestic melody and beautiful notes scattered in the air. It was so gentle and yet so somber as if it carried all the mysteries of life. It represented the resting spirits and the mysteries of life and death. First, it was the dreamy Compassion, then the awe-inspiring Furious Sun, Horn, Mercy of God, and Time of Judgement. At the peak, it transformed into Sacrifice, Holy "This is" Ye Qingxuan listened to the melody coming from the Sacred Fire. He could not believe it. This was the Requiem! The scepter inherited by all Kings of Yellow was hidden inside the fire! The King of Yellow who had poisoned the Romulusians had then left his power with them. Within the holy melody, endless light poured into Elsa''s body like a spirit returning. Inside the empty body, the burnt flesh regrew from the ashes. Blood started flowing again. Thin veins and organs reappeared in her body. The vast power went through the aether sea, faintly connecting with tributaries of the Originator, using up this immense and luxurious strength to find the remnants of the broken memory and past. Life and death were reversing "No, stop! Stop!" Paganini screamed. He was filled with fury and heartbreak as if watching an idiot control the richness that should be his. Ye Qingxuan used something that could change the world in exchange for some specks of dust! The darkness raged. The giant body squeezed in from the abyss, breaking past all restrictions even if it was fatally wounded by the Sword again. "Do you know what you''re doing?!" He glared at Ye Qingxuan, wishing he could rip the youth to shreds. "Ye Qingxuan, stop! That isn''t yours! You don''t even know what it represents!" Ye Qingxuan did not listen. He focused on the quickly dissipating flame. It had turned into countless music theories. They were woven by an invisible hand into the prototype of a soul. Finally, it became solid and red. It was the legendary product from the School of Choir, a miracle on earth, the beautiful object that could reverse life and deaththe Philosopher''s Stone! At that moment, the boundless strength was spent as if an ocean was dried without even leaving behind water vapor. All that remained was the miracle created by drying seven seas. Among the burnt ashes, Elsa had started breathing again. As if she was sleeping, her eyelashes trembled. Ye Qingxuan held his breath. 394 Witches’ Dance In that moment, Ye Qingxuan almost held his breath. And in that moment, a furious roar began. The abyss wind tunnel opened and black mud burst out like a fountain. Paganini roared and screamed. Yanking out the Sword, he revealed the ghastly hole. He was no longer a human but he still bled from the wound. As soon as the Sword was removed, the Garment wrapped around it, restraining it as if locking it inside a box. When it fell onto the ground, the blade dulled to scrap metal. A black hand yanked Ye Qingxuan up by the throat. "B*stard, do you know what you did?!" Paganini''s furious face emerged from the mud. He yelled, "Do you know how precious that thing is?! You wasted the biggest miracle in the world! You-you-youyou can''t even die to atone for the sin!" The mud spread along the hand, swallowing him. Immense pain as if falling into Hell overtook him. It felt like countless hands mashing down on his nerves. The pain poured into his limbs and body, besieging his sanity. He screamed in pain. "Biggest miracle?" Ye Qingxuan laughed through the immense pain. He looked up at Paganini tauntingly. "You don''t even know what the biggest miracle is." "Then come to the Styx with your miracle!" Paganini smiled cruelly. "Don''t worry, I won''t let you die. During the rest of your long life, your biggest miracle will be ''death''." Mud suddenly swallowed Elsa. Ye Qingxuan felt the hand around his throat tighten. His neck creaked in protest. His vision turned black. In the last moment, his mind was empty but for some reason, a thin figure flashed past. It was an alley in Avalon. Under the dim light, a girl wore a dusty white dress. She looked back him with cloudy eyes. "Cousin" Bai Xi, sorry. Closing his eyes, Ye Qingxuan used the last of his strength to yell, "Wolf Flute!" - In the sky, a scorched Wolf Flute and the remaining grandmasters landed haphazardly on the floor of the iron whale temple. "Father" Wolf Flute looked up at Bann with troubled eyes. "He wants me to tell you that the time is up." Bann looked down at his watch. The second hand and hour hand overlapped. It was exactly thirty minutes. The time was up. "Child, we will meet again in heaven." He closed his eyes sadly and no longer hesitated. Closing the watch, he tossed it into the air. It rolled on the ground and shattered crisply. Time stopped at that moment. In the stillness, under the piercing noise, Bann stepped forward. He yanked the sword out. Heaven''s Door was activated. A sea of light blossomed above the vault of heaven. - As the sea of light surged, the heaven and earth thundered. Somber music played from the iron whale, shaking the world. In that moment, Father Bann lowered his head. He supported himself with the sword and stopped breathing. It was as if he had died and became a stone statue. However, an incomparable graveness and holiness brewed inside of him. A lotus bloomed in the sea of light. The radiant flower created by countless ripples bloomed between the sky and earth. It illuminated Paganini''s confused face. His white face paled even more. He was once again illuminated by the light that appeared constantly in his nightmaresHeaven''s Door Seeing the light, his spine flared with pain as if it was going to tear apart. Hundreds of years ago, when he fell into the abyss, the sixth pope had stabbed him in the back. He survived and removed his human body but the pain still remained in his soul. The power of judgement flowed with the music theory, engraving into his soul. It tortured him nightly and still hurt after the centuries. Now, the light cast down like a cold gaze. It was lofty and yet so disdainful. "Ursicinus!" Paganini spat the sixth pope''s name out as if wanting to gnash at his throat. "You''re not dead yet! I know! I know! You''re even more abnormal than me" The moment Heaven''s Door opened, the wind tunnel from the abyss froze. It was no longer an exit. The light shone down like God''s mercy but it was undeniably cold and cruel. It covered the world inch by inch. Even the Garment began trembling and cracking apart. A vague figure slowly emerged in the sea of light. As if the door to Heaven had opened, the archangel guarding Heaven wielded a sword of light. He slowly raised his head and walked out. The world was silent. In the reflection in the sea, the large illusory figure looked down at Paganini. Compared to this vast figure, everything in the world became as insignificant as dust. Who could bear the day of his arrival? Who could withstand his appearance? He was like the fire that smelted gold; he was like the alkali that bleached fabric. Under the solemn melody, the angel''s reflection hoisted the blade and brought it down on Paganini! "Long timeno see!" Paganini stared at Heaven''s Door. Expressions battled on his face until it settled into a look of disdain. "All that pretense is still as disgusting as always." Paganini opened his mouth. What he spat out was a strangely beautiful melody. It seemed to have a shape, woven by countless music theories, and transformed into an enchanting side profile. The figure was dressed in a wild yet ancient dress and a painted face. Bathed in darkness, her smile was still bright. She was ignorant to the judgement falling from Heaven. Still intoxicated by the melody, she danced. The song and dance was not demonic or wild at all. It was just flawless beauty. There was no so-called holiness or any treacherous feelings from the abyss. The countless music theories had constructed pure beauty. It seemed to have peeled away all pretense to reveal a desire for truth and beauty. No matter how others viewed it or how the morals of the world judged it, it would still continue down this path without any regret. It was a thirst from the bottom of one''s heart. Thus, the sky and earth were influenced by the melody. They changed and reality transformed under the music theory. It seemed to be reconstructed after breaking apart, turning into a pure and clean world. It was the Witches'' Dance. Throughout history, only musicians who had a pure desire for music theory could inherit the saintly title of ''Paganini.'' This was why Paganini had overlooked the boundary between humanity and demons, choosing to fall into the abyss. Hundreds of years later, his obsession of abyss music theory had faded from Paganini''s core theory. It no longer rejected the Sacred City''s strength but neither could influence his true nature. He used pure music theory to combine the two, removing all categorization to become a part of himself. Under the power of the Witches'' Dance, the body that he kept in the abyss was sublimated and purified. It broke free from the mud, transforming back into a vague humanoid figure. It looked like both man and woman and one could tell if it was ugly or beautiful. There was no eeriness or feelings of justice and holiness. It was only filled with the desire and reverence of music. He had almost broken free from the abyss''s restraints and transformed into some sort of product. With time, he may be able to break free from Hyakume and become a new natural catastrophe. Unfortunately, his plan for success was personally ruined by Ye Qingxuan. He was only one step away. Now, the illusion of Witches'' Dance finally clashed with the sword of Heaven''s Door. In an instant, everything was swallowed by extreme light. It swallowed Paganini and evaporated the sea of light. The dozens of iron whales shook and were pushed into the distance by the wild power. Even sound was muted by the uncontrolled power created by the collision. Any eyes that dared to look at the sky were burnt to a crisp. The two completely different music systems created shockwaves. Within the radius of thousands of miles, all musicians who had constructed a music theory within them, felt their hearts constrict, almost destroyed by the aftershock. Aether balls and other delicate equipment quickly shattered one by one. Even the observation cauldrons in the iron whale temple and center church cracked. The mercury within evaporated and became useless. It seemed like eternity before the aftershocks faded. The city was already destroyed and covered in cracks. Still, it hung in the air illogically. It was like how a light spot reflected on the wall from a mirror would still remain, even if the wall no longer existed. It was not a true object and did not even exist. It was just a projection from the faraway aether worldan altar supplied for sacrifice and rituals. Now, the altar had fulfilled its mission and no longer needed to exist. The projection slowly caved in and dissipated into aether. Surrounded by the shattered statues, hoarse laughter traveled from the broken walls. "I''m still alive! I''m still alive!" The horribly damaged figure stood atop the ruins. His body was destroyed and the music theory that made up his body was almost completely out of control. But even burnt like that, he was still overjoyed. As if he had heard the funniest joke in the world, he was bent over with laughter. Looking at the cracked sky, Paganini yelled, "You can''t kill me! Ursicinus! Do you see this? Me, a sinner who had fallen into the abyssI''m still alive! And your so-called Heaven is just an empty lie! You can''t fool anyone!" Then something sharp sounded. A blade burning red-hot pierced through his chest. His voice cut off. Behind him, Heaven on Earth had been hidden by moonlight. Now, it slowly shattered, revealing the half-burnt Ye Qingxuan and the unconscious girl in his arms. In his chest, the sub-originator had completely extinguished. There was no more moonlight. Using the last of his strength, he gripped the Sword in the Stone. Stably and without hesitation, he stabbed the shocked Paganini. "What a coincidence." Ye Qingxuan looked at his eyes with a tragic smile. "I''m still alive too." 395 Wake from the Dream The moment Heaven''s Door opened, Paganini no longer had time to care about anyone else. He used all his power against the Sword of Judgement, including the Garment of Original Sin. As a carrier of the dark side of his personality, the Garment was a part of Paganini. It carried his evil thoughts and greed and was no different from an internal organ or a backup body. The ''infinite movement'' ritual instantly began. The Witches'' Dance strengthened thousand-fold, pushing it to an unprecedented peak. The Witches'' Dance and the Sword of Judgement clashed. It was an explosion of destruction. At the same time, Ye Qingxuan charged toward the Sword in the Stone. Right before the flood swallowed him, he touched the hilt. It was enough. The sub-originator, riddled with holes, was activated once again. Like a rabid horse frothing at its mouth while pulling a broken carriage, the sub-originator operated with self-destructive strength. It connected with the Sword and reactivated the twelve Chapters of Golden Victory. The territory of Heaven on Earth was rebuilt. It did not have time to become as radiant as before. The narrow territory was more like a crude shelter. Then the world began shaking and light swallowed everything. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and retracted all perceptions. He grasped the Sword and hugged Elsa, using all his might to maintain Heaven on Earth. In an instant, cracks appeared on the sub-originator that used his veins and heart. Boiling blood mixed with the moon''s glow, spewing from his pores, dyeing the shelter red. A jagged crack appeared on Heaven on Earth but it managed to recover. For the first time, Ye Qingxuan forgot everything. He put everything into the Abstinence music theory, maintaining this small territory without caring about anything else. This was a thousand times harder than at Naica. Only a second was enough to practically destroy him. In a daze, he had lost all consciousness but his body kept urging the Sword on, mending Heaven on Earth again and again. After who knew how long, the destructive aftershocks finally faded. He woke from his daze but everything was black. He heard vague laughter. It dragged him from his deep sleep. Power from somewhere caused him to grasp the sword hilt and stab toward the laughter. Squelch! Pierced through. All he saw was Paganini''s shocked face. Ye Qingxuan laughed even if he was on his last breath. "Youhow can you" Paganini muttered in shock, "still alive?" A sharp cracking sound was heard from his body. Like a burnt piece of porcelain, cracks snaked from where the blade was. The beastly theory within the twelve Chapters of Golden Victory acted like poison. Like the straw that broke the camel''s back, it pushed Paganini''s well-thought-out ''body prototype'' toward destruction. He had abandoned his human body and suffered in the abyss, gathered music theories, and worked for centuries to create this ''perfect shell.'' Even as a prototype, it had withstood the attack of Heaven''s Door. But now it was destroyed so easily by a sword? Again? He was destroyed by the same person again?! His face twitching, he destroyed the last bit of grace and calm. All that remained was psychotic fierceness. The fury from long ago took over once againeven though his body was close to collapsing. "Ye Qingxuan!" Slapped by a broken hand, Ye Qingxuan''s body tumbled backward like an empty bag. Paganini gritted his teeth. Without caring that his body was deteriorating, he rushed forward and stomped on Ye Qingxuan''s face. His eyes were cruel. "You think I''ll die like that? Don''t worry. It''s okay if this body dies. I can spend some time to make another one!" Spend some time? It sounded simple but everyone knew that Paganini must pay for it. His face grew more menacing. "Thanks to you, I''m not strong enough to take you into the abyss anymore. Are you relieved? But don''t get too happy." As soon as he finished, Ye Qingxuan screamed. The damaged Garment had transformed into a black sword and stabbed Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. Blood splattered onto Paganini''s white face, making the broken face even uglier. "I have a way to solve this problem. If I can''t take your entire body back, I can just take your head. Isn''t that right?" Paganini sneered. Gripping the sword, he aimed at Ye Qingxuan''s neck as if finding the right place to start. Then Ye Qingxuan lifted his heavy eyes and looked at Paganini''s ferocious face. Paganini stiffened. In the daze, he saw dim moonlight flash past those eyes. In the moonlight, he saw a vague side profile. The silhouette was so familiar and yet transient like a hallucination. "Ye Lanzhou? It''s you" The figure in the moonlight turned around and looked at Paganini, eyes filled with pity and sympathy as if looking at a wild dog. Sympathy? Pity? Paganini raged. Why the sympathy? Why the pity?! "You''re dead! You''re rotting in a coffin!" he roared at the youth''s darkening eyes. "Why do you pity me? Your tricks can''t fool me!" No one replied. Perhaps he had seen a hallucination but he refused to believe it. "Ye Lanzhou, come out!" he yelled to all directions. "I know you''re here! You arranged all of this, right? You always have a hidden card! Get out! Come kill me! Just like how you played me before! Don''t you always dream of proving your innocence? You couldn''t forget your wife even in death! Come out, come out and kill me! Then you can go beg for forgiveness from the Sacred City like a dog!" Still, no one replied. Ye Lanzhou was long dead. Or did he not want to take Paganini''s life? Paganini stared blankly at the still and broken world. In the sky, the iron whales were slowly closing in. Black dots parachuted from them and he could hear faint whistles in the distance. The Knights Templar was approaching. He had no time to hesitate. Lowering his head, he looked at Ye Qingxuan''s eyes again. He finally realized that there was no moonlight in those empty eyes. He only saw his reflection. His face, crazed like a rabid dog, was disgusting. The insignificant reflection reminded him of his laughable state. He had abandoned his status as a saint for his desire of music theory. Falling into the abyss, he had thought he was high and mighty but without realizing, he had become so laughable. You''ve already lost, a mocking voice said in his heart. Paganini, why are you still lying to yourself? You have many excuses to explain everything but you''ve completely lost this. You were defeated by a mere musician. You don''t have any dignity left. Gaping at Ye Qingxuan''s face, Paganini seemed to be seeing him but also someone extremely similar. Finally, he buried his face and howled with laughter, laughing at himself. "In the end, you still won," he murmured. Throwing down his sword, the craze faded from his face until all that remained was a terrifying serenity. He lifted Ye Qingxuan''s neck, looking at the pale face. Ye Qingxuan looked back with difficulty. "You win, Ye Qingxuan," Paganini stated without any reservation. His voice was dark and cold, devoid of any wildness. "I admit, you toyed with me like a cat playing with a mouse. As a failure that had fallen into the abyss, I''ve never felt such humiliation. This battle was filled with emotions, hard work, and victory. "Justice won over evil; love and peace defeated greed and fighting. There are no flaws. It can practically be written into history books. What happened today deserves to be written about in your life" He paused. His eyes grew cruel as if watching a child play with fire in the distance. "But sadly, you''re dreaming." Looking down at Elsa lying in the ruins, his voice hardened. "What do you think you''re doing? All your sacrifices since the beginning were meaningless? You''re doing it for yourself, thinking you''re right. Even if you defeated me, even if you did everything to save herdo you think she''ll have a future and be happy? Or, do you think the world will be as you wish?" In that moment, Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant and was overcome with fear. "Stop living in dreams, Ye Qingxuan." He tossed the youth to the ground and looked at his face of fear. He laughed. His smile was full of icy animosity as if watching a bubble about to be popped. "Time to wake up." Under the metallic clangs from the distance, his body crumbled bit by bit. A narrow gap leading to the abyss opened in his broken body. It swallowed him and he sank into the abyss. Ye Qingxuan fell to the ground. He was still trembling from the animosity from those words. Reinforcement was here so why was he scared? Blood flowed from his shoulder wound, taking away his body heat. Maybe it was because the fire was extinguished so now his body slowly froze to the bones. Even his lungs and heart were shaking from the sudden cold. He was terrified like a kid who was about to be thrown into the icy wilderness. The sound of metal boots approached. The piercing sound suddenly woke him from his dream. Using all of his strength, he used his hands and crawled forward. Bit by bit, he painted the ground red with blood. "Elsa" The cold statues stared at him, enjoying his pathetic state. Their broken mouths seemed to be smiling. Pale fingers pressed onto those faces, leaving behind marks of bloody pain. Ye Qingxuan crawled past them bit by bit. "Elsa" He stared at the sleeping girl in the distance. As if waking up from a long dream, the girl finally startled awake. She opened her eyes, not knowing where she was or who she was. She stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan, this unfamiliar youth. She did not understand why he was in such pain and did not understandwhy his gaze was so sad. "Run, Elsa!" Ye Qingxuan stared at her eyes. His broken vocal chords emitted a distorted voice, "Run! They''re here to..." The heavy steps were closer and they could hear swords being unsheathed. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head, hiding his weak tears. "They''re here tokill you!" "Ye Qingxuan?" Steel boots stopped before him. The priest clad in a red cloak looked down. His face was somber as metal. They all had a blood-red holy emblem before their chests. Their arm plates were carved with the Discipline Hammerthe emblem of Witch Hammer, the Church Ministry of Information''s secret institution. These priests were known as sanctors. They were the elites left behind when the Inquisition disbanded. They were responsible for checking the thoughts of every priest, ensuring that their religious beliefs were pure and true, untainted by the temptations of the abyss. When necessary, they would burn the perpetrators at the stake. They existed secretly even in Knights Templar so the knights could implement the Sacred City''s orders at critical points without outside interference. Now, the sanctor bent down, locking a pair of black handcuffs around Ye Qingxuan''s wrists. "You were reported to be suspected of betraying your brethren during the trial and colluding with the demons. You will now be arrested for further investigation." Around him, the priests moved their blood-red cloaks, revealing their hands wrapped around sword hilts. The message was chilling: "If you dare protest, you will be killed immediately." Ye Qingxuan stared blankly at his handcuffs but his eyes went past them and the crowd to where Elsa was. The priests quietly waiting for a command finally received a reply and nodded. "Understood." Thus, they no longer hesitated. They pulled out their red-hot blades and aimed at the blank girl. "In the name of the Sacred City established by the nations," the sanctor announced the belated judgement, "purify this demon!" Something shattered. Then there was a cry of pain and the youth''s roar of anger like a lion. The moment the handcuffs clicked, Ye Qingxuan looked up, his eyes burning with furious moonlight. The dim moon lit up again in his chest, as blinding as the sun. The sub-originator that had inherited Avalon''s enchantment''s core music theory had exploded! Blood boiled and moonlight burned in his body! This was the final desperate melody from the School of Stone Heart. He reversed the sub-originator and fully activated the aether within him. He could instantaneously break through all past restraints and receive unprecedented power. And the costf*ck the costs! He didn''t care if his sub-originator shattered, if his heart disappeared, or if he lost his lifeIt did not matter even if he burned himself to nothing! Wild moonlight filled his empty body. Blood poured from his pores, causing his body to swell and face to bruise. He was ugly like a monster crawled out from Hell. The aether inside his body turned his bones to iron and his flesh to stone. He was transformed into something inhumana furious and burning piece of metal about to explode! "Get" He grasped the handcuffs. Metallic veins bulged on his arms, "the f*ck out!" Boom! The black handcuffs instantly distorted and warped. Broken shards of metal flew from his hands, turning silver-white under the moonlight. They were full of murderous intent as they broke through the air. It was the Sword! The red-hot blade instantly warped. Countless shields and armor emerged on the priest but then they all shattered and he flew back. Ye Qingxuan climbed up from the ground and pounced onto the priest before him, grasping the sword hilt. The priest looked at his horrible face in shock. Ye Qingxuan grinned like a demon. Then he pulled the sword out and swung! The red-clothed sanctor blocked reflexively but his armor twisted and shattered. He was thrown out and rolled on the ground, unable to get up. At the same time, the other priests all attacked. The members of the Witch Hammer were chosen from the best of the Knights Templar and musicians. Not only were they skilled swordsmen, they also needed to be at the official musician level. Otherwise, they would be tainted by the abyss while fighting. Now, the dozens of priests unsheathed their swords and a familiar melody rang out. First came the majestic trumpet. Silver-white cones shot from their waists. Zipping past the air, they linked into a chain to wrap around him. It was Night on Bald Mountain! However, they did not get the fire and judgement that they expected. The chains wrapped around Ye Qingxuan but did not harm him. Not a bit of his power came from the abyss! The priests froze. Within the cage, Ye Qingxuan roared! Snatching a sword from a priest, he hacked at the bars. Shards flew under the tragic sounds. Within the countless chains, Ye Qingxuan looked up, welcoming the priests'' swords with red eyes. He took one step and another. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! The youth was like a humanoid monster. He broke the chains, tore apart the shackles, and swung his sword down at every obstacle without hesitation. "F*ck off!" His swordsmanship was extremely rough. He was practically waving the sword around like a stick. Anyone who was trained could block his blows with their eyes closed. But the sword was shrouded in aggressive electric light. Everything in its path burned. It was Indrah''s Eye! The moment the sword made contact, the Eye would jump into one''s body from the blade. No matter what the priests did, they would be completely numbed and pushed aside! In his empty chest, moonlight wavered and let out a thunderous boom. An invisible river surged, stirring the sanity of anyone close enough. Their visions went black and thoughts slowed, destroyed by the psychotic youth even though they also left fatal wounds on him. Within a few steps, his body was covered in dozens of wounds. He was dyed with blood. The priest who had been hit first now climbed up. Without caring for his twisted arms, he looked at the young man''s wild figure with dilated pupils. "He''s crazy!" Crazy? Perhaps. Ye Qingxuan had sunk into a daze but he could still feel the anger burning inside. His blood and moonlight became the firewood. The fire burned furiously; he did not care even if his soul was dragged in. In this daze, he was like a wild beast, hacking at all obstacles with a sword. In his other hand, he gripped a broken straw doll. In this daze, he heard a girl''s cute laughter. Just like that afternoon, the girl squatted before him, resting her chin in her hands, and laughed as she looked at him. Her hair was flaxen-colored. Under the sunlight, it seemed to be speckled with gold. "I''m looking for someonebecause I''m worried he''ll be scared by himself I''m like that so I know he''ll be scared too. He doesn''t have anything and he''s scared to be alone. It''s sad I made him a doll. With this doll beside him, he won''t be scared anymore." The youth roared. Blood fell into his mouth with a metallic smell. Ye Qingxuan, she wants to save you She doesn''t remember you but she still remembers that someone is just like herself and will be scared when alone So she still remembers to make a doll for him. That way, he would be saved right? No longer lonely, he''ll be happy even without a family. So you must save her! Growling, he slammed down the broken blade, cutting apart the last obstacle. He dove into the man''s arms. His bloody hands stopped the wrist and blade. Then he looked up, crashing upward. Boom! The priest fell. Ye Qingxuan stepped on his body, stumbling forward. He dropped the warped sword and reached out to hug the scared girl. "Don''t be afraid, Elsa." He painfully squeezed out a smile. His bruised face was ugly like a demon. "It''s me. Don''t be afraid, Elsa. I''ll take you home." Elsa stared blankly at him but did not struggle. She let the bloodied man pick her up. Blood poured from Ye Qingxuan''s forehead to her face. She looked up at the young man''s side profile. Finally, she distinguished the familiar contours and seemed to wake from her trance. "I remember you" Smiling, she reached out to touch his cheeks. But Ye Qingxuan paled and stumbled to the ground. His strength was leaving him rapidly. He could feel that, in that instant, the wildly operating sub-originator had truly collapsed. His burning blood cooled again. The moonlight dissipated from his body, dancing in the air like butterflies. Someone walked up. Yanking his head up, the man threw him to the ground and looked down. He held a strange yet familiar sword. It was the ''anti-tune.'' Ye Qingxuan knew what it was. Ancient Revelations musicians created it to undo all enchantments. It was the natural enemy of his sub-originator, which was already at the brink of collapse. "It''s you" He looked up at the familiar man with fury. "Colt?" "It''s rare to see you so pitiful, Ye Qingxuan." Colt smiled and patted his face. "You should feel fortunate that you have a good Father." With that, he rose and ordered to the priests beside him, "Take him away. After allhe''s already useless." They dragged Ye Qingxuan up and stabbed a needle into his neck, forcefully injecting him with tranquilizers and valuable medicine. The Choir music score maintained his life, preventing him from ending up like the sub-originator. Three Choir musicians stood around him, tending to him as if they were scared he would die before the judgement trial. Handcuffed again, he faded in and out of consciousness. Colt turned toward Elsa. He held the ''anti-tune'' sword behind him "Colt!" Ye Qingxuan struggled with all his might. He roared and tried to grab Colt but he could not move. He desperately tried to awaken the Heaven Ladder but he could no longer use his talent. He no longer had anything to pay or gamble with. "Don''t kill her!" Lowering his head, he paid the last bit of his dignity. Tears flowing, he knelt onto the ground. "Please" Colt grabbed Elsa''s hair. Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s voice, he paused and could not help but laugh. He turned around, asking, "What did you say?" Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to speak. Colt''s blade sliced Elsa''s throat. Blood spewed out. His smile was dyed red. Ye Qingxuan froze. He gaped at the redness dancing gently in the air, dancing with the broken moonlight. The sight was cruel yet beautiful, like a flower that used up all its beauty in bloom. It died in an instant, taking away everything. Elsa fell to the ground. She stopped breathing. She was dead. As if she had fallen asleep again, her lips were still curved in a smile. She had closed her eyes, falling into a sweet dream and welcoming the coming of serenity. The eternal slumber had arrived. She was now in the final happiness. Her confused soul could finally be at peace. "AH!" Ye Qingxuan screamed, struggling with all his might to touch her and wake her once again. But no matter how he yelled her name, Elsa replied no more. A priest clad in red stepped forward and slammed a sword hilt onto his head. He froze, falling unconscious. Darkness overtook him. "Little Yezi, don''t be afraid." The sad voice seemed to ring from the depths of a nightmare. Like a slim hand caressing his cheeks, it was cruelly gentle. "Be strong, little Yezi. Don''t be afraidDon''t be scared Run, Yezi, hurry and run. Never come backbecause from now on, you''re alone again." - In the darkness, countless memories surged, broke, and were put back together. After who knew how long, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes, waking from the long nightmare. He saw the white ceiling and IV drip. Blue-purple medicine was hung there, dripping into him from the tube and keeping him alive. After a long while, he asked quietly, "Where am I?" "This is the Asgardian border. You''re in the hospital." Old Dominic sat beside the window. Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s voice, he opened his eyes and replied hoarsely, "Knights Templar used up a lot of precious material to keep you alive. Many people came to see you but they all left. You woke up too late." "Hospital?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "I thought I''d be in the Sacred City''s dungeon." "Colt reported you for working with the dark musicians and betraying humanity," Dominic said. "Thankfully, many people didn''t believe him. You have some good friends who spoke up for you. Miller''s family is apparently influential in the School of Choir. They paid great costs to save you. Torre and Casper also did a lot. Many grandmasters from the School of Destruction were willing to vouch for you. Of course, there''s also Bach''s student. The new scepter Wolf Flute supported you strongly. "They are still investigating a bunch of things but you are clean of any guilt. Congratulations, you are innocent." "How many days have passed?" "Five days." "Oh." Ye Qingxuan stared up at the white ceiling. After a long time, he asked, "What about Elsa?" Dominic fell silent before sighing. "Don''t you already know? She''s dead. The Romulusians disappeared too, along with that city. After Elsa died, they all disappeared." "Really? I see." Ye Qingxuan''s voice was flat as if hearing something unrelated to him. He asked softly, "What about Colt? Where is he?" Dominic thought for a bit and answered, "Probably on the way to the Sacred City?" "Sacred City?" "Yes. He was the only one who succeeded in this trial. He performed well this time and successfully stopped the natural catastrophe and abyss''s damage to the human world. He received much praise and rewards from the Sacred City. They call him the star of the future. The Sacred City is probably preparing for his canonizing ritual now. "But he announced his departure from the Rock Institute a few days ago. Apparently, he has cut off all ties with the School of Secret Keepers and joined the Church. Now he is planning to become a sanctor. "His teacher probably wants to strangle him, right? But unfortunately, he''s part of the Sacred City now. No one can do anything to him." "Oh, I see." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes as if falling asleep. But after a while, he suddenly said, "Mr. Dominic, can you help me? I need to send a letter." The old man was taken aback but quickly laughed. "Yes. Before coming, the principal told me that the Sword in the Stone represents the royal authority of Anglo. As long as you don''t touch the Sword, everything is allowed." Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. "Really? Everything is allowed?" Dominic looked into his black eyes. He faintly saw a kingdom of the dead. A sharp light emerged in the blackness like lightning that could swallow a soul. It was just a flash but it was terrifying. Thus, he smiled and bowed. "Ye Qingxuan, ever since you pulled out the Sword, you became the inheritor after Maxwell. You will be the next principal of the Royal Academy of Music and the future queen''s minister. "You need not have any worries. Walk the path you must, fight the battles you must, hold the morals you must. From now on, Anglo will ensure that the crown of justice is always for you." - Five days ago, a long yet joyful conversation in the Soul Hall of the Sacred City came to an end at dawn. Hermes got up from the ground. "Let''s end here." He patted the dust from his body and looked up at the empty ceiling. "Thanks, old friend. Ever since that *sshole Eastern lord ended things with me, it was hard to find an old friend to talk to. Thanks to the Sacred City''s ''mercy,'' you''re still this half-dead thing but it''s great to see you before leaving." Nibelungenlied remained silent. Just as Hermes was about to leave, he called out, "Hermes, I have a question." "Hmm?" Hermes turned around. "During this event, you designed the future path for the Romulusians and asked the King of Yellow to extend their life and bloodline. You failed but I still have a question." Nibelungenlied asked, "Where did he go?" "He''s tired of everything already, isn''t he?" Hermes smiled mysteriously. "You all know and your pope knows too. The day he rushed into the Papal Palace and argued with the King of Red, he was already disappointed in everything. "He hates this world and yet must protect it so he wanted to get as far away as possible. He already left, Nibelungenlied. He wants some ''peace and quiet,'' so I took him to a good place. "Now, he''s in a very quiet and faraway place. When he has time, he can sleep. When he''s awake, he can look at the world and think about his life and the meaning of the world. As far as I know, he likes this kind of life." "I see," Nibelungenlied said. "Thank you." "You''re welcome. But I do have to warn you, don''t spend more effort on observing. What will happen next, ha" Hermes shook his head. "There''s no point." "Aren''t you curious about the result?" "There won''t be a second result." Hermes looked away. "Have you ever seen an angered dragon?" "Are you speaking of the ''Dragon of Destruction''?" Nibelungenlied seemed to have some thoughts. "Do you think the youth is someone terrifying enough to rival the Dragon of Destruction?" "No, the Dragon is scary but it''s still just a beast." Hermes chuckled and raised a finger. "I''m comparing him to the third King of Red, the crazy one who beheaded the Red Dragon, even though the cost was burning half of the Sacred City down." "You know, a crazy man''s lovable trait is that he lives in his own world. He''s only loyal to his own ideals. He has a principle, a bottom line, and ethics. He''s basically perfect. You can hate him or fear him but as long as you stay away, he won''t mess with you. But the most annoying trait is thatonce he wants to murder, no one can stop him." In the stillness, Hermes pushed the door open. Wind and snow swept in, landing on his shoulders. "I didn''t know it snows in the Sacred City too," he whispered, disappearing into the snowstorm. 396 Wolf and Dog It was a bustling afternoon. In Ouistreham, an iron ship stopped at the busy port. Hot afternoon sunlight shone down. The man beside the window found it annoying and pulled the curtains, blocking the noise and eyes from outside. Inside the dim cabin suite, the young man looked back at the old man on the other side of the table. The old man placed an opened letter on the table and pushed it over slowly. The young man yawned lazily and looked up. "Grandmaster Bono, what is this?" "This is from the dean." Grandmaster Bono stared coldly at the young man. He said hoarsely, "Take it, Colt, and the Institute will not forget the past." Colt lowered his head. Looking at the letter, he rubbed at it and laughed. Pushing it back, he replied indifferently, "Grandmaster, I already wrote very clearly in the letter that I am not the suitable talent for this school. I have no ability to bear the school''s expectations so I choose to back out. Why must the Institute be like this?" "Do you know what you are saying, Colt?" Grandmaster Bono''s eyes darkened. "For centuries, there has never been a precedent. The day you inherited the School of Secret Keeper''s music theory, you swore that you will be a member of the School for life. The only way out is death. "You are still young and do not understand the cost of this. We are willing to forgive you as long as you take this letter back." His voice was eerie. Even the air became stinging but Colt was still unmoved. He looked at the old man with a mocking smile. "Forgive? That word sounds so nice." He shook his head, chuckling. "I never heard of this word when I was still a nameless musician. Now that I''m famous, the entire world became merciful and filled with gentle love. But sadly, it''s too late!" He flicked the letter back into Bono''s arms. He stated, "Please go back, Grandmaster Bono. I will never return to the School of Secret Keeper. Or" He paused, his smile growing meaningful. "Will you choose to take me back by force?" Bono frowned. Something chilling flashed past his eyes. In the stillness, he tapped his finger lightly but it froze in the air. In the silence, the air of the empty cabin seemed to stagnate. Faint buzzes of swords came from either side of the cabin. After a long while, he lowered his finger slowly and glared at Colt. Forcing down his anger, his eyes darkened. "Colt, do you think you can arrive at the Sacred City safely?" Colt laughed. "Do you dare touch me?" After the Auschwitz battle, Colt had become famous for his hero image. He had saved many musicians without caring for himself. Grasping the opportunity to wound the fallen saint Paganini and many other events had added another halo to his image. He was the hero who protected humanity against the natural catastrophe, a shockingly talented musician as shown from the trial, and he had received the music score ''Emperor'' from the Sacred City. He was moving smoothly toward the scepter level and would become a saint in the future. Now, he had joined the Ministry of Information and was well-trusted. He was given the position of confidential secretary even before the official ceremony and had a bright future. Under this situation, even the School of Secret Keepers or the Rock Institute would need to consider the Sacred City before acting. Otherwise, Colt would be facing the Secret Keepers'' assassin rather than grandmaster Bono. Colt knew better than anyone that the School could do nothing! "Us?" Grandmaster Bono looked at his arrogant smile and shook his head. "Colt, you should know who truly wants to hurt you. Otherwise, you have no reason to hide your tracks, disguise yourself as a noble, and hide in a ship full of immigrants. Even the School needed to use the Lighthouse to find you. Who are you hiding from?" Rather than replying, Colt just waved his hands in disinterest, practically dismissing the grandmaster. "Since you insist on the wrong direction, I will not waste more time here. Hope you will receive what you wish for, Colt." Grandmaster Bono did not lose his temper. He rose indifferently and left. The moment he pushed the door open, he glanced behind Colt. It was empty of any belongings. Sneering, he closed the door. The grandmaster clad in gray was like an elderly traveler. He walked up the deck with his cane. He brushed past the sailors transporting objects and food, and went past the sunbathing immigrants and merchants with their products. He walked off the ship and entered the port market. Soon, the ship behind him whistled and left the port. Bono watched as the ship faded into the distance. His lips moved slightly under his white whiskers. "Did you hear that, Heisenberg? That''s your student." Thousands of miles away, Heisenberg opened his eyes in the silent room. He had been observing Bono through the Lighthouse and had naturally witnessed everything Colt had said. Smoking in silence, he sighed. "It was my mistake. I never thought that this dog would have a wolf''s blood. I underestimated him." "We must clear him out," Bono said coldly. "The Lighthouse''s secret music theory is the heart of the School. We mustn''t let it out." "No need." Heisenberg closed his eyes again. "A dog that becomes a wolf will seem impressive and enjoy the fame but once his ambition is satisfied, he''ll start to feel scared Believe me, Bono, he''ll regret this. Soon." - After Bono left, the cabin returned to silence. Colt stood up and bowed respectfully to the air behind him. "Thank you for your help, grandmaster Philip. Two burly priests clad in blood-red walked out from the two sides of the suite. Their right arms under the red robes were metal prosthetics. The technology from the Chainsaw Fraternity had given them unimaginable strength and an almost undefeatable body. They guarded the door with their heads down, silent as a statue. A frail old man walked out of the illusion before Colt. He was hunched and leaned on a cane. He was all skin and bones and his loose skin was covered in wrinkles and spots. However, his eyes were pure white. Those eerie eyes seemed to see every person''s secrets and were chilling. "No need to thank me. It is my duty." He coughed. "It is the Ministry''s first time to accept an outsider in all these years and you are a future saint. It is rare to find such talent so we must be careful. I will send a warning letter to the Rock Institute under the Church''s name. You need not worry." He paused and his voice grew dangerous. "However, I hope this type of thing will not occur in the Ministry, understand?" Colt''s smile did not change and he lowered his head further. "Please do not worry. Is there any place for me if I leave the Ministry?" Philip''s expression grew satisfied. He patted Colt''s shoulder. "No, no. Colt, you are young and talented. You will shine wherever you go. It is our honor that you chose the Ministry." The two met eyes and smiled but both knew deep inside. Soon, someone knocked on the door and passed in a letter. The footsteps faded away. The two guards looked at the mark and gave the letter to Philip. Without saying anything after reading, Philip handed it to Colt. Colt''s expression grew ugly. "Hewoke up so quickly?" His eyes changed but quickly returned to normal. "Are you worrying over the new sword bearer of Anglo?" Philip asked. "If he used the Sword in the Stone without caring for the consequences, it would truly be a problem." "No need to worry about that." Colt shook his head. "From what I know, he inherited the theory from the School of Stone Heart. Everything is built on the sub-originator and he''s useless after it shattered. He might not even be able to be an official musician, let alone use the Sword." "Oh?" Philip nodded. "Anglo must hate you." "Even so, they are powerless." Colt snickered. "I am the best of the new generation of musicians now and the future saint that the Pope had rewarded. Will they hurt me for a useless man and risk the accusations of the nations and punishment of the Sacred City?" Despite his words, he still felt fear. He sat in the chair and tried to find the source of the fear. All that he could think of were those empty eyes. Under those shackles, the youth''s face had been ghastly pale. Reflecting the girl''s blood, those empty eyes seemed to have been dyed red, like a womb after a miscarriage. Something scary was born at that moment. A knock on the door made his shoulders shudder as if startling awake from a nightmare. He glanced at the door instinctively with menace. The two guards exchanged glances and one went over to check. "Who is it?" It was a server who managed to dress properly. However his shirt was threadbare and his pants had faded from washing. In the steel platter that he held were two heated steaks and some food that could only keep one from going hungry and nothing more. "Sir, the dinner you requested is here." The guards exchanged glances. One held his sword and stood beside the door. The other opened it. The server handed the food to the priest who looked like a true server. But when the door was about to close, the server suddenly reached out to stop the door. His other hand went into his pocket. "Wait" he said. 397 Arrow and Flower The priest who had taken the food looked up. Coldness flashed past his eyes. The one behind him unsheathed the sword soundlessly and stared silently at the door. He could stab the server''s skull in an instant. The atmosphere was chilling. "Anything else?" The priest looked at the server coldly. He gulped and sweated profusely. Sticking his neck back subconsciously, his forced smile stiffened. He awkwardly pulled out a colorful card. "Sir, would you like some service?" Hands shaking, he offered the card drawn with a scantily clad girl. "Hot Burgundian girl for only six-no, forty pounds" As he spoke, his words became smoother. Finally, he put on a knowing and lustful smile, oblivious to the fact that he was at the brink of death. "If you have any needs, we have younger ones too!" "No need." The priest coldly glanced at the card. He tore it apart and threw it into the trash before slamming the door shut in the server''s face. Then he took out a black toothpick. After testing for poison, he brought the platter over. Colt took a few bites of the steak blankly before losing his appetite. He kept thinking through the details for anything that could reveal him. He still could not pinpoint where the feeling of danger came from. Then his finger trembled. Looking up, his expression was drastically different. "No!" This ship was a crude put-together short-distance ship. It relied on transporting poor immigrants and even the highest class cabin suite was old and smelled of mold. Rich people would definitely not go on this ship. They could choose safer and more comfortable ones. Who would spend forty pounds on a prostitute? "That card!" He spun toward the trash can. "Where''s the card?" The two guards quickly rifled through and found the pieces of paper. But after investigation, they could not find anything abnormal. There was no poison or tricks. It was just a regular piece of paper. "Relax, Colt." Philip looked up from the old sofa. "There''s no need to be paranoid. I am here." Colt''s face alternated between green and white. It was hard to tell if he was frustrated over his mistake or embarrassed over his fear. "Sorry, I''m overthinking." As soon as he finished, there was a crisp sound. The god of death had arrived. - Twenty minutes ago, the ship was about to set sail. Under the loud whistle, grandmaster Bono brushed past the sailors who were transporting food and grains. He walked off and disappeared in the sea of people. The bare-chested sailors smoked and happily exchanged crude jokes. Lipstick stains remained on their sweaty bodies. Boxes full of grain and products went from carts and their shoulders to be transported to the bottom hold. However, some men snuck into the messy ship and disappeared. A few minutes later, someone walked into a sailor''s room. After tying up the owner and stuffing him under the bed, he politely changed out of his clothes, stuck on a rubber mask and stuffed a brothel card from the trash can into his pocket. He looked just right. Studying himself in the mirror, he made a few faces and walked out, satisfied. "Second floor, suite room C2." A sailor slacking off squatted in the hall to smoke gave him the address. "It''s the best room right by the captain''s room. They''re really careful and can see every change. It''s hard so you better be careful." "When do we ever get easy jobs?" The ''server'' stuffed a stack of money into the sailor''s pocket. "This is yours. Have you made the holes in the lifeboats?" "Holes? Do you want me to stuff some candles into it too?" The sailor grinned, somewhat mockingly. "No need. I''ve been here for six years and no one''s ever fixed up the lifeboats. That *sshole captain''s sold everything himself. The two lifeboats are dupes. They''re gone if they touch water. Honestly, if you wanna do something big, you don''t have to do all this. Just wait until we get to a yellow zone and," he mimed an explosion, "no one''ll know." "Some of the people here have sinned but do not deserve death. They should have a chance to atone for their sins before going to hell," the server replied. "Anyway, the client requested to try not to hurt the innocent." "So professional," the sailor said in awe. "You talk like a priest." The server smiled and left without replying. When he reached the cabin, the man behind him said, "Say hi to Mr. Holmes for me. I don''t owe him anymore." He looked back to see the sailor snuff out his cigarette and leave. Ten minutes later, the door slammed in his face, flattening the leering smile. He bent over and cried out in pain dramatically. His finger dabbed the paint on his sleeve and discreetly drew some red dots on the cabin wall. When his arm was stuck in the door, he had used the brass button on his wrist to see all their positions clearly. At the corner of the hallway, he brushed past a group of passengers. When he rubbed his nose, his lips moved slightly. "One is three steps, the other is six. They''re musicians and two more are at the door. They have armor under their clothes." The group walked away while laughing and talking happily while the server returned to his room. In a few other rooms, the dust cloths covering the furniture and beds were lifted the moment the door closed. The men and women of various ages took off their jackets, revealing the skintight leather clothing underneath. The dust clothes revealed various alchemy parts which were put together quickly into a large machine. A black crossbow car, practically half a man''s height, was lifted under their teamwork. The carpet was moved aside, showing a space they had prepared. Bloated screws were put in to anchor the car in place. "Adjust the angle." An engineer with glasses tore off a few pages of notes scrawled with calculations and pasted them onto the car. "Nine o''clock, adjust sixteen degrees. Twelve o''clock, left eight degrees, sixth level cabin. Seven o''clock, coverage attack." Under the messy clothing in the suitcase, they completed the setup of an arrow as wide as a child''s arm. It was placed into the car, embedding into the machine as the gears turned. As the car moved, it refracted the afternoon sun from outside the window onto a somber face. It created a chilling metallic sheen. With the angle adjustments, the car aimed at the men in the suite through the cabin levels. The final checkup was complete. Under a mind-numbing muffled sound, the car''s coils were pulled taut. With a click, the final protective measures were removed. The fatal arrow would shoot forward with one move. In the stillness, everyone''s faces were calm and serious. They lowered their heads and half-knelt onto the ground, praying under the engineer''s guidance. "The mourning bell will soon sound. For you, my lord." Their voices were low and grave as if melting into the stone. "Please release your judgement so that the sinners would receive punishment, so the ones who received punishment would be saved in hell. We will carry out your judgement and let their souls fill the river flowing toward you for eternity." The engineer lowered his eyes and drew the holy emblem before his chest. "Under the name of the holy city, the holy spirit, and the holy son Shoot!" Boom! First, the trigger moved and the springs clicked. The gears began turning and steel wires whistled in the air. The heavy black arrow broke through. As if in slow motion, the sunder arrow tore through the air, leaving behind water-like ripples. It broke past the cabin walls gently like water going into sand. The cabin exploded with a gaping hole. White waves of air surged. Every piece of glass shattered and dropped into the sea. The arrow roared and pierced through the cabin floors like a dragon. One level, two, three, four Finally, it tore apart the walls of the suite, entering as a cold metallic flash behind the priest clad in red. The unmoving priest suddenly shook. His metal prosthetic emitted hot steam. Electricity shot from his sheath like a sword, slicing down. It stopped. Then the blade shattered. Shards dug into his chest, cutting him. The bones underneath were ghastly white. The arrow continued forward without weakening. It pulverized his chest, spine, and made a tragic hole in his body. Finally, it embedded into the wall, the arrow quivering. Right before that, Philip''s face changed. Cold light shot from his eyes. He put his hands together in prayer and the apparition of the holy emblem appeared behind him, enveloping him. Pure white light shone from his hands. They shot toward Colt like shooting stars, covering him. In the next moment, the light shook, clasping around the whizzing arrow. Staring at the arrow only a few centimeters away, sweat poured from Colt. In that instant, countless arrows suddenly exploded. Like flowers. 398 Greetings The arrow seemed to have been made from fine steel and compressed into shape. However, it was actually countless pieces of paper-thin metal wrapped around a frame in layers. The frame was constructed with fine details. It could break at a light push. However, its speed was too fast. In just a moment, it was already past layers of obstacles. But then in an instant, the frame bent. The countless steel plates snapped open in response, curling up like an angered snake. However, the curled plates did not fly out. They remained on the frame and shook wildly, going through thousands of reverberations in an instant. They turned into thousands of ''needle reeds.'' The trembling air whistled and the rising noise joined, creating an almost solid cacophony. The aether in its path shook, going crazy. This was like a miniature version of Zhaodang. It used countless reeds to create disordered aether waves. The piercing melody chased away all aether, transforming the tight space into a temporary ''aether vacuum.'' Then the cabin wall rumbled and shattered! A warrior in heavy armor burst through the wall. The moment the iron giant appeared, Philip''s expression changed. "Knights Templar? Bann, you dare" But then he stopped. He knew where this armor came from. Anyone with eyes would know! The warrior''s armor was nothing like that of the Knights Templar. It seemed to be made of raw metal and forcefully put together and smelted. The shell still contained nails and signs of repair. There was nothing delicate or majestic about it. It was as ugly as a beast, a crazy giant, or a Frankenstein. It was pure aggressive menace. At the warrior''s shoulder, black paint created the combination of gears and the holy emblem. It was an abnormality that had split from the Church a century ago. It was a school that used pure human power to cross the Dark World and develop new landthe Chainsaw Fraternity! This group of priests who had struggled in the Dark World never shied away from dirty trade. They accepted money for any job, killing and setting fires without any fear. In battle, they could hold a sword in their left hand and beat their enemies with a bible in their right hand. If the god that the Sacred City worshipped was merciful, then the Chainsaw Fraternity carried out the god''s cruelty. There were no musicians, aether, or warmth in their world. They only had the bible and machinery, only had miracles made of machines and the cruel battlefield. Now, the iron priest picked up the heavy ''shower.'' The bone-white and blood-red shark on his mask grinned menacingly. Philip gasped involuntarily. The fog machine shook. Black oil was forced through, transforming into crushed oil fog. It poured out of the ''shower'' with air pressure. It was nice and coolnot! What came out was aggressive dragon breath! Blazing red fire swallowed the entire room instantly. Other than the warrior, everything else was bathed in the fire. It greedily burned at every molecule of air. The low air pressure fed the fire until it filled every corner. There was no oxygen, no breathing, and no sound. In the heavy and muffled heat, only the ''shower'' rumbled as it operated like demonic laughter. Philip was buried within. In a place without aether, killing a musician was as easy as killing a chicken. But unfortunatelyPhilip was not a chicken. Thirty years ago, he was youthful and strong. He was the Ministry of Information''s executioner, a psychotic killer, a fervent believer, and the master swordsman of the Witch Hammer! In the fire, under the burning red robe, a sword was unsheathed. The frail old man stepped forward. His chest puffed up and he roared like a crack of thunder. The flames shook. A tragic beam of light shot from his wrist. It cut apart the fiery dragon breath, tearing through the mass of red. The bright sword whistled up and down; it was only a moment before it was held in the air. That moment, the blade was fleeting like a bubble. Cracks followed it. A straight crack spread. It cut through a wrist, the shower, a chest, and the Chainsaw warrior''s mask. Everything was cut in half! Then the hoisted sword beheaded the man. The flames separated! The redness was cut into two parts. The Chainsaw warrior''s looming figure split from the middle, iron crumbling, and flesh falling to two sides. It revealed the old priest bathing in fire behind him. His white hair was dyed red and his white eyes were filled with cold menace. He leaned on his sword. His half-burnt body quivered, almost collapsing to the ground. The next moment, the aether that had been chased away returned. It transformed into a halo that glowed upon him. He shed his decayed flesh and burnt marks, turning back into an old man with light in his hands. Arrows whistled from the cabin across the hall like a thunderstorm. However, they froze in mid-air, locked by the light. A somber prayer chant resounded through the entire ship. The burnt and dying priests on the ground began convulsing. Blood flowed in reverse and flesh regenerated under small noises until the body was complete again. They screamed from the pain of rebirth and climbed up. Grandmaster Philip waved and the flames went still as if they were put into amber. The arrows shot backward, tearing through the layers of cabins, piercing the entire ship and creating a large, gaping hole. However, there was nothing behind the broken cabins, other than the automatic crossbow car. "Stay here," Philip ordered. The ring of light expanded behind him. It turned slowly and countless voices began singing as if angels had arrived. With support from the symphony of predestination ''God''s Punishment Incarnate,'' he flew with his sword. He instantly flew out of the hole in the wall and hovered above the deck. His white pupils scanned the crowd but could not find the assassin. He huffed. Spinning around, he looked into the deep sea. Blazing light shot from his eyes, illuminating the darkness as well as the quickly escaping figures dozens of meters below. Grunting, he raised his sword and brought it down, hacking the sea surface. With a rumbling explosion, the ray of light was buried into the deep sea. It went up and down, slicing the figures. But even after a long while, there was no blood. The figures had disappeared like bubbles. Only a few dozen strange fish floated to the surface. "What the h*ll?" Philip frowned. But then the abnormal fish suddenly swelled and exploded. Sickly green smoke spewed from the cracked fish. It swelled in the sea wind and shrouded toward Philip. The old man huffed. The holy light rose like a wall. Outside of it, the green smoke sizzled and a few strands almost seeped in. It was a rare poison. A mere strand could decay the entire ship into a watery tomb but it could not pass through. However, there was a muffled snort. Sticky blood flowed from Philip''s nose, trickling down. He murmured, "Illusion? And poisonis it the Voodoo Crypt? Do you dare challenge the Ministry of Information?!" When the poisonous fog covered everything, the assassin''s illusion fulcrum had already been included. Instantaneously activated, it would drag the enemy into the illusion. If there was a slight mishap, the barrier would come undone and the enemy would die. However, the poison was also part of the illusion, raising the danger of the originally weak illusion. The two complemented each other, changing the usual shortcoming of the School of Illusions, turning it into a terrifying attack. Only one group had this techniquethe Voodoo Crypt! "Huh, there''s a grandmaster? The client gave some wrong information" an annoyed voice said in the poisonous fog. "Threatening me with the Sacred City? Wow, I''m so scared. But you guys haven''t come to the Northern Islands in all these years." Philip''s face darkened. The Northern Islands and boundless ocean had always been bases for the School of Illusion. It was comparable to the ''Mirage School'' of the desert. They had created the legends of the ''siren musicians'' and the ''ship of the undead.'' These musicians who controlled reality and illusions ruled the seas. They controlled many smuggling and illegal trades and never stayed put. All of them were unclean and were responsible for many messes. They were also informative and would disappear at the slightest hint of trouble. There was an adage among the sailors: every shell in the sea may contain a hiding Illusion musician. No one knew where they would hide. Therefore, even though they knew that the target was from the Sacred City, some desperate musicians still wanted to take the risk and make some money. After all, it was just to slow them down. The client had good credit as well. He paid the deposit quickly and never delayed the final payments. Only an idiot would pass up this job! "I don''t know why you angered him but he wants to mess with you guys so we can''t do anything about it." The old man in the poisonous fog laughed. "So how about you guys stay here for five minutes and I''ll let you go? You''ll be unharmed and I can finish my job. How about it? I swear on the Originator I''m honest." What he got in reply was the light of discipline! - "Coltoh, Colt" In the messy ship, layers of solidified flames had transformed into a forest. They bloomed with such red flowers, beautiful yet tragic like fine pieces of art. But Colt, still unrecovered from his fear, heard a hoarse voice. "My friend, where are you?" The raspy voice echoed among the broken flames, murmuring in his ear, "Can you come closer? It''s so dark here. I can''t see you" The two priests lifted their swords. Countless black shadows slowly emerged from the crystallized flames. Cruelty flashed past Colt''s eyes. He took out the ''anti-tune'' and sliced through the air. The music theory on the blade instantly changed. Revelations music theory expanded, fusing into the chaotic theory. With this sword movement, the flames withered and shattered. All music theory connections broke apart. The black shadows screamed until they disappeared. "Just a bunch of scams." Colt frowned and suddenly felt a wet hand on his shoulder. Someone had silently pressed up to him, laughing in his ears. "I''m right here. Can''t you see?" Colt spun around in shock. He saw the shattered body that had climbed up from the ground. It was only half of a body. It choked and cried. Raising its head, it revealed the cut up side. The flesh was a mess. "Don''t be scared," it murmured and giggled. "I''m just sending a message" The cracked skull opened its mouth to murmur. Then it shattered, blood splattering. With a muffled thud, the remaining body was nailed into the wall by a sword. It vibrated and shook like an endless sharp laughter. There was a scream. A vague figure wrapped in green poison disappeared in the distance. Philip, burning with phantom fire, returned to the cabin. The other priests helped him shave off the burning flesh. He quickly recovered, becoming old but complete again. This fast recovery seemed like exceptional healing but it actually consumed a man''s vitality and potential. Even a grandmaster of the School of Choir was unable to save the lifespan Philip had used up. He was only sixty years old but already looked ancient. "Let''s get off at the next port." Philip''s expression was dark. "It seems like we''ve already been tracked. Those lunatics dare to attack the Sacred City!" Colt remained silent. He gaped at the body on the wall, shell-shocked. He could still hear the corpse murmuring in his ear as if the dead had truly come back for a greeting. "I came back from hell," he said. "I''m still alive." 399 Hold On Five days later, the rail carriage parked at a station in southern Asgard. Afew minutes later, a light carriage departed from the station, bypassing the peripheral of the city and finally entering the manor along the mountain path. The door opened and soon closed in the night. Lola pushed open the door and heard the tide. People in the big manor were hurrying to and fro. Everything was illuminated. Someone hurried down stairs of the doorway. He reached out to help Lola get off the car like a thoughtful and gentlemanly housekeeper. "Professor Lola, it must have been a tiring journey!" "Richard, did you ever smile so warmly when you were in college?" Lola said gently. "Alas, your smile is too fake and disgusting like your boss." Richard''s face twitched. He looked away. "I am just a temporary public employee. I haven''t even signed any agreements. Please don''t embarrass me." "Really? Then shall I go to the Fifth Department to talk to your boss?" Lola asked in return. Richard did not dare to respond but just walked a half step ahead to show her the way. He looked carefully and cautiously as if the person beside him was not a noble maiden but a cannibal or an aether bomb that would explode at any time. Recently, many people had been suffering because of this event. He would absolutely not want to become one of them. Even Maxwell had to control his temper, let alone a small employee like Richard. As early as the day after Ye Qingxuan''s event happened, the principal found that when his personal barber was about to shave for him, the shaving cream in the box was replaced by green drugs of the most poisonous kind... The threat was quite palpable. No one knew how many hints this woman would plant for self-destruction. If she went crazy, half the Anglo would have to jump into the pits of hell with her. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan did not die, so she had no chance to go mad. All the way, Richard''s whole body was chilled by that cold sight from behind. He had to speed up, walking forward along the manor''s road and corridor. The sounds of the tidal waves approached with the cold winter wind. The green plants on both sides of the road were covered with a layer of white frost, gradually withering. "He''s waiting for you inside." Richard opened the door for her, took a few steps back, and left quietly. The light behind the door fell on Lola''s face. The gloominess and madness in her eyes disappeared. Her look changed, hesitating like a timid little girl. "Lola?" a slightly hoarse voice sounded from behind the door. "Don''t stand at the door. Come in." The room behind the door was empty. The heavy scent of disinfectants still lingered. The crash of waves came from the window. Lola walked in and realized that someone did live here. Finally, she looked at the terrace. There, a thin figure was sitting on the chair, silently watching the tide outside the terrace. His white hair that reflected the moonlight had become so long without her realizing. They had been apart for just half a month but it felt like much longer. Lola could still faintly distinguish his appearance but he had changed a lot. Sighing softly, she took a thick blanket from the chair and covered him. Ye Qingxuan''s wrists looked skinny and pale. There were still traces of pinholes there. Perceiving Lola''s sight, he hid his wrist under the blanket. "Sorry, I was supposed to be better today, but the doctor was not willing to give some effective medicine. I can only recover slowly like this." Lola did not speak. Of course she knew what kind of medicine Ye Qingxuan wanted. Those drugs that seemed to be surprisingly effective were always at the expense of body and life. If it were for other times, she could understand. But now, with his condition, Ye Qingxuan would die if he took any of those drugs. Not receiving a response, Ye Qingxuan smiled and changed the topic. He reached out to the railing. In the distant sea, the surging tides made faraway and quiet sounds when collided with each other. The lights of the seaside city in the distance were like stars. When the lights reflected in the sea, it was as if the stars had fallen into the sea, majestic and serenely beautiful. "This is Maxwell''s private property. Cool, right? I didn''t expect that he could enjoy life in this way until now." He sighed. "No wonder he always says how poor he is. If I were him, I would definitely embezzle school''s funds to buy such a good manor too. If we need money, we can write a report to the royal family. We can get a bonus too." Lola pursed her lips but didn''t speak. She looked down at Ye Qingxuan and reached out to touch his white hair. Ye Qingxuan look back at her with silent eyes. He did not look like the young boy she had first met anymore. Now, he was like a stone statue with chiseled features, silent and quiet. He was neither na?ve nor weak anymore. Somehow, facing that pair of eyes, Lola couldn''t help but feel sad. "As long as you''re alive." She reached out to stroke his hair and hugged his shoulder from behind. "I wanted to hit you before I came. If you listen, I won''t hit you anymore." "I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He reached up and patted the back of her hand. He just let her hold himself, silently gazing at that broken moonlight in the sea. After a long while, he hesitated but asked softly, "Lola, Can people live without a heart?" Lola froze and looked up at him. After the sub-originator was broken, Ye Qingxuan lost his heart. It would be very difficult for him to live, let alone be a musician. The Knights Templar rescued him in all force. They had spent a lot of precious materials to save him from a dying state. The doctor told her that it was a miracle that he could survive. But no one knew how long this fragile balance could last. Everyone was waiting but how long could Ye Qingxuan wait? Ye Qingxuan looked at Lola with pleading eyes, waiting for her response as if he was waiting for the final trial. "Yes." She gazed at Ye Qingxuan and whispered, "You just have no heart. Believe me, Yezi, you can live." "Really? That''s good." Somehow, Ye Qingxuan smiled and looked comforted. "That would be great. I was worried about being treated like a freak." He stretched out his hand to lift the thick blanket. Untying the coat, he revealed his chest. Dense stitches remained where the heart once was. Underneath the sutures, a faint red glow burned silently. It replaced the heart in his chest, sustaining his life and breathes, helping him escape from death and hell. "What is this?" Lola looked at his chest blankly. Her sight penetrated the flesh and fell on it. She saw the scarlet crystal that was embedded in his body. It was a substance condensed from myriad complex music theories. It was the organ that had replaced the organ. She could not believe it and almost stopped breathing. "That''s probably what''s keeping me alive," Ye Qingxuan pressed his chest, whispering softly. It was the crystallization of miracles, the legendary creation, and the power that all alchemists had dreamed of for so long. It could transform metal into gold and give life to dead things...The Philosopher''s Stone! Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and once again recalled that young face, that girl who had woken from the dream and looked at him with smiling face. She had reached out, wanting to touch his face. "I recognize you." She had recognized him, so she put the Philosopher''s Stone in his arms. "Don''t die. Ye Qingxuan." Those were the last words that she had whispered in his ear. So Ye Qingxuan survived even without heart, even with a broken sub-originator, because Elsa gave him a new life. "Help me up, Lola." Ye Qingxuan buttoned up again and raised his hands. "The time for rest is over." Lola pursed her lips. She reached out and pulled him from the couch but she felt little weight. His body was as light as withered wood. Ye Qingxuan put on his coat and held the wall slowly to lead the way. Finally, he pushed open the downstairs door. In the spacious hall, everyone was bustling around quietly. A dozen hurried recorders leaned over the corner table to record, looking up the files that brought from the archives by carts. They left manuscripts all over on the floor and labeled on a huge map on the wall. On the other side of the hall, half of the wall had been forcibly dismantled. The original unified style of exquisite decoration was destroyed. A giant tuning instrument that had just been delivered took up the space. The tuner wedged into the ground like a monument. Its metal wires attached to the outside of the manor wall and extended to the sky, catching the complex signals from the aether sea and delivering the messages. Several discipline musicians were debugging it to make sure it works. Richard came forward and gave him a letter he had just received. The letter was sealed with black wax. Ye Qingxuan frowned. "The Whale Hunters failed. They couldn''t keep him." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "After all, they are the maritime smuggling regiment. We can''t have too much expectation when they disembark. What did they say?" "They would have wanted the remaining half of the money." Richard shrugged. "But after your deputy, Mr. Watson, cut off their leader''s nose, they returned the advance payment." Ye Qingxuan took a knife to open the letter. After reading it, he understood the situation. "They want to make money but don''t want to get into trouble, so they decide to deal with the easiest side... Richard, we gave the money so readily that they thought we were weak. I''m afraid it''s not enough to just cut a nose." Richard seemed to know a lot about the ''ex-medic.'' He smiled wryly. "Since you said so, I''m afraid that other parts of that guy, like his nose, that can''t be left behind." "We all know that this is a work to trade lives with money. If the money is earned, then what''s the point of keeping the life?" Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He tore the letter into pieces and threw it into the trash. "Where are our guests now?" He looked up at the huge map before him. On the map were many red dots as if someone used blood to mark out a tortuous road. From south to north, the road twisted and turned toward the center of the worldthe Sacred City. So close... "You''re almost there, Colt. You must hold on." Ye Qingxuan smiled and leaned on the chair. Closing his eyes, he put himself into the huge map. He reached out to move the chess pieces, full of anticipation. He whispered softly, "You must...hold on a little longer..." 400 Somewhere Without Evil In the darkness, Philip dreamed of a butterfly. Fluorescent light sprinkled down as it flew in the red sky. He slowly opened his eyes. His sword hilt was warm from his body heat as he gripped it tightly. Heavy curtains covered the window, blocking the hot light. In the dimness, he saw Colt''s eyes. They were bloodshot as if he had not slept in a long while. His hair was messy as well and he looked like a beggar. "What time is it?" Philip asked. "One in the afternoon." "Oh, I slept for so long," Philip murmured. He reached out and opened the curtains a crack. Sunlight fell on his old face, illuminating some fatigue and weakness. The veins under the skin were dark green. It was the toxic poison that had seeped into his body and lay on his bones like maggots. Assassins had not stopped since their attack on the ship five days ago. Each attempt was crazier than the last. Fortunately, they had decided without hesitation to go by road rather than sea. No one knew how many traps could be hidden in the sea. But unfortunately, going by land was difficult as well. The killer seemed to have smelled their blood and tracked them. There were so many tricks, from attack to poison to secret attacks. Once, he even received help from a caravan smuggling illegal weapons and met them face on There were many undignified musicians. They had to fight off strange tricks of every school. The two red-robed priests had already died. Philip did not even know how one of them died. When he discovered something was wrong, the assassin disguised as the priest had already stabbed his back with a poisoned dagger. Gravely wounded, Philip had fought out of the besiege with Colt. Using the night and noise as cover, they had gone underground and finally found a safe spot along the river. They finally had a chance to breathe. Footsteps approached and the door was cracked open. Someone timidly walked over, metal clanging crisply. Colt raised his bloodshot eyes. Holding his short sword, he pounced on the shadow, putting him in a chokehold. "Who is it?!" With a clang, the copper plate fell onto the ground. A few pieces of bread fell into the dust. The young man collapsed. Looking at Colt''s fierce expression, he paled. "The F-father told me to bring some food. I''m s-sorry, I didn''t mean toHe said you''re sleeping so I didn''t want to disturb you" "Sorry, child, for scaring you." Philip helped the young man up and helped him get rid of the dust on the robe. Finally, he picked up the bread, prayed quietly, and began eating earnestly without caring for the dust. Colt watched the young man run away. He held the bread but did not eat. "Can we trust the people here?" Over these past few days, he had witnessed too many betrayals. Even an observant Revelations musician could not pinpoint where the truly fatal poison was. "Don''t worry," Grandmaster Philip said. "The priest here graduated from the Sacred City''s Trinity College and is a fervent believer. He was originally an ascetic monk but voluntarily came to this faraway town four years ago to do missionary work. His loyalty to the Church is definite. He and his student are the only ones in this church. No one will know we are here." Colt did not reply. Still suspicious, he carefully lifted a corner of the curtain, looking at the poor church outside. It had not been maintained in many years. At the church entrance, the ragged priest quietly encouraged the sad-looking student. Then he picked up a bible and left quickly. Colt narrowed his eyes. "He is going to teach the local children for donations to repair the church." Philip seemed to know what Colt was thinking. He said calmly, "I told him to do everything as before. Other than giving us water and food, just pretend we are not here." "This church is too poor." "This land is directly administered by the Church. It is protected by the Clock Tower and no one would be able to see inside. Rest up, Colt. We are setting off tomorrow." Colt dropped the curtain. He lay in the corner behind the door, gripping the blankets, but he could not sleep. His eyes were testy. "Is there still no reply from the Ministry of Information?" In recent days, all their messages to the Sacred City had no replies. It seemed that all messages were locked as if an invisible hand snuffed all of their pleas for help, isolating them. Later, they would gradually be held in the palm of the assassin and suffocated slowly. Colt knew who could do all this. That was why he was panicking andfull of hatred. His teacher His nails dug into his palm, his eyes filled with resentment. It must be you, Heisenberg, Colt thought angrily. Other than the School of Secret Keepers, who can do things to this extent? You truly just want me to die! There was the sound of teeth cracking. "Reinforcement will be here soon." Philip chewed the dry bread calmly. The raspy voice had awakened him. "Even if they seal the aether sea, there are other ways to send messages. Don''t worry, Colt. This will be my last time comforting you. The Ministry of Information is not like before but should not be overlooked." Before he finished, there was a knock on the door. Colt tensed like a frightened bird. Philip rose. He opened the door. Outside, a priest clad in red had arrived silently. The middle-aged priest had two long swords and light armor under his robe. The Discipline Hammer was carved into his arm plate. His features were average but lightning seemed to brew in his narrow eyes. "Teacher, I received your letter and hurried over," he reported, kneeling on one knee. "I brought over the other members fulfilling missions nearby. There are five Purgatory musicians and sixteen members of the Witch Hammer. We await your commands." In the courtyard, armed priests stood silently like statues. Many musicians were hidden within them. They were quiet but music theory as cruel as purgatory brewed within them. They were the hidden stars of the Ministry of Information. They were the cream of the crop. Even a century ago, a team like this could completely wipe out a satanic sect, raise columns of stakes, and burn the sky red. "Colt, do you see? Do not feel regret. You made the right choice." Philip patted his shoulder. "God''s power cannot be humiliated. Sinners will always pay for their actions. From today, they will be your followers and protect you with their lives. The Ministry will give you much more than the Secret Keepers. From today, you have the status of a saint!" Soundlessly, the Purgatory and Witch Hammer members half-knelt on the ground and gave Colt their respect. Colt gaped at the priests and musicians before him. After a long while, a smile appeared on his blank face. He laughed. Lowering his head, he kissed the holy emblem on Philip''s ring. "Everything for God!" His lowered eyes were blank but seemed like a furnace. There, resentment, hatred, and anger acted as firewood; something terrifying was burning. - In the courtyard of a woodworker''s home, the recitations came to an end. "Children, the class will end now." Father Lucca closed his bible. "After going home, please read the section taught today again and copy it. If you have anything you do not understand, ask me next time." The two-hour reading and writing class was finally over. The playful children cheered and scattered. Looking at the mess, the priest sighed. He bent over, picked up the broom in the corner, and started sweeping. Perhaps he did not have a talent for preaching. After being here for a few years, there were not many new believers and he definitely did not have enough donations to repair the church. The students were mostly children of poor artisans and farmers. He even relied on the woodworker for the classroom. There was no hope for repairing the church. He sighed but felt someone tug on his robe. "Father," a young voice said. He turned around to see a boy hug the heavy bible with pure and curious eyes. He smiled involuntarily. "Little Mueller, you didn''t go yet? Did you not understand today''s class?" The boy scratched his head in embarrassment. Father Lucca chuckled. He pulled a stool over and said gently, "Today''s lesson truly is a bit complicated for children. It''s normal that you don''t understand." The teaching material all came from the bible. In order to keep the children from feeling bored, he would choose the more interesting stories. Today''s lesson was about sinner Lazarus who was brought back to life by God. This was hard to comprehend for adults, let alone children. Mueller was Lucca''s favorite of the students. He did not mess around and studied carefully and seriously. Lucca planned on training him as an apprentice in a few years. With a new apprentice, he could relax a little more. Thus, he taught Mueller without holding anything back. "Father, Father, why was Lazarus brought back?" Mueller asked curiously. "He sinned so much." "Because of God''s mercy, child." Lucca bent over to pat the child''s head. He said kindly, "God loves the people. Even sinners can live. Lazarus had seen Hell; therefore he knew the value of life and the beauty of justice. As long as he lives, he will atone for his sins." "Then what about kind people?" Mueller asked with a cocked head. "Kind people can''t be reborn?" After a pause, the priest managed a smile. "After death, kind people go to heaven." "Heaven?" Mueller repeated in confusion. "Yes, heaven," the priest answered. "Heaven is a place without evil." Mueller nodded, seeming to understand but not really. After asking a few more questions, he left. Seeing him off, Lucca sat on the bench and began praying with his eyes closed. Frantic footsteps sounded in the distance. "Father! Father!" His apprentice from the church ran in. He was out of breath and drenched in sweat as if he was chased by a pack of wolves. Leaning against the door, he panted and could barely speak. "Donationour donation" "What happened?" Father Lucca sighed and said gently, "Everyone has hard lives. It''s normal that no one is donating. At these times, we must help each other and" "No, no!" The boy interrupted him and stuffed a crumpled piece of paper into his hands. "A kind soul gave this to us He didn''t even leave a name behind!" It was a check. Father Lucca took a glance and was shocked by the long number. It came from the ''Central Bank of Asgard,'' the national Asgardian treasury. There was no name on the check. This meant that anyone could withdraw such a large sum whenever and wherever. Confirming that he was not dreaming, Lucca fell into ecstasy. He was as happy as a child. He hugged his apprentice and jumped, laughed, and prayed excitedly. "Thank you, Lord! Thank you, kind soul! Our church can finally be repaired!" The apprentice could not help but shake his head. "Father, with that money, it''s more than enough to build a new one" Boom! He was cut off by an explosion. The ground shook and cracks snaked through walls. Swept by the furious wind, a black cloud rose up slowly like a mushroom. Under it, red flames shot up, adorning the scene of destruction. But sadly, no one was enjoying it. - "What a pity. The entire church was flattened by an underground explosion. Thankfully the priest and apprentice were not there so there weren''t any deaths." A young man in a wheelchair on a hill outside of the town put down his binoculars and tsked. Behind him, his follower gave the other check to the man beside him. "There will be a ship waiting for you all at the nearest port. Hurry and leave." The man on the wheelchair waved. "Go to the East, the Southern islands, India, wherever. Just don''t come back within ten years." "This" The frail old man looked at the check and his eyes twitched. It was three times more than what they had agreed on! He carefully put the check away and finally smiled in farewell. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Watson! Thank you, powerful ''Saint'' Holmes!" After spouting praises, he finally left. "''Saint'' Holmes? You can become a saint by giving money?" Watson held his chin and muttered, "He''ll probably like this new nickname." 401 Door of the Demon "Ye Qingxuan, you crossed the line." An old voice came from the tuning instrument. "At this level, the Secret Keepers can''t keep it down anymore. The Ministry will quickly react." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and trimmed his nails. The voice paused and quickly grew doubtful. "Are you ready to face the Sacred City''s anger? Even if you took care of the evidence, they will find you one day. Even we would not be able to influence the investigation." Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Grandmaster Heisenberg, are you worrying about my safety or the fact that you paid so much but still could not clean him out?" Heisenberg did not reply. Ye Qingxuan folded his small knife and looked up at the tuning instrument. "Don''t worry. Working with me is just like working with the Parliament before. Look, you all need someone to take the blame and I want him to die. I''m sure our cooperation will have a good result." "I hope so." Heisenberg cut off the call. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He coughed violently and blood flew from his fingers. Lola pressed onto his back. His breathing sounded like an old windbag. "Are you reconstructing the music theory again?" Lola frowned. "You''re too impatient." "I know." He waved. "I''ll be careful." "Even with the Philosopher''s Stone, reconstructing the sub-originator will take time. Now, your body is still rubble. It''s already a blessing that the disordered music theory won''t kill you. Yet you''re trying to activate them now?" "If I wait for the metabolism to complete, it''ll take at least half a year." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I don''t have time." "Take a break." Lola reached out and patted his head. Her voice was uncommonly gentle. "Little Yezi, you''ve already done enough. Don''t put too much pressure on yourself." He closed his eyes and leaned back a little, taking advantage of the rare kind treatment to lean in Lola''s arms. After a long while, he said, "Lola, it''s such a heartwarming moment but you secretly used a hint to change a defenseless man''s mind? You ruined the moment." Lola''s finger stiffened. Sighing, her hooked pinky went back to normal. "Don''t worry, I''m clearheaded." Ye Qingxuan cracked his eyes open and said lightly, "And anyway, it''s not just me who''s under pressure. Maxwell probably can''t handle it anymore now, right?" - In the Privy Council under the palace of Anglo, smoke plumed. Maxwell lifted the ashtray and dumped the cigarette butts into the trash. "Stop before it''s too late, Maxwell." Under the light, the prime minister looked at him and said quietly, "He''s a little too out of line. The Church is a neutral organization but according to the Fifth Amendment, all churches are under the direct administration of the Church. Things must be carried out under the bible. From a legal perspective, what he did is similar to invading a nation''s territory. The Sacred City won''t just let this go!" "To be honest, I didn''t think he would really do that." Maxwell scratched his head and sighed. "But he''s a young man. Who didn''t go crazy when he was young? The older gentlemen should understand him." "Go crazy?" After a long pause, the Prime Minister sighed. "I''m just a bit worried that our future sword bearerisn''t just crazy. To be honest, I am regretting signing the sword bearer appointment. If I knew this would happen, I would protest against him taking over you, even with the Queen''s seal." Maxwell rolled his eyes. "Saying that is a bit too late. Furthermore, the Sword is just and they interact well together. Do you still worry that he''ll fall and become a dark musician?" "It''s not impossible." The Prime Minister smoked, the fire burning to his fingertip, and exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Isn''t everything possible for humans? In this crazy world, someone as perfect as a saint may fall, let alone average men like us?" He looked up at the paintings on the ceiling. It depicted the legendary Battle of Heaven. On the ceiling, knights fought with dragons, dying their clothing red and burning the world and heaven. This was destruction. The secret scroll of the bible said that the beast that would bring the world to an endthe Dragon of Destructionwas once an angel beside the throne. It was pure and magnificent; it was known as the most dazzling star, the second leader of heaven. The purer the angel, the more terrifying it could become. "Maxwell, you can open the demon''s door for him but it won''t be that easy to close." The prime minister snuffed his cigarette and left. - On the path within an uncultivated forest, the driver whipped the frothing horse. It galloped and pulled the hay carriage. Dark red blood dripped from the car, leaving behind a red trail. The driver wore a dirty jacket and hunched over. As the carriage jostled, the wound on the bandaged hand opened again. Fresh blood oozed from the dried blood. "Grandmaster, we''re almost there." Colt''s voice was as rough as sandpaper. Half of his hair had been burned. His originally handsome face was now covered with scars and scorch marks as if he had been burned by raging fire. His healing wounds were menacing, making him look like an ugly demon. No one could tell that he was once a proud hero. Now, he looked more like a beast hiding in a dungeon. Children would cry if they saw him. "There''s only a few more hours to the Knights Templar''s camp. That b*stard will pay for what he did!" There was no reply. The damp stray was dirty and almost completely dyed red. Grandmaster Philip lay on the straw, panting. One eye was blind. Raspy sounds came from his throat. He closed his eyes, praying. However, even he could not hear his prayer clearly. There was the sound of water inside his lungs. His unclear murmuring sounded like a beastly growl. His consciousness flickered. The man-made ignition had caused the underground vein to explode, destroying the entire church. Wild aether had swallowed everything. The team of elites had all died. No one had expected that b*stard Ye Qingxuan would be so brash! Without caring about the Sacred City''s dignity and anger, he dared to kill dozens of clergymen in a despicable attack. If Grandmaster Philip had not activated the Score of God''s Discipline at that moment, the two would be ashes right now. Regretfully, they were still alive. Still alive They did not choose this path only because it was hidden. It was becausethis was the closest route to the camp of the Knights Templar. On their way back to the Sacred City, the Knights Templar stayed here to restock on supplies. It was only a dozen kilometers away from them. If Philip was at optimal health, they could arrive in an instant. Ye Qingxuan dared to attack the church and slap the Sacred City in the face. But no matter how crazy he was, Anglo would not allow him to attack Knights Templar, even if it was just a portion. It was a vast entity created by the united strength of the nations. If they received the order for annihilation, they could turn a hundred thousand miles into burnt earth in one night. No one would hang this sword over their own heads. At that time, Ye Qingxuan would be powerless "Haha, hahaha, hahahahaha" Opening his mouth, he began laughing and cackling. He fell into a fit of violent coughs. Scarlet blood dribbled from his chin to his collar, almost sketching a twisted and sneering face. Colt froze. "Curse?" 402 Light of Hope "Curse?" Colt murmured. "How can it be a curse?" On the collar, the menacing face slowly changed. The lip opened as if singing and thus, an eerie laughter sounded in Colt''s ears. "Oh, Solomon, born on Monday, baptized on Tuesdaymarried on Wednesday, sick on Thursdaysickness worsened on Friday, died on Saturdayburied into the dirt on SundayOh, Solomon, this is your tragic life" Under a sudden bout of dizziness, Colt practically toppled from the carriage. In a daze, he saw a hunched old woman stand before a big pot. She stirred the thick stew with all her effort and tossed in intestines and blood. She laughed as she sang this song from the School of Choir. The curse came from thousands of miles away. Flitting past the water surface, those green eyes seemed to sense Colt''s gaze and became mocking. "He saw me? He saw me!" The old woman squeezed her withered breasts and snickered, "Oh, my poor child, my poor child worth nine hundred thousand pounds. Don''t fight back, let granny take you away. Your ugly face makes my heart hurt. Before you die, I will be kind and give you a beautiful dream, hohoho!" Clenching his jaw, Colt took out the anti-tune sword and stabbed himself. The alchemy array on the blade instantly attacked the music theory within him, entangling with the poisonous curse deep inside him. They were both destroyed with a shudder. Colt screamed, spitting out black blood. The vague perception instantly disappeared. He could hear the pot explode and the old woman''s angry roar, "D*mmit! I won''t let you escape, you b*stard! I won''t" Taking out the sword, Colt screamed as he wrapped his wound and continued to drive the carriage, galloping. The crazy woman who hurt him seriously would not give up. She would definitely continue adding curses. He must hurry to the Knights Templar! He must make it! As if sensing his arrival, iron whales soon rose in the distant sky. One, then two, then three Under the high whale song, the group of iron whales slowly flew toward them. They seemed slow but were instantly above their heads. "They''re here! Grandmaster, they''re here!" Colt yelled, overjoyed. He jumped off the carriage and waved wildly at the sky, cheering and whooping. "I''m here! I''m here! I''m still alive! Ye Qingxuan, do you see? You can''t kill me, hahaha You''re dead now! You''re dead!" The iron whales slowly approached. But something was wrong. Starting to panic, Colt gaped at them. Why didn''t they slow down? The iron whales soared through the sky. The whistles rumbled and the whale song filled the air. They gracefully, speedily, elegantlyflew past Colt''s head and into the distance until they were just a hopeless shadow. They had not seen him at all! Colt''s smile stiffened. Feeling a chill, he was completely enveloped by fear and almost suffocated. Hysteric, he climbed onto the carriage and used all his might to shake the unconscious Philip, slapping his face. "Send the signal! Send the signal!" he screamed. His voice was as sharp as metal wires. "Tell them I''m here!" Philip coughed violently. He seemed to have finally woken up. Staring at Colt, he did not know where he was. Colt pointed at the black shadow in the sky in panic. "The Knights Templar! Send the signal!" After a long pause, Philip raised a finger with difficulty. He pressed onto the air and a wisp of light slowly lit up on his finger. It was just a flicker but Colt was overjoyed. It was such a beautiful light of hope where all the good things in the world converged But then the light was extinguished by an invisible force. The fantasy shattered. The fireplace, feast, and warmth in the light all disappeared like a fairytale. Now, Colt finally realized that a horrible cacophony had somehow covered the entire forest. It lifted the aether like a layer of thick fog and blocked all messages from going out. This was the special technique of the School of Secret Keepersthe Silent Theater. Colt felt as if he was thrown into ice. It was all over. - The iron whales flew past. Sitting on the flank of the reconnaissance ship, the observer looked down with binoculars. He could not help but pat his companion and say, "Hey look, there''s actually people in this wilderness." In his binoculars was the ecstatically dancing Colt. "I think he''s waving at us!" The other took a glance. Seeing the face twisted in happiness, he shook his head and laughed. "Probably some ignorant farmer. Seeing the fleet is like seeing a miracle. It''s normal." The observer placed the binoculars to the side and sighed. "I was like them when I first saw the fleet back in the day." "Yeah." The companion smoked, his eyes growing nostalgic. "Who wasn''t?" - In the morning a few hours ago, a messenger on a gray horse rushed into the camp of the Knights Templar. Finding the one in charge, he sent up the order. Bann read it and shook his head. "I remember the nation gave us two more days to remain here." The messenger looked aghast. "I''m sorry, Your Excellency. I know this request is inhumane but we''ve drawn out another camp for you to rest in. It''s two hundred kilometers away." Pausing, he muttered, "Those *ssholes at Water Management. They just get more corrupted! The water factory established just last year has stopped. You can''t get any water from underground and all the water suppliers for the nearby villages have stopped. We can''t even promise you can receive water regularly here. "We must dig a temporary well for this camp and ensure emergency supplyingI''m sorry, but this is the letter from up above." He took out the letter and handed it over to Bann. After reading quickly, Bann nodded. "Please tell Minister Quin that we are guests and for such events, your nation''s matters are top priority. We do not need the other camp. The iron whales are mostly prepared already. We can return to the Sacred City to rest. If we leave soon, we should be back by night." The messenger was overjoyed. "Thank you for your understanding." With Bann''s command, the silent camp quickly became filled with noise. The knights speedily packed up their belongings and tents, transporting everything onto the ships with order. A short two hours later, the entire camp was ready to go. The iron whales rose into the sky, filling it with the song of return. They were going home. - While Colt''s light of hope was extinguished, a hoarse voice traveled from a tuning instrument in the distance. "The ''silent theater'' is already complete," Heisenberg said. "Ye Qingxuan, this is the last time the Secret Keepers will help you. I hope you will fulfil our promise next." "I''ve already prepared everything. Please don''t worry." Behind the long table, Ye Qingxuan held his chin and studied the map. A trail of blood dots slowly extended north toward the Sacred City. He stared at the scraggly trail as if studying a masterpiece and murmured, "There will be no problems." "Oh? I would love to hear the details." Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s tone, Heisenberg could not help but feel curious. Using the Secret Keepers'' ability, he had naturally kept an eye on Ye Qingxuan''s plans these days. However, Heisenberg could not discover what else he had. Philip was already sapped dry but a grandmaster who used ''God''s Discipline'' as a theme for his symphony of predestination would never be easy to fight. Therefore, he was curious as to what Ye Qingxuan had planned. At this, Ye Qingxuan smiled mysteriously. - At the same time, a young hand yanked up the weeds in the wilderness. Not caring about the dirt and bugs, he stuffed a handful into his mouth. He chewed with gusto; green juice dribbled from his lips. The fourteen-year-old looked like a wild child, despite his long gold locks and majestic features. "Uncle, uncle." He tugged at the man''s clothes pitifully. "I''m hungry." "Just eat something. Here, take this." The man pointed at a tree carelessly. The youth opened his mouth. Invisible dragon breath transformed into a gaping mouth that yanked the entire tree up. It disappeared somewhere. There were sounds of wood shattering and being chewed. But the boy''s stomach continued rumbling and grumbling. The man sighed. He squatted down and looked at his sad nephew, patting his head. "My good nephew, please endure it. It''s rare for Uncle''s friend to come to me for help. He even gave me money!" With that, he raised a finger. "With that money, I can raise you for a long time! I''ll make you steak when we go back, how about that?" The boy shook his head sadly. "I want five cows." "Then, five it is! Deal."''Uncle'' clapped his hands happily. Straightening, he gazed at the shambling carriage in the distance and smiled eerily. "I had a feeling he would contact me but I didn''t think that his first time would be such a big job" 403 Trade With a Loss "Hehe" In the carriage, the muddled grandmaster Philip suddenly woke up. He widened his burnt eyes. The corners of his eyes tore apart and bloody tears flowed out. As if suddenly recovered from his injured state, he sprang up from the straw. The bloody crusts stuck with straw were ripped. Viscous blood seeped from the wounds. "Grandmaster?" Colt was overjoyed. He pointed at the black dot in the sky that was about to disappear. "Hurry" But Philip heard nothing. His blood-covered empty eyes stared deep into the wilderness, shooting out white light. Where his gaze fell, the golden-hair boy squatted on the ground with a confused expression. He munched happily on half a toad he had dug out from the dirt "Uncle, I think he saw me." He swallowed the other half of the toad. "Oh." Naberius squatted on a stump and slowly rolled his tobacco with an indifferent expression. "Then let him look." "He''s so ugly." Mordred wiped his mouth. "I''m a little scared. Can I hit him?" "Don''t be impatient." Naberius finished and lit the roll to have a smoke. "Wait a bit more." Seeing those blank yet menacing eyes, Mordred suddenlyhad a great appetite! Bearing his hunger, he licked his lips. "How much longer?" Naberius laughed. Looking back, he glanced at Philip whose eyes were empty yet fierce. "A bit longer," he said. "That old thing still has strength to make it hard for us." At that moment, Philip rasped out, "Colt, run." His flesh crackled and popped. Dried blood and dust were suddenly hit off by a surge of blood. His body bled everywhere but it represented a shocking vitality. His deteriorated cells were dancing and cheering, quickly healing his wounds. In an instant, the blood was washed away by light. Philip was no longer old. He had recovered his youth and his mind was clear. His skin was white and unmarred. His white hair seemed to be burning as if he had thrown his soul into the firein exchange for strength. A light yet mournful song resounded in his body. His bones were vibrating and his organs were singing. The score of sacrifice from the School of Choir was being played. "I''ll stop them." Philip reached out to Colt''s shoulder. The Choir song sang from thin air and fell onto Colt. It chased away the maggot-like curse and transformed into vague wings in his back. It was sacrificial aid. "Colt, run." He looked into the distance at Naberius and grasped his broken sword. "Go toward the Sacred City. Go as far as you can." Finally understanding something, Colt paled considerably. He almost collapsed onto the ground but he clenched his jaw and abandoned the carriage. He turned and left without daring to look back. Under the aid, his speed was incredible. He disappeared in an instant. "These believers are so narrow-minded. They don''t even care about their lives." Naberius sighed. "Why don''t they want to live? They don''t see themselves as people and don''t see others as people So how are they different from us dark musicians?" No one replied to his taunting. Staring at him, Philip raised his broken sword and brought it between his brows. "I vow to destroy the demons," he said. The score of discipline rumbled. Majestic light emerged behind him. The cracked halo of light burned fervently. The blue fire seemed to come from purgatory; it was terrifying. The cries of countless sinners traveled from it. In Purgatory, countless sleeping eyes opened. The figures clad in red gazed at the dirty world and cried in unison, "I vow to destroy the demons!" The voices roared like an avalanche, like a hurricane. In an instant, the silent bell in the Sacred City rang. The stone coffins in the dark corner of the Holy Spirit Hall shook. The sleeping spirits awoke and opened their eyes, looking into this direction. Thus, holy light fell from the sky. The white-gold light was so hot, so pure, and clean to the point that it could bear no tainting. Everything that touched it was vaporized. Under the pouring of light, Philip expanded until he was a two-meter tall giant. The halo of power spun behind him. It rumbled, calling for lightning to transform into wings. In an instant, even the sun seemed to dim in comparison. All that remained in the world was this pure and flawless light. "F*ck, Holy Spirit transformationwhy do you guys keep doing this stuff?" Naberius swore. "No wonder he gave so much money. They''re waiting for me here." Then the light sliced his head off. The head opened its mouth and sneered. - The moment the Sacred City bell rang, the young musician praying in the hall opened his eyes. He quickly walked out of the hall and ran through the Papal Palace. Passing through the doors, he walked along the hall and entered the depths. He knocked on the door. "Enter," someone behind the door said. The musician entered and bowed his head politely. He did not dare look at the bishops sitting around the table. He offered a map. "I found grandmaster Philip! He is not far from the Sacred City, only a few hundred meters away, but he used the Holy Spirit transformation. He may, unfortunately, beat risk." In the dim room, heavy curtains blocked the light. The room was filled with the thick odor of medicine. The priests had been discussing quietly for an emergency meeting. Hearing the musician''s words, they froze and stared at each other. "I did not expect the situation to be so grave." An old priest in red nodded and looked into the depth of the room. Behind the drapes was a coughing and frail figure. "Archbishop, let me go." Behind the drapes, the figure opened his mouth but quickly started coughing. "This battle is truly difficult," a hoarse voice came brokenly between coughs. "Through the years, the Ministry of Information has been declining with no hope for rising again. New blood is rare Father Will, please take them back." "Yes, Father." Will nodded respectfully. "The others" The figure hacked and doubled over. He uttered painfully, "The othersjust clear them out." "Yes, Father." Nodding, Will rose. A servant came over with his sword and armor. He rushed out of the palace with his sword. Soon, a ray of light shot into the air and sped toward the distance. Silence returned to the dim room. The only sound was the coughs behind the drapes. "Archbishop," someone asked cautiously, "how should we deal with this?" "This?" The man did not seem to understand. Which event? During these past few days, too many things had happened and all were major events No one would have thought that a new mess would arise before the betrayal of the Romulusians truly ended. The craziness of Anglo''s new sword bearer had shocked everyone. So many people had gotten up and fought secretly because of this. It had affected so many people and even the Sacred City''s dignity was involved. Some people had definite stances while others were not. The most frustrating fact was that the Papal Chamber did not say anything. Even the Silent Authority had started investigating So how should this be dealt with? The man behind the drapes only coughed. - The beam of light flew across the Sacred City with scary speed. Flying in the half-aetheric state, it was comparable to the speed of sound. Within a few minutes, it had crossed the long distance. However, the closer he was, the stronger the sense of danger in Will. He instantly appeared within the location marked on the map. He was amongst an endless mountain range. There was a large mine under his feet. Machines rumbled and countless people bustled around. "Here?" Closing his eyes as he sensed, the light descended. As the people screamed in terror, he brought his sword down. Breaking apart a boulder, he revealed a scrap of red cloth. It was from Philip''s robe. Will''s face darkened. He closed his eyes and sang a hymn. After a few measures, the prediction score from Revelations sent a sign. Sixty kilometers to the north. The light flashed and appeared sixty kilometers away. In the wilderness, a clump of burnt hair hung from a branch. Frowning, Will sang again. The revelation said: thirty kilometers to the east. Will did not move. He sang once again and another revelation appeared: nineteen kilometers to the south. He continued using the music score to track Philip but they pointed in all directions with dozens of different results. Boom! In anger, the blade gouged the earth. Will was livid as he finally realized that someone was using the ''medium misleading'' of Revelations to disrupt his perceptions. All Revelations music scores would lead to the wrong result! To strengthen the effect, someone had probably scattered objects with Philip and Colt''s aura all around the Sacred City! If Will put effort in to look deeply, he could sense the differences between the media, but in a hurry, he could not tell. He could only rush in the wrong locations. And now, someone had probably already isolated him. He was late As veins bulged, Will roared in anger. - The true battlefield was in the distance. The wilderness had been scorched. The earth was wounded and turned to singed soil. It was as if giants had been fighting here and destroyed everything. A mountain in the distance collapsed. A tragic crack had opened in the land as well. Deep inside, lava shone vaguely. It was the scar left by the Sword of Judgement. The disordered aether created a turbid mass. The music theory here had become tangled and would not recover for years. In the center, Naberius with a chest riddled with holes crawled out of the lava. He roared in pain, "This timereally is a loss" 404 A Sword on the Ground "Mordy, how many times have I told you that you must be careful with the dragon breath?" Naberius was out of breath. "If Uncle didn''t complete the symphony of predestination two days ago, I would have died from that." "Oh" Mordred nodded, half understanding, creating a gust of wind. Before Naberius was a menacing beast. It had its back to the sun and cast a terrifying shadow. Countless scales glinted with cold light like blades. When it spoke, it spat out sulfur and fire, creating gales of wind and sparks. It was a giant black dragon! "Thankfully I just completed the symphony. I really would''ve died." Naberius raised his mostly-complete left hand and climbed up the dragon from the nose and head. He stabbed himself. Looking at his riddled body, he could not help but feel sad. "Since when did grandmasters die so easily? Seems like it''s still better to hurry and create ''Legend.'' Being a scepter is much more reliable. Ah, let''s go. Hurry!" he urged. "Remember to eat all the evidence." "Yes, uncle." Mordred opened his mouth and inhaled. A hole to the Dark World seemed to open up. Everything in sight was swallowed. His dragon breath surged. It swept across the land and the soil overturned, burying everything under. He specialized in killing and setting fire, burning all bodies and traces. Naberius felt around his scorched pocket. He took out some seeds and scattered them carelessly. He sang a Choir song to urge growth. Soon, a few seeds sprouted. Dots of green appeared on the ground and began growing. It looked odd upon inspection but at least it was not as much of an eyesore as the original barren land. The wilderness was so large. Even if the Sacred City investigated intensively, it would still take forever to get results. "Finally finished the task." Naberius chuckled from the back of the dragon as they soared. "I hope that friend won''t be too na?ve." He looked in Colt''s direction and squinted. He murmured, "Sometimes, the way things develop are not always as one wishes" - After waiting long enough, the priest disguised as a merchant finally found his target. It was the dark saint of Avalon, the controller of more than half of the smuggling between the East and West, the heir of the Shaman, the new sword bearer of AngloYe Qingxuan''sagent. In an emptied tavern beside the port, Watson sat at a table and poured a glass for himself. He looked up at the dusty traveler. "Mr. Watson, I''m sure you know why I am here." The newcomer lifted his collar, revealing the emblem of the Ministry of Information. His expression was coldly serious. "I request to see Mr. Ye and speak directly to him. This is the last chance. I hope you will value it." On the wheelchair, Watson nonchalantly picked up the glass. Without adding any salt or lemon juice, he threw his head back and downed the glass. Then he placed it on the table lightly. "You don''t qualify," he stated. "Just tell me. I''m the one in charge of the violent crimes. Does the Ministry have some dirty work for us? I''m pleasantly surprised and flattered." Despite his words, he was not pleasantly surprised at all. His tone was mocking. Anger flashed past the priest''s face but he forced it down. He took out a letter and passed it to Watson, who removed the seal. He scanned it over and, seeing the signature at the bottom, his expression grew serious. It was a guarantee from a Papal Chamber''s archbishop. "We can let go of past wrongdoings," the priest uttered, studying Watson''s changing expression, "but Colt must live." Ever since the Inquisition was divided by the nations, the Ministry of Information began declining, just like the leader''s health. Being pushed to the side and dissolved was just a matter of time. Under this situation, they needed an achievement more than anything. Now, they finally received new blood in the form of a musician with a bright future close to becoming a saint. Their comeback was so soon. But then Ye Qingxuan slapped them in the face and tore apart their last shred of dignity. What could the furious Ministry do? "Actually, there''s something I''m curious about" Watson said in a low and careful voice. "Do you really not know what Colt did before? Ordo you not care?" "You need not worry about our own matters," the priest replied indifferently. "No matter what, Colt is the hero who saved the War of Romulus and the only one who passed the trial. He was rewarded by the Pope and is a future saint. We cannot allow him to be treated like so." "And you''ll do everything to uphold his image, right?" Watson laughed. "Otherwise, if his image is tarnished, everything you''ve done will become meaningless, right? "Back then, you accepted Colt''s request without asking the Papal Chamber''s opinion and now you realize he''s a hot potato but you can''t toss him away If you admit defeat now, your reputation will be ruined completely. "I''m sure you''ve been hesitating these past few days, right? Otherwise, you would have come the first day my boss went crazy." The priest did not reply. His expression grew livid until he finally said, "I believe that my presence and the promise in the letter is enough to express our sincerity. I hope you will stop before it''s too late. Stop the personal fight now. Otherwise, no one will win." "Personalfight?" Watson scoffed. "Just move your lips and the result is set, as simple as when you convicted criminals back in the day. Sadly, I don''t take that. The Papal Chamber hasn''t released a statement yet. What are you so impatient over?" "If you stop now, things can still be salvaged. You should know that you''ve already attacked a church and killed a reverent priest! We can let this go but if you take advantage of our kindness, Anglo will be unable to report to the Sacred City!" The priest raised his voice, "How will you end things at that time? Not even the royal family can save you!" He paused, his eyes growing meaningful. "Or do you think Anglo will still support you?" Watson frowned. He sensed something strange and had a bad premonition. "Be straightforward, sir," Watson said coldly. "Don''t just come with a mild letter of apology. Show me your true cards." The priest smiled mysteriously. "You''ll see," he said. Soon, someone hurried into the tavern. He bent over to whisper in Watson''s ears. His expression darkened immediately. "Are those his original words?" he asked. "Yes." The follower lowered his head. "He wants you to stop." "Is he crazy?" Watson raged, glaring at the man. "If Colt makes it to the Sacred City alive, the consequences will be endless. Doesn''t he understand?" Stared at by those furious eyes, the follower paled. Watson quickly pushed down his anger and waved him away. "How is it?" the priest asked with a half-smile. Watson glared coldly. He pointed at the door. "You''ve won, sir. Scram now." He said indifferently, "Colt will reach the Sacred City alive. Those are that idiot''s original words. I don''t know what you used to convince him but if that is his decision, I will follow it." Thus, the priest smiled. He rose and extended a hand. "Then, we shall cooperate happily." Without looking at him, Watson turned his wheelchair and left. - Ten minutes ago, Ye Qingxuan sat in a secret room and glared at Maxwell. "Why?" he asked. Maxwell sighed. "St. George''s spear. The archbishop of the Ministry promised the royal family that he''ll retrieve the lost St. George''s spear from the ruins." "Just for that?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Maxwell, I see I didn''t wrong you. You are a qualified merchant. I''m impressed at how easily you reaped in the profits." "Ye Qingxuan, Anglo has never needed that weapon as much as now. We can only have the possibility to defeat Leviathan with it," Maxwell said seriously. "This isn''t just for me! Do you know how many people will die without that weapon?" "So you''ll overlook ''justice''?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at him in disappointment. "You''ll just pretend Colt never did those things?" "Ye Qingxuan" Maxwell looked at him with troubled eyes. After a while, he sighed weakly. "I''m sorry to disappoint you. You only compete about beauty in a child''s world. In the adult word, we compete for dirtiness. "I''m begging you, alright? So what if you let him go now? You are the sword bearer of Anglo, the inheritor of the sword that chooses the king, the next minister of Anglo! You''ll have so many chances to kill him! Why must you insist on it now?" There was long, long silence. Ye Qingxuan laughed. Lowering his head, he seemed to be laughing at himself. "I understand." He closed his eyes. "Tell Watson to stop and let Colt return to the Sacred City." Maxwell managed a smile but there was no joy. There were so many things he wanted to say but didn''t. Finally, he rose and said, "I owe you." Without replying, Ye Qingxuan pointed at the door. Maxwell sighed and left. The door closed. In the dim light, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. - "Please give me the courage to fly." Black rain fell from the sky. Colt saw a girl in a white dress walk in the rain. She dragged her small bag as if it contained her entire world. She sang in the rain and walked to somewhere far away. "Test my heart, don''t say you regret it The old house is shining, sighing" The song lingered in his ears gently. However, in this silent world, it was terrifying. Colt reached out to stop her but he could not catch up. "There is only silence for eternity" The torrent of rain isolated everything. The dark rain seemed to want to dye the entire world black and wash away all disguises. The world shook. The towering buildings became scarlet red. Dust fell from the majestic palace. The layers of carvings on the walls seemed like a web of blood vessels. They were breathing. The towers shook and laughed in the rain. The steps scraped like gnashing teeth. Bits of flesh and bone remained as if the beast did not finish eating. "Colt, Colt, you''re finally here," someone cheered happily with a smile. "We''ve been waiting for you." The crowd waiting in the rain cheered. They rushed over enthusiastically and waved. "Hurry! Come! We''ve been waiting!" Colt looked at them in confusion. "Whoare you?" "Colt, it''s me." In the distance, a man waved and said gently, "Ah, you''ve forgotten me. I''m the friend who brought you into the Rock Institute." "And me, I''m your senior. I was the best to you, Colt. Do you still remember me?" "I was your first teacher, Colt. I knew that you would make a name for yourself." "Colt, I''m your younger brother. Did you forget?" The child under a raincoat hugged his arms and pleaded, "It''s so cold here and it''s raining. Let''s not stand here anymore and go inside to the fireplace." "Please come." "Yes, we''ve been waiting." They waved warmly and called for Colt but he involuntarily stepped back with a pale face. "I can''t." "Why?" They grew sad. "We''ve been separated for such a long time." "Becausebecause" Colt stepped back. His features twisted. "You''re all dead." "No, Colt." They shook their heads, smiling. "We just left you to a faraway place." "You''re all dead." Colt gritted his teeth, his eyes darkening. "I killed all of you personally." In that moment, the cheers cut off. Screams and roars began. The rain washed their faces, washing away their skin. Their red flesh and menacing features were revealed. They screamed, clawing with sharp nails. "It hurts, Colt," someone cried. "It''s so dark here. Come help us." "I''m gonna rip you apart! B*stard, I''ve been waiting for decades!" someone roared. He tried to rush over but was stopped by an invisible barrier. "Coward, I''ll kill you! Every day! I''ll return the pain you gave me thousand-fold!" "Come here, Colt!" they yelled and laughed hysterically. "You have nowhere to run to." Colt stumbled back but he felt cornered. "Whereis this?" "This is hell, Colt," someone said gently behind him. "You''re dying so you saw hell. Soon, you''ll crossover. After all these years, there are so many people waiting for you." "I won''t die!" Colt spun around and yelled, "I have such a bright future! How can I die?" "You will." The comer lifted his hood, revealing hair as white as bone. Seeing Colt''s blank stare, he laughed. He reached out, gripping Colt''s neck, and looked down on him. "I came from there and I''ll bring you back." His grip was like a vise. Voice like grating metal, he said eerily, "I swore before that I will find you. The world is so large but you have nowhere to go." "YeQingxuan" A shriek burst from Colt''s throat. His eyes widened, staring menacingly at the face before his eyes. "You won''t beat meI can defeat you once, I can defeat you again!" Using all his might, he yanked out a sword and stabbed the figure''s throat. Blood spurted out. Roaring, he cut off the head. Under the black rain, the figure disappeared like a hallucination. The demons and beasts vanished as well. Hell faded into the distance. All that remained was the endless rain. In the pouring rain, someone murmured, "You''ll return here. You will" Colt opened his eyes. He felt liquid fall onto his face. It was blood. The cave was filled with the pungent and heavy odor of decay. He had taken out a sword without him realizing and stabbed it into the stone wall before him. The blade passed through a venomous green snake. It writhed in pain. Venom dripped from its fangs, only a centimeter away from Colt''s neck. He stared at it coldly, watching it struggle and die bit by bit until it fell silent. Then he tore it apart, skinned it, and devoured the flesh. Blood dripped onto the broken blade. The metal reflected his bedraggled face. After running wildly during the night, he had hidden inside this cave like a beast. Even his eyes were beastly now. Weak morning light fell from a crack behind him. It illuminated the name he had carved onto the wall in pain. Of varying sizes, the scraggly names filled the wall. They all came from the same person and had all been scratched away by the sword. "No one can stop me. I will live on," Colt murmured as he chewed on the snake bone. He seemed to be reminding himself, to keep himself from forgetting. As if the snake blood gave him strength, he recovered from the rink of death. His poisoned wounds healed and his fever abated. Reaching out, he yanked down the blood-sucking insects on him one by one. Then he used his sword to trim his unruly hair. Finally, he crawled out of the cave. He had used all of his strength to shed his outer shell like a snake writhing in pain and stood under the sun again. The sunlight shone on his frail features but could not chase away the darkness in his eyes. He panted and forged on, crossing the thorns and shrubs. He forged on, fell down, and climbed back up. He traveled across the wilderness, the forest, and the murky waters. He crawled on the ground, past the last quagmire, and onto a slope. Forward, forwardstruggling on Finally, his eyes were illuminated by the sharp light in the distance. The long and narrow towers pierced the air. They extended deep into the clouds and stood like a forest. Heavy bells rang one after another, seeming to push the falling sky back up. Pure singing floated down from the highest tower and spread in all directions. It was made of metal; the entire city was made of metal. Even the earth emanated with a metallic scent. It refracted the blazing sun with a burning glow. Countless people passed by. Carriages rushed past, ships on the river whistled, and iron whales seemed to survey in the air. The large city that rose up in levels was situated at the center of the world. It controlled the vast aether sea, balancing the aether density of the human world, guarding against the Dark World. "The Sacred City" Colt held his breath. This was the immortal city, the city of steel, the city of one thousand spires, the city of the phoenixIt was the center of the world, the peak of everything. "The Sacred City!" Colt laughed uproariously in ecstasy. He danced, almost losing his breath from laughing. "I''m still alive! Do you see, Ye Qingxuan? You can''t kill me! I''m still alive!" He sprawled on the ground and kissed the dust that flew up from the road. Like a lunatic, tears and snot flowed down his face. The passersby glanced over in confusion. At the end of the long road, a line of armored knights galloped over on his horse. They carried swords and shields. The shields'' emblem was two overlapped keys, representing the holy message. The leading priest looked majestic in his black robe. In their path, the believers knelt and gazed reverently at their backs. But the knights stopped before a seemingly crazy beggar and half-knelt. The black robed priest walked forward, holding a new robe in both hands. It was pure white with gold designs, radiating power and holiness. "Lord Colt, under the Bishop''s command, you shall be promoted to the Ministry of Information." He lowered his head and offered the robe. "I was ordered to welcome you. Please mount the horse." After a long, long pause, Colt laughed from the dust. It was a full and hearty laugh. He climbed up and yanked over the robe, covering himself with the pure whiteness. He transformed into someone majestic and stern, up above everyone else. His eyes seemed to burn. "Let''s go." Mounting the horse, he looked at the city of steel in the distance with blazing eyes. "To the Sacred City!" He was still alive and he would live on. He would go to the Sacred Cityand take back what belonged to him. No matter the consequences! He would do anything it took to climb to the top! - It was a sweltering afternoon. The city guards were all drenched in sweat. The mass of people surged; carriages streamed past the city gates. They included wealthy nobles, ragged believers who came by foot, messengers, and diplomats from various nations More than one-hundred thousand people passed through the Sacred City gates each day. However, this time, most of the people grouped at the gates and looked into the distance. The market outside the city instantly became jammed. People pushing against each other took up every high spot. In the corner of the crowd, an old man with his bags and a cane studied them with a look of lament. "The Sacred City truly is impressive. There are so many people even at the city gates. It''s eye-opening." "Old man, is it your first time here?" Someone beside him looked at his dustiness and smiled. "It''s rare for this to happen at the Sacred City too. You''re lucky." "Really?" The old man chuckled. "I guess my luck is not too bad." "Who''s coming?" someone asked. "The hero from the Romulusian revolt. Who else? Of course, it''s the star of the new generation of musicians, the future scepter grandmaster!" "Why did he come so suddenly? No one promoted it. Otherwise, there would be even more people here." "Ha, you don''t know." Someone smiled mysteriously. "Apparently, Grandmaster Colt helped the Ministry of Information wipe out dozens of satanic cult locations after the war. His achievements even shocked the Sacred City. For safety, he traveled secretly and didn''t reveal his identity until he almost made it to the Sacred City." "I see." The passersby nodded, impressed. The old man nodded in agreement, lamenting with them. He was tired from his journey. Setting down his cane, he sat down against the city walls. He started tuning his six-string violin, thrumming the strings. The melody was lost in the hustle bustle. "Are you preparing an ode?" A little kid with a pinwheel looked at him curiously. "I heard that when hero''s come back, musicians would give odes." "Something like that." The old musician smiled and looked at his instrument. "I will if I have the chance." The crowd''s volume increased sharply. Under the clattering of hooves, cheers rang out. The hero had returned. - "That''s the new star of the Ministry of Information?" On the high tower, Mr. Hu looked at the rising clouds of dust. Beside him was an old and average-looking cardinal. Hearing his question, he asked in return, "What is your opinion?" Mr. Hu smiled and did not reply. He just looked down and studied the world. "After being here for so long, you start thinking that many things are not important anymore," he said quietly. "Just like in the legends, the Devas in heaven are immortal and know no troubles. The resentment and deaths on the ground do not even deserve to be spoken of in the sky." "Is that an Eastern legend?" The old priest sighed. "Some things are the same, whether Eastern or Western." "Yes." Mr. Hu looked up. He studied the blazing sun and his eyes were covered in a sheen of dazzling gold. "There are no troubles in heaven. They do not know there is blood, killing, and fighting on the ground. They do not know eagles can assassinate the emperor, that meteorites can attack the sun, that the white rainbow can pierce the sun. So they do not know that" His hand unconsciously reached to his waist but there was nothing there. His expression darkened and he sighed. "There is a sword on the ground." In that moment, the sword was pulled out. In the crowd, a hand held a pocket watch. Thus, ''Faust'' opened its eyes. "Time, please stop," a desolate voice sang, filled with pain and hope. "Because you are so beautiful." 405 Wash Blood with Blood "Time, please stop because you are so beautiful." Under the distant song, the climax of Faust was activated. Time turned, burning red-hot, and almost self-destructed. The time flowing through the aether sea suddenly stopped. All music score changes were forcefully frozen. This time, the melody had followed the music theory of Abstinence, rather than targeting the ''stopping'' of the material world. Instead, it acted directly upon the aether, forcing the aether sea to stop changing and reacting to the world. It cut off the path for musicians to resonate with the sea and forced all musicians below the Resonance level. At that moment, an overlooked knight in the procession suddenly raised a finger. His armor shook and countless music notes flowed from his fingertip. It sketched out a vast structure, going toward the frozen aether sea. The surrounding air warped as if tugged at by a strong attractive force. The mature music theory was disturbing the materials, distorting reality. It was the Distortion level! There was a musician only one step away from becoming a grandmaster hidden in the knights! Endless changes were put into the music theory. The multileveled formulas operated instantly, measure by measure. They transformed into a burning hammer that shattered the ice. Boom! Music theories collided. The piercing noise made everyone''s vision go black. The expression of the ''knight'' changed. His raised finger shook and splintered like a segment of bamboo. Fresh blood flew out. The droplets evaporated in the disordered music theory, froze, or disappeared. From his fingertip to his arms, the armor twisted like dried seaweed. It cracked apart, revealing mangled flesh. "How" he murmured blankly. Something broke inside of him and his organs shattered. He fell off the horse. The aether sea froze completely. In the crowd, many people paled. It felt like they had suddenly lost an important sensory organ, as if they had gone blind, deaf, mute, or could not touch anymore. Resonance musicians co-existed with the aether sea at every second. They rose up in levels and developed due to it. As the aether sea froze and their resonance with the source disappeared, they instantly fell from the Resonance level. People yelped in shock belatedly. Riot spread through the crowd. Controlled by the hidden Mind score, terror, and panic burst. The crowd scattered and chaos formed outside the city gates. "Ye Qingxuan" Within the mess, Colt stared at the musician''s broken face. He looked up in all directions, yelling, "Come out, Ye Qingxuan! I know you''re here!" No one replied. In this afternoon, under the hot sunlight and among the flying dust, a hoarse song traveled from the distance. "The final judgment will arrive; fire will spread through the graves, burning the organs. The souls will wander from the underworld." Under the city gates, the old musician strummed his instrument. He sang quietly to bless the hero, "Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?" Colt''s head shot up and looked through the crowd. In the back of the crowd, the musician sang with his head lowered. As if a switch was turned on, the eyes of the black-robed priest behind Colt suddenly went blank. He raised his hand subconsciously and pulled a crossbow out of his robes. As if he had practiced this thousands of times, he pressed it to the back of Colt''s head and pressed the trigger. The springs let go, and a poisonous dart shot out. That moment, Colt lowered his head and rolled off the horse. The arrow scraped past his messy hair and nicked the shoulder of the lead knight. Only scraping the skin, the knight instantly fell off. Half of his body went numb, and his lips quickly turned dark blue, his face bloating. This was not toxic poison. It was something more terrifyingblood clotting agent. Choir musicians used it to stop gravely wounded soldiers from bleeding. If the decimal of the density level was changed, it could turn the wounded into a rubber toy. All the blood would coagulate, and nothing could fix it. "There is no way to break the curse, to medicine to heal you, nowhere to go. To where else can you go to plead?" the musician sang. "Oh, Lazarus, how will you repay your debt? Oh, Lazarus, are you panicking?" Missing the first one, the priest aimed his crossbow again and pulled the trigger. Colt grabbed a knight''s shield and blocked the arrow. Whistles and crashes sounded continuously. Arrows landed on the shields, caving them in and shattering them. The shields were pulverized by the frightened horses. Behind a shield, Colt pulled out his sword and stabbed the neck of the priest''s horse. The stallion screamed and stood up. The blank priest fell off, and the panicking horse quickly trampled him into ground meat. However, until death, the priest''s eyes were still blank, and his mouth was open, murmuring something silently. "Ye Qingxuan" Colt spun around. He glared at the musician menacingly. "I knew it was you!" "Time is short, and death is rushing," the musician sang hoarsely as he played his instrument. "Look, fire is burning my body. It''s burning my soul, seeping into my bones. There is nowhere to hide, no way to run. There is nowhere to run to!" "Capture the attacker!" Colt roared to the knights. "No, kill him! Kill him now!" Controlling his horse, he studied Ye Qingxuan''s face coldly. "Stop dreaming, Ye Qingxuan," he murmured. "You can''t kill me in Hell, and you can''t kill me here! I''m the winner, and it''ll be like that forever!" If he had been terrified before, he was no longer scared now. Ye Qingxuan had gone completely crazy This was the Sacred City! There were so many different schools, grandmasters, and musicians here. The world''s largest enchantment enveloped this city day and night. The Starry Temple controlled the aether waves of the human world. This was the most guarded place in the world! Even the Secret Keepers could not protect him here. The moment he chose to act, he already became the enemy of the entire Sacred City! No one could save him anymore! But for some reason, Colt felt a tinge of panic. Whydidn''t the Sacred City do anything yet? He glanced at the city gates with his peripheral vision. The bustling streets were still the same; nothing had happened. No one had realized that there had been an assassination attempt right before the city gates! With every second that passed, the unrest grew. What was happening? Clenching his jaw, he gripped the reins until his knuckles turned white. The knights unsheathed their swords; the stallions panted, and the metal hooves sounded like a thunderstorm. Dozens of knights urged their horses over, galloping and dragging their heavy swords, gouging the ground. Besides Colt, the knights took off their helmets. They performed a music score, gathering the aether. Though they were no longer at the Resonance level, they could still perform countless restraining scores under coherence. The earth rumbled, fire brewed, and the air condensed Dozens of music scores shot out at once, sealing off everywhere the enemy could hide. The clattering hooves arrived. The knights cast black shadows from above the horses. They raised their long swords and brought them down on the musician! At that moment, the wind lifted the musician''s hood, revealing bone-white hair. "Can''t you see my regret? I will make your life worth it" he sang with his head down. "Greed and lust, death and dust, can you see my smile within?" Under the gales of wind, his long hair danced like electric silver. Beside him, the cane leaned on the wall suddenly erupted with blazing electricity. It flooded out! Thunder and lightning cracked. Electric light moved like a cobra, leaving black scorch marks in its path. Like an angry whip, it tore apart all music scores! Surging forward, it jumped between the armor and long swords. The metal melted into red-hot liquid, the horses fell with screams, and the knights vaporized. The countless wild lightning bolts seemed to weave into a vague yet awesome imageit was the god of thunder, Indrah! Everyone, including Colt, was shocked. With the aether sea frozen, it was hard for anyone to resonate. Restricted like this, they could only rely on the free aether in the air. No one expected that someone could so easily complete such a vast music score and fight enemies that outnumbered him. He could even recreate a fallen saint''s spirit! "This is definitely not the musician level" A middle-aged priest stared at Ye Qingxuan. Studying his chest, he tried to find the heart of sound. However, no matter how he probed, the chest cavity was empty. There was no response or any resonance! It seemed to be an empty hole. There was no music theory or aether. All that existed in a shocking void that swallowed all noise Sensing his probing, something started brewing in the darkness. It was like the sapling of destruction, showing the tip of the iceberg. In an instant, the priest''s eyes filled with blood. The corners cracked, and tears of blood streamed down his white face. He screamed, "Wha-what are you?!" Behind the flying dust, the man kept his head lowered as he played the six-stringed instrument. His hoarse voice spread throughout. "Lazarus, do you see the wildfire burning so richly? Do you see the hellhound, staring so intimidatingly? Are you panicking now? But Lazarus, how will you repay the debts?" Under the low song, lightning burned and danced wildly. On the cane, the cracked gem shattered completely. In its place, the fallen Holy Spirit was reborn in the lightning. Unprecedented, it opened its eyes. The world roared! As the land shook, the iron walls reflected the blinding electric light. The song transformed into a judgment from the underworld. It filled the air. "Lazarus, the wildfire is burning," he sang. "It is burning, fire shooting into the sky. The faraway stars will not be able to guide you I will write my name with blood. Lazarus, wash blood with blood and write thy name! Wash blood with blood and create thy name!" The instrument strings snapped. The weathered six-stringed instrument broke apart. Lightning poured from it. The world was so dark. Lightning solidified in his hands. With the apparition of Indrah, he aimed at his enemy, locking onto Colt. Pained by the lightning, Colt''s face reddened. All the blood seemed to collect on his face. "Ye Qingxuan!" Roaring, he pulled out the anti-tune and sliced down at the music theory composed of countless lightning bolts. Boom! The anti-tune sword shattered and melted in the air. Then the lightning passed through all the protection, crushing the defense. No matter if it was water, mud, shields, or legendary phantom beasts, they all became fragile bubbles before the lightning. Everything broke apart! Instantly, dozens of musicians turned to dust. The lightning surged forward like a dragon. It swallowed Colt''s arm. And then there was an angry roar in the air, "Presumptuous!" The majestic bells rang one after another. With pure, saintly light, Will descended from the sky. The glorious Score of God''s Punishment sounded. It collided with the shackles of Faust. The Double Snake Time Meter shook; the red-hot needle trembled and sped up. It could not continue for much longer. In an instant, six beams of light flew from the Sacred City. They carried immense power, slamming against Faust''s territory like falling stars. They still carried echoes of the bells of the Sacred City! Every ring of the bell represented reinforcement of the Sacred City. Their power surpassed that of the Distortion level, moving close to the level of grandmasters. Under the attack of six grandmasters, a hole appeared in the frozen aether sea. Under the glow of God''s Punishment, Will descended and shielded Colt. He brought his sword down on the wild lightning. At the same time, the priests in the beam of light went into coherence. The forced the frozen aether sea apart, absorbing the immense power. Countless complex music theories were constructed, releasing a pure and ethereal hymn. "Holy! Holy! Holy! The Holy King! Light fills the world! All praise belongs to the almighty lord!" It was "Requiem C Holy." An unyielding barrier was constructed, protecting Colt. In an instant, the devastating lightning flooded onto it. Soil melted into red-hot liquid like sulfur. Faced with the terrifying attack, the light around Will trembled. He stumbled back. Half of his armor had been vaporized. His holy sword was practically melted. "Ye Qingxuan!" Will narrowed his eyes at the young man darkly. "You truly have gone crazy. Destroying a church, attacking the Witch Hammer, killing a Sacred City priest, committing such an atrocity before the city gates" He raised a sword and coldly declared, "Death does not suffice!" In the stillness, someone laughed. Though protected by the territory of Holy, Colt still stepped back involuntarily because the white-haired man finally looked up. Black rain seemed to fall from a nightmare, bone-chillingly eerie. Those eyes stared at Colt, seeming to reflect the dead. They stood in the underworld, looking into the world through those eyes, and smiled. "Colt, are you ready?" the man asked, gripping his cane. "I''m here to kill you." Will''s expression changed. The red-hot Double Snake Time Meter in Ye Qingxuan''s open left hand started shaking. Light shot out of it, and it shattered! Along with it, the territory of Faust was destroyed as well. The music theories frozen in the aether sea erupted. The absolute silence instantly became absolute activity. The aether sea was tossing! Within this, an instrument string that passed through the material and aether world emerged. Controlling the frantic and absolutely destructive power, it forcefully reigned over the raging sea. The aether sea poured into the thunder and transformed into lightning. Everyone formed a bizarre hallucination: everything in the world dissipated like a dream. All that remained was this bolt of lightning. The wild electricity surged from all directions, joining into a boundless sea. It filled the world, burning the sky and earth. It had become the physical incarnate of destruction. The temperament was upended; all rules were broken. The complex music theory that had become lightning distorted reality and transformed into a tangible sea. And above that wild sea, a broken moon appeared, casting down silvery light. It was the moon above the sea! The moon in the mirror, the flower on the sea. The electric sea raged, but the moonlight was serene. The two combined into one body with ineffable poetic beauty. It was so illusory yet so real. Between the illusory and the real, amidst the cool moonlight and destructive lightning, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei developed into complex music theory. It transformed into the Heaven Ladder, connecting the axes. Guiding the immense power, controlling under the consciousness of the performer, and converging inYe Qingxuan''s hands! Music notes clanged. The sea of lightning pressed down, suffocating the musicians! The changes were like turning stars. The shockingly vast and beautiful music score unfolded in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. They overlapped, knotted, and formed layers of complex structures. A holy city of white jade seemed to rise. It was an impeccable control and was shocking. The music theory broke free from the Resonance level and instantly surpassed Distortion. The aether and material world overlapped, transforming into a terrifying protection. The overture ended, the fifth section of the large movement, the first chapter of the main sectionIt was followed by Call, Go, Practice, Meditation, Soul Return, Loot, Crown, Rainbow, Wind, Furyuntil the sixteenth Light, seventeenth Fall, and eighteenth Sword It was all completed in one breath. The melody did not show any decline until it reached the third measure of the tenth section. At that time, the blazing sun had disappeared. All that remained was a pure moon hanging in the sky. As Ye Qingxuan raised his hands, cool moonlight fell. Everyone''s faces were stark white under it. It was "Moonlight!" "This isimpossible" Gritting his teeth, Will felt the common knowledge and music theory break apart in his heart. He stared at the moon; his pupils dilated, and his eyes grew bloody. He had checked all of Ye Qingxuan''s files. He knew everything the youth could do! Not even the sub-originator could contain such large music theory! How could a man''s mind and will control such a terrifying score that could disturb reality, distort material nature, and perform a natural phenomenon? Even destroying the Double Snake Time Meter and Indrah''s Eye to absorb the strength within How could someone who was barely even an official musician maintain such terrifying power?! The next moment, Ye Qingxuan lowered his finger. With the help of the Philosopher''s Stone, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei finished the last note. Moonlight shone on the ground, swallowing everything. Countless odd figures appeared. Perhaps it was the meteorite attacking the moon, or the white rainbow piercing the sun, or the eagle assassinating the emperor In the end, everything returned to the pure white moon. There was a sword on the ground, and it was moonlight. The bells rang, and Will roared. The light around the six grandmasters swelled. Under their coherence, they pushed the Score of God''s Punishment, creating the illusion of the Holy Spirit of punishment. The bells continued ringing. Will raised his sword. With the vast power, he swung at the moonlight! The pure white light and the music of punishment collided silently. It disappeared. As if it was a hallucination, as if nothing had happened, everything was still the same. But the fire of God''s Punishment had disappeared. Gripping his cane, Ye Qingxuan walked forward step by step. As if he had used up all his energy, his steps were slow and seemed difficult. But he walked past Grandmaster Will, who had a raised sword and menacing face. Crack. Everyone screamed. Will''s blade shattered and scattered like metal sand. As the hot wind blew, Will turned to dust and disappeared. Face stark white, Colt stumbled back. From the other side of the Holy territory, the countless grandmasters beside him gave him some sense of security. He managed to squeeze out a taunting smile to protect his dignity. He opened his mouth to speak. But then Ye Qingxuan looked up. Seeing Colt''s stiff smile, he raised a hand and knocked the barrier that was known as ultimate protection. "The Sacred City isn''t as powerful as you thought," he said quietly. "You were happy too soon." Something shattered quietly. The holy singing cut off. It was as if countless pieces of glass cracked, shattered, melted, and disappeared under the hot sun. In the territory, five grandmasters who still maintained their original poses shook and turned to dust like Will. In the dust, Colt''s stiff smile shattered. His features twitching, he stumbled back. "I" Expressions battling, his mouth dropped open. "IyounoYe-Ye Qingxuanit can still be salvaged! Yes, it can still be salvaged! Don''t be brash. I can" All that replied to him was a sword. Ye Qingxuan tossed out a half-melted but cooled sword. It stabbed into the ground before Colt. "Come, Colt. Haven''t you always been waiting for this moment?" Ye Qingxuan said indifferently, "I''ll give you the chance for a fair fight. If you''re a man, pick up the sword. You can do anything. Just stop talking." In the silence, Colt froze. 406 Pray In the silence, Colt froze. He stared at the sword before him, shaken. His lips trembled but he could not speak. But aggressive flames soon burned in his unstable eyes. Gritting his teeth, he grasped the hilt and pulled the sword out. Very few people knew that, other than music theory, he was also the unbeatable fighter at the Rock Institute. Even dark musicians had been dealt with by him. "You''ll regret this, Ye Qingxuan." His eyes were red. "You will!" Ye Qingxuan looked at him without speaking. He allowed Colt to bend over and aim the blade at his throat with sharp murderous intent. But then Colt''s expression changed. His body trembled and the blade fell to the ground. All his strength had been sapped and he could not move! Colt gaped at Ye Qingxuan in confusion until he discovered the hint on the sword. It finally dawned on him and he roared hysterically, "Ye Qingxuan!" "I was just playing with you but you took it seriously." Shaking his head, Ye Qingxuan walked up and yanked his hair up. Colt wanted to crawl back in despair but he was dragged toward the city gates. One step, another step. It felt like he was being dragged toward hell. He went crazy, using all his might to scratch at the ground. He left behind bloody gauges and his nails broke but he was still dragged into the gates. Then Ye Qingxuan finally stopped and let go. "According to my promise, I''ve allowed you back into the Sacred City." Ye Qingxuan looked down and said gently, "So now, what happens next will have nothing to do with promises." He took a long and narrow silver nail from his back. It glinted with dazzling light, piercing Colt''s eyes. Reaching out, he pulled Colt''s wrist up and made a practice move. In his daze, Colt finally realized what he wanted to do. He roared, "Ye Qingxuan, don''t you dare!" His roars turned to pained cries. The silver nail went through his palm, nailing him to the city gate. He screamed and struggled to no avail. The pain in his bone marrow made his writhe but also stimulated his mind. Painfully, he said, "Ye Qingxuan, you won! I surrender. Stop now, please." He tossed away all his dignity. Ignoring the shocked gazes from the onlookers, he practically knelt before Ye Qingxuan. "What can you get from killing me? Think about it, Ye Qingxuan! You don''t have to suffer such consequences because of someone as lowly as me, right? You have more meaningful things to do! You''ve already proved your abilities, right? II can transfer the Pope''s blessing to you! You can travel smoothly on the road to the Scepter level!" Ye Qingxuan paused and stared down at him. Seeing that he had reacted, Colt''s eyes lit up in joy. "The Lighthouse! There''s the Lighthouse too! I can give you the authority! It has all the deep music theory and secrets of the Secret Keepers! Think about it, all the wisdom of the musicians! The treasure so many people dream of! Don''t you want to know?" He moved forward on his knees without caring about his tearing palm. He lowered his head to kiss Ye Qingxuan''s boots and looked up pleadingly. "And the way to enter the all-knowing state and even the secrets to creating a legend and becoming a scepter! These can all be yours, Ye Qingxuan, as long as you agree!" Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly as if Colt was an awkward clown and the funny play could not make him laugh. Seeing his indifference, Colt''s heart sank. Voice trembling, he begged, "Stop, Ye Qingxuan! I''m begging you, alright? If you stop now, no one will do anything! Haven''t you done enough for that random girl? If you stop now, all the praises are yours and I, the lowly one, will live forever in the shadows so you seem glorious in comparison. "I can swear on the Originator that I''ll be loyal to you for life. Aren''t you an Abstinence musician? We can sign a contract! I still have the secret judgement trials from when the Ministry of Science was still the Inquisition! Andah!!" His other hand was lifted and nailed to the gate. Expression twisting in pain, Colt was like a fish dropped in a pan of salt. He cried and yelled, "Are you crazy? Ye Qingxuan, weren''t you raised in a church?! God loves! You''re a good person. Why must you be so stubbornly hateful? Everything I said is true. I didn''t lie at all" "I know." Ye Qingxuan looked down and cut him off. "I know that you''re telling the truth but this has nothing to do with the fact that you''re going to die." Colt froze. Ye Qingxuan reached out and grabbed him up by the hair. Ignoring the pained cry when Colt''s wound ripped, Ye Qingxuan lifted him to eye level. "I should thank you, Mr. Colt," he uttered, staring into Colt''s eyes. "You helped me realize my weakness, my helplessness, and my naivety. You did it better than anyoneflawlessly. Thereforeyou must die." There seemed to be torrential rain inside those black eyes, reflecting the scenes of Hell. Colt gaped and shuddered in fear, his lips trembling. In his daze, he saw his final resting placethe path to Hell. He laughed hysterically, twisting his face. "Then enjoy the products of your revenge," he murmured in Ye Qingxuan''s ears as he cackled. "But sadly, no matter what you do, that girl''s already dead. She won''t ever come backhahaha! I should''ve known that you and her are both b*stards, oddities, freaks, never able to be understood. Just have fun being crazy, you poor thing!" He opened his mouth and tried to spit out bloody saliva but he could not. The saliva hung from his lips disgustingly. "So ugly, Colt. You''re so ugly." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was still indifferent as if he had heard nothing. Pulling out a handkerchief, he wiped the bloody spit away. The action was gentle but Colt cried out in fear as if something scary was touching him. "You''re a hero, Colt. You should keep you fearless image even until death," Ye Qingxuan said. "Those dead priests from the Ministry would be sad if they see you like this, right? And wanting a speedy death nowit''s too late." Colt froze. A piercing icy feeling spread through his limbs. He could hear clanking armor in the distance. The Knights Templar had finally been called over. The iron whales appeared in the air. "Don''t be impatient." Ye Qingxuan opened a small metal box. There were cold glass tubes, metal needles, and a small vial filled with icy blue liquid. He prepared the injection with practice, drawing the blue liquid in. He aimed at Colt''s vein. The tip of the needle was cold as hell. In that moment, Colt seemed to hear a murmur from the underworld. "Before dying, you must pay for what you have done!" - At the same time, the archbishop of the Ministry of Information coughed violently. He yelled, "Ye Qingxuan! Is Anglo crazy?!" Someone sped into the room with a pale face. "Archbishop, Anglo sent out an urgent message half an hour ago. Ye Qingxuan announced that he had given up the Sword in the Stone. Anything that happens now is unrelated to Anglo." "What about the Silent Authority?" He studied the surveillance of the aether ball and roared, "Six grandmasters had died! Why didn''t Nibelungenlied give any reactions or reports? Why hasn''t the Sacred City Garrison acted yet?!" "The Silent Authorityhas not responded." The subordinate looked helpless. "Nibelungenlied and the Sacred City Garrison have not responded either. I do not know why." The archbishop yanked him over. He breathed heavily with the thick smell of medicine. His emerald eyes widened like ghost fire. "Then report to the Papal Chamber!" Letting go, he coughed out scarlet blood. "Hurry and use the Sacred City''s alarm! Now!" "Lord, without the Papal Chamber''s signed order, we-" "I said now!" the archbishop roared. "This is an emergency, don''t you understand? If Colt dies outside the city gates, the Ministry will forever be a laughingstock!" He had sent out the order but lying on the bed, his expression was still dark. Soon, he made up his mind and uttered, "Come, help me change." The subordinate wanted to say something but seeing those eyes, he intelligently shut his mouth. A servant washed his body with a hot towel and pulled out the tubes one by one. He gradually weakened. The smell coming from his body grew stronger. Finally, the servant helped him put on a blood red robe. It was lined with green gold and seemed serious and majestic. Outside, the Witch Hammer had finished grouping. The priests lowered onto one knee. "Father Michel, we await your order." "Since Ye Qingxuan killed Colt, we''ll make him pay for it!" the old man uttered coldly. He grasped his ivory cane. "Let the Papal Chamber remain silent. After all, our Holiness will continue to sit on his throne like a puppet. "The Silent Authoritythey probably dream that someone will sweep us into the trash, right? However, I hope you all will remember that the Ministry of Information will never fall. The deaths of Will and the others will not be in vain! "Even if I will pay for what we do today or even die, the crusade of fate will never end like this! Understand?" All members of the Witch Hammer pressed their swords to between their brows in salute. They answered in unison, "We vow to eradicate the treacherous!" "Good." Michel nodded in satisfaction. "Come with me. Show them the dignity of the Ministry!" He exited. Outside the door, a messenger sprinted over. Out of breath, he knelt down. "Lord, Ye Qingxuan stopped! He did not kill Lord Colt!" Michel froze; his face turned red. His determination had somehow turned into a vile metallic odor that almost spewed from his lungs. "What happened?" he asked through clenched teeth. "He was stopped?" "No!" the messenger stuttered, "After he captured Lord Colt, he remained at the city gates and did not leave He-he even purposely set off the Sacred City''s alarm! Now all the lords had rushed over. Even the ambassadors were alerted. Now" "Go!" Without waiting for him to finish, Michel instinctively felt something was wrong. Leaning on his cane, he walked toward the city gates. When he arrived, he was already too late. The civilians were kept away but it was still crowded with a sea of people. Even with the Garrison''s protection, the carriage still traveled with difficulty. When Michael saw the people protected by lines of soldiers, his blood chilled. With just a glance, he could see that people from countless departments had come from the various colors and designs of robes. There was the Papal Chamber, the Amnesty Institute, the Sacred Court, the Trinity College, the Ministry of Sacrament, the Ministry of Evangelisms, the Ministry of Religion, the Holy Spirit Temple There were even ambassador musicians from the various nations. Surrounded by all these people, Ye Qingxuan leaned against the city walls as if he was sunbathing. There was a half-smoked cigarette in his hand. The thin smoke scattered like a wandering ghost. Under the smoke, Colt was nailed to the gate. His head hung and drool dripped from his mouth. He did not respond no matter how the others called. The commander was an unfortunate soul pushed out by the others. He was powerless in this situation. One side was the new treasure of Anglo, the other was a new hero Neither side was dead but he personally wanted to die. Hearing that Michael was here, he quickly ran over and bowed. "Father, the criminal has captured Colt from your ministry and is refusing to cooperate with the Sacred City''s arrest." Pausing, he suggested quietly, "What if we form a team to attack and first protect Lord Colt, then" "No need!" Michel rasped out. Veins bulged from his hand on the cane. "Kill him now! Don''t worry about Colt. The Ministry of Information will never bow down to criminals. I will not agree to anything he says!" The commander froze, his expression awkward. He really wanted to die. "Really?" A low voice traveled from the side. A man dressed as a musician cut in, "Since the criminal had made such risks and is holding a captive, why don''t we see what he wants? Every priest is valuable to the Sacred City and should not be sacrificed easily." The commander stared at him. "And you are?" "Silent Authority," the musician replied. "Killing so easily damages the harmony of the world. This is the Ministry of Information''s problem but if needed, the Silent Authority is willing to act." Michel twisted around and glared at him, ready to fight. But then a hoarse voice rang out under the city gates. "It seems that everyone has just about arrived." Ye Qingxuan took out of his cigar and said, "I''m sorry for causing this mess and troubling you all." He was apologizing but his tone was anything but apologetic. With the help of a music score, his voice rang in everyone''s ears. Behind the barriers, the civilians had been gossiping and making noise. When they heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice, they pressed forward in anticipation. The reporters scribbled furiously and tore off the papers to give to their assistants. The assistants then ran toward the news agencies. All of them were drenched in sweat and exhausted. Ye Qingxuan''s voice did not stop. He continued speaking slowly in everyone''s ears. The reporters had no time to record. "As everyone knows, I am Ye Qingxuan, a participant of the Romulusian War. I am a musician with no nationality. I am also the suspectno, criminal, who planned various attacks on Mr. Colt. I admit that this is my crime and I am willing to be responsible for it." By the city gates, Ye Qingxuan looked up and raised his voice, "I did not come here to attack the Sacred City and disturb all of your peaceful lives. I justhave some questions I would like to ask Mr. Colt in public. Here and now." He pulled out some shiny silver coins. They rolled on the ground and the music score on them shone. This was a basic Revelations music score with a simple effect: detecting lies. Seeing this, Michel finally understood what was planned. He growled in anger, "Ye Qingxuan! You will pay for everything you''ve done! What are you all waiting for? Someone come and arrest him!" The Silent Authority musician stopped him, blocking him. There were even faint waves of music theory. He looked into Michel''s emerald eyes and asked softly, "Why don''t you want to hear what he has to say? To be honest, I am quite curious" Ye Qingxuan seemed to hear Michel''s growl. He shook his head with a smile but did not reply. He turned around and studied Colt who he had nailed to the wall. Mind muddled, Colt seemed to have been swallowed by black rain. He trembled and he murmured something vaguely. He struggled endlessly, trying to escape from the hands of hell. He was completely defenseless from the hallucinogen. "Your name," Ye Qingxuan said coldly. "Tell everyone who you are." "Colt." On the wall, Colt looked down blankly. "Colt Durand. I-I''m a hero, a future saint. I" Ye Qingxuan cut him off and asked, "Colt, why did you join the dark musicians in Auschwitz? Was it to save people?" "No." Colt''s answer created a flurry in the crowd. Shocked cries sounded throughout. Ever since the Romulusian War ended, Colt''s achievements had been spread through the nations by the Ministry of Information. Everyone knew but now, it was refuted by him personally! "Then why?" Ye Qingxuan glared coldly. "I thought everything was overeveryone was going to die. The dark musicians were too powerful and the leader of the perishing praise was fighting personally," Colt replied dully. "If I didn''t become a dark musician, I could die." Ye Qingxuan nodded and continued, "Then why did you betray them later?" "I sensed the Lighthouse," Colt murmured to himself but everyone heard him. "It told me that Knights Templar was coming. If I didn''t separate myself from them, it would be too late" "He''s lying! Ye Qingxuan, you''re playing tricks!" Furious, Michel''s eyes blazed. Majestic music score brewed inside his withered body. He was going to act with all his power but someone held onto his shoulder. He turned around in shock and saw an old priest as well as a middle-aged Eastern man. "Michel, let him continue asking," the old priest said coolly. "I would like to hear." It felt as if all of Michel''s strength left. He trembled and finally lowered his head. "Yes." At the city gates, the youth''s purposeful voice rang out again. It was extremely stable and cold. "Then, Colt, was the situation already unsalvageable when you were the observer for the Knights Templar?" Colt fell silent. As if instinctively feeling something was wrong, he struggled against Ye Qingxuan''s question. His mouth opened but he stuttered and could not answer. The crowd listened in silence; every pair of eyes could see each other''s shock. They were terrified by the possible answer of the question and did not dare to continue listening. But they could not wait to know. "Answer me, Colt!" Ye Qingxuan stepped forward and screamed in his ear, "Was the situation truly out of control? Answer me!" His scream was like a clap of thunder. It tore at eardrums and resounded in one''s soul, ripping apart Colt''s last shred of defense. "No!" Colt cried. The truth climbed out of his throat like a snake and stretched in the air, revealing its ugly appearance. "I" he mumbled in confusion. "I changed the observation records. Yes, I did It was such a good chance, I couldn''t miss it, couldn''t miss itit would be gone! That old thing would rather give the Lighthouse to someone else! I spent all these years trying to make him happy but ended like this! Yes, I did! Even if the Rock Institute isn''t willing to give it to me, it''s still mine!" "Justbecause of that?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him with pity. "You lied to the Papal Chamber and forced the Knights Templar to use Heaven''s Gate just because of this?" "I want to be a hero! The only one who can become a hero is me! It has to be me!" Colt said in hysteria. His eyes were wild. "I''m not wrong, the wrong onethe wrong oneyes, the wrong one is that b*stard! He blocked me, he has to diehe''s gonna diehehe, hehehe" He laughed, submerged in his dream. He drooled like a wild dog who had dreamed of something lustful. It was disgusting. "Last question." Ye Qingxuan stared at him, the pause stretching on. Finally, he uttered, "Why did you kill Elsa?" "Elsa?" Colt asked back. "Who''s that?" In silence, Ye Qingxuan practically shook from anger! "Is itthat little girl?" Colt gaped at him, his expression becoming troubled. "She was going to die anyway. Why should I give the accomplishment to other people? Killing a natural catastrophe is great political capital. Only an idiot would let it go. I let her die easily. She should be grateful. If someone else got her, they would" "Enough." Lowering his head, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes in sadness. "Enough, Colt, shut up. Idon''t want to keep listening." In the dead silence, everyone looked over, barely even breathing. Only Colt continued saying random things and laughing. Ye Qingxuan turned around. He gazed at the crowd with troubled sadness. "Do you all see this?" He pointed at Colt''s blank smile and said hoarsely, "This is the hero that you all look up to. This is the idol you all worship" He roared, "Do you all see this?! This is the world you''ve all created with those f*cking ''survival of the fittest'' beliefs, only caring about the result and the so-called big picture!" No one replied. "In this f*cking world, if you try to follow the rules and be a good person, people will think you''re an idiot, a joke, someone weak enough to bully. You can put in so much, endure everything, but just become a sacrifice to be buried under this hero''s feet!" Ye Qingxuan demanded, "Doesn''t anyone think this is wrong?" The crowd rustled; a low commotion sounded. Now, they finally realized what this crazed man before them wanted to do. Their expressions grew troubled and their eyes filled with fear and pity. "Yes, like this" Ye Qingxuan stared at the numb eyes and smiled bitterly. "You all suffer through this but no one dares to stand out and say that this world is wrong!" He paused. Using all of his strength, he yelled at the silent people, "So let me tell you that this is wrong!" He said, "This! Is! Wrong!" He raised a hand and moonlight transformed into a sword. The cold and sharp blade landed on Colt''s neck. The light was blinding and illuminated the murky soul. Colt woke up from his pretty dream. He gaped at the unfamiliar man before him. The black rain seemed to come out of his nightmare and truly announce the coming of judgement. "I''mgoing to die?" he murmured. Raw terror rose from his heart. It controlled his mind and he shook, unable to speak. "Ye Qingxuan, no!" A familiar voice rang outit was Wolf Flute. He had finally arrived. Trying to move past the guards, he yelled, "Put down the sword! Don''t kill him! You''ll" Ye Qingxuan did not listen. He just stared at Colt''s pale face. "Pray." "Pray?" Colt''s lips quivered. His eyes pleaded. "You should pray but it''ll be useless." Ye Qingxuan looked down. His eyes were as cold as metal. "All karma is well deserved." The cold moonlight flashed. In silence, Colt''s head rolled from his shoulders. The pleading in his eyes extinguished under the moonlight. There was no more light in those blank eyes. He was dead. Fresh blood sprayed onto Ye Qingxuan''s face, adding a sheen of red to his steely eyes. Under the shocked cries and angry roars, he turned around. Studying the confused and furious faces, he suddenly wanted to laugh. He wiped away the blood on his face. "So this is what blood feels like" Majestic bells rang in the air. The bell echoed under the sunset, within the vast iron city. It seemed to be announcing the falling of the sun of the coming of night. In the chaos, Ye Qingxuan looked up at the setting sun. He allowed the soldiers to rush over and tackle him, putting on layers of shackles. They pushed him toward the prisoner''s car. Amongst the crowd, he saw the Eastern scholar. Sensing his gaze, Mr. Hu''s eyes grew troubled and sympathetic. "This is not all" Seeming to hear his voice, Ye Qingxuan laughed. For some reason, he remembered what Mr. Hu had asked him before. "Ye Qingxuan, what would you do if, one day, you realized that the world was not the same as you thought?" Yes, Ye Qingxuan. What would you do if you realized that the world is not the same as you had imagined? The world is not as beautiful as you thought. It is cruel, scary, cold, and heartless. The kindness and gentleness is just an occasional ornament. Everywhere else, there is darkness. Most of the time, justice and truth are just a beautiful fantasy. Those things from fairy tales are all lies. What would you do? "It''s simple, Mr. Hu," he replied softly. "I''ll just change the world to how I imagined." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. In an instant, everyone seemed to hear a hallucination. It was like a dragon roaring under the sea, like an illusory instrumentBefore the music, the Barrier of Knowledge shattered. The long-awaited cold moonlight rose from his chest. His heart was transforming into something beautiful after it had fused with the Philosopher''s Stone. It beat, creating tiny ripples in the aether sea. In that moment, it went past the levels of the sea and became one with the Originator under the guidance of the Heaven Ladder. Under everyone''s scrutiny, it rose into the sky and shone. It fused into the serene and cold moon. Moonlight fell down, illuminating Ye Qingxuan''s white hair and eyes. I give my worried heart to the moon. I give this heart to the moon. Even in a pitch black world, there would be moonlight in the darkness. Moonlight 407 The World Keeps Spinning The Holy Spirit Temple was silent. Serene moonlight fell from the stained glass windows, shining onto the various stone coffins. It illuminated the ancient and distinguished names. Dust floated in the air, dancing with the faint hymn. Singing from the distant church hung in the stillness, complementing the graveness of the coffins. At the front of the coffins, a lonely figure stood before the large altar. He wore the crown of utmost authority and a pure red robe. It seemed to have been dyed by blood but rather than feeling like ''death,'' it represented the reverent ''life.'' This was the red that encompassed all meaning. This was the King of Red. In the stillness, he looked at the altar and asked, "Is that what Hermes said?" "Yes, Your Excellency." Nibelungenlied''s voice was respectful. "He chose this path and did his best." "I see." The King of Red nodded. "He has always been clever though this is especially laughable for him. I am sure he knows my thoughts if he made this choice. Let him enjoy his ''life.'' From now on, these matters will have nothing to do with him." Nibelungenlied said, "He wanted me to thank you for him." "He even predicted my words?" The King of Red laughed. "He truly is clever, is he not?" Rather than replying, Nibelungenlied said, "The Ministry of Information told Anglo the location of the Ultimate Well''s appearance this year How should we punish what Archbishop Michael did?" "He''s already dying. Do you want me to lock him up?" The King said, "Just let him retire with the Ministry. The Inquisition''s era is over. The shattered dream of a crusade is the best punishment for him." "He will fall apart." "He won''t." The King shook his head. "He will continue waiting. Even if he died, he would find someone to wait for another crusade for him and fight with the natural catastrophe He has endless hope. These things won''t crush him." "Understood." Nibelungenlied asked, "Leviathan''s awakening is fated. The Cardinal will continue fighting with Anglo." "Has the Anglo royal family not always been determined?" The King of Red said lightly, "Sovereignty of the nations is the core of the second amendment. Leave Arthur''s matters to his descendants. It began with them so let it end with them. Haven''t they already taken back St. George''s spear to prepare for everything? If the Cardinals still wish to show the majesty and necessity of the Sacred City, tell the Knights Templar to prepare and be ready to take over in the worst situation." "Yes." Finishing recording, Nibelungenlied said, "Commander Bann requested to be punished for the Romulusian War. He is awaiting the result now." "I am the one who ordered him to not harm any Romulusians. I am also the one who hindered him. We had decided too late. The result has nothing to do with him and Knights Templar." The King of Red ordered lightly, "Let him go repair the western desert defense line. With his abilities, it will be hard but may not be impossible. The descendants of the past Semites are still there. Tell him to bring the flag and that the Sacred City will give him all the needed equipment." After a long silence, Nibelungenlied asked, "Do you meanfor him to rebuild the Knights Hospitaller?" "For the hundred years since the desert defense line was defeated, the Sixth Legion has been vacant for too long." The King of Red looked up. His face was cold as if he never had any expressions. He looked down on the human world emotionlessly. "The most painful thing for well-prepared people is that time does not wait. I do not wish to realize that the Knights Hospitaller has disappeared for too long when we need it." "Your Excellency is far-sighted," Nibelungenlied replied respectfully. The King of Red fell silent. After a stretch of silence, the midnight bell rang. "Let us end here today." The King waved a hand. "Hand everything else over to the Cardinals. They need something to argue over." "Yes." Nibelungenlied asked, "Then what about the event at the city gates this evening? It involves the sword bearer of Anglo. The Cardinals are much divided over this." The King looked up at the moon. The light fell into eyes like a silent sigh. "He is someone as unwilling to be lonely as Ye Lanzhou." "Does Your Excellency sympathize with him?" "No," the King said. "Let the Cardinals decide on this. He made a choice and therefore must take responsibility. Since he wants justice, then give him justice. It is that simple." "Perhaps." It was rare for Nibelungenlied to be indecisive. "To many people, this type of simplicity is difficult. The lawyers of the Sacred City will argue until they spit out blood." "A long, long time ago, someone told me that the meaningless arguing is a necessary experience before coming to a conclusion. Even if the arguing is meaningless to both parties. Just let them find the result that they want." The King of Red said indifferently, "I am just the pope. I cannot give them what the lord promised them." "I will notify them." "Good. You can go." The King waved. "And you?" Nibelungenlied asked. "Will you return to your room or eat dinner first?" "Me?" The King of Red looked up. He gazed at the moon in the sky. "I suddenly want some silenceto experience what that coward wanted. It must feel nice. Otherwise, that guy would not miss it so." After a pause, Nibelungenlied said, "Perhaps the King of Yellow just wanted to rest. Your Excellency need not be so gloomy." "Perhaps." He did not seem too convinced and just studied the moonlight. "After all, he has already escaped to somewhere far away. Even if he doesn''t come back, the people left behind has to worry about the future. Nibelungenlied, no matter what is lost, the world will keep spinning." No one replied. Nibelungenlied seemed to have already gone. In the silence, the King of Red stood before the altar and looked up at the moonlight. His vision went past the night and into the endless sky. His eyes went up, up, and up. There was a vast ring of moonlight in the darkest corner of the universe, far above the world. At some timean unnoticeable speck had appeared before it. It bent the iron radiance, fighting against the gravitational pull of the Earth, and hovered on the stars'' orbit. It did not get closer or further. It just watched the land and sky, forever running in the silent void. There, someone finally woke up from his dream. In the seemingly eternal silence, he opened his eyes and stared at the moon outside the window. His eyes grew peaceful and happy. It was such good moonlight. 408 The Winged Folk She woke from her dream. Opening her eyes, she saw the flame. In the sacred hall, the Sacred Flame was still lit. It shone in all directions. Majestic music theory burst behind her. The Sacred Flame flowed like large wings of fire. It created a gust of wind in the hall. The light that passed through the material and aether world flowed. Countless hallucinations flowed as well. In the fleeting moment, mysterious scenes flashed by. Some were powerful and beautiful; others were dark and cold The world joined inside the flame and became real. This seemed to be the true nature and expression of aether. Thus, she was reborn. She did not feel any joy from being reborn. Instead, she looked up at the beautiful ceiling in silence. After a long while, she looked back and said quietly, "Caligula, I had a long dream." The old and withered man leaned on his cane and studied her. He smiled pleasantly. "Was it a good dream?" "It was very long. I don''t remember." She thought back and her eyes brightened. "But I remember that someone came back to find me and I was not scared anymore." "That is a good dream." Caligula nodded. "When you become old, you''ll think that in this world, you''re apart more than you''re together. The moments without loneliness are like dreams. But there are no regrets if you can have a dream like this." "I see" She nodded and asked, "Will I see him again?" "He has left," Caligula answered. "He has probably already found somewhere he needed to return to, just like you. From now on, fate will care for him." "So I can''t see him again?" she asked. "I want to see him." Caligula fell silent. The light in her eyes faded. "You are the descendant of Romulus, the child of the powerful god." Caligula lowered his head and urged humbly, "You sacrificed yourself and became the host of the Flame. After being reborn with the enlightenment, you will be the emperor of the empire, the Augustus of utmost power You are not the same as before." "So I can''t have friends?" "Your Majesty, you are the emperor. You can have as many friends as you wish." "But those aren''t my friends, Caligula." She shook her head. "I''m the emperor. They will all fear me." The old man studied her and wanted to say something but stopped himself. His eyes grew sad. "I don''t understand but an emperor should be like this, right?" Seeing Caligula''s sadness, she smiled. "I''ll try to get used to it. Don''t worry, Caligula. There is someone in my heart so I won''t be afraid no matter what." After a long while, Caligula lowered his head. His expression was pleased yet troubled. "Your Majesty, you''ve grown up." "Kids always grow up." She reached out and a flicker of firelight glowed in the air. A bronze mirror grew out of the fire. The material was refined here and came into existence as logically as breathing. She studied herself. The girl in the reflection smiled. It seemed as if she had aged ten years in one night. Her hair was dark red from the fire and she no longer looked child-like. Spinning around, she jumped up in excitement. "Caligula, look, I grew taller!" Caligula looked up at the girl on the steps. Her hair danced in the wind like flames and her eyes were powerful. He looked down. Suddenly, he did not dare to look anymore. On the steps, the girl walked out of the fire. The flames lay on her skin like clothing, forming a majestic and sacred purple robe. The door opened before her, revealing the dazzling sky of the aether world. In the sky, clusters of stars moved. They lit up this territory between existence and nonexistence. The large city broke apart the turbidity and hovered between lightness and darkness. Countless people who had broken through the cocoons rushed over. They grouped outside the palace and knelt on the steps, gazing at the girl who exited. The crown of fire on her head represented power. The cane in her hands represented authority and the jewels represented the world. Two wings fluttered and she walked in the air. She looked down at the city, her kingdom. She was like the sun hanging in the sky. "Emperor! Emperor! Emperor! Emperor!" The people gazed at the dazzling radiance and called out her name enthusiastically as if she was a god. When she raised her hand, the people fell silent. They bowed reverently, waiting for their emperor''s command. The girl in the sky studied her territory and people. After a long while, she announced gravely, "My good citizens, since there is no place for us on the land, then let us go to the sky! From now on, Romulus and the Romulusians no longer exist. We have been reborn. From now on, we are the Winged Folk!" The crowd rustled and called to the emperor in the sun, "The truth! The truth! The truth!" There were no more signs of beastliness on them. That night, the Sacred Flame had absorbed all the strength to wipe away demonic blood. It had also catalyzed the King of Yellow''s scepter in them, allowing them to transform and be born again. Now, the aether grouped behind them and unfurled like wings! They cheered for their emperor and their wings flapped, flying to the sky. Countless wings created gusts of wind and grouped beside the sun. "Then, follow me to the sky." Inside the sun, the new emperor raised the jewel. Under the jewel''s glow, the void transformed and the turbidity shook. A hole gaped inside the void of the city. It broke apart the barriers and instantly went through the aether sea, ''falling'' back into the material world. The shockingly large city now hung in the air. Under the strong wind, the city swallowed and spat out aether. It consumed an impossible amount of power every second, distorting the temperament and rejecting the attraction of the earth. At the top of the city, the emperor raised the scepter. Countless music theories wove inside her wings, transforming into a music score that covered the sky and land. One could hear the crashing of waves in that melody, above the nine skies. Far, far away, a glimmer of starlight shone. Then it rushed into the city as if the galaxy had surged in. It was the Star Ring. The Star Ring that had been still for so long now turned with a rumble. It adjusted its orbit and angle, twisting in the night sky. All astrologists gaped as the solid aether flow became one with the city. They fused seamlessly as if they had been one since the beginning of time. Enveloped by the Star Ring, the city seemed to have blood. The blood flowed through and it came to life. The entire city rumbled and shook. Like a metal lotus, it bloomed with a bang in the sky. Finally, it transformed into a large archipelago in the air! That night, the Star Ring changed. The Winged Folk were reborn from the fire. They returned from the aether world with their own territory and their emperor! 409 May the Lord Have Mercy Late at night in Avalon, sickly white light illuminated the Privy Council. Lancelot took a deep breath and pushed open the metal box before him. Inside it, the ''creature'' ate the light and tore apart the darkness. Cold and sharp light shot out from it. It appeared in the air for a moment and even breathing became painful. The sharp light filled the air, turning the air into needles that pierced at the lung. One could see vaguely that the blade was carved with a fine and ancient music score. However, it was covered by dried blood and had become blurry and faint. It was so serene when it was not drinking blood. It was terrifyingly serene. Lancelot picked it up and caressed the broken body of the spear and the seemingly dull tip. He seemed to hear a dragon''s heavy breathing and sweat poured from his back. "The dragon slayer, the fallen steel, the spear of purificationthis is it." Lancelot carefully put the weapon back into the box and sighed. "St. George''s Spear." "The map from the Ministry of Information was accurate."''Tristan,'' still in his armor, sat before Lancelot. He had not yet washed after the travel. His eyes were tired and his hair messy. There was a crack in his armor as well. There was no sign of his prestige as the deputy of the Round Table Knights. Studying the spear inside the box, his eyes grew respectful. "We found it in the Well of the Ultimate. Unfortunately, the cost was high." "Did no one else return?" After a long silence, Tristan shook his head. "They all died." Lancelot fell silent for a long while as well. He reached out for the cigar box but lowered his hand after hesitating. "Tell me, Tristan." He coughed and he rasped out, "What happened?" "We prepared the best ship. Within six short days, we experienced being stranded, submerged reefs, and sea creatures born from Leviathan''s awakening. When we arrived, we had already lost six men. Then we finally entered the ghost city. When we opened the lava dungeon, we finally witnessed the true appearance of the Well." Tristan paused. Pain flashed past his eyes. "The Well of the Ultimate is something humans should not go into, Lancelot. It is not just a rumor. I wanted to go down personally but Maleagant stopped me. He, Harris, and Galehaut jumped in. We waited outside for three days but only Galehaut climbed back out "When he came out, he had already been lit by the aether of destruction. Half of his body was already turned to dust. He was like a demon. This entire way back, I kept thinking that he had probably already gone crazy when he was down there. "He remembered to bring the spear back but could not remember who I was. Sixteen men died to stop him. Holding the spear, he almost killed me." He looked down and pointed at the armor on his chest. "Only an inch away." Lancelot could vaguely see the messy wound under the horrible crack in the armor. His heart was still beating painfully in the broken chest. It was covered in cracks as if it was wrapped with blood-red thread. It was flesh but somehow looked like metal. Tristan murmured, "Only an inch and I wouldn''t be sitting here anymore. I am only fortunate that he did not waken the dragon soul" After a pause, Lancelot asked, "Is he still alive?" "Until the moment the ship returned to Avalon." Tristan sighed. "He always grasped the spear when he was still alive and wouldn''t let anyone touch it. When he arrived, he knew that his mission was about to end and died. Perhaps he could not put down his worries and wanted to go home." "Toreturn his soul?" Lancelot studied the ''beast'' in the box, his eyes filling with troubled respect. Then he closed it so he would not have to look any more. Closing his eyes, he prayed, "May the Lord have mercy." - The midnight bell rang. The watcher of the Westminster Abbey cemetery pushed the door open. He began surveying it as always, walking between the rows of tombstones. But halfway through, he stopped. Under the swaying lantern, cold wind blew from the sea and he felt a bad premonition. Pat, pat, pat The dim light illuminated the silent building in the near distance. It was the bell tower where the bodies of heroes were put before being buried. A coffin had been transported there hurriedly last evening to await the grand state funeral. But in the silence, there was a faint knocking sound as if the dead was knocking the door of the underworld. It followed a rhythm that matched the beating of his heart and echoed in his ears. "Look here" a voice seemed to murmur. "Look here and listen to this voice" The knocking had a strange magnetic pull. The grave keeper looked over in fright. His eyes slowly turned blank. The light in them dimmed. "Comecome here." Guided by the voice in his heart, he walked forward blankly. He stepped into the darkness. The door opened slowly, the hinges grating and creaking. Moonlight flowed in as he moved, illuminating the cold statue hanging on the wall. The saint''s figure looked down on the world with cold eyes like bolts of lightning. Under the statue, the room was empty save for the coffin. The knocking sounds came from there. It was as if the body inside the coffin was rapping against the ''door'' with his knuckle, waiting for it to open from hell. "Come! Come here! Open itfind the meaning of your life" Under the voice''s calling, the grave keeper walked forward dumbly. He pulled out a dagger and started prying at the nails on the coffin. They fell to the ground one by one, with crisp sounds like a demon stretching and cracking his joints. When the last nail fell, a sigh came out of thin air. With blank eyes, the man pushed the coffin, letting out the demon within. Boom! The lid fell with a muffled thud and shattered on the ground. The smell of flowers and rot came from the darkness. Under the moonlight, the dead Round Table Knight opened his eyes. He rose slowly, casting a large and menacing shadow on the ground. It had three heads and hundreds of limbs. It looked like a bird, a beast, a human, hundreds of arms holding axes, white bone, a bottle and a thunderbolt The fierce shadow disappeared without a trace in an instant. The knight finally walked out of the cage that had imprisoned him for such a long time. He returned from the world of the dead to the world of the living. In that moment, the birds of Avalon all flew up in shock, cried out, and died. The beast with a human''s skin stood under the moonlight. His gaze seemed to pierce into the distance and fall on the sacred city made of metal. It smiled mockingly. "Iam coming." - Far away, the Well of the Ultimate burned like a silver vortex. Under it was bottomless darkness. But in the depths, there was an iron coffina broken iron coffin. There were shards of something menacing there as if something had broken out. Around it were three withered bodies. They had been killed in an instant and the corpses knelt on the ground as if praying and repenting for their sins. May the Lord have mercy 410 An Unexpected Reunion In the narrow room with gray walls, there was only one table with chairs on both sides. A cold light shone from above, illuminating the prisoner sitting behind the table. Under the dim light, someone across the table asked, "Name?" "Maxwell." "Age?" The prisoner paused for a moment, thinking with a cocked head. "Fifty or seventy? Well, you can take the median, sixty." "Occupation?" "The principal of the Royal Academy of Music and many other part-time jobs." The white-haired prisoner said gravely, "All in all, I''m a big man. Be full of awe! Remember, when you write, you must recite and praise the Queen in your mind. " "Be serious! Ye Qingxuan! This is for your own good" The interrogator pounded angrily at the table. "Do you want to stay here for the rest of your life? If you want to have a trial at the earliest possible time, just cooperate!" "Come on, if you''re serious, we won''t have to repeat that for so many days." Behind the table, Ye Qingxuan raised his little finger to clean his ear. "Besides, if you really want to hear my words, it won''t be you here." "I am enough!" In the gloom, the interrogator turned pale and his voice went manic. "Who do you think you are?" "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes, looking into the dark, gazing at the man behind the table. When his eyes narrowed, there was sharpness as if his eyes could sting one''s skin, making people want to look away. "Come, let me see." He murmured, "There are thick calluses on the wrist and fingers; your shirt is good, but the cuff''s seam has split from much washing. You must wash your shirt often, right? You also add bleach so the cloth is hardened... The shirt should be often contaminated with stains. It''s ink, right? Or perhaps the inkpad?" Speaking of this, he stooped to look under the table and whistled. "Good leather shoes, no dirt, fine maintenance, so you seldom walk. But the shoes are not the high-grade kind... You''re a clerk who sits in the office all day? Your daily work is probably copying, recording, stamping and being the scapegoat for your boss, right? It''s not easy for you." "Shut up!" With a snap, the pen was shattered. Ye Qingxuan smiled, leaning forward slightly. "I mean, although I killed people, at the very least, this is a serious case no matter from plot or influence. Can you ask a more reliable person to do this work? You probably don''t even know how to use a vise." After that, he heard angry breathing in the darkness. Just as he was ready to meet the expected fury, somebody suddenly knocked the on the door. Against the light, someone came in and whispered a few words in the interrogator''s ear. The man froze. He quickly got up, put away the meaningless records, and departed. Before leaving, he glanced indignantly at Ye Qingxuan. Another layer of handcuffs were snapped around Ye Qingxuan''s wrists. Ye Qingxuan sighed and raised his feet. "Isn''t it enough to isolate the aether with this thing? The handcuffs are so heavy." Soon, he found that he had not come back to the road he came from but turned and set foot on a path which he had never been to. "Where are we going?" He frowned. "Someone wants to see you." The guard looked back at him indifferently. The door opened and he was pushed in. The other end of the chain was locked in the pipe. Before the guard left, he said, "You only have five minutes." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He looked around but found himself in a narrow cubicle. This was the prison visiting room, which was separated into many compartments. It was like a bank teller station for secret business but the glass was covered with a dark curtain. He could not see who was on the other side. When he sat down in his chair, the curtain rolled up, revealing a familiar face. Ye Qingxuan blanched. "What''s the matter?" said the man, sitting in his chair, smoking his cigar and puffing out smoke. "You just used my name to fool the interrogator a few minutes ago. You didn''t expect that karma would hit so soon, right?" "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was troubled and embarrassed. "I did not expect that you would come to the Sacred City to see me." "I arrived here two days ago. It''s not easy to see you. I needed to get through many hurdles," Maxwell smoked and said lightly. "The examiners of the Amnesty Hall have been quarreling about your business but you are still so relaxed. Are you planning to stay here for the rest of your life?" "Maybe." Ye Qingxuan settled into a comfortable posture and slowly nodded. "Killers should be killed and debts should be paid. If I have sinned, I will accept the consequences, even if I will be imprisoned for life. I just didn''t expect that Anglo was willing to pull me out." "It''s not about whether we are willing but whether we can." Maxwell glanced at him. "Today, the time is limited. I don''t want to judge what you have done. After all, you''ve already done it. You have enough time to think over the whole thing. I will look for someone to clear your name and pull you out. We will talk of other things only after that. "But I ask one thing of you. If you do such things next time... Don''t say pretty nonsense like killers should be killed anymore." He got up and put on his hat, sighing with complex look. "Ye Qingxuan, having courage and determination is commendable. But there are many people in the world who care about you. Because of them, you shouldn''t confess to die so easily. "This is how an adult becomes filthy. One day you will understand. As for the rest of the time, I''ll leave it to you all..." After saying this, he turned away, leaving Ye Qingxuan rooted to his spot. A familiar smiley face emerged on the edge of the glass barrier before he can figure out what the old man meant by "you all." "Hey Cousin, long time no see!" The girl shook her head of long silver hair and looked at him with strange smile. "You left me hanging for the Winter Festival, but thanks to your blessing, I got the ticket to the Sacred City to play!" "Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan only felt shocked. "Why are you here?" "Not just me, but our professor..." Bai Xi reached out to pull over the person next to her. "Look, the principal used military connections so the professor could come to the Sacred City for academic exchanges on behalf of the academy!" Abraham''s wooden face appeared from the side. He looked at Ye Qingxuan with a complex and sorry expression. His mouth opened for a while then said in muffled voice, "Yezi, it''s good to see you are all right. Don''t worry about the department." For the first time, Ye Qingxuan felt unspeakable shame and embarrassment. He looked at the two. After a long silence, he couldn''t help but sigh. "Sorry, Professor, I must have made a lot of trouble for you, haven''t I?" "Nothing to be sorry for." Abraham shook his head. He thought for a while and said, "To tell the truth, I''m relieved. I don''t need to worry about you and think that you might not be alive anymore. You just killed people, don''t worry. The prison seems to be good to you. They didn''t hit you. I''m so happy to see you are okay. Don''t feel any pressure. Bai Xi and I will strive to see you regularly..." Abraham''s words made Ye Qingxuan feel that his ears might not be working. He was suspicious of his own perception. Then he realized that his teacher did not care about this kind of stuff at all! Who was Abraham? He was a former member of the Dragon Riders who had been licensed by the state to kill and had killed countless people for the first half of his life... What Ye Qingxuan had done seemed to be serious but meant nothing to him! He might have even committed assassinations in the Sacred City, let alone outside the gates... Ye Qingxuan really didn''t know whether it was good or bad thing to have a professor who lacked common sense like this. But what Abraham had just said was probably to comfort him. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have been so worried that he even came here all the way from Anglo. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. But he suddenly remembered something. "Why is it just you two?" he asked. "Where''s Charles? Is he watching the house?" Hearing him ask, Abraham and Bai Xi suddenly became awkward and hesitant. "No need to explain." Ye Qingxuan shook his head helplessly. "I know he''s a heartless guy. I bet he was too lazy to walk. He would rather stay in Anglo, unwilling to go out." "Junior, I''m so sad to hear you say so." In the cubicle beside Ye Qingxuan, there was a sad voice. "You think I''m like that?" For the third time, Ye Qingxuan was shocked to blindness. "Charles!" He jumped off his chair and looked at the wall blankly. "You, you, you... Why are you here?" "Why?" The sound of shackles sounded in the next room. "I was also imprisoned. I had a good chat with them before you came. Hey, by the way, have you used the soap here? It is really the Sacred City. Even the soap in the prison is better than that cheap stuff in our academy. It smells like jasmine..." "Wait a moment!" Ye Qingxuan was confused. He thought he had seen much in the world, but did not think that Charles could become even dumber. It suddenly shattered his world views. "You, you ..." He organized his thoughts for a long while. "What have you done to be imprisoned here?" "I also want to know why!" Charles''s voice was full of grief. "Hell, I just entered the Sacred City and spat and then dozens of people rushed to me and pressed me down. I was immediately handcuffed and stuffed into a sack! Then I was here. No one has told me what the hell is going on! "Is it because I was so good-looking that the priests feared that when I went into the city, the ladies would be blushing and unable to stand up?" "Shut up!" Ye Qingxuan kicked the wall of the next cubicle and looked to Abraham. Abraham was also very helpless. He just nodded. "Not having been to the Sacred City for many years, I did not expect that the laws here have become strict to this extent." Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. Professor, you don''t really think that Charles was arrested just because of spitting, right? he wanted to say. "Rest assured, it''s possible that Charles may get lost and somehow run out of the prison. Don''t worry," Bai Xi comforted him seriously but Ye Qingxuan did not feel comforted. Within a few minutes, his worldviews had become distorted. He felt like his recovered IQ had fallen into the abyss again. 411 Sound of Heart Movemen Truthfully, the sudden surprising reunion made Ye Qingxuan feel unreal. His world views did not stop shattering until he returned to his cell. He could only ascribe all this to the senior''s righteousness. Ye Qingxuan did not feel touched, but they were classmates, sharing the loot, and now Charles was even imprisoned here to be with him... He just wanted to know what a big mess his senior had done to be imprisoned here! After a short visit, Bai Xi and Professor had left. They lived in the Embassy of Anglo. There was a shuttle bus for them so there was no need for him to worry about them. As for Ye Qingxuan There was still something good from committing such a serious case. At least the treatment was not bad. He was even allocated to a single cell. There were two prisons in the Sacred City. The one outside the city was where ordinary criminals were imprisoned. Those common criminals were all thrown there. The other one was located in the northeast of the Sacred City. It was a lonely tall tower. Martial law was enacted in the zone of a radius of several kilometers around the steel tower. It contained various military institutions and sensitive departments. There was a heavily guarded roadblock every ten steps. Not even a bird could fly in. Serious criminals like Ye Qingxuan were imprisoned in the tower. In addition to those politicians and nobles from the occasional downfall, the major ''clients'' here were the arrested dark musicians... There were thousands of dark musicians imprisoned here. More than half of them were pulled from here to be purified, one-third died here, and the rest were often taken away in a dark night for some unknown reason and never returned. They just totally disappeared. Since the prison was founded, no one had ever been able to escape. But compared to the horror stories spread outside, the inside of the prison was quite harmonious. The guards smiled, and the prisoners were calm and polite. They greeted and talked to each other with the elegant retroflex of aristocratic accents. There was nothing hostile in the prison. Everything looked bright. It was like a sanitarium with iron fences. But the harmony here was enough to explain how scary this place was! Having been here for so many days, Ye Qingxuan did not encounter the ''king'' of prisoners from rumors or any provocations. He was not even made fun on. He lived a quite ''happy'' life. He could eat meat every meal and have books to read every day. It was just that he had to wear one-kilogram shackles on his feet which prevented him from touching anything related to aether and movements. If he ignored the dozens of layers of enchantments and Abstinence discipline rules, it was like a holiday to him. However, for any qualified musician, there was no difference between a life without aether and being dead. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan was not very qualified. In fact, the rings on his ankles that blocked any aether sensing actually helped him. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, sensing things in his body silently. A long time later, he opened his eye and sighed softly. "I was really...heavily injured..." Double Snake Timer Meter. This one, engraved with the Faust movement, was the top three instruments Ye Qingxuan had known. When it was detonated, the force that broke out from it was far beyond Ye Qingxuan''s expectation. Even if there was Jiu Xiao Huan Pei''s fine control, that power was still too strong. When it converted into lightning, it completely simulated the spirituality of the falling spirits and completely obliterated six grandmasters in seconds. It even broke down the territory of Holy. The aftermath of the frenzy reached the depths of the aether sea. The price was the complete mess Ye Qingxuan''s body was in. The music theory system that had just been constructed with the Philosopher''s Stone as the core completely collapsed again. As he broke the Barrier of Knowledge, the music theory which formed the Philosopher''s stone had once again evolved and detached from the body. It fused into his source in the aether world and became a lever for him to pry the aether sea. The sub-originator that was formed in this way had gone beyond the imagination of all musicians from School of Stone Heart. Ye Qingxuan''s vigorous foundation had reached an unprecedented degree. However, without the repression of the Philosopher''s Stone, the injury of his body completely broke out. It seemed to be fine on the surface, but this could only show that the Philosopher''s Stone had strengthened his physical fitness to an extent that he could even survive from the music theory''s collapse. But in fact, if any music theory disturbed him now, the chaos in his body would kill him. Had it not been for the suppression of the Philosopher''s Stone at the time, his fate would have been like Gavin''s dead father, who had sat in his wheelchair with a shattered heart of sound. A bigger possibility was that he would be dead without a complete body. Therefore, Ye Qingxuan enjoyed the peace in prison somehow. Who would refuse this kind of free recuperation opportunity? - The afternoon sun shone from the window with warm gold so that the steel prison became gentler. The air was even fragrant with tea. Thanks to the Sacred City, he could enjoy a good afternoon tea even in prison. A tray with refreshments passed through the gap of the fence and was placed on the table. In the cell, Ye Qingxuan just stared at the wall rather than responding. The walls had been plastered with pieces of paper written with fine notes. The notes connected across the papers and included traces of revisions and deletions. They somehow formed a large and complex music movement. This was only a framework without details but vaguely revealed some unspeakable complex and arrogant. It seemed to want to carve out thousands of water systems on a wasteland into rivers and seas to create a lofty tide, to construct mansions and high buildings from ruins and make it better than the past However, the complex music theory lacked finesse and details, which made it difficult to be consistent. Four different schools of music theory were independent here. Although there was a vague theme in them, it was difficult to merge them. Ye Qingxuan silently stared at the messy music theories on the wall. The complex and incomplete movements changed in his eyes like crisscrossing gears fitting into each other. The huge machine ran under the same force and burst with grand power. However, when it advanced to a certain place, the entire sophisticated system always collapsed quickly. It was like twisted steels under internal stress. When it overheated, the engine would explode. This was only a paper deduction; there was no danger. But if these theories were constructed in his body, it would cause disastrous consequences. The combination of music theory and human body was very dangerous. Even the School of Stone Heart, which was good at implanting aether into the body, was very cautious about this. Planning one''s foundation again and build a heart of sound movementthe fundamental strength of a Resonance musicianin a prison was even riskier. After entering the Resonance level, musicians would rearrange the internal music theory to form a movement and create the sound of heart. Then the spirituality of the movement could have their own personalities. By resonating the sound of heart with the source, the musician could get out of the shackles of his predecessors and create his own path. The sound of heart also strengthened the musician''s power. For example, the effect of a certain type of movement could be enhanced. One typical example was Sam. The music theory from the School of Destruction strengthened all types of destructive movements so that he achieved unimaginable attainments in Modifications. The sound of heart could give musicians certain ability, such as rapid regeneration, tempered bones, or the starry eyes. It also complemented the musician''s weaknesses by endowing them with an indescribable sixth sense and mysterious perception of certain aspects, etc... Every musician could find the best way for him in the sound of heart. Throughout history, there had been all kinds of attempts and breakthroughs in the sound of heart. Some of them had succeeded but more had died during this vital section. Therefore, all musicians of the Resonance level were very cautious when constructing music theories and the sound of heart. During this stage, each school secretly passed on the secret chants, music theories, and rituals of the first generation of musicians to help musicians complete this stage more easily. It could cause a qualitative transformation, which was why there were so many advanced occupations for musicians. No one was as bold and silly as Ye Qingxuan who just directly began to do this in a barren prison without caring about his life. But fortunately, Ye Qingxuan did have something. There was a treasure in him that all musicians covetedDeva''s blood. 412 Afternoon Tea Hundreds of years ago, the nine Dragon bloodline families went through countless experiments and sacrifices to finally succeed with the miracle of ''music theory inheritance.'' They were then able to pass down their music theory to their descendants. This was how the talents were born. It was essentially a convergence of music theory and the prototype of a heart of sound, symphony of predestination, and even a scepter! A man''s life had a limit. Compared to the world, it was as insignificant as dust. To explore the true nature of the Originator, the ancestors of the nine families created Deva''s blood. They turned music theory into an inheritance that could be passed down the generations. Countless descendants carried the same theory. As long as the bloodline was not cut off, they would be able to develop into the Originator one day. After revisions from dozens of generations, Ye Qingxuan''s Heaven Ladder was practically flawless. Its ability to cross all seven schools went without saying. In addition, it even ignored the boundaries to resonate over extremely large distances. It had the terrifying ability to send its strength over thousands of miles. All Ye Qingxuan had to do was combine the Heaven Ladder with his own music theory. After much thinking, Ye Qingxuan felt that he had learned too much. He decided to give up on Modifications, Summoning, and Choir and just focus on what he already grasped: Revelations, Illusion, Mind, and the coreAbstinence. This was why he had a headache. Trying to combine everything at once was very difficult. Furthermore, he also had the music theory of the Philosopher''s Stone. If he abandoned it to complete his heart of sound, it would be like selling a gem to buy a stone. Not only would his research on the sub-originator go to waste, he would also lose the vast foundation brought by the Stone. Thinking this made his heart break So then there was another problem. How could he combine such vast and complicated music theories and turn the chaos into a complete unit? Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew troubled. "Whatis wrong?" he murmured. He studied the countless music notes, trying to use the interpretation method to find any holes. But the music theory involved was too much. Even with the large tuning instrument for help, it was still a huge task. He could not do this by himself at all. It had already been close to half a month and he was still clueless. Closing his eyes, he stopped thinking about it. He tapped against the wall and hummed a broken tune. It was okay. There was no need to hurry. He still had a lot of time. - That same afternoon, two old prisoners across the hallway started talking behind the bars to pass time. The old man on a wheelchair drank his tea slowly. He smacked his lips and shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Did they change the druggist? They didn''t put in enough ''seasoning.'' There''s no taste." Putting down the teacup, he sighed. "I can practically smell my feet." In the cell across from him was a bald old man with his face buried in a porn magazine. He used the afternoon sunlight to peruse it with his bad vision. Hearing the other man''s voice, he pursed his lips and looked up saying, "Your foot''s long gone. I cut it off myself, remember?" "No, your memory''s bad. I got a new one later. It''s better than the old one." The wheelchair guy lifted the blanket on his knee and shook his foot proudly at the other. "See, look. Look" There was nothing under the calf. However, the bald guy stared with his rheumy eyes and hit his forehead in realization. "Oh, right. How did I forget?" "Right." The wheelchair guy put the blanket back. There was nothing under his calf but there was a bulge under the blanket. There seemed to be a writhing limb, squirming slowly. "So itchy" The wheelchair guy reached out and scratched the nonexistent foot over the blanket. As he scratched, his expression grew bitter. "Hey, you know Old Tom is going to die tonight. Old George is going soon too. Probably the day after tomorrow." Stunned, Bald Guy closed his magazine. "Wasn''t he still fine yesterday?" "He changed his heart too much back in the day. It''s going to fail soon." Wheelchair Guy shook his head. "He won''t be able to keep going for long." "I see" "He''s so old now. He''s at the age to die." Wheelchair Guy smacked his lips. "We''ve been neighbors for all these years. No one''s had it easy." "He was at the age to die eighty years ago." Bald Guy opened the magazine again. Burying his face in it, he said indifferently, "The undying old guy is going to die, what a pity. You should convince him to just confess. Maybe the Sacred City will feel merciful and get him a prostitute to send him off." "Nah." Wheelchair Guy shook his head. "That secret could be exchanged for three cities eighty years ago. Now you want him to exchange it for a prostitute? If I tell him, he''d probably bite me to death. If you want to bow to the Sacred City, then you do it." "I want to but they won''t let me." Bald Guy snickered. "Otherwise, they wouldn''t send me here to look at porn after the Inquisition disbanded. If I still had some secrets to exchange for more of these books, I''d do it. I really don''t know why the Sacred City-" "Because you''re a pervert, Mollien," Wheelchair Guy said emotionlessly. "You''re a son of a b*tch." "Thanks." Silence returned. After a long while, Wheelchair Guy asked, "Why are you reading that again? You never have good ideas when you read that magazine." Mollien looked up. He gave an old and kind smile. "For some reason, I want to kill again." Understanding him, Wheelchair Guy looked up into a certain direction. "Because of him?" "Yeah." Mollien sighed. "Your foot itches but my hand itches really, really badly. If it was thirty years ago, I wouldn''t be able to resist it." Listening to the vague humming in the distance, he could not help but chew on his nails. His ground his teeth with cracking sounds. "Youngsters these days" he murmured. "So impressive." "Yeah, you cruddy grandmasters from the Sacred City detonated an instrument because of him and instantly killed six people." "I''m not talking about that" Mollien looked up with bloodshot eyes. "Not that." Wheelchair Guy suddenly fell silent. He smacked his lips and listened to the vague voice in the wind. He tapped his knee to the rhythm. The singing was very unclear. He could not hear any details and it was broken like a hallucination floating in the wind. However, these two old guys who had been submerged in music theory for decades could still hear the details hidden into the song. The tapping finger stiffened. The foot writhing under the blanket stopped quickly as well. "I see," he sighed. "He shouldn''t be twenty yet. Did some dead guy take over his body?" Mollien looked at him mockingly. "If someone is talented enough to be like this without using a god''s help, who would be stupid enough to be a dark musician?" Wheelchair Guy could not reply. He gave a long and hard stare, saying, "As your neighbor for so long, I''ll give you a piece of advice. Don''t get any ideas. You don''t want to get a bag thrown over your head and taken to be experimented on, right?" "Don''t worry. I just think it''s a pity." Mollien cackled. "Even if I don''t do anything, those old beasts at the Cardinals aren''t going to let him leave this place alive. What a pity that such a good kid can''t die in my hands" "Let''s end the distasteful conversation here." Wheelchair Guy sighed. "If you keep going, the tea will be even more disgusting." He lifted the teacup and drank all the cold tea. He wiped his mouth. Some remaining drops fell onto the table and sizzled. 413 Cantarella The only sounds in the dark hallway were thumping heartbeats. "The elder is waiting for you." The secretary standing outside the door glanced at the examiner who had been waiting for a long time. He said indifferently, "As etiquette requires, do not speak unless there are questions after reporting. Do not raise your head and look into his eye. Don''t have a smart mouth, understood?" "Understood." The examiner nodded respectfully. His face was a bit pale and he could not breathe as if his collar was too tight. "This is for your own good." The secretary patted his shoulder and pushed open the door without waiting for his reply. The examiner lowered his head and walked into the silent room. Dark red curtains hung in the room. The carved holy emblem shone with black metallic light under the dim candle. In the darkness, there was only an old man in a rough robe. He sat on a metal chair. His features were plain and his eyes were closed. He held rosary beads and seemed to be praying. The tiny marks on the rosary beads'' emblems showed the elder''s status. It was only a mere glance but the examiner involuntarily held his breath and knelt down, reverently lowering his head. It was the Ecclesiastical Order. This order composed of the old creatures of the Sacred City families did not exist in any records. However, they held a mysterious yet powerful influence over the Sacred City for a century. They were born from the elite families of the Sacred City families and had all undergone the intense competition within their families to become ''beasts'' who did not fall for decades in the political world. They were once active in Amnesty Institute, the Bishop Department, the Gospel Ministry, and other important institutions. Even the Cardinals could not be isolated from their influence. Now, they had aged and were willing to be ascetic monks without any status but they were still powerful figures who could change the entire Church with an order. They once had power, money, lust, and all the glory in the world. What they once had was no longer important now. Instead, they began leading ascetic and crude lives. They spent their days in the dark underground palace to study the scriptures and rarely ventured out. If they came out from the underground, would they smell like a rotting corpse? They were like ghosts that hid in the shadows and paced through the human world. They gazed at people with their murky eyes with a chilling aura. Kneeling before the elder, the examiner respectfully reported his name and institution. After a long silence, the praying elder opened his eyes. He raised the simple ring on his finger to the examiner''s lips. "Child, I bless thee. You are the hands of God." The voice was deep yet hoarse as if it came from far away. In a daze, the examiner kissed the ring. Fear flashed past his reverent expression. The amber ring was carved with the elder''s family emblem. It was the Sforza familyan important figure in the Sacred City. Over the centuries, more than sixteen cardinals had come from that family. There were not many who were qualified to wear this ring. To the examiner''s knowledge, there were only a few in this generation, including the elder brother of the current family leader. He was the one who matched the old man''s body and voice the mostLudovic. But the terrifying thing wasLudovic had died forty years ago. So what was sitting before him now? A living corpse? An angry spirit? The examiner did not dare to think any further. He emptied his thoughts and started to report. Three short minutes later, he lowered his head and did not speak anymore. Ludovic replied promptly. "Tell me your thoughts," he said. "You have interacted with him for fifteen days. What do you feel?" "It-it is difficult to say." The examiner was sweating. "He is a pure idealistic man and shows signs of self-destruction. Torture is useless because his heart will not die. No matter what we say or threaten, he refuses to say anything useful. This type of person is difficult. We might not receive anything other than lies. "In addition, he may have already expected this day and made all the preparations. All evidence and traces end with him. It is impossible to continue digging. We cannot find any other clues. "Now, many people worship him, thinking he is a saint in the darkness but I think he is crazy. In fact" He paused and lowered his head. "He may already realize that my identity is not so simple." "Oh?" The secretary hung his head. "He always takes me as a regular clerk but when he speaks, he looks at my collar." He pulled his collar open. The skin on the neck was clearly different. It was the obvious tan line from wearing high-collared uniforms under the sun for many years. After a pause, Ludovic nodded. "Anything else?" "I on-once" The examiner gulped. "There was once a moment when I wanted to kill him butI did not dare." His pinky finger twitched as he thought back to that murderous moment. At that time, the youth behind the long table had raised his head lazily. A metallic glint had appeared in his squinted eyes. Even under the shackles, there had been a bone-numbing coldness. It was like a sword hanging over his head. The coldness did not disappear until fear had flashed past the examiner''s eyes. It was then replaced by a mocking smirk. Hearing this, Ludovic did not comment. He nodded and said, "I see. You may leave now." As if freed, the examiner retreated respectfully and quietly closed the door. The secretary entered soon. After closing the door, he stood wordlessly beside Ludovic. He waited until the old man had finished thinking before placing a letter on the table. "Anglo''s ambassador wishes to see you." "I won''t see him." Ludovic scoffed. "There is no one worthy of seeing us in that fallen nation without God''s protection. Arthur''s descendants will never learn to be humble. Just let them die in arrogance." The secretary nodded. He tossed the letter into the burner. It quickly turned to dust in the fire. "Anglo will do all they can to adjust matters these days. Mr. Borja said that many of the Amnesty Institute have been swayed." "Tell Borja that this matter is highly important and should not be treated lightly. It involves the Sacred City''s dignity. If he is not punished, will the Sacred City''s laws continue to be effective? I can understand his hardships. I will help him solve this problem. However, I hope that the result will not be disappointing. After all, this is all for the Sacred City." He reached out and wrote some words on paper. Pressing his ring in the inkpad, he left behind a clear stamp and put the paper inside an envelope. "Give this to ''Cantarella''." The secretary held the envelope. Hearing that name, his hand trembled as if holding a burning piece of iron. ''Cantarella'' was originally the name of a poison. It was odorless white powder that priests gave to their political enemies. Some said that it was the combination of cadine and arsenic. The victim would by asphyxiated by a bone-piercing coldness. But at some time, it became the euphemism for the assassins kept by the important families. The assassins who were sent were usually priests, civilians, or even nobles. Like poison, they were single-use consumables. They were difficult to develop but had shocking effects. They rarely ever failed. The secretary quickly took the letter and left without a sound. In the silence, Ludovic sat alone. The dim candlelight illuminated his rosary beads. He shut his eyes and prayed quietly. 414 Thankfully Ye Qingxuan fell asleep without realizing. When he woke up, he discovered from the tiny window that the sun was setting. It was already dusk. He had an hour of fresh air at this time every day. Under the setting sun, groups of prisoners sat in the yard within the high walls. They played cards, talked, drank tea, or wrote poetry about fallen leaves. It was a weird feeling to see them discuss poetry and tea. It felt like some aristocratic club. Ye Qingxuan felt more and more unsettled. It was like a few burly and hairy bandits sitting in a pink room and giving their dolls a tea party. Their smiles were gentle and happiness seeped from their knife scars. Above the high tower, an organ sounded. This was not a score to chase away aether. It was just pure music. The elegant hymn echoed through the prison. The ethereal and holy melody filled one''s ears, making one feel the beauty and value of life. "What the hell is this?" he murmured, frowning. "You don''t know?" An old guy sleeping on a wheelchair nearby opened his eyes and could not help but mock, "This is the score the Sacred City prepared to cleanse our sinful souls. They play it occasionally, hoping that we''ll realize the beauty of life and power of justicesomething like that. You''ll get used to it." Stunned, Ye Qingxuan asked, "You can''t communicate with aether here. Is the music score actually useful?" The old man''s smile grew mysterious. "You''re still too young. Even if you''re talented, you still haven''t been interacting with music theory for long. You still have not experienced some things." He said lightly, "If you live a few more decades, you''ll understand that even without aether, music is still powerful It deserves for one''s soul to drown in it. Merely listening can stir your soul." Ye Qingxuan''s heart trembled. A memory flashed past his eyes. "Music notesare language?" Hearing this, the old man''s eyes were faintly shocked. He nodded. "You can say that." - So-called music notes were just a transcription of the world''s sounds. By observing the world, they transcribed the mysterious sounds into music notes and created miracles. All civilization began with the birth of language. The ancestor of the Asgardian people sacrificed himself to the Tree of Life, receiving the first runes of Asgard. The Sumerians said a wise man stole language from the god of fire. He brought light to humans but the consequence was that he fell to Hell after death Music notes were a language. This was what Abraham had said in the first class. He thought that music notes were the language of aether. This was the foundation of the interpretation method. At that time, Ye Qingxuan could not comprehend the words but now, he had some understanding. "Seems like you kind of understand?" The strange old man''s eyes were mysterious. "Even without aether, some melodies are enough to influence someone''s emotions and personality. If you add some special seasoning and bait, it''s not hard to purify one''s soul at all. In this environment, even the most horrible sinner will changeeven if the original self is completely wiped clean." He paused and gave an evil smile, "Welcome to the soul transformation site of the Sacred City, kid. You''ll get used to it quickly. Without much time, you''ll be able to join them and talk about art and the beauty of life." There was no change or fear in Ye Qingxuan''s expression. He just looked at the old man and asked, "Then how long have you been here? Thirty years? Or forty?" The man''s smile faltered slightly. Ye Qingxuan had grasped the core of the problem. "Fifty-six years. It''ll be fifty-seven next month," he replied honestly. "You want to know why it doesn''t work on me? I can tell you but you might not be able to do it." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Tell me. Maybe it''ll work." "It''s simple. If you enjoy food, you can be won over by the taste. But if you know that what you''re enjoying is made out of rotten meat with mad cow disease and sewer water, you won''t like it anymore." The old man coughed and cackled at the same time. He continued, "If you look past the sacred jacket and see what''s underneath, you might not like that person''s flashy jacket anymore." Ye Qingxuan frowned; his expression was blank. The man pointed at the source of the music. "What do you think of the musician?" After pondering, Ye Qingxuan answered, "His foundation and fingering are pretty good. He should be from the Trinity College and inherit classicism. His grasp is good and his technique is just right." "That''s it? You''re too shallow." The elder seemed to be smiling. "Music has a spirit but where does it come from?" Ye Qingxuan said without thinking, "The composer and performer." "Yes." The old guy laughed. "A man can hide the spirit but the music theory can''t. It knows what you''re thinking and doing. It can also reveal things that even you don''t know I became a dark musician after realizing this." As if reminiscing on his thirst for power when he was young, his eyes brightened a little. "Kid, you cannot lie to your own heart or force your music to lie. That is why people will go crazy and die when the symphony of predestination fails. It contains the spirit of your musicit is the crystallization of your soul, the truest part of you. So" The elder pointed at his ears. "If you listen, you will be able to see its true nature. Do you want to know what that guy is thinking of now?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. Sneering, the elder rolled his wheelchair. "Follow me." - The elder took him to the corner of the yard. Under the tree''s shade, a few ancient men who looked old enough to be in coffins already sat around a stone table. They either played cards or just talked. Ye Qingxuan was worried that they would get a stroke if they became the slightest bit excited. "This is Tom and that''s George. You can call them Old Tom or Old George. The bald guy reading the porn magazine is a pervert. Ignore him Basically, everyone here can''t even pay for their sins with death so you don''t have to pity them. These are the only stupid ones who can last this long without repenting. Do you want me to introduce them in detail?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and found a place to sit. "Deer-head Tom Kline, bone collector George Valina, and that guy who shaved his headis he the legendary psychotic killer of the Sacred City, Mr. Mollien? "I learned about all of your stories from the Church''s reward list. I didn''t know that all of you are still imprisoned here and am quite surprised. But I apologize for not recognizing you. You seem to have problems with your legs." "It''s alright. I am just an unknown man of no importance. Just call me Old Cripple." He clearly did not want to talk about the past and just chuckled. "I didn''t think that someone would still remember the wanted list from decades ago. How shocking." With that, he looked at the others. "I was discussing the special concert the Sacred City holds for us with this young man with a bright future. Does anyone have thoughts?" "Thoughts?" Old George glanced at him with a strange expression. "What are you planning now?" "Just thoughts." Old Cripple looked excited. "No problem with talking about it." Old George shook his head. "I didn''t listen closely but I know that the musician has changed It should be a man, pretty young, probably around twenty years old." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "What else?" he asked. "Let me listen" Deer-head Old Tom was interested as well. After listening for a bit, he smirked. "Huh, he has concerns, haha. He''s not paying attention. I don''t know what he''s thinking of but it seems like he''s just killing time." "That goes without saying." Old George snorted. "The Sacred City doesn''t pay much. Coming to this place for that money, you can''t even buy a house in ten years. I wouldn''t like it either. If you have a bright future, you should go make more money." Mollien, who had been quiet the entire time, raised his head and said lightly, "I think it''s because of his lower body." "Bet?" Old Tom rubbed his hands. "Loser has to say ''daddy'' ten times." "Sure." Mollien smiled confidently. Not even after two measures, Tom''s expression grew ugly. "F*ck, how come youngsters nowadays only think about sex?" He spat on the ground. "That guy''s probably thinking about some wh*re." "I''m betting ten more calls of ''daddy''." Mollien''s smile was creepy as he raised a finger. "He''s gay." With that, everyone fell silent. No one wanted to bet with him again. "You can hear that?" Ye Qingxuan was curious. "It''s simple." Old Cripple''s voice was complex. "Perverts understand perverts, bad guys understand bad guys, gays understand gays too. This *sshole is all three. When he was the licensed killer of the Sacred City, he could smell an *sshole from three streets away. Finding a gay now is nothing." Mollien''s expression was arrogant. Rather than feeling embarrassed, he asked, "Anyone want to bet who his boyfriend is? You can raise the stakes now." "The manager of the tower''s lower level, right?" That came from Ye Qingxuan. This time, Mollien was shocked. He quickly smiled, "You can tell?" "I guessed." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "There aren''t many non-straights here. There are even less who can be paired with that musician. It''s just the exclusion method." Everyone''s expressions turned strange. "Thank you for all your advice. I suddenly understood many things." Ye Qingxuan rose to leave. "I won''t disturb your card game now. See you next time." Seeing Ye Qingxuan leave, Old Tom shook his head. "What a troublesome kid." Mollien glanced at Old Cripple. "What are you doing this for?" "Huh?" The man seemed to not understand. "You''re a dark musician but you''re going to help a kid who''s infamous for hating dark musicians? Are you repenting?" "I''m just curious." Old Cripple dealt the cards slowly. "He doesn''t have many more days anyway. I just want to know what level he can reach without this obstacle. After all, it''s hard to find anything interesting here, other than playing cards." "Then you''ll be disappointed." Mollien shook his head and said meaningful, "The man''s coming for his life." - Those guys were bad news. That was Ye Qingxuan''s conclusion. Neither Deer-head nor the Bone Collector were good people. That seemingly caring but extremely mysterious old cripple seemed to have something planned. The most important was that bald Mollien. Under his peaceful eyes was raw murderous intent. He wanted to kill Ye Qingxuan but did not dare so he could only force down his urge. If they ran into each other outside of prison, it would be a fight to death. Therefore, even though they had given him answers, Ye Qingxuan felt more cautious than grateful. Now, the most important thing was to find Charles. He had to ask his stupid senior what was going on outside and how he got in here. But he could not find Charles after searching for a long time. He asked many people but no one had even seen Charles before. With his features and gold hair, he should be memorable. So where exactly was he imprisoned? While deep in thought, he heard a bang. Rows of bars away, a new prisoner was taken out of the heavily guarded car. He seemed to have been tortured horribly and could barely stand. His eyes were blank, hair unruly, and his face was sheet-white. Ye Qingxuan froze. Even with the distance, he could see the face clearly. It was the examiner who used to interrogate him every day! Seeming to sense his gaze, the examiner looked over. His eyes were gloomy and troubled. He opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. Finally, it became a pathetic smile. Ye Qingxuan quickly found out his crime: attempted assassination of the Cardinal. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan left. The break was over. - Under the dim light, Ye Qingxuan studied the incomplete music score on the wall. In his brain, countless details rolled through, continuously breaking apart and going back together. A new structure formed in the mess of thoughts. Music notes were a language. Therefore, it must have logic, which was the music theory. The spirit of the music score came from the composer''s heart. That was his truest self. Therefore, there must be a path to follow. Find himself in the music theory? It was Ye Qingxuan''s first time experiencing this. After looking at the problem from another perspective, he was enlightened. He tried to understand it from the angle of a scholar of ancient studies. Like organizing an incomplete document, he carefully edited, revised, and deleted. Using his own understanding and needs, he reorganized the content and created a new image. He quickly found a new direction, but he had new troubles too. Now, Ye Qingxuan really regretted not memorizing related books while he was in the library. Thankfully, Abraham had come to the Sacred City. Ye Qingxuan could ask him some questions during visits. He stood before the wall. Grabbing his pen, he quickly got rid of the unnecessary parts. Within two short hours, he had refined one-fifth of the score. One-fifth of the bloated music score was replaced by precise music theory. More importantly, he had found a way to combine the four originally complicated cores. There were finally signs of the ''Dreamweaver'' in his Deva''s blood. Before lights out, Ye Qingxuan looked at the totally different music score and nodded in satisfaction. Without feeling like a lost blind man, he would come to the solution sooner or later. He slept better than any other night in prison. However, in his sleep, he heard muffled choking sounds in the near distance. The examiner that had just been thrown into jail was curled up in his cell. Tears streamed down his face as if he was regretting something. Ye Qingxuan''s mood worsened. He did not know what happened but he had a feeling the man''s arrest had something to do with him. He felt a bit guilty. But quickly, he was distracted by a strange itch. His hands, arms, shoulders, between his toes, his knees, back, neck, facethe itch was spreading across his entire body. His itching finger felt something and he was overcome with fear. Flipping over, Ye Qingxuan sat up. The dim light in the hallway illuminated his ghastly pale face. He looked up at the mirror behind the toilet. In the reflection, the frail young man looked completely different. Tiny blisters spread across his body rapidly. The thumb-sized blisters grew out of his mutating flesh, covering his body. They broke at the slightest touch and dried. After squeezing out the pus, they left behind tiny holes. As if he had somehow contracted a contagious disease during the night, his entire body was changing, mutating, rotting, and becoming some twisted thing. Ye Qingxuan yelled for the guards but no one came. The choking sounds traveled to his ear. "It''s a music score." It dawned on him and his expression darkened. Because of his shackles, he could not sense any aether. He had no way of knowing where it came from or how to defend himself. There was only one solution. Bearing the pain and itch, he rolled off the bed and crawled to the sink. He knocked the toothbrush to the ground. Clenching his jaw, Ye Qingxuan applied force and cracked the toothbrush in half. He grabbed it with a deformed hand and stabbed the sharp point into his chest. Blood spurted out. Screaming, he yanked it out and stabbed himself again. The blinding pain pierced his heart and spread. Then he dug his fingers in and tore at the wound. Finally, he saw his poisoned heart through the dark green bones. He smiled, feeling the weight lifted. "It''s an illusion." Thankfully, it was an illusion rather than a Choir curse. After the Philosopher''s Stone became the sub-originator''s sublimated source, even he did not know what was beating in his chest. There would be no problems so why would he give in to his curiosity and dissect himself? However, the Philosopher''s Stone would never ever be replaced by an infected bodily organ. "You want to get rid of me so quickly?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Not so fast." Thankfully, it was an illusion. 415 So-called Growth It was great that it was not a virus from the School of Choir, a curse from the School of Revelations, or a mutation from the School of Modifications Ye Qingxuan could understand this. After all, this was the heavily guarded judgement tower and his position was sensitive. Because of the possible consequences, the enemy would use an illusion because it would not leave behind any evidence. Fortunately, it was an illusion. He did not have to worry that he would die immediately. If his mind was strong enough, he could survive before his senses were completely taken over. Ye Qingxuan was an expert in this field. He knew what to do in this situation. After confirming that it was an illusion, he needed to know what type it was. What kind of illusion was it? A sensory illusion? A sealed illusion-scape constructed over the entire cell rather than just on him? A misconception that worked on his consciousness? The terrifying reality after making the illusion become reality? Or was it multiple types? He could at least cross out the possibility of the illusion becoming reality. This was an extremely rare and difficult skill. Ye Qingxuan knew from Lola''s experience. If her luck was the tiniest bit worse, she would probably have suffered from the music theory backlash and become an illusion herself long ago. Even so, she was only a beginner after completing her symphony of predestination. Of the musicians who studied this topic, ninety-nine of one hundred would die. The remaining one may not succeed either. There were less than ten musicians who had the ability to dabble in this field. More than half were from the Northern Islands, Voodoo Crypt, Unstable Soil, and other hidden schools. Hiring them would require a fortune and they might not even be willing. Ye Qingxuan thought that he might not be that unlucky. Plus, there were countless of ways to kill him if the killer truly was that skilled. He could just shoot an illusory stimulant into Ye Qingxuan''s blood, causing him to die from psychosis. The other possibilities were easy. Ye Qingxuan smiled and closed his eyes. It was time for the interpretation method. The proposition was the changes of music theory in the aether sea. In his mind, an aether sea slowly emerged. It was serene and seemed to stretch to the end of the world. He set the aether density to the standard of a red zone. After setting up the source, sixteen organs rose in his mind, creating a large ring. Next Ye Qingxuan grinned. The sixteen huge organs sounded at once. Powerful music burst from them, overlapping and creating waves in the aether sea. Countless ripples collided; the imaginary music theory collapsed and regenerated. It felt as if Ye Qingxuan''s brain was tossed into a boiler. It was about to break down under the huge performance. In the imaginary aether sea, the waves tossed and crashed wildly. As the tides came and went, countless music theories were created, broken down, scattered This was Abraham''s rule. No matter what, he could not try inhuman performances. Otherwise, his brain would fail under the operation of the interpretation method. Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness started fading from the extreme pain of the poison. But in that moment, he saw everything distort and fadeAs his brain turned wildly, his consciousness changed dramatically. Even his perception turned abnormal. He saw the cell warp and distort It was as if he was experiencing some weird abstract mathematical logic. The structure of the cell became very strange. Even Ye Qingxuan''s body became thin and flexible like a doll stretched and stuffed into a box. "I see" He stopped the interpretation and watched as the world changed. It dawned on him. "So it''s in my mind?" Then where was he? Probably still sleeping on his bed and dreaming, right? Ye Qingxuan wanted to laugh. He entered a prepared dream of the Dreamweaver Friend, he thought, are you truly not joking around? - Ten minutes ago, soft crying sounded in the hall outside Ye Qingxuan''s cell. The examiner curled up in his own cell but his eyes glowed with strange red light. His lips slowly curled. Before the midnight bell rang, he quietly opened his mouth and lifted a piece of thread from under his tooth. He pulled out the object hanging in his throat. It was a ring. It looked like an average thing carved with basic music notes. However, under his activation, the simple interval fused into the midnight bell. It subtle ripple became one with the enchantment of the tower. Going past the enchantment''s blocking, it could act directly on the aether. It was a key. When the tower was first built, before the Abstinence disciplines and enchantments were erected, there was a tiny space within the music theory operation. It was not enough to control the aether sea but it was still something. The examiner opened his mouth, closed his hands, and pressed onto the air. A cold and tragic melody joined the soft sobbing. It crossed past the empty space. Using the prepared fulcrum, it flowed into Ye Qingxuan''s dream. The Forgotten Offeringsan Illusion score created from a Bible legend. When the holy one died and the end of the world came, some sinners fell into Hell to be tormented for eternity. In the Bible, the descending angel said, "Time is up. There will no more time in the future." After this, the sinner would experience pain for eternity as he begged for the last salvation. Thus, Illusion musicians created this score. It consisted of ''Judgement,''''Sin,'' and ''Sacrament.'' The fulcrum was introduced during Judgement. Then, Sin tormented the victim in the illusion until his consciousness was wiped out by the endless pain. Finally, Sacrament provided the final salvation, allowing the victim to rest in peace. In five short minutes, he could experience thousands of years of torture. Of course, the requirements for the score were very strict. The musician must drag the victim into the depths of the illusion-scape without him realizing and there must not be any resistance. A musician with the slightest bit of aether sensing would wake up when noticing the aether waves, which would then destroy the illusion. Therefore, the prison was the most suitable for this score. Here, everyone''s senses were blocked by the shackles. They could not use music scores and were practically just like regular humans. Affected by the drugs and hymns, their minds were even weaker than the average man. Ye Qingxuan was quickly dragged into the nightmare. It was effortless. The examiner controlled the music score inside Ye Qingxuan''s mind, dragging him deeper and deeper in. He also prepared a Mind music score. The client''s request was that it must be wrapped up cleanly and Ye Qingxuan could not die in prison. He must be put on trial and confess to his sin. He must die from the noose. Therefore, after Ye Qingxuan''s mind was tormented completely, it was time for the Mind score. He must plant the hint, mold Ye Qingxuan''s mind, change his thoughts It was detailed work, especially because he could not let anyone realize something was wrong. Who knew what valuable things this guy had in his brain? The musician pondered. It would be best if he could find something useful and make some extra money. Maybe the Chapter of Golden Victory? Putting all twelve together could create the scepter of Heaven Comes, which was apparently the most powerful, second to saints. Or maybe there were other valuable secrets to sell? After all, he would not be able to use this identity after the deal. He should squeeze out all of this job''s worth. "Let me see" He lowered into Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness, passing through the fog and crumbling defenses. He went into the illusion and went deeper. Finally, he found a door that represented secrets in a maze of memories. "What a troublesome lock" The musician sneered. "What kind of secret needs to be hidden like this?" He took out a key he had imagined out of the consciousnesstears, sadness, and fatigue. It was the easiest way into secrets. Crack. The key broke. The musician froze. This method was tried and true but it didn''t work now? Then it dawned on him that Ye Qingxuan was apparently well-learned in Mind theory as well. Regular methods obviously would not work here. He took out another keydespair. However, the moment it appeared in this dreamscape, it dissipated. The musician was stunned. He quickly took out various keys he had created beforehand but the door would not budge. The small tricks would not work here. His mood worsened. He did not want to do this but now, he had no other choice. His body quickly swelled. Horns grew from his head and flames burst from under his feet. Bat wings sprouted from the flames behind his back. Controlling his image, he transformed into an incubus. He reached out, slamming toward the door''s lock. Crack. Before he even applied pressure, the door opened He was stunned but quickly started laughing in self-mockery. This guy''s will had probably caved in long ago under the Illusion''s torment. With such weak defense, he probably could have just nudged the door open. He pushed it open. There was heavy fog behind the door. As if a splendid city had been obliterated, tombs rose up between the ruined walls. Ghostly white fog shrouded the place, seeming to hide countless secrets. Seeing this, the musician''s blood chilled. This was a psycho! Everyone would construct a refuge in the depths of their consciousness. It was a place to put all the secrets. It was a corner for their souls to hide and heal. The musician had seen wooden cabins on fresh green prairies and castles on islands in a storm. He had seen bustling cities, dazzling palaces, and even bloody dismembering workshops and terrifying basements decorated with human skin But the lowest level of this guy''s consciousness was a devastated cemetery?! The musician looked at the tombstone closest to him. Walking closer, he finally saw the name clearly. Shaken, he looked to another tombstone. The name was the same. Staring at the rows of tombs, his skin crawled. The hundreds upon thousands of tombstones all had the same nameYe Qingxuan! "This psycho" A chill ran through the musician''s mind. Now, he finally realized that this was not a sanctuary at all. This was Ye Qingxuan''s burial place! How many times had this guy killed himself?! "That was the me who wanted to become an artist," someone beside him said quietly. "I used to be talented in drawing. My mother wanted me to become an artist." The musician spun around and saw the figure that had suddenly appeared. The young man touched another tombstone and sighed. "This is the one who wanted to become a poet. I had many wishes as a child and many paths I wanted to go down. Unfortunately, none of them came true. There are many of me heremany weak ones. They''ve all died." Looking up, he said calmly, "When you kill your younger self, you grow up. When you kill your weaker self, you become braver. I think that maturing is a process of continuously killing yourself, right?" The musician stared in shock. The chill spread and he did not know what to say. Why are you here? he wanted to ask but it went unsaid. If Ye Qingxuan could appear here, it meant that he had escaped from the illusion. The musician racked his brain trying to think of why. His shadow grew more menacing with undisguisable animosity. "You''re looking for this, right?" Ye Qingxuan held a small box. Rather than a lock, the lid was only tied with a piece of thread. It looked childish and laughable. "Sorry, this can''t be yours." The box fell from his hands back into some unknown place, locked in the depths of the dream. Ye Qingxuan stared at the invader and said softly, "You can''t take anything from here." The musician''s expression darkened. His shadow grew strangely, swelling as if it was boiling, and spread in all directions. "You can''t use it anyway, so why can''t I take it?" he asked coldly. "Sorry, I wanted to avoid this situation. After all, mind transformations are more painfulBut sadly, you don''t give me any other choice." "I''m actually quite experienced in competing over will." Ye Qingxuan laughed. "So you shouldn''t talk like a hot shot." "We''ll see!" The musician disappeared and was replaced by a pure black sky vault. A wild consciousness burst forth with a rumbling music score. It collapsed Ye Qingxuan''s dreamscape in an instant, digging deep into his mind. Like a thunderstorm, countless locusts descended from the sky. It was like the destructive plague from legends. They devoured everything in sight. The dreamscape also fought back. This was inside the prison and it was impossible to use the aether sea''s strength. The enemy''s strength was restricted to the Musician level. Ye Qingxuan never thought that he could lose to a Musician level man in a fight of will and mind! Their minds changed thousands of times within an instant. They collided and clashed, using themselves as weapons to stab the other! This was the least technical battle in the School of Mind but it also relied most heavily on one''s strength. Everything was built on their will and tenacity, their changes of technique, and experience. Everything was decided on the foundation. The more they fought, the more scared the musician felt. He could not find any trace of Ye Qingxuan''s encroachment and hint. It was seamless and his colorless river was all-consuming. Every gap in the turning thoughts was a chance. He could sense the tiniest weakness and take advantage of it. Within an instant, the musician had removed dozens of hints from his mind. They had all been planted without him realizing when he slightly let down his guard. Plus, this guy could not even fight actively and could only defend passively. If he could sense the aether, the scales would be tipped! Where did this crazy man come from? Was he a musician secretly trained by the Dark Forest, Mindfulness, or some other Mind School? His profile only said that he did not have a School of Mind mentor and had only dabbled in itwhat bullsh*t! His skills and foundation were even more stable than the musicians! With his encroachment and hint planting skills, he was darker than dark musicians! Who did he learn from?! On the other hand, Ye Qingxuan was also struggling. Unexpectedly, he was not losing because of technique but because ofhis tenacity?! The assassin who had invaded his mind always attacked like it was a suicide mission. The man tried to destroy Ye Qingxuan''s mind even if it meant dying himself! Every attack on his consciousness shook his heart and soul. Every attack used up all his potential. His mind was spinning in overload. If Ye Qingxuan could leave his dreamscape, he would see that his body was convulsing as blood flowed out of his eyes, nose, and mouth. How was the assassin a musician? He was clearly a suicide terrorist! There was no sign of the early greed and hesitation. It seemed to be a totally different person. Ye Qingxuan would practically be defeated with every attack. Most of his efforts were spent on the aftershocks. The invisible river managed to take the brunt of things. The enemy was not scared of dying but Ye Qingxuan was! If the assassin''s thoughts did not suddenly go stiff and show a bunch of flaws, Ye Qingxuan would not even be able to disturb the man. He couldn''t help it. The dumb were afraid of the shocked. The shocked were afraid of those who did not care about their lives. Ye Qingxuan had been shocked for so many years. It was his first time seeing someone flirt with death like this. What was going on?! The assassin was thinking the same thing at the moment. He had messed up and continued making mistakes. He was tied with a musician who could not even sense the aether and was now at a disadvantage! While he hesitated, he realized that his mind was turning slower and slower A hint! A hint had been planted in him! His thoughts were shaken. He had almost been successful but no matter what, he could not find where the hint came from! In the end, it suddenly dawned on him. That box! 416 Hopefully It was that box! The one Ye Qingxuan had showed when he first appeared! He knew that the assassin would focus on the box because he was greedy, so Ye Qingxuan turned it into a hint. He was so stupid to be so hung up on it. Whenever he recalled the box, the greed would feed the hint! He had bred the demon himself! It suddenly dawned on him and he became decisive. In the next moment, he no longer hesitated or dodged. Ignoring Ye Qingxuan''s invasions, he activated every bit of potential he had. His will swelled and crashed into Ye Qingxuan''s mind. Boom! Ye Qingxuan''s body shook. This practically suicidal attack almost destroyed him. Even in his dream, he could taste the blood in his nose and throat. "Haha, goodbye friend." The assassin disappeared with a laugh. "I''ll be back later!" But the moment he left, he saw The consciousness world was falling apart but the tombstones were buried and the fog was blown away, revealing the core of the scene. It was a tall tower. A tower that reached into the sky! Like a pillar, it supported the world of Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness. It reached into the end and disappeared into the voidThis miracle made from music theory was shocking. It led straight into the heavens! It was the Heaven Ladder! "I got you!" In the slowly recovering consciousness world, coldness flashed past Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. The man was trying to retreat with Ye Qingxuan''s hint in him Was he courageous or a fool? He could not help but laugh. - The next instant, the examiner in the close yet far cell opened his eyes. Before he could smile, his expression stiffened. He had cut off the Mind connection but it had somehow reconnected! The feeling of fury charged from the other end! Ye Qingxuan was using a Mind music score. How could he use music scores here when the aether was locked?! Did he have a key too? No, impossible! This was the Judgement Tower His own key was a precious one-time alchemy item. How was this possible? "How did you think I undid your illusion?" A hallucinatory laugh sounded in his ears eerily. The voice murmured something that practically overturned the rules of musicians, "Who said that I can''t cast music scores without being able to sense aether?" No one knew that when Ye Qingxuan first approached music theory that he had never relied on aether sensing! This was his most powerful hidden trick. Every musician knew that trying to cast music scores without sensing aether was nonsense. Even if one succeeded after trying thousands of times, it was pure luck like a blind man walking on a tightrope. It was okay if he could not find the tightrope. It would be worse if he found it. A single misstep and his bones would shatter! However, this bit of common sense did not apply to Ye Qingxuan. He did not go the regular path since he started. Even without sensing aether, he could use the interpretation method and the millions of music note records from Hermes to cast various low-difficulty music scores. "Thank you for opening the door for me." Ye Qingxuan''s voice appeared like a ghost, causing the examiner to pale. This time, the defense became the offense. His last bit of defense broke down. Ye Qingxuan completely ruled over his mind. However, his brain was already close to failing after the endless usage. It could break down at any moment. Even Ye Qingxuan did not notice that his opponent was at the brink of death! However, he frowned quickly. Things were not so simple. The examiner''s consciousness was empty. It had been wiped clean! Nothing was left behind; the man did not even remember his name. All that remained was a vague figure. It was a woman in a wedding dress. He could make out a sweet smile. This was why the man kept crying. "I see," Ye Qingxuan murmured. The examiner was not the assassin at all. He was just a poor ''springboard!'' He had been brainwashed long before arriving at the prison and turned into an empty shell. When he arrived, he was already being controlled by the assassin. Ye Qingxuan did not understand the technique but it must be a top-secret inheritance from a certain school. The assassin himself did not enter the Judgement Tower. He had been using this shell to fight with Ye Qingxuan. His suicidal fighting style made more sense now. He was not the one who would die! He had been forcing down the examiner''s consciousness and brain, manipulating his strength to fight against Ye Qingxuan. This was why he was so fearless. If he failed, he could just come again. There were many cheap springboards! Under the wounded consciousness, Ye Qingxuan could still see his opponent''s last taunt and strange laugh. "Want to leave after acting cool?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Not that easy!" - At the same time, two kilometers away from the tower, a musician awoke from his dream with a cry. He was inside a hidden warehouse of a certain agency. Sweat poured from his body, and blood seeped out of his nose and mouth. He retched violently. He was lying inside an alchemy array. The countless precious chant consumables had been used up completely. This secret ritual required an immense amount of resources. It only had one useto separate the user''s mind like the phantom beast of a Summoning musician. By dividing his consciousness, he could form shards of his personality and implant them into someone else to control the other virtually. The middle-aged man climbed up. He yanked out the threads and nails in his limbs and behind his neck. He breathed heavily. The people on either side of him helped him up. They wiped away his vomit and splashed warm water onto him. He seemed to be only thirty-years-old but he had white hair. Music notes were tattooed on his hairline like a music score permanently on his head. His mind quickly cleared. The messenger representing the client came over and asked, "Did you succeed?" "No." The musician''s empty eyes darkened. "Your information was all wrong! That guy''s Mind theory is comparable to mine." He paused, feeling a bit awkward. It was not just comparable. From the aspect of foundation, Ye Qingxuan was so much better. Shocked, terror emerged in his eyes. "Andhe can cast music scores without sensing aether!" The messenger froze as if not understanding until the musician repeated it again. His brow furrowed and his expression darkened. "You are joking!" "If I wanted to make excuses for my failure, why wouldn''t I choose a better one?" The messenger''s expression was still dark and he calculated in his mind. However, he did not notice that the musician''s lowered face had changed. The hint remained in the musician''s mind. The childish knot on the small box suddenly broke. It had become horribly damaged as the two fought. With the rope breaking, the box opened. The hidden gift finally appeared. A hint! It was another hint It was a double hint. What kind of messed up school would hide a hint inside another one?! This kind of ability only existed in theories! The musician''s expression flipped and he quickly tried to change his mind and erase that memory. It was too late. He could wipe away the hint but the command was already being enacted. It embedded into his consciousness and adjusted the heart of sound movement inside him. It was just a small changecoherence. Coherence? He froze. Who was he undergoing coherence with? The next moment, a strand of water vapor solidified into a thread and stretched out of thin air. It was the Heaven Ladder! Two kilometers away, relying on the hint''s guidance, a water vapor perception thread flew from the cell, followed the Heaven Ladder, and pressed onto his forehead. The coherence began! "Hey, we meet again." In his mind, a white haired youth appeared and smiled at him. "I have a gift for you." With that, he raised his empty hands. Moonlight glowed in his palm. It was like a dream. "What is this?" The musician froze, swallowed by the moonlight. To other people, he was convulsing right now, on the ground and muttering garbled words. Then the seizure-like spasms stopped. He opened his eyes again. "Hello, nice to meet you." The musician gazed at the shocked assistants and messenger beside him and smiled. "I''m Ye Qingxuan. Please take care of me." He reached out to the foreheads of the two assistants. Before they could react, an invisible river surged and swallowed their minds. The messenger stumbled back but the musician climbed up like a mad dog and pounced. The messenger slipped a sword out. He stood up and stabbed forward. He had never stepped onto the battlefield, but he still moved with bloody violence. His swordsmanship had been taught by the Sacred City''s swordsmen. It was extremely aggressive and fast. When attacked, most people would retreat involuntarily. However, these unplanned moments required even more decisiveness and courage. With the sword out, he was prepared to die with the enemy. He would fight fire with fire. He could only live if the enemy was dead. However, even faced with the aggressive sword, the musician did not retreat. Instead, he sped up toward the blade. It pierced through his shoulder and his hand pressed onto the messenger''s forehead. F*ck. That was his last thought before blacking out. - Late at night, someone knocked on the door of a porcelain shop at the edge of the Sacred City. "Who is it? So late" The awakened worker yawned and looked through the peephole. He saw a shirtless man with a badly wounded shoulder. His face was blank as if he was half-asleep. "Sorry, we''re closed," the worker said. "Come back tomorrow." "The old guy told me to bring the products," the man said blankly outside. "Auntieasked me to bring himanurgent letter." The door opened a crack and a hand reached out to drag him in. When the door closed, the man collapsed onto the ground. The worker was stunned. The men hiding behind the door searched the man''s body and found a letter in his pocket. It seemed to have been ripped out of a notebook. Rather than placed in an envelope, it was folded messily and then crumpled. It quickly dawned on the confused workers. They gave the mysterious man some emergency aid. Ten minutes later, the urgent letter was brought to the ''old guy'' in the Anglo embassy. In the bedroom of the embassy, Maxwell turned on the bedside lamp. He put on his glasses and smoothed the wrinkled letter. The words seemed to have been drawn by a kid. Maxwell, someone wants to kill me. Please check his identity. Also, thank you. Rather than a name, the inscription was a messy picture. He could make out a hat. Maxwell sank into shock and shook his head after a while. "It''s so hard to make you say ''thank you''." Despite his words, he could not help but laugh. - The next afternoon, Maxwell moved close to the thick glass and stared for a while. "No offense but you look like you''re about to die," he said. "Yeah, I almost did." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Literally, metaphorically, all that." The young man in the chair behind the wall was pale with dark circles under his eyes. He looked completely sapped as if he would collapse from a slight breeze. "Principal, if you have any drugs, please don''t keep them hidden. Save me." Then Ye Qingxuan uttered a long string of medicines. Maxwell''s lips quivered. Did this guy not know what money was? Just the first few could buy a square meter in the most expensive place in the Sacred City! And this guy wanted bottles of them! There was no other way though. Last night''s ordeal had added more to Ye Qingxuan''s still recovering injuries. He had survived but things were not positive. He had dueled directly with a Mind musician and then underwent countless violent battles. He had first used Bolero and the space in the enchantment to cross two kilometers. He had strengthened the hint and forcefully connected the two. Then, using Heaven Ladder''s long-distance perception, he finally forcefully resonated. The final battle seemed easy but Ye Qingxuan had used all his strength in the cell. His broken music theory had been damaged again. Two kilometers apart and unable to sense aether, the music score control was harder than he had expected. He added the final blow with Moonlight. At that time, he was on his last breath. He used vague commands to make the assassin clean up the site and bring the letter. Then he passed out. If the enemy had not been shaken by the attack, the result would have seemed so simple. The victory was a miracle. If this event could be publicized, it would definitely be included in textbooks as a genius fight. Sadly, he could only keep this secret and make himself happy. Ye Qingxuan shook his head, no longer wishing to think about it. He asked, "How''s the investigation?" Maxwell sighed. "It''s a Sacred City assassin. Cantarella. Have you heard of this name before?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Yes, somewhat." "It used to be the technique that the sixth pope used to kill others," Maxwell said. "If he found you to be in the way, he would invite you to eat dinner. During the meal, he would bring you a cup of wine. You would drink it politely, thank His Majesty, and enjoy the meal. When you sleep at night, it''s time to die." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "At least it sounds like the Sacred City at that time still cared about manners." "Apparently he died from the poison and after that, it became taboo. However, the assassins started using this term. They are raised by the big figures of the Sacred City until it''s time for them to shine." Maxwell paused, a look of pity showing. "Unfortunately, you met one of them." "What happened to him?" "He died," Maxwell said. "According to the Choir musician who did the autopsy, there''s a fatal fungus strain group in his stomach. It would start growing if he did not take the antidote within twenty-four hours, and he would turn into a petri dish for the fungus. To be honest, the image ruins my appetite." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Seems like I''ve made a mess." "To say the least." Maxwell''s expression was troubled. "You beheaded a ''hero'' at the Sacred City gates before the entire world." "Even though the hero is a fake." "No matter if he was real or fake, it all damaged the Sacred City''s prestige. No action of this level had been done in decades. Especially now, with the tense and sensitive relations between the nations, any spark could cause a disaster You angered many of the old guys in the Sacred City. In their opinion, you must pay for this." "So that''s how it is?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I didn''t realize how much trouble it was." "Can you feel how hard it is for me to clean things up for you?" Maxwell sighed and shook his head. "At least thank me a few more times so I feel comforted." "Maxwell." Ye Qingxuan raised his head. Studying Maxwell''s forced calmness, his expression was serious. "If you cannot salvage this, then don''t bother. If you want to help me, then help me take care of my professor, Bai Xi, and get that stupid Charles out of here. I won''t have any more regrets." "Idiot, what are you saying?" Maxwell laughed as if he had heard a childish joke. "Ye Qingxuan, you are my heir, the future sword bearer, and principal of the Royal Academy of Music. I will not watch you die on the scaffold. You will walk out of here safely, I promise. So just rest up and leave everything to me." He rose, put on his hat, and smiled reassuringly. "Perhaps you can come out before the Pope finishes his blessings for the Winter Festival." Ye Qingxuan bid farewell and watched Maxwell leave. After a long while, he murmured, "Hopefully." 417 Bad News As the door slammed shut behind Maxwell, he turned and gave the Judgement Tower one last glance. The calm and confidence disappeared from his face, revealing anxiety. "To the Amnesty Institute," he told the driver. But after opening the carriage door, he froze. Sunlight shone past the window curtains and illuminated the old man sitting within. The robed man looked up; emerald eyes stared at Maxwell. He patted the seat beside him, telling Maxwell to sit down He hesitated for a second. Climbing into the carriage, he chose to sit across from the elder instead. "Archbishop Ludovic?" He studied the elder and his lips curled up. "I have been hoping to meet you but never thought you would come to me in such a unique way." "Mr. Maxwell, nice to meet you." Ludovic nodded slowly. "I am no longer an archbishop. I am only an average ascetic monk." Maxwell smiled but did not reply. An ascetic monk from the Ecclesiastical Order? Was he being modest or humorous? The safest reply was a smile. "Mr. Maxwell is a guest. I should accompany you and introduce the city to you. However, I grew up here and spent my life in the churches amongst bells. I, unfortunately, cannot make a good tour guide." Ludovic looked outside the window and the city. "Mr. Maxwell, what do you think of this city?" Maxwell said, "Naturally, it is sacred." "Yes, it is the Sacred City." Ludovic sighed. "Someone once said that this is where the dignity and beliefs of humanity exist. It is the place that supports the heavens. That is why I revere this city. "At the end of the Dark Age centuries ago, seventeen monks received signs from the heavens. They came here and hammered down the first metal pillar, announcing the coming of man''s age. "Now, so much time has passed. This is now the heart of the world, the city of God. However, of the descendants of those seventeen monks, only a few still existSforza, Borja, Feliks, Medici "This city has been destroyed twice. Both times, it was rebuilt from the ruins. Some died with it; others were reborn. Despite all of this, the things in our blood have never changed. Our mission has never changed either. "Too many people have bled for this city. Their souls converge here under the sacred calling to rest. I believe this may be evidence for the existence of a world and heaven after death." Ludovic made the cross over his chest. "This is also the reason why we exist." "I am not very knowledgeable of theology and the Bible but my understanding has deepened after hearing your words." Maxwell nodded. "You must want to speak to me about ''reverence,'' yes?" "Perhaps," Ludovic replied lightly. "No matter what, it is your comprehension. As an ascetic monk, I only wish more can understand the truth of faith." "Father, have you been to Avalon?" Maxwell suddenly asked. "No." "Avalon is my home. It is a very beautiful place," Maxwell stated. "It is built on the sea. When it is sunny, it looks like a gemstone floating in the sea, dazzling. It is not as majestic as the Sacred City but it is beautiful as well. "In the summer, the entire city is embraced by the sea wind. Sea salt condenses on the beach. From a distance, it looks like white flowers. Children play on seesaws and fuss around on the pier and ships. If they fall into the water, they''ll laugh and climb back up. The adults sit on the shore and drink while playing cards. "Life seems carefree as if summer will never end. I think this was how the city was when it was first built. I will do whatever I can to let it remain like that forever because I love it." After a long silence, Ludovic nodded gradually. "It is a beautiful place that deserves one''s love. Why do you not return? Mr. Maxwell, as far as I know, doesn''t your home need you the most now?" "That is why I cannot return alone." Maxwell sat with a somber expression. "I am old but the youth and the city still has an endless future. Mr. Ludovic, he has a place he must return to. There is no need for him to pay his life for the holiness here." "It is understandable for an outsider to speak like so." Ludovic chuckled indifferently as if he had heard a meaningless joke. Glancing at Maxwell, he said, "If Anglo continues to be reckless and continue down the wrong path, it will have to pay. That is all I wish to say to you today. "Mr. Maxwell, you must consider your actions here. As far as I know, not many people in Anglo support you." "If it is the right thing to do, the amount of support and recognition does not matter." Maxwell''s eyes hardened. "That is what the child and I both think." "No, you are not the same as him." Ludovic glanced at him and smiled somewhat mockingly. "Your eyes are too weak, Maxwell. You are not as determined as you think. It is destined that you will be compromised for this. If that boy is still stubborn, then you are only pretending to dream with him." Maxwell fell silent, his face livid. Ludovic reached out and patted his shoulder. "This is a good thing. That is why I gave you the chance to meet. Maxwell, do not continue like this, whether it is for you or your beloved country. The wild blood that Arthur left behind will lead you toward the demonic path." Maxwell glared at him but Ludovic did not seem to mind. He rose and opened the carriage door to leave. Outside, he nodded in farewell. "Let us separate now. I hope you will cherish this last chance. I do not wish to be on either sides of the burning stake the next time I see you." The door closed. The carriage moved forward in the dimness. In the carriage, Maxwell closed his eyes and forced down the angry sword. "F*ck" - When he returned to the embassy, a second piece of bad news came. "Sir" The face of the embassy''s manager was green. "Half an hour ago, the Silent Authority came for the body. The security from last night was taken away too, to ''help with the investigation''." He paused and said hesitatingly, "And" "Quinn, I''m already this old. I''ve heard worse news." Maxwell took off his hat and sighed. "Tell me. Don''t worry about my heart. It won''t fail now." The man handed over a picture wordlessly. It was a porcelain shop. All the porcelain there had been dyed blood-red. The workers were nailed to the wall. Before death, they had been tortured. Their eyes were full of despair. "All dead," Quinn said. Maxwell took the picture. Without saying anything, he stuffed it in his pocket and walked to his office. He regretted saying too much. Clenching the picture, his heart thudded painfully. When the office door closed, he looked up. Looking at the man sitting behind his desk, he sighed. Maxwell placed the picture in a drawer and poured some liquor from the table in the corner. He tugged his collar loose and collapsed on the sofa, downing the liquor. After a long, long time, he rasped out, "Lancelot, I hope that you didn''t come thousands of miles from Anglo to give me the third piece of bad news of today." The pale man behind the table coughed and nodded slightly. "Sorry but I am." Maxwell cursed like an old gangster from the streets. "Spit it out." He laughed hoarsely. "I can''t wait." "Since last night, already four countries and more than ten groups notified us about various problems," Lancelot said. "They might not be able to continue following through with our agreement of grain imports. The Privy Council has been able to keep things down but I think people will soon start raising the prices. "I''m afraid it won''t be long before we need to take over the market and economy to forcefully set the prices. If the situation continues to worsen, we will need to start using rations. The Minister of Finance wants me to tell you that he is considering quitting." Maxwell froze. After a long while, he asked coldly, "How long can our war reserves last?" "More than ten years," Lancelot replied. "But are you sure you want the nation to enter the state of war so early? It''s too rushed, Maxwell. We will need to complete most preparations. It is too early" Maxwell fell silent. Anglo was an island country. More than half of the territory was on the sea. The other half was in the coastal area, easy to destroy. Anglo had always been a commerce country, relying on trade and technological research. In addition, its heavy industry was well-developed and was close to being the best in the world. However, none of that could make up for the country''s fatal weakness: its lack of fertile soil. It could not support much agriculture and therefore relied on imports for food. This was why Anglo had established the East Indian Company when India was in chaos and created a colony. India had large swaths of fertile soil and could grow millet, rice, tea, meat To achieve this, Anglo had paid a lot. It threw more than half of the military into the quagmire but also accumulated much wealth. However, as India became more and more chaotic and Leviathan''s threat loomed, the colony shrunk. More and more people wished the country would pull the troops back. Faced with one of the four living beasts, there were never enough supplies. "Guess who''s pressuring them?" Maxwell did not even need to think to know the answer. Of course it was the Ecclesiastical Order! Those old guys only needed to use some of their connections and the families could use their political power to achieve this. They did not even have to destroy the agreements. They only needed to spread some rumors and the citizens would be thrown into chaos. If the imports were delayed three months, Anglo would be forced into a regulatory state. "So f*cked" Maxwell lifted the bottle of liquor. Not in the mood to search for a glass, he drank half the bottle in one breath. After a long while, he said, "I saw Ludovic." "I know." Lancelot nodded. Maxwell laughed at himself. "For a moment, I wanted to kill him. Without caring about anything, just kill him." He looked down at the liquor. "But then I hesitated. Now I regret it" He murmured, "I really hesitated. I should have killed him." "Killing him would do nothing." Lancelot stood up and patted his shoulder. "Her Majesty gave you the authority for this matter. Everything is up to you. She wanted me to tell you that Anglo is a country that inherited dragon blood. We suffer from it but we also find pride in it." Rather than replying, Maxwell smiled bitterly. "Ludovic was rightI''m a liar who pretends to dream with the kid. I have no way of withstanding the possible consequences." He sighed. "I really regret it, Lancelot. Why did I agree to take this back then? It would have been so much better if I just stayed in the Jianlan Underground Palace." "You want to give up now?" Lancelot''s voice was low. "I gave you all my trust. If you give up, my family will be after you." "Who said I''m giving up?" Maxwell looked up. "I still have an idea but it depends on whether you are willing to give up your position." "The third amendment?" It dawned on Lancelot. The third amendment stated that the Sacred City ruled over man''s soul while the nations ruled over the man''s body. God''s domain belonged to God; man''s domain belonged to the men. It was stated in the amendment that the Sacred City had no right to interfere in a country''s matters. Its extension stated the nobles were to be prosecuted by the country rather than the Sacred City. The ''noble'' mentioned here was not the type titled by the country but the true nobles who could trace their sources. According to pedigree, the title of the Anglo emperor was only an archduke. ''Emperor'' was a self-proclaimed title and was regulated by the Sacred City. It was impossible to pull a title out of thin air for Ye Qingxuan. However, if Lancelot was willing to step down, the title of the family leader would be given to Ye Qingxuan as according to Anglo''s law of inheritance. Then he would be the current Lancelot and inherit the title of Earl. Then Ye Qingxuan''s trial would not be under the Sacred City''s jurisdiction. "As expected of Maxwell." Lancelot smiled wryly. "This was the only solution that the national lawyers could think of after countless conferences and yet you thought of it by yourself." "So what of it?" Maxwell glanced at him. "You''re not willing to give up your status and power? Your position in the Privy Council is for life, don''t worry." "No, I support this idea more than anyone else." Lancelot shook his head. "But Maxwell, you don''t understand him. You do not understand this child well enough You do not know what the Lancelot family did back then" Hanging his head, he murmured, "Back then, when he needed help the most, the family betrayed him. Ye Lanzhou died because of it. His mother was exiled and died in a border village After that, I saw that he had returned by himself. He did not look like a child anymore. "Maxwell, you don''t know how happy I was when I realized that he was still alive. His eyes are so similar to his mother''s. He can just gaze at you and you will feel fear. He is my sister''s child. I wish I can give him my everything to make up for the tiniest bit of damage. But sadly" He bent over, coughing violently. Dark blood streamed from his mouth and nose. After a long time, he recovered though his expression was still dark. "Maxwell, give up on this idea. He''ll never forgive us." Lancelot shook his head slowly. "He would rather die than have anything to do with this family." Maxwell glared at him. "Yes, your father''s sins are still causing trouble today. It is all because of him!" Lancelot fell silent. The suffocating silence continued until the sun set. It was broken by knocks on the door. The knocking was neither slow nor fast. They could sense that whoever it was, he was not the embassy! The two exchanged glances. Lancelot reached for the ornamental sword on the wall. Coldness flashed past his eyes. Maxwell rose and opened the door. "Excuse me, is it Mr. Maxwell?" There seemed to be a man outside the door. He was covered entirely in a hooded cloak with his face covered by a special veil. Only his graying hair was revealed. "My apologies for coming without an invitation. I just felt it was necessary to meet with you." He removed the veil, revealing his face. At that moment, Maxwell and Lancelot almost forgot to breathe. "It''s you" - In a certain cell of the Judgement Tower, a guy who had been sleeping and eating for two days straight was now sleeping. He had gained three kilograms. His originally handsome face was now bloated. When he woke up, he opened his eyes and glanced outside at the sunset. He yawned, rolled over, and continued sleeping. In his dream, he seemed to be feasting on something. This type of life was not bad butit felt so sad to be forgotten! 418 Court Session It was December 24th in the Sacred City. In the heart of the city, three sets of large doors opened in the solemn square surrounded by statues of saints. One led to the Papal Chamber, the core of the Sacred City, the core of the core. It was where everything saintly and theological resided. One led to the Holy Instrument Hall. The instruments of saints from various countries and other holy instruments, natural catastrophe scores, saintly inheritances, and other relics were kept there. It was a shrine for everything related to musicians. One led to the Sacred Court. It was where the Church and Sacred City executed and carried out all law and order. Everything related to God, wisdom, and order in the world existed here. Early in the morning, it was already bustling. A mass of people stirred outside the square. Armed guards tried to maintain order but the reporters who tried to get to the front could not be stopped. It had been so long since there was such big drama. It was the hottest news from the Sacred City in decades. The first was Colt''s identity as a hero being overturned. Then it was him being killed right before the Sacred City gates. Finally, it was the murderer accepting the arrest. And now, it was finally the day of the court session opened! This news had been brewing for the past few days. Even though it was censored, the civilians were still curious and attracted even more bystanders. Of course, Maxwell had something to do with this. After all, the more people who followed the news, the less chance of dirty tricks. Pressured by public onion, the Amnesty Institute, in charge of the Sacred Court, put out the strongest team. The deputy minister Borja was the judge. For the past few days, countless events had happened. They were all stressed over this matter. Outside the square, a cry suddenly sounded above the din. "They''re here! They''re here! I see the procession!" Soon, a solemn procession moved through the cleared street. Between the armed guards was a sealed steel car. The crowd started yelling but it was too chaotic to tell if they were cheering or jeering. "Well, it sounds pretty intense. It''s big news, right?" In the carriage, Ye Qingxuan sat layered in shackles. He sighed and glanced at the muscular black-clothed guards on either side. The guards and musicians acted as if he did not exist. It was boring. Ye Qingxuan did not seem stressed at being the accused for the first time. He knew how serious his actions had been. He had already been prepared to die before he prepared the mission. For someone who did not even fear death, not many other things were scary. However, if possible, Ye Qingxuan still wished to live. It would be great if he could live. While he thought nonsense, the door suddenly opened. Amidst the din, Ye Qingxuan was forced off the car. He passed through the square between the many guards and climbed the white stone steps. When he reached the middle, he suddenly stopped and looked back at the crowd. The people sensed his gaze and the cheering or jeering instantly raised an octave. However, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes moved past them to the quiet square. There stood a black iron monument. The gloomy monument rose in the center of the square, between the Papal Chamber, the Holy Instrument Hall, and the Sacred Court. Ye Qingxuan studied it silently. No matter how the guards shoved him, his eyes were focused. He sighed, "Is thisfate?" This was the Tablet of Fate. According to legends, this was the top holy instrument. ''Fate'' was something that could not be touched. It was also the hardest proposition. Nothing could escape fate''s plan; everything was fated. Even struggling seemed to be part of fate. God held this invisible web, controlling how the world operated. But here, other than the abstract meaning, the word represented something else. It was the Kind of Red''s scepter scoreFate! It was the legend of legends, the mightiest of all mightinessit was the strongest music score in the world! This tablet was famous and even played a role in many legends because the entirety of Fate was carved on it. The Sacred City even put it out in public for people to look at. If a musician wished to study it, he could find a duplicate in any shop or stall. They were sold for five dollars per book or even a package with more resources for fifteen. Of course, this was all useless. The structure of the music score seemed to be simple but no matter how it was played, it would have no effect. Practically every musician who came to the Sacred City would try to decode the tablet''s secret but no one has been able to play it successfully. Other than the mighty King of Red. ''Fate'' would only unleash its power in the hands of the Pope. There were no tricks or secrets. The melody just created unbelievable effects in his hands. It was a miracle. In myths, people even said that anyone who could perform Fate would be the next King of Red. It was as if the Pope''s crown was passed down through this mysterious yet odd requirement. For years, countless researchers had tried to undo this secret. Three hundred years ago, decoding master Enrique had spent four days before it until he vomited blood and died. It added another mysterious veil to the tablet. After that, more and more musicians tried figuring out the secret. No one succeeded. No matter how hard people tried, nothing changed. The music theory structure could not established. It could not have any effects and could barely even be called a music score. It was at most just a majestic symphony. That was it. Decades ago, the last grandmaster who had vowed to decode it finally gave up. He had used up forty years. From then on, the white-haired grandmaster decided to never speak of music theory. He gave up his status as a musician and chose to join the clergy as a regular priest until death. He had already witnessed the insignificance of the mortal man. It was evidence of God''s existence! This was also why the Sacred City displayed it so brazenly. Only God could turn a failure into a legend. This was God''s blessing; all glory and holiness naturally resided there. Therefore, only the PopeGod''s apostlecould control the power of Fate. This was the King of Red''s crown. Created by God, it was unshakable. This was proof of Fate''s existence and of God''s existence. This tablet established all justice, order, and the foundation of holiness. It separated God from men like a ruler. This was why it could be ranked before all holy instruments even without any power or additions. As a pure piece of metal, it was able to be number one. There was nothing more undeniable than that fact. "A pity. I would be great if I could take a look." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He looked away and allowed the guards to push him through the door. Behind him, the door slammed shut. After going through many gates and searches, all that remained on Ye Qingxuan were the symbolic shackles on his feet. The final door opened before him. Under the solemn atmosphere, he stepped in and looked up at the holy emblem in the ceiling. It seemed to descend from the sky. The time of judgement had arrived. 419 First Trial Under the solemn atmosphere, Ye Qingxuan walked into the pen half as tall as him and sat on the chair. With a click, the handcuffs were chained onto the armrests. The chair was very high quality. It was comfortable and matched the curves in one''s figure. Though it was for criminals, the work was still very fine. This was the Sacred Court, after all. It was the most important judiciary in the world. People who were tried here all had high status. Therefore, the Sacred City would not be stingy here. Even criminals received humane treatment. However, it reminded Ye Qingxuan of the final meal before an execution in the East. Everyone would treat those about to die nicely, right? The nicer, the less they would want to diethe more painful it would be. He lowered his head and waited quietly for the session to open. In the silent courtroom, the complex gazes fell on the quiet youth. Other than the packed seats, there were also twelve jurors for fairness. They sat on either side and quietly studied Ye Qingxuan. This matter involved the Sacred City and the nations so the agents from embassies had arrived. Of course, on the surface, they were all high-status nobles from the Sacred City. There were also priests from the various departments of the Church. It seemed to be their first time seeing Ye Qingxuan and they were all a bit shocked. "Heard he''s a white-haired Easterner but I never thought he''d be as pretty as a girl," the judge from the Corsica Federation murmured. "I thought he would look manlier." "Manly? How?" The old man beside him scoffed. "Having a face of hair like a bear?" "As long as he doesn''t look like an old monkey." Before the old man could lose his temper, the Corsica judge turned to the other side. "What do you think?" "I can''t tell." The young man smiled wryly. "I think Easterners all look the same Why don''t you ask Mr. Hu?" The white-haired middle aged man at the end of the smiled but did not reply. He just gazed at Ye Qingxuan with troubled and heavy eyes. Beside him, the Asgardian ambassador appeared in the juror section without disguises. He was a typical crude Asgardian. Glancing at the quiet Mr. Hu, he asked, "What do you think of the Sacred City''s decision?" "I don''t know. It is difficult to guess the Sacred City''s thoughts." Mr. Hu chuckled bitterly. "After all, didn''t the Pope say that they''ll judge with justice?" "That is what''s hard to understand." The Asgardian ambassador played with his beard and looked up at the empty seat of the judge. There was no problem of dealing with justice but who was responsible? The pope had been appearing less and less. More and more power was given to the other departments. Other than Knights Templar, there were no other directly controlled troops. Many said that if the previous popes who worked hard in ruling knew about this, they would be turning in their graves. After years of political wars, all the power was finally in the hands of one man but the current King of Red tossed it back out without hesitation. It was as if he truly was a devout monk who did not care about the outside world. This had caused the Ecclesiastical Order to strengthen. This originally small ascetic group now influenced the majority of departments in the background. Its influence was still growing. Sometimes, they even affected the Cardinals. These old guys should have been waiting for death. But now, they received some mysterious power and even their relatives benefited. They paced through the city like wraiths. They had not done anything major yet, but the farsighted ones had realized that the Ecclesiastical Order were preparing to edit the Third Amendmentthey wished to recover the Sacred City''s supreme glory from centuries ago. No country wished to see the Sacred City ruling above them, no matter how holy it was. This was why the relationships between the City and countries had become more complicated. Ye Qingxuan''s trial became critical. Without a doubt, Anglo would not let it go if it was not dealt with well or if it could not placate the public. In everyone''s eyes, it was as if an invisible hand was rubbing the fuse now. No one wanted to see that. Thus, everyone on either side gazed in silence. Today was the first trial for Ye Qingxuan''s case. How would it end? - At this moment, heavy footsteps sounded. Everyone''s expressions became serious. According to customs, the judge would arrive five to ten minutes late to express his high status and power. Borja did not break this custom today. He was perfectly five minutes late, not a second more or less. When the second hand pointed to twelve, he sat into his seat and pounded the gavel, announcing the start of the trial. Borja was a middle-aged man who took care of his health. About thirty-years-old, he was at the height of his life. To all the other departments, his first impression was being strict. He was inflexible like a machine and did not understand the rules outside the world of law. Four years ago, he exiled his own brother here. He used to be the most popular choice for the Borja family''s inheritor. The Borjas'' reputation in the Sacred City was comparable to the Sforzas. Three popes in history had this surname. However, after he exiled his brother, the family passed the title of family leader to his uncle. To most people, he was a crazy man who cared more for law than his family. He was like the bastard child that the Sacred City laws accidentally left behind. With him as the judge, no one would suspect he would be biased. As everyone gazed solemnly, he pounded the gavel. "The court shall begin now." - As everyone expected, the Sacred City was the Sacred City. They would not start with uncontrolled yelling and violent fighting. After a bureaucratic process and tests, the Sacred City''s prosecutor finally read Ye Qingxuan''s indictment and accused him of the crimes. There were more than thirty crimes! At least sixteen were enough to give him the death sentence. Under the prosecutor''s strong and furious voice, everyone involuntarily straightened their backs and looked at the lawyer of the accused. The show was coming! "Many musicians were killed in the Romulusian disaster of October. During this event, not only did Ye Qingxuan show signs of fear and encouraged others to escape with him, he even created an imaginary refuge and lied that he had found important evidence of the King of Yellow. "Afterward, because of his own desires, he ignored the military commands and the Sacred City''s laws. He forced his way into the mutated region. Because of his brash actions, the situation became unsalvageable. "He then resisted being arrested by the sanctors. After killing one and wounding seventeen, he was still unsatisfied and moved his hatred toward the Sacred City. "Not only did he crazily pursue a member of the Church, he finally killed mercilessly before the Sacred City gates on November 19th. During this attack, Ye Qingxuan killed Colt, the much respected hero of the Romulusian War, before the public''s eyes. He manipulated the public, attacked the Sacred City, and created a horribly negative influence. His sin is unforgivable! "His evil intentions and cruel actions have never been seen in the past hundred years. Here, I earnestly request the Sacred Court to make a ruling. Otherwise, the fairness of law and the prestige of the Sacred City will be destroyed!" 420 Questioning Ye Qingxuan''s defense attorney was a lawyer from Avalon named Aldrich, an old man who seemed to be losing all his hair. The old man spoke in a very low pace. Ten minutes was still not enough for one hundred words. It was quite annoying. Most of the time, the old man seemed to be in a daze. When it was his turn to speak, he would ask the speaker repeat because of his deaf ears. Sometimes, he even forgot some legal provisions so that he had to open the ever-so-thick legal encyclopedia to check. The book seemed to be as old as he was, plastered with notes, and the notes were so dense that people needed a magnifying glass to read it. There were two young men beside him responsible for serving the tea and other logistic works. Sometimes, they would pat on his back to help him breathe... People would definitely question about whether the old man''s lawyer license was still valid since he was so old. But in fact, the old man''s professionalism was beyond doubt. When he showed up, one could tell how tough he was from the face of the prosecutor. In addition to having acquired six of the lawyer''s licenses which could be used in various countries, Aldrich also served as the vice principal of Avalon National Second College. He was definitely the leading authority in the field of law. Almost all the high judges of Anglo could be counted as his students! Sixty years ago, when the old man was thirty, he had taken part in the refurbishment and assessment of the law of the Sacred City. The older, the trickier. Now, the old guy was thick-skinned and as annoying as gum under one''s shoe. He kept spacing out with closed eyes during the whole process. He would say a few words from time to time but every word he said just happened to meet the other''s omissions. Taking advantage of his seniority, the old man recalled his years. He spoke so slowly and incoherently that listeners had to control their impulse of turning him upside down to dump out his words. It had been three hours since the trial began but the two sides were still quarrelling about what Ye Qingxuan had done at Auschwitz one month ago. The range of their topic got larger and larger. Almost all the musicians and schools involved in the trial of Auschwitz were dragged in. If the judge met the old man''s wish, merely the investigation of evidence would need three more months of preparation. Then the trial would be expected to take up to one year! He was trying to buy time! "Don''t drag things on with him." Next to the prosecutor, the one who dressed as a clerk glanced at the old man who was still closing his eyes and whispered, "What Aldrich, that older turtle, is best at is buying time. The longest property case he participated in was a decade-long Anglo is not sure about this case, so they dragged him out. You should not be carried away by his words. Just pass through those details. There are thirty charges. Confirm any of those charges and we will win." The prosecutor was silent for a moment and then put down his manuscript. He pulled out another thick stack of documents from the suitcase next to him. He was going to change his strategy. Aldrich opened his eyes a crack, glanced at them, and closed again as if he was contemplating. But the mouth under the thick and white beard opened slightly. He spoke hoarsely, "Get my glasses and medicine." "Professor..." The student next to Aldrich hesitated but seemed to see something surging in that pair of old eyes. "No more delay. If the other party does not follow my rhythm, I can''t importune anymore. Otherwise, it would give the judge an excuse to expel me." Aldrich opened his mouth, swallowed two green capsules, and drank half cup of hot water. He vaguely muttered, "This time, I''ll pull no punches. Let''s speed up. We can''t step back now. If we take a step back, the client will be pushed down the cliff. We have to stand before him." It was obvious that his old, dispirited look vanished. He looked up with his cloudy eyes open wide like a furious boa spitting out a decadent breath that had been stored in his lungs. "Don''t worry about me. When I was young, I killed so many people with my moves. This can''t beat me down." He put down the glass and said, "Your Honor, we question the so-called ''hero'' the prosecutor mentioned before! As far as I know, the Sacred City has never once admitted that there is any so-called war hero. The halo around Colt was nothing more than a folktale. "The Romulusian incident has not yet been formally finished. Regardless of the connection between the latest ''Winged Folk'' in the Dark World, I would just like to correct a point based on the evidence we have now that Colt is by no means a bright and upright hero like what the prosecutor said. On the contrary, much evidence proves his dark nature. "Isn''t it too rash for the prosecutor to ignore the reality and characterize the incident as such? Moreover, the contribution made by my client in Romulus is obvious to all musicians and cannot be denied by anyone! "If the title of hero does exist, it should not belong to someone who chases fame and seeks glory like Colt!" The prosecutor froze. He did not expect Aldrich would take the initiative to stop the meaningless entanglement, but at the same timehe felt annoyed. The old man was getting serious. It was really troublesome. "The investigation of the Silent Authority shall prevail," the prosecutor retorted. "No one is qualified to question Colt until the results of the investigation come out." "Really?" Aldrich threw out a document and sneered. "Even if Colt has confessed his sins to so many people at the gate of the Sacred City?" "What is said in the situation where one''s personal freedom couldn''t be guaranteed cannot be used as evidence!" The prosecutor glared at Aldrich. "Moreover, as far as I know, Ye Qingxuan is an outstanding musician of the School of Mind. How can you conclude that he did not use his ability to force Colt to utter some words that he didn''t mean to say?" Aldrich reached out and the student handed him another document. "According to the autopsy results, there is neither aether residue in Colt''s brain nor did signs show that he was forcibly controlled by Mind movements." "No matter how you try to argue, you cannot change the fact that this was a deliberate murder! Even many clergymen died because of this." The prosecutor asked in return, "If Colt truly is guilty, then why did Ye Qingxuan not tell the Sacred City to let him be investigated and tried but chose to disregard the law and use public lynching? Is it acceptable to kill people as long as there is a righteous excuse?" Aldrich laughed when he heard that. For some reason, the prosecutor became instinctively uneasy. "I want to correct one point." Aldrich raised a finger and said, "It has nothing to do with the law. It is a duel between musicians." The prosecutor was stunned. "If I remember correctly, because of the complexity and specificity of the musicians themselves, there is a rule in the Sacred City, which is that a duel can be waged with the consent of both musicians. To die or live depends on their destiny. In such a confrontation, there is no need to take legal responsibility." Aldrich slowly opened the law encyclopedia and read aloud the relevant provisions word by word. He looked up to the judge. "Your Honor, is there any fallacy from what I said?" "Nonsense!" The prosecutor was furious. "The duel has its inherent etiquette. How can it be confused with this despicable murder?" Judge Borja''s face was still indifferent. He just nodded. "Defender, pay attention to your words. Do not confuse the definitions." "Did I?" Aldrich nodded. "Then look at the evidence. I think it''s enough to justify the duel. This is a recording that a Revelations musician read from the aether. As for the restoration of the scene, I think the prosecutor also has a copy at hand. It is enough to prove the authenticity of the evidence." The small aether ball was given to the court musicians. After being activated, the image was projected into the air. A vague and panicked voice was heard. "IyounoYe-Ye Qingxuanit can still be salvaged! Yes, it can still be salvaged! Don''t be brash. I can" A melted sword was stabbed to the ground. "Come, Colt. Haven''t you always been waiting for this moment?" It was Ye Qingxuan''s voice. "I''ll give you the chance for a fair fight. If you''re a man, pick up the sword. You can do anything. Just stop talking." After a long silence, the figure that represented Colt pulled the sword out. "You will regret, Ye Qingxuan. You''ll definitely regret..." The scene stopped here abruptly. It was a long silence. The prosecutor turned livid. In the past, this was just a common dialogue, but from the perspective of the Duel Law, this fully complied with the rules. The only missing part was a notary. Moreover, since Anglo had proposed this bill, they would certainly not omit this premise. Maybe they had dug a trap, waiting him jump in. In this case, he had to use another strategy... Thinking of this, he hesitated. He looked at Aldrich''s calm face but began to hesitate. Was this a trap that the old fox had set for him? Ye Qingxuan had offended so many seemingly guaranteed and irrefutable charges, but for lawyers like Aldrich, who had played with the disciplines for most of his life, there must be many loopholes for him to take advantage of. Getting rid of the negative strategy before, the old man became so radical. Was there something he was very sure about? The prosecutor''s neck was drenched with sweat. Soon, a note was pushed over by the recorder next to him without a trace. When the prosecutor glanced at the note, his eyes brightened. He raised his voice. "I request to question the suspect Ye Qingxuan!" Aldrich frowned. "I object!" "The objection is invalid." The judge pounded the gavel and nodded to show his permission. Aldrich''s expression didn''t change but a hint of gloominess flashed in his eyes. If they could not find a breakthrough from him then they would just turn to the suspect... At the beginning of the game, no one knew what cards were in the other''s hands or what kind of traps the prosecutors were setting. If Ye Qingxuan said one wrong sentence... no, a wrong word, it would cause big trouble! Seeing the prosecutor coming forward, Aldrich deliberately raised his voice. He almost offended the court, saying to Ye Qingxuan. "Mr. Ye, you do not have to speak nor answer any of his questions. They cannot force the suspect to testify. You have the right to remain silent. If his question is offensive, I will interrupt him at any time." The judge pounded the gavel to warn him once. "Mr. Aldrich, I hope you will not interfere with the normal order of the court." Borja said coldly, "The prosecutor can start questioning now." The prosecutor smiled and looked at Ye Qingxuan. The young man was looking at him too. At that moment, the prosecutor was dazed as if his mind was blurred. Only that pair of eyes remained in his vision, almost making him lose his mind. The next moment, he woke up and broke free from the illusion. But that pair of eyes was still looking at him. Somehow, he was flustered. "Your eyes are nice." Before the prosecutor asked, Ye Qingxuan uttered, "I''ve seen that in many people''s eyes" He paused, frowning. "You want to kill me?" The prosecutor froze. His face subconsciously twitched a bit. He curbed the impulse to look back. But Ye Qingxuan seemed to have an insight into what he wanted to do. He turned his eyes to the prosecutor''s original seat and to the recorder next to his seat. His expression grew puzzled. "You want to look at him?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Why?" The prosecutor was stunned with pale look. "Ye Qingxuan, now I am questioning you" "He saw through you." There was a sigh behind him. The recorder got up, took off the awkward round frame glasses on his face, revealing a thin and ordinary face with grey hair, and shook his head. "Let me do this." The prosecutor froze. His complexion turned quickly. Aldrich''s face also turned pale. "Bastian..." Aldrich said with a sneer, "I didn''t expect that the famous judge of the Sacred City would even be willing to be a recorder. Don''t you feel ashamed to let such a young man take the lead?" "The young need experience, Aldrich. The old need to give the young chances." Before Aldrich could reply, Bastian submitted his identity card and qualifications in accordance with the procedure. Soon, Judge Borja nodded. "Qualified." So Bastian came forward. He gazed at Ye Qingxuan''s eyes politely. He looked solemn but not offensive. He just took a stack of papers from the original prosecutor and said lightly. "Mr. Ye Qingxuan, I''ll show you a few things. I hope you will tell me your true feelings truthfully after reading." A moment later, Ye Qingxuan nodded. But as Bastian pulled out a picture, Lancelot, sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly looked up. Coldness flashed past his eyes. "This is bad" Maxwell, who represented Anglo, also frowned in the jury seat. 421 Witness In the silence, Bastian chose a picture from the stack and showed it to Ye Qingxuan. The picture showed a barren village. Haphazardly piled stones and rotten wood managed to form things like homes on the cracked earth. Sallow-faced farmers clad in rags smoked some type of curled plants and showed their toothless gums. "Ye Qingxuan, do you remember where this is?" "Oz," Ye Qingxuan answered. "It''s the village closest to Auschwitz and the last supply stop before entering Auschwitz. I was there before. I remember it. Sambefore he died, he had wanted to dig a well for them. He even wanted to borrow money from me." "Did you agree?" Bastian asked. Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Congratulations, you can keep the money," Bastian said nonchalantly. "They do not need it anymore." He took out a second and third picture for Ye Qingxuan. It was devastation. The village did not exist anymore. The buildings had collapsed and the earth was in ruins. There was only a tanned kid searching through the rubble. "Because of your fallacy, the battle reached the surroundings," Bastian said. "Including Oz, six villages are uninhabitable now. They had lost their last bit of land and now wander the world. This kid here is the last inhabitant. His mother abandoned him and fled. His father was buried by the ruins and died. If Heaven''s Gate opened half an hour earlier, they would be alive." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "And look at this." A broken ship was pictured. "One month ago, the ship Mick was attacked. It is our first known attack on Colt." Bastian''s voice was coldly monotonous as if he was reading the news. "Sixteen suffered light injuries while one sailor was gravely injured. One pregnant woman had a miscarriage and lost her child. Her family fell apart and the doctor said she will never be able to become pregnant again. "The ship''s company fell into debt due to this and was bought by another company. Two directors went bankrupt. The son of one had just been accepted by the First National University of Burgundy but decided to drop out. He could have become an actuary." "Objection!" Aldrich roared. "This has nothing to do with the case!" "Objection invalid." Borja pounded the gavel. "Continue." Thus, Bastian continued. "The third one." Bastian picked out another picture. "There was a mysterious disaster at the Bades chain motel. Six hundred workers became unemployed due to this. Most of them come from the slums and have nowhere else to go. "The fourth, the Burgundy Rail Company "The fifth, the precious metal exchange of the Asgardian National Bank" Ye Qingxuan stared at the picture in silence. Veins bulged on the back of his hand. "And this one" Bastian displayed the picture in his hand. "Half a month ago, sixteen members of the Witch Hammer died in your attack before the Sacred City gates, as well as six musicians who had great futures. "These are their bodies Their families could not even recognize their fathers or husbands from the melted iron and ashes. A total of ninety-one innocent people lost a family member due to this. "Some of them are sitting behind you right now. You can look back at them." Bastian pointed behind Ye Qingxuan. "Tell them that you are innocent." Ye Qingxuan hung his head for a long while before looking back stiffly. In the back of the room, an old woman in a black veil curled in the corner with her head lowered. Beside her, a fourteen-year-old girl hugged her mother and glared at Ye Qingxuan. Her eyes were red but she definitely kept her tears from falling. Those eyes were familiar. It was as if he was looking at himself from seven years ago. Ye Qingxuan stared before finally lowering his eyes. Seeing his paling face, Bastian didn''t show any animosity or scorn. His expression was still calm as if waiting for a reply. After a long while, Ye Qingxuan said, "C-can I look at it again?" "Yes." Slightly arching an eyebrow, Bastian handed all the pictures to Ye Qingxuan. Watching him look through the pictures carefully, the coldness and disdain in Bastian''s heart grew. Everyone had weaknesses. Everyone. Pathosthis was the strategy that the sixteen examiners had concluded after a month of case studies. These sixteen examiners had sent countless villains, perverts, and psychotic killers into jail over the years and this was the weakness they found. It was also Ye Qingxuan''s biggest weakness. According to his personality profile created by Mind musicians, this d*mn criminal seemed to be normal most of the time but from certain aspects, he was an extremely paranoid psycho. From the way he acted, he also had a strong feeling of moral cleanliness and sense of mission. He sympathized with those who had suffered similar experiences, even more than he valued his own life. This type of person only cared for his own ideals and thoughts. One could not use threats for these people. Temptation was ineffective as well because nothing could tempt them. Pain and suffering were only food for the mind that could strengthen him. Bastian had to admit that Ye Qingxuan truly was strong. He was very strongalmost to the point of being a saint. However, saints had weaknesses too. Great weaknesses Bastian sneered subtly. If you think you''re right, then let me show you the evils you created and the sins of pursuing your ideals! Look at the disaster that resulted from the thing you gave everything to protect! When saints realize their original sin, they fall. What about you? "Ye Qingxuan?" Bastian gazed at him. "Are you truly okay with this?" "Objection!" Aldrich roared. "The prosecutor''s words are inducing! Bastian, stop your despicable traps! Do not taint the law" "It''s okay, Mr. Aldrich," Ye Qingxuan uttered with his head lowered. Aldrich froze and looked back at his side profile. Ye Qingxuan was looking at the pictures. He studied them one by one, not letting any details go. Staring at those crying faces, his expression darkened. His eyes were sad. Aldrich felt a chill. He yanked the pictures away and tore them up furiously before throwing the pieces into the trash. Rather than stopping him, Bastian looked mockingly. "My party is mentally unstable. He cannot continue," Aldrich said. "Your Honor, I request to end this session!" "I''m very clearheaded." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and said something that Aldrich could not believe. "I feel fortunate for being able to see these pictures." Bastian smiled. "Then what are your thoughts?" After a pause, Ye Qingxuan uttered, "I feelsorry." Bastian stepped forward and studied the young man. He saw the dark gloominess and tears in those eyes. He was overjoyed as if seeing the last straw break the camel''s back! He had finally made a breakthrough! It was just as predicted. Ye Qingxuan''s heart had caved in from the evil feeling! No matter how Anglo got in the way, Bastian would just need to guide him a little and no one would stop him from walking to the gallows! But before Bastian could utter the words he had prepared carefully, his expression stiffened. "Because I wasn''t the one who made sacrifices and suffered." Wait! Bastian started feeling that somethingwas not right! Ye Qingxuan''s voice continued. It was filled with sadness but devoid of any regret. "These days, I''ve been thinking how great it would be if I could suffer all these pains. Sadly, that is impossible." The voice was so sad like a shark looking at the carcass of its prey and shedding fake tears. What the f*ck was he saying?! Bastian froze. He wanted to yank Ye Qingxuan''s collar and yell, that''s not what I want to hear! Ye Qingxuan looked at him and smiled as if he had received salvation. "Fortunately, they can still hate me, right?" - Bastian''s pupils contracted. Cold sweat seeped out as he finally saw the true nature of the man before him. It wasa psycho! His heart twitched. He studied the young man but he did not dare to look at the grateful eyes. He could not breathe. His guess was wrong. They had guessed incorrectly since the beginning. This lunatic would never feel guilt for what he had done nor think that he had done anything wrong. Instead, he thought that he was completely right. The fatal attack that Bastian and the others had prepared were just medicine to heal the sadness in his heart! Now, Ye Qingxuan had swallowed the medicine and thanked him instead! Now, he seemed to open his mouth wide, saying, it tastes so good. I want more! Thank you, Bastian. You''ve saved a freak Bastian regretted his arrogance. Ye Qingxuan was a freak but he had treated him like a regular person with regular thoughts. He thought the other was just a young man and became careless. After all, musicians were oddities that went against morals and common sense. A genius praised by countless powerful menthe genius of geniuseswas also the oddity of all oddities. Bastian should throw away all the so-called restraint and dignity. He would drag this freak onto the gallows and completely bury him! In that moment, Bastian finally made his decision. He wiped the sweat on his nose and stepped back carefully. Looking away from Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, he said with a wavering voice, "Your HonorI-I request to call the witness." "Objection!" Aldrich raised his hand. "There are no witnesses on the list!" "This is a special circumstance. There is a vast amount of evidence and it is understandable." Borja pounded the gavel. "Objection invalid." Bastian finally recovered his calmness. If he did not have enough weight, he could add more! Let me see your limits, Ye Qingxuan he thought. Footsteps approached down the hall and the door opened. Accompanied by guards, a young man dressed in a white musician robe walked in. He stood at the witness podium and looked up at Ye Qingxuan. His features were gaunt and he had not shaved in a long time. As if he had not slept well, his eyes were bloodshot. Ye Qingxuan froze. "Miller?" Miller looked at him coldly as if looking at a criminal. After a long while, he looked away as if he had not heard anything. It was Miller - "Mike J. Miller," Bastian said quietly beside him. "Tell everyone your identity." "I ama musician from the Trinity College, the Francois branch of the School of Choir. I was a participant of the trial months ago and a survivor of the Auschwitz event." He paused. Looking at Ye Qingxuan, his eyes were calm. "Today, I am here to reveal the criminal''s true nature." "Oh?" Bastian looked up at Ye Qingxuan in shock. "You have interacted with the suspect before?" "We were in the same team in Auschwitz. I was the medic. My friend Sam invited him into the team and I did not oppose." Miller lowered his head. "That is my biggest regret." "Is that so?" Bastian asked, "What do you think of the suspect?" "Ye Qingxuan never fulfilled his responsibility as a musician. He was always outside the team and used unorthodox tricks. He was not keen on the trial and even purposely slowed down people''s progress. No one knew what he was thinking. Therefore, no one believed him. More people chose to follow Colt." He paused. Starting again, his voice was low, "His relationship with the Romulusians was strange since the beginning." "Do you have evidence, Mr. Miller?" Bastian said lightly, "We must have evidence in the court. We cannot base things with just your words." "Every musician who was at Auschwitz can prove it," Miller insisted. "I once saw him leave the tent of the Romulusian elder and have close interaction with the daughter. He even delayed the military because of the girl later. Hehe" Gritting his teeth, he said, "He seems to have a perverted affection toward the girl. Otherwise" "Miller!" a hoarse voice rang out. Ye Qingxuan suddenly spoke out. His voice was sharp. Like a lion''s roar, it hurt everyone''s eardrums. Miller suddenly stopped and his body tensed. "A warning to the suspect to keep silent." Borja pounded the gavel. "Do not threaten the court''s order." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He grasped the railing tightly. His knuckles turned white and veins bulged. "Elsa is already dead, Miller." He stared at Miller''s figure and said hoarsely, "Do not offend the dead!" Miller had his back to Ye Qingxuan and did not reply. Bastian''s eyes lit up, practically overjoyed. He had found the breakthrough! He was not in a hurry though. An outstanding hunter was patient. He would slowly tighten the snare bit by bit until the prey had nowhere to hide! If he forced it too strongly now, it might backfire. He had to be slow and steady Pushing down his impulses, he asked another question. "From what I know, you also included that Ye Qingxuan is suspected to have something to do with dark musicians. Is that correct? As someone who was attacked by dark musicians, did you witness it with your own eyes?" "Yes," Miller said. "I didn''t think of it then but thinking back, I discovered it. At that time, there were grandmasters from every country and elites from every school. However, we were still unable to fight back. There must have been a spy I personally saw that he received special treatment from the dark musicians. "The dark musicians thought highly of him, even more than everyone else He even led the dark musicians right to where the survivors were grouped. He lured them to attack so more people would be tempted to escape with him. "Later, I realized that he had a personal relationship with a dark musician named Naberius. They called each other friends. I saw these with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. It is completely true." The court was deathly silent. "Naberius?" Everyone exchanged glances as the name felt familiar. "Not many people know the name ''Naberius.'' Perhaps his other names are more well-known." Bastian sneered and handed a stack of documents to the judge and jury. "He is a dark musician who rose up like a legend decades ago, known as the White Pupil or Six-footed Beast. He was known as a once-in-a-century genius. "No one knows why he suddenly disappeared later but many terrorist attacks and deaths of more than sixteen Sacred City musicians are related to him. This also includes three detectives of the Silent Authority. "The last time he appeared in high profile was in Auschwitz for the matter with the Romulusians. He escaped when the situation worsened and we have not been able to find his body. However, according to investigation, he holds a high position in the ''perishing praise'' and may even be one of the planners of this event!" Ye Qingxuan did not want to keep listening. What Miller said was mostly the truth or was the misinterpretation of the truth. So what if he did not personally see most of these things? Even a shred could affect him negatively. The main reason behind making Miller stand here was probably not to target the judge or juror either. Ye Qingxuan understood that this was aimed at him This was a warning. Miller was just the beginning. Those who wanted to kill him and bring him to the gallows were telling him: your former friends will stand up here one by one and accuse you, destroying your reputation! Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. 422 Sudden Change "Objection! The prosecutor''s witness is slandering without any evidence!" Induced by Bastian, Miller continued no matter how Aldrich roared or retorted. He did not stop until he completely broke Ye Qingxuan''s ''saintly disguise'' and smeared on a layer of vile blackness. He did not say anything afterward. There was nothing else to say. "Thank you for your support of justice and the law." Bastian patted his shoulder. "I know that you are under great pressure to stand here. You''ve worked hard and can rest now." After a long while, Miller raised his head blankly, glanced at him, and let the guard lead him away. When he was at the door, he heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice behind him. "Miller." He paused but did not look back. "I don''t hate you," Ye Qingxuan said quietly as he stared at his friend''s back. "I know how painful it is for you to stand here and can guess what has happened. It is because of me; it is my fault." Miller laughed emptily and walked away quickly with his head lowered. His figure was frail and hunched as if he was crushed by something. Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes sadly. Behind him, Bastian''s lips curled up and the coldness in his eyes grew. This was only the beginning. There was still a lot of time. The first trial, retrial, third trialhe had many gifts prepared. Bit by bit, Ye Qingxuan would collapse psychologically. When he clearly understood how much pain he had brought to the people beside him, he would end things in his own cell without anyone''s urging. He tapped his finger lightly and smiled. - In the jury, Maxwell was expressionless. He glanced at Lancelot in the audience and nodded slightly. Lancelot looked down at his watch. He took a deep breath and made his decision. He rose and left. Soon, beside Aldrich, the student''s aether ball shone. After studying it for a bit, he looked relieved and murmured something to Aldrich. His mouth opened soundlessly but his anger dissipated. Cruelty emerged in the old man''s eyes as well as a chilling glint. Bastian froze. For some reason, he got a bad feeling. "Your Honor!" Aldrich looked up and stated, "We also request to call for a witness." "Objection! Wit" Bastian reflexively tried to stop Aldrich but he trailed off halfway through. What could he protest? That the witness was not on the list and this broke the rules? He had broken the rule first earlierIf he tried to argue on this fact, he would not win anything. Judge Borja could not support him either. He had allowed for Bastian''s request earlier. If he stopped Anglo now, he would seem biased. Anglo could then target that and even say that the judge was keeping the court from being just. So how could he stop them? The gears in Bastian''s mind spun. Countless laws flashed past his mind and he suddenly raised his hand. "Your Honor! I request that the witness''s identity and credit are investigated before appearing to ensure credibility!" He paused and gazed at Aldrich meaningfully. "After all, this is the Sacred Court. If the defender grabbed a random passerby because he was losing, it would be disgraceful!" Bastian requested the court to check the witness''s identity before appearing in court. He must have the advantage and never become passive! He did not know what evidence Anglo had but while the court was investigating the witness, he could have time to get ready. If he dragged things on purposely, the entire process could last up to thirty minutes. Half an hour? For an examiner of the Amnesty Ministry, it was enough to check the witness''s entire background and make the right preparations. At that time, Anglo would lose the advantage of suddenness and instead become passive. Hearing this, Borja nodded slightly and raised the gavel but his actions froze. "A random passerby?" Hoarse coughing traveled from outside the door. "Is that what I am now?" The door was thrown open. An old man hobbled in with a cane. No guards stopped him; no one dared to stop him. As everyone looked in shock, Bastian froze and his expression stiffened as if he had seen a ghost. After disappearing for half a month, the man seemed to have aged decades. He was even older than beforewithered and decayed like a dead man who refused to stay in the coffin. He remained on this world because of his stubbornness and discontent, refusing to die. Now, he wore the Church robe he had not worn in a long time. The black robe was lined with faint gold. He wore a black headpiece and old rosary beads were wrapped around his wrist. A holy emblem hung from it, swaying as he walked. It looked as if he was attending a solemn ceremony. Leaning on his cane, he moved slowly into the court. He walked to the witness stand under everyone''s shocked scrutiny. He glanced at Bastian with disdain and finally to the pale Borja. "Now, if anyone still doubts my identity and credibility, please feel free to come investigate me. If you think that my status as a bishop is not enough, what if we add the title ''Commander of the Witch Hammer''?" The silence dragged on. Borja did not speak but his expression changed dramatically. After a long while, he took off his glasses and studied the old man at the witness stand. "Father Michel, according to customs, I should bow to you. However, this is the Sacred Court. As the judge, I cannot lower myself to anyone. Please forgive me." His voice was a bit raspy. "Have you thought clearly what you are doing? Why are you here?!" The last word was practically an interrogation. "Why?" In the witness stand, the dying old man coughed lightly. Hearing Borja''s question, he looked up and smiled. "Didn''t I tell you? I am here as a witness." The director of the Ministry of Information, the archbishop of the Sacred City, the commander of the Witch HammerMichel Greyhad appeared in court! There were finally surprised cries in the audience. As the commander of the Ministry of Information, Michel had been bedridden and had not appeared publicly in a long while. Other than a handful of people, no one could recognize him. Those who did recognize him thought they were hallucinating. The Ministry of Information! The director of the Ministry of Information! The director of the Ministry of Information was appearing as a witness for Anglo! Was this a f*cking joke?! "Is he crazy?" The low murmur of the audience could no longer be kept down, despite Borja''s pounding of the gavel. People rose and left continuously to report this shocking news to their organizations. This was as bizarre as if Hyakume and the Sacred City suddenly held hands and became good friends! The Ministry that had raised Colt as a hero, the Ministry that had kicked Ye Qingxuan into hell, the Ministry that had sacrificed so much to save Colt, the Ministry that had six musicians killed by Ye Qingxuan, the Ministry that had lost dozens of Witch Hammer membersThe Ministry whose last bit of dignity was torn apart by Ye Qingxuan before the Sacred City gates Michel had appeared as Ye Qingxuan''s witness! Was he crazy?! Even the jurors stared at each other blankly. Finally, they looked at Maxwell in shock. He just looked down at the doodles on his paper as if spacing out. He had already experienced this shock days ago. That day, when he and Lancelot had realized that the one who had snuck into the Anglo embassy and walked into the office was Michel, he had thought he was hallucinating. He even thought that it was the Ecclesiastical Order''s evil plot. He could not believe it. This great card should be left to the end but he had not expected that the Ecclesiastical Order would do everything they could to kill Ye Qingxuan. Even Miller, who came from a renowned family in the Sacred City, was forced to bow under their pressure, let alone others If they dragged things on, the matter would only worsen. Maxwell and Lancelot were forced to show this card early. They would also have to pay greatly for it - After the long silence, Borja said hoarsely, "Because the Sacred Court does not have any precedents or related procedures, I did not prepare fully for this. It is my mistake and I will shoulder all responsibilities." He pounded his gavel. "Adjourn for thirty minutes." "No need." Michel lowered his cloudy eyes and said, "If I''m not wrong, you will receive an order from the Papal Chamber very soon." Three seconds later, a bell rang in the distance with an indifferent voice. "Continue." The radiance of the holy emblem descended from the heavens onto the courtroom. It projected a long table with seven figures behind it. They were robed and their faces were stern. It was the Cardinals! "Judge Borja," one of the figures said, "Under His Highness''s order, the Cardinals will witness this event. There is no need for any concern. Please continue." Borja''s expression changed. After a long while, he pounded his gavel and rasped out, "Continue." Thus, Michel let out a relieved smile on the witness stand. "Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City." He placed his headpiece beside himself, revealing his sparse white hair and ugly scalp. "Everything Ye Qingxuan did was under my command. Because of his position, he was forced to help me. I am willing to take all responsibility and pay for my actions." The audience erupted! 423 Crusade "Here, I surrender myself to the Sacred City," Michel said. "I incited Ye Qingxuan to do all the things. He was forced to assist me. I am willing to take all responsibilities and pay the price." The spectators erupted in shock. Those who had just returned stared at his back with astonishment, then quietly got up, and again left to tell their boss this amazing news. The bathroom of the Sacred Court had never been overcrowded like this since it was built. More people exchanged their shock with each other, whisper amongst themselves. The noisy muffled sound was heard here and there. There was even a pious priest who came to witness Ye Qingxuan''s death denouncing Michel. "Ridiculous! You" "Silence! Silence! Silence!" Borja pounded the gavel many times. The bailiffs got in and expelled the priest who roused this riot. Musicians forcibly pressed down everyone''s voice. Everything fell into silence again. In the silence, Bastian was soaked through by sweat. As he contemplated, his complexion changed rapidly. Borja''s urging eyes didn''t allow him to keep pretending. He interrupted Michel. "Bishop Michel, stop talking about such ridiculous words. Ye Qingxuan has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to be responsible for what he did? Moreover, the victim of this trial is the Ministry of Information. Why are you defending the suspect?" Michel lowered his eyes and did not look at him at all, just holding the rosary beads in his hand without responding. Borja urged again, "Bishop Michel, answer the prosecutor''s question. This is your obligation as a witness here." So Michel sighed and lifted his eyes. "Ye Qingxuan has been member of the Ministry of Information from the very beginning. The Night on Bald Mountain that he inherited is the best evidence. Is there any other musician who will choose to practice this movement that can only be used to kill demons?" He gazed at Bastian''s face and said word by word, "The Witch Hammer recruited him secretly ten years ago. His records are still in the archives of the Ministry of Information and are available for you to fetch. He has been the best man in the Ministry of Information for decades and the genius who will be able to revive the Department of Teaching and the Ministry of Information." "So what''s the explanation for Ye Qingxuan to kill Colt?" Bastian asked again, "Isn''t Colt also a member of the Ministry of Information? He was also hailed as the hero and savior of the Department..." Before he finished, he regretted his own panic. He should have insinuated, guided the testimony, looked for a loophole, to then change the situation rather than questioning directly... He was suppressed from the beginning. He looked up but was afraid to look at the solemn robe and the bishop''s heraldry. He took a deep breath and was ready to speak but heard Michel''s voice. "This is my mistake." Michel coughed violently. He drew his handkerchief from his pocket, wiped the scarlet from his mouth, and took his medicine. Soon, he stopped coughing. His face was suffused with red, looking radiant. Even the bent backbone was again propped up, seeming to return to normal. But purple-blue veins appeared under the neck. It was the vicious potion mixing in the blood, squeezing out every residue of his life. "I ordered him to kill Colt in the name of the Ministry of Information." He raised his voice but his voice was so hoarse like metallic friction stinging the eardrum. "I did this to make up for my mistake but my woe still came and I have to pay the price." Bastian opened his mouth, trying to say something. However, Michel looked over. "Shut up, don''t interrupt my words." Michel looked at him coldly. "I am old. Even in court, at least one should learn to respect the old. Since our cardinals are here, do not be disrespectful." Bastian was stunned, sweating. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something but could not say anything. The old man''s eyes were like a nightmare. There was a dead darkness in that dark green that suffocated him. This was the judge who had crucified countless demons on the fire rack! They were both examiners. But unlike Bastian who would only sit in the office, Michel''s courtroom was in the wilderness of the Dark World. He arrested, judged, and executed. He erected the teachings of mankind in the Dark World and lit flames with the corpses of demons. Over the years, he became terminally ill. He sank into the mire because of the political downfall. For various reasons, he lay in bed, watching the Ministry of Information die gradually. He was old. Now, he stood here again with the final determination. No one dared to stand in his way. If you speak again, you will die, the pair of eyes said clearly. Bastian swallowed. His face turned pale. "I hereby confess my sin to the Sacred City." Michel raised his hoarse voice and it echoed in the court. "I set foot on the path of the devil to revive the Ministry of Information. "In order to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I was blinded by Colt. Without any scrutiny, I disregarded the will of the Sacred City and made my first mistake by allowing him to be a member of the department. "After I realized his real nature and the sins he had committed, I made my second mistake. "In order to protect the honor of the Ministry of Information, I ordered Ye Qingxuan to execute him secretly at all costs. I also prepare to sacrifice him afterwards to show the innocence of the department. " "Everything that Ye Qingxuan has done has been approved by me. My secretary will submit the detailed records to the Court as evidence to convict me in the future." Borja looked at the sluggish Bastian several times but Bastian was transfixed. He was unaware of the judge''s eyes and did not even dare to speak. Borja frowned and asked, "Bishop Michel, how do you explain the protection of the department to Colt as well as the sacrifice of dozens of Witch Hammers and purgatory musicians?" "It was all an act," Michel said softly, "Those who died hold different political views from mine. Those traitors had long forgotten the glory of the Ministry of Information. In order to ensure their death, I even attacked a church where two innocent priests were displaced. I am guilty. "I am glad that in the end, Ye Qingxuan can stand up and correct my mistakes. Even though knowing that he would be sacrificed, he still faithfully carried out my commandments and never betrayed me. What he said in front of the gate of Scared City at the end was actually targeted at me. "I was so ashamed of myself that I knew I had made a mistake. Even if I prayed, my guilt and regret would never be diminished. I have betrayed the path of God, and have thus committed many unforgivable sins. I''m willing to accept all punishment and pay any price for it." He looked back at Ye Qingxuan who was totally stunned. This was the first time he had been so close to this startled young man. Thus, he smiled. Everything after thiswill be your duty. He withdrew his sight and whispered softly, "May the Lord have mercy." Divine light descended from the sky. The majestic purity of the light was like a flame, enveloping him inch by inch and pulling him into the fire. He was slowly turned to ashes. Under the screams and startled eyes, the juries'' faces changed, and even the Cardinals'' projection became turbulent. "Stop him!" Borja lost his grace. He got up from his seat, yelling at the sluggish bailiffs, "Musicians! Get the musicians! Stop him!" Michel wanted to die here! Unfortunately, nothing could stop him. This was a musician''s suicide. Even if the King of Red was here, it would still be impossible to stop it. When he said he was willing to pay the price, he activated the symphony of predestination in his body. Containing the divine punishment, it turned into a mighty flame after igniting the aether and swallowed him from within. He had made up his mind when he entered the courtroom. It was impossible for the Ministry of Information to fight with a colossus like the Ecclesiastical Order. Even if Michel had put all the blame on himself and made such testimony, a loophole could still be found. There might be traitors in the ministry and even he also had weakness that common people wouldn''t know... As long as the Ecclesiastical Order found any chance, his desperate attempt would still fail. So this was his last chance. Witnessed by the Cardinals, he surrendered himself to the Scared City in the Sacred Court and settled everything with his death. Death was not horrible. He had lived enough In the burning flames, he stood at the witness''s stand, whispering the words in the Scripture. But his eyes looked over the flames, staring at Maxwell. Maxwell did not want to meet that pair of eyes. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. Michel smiled, as if he had been redeemed from the dirty world and mire. He died willingly. "Bishop Michel, why choose us?" Maxwell''s voice seemed to ring again. "Because only Anglo needs the power of the Ministry of Information at this time. In order to preserve this power, they are willing to become the enemy of half the Scared City." That moment, Michel knew that he was going to die here instead of the battlefield of the Crusade or a hospital''s bed. There was no glorious ending for him. He must bear the sin and die in humiliation and humbleness. The judge died in the trial. Your Majesty, is this the outcome you chose for me? Seeming to understand, he laughed softly. Good! This is what I want... Thank you for your mercy and compassion, as well as your forgiveness. In the burning of flames, pain hit him. He felt as if his body turned into flying ashes inch by inch and drifted from under the robe. It seemed that some people screamed, some shouted out of panic, and some tried to approach but could not enter the sacred radiance. Gradually, nothing could be seen anymore. There was no sound. Only the burning pain continued like something endless that would burn to the end of purgatory. Memories of the past seemed to be lit by the flames. They turned into ashes together with him. But in the trance, there was a faint voice as if he had returned to seventy years ago "I am telling all of you here and all of you who are not here that this is the will of God!" the solemn voice said from above as if it conveyed the Gospel of Heaven. "Let us plunge into a holy war, a great crusade to regain the land for mankind! Let all dispute and strife rest. Let us embark on this journey! Reclaim the fertile soil from evil and demons! That Dark World, as the Holy Code says, is the land that God gave to our forefathers!" In the trance, Michel suddenly wanted to cry. He stood in the dark, followed by those who had been waiting for so long. Together, they set foot on the path to the deeper darkness. He shouted. Under the calls, he walked forward with his passed teachers, his dead comrades who had died in humiliation as well as those gloomy priests. "...Let those who used to fiercely fight with others just because of personal affairs to fight the demons for their countrymen now! This is a battle worth fighting, a battle to be won! "Let those who used to be robbers now fight for mankind to become the knight of God! Let those who had fought with their friends and relatives in the past now justly fight against those who profane the Holy Land! "Go east and receive the eternal reward!" "Crusade!" "Crusade!" "Crusade!" Many people cheered. Michel rejoiced but could not help weep. "Go east, everybody... go to the Dark World..." In the dying yearning came the last words of mourning, "Go to the battlefield where we dream of...go to the blood and the bones...If one day you go there, please take my soul with you..." Michel faded away in the darkness. - In the silence, only pure white ashes and a solemn robe were left on the witness stand. Silently, the cardinals'' projection dissipated and departed. Everyone stared at Michel''s last vestiges. "Recess for ten minutes." Borja pounded the gavel. - The Scared City''s bells rang. At the port, a common merchant ship to Anglo was about to set sail. The crowd gathered. The young and middle-aged people seemed to come from all over the world. But when they stood together, they had a similar aura. When the bells rang, the whistle sounded loud. Those who boarded the boat looked back involuntarily, staring at the steel city in the distance. Some people looked sad, some looked indifferent, and some of the elderly shed tears. Michel was dead. The Ministry of Information would not exist anymore. The dead shell would sink into the mire. The new blood and backbone would be taken to the displaced road to rebuild their hometown in the Dark World with the help of Anglo. Even if they were called traitors and could no longer return here, no matter how heavy the price was! The long wait before the Crusade started. They would go there one day, to the depths of darkness, and ignite it! 424 I Changed My Decision There was a short break. In the heavily guarded room, Ye Qingxuan sat across from Maxwell, neither speaking. After a long time of looking, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Michelwhy did he do that?" "Perhaps he woke up from his dream," Maxwell said. "He should have understood decades ago when the Inquisition disbanded that the dream was over. He put in everything to extend the dream. Recruiting Colt was a risk. He had wanted to give the Ministry a steroid shot but now it has turned into poison. The Ministry has completely become a joke and will never rise again. He has no other way." "Actually, he didn''t have to do that" "For an idealistic person, the scariest thing is realizing the distance between reality and the ideal. This is more painful than falling into hell, isn''t it?" Maxwell glanced at him. "I believe you understand this feeling." Ye Qingxuan remained silent. "I know you''re not willing to accept it but you must respect his sacrifice. You should think about the people you care for. You don''t wish what happened to Miller to happen again, right? "People live to care for things and are willing to do dirty things for what they care about. If he did not stand out today, then his family would fall apart His parents and brother, everyone he cares for would lose everything. Stop giving people reasons to attack you, Ye Qingxuan. You don''t fear dying but think of your teacher, think of Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long while. Then he asked, "Got a cigarette?" Maxwell tossed a pack into his arms. With his handcuffs on, Ye Qingxuan awkwardly tore open the package and bent down before Maxwell''s lighter to light the tobacco. He sucked in the painful smoke and sighed after a while. "Maxwell, the adult world is so complicated." "Yes." Maxwell nodded. "Complicated and dirty. That''s why adults all become so jaded." "What did Anglo promise Michel?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Many things," Maxwell said. "It includes a new colony in the Dark World, three thousand literate youths, many resources, and fifty musicians every year Fortunately, I have most of these. I gave him my fief." Stunned, Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. "I owe you." "You don''t owe me anything but you should feel regret because these things should have been yours." Maxwell glanced at him. "Just think of it as buying your life. Remember to work hard in the future and earn my retirement fund back." He rose and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "Rest well. When you get out, I''ll treat you and the others to the best restaurant in the Sacred City to celebrate for you." Ye Qingxuan nodded and watched him leave. After a long while, he lowered his eyes. He remembered the darkness that had flashed past Borja''s eyes and could not help but sigh. "Hopefully." - The office was silent. Faint light fell past the curtain to Borja''s face. He was livid and he stared at the holy emblem on the wall without speaking. After a long time, a hoarse voice came from the dark corner. "One-sided words shouldn''t be believed easily." "Everyone knows those are one-sided words but who can say that?" Borja shook his head. "Mr. Ludovic, if this continues, I can only rule Ye Qingxuan as innocent. After all, isn''t it easy for the Ecclesiastical Order to kill him? Why must it be here?" "Ignorance!" Ludovic sneered. "If we truly wish for him to die, we do not have to wait until the court. The prison cell, the toilet, even the bath It is very easy to kill someone but his death will only aggravate the problem. The only solution is for him to die from the court''s ruling. Only then is it meaningful and can prove that the Sacred City''s laws cannot be ignored. "Do you not understand, Borja? Otherwise, the Sacred City''s laws and dignity would become a joke. Where would you be at that time? You do not wish to inherit an empty Amnesty Ministry, correct?" Borja remained silent. His gaze wavered. "Borja, think of Michel''s result." Ludovic''s words did not stop. "The Inquisition was once so powerful but in the hands of the ignorant countries, what has it become? To revive the Ministry of Information, he could only die a humiliating death in the courtroom. "That freak deserves to go to Hell. He could not forget about his dream of another Crusade. When he was alive, he was like the living dead and is troublesome even in death. Do you wish to be like that?" "I am thinking" Borja lowered his head and suddenly asked, "What if this is what His Majesty wishes? If" "But the problem is, this would not be what His Majesty wishes." Ludovic''s voice was raspy like eerie wind from a cellar. "Since he was wounded in the battle with Hecatoncheir thirty years ago, he should have understood that his position as the Pope had started to lose meaning. "All these years, he has been pretending to be strongly ruling over the countries and natural catastrophes. However, his injury has already worsened at an unstoppable pace. There is no way for him to give a clear opinion." Borja was completely shocked. "Otherwise, why would he pretend to be inscrutable?" Ludovic sneered. "He knows better than anyone that he is about to die. If he revealed his weakness, all dignity and prestige would be gone. He would be nothing." Borja inhaled sharply. "If this is the case, the Sacred City" "The Bible says, ''I am the Lord thy God, thou shall not have any gods before me.'' But the most laughable thing about the Sacred City is that all glory and power and placed on one man. Borja, our ancestors have gone through so many hardships to create this but it is only enjoyed by one man. Are you truly content for him to take all this to the so-called Heaven? "Stop your naivety, Borja. Do you really believe that his Majesty gave you all this? No, we did! We have been maintaining the world all these years, maintaining the stability between the countries. Do not bow before a body waiting to rot on the holy throne. It is time to take back what is ours!" In the silence, Borja swallowed dryly. After a long time, he managed, "Thisdoes my father know?" "The day he joined us, he understood everything." Ludovic walked out of the shadows and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Borja, the Ecclesiastical Order was born for this. You will become one of us." "I understand." Borja nodded. His expression changing, he finally made his decision. "I will take care of it." - Ten minutes later, the adjournment ended. However, Borja was five minutes late. He arrived belatedly for the first time to show his power but there was a vague bad premonition. When he hurried to his seat, his expression had become solemn and stern. "The trial begins now." Borja pounded the gavel. Everyone stared at him in the silence. The trial began now but how would it begin again? No one knew what to say. Even Bastian looked confused. Aldrich asked, "Your Honor, must this meaningless trial continue?" "The case is not yet clear and there is no conclusion. The trial has not ended." Borja was expressionless. "Continue according to procedure. This is not your first day in court. Must I teach you what to do?" Aldrich frowned. "Your Honor, I believe the case is already completely clear. We can already make a conclusion!" He demanded, "Are you overlooking Father Bishop''s testimony?" It was silent enough to hear a pin drop. Under everyone''s eyes, Borja finally said, "The witness''s testimony still awaits verification. We cannot come to a conclusion based on one man''s testimony." He paused and said indifferently, "Because the witness is involved in the case, he cannot be seen as a pure witness. At the same time, he has not been registered as a tainted witness. Therefore, before his testimony can be verified, his testimony will not be used by the court." Aldrich''s face darkened. Register as a tainted witness? What a joke. If he had taken a stack of forms through the seven ministries half a month ago to register a tainted witness, he would have given his best card to the Ecclesiastical Order and Michel''s testimony would rot in his stomach. His testimony still needed to be verified? How would it be verified? Through what process would it be verified? How long would it take? Who would still remember this weeks later? The court was obviously pushing Michel''s death to the side. When it cooled down, it would be swept into the paperwork. After the short period, Michel''s final sacrifice would dissipate soundlessly. It would become a story to laugh at, only remembered by a few people. Aldrich clenched his fist. He glared at Borja, veins bulging in his arm. The worst case scenario had come true! If Borja wished to keep his image of justice, the holy throne had now completely become biased toward the prosecutor''s side under the Ecclesiastical Order''s influence. Whatever evidence Aldrich prepared now would be useful. After the referee of a game was bribed, the winner and loser would be determined already. And this was not a game where both sides could work hard. This was the court where the judge made all the decisions. Aldrich had no way of requesting to change the judge either. If the Sacred Court made the decision, appeals would be of no use. Appeal? Appeal to whom? The Sacred Court was the highest point of the world of law. It was second only to the Pope but would the Pope help Ye Qingxuan? It was impossible "Objection!" Aldrich roared. "Michel''s test" "Objection invalid," Borja interrupted coldly. "Mr. Aldrich, I have already warned you three times to not yell in the courtroom. Come, someone take him away." Expressionless guards walked forward and dragged him away. "Ridiculous!" Aldrich struggled and yelled. "Where is the law? Where is the discipline? Borja, you will be nailed to the wall of shame! For eternity!" The door slammed shut. Silence. Borja pounded his gavel. "The trial will continue. Suspect Ye Qingxuan, if you require defense, the court will find a new attorney for you." Maxwell was livid. He had not expected for Borja to ignore justice so blatantly and force Aldrich away. Ye Qingxuan remained silent. When he looked up at Borja, his eyes had changed. They were cold. Maxwell put a hand to his forehead. He really had a headache now. Even worse things would probably happen. The trial continued. Bastian wiped away his sweat. He regained confidence and determination. "Your Honor, we would like to offer new evidence. During the Auschwitz War, Ye Qingxuan" He was cut off by a voice behind him. It was Ye Qingxuan. "Your Honor." He looked up and sighed. "There is no need for all the effort. Let''s all conserve our energy." "Suspect, please watch your language." Borja furrowed his brows. "It is not time for you to speak." "Are you worried I''ll reenact what happened at the city gates?" Ye Qingxuan asked back. He chuckled. "Don''t worry. This is the courtroom and I am the suspect. The judge is the highest authority. There''s nothing to be worried about. Look, I''m still chained up nicely." He raised a hand and shook the handcuffs. The chains grated with sharp jangles. In the silence, the sounds were jarring. Staring into Borja''s eyes, he said, "Actually, I had already been prepared to confess. I had accepted that I will hang from the gallows. However, the prerequisite is that it will be due to a just trial. Not a joke like now!" A low murmur rose and Borja pounded the gavel. "Ye Qingxuan, please watch your language. This is your last warning!" But Ye Qingxuan did not stop. "I am very sad. There is none of the justice or truth I want here. I should have understood this the moment you made Miller come. But I did not realize until Michel died that this place does not have what I want. So, I''ve changed my decision." "Ye Qingxuan!" Borja roared. "Do you not know what awe and respect are?!" "I''m sorry, Your Honor. I came to the north all the way from the south to the Sacred City. I did not come here for the disgusting things that only look glorious." Staring at him, Ye Qingxuan enunciated, "Continue the trial, Your Honor. You can bring all of my friends here and make them accuse me. But I hope you understand that I will never surrender. For every bit of pain they feel, I will give it back thousand-fold!" "Presumptuous!" Borja screamed. "Ye Qingxuan, this is the Sacred Court! How dare you spout blasphemy? The suspect is disturbing the court order! Someone come and give him the silent treatment!" The gavel fell. A guard rushed over and pushed Ye Qingxuan down. A hand hit his throat, causing his vision to go black. He could barely breathe. Then heavy chains wrapped around his neck; he could barely stand up straight. The chains tightened until he only had the space to breathe. Ye Qingxuan coughed violently but his voice was locked up. He could only breathe in silence. "Mr. Borja, isn''t this too cruel?!" Maxwell rose and uttered, "No offense, but your actions make me doubt your neutral stance." "If you are unhappy with my stance, you can report to the Amnesty Ministry," Borja said coldly. "But in the Sacred Court, the judge''s position in undeniable. This is another warning to the representatives of Anglo. You have broken enough rules today!" The furious blade was forced back down. Livid, Maxwell sat down silently. Mr. Hu placed a hand onto his shoulder. "Calm down." He sighed. "There may be another chance." Maxwell looked down and did not reply. Bastian looked coldly at Ye Qingxuan''s pathetic state. His eyes filled with mockery. He opened his mouth to speak but then there was a commotion outside the door. Amid heavy footsteps, a man in a black robe and an odd lacquered crown broke in. His face was milky white and hairless like a little girl but his eyes were pure black. He pushed the guards away and strode in. He said in his high-pitched voice, "Look at you all! How dare you stop me, the eunuch?" Under everyone''s shocked gazes, dozens of guards dressed in black and armed with swords entered behind him. They just broke into the Sacred Court like that. The sudden change stunned everyone. That man looked around. However, there were too many people and he could not see clearly. He called, "Where is the duke? Which one is Duke Ye?" No one replied in the silence. Confused, the man''s eyes fell onto the jury and brightened. "Mr. Hu, I''ve been looking for you! I came here at noon and searched for you!" "I''m sorry, I''m sorry. Something happened." Mr. Hu''s expression grew awkward. He cleared his throat and walked over. "Eunuch Zhao, why did you bring so many people here? This is the Sacred City. The Majesty did not allow you to come make a mess." "Mr. Hu, you must help me!" Eunuch Zhao grabbed his sleeves, almost shedding tears. 425 What to Do? "Mr. Hu, you must help me!" Eunuch Zhao grabbed his sleeves, almost shedding tears. "It is hard for me too! Not only did I travel to this place without stopping for half a month, I can''t even understand these barbarians'' language. I can''t find the person you''re looking for, and the embassy said that you were here so I rushed over without even a sip of water. "And look, these dogs blocked me outside! I said that I came with our emperor''s orders but he just wouldn''t listen! I''ve never been so wronged like this! It''s fine if I have to stand out in the sun for a few days, but if I fail the Majesty, it would be horrible! "Oh, right. Why are you here? Where is the duke? My eyes are failing me. Can you please show me?" Mr. Hu''s expression was extremely awkward. Under Eunuch Zhao''s highly anticipating eyes, he pointed at Ye Qingxuan. Overjoyed, the eunuch rushed over and bowed. "Duke, well met!" Ye Qingxuan was silent. He was speechless and also could not say anything. After not hearing a reply, the eunuch looked up in confusion and squinted. "Ah, what are you wearing" Before he could finish, he saw the chains clearly and his face paled. "You barbarians! What is this? How dare you? Hurry and unchain the duke! If this was in the East, all of you would be exiled!" "Order in the court!" Borja pounded the gavel. "Mr. Hu, what is this? This is the Sacred Court! Intruding the court is one thing. Yelling without any rules is another. Do Easterners not understand manners?" "Wait, wait, this is a misunderstanding!" A priest drenched in sweat who had been chasing the eunuch finally ran in. He stopped the guards and spoke to Eunuch Zhao in basic Eastern language. The eunuch nodded in annoyance. "Fine. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since this is the court, then I''ll follow the court''s rules." He waved at his men. "Dismissed." Then his expression turned ugly. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan''s chains. "These must be taken off. Now! This is a serious political case. Mr. Translator, tell that guy pounding the hammer up there that if he can''t give a proper explanation, the Aurora Empire will view it as humiliation from the Sacred City! Manners, does he understand?!" The priest responsible for interpreting froze. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan and his face turned green when he saw the chains. Running over to Borja, he murmured something. Borja furrowed his brows and loudly said, "I don''t care who this Easterner is. This is the Sacred Court and I am the judge. I make the decisions!" "What is that barbarian saying?" The eunuch was confused and looked to Mr. Hu. The man was helpless. "He said that he''s judging the trial. He''s the biggest." "Preposterous!" Eunuch Zhao''s face changed. He walked over to the podium, got onto his toes, and yelled at Borja, "The trial?! Huh? You? You''re qualified?!" Mr. Hu buried his face and wished he could disappear. "What is he saying?" Confused, Borja looked at the eunuch who was yelling with spittle flying. "He''s insulting you! Don''t mind that. I''ll explain later but please get rid of the chains!" The interpreter wiped at his sweat. "Otherwise, it really will become a diplomatic problem." Borja was stunned. His face darkened. "This is my courtroom! I don''t have to listen to others. If he wants to interfere, then give me the Pope''s order. Otherwise, I won''t listen!" The interpreter''s face darkened as well. His job meant being yelled at from both sides. Since Borja refused to listen, he would not hold back anymore. He awkwardly returned and told the eunuch, "Judge Borja is judging the case now and refuses to retract his order." "How dare he!" The eunuch was furious. He pointed at Borja, roaring, "What right do you have to judge him? Do you think that you''re the minister of the Cabinet? Why don''t you barbarians understand the rules?! Even if he has committed a crime, he should be prosecuted by us. Who do you think you are?" The interpreter rolled his eyes. He skipped the insults and just said, "According to the second amendment, the Sacred City should not interfere with a country''s matters! According to the law, nobles should be judged by their own ruler. Ye Qingxuan''s identity is sensitive. Judge Borja, please consider your decision carefully!" Now, the confused Borja finally felt something was wrong. There was a hint of fear but he could not back out now. He could only keep going. "As far as I know, the suspect is a musician without a nationality. There is no identity that the Sacred City recognizes. The law is inapplicable to him" "No, no." After hearing the interpretation, Eunuch Zhao chuckled. "Ye Qingxuan is the heir of the Ye Dragon Bloodline. He was born with the status of a duke. How can he be judged like a nobody? Thankfully, I hurried over quickly. If anything happened to you, would you be able to take responsibility?" Under everyone''s eyes, he took out a rosewood box and opened it. He took out a yellow scroll and unfurled it, revealing the stamp left by aether. It was the national seal of the Eastern Aurora Empire. The unique alchemy mark was impossible to forge. "Before coming, my emperor wrote this personally." He glared at Borja and stated, "The Ye family has inherited the Dragon Bloodline for thousands of years and is hereditary nobility. Today, Ye Qingxuan of the Ye family is of age. He is now given the title of Marquess Changyu with six thousand fiefs!" The silence was deathly. Everyone stared at Ye Qingxuan in shock. Even Ye Qingxuan could not wrap his mind around this. Ye QingxuanMarquess ChangyuSix thousand serfs How did he suddenlybecome a duke? This had been arranged at birth? Marquess Changyu? Why did this name sound so weird? Was it a joke? It did not seem like a random title thought up by the country either and was an official title recognized by the Sacred City? What? Eunuch Zhao held the scroll and smiled without speaking. When the nine dragon bloodlines transformed music theory as something inheritable centuries ago, Deva''s blood began existing in the world. Those born with it were noble. The Nine Dragon Bloodlines were the general term for the nine noble families with Deva''s blood! As the sole survivor of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had not felt it but he became the heir at birth! When Ye Qingxuan officially became the family leader, he could become a duke. He would be at the same level as the other kings and second only to the emperor! When the Dark Age ended and the golden era arrived, after the countless changes and wars, there were only two emperors other than the Pope, who ruled the Sacred City, who were recognized by all countries. One was the Eastern emperor. The position rotated through Nine Dragon Bloodlines. The other was the Asgardian emperor but the position had been empty for sixty years. Other than those, the rules of Anglo and Burgundy called themselves ''emperor'' but they were not recognized by the other countries. At most, they were archdukes. This meant that, if Ye Qingxuan went to the East and was tested by the Dragon Bloodline path, he would become a duke. His status would immediately rise. Other than the Pope, the Eastern emperor, and the Asgardian emperor which did not exist, he would not have to care about anyone else. When he finally understood this, he was a bit shocked. Ye Qingxuan looked up at the eunuch and coughed awkwardly. "UhSir, of age is twenty, right?" he asked quietly. "I''m only eighteen" "Duke, you must have remembered incorrectly," the man replied with a smile. "The birthdates of the members of the Dragon Bloodline are all recorded carefully. There aren''t any mistakes." Ye Qingxuan could only remain silent. Not only was he suddenly a duke, he also gained two years. This entire thing felt weird but if he could give the Sacred Court a taste of their own medicine, Ye Qingxuan definitely would not correct them. After the Church verified the scroll, Zhao sneered at Borja. "Please tell your decision. Even if the Marquess Changyu of Aurora committed anything, it should be decided by our emperor. The Sacred City isn''t qualified!" Borja''s face darkened and he did not reply. Within a few minutes, notifications from the various ministries arrived. The Cardinals had sent a command as well. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs even expressed that if Borja could not take care of this well, he would have to shoulder all responsibility. Now, his actions of throwing away all pretense of justice and leaning toward the prosecutors looked like a joke. Not only did he destroy his image, he had to endure the mocking eyes too. If people heard of this, the Amnesty Ministry would not let him remain as the judge anymore. Of course, he could continue insisting that Ye Qingxuan''s identity was unclear and refuse to let him go. But if this became a foreign affair crisis, all the countries would probably support Aurora. At that time, if someone decided to use this chance to revise the third amendment, he would have to pay for it as the initiator. The lightest punishment would be being exiled to the Dark World or spend the rest of his life in the Judgement Tower. Or someone may nicely give him a cup of poison But now, what could he do? What to do? What to do?! 426 Troublesome Duke Just as Borja was sweating and spacing out, Ludovic''s voice sounded in his ears. After hearing it, Borja''s expression changed drastically. After a long while, he opened his mouth and rasped out, "Due to Ye Qingxuan''s status, this case will be handed to the Aurora Empire in accordance to the third amendment." The gavel pounded. He rose with a defeated expression and left quickly without looking back. The spectators seemed to be stunned by this explosive news and had not processed it all yet. When they finally did, they looked at Ye Qingxuan strangely. What was with this guy? In their eyes, Ye Qingxuan looked like bad luck in human shape. Wherever he went, there were problems. Whoever he met would run into trouble. When he arrived at Avalon, there was a political earthquake. When he arrived at Auschwitz, it was invaded by a natural catastrophe. The Ministry of Information lost all dignity before he even arrived at the Sacred City. Now, the Sacred Court was affected as well. The ones that met him and had better luck would lose their reputation and image. The unfortunate ones would die or completely disappear The human-shaped natural catastrophe that the Easterners spoke of was probably him. Hearing the discussions, Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew troubled. He even heard a bishop tell the men beside him, "Be careful in the future. Don''t interact with this guy, you hear me?" Ye Qingxuan wanted to die. Now, Maxwell''s expression was troubled as well. Thankfully, he had experienced worse things. This was sudden but he could still bear it. Looking at the awkwardly standing Mr. Hu, he said, "I can''t believe that you were not just comforting me earlier." "To be honest, I''m not so sure about this either." Mr. Hu sighed. "I just reported Ye Qingxuan''s situation to the emperor. I hope Anglo won''t think that I''m butting in." "Anglo can''t change Ye Qingxuan''s identity. He is Deva''s blood, after all," Maxwell said. "As an official of Anglo, I hope we won''t have anything to do with Aurora but from a personal level, I think it''s a good thing." "Thank you for understanding." Mr. Hu smiled and bowed slightly. "And I, you." Maxwell nodded. "I still have a question that I hope Mr. Hu will clarify for me though." "Yes?" Looking at him, Maxwell enunciated slowly, "How will Aurora judge this case?" - "Marquess Ye." Eunuch Zhao pulled Ye Qingxuan to the side and told him, "The Majesty has another order for you." "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded. However, Zhao''s face was completely serious and did not seem to be going to open his mouth. Suddenly understanding, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Uh, I need to kowtow, right?" "The Majesty said to follow your customs," Zhao said. "Do as you would to your king." Ye Qingxuan lowered onto one knee and lowered his head. Eunuch Zhao nodded and pulled out a palm-sized box. As the gears cranked, the springs trembled and the sounds converged until it finally became the cool voice of a woman. "Ye Qingxuan, I know about your situation," the voice from the box said indifferently. "Because you are young and ignorant, and seeing as this is your first offense, I shall take four-hundred serfs and that will be all. The world may be interesting but home is where you should be. As a member of the Ye family, you cannot always be wandering through the countries. Come back after two years. You must inherit what belongs to the Ye family. That is all." The voice stopped. "That''s it?" Ye Qingxuan asked, looking up. Eunuch Zhao nodded. "That''s it." "What now?" "What now? Now you can do as you wish, Marquess." Zhao shrugged. "I must return to report to the Majesty. Would you like to come with?" "Uhcan I not?" "Oh, look at you. Would I force you?" Chuckling, Zhao handed him a piece of jade. "This is your proof. Do not lose it. I will stay in the embassy tonight. If you change your mind, come find me at any time." He really seemed to have just come to act as the good guy. After bowing, he left. When Ye Qingxuan finally processed everything, the eunuch was already gone. Then he heard Mr. Hu''s voice behind him. "Can we talk?" He nodded. - Behind the Sacred Court, there was a quiet courtyard. Ye Qingxuan walked through the greenery with the scholar dressed in white. "I still haven''t thanked you, Mr. Hu," Ye Qingxuan said. "You must have done a lot for me." "I just hope you won''t mind me butting in. To be honest, I didn''t think it would turn into this." Mr. Hu scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward. "Even if I didn''t do anything, you would have been fine. Today was only the first trial. Maxwell has many cards hidden even deeper I haven''t met him many times but I think that the man probably still has things that no one knows about." Ye Qingxuan chuckled but did not reply. "In a few days, I will return. After all, I came to the West in the beginning with the mission to find Ye Lanzhou." Mr. Hu sighed. "After all these years, I couldn''t find him but found his son. I should go back now I''m sure many people were unhappy that I was wandering around outside." As he spoke, he pulled out a thick notebook. "These are the music scores that I have been collecting for you. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei is a very good instrument. Do not let it down." Ye Qingxuan accepted the sheets. He did not know what to say and just felt emotional all of a sudden. All this time, he had learned much from Mr. Hu. His advice had helped Ye Qingxuan break through the Barrier of Knowledge. He had even helped collect the rare Eastern music scores. The notebook was thick and almost all were handwritten. Mr. Hu probably had started preparing this long ago. "When are you leaving?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I''ll see you off." "No need. You are a marquess now. It would not be right." Mr. Hu shook his head. "If the East hears of it, those people will probably be able to write books of complaints. It''s the thought that counts." "Marquess?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. "To be honest, I can''t accept the fact that I''m suddenly nobility. The name Marquess Changyu sounds weird too. Like the Earl of Glamorgan, it sounds uncomfortable." Mr. Hu smiled. "Wear the hat proudly and pull the gird long. The clean and dirty mix and only a pure nature will not become tainted," he said. "You must understand what the Majesty means." Ye Qingxuan''s mind was blank. "What does she mean?" Blanching, Mr. Hu''s expression grew awkward. He finally realized that this kid had grown up in the West and did not understand classical Eastern language "This is a quote from an ancient essay," Mr. Hu explained. "It basically means that to wear a tall crown and long accessories. Even if spices are mixed with mud, the purity would not decay." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan was still a bit confused. "So the Majesty wants me to be a good person?" "Something like that." Mr. Hu said meaningfully, "You must be a good person but who''s good person?" Ye Qingxuan was still confused. "You must have heard about the East," Mr. Hu said nonchalantly. "As the Majesty matured, the people have been calling for the Regent to return. The Majesty and the Regent seem amiable but they are actually clashing dangerously. "Even the children''s folk songs sing, ''the emperor is tyrannical; there is Bai Heng. Support the country; distinguish between clean and tainted "Bai Heng has the urge to revolt. If not for the title, righteousness, and that some officials still wish to protect the true leader, he probably would have assassinated the Majesty long ago. "There are only six families left of the Nine Dragon Bloodlines. Three have pledged allegiance to the Bai family now. If not for now understanding Bai Heng''s plans, they probably would have prepared the necessary procedures." Mr. Hu paused and studied Ye Qingxuan. "Do you understand how troublesome your position is now?" Ye Qingxuan asked, "The Majesty wishes for me to support her?" Mr. Hu nodded. "Even if the Ye family is just an empty shell, there are still countless people who know the name. As long as you''re willing to return, you can revive the family no matter what. You can just lie there and make babies for the rest of your life." "To be honest, I''m anticipating the life of just whiling my days away." Ye Qingxuan chuckled dryly. "But I think Bai Heng must hate me now." "You just realized? Ever since your news traveled to the East, you became something to get rid of." Mr. Hu shook his head. "And in his eyes, you are not just the heir of the Ye family." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan did not understand. "I don''t know if telling you now is too early or not but I can only say that Bai Heng''s identity is not just a rebel. In a few years, I think he may" Here, Mr. Hu stopped. He started again, hesitated, and finally smiled wryly. "Never mind. Speaking of these unsure things can only add more frustration." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, "So you don''t wish for me to return?" "I don''t know." Mr. Hu shook his head and sighed softly. "After being out here for so long, I sometimes think that the East is just a huge quagmire. Young men like you have nothing to do with it and should live freely. But sometimes, I also think that other places aren''t any better Look, the entire world is like an overcooked haggis soup. You can''t block the smell even when you hold your nose. So whether you return or not is up to you." 427 Problem After ending the conversation, Mr. Hu left. Lost in thought, Ye Qingxuan was somehow brought to a restaurant. A full-course meal was placed before him and he was sitting there with utensils. He stared blankly and his expression was dazed as if he was pondering the deepest secrets of the universe. Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? Ye Qingxuan usually never thought about questions that had no answer. However, he was now stuck in this ditch and it was hard to climb out. Ye Qingxuan instantly became lost. He did not even know that he had used too much black pepper and did not taste anything different. "Is it really okay to give him hot peppers as black pepper?" Abraham looked at Bai Xi. Bai Xi glanced at Ye Qingxuan and shrugged. "It''s not like he can tell. Hey, Professor, eat more. Look, the caviar is pretty good. No wonder this is the best restaurant in Sacred City." Abraham was speechless. Looking at Ye Qingxuan''s glazed eyes, he felt uncertain. "Is he too happy?" "For these cases, the most effective is to slap him." Bai Xi urged Abraham mischievously. "I heard that that''s how they cure Eastern musicians who are too happy from getting into the Tak Lok Department." "Really?" Abraham''s eyes brightened. He raised his shiny metallic arm and waved it before finally sighing. "I can''t control my strength. What if I hurt him?" "Let me, let me. Professor, look!" Bai Xi volunteered herself and moved up. Her hand slammed down, ready to slap happily. Ye Qingxuan was still in a daze. But when the hand was at his face, his hand came up and blocked Bai Xi. The girl froze. Ye Qingxuan had snapped out of his daze too and looked at her in confusion. "Why are you hitting me?" "I was worried you were too happy." Bai Xi smiled caringly. "Cousin, listen to me. You''ll be fine after I hit you. Come on." "Wait!" Seeing that she did not give up yet, Ye Qingxuan jumped up in fright. "Put your fork down! You almost stabbed me!" "Psh." Bai Xi pouted and put down the fork between her fingers. "You have worked too hard these past few days and have not rested. You''ll be fine after sleeping." Assured, Abraham said gently, "Let''s go home earlier after eating." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I''m alright but" "Oh, right, Cousin!" Bai Xi suddenly uttered as she moved closer, curious. "I heard that a bunch of things happened in court! We were listening to livestreams outside but it wasn''t enough. You''re a duke now?" "Uh." Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew uncomfortable. "It''s a long story. I''ll tell you later but now" "Cousin! I just thought of something else." Bai Xi batted her eyes, looking completely innocent and curious. "Are you going back to the East now?" Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a long while, he shook his head. "I''m not sure yet." "If you''re sure or not is one thing. If you want to go back or not is another." It seemed that she was going to get to the bottom of things. "Just tell the truth." After thinking for a bit, Ye Qingxuan said honestly, "Not really but kind of." "What?" Bai Xi was confused. "Is that a riddle?" "I never wanted to go back. I thought my white hair is strange but I thought Easterners were all like this. I didn''t know about Deva''s blood or the Nine Dragon Bloodlines. I never thought that the East was my home so I never thought about going there." Organizing his words, Ye Qingxuan explained, "It''s different now. I feel like I should go back once and clear some things up, so I''m still hesitating." "Oh." Bai Xi nodded, seeming to understand but not really. "Don''t overthink. Even if I go to the East, I''ll still come back." Ye Qingxuan smiled and ruffled Bai Xi''s hair. He looked at Abraham and said, "But now" "Cousin, try this." Bai Xi suddenly picked up a lamb chop and tossed it onto Ye Qingxuan''s plate. "It''s fresh and juicy. It''s great!" Ye Qingxuan stared at the juicy meat. He looked up, saying, "But I want" "Don''t talk while you eat. That''s an ancient proverb. Hurry up and eat!" Bai Xi tossed another grilled shrimp onto his plate. "Hurry and eat! You need to eat to have strength to talk." Wordless, Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. His plate had a big shrimp that Bai Xi had broke, and a sad-looking steak. He looked up. Abraham looked awkward while Bai Xi was serious. He put down his fork. "Professor, are you trying to keep something from me?" he asked seriously. Abraham started coughing but Bai Xi got before him and nodded forcefully. "Yeah, yeah" She paused and put on a surprised look. "I requested to graduate early and passed the test! How is it? Are you surprised?" "Really?" Ye Qingxuan froze and then smiled. "You passed the test even though you cut class every day? Did you cheat?" "No, no." Bai Xi shook her head and patted her chest seriously. "I''m a genius. Cousin, you gotta believe me." "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded and glanced at Abraham. "Professor, are you okay?" Abraham nodded and smiled stiffly. "Just how I always am." "Then here''s the problem." Ye Qingxuan''s smile faded. He looked at them and asked, "Where is Charles?" Abraham and Bai Xi fell silent. One looked down at the plate while the other whistled and looked up at the ceiling. "How come I haven''t seen Charles this whole time?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "He couldn''t have been locked up just for spitting. Plus, even if he was, he should be out already, right? Why don''t you want me to ask about him? Professor, what happened?" Bai Xi jumped out again, forcing a mischievous smile onto her face. "Cousin, actually Charles" Slap! Ye Qingxuan suddenly slammed a palm down on the table. The plates shook and the loud sound echoed through the restaurant. Everyone looked over in confusion. Bai Xi''s smile stiffened as well. Ye Qingxuan looked at her, his eyes hardening. "Bai Xi, if you still lie to me, don''t call me ''cousin'' again. Tell me, what happened to Charles?" Bai Xi stopped talking. She looked at him with reddening eyes. A glossy film covered her eyes and she bit her lips. "Yezi, don''t be angry." Abraham pulled Bai Xi away and said gently, "I told her to keep it from you." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. His expressions battled until it became apologetic. "Sorry, my emotions are out of control." He lowered his eyes. "It''s my fault. But what happened to Charles? Professor, why was he locked up in the Judgement Tower? How come he wasn''t even let out for breaks? I looked for him everywhere but no one had even heard of him. What happened?" "Let me tell you," said a familiar voice behind him. Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw Wolf Flute in a black coat. It had been a while. The man seemed to not have slept or shaven in a few days. He looked bedraggled and there were dark circles under his eyes. "You look like sh*t." "Yeah." Wolf Flute chuckled dryly. "It''s not their fault for not telling. The matter involves many things and the Silent Authority had them sign a non-disclosure agreement. They must keep it secret. Plus, you were still in prison at that time and could not help. "The Silent Authority?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "What does Charles have to do with them?" 428 Forbidden Technology The Silent Authority. This secret violent institution was created by the various countries and the Church. It was formed by elite musicians from every field to protect the stability of human society. It was organized by the three kings. They were protected by the countries and could go anywhere. They were basically a spy organizationand the most troublesome one at that. They were responsible for maintaining the world''s stability and peace, eradicate cults, capture dark musicians, and even arrest musicians who broke the rules. All registered musicians must cooperate with them fully when needed or even make sacrifices at times. Most of the time, they would not appear in public for secrecy. Even in the Sacred City, they just rented a storefront and have three secretaries visible. Most members were secret and had double identities or more. People would not know their true roles until death. However, from what Ye Qingxuan knew, the first musician that he had metWolf Flutewas one of them. His position was not low either. "Charles'' matter is a long story" Wolf Flute sat down, his expression troubled. Before he could speak, a server came over and poured a cup of coffee for him. Seeing it, his face turned green and he pushed it away. "Sorry, I''ve been staying up for too many nights. Now I want to throw up when I smell coffee" He paused and looked around. "Want to go drink with me? I know a good place around here. It''s clean, quiet, and has good wine." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded without hesitation. Wolf Flute nodded. "Someone will come pick you up later." - After Wolf Flute left, Ye Qingxuan calmed down and realized he made the most fatal mistake. He had somehow gotten the courage to yell at Bai Xi! He begged and pleaded but Bai Xi still ignored him. Helpless, Ye Qingxuan looked toward Abraham. Professor, help. "How come other teachers only need to teach but I have to take care of children?" Shaking his head, Abraham reached out and helped Bai Xi wipe her tears. Then he waved at Ye Qingxuan to leave. Saved, Ye Qingxuan scurried out. As soon as he left, the pitiful Bai Xi raised her head. Her complexion looked bad. "Why did that b*stard leave? I''m so pissed!" She angrily took Ye Qingxuan''s plate and hacked at the steak and lobster. "He dared to yell at me! Yell! At me! I cried and he still ran! So I can''t call him ''cousin''? So what? I don''t care!" Abraham looked up to the sky and sighed. These kids used to be so nice and cute but after they grew up, they all became so troublesome. This world was too hard to understand - Ten minutes later, Ye Qingxuan got off a carriage. Under the cold and wet fog, he pushed open a door and saw Wolf Flute. And his expression grew strange. "This is the place you said is good?" Wolf Flute cocked his head. "Is it not good?" A dim light was lit in the empty and old warehouse. Wolf Flute sat on a ragged sofa, clutching a box of snacks. There were many bottles of beer beside him. Clothes were strewn on the ground and there was a weird smell. This was basically the home of a street urchin. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "How can you describe it as clean, quiet, and with good wine?!" "Sh!" While munching on snacks, Wolf Flute put a finger to his lips and hushed Ye Qingxuan. "If you don''t like this place, people will be unhappy." Ye Qingxuan felt an eerie breeze behind him. Getting goosebumps, he spun around but could only see a fleeting shadow. Under the dim light, there were various shadows projected onto the wall. He could sense faint breaths in the air. They were wolves. Somehowhe had fallen into a pack of wolves. "This is my home." Wolf Flute gestured for Ye Qingxuan to sit anywhere. "You''re a Scepter already, right? Even if you''re not a saint, you''re still a powerful man. Why must you live in a place like this?" Wolf Flute sighed. "It''s hard to find a place in the Sacred City where I can let them out. Don''t be so picky. Just get some beer and I''ll eat something first." Chuckling dryly, Ye Qingxuan picked up a dusty glass. He glanced at the dirty bucket of beer in the distance and put his glass down. After a bit, Wolf Flute had finally finished eating. He drank half a glass of beer in one breath. Sighing, he sprawled onto the sofa. "I can finally rest now. I was so busy these past two days that I couldn''t even go to your first trial. Didn''t think you''d come out so quickly. Should I call your Marquess now?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. "Can we get to the point?" "Fine." Wolf Flute straightened. He sat for a bit as if organizing his thoughts. Then he let it drop, "Newton disappeared." "Huh?!" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Newton? The one from the Anglo Royal Research Institute?" "Would I care about any Newtons other than him?" Wolf Flute sighed. "Even more troublesome, before he disappeared, people reported him for being involved in forbidden research." "Forbidden research? He''s not a dark musician. Would he be researching on human bodies?" "Why do you think that only dark musicians do forbidden research?" Wolf Flute rolled his eyes. "Have you forgotten about the steam crisis a century ago?" Ye Qingxuan fell silent. A century ago, when Anglo''s queen was still Victoria, the arts had developed rapidly. Technology had made great innovations as well. The steam engine was seen as the technology that represented the future''s hope. Because of it, coal had become a hot item. But when thousands of steam engines operated at the same time, it led to disruptions in the aether and created horrible consequences. That was when humanity realized that it was a dead end. The losses that resulted could not be calculated. The aether eruptions in the borders due to the steam engines had become a terrifying legend. The machine led to Hell. The Grim Reaper would climb out of the engine along with the steam according to the various myths. The steam engine was still a painful sore for all mechanics and engineers. As someone who had studied mechanics before, Ye Qingxuan understood this. Forbidden technologies always had temporary benefits but would definitely bring terrible consequences. For example, decades ago, Choir musicians mutated some bacteria from the Dark World and invented a cure for people to regenerate limbs. However, they did not expect that there would be strong side effects and sudden changes. After it combined with rabies, it became a new mutation. Within a night, the entire city became wild zombies. The Silent Authority burned the entire city down and killed all those who were infected. More than ten cities were involved, including one-hundred thousand people, and it took half a year. They poured thousands of tons of sulfur onto the land and even now, nothing could grow there. Another example was when a Modifications scholar created an elemental separation impact channel dozens of kilometers long for superheavy elements. A fortune was spent, but the end result was a giant bomb that destroyed half of the mountain outside the school. After three years, the poisonous dust still hovered above, polluting the water. Six cities were evacuated. Countless people became infected with a strange disease and were tormented to death. All forbidden technology was dangerous and untouchable. However, from what Ye Qingxuan knew about those fervent researchers, once it was related to their goal, they would not care if it was legal or not. Otherwise, why would there be so many dark musicians? After pondering, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Did Mr. Newton study the legendary intelligent machinery that goes against humanity?" "You''re overthinking." Wolf Flute glanced at him. "But the thing he did isn''t any better. All these years, he scammed Anglo of all this money to secretly research man-made musicians." "That''s impossible." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely. "Anglo''s research in the human body is only average and Newton is a grandmaster in mechanics. Crossover research like this is difficult and not worth it." Wolf Flute chuckled dryly. He drank half a bottle of beer and sighed. "Who told you that the musician must be human?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Get it now?" Wolf Flute found a moldy pack of tobacco from under the sofa. He tore it apart and lit it. Inhaling deeply, he rasped out, "He wanted to create machines that can replace musicians. According to the clues we received, he almost succeeded. "This is good. There''s nothing bad about it. Man-made musicians are musicians too. Machines can become even better However, this will completely destroy the structure of human society. "A total shuffling of the cards? With the looming threat of natural catastrophes, no one can bear it. Can you imagine how many wars will happen because of this? How much blood will be shed? "Newton knew that no one would allow him to continue researching so he did it secretly. When we discovered it, it was already too late. He just suddenly, mysteriously" Wolf Flute inhaled and blew the smoke away. "He just disappeared." It suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "Charles was involved because of this?" "You think too lowly of your senior." Wolf Flute''s expression grew strange as if he had just woken up and realized he had f*cked up. "Ye Qingxuan, he''s the main designer." 429 sOne Hundred Ways to F*ck Yourself Up” "Ye Qingxuan, he''s the main planner." The moment Wolf Flute finished, Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew as troubled as his. "Are youjoking?" he asked instinctively. Wolf Flute looked at him seriously, giving him a headache. He thought that maybe Wolf Flute was telling the truth. Charles was annoying, horrible, and unreliable but his skills It made Ye Qingxuan angry but Charles was definitely a one-of-a-kind genius. Yeah, a bit more talented than Ye Qingxuan too. If Charles could become a musician, he would probably already be a world-famous grandmaster. Therefore, Ye Qingxuan did not find it strange that this matter had something to do with Charles. Before joining the Royal Research Institute, he had messed around and created so many things in the basement. He had even used trash to create a suit of armor. Now that he had Newton as an accomplice, it was not strange that he could make even bigger messes. However, even so, Ye Qingxuan had truly underestimated Charles'' abilities if he had made such a world-changing thing within a few months. Ye Qingxuan shook his head bitterly and sighed. "Okay, that''s probably something he could do." "Your senior is a genius." Wolf Flute patted his shoulder. "According to our investigation, he doesn''t only have a deep understanding of mechanics and music theory. Newton solved the problem with the mechanical principle and he solved the obstacle to communicating with aether. We don''t know where he found a bunch of music note experiment records and other data related to music theory. That is why we suspect there is someone else hiddenthe true background controller! "This person is obviously a grandmaster who could supply them with music records and data. Machines cannot sense aether, yet he found a stable structure within the changing music theory and simplified the bulky music notes, creating a new structure He was able to use non-aether sensing machines to stimulate the aether using standard music and create the needed effect "According to our research, there are only a few grandmasters who can reach that level and none had gone to Anglo. I have flipped through all the archives and researched the people he had interacted with but other than dark circles under my eyes, I''ve found nothing." "Uhreally?" Ye Qingxuan''s expression did not change, albeit becoming a bit stiffer. "Ah, wow, so weird. I don''t get it." He managed to force out a confused expression but there were thousands of alpacas running across his mind, back and forth. F*ck! F*cking Charles! You f*cked me up! Ye Qingxuan subtly wiped away the sweat on his forehead. If he had guessed correctly, the mysterious background guy that Wolf Flute was trying to find was him! Who else would spend so much time figuring out those techniques? Where else could Charles find all that data? No wonder Charles kept asking him questions on music theory after he left Anglo. Charles had dragged him to the basement for so many tests and experiments too. At that time, he had thought Charles had rekindled his interest in music theory and gave him everything without even thinking. He even gave dozens of extra notebooks! As well as the classicism records from Hermes No matter how strong Ye Qingxuan was mentally, he could not take the weight of all the alpacas in his mind now. No wonder Charles had been so enthusiastic and warm during that period! He had even treated Ye Qingxuan to dinner many times. Ye Qingxuan had felt flattered but now he knew why. He was totally f*cked! Wanting to cry, he looked away. A beer would be nice now. However, the most important thing was to get Charles out first. What if he couldn''t stand the torture and dragged Ye Qingxuan in? "If I remember correctly, Charles can get bail, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "If he got involved in forbidden technology without realizing it, and he signed the related vow, he can return to society under the countries'' surveillance This is hard but I''m willing to help him." "If that''s the case, it could work." Wolf Flute sighed. "But the problem is that that''s not the only crime he committed!" "Huh?!" Ye Qingxuan blanched. The alpacas started galloping again. There was something else?! What else did Charles do?! "You know, Anglo forbade Newton to continue researching musician robots. He was unable to do related work at the Royal Research Institute and would receive no funding. However, research is something that needs an endless amount of money." Wolf Flute smoked. "So who gave him the money and supplies needed?" "He betrayed the nation?" It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "Did he sell this technology to another country?" "Not just that." Wolf Flute''s face darkened. "The ones who supplied him were the Revolutionaries that always wanted to overthrow the Sacred City and nations" Well, f*ck. It''s over. Goodbye, Senior. I''ll take care of the professor. I hope there aren''t Revolutionaries in Heaven. Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan rose and walked toward the door. Wolf Flute was confused. "Where are you going?" "I''m going to write a declaration that I''m breaking all ties with Charles," Ye Qingxuan turned around and said seriously. "Tell the Silent Authority to rest assured. This man has nothing to do with us in the future." "No, wait." Wolf Flute blocked him reflexively. "It''s not that bad yet. There''s still some hope." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan stopped. His lips curled into a mischievous smile. Wolf Flute realized that he had misspoken and his face grew awkward. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "We''re old friends. Can you get rid of the superfluous talk?" He sat back down on the sofa and looked at Wolf Flute. "What is going on?" - The Revolutionaries were a mysterious organization that arose in the New World colony in the Dark World twenty years ago. Okay, they were not that mysterious but were far removed from the average person. Their leader was Gaius, the Angloian official from decades ago who once frequented the Sacred City and had been the hottest figure of all the nations, but was now the top traitor of humanity. This Romulusian had united pirates, tribesmen, and homeless people. Commanding his loyal military, he took over the authority of the New World colony. After receiving technology and heavy industry from the Chainsaw Fraternity, they established a unique dominion in the barren land. This was the only organization in the entire human world who dared to go against the Sacred City and destroy all unfair authority. All these years, they did everything and sacrificed everything they could to damage the Sacred City''s plans and missions. Kidnapping, assassins, damage, poisoning The records of the crimes they committed and disasters they caused could fill half a library! The countries and the Sacred City always went by the tit-for-tat strategy. Anyone connected to the Revolutionaries would be executed after being captured. No exceptions. No matter their status or backstories. This was a line that anyone who wanted a quiet life would never touch. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but moan from his bed. "Senior, it seems like you''re totally dead this time." It was one in the morning now. He had already left Wolf Flute two hours ago. After returning to the embassy, he tossed and turned on his bed. It was his first day out of jail and he already had insomnia. Thinking back to Wolf Flute''s words, he felt a chill. "Newton and the Revolutionaries had some sort of agreement and received supplies in return. The one responsible for getting the supplies was Charles" "No way!" Ye Qingxuan had retorted. "Charles doesn''t have common sense but he wouldn''t be stupid enough to interact with the Revolutionaries." "I know he''s innocent." Wolf Flute had sighed. "Look at him. I''ll believe you if you say he runs nude through the women''s bathhouse. But to say that he''s brave enough to deal with the Revolutionaries" "Then what''s going on?" "To be honest, he did not know he was dealing with the Revolutionaries from start to finish. He thought they were rich merchants from India and wanted to fund a new project. He treated them warmly and called them his brothers. When we followed evidence to arrest him in the Sacred City, he didn''t even know what was going on. He thought we were arresting him for spitting on the ground! Spitting, oh my God" Wolf Flute had buried his face in his hands. "When he said that, the guy in charge almost turned green. How could he turn the Silent Authority into city guards?" "That''s how he is. Just beat him up if you don''t like it." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "He''s not insensitive though. If you tell him how severe this is, he''ll cooperate with you. Would you like me to talk to him? If you can have some mercy and imprison him for life, we can definitely find a way to reduce his sentence!" "I know he is innocent and he''s been cooperative." Wolf Flute nodded and his features turned troubled. "That''s why we gave him a chance to redeem his sins." - Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan was heartbroken. He rose and pulled out the hardest liquor in Maxwell''s cabinet and drank it all. After finishing, he fell onto the bed and tossed and turned. Finally, all his complicated feelings could only turn into a sigh. "Senior, you really f*cked up this time." 430 Frustration Increases "Charles has been enlisted by the Silent Authority now and is doing a secret mission." At that time, Wolf Flute had pulled out a document with a vow. He placed it before Ye Qingxuan with a pen he had clearly prepared. "If you want to hear more, sign this and join us." It finally dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "You just wanted to drag me in?" Wolf Flute shrugged. "Even if I didn''t, you''d try to join in, right? Instead of having you mess around, I''d rather get you in officially." Ye Qingxuan scanned the paper and signed his name. When he printed his music theory, the contract''s secret music theory seeped into his body as well, forming a contract. "Welcome." Wolf Flute pushed a cup of beer over. He did not mind that Ye Qingxuan was still unmoving. Smiling, he downed his own cup. He wiped his lips and said straightforwardly, "Four months ago, we secretly captured the deputy commander of the Revolutionaries, Constantine. He''s locked in the Judgement Tower but sadly, we found nothing. "According to our spy''s information, the Revolutionaries have moved a large amount of elite power to the Sacred City. They''re planning something big after the Winter Festival. We must know clearly what they''re planning Otherwise, we don''t know how many people will die." "Spy?" In an instant, Ye Qingxuan understand what the Silent Authority was planning and frowned. "You want Charles to get in? Stop joking. Does he look like a spy?!" "Yeah, if even you don''t believe it, who''ll suspect him?" Wolf Flute''s expression was strange. "We locked him in the top level of the Judgement Tower. Our planted agent told us that a few days later, there''ll be a prison break. Before that, he must receive Constantine''s trust, escape with him, and enter the core of the Revolutionaries" "And then he''ll blow his cover and get cut into dozens of pieces. His feet and hands will get mailed to you and the head''ll be given to us for sentimental value?" Ye Qingxuan asked coldly. "Charles isn''t suitable for being a spy at all. He probably won''t even be able to move past the first step!" "I told him the consequences and he agreed." "Yeah because if he doesn''t, he''ll be sent to the gallows!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. "Who wouldn''t agree? You''d die anyway!" "At first I volunteered you." Rather than defending himself, Wolf Flute muttered, "I thought you''d get out of the trial then. After everything''s over, you could just disappear and change your identitybut I didn''t expect that you could come out without my help." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. "If you''re angry, then just blame me. For some things, I have no other choice." Wolf Flute smoked and said, "I promise, he''ll return safely. Believe me, Ye Qingxuan. Have I lied to you before? You''ll be in this too. If you think it''s dangerous, you can stop this mission at any time. I''ll take care of all the responsibilities." He snuffed his cigarette. The conversation was over. Thinking of all this, Ye Qingxuan also remembered something Maxwell had said. "You always have to do dirty things for the things you care forreally?" he murmured with his eyes open. The moonlight outside the window illuminated his face. No one replied in the silence. He sighed and climbed up from the bed. It was two in the morning. In his daze, he seemed to have dreamed about many things but he could not remember anything when he opened his eyes. Tossing and turning for so long, he did not feel any sleep coming. He could not sleep, could not get drunk, could not eat, could not laugh Everything horrible seemed to happen within these few days. They all came to live with him and refused to leave. He was frustrated. He washed his face and took out another bottle of liquor that looked expensive. He placed it under his elbow and found the book Mr. Hu had given him. If he could not sleep, then he would have to find something to do. Casually, he flipped to the first score. "Liang Xiao Yin?" Ye Qingxuan laughed at himself. He opened the bottle with his teeth and downed half a bottle. He didn''t know what the music was but he would just try it. Calling out Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, the instrument strings appeared in thin air and crisscrossed. The sound of cracking indus resounded in the still night sky. The music was like chimes but also the roaring of a dragon. "I''ve let you down all this time," Ye Qingxuan murmured. He held the music sheets with one hand and ran his other hand down the instrument strings. Disordered notes fell from his fingers. As he deciphered the music score, the music theory overlapped and scattered in the air. It slowly solidified and soon, the moonlight was filled with a gentle melody. It was so serene. As the music theory came into shape, Ye Qingxuan felt the Heaven Ladder within him start turning. The vast music score was established inside him, filling his limbs and creating a complex yet detailed system. Finally, it connected with Liang Xiao Yin. The two used Jiu Xiao Huan Pei as a bridge to become one. The quiet Heaven Ladder took in the new music score without any hesitation as if it was rain after a long drought. Heaven Ladder strengthened considerably. The chaotic music theory within him had somehow become more coherent than ever. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. This was the Heaven Ladder? It crossed over the seven schools and operated uniquely! It was originally used to unify all types of music theory under it. All music theory could find a place here. This was the special skill of the Ye family! "This way leads to the heaven!" It suddenly dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "That''s what it means?" The Ye ancestors had used music theory that crossed the material and aether world to create Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. They also added in the Heaven Ladder that could unify all types of music theory. It was just so they could have an unshakeable foundation! As long as they had the Heaven Ladder, the Ye descendants could add whatever music theory they wanted to create their own way to the heavens. But no one expected that, down the line, someone like Ye Qingxuan, who had never learned Eastern music theory, would appear. He had never thought of the deeper meaning. He had been using a diamond as a hammer. He didn''t know how to use it to its full potential! If Mr. Hu had not given him this music score, allowing Heaven Ladder to lengthen, Ye Qingxuan would still be clueless. "I really embarrassed myself" Ye Qingxuan buried his face and sighed. But when he processed everything, he glanced at the music score weirdly. Liang Xiao Yin was not overly-amazing but it was still a standard official music score. Representing dazzling moonlight and a beautiful dream at night, it was a perfect Mind score. Its influence range was wide and should be extremely difficult. How did he learn it just by drinking liquor, flipping through the book, and playing casually? His features twisted. "Mr. Hu, did you give me some children''s songs to joke with me?" Taking a few more gulps, he opened to another score. "The phoenix flies, searching for the other in the world." It was "Searching for Phoenix." This should be the introductory music score for the Eastern School of Summoning. It allowed bird-like phantom beasts to have the aura of a phoenix. If he delved deep enough, he might even be able to summon the kingly aura of a phoenix ruling the world. "Summoning score? Never learned this before" Gripping his chin, he thought for a bit and then shook his head. "Whatever. Let''s just learn it!" Putting down his liquor, he placed his hands on the instrument. He deciphered the complex music theory in his heart, but his mind was still drunk. He had no clue what he was doing. In the beginning, he stumbled over the notes. Things became smoother in the middle until finally, a clear sound spread. Under Jiu Xiao Huan Pei''s control, the music theory seemed to come to life. It came out of the aether and transformed into a blurry apparition that flowed under the moonlight. Finally, the blurry bird perched on the instrument and fused into Heaven Ladder. It trembled and extended. The countless music theories shook and a new melody was created. "I learned it just like that?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. A little unsure, he opened another bottle to calm himself down. After resting a bit, he flipped to another score. "The fallen leaves come and go. The perched crows startle" It was ''Autumn Wind.'' The instrument sounds once again. Under the gloomy melody, silhouettes of crows startle inside the thin moonlight. They pace under the light. An autumn scene appeared. Reminiscing, oh the long memory; short nostalgia, oh the endless pain This was ''Autumn Wind.'' He learned it so quickly! Ye Qingxuan gulped down more liquor in shock. "It seems pretty easy?" Again! ''South Wind Blows.'' In an instant, a spring breeze blew from the soil. Vitality resounded within the melody and spread. The music seemed to transform into the south wind and blow in all directions. Thus, everything began growing. Heaven Ladder extended again. It rose happily, taking in the scattered music theory continuously. It was taking shape instantly. "This works?" Ye Qingxuan scratched his head and flipped the page. Continue! ''Ji Yue Yin,''''Qing Ye Yin,''''Feng Lei Yin'' The room had become a mess. Everything seemed to have left the material world. Under the music, everything was blurry and inside the melody. At times, a sun would rise and everything would renew; sometimes, it would be an endless night with the moon in the sky and a cool breeze blowing; other times, wind and thunder raged furiously The Heaven Ladder continued growing. Within the melody, a faint rhythm emerged. It was like a pulsing heart. Ye Qingxuan continued. ''Listening to the Spring on the Stone,''''God''s Words,''''Man and Stork''! The singing of a bubbling creek came from all directions, transforming into a flood and thundering river. It flowed over the stone and things were reborn. It became solemn and grave, old and crude. As if meeting with a god, it was ancient yet vigorous. Finally, it turned and there seemed to be an old man with a sword and white storks dancing. The man and stork emerged within Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and joined the Heaven Ladder. It trembled. Countless music theories broke apart at once then rejoined under an invisible power. Finally, the vast music theory of Philosopher''s Stone was enveloped as well, becoming one. The majestic vitality spread from his limbs. All his wounds healed instantly. Fresh blood began flowing through him like a flood. There seemed to be a river inside his body. Under the rumbling of the flood, a heavy and low heartbeat sounded. A whirlpool appeared in the aether sea. Countless aether was sucked in by the msic. Silver rays of light flowed into the instrument strings and collected within his body. They operated with the complex music theory. Under the guidance of the aether, the vast music score finally started turning and showed its true nature. Ye Qingxuan realized that he was unstoppable. Finishing the bottle, he started flipping through all the pages. "Moon of Mount Guan,''''Dragon Roar in the Sea,''''Changmen Complaint,''''Huo Lin Cao,''''Wind and Cloud'' The instrument sounded once again. Sparse notes scattered. The bright moon illuminated Mount Guan and wind raged. Sea tides crashed and the dragon roared without end. The moon hung in the night, illuminating those inside Changmen. Ye Qingxuan was lost in his own world. His eyes scanned the music scores and he strummed Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Aether rose in waves and spread out. Finally, the melody spilled like mercury into all directions. The crisscrossed strings covered the entire embassy, extending with the scattering moonlight. Within the light and melody, a faint heartbeat sounded. Under the unclear rhythm, the entire embassy became wispy. Countless apparitions rose under the moonlight. It was as if everything had become removed from reality and entered a hallucination. Moonlight shone down. The line between illusion and reality blurred. Everything in his dream was before his eyes now. In the end, all the scenes were woven into a vast and beautiful dream by the melody. Reversed dreams appeared, a moon hung in the sky, the sun shone radiantly, rivers flowed, the land stretched to the horizon, dragons roared "So annoying!" Bai Xi was startled awake from her dream. She tossed her pillow in anger. "Who the f*ck is playing music at midnight?!" Furious, she climbed out of bed but discovered that her room had somehow changed. The western-styled furniture had become somber eastern decorations. White curtains fell from the large room. Two lines of firelight illuminated the room. The pearls on the walls reflected with the light, creating an elegant and luxurious scene. Stunned, her eyes quickly turned cold. She clenched a fist. Faraway bells rang under her fingertips. Zhaodang flashed past and destroyed the realistic dreamscape. Everything blurred and broke. She put on a jacket and slippers and walked out. She was annoyed. Her mood was already bad from dreaming of all that. Seeing it when she woke up really pissed her off. Cracking her knuckles, she was ready to find that annoying guy and have a good ''talk.'' But when she pushed open the door and followed the music, she found Maxwell and Abraham sitting in the hallway and smoking. "Principal?" She frowned and said without hesitation, "What are you all planning now?" "What can I do?" Maxwell smoked and said lightly, "It''s your messed up cousin. The day he got released, he became a marquess, signed an agreement with the Silent Authority, drank all my wine, and leveled up. "His heart of sound resonated with the aether sea. Disturbing reality, he saw into the dreamscape." Maxwell stared at the large moon outside the window and murmured, "He''s at the Disturbance level now." 431 I Am Sincere! "Wow, look! The moonlight is so pretty!" At the top level of the Judgement Tower, under the silent moonlight, someone studied the moon outside the bars and sighed as if intoxicated by it. Behind him, everyone was silent. They buried their faces in their hands. However, the young man seemed to not sense anything. Turning around, he said with anticipation, "The night is beautiful. How about I perform for all of you to add to the mood?" Someone''s expression changed drastically. "Don''t! Charles, wait" "Oh, oh, oh~ Oh, oh, oh~ Oh, oh, oh~ Oh, oh, oh~" Charles began singing happily, drunk from his own voice. "The beauty of the Sacred City, a day in June~ Spring rain falls like wine, the willows like smoke~ Come thousands of miles if we''re fated~ Can''t even hold your hand if we''re not~ Ten years of going through the obstacles, hundred years to share the same home~" The horrible voice passed through the railings and echoed in everyone''s ears. It kept repeating, "Oh, if there are thousands of years, oh, of destiny~ We''ll be together~ Oh, if there are thousands of years, of, of destiny~ We''ll be together~ Lalala, lalala~" The prisoners could not help but cover their faces and look everywhere for earplugs. Finally, the closest victimhis cellmate, a man covered in haircould not take it anymore. He snapped a toothbrush in half and pointed it to his own throat. "Charles, shut up!" Gritting his teeth, he was determined. "Otherwise, I''ll hurt myself and make you get locked up by yourself." "No, don''t! If you don''t like it, I can sing another song," Charles said dejectedly. "I used to be a prodigy musician. Do you know what the triangle is? It''s really cool! Don''t believe me? Let me show you" "Just shut up! Let me sleep and stop bothering me!" the man roared. The prisoners in the neighboring cell made noises of agreement. They all yelled at the voice that was pushing them to the brink of insanity. Hearing those hateful words, Charles''s eyes clouded. He suddenly looked depressed and pitiful. Fluttering his lashes, he looked at his cellmate in anticipation. "Don''t you feel touched and see me in a new light after hearing it? That''s what''s supposed to happen! Is it because I sang badly? Give me another chance. I''ll" "Listen, Charles." The cellmate pressed down on his shoulders and used all his patience to say, "I know you feel that the future is dark and hopeless after you were arrested and that''s why you''re doing everything to join the Revolutionaries. But no offense, wedon''t take people like you, even if we''re outside" Charles froze. In disbelief, he moved in close and pointed at his face. "Look at me! I have potential! Won''t you consider it?" The man''s features twisted and looked away determinedly. His decision was resolute. "Naw, you can''t be like this!" Charles was shaken. "I got in because of you guys. What will I do if you won''t protect me? And that bald guy next door keeps looking at my butt when we go out. I''m so scared." "Bullsh*t!" the man roared. "That bald guy is my cousin. He''s had a lazy eye for five years!" "Uh" Charles started feeling awkward. "Don''t get angry. We can discuss this. Why don''t you consider it again?" The man''s expression was livid. He cracked his knuckles, unable to bear it anymore. As soon as he raised his fist, Charles collapsed onto the ground like a limp noodle. He grabbed the man''s leg, tears, and snot streaming down his face. "Brother, please just accept me! I really want to be a Revolutionary I''m loyal and sincere!" The prisoners had never seen someone so shameless as to admitting defeat even before fighting. They suddenly felt disgusted as if they had stepped onto gum. Their expressions twisted as they swore and cursed. Finally, an old voice sounded in the cell across from them. "Go to sleep." In the darkness untouched by the moonlight, the old man leaning against the wall sighed. "It''s late." With that, everyone fell into silence. Even the furious muscular man shut his mouth obediently and went back to bed, no longer speaking. In the awkward silence, only the weak Charles did not understand what had happened. He looked around in confusion but everyone ignored him. After a long while, he climbed up helplessly and sighed in frustration. Being a spy was harder than he thought! But just as he decided to sleep, the old man''s hoarse voice sounded behind him. "Your name." "Huh?" Surprised, Charles turned around. In the cell across from him, the old man had risen at some point. He walked into the moonlight and stood before the bars, looking at the confused young man. He was very old. With a head of white hair, he looked like an old scholar rather than a commanding figure. His emerald eyes looked like a carving by an artist when they looked at someone. After being weathered by time, merely the rough edges were able to instill awe. It was Constantine. "Your name," Constantine repeated patiently. "UhCh-Charles." "Charles?" Constantine pondered and slowly nodded. "A good name. I heard you are an Angloian musician?" "That''s right. I''m from the history department of the Royal Academy of Music. I''m really impressive, let me tell you. I graduated with the highest grade in the past ten years!" Charles instantly started bragging. After all, he was the only one to graduate from the history department in the past ten years. It counted as breaking a record. "I see." Constantine nodded, seeming to ponder something. "Go to sleep. Talk with me tomorrow." "Huh?" Charles froze but quickly cheered. "Ah! Okay, okay! What would you like to talk about? Should I prepare for it?" Constantine smiled and turned around to return to his bed. Charles gaped for a long while. Not receiving a reply, he went back to his bed in confusion. No matter whathis spy plan was about to succeed? - The next morning, it was colder than before as the winter progressed. Water vapor froze, creating beautiful ice flowers on the steel walls of the Sacred City. The people wore thick wool clothing, looking fat and swollen. Mr. Hu was the same. He added a thick cloak and stood rubbing his hands in the cold wind. People passed before him in front of the Sacred City train station. He stood on the steps outside the crowd and gazed into the distance. Beside him, the worried Eunuch Zhao pressed quietly, "Mr. Hu, let''s go. The one in charge has urged me many times. If you don''t leave now, you''ll miss the afternoon ship." "Wait a bit more." Mr. Hu chuckled softly. "Just a bit more." Soon, quick footsteps sounded. A young man in black walked through the frost. His white hair tumbled down his shoulders with a metallic shine. "Sorry, I''m late." Ye Qingxuan looked apologetic. "Something happened last night and I slept too late." Mr. Hu nodded. Seeing Ye Qingxuan''s empty hands, he realized, "You don''t plan on returning?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I won''t go back for now. There are still many people I care about here. I have to make sure they''re safe." Mr. Hu fell silent. He studied the young man before him. After a long pause, he patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "It''s alright. It''s good that you''ve made your decision. I won''t force you. These things can''t be forced." A bell rang again. It was nine o''clock. "Time to go. If I still don''t go, they''ll come hurry me again." Mr. Hu glanced at the station behind him and looked away. "It''s great that you can come see me off." "Safe travels," Ye Qingxuan said. Mr. Hu smiled. He took a few steps back and bowed in farewell. His cloak fluttered in the wind like a stork''s wings. "I do not know when we will meet again." He gazed at the young man with affection. "Please take care." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He stood and watched as Mr. Hu turned and disappeared in the crowd. After a long while, he sighed sadly. "Take care, sir." - The train station was packed. Mr. Hu looked back, unwilling to leave. He could still see the young man standing in place and could not help but feel sad. Perhaps he was getting old. When he had traveled hundreds of thousands of miles with his teacher as a young man, he was not as weak as now, fearing farewells. But then his steps halted. His senses told him that something was coming. It was as if the entire world had silenced and everyone''s movements slowed. Under his blazing golden eyes, he could see even the smallest speck of dust. He looked up and studied every face that passed him. Finally, he looked to the front. There was a traveler snaking through the crowd. He seemed to have come from far away but did not have any belongings. He only had a ragged robe. His hair was messy and unruly. Sensing Mr. Hu''s eyes, he looked over. After a second of thought, he smiled. His features were plain but Mr. Hu''s eyes changed. They burned hotter and seemed to condense into tangible murderous intent. Every pore on his body was trembling with the thirst to fight and kill. For some reason, he wanted to put in his all and throw away all caution to fight with this man he had never seen before. Under his black robes, his fists clenched. His muscles pulled taut as he tried to push down his urge. For the first time in his life, he wanted tokill someone without any reason. The traveler did not seem to realize. He just smiled and brushed past. Mr. Hu instantly sank into a daze. But in his daze, his gold eyes finally broke through the disguise. He saw a figure with one hundred hands and one thousand eyes extend from the body, covering the sky. Instantly, the earth shook and the atrium broke. Fire covered the world. Mr. Hu froze in place. Sweat rolled down his body and his face paled. After a long, long time, he started walking again. He finally saw the confused Eunuch Zhao. "M-mr. Hu, what happened?" he asked. "Are you sick? Please don''t scare me." "No need to worry." Mr. Hu smiled wryly. "Perhapsthis is fate?" He looked back at the large city. Perhaps fate truly existed, weaving all their lives, cruelly placing the young man in the center of all storms and vortexes. Ye Qingxuan, take care. There are no longer safe places. - At the same time, a bedraggled traveler grabbed the quiet young man standing before the station. "S-sorry." In broken language, he asked, "Excuse me, thisplace, go, how?" 432 Create Legend "Asking for directions?" Ye Qingxuan took the piece of paper in his hand. It seemed to be the name card of an antique shop. It was rumpled as if it was once immersed in water and dried again. It still had a faint dark red color. "I''m sorry. I''m not familiar with this place." He thought for a moment and returned the business card. "Thank...sor-ry." The traveler smiled, thanked him politely, and turned away. Ye Qingxuan froze for a long time. Looking at the man''s back, he felt that something was wrong but he couldn''t tell. "Oh, you''re here." Behind him, Wolf Flute patted him on the shoulder. Ye Qingxuan turned around. Arching an eyebrow, Wolf Flute looked impressed. "The uniform of the Silent Authority looks better on you than me." Ye Qingxuan glanced at him, not at all politely. "If you''re willing to lose the fat on your stomach, you''ll look nice too." "Ahaha, life is so wonderful. Why should we lose the hard-earned weight?" Wolf Flute held a hot breakfast in his hands and gave him some as well. "Get on the bus. We''ll talk on the way." The door closed and the carriage started. Wolf Flute dropped the curtains and started gorging. Ye Qingxuan looked at the breakfast next to him but had no appetite. He sighed and pushed the breakfast next to Wolf Flute. "Where to next?" "The Ministry of Sacrament," he mumbled. He swallowed his mouthful of sandwich and drank all of his coffee. He wiped his mouth. "There''s no need to worry about Charles. I''ll take you to see something good." "What thing?" Wolf Flute smiled and pat the invisible wolf beside him. "To witness a Scepter." - Six days ago, Samuel, the veteran of the School of Choir, returned from the aether world. While pioneering in a secret place, he realized that he had broken through the difficulties that had troubled him. Thus, he was determined to prepare to advance toward the Scepter level. After accumulating for so many years, he was prepared to go off from his strong points and build up the legendary elements of the upper ranks. He hoped that he would be awarded a saint''s name after created his scepter. If he could succeed, he would immediately become a saint of the world. "This is a major event that the Ministry of the Sacrament has been preparing for. Two schools have done everything for the sublimation ceremony. Many grandmasters have come in the past two days. It seems that Master Samuel is prepared to either succeed or die." Wolf Flute explained in the carriage, "To put an end to the influence of the abyss, the Silent Authority also needs to guarantee the purity of the sanctuary. Most people have been busy these past two days. I decided to let you open your eyes." "Create a scepter?" Ye Qingxuan fell into contemplation. The scepter had always been a dream that every musician dreamed ofto inscribe one''s consciousness into the aether world for eternity, project into the Originator, and gain its power. There were only a dozen or so people in the world who could reach this level. There were even fewer who could become a saint. It could almost be said that reaching this realm was rising above human limits, reaching the level of immortality. Even if the human body was corrupted, the will could be released from the aether and become the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, it was too difficult to break through this barrier. With so many musicians in Anglo, only two or three could be called Scepters. Of them, only one was a saintMr. Haydnwho had entered Avalon''s Shadow. The master of the School of Royalty, Andr, began to work behind closed doors a few years ago. Even with massive support, he had yet to find any chance. Thinking of this, he could not help but squint and glance at someone gorging around... They were all Scepters but how come he did not have the demeanor a grandmaster should have? Regardless, it was a rare opportunity to witness a master''s achievement. Soon, the carriage arrived. - Through the heavily guarded turnpikes, the carriage stopped outside the gate. "Get off here. The carriage can''t pass through the rest." After wiping his mouth, Wolf Flute returned to his gentlemanly appearanceif one overlooked his coffee stainsand handed the two documents to the guard. "The central Church, two people, the Silent Authority." "The Silent Authority?" The guards looked again and again, mainly at Ye Qingxuan. He had probably never seen such eye-catching white hair from the members of the Silent Authority. Soon, he waved them off. "These two days, most of the masters who have come to visit have arrived. They all want to seek inspiration from Samuel''s breakthrough. This is a rare musician congregation. Therefore, to prevent people with ulterior motives from mixing in, the alert has also been raised." Wolf Flute led the way and said to Ye Qingxuan, "You should show your face more for these occasions. It''ll be good for the future." "I don''t really like going out in public like this." Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. "If I could, I''d still prefer to stay in the library alone." Wolf Flute smiled and did not speak. He led Ye Qingxuan up the steps and they finally walked into the Central Church from the side entrance. The Holy Resurrection Church was one of the most famous churches in the Sacred City. It was not open to the public and was instead the venue for musicians'' activities. The Musician Union had its headquarters here. The clerk was usually a priest of the Sacred City. Half of them were from different places and had come to study. Coinciding with the sacrament of Samuel''s promotion, it suddenly became busier. Wolf Flute brought Ye Qingxuan past the musician responsible for maintaining order. After meeting the ones necessary, he took Ye Qingxuan straight to the center of the church. This was where Samuel''s breakthrough would take place tomorrow. The Musicians Union and the Sacred City have already begun to prepare. Dozens of alchemists hired have already entered the stadium and began to make arrangements for the alchemy needed tomorrow. The two supporting schools behind Samuel and his own family had almost bankrupted themselves for the precious materials and practically turned it into a treasure gallery. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to activate his aether sensing for fear of being shaken by the aetheric waves that would follow. In the huge central sanctuary, many musicians have already entered the stadium in advance. The young musicians from all the schools stared at the alchemy matrix on the ground and perceive the trajectory and structure of the music theory. They were so eager and excited. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Tomorrow, Master Samuel would break through here and be promoted to the Scepter level. This alchemist matrix was ??of utmost importance. It combined the profound musical principles of the two schools, the core movements, and the hard work of Samuel. There was no reservation. For any musician, it was a rare learning opportunity and experience. The effect was second only to experiencing the changes in aether and music theory tomorrow. At this moment, the earth was engraved with notes and movements, in which the secret mercury flowed like the blood- transporting the aether, turning it into a whole. And this matrix contained the prototype of the scepter that Samuel had created for himself. Once Samuel was promoted, he would be able to open up his territory in the aether world and create a new path. There would be a new musician progression. Just like the Phoenix''s Descendant of Anglo''s School of Royalty, the alchemist of the School of Modifications, the Starry Eye musicians of the School of Revelations, the silent musicians of the School of Abstinence, and so on. These were paths carved by the Scepter musicians. Naturally, they could also allow later generations to walk down too. No one knew how many stuck musicians would rush over and enter this path to transform themselves into the advanced level he had created. If one did not know how to do it, one could take the path of Samuel and upgrade step by step. There were also geniuses who could follow the path opened by the teacher and reach a realm that the teacher had never reached. Of course, a scepter could also pull a whole school into the Dark World. Each scepter was the core of a school. For hundreds of years, the powerful ones who became scepters often opened up their own school of thought. That was why there were so many factions within the seven major schools. But Ye Qingxuan did not care about Samuel''s advancement. He had already done the advanced preparation for the Dreamweaver. Now that the integration of his music theory was complete, there would be no worries after he healed. As long as he built a dream that belonged only to him, he would be able to advance to success and have a great future. He would no longer have to gamble his future like others. What''s more, even if he wanted to follow the scepterwasn''t there one right next to him? Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but glance at the yawning Wolf Flute next to him. He did not look like a scepter at all. You are the disciple of the King of Back. Doesn''t it matter? He quietly looked away and looked intently at the alchemy matrix. He was more interested in the ''legend'' that Samuel had created. Combining the symphony of predestination with legends, sublimating as a scepter, and opening up one''s territory in the aether world, one would become a scepter-level musician. Although it was difficult to create a symphony of predestination, there were still many musicians in the world. However, it was not easy to sublimate the scepter. The most difficult thing was to create the ''legend'' that best suited you. - There were all kinds of legends in this world. There were reliable sources, but there were many whimsical ones as well. There were unreliable ancient myths and of course modern ghost stories. Most of them were strange talks created by awkward novelists. Of course, there were also miracles created by musicians. Creating a legend meant turning distant legends into reality, distorting rules and regulations, and creating miracles. For example, the most famous deed was how the first King of Red was resurrected seven days after dying under the witness of six disciples. This laid the majesty and sanctity of the Sacred City for hundreds of years since then. It contained the elements of life, death, rebirth, and the existence of God. With this scepter as the core, all Kings of Red created a sacred city in the aether world, a shining territory of mankind, expelling the darkness, and fighting off demons with the Holy Light. Creating legends, avatars, become legends, and evenmyths! Starting from the limitations of material and human beings, one became the creator of rules. This was the most honorable aspect of a Scepter musician. Even scepter musicians had rankings. Among them were powerful men like Paganini who became dark followers but were still unbeaten. There were also those who had toiled for decades but still could not become a Holy Spirit. The difference lies in the legend created. "The ''elements'' contained are different, and the ability and effect of the scepter are naturally different." 433 The Theory of Elements "The ''elements'' contained are different, and the ability and effect of the scepter are naturally different." Wolf Flute explained, "For example, if the legendary elements are created by the elements of God''s punishment, then the scepter will be biased toward punishment. If the Sunnah and redemption are the elements, then it will favor salvation. "The School of Modifications likes to create and destroy. The School of Revelations tends to be knowledgeable and insightful... The schools have different focuses and of course, the elements are also divided "The element decides the quality of the scepter. "The reason why the Sacred City is powerful is that the Holy Scripture contains many elements. The division is clear and the effect is obvious. More importantly, there are many believers so there''s no need to spread the belief. Therefore, the difficulty of this advanced level will be much lower. "Throughout history, so many musicians became advanced scepters with the scripture''s legend. Even the first twelve saints were inspired by the Holy Scriptures to create their own Gospel." Ye Qingxuan looked at the mammoth matrix in front of him. After a long time, he nodded. "It seems that Samuel is also looking for his elements from the Holy Scriptures?" "Yes." Wolf Flute nodded. He looked to the core of the matrix, that large and complex chanting movement, and sighed. "Blood Race. This is the legend that Samuel wants to create. The chapter of sinners from the Holy Scripture contains the middle elements of blood, inheritance, and so on. The upper element, ''life,'' is the core. He modeled the life form of the Moon Spirit, designed a new race, and prepared to turn the legend into reality. "If he succeeds, he will become the first Blood Race of history, the ancestor of the Blood Musicians. As long as one receives his blood as a medium, later musicians can be transformed into Blood Musicians like him." Here, Ye Qingxing immediately looked to Wolf Flute with curious eyes. "What about you?" he asked. "What is your legendary element?" "Me? I just winged it." Wolf Flute scratched his head slightly. "My legendary element is nothing but a wolf from the beast branch. It can kind of count as a phantom beast but it can only be a lower element. It''s the lowest kind of the scepters. It''s easy to accomplish, but it''s hard to advance." Wolf Flute did not seem to mind and just patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "I''m clear about myself. I just managed to become a scepter and all that matters is that I can have a livelihood. Don''t worry about me. Speaking of, do you want to consider my advancement? Wild Wolf Musician! Sounds very powerful..." Ye Qingxuan recollected his wretched gaze and did not speak. - As the old saying went, "I''m here anyway." Since he had come and it was such a rare opportunity, he should at least look carefully. However, when he looked at the matrix for a long time, he could not help but frown. "This Samuel is a pedigree?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yes." Wolf Flute nodded. "Mr. Samuel is a famous pure-blood noble. Have you heard of him?" Ye Qingxuan said lightly, "I can tell." "Oh?" Wolf Flute raised his brow. "I know you''re from the School of Revelations but this is such a large alchemy matrix. You''ve already finished interpreting it in a few short minutes?" "The interpreting method is best at finding the core of the music theory as quickly as possible. You can ignore the details. What''s more," Ye Qingxuan paused and made a weird face, "I also know a little alchemy." As he spoke, he walked around the Alchemy Matrix. "Alchemy, however, must follow four stages: activity, formation, creation, and outflow. These are the four forms of aether, and it is also the process of material being born from the Originator and being endowed with form. As above it, as under it, so is the beginning of all things. Using this rule, you can understand the operating principle of the matrix." He paused and pointed to the area in front of him. "You see, here, the source''s ''initial blood'' represents the blood after Samuel combined the legendary elements. Then using it as a medium, the one receiving the blood can follow the ritual and turn himself into a blood musician with this advanced unique expertise and ability. "Let''s call it ''second generation'' for now. The second generation musicians can also pass on their blood to other musicians and create the third generation The relationships in this school are based off of familial inheritance. It will certainly be united with the family''s situation to ensure the centripetal force of the school''s members." "It sounds good," Wolf Flute agreed. "Maybe Samuel does not want his students to compete as brutally as the other colleges. It''s like Deva''s blood. Everyone sits together and shares it like a family..." "Is that possible?!" Ye Qingxuan laughed and looked queer: "Wolf Flute, there is indeed no competition in this system. There is only unilateral plunder. Moreover, Deva''s blood passes down music theory. It''s not the disciplines or vows of the School of Abstinence." He looked down and gazed at the alchemy matrix. Among the matrix, the intricate music theory that was engraved under the blood notes was the irresistible contract formed by the strict School of Abstinence. Once implanted, there was no room for the return. This was a poisoned apple. It looked delicious but was a different story after entering the stomach. "The superior''s control over the younger generation is absolute," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "All the power and music theory of the blood musicians are placed in the initial blood of their inheritance. Whether or not they have power depends only on the thought of the superior. "The person who likes this style of reign is a tyrant. I am afraid that, compared to the aether, this Samuel master is more thirsty for power." Wolf Flute looked at him with a weird look and patted him on the shoulder. Behind Ye Qingxuan, a slight cough began. "What are you guys saying?" Someone slowly came forward. The middle-aged man didn''t look old but his hair was gray and he walked with a slight limp. He held a crutch in his hand. Wolf Flute straightened and then bowed. "Mr. Handel." Ye Qingxuan froze and looked at the man who had seemingly aged prematurely. His expression was awed and serious. He quickly saluted him. Handel. There was only one person who was qualified to call this name in the Sacred City. This was the pinnacle of all musicians in the world. One of the twelve saints was given the name of Handel. This musician was already ninety-four years old but he still seemed to be middle-aged. He was full of energy and looked majestic with stern eyes. Few people knew that this saint who lived in abbots was one of the actual controllers of the Silent Authority and was hated by dark musicians all over the world. Handel scanned Ye Qingxuan with a look of indifference and looked to Wolf Flute. "He is Ye Qingxuan?" Wolf Flute nodded but Handel frowned. "Sure enough. Contemptuous, and more annoying than the rumors." Ye Qingxuan froze. He looked up in shock and opened his mouth to speak. "Hey, Mr. Handel, scaring the youngsters again?" A hand reached out and stopped Handel''s shoulder. The hand was greasy from food but it was well maintainedwhite and plump. There was a ring of gold and amber on the index finger. Two snakes entangled into a black symbol. It was Hermes. "Don''t scare my kid. Young people need encouragement." Hermes patted him on the shoulder. As he spoke, he pulled Ye Qingxuan to the side. "I need to talk to him. Please do what you need. He''s working for you now so don''t give him a hard time." Confused, Ye Qingxuan was dragged by Hermes to the second floor of the church. He did not process everything until he sat down in the lounge across from Hermes who had started eating his second breakfast now. "Do you want some?" Hermes generously raised a bottle of red wine. "The welfare of the Holy Resurrection Church is good. Even the communion of red wine is a rare good product." "No thanks." Ye Qingxuan leaned back a bit. "Boss, please eat slowly." "How did you piss off Handel?" Hermes asked while eating. "That guy holds grudges. Is it because you eliminated his nephew in the Romulusian trial? Or because you said bad things about his junior, Samuel? Or is it because Handel''s unclear connection with the Ecclesiastical Order and the Chainsaw Fraternity?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He thought, if you say everything, what''s left for me to say? "Boss, why are youin the Sacred City?" he asked. "I''m vacationing here. There are still some industries that need to be taken care of. If you don''t have a job anymore, you can come work in my shop." Hermes took out a business card. The greasy card looked familiar but Ye Qingxuan had no interest in the antique shop. He just stuffed it in his pocket. "Oh, right." Hermes hit his forehead. "I heard you''ve resonated. I can''t believe someone so dull could break the Barrier of Knowledge And now you''re already at the Disturbance level? Oh, I haven''t given you a gift yet" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "What do you want?" Hermes wiped his mouth and said with a flamboyant flair. "Everything is okay. Soon it will be the Winter Festival. It''s time for the boss to give you year-end benefits!" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Oh, what if I give you more pocket watches?" Hermes fluttered his lashes. "Then next year, you can say that you bought it last year" "Boss," Ye Qingxuan interrupted him with lowered eyes and low voice, "I want to know what exactlyhappened in Romulus." Hermes stopped smiling. He straightened, put down his red wine, and examined Ye Qingxuan. After a long time, he could not help but sigh. "Young people''s'' curiosity is really strong and enviable." Ye Qingxuan looked at him and said nothing, waiting for a reply. After a long silence, Hermes shook his head awkwardly. "Just see it as I owed Romulus a sum of money and sent you to help me repay my debt. Thank you for doing so much for me." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "This is not what I want." "I know." Hermes patted him on the shoulder: "Come by if you have time. I will compensate you. Remember to come as soon as possible. If you''re late, you may be too late." "Does Bai Xi know that you''re here?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "She doesn''t know yet. Maybe she thinks I''m sunbathing at some beach." Hermes smiled and looked at him. "You know already?" "Avalon is only so big. A girl with white hair is very conspicuous. What''s more, Bai Xi is not that smart and can''t disguise herself well." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. "I didn''t talk to her after I came out. When I wanted to talk to her, she started ignoring me. How has she been doing recently? " "She has grown up, Ye Qingxuan." Hermes shook his head. "Girls mature early and she is already strong. Even if no one protects her, she can live well so you can be rest assured." "Maybe." Ye Qinguan sighed and looked up at Hermes. "There is a question I''ve always wanted to ask Boss, who are you?" 434 Ask for Advice? "Who am I? Haha, who knows?" Hermes lay on the couch and whistled. "Some people think I''m the shelter for homeless travelers and some think I''m the trader of Avalon. I am the originator of the steam scourge and I am an unattainable pinnacle for artists. Some regard me as a monster while others worship me. Many people call me the sage, saying that I am in charge of one-third of the world''s truth. I like this title, although the other two-thirds are in the hands of a b*tch and a loser. "I am a watch shop owner, the Anglo Second Department''s external brainpower, and the Sixth Department''s confidential consultant. I am a private doctor who has been dismissed by Her Majesty, and I am also the owner of an antique shop in Sacred City. "If you want to know about my life, I can give you a set of six autobiographies of 2,400 pages. If you want to know my nature, it''s just what you''ve seen already. Ye Qingxuan, what do you want to ask? In your opinion, what is the sensational secret of a fat man like me?" Ye Qingxuan remained silent for a long time with no more words. Soon he got up. "Well, I should go. See you then." Hermes carefully fastened the napkin and waved goodbye. "Be careful. There have been a lot of people watching you recently." "Eh?" Ye Qingxuan stopped at the doorway and turned back with a puzzled look. "You are famous now." Hermes smiled strangely, exclaiming with exaggerated tone, "Ye Qingxuan, everyone from North Asgard to India knows you!" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. "Do you know how others speak of you?" Hermes enumerated with his greasy fingers. "You are a madman, a lunatic, an executioner, a rare genius, a monster who broke through the resonance level within six months, a rising star amongst the musicians! No one can be your rival in resonance. You are only second to the masters!" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Isn''t it too exaggerated?" Only second to the masters? No matter from what aspect, these comments had been exaggerated. This was not to praise him anymore but to push him into the fire! "No, no, no, no exaggeration." Hermes waved. "I have been around for so many years. It''s my first time meeting somebody as troublesome as you. Think about it. How many people fell from the ranks because of you?" Ye Qingxuan mused and counted his fingers. Then he found that ten fingers were not enough, and he also found that...there were too many people for him to recall. It seemed that there were quite a few people destroyed by him. Ever since he prepared to go back to Avalon, practically none of the musicians who met him had good endings. Aha, that''s really awkward. Seeing his embarrassed expression, Hermes gloated. "Whether you admit it or not, the people who want to challenge you could line up from the city gate to the central plaza! "Moreover, it''s said that this noon, Maxwell set off with the Sword in the Stone to return to Anglo, so the number of the people seems to have multiplied. I thought you knew that but you appeared in the Central Church in such a high-profile way It''s like there is a sign written ''challenge me'' on your head." He paused meaningfully here, looking at Ye Qingxuan as if he was looking at a good stepping-stone. "Little Yezi, the storm has not come yet. Don''t get yourself into trouble so soon." Ye Qingxuan had nothing to say. He pushed through the door in a complex mood. Outside the door, several musicians at the end of the corridor heard the sound and looked over. After seeing his white hair, they were stunned at first but their eyes lit up immediately. Ye Qingxuan also looked at them oddly. "No way..." Isn''t it too fast? "Ye Qingxuan?" Soon, a handsome young man ranked out of the crowd, speaking in a polite tone, "I''m Donatro from the Esposito family, a member of the Gregory Choir in the Sacred City. May I have the pleasure to consult with you?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. He turned back and looked at Wolf Flute in the distance who was ready to watch the show with a cup of hot coffee in his hand. Wolf Flute shrugged helplessly, telling him that he could not help. "I suggest you better hurry." Wolf Flute turned and looked out of the window. In the distance, people gradually converged in the Central Church. Musicians rushed to the second floor one by one. He could not help whistling. "Oh, everyone has turned out. Even the pandas in the Sacred City Zoo don''t get this treatment..." Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew serious. "There he is! I found him!" There was a noisy sound under the stairs and soon musicians rushed up to the floor one after another. The voices were heard before they even appeared. "Mr. Ye, I''m Zanaldo, the concertmaster of Jackdaw School, coming for advice!" "Mr. Ye, I''m Will, the concertmaster of Seclusion School, coming to learn from you." "Where''s Ye Qingxuan?" A bold voice shouted, "Rafter from Gudeman School comes to challenge you. If you are a man, don''t run!" "Mr. Ye, I''m Sairol, a professor from Trinity College. I have several questions about interpretation that I hope you can enlighten for with." "I''m" "...representative of Rock Institute..." "Concertmaster..." "The Caucasian Ice Wind School..." "The Golden Sparrow Music Division..." Groups of musicians rushed up and jammed the entire corridor. With shortness of breath and redness of eyes, they were like a group of animals in heat, staring at Ye Qingxuan as if he was a walking stepping-stone or a ticket to fame. Of course, their excuses were also diverse. Some came for asking an advice, some wanted to have a consultation, some wanted to challenge him. Someone even came to avenge someone that Ye Qingxuan could not remember They came with modesty or arrogance, confidence, or a mysterious smile. Ye Qingxuan silently looked at the surging heads before him. Those unfamiliar faces were filled with fighting spirit, which was simply inexplicable to him. He frowned and his eyes grew cold. "Wait!" As he prepared to speak, the young man who came first in the crowd, Donatro, stood up and blocked the crowd. He called, "Gentlemen, I know that you all want to see Mr. Ye but there are so many people. I''m afraid Mr. Ye is too busy to treat us all. We can''t let others say that the Sacred City doesn''t know manners." He paused and said, "Why don''t we pick up a few representatives and ask Mr. Ye about music theory? Let''s do best of three rounds. I suppose Master Ye won''t refuse our sincere kindness." "Yes!" "I agree!" In a blink of an eye, those musicians were convinced. There was not even the slightest sign of the intense enthusiasm from before. Even Ye Qingxuan also sighed with relief... h*ll no! He seemed to be at an advantage if the group of people went through preliminary rounds. However, he knew that this was planned from their clumsy acting. He had not even agreed to a duel yet. These b*stards wanted to defeat him with numbers. Ye Qingxuan''s expression darkened. Looking back to Wolf Flute, he said straightforwardly, "Are all the musicians of the Sacred City like this?" "Some of them." Wolf Flute blew his hot coffee, squinted at the group of guys, and said, "This group of people is not well off locally. They came to the Sacred City to get an advanced education so that they can fake their resume. Most of them have enough money but lack skills. They always gather together, seeming majestic, but in fact, the truly powerful musicians would just ignore them. "They have no sense of existence so that they have to attack the politics of the Sacred City or the big families every day. With the identity of musician, they become fearless. They always gather to cause trouble, but people who do not like them have no idea how to deal with them" He paused with a strange smile. "Hey, little Yezi, someone doesn''t like you. They might want to teach you some lessons." "Why?" "Because you are more famous than they are." Wolf Flute said confidently, "Isn''t this enough?" Ye Qingxuan was wordless. This was enough. He was the real thorn in the flesh to those who had been longing for fame and fortune for many years and those without any achievements. One never knew what kind of birds would live in big woods. Similarly, all kinds of people lived in this world. Hearing Wolf Flute''s voice, Donatro''s eyes immediately darkened. But soon, he returned to the previous humble enthusiasm with a smile. He was emboldened. Now the situation had been settled. Witnessed and forced by so many people, Ye Qingxuan had to jump into this trap. Ye Qingxuan did not have to fight. But after tonight, the entire Sacred City would know that he had run because of fear. If he fought, the results would only be worse since they were prepared. If he won, he was a bully. If he lost, he would naturally lose his fame. Even if they just held on for a few minutes and then gave up early, then they could boast that Ye Qingxuan was nothing big and they had a draw with him... Even if Ye Qingxuan tried to explain in the future, the truth would no longer be important with so many gossiping mouths and rumors. Everyone liked to watch something like ''the gifted musician''s defeat at the Sacred City''. Facing the challenges of the elites, the genius who was hailed in the past dared not to fight but flee! It was exposed that Ye Qingxuan was actually overhyped! No matter how he defended himself, he would become a total clown. As long as the public opinion was unanimous, there would definitely be countless people to insult him and worsen the situation. Within half a month, his reputation would be down in the gutter. Ye Qingxuan quickly understood this all. He even predicted their various arrangements and means. The plan was really easy and well thought out. It was as perfect as heaven. However...things like that did not exist in this world! He looked up and asked softly, "You have reached an agreement?" Seeming to have not sensed his mockery, Donatro''s smile was still warm and humble. "What do you think, Master Ye?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. The smile was particularly disturbing. Everyone who was familiar with this b*stard knew that every time he smiled like that, someone was going to meet his misfortune. Under everyone''s gaze, he stepped forward and looked down on Donatro. He raised a finger and pointed to his face. "Do you know who I am?" In the silence, everyone was stunned. They looked at each other in confusion, not knowing what Ye Qingxuan meant. "Ye Qingxuan?" "Anglo sword bearer." "Gifted musician..." "The man second only to the masters?" Listening to their noisy and confused voices, Ye Qingxuan became satisfied as if he was enjoying the praise. It felt so good to him. When the voices stopped, he nodded and looked at Donatro. "What else?" What else? What else was there? Donatro''s eyes darkened. He quickly thought about what Ye Qingxuan meant. Suddenly, it felt as if he was struck by lightning. In an instant, his face changed. Because Ye Qingxuan slowly raised a jade tablet before him. The jade tablet was of extremely rare quality and carved with fine and solemn patterns. The engraving contained unique aetheric fluctuations and was stamped with the unique emblem of the Aurora royalty. It was created Ministry of Rites and it was the only one in the world. "I can enter the temple without taking off my shoes or my sword. People should call me my title but not name. I''m Marquess Ye Qingxuan." Ye Qingxuan stooped to look at Donatro''s face, smiling as if looking at kindergarteners. "Do you have a title?" Donatro''s face was livid. He clenched his teeth with speaking. They had predicted all possible results but forgot this one. Ye Qingxuan was not just a brilliant musician which sounded great but actually meant nothing. He was the Marquess verified by the Sacred City, the representative of the Blood of Glory, the future Archduke. He was the superior with all the honor and majesty in the world! This b*stard was now a Marquess who would not be accused of bullying, adultery, plunder or arson! He didn''t have to pay attention to the so-called challenges and did not have to care about hurtful rumors. He had the whole Sacred Cityno, all the nobles in the worldbehind him. If they dared to play any tricks, make up any rumors, or gossipthe Amnesty Department would never let them go! In a dead silence, Ye Qingxuan walked around Donatro. He reached out, pointing to the faces in the crowd. "Do you have a title? You? And you? Forget it. With that penniless look, I know you don''t. You, you, and you..." Finally, in the silence, someone made a sound. "I do." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "What title?" The young man''s face twitched, and after a long time, he squeezed the answer from his teeth. "Viscount." Ye Qingxuan snorted and said nothing. He just huffed in disdain, mocking them. "No more?" Donatro was livid as he looked at Ye Qingxuan. "You" Crack! Before he finished his words, Ye Qingxuan slapped him. He was so fast, the strength was cruel, and the intention was quite vicious. One slap made Donatro go blind. All of the people sank into a daze. Such an attack should have activated Donatro''s shield and ricocheted. But when he slapped down, his hit had contained music theory. Before the shield was unfolded, it was completely disintegrated. Even the alchemy ring was cracked. This shield was a completely joke to Ye Qingxuan. It was no thicker than a piece of paper. "You...Ye Qingxuan...you!" Donatro staggered back, holding his face blankly and feeling the hot pain. He finally understood what had just happened. His eyes became furious, his expression twisted. His face was red with anger. Ignoring this, Ye Qingxuan just flicked his finger and lightly said, "You did not know my status before, so you were innocent. But now, you have to learn to use the honorific. Pay attention to your identity, ''young man''." Ye Qingxuan emphasized the last two words. His mockery was quite palpable. Before they could speak, Ye Qingxuan waved his sleeve. "I''m tired. Let''s call it a day." He stood with his hands behind his back. "It is rare for you to come and wait to see me, the Marquess. To be mindful of your sincerity, I will not dispute your offense." He paused, looking at those furious faces. He smile cheerfully and said word by word, "You may kneel and leave now." In the silence, he played with the jade tablet. The jade tablet was warm and gentle but looked like flashing lights, stinging people''s eyes. In the silence, the viscount was the first to bow down to him. Then, everyone bowed their head. People with no title knelt on one knee while the other nobles looked respectful, daring not to reveal the slightest dissatisfaction or irritability. Seeing them lower themselves obediently, Ye Qingxuan could not help laughing. He kicked the guy before him to the side and crossed the crowd as if he was crossing a thoroughfare, relaxed and unrestrained. In the crowd, Donatro, kneeling with humiliation, clenched his fists. His eyes were bloodshot. Today should have been his day to fame. He had spent so much effort and money in exchange for the opportunity. He didn''t expect it could come to this state! While passing by him, Ye Qingxuan seemed to stop a little. The voice of scorn sounded in Donatro''s ear. "Come for advice?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Do you qualify?" 435 Morning Call Night fell gradually after dusk. A beautiful voice echoed through the cells of the Judgement Tower. "Oh, hit a horse, hit a hose, hit ah-oh-ah horse~" Someone sat in bed and sang lovingly at the bare wall, "Twenty-one horses, thirty-one horses, forty-one horsesone hundred and one horses but still not as good as hit~ a horse~" The entire prison was immersed in this cheerful song. All criminals felt the beauty and hope of life. Repenting their sins, they could not help but shed tears, moaning in pain with their heads down. "Charles, I''m going to kill you tomorrow!" "Shut up! Stop singing!" "Guards! Where are the guards? I''ll confess, I''ll confess! Make him stop!" Finally, even Constantine could not stand it. He coughed awkwardly and cut off his singing. If he did not do anything now, the b*stard would be killed tomorrow. "You seem happy, Charles Uh, is there good news?" "Today''s Sunday, Mr. Constantine. Did you forget?" Charles said animatedly. "We get grilled meat!" "Huh?" Constantine was still troubled. "Just that?" Charles froze. "Is grilled meat not good?" Constantine shook his head helplessly. "Stop singing. I''ve had indigestion these past two days. You might need to take my portion." "Really? I''d love to help eat it for you!" Charles was ecstatic. "Sir, you must take care of your health as you age. Should I ask the guard for fried chicken to help nourish you?" Constantine really wanted to roll his eyes. Finally, he shook his head and stopped speaking. Seeing him like this, Charles could not help but sigh. "Mr. Constantine, I know you''re an important figure and look down on grilled meat but we''re in the Judgement Tower now. We''ll either live here for free for the rest of our lives or we''ll get dragged to the gallows and there won''t be a tomorrow Life is hard so don''t treat yourself badly. Grilled meat is great. Why don''t you like it?" Constantine shook his head. "Charles, you are satisfied from meat because there is no sun in your heart." "Sun?" Charles chuckled. "The sun has already set." "It''s still there. You just can''t see it." Constantine looked up and out the window behind Charles''s back, staring at the black sky. "As long as you stand high enough and close your eyes, you can still hear the deafening sound in the long night. The sound of the sun''s operation echoes through the vacuum, changing in the atmosphere. "It lifts the tides of aether, pouring down endless light and heat, pushing the world It is there, waiting for you to find it. When you have a true sun in your heart, you will not be pained by dust or cheered by the mirage before your eyes. You will look further into the distance." There was a long silence. Charles gaped at him. After a while, he felt that he needed to give a reaction so he nodded as if suddenly enlightened. "Oh." Constantine mused for a while and could not help but laugh at himself. He waved his hand. "I said something hard to understand. Don''t mind it. It''s almost dinner. Go eat grilled meat. After saying all this, I want to eat some more too." "Okay, okay!" As the bell for dinner rang, Charles rose and waited excitedly for the cell door to open. But after a long while, no one came. It was silent. There was the sound water dripping. Viscous liquid dripped from the unmaintained ceiling. Charles felt something wet on his neck and looked up in confusion. Reaching out, a drop of red liquid fell onto his palm. Something screeched. "Not again" Charles murmured. His vision went black and all energy left his body. He held onto the railing and practically collapsed. Bending over, he vomited. "F*cking again" He listened as drip drops sounded around him. When he looked back, the entire room was dyed blood-red. The carcasses clung to the blood and grinned at him. Some hung from the ceiling beams, their legs kicking happily. Others lay in bed, blood flowing from their slit wrists into a trickling stream. The cell door had opened without him realizing. At the door, a rotting skeleton looked down at him. It seemed to be Constantine. "Charles, time for dinner." He reached out to pull him up but the hand weathered in the air, turning to dust. The skeleton crumbled and existed no more. Bodies were scattered in the hallway. They seemed to have died during a dramatic change. The souls seemed to still be frozen in the air. Horrible screams echoed one after another. Chaotic scenes appeared and disappeared endlessly. Sometimes, they were strict guard pacing the hall. Sometimes, they were countless furious prisoners. Other times, they were prisoners being strangled to death in their cell, their features twisted. But mostly, this place was emptystill as death. Faint figures moved through the halls. They were of all genders and ages. They could not sense each other but were enveloped in this dazing hallucination. "Fakeall fake" The broken shadows seemed to sense his distress and started laughing mockingly at him. Charles cradled his head and tried to plug his ears. But when he raised his head, he saw a pair of eyes in the chaotic scenery. There seemed to be looking at him quietly from the lowest level of the cruel scenes, deeply buried under his memories, in a forgotten corner. Her face was far away and blurry but the red hair was right before his eyes. The color was like burning ashes. It was as beautiful as a curse. "Mom" Charles froze, staring at the figure. "Whyareyou here?" The figure stared back. After a long while, she turned and left. "Don''t leave!" Charles stumbled forward and chased after her. He ran through the corpses, trying to stop her. "Don''t go" In a daze, he seemed to touch the wisp of her hair for a moment. But then the figure disappeared. Everything collapsed and fell into the abyss. The darkness swallowed everything. - After who knew how long, Charles shot up with a scream. He stared at the sunlight in confusion. The noon sun shone radiantly into the cell. It fell on his face, chasing away all hallucinations. It seemed that nothing had happened. Charles looked around in confusion. Nothing had changed but he had fallen asleep without realizing. "You awake?" Hearing his yelp, his cellmate looked over. "You really sleep whenever you want and can''t even be woken up. If the doctor didn''t say that you were sleeping, I''d think you were dead." Charles smiled awkwardly. He didn''t know how to reply. In silence, he looked down at his clenched right hand. Between his fingers was a strand of hair. It was dark red like burning ashes. - Soon, he was startled by a loud noise. The ground shook and the clouds in the sky broke apart. An invisible wind swept from far away, whistling toward them. Charles looked out the window in shock. Amidst the cacophony, a beam of red light shot up into the sky. It dyed the sky red as if blood was bubbling. "No way. Again?" he murmured. But he quickly realized that this was not a hallucination. Everyone else was surprised as well. An alarm went off in the prison. "What is that?" He looked curiously at the red beam of light. Across from him, Constantine looked up and his eyes grew mocking. "Probablythe new morning call that the Sacred City created." 436 Projection of the Originator Two hours ago, martial law began in the Central Church of the Holy Resurrection Church. "It should be starting soon, right?" The Silent musician smoking outside looked toward the Central Church. Under the grating of iron, the steel walls opened slowly. Gears spun and opened. Layers of machinery unfurled, extending toward the sky. It was like a giant rising and reaching out. After the rail machine finished preheating, hot steam ran through the copper tubes with the low whistle of raging wind. The stops adjusted and six layers of keyboards opened. Two thousand and four hundred pipes pierced through the wall and into the sky, spitting out air, preparing a heart-stopping sound. The next moment, the hymn began. The sacred choir began to sing in unison. The hymn spread through the air. Under the joint effort of six musicians, the organ burst with music as if it wanted to drag the solemn music to heaven. Scalding steam suffused the air, creating colorful rays of light. Inside the Central Church, it was silent save for the solemn melody. All the spectators were sitting in their seats, staring intently at the vast array. Ye Qingxuan stood in the aisle of the last row and squinted. A ray of light fell from the ceiling, falling onto Samuel''s body. He was sitting within the alchemy array. He allowed the hot copper nails to pierce into his bones one by one and connect with his veins. Blood flowed from the thin nails and into the mercury, spreading quickly. He had become one with the alchemy array. Something seemed to come out of the old man''s body. It followed the countless lines and flowed into the alchemy array. It connected with the Central Church, binding Samuel to the entire Holy Resurrection Church. Now, the church had become his body. It helped him bear the immense pressure. Samuel took in a deep breath and opened his eyes. Behind him, the six musicians beside the large organ had been forced back by the pressure. The six-layered organ shook. Under Samuel''s control, it roared deafeningly. Chaotic aether flooded out into all directions. However, under the music theory''s restriction, the aether converged. It crashed in every inch of the air, evolving toward the final point. The vast array expanded, absorbing the aether flood. The symphony of predestination rose slowly within it. It should be insubstantial but now, the symphony was tangible. Countless music notes flowed within. Intervals formed, the music theory was constructed until, finally, it transformed into an immense and dazzling three-dimensional music score. It was like a cruel melody echoing through the dark church in the long night. The eerie melody, devoid of any gentleness or pity, resounded. It called for the aether, distorted the temperament, and tore reality apart. Thus, a gaping hole opened above the vast array! The nonexistent aether sea became real and flowed through. The aether sea had appeared! Ye Qingxuan held his breath instinctively. His eyes widened, greedily sensing the aura that was spreading. His interpretation method operated at top speed. "It''s starting." Boom! Under the rising organ melody, the symphony of predestination shook. The eerie melody resounded, changing the aether sea. Samuel was ''falling'' toward the depths of the aether seathe lowest level Finally, the boiling silver light disappeared suddenly. It was as if an invisible wall had been shattered. He had entered the aether world! That moment, everyone sat straighter involuntarily and looked forward, studying the territory around Samuel. It was the aether world that only existed in theories and philosophy. It was an indescribable territory of miracles. Some scholars believed that it was the lowest level of the aether world, the foundation of the world. Everything was built upon it. Others believed that this was the truest appearance of the material world. However, it was beyond a man''s eyes and sensory organs. Just as one could not describe colors that one could not see, they could only use aether to get a glimpse of an observation. The priests said that this was the final resting place, creating a sea of souls. Explorers strongly believed that it was the source of all mysteries and that the truth was hidden within it. Countless musicians were willing to sacrifice everything to see what it looked like. Now, Samuel had finally destroyed the wall that stood between the material and aether world, opening a new territory that belonged to himself. All was blank here; it awaited Samuel''s creation. To those who did not understand music theory, it was empty here. Nothing had happened. However, to musicians, everything was different. Everyone observed something different through their different music theory and sound of hearts. Some saw the original darkness of the universe. The vast starry sky grew out of the darkness and shot out. Others saw elements changing dramatically. Earth, wind, fire, and wind boiled in a giant cauldron But through the emptiness, Ye Qingxuan saw the faraway cemeteryit was the lost scepter of the Ye family inside the aether world. Guided by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he once again saw the insubstantial world. Then, the emptiness opened up. In the emptiness, different music theories created elements. The first was ''blood.'' A strand of blood floated out of Samuel''s body. Under the melody and music theory''s expression, the existence of the ''original blood'' was carved into the aether world. Next, the solemn music theory entered and an endless music score opened. The grandmasters present let out sharp gasps. No one had ever completed the first step so successfully. It was clear that Samuel had put all his blood, sweat, and tears into the ''original blood.'' Next, the music score opened up. The ''inheritance'' element followed. Using the original blood as foundation, the music theory was inherited, opening up the future path. Everything operated smoothly until countless music scores converged. Before dumbfounded stares, the upper element that represented ''life'' converged successfully in the wild aether waves. The old Samuel changed instantly. It was as if time had turned back. His graying hair turned black, his wrinkles faded, and his muddled eyes sharpened. Instantly, the ailing musician at the seat no longer existed. Instead, he was a coldly handsome and young noble. His lips were red as blood and his eyes had a magnetic pull. The symphony of predestination was at its climax. Under the glorious melody, the legend of the ''blood tribe'' was completed. It was fully written into the aether world. As Samuel transformed into the first blood musician of history, the scepter''s solidification reached the most critical point. Within the aether world''s blurry projection, something huge appeared. In a daze, Ye Qingxuan seemed to see a giant vortex. The black thing seemed to come from the deepest part of the world, pulling everything into it. But in the next moment, he saw a blazing sun. It was radiant and seemed to radiate with endless light and heat. The two contradicting feelings combined into two sides of the same object that kept changing. The spectators all felt a sharp attack to their sanity. It was as if a thought was constantly being overwritten and their heads would crack apart. Ye Qingxuan paled considerably. Capillaries emerged in his eyes. Wolf Flute reached out to his shoulder. Wolf howls sounded in Ye Qingxuan''s mind suddenly. The illusory beastly nature entered his consciousness, forcing him to stop observing. "Don''t look!" Wolf Flute murmured. "That''s the projection of the Origination. If you''re not at the level, looking at it is more harm than good." Snapping out of it, Ye Qingxuan breathed heavily with sweat rolling down his back. Even if he did not look with his eyes, he could sense the large projection descend from the depths of the aether world. It converged here and melded into the element. Finally, the majestic symphony of predestination evolved into the beautiful crystallization of the legend. The music theory collapsed and the entire music score solidified. It looked like a red ruby with a beautiful sheen. It was Samuel''s scepter! The crystallization was complete! Everyone let out relieved sighs and murmured praises. Starting today, there would be a new scepter in the Sacred City and there would most likely be a new saint in the world. What name and instrument would be given to him? Just as everyone was deep in thought, a horrible scream sounded. Within the alchemy array, the bloody mercury bubbled, evaporated, and rose. Under the layers of tubes, Samuel screamed. His blood seemed to be boiling. Blue veins emerged under his pale skin, making him seem ugly and monstrous. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Under a series of loud booms, the copper nails popped out of his body. Hot bloody vapor suffused the air with a rotting odor. The scepter had melded into his body but it seemed that Samuel was being stabbed by countless swords. He struggled and twisted in pain. Extremely thick blood light shot from his body, transforming into a beam of scarlet light. It pierced the ceiling and shot into the sky. When Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his shocked daze, he felt a chilling freeze. Even he could see that the music theories on the newly created scepter were struggling. It was as if strong acid and base were poured into the same beaker. They fought each other, about to break apart! "There''s a problem!" 437 Look at the Sun Samuel roared painfully and his entire body squirmed. The uncontrolled music theory spread, sweeping from Samuel''s surroundings to other places. The blood-red scepter melded into his body, changing his blood and flesh. He swelled without warning and withered. Countless tumors spontaneously grew out of his body and then rotted away instantly, leaving behind gaping sores. They healed under his vibrant vitality before starting a new round of torment. He seemed to have become a blight farm. The abnormal flesh continuously appeared and disappeared; his body changed drastically. During this, Samuel curled in his seat, screaming with his mouth wide open. Sharp canine teeth sprouted from his gums. The worst expected scenario did not happenthe scepter did not collapse before completion. However, no one had expected that the music theory would go crazy at the end. It was as if Samuel was controlling his scepter to self-destruct. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Samuelcould not control his own scepter? No, the scepter was rejecting him! The moment it went into his body, it clashed with his music theory. It instantly destroyed his music theory; his symphony of predestination collapsed quickly as it tried desperately to escape from his body. The scepter shook. No matter how Samuel tried to control it, it upended him again and again like a wild horse. His own scepterwas fighting against him? Unbelievable! All observing grandmasters snapped out of their shock. They rose and wove their music theory. Disordered music thundered and cast toward Samuel. The organ in the Central Church changed quickly. It began playing a hymn again. Layers of territories wove together to seal Samuel in! Rays of light fell and tied Samuel up. They seeped in bit by bit. All music theory in their path was stopped forcefully. This was the reason why so many grandmasters came to watch and why the ritual was inside the Holy Resurrection Church. If the sublimation failed, the grandmasters and saints would work together to force the wild music theory down and soften the damage. However, under the grandmasters'' shackles, Samuel''s scepter kept shaking. It tore at the restrictions, wanting to break free. Every struggle caused much of Samuel''s blood to evaporate, hurting him even more. Inside the alchemy array, he had become a frail old man. All his white hair had fallen out. The scepterwas sapping his vitality! "Impossible" He reached out, digging into his chest, and grasping the crystallized scepter. He yelled, "There shouldn''t be any impurities!" The scepter shook and cracked. He screamed. His entire body swelled and his skin cracked. Huge bat wings sprouted behind his back. Ghastly white bones were covered in bloody cartilage. They shook in pain. Ye Qingxuan gaped at the scene. The scepter was controlling Samuel? It seemed to have come to life and was absorbing the master''s life. It ate at his flesh to turn him into what suited it best. It was like an ill-fitting shoe forcing the foot to grow! "There''s a problem" Amidst the chaos, Ye Qingxuan reached out. Moonlight perception threads shot from his hands. They snaked past the music score, through the shell of the alchemy array, and connected to the core. The wild music theory was there. Ye Qingxuan''s interpretation method spun quickly, deciphering the array''s operation principle. The large array contained hundreds of music scores and divided into four regions. It would be almost impossible to completely analyze it. However, Ye Qingxuan did not need to look at all the details. He skipped past them and went straight to the main theme. No matter what part it was, he only looked for the abnormal section. As the scepter lost control, the alchemy array would definitely be affected. It was possible to find it by seeing it as a black hound in a flock of sheep. In an instant, he had deconstructed the first layerthe outer music note portion! Next, he deconstructed the music theory operation and construction portion. And then he deconstructed the elemental construction portion. Finally, Ye Qingxuan found the problem in the ''activity portion.'' It was the original blood! The elemental foundation of the scepter had revolted! Amongst the red elements, something that was definitely not Samuel''s was growing rapidly, sucking at his vitality, and forcing the scepter to change It was as if a dying snake woke up in the arms of a farmer and bit him, injecting poison. It dawned on Ye Qingxuan. Many problems could arise during a scepter''s sublimation. However, the core element could not contain anyone else''s aura! Unless the original blood was not Samuel''s product Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan''s gaze turned pitiful. Samuel was more than ninety-years-old now and had been stuck as a grandmaster for so many years. The euphemism was that he had accumulated a thick foundation. In other words, he had made no progress in all those years. A grandmaster was a high position too but there were hundreds of them. Who would care about Samuel, especially in the Sacred City? This was only a frustration for other musicians. However, Samuel was extremely thirsty for power and strength. Seeing the seat of a saint so close and yet so far, it was more painful than being in purgatory. And even someone like Wolf Flute could become a Scepter! Why couldn''t he?! The worst feeling in the world was that a priest could touch a nun''s *ss when you couldn''t This logic was bad but Samuel, obsessed for his entire life, could not tell the difference anymore. Therefore, he chose to take a risk. He would create the original blood even if he needed to use an outer object Ye Qingxuan blanked for a moment. Then he became determined. Pushing Wolf Flute down, he grabbed a black dagger from his boot. He stepped inside and jumped past the restraining music score, going right to the array. "Yezi, what are you doing?!" Wolf Flute was aghast. "The array is overworking. It''ll explode if you disrupt it!" Before he finished, Ye Qingxuan spun the dagger around and stabbed down! Boom! Boom! Boom! The expected explosion did not happen. Instead, there was a string of gloomy pops. Then the bloody mercury evaporated. Ye Qingxuan covered his face. Hot wind swept by him. Under the dagger, the element that represented the original blood quickly fell apart. About to burst, the music theory now collapsed like a snake without bones. The array collapsed. Then the grandmasters'' restraining music score descended from the sky and completely sealed the scepter''s strength. The only sound in the dead silence was Samuel''s screams. Drenched in sweat, Ye Qingxuan tossed the broken dagger away and walked out of the array. Wolf Flute moved up and patted his shoulder. He looked pleased and not at all worried. "I knew you''d have a solution. You took the spotlight again!" Ye Qingxuan smiled and collapsed onto his chair. Merely deciphering the entire array had taken all his energy. He felt as if he would black out soon. The Central Church had become a mess. The Silent Authority quickly maintained order. Wolf Flute had a Choir musician come check on Ye Qingxuan. Realizing that he had just used up his energy, he was given a blanket and a cup of coffee. Then the musician left to take care of someone more importantSamuel. Countless Choir musicians worked together and saved Samuel''s life. However, he was now a bag of bones and on his last breath. His entire body was white like a bloodless mummy. He was barely conscious and barely breathing. After the emergency treatment, he was lifted onto a stretcher to be taken to the hospital. However, when the sunlight from the broken ceiling fell onto him, the unconscious man opened his eyes. An inhuman scream ripped from his throat. Sunlight fell onto his body and burned him to crisp as if was melted iron. Getting strength from somewhere, he shot up. Crawling at an unbelievable speed, he escaped into the shadows. He screamed, "Thirsty! Water! Give me water!" The voice was as sharp as steel wires. While everyone was still shocked, Samuel shot up and pounced on a young musician. His sharp canines tore apart the young man''s throat. He drank to his fill. With a crisp pop, the blood flowed into Samuel''s body. He quickly recovered and became strong yet ugly. His entire body was still pale white and hairless. He looked like a ghoul. "He has mutated," someone murmured. Countless Silent musicians pounced. Wolf Flute sighed and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "Let''s go. There''s nothing for us anymore." "Did Samuel fall?" Ye Qingxuan asked quietly. "Possibly." Wolf Flute lit a cigarette and muttered, "Look at him. Does he still look like a human? His best case scenario would be working in the underground palace of the Judgement Tower for the rest of his life." Ye Qingxuan was confused. "The Judgement Tower has an underground palace?" "Probably not." Wolf Flute shook his head. "Everyone says there isn''t one so I guess there isn''t." Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant. "Stop spacing out. It''s time for us to work." Wolf Flute turned and walked toward the carriage outside the door. "We''ve waited for so long. There should be an effect now." Just as he finished, a second boom sounded. Ye Qingxuan looked back. In the distance, a plume of black smoke rose from the Judgement Tower, creating a big hole. - The Judgement Tower was littered with corpses. Charles gaped at the bodies outside the cell. The sight was familiar as if he had seen it beforeperhaps in his hallucination or in real life. They were the guards of the Tower. Though they were sometimes mean, they were mostly nice. Two of them had recently gotten married and had kids. When Charles tried to get close to them, they would give him some cigarettes. Now, they were all dead. The things he had hallucinated were now real. He sank into a daze, completely forgetting his true reason for being here. Something exploded and the steel door fell apart. Constantine walked out of the cell and stood in the puddle of blood outside the door. He opened his arms, letting the rescuers to put a black robe onto him. "Wake up, Charles." Constantine studied the shocked Charles and reached out. "Let''s go. I''ll take you to see the sun." 438 A Silk Embroidered Shoe When Ye Qingxuan''s carriage arrived, the Judgement Tower was already split into two. The fire had been extinguished. Smoke rolled out in plumes and scattered in the strong wind. One half of the tower had crushed the surrounding walls as it crashed into a department building. It was like a sword that had sliced the building into two. The Knights Templar had arrived and isolated the place. In order to prevent riots, the Church even sent out a Gospel Armor squad. The sixteen hung in the air. Their swords were already dyed red. The unrest was squashed before it could start but when Ye Qingxuan saw the scene, he still gasped. The Revolutionaries could make such a mess? "What''s going on?" Wolf Flute looked to the panicking prison warden. Under scrutiny, the warden''s face was extremely pale. He stuttered but could not speak. Even if it was not his fault, he would probably be fired after this disaster. A member of the Silent Authority in black uniforms walked over and murmured something to Wolf Flute that made his face darken. "Those f*ckers!" He clenched his jaw. "They hijacked the new aircraft we were testing and crashed into the Judgement Tower! Thankfully this is a martial law area so there aren''t any civilians. Otherwise" Silent, Ye Qingxuan looked toward the city. If those guys had crashed there Thinking of the consequences, Ye Qingxuan could not help but gasp. Soon, a warped black ship was taken out of the rubble. Under a roaring melody, the iron plane, dozens of meters long and sixteen tons heavy, hung in the air. It was unrecognizable. "What about casualties?" "Forty-four died," the investigator replied. "As for the woundedthey''re everywhere. Most prisoners had been transferred to the other two prisons. Some tried to take advantage and escape. More than thirty have died." Here, he looked up at the Gospel Armor in the air. The blood on the sword had not dried yet. After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked to Wolf Flute. "Is this worth it?" he asked. Was it really worth it to clear out of the Revolutionaries if there were so many sacrifices made in the beginning? "Even if we didn''t investigate, they would still do this." Wild green light flashed past Wolf Flute''s eyes. "Those *ssholes are so bravethey created such big news." Ye Qingxuan held onto the cracks and stepped onto the broken tower. He gazed at the tower in the distance through the still-dissipating smoke. To be honest, he did not care about the Sacred City. He was worried about something else Soon, Wolf Flute tossed a pass into his arms and they went past the rings of guards to the Judgement Tower. The more they moved up, the worse the sight. When they reached the location of the crack, the stairs were covered by dried blood. Stepping on it, they could feel the nauseous stickiness. There were seven bodies not buried by the fallen walls. They had frozen from the icy wind and even their blood had frozen. A silent musician squatted by a body and touched the wound. "It was a quick killer. His throat was slit in an instant and the killer was someone he did not suspect. He did not know what happened up until his death." "A mole?" "Perhaps." The silent musician nodded. "We also can''t exclude the possibility of an illusion." Ye Qingxuan stood beside the broken door and looked inside the crude cell. This had been Charles'' cell. Now it was a pile of rubble. He bent down and picked up some scraps of paper from the cracked bed. They were doodles that Charles had drawn when he was bored. They were ugly and casual, without any value. Someone stopped him. "That''s evidence. You can''t take it." Ye Qingxuan did not move and just looked up. Wolf Flute blocked the man. "It''s not anything important. Just let him take it." After hesitating, the man nodded. Ye Qingxuan carefully put them in his notebook. The silent musician beside them opened his eyes. "I''ve finished reading the aether but there is too much white noise. They''ve brought interference equipment and covered the records." Wolf Flue waved. "Play whatever you can find." Soon, the cello played and aether converged. A projection replayed. In the chaotic and unclear video, they could only see a few blurry figures. Bits and pieces flashed by. They could make out a group rush in and start killing. Constantine walked out of a cell and put on black clothing. Finally, he reached out and said something to someone. As if sensing eyes from the future, a figure in the corner suddenly looked up. The face was blurry but the pair of purple eyes was unnerving. "Practically nothing was left behind." Wolf Flute sighed. "How did they leave? Don''t tell me that we don''t even know how those motherf*ckers left." "There''s worse news." The musician with white gloves handed over a shoe. The size forty shoe was old-fashioned and ugly. The Amnesty Ministry''s mark was printed on it. This was given to all prisoners for the winter but it was not warm at all. The prisoners had to add layers of tissues to make it comfortable. Stunned, Wolf Flute took the shoe. Using a dagger, he lifted the sole. A thumb-sized metal piece fell out from the slit. It landed on the ground with a chilling clink. Wolf Flute fell silent. It was Charles'' shoe. The Silent Authority had put a tracker in Charles''s shoe so they could locate him in the future. However, rather than being with Charles, it was here now. Every second counted in a prison break. How could he have time to change his shoes? Or did he only change one? If the shoe was found out, then what about Charles? "It might not be as bad as you think." Ye Qingxuan took the shoe. Rather than being angry or panicking, his eyes were deathly calm. After a long while, he said, "There''s only one shoe. He may have thrown it here purposely." "Huh?" Wolf Flute furrowed his brow. "Why would he do that?" "Maybe to send a signal." Ye Qingxuan fell into deep thought. "Maybe he discovered something and to tell us, he could only taketake" He trailed off. Soon, he looked up at Wolf Flute. "Search through the ruins! Check if there''s a corpse with only one shoe!" Ten minutes later, the fallen wall was flipped over, revealing the crushed body under it. Its left foot was bare. Ye Qingxuan reached out and measured the foot with his hand. It was a perfect size forty. "As expected" Ye Qingxuan murmured, his expression darkening. His guess had come true. Charles had voluntarily took off his shoes because he realized that if he kept it, he would blow his cover. Ye Qingxuan looked back at Wolf Flute. "There are two possibilities." His voice sounded directly in Wolf Flute''s mind. "There was a Revelations musician within the rescuers. He wiped all records and found the medium inside the shoe so Charles was forced to throw it away." "And the other possibility?" "The other is worse." Ye Qingxuan said coldly, "Charles had to change his shoes to save himself. Maybe the Revolutionaries already knew that the spy''s shoes are suspicious. Which meansthe Silent Authority has a mole." Wolf Flute fell silent, his face darkening. "We''re not sure if there''s a mole yet. For now, we must find where Charles is. Otherwise, the mission will just be a joke." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Does the Silent Authority only have that plan?" "There are others." Wolf Flute nodded. "Before he entered prison, I personally injected Charles with a tracking drug just in case. Within a few months, he will have some endocrine problems. He''ll have more sweat that remains for longer. As long as he''s still in the Sacred City, my wolves will be able to find him. But it''ll take time" After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan nodded slowly. "That''s all we can do now. Hopefully, nothing will happen to Charles." No one had expected that the spy mission would be in trouble from the start. With all contact and traces gone, they could only wait passively. From that day on, Charles and the Revolutionaries disappeared off the face of the planet. 439 Preparation In the chilly and narrow room, a single ghastly light illuminated a face covered in stubble. "Name," someone in the dark asked. The middle-aged man sighed. "Andre. Andre Wilson." "Gender." Andre''s face twitched. He unwillingly answered, "Male." "Oh." The man in the dark nodded and said mockingly, "I can see that. Age?" Andre lost his patience. "Can you ask something meaningful?" "Good, it''s nice to see you go straight to the point." The man flipped through the records and said casually, "Oh, you''re married. I heard that you''re close with another woman. Are you cheating?" Andre froze. His expression darkened. "Ye Qingxuan! Don''t cross the line! Who are you trying to scare?" "You, of course." A pale hand reached out of the darkness. It held a stamped and signed permit right before Andre''s face. "Look at this clearly. You''re going through the internal investigation of the Silent Authority! I ask and you answer! Otherwise I''ll send you to the Judgement Tower right now!" Andre roared, "Do you dare?!" The hand froze. After a long while, he retracted the permit. Ye Qingxuan sighed, seemingly powerless. Andre could not help but want to smile. However, before he could do it, the hand reached out again and grabbed his hair, slamming him to the table. Bam! Andre''s vision went black. He struggled instinctively but then a dagger buried into the table right by his face. It twanged. A pale face was reflected in the blade. He seemed to not have slept in a long time. His bloodshot eyes had pure black pupils. They were chilling as they looked at someone. "You''re right," Ye Qingxuan said. "I do." "You" Andre opened his mouth on instinct but the blade was tilted, stopping his mouth. "My best friend, my senior, the man who wanted me to host his wedding in the future, was forced to be a spy by you f*cking useless *ssholes. Because of one of you, he has disappeared for six days without any news. And you pieces of sh*t who just sit in your office with the air conditioning and read the news dare doubt my right to interrogate you?" The voice was chilly like a blade. The fingers pressing down Andre''s head were icy without any warmth. Ye Qingxuan stared at the reflection in the blade. Looking at the trembling eyes, he uttered, "Andre Wilson, I am now an examiner authorized by the Papal Chamber to be in charge of everything related to the leak. I ask and you answer. Otherwise, I''ll give you a thirty-year break and a trip to the Judgement Tower, understood?" This b*stard was telling the truth! The eyes told Andre that the man had gone crazy but everything was true. The idiots at the Papal Chamber had given this crazy man a sword to placate him. Now he held the sword, ready to hack at anyone. Who would be the first victim? Now, bitterness emerged in Andre''s heart. He regretted it bitterly. If he knew this would happen, why did he piss this man off to save his dignity? Everyone knew that this guy had beheaded Colt before so many people, and all the evidence was there. But then he was let go without any punishment. Now, he had a high status. Even if he killed Andre, would Andre be able to run to the Amnesty Ministry to complain? "I think you understand now." Seeing his expression change, Ye Qingxuan smirked. "You should''ve been like this earlier. Good, now let''s start over. Oh right, you know what happens if you lie to me, right?" Clenching his jaw, Andre closed his eyes. - Thirty minutes later, Andre walked out soullessly with blank eyes. He was instantly surrounded by his colleagues who had been waiting. They clamored asking about the situation. Some patted his shoulder with pity, obviously guessing what had happened. Andre held a cup of hot coffee. He did not snap out of it until a long while later. He sighed as if waking from a dream and did not say anything. If he was knowledgeable about Eastern culture, he would definitely tearfully recite ''the past is unbearable.'' Sadly, he probably did not even know any Western sonnets. His lips trembled for a long time before he finally ended in silence. Being with that white-haired *sshole for thirty minutes, every bit of him had been investigated. Ye Qingxuan had asked about everything since his childhood, even his sexuality. His family, lovers, previous wife, kids, and even bank account were now recorded in that guy''s notebook with simple sentences. Andre shivered. He subconsciously grabbed the man closest to him. "Don''t let him keep fooling around! OtherwiseMr. Wolf Flute, where is Mr. Wolf Flute?" Everyone exchanged glances. With bitter expressions, they all fell silent. - The air was filled with a rotting scent. The door of the copper door opened with difficulty. Metal grated. The smell of dust poured out. In the dimness, Wolf Flute held his nose, a lantern in his other hand, and walked down the small path. The lantern illuminated two towering bookshelves on each side filled with ancient scrolls. Even the path was filled with books and scrolls from who-knew-where. Only his footsteps echoed in the vast underground square. It was so quiet that even his breathing was loud. This was like a large archive but there was no light. It was a mass of dead silence in the darkness. Even insects could not survive in a place as cold and quiet as this. This was one of the Silent Authority''s institutions in the Sacred City. It belonged to the department of sacred weaponsTaboo Book Archive. In the beginning, books regarding forbidden music theory and scores were kept here. Later, musicians expanded it and turned it into an immense library. Music theories, scores, and technologies from every school, every branch, and every dark musician were copied before being destroyed and kept here just in case. Hundreds of years had passed. No one knew how many things were actually kept here. Tens of thousands of scrolls? Hundreds of thousands? Millions? This was not a library anymore. It was a cemetery for books. Once they arrived here, they would never see daylight again. It was like burying books into coffins. Like people, books would gradually die as they sat in the dark, collecting dust, their text fading. Maybe this was why it smelled like death here. Covering his mouth, Wolf Flute finally found a dusty table. He pressed the bell lightly. The crisp sound spread in the darkness. After a long while, a hoarse behind him said, "You wolf kid again?" Wolf Flute turned around and saw the dwarf. Only one-third of an average man''s height, the dwarf sat on a wheelchair. His face was covered in wrinkles and moss. Vitiligo covered his eyes. He seemed like a spirit that lived in this vast cemetery. He had been here for too long. He even seemed to have melded into the wheelchair. The chair was rusted but moved soundlessly like a wraith in the darkness. Seeing his annoyance, Wolf Flute felt a little unsettled. No one would be happy if he was disturbed every few days. Squeezing out a smile, Wolf Flute took out a list. "Mr. Librarian, I''m here to borrow some books. Thanks." The dwarf glanced at it and tossed it to the side. "Wolf Flute, we''re the only ones here, so stop pretending. These books aren''t for you, right?" "Uh" Wolf Flute awkwardly stuttered out, "My friend is a supernumerary member. This isn''t breaking the rules." "Oh? Your friend seems special." The dwarf nodded nonchalantly. "Huh, half a grandmaster. Seems to have a bright future." "Yeahhuh?!" Wolf Flute gaped in shock. "Half a grandmaster? Are you sure?" "That''s why I hate you guys. Aren''t you tired of pretending?" The dwarf glanced at him and slapped a few papers onto the counter. "Look at the books you''ve borrowed these past days. Look" Wolf Flute obeyed but he was still confused. Annoyed, the dwarf explained, "Over six days, you borrowed seventeen forbidden scores from different fields and schools and more than thirty books on music theory. There''s also techniques and music theory of dark musicians. Nothing is related. "Two days ago, you friend was still reading elementary books like ''Shallow Exploration of the School of Modifications from the Four Changes in Alchemy.'' Now, he''s already jumped to professional and uncommon topics like ''Aether Simulation of Fission Elements.'' There are also outlines of other schools like ''The Sacred Beastly Nature'' and ''The Path of the Church.'' "A beginner musician would not worry over these complex fields. There is no organization to it and he''s learning everything. It would ruin his future unless" Unless? Unless what? The dwarf stopped but Wolf Flute finally understood. Embarrassed at himself, he said, "Unless he''s already at the peak of the Distortion level and has entered the completion stage, right?" During the completion stage, a Distortion musician would have reached the peak of his own school. Before writing his symphony of predestination and becoming a grandmaster, he had to go through this stage. Even a grandmaster who specialized in only one school would have to learn the basic music theory of the other six schools and combine them with his own music score. This way, he could receive more inspiration and thoughts, completing his own system. One needed to have all seven schools of music theory to create a symphony of predestination. It was the stage of completing oneself and was aptly named. "Correct." The dwarf nodded. "Then what''s with your friend?" "Uh" Wolf Flute''s expression was complex. "He only resonated half a month ago. To be honesteven he doesn''t know what level he''s at now." "Resonance?" The dwarf''s white eyes widened. "Then what''s he looking at all that for? Suicide?" Wolf Flute looked away and said lightly, "He said that he wants to compose so he''s reading some books in preparation" 440 Investigation It was another chilly and narrow room. There was also a single ghastly light and a cold voice in the darkness. "Name." "Charles, male, nineteen-years-old, unmarried, loved before and didn''t regret it, save the mother not the baby, not a Virgo, salty, don''t want a card" Under the light, the young man with messy hair could not stop talking once he opened his mouthuntil a hand slammed onto the table angrily. "Answer what I ask! Stop saying that useless sh*t!" "Okay, okay." Charles grinned. "I was afraid you''d get bored." "Probably not." The voice in the darkness was mocking. "I heard that you want to join us but from what we know, you''re not even an official musician." "But I''ve had high education!" Charles said earnestly. "I graduated from the Angloian Royal Academy of Music! Full marks! Broke the history department record! And I''m multi-talented! I can sing, dance, draw, write, and do you want to hear me sing" Slam! A hand slamming onto the table cut him off. The man in the darkness huffed. "Ask and answer. Don''t tell me unrelated things." "Okay, okay." Charles nodded and sat straight like a little kid at school. "You used to work in the technical department of the Royal Research Institute. From what I know, you were the personal assistant of grandmaster Newton. What were you responsible for?" Slam! Someone hit the table again. It was Charles. The man in the darkness was shocked as Charles pressed onto the table in fury. "You don''t understand! That old thing isn''t a human! He''s inhuman!" Charles pointed at himself. "Look at me. I graduated from a Sacred Ivy League! Ever since I started working for the old *sshole, I just help him order delivery food, buy wine, buy hoses, write reports, get reimbursements, and wipe his *ss! And that guy just goes around playing without taking me with! Isn''t he an *sshole? I get pissed whenever I think of him! Sir, I''m" Charles kept rambling on for five minutes before the examiner realized and forced him to shut up. Affected by Charles, he felt like his brain power was decreasing as well. He sat dazed for a long while before continuing. "You''re a first-class engineer registered with the Sacred City?" "Yeah." Charles nodded like a chicken pecking at corn. His expression was pure. "I actually bought the fake certificate from outside the school! It''s only eighty dollars for one and there''s a picture too! Sir, would you like one too?" "Shut up!" Fifteen minutes later, Charles returned to his room and collapsed onto his dirty bed. He started picking at his toes. It had been seven whole days. Ever since he woke up, he had been laying here. He had no clue how he got here or where ''here'' even was. For seven days, someone would come and bring him three meals per day. He would eat and sleep, sleep and eat. He had to report if he needed to go to the bathroom. Other than the people who escaped from prison with him, he had not seen any of the other Revolutionaries. It was completely like being in jail. He even had the same roommate. "Hey, you''re back." The badly injured man on the bed looked up and said, "Internal investigations are annoying, right?" "Yeah, but it''s okay." Charles pretended he was still talking to a bearded man and said with a smile, "Everyone''s nice to me." The moving bloody mess stiffened as if he was shocked. He quickly shook his head. "Don''t worry. Mr. Constantine thinks highly of you. This is just for going through the process." As he spoke, his blood flesh trembled and let out sticky pale purple liquid. The distorted face opened and closed. There was static in his voice. The room was covered by some sort of flesh and it smelled like decay. The walls trembled like the stomach lining of some beast. Without speaking, Charles lay on the bed and closed his eyes. Deep breath. Deep breath. Deep breath. He opened his eyes. The flesh on the ceiling moved like thousands of smiles put together. Charles put on his covers and curled up in darkness. "F*ck," he murmured. F*ck - In another room, someone knocked a door in the silence and entered. Constantine sat beside the window, reading quietly. Sensing someone enter, he looked up. "The investigation is over, sir." The examiner went over and gave him a document. "This is the process and record." Constantine looked at him. He said sarcastically, "So is my house arrest over too?" The examiner smiled. "Mr. Gaius just wanted you to be safe. They are on high alert out there so it''s best if no one goes out." Constantine stared. "So you can lock us up and investigate us?" "Necessary safety precautions, that''s all," the examiner explained. "After all, it''s hard to ensure that there are no moles." "Who do you think is like a mole?" Smiling, Constantine pointed at himself. "Do I look like one?" "Sir, what are you saying?" The examiner''s smile grew forced. "I''ve been outside for decades. My title of deputy commander is nothing but a name. I''m sure many members don''t even know me, right?" Constantine replied indifferently. "I''m sure many people will be upset now that I''m back. How did someone like me not die in there..." The examiner''s expression stiffened. He did not reply. Constantine chuckled. Rather than continuing, he asked, "Is Gaius in the Sacred City?" After hesitating, the examiner nodded. "Why isn''t he willing to see me?" "Mr. Gaius has something to prepare and has no time for anything else." "I understand." Constantine nodded. His eyes lowered, seemingly disappointed. "I won''t disturb you anymore." The examiner placed the document on the table carefully. "We already have guesses for the mole. Some unhappy things will happen in the next few days. I hope you won''t mind." Constantine opened the document and looked at the picture pinned inside. "Him?" - It was dinner time in a Silent Authority office. Everything was silent and the ground was littered with garbage. Maps of the Sacred City and old documents were everywhere. The garbage emanated with the smell of leftovers and dirty socks. A few sleeping bags were tossed in the corner. There were a few boxes of fresh pizza on the table. A group of men who had not showered in a long while munched on the delivery food. No one dared to speak. The atmosphere was stifling as if there was an aether bomb hidden inside the room. There was a mountain of cigarette butts in the ashtray on the table. Someone lay in a chair, his feet propped on a pile of documents. He looked down at the heavy book. His white hair was messy. No one had seen Ye Qingxuan sleep all these days. He seemed to always sit behind that table, quietly looking at them. His bloodshot eyes were sharp as if wanting to pierce through all disguises and find the mole. When he had time, he would read without a word, like now. As the days went by, the atmosphere in the office became more and more tense. When those bloodshot eyes looked by, everyone tried to avoid it in panic. It had already been one week! Everyone could feel that this seemingly calm man was about to explode. No one wanted the bomb to go off on him. This guy was fine with finding a random man to take his anger out on! Because of this, everyone buried themselves in work. Their efficiency rose many times. If they still had bonuses this month, it would definitely be a lot. Sadly, Ye Qingxuan had deducted all of their bonuses. The suffocating silence continued. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan finished book after book with incredible speed. There was no rest in between. It seemed as if he was reading a fantasy novel filled with a few million words of bullsh*t instead of difficult to understand music theory. As the pile of books grew, everyone''s hearts grew more troubled. It was as if they would be buried if the pile toppled. They could practically see the young man explode and send them all to the Judgement Tower. Then hurried footsteps sounded. A sweating messenger pushed the door open and uttered the words that made everyone cry tears of joy, "We found Charles!" 441 Wash Hands Late at night, the bell filled the air. In the silent church, an old man prayed with his eyes closed under the holy emblem. The gentle light cast a fleeting shadow. In the serenity, even the metallic arm seemed gentle rather than deadly like a weapon. After praying, Abraham opened his eyes and studied the emblem. As if hearing the footsteps behind him, he turned around. Seeing the white-haired girl, he smiled and waved. "Professor, I was looking for you." Bai Xi sat down obediently. "I didn''t know you were here." Abraham chuckled awkwardly. "For some reason, I feel frustrated these days. I can only feel calm here." "Here?" Bai Xi was confused. "God is here." Abraham studied the emblem. "I pray to him to let Charles be safe." Bai Xi followed his gaze toward the simple sign. Then she looked back confusedly at the old man. "You believe in God too?" "Maybe others will find this funny. I am old now and completely different from how I was when young." Abraham laughed at himself. "I did not believe in God before because I had nothing to ask for. Now, I really hope that God exists and can protect all of you, giving you, Yezi, and Charles a great future. I''m sorry. I should be responsible for this but I can''t do it well." "Professor, you''ve already done enough." Abraham shook his head. "For decades, I was troubled about the world''s structure but now, I''ve started fearing. I am incompatible with it yet I wish it will treat me well. This is my weakness" He paused and smiled bitterly. "I even think that being weak is good." Bai Xi looked at him with curiosity rather than disappointment. "What were you like before?" "Probably a bad person?" Abraham scratched his head. "I''m ashamed to admit that I''ve killed many people before. Some did not need to die, some were innocent, but I didn''t care. Sometimes, I would even get drunk from the feeling of controlling life. At that time, I was like a demon. I was trained to be like that. "Someone told me that to protect this world, I have to kill things and get rid of the termites. That was the meaning of my life." After a pause, Bai Xi said quietly, "But you don''t like that, right? I like how you are now. You''re old but you look nice when you smile." "Before meeting Charles, I was terrified by my bloodthirsty nature. I would often wake up from nightmares and be unable to sleep. But sometimes, I would miss the warm feeling of my hands covered in blood. "No one taught me how to buy coffee, shake hands with people. No one was willing to shake my hand either because I held swords. I didn''t want to live that lifethat was what I started thinking after I found Charles. "I learned how to change diapers and take care of a child. I did many embarrassing things tooAt that time, he was still so small but when he looked at me, he wasn''t scared. At that time, I thought that I had changed and it was good." Abraham smiled. The smile had no shadows. When he looked at Bai Xi, his eyes became gentle and pleased. "Do you know what makes me the happiest nowadays? Washing my hands. I clean out ink and chalk dust from my fingernails rather than blood." He stretched out his right hand. The clean and gentle fingers ruffled Bai Xi''s long hair. "Now, I''m scared of dying because I think that living is good. There are more and more things that I care for in this world. I have you, Charles, and Yezi. I have three students. My past shouldn''t be mentioned but you are all my future." Bai Xi let him play with her hair. She leaned into Abraham''s shoulder and murmured, "Professor, you''re the best! When I get married, I want you to sit where parents should sit so I won''t be scared." "Okay." Abraham smiled but for some reason, he really wanted to cry. Hugging the girl beside him, he let the hot tears roll into his collar. He murmured, "Okay." - In the night outside the church, an old man stood in the darkness. He stared at Abraham''s back. After a long while, he decided against going in and turned to leave instead. "Abraham, are you still dreaming" - That same night, in a dark alley of the Sacred City, there was a dilapidated building. Under the dim light, the air was filled with the pungent smell of medicine. Bags of medicine ingredients were piled on the shelf but were all unlabeled. This was clearly not a proper pharmacy. Even though the Sacred City was powerful, drugs still existed. These illegal drugs entered the Sacred City through various channels and were sent to different locations secretly. However, the two parties now did not seem to be doing business. The oily fatty now had a blank expression. He was clearly being controlled by a Mind musician. Staring at the man outside the counter, he said emptily, "You disappeared for so many days and everyone was worried. If you didn''t contact us today, we would''ve thought that you died." Charles leaned against the wall dejectedly and smoked a poor quality cigarette. His eyes were bloodshot. Hearing the words, he nodded and muttered an, "Oh." The fat man asked dumbly, "Is the plan successful?" "So-so," Charles muttered. "Not good or bad." Sensing his bad mood, the fat man asked, "Anything else?" Charles fell silent. After a long while, he replied quietly, "I don''t want to do it anymore." "Huh?" The fatty did not hear clearly. Charles raised his voice and repeated, "I''m not doing it anymore." There was a long pause as if the other man could not process it. After a while, the Mind musician made the fatty say, "Charles, are you sure?" The voice was cold like an interrogation. "Have you thought it through? Have you thought of the consequences?" "How many f*cking times do you need me to say it?!" Furious, Charles''s head snapped up. He glared with red eyes. "I''m done! I''m f*cking done! F*ck the Revolutionaries! F*ck the Silent Authority! Lock me up and let me get a break! Lock me back up!" He glared at the fat man. In a daze, the fat man became a dead fat man. He instantly decayed. A crude rope hung around his neck. As if he was hanging from somewhere, black blood flowed from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His mouth opened but when he spoke, maggots and flies crawled out. They crawled It was happening again. Those d*mn feelings were back Shocked, Charles stumbled back. Energy sapped, he slid down the wall and thumped onto the ground. "F*ck" he muttered, holding his head in pain. The fat man stared at him coldly for a while before saying, "Okay. If you won''t do it, there are many others. You can go now." Charles froze. It could not be so easy. "Anyway, that''s all your worth for," the fat man said nonchalantly. "Do you know why Constantine thinks so highly of you? Because you''re a genius? What a joke! It''s because your teacher" "What are you saying?" Charles gaped. He climbed up and his eyes grew cruel. "This has nothing to do with my teacher! What do you want?" "Nothing to do with him?" The fatty laughed emptily. "This is the sin that your teacher, Abraham, committed under Gaius when he was still a Dragon Rider! Now, it is time for him to pay. Charles, did you really think it through? If you don''t want to do it, then fine. We can use Abraham as bait and" "Don''t you dare!" Charles grabbed the fat man''s collar and roared. "This is your choice, Charles," the fatty said. "No matter how crazy Ye becomes, nothing will change. The Silent Authority doesn''t care about titles. There are quite a few nobles locked up in the Mithril CellarYou don''t want your friend to be locked up because of you, right?" Charles''s grasp weakened. Clutching his head in pain, he stumbled back and curled up in the corner, mumbling. He seemed to be cursing someone but it was unclear. After a long silence, he looked up. The capillaries in his eyes were like burning flames. The eyes were emotionless and dull. "My excuse was to buy medicine." He reached out. "Give me the stuff on this list." The fatty smiled and patted his shoulder. "That''s the way." Silent, Charles accepted the medicine and left. At night, the Sacred City was colder than usual. The water vapor frosted on the steel walls. Charles walked out of the secret location of the Silent Authority with his ridiculous medicine. Hanging his head, he walked toward the warehouse that he lived in. But then he heard a sigh behind him. "You take forever." It was a bearded Revolutionary with a cigarettehis roommate. He leaned against the lamppost and used the weak light to look at Charles with a strange smile. "Got a cold?" His eyes seemed to knowing; they were chilling. "How" Charles stopped, speechless. Beard Guy stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked up with a smile. Charles was frozen in place. He stared at Beard Guy''s hands, not knowing what was hidden. "What a coincidence." Beard Guy reached out. He was not holding a sword or rope. He just patted Charles''s shoulder and said meaningfully, "I came out to buy cigarettes and heard that you were nearby so I decided to wait for you." Pausing, he looked in the direction Charles came from. "You were there for so long. Were you thinking of leaving?" Charles smiled stiffly. "Why would I?" "Then let''s go." Beard Guy put a hand over his shoulder. His hand was strong like pincers. "Let''s go back first. We can talk about the other things later." Face pale, Charles clenched his jaw and forced out a smile. "Okay." At the same time, Constantine sat on a chair under the dim yellow light in an abandoned warehouse. Emotionless and wordless, he tapped the table. The other men either sat or stood. Their expressions were dark but they all stared at the table and the document that was being tapped. Behind Constantine, the examiner lowered his head and sharpened his dagger mindlessly. It grated in everyone''s ears. When someone knocked on the door, he smiled. 442 Can’t Sleep When Charles entered, he saw the shadows under the dim yellow light look over with unfriendly gazes. He froze in place. His bad premonition grew heavier. "What''s wrong?" Beard Guy craned his neck and squeezed past. He nodded at everyone. "Everyone''s here? Charles, don''t just stand there. Mr. Constantine is busy." Charles managed a smile and followed Beard Guy. He saw their faces and thought the gazes were all icy. "Sorry, I came back late. I almost couldn''t find Charles." Beard Guy patted his pocket. "It''s not my fault. It''s too hard to find a place that sells cigarettes. I could only get this crude tobacco. Does anyone want it?" Constantine seemed to be deep in thought. "Cory, you''re back just in time." The examiner smiled and pointed at the document. "Everyone has finished reading and we''re only missing you two." "What''s so urgent?" Cory walked over casually and shook his head. "Everyone knows that I can''t read. Just tell me instead of writing it down." No one responded; everyone was silent. Constantine looked up at the blank young man behind Cory. "Charles, where did you go?" As if nothing had happened, Charles hid his sweaty palms and shook the bag. "I went to buy" Constantine interrupted, "Tell the truth." He stopped. All the unfriendly gazes moved onto him. The animosity poured into his lungs like some viscous liquid. It sloshed around, almost suffocating him. Smiling stiffly, he forced on a shocked expression. "What''s wrong with everyone? I just went to buy medicine." The examiner took his bag and opened it forcefully. He dumped all the medicine on the table. After examining, he murmured something to Constantine. Constantine''s expression darkened. He nodded and looked at Charles. "Come look at this and you''ll understand." Charles walked over stiffly and accepted the document. Forcing his trembling fingers to still, he opened it. Extreme shock and fear besieged him. He froze in place. "Hey, what''s so mysterious?" Cory came over and patted his shoulder. "You look scared. What''s wrong? What does it say?" Charles''s face was ghastly pale. After a long while, he looked up at Cory with fear andpity. "It says" His voice trembled. "You''re themole." Cory froze. After a long while, he opened his mouth to speak. But the smiling examiner appeared behind him. He reached out, covered Cory''s mouth, and slit his throat with ease. Fresh blood spurted out, falling onto Charles''s face. It was warm and bitterly sweet. Some fragrance spread through the air. The documents were dyed red. He gaped at the name on the document. Stumbling back, he landed onto the ground with a thump. Cory fell to his knees. He clutched his throat, struggling in pain. He looked up at Charles but he could not utter any sound. And then he collapsed. Scarlet blood flowed from his body, pooling around him. In the dust, it turned bruised purple. After too long, he stopped moving. "Sorry. I must have scared you." Smiling, he pulled Charles up. The young man stared at Cory in shock. After a while, he turned around. His lips trembled but he could not form any words. "Cory had been bought out by the Sacred City a long time ago. If he didn''t show some signs when he entered the prison this time, we would''ve never suspected him." The examiner patted his shoulder. "You were with him for such a long time. He didn''t try to brainwash you, did he?" Charles shook his head dumbly. He could feel the tears spilling out. Almost breaking down, he choked out, "I-Iyou aren''t going to kill me?" "Don''t worry. Everyone knows you. How could someone so dumb be a spy?" The examiner chuckled. "You might not know yet, but Constantine has already decided to make you his secretary. You must be cautious against those who want to use you. Thankfully, we discovered him early on. If Cory used you to learn some secrets, it would be troublesome." He paused and pointed at Cory. "After a bit, I''ll have someone check on you. You might not know but that guy is a Mind musician. It''ll be bad if he planted a hint." Charles nodded stiffly. It finally dawned on him and he felt a chill. He finally understood why the Silent Authority was okay with him entering the Revolutionaries as a spy. His upper figure was hidden right beside him, keeping an eye on him at all times. He had used a Mind music score to control the fat illegal drug trader and remotely controlled Charles to help him find information. When needed, he would throw Charles away to save himself. That was how it was Seeing his expression, Constantine sighed. He patted his shoulder lightly. "Sorry, kid. I didn''t think you would be this scared. It was my mistake." "N-no." Charles managed a smile and wiped his snot with his sleeves. "I was just scared by Cory." After a pause, he pointed at the medicine piled on the table. "My stuff." Constantine quickly smiled and placed the items in Charles''s hand. "Very good. Charles, you are a good kid." The good kid managed a smile but then his face paled. Covering his mouth, he rushed out the door. They quickly cleaned up the body and everyone left. Constantine looked at the examiner. "You found the mole and killed him. Are you satisfied now?" The examiner''s smile was still mysterious. He just nodded slightly and looked in Charles'' direction. "I hope I am just overly sensitive" After countless days, Charles was in a dilapidated alley in the corner of the Sacred City. He leaned against the wall and smoked, looking like he was just basking in the sun lazily. A faint voice traveled to his ears, "According to the information from the Silent Authority, ever since the Revolutionaries began more than a decade ago, Constantine was an important figure. He was always mysterious and not many people saw him before. "If he wasn''t captured this time, probably even the Silent Authority wouldn''t know he existed. His relationship with Gaius is extremely close and compatible. He stayed in the shadows and traveled the nations for Gaius. He apparently has many hidden followers and the high officials of many countries all have contact with him. "The Revolutionaries rely on his information network to operate for all these years. This time, Constantine''s arrest not only made the Sacred City lose a lot of spies. They also stole a lot of important information regarding the Winter Festival. "You only need to find some tiny things from Constantine to be free. Don''t get too into it, Charles. You don''t have to sacrifice too much for the Sacred City." "I know, Yezi. Don''t worry." He smiled confidently. "You know me. I run faster than anyone if there''s the slightest bit of danger. Even the paparazzi can''t catch me." A thin water vapor thread extended from the sewer and latched onto him. They were in coherence. A hoarse voice sounded in his ear. "Stop saying those stupid things now, Charles." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "If anything happens, don''t be stubborn. If you have to sell out the Silent Authority to live, it''s fine. Charles, as long as you''re alive, I can save you, understand?" "Don''t worry. Do I look like someone who has morals? If I have to, I''ll even betray the Sacred City." Charles smiled and waved. "Stop worrying about me. I''m really successful. Constantine trusts me a lot. I''m already his secretary and help him deal with messages. After a while, he''ll take me to see Gaius." After a pause, Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Take care." "It''s against the rules for you to contact me behind the Silent Authority, right? Don''t contact me if you don''t have to," Charles said quietly. "There are some people keeping an eye on me too. It''ll suck if they find anything." "Powerful people?" "Yes, very." Charles fell silent. He remembered the figure he saw in prison and his pupils trembled. "One of the Revolutionaries'' spies has purple eyes. Be careful of him, Yezi. You have to be carefulIf you see him, run away. Don''t fight him at all, okay?" Ye Qingxuan froze. For the first time, he could feel fear from Charles. It was undisguised weakness and fear. "Charles, even" Charles shook his head, interrupting him. "Yezi, I''m begging you." After a while, Ye Qingxuan nodded slowly. "Okay, I promise you." "Great." Charles forced a smile. He looked down at his cigarette. He tossed it down and ground it under his foot. "I''m leaving now. Don''t worry about me. I sleep and eat well and every other day, I get to drink good wine. The days are so nice that I almost forget I''m a spy." But he hesitated, and before cutting off the resonance, he asked softly, "Mr. Newtonis there still no news?" "He''s still MIA." Ye Qingxuan''s voice was dark. "You care about him?" "It''s good that there''s no news. At least he''s still alive." Charles shook his head. "He lied to me to trade with the Revolutionaries but I''ve never hated him. He taught me a lot. I should thank him for not looking down on a failure like me. I''m sorry, Yezi. I experimented with your data without your permission. I owe you." "If you come back alive, let me beat you up." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Hurry and scram. Otherwise, you''ll get hit." "Thanks." Charles smiled, waved, and left. In the distance, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes in a peaceful caf. After a long while, he could not help but sigh. "Lola, help me," he murmured. "Protect Charles. Don''t let him get hurt." A complaint came from the air around him. "What sin did I commit in my past life to meet someone like you" The sigh quickly dissipated. It seemed that nothing had happened. "Thanks." Ye Qingxuan smiled. He raised the cup and drank the bitter espresso in one gulp. His lowered eyes were red. He had not slept in ten days. 443 Trade Late at night, the room was a mess as if it hadn''t been cleaned up in a long time. Those precious movements and profound music theories that so many people were eager for were scattered around, blown randomly by the night wind from the window, and noticed by nobody. Ye Qingxuan lay amongst the books with a full ashtray before him. He put out the last cigarette and closed his eyes, but could not fall asleep. He just had no way to fall asleep. A few days ago, he had not slept because of his concern of Charles. Fortunately, there was the Philosopher''s Stone music theory in his body which made his physical condition stronger than normal people. He just needed to have a rest after thirty days of not sleeping, let alone ten days. He would not be at risk of a sudden death like others. However, with Charles safe, he found that he couldn''t fall asleep. These days, he was so bored that he planned to compose. He took so many precious music theories and movements from the Silent Authority that his music theory had been improved by leaps and bounds. But now, it evolved too much Once his consciousness was slightly blurred, the body''s music theory would lose control. It would operate spontaneously like weeds after the spring rain and horses on the moors. Once out of control, they would run wildly. It was too strong for him to master himself. It was like hundreds of hands pulling his sanity. He had to suppress that power at every moment. This was not good. If there was no way for him to grasp this excessive part of music theory, Ye Qingxuan may need to find a few discipline musicians to seal him. "I''ve told you earlier that it''s not about the music theory. It''s your problem." Lola''s voice came from the moonlight as if right in his ear. "Ye Qingxuan, you were already a Dreamweaver since you riveted your source and stepped into resonance. But until now, you still have no idea what a real Dreamweaver should do with his power... " Ye Qingxuan got a sudden headache. He scratched his hair. "It''s no use blaming me." He said, "Blame it on Ye Lanzhou, okay? He was the one who abandoned his wife as well as his conscience. For so many years, nobody knew whether he was dead or alive. He didn''t even leave any last words. "Now, I am the only one left in Ye family. I don''t even know where to go to visit that group of wandering ghosts, let alone how to be a Dreamweaver, okay?" Lola was speechless. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help sighing, scratching his hair. "Dreamweaver What a nuisance." Dreamweaver. This was the unique advancement passed down through the Deva''s blood of the Ye family. All family leaders completed it successfully. Since ancient times, many musicians had engraved movements on the body, such as the School of Stone Heart''s sub-originator. Taking the Deva''s blood for example, there were also many schools that inherited music theories with lineage. But there were few who wanted to take a step closer and tamper with their own consciousness. Those who dared to do so all went crazy, except the Ye family. The Ye family forged the aether and music theory into the consciousness, with the dream of the self as the medium, bearing the embryonic form. Body, blood, and consciousness melted into one through the Heaven Ladder transformed from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, achieving a perfect balance. Starting at the Resonance level, the grand path to the Scepter level was paved. That was why it was so smooth for him. Since Ye Qingxuan became a musician apprentice, the embryonic form of the dream began to grow. It drew strength silently from Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness and music theory, stepping into resonance together with him. The dream advanced into the Dreamweaver itself. Now it was the time to reap the harvest. "Unfortunately, you have no dream to dream." Lola sighed. "Your music theory is not supported while the aether has nowhere to return. Of course you will feel distracted." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Is this common?" "I have never encountered this before." Lola answered, "Most of the Dreamweavers have planned their aether dreams before they step forward. Only you have never thought about it. Besides, you''ve lacked desire for the Originator since the beginning. You basically treated the music theory and movements as tools. How can there be a musician like you?" "Hey, Lola, being a musician had always been my dream." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Don''t I have enough desire?" "Wanting is different from enjoying." Lola huffed coldly, "If cooking can satisfy your wish, I think you''d be the best chef of Avalon now. But would you spend a bit of your time trying to be the best chef in the world?" "..." Ye Qingxuan did not respond. "That''s the problem, Ye Qingxuan." Lola sighed. "The identity of ''musician'' is just a job to you. Have you ever made it a lifelong pursuit? I think you''d prefer to follow Abraham as a scholar of ancient history..." "I just need to have a dream." Ye Qingxuan did not want to admit it. "As long as it is a dream, right?" Lola asked, "If you can just dream, why can''t you fall asleep?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. After a long while, he sighed wearily. "How did Ye Lanzhou solve this?" "I don''t know." Lola shook her head. "When I met him, he was already a Dreamweaver. As for what his dream was, I believe you have a deep understanding." The moon above the sea. With high mountains and flowing water, it was the movement of the Moon. He had more than a deep understanding. Thinking of this, his eyes brightened. "I''ve learned Moonlight. Can''t I just make a replicate?" Lola mercilessly shattered his hope. "Moonlight is not the moon." She said, "Light is the application of appearance; the moon is the essence. You are handy with your application but you know nothing about the nature of the moon over the sea. "You are always like this. You are good at application but lack interest of the core, purely regarding the movement and music theory as tools. If you are a little interested, you won''t be in such an awkward situation." "He taught me." Ye Qingxuan refused to back down. "There is no reason that I can''t copy it." "He just pointed a way to you." "A way?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "I don''t think there is any..." He suddenly froze. Dream, the end of the dream...the end of the dream... To the end of the dream! Ye Qingxuan shot up from the ground and smacked his forehead. "How could I forget?" Ye Lanzhou had left a clue at the very beginning, but he went in the wrong direction. The end of the dream... - Late at night, Wolf Flute was awakened from his dream by Ye Qingxuan. After a long time, he rubbed his eyes and opened the door. Seeing Ye Qingxuan standing before him with bloodshot eyes, his expression grew sour. "What''s the matter? Yezi, I know you''re anxious but you have to let people sleep, right? Not everyone can work twenty-four hours a day like a machine, like you. I just laid down and was about to close my eyes. If it''s about work, can we just talk about it tomorrow?" Ye Qingxuan held his hand and solemnly implored, "Please do me a favor." Wolf Flute froze. After a while of silence, he took out a flattened pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He picked out a crooked cigarette and lit it. After a few mouthfuls of smoke, he shook his head and finally became more awake. "What is it?" He sighed. "What did you do this time? Can I, the most useless Scepter musician in history, help you?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "You know I won''t ask for your help for this kind of stuff." Wolf Flute paused. "You want to run with Charles?" "No." Wolf Flute looked more and more troubled. "Can I choose not to help you?" "Wolf Flute, you are my good friend." Ye Qingxuan held his shoulders with sincere eyes. "Good friends should help each other, right?" Wolf Flute''s expression quickly changed. "Why does the word ''friends'' sound not so good from your mouth?" Ye Qingxuan asked directly, "What did Ye Lanzhou do in the Scared City those years? You have been in the Silent Authority for so long. You must know something, right? I''m talking about the Hecatoncheir thing." "...You know about that?" Wolf Flute was stunned. After a while, he shook his head with wry smile. "Let me change." Five minutes later, Wolf Flute was dressed appropriately and returned to the door. "Let''s go." He smoked and led the way. "Follow me." - Two hours later, Ye Qingxuan arrived at the Forbidden Document Preservation Center of the Silent Authority by lift. The big library was still as silent and gloomy as a tomb. However, Ye Qingxuan felt all relaxed. There was not the slightest discomfort. He was practically like fish in water. The royal library was like this anyway. Other than the fact that there was no light, it seemed to be no different. If he had not known he was in a foreign country, he would have asked Gawain out for a chat. Soon, he saw a wrinkled old dwarf behind the counter. "Mr. Administrator, we need to check some of files," said Wolf Flute. "It''s you again Oh, a new face. Is this your friend?" The dwarf glanced at Ye Qingxuan and stretched out his hand. "Do you have permission?" "No." Wolf Flute shook his head. "This is a private inquiry without any authorization. We do not want anyone to know." The dwarf smacked his lips as if he had experienced this before. "Then you need to follow the rules. Who''s going to pay the price?" Wolf Flute stepped aside, revealing the blank Ye Qingxuan behind him. "Him." The dwarf nodded and pulled out an old bronze scale from the counter and laid it on the table. The ancient balance was decorated with gorgeous patterns, seemingly echoing faintly with a distant place, exuding quiet fluctuations. "I don''t care what you want to know or what you want to do," the dwarf said indifferently. "Coming here, you have to follow my rules." "Exchange. Knowledge is valuable and it can be exchanged with what you know. Write the keywords you want to know on the paper and put it on the left. The scale will determine the weight. If you can provide something of equal value, the trade will be made." Ye Qingxuan looked at the balance. "What can be used for trading?" "No only music theory, movement, intelligence, secrets, but also gossip magazines, street gossip. As long as it is knowledge." The dwarf said lightly, "This is one of the entrances to the Nibelungenlied. It leads to the world of the Philosopher. Even the Lighthouse is only part of it. As long as you pay enough, you can even know what color the pope''s underpants are." "Well, I''ll see what color the Pope''s underpants are." Ye Qingxuan became excited. Rubbing his hands, he wrote the key words ''Pope''s underwear color'' on the note despite of Wolf Flute''s dissuasion and placed it on the left of the balance. Thud! 444 Scale Thud! It was as if a ton of iron smashed onto the ground. The scale on the left was instantly pushed to the bottom. On a scale to ten, it was pushed to nine. Ye Qingxuan stared at it for a while before looking up. "What''s the price for this?" The dwarf emotionlessly took a teacup out of nowhere. Taking a sip, he said, "This means you have to find a sum worth a library of this scale. It is second only to the music theory password of the Sacred City central control center. It''s equal to about ten Heaven Doors." "That expensive?" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "If you think it''s expensive, then don''t buy it." The dwarf scoffed. "This isn''t for the poor." Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He quickly exchanged the paper. It said Ye Qingxuan. The scale dipped down to 0.1. Ye Qingxuan stared for a while and asked, "How much is this?" "This is ''worthless''." The dwarf glanced at him. "You can get it with any two elementary books." "That cheap?!" Ye Qingxuan''s heart broke. "I''m one-ninetieth of the Pope''s underpants!" "Every scale mark increases exponentially." The dwarf sneered. "This isn''t even worth 0.1. It''s just the smallest unit. The things you want to know are probably all common knowledge now!" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. He couldn''t help it. Now, any musician or student knew the story of Marquess Ye beheading his enemy at the city gates. Too many people knew about it so it was no longer valuable. Thinking a bit, he changed to Wolf Flute. The scale dipped to six. The dwarf said, "This is equal to national secrets. You can buy it if you give me naval routes, military deployment maps, or information on the treasury reserve." "Not fair!" Ye Qingxuan roared and pointed at Wolf Flute. "How come he''s sixty times more expensive than me?" "Hehe, it''s technically six-hundred and forty times," Wolf Flute corrected. Then he added, "and more." Ye Qingxuan went through a list of terms, having fun with himself. Holmes was 4.7; Maxwell, 6; Shaman, 5; Bach, 8; Aurora empress, 8.5; Mr. Hu, 6.5 After thinking, he decided to put Abraham''s name. The scale instantly went to 7.5. "How come it''s that expensive?" He was stunned. He did not expect his teacher to have this many secrets. "Don''t ask useless questions. There is obviously a reason." The dwarf was tired of him. Sighing, he hesitated and put Bai Xi''s name on but there was no reaction. "Why isn''t there a reaction?" "There won''t be a reaction if you put something like eating or sleeping." The dwarf rolled his eyes. "Be more specific! If you''re putting a person, write their full name! It''s best if you mark a location and family too." "Full name?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "That is her full name." "Oh?" The dwarf smiled meaningfully and caressed the scale. "This is why you need it." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. "You''ve already played enough. How much longer are you going to take?" Looking at him, the dwarf drummed his fingers on the counter. "Are you here just to take a look?" "I''ve never seen this before, okay?" Ye Qingxuan grinned shamelessly. "Let me try it again." He wrote two more slips. Descendant of the Phoenix, 2.1. This was the unique advancement of the Anglo School of Royalty. Most musicians had heard of it before. With this scale mark, he could probably buy it with a regular music score. "Not bad. The price is fair." Ye Qingxuan nodded and put the second slip on. Dreamweaver, 4. This level was for precious secrets that not many people knew or were highly important. He could exchange for it with information or knowledge of the same level. Getting paper and a pen, Ye Qingxuan began to copy with aether. Autumn Wind, a thin music score from Mr. Hu, caused the scale to stop at one. It seemed that Eastern music theory and scores were slightly more valuable here. Ye Qingxuan paused. Thinking a bit, he grabbed another slip and wrote: September, Huntmore Harbor, illegal drug ''Krishna,'' sixty kilograms. He placed the slip in. The scale balanced out before tipping 1.3 degrees to the right side. "What happens if my side is worth more?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the dwarf. "You can choose to change your slip or save the additional amount. Or, Nibelungenlied''s scale will give you additional information for the value." "I choose the last one." Just as he finished speaking, the paper slip in the left scale evaporated. Aether converged, transforming into two slips of white paper. Stunned, Ye Qingxuan followed the dwarf''s orders to take them. A line of faint words flashed before his eyes. If he did not focus on reading, he would not be able to finish before they disappeared. F*cking dishonest trader Ye Qingxuan had no time to swear. He focused his attention on the paper. The Dreamweaver It is the unique advancement of the Eastern Ye family. One must have Deva''s blood in order to advance. The Dreamweaver uses special music theory and techniques to weave music scores into its dreamscape, allowing the dreamscape to hold the critical elements. Because it contained Mind music scores, every Dreamweaver''s dreamscape would have a unique effect. The musician can store the music score''s spirit into his dreamscape and enter the state of ''dreamland,'' fully becoming one with the music score and becoming the physical incarnate of aether. Under this circumstance, the musician can subconsciously control formulas of the School of Modifications, the four liquids equilibrium of the School of Choir, the fulcrums of the School of Illusion, the beastly nature of the School of Summoning, the hints of the School of Mind, and more. The performance becomes an innate ability; the music theory is like breathing. One may find the most suitable element during this process, laying down the road to the Scepter level. Detailed information is lacking and still requires collecting. That was it for the first slip. Ye Qingxuan opened the second, which was the additional information Nibelungenlied gave. Twelve days ago, Ye Qingxuan, the sole heir of the Ye family, was given the title of Marquess and seemed to advance toward Dreamweaver. More information is needed. The end. "That''s it?" Ye Qingxuan looked up. "You get as much as you give." The dwarf looked up lazily. "It''s just one degree. Did you expect a package deal?" Ye Qingxuan almost spat out blood. It was seriously a dishonest scamming trader! "Okay, you''ve had fun and have experimented. Isn''t it time for the real deal?" The dwarf seemed to see through him and glanced knowingly. "The truly valuable things here are all over five. There''s no need to come here for things under five." Ye Qingxuan did not reply. After thinking, he called over some aether to create pieces of paper. He wrote down three things. The first was Hecatoncheir. The scale wavered between nine and one. The second was ''experiment.'' With a clang, the scale instantly shot to above six. Hesitating, Ye Qingxuan put the third slip on. ''Ye Lanzhou.'' Thud. The scale rose to 9.6. In the long silence, the dwarf inhaled sharply. He shot a strange look at Ye Qingxuan. "Hey kid, whose underpants are you interested in this time?" "It seem like the Sacred City''s underpants are more expensive than the Pope''s." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "What do I have to give?" Side-eyeing him, the dwarf snickered. "You think you have anything of equal value?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Give me a discount. Business is hard." The dwarf looked at him indifferently. After a long while, he knocked against the scale. "Cut out a portion." The scale went to 8.7. Ye Qingxuan was still unmoved. Rubbing his hands, he murmured to himself, "Not even the noble has extra money." The dwarf''s face twitched but he knocked the scale again. "Cut out another portion." The scale went to eight. Looking up, Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "The weather''s pretty nice today." "Hey, don''t overstep the boundaries!" the dwarf yelled. "It''s already cheap enough! Are you trying to get some VIP package deal?" "Sir, don''t be angry. We can still negotiate." Wolf Flute rushed over to appease the puppet. He stood in front of the scale. He took something out of his pocket and placed it onto the right scale. "Is this enough?" The scale instantly went to 5.7. It had only decreased by 2.3 degrees but if it was exponential, the price had lowered several times! Ye Qingxuan did not know what Wolf Flute had put in that was so precious. He opened his mouth to speak but Wolf Flute stopped him. "Don''t mind it. Was I really going to watch you pour your heart out?" Ye Qingxuan smiled wryly. He had really planned on doing that. The most valuable thing on him was the music theory of the Philosopher''s Stone Even if he had no other way, Ye Qingxuan refused to go home empty handed. It was logical to have to pay a little price. However, he did not expect Wolf Flute to pay so much for him. He suddenly did not know what to say. "Don''t get too excited. You owe me." Wolf Flute glanced at him. "The rest of the cost is yours." Ye Qingxuan nodded and sighed. It could only be like this. He soon handed a stack of papers to Wolf Flute. He had edited and revised the sub-originator technology of the School of Stone Heart, integrating a portion of the Philosopher''s Stone''s music theory. Now, it was comparable to the core technology of the modern schools. Other than transforming into a lever to stir the aether sea, the man-made sub-originator also contained the abilities of the Philosopher''s Stone. It could adjust a man''s internal secretion, injecting prepared hormones, medicines, or antidotes for the musician. Of course, when needed, it could even turn blood into nitroglycerin to ignite the musician into a ball of fire However, Ye Qingxuan had also left something for himself in the critical music theory. He had rewritten a portion so he could control it at any time. He did not want to be defeated by his own design. After putting in the notes, the scale went back to equilibrium and then even went over two degrees. "Let Nibelungenlied give me related information for the extra value." Just as Ye Qingxuan finished, a book of notes appeared in the left side of the scale. This time, it was not a copy that would be destroyed after reading. It was an old notebook. Experiment records. Ye Lanzhou. 445 Essay After receiving the notebook, Ye Qingxuan and Wolf Flute left. The dwarf stayed in the silent darkness. He lit his pipe. Inhaling deeply, he blew out a plume of thick smoke. The scale was shrouded in the smoke. It looked dead rather than mysterious. "You gave him the entire thing," he said. "What he gave could only be exchanged for one page. Haven''t you always been neutral? Why are you biased toward that kid?" "It''s not a bias. Hermes has paid everything for him." The cool voice rang out from the darkness. It sounded like both but neither genders at the same time. "And he deserves to know what had happened." The dwarf laughed and tapped his pipe. "Is this your judgement? Or the judgement of all of you?" The darkness was silent. There was no more sound. - In the moving carriage, Ye Qingxuan turned on the light and opened the notebook. Without a doubt, this was written by Ye Lanzhou''s own hand. There were no mistakes in the words and style. In between lines and in empty spaces, there would even be some improvised phrases. Some places were filled with drawings and sketches. Some sketches were of surgical staff with their faces and bodies covered completely. Some drawings were of a large pot. It had been colored black and was full of holes. There seemed to be small figures on the side, acting as a scale and looking up at the vast ceiling. It was clear that Ye Lanzhou did not treat the experiment seriously. Otherwise, he would not be drawing or writing sonnets everywhere. This guy could never be serious, and only put in seventy percent of his effort. He did whatever he wanted without thinking of the consequencesor he did think of them and decided he did not care. Otherwise, with his talent and skill, he would not end up like this. Decades ago, the east and west worked together in the Sacred City and successfully created a miracle. The most powerful of the natural catastrophes were the Three Pillar Gods, the Three Saints, the Four Living Objects, and the Eight Phenomena. The one with the most sense of existence with endless vitality and fury is Hecatoncheir. But it had been defeated, sealed, and captured by humanity. The nations all paid heavy prices for this battle and still have not recovered. The Caucasus had fallen and was still in chaos now due to this. There were countless saints who had died as well; even the King of Yellow had changed. Of course, years later, another person paid for thisYe Lanzhou. All of Ye Qingxuan''s misfortune originated from this. Now he held this notebook, not knowing if he should feel disgust or joy. His mind was just a mess. To defeat Hecatoncheir, the Sacred City had started research on the nature of natural catastrophes. It was the most successful attempt in human history and also the one with the largest consequences. According to the notebook, Ye Lanzhou was responsible for analyzing the ''source of consciousness''where the consciousness of natural catastrophes originate from and why. However, he had delved too deeply and entered forbidden territory. According to history, humanity''s first interaction with natural catastrophes was the birth of Hyakume. One of the Three Pillar Gods, the god representing chaos and evil had appeared from the Dark World. The abyss that existed in the aether world was finally discovered by mankind. Some even hypothesized that Hyakume was the consciousness born from the terrifying abyss. But no matter what, it was just a hypothesis. All was created by the Originator. However, in addition to miracles, the Originator also created freaks like the natural catastrophes. If humans wanted to survive in this world, they must fight against the natural catastrophes. One day, there would be an ultimate battle to decide the ownership of the world. That was why they began researching ''the nature of natural catastrophes.'' Ye Lanzhou was responsible for the corethe classified of the classified. It was rare for a baseless Easterner to be trusted by the Sacred City and parliament. This notebook contained his records of the research. Unfortunately, there were too many useless things. The b*stard was more willing to copy an old menu from a restaurant than something important! While Ye Qingxuan was furious, he could relate. He was like this too, after all. If he could remember it all, why would he write it down? This record was just some bullsh*t he wrote down for work. They were just scattered running accounts. Ye Qingxuan had to flip through for a long time before he could find useful bits. Sadly, the dates were blank and he could not guess when the accounts had taken place. The first useful sentence had no context. It can understand my speech. Then there was a long rumor with some notes on what was interesting or how this story was too stupid. Two pages later, there was another random phrase. I found the solution. After a bunch of doodles, there was an off-handed complaint. Took only two days to learn five hundred words. What were those idiots doing earlier? If they gave it to me earlier, it could be writing poetry now! After paragraphs of nonsense, Ye Lanzhou went back on topic. It wants me to name it but I don''t dare. Ye Qingxuan froze. Understanding what the words meant, he sank into deep thought. Hecatoncheir wanted a name that belonged to itself but Ye Lanzhou did not dare. Once something had a name, it would start differentiating between itself and the outer world. It would have a sense of self. Something that had a sense of self would become difficult to control. There would be countless changes. After more nonsense, there was another phrase without context. The subsidiary experiment is going on. It''s revoltingly successful. And then there was only one last sentence of the records. It''s learning so quickly. It already knows how to trick me into opening the door for it. - After that, there were no more related records in the notebook. It seemed as if every day was spent carelessly. He would write down a few unreliable things and then draw some self-portraits. His beard grew longer and longer. And then, all that remained was white paper. Ye Qingxuan''s expression darkened. He flipped through the pages but there were no more records. Finally, he reached the last page and saw a long and messy essay. It seemed to be a message left specifically for others. This was the last thing Ye Lanzhou left on this world. Lowering his head, Ye Qingxuan read through it silently. - To Whomever It May Concern, When you see this, it will already be irrevocable. Firstly, I thank the Sacred City for giving a wanderer like me such trust. I am truly sorry for betraying this trust. If everything is successful, the result will be as everyone has witnessed. Yes, I personally released Hecatoncheir. Hermes was right. If we were truly searching for a good ending, this experiment should never have existed in the first place. I stepped into this forbidden territory due to my curiosity and thus discovered revolting secrets. Therefore, I spent the last few days thinking if the goal of the experiment truly is as pure and glorious as we had thought. No matter what, it must be stopped. I should have guessed that, whether it is the East or West, it is the same everywhere. I hope that I can destroy the horrible result born from the experiment in time. Hopefully, my actions can serve as a warning and make you all more clearheaded. Please rethink your actions. Compared to the world, humanity is so insignificant yet how can we commit such atrocities? Perhaps, we should have never come to this world. This world belongs to them. 446 For the F*cking World There were no more words. These were Ye Lanzhou''s last notes and his last essay. For this world, for morals, to save the world, or for other sublime thingsbut he never mentioned his wife and son. "It reallyis you" After a long, long while, Ye Qingxuan closed the notebook quietly. "It really is you." Under the dim light, he leaned back in the carriage seat and closed his eyes weakly. "This world?" You did everything for this world? Silently, aether crumbled the notebook. The pieces fluttered to the ground like snow. In the ripples of the furious music theory, wild aftershocks of the disturbance nature spread. The white snow burned and faint sparks floated down, disappearing from the world. Ye Qingxuan stared at the pile of ashes and murmured, "F*ck the world!" - A long time ago, Ye Qingxuan heard a joke: a farmer''s wife bought a basket of eggs in the city. Because she was pretty, a group of thugs on the way teased her, wanting to drag her into the forest. The woman refused and used immense strength to fight them off. The thugs were intimidated by her power and knelt down in humiliation. They admitted their ulterior motive and begged for forgiveness. "That''s it?" The woman dusted herself in disdain. She said, "I thought you wanted to steal my eggs." All these years, Ye Qingxuan wandered through the world with no home to return to. He had lost so many things. He loved his mother and hated Ye Lanzhou. But he always thought that Ye Lanzhou had unspeakable troubles. He must have had a reason for what he did. Maybe he had tried to protect his family. Maybe he wanted to escape from the fate of the Ye family''s Dragon Bloodline or was tricked by Hyakume. Or maybe he had some inexplicable secret So he had to do what he did. Ye Qingxuan had made so many excuses for him in his mind. But then Ye Lanzhou told him he did all this for the eggs. What a joke. Ye Qingxuan thought furiously, F*ck your eggs. F*ck Ye Lanzhou! This world was so cold and ugly. It seemed to always be snowing while he walked barefoot. He could feel the bone-numbing cold with each step. There were many people who should be more inclined to love it, protect it, or sacrifice something for it. But even if the first one hundred people were dead, it would not fall upon him. He loved the world but the world did not love him. Such irony. Such pity. Ye Qingxuan thought his life was as laughable as a joke. He had used more than ten years to come here. He found the truth, only to discover that Ye Lanzhou had just wanted to be a nameless hero. Okay, go be your nameless hero. Go sacrifice yourself gloriously where no one knows. For some reason, Ye Qingxuan suddenly wanted to return to Lute. Perhaps, he should have inherited the priest''s position in the beginning and spent the rest of his life in that small seaside village. He could be a respectful priest without any troubles. Lowering his head, he caressed the holy emblem. He missed his professor, he missed Bai Xi and Charles, and he even missed Old Phil. He finally decided that when this was all done, he would leave. From then on, he would have nothing to do with this weird duke title, this surname, and the hero who had abandoned his wife and son. The carriage stopped. Ye Qingxuan pushed open the door. "Thanks, Wolf Flute. I owe you." He turned to bid farewell. Wolf Flute looked at his tired expression and shook his head. "I should have let you know earlier." "There''s nothing you should or shouldn''t have done. You''ve done enough for me." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his forehead. "I''m a little tired. I won''t go tomorrow." Wolf Flute was taken aback but he quickly smiled. "Congrats. When you wake up, you''d probably be a true Disturbance level musician." "Wolf Flute" The youth looked at him with troubled eyes. "Huh?" The other was confused. "The tragedy of my life all started with aether." Ye Qingxuan laughed at himself. "Lola was right. If I had other choices, I wouldn''t choose to become a musician." In the cold wind of the night, the youth turned and left. Wolf Flute watched as his figure walked into the embassy and disappeared inside. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the youth back then. The white-haired youth had smiled and walked into the hot sunlight, stepping onto the path to his future. The scene was right before his eyes was as if it was not too long ago. He lowered his head and sighed. Lighting his last cigarette, he exhaled his sense of loss with the smoke. "Little Yezi, seems like you''ve really grown up." - Under the same night sky, Charles opened the window. Cold wind blew in. He yawned into his palm and rubbed his hands. He shivered under the cold breeze. His fatigue gradually disappeared. It was four o''clock. After a few hours, the sky would lighten. After laying low for so long, they had finally moved from the crappy warehouse to an inn. However, it was only Constantine and Charles. The others had all been secretly arranged to leave the Sacred City and go by sea to the New Colony. Only the two of them remained in the Sacred City. The accommodation was good. This building was furnished well and they lacked nothing. They had meat for every meal and had more than enough bread. However, they were still being ''protected.'' The Revolutionaries seemed to still be distrustful of Constantine whom they had rescued. Even after countless rounds of investigation, they still didn''t tell him the Revolutionaries'' new location in the Sacred City. As his secretary and follower, Charles naturally had to go through investigations too. The Winter Festival was getting closer every day. There was only half a month left but he still made no progress. Constantine and Gaius only communicated with a few letters. Because Constantine had vision problems, Charles had to read the letters out loud for him. However, they never talked about anything important. They probably knew that communicating through letters could not solve any problems. Constantine had always been against Gaius''s actions in the Sacred City, even if the man had saved him from prison. On the other hand, Gaius''s attitude grew colder and colder. In the last letter, there was a feeling of ''you''re on your own now'' with a bad premonition. Thinking of this, Gaius sighed. His expression grew troubled. The bedroom door behind him opened. "Charles?" Constantine took off his glasses and looked over. "You haven''t slept yet?" "I woke up and couldn''t fall back asleep. I opened the window to get a breath of air." He asked, "Did I wake you up?" "As you age, you become a lighter sleeper." Constantine tossed a book onto the table. "I read for a while but still couldn''t fall asleep. I realized you weren''t sleeping either so I came to ask if you want to drink." "Sure." Charles shut the window and grabbed a bottle from the cabinet. He prepared everything. There was an ice tray in the kitchen. After pouring in clean water, Charles shook it slightly and there was the sound of ice forming. "All set?" Glancing at his relaxed actions, Constantine looked a bit envious. "No matter how many times I see it, I still think musicians are quite useful." "I''m not even a musician. This is just a small trick." Charles smiled helplessly. "When I was little, my teacher would use this trick to play with me. After I grew up, I realized that the biggest use for this is to make shaved ice for myself." "Then, let''s drink to the powerful musicians." Constantine raised his glass and they drank bottoms up. They talked about many different topics. Talking with Constantine was interesting. One always had a good time. After a few glasses, Charles grew happy. He wanted to talk about the happy days of getting drunk in Avalon and running around nude. But then he shuddered. He had a different identity now. If he got drunk and ran out of habit It was one thing to get mistaken as a pervert but it was also cold out. He could catch a cold from running nude! His mind instantly cleared. "Mr. Constantine." After hesitating, he could not help but ask, "What isthe general like?" "The general?" Constantine thought for a while and laughed. "You mean Gaius?" "Yeah." Charles nodded and explained, "Uh, didn''t you say we''ll go meet the general in a few days? You know me. I want to get some facts straight so I don''t say the wrong thing." Seeming to understand something, Constantine chuckled. "You''re scared I won''t take you?" Charles scratched his head awkwardly. "It''s not that much of a secret, actually. Everyone has already witnessed Gaius''s actions," Constantine said lightly. "However, most people just think he''s crazy. I do too." Charles froze. He did not expect to get this comment from Constantine. He had thought that after interacting for a decade, Gaius and Constantine had mutual trust and worked together well. He did not expect that in Constantine''s eyes, the Revolutionaries'' general that caused so many sleepless nights, the worst criminal in the world, was just a crazy man. "Perhaps Gaius was once the most clear-headed man in the world." Constantine laughed and downed a glass. "But how much sanity could remain after he was forced onto a hopeless path time and time again by the thing he believed in strongly?" Charles looked at him in confusion. "You know he''s a Romulusian, right? A descendant of demons." Constantine pointed at his chest. "He was born with two hearts. One left, one right. The Romulusians believed that only those destined to be heroes would have that. "From then on, he became an apprentice of the elder. That was the start of his path to betrayal. The wandering nation desperately needed a guide. He believed that too. But when he realized that no matter what he did within, he could still not save Romulus, he betrayed everyone''s expectations. "He left Auschwitz for the Sacred City and never returned until Auschwitz became a pile of rubble." Here, Constantine fell into silence. After a long pause, he murmured, "His entire life, he worked to complete his destiny but in the end, he was abandoned by his destiny. In the beginning, he wanted to save his brethren. Later, he betrayed his brethren. Even later, when he believed strongly in the Sacred City''s radiance, he witnessed Ye Lanzhou''s death and was utterly disappointed. "He wanted to save the human world but realized that the human world was rejecting his salvation Now, Gaius wants to rebuild order and create a better era. Sadly, the era does not seem to love him." Constantine could not help but laugh. His smile was full of mockery. "He is a contradicting ironic man. Charles, does this disappoint you?" After a while, Charles shook his head. "Sir, he sounds like a pitiful man." "Pitiful?" Taken aback, Constantine quickly burst into laughter. "Perhaps. Because of these pitiful men, the world will never have peace." Looking at him, Charles asked tentatively, "Then, youcan''t advise him to stop?" "Charles, did you know that a sense of mission is the gift from the demon?" Constantine drank with his head lowered and said, "It is wrapped up nicely to disguise its horrible nature. So many people go crazy for it, even willing to die for it. "If it cannot be satisfied, it will cause insomnia, making one feel hellish torment. Even if you die, you won''t be able to rest in peace. "All these years, so many have died because of Gaius, sacrificed for him. If he stops, then all those sacrifices would be in vain. Do you understand? Those deaths have become a curse, turning the sense of mission into a demon entangled in his life. He can''t stop even if I''m blocking him." Charles fell silent. Seeing his sadness, Constantine roughly ruffled his hair. "There are so many people in the world. It''s not your place to be sad for him. Come, Charles. Let''s drink to him." He stuffed a glass into Charles''s hand and raised it. "For Gaius, for the revolution, for the f*cking world, cheers!" Throwing his head back, Constantine downed the glass and collapsed into the chair. He had finished the entire bottle of hard liquor. He lay on the sofa, intoxicated. As if seeing something, he smiled and quietly recited something in a foreign tongue. "Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum; Et documenta damus qua simus origine nati" Therefore we are a hard race and inured to labors and we give evidence of the origin from which we are born. 447 This Is Grea The Jiuzhou Continent was in the center of the Xuantian Realm. This was the world of the martial artists. From lowest to highest, they were divided into nine realms: warrior, master, grandmaster, martial lord, martial king, martial emperor, martial king, sovereign of war, and god of war. The once-child prodigy, Ye Aotian, had started cultivating his qi at three years old. He became a warrior at age twelve and a master at fourteen but had lost his ability to cultivate at fifteen. Because he no longer needed to cultivate. He had already become the one and only god of war in the world! He was the god of war, Ye Aotian! From then on, he traveled the world, enjoying all the beauty and riches. As a legend, he passed many years. Now, at the bank of the West Lake of Hangzhou, a youth stood there with his hands behind his back. He gazed at the beautiful scene but his eyes seemed lonely and sad. They seemed filled with thousands of seasons and solitude. So many girls gazed at him from a distance. Their cheeks reddened and their hearts beat faster involuntarily but they did not dare to approach the youth. That was because there was someone beautiful beside him. "Brother Aotian, I don''t care how many girls you have. I only care that I am in your heart." Murong Qian''er, the current number one of the beauty ranking of Jiuzhou, leaned against Ye Aotian. She felt the aggressive aura and was intoxicated with love. "Qian''er, since you are with me now, I won''t let you down." Ye Qingxuan smirked. He caressed Qian''er''s cheeks. Qi rushed into her gut. She instantly rose through the realms, passing the martial emperor and martial king level, jumping into the immortal sovereign of war realm. "Brother Aotian!" Feeling her cultivation reach an unprecedented level, Qian''er felt incredible and incredulous. "You''re too good to me!" "My darling, you are too polite. Since you are with my husband, we will be sisters from now on." An elegant woman held Qian''er''s hands. She was Gudu Yuehua, the sovereign of war who had ruled for a millennium. "Husband is becoming more and more powerful. Us six hundred girls cannot care for him well enough. In the future, we must work live together well. Here, this is my gift for you as a sister." With that, Gudu Yuehua pulled out a shining sword. Qian''er''s delicate figure trembled. "Is this the magical Gudu Nine Sword that Husband made for you?" "No, you are mistaken. This is the Gudu Six Hundred Forty-Seven Sword. It is a gift from me for our first meeting." Hearing this, Ye Aotian threw his head back in laughter. He brought the two beauties into the air. In the clouds, a crowd of girls watched them come and swarmed over delicately. "Congratulations on the bonding between Husband and Sister Qian''er." Ye Aotian smiled and said, "Come, Qian''er, let me introduce you to your sisters. This is your second sister Mengqi, third sister Muqing, fourth sister Aoshan, fifth sister, Manwen, sixth sister Yuexi, seventh sister Xianghanand your six hundred and forty-sixth sister Lianmeng." "Husband, you are too good to me." Qian''er leaned against Ye Aotian, her soft chest pressed against Aotian''s arm, making the man''s member misbehave. "You''re so mean. You''re trying to bully me again." Yuehua smiled and reached out. She tapped his cock, making it grow fierce. Yuehua looked up. Glancing at Aotian, she bent down and parted her pretty lips And thus, there was chaos and until the girls all begged him to stop and all were satisfied. Qian''er stroked the hard length and could not help but sigh, "Husband, please go find some more misters. We cannot handle you anymore." Ye Aotian did not answer. "Husband is too powerful," the girls said. "Husband, go find some more sisters." Ye Aotian still did not answer. After a round of lovely whining, Ye Aotian finally snapped out of it. He looked at the beauties. "I have a question." "What is it, Husband?" they all asked. "I am only one man but I''ve conquered more than six hundred girls. And yet you are all so loving of each other. There are no fights or jealousy. It''s incredible. The girls all laughed. "Husband has gone crazy again." "Also," Ye Aotian looked down at his crotch, "making love with 647 girls one after another would take 373 and a half hours if each person takes half an hour. That means 186 hours and 45 minutes. That means that each session would take fifteen days. During these fifteen days, I can''t sleep or eat and I can only act mechanically. Even a steel pillar would be flattened but I didn''t even scrape my skin." "That is because Husband''s body is like a god." "But in addition to that weird stuff, if you all love me so deeply, how are you willing to share me with six hundred other girls and ask me to get even more?" "Brother Aotian, I do not care how many girls you have, as long as I am in your heart," Yuehua answered shyly. "And your thing is too powerful. I" "That''s weird. Does cultivating increase power or hormones?" In a daze, the girls disappeared. Ye Aotian looked up and saw a realistic yet illusory figure. His eyes brightened. "Elder, you''ve come just in time. Ever since I found the ring you hide in from the backyard when I was eleven, I''ve always had a question." The elder with a head of white hair smiled. "Aotian, what is your question?" "What exactly is qi?" Ye Aotian asked. "Where does it come from? How is it created? How does it exist? Why does it enter our body? What state is it? Gas? Liquid? Solid? If it''s called qi, then it must be gas, right? Does that mean I have a large amount of gas inside my body? Why haven''t I swelled up?" The elder replied, "That is because your veins are strong. The qi condensed into the fighting spirit and is contained in the sub-universe of your body." "What state is the fighting spirit in? Is it tangible?" Ye Aotian murmured. He grabbed a girl over and ripped her apart after killing her. "Where are the eight qijing veins and two rendu veins? Where is the sub-universe? Inside the brain?" As he spoke, he lowered his dagger and opened Qian''er''s brain. But there was nothing there. "Is this the sub-universe? Then where is the gut?" The elder remained silent. "And the nine levels are warrior, master, grandmaster, martial lord, martial king, martial emperor, martial king, sovereign of war, and god of war Why are there two martial kings?" "Don''t overthink." The elder pulled two pieces of spirit fruits. "Aotian, it is time to cultivate. Come, eat this fruit." "I''m not Aotian." The youth looked up. "My name is Ye Qingxuan." "Is it bad to be called Aotian?" The elder sighed. "You became a god of war at age fourteen and are undefeatable. You are the best of the century and possess power and beauty. Everyone fears and respects you. Your friends love you, are obsessed with you, and will never leave you. What is bad about this life?" "Everything''s great about this life." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "But it''s too fake." "If you don''t like it, we can change to another one." The elder shook his head. Time spun and they returned to hundreds of years ago. At age fifteen, Ye Aotian lost the ability to cultivate. His skills even decreased and he fell lower than a warrior. He was looked down upon and even the girl he had been arranged to marry from childhood rejected him. Then when he was eighteen years old, the elder re-appeared and gave him new hope. "Are you satisfied with this life?" "Why do I have to cultivate?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "You can turn into an inflator but why do I have to pump myself with gas for no reason? Why can''t I just live?" "I see." The elder finally understood. "You don''t like to cultivate." The world instantly darkened and all fell into the void. The universe opened again and created a new world. History rolled by until it came to modern day. The masterpiece Dies Irae welcomed its highest wave of popularity. The biggest guild of the gameDragon Guildguided the most elite players to start a new historical mission: recreation of the gods. They fought past all the obstacles to the temple of gods. There was only one step before they could push open the door and became the new gods. But just then, the guild leader, general of the elite group, and the strongest warrior of the game, Dragon Aotian, went offline! The game company quickly sent a video call to Dragon Aotian. "Hello, this is Wang, the GM of the game company." "Wang?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the old man with white hair in the screen. "Aren''t you the elder?" "Haha, how come you went offline?" Wang asked after clearing his throat. "Is there something wrong with the game?" "Oh, no." Ye Qingxuan pointed to the stove behind him. "I got hungry and I''m making ramen now." "The entire league is waiting for you! There''s only one last step of the mission!" Wang was stunned. "Can''t you finish it before eating?" Ye Qingxuan thought a bit and said, "Your game is boring. I don''t want to play anymore." "No, you must play it." Wang cried, "The main plot hasn''t started yet! You have to enter the game warehouse. We have to wait until you defeat the last boss before we can bomb the warehouse and send you to the other realm!" "Why do I have to get bombed?" Ye Qingxuan asked blankly. "Why do I have to go to the other realm?" "If you go to the other realm, you can rule the world with the most powerful character in the system!" Wang wiped at his cold sweat. "And haven''t you been working on this mission? If you complete it, you''ll be at god level!" "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded. Slurping his noodles, he said, "Why do I have to go to the other realm for no reason? They might not even have toilet paper there." Wang was silent for a long time. Then the screen flashed and someone appeared. "Hello, I am the manager of the game company. My name is Zhao" "Elder, you just said that you''re Wang." The man''s expression was unchanged as if he did not hear anything. "Based off of your feedback, we''ve decided not to send you to the other realm. If you finish this mission, we can send you back to be reborn." Ye Qingxuan drank soup and asked, "Why am I being reborn?" "You already know all the secrets, missions, plots, and hidden jobs of the game," the person said. "After being reborn, you can become the most powerful in the game! You can win money!" "But I don''t want to play games." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head. "I don''t want to be reborn either. My life is good right now." "If you''re reborn, you can get the school beauty!" Wang advised. "Or you can buy a house in the big city! You can make a fortune!" Staring at him, Ye Qingxuan took his time to finish the noodles. Then he set down his bowl and asked seriously, "Being reborn to buy a house? Do you think I''m stupid?" The man fell silent. He was covered in sweat. Annoyed, he tugged at his tie and lit a cigarette. Inhaling angrily, he muttered, "Bro, isn''t this just a dream? Why can''t you go with the script? Don''t you how hard it is for us to get subscriptions and ratings? What do you want? Tell me and I''ll take it!" 448 But I Just Don’t Like I "What exactly do you want to do?" "Nothing." Sprawled on the sofa, Ye Qingxuan cocked his head and found a comfortable position. "Life is short. Can''t you let me lie down properly?" "You think life is too short?" The one in charge brightened. "I have an idea!" Instantly, the world caved in and history ended. After who knew how long, a giant was born from the turbidity. He opened up a new world, clear air rose up and polluted air dropped down, and all began to grow. Time passed and a towering mountain rose in the west of Jiuzhou. It pierced the clouds. It had been thousands of years since the world had ended. Now, Mount Zhou was nothing like before and instead felt pure and peaceful. A group of boys waiting at the foot of the mountain looked up. The white clouds had transformed into a jade staircase. It extended from heaven''s door and landed beside their feet. "The Sacred Qingxuan Sect will reopen its doors today and accept apprentices!" a majestic voice rang out from the clouds. "Anyone interested may come. After you pass through the three challenges, you will become my apprentice! If you can cultivate successfully, you will naturally be able to enjoy longevity with no worry of disasters or catastrophes. You will shine with the sun and moon and live forever with the Earth!" With that, the group cheered. They began climbing the path of clouds with all their might to reach the peak. But then, atop a large white stork at the peak, the majestic voice seemed to realize something. "Huh?" A beam of light fell from the sky. The majestic monk stood before the bedraggled youth. Holy light shone in his eyes. He looked both overjoyed and shocked. On the other hand, the youth looked at him indifferently. "Elder, are you here to compliment me?" "A natural saint! A natural saint!" The monk laughed heartily and then looked at him solemnly. "Child, I am the most powerful of Jiuzhou, Xuanqi. Are you willing to be my personal apprentice, cultivate with me, and enjoy the path to sainthood with me?" "Elder" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Why do you have so many tricks? Is this really my dream?" ''Xuanqi'' looked at his indifference and could not but sigh. He waved and the stork, flowing clouds, and mountains all disappeared. Bending down, he looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Ye Qingxuan, ruling the world, being undefeatable, being immortalthese are beautiful dreams that people aren''t able to have no matter what. Don''t be too picky." "I don''t like it." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I just want to lie down." "Would you like me to give you another game storage?" The elder rubbed his hands in anticipation. "Can you listen to me?" Ye Qingxuan looked down on him. "Who even are you?" "I am you, Ye Qingxuan." The elder changed. Sighing, his surface sloughed down. What replaced him was a blurry figure that looked a bit like Ye Qingxuan. "I am the notes in your consciousness'' music theory. I am the musician part of you. I am a part of the Dreamweaver, the spirit made from the thousand-year music theory of the Ye family. I am able to project into a human shape through your cognition. It is my duty to help you choose a dream." "Oh." After a long while, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I don''t want any dream. You can go." "Don''t say that!" The projection looked at him pitifully. He pulled many thick books from his pocket like a lonely and helpless salesman. "I have the dreams of all the Dreamweavers here. One must suit you! Please just choose one!" He flipped open the first one. "Look at this, the warlord of a city! This is really popular in the strange organisms of the aether world! What do you think?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Too troublesome." "You want to sublimate and know the meaning of the Originator?" The projection''s voice grew dark and mysterious as he opened another book. "Endless aether! This is good too!" Ye Qingxuan was expressionless. "I don''t want to scare myself when I''m bored." "Would you like to try the end of the world?" "No." Finally, the projection lost his temper. "You won''t learn this, won''t learn thatwhat are you doing? You want me to make it impossible for you to become a musician?" Ye Qingxuan was unmoved. The projection caved in. With teary eyes, he stared imploringly at Ye Qingxuan. "My friend, can you not make things difficult for me? This is the prototype of all symphonies of predestination of the Ye family lords! "Even if you take it and don''t use it, or just play with it when you''re bored, it''s still good! Plus, there are also many amazing experiences waiting for you! Can''t you just choose one? It''s free!" "Sorry, I truly am tired." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I don''t want those stories of going through extreme happiness and sadness, ups and downs, before finally reaching the pinnacle of life. Can''t you let me go?" The projection was depressed but angry. "What''s so bad about these great adventures?" "The only thing I don''t lack in life is adventure. Really." Ye Qingxuan sighed heavily. "Every time, I''m tormented until I want to die. Please let me go. I really don''t want any more adventures." "You''re a musician! You''re a Dreamweaver!" The projection almost had a mental breakdown. Yanking on Ye Qingxuan''s collar, he roared, "What do you want?!" Ye Qingxuan did nothing as the projection yanked him up by the collar and spit fell on his face. He just sighed and pleaded, "I just want to rest." The moment, the entire world quieted down. Then something shattered in the distance. The world shook, the sun and moon dimmed, everything withered and lost color. The world turned black and white. The projection let go and said, "You win." Its stiff body quickly cracked and fell apart like a broken mirror. After breaking through the first dreamscape, the second also fell apart. Ye Qingxuan felt himself falling. Falling to the deepest part of his consciousness, to the lowest level of his dream. Falling tothe end of his dream. - This was a silent and empty world, the bottom of his sub-consciousness, and the origin of his consciousness. It connected his so-called sense of self, his true self, and his supra-self. Other than ''self,'' there was nothing else. Nothing else? Is there really nothing else? Ye Qingxuan thought. He walked forward in silence. After some time, he finally saw the figure standing before him in the distance. The moon had risen into the sky without him realizing. The moonlight fell on the man like clothing, reflecting with a serene glow. Ye Qingxuan looked at him and sighed. "You really are here." "I''ve been waiting for a long time." The seemingly familiar figure chuckled. He turned around and smiled pleasantly. "Little Yezi, you finally came to see me." He reached out to embrace the young man but Ye Qingxuan stepped to the side and brushed past him. Ye Lanzhou turned in confusion and saw Ye Qingxuan continue walking forward. "Little Yezi, you''re already at the end of your dream! Where are you going?" Ye Lanzhou stared at his back in shock. "We''ve been separated for so many years. Don''t you want to see me? Don''t you have anything to say to me?" At the end of the end, Ye Qingxuan heard his voice and turned around. "Enough. Just let me sleep in peace." Ye Lanzhou faded and dissipated. The music theory projection gaped as Ye Qingxuan walked into the distance, disappearing somewhere. Was there an end to the end of the dream? Ye Qingxuan did not know. "Finally, it is quiet." He curled up in the nothingness and closed his eyes. This time, he finally did not have to dream anymore. - Under the serene moonlight, the sleeping Ye Qingxuan flipped over. The coldness and indifference in his brows disappeared, becoming peaceful and relaxed. He seemed to have finally escaped from the layers of causes and effects and the complex reality. He had run to somewhere without people or dreams and slept in peace. As he slept, the world became peaceful as well. 449 Those Young Monsters In the Anglo Embassy, it was afternoon. The well-dressed ambassador wore his sword, looking a little agitated as the time passed by. Finally, when it was about six o''clock, he sighed and asked the secretary, "How long has he been asleep?" "About fourteen hours." The secretary replied, "I told the maid not to disturb him when he came back this morning, and then he never left the room." "Maybe he has already gone?" The ambassador looked to his side. The old musician shook his head. "He is still in the room but he seems to be transforming his musical theory. We''d better not to disturb him at this moment. Otherwise, if there is any problem, I am afraid the consequences will be unpredictable. " Hearing this, the ambassador sighed helplessly. "It seems that he will be unable to attend." Before leaving the city, Maxwell had told the ambassador secretly that although Ye Qingxuan had no establishment and position in the embassy, they should treat him the same as they treated Maxwell. If anyone dared to disrespect him, he would be accused of disrespecting the royal family. As a result, Ye Qingxuan was able to eat for free in the embassy for such a long time. Everyone here regarded him as the successor of Maxwell, the future cabinet minister. Moreover, Ye Qingxuan did have a crucial position in the Fifth Department and he also served temporarily in the Silent Authority. He might usually ignore trivial affairs but once something really happened, he was definitely a crucial figure. The ambassador would not have wanted to disturb him if it had not been for an invitation to an important party today and Ye Qingxuan was especially invited. After another ten minutes, the ambassador sighed and got up to command the secretary. "It seems that Mr. Ye is unable to come to dinner today. You choose a gift for him and I will bring it to the banquet. At least it won''t be impolite." The secretary nodded and quickly prepared a gift that Ye Qingxuan would give for ''being ill'' and unable to attend. Two minutes later, the ambassador and his wife boarded the carriage to the Embassy of Burgundy. Soon the carriage stopped before another mansion in the embassy district. It was already late, but the Burgundy Embassy''s lights were all on. The traffic rushed before the Embassy of Burgundy. There were constantly well-dressed nobles and ambassadors getting out of the carriages and attending this party with invitations. The ninth of December was the national day of Burgundy, as well as the 300th anniversary of the celebration. The Embassy prepared a lot to celebrate this day and many people were invited. Within a few short hours, rich businessmen and nobles from all over the world had gathered here. There were officials and saints from the Sacred City as well. The carriage with Anglo''s emblem parked in front of the embassy. The ambassador got off with his wife. Soon, a well-dressed attendant welcomed them and guided the two into the hall. In the ballroom, Ambassador Bertrand, clad in a suit, seemed to have waited for a long time. Due to taking care of his body, there wasn''t the slightest sign of aging in his appearance. He did not look like a man in his fifties at all but a middle-aged man in his prime. Behind him stood a handsome young man, who seemed to be his nephew. "Mr. Baird, welcome." After exchanging greetings with Anglo''s ambassador for a moment, Bertrand could not restrain his curiosity and looked to his side. "Has Mr. Ye not come yet?" Baird smiled wryly and sent the gift that had been prepared. "Last night, it snowed. Mr. Ye had a cold and couldn''t come tonight. He asked me to convey his regrets to you." "I see." Bertrand sighed. "It''s our mistake. We should have sent the invitation to Mr. Ye earlier. Please let Mr. Ye know that the Embassy of Burgundy will always welcome his visit." After the two exchanged the pleasantries, the young man behind Bertrand left. Baird didn''t care about it but looked to Bertrand. Both were ambassadors of foreign countries and had often met each other in the Sacred City. However, their rivalry did not damage the friendship between the two. They were even members of the same bridge club. Having such great ties, Baird did conceal any more. "My old friend, don''t you think it''s inappropriate?" Baird looked at Bertrand and whispered, "Although there is no official position for Mr. Ye in our embassy, he is distinguished at least. How could you be so careless to send the invitation the last day?" "I did not intend to invite such a sensitive figure like Mr. Ye." Bertrand forced a smile and shook his head. He took a glass of champagne from the waiter''s hand. The two chatted while walking to the corner. "This happened because someone wants to see him. I had to send the invitation on short notice." Baird frowned, immediately getting curious. "Who is so powerful?" "Who else could it be?" With a wry smile, Bertrand looked at the handsome young man in the crowd who was laughing with the other nobles. The young man seemed to have a wide circle of friends. There were so many nobles, different circles, and different schools here, but he could manage all of them. He must be something. Baird was stunned. He did not expect that the young man next to Bertrand, who seemed to be his nephew or a secretary of the embassy, actually had a powerful background. Soon it dawned on him when he noticed that the young man''s ring. "The Bourbon family? Which branch?" "What else can it be?" Bertrand, sipping the champagne, said softly, "The first in line for natural inheritance." The Bourbon clan, as the royal family of Burgundy, had many branches, but there were not many people who really had the lineages and rights. From Bertrand''s reaction, one could tell that the young man must be someone distinguished. Moreover, the emperor of Burgundy was seriously ill. There were not many days left for him. In a few months, it was very possible that the young man''s father would rule the country. "Which son of Louis is he?" Baird asked. Bertrand looked at him with a vague smile. "My old friend, he is the only son of Louis now." Baird understood his meaning and suddenly fell into silence. "Don''t underestimate the young, my old friend. There are more and more monsters among the young, such as your country''s new sword-bearer." Bertrand put down the glass and looked at the figure in the crowd with more fear. "He was an illegitimate son of the Louis family who was abandoned overseas. But half a year ago, he was welcomed back to the family and received recognition. Originally, they intended to use the young man as a bargaining chip but did not expect that the man they found back then was not an obedient puppet but a serpent. "In less than six months, he turned from the underdog to a public leading figure. Those who had been in front of him are now dead at his feet, including his brother Louie. In addition to his own family, he also won the support of the Antonevate family. He has an engagement with the grand duke''s daughter and they will get married next year. "Now, he is my teacher Mr. Richelieu''s favorite student, the future Cabinet confidential secretary... To tell the truth, during the days he stayed in the embassy, even I felt like there are thorns in my back. I can''t sleep well. Thankfully, he is about to leave for home after the celebration. That''s a relief." Baird listened to this wordlessly and felt a headache coming. "Why would he be interested in our sword-bearer?" "Who knows?" Bertrand smiled. "Maybe he wants to be a good friend with your Mr. Ye." "That''s not funny, Bertrand." Baird shook his head, drank the champagne in the cup, and finally glanced at the young man''s back. "What''s the name of the monster in your country?" "Don Juan," Bertrand said, "Don Juan Dieudonne Bourbon." - Don Juan sat silently in the resting room of the embassy. "What a pity, master," the attendant at his side said. "It seems that you are not seeing your good friend this time." "A pity?" Don Juan glanced at his attendant and laughed. "Do you feel sad or are you glad? You know he is now a famous demon hunter in the countries. None of those dark musicians who met him had good endings. You must be overjoyed that he can''t come, right?" "Master, you overthink." The attendant managed a smile. "I have changed. It has been quite a long time since I''ve had contact with my past friends. Everyone probably thinks that the Rain Artist is dead." "That''s the best, old man." Don Juan glanced at him. Perceiving the sorrow in his eyes, Don Juan laughed with derision. "Only you will take that title as a treasure. You only killed a few people and were chased by the Sacred City like a rabbit. Think about your bullsh*t friends'' endings. Poor old Colbert, why can''t you look further..." He put his hands on the ''Rain Artist''s'' shoulder and whispered his original name. "When my dad comes into power, the time for us will come! As long as that old man''s life and death is in our hands, what can''t we get? "You want to kill someone? Just wave your fingers and there will be countless people to help you kill and take the blame! Do you want power? What about financial officer? The royal secretary of state? Navy commander or the prime minister of Burgundy? "Compared to these things in sight, what the f*ck is the Originator? Is it worth risking your life to pursue? Is it worth your while to go through the hell for that d*mn spirit? Don''t be ridiculous, Colbert. Your future is under your feet. As long as you follow me, everything is at your fingertips!" After a while of silence, Colbert softly sighed. "Young master, how can someone like you not degenerate into a demon? It doesn''t make sense." "Degenerate?" said Don Juan, chuckling. "I''m so much dirtier than you all. Go back and send a present to Yezi." Don Juan fixed his bow tie and smiled pleasantly. "I really look forward to seeing him again. Will Yezi be startled to see me like this?" He pushed the door open and walked into the ballroom. - The banquet was at the climax. Ms. Patty, a singer from the Trinity Choir, was invited to give a performance for this pageant. The singer, who gave up the music theory and the path of musicians to focus on the melody, was already a master in the music field. Every year at the Winter Festival, she would lead the choir to chant hymns while the pope sermonized. Her voice was likened to the heavenly light which illuminated the Earth and gave salvation. Under the soft light, the elegant Ms. Patty lifted her skirt and appeared on the stage. She bowed slightly and was greeted with cheers and gasps. The old singer had some white hair but it did not reduce her grace. On the contrary, she looked full of the noble aura. When standing on the stage, she was not like a performer but the master and the emperor of the stage. The audience bowed their heads piously, longing for her voice as if longing for nectar. "You even invited Ms. Patty?" Baird looked to Bertrand. "Starting the year before last, she would rarely appear expect for the Winter Festival performance. I personally invited her to our celebration last year but she refused." "That is because you are qualified enough." Bertrand smiled proudly, full of pleasure. Today, he invited Baird to come over just in order to see his current expression. Worth it! It was worth it! Baird looked at his proud appearance and swore in his mind. But soon, he cleared his thoughts because the singing on the stage had already begun. Under the soft violin melody, Ms. Patty opened her mouth and sang. Her voice was like gorgeous silk melting into spring. It spread with the soft melody. The song seemed to land on the soul and rejuvenated the people. Even the skin trembled and the viscera swayed with the rhythm. They were intoxicated in the song. No one ever thought that music without power or aether could also be beautiful to such a degree, almost making them shed tears. The song began to rise like a stream converging into a river. The gorgeous aria quivered with the consciousness of all and came into the solemn song together with the choir behind her. The Habanera music from the far north rang in everyone''s ears. Everyone was fascinated, but even more frightening were the waves spread in the melody. It was the power of the aether! All the musicians present could feel that it was not a music theory but a mere song. However, there existed a mysterious magic so that even the aether was summoned. It emitted the illusion of divine light toward all directions with the melody. In the divine light, everyone felt as if the whole person was baptized. All the depression and irritability were dispelled. There was no darkness but refreshing and vitality as if everyone went back to being juvenile. Among the musicians, an old musician shook his head with a wry smile and exclaimed, "Have Patty''s attainments become so powerful in these years?" Without realizing, he had been left behind and could only see her silhouette. She could mobilize the aether only by virtue of singing. There was no music theory in her song. She purely used the spirit in the melody. Even among the monks of the Scared City, few could achieve this degree! After becoming a formal musician at the age of sixteen, Patty gave up the music theory and became obsessed with melody. But no one had expected that Patty''s understanding of the music theory had come to such a level over these years. After years of studying, the world-famous singer had relied on her own insights to advance to the Resonance level and even arrived at the Distortion level. Otherwise, how could she reach the level of the aetheric resonance with the ideas contained in the melody? The aether was tamed by the melody, spontaneously chasing along with the song and creating miracles! She mastered the aether with the will of man and created the light of heaven with the sentiment and faith of the ego. Countless musicians were envious of her. Everyone knew that Ms. Patty''s path to the top would be a smooth one. She had found her own subject. As long as she passed the completion stage, the creation of her symphony of predestination would be a small case. In just several years, a new grandmaster would emerge in the Sacred City. She would be the best, even among the masters! In the ballroom, the performance was about to reach its climax. All were intoxicated in the song. With eyes closed, they were guided by the song as if bathed in the divine light. If the previous a capella was a casual one, then with the advancement of the melody, the aether waves became even more powerful. At that instant, many musicians sensed something and invariably raised their heads, staring at the stage above. The aetheric fluctuations that hung by Patty''s side wove a complex and melodic glow. It was a breakthrough! She was about to break through! Patty was enlightened on deeper music theory during her performance. Now she was about to break through the shackles and take that crucial step toward the realm of grandmasters! In her chanting, there was some kind of magnificent power building. A divine power was conceived in it. It was so vast and pure as if it would forge the path to heaven! Seeing all this, the crowd gasped. They had underestimated her! She had spent so many years concentrating on faith and hymns and no one expected her to have accumulated such knowledge. The Scared City would have a new grandmaster now! To be able to witness a musician breaking through the shackles of Distortion and stepping into the realm of the master, anyone would be excited. The crowd immediately became attentive to witness this legendary moment! And now, everyone held their breath in the almost suffocating melody and voice. All were drawn by the song as if they were falling into the hopeless frontier with the singer. That power built and built. And then it was repressed and repressed. Until finally, the air was almost frozen for her and everyone was gasping for breath. As if expecting an earth-shattering explosion, they couldn''t help clenching fists and closing their eyes, ready to meet the peak of the storm. At that instant, the glow of flames sprang from Patty''s body and divine light descended from the sky. Patty took a deep breath. She gathered the insights and beliefs of her life, ready to ascend into the clouds in the next moment during the climax. Countless aether cheered and converged from all directions. A substantive aether sea appeared, interwoven with the melody of light and shadow. And just in that moment Everything stopped. Because a suffocating silence came. Those who had closed their eyes to listen and had thrown themselves into the chant, prepared to meet the climax of the storm, were stunned. Nothing more! The song was gone! The melody was gone! All sound was gone! The huge contrast almost made them mad. They had thrown themselves into the song. The extreme accumulation could not be released, which almost made them spit out a mouthful of blood. All went blind. Rather than erupting, the melody perished in silence! Everyone opened their eyes in shock and stared blankly at the stage, looking at the sluggish Ms. Patty. She opened her mouth but no sound was heard. She was frozen. Her face turned green and white. The force that had been compressed raged in the body. Suddenly, her skin broke apart. Scarlet mist poured out from the pores. The thick blood flowed from all openings. Doubling over, she vomited and collapsed on the ground, unable to move. She did not manage to release the chaotic music theory, which totally destroyed her. Her sound of heart was defeated by her power! Her efforts, understanding, and penance of the lifetime were all buried in this silence. In a silence, Bertrand first reacted. He rose and roared, "Why are you all standing there? Save her! Save her!" Such an event happening at the National Day ceremony was a disaster! Especially since it involved a world renowned singer He quickly pondered how to settle the fallout of the affair. But after roaring, he realized something was wrong. Something was wrong It was totally wrong! He didn''t hear his voice. Looking around, he opened his mouth and yelled but it was silent. It was as if the sound had been swallowed by something monstrous. Even the sound of breathing was frozen. Everyone was aware of the chaos and wanted to scream but they couldn''t make any noise. Glasses and plates fell to the ground and were crushed to pieces but it was still silent. No sound, no sound! Everything was frozen in this sudden stillness! What the h*ll was going on? All the musicians got up. They stared at each other but could not sense any fluctuations in music theory. All the movements seemed to be impotent. The notes were swallowed by the cold silence as soon as they were produced. There seemed to be an invisible black hole in the air, devouring all the power. They felt that the aether was still there and that it covered the world. But the aether that they could once use at any time now had no response, resisting all calls. As if...the aether had fallen asleep! This silence came suddenly like a ghost. And now, it was still spreading. Just now, it was produced from an unknown place and spread in all directions. The terribly cold stillness was widening. In an instant, it swallowed up the vast embassy district. If one looked down from the sky, he would find that at this moment, there was a big hole in the enchantment of Scared City. The hole covered the entire embassy district, forming a perfect circle. It was so perfect and so quiet, as if the kingdom of death had opened his door and all things fell into slumber. In deep sleep, someone quietly turned over. The next moment, the Central Church''s shrill alarm went off! 450 Acciden Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The copper door grated with explosive sounds. Before the frantic footsteps, six doors opened in succession. Archbishop Albert, disheveled and with his shoes on the wrong foot, clutched his hat and rushed into the Central Church. It only took him two minutes to reach the heart. "What''s wrong? What''s wrong?" Under the piercing alarm, he yelled, "What''s with the war alarm? Was the Northern Front destroyed? Did Anglo fall? Did the abyss blow out? Did the natural catastrophes invade?" The priest on duty was ashen. Seeing Albert, he rushed over. "Archbishop, the enchantment was broken into! I-I don''t know what happened, I swear. I only spaced out a bit and when I looked up, there''s a giant hole in the enchantment!" Albert was stunned. His expression darkening, the frail old man yanked the priest up. "Who did it?" "D-don''t know" The priest shook his head with all his might. "Idiot!" Albert tossed him to the side and ran toward the ball of silver light in the center. As his fingers moved, the silver light changed, quickly showing the location of thousands of tuning instruments in the Sacred City. The iron city was always covered by a vast surveillance enchantment. Cables hundreds of meters long extended to the various nations, connecting the world at all times. Countless steel towers supported the enchantment like a skeleton. Under the high tower were two thousand largescale tuners in coherence. They looked over the enchantment and aether at all times, controlling all music theory changes. Without a doubt, these two thousand tuners were the core of the core. The inner was divided between different levels but its importance was still undeniable. Now, under the observation of the Central Church, six tuners had lost contact. The territory fell into a standstill. They seemed to have suddenlygone on strike. It would be okay if it was just a strike. The other tuners could share the pressure. Even if only one tuner remained, the enchantment could still be maintained. However, the enchantment in that territory had been undone silently. All music theory that entered it would lose contact. It was like ice melting in water. There would be no more sign of it. This was more terrifying than direct damage! If it was damaged, it could still be fixed. However, there was suddenly a hole in the Sacred City enchantment. If they could not figure it out, the consequences were unimaginable! Even worse, could someone have done this purposely? Had someone discovered how to disrupt the Sacred City enchantment? Cold sweat seeped from Albert. "Oh no, this is the embassy zone" Realizing this, Albert almost turned green. "All the ambassadors are there. If something made a mess, the Sacred City would be humiliated!" Before him, the projection flipped and revealed the status of countless music theory operations. It was obvious that the enchantment''s self-recovery had not stopped. However, any type of power that poured into that zone would disappear. All aether had become ineffective! There, the observation showed a blank white space. They did not even know what happened there. Why did it have to be now? Why did it have to be when Nibelungenlied was sleeping and self-testing? Albert could not even find someone to consult! He stared at the enchantment''s control center before, sweat pouring down. His mind spun rapidly. None of the music scores were effective. This usually meant there was no aether but the aether density had not changed. After checking the operation status of the enchantment multiple times, Albert was going crazy. There were no problems at all. Just then, the alarm suddenly stopped. After a slight bit of unrest, the bubbling Sacred City returned back to stillness. Albert looked up in confusion. A beam flashed past and an indifferent voice said, "No problems in the enchantment, alarm retracted, all is normal." It was an order from the King of Red! The unrest that was growing in the Silent City was quickly quelled. "No problem with the enchantment?" Albert thought for a long while, scratching his head and cheeks. His expression grew troubled. "Then the problem must be somewhere else. But where?" Beside him, the priest on duty said quietly, "I have seen something like this in books before. Would it be something similar to a ''restricted area''?" The ''restricted area'' was a technique passed down with the title of Bach. It could be said to be his trademark. Where he was, all aether would be controlled by him. His authority was above all. If he released his full power, Bach could even control all aether within a thousand mile radius to act according to his wishes. The most important of this was establishing a restricted area within it. It was established with unimaginable forbidden attainments. Only his own music theory could operate; all others would dissipate. This meant that, if Bach wished, he could rob other musicians of their power. Even saints would be affected. This was the utmost highest author for the King of Black. It was the power that the king of all musicians deserved. However, Albert quickly rejected this idea after considering it. "No matter if this is Mr. Bach''s restricted area, India''s ''one with Brahma,'' or Taiyi of the Eastthese all have the control of aether, pulling everything under one topic. That is the only way to ''control'' it." He paused, expression growing troubled. "However, in this area, there is no music theory remaining at all. According to logic, if there is no control, the aether would fall into chaos. But now, not even chaos exists. There is nothing." He paused, thinking, and suddenly reached out. The projection changed and revealed an inspection chart of the Sacred City''s aether. Controlled by the enchantment, the Sacred City''s aether was repressed. Most areas were harmless white zones. Important places were yellow zones and there were even dangerous red or black zones. However, it was extremely strange where the hole was. There was no color. It was transparent. An uncolored zone? Albert went blank. What was this? To Indian ascetic monks, the world was divided into three realmsthe Kmaloka, Rpaloka, and Arpaloka. The Rpaloka was the world of form while the Kmaloka only existed in concept in the aether world. It was a mysterious realm that could only be observed through aether. The Arpaloka, the formless and colorless world, stood between the two. It was like a blank space between them. There was neither form nor aether. There was only nothingness. Apparently, true salvation and freedom existed there. Countless ascetic monks voluntarily went into nirvana just to experience this impossible existence in the moment between life and death. However, under the influence of something, all aether had sunk into silence. It was like an impossible ''vacuum.'' Though they were very different, Albert still felt fear after thinking of the details and distance. He finally thought of what this emptiness was. It was an aether dream. This was the music score that had been lost for centuriesthe Wyrmrest Enchantment! "Open the star map! Show me all the musicians in the Sacred City!" Albert jumped up. Clenching his jaw, he was frantic and angry. "Let me see what b*stard dares to disregard the Sacred City''s rules and experiment consequences!" The silver projection instantly changed. A vast starry sky appeared in the darkness once again. Countless stars shone and collided with blinding light. Each star represented a Resonance musician''s source embedded in the aether world. The complex stars wove amongst each other, covering the entire human world. The levels of Resonance, Disturbance, and Distortion were obvious. Above the Sacred City, there was a glorious light. It was the King of Red. And in the faraway Dark World, there was a similar sun lighting the darkness and opening up a new territory. That was the King of Black. Outside the clouds, there was a faint sun operating soundlessly. It was fleeting and difficult to track. That was the King of Yellow. The large field of stars flashed by. Soon, it zoomed in until only the Sacred City remained. Countless dazzling stars hung in the darkness. They rippled in complex patterns and operated silently. Just the countless music theories made one''s vision spin. The aether rose and crashed like tidal waves but were conformed to one frequency under the enchantment. It was dizzying. In the silence, the priest behind Albert looked up to observe. After looking for a while, he was stunned. "Nothing?" There were no abnormal signs. Just as before, every source was a registered musician. No one was extra or missing. However, Albert continued staring at the countless stars. After a long while, he pointed at a spot. "No, it''s here." The priest followed his finger and saw a patch of emptiness. But just as he was trying to distinguish it, he saw a blurry figure amongst the aether waves. The source seemed to be a black hole hidden behind the clusters of stars. It was impossible to see. It could only be sensed by observing the other stars. As Albert moved, the blurry star''s location was marked. It radiated with a terrifying vortex-like light that shot into all directions. It was aggressive. It seemed to want to sweep all aether into eternal slumber. Amongst all the unmoving stars, only that source was moving. Under the two pairs of confused eyes, it paced through the aether world, seeming to take a stroll among the stars. "Who is it?" Albert muttered. He racked his brain. What strange creature had come from the aether world and caused a ruckus? Or was a secret school undergoing forbidden experiments? In the next moment, the source suddenly disappeared. All aether was sucked into a vortex and disappeared as well. The glow disappeared. It retracted all of its strength and hid into the stars again. It was difficult to find its traces by observing the other stars. All that remained was a taunting afterglow that dissipated into the dark nothingness. After a stretch of silence, Albert raised his head. "Nibelungenlied, you''re here, right? Something so big has happened. I''m sure you know about it." No one replied in the silence. However, Albert continued to look up at the ceiling. He seemed ready to wait quietly until the end of the world. After a long pause, an indifferent voice rang out. "I was called forth by you, archbishop Albert. How may I help you?" "Okay, old friend. Stop pretending." Albert sighed. "What just happened?" "It was just an accident. No need to mind it." "Accident?" Albert furrowed his brows. "Yes," Nibelungenlied answered. "The evolution of a musician''s music theory caused the theory in the enchantment to be bloated. An endless loop caused the surrounding tuning instruments to lose control and cause an accident. The playing has been restarted and all operations are normal. There is no need to worry." Albert looked at the ceiling coldly and murmured, "Hopefully." 451 Out of Control It was dim inside the tavern. The bartender smoked behind the bar. The smell was pungent. Under the faint light, he looked down at Charles who was sitting outside the bar. The light illuminated his bald head, casting a shadow under his brow bone. His expression was hard to see. Crash! A fist-sized glass was slammed down before Charles. He jumped at the loud sound. The liquor sloshed, almost splashing onto his collar. While he was freaked out, the bartender pushed the glass over expressionlessly. He bent down and said, "Shall we drink?" Beside him was a bottle with the label scraped off. Charles froze and looked back. He saw a few men in the corner staring at him coldly. Gulping, he looked up for help. However, there was nothing upstairs save for muffled arguments. "What?" the bartender asked. "Don''t like it?" "Uh" Charles plastered on a smile. He was not stupid enough to say that he did not like drinking. "Don''t make the others think that the headquarter treats people badly. Since you''re Constantine''s man, you have to drink with us now that you''re here." The burly bartender cracked his neck. When he looked at Charles, his tone changed. "You''ll humor us, right?" Flinching, Charles nodded forcefully. "Great." The bartender grinned, showing his sharp teeth. He glanced up. "They''ll need some more time to discuss. We can become closer. Come, rookie, let''s drink." He stuffed the glass into Charles''s hand and forced him to clink glasses. With a bitter expression, Charles downed the cup. He almost blacked out. - After a few days of house arrest, the Revolutionaries seemed to have finally come to consensus. Changing from their previous indifferent attitude, they voluntarily contacted Constantine. Both parties came to this secretive bar to talk. Constantine brought Charles but after arriving, they only allowed Constantine up. He was powerless and could only leave Charles with the group of terrifying men. Before thirty minutes was up, Charles was pushed into the trap by these prepared men. The pungent hard liquor poured into his throat. He inhaled sharply and clenched his jaw. It was the familiar recipe and familiar taste. There was a unique type of private liquor from Avalon''s downtown. The craftsmen would put industrial alcohol, various pigments, and snake bones soaked in flavoring agents to the liquor, creating a ''local specialty.'' It was known as kerosene. The poor ruffians of downtown all called it that. Apparently, you had to avoid candles after drinking a glass because you could light yourself up. Other than drinking, one could also pour the liquor on a corpse for a combustion agent. After burning, not even the best forensic scientist or their own mothers could tell who it was. The liquor in Charles''s hand was comparable to it. In fact, there seemed to also be "Drugs?" Charles murmured. The men in the corner burst into evil laughter. The bartender arched an eyebrow. "You know the ropes? I didn''t expect this." Squinting, he picked up the liquor and grinned. "Seems like I''ll have to treat you even better." The order was to make Constantine back down voluntarily and embarrass himself but without losing face. The man he brought withnaturally had to be treated the same. The bartender was starting to get curious. How many cups could this rookie drink before the ingredients burned his brain? "Have another." He poured the overflowing cup before Charles. Seeing the youth open his mouth to speak, he pulled out a dagger and stabbed the pocketed bar. "I''ll drink with you." Watching as Charles paled, he leered. "Today, we must drink to our fill!" In silence, Charles stared at his glass. After a long while, he nodded. "Okay." Under the bartender''s shocked gaze, Charles threw his head back and drank. For some reason, the bartender felt panic. Perhaps he had made the wrong choice. - After who knew how long, the door upstairs opened. The tavern''s owner brought Constantine to the door and bid farewell. "Constantine, I''m sorry. You came for nothing." The man shook his hand. "Mr. Gaius has his own plans. I truly cannot help you." "It''s okay. I''m satisfied as long as you all are willing to see me and listen to an old man like me." Constantine sighed and put on his hat. "Thank you for your hospitality." "I won''t see you off, then." The man nodded. "Buck, help him out!" It was silent downstairs. "Buck! Buck! Where the f*ck did you go?!" The man froze, embarrassment creeping into his expression. "I''m sorry, Mr. Constantine. Those *ssholes don''t understand respect. Recently, they had heard some rumors and have misconceptions of you. Hopefully, they didn''t do anything to your man" Constantine''s expression quickly darkened. He rushed downstairs. Not many would expect for someone as old as Constantine to move so quickly. Anxious, he stepped onto the stairs as if wanting to shatter the rotting boards. Before he got there, he could already smell the alcohol and the disgusting odor of vomit. Stunned, he sped up. Hopefully, Charles was still in one piece and not torn apart by those f*cking b*stards from the sewers of the Sacred City. But when he turned the corner, he froze. The room was silent. Regardless of the bartender behind the bar, the poker players on the sofa, the guests pretending to play pool and darts, they were all on the ground now. Some panted drunkenly. They opened their mouths and vomited out sticky liquid with undigested black beans mixed in. The disgusting smell and the scent of bad alcohol were pungent. But in the middle of the scattered bodies, Charles sat in his chair, playing cards by himself in boredom. When he saw Constantine, he smiled. "Sir, you''re finally done?" He jumped down. "I waited for so long I was wondering if I should get food delivered." "Uhyeah." Still not having processed everything, Constantine nodded stiffly. "Whathappened?" "All Revolutionaries are family. They''re all so enthusiastic." Charles looked around awkwardly. "Sadly, they weren''t very hospitable because they have low alcohol tolerance. They all got drunk after a few glasses." After a long pause, Constantine nodded, seemingly accepting this reality. He looked away, pretending he did not see Charles subtly kick two bloody teeth under the bar. "The talk is over. Let''s go," he said. "Oh, okay. Wait a second." Charles knocked his head and ducked behind the bar. He put the things the bartender had prepared into his bag. Seemingly offhanded, he ripped open the bartender''s pocket and found a small packet. Sniffing it, he hesitated before putting it in his pocket. "Thanks for waiting, sir." Patting his hands, he ducked back out. "Let''s go." - In the carriage on the way back, Constantine took off his hat tiredly. He leaned in his seat, seeming to nod off. He could not help but sigh. Charles looked outside and ask, "Sir, will we visit anyone else?" "Let''s go back." Constantine shook his head. "I''m a bit tired. We can finish the rest tomorrow." Charles fell silent. After some time, he started, "Sir" but trailed off. "Yes?" "Your pallor" Charles pointed at his own face. Confused, Constantine touched his face and could not help but chuckled dryly. He shook his head. "As expected." Now, Constantine looked like he was exhausted to the max. He did not need a mirror to know how bad he looked. Even worse, he could smell the age and fatigue "When you become old, you start paying for your debts. The slightest breeze will make you lose sleep. Even talking to someone is like going into war. You must be completely focused." Sighing, he pulled out some medicine. Counting four pills, he dumped them into his mouth and swallowed with some warm water. "Can''t handle it after forgetting to take pills for two days." "Did something happen?" Charles asked. "Not too big of a problem." Constantine smiled bitterly. "If I guess correctly, I''ll be dragged over to be criticized soon." "Huh?" Charles froze, getting a bad feeling. "What do you mean?" "What it sounds like," Constantine said coolly. "I was deputy commander for so many years and had angered many people. Since my favor has fallen now, many will be happy to push me down further." Charles could not understand. "H-how, it''s so suddendidn''t you just come out?" "I was too na?ve." Constantine pinched his nose bridge and murmured, "Charles, people change. I was locked up for half a year and did not expect that everything has gone out of control. The Revolutionaries is nothing like before. Isn''t it logical for an old guy who can''t keep up to be swept into the trash? Gaius probably refuses to see me because he is hesitating as well." Charles felt a head-splitting pain. He had felt something wrong these days but he thought it was just safety precautions. He did not think that the house arrest and investigations were due to the Revolutionaries'' extreme distrust of Constantine. It seemed to be intensifying after he came out. What had Constantine been doing these days? "Charles, it''s not like before." He sighed. "It had been ninety years since the last burst of the Dark World''s beastliness. The active period of natural catastrophes is coming soon. The human world is on a tightrope now. It can no longer bear the internal conflicts. Even if it''s just for the big picture, the conflict between the Sacred City and Revolutionaries must be resolved." Gaping, Charles finally stammered, "Isn''t that good?" "Gaius might not like my idea." Constantine shook his head. "He''s already lost himself." "Whatdoes he want to do?" "Is that still a question?" Constantine lit his cigarette and inhaled. "Gaius wants to create a new world. He will definitely destroy the old If he realizes that I''m standing before him, he will destroy me along with those things, as well as the majority of those who support me." He looked at the blank Charles with a tired expression. "Charles, no matter what I choose, many people will die in a few days. Many, many. Perhaps because of me, perhaps because of him. This is my last chancebut I don''t even dare to decide." "Gaiusdoes he want to attack the Sacred City?" Charles could not help but ask. It may be too direct, but he couldn''t care less. He could feel that he was only one step away from the truth! But he could smell something terrifying. The dirty secret had a tantalizing scent, luring him to danger. "Attack the Sacred City?" Constantine scoffed. "Not just that." Clenching his fist, he crumbled the cigarette in his hands. Even though the burning tobacco scorched his palm, he could not feel any pain. "Charles, he wants to release a natural catastrophe. He wants to release the Dragon of Disaster that the third pope had sealed beneath the Sacred City!" 452 Ugly Late at night, there was no sound other than the dripping of water from the faucet in the silent bathroom. Hot steam hung in the air, thick and suffocating. However, some type of power had caused the steam to seal the entire room without anyone realizing. The detailed and complex music theory formed a system that melted into the steam. There were no ripples and sat between existence and nonexistence. It was practically imperceptible. Charles soaked in the bathtub languidly. He seemed to be relaxing but his eyes studied the ceiling as if there was something very interesting here. His skin had already turned white from the water. After a long while, a faint voice suddenly appeared in his ear. "The Dragon of Destruction?" The ancient voice sighed. "I see." This was one of the current main leaders of the Silent Authority, one of the saintsHandel. If it wasn''t something as important as the Dragon of Destruction, Charles probably would not have been able to contact him. Even Handel had fallen silent after hearing the report and verified it many times. He had been pretty sure but hearing the acknowledgement from Handel, Charles could not help but let out a sigh of relief. Intense exhaustion besieged him. He really wanted to pass out. After experiencing so much, he had finally found out the Revolutionaries'' plot. His mission was finally complete. He could finally be free. Charles just wanted to sleep now. After regaining his freedom, he would find a good tavern and drink to his fill with his teacher and junior. "You''ve worked hard." Handel''s voice had a rare gentleness to it. "We will prepare well." Silence. Charles waited silence. Finally, his brows furrowed. "And then?" For some reason, he had a bad feeling. Hearing his question, Handel was confused as well. "Is there something else you need to report?" "When can I back out?" Charles pushed himself up in the tub and asked quietly, "When will you come pick me up? I can leave at any time, as long as you" "Charles, your mission isn''t over," Handel interrupted, his voice serious. "It''s not time for you to leave yet." Charles froze. "You" He felt his vision dim and the panic thicken. He could barely breathe. "Youaren''t planning for me to continue being a spy, right?" Handel did not reply but Charles raised his voice. "Didn''t you say you''d free me once I figure out what Gaius will do to the Sacred City? Do you know how many times they''ve suspected me already? Do you know how many people outside this building have their eyes on me? Do you know how much I''m risking to send you this message?!" "Charles, I know this is very hard for you but we must think of the big picture," Handel said quietly. "Only you can do this. Your line of information is too precious. We cannot just end it now." "Then you do it!" Charles roared quietly. "You come be this f*cking spy! Don''t you have other people? Isn''t that bearded Mind musician yours too? F*ck the big picture! I''m done!" "Charles, face reality!" Handel lost his patience. "Do you know how horrible the consequences will be if the Dragon of Disaster is released? What use is it if we only know what they plan to do? Do we not have our eyes on the Dragon already? But who knows what else the Revolutionaries have planned? Only knowing this is useless! You think you can compensate for your crime with this?" Charles was silent. He glared at the steam before him as if trying to find Handel inside it. The sudden burst of panic made his organs tremble. Subtle pain spread from the bottom of his brain. It felt like his head was about to split. He held his forehead but could not suppress the urge to go crazy. The anger was like iron and fire. It wanted to beat down on his consciousness and spirit, to tear apart his body, and burn his soul to ashes. His body shook from the painful torment. He wanted to cry and sob. "How can you do this?" he murmured. Snot and tears rolled down pathetically, falling into the water that had become cloudy and cold. He stared at the steam, choking. "Thisisn''t what you said before. Please, just let me go. Why does everyone have to be like this? I really am just a failure. People like me can''t be spies, really. I never did anything right in my life, and now I''m not even a musician. I already ran away but why do you have to force me? "Mr. Handel, you''re a saint, you''re an important figure. I know that if you want, you can do anything. I''m begging you, let me goplease" "Charles, you must do it," Handel said. "Only you can." "It''s useless even if I stay," Charles pleaded. "Mr. Constantine is already being excluded. I can''t get anything from him." "Then change to someone else," Handel said coldly. "Change to someone who can truly give you information." Charles blanched. For some reason, he felt a terrifying coldness from the marrow of his bones. It swallowed him, making him unable to speak. "Youwhat do you mean?" "Listen, Charles. Constantine is useless now. You must change your track." Handel''s voice was gentle. "I will secretly arrange for you to meet with Gaius''s man tomorrow. At that time, you''ll tell them Constantine''s plan. After he''s removed by Gaius, you''ll naturally enter their true core in the Sacred City." "Impossible!" Charles yelped. Sensing the coldness from the other end of the connection, he tried to explain, "Even if I betray Constantine, they still won''t trust me." "You don''t have to worry about that. The Silent Authority will help you gain their trust." Handel seemed to be confident but his voice had turned cold. "However, you must understand that you don''t have much time left. Charles, if you fail, you will not be the only one dying. Your teacher will also be sent to hell for his past relationship with Gaius. "Without the Sacred City, no one will be able to save you. I hope you will not hesitate anymore and promptly make the correct choice." The connection cut off. In the silence, there was only the sound of icy droplets falling into the tub from the ceiling. Charles sat dumbly in the water as if he was frozen. He stared at the water vapor and opened his mouth to speak but he did not know how to continue speaking with Handel. He just felt his vision darkening. His headache was getting worse as if it wanted to tear him apart and knock him unconscious. In his daze, he felt the icy droplets fall onto his face. They were blood-red. Blood dropped from the ceiling into the tub, dying the water red. The entire world seemed to decay as if thousands of years had passed. Grime covered the bathroom, cobwebs appeared, and everything was dilapidated. Demons stared into this world from the broken mirror. "Again." Charles held his almost-shattering forehead. Bearing the pain of his sanity cracking apart, he heaved. "F*ckingagain" His fingers trembled. With difficulty, he felt around on the stand. Finding the packet, he yanked it down. There was a new glass syringe, a small vial of salt water, and an average packet inside. "It gotta workit gotta work" He tore the packet apart with shaking fingers. He carefully dumped the powder into the salt water. A lot fell onto the ground but most dissolved in the water. He lowered the syringe into the salt water, sucking up the murky liquid. Finally, he raised it before his eyes. Charles stared dumbly at the sharp needle for a while before laughing emptily. Without hesitating anymore, he pierced the vein in his wrist and injected himself. The drug''s effect came quickly. The world was no longer terrifying. Even the blood and demons became heartwarming. The faraway shadows held hands and danced with Charles, singing softly and laughing innocently like children. Flashes of color and light appeared before his eyes. They were as dazzling as a dream. In the dream, a blurry figure caressed his cheeks. Strands of long hair fell from her shoulders to Charles''s face. The dark red hair was so beautiful, like burning embers. "Mom" Charles lay in the icy water, embracing her, allowing the empty warmth and happiness to envelop him. He fell asleep. - "Charles." A voice called to him as the carriage shook. Charles opened his eyes blearily and saw Constantine looking at him. "Did you not sleep well?" he asked, pointing at Charles''s face. Blanching, Charles touched his face. He suddenly felt like laughing. He had asked Constantine something similar yesterday. Today, the situation was reversed. He knew without looking that his pallor was horrible. He managed a smile but did not dare to look at Constantine''s eyes. This morning, the Silent Authority had used a secret channel to contact him. Everything was ready. Tonight, he would meet Gaius'' right-hand man through a middle man. And then Charles subconsciously put a hand over his heart, trying to feel his heartbeat. And then he would betray Constantine Constantine would die. He would step on Constantine''s corpse and enter the core, finding the classified information of the Revolutionaries. So ugly, Charles. So ugly. He lowered his head. 453 Bell "Did you run into trouble?" Looking at Charles'' dispiritedness, Constantine grew confused. "No." Charles shook his head and squeezed out a smile. "Don''t worry about me. I''m great. I don''t have any morals so nothing in the world can scare me." Constantine studied him. He knew Charles was lying, and after a while, he shook his head. "The troubles of youth?" Sighing, he lit his cigarette. He had been smoking constantly these days. He could not sleep at night and in the morning, there would be a mountain in the ashtray. Seeming to remember something, he could not help but laugh at himself. "Before, an Easterner called Ye told me a joke. He said that young people shouldn''t be sad because of a period of pain. There are many more days of pain in the futurehahaha. "It sounds heartless but it''s true. When I was your age, I often thought that the world would end and grew hopeless. But later, I ran into more troubles and instead grew numb." He paused and patted Charles''s shoulder. "It''ll pass, Charles. It''ll all pass," he said. "All pain will pass." Charles shuddered and did not reply. For a moment, he almost wanted to stand up and tell Constantine that he was a spy from the Sacred City. He was going to betray the man to Gaius. But he did not dare. Charles wanted to cry because of his weakness and something else. He just lowered his head and said, "Thank you, sir." And Constantine smiled. "Oh right, this is for you." He pulled out a small packet and placed it into Charles'' hand. "I''m actually quite sorry for dragging you into this." Taken by surprise, Charles opened it and found that it was a new identification card. It was clean, well-maintained, and free of any criminal records. "I forgot to tell you yesterday," Constantine said, "Gaius agreed to meet me today." Charles froze as if he had turned into a rock. It felt like someone had hacked his brain open and Constantine''s words crushed all his thoughts. Gaius? Meet Constantine? Today? "Scared?" Constantine smoked and looked out the window. "Some things must come to an end. I will help you with Gaius. If I die, just leave the Sacred City. This is an identity I prepared for someone else but now he''s dead. I''ll give it to you so you can help live for him as well. In the future, don''t be a musician" The sudden change was like lightning in a clear sky. It completely shattered the Silent Authority''s plan. No matter what, the result would be clear today. It was fast. Too fast. So fast he could not react. The situation had suddenly fallen into the abyss. Constantine was ready to set things clear with Gaius even if it meant he would die. The result would be Gaius getting rid of him. He already knew this ending. But because it was Constantine''s decision, the Silent Authority''s next step was foiled, losing the restriction on Gaius. In a daze, Charles felt relaxed for some reason. Perhaps he would never get any results and perhaps he would spend the rest of his life in the Judgement Tower. But at least, at leastConstantine would not die in his hands. He would not need to be a traitor. He was ashamed by this feeling. Then he suddenly felt a gust of coldness. This almost tangible coldness came from his bones. His heart pounded and his face turned shockingly white. His veins were transporting blood but there was no warmth. This was a sense of danger. Horrible danger. Headache. His head pounded. In extreme pain, Charles sank into a daze but his consciousness left his body. It followed the sense of danger and he could faintly see a bleary image. "Charleswhat''s wrong?" Seeing Charles twitch, Constantine was shocked. But then Charles shot up from the seat and grasped his hand like a vice. He kicked the door open without hesitation. An explosion of aether tore apart the lock. There were countless carriages racing through the bustling city but Charles dragged Constantine out the car! The sudden change caused a ruckus. There was a string of explosions, whinnies, yells, and roars. Dozens of carriages crashed while trying to avoid them. Some innocent drivers even fell to the ground with broken legs. The innocent passersby all screamed and dodged. In the mess, everyone glared at the two who jumped from the carriage. Charles and Constantine tumbled on the ground. Constantine was old and had not processed everything until he fell. He moaned to Charles, "Are you crazy?" But Charles seemed not to hear. He just turned and stared at the carriage they were on. It was still going forward but slowing down. Finally, the two horses whined and the carriage stopped. Then the driver fell from his spot. When he landed on the ground, his flesh turned to dirt and slowly melted away, revealing the blackening bones. He was dead. The two struggling horses also melted away, blood spurting. Soon, all that remained was a pile of bones connected by tendons and clumps of fleshy dirt. A gust of wind blew. The carriage shook and turned to dust. Constantine followed Charles'' eyes and gasped. Now, the faint ringing of a bell finally traveled over. In its path, everything started shaking. Despite being so far away, their limbs were controlled by the shaking, making the people feel limp and nauseous. It was the Bell. This was written by the past saint Liszt and used the vibrations of aether to destroy everything. Even forged alloy would be turned to dust under the shaking. It also had a more commonly known name. "The curse of dust!" Constantine muttered. Before he could finish, a gray-clothed man walked out of the crowd and advanced toward them. He sighed. "What did I do wrong?" he murmured. "You shouldn''t have been able to sense any aether waves Was it you?" When he looked at Charles, an eerie light flashed through his eyes. "Whatever. Good luck always ends." Raging wind and fire grew in his hands. A music score played. The rhythm from his heart of sound rang out. Everything in its path began to melt away. This was the most extreme effect of the Modifications'' field of dissolving. What followed was the fatal blow of the School of Modification. It was A Hero''s Funeral! Now, his motive was clear. Without caring about the innocent bystanders or that this was a main street in the Sacred City, he was going to destroy these two! He acted like a bomb. Even the Silent Authority that had been watching did not expect this. Charles raised his hand instinctively. His fingers snapped and notes played. Instantly, delicate yet complex music notes appeared. Shield, shield, shield, shield In just a snap, identical shield runes shot from his hands. He could not use music theories but Charles''s control of simple notes was incredible. No one had ever thought about the effect of adding thousands of pure notes together. They could not do it. But it was natural for Charles. A shield instantly went from colorless to white and then from white to black. It shot up like a solid object, blocking the sweeping attack from the front. And thenit fell apart. Before the attack, the shield crumbled into pieces. Music notes were only music notes, just as how ants without a command were only ants. Charles could not control music theoryany theory would go out of control in his hands. This was his fatal flaw and the reason why he could not become a musician. Everything he did was just to delay death one second. This one second was everything. In an instant, a furious huff sounded in the air. Transient moonlight flowed out of nowhere. Everything illuminated by it felt less real. The surging fire, suffocating Foehn wind and air pressure, and the curse of dust that followed close aftereverything was like a fake projection, like a cool and clean breeze. "What are you waiting for?" Lola''s cold voice rang out beside Charles. "Run!" Her blurry figure appeared in the moonlight. With a snap, she hid their traces. Moonlight covered their bodies. They disappeared instantly. - At the same time, the gray-clothed musician huffed. He pounded the air with his right fist. Behind him, a bell tower''s apparition emerged. The bell rang! This was Liszt''s Bella heart of sound movement formed with the curse of dust. In its path, Distortion level power billowed, twisting the material world under the pounding theory. Everything was destroyed! Faint sound waves swept out, turning everything to powder. Even more terrifying was the attack on music theory! The School of Modifications did not only control changes of material and energy. Its core was the attacking, shaking, and changing of music theory Now, he used the bell as a medium to forcefully pull all music theory in the region into a state of turmoil. They all fell apart under his music theory. This was why Modifications was known as the way to end all ways when it was at its highest level! When the music theory collapsed under the turmoil, Lola''s figure appeared in the air. Behind her, the moon in the water only shook for a moment before recovering. The moon came from the sky. The reflection shook but the moonlight was untouched. It shone out from the broken water surface once again. Faced with the bloodthirsty gray-clothed musician, Lola chuckled. Her smile was extremely unnerving. The demonic blood within her radiated with a sinister and cold aura. "Such good luck. I haven''t eaten recently." The bone flute played a wailing melody. She narrowed her eyes at the enemy before her. He lookedtasty. 454 Troubles Don’t Come Alone Late at night, there was no one in the quiet alley. The stinking garbage rustled and Charles poked a head out. He breathed heavily and looked around. When he saw that there was no one around, he let out a sigh of relief. Then he pulled the barely conscious Constantine out. His face was green from the disgusting garbage and could not talk. After escaping in the morning, they had thought they were safe. But then they were attacked again. Thankfully, this was only a coincidence and the enemy could not get a more powerful musician over. They were able to escape with Charles'' amateur skills. More accurately, they had jumped onto a garbage truck to escape. After that, they jostled along with the garbage and were dumped into this stinky alley a few hours later. Checking again that they were alone and had escaped with their lives, Charles heaved with laughter. His smile was so joyful that even the two rotten vegetable leaves on his face seemed to bloom. Feeling around his pockets, he pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes. There were only two left. "Want one?" Charles rubbed his fingers and ignited a flame. Constantine accepted it weakly but did not dare to smoke it. He just panted tiredly. His old lungs sounded like a wind blower that was about to explode. Charles had never seen someone age like this. It was not just in flesh but also psychological fatigue, depression, and despair. "How many days has it been since we left prison?" Constantine asked quietly. "Twentydays?" Constantine nodded. It dawned on him. "I guess it''s enough time." "Enough?" Charles froze. Constantine chuckled. "Twenty days is enough for Gaius to clean out the Revolutionaries and wipe out all my menThis is probably why they put me on house arrest, making sure I can''t get any outside news, right?" He paused. Lowering his head, he smoked Charles''s cigarette. "It seems like Gaius really wants to kill me," he murmured. Smoke blurred his features, making it hard to see his expression. Charles remained silent. Perhaps, this had been Gaius''s plan since the beginning. When he realized that Constantine was standing in his way, he already made up his mind. He was not even willing to meet Constantine one last time, despite being friends who had experienced so much together during the decades. Ever since Constantine walked out of prison, he began going down the road to death. Now, everything was out. Constantine finally saw the final destination of the path Gaius showed him but he did not show any hysteria or fury. Only disappointment. "This is good too," he said softly. "At least I won''t have to make more decisions or do more useless things The ending has already been decided, hasn''t it?" Charles stared in silence and then looked away. He wanted to say some comforting words but they both knew it would be useless. He could not do anything for Constantine. Nothing he could say would change the reality. He could not even think of a joke to lighten the mood. All he could do was look away, away from Constantine''s pathetic state. Good, everything was over now. His spy career was over. Constantine''s efforts and hopes were gone too. They had both fallen into the lowest pits of life, the bottom of the abyss. There was no way to retreat. In silence, Charles put out his cigarette and climbed up. "Mr. Constantine," he said, "are you rested now?" Constantine shook his head. "I can manage to walk." "That sucks. You must run." Charles smiled wryly. "Otherwise, we''ll probably die here tonight." Just as he finished, scattered footsteps sounded outside the smelly alley. There was the sound of metal grating and steel boots hitting the ground. Coldness radiated from the clangs. Charles pulled Constantine up and rushed deep into the alley. However, he quickly realized with despair that there was a high wall before them. He looked at Constantine hopefully. "I know what you''re thinking." Constantine sighed. "Even if an old man like me could climb walls, would you be able to take me with you?" Charles said, "It''ll be good if you can escape." "Whatever." Constantine smiled tiredly. He leaned against the wall and sat heavily onto the ground. "I''ve run my entire life. My back is full of scars. Before I die, let me leave a wound in my chest." Charles laughed bitterly. He bent down and picked up a rock. But after thinking, he tossed it down. What was the point of holding a rock? Rather than hoping he could hit someone, he should just end things once and for all for himself. He sat down next to Constantine and they fell silent. The footsteps were closer. Something exploded. The wall behind them instantly turned to powder and dozens of figures burst through. They jumped out like wind and mercilessly pushed the two onto the ground. "Freeze!" a cold voice said. Swords were pressed to their necks instantly. Then the people who had distracted them burst into the alley, taking up the entire place. They weren''t the Revolutionaries! Charles was stunned and quickly became overjoyed. It was the Sacred City garrison! The dozens of soldiers were armed to the teeth. After scanning the entire alley, they were still not relaxed. The safety was soon confirmed. The leader sheathed his sword and waved at the black-clothed men pressing the two down. Then they voluntarily walked away. Charles looked back instinctively. All he saw was a blinding beam of aether light and the hand on his shoulder. The cufflink was unique and familiar. It was the sign of the Silent Authority! He was safe! He breathed in relief, practically crying. He had already been prepared to die in this alley. He did not expect that the Silent Authority would come save him at the most critical point. Thank the lord! Truly thank the lord! "We found them." A voice seemed to be reporting to the upper figures. "Yes, he''s with Constantine. Yes, they''re safe. There''s temporarily no other dangers. We''ll take them back nowokay" Charles let them put on handcuffs without struggling. Even if the plan had failed, he could still live. The Silent Authority had not used any excuses to give him trouble. Even if he would be locked up for the rest of life, it was better than continuing to be a spy or dying here. However, Constantine did not seem well. He was old. After running for so long, his tensed nerves had finally relaxed before being tensed again. When the musicians had broken through the wall, he had almost passed out. Or maybe they did this purposely. Thankfully, he was checked and would not die. The leader clearly already knew Charles''s identity. He did not say it out loud but he was not too hard on Charles. The handcuffs were loose as well. "You''ve worked hard," he murmured as he brushed past Charles, patting his shoulder. "No, no, it was my duty." Charles smiled instinctively. He was ready to say stupid things like ''I''m just working for the Sacred City'' when he suddenly felt something warm splash into his mouth. It was blood. Charles froze. And then, right before him, the leader''s head exploded. A giant hole appeared in his forehead. Through his forehead, Charles could see corpses all over the ground and a spirit-like figure emerge from the darkness. The figure slowly curled his finger back and destructive aether waves swelled. Everything began twisting under the heart of sound. It was the Distortion level! Another Distortion level! As the saying went, trouble never came alone. Following immediately, terrifying aether waves spread behind them, above them, and even under them. The Revolutionaries had done everything to kill them. Four Distortion level musicians! In an instant, the garrison and the Silent Authority musicians were on the ground. Now, only they were left again. 455 Take This Blood dyed the entire alley red. Under the pungent odor, the shocking redness and ghastly white ashes created a messy painting on the wall. Everything was silent. There was only the sound of blood flowing and bones cracking. At the front of the alley, the wraith-like musician in gray stared at Charles and Constantine coldly. However, Charles looked behind him and could not hold back his pleasant surprise. "Yezi, you" Yezi? Who was Yezi? And then it dawned on the musician who ''Yezi'' was Ye Qingxuan! The Ye Qingxuan who had killed six preparatory grandmasters with one blow! It was the young man who had shaken the world recently with his brash actions and the musician that even the Sacred Court could not handle! He was instantly nervous. When did Ye Qingxuan get here? And he was so close that in the musician''s daze, he could almost feel the cold breath on the back of his neck. The gray-clothed musician looked back instinctively. He gathered all his strength to fight to the death in an instant. But when he looked back, he froze. There was nothing there! He had been f*cking tricked! Fury instantly took over his expression. But when he turned around again, Charles'' face was right in front of him. As he ran, he used his feet to kick up a broken sword from the puddle of blood. Grasping it, he ran a finger over the blade, cutting down to the bone. The blood remained on the sword and converged into layers of runes under his mind''s control. The six-layered structure had more than four hundred notes. They were all different and yet connected. Flow, create, activity, formthese four zones overlapped into one. Something that an alchemist needed days of hard work was created in an instant. His blood seeped into the sword. After his music theory path was cut off, Charles became obsessed with mechanics because all he could use was his amateur alchemy and strange ideas that alchemists looked down upon. Even so, he was still shockingly skilled. After being guided and taught by Newton, no one knew Charles had reached this level He completed the alchemy array within seconds. The notes were activated! The blade hummed with a screech! Aether lay on the blade. In the blink of an eye, the blade vibrated thousands and thousands of times, pushing the metal to its limits. But just before it broke apart, the sword in Charles''s hand had gone from trash to a war weapon designed specifically to target musicians. He had replicated the Chainsaw Fraternity''s alchemy technique perfectly. It was the Sighing Sword! Charles roared. Using all his strength, he grasped the only chance and stabbed. The sword shook thousands of times. It broke through the levels of shields and was only one inch away from the musician''s chest. Only one inch! And this inchwas like an abyss! In an instant, a blurry object emerged from the nothingness. Scales and metal pieces scraped, sparks flying. The gray-clothed musician snorted. He did not even need to look down. With just a thought, the music theory within him transformed. He shattered the frozen blade without touching it. Then he pointed forward. The beasts around him began sucking in aether. Mercury flowed over like liquid metal. It formed a shell that pounced at Charles. It was a mercury python! So long one could not see its end, the python reached out of thin air. Even the air in its path froze. Piercing coldness swept by. Charles could not even fight back. He flew backwards. The python restrained him and he instantly lost all feeling. He could only hear his bones creaking under the python. The Summoning musician did not even spare him a glance. He walked past Charles for the unconscious Constantine. As he walked, he slowly raised his forefinger. Under the distant yet cold melody, bits of metallic light grouped onto his finger. It was a firefly that looked like metal sand. This tiny firefly without any aether waves had traveled past four walls and three skulls instantly. Now, it was aimed at Constantine. The murderous intent was clear. "Stop!" Charles tried to roar but he could not utter any sound. He heard his bones cracking joint by joint. His ribs seemed to have already pierced his lungs. There should have been pain but under the terrifying temperature of the python, even the pain was frozen. His flesh shattered like stone. Painless death was coming. But in this numbness, shattering pain burst from his skull. It swept into all directions like lava. It seemed to want to evaporate his blood, turn his skull into cinder, and burn his sanity into ashes with hellfire. The next instant, his eyes were aflame. The dust and illusions were gone, revealing the dazzling yet cold appearance. Some power controlled his body, filling his consciousness. It made him furious, made him roar, made him open his mouth and scream at the python. "Get the f*ck away!" It was a not a human''s voice but countless rumbles and noises put together. Thousands of wails and wild laughter from hell fused into one and left his mouth. It was as if hell was shaking! Instantly, the coldness and pain disappeared. The mercury python screamed and shot back as if trying to escape into the aether world to save itself. But in the air, it stiffened, crumbled, and turned to dust. His music theory was wiped by the aggression, turning into blank white space. The beastly nature fell apart. The gray-clothed musician trembled and growled in pain. The fireflies at his fingers almost scattered. The mercury python was a piece of his consciousness. After being raised for so many years, it had evolved into an aggressive beast. But now, the beastly nature had been defeated. His pieces of consciousness boomeranged back, cutting his sanity like icy knives with extreme pain. He roared. Fireflies shot from his fingertips. They cut through the sky with white air waves. They seemed to have transformed from insects into sharp knives, coming for Charles'' skull. But then, on his last breath, Charles smiled and raised a finger. "Take this!" Water vapor threads floated from his fingers, flying into the distance. It was Bolero! Instantly reaching the sixth measure, thirty-two perception threads came out of Bolero and reached in all directions. They instantly covered the entire street. They let out Charles'' desperate cry in unison. "Yezi, save me!" The next moment, a moonlight perception thread rose up to the sky. It crossed thousands of miles, sweeping across the air. Instantly, they tangled with the thirty-two strands and became one. The instrument strings that crossed the aether and material world have come from the aether sea! Jiu Xiao Huan Pei descended from the sky! In that instant, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei followed the perception threads and unfolded inside Charles. The pure music theory opened up. It flowed with his blood and followed the rhythm of his breaths. Countless complex music notes bloomed. They wove together and grew, forming a music score in Charles'' empty body. It formed an authenticHeaven Ladder! The resonance had begun! Charles instantly closed his eyes. Murderous moonlight lit up from his eyes. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. 456 Dreamland Instantly, the four musicians sensed the rapidly rising aether waves on Charles''s body. Student, Rhythm, Musicianhe soon broke through the Barrier of Knowledge, Resonance, Disturbance A spirit that was not his awakened in his eyes. The musicians felt a sense of danger and attacked at once! A magnetic field appeared from the aether. They were tangent to each other and sparked with lightning. Beastly nature burst from thin air. It transformed into a six-eyed giant and roared. Music theory crisscrossed. It sealed off the outside world with a disturbing nature. Air waves crashed, creating a vacuum. Formless poison rose up from thousands of bacteria strains. They formed spores and shot into all directions Time seemed to slow. The entire world slowed before the quickly operating consciousness. In the frozen world, Ye Qingxuan was still in Charles''s body. He reached out. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei sounded. Thousands of strings shot out of thin air. They intersected, all playing different melodies. However, it was not disordered but in harmony. Cold wind from the tundra instantly blew over. Winter was here! In the cold wind, the four musicians instantly sank into a daze, about to fall asleep. However, in their daze, they saw a flag guiding the wind. Emerald will-o''-wisps snaked out of the cracks. Frozen tears rolled from their eyes. The withered Bodhi tree froze in the icy wind. Life elapsed rapidly and their hair turned white. A frozen flood swept out of nowhere. Crows that symbolized death flew from their fingertips It was Winterreise! The Philosopher''s Stone transformed into the sub-originator, stirring huge tidal waves in the aether sea. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rode the terrifying power that was born. It operated in the void and wove together under Ye Qingxuan''s guidance. This was undoubtedly a twenty-three layered illusion! The music theory grew out of nothing and shot out from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. They instantly layered and dragged the four musicians in without warning. For the first time, Ye Qingxuan could experience the control Lola had towards illusions. It was as if a world of nothingness was created in his hands and turned into something. For a second, he felt like a god. But two seconds later, the first layer of Gute Nacht was torn apart. The four Distortion level musicians acted in unison. They communicated with each other and quickly found the flaws in the illusion. Another layer fell apart! The crows that announced death were instantly destroyed and disappeared. Ye Qingxuan sighed. His abilities were still not enough. The Disturbance level could disturb certain things and change them but it could not completely change something''s nature like the Distortion level. Otherwise, he would be able to let out the last layer, Der Leiermann, to complete Winterreise. At that time, the twenty-four layers would die and regenerate by themselves. There was no possibility of being undone. In addition, the spirit contained in Der Leierman was depressed by being unable to move forward one''s entire life. Once inside this illusion, all musicians would be forced to the standard Musician level. Unless they had a secret weapon or technique targeted specifically at illusions, the victim would be stuck until his body deteriorated and his mind fused into the illusion. Within a few seconds, fourteen of the twenty-three illusions were undone. If Ye Qingxuan still had no plans, the results would be bad. According to his Revelations sensing, these musicians contained three hidden yet sharp aether waves. They probably had some fatal weapon. If they were given the chance to take it out Ye Qingxuan had a headache. He quickly clenched his fists. In an instant, the fulcrums of the remaining nine layers ignited. They exploded along with the music theory, transforming into a huge sensory bomb, bursting in the minds of the four musicians. The extreme force transformed along the Mind path. Containing the hidden hint for the formless river, it flooded into their minds. Like mercury, it exploded in the depths of their minds. It was a storm of emotions and a battle of feelings. Bitterness, ecstasy, depression, sadness All emotions were forcefully stimulated. The musicians paled and went green. Their minds were in turmoil. Bits of memories flashed past their eyes as if someone had injected drugs in them. Even so, they did not let their guards down or give Ye Qingxuan any opportunities. They could sense that Ye Qingxuan was still far away. They didn''t know how he could cross such a large distance but he was not strong enough to threaten them. They were only passively accepting the attacks now because they were getting ready. Ye Qingxuan was using his now. When this wave was over, he would have nothing left. He''d just be a sitting duck! But just as they struggled to push down the unrest in their minds and music theories, they felt something serene rise from the broken fulcrums. It was moonlight. A white rim of cold yet arrogant moon rose from the broken illusion. It seemed so real. The white moon hung in the sky. Under the light, coldness seeped into every one of their pores, making them feel extreme danger and fear. Then the moon shattered. What replaced it was a sharp glint of metal. It was the Sword! Countless music notes flowed rapidly on the ice-cold sword of moonlight. They wove into a complex music scoredetailed and beautiful. It was like an artistic masterpiece but with mind-numbing animosity. What was this?! The four musicians gaped and all swore in their minds. No matter what it was, it would be bad to get hit by it! They made a decision at the same time. Music theory erupted as they all used different methods to stop the sword from falling. They let out their hidden weapon! No matter what kind of music score, all would lose effectiveness once out of control. If they could kill Charles before the sword fell, then the sword would become nothing! But in that moment, Ye Qingxuan smiled and closed his eyes. He seemed to be waiting for death to come. But also as if he hadfallen asleep. He entered Dreamland! Without a sound, something emerged from his body. It spread in all directions and enveloped the entire alley. All music notes in its path disappeared. The music theories broke down and even the music scores fell apart. It was as if a portion of the aether had disappeared and could no longer respond. The aether had fallen asleep with him. In the Dreamland, Ye Qingxuan felt as if he had fallen asleep but was awake at the same time. Everything in his dream was identical to reality. Through the dreamscape, he observed the world. Letting his mind loose, his consciousness transformed into a flood. It pulled at the endless supply of aether into slumber with him! Everything was swallowed by silence. The sword of moonlight dissipated. But so did the shields of the four musicians. As if they had put all their strength into the void, the music scores that contained their power all disappeared. They fell from the peak to the abyss. The sudden attack and terrifying emptiness paled them and they spat out blood. In their hands, the instruments that had accompanied them for decades turned into dead objects. The music notes on them extinguished rapidly and the music theory crumbled. The alchemy imprinted on was wiped away. The spirits that were created by playing countless music scores disappeared with wails. The shell was still there but the spirit was long gone. Four priceless and rare musicians were completely destroyed! However, they had no time to mourn. In their fear, a bigger sense of danger arose. Even more terrifying was that they had activated the three secret weapons just then! Ye Qingxuan''s grasp on time was beyond their imagination. These three alchemy equipment had been bought by chance and fate. They had just been filled with immense aether but before they could act, they were thrown into an aether vacuum. In the silence, even breathing was deafening. The equipment could not be saved either and were finally revealed under their gray clothing. It was a palm-sized figurine with a sword, a vial of beast ashes, and a strange key. They radiated like the sun even as cracks began appearing. Originally, their music theory had formed a system that blocked the outside world. But in the silence, the system was unraveling. The power sealed withinwas completely out of control. In an instant, they became active and flowed out. The equilibrium of the four realms was upended. The once harmonious theories of the seven schools clashed with extreme heat and light. The four musicians paled. They tossed the weapons without thinking and ran. Sadly, it was too late. A boom erupted in the silence. It should have been deafening but it was like muffled thunder that faded quickly. The three secret weapons broke completely. The strength within exploded just like how Ye Qingxuan had once thrown out the Double Snake Time Meter to self-destruct. The terrifying yet dazzling light flashed. Under the silent dream, the explosion that should have obliterated the entire alley was restrained to a small area. This made the destruction worse. In a second, the earth split apart. Bricks and dust flew. Silently, three bloody figures flew out, dropping in different places. Other than the Summoning musician who thought himself above relying on secret weapons, they were all gravely wounded. After entering the Resonance level, the musician''s body would evolve under the music theory and aether, becoming less human. Otherwise, they would have evaporated instantly. The tide had turned. 457 Take This Again! Among the three, the one who had evolved the most and had become semi-elemental was hurt the least. However, Modifications relied most heavily on aether. Under Ye Qingxuan''s heart of sound movementthe silent dreamhe was the most restricted. The music theory within him had mostly fallen apart. The Choir musician, specializing in bacteria and spores, was most gravely wounded. Most of his body was burnt to crisp and his brain had denatured too. However, his core was not hurt. If he could escape from the silent dream, he could recover quickly. Compared to them, the Abstinence musician hidden behind the alley was the best off. The moment the explosion happened, he had swallowed his key rather than tossing it away! Like Ye Qingxuan, he was an Abstinence musician specializing in the way of the territory. He was not as destructive as those who chose the way of discipline but this path had the strongest protection. After entering the Distortion level, his music theory had become its own territory. It had certain characteristics of the aether world. Distortion of nature had become an instinctive ability. Even Ye Qingxuan''s silent dream was kept out, unable to invade in the short-term. That was why he took the risk to swallow the key that was about to explode to forcefully control it. He had succeeded. The explosion burnt his face, shattered his palate and throat, and turned twenty teeth to dust. For a Distortion level musician, this was just a scratch. However, the result was still terrifying. A musician who had just entered the Disturbance level was fighting with four Distortion level musicians from miles away. Within two short minutes, two of the four were close to death, one was disfigured, and another''s mind was wounded. It was illogical. Whether it was the dumbfounding result or the terrifying nature of Ye Qingxuan''s silent dream in that moment, both would turn Ye Qingxuan into a horror story or myth once the news spread. The Wyrmrest Enchantment that had been lost for centuries was too powerful, especially when it was grasped by such a threatening man. He was like a nightmare to enemies. Thankfully, the nightmare was ending for these four musicians on their last breath. After restricting those explosions, the silent restriction was slowly loosening. There was no more strength. Once again, they felt the weak aether and faraway aether sea. The four exchanged glances. Ferocity flashed past their eyes in unspoken agreement. They had built their reputation through the years. If they were beaten by a junior and failed in the Sacred City, their reputation would be ruined. Now, they no longer looked down on Ye Qingxuan and instead saw him as a true enemy. An oddity like him should never be underestimated. Therefore, they began to fight for their lives! In an instant, the Abstinence musician pressed down on his chest and ripped a hole. Blood spurted out. His music theory reorganized and his territory spread out. It forced back the silent encroachment and pushed up a zone. The disturbing light moved through the air, clashing against Ye Qingxuan''s music theory. The two instantly fell into a fight. The pressure on the other three lessened. Under the Abstinence musician''s protection, almost tangible shadows appeared around them. It was the heart of sound illusion, only one step away from the symphony of predestination. There was an electric ring that cut through the darkness, a fleshy dandelion full of spores, and a dwarf with six eyes and three hands that could separate into countless avatars. These were their final products. In the future, they would be fused into the symphonies of predestination as the source for the scepters. Now, the musicians poured practically all their power into them without hesitation to fight against the silent dream''s omnipresent pressure. But Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. The four musicians shook and spat out blood again. Ye Qingxuan had opened his eyes and the silent dream vanished. The immense pressure instantly disappeared. The equilibrium of conflict was broken as well. Their bodies were hurt again by the great contrast. This was like taking a fish from the bottom of the sea and putting it in the air. The huge pressure difference would cause it to swell into a ball and explode. Under the music theory''s entanglement, the four all spat out blood and roared. They were humiliated and furious. It was this trick again! Ye Qingxuan used their own strength to fight against them! Couldn''t he f*cking fight fairly? Originally, the power of the four musicians working together could pulverize Ye Qingxuan once he retracted the silent dream. It was suicide. But the moment the aether returned, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was reactivated. The Heaven Ladder turned, pulling the uncontrolled pressure into the aether sea with ease. Huge waves crashed! And so nothing happened The four musicians were about to cry. How could Ye Qingxuan be so good at this? Regardless of anything else, Ye Qingxuan was best at these tricks. Ever since he had started this life, he had never fought against enemies at his level. Other than having a good foundation, he survived solely on his shameless and devious techniques. To him, fighting against the big guys was just a basic course. Using up everything he had was the normal state. It was just gambling his life. If he didn''t win, he would die. Of course he would use dirty tricks! Ye Qingxuan did not know what fighting fairly meant. He only knew fair sneak attacks and honest stabs to the back. Since the beginning, he had spared no expense the drag the enemies into his rhythm. Then, he used countless tricks and lies to make them show their secret weapons He did not plan on winning. He just didn''t want the other side to win so he would obviously just make things hard for them. He would do whatever was most shameless. The most important was the silent dream, a joker-like card. He could even fight four Distortion musicians with it! Sadly, he had put out this card already. Now, the four enemies had nothing else to worry about. The thing about sparing no expenses was that he had to kill the enemy in one go. If the enemy wasn''t dead after thathe would be the one dying. Ye Qingxuan could not help but smile bitterly. Charles spat out blood too. Using Heaven Ladder to cast the silent dream from so far away was consuming. The Heaven Ladder was where the Dreamweaver''s foundation was. Like a container, it would not be disturbed by the dreamscape. Otherwise, he would really have no solutions. But now, he was at the limit. In Charles''s eyes, the moonlight flickered and died out. The Heaven Ladder cut off. In the silence, the four musicians stared at each other. They could sense Ye Qingxuan''s departure but they were unsure if this was another trick or a defeat. In the suffocating silence, Charles stood up expressionlessly and stepped forward. The four musicians stepped back together. Their eyes were cautious and the aether waves around them sharpened. Did this guy have another trick up his sleeve? Then they saw Charles sneer and thenhe knelt down! With a plop! Charles flattened himself to the ground and cried out, "Please have mercy! I''m innocent! Ye Qingxuan forced me to do this! Ye Qingxuan is an *ss! He drank, and got girls, and owed the school thirty-five million, and escaped with his cousin! We could only sell our bodies to pay the debt" The only sound in the long, long silence was Charles'' cries. The expressions of the other four grew uglier and uglier. "You thinkI''ll let you go by begging?" The Summoning musician''s eyes were dark and his voice was raspy. He stepped forward. Fireflies grouped on his hand again. One, two, three, fourthey were like dazzling stars. Piercing murderous intent enveloped Charles. The strength was enough to flatten a building, enough to tear a man apart and evaporate him! "I know I can''t take back what I''ve done," Charles continued to cry. "But just let me lie here and express my apologies!" "What''s the use of lying down?!" the Summoning musician roared. He raised his hand and the countless fireflies flapped their wings to tear Charles apart. But then the wall behind him shattered. Clattering sounded very close to them. Horse hooves clacked against the ground with sparks. The thundering was heart-stopping. Two horses of at least three meters tall galloped over, dragging a metal carriage. They burst through the wall as if it was a sheet of paper. Amidst the flying bricks and mortar, the black carriage charged forward, crashing into the musician without mercy. In the messy boom, there was the sound of bones cracking and a pained cry. Then the stallions stopped. The carriage floated in place. The wheels scraped against the ground with a sharp screech. After bursting through two walls, the carriage stopped between the remaining three musicians and Charles and Constantine. After being ran into and over, the musician (who had been proud a moment ago) rolled out now as bloody pulp. It was unclear if he was alive or dead. The directionless fireflies scattered in all directions and quickly disappeared. This meant Charles had made the right choice. Getting to the ground was effective. In the dead silence, the only sounds were the horses'' pants. The already distorted carriage was kicked open from the inside. The door fell to the ground with a clang. In the carriage, the white-haired youth leaned in the distorted seat. His eyes were like moonlight. Studying Charles who was on the ground, he smiled. "Senior, I''m here to save you." 458 Purple-eyed Griffin "Senior, I''m here to save you." Hearing this, Charles completely collapsed on the ground. He did not even want to move a finger. Even the headache that was driving him crazy for days seemed to have disappeared. Reaching out, he wiped his tears and snot. "Yezi, you''re so slow." "I''m already fast enough." Ye Qingxuan got off the carriage and helped Charles into a seat carefully. "I rushed over as soon as I woke up. You don''t even thank me and just start complaining." "Don''t mind all that. I''m so handsome. It''s worth it to save me." Charles patted his shoulder weakly. Warm blood stained the shoulder. He studied Ye Qingxuan''s uniform with affection. "Nice clothes. Get me one someday and we can go act cool on the streets." "Sure." Ye Qingxuan took off his jacket and put it on Charles. "We''ll go out as soon as you''re healed. We''ll go wherever we want. With me here, no one will stop you." "Great." Charles smiled. "Those people are powerful. You have to be careful." "Don''t worry." Ye Qingxuan looked back at those livid musicians. "They''re justsome failures who can''t become grandmasters despite their age." The expressions of the three changed instantly. An almost tangible aura rose from them. A faint melody hummed inside their bodies. The broken music theories were rebuilding in their flesh, forcefully weaving back together so they could squeeze out the last bit of strength. Invisible flames rose from their bodies. Under the illusion of their heart of sound, even the air around them became distorted. If one closed his eyes, he could sense three vortexes open up in the aether sea. They were furiously absorbing energy. It was a furious determination and anger to completely destroy Ye Qingxuan, Charles, and Constantine! "Such energy at this age? Scary." Ye Qingxuan laughed, shaking his head. He casually took out a pack. Taking out a cigarette, he put it in his mouth. He felt around his body before sighing. Looking to Charles, he asked, "Senior, got fire?" "Hey, pay attention." Charles helplessly raised a finger and created a spark. "''Tis the season for acting cool and getting into trouble." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. He bent over and took a deep breath. In that moment, something furious roared. Three heart of sound illusions had become substantialthe ring of thunder, dandelion, and double nine-sided rune. The ring of thunder puffed. A thunderstorm whistled over. Countless dark red spores were released from flesh. The corpses all over the ground swelled instantly, blooming with poisonous dandelions. The air solidified. Dust rose up and transformed into metallic sand. They collided with red sparks, whistling past. Under the disturbing manipulation, this had become a zone of death. But Ye Qingxuan was still not reacting. In the deep night, the flame at Charles''s finger danced and sucked at the yellow tobacco. Ye Qingxuan inhaled, watching as the cigarette charred under the fire and lit up with a red glow. Thick smoke rose up and left as he exhaled, making his face seem handsome as a devil. Behind him, explosions continued. And then stopped. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath. He took out the cigarette and looked behind him. "Oh right, did you think I came alone?" The darkness rolled. Four musicians from the Silent Authority walked out. They were dressed in robes and held instruments. The aether sea became substantial behind them. They were four Distortion musicians! Using Ye Qingxuan as distraction, they shamelessly attacked from the back and instantly hurt the three. With the advantage of numbers, they forced the three back. They would have killed the three instantly if they did not want to catch them alive. Now, defeat was only a matter of time. The Sacred City was the core of the human world. The Silent Authority naturally had a team of elites as well. "Despicable!" the Modifications musician roared under siege. "Ye Qingxuan, do you have shame? Do you not have any dignity as a musician? Get over here and duel with me!" "Listen to you. Didn''t we just duel already?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him while smoking. "I''m still young and not skilled enough. You have to go easy on me and let me rest, don''t you?" "Shameless!" the Modifications musician growled. "Ye Qingxuan, you are f*cking shameless! You''re not a musician! You-" Boom! With the explosion, half of his body turned to dust. Ye Qingxuan looked away and continued smoking with a smile. "Worry about yourself first." Taking one last inhale, he curled a finger and casually threw his cigarette into the darkness. It cut an arc in the sky and exploded with a crack. Countless sparks escaped from the white paper and danced like fireflies. Under the disturbance control, everything in its pathmetal, water, dust, everythingwas ignited. Powerful fire emerged from it, illuminating the darkness. Under the fire, all music theory was influenced by the disturbance, creating undetectable ripples. And thus, a blurry figure flashed into existence. Someone was hiding there! Among the flying sparks, the figure raised a hand in shock. He covered his face and retreated. However, behind the sparks, Ye Qingxuan''s face appeared. He reached out and grabbed the man''s head. "Sorry, you''re late!" There was a scream and grating in the distance. Ye Qingxuan disappeared. In place, Ye Qingxuan shook and his finger quivered painfully. His illusion had been seen through and his fulcrum was destroyed. He had planned on using the sparks as the fulcrum. The moment the thousands of sparks blinded one would create Ye Qingxuan''s illusion and attack. While the enemy was in shock, he could also find a crack in his soul and plant a hint. Then, he would be able to advance further. No matter who the enemy was, he could instantly push him back. He would drag the time out until the Silent Authority reinforcements came with total advantage. Sadly, this plan failed from the start. The hidden man had instantly seen through his plan as if he had predicted it. Even when he was discovered, he did panic. He easily destroyed Ye Qingxuan''s fulcrum and there was no crack in his soul for Ye Qingxuan to plant a hint. This was a troublesome enemy And that was not all. Merely the man''s existence was hair-rising for Ye Qingxuan. He did not even know when the man had arrived. If Charles had not given him a signal with the fire, he would not even be able to sense that someone was hidden there! The man had blended his aether waves with the outside world and breathed weakly. If Ye Qingxuan did not have prior knowledge, he would be unable to distinguish his existence. This was the legendary Eastern ''one with the world''! This technique was rarely achieved even in the Abstinence musicians who specialized in territory! Ye Qingxuan clenched a fist. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei burst out, crossing in the air. Behind him, the white moon rose gradually with a cold and dazzling wash. The sub-originator was activated. Ye Qingxuan was ready to go all out. But there was somehow fog all around him. Strands of mist rose up, not even scattering with the wind. They hung in the air. In its path, all vision was blocked. Even the sensing of aether was blocked! Ye Qingxuan grew cautious. This was not mist. This was the result of ''nature disturbance.'' The enemy used music theory to directly act on the surroundings, distorting reality and creating something that did not even exist. Even the moonlight could not pierce this strange mist or chase it away. In the fog, the figure finally lowered his arm, revealing his face. It was eagle-like mask with a raven-like beak and dangerous aura. However, its arrogance and aggressiveness was way above that of a raven! It was the griffin! The face of the griffin! On the griffin''s face, the two eyes glowed with purple light! They were purple eyespurple eyes! It was the eerie figure that had flashed past the Judgement Tower and destroyed all records. Charles had seen him and feared him like fearing a beast. He had warned Ye Qingxuan to be careful and escape at first glance He had always thought that Charles was just scared. But now he truly felt Charles'' pressure. Stared at by those eyes, he finally experienced Charles'' fear. He had goosebumps as if he was thrown into icy water. In extreme anxiety, he was just waiting for death. The purple eyes did not contain any Mind hints or Illusion disturbance. They were just fully and completely inhuman. They were pure beastliness. Even the Butcher who killed without blinking in Avalon could not compare with him. This guy was just a freak creature! In a moment of inattentiveness, Ye Qingxuan heard a gloomy and depressing melody. His expression changing, he stumbled back. The purple-eyed griffin followed closely. He tapped rhythmically with his hands but it sounded like a steel drum. The rhythm was thundering, jarring him right down to the bone. The sudden yet cold music theory came like a planted seed. The nature of the seed kept changing. The surface music theory transformed, continuously adjusting its nature. It passed through the walls like a ghost. In an instant, it seeped into Ye Qingxuan''s body, overlooking all shields. The School of Abstinence emphasized shields the most. The inner music theory structure was impenetrable. If Ye Qingxuan did not allow it, he could block all influences inside and outside his body, let alone foreign music theory. But that music theory''s seed mixed into his system seamlessly. It sneaked past the layers of shields and instantly sat above his heart. Then, the seed exploded. The sprout of destruction began drinking fresh blood and growing 459 True or False It was fire! Blood was its fuel! In a flash, the ''nature disturbance'' hidden in the seeds was released. They began to wantonly construct music theory and modify Ye Qingxuan''s body. All flesh and blood were turned into the fuel of the flame until the Ye Qingxuan was burnt out from the inside to ashes. It was Over Burning Ashes! The movement of Saint Tchaikovsky was the most vicious killing method of Abstinence with the least traces. It planted the music theory''s seed in the enemy''s body when passing by. The seed lived in the enemy''s body to bear fruit. It ignited fire in the sound of heart, used blood as firewood, and burned the enemy into ashes from the inside. But it did not disturb anything else. All that would remain in the end were a complete set of clothes and hot ashes on the ground. Ye Qingxuan knew this very well. From the beginning, Ye Qingxuan had been watching this happening but he couldn''t stop it. Nature disturbance was the core skill of Abstinence School. For so long, he had thought he had mastered it at its bestigniting fire on stone or turning iron into a stream was as easy as turning his hand over. But now, he was defeated by the same nature disturbance. The enemy''s attainments in Abstinence were several times his own! In just a few seconds, the two sides had started warring fiercely on attainments of Abstinence. Music theory intrusion, field protection, nature disturbance and fine control As a result, Ye Qingxuan was totally defeated. The other''s seed of destruction penetrated his shield like a parasite in his music theory. It blossomed and ignited flames It had reached the summit! Ye Qingxuan could only defend passively and repress forcibly. He couldn''t fight back. Every move was controlled by the other. Within a few short snaps, six counterattacks were put out before they were conceived completely. FortunatelyYe Qingxuan clenched his teeth and reached to his heart. A blazing glow of fire was yanked from his chest and fell on the ground, burning vigorously on the corpse. If others did this, their bodies would be burnt out in seconds and the heart would completely turn into ashes. But Ye Qingxuan had no scruples. His heart had been sublimated with the Philosopher''s Stone and entered into the aether world in advance. At this moment, what was beating in his chest was just an illusion. Even if it was ignited, it would have no fuel. Even so, Ye Qingxuan still felt dizzy and became drowsy. If there was any delay, he would probably have been boiled to death by his own blood! It took only a few seconds from the beginning to now. Before he could react, he realized that his defense had been shattered. The purple-eyed griffin just waved and metallic scrapes spread like a blade. The violent music theory contained in the sound destroyed layers of barriers. It was more than just sound... In that shrill sound, there was a mournful whistle! It was the sound of blade breaking through the air. It was a dagger! How could it be a dagger?! When the purple-eyed griffin waved his hand, a knife with dark blade slid out of his sleeve and stabbed at Ye Qingxuan. The purple-eyed griffin moved smoothly and skillfully. He didn''t look like a musician at all but like a warrior who had killed countless people. That knife moved incredibly fast like an arrow projected from a steel machinery crossbow. Its dark blade was hidden in the night, flying a strange arc and attacking from his right. If not for the refraction of the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan might not even know why he had died! Even so, the knife was already in his sight when he realized. For a short moment, a continual muffled sound rang out. That was the sound of strings from the void being cut. At the last moment, a black iron cane popped up from Ye Qingxuan''s hand again and blocked before him. Boom! Steel collided, sparks projected, and the mournful sound rang. Ye Qingxuan was forced back by that vigorous power and slid back several meters. His face twitched slightly. He was not frightened but angry. He felt so wronged. When had he ever fought in such a sullen way? The other had taken the lead since the very beginning. He had to follow the other''s rhythm and spend all his strength in coping. He had no time to change tactics. He had never been in such a humiliating situation since his debut. With the cane waving in his hands, suddenly there was the sound of the strings projecting in the mist. He thought, You''re familiar with Western music theory, right? Let''s play another game! The Heaven Ladder was unfolded! He pounded the cane and music rang. Endless water vapor seemed to converge from all directions into the mist, agitated and restless. In the fog, thunder brewed an. The storm was set off. In a flash, the storm rolled the water vapor, forming a huge vortex and absorbing more and more water vapor in. Finally, a dark iron cloud was formed. Mournful lightning projected out of it. Lighting and storms burst forward. Then, rain poured down and lightning streaked out of the iron cloud. Thunder Primer! This was the "Thunder Primer," which was superimposed sixteen times at the same time. This movement came from the east. The musical theories ran in the thundercloud and were combined with the spirit of Indrah''s wrath. Endless thunder projected from the water vapor''s friction. Blazing light descended from the sky and struck seventeen times in quick succession. Where the blaze passed, the rain and water were vaporized and the soil was charred. The residual electric light diffused, pricking one''s skin. At the same time, wind wrapped around rain and hail descended from the sky with extreme coldness in which one could hardly walk in. Lightning as wide as buckets soared in the rainstorm between the sky and earth like angry dragons roaring in the music. Here and now, they were in the Scared City, but seemed to have come to a boundless ocean because of the shadow of the storm. The music was like chimes but also the roaring of a dragon! Even Mr. Hu might not have thought about how terrible it was to combine the Thunder Primer with Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, the so-called true dragon remains. Even though Ye Qingxuan was never good at Modifications music theory, his power was inspired to an appalling degree with the guide of the Ladder. Crossing seven schools, he had no rival! Moreover, it also contained the spirituality of Indrah, the King of Thunder. Facing such power, even the unfathomable purple-eyed griffin had to retreat. He retreated swiftly at an inhuman speed, suddenly turning into a phantom to scurry away. However, no matter how fast he was, he was still slower than the lightning of destruction unless he reached the Scepter level of the Modifications, the state of elemental incarnation and lightning galloping. The purple-eyed griffin was swallowed by the lightning in a snap. Ye Qingxuan did not relax. Instead, he kept squeezing the power of the thundercloud vapor in the clouds and constantly brewing raging thunder. The thunder dragon roared so loudly that it could be heard even hundred miles away. In an instant, there were dozens of lightning striking on the purple-eyed griffin. But then, the next moment, the purple-eyed griffin broke free from it. He shot out dozens of pieces of iron light. They were Scared City''s silver coins. The silver coins deflected the electricity and he managed to duck away. His whole body was steaming and flowing. The aftermath of thunder and lightning chopped in his body but most of the power melted into the water vapor as if the thunder was its clothing. Racing, the purple-eyed griffin whisked over the ruins and waved again in the air. Two reverse-curved knives split toward Ye Qingxuan again. In a wisp of wailing, raindrops flew out. The two curved knives left an eerie arc in the air, breaking through the rain. One stabbed into Ye Qingxuan''s chest while the other split his neck. Ye Qingxuan trembled for a moment, and then immediately collapsed into water vapor. It was an illusion with the water vapor as the fulcrum! Not far behind the purple-eyed griffin, Ye Qingxuan, concealed by the water vapor, approached and hummed coldly. He reached out and thunder stroke. Countless lighting chopped down! The purple-eyed griffin swirled strangely in the air. The music theory in his body repelled against and resonated with the aether sea. With the center of gravity shifting, he swirled in the air and pounced toward Ye Qingxuan in the void. Once one reached the resonance level, he was able to communicate with the aether sea with movements, controlling the huge power so that he could soar in the sky. What the purple-eyed griffin had performed was his resonance with the external materials by means of his perfect music theory which had been thoroughly tempered. With the nature disturbance, it was immediately like two poles of a magnetic field getting closer. Repulsion and gravity were produced in the void so that his potential energy was completely ignored. The power turned direction and strangely projected toward Ye Qingxuan. Such means could only be used when the music theory in body and the sound of heart movement were strong enough to distort the material realms. The normal musicians could only use external forces. In just a flash, the purple-eyed griffin had fallen from the sky and rushed to Ye Qingxuan. The dark robe smashed the storm and the lightning, fluttering like a griffin''s wings and descending like a predator. Fierce murderous intention was in the pair of strange purple pupils. He wanted to do it head-on? Ye Qingxuan roared and thrust the cane toward the purple-eyed griffin. In an instant, endless thunder and lightning descended from the sky and converged into Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, plating a layer of strong light on the iron cane. In the fierce light, the moonlight was building. Wind, thunder, and the moon converged in this sword. With the thrust, the spirituality of the movement appeared and evolved into the tragic illusion of a blazing sun. In an instant, the two men passed by each other. The purple-eyed griffin collapsed into strands of haze. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. This was fake! Where was the real one? Suddenly he turned and looked behind the carriage. The real purple-eyed griffin descended silently from the sky, pulling a serpentine sword from the inside of the robe and stabbed toward the unconscious Constantine on the ground! Constantine! From the beginning, his target was Constantine! He pretended to fight with Ye Qingxuan in order to distract him so that Ye Qingxuan would not be aware of this. Constantine knew too much and saw too much. If he was alive, he would definitely be a scourge for Gaius, especially since he was in the Sacred City now! Since four crooked musicians were not enough to complete this task, it was the time for the most powerful elite lurking in the Sacred City to act. A sword like a snake descended from the sky! 460 Reques The long sword descended from the sky like a snake! ''Like a snake'' did not mean that it looked like a snake. Rather, it meant that it had truly turned into a snake! This was a shadow snake with a blade! Ye Qingxuan had never noticed that this guy had such a crazy thing on him! This was a creature that existed in the aether world and was frozen in the Shadow of Natural Catastrophe. He did not know how it was made but by nature, it was neither living nor a demon. It was the solidification of a type of spirit. Musicians had caught it by coincidence. After bought by an alchemist, it was fused into a sword, creating a secret weapon that contained the mysteries of aetherthe Shadow Snake Sword. This was extreme sharpness and poison. Anyone touched by it would die! In an instant, it pierced downward silently. The alchemy equipment on Constantine shattered one after another. It could not even delay the sword. It was a sudden turn of events. Ye Qingxuan had no time to save it. Thankfullyhe had expected this! The next moment, radiant light shot out from Constantine''s body. The power hidden on him had been activated. Music theory was created, dividing the territories. The heavenly light cut into the world, enveloping him. It was Holy! Now, Ye Qingxuan finally had complete control over the music score inherited from the School of Stone Heart. Before he arrived, he had already finished erecting it. He knew how precious Constantine was. He would not let down his guard until Wolf Flute or other saints arrived. He must keep Constantine in one piece, without even a hair touched. Otherwise, how could he negotiate with the Silent Authority for them to release Charles? If he missed one shot, the opportunity would be gone. In the near distance, a fighting Distortion level musician was completely forced back and sealed into a statue. By fighting fire with fire, the Silent Authority musicians were also lightly wounded. Thankfully, with Ye Qingxuan''s delay, it did not get out of hand. These four musicians were all of the best assassins of the Revolutionaries. Not only did they have amazing technique and music scores, they also had the brains. After squeezing out all of their memory, they could still enter ''Armageddon'' and become a true ''hell musician.'' Every bit of them was useful! Seeing that he was unsuccessful, the purple-eyed griffin angrily slammed a fist on the territory of Holy. Unfortunately, even an Abstinence grandmaster needed to focus for a long time to break through the music theory of Holy Ye Qingxuan would not give him this chance. Without hesitating, the griffin turned after realizing he had lost his chance and flew off. Fog appeared, crowding around his figure, and he was instantly far away. "Trying to run?" Ye Qingxuan went after him but behind him, Charles used all his energy to rasp out, "Don''t chase him!" Ye Qingxuan stopped reflexively. He sensed a shred of murderous intent from the fog. Soon, there was a sigh from the fog. The murderous feeling disappeared and the fog dissipated. The figure vanished. He was gone. Ye Qingxuan stood in place silently. After a long while, he finally went back. Sitting beside the carriage''s skeleton, he watched the four Silent Authority musicians. They wanted to take Constantine away too but were powerless against Ye Qingxuan''s Holy. "Mr. Ye, you" "Contact your uppers. Get someone over here who can really handle matters." Ye Qingxuan lit his cigarette and inhaled. "Don''t tell me about the big picture and don''t tell me that sacrifices must be made for the Sacred City. "I caught the man, my senior was the spy, I stopped the enemy, and I saved Constantine, so I deserve this result. It completely meets the Musician Recruitment Bill. Even the Sacred Court will protect my rights." He paused, blowing out blue-purple smoke. His cold expression darkened under the smoke. "If you want Constantine alive, give me a suitable price." - One hour later, there were no more stars in the deep night sky. After fifteen minutes, snow began to fall under the cold wind. The Sacred City''s sharp metallic light was covered. The defined edges and features softened under the white snow. Layers of walls away, Ye Qingxuan raised his head. He heard the sound of snow falling onto the earth above him. He sat on a bench in the hallway and waited quietly. Finally, the lift opened slowly and Wolf Flute walked out. His uniform was covered with a thick layer of snow. Knocking off the snow, he pulled a document out and gave it to Ye Qingxuan. "Here''s what you wanted." "Thanks." Ye Qingxuan''s lifted his eyes and accepted the document packet. He opened it and saw the pardon written by the six cardinals of the Papal Church. Charles had achieved a great feat for the Sacred City and proved his innocence and devoutness under God''s witness. His crime was pardoned. From now on, he was no longer a criminal. Ye Qingxuan re-read it a few times in silence and carefully put into his pocket to be saved. Checking the time, he could not help but sigh. "Forty minutes? Should I sigh because of the Sacred City''s efficiency or that Constantine is heavy bait?" Wolf Flute lit his cigarette and glanced at him in annoyance. "It only took five minutes on the road," he said. "The Papal Church argued over whether Constantine should live or die for thirty minutes and then only hesitated about Charles for five seconds. The restheh, they spent five minutes yelling at you." "Let me guess." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Don''t know my own place?" "Disregards the big picture, unable to shoulder great responsibilitiesstuff like that." Wolf Flute shrugged. He sighed and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "Next time, don''t negotiate with those big figures. Even if it works out, you might not like it." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I think my price was cheap." "Idiot." Wolf Flute looked and shook his head. "The cheapest is getting it for free." Understanding what he meant, Ye Qingxuan stopped talking. Soon, the metal gate at the end of the hall opened. Charles walked out. The guard undid his handcuffs and the metal dropped to the ground. "Regaining freedom feels great." Charles rolled his neck and did some gymnastic moves. Finding the prisoner''s uniform an eyesore, Ye Qingxuan gave Charles his jacket. "The Silent Authority gives great treatment, huh." With the jacket on, Charles could not help but whistle while feeling the wool. "Such good material. This set is probably at least two thousand pounds, right? And there''s so much alchemy in betweenis this ritual clothing? I heard your Governor was destroyed. How about I add a new metal skeleton into this for you some other day?" Ye Qingxuan smiled helplessly. "Go rest first and we''ll talk after sleeping. Tomorrow, I''ll take you to the best restaurant in the Sacred City. Eat your fill." Charles instantly became spirited. "Juniors are the apples of the senior''s eye. The proverb is right." "What kind of weird proverb is that?!" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. But then he realized that Charles was still standing there, not about to leave with him. "What''s wrong?" Charles hesitated and looked back. "How is Mr. Constantine? Is he awake?" "He woke up a long while ago." Wolf Flute shrugged. "But he''s still unwilling to speak or cooperate. He won''t even answer questions. Other than his first request, he hasn''t responded to anything." "What request?" After a short pause, Wolf Flute sighed. "He wants to see Charles." 461 Solution In the interrogation room, Charles saw Constantine sitting behind the one-way glass. He sat under the ghastly white light and on a chair without any armrests or back. His back was straight and he would not answer no matter what the interrogator asked. He just closed his eyes and waited silently. "The old guy refuses to talk." Someone asked, "Should we try a Mind score?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but scoff. Mind scores had shocking control over people but it was not all-powerful. It depended heavily on timing. Constantine''s rejection would be the strongest in somewhere like an interrogation room. He would not give anyone the chance to plant a hint. And even if the planting was successful, Ye Qingxuan knew at least a dozen ways to fight against it. The simplest was ''destruction of all.'' One would plant a self-destruction hint beforehand in his own mind. Once a Mind music score entered the brain, his heart would stop automatically, cutting off the oxygen supply to the brain, and disrupting the hormone secretion. He could die happily within seconds. "It''s useless." Wolf Flute shook his head and pointed at the back of Constantine''s head. "He''s the deputy general of the Revolutionaries and controls the information web. He probably can''t even count how many dirty secrets he knows. You think he won''t have any safety precautions? You''ll know if you look at his hairline." Under the white light, under Constantine''s thin white hair and scalp, one could see faint music notes. "Made of flesh, do you see?" Wolf Flute said. "It''s hardcore. He had someone turn his skull into alchemy. It''ll be activated if the requirements are met. If I was the guy, I''d recommend he get a double insurance meal with an extra ''corpus callosum surgery'' to cut the bridge between the left and right halves of the brain. He''d have enough time to kill himself" He paused and said indifferently, "Unless he chooses to tell you, don''t think you can dig anything out. Just give up. After daybreak, he''d be handed over to the Judgement Tower. Our mission is over though it was done pretty badly. F*ck, they got off easy." In silence, Ye Qingxuan looked to Charles. The man stood dumbly before the window, staring at Constantine. Seeming to sense the eyes behind the glass, Constantine opened his eyes and snapped out of his thoughts. He looked over. The two stared at each other with troubled eyes from either side of the glass. "I want to see him." Charles turned back to Wolf Flute. "Doesn''t he want to see me? Let me see him." Without waiting for refutation, he said, "It''s the only solution if you want to dig something out of him before daybreak." Wolf Flute lit his cigarette in silence. Smoking it all, he snuffed it with his feet. "Let him." He glanced at the man in charge. "I''ll take responsibility." - Five minutes later, the black door opened. Charles walked into the interrogation room and sat down under Constantine''s gaze. "Mr. Constantine" He scratched his head, unsure what to say. After a long while, he said quietly, "I''m here." "Long time no see, Charles." It had only been a few hours but Constantine''s tone made it feel as if a long period had passed. There was no hatred in his voice, despite knowing Charles was a spy. Studying him, Constantine nodded slowly. "Nice uniform." "Thanks." Charles managed a smile. Before coming, he was worried that Constantine would be tortured and humiliated. He was worried that after Gaius''s heartless chase, he would break down from Charles''s betrayal. Now, it seemed that he was okay. Charles felt relieved for some reason. At least he was still alive. In silence, Constantine broke the silence first. He said, "You shouldn''t have followed me." "Huh?" Seeing his confusion, Constantine couldn''t help shaking his head. "I mean, if you really wanted to fulfill your orders, you shouldn''t have followed me. Even if you did, you should''ve abandoned ship early on." His voice was calm as if commenting on Charles''s work with a tinge of sadness and regret. "You had so many chances. You could have sold me out to Gaius to win his trust. If you wanted to know what he''s planning, you should have done that." "Sorry." Charles was silent for a long while before asking, "Sir, did you truly never suspect me?" "Of course I had. I suspect everyone around me." Constantine laughed casually. He made a smoking gesture. Charles pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it for him. The old man placed his arms on the table and smoked. Spitting out smoke, he seemed to reflect on his life. "Charles, you''d know if you become the general of the Revolutionaries. There''s no one you can trust in this world. Everyone is an enemy. You shouldn''t leave your back open to anyone. You cannot let your guard down before anyone. Even if he is your decades-long old friend. Even if he is like Gaius" Charles did not understand. "Then why did you let me" "Because you''re stupid, Charles." Constantine sighed. "How can there be a spy as stupid as you? I put you by my side because you''re the least threatening even though you have an ulterior motive." "Yeah." Charles laughed at himself. "I can''t even become a musician, let alone something as difficult as a spy. Actually, if I have the chance" "Charles," Constantine interrupted, looking at him. "Stop." Those eyes were complex yet full of pity as if looking at someone about to die, standing at the edge of a cliff. "Charles, being a spy is hard work, just like a prisoner who chose to enter prison. When you stand in the middle, you start to doubt where you are. The feeling of your soul being split into two makes you want to go crazy, making you intowhat you''re feeling right now." He put out his cigarette and stared at the painful capillaries in Charles''s eyes. He shot up and grasped Charles''s wrist, making it impossible for him to move away. The old man looked at the young man and said haltingly, "If you can''t find a solution to face them, I''ll teach you one, Charles. Drink some wine, find some medicine, find a good doctor, a reliable Mind musician, and turn everything into a dream. Forget it all." "Forget it?" Charles laughed emptily. "Remember the joke I told you yesterday?" Under the alarm and warnings, Constantine let go and returned to his seat. "The young should not be depressed by temporary pain because there are many more painful days to come" 462 Pendan "All pain will pass, Charles," Constantine repeated what he had said yesterday as if repeating the truth. "Everything will pass." Charles looked at him. After a long time, he shook his head. "Mr. Constantine, give up. Are you planning on waiting another few decades for someone to save you?" Constantine shrugged. "To be honest, the Judgement Tower might be a good retirement home." "Then what about the Revolutionaries?" Charles asked. "The war between the Revolutionaries and Sacred City will be inevitable if they release the Dragon of Destruction after a few days. No matter how far away the New World Colony is, the nations won''t allow it to exist anymore "Are you okay with that, Mr. Constantine? Are you okay with that crazy Gaius burying what you''ve spent your entire life on? Yesterday, you told me that you must decide but no matter what, many people will die. Why can''t you let those innocent people survive?" Constantine looked at him with a mocking gaze. "Are you hoping I will turn to the Sacred City?" "Yes." Charles nodded. "This is the best for both you and the Revolutionaries. Mr. Constantine, it''s not too late to stop everything." Constantine fell silent. Suddenly, he burst into laughter full of self-mockery. "Charles, it''s great to hear you say these words to me." He patted Charles''s shoulder. His finger that touched Charles''s neck was ice cold. "If someone told me this before, I would kill him. Unfortunately, I''m old now." He retracted his finger. Looking dully at Charles, he chuckled weakly and waved. "You can go, Charles." Looking at the one-way glass, he said, "Now, give me someone actually important." Charles was confused. "I won''t speak unless the man''s clothes have a gold band." In the Sacred City, robes with one gold band were for bishops. They were big figures who controlled an entire parish and were the upper level of the Church. Two gold bands were for the main bishops or ''archbishops.'' Like Mephistopheles, they controlled the church of a nation, including dozens of parishes. Half an hour later, the entire underground building became heavily guarded. All unrelated persons were isolated. Two giants in gospel armor stood by the door. Two red-clothed priests walked into the interrogation room. There were no gold bands on their clothing or any ornamentation. However, no one dared to doubt their qualifications. They were cardinals. Unexpectedly, two cardinals had come, representing the entire Cardinal Church. This meant that, if the Church was a solid object, it would be here right now. This immense entity had lowered itself to come and talk with Constantine. - The isolation room was crowded with the irrelevant people. Ye Qingxuan, Charles, and Wolf Flute squatted in a corner, staring at each other. "I thought only someone who isn''t even in the system would count as irrelevant." Ye Qingxuan glanced at Wolf Flute. "You count too?" "The Silent Authority sounds impressive but it''s just for the Sacred City''s dirty work. We''re irrelevant no matter where we go." Wolf Flute huffed and eyed him. "Now do you know how high and mighty the church position you looked down before is? If you came to the Sacred City back then with Father Bann''s recommendation and your talent, you could be a Papal Chamber secretary now. After three years of being sent out, you can come back and study further after five years and become an archbishop. "Father Bann is powerful now. With his support, you could be close to the cardinals when you''re forty. Then when one of them dies, you can take their place. If you have some f*cking good luck, you might even be chosen to be the pope!" Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "If I''m not even a musician at that time, how could I become the King of Red?" "You think all the cardinals are musicians? You think they need to duel when choosing the pope? Of those who become a cardinal, nine out of ten are full-time priests. They probably aren''t even at the Student level." Wolf Flute looked at him with a vague smile. "The King of Red is the representative of humanity. Everything he says is law. It''s hard to say if rebirth after death is real but the others might be true. "Before the sixth pope became the pope, he were just an ascetic archbishop. There are so many cases like that. Even if you''re not a musician, you''ll naturally have the crown added when you become the King of Red." Before Ye Qingxuan could reply, Wolf Flute raised a finger to his mouth. "Shush! They''re getting to the critical pointthey''re discussing the cost." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. "You''re eavesdropping?" "No sh*t. It''s the first talk between the deputy general of the Revolutionaries and the Cardinals. Why wouldn''t I?" Before Wolf Flute finished, he gasped. "What happened?" "The cardinal" Wolf Flute lowered his voice. "A cardinal''s title! A pardon signed by the pope! Why is the Sacred City so easygoing this time?" But then he froze again and his expression changed. "Constantine is starting to recite the name list now." "Name list?" "He only said six names and stopped," Wolf Flute said. "He wants the Sacred City to consider his value The cardinal title now has true power and there are six pardons The cardinals promised he''ll have his own department with men to use" He did not dare to keep listening. Two saints of the Sacred City had already arrived. If he continued listening, he would probably be discovered. "But no matter what, if the negotiations are successful, Constantine will really earn a lot." Wolf Flute smoked and said casually, "Charles found a nice leg to hug." "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "Constantine just requested that Charles should join the church and act as his important secretary and assistant. Your senior will become a new noble of the Sacred City in a few days." Charles stared at the food the Silent Authority gave in confusion. "Huh?" - Ten minutes later, the cardinals left quickly with the list of names from Constantine. The list was very long. Everyone was kept there until the morning of the next day. That was when they realized what had happened in the Sacred City during the night. Snow and blood had fallen all over the Sacred City. The winter thunder rumbled. The explosions that built up during the night still echoed through the city. Of the church, hundreds were involved, including those with important positions and bright futures. For several continuous days, black-clothed priests brought the garrison through every corner of the Sacred City to arrest the beggars. During the second night, there was a boom in the east of the city. Blinding light exploded. The fight between saints and four musicians ended quickly. Under the saints'' control, there were no casualties. All traitors were defeated. Unfortunately, Gaius escaped. Two days later, Constantine held the Sacred City''s pardon and walked out of prison. Under everyone''s eyes, he stepped into the Papal Chamber. The overall situation was set. The Winter Festival was five days later and thousands would join in the Sacred City square. The Sacred City had already released word that after the pope announced the coming of the new year, Constantine would be given the red robe before everyone''s eyes. After that, he would be an undeniable force in the Sacred City. The aftershocks were still rippling through the nations. With this attack, the Revolutionaries had regressed ten years and lost thousands of members. Stepping on the corpse of the Revolutionaries, Constantine had climbed to the peak of power. And on his leg, was a pendant named Charles 463 Lock Everything finished successfully. Ye Qingxuan was preparing to return to Anglo as well. However, no matter how much they rushed, they would probably not make it in time for the Winter Festival. Therefore, everyone decided to stay in the Sacred City for the holiday. With Charles here, they could even get front row seats to watch the pope announce the new year. They could brag about that when they go home. With the Winter Festival arriving, the new year would come as well. After the temporary desolation, the Sacred City began thriving again. Under the cheery atmosphere, everyone was doing shopping sprees. Wolf Flute had more and more missions though and could rarely be seen. During the rare break, Charles ran between the various institutions of the Sacred City to register and was extremely busy. Abraham wanted to help but, due to his identity, he was rarely allowed out of the embassy. Therefore, Bai Xi, bored out of her mind, decided to focus on Ye Qingxuan. Finally, Ye Qingxuan could no longer endure her clinging and was dragged onto the streets to go shopping with her. Of course, the money came from the embassy''s budget Ye Qingxuan felt slightly bad. - The flurries of snow did not stop during these days. Under the snow, everyone seemed to be smiling and enjoying the festivity. Even Bai Xi was happy as a regular kid. She seemed to truly be a kid. Even though she had suddenly grown and was close to Ye Qingxuan''s height, she still had a kid''sbad humor. This included buying a bunch of candy to tease kids and then double over with laughter when the kids cried to their parents for their own candy. Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. He could not help feeling slightly guilty. They had not played together ever since he went to Auschwitz. Before, Bai Xi would follow behind him too. Sometimes, she would get angry for some reason and stop talking to him. But when he looked back, he would see the white-haired girl following him docilely with her hands behind her back and humming a tune. Sometimes, she would turn and her white dress would float up like a flower in the wind. Ye Qingxuan could not help but reach out and ruffle her hair. "What?" Bai Xi shook his hand off and side-eyed him. "Cousin, what are you planning now?" "Oh, I just thought that you suddenly grew up." Ye Qingxuan held in his laughter. Bai Xi kicked him angrily. After two steps, she decided it was not enough. She came back to kick him again and then marched forward. Ye Qingxuan quietly followed where she could find him if she turned around. "Stop being so slow." Bai Xi turned to glance at him. "If you can''t catch up, I won''t wait for you." "Alright, alright." Ye Qingxuan smiled lazily and caught up. - Thankfully, one would get tired after shopping. For lunch, Bai Xi weighed Ye Qingxuan''s wallet and happily chose the most expensive restaurant. Sitting near a window on the third floor, they could look down at the bustling streets. Ye Qingxuan studied the falling snow. The restaurant''s music was the only sound in the quiet and beautiful world. Bai Xi hugged the things she had bought and lazily drank her juice. Seeing Ye Qingxuan space out, she pouted. "Cousin, what are you thinking about now?" He shook his head. "I wonder how Old Phil is now. No one''s in Anglo. Would he be lonely?" "Old Phil?" Bai Xi sighed. "Don''t worry about him. After you left, he became so successful" "Huh?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "He''s the school dog of the Royal Academy of Music!" Bai Xi pursed her lips. "I don''t know what the principal was thinking but he even gave us an extra budget to buy things for Old Phil. He made it into our school''s mascot with a bunch of merchandise to give to people. "Cousin, while you were having a hard time, Old Phil is living the life of scaring children and biting teachers whenever he wants. He''s the most successful dog now." "Really?" Bai Xi took a letter out. "I was worried when I left and had the principal''s secretary send me pictures every few days. Look for yourself" In the picture, Old Phil''s gold fur was dazzling and radiant. It was almost blinding. Plump and oily, it looked nothing like the dog from before. "He''d gained at least five kilograms!" Ye Qingxuan exclaimed quietly. "If you just eat and sleep every day and occasionally get fed by a mysterious woman, like caviar, acorn ham, lobstereating like it''s all free, you''d get fat like this too." Pausing, Bai Xi''s eyebrow raised. "But speaking of that, the woman always comes and goes with the royal family''s carriage. Do you know who she is?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resolutely. "Not at all." "Really?" Bai Xi looked at him as if seeing his guilt. Pursing her lips, she rose and walked away. "Where are you going?" Shocked, Ye Qingxuan grabbed her hand. He did not expect that his cousin would suddenly have this kind of temper and leave without warning. "Don''t be angry! I didn''t finishsit down and we''ll talk!" Bai Xi turned around and looked at him condescendingly. "I''m going to the bathroom." Ye Qingxuan let go awkwardly and waved. "Why don''t you do things normally Go, go." Seeing her walk away, he let out a sigh, not understanding why he was so nervous. Deep in thought, there was a commotion outside. The bustling street had become quiet without him noticing. The garrison had put the entire avenue under martial law. In the distance, an exquisite and charming carriage drove over. At the very front, cavaliers with ornate golden armor lead the way. In their path, the white snow melted into the mud under the hooves and flowed in the dirt. Then, the ground was covered by flower petals scattered by the ritualists and servants. Heavy fragrance emanated from the burning kettle and hung in the air without scattering. Under the somber ritual music, nine handsome stallions pulled the elegant wagon down the street. A white-haired middle-aged man sat in the seat. He smiled gracefully and waved at the crowd every now and then. Ye Qingxuan frowned. Easterners? Without a doubt, this procession came from the East. Civilians would be beheaded if they dared to use it. In addition, this opulent scale already showed signs of offending the empress. Ye Qingxuan could see clearly that the man sitting in the center wagon was not of the dragon bloodline. There were strands of shocking black within the white hair. He was an Eastern noble and not of Deva''s blood but used a procession that even a king would not dare to use. While he was deep in thought, the man in the slowly moving car seemed to sense him. The man looked up in Ye Qingxuan''s direction. He could see Ye Qingxuan''s face clearly through the glass. He smiled oddly and nodded. Ye Qingxuan froze. He finally saw the design on the man''s sleeves clearly. It was the unique emblem that represented the dragon bloodlineYunlou! "Yunlou Qingshu?" he murmured. - The silent hallway seemed to be isolated from all hustle bustle. This restaurant was owned by a big figure. The Central Avenue of the Sacred City was extremely expensive and yet this restaurant had taken up an entire three-story building. The interior design and decorations were apparently on par with Burgundy''s royal palace. All guests could have a noble experience. As far as one could see, everything was in the glamorous Rococo style. In simpler terms, everything was painfully fancy. The hall to the bathroom was so long. It seemed that only Bai Xi''s steps sounded in the silence. She walked forward quietly and quickly. Her feet fell on the ground gently but brought heavy echoes. Those footsteps seemed to brand the ground after her, resounding endlessly. One step, two, three Every step was like a heavy pound. The sound bounced around the hallway, solidifying the air. Immense pressure converged soundlessly. After ten steps, Bai Xi tried to take an eleventh. Boom! Something seemed to snap and a blurry figure was revealed behind Bai Xi. He had been squeezed out of his invisible state! Now, he finally sensed the cold animosity coming from Bai Xi. "As expected" She turned slowly and studied the figure. "I''ve felt annoyed ever since I came out this morning. Some guy is also annoying but flies like you are a different type of annoying. How long have you been following me?" The figure remained silent. Soon, he could not speak if he wanted. He was merely standing thereit was already impossible to walk. Without him realizing, the rhythm of the footsteps and echoes had become a weight of thousands of kilos, pressing down on him. Bai Xi stepped forward. Boom! A barrier was broken. Under the heavy snap, pressure from the aether pushed the man back. It was just one stepnot a bit more or less. In the space of the immense strength, the figure finally snatched the opportunity to speak. "Hi" Boom! Bai Xi stepped again, cutting the man off. As if red-hot pieces of metal shoved the words back into his throat, the figure choked as his organs burned. He could not speak anymore. It was Zhaodang! Aggressive music theory within the pounding aether ensnared him. Not only was there outer pressure, it also forced the strength within him to resonate and plant the seed of chaos. In an instant, troubles appeared both inside and outside. It was unspeakably painful like swallowing a sword and being thrown into the sea. "If you''re not willing to speak, then don''t," Bai Xi said coldly. "I''ve been in a bad mood for a while. Since you''re here, then let me vent." She walked forward again. The figure squirmed under the horrible pressure and was forced back. Now, it felt like being frozen into an ice cube No, it was like being melted into metal. Aggressive power rose from the seemingly eerie and cold girl. She carelessly played with his mind and body. No matter how he struggled, he could not fight back. He was wrong! He had messed up His expression changed as he struggled, trying to escape. But he was wrapped by layers of pressure, trapped in the ''metal.'' He was in a cage without realizing. He was wrong. This was not Zhaodang! All his attacks prepared for Zhaodang were useless now. The music theory around him continued to change, trying to lessen the pressure around him. His beastly nature changed. Strange auras from the aether world emerged on his body. The invisible bars were unmoved. As if they grew from his body, they changed with his breathing. Whenever he tried to fight back, a gust of power would burst from thin air and destroy his growing strength. What was this He gaped at Bai Xi. He could sense countless music notes appear on her body, calling for the aether sea like a furious river. Inside her body, countless notes appeared. They formed music theory of the School of Modifications'' essence. However, it was different from the Zhaodang of Deva''s blood. This was not the ''movement'' that pushed everything toward destruction but the other end of Modifications. It was the ''stillness'' that caused all to freeze and stop! Countless music theory wove together, forming a score that was dumbfounding. However, this terrifying power did not fuse into her body and form a heart of sound. Instead, it was clearly separated from her own music theory, creating something different. Creation, activity, formation, creativityfour realms overlapped and operated together, forming a cruel alchemy array. This was the only alchemy product she had learned from Hermes It was Lock! As she stepped forward, the pressure from the ''lock'' around the man kept pushing him back, pressing him against the wall. Controlled by the Modifications score, the wall swallowed him like water. There were no damages. No one noticed either. How was this possible? The figure witnessed all of this, feeling a blow to his sanity. Zhaodang was like a dragon, representing utter destruction. Anything it touched would be destroyed. How could it be manipulated so finely? Bai Xi continued advancing, pushing him completely out of the restaurant and frozen in mid-air. Then, she came out of the wall too. They left the restaurant and entered the air above the alley. She walked on thin air but there was the sound of footsteps as if she was walking on flat land. The detailed music score had turned the air into something solid, supporting her weight in the sky. "Your Highness, please stop!" the figure forced out. His face had become blue-purple. At the same time, the air around him shook. A subtle insect surface appeared. Under it, his body shriveled up. The skin on his back opened up. It was the beastly nature Red-White Cicada! Like a cicada being reborn, a figure snaked out of the crack in his back. Agilely shedding his skin, he shot into the sky to fly away. But then his expression changed. The lock followed him like a shadow. It pierced into his shell, making him cry out in pain. And then, Zhaodang! The pained cries stopped. Wild power swept from the invisible lock in Bai Xi''s hand, rushing into his body with the pain of burning his innards. The figure dropped onto the ground. He spat out fresh blood and convulsed, unable to move. Now, he finally noticed the abnormality of Bai Xi''s body. There were two drastically different music theories inside her right now. One was the heart of sound that relied on her Deva''s bloodZhaodang. The other was the alchemy array branded on her limbs and bonesthe Lock! Hermes had given Bai Xi music theory different from most other schools. It could be described as a unique way or teaching adjusted to the student. Bai Xi''s talent was first-rate of the Deva''s blood talents. She did not need to construct music theory within her from scratch. Hermes did not plan on having his student waste time like someone common. He once said, "Zhaodang is like a flood and beast. Its aggression is rare. You do not need any more strength. You need a lock to control the beast." He had combined music theory and alchemy to tailor a lock for Zhaodang. This allowed Bai Xi to control the unparalleled wildness. She only needed one thought for the wild power to escape from the box and destroy what was inside the shackles! With one attack, the figure was gravely wounded and unable get up again. "You can speak now." Bai Xi landed soundlessly. She kicked the figure over and studied his fearful expression. "What do you want, following me like that?" The unfamiliar man''s lips trembled but he did not reply. He just clenched his jaw and closed his eyes, waiting for death. Bai Xi furrowed her brows. Just as she was about to act, she saw a high-pitched sigh. "Your Highness is precious. Why must you fight with an unimportant man? You will lose your dignity." A frail figure came out of the darkness like a ghost. The comer raised his head, revealing a clean and hairless old face. His voice was sharp and high-pitched. "I cannot believe that, in half a year, Your Highness has changed so drastically with such powerful music theories. Even I do not know your limits. If Master knows of your achievements, he must be proud." He paused. Studying Bai Xi, his brows furrowed slightly, seemingly in pity. "However, I dare to warn the princess that these demonic music theories may feel powerful but as time goes on, there will be many problems. Your Highness, please return to the correct path. Otherwise, you will be ridiculed if the others find out." Hearing this, Bai Xi looked at the man indifferently. "I don''t learn the proper things and I don''t need an old dog like you to comment on me. I remember you''reEunuch Wang, right? I''ve seen you in Yunlou City. Unfortunately, you weren''t so amiable back then." "I am honored you remember me." Despite being called an ''old dog,'' Eunuch Wang showed no signs of anger. He just lowered his eyes like a faithful slave. "I beg you, Your Highness, to go back." "Yunlou is so powerful and important. Why do they need a wild and parentless kid?" Bai Xi laughed and spat out, "Or does that rogue feel that a good daughter isn''t enough to stabilize his position and finally thought of his other one?" "Your Highness has never been educated on manners and cultures, resulting in you saying such blasphemy against your father. This is my fault." Eunuch Wang sighed and slapped himself lightly. "Master has heard news of your tracks and come to the Sacred City. Please stop your tantrum. These years, Master has put his heart in the Yunlou business and had no time for relationships. He was forced to neglect you, Your Highness. After you left home, Master worried day and night over you. He is your father, after all. There are no unsolvable arguments between father and daughter. Why won''t you come home?" Bai Xi''s expression changed slightly. In silence, no one knew what she was thinking. After a while, she nodded and smiled. "Okay, I''ll go back with you." Eunuch Wang''s expression changed. He took three steps back and lowered his head even more. He said helplessly, "Even if you kill me, you cannot change the master''s decision. Why can you not face reality?" "Oh?" Bai Xi arched an eyebrow. It was unclear what she was thinking, but with a guess, his expression darkened. "Your Highness, you must not consider immoral acts such as a father and daughter fighting each other." "You''ve overthinking." Bai Xi smiled. "I''ll go with you." Sensing the aggressive Zhaodang power in the cage, Eunuch Wang''s expression darkened further. "Since you are still stubborn, please do not take offense" Countless black shadows rose from his body, transforming into wraiths of the night. Then, Zhaodang whistled over! 464 Holy Cauldron In the quiet restaurant, gentle piano music hung in the air. Ever since Ye Qingxuan saw Yunlou Qingshu come to the Sacred City, he felt unsettled. He did not know what would happen. While he was deep in thought, someone hobbled over on a cane and tapped the table. Ye Qingxuan looked up to see someone with a head of white hair. He was dressed in formalwear and seemed unable to walk easily. His face was serious and his eyes were strict. He looked familiar. Handel. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He never thought he would meet one of the saints staying the Sacred City and one of the controllers of the Silent Authority here. "Can I sit here?" Handel glanced at Bai Xi''s seat. Ye Qingxuan squinted. After a pause, he shook his head and rejected him directly. "No, someone''s sitting there." The simple word ''no'' had never been said to a saint before. If someone witnessed his impoliteness, his reputation would be ruined again. No one ever dared to reject a saint''s request, especially a seemingly well-intentioned one. However, Handel did not lose his temper. He nodded. "There is still some time before she returns." Without waiting for Ye Qingxuan''s reaction, he sat on Bai Xi''s seat. Placing his cane to the side, he slid a document packet across the table. "Take a look." "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan lifted the flap and looked at the thick stack of papers. "Merely a contract for you." Handel took off the copper enamel pen from his collar and placed it before Ye Qingxuan. "Sign it and you''ll become the manager of the Anglo branch of the Silent Authority. When necessary, you can use one-third of the organization''s resources. Six grandmasters will follow your orders at any time. You will only have to answer to me. This is the best treatment I can give you." Ye Qingxuan was stunned into silence. He had never thought that such a large piece of cake would fall from the sky and land before him with the tempting smell. The manager of the Anglo branch of the Silent Authorityin a way, this position represented unimaginable power and richness. If he signed it, he would have six grandmasters, countless musicians, and the Silent Authority''s money and power Seeing his shock, satisfaction flashed through Handel''s eyes. No one could overlook the power and influence that came with this position. Musician or not, everyone on Earth knew the importance of powerand this document was the path to that power. Ye Qingxuan seemed scared. He stared at the tempting pen but did not move. After a long while, he shook his head and sighed. "Sorry, but I will turn you down." The second rejection. Within a few minutes, the shockingly arrogant rejection had happened twice. The smile stiffened on Handel''s face. "Ye Qingxuan, are you sure?" he asked quietly after a while. "I know we have had an unhappy encounter before but I hope you understand the importance of this. Once you miss this opportunity, you probably will not get a second chance in your entire life." Seeing him like that, Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head. "This must be your first time experiencing this. Who would''ve thought that the high and mighty alms would be looked down on?" "Are you dissatisfied by this contract?" Handel frowned. "If you have your own conditions, we can revise the specific terms. However, I do not like your clashing attitude." "Everyone knows that, other than a musician and noble, I was originally a scholar of ancient academia." Ye Qingxuan smiled. He sipped at his wine and said something unrelated, "When I was reading ancient texts, I once saw a phrase. An author described a stupid woman saying, ''at that time, she was still too young. She didn''t know that every gift given by fate had already been secretly marked with a price''." Ye Qingxuan set down his glass and stared deeply at Handel. "May I ask, how much do I have to pay for this gift from the skies?" Handel studied him quietly. After a long while, he said, "Ye Qingxuan, I hope you understand that, to me, there''s nothing worth coveting on you. This position requires you to work when needed but compared to what you receive, you won''t give much." Ye Qingxuan nodded and asked, "For example, selling Charles to you? Or, when needed, become something you threaten Charles with? Constantine''s uncontrolled rise is probably threatening to many, right? You need something to balance his existence. I believe that before Charles agreed to become Constantine''s secretary, this contract never existed" "You''re overthinking." Handel''s voice turned frigid. "Ye Qingxuan, everyone must sacrifice for this world when necessary." "Do you still remember what I''ve said?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him. "Charles has nothing to do with you anymore and I hope you''ll stop getting ideas about him. Mr. Handel, you are saint. You are above tens of thousands. Logically, I should respect you. However, don''t think I don''t know what you said to Charles" His tone was calm and he said to this old man, almost indifferently, "If I have the chance, I will make you experience what he had felt." They were undisguised words. The atmosphere quickly turned cold. Handel looked at him without any anger. Instead, his eyes grew disappointed, filled with regret. "Ye Qingxuan, the Sacred City has not treated you badly. Why do you fight back against it? Or do you still think Ye Lanzhou was innocent?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "Don''t underestimate the Sacred City. When Bann returned to the Sacred City and registered you as his student, the City had already became clear about your identity," Handel said coldly. "All this time, the Sacred City has been tolerated you and never looked too deep, instead rewarding you. What right do you have to think the Sacred City has wronged you?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. He looked at Handel with a familiar gaze. It was like looking down at dust. With this gaze, it was as if everything in the world was under his control and had to sacrifice for him. There was no care about the dust''s sadness and hatred. "What Ye Lanzhou did has nothing to do with me," Ye Qingxuan said. "If not wiping out a sinner like me is the Sacred City''s tolerance and blessing to me, then I''m sorry. I will have to disappoint you. You think everyone must make sacrifices but sadly, I never thought that I owe anything to the world. Instead, it''s the opposite" Looking at the man with a dark expression, he said, emphasizing each word, "Mr. Handel, this world owes me too much." - When Bai Xi returned, more than ten minutes had passed. Ye Qingxuan and Handel''s quick meeting had ended unhappily long ago. "Where did you go to play?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and petted her messy hair. Without realizing, her hair was down to her waist now. If she did not take care of it, it would turn into a mangled bird nest. She allowed Ye Qingxuan to mess with her hair and then comb it again. Feeling the warmth of his hands, she could not help but giggle. "When I went out, I saw an old beggar. I felt bad and gave him some coins." "Why is your shirt torn?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at the small hole in her sleeve. "It got stuck in the doorway." Bai Xi''s expression grew cheery. "This means I have to buy a new one this afternoon." "You can''t spend the embassy''s money like this." Ye Qingxuan admonished. "And whenever I make them give me office supply receipts, they all look at me weirdly! Why do you want to get reimbursed for buying bras?!" "Cousin, even though you refuse, you''re still obedient when paying money." "Think of a new excuse for me!" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Thanks to you, the embassy has enough office supplies to last until next year! No matter how blind the financial department is, they won''t reimburse that!" "There''s also food and transportation!" "Hey, where did you learn that from" Ye Qingxuan could not help but shake his head. Everyone said that one would join a group of elites in the Sacred City but everyone beside him was weirder than the last. Charles had fallen fast but now, even Bai Xi had learned how to lie to get reimbursements. Whatever. Thinking of the embassy''s depressed and annoyed treasurer, he gave up on reimbursements. He still had a bunch of dirty money after all, from the smugglers in Avalon. Ye Qingxuan did not have much material greed and most of the things he wanted could not be bought with money. If Bai Xi wanted to spend some, it was like helping him. However, he couldn''t let her find out. Otherwise, she would take Ye Qingxuan''s checkbook and empty all the luxury stores the next day Thinking of this terrifying scene, Ye Qingxuan''s heart in the aether world quivered. - The black metal box was forty millimeters long, thirty-five millimeters wide, and fifteen millimeters tall. It seemed to be designed specifically for something valuable, which was why it was intricate yet compact. When locked, it was closed tightly without any seams visible. The inside was carved with an alchemy array. It ensured that the object inside would be unharmed even if the box was assaulted, burned, or drowned. Nobles would usually carve their family emblem on these boxes and put items related to their wills, precious jewelry, or evidence for safety. However, this box had nothing other than the Sacred City''s symbol. Now, it was placed carefully onto Constantine''s table, gently as if it was a rare gem. "This is what Mr. Ludovic told me to bring." The middle-aged priest sighed. "Fortunately, I have completed the mission. Please accept it." "Thank you." Constantine shook his hand. Despite already handing it over, the priest still looked at the box longingly. "According to Mr. Ludovic''s orders, we must give this to you. But I must add, I hope you will look after it well." He looked away unwillingly and sighed. "After all, no one has been able to create such a perfect replicate after alchemist grandmaster Orwell passed away." "Thank you for your reminder. I will." Constantine politely saw him to the door. "Charles, see the guest off." When the mysterious guest left, Charles could not help but slip back inside, poking his head in. "Sir, did that guy come to give us money?" "Money?" Constantine was taken aback and smiled. "In a way, yes, but no money can buy what is in this box." Sensing Charles''s curiosity, he did not keep it a secret. Turning the box''s lock, he said lightly, "You have never seen this man before but you must have heard of his fraternity before." Pausing, he uttered, "The Sacred City Ecclesiastical Order." "The legendary Ecclesiastical Order with boundless authority is real?" Charles asked curiously. "The Order was born four hundred years ago under the order of the second pope. The members were all family leaders of monks with true archbishop power. They began as a think tank for the pope and were a crucial weight to balance the political scale between the Sacred City and nations. "But as time went on, the Ecclesiastical Order went out of controlNow, it has become an immense entity that can fight back against the pope. If the second pope knows, he must be disappointed." "They came to give you gift?" "Not quite. After all, you can''t drink or eat this, or even put it out for decoration. You must care for it cautiously." Constantine opened the case and studied the content. "It''s a troublesome thing." Charles moved over, only to see a crystal block. He could tell that it was precious material made from the School of Modifications and was as valuable as gold. However, he didn''t understand why something so precious was used to seal a thin piece of paper. Inside the block was an ancient piece of paper. It seemed to have gone through a lot and the paper had aged considerably. If not for the crystal block, it would have disintegrated through time. It contained some sort of music notes but Charles could not tell its source. He studied it for a while. His teacher Abraham was one of the best ancient scholars in the world. Even so, he could not decipher the words on the paper. "What is this?" "This is the original version of the Rune language. It is a product of music notes and languages. After so many years, it no longer contains any meaning. It''s okay if you do not understand it." The Rune was the written language closest to the Dark Ages of all western languages. Other than scholars who studied it specifically, it only existed in a few faraway villages of Asgard. ''Till this day, it still retained some grammatical points from the Dark Ages, allowing one to see the era from a millennium ago. It was known as the living fossil. Charles had never thought that the Ecclesiastical Order would bring it here, and its original at that. Did they want Constantine to study academia with them? Charles laughed at his own thought. "A long, long time ago, people believed that this was the language of natural catastrophes," Constantine said. "This is the oldest language known to humanity and the source of all music notes. What you see is just a replicate of the remains of an old book. This book is known as the ''Book of the Ultimate.'' It is the source of all human civilization and the foundation of the Golden Age." Charles was stunned. "All this time, the Order''s position has been unshakeable because of its control over the Book of the Ultimate and its final interpretation. With this replicate, they had complete advantage in theology. It can be said to be the precious item of dreams for all upper level clergymen." Constantine held the block up. Reflecting under the sunlight, he studied the faint writing. Rather than power, it had the heaviness of history. As if only one who controlled fate could become the King of Red, something known as ''orthodox'' had given it irreplaceable meaning. Anyone who yearned for the truth of history and the source of all would find glory in laying eyes on it. "It represents strength and honor comparable to Hyakume," Constantine murmured as he caressed the block. "The Three Pillar God Holy Cauldron." In the silence, Charles gulped. "Is the legend real?" he asked quietly. "That humans first found the Holy Cauldron from the Ultimate?" "Perhaps. After so many years, who knows?" Constantine returned the block to the case. "I''ve heard of countless legends. Some say that humanity created gods to protect their people during the Dark Ages and past the terrifying abyss. Some say that the Holy Cauldron is only a dream of ancient poets. Other musicians believe that the crowns of the three kings were made from the Cauldron "All the viewpoints seem to make sense but all are different. I can only tell you one thing, Charles: the Holy Cauldron truly exists." 465 Legend and Wine "All the viewpoints seem to make sense but all are different. I can only tell you one thing, Charles: the Holy Cauldron truly exists." Constantine closed the iron box and ignited his pipe. But looking at Charles''s transfixed look, he couldn''t help laughing. "You really are Abraham''s student. Perhaps I should fire you and let you be an ancient scholar." Charles finally reacted and shook his head in shame. "I was just frightened. My teacher told me these as bedtime stories. I did not expect the legend is actually true." "Are you interested?" Constantine took a bottle of wine from the cabinet and placed a wine glass before Charles. "Make me some more ice. There should be good wine when listening to a good story." Charles immediately condensed the water vapor to make ices and sent to Constantine attentively. "I can even make an iceberg for you! How about I massage your shoulders and legs to help you relax?" Constantine looked at him speechlessly, shaking his head, and exclaimed, "I have to clarify that I heard this rumor from an antique shop owner. It may not be false but it may not be true. After all, except those who experienced it, who knows what happened in the past?" Before the golden age of mankind, it was the Dark Age that was never recorded in history. After the illusory era of myths, man appeared in this cold and cruel world, hungry and homeless. They had no power, no civilization, no history, or any records. At that time, the world was dark. Winter seemed eternal. This mysterious period was called the ''Dark Age'' by historians. No one knew how it long it had lasted. At that time, the world was still under the control of natural catastrophes. The first cave paintings were of the four living creatures. Other than phenomenal natural catastrophes that humans could not observe, such as the Silver Tide, human beings saw catastrophes that lived like them for the first time. They were so strong, so terrible. Like a nightmare, they could not be resisted. A tiny movement of theirs could destroy mountains and the earth. They were monsters in the world, irresistible natural catastrophes. Hecatoncheir occupied the land. Leviathan set off endless waves in the sea. The descendants of the Dark Gaia walked amongst the mountains and the waters. The Shadow Cereus bloomed in any place with aether. Because of their strong vitality and nature, the four were distinguished from other natural catastrophes like Silver Tide, Holy White Storm, Blood-Scorched Soil, Illusion Mire, and so on. They were known as the ''four living creatures''. After the ''eight phenomena'', the ''four living creatures'' appeared so in human history. Man was born in this world but found that the world did not belong to them. The world was not kind to people. It had never been kind. Just as how you could die at any time while alone in a foreign country or walking in a dark valley, humans struggled to survive among the natural catastrophes. It was like a fire in the darkness, burning feebly and extinguishing silently. Once there was a gust of wind, nothing would be left. Therefore, that era was called the Dark Age. The transition in the middle of the Dark Ages was the appearance of the ''three wise men''. When human were about go extinct in this world, three wise men with advanced wisdom came from the east. They mastered one-third of the world''s truths respectively. They brought frankincense, gold, and myrrh to mankind and guided humanity to build their tribes in the Dark World and even...build nations. Romulus'' founding emperor Aeneas was helped by one of the three wise men so that he could live for three hundred years as a human and turn into the Holy Spirit after his death. With the help of the three wise men, men found all kinds of prehistoric relics from which they extracted incredible treasures. It was said mechanical engineering had started developing at that time. Not only did the three wise men bring language, civilization, and treasures, but also prophecies from the depths of the aether world, from the Originator. It was the birth of ''God''. Guided by the prophecy, human ships sailed to the end of the legendary world: the Ultimate. At that time, the Ultimate was not yet the end of everything, but the place where the aether and material world crossed most deeply. It was also the closest to the Originator. All miracles flowed from there. There, man found the prototype of Godthe Holy Cauldron. In this way, mankind created ''gods'' from the chaotic Originator. It was the existence of omniscience, omnipotence, full intelligence, full vision, full authority, and full creation. It was omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, intangible, benevolent, self-reliant, and unique. This was the first ''element'' created by mankind. When this concept integrated into the Originator, it turned from the unreal into reality and began existing...and the Ultimate fell into chaos! That terrible shock from the most central transformation of the Originator emerged from the depths of the aether world and rushed into the aether sea. It descended into the material. It could almost be described as...earth-shattering. The rivers turned upside down, the mountains collapsed, and the ocean rolled up to the sky, exposing the dry seabed. It was like the end of the world. Everything was upended. At that time, humans did not even know if they were successful. They could only infer from the aftermath of terror that terrible changes were going on in the depth of the Originator. After seven days, God was born. The world became meaningful. Now, the world of mankind was finally created. Man finally possessed the power. When the element of gods was written into the Originator, the aether path was built on the foundation of God''s existence. With this fulcrum, human beings pried the Originator and wrote new rules into it, thus acquiring the mysteries of aether and music theory. They finally had the power to confront the natural catastrophes. The seven schools of musicians, all movements, all notes and music theories... The source of all knowledge came from this. This was why the Church took the Holy Cauldron as the incarnation of a deity that could not be observed or described, even though it had been silent for thousands of years and could not respond to the prayers of the world. This was the origin of the Holy Cauldron. The age of mankind began then. But in that terrible turmoil, more than one deity was created. Once one had a ruler, one would be able to tell what was straight and what was not. Once there was light, darkness would be born. When the air rose, the turbid gas would fall. When the elements of the Holy Cauldron started operating in the Originator, the first instruction was made''let there be light''and the dark abyss was born from the aether world. Ambiguous chaos was broken. Hyakume was born along with the Holy Cauldron. The former represented all the negative elements while the latter represented all the positive elements. Immediately thereafter, when two incompatible elements collided with each other, it was like hell clashing with heaven. It stirred the deep power of the Originator and created riots of destruction. The two gods themselves stood for everything. They were the endorsement of all things, so their confrontation also reflected in all aspects. Everything in the world was involved and no one could escape from this huge struggle. Even humans were divided because of this. As a result, the Babel Tower collapsed. The only country divided into two and the two sides fought with each other endlessly. In that war, countless people died. In order to fight for the Ultimate, countless holy spirits turned into stars and rose up into the sky. The inferior dark followers of Satan were born from the abyss. Even with the deaths of countless people, there was no sign of cessation of the war. The war would never stop. This was the prophecy of the three wise men. The war would break all the rules and destroy the existing world. The rules would be reset again to reshape the Originator. It would go until both were destroyed and the Originator returned to calmness. All would fall into the chaos of nothingness. But then, the neutral element separating the two, the Silent Moon, was born. Representing judgment, balance, and aether, the Silent Moon stood between the Holy Cauldron and Hyakume. The three constituted the perfect balance and became the ultimate natural catastrophe at last, which was what human beings now witnessedthe Three Pillar God. Thus the path of musicians led to the Originator and the crowns of the three kings was cast from the Holy Cauldron. The three pillar god, three wise men, four living creatures, eight phenomena as well as the best of natural catastrophes also appeared in this world. The world became complete. That huge change caused a violent collision between the material and aether world. After the creation of countless disasters and miracles, the Ultimate was completely destroyed. It became the end of the world where everything died. The Originator sank into the depths of the aether world and no one could reach it. The survivors who experienced it recorded it all. It became the Book of the Ultimatethe classic interpretation of human history and the classic teaching material. Speaking here, the slightly drunken Constantine shrugged. "Of course, I''ve heard several different versions since then. But I personally prefer this, so I am willing to take it as the truth. What about you, Charles?" He asked, "What do you think of the story?" Charles was silent for a while. He could not help asking, "This... Is it really just a legend?" "Of course." Constantine nodded firmly. "People from that time died long ago. They didn''t even have a written language. How can there be records left? The Asgardians and Easterners even say that they came from heaven but no one believes them either. Charles, don''t believe things so easily. "Besides, the owner of the antique shop is the one who likes to lie and cheat--that''s the story he used to trick me into buying this amulet, which is supposedly from the dark ages. Look!" Constantine rolled up his cuffs and showed him the amulet on his wrist. "Nice, isn''t it?" Charles nodded. Amber and animal bones were strung on the rope. It truly was nice. "This bracelet costs me more than two thousand pounds." Constantine sighed. "But in Burgundy''s markets, a single pound is enough for one wholesale box! So, don''t trust the guys who tell you stories. In order to earn your money, they can make up anything!" Charles stared at his bracelet blankly for a while and could not help laughing. While laughing, he raised his glass and toasted. "To your bracelet." "No, this is for my story," Constantine exclaimed and raised his glass. "Cheers!" Bottoms up. Everything in the past seemed to fade away with the wine in the cup. 466 New Blood In the darkness, a faint beam of light fell down. Pure light illuminated the iron altar and the old stone cauldron on it. It seemed to have been weathered by thousands of years and was extremely old. Covered with cracks, one could not tell its original appearance. Subtle crimson sloshed inside. The cauldron was filled with blood, filled with a beautiful bloody color. It was the Holy Cauldron. This was the heart of the human world, the only natural catastrophe at the same level as Hyakume, but it did not seem as powerful or majestic as one would imagine. It was just a simple stone cauldron. And in the blood color inside the cauldron, there were ten mysterious badges. Six glowed gently. The other four were dark and did not feel tangible. The old keeper studied the badges and sighed with his head lowered. Footsteps sounded in the distance, breaking the silence. Someone crossed through the broken pieces of the aether world to here. The keeper looked back and saw a red crown and robe. It was the King of Red. "It''s you, Holy See." The keeper smiled. "You haven''t come in a long time." The keeper''s face under the messy hair was revealed in the refracted glow of the formless blood. His face was so old and withered but it lookedidentical to the King of Red! Illuminated by the glow, the pope walked onto the altar. The two extremely similar faces passed each other. The pope lowered his head, studying the beautiful glow in the cauldron. "Is this new blood?" "Yes." The keeper''s smile became gloating. "Sad, right? The pope is the carrier of sacred blood and the keeper of the Holy Cauldron. Now, the old blood has not died yet but the new blood has already been born It seems that even the Cauldron thinks you can''t hold on for much longer." The pope remained silent. He looked down at his hands as if he could see the fine cracks on his bones through the ghastly pale flesh. "Dragged on all these years, I finally can''t endure much longer," he said. "Almost to the limit." "You are a human, after all," the keeper said casually as if it didn''t matter to him. "I''ve said thousands upon thousands of times that humans all die. Hole See, it seems that you still haven''t gotten accustomed to it." "You''re not worry?" the pope asked. "No, of course I am not worried." The keeper scratched at the lice on his scalp and said nonchalantly, "Something like you doesn''t need my worry. Instead, let me worry about other things." He paused. Looking at the cauldron, he pointed at the four extinguished badges. "You should at least speed up the saintly inheritance." "Haydn is already old and he''s prepared," the pope said. "After he dies, his disciple will accept his inheritance." "This can only ensure the total number." The keeper shook his head in dissatisfaction. "Of the six still living, there are two kings and four saints Of the three kings, the King of Yellow has escaped, you must stay in the Sacred City, and all pressure is shouldered by the current Bach. He is already exhausted from protecting the completeness of the human world. "Someone must fill in the other four positions. Before you die, can you at least clean up the mess you created?" The pope said, "I''ll try my best." "You see the outside world clearer than me." The keeper asked, "In the next decade, is there anyone who can fill in a saint''s position? That kid named Wolf FluteBach''s disciple seems okay. Hasn''t he become a Scepter recently?" "Wolf Flute? He is incapable." The pope shook his head. "He is unwilling to take great responsibilities and fused with the simplest low-level element. His potential is not enough. "If he waited three more years for the Sacred City to lay down the foundation of his legend, he could at fuse with at least three upper-level elements with his talent and inherit Bach''s crown." "The youth want simple freedom. Not everyone wants to jump into the mire." The keeper took some nuts from his pocket and chomped on them. "He is still too young. Let him come in ten years. He should be more mature then. Starting over again is just ten years. Twenty years later, he will be forty-three. For a saint, that is very young." "I will keep that in mind," the pope said. "You should have more candidates, right?" "What about the third prince of Asgard?" the keeper suggested. "He is a rare talent within generations. Even I know how powerful he is without going outside. He is only seventeen but already at the Distortion level. Sixteen families support his inheritance of the crown. He has a bright future." "But he doesn''t want to be a saint," the pope said. "He wants to kill his two elder brothers and become the second emperor, after his great-grandfather, to rule all of Asgard with utmost power. He is not a suitable candidate." The keeper shook his head. "It is not a rule that emperors cannot be saints." "Those that can be emperors are definitely not saints," the pope said. "No matter from which aspect." "What about Rommel?" the keeper continued. "The ''quick knife'' and ''rabid dog'' of the Silent Authority. Thankfully Handel has trained him. He is only twenty-four years old but already full of accomplishments. Apparently, the demons all call him the ''executioner.'' At such a young age, he already has so much blood on his hands. I''m sure you''ll like him." "Fifteen years," the pope replied after a moment of thought. "Fifteen years later, he will be a qualified saint. However, there is not much hope in the short-term." "Alfonso from the Southern Illusion Islands is the strongest genius in the history of the Voodoo Crypt." "He had no more breakthroughs after entering the Distortion level. The Voodoo Crypt ruined him. He is material that can be developed and shouldn''t have followed the old paths. It may be possible for him to become a scepter but not a saint." "There are many talents recently from the School of Choir. What about that crazy woman who studied cloning of cells to the extreme?" "Angelina?" The pope thought for a while and shook his head. "She is too young and doesn''t have enough experience. With her proposition, she needs at least twenty more years." "Casper Hauser? Calculating the time, the beastly nature should be on him already." "There is hope of him becoming a Scepter but it is more possible for his brother to become a saint. However, it will take at least seven years to see if he can make the breakthrough." "What about Samuel from the School of Destruction? Isn''t he the one with most potential in the new generation?" "He''s dead." "Dead?" The keeper was stunned and shook his head. "What a pity What about Colt from the Rock Institute?" "Also dead." "Is the kid from Burgundy, known as the eagle of the empire, dead too?" "Yeah, dead too." "What about the Karamov brothers from Caucus?" "All dead." "F*ck, is it the trend for the young ones to die now?" the keeper swore. After a long while, he looked at the pope. "Then what about that legendary Eastern kid?" He studied the pope. "Our duke, the inheritor of the amazing Deva''s blood, the sword bearer of Anglo, and the son of the biggest traitorYe Qingxuan. How is he? A freak like him appears in every era. If he continues his path, I think he only needs at most five years" "No, he is the least possible," the pope interrupted and shook his head resolutely. "Ye Qingxuan will never be able to become a saint, no matter how accomplished he becomes." "Why?" The keeper was infuriated. The pope looked at him and said calmly, "Unless you want a second Revolutionary army to appear." "To someone like you, humans are all unsightly, aren''t they?" "Perhaps." "Is there anything on this world that is perfect to you?" "Perhaps." "Perhaps? It is rare for you to say something so ambiguous." The keeper shook his head in dissatisfaction and stopped talking. After a long while, the pope moved from the Holy Cauldron to the keeper''s body. The two identical faces were very eerie. "The duration," he said. "How much longer?" "Soon," the keeper replied. He turned. Walking down the altar with the pope, he waved a hand. Something rumbled in the silence. The sound did not come from above or below them but from all directions. It was as if the entire Dark World had roared in anger. Under the loud boom, countless gears began turning, creating sparks of fire. The chains and wheels crashed with piercing and grating noises. The most important was a boom like a heartbeat. The ten thousand ton hammer pounded at iron, creating a heart-stoppingly majestic sound. The ground opened up under the operation of the complex machinery. Layer by layer, it opened up. The blazing light of lava rose from the crack. Below the two, inside the vast abyss, was a boundless lake of lava. The indescribably large machine could only operate by absorbing the immense heat. Inside the burning lava, gears hundreds of meters tall interlocked with each other and rotated endlessly. Under their guidance, countless steel collided with each other. It was like an unmanned iron factory. The pope''s eyes were not attracted by this strange sight. Instead, he looked deep into the factory to the core enveloped by the gears and machinery. The keeper stood beside him. Looking down at the scenery as well, he smiled. "Soon" - At dusk, Charles finally got off work at a normal time after days of overtime. The four members of the history department were finally together again. It seemed to be the first time since they came to the Sacred City. After receiving permission to go out, Abraham asked the embassy to help them book a restaurant. He decided to use his own money on a celebration. In actuality, he had become the deputy director of the Royal Academy of Music''s School of Revelations and had some power. The principal spent his budget like it wasn''t money and gave money out happily as well. Now, Abraham''s salary and bonuses were all crazy numbers. However, other than his meals, there was not much he spent money on. He did not like smoking or drinking. He just liked staying in his room and reading. His monthly experiment supplies and consumables were supplied by the academy. After becoming the deputy director, he had the authority to enter the Library too. He had no need to buy books anymore. Therefore, his salary became a long number in his bank account. From the current trend, it was clear that it would keep accumulating. Used to hard times, Charles became so jealous after seeing Abraham''s bank account and keeps asking him for some research funds every month. However, Charles has probably gotten some dirty money from the Royal Research Institute and Church. He shouldn''t be poor but he was never up to anything good. If he had money, he would buy liquor. If he had a fortune, he would fulfil his imagination. He had wasted so much money trying to realize his crazy ideas. A few days ago, he had even visited the armaments office. He had bought half a discarded Gospel armor and a lot of consumables. Of course, he said that he was helping Ye Qingxuan design a new skeleton suit but the Silent Authority didn''t believe him. They had put him under surveillance again. They did not know what he wanted to do by buying such rare battle-level weapons in the Sacred City. Ye Qingxuan could only worry over this and ask Wolf Flute to make them go easy on him. Charles was almost close to exploding after days of being pressed down by the Sacred City rules. After this meal, he had said enough nonsense. Ye Qingxuan was forced to be polluted mentally. Abraham just smiled and watched. In the end, Bai Xi ate everything up silently. When they realized they were hungry, they only saw a bunch of empty plates Listening to Charles and Bai Xi argue, Ye Qingxuan and Abraham exchanged glances and smiled. Ye Qingxuan had not experienced something so relaxing in a while. They were arguing but sitting and eating with his professor, Charles, and Bai Xi was calming. It was like a family. He waved for a server. The server came with an uncomfortable expression. "Sirsomeone just booked the entire restaurant." The server pointed at the room that had suddenly become empty. After saying a bunch of apologetic things like making their meal free, he politely said something along the lines of ''please get out of here quickly.'' "Booked the entire place?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. Just as he was prepared to speak, someone behind the server said, "Sorry, these are my friends. I booked the place so I could speak with them happily. You may go now." Shocked, Ye Qingxuan looked up. It was a middle-aged man around forty years old. His hair was already graying. He seemed elegant, graceful, and very likeable. The most shocking thing was that he was an Easterner. And he seemed familiar. Ye Qingxuan could feel that Bai Xi''s expression darkened. "Sorry to bother you all." Under their confused gazes, the Easterner smiled gently. "Nice to meet you. I am Yunlou Qingshu, an Easterner." He paused and tossed out the bomb. "At the same time, I am also Bai Xi''s father." 467 Father "At the same time, I am also Bai Xi''s father." In the silence, Bai Xi''s expression darkened. Yunlou Qingshu''s words blew the minds of the other three. "Father?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "Father!" Abraham froze. "Father?!" Charles froze too. Then he slammed the table and shot up, pointing at Yunlou Qingshu and shouting, "Then you''re my dad too!" No one replied in the awkward silence. Everyone''s expressions grew more uncomfortable but Charles rushed up in excitement. He cried, "Dad!" Grasping Yunlou Qingshu''s hand, he shook it excitedly and exclaimed, "Hi, Dad! I''m Charles!" Even if he''s a dad, he''s Bai Xi''s dad, not yours! What are you excited about?! Ye Qingxuan could not help but roll his eyes. However, Charles smiled joyfully and grabbed Yunlou Qingshu''s hand as if he had no bones. He seemed close to latching onto the man like a squid. "Since Daddy''s here, let us bros have a good drink" Hey, how did you go from father and son to brothers so quickly? Bai Xi''s expression grew uglier. She kicked Charles under the table, hoping to kick him into hell. "Bai Xi, don''t throw a tantrum. I''m speaking with Daddy." Charles waved and his expression grew serious. He sighed emotionally, "To be honestI''ve always seen Bai Xi as a daughter!" Abraham had just picked up a glass of water to calm him down. But he did not expect that after being suffocated by the Sacred City for so long, Charles had become even worse. He choked and spat out the water. "Ah, I''m so pleased." Charles was proud for some reason. He was like a fat middle-aged woman bragging to other housewives about his kid. "I''ve worked hard for little Bai Xi to grow up so well!" Worked hard my *ss! Don''t act like you''ve changed the diapers! What have you done other than fighting with her over food and the pettiest things?! Now, Yunlou Qingshu finally snapped out of the shock of Charles''s horribleness. His elegant features twitched but he soon recovered forcefully. "Oh?" He squeezed out a smile. "Thank you for taking care of Bai Xi. With friends like you, I am reli-" "Big bro, what do you do?" Charles interrupted with an excited expression. "Are you interested in funding common folk research experiments? Would you like to fund a barbarian''s mechanical laboratory? I have recently invented a mechanism that can move forever with running water. It will definitely be useful in the future! It can easily become popular in both the east and west!" "I am merely a silk merchant and not very successful. I recently had a disagreement with my boss and finally had a break so I came to see Bai Xi." Yunlou Qingshu rejected him politely and pulled the conversation back to Bai Xi. He looked warmly at his coldly staring daughter. "How has Bai Xi been these years?" Bai Xi opened her mouth to speak but Ye Qingxuan stopped her, shaking his head slightly. This guy was not good news. They better let Charles test the waters first. "She eats well, sleeps well, and gained a ton of weight!" Charles raised his voice in an unspoken agreement. However, he was talking as if he was selling meat. "Bro, you don''t gotta worry. Look at how we raised Bai Xi to be nice and plump, so cute." "That is great. I am relieved." Yunlou Qingshu seemed to have not noticed anything and kept smiling pleasantly. "Bai Xi has never been an obedient child. She loves making trouble and giving people headaches. Seeing how she has become, I am happy as well." "So are you done looking?" Charles waved as if they were visiting each other. "If you''ve got nothing else, go now. We''ll take Bai Xi to see you some other day. We have other plans tonight." No matter how tolerant Yunlou Qingshu was, he was a little taken aback by the merciless shooing. He chuckled awkwardly and glanced at the table. "I''m a little hungry. Can I eat some?" Charles shook his head. "It''s very hard to live in the Sacred City. I don''t have much money." "It''s okay. I''ll pay." Charles shook his head again. "Time''s running short." "It''s okay. You can go," Yunlou Qingshu said. "I just need to speak with Bai Xi." Charles froze before quickly sighing. "Ah, to be honest, I signed Bai Xi up for a math class a few days ago. Oh, look at the time. It''s almost time for class. Come, Bai Xi, let me take you to class." Without waiting for Qingshu to reply, he pulled Bai Xi up. Before she could fight back, he swung her over his shoulder and ran This guy had swung his junior over his shoulder and ran! Before leaving, he threw a glance at Ye Qingxuan as if saying, that''s all I can do for you! The rest is up to you! In the awkward silence, Abraham cleared his throat. He tried to act as if nothing had happened. Pulling out a pipe, he rose. "I''m going for a smoke." And he escaped too. He really did not understand the situation but seeing as Charles had run, he could not help with matters either. It was up to the young ones. In the end, all that remained in the empty restaurant were Ye Qingxuan, Yunlou Qingshu staring at each other across a table of leftovers. "Seems that I won''t be able to talk to her today." Yunlou Qingshu shook his head and sighed. "I still came at the wrong time. I was too rushed. A rushed conversation will never achieve the goal. It will only make the kid hate me more, right?" "Mr. Yunlou Qingshu, sit down." Ye Qingxuan sighed and pointed at the seat across from him. "Sorry that this happened but please be rest assured, I won''t run. You can talk to me." He studied Yunlou Qingshu, who was still composed. He said quietly, "After Bai Xi lived with all of us, we are like her family because she doesn''t have any other family. Charles and I are her brothers. We will protect her and if anyone wants to bully her, they have to get past us first." Yunlou Qingshu nodded. As if welcoming his daughter''s friend home, he was very pleased. "You''ve worked hard." "Not just people who want to bully but her father too." Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew cold. "You''ve never asked about Bai Xi all this time. She has been living by herself in this world. Now you suddenly drop out of the sky like some caring father and to be honest, even I''m grossed out" He stared at Yunlou Qingshu and uttered, "What do you want?" Stared at by those eyes, Yunlou Qingshu smiled and shook his head. "Why must you be like this? Haven''t we met once before?" Snapping a finger, he had the server come and clear the table. A bucket of iced wine was quickly brought over as well as two glasses. Yunlou Qingshu lifted his glass and motioned for Ye Qingxuan to follow. After drinking a glass, he suddenly asked, "How old is Bai Xi this year?" Ye Qingxuan froze and frowned. "Nineteen." "Already nineteen? Just like her sister." Yunlou Qingshu sighed. "That''s the age to get married As a father, I must think of my daughter and choose a good husband for her. I came to the Sacred City for this as well." "You don''t need to worry about Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "And no offense but, to her, you''re the true trouble for her. Do you think Bai Xi will listen to you obediently and marry someone she''s never met before?" Qingshu smiled meaningfully. "It''s okay. She will always be my daughter. Sometimes, she will listen. So, I must say," he paused and said nonchalantly as if describing a truth, "you still don''t understand her well enough." Ye Qingxuan''s face darkened. He did not know what unknown things this man had in his hands. But if he was here and wanted to do something to Bai Xi, Ye Qingxuan would not let him go so easily. Even if this man was Bai Xi''s father. What a joke. Even if this was his father Ye Lanzhou, he would not care, let alone someone else''s dad He was sure that if he beat Yunlou Qingshu up here, Bai Xi would be happy for three months. Unfortunately, this guy was the duke of Yunlou City. He had a higher position than Ye Qingxuan. If he made a move, he would have to fight passivelyYunlou Qingshu was prepared and he had to be sure about the other''s plan and hidden cards. However, Ye Qingxuan was not confident he could get an advantage from an old fox like him who had climbed out of the dirty sewage water. He could only take each step as it happened. Thankfully Bai Xi had been taken by Charles. Otherwise, he would be even more passive. - "Did you know?" Yunlou Qingshu drank by himself and spoke animatedly. "In the past, I wanted Bai Xi to marry to the crown prince of Anglo. She could be the queen that was above all but one person. But she didn''t like him and even ran away from home It''s such hard work to be a dad. I have to put in so much thought to find a son-in-law." Ye Qingxuan remained silent. "Actually, it''s not hard to find a son-in-law. It''s hard to find a good one." Yunlou Qingshu pointed at the Sacred City, lit with lanterns and lights. "Look, the Sacred City is filled with officials and nobles. As long as I reveal that I want my daughter to marry, you don''t know how many wives will suddenly die tonight Thankfully, I''ve already found a better one and don''t need to do all that." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Such as?" Yunlou Qingshu smiled. He patted the young man''s shoulder. "Such as you, Ye Qingxuan." 468 Son and Father-in-law "Such as you, Ye Qingxuan." In the silence, Yunlou Qingshu smiled and dropped another bomb. He patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder with satisfaction. "You''re much better than that idiotic crown prince, better than anyone else, don''t you think?" "Mr. Yunlou, you think too highly of me." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was indifferent. "To be honest, I''m just a handyman for Anglo. Even if I''ve become more famous after becoming a musician, I still have nothing to do with true power." "Don''t look down on yourself, young man," Qingshu said lightly. "You are only nineteen-years-old, aren''t you? In half a year, you went from a student who knew nothing to a powerful Disturbance level musician. You have a weapon like Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and countless inheritances from various schools. You also have something like the Philosopher''s Stone. "The greatest traitor, Ye Lanzhou, is your father, Mr. Bach''s only student Wolf Flute is your good friend, Maxwell sees you as his heir, Anglo sees you as their sword bearer, and you are the future shadow minister and head of the Fifth Department. The Silent Authority is sparing no expenses in turning you into one of their one. Even the core of the Cardinals and Constantine think highly of you. That Charles, who seems out of it, sees you more important than life itself "To Anglo, you are the future pillar and Lancelot dreams of you returning to the family. And let''s not even mention Princess Mary, who loves you. When you officially enter your position, you will become the first uncrowned king in a century to have the Sword in the Stone, the Fifth Department, and Lancelot''s armor "To the East, you are the undisputed leader of the Ye family. So many people wish you''ll go back. Once you past the test of the dragon blood, you''ll become a duke, equal to me with a promising future" Yunlou Qingshu gazed at Ye Qingxuan as if looking at a priceless gem. "How many people on this planet do you think are equal to you in talent and connections?" "I see." Ye Qingxuan arched an eyebrow. "If not for your reminder, I wouldn''t have realized how valuable I am. Unfortunately, why do you think I''ll marry Bai Xi if I have such a promising future?" "Will you let her marry just anyone?" Qingshu asked in return. Ye Qingxuan fell silent. Qingshu smiled happily and poured wine for him. "Ye Qingxuan, see, you care for her," he murmured in the youth''s ear like a wraith. "Instead of giving my daughter to someone who doesn''t love her as a toy, why don''t I find a good man who is willing to sacrifice for her?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Not just sacrifice for Bai Xi, but for you too, right?" "Ye Qingxuan, you''re almost twenty. Why do you still not act like a man?" Qingshu shook his head sadly. Standing up, he looked around the luxurious yet empty restaurant as if drunk. Looking at the bustling night outside the window, he smiled mockingly. "Why are you afraid to look your desires in the eye? Men must grasp what they love in their hands! No matter if that is beauties, power, richness, or a country. If it doesn''t belong you, then what meaning does your love have? Are you really willing to watch Bai Xi get married to a fat and balding old man?" The voice was like a demon''s murmurs. Qingshu walked behind Ye Qingxuan and gently pressed down on his shoulders. He still smiled politely but now, there was a bit of drunkenness and craziness. His voice seemed to come from hell. "She is only nineteen this year, Ye Qingxuan. So young, so cute. She''ll tremble in shyness when holding your hand, so intoxicatingly sweet. You''ve done so much for her. She should belong to you! "Think about it. If you aren''t there, that unmarred body would be pressed under a vile old man and played with until her tears run dry. She''ll be a little doll put on display" Ye Qingxuan remained silent. But under his long white hair, his face was livid. Angry moonlight burned in his eyes. "Mr. Yunlou, don''t cross the line" "Don''t cross the line?" Yunlou Qingshu laughed. "Do you know where we are? Ye Qingxuan, this is the Sacred City. Do you know what creatures these big figures become after they take off their uniforms? "Have you seen how they play with women? When they get bored, they''ll call their friends over. Three people, five, even" "I said enough!" Ye Qingxuan growled. The illusion of cold moonlight rose in thin air. Instantly, it sliced like a sword. Six ripples appeared in the aether sea. However, the brewing moonlight was forcefully extinguished. In the silence, there was a string of crackles between them. Two powerful strengths burst out, freezing the world and distorting the reality. In an instant, two vastly different music theories clashed in a short yet intense fight. After distorting the material world, they went into the aether sea, creating giant waves. Before alerting the Sacred City enchantment, they quickly moved into a dark corner. Deep under the aether sea, they created wild aftershocks. The moonlight sword swung and hacked, breaking through sixteen barriers in quick succession until the other was forced into a passive defensive position. However, the other was obviously a Scepter level. Even using Yunlou Qingshu as a source and fighting with Ye Qingxuan from thousands of meters away, he could still move at ease and ensure Qingshu''s safety. The fight in the aether sea was reflected in reality. With a string of sharp sounds, the terrifying aftershocks shattered the bricks, walls, and chandeliers. The table melted into dirt but the tablecloth turned into steel. The glasses vaporized but the wine inside solidified into vile rubber The short yet shrill wine suddenly stopped. Ye Qingxuan''s finger was pressed against Qingshu''s neck. The aether waves on Qingshu''s body were furious but did not burst out due to Qingshu''s calmness. The other man did not expect that the renowned Ye Qingxuan would have such a high starting point In that instant, Ye Qingxuan used pure power to force him back. His sub-originator had stirred the aether sea, forcefully destroying the protections around Qingshu. He had thrown the Philosopher''s Stone as if it was a steel ball! Now, he only needed to think and activate his heart of sound to turn this duke into a pile of mangled flesh. The other man did not dare to take the risk. "Calm down, young man." As if he did not understand his danger, Yunlou Qingshu did not show any fear. "Do you think I''m a despicable man? Don''t worry, I''m still her father. I won''t let that happen. You won''t either, right?" "You did say something right." Ye Qingxuan let go and looked at him expressionlessly. "I did so much for her, so she does not belong to you. No matter what cards you have hidden or plans you have, I hope that you won''t appear before Bai Xi again before you leave this city Otherwise, I promise I will make it painful for you." "You learn quickly, Ye Qingxuan." Qingshu patted his shoulder with praise. "You did not disappoint me. You''re even more valuable than I thought. If possible, I even want Chaoyue to marry youbut I''m sure you won''t listen to anything I say now." Reaching out, he took off his torn jacket. The servant in the darkness walked over and submissively helped him put on a new and clean robe. He still looked majestic and glamorous. "It''s getting late and I should go. A cardinal representing the Sacred City wishes to meet me tonight." Glancing at his watch, he sighed. "I can''t believe the first unfortunate meeting between a father and son-in-law would end like this. Take care, Ye Qingxuan." With one last glance, he turned and left. The door slammed shut behind him. - Outside the door, the servants waited beside the elegant carriage in the night wind. They knelt on the ground to welcome Yunlou Qingshu back. However, he stayed by the door and looked beside him. At the side of the road, Abraham sat on the fire hydrant, smoking with his head low. His clothes were ugly and his hat was old. He looked more like a homeless guy than a musician. Yunlou Qingshu went over with a cigarette. "Can I borrow some fire?" "Of course." Abraham reached up. His metal fingers snapped, creating a spark that lit the cigarette. Using the firelight, Qingshu studied Abraham''s features. "I heard of you twenty years ago. I have looked up to the name ''Abraham'' for a long while." "Thank you." Abraham shook his head. "That is all in the past. Now, I only want to be a teacher but you tried to take my student away, so don''t say things like looking up to me." "I can''t help it." Qingshu shook his head sadly. "As a father, I must be strict." "Coincidentally, I''m like that too," Abraham said calmly. "Bai Xi is a good girl. She''s obedient and cute. So, if she doesn''t like you, it must be because you treat her badly instead of strictly." Yunlou Qingshu remained silent. He could always explain himself before the others but faced with Abraham''s straightforward logic, he was powerless. He sighed. "You misunderstand me." Abraham put out his pipe and emptied the ashes on the fire hydrant. He put it back and looked at Qingshu. "You know, for a moment" he said, "I really wanted to kill you." - When Ye Qingxuan found Bai Xi, she was on the swing set in the embassy''s backyard. Ye Qingxuan looked at her back quietly. After a long while, she lowered her head. She wiped her face forcefully and turned around. Her eyes were slightly red but they weren''t sad. "Did you beat him up?" Bai Xi asked. Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Yeah." "Did you win?" Thinking for a bit, he shook his head. "Didn''t lose." "Oh." Bai Xi was a little sad but she quickly got onto her tiptoes and patted his shoulder. "It''s okay. Work harder and you''ll win next time." "Yeah." Nodding, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Let''s go back. Professor and Charles are worried." Bai Xi nodded obediently. Tugging his sleeve, she followed him. However, Ye Qingxuan paused and grasped her hand. Her hand was cold, delicate, and small. Holding it, he didn''t dare to apply pressure, scared that it would melt like a snowflake. Bai Xi stiffened. "Cousin?" She looked up but Ye Qingxuan was walking before her against the light. She could not see his expression clearly. "Bai Xi" "Yeah?" "Will you go back with your dad?" Bai Xi laughed and shook his head. "No." "Really?" She nodded forcefully. "Really." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He tightened his grip and seemed to smile. "That''s good." - A few days later, it was still snowing endlessly. Tomorrow was the Winter Festival. Most stores were closed and the crowds had thinned. The falling snow muffled all sound, making this steel city peaceful and serene. Ye Qingxuan allowed the snow to fall onto him. He walked on the soft carpet, listening to the snow crumbling under his feet. Finally, he pushed open a vintage door. The heat from the fireplace welcomed him. The antiques store was decorated subtly and comfortably. The fireplace burned and emanated with the smell of pine wood. There might be some spices as well. It was faintly fragrant and calming. Among the precious antiques, someone sat on the sofa. Covered with a blanket, he had his head buried while writing something. "Boss, your crappy place is so hard to find." Ye Qingxuan stomped his feet by the door and shook off the snow before entering. Hermes waved. "You''re finally here. I thought you''d come earlier. I''m still busy. Take a seat and get some wine from the cabinet." Ye Qingxuan stood by the sofa and stared before confirming that this really was the horrible boss he knew. A few days ago, he was still an ugly fatty but now, he was extremely thin. Or rather, he had recovered his previous frail beauty. Now, he looked like a thirty-something-year-old noble. His features were handsome and his skin was pale. There was the eerie and androgynous beauty. It was as if the golden haired youth from their first meeting had suddenly grown up. He was a totally different man from the fat guy before. "Boss, did you take drugs?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "You''ve lost at least twenty-five pounds, right?" "Sh!" Hermes waved in annoyance. He scribbled in his notebook with a pen. Ye Qingxuan glanced over and his eyes hurt. Using his basic knowledge of engineering and alchemy, he could make out that Hermes was drawing the design of something big. The part he could see was already extremely complicated. He could understand a bit about the alchemy. Some of the music theory seemed to be similar to his enlightenment. There were traces of the Heaven Ladder in there too but he did understand its use or nature. He tried to interpret it but before he started, all the changes and music theories made him practically black out. In that moment, he saw a huge yet blurry structure hidden in the mist "What is this?" he yelped. "A secret." Hermes smiled mysteriously. He scribbled down the last equation and closed the book. "When I show you after I finish two days later, you''ll be shocked. I can''t believe I got this crazy idea just as I decided to retire from alchemy. This will change the world, Ye Qingxuan." "Everyone wants to change the world. This isn''t anything shocking." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He did not understand what Hermes was planning and did not care either. "How did you lose so much weight?" "Of course by being healthy and exercising. Did you think I was dieting?" Hermes whistled. "Good exercising habits are the way to a healthy body, Ye Qingxuan. Would you like a pair of running shoes? Running is really healthy!" Run? Ye Qingxuan thought in his mind. You can only lose that much weight by running from the Sacred City to Anglo and back every day! He put his jacket on the stand and sat down without reserve. "I''m sure you know why I''m here." "Yunlou Qingshu?" As if already clear, Hermes was unsurprised. "You already saw that guy? Seems like he gave you a lot of pressure. After all, pressure is normal when you meet your in-law." "Boss, can you not?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "If I really had an in-law like that, I''d just kill myself. I''d rather donate everything I own to homeless kids than let that b*stard get a cent." "Ah, seems like you have a lot of family drama." Hermes cackled. "If you''re here, you must want some dirty gossip on your in-law, right?" "What cards does he have hidden?" Ye Qingxuan cut to the chase. "He came so confidently to see the daughter that wants to kill him. What is he counting on?" "Oh, you''ve asked a good question." Gripping his chin, Hermes began saying, "Let''s start from when Yunlou Qingshu was born forty-six years ago" "Abridged version, please." Ye Qingxuan was in no mood to listen to him expound. "Okay, okay." Hermes shrugged helplessly. "Let''s start from twenty-three years ago" 469 No Answer Forty-six years ago, Yunlou Qingshu was born. He was the third child and youngest of Yunlou Feijing. His mother was a courtesan of Yunlou City. He was not brought home until he was six-years-old. He had an elder brother and sister. Twenty-three years ago, he was twenty-three years old. On the day of his birthday, Yunlou Feijing died from poisoning. The same day, there was an attempted assassination on Yunlou Qingxi, the legitimate heir to the city. He did not die but his dignity was lost and he disappeared from then on. Qingshu became the leader of the city. He inherited the title of Prince and controlled the land and sea hub between the East and West. This should have been the peak of his life, the most glorious day of his life. However, from that day on, there were constantly rebels revolting against him in the name of Qingxi. The people protested as well. Aurora Empire would not send the decree to recognize Qingshu''s position. Reaching that status as the youngest son and without any roots or connections, his planning, courage, and ambition were clearly terrifying. However, he lacked one thing "Deva''s blood." Understanding what Hermes was saying, it dawned on Ye Qingxuan. "He''s mixed and doesn''t have pure blood. He''s not even a musician." "That''s right." Hermes clapped in praise. The inherited weapon of Yunlou was ''Dijun.'' In order to control Yunlou, all family leaders had to be the strongest of the strong. When the late Feijing was at his prime, he could control the seas by himself. With his power, he was known as the king of the sea. Yunlou City was also a war weapon created by thousands of Eastern alchemists. Its central core could only be activated by Dijun. Otherwise, it would be unable to fend off the phenomenon natural catastrophe Black Tide that appeared once every eighty years. However, not only was Qingshu clueless about music theory, his lineage was not pure either. Not even Dijun would acknowledge him, let alone Yunlou City. When he killed his father and brother, there were only twenty-five years before the Black Tide. It was pressing. And even worse "He couldn''t prove that he is legitimate!" Hermes said. "Not being acknowledged by Dijun or being a musician was one thing. However, his Deva''s blood isn''t pure either and his hair is speckled The nine dragon bloodlines don''t even acknowledge his position! As a family leader of the nine dragon bloodlines, it was the biggest humiliation to be equal with a mutt! "One day without Aurora''s decree was one sleepless night. If his wounded and escaped brother returned to the city, he would only need to wave a hand and the world would respond to him. Everyone would follow him. There are even sayings that Qingshu is illegitimate and will die in Qingxi''s hands one day" Hermes paused and glanced at Ye Qingxuan. "If you were him, what would you do?" After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I can''t do something like that and I wouldn''t know how to act." "Then what do you think he did?" Hermes fluttered his lashes and kept dragging things out without hurry. When he realized that Ye Qingxuan was unresponsive, he shook his head helplessly and answered his own question. "Since he was illegitimate, then he''d just give birth to a legitimate one, of course," Hermes said. "If he could give birth to a pureblood child, then the dragon bloodlines would have to believe him, right? Even those rebels would be unable to talk about justice then, right? So that''s what he did." "That''s what he did?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. "How? If it''s that easy to give birth to Deva''s blood, all of the dragon bloodlines of Aurora would go crazy, let alone the Yunlou family." "You idiot." Hermes shook his head sympathetically. "Did you forget? He has a sister. A sister who was like a mother to him since childhood" Ye Qingxuan froze, a chill spreading over him. "Are you saying that b*stard, hehe" "Yes, he raped his own sister," Hermes said lightly. "And his sister quickly became pregnant. He spared no expense to ensure that he would get a pureblood child. He spent almost half of Yunlou City''s money. Since the womb, the child started using precious materials that even a Scepter musician would go crazy for. "In the end, he received the pureblood he dreamed of. The baby''s talent was so powerful it was like a monster. Even in the womb, it was a child with a promising future. Such great news, such celebratory newshahaha!" Hermes started laughing as if he just said a punchline but Ye Qingxuan could not laugh. "Are you saying that Bai Xi is that" "Bai Xi is that child but that child isn''t her." Hermes shook his head. "Yunlou Qingshu used his money, enough gems for thousands of people, to receive a child favored by the gods. But because of his horrible deeds, the child was also cursed." "What do you mean?" "Two talents." Hermes held up two fingers with sympathetic yet cold eyes. "That child had two talents at oncetwo talents that were like fire and water. ''Taiyi'' and ''Zhaodang.'' Do you know what these mean?" Ye Qingxuan froze. How could he not know? He had read about these shockingly powerful talents from books about the East. Compared to these, Heaven Ladder was nothing. Taiyi and Zhaodang were the best of all talents. One was glorious like the sun. It could control all aether and stop all demonic sound. If a musician used it, no other melody of music score could rise above it. This was the ''king'' of all talents and the controller of all music scores. No musician could fight against it. The other was aggressive as fire. It created a cacophony. In its path, all music theory would lose control and be dragged into the violent shaking, turning into a symphony of destruction. This was the ''demon'' of talents, the destructor of all music scores. It would obliterate everything in its path, even the owner. One was extreme auspiciousness. One was extreme inauspiciousness. If these two talents appeared in one infant''s body, the infant would become their battlefield. Not only the infant, but even the mother and everything around them would be dragged into the war. "If a god exists, this would be his punishment to Yunlou Qingshu," Hermes said. "He wanted a child so God gave him an unmatchable child. Unfortunately, this child was destined to be stillborn. But Qingshu could not allow it. For his future, he decided toturn one child into two." "Two?" Ye Qingxuan froze. "How is that possible?" "How is it not?" Hermes asked in reply. "Is it hard for a Choir musician to make an embryo? They would just turn the petri dish into the mother''s uterus. Yunlou Qingshu found the best Choir musician to split the embryo into two. The two infants received Taiyi and Zhaodang respectively. "This entire plan had no flaws other than the fact that it was painful for the mother. To be honest, I''m quite impressed with Qingshu. If he''s a musician, I''m sure he would be on par with you." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "I''m disgusted to be compared to him." Hermes shrugged. "No matter what, ten months later, Yunlou Qingshu successfully received a perfect product and a damaged resulta pair of twin girls. Their mother named them. The first to be born was the successful sister. Her name was Yunlou Chaoyue. The second was the failure. Her name was" "Yunlou Baixi," Ye Qingxuan gritted out. "Yes." Hermes shrugged. "With Yunlou Chaoyue, Qingshu successfully received Aurora''s decree to prove his status. He put all his hope of glory on Chaoyue. She received the best education since birth and used her talent to repay the father who raised her. She is a true princess. "The other child who inherited Zhaodang wasn''t so lucky. Zhaodang is powerful but is a horrible omen. With such a cursed talent, no one thought she would live until adulthood. In reality, if her mother did not fight to her death, Yunlou Baixi would have been drowned at birth. "Your cousin grew up in isolation with her mother, becoming less and less loved by people until she decided to leave home Actually, if I were Qingshu, I would be relieved that this eyesore was finally gone. Go, go, die outside. After all, Yunlou City only has one city. But since she was going to die anyway, why not recycle garbage? Find her and marry her off as a political bargaining chip. "You know what happened afterward. Because of you, the Yunlou Baixi who was wrapped up in a pretty bow to be given to Anglo''s prince turned into Bai Xi, your cheap cousin." Ye Qingxuan fell silent. "However, I''m sure Yunlou Qingshu is grateful to you now. Grateful that you saved Bai Xi from Qingxi''s men and happy that she can live healthily." Hermes smile grew mocking and mysterious. "Especially after he realized when Yunlou Chaoyue became of age that, just by herself, she couldn''t receive Dijun''s acknowledgment. "Chaoyue and Baixi are one person Yunlou''s weapon Dijun will only recognize the two of them and it must be the two! With one missing, he could not awaken Dijun and control the core of Yunlou City. He cannot fight off the Black Tide that will come in two years. The glory and power he has spent his entire life fighting for, his Yunlou, will be buried under the natural catastrophe. "If I were Yunlou Qingshu, I would thank the heavens, burn incense for you, and put up a big tablet to worship you. Ye Qingxuan, you''re a great person, a totally great person. You''re the hero who saved Yunlou City." It finally dawned on him. "He wants to take Bai Xi back to be his puppet and control Dijun?" "Not just that now." Hermes smiled. "Now he wants to add a son-in-law with a great future, the future minister of Anglo. He probably can''t stop smiling." "Why does he think Bai Xi will listen to him?" "Did you forget what I said?" Hermes pulled some nuts out of a drawer but thinking that he was still dieting, he sighed and put it back. "Chaoyue and Baixi are one person. They are twins from the same source and their connection is unimaginable. If he controls Chaoyue, do you think Baixi will run away? I can think of dozens of similar solutions. Don''t you understand?" Ye Qingxuan remained silent. He began pondering but his mind was a mess. He could not think of any solution. But after a while, he suddenly smiled as if all the weight had been lifted. When he looked at Hermes, his eyes became meaningful. "Tsk!" Hermes shook his head in annoyance. "I hate dealing with kids like you. You understand things too quickly and I can''t even drag out the drama." "You said all this so I can beg you to cut the tie, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Boss, you''re Bai Xi''s teacher. Coming here without telling her is one thing, but you won''t just let her die without doing anything, right?" "I came to fulfill a promise with a friend, that''s all." Hermes was upset. "I''m Bai Xi''s teacher but can we do a fair trade? I hate owing people and never let debts go on for long. If we calculate the business of her becoming my student, she''s made so much profit! And I even gave her the clock shop in Avalon. What do you want me to do? Give her my coffin money as her dowry?" "You want me to beg you?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him without any fear. Hermes rolled his eyes and said, "Beg me." "I beg you," Ye Qingxuan said shamelessly. "There''s no sincerity in those words. Kneel down." "Okay." Without hesitating, Ye Qingxuan got up and moved to kneel down. His moves were so agile and smooth, like a tiger landing on the ground. His aura was so powerful that Hermes was frightened. "F*ck, where''s your dignity? Your shame? If Ye Lanzhou knew you''re kneeling for a woman, he''d climb out of his coffin!" "Me kneeling has nothing to do with him." Ye Qingxuan looked at Hermes, still seeming like he was going to kneel. "Boss, you want me to kowtow? How many times?" "Sit down!" Hermes was powerless. "Being with that *sshole senior of yours, you didn''t learn any talents except how to be shameless!" "So you agreed?" Ye Qingxuan fluttered his lashes. "What''s the solution?" "If I started worrying now like you, it''ll be way too late!" Hermes huffed. "My promise with Bai Xi is that if she becomes my student, I''ll give her freedom. The problem is, I solved this half a year ago. She is the only musician in the world with two sound of hearts and my sole inheritor. In addition to the music theory system, she also has an alchemy array inside her." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Is one alchemy array effective?" "You think these arrays are peanuts and you can have as many as you want?" Hermes looked with scorn. "She''s not me. Having one is already a lot. In addition, I referenced the music theory of Heaven Ladder to create this masterpiece of a chain array. It''s comparable to any sacred weapon on this world. With this chain array, she can control Zhaodang. I''ve cut her tie to Chaoyue long ago too. Qingshu can''t do anything to her. Don''t worry." He paused and sighed. "The more I talk the more I feel indebted. Other students are all filial. Not only does my student not care about, I even have to give her a store and a weapon" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sighed in relief. He patted Hermes''s shoulder. "Don''t worry. After your hundredth year, Bai Xi will burn paper money for you every year." Hermes spat onto the ground. "You''re the seventh to say that to me confidently! The other six are long dead!" Ye Qingxuan smiled but did not reply. "And don''t think everything''s solved after I cut the tie." Hermes glanced at him. "Yunlou Qingshu keeps meeting with the Ecclesiastical Order these days. They seem very close. I don''t know what else he has in mind for his Yunlou City. He might have other tricks." "I''m taking Bai Xi back to Avalon after the Winter Festival," Ye Qingxuan said. "He can try whatever he wants in Avalon." "Good idea." Hermes glanced at him, seeming to smile. "Very definite as well but I hope you won''t continue to run from your thoughts." Ye Qingxuan was silent. Done speaking, Hermes did not want to bother with him anymore. He waved for Ye Qingxuan to leave. But before leaving, he tossed something over. Ye Qingxuan caught it and froze. "Some little girl told me to give this to you." Seeing his shock, Hermes snickered. "Remember to keep it by your side. After all, her heart is in it." Silent, Ye Qingxuan looked down at the little thing in his palm. It was a doll made from weeds with a weird painted face. It looked like a girl but was drawn poorly. The thing was childish and crude but Ye Qingxuan felt like he was struck by lightning. "Elsais still alive?" He looked at Hermes. "Does she really have something to do with the Winged Folk?" "Ha, who knows?" Hermes whistled and pointed at the door. "My guest, the store is closed. Please go home. Come back in two days. The boss has something to give you." He waved his notebook knowingly. Ye Qingxuan gaped at the doll in his hands. After a long while, he put it in his arms and left. In the store, Hermes held a feather duster and watched as Ye Qingxuan faded into the distance. He could not help but whistle. "The hardest problem to solve in this world is the word ''affection''so hard to solve! But you can''t solve it like this." He laughed gleefully. "You can''t solve it messily but you *sshole keep finding princesses to solve it. Not only do you have Bai Xi, the princess of Yunlou, and Anglo''s second princess, you even have something with the empress of Romulushehe, are you stuck now?" No one replied in the silence. This question probably had no answer. 470 New Year Sermon In the afternoon, the snow stopped and weak sunlight filtered in from between the clouds. The cold wind was blocked by the high walls so the park did not feel cold. The evergreen trees poked out of the snow, stubbornly showing their color. Unfortunately, no one was appreciating them. Tomorrow was the Winter Festival. There was barely anyone on the streets. Charles and Abraham were the only ones in the vast park. Abraham walked in the front and Charles followed. Just as how they walked on the streets in the past, if Abraham took a step, Charles would take a step. If Abraham stopped, Charles would stop. Charles had a rare break today, and had specially helped request permission for Abraham to come out. They strolled around the Sacred City. "I remember when I was little, you always said that if I listened, you''d take me to the Sacred City when I''m older," Charles said. "I always thought you were lying but I can''t believe we''re really here now." "Oh, you realized?" Abraham scratched his head awkwardly. "ActuallyI was lying to you. After all, we were poor back then and the school didn''t allow me to travel great distances. At that time, I actually thought that if there was no other way, I''d borrow some money and take you to the Sacred City Amusement Park in Avalon. Then I wouldn''t be lying to you." Charles could not help but laugh. "Actually, I think the amusement park is more fun than the Sacred City. Do you like the Sacred City?" "I actually cannot tell." Abraham shook his head. "I''ve always been slow and less sensitive than others. I always thought that all cities are like this and everyone''s faces are similar. There are only so many things that can go around. "People just worry about eating and sleeping everywhere. Cities are all the same but the wildernesses are all different. To beasts, the wilderness of Anglo and the Sacred City are different In the Avalonian wilderness, there is the sea. The Sacred City has rivers and mountains but all are beautiful." Charles remained silent but Abraham smiled. "Being in the wilderness for so long, you can''t wash away the habits of a beast. I''ve spent so many years learning the rules but I still don''t understand. In the past, I told Yezi that the interpretation method is to understand some things. However, now I think that there are things I won''t be able to understand this life but it''s okay. This is okay, Charles. There is no reason to feel sad for me." Charles nodded. "Professor, is there anything you are unaccustomed to here?" "It''s the same everywhere. Don''t worry about me." Abraham was walking in front and looked back at Charles. "But you, Charles, are you really thinking of staying here?" "Yeah, I think the Sacred City is nice." Charles nodded. "Mr. Constantine wants me to be his secretary. I''ll have a job and a way to feed myself. Maybe I can enter the clergy in the future and try being a priest. You don''t have to worry about me passing out drunk on the streets anymore." Abraham opened his mouth to speak but then he shook his head helplessly and sighed. "In the past, I wished for you to become a scholar. Then you would not have to go hungry. But now you''re doing better than I''d expected. I can''t help you anymore." "Don''t worry, Professor." Charles hooked an arm around Abraham''s shoulder as if they were the same age. They were as intimate as before. "I''ll come back to see you whenever I have time. After I work in the Sacred City for a few years, I''ll help you get amnesty. Then you won''t be a criminal anymore. You can go wherever you want and won''t have to lie to your students because of the Sacred City anymore." Abraham smiled and stopped speaking. They walked forward silently in the snow. After a long while, Abraham asked quietly, "Do you still have nightmares?" "Nope." Charles laughed and shook his head. The subtle pain in his head seemed to have gone far away. Along with those nightmares. - The Winter Festival was the end of the year. This was the most festive holiday of the year. Beginning at dawn, the city began bustling. Lively parades and circuses were scattered throughout the city. Bards from Burgundy, circuses with all types of beasts, clowns with painted faces, and fire-dancers with bare muscular chests People from all over the world were joined in this city. Fireworks burst in the sky constantly with radiant glows. The entire city was deep in celebration. Today, the hospitals and Choir musicians under the Church would go onto the streets to give believers free diagnosis and treatment. They would spread God''s care to more people. The central square had been jam-packed since morning. People crowded there and restricted the urge to cheer and yell, waiting quietly instead. Regardless of whether they were nobles, commoners, or beggars, they were all in one place now. They may be far apart but before God, there was no difference. They respectfully waited for the gospel to arrive. At noon, holy light fell from the sky. A figure clad in pure white walked up to the high podium at the side of the square. At the podium, the figure slightly raised a hand for the crowd to quiet down. The noises suddenly vanished. The crowd stopped pushing and reverently obeyed the figure''s wordless command. They waited quietly. When the Cardinals had all arrived, the man with white clothing and a crown, surrounded by the statues of countless saints, raised his scepter. His projection appeared in the sky. Like a giant, he looked down and could see everything. He was the King of Red! This was the only one on Earth who acted on behalf of God. He controlled the souls and final resting places of humanity; he was the sovereign and protector the holy citythe Pope! As he waved, holy light descended from heaven. As if daybreak had arrived, the light was filled with cleanliness and vitality. Under the faint melody, heaven''s glow shone on everyone. It soundlessly chased away their pain, bringing the gospel to the miserable people. Once a year, before the sermon, the King of Red would personally perform the Waldstein, the morning sonata, to cure and bless the believers who came for the gospel. "Your grace!" In the crowd, countless believers and priests shed tears of gratitude. They flattened themselves to the ground and prayed. The noise merged into a fervent and organized hymn. Under the leadership of the hymnists, they all sang together. Bathed under the morning light, they filled the steel city with the fervent music. At the very front of the crowd, Ye Qingxuan carried Bai Xi and gasped for breath. She was not heavy but after thirty minutes, he was in serious pain. His physique had improved a lot but he still was not suited for physical work like carrying someone, especially in a sea of people. "Bai Xi, if you grab my hair again, I''m going to get angry!" Ye Qingxuan angrily pinched her calf. Without caring, Bai Xi continued to grab his hair. "Cousin, higher! I can see the pope! The sermon''s about to start!" "Where''s that *sshole Charles?" Ye Qingxuan called, shaking Bai Xi in annoyance. "Didn''t he say he''s coming with us? Where''s he?" "He left long ago!" Bai Xi cackled in excitement. No matter how Ye Qingxuan shook her, she would not let go of his hair. "He said he hasn''t seen the Tablet of Fate yet! He wants to go touch it" "Touch it? Why does he have to go now?!" Clenching his jaw, Ye Qingxuan muttered, "I knew I shouldn''t believe him. He said he''ll come help but then just disappeared!" "Shush, quiet down." Before he could finish, the believers around them looked over disapprovingly. "The sermon is about to begin!" Instantly, the square fell silent. Only one voice remained. "The believers of God," the white-clothed King of Red declared at the podium. "Six hundred and forty years ago, we created a miracle here, where we are now, following God''s decree! "Here, the heaven and land connected, the sky fell to the earth. Because of this, a light that would illuminate the ages began shining. Because of this, joy was ignited. Because of this, there was music. "This was the birth of the city of holiness!" The sermon had finally begun. However, during the silence, someone in the crowd pushed into Ye Qingxuan and subtly gave him a slip of paper. Frowning, Ye Qingxuan unfolded the paper. There was only one line: come here. It was signed by a strange symbol of a wolf''s head. Wolf Flute? Confused, Ye Qingxuan looked around. He quickly sensed Wolf Flute''s aether waves. They were pulsing subtly from under the podium. Ye Qingxuan glanced over and saw Wolf Flute in the heavily guarded elite area. In addition to Wolf Flute, there were many other familiar faces. Various important figures, ambassadors, and the upper officials of the Church were in the specially designated area. Ye Qingxuan even saw Yunlou Qingshu in a corner talking happily with a cardinal. Noticing Ye Qingxuan, Wolf Flute waved. Confused, Ye Qingxuan put Bai Xi down. He asked Lola to secretly keep an eye on her and pushed through the crowd. He showed his Silent Authority card to the guards and was brought to the side where Wolf Flute was. The man looked annoyed. "Look at you. We''re getting worked to death but you''re here having fun with a pretty girl." "You think I''m having fun?" Ye Qingxuan massaged his sore shoulder. "What do you want?" "Not me." Wolf Flute shook his head and moved aside. "Someone wants to see you." 471 Troublesome Task "Not me." Wolf Flute shook his head and moved aside. "Someone wants to see you." Ye Qingxuan saw the old man with a lowered head among the various clergymen and nobles. Ye Qingxuan knew him. Constantine? After the sermon, the pope would give him the archbishop''s red robe before everyone''s eyes. At that time, he would be the most well-known cardinal of the Sacred City. Why did he come to meet Ye Qingxuan at this time? "Mr. Ye, there''s a small problem," Constantine said directly. "Wolf Flute suggested you to me, thinking you would be able to help. Hopefully, you will." "Help?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "To be honest, I can help in many aspects with my skills but none of them are what a cardinal would be interested in." People like Ye Qingxuan were famous, but in the eyes of a cardinal, unrelated to any musicians, he could only help kill some people. Was Constantine planning on getting a killer to make some drama in the Sacred City before he took office? "Don''t worry. You will definitely be able to help." Wolf Flute did not dare to smoke in this formal event so he could only chew gum. "You just need to find someone in this square." In this square? Find someone? Ye Qingxuan glanced back at the mass of people and laughed involuntarily. "Wolf Flute, do you know how many people there are here? Probably tens of thousands! Unless you want me to find a dwarf or giant, it''ll be impossible to find someone." "What a pity. That person isn''t a dwarf or giant." Wolf Flute stood beside Ye Qingxuan as if enjoying the scenery. His lips opened and a voice poured into his ears like thunder. "His name is Gaius." "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan almost yelped. Eyes opening wide, he asked quietly, "Didn''t he already leave?" Wolf Flute shrugged. "He might come back." "Gaius would never leave," Constantine sighed. "He would never let me live until I became a cardinal. He''d never let me, the ex-deputy commander, be blessed by the pope in front of the entire world''s eyes." "It''s just changing jobs! Why is he so petty?" Ye Qingxuan''s expression twisted. "Can''t he just let it go? Why does he have to kill you?" Constantine could not help but shake his head. "Do you know what it means for me to betray the Revolutionaries?" After a moment, Ye Qingxuan asked curiously, "An extra traitor?" Rather than becoming angry or responding to Ye Qingxuan''s irony, Constantine answered, "Let''s put aside the horrible consequences or whether their reputation will be damaged. You must know that no interior of organizations is all united, even something as idealistic as the Revolutionaries. "There''s an Eastern tale of using thousands to buy horse bones, right?" he asked lightly. "To the king, I''m just a horse skeleton. Yes, my betrayal will damage the Revolutionaries greatly but they might be able to withstand it. However, they have to face something else after I betray them." There seemed to be a fire burning in Constantine''s eyes. He said in a low voice, "Whether it is the political significance or the plan right after, if it is done correctly, they can destroy all of Gaius''s efforts now and ruin him!" Hearing all this, Ye Qingxuan suddenly had a headache. Why did he keep getting into things like this? "Gaius might not come though, right?" he asked. "This is just your guess." "There''s been at least ten assassination attempts on me these days. There was one when I was just coming here." Constantine stared at the crowd as if looking for that familiar face. "I know Gaius just as he knows me. He will come. If he wants to kill me, this will be his last chance." - A few minutes later, Constantine was taken inside for preparation. Ye Qingxuan glanced at Wolf Flute. "So you gave me a troublesome task again?" "Isn''t it good that I always think of you for work?" Wolf Flute asked in return. "We don''t actually need you but adding you in helps give you more stuff in your CV. And it''s not just you. Do you know how long the Silent Authority spent to make this trap? There are at least four hundred men hiding in this square, all working under the Silent Authority. If Gaius is found, you won''t need to be on the front lines." "It sounds pretty set in stone already?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Who knows?" Wolf Flute shrugged. "It''s Gaius after all. No one can be sure." Ye Qingxuan looked back at the reverent faces in the sea of people. He could not help but ask, "If Gaius really comes, he''ll do something big. At that timewhat will happen to all these believers?" Wolf Flute glanced at him but did not reply. Ye Qingxuan understood. "Right," he murmured, frowning. "Who knows?" - Ye Qingxuan quickly returned to the crowd and found Bai Xi. "I''m going to look for Charles," he said quietly. "And you go back to the embassy. Don''t stay here." "What''s wrong?" Bai Xi glanced at him in confusion. Ye Qingxuan petted her hair. "Be good. I''ll tell you later." Bai Xi glared at him unhappily. Though she was unwilling, she still followed Ye Qingxuan out. Forcing their way through the crowd, Ye Qingxuan stuffed her inside the embassy''s carriage. The carriage went off into the distance. "You want me to go too? What about you?" Lola asked. "Are you going to get involved?" "I have to at least find Charles. If they kill him, it''ll be a seriously sad death." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "Don''t worry. I''m just helping instead of going to my death. If anything happens, I''ll be the first to run. No one would catch me." "How come you''re only confident when talking about running?" Lola sighed but the faint figure disappeared. "To be honest, I wish I know," Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself. He walked toward the crowd and suddenly, there was an explosion in the distance! The ground shook. Under the boom, a tall tower in the distance broke in half. Flames and smoke rose to the sky. Pained cries traveled over. The square instantly fell silent. Everyone looked up in shock, staring at the pillar of black smoke. "Keep alert! Do not become disorderly!" Wolf Flute''s voice came through. "Someone will take care of it. We must watch the square! Watch everyone around you!" Under the explosion, panic had spread to the square. Heads all shot up and the commotion was impossible to keep down. Even at the podium, the pope stopped speaking. And then he reached out. And a miracle descended. Ye Qingxuan instantly felt a large undercurrent in the depths of the aether sea, far below his sensory range. It seemed to be an echo coming from the deepest part of the aether world. Focusing on it, he could hear a glorious hymn in his ears. A spirit emerged from thin air. It was born from nothingness. Ye Qingxuan could not observe the detailed process or even imagine it. He could only guess the miraculous method from the waves in the aether sea. It was like creating a soul in an instant. The spirit filled with benevolence and gentleness flowed in everyone''s hearts. Without sound, it instantly soothed the panic. Then the King of Red pointed and time flowed backward. The black smoke in the sky disappeared and the flames extinguished. The giant broken tower was pushed back up by an invisible force. Countless bricks flew back from all directions, instantly becoming seamless. Light shone from the void. Falling on the wounded, the blood flowed backward and the injuries healed. Broken bones regrew and the torn limbs went back to normal. Other than those who had died immediately, everything was back to normal. Yes, things were exactly how they had been, neither better nor worse. It was so precise that every detail was recovered without missing a single millimeter! It was this precise control that terrified Ye Qingxuan. With Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he could do precise manipulation on a small scale. However, what the pope had done was more than a hundred times out of his range. This was not a competition of strength but a grasp on music theory and control of aether. Now, Ye Qingxuan finally understood the terrifying difference between common musicians, saints, and the three kings. Even at the Scepter level, a musician''s power depended on the music theory system constructed in the Holy Cauldron''s Originator. Saints who were given a title could use the entire system''s power directly. But the three kingsthey had melded into it and become one with it! Their bodies were the physical incarnate of the musician path and the mysteries of aether. They were the projection of the Originator in the human world. Every move was like a miracle. The prepared chaos was instantly extinguished. "Therefore, what excuse do we have to not be in awe?" The pope''s sermon continued. The calm and holy voice rang in everyone''s ears, shaking their souls. "Look up at the blazing sun, look down at the vast earth. This is a portion of all miracles. We are not attacked in this dark world, we are not attacked in the chaos Then why are we so arrogant toward the only truth?" Under the somber words, the believers grew lively. They fervently yelled out the names of saints. The sound waves transformed into a tide that swept in all directions. Ye Qingxuan stood outside the crowd but he still felt his body shaking from all the sounds. The square was loosely guarded outside but heavily guarded inside. Though the enchantment did not restrict musicians, it was undoubtedly under the surveillance of the Central Church. And not only were the high levels of the Church here today, there were also officials from the various nations. There was more than one Scepter too. What did Gaius have planned if he dared to come? Deep in thought, something suddenly flashed through Ye Qingxuan''s mind and he winced. "Wolf Flute." He glanced at the young musician guarding beside Constantine in the distance. "Do you still remember how we were suspecting that there''s a mole in the Silent Authority?" 472 The Blessing of God "Huh?" Wolf Flute didn''t understand. "After I couldn''t find any evidence, I thought the spy was just our misconception," Ye Qingxuan said quietly. "But now, I think thatthe spy probably exists but we haven''t found him yet." "The possibility isn''t high." Wolf Flute shook his head. "After your suggestion, Mr. Handel personally investigated every critical member in the Sacred City." "And?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Everyone is as clear as water?" "They found a lot of corrupted guys and there were some who were bought out by the Church and other departments but there weren''t any spies of the Revolutionaries. In addition, the Silent Authority has high requirements for members. Those who can''t pass the investigations cannot enter the core." Ye Qingxuan asked, "What if they became a spy after entering the core?" Wolf Flute was silent. "If a spy really exists," Ye Qingxuan studied the mass of people, "Gaius probably knows everything about the Silent Authority''s plans and solutions." Wolf Flute chuckled wryly. "But we still can''t confirm if there is a spy or not." "If there is one, then that man is very powerful," Ye Qingxuan replied. "Because even when you are defeated, you won''t know how it happened. You won''t even be sure of your own people while you''re suspecting everyone. This must be why you came to find me, right? You have no clue who you can still trust." "Is it good that you''re so confident?" Wolf Flute sighed. "That''s basically it so work hard and help me watch carefully." "You think I''m an all-powerful god?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at the crowd outside. "I have a good solution. Arrest all of them and one month later, I''ll tell you if Gaius is there." "Are you dreaming?" Wolf Flute replied, annoyed. "Do you know how many people there are? If I really arrest them all, do you know how many parties are involved? How much pressure I''d have to bear? I''ll be thrown into the Mithril Cellar before you find Gaius!" "Then no can do." Ye Qingxuan stepped back. "At least give me the authority of the Bell Tower. Otherwise, you think a Disturbance level musician like me can get Gaius?" "And you wait for me here?" Wolf Flute grew helpless. "Fine, I''ll lower myself for you..." Ye Qingxuan watched from afar. Wolf Flute seemed to be communicating with someone. His expressions changed dramatically and it was clear that he was getting screamed at. But in the end, Ye Qingxuan heard a low bell. It rang from the holy city in the aether world, crossed through the aether sea, and fell in the material world, bolstering Ye Qingxuan''s body. It instantly melded into his sound of heart score and created a large structure. In a blink, the new sound of heart score evolved into something similar to a symphony of predestination. It had grown at least five times. Ye Qingxuan probably would be unable to control his power if the majority was not still sleeping. However, Ye Qingxuan''s heart jumped. He could use this immense power at any time. The Bell Tower Blessing! It really was the Bell Tower Blessing! The countless towers of the Sacred City were all paired with a sacred projection in the aether world. They could bless a musician, allowing him to temporarily become a grandmaster. Its core power came from the support in the aether world''s holy city. It was the power that only the King of Red could wieldthe Fifth Symphony! It was the Emperor! Only the music score known as Emperor could pull someone up and give him unimaginable power. If this score was played fully, it could even open up an empty territory in the aether world with upper-level elements for the musician, allowing him to advance toward the Scepter without obstacles. It was that powerful. Because it could create a grandmaster at any time, every tower was an extremely precious strategic resource. The various departments guarded them. They also had different levels and the one blessing Ye Qingxuan now was undoubtedly the most powerful. Wolf Flute''s weak voice quickly sounded in his ears. "I really put down my dignity. Please work and don''t slack off." "Thanks!" Ye Qingxuan waved and started walking toward the square. It was crowded even outside the square. It felt slow to push through them. Ye Qingxuan walked among them and felt the countless people brush past him. He looked carefully but after a few minutes, he was dazed. He couldn''t tell who''s who at all. Helpless, Ye Qingxuan sighed. He pulled out his key and dug the sharp end into his finger. Clenching his jaw, he made a cut. Who hadn''t bled for the Sacred City, right? The key sliced his finger and scarlet blood flowed out. However, the blood had a weird feeling. It was like mist or a hallucination and seemed to float. After his heart of sound had combined with the Philosopher''s Stone, it started adjusting Ye Qingxuan''s body. Even the Deva''s blood changed subtly. If one looked carefully, his blood was now comparable to precious alchemy material. The unique nature could make an alchemist go crazy. Apparently, there was an Eastern ascetic monk long ago that was extremely knowledgeable in music theory. After creating the symphony of predestination, even his flesh began to change and attracted demons. His blood could be made into precious pills to give someone longevity. That was why rumors started that eating him would make someone immortal. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh dryly. Would he turn into food in the future? Soon, his thoughts turned and the blood at his fingertip evaporated. What replaced it was a very faint moonlight perception thread. Bolero! This time, Ye Qingxuan threw all the pressure to the Bell Tower without worry. He pushed into Bolero''s ninth measure. Under the hallucinatory boom in his ears, thousands upon thousands of perception threads cast from his fingertip. They were shapeless and colorless. Thinner than spider webs, they floated with the wind and covered more than half of the city. Countless information stormed into Ye Qingxuan''s mind, almost bursting his head. Panicking, he quickly recalled most of the perceptions and focused on the square. Thousands of threads snaked out of the sky, the ground, and the cracks of the walls. They wove into a huge net. Many of the clergy felt the waves on Ye Qingxuan''s body and looked over. Seeing the emblem on his collar, they looked away, thinking he was just a guard. However, Ye Qingxuan did not find Gaius from the mess of information He did find Charles though. In the very center of the crowd, the place with highest density of fervent believers, under the somber atmosphere, there was someone messing everything up. Charles pushed forward without caring about all the people. Like a wild pig, he left destruction in his wake. "Sorry! Excuse me! Old man, let me pass. Hey friend, can you move your leg? Bro, can you pick your kid up? Hey, friend, excuse me, excuse mewhose kid is this? He doesn''t have any manners. Can his parents deal with him?" Like a salesman selling low-quality food on a train, he struggled and made his way to the Tablet of Fate in the center of the square. Anyone with common sense knew not to go to any popular tourist attractions during holidays. You''d be looking for misery. However, Charles just wanted to make life hard for himself. Ye Qingxuan could only applaud his courage and pray that he would not be beaten by the furious believers. But while advancing, Charles suddenly toppled over and fell onto a frail figure. The seemingly old man was wrapped in a long robe. His hat hid his features but flattened under Charles, his eyes turned cold. "Oh, I''m sorry, sir. I didn''t notice you." Charles quickly climbed up and pulled up the old man who tried to leave. "Hey, don''t leave. Wait, let me take you to the doctor. You''re so old now, what if something happens? Don''t think nothing''s wrong now. Last year, I heard that an old man fell down the stairs and guess what happened that night? He had a stroke!" The old man shook him off angrily. "Let go!" "Okay, okay, okay!" Charles awkwardly let go and helpfully dusted his shoulders. But he hit something and there was a soft clink. Clunk! A weird metal thing the size of an arm fell from the man''s sleeves. "Ah, I''m sorry." Charles quickly picked it up and played with it curiously. "What is this? The newest foldable cane? The quality looks nice but it''s easy for people to misunderstand. It looks just like an alchemist''s assassination crossbow. Thankfully there''s no trigger. Otherwise, I''d be so scared, ha!" As he laughed, he patted the tube. Under the old man''s uncomfortable expression, there was a crack. Something like a trigger popped out. "Uh" Charles froze. His smile stiffened. "This" "Catch him!" Wolf Flute yelled. "Don''t let him get away!" Before he finished, the old man started running. His speed was incredible. Snaking through the crowd, he put dozens of meters between them instantly. The musicians hiding in the crowd rushed over but they could not get to him. People constantly helped cover for him or even block the pursuers. The old man quickly melted back into the crowd. "F*ck! Useless!" Wolf Flute yelled angrily. The man wore a Vatican-style robe. Once hidden in the crowd, he would be impossible to find. But in the chaos, Ye Qingxuan suddenly jumped out. He grabbed an average-looking man at the edge of the crowd. It was a young man who looked nothing like the old man. Even the clothes were different. "Don''t move!" Steeling himself, Ye Qingxuan shattered the joints of his limbs and sealed him with an Abstinence score. While struggling, the man''s mask fell off, revealing the hawkish old face. It was that old man. But after studying him again and again, Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Wolf Flute, it''s not Gaius." "Huh?!" Wolf Flute froze. The old man was quickly taken away and the unrest was settled. Of course, they took the crossbow in Charles''s hands, of course. Thankfully, he was not dragged away for interrogation. And then, Wolf Flute started cursing. "F*ck, it wasn''t Gaius. We arrested some guy who wanted to assassinate the Asgardian ambassador! Because of blood revenge!" Wolf Flute roared. "Why do they bring their family arguments to the f*cking Sacred City?" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. No matter what, the prime time to capture Gaius had passed. The sermon was about to end and Constantine would be given the title before everyone''s eyes. It would be troublesome then. "Hey, young man, what you spacing out for?" A teasing voice came from a carriage in the distance. "What, you only had enough money for a standing ticket? I have an empty seat here! VIP seat, you want it?" Ye Qingxuan looked up and his expression changed. It was Hermes. The elegant carriage was outside the square. It was covered with a sheepskin rug with two comfortable-looking sofas. There was even a small table with glasses and a bottle of liquor. It looked like a box at an opera house, attracting shocked gazes. "Come, it''s boring to watch by myself. Come watch with me." Hermes patted the seat beside him welcomingly. "Uh..." - "Wow! The Tablet of Fate is truly impressive!" In the crowd, Charles had finally squeezed to the tablet. He plastered himself against it and exclaimed, "This feel, this material, it''s amazing. Hey, bros, look at this. It really is the Church, it''s amazing!" The pilgrims in the crowd rolled their eyes. "Another country bumpkin." Ignoring the disdainful looks, Charles happily squatted before the tablet. Rubbing his hands, he started observing it. But his eyes quickly grew doubtful and he dragged someone over. "Hey, am I wrong?" he asked. "Is this really the Tablet of Fate?" "Yeah." The believer frowned in annoyance. "What''s wrong?" "Really?" Charles scratched his head. "Why do I feel thatthe music scoreis really easy?" "Ha, you''re funny." The believer rolled his eyes and stopped talking. In his mind, he cursed, Keep bragging! Brag as much as you want! You won''t get fined. Charles did not care about the mockery. Instead, he pressed his hand down excitedly and tried to perform the music score. "This is Fate?" he murmured. Some sort of anxiety appeared for a moment as if something was about to happen but he was unprepared. Confused, he shook his head. Shaking away the weird feeling, he focused his attention and pressed down. Cold music rang from his fingertip. First, there were three world-shaking sounds from his chest like heartbeats. He felt a metallic hammer knocking on his skull. The pain shot into his bones. It was fate! It really was fate Fate was knocking! On the podium behind him, the pope seemed to notice. He looked into the square in confusion. Seeing Charles try to play the score, he smiled as if watching a young man who overestimated himself. The weak music of fate was drowned by the loud cheers. Under the cheers, the pope raised his hand and ended his sermon. However, he did not leave like before. Instead, he remained on the podium and raised his head slightly, showing that he still had something important to announce. Before the either relieved or confused eyes, the pope raised his hand. He announced, "On this holy day, other than you and I, there is another who was blessed by the lord, a man of justice who had adhered to the beauty of God! "To commend him for his efforts toward the Sacred City, I will award him with the crown of the cardinals and thank him for his devoutness! And I wish to tell all the devout, those who follow justice and God''s decree, if you bring glory to the Lord, He will also bless you!" There were deafening cheers. Under the commotion, Constantine, dressed in a red robe, walked up the steps. He walked to the peak, step by step. In the crowd, the Silent Authority was nervous to the max. They all watched their surroundings with hawk eyes. Wolf Flute wiped at his sweat. Seeming to be nervous, he looked around and breathed heavily. Time had become so slow and yet so fast. Constantine soon stepped onto the podium. He bowed to the pope and lowered before the awe-inspiring robe. Now, he finally saw the heart of the Sacred City, the agent of God, the King of Red, the king in charge of humanity''s souls and final resting places. 473 Fate "Constantine, today I shall bestow the Lord''s blessing upon you." The pope raised the navy holy ribbon in his hands. It was a scarf-like accessory. It was embroidered with fine and detailed scriptures in gold thread. It was indescribably majestic, like the representation of all things holy. He placed the ribbon on Constantine''s hands. "Be in awe. Your contributions and sacrifices are carved into the holy throne." Thus, Constantine reverently lowered his head. He placed the ribbon around his shoulders and replied seriously, "I am beyond grateful to receive the Lord''s grace." Now, the ambassadors and nobles under the podium could not help but sigh. The Sacred City had a new cardinal with true power and the Revolutionaries probably would not give up. More troubles were coming - Outside the crowd, Ye Qingxuan had been tense for so long for so reason. He finally let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. It seemed that Gaius truly had not come. "What''s wrong? You look like you''ve seen a ghost." Hermes glanced at him while drinking and pointed at the podium. "To be honest, I haven''t gone out in a while. What''s going on? I didn''t understand this since the start. When did the Revolutionaries and Sacred City become such good friends?" "Boss, do you still not get it?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "Constantine, the deputy commander of the Revolutionaries, has sided with the Sacred City. I thought you knew him." "Constantine?" Hermes was shocked too. "Deputy commander? Side? Sacred City?" He had a weird look of confusion. Then, suddenly understanding, he burst into laughter as if he had heard an incredible joke or witnessed the funniest comedy in history. He almost cried from laughing so hard. And Ye Qingxuan was unsettled. "Ye Qingxuan, I know him but that''s not Constantine." Hermes hit the table, tears almost coming out. "The Revolutionaries has always been a dictatorship. There have never been any deputies! Those who represent the Revolutionaries have always been fakes and cannon fodder Youyouhahahadid you really think it''s real? As expected, humans are so interesting hahaha" Ye Qingxuan gaped at him. He watched as Hermes gasp from laughter without reacting. Finally, he understood Hermes''s words and shuddered. "It''s not Constantine?" He turned stiffly toward the man bathed in the audience''s cheers on the podium. "Then who is he?" "Who else can he be?" Hermes clapped, applauding for this satirical play. He mocked, "The one you just turned into a cardinal is obviously the most despicable deserter, the blight of the Sacred City, and the ambitious guy that so many dream of killing. However, many also refer to him asHis Highness, Gaius!" Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been struck by lightning. Without hesitating, he jumped down from the chair and looked at the podium. "Wolf Flute!" - At that moment, Gaius opened his arms wide, bathing in the golden sunlight. Under the holy light, it was as if God''s blessing had truly descended upon him. He looked so majestic, holy, and awesome. He looked down and studied the crowd but his eyes fell on the heart of the square. He looked at the young man immersed in the music score. Thus, he heard the heavy and gloomy piano music. It was not a musician working under aether but rather a pure music performance. It was like a symphony performed at countless celebrations under the cheers from thousands of listeners. However, this symphony was too cold and distant. Rather than a melody that humans could enjoy, this was a music score written by God for the world''s only truth. Fate. This was Fate "Charles, you really comprehend it" Constantineno, Gaiuslowered his eyes and sighed. "But without the surface, what kind of empty shell would the so-called Fate become?" But Charles could not hear his voice anymore. - He could not hear anything; he was so immersed in that wild melody. It was as if a voice was urging him from the depths of his soul. It pushed him forward, making him drown in the performance. He became practiced at an incredible speed until the melody finally became an instinct. An unprecedented pain blossomed deep inside his head. It cut at his consciousness and soul like a dagger, trying to tear apart the body he had created these years to show his soul''s appearance to the world. It rustled in the darkness; it was about to awaken. It impatiently wanted to be reborn in this world. Charles only felt that he had escaped from that insignificant body. He was standing there but it was as if he was in another dimension. He had a refuge from the narrow senses. He saw colors he had never seen before, heard the echoes of material colliding with consciousness, and smelled sadness and happiness. He reached out and touched thousands of miles of land. His spirit turned and rose into the sky, joining the stars. An illusory yet holy city hovered there. Countless spirits rested there. If he looked down, he would see the endless abyss. There, shadows squirmed in the darkness and thousands of eyes opened. It was a terrifying sight. Strands of cold yet indifferent moonlight snaked between them. It seemed to be shapeless and nonexistent yet tangible and real at the same time. He saw countless broken worlds pacing between the three. They were attracted by the strong gravity, transforming into brilliant star clusters. Behind these clusters of stars, some shapeless matter was emerging. It was a giant vortex. Everything came out of it and it destroyed everything. It contained endless mysteries but was also like a void where nothing existed. It was the essence of all, the beginning and end of all. It was the Originator! The intense pain could not stop Charles. He was immersed in the shocking performance. He had transformed into aether and could finally see the true nature of the world! The pain was burning, breaking the lock on his consciousness. It pounded his soul like a hammer, recreating his entirety. It tore the membrane between his tendons, the grooves on his bones, and the weakness in his blood. It pushed them into the kiln of nothingness and made something new. He died away during the performance. However, the new him was reborn from the ashes. It was the key. After waiting for so long, it finally opened the lock on his body and released the restrained nature, allowing him to live again. Thus, he poured the pain and joy through his fingertips. While playing, he pushed the melody to the climax. Everyone heard the majestic song he was playing. For the first time, Charles expressed the true nature through this pure performance. Even though it did not respond to aether or contain music theory, an unpreceded spirit was born from it. All musicians presentno, all musicians in the Sacred City and even the worldtrembled instinctively. They stared into the crowd as if facing their worst enemy and looked at the young man playing wildly before the stone tablet. They seemed to see the world fall apart. This was the first time the terrifying melody was played in public ever since the establishment of the Sacred City. Even Handel could not control the shock anddesire to kill at the bottom of his heart. It was Fate! Despite not having any aether waves, music theory, or even the power of music notes, no one could predict what changes the music would bring. This was the Sacred City! If a tiny bit of the aftershocks of Fate was leaked, it could flatten everyone present! Everyone was debating whether or not they should stop this performance! But then they no longer needed to struggle or hesitate. The melody had reached the climax. The spirit and consciousness trembled in the melody and fate descended! - At first, there was a suffocating silence. The world froze. Then pure terror came. Countless people let out almost tangible wails at the same time. The wailing grouped into a music note. It pierced everyone''s eardrums, shattering their sanity and pushing them into the deepest darkness. Screams and roars of despair spread. Everyone broke down by what they saw. Their minds shattered. The flesh body that remained wallowed in this cold world. At that moment, no one realized that perhaps it was fate that changed this world. When Charles snapped out of his reverie, he gazed around in confusion and saw the shocked pale faces. He followed their gazes and looked to the podium. Then, he saw the shadow fallen from the podium. It was a patch of red that had darkened. It was dried blood. The fall had been so short but the heavy thud had been so terrifying. The crowd retreated instinctively and shrieked in panic. Stunned, Charles seemed to understand something and rushed forward like crazy. And so he saw the blood. Amongst the blood was dyed red clothing. The awe-inspiring crown was on the ground. Warped, it tumbled and stopped beside his feet with a sharp yet heavy echo. It was like the echoes of a tragedy. In the puddle of blood, the thing that had once been a human was now a distorted mess of blood and flesh. Obviously, anyone who turned into that would have no chance of surviving. It was a corpse. And on the corpse''s back was a black dagger. No miracle happened; no resurrections happened. None of the precautions had been used. It was just a simple stab to the backa simple death. It was so simple that no one could refute it. There was no possibility of luck. He was dead. Using all his strength, Charles tremblingly walked over. He reached out to test for the dead''s breath but only felt coldness. He still could not dare to believe that The majestic pope, the controller of all souls, the sole agent of God, the King of Red had died so easily? As if struck by lightning, he stumbled back and raised his head with difficultyhe looked up at the old man who looked down from the podium. He was still bathed in the glorious light like a man of justice from the Bible. "Why?" he murmured. He could not believe what he saw. He yelled with all his might, "Mr. Constantine, why?!" Whywhy did youdo this?! Gaius looked away. He stared at the sky and made the sign of the holy emblem before his chest. "I shall replenish this river of souls so that it flows for eternity," he murmured with his eyes closed. "For you, my Lord, for you." - "Capture him!" The first to react was a cardinal. He glared at Wolf Flute. "What are you doing! Capture him!" Instantly, dozens of black shadows rushed out from the chaotic crowd and pounced onto the podium. A heart-shaking music score rose from thin air. Countless different melodies shot out at once. Handel was furious and his eyes reddened. The cane in his hands cracked apart. A blazing glow emerged from it. This was the true nature of the cane. It was a weapon created with the music score Messiah and given a saint''s title. No one had ever seen its true appearance through the glow nor could they describe what it was like. When it appeared in Handel''s hands, it thudded on the ground. A terrifying tremor spread. The city that had been melded into a piece of metal also started shaking under this indescribable quake. It whirred and clanged. The cold and powerful boom swept across, piercing everyone''s ears. It attacked their minds, causing the panicking pilgrims to fall to the ground, shaking. Unless allowed, all music scores were defeated now. Perhaps the savior of the world promised by God was in this boom and had descended upon Earth. And who is bearing the day of his coming? And who is standing in his appearing? For he is as fire of a refiner, and as soap of a fuller. In the Sacred City, the thousands of towers responded at once. The echoes converged and exploded in the aether sea, instantly transforming into a terrifying whirlpool. It went through the aether and material world, creating a tunnel. The majestic city deep in the aether world shone and its light fell onto Earth. Inside the archive of sacred objects, the dull gold sword quivered and keened. Heaven''s Door appeared! There was boundless brilliance. At this moment, everything in and under the sky was covered by the pure light. Layers of restrictions went toward the podium, sealing it off. The furious power cast punishment immense enough to destroy the world. However, Wolf Flute was faster than him. He had started acting the moment Ye Qingxuan roared. Beastly nature broke from his consciousness instantly, transforming into a solid wolf pack. After integrating the element, the wolf pack''s magnitude was unbelievable. There were hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands Wolf Flute''s body disintegrated and moved thousands of steps in a blink. He flashed and acted without hesitation! Behind him, the wolf-head deity appeared. He slammed his golden cane down and destroyed countless barriers instantly, digging a hole in the enemy''s body. Blood spurted out, splashing onto the faces of the archbishops and nobles. They gaped at the cold-eyed Wolf Flute and the one with a gaping hole in his chestHandel! No one had expected that the core member of the Silent Authority, Wolf Flute, would kill Saint Handel now. Thousands of wolves emerged from thin air and blocked the attacks flying toward the podium. In the last moment, they destroyed the dozens of bodies leaping up. Blood rained down from the air, dying the silver wolves red. Heaven''s Door disappeared. The weapon Messiah faded and fell from Handel''s hands, clattering. Handel looked down dumbly at the hand poking out of his chest. The hand clenched, shattering the heart. Blood dripped down. Thus, he finally accepted reality. He looked back at Wolf Flute. "Why?" he asked, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Isn''t this obvious?" Wolf Flute sighed. "I''m the spy." Handel smiled with difficulty. It was bitter and full of self-mockery. He looked at Wolf Flute''s face and the deity behind him. "You''ve hid it from me for so long" The power that Wolf Flute demonstrated now was far beyond that of a typical Scepter. No one expected that the supposed ''weakest scepter'' had kept so much hidden. Everyone thought that he was a slacker and had used the lowest level beastly element. However, this was not the element of some wild beast. It was something way beyond the upper-level elements and was practically something legendary. He had combined the jackal, death, and Hades into a new scepterAnubis! "I cannot believe I died in the hands of my successor." Handel finally managed a smile and closed his eyes. He collapsed. He was dead. In the chaotic square, the sprinting Ye Qingxuan stopped with fatigue. Too late. He was still too late. The moment Hermes revealed Gaius''s true nature, the first thing he thought of was not what Gaius wanted, but Wolf Flute 474 The World Keeps Spinning He should have thought of it long ago. Other than the abnormal skill of passing through worlds that Wolf Flute had only shown him before, who else could teleport prisoners away from the Judgement Tower? Other than the warehouse that he said was for the wolves, where else in the Sacred City could shelter a few dozen escaped prisoners? Other than him, who else could continue supplying information about the Silent Authority to the Revolutionaries? Other than him, who else would become nervous at noticing Ye Qingxuan here and do everything to distract him from noticing these flaws they''ve always had? Only Wolf Flute. Only he could do this. "Why?" Ye Qingxuan stared at Wolf Flute who was standing on Handel''s corpse in the puddle of blood. "Aren''t you Bach''s student? Wolf Flute! How could you do this?" Hearing him, Wolf Flute looked up. He smiled but it was tired and complicated. However, he did not explain anything. He just said, "If you have the chance, apologize to my teacher for me." The communication cut off. Wolf Flute looked back. He studied the archbishops and nobles held hostage by the wolves. Gazing at the pale faces, he smiled. "Let''s trade," he said. "I swear to the Originator that if you let Mr. Gaius go, I won''t kill you." Everyone surrounded by the wolves looked uncomfortable. The archbishops exchanged glances with dark eyes. Without a doubt, this was the worst possible scenario. The situation was more powerful than people. The pope was dead. If Wolf Flute wanted to, he could destroy the Sacred City easily. The people present were seasoned politicians and merchants. They knew when to lower themselves. Surrendering temporarily was not shameful. But who would do it? In silence, someone finally walked forward. The old cardinal sighed. "I am old and useless now. Let me take the vow." Wolf Flute smiled. "Don''t worry, I''ll keep my word." "No, you don''t need to surrender to them." In the chaos, Ye Qingxuan''s voice rang out. Wolf Flute looked back. His emerald eyes seemed to be burning with true murderous intent. If Ye Qingxuan took another step forward, he would be killed on the spot. "Yezi, don''t force me." Wolf Flute sighed. "The only one I don''t want to fight here is you." "Unfortunately, you don''t have the choice." Ye Qingxuan stood outside the pack of wolves. Instead of stepping forward, heclosed his eyes. He entered the Dreamscape! Instantly, silence descended. The central square sank into dead silence. The wolves shook and disintegrated. Finally, only Anubis remained behind Wolf Flute. The apparition roared and withstood the encroachment of the Silent Dream, stubbornly refusing to fade away. Even the Scepter-level strength could not hold on under this terrifying silence. "Protect his highness!" Soon, someone reacted. The guards pulled out their swords and pounced on Wolf Flute. "Protect the lord!" The nobles and archbishops present always had warriors and musicians for protection. Even though the musicians were useless now, the warriors could do something! In addition, these warriors had all been modified by Choir surgeons to some extent. Their limbs, skeletons, or organs had been replaced by manmade objects inspired by demons or machines. Their instant power was dumbfounding. While Wolf Flute was restricted by the Silent Dream, countless shadows flew toward him and arrived before his face. However, he was still looking at Ye Qingxuan. "This is the Wyrmrest Enchantment you''ve newly acquired, right?" he murmured and smiled wryly. "No wonder it''s known as the prototype of the Ultimate." Boom! There was an explosion. No one knew what just happened. But when the moment passed, everyone saw that there was a giant hole in the chest of the warrior at the front. The metallic bones were warped and his organs flowed out like mud. Wolf Flute''s sleeves had ripped from the swelled muscles. His arm had become dark green with a terrifying metallic gleam. He seemed to have transformed into a demon. A golden knuckle had appeared on his hand without anyone realizing. He looked at Ye Qingxuan through the body and smiled. "But did you think that I wouldn''t be prepared?" Boom! There was another explosion. This time, they could see clearly. Wolf Flute swung his fist. His fist tore through the air with a loud boom and someone''s skull was pulverized. Faced with all these warriors, Wolf Flute held his ground. He stepped forward and squeezed into a fully armed warrior. Then there was the sound of bones cracking. The arm and armor were both broken in half. The heavy sword fell into Wolf Flute''s hand. Like a bird, Wolf Flute jumped from the body. The sword sliced through the air. Under the chilling whistle, sparks flew from scraping metal. The enemy before him was split in half and fell down to both sides. Dyed red from the flying blood, Wolf Flute charged at Ye Qingxuan. He instantly felt his vision lowering. Then the immense pain reached his brain belatedly. The brass knuckle had punched his gut mercilessly. No, there was some mercy. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would have been snapped in half rather than thrown backward. But then Wolf Flute''s body chased over like a shadow. He stomped down with his right leg. Ye Qingxuan only had time to raise his arms before his face. Boom! It felt like a carriage had galloped over his body. He flew back and smashed against the ground. During the great shaking, he felt like throwing up. Bittersweet blood sloshed in his throat. Then he felt Wolf Flute yank on his hair and drag him up. "Here, I''ll teach you something." Wolf Flute gave a bloody smile. "The hidden card is called a hidden card because it means there''s a weakness. All hidden cards do. When you can turn the tides, that means the enemy can turn the tides too. Especially this techniquewhen facing an enemy who''s ten times more powerful than you in a brawl, never reveal your weakness voluntarily" And he punched again! Boom! Ye Qingxuan''s vision went black. He dropped to the ground, unable to fight back. But Wolf Flute did not stop; he grew more violent instead. This was no longer a duel anymore. It was an aggressive beating. Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been thrown into the furnace of an iron-smelting factory. It felt like he was being burned alive. Wolf Flute''s hoarse voice continued in his ears. "Did you know? I was raised by wolves." Crack! He snapped Ye Qingxuan''s arm with practiced ease, producing a scream. "Ten years ago, when I was fourteen, I was the best gladiator in Canaan." Boom! He punched backward without looking. With a muffled noise, the enemy''s heart exploded. Innards bleeding, he dropped to the ground. "Ever since I injected wolf blood in me seven years ago, no one dared to fight against me becauseit''s hard for me to control myself. Sorry if I hurt you," he said. "I can stop if you surrender." Boom! Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He spat out some broken teeth and cursed. Wolf Flute smiled. Without saying anything, he just raised the left hand without the knuckle and smashed down on the back of Ye Qingxuan''s head. The concussion shook his mind. He didn''t even know where he was anymore. Concussions through the skull could cause a musician''s mind to go blank. If handled badly, the entire brain could be damaged. The Dreamscape finally fell apart. The Wyrmrest Enchantment disappeared. Under Anubis''s calling, the wolves walked out of thin air again. They instantly tore apart the nobles who were fleeing under the guards'' protection. Tossing aside the barely conscious Ye Qingxuan, Wolf Flute turned back to the ashen archbishops. He smiled. "Now, would you like to consider my suggestion?" After a moment of silence, the old archbishop sighed. "Let them go. I will pay for it." Everything became simple once someone was willing to take the blame. It had always been like this through history, whether it was in the East or West, for humans or demons. A path quickly opened up in the crowd. Gaius walked through the blood and primly stepped down the podium. He welcomed the murderous and hateful eyes with a smile. "It''s earlier than expected and the situation is worse than predicted." Ye Qingxuan glanced at Ye Qingxuan on the ground. "I didn''t want him to interrupt but I didn''t think" "It''s not your fault." Gaius shook his head. "Maybe some old friend who likes drama wanted to give me more trouble." Hermes''s carriage at the end of the square had vanished. Ignoring the army that had come from afar, Wolf Flute looked at Gaius. "The Sacred City will unleash the enchantment. I must go prepare at the planned location. We''ll leave immediately when you all arrive." "That is good." Gaius nodded. "Help me leave first. Someone will protect me afterward." Wolf Flute nodded. Taking Gaius''s hand, he stepped forward. There was a streak of silver light and then, nothing. The square was in ruins. Under the pounding of metal boots on stone, the late soldiers finally arrived. Order was quickly instilled. However, loud booms and explosions continuously sounded in the Sacred City. Thick black smoke rose to the sky, turning the sky black. The sun was shining but the Sacred City was filled with dark clouds and smoke. "The headquarters of the garrison was attacked. Casualties unknown." "General Duke Wilson encountered an assassination and was grave. He is in treatment now" "The central water system was attacked. There is a large amount of poison in our drinking water. We are organizing a team for purification." "Countless bombs went off in the Papal Chamber. Specific details are still unknown." "The Sacred Court was attacked. The situation is unclear." Bad news streamed continuously. The panicking nobles were all pale. The archbishops who had just become safe were now in chaos again. "Failures! You lot of failures!" The Amnesty Department was hurt the hardest. The deaths of six important officials had been confirmed and the archbishop in charge was livid. "How can you let the Revolutionaries come in so easily?! Why didn''t the secrecy protection of the Silent Authority work?! Did all the resources we put in go to the Revolutionaries all these years?!" The deputy of the Silent Authority remained silent with a dark expression. Saint Handel had died at the hands of traitor Wolf Flute. He probably knew what color underwear they wore, let alone the Silent Authority''s plans and secrets! Now, the Sacred City was paralyzed. Reconstruction would take a long time. All these years, it seemed that the Revolutionaries were failing gradually. However, they did not know how much power was accumulated secretly. Today, it exploded at once and produced such terrifying results. It seemed that the colony in the New World had fallen completely. The Revolutionaries had gone from a blight to something immortal. In the chaos, there was suddenly a calm voice. "Everyone, please return to your positions so all institutions can restart work." Old Ludovic walked out of the crowd and opened his rheumy eyes. "At this time, the most important task is to pursue traitor Constantineno, Gaiusdon''t let him escape!" "Archbishop Ludovic is right!" Yunlou Qingshu nodded in agreement. "Yunlou City is willing to provide manpower and resources to help the Sacred City regain order." Those who had been quiet among the cardinals now stood out to support Ludovic. The nobles and ambassadors finally realized that the Ecclesiastical Order had subtly grasped most of the power. After the pope died, they naturally took over the institutions. It could be said that within half a minute, the Sacred City had fallen into the hands of these old monks. The ascetic monks who had not garnered much attention before now suddenly rose up during the pope''s decline. They seemedwell-prepared? Was this a coincidence? Or "The Sacred City is in chaos right now," Ludovic said lightly. "To avoid aggravating the problem, the Ecclesiastical Order will temporarily take control before the cardinals choose the next pope. I hope the nations will cooperate and help settle the unrest." Those with fast reactions quickly started to follow the tide. "It seems that it''s our fortune to have the Ecclesiastical Order take this risk. We will definitely support you and not disappoint Mr. Ludovic." F*cking b*tch! Those who reacted slowly started cursing in their minds. However, their bodies were obedient and all started professing their support. Of course, there were also those who did not understand the current situation and disagreed. However, those idiots probably were already given the death sentence in the minds of many. They also prayed at the same time that the Revolutionaries would not involve them. The trend was set. Faced with everyone''s support, a smile appeared on Ludovic''s old face. "Very good. If everyone supports it, the world will start running again soon." Without the King of Red, the world would continue spinning. This time, it would be under the Ecclesiastical Order''s control. 475 Secrets of the Pas "It seems that your friend always stabs you in the back at every critical time." In the hidden safe house, Lola overlooked the pathetic Ye Qingxuan gloatingly. "Gavin did so at that time. This time is the same. If I were you, I would consider maybe I''m not good at choosing friends. And who told me that if there was something, he would run faster than anybody? If I wasn''t paying attention this time, you may have" In the bed, Ye Qingxuan was covered with a thick layer of ointment which exuded the pungent smell of medicine. Medicine was also injected into his hands. He was at the edge of death but his breathing was smooth and normal. There was not even the slightest dullness or panic in his dark eyes. There was only calmness. "You have been sarcastic enough. Just get down to business." He stretched out his hand and spoke with a hoarse voice. "Where is the thing?" Seeing that he was not repentant, Lola grunted and threw out a badge from her bosom. "You''re really creative to have a demon help you keep this thing." The pure silver-forged emblem sizzled in her hands, clearly hurting her every moment. However, when Ye Qingxuan held it in hand, a faint light was emitted. Soon his bruises faded. "Wait. Use it after I go out. Do not affect me." After giving that thing to him, Lola went to the door as if she was avoiding pests. In Ye Qingxuan''s hand, the pure silver-forged emblem was engraved with a healing movement of the School of Choir. It was the most advanced kind, claiming that it could cure anyone as long as he was still breathing. This one-time badge could be sold for a stunningly scary price on the black market. After all, it was precious alchemy that could save a life. Even when the door was closed, Lola could still feel the sting like a thorn in her back. She walked further. Even so, she could still sense the breath that had made her so uncomfortable in the secret chamber. Then, huge aetheric waves that she had not anticipated were set off. In a blink, she felt a roaring melody burst from the aether sea. The tremendous waves swept everything, pulling a huge amount of aether into it. That was definitely not the degree that Ye Qingxuan could reach. It was far beyond his ability. Divine light was produced from the aether. The blazing light was beyond what Lola had expected. Through two walls, more than ten meters in distance, Lola could still feel the heat. Even breathing was like chewing blades and needles. If Lola had not purchased this all by herself, she would have suspected that one of the masters of the Choir was treating Ye Qingxuan personally here. Fortunately, the power came and went quickly. Soon, she heard the door open. In her startled eyes, the completely healed Ye Qingxuan walked out of the door. Although his body still smelled strongly of medicine, he had fully recovered. Not even the slightest slight wound could be found. The guy who had just broken more than ten bones, covered in bruises, and lost half of his lungs now stood right before her. "What drugs did you take?" Lola gaped. "How did you recover so quickly?" Even after the treatment, an average person would have only recovered from immediate danger. No one would be like Ye Qingxuan who was recovered as if he had changed a body! "The biggest mistake that Wolf Flute has ever made is to forget to cancel the bell tower blessing that the Silent Authority gave to me." Ye Qingxuan looked at his intact hands. He snapped and substantial aetheric light burst out. "Don''t forget, I''m still a grandmaster." Lola frowned. "What tricks are you going to play? Ye Qingxuan, you have been involved in this matter too deeply." "That''s why we have to catch Gaius." Ye Qingxuan''s answer was emphatic. "If Gaius isn''t caught, then the Scared City must have a man to be blamed... Do you think it''s going to be better for me and Charles?" Lola was silent. "I was unexpectedly cheated. It''s so embarrassing." Ye Qingxuan rolled his neck. "No matter what, he needs to pay me." "I''d like to say that although I am happy to kill Bach''s students, I was crippled for so many years so I am definitely not the guy''s opponent." Lola looked at him like she was looking at a madman. "Or do you think you can handle this by yourself?" "Wolf Flute did teach me a lesson." Ye Qingxuan asked, "When have I had a head-on confrontation with my enemy? Don''t I always rely on dirty tricks? Why would I fight with a scepter so formally?" Lola had no words but shook her head. "It''s been half an hour now. Are you sure you can catch up?" "I can." Ye Qingxuan raised his hand. At the fingertips, a dim and slender moonlight thread extending from the never healed wound. "To tell you the truth, it''s the first time I was beaten to such embarrassed and miserable extent all these years..." He gazed at his fingertips and sneered. "Fortunately, my blood has not been wasted. What is the best thing to say? He is really the leader of the Revolutionary Army, bolder than I had imagined...Gaius did not leave. He is still in the Sacred City." - The noise of chaos was coming from afar. People were screaming and running on the street in chaos. In the silence of the Judgment Tower, a lonely figure stood on the ruins. After being attacked by the Revolutionaries, all the criminals were transferred to other prisons. This tower had been temporarily abandoned. According to the plan, a new construction team would come here in one month. But now, there was only rubble. There should be guards still, but when the chaos widened, the guards had been evacuated. In the end, only a lonely old man was left on the stairs of the broken tower. He sat on the steps with a cloak and smoked his pipe in silence, his eyes gazing at the black cloud rising from afar until a sharp dagger was pressed against his back. "I didn''t think you would be the first to find me, Charles." Gaius put down his pipe, sighed and raised his hands. "You''ve thought of this already, right, Mr. Constantine?" Charles stood behind him blankly. "Why do you pretend to be shocked?" On the back of his hand, a disembodied vapor line dissipated in the wind. Bolero. Ye Qingxuan was not the only one to attach his perception thread to Gaius. Charles was even earlier. Moreover, he was better at this movement than Ye Qingxuan thought he was. "Did you come to ask me why I did that?" Gaius turned slowly and gazed at the young man behind him. Charles was silent and smiled with self-deprecation. "I wanted to ask, but now it seems meaningless." He shook his head slowly. "I thought you had difficulties. Even as a spy, I still felt pity for you. But now it seems that I should leave the pity to myself." "This is actually the funniest part, Charles." Gaius looked at him. "When you are alive, there are always times when you need to act. You act, I act, everybody''s acting... Over time, you will revel in your own drama. I''m sorry that I lied to you." He apologized but Charles did not feel any relief or joy. He wanted to laugh. "Sorry? You stay here just to talk to your scapegoat? Say some more, sir?" His tone turned cold. "Say something so that I''m willing to take the blame for you. Let me believe you as I used to." "You''re wrong about something, Charles." Gaius shook his head and whispered, "I''m not here to make you my scapegoat. I just want to tell you that you don''t have to be anyone''s scapegoat. You could have lived in this world fair and square without the need to listen to anyone..." Charles cut him off. "The taste of these kind words has gone bad overnight, sir. I''m going to puke. Can I have something else?" Charles'' smile dissipated and an unprecedented indifference appeared on his face. "Yezi will probably come here in three minutes. If possible, I don''t want him to see your body. So, say something to let me drop the knife willingly." Gaius bowed his head, gazing at the dagger on the neck. The dagger had cut the skin of his neck and a faint tinge of blood came out of the wound. "Charles, have you ever doubted your own life?" He sighed and suddenly murmured, "You should have realized at a very young age the difference between yourself and others. You are different from mortals. You are born to have talent, have a gift, and all kinds of incredible miracles, but you have ever thought of where you came from? You shouldn''t have sunk in this ditch, Charles." Gaius gazed at the young man in front and said word by word, "Those wastes do not know how horribly powerful you are. The Silent Authority even treated you as cannon fodder. Those idiots have no idea what they have missed! If your mother saw you now, she would feel pity for you!" Charles froze. "What are you talking about?" His face grew gloomy. "Don''t waste my last shred of patience, Mr. Constantine!" Gaius raised his hand and showed him a yellow old picture. It seemed to be from long ago. In the picture was a young Gaius, an Easterner with white hair, as well as the hybrid of demons and all the rest. But Charles'' sight was set in the corner. There was a young woman with a vague face. Her hair was flaming red like ancient times burning. Her beauty was so thrilling. "Have you ever dreamed of her?" Gaius whispered, "She protected you to her death, even if she was tainted and swallowed by the ogre... Charles, don''t you want to know where you are from?" He slowly stepped forward and took down the dagger in Charles''s hand. "Come with me, Charles." He pulled Charles and went to the broken tower. "I will tell you all the secrets about you..." 476 Afterimage in Purgatory They had only taken a step forward, yet the world was completely different. The blazing light and shadows seemed to have all disappeared. Everything became dark and ambiguous like a blurry dream. Under the high tower, before the sealed black metal gate, Charles watched Gaius take out a key. The man placed it into the lock carefully and used all his might to turn it. Gears began creaking and grating and the door opened. Charles froze. There should have been a spiral staircase in the large room behind the door. Now, the room was still there but the staircase was not. The originally solemn room was eerie as if it had been abandoned for decades. There was a giant crater in the ground. Charles stood at the edge and looked down, feeling the eerie breeze from the abyss. The steel staircase extended brokenly to somewhere deeper underground. There were faint lights but had all been covered by dust and cobwebs, making everything dark and subtle. "Whereis this?" Charles did not know where they were but he knew this definitely was not the Judgement Tower. "Here? Just somewhere abandoned for a long time." Gaius walked to the end of the room and pushed open the door to the lift. Behind it, metal grated and countless scraps of rust fell down the deep well like dead bugs that were still dancing in the air. An ancient lift slowly rose up from the darkness. Gaius turned and motioned for Charles to come over. There was a corpse-turned-skeleton leaning in the corner of the lift. Half of its body hung outside and its legs were gone. His nametag seemed to still hang from his ragged white uniform. However, the name had faded through time. Gaius squatted down. Studying the skeleton''s broken face, he sighed. "Long time no see. I thought you were living under a different name. I didn''t expect that you''d died here." He pulled open the skeleton''s old clothes and pulled a key out. "Thanks, old friend. I used to not like you but I didn''t think that you could help me again after so many years." He rose and kicked the annoying skeleton off the lift. He walked onto the panel and inserted the key. He twisted it to the bottom. "Such good luck," he said to Charles. "With this, we can save a lot of effort." Under the grating sounds of the lift descending, Charles looked around in confusion. After a while, it finally dawned on him. "This isn''t a pure material world anymore?" "This is a piece left behind when establishing the holy city in the aether world back then. It''s scrap wastethe material and aether world overlapped, creating a stable area." Gaius inhaled the cold and rotten wind. He murmured, "Abstinence musicians of the territory way turned the scrap into this. It overlaps with the Judgement Tower. Or ratherthis is the true Judgement Tower. "Charles, what you see is the secret that the Sacred City wants to hide under the Judgement Tower. If people find out, they''ll probably send you to the stake to be burned even if you''ve only heard about it." "The Sacred City?" Charles was confused. "What did they do here?" "Many things. Human experimentation, mutation surgery, forbidden research Humans must make immoral sacrifices for the future. This is something a Choir musician told me. Perhaps madmen have more common topics. I always thought he was right until someone woke me from my beautiful dream." Gaius stared at the changing levels outside the lift and said lightly, "Here, they imprisoned the most dangerous criminals, dark musicians, andnatural catastrophes. I had once created this with my own hands. The nations and Sacred City ordered it. "I created this hell for the future heaven. Later, too many things happened. I betrayed, Ye Lanzhou went crazy, Bai Heng left, and even this place was abandoned. Otherwise, I would probably have to serve a sentence in the institution I once commanded" Charles was silent. He gaped at the levels flashing past. There were signs he could not read and should not appear here. Clinical Experiment Zone. The Sixth Practice Office. Extinction. The Fourth Incubation Room. Dogma Institution. Sacrifice Office. Finally, they descended into the deepest darkness. The lift stopped at the lowest level. Dust danced and Gaius took the lantern under his cloak. He lit it and dim light illuminated his face. "Come with me," he said to Charles. "All the secrets you want to know are here." There were six steel gates. Standing before them, Charles looked up blankly. The gates reached into the darkness. Compared to them, humanity was as insignificant as dust. This was like the home of deities that had been abandoned. It had once been as glorious as heaven but now, it was so dilapidated. These gates had been created with the Church''s alloy technology. They could withstand sieges without any damage. However, when Charles walked past them, he saw that there was a gaping crack on all of them. Some places had melted and solidified but riddled with holes. Some places had been torn with giant fingerprints still visible. Other places had been crashed through with a crude hole. The last door had been yanked out of the wall and crumpled into a ball. It was tossed to the side like a rusty hill. "Where exactly is this?" As he advanced, he witnessed unbelievable scenes. There was even the skeleton of a demonic whale in the ruined square. But he didn''t understand what this all was. "This was the first generation ''purgatory.'' It''s a prison the Church created to realize God''s punishment in the human world," Gaius explained. "Even though they made a better one to replace it, its significance is irreplaceable." "The Sacred City created a purgatory themselves?" "Why not?" Gaius asked in return. "Didn''t they create heaven themselves? Charles, this isn''t anything shocking. Compared to their biggest mistake, this place isn''t even worthy to be brought up. "Here, the world''s best musicians and scholars once grouped. There were prophets from the Rock Institute, cursers from the Mirage Islands, alchemists from the School of Destructioneven Indian monks and Eastern Devas "This was once the highest point of the human world. The Trinity College''s research room can''t even be compared to it." Gaius halted in the center of the dark empty room. "We''re here." He suddenly stopped, causing Charles to trip and fall backward. Gaius caught his collar and pulled him over. Meeting Charles''s confused eyes, he lowered the lantern and illuminated the mottled yellow lines on the ground. "Remember to step outside the yellow lines. Inside itis a world humans cannot understand." In silence, Charles seemed to understand something. He looked into the darkness before him. His vision seemed to pierce through the solid darkness and see the true appearance of the shadows. His face paled. Sweat dripped. Gaius bent down. He placed the lantern by his feet and reached out. Pulling out a burner, he broke it and tossed it into the darkness. Blazing light burst forth, illuminating everything. Beyond the yellow line was the deep abyss! Light bloomed from the burner. It spiraled and fell deep into the darkness, illuminating the terrifying cage before them. It looked like shackles made for a giant. Dozens of thick chains dropped from hundreds of meters above but they were now broken and scattered on the ground. The burner fell from the podium Charles was at to the ground. It dropped into the dirty water and dimmed. But the dim light still illuminated the terrifying shadows everywhere. The cage was obviously empty but the light still cast a menacing shadow that filled the entire cage. It was just a shadow but it was horrifying. It was impossible to describe the thing. It seemed to be curled up asleep in the cage but its mere existence was an interrogation on a human''s sanity. All beliefs were shattered. Three unclear and abnormally shaped heads looked in all directions. Thousands of limbs cast odd shadows, slithering on the metal walls like snakes. As they moved, the metal would sizzle. The shadow was like a beast that radiated with a corrosive aura. It was just an afterimage. This was a shadow left behind through the ages. It caused this place to lose control completely, turning into an inhumane territory. "Scared, Charles?" Gaius studied the blurry afterimage with nostalgia. He reached out as if wanting to embrace it. "Here, we achieved something that could never be bested. We defeated, captured, imprisonedand even dissected a natural catastrophe!" Charles gaped at the black shadow. It felt like his head would split apart. He stumbled back. After a long while, he murmured, "Hecatoncheir?" "Charles, this was the cage for Hecatoncheir before it fell." Gaius looked up at the large shadow as if meeting the eyes of the natural catastrophe that had long gone. "Humanity captured it while it was in its century-long slumber and placed it here. We racked our minds and put in our blood, sweat, and tearsFinally, we put in all the effort we had, paid every cost we could, to understand something of a natural catastrophe''s nature." 477 Showroom In the silence, Charles finally recovered from his shock. He looked around in disbelief. "Youmade this?" Gaius laughed at himself. "Me? I was just a logistics supervisor in this, a supplier. If they wanted blood, I''d give them blood. If they wanted a knife, I''d give them a knife. If they wanted everything, I''d give them everything. "My job was to satisfy all their requests with all costs. The nations opened the paths for me and the Sacred City vouched for my soul. Everything I was doing was for humanity. That''s what they all told me." Gaius smoked his pipe and said quietly, "The one who truly controlled and was responsible for this program was known as the best of the School of Mind in this millennium. He was once one of the nine Eastern royals, a complete Deva. You might have never heard of his name beforeYe Lanzhou. He was the most terrifying creature I''ve met." "YeLanzhou?" Charles murmured. This name was familiar but Ye Qingxuan''s face kept appearing in his mind. "From the surface, his job was to test if it''s possible to communicate with natural catastrophes and give Hecatoncheir a human language," Gaius said. "He did it well, both his surface and true work." "What was he really responsible for?" "Through communication, humanity learned how to use languages. Through languages, we created souls" Gaius laughed. "Ye Lanzhou''s goal was Hecatoncheir''s soul. His mission was to instill humanity in Hecatoncheir and bring a natural catastrophe''s power to humanity. He did a good job. He completed something no one could in history and made a huge breakthrough. That was how we stole inhuman power." He paused and glanced at Charles. "Telling you like this is not direct enough. Follow me." He raised the lantern and walked deeper into the darkness. Charles followed behind him. After who knew how long, they entered a long hall. "Where is this?" "You can say it''s the showroom for the failures." Gaius smoked and pushed the door open emotionlessly. "All the failures are displayed here to serve as a warning." Behind the first door, a giant corpse was sealed behind transparent albino steel. The odd corpse was like the combination of beasts of the sky and land but it looked more like a human. Ashes remained on the bones as if it had just been taken out of the fire and tossed in the molten steel to be sealed here after solidifying. "This was the first test product created from the manmade natural catastrophe plan," Gaius muttered. "With Ye Lanzhou''s genius mind, we created this from Hecatoncheir''s flesh. Unfortunately, demonic things are too hard to control. It went crazy and killed hundreds. Finally, Knights Templar pushed it into the furnace with no regards to cost. The flesh evaporated and all that remained was this skeleton that had turned to steel." He put down his pipe and glanced at Charles. "You can see it asyour predecessor." Charles froze. Gaius continued forward and opened the second door. Behind it, there were thousands of embryos. Immersed in antiseptic liquid, they still looked alive and every detail was so lively. However, it could not changetheir demonic nature. They were all demons. Innumerable demon embryos. Even Charles only recognized one-third. He had never even heard of the rest. "The second plan used lessons learned from the first. We gave up on using demons similar to natural catastrophes as a breeding ground. Instead, we used the bacteria forging furnace of Choir musicians. With no need for foreign mediums, we developed Hecatoncheir''s flesh directly to find its original appearance." Gaius looked indifferently at the embryos immersed in the glass tubes. "The result is what you see now. As one of the four living objects, Hecatoncheir represents the living organisms of the world. Its blood is also the source of all. "With his blood, we can observe the nature of demons. Even with a replicate, it can help humans improve tremendously on transformation technology. It was at that time that people realized human and demon blood could be fused after birth to create superhuman soldiers. "The research information was divided by the nations. Perhaps you have heard of what Anglo took." After a pause, Charles asked quietly, "the Dragon Riders?" "That''s right." Gaius nodded. "Under my command, the armies all over the world chose the six hundred most suitable soldiers. After the experiment, two hundred and one survived. Twenty-five percent. With the sacrifices, we received the first legion that could move freely through the Dark World. They did not need to be resupplied or even commanded. But unfortunately" Gaius did not finish saying what was so unfortunate. However, Charles could guess what it was. The Dragon Riders were abolished and all members were imprisoned, still not free even today. It was also the start of Abraham''s tragic life. "Let''s go." Gaius pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. "Next one." The third room was empty. There was nothing in the silence but there was a hot sour smell in the air. It was like the cave of a beast but he saw nothing. Gaius stood in the corner and studied the hole in the wall while smoking. After a while, there was the faint sound of sticky trickling water. Dark sap rushed out of the crack in the wall. The shapeless liquid radiated with a sour smell and writhed on the floor like a living thing. Under the dim lantern light, Charles saw what it was and tried to stop himself from throwing up. It was a pile ofground meat. Like mud, the flesh rolled on the ground. It circled Gaius like a pet, making weird chirping sounds. When it writhed, faint ripples would go through the dark red body. It flowed and crawled on the ground. Gaius studied it. After a while, he sighed and petted it. "Little thing, you''re still alive. How''ve you been?" The writhing flesh made a noise in reply. "This was the third plan," Gaius said to Charles. "It''s the only successful one." Charles stared at the meat and shuddered. "Whatis it?" "The first and most important step of the manmade natural catastrophe plan," Gaius said. "We turned man into demon and gave it strong vitality like Hecatoncheir. It has weakened these years. You haven''t seen what it used to be like. Blades, ice, acid, even decomposition had no effect on it. "In low temperatures, it could grow a shocking insulation layer. In molten steel, it can grow a thermal shell. In a vacuum, it can survive more than four yearsIt won''t die. As long as it''s alive, no one can kill it." "But itused to be a human" Charles''s teeth clattered from fear and disgust. He almost threw up. Gaius laughed mockingly and didn''t reply. "It''s been alive all these years?" Charles asked. "I''ve said before that it won''t die." Gaius pointed to the empty room. "There used to be many things here. And the hole in the wall, it must''ve eaten it, right? It''s very obedient. It won''t eat what you tell it not to. Which means, it''ll eat everything else." Charles studied the chirping flesh. He could not imagine how it used to be a human Whenever he thought of this, he wanted to vomit. Goosebumps pricked at his skin. "Let''s go." Gaius rose. Looking away from the flesh, he walked out the door. "Justleave it here?" "Let it live here." Taking one last glance, Gaius murmured, "Other than these ruins, nothing in the outer world will accept it anymore." The fourth plan was a withered brain. Apparently, it once contained boundless intelligence and the sparks of inspirations. It could enter a state that humans could not know. But seven days after its death, it died. The fifth plan was a strange box The sixth plan Charles followed Gaius numbly until the man opened the seventh door. "Charles, this is the seventh plan," Gaius said. "And the first one that your mother participated in." In the darkness, he raised his hand and illuminated what was before him. Behind the large glass wall was some sort of decayed liquid. It was filled with moss and parasites, turning it dark green. They seemed to be standing outside a giant bottle. Through the glass, Charles could see the giant that had been transformed by the liquid. No, it was not a giant Through the moss and other matter, there was a giant object immersed in the foul liquid. The short and fat limbs had turned black. Parts had even crystallized. Half a head of the swollen and stubby body had come out of the water. Outside the liquid, the head had already decayed. Inside, the face had turned white from the water but was still complete. Charles finally saw it clearly. He stumbled back. Holding onto the wall, he started throwing up. Tears and snot streamed out embarrassingly. He vomited like he wanted to spit out his organs. It was not a giant. It was a meters-tallbaby! "Every time I see how it died, I feel sad," Gaius murmured to himself as he smoked. "The child of the future, the baby of endless times, the eternal fetus" 478 Longevity If the other displays scared Charles, this one disgusted him and made him want to retch. This creature was hundreds of times larger than a regular baby. Immersed in the foul liquid, half of it was skeletal while the other half still looked so alive. Finally recovering, Charles gathered his courage to study the thing. "What the f*ck is that?" "As you can see, it''s just an infant." Gaius looked away. "It''s an infant with longevity that had the blood of a natural catastrophe injected into it as an embryo and born after a series of large surgeries." "Longevity?" It sounded ridiculous. "How many years do you think that can live?" "The life expectancy for the average man is fifty years," Gaius suddenly said. "The rich and powerful nobles take care of their bodies, have healthy meals, and have good doctors that can treat them at any time. Their life expectancy is eighty years. In some places, it can be up to ninety. "The base life expectancy for musicians is similar. Resonance musicians can live up to one hundred twenty years. After becoming a Scepter, aether transforms the body and they can live up to two hundred years. You can try everything after that and manage to live five more years. If you sublimate into a holy spirit and go into hibernation, you can live three hundred more years. After that, the light goes out and the ashes fly, just like Emperor Aeneas recently." Gaius said, "Charles, the maximum number of years humans can preserve their consciousness is five-hundred years. Only five-hundred years. It sounds long but compared to the entirety of the world, it is like dust. "The rocks under our feet, the dust on our body, the rivers beside us, even the iron we mold, and those terrifying undying natural catastrophes all live much longer than us. In fact, we still don''t know their limits You are still young and have not yet experienced the fear of aging and terror of dying. "For sixty-year-old men like me, we feel how we age day by day. Wrinkles crawl like bugs and I must be careful even when walking. I can break a bone just by falling and be overtaken by illness, never to recover. You do not understand the value of longevity and have never had the chance to face this choice." He stared at Charles. "You can only have one life. If anyone dies, they stay dead. There is no heaven or hell. All that is waiting for you is an eternal void. In that cold eternity, even death loses meaning. Everything we struggle and yearn for in this world is just so we can live a bit longer." Eyes cool, Charles pointed at the infant. "How long can it help you live?" "Decades ago, so many musicians slaved to create it. According to our calculations, it can live more than two thousand yearsFor the first three hundred, it would look like an infant. It was known as the baby of endless times, the future giant." "But it''s dead," Charles said coldly. "It doesn''t seem to live very long." "Infant mortality is unavoidable. You must understand that," Gaius said. "But the Sacred City already received enough results and data from it. "According to information, after I left the Sacred City, they found a way for humans to break through the limit and even remain on this world as a regular human. This news has always been locked but to the big figures in the high levels, it''s not much of a secret. "You only need to pay some things and go through a surgery, and a dying old man would go back to his prime Didn''t you see it at the square? Archbishop Ludovic that stood beside the pope is the best proof. "He was the first to undergo the surgery. Twenty years ago, he accepted it at the brink of his death and disappeared. Five years later, he reappeared as an ascetic monk. He walked through the Sacred City with the Holy Grail containing ashes as if he had returned from the kingdom of death. "All who understood this knelt before him, begging for his blessing and mercy for longevity. That was how the Ecclesiastical Order rose so quickly. Compared to the insubstantial rebirth, nobles care more about living longer now. Ludovic displayed his ability and the dying men raised him up like a god "Within a few years, Ludovic grasped more than half of the Sacred City''s power. Now, he has complete control over the city." "With your help" Charles added for him. "You''re his great benefactor." "Things aren''t that simple, Charles." Gaius shook his head, seemingly mocking himself. "I''m just a primer. Even if I hadn''t assassinated the pope, someone else would have. Everyone must become accustomed to their role. Isn''t this something the Revolutionaries must do?" Charles remained silent. Boom! Great shaking came from above them as if the Judgement Tower was about to break apart again. Gaius looked up thoughtfully and narrowed his eyes at the ceiling. As expected of Ye Lanzhou''s son, he thought. It was much faster than he had expected but thankfully, he was prepared. - Five minutes ago, the Sacred City was still a mess. Explosions happened constantly, throwing the city''s most festive holiday into turmoil. From a bird''s eye view, cold reflections of armor flowed through the streets like rivers and quickly covered every inch of space. The high towers all began ringing. Musicians constantly rose up into the sky. Everyone radiated with the same aether waves. Following previous training, they instantly connected and went into coherence with the bell towers. More and more went into coherence until there were hundreds of musicians! Hundreds of grandmasters! If they attacked any nation, it would be flattened completely within a day. Now, several scepter auras also appeared in the secret depths of the Sacred City. In the Papal Chamber, a majestic aura also rose and transformed into metallic light. It was an armed shadow riding a giant horse with eight hooves, wielding a spear of lightning, and enveloped in electric light. His mere appearance chased away the layers of fog over the city. It was suffocating. Saint Wagner! This saint had retreated to the Papal Chamber due to his age, but now he had been awakened. He guided the countless musicians and created a subtle net. It covered the entire city and divided into several zones, sweeping back and forth. Next, a giant wind tunnel opened in the Papal Chamber. In the tunnel of light guarded by furious winds, dozens of auras as powerful as Wagner flowed out. Clearly, the saints outside had received the news and opened the wind tunnels from thousands of miles away. Wind tunnels could not teleport living objects but they could send their powers over. The auras waited tensely for the worst case scenario. If anyone dared to act brashly, they would be attacked by the combined strength of these saints. The dust of unrest quickly separated under the net and the situation began settling. However, it was clear that there were still many more problems. Now, they just needed time. But among the various investigatory waves and ripples, a ray of dim moonlight flashed past. It was agile and fast, going under radar. Even when brushing past the grandmasters, it was like a breeze that did not alert anyone. Covered by moonlight, Ye Qingxuan flew in the air. He was using the same technique as the purple-eyed griffin from days ago. He used the music theory system within him to construct a territory, isolating him from the outside world. Using the nature disturbance''s repulsion, he flew up. However, compared to the griffin''s skill of landing and moving lightly like dust, Ye Qingxuan was still inexperienced and awkward. He flew like a rocket. Not only did the wind whistle, but his turns were sharp and sudden too. He improved quickly within a few minutes but it was just a complete rookie turning into an amateur. If Lola had not used the ''illusion realization'' to disguise him, the Sacred City would take him down in a second. This technique could even turn death into an illusion. It was more than enough to disguise him. Lola had wanted to come too but Ye Qingxuan rejected her. At that time, her expression had been dark. "Are you sure you don''t need someone to collect your body?" "Don''t jinx me," Ye Qingxuan had sighed. "I have something else I need your help with. This will determine whether or not I can go all out, so please." "What, help you get reinforcements?" "In a place like the Sacred City it''s easy to find an enemy, but tfinding reinforcements is harder than finding an archbishop without a lover." Ye Qingxuan had sighed again. "You have to help me find a place and a person. If he''s not there, then leave the city and don''t look back." "Who is that important?" Ye Qingxuan said a name. After a long pause, Lola sighed and left without speaking. Ye Qingxuan did not know if Lola had found him, but using his moonlight perception threads, he reached the sky above the Judgement Tower. Above the silent and broken tower, Ye Qingxuan looked down on the ground. He pulled out the Eye of Silence that he had not worn in a while and exerted all his power. With the help of Anglo''s secret royal artifact, cold moonlight lit up in his eyes, subtly illuminating a wavering shadow. It was hidden under the tower and rippled as the music theory outside changed. It reached all the way underground. Ye Qingxuan had never seen something like it before. A hidden territory? But what attracted Ye Qingxuan more was a figure hidden in the ruins. In Avalon, the Stein Chamber that contained the royalty''s treasures was more like this. It was created by an individual piece of the aether world. It overlapped with the material world but was definitely not part of the material world. Even in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, the figure was wrapped in a layer of water vapor. He was blurry even when Ye Qingxuan stared carefully. He could not tell if the man was a hallucination or really there. The complex and careful territory had hidden his existence. He was impossible to detect with the naked eye or through observation. Thankfully, Ye Qingxuan still recognized the griffin mask on his face and those emotionless purple eyes. "Hey, we meet again," Ye Qingxuan muttered to himself. He raised a hand and cold moonlight lit up. It solidified; the sharp coldness made his eyes seem fiercer as well. "Let me greet you again." The purple-eyed griffin still had not noticed him. Ye Qingxuan threw down the sword! 479 Rebuilt Moon In the past, the sword that Ye Qingxuan created with the Sword movement was just an insubstantial shadow. But now, with the support from the grandmaster level Bell Tower, Heaven Ladder instantly crossed an unimaginable distance and extracted power from the depths of the aether sea without creating any ripples or waves. Ye Qingxuan now held a heavy sword of a few meters long. Once connected to the Heaven Ladder, the music score Ye Lanzhou had created released incredible power. The sword was created by solidified moonlight. Like crystal, it was clear and translucent. However, heart-shaking hallucinations flashed past. After integrating with Ye Qingxuan''s own music theory, the Abstinence music theory framework of Moonlight was combined with the essences of Illusion and Mind. Finally, it used Revelations to lock onto the enemy''s location. Even if he was thousands of miles away, Ye Qingxuan could aim precisely using Heaven Ladder to lock onto the sound of heart. This was the first time Ye Qingxuan experienced the power given by the Bell Tower. He greedily sucked at the power. After all, with the Philosopher''s Stone, he did not need to worry about the pressure. If he had the Chapters of Golden Victory at hand, he could even cast Kingdom Come. With Ye Qingxuan''s urging, the moonlight sword''s power increased again. Under the crisp sound of crystallization, the moonlight on the blade thickened. Finally, it was like flowing mercury that radiated with metallic light and murder. That instant, the purple-eyed griffin in the ruins sensed something. He looked up. Soon, he saw the abnormal moonlight. He could not tell what happened behind it but the change in music theory he felt sent warning bells ringing. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan smiled and let go. Silently, the moonlight sword fell from the sky! Moonlight was not solid, only the grouping of spirits, but anything with a consciousness heard a strange, abnormal, and loud screech! Merely the whistle of breaking through the air was hair-raising. Mercury-like moonlight rushed down the crystallized sword, projecting the sight of a rainbow piercing the sun. In an instant, all the murderous intent in the blade came at him! The purple-eyed griffin shook. Rather than escaping, he extended a gloved hand and pointed at the falling sword. Tremendous waves crashed in the aether sea! In the air, there was the sound of metal clashing and colliding. The cacophony grated everyone''s ears. The sound that was impossible to analyze unexpectedly began to construct a music theory. It swept the aether into a score that Ye Qingxuan did not understand. It was that strange cacophony again! Ye Qingxuan remembered the last failure clearly. After thinking it through, he finally understood what it was. Naturally, he had a solution for it. Subconsciously, Ye Qingxuan used the interpretation method to hear the noise. The music notes it was made up of were reordered in his mind. Their original appearance was revealed! Gregorian chant! It was a Gregorian chant! The purple-eyed griffin used a strange music interpretation method to extract the essence and structure of the music score. Removing the original chant, he replaced it with the strange noise. He had reinterpreted it with a musician''s understanding of the score. It was like how a talented musician could just whistle without performing to reach a level that regular musicians could never reach. But what the griffin used was a cacophony that encroached and attacked all music theory. If Ye Qingxuan did not understand this or could not guess what score was used, he could only get beaten and dragged into the griffin''s rhythm. In a blink, Ye Qingxuan found the music score hidden within. Its format wasPassion! His pupils constricted. Passion was definitely one of the highest of the highest level Abstinence scores. Only musicians above the Distortion level could attempt it. None of the scores created with the theme of a saint''s passion were simple! The original meaning of passion was to be tormented in place of someone else. In the School of Abstinence, its deeper meaning was to replace the world''s rules with one''s own music theory. It would wipe all common knowledge, disturb all laws, and turn the music theory into the spindle of the material world. It would create a space like the aether world in the material world. Simply put, it was legendary! In an instant, powerful music theory rushed out of the griffin and swept in all directions. Then, the moonlight sword landed silently. It pierced his palm, his face, and fell, coming out of his feet. However, his body was undamaged like a hallucination. The sword went through his body and buried in the earth. Finally, it crashed onto the patch of light that Ye Qingxuan saw with the Eye of Silence. It suddenly shattered and shook. However, the strange thing hidden in the Judgement Tower was undamaged. In the sky, Ye Qingxuan''s expression twisted. It was nature disturbance! Again! Different from the stubborn self-preservation of the Shadow Cereus, the griffin used disturbance to change his own nature. This way, the moonlight washed over his body like true moonlight without any power. When Passion was unfolded, he became insubstantial. He was right there but so far away. In the School of Abstinence, this type of ''vacuum'' was a state that all musicians dreamed to reach. Once at this level, only Abstinence musicians at his level could touch him. Everyone else could only get beaten. Therefore, it was comparable to incredible techniques such as ''element incarnation'' and ''illusion realization.'' This did not mean that the ''vacuum'' was undefeatable. It also had its weaknesses and solutions. Sadly, Ye Qingxuan could not do any of it. The most common was to find a musician from the School of Destruction. The vacuum was nothing before destruction Faced with someone who used their attainments so rudely, Ye Qingxuan was pissed but had no counterattack solution for the time being. The simplest was to clench his jaw, stomp his feet, and close his eyes. He would enter the Dreamscape. The Wrymrest Enchantment was known as the prototype of the Ultimate. It was the nemesis of all music scores and aether. Unfortunately, it could not distinguish between friend and foe. At that time, the griffin would be powerless butYe Qingxuan was still in the sky! Would he try to kill the griffin by crashing into him? Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was powerless, the griffin''s eyes were still emotionless. He reached out and smashed the air before him. The grating cacophony rose and turned into something that broke down one''s sanity. The counterattack was starting! But then he saw Ye Qingxuan shake his head. In Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, countless streams of moonlight swept. No, it was not an illusion It was a reflection! Under the griffin''s feet, deep underground, above the strange territory created by the piece of aether, the mercury sword began falling apart. It was like a spring being dug in the ground. The crumbling sword erupted with endless moonlight. Like water, it turned into a flood and rushed in all directions. It whistled from the earth into the sky. In an instant, it was like the seas breaking barriers. Countless floods of moonlight seeped from the ground. They grouped into a whirlpool that charged forward. The moonlight sword had pierced the material world and opened a crack that led to the aether sea. So much aether assimilated into the moonlight, turning into a tide that crashed forward. In an instant, the moonlight swallowed everything, turning into a sea. It was a sea of moonlight. Looking down from the sky, the powerful moonlight sea grouped in the ruins of the tower. It instantly went from angry waves to something as calm as a mirror. On the sea, the griffin looked down in confusion at the calm and deep moonlight underfoot. He seemed to hear the crashing waves at the bottom of the sea. "This" In a blink, the ruins became beautiful. Under the pure light, the moonlight sea was as still as a mirror. It reflected everything in the world. Inside it, he did not know if he was on the ground or in the sky. Compared to it, everything became as significant as dust. Even himself. All ugliness and unrest disappeared. Everything was immersed in the quiet and beauty. It was an eerie and cold beauty. It had no emotions or directions. It would never change for anyone, merely existing for itself. It cared not for the audience''s acknowledgment or criticism. Thus, it was terrifying in its beauty. "This is what Moonlight is," Ye Qingxuan murmured. He reached out and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei played an intense melody. The silence was shattered. Something began rising from the sea. The shockingly large thing emerged bit by bit from the aether sea. It quickly reached the ''water surface'' with strong undercurrents. The wild waves and terrifying boom shattered the mirror-like sea of moonlight. It danced frantically with beautiful light and shadows. The moonlight was evaporating. Countless fleeting illusions dissipated in the sky. In the last moment, so close, the object that had risen from the sea finally revealed itself. It was a giant moon! Like an ancient legend replayed, the large white moon would fall into the sea at dawn and rise up again at dusk. It was a cycle. Thus, a quiet and serene star broke from the still moonlit sea and rose into the sky. Amidst the wild aether waves, countless music theory changed. Some sublimated, others fell apart. The territory created by Passion was destroyed. It was utter destruction. The sky and earth, top and bottom, far and near, everything became a blur. Did the rim of moonlight rise up from the sea underfoot? Or had it fallen from up above? There was no way to think carefully because the moment they discovered it, it was already before their eyes. There was nowhere to run or hide. This was the pure white moon that Ye Qingxuan created. Integrated with the sub-originator as the core, he created a vast entity in the depths of the aether sea. Thus, Ye Lanzhou''s symphony of predestination was reborn. The Moon Above the Sea! 480 Holy Son The rumbling came from above. In the darkness, the steel ''purgatory'' shook. Dust fell in clumps. "Time is running short. Follow me." Gaius walked forward. "There are many more things to show you." But Charles remained in his spot. "Sir, I''ve seen enough." Gaius looked back in confusion. "Thank you for letting me see so many secrets and know so many things but I didn''t come here for them." Charles clenched his fist and said quietly, "I came here for my mother." Gaius was silent. "I only want to know what her name was, where she came from If you want me to beg you, I will. If you want me to kneel, I will. I just wish you will tell me about my mother." Charles lowered his head and pleaded to the man before him. He had no smile or any frivolous expressions. He used all the lowliness in his life to beg the man. "Sir, that''s all I want." Gaius smoked and breathed it out quietly. After a long while, he sighed. "Charles, didn''t you already see it? Isn''t this hell that you''re looking at created by your mother?" Charles froze. He stared at Gaius and started shaking involuntarily in fear from the words. In the silence, Gaius walked up. He touched Charles''s shoulder with pity. "You should''ve guessed it already. Have you started lying to yourself again?" Charles shook his head and squeezed out, "Thisis impossible." "How is it impossible, Charles?" Gaius looked at him with pity. "Did you think that your mother lived in a fairy tale? Stop kidding yourself. Since the beginning, she was the developer of the purgatory. All the plans had to go through her. She personally participated in more than half. Your mother created all of this, including you" "Stop!" Charles interrupted him and glared. "My mothershe" He did not know what to say or how to refute Gaius. He wanted to say, my mother isn''t like that. She''s so gentle and pretty when she smiles and was so happy even before death. She''s great. Please don''t compare her to scum like you. But he could not say it. He knew that, perhaps, what Gaius saidwas true. "I''m sorry, Charles. I want to make your mother seem kind and benevolent, gentle as the moon, but she isn''t. She is the madwoman that the nations and Sacred City chose for this purgatory." Gaius walked forward, forcing Charles back until he was against the wall. The old man''s voice was quiet yet so, so cruel. "You haven''t even seen one-third of everything she''s done, Charles. There''s still the eighth plan, the ninth, the tenth, and the most inhumane eleventh plan "Did you know how horrible the virus your mother created to research the bacterial theory and let loose in the faraway cities was? She personally created the laboratory for rabies mutation, turning many commoners into cannibalistic demonsBut that is not all. There are many more records buried underground. Much more that hasn''t been uncovered yet. "Ever since she entered this organization, all her past records were wiped. The Sacred City vouched for her purity and soul. No matter how dirty the deeds were, as long as she contributed to the city, they would fulfil all her desires." "Enough" Charles gritted his teeth, wishing Gaius would shut up but he continued. "Were you anticipating that she loved you? Impossible, Charles. Your mother, Lilith, is a devil born from power. She did everything to climb upward. ''Family'' was a negative word for her. To her, only the ignorant would use bloodlines to find refuge. "Love was nothing to her. She only needed to wave a hand and countless people would be fighting to crawl into her bed. Even the archbishops were obsessed with her fiery hair and beautiful looks. "Even if she was disabled and could not speak, just her eyes were enough to intoxicate someone. Even in the end, she used the Sacred City''s trust in her to take one more step and created you" Boom! His words stopped suddenly. Some kind of power was unleashed as Charles screamed. It was like thousands of hands scratching at everything in sight. Under the piercing noise, the power shot out and lifted Gaius, slamming him against the wall. It wanted to break every inch of his body. Sticky blood trickled from his nose. The old pipe fell down and was pulverized by the pressure. Sparks flew, falling among the shattered pieces of the lantern, igniting the oil. Thus, firelight appeared in the purgatory again. "I don''t believe itI don''t believe it!" Charles panted heavily under the horrible noise. He glared at Gaius with his reddening eyes. He roared with all his might, "You''ve lied to me enough from the beginning!" Boom! Horrible strength shattered the steel ground and walls. It spread out like an earthquake created deep underground. Everything cracked under the faint ripples. Charles did not know what was wrong with him. He justturned into a beast for some reason, turned intoa creature he did not understand Furious, he roared. The terrible strength could shatter Gaius in a moment but pressed against the wall, he smiled mockingly. "Don''t believe me?" Gaius smiled and jutted his chin forward. He rasped out, "Then look back, Charles. Look at her creation." Charles froze in silence. After a long while, he turned bit by bit as if in fear of the nightmare. Behind him, the giant infant that slept in the foul liquid behind the cracked glass had been shattered. His bones cracked and his decayed flesh fell into the disgusting water like mud. The half-decayed head broke from the neck and sank into the pool like a ripe fruit. All that remained were two white eyes, staring at Charles. In the dim firelight, Charles saw his own pale face in the reflections on the broken glass. His face had combined with the creature into one. "Not me" Charles shook his head and gurgled, "It''s not me!" He screamed and waved his hand furiously, trying to prove to someone. He roared, "This isn''t me!"The terrible power seemed to vanish along with the strength supporting him. He collapsed and curled up in the corner, crying silently. "Charles, I was going to reveal the truth at the end." Gaius looked down at him and sighed. "I thought these things would prepare you mentally but it seems that I was too impatient." Curled up in the corner, Charles buried his face as if scared of the firelight behind him. "Mr. ConstantineI" He grabbed at his hair in pain. Broken hairs fell down and burned like fire. He could feel that something terrifying was living inside him. It flowed in his blood, hid in his breaths, felt joy when he cried, and wanted to become one with him. It was an inhuman strength. It seemed to be a gift from the abyss of death, making him fear himself. Almost crazed, he roared in hysteria, "Whatam I?!" Gaius looked at him, his eyes softening. Smoke rose up in plumes from his pipe. It seemed that everything buried in the past would now be uncovered. The secrets hidden in the shadows were brought to the light, showing their ugliness. "Twenty years ago, the failure of the fifteenth plan brought an unprecedented disaster," he said. "The Black Death spanned more than half of the West. In its path, all villages were wiped out and the corpses decayed into white bone. Those bones still remain in the ruins today. "You''ve never seen something like that before. Someone could go to the river to drink water, fall sick, and topple in. The river became foul from all the corpses. Black-clothed musicians wore the masks of crows and carried torches to burn all the affected areas into dust. Both the dead and living would burn. "In a mere half month, three million died before the vaccine was created. Under the strong requests and oppositions from the nations, the purgatory was forced to stop. The Sacred City ended most research and locked the information. "At that time, Ye Lanzhou finally realized he had been deceived. He realized what his supposedly innocent research had turned into. Therefore, he decided to cut ties with the Sacred City" Gaius paused and shook his head with a sigh. "Got off topic again At that time, your mother was also forced into desperation. The Sacred City stripped her of her rights and experiments, taking over all her research. Then she disappeared. "When the Sacred City realized that she had taken the new blood in the Holy Cauldron, it was too late. They signed an erasure agreement with me to take the holy blood back and erase all trace of her existence, including herself." Gaius chuckled. "We underestimated her. I didn''t realize until I found her secret lab that she had never thought of using the holy blood as a bargaining chip with the Sacred City. All plans in the purgatory were to pave way for her final goal. We helped her pave this road so that she couldimplant the holy blood in her own body! She wanted to create an unmatchable miracle. She personally turned a human into a natural catastrophe and carried it in her womb! "I used ten months to find her in a village besieged by demons. When I found her, she was close to death and I thought she had failed. I was wrong." Gaius squatted down. Holding Charles''s face, his eyes grew wild. "Charles, she succeeded! She created you! Different from the ''vessels,'' you''re the only physical incarnate of the holy blood in history! "Don''t you feel it? You''re different from the others. You were born to rise above all. Your nature determined your difference from the average man. When I saw you again, I knew that she truly had given birth to God''s child! The Bible was correct. Charles, you will walk on this earth in place of God, revaluing all. "You came to this world so we will muster our troops and once again shake the skies, seas, and land. You will shake the world! All treasures will come for you and create the temple of glory for you!" Charles stared blankly at the fire in Gaius''s eyes. He seemed to had heard a horrible joke, so horrible that he could not even smile. "Liar" Charles choked. Using all his might, he shook off Gaius''s hand. "You''re all liars!" Clutching his throbbing head, he mumbled in pain, "Mother I remember she was pretty when she smiled. She was still smiling when she died!" Yes, that woman had been smiling. "When she saw me, she smiled so gentlyshe''s a good person, I remember, she''d rather die than kill me" She was not a freak. She was not! "I remember itI always remember it" Charles sobbed in pain. With the last of his strength, he screamed at Gaius, "She clearly said in her last momentshe said she was happy!" Gaius looked at him silently. He allowed Charles to scream in hysteria and accepted the blows without moving. He allowed Charles to shake him in craze. Finally, Charles had no more strength. He knelt onto the ground like a poor thing without bones. Tears and snot streamed down his face. He bowed his head to Gaius. "Let me go, sir." Kneeling, he tugged at Gaius''s pants and mumbled, "Let go of me and my teacher. I can even lick your boots. I just wanted to make some money for Professor. I''m not even a good musician, sir. You must be wrong. I''m not the child of some god. I''m just a failure." "Charles, why can''t you face your true self?" Gaius petted his hair gently. His eyes were soft and filled with pity. "Fate is the key. It had already awakened your true nature. You''re different from before. "The average man cannot choose their fate but you can create a different future. It is supernatural power and the foundation to reach the Originator. It had chosen you. You are now its owner. "The new era will come. We are all dirt before its wheels. Everything will change because of you. This is a destined revolution and I cannot stop it. No one can." Charles stopped speaking. He just cooled down as if all warmth was taken away. Finally, he raised his pale face. His eyes were like dead ashes. He begged the man before him as if begging for salvation. "Mr. Constantine, everything you said to meyou''re lying, right?" Gaius looked away, not daring to meet his eyes. After a long while, he nodded slowly. "Yes, your mother is just a poor mute woman who was taken as a lab rat. Everything I said was a lie." His back was to Charles and his expression was hidden. A slimmer of hope lit up in Charles''s eyes. He crawled up and asked fearfully, "Was her life happy?" After a pause, Gaius shook his head. "No," he murmured. "She was the daughter of a poor fisherman. She sacrificed herself in exchange for money to cure her brother. She was a kind woman and always had been. She sacrificed everything for you." "I knew it!" Charles tugged his sleeves. "Was Professor forced like this too?" "Yes, I used the past to threaten him and force him to work with me." "I see." Charles smiled. He was clearly crying but he was happy as if finally freed. He embraced Gaius in gratitude and said excitedly, "Thencan I still go home?" He was full of anticipation. "Like before, everyone''s happy together. I can still fool around with Yezi, give Professor trouble, mess around with Bai Xi, and scare kids with Old Phil at night Sir, I can still do that, right? I know you have solutions." Gaius closed his eyes sadly and did not answer. "Sir?" Charles''s smile froze on his face. Crying, he grabbed Gaius''s shoulder. "Sir, why aren''t you speaking? You aren''t lying again, are you?" "I''m sorry, Charles. I can''t do it." Gaius shook his head. "You deserve everything but only this is impossible." This was the last judgement. Charles stopped crying and stopped smiling. It had finally dawned on him; he finally understood the future waiting for him. He hung his head in hopelessness as if he had lost his soul. Gaius reached out. He wiped Charles''s tears and snot with his handkerchief, wiping his face clean. Under the dim firelight, Charles seemed to have been reborn. The blank face was beautiful as if made by God. It was flawless, despite the fact that it was lifeless. Boom! Another explosion came. The entire place seemed to shake on the brink of collapse. Cracks snaked across the walls. They did not have much time left. "Come with me, Charles. Come with me." Gaius reached out with solemn eyes. As if he was facing a powerful deity, he requested humbly and gravely, "You are the child born from the holy blood. You are different from the pope. You are the one who should inherit the Holy Cauldron. You will make this world better!" Staring at Charles''s face, he said hoarsely, "I swear to you, I will bring you back some day so you can take back all you deserve! Someday, you will take back the life you lost!" Charles looked in silence. After a long, long time, fire lit up in those empty eyes again. Like thunder colliding with fire, the power was overbearing. Looking at Gaius''s hand, he reached out and grasped it. As if grasping his last salvation, it was filled with hope. - The shaking grew in intensity. Deep under the secret territory, in the lowest level of the purgatory, Wolf Flute stood with his lantern. The light illuminated the top secret archive. The dust-filled room was completely silent. Not even a ghost would stay here. Wolf Flute walked in the darkness. Following the signs, he opened a door and studied the files stored there. After all these years, the files had aged. Shelved by category, the documents smelled like old paper and had all yellowed. These records of past experiments were placed here, sleeping where no one would ever visit. Wolf Flute murmured the numbers in his mind and pulled out the innermost document. Confirming that it was the right one, he nodded and brought the lantern closer. The flame crawled onto the paper and swallowed it. Wolf Flute let go, allowing it to fall onto the ground. The flames spread like an insatiable creature, gradually sweeping the entire archive into its belly. Thus, the last trace of the past disappeared with the fire. Wolf Flute turned and left. In the spreading fire, in the ashes, the remaining ink marks seemed to come to life. They danced in the fire. Wind came from somewhere and the picture between the pages floated out. The woman who had died danced in the fire like a butterfly. The buried stories disappeared. No one would ever know about them. 481 Thou Shall Bow The world shook. The vast iron city seemed to be stifled. Water rippled across the land and an illusory moon rose up. Alarms rang throughout the Central Church. The sudden burst of aether released enough danger signals, frightening the surveillance musicians. They looked up in shock and studied the starry sky above them that represented the Sacred City. Amongst the glittering stars, there was a shocking white space. There was nothing there but it glowed hotly. "What is that?" "Why is it blessed by the Bell Tower?" "It was a request from the Silent Authority one hour ago! Wait" The worker in charge of recording froze and looked up blankly. "The blessed isYe Qingxuan?" Ye Qingxuan? Who was Ye Qingxuan? Everyone sank into confusion. This was beyond the range of a grandmaster. The aether waves were practically into the scepter territoryWhich school''s representative had stepped out? The name sounded like an Easterner. "Is it the one who murdered someone at the city gate?" someone murmured in the silence. He made himself laugh before he even finished. But no one around him laughed. He continued awkwardly in the dead silence until finally, he stopped. Everyone stared at each other with pale faces. "He is only the Disturbance level. This should be impossible. Even with the Bell Tower, he shouldn''t have that ability." "Most importantly, what is he doing at this time?" someone muttered. "I rememberisn''t he on the wanted list?" Dead silence. "F*ck!" someone yelped. "Alert the Papal Chamber!" The alarms went off. Chaos spread. - Two minutes ago, the white moon rose up from the ruins of the Judgement Tower and hung in the air. Material objects had a gravitational pull. The Moonlight score was performed with a grandmaster''s power. Integrated with Ye Qingxuan''s sub-originator, it turned into something terrifying. Absorbing the immense amount of aether, it turned into a beast. Innumerable music theories were born, destroyed, and evolved in the moon at any given second; finally, it turned into a terrifying ''gravitational pull.'' It distorted reality, pulling all rules toward it. The territory under the moonlight became uninhabitable. Under the rumbles, Passion and Moonlight clashed. Instantly, it seemed that two large vortexes collided in the aether sea. Thunder, fire, and the earth crashed. At the core, no one knew how many horrible explosions occurred. Reality was torn apart instantly. Countless strange illusions came out in the turbidity. It seemed to become an absolute vacuum with nothing in it. However, it had a stifling sense of murder. In the void, something seemed to still be alive. It fought against the white moon without falling back. Terrible waves spread instantly, destroying all aether waves in the proximity. The musicians flying in the air dropped to the ground. They would have turned into ground meat if not for the timely rescues. The white moon was still rising. The abominable object was crawling up into the sky. With each inch, its wild attraction multiplied. At this moment, it was trying to push the purple-eyed griffin beneath. The strength of the white moon''s disturbance was heavier than a mountain. If not for Passions'' effect, the griffin would have been squashed long ago! The music theory changed and under the intense disturbance, the white moon ''stepped'' on the griffin to rise up into the sky. The immense attraction pulled at the aether sea, transforming it into something tangible. It turned into a sea of moonlight that protected the moon. It was like a mountain. In that case, the purple-eyed griffin was like terribly sturdy alloy. No matter if it was blades, lightning, or thousand-time magnified pressure, his self-protection and music theory were still unmoved. This was extreme self-preservation. No matter how the outside world changed, he could still keep the music theory in order and unaffected. Inside the ''vacuum,'' the griffin released the grating melody. Flames danced around him. Under the griffin''s mask, the purple eyes burned with cold light. Among the countless wails and noise, a hoarse voice began singing. "Rest in peace! Rest your tired body!" Riding the terrible sound, the griffin guided the solemn melody to the climax. Thus, countless people began roaring in the cacophony. "Eli, Eli, lama-asabthani!" Boom! Boom! Boom! Ye Qingxuan was aghast. Blood trickled from his nose. "It is" The moment Passion was played fully, the still-tangible and solid music theory shot out from the griffin''s limbs and buried themselves in the air. The response came from the Sacred City''s enchantment. Under the shrill alarms from all the departments, his music theory forcefully entered the enchantment! Just as how Ye Qingxuan had once tried to control Avalon''s enchantment, the griffin was now trying to steal the Sacred City enchantment''s power? What a madman! The nature was the same but the difficulty was day and night. One was a failing enchantment that had not been maintained n years. The other was the incomparable weapon and the largest object in the world! Since its establishment, the Sacred City enchantment had been absorbing the endless power of the aether sea. It continuously adjusted all rules and music theory in the city. At its peak, there had been more than two thousand musicians working for it Even a scepter would be unable to take a shred of its power without permission! But Ye Qingxuan began sweating. A gust of power rose out of thin air and gushed into Passion It was a success? Such a fast and easy success? While he was sensing, the territory of the Judgement Tower separated from the Sacred City enchantment and became something individual. The griffin had used some sort of authority and key to snatch the Central Church''s control command. Before they could react, he had used Passion to break into the outer shields and decipher the core music theory, turning it into his own Ye Qingxuan clenched his jaw and swore. This was getting bad! "How dare you!" The auras of countless saints in the wind tunnel above the Papal Chamber raged. The music theory operating in the air unfurled. Under the control from the other end of the wind tunnel, the attack came. Dozens of blazing light streaked past. The world rumbled and shook as the lights were swept into the duel between the moon and griffin. Light bright enough to burn eyeballs shot out. In an instant, the enchantment the griffin stole was completely defeated! Next, the aether density rose. The laws and temperament had already been distorted by the two. Now, they broke apart. This area had become something far more chaotic than a black zone. Countless music theories were born and destroyed, turning it into an absolute zone. "Take him down!" Wagner''s order rang in the ears of all musicians in the bell towers. Before he finished, countless musicians flew to the sky. Seeming to use specialized music scores, the one at the front had turned most of his body into a thunderbolt. He galloped in the air and paced, pouncing in an instant. "Don''t come in!" Ye Qingxuan turned in shock and yelled. "This is" Too late. Ye Qingxuan''s words were swallowed by the chaotic environment. Then, dozens of figures dropped from the sky, pouncing toward Ye Qingxuan and the griffin. Idiots. Ye Qingxuan looked away, not bearing to look. "This is a trap" Before he finished, pained cries sounded. Around Ye Qingxuan, the grandmasters who whistled past shook and screamed. The air turned into sulfur. Sizzling, it poured into their lungs and attacked them from the inside. Abnormal music theory grew inside them, destroying the equilibrium. In an instant, their flesh was eaten away and skeletons dropped from the sky. Clenching his jaw, Ye Qingxuan looked at the ground. The griffin had never planned on taking the enchantment. There was no point in a tug-of-war over the control. He had just wanted to distract the saints and completely destroy the enchantment! Now, it had collapsed. The moment everything fell into frenzy, the territory of Passion swelled. It took over the collapsing music theory, regrouping them in the chaotic territory. Now, this was his world! Even the gravitational pull lost effect in this world. Countless broken things floated in the air, blown by the gales of wind. Stones ignited eerily. Two grandmasters charging toward the griffin died instantly. A counterblade had slid out of the griffin''s sleeve at some point. He swiped it with a finger and a string of command notes lit up. In the sudden whistle, the blade left his hand. It slashed through several layers of shields. The first musician stopped abruptly. A hole opened up in his chest. He stared at the griffin''s cold eyes in shock. His mouth opened to speak but his body swelled up like a ball. The music theory inside him had been ignited by the music theory and overloaded. He exploded! Before the others could react, a black shadow attacked! The first to be snapped in half was a semi-elementalized grandmaster. During the exchange, the music theory encroached with nature disturbance. The thunderbolt was turned into a rock. The power turned from Abstinence into Modifications and shot out, turning him into a steel rock. It shattered and fell to the ground. The griffin sped up and pounced toward someone else. No one expected the griffin could be so aggressive and violent in the air. No, he probably chose this mask because he specialized in aerial fighting. "Don''t fight closely!" A musician quickly reacted. Ferocity flashed past his eyes. "Pull out!" But before he could finish, the griffin was before him. The old grandmaster huffed. His body dissipated into fog and he pounced in return. In the venomous blood fog, his remaining body flew backward without hesitation. It was like a gecko breaking off its tail. But before a satisfied expression could emerge on his face, it froze. Ignoring the terrifying corrosiveness and poisonous of the blood fog, the griffin broke through. He clamped a hand on the musician''s head and clenched. Five steel fingers scraped. Flesh dripped out from between the fingers. Above his head and outside the chaotic territory, three expressionless musicians from the School of Destruction huddled together. They went into coherence and sang in unison. A black seed fell from their held hands silently. It was the Hole of Destruction! This was the trademark score of the School of Modifications. It was a black hole that could destroy everything! The seed fell from the sky. It swelled with each inch it descended. After a few seconds, it had become a black vortex meters in diameter. In the erratically changing world, only the vortex was pure black. In its path, everything was destroyed as it forcefully opened up a tunnel. It pressed down on the griffin! The six late grandmasters regrouped with the survivors. Without thinking, they went into coherence and surrounded the griffin. The leading musician activated nature disturbance and entered the ''vacuum.'' He displayed an unimaginable attainment in the School of Abstinence. In a blink, an invisible prison crisscrossed in the air. This was the way of discipline from Abstinence! Music theory from all directions sealed off the griffin''s escape routes, imprisoning him in place. Then the black Hole of Destruction fell from the sky. The griffin seemed to sigh and raised his head. In that instant, there was a shrill sound. Wild wind blew from all directions. The sudden burst of aether pierced everyone''s sense. In the ''blindness,'' Ye Qingxuan could only see the sun-like black hole shake violently. Meters wide, it shook and fell apart as if dissolving. The wild tide of aether crashed forward, upending everyone. The discipline musician locking the griffin looked aghast. The next moment, the purple-eyed griffin''s eerie face appeared before his eyes. The counterblade moved and in an instant, a head fell from the shoulders. Blood dyed the burnt griffin mask. The purple eyes under the black and red seemed so menacing. The griffin reached out. There was a deep echo in the absolute domain. Indescribably pressure crushed all the converged aether and robbed all enemies of the ability to fight back. Without hesitation, without sympathy, the bloody counterblade was lifted and brought down! There was a chilling wail. "Activation keyword: 7984611." He seemed to have finally made up his mind. He was tired of the endless waiting and unrealistic dreams. In this absolute domain, a hoarse voice rang out. He said, "Forewordthou shall bow and fear God!" There was a crisp crack. The griffin suddenly stopped. The bloody counterblade stopped before a musician. The musician paled and stared at the blade before him, unsure if he would survive. In the silence, something like a sigh came from the purple-eyed griffin''s mask. It was like sadness. For the first time, he had human emotions. But in the air, Ye Qingxuan stared at his arm, eyes filling with disappointment and sadness. "It really is you, Professor." 482 Path of No Return Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock The only sound in the dead silence was the ticking of the clock. It came from the purple-eyed griffin''s arm, sharp and clear. Time seemed to race ahead step by step, leaving the present behind. Everything became unrecognizable. "Before the principal left, I asked him for your activation password," Ye Qingxuan said quietly. "Anglo had wronged me so he told me after I asked even though he knew what I wanted to doI had wanted to take you to an unreliable guy so you could get rid of it." He paused and laughed at himself. "I didn''t expect that I would read it aloud for the first time in a situation like this." The griffin held the sword without saying a word. The intense aether attack had burned his glove, revealing the steel prosthetic under it. With Ye Qingxuan''s recitation, the sleeping timer was activated. The outer shell cracked, revealing the complex machinery that slowly unfolded. The gears spun and the springs pushed the alchemy material from the cooling chamber into the reaction chamber. A beam of blinding electric light lit up from a thumb-sized siliconized crystal tube. If Ye Qingxuan moved his finger, he could free the circuit and release the red liquid inside the reaction chamber. This was the ''light of purification'' created by alchemists with an all-purpose solvent as the base. After activation, the liquid would instantly react. It would rush into the flesh through the prepared tube and inject into the heart, brain, and kidneys at the speed of light. A second later, the body would be completely purified and melted without leaving any trace behind. It was the best poison in the world. If overloaded, it could cover an entire street. Decades ago, it was buried inside the purple-eyed griffin''s body, connecting with his veins and arteries. All tools had a weakness. No matter how powerful it was, it would still be grasped in someone else''s hand. Otherwise, it would be unstoppable if out of control. This result had been destined from the start. Now, the winner was obvious. "Surrender, Professor." Ye Qingxuan walked forward in the pool of blood, his eyes hardening bit by bit. He had decided. "It''s too late, Yezi." An old voice came from under the bloody and scorched mask. As if revealing his weakness to Ye Qingxuan, the griffin sighed. "I taught you how to be decisive but you always make your decision too late." He took off his mask, revealing that wooden face. It was so familiar but had a foreign coldness. The coldness seemed to seep out of his bone marrow. Like a missing puzzle piece, it fit perfectly into his features. He was no longer the professor of the history department of the Royal Academy of Music. He was the purple-eyed griffin, the general of the Dragon Riders. He was an executioner who had killed countless peopleAbraham! "You made the decision too late." His eyes were regretful and disappointed. "You should have tried it earlier even if you only had a shred of suspicion. But you kept swaying back and forth. You really are the worst class I''ve ever taught, Yezi, even though I''ve only taught one class before." Ye Qingxuan never expected that the face behind the mask would be so calm. It was so calm that Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt he was still sitting in the library, listening to his teacher''s patient admonishing. But this was not the academy. This was not the examination room either "Professor, why aren''t you explaining yourself?" Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes tiredly and murmured, "Even if you just say you were forced to, why are you so calm?" He always thought that he had gone wrong somewhere. He could think of a million excuses for Abraham and each one would work. That was why he did not dare. Because once he tried, he would no longer be able to lie to himself. In the past, many had called him na?ve. They were right. Otherwise, he would not tell Lola to leave the Sacred City, go back to Anglo, and not contact him if she could not find Abraham. Without the answer, he could continue being ignorant. "I''m sorry for lying to you and disappointing you." Abraham sighed. He looked down at his mask. "I just wanted to come see you again and let you see mesee the real me." He held the bloody griffin''s mask in his hands. The black thing was covered in crimson red. Different from Seton''s horse mask, this was a hundred times more violent and arrogant. It was like a natural carnivore, an undefeatable hunter. In order to hide their identities, every dragon rider had his own mark. It was the true face that one would choose for oneself. They could not be born with that face but they could choose which face they used to kill and die in. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long while before nodding slowly. "It suits you." "Thank you." Abraham seemed to not hear the anger in Ye Qingxuan''s words. Humbly accepting the praise, he did not say anything else and just asked, "I know it''s very clich but I just want to ask, when did you find out?" "When someone told me that Constantine was Gaius. But sadly, just as you said, it was too late" Ye Qingxuan answered indifferently. "The first time I saw you with that mask in the Sacred City, I started suspecting it. But in the end, I was the only one still clueless. Charles once told me that if I saw a purple-eyed musician, I should run immediately and never fight I always thought that he was scared I would lose and die. It seems that he had realized long ago." Ye Qingxuan looked at Abraham. He said hoarsely, "He didn''t want me to fight you. That''s why he became so weak and scared. He even begged me not to face you These days, he was always scared to face you." Abraham listened. After a pause, he hung his head and sighed. "Sorry." "Tell that to Charles!" Ye Qingxuan interrupted furiously. "Why don''t you think about Bai Xi? She wishes so badly for you to hold her hand like a father and attend her wedding!" Abraham lowered his head. His expression was hidden but his voice was still calm. He nodded. "I promised her but it seems like I''ll have to break it. Please apologize to her for me." "You!" Ye Qingxuan wanted to step forward in rage. Boom! The counterblade was nailed before him. The blade twanged with a sharp whistle. An invisible barrier blocked his path. In the distance, there was the sound of musicians breaking through the air. They had been surrounded by dozens of musicians without realizing. Eerie aether waves spread out. In the air behind them, a Valkyrie emerged slowly, eyes full of murderous intent. "That''s enough, Yezi. Don''t come any closer." Abraham reached out and snapped the neck of the musician beside him. When the man fell, he stepped on him with ease. The snap of the bone was crisp. "Professor!" Ye Qingxuan roared. "Sorry, Yezi." Abraham''s expression was still dull and his voice was monotone. "I''m not a good teacher. I didn''t teach Bai Xi anything and I couldn''t help Charles. I didn''t have the chance to pass anything real to you either. I am a failure. As you can see, the only thing I''m good at is this hateful thing" Blood rolled down his cheeks from the corners of his eyes. He studied Ye Qingxuan and could not help but laugh. "Thank you all for saving me and making me think that my life still held meaning. If possible, I really wish I can spend my entire life with you all. All together in the department Please tell Bai Xi that I really want to attend her wedding. Truly." Boom! Under the explosion, light and shadows intersected. Something whistled past and then stopped. Blood gushed! A body that had been hacked apart fell to the ground. Abraham stood before it with his sword. Half of his body was dyed red. He looked up at the musicians who had grouped here and the solidified Valkyrie. "Unfortunately," he murmured, "the realization was too late." "You can still turn back, Professor!" Ye Qingxuan roared. He charged forward with all his might. "Professor, please! Don''t keep making mistakes! Surrender now! As long as we catch Gaius, I can extradite you to Anglo and then no one will touch me!" "Then what about Charles?" Abraham asked. Ye Qingxuan froze. "You should''ve realized long ago that he''s not normal The Sacred City won''t let him go even if he''s willing to be imprisoned for life like me. Perhaps God will pity me but the world will not accept him." Abraham shook his head sadly. "I wanted to forget where he came from and let him live out his life quietly in Anglo but he forced himself down this dead end. "Before coming here, I thought there was still a possibility but I was wrong. People like me always have unrealistic dreams. We think that we can change our clothes and start over. But now I realize I''ve just been lying to myself. Yezi, I''m sorry Remember to take care of Bai Xi in the future." "Professor, what are you saying?!" Ye Qingxuan yelled. It felt like he had fallen into icy waters. Absolute panic rose up in his heart. "ProfessorCharlesweren''t we doing fine? What''s wrong?!" Lightning flashed and fell from the sky. A terrifying knight with a thunderbolt rode across the sky. Countless spirits sang a song from the kingdom of death. Behind the Valkyrie, a giant vortex opened up. There, the aether and material world were heavily overlapped. Wagner''s figure emerged. The dying man looked down at the human world. His eyes fell on Abraham and hardened. "The remaining evil of the Dragon Riders Gaius had hidden the forbidden waste from the purgatory with you? Do you know what you are doing?" "I only wanted this world to become better," a hoarse voice rang out. The gate of the Judgement Tower fell open. Gaius walked out of the darkness and stared at the saint. He uttered, "Better than before. After tampering with the past and future of humanity, you''ve lost the right to lead the world. Someday, you will choke on your own fruits." 483 Separation Boom! In the sky, the vortex was quaking. A few fissures appeared and expanded from the vortex as if a hammer was beating on the fragile material enchantment. This was the anger of the Saints. Merely their change of mood was difficult for reality to bear. In the aether vortex, Wagner''s face was livid. "Gaius, you are crazy." "Would anyone normal in the world join the Revolutionaries?" Gaius couldn''t help but laugh. "You''ve regarded me as a madman for decades. It''s too late to tell me this now." "Is that so? Then the time left for your deathbed repentance will end now." Wagner reached out his hand coldly. "Pay for your sins!" The illusion of the horrible Valkyrie before him almost condensed into substance. The war was about to begin. She came out from the legend. Galloping on the battlefield to collect the spirits of the dead, the Grim Reaper raised his hand. Then the spear of thunder grew larger. In a blink, there was only one fiery light left between heaven and earth. The light descended from the sky, connecting the heavens and the earth like a sharp knife chopping off the canvas into left and right. Destruction descended. The uncontrolled absolute zone was run through. Crisscrossed lightning evaporated the land instantaneously. The storm swept in all directions. But the next moment after the storm, something stunning happened. In the middle of the impact, the electric light flowed in the huge depression. They were bound in the air, forced to maintain the original shape and unable to erupt. Someone was holding the spear, making a sharp sound like metallic friction. The scattered currents illuminated his dull face. It was Abraham! As he clenched his fist, the thunderbolt spear was shattered. At that moment, almost everyone froze. It never occurred to anyone that Abraham could contend with the saints head-on! Heat and lightning burned half of his clothes, turning the leather into ashes, revealing the body under the robe and cloak. The body was bronze. Mercury was flowing above it like a serpent, forming something like an alchemy matrix. At this moment, the matrix bloomed with a glowing light as if Abraham was ignited, bathing in the scary flames. The remnants of the electric light lingered in his body. He raised his eyes which had turned into pure white and roared. Bang! It seemed that pure silver was melted into liquid and swept in all directions, where everything was crushed to pieces, leaving only the smooth mirror-like earth. The sky was reflected. "The Silver Tide?" In the sky, Wagner''s livid face emerged with an irrepressible fury. "Do you dare to violate the taboo? Gaius, have you spared no effort in order to destroy the Scared City?" "The power of the natural catastrophes is my wings..." said Gaius. "In the beginning, the Dragon Riders was established because the Sacred City wanted to create natural catastrophe for musicians outside the seven schools of musicians, was it not? "They are all dark musicians made in the name of God. What you see is just the remnants of the fruits of that year." The Silver Tide was the most well-known existence of the ''eight phenomena''. It had no senses or feelings. It was totally a phenomenon but became the purest symbol of destruction among natural catastrophe. It ran through the earth. Where it had passed, everything was completely destroyed. All that remained was tens of thousands of miles of mirror-like land. As the commander of the Dragon Riders, Abraham was the only one who could harness the Silver Tide. He became the most successful natural catastrophe musician of all the defective ones because of his lack of feelings and unimaginable talent of Abstinence. After many years, he awakened his own power once again, governing the power of the Silver Tide. Using the way of discipline, he became a human incarnation of natural catastrophes. At this moment, he had been transformed into something inhuman. His body turned into steel. All emotions were wiped by the brutal force of the natural catastrophe. Only the pure fighting instinct was left. The purifying light bound to the arm was destroyed in an instant. It was not worth mentioning. Since all shackles were gone, there were no more obstructions. He had regained the power of his peak and had returned to the war machine. However, for some reason, there seemed to be iron tears trickling down on his face. He roared and growled. The sonorous sound burst like steel colliding. So, the city trembled. The whole chaotic absolute zone was filled with the burning light of metal. In his body, the inhuman force grew again at an unimaginable rate. It grew again and again! It erupted endlessly... Even the vortex manifested by the saints in the sky trembled too. Soon, determination emerged in Wagner''s old face. He waved and the huge enchantment of the Sacred City suddenly started operating. His old body trembled. Blazing light, no less than the stinging light by the natural catastrophe, burst forth despite that it would evaporate his remaining years of life completely. In a blink, the power of the Silver Tide was suppressed again. "Listen to me. No one show any mercy..." Wagner stared at Abraham in the iron light with no more emotions in his eyes. "Kill him!" In the next moment, the power of the whole Sacred City and the iron light of the Silver Tide collided. The fiery light swallowed up everything, leaving a sonorous sound in the air. "Professor!" Ye Qingxuan''s hoarse roar was drowned in the loud noise. No more sound was heard after that. When Abraham had resisted the spear of thunder, he was already caught in a cage. He did not expect Abraham to have a sudden attack at this critical time. He had no precautions. First, countless perception threads extended from the void and attached to the music theory in his body. Then, a majestic power came along the threads to easily control the music theory in his body. It exceeded his attainment in interpretation hundreds of times. Immediately after, the heart, respiration, nerve center, arteries, spine, muscle, and all other parts of his body were taken as well. It conquered so quickly! Was this Bolero? Under Abraham''s control, the perception threads that Bolero used to read the aetheric fluctuations turned into the wire for the puppet master to manipulate the doll. Ye Qingxuan was totally controlled. Then, the alien music theory suddenly changed to lead the music theory in Ye Qingxuan''s body to operate automatically, ignoring his will. Ye Qingxuan danced like a puppet. It was nature interference! Just in an instant, the music theory in his body evolved violently into an unimaginable state. Pure nature interference was applied to his body and overlapped tens of thousands of times! Vision, hearing, touch, smell... all senses were distorted and withdrawn. In a trance, Ye Qingxuan felt as if he had become a piece of steel being brutally forged, heated, and finally melted into molten iron. Molten iron congealed, turned into sand, and crushed into dust. The dust flickered in the air. As the wind blew, it turned into mist and dispersed in the world. He could not feel himself anymore. ''Abandonment of oneself.'' This was the path that the School of Abstinence sought of the seven questions for musicians. At the moment, his consciousness was finally detached from the restrictive human body. His perception of music theory became thousand times more accurate. He felt as if he was a scale. The countless music theories were the counterweights. He was on one side and the other end was a rapidly changing world. Balance had been achieved both inside and outsidean unprecedented perfect equilibrium. Thus, he could feel his body again. But Ye Qingxuan found he had entered the...''vacuum''? After the thousands of disturbances per second, he experienced the wonderful feeling of being perfectly integrated with the outside world. At the moment he had become an illusion, withdrawn from the physical world. Nothing outside could affect him anymore. He froze. Whatdid the professor want? He stared at the inhuman Abraham, stunned and fearful, wondering what had happened. But the countless threads that accessed his body never ceased transferring the music theory from Abraham to him. Constructed with the interpretation, power from the same source gathered at this moment... Ye Qingxuan''s power began to soar. The massive amount of music scores and the application techniques of the School of Abstinence poured into his mind along the perception threads. Abraham''s experiences were imprinted into his instinct, causing unbearable pain and faintness in his head. In a blink, the music theory in his body collapsed because of excessive expansion but converged again in the chaos... After dozens of bursts and rebirths, the music theory had evolved to a level beyond his understanding. Looming towers sprang up. The Heaven Ladder was built instantly. "Professor!" Ye Qingxuan stared at Abraham blankly. "What are you...what are you doing?" Great fear came and caught him by surprise. He almost cried out. "Goodbye, Yezi." The hoarse voice sounded from his ear like a whisper from the old man. "This is the last thing I can give to you." Boom! Ye Qingxuan''s sound of heart quaked. In the core, a new vacancy appeared between the Philosopher''s Stone, which represented the sub-originator, and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, which represented the ''Heaven Ladder''. Then, a music score called Natural Catastrophes'' Resonance was embedded. Sub-originator, Heaven Ladder, and Natural Catastrophes'' Resonance were connected with each other and merged into one. They became a trinity! A huge impact burst from the core of the sound of heart. Ye Qingxuan''s vision went black. It was again difficult for him to keep awake. Tiredness submerged him like tides, immobilizing him. In the end, he exhausted all his strength. He reached out as if to hold onto that burning figure. But such a short distance was so distant for him at this moment. "Professor..." He sank into the darkness. - In the turbulent zone, Gaius looked at the shattering scene. Behind him, Wolf Flute''s figure emerged from the glow. "You''re late again," said Gaius. "The archive you asked is a little hard to find. It wasted me some time," Wolf Flute replied. "But I just sent Charles away. You don''t have to worry now." "Thank you for your hard work." Wolf flute shook his head indifferently. "The Sacred City''s enchantment is about to be repaired completely. If you need anything else, you''d better tell me now. The rest of my energy is just enough to return there once." "I know." Gaius nodded but looked to the distance, looking at the young man lying on the ground. He was looking at the youth''s white hair and eyes. Even without consciousness, Ye Qingxuan''s blank eyes still stared at Abraham. The tears in his eyes had dried. The anger was burned out. What remained? "What''s wrong?" Wolf Flute asked. "That pair of eyes is...exactly like his father''s," Gaius murmured. "They once shone bright like the stars but after everything, they became indescribably sad or full of pity. Looking at them is intimidating." Wolf Flute was silent and looked away. "You''re afraid too?" he asked. "Wolf Flute, the man whose heart turns to iron and stone will fear those who are alive." Gaius lowered his eyes and whispered, "We, as human beings, have suffered and tasted hardships. Now we become cold and merciless to prove that we are made of stone... Once I thought I would be different, but now, I found that I am no exception. I have done so many ugly things. Why shouldn''t I fear his eyes?" Boom! In the explosion, many cracks emerged on the absolute zone. It was about to fall apart. Immense pressure penetrated from the rifts and crushed Abraham''s body. His bones creaked and he had to kneel. In the air, the huge vortex behind Wagner had covered half the sky. The Scepter of the saints was in full swing. In the darkness of the vortex, countless phantoms of gods loomed. They wielded thunderbolts to send destruction to the world. Had it not been for the Scared City, Wagner would have destroyed the whole neighborhood, turning everything to dust. But the enchantment on the Sacred City was still unable to close. In the Central Church, hundreds of musicians were called to try their best to repair the enchantment destroyed by Abraham, but there seemed to be an invisible big hand stuck in the rift so that it could not be restored. It was Abraham. He clamped down on the restoration of the Scared City''s enchantment, preserving the deadly crevice that left the way for Gaiuseven if he would be swallowed by the thunder and die. "Abel, I owe you." In the midst of the storm and the fire, Gaius reached out and embraced Abraham, even as the flames ignited his body. "You have fulfilled your mission. "When I''m gone, surrender to them, tell them everything. There is no need to have any more reservations. Ludovic has assured me that he won''t kill you. So please don''t die. Please endure the humiliation. As long as you can live, even you have to betray everyone..." He continued, "I promised Charles that one day, I would create a world where you and he can live a happy life. So, please wait for me to come back. "Please take good care of Charles." In the flames, Abraham said hoarsely, "Will he forgive me?" "He will." Gaius nodded. "He definitely will." "That would be great." Relieved, Abraham closed his eyes. "Go. I''m tired. I won''t send you off." "Okay." Gaius glanced at him one last time and turned away. In Wagner''s roar, Gaius and Wolf Flute vanished into a shining silver glow, silently leaving. The zone collapsed. The silver flames dissipated as if the metal had cooled and dimmed, glowing no more. Abraham fell to the ground. In his daze, he seemed to see the little girl who often nestled beside him. She seemed to have grown up. She held a flower in her hand and her husband''s arm while smiling. Her white hair was like snow, floating in the wind with the wedding dress. Sorry, I can''t attend your wedding. I am sorry... - He seemed to have had a long dream. A long time had passed. He had gone through many things but could not remember the content. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and saw the square before him. On the fountain pool beside him, short-haired Bai Xi stepped on the narrow edge and hopped. Seeing Ye Qingxuan wake up, she reached out to pinch his face. "Cousin, what''s wrong with you?" She blinked and looked at the sluggish Ye Qingxuan. "Didn''t you say you wanted to take the entrance exam of the Royal Academy of Music? How was the exam? Why aren''t you talking?" "I...took exams?" Ye Qingxuan looked back blankly, looking at the surroundings. It was so familiar as if he had dreamed of it at some point. "Excuse me, are you Ye Qingxuan?" Behind him, there was an old voice, so familiar to him. Ye Qingxuan froze. He looked back and saw the old, dull face. That face looked at him with longing eyes. "Excuse me, my name is Abraham, the teacher of the college. Do you want to come to the department of music history?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but bow his head with tears trickling down his face. "I don''t want to be a musician anymore." He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Sorry." "I see." The old man forced a smile. "Sorry for disturbing you." That man gradually went away and disappeared in the story from long ago. This is better, Professor. Ye Qingxuan gazed at his figure walking away. He tried to hold his tears but could not help crying like a child. If I hadn''t met you... 484 Pretty Late at night, the tavern was busy. Smoke lingered in the air. The smell of tobacco, alcohol, and body odor mixed together and rose up. Under the pinkish light, the mandolin player tiredly sang an overplayed song. Everything was just as before. It was an average night in the Sacred City. For these poor men with nothing in their pockets, there was nothing different tonight. Not even a week after order was reinstated, the blood shed by the pope had been forgotten in a corner. The big figures were fighting each other, making the situation tense and strange. But to the people here, it was just a faraway tale. Only the evil plans that had been ruined or tricks that had succeeded would become a legend and spread by itself. The city garrison had revolted, an important witness from a certain department of the Sacred Amnesty Ministry had his whole family massacred, the pope''s assassination had been planned long ago, the wife of a noble had an affair with the pope, and other rumors spread along with the low-quality alcohol and tobacco. Within a week, the wind had swept the entire world. Nations everywhere were shaken. So many had died. But to the commoners, it was a simple sentence: the pope died. They still needed to live, even though the storm was about to come. At midnight, the mood of the tavern was pushed to the max. As the people cheered and yelled, the pinkish light became ambiguous and faint. Under the dim light, a dancer in a thin veil walked onto the stage. She leaned against the pole and danced to the seductive music. She had thick makeup on to cover the yellow spots and wrinkles on her face. She touched herself as she moved, moaning. Her relaxed leg trembled. Taking off a veil, something lustful came in and out of view. "Strip more! More!" The captivated audience yelled but the dancer ignored them. She grinded on the pole, her moans growing more lustful. Her eyes were filled with need. In the hot atmosphere, handfuls of money rained down. The dancer''s smile brightened. She undid another veil on her shoulder and tossed it into the air, revealing a breast that jiggled. She danced under the hot and wet air. Behind the bar, the owner counted the money and smiled happily. Reopening after so many days of the martial law, he needed to get the money back from these deprived guys. He subtly gestured at the dancer. Don''t strip too fast. Lead them on. Make them pull out their money! Money! "Strip more!" the audience yelled excitedly. "Strip! B*tch, take your dress off!" Crumpled bills and copper coins covered the stage. The dancer stepped on the sweaty money and rolled her body. When she sucked on her fingers, her eyelashes fluttered. The owner was so happy he could not stop smiling. He waved his hands frantically. Go harder! Take out your fatal move! Make these b*stards go bankrupt! And so, a crack finally appeared in the annoying skirt. The audience''s yells intensified. The dancer lifted the thin skirt with a pinky and wiped it over her body. The thin veil became wet with sweat and turned see-through. The thirsty men stared. The dancer grinded and moaned. She lifted her skirt. "Who wants?" The tavern was silenced. And then it exploded. Everyone rushed forward and fought each other. They reached out, trying to grab the dress that smelled of the dancer and sweat. Their eyes were practically red. "Five hundred!" a gaunt man yelled. "I''ll pay five hundred! No one can fight with me!" "Seven hundred!" A bare-chested muscular man rose and slammed a hand on the table. "Eight hundred!" "Mine! Mine!" a sharp voice rang out. A bald old man jumped onto the stage. "No one fight with me. It''s all mine!" He was obviously drunk and couldn''t even talk properly. His old limbs shook with excitement like a monkey. Seeing him like that, everyone started laughing. "Sir, do you want to buy some clothes?" The bartender walked over and studied him while trying to hold back his laughter. The old man wore a church robe but there were monks all over the Sacred City. It was nothing special. Plus, the robe was so tattered. He probably came from some poor rural place. He probably had not bathed in a long while either. His drunken nauseous smelled made everyone hold their noses. "You need money to buy it." The bartender asked, "Do you have money?" "Money?" After a pause, the old man smiled. "You want money? Tell me earlier! Here, all for you." He pulled a wrinkled piece of paper from his pocket and stuffed it into the bartender''s hand. Then he grabbed the dancer''s dress and danced. The bartender froze. His expression grew uncomfortable and he could not process this. Was this guy trying to cause trouble? But when he read the paper clearly, his vision went dark. Gasping, his legs weakened and he almost knelt onto the ground. A money order! They were all money orders from the Sacred City Church! Each one had a giant sum on it. There were so many numbers he couldn''t even count clearly Crumpled up like waste paper, he could not tell how many were there but even one was enough to buy this tavern, burn it, and hire the best assassins to kill all these poor guys five or six times! Before anyone could realize, the bartender stuffed it into his pocket and ran out. "What''s wrong?" The boss looked at his white face and frowned. "Son, did that old guy give you a bag of sh*t?" "I wish he did." The bartender''s smile was ugly. He showed the boss what he had. The boss gaped for a long while before gasping and plopping onto the ground. "Holy f*ck!" After a long, long time, he looked back in shock. The old guy was entwined with the girl onstage. Like a monkey, he grinded on her shamelessly under the audience''s jeers. The drunk guy even put the dress over himself and tried to dance. His moves were comical and everyone laughed. Some guys who liked drama tossed money onto the stage and called, "Nice, nice! Dance more!" "Did he really give it?" the boss asked. "Positive." After a moment, the boss narrowed his eyes. "He must have more in his pocket. Tell the kitchen to get ready and tie up this monkey. But be clean. Don''t leave any evidence." The bartender froze. "Are you sure? What if he''s a noble Wouldn''t we be dead?" "Are you stupid?" The owner slapped him and muttered, "After this, we can leave the city before daybreak. Where can''t we go with the money?" "You can''t go anywhere." It was an old and hoarse voice. The owner looked up in confusion and saw an indifferent old man outside the bar table. He wore a pure black robe. The fabric was excellent and had gold-lining around the sleeves. The tie was flawless. Even though he was old, he still looked imposing. No matter what, he should not be in this d*mn place. Before the owner could react, the man waved and took the two away without leaving a trace behind. The tavern was still busy and loud. No one realized that these two had disappeared. Feeling the hot and disgusting air, the comer frowned unhappily. He coughed and sat in the corner. The old man who had been dancing drunkenly onstage was quickly brought over and tossed into the seat before him. In this overlooked corner, everything was silent behind the sound-proof barrier. - "Wagner, it''s you?" The old man studied the one before him for a while before letting out a sigh of relief. "I was so scared! I thought someone was going to steal my dress!" Wagner involuntarily looked at the vile dress and his features twisted. "The pope had not died long ago. Albert, archbishop of the Church, commander of the Central Church cardinals, is it okay for you to become so lowly?" "Is it bad to relax a little?" Wagner''s brows knitted. "There''s nothing bad. Everyone wants to relax. They''ll choose their own basements with the dancers and slaves they keep in their homes. Or they might go to a private club. After closing the door, they''ll play games with the girls prepared just for them. "Other than you, no one would choose to come to a lowly strip club and use public funds to wear a girl''s dress" Wagner paused and sighed weakly. "Don''t you ashamed?" "I''m not like the man I succeeded, f*cking on a wheelchair. What''s so shameful?" Albert said, annoyed. "Anyhow, Hawking told me when he retired that no one who likes dresses is bad!" Wagner''s face twisted and he muttered a curse. "It''s okay if I want to be so lowly but you''re a saint. Why are you here?" Albert smirked and asked, "Here for the striptease too?" Emotionless, Wagner said coldly, "You were missing from the Sistine Conference today. The influence was negative." The Sistine Conference was a meeting held by the Cardinals and important clergymen in the Sistine Church. Ever since the pope was established, it had been held sixteen times. There was no set date because each time, it meanta pope had died. The new one would be elected during the conference. No one dared to miss something so important. In the past, there had even been archbishops close to death who went connected to tubes. They would not allow themselves to die until they voted. As the one in charge of the Central Temple, Albert was eligible for voting and being nominated but he did not even go. Without a doubt, he had started a horrible precedent but he did not care. "Would the result be different if I went? I''m not interested in scripted plays." He glanced at Wagner. "But you went so how was it?" "How do you think?" Wagner said coldly. "Even an idiot can guess. More than eighty percent voted for Ludovic. Under the witness of the holy spirits, the result passed and now the announcement has probably been sent to the nations." He paused and told Albert, "By daybreak, everyone will know that two days later, Ludovic would move into the Solomon Temple, see to the Holy Cauldron, and become the new pope." "So Ludovic is experiencing his glory days now?" Albert laughed drunkenly. "What a pity I didn''t kiss up to the Ecclesiastical Order in the past. Ah, what a pity." "You''ve gone against the Ecclesiastical Order enough times these past years. Now you want to change? You probably don''t even know what ''going with the flow'' means," Wagner mocked. "The central temple will take responsibility this time. They''re worried that they won''t have enough powerful positions. There''s no reason to kill you. It''ll be too late if you go suck up to them now. Just get ready to be sent to some monastery in the wilderness." "Whatever, there''s no point in staying here." Albert shrugged and eyed him. "What about you?" Wagner was silent for a while. Then he answered, "Probably to the Dark World. I''ll die in three years. I should make the most out of it. Mr. Bach has been struggling by himself all these years. He''s worked too hard." "Isn''t that good?" Albert laughed. "I went to a poor monastery and you were sent to the Dark World. We all have such a bright future! Glory to the Sacred City!" "Stop saying that and drink." Wagner sighed. "Give me a glass too." Albert raised his glass. "Cheers to our powerful pope." "Which one?" "Anyone. They''re all the f*cking same anyway." Wagner smiled bitterly. "Cheers!" Bottoms up. After setting down the cup, the low-quality alcohol made Wagner lose his breath. He started coughing violently as if his lungs would tear apart. He spat out phlegm and could not catch his breath. The air quality was too horrible. It agitated his asthma and lung disease. Albert shook his head and rose. He pulled an inhaler from his pocket with practiced ease and forced Wagner''s teeth open, shoving it into his mouth. "Inhale!" Wagner quickly recovered. He sat in the chair limply. The tears and snot were still on his face. His composure was all gone. Albert shook his head and drank his wine. "You''ve been like this since childhood. So weak. I have to worry about you dying even if I want to take you out for fun. Can''t you let me stop worrying?" "I''m about to die anyway. No need to worry anymore." Wagner wiped the dirtiness away and smiled. He rose. "I''m leaving." "Hurry and get out." Albert waved impatiently. "I''m too lazy to send you off when you leave. Take that glass as my farewell." Wagner smiled. Without saying anything, he patted Albert''s shoulder and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he heard a hoarse voice behind him. "Hey, Wagner!" "Huh?" Wagner turned to look at Albert. The old man sat under the dim light. His white hair was thin. He laughed dumbly and looked at himself. His eyes were intoxicated. For some reason, Wagner felt something bitter. "Does my dress look pretty?" Albert suddenly asked, seeming to anticipate a praise. Wagner froze. He turned in anger and waved his hand. "F*cking idiot!" Albert was left alone in the tavern, holding his belly with laughter. He laughed like an idiot. 485 Father-level Treatmen There was a clang in the prison. A bowl crashed onto the ground. The food inside spilled out and left an ugly stain on the wall. "The Sacred City is giving me this sh*t to eat?" The white-haired youth inside the cell looked at the food in disdain. "Get your head over here! What''s wrong with you? Don''t you know the rules?" With that, he propped his feet on the bed in annoyance. Barely sparing the guard a glance, he said, "What are you waiting for? Go!" As he spoke, the other prisoners began whistling. The daily show was starting again! Awesome! The duke was stirring trouble again! The lack of entertainment in prison was unbelievable. There were no books or newspapers to read. The only entertainment was a quick f*ck together while showering or getting f*cked when you drop the soap. Now that someone was stirring trouble, all the bored prisoners were excited. Since it did not pertain to them, some also joined in, yelling, "Yeah, get out!" "Yeah, go get the warden for the duke!" "Lord Ye doesn''t eat this sh*t!" "Yeah!" The other guards grew uncomfortable. Even banging on the bars could not make the group of b*stards stop. Instead, it resulted in a new round of insults. The guards exchanged glances before they all looked at the same person. That person spat onto the ground and cursed. "Me again?" After muttering some complaints, he turned and left. Soon, a large group of guards rushed into the prison cell. The leader was a fat man with a monocle. Expression dark, he pointed at a few who were yelling the most dramatically. Some strong jailers rushed in, dragged the prisoner out, and beat him up in front of everyone. Even some bones were broken. Silence finally returned to the prison. Ye Qingxuan''s cell door was opened. The fat man with a monocle tugged on his shoulder strap and walked in. Ferocity flashed past his eyes but he quickly replaced it with forced kindness. "Mr. Ye, what are you doing now?" He studied Ye Qingxuan. Glancing at the plate tossed into the corner, he understood something. "Does the food not suit your taste?" he asked with a smile. "I''m sure it''s because the lower men don''t understand the rules. You have a high status. The prison warden specifically hired a chef to make food just for you. Apparently, the olive oil in there is imported from Burgundy. I don''t even get to eat that food." "Don''t compare me to dogs like you." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was disdainful and he did not hold back. "I am a duke! Look at this sh*t! Put some pieces of beef and pretend it''s burdock? Throw in some fish and pretend it''s seafood stew? Where''s the wine before the meal? You want me to drink this cheap *ss watery thing?! "How can you even bring me something so oily? You want me to get indigestion? And look at this sweet pepper fish or whatever it is. You think you just need to throw pepper on a baked fish? You think I''m a beggar?" He raged like this for a full ten minutes, turning this specially designed meal into something even beggars would look down on. The fat man''s expression grew more and more uncomfortable. Ever since Ye Qingxuan was locked in here, there was not a moment of peace. The orderly prison had become ruined just because of him. He threw giant tantrums every day too. No one knew where his bad temper came from. He never looked anyone in the eye and all his words were horrible. Each sentence burned. If he was a regular prisoner, he would have been sent to get ''educated'' long ago. But he was here because of something big! Apparently, he was a troublesome thing who had been locked up in the Judgement Tower. After being free for a few days, he got involved in the pope''s assassination and committed a high-class felony. Many people had an eye on this case. But it would be okay if that was it. There were many ways to mess with someone in prison. The jailers could think of dozens easily but this b*stard was a duke! An Eastern duke! Someone who would become royalty! Not many people in the Sacred City had a higher status than him! A noble with Deva''s blood, the future sword bearer of Anglo, the suspected assassinator of the pope, the sky who was connected with the Revolutionariesall of these identities were headache-inducing. Technically, someone so important should not be locked up here. However, the Judgement Tower just so happened to have collapsed. The big figures up there had the great idea to just toss him here without any orders except a document. They were just supposed to look after him. But look after him? How?! The prison ward only had a viscount behind himand even that was bought with money! They did not dare to hit or yell at Ye Qingxuan. They could only clean up a prison cell and give him nice food and drinks, treating him like some lord. The prison ward had had many heart attacks these past few days. This was a few lifetimes of bad karma! He would definitely not show up for these things so the fat deputy was the one bore the brunt. It was horrible! He had been so free before Ye Qingxuan came! None of the prisoners dared to cause trouble before him but ever since Ye Qingxuan appeared, they became harder and harder to control. Seeing how angry Ye Qingxuan was, all his pent-up anger exploded as well. "Mr. Ye, you are still a criminal. Don''t cross the line!" The fat man paused and his expression turned cold. "Otherwise" "Otherwise what?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. He rose and walked to the fat man. Bending down, he looked down at him. "I''m an important criminal. Important, you understand?" He pointed at his face, his expression arrogant. "If anything happens to me, can you take responsibility? Otherwise? What can you do to me? Am I a criminal? No sh*t! Otherwise, dogs like you will never have the right to even stand before me." His words practically gave the fat man a stroke. His expression was as dark as the bottom of a charred pot. His facial muscles convulsed and his eyes turned bloodshot. "Hit him! Hit him!" The other prisoners were excited again. "Wild pig, hit him! What you scared of?" "Don''t be scared! Hit him! He''s just a duke!" "Are you even a man?" The man shook in anger. He pointed at Ye Qingxuan. "You! You-" "Sir, don''t act rashly. Please don''t act brashly!" The other guards ran over to stop him. "You can''t hit him! We-wewe''re a civilized prison!" "Civilized my *ss!" the fat man roared as he struggled. "Let go! I''m gonna kill him today!" He used too much power in his anger. The guards could not hold on to him! He rushed forward but then froze. He looked back in frustration, his eyes saying, stop me! You b*stards! Why aren''t you stopping me? The guards were mindblown. They all thought you want to struggle, huh? Why didn''t you just let us stop you? In the awkward silence, the sound was the prisoners guffawing. The fat man''s expression kept changing but he was frozen in place. This was the most awkward moment in his life! Thankfully, someone ran over and murmured something in his ear. The fat man stared at the newcomer as if he was a ghost and nodded. "Are you sure?" "Yes!" Then the fat man sighed deeply. He massaged his face and put his face down. A fawning smile appeared miraculously. The smile was so strange that Ye Qingxuan, who was purposely making drama, knitted his brow and felt a chill. "Mr. Ye" The fat man rubbed his hands enthusiastically like an old man. "That was a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" "Misunderstanding?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "I don''t think so. I was purposely yelling at you stupid fatty. Are you a man? If you are, take me on yourself!" "A misunderstanding! It must be!" The fat man stuck his face forward. "Those dogs are bad at taking care of you but someone like me would never dare to even touch a strand of your hair! If you''re angry, hit me! Please don''t keep it in." What the f*ck? It was Ye Qingxuan''s turn to be mindblown. "What is wrong with you all? How can you make Mr. Ye eat this sh*t?" The fat man started yelling at the guards. Then he plastered a smile on and turned around. "What would you like to eat? You can tell me any of your requests and I''ll do my best to satisfy them. You won''t be mistreated at all!" Ye Qingxuan was utterly confused. Was he this guy''s dad? No, he probably would not even treat his own dad this well. Ye Qingxuan studied the man for a while but he could not guess what the man was thinking. But since he said that, Ye Qingxuan decided to not hold back. He waved. "Don''t bring your chef out for humiliation. For the main course, I want truffle burdock cooked rare and with pepper sauce from the White Pine Restaurant. For the appetizer, I want smoked squid. Then I want red wine and cheese baked oysters and caviar. I want" He recited all the trademark dishes of the Sacred City''s famous restaurants in one breath. Ye Qingxuan did not care if they could actually get him the dishes that even archbishops needed to preorder. Finally, he waved his hand. "Oh, and for the soup, I''d like vegetable broth from the south to help with my digestion." Done speaking, he side-eyed the fat man. "Did you memorize it all?" "Yes." The fat man smiled earnestly without any hint of annoyance. He looked as if Ye Qingxuan was his father. "Don''t worry, we will get it settled for you!" "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan called out. "I am in a bad mood these days. I don''t have a good appetite. Hire some musicians to play music for me so I can relax." "Okay!" The fat man nodded. "No problem!" Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. Things felt even weirder so he decided to keep going. Waving a hand, he said, "The lighting is bad and it''s damp so my appetite is even worse. Bring me somewhere with better lighting and air circulation." "Okay!" The fat man nodded without complaint. "Where would you like?" Ye Qingxuan huffed. "I think the prison warden''s office is pretty nice. Why don''t you let me go there?" "No problem! Please wait a few minutes and we''ll clean it out for you immediately!" This fat guy was so agreeable that he definitely had problems! Nearing the end, he was even worried he did not do enough and asked, "Do you have any other requests?" Ye Qingxuan was speechless. It felt more and weirder. What was wrong with these guys? Why did they act like he was their father?! Was this an illusion? No way! Speechless, Ye Qingxuan glared at the fat man. "Are you messing with me?" The man smiled. - A few minutes later, the guards took care of him as if he was his father and helped him out of the cell. They undid all shackles and even took off the musician restraints on his wrists and legs. Then they politely brought him to the prison warden''s office. On the way there, Ye Qingxuan saw the prison gate in the distance open. Dozens of carriages raced in. Dozens of people began carrying in cooking equipment. The room beside the prison warden''s office had been emptied and turned into a kitchen. It was a lively scene. A dozen top-class chefs who usually did not care for any nobles were now nervously creating the dishes Ye Qingxuan had ordered. Someone else brought over the vegetable broth made from the main restaurant. The entire way to the prison, it simmered over a small stove so that it would not cool at all. When it was poured into the bowl, the smell was mouthwatering. Ye Qingxuan was even more suspicious that he was in some weird illusion. When he walked into the prison warden''s office, he was completely shocked. The original office desk and even an entire wall had been removed. The floor was covered in a thick handwoven Caucus rug. The wall had been knocked out within a few minutes and replaced with a floor-to-ceiling window. There was a piano in the corner. A robed musician nodded politely to Ye Qingxuan and sat down to play a gentle melody. The warm afternoon sunlight shone in, falling onto the white tablecloth. The silver utensils radiated with gentle light. A bottle of high-quality red wine covered in condensation was in an ice bucket. The thick red wine in the decanter had a rosy and beautiful glow. The chair before the table was made of ebony. It had been maintained perfectly with a well-oiled shine. Everything was ready. It was all waiting for Ye Qingxuan to sit down. However, there was someone unexpected sitting behind the table. "Ye Qingxuan, does this treatment satisfy you?" The old man sipped his red wine with an elegant poise. The afternoon sunlight fell onto him, giving him a sacred halo. "You?" Ye Qingxuan was starting to think there was something wrong with his eyes. The man was the head of the Sacred City nobles, the leader of the Ecclesiastical Order, the current controller of the Sacred City, the future popeLudovic! 486 Ludovic It had been a week. Ye Qingxuan had sat in jail, waiting for news all this time. Perhaps one day late at night, someone from the Scared City would bring him out, stick him into a black carriage and let him disappear from this world. Maybe he would be brought to trial in front of all countries and be executed according to the results. Or, he would just spend the rest of his life here in obscurity. He would age here until he would be thrown out because of some political interests, live a difficult life, and die somewhere. Although Ye Qingxuan had imagined all kinds of accidents, he had made up his mind to break out immediately after collecting enough information in a few days. But never did he think of this situation. In a way, it could be said to be the worst. Ye Qingxuan did not think that Ludovic just came here to have a lunch with him. "Take a seat, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic pointed to the chair before him. "It''s not proper to have a guest stand up for dinner." Ye Qingxuan did not restrain himself. He unabashedly pulled the chair to sit down, calmly gazing at the old man across. "You talk about courtesy here in a prison? Is the nobility so detailed?" "The details are embodied in every aspect, child." Ludovic was like a kindly old man with a mild tone. Compared to him, Ye Qingxuan was indeed a kid. Ludovic was more than five times older than him. Ye Qingxuan frowned without replying. Ludovic casually raised the glass. "For example, eating is an art." "Is it?" Ye Qingxuan lightly asked, "It can help you eat better?" Ludovic heard his sarcasm but shook his head. "You are too young. Young people always eat and drink too much but have no idea about the collocations of food." The waiter came up and poured the red wine for the two. Ye Qingxuan frowned. This was not the Fontainebleau that he ordered. "You know what?" Ludovic lightly said, "Actually, the most precious thing about smoked salmon is the succulent fragrance. Fontainebleau is good just because of its rareness. Otherwise, the taste will be destroyed. "Taste it. I''ve helped you pair it with the best wine from the Anglo Royal Winery wine, the most suitable for the table. The brewers call it the knight because it smells like a knight, escorting without affecting the taste of the food." He cut a piece of salmon and put it in his mouth. He was graceful while dining and even when drinking. "It''s so good. The last time I tasted it was sixteen years ago. I didn''t expect that I can still taste such delicious food after so long. Please deliver my thanks to Mr. Plan, whose craft has made me taste the essence of food." The second half was said to the waiter. The waiter nodded and left. The chef must be ecstatic to receive praise from Ludovic. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t care. "Aren''t you an ascetic monk?" he asked, "I''m afraid it''s not good to be so indulgent." Ludovic smiled, slowly shaking his head. "Child, you are not well-informed. My ascetic career ended yesterday. There is nothing else in this world worth my penance." A newspaper was put before Ye Qingxuan. It was just printed this morning. On the front page was the biggest news. Archbishop Ludovic would be the next Pope. After the next day, he would be the new Kind of Red, the shepherd of all sentient beings, the agent of God in the world. That was the worst news. Ye Qingxuan glanced at it and tossed it aside. "I know what you''re thinking." Ludovic lowered his head, tasting the dishes, and said lightly, "Abraham was rescued but he still can''t leave the emergency room yet. Don''t worry, I won''t let him die. Now he has been put into the Mithril Cellar to be frozen. You can expect him to live a long time, maybe longer than you." The Mithril Cellar was a grim prison or a depository for all musicians. The musicians who committed a felony but could not be killed for a variety of reasons were sent there, frozen up after many processes. Then they would fall into slumber and in the coffin until the day the Sacred City found a way for them to redeem themselves and be woken up again. But most people would die quietly in the long sleep and disappear silently. "Bai Xi is with Hermes, rest assured." When talking about Bai Xi, Ludovic couldn''t help sighing. "She is really a clever little girl. The slightest action could drive her away. I wanted to bring her here today to meet you." Ye Qingxuan was silent but his eyes turned cold and dangerous. Ludovic did not perceive this. He just picked up the raw oysters and oyster knife that had just been served and said enthusiastically, "Don''t let the food down. Enjoy the lunch, Ye Qingxuan." With a snap, the oyster''s shell was pried open, exposing the white soft meat inside. It filled one''s mouth with luscious sweet juice. The taste of life was delicious. - This was perhaps the most exquisite meal Ye Qingxuan had ever had. But he could taste nothing. Ludovic seemed to really have come here to enjoy lunch. He chatted about what had happened in the Sacred City these days with humor and occasionally told small jokes. No hostility or malice could be seen from him. Instead, it was a pleasure. Ye Qingxuan could not refrain from thinking that maybe Ludovic could still earn a lot if he just accompanied dinners. Soon, the lunch was finally finished. The table was cleaned up. The pianist finished, saluted, and departed. The waiter served a box of cigar and a knife with matches. Ye Qingxuan did not wait for Ludovic''s enthusiasm. He picked one up directly and cut it open casually. He did not care that the way he was spoiling the treasure would distress many smokers. He was too lazy to even use a match. Putting a finger to the cigar, a flame lit up. The smoke swirled in the air. Ludovic just smiled. He did not comment on his rude behavior but slowly struck a match to heat the cigar. After two matches, the cigar was lit. The smoke curled up and blurred his face. "Let''s get down to the business, Ye Qingxuan. I think you may not be able to wait any longer." "No, I like chatting with you." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "I am not anxious at all, really. It''ll be better if you take me to take a hot bath and sauna. We can talk to each other frankly and finally go to drink in your private club and chose some beautiful girls together to spend your last day before the throne, leaving a precious memory." "Really?" Ludovic smiled. "Then I want to thank you." "You are welcome." Ye Qingxuan humbly shook his head. "This is what I should do. I always cherish good times since they''re always so short." "I can give you such kind of life if you like." Ludovic threw up his hands and said warm-heartedly, "How about I help you rebuild this prison into a holiday destination? As long as you don''t leave here, you can have whatever you want. Food, sauna, beauties? No problem at all, even if you want to see the little girls in the choir do a striptease, I can satisfy you. "I must say, some girls now are really hot and bold after taking off their church robes. You''ll be shocked." After a silence, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and said, "That sounds great." "But you don''t want that, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic sighed. "Don''t lie to an old man, especially to someone so good at telling lies like me. It''s meaningless. "Why can''t you see how things are? You think I''m going to use negotiation skills on you? You want to take the initiative but it doesn''t matter because I don''t even want to negotiate with you. "You have tried your best. Now the initiative is in your hands but what can you change? Relax, Ye Qingxuan. I''ve already said, be honest with each other. It''s good for both you and me." Ye Qingxuan was silent. His expression became gloomy. Ludovic was right. Ye Qingxuan would be unable to resist if Ludovic wanted to something to him. One was the pope, the other was a prisoner. There had never been a bigger gap in the world. The next day, the whole world would be in Ludovic''s hands. Would his ideas and thoughts change if Ye Qingxuan took the initiative of the conversation? "It seems you have learned to be humble, child. That''s good." Ludovic nodded, taking a cigar. He said, "Maxwell is now going crazy, you know?" "Because of me?" "Not just because of you. To tell the truth, if the sword bearer is gone, he could find another. It''s difficult to find a sword bearer but it''s possible. Your business is a political dilemma for Anglo. However, there are always solutions in politics. But what Anglo worries about now is a big trouble. Elizabeth''s condition is getting worse." Ludovic shook his head and sighed. "That little girl has held on for so many years but the Dragon Blood curse has infiltrated the marrow. Nothing can save her... For so many years, Archbishop Mephistopheles has tried his best to cure her but there is no way. "I''m afraid there is only one month left for her. To make matters worse, there''s Leviathan. A few months ago, the transformation of the Ultimate formed a chain reaction in the aetheric world. One of the results was that the resurrection time of Leviathan was accelerated. It is expected that six months later, it will completely awaken. "Now, affected by the breath of Leviathan, the ships of various countries have been subjected to different levels of attack, and the monsters in the sea have begun to change and evolve. Their reproduction has increased to a staggering degree. I''m afraid it won''t be long before the number of monsters in the ocean soars at a dramatic rate. By then, humans would not possess the ocean anymore. "Now, Anglo has launched war plans and mobilized the whole nation. Once the war begins, Anglo would first lose half of its territory and two-thirds of its population. "The most optimistic result is that after paying the heavy price, the new emperor can kill it again. The worst result for Anglo is to start the destruction of the Holy Grail and die together with the Leviathan." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "This is the best result, Ye Qingxuan. The Sacred City paid a heavy price in order to capture Hecatoncheir, which is as dangerous as the Leviathan. Now facing the four living creatures at their strongest point, how can Anglo not pay a little price?" Ludovic coolly continued, "Even so, facing the domestic strife and foreign aggression, Maxwell still didn''t give you up. His determination is admirable. Unfortunately, the new emperor has not yet come to the power. Anglo is in such a mess. He doesn''t even dare to leave Avalon. "Anglo''s diplomats are protesting every day before the Sacred Court, but the new head of the Amnesty Department has not entered office yet. It will be along while for your case. "But the East''s attitude towards the matter is quite bizarre. On the official side, it''s as if nothing had happened. The ambassador claimed he has bad health conditions and refuses to see anyone. It has been one week and there has been no response at all. "But many people from the east have seen several key figures secretly. Unfortunately, they all want you to die..." Ludovic sighed. "You have been a thorn in many people''s sides, Ye Qingxuan. Bai Heng will never allow the Ye family to exist and he will not give you the opportunity to return to the East alive." "That sucks." Ye Qingxuan looked indifferent but pretended to cry. "What should I do? Sir Ludovic! You are a merciful and kind-hearted gentleman with great sympathy. Please help me!" "Is that genuine, Ye Qingxuan?" Ludovic smiled and looked at him. "Aren''t you planning to escape? As far as I know, you seemed to be interested in the boiler room for two days. Do you want to get out of here through the hot water pipes? That''s a good idea, but if you want to get out of here, you don''t have to bother. I can let you go out of the gate fair and square and guarantee that there will be no trouble." "What''s the price?" Ye Qingxuan asked indifferently. "From the beginning until now, you''ve beat around the bush enough. You have been waiting for this moment, right? Now you''re finally getting down to the business." "You are a rational man, Ye Qingxuan. More rational than your father." Ludovic shook his head and exclaimed, "Over ten years ago, your father and I had the same conversation. Unfortunately, he refused me even before knowing the conditions. I thought I was going to fail today." "I''m not him." Ye Qingxuan coldly said, "Just clearing my name is not enough. Be generous, Pope, what else can you offer?" "Ye Qingxuan, is there anything in the world that you want and I can''t offer?" Ludovic laughed. He laid down his cigar and gazed at Ye Qingxuan. "Child, I am able to endorse your purity in the name of God, and I can even honor you as an innocent saint and make you a genuine Saint! You will be the embodiment of purity and integrity! I can make your future path a smooth road so that all your desire can be fulfilled. "You want to go back to Anglo? The Sacred City will help you solve the problem of Leviathan just as we solved the Hecatoncheir. I can even help you rise above the royalty of Anglo and make you become the uncrowned king! Do you want to help avenge your mother? As long as you agree, your mother''s deeds will immediately appear in the church''s scripture of the good. I can release your teacher, help him erase all the records, and let him live in the world without shame. Even if you want to go back to the East, I will help you to re-establish the Ye family. If necessary, the Sacred City can even make you the second Bai Heng! "Think about it, you would be the second to only one..." He paused, revealing a benevolent smile. "Of course, it would be better if you would stay in the Sacred City. I can baptize you again, Ye Qingxuan. From then on, you would be my godson. The Sforza family can be entrusted to you to inherit. "Within two years, you will become a bishop and return after five years. Then you will be given a red robe and a parish in charge. When you are thirty years old, you will enter the Cardinals at the youngest age ever. You can sit on my right side and become the vice-ruler of the Sacred City. "After I die, you are the new Pope!" Dead silence. After the silence, Ye Qingxuan snuffed out the cigar and lightly asked, "Am I your son?" "I''m old enough to be your grandfather, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic shrugged. "When I was young, I had countless lovers, but none of them were from the east. Neither man nor woman. So you don''t have to worry." "Then why should I trust you?" Ye Qingxuan asked in return. "Believe a lying politician? I''m not that crazy." "I''ve told you, Ye Qingxuan. Why do I need to lie to you?" Ludovic gazed at him with compassion and mercy. "As long as you bow down to me, as long as you surrender to me, everything in this world is at your fingertips. I can give you everything you want." "After you took everything from me?" Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes and looked at him. His eyes were pure black. Reflecting the sunshine from the window, they smoldered like black iron burned red. "Mr. Ludovic, I don''t know what about me is worth you paying so much. My Mind movement tells me you''re not lying. Everything you say is true. Unfortunately, you are doomed to fail today." Ye Qingxuan slowly shook his head and got up. When looking down at the dignified old man, he could not help revealing a look of derision. "Because you don''t deserve it." He took his eyes away from Ludovic, pushed his chair, and turned away. Ludovic looked at him silently with neither anger nor fury. He just smiled. But coming to the door, Ye Qingxuan froze. The door had disappeared. Ye Qingxuan was standing before a smooth and flat wall. On the wall was a carefully depicted drawing of the original door. The pattern was so vivid it seemed real. All that remained was an iron doorknob inlaid in the wall. No matter how violently Ye Qingxuan turned it, he couldn''t open the door. It was like a bad joke, a tricky game. But Ye Qingxuan turned pale because all sound had disappeared. In his perception, all the people had disappeared. The whole prison was empty... No, the world on the other side of the wall had vanished. He could only feel the emptiness of chaos. "I don''t deserve it?" Ludovic''s voice came from behind the table. "No, Ye Qingxuan, you''re wrong." Ye Qingxuan stiffly turned back and saw his meaningful smile. As if proclaiming the truth, he uttered, "The only one who deserves your allegiance in the world is me." Then he saw outside the big window behind Ludovic, the sun quickly fell from the sky, fell to the ground, and became a glowing red glass ball. He saw the moon rise from the horizon, dissipate in the air and turn into endless frost. The earth was moving, mountains and rivers were being rebuilt, and the endless river submerged everything; the world outside the window was turned into an ocean. Strange and huge fish swam silently in the depths of the ocean. On the other side of the glass, a pair of horrible meters-long eyes was curiously peeping at the scene inside. Then the fish was devoured by a larger and stranger fish. Blood gushed and dyed everything red. The red turned into flames then the world became a Purgatory. Finally, everything was shattered. In the chaos, the world was recreated. Everything began to grow... Everything was chimerical like a dream. But Ye Qingxuan could perceive every detail and every tiny change. Because of this, he felt fear from the depth of his heart! He didn''t even know what exactly happened! In the end, his sight was set on the man near the window. His gaze sharpened as if he wanted to tear the man''s disguise to see what monster was hidden under the flesh and blood! But even if he used up all the power, he still could not find anything wrong. All this seemed to have nothing to do with Ludovic. There were no aether waves around him. He was just an ordinary old man. Ye Qingxuan looked at him, drenched with sweat. Nothing could be sensed but there was great invisible pressure surrounding and swallowing him. His heart beat rapidly and his hands trembled. He almost stopped breathing in the dead silence. "What the h*ll are you...?" "Let me introduce myself again, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic sat in his chair and stared at the teenager. "I am the president of the Ecclesiastical Oder of the Sacred City, the family leader of the Sforza family. I am also the ruler of the Sacred City..." He paused, with a strange smile. "I represent the only real God in the world and the masters of all evil thoughts. I am the true agent of Hyakume in this world. Along with the Origin of Evil, the Dark Sovereign, the King of Destruction and Killing, and the Cunning Spider, I am also one of the nine incarnations. "You can call me Ludovic the Original Dark Pope!" 487 What Is Humanity Ye Qingxuan thought he was dreaming. First, Ludovic, the pope who would be crowned tomorrow, had come to eat lunch with him. He had treated Ye Qingxuan like a filial son and then gave him titles and wishes. He wanted to help Ye Qingxuan create a great world and future where he would become rich and powerful. Then, the future pope had confessed that he was the incarnate of Hyakume Was this a f*cking joke? "Ahaha, so funny." Ye Qingxuan plastered on a trembling smile. "That''s a good joke. I''ll give you ten points." And I''ll keep the remaining ninety points so you don''t get too proud, he thought. "Try making sure your legs aren''t shaking when you say you don''t believe me, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic shook his head and looked at him with pity. "Or do I have to take you to the abyss for you to believe me?" The scenery outside the window became the dark abyss to suit the conversation. Ye Qingxuan fell silent. Hyakumethe source of all evil, the most powerful of the natural catastrophes, and one of the three pillars. Different from the Holy Cauldron and Silent Moon, it was the only one that had a true conscience and tangible existence. He had countless natural catastrophes under it, known as the dark followers. He controlled the uppermost core of the aether world and used the abyss to control the entire Dark World. He was too big to easily pass through the aether world and descend into the material world. Otherwise, there would be no room for humanity in this world. Now, one of his nine incarnates was right before Ye Qingxuan? And it had the face of Ludovic? Ye Qingxuan''s head hurt. It did not seem right but one of the countless strands of thoughts had somehow connected and pointed to the truth. But he still could not believe it. He had once seen one of Hyakume''s incarnates. It was the Dark Sovereign who had descended into Avalon. The sight was earth-shattering. Ye Qingxuan could barely fight back against the terrifying aura, even using the enchantment of Avalon''s Shadow. Ye Lanzhou was the most well-versed of the demons and natural catastrophes of the world. After being modified by moonlight, Deva''s blood had become extremely sensitive to auras from the abyss. Even if Hyakume''s incarnation had come, he would not be able to hide his identity. The moonlight should be able to feel the aura even from thousands of miles away. But now, Ludovic was right in front of Ye Qingxuan and yet he could feel nothing. This was the most terrifying part. To Hyakume, the incarnation was a part of his existence. It was even more important than his body; it was a projection of the source. They were like different images observed from different angles. Some were large, some were odd, some were eerie, some were terrifying, some were wild They all contained a characteristic of Hyakume. That was why there were nicknames like the Dark Sovereign, the Source of all Evil, and the Cunning Spider. They were all parts of Hyakume but could operate individually. To Hyakume, these nine incarnations were his most important limbs. If one was hurt, it would affect the entirety. Hadn''t he prepared for so many years in Anglo just so he could pull Anglo into his control after letting the Dark Sovereign descend? For this, he had made an elaborate plan and used more than a century but still failed at the last moment. He had been hurt gravely. According to calculations, he would not be able to affect the material world within seventy years. However, Ludovic was now right before him in his glory. What it signified went without saying! This meant that not only was Hyakume able to cast his power into material world at any time, he could even personally come through the aether world with his abyss? In the past, the abyss was just a legend to humans. But now this terrible legend was about to become reality The entire world would be upended. "Don''t be scared, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic smiled mockingly. "This incarnate was once just a regular human. As you can see, you''re still okay." Hyakume''s incarnate expressed the true essence of the deep abyss. It was a terrifying reality that humanity could not understand. Merely witnessing it would make someone break down and die. However, Ye Qingxuan was still alive. He did not feel any discomfort or hurt and did not discover the abyss from Ludovic. "See, I''m just a regular person." Ludovic shrugged and smiled. "Are you shocked? How can Hyakume transform into a man?" "Man?" Ye Qingxuan sneered. "You''re just a demon with human skin." "Oh?" Ludovic''s mocking smile deepened. "Then, please tell me what the requirements for a human are? What counts as a human? Let''s chat, Ye Qingxuan. Tell me, a natural catastrophe and Satan, what exactly a human is." His eyes were curious. "According to biology, humans are just something close to apes. Sure, you aren''t covered in hair and have ten agile fingers. You walk on the ground and have great intelligence. Now, you can even communicate with aether But if I find a hairless monkey, give it intelligence, make it speak a human tongue, and even help turn it into a musician, does it count as a human?" "Do you think that''s possible?" Ye Qingxuan retorted. "Monkeys are monkeys. No matter how similar it is to a man, it''s still a monkey. If you think monkeys would work, why don''t you turn yourself into one?" "Then what is the nature of a man?" Ludovic''s expression grew more taunting. "I''ve heard that there''s a foolish natural catastrophe who wanted to become a man and have a human''s soul. He abandoned his power, status, and even his immortality. He willingly fell from the heavens Does he count as a man?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "No, right?" Ludovic answered his own question. "Just as how monkeys would never turn into a man, he is different from men as well. Then, what is that difference? Awareness? Cognition? Or that nonexistent twenty-one gram soul? Ye Qingxuan, answer my question. What counts as being a human?" Ye Qingxuan remained silent. There had never been an accepted answer for this question. Countless people had pondered this question throughout history but there had never been a perfect answer. Even if there was one, it was just the wishful thinking of some crazy person. To nobles, only those who had a good education, graceful movements, noble lineage, and an attractive face could count as a human. To them, the beggars in the dirty alleys were no different from cockroaches. To the lower class, the lords up above were nothing but organisms obsessed with their own interest, zombies who chased after money and face, and idiots who could not even explain why they were noble. But what exactly was a human? There had never been a standard that qualified to rate humanity. By skin color? Black, white, or yellow people? By bloodline? Deva''s blood, descendants of glory, or the common men? In India, life was divided into six stages. Which stage counted as being a human? Those lowly ones who should not even be mentioned or the elite lords? Or should humanity be rated by morals? Kind men were men and the evil ones were not? Patriotic men were men while the traitors were not? The noblemen were men while the shameful were not? By beliefs? Deciding by asking if one liked sweet or salty tofu? If they liked cats or not? Or maybe by gender where men were humans and women were not? Gays were not human, bisexuals were not human Were answers like this correct? Ye Qingxuan''s mind spun uncontrollably. Under Ludovic''s guidance, his mind was like a derailed train. It charged forward without any control. In an instant, he was drenched with his sweat and his head pounded. However, he could find an answer. "Ye Qingxuan, what is humanity?" Ludovic tapped the table with his finger and said indifferently, "Humans are just an organism. Humans, beasts, birds, fish, and those things you call demons actually aren''t too different. They are all just organisms. You may even have more flaws. "You fear cold, heat, hunger, night, fireyou even fear yourself So why do you think it''s so hard to become a human? Where do you all get the confidence to be the soul and spirit of all, the unique existence of this world? You do not even belong to this world" Ye Qingxuan''s headache intensified until he could not even speak. "Sadly, I thought you would say something constructive but it seems that I had expected too much." Ludovic sighed. "It would be great if I could have a nice and long chat with Ye Lanzhou. I''m sure he would give me the answer I want. After all, he helped me so much. I should thank him. If not for his research material, I wouldn''t be able to humanize my thoughts so quickly and come to the material world." With that, he reached out and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder like an encouraging senior. He said benevolently, "Your father was a great man. Ye Qingxuan, you should look up to him." Ye Qingxuan froze. He felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. Even among the upper level of the natural catastrophes, not many had human characteristics. The three wise men were known as such because of their human-like characteristics. However, Hyakume was the convergence of all darkness in the Originator. He was the source and true nature of all evil. He was a terrifying entity that humans could not understand. Even his appearance could drive someone crazy. Communicating with him would cause one''s mind to become muddled and tainted. When one met eyes with him, the man would fall into the abyss. Hyakume''s mere existence created the abyss. Compared to it, humanity''s mind was as insignificant as dust. He had a strong attractive force. He could distort, assimilate, and encroach anything close to it Thus, the dark musicians who interacted with him were all somewhat inhuman. Those who received strength from him would become something nightmarish. He had a vast yet turbid consciousness but it did not contain the so-called insignificant ''humanity.'' One hundred people saw him in one hundred different lights. Humans could only see the tiny part that they could interact with. No one had ever seen Hyakume''s true and complete form. How terrifying would it become if such turbid darkness was controlled and manipulated by a single human personality? Ye Qingxuan processed this in an instant. To Hyakume, it was meaningless to have a human personality. No personality could control and contain such darkness. Hyakume had just created his own personality and transformed it into the core of this incarnation. This meant A light bulb went off in his mind. This meant that Ludovic was the product of Hyakume becoming humanized? This made much more sense but now there were more questions. Humanizing natural catastrophes was a technique Ye Lanzhou created through the Sacred City''s secret research. How did it fall into Hyakume''s hands? He froze. Looking up, he stared at Hyakume and uttered, "Was the natural catastrophe experiment...your idea from the start?" And so Ludovic smiled. "Good job." 488 So-called Humanity No one had ever thought that the ''natural catastrophe plan,'' designed to fight natural catastrophes, had actually been suggested and encouraged by a natural catastrophe. This was the biggest irony. The natural catastrophe gave humans the path to power. The humans stepped onto this path, even though it led to death. "What can I say? It was by chance." Ludovic sighed. "I just chose some dying idiots and told them to search for the immortality that belonged to natural catastrophes. They gave me such a nice surprise. "First, so many saints died without me doing anything. Then, they turned Hecatoncheir, the most troublesome natural catastrophe, into an experiment Finally, they came up with something that even I was surprised by. "It was a great show, Ye Qingxuan. I even knew about the Sacred City''s research results earlier than the pope. Your secrecy procedures were transparent to me. The Ecclesiastical Order would enthusiastically show me everything without me even asking so I would point them to immortality. "Starting then, I could not help but participate in this elaborate play" "But then you realized that if you wanted to go onstage, you needed a human body first," Ye Qingxuan said expressionlessly. "Correct." Ludovic nodded and praised, "As expected from Mr. Holmes of Avalon. Such wonderful deduction. Please continue." Thus, Ye Qingxuan''s gaze fell upon his body. "Ludovic should have died twenty years ago but he was brought back to life through some techniqueIt must have been you, right?" "No, this was the result that ''Ludovic'' had worked hard for, if you call ''me'' from decades ago Ludovic." The old man reached out, showing his body to Ye Qingxuan. "Look, using the flesh of a natural catastrophe to lengthen one''s life works. He truly did return to his youth. "This body can survive more than five-hundred years. Even though it may seem to age, its vitality is still incredible. At any time, I can feel my incredible spirit, endless ambition, and the thirst of having the entire world in my hand. "Humans become such terrifying creatures after breaking through the limits of cellular reproduction." Ye Qingxuan had no expression. "Then when did Ludovic become ''you''?" Thus, Ludovic''s smile grew more mysterious. "Ye Qingxuan, I like the human philosophers. I appreciate your logic and thoughts because no thoughts or logic can avoid entering the territory I control. "I once invited a few scholars and philosophers who thirsted for knowledge into the abyss so they could observe my true appearance. Sadly, they all went crazy. Nowthey''ve become the wise men of the abyss? Oh, that is not a bad name. I like it. See, this is the creativity of humans. At the very least, you''re good at naming things." Unmoved, Ye Qingxuan coldly reminded him, "You''re off topic." "Sorry. It''s because the questions they posed were too fun," Ludovic said with interest. "For example, the brain in the jar, the white horse dialogue, and the cat inside the box. Some also say that one can take half of a meter every day forever Of course, these are all technicalities." He paused and mused, "Of all these, the one I like most is called the Ship of Theseus." Ye Qingxuan narrowed his eyes. He finally understood what Ludovic was trying to say. "If you start repairing a ship continuously from the start and change every broken piece until every piece has been changed, is it still the same ship from before? Following the same logic, if I replace Ludovic''s personality bit by bit with the personality I created, covering his views with my ownwhen does Ludovic stop being known as Ludovic?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. The old man before him smiled cheerily and opened his arms. "The answer is that Ludovic is still Ludovic. The only difference is that Ludovic, the ascetic monk, has become Ludovic, the incarnate of Hyakume. Ye Qingxuan, I''m still Ludovic, aren''t I? "I received the personality that humans recognize from Ye Lanzhou''s technology. From Ludovic''s contributions, I received a body that can walk on this earth. I am still me but I am also Hyakume. I am a human but also the incarnation of a natural catastrophe. "Even the best musicians are unable to find any flaw in me. Even the most sensitive investigator is unable to detect the aura of natural catastrophes and demons on me. Over the decade, I''ve gradually replaced myself and also gradually replaced the core of the Sacred City until nowboth the city and I are complete. "I have stepped into the throne of humanity. I''ve become the leader of your spirits and the shepherd of your souls. And you all have willingly placed your souls into my hands so I can guide you through the dark canyon. I am the pope, Ye Qingxuan. I am the Original Dark Pope, Ludovic!" "No, you''re not," Ye Qingxuan retorted coldly. "Even if you become the pope, can you learn how to play Fate?" "So what if I can''t?" Ludovic asked in return, stunning Ye Qingxuan. "Don''t be stupid. The pope is just an identity and Fate is just his clothing, a trademark! The pope can choose the clothing but the clothing cannot choose the pope. A naked pope and a clothed clownwho do you think the believers will kneel before? In additionI''m the agent of God, am I not?" Ludovic sneered. "Isn''t it logical for the agent of God to become the pope? Or do you think I''m not as good as the insubstantial belief you have and am unable to create miracles? No, I can give you more! "The things that the past popes could do are easy as pie for me. And the things that they couldn''t do are also nothing for me. For example" He uttered the word that many would go crazy over, "Resurrection!" At that moment, sudden panic swallowed Ye Qingxuan. He thought of something that he had overlooked because it was terrifying. However, he was not willing to continue imagining. He forced himself to stop the horrible thought. He just glared at Ludovic as if he could see the true nature of the god of evil inside. "You put so much thought into thisfor what?" "Don''t let me look down on you, Ye Qingxuan." Ludovic shook his head and sighed. He pointed at his head. "Use your brain and think. I value you because of your ability to think. Think, Ye Qingxuan. Think: humans are like ants to me. What is there that deserves me to work so hard? What makes me disguise myself to enter to the core of the Sacred City and make such sacrifices to become the king of the ants?" "The sacred blood" Ye Qingxuan uttered. The confusion in his mind was suddenly hacked apart by an ax. He could finally see the truth behind the layers of clues. "No, not the sacred blood Is it the Holy Cauldron?" Silence. Ludovic murmured thoughtfully, "Sadly, it was so close but it doesn''t matter anymore. Humanity''s shallow thinking will never understand my intention." Ye Qingxuan clenched his jaw. "Aren''t you afraid I''ll tell the others about your true identity?" "Who''ll believe you?" Ludovic sneered. He walked over and put an arm around Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. He pointed at the door behind them. "How about we play a game? Later, I''ll call the guards over. We both accuse the other of being the physical incarnate of a natural catastrophe and see who they''ll believe." Ye Qingxuan stopped speaking. As if the last bit of his strength was sucked out, he had no other solutions. "Give up, Ye Qingxuan," Ludovic said. "I know you''ve been trying to use Heaven Ladder to send the message. I also know you''ve been thinking of how to kill my incarnation, even if it means sacrificing yourself. I know your fighting spirit has not extinguished, even if you can''t tell. "None of this matters, really. This will only make the game more interesting. If you''re interested, you can pretend to side with me. So what if you sacrifice a bit of your dignity? In the future, we''ll have so much time to continue this game" He walked behind Ye Qingxuan and held down his shoulder, making him sit in the chair. Then he pointed out the window. The barren wilderness had changed into a dark red river. The river flowed like fog. Its source was unknown, just like its end. It was hard to see its true nature and impossible to know why it existed. It was something that should not appear in this world. "Do you see it, Ye Qingxuan? This is the Styx I pulled from the Originator," Ludovic murmured in his ear. "You''ve been considering this already, haven''t you? The price of resurrecting your mothersiding with me." Ye Qingxuan stared at the dark red river blankly. In his eyes, the river reflected countless shattered lights. Under his stare, a blurry figure appeared within the flashing reflections. Finally, it formed the silhouette locked in his memories. Her back was to Ye Qingxuan and seemed to be standing in the water, facing the distance. It was all so familiar. Ye Qingxuan''s lips trembled but he could not speak. "Imagination and reality are different, aren''t they?" Ludovic sighed. "Determination that hasn''t encountered temptations yet is just a sand castle built by a child. When faced with true desire, who has the courage to reject it? Ye Qingxuan, this isn''t your fault. Anyone would do it. Anyone. "Now, what you thirst for is right before you. She''s been waiting for many years. Don''t let her continue waiting" "No." Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "It''s not her." "It is her, Ye Qingxuan. Don''t lie to yourself." Ludovic''s voice was so cold and cruel. "Is your mother not worth that shallow dignity and insignificant persistence? Isn''t this your dream, Ye Qingxuan? My benevolence has been used up, child. After this chance, you will regret this for your entire life!" "Then let me regret it for my entire life." Ye Qingxuan''s voice suddenly calmed down. "Even the Originator is unable to turn back time, Ludovic. She''s already dead. You can''t lie to me. There is no heaven or hell in this world Weren''t you just making fun of how intangible ''souls'' are? Then what meaning is there to the so-called Styx?" The old hand on the young man''s shoulder tightened. It seemed to want to shatter the bone. Ye Qingxuan had crossed the line, he didn''t know his place; Ludovic was furious because of this mortal''s rebellion and wildness! But Ye Qingxuan laughed out loud. He howled and cried with tears of laughter. "Ludovic, you''ve been attacking me, shaking me, fooling me since the start just for this moment, right?" He opened his eyes. He studied the large window before him and Ludovic''s dark face reflected in the glass. "You wanted me to bow down to you because of my mother. "Your so-called resurrection and Styx are all fake! A meaningless lie after being seen through!" Ludovic was silent. He fell silent for the first time. "The so-called Styx is a ''record'' pulled from the Originator, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked hoarsely. "This river is probably just a river left in this world by a dead man! What you have is just a library. How can you control humanity''s souls under the name of God? Don''t you feel shame from the reverence you receive from copying?" Ludovic did not reply. He lowered his eyes but could not hide the darkness and menace in those pupils. Ye Qingxuan was still laughing happily. "What''s wrong? Your embarrassment turned to anger? Where''s your benevolent expression? Your advising tone? Ludovic, aren''t you a fancy noble? Where''s your elegance and grace?" Ye Qingxuan asked softly, "You''re not talking? But I have a lot to tell you. Didn''t you ask me what humanity is? I don''t know what humanity is but I can tell you that the so-called humanity is definitely not this! "My mother is already dead. Even if you use her memories to recreate her, I would only have a puppet, a hallucination you created! I won''t call something so fake my mother just as I would never call you a human! "You''re just a creature with a human''s skin! Even if you become a pope, it won''t change anything!" In the dead silence, someone started clapping. Behind Ye Qingxuan, crisp claps sounded in the distorted black shadows. Ludovic''s old face appeared once again. He still looked elegant and full of grace. After hiding his anger and cruelty in the darkness, he regained the composure of a pope. "Very good, Ye Qingxuan. Very good." He patted the boy''s shoulder and mused, "You''re beyond my expectations, truly. You''ve successfully resisted the temptation. You did better than I expected, even better than your father. But you didn''t think of one thing" He bent over and studied Ye Qingxuan''s face. He uttered, "Even if she is just a puppet after resurrection like you said, I will resurrect her for you. That puppet with your mother''s face, your mother''s memories, and your mother''s personality, who even thinks that she''s your mother, will appear in every brothel in the world. "She''ll be played by those disgusting men for free, raped by those who had once looked up to her, be impregnated and continue to accept clients. She''ll become a cheap whore butshe''ll still remember you, Ye Qingxuan. She''ll still love you deeply even as she falls lower every day until she becomes a pile of rotting meat that even a beggar looks down on. What do you think?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him indifferently. He was not angry or furious. He just stared at Ludovic with his dark eyes. "You won''t dare." Ye Qingxuan stuck his face closer and told him, "Ludovic, your words have successfully angered me but you won''t dare. You won''t even dare to let something like this happen. Your humanity has allowed you to understand the weaknesses of humans but sadly, he won''t give you the courage. You. Won''t. Dare." In the silence, Ludovic laughed. "Why won''t I?" "Then why did you put in so much to persuade me?" Ye Qingxuan asked back. "I''m not your father, Ludovic. Yes, I''m a prodigy and I have Deva''s blood. I''m the sword bearer of Anglo and the youngest demi-grandmaster in the world. But so what? So what? "I''m not worth enough for you to pay so much, sacrifice everything, and do those lowly things to make me surrender. Ludovic, answer me. You paid such large costs to solicit me. Why?" "Do you think you can understand my intentions with your human thoughts?" Ludovic looked at him with disdain. "No matter what, you''re just an ant limited by your mortal body. You can''t even imagine what my original shape is like." "Stop using the logic of being unable to understand a deity," Ye Qingxuan scoffed and shook his head. "If humans can''t understand deities and are meaningless, then why are you here? You sacrificed so much to come to this world so why do you use such laughable logic to disguise your intention? Why don''t you just say that you were in a good mood and wanted to satisfy our wishes?" He paused and sneered. "But since you''re hiding yourself, then let me guess. You said you value my thinking abilities. So are you trying to solicit me because" Ye Qingxuan paused then said, "Ye Lanzhou is still alive, right?" "Just that?" Ludovic snickered. "Interesting thought. Very clever." He did not receive an answer but Ye Qingxuan could not hold his laughter in. He was so happy, like an old wolf who had stolen a chicken from the butcher. He was almost crying from laughter. Ludovic froze. His smile stiffened and fell apart, becoming menacing. He squeezed out from his teeth, "You''re fooling me?" "What a disappointment for the incarnation of humanity, Ludovic." Ye Qingxuan wiped away some tears. He was so happy he could barely speak. "Had anyone told you that a good Mind musician will instinctively sketch anyone around them, even if that person is the pope? "Congratulations, you are a very successful ''human'' but your only flaw is that you talk too much! You''ve spent so much time pretending and taking advantage of how you can read minds that you probably never thought of this, right? "You see Ye Lanzhou as someone you''re grateful to but do you truly understand him? Analyzing personality through micro-expressions and sketches is his best skill! Okay, now you can start lying to yourself. You actually lost to Ye Lanzhou. This has nothing to do with the ant before you. You totally aren''t trying to win over his son to act as a shield because you''re scared of him" He rudely stared at Ludovic''s twisted face and sighed, shaking his head. "I''m really curious how many of your weaknesses and secrets he knows that makes you so scared." "Scared? Me?" Ludovic''s expression trembled like a pile of furious mud. At the same time, he was trying to plaster on expressions of anger, mockery, and menace. If his face was a pot, these expressions were all stirred into a mess that made one nauseous. This was the deity that humans could not understand trying to show his fury to Ye Qingxuan through his human incarnate. "I''m scared of Ye Lanzhou?! Stop joking, you idiot! You don''t understand how far I am from you insignificant things! Even if he knows my weakness, so what? No matter what he does, I won''t be hurt at all! At most I''ll just sleep for one hundred years!" "Just sleep for one hundred years?" Ye Qingxuan scoffed. "You''re the one joking, aren''t you? You know you can''t bear the cost of that. Otherwise, you wouldn''t be so careful." Ludovic did not reply. He did not even spare Ye Qingxuan a glance. The writhing expressions quickly recovered. Once again, he looked intelligent and composed. "I underestimated your arrogance and wildness, Ye Qingxuan. It seems that this conversation cannot continue today." He sighed with mock sadness. "Congratulations, you won this round. You have intelligence rare in humans. Sadly, it can''t save you. You''re still a prisoner. Ye Qingxuan, there are many ways to control someone. Since you rejected the best one, there won''t be such nice actions waiting for your now." He returned to his seat and knocked on the table. All strange sights disappeared. The setting sun returned outside the window, casting down dusky light. The door opened. Two figures with black smoke walked in. "Give him to Samuel." Ludovic waved. Samuel. Hearing this familiar name, Ye Qingxuan frowned. He quickly remembered that Samuel was the grandmaster who had failed his scepter sublimation and turned into a beast Sneering, Ludovic ordered, "Tell Samuel that I''m giving him a descendant of the Blood Tribe. I''d like to see if Mr. Ye, who has such a bright future, will still be so adamant after becoming a beast that is addicted to blood" The shackles tightened. Ye Qingxuan could not struggle. He was yanked up from the chair and dragged outside. But before the door, he stopped. Ignoring the pulling, he looked back to behind the table. "Hey, Ludovicor rather, that thing." "Huh?" Ludovic looked up. He saw Ye Qingxuan''s genuine smile. He said, "Thank you." But he did not say what he was thankful for because they both knew. Thank you for the misery, thank you for telling the truth, thank you for telling me you designed all of this It was hard to tell whether he was genuinely grateful or if it was an almost tangible hatred and thirst for bloodshed. "You''re welcome." Ludovic chuckled coldly. Ye Qingxuan still did not move. Ignoring the bloody marks from the shadows pulling on his chains, he looked at Ludovic curiously. "What kind of thank you gift would you like?" Ludovic gave him one last glance and waved impatiently. "If you think you still have the chance I''ll be waiting for whatever you prepare." Ye Qingxuan was dragged out. His footsteps faded at the end of the hall. Ludovic stood before the window. He watched indifferently as Ye Qingxuan was shoved into the prison car. Then, a black-clothed priest with a sword walked in. He unsheathed his sword and cleaned out everything that was still alive. He destroyed the last marks. "In the end, still incapable" Ludovic narrowed his eyes and turned away. All that remained was silence. Under the setting sun, there was no more sound in the office behind the window. There were only a table and three chairs, refracting the dying light. - At dusk, someone entered the antique store. Bai Xi was shocked by the bell. "Is anyone here?" It was an unfamiliar voice. These days, Bai Xi rarely slept soundly. She was always awakened by nightmares. Now, she had sprawled on the counter and finally slept well. Hearing the voice, her temper came. She angrily picked up whatever was next to her, felt the weight, and hurled it! "Shut up!" The heavy candelabra tore through the air with a whistle. Totally shocked, the intruder caught it. The sharp points almost stabbed his eyes. "Uhsorry, I guess I''m in the wrong place." The man awkwardly set the candelabra down and smiled. He walked out, looked at the sign, and pushed the door open cautiously. Sticking his head in, he asked, "Hey, I don''t think this is wrong. Is Hermes here?" Bai Xi could not fall asleep anymore. She climbed up, wiped away her drool, and sat blankly for a while before her mind was running. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the intruder. It was a dusty man wearing a dirty jacket that seemed to have gone unwashed for years. The original color was hard to see. His face was hidden by a wide brim hat. Despite being hidden in the darkness, he still felt attractive. "Who are you?" Bai Xi asked in confusion. "Just an old customer." He chuckled and tossed his ragged backpack onto the ground. Rubbing his hands, he scooted toward the fireplace. "I haven''t been here in a long while. I can''t believe the Sacred City turned into this mess. I was lost for a while and I''m freezing Ah, right, you''re Bai Xi, right?" Bai Xi cocked her head. "You know me?" The customer smiled. He reached out his dirty hand to ruffle her hair. Like a senior seeing a cute kid, he was gentle and loving. "I''ve heard of you. You''re a good girl." For some reason, Bai Xi felt happy instead of disgust. Even the depression from these past few days disappeared. "Is Hermes upstairs?" the customer asked. "Please tell him that his old friend is here to take something I deposited." "What thing?" Bai Xi glanced upstairs and pursed her lips. "If I call him down, he''ll just talk nonsense with you and then scam you out of a bunch of money. He probably won''t even give you the thing. Tell me and if I know what it is, I''ll get it for you." "Thank you so much." The customer smiled, seemingly embarrassed. He gestured with his hand. "Probably this big inside a jar. It''s not that rare of a thing and you can find them anywhere but it''s important to me. Simply put, uh" He paused and said seriously, "It''s just a head." 489 The Last Supper After being "enthusiastically" pushed into the carriage, Ye Qingxuan was treated like a felon. First, someone injected a tranquilizer into his neck, his eyes were covered with a blindfold, and a bag was pulled over his head. Then, he was forced to wear handcuffs and legcuffs. Finally, his clavicles, arms, and neck were all shackled with the shackles of Aether. His sense with the musician was totally cut off. Because of the strong magnetic field, all the shackles were firmly fixed on an iron plate. Suddenly, the iron box was closed, and Ye Qingxuan was in complete darkness. He could not hear anything. Ye Qingxuan was lying in a coffin made specifically for him. He could feel a tremble beneath him from time to time and knew that the carriage was still moving. Occasionally, the carriage turned left, then right. Sometimes, it moved upward and then downward. In the pure darkness, Ye Qingxuan was counting the time with his fingers, and he almost fell asleep. After a long while, the carriage finally stopped. "Ask someone to send him to" "...is dead already won''t go" "It should be turn to" Ye Qingxuan could vaguely hear people arguing and the sound of a lifter as the iron coffin was pulled forward. The wind was blowing into the air vent, Ye Qingxuan was feeling colder and colder. He thought that he had probably been brought either to a refrigeration house or a basement. At last, the coffin stopped. After a long while, Ye Qingxuan heard people talking. "Let Lord Samuel deal with him that''s what Lord Ludovic has said." "There is no need to bother Lord Samuel," someone said in a low voice. "I will deal with this man." "You want to use this blood slave to your advantage? Aren''t you afraid that you will be burnt into ashes under the sun once Lord Ludovic knows?" "Come on, Quintus, I know you are starving too," he sneered. "Judging from the smell, the man inside the coffin must be a musician. The quality of the blood of a musician is very good, and besides, someone told me that this man is a big figure. I want him to be my own blood slave, and I am willing to give half of his blood to you only if you agree to cover for me." Outside of the coffin, Ye Qingxuan could hear that one was chewing something, while the other was sucking something. After a long while, the other replied, "...fine, let''s do it then." The two lifted the iron box and put it on a table. They opened the box with a key, then removed the blindfold and the bag that covered Ye Qingxuan''s head. Because of the strong magnetic field, Ye Qingxuan could not move, but he was happy to finally see the light. He felt a bit dazzled. The light of the shadowless lamp in the operating room was cold and dazzling. He could smell the disinfectant and the blood. Two men who were wearing aristocratic clothing were watching him. They looked rather pale and had very sharp canine teeth. Watching Ye Qingxuan, they could not help swallowing their saliva. Ye Qingxuan squinted his eyes and smiled. "Hey, are you two ready to eat your meal now?" The two men were surprised and backed away two steps. After making sure that all the shackles were still there, they were relieved. The slim man squinted his eyes and said, "You are still awake?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "The tranquilizer you guys gave me is not that effective, I just took a short nap. It seems that I have come to at the right time for you to eat your meal." Ye Qingxuan curiously looked around and asked: "What do you plan to eat? What''s so delicious that makes you keep swallowing your saliva?" He saw there was a dry corpse on the operating table next to him. The stiff body had bite marks everywhere, and one of its arms was gone. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Quick-frozen food? It seems that the living conditions here are less than ideal. You guys can''t even afford something fresh?" "Shut up!" The slim man slapped him. Ye Qingxuan still smiled at him. "I guess you two are going to eat your meal. You should pay attention to your health and eat something that has been cooked. Eating raw food is bad for you. I suggest you either roast it or fry it, and it will taste better if you add some pepper salt." The two musicians who had become vampires looked at each other and turned gloomy. One of them said, "You know you are going to die, how can you still be so chatty? Be quiet! We will grant you the blood of glory later, and you should thank us for giving you this opportunity." "Can you be gentle?" Ye Qingxuan looked at his two sharp teeth. "I fear pain why not set me free?" Hearing this, the two men become very gloomy. "Ninuo, we should give him a tranquilizer injection," Quintus suggested. "Don''t ever give him any chance to run away, his eyes look rather strange" "Good idea," Ninuo replied after hesitating a while. He walked to the operating table and extracted around five times of the usual amount of the strong anesthetics. He put the needle against Ye Qingxuan''s neck and sneered, "Don''t try to run away, you may have a nice dream instead." "Sounds good." Ye Qingxuan nodded and quietly watched them while blinking his big eyes. A minute passed, two minutes passed, ten minutes passed Ye Qingxuan was still blinking his eyes and watching them. Gradually, Ninuo stopped laughing and grew more gloomy. Seeing this, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help tittering. After going through the sub-originator transformation, both his hormones and organs were no longer the same as an ordinary person''s. Besides, with the help of the Stone of Sage, his body successfully mutated. The anesthetics wouldn''t do any harm to him; even if he ate poisonous potions, he''d just get diarrhea. For him, the anesthetics that would cause an ordinary person brain death were just no big deal. "Hurry up! The clock is ticking," Ye Qingxuan said. "How about eating me alive? The last thing I want to do is to starve you two. I promise I will be quiet from now on, okay? I do sympathize with you two, since you are locked under the ground all the time and don''t even have the chance to enjoy the sunlight. I will just pretend I am doing a favor for you two" Slap! Hearing this, Ninuo''s face was convulsed with rage. He heavily slapped Ye Qingxuan and said, "B*stard!" Since Lord Samuel failed to upgrade his Scepter, all the students of the School of (Music) Theory turned into vampires. Although they had not been eradicated yet, they had to stay underground and scramble for the few bodies of wanderers. If they made any complaints, they would be thrown above ground by Samuel, and burnt to ashes by the sunlight. Therefore, they didn''t dare to contradict to Samuel. Seeing Ye Qingxuan, who was just a "blood bag," mocking him, Ninuo was furious and took out a scalpel. "You are proving to us that you are so articulate, right? Why not let me cut the corners of your mouth and make it bigger, so you can talk louder!" Ninuo cruelly cut Ye Qingxuan''s mouth. An extremely big and bloody crack crawled to his jaws. The blood spurted out. Ye Qingxuan didn''t scream at all. Instead, he put a bigger "smile" on his face and watched the two men. Immediately, the two men''s eyes turned red. After they became vampires, blood was something they could never resist, especially the blood of a musician. For them, the blood of an ordinary person was food, but the blood of a musician was a panacea that could greatly enhance their power. Ye Qingxuan''s blood was the blood of Deva. It was something even the Elder Hydrargyrum Lola would crave for. Quintus'' eyes were bloody red. He instantly crawled onto Ye Qingxuan, bit his neck, and began to suck Ye Qingxuan''s blood. "There is no need to hurry, take it slow," Ye Qingxuan said gently. "Don''t choke yourself." Ninuo was furious, and when he tried to drag Quintus away, Quintus began to scream. Quintus quickly stood up, backed away, staggered, and began to release piercing screams, as if what he had drank was not Ye Qingxuan''s blood, but scorching liquid iron. The blood on Quintus'' face was shining, the light as gentle as the moonlight. His face was burning, and quickly rotted, dehydrated, and turned into charcoal at last. The blood in his stomach began to spread into all over his body. Quintus felt something burning inside his body. He was in great pain and tore his body apart with his sharp claws, trying to get the blood out of his system. But all his organs were being corroded by the poisonous blood. They soon withered and turned into ashes. "Ninuo, help me! Help me!" Quintus screamed, scratched his body while rolling on the ground as if insane. Ninuo was terrified by this scene and quickly backed away. After a short while, Quintus stopped moving and became a scorched, dry corpse. "I never thought you would have such a small appetite." Ye Qingxuan coldly looked at Quintus, and whistled. "You shouldn''t have drunk this much, see? You died from overeating." You wanted to drink my blood? Don''t be ridiculous! The blood of Deva contained the music theory itself, besides, it had absorbed the energy of the Seal of the Moonlight and the Stone of Sage. Thus, it could cause huge damage to any evil spirit. Ye Qingxuan''s blood was undrinkable unless he dedicated his blood of his own free will and got rid of the moonlight contained in his blood, just like other musicians did when they dedicated their blood to Lola. Besides, the one who drank the blood should be able to decipher the same music theory. Otherwise, anyone who drank Ye Qingxuan''s blood would die. If someone wanted to drink Ye Qingxuan''s blood without his consent, he''d be better off to kill himself by drinking rat poison and have a clean death. Ye Qingxuan''s wound quickly healed. Soon, there was only a tiny crack left. Bang! The door of the operating room opened. "What''s going on!" An old man appeared, accompanied by a few alarmed and bewildered young men. The old man saw Quintus lying on the ground, dead. Then he grew extremely angry. Soon, they laid their eyes on Ye Qingxuan who was lying on the operation desk. The young men smelled the blood and their eyes immediately got very red. They desperately wanted to go forward and drink Ye Qingxuan''s blood, but they were afraid of Samuel, so they didn''t dare to make a move. Seeing Quintus'' dead body and Ninuo''s alarmed face, Samuel understood what had transpired. His eyes became very cold. "Teacher, I have nothing to do with this!" Ninuo exclaimed. "It was Quintus! He wanted to privately take possession of the blood slave that is supposed to be dedicated to you by Lord Ludovic!" "Ninuo, you are already quite something" Samuel coldly stared at Ninuo and sneered, "How dare you possess the blood slave given to me by Lord Ludovic." Hearing this, Ninuo was so frightened that his face twisted. He dashed to the door, trying to run away. Samuel coldly humphed, then Ninuo fell onto the ground, groaned, and rolled around in pain. He scratched his body so hard that his bones were revealed. All his veins started to shine. A scarlet liquid flew from his heart to Samuel''s hand, taking away all the purified blood in his body. Ninuo was lying on the ground, motionless and dying. The few young men standing behind Samuel were terrified by this scene and didn''t dare to make a move. "You are Ye Qingxuan?" Samuel stood in front of the operation desk and stared at Ye Qingxuan. He began to laugh in a very strange and terrifying way. Then he said, "I have heard a lot about you. It seems that you are really powerful, since you have managed to kill two of my disciples." "Hey, I only killed one of your disciples," Ye Qingxuan coldly replied. "Besides, you can''t possibly blame me for this, he was the one who crawled on me and sucked my blood." "You have got a sharp tongue. It is such a waste to make someone who has got a sharp tongue a blood slave." Samuel laughed. "Don''t worry. I will make you my best disciple. With the help of the music theory and the blood of Deva in your body, my Scepter will be more powerful." "You guys get out." Samuel turned to his disciples and said, "No one is allowed to come in without my permission." Soon, the operating room was back in silence. Samuel held the blood liquid extracted from Ninuo in his hand. The blood liquid shone and lighted Ye Qingxuan''s face. Samuel laughed. "Ninuo was such a sh*t. Now I can cultivate you with the Blood of Element." Ye Qingxuan asked, "You are not thinking that I would agree to be one of your loyal disciples after I turned into a blood-sucking monster like you, aren''t you?" "Don''t worry, you will be my disciple." Instantly, the blood liquid in Samuel''s hand began to wriggle like a snake and crawled into Ye Qingxuan''s neck through the wound. The blood of element quickly spread to all over his body. The music theory contained in the blood of element activated and tried to change Ye Qingxuan''s corporeality and body. But before it worked, Samuel realized that something was not right and his facial expression changed. Samuel couldn''t feel the existence of the blood of element, as if it had vanished. In the sheer silence, Ye Qingxuan farted. "Excuse me." Ye Qingxuan laughed, embarrassed. "It''s just indigestion." "...I see." Samuel coldly stared at him and said, "It is the music theory contained in the blood of Deva that you are counting on, right? I miscalculated." Ye Qingxuan laughed and gave no reply. Samuel then stabbed right at Ye Qingxuan''s heart with a sharp knife. The blood spurted out and fell on Samuel''s body. It was making a sound and tried to corrode Samuel''s body, but its effect was offset by the music theory contained inside Samuel''s body. The blood of Deva, poisonous to vampires, was spurting out like a fountain. Looking at Ye Qingxuan''s face, which was becoming extremely pale due to the loss of blood, Samuel laughed aloud. "Don''t worry, when the last drop of blood in your body is dried up, I will refill your body with new blood and bring you back to life." The next moment, the blood began to flow backwards into Ye Qingxuan''s chest. His face become rosy and radiant again. Samuel was stunned by this. He pulled his knife and stabbed Ye Qingxuan again. The blood spurted out, then flew backwards and disappeared into Ye Qingxuan''s chest again. Samuel stabbed again and again no matter how many times he stabbed, the blood still flew backwards to Ye Qingxuan''s chest. Samuel was very embarrassed and his face turned livid with rage. Ye Qingxuan looked at him and felt very sorry for him. "It seems that my blood doesn''t want to leave my body. Why not try other ways?" "Shut up!" A terrifying Aether wave was suddenly activated and almost suffocated Ye Qingxuan. The bizarre scepter was floating above Samuel''s head and shining in a thick scarlet light. Ye Qingxuan felt a bit of pain as if his skin was being stung by the light. Although Samuel failed to upgrade his scepter and turned into a blood-sucking monster, he had finished the process of transformation and become much more powerful than any ordinary master. He had got used to the terrifying power of his scepter. Ye Qingxuan didn''t resist. Instead, he raised his head and revealed his neck. He then said, "How about sucking the blood by yourself?" Via the wound on his neck, Samuel could see the blood was shining as bright as the hydrargyrum. Samuel was a bit afraid of Ye Qingxuan''s blood. He sneered and said, "You are wrong if you think I don''t know how to deal with you. Let''s do this in a more simple way, shall we?" Suddenly, the shadow of the scepter shone with a dazzling scarlet light. The light penetrated Ye Qingxuan''s head. At the same time, thick blood flowed out of Samuel''s mouth and nose and quickly crawled into Ye Qingxuan''s mouth, nose, eyes, and ears like earthworms. Both Samuel''s blood of element and Ye Qingxuan''s blood of Deva contained the music theory, but the blood of element could change the host into a blood-sucking monster like Samuel. Since I couldn''t suck his blood or corrode him with the blood of element, I shall force him to change him via the music theory contained in my blood! In just a few minutes, Samuel was studden by the powerful potential of Ye Qingxuan. He is just like a precious jade! The purifying music theory in Ye Qingxuan''s blood was indeed scary. Even so, the vitality and the energy contained in it could not only greatly enhance Samuel''s power, but also repair his mutated scepter. There was a chance that Samuel could suppress his urge to suck blood and walk under the sun again. Thinking of this, Samuel was determined to transform Ye Qingxuan, even if it consumed his ultimate source of energy. Once the process of transformation was over, Samuel could use Ye Qingxuan''s body as his new shelter. Since Ye Qingxuan was shackled with the Aether shackles, he could not defend himself. Samuel''s music theory was pouring into his body. Ye Qingxuan sighed and said, "What a pity. If I were you, I would never do such a stupid thing." Suddenly, Samuel was astonished. He felt the energy inside Ye Qingxuan''s body getting stronger and stronger. In the blink of an eye, the energy appeared from the Nothingness, then it quickly got strong enough to brake the limit of Resonance. Soon, it crossed the Intervene, continue to grow stronger, and broke the limit of the Intervene, until at last, it reached the Distortion level. The magnificent movement of the sound of heart started, the viscera trembling in the same beat and creating a melody. The heaven ladder appeared in the air, and crossed the seven systems. Accompanied by the melody, the energy in Ye Qingxuan''s body got stronger. The sub-originator in the Sea of Aether resonated with this melody and instilled a powerful energy into Ye Qingxuan. The physical form of the Sea of Aether revealed itself around Ye Qingxuan. Soon, the energy inside Ye Qingxuan''s body broke the limit of the Distortion level and reached the level of the Master! Seeing this, Samuel was so astonished that his eyes almost fell out. Impossible! F*cking impossible! I remember that he just reached the level of Resonance a month ago! In a short month, he already managed to brake the limit of Resonance, Intervene, and Distortion, and reached the level of the Master? In a f*cking short month! Samuel was extremely terrified by this scene, and he didn''t even realize that Ye Qingxuan managed to summon the Sea of Aether while he was still shackled by the shackle of Aether. Crack! Ye Qingxuan got up from the operating desk. All the shackles had been unclenched! Ye Qingxuan moved his wrist, and a silver fork that he had hidden in his sleeve fell onto his hand. The next moment, he stabbed right into Samuel''s bald head with great strength. Samuel groaned. The music theory of both sides were corroding each other. Against the scarlet light, Ye Qingxuan laughed coldly. "Let me brainwash you first!" 490 Have a Look At dawn, an unusual customer came to the Yujing Shan Mountain. A young man with white hair and blue eyes stood in front of the Jie Jian Stone and gave a salute. "I am Jingming Zhangsun, the third son in the Zhangsun Family. I want to pay a visit to the head of the Yuan Family." The disciple who guarded the entrance of the mountain checked his identity, and quickly went up the mountain. He stepped on the stone steps, walked through the Blue Stone Memorial Archway and the Copper Smelting Hall. When he saw He Yuan, the eldest son of the Yuan Family, he told him there was a man waiting at the bottom of the mountain who wanted to see the head of the Yuan Family. He Yuan nodded and said, "I will lead him to see our Master." He waved his hand and ordered the disciples in front of the hall to continue with the pair exercise. Then he changed his clothes and hurriedly rushed to the rear of the mountain. Soon, he arrived at the bottom of the mountain. "I am He Yuan." He cupped one hand in the other before his chest and said, "My friend who comes from the Zhangsun Family, this way please." Jingming Zhangsun did the fist-palm salute in return. Then he followed behind He Yuan and went up to the mountain. It was at early dawn. In the dim light, the disciples of the Yuan Family were already having their early lessons in front of the Copper Smelting Hall. In the distance, the warriors were holding edgeless swords and doing pair exercises in the square. Still, Jingming Zhangsun could hear the sound of swords colliding with each other. Tens of strangely-designed long swords cut through the air, accompanied by crisp sounds as loud as the trembling strings of a Zither. The sounds overlapped, which made Jingming Zhangsun unable to judge the distance. After listening for a while, he felt bewildered and awed by the sound. In particular, just like one could not see the whole body of a dragon hiding among the clouds, he couldn''t see the whole picture of the music theory contained in the sound. Even so, he felt threatened by this sound. As for the swordsmanship, Jingming Zhangsun could feel that it was very powerful, but he couldn''t get a complete picture of it either. He stood in front of the hall, looking into the distance, and sighed deeply. "The swordsmanship is indeed powerful! I am honored to be able to see it on this journey." Hearing this, He Yuan smiled and didn''t say anything. The two crossed the Copper Smelting Hall and headed straight to the rear of the mountain. In the front of the mountain, there were many green cypress and pine trees, and an old path leading deep into the mountain. It was really a good and quiet place for one to practice Taoism. The deeper Jingming Zhangsun went, the more desolated it became. He couldn''t see any trees or grass or creeks, and felt very cold while walking among the bizarre stones. As he walked, Jingming Zhangsun could feel the heat in the ground and was stunned by it. Is the Yujing Shan Mountain a volcano? Soon, he noticed the Aether permeating the air. At the same time, he vaguely felt there was some cold light lurking around and steering the Aether. As if there was someone brandishing an invisible sword and controlling all this with his mind. Jingming Zhangsun felt that if he took one step wrong, he would be cut to pieces by the invisible sword. He Yuan noticed that Jingming Zhangsun was feeling rather cautious. He smiled and explained. "All the predecessors of the Yuan Family practice the sword in the rear of the mountain. The third uncle of my father is practicing the swordsmanship of Messy Cave these days. He is in the critical moment and is about to break the limit. That''s why you feel there is someone brandishing an invisible sword. This swordsmanship is just a bit dangerous and belongs to the level of Resonate, so it isn''t a good choice for pair exercise. One wrong step and you are dead." Hearing this, Jingming Zhangsun knew what was going on at last. Then he asked, "So, the heat in the ground also?" He Yuan shook his head and replied, "Previously, when the first, second, and third generations of my ancestors escaped by execution, they cut through the earth plate by accident and caused the hellfire. So the heat is not caused by the third uncle of my father, sorry about that." Hearing this, Jingming Zhangsun was startled. Among the Nine Families, everyone in the Ye Family was slut; the Liu Family had many offspring, but they were too feeble; everyone in the Bai Family was too stubborn from time to time, an offspring of the Bai Family might appear to not be a stubborn person, but he was still the same as his peers. The Yuan Family had retreated into the deep mountain and cut connection with the outside world. They never joined in conflicts among the Nine Families, thus the Yuan Family was not that famous. However, the members of this family were famous for being paranoid, and the music theories contained in the swordsmanship they practiced were about killing. The musicians who were practicing the sword all looked very normal, but after talking to them for a short period, one would find they were very paranoid and eccentric. Jingming Zhangsun would never make fun of anyone before he knew his personality. The two were walking deeper into the forest. The deeper Jingming Zhangsun went, the more intense he felt the cold Aether wave. When he closed his eyes, he felt like an intruder, as if there were many people coldly staring at him. However, what he saw were just the ancient swords inserted in the stones. Against the sunlight, the swords shone in a cold light. Jingming Zhangsun couldn''t help looking at these swords, then he asked in curiously: "Could the sword be?" He didn''t finish his sentence, but He Yuan already knew what he meant and shook his head. "There are many rumors in this world, and most of them are not true. I consider you a wise man, and the so-called ''making a sword with the bone ashes'' is all b*llshit." Jingming Zhangsun realized he had been wrong, and nodded to show his approval. He Yuan continued, "The blood of our Yuan Family is different from that of the other Nine Families. Our blood can only work with the help of a certain object. All our ancestors would make a sword with their own souls before they died" Jingming Zhangsun laughed a bit and didn''t reply. Making a sword with a soul? Put frankly, the so-called "making a sword with a soul" meant "making a sword by consuming a human''s life." This was much more cruel than "making a sword with the bone ashes." A human had to jump into a smelter during the process of making a sword, his bone would be the blade, and his blood and soul at last, he vanished from this world as if he had never come into it. Jingming Zhangsun looked at the sword hanging on He Yuan''s waist and asked, "Could it be possible that your sword is also?" He Yuan looked at his sword, which was called "Wenling," and smiled without answering. "Here it is." He Yuan suddenly stopped. In front of them, there was dark cave. Seeing this, Jingming Zhangsun was stunned and looked at He Yuan in surprise. He Yuan said, "Just walk straight, and you shall see the head of the Yuan Family. He has finished his morning lessons by this time, so you won''t be a nuisance." Then He Yuan left. Jingming Zhangsun was in a daze and stood in front of the cave for a while. He forced a smile and walked into the cave. The cold wind blew towards him, and he felt very cold and as if he was being cut by a knife. The temperature in the cave kept getting lower and lower, and after a while, Jingming Zhangsun saw that everything around him was covered with at least two inches of ice. Although he was wearing a winter coat, he still felt so cold that he couldn''t help shaking. He wanted to warm himself by activating a music movement, but he immediately gave up this idea when he realized that he was now in the rear of the mountain of the Yuan Family. If he activated a movement, he was afraid that he might activate the alchemy array here and be cut to pieces. He continued to walk deeper into the cave. After a long while, he glimpsed a figure sitting in the middle of boiling lava. The pungent and poisonous sulphur air swirled around the boiling lava and the dancing fire. Right in the middle of the lava, there sat a man with an ancient sword in front of him. The ancient sword was ringing, and it gave off an infinitely cold air. The cold air spread and froze the lava around him. Jingming Zhangsun was awed by this scene. He was totally bewildered and worried, as if there was a big rock on his chest. "I have been waiting for you for such a long time, ''Hu'' of the Zhangsun Family." The fire and the cold air collided with each other and created a ball of gray fog. As soon as the man began to talk, the fog dispersed to both sides. Then a slim figure showed himself. Among the Nine Families, the Zhangsun Family was the only one that lived in the border area. Since their eyes were blue, someone called them "blue eyes." Sometimes, they were also called "Hu," which was a bit insulting. Normally, if someone directly called Jingming Zhangsun "Hu," Jingming would have fought him hard. This slim figure, Changqing Yuan, was the powerful head of the Yuan Family, and even dared to call his father "Hu." So Jingming Zhangsun didn''t show any disapproval, and carefully took out a letter. "My father asked me to give you this letter." Changqing Yuan made a gesture, then the letter floated and fell into his hand. He read the letter and kept silent for a long while. Then he sighed and threw the letter into the lava. The letter was burnt to ashes. Blue smoke rose from the lava, and a vague figure formed in the blue smoke and bowed to Changqing Yuan. "You are too impatient," Changqing Yuan said in a very low voice. "The whole world is going to be very chaotic, and a huge change that has never been seen before will take place soon. This strangeness can already be seen in the west. Zhendan may not be the place to hide from this disaster. In this critical moment, we need to calm down. Go and tell your father to wait patiently." "Wait patiently?" Jingming Zhangsun was stunned by this answer. Since he had come this far from the border area to the Yujing Shan Mountain, he had never thought he would receive a simple sentence in reply. "Have a look." Changqing Yuan gently touched his long sword and said, "Everywhere is the same, no matter if it is in the East or the West." "Just have a look first." The sword was shining, and Jingming Zhangsun felt his soul was going to be pulled out by this light. He shivered and swallowed back the words he meant to say. After he bowed to Changqing Yuan, he left. Soon, He Yuan appeared in the cave and respectfully reported, "Uncle, I have been told that Baiheng has indeed left the capital. Indeed, the Zhangsun Family is not to be blamed, even the acting King is too anxious to wait patiently any longer." Changqing Yuan laughed. "Fine. I have been sitting in this cave for almost thirty years. I just said that young man''s father is being too anxious, but now I am also becoming anxious. After all, the Pontifex Maximus is going to ascend to throne; I should also go and have a look." "I will come back as soon as this business is over." "Take care." He Yuan lowered his head and heard the ringing of Changqing Yuan''s sword. The ancient Chun Jun Sword was vibrating and ringing. The sound was just like a bird''s chirping, low and deep. He Yuan felt as if there was a cold spring pouring into his head and his soul was going to flee away from his bodythe soul fleeing swordsmanship! A vague figure suddenly arose from Changqing Yuan''s old and slim body. The figure took the sword, turned into a light, and flew away. Jingming Zhangsun had just arrived at the foot of the mountain. He suddenly had a strange feeling, and he raised his head to see a cold light flying to the west. The light was flying quickly and didn''t leave any trace behind it, not even an air wave or tornado. Jingming Zhangsun was awed by this scene. Thirty years ago, Changqing Yuan had already arrived at the Imperial Nine World and was at the same level as the Saints in the west. The music theory inside his body was constantly in conflict with the physical world around him, and he had also inherited the blood of Deva. This had made him unable to escape from the punishment of the God. Since then, he had been practicing Taoism in the rear of the Yujing Shan Mountain. Judging from the speed of this light, Changqing Yuan had greatly enhanced his power, and even surpassed his ancestors to reach to a new level. Watching the light flying into the distance, Jingming Zhangsun recalled that he had been very confident about his skills of persuasion when he left his home, and felt a bit ridiculous about himself. Thinking of this, he forced out a smile. "The world is just like a game of chess, and one can only have the chance to be a player if he has reached the same level as Changqing Yuan" In just ten minutes, the light had traveled thousands of miles. During the journey, it crossed the Northern Plain, the Misty Hill, one hundred thousand mountains, and the magnificent desert. Then it passed the Commonwealth of Caucasus, and the Kingdom of Asgard. Far away, there was the City of Iron and Steel. Judging from the energy arising from this Holy City, Changqing Yuan felt that about ten people were there already. He then exclaimed, "I never thought that so many people would come here." 491 A New Era "Another one?" The ten people soon saw the light of the Chun Jun sword, and one recognized the fluctuation of the light and knew it was Changqing Yuan. "In just a decade, you have already managed to disembody and appear as a soul?" There was a laughing sound. "I never thought you could make such a good use of the soul fleeing swordsmanship and reach this level. I think you could even cut off a person''s head with a sword while you were a thousand miles away." "Mr. Liu Si?" The vague figure of Changqing Yuan did the fist and palm salute and said, "We haven''t seen each other for a long time!" Liu Si smiled and didn''t reply. The ten people all belonged to the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline. Qingshu Yunlou who was sitting in the VIP seat, and Changqing Yuan and Liu Si came with the form of a Phantom Beast. The Liu family was famous for their summoning sect. However, they were truly talented at building legendary ghosts. The shapeless legendary ghost was more difficult to control than the evil spirit or demon that had physical form, since a demon was alive, while a ghost was dead already. Among the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline, only the Liu Family was able to gather the negative energy and keep the ghost. At the same time, the Liu Family was also the most unpopular family, since they spent all day around coffins or in tombs to sense the death. Besides, they usually slept with the skeleton in the tomb. In a word, they lived with the dead all year around. It was said that the Liu''s definitely prefered to talk with the dead. Wherever a Liu went, he was accompanied by a terrifying headless ghost, or other similar ghosts. Moreover, wherever an elite of the Liu Family traveled, he would be accompanied by hundreds of ghosts and ghost soldiers. If a man who had been infected with Bestiality came across these ghosts, he would suffer a serious illness. A weak man would probably become ill and lie in bed ever after. Besides, all the Liu''s were rather grumpy and hard to be friends with. Even if they also had the blood of Deva, everyone still kept them at arm''s length. Liu Si was the representative of the Liu Family. He had transferred his mind into a ghost that had become a Phantom Beast. The beast was giving out negative energy and poisonous gas, and if not for its restraint, the people around would probably have been choked with terror and turned into a mess. Changqing Yuan didn''t care why Liu Si had come, since he just came here to have a look. Maybe everyone who came here also just wanted to have a look. People in the city sensed the presence of those Holy Spirits in the air, and gave their greetings by giving out some energy. There were many people in the Sacred City, and the whole city was chaotic and bustling. Meanwhile, in the air, it was also bustling, but when an ordinary stared at the sky, he could see nothing. In the Central Holy Temple, someone observing the sky found that there were at least ten sun-ish objects wandering around. When a person reached the level of Scepter, he became immortal. If he wanted to continue to live in the human world, he had to gradually turn his body into Aether organs; moreover, he even needed to go through various transformations and put his mind into an object. Each school had their own way of doing this. One school might have done better in this regard, but the result was the same: putting the mind into an object. All the powerful men in the air had Aetherized themselves and come in the form of invisible Holy Spirits. To show that they came with no intention of fighting, they didn''t transfer too much energy into their Holy Spirits. Most of them just put their mind into various Alchemy equipment to watch this holy city. Apart from humans, all the other peculiar creatures in the Aether world were also looking forward to this grand meeting. For example, the huge whale that usually swam in the clouds, the stone bird that could speak the human language, the eye in the form of fire, and so on. Some peculiar creatures were even sitting in the VIP seating. In the first rank of the VIP seating was a figure with a human''s body and the head of a rabbit. It was surrounded by fog and it was speaking the lingua franca with the people around it, obviously enjoying its time. It came from a peculiar race of the Aether world. The members of this race often appeared in the form of businessmen in the physical world, where they liked to sell the strange products of the Aether world to humans. It was said that many people had come across shops in the wilderness that sold rare and strange objects. When a person bought a box and returned home to open it, he would immediately grow a few decades older. Another person who bought a broken bowl returned home and poured some water into the bowl, and discovered that the water suddenly turned into gold sand. The bizarre stories surrounded the peculiar race. Technically, a member of this peculiar race couldn''t be called a "creature," instead, they were more like a mountain or water spirit. Their logic and thought processes were very different from a human''s, so it was very difficult for them to have a smooth conversation with a human. However, the objects they dug out of the soil in the Aether world were very important to musicians. Whenever a musician wanted to explore the Aether world, he would have to hire a member of the peculiar race to be his guide. The figure with a human body and a rabbit head was one of the leaders of their businessmen. The peculiar race had very good trade relations with this holy city, and since a new pope was going to ascend to throne, their representative was invited to this grand meeting. This time, the enthronization ceremony was very different. It was very hurried, and the organizer had simply sent messages to other countries, then opened the ceremony before those countries'' envoys arrived. The leaders of these countries felt that something bad was going to happen. Ludovic represented the radicals in this holy city. He suggested that the holy city, not the ridiculous parliament, should rule the other countries. Ludovic was going to become the pope of the holy city, which meant that a new game was on. The former pope had worked very hard to mediate the conflicts between the holy city and the other countries. Now that Ludovic had become the new pope, the conflicts were sure to intensify. However, Ludovic didn''t care which direction the human world would be heading or what system the human society would adopt. In fact, the mortal world meant nothing to a God or to Ludovic, who was just an incarnation of his own personality. In the sacred hall, Ludovic was sitting in front of a mirror and watching his reflection. He was dressed in a white ferraiolone and wore a thorn garland on his head. Verses of the Holy Bible were written with blue and golden string in the corner of his ferraiolone. He looked very noble, elegant, and magnificent. "Do I look very holy?" Ludovic suddenly asked. "Yes, Sancta Sedes." The attendant who was making him look more presentable said, "The divinity is the crown of Sancta Sedes." Hearing this, Ludovic shook his head and said, "You are mistaken. Although the divinity is created by humanity, it never really belongs to humanity." He got up from his seat and left the hall. Numerous faithful followers were standing outside and cheering like crazy. They looked up at Ludovic who was standing on the stairs, tears rolling from their eyes. They all knelt on the ground and saluted Ludovic. The bell in the clock tower of the Palace of Pope was ringing, and the Holy Choirs were singing the anthem, so loudly that everyone in the city could hear. The spice in the hollowed-out gold ball was burning, the fragrant smell rising with the wafting smoke. Two priests held the gold ball which hung from a silver chain. They were leading Ludovic to the utmost sacred hall. Soldiers stood on both sides of the street. Behind them stood countless followers. They knelt on the ground, worshipping Ludovic. An ordinary priest walked out from the crowd. After he showed his identity, he walked directly towards Ludovic. He reported to Ludovic in a very low voice, "Something went wrong." "What?" Ludovic asked while happily waving to his followers. "Samuel was injured in the underground palace last night," the priest replied. "Somehow, Ye Qingxuan freed himself from the shackles and held Samuel under duress. He almost arrived at the third floor." "Then?" "We finally managed to catch him, but we have lost four masters." The priest looked a bit worried and continued, "We have locked him in the bottom of the underground palace. Three masters of the School of Abstinence made an enchantment from which he can never escape." "Don''t worry, it''s not your fault." Ludovic sighed with emotion. "After all, he is the son of Ye Lanzhou. It seems that he was not as tough as I thought; in fact, I am a bit disappointed by this. Maybe I am expecting too much from him? Anyway, he won''t cause any more trouble." The priest anxiously said, "He is trying to break the enchantment. We don''t dare to kill him, and we have no idea what we should do with him." "He is just behaving like a child." Ludovic smiled and said, "Bring that young girl to him. He will behave himself when he has company." Hearing this, the priest hesitated briefly. Then he said, "But Hermes once said that no one should ever touch that girl." "So what?" Ludovic looked coldly at the priest. "I am the new pope of this Sacred City, while he is just a little sh*t. Tell him that if he wants to stay in this city, he must follow the rules I make." "Yes." The priest retreated a few steps, then turned around and left. The crowd was in high spirits. They all praised and worshipped Ludovic. From time to time, Ludovic would wave his hand to the followers and smile to them. "May God bless, my dear child." Ludovic reached out his hand and gently touched a child with no arms. He said to the child''s mother, "He was unfortunate, but now he has received the blessing of God, and he will become a defender of God in the future." "Thank you!" The parents of the child burst into tears and knelt on the ground, beginning to worship Ludovic. Ludovic smiled, turned around, and walked to the center square, then he stepped onto the platform. The Holy Choirs were still singing, and the bishops all lowered their heads and showed their loyalty to the new pope. "He is the new pope then?" asked the figure that had a human body and a rabbit head, turning to Qingshu Yunlou. "Yes he is." Qingshu nodded. "What do you think of him?" "I don''t know much about humanity or the rules in the human world," it replied, "but I can feel he is different from the former pope, which makes me very worried." "Every pope has got his own characteristics," Qingshu said. "I don''t think there is anything wrong with that." "Hope you are right," the figure from the Aether world said, then stopped talking. Ludovic took off his thorn garland and held the grand crown in his hands. There was a bit of bloodstain on the inside of the crown, and surprisingly, the crown even smelt a bit fragrant. "I like this," Ludovic murmured and smiled, then put the crown on his head. The atmosphere was very solemn and filled with grandeur. The followers began to scream with the utmost joy. Ludovic smiled and held his Scepter up high. Everyone could see the two crossed keys on the scepter. One stood for the path to heaven, the other stood for the place that the soul belonged to. Despite everyone''s expectations, the Enthronization ceremony went very smoothly. From now on, Ludovic would be the new pope. Ludovic was standing on the platform and smiling to all his followers. "Just a few days ago, we encountered a terrible crisis." "But now, we have managed to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. We now become as tough as iron." "Today, I become the new pope, but there is more than this" He smiled, holding up his scepter and saying rather seriously, "I, as the representative of the only God in this world, shall tell you and this world that a new era will come!" 492 The Limitation of Ideas "A new era." In a bar hazy with smoke, Albert held a bottle of beer in his hand and screamed, "The new era will soon arrive! People like us who belong to the old age don''t have the qualifications to sit in the boat that heads to the new era." "The huge wave of the new era is coming. My friends, let''s drink one more bottle before we are drowned!" Albert took out a wad of bills and threw them into the air. "Let''s drink more!" People around him began to cheer when they realized they now had free beer, and some of them wondered how much money this weird old man had in his pocket. Albert finally put the beer on the table and tears began to flow from his eyes. Maybe it was because of the smoke. Bang! The door opened. A heavily armed group came into the bar and kicked away the drunk men who were in their way. The priest who lead the army took out an arrest warrant. "Albert archbishop. You are arrested for your neglect of duty, and having caused a huge loss for the Sacred City," the priest said coldly. "Please come with us." "Oh?! You already come to catch me?" Albert shook his head with a drowsy look. "Just let me have one more drink, okay?" Seeing Albert''s withered face, the priest sighed. "Fine, but only one more drink." "One more drink will do." Albert laughed, held up a mug of beer, and started to drink. The beer flew out of the corner of his mouth and wet his beard. It dropped on his chest like tears. "Mr. Wagner, we shall leave now," the priest said coldly, standing in front of Albert. "I am too old now, can you help me with the luggage?" Albert looked at the end of the street and didn''t see the old man he was waiting for. He sighed, "The old b*stard, he didn''t show up at last." It seemed that he thought something through. Then Albert sighed and decided to leave with the armed men. "Fine, let''s go." He turned around and stepped onto the boat that was headed to the dark world. He knew that there was a significant chance that he would never come back. "It''s a new era now, and we should celebrate it, right?" Ye Qingxuan listened to the sound coming from the Aether ball, and looked at the other side of the enchantment. "How about some wine?" No one answered back. "Brother Zhiyi, why have you put on such an indifferent face?" He sighed. Ye Qingxuan''s hands were tightly fixed to the wall and he could not move at all. Half of his body was soaked in a dark purple liquid. The liquid continually absorbed his vitality. Ye Qingxuan was too weak to lift even a finger, and felt very dizzy and sleepy. "Brother Zhiyi, your master Paganini is my very good friend, he will be very angry if he knows this." "Brother Zhiyi, are you male or female?" Ye Qingxuan asked in curiosity. "Although you are just a set of clothing, clothing should also have its own sex. You come with Paganini? I once saw Paganini performed in the ''Dance of the Witch,'' and, well, at that time, I could not tell if Paganini was male or female. Could it be possible that you" "A brother is just like a man''s hands; beauty is like a man''s clothes." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while and said, "Since you are called the ''clothes of original sin,'' not the ''hands of original sin,'' so you should probably be a girl! Am I right?" "Ye Qingxuan" A hoarse voice came from the darkness. "There are many means of torture in this world, and if you keep talking, I will make you suffer." "Alright, alright." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "We''d better change the subject. I should not have killed Samuel. How was he?" The clothes of original sin sneered and said, "Almost two-thirds of his body was burnt by you. How can you be so shameless as to ask about this? He is still soaking in the blood pool and wants to kill you I should make you accompany him." "I never thought you would come to the Sacred City." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Earlier, I made the third floor, but you appeared and put me in the bottom of the underground palace Why get involved in this damn business? I should have realized this would happen. You must have been staying in this underground palace for a long time, right?" Hearing this, the clothes of original sin sneered but gave no reply. Ye Qingxuan whistled. He didn''t give a sh*t whether the clothes of original sin replied or not. Since the last war of Auschwitz, the musician group "Perishing Praise" had been hiding in the Sacred City. They inherited the music theory of "Channeling Change," and were very good at disguise. Some of them had managed to make connections with people in the higher class in the Sacred City, and had helped their peers. Since Paganini himself was too important, it was not easy for him to avoid being recognized by people, while it was very easy for the members of the musician group to disguise themselves and work under Ludovic. Paganini was still recovering, and Ye Qingxuan never thought that the clothes of original sin could have already recovered its strength and even grown much stronger. It seems that Paganini was greatly inspired by the fight between him and the Gate of Heaven. "Hey! Brother Zhiyi." Ye Qingxuan was feeling very bored and asked again, "How is your master doing, recently?" The clothes of original sin sneered and looked at Ye Qingxuan in a terrifying way. "My master has been missing you very much, and if there is a chance, he will want to meet you in the abyss." "I do not want to meet with him." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "We shall never see each other again." The clothes of original sin laughed and said, "It is not up to you." Ye Qingxuan became silent for a long while, then said, "Hey, Brother Zhiyi, I have a question for you. I sincerely hope that you can give me an answer; it will be very nice of you to do so." The clothes of original sin sneered and didn''t reply to Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan didn''t care about its cold face at all, so he laughed and asked, "Technically, you are not even human, right?" Hearing this, the clothes of original sin grew very gloomy. It looked at Ye Qingxuan and found that his face was very sincere and serious. It frowned and said, "So what?" "Sorry, I do not mean to laugh at you," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "If we look at this in a different way, it may be a good thing. I mean, my way of thinking may be limited, while yours is not." "What do you mean?" "I mean" Ye Qingxuan answered, "as a piece of clothing, you do not care about people''s lives, right?" "Yes, you are right." "Beautiful, ugly, rich or poor all mean nothing to you, right?" The clothes of original sin nodded. "As a piece of clothing, your owner could not be called a mortal, which means that if you won''t even come to the physical world if you don''t feel it necessary, am I right?" "As a divine weapon, you won''t give a sh*t about the ordinary clothing of a mortal, right? No matter if they were made of cloth, iron, or silk, and you can''t find anything valuable in them, can you?" "..." The clothes of original sin was confused by his words and asked, "What on earth do you mean?" "I mean" Ye Qingxuan was clearing his mind and trying to speak logically. "One day, if you go to great pains to hide yourself in a pile of ordinary clothes can you tell me what would be your purpose of doing so?'' The clothes of original sin said without thinking, "I would do it only if my owner asked me to do so." "What if you didn''t have an owner?" Ye Qingxuan chipped in. "..." Ye Qingxuan had confused it. It could not understand what "not having an owner" really meant, and besides, it had never thought about what it would be like to be without an owner. In its mind, it was impossible that it would be alone. Ye Qingxuan became very confused and excited. He then said, "A divine weapon won''t ask for anything from any clothes. When you see a coat sewn with blue and golden silk thread, or a piece of armor, or a pair of underpants, you won''t feel jealous You are so very different from those clothes and there is no need for you to hide in them, unless unless" Ye Qingxuan was suddenly in a daze. "Unless" Seeing this, the clothes of original sin frowned and became alert, "What are you murmuring to yourself? Unless what?" "Unless hahaha" Suddenly, in Ye Qingxuan''s head, it all came together. He became very excited. If he was not fixed to the wall, he would definitely have danced. He was staring at the clothes of original sin and said, "Unless you would hide yourself in a pile of ordinary clothes to find another divine weapon! Am I right? As a divine weapon yourself, it is only possible that you would take great pains to find another divine weapon I see, I see!" Ye Qingxuan was becoming manically excited, as if he was crazy. He murmured, "I was wrong earlier. Well, I am a human, so my way of thinking is limited even if Ludovic becomes the new pope, still, it means nothing to Hyakume. I thought he only wanted to get the Holy Ax, but I was wrong, since the Holy Ax is just a symbol to commemorate the event of humanity''s changing the Originator. What Ludovic wants is probably the thing hidden behind the Holy Ax!" Hearing this, the clothes of sin became gloomy and said, "Ye Qingxuan, what on earth are you talking about?" "I mean Ludovic, no, the real body of the former Dark PopeMaster Hyakume, his real purpose. He wants to master everything humanity has written into the Originator via the Holy Ax and the rule of music theory set by the musicians of the seven systems. So he can avoid the suppression of ''Quiet Moon,'' and merge himself with the sheer void! Then he would become the only God who truly mastered the Originator!" 493 Resurgence In the dark palace, the dim flame lit the face of a broken statue of a saint. The statue was covered with moss, and small cracks crawled all over it. It held a torch in its hand and gazed into the darkness. In the huge palace, the green air moved like a snake. Accompanied by a scary melody, the green air expanded and shrank, again and again. Every time the air shrank, someone in the darkness screamed with pain. In the depths of the palace, a few people moaned and cursed. "Ludovic, how dare you usurp the Pope?!" "Black musician as the Cardinal, how dare you collude with the Black musician?! You have infuriated God! You will soon be burnt to death by God!" "Lord Ludovic, I give in, I would do anything for you" Before he finished his sentence, he suddenly screamed in extreme pain. Crack! A bone was broken. A man said with a hoarse voice, "Ludovic, you can kill us if you want! Even if you are the new Pope now, the sacred Palace of Sarroman will never be blasphemed by you! The glory of the Sacred City that has existed for thousands of years will never be tarnished by you either!" Meanwhile, a holy light appeared in the poisonous green air and was soon devoured by the sheer darkness. In the darkness, these people were being chewed, their blood splashed onto the face of the statue, and soon the face of the statue was covered with red blood. Finally, silence reclaimed the palace. The green air began to wriggle and gather together, then turned into a shred of fluorescent light and went back into a skull-made wine glass. An old and withered musician held up the glass and smirked. He turned around and said, "My Lord, they have died." A group of priests walked into the darkness and stopped next to the torch. They wore the sacred ferraiolone and scary beak-shaped masks on their faces. When the green air finally dispersed, Ludovic took off his mask. He stood next to the corpses and looked at them coldly. "They are such idiots! Why there are so many of them?" No one answered. Ludovic held the scepter in his hand and walked to the bottom floor of the underground palace. In front of him, there was a bronze door. He stopped and stared at the terrifying relievo on the door. There were three bronze statues of ugly sinners on the huge door. Their necks were shackled and their faces were twisted as if they were in great pain. The relievo looked both scary and magnificent. It consisted of hundreds of bronze statues. It was a scene of hell; they were suffering in hell, and the light of heaven was shining upon them. They desperately looked up to the man who was shining and surrounded by numerous angels. This door was the door of hell and redemption. Ludovic reached out his hand and touched the faces of the bronze statues of ugly sinners. Then he showed his sympathy and smiled. The holy Sarroman temple was a forbidden area that only the Pope could step into, and the Holy Ax was sealed in this place. Besides, only the King of Red knew about this place, and only he could reign over it. "Nibelungenlied," Ludovic said. "Pope, what can I do for you?" A sound came from the roof. "Nothing in particular, I just want to show you my gratitude." Ludovic stared at the Three-inch Void in front of him and solidly said, "The holy temple of Sarroman is hidden in the deepest part of the Sacred City. If it were not for your guidance, I could never manage to cross the ''Minotaos road.''" "It is my duty to lead the Pope." "So you regard me as the new Pope?" Ludovic smiled. "You are funny. So many people consider me a usurper, while you, a catastrophe, regard me as the new Pope." "For me, a Pope is a Pope," Nibelungenlied replied. "I made an agreement with humanity, and my duty is to record their stories. In my view, a Pope is just the same as everyone else. Since you have been elected to be the new Pope in the Sixtinum conference, you are the official new Pope, and after you drink the sacred blood, you will become the new King of Red." "You have no stance on this issue?" Ludovic joked. "I never thought a catastrophe would be someone without their own stance." "As a recorder, I am not allowed to have a stance; otherwise, my records would be biased," Nibelungenlied said. "''Three Wise Men'' coexist with humanity, and they have their own personalities and ways of life. I am neither a leader nor a mentor, I am simply a witness. It is my duty to record the happenings and stories, and I won''t stop anyone from reading these stories or try to rewrite them. If you think I have bad intentions, you can choose not to believe me." Hearing this, Ludovic laughed and said, "Nibelungenlied, you really think you know everything?" "Not now," Nibelungenlied replied, "but as long as I continue to witness, record, observe, one day I believe I will be able to know everything." "I think it is impossible, but still I hope you can turn it into reality one day." Ludovic waved his hand and Nibelungenlied stopped talking. The palace became quiet again. "Finally, it is going to begin," Ludovic murmured, while staring at the huge door in front of him. The light was dim in the palace. His followers all gently backed off and knelt. Ludovic walked forward, held up his scepter, and read out the spell to open the door. "The mortal shall all die at last." Bang! As soon as the scepter was put into the hole in the ground, the whole plaza began to shake. On the ground, countless bronze rings began to rotate, and the gears hidden beneath revealed themselves. The gears rotated quickly and collided with each other. Numerous sparks appeared, and the gears kept running against each other and created a magnificent power. This magnificent power was created by the collision between the gears made of iron and bronze. It surpassed the physical material, life and the death. The force was unimaginable. The power permeated the sheer darkness and created the sound of a dragon, and at the same time, the fire was lit and the iron melted. A tornado appeared, and in the next moment, the Door of Hell opened. Ye Qingxuan woke up in great pain. He raised his head and looked at his hands. Both of his hands were nailed to the iron wall, the silver nails covered with his blood. Sometimes, having a strong vitality was not a good thing at all. Although his wounds had recovered, once he made a move, he would suffer great pain. A man walked out of the darkness. "I never thought you could recover in such a short time," the man said. The clothes of original sin glanced at Samuel who stood outside of the cage. In the dim light, Ye Qingxuan found that the man was actually Samuel. Samuel was wearing a red robe which covered the lower part of his body. The left side of his head was gone, and his face was full of hatred and insanity. "Open the cage," Samuel said with a hoarse voice. "I have just received a message from Lord Ludovic everything is going as planned, so we don''t need to keep him alive anymore." "Then I will leave him to you," the clothes of original sin said. "Please leave his brain as well as his consciousness to me; I will give them to my master, and he will be thankful to you." "No!" Samuel refused this request coldly. "I am going to cut him to pieces." Hearing this, the clothes of original sin were dazed. Before it could say anything, it heard a sound, as if an apple had fallen onto the ground. It turned around and found that Ye Qingxuan''s head had been cut off. Ye Qingxuan was wearing a surprised look on his face. Ludovic walked in silence in the sheer darkness. Beneath the Palace of Pope, which was located in the core of the Sacred City, there was the Holy Palace of Sarroman that had been heavily guarded and hidden behind the debris of the Aether world. Even if the Door of Hell was opened, the Sacred Palace of Sarroman was still under the protection of countless enchantments and branch roads. People knew the importance of the existence of the Holy Palace of Sarroman, so they did everything they could to protect it, set every trap they could think of to prevent others from coming near, and cleared all trace of its existence Even a God would get lost in this sheer darkness. Ludovic''s scepter was shone, with its help, Ludovic walked straight forward and opened the doors one by one without being distracted by the illusions and light around him. All the traps along the way lost their effect under the light given out by the scepter. Even so, anyone who cast his eyes on the traps would most certainly feel extremely frightened, as if he was walking on a steel wire stretched over an abyss. At last, Ludovic arrived at the deepest part of the Aether world, and walked into a holy city. He was surrounded by numerous stars. It was as bright and glorious as the Holy Heaven. The last door in front of him was also open, and on the other side of the door was an infinite dark space in which there was an ancient altar. The Holy Ax was on the altar. With the shred of light, the ax produced the crystal clear holy blood. Ludovic stared at the ax, his eyes sparkling with green light. "The Holy Ax" The next moment, the smile on his face froze. Ludovic heard someone coughing behind the altar. It seemed that the man was suffering from a lung disease of some sort. He was coughing very hard, as if his heart and lungs were going to explode. Finally, he stopped coughing. "I am so sorry about this. My health has been deteriorating these last few days." A stooped old man walked slowly out from behind the altar. "My back hurts, especially here" The old man pointed to the center of his backwhich was supposed to be penetrated by a daggerthat was still intact. The old man raised his head. With the help of the shred of light, Ludovic found that the old man was the former Pope. He should be very dead by now. His body was burned to ashes and buried in the underground palace with all the other former Popes. All the other bishops saw it! The former Pope, who should have been very dead by now, stood in front of the Holy Ax, watching and smiling at Ludovic, who was one of the black hands that killed him. He was smiling in a rather bizarre way, his smile a mixture of happiness and mockery, which was really terrifying. Everyone knew that the former Pope never laughed. The former Pope was famous for his indifference and impartiality. "You must be very bewildered now, aren''t you?" The former Pope sat on the stairs of the altar and mysteriously said, "As you have read from the Holy Bible" "I am back to life." 494 The Eternal Dark "I am back to life." After hearing the former Pope''s declaration, Ludovic put on a poker face and coldly looked at him. Resurgence? Nonsense! As a member of the cardinal church, Ludovic had already read many classified papers and knew that the so-called "resurgence" written in the Holy Bible was just bullsh*t. If someone could be brought back to life, there would be no need to elect a new King of Red. Why not just let the first King of Red rule this world for eternity? If someone wanted to make a dead person "alive" again, Ludovic knew many ways to do so. People from the School of Modifications would do so by "rebuilding a human body." By putting the basic elements, (iron, calcium, sodium, and kalium, for example), into water, they could make a perfect human body. People from the School of Choir would do so via "proliferation of flesh." With just a small piece of human flesh, they could create an intact human body. People from the School of Magic would do so by turning an illusion into a reality; people from the School of Summoning would create a monster with a human body Of course, their way of doing so could never be called "resurgence," or at least, not the perfect resurgence. "I see, the one who died is actually your substitute?" Ludovic said. "I should have been more careful." The old keeper shook his head and said, "If there is a substitute, I should be the substitute, or to be more precise, I am the previous incarnation of the former Pope, but I am not the Pope, and neither are you." Hearing this, Ludovic sneered. "If you want to be the Pope again, at least do it like a man! I have known you for such a long time, but I still do not know how much strength you have. I will take this opportunity to test how capable youthe former King of Redreally are!" Hearing this, the old keeper sighed deeply. "There is no need. I am not the former King of Red. Why should I fight a human of the Hyakume? Please do me a favor and let me go! I promise I won''t take the seat of Pope from you." The old keeper shamelessly asked Ludovic to spare him. "You have already been elected in the Sixtinum conference. Everyone has seen you wearing the crown on your head and holding the scepter in your hand. You are the new Pope, aren''t you?" The old keeper continued to say, "Although the Pope is just a title, or in other words, you become the new Pope after you wear the pope''s robe. Still, there is one last thing you have to do to become a real Pope." At the same time, the ground began to tremble and crack. Soon, the ground fell into pieces, and the machine operating beneath was revealed. The iron and steel were rubbing against each other, and iron hammers were striking at the iron and steel-made floor. Beneath this floor, Ludovic saw the boiling lava. The machine was absorbing all the heat rising from the lava and operating very quickly. A huge winch slowly rotated and lifted an iron coffin from the lava. Since the coffin had absorbed a lot of heat, it turned red. When it landed on the floor, it didn''t give off any heat at all. In fact, something inside the coffin was absorbing the heat. Ludovic looked at the Holy Ax and found that the crystal clear blood was gone. At the same time, the coffin began to collapse. Inside the coffin, there was a huge petri dish in which floated an iron and steel skeleton. The Holy Blood poured into the petri dish. In the blink of an eye, it turned into numerous red crystals and stuck itself on the surface of the skeleton, covering it. The red crystals became a layer of flesh. The machine was making a deafening sound. The flesh was changing color, one moment the color of iron, the next moment it turned green or white. At last, it turned the color of human flesh. Now what was inside the petri dish was a human body. Muscle, tendon, sinew, organs, skin, and hair, this body had everything. Suddenly, the petri dish broke and the sticky liquid inside splashed around. The "man" finally opened his eyes and pulled up the long and sharp tube from the back of his head, then he threw it onto the ground. Even his eyes looked like a human''s. Surprisingly, his face looked exactly like Ludovic''s! The old keeper was chewing nuts, then he coldly said, "You have changed?" The new-born "Ludovic" nodded and looked at his palm: "I am feeling very good." At first, his voice was a bit hoarse, but soon, he began to speak fluently and his voice sounded exactly like Ludovic''s. He glanced at the old keeper and said, "Your body is made of really bad material." "Even if that is true, I don''t think you should make that clear in front of my face!" The old keeper sighed. "Although my body doesn''t look good, after so many years, I have already gotten used to this body! Besides, without this body, how can you manage to go to the outside world? It is fine that you don''t say thank you to me, but you should not dislike my body! You are such a jerk!" Ludovic was speechless. Seeing this, the old keeper shook his head and sighed. "The process of copying the real Ludovic''s personality is still on? Or you have not got any sense of humor?" The new-born Ludovic didn''t answer the old keeper. Instead, he turned to the real Ludovic, who was wearing a gloomy face and holding the scepter in his hand. "Now you can give the scepter back to me," he said. "I see." The real Ludovic looked at him coldly and said, "You are dead, right? You are not even a living thing, you just look like a human. I never thought that all the former Popes were just a bunch of puppets!" The real Ludovic stared at the old keeper and said mockingly, "I never thought the purpose of holding the Sixtinum Conference was just to find a new body for this damn thing! How about the individuality you have all been so proud of? Does this damn thing also get his own individuality?" "You call me ''damn thing''? It seems that you have not recognized me yet," the ''Ludovic'' said. "How disappointing! Ludovic, you have just mocked me and said I have not got my own stance." "You are Nibelungenlied?" The old keeper shook his head and said, "No, he is the ''King of Red.''" The dim light in the altar began to expand, and soon lit the whole palace as well as the wall behind the altar. The real Ludovic looked at the wall and found that sixteen crystal boxes were engraved into the wall. The boxes were filled with liquid that was shining a strange color. Inside each crystal box, there was a brain. The brains were still working. Some of the brains had withered a bit, but they still looked very fresh. The strains were twining around the brains, connecting with the brains'' consciousness. If looked at from a distance, they looked like grass. The strains stretched out of the crystal boxes and intertwined with each other and extended to the Alchemy Array. Along the array, they reached to the deepest part of the underground palace and connected with countless brains there. Every month, some brains would be picked out to become part of the system of the Alchemy Array. Hence, the dead could be reborn in the underground palace, the "world of the dead." "See? This is the real Nibelungenlied." The old keeper gently touched the crystal boxes and murmured, "This is the ''world of the dead'' beneath the Sacred City." "You guys" Ludovic was so angry that even his face turned blue. He clenched his teeth and said, "You guys dedicated yourselves to Nibelungenlied?" "No, you are wrong. We coexist with Nibelungenlied." The new-born Ludovic stared at the fragile strains and said, "Among the three saints, the real body of Nibelungenlied is just a parasite that is similar to the strain. Its consciousness is too weak to exist and can only exist with the help of a human." "The first King of Red made an agreement with it and integrated part of his brain into Nibelungenlied''s consciousness. The strains of Nibelungenlied remained alive by absorbing nutrition from the brains, and at the same time, they also helped to keep these former Popes'' consciousness working, and connected all their brains together." In this way, humanity was able to inherit the scary secrets of the ancient dark era and fight against the catastrophe. With the help of all the former Popes, the consciousness of Nibelungenlied grew so large that a human could never compete with it. Now it had become the foundation of the Sacred City and the human world. When a cardinal was elected as the new Pope in the Sixtinum Conference, he would come to this place and became the new "keeper" of the altar ever after. When the new successor came, he would integrate part of his brain into the consciousness of Nibelungenlied, just like so many of his predecessors had in the past. From the outside, what people saw was just the huge system of the church supported by the artificial intelligence "Catastrophe Nibelungenlied." This system was also a financial system based on the "Black Gold," and under this system, capital could flow freely between the Sacred City and other countries. The "beacon" was the eyes of the system, which helped to monitor all the happenings in the world. The artificial intelligence that was made up of countless brains helped the cardinal group to maintain the stability and balance of the world. Just like Ludovic had been told, the "Catastrophe Nibelungenlied" had been recording and witnessing all the happenings in this world, and this was just one of its duties. In fact, the sixteen brains of the former Popes were the real boss that controlled everything. With Nibelungenlied as the center, the dead, the living, the saints, the humans, and the catastrophe were all integrated into a whole. In front of the altar, the puppet, or the "Pope" unfolded his hands and began to speak in the tone of a Pope. "Ludovic, what you have seen is the real King of Red, which is a combination of all the sixteen former Popes!" Next to the Pope stood the old keeper. He sighed and glanced at Ludovic and said, "Thanks to you, I now become the seventeenth as for you, you will have to wait another thirty years, so you can join us in the crystal box." Ludovic didn''t answer him, he just stared coldly at the Pope and the old keeper in front of him and began to sneer. "Humanity''s little tricks never fail to surprise me." "Just give in, there is no need to put on a show at this moment." The old keeper looked at Ludovic and shook his head. "You have already lost. If I were you, I would say ''this is impossible!'' Don''t you think it would be more appropriate in this situation?" "Lost?" Ludovic sneered and dropped his scepter onto the ground. "You are wrong. You are the one who has lost!" Bang! Ludovic''s body cracked, and soon the crack crawled all over his body. He didn''t look like a human at all, instead he just looked like porcelain that was going to fall into pieces. There was no blood nehind the crack, only the infinite dark that led to the abyss. Dark flame came from the cracks. Both his face and clothes were burnt, and his real appearance was revealed. On Ludovic''s head rested a three-layer crown that had a dark purple gemstone on it. In his hand, there was a scepter. The scepter was made of bone, and there was a holy bone emblem on the end of it. Now the emblem had turned red. Ludovic was wearing a pure dark robe that was decorated with silver lines. On his robe, there was a scene of hell. When his flesh was all burnt, his bone revealed. His bones looked very solemn and were decorated with black gold, agate, and amber. A black fog was swirling on his face, and it looked rather dark and holy. He still looked like a Pope, a gloomy and bizarre Pope. He was the former "Dark Pope!" At the same time, the whole Holy Palace of Sarroman was engulfed by the air of the abyss. "Seriously? This is what you want?" The old keeper wiped away the sweat on his forehead and glanced at the Pope in front of him. "I will leave him to you then!" Then, he quickly grasped the scepter on the ground, fell into the crack in the ground, and vanished. "Now, let''s begin," the former Dark Pope said. His voice was very loud and echoed in the world. His hoarse but solemn and magnificent voice could be heard everywhere in the Sacred City. Moreover, his voice quickly spread to the wilderness in all directions. From the Permafrost Land in the north to the infinitive sea in the west; from the burning desert in the south to the tens of thousands of mountains in the east; his voice even reached to the dark world and the Aether world People in Asgard, Anglo, Burgundy, the Commonwealth of Caucasus, and the Empire of Aurora could all hear the sound; all of humanity, no matter if they were awake or asleep, old or young, man or woman, could all hear his sound. The infinite darkness soon erupted from the abyss that was at the bottom of the Aether world. Meanwhile, the magnificent ring echoed in the abyss. Hearing this sound, all the musicians were shocked. They felt like the whole Sea of Aether was boiling. They had never seen such a scary scene before. In the Sea of Aether, countless waves were created and thousands of miles of wave crest were moving in all directions. A violent storm blew across the sea and created countless tornados and hurricanes. Due to this, all the musicians lost the ability to practice the musical movements. The ring was still echoing, and at the same time, the scary Aether wave began to rise from the wilderness. The catastrophe had come! In the central palace, sounds of alarm that no one had ever heard before were echoing. The Silver Tide, the Holy White Storm, the Destructive Flame Rain, the Abaddon Locust Plague the eight bizarre phenomena all appeared. The silver Sea of Aether turned scarlet, numerous waves turned into the blood tide, which indicated the doomsday was coming. Soon, ten burning suns appeared in the sky. "They are coming! They are coming!" The observers in different countries yelled and screamed. Hearing the ring of the Bell of Ruin, all the catastrophes in the forbidden area of the dark world woke up. Following the sound of the bell, they came to the human world. The beast of chaos, Bahamut, Eagle Wing Mother, the son of spider, Certus, the eyeless snake In just a few seconds, more than ten scary catastrophes had already woken up. Even the Dark Gaia had showed herself again. In the abyss, all the dark creatures cast their eyes to the physical world and stared at the Sacred City. In the deepest part of the abyss, an extremely huge and scary figure opened its eyes. One pair of eyes, two pairs of eyes, three pairs of eyes countless eyes were blinking in the darkness. This was the body of Hyakume, and it was waking up! "Your golden era is over!" it said, via the incarnation of the former Dark Pope. Everyone heard its hoarse sound, which was so loud that their souls were shaken. Accompanied with the ring, it seemed that everything was going to be devoured by the abyss. "From now on! The eternal dark shall befall!" 495 You Are Asking For Trouble "Does this mean that the Dark World has declared war with humans?" The ring was still echoing. Ye Qingxuan was sitting on the bloody stairs. He took a blood-soaked cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He sighed. "Hyakume, you are asking for trouble" Half an hour ago, Ye Qingxuan was decapitated. His head fell onto the ground with a loud thwop. Samuel crawled onto Ye Qingxuan and sucked his blood as if insane. Although Ye Qingxuan''s blood was burning him, he didn''t stop. The former Master had changed into a blood-sucking monster, and soon, he managed to tear Ye Qingxuan into pieces. When the clothes of original sin collected itself, it found Samuel chewing on Ye Qingxuan''s corpse. Seeing this, the clothes of original sin could not help sighing. "What a pity." Ye Qingxuan''s broken hand was still nailed to the wall. The clothes of original sin looked at the hand and recalled what Paganini had said to it. "Ye Qingxuan always holds his ground, and he has good character. Even if he is our enemy, still, I perceive him as a genius. I am so glad to have him as my enemy." "Once you are in the Sacred City, if you have the opportunity, please to catch him alive. After we transform him, he will be as strong as I am in just a few decades." However, Ye Qingxuan had died just before. The clothes of original sin was made by Paganini himself, and naturally, it also had the same personality and music theory as Paganini did. The clothes of original sin was very angry after Samuel simply neglected its existence; at the same time, it also felt a bit sad. "The Ye Family is really powerful! Now that both Ye Lanzhou and his son are dead, I am afraid that the ''seal of moonlight'' will soon become just another part of history!" Then, it was drawn by the blood dropping from the broken hand. The hand began to tremble mildly, blood oozing out of the puncture in the center of the palm and flowing along the creases in the skin. It was just like a blossoming scarlet flower that looked strangely beautiful. Suddenly, the clothes of original sin felt a bit bewildered and realized something was wrong. However, it was already too late. It found that it could not move at all, and the music theory inside its body began to work very slowly, as if it was a machine that had rusted. It felt that its mind had been frozen and could no longer react. "Is this the music theory of Mind? Or have I been implanted with some sort of hint? If so, when and where did this happen?" A scarlet rose grew from the blood oozing out of the broken hand, and in the blink of an eye, the rose blossomed and grew larger and larger. At last, the clothes of original sin was devoured by the rose. "Go to sleep, go to sleep," Ye Qingxuan murmured in the clothes of original sin''s ear. "You have been living in this world for such a long time, and you do not even have a woman''s dress of your own. How pathetic this is! If I were you, I would go to sleep and never wake up. Don''t worry, when you fall asleep, I will burn some woman''s clothes in front of your grave. Tell me, which do you prefer? Stockings or lingerie?" "F*ck!" the clothes of original sin was furious. It quickly activated the music theory inside its body without considering the consequences. Accompanied by the magnificent melody, its body started to shake heavily and revealed its original form. By doing this, it managed to get rid of the music theory of Mind that was forced upon it. Bang! The music theory of Channeling Change materialized and flew out of its body. The music theory began to erode the surrounding Physical World and broke the illusion the clothes of original sin had seen earlier. At that moment, Samuel, who was just devouring the corpse of Ye Qingxuan, disappeared. His body mutated and became a pool of sticky blood. In the blink of an eye, the clothes of original sin was shrouded by the blood. Inside the sticky blood, the clothes of original sin was struggling to get out. Samuel activated his scepter and began to play the music movement of Fate. Accompanied by the music, the sticky blood absorbed all the energy of the clothes of original sin. "Samuel, what are you doing?" the clothes of original sin shouted angrily. Samuel smiled to him and said, "It is my duty to punish evil and to promote good!" "Today!" Someone was yelling, "Today!" Suddenly, the disciples of Samuel all came into the room and started to smile at the clothes of original sin. Then they transferred their energy to Samuel via the "Blood of Element." With the help of his disciples, Samuel managed to imprison the clothes of original sin with full strength. "Are you crazy? Samuel!" the clothes of original sin shouted. "Ludovic will not let you go!" "Ludovic?" Samuel laughed. "He is just a short-sighted coward! He is not strong enough to be a threat to me! You have to know that what I serve and believe in is the orthodox!" "Orthodox!" his disciples shouted together, looking very frenzied. It seemed that they all believed in what they had said just now. Hearing this, the clothes of original sin became desperate, as if it had fallen into an ice cave. These guys have all turned crazy! No! Their personalities and consciousnesses are also changed! "Hey, you woke up!" Ye Qingxuan looked at the clothes of original sin and smiled to it in a very strange way. "You reacted much faster than I thought; you really deserve the title of ''clothes of original sin.'' I think you must be very confused now, and you must be wondering when I brainwashed them, right? Beg me, if you beg me, I will tell you!" The clothes of original sin sneered and angrily stared at Ye Qingxuan. "You will pay for this!" "How can you say things like this? I haven''t done anything yet!" Ye Qingxuan smiled. He glanced at the slim figure wearing a gray robe and said, "Lola, do something to make it quiet. It is too noisy and annoying." Hearing this, the girl grinned and began to play the bone flute. Immediately, a frightening illusion appeared again. Lola played twenty-four musical movements one by one, and the clothes of original sin had been dragged into the deepest illusion. The "goodnight" almost made it go crazy; the "frozen rain" nearly broke its heart; the "wet dreams" created many temptations that were hard for it to resist; the "white head" sapped all its strength; the "crow" made it see an ominous scene at last, the "old musician" degraded its music theory to a lower level. The energy of the clothes of original sin was continually being weakened. Soon, its energy dropped from the level of Peak Scepter to the level of Greenhand Scepter. If it were not an artifact that possessed Paganini''s powerful and systemized music theory, it would have already been weaker than a Master. The clothes of original sin was shocked by this and wanted to know where Ye Qingxuan managed to find this powerful Master of illusions! Compared with Ye Qingxuan''s flexible and unpredictable style, the twenty-four music movements made the clothes of original sin feel depressed and creepy. For a Master of illusions, if his illusions were see-through, the effect of his illusion would be greatly weakened. Throughout the ages, all the masters of illusion worked very hard to create an illusion that no one could see through. However, even if the clothes of original sin knew clearly it had been trapped in the illusion created by this girl, it still could not escape. It seemed to have been trapped in a quagmire, and no matter how hard it tried, it was all futile. As time went by, it sank deeper and deeper into the quagmire. Even worse, the clothes of original sin suddenly felt very cold, cold that it had never experienced before. Then it realized that it was being invaded by Ye Qingxuan''s music theory. "Ye Qingxuan, what are you!" it shouted through clenched teeth. This b*stard! How dare he invade my body and rewrite my music theory with his own, while I am sealed and trapped by this girl''s illusions! Inside the sticky blood, a raging cloud of dark air was struggling to get out. Everytime it slammed against the sticky blood, the illusions and seal that held it would grip even more tightly. Ye Qingxuan was standing right behind the sticky blood. Countless lines of moonlight extended from his ten fingers and connected themselves with the music theory of the clothes of original sin. Paganini''s music theory of Channeling Change, contained inside the clothes of original sin, was being altered by Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan wanted to completely rewrite its music theory and make it his own possession! Earlier, when he rose up from the operating table and stabbed a silver knife into Samuel''s head, he had already known that he was trapped in Ludovic''s underground palace. He knew that even if he defeated Samuel, there were still many dangers waiting for him. At that time, he gave up the idea of killing Ludovic, and instead he destroyed most of Samuel''s brian and drove him insane. Then he implanted a shred of his mind into Samuel''s brain. Then he made a scene in the palace and was willingly caught by the clothes of original sin. He knew he could not defeat it, so he stopped fighting back. But before he was caught, he had managed to make a connection with Lola, who was hiding outside the Sacred City via his Heaven Ladder, and send his position to her as well. With the help of her illusions and the information she got from Ye Qingxuan, as well as her bloodline of powerful blood musicians, she disguised herself as a disciple of Samuel and sneaked into the underground palace. When she approached the severely injured Samuel, she finished the process of brainwashing Samuel and totally destroyed his remaining defenses. After this, she brainwashed all Samuel''s disciples one by one. In fact, the so-called Vampire Musicians were just a bunch of copycats of hydrargyrum. So it was very easy for her to deal with them. She not only got the "blood of element," but also implanted the purifying music movement into their bodies. When this business was done, she would give an order with her mind, and they would be burnt from the inside out and turned to ashes. When Lola was young, she was surrounded by thugs, and had lived in the downtown of Avalon ever since. She was born a monster, and her moral values had all been twisted. Her cruelty was really frightening. She controlled Samuel''s disciples'' consciousness, changed their music theory, and devoured their bodies. When she tried to get Ye Qingxuan out, he told her that he wanted to make the clothes of original sin his own possession. You want to make the clothes of original sin your possession? You must be crazy! It is an artifact that has Paganini''s personality, and besides, it also has its own consciousness! Maybe I am too old now, so I can''t understand this young man''s audaciousness and crazy ideas. Ye Qingxuan was attacking the clothes of original sin with the line of moonlight! He not only used the trick of "Nature Interference" of the Path of Domain, but also the trick of the "Path of Commandment." In the school of commandment, students of the Path of Domain majored in the construction of music theory and planning of domain, while the students of the Path of Commandment majored in counterspells and the destruction of music theory. Earlier, Ye Qingxuan had been as strong as someone of the primary level, but now he had grown terrifyingly powerful. The clothes of original sin had already guessed that he would grow much, much more powerful in a few months, but it never thought that in just ten hours, Ye Qingxuan would grow this strong! Ten hours earlier, it could easily defeat Ye Qingxuan. However, now it could not even stop its own music theory being changed! "This is impossible!" The clothes of original sin gritted its teeth and felt that its consciousness in its core was about to collapse. "In just ten f*cking hours, he has grown this strong!" "There is no need to be so shocked," Ye Qingxuan murmured. "Ten hours ago, only I was fighting with you." Suddenly, the music movement of Fate inside his body began to expand and grow more powerful. Its structure became much more complex and sophisticated, more magnificent. Three minds that belonged to three different schools gathered in the music movement of Fate and resonated with each other, thus creating an infinitive energy. The clothes of original sin heard someone talking next to its ears. "Brother Zhiyi, goodbye!" In the blink of an eye, the music theory of Channeling Change inside its body collapsed. Along the lines of moonlight, Ye Qingxuan''s music movement of Fate crawled into its body and began to erode and change its body. The clothes of original sin started to shudder with silent screams. It felt that it was back in the smelter where it was created, and an invisible iron hammer was striking it until it fell to pieces... then it felt like it was being rebuilt. Its consciousness collapsed and its intelligence faded away. The personality Paganini left in its core was wiped away. It was being rebuilt by the music movement of Mind. The clothes of original sin lost. 496 You Are Asking For… Half an hour later, Ye Qingxuan sat on the stairs outside the basement. In front of him, there was a closed door. He was in the Sforza Family''s underground palace. This palace was heavily guarded and well built. The door of the palace, of course, was also specially made as well. It was two meters thick and would not make any sound while being opened or closed. Besides, the wall was excellent soundproofing. "How desolate this place is." Ye Qingxuan was sitting outside the door and smoking. He was not sure if there was someone screaming behind the door, since the sound of it was too weak. He could only hear the sound of a flute echoing in the underground palace. It was Lola who was playing the flute. All the guards in the underground palace had been bewitched by the sound of it. They stood in a line and walked out of the room. Ye Qingxuan had no idea what was happening behind the door. He could see the sticky blood continually oozing out from beneath the door. The blood flowed along the ground away from the door and down to the sewer. Ye Qingxuan put out his cigarette and looked at himself. Against the dim yellow light, he was wearing a strange long coat. This silver grey coat was made of some mysterious materials and had the same texture as silk and iron. Most importantly, Ye Qingxuan could change its form at will. It would turn into armor, or a uniform of the Anglo Royal Music School, or a long robe of the east, or a corslet that shrouded Ye Qingxuan''s whole body. In fact, this coat was the former clothes of original sin that had been transformed by Ye Qingxuan. The clothes of original sin inherited the music theory of Channeling Change from Paganini, and had also received the scepter of "Dark Sky." It specialized in simulating reality with music theory and suppressing enemies on a large scale. Ye Qingxuan had managed to duplicate the "Governor Armor" inside the clothes of original sin''s body, and the "Sigh Sword" as well. Although the robe might have looked very ordinary, it actually worked better than gospel armor in defensive and auxiliary power. In a word, for a musician, it was even better than gospel armor. Ye Qingxuan had wiped the personality of Paganini from the clothes of original sin and degraded its level. Since he knew how powerful Paganini really was, he had also wiped out every mark Paganini had left on the clothes of original sin, even if he knew he would also cause the clothes of original sin to lose many powerful abilities. Flowing out, forming, creating, and moving now, apart from the already transformed music theory of Channeling Change and Ye Qingxuan''s music movement of Fate, there was nothing inside the clothes of original sin''s body. In this way, Paganini could no longer take the clothes of original sin away from him. Ye Qingxuan could finally take as much time as he wanted to make good use of this divine object. For the first time, Ye Qingxuan realized the great benefits a divine object could bring to a musician. The Stone Sword was very powerful, and its tenacity and spirituality were even stronger than the clothes of original sin''s. But since it was the divine object of the Country of Anglo, it didn''t recognize Ye Qingxuan as its master. Currently, both the tenacity and spirituality had not been activated, so Ye Qingxuan could not bring the Stone Sword into full play, and could only use it to frighten others. In this situation, using the clothes of original sin as an auxiliary divine object could be of much help to him. However, Ye Qingxuan was not a black musician, otherwise, he would upgrade himself to the level of a Scepter simply by integrating the clothes of original sin into his own music movement of sound of heart. In the old times, in the Auschwitz, the clothes of original sin would change to a new host every time the "perishing praise" was played. Every black musician who had become its new host could reach the level of Scepter Musician. The clothes of original sin had a strong simulation ability, and with the help of it, Ye Qingxuan managed to turn it into an exoskeleton that looked exactly like the gospel armor. Thus, he no longer needed to worry about lacking strength. Ye Qingxuan''s Aether sensing had grown extremely powerful. When he was transforming the clothes of original sin, he found out how he could become a Master. There was a big chance that he would reach the level of Master in less than a month. While half a month earlier, he just reached the Resonating level! This has never happened before. If anyone knew about this, I would definitely be caught by people from different schools, then I would probably be cut to pieces and observed under a microscope. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan sighed. I received so much from Abraham when he died. All his knowledge, his experience, his interpretation of the Way of Deciphering, as well as all the music theories he had mastered as a Catastrophe Musicianthey were all transferred to me via the perception thread. Because Abraham had been sealed by the Aether, he could never reach the level of Master. Day after day, he worked so hard, and he finally reached to a level that few people could reach. He had been waiting for this for decades, but he gave everything he had to me "How shameless I am!" Ye Qingxuan cursed and forced himself to stop thinking about Abraham. Ye Qingxuan realized that inside his body, the music movement of sound of heart had grown very powerful, and soon it was going to upgrade and become a real music movement of Fate. Moreover, there were three cores in his music movement of sound of heart. The "seal of moonlight" of Ye Lanzhou, the "stone of sage" of Auschwitz, and the "Catastrophe Resonation" of Abraham. He felt like there were three hearts in his body, and the three music movements were constantly resonating with each other in three different Aether waves. If Ye Qingxuan managed to combine the three music movements into one and made it his own sound of heart, he would become a Master and reach the highest level a Master could reach. However, to reach this level, there was one more step, which had been bothering him very much. He needed to intensify all three cores to the same degree. Compared to the seal of moonlight that combined with the Heaven Ladder, and the stone of sage that combined with the sub-originator, the Catastrophe Resonation was not intact. This was not due to the neglect of Abraham, rather it was because of the problems of the music movement itself. The Catastrophe Resonation would only work when resonating with a catastrophe. The reason that Abraham was so powerful was partly due to the compatibility of his own personality with the "Silver Tide." However, Ye Qingxuan was not the same person as Abraham. Although he knew the music movement that could resonate with the "Silver Tide," he did not dare to play it. He was afraid that once he played it, he would be assimilated by the Catastrophe and simply become a "phenomenon"a pool of moving hydrargyrum. I''d better not play that music movement. Since Ye Qingxuan was different from Abraham, he was afraid that if he did play that music movement like Abraham did, he would only cause trouble for himself. Then, which Catastrophe should I resonate with? Ye Qingxuan was completely lost. Among the catastrophes, every one of them had different characteristics and disturbing aspects as well. Ye Qingxuan could not find any catastrophe that suited him. After excluding all the weak ones, Ye Qingxuan drew closer to the catastrophe that suited him among the top-class catastrophes: the Three Pillar God, the Three Wise Men, the Eight Phenomena I think I should exclude the Eight Phenomena. Although they are really powerful and destructive, if I resonate with them, I shall lose all my sanity. Among the Three Wise Man, the God of the Immortals had not been seen by anyone for many years; Nibelungenlied had been sealed by the Church; and Boss, who Ye Qingxuan was most familiar with, had basically become a useless man after coming back from Auschwitz. He could not even be called a catastrophe. As for the Three Pillar God, the Holy Ax never responded to anyone''s summoning, and the mortal could only prove its existence via the music theory of the musicians of the Seven Systems. Throughout history, only three men had been aided by it, and they were the Kings of the Musicians: Blue, Red, and Yellow. Ye Qingxuan knew he was clearly not as strong as the three Kings of the Musicians, and thus could never be aided by the Holy Ax. How about Hyakume? Not possible. As for Quiet Moon, well, not impossible either. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan could not help laughing. He shook his head and stopped trying to find a suitable catastrophe. The Quiet Moon stood for extreme balance and punishment, and was even crueler than Hyakume and the Holy Ax. Throughout history, many people who dared to resonate with the music theory of the Quiet Moon had been eradicated by its power. Resonating with the Quiet Moon was playing with fire. For example, Lola had decided to finish her life and dedicated herself to the Quiet Moon. She went through many hardships and managed to survive after finishing her transition. However, she would endure extreme pain as long as she was still breathing. After she died, she would become a part of the music theory of the Quiet Moon and never be free of the Quiet Moon. Thinking of this, Ye Qingxuan felt headache coming on. At the same time, the door behind him opened and Lola walked in. After extracting much blood, Lola''s face finally grew a bit rosy and looked like a living person''s face. Behind her stood Samuel and all his disciples. They all looked very compliant and serious; clearly, Lola had successfully reshaped their personalities. "All done?" Ye Qingxuan stood up and said, "We should leave here immediately. On the ground, Hyakume is going to declare a war with the people of the Sacred City. It is too dangerous, and I have decided that I will never get involved in this fight." Hearing his words and seeing his anxiety, Lola did not feel relieved at all. "What is wrong?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Lola was silent for a while, then she sighed. "Ye Qingxuan, I just felt the Aether wave of my teacher I think he is also in the Sacred City." "..." Ye Qingxuan was shocked. Lola''s teacher was actually Ye Qingxuan''s father, Ye Lanzhou. Ye Lanzhou? Are you f*cking kidding me? Ye Lanzhou had not shown himself for many years, and Ye Qingxuan had already accepted this fact and pretended to believe that he had been hiding someplace where no one could find him. After all these years, Ye Qingxuan had given up the hope of finding him, and kept telling himself that his father had already died. Ye Qingxuan thought he had already gotten over this business, but when he heard that Ye Lanzhou was still alive, his heart began to beat rather fast. He wanted to meet his father, which was perfectly fine and reasonable. But this mere idea also annoyed him very much. He was silent. After a long while, he lowered his head and sighed. "Are you sure?" Lola nodded. "Fine" Ye Qingxuan massaged his face and took a deep breath and said, "Give me my Aether ball." Lola handed him his Aether ball. Then Ye Qingxuan turned around and began to walk in another direction. There was a huge instrument of harmonious melody in the Sforza family''s underground palace. It was the foundation of this region, and secretly connected with many other countries. Ye Qingxuan put his Aether ball into this instrument and began to make connection. After a while, someone replied. "Hello?" a man said in a hoarse voice. "Naberius, this is Ye Qingxuan." "Ye Qingxuan? You managed to get out of the underground palace? I see that you are connecting with me via the line that belongs to the Sforza family Are you trying to ask me to do some dirty work, or be your scapegoat again?" Suddenly, Naberius''s voice became very high-pitched and he screamed, "I won''t do it! I will never do it! By the way, what have you done to get Hyakume involved in this? Anyway, it is none of my business, I am currently moving to a new place, I have got no time to" Ye Qingxuan laughed and said, "You are so afraid of Hyakume?" "Yes! And so what? A decent and powerful man like you isn''t afraid of Hyakume, are you? I don''t care what are you intend to do, just leave me out of it. I am gonna cut off the connection now." Ye Qingxuan said, "I want to join your team." "Nonsense." Naberius laughed. "I heard that you even rejected Ludovic''s offer, and he is much more powerful than I am." "So you knew it already?" "Of course," Naberius said. "I know many things, but I do not think there is any need to for me to tell everything I know to someone else." "Then let''s get back to business," Ye Qingxuan said. "Give me what I want, and when I succeed, I will lend you the clothes of original sin, so you can have a good look at it." Ye Qingxuan then told Naberius what he wanted. Naberius didn''t reply, and Ye Qingxuan could hear screaming and yelling from Naberius''s side. After a long while, Naberius said in a very hoarse voice, "Ye Qingxuan, my dear friend. I know you are a genius and you may be even stronger than me. But I have to tell you that the way you have chosen won''t work." "It won''t work?" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan laughed and said, "I like a way that won''t work." 497 Prologue The moment Ye Qingxuan walked out of the underground palace, he almost suffocated. In the chaotic streets, the crowds were screaming. The sun alternated between strong and weak. Sometimes it even looked within reach. One side of Ye Qingxuan was dazzling and warm like he was walking under the sun, but the other side was so cold that his marrow was nearly frozen. Under the sunlight, the shadows danced abnormally like living things. The twilight sky became like a pot of boiling molten iron, spilling turbulently. Cracks appeared in ancient buildings, and the boom of something collapsing came from the depths of the earth. The color of reality peeled off and faded under the erosion of the Aether waves. The steel city was gradually being corrupted into a magic world. The roaring bells were deafening, ringing one after another. The enormous enchantment protected the foundation of the city and fought against the erosion of the Aether waves, trying to save the city from falling apart. Thousands of towers spouted blazing lights and opened the dancing darkness, illuminating the world. In this twilight where all the lights were rapidly dying, the Sacred City glowed as if it was on fire and red-hot cracks were spreading everywhere. The power of the abyss blew out, impacting the Sacred City. The first to be affected there were the human senses. People who were more sensitive had already peeked into the large shadow emerging in the sky. Under the weight of countless pairs of cold eyes, their will was tortured and brought to the brink of collapse. Insensitive people were unaware of that, so they just screamed and ran away when they saw others suddenly fall to the ground, vomit blood, and go insane. They were like rats that didn''t know they were in a hot iron house. As soon as the celebration of the Sacred City was over, the funeral started in a hurry. The city had already became the center of the battlefield. A scorching fohn swept through, a sign of a tragic war to come. Musicians with strong competencies like Ye Qingxuan would be fine under such circumstances. In the chaos, many musicians suddenly fell to the ground and died on the spot with their five sense organs oozing blood and their heart sounds having collapsed. Even Ye Qingxuan felt the pressure of suffocation at the moment. Without the protection of the clothes of original sin, he would have been close to death, losing 40% of his fighting force. Now the enchantment of the Sacred City was running at full capacity, so that the order of the human world could be maintained and the city wouldn''t devolve into a dark world. The Physical World seemed to be chaotic, but had no other anomalies. But in the deepest part of the Aether World, the vast abyss had already collided with the Sacred City, bursting out endless turbulence. The Sacred City glowed with endless flames. The abyss trembled, shaking off a layer of dustthat was the seed of the demon. The combat between the two giants affected the whole Aether World. Under the impact of the terrible waves, even the far-reaching Scepter Light was like a candle flickering in the wind. Numerous mysterious places fell apart. It was the ants that suffered first in the combat between the giants. Countless oddities in the Aether World panicked and scattered, fleeing to the rest of the world before the arrival of the next waves of terror. The Aether World was in such chaos. Beneath the sea of Aether was brewing turbulence. When the shock of terror spread through the nine layers of the Aether Sea to the physical world, it almost shattered the nearest Sacred City. The turbulent music theory and the terrible changes, for musicians, were like a storm and a tsunami mixed together. The drastic changes in the outside world caused imbalances of the music theory inside human bodies, with disastrous consequences. The orientals called this phenomenon the "dead wind." Almost all the musicians with weak foundations and unreasonable construction of music theory inside their bodies were affected more or less, with the light symptom of feeling nauseous and the severe of vomiting blood. As for the musicians who hadn''t stabilized their music theory after taking precious pharmaceuticals to gain higher levels, or those who had long been controlling serious injuries from their early years, some suffered from the Aether riots inside their bodies, some burned themselves to death, and some went into shock because the Aether density in their blood soared and influenced their hearts and brains. At this moment, the constant changes of Aether density in the Sacred City exploded numerous Aether balls for measuring. Just like being thrown into the eye of wind, the Aether density sometimes became as harmless as that of the White Area, and sometimes soared to a terrible degree that even the Black Area couldn''t be compared with. For musicians, the Sacred City had instantly become a forbidden place with extreme horrors in the World of Dark or the ruins after catastrophe. It wouldn''t be any better for the ordinary people. At this moment, the Sacred City had turned into a huge cauldron for alchemists to mix their drugs. Even if it was enveloped in enchantment, the fierce reactions could still be carried out without a break. The Aether World overlapped the Physical World in the areas where the alchemy matrix gathered, forming a series of "flooding outlets" through which the chaotic aftermath blew out. Innumerable oddities and ethereal shadows flew through the air. Some were harmless, but the others were the demons that rose from the abyss. Human beings would be drawn into an empty shell in a twinkle, with no way to resist at all when they encountered those demons. Even priests dressed in robes lost their protection from God and were slaughtered mercilessly. The young friars who went everywhere to preach the Word struggled and fled . Then invisible things bit their heads off. Blood splattered. Fell on Ye Qingxuan''s boots. When Ye Qingxuan walked onto the ground, the first thing he saw was such a chaotic scene. "Help! Help!" A young priest fell to the ground, screamed and trembled in confusion. When he saw Ye Qingxuan, he saw him as a chance to save his life, and pleaded, "Help me, gentleman! Please help me! I will repay you! I swear!" Ye Qingxuan hesitated and sighed. "This is really ... terrible." After saying that, he reached out and pointed at the priest at a distance. A faint moonlight stretched out from his fingertips and pierced the priest between his eyebrows. Just like a pot of boiling water, the scene in front of him suddenly twisted with strange screams and ear-piercing cries. Viscous blood splattered everywhere. The fierce turbulence of music theory left the demons nowhere to hide. Around the young priest, a dozen demons were "pushed out" of the air with the all-pervasive fire of moonlight burning on their bodies. They were burnt into ashes before landing. Ashes mixed with blood and became black mud. Even behind the priest''s head, an eyeball-shaped demon fell down and burst into a mass of stenchy slurry. Although the Sword of Moonlight ran through his head, the young priest was still safe, without even a scratch. He sat dully in a pool of blood and didn''t know what happened. Lola saw the cowardly reaction of the young priest and couldn''t help but mock Ye Qingxuan. "This coward was frightened silly. What''s the point of saving him?" When the young priest heard Lola''s voice, he looked over and couldn''t help staring at her sharp ears and the tiger teeth protruding slightly between her lips. As the young priest perceived the identity of Lola and the servants behind her, his face suddenly became pale and his teeth trembled. "Hydra, hydra, hydrarg..." Before the priest spoke the complete name of Hydrargyrum, Ye Qingxuan pressed his finger to the priest''s forehead to freeze his consciousness and erase his memory of Lola. "I should still hide in the Underground Palace for now." Lola touched her sharp ear and sighed. "Anyway, you have the Heaven Ladder, and I can support you at any time." However, Ye Qingxuan still felt the implied meaning through Lola''s flat tone. He looked into her eyes and asked after a moment of silence, "You don''t want any troubles, or... don''t want to meet Ye Lanzhou?" Lola looked downwards and brushed her bangs, then smiled softly and said, "I said goodbye to him more than a decade ago, and it''s as if he has been dead for years. If we meet each other now, we will both feel awkward." "Are you sure about that?" "It doesn''t matter." Lola turned around with no more hesitation and walked back to the underground palace with her servants. "If he is still alive, please tell him that I didn''t disappoint him." She was silent for a second. "I''m going to give him a sound beating." Ye Qingxuan shouted to her back, "If you don''t come, I''ll take your share and beat him until he cries." Lola froze, then turned back to see his serious look and smiled. It was like a sudden release from a cage. She smiled with a sense of relief. "Well then, please!" Her final words came with the wind. The door was closed. "Just leave it to me." Ye Qingxuan clenched his fist and spoke to himself. In front of him, the young priest who had lost his mettle finally recovered. Seeing Ye Qingxuan, who had saved his life, he suddenly recalled what had happened and broke down, crying out loud on the ground. "Hey, don''t cry!" Ye Qingxuan kicked him impatiently and said coldly, "Tell me your name, age, gender, where you came from, where to go." "NorCNora, 22..." The young man stammered his name, and then stammered about his hometown, birthplace, family background, graduation school, and even his internship department. Finally, Ye Qingxuan interrupted impatiently, "You said that you would repay me, right?" At the sight of Ye Qingxuan''s fierce and arrogant expression, Nora was shocked and nodded self-consciously. "Then take me to the Central Temple." Ye Qingxuan waved to the young priest. "Don''t tell me that you don''t know the way." The Central Temple was another place of extreme danger, so Nora''s face instantly became pale after hearing that. "Don''t go, sir! The Central Temple is out of control! I just escaped from there! There are demons everywhere!" "Out of control?" Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky: "Well, that explains why." The dying enchantment in the sky looked like broken glass, and it struggled to resist the powerful and endless darkness. The situation had become so dangerous in a short period of time, which shouldn''t have happened, let alone the appearance of the "flooding outlet" inside the Sacred City. Even the most powerful tool would become rigid and stiff when it lost the control of its operators. It could defend itself in the face of other enemies, but when it came to the pressure of the abyss, it was not strong enough to win. At that moment, the entire sky lost its color and turned dark. At first glance, there was only empty and lifeless darkness. The turbulence of the Aether World continued. Compared to the Sacred City and Hyakume, Ye Qingxuan was too weak. He couldn''t even see through the situation, for he had already fallen into it. Without doubt, the situation had already become very terrible. The Sacred City, at this moment, was in the overlapped area of the Physical World and the Aether World. The world in this area was gradually losing light. It was bad. Very bad. "Don''t be silly, let''s go." He kicked Nora again. "We have no time to waste." "Are we still going to the Central Temple?" Nora cried with no tears and retorted reluctantly, "What can we do there? " Nora was so terrified that he couldn''t even get up from the ground. Ye Qingxuan looked at him and couldn''t help but sigh. Then he pulled on Nora''s back collar and went forward. "Idiot! We are going to make this world a little brighter!" 498 The Executioner in the Sacred City The deeper they went, the more mutated the world around them became, and the fewer people they could see. Gone was the prosperous community or the bustling market; around them, everything was plated with a layer of peculiar color. In this corner, it was full of blood; in that corner, it looked very old and shabby. There were even people dancing and singing in some corners, and some heavy drinkers were yelling and shouting in an eccentric pub. No matter where they went, it all looked amazingly magnificent. A musician could create both a legend and a miracle. There were too many marks about "history" and "legend" left in this place. Since the rule of the Physical World had been broken and gone out of control, the scenes of the past showed up again. These scenes showed automatically without a musician''s command. The whole city had become an enormous maze. Take one more step, and you might walk into a totally different world. Many illusions appeared in front of Ye Qingxuan and Nora. Accompanied by sad singing, countless phantasms of friars who were holding the holy emblem in their hands walked out from the void. They solemnly walked into the graveyard while supporting an iron coffin. This incident happened almost six years ago when Schumann, a holy believer, was buried. The next minute, numerous dancers in masks and colorful clothes appeared in the street. They were yelling and shouting with excitement. Among them, there were strong and tall men, enchanting female dancers, and topless singers. They danced very enthusiastically and asked the pedestrians to join them in their parade. This incident was actually the "Carnival Day," held in the Sacred City almost one hundred and ninety years ago. The next minute, the whole world began to shake, and the shadow of the Dragon of Catastrophe covered the sky. At the same time, the Rain of Ruin poured down. This Dragon of Catastrophe was actually the Red Dragon of Doomsday that had been sealed by the Pope of the third generation. Seeing the illusion, Nora was very frightened. While he walked through the streets, his whole body shook. He was constantly attracted by the phantasms or the illusions around him, and he had to try very hard to suppress the urge to join them. "Be careful! This is the sixth time!" Ye Qingxuan said loudly. "Focus on your job and lead the way! You know you will die if you join them. Well, if this is what you really want, I will give you a good string so you can hang yourself and join them." Hearing this, Nora was stunned. He held his holy emblem in his hand and calmed himself down. To avoid the illusions and phantasms, he led Ye Qingxuan on a more complex route. While they walked, Nora could not help peeking at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan turned around and asked, "What''s wrong? Are there stains on my back?" "No! No!" Nora''s shoulder trembled and he hurriedly stopped looking. Still, he could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked, "Sir, who on earth are you?" For him, Ye Qingxuan was more of a "bad savior" than a "good savior." No matter whether Ye Qingxuan was good or bad, he had saved Nora many times, and Nora was very curious about his true identity. Ye Qingxuan coldly replied, "I am a musician." "..." Nora was speechless. No sh*t! I know you are a musician! Nora could tell that Ye Qingxuan was not an ordinary musician, since an ordinary musician would already have been frightened to death by all these illusions and phantasms. Because Ye Qingxuan had saved his life many times, Nora started to feel very safe when staying with Ye Qingxuan. Besides, his admiration towards Ye Qingxuan was getting stronger and stronger. This guy looks so young, but he is so powerful. Maybe he was a master who has secluded himself from this world for almost a hundred years. Nora forced out a smile and said, "You also arrived at the Sacred City just a few days ago?" "What makes you think so?" Ye Qingxuan asked coldly. At the same time, he waved his hand, and suddenly more than ten burning crosses fell down to the dark alleys from the sky and burnt the devils into ashes. Nora heard the screaming sound of those devils and was so frightened that his face turned pale. He jabbered, "I, I would think a powerful man like you would definitely become very famous in this city." "You really think so?" Ye Qingxuan laughed and asked, "Tell me, are there any famous people in this city?" Hearing this, Nora began to think very hard on this. Soon, he said, "A few days ago, the School of the Secret Keeper of the College of Rock and Iron published a ''silver name list.'' Have you read it?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. When the name list was published, he was still imprisoned and did not even have the opportunity to read a newspaper. With the help of "beacon" and their information network, the School of the Secret Keeper would evaluate almost every living musician in the world and select the strongest and most promising musicians. Normally, the name list had three papers, which were named "Black Gold,""Silver," and "White Iron" respectively. Throughout history, the names had never changed. On the name list of Black Gold were the names of the scepters of each country, the holy followers in the Sacred City, and the three kings on the top. On the name list of Silver were the names of the Masters of each country and the musicians of the new generation who were going to become Masters in the near future. Unlike the name list of Black Gold, the name list of Silver changed constantly. Sometimes, it changed every few months; sometimes it changed every three days; and sometimes, it would even change three or four times in a single day. Every famous musician in this world had been listed on the name list of Silver. As for the name list of White Iron, it was simply a name list of good musicians. Although it had more than one thousand pages, not every good musician''s name had been listed on it. Most of the time, this name list was used as a reference to evaluate the achievement of teaching by each college and school. Since there were hundreds of thousands of good musicians'' names on it, even a person with broad education and a retentive memory could not remember all of the names. "It is such a pity that you have not read it yet. By the way, thanks to the chaotic situation in the Sacred City, many talented musicians have earned their reputation by keeping this city in order. Besides, the names of the strong musicians of the new generation have also been listed." "For example, Mr. Rommel of Silence Governance, Mr. Alfonso, or the ''Eternal Nightmare'' who was the third prince of the Kingdom of Asgard, the immortal Angelina, Kaspar Hauser, or the ''Fierce Humanoid Beast,'' who was the strongest musician of scepter, Astrid, or the ''Fireman'' of the Door of Ruin, and her cousin Samuel who died in the Auschwitz" "Finished?" Ye Qingxuan said. Nora thought for a while and said, "Actually, there is one more guy who is called the ''Executioner.'' His name was in fact listed on the name list of Silver. But since he was involved in the assassination of the Pope, so his name was wiped out." "''Executioner''?" Upon hearing this, Ye Qingxuan had a strange feeling but he could not tell why. "Yes, the ''Executioner in the Sacred City,'' Ye Qingxuan," Nora replied. Bang! Suddenly, Nora heard a huge sound from behind his back. He turned around and saw Ye Qingxuan standing up from the ground. He was stunned and asked, "What happened, sir?" "Nothing." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and brushed the dust off his clothes. "I was just amazed by what you said just now, and somehow lost my balance and fell onto the ground." "I see." Nora nodded. The Executioner in the Sacred City? Seriously? Am I so notorious that people in this city even call me an executioner? "It is absolutely abhorrent!" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Maybe I have become as notorious as a rat now. Ye Qingxuan shook his head and stopped thinking about it. Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan stopped walking. "What happened? Sir?" "Something is not right," Ye Qingxuan said and waved his hands. The moonlight perception threads appeared on the tips of his fingers and began to extend forward. At the same time, Ye Qingxuan''s facial expression grew strange. This had happened more than once during this journey. Seeing Ye Qingxuan''s facial expression, Nora could not help asking, "Could it be another illusion this time?" "No!" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "This time, it is the Holy Temple Knight Group." Bang! Bang! Bang! The earth began to shake. The steel and iron inserted into wall had gotten twisted, and on the tip of the steel and iron, blood had dried. Outside the door, devils were screaming. "This is a trap! This is a trap!" The dying knight tightly pulled Vasco''s collar and shouted, "Don''t you understand? They lured us here so they could kill us all! Run! Run!" He was almost begging, "You should leave now, otherwise" Bang! Outside the church, there was something pounding at the iron door like crazy. The sound of the collision of steel and iron was very piercing. The dust on the door fell into the pool of blood. The torch of hydrargyrum on the shoulder pauldron of the knight''s armor was shining in a cold light, lighting up the dried corpses that had been nailed to the wall. Every ounce of liquid in the priests had dried up, and their bodies had been torn. They trembled from time to time with the knocking on the wall. On the platform, the officiant''s head had been penetrated by a long rusty spear. It was looking at the Knights of the Holy Temple and smiling at them. Half an hour earlier, the Sacred City had turned chaotic. The whole city had not changed into the wartime state, even the defensive line of Armageddon had not been set up. As soon as the sound of Hyakume began to echo in the air, the two groups of knights who were camping inside the Sacred City were attacked. After they made their way out, they received the SOS from their temporary headquarters. However, when they arrived at the temporary headquarters, they were shocked by the scene. Nobody was in the temporary headquarters, and the roof and walls were covered with dried corpses. This was a trap! Now the knights of holy temple had been trapped in this church. The stimulant had lost its effect, and the dying knight, half of whose body had been cut through, finally lowered his head and stopped breathing. Vasco reached out his hand and helped him close his eyes. "May your soul rest peace in heaven and never feel lonely." Vasco sighed. 499 Exusiai 1 "Now you are at the highest rank among us," Quentin said, standing beside Vasco with a tower shield on his back. "Make a decision, Aquilifer! To break through or to defend?" "How many people do we have?" Vasco asked wearily. "Thirty-one," Quentin replied. "Six of them are seriously injured. We have only seventeen blade dancers, two shooters, four armored knights, and one scout. The rest are unarmored retainers..." "Is there any news?" Vasco raised his voice and shouted huskily. The retainer standing beside the aether communication box looked up with a gloomy face and said, "Three minutes ago, the headquarters of the Praetorian Cohort announced through global broadcast that the Sacred City had been isolated. So there is no news outside the city. Now, we are probably the only squad of Knights Templar in the Sacred City. " "Oh sh*t." Vasco said. Boom! The walls thundered and cracked. Through the cracks, dozens of fuzzy things could be seen crashing into the church. The Knights of Death. They were the abyss demons most rarely mass-produced. Cultivated as a heavy weapon of destruction, each of them was strong enough to compete with an armored knight. Now, the heartrending flute reverberated, stinging people''s eardrums and urging the Knights of Death to attack the last church. "Is there any good news for me before I give the order?" Vasco looked at his quartermaster. "Really, anything." After a moment of silence, Quentin leaned to one side and said, "When our squad broke through, we brought this thing out of the weapon and equipment database... I thought it might come in handy for someone." Behind him, several machinist retainers put down the giant bags from their back. The giant bags hit the ground, echoing dully like iron stones. One of the bags tore and a heavy helmet covered with scratches rolled out, revealing a cold and vicious lion visor. "Gospel armor?" Vasco was shocked for a long while and smiled sturdily. "What a coincidence! The size suits me well." He bowed his head, bent down, and took off his belt. The steel armor attached to his body was removed automatically and his upper body was exposed. Surgical stitches still could be seen on his upper body. The unhealed wounds, after a long time of sultriness and friction, had become red and inflamed, twisted with raised stitches. However, his spine and arms showed several metal joints that were embedded in the flesh. The thumb-size joints had not been yet truly integrated with him, being covered with dried blood. "Put the armor on me." He nodded to the machinists and smiled with self-mockery. "Am I the first one who put on the gospel armor just after the implantation surgery?" Quentin hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and nodded. Then the machinists quickly went into action, lifting the armor that was too heavy and large for a human and placing it on Vasco. Although there were no dressing racks specifically designed for assembly, their actions were as fast as ever. Vasco was soon covered with the steel armor as if he had walked into his coffin ahead of time. Under the visor, only the heavy wheezing reverberated. "This is the medium-sized armor of the exusiai level, equipped with the Halberd of Turbulence and Thermal Epee. Its performance is 40 times better that of Eagle the Shepherd, and so is the pressure." Quentin quickly warned, "There is no support from the enchantment of the Sacred City. Without army musicians, the power in the Aether Furnace is only enough for you to act minimally for ten minutes. Remember, don''t launch the Core of Glory! Your surgery has just been done, and you will be burnt into ashes with no buffer plug implanted." "I know." Vasco nodded under the visor and said with a muffled voice, "The armored knights will follow me when we break through. The blade dancers are responsible for protecting the machinists... Don''t drop your teammates, Quentin, don''t drop any of them." He paused and whispered, "Otherwise my sacrifice has no value." "I swear." Quentin nodded. "Then what are you waiting for?" "I''m sorry, only number eight." Quentin took the syringe from the adjutant, injected it slowly into a blood vessel, and said, "In addition to the painkillers, three times more epinephrine is added. Rest assured, you will not suffer." "Well done." Vasco laughed. "Launch it!" Several machinists glanced at each other and pulled out the brake valves on the armor at the same time. In the explosion, hot steam sprayed out from the joints of the valves, making their welding masks red and hot. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The bolts on the gospel armor''s back were torqued in order. The fine nerve probes popped out of the armor bones and pierced into Vasco''s spinal column. Almost immediately, the hubs rotated, and the last six control valves were screwed into the joints on his hands and back. Iron and human were integrated into one. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh...!" In silence, a terrible roar burst out of the armor, and the air shuddered like a monster swallowing and spitting sulfur and flames. In the flying dust, the huge gospel armor took a step forward, and the earth roared. Vasco was screaming. The voice was no longer human, like steel rubbing, with a trembling reverberation. Just like the start of an oven, the heat spread. The heat flow, which was enough to burn people to ashes, centered on the Aether Furnace on the back of the gospel armor, ran above the armor, and finally flew into Vasco''s body. If he couldn''t bear this inhuman power, then he would be completely turned to ashes. If he couldn''t resist such suffering, he would be driven mad by this maniacal force. He wouldn''t be able to tell the enemy and himself apart, so everything, including himself, would be completely reduced to ashes. In the silence, there was only the hissing in Vasco''s throat, like the terrible high-pitched screaming of an iron eagle. With the iron and steel rubbing against each other, the steel giant stepped forward and pulled the three meter high steel flag from the ground. Above the scorched flag stood the Bronze Eagle spreading its wings. Vasco pushed it into the sky, as if it were about to fly. "...The eagle flag is here!" the steel giant cried. "Everyone prepare" The voice was thunderous and reverberated in the gloomy and shattered church. "to break through with me!" Then, the sound of drawing swords rang endlessly. "Fight till death!" The Knights Templar roared, clasped their swords, and assembled again. Boom! boom! boom! On the back of the gospel armor, three alloy shunts were turned on at the same time and spewed hot blue-white flames. The noise in the air burst like a thunderstorm. As Vasco moved on, a hurricane set off from the church. In an instant, he broke through the iron wall of a spent force, and rushed into the innumerable crowds of demons outside the door. It was as if the sharp blade of God fell from heaven. Wherever it reached, everything was cut open in a crisp and clear way. The straight cutting line extended forward, smeared with misery and blood. Dragons of earth, white spiders those ferocious demons were even weaker than dust for the steel giant. They were brutally crushed and smashed. The smelly blood splashed on the armor, spread in the hurricane and then evaporated, letting off the smell of death. Among the demons, a giant stitched monster was enraged. Its massive body, weighing a few tons, stepped forward and let out an earth-shaking roar. Rawr! Vasco growled. The over two meters high steel armor crushed the slate and leaped up. The Eagle Flag in his hand shook. The Bronze Eagle cried. The iron wings on the flag cut through the air and sent out red lights as if they were breaking off. The next moment, the Iron Eagle pounced down. The Eagle Flag was out of hand! Boom! The huge blister was broken. The smelly liquid splashed on the gospel armor and creaked, but it could not penetrate the surface of the gold coating. Just like being hit by a massive hammer that fell from the sky, the deformed head of the stitched monster disintegrated in an instant. From the top down, the sharp end of the flag pierced through the giant body, cutting a bloody hole in the center of it, the blood pouring deep into the land. The head of the flag was still shaking. The fervent Iron Eagle was dyed with blood, presenting a heartrending redness. Boom! Vasco stepped over the corpse of the stitched monster, landed on the ground, and drew the Halberd of Turbulence and the Thermal Epee from his back. The heavy halberd, more than two meters long, looked like a short halberd in the hand of the steel giant. The Thermal Epee was as wide as a door, glowing with fervent flames. Although there was no "sprinkler" for regional destruction, nor a crossbow that was large enough to shoot a few kilometers away, Vasco could still reverse gravity, fly up into the sky, and display the power of a demigod without the need to launch the Core of Glory. At this moment, he had already become a war machine. Those who were covered by steel became steel. People who held power in their hands made the power. Never hesitate, even if the steel was incinerated by the power! "Ahhhhhh!!!" Under the lion visor, Vasco roared and held up his weapons. He directly faced the corps rushing forward without holding back. The Halberd of Turbulence split a demon that was more than three meters tall into two parts with a blast of wind. Even though the demon was wearing armor, even though it was powerful. Immediately afterwards, the Thermal Epee swept through, smashing everything that dared to come close and burning it into ashes. Among the chaotic crowds of frenetic demons, the dark musicians frowned through the dark cracks. Gospel armor... It was an unexpected factor. When he laid this trap, he had never thought there would be someone who had done the implantation among the Knights Templar stationed in the Sacred City, and that someone would happen to take the armor out of the armory when they broke through. Even if it was old-fashioned, it still could bring tremendous power to bear. Although the demons were fierce and large in number, it was still impossible for them to conquer the gospel armor. The gospel armor was the top technology of mechanical engineering in the church, and regarded as the most powerful technology by the Knights Templar. It could eradicate the crowds of demons and get all their people out without launching the Core of Glory. "Such a trouble." The snakificated black musician whispered, "A big trouble." He put down the flute on his lips, reached out his hand, and broke off the bone of his little finger. With a crispy sound, the music movement stored in advance was released. The Solemn Evening Prayers of Confessors! It was the anthem dedicated to the Hyakume by the black musicians. The core spirituality of it was the urge and the voracity to embrace darkness. The sacred, mournful anthem rang, absorbing the power of the Hyakume. In mid-air, a vague shadow emerged. It was the indifferent glance that the Hyakume cast from the abyss. In a flash, the earth cracked and the church collapsed. The gravitational force of terror roared ten times, falling from the sky and instantly pressing the gospel armor on the ground. Then, the broken slate completely collapsed. The entire ground quickly desertified and the sand stirred and flew like waves. The darkness boiled and adhered to the sand, forming a huge whirlpool, pulling the gospel armor into the deepest part of the music movement in order to seal it in the core for good! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Loud noises came continuously, followed by furious roars. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" The heavy giant suddenly unlatched his buckles. The add-on armor covering the core continued to separate from the gospel armor. The gospel armor was lightened to less than one-third of its original weight in an instant. In the sand whirlpool, a fiery glow lit under the pressure of gravity. "Oh sh*t..." Quentin pressed himself to the ground. With no buffer pump, Vasco launched the Core of Glory, abandoned the heavy weapons that were used frequently on the battlefield, but awakened the core circuit inside the armor. And the real power! 500 Angel II Bang! Bang! Bang! A burning halo appeared behind Vasco. It was so bright, and it looked just like an iron and steel-made gear that swirled and rubbed against the air, creating numerous sparkles. The gospel armor had grown hundreds of times heavier, and even so, it was gradually rising up from the gravel whirlpool. Soon it stopped and floated above the whirlpool. The snakificated musician frowned and played the flute. The sound of chanting prayer and psalms got louder and louder. The energy created from the prayers gathered around the gospel armor and enhanced it. Vasco was trapped by the gravity of the armor and the seal of gravel, like prey caught by a huge hungry beast. "Run!" Vasco shouted. "Quentin! Run!" A ball of fire was burning inside the armor, and the armor had turned red from the high heat and became as bright as the shining sun. The ball of fire was actually Vasco; he was burning. Inside his body, the Aether that had grown hundreds of times denser began to liquify. The liquid started to flow all over his body. "I swear I will defeat the enemy even if I lose my life!" Vasco shouted. His voice was as loud as the banging sound of iron and steel. Six streams of flame flew out from the splitter. Vasco abandoned his Halberd of Turbulence and held tightly to the pe in his hands. On the surface of the pe, countless burning-hot streams of light rose up and formed a flame blade more than ten meters long. At that moment, Vasco became an angel guarding the Door of Heaven. The angel stood for the anger of the God and threw the sword of flame towards the enemy. Vasco''s blood now became the coolant, and his internal organs turned into an Aether stove. His body was going to explode, and his consciousness broke itself from the body and possessed the armor. The next moment, Vasco wielded the sword of flame towards the armor and the gravel whirlpool. Both the gravity and the seal of gravel were destroyed by the blade of flame. At the same time, the flame also cleared a path through the devils, killing and burning them to ashes. Vasco was trapped by the gravity and the seal of gravel, and his gospel armor was already broken, not to mention that both of his body and armor were being heavily squeezed by an invisible force. He still managed to clear a path for Quentin. Out from nowhere, someone sighed. The snakificated musician dropped his scepter onto the ground. A white moon slowly rose up from the horizon, moving across the sky, and stopped in the middle of the sky. The moonlight was so pure, gentle, and mild. Apart from the snakificated musician, all the other devils stood still on the ground. The snakificated musician was not affected by this illusion and screamed. All the music movements that came from the abyss were activated. The musical instrument in his hand suddenly broke. The next minute, countless moonlight perception threads penetrated his body and connected with the music theory inside his body. A seed was planted in his body That seed was a ball of fire. This was all Ye Qingxuan''s doing. He played the "above the burning ashes," a music movement that was once played by Abraham. With the help of the moonlight, the purifying music theory contained in the fire was much enhanced. Soon, flames erupted from the snakificated musician''s nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. He began to run around and scream with pain. After a short while, his body collapsed. His bones became ashes, the last ounce of his blood evaporated, and what was left on the ground was only a sack of skin. As for the surviving knights, what they saw was a rather different scene; with the moon rising up, all the devils vanished as soon as they were bathed in the moonlight. They also heard someone screaming, while a dark smoke rose up from the ashes and gradually dispersed. The survived knights were totally shocked by this scene. A young man with white hair walked towards them, without caring about the extremely high temperatures and the force field around him. He reached out his hands, and easily moved the light and lightning out of his way. Then he stopped in front of the burning armor and gently put his finger on its surface. "Don''t move, and I can save you." Inside the armor, Vasco almost lost his consciousness and still managed to hear Ye Qingxuan''s voice. The moonlight flew into the gospel armor like water, and in the blink of an eye, numerous perception threads appeared from nowhere. The threads began to adjust their frequency and rebuild Vasco''s music theory. Suddenly, a half-transparent assembly stand appeared from nowhere and shrouded the burning-hot gospel armor. Six perception threads that were embedded with the music theory of Heaven Ladder connected with the socket on the armor, and in this way, the barrier between Qingxuan Ye and the Alchemy Array was cleared. "Tell me the control code." The young man looked at Quentin. When the gospel armor was made, there was a "taking over negotiation" contained in the internal Alchemy Array. When necessary, someone could control the changes of the music theory of the armor from the outside. As long as there was a control code and an assembly stand, any engineer could change all the internal configuration of the gospel armor. "Holy Bible, Ezekiel, 18:6," Quentin said. Bang! A huge cloud of steam erupted out from the gospel armor; in fact, the steam was the gasified condensate. Still, the armor was burning-hot. If the configuration was incomplete, activating the Core of Glory equated to committing suicide. Earlier, Vasco almost managed to activate the core of glory With the help of the control code, Ye Qingxuan was able to get inside of the armor. Thanks to the way of deciphering, the huge and complex system was quickly organized, and countless music theories became ordered and spread out in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. The extremely complicated mechanical system beneath the armor also became very easy to understand and analyze. It was like someone who was trapped in an unknown dark world getting a detailed map of the world, and suddenly knowing all the topography and dangers in this world. While the moonlight perception thread was connecting with the Alchemy Array, Ye Qingxuan''s sense moved along with it. The music theory of Heaven Ladder began to extend and turned into Ye Qingxuan''s "hands," then the hands began to explore into the deepest part Formation world, flowing world, moving world, creating world Finally, Ye Qingxuan''s hands reached to the Core of Glory that was heavily protected by layers of black boxes. "The inside of this armor is just like a melting pot, I can not even imagine it is not equipped with a fluid director!" An engineer said to Quentin in a very low voice, "Officer, we have to find a specialized operation desk before we open this armor, otherwise, we will take Vasco''s last layer of shield, and he will burn to ashes." At this moment, the burning-hot air blew towards them. The other engineers were shocked and had no idea what they should do. Ye Qingxuan reached out his hands and tore the armor apart and pulled the Core of Glory out. Just a few minutes ago, the Core of Glory was about to explode. But when Ye Qingxuan held it in his hands, it changed to the silent mode. The infinitive energy gathered inside the core was leaking and then flew up to the sky. As soon as it was out of Ye Qingxuan''s control, it instantly exploded. The gospel armor quickly went back to its normal state, as if it had been fixed by more than ten engineers and musicians on the specialized emergency operation desk. The moonlight perception thread penetrated Vasco''s last layer of shield and shone upon his body. Then it began to repair his mind and helped him to collect his consciousness. Moreover, Vasco did not feel numb anymore. Earlier, whenever he breathed, his lungs would ache, as if he was chewing iron. Now that feeling also disappeared. The blood in his body began to flow and his fingers were flexible again, and even the array that had been implanted in his body was repaired. He felt very energetic, as if he had injected some sort of stimulant. He now felt extremely good! "What happened to me?!" Vasco was amazed. He could feel his body was still not in a very ideal state, but he could move at his own will now. "You know your body has not totally recovered yet." Ye Qingxuan pulled back his hands and said, "Since I am not a professional chorale doctor, so I can only ease your symptoms. Currently, your body relies solely on my music theory. You''d better find a good doctor and have emergency surgery within six hours." Then, Ye Qingxuan put the Core of Glory back into the gospel armor. The gospel armor was under great protection. When Ye Qingxuan touched this armor, he instantly realized that there were more than nine layers of protection arrays and self-destruction music movements. It seems that I can not decipher the Core of Glory now. In the past two minutes, Ye Qingxuan had already grasped almost ninety-nine percent of the technology information about the gospel armor, then he applied the technology to his own clothes of original sin. Although the clothes of original sin did not have such a power engine as the Core of Glory. After all, it was also a powerful destructive weapon that once belonged to the church. Besides, he also had the sub-originator. Ye Qingxuan could feel that the outer skeleton he made for himself had grown much stronger. If he wanted, he could disguise himself as a Knight Templar and no one would ever find him out. The surviving knights all looked at him respectfully. Ye Qingxuan felt very proud and said coldly, "Who is your commander?" "I am," Vasco said. He stared at Ye Qingxuan and frowned, "May I know who you are, sir? If you will excuse me, I would have to say that you look very similar to a reported criminal" Hearing this, Nora could feel something was not right. He immediately came to mediate and said, "You misunderstand us. I swear on my life that this gentleman" "Yes, you are right," Ye Qingxuan said. "I am Ye Qingxuan, the executioner and the murderer known by the people in the Sacred City." 501 Knights and Liars Bump! Nora was shocked, so he plopped down on the ground, looking back with glassy eyes. "Ye, Ye, Ye... Ye Qingxuan?!" Now no one cared about Nora''s life as a guarantee, and all the Knights Templar drew their swords against Ye Qingxuan. The surviving Templars were taking a battle stance again. "Calm down." Ye Qingxuan raised Nora back to his feet and moved him aside. "I know my identity sucks, and I understand how you are feeling now. But I think that what I did just now has already proved my good intentions. If you do not have any other tasks, I hope you can go with me to rescue the Central Temple. Perhaps it''s not too late. " "..." In the silence, Quentin was about to talk, but Vasco stopped him. The knight in the gospel armor took off his helmet and revealed a burned face. He bent down and stared at Ye Qingxuan. "I know you," he said. "Two months ago, I served under the command of the army chief, Bann. I met you in Auschwitz. You haven''t changed much since then." "I may have changed much, but you can''t see it." Ye Qingxuan shrugged slightly. "I know that a suspect''s request is somewhat excessive for you, but I hope you can make the decision quickly. After all, I''m in a hurry." "To be honest, I don''t believe that you are the so-called Executioner." Vasco shook his head slightly. "Mr. Bann once assured us of your character. I believe in his vision. He is a pure priest, a servant of God, a devoted keeper of regulations and laws. I believe that his foster son would not be scum. However, I still want to ask you a question. The answer determines whether we will help you next, or... draw our swords against you." He reached and pulled out a sword for close combat from his armor, holding it in his hand reversely, but his eyes stared into those of the youth in front of him. With chill. He said, "Ye Qingxuan, I ask you: were you really involved in the assassination of the Pope?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. Vasco stared at his pupils, as if to discern anything that looked like a lie. After a long time, he slowly bowed. "Very well." With the sword darting into the sheath again, he turned and waved. "Escort Mr. Ye to the Central Temple. Anyway, we can perform the duty of Knights Templar there." The squad began to march again, but this time, Ye Qingxuan was surrounded as the core. Behind him, Nora followed like a sleepwalker. Ye Qingxuan asked Vasco, "Do you trust me? After all, words are no guarantee." "Mr. Bann saved me on the battlefield, twice." Vasco looked forward and said indifferently, "You also saved us, didn''t you?" "Maybe I have ulterior motives." "I will keep an eye on you." Vasco took a look at him. "Very closely." "Sorry to trouble you." Ye Qingxuan smiled lightly and didn''t take it seriously. Very soon, they arrived at the periphery of the Central Temple. It had been thoroughly assimilated into an abyssal land, where chaotic roars rang and innumerable shadows appeared from walls and in empty underground streets as if waiting for them to step into the traps. "Iron wall formation!" Vasco took his sword and commanded, "Blade dancers go to the front! Longbowmen prepare! Everyone check your holy water, and watch out for the black musicians hidden among the demons!" Ye Qingxuan could not help but say, "Actually, I wanted to ask from the start: where are your army musicians?" Hearing his words, Vasco''s face clouded, then he clenched his sword hilt. "Before we were attacked, all the musicians were called away." "Called away?" Quentin sneered, "Hey, ''secret security''! Pooh! Those idiots sitting in the office didn''t know what they had done at all..." "Forget about it." Ye Qingxuan sighed, and threw the almost scared-to-death Nora to Vasco. "I''ll be your only musician, but you have to protect this coward." The only musician? Bitterness appeared on Vasco''s face. Thousands of demons are here. It must have taken a lot of time for dozens of black musicians. Moreover, the other party may have secret weapons. Even one or two big demons. Although Ye Qingxuan is powerful, he can''t fight against them alone. He opened his mouth, but he saw Ye Qingxuan had closed his eyes. Then... The dreamland! Everyone watched a full moon slowly rise from the top of Ye Qingxuan''s head. Suddenly, all the detectors on the Templars'' shoulders warned with sharp sirens. Vasco was stunned after seeing that the terrible degree that had originally exceeded the measurement range was rapidly dropping. One million, nine hundred thousand, eight hundred thousand... It was as fast as jumping off a building. Some fragile alchemical equipment on the Templars even exploded. The invisible waves spread from Ye Qingxuan''s feet and set off billows, sweeping over the surrounding areas. Wherever they went, the countless demons stiffened and snarled crazily. In some places, the hidden ones were forced out of the shadows. Under such a terrible falling gap, the music theory in their bodies was getting turbulent and uncontrollable, and their blood spitted out. What was worse, the Aether Furnace implanted in their bodies suddenly exploded. They were turned into masses of rotten meat by the horrible power which was swallowed up by invisible monsters just after gushing out. In a flash, the aether reading dropped to the minimum - 0! The Wyrmrest Enchantment! Although the moonlight was so illusory and fragile, there were innumerable afterimpacts and collisions between the abyss and the Sacred City. At this moment, within the few kilometers covered by the moonlight, all the musicians had lost their power. Even the master musicians could only protect themselves and couldn''t care for the others. "What is this?" Vasco gasped. Soon, he looked up and stared at the chaotic demons ahead, showing a grim smile. After losing the support of the abyssal music theory and the black musicians, the demons were just bigger beasts. Such a golden opportunity! "Forward!" He lifted the Thermal Epee and shouted to everyone, "Follow me! Go to the Central Temple! Tell those bastards who is here and who is their enemy!" Then the earth boomed. When the Knights Templar were galloping, the ground quaked and the sound of steel reverberated through the entire battlefield. The bloody Eagle Flag rose again. At this moment, the Iron Eagle was flying above the battlefield proudly! In the Central Temple, the alarm of the last closed enchantment rang harshly. A loud noise came. When all the priests looked at the dim nebula overhead, their faces turned pale. The observation system in the enchantment of the Sacred City had completely failed, diffusing red lights everywhere, which symbolized collapsing. The overused enchantment had now reached the brink of collapse. Under the pressure from the abyss, everyone were stuck here. There was no outside aid, no orders. Even over two-thirds of the backbone musicians were not on duty. The rest tried to maintain the enchantment again and again, and then waited for the alarm sound of failure again and again. In the end, all of them gave up hopelessly. "Crap! All of you are crap! You can''t even repair an enchantment center! There are so many coordinating instruments in the Sacred City. Can''t they share some pressure? With so many budgets invested each year, how could you become crap when we need you?" Rembrandt looked at their wilting faces and said fiercely, "What did you guys do! All of you are called the elites! And that bastard, Albert, how much money did he put in his own pocket? You are crap! You are guilty of misconduct! All of you! If I didn''t command, it would all be finished by now! Do you understand?" The priests were standing by silently with gloomy faces while he yelled. After the Archbishop,Albert,was dismissed, Rembrandt acted on the very first day of his tenure. He withdrew the buffer equipment on the excuse of the budget, leaving the enchantment with no flexibility. In addition, all the backbone musicians before were also removed and replaced with his own confidants. When the war started, half of his powerful backbone musicians didn''t even show up. They were hiding somewhere. With no power or order, the musicians present couldn''t even manage to issue an early warning of changes. It was half an hour before Rembrandt showed up, reeking of booze. He commanded them to launch the discharging module without even having a look at the pre-reading star atlas, resulting in the damage of more than sixteen key locations. Before that, those who remonstrated bluntly and attempted to stop him were made the scapegoats and dismissed. If they survived, they would be exiled to the edge of the dark world. In the end, no one dared to speak. The rest of them just watched as he commanded they give up the outer layer and the middle layer, even the inner layer. The enchantment matrix had been distorted into a mess under the pressure of the abyss. The outflowing layer on the surface was completely destroyed. The transforming layer of the forming layer was scrapped. The creating layer that allocated music theory resources had lost control. Now only the Action Land in the center remained intact, standing there all alone and glowing with a red of warning over and over again. Under the red light, the once dazzling nebula had turned dark. The outermost layer was thoroughly assimilated. In other words, the defense of the outermost layer in the Sacred City had already fallen into the enemy''s hands. "F**k..." The chief engineer sat in a corner and stared coldly at Rembrandt with eyes flashing resentment. His secretary pulled him down and babbled at him, "Calm down! It''s useless. He is still the archbishop of the Central Temple. Do you want to be a renegade? " Rembrandt sensed their resentment, sneered inside, and just got over it. Those craps even wanted to abandon the Central Temple and shift the focus to support the inner enchantment. If I didn''t stop them, all the people here would have already died. Now all the forces that remain in the enchantment have been gathered up, and the six sub-centers on the outskirt have been abandoned to safeguard the Central Temple with every effort. A starved camel is bigger than a horse. Even though dozens of big demons siege together, it can be impregnable here. My own security has been guaranteed. Then, the next step is how to smooth the aftermath over. His thoughts were shifting rapidly from the losses of the Sacred City to how to get rid of his faults. It was my brilliant leadership that saved the Central Temple, a very important institution, from falling into the hands of the demons on just the second day after I took office. Although I am responsible for the result, no one can blame on me. A horizontal transfer to other places would be the worst punishment... However, the fault of abandoning the residents of the outer area is a bit serious. I must find a suitable person to take the responsibility. Thinking of that, he looked at the chief engineer and his assistant, who were not far away, with coldness in his eyes. Such a good opportunity for me to get rid of the annoying confidants of Albert who take the positions but won''t go. It was heard that this bastard tried in secret to stir up other people''s dissatisfaction with me and then impeach me with the cardinal bishop. If I didn''t see through that with my quick mind, I am afraid that I would have been framed by now. If that''s the case, there is no other way. He sighed softly, but didn''t feel that depressed. He stopped looking at the engineers and closed his eyes, but he couldn''t help but think: When this is over, there will be a huge gap at the top of the Sacred City. With Mr. Ludovic''s promise, do I still have a chance to go further? The shrill alarm drew him back from his contemplation. He looked up confused. "What happened again?" He glared at the musicians who were operating the enchantment. "I''ve already said it a million times! Don''t mess with it! Are you guys trifling with the lives of the people here?" "No, not me!" The musician who stood in front of a pipe organ raised his hands and shook his head innocently. "It was outside outside the Central Temple. Someone connected the line and asked us to open the door to let them in." "Now?" Rembrandt was shocked and frowned. "Who is this? Can you figure it out?" Soon, the operational musician received an answering message and shouted with excitement, "It is the sign of the Knights Templar! The Knights Templar is coming to help us out!" "That''s impossible!" Rembrandt screamed subconsciously. But when everyone looked at him, he suddenly paused and said, "Who knows if they are really Knights Templar? Demons are everywhere outside, and there are only two squads of the Knights Templar stationed in the Sacred City. How could they come in! They are liars!" When he said that, his eyes widened and suddenly became more certain. "Yes! They must be! Our task is to defend here! Never let anyone suspicious in!" "But..." The operating musician was stunned. "It''s really..." "Really?" Rembrandt sneered. "Can you be sure about that? Can you make the decision to let them in? Can you take the responsibility?" 502 Who Is in Charge of This? "We can open the side door," a man said in a hoarse voice. "Let them pass a quarantine. We also have the safety valve and the vacuum chamber there. If they are what they say they are, they would not refuse to pass the quarantine; besides, we can take this opportunity to examine them." Hearing this, Rembrandt turned around and shouted to the engineer, "Seriously?! If we open the door, what if something goes wrong with the central holy temple? Are you able to take the responsibility then?" "Thanks for your kindly reminder," the old general engineer sneered. "In fact, the cardinal church has allowed me to be in charge of the limits of authority on security. You can activate the enchantment of the Sacred City, but to activate the facilities of the central holy temple, you would need my permission." Rembrandt shouted, "Rubens, how dare you!" "Are you deaf!" Rubens stared at the operation musician. "I command you to open the door!" The operation musician hesitated and looked at both Rubens and Rembrandt. Rembrandt scolded him and ordered him to take his hands off the keys of the pipe organ. The operation musician was silent and took his hands off the keys. Rembrandt was relieved. He looked at Rubens and coldly said, "You disobeyed the orders from your superiors and put the whole central holy temple into danger. Rubens, I hope you have a good explanation when facing the cardinal church." "I am just doing my duty," Rubens replied coldly. He then glanced at the operation musician and felt very disappointed. The operation musician didn''t dare to look at Rubens, and dodged his eyes. "There is no need for you to fulfill your duty now." Rembrandt stood in front of Rubens, took off his name badge, and threw in on the ground. "You are suspended now! Go to the cardinal church and prepare for the interrogation." Rubens sneered, turned around, and left the hall. When Rubens walked past the operation musician, he stopped and stared at him. "Hal, I am very disappointed with you. It is not because that you have disobeyed my order. You know what, Rembrandt has just been here for two days, and you have abandoned the principles and doctrine to which your father has stuck for his whole life. Both your father and I have backed the wrong horse." Rubens continued to walk, and when he was about to walk out of the holy temple, he heard a low and deep music. Rembrandt was stunned, and when he saw Hal playing the pipe organ, his face twisted. "You b*stard! How dare you! How dare you!" The operation musician laughed. He took off his badge and threw it to the ground. "I am sorry, I quit!" Hearing this, Rembrandt''s face convulsed with rage. Before he said anything, the door suddenly opened. As soon as the door opened, blood flew into the holy temple. If one wanted to get to the holy temple that had been insulated by two doors, he would have to walk past the closed safety valve and the vacuum chamber. But even so, a huge amount of blood still managed to flow into the temple. The smell of blood permeated the air. The surviving Knights Templar were walking into the holy temple holding broken swords in their hands. All their armor was also broken, and worse still, the knight who was wearing the gospel armor was already disfigured. By looking at their armor, the three could see they had been through a heavy fight. Steam was spurting from the broken Aether pipe on the surface of armor. Because of the blood on the armor, the steam turned red as it rose into the air. Some of the knights took off their broken masks and helmets. Their hair was soaked with sticky blood, and due to their body temperature, the blood had curdled. After the heavy fight, only twenty-seven knights survived. They all looked like they had just come back from hell. In the middle of these knights, there were two men. One was a young priest who had been severely shocked by what had happened, the other was a young man wearing a long robe. The robe had been soaked with devil''s blood and turned scarlet. The ashes from the burnt cross were smeared black across the robe. The red mixed together with the black and looked terrifying. Apart from the young man''s robe, what was more startling was his shining white hair and his eyes. His eyes looked like a dark whirlpool, the entrance to someplace deep and dangerous. "How dare you break into the holy temple without my permission?!" Rembrandt shouted. He then recognized the knight who was wearing the gospel armor: Vasco. He looked disgusted. "You are just an insignificant Aquilifer, a small captain! How dare you step into the holy temple without permission!" "We never expected this would happen." Vasco was silent for while and replied, "We come here to rescue." "Rescue?" Hearing this, Rembrandt laughed. "Who told you to come here to rescue us? You think too highly of yourself. We do not need your rescue." Quintin''s face looked rather gloomy. Earlier, his face had been cut by the Zombie Knight, leaving a ragged slash on his face. The crack was like a baby''s mouth and looked very scary. If it were not for Ye Qingxuan, he would have already become a devil. "My lord, we simply come here to" Before Vasco finished his words, Ye Qingxuan patted on his shoulder and asked him to stop talking. Rembrandt noticed this young man standing in front of him and looked down upon him. Strangely, Rembrandt felt he had seen this young man before. "Are you doing this on purpose?" This young man looked as if he was reading Rembrandt''s mind. He squinted his eyes and said, "Single Heart Brother? Ludovic what have they promised to give you if you agree to work with them?" "Who are you?" Rembrandt felt he had been seen through by this young man. Suddenly, something occurred to him. He exclaimed, "Are you Ye Qingxuan?!" "How dare you!" he shouted at the Knights Templar. "You b*stards! How dare you come here! Go and get him!" In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingxuan quickly walked past Rembrandt and cut off his head. Rembrandt''s head fell onto the ground and rolled for a short while, then stopped. Everyone was shocked by this. Dead silence now claimed this holy temple. Vasco looked at Ye Qingxuan in a daze, struggling to collect his wits. Rembrandt''s body fell on the ground, the blood flowing out and soaking his robe. In just a few minutes, an officiant was killed by Ye Qingxuan. Seeing this, Vasco began to ask himself if it was a bad idea for him to escort Ye Qingxuan here. Ye Qingxuan coldly looked at the rest of the people and asked, "Who is in charge here?" No one replied. In fact, the one Ye Qingxuan had just killed was in charge of this place. After a long while, Rubens came forward and said, "I am the general engineer here. I am in charge of the mechanical construction of the enchantment here." Rubens stared at Ye Qingxuan and said, "I don''t care why you come here, and I don''t care if you are going to kill the Pope. No matter what, I will try my best to help you." He stopped for a few minutes and said, "But I have a condition" 503 Ascension Twenty minutes later. A hidden underground prison was as lively and bustling as a bazaar. In the spreading chaos, demons invaded the city, guards abandoned their posts, and criminals were joyfully rising in rebellion. With torches held high, the prisoners lit their clothes and sheets, sawed through the bars of their cages, broke their shackles, and set off a carnival in the prison. And on the high stage where dozens of desks were set up in the center of countless noise and screaming, someone was preaching passionately. "Fellows!" the person shouted with an old voice. "We meet here today, working together to fight against Ludovic''s oppression! We have paid such a great price and made such a great sacrifice! We need to remember this moment of victory!" "Victory! Victory!" the reveling prisoners shouted back. "The moment of victory!" "So, is it for money, glory, or rights?" On those dozens of tables, an abnormal old man in a tattered, dirty dress clenched his fists, screaming angrily, "No, it''s the most precious thing for one''s life. It''s freedom!" The prisoners, indulging themselves in stimulants, alcohol, and banned drugs, screamed with ecstasy, "Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!" "Let us fight! Let us wave the flag of freedom! Let us move toward a new era!" the old man shouted. "F**k the pope!" Crazy prisoners shrieked and shouted back again, "F**k the pope! F**k the pope! F**k the pope!" "Very good!" The old man nodded with satisfaction. "Come on, bring Ludovic''s lackey!" Soon, the prison governor was brought up and tied tightly on a tattered cross. The space around the cross was cluttered with broken wood and doused with fuels as well as liquor with a pungent smell brought by someone from unknown places. The governor looked utterly pale. "I beg your mercy! I beg your mercy!" he screamed. "I''m innocent!" "Nonsense! Do you think you can fool me!" The abnormal old man in a dress jumped down and pointed at his nose. "I can see through your little lies even with my nose!" "What I said is true!" The governor cried without tears. "It was the order of the stupid bishop! He had just run! I''m just a poor man! Please, I haven''t done anything harmful to you! Please, it''s all that stupid bishop''s fault!" The old man picked up two bottles of liquor and poured them on him, leaving a bit to drink. He got sleepy eyes from the drink and asked in a skeptical tone, "Really?" "Yes! Yes!" The governor nodded as fast as he could. "Then, you answer a question!" The old man raised his voice, pointed to his nose, and said, "If you dare to tell lies, you must pay for your lies today!" He paused and asked in a holy and solemn tone, "Do I look good in dresses?" "..." In a flash, all the noises disappeared. Dead silence. What is he talking about? The prisoners and the governor tied on the cross looked at the old man with confused expressions. But the governor didn''t dare to answer, because the old man still held a newly-lit match in his hand. "Say it! Yes or no?" The old man moved the match closer and said, "If you lie to me, I''ll fire you up!" The governor cried out in tears, broke down completely, and was about to speak. At that moment, a roar rang. It was just like a thunderbolt dropped by an outrageous god from the ninth heaven to kill the goddamn desecrater. With the roar continuing, the earth and mountains quaked so hard that no one could stand steadily. In the loudest bang, the ceiling suddenly broke. A roaring, heavy shadow passed through the layers of the barrier and fell to the ground of the bottom floor. Boom! Dust and broken stones flew in the air. Everyone plopped down on the floor. An extremely heavy thing descended from heaven, smashed every layer of the ceiling, and even fell to the bottom floor! The prison governor, tied to the cross, was almost caught under the falling thing and smashed into a patty. He was pale and almost fainted after his narrow escape. Soon, the scraping noise of steel and iron sounded. A burly figure emerged from the smoke and no one could breathe. Knights Templar! It was the Knights Templar! The huge gospel armor was a terrible deterrent, making everyone afraid to speak and awakening them from ecstasy with frightened eyes. The Templar looked around, nodded, and waved to the ceiling after having confirmed that there were no threats. Soon, a rope condensed from aether stretched down. A white-haired young man in a robe slid down the rope and landed on the Templar''s shoulder. He looked around and frowned. "Who''s Albert, the archbishop?" "..." "Who''s Albert, the archbishop?" he asked again. Obviously, he didn''t wait for an answer this time. Instead, he popped up several perception threads of moonlight to find memories directly from their brains. In the end, his sight fell on the old man in a dress. "Mr. Albert?" he asked. Albert seemed to still be partially drunk. He stared at the newcomer in confusion. "You''re looking for me? Did you come here to join us?" "...Are there any normal people at the top of the Church?" The young man pursed his lips and sighed. "You are so fortunate to have such a good subordinate. Follow me, Mr. Albert, your Central Temple is waiting for you." "Really?" Albert froze for a moment and jumped up excitedly to take Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "You should have said so earlier! I thought you were sent by Ludovic, that little bitch, to kill me!" He continued, "Oops! You look so familiar, my little brother. I think I''ve met you somewhere. What a pity! You look like the unlucky guy that killed the Pope, but it doesn''t matter. Anyway, no one cares who you are in such chaos. By the way, when shall we leave here?" "Right away." "Well, please wait for me." Albert waved his hand and said, "I still have something to do here." Then he took a match out of his pocket, lit it, and shook it very seriously in front of the governor. "You haven''t answered me yet! Say! Do I look good in dresses?" The governor had completely broken down, and nodded while crying. "Yes! Yes! You look great in your dress!" Then, Albert''s smile disappeared. Became cold and indifferent. Like an iron stone. "Stupid." He released his finger and let the match slip down. "You look good in women''s clothes." Ignoring the governor who was screaming in the fire, he turned around and pulled the rope. All the prisoners looked at Albert in admiration as he was raised up through the rolling of the pulleys and left under the protection of the Knights Templar. After a very long time, only one person reacted, and pointing in surprise to the hole through which faint light fell down: "Our boss is ascending to heaven!" "Ascend! Ascension! Ascend!" In the cheers of a number of "Freedom Fighters," something tattered and dirty fluttered down from the crack and danced in mid-air, like a butterfly flying into the flames. Burned into the crazy ashes. "The f**king world changed so fast." Archbishop Albert, in a prison uniform, sat in his former position with undried blood under his feet. Several loyal subordinates were rubbing his shoulders and legs, and serving him in every possible way. Rubens struck a match and then lit a cigar in the corner of Albert''s mouth. The cigar was found on Rembrandt''s dead body, and it had a sweet taste. Then, his face was hidden behind the thick smoke. "Within just a few days, the host died in the hands of his loyal subordinates, and the Pope was stabbed to death during the New Year''s sermon. "Without the Pope, the Archbishop of the Church was as useless as a dog and put into prison by the new superior, wearing women''s dresses and pretending to be insane for the purpose of self-protection. "Before I got drunk, people were singing and dancing in the Sacred City, expecting the coming of a new era. "But I just took a nap, and the Sacred City became such a wasteland that it seems to have been ravaged dozens of times. "It''s so miserable." "Now, the suspect who killed the Pope has rescued me from dilemma and has entrusted me with the important institutions of the Sacred City. And this guy, within just half a month, jumped from the official musician to the master level..." He stared at Ye Qingxuan and puffed out smoke. "Doesn''t this world need reasons and common sense?" "What I realized in the past two weeks would probably be this: the world has its own logic and principles, and those who cannot come up with it will be crushed and thrown into dust." Ye Qingxuan answered lightly, "So, after going through those things, I decide to go ahead of the world." After a long moment''s silence, Albert took the cigar from his mouth and threw it into the totally dried blood pool on the ground. He sighed slightly. "Tell me what you want, young man. At this time, both you and I are unable to change the reality. The changes of the big era can''t be converted by small potatoes like you and me, but we can at least decide where it converts to. "Are you ready to give the Sacred City to the Hyakume in exchange for meritorious deeds, or to make vigorous efforts to turn the situation and be a hero for several minutes? Tell me your choice!" "Neither." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "What the world will turn into should be considered by big men. I just want to find someone in the Sacred City." "Find someone?" Albert was stunned for a moment, then he laughed. Maybe he laughed at himself, maybe at Ye Qingxuan. "You just...want to find someone through enchantment?" He shook his head blankly. "I''m sorry, young man. As you see, the great enchantment of the Sacred City is badly damaged. All the basic functions can''t be carried out, and the balance among the four layers of all its matrices is thrown into disorder. Even if I give you the highest authority right now, what you would have access to is only an empty shell. "My whole life''s hard work now become an empty shell! Those f**king bastards..." Ye Qingxuan looked at his depressed face and shook his head. "It''s broken, but it can be repaired." 504 I am a Professional Repairman; I am Trustworthy "You want to repair it?" Albert laughed. "Ye Qingxuan, I know how powerful you are in the respect of the path of domain. But the enchantment in the Sacred City is different from that in Avalon. The base point of harmonious melody of the former is six times of that of the latter. Besides, in the past few centuries, it has been repaired and enhanced many times! As long as the base point increases, the labor and the difficulty of repairing and enhancing the enchantment would increase by geometric progression! This enchantment is actually an unprecedented and extremely complex alchemy array; even Hermes would not be able to fix it! You are just a Master, and you really think you can handle it? Be sensible! You know what, even simply making the enchantment function again would need more than one Master!" Ye Qingxuan was not bothered by Albert''s cynicism. He looked at the dim nebula floating in the holy temple and asked, "You still have the highest authorization, don''t you?" "So what?" Albert rolled his eyes. "Terminating my authorization is a big project. You would have to rewrite the ultimate arrays of the Instruments of harmonious melody one by one, which would cost you one month at least. The same applies to Ludovic. By the way, even if you had the authorization, it wouldn''t be much help if you haven''t got the...?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "As far as I am concerned, the enchantment is itself a bridge which connects all the important institutions together, which makes it far more important than the Pope''s palace. I have read from the materials of the Silence Governance that the ultimate authorization can be used to activate the bell tower system, and one can be aided with the energy from the bell tower system" Albert was silent. "I think I can do it," Ye Qingxuan said with a rather serious face. "You must be mad." Albert shook his head. "It would be abnormal if I was not mad." Ye Qingxuan looked at him. "The worst scenario may be my explosion in front of you. What on earth are you afraid of? Worrying that your new clothes might get stained?" "I think you are asking for trouble." Albert sighed. "Do whatever what you want. Tell me how many bell towers you need in total, and I will get them for you!" "How many can I have at most?" "Ten," Albert said. Ye Qingxuan gave in and sighed. "Ten will be fine then." "Please follow me." Albert glanced at Ye Qingxuan, turned around, and walked towards the deepest part of the palace. It was completely dark around them, and the two walked on the stairs and passed many mysterious doors. As time went on, it was getting hotter and hotter. Ye Qingxuan felt like he was in a sauna. When he breathed in the hot air, he felt as if his lungs were going to melt away. The two stopped. In front of them, there was only one more door. "Is the internal water cooling system broken?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Albert did not reply. Instead, he asked Ye Qingxuan to wait for a while. Then he walked into a small room next to the door. Albert walked out wearing thick, heat-resistant clothing. Looking through the glass on the helmet, Ye Qingxuan found that Albert was also wearing a portable rebreather. "Remember to protect yourself," Albert said and pulled down the rod. Bang! The door opened, and hot steam spurted out. Ye Qingxuan could see that the other side of the door was simply a big smelter, in which numerous Instruments of harmonious melody were standing upright. More than half of the Instruments of harmonious melody had already dimmed, and only the six Instruments of harmonious melody in the center were still shining with a dim light. Each Instrument of harmonious melody was cone-shaped and a few meters high. Countless threads were twining around the Instruments of harmonious melody, extending to the upper roof. All the Instruments of harmonious melody were standing in the steam, and one could only see a vague silhouette of them. Ye Qingxuan felt like he had stepped into a foggy forest, but it was not fog, it was burning hot steam. All the other engineers were wearing the same clothing as Albert. Apart from them, there were groups of musicians hurriedly walking around. They were working very hard to maintain the Instruments of harmonious melody and prevent them from collapsing, something that was going to happen at any minute. "Hello, I haven''t see you guys for such a long time," Albert greeted them. "Congratulations! Your former boss has come back, right? But it is such a pity that he might be the last one who is in charge of this damn place." "We are in the control center of the enchantment?" Ye Qingxuan covered his nose and said. At the same time, a boundary layer appeared around him and blocked the scary steam. "You are right." Albert pushed away the working staff who were in his way. He then walked to the central area and bypassed the huge central Instrument of harmonious melody. In the middle of the six instruments of harmonious melody stood an enormous "Aether Pond" that was ten meters wide. Normally, the pond was very calm. Because of the huge pressure of the Instrument of harmonious melody, the Sea of Aether had congealed. The complex alchemy array here, together with the magnificent music movements formed by the music theory of the Sea of Aether, formed the core of the enchantment of the Sacred City. Or in other words, the Moving World among the four alchemy worlds. This was the place where the original music theory of the enchantment was kept. Via the music theory, the central holy temple managed to control...? However, the enchantment was out of control. Over half of the Instruments of harmonious melody did not work anymore; the Aether Pond also became a mess due to the outside interference. An ordered system now became an "Aether Whirlpool" that was full of scary fragments of the music theory. Drastic reactions were happening all the time and the balance could break down at any minute. Moreover, most of the alchemy array did not work anymore, and the left part was overloading. Seeing this, Albert cursed. His face was now convulsed with anger. If Ludovic were standing in front of him, he would definitely have loaded himself with bombs and killed both Ludovic and himself. Watching the boiling red soup of an Aether Pond, Ye Qingxuan was a bit confused. "You do not mean to ask me to jump into the Aether Pond to repair the enchantment, right?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "You are right." Albert laughed and said with a serious face, "On behalf of the cardinal church, I now command you to save the Sacred City!" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan forced out a smile and nodded. Albert then touched his left eye with his hand, and when he moved his hand away, Ye Qingxuan saw that his left eyeball was gone. In Albert''s hand, there was an artificial eyeball that was still moving. "What is that?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "When I took charge of the central holy temple, people from the artifacts exhibition room took away one of my eyeballs and made this artificial one for me." Albert then handed this eyeball to Ye Qingxuan and said, "Take it with you. When you manage to repair the enchantment and you are still alive, you will need this." The eyeball began to disassemble itself and took off its outer wrapping. What was now left was an extremely complicated music movement that was made up of countless dancing musical notes. The musical notes gathered together and formed a clock. In the blink of an eye, the clock merged with Ye Qingxuan''s body and integrated with his music movement of fate. Actually, this clock was a key, but Albert did not tell him what was it really for. He then waved his hands and asked Ye Qingxuan to leave soon. In a short while, Ye Qingxuan took off all his belongings. There was only one thing left on him, and that was the clothes of original sin. It was no longer black, instead it looked almost invisible, which was the result of the change of music theory that had twisted both the light and senses. "Are you ready?" Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "Start when I give the signal." He was standing next to the pond and heard Albert shouting at him in the distance. "What?" he turned around and looked at Albert. Albert looked a bit worried, full of expectation and a bit of longing. "Are you sure about this?" Albert asked. Ye Qingxuan laughed. "No worry. I worked as a repairman in the town of Lute for five years, and I was responsible for all the bell towers there! You know what the people from Anglo''s Privy Council have said to me?" "They said I am a professional repairman, so I am trustworthy!" In the next moment, Ye Qingxuan jumped into the pond and disappeared in the red boiling water. Albert anxiously rushed to the pond and hurriedly looked for Ye Qingxuan''s body, without caring if he would be hurt by the heat and the bright light. Suddenly, the Aether Pond became calm again. Countless music theories were intertwining with each other, dazzling Albert. He tried to analyze it, but he soon felt very dizzy and stopped. It was already beyond his limit to analyze the music theory that had changed drastically. This was all because of Ye Qingxuan. Thinking of this, Albert could not help murmuring, "What a monster he is" A white light suddenly flew out of the Aether Pond and blazed across Albert''s face. Albert was terrified by this and fell on the ground. Suddenly, the low and deep sound of zither came from nowhere. At the same time, countless strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei surfaced and intertwined with each other. In the blink of an eye, they filled the whole space. The strings were all vibrating and playing different musical notes. It was the music movement of "Tune of the Sea Dragon." The Heaven Ladder was activated. The strings resonated with each other and shrouded all the Instruments of harmonious melody. Accompanied with the ongoing music notes, the rest of the Instruments of harmonious melody all lit up again. One instrument, two instruments, three instruments In the blink of an eye, all the Instruments of harmonious melody were shining in the cold light, and everyone present was shocked by this scene. All the Instruments of harmonious melody that had stopped working due to the collapse of music theory began to work again. "He did it! He managed to activate the Instruments of harmonious melody," a musician exclaimed. "I have also got the signal from the music theory of the Moving World." Everyone was cheered up and amazed by this scene. It was just like a dying old man whose heart rejuvenated again had opened his eyes, stood up, and yelled, "I am not dead yet, I am still alive!" while his family was preparing for his funeral. 505 Donst Even Think About It! "What are you waiting for?" Albert rushed up and kicked the man, "Wake up the cooling matrix module and get ready to reconnect to the coordinating instruments outside!" He yelled at all the dull people, "It''s not the time for a doze! All of you, move! Switch on all standby modules and discharge the pressure in the aether pool! Restart operation!" "Where should we discharge it to?" someone asked weakly, raising his hand. "Any f**king places you want to, understand?" Albert took his collar and shouted angrily, "Even if you discharge it to your mother''s house, I must see the enchantment of the Sacred City restarting! Do you understand?" The operational musician nodded unconsciously, opened the panel, and pulled off the drainage valve. Then, in the dark Sacred City, everyone heard the high-pitched horns of the pipe organ. Immediately afterwards, a splendid and glowing light emerged from the top of the Central Temple, like a beautiful aurora, spreading in the sky and illuminating those bleak faces. "Bishop, the bell tower system has been warmed up." The voice of Rubens rang from an external communicator. "We have taken control of the sixteen underground bell towers nearby, ready to resonate." "Connect with them." In the insulated helmet, Albert dangled a lit cigarette in his mouth and spewed smoke which blurred his face. He said, "All of them." "All of them?!" Rubens was shocked. "All of them." Albert nodded. "I''m a bit convinced that this little monster can do it." Rubens remained silent for a moment and switched off the communicator. "The bell towers prepare to resonate!" Under the tremulous nebula, he ordered the operational musicians, "Get all of them connected!" The six operational musicians who had retaken their positions nodded and stood in front of the huge pipe organs. Twelve palms fell on top of the eight-story keyboard. Driven by the steam, the steel made a terrible and deafening sound! The solemn and low melody spread. Immediately afterwards, a roaring bell rang suddenly under the ground. The pool of aether boiled again all of a sudden. Ye Qingxuan''s roar came. "May God give us mercy." Albert took the holy emblem off his chest. "Ye Qingxuan, you must make it!" In the aether pool, Ye Qingxuan felt like he was going crazy. If he knew that Albert believed in himself so much, he couldn''t help but swear. Sixteen bell towers! Sixteen bell towers on him! It was equivalent to giving the music theory and power of sixteen master musicians to one person! Sixteen master musicians! In an instant, Ye Qingxuan''s body inflated and almost exploded. In the sharp pain, Ye Qingxuan scolded, "Albert, allow me to thank you!!" Although he had reached the limit, the external power remained plugged in in fact, it had only just begun! There were still thirteen masters waiting for him! Subconsciously, the Symphony of Predestination operated. "Nature intervention"! It started from the blood. The blood of Deva began to change, and the nature of it was peeled off. The music theory in it became active and bright. Then, the music theorization of neural system was completed. Next, it came to the bones, organs, flesh from the inside out. At the end, Ye Qingxuan was completely into the state of "vacuum." Like Abraham, he had turned himself into nothing but pure music theories. The more profound power the musicians had, the more obvious their physical differences from normal people would become. After resonating, it could be said that the differences were vast. From that moment on, another system in the musician''s body would be completely formed. In addition to the blood circulation and organ functioning of its own flesh and blood, the body hosted aether systems that were either large or small, perfect or incomplete. Aether was the blood, music theory was the bone, spirituality was the soul... Those systems would grow larger and larger as the musician''s abilities increased. Finally, it would be able to survive alone after separating from the shackle of the physical body. That was the Holy Spirit. In this case, the circulation of Ye Qingxuan''s physical body had fallen into a deep sleep, his heart rate having dropped to one beat every minute, as if he was already dead. In contrast, the Aether circulation was unprecedentedly active. In the vacuum formed by nature intervention, the music theory had completely escaped from the shackle of the physical body, and exerted all its power without any interference. For all musicians, this was a unique advantage. The Symphony of Predestination operated fiercely with no need to worry about any pressure it might bring. Nevertheless, there happened to be endless aether for him to make use of. The sub-originators started! The Heaven Ladder was used as a bridge to transform all the power that exceeded Ye Qingxuan''s containing limit to the sub-originators in the Aether World. At the same time, Ye Qingxuan also took advantage of that to materialize the sub-originators and bring them to the Physical World. A moon emerged silently emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s arms. First, it was only a vague outline. The empty outline was like a vortex, madly absorbing the aether and music theory around and growing bit by bit. In the state of vacuum, Ye Qingxuan overlapped with the annular, allowing it to greedily draw all the music theories inside his body. In a flash, even his consciousness seemed to be drawn into it and turned into a part of it. Ye Qingxuan felt himself turning into an unreal moon, growing rapidly and absorbing the aether endlessly... Every time the bell rang, the moonlight ushered in another round of transformation. At the end, his Symphony of Predestination had already turned into a real moon, rising slowly from the aether pool. The bright moon was enveloped by the cloud of the clothes of original sin. The Symphony of Predestination of the sixteen masters blended with Ye Qingxuan, forming a monster-like colossus. The gravity carried by his music theory destroyed all noises and clutter, forcibly washing away the pieces of music theory that had broken down in the aether pool and begun to rebuild! This had already become a project that no one could finish alone. Fortunately, there were hundreds of coordinating instruments in the strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Ye Qingxuan used himself as an intermediary to allocate the deduction and construction of music theory as tasks, and built up the outcome through the combination of the powers given by the bell towers. At this moment, Ye Qingxuan was like the other Boleyn girl, turned into the spirituality of the enchantment matrix! He felt himself becoming something even bigger in the vacuum. The hundreds of coordinating instruments were his own brain, and the power of sixteen masters brought by the bell towers was his hands and feet. Ye Qingxuan, who had been incarnated into a bright moon, was in the center of the huge system, coordinating and leading the terrible transformation of power to evolve miracles. In an instant, wherever the moonlight shone became silver. The bright moon that Ye Qingxuan was incarnated into was carried by the sloshing iron flames in the aether pool, rose slowly, and blended with the action layer of the enchantment in the Sacred City. The impending explosion of the aether pool was completely eliminated, and the enchantment system of the Central Temple thus far recovered completely from breakdown and started operating again! "The next step is to recapture the enchantment," Albert murmured with determination. Then he shouted, "Open the enchantment buffer layer! Switch off the closed system! Reopen the connection with the outside world! The creating layer, the forming layer, and the outflowing layer... We must let him go outside!" In the dead silence, no one dared to respond. Shocked, Albert turned his head and saw the guilty face of the person in charge. "Rembrandt commanded we cut off the connection with the outside world... We opened the cut-off brake," he whispered. "We don''t have the password, so we can''t connect with the outside world." The cut-off brake was also known as the final suppression device. It was used to cut off the connection with the external enchantment at the last moment and prevent the internal core from getting out of control. Once it was opened, the music theory of the Central Temple would get into a closed circulation. A total separation of the inside from the outside. Silence. In the dead silence, only the fire in the eyes of Albert was burning. "Then remove the cut-off brake!" He ordered word by word, "Reconnect even with your hands, your teeth! Now! Right now! Immediately! Shut off the f**king brake!" In his snarl and roar, everyone rushed to the corner of the control room. The engineer broke the iron plate open and found the operation circuit. Someone pulled down the fire axe on the wall and slammed it down. Sparks flew. Constant steel collisions continued to ring. The hot steam suddenly spewed out, and a harsh screaming came. "Crap, get out!" Albert rushed in and kicked the scalded engineer aside. He reached out, picked up the axe, and hacked down fiercely in spite of the hot steam that scorched his proximity suit. The skinny old man looked like a madman with his red eyes, holding an axe in his hand. Wearing a heavy armor-like proximity suit, he hacked the cooling device on the cut-off brake again and again. He broke the crack open bit by bit, even if the terrible torrents that spurted out had lit his suit. The thick steam had swallowed him, and only the roaring voice came out from it. "Whoever the f**king bitch is, never try to destroy my enchantment!" He snarled, "Don''t even think about it!" Boom! The explosion sounded. The cooling device completely collapsed like a close-up engine explosion. The horrible air waves swept through, smashed the suppression system, and blasted Albert away. He fell to the ground and rolled, his proximity suit already torn apart. The broken glass of the mask plunged into his face, and the heat and debris destroyed half of his face. The remaining half looked like a twisted demon''s. "Bishop!" "Mr. Albert!" The subordinates rushed up, "Call the doctor! Rubens! Get the medical team down here!" On the ground, Albert held the twisted axe as well as the wall and stood up. "Ye Qingxuan, now I give the Sacred City enchantment to you..." He stared into the quiet moonlight in midair, and the hollow eye on his incomplete face was leaking blood. "Please, protect it." He lowered his head, sacrificed his dignity, and pleaded, "Only you are able to protect it." The moonlight shone for a long time, like the staring of Ye Qingxuan. "Okay," he said. "I promise you." Albert smiled, and he fell to the ground. At the last moment, he saw that a moon rose into the sky, and flew above the Sacred City along the relighted route. "So beautiful..." he whispered and closed his eyes. 506 You Think You Can Easily Win? Ye Qingxuan''s mind changed into a ray of moonlight and left the alchemy array in the Moving World. He was flying across the huge boundary and heading to the outside of the enchantment. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the Sacred City and hid in the dark. The outflowing layer in the enchantment was already full of the music theory of the abyss. When Ye Qingxuan entered this layer, he woke up some of the figures whose minds were also in the outflowing layer. Inside the music theory of the abyss, these figures sensed and scanned across Ye Qingxuan''s music theory. The next minute, they began to gather around Ye Qingxuan. In the pure darkness, there was only a shred of moonlight. One, two, three, four There were six demogorgons who came from the abyss in total! These demogorgons were in fact musicians of the school of the School of Abstinence. Just like Ye Qingxuan, they integrated their Symphony of Predestination into the enchantment, and in this way, they could continually transform the soil of the Sacred City into an abyss. When that day came, the whole Sacred City would become Hyakume''s Holy Kingdom on the ground! The twisted music theories intertwined with each other and formed a steady structure, a structure Ye Qingxuan did not know about. The structure was rather complex and was made of pure Aether. It was clearly dead, but was also lively at the same time. The structure was actually a "vesicle." Numerous vesicles were growing on the surface of the enchantment of the Sacred City. They formed a complex forest by absorbing energy from the enchantment, Ye Qingxuan reached out his hand and penetrated the vesicle that was closest to him. The vesicle was broken. Ye Qingxuan found that there was an inchoate aether circulation. It was an embryo made of aetherized blood and flesh, and had already grown some scales and horns. Inside the countless vesicles, there were numerous embryos like this, and they were all alive. The seeds from the abyss were sprinkled on the enchantment; they would begin to grow by absorbing energy from the enchantment, and then they would breed devils! In a word, the outer layer of the enchantment had been changed into a micro "Dark Gaia" by these demogorgons from the abyss. Or a nest that could continually breed monsters; a nest that could turn a living creature into a monster and transform a musician into a black musician. The moment Ye Qingxuan broke a vesicle, the aether wave produced by these vesicles gathered and made a huge sound. Immediately, hundreds of thousands of vesicles broke. Countless invisible dogs crawled out. They were licking the aether left on the ground and quickly producing the poisonous liquid of the abyss. Wherever they went, all the music theory was polluted by the music theory of the abyss, and grew evil and dark. These invisible dogs were the guardians of the vesicle forest. In the outflowing layer of the enchantment, one could only exist in the form of aether music theory, and it would be an nightmare if he came across the invisible dogs that were born to erode other''s music theory. What was worse was that they usually hid behind those demogorgons. If Ye Qingxuan was not careful, an invisible dog would crawl into his body and eat him alive from the inside out. The six demogorgons began to resonate with each other, and a huge sound of music could be heard in the outflowing layer. The dark energy was stirring up, and God knew how many more demogorgons were resonating with the six in the far distance, which was a very frightening idea to even think about. The invisible dogs emerged in large numbers, and the poisonous liquid gathered together and had a physical form. "Another one?" a hoarse voice came. Suddenly, the music theories of the abyss began to change. They intertwined and gradually formed a new structure. The new music theory then reached to Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan felt like he was being observed by hundreds of thousands of eyes. The six demogorgons saw through Ye Qingxuan''s aether form. When they sensed the void which Ye Qingxuan''s mind was in and the magnificent Symphony of Predestination embedded within it, they were wild with joy. "What a treasure he is! I never thought there was someone like him in the Sacred City." In the distance, many other demogorgons had also knew of Ye Qingxuan''s existence via the Eye of Dark. Ye Qingxuan could feel they were arguing with each other. After a while, he could only feel the aether wave of the six demogorgons. It seems that these guys are the ones who won that argument. Congratulations to them! Ye Qingxuan coldly stared at them and touched them with his Bolero perception thread, and the demogorgons instantly initiated attack. In the blink of an eye, the perception thread vanished. But Ye Qingxuan still managed to get an abundance of information about the change of music theory. There was the same music theory in each aether wave. It seemed that this music theory had been written into the Symphony of Predestination. When the aether wave of the six demogorgons resonated with each other, this music theory would become an invisible chain. They were held tightly by this chain and could not move freely. All six invisible chains would become one chain when the whining tune was played by the Whining Musician. Which meant that the six demogorgons were actually a whole, and the whining musician in the middle was their real master. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I am really bored of this trick now. I am afraid that apart from the musician standing in the middle, the rest of you have been forced to turn into the demogorgons, right? Your sanity has been wiped out and you have all been tied to the Symphony of Predestination by the invisible chains. It seems like you are all independent, but in fact, your consciousness has been replaced by the spirituality of the music movement of abyss." "You are just like Ludovic; you are just a group of puppets made of mud. Sorry, you are even worse than the mud." When these demogorgons came to the Sacred City, they felt like they had walked into a house full of treasure and everything they saw was as precious as delicious fruits or agate. "How should I call you?" Ye Qingxuan flipped his finger and sent out a wave. The other five demogorgons did not reply, but the musician in the middle gave a peculiar laugh. "You will know soon." Before Ye Qingxuan realized, the five demogorgons began to resonate with each other. The spirituality of the music movement of the abyss suddenly started to gather together. Replacing the demogorgons'' consciousness with the spirituality seemed not a very good idea, since it would consume lots of energy. The five demogorgons could be considered as the musician''s five doppelg?ngers. When they resonated with each other, the spirituality would gather together and the energy of the Symphony of Predestination would increase more than five times. If this whining musician were not trapped inside the abyss, he would have already upgraded to the class of scepter. If they all died here tonight, they would become the hands and eyes of Hyakume and the horrible stories about them would prevail in the Physical World. When that time came, there was a good chance that they might reach the highest level of music theory. The five demogorgons worked together and made a huge sound. The sound wave almost dimmed the moonlight. "You think you can easily win since you have more people?" In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingxuan was drowned in the darkness. Then, the five demogorgons'' Symphony of Predestination began to disassemble, and the chains extended out. Normally, the structure of the chain adopted the music theory of the School of Summoning. After being polluted by the music theory of the abyss and rebuilt by numerous black musicians, the chain could now be used to control both devils'' and humans'' consciousness. Even Ye Qingxuan did not know how to react in this situation. He sighed. "Well, it seems that you will probably win." Ye Qingxuan stopped fighting back and defending himself as well. The music theory embedded in the chain began to erode him and the music theory of the abyss shrouded his Symphony of Predestination. He was now being watched by hundreds of eyes of the abyss, and every move he made would be easily detected. Thus the demogorgons did not worry if he was plotting something. They began to transform Ye Qingxuan. Although the moonlight could well resist the energy of the abyss, Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness had been locked since he had been dragged into a vesicle. Now it was only a matter of time before he was brainwashed. "The Physical World is really a good place. He is really a treasure and we are so lucky to get him. While the abyss in the Aether world is such a barren land" The whining musician finally revealed his true identity. They all abandoned their bodies in the outflowing layer and got into it in the form of the incarnation of music theory. In particular, the music theory of the whining musician sounded a bit like the roaring of a beast. Soon, the spirituality changed into a physical form. It neither looked like a human nor a beast, and there were some scales on it. Obviously, it was a terrain dwarf that was rarely seen in the Physical World. It looked a bit like a lizard and a bit like a semi-dragon. This race was very different from their distant relatives. Still, they were all the faithful followers of Hyakume. They did not have too many peers, but each of them was very talented in music. When they grew a few hundred years old, almost every one of them could become a musician of Resonation class. Among them, there were many demogorgons that had the Symphony of Predestination. This sort of demogorgon usually mastered the trick of sound of heart of domination. The whining musician was one of them. When he came to the Sacred City, in less than a few hours, he had managed to catch some puppets and his power increased by a few multiples. "Although you are just a Master, you have got great potential. Which school do you belong to?" The land-walking dwarf stared at Ye Qingxuan, while suppressing his hunger. "You are so perfect! If I make you the shelter of my elements, there is a chance that I can upgrade to the class of scepter." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan watched him and gave a strange smile. "Oops,I forgot to tell you that there are fifteen more!" 507 I’ve Been Tired Snap! In the vesicle, the Symphony of Pedestination of Ye Qingxuan suddenly collapsed and disappeared like a bubble, leaving only the scattered light to drift away. Disappeared? The terrain dwarf froze, and the music theories around his body immediately floated to the surrounding area as if it had gone crazy. Then he saw... Fifteen wispy bright moons rose from his side. They overlapped each other and turned into a huge moon which was real and strong. In the moon disk, the Symphony of Predestination revolved with numerous music theories rubbing each other and spewing out resounding melody. Unexpectedly... Close at hand! With no time for him to react, the horn roared, and reverberated through the entire outflowing layer of the enchantment. The iron-clad melody shook countless vesicles, as if it awakened the terrible memories that slept deepest in their heritage, leaving all the demons feeling terrified from their hearts. Immediately afterwards, Ye Qingxuan''s will emerged from the moon and, with a pleasant smile, drove a glorious melody that seemed to announce the coming of dawn toward the dwarf. The dwarf resisted the inexplicable fear and snarled with joyous and frenzied melody bursting out. Five puppets resonated and echoed with him, skyrocketing his power. In an instant, in the outflowing layer, the abyssal music theory boiled and fell on him. He almost inflated into a giant monster and weighed down angrily on the moon in front of him. In the next moment, countless frantic changes in music theory ended abruptly, and somehow a fatal gap appeared. This gap shouldn''t have appeared. Even an apprentice wouldn''t make such a silly mistake! It was not until the music movement had stopped that the terrain dwarf discovered that the five puppet demons had stopped reacting and fallen into silence. They had been bound by the intangible music theory at an unknown time and couldn''t even move a bit, as if they were beasts trapped in a cage. It was like being crucified by an invisible hammer and a silver cone on a burning post! In the impassioned melody of horn, Ye Qingxuan''s music movement had been condensed. The music movement carried fanaticism inside, and countless music theories fluctuated, like a flame burning fiercely. Looking upon it now, the dwarf discovered the true colors of that thing... "Barren, barren mountains..." No one had ever heard the big demons screaming in such panic. Their voices were full of great fears, as if they saw their enemy of destiny. "How could it be... the Night of Barren Mountain?" In the next moment, Ye Qingxuan, who had incarnated into a moon, boomed the last roar of horn. As a result, the horrible "purifying fire" burst from the Symphony of Predestination of the five puppets. The Symphony of Predestination soaked in the abyssal music theory and met the Night of Barren Mountain as if a rat with kerosene on its butt ran into a torch. In an instant, the fierce purifying music theory broke out from the very core, cruelly and madly, and fought with the abyssal music theories. Once the music theory that seemed to be simple and pure operated, it became crazy enough to eliminate the enemies even with its own death. In the Symphony of Predestination, every note was experiencing unprecedentedly fierce changes and fell apart in turbulence. Only such drastic changes could give spectators the illusion of "burning." The flame was like a living creature, sucking all the power from the five puppets. When it had expanded itself to the limit, the Tide of Flames had already been formed. Immediately after Ye Qingxuan''s guidance, the Tide of Flames flowed upstream and rushed into his deity along the chain music theory manipulated by the puppets. Broke out with a loud sound! At that moment, in the outflowing layer of enchantment, all the big demons who had stayed there heard the loud sound which was like the horrible screaming of brutally tortured people. They saw the purifying music theory dancing fiercely like the rising of flames. At the same time, they felt the fear of flames for the first time! They recalled the burning posts all over the mountains in the memory of their heritage, which burned the sky with dark and crazy flames. Then, spontaneously, they burst out the unprecedentedly... Strong intention to kill! Since the first instant of entering the outflowing layer, Ye Qingxuan had hidden most of his power in the clothes of original sin. Paganini''s Changing Music Theory was the best among the profound theories in the School of Modifications. Instead of rigidly adhering to material changes, it had mastered the profound changes and changed with them. The changes might be holy or filthy, great or small. As long as it was there, the users could freely change their own music theories without any restrictions. Otherwise, Paganini wouldn''t have sent it to assist Ludovic. Its power was obviously strong in that Paganini had hidden his identity for years in the Sacred City, even when he had fallen into the abyss in the past. Unfortunately, the Changing Music Theory could never change the nature completely. Paganini had been delving it in the abyss for many years, but there was still a step away from the total "renewal." This step was a far cry. Now, Ye Qingxuan got the clothes of original sin, which could instantly cover all of his music theories and enable him to blend into the abyssal music theories freely. Many big demons had checked, but none of them had discovered the true trace of Ye Qingxuan. After having thrown out an illusion with the power of a bell tower to attract the firepower outside, Ye Qingxuan hid himself behind the illusion, and planted the music theory of the "Night of Barren Mountains" into the five puppets in which the music theory then exploded in an instant. As a result, a big demon was turned into ashes with just one move in the enchantment of the abyss. At this moment, after having obtained the heritage of Abraham''s music theories, Ye Qingxuan''s "Night of Barren Mountain" really possessed its spirituality, and his Purifying Fire was endowed with a soul as if it was a living thing. The Purifying Fire absorbed the power to strengthen itself and turned into a giant monster after having ignited all the music theories and Symphony of Predestination of the six big demons. The flames were spreading. At this moment, all people in the Sacred City saw that a bit of frantic fire was lit above the sky. Like the flare of the sun. It was the Purifying Fire spreading over the vesicle forest of the abyss! The flames ignited all the vesicles and abyssal music theories that they reached and turned them into ashes as ifa spark had fallen into a pile of dead leaves. The "Hatching Nest" set off by the abyssal musicians were cramping and trembling as if it felt the sharp pain. The germinating embryos and the seeds of the abyss were lit by the flames and screamed sharply. With the big demons as firewood, the Night of Barren Mountains started a prairie fire. In a flash, it wiped out the large vesicle forest! It was just like stirring up a hornet''s nest. In the turbid music theory, loud noises came and went away. The moon that Ye Qingxuan had incarnated into hovered at the very center of the Purifying Fire, staring indifferently at the abyssal musicians and the frenzied big demons that flocked in from all directions. The war was about to start. At this moment, the collision of the music theories in the outflowing layer had already lit up the sky. The faint sensation of the surviving musicians eroded by the abyss burst out a loud sound . The musicians stuck to the final defense, lifted their heads, and observed the situation in outflowing layer. And the moonlight that they seemed to have met before... A young man covered all over with blood gasped, and turned back in surprise, screaming, "Master! Master! You see, the enchantment of the Sacred City has begun to recover! We will be alright!" The old man with a half-incomplete body lifted his head from the ground and looked up with ecstasy. But the ecstasy was quickly frozen by cold reality. In the end, there was only a sense of disappointment left. "Silly boy." He shook his head and said, "The other silly boy has drilled into the enemy''s pocket. The outflowing layer of the enchantment has already been transformed into a demon''s nest by the dark minister." "But..." "Forty-one big demons." The old man whispered in a hoarse voice, "Some of them even have a scepter. There are definitely dark ministers outside the enchantment to assist. He can''t make it. " The young man turned back in shock and looked at the moonlight that was firing angrily in darkness. He only felt sad without reason. The old man knew more clearly than he did, was more familiar with what the moonlight represented. He sighed. "I hadn''t expected that the Sacred City would be reduced to this point, and only one person stood out..." He closed his eyes again. "Such a pity." Above the canopy, demons fell down from the dark outflowing layer as if it was raining. In the encirclement of angry abyssal music theories, many huge aether waves emerged one by one, bringing out the breath of vastness from the abyss. They originally sneaked in the enchantment and now reunited together to form a real body, leaving the fissures in the precarious enchantment. The large pieces of Symphony of Predestination ran on it, with spirituality emerging and interweaving into the shadows from the abyss. In the deepest part of the darkness, outside the enchantment, a scepter was suspended. Behind the scepter, a shadow frowned and opened its eyes, staring at the familiar moonlight. "Who is there?" At this moment, the abyss was like an iron wall in the outflowing layer. Dozens of aether waves intertwined together and evolved into terrible chaos. The music theories were attracting each other fiercely. The real and strong moonlight was dragged and about to fall into the cracks of the abyss. The presence of the forty-one big demons almost overwhelmed Ye Qingxuan. In the pure white moon disk, Ye Qingxuan''s spirituality was condensed, showing the figure of a young man who lowered his eyes and seemed to be contemplating. Faced with many strong enemies, a smile appeared in the corner of his mouth, which was quite annoying. "Maybe you haven''t heard of my name." In the births and deaths of the notes, the young man said with hoarse voice, "I wanted to introduce myself, but you are not interested in who I am, like the friend who was burned to death. So, skip this step. " He sensed the turmoil around him, and sighed. "Honestly speaking, I''m tired of playing with you all the time." Ye Qingxuan smiled like saying, "Let''s change our position tonight," and proposed, "Let''s fight without thinking!" Fight without thinking? All the people there were stunned and they didn''t even know what Ye Qingxuan was saying. The next moment, the silver moon roared and flew forward! Just for a blink, the moonlight crashed with the darkness in its face. The hurricane swept and roared. All the big demons were shocked. Among the loud noises, the arrogant and mad laughter of Ye Qingxuan rang in the everyone''s ears. "Come on! Don''t be afraid!" 508 Craziness Bang! The moonlight that Ye Qingxuan transformed into absorbed all the music theory of dissipation. By using the tactics he had learned from the School of Abstinence, he condensed his Symphony of Predestination to a point. He improved his music theory and music notes, and enhanced the structure of music theory. Bang! He bumped against the vesicle forest again. The purifying fire soon spread all over the vesicle forest and moved along with the moonlight, leaving a straight line on the outflowing layer in the enchantment. Everything that was in the way was crushed to pieces and vanished. The broken music theory of the abyss was burnt to ashes and completely disappeared. Throughout history, no Master dared to savagely bump against someone with his own Symphony of Predestination like Ye Qingxuan had! He dared to do so because he had enough courage and experience. He had been aided by the energy of sixteen bell towers, and his sub-originator had become extremely steady. Based on the path of domain he inherited from Abraham, Ye Qingxuan had fully developed the tactics of the School of Stone Heart. Moreover, Ye Qingxuan had the stone of sage in the core of his Symphony of Predestination. As long as it was intact, he could never be killed by bumping himself against the vesicle forest. So there was no need for him to be afraid. In the blink of an eye, based on the music theory of Channeling Change, Ye Qingxuan combined all his music theories into one. In his symphony, the part in which the stone of sage resonated with catastrophe was covered and stopped working, leaving only his seal of moonlight working. The music Ye Qingxuan played sounded extremely terrifying. The moonlight began to collapse, as numerous music theories were played at the same time. The moonlight collapsed, and a burning crystal sword rose up from the ruins. The sword quickly flew towards the closest demogorgon, the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei on the sword ringing and making huge sound. "What the f*ck is this?!" Before the demogorgon collected its mind, it was hit by the sword. Bang! The two totally different music movements collided with each other! In the Physical World, the outflowing layer in the enchantment was the place that mostly resembled the Pure Aether world as well as the music theory itself. Once the two totally different music movements and the two absolutely different music theories mixed together, the most fundamental elements from both sides collided with each other. It was like ice mixing with fire, or alkali ash poured into a bottle of strong acid. This collision caused a chain reaction that no one could control! The scary aether wave started to spread into all directions, and the whole enchantment trembled with the echoing roar. Various illusions appeared among the broken music theories. In the center, the enormous, deep, and serene music movement of the abyss was penetrated by the sword. The purifying music theory and the music movement of the abyss were having a brutal fight with each other. A fight between the two different structures, two kinds of music theories, and two musical notes. Suddenly, a fire erupted and devoured the spirituality of the demogorgon, and at last, it completely vanished. Ye Qingxuan held the sword that was covered with tiny cracks in his hand and checked it. "Good." He gave a satisfied smile, and stared at the other enemies near him. "There are still forty more left." "We all know that the Symphony of Predestination is very powerful. It is like jumping from a tall building and hitting someone; that person is sure to die, but can you be sure that you will survive it? Yes, you have been aided by the energy of the sixteen bell towers, and are even more powerful than a few men added together. But the demogorgons from the abyss are never easy to defeat! How many lives have you got? Let me tell you, you have only got one life!" said someone from the crowd. "There is no need to worry about me." Ye Qingxuan shyly laughed. "I am perfectly fine." The clothes of original sin was slowly spreading out. The music theory of Channeling Change permeated like fog, devoured the broken Symphony of Predestination and made it part of its body. At the same time, an indistinct figure gradually appeared on the real body of the clothes of original sin. It looked very dark and ominous. "The first one, done!" Ye Qingxuan smiled. Then the moonlight sword flew out again. "The next one!" Bang! At that moment, everyone saw it. In the sky, the darkness gradually gathered together and took on a physical form. Tens of demogorgons sent out their aether wave. The music theory of the abyss continually flew out from the abyss like the tide and poured into the outflowing layer. It was the Abyss Projection! These demogorgons completely changed the outflowing layer into Abyss Projection in the Physical World, at the cost of consuming their original power. Countless corporealized devils appeared in the projection, and the demogorgons all changed back to their original form. The magnificent aether wave raged as the dark stars rose up, quickly rotated, and created a huge roar. The whole Sacred City began to shake and moved closer and closer to the Aether world at a faster speed. Even the slightest light was being devoured by the dark, but there was still a dim light shined back against the pure dark. "What is that?" The survivors were stunned. They gazed at the sky and murmured, "Can it be the moon?" The whole outflowing layer had been filled with the air of the abyss and changed into the devil''s land. In the darkness that was as infinite as the deep sea or the universe, ten abyss whirlpools were rotating and colliding with each other, creating powerful energy waves. Right at that moment, a dim moon gradually rose up and shone in bright silver light. The moon was moving very quickly across the sky, like the lightning. Wherever it went, the darkness was torn apart by its light. From the crack, the dim starlight could be seen. The scary tide kept rising up in the enchantment, and it never stopped, not for a single minute. Its frequencies and beats were already beyond most of the musicians'' spiritual sensing. A thousand times per second, ten thousand times per second, a hundred thousand times per second with each second that passed, the speed of the collisions and the changes of the music theory were getting quicker and quicker. The cautious ones had already stopped their spiritual sensing and hid themselves; while the audacious ones could only sense a ray of scary light that was about to tear their sensing apart. Inside the light, there was even a magnificent sword! "That is the moonlight!" Every musician who knew clearly what was really going on in the outflowing layer could not suppress their surprise and astonishment. They felt like all the values they held and their interpretations of this world had been overturned. They simply could not believe it was the moonlight. "He is insane!" The Symphony of Predestination! Each aether wave was a Symphony of Predestination of a certain master''s, or a core music theory of a certain demogorgon! The Symphony of Predestination was a precious fruit that contained a musician''s heart, soul, consciousness, interpretation to the world, thinking, and all the music theories he had mastered! A fruit that could only be granted after going through countless obstacles, tortures, and so on. Each note of a Symphony of Predestination was a rare artwork that stood for a strong man''s whole life of vicissitudes. Such a precious object as a Symphony of Predestination was something that, normally, should be carefully kept inside a musician''s body. But Ye Qingxuan used it as a weapon! What a waste! At the same time, how fierce the war was! A war in which Ye Qingxuan fought with forty enemies. This war was between a human and the abyss. There was nothing sophisticated, or gracious about this war. This war was only about killing. Every time the moonlight sword hit the abyss, a note of the music theory, or the abyss whirlpool, that stood for the core of the demogorgon would be torn to pieces. Every time the abyss counterattacked, the crack on the surface of the moonlight sword got even bigger. In ten seconds, the war between the two sides had reached its climax. The moonlight sword was besieged by the darkness, and suddenly, the sword met a powerful enemy. When the moonlight sword that was shining in pure white penetrated the sixth abyss whirlpool, it hit against the closest demogorgon as it had five times before. However, this time was rather different. When it hit the demogorgon, it felt to Ye Qingxuan like the sword had hit against an iron plate. In the blink of an eye, the aether wave suddenly changed drastically. It revealed its true form. It was expanding, expanding, and expanding At last, it expanded to a huge shadow that almost covered the whole sky. Was that a tree? Ye Qingxuan felt that the music theory all over himself had been shaken, and his consciousness was almost destroyed; even his Symphony of Predestination that had been aided by the energy of bell towers collapsed! With only one hit, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination had collapsed nine times; most of the energy of the sixteen bell towers had been weakened; Ye Qingxuan was severely traumatized and could no longer maintain the "void" and collapsed. Before Ye Qingxuan realized what had happened, the enormous tree shadow reached out a branch and pressed on him. The dirty music theory of the abyss intertwined, changed into a chain, and imprisoned him. This must be the effect of a Scepter! This figure must be extremely powerful! "It is time to call it a day!" The aether wave intertwined and created a hoarse voice. "The ''hero game'' among the children should not go too far." The energy that the voice gave out impacted his sanity and almost changed him into a devil. Earlier, Ye Qingxuan did not notice this presence. Until it revealed its true identity, he hadn''t realized there was such a scary presence inside the outflowing layer. 509 Black Branches of the Abyss That was a tree. A tree that was unprecedentedly huge! In the outflowing layer, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t even see the entire tree, but only inferred how big the terrible monster was by the way its shadow covered the entire Sacred City. The terrible giant tree sprouted from the abyss, extended out of the Aether World, and crossed the nine layers of the Aether Sea. It came to the Physical World in the form of pure music theory, and rooted deeply in the enchantment of the Sacred City. Just like being planted in soil. All the abyssal music theories that Ye Qingxuan had seen were just its tentacles. The alchemical matrix in the outflowing layer was filled with complicated and chaotic abyssal music theories which seemed to be disordered and scattered, but actually contained certain rhythms and rules. Although it extended thousands of miles, the trace of it couldn''t be caught. In this way, it continued to draw on the power of the Sacred City and bred new seeds. Once the most crucial one was affected, a terrible chain reaction would occur, the chaos would disappear, and the giant tree would emerge. Thousands of demons grew in the vesicles, and the enormous dark forest withered and were sucked into the giant tree until no ashes remained. It was born in advance, like an angry premature infant, opening its vicious eyes. Even so, it was beyond Ye Qingxuan''s power. Even though the demons were also from the abyss, they didn''t dare to get close to it. They deftly avoided the branches which would drain them up in anger. Its appearance represented Ye Qingxuan''s total failure. Absolute strength gap settled everything down. Everything became a foregone conclusion with no possibility of change. Only at the sight of its shadow, all the living things on the ground felt the fear in their hearts. "Master what''s that?" On the ground, the young musician who had hoped that Ye Qingxuan could reverse the critical situation had already fallen to the ground. There was a huge shadow reflected his eyes with complete despair. He even felt his organs twisting into a mess. He didn''t even dare to look. "That''s a dark minster, child." The old musician looked up to it and whispered, "In legend, the first masterpiece dedicated to the Hyakume by the Mother of Earth was the Abyssal Branches, Menti. It is the gatekeeper of the abyss, rooted in the turbid flow of the Aether World, guarding the territory for the Hyakume. Among all the dark ministers, it is the oldest. The golden age of mankind, just five hundred years, is nothing compared to it..." The Sacred City trembled and roared. The old musician lowered his head with a miserable smile, crawled up from the ground, then looked down at the huge crack in his chest, took out an organ with a metal texture and put it into the hand of the youth. The young man was stunned. "This is the inheritor''s aether furnace with all my music theories inside." The old man touched the black hair of the young man, his palms covered with dried blood, and smiled. "Victor, from today on, I entrust you with the School of Mist." Victor looked at him blankly. "Master..." "Run, child." The old musician laughed and looked up at the huge shadow that enveloped the entire city. He whispered, "Run. The farther you run, the better..." According to legend, there was a tree in the Cloud Tower that could bloom with a variety of colors. Two times a year, when the flowering season arrived, the numerous pink petals fluttered in the air and rained down. Poets said that it was a thrilling beauty. But its beauty was cruel and terrible, built on the corpses of the dead. It was said that the more corpses were buried under the tree, the more beautiful the flowers would blossom. Because that was the color left by the souls of the dead. That was just what novelists said. But at that moment, Ye Qingxuan thought that perhaps the legend was true. Isn''t the monster in front of me looking for more corpses? However, I already interrupted its birth, so it can no longer bloom. "Is this premature delivery?" Ye Qingxuan smiled lightly. "I never thought that I would cause so much trouble. I''m really sorry." The white moon barely operated, and its light was bleak. "I didn''t expect you to use such an unfriendly way of saying hello when we first met. Aren''t the people in the abyss polite, Mr. Menti?" Ye Qingxuan asked. The answer was numerous tightening branches. Under the oppression of these branches, the moon cracked and almost completely collapsed. The roots roughly penetrated the Symphony of Predestination, one after another. A giant, twisted face emerged slowly among the intertwining roots. It looked like a human, but something else. "Is it you? No wonder." The eyes of the abyss on that face looked at Ye Qingxuan''s music theory, and seemed to figure something out. "''Ye Qingxuan, I know you.'' Is that what you are going to say?" Ye Qingxuan blinked curiously. "Are you considering recruiting me? Since I''m so intelligent and handsome." "Recruit you? Haha, interesting proposal!" The laughter shook Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination, almost broke it down as the intransigent intention to kill him spread out. Menti''s root-like music theories brutally pulled Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination and tore the protection of the bell towers into pieces as if it was a wrapper on a cheap gift box. With no hesitation. "How do I dare to recruit you? Ye Qingxuan, you have already driven Paganini crazy," tt said with a strange smile. "At least four of the dark ministers hate you deeply. Two of them have already suffered losses because of you... Do you still think that anyone would show mercy to you?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked and quickly said, "Oh, no! Think about it again! You see that I am so young, so talented. If I go to the abyss, I''ll be a diamond in the rough!" "Perhaps other people would show some mercy to you. However, I''m not human, and I''m not eager for any talents. Your little trick doesn''t work on me. So..." It paused and then said indifferently, "A scourge like you should be killed as early as possible." Boom! The last layer of the protection from the bell towers crashed. Although the giant tree stopped attacking, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination still collapsed and reduced the movement of heart sound. Even the "vacuum" couldn''t continue to support the existence of consciousness. Menti was unmoved, and used its roots to tear his music theories one by one, cautiously and indifferently, as if it was cutting a person''s fingers off. Then, the arms and legs. It was also going to open his chest, dig out his heart, cut his skull open, and burn his brain in order to bring inescapable death to Ye Qingxuan. It left him with no room to fight back! "Hey, it''s not necessary to be so vicious!" Ye Qingxuan sighed hard. His illusionary figure trembled and was about to disappear. The inner structure of the heart sound movement has begun to collapse under the pulling of thousands of roots which entangled it viciously, pulled out the notes one by one, and cruelly cut off the music theories. It was like smashing a person from head to foot and burning him into ashes. Leaving no residue. It was in that instant that a faint mist emerged from the outflowing layer and intertwined into the faint outline of a door. The weird and ethereal music theory penetrated the barrier of the outflowing layer, from the outside to the inside. It seemed that the enchantment was nothing for it, and making a way out was not difficult at all. Just behind the core of the black branches of the abyss. Something was coming! The face of Menti was shocked, and suddenly turned back and saw only a burning light. It was the splendid radiance of a burning Symphony of Predestination. Even though it was as small as dust compared to giant monsters like dark ministers, it still burned in anger, and hurled out blazing lights. The roar broke the sky like a sudden thunder, reverberating in the Sacred City. Heavenly Thunder! "Death to the demons!" The hoarse old voice echoed. The Symphony of Predestination shook in the old man''s body that had already been set on fire. The flames spewed out of his mouth and nose, and his eyes burst with fierce lights. He rushed to Menti while he was burning. "Madcap..." Menti mocked him. Then it bent the roots with the abyssal movement, sent them bursting out to that faint light. The light was extinguished, as if it was crushing a firefly. But for that moment, the black roots found no one there! No one! The door of mist opened again. A figure passed through layers of dark music theories and took the blow with his own body. He rushed to Ye Qingxuan without any hesitation, reached out, and carefully pulled the broken moonlight into his arms. Disregarding the angry roots that pierced his body. Burning blood dropped from his face, fell in his arms, with high heat and pain. The abyss music theory was like a thorn, tearing his flesh and causing his Symphony of Predestination to fall apart. "Who are you?" Ye Qingxuan froze. He had never seen this seriously wounded old man, nor did he expect that someone would be willing to burn the Symphony of Predestination, to face an enemy like black branches of the abyss, and risk his life to save Ye Qingxuan''s. When the old man heard his voice, he smiled hard and didn''t a word. The smile was embarrassed and happy, as if he felt that he had done a great thing. "Go..." Under the erosion of the abyss roots, he exhausted his strength and gently pushed the moonlight forward. In his body, the Symphony of Predestination was completely broken down. However, his remaining strength opened a small door of mist in the outflowing layer. A door leading to the outside world. Go. Go now. The old musician laughed and allowed the branches of the abyss to sprout out from his body and pierce through his five sense organs. But he looked very happy and satisfied. Very good! This is very good. I had no courage to be a hero for my entire mediocre life, but at least this dead body can still leave a seed of hero for the world. Snap! His smile froze. A sharp branch exploded out of his chest, through his lungs and heart. The branch extended forward and stopped the moonlight in front of the mist door. Even though the door of mist was only a few millimeters away. A step away. Menti crushed the door of mist, and looked at the old man indifferently: "You thought you could save him?" Blood foam flew backward into the broken lungs and flushed into his mouth. The old musician looked at the door of mist with regret and lowered his head. "I wanted to try it but..." The old musician sighed with his last strength and laughed at himself. "At least... the death is decent..." He said, "I''m sorry." In the distance, the young man screamed in pain. The roots of the abyss had torn up the old musician completely, leaving no bones. Blood rained. Fell on the white moon. Ye Qingxuan kept silent for a while, stared sadly at the place where the old musician was for the last moment. Before he died, the old musician told me that he was sorry. He was sorry for not being able to save me. But I should be the one to say sorry. He lowered his head in disgrace. On the ground, the young man didn''t leave. Holding the thing his master left behind, he ran into the abyssalized city, rushed into the sky, and slammed the giant shadow that covered the sky, screaming with tears. He wanted revenge for his teacher. Menti stretched out a tentacle with no expression on his face. The young man fell apart. Only the metal organ that he had held in his hand fell from the air. The last heritage of the School of Mist fell onto the steel ground and shattered. The angry and desperate sound echoed in the silent city. It woke up those eyes that hadn''t been able to look. In the dead city, silent musicians clenched their fists. "God, please have mercy on me." Some people whispered and prayed for the last time. "Please lead me to the heaven." Immediately afterwards, a fiery glow suddenly appeared from the man''s body in the dark, dead city. In the darkness, it rose like a morning star. This man flew from the earth to the sky, with the heart sound movement blaring. Like the young man, he rushed to the enemy. An invincible enemy. Then, came the second glow, the third glow... In this dead city, among the blood and the dead, some people stood out, clenched their swords and weapons, and rose one after another. Just like moths flying into the fire, they crashed into the shadow of the abyss tree. They provoked the giant monster in front of them, and were torn up lightly, leaving the burning blood to splash in the city and bring a brief moment of dim light. God, I deliver my soul to you. Please have mercy on me. Please lead me to heaven. Then they walked toward death. Ye Qingxuan turned his head and couldn''t bear to look at them again. "Are they your helpers?" Looking at Ye Qingxuan with confusion, Menti laughed and shook its head with self-mockery. "I was scared by what Paganini had said. I thought you were strong enough to fight back." "Actually, they shouldn''t have come to save me." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and whispered, "Otherwise, they wouldn''t die so with no value..." "It seems that I overestimated you." Menti shook its head. The giant tree shook violently. More roots stretched out from the shadow and pierced into the enchantment of the Sacred City, turning the giant enchantment into more soil for it grow on . "You know what?" Menti suddenly heard the voice of Ye Qingxuan. "In the Temple, my favorite chapter is the third chapter of Matthew." 510 Gospel "You know what, in the Holy Temple, my favorite part is the third chapter of Matthew," Ye Qingxuan suddenly said to Menti. "I see." Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s voice, Menti still felt a bit worried, although he knew that Ye Qingxuan had occupied the whole enchantment. "That chapter said that once a messenger of God landed in the human world and warned the unjust that God was annoyed by their bad deeds," Ye Qingxuan said seriously. "That chapter has always been my favorite since my childhood, and it tells us that the good shall be honored and the bad shall be punished. One day, the messenger might come to the human world to honor the good and to punish the bad. Though I may not be able to live to that day, still, it is something to look forward to." "The mortal worship a phantom and hoped to be saved," Menti sneered, "but there is only one God in this world, and that God is my God." "How about I perform a magic in front of you?" Against the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan looked at him. The broken and dim figure suddenly raised his palm, and there was nothing on his palm. The next minute, a broken cloth changed from the music theory of the clothes of original sin covered his palm. Menti frowned, looked at him, and had no idea what he wanted to do. Ye Qingxuan smiled and took away the cloth with his hand. There was an eyeball on his palm. If he were in a theater, he would surely have received a warm applause from the spectators. Seeing this, Menti was stunned, as if he had seen Hyakume naked, flirting with him and dancing around a steel pole. The eyeball started to disassemble. Numerous music notes flow out, formed a new music theory, and constructed a new symphony. At last, the symphony gathered together and became a tiny clock that floated above Ye Qingxuan''s palm and shone in dim light. Against the dim light, Ye Qingxuan''s face was lit. His face was a bit pale and his black eyeballs shone. "Heaven is approaching, you should all reform yourselves!" Ye Qingxuan murmured, holding the clock. He used up all his strength and shouted to the monsters in front of him, "You serpents, who told you that you could run away from the punishment of God?!" His hoarse voice was as loud as the lightning and echoed in the Sacred City. The whole city trembled, as if it was answering his voice. Bang! The tiny clock began to ring and shine with bright light. For the very first time, the Sacred City received a ray of pure and warm light. It was just like a ray of summer sunshine penetrating a black cloud and shedding upon the dark world. "What the h*ll is this?" Menti was shocked. Suddenly, countless strings appeared in the sky. The strings intertwined with each other and covered the sky above the Sacred City. Each string covered hundreds of thousands of miles. With every tremble, they created a sound like a dragon howling. The strings all extended from the central holy temple. They connected with each other and formed a huge web. The web might looked a bit messy, but every tremble of the strings followed the music theory. This was an ordered and sophisticated system, and in the middle of the web, there was one main axis. Each string was connected with a bell tower. Since there were tens of millions of strings, there were also tens of millions of bell towers. Right at that moment, all the silent bell towers were connected together by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. This magnificent project could never have been completed without the help of Ye Qingxuan and those who had been killed. The music theory of Heaven Ladder ran through Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and the barriers had been cleared. Now, all the music theories gathered on Ye Qingxuan''s hands. The final limit of authorization, which was the key that Albert gave to him and the last life-saving straw that he could grasp to revive the enchantment. With the tiny clock in his hand ringing, countless music theories suddenly trembled, as did the Heaven Ladder. The Jiu Xiao Huan Pei produced a long and lasting sound of dragon howling, as if its tens of millions of strings were being played by an invisible hand. The dragon howling was so loud that anyone who heard it went deaf. The earth began to vibrate! Tens of millions of bell towers on the ground also started to shake and ring! The dust rose up from the ground, flew up to the sky, and spread in all directions. -- "He did it! He did it!" In the central holy temple, sitting in a wheelchair and getting an intravenous fluid, Albert exclaimed with utmost excitement. He was so happy that he almost cried, and he shouted to the operation musicians in front of him, "Move your a*s! Go and revive this d*mn city! Remember that we have lost so many peers in this war!" Albert waved his palms happily and shouted with extreme enthusiasm, "Prepare the straight road for God!" The next minute, the steel and iron- made dome roof above the Aether pond collapsed. The machine hidden in the dome roof was operating in crazy and creating many sparks. Moreover, the steel construction buried underground was activated. A huge pipe organ, created with the help of many countries over several decades, was slowly falling to the ground. After the dome roof of the central holy temple collapsed, more than sixty thousand organ pipes came out and flew to the sky. Sixteen layers of keys and thousands of stops popped out from the wall, ten cables that were as thick as a man''s waist connected to the central harmonious melody instrument, and finally, the floors turned around and revealed the pedals. More than sixty thousand tubes that connected with the engine changed their directions and connected to the core, and in this way, continually provided the enormous musical instrument with power. The water in the aether pond was boiling and shining in silverlight, a throne in which Ye Qingxuan''s body was sitting, then disappeared and moved into the core. Everything was ready. "God, please bless us," Albert prayed in the silence. "Long live the Sacred City!" The next minute, the pipe organ produced an extremely high pitched sound, a huge cloud of mist spurted out of the organ pipes. Tens of millions of bell towers began to shake, and the magnificent sound wave continued to spread in all directions. At that moment, everyone in the world saw the same scene: a white moon rose up from a burning tree and stopped in the middle of sky. The moonlight tore the darkness into pieces and shed itself upon the world. The moon was in the sky. I am here. -- The final limit of authorization in Ye Qingxuan''s hand rang. Then, the black branches of the abyss that had covered the whole Sacred City trembled. In the center part of the black branches, there was a broken moon. Its pieces immediately gathered together and began to shine. Accompanied by the holy and magnificent ringing, all the branches exploded. The enormous shadow that covered the whole sky angrily brandished its branches. It reached its branches into the Physical World, and at the same time, the explosions came from time to time inside its body. With each explosion, a bloody crack formed on its body. As if the explosions had already been planned by thousands of Masters, in a short while, more than half of the roots of the tree were destroyed. As for Ye Qingxuan, he did not even move a finger. Instead, he just coldly watched the shadow of the huge tree suffering with misery. "Have I just been aided by the energy of the bell tower? No, this cannot be true!" Menti shouted. "You are right!" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Just now, you have been aided by the energy from all the bell towers. You have the strength equivalent to that of hundreds of Masters added together. But it all relies on the music theory of the seal of moonlight." "So what do you think of the magic I did just now? It is not bad, is it?" Hearing this, Menti yelled at him with all its strength. If a musician was aided by the energy of a bell tower, his strength could be elevated to the level of a Master, which was something that every musician in the Sacred City longed for. Throughout history, no one ever aided a devil with the purifying music theory, a devil that stood for all the dark devils in the abyss It was like someone walking into a mine full of natural gas with a torch in his hand. Since the music theory of Menti and Ye Qingxuan''s purifying music theory were completely different, the music theories would create an explosion once they met. Which meant that the energy of hundreds of Masters offset Menti''s energy that had accumulated the whole night, and severely damaged his projection in the Physical World. The huge tree was trembling severely. It reached out countless branches and penetrated the enchantment and aimed at the moon. "Ye Qingxuan!" "I am here!" Ye Qingxuan smiled and gazed at its twisted and broken face. In his hand, the music theory of the final limit of authorization was trembling. Aided by the energy of numerous bell towers, the moon got brighter and brighter. The light was now as bright as sunlight and too dazzling to look at. Tens of millions of strings trembled, producing a magnificent music. The bell towers rang from time to time to resonate with the music. A round holy emblem appeared in the moon and floated right behind Ye Qingxuan. Countless music theories were running across the emblem. This time, Ye Qingxuan did not absorbed the energy from the bell towers, but transferred it all to the enchantment. In the blink of an eye, the holy light filled the whole outflowing layer. All the music theory of the abyss made a sound of screaming and completely vanished. The roots of the black branches of the abyss were all waving, and after a short while, they all disappeared! "The cracks among the mountains shall be filled up; all the peaks of the mountains shall be kept at the same height; the bumpy road shall be smooth; and the plateau shall all turn into plain!" Ye Qingxuan''s voice was echoing across the whole sky. "The door to heaven shall be opened, the truth shall come to the world, and every decent man and woman shall witness this together!" The Sacred City made of steel and iron made a huge sound! 511 Sword of Judgmen Countless people had made great sacrifices and suffered a lot of pain and torture. At that cost, the enchantment of the Sacred City was finally recaptured from the abyss! The highway of God was ready. The highway of God had been straightened. Ye Qingxuan heard the bell in his hand ringing. The complicated and ancient melody emerged from the "Final Authority" and poured into his consciousness. That wasan indescribably magnificent music movement! Innumerable music theories occupied his soul in an instant, urging his body to play, to sing, and to release the movement that represented miracles. Thus, in the Central Temple, numerous perception threads stretched out from Ye Qingxuan''s body, and accessed the countless keys. He manipulated the unprecedentedly large musical instrument, and lead the pipe organ to create that solemn symphony with unimaginable dexterity and smoothness. The melody stunned the Sacred City. Countless musicians shouted in shock. The holy spirits under the ninth level of the earth happened to look up towards the solar disk at the same time. That was "The Ninth Symphony!" The Ninth Symphony Prelude created by the original King of Red! From Ye Qingxuan''s fingertips, the symphony was performed according to his will in the controlling center of the Central Temple, and it reverberated in the whole steel city. Wherever it passed, all churches, buildings, and facilities echoed in response. Sacred City! This was the Sacred City! The Sacred City had woken up! The spirituality that had been sleeping in the deepest part of the Sacred City condensed and reemerged. Thousands of bells were ringing at the same time and intertwining into many incredibly magnificent music theories. Those countless music theories ran in the steel city, like the blood flowing through the body of a giant. At that moment, the city finally opened its eyes. As if God''s messenger had finally come to the earth. Behind Ye Qingxuan, the burning holy emblem suddenly expanded and floated between heaven and earth, like a man-made sun! That was the authority that could only be mastered by the Kings of Red of all ages. Even if it was only a prelude, it was still powerful enough to call the foundation of the seven schools of musiciansthe power represented by the holy ax! "Holy, Holy, Holy!" In front of the holy emblem that burned like the sun, Ye Qingxuan was immersed in the magnificent music movement. With his will, the angry scream that was as loud as thunder rang between heaven and earth! "To purify all the poisonous snakes in the name of the holy spirit and fire!" "To beat them with iron rods and smash them like the crockery of the potters!" In the enchantment of the Sacred City, the spirituality in the prelude of The Ninth Symphony flew into the consciousness of Ye Qingxuan. He was enabled to separate from the narrow perspective of humanity and endowed with endless lights and heats. He was at the moment overlooking the world! "Tell those who are here and who are not that this is the only correct principle and gospel in the world! Those who work for it are righteous! Those who died for it can be redeemed!" He reached out. Then, above the earth, a trumpet roared. Numerous burning posts rose abruptly out of the ground, and countless cold silver spikes fell from the sky. Immediately afterward, purified flames spewed out from the burning posts. From here to there. From one side of the world to the other side of the world. Everything that could be seen was on fire. It was as if the day of judgment had come upon the earth, flames pouring out from the silent ground, giving all sinners equal and merciful purification! Ye Qingxuan looked up. Behind him, the wheel of the Holy Emblem was revolving with a magnificent and loud sound, as if iron and steel were rubbing against each other. Then, the enchantment oscillated. The roaring melody ran from the Central Temple, and then through the action zone, the creation zone, the formation zone, and the outflow zone. Endless light flew out from the solar disk. Like a waterfall. Countless rays of light poured into the enchantment, sweeping in all directions. Then the lights ignited the dark clouds in the sky, burned up the dark fog in the abyss, and destroyed all the demons completely! In the end, the lights went up and then towards the huge shadow that covered the sky... Cast the Sword of Judgment! As stated in the Holy Bible, Prepare and straighten the highway of God. Heaven is near, and God will cast the Sword of Judgment into the world through the opened gate! The blade of the sword revolved in all directions, glowing and bursting out flames. Forward! Forward! Forward! It would pierce the earth if it encountered the earth. It would light up the sky if it encountered the sky. It was going to break down the nine layers of hell, tear up the endless abyss, and burn off all sins! Boom! A huge crack emerged on the trunk of the abyss black branches, running from the front to the back. Above the trunk, the strange face of Menti had been completely burned into ashes, only leaving a shrill cry spreading out with the pulling out of a shadow. Immediately afterward, endless light rushed out of the inside of the abyss black branches. The shadow was torn up from the inside out, and the haze in the abyss was eliminated completely! Menti''s projection in the Physical World was completely destroyed and lost its final foothold. In the aether sea, the vast trunk that ran through the Physical World and the Aether World collapsed. Even his real body far away in the abyss had suffered irreversible and severe wounds. The abyss boiled. The abyss black branches rooted in the deepest part of the abyss whined, pulled out a withered branch like a bone, and cast it toward the Physical World with strong hatred! The target was Ye Qingxuan! Menti tore off the poisonous branch from his own body. The poisonous branch had grown by absorbing the resentment and poison over thousands of years, and being assimilated by the ultimate source of the Hyakume. Since Menti was born, he had only made three poisonous branches. The dagger that it gave to Ludovic to assassinate the Pope was one of them. Now, as a glorious dark minister, he had been tripped up by Ye Qingxuan, and made an even more stupid mistake than Paganini had, which drove him crazy. He wanted to give Ye Qingxuan an unforgettable lesson at any cost! However, the radiance of the enchantment flowed and gathered in the air in front of Ye Qingxuan. The melody of Requiem rang through the entire Sacred City. Holy! Holy! Holy! The nine layers of holy regions formed in an instant. Even the enchantment that contained all the power of the bell towers moved to block the poisonous branch. In an instant, the poisonous branch broke the sky and arrived. Along the way, the aether sea was even smeared with dark green light for that moment. Immediately afterward, countless rays of light shone. The Sacred City shook. The radiance flowing over the huge enchantment resisted the impact from the poisonous branch. But the branch was alive, and it could even be regarded as a part of Menti. Since it lost its momentum as it came, even most of its power, it reduced into a black light, swaying like a live snake. Like taking root in a boulder, it wormed its way through the weak part of the music theory, and ran through the enchantment towards the real body of Ye Qingxuan. In an instant, it penetrated Ye Qingxuan''s holy sphere. One layer, two layers, three layers... With the fragmentation of the former spheres, new spheres formed again. Ye Qingxuan manipulated the music theories of the bell towers, as if he was resonating with thousands of Master musicians. Thus, it was quite hard to know exactly how many spheres collapsed and reformed in just an instant. In the end, the sphere had become a long and narrow one, like a box, getting the dim and black light embedded in it. The poisonous branch couldn''t even move a bit. Like a dragon in a shoal, a tiger in a cage. Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and pressed on the poisonous black branch through the holy spherenature intervention! Thus, the poisonous branch that contained the essence of Menti''s music theories and could be regarded as the quintessence of the abyss trembled, fizzled, and cramped in the box. However, it still couldn''t get rid of the music theories of Ye Qingxuan. In the end, as the holy sphere broke down, it changed into a piece of dead branch which then fell into Ye Qingxuan''s hand. "Such a good stuff." He stared up at the furious Menti in the Aether World and waved with a smile on his face. "You left me such a good gift, dude, even if I made you leave! Okay, please go now, don''t hesitate!" Roaring! The abyss black branches disappeared. It was completely silent between heaven and earth. Ye Qingxuan finally felt relief, and found himself gasping with fatigue. Finally Ended? No, not really. The real boss had not yet unveiled his face. Ye Qingxuan had barely driven away a small dog, let alone ended the war. For the real two parties, this wasn''t even the start. Even so, Ye Qingxuan still felt proud and delighted. The projection of the abyss black branches in the Physical World was destroyed by the last blow, and it was even driven back to the Aether World . It was the second dark minister Ye Qingxuan had defeated. Menti said that in the abyss, there were already four dark ministers who hated him badly. Apart from Paganini, he had no idea who those dark ministers were. If he counted the two incarnations of Hyakume as dark ministers, there would be six of them? Even Ye Qingxuan himself found it incredible. It was too bad. In the meantime, the abundant power and inexhaustible energy just faded like the tides and disappeared. With the end of the Ninth Symphony Prelude, he separated from that marvelous state. When he recalled what had happened in those dozen seconds, he felt like it was just an illusion. At that time, Ye Qingxuan had been like an almighty god, manipulating land, water, fire, wind, and nearly everything. But now, the clear memory blurred rapidly. Like a dispelled dream. But at least... He looked down at the final authority in his hand. The repaired Sacred City enchantment was still in his hands. "Even such a big fight couldn''t draw you out!" In the core of the Central Temple, he opened his eyes, stretched out his hands, and pressed the keys that surrounded him, whispering, "Let me see... where are you hiding?" As the hands bounced flexibly, the pipe organ sounded loudly. In the machine room underneath the Central Temple, the loud sound came back. The hot steam rushed through the pipes like a flood. After running through many diverting valves and pipes, the steam hit the reeds, causing the reeds to burn red, vibrate, and sound loud noises. Thousands of sharp sounds overlapped. Like the hub of the enchantment, those machines allocated the resources and submitted summarized information to Ye Qingxuan. Finally, he resaw the huge nebula of the Central Temple. 512 Transparent Mirror The sparkling nebula permeated the Sacred City, and each sparkle represented a person''s aether wave. The huge enchantment now seemed to become an enormous transparent mirror, revealing every detail of itself in front of Ye Qingxuan. A huge amount of information that was too much for an average person''s brain to store had been categorized by the way of deciphering. About four-fifths of the information was useless and had been deleted, and most of the redundant information among the last one-fifth had also been deleted. At last, via the music theory, the information was transformed into some simple music notes, which Ye Qingxuan bore in mind. He only needed to turn the music notes into different intervals and put them in a fixed place. Then, the music theory of the way of deciphering would help him find the variate he needed within this big formula. Where on earth was the variate that represented Ye Lanzhou? If he looked at the world through this big formula, he sometimes felt puzzled. But once he figured out what the variates and complex music theory really stood for, the world would instantly make sense to him. Especially when the huge enchantment was constantly sending information to Ye Qingxuan, he indeed felt puzzled. His ears and eyes could no longer observe the immediate surroundings, and his brain could not function at the same time. Ye Qingxuan realized that it was necessary for him to change the way he was attempting to do things. Albert had spent his whole life observing this world via the way of deciphering and grasping how this world functioned. He hoped to make a breakthrough by deciphering the music theory, but he failed to read people''s minds. Still, he created a very good tool for Ye Qingxuan, so Ye Qingxuan could find what he needed from this chaotic and complicated world. Sadly, Ye Qingxuan failed to find the Silver Cellar where his teacher was imprisoned after searching the whole Sacred City. Even people at the top of the church group did not know where the Silver Cellar was. If it was not in the Sacred City, then there was little chance Ye Qingxuan could find it, since outside the city, there were too many places where this Silver Cellar could be. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then he stopped thinking and began to play the keys. The transparent mirror delicately changed its angle. The structure of the formula started to change. There were too many secrets in this city. If one wanted to look into every one of them, his whole lifetime would be spent on finding out the secrets hidden deeply in this city. So, Ye Qingxuan decided not to focus too much on the details, but to explore this city in a more macroscopic way. In just a few seconds, Ye Qingxuan''s spiritual sensing covered the whole city. In his mind, countless formulas and variates changed and combined with each other and formed a vague model. This model started to zoom in, following the order given by Ye Qingxuan''s mind, and most of the model blurredthe equation was balanced. Which meant that in this part, there was no variate. Soon, Ye Qingxuan was stunned. In the blurred part, there was a place that was not supposed to be. The place was the habitation of the Holy Spirit, a place where the King of all generations and the Holy Spirit were sleeping! Every Holy Spirit that was going to disperse from this world would come to this place to get its own stone coffin, and bury itself in advance. In this way, it could stay longer in this world. Until now, more than ten Holy Spirits had dispersed in their coffins. Among them was the oldest Holy Spirit, the King of Romulus, who was respectfully addressed as "Aeneid," the Spirit of Thunder. Normally, there should be hundreds of scepters kept in this place. If the enchantment was the shield of the Sacred City, then these holy spirits were the spear of the Sacred City. After observing this place through the transparent mirror, Ye Qingxuan found the situation in the habitation to be much worse than he thought. When the enchantment of the Sacred City was occupied by the demogorgons from the abyss, they knew once this habitation was destroyed, the whole Sacred City would fall into pieces. At that time, layers of layers of seals and single enchantments were all activated. The soldiers stood outside to guard the palace. A large group of musicians were killed by the demogorgons. The whole plaza was soaked with blood and covered with dead bodies, looking like hell. However, these soldiers and musicians never knew that inside the palace, there was nothing. Ye Qingxuan adjusted the transparent mirror. His spiritual sensing extended into the coffin, then he fell into silence. It was empty! Every coffin was empty. The sleeping holy spirits had all disappeared. Ye Qingxuan was shocked, then he looked in the direction of the Pope palace and smiled, as if he had understood something. I do not know who did this. Although he managed to transfer all the holy spirits, he has not been of any help in defending this city. Countless civilians were killed At last, the exploring model was completed, and the Instrument of harmonious melody that was set outside the city received many signals. Ye Qingxuan had already known what was going on in this world. Apart from the Sacred City, more than sixteen cities in this world sent an SOS to Ye Qingxuan. More than seven catastrophes came to the human world from the Dark World, killing people and destroying cities. All the countries had been fighting with them by using their unique tricks, but were still at a disadvantage. However, if they would be willing to use the artifacts they had been kept for so long, they could definitely defeat the catastrophes. Surprisingly, Ye Qingxuan had not received an SOS from Anglo. The Anglo was in dead silence and shrouded in a mist. That made Ye Qingxuan feel very worried. Could it be possible that Anglo was already destroyed by the catastrophe? Surely that is not possible The ringing sound made by Hyakume had woken Leviathan up, and Leviathan could be attacking Anglo now. Still, Anglo had gone into war status in advance of the other countries. Even if Ye Qingxuan was not there, they had both the Stone Sword and the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. Besides, Maxwell could well defend his city without Ye Qingxuan. In Ye Qingxuan''s view, it was impossible that Anglo had been destroyed by the demogorgons. However, no matter how hard he tried, he still did not receive any signal. Anglo was still shrouded in a mist, as if it had been isolated from the world. Moreover, Bayer, the director of the Association of Musicians, did not make any connection. The whole country, including the sea around it, was all shrouded in a layer of thick fog. The fog was like a sleeping monster that had just devoured the whole country. No one had come out of the fog. The aether channel of the fifth department was in chaos, and apart from many disturbing random electronic waves, Ye Qingxuan could only hear the sound of people who were doing field service. He kept silent for a while, then he gave an order with his limit of authorization: everyone should stay where they were right now, and once he got the signal, they should all go to Anglo. In fact, abnormal phenomena were happening in every corner of the world, not just in Anglo. This was due to the disruptions of the basic music theory. Currently, there was too little distance between the Aether World and the Physical World. In the wild, where there was no church, the rule of the Physical World had been covered by the disruptive music theory. Luckily, in every city or place where people congregated, there were either churches or bell towers built by the church groups. So these places were still fine. But in the pioneering manors, the wilds and the abandoned fields, everything was in chaos. In some areas, the gravitation went unbalanced; in other areas, the gravity grew more than ten times. The components of the air started to change, and in some places, there was nothing but oxygen in the air; if there was a spark, the whole region would turn into a sea of fire. In some places, there were dead bodies of animals everywhere, and in other regions, there were even cracks in the sky, and through the sky, one could see the dark universe. These abnormal phenomena were moving across the land like storms. The human inhabitants were being stricken by the storms and attacked by the catastrophes at the same time. The Eagle Wing Mother had destroyed one-third of the cities of the Federation of Caucasus. In the Snowy Highland, the cousin of Asgard became as fierce and courageous as Asgard. They formed a line of bodies to prevent the crows led by Eagle Wing Mother from getting into the country. Ye Qingxuan continued to observe, and at last, his eyes focused on the area beneath the Pope Palace. Although this place was shielded by the broken pieces of the Aether World, he could still feel the scary aether wave behind them. Ye Qingxuan had no idea what was going on there. Still, he was sure that Ludovic had been suffering, and this made him feel a bit relieved, but more worried as well. Following the disturbance of the music theory, Ye Qingxuan found that something was happening in the Aether World. In the Aether World, terrifying explosions were constantly happening. With every explosion, the rules in the Physical World and the music theory of the Aether World would change drastically, causing serious consequences. With the help of the transparent mirror, Ye Qingxuan finally managed to see what was going on: two enormous figures were fighting with each other The two figures were in a form that was out of humanity''s comprehension and beyond the category of any living creature. The Aether World had been torn into two parts, and they were fighting with each other. A gigantic wriggling shadow crawled out of the abyss and fought with ubiquitous light. The shadow looked like an enormous snake that was trying to swallow something big into its stomach. At the same time, its opponent was fighting back. Compared with this shadow, even J?rmungandr that was kept by the School of Dragon Stone that belonged to the School of Summoning in the Aether Wonderland was just like a tiny mote of dust. The shadow was Hyakume It had become a being that was far superior to the body, the consciousness and the existence. It became something ubiquitous, a poisonous tumor parasitized in the core of the world. The tumor now wanted to usurp its host! Led by the Pope, the God that the Holy Ax stood for was fighting back with full strength. This God was made up of countless music theories engraved on the originator. Compared with their fight in the past, this battle between the two was a milder one. In the past, when the two were fighting against each other in the originator, one-third of the world was destroyed. If it were not for the Quiet Moon, the human world would have already become a desert. But now, the two were fighting against each other in the Aether World. The energy wave caused during the war spread out, changing the sky and the earth. The doomsday was coming. Watching this, Ye Qingxuan was silent. He was shocked by the scary collision between the shadow and God, something that was out of his comprehension. Compared with the two of them, everything else on the world was all meaningless, mere ornaments to them. Ye Qingxuan understood a question that he had never thought to ask beforewhat on earth was the thing that was addressed as God by humans? 513 Beautiful Moonligh In the silence, a fire burned in the Sacred City. Although the demons were no longer there, the chaos continued. However, through the door of the shop, the turbulence and changes seemed to have already disappeared. It was like staring at the world through an oil painting. There seemed to be big waves that could reach the sky, but those were still far away. The noises and screaming in the distance highlighted the tranquility and serenity in the shop. All disasters and misfortunes were far away from here. Only the warm fire was burning and making people feel sleepy. However, a lonely shadow was still standing in front of the shop window. The white-haired young girl looked up at the sky silently and intently. She was staring at the white moon that slowly disappeared, and a figure that was as majestic as a god against the Holy Emblem. In heaven, the projection of Menti burned off. The scorching artificial sun lost its radiance and became the moon again, recovering its softness and quietness. The moonlight flowed like water. She seemed to be relieved, and a slight grin lingered on her tight lips. She couldn''t help reaching out and touching the window, as if she could touch the the figure that was so far away from her. In the reflection of the moonlight, she felt satisfied and relieved. "How beautiful the moonlight is!" she whispered. "Bai Xi, your attention is misplaced." On the sofa, Hermes lazily waved his hand. "Here is the center of the battlefield. Don''t get it wrong! If you can''t move your eyes from him at such a young age, you will definitely be locked up by him after several years. Don''t tell me that you will never get married if he is not the groom. As an apprentice, you are losing face for your master!" The response was an antique flying towards him. Hermes smirked, tipped his head, and let the golden candlestick pass by his ears. Then it was nailed the counter, and rang. He waved, and the scene in front of the window suddenly changed. The shop window shone through layers of barriers in the sky, and got into the center of the Aether World where she saw two giants fighting against each other and countless turbulent changes of music theories. Like sitting in a special box in the theater, she could see all the changes up there. "After so many years, they finally fight again. It''s really worthy celebrating," Hermes shouted wearily. "Bai Xi, go take a bottle of wine from my rack. Let us celebrate for them." Bai Xi didn''t move, but stood in front of the window. She looked up at the two huge and horrible silhouettes in the aether sea with surprise. After a long time, she frowned. "Is that what God is?" "Why not?" Hermes asked, and laughed strangely. "When you mention God, will you take it for granted that a god is someone who can fly and cast lightning over the sky? And even has a halo over his head? Or a pair of big wings on his back? "This kind of setting was quite popular during the Renaissance period which was a hundred years ago. Hmm, it was a trend that I started after all. All the people who painted murals copied my settings at that time. I really miss that." After he pondered for a long while, he shrugged and said regretfully, "What a pity, Bai Xi. I doodled it for money How could God be like a human being? They are different from humans. "They are completely different in shape, nature, and level. The relationship between them is opposite to what humans thought it would be. From another perspective, it may be considered as that between... ''cause'' and ''result.''" "Oh." Bai Xi responded to him with no interest, which made Hermes swallow the words he was going to say. He was awkward, and sighed after drinking half a glass of wine. "...Bai Xi, as a student and an apprentice, you should show more curiosity to that." "Oh." Bai Xi glanced at him: "If you have anything to say, just speak up! Otherwise, leave me alone." "Ok." Hermes scratched his head. Despite being the student, Bai Xi still treated him like that for some reason. His desire of expression and explanation overcame his urge for the dignity of a master. He suddenly become exultant, as he began to explain. "We''ll just skip the details, and then we''ll have to talk about another thing that happened before" Bai Xi interrupted him. "Make it brief!" "How badly do you want to see him?" Hermes saw the thing that Bai Xi took in her hand before he finished the sentence. Thus he put up his hand and surrendered. "Wait, I''ll make it brief. Don''t throw it! It is the skull of the first King of the Black! The only one in the world! I''m hoping to sell it for my annuity!" "Just go ahead..." "Alright, alright." Hermes shook his head and sighed. "Mankind has indeed found the Holy Caldron that lead them to the Originator, and created a god. But the specific process is not like what is said in the Holy Bible. Man and god didn''t make a covenant by rainbow on the cliff... "It''s more like alchemy... Anyway, that''s also what I made up. In short, humans created a vector in the Originator through the Holy Caldron. As a result, the Qing ascended and the Zhuo descended. "The ascender was shaped as the God, but the God is incomplete, because he does not even have his own consciousness. In other words, people stripped the consciousness of the God on purpose." "On purpose?" "Yes, on purpose." A quizzical smile appeared on the corner of Hermes'' mouth. "After all, who would like to have something above their heads that made arrogant remarks or criticized them? "It can be said that the position of God is only a useless throne. Although it does exist, it has no meaning. Therefore, it is appropriate to call it a Holy Caldron, because it is empty inside. "Those who descended gathered together and became the Hyakume. Compared to the Holy Cauldron, the dark world is the place where the demons of the world are gathered. The Hyakume produced a goal because of its self-existence. Hyakume is the brutal god who controls the dark world." He paused and involuntarily threw his sight into the deeper part of the Aether World . "The dividing line between Qing and Zhuo is the Silent Moon." "Among the three gods, it is totally different from the other two. Although it is called a natural disaster, it doesn''t have its real body, let alone independence. It is only a benchmark that relies on the other two. "It is an insurmountable ''border.''" "You can think of it as a rule of music theory that is beyond human understanding. It is a measurement level that was born because of the existence of the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume. It maintains an absolute balance. "The Hyakume wants to integrate with God and turn the Originator into chaos again. Unfortunately, it is completely opposite to God. They are incompatible with each other. If they wanted to merge with each other, everything in the world, including the balance among the Aether World, the aether sea, and the Physical World, would be destroyed. "Even the Originator couldn''t bear such a huge impact." "That''s why the Silent Moon was born. It can be said that it is the closest to the nature of the Originator among the three gods, because it was the ''boundary'' created by the Originator itself. "It is a balance valve that restricts the battle between the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume. It has only appeared once in the past when the battle between the Hyakume and the Holy Caldron got extremely brutal, and even the Originator was affected. "At that time, everyone saw that the Pale Moon and the Indigo Moon overlapped in the sky and the Silent Moon came out. "As a result, the cold eradication and reconstruction began, and everything involved in it, whether it was people or demons or even natural disasters, was completely erased. "Until balance reappeared in the Originator." "It is an insurmountable boundary, the guardian of the scale and itself. Therefore, human beings use the phenomenon of ''the Silent Moon'' to describe it. "Because of it, the Hyakume had to make a detour and go into the Physical World. To get rid of the Silent Moon, the Hyakume paid a huge price. "In order to make itself complete again, it chose to start from the Holy Caldron... Unfortunately, it was down on its luck that year, and it offended me. That was why it got itself into such big trouble! "Sometimes, humans are terrible things." Bai Xi looked at him in silence. "Are you finished?" "Yes." Hermes nodded. "Why, did you miss something?" Bai Xi frowned. "Where is the consciousness that has been stripped from the Holy Caldron by humans?" "Who knows?" Hermes shrugged his shoulders and smiled meaningfully. He chose a very comfortable position to lie on the sofa, lowered his eyes, and whispered, "Perhaps it is still floating in the Originator..." - At that moment, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes in the Central Temple with ecstasy. "Finally..." He looked into the deepest part of the Sacred City. "Found you!" 514 Courage The low and deep sound of the harpsichord echoed in the air. Hearing this, the third son of the king began to feel more depressed. He backed away a few hundred steps, and finally felt the music theory inside his body begin to function properly again. In fact, the music theory itself had gravitational force. The steadier and more powerful a theory was, the stronger the gravitational force became. Sometimes, a person could be drawn in and killed simply by the force itself. Many people believe that the third son of the king would become a saint in ten years. However, he could not even stand the power of Bach, and was sweating like a beast. He was extremely shocked and terrified. Earlier, when Bach began to play the harpsichord, he immediately lost control of all the music theories inside his body. If he hadn''t managed to collect himself, he would have been killed by his own music theories. After he backed away a few hundred steps, he was finally relieved. Around Bach, everything with physical form had been replaced by the tumbling aether. The scepter had not revealed itself, but it had already turned the immediate surroundings into a world full of aether. With the sound of harpsichord echoing in the air, the music theory gradually changed and replaced all the principles and rules of the Physical World. Bizarre scenes began to appear in the huge snow plain, and at the same time, thunder crashed among the clouds. The clouds were glowing and some burning stars penetrated the clouds. The stars were flying across the sky! Each star was giving out frightening aether waves, and there were hundreds of stars. As they drew closer, he saw that the stars were actually holy spirits! There were one hundred and seventy holy spirits in this world, and they all gathered here today! Each of them was a powerful man or musician in his life, and each of them had developed their own interpretation of music theories and had pursued the truth of music theory. The burning stars were moving with the melody of Bach''s music, and all the holy spirit''s'' power fused together. Water and fire, heaven and earth, war and peace, and anger and mildnesscountless elements that contradicted each other coexisted as Bach''s music played. "King of Blue, you are indeed something," the third son of the king murmured. Throughout history, each musician who had been granted the title "King of Blue" or "Bach" was extremely powerful. There were hundreds of thousands of musicians in this world, and since each of them had their own way of interpreting music theories, there were also hundreds of thousands of different ways to interpret music theories. Bach had managed to grasp the core of all the different methods of interpreting music theories, and make them his own. Because of this, he was not confused by the constant changing of music theory, and managed to combine all the contradictory elements into a whole. One whose mind was trapped by insignificant or trivial things could never reach Bach''s level, and neither could someone who paid too much attention to themselves. Bach had managed to make the whole world his tool! Thus, he could freely play the music theory of Bach and take control of the huge system that was supported by the holy ax. Bach had turned the whole system of music theory into his own music movement! The magnificent and holy sound of harpsichord echoed in the air, and all the burning stars were trembling along with the sound, creating enormous power. "I will always obey you and do anything for you, your majesty." The head of the holy spirits, who was wearing a silver crown above his head and holding an ancient sword in his hands, genuflected in front of Bach. "For the sake of the Sacred City." The ancient sword began to make sound. Throughout history, every Pope had used it before. It stood for the glory and solemnity of the Sacred City. The Gate of Heaven! "For the sake of this world," Bach murmured. He held the broken pieces of the Gate of Heaven and fate and said, "The killings that happened in the past, are happening now, and will happen in the future are all for the sake of justice." "Please bless us." Bang! There was a cracking sound and a ray of extremely bright light. The crowd backed away and covered their eyes with their hands; they were too scared to look. The broken pieces of the Gate of Heaven and fate were colliding with each other and making deafening noises. The blade of the Gate of Heaven fell into pieces. Gone was the long sword that represented the solemnity and glory of the Sacred City; instead, there came a ray of extremely bright light. Countless holy spirits began to play the solemn and holy "passion music"! Bach adjusted the music system and it began to operate, with the help of hundreds of scepters, he played a music movement that stood for the grief of God! Blue fire danced around his body. At that moment, he came out of his physical body and turned into a new existence. The blue fire that was dancing above his head formed into a real thorn crown. "Amen!" Bach gazed the sky and murmured. He continued to play the music and pushed it to its climax. At the same time, the whole seemed to have been buried in pure darkness, since Bach had changed all the light in the world into a burning spear! Both the Physical World and the Aether World were trembling! The power of the tumbling sea of aether spread in all directions, and in the next minute, it filled the whole human world, then broke the limit and poured into the Dark World. "The glory, the scepter, and the holy kingdom are all yours." Bach stared at the burning spear in his hands and said, "Forever!" The next moment, the burning spear flew away. Everything in the world became still and was shrouded by the light of it. In the static world, only the burning spear was moving fast to the south, to the center of the world where the Sacred City was located, to the crack of the abyss. In the blink of an eye, the burning spear flew across the sea of aether and penetrated the abyss! Ludovic''s face was twisted by inhuman temperaments, and pure darkness was pouring out of the abyss. It struggled to leave, wanting to close the crack and go back to the state of "nothingness," because only in this way could it prevent itself from being hit by the burning spear. The music theory created by the oldest three kings was burning inside the spear and giving out infinite light and heat. When it fell into the abyss, it would clear out everything that was in its way and destroy the enemies of God! Seeing this, Hyakume could no longer calm down and jumped out of the abyss. A ball of darkness rose up from the abyss; in the next moment, the darkness covered the sky and condensed into a pure dark cloud. The crystals inside the cloud sparkled. The enchantment of the Sacred City was totally destroyed by the gravity of the cloud. In the Sacred City, those musicians who were not under protection exploded. Hyakume revealed his identity and played an extremely terrifying temperament. Stimulated by the gun of fate, Hyakume did everything he could do to transfer his energy to the Physical World to enhance himself. Meanwhile, he suddenly heard a mildly strange sound. The strange sound mixed with his music theory, and though it was mild, it almost destroyed his music theory. As his music theory was affected, so was his body. For the first time, Hyakume lost control of his own temperament. The strange sound came from after realizing this, Ludovic shouted! "This is ''fear.''" Ye Lanzhou smiled. "This is not my doing, and the reason it happened was because you were afraid." Hearing this, Hyakume became furious. "Be patient." Ye Lanzhou laughed and stretched out his hands to Ludovic. "We all have to go through tough times, and there is still much pleasure you have not experienced." "Smile," Ye Lanzhou said. "Smile for your life." Hearing this, Ludovic''s face was twisted but he smiled as well. "Fear is part of humanity. Being afraid of fire, ferocious beasts, and death and then we realized we could also be courageous," Ye Lanzhou said. "Are you feeling very confident with yourself after hearing what I have said? Don''t be afraid, the entire human race is just motes of dust, and the so-called ''Sacred City'' is just a shabby place, and even the gun of fate was trivial." In the sky, the cloud suddenly shrunk to its half size, and it seemed that it was going to disperse. In the abyss, Hyakume scorned this world. The humble human being... 515 F**k Your Mother In the dead silence, a horrifying voice came. Under the Sacred City, something was swallowing and drinking with great joviality! The monster that had been imprisoned under the Sacred City could finally have a great meal after having hungered for several hundred years. When people heard that sound, their expressions became extremely pale. They finally remembered that just under the Sacred City... was something they had totally forgotten. It was the horrible monster that caused a huge disaster even before the Remote Time, and burned half of the Sacred City to ashes. It was the real "natural enemy" of people in the Physical World. It was imprisoned hundreds of years ago, so nearly everyone had forgotten it or thought that it was already dead. But it was still alive after so many years of being imprisoned. It woke up from a long sleep and devoured the blood greedily, like eating manna. Once the monster was born, it was sealed by three kings of ancient times working together. It had only woken up once, but almost destroyed the entire Sacred City. It was a crowned beast. The dragon of disaster! "Wake up, sleepy son!" Ludovic laughed, stretched out his hands, and shouted, "The long sleep is over! Continue this blood sacrifice and turn everything into ashes!" The response was the roaring of the dragon from the deepest part of the earth! The steel city trembled, and everyone was unable to stand steadily in this terrible turmoil. The earth shook as if there were great waves rising up under the ground. The ripple-like quake emerged on the steel ground. Snarls sounded from deep within the earth. It was like a giant monster had finally gotten free. The loud noises continued. The earth distorted, and the steel structure buried deeply under the ground was torn up and contorted by an enormous force. With the loud roar, fiery flames rushed out of the earth, rose upward through small cracks, forming a well of blue fire. In an instant, the Sacred City was like a steel cauldron on fire, and people felt the horrible heat from hell. The flames burst out from the inside, lit and melted the steel. The melted steel spread in all directions with the blue fire of natural disasters. At that moment, in the central square, the earth was burnt red by the fire, and slowly bulged like a soap bubble blown by children. Snap! It sounded as if a huge pustule broke open. The hot and poisonous fire blew out. Surrounded by the flames of terror, the central square had become a big hole, like the entrance to hell. Something furious was snaring, and climbing upwards from down there. It couldn''t wait to pounce on the long-lost light! People''s music theories were driven away just by the bellow of the dragon. People who heard that, no matter how far they were away, lost their minds at the same time. They trembled, knelt on the ground. Then they went insane with their consciousness frozen by their own fear. There was no reason for that. They seemed to be unable to resist the greedy appetite shown through the bellow; everything was doomed! "This is your end," Ludovic mocked, looking at the indifferent King of Red. "Accept your fate, because it was given by God! It was born to be your calamity and end. All struggles will be completely useless, and what you need to do is resign yourself to your fate with sincerity. " From the very beginning, the Red Dragon of Doom was a weapon that was created by Hyakume to fight against humanity. In an effort to clear up the remaining people in the Physical World, the Hyakume stepped over time and intercepted from the Originator a future era that should have been after thousands of yearsa record of humanity''s destruction and end. It took him a lot of effort to integrate it with a growing natural disaster embryo. The destruction in the future was born hundreds of years in advance. What was created was a natural disaster weapon especially targeted at humanity. The Red Dragon of Doom! Its arrival declared the end of mankind. No measures nor creations of humans could change their fate. The core scepter element determined humanity''s extreme fear of it. It was the symbol of despair, an entity of destruction, and the doom of humanity that came ahead of schedule. Human couldn''t kill it, or even defeat it. What they could do was to delay the doomsday through all the measures that they could adopt. The ancient three kings paid heavily with blood to seal it and exchanged for three hundred years of peace. Hundreds of years ago, the King of Red of that age took the risk of turning many sacred gears into a shackle, which might have been at the cost of the entire Sacred City, all holy spirits and hundreds of scepters, and sealed the dragon under the Sacred City. It was sealed in a place that seemed to be the safest in the world... Hundreds of years had passed and it had not yet died. At an unprecedented juncture of the Sacred City, having been nourished by Hyakume with blood, it finally broke away from the seal and climbed out of the deepest part of the Sacred City. It climbed up, and up... It marched toward the place with light frantically, swiftly, wanting to return to the sky that belonged to it. It stretched out its wings, and dropped a shadow of death on the earth again. The end was coming! But at that moment, like an illusion, Ludovic saw... On the stony face of the King of Red appeared a mocking smile. In the next moment, the hot and red earth was suddenly broken, and the angry red dragon finally... Broke out! Dead silence. Still dead silence. All people were stunned and stared at a skeleton with a broken skull, messy flesh and blood, and an incomplete body... Was this the Red Dragon of Doom that the legend said could bring an end and destruction to humanity? What a joke! It was obviously a large roast chicken left by someone! The bloody, giant dragon crawled out from under the ground, struggling to fly in the air and making pained groans, as if it was running for its life. Ludovic froze. He was dumbfounded. In the dead silence, one giant hand reached out from a crack in the ground and grasped the remaining wing of the Red Dragon of Doom gracefully. Like tearing a piece of paper, the wing was pulled off. The giant hand drew back, and a creepy chewing sound came out of the depths of the crack, as if it was chewing chicken wings and swallowing them bony. Immediately afterwards, the giant hand stretched out again, groped on the ground, and got stained with the flames of the melted steel on the ground. Then it broke down the body of the Red Dragon of Doom and dropped it into its mouth. There was only the fierce roaring of the Red Dragon of Doom in the dead silence. In the end, it was pulled back into the crack while it struggled and screamed out of fear. Then the chewing sound came out again. After a long time, a skull that had not been chewed up was spat out. The bare skull was flew out of the crack, fell onto the ground, rolled, and eventually dropped into the melted steel that was gradually solidifying. In the end, it was like it had been welded onto the steel. It became a quirky sculpture. Dead silence. Still dead silence. Everyone stared at the crack, dumbfounded. They were guessing what was hidden there, that could chew such a monster like a snack. Numerous aether fears spewed out of the crack in the dead silence. A vague shadow was visible within. The huge and distorted shadow seemed to have three heads and hundreds of arms, holding flames, lightning, swords, and Aquarius in those hands that could destroy everything! That was... "Hecatoncheir?!" Ludovic''s body trembled with anger, and his dark face twitched. He snarled, "You stupid monster with an empty body! Don''t you forget the pain you''ve suffered! You chose to stand on the human side. I want to cut you into pieces!" "You are wrong." A sigh came out of the crack, which stunned Ludovic. The air seemed to be frozen, and a half-naked figure crawled slowly out of the crack. The figure was so thin, as if it had been hungry for decades. Although it had drunk the blood river, and eaten the Red Dragon of Doom, it remained as lean as a rake, and only got some color on its face which then got a bit ruddy. "I''m not done yet. The cooked duck just flew away. It''s really unpleasant For so many years, you haven''t changed at all, my ''old buck,''" it lowered its head and whispered. But Ludovic got stiff and his eyes widened, as he stared at the thin figure. "Ye, Ye..." He uttered a hoarse sound from his mouth with difficulty. "How could you be... here?" The figure seemed to know his shock, so it looked up, wiped off the dirt on the corner of its mouth, and smiled happily. "Oh, long time no see." "Ye Lanzhou!!!!" At that moment, Ludovic''s roar began to come out of his lungs. The sound was full of anger and fear, sharp and ear-piercing, like the colliding sound of steel. His voice resonated with the strange eye in the sky, and then a thunder-like sound burst out suddenly. "You You...!!!" Ludovic, no, the Hyakume growled, "How dare you do that!" "Eh? Is there anything wrong?" Ye Lanzhou could not help laughing softly. "..." The laughter made the earth turbulent, the steel shook quaked and echoed between heaven and earth. "I did follow the instructions of the Single Heart Brother to give the Hecatoncheir consciousness, and enable him to evolve his own personality and be himself. But you didn''t say where the consciousness, personality, and self should come from, am I right?" Ye Lanzhou whistled. "Well, I admit that I was just curious and wanted to have a try. You can''t blame me for an accidental success!" "..." Ludovic was silent, his expression changed, and he suddenly turned around and walked away. An ethereal figure turned into a dark mist. He abandoned the Holy Cauldron, escaped from Sarroman Temple in an instant, and flew into the sky. "You are gone already?" Ye Lanzhou looked at the back of the figure. "We are old friends after all, and we haven''t met for a long time. We should at least say hello. Em, now, what should I say?" He kept silent for a moment and then snapped his fingers. "What do you think of this?" Saying that, he bent down exaggeratedly and playfully, then saluted the evil eye in the sky. "The majestic and honorable lord of darkness, the Hyakume, your majesty, who rules all the vicious spirits and thoughts in the world..." When he raised his head, a sense of indifference appeared on his face, instead of the modesty and respect showed through his words. In his dark pupils that looked like a human''s were anger and killing intent. He said, "F**k your mother!" 516 The Abyss Was Staring at Me The next moment, hundreds of thousands of arms appeared in the huge shadow that was behind Ludovic, and moved to the sky. The arms all folded! Bang! A hurricane appeared and swept across the land. Wherever it went, it tore all the barriers in its way to pieces as easily as blowing away dust. Countless palms appeared and cruelly opened the slowly folding abyss to its extent. Then, the palms reached to the huge abyss. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Ludovic was tightly held inside the folded palms, like a mosquito that had been tightly squeezed by two hands. He struggled to get out, and his face twisted due to the extreme pain. The land was rising, and the Sacred City made of iron and steel collapsed. The ruins of steel and iron were drawn into the air by an invisible force. The light reflected from the steel and iron and lit the hurricane. All the steel and iron drew together and formed a metal giant that was hundreds of thousands of meters tall. The abyss shook and a piercing sound came out of it. The infinite air of abyss spurted out and shrouded the giant. The Sacred City was buried in darkness. The fire burned and the steel and iron collided with each other. A terrifying energy wave was spreading in all directions and destroyed one-third of the Sacred City. The hundred-armed giant was roaring. Due to the powerful sound wave, its body made of steel and iron fell into pieces and merged together again and again. At that very moment, the scary aether wave was spreading across the sky. The will of Hyakume, all the dark devils, and countless demogorgons'' power together pushed the abyss to its limit, making it exert a magnificent power. The air was rolling, as if the real catastrophe was coming. The land was falling apart and collapsing, and it seemed that the whole world was shaking. The Pope Palace, the central holy church, the holy praying hall, the inner circle of the city, the central area, and the outer circle of the region all shook. Tens of thousands of countries were shaking! Because of the vibrations, the seawater moved rather quickly, creating huge tsunami; the mountains and hills fell into pieces. The flying birds were torn apart by the sweeping hurricane; the earth cracked and collapsed; the plain turned into a basin. The whole topography was transformed. Everything in the center of the Sacred City was distorted. However, the hundred-armed giant was still alive. The shaking had not killed it, in fact, it was immortal. Among the Four Living Creatures, it was famous for its immortality and was addressed as an abomination. Even God could not kill it and could only seal it in the ruins, waiting for the day when the last breath left its body. However, it was still alive; it had been imprisoned in the ruins for a few decades, but it was still alive. It walked out of the ruins and went back to this world. "Like I have said don''t hurry to leave," it said, while staring at the abyss, where the iron and steel giant turned red after being burnt. It was sneering and its face was hard to see clearly. The steel and iron giant had grown a few times larger, and half of its body was in the Aether World. It was embracing the abyss. In part of its chest, the flesh made of steel and iron as well as the bone beneath the skin slowly opened like a blossoming flower. There was a heart made of iron stone, and right on the heart was sitting a slim figure. The slim figure was Ye Lanzhou. "You know what? All these years, I have been thinking about a question" Ye Lanzhou rested his elbows against his knees and held his chin while staring at Ludovic, who had been sealed by the invisible hands. "When the abyss is staring at me, I am also staring at it!" Hearing this, Ludovic''s face twisted. He knew what Ye Lanzhou''s words really meant. His body began to convulse and he screamed, "Ye Lanzhou!!! How dare you" Ye Lanzhou snapped his fingers, and the next minute, Ludovic stopped screaming. It was completely silent. Ludovic''s body became stiff and still, as if he had turned into a mud-made statue. His furious face now became emotionless and numb. Still, his eyes were moving and tracking Ye Lanzhou''s slightly moving finger. If Ye Lanzhou''s finger moved to the left, Ludovic''s eyeballs would move to the left and vice versa. "I knew it. Hyakume is really something." Ye Lanzhou sighed slightly. "Your ''personality'' almost resembles a real human''s, and your consciousness connects perfectly with your body. Apart from your sophisticated thought, your subconsciousness and emotion reflection are almost perfect. In fact, you are just like a real human. I never thought the technique which was designed for Hermes would be so compatible with you." A roaring sound came from the abyss, and a scary blast wave fell onto the steel and iron giant. The giant died on the spot and became alive again. Ye Lanzhou sat still, while staring coldly at Ludovic. Ludovic was both motionless and emotionless. Beneath his skin, the purple blood veins were swollen, and his heart was beating very fast, as if it was going to explode. "Are you angry? Are you feeling regret? Hyakume," Ye Lanzhou said darkly. "I think you expected this would happen, and you have stored your consciousness in your incarnation. But the consciousness is bound to influence your incarnation, which is Ludovic himself. Besides, the influence is not something like the conflict between the senses and feelings of a human. Rather, it was something more metaphysicalthe conflict between divinity and humanity. Creating Ludovic''s personality may have seemed a good way to get into the core of the Sacred City, but you should remember that when you are staring at a human, the human is also staring at you. When you turned yourself into a human, you became easier to understand and defeat That is why you lost." Hearing this, Ludovic convulsed, and the purple veins crawled up to his face. His body was controlled by Ye Lanzhou and he could not move at all. There was a powerful energy flowing all over his body, and the energy controlled Ludovic''s vocal cords. He began to speak in a very ancient and strange tone. It was not a human language but a murmuring of the abyss. It sounded like a strange symphony and the symphony''s notes had overlapped all together. This sound was the mind of God, a bunch of bizarre syllables that no one could understand. Ye Lanzhou smiled. "Don''t you think it is already too late for you to grant me some good stuff in exchange for sparing you?!" 517 Holy Relic Boom! The abyss raged. The majestic might blew out of the cracks and hit the body of the Hecatoncheir. No one had seen this beforethe scene in which "life" was ignited. Thousands of means of death overlapped at this moment, and then were imposed on the Hecatoncheir. If death could be quantified, then the death which came for the Hecatoncheir would have been enough to turn all humans, birds, beasts, and even plants in an entire country into ashes. Death, rebirth, death, rebirth, death, rebirth... It was a cycle of hellish tortures. Ye Lanzhou was expressionless. "Rawr!!!" Ludovic roared, and the abyss shook with him. But this time, the intention of Ludovic was easier to understand than before. Let go of him! Ye Lanzhou smiled and shook his head slightly. "You just figured it out. Isn''t it a bit late?" There was light. - On the North Ice Field of Asgard. At midnight, it was as bright as midday. In the sky, clouds that had lingered here for thousands of years, glowed like iron and lit a fire in the sky. Endless shards of ice and snow, like blades, fell from the sky with the coldness that could sting a human''s soul. The snow and ice whirled and drifted in the hurricane and fell to the ground again. Sp only a fragile white land was left between heaven and earth . Only the faint flames above the barriers danced, burning, with a thread of black smoke rising upward. But with thousands of flames, there were thousands of threads of black smoke. The smoke stretched in the hurricane and interwove together, then disappeared in the air. Like a burning soul that disappeared in the wind. In the white world, it was scarlet everywhere on the smoky ground. Those frozen blood layers piled on top of the snowfield and overlapped with each other. After centuries, they were still as scarlet as before. The dead people left their blood and souls here, which turned into the frozen blood layers. Now those scarlet layers were moistened with new blood, as if they turned alive. They were like ashes that had been rekindled, flames with the glorious light of death. It was breathtaking. By contrast, the innumerable dead bodies that had lost their lives on the snowfield were insignificant. Those dead bodies belonged to the innumerable demons. As soon as those demons set foot on the snowfield, they encountered an unpredictable power of terror and were destined to die. It was the same even to those terrible heaven catastrophes. Right in the middle of the snowfield, at the deepest part of the cobweb covered by ice and snow, a giant monster that was half-human, half-spider still kept its original standing posture. But it was dead for good. Still burning. With the blood as fuel, the blue flames danced over its head, but there was no temperature or even light. It was like an illusion. The monster was the Son of Spider, a heaven catastrophe. The big threat had slept deeply under the North Ice Field for hundreds of years, and only once broke through the outer barriers. But it had been dead for a long time, together with its countless children and descendants since the instant it came above ground. Even the innumerable spider eggs hidden in the frozen earth were burnt to death by those blue flames. At the moment, soldiers and musicians were busy running around to clean up the mess on the battlefield. But here it was silent, and everyone avoided the place in awe. "No wonder you are the King of Blue." In front of the burning spider stood two figures. The young man in an eagle emblem cloak whispered. The light and pure white robe he wore blended with the snowy ground. His slender fingers, covered with black iron rings, pressed on the directing knife on his waist that had never been drawn. With no color of blood in his face, he seemed to be ill and weak. He looked as beautiful as a girl, and spoke slowly. He didn''t look like an Asgardian, nor the third prince who had been safeguarding the North Ice Field for a decade, and was extremely ambitious to conquer the throne. Instead of being arrogant and frivolous as usual, he became modest, gentle, and full of awe as he stood behind the gray figure. The King of Blue. He was the guardian of the world and people, the pioneer of the dark world, so he deserved to be the strongest and the king of musicians! "It''s cold." Bach looked at the burning heaven catastrophe in front of him and suddenly whispered, "Even though I have already been here a few times, the coldness still make me sad. Terrible wind and gray sky are so unpleasant. It must be very hard to live here for the Asgardians, right?" "Although the soil on the wasteland is frozen, it can still support people," the third prince said. "People can grow crops on the soil under the frozen mud. If they are lucky, they can keep on farming for three months each year before the arrival of the cold front. Although it is a hard way to live, it is still better than to die." "Unfortunately, every time we exploit new lands, what we find are wastelands Next time we will go deeper and may find a warm place for you." Bach turned his head back, revealed his white beard and eyebrows, and whispered, "What time is it?" "It is eleven thirty, almost midnight." "It is the time." Bach nodded. "Be ready to get started, waiting makes me flustered." "Yes, your majesty." The third prince lowered his head, and waved behind them, then two priests in gray coats who had been standing in the distance stepped forward. The two priests were different from ordinary ones, because they didn''t wear the emblem of the church, nor look nice or gentle. Although they were wearing robes, there were armor pieces sewed on the lining of the robes and locks that linked the hems. It was not so much a robe as a heavy armor. They kept short whiskers, and had scripture tattoos on their heads instead of hair. The tattoos extended upward from the neck and back from their ears. On the back of their heads, there were gear emblem tattoos, the variant form of the sacred emblem. The Chainsaw Fraternity. "They are the holders of the holy relics in the Chainsaw Fraternity." The third prince introduced them to Bach and bowed to the them. "Thanks to the sacrifice of the Chainsaw Fraternity, the Asgardians and the Sacred City will always keep that in mind." "You don''t have to, because both of us can take what we need through this." The elder one nodded. He was not humble to Bach, nor flattering to the third prince. He just said indifferently, "The holy relics that can only be worshiped are meaningless. After all, it is still a weapon that should be used on the battlefield. We are happy to see if it can make any difference." The third prince nodded. "So, did you bring the holy relic here?" The two priests looked at each other. The one behind nodded to the other. Then he took off his robe and revealed his naked upper body. He knelt on the ground and bowed to the elder one. There were scars on his back and the spine had long been replaced by steel. The elder one pulled out a dagger expressionlessly, stabbed the other priest and pulled away his flesh. His blood spewed out, fell on the snowy ground, and drifted into the scarlet blood layers. The elder priest pulled out a black iron box from the semi-mechanized body. The younger priest was guided away after being roughly bandaged. Everyone''s sight fell on the palm-sized iron box in the hands of the elder priest. "This is?" the third prince asked. The elder nodded his head. "In order to avoid leaking the news, we disguised the characteristics of the holy relic, and Yevgeny carried it along the way." The elder delivered the iron box to the third prince. "The sealing wax on it was set by the patriarch to prove that it is intact. We followed the order of the patriarch and delivered it to you. Our mission is completed." In silence, the third prince took the dagger, levered up the sealing wax, and opened the black iron box. He took out something wrapped in silk and unwrapped it carefully. Finally, he saw the dark iron piece sleeping in the box. Feeling the air of the demons, it woke up, glowing with faint golden flames that stung people''s eyes. The iron piece quivered slightly and made a gentle whistle, echoing in people''s ears like a long sigh. "Is this the last piece of destiny?" the third prince whispered softly. "Such an honor to see it." Different from the Stela of Destiny that stood in the Square of the Sacred City, it was once the unique "destiny" and real miracle. The three kings of the first generation set up the Holy Caldron system on which they forged a holy relic named "Destiny"the Spear of Destiny. With that, humans had created a golden age for themselves. The cost, though, was that it fell down and fell apart in the first battle between the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume. The three pieces that remained also dispersed into the world. The owners of the pieces were eager to repair it and restore its former radiance. The Pope of the second generation put one of the pieces into a furnace and used alchemy to sublimate the vast amount of metal into the "star antimony" of which the swords of the Popes and the "the Gate of Heaven" of the King of Red were made. The second piece was later retrieved from the deep sea by the Knights of the Round Table. Arthur''s descendants expected it to cut their destiny, take out the curse in their own blood and suppress the dragon''s blood. Therefore, they built it into a sacred gun to kill the dragon, named it "the dragon killer" and the "fallen iron." Unfortunately, the final result was not satisfactory. Well, this was the last piece held by the Chainsaw Fraternity. "What a pity." The third prince couldn''t help sighing. A hand stretched out, picked up the piece of destiny, and held it in his hands. "There is nothing to be regretted about the dead things. As long as people still exist, they can be remade in the future..." It was Bach. He handed the long scepter in his hand to the third prince. "Go backwards. Ordinary people can''t bear the changes that will happen." "I am also a musician." The third prince stood persistently. "Of the best kind." Bach glanced at him, smiled, and didn''t say anything. In the next moment, the bass of a harpsichord sounded. Like the sound of the Big Lu, it made the earth quake, and the aether trembled. All the music theories got involved in its frequency involuntarily and danced. The third prince became pale, hesitated a second, and stepped back. Then, one more step back. 518 Courage The low and deep sound of the harpsichord echoed in the air. Hearing this, the third son of the king began to feel more depressed. He backed away a few hundred steps, and finally felt the music theory inside his body begin to function properly again. In fact, the music theory itself had gravitational force. The steadier and more powerful a theory was, the stronger the gravitational force became. Sometimes, a person could be drawn in and killed simply by the force itself. Many people believe that the third son of the king would become a saint in ten years. However, he could not even stand the power of Bach, and was sweating like a beast. He was extremely shocked and terrified. Earlier, when Bach began to play the harpsichord, he immediately lost control of all the music theories inside his body. If he hadn''t managed to collect himself, he would have been killed by his own music theories. After he backed away a few hundred steps, he was finally relieved. Around Bach, everything with physical form had been replaced by the tumbling aether. The scepter had not revealed itself, but it had already turned the immediate surroundings into a world full of aether. With the sound of harpsichord echoing in the air, the music theory gradually changed and replaced all the principles and rules of the Physical World. Bizarre scenes began to appear in the huge snow plain, and at the same time, thunder crashed among the clouds. The clouds were glowing and some burning stars penetrated the clouds. The stars were flying across the sky! Each star was giving out frightening aether waves, and there were hundreds of stars. As they drew closer, he saw that the stars were actually holy spirits! There were one hundred and seventy holy spirits in this world, and they all gathered here today! Each of them was a powerful man or musician in his life, and each of them had developed their own interpretation of music theories and had pursued the truth of music theory. The burning stars were moving with the melody of Bach''s music, and all the holy spirit''s'' power fused together. Water and fire, heaven and earth, war and peace, and anger and mildnesscountless elements that contradicted each other coexisted as Bach''s music played. "King of Blue, you are indeed something," the third son of the king murmured. Throughout history, each musician who had been granted the title "King of Blue" or "Bach" was extremely powerful. There were hundreds of thousands of musicians in this world, and since each of them had their own way of interpreting music theories, there were also hundreds of thousands of different ways to interpret music theories. Bach had managed to grasp the core of all the different methods of interpreting music theories, and make them his own. Because of this, he was not confused by the constant changing of music theory, and managed to combine all the contradictory elements into a whole. One whose mind was trapped by insignificant or trivial things could never reach Bach''s level, and neither could someone who paid too much attention to themselves. Bach had managed to make the whole world his tool! Thus, he could freely play the music theory of Bach and take control of the huge system that was supported by the holy ax. Bach had turned the whole system of music theory into his own music movement! The magnificent and holy sound of harpsichord echoed in the air, and all the burning stars were trembling along with the sound, creating enormous power. "I will always obey you and do anything for you, your majesty." The head of the holy spirits, who was wearing a silver crown above his head and holding an ancient sword in his hands, genuflected in front of Bach. "For the sake of the Sacred City." The ancient sword began to make sound. Throughout history, every Pope had used it before. It stood for the glory and solemnity of the Sacred City. The Gate of Heaven! "For the sake of this world," Bach murmured. He held the broken pieces of the Gate of Heaven and fate and said, "The killings that happened in the past, are happening now, and will happen in the future are all for the sake of justice." "Please bless us." Bang! There was a cracking sound and a ray of extremely bright light. The crowd backed away and covered their eyes with their hands; they were too scared to look. The broken pieces of the Gate of Heaven and fate were colliding with each other and making deafening noises. The blade of the Gate of Heaven fell into pieces. Gone was the long sword that represented the solemnity and glory of the Sacred City; instead, there came a ray of extremely bright light. Countless holy spirits began to play the solemn and holy "passion music"! Bach adjusted the music system and it began to operate, with the help of hundreds of scepters, he played a music movement that stood for the grief of God! Blue fire danced around his body. At that moment, he came out of his physical body and turned into a new existence. The blue fire that was dancing above his head formed into a real thorn crown. "Amen!" Bach gazed the sky and murmured. He continued to play the music and pushed it to its climax. At the same time, the whole seemed to have been buried in pure darkness, since Bach had changed all the light in the world into a burning spear! Both the Physical World and the Aether World were trembling! The power of the tumbling sea of aether spread in all directions, and in the next minute, it filled the whole human world, then broke the limit and poured into the Dark World. "The glory, the scepter, and the holy kingdom are all yours." Bach stared at the burning spear in his hands and said, "Forever!" The next moment, the burning spear flew away. Everything in the world became still and was shrouded by the light of it. In the static world, only the burning spear was moving fast to the south, to the center of the world where the Sacred City was located, to the crack of the abyss. In the blink of an eye, the burning spear flew across the sea of aether and penetrated the abyss! Ludovic''s face was twisted by inhuman temperaments, and pure darkness was pouring out of the abyss. It struggled to leave, wanting to close the crack and go back to the state of "nothingness," because only in this way could it prevent itself from being hit by the burning spear. The music theory created by the oldest three kings was burning inside the spear and giving out infinite light and heat. When it fell into the abyss, it would clear out everything that was in its way and destroy the enemies of God! Seeing this, Hyakume could no longer calm down and jumped out of the abyss. A ball of darkness rose up from the abyss; in the next moment, the darkness covered the sky and condensed into a pure dark cloud. The crystals inside the cloud sparkled. The enchantment of the Sacred City was totally destroyed by the gravity of the cloud. In the Sacred City, those musicians who were not under protection exploded. Hyakume revealed his identity and played an extremely terrifying temperament. Stimulated by the gun of fate, Hyakume did everything he could do to transfer his energy to the Physical World to enhance himself. Meanwhile, he suddenly heard a mildly strange sound. The strange sound mixed with his music theory, and though it was mild, it almost destroyed his music theory. As his music theory was affected, so was his body. For the first time, Hyakume lost control of his own temperament. The strange sound came from after realizing this, Ludovic shouted! "This is ''fear.''" Ye Lanzhou smiled. "This is not my doing, and the reason it happened was because you were afraid." Hearing this, Hyakume became furious. "Be patient." Ye Lanzhou laughed and stretched out his hands to Ludovic. "We all have to go through tough times, and there is still much pleasure you have not experienced." "Smile," Ye Lanzhou said. "Smile for your life." Hearing this, Ludovic''s face was twisted but he smiled as well. "Fear is part of humanity. Being afraid of fire, ferocious beasts, and death and then we realized we could also be courageous," Ye Lanzhou said. "Are you feeling very confident with yourself after hearing what I have said? Don''t be afraid, the entire human race is just motes of dust, and the so-called ''Sacred City'' is just a shabby place, and even the gun of fate was trivial." In the sky, the cloud suddenly shrunk to its half size, and it seemed that it was going to disperse. In the abyss, Hyakume scorned this world. The humble human being... 519 Desperate Figh Perceiving its own anomalies, the abyss shook violently and roared. It collapsed and reformed again and again, regardless of the innumerable big demons and monsters who were destroyed in the crazy process. For the very first time, the Hyakume suffered the evil consequences of humanity''s infiltration of his divinity. But Ludovic couldn''t help laughing, laughing loudly and with joy. "Yeah, laugh, ha? You look better when you laugh," Ye Lanzhou said sincerely. But when he spoke, he didn''t smile; his eyes were full of coldness, and his pale face was full of indifference. "Born as a human, shouldn''t you laugh and face the pain?" Ludovic''s body collapsed in the seal. It was like a pile of bones covered with dark mist that boiled and strangled itself. Amidst the mist, Ye Lanzhou''s face was partly hidden and partly visible. Ludovic''s face struggled to occupy its position, but it couldn''t keep Ye Lanzhou from eroding it away. At the end, the two faces seemed to blend into one deformed and ugly face. The face seemed to be laughing, crying, raging, and sympathizing... Numerous emotions rose one after another in Ludovic''s body, which made him like a gambler who fell into hell, desperate and regretful. He was also like a speculator who was heading towards the peak of life, happy and satisfied. Then he was like an old man who died in the company of his family, delightful and peaceful. At the same time, he became a young man who squandered his family properties and youth, but felt empty at heart... In an instant, he became one human, then dozens of humans, living turbulent lives. Numerous emotions and perceptions flowed into his consciousness, burned like flames, then burst out. Using Ludovic as a springboard, Ye Lanzhou pushed the innumerable emotions into the infiltrated body of the Hyakume! Burning fire with oil! Boom! Under the impact and torture of countless emotions, Ludovic''s skeleton shook. "Ye Lanzhou!!!" he shouted hoarsely. "Admit your defeat!" Ye Lanzhou shook his head indifferently. "You have landed yourself in the human dimension. Why do you complain that human beings have defeated you with the rich experience of ''killing the same species''?" The scorching sun came down from the sky, its radiance running through the shattered black clouds and falling silently into the abyss. From there, a sharp roaring sound burst out, one that seemed to have lost everything but pain. At that moment, the abyss suddenly collapsed. The giant monster shrank inwards, as if it was cramping unconsciously. Then it collapsed and reduced to a point that was small enough to be barely visible, and then suddenly expanded. The impact of terror swept through the entire aether world. Unprecedented turbulence and changes were happening in the abyss, from which countless incomplete skeletons of demons were thrown out, including the Abyss Black Branches, Menti, which also uttered a painful shout. In that instant, the abyss seemed to have been torn in half, revealing grievous cracks and scars. Numerous crazy eyes opened and darkened. In the deepest part of the abyss, a beam of light shone silently. Like the light of an incomplete candle in the wind, it swayed in the abyss. That was the remnant piece of the Spear of Destiny. It was parasitic on the essence of the Hyakume, and almost integrated with it. In the darkest abyss, a beam of light was released. The light was so faint and even darker than the insignificant stars. But what it represented was yet so terrifying. The Spear of Destiny didn''t kill or defeat the Hyakume. It didn''t even cause it to suffer any damage. Not shred of music theory was destroyed. It just sent a glimmer to the darkness. Even so, it was enough to have a terrible impact on the Hyakume. Is darkness with light still darkness? If a rare and unique art piece had a little flaw, it would fall in value. A saint who was admired by people would fall from the altar if there was even a trace of misdeeds in him. Even if there was just a hint of a clue, problems that were originally thought to be impossible to resolve would reveal their solutions. The essence of the Hyakume was the absolute darkness that had split from the chaos of the Originator and the absolute evil of human beings. Once that was changed, its essence would become very different, or even its divinity would collapse! At that moment, the Spear of Destiny gave the abyss''s essence a heavy blow. It tore up and then reorganized the core of the Hyakume, leaving it a fatal flaw. It left a light in the darkest place . The abyss was collapsing, and the deep and terrifying eyes that looked like stars were breaking and darkening... Heavy damage! Undoubtedly heavy damage! For the first time ever, a human left such a terrible wound on the Hyakume that it couldn''t even maintain its own existence or the great music theory in the abyss. Even if it slept for thousands of years, it wouldn''t be able to heal the wound. Although the heaven catastrophes didn''t die, they would still enter a long slumber and disappear from the world temporarily. "The result has been set," Ye Lanzhou said lightly. "You can make a curtain call. The next time, there will be a stage after a thousand years waiting for you." "Has been set?" In the seal, Ludovic was suddenly set on fire from the inside out, from the core to the exterior, from bones to flesh and blood. The black fire of the abyss rose above his body. Hoarse laughter burst from Ludovic''s body. "You said to me that the result has been set?" The heavy body of the real Hyakume didn''t, as expected, escape, enter a long slumber, or return into nothingness with the abyss. Instead, it devoted most of its strength to this incarnation! One time, two times ten times, one hundred times! In a flash, the strength bursting from Ludovic''s body jumped to an unimaginably horrible degree. His face reappeared from his body, hideous, distorted, and hysterically frenzied, shouting out the choices of the moment with human emotions. "Never!" Boom! Boom! Boom! The soon-to-be-disintegrated abyss suddenly expanded, and an extremely loud ringing sound burst out of it again. The crack that led to the Physical World suddenly expanded a hundredfold! At the deepest part of the abyss, the massive body of the Abyss Black Branches was ignited and became a terrifying fire. Numerous root-like music theories extended and radiated the power of the Hyakume to the entire Physical World. The dying god came to earth! Calling and growling! Announcing! "Wake up, dark ministers!" Countless chaotic meteors flew out of the abyss, fell to the Physical World at incredible speeds, and flew in all directions. At that moment, in the Physical World, at the deepest part of the dark world, it was hard to know how many large thresholds were opened and led the way to the human world. The door to hell was open. So the demons swarmed out! Throughout the Physical World, all black musicians cheered ecstatically, dancing, kneeling on the ground, and making ready to receive the supreme gift! Despite of its traumatic wounds, the Hyakume almost went insane, laniated the abyss, and cast its own power into the Physical World. It generously and tyrannically gave its power to all mortals who called its name, all qualified demons, and all obedient black musicians on the ground... This was a feast! Hundreds, thousands, millions... Numerous seeds of darkness were spread to the Physical World and the countless awakened heaven catastrophes, sharing the generous gift from Hyakume to all non-human beings! The entire Physical World ushered in the turbulence of terror in a very short time. The air of those awakened heaven catastrophes continued to swell, rose like beacon-fire, echoing one after another in the dark world. In the abyss on the verge of collapsing, a shadow of terror slowly emerged. He stood on the altar, manipulating the horrible music theories that were moving like stars. Then he clanged a huge bell that rang as loud as thunder. "Come here!" A vague, burly figure rode a white horse, and was crowned the shadow, saying, "Go to the human world to conquer the humans again and again!" That was the incarnation of the Hyakume, the King of Slaughter. The bell rang for the second time. A slim figure on a red horse came out of the abyss, and a poison was put into its hands by the shadow. "Take peace from the ground and make them kill each other." That was the incarnation of the Hyakume, King of Persona. The bell rang for the third time. An old figure in a robe, riding on a dark horse, appeared silently... Every time the bell rang, an incarnation emerged from the abyss. In the end, except for the former dark Popes that first descended, Hyakume released all of his incarnations by cutting the abyss open and casting them into the Physical World! "Make waves in the contemptible human world!" With Ludovic''s hoarse voice, the Hyakume gave its final order. "Go to the ground! Don''t give them peace, and let them fight each other! Kill all humans and destroy all living things! Spread my seeds, shepherd my beasts, and retake my world!" All the dark ministers in the abyss were awakened, given an unchangeable mission, and cast into the Physical World. Ye Qingxuan even felt that the air of Paganini flashed above the Sacred City and flew to a corner of the Physical World. The worst thing was that before the destruction of hell, all the demons were shoved into the world. Let them make waves... The Hyakume didn''t hesitate to use up all its power and destroy the abyss which was its center, even if it would therefore fall into endless sleep and wait for a long time to be reborn in the Originator. He wanted the humans to pay for what they had done! That was the revenge of the Hyakume! Putting aside the fact that the Physical World would definitely become a dark land, what the Hyakume did was almost equivalent to casting the entire abyss from the aether world and throwing it into the Sacred City. He chose for them to die together! "Enjoy your victory!" The burning Ludovic tore up the palm of the giant monster, stepped out of the seal, and laughed at Ye Lanzhou. "Eternity should be enough for you to enjoy its bitterness." "But before that, you must pay the price!" 520 Gif Bang! In the blink of an eye, the gravitational force in the abyss was greatly enhanced. The abyss was going to collapse, as countless music theories moved inside it. At the same time, countless creatures died and were reborn again. A scholar once mentioned that before the Dark Age came, the human race might have already gone through a catastrophe: a meteorolite dropped onto this world and bumped into the earth crust, creating a devastating earthquake. Even the axis of the earth shifted, disrupting the passage of the four seasons. Dust rose up from the ground and covered the sky, the sunlight was blocked, and all living creatures lived in the darkness and coldness ever after. Now, Hyakume caused another catastrophe! He threw his scepter "abyss" out from the Aether World, and the scepter slammed right into the Physical World! Of course, God would not die, but the mortals lost consciousness and fell into a deep sleep. Hyakume meant to totally destroy the core system of the Physical World! Once the scepter "abyss" exploded in the Physical World, a huge number of people would die. Besides, the enormous circulation chain of aether that connected the Physical World, the Sea of Aether, the Aether World, and the Originator would be broken. After the circulation chain was broken, the musician system in this world would disappear. Aether would vanish from this world, which was the last thing the human race would want to see. The King of Blue, the King of Red, and the King of Yellow all had their own duties. The King of Blue was responsible for exploiting territory for the human race, the King of Red was responsible for guiding the souls of the people, and the King of Yellow was responsible for guarding the core of the musician system. If the King of Yellow was still alive, in a few months or even a few days, the circulation chain would be rebuilt, and people would never need to worry that the musician system might vanish. However, the King of Yellow had already died In this situation, many creatures did their best to stop the scepter "abyss" from hitting the Physical World. The Hecatoncheir shouted and reached out its arms to stop the abyss from falling further! In the blink of an eye, its hundreds of thousands of arms were broken, but soon, they grew out again. Unfortunately, it was getting more and more difficult for it to stop the falling abyss. Inside the holy temple of Sarroman, the King of Red played a holy song with his holy ax. Meanwhile, the vague contour of the holy emblem appeared in the Aether World. The emblem was giving out magnificent energy, and the energy materialized and shrouded the falling abyss, trying to pull it back. The energy of the holy ax and Hyakume''s energy intertwined together and fought against each other. The energy wave spread in all directions, making the already unsteady Physical World even more chaotic. Even the sensing of the entire human race and the space construction were disturbed. The Sea of Aether raged and was crushed into a thin layer by the great gravitational force of the music theory. Due to this, the Aether World and the Physical World overlapped. The space above the Sacred City turned into a bizarre and chaotic area. In this area, the rules and principles of the Physical World were no longer useful, and no one could get close to this area. The energy of the holy ax and Hyakume''s energy flowed across Hecatoncheir, inside its body, and the two energies kept bumping into each other. Once the two energies leaked out, the entire Sacred City would be destroyed. In fact, only Hecatoncheir''s body could withstand the two energies. Ye Lanzhou knew that he should try his best to stop the abyss from falling further. Once the balance between the two sides broke, this world would be doomed. But no one knew how long Hecatoncheir''s body could stand the two energies; maybe a few seconds, or maybe tens of millions of years. Maybe before Hecatoncheir collapsed, it would have been transformed by the music theories of both the holy ax and Hyakume. Bang! While Ye Lanzhou was trying his best to keep the balance of the two energies, the former dark pope silently appeared in front of Ye Lanzhou and penetrated Ye Lanzhou''s chest with his hands. "..." Ye Lanzhou was shocked. He lowered his head and stared at the hands. At the same time, the theory of abyss began to spread all over his body. "Do you remember what you just told me?" Ludovic sneered. "Laugh, laugh! You are bound to die!" Since Ye Lanzhou was holding the abyss and stopping it from falling, he could not move. Hearing this, he forced out a smile and said, "In fact, I also want to tell you, ''Be patient, why not sit down together and have a cup of tea?''" "Are you trying to buy yourself more time?" Ludovic said while tore apart Ye Lanzhou''s chest. He sneered. "Yes, I admit that you are good at this, but you really think I will give you more time?" "You are such a fool" Ye Lanzhou sighed. "Throughout time, there is one thing that every member of the Ye family is good at, and that one thing is calling for help when in a serious situation." Hearing this, Ludovic was startled. Ye Lanzhou shouted, and Hecatoncheir roared as well, "Ye Qingxuan, come!" "Sh*t! My father is in trouble!!!" Ye Qingxuan shouted back. "After all these years, as my father, the first thing you said to me is ''Ye Qingxuan, come!'' ?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "What an unqualified father." In the Sacred City, the ground made of steel and iron was full of cracks, and the end of the road led to either to the bottom of the earth or a cliff. "We should say goodbye here, Mr. Vasco." Ye Qingxuan stood on the edge of the cliff, while watching Hecatoncheir in the distance. A strong wind was blowing, and his long silver hair moved with it. Behind him stood the Knights Templar. "Thank you all." Ye Qingxuan turned back and said gently, "Your mission has been completed. I will count on myself from now on." Hearing this, Vasco said, "Take care, Mr. Ye, and thank you for what you have done for the city." "I did it for my own sake." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and pointed to the sky with his finger. "See? If not me, then those powerful men in the sky would do something to save the city." "At least, you have saved many people''s lives, including ours," Vasco said. "After the enchantment was gone, it was you who made the underground shelter continue to function properly. All the survivors in the Sacred City appreciate what you did." "Leave the thanks for the future." Ye Qingxuan laughed. He waved his hands and said, "Before I leave, would you mind doing me a favor? Do you have any weapons available? Something short will do." Hearing this, a few people walked forward. They offered some heavy guns and a steel gun, and a huge halberd. Since those weapons were too huge, Ye Qingxuan chose a smaller and lighter curved sword and a short blade instead. Ye Qingxuan hung the two weapons on his clothes of original sin. "Will this do?" Vasco asked. "Yes, this will do." Ye Qingxuan laughed and waved his hands. "I need to leave now, my father needs me." He stepped forward and fell off the cliff. Seeing this, Vasco was shocked. He lay on his stomach on the edge of the cliff and looked deep into the gorge. A strong wind was blowing from the bottom of the cliff. Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan stopped falling and began to rise up to the sky! In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the spot where the holy ax and Hyakume were fighting. He was just like a moth that was flying towards the sun. The energy wave was powerful enough to destroy him in less than a second. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, and played the music theory "the sleeping worldsleeping dragon"! Immediately, an invisible wave spread out, and the powerful energy wave disappeared. Ye Qingxuan fell asleep and all the creatures in this world fell asleep too. With the help of the Abraham''s music theory of inheritance, an enchantment of "sleeping dragon" formed around him. Light sleep, deep sleep, having dreams, sleeping dragon The enchantment got stronger and stronger. Once the music theory outside touched this enchantment, it disappeared instantly, forming an open circle around the enchantment. The circle was in fact a black hole, and everything around it was devoured and vanished. Go to sleep and have a nightmare with me Ludovic turned back in shock and saw Ye Qingxuan coming towards him. "How are you, my friend?" Ye Qingxuan greeted him. The "sleeping dragon" enchantment fell upon Ludovic, and Ludovic tried to stop it from falling but failed. Ye Qingxuan raised his hands, and the curved sword glinted in the light. He penetrated Ludovic''s hand with it and thrust the blade into Ludovic''s chest. Blood spurted out from the wound and began to vaporize. Ludovic fell onto the ground, and the blade penetrated the ground, trapping him there. He stared at the blade, having no idea why a blade made by human hands could hurt him. "Do you still remember what I said to you in the prison?" Ye Qingxuan said softly, standing up from the ground. His arms and face had been cut by the sharp crystals, and blood flew out from the wounds. He looked terrifying. He stumbled forward and set his foot on the blade of the curved sword. "Take it." Half of Ludovic''s lung was cut into pieces, and he screamed with great pain. "Take it, this is the gift I prepared for you!" 521 Justice "Honorarium?" Enveloped in the Wyrmrest enchantment, Ludovic finally saw the face of Ye Qingxuan, realized what had happened, and squeezed his twisted face into a smile. "The Wyrmrest enchantment? And a knife? Ye Qingxuan, you expect to kill me with that insignificant stuff? So naive..." Ye Qingxuan pulled out a short knife, bent over, and pointed at Ludovic''s throat with his hands clenched. He stabbed the entire knife into Ludovic''s throat expressionlessly, and then suddenly made a cross-cut. Riiip! The flesh was torn apart, and blood splattered. The boiling hot gas of blood burst out and billowed in the storm. But Ludovic remained laughing, the sound of it coming through the cut on his throat where the severed vocal cords could almost be seen quivering. "You are too weak," he sighed. "Too weak!" Ludovic reached out to the hand that Ye Qingxuan used to hold the knife, and clenched it as tightly as a pincer! Snap! In an instant, a crisp snapping sounded. Grasped tightly by an old and wrinkled palm, Ye Qingxuan''s hands were twisted abruptly, and the broken phalanges pierced out of his flesh and blood, turning into a bloody pile of flesh in an instant. "Did you see it?" The cut on Ludovic''s throat opened and made a strange laughter. In the sharp laughter, the blood flew back, the hot gas of blood that moved like living things sweeping back to the cut. In Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the blade dyed black by the blood quickly weathered and rusted, and turned into a piece of scrap metal. There seemed to be a strong poison in the blood that destroyed the steel! Ludovic just waved his hand, and Ye Qingxuan was blown away like a dead leaf, and rolled on the ground like a broken and bloody bag full of rotten meat. Immediately afterwards, he ground his teeth with a sharp and terrible sound. Disregarding the five fingers cut by the blade, Ludovic grasped the knife in his chest, and pulled the blade distorted with flesh and bloodstains out of the wound. It was like pulling out the stinger of a bee. The distorted knife landed on the ground, quickly rusted, and fell apart. Ludovic got up from the ground, looked down at the hole in his chest where the organs were beating. Soon the flesh knitted together, and the wound disappeared and smoothed. However, the changes continued. His skin proliferated quickly, then dissimilated and became yellowish. His pores secreted a large amount of grease. Terrible metabolism was going on in his body. His hair got white and fell, his eyes were covered by a thick white pannus, and his nails grew crazily and fell off. In the end, the person covered by dead skin, white hair, and turbid oils reached out and pulled off the layer of skin that seemed to be covered with mud. He was like a snake that cast off the old skin. He became young again. "I almost forgot." Ludovic, who had returned to the prime of his life, looked at his own hands and said in a low-pitched voice, "Although this body has been strengthened through the resurrection ritual and possesses enormous vitality, it has been imprisoned in an old body for the purpose of maintaining its original appearance and state... you reminded me of that." He slowly straightened his back, and a crispy rubbing sound came from his joints. Then he took a step forward. The earth boomed. The ruins of steel in front of the giant''s chest suddenly quaked and a huge hole appeared. The hurricane swept in all directions, and almost blew Ye Qingxuan away. "The Wyrmrest enchantment is really perfect. But what a pity! Don''t regard me as a fragile thing like you." Ludovic walked forward slowly and said coldly, "Do you think that I can''t do anything to you if I can''t use aether? It''s ridiculous. From the beginning to the end, you''re just tripping yourself" Bang! The voice stopped abruptly as Ludovic was knocked back. It was a sudden punch. Ye Qingxuan''s fist, like an iron hammer, struck his face with a sharp breaking sound of air. His disdainful look and arrogant cheekbones were broken. His nose bridge was smashed back into the skull. The smashing sound of bones and loud noises mixed together. Ludovic, like a football kicked by someone with full strength, flew backward, tumbled on the ground, and crashed into the ruins. Ye Qingxuan remained standing there, pulled back his fist, and spat on the ground. "Why the hell do you always talk nonsense?" In the huge hole, Ludovic looked at the sky with fishy eyes. His broken jawbone was twisted into a weird shape. His torn lips opened and closed as if he was whispering something. What''s going on here? No, something''s wrong! There is definitely something wrong! Ye Qingxuan only punched me once just a punch just a punch! A punch! Why did he have such great strength? How could a human be able to beat me? I can feel the dreadful vitality in my body. A blow that could smash the neck and head of an ordinary person could only cause a minor injury to me. But Ye Qingxuan, how could he hurt me so seriously now! This is impossible!!! "It''s f**king possible!" Ye Qingxuan''s figure arrived and looked down at him. One more punch! With the inhuman strength, his fist broke through layers of walls like a chariot. Boom! Ludovic''s head, which had just been raised, was smashed into the ground. His skull was totally broken, and his brain ejected from the seven orifices. A kind of white sticky stuff wriggled on the ground, and flew back into his body. The cracked eyeballs returned to their original state so that he could see the expressionless young man clearly. He saw the skin on his fist that had been broken by forceful punches, and the phalanges cracked by crushing. But the broken skin and phalanges recovered immediately. The blood that was dripping on the ground burned steel-red like fire and emitted the horrible heat of a furnace. "What is this?" Ludovic looked at him blankly and could not find the answer. It shouldn''t be like this! Shouldn''t be like this! He already knew all the cards Ye Qingxuan had to play. Even the Wyrmrest enchantment that he had only used a few times! The movement of heart sound from the "Dreamweaver" that could use dreams as carriers, even the Wyrmrest enchantment that failed to be handed down from past generations, to enable musicians to display incredible powers. However, even if the Wyrmrest enchantment could suppress Ludovic''s music movement, as the price, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t use any music movements except the movement of heart sound that maintained the Wyrmrest enchantment. Where had he gotten such terrible power?! "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at his confused face, shook his fist and told him, "This is justice!" Boom! The earth quaked fiercely. Ludovic''s body was once again smashed into the hole. This time, even his chest was broken. Flesh and blood splashed, and quickly reunited like living things. But once again, he became a pile of muddy flesh under the pounding fist. "Ye Qingxuan!" Ludovic roared angrily, reaching out against Ye Qingxuan''s fist. Snap! Ye Qingxuan stepped back. His fists were broken but recovered quickly. The blood flew out, fell to the ground, and burned the ground. Ludovic seized the opportunity to retreat quickly. This time, he finally saw him clearly. He suddenly figured it out. Staring at Ye Qingxuan, he squeezed his voice out of his teeth. "Hecatoncheir..." Ye Qingxuan smiled and didn''t speak. He just wiped the bloodstain from his mouth and spat the burning blood on the ground. He felt like he was like being ignited from the inside out; lava flowed through his blood vessels, bones were forged into steel, flesh became flames. Severe pain filled every inch of his body, tingling his consciousness and senses, and forcing him to roar and go crazy. Pain might be the essence of life. The stronger life was, the more severe pain would be. Unprecedented vitality continuously poured into his body, giving him an illusion that he was about to explode. Only through the most savage wrestling and fighting could he consume the strength that filled his body. That was the power of the Hecatoncheir... That was The resonating of Heaven Catastrophe! 522 Give It Back to Me Ye Qingxuan shouted. The scary hurricane was sweeping across the land. Everytime he took a step, the ground shook. In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingxuan stood in front of Ludovic and punched him heavily. Bang! A huge crack appeared on Ludovic''s back, and blood spurted out of the wound. At the same time, Ludovic hit Ye Qingxuan''s head, he nearly passed out and his cervical spine almost broke. However, Ye Qingxuan did not back away; instead, he fought back like a mad dog. Ye Qingxuan was not used to fighting with his fists or feet, and neither was Ludovic. If Ludovic knew anything about martial arts, he would never have chosen to fight against Ye Qingxuan, who also knew nothing about martial arts. Throughout the years, no matter whether it was boxing, kicking, Asgardian martial arts, self-defense skills, or Capoeira, Ye Qingxuan never learnt any martial arts from anyone. He could not even run a whole marathon. The only thing he was good at was fighting against others in the street, something he learnt from Victor, something the official warrior detested. For example, poking enemy''s eyes, stepping on his feet, sneak attacking Ye Qingxuan mercilessly kicked Ludovic''s balls, and Ludovic felt so much pain that he screamed and knelt down. Ye Qingxuan grasped his hair and smashed Ludovic''s head with his knee. Bang! Ludovic''s nose broke again. Then, Ye Qingxuan stepped on Ludovic''s shoulder, took up a broken steel bar, and stuffed it into his mouth. "Do you know what I want to do most in my life?" Ye Qingxuan stepped on Ludovic''s neck. "Let me tell you; I want to find the person who killed my mother, who tore my whole family apart. Then I shall smash his bones and head!" Bang! Ye Qingxuan hit Ludovic''s head again. Immediately, Ludovic''s skull broke. Even so, his mouth was still moving, and it seemed that he was trying to say something. Ye Qingxuan did not give him any chance to speak, and hit him again and again. "F*ck eternity! F*ck ruling the world! F*ck holy ax!" "Say something! You b*stard!" Ye Qingxuan pulled Ludovic''s hair. He pointed to the Sacred City in the distance and shouted to Ludovic, "So many people died, and it is all because of your craving for power, your stupid and pathetic ambition, your so-called new age! It is you who turned this world into a living hell! See? Ludovic, this is all your doing! How are you going to make up for it?" Hearing this, Ludovic kept silent and stared at him in a daze. He moved his mouth a bit but did not say anything. "Ludovic, you are really pathetic!" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "All these years, I have gone through tons of misery and pain When I fall asleep, I suffer from nightmares! I have sacrificed so many things to find the person who killed my mother I never thought it would be you, such a pathetic creature!" Ludovic stared at him and said nothing. Bang! Ye Qingxuan punched his face again and shouted, "Speak, Ludovic! Tell me how you are going to make up for it!" "Give my teacher back!" Ye Qingxuan shouted. "Give my senior fellow apprentice back! Give my family back! Give my mother back!" Soon, Ludovic was smashed into a pile of wriggling meat. Many small eyes emerged on this pile of meat. The small eyes opened one by one and all stared at Ye Qingxuan. "Hahahaha This is the taste of pain, this is the taste of pain." Ludovic sneered. Hearing his voice, Ye Qingxuan did not say anything, but he was so angry that his face turned blue. "There is no need to be so angry." Hyakume, who was inside Ludovic''s body, sneered. "Everyone will die in the end, it is just a matter of time. Everyone in this world will become the nutrition to nourish me and make me stronger Resent me as much as you like, and one day, you will be devoured by your hatred to me, then I will drag you into the abyss and make you just another part of my body" "Oh, really?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldy. He lowered his head and stared at the small eyes and said gently, "Why not today? I think today is a perfect day to make me one part of your body." Hyakume was shocked and had no idea what Ye Qingxuan meant. Ye Qingxuan dragged the pile of wriggling meat to the core, where the energy of the holy ax and the energy of the abyss were colliding with each other. "Young man!" Ye Lanzhou shouted. "You must know what will happen if you really do it." "Mind your own business!" Ye Qingxuan walked into the crack on Hecatoncheir''s chest. The pile of wriggling meat looked very anxious and struggled to get away. Bang! Ye Qingxuan hit it again. Everytime Ye Qingxuan took a step forward, the pressure increased by several multiples. The Wyrmrest enchantment around him trembled heavily. Due to the pressure, his skin began to swell up and break and heal. His blood dropped onto the ground. Ye Qingxuan raised his head and carefully looked at the floating shining silhouette. "Is this the holy ax?" he murmured and reached out his hands to touch the silhouette. "Ye Qingxuan!" Ludovic shouted. "What are you about to do?" "Like you said, let me become part of your body." Then, Ye Qingxuan thrust his left hand into the pile of meat, reaching to the deepest part. As Hyakume screamed, he also reached his right hand into the center of the silhouette. In the blink of an eye, the blood circulation inside his body was replaced by the aether circulation, the beat of the music movement became the same as that of his internal organs. Two totally different energies collided with each other inside his body, creating an energy that was thousands of times more powerful than electricity. In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingxuan was burnt to ashes by the energy. But he did not die; instead, he was reborn from the ash! His body became the battlefield where the two energies fought against each other. Vaporized blood spurted out of his nose and mouth, and all his organs were torn apart and burnt to pieces by this infinite energy, but in the next minute, all the organs grew out again. "Ye Qingxuan!!!" Hyakume shouted. "It is impossible for you to turn me into a part of your body!" "Don''t be afraid, I have not even started yet." Ye Qingxuan squeezed these small eyes and forced out a smile. "When I absorb all your music theories, we will become a whole!" The next moment, the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei played the tune of the sea dragon, and the Heaven Ladder extended out from the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and penetrated the pile of wriggling meat. The ladder connected Ye Qingxuan and the pile of meat. Soon, the music theory of the abyss poured into his body and overlapped with Ye Qingxuan''s music theory of sound of heart. They became whole. Moreover, the silhouette of the holy ax was also connected to the music theory of sound of heart. Because the energy of the holy ax was totally different from that of the abyss, the two energies bumped against each other, creating a scary energy wave. The pile of wriggling meant shouted and struggled, and all the small eyes were crushed by the wave. Ye Qingxuan was also in great pain. Due to the collision of the two energies, his whole body was on fire. It was the "fire of chaos" that countless musicians were afraid of. The fire of chaos would only appear once a musician''s sound of heart was disturbed and he lost control of his own music theory. Once the fire started, it would only die off when the host became ashes! However, Hecatoncheir was transferring its energy to sustain Ye Qingxuan, so he could not die. One minute, he was going to die, the next minute, he was reborn. "It is not enough!" Ye Qingxuan shouted. "It is not enough!" 523 There Should Be Lights After painful warnings, he didn''t restrain himself at all, but drew power from both sides even more crazily. He wanted to incorporate all the music theories of the abyss into his body, so that the consciousness and soul would be burned up by the radiance of the Holy Caldron. When his flesh and blood turned completely transparent, and his organs were ignited, the battle between the abyssal music theory and the Holy Cauldron sank further into the cracked bones soaked with the broken Symphony of Predestination. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan smiled madly. The time has come... In the next moment, the Wyrmrest enchantment suddenly collapsed, and power that was hundreds of times greater than before poured into his body, engulfing him completely. The faint shadow of the Holy Caldron and the residue of the Hyakume collided with each other. The Chaos was in turbulence. Ye Qingxuan stirred the power hidden in the balance of terror, and it was about to explode. A terrible power that could destroy the Sacred City dozens of times was brewing in his body. From the inside out, Ye Qingxuan was broken down into motes. Even the life of Hecatoncheir couldn''t reverse that. At that moment, the resonance between the movement of heart sound and the Hecatoncheir was suddenly cut off! Immediately afterwards, the new heaven catastrophe started to resonate again! This time, what it resonated with was... The Silent Moon! In a flash, the world seemed to be frozen. Everything was frozen. The glorious sacred light, the chaotic abyss darkness, the chaos that was about to explode the shattered projection of the Holy Caldron, the dark and evil thoughts bursting out from the residue of the Hyakume.... Everything remained still. The world was silent. Everything stopped working and was completely solidified. Everything fell into sudden stillness, like being frozen. Ye Qingxuan was in the center of the Chaos, and the deepest part of the terror tide. Scorching radiance and deep darkness were hidden in his body as it decomposed into motes. But in the touch-and-go destruction was a streak of silent moonlight. Moonlight... A streak of faint moonlight came from an extremely distant place, from the past, from the future, from an eternally still place, to the present world. It froze time and space. The moonlight that was almost too faint to be noticed appeared between the holy shadow and the evil residue, separated them with an unsurpassable boundary. The Qing ascended and the Zhuo descended. Things were back on track. When the moonlight appeared at the collision center of the music theories, it brought new rules, cut off the battle between the Holy Cauldron and the Hyakume, and called it an end. All volatile notes were at rest, and all the music theories that were about to erupt were balanced with force as they should have been in the beginning. "Sure enough..." In the silence, only Ye Qingxuan''s husky laughter could be heard. Among those shattered motes, a broken movement of heart sound danced and operated in silence, sending out a streak of fragile moonlight which signified the presence of something that didn''t belong to the human world. The Silent Moon! The unreal moon converged behind him and revealed its original appearance. He succeeded in resonating with the heaven catastrophe! All the musicians who tried to resonate with the Silent Moon in the past were destroyed by this seemingly harmless moonlight. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan felt no pain. He remained intact. Not only did the Silent Moon not destroy him, but even his body that was about to collapse into motes restored to its original stateeverything went as he had guessed. The Silent Moon was only a concept relative to the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume. Its existence relied on the battle between the two. It could be said that the music theory of Silent Moon could shape up only when the battle between the two became fiercest. Ignoring the existence of the Holy Cauldron and the Hyakume, and using its music theory alone would only bring about pure eradication and destruction. Only when the two were there fighting could the Silent Moon turn its power to its own uses. Who could have the music theories of the Sacred City and the Abyss inside their body at the same time? The moment when the two kinds of music theory met, complete destruction would be triggered. But even so, the destruction was still not severe enough to bring the Silent Moon out. Only the most essential collision between the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume could make the Silent Moon rebirth and restore the two to peace and silence. With the help of the unprecedented collision between the Sacred City and the abyss, in the instant when the essence of the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume shone, Ye Qingxuan used the horrible vitality that could bring the Hecatoncheir to life countless times to put the essence of the Sacred City and the abyss into his body. In this way, he could resonate with the real Silent Moon. The moonlight was reborn in his own movement of heart sound, so the Silent Moon only belonged to him! That moonlight sprouted in the fragmented movement of heart sound, the music theory that illustrated balance and order flew out of the moonlight, merged with the incomplete heaven catastrophe, and formed a completely new one. At this moment, a perfect balance had been reached between the "Seal of Moonlight,""Stone of Sage," and "Catastrophe Resonation." The music theories of the Heaven Ladders, the Sub-originator, and the Silent Moon finally converged in the same place. Consequently, an unpredictable upheaval was caused. In an instant, the three collided together, bursting out the radiance of turbulence. Meanwhile, three totally different aether waves bumped into one another, sounding loudly and terribly. In each second, countless music theories echoed one after another, which exceeded the terror rage that a human could bear. It was the same scale as the collision between the Holy Caldron and the Hyakume. Subtle collisions overlapped each other, pushing the grand symphony to a climax. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang, followed by the Howling of Dragon. In the aether sea in the distance, countless strings burst out in all directions. With the collision of the three kinds of music theories, a powerful melody sounded. In that melody, the Heaven Ladder across seven factions changed drastically, pulled down the Sub-originator in the distant aether sea and fell into the Physical World together. Behind Ye Qingxuan, the unreal moon suddenly turned real. Immediately afterwards, the moon absorbed the power from the aether sea crazily. After only an instant, there was almost no power there. The change in density caused giant waves and turbulence. The pure white moon''s configuration changed constantly. In the countless circulations from waning moon to full moon, which was like the passage of years in an instant, appeared a touch of cold blue. After each circulation, the cold blue became more obvious on the pure white moon. Ultimately, the terrible changes of music theories had been pushed to the limit. Ye Qingxuan''s movement of heart sound suddenly shattered and reorganized immediately. Then, an unprecedentedly large music movement appeared! The aether waves of the Heaven Ladder, the Sub-originator, and the heaven catastrophe integrated together inseparably! At this point, the trinity was formed! Suddenly, unprecedented turmoil broke out in the Chaos. In the strong light of terror, Ye Qingxuan''s body slowly emerged. As he breathed, a grand melody burst out from the music theory in his body, covered everything and everywhere it passed, and included them under the rule of the whole new music theory. It was not the weak heart sound of the past, but a miracle that had evolved from the spirits of ordinary humans. The real Symphony of Predestination! At this moment, Ye Qingxuan finally stepped out of the door and walked into the field of the master musicians! Just like when he was once playing the Ninth symphony, Ye Qingxuan only felt that he seemed to be resonating with a distant existence. A tremendous amount of power emerged from the void and poured into his body. Numerous emotions, sentiments, thoughts, and other feelings emerged from the Ye Qingxuan''s heart, making him once again indulge in that kind of trance. His consciousness was detached from his body, swimming in the water, producing light and darkness, and floating above heaven. In that instant, he stared at the turbulent chaos and the narrow cage-like world, whispering, "There should be lights." The muffled whisper turned into some kind of low and grand melody that burst into heaven with the ring of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and sounded between heaven and earth . Then, light emerged. Between the Sacred City on the earth and the Abyss in the sky, a huge blue moon appeared, covering the entire world. The Silent Moon appeared! Taking the battle between the Holy Cauldron and the Hyakume as an opportunity, the real Silent Moon came to earth at Ye Qingxuan''s call. Immediately afterwards, the dead silence of terror spread from there. Everything was deprived of color, and became deadly gray, looking monotonous and indifferent. The gray spread. Everywhere and everything it passed entered a static state. All the aethers were completely solidified. All the music theories were forcibly frozen. Then, the ruthless liquidation began. All things that had crossed the border were brutally erased. At this moment, the demons that landed around the Sacred City were turned into ashes, as long as they had the abyss mark. Several terrible shadows lurking in the darkness of the surrounding areas burst out fierce groans and evaporated instantly. All traces of divine powers disappeared on the earth. The faint shadow of the Holy Caldron fell apart. The abyss that fell from the sky was also completely broken! The vast abyss collapsed under the moonlight. There should have been a deafening sound, but people heard nothing. The wonderful scenery of a broken sky was like a replay of the scene recorded in the aether ball. It was unreal. Under the moonlight, countless cracks emerged in the giant and dark sky. Immediately afterwards, the sky collapsed from the center to the edge. In a flash, it was no longer complete. Like a dark snowfall, the black dust melted into the sky without any traces. Under the cold moonlight, everything that didn''t belong to the Physical World was quickly wiped out, leaving only the broken and quiet city, like ruins. It was neither the destruction nor the rebirth, but the purification that ruthlessly cleaned up the mess. Everything had come to an end, as if the curtain had fallen on the stage. "Not yet finished, Ye Qingxuan." Ye Qingxuan heard an indifferent voice, so he turned back in shock and saw that black smoke floated from the ashes of Ludovic. "The only thing that ended was the golden age of mankind," he said. "You have rejected the final redemption and my governance, but surrendered your destiny into the hands of the Son of Original Sin." The black smoke that was quickly dissipating converged into a fuzzy face. A single gloomy eye stared at the world with no anger or madness. It mocked with disgust, "You have to reap the consequences eventually." 524 Forever "Hyakume?" Ye Qingxuan hadn''t thought there was even a shred of Hyakume''s body left. The face sneered, and the eye on the face shot a glance at him. "How brilliant you all are. I hope when the judgment day comes, you can still be as confident as you are now." "Judgement day?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "What do you mean by that?" "Why do I have to tell you?" Hyakume sneered. "You thought you would receive a happy ending once you killed me? Don''t be naive. Something more terrifying will come after I die. And that something will soon wake up" Hyakume murmured. "When I die, the world will be totally different from what it is today, and more creatures like me will come popping out." Hyakume laughed and opened its arms to embrace the moonlight and let itself be destroyed by it. "As you have put it in the Holy Bible, one day, a real dominator will come to control this world, but what awaits you will never be salvation" Soon, the last shred of Hyakume was destroyed by the moonlight. Hyakume fell asleep, sleep from which it would never wake up. However, Ye Qingxuan was not happy at all; he felt a bit terrified by what Hyakume had said to him. The moon was shedding its light upon this world, and the whole world was sleeping. Since the music theory in Ye Qingxuan''s body was the same as that of the moon, he was not destroyed by the moonlight. In a few minutes, the Blue Moon dispersed and vanished. Ye Qingxuan was sweating like a beast, since he was close to being devoured by the moonlight and becoming part of the Quiet Moon. If that really happened, he would become an incarnation of his own personality. Realizing he was still intact, Ye Qingxuan was relieved. He felt extremely tired and passed out. In the silent world, Hecatoncheir reached out its hands and held Ye Qingxuan. Ye Lanzhou carefully watched his son, who he had not laid eyes on for the past ten years. He wanted to say something, but stopped. After a long while, he sighed. "Let it be." Ye Lanzhou turned around and looked at the Palace of Pope. Then he said, "Stick to your promise." The King of Red nodded and said, "Then I shall bid you well and goodbye." Ye Lanzhou then closed his eyes. Ye Qingxuan woke up and felt like he''d had a dream that lasted forever. Much had happened in that dream, and now that he had finally woken up, he felt a bit confused and shocked. It was afternoon, and he was sitting in a chair and gazing at the tranquil sea in front of him. The breeze blew, bringing the salty flavor of the seawater. Next to him was a bottle of juice with droplets of condensation flowing down along the surface of the bottle. Everything was so familiar and beautiful. Ye Qingxuan then saw a man sitting next to him. That man had the same white hair and eyes that he did. The man was smiling at him. He was Ye Lanzhou. "..." Ye Qingxuan was shocked and did not know what he should say. "Why are you in a daze?" Ye Lanzhou knocked him on his head. "Call me dad." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. Somehow, he felt like crying. He wiped his tears with his hands and took a deep breath. After a long while, he raised his head and looked at Ye Lanzhou. "You have been trapped in the ruins all these years?" "Yes. After all, I am ''dead.''" Lanzhou laughed. "By the way, I have not taught you the Dream of Eternity, which is the tactic I have been using. Before I died, I locked all of my senses and memories in my brain; luckily, I had Hecatoncheir to help me." Ye Lanzhou sighed. "My real body then decayed. Five years later, my personality basically formed. But I am always confused and have no idea who I am most of the time. Thanks to you, you have rebuilt the Heaven Ladder, and the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei has been reclaimed by you. Finally, I managed to collect my consciousness. If it were not for reclaiming my own brain, I would still be sleeping." "I see." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Have you paid a visit to Mom?" Ye Lanzhou was silent for a while and nodded. "Yes, I have." "She had been waiting for you until the last breath left her body. You owe her a lot." "I am sorry," Ye Lanzhou said. "She did not resent you, though." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "She never did." Hearing this, Ye Lanzhou did not say anything. After a long while, he looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked, "Have you met Lola?" "Yes." "She is a poor thing. I taught her, but I never got the chance to take good care of her." "She is fine, you do not need to worry about her." "How about you?" Ye Lanzhou asked. "How have you been all these years?" "Just so so." Ye Qingxuan sipped the juice and frowned when he noticed the juice was too sour. Then he said, "I can''t believe you still remember this place." "Of course I do." Ye Lanzhou nodded and pointed. "I remember it was your fifth birthday, we spent the day on this beach. If it were not for your cousin, you would have jumped into the sea." "Let''s talk about something else." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. Ye Lanzhou sighed. "You still resent me?" "Not really." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I am just feeling a bit sad. Many things happened, and I can''t change any of them, so I am feeling sad. I do not think one needs to hate someone." Lanzhou reached out his hand and touched Ye Qingxuan''s hair. "Thanks." Ye Qingxuan did not say anything. Ye Lanzhou stood up and began to walk on the beach. "You must have already know what happened to the Ye family." "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "If you do not want to get involved in this business, just let it go" Ye Lanzhou shook his head. He then smiled when he saw his son had grown up so tall. "You know what, I met your mother when I was the same age as you are now." Ye Lanzhou waved his hands and asked Ye Qingxuan to come over. "At that time, I was kicked out of the east side, and since then I have been wandering in the west like a homeless dog. I was afraid people were walking behind me or staring at me. I was afraid of people''s shadows. I was afraid of people, including myself I did not care how I looked or how this world looked. But when I met your mother, for the first time, I felt this world was good. The world that held your mother was good." "In her eyes, I was a hero." "But I know I am not a hero. Still, I want to become a hero for her and make the world where she was a better place." Suddenly, Ye Lanzhou became quiet and turned his back to Ye Qingxuan. "At last, I became a hero, but I failed to protect her," Ye Lanzhou murmured. "This was the biggest mistake I ever made. Later, I refused Ludovic''s request, destroyed the mechanism of purgatory, and displeased Hyakume, but I do not regret all this. I am so sorry that I failed to accompany your mother for her whole life." Ye Qingxuan was silent. Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound. His father''s face had cracked, like a mirror. "What is going on?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. Ye Lanzhou forced out a smile. "The consciousness of a human is not compatible with a catastrophe. I finally managed to wake up, but to make it compatible with my consciousness, I would have to sleep for at least a few decades or centuries." "You" Ye Qingxuan looked at his father in a daze. Ye Lanzhou reached out his hands and hugged his son. Ye Qingxuan could feel his father''s heart beating and his hot tears. "My dear son, listen. This world is beautiful, do not resent it. One day, you will also meet a girl, a good girl. When you meet her, you will find that you would do anything for her, you would change this world into a better place for her. I am so sorry that I can not stay by your side. I have a lot of things to tell you but I do not have the time." Ye Lanzhou backed away, looked at his son, and laughed. "I am so happy to see you becoming a decent man." Ye Qingxuan turned around so he would not see the cracks on his father''s face. "Do not behave like a child, turn around and say goodbye to me." After a long while, Ye Qingxuan said, "Goodbye." Ye Lanzhou laughed. He reached out his hands and touched his son''s hair. "Meeting your mother and having you as my son are the two best things in my life." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan clenched his teeth and did not say anything. "Then, I shall say goodbye." Ye Lanzhou backed away a few steps. Then he turned around and opened his hands. His past rose up like the fog, then it fell into his dreams. A sleeping city appeared in the fog. The gone Avalon became bustling again. In the city, all the dead people were reborn and walked the streets. Young boys were wearing their sunday best, and young girls were wearing makeup. They walked side by side and hand in hand. Everyone was full of hope, and the homeless found their own shelters. Ye Lanzhou was stumbling in the street. He crossed the crowded street, a quiet alley, and finally found the path home. He saw that slim figure again. Hearing his footstep, the young girl turned around. "Why are you so late?" She watched him. "I have been waiting for you for a long time. The ball is about to begin." Her eyes were so gentle and beautiful, he cried when he saw them. "I am sorry I am late." Ye Lanzhou knelt down on one knee and held her hands. "Would you do me the honor of having a dance with me?" "Sure." The young girl nodded and held his hands. "We can dance as long as we want." "How about we dance for our whole lives?" "That is too short." "A thousand years then?" "Well, it is still a bit short." "Forever then?" "Yes, forever." The everlasting ball began at last. Ye Lanzhou smiled and held her hands. The two walked together into a dream, the dream of eternity. "Deal then." He hugged her and said gently, "Forever." 525 Loneliness The noise came from a distance. When the noise arrived, after spreading across several streets and corners, it became a tiny ripple. Everything was quiet. Having experienced the chaos and turbulence of the attack by Hyakume, the city had just restored its stability and re-established order with a lot of effort. Everyone was busy rebuilding the city and restoring production and work. Hardly anyone could be seen on such a desolate and silent alleyway, let alone in the antique store there. In the afternoon, a light snow fell again. A thin layer of snow covered the blood, the dead, and those empty pupils like a shroud. People had just forgotten the catastrophe had ever happened and continued their own lives. In the early evening, a rare guest came to the alleyway and the old antique store. Someone pushed in, knocked on the counter, and waited patiently. Behind the counter, Hermes was writing on the desk. He waved to the guest without looking. "Our shop is going to shut down for a while. If you want to buy something, please wait and come after this period." The comer stood by the fireplace and smiled. Then, he took off his thermal hat and revealed his silver hair. "I don''t want to buy anything," he said. "I''m looking for someone." He was an old man who took good care of himself, his silver hair combed behind his head tidily. His voice was slow and sturdy without anxiety. Although he had walked all the way here, there was no snow on him nor water marking his black cloak. "Oh, it''s you." Hermes was shocked at hearing the voice. He looked up, raised his eyebrows, and said with his usual mockery of a smile, "Mr. Bai Heng, your highness, long time no see." "Long time no see, Hermes." Bai Heng nodded, and pointed to his wine rack. "Can you offer me a drink? I see a lot of good wine there." "Enjoy yourself." Hermes shook his head: "You are worthy of them." Hearing that, Bai Heng picked a bottle from the rack, wipe the dust off with his hands, and opened it skillfully. He poured a glass for himself, and placed another one in front of Hermes. Hermes picked up the glass and glanced at him. "You came to the Sacred City quietly at this juncture. Aren''t you afraid that the pope will guess your motivation, or the relationship between you and me?" "For me, there is only one pope, and he''s not in the Sacred City." Bai Heng took a sip and put the glass down. "Although it''s not the right time now, I still have to deal with the things that have dragged on for too long. The dispute between you and Tung Wang Kung should be settled." "Got it." Hermes nodded and suddenly asked, "Can I resist?" "As you like." Bai Heng threw up his hands. "As you can see, although I belonged to the Bai Family, I have never been cultivated as a musician since I was born. So I am just a rhythm controller. Killing me would be easy." "I am very glad to hear that, but why are there still two people standing outside the door?" "Just in case," Bai Heng answered indifferently. In the following silence, Hermes turned the pen between his fingertips to Bai Heng, with the tip aiming at his throat intentionally or unintentionally. After a long time, he put the pen down and sighed. "Forget it, it''s too troublesome." Hermes looked up and asked, "Are you in a hurry?" Bai Heng thought for a moment and replied, "Although the schedule is tight, I still have two hours for this." "Then await me for a while." Hermes picked up the pen again, looked at the notebook on the desk and whispered, "It''s almost done." - - When Bai Xi came back from the intensive care unit of the Silence Governance, it was already after dusk. The chorale musician told her that Ye Qingxuan was in good condition, the aether fluctuations tended to be stable, and he was going to revive someday in the near future, which made her feel much better. The massive attack by Hyakume a few days ago was called the "Night of Forever Darkness." Under the wise leadership of the Imperial Palace, humans counterattacked very hard and finally defeated this evil god, which was a great triumph. As a result, the support rate of the new pope, Ludovic, increased rapidly. When the event happened, Ye Qingxuan stepped out and not only repaired the enchantment of the Sacred City and prevented the Sacred City from being destroyed by demons, but also rendered aid to many of the city''s people. Therefore, he was cleared of suspicion, and highly praised by the pope. Even though the current situation was still uneasy, and the war between all the countries and the heaven catastrophes was not yet ended, Ye Qingxuan''s name still spread throughout the whole world. He was so well-known that only Gaius could be compared with his rise to power. So, it was just a matter of time before he took up an important position in the Sacred City. Even in the ward, there were greetings from the important institutions of the Sacred City. The cardinal made a special visit. Even the King of Red made a secret visit while Ye Qingxuan was still in a coma, awarded him the "Sacred Medal" to prove his impeccable character, and left a Bai Xi robe for him. The ecclesiastical robe of the Archbishop. That was a hint. If Ye Qingxuan was willing to take that on when he woke up, he would be the youngest bishop in the Order''s history. There would be no problems at all for him to work for any factions or take a place in the key departments of the Sacred City. He would definitely have a great future and rise all the way. Therefore, the chorale doctor in charge of treatment was too hospitable, coming in and checking on Ye Qingxuan every three minutes, which annoyed Bai Xi very much. Bai Xi hadn''t had a good rest for a long time, and she fell asleep in the carriage on the way home after Ye Qingxuan''s physical condition had stabilized. When the coachman woke her, she only remembered that she had a nightmare. But she couldn''t remember what happened in the nightmare. It seemed that some terrible things happened in a place that she never noticed, and destroyed something that belonged to her quietly. When she looked back unintentionally, she saw a scene of devastation. It was too late to do anything. She stood in the alleyway with anxiety. The snow fell on her body, melted into water droplets, and infiltrated through her collar as if the coldness had sunk into her bone marrow. She shook her head and stopped thinking, speeding up to the door under the light. Through the door, she felt the temperature of the fireplace, so the panic in her heart was slightly calmed down. The soft light seemed to free her from the gloom. She pushed the door open and saw the blood. The dripping blood flowed out through the door slot, down the steps, and into the snow. In front of the fireplace behind the door, Hermes was sitting in a chair by the warm flames. He seemed to be asleep with his eyes downcast. The wine glass had fallen to the ground from his hand, and the wine had already dried up on the floor under the baking of the fire. The scarlet blood dribbled out through the slit in his shirt, fell on his body and the ground, then ran in a stream towards the door. Bai Xi was shocked. "Hermes?" She stepped on the sticky blood and moved forward, bending down and touching his cheek carefully. He lifted his heavy eyelids, but it seemed that he couldn''t see things clearly, so he squinted his eyes to see the blurry girl in front of him. "It''s you, Bai Xi." He laughed. "You''re back?" "Hermes, you...you..." "It''s no big deal, I''m just dying." Hermes looked at the blood on his chest, and shook his head tiredly. "In every sense, I''m a man of failure. I speak bad things and have offended a lot of people. I haven''t done anything good. There are many reasons for me to die. Fortunately, the debt I owed was paid off..." Bai Xi only felt that her consciousness was solidified. A dark fault appeared in her consciousness, engulfing all her thoughts. Is Hermes going to die? Hermes and death were the two words that would never be linked. This heartless, vicious bastard always looked at the world indifferently. Even when the world was about to be destroyed, he only guaranteed his own safety. Even if all humanity died, he would never even consider offering a hand. For such a long time, the son of a bitch has been staying out of sight and watching others perform on the stage, and he just laughed and applauded. As if he could do that for another several decades, or several hundred years... But now, he was going to die. Some sort of icy pain spread in Bai Xi''s lungs, making her breathless. "How can you die?" Bai Xi looked at his blood and whispered blankly. Suddenly she felt an inexplicable anger, grabbed him, and shook him fiercely. "Why, why do you have to die now! Bastard! You get yourself up right now! Are you just kidding me again? Where is your blood pack?..." Her voice stopped abruptly. Under the torn-up clothes of Hermes was a broken heart. She was shocked. Hermes sighed and took her hand away, trying hard to cover his chest again. "I''m sorry, I''m going to die," he whispered. "It''s true this time, I didn''t lie." Looking down at the blood on her hands, Bai Xi couldn''t help choking: "There is some other way to save you, isn''t there?" Hermes smiled and shook his head. "Don''t even try to fool me! Don''t you always have a way out? You must save yourself first!" Bai Xi raised her voice as if she was angry, but she couldn''t help but cry, "You say something! Who, who should I ask for help! I do not know what to do!" "You cry too lowly. I can''t hear you. Make it louder." Hermes sighed. "It''s good to have someone crying for me when I die. But there''s only one little girl who has an ugly crying look. So forget it..." "Hey, don''t cry, Bai Xi, look up." He reached out slowly, squeezed the girl''s face, looked at her eyes with his shattered ones, and told her, "You are the only disciple of the great Hermes. You don''t need to lower your head, no matter who died in front of you." "But I... But what should I do afterwards?" "It''s your problem. I''ve taught you so much and I can''t always help you with everything, right?" Hermes breathed hard and said with a hoarse voice, "Let me leave my last words for you while I still have some energy to talk." He said, "After my death, you can get all the things that I have been hoarding for years. There is also a gift outside. I hope you will like it. However, remember to take it to Ye Qingxuan for me." He looked at the red notebook on the table, its cover stained with blood. "The thing with Auschwitz. I owe him," he said. "I''ll make up to him." "Okay." Bai Xi nodded hard. Hermes smiled with a sense of relief, feeling delighted like a child, even when he was facing death. He just waved and beckoned Bai Xi to come closer. Even closer. She leaned on his shoulder, sitting beside him, and holding his hand. In that way he calmed down, stopped smiling, and there was no longer pain in his eyes. Just like a child who was going to sleep, he would no longer fear the monsters in the darkness, and rest deeply while someone was around. "Bai Xi, have you ever had dreams?" he whispered, as if he was talking in his sleep. "Yes, I have." "It feels good to dream; just like that the soul is freed." "Yes." Bai Xi nodded and resisted the urge to cry. "I love people, Bai Xi," he said. "I like you guys... I like the way you lie and the tears when you are betrayed very beautiful..." "Bai Xi, I''m a little cold. Can you hug me?" Bai Xi held him in her arms with all her strength, as if she could keep his breath there, and he wouldn''t be gone. "Bai Xi, it''s so quiet." He took Bai Xi''s hands, and asked humbly, "Could you please cry for me?" Bai Xi nodded hard, chocking with sobs. The tears fell on Hermes''s face, diluting the blood like a pink makeup against his pale face. His eyes were open, staring at the ceiling as if he was looking at the long-gone past and places far away. So he whispered the names of some people, brokenly and fuzzily. It was like a long trip to pass his friends by, one after another. In the end, the long journey on earth was ended. He put down his luggage, relieved, and pushed the final door open. He went home. "Don''t wear a sad face, Setton." He smiled and embraced the phantom in his memory. "Smile, I''m back." "Welcome back, master." Bai Xi touched his cheeks, and whispered softly as her tears fell. Feeling that the last heat had left her fingertips, she could no longer resist the sadness in her chest. Farewell, master. - - The snow drifted down from the sky. Bai Heng sat on the steps, smoking silently. He heard a plaintive whine from the corner not far away. After a long time, he got up and walked over, pushing a handful of hay with his hand. In the thin snow, the body of the female cat had become stiff already. A live kitten cried, sucking on dried breast of the female cat. Bai Heng put out the cigarette, took the kitten into his arms, and returned to the steps. "Jiu Ying, do you like cats?" He whispered, caressing the kitten''s fluff carefully. In the light, a shadow of a burly follower shook his head. "Never." "It''s normal." Bai Heng nodded. "You guys are always thinking about killing and fighting. You never feel lonely or weak. Only lonely people like cats. When they stay with cats, they feel that they are not alone. I liked cats too, when I was young." Jiu Ying was silent for a long time and asked, "What about now?" Bai Heng laughed, and handed the kitten to Jiu Ying without answering. "Take good care of it for me. I rarely come to the Sacred City, so this is the gift for my princess. It''s isolated in the palace, I have to find a playmate for her." Jiu Ying took it, and lowered his head. In the silence, Bai Heng stood up and watched the drifting snow, whispering, "The girl that Hermes asked me to take care of, is her name Bai Xi?" "Yes." Jiu Ying nodded. "She''s a good girl," Bai Heng said. "Yunlou Qingshu is such a crap that he''s not worthy of her. You tell her that she will be my daughter from tomorrow on. After I die, she will be the sole successor of the Bai Family." "What if she doesn''t want to?" "She will," Bai Heng said emotionlessly. "She may hate me or fear me. However, only by being with me will she have the opportunity to kill me, right? You have to be careful, cats scratch people." Jiu Ying twitched his fingers, and was shocked to see that the struggling kitten had left scratches on his fingertips. His expression suddenly became awkward. "Give it to me." Bai Heng sighed, and took the kitten from his hands, gently and softly. He scratched its chin with his little finger, and the kitten stopped struggling, closed its eyes, and slept in his arms peacefully. Jiu Ying went away. Only Bai Heng stood in the silent snowfall, holding the kitten and looking into the distance in silence. "It''s just lonely," he whispered. 526 Being Human Seven days later, it was still snowing. In the tranquil Puccirya graveyard of the Sacred City, a thin layer of snow covered the tombstones and, of course, the names carved on the surfaces as well. Outside the graveyard a few black carriages were parked. In the desolate graveyard, there were only a few people. They were holding umbrellas and gazing at an iron-made coffin. The young man who was hosting the funeral coughed a bit. He looked rather pale and was wearing a black suit, which made him look very sharp and solemn. The suit was of a different design than those of people who came from the institutions of the Sacred City. He was not wearing any emblem, so no one really knew what title he had. He was not holding an umbrella but wore a scarf instead. The scarf was white, and his long hair hung down overtop of it. Earlier, Ye Qingxuan had finally woken up. He then refused to stay in the hospital to rest, and had prepared this funeral for Hermes. He knew Hermes would not want the priest to say beautiful words to him; Hermes would have wanted God to forgive him, not a priest. Thus, he decided to host the funeral himself. I don''t know what boss would think about this, or if he would agree to let me to host his funeral. If he were still alive, he would definitely laugh about his own stupid thoughts. I want him to know that the afterworld does not exist, when people die, they die. There is no soul inside a person''s body, and there is no kingdom to shelter the soul. So, when we are still alive, we need to live everyday to its fullest and live happily. "What do you think? Boss." Ye Qingxuan touched the tombstone. "Sir, it is your turn to read the eulogy," Anglo gently said. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long while. Everyone was watching him. He stood next to the tomb and opened the paper. When he read the first line, he could not help laughing. "A kind man with a pure heart?" He shook his head and threw the eulogy aside. "How absurd this eulogy is. If Hermes heard this, he would jump out of his coffin." Everyone was surprised to see Ye Qingxuan throw away the eulogy. After a while, Ye Qingxuan said, "As you can see, today we gather here to pay our condolences and respect to Mr. Hermes, and to say goodbye to him." "Just now, I heard someone praising Hermes as a kind person with a pure heart, but we all know that this is not true." He looked at the coffin and sighed. "Mr. Hermes was, in fact, a vulgar and indifferent person; he was neither generous nor kind. He never believed in God. However, he showed great enthusiasm and had lots of repulsive addictions to this world." "He sought happiness from the misfortunes of others, which is very disgraceful. Still, he made great contributions to this world, even if this was not something he really wanted to do. He had many fortunes, more than we can imagine, but he never used his money to do anything good for society. Instead, he invested his money into luxury goods. As far as I am aware, most people regard him as a p*ick and hate him. Even though he offered some help to some in difficult times, he was still detested by many." "He never meant to be a good person or a bad person. He just lived his life at his own will, making full use of his talent and living a life that we consider unhealthy. He left some fortunes which we regard unnecessary for us." Ye Qingxuan said, "Now he is dead. A sudden death claimed him. He is also an ordinary man who died. In his whole life, he lived a freer and more colorful life than anyone else. He never wasted his life, not even for a minute. I think this is the best compliment we can give him." The funeral was almost over, but Ye Qingxuan did not ask God to bless Hermes'' soul like other priests did. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then he said, "His soul belongs to himself, and may he rest ever after." After this, Ye Qingxuan felt all his memories about Hermes fading, and he finally accepted the fact of Hermes'' death. He thought he heard someone applauding inside the coffin, but when he listened carefully, the sound was gone. Bai Xi shoveled soil into the grave, and soon more people joined him. At last, the grave was filled with soil, and a flat stone was moved over top of the grave. Everyone stood in silent tribute. When the funeral was over, Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw an old priest, Albert, standing outside the graveyard. Ye Qingxuan walked over to him and asked, "Why are you here?" "To see him off." Albert looked at the tombstone and sighed. "As the leader of the three saints, he was supposed to receive a better funeral. We will never forget his contributions." "I think he simply wanted to see a more interesting world," Ye Qingxuan said. "Besides, he did not care if his funeral was grand or not. Let him rest in peace." Albert handed him a document and said, "This is the research report I received ten minutes ago. I think you will want to read it." "News from outside Sacred City?" Ye Qingxuan asked. The Sacred City was the center of the human world, and if the territory outside was gone, this central city would be meaningless. "It seems that things are much worse than we thought," Albert said while Ye Qingxuan read the document. "The fight between the other countries and the catastrophe is not over yet, and I am afraid it is going to last for a while. We know too little about these catastrophes. After Hyakume died, the whole world changed completely. We have lost at least thirty percent of our territory, and worse still, Anglo" Ye Qingxuan frowned and asked, "Anglo is still shrouded by fog?" "Yes," Albert nodded. "Currently, we can''t see what is really going on inside the fog. But there is one thing we can be sure of; the Collegiate Church of St. Peter at Westminster is still intact. The enchantment is fine, so I think we should still do our best to save the people there." "How about the Sacred City? Do you intend to give it up?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "We don''t have enough people," Albert said. "We have already sent many people from the Sacred City to different places. Yes, we have lots of people here in this city, but remember we have to save the whole world. It is just difficult. Currently, the Knights Templar have already made their departures, and all the musicians have gone as well. If possible, we have to send another group of people to the desert in the west." "There are only Knights Templar of Hospital there, and around forty percent of them have died. It is already a miracle for them to be able to protect that area." "The Knights Templar of Hospital you mean Father Bann is there?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly realized that Father Bann had been sent to the desert in the west. "How is he?" "Don''t worry, he is fine, and is the commander of the Knights Templar of Hospital and the Sixth Army Corps. When you were in a comma, he sent his regards to you, and after he knew you woke up, he hasn''t sent any more messages to us." Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan sneered. "Giving him a good title and then sending him to the most dangerous place, is this how you usually do it?" Albert sighed. "We have already sent eight hundred members of the Knights Templar of Hospital, three thousand warriors, and hundreds of engineers to support him. Besides, they are equipped with six airships. And four musicians, even the whole membership of the Third Institute of Mechanical Engineering went with him... with these people, he could occupy a small country. Moreover, the big Camp of Chainsaw Fraternity is there. Do you think they would not help him?" Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan was finally relieved. But what on earth was happening in Anglo? Ye Qingxuan had lost touch with Maxwell, and according to the emergency rule, all the members of the Fifth Department should obey Ye Qingxuan''s orders. Up until now, the members of the Fifth Department had been collecting as much information as they could outside Anglo, but they still got nothing. From time to time, people would be drawn into Anglo by the illusions in the fog, and never came back. From the document, Ye Qingxuan knew that the fog was magical. In less than a week, around thirty people had disappeared, including some knights with strong minds. Ye Qingxuan had not heard anything from Bayer, the principal of the Musician Association, the Royal Music School, Maxwell, or the royal family. "I see." Ye Qingxuan put away the document. "Someone wants to see you," Albert said. 527 Face-to-Face Talk "Another one wants to see you," he whispered. Ye Qingxuan looked outside the cemetery where Albert pointed. By the road sat a carriage in which a figure could be seen vaguely. People who attended the funeral noticed the carriage. The well-informed ones saw the sign on the door and averted their eyes immediately, shocked and pretending that they didn''t see anything. "I''m a bit busy." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Can I not go?" "Are you going to tell the King of Red that you''re busy?" Albert''s expression suddenly looked like he had eaten a fly. Ye Qingxuan could not imagine a man who had the same appearance as Ludovic''s becoming the King of Red of this generation. It was only after seeing the real body of Nibelungenlied that he reluctantly accepted this reality. However, if the pope came to visit in person, then he was up to his neck. But he actually couldn''t get away... Ye Qingxuan became very anxious. "Just go," Bai Xi said. "I am not a child. I don''t need people to stand by me all day long." Ye Qingxuan didn''t know how long she had been standing behind him. He coughed deliberately. He was awkward enough that she could see through him. "Then I will be back soon." He wrapped his scarf around Bai Xi''s neck. "Very soon." "Okay." Bai Xi nodded and looked at the snow falling to the ground in the distance, holding an umbrella in her hand. She waited for him in silence. - - This was the first time since Ye Qingxuan had revived that he was to the new pope. The pope was so close that he could see his white hair, and the rose beads wrapped around his hand clearly. "I wanted to preside over the funeral for him, but I wondered that he might not like that." The King of Red opened his eyes and said. "You are the most suitable person." Ye Qingxuan did not respond, but only looked inside the cemetery. Several men in robes stood at a distance, praying far away from the tombstone of Hermes, then left in silence. "Are they the people of the Church?" he asked. "They are winged people," the King of Red said. "It was because of Hermes'' guidance tha Romulus found land in heaven. They had enough reason to send messengers to the funeral." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but glance at them for a short time, and he looked away disappointedly after seeing that they were a bunch of old men. "At your request, I have already issued Abraham''s secret command," the King of Red said to him. "After a while, he will be released, but he can''t regain freedom. Because of his rebellious actions, he must live incognito. The Order will find him a place suitable for convalescence, and he will live his whole life under supervision." Which seemed like a bigger prison. Ye Qingxuan had already prepared mentally for such a result, which was much better than what Anglo once gave him. "What about Gaius?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "He''s still wanted," the King of Red replied emotionlessly. "Recently, the Revolutionary Army completely occupied the colony of the New World. Then they landed in the Commonwealth of Caucasian and began to prepare for war. Many people are ready to respond to their call and participate in this war for freedom. Among them are many scholars and craftsmen of all countries." "Furthermore, the Revolutionary Army has successfully killed a pope and proved its strength." Ye Qingxuan added indifferently, "The Sacred City has been too indulgent with them, so they turned into monsters. What do they want to do now?" "It''s far from indulgence." The King of Red shook his head. "The Sacred City has never stopped suppressing the Revolutionary Army. However, all countries have long been tired of the leadership of the Sacred City. All along, there have been many people who agree with Gaius''s concept and also look forward to something that can restrict the energy of the Sacred City. "No one wants to have someone making indiscrete remarks and criticisms over their heads, the same as all kings. Isn''t that also true for Anglo? Dozens of archangel armors are smuggled to the colony of the New World every year "Gaius took strength from the compromises and acquiescence from those political struggles, and nourished his own beasts He never took those good-hearted sponsoring politicians as his companions; he even thought about hanging them on the gallows in the very beginning. "Now, it is just time for them to reap the consequences. After so many years of infiltration, the best time for them has finally come. "As long as they can help the Caucasians drive out the heaven catastrophes, the Caucasians will be willing to accept any conditions they have. Even if they want to burn their emperor at the stake. "After occupying the Caucasus, they will further expand outwards. Then Gaius can open up his own pattern in the chaos, which has not existed for hundreds of years." "Gaius has waited for so many years, and now he gets what he wants." "..." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then muttered, "Was the assassination of the pope by Gaius the conspiracy of the Sacred City and the Revolutionary Army to deceive Hyakume into falling into a trap?" "Conspiracy?" The King of Red laughed. "Does this kind of thing still require secret talks or covenants? A bit of tacit understanding is sufficient. Gaius used to be the closest person to the truth of the Sacred City, second only to the pope. He knew the Sacred City better than anyone, and he knew the details of the Sacred City even better than the Cardinal. "He knew what the Sacred City would do, what Ludovic''s intention was, and that there would be other assassins who would kill me even if he didn''t step out. So why didn''t he choose to get the maximum benefit from this incident?" "In the end, the Sacred City gained the victory, and he gained a good reputation." Ye Qingxuan applauded admiringly. "Each took what he needed. Awesome!" Even a blind man could see the disgust in his false expression. "This is politics, isn''t it?" The King of Red looked at him. "If you can''t conquer your enemy, then you can only compromise. The overall situation is not a game that can be gambled with." "Is Wolf Flute really a mole?" Ye Qingxuan asked disappointedly. Before, he always wanted to convince himself that the Wolf Flute was only a mole sent into the Revolutionary Army under the arrangement of the Sacred City. But now it seemed that there was no possibility for that. "Is the Sacred City so insane that it would sacrifice a saint for a mole?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "I''m afraid that Wolf Flute was on the side of Gaius long before he joined the Silence Governance," the King of Red said. "When he was found by Bach, he was just a child raised by wolves. In order to become a human, he suffered a lot. But he changed into a kind of human unwanted by us." "Why did Gaius rebel?" Ye Qingxuan asked directly. "For the so-called ''democracy''? For freedom? Or to fight against the technical monopoly and blockade of the Sacred City ?" "Perhaps," King of Red answered indirectly. "Don''t slight me with those foolish words, your majesty." Ye Qingxuan was expressionless. "I once heard what he said to Wagner. He said..." Ye Qingxuan moved closer to the King of Red, looking at his expression, and said word by word, "...after the past and the future of humanity were tampered with, you lost your qualifications to lead the world. One day, you will bear the consequences." The King of Red remained expressionless. 528 Go Back to My Profession "I always wanted to become a historian. Your Majesty, among all the scholars, I know the most about the Dark Age," Ye Qingxuan said coldly, "so I am qualified to say that there is something wrong with this subject. On one hand, we lack enough historical materials, and on the other hand, the direction that those historians are heading is wrong After I heard what Gaius told me, I finally realized that we have been misled. Someone is trying to make the whole scholarly circle focus on something meaningless, making us historians study fairytales The true history, however, has been neglected all the time." "You are right." The King of Red nodded. "You concealed what happened in the past, and twisted and changed humanity''s future." "Yes." The King of Red nodded again. He confessed it without any hesitation, which surprised Ye Qingxuan. After a long while, Ye Qingxuan asked, "What on earth have you done?" "I can not tell you. I have been keeping this secret for hundreds of years," the King of Red replied. "Once they know what happened in the past, they can''t bear the pressure. The King of Blue, the King of Yellow, and I decided that one day, the church group should tell this secret to the entire human race, but now..." "Is ''Son of Original Sin'' also part of it?" "Maybe." The King of Red did not directly answer this question. Instead, he looked at Ye Qingxuan and said gently, "Ye Qingxuan, you have asked too many questions, and we should stop here. Now it is your turn to answer my questions." Ye Qingxuan was silent. On the day when Ye Qingxuan woke up, the King of Red had promised Ye Lanzhou that he would take up for his son. He kept his promise by giving Ye Qingxuan the bishop''s ferraiolone. If Ye Qingxuan joined the Sacred City, in less than five years, he would become the archbishop and have great power in the Cardinal Church. In only a few decades, he would become the most powerful man in the world, and his offspring could even inherit his titles. Both Ye Lanzhou and Ye Qingxuan had protected the glory and solemnity of the Sacred City by defeating Hyakume. No one had done a better job than they had in defending the city. If Ye Qingxuan did not want to be a clergyman, he could also be a member of the Silence Governance, and all the classic books and information would be open to him. In less than five years, he would reach the level of scepter, and then he would be granted the holy title of Hendel and the Scepter of Messiah. He would become a holy saint of the highest rank These were the promises the King of Red had given to Ye Qingxuan on that night in the holy temple of Sarroman. However, until now, Ye Qingxuan had not given any reply. "I still need more time," Ye Qingxuan said. The King of Red did not urge him to give his answers right away. Seeing his face, the King of Red seemed to understand something. The King of Red said, "The world is moving fast. I hope you can make preparations beforehand." Before Ye Qingxuan got out of the carriage, the King of Red gave him his rosary and said, "Come to the Apostolic Palace tomorrow and tell me your answer. Take this with you and you can pay me a visit whenever you want." The King of Red spoke firmly, as if he knew Ye Qingxuan would think things through by the next morning. Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a while and received the beans. The carriage left. Ye Qingxuan stood at the end of street alone. He stood there, silently, for a long time. Then he turned around and went back to the graveyard. There was only Bai Xi standing in front of Hermes'' tombstone. She stared at the tombstone for a long time and took off her scarf. She wound her scarf around the tombstone, though it looked very ugly. The tombstone would not feel cold, and neither would the dead. "I have never been kind to him," Bai Xi said gently. "He helped a lot, but I have never had the chance to return the favor." Ye Qingxuan did not say anything. Bai Xi turned her back to the tombstone and said, "Let''s leave here." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded and walked with Bai Xi, side by side. Bai Xi said she did not want to take the carriage. "Let''s take a walk." "Now?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "Yes, now." Bai Xi stepped on the snow and looked at him. "Don''t you think it is the perfect time to take a walk around this city? It is quiet and not crowded." Watching her serious face, Ye Qingxuan agreed. Throughout the years, the Sacred City had never been as desolated and quiet as it was then. Few people were walking on the street, and most of the shops were closed. Since the government had adopted the ration system, there was enough food and water for people. Two days ago, there were few luxury goods here, but soon, merchants from all over the world would come with their luxury goods, hoping to make a big fortune. The construction of rebuilding the city was going on. Soon, the Sacred City would be bustling and prosperous again. Now, there were ruins everywhere, and apart from the places that had been protected by the enchantment, nothing intact was left. "Everything has been ruined," Bai Xi said when she arrived at the sixth scenic spot. "There is nothing but broken churches, ruins and dead bodies." She kicked away a few broken bones that were in her path and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Cousin, I want to see the Apostolic Palace." "..." Ye Qingxuan looked at the sky and did not reply. The Apostolic Palace was the power center and military-restricted area where the Cardinal Church was located. It was heavily guarded by the Knights Templar and surrounded by three layers of enchantments. Not even a fly could get in, not to mention a person. "Then show me to the Stela of Destiny?" Ye Qingxuan still did not reply. When the Terminal Red Dragon fled, the entire Central Square was burnt, as was the Stela of Destiny. Now, there was only a big hole left there. The hole was also a restricted area, since it was directly connected with the Underground Palace, which was supposed to be secret. From time to time, some devils would crawl out of it. It was going to take at least three months to clear it up Apart from the brothels and bars, there was no place that was worth going. "Not the Apostolic Palace, not the Stela of Destiny, why not just destroy the whole Sacred City." Bai Xi frowned and said, "How about the Central Holy Cathedral? I have always wanted to go there!" Go there to do what? Play with bombs? Ye Qingxuan was speechless. "Sorry, I can not take you there." "F*ck." Baixi cursed and did not say anything. She walked forward and wandered in the street. After a long while, she stopped and pointed to the crowd in front of them. "Cousin, I am hungry." In front of them was the temporary Food Distribution Zone. Here, people could not only receive the staple goods and daily necessities, but could also eat deli food. People who did not like eating compressed biscuit would come here. The deli was well-supplied and cheap, but it didn''t taste that good "Sure, let''s eat some delicious food." Although the business sector was not ideal at the moment, over the last two days, many famous restaurants and clubs had opened their doors again. So people could eat many delicious cuisines from all over the world there. The price had gone up a lot however, not that the usual patrons would notice or mind the increase. I remember there was a restaurant that was the best in the Sacred City. When Ye Qingxuan was still in the prison, Ludovic often invited him to visit that restaurant and taste the signature dishes. It was really delicious. When Ye Qingxuan walked to the restaurant, he realized he did not have any money with him. After he woke up, everything had been taken care of by the officials of the Sacred City. In his pocket, there was only some coins. "What''s wrong?" Bai Xi saw him digging in his pocket for the money and instantly knew what was going on. She did not feel unhappy or angry, instead she pinched her small jaw for a while. She found another restaurant that was not far away and smiled to Ye Qingxuan. "It is fine, cousin. It is my treat today." "What?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "You have got money?" "Of course not," Bai Xi said. "I am going to go back to my profession." She cut off the lower hem of her coat and changed it into a mask with Alchemy, then used it to cover her face. Then she snapped her fingers and cut the statue of a saint along the road into pieces. She picked up two swords made from the arms of that statue and walked into the restaurant. "Do not move!" she yelled. "Give me money!" 529 The Hand of God A cold wind blew and swept across the street. Dead leaves flew together with snowflakes. Ye Qingxuan stood dully in the doorway, listening to the loud noises that were coming from the restaurant, and a series of breaking sounds. A few gloomy aether waves were destroyed by a stormy wave as soon as they appeared. In the end, the wall crashed. Someone laughed and came out of the floating dust and smoke. "What are you waiting for?" Bai Xi was veiled, carrying a large bag of freshly-made food. Her two eyebrows jumped excitedly. "Go! Go! Run!" As she spoke, she grabbed his hand and began to run with the stumbling Ye Qingxuan. A sharp whistle came closer to them. "That''s him!" "There he is!" "Don''t let them go!" While the sharp whistle of the patrolmen approached swiftly, Bai Xi pulled Ye Qingxuan to run along the streets of the Sacred City. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan was in a trance. It was like suddenly going back to a time long, long in the past. In the same unfamiliar city, they ran crazily on the streets. This time, his hand was held by Bai Xi. - - They didn''t get rid of the pursuers until two o''clock in the afternoon. The two collapsed on a bench in the street, panting. After hearing their pursuers run past them, they finally felt relieved. "Ah, they''ve gone cold." Bai Xi opened the paper bag and took out a lunch box, shaking it helplessly. "The soup also spilled. A lot." "That''s alright, it''s stolen. So just eat." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his hands and felt hungry. "The beef steak''s for you and the smoked fish for me. Okay, you can also have the soup." "Why do I have to share half with you?" Bai Xi held the paper bag in her arms, squinting at him. "I was the one who stole them and led the way. You were just waiting there as a lookout. It would be nice enough to give you a piece of cold bread." Despite what she said, she still reluctantly put a warm sandwich into his hand. He could tell at first glance that she had forced the chef to make the sandwich. Because it was sprinkled with the wrong sauce. Ye Qingxuan held the sandwich, smiled, and stuffed it into his mouth. Then he turned his head and took a cold breath. Why are there so many pickled cucumbers in it?! Facts had proved that it was not a good idea to irritate chefs. Most of the foods that Bai Xi robbed were full of strange tastes. "Ah, this bread is so spicy!!!" Bai Xi''s mouth was swollen after eating the spicy bread. When she looked at the miserable face of Ye Qingxuan with her watering eyes, she couldn''t help laughing, spewing bread crumbs into Ye Qingxuan''s soup. Ye Qingxuan sighed, blew away the bread crumbs, drank a bit of the soup, and finally rinsed the sour taste of pickled cucumber from his mouth. "Next time, you''d better wait for me to go back and get the money." Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky and sighed heavily. A subtle and soft melody came from the distance. The snow had already stopped, and a riot of sound was heard in the dilapidated church. The girl in white gauze, holding hands with her beloved boy, stepped down from a rented carriage, then went into the church with the cheerful melody. A wedding. The smiles of the guests seemed to be the few bright colors in this city. There were still people who lived in this brutal world, suffering but still smiling. At the end of a long street, they held a simple wedding ceremony in a dilapidated church. Although the priests obeyed the dispatch of the Order, and were busy working, they still invited a young apprentice of the Order to witness the wedding. The young man who seemed to be inexperienced was dressed in a robe, holding the Holy Bible in his hands, scrambling to preside over the wedding. Fortunately, the wedding continued although there were a lot of troubles. The wine was not sufficient, the bread supply was limited, and the banquet was not rich at all. Several old workers who could play instruments formed a temporary orchestra and played the wedding march. Everything was simple, but all the things needed were there. "Louis, are... are you willing to marry her as your wife? According..." The young trainee priest stood on the stage, stuttering over the contents of the note in his hand. "According to the Holy Bible, you shall live with her, in the sight of God connect with her. You shall love her, respect her, and protect her in the way you would yourself. No matter no matter..." His voice was getting lower and lower. Being stared by all the people present, sweat was gathering on the priest''s forehead, although the weather was cold. He forgot the words. The scene was really embarrassing. The more anxious the priest was, the more he couldn''t recall, and then the more awkward he became... Standing outside the crowd, Ye Qingxuan could swear to God that this was absolutely one of the top ten embarrassing scenes he had ever witnessed in his lifetime. "Forget it, I''ll help you out." Ye Qingxuan sighed and opened his lips silently. A voice fell into the young priest''s ear along with the breeze, which cheered him up like being redeemed. Then he shouted out the final words ecstatically. "...whether she is sick or healthy, rich or poor, will you remain loyal to her until death do you part?" Everyone breathed sighs of relief. The groom nodded, "I will." The wedding proceeded smoothly, and the embarrassing moment was quickly forgotten. The groom kissed the bride. The guests applauded. "It''s so nice." Outside the door, Bai Xi looked at the two people who were hugging, and applauded them. In the tranquility, the sound of the marching carriage sounded from a distance. Accompanied by grand horns, a gorgeous carriage was driven out of the Apostolic Palace, and marched on the avenue of the Sacred City. With trumpets like the burning sun, the snow was rolled up from ground, blown into the sky by the wind of the rotating wheels, and fell massively on the canopy and flags. The fragrance of incense rose from the copper furnace, spreading in all directions, and enveloped the entire world in a warm spring breeze. The sergeants dressed in black stood by the two sides of the troop with knives and swords on their waists, holding banners up to the sky. The countless red banners fluttered in the strong wind and snow, like burning flames. On the empty streets which were covered with yellow silk, numerous servants ran forward to meet that luxury troop that extended to the outside areas of the Sacred City. Guarded by numerous sergeants, the long and narrow troop marched outwards. The marching sound of thousands of people converged like thunder, rumbling and shaking the giant city. It was like an imperial visit. Ye Qingxuan suddenly looked up and only saw a huge carriage drawn by six three meter high horses among layers of guards. Wherever it passed, everything and everyone bowed humbly, not daring to look straight at it. The white-haired musicians dressed in robes rode on horses and followed behind the carriage. A huge honor guard of the East appeared on the streets of the Sacred City for the very first time. The carriage that should have marched outside of the city parked on the street. Countless people stood silently in the melted snow, seemingly waiting for something. "The Easterners?" Ye Qingxuan frowned, staring at the banners hanging up over both sides of the carriage. At the sight of the strange emblem on the banners, he instinctively felt a burst of disturbance for no reason. "There will be troubles again." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and took Bai Xi''s hand. "Let''s go." But she didn''t move, staring at the newly married couple hugging in the church. After a long time, she suddenly looked up. "Qingxuan, will you propose to me one day?" "Eh?" Ye Qingxuan thought he must have misheard, but Bai Xi looked at him silently and waited for the answer, causing him to panic. "Oh, why do you suddenly..." His opened his lips, but no words came out. He didn''t know what to say, or if he should say anything. However, seeing his embarrassed look, Bai Xi laughed happily as if it was just a mischief. She kept laughing, then lowered her head. She said, "Qingxuan, I''m leaving." "Eh?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "Where are you going?" "To the East, I think. I''ve never been there. Is that very far away? I would hate to take a ship, my head will get dizzy. Besides, with so many people, it will be annoying and troublesome. However, I shouldn''t need to worry about that," she whispered, looking at the troop in the distance. In the gorgeous honor guard, someone rushed towards Bai Xi, head down, holding a white fox-fur robe in both hands. He minced forward, but stopped ten steps away from her. Respectfully and with awe. Ye Qingxuan looked at him in silence. After a long moment, he looked back at Bai Xi. "What''s happening?" "It is said that I am now the daughter of the Regent," Bai Xi said. "They dare not look at me directly and they are afraid that I will kill them. So they are more obedient than those in the Cloud Tower City. If I say ''kneel down,'' they will kneel down..." Hearing that, the servant went down on his knees, regardless of the mud and snow on the ground. But he still held the white fox-fur robe high to prevent it from being stained with even a trace of dust. "You see, it''s great." Bai Xi smiled. "I will live a good life there. You can rest assured..." "No!" Ye Qingxuan interrupted her. However, he didn''t realize that his voice was so loud and sharp, as if he was afraid. He didn''t know what had happened, and why it suddenly became like this. But as Bai Xi stared at him, he felt embarrassed and panicked, and didn''t know what to do. He was doing great. He had already saved the Sacred City, and become a strong person. Obviously, everything had been improving... However, he found that he was going to lose Bai Xi. "Why do you want to go to the East I mean The East is so far... It will be troublesome and tiring. I can Hey, I''m not going to drive you away here. I mean, you can stay..." He stretched out his hand hesitantly, but dared not touch her, fearing that she would disappear like a dream. Just looking at her, he prayed humbly and incoherently. "Bai Xi, please stay." Please stay. I can do anything for you. I can even smash the Sacred City again. I can pay any price. "Stay here, okay?" He stopped in front of the servant and separated Bai Xi from the troop in the distance. He had exhausted all his strength by saying just a few words. Master, Charles, Ye Lanzhou... Are you also going to leave me now? In silence, Bai Xi looked at his face. "Qingxuan, Hermes is dead I hadn''t even realized that until now," she said. "I just thought that he would blame me if I went home late. But he''s dead already." "But you still have me!" Ye Qingxuan still wanted to say something, but Bai Xi shook her head and pinched his cheek: "If I still stay here, Yunlou Qingshu will definitely come up with some wicked idea. And then, I will hinder you, and I will hate myself. Moreover, my character is troublesome. I will be sad if you ignore me. If you don''t take me out to play, I will be bored. If you don''t care about me, I will be angry. If I find out one day that you don''t like me any longer, I will be very sad." Ye Qingxuan was shocked. Bai Xi leaned forward, and hugged him tightly. She buried her face between his arms and clung to his heart, listening to the echo there. She closed her eyes. It was like they were back in the long-gone past, in darkness, embracing each other for the first time. The world was so cold, but when you found that destined person, it no longer was. Even in a world without moon and light, you wouldn''t fear while embracing them. "Qingxuan, you know what? I always think you are a hero," Bai Xi whispered. "There is only one hero in each woman''s heart. After I met you, no one else could get in there. I have lied to you so many times since the begging. Do you hate me?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Never." "If I need you one day, will you come to save me?" "I will." Ye Qing Xuan hugged her, but could not help crying. "Even if I''m dying." Bai Xi smiled, and wiped away his tears with her hands. In the end, she raised herself on tiptoes and kissed his forehead softly and carefully with her cold lips, as if she exhausted all her strength. "Then, goodbye." She released him and moved backward step by step. She waved goodbye to him with a smile on her face, like the one when they first met years ago. She was free, as if she had nothing to worry about. It was like, after passing through the darkness, and stepping out of the cage, she finally stretched her wings and flew through the memories into a world that Ye Qingxuan had never seen. Wherever she passed, everyone bowed their heads in horror and knelt down on the ground, greeting her arrival with respect. Step by step, she got onto the carriage. Gradually, she went away from Ye Qingxuan. Quietly. In the silence, the carriage moved forward again. Ye Qingxuan stared at the troop until it disappeared from his sight. The snow fell from the sky, and covered the silent city and the last traces left by Bai Xi. He closed his eyes. Walked way. - - The troop marched through the streets of the Sacred City, out the front gate, then on to the wasteland. The sound of the sea came from afar. In silence, the old man in the carriage put down the book in his hand, then said softly, "He didn''t follow. It seems that you were wrong. Are you sure that he will come to you?" "Yes, he definitely will." Bai Xi nodded with confidence, as if to state a truth. As if he were hearing a joke, Bai Heng smiled slightly. "You are my daughter now. It will not be easy for him to take you away. He must at least have the courage to fight against the whole Empire of Aurora." "I believe that one day, he will come to save me from your hands." Bai Xi gazed at the Sacred City in the distance, and said softly, "If the Empire of Aurora gets in his way, he will defeat it. If you get in his way, I will help him kill you." "Are you thinking of killing your father already now? You really are the daughter of a traitor." Bai Heng laughed, touching Bai Xi''s long hair. "Hermes didn''t lie to me when he said that you were born like me. If the day comes, you could take my head off. But whether you can take the entire Empire of Aurora as your dowry, depends on your power." Staring at the indifferent Bai Xi, he was full of joy. "After all, it is worthy of being killed by my own daughter." - - At midnight, in the Apostolic Palace. Under the dazzling light, the deep noises continued. The secretaries with documents in their arms kept walking in single file and put the documents from all over the world on a huge round table. The documents were sorted out and awaiting disposal. Behind the huge round table, some of the tired cardinal bishops were busy dealing with the documents, discussing with their colleagues in low voices. An ashtray was full of cigarette butts, the pungent smoke floating in the air. A warm wind blew, but it was both boring and suffocating. Behind those cardinal bishops, the King of Red, who should have been resting early, remained sitting in his place. The tea in his cup was cold and changed. In the long silence, he seemed to be waiting for something. Until someone came close from afar and pushed open the front door of the main hall. The door trembled, sending out a low voice. The biting winds poured in from outside, dispelling the stifling heat, and bringing the low-pitched disputes to an abrupt end. From outside to the Apostolic Palace, someone arrogantly walked straight through the layers of the threshold to the center, without any notification or etiquette. He was unwilling to wait even for a second. The cardinal bishops raised their heads, looked at the uninvited guest, and frowned. All of them knew the iconic white hair and the indifferent young man. But they were shocked when they saw the old rosary on his wrist. There was no one who didn''t know what it represented. In the sight of everyone, he went to the front and bowed to the King of Red. The King of Red raised his eyes and looked at him. "Have you made your choice?" "Thank you for your kindness, your majesty," Ye Qingxuan said. "Tonight, I will leave the Sacred City." The King of Red was silent for a long time and sighed. "I thought what the Sacred City promised you was satisfying enough for you." "It''s too slow." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I can''t wait." The King of Red stared into the young man''s eyes, but suddenly felt that perhaps he was wrong. He originally thought that Ye Qingxuan would gain insights from it, but what he saw now was definitely not the case. In that pair of dark eyes burned the fire of resolution and craziness, like spreading lava on wilderness that burned the earth''s crust and steel, and then rose to the sky to light the whole world... The King of Red lowered his eyes and stopped looking. "Go ahead." He waved tiredly. "In thirty minutes, there will be a boat that will send you wherever you want to go. Someone will be there to give you what you want. After that, perhaps only God can bless you." Ye Qingxuan smiled and said nothing. He bowed and then turned away. The door closed. The low-pitched disputes sounded again, and the King of Red closed his eyes drowsily, but for some unknown reason, he suddenly remembered Gaius'' favorite poetry. Since then, we, as humans, have been suffering from great pains and hardships. We Became brutal and indifferent to prove the nature of our real body... Perhaps that was humanity. - - Late at night, on a quiet wharf outside the Sacred City. Surrounded by the sound of the tides, Ye Qingxuan waited silently and read the notebook left by Hermes. Faint moonlight fell from a gap among the clouds, illuminating another obscure figure. The illusory figure stood beside Ye Qingxuan, looked at the young man, and sighed. "Every musician dreams of the promotion that could bring them everything. Are you sure that you don''t want it?" "What I want is not here." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the silhouette of the steel city in the distance, and shook his head slowly. "The Sacred City can''t give me what I want either." "Little Yezi, you finally got on board." Lola laughed. "You should have been like this! Get what you want! Why do you have to worry about so many things? Anyway, this world has been trampled by Hyakume to such a degree. If things go badly, this world will be nothing more than hell!" A high-pitched whistle, and the iron wheels were ready. The thump of hooves came from afar, a messenger dressed in white rode a horse and stopped in front of Ye Qingxuan. "In the name of the Archbishop of the Sacred City, the representative of gods, the highest pope, and the King of Red." The messenger half knelt to the ground, and handed a red ribbon with green gold trimmings to Ye Qingxuan. "Today, you are appointed the master of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Grand Inquisitor, assigned to rebuild the Religious Court of Inquiry and patrol all countries, and titled the ''Hand of God.'' "You are crowned with justice. From now on, what you do and say are the principles." "This is the will of God!" "The Hand of God?" Ye Qingxuan stared at the red ribbon for a long time, then laughed softly. "Great, I like this title. Express my appreciation to the king for me, please." Saying that, he wore the holy ribbon on his shoulder with majesty, which meant that he accepted the mission given by the God. The dark pupils were so cold that the messenger didn''t dare to look directly at them and bowed in awe. "Then, by the will of God, let''s first create a better world from fire and iron." He turned and left. Without looking back. - Under the silent moonlight, the whistle burst sharply. The iron wheels rotated slowly and drove away, stirring up undercurrents and waves. In the dim light in the cabin, Ye Qingxuan stared at the large and complex design sketched on the note, Hermes''s last legacy. It was a sketch of a huge thing that straddled the whole Physical World and was named the "aether net." A photo was stuck to the last page of the notebook. It was a photo taken by Hermes at an unknown time. In the photo, Bai Xi was standing on a cart being pulled by a running golden retriever. She was on a street of Avalon. She smiled like a little fool who owned the world, although she would definitely roll the cart over in the next second. "Wait for me, Bai Xi." He touched the smile in the photo and closed his eyes. Soon, I will find you... And then, I will not let anyone take you away from me! - - That night, a notification was issued by the Central Temple and sent in all directions. The Religious Court of Inquiry, which had been damaged for many years, was rebuilt from the ashes. The light of the burning posts would light up the entire world again. The young man who was named the "Hand of God" had abandoned his former dreams and aspirations and once again embarked on a long journey. However, this world had already been immersed in turmoil. As Ludovic once said, a new era had begun. It was not a golden age that belonged to mankind, nor the everlasting darkness of the abyss. In the midst of fire and iron, a new prelude started and a new era was coming. 530 The Lightless Sea It was late at night, and a guard stood on the edge of the cliff holding up a storm lantern, lighting the raging sea. The ocean tide was coming with heavy rain and thunder on its back. A storm was sweeping across the sea, and the air was full of the sticky and cold water vapor. The guard found it difficult to breath normally. Though it was raining heavily, it was silent. Countless rain drops dropped into the raging seawater. The sea had turned into something horrible, like a monster. A fog permeated the air of the region. The whole sea was tumbling, as if there was a huge creature stirring the water. The hurricane swept across the sea and blew towards the cliff, creating scary sound. Seeing this, the guard was in a daze. Soon, he felt a bit dizzy and fell down. He felt extremely cold, which made his mind clear again. He screamed aloud. Suddenly, a man reached out a hand and grabbed him by his collar and pulled him up. He then fell back down on the ground. The cold rain dropped on his face, and he looked pale and began to breathe heavily. His looked at the man lifelessly and said, "I...I" "What is wrong with you? Were you petrified?" the man said. "I called your name for ten minutes and you did not reply to me. If I did not come up, you would have already" Recently, many guards had encountered this. "I just came out to have some fresh air, I never thought" the guard murmured. The man patted his shoulder and said, "You go back and take a rest. Someone has just shipped some food here, and the cook made some soup. You should drink it. I will stay here." The guard nodded and backed away. He said with great gratitude, "Niven, be careful, Old Gai jumped off the cliff yesterday." "You should go back now." Niven waved his hands. He quickly laid a waterproof blanket in a cave and lay down on it. Then, he took out a lighter and lit his pipe. He breathed in the warm and wet smoke and finally felt a bit warmer. He relaxed a bit and stared at the sea and the sky in awe. He looked at his watch and realized it was exactly midnight. F*ck the twelve o''clock. He spat. As a member of the Fifth Department, he had been doing the hardest and dirtiest work for years. He had retired from the navy, and spent the next ten years travelling all over the world and living in bad environments countless times. Still, he never thought Anglo would become like this. In the past, the Cloister of Cavern was a famous holiday paradise with a pleasant climate, but now, all the hotels and roads had been flooded by the dark wave. What was left was the Cloister of Cavern that was still sitting in the mountain. When the fog shrouded Anglo, half of its territories in the coastal area had been flooded. Currently, no one really knew if the islands located in the deepest part of the fog were still there or not. According to the emergency regulations of the Fifth Department, the current situation in Anglo meant that this city was already in a very dangerous state. All the institutions around the world had gone into silent mode. Apart from some specially appointed members, everyone needed to gather at the fixed place at the fixed time; everyone else would be treated as traitors. Currently, around four hundred experienced experts who had known a lot about devils and catastrophes had gathered here. They had been staying in the Cloister of Cavern for over a week. They were still very disciplined, but some of them were beginning to become a bit worried. In fact, they were all carefully selected elites, and among them were musicians and people with lots of talents. Most importantly, they were very courageous and determined, and would not easily freak out. This time, things were rather different. Apart from the bad environment and the shortage of food and water, the sea posed the biggest threat to them. They had not seen light in nine days. The lightless sea seemed to have a sort of magic power. At this point, more than ten people had been lost. A few days ago, four corpses were spotted floating on the sea. Those who came back alive all went insane, and some of them even had to be quarantined. Two of them had killed themselves. One cut his wrist and drew some graffiti with his blood on the wall. The graffiti was washed away, and later the man who cleaned it also went mad and was soon quarantined. "F*ck." Niven spat again. He was a bit afraid. Anglo had already became a living hell, and he had no idea what would happen next if he continued to stay there. The storm was still sweeping across the sea and pouring rain, but it was very quiet. He was a fisherman''s child; when he was young, his father never allowed him to step onto the boat, or even to touch the net. He stared at the sea, terrified by this quietness, and finally understood his father. The deep sea was just like a uterus, where a disaster was growing. "How scary this is." He sighed and crawled under the blanket. He stared into the distance, and from time to time, he had an urge to walk into the darkness. If he indeed walked into the darkness, he might become part of it, a tiny part of it Instantly, his urge disappeared, since he practiced the Decerebrate Rigidity surgery on himself. In fact, few spies would perform this sort of surgery on themselves. After the surgery, other musicians could no longer read his mind, but the surgery was not easy to do. Still, he never regretted the decision he had made, and now he could calmly watch this atrocious monster-like sea. He began to smoke his pipe and play sudoku. The visibility was now less than three meters, and the water quality had deteriorated so much that even the fish could no longer live in it. There is no point in continuing to guard this area! Suddenly, a cold water drop fell on his forehead. He was alarmed and looked up. Then he saw the rock above his head trembling, as if an earthquake was happening. For the first time, he saw a scary scene in the spot where the dark sea met the dark sky. The sea was raging and the dark clouds were getting closer and closer to the sea. It seemed like the sky and the sea were going to become one. All at once, he heard the sound of a siren. An enormous iron and steel-made ship was sailing across the sea. Around the ship, the distorted music theory collided with the twisted reality, creating a huge swathes of sparks. The ship was sailing fast. Seeing this, Niven was shocked. The wave was trying to stop the ship from moving forward, but it failed, as did the rain and the reefs. The head of the ship was already broken and cracks were crawling all over its body. Suddenly, the ship bumped into the cliff. The next moment, the searchlight on the ship lit and targeted Niven. The light was so bright that Niven could not even open his eyes. He then heard someone walking on the deck and getting closer and closer to him. The man stopped in front of Niven and lowered his head to watch him. Niven felt he was in great danger. Niven jumped up and took a dagger from his shoes, trying to cut this man''s throat. But he felt a sudden pain, and when his mind was clear again, he found he was lying on the ground and his dagger had been taken away by the man. The man sighed and threw a ring to Niven. There was an emblem of the Royal family on the ring, and a unique code on the inner side. Obviously, this man was not a musician. Although Niven could not read his aether wave and the code of his Alchemy Array, he was sure about this man''s identity. Against the bright light, Niven saw the man''s white hair. It was just like a burning metal. "Your name?" the man asked. "Niven," Niven said. "Niven Taylor." "Good boy, now, Niven, just calm down." The man reached out his hand and pulled Niven up from the ground. He patted Niven''s shoulder gently and said, "Take a breath and go see your official, and do not forget this ring." This man looked at Niven rather seriously, his eyes like the lightless sea, dark and deep. "Tell them I have come." 531 I Hope So The Cloister of Cavern was first built by a group of ascetic monks. They spent forty years carving the early structure of the cloister out of the rock cliff. From then on, after two hundred years and four periods of construction, the Cloister of Cavern became what it looked like now. Like the headquarters of the Chainsaw Fraternity, the interior part of the cloister was carved out of the rock mountain, but its scale was not as grand as the Chainsaw Fraternity''s. The construction of the stone chambers could only be described as rough, for those chambers didn''t even have any windows, but only several fist-sized holes for ventilation. After Ye Qingxuan''s identity was verified by a musician, he was respectfully guided to the office of the cloister''s dean. The stove in the corner dispelled the dampness in the stone chamber, but it was still cold. Ye Qingxuan sat in a chair and waited silently. After half an hour, the door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man who looked capable and vigorous came in. He looked older than his age, the hair on his temples going gray. His bones and facial features showed that he was Angle, and his knuckles were large, and his palms were rough with calluses. Although his muscles were oversized, they still presented a sense of strength. He moved with power and sturdiness, like an army. "Hello, Mr. Ye, I''ve heard a lot about you." He stretched out his hand to Ye Qingxuan, and introduced himself. "I am the interim leader here, Colonel Xavier." Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes, looked at him and his hand, but he didn''t intend to shake hands with him. Colonel Xavier''s tone was very subtle, for he disguised his discontent and contempt very well. Even though he called him "Mr. Ye," he did not care about Ye Qingxuan''s identity as a sword bearer. Handshaking was common, but it could only be used among peers. As the successor appointed by Maxwell, the leader of the Fifth Division under a state of emergency, Ye Qingxuan possessed a higher authority than Xavier did. Therefore, Xavier should give a military salute and transfer the command authority to him when they met. Instead, after making Ye Qingxuan wait for half an hour, he came late with two subordinates, and wanted to shake hands with him with fake zest. Ye Qingxuan looked at the two men behind Xavier. One of them was an old man in a robe, holding a walking stick, looking like a clergyman of the church. He did not wear an emblem nor a sacrificing garment of the Order, but he wore many luxurious rings on his fingers, from which anyone could feel the aether waves. He was definitely a musician with many achievements. Although he didn''t use any music movement or alchemy equipment, the water vapor and coldness couldn''t get into his body. It was because of the buffer layer of natural music theory around his body, which was formed through the regular frictions between the Physical World and the gravitational force formed in the music theory of his body. His music theory was at the distortion level, at least. The other person was much younger. He wore a pair of well-crafted glasses, which showed that he had a bad eyesight. The calluses on the index finger and thumb of his right hand indicated that he had been doing paperwork for years. Therefore, he might be a copyist, a scholar, a lawyer, or a middle-class official. However, there was no mark of the Fifth Division on their coats. That was interesting. A cunning smile appeared on Ye Qingxuan''s face. Being ignored by Ye Qingxuan, Xavier''s expression remained unchanged, but his eye muscles trembled slightly. He drew back his hand and sat in the main position of the office, as if nothing had happened. "Mr. Ye, you must be tired after such a long trip." Xavier maintained his politeness and respect to Ye Qingxuan. "The resting room has already been prepared for you. A batch of supplies just arrived, so our chef has cooked many delicious dishes. You can have your dinner later and have a good rest tonight." "Very good." Ye Qingxuan nodded, but didn''t respond further. Then he asked straightforwardly, "How many members are there in the Fifth Division at present?" Xavier smiled. "Something happened, so we still have 374 people. But the situation is not good. We" Ye Qingxuan waved his hand and interrupted him. "It''s enough for the time being. Our ship was broken during the trip. I need a qualified engineer to repair the ship with my people. You can arrange it later. We hope that the ship can be repaired tomorrow, then we could set off as soon as possible." Xavier became silent and his smile froze. "Mr. Ye, you just arrived, and I''m afraid you don''t know the situation here," he said. "The enthusiasm of young people is worthy of admiration, so I understand your anxiety. But the Fifth Division has its own way of mobilizing and operating. You have not taken part in any specific actions, so you need some time to understand and adapt. Otherwise, if we make a wrong move, I am afraid that we will suffer a severe loss. "If there is anything to be dealt with, we can discuss together. Since the supplies are insufficient and our people are in a poor condition now, we shouldn''t act rashly until the headquarters in Anglo give us further instructions." Hearing that, Ye Qingxuan could not help laughing. He didn''t talk, but only tapped the table in front him with his fingers and stared at Xavier''s expression. (Ye): He must have spent quite a long time preparing such a fluent and seemingly reasonable remark. He is more like a politician than operational staff. (Xavier): Ye Qingxuan, you are too young and inexperienced. You haven''t even participated in any actions of the Fifth Division. You still need to do a lot of work. Moreover, the lack of supplies, the poor condition of the staff, you know nothing about those In shortyou know nothing! As the silence stretched, Ye Qingxuan kept tapping on the table with his fingers. The crisp sound was like a small chisel that took away Xavier''s smile. In the end, Xavier became awkward. "Anything else?" Ye Qingxuan suddenly asked. "Any other excuses or reasons?" Xavier''s face twitched slightly, for he was irritated by the tapping sound of the table. A flash of anger appeared in his eyes. "Still not enough?" he asked coldly. Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head. "I think you''ve been thinking wrong since the beginning" He got up, put his hands on the table, and bent down to overlook Xavier. "I''m not negotiating with or begging you, and I''m not going to listen to your excuses. So, you don''t have to worry about finding a reason." As he spoke that, Ye Qingxuan lifted his hand and raised his middle finger to show Xavier his ring. "No qualifications or experience is required. I don''t have to prove to you if I am qualified. When Maxwell is not here, I am the head of the Fifth Division, and your commander. If I command you to repair the ship, then you repair the ship. If I command you to act now, then you act now. "Before you talk with me, you have to know your position first, Colonel Xavier. That is an order!" His harsh voice echoed in the air, and turned into a thunderous noise that made the entire room tremble and the wall hum. A hint of aggression flashed in Xavier''s eyes, and he seemed determined to do something, but someone pressed on his shoulder with a hand. It was the old musician. The waves of music theory dispersed the noises in Xavier''s body and forcibly restored him to calmness, leaving him no longer unaffected by the hint in Ye Qingxuan''s words. Xavier took a deep breath and stopped looking at Ye Qingxuan. "It''s getting late, and you may be tired, Mr. Ye." He squeezed his voice out of his teeth. "Have a good rest first! We''ll talk about the rest tomorrow." Ye Qingxuan glanced at the old musician behind him with a spurious smile. After holding his gaze, he turned away without saying anything. The door closed. After a long time of silence, Xavier breathed a sigh of relief. "Mr. Mandel, why did you stop me?" "You were doing what he wanted you to do," Mandel said. "Don''t forget who he is now. If you dare to do anything harmful to him, you''ll give him an excuse to kill you." He paused and looked in the direction that Ye Qingxuan had left. "He will never hesitate." Xavier''s face turned purple with anger. "How dare he!" Although saying so, Xavier actually knew very well. Of course he would dare to kill me. The Fifth Division is not a politician institution. It is a violent institution, a manufacturing plant for executioners and killing tools. It is now in a state of emergency, so the wartime regulations are used. If Ye Qingxuan gets a chance, he will never be soft on me. Xavier sat in his chair silently and smoked the last few cigarettes. His face couldn''t be seen clearly in the flickering light. "I''ve arranged that room for him to live." He suddenly said, "Master Mandel, it''s up to you next." "Well, you made a wise choice." Mandel nodded. "Just relax and have a good rest. Tomorrow, he won''t be a threat." Xavier snuffed out the cigarette. "I hope so." - - In Ye Qingxuan''s room in the Cloister of Cavern, a middle-aged man with a face full of whiskers leaned on a chair and wiped his beard bedewed by the liquor after finishing the whole bottle. "Grand Inquisitor, this is different from what you said to us," he complained. "Your subordinates don''t seem willing to transfer the authority to you. Moreover, I''m afraid that you are not welcome at all." Saying that, he shrugged his shoulders and looked at the doorway. "My crew has been guarded, and my ship has been thrown out, exposed to wind and rain." "Rest assured, Captain Igor, my promise remains valid." Ye Qingxuan, whose was resting on the bed, opened his eyes and said, "Go back and rest. When things are over, if you are not satisfied with your reward, I can give you more." Igor sighed reluctantly. "To tell the truth, I''m very satisfied with the reward that you''ve promised, but I just have some doubts on the value of your name in those people''s hearts. If you are not sure, we can run. Anyway, the ship is still there, right? "All my sailors know how to fight. It''s okay for them to break through here You don''t have to puff yourself up at your own cost. If you are killed tonight, who should I ask for the final payment?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Mr. Igor, are you Asgardian?" "I prefer to say that I am the son of the sea, although the sea is sometimes a bitch." Igor shrugged. "But I am indeed Asgardian. Yes, you will know that from my name." "Then you should have heard a proverb." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and whispered fluently in Asgardian. "The real authority will not be in the hands of the thieves for a long time, it will choose the owner who could match with itself. Those who could survive after drinking the dragon blood are the strong ones. Am I right?" Igor stared at him with a frown for a long time, then he shook his head and sighed. "I hope so." 532 Nightmare It was late at night, in the basement of the Cloister of Cavern. There was a stove, from which smoke of sulphur slowly and consistently crawled out and soon spread into the whole basement. At the same time, many different illusions of hell appeared in the dancing fire. The hydrargyrum was flowing in the groove on the ground and formed a complex Alchemy Array. The array extended in all directions and even spread to the ceiling. At last, it gathered around the bizarre "stove." With the smoke and the array, the whole space of the basement was twisted and became non-physical magic world. The music theory of the School of Abstinence filled this room and began absorbing the energy from the aether stove. All the rules of the Physical World changed completely, and this place became a projection of the Aether World. In the basement, the old musician Mandel was playing his Mandolin. The string trembled, making a peculiar sound. Throughout the centuries, the School of Dinar had been studying the peculiar creatures in the Aether World. The members of the School of Dinar were good at the Path of Domain of the School of Dinar. They even created a new tactic, which was "construction of the magic land." The musicians of the School of Dinar knew quite a lot about the Aether World and the peculiar creatures living there, and they knew how to exchange valuable things from the Physical World with things from those creatures. Mandel, the strongest master of the School of Dinar, was an expert on these creatures, and possessed various precious materials and treasures. In only a few days, starting from this basement, he successfully turned the whole Cloister of Cavern into his own "magic world," where he was the dominator. He had promised Xavier that he could definitely kill Ye Qingxuan. But his peer did not think so. "Mr. Mandel, I think we should change our plan," the young stenographer suggested, from where he stood in the corner. "The original plan may not work now." "Why, in particular?" Mandel asked. "We never thought Ye Qingxuan could come here so fast." The stenographer sighed. "Up until now, we have made many arrangements with the precondition that Ye Qingxuan would not come so quickly. Now he is already here, all our efforts become futile. The Fifth Division was built by Maxwell, so he is the boss here. I do not think Xavier will dare to contradict Maxwell." "Ye Qingxuan is just a dead man trapped in the fog." Mandel sneered. "Once I kill him, we can go on as planned." "Master, I think you should be more careful," the young stenographer said. "If we mess this up, the members of the Fifth Division of Anglo will do everything they can to fight against us. "Fleur-de-lis," the evaluation system, said that Ye Qingxuan is of the master degree. Besides, he has the bloodline of Lancelot and the royal family as well. He also has a close connection with the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline of the East." "Wouldn''t that be better?" Mandel asked coldly. "If we succeeded, Earl would take back his throne again. If we caught Ye Qingxuan, it would be easier for us to attack Anglo." "Things are not as easy as you think." The stenographer shook his head. "You have been living here for too long, so you have no idea how many changes have taken place outside. Ye Qingxuan is not an ordinary man." The sound of the mandolin suddenly stopped. Mandel slowly turned around and stared at the young stenographer. "Auden, to be honest, I hate Anglo and this place as well. I am already too old, and I have promised the Earl to help him get this business done. I do not want to waste my time here listening to your bullsh*t. Remember, you are just a stenographer, and your job is just to serve Maxwell well" Mandel said coldly. "It is not in your place to judge me." The young stenographer did not reply. Mandel turned his back to him and began to sprinkle the spices in his hand into the stove. With the sound of mandolin echoing in the basement, the dancing fire changed its color and made some strange sounds, as if there was a mouse singing in the fire. But when he looked carefully, there was nothing there. In fact, it was the peculiar creatures from the Aether World. Mandel had been feeding them for a long time. Usually, these creatures could cause lots of trouble, but for people who knew how to control them, they could be much of help. After hearing what Auden had said, Mandel was becoming more and more alert about Ye Qingxuan. Usually, the older one got, the more he was afraid of death as well as mysterious young men. It had been such a long time since he had gotten involved in this sort of business. This time, he wanted the mysterious books and some precious spices which the Earl had promised to give him. He did not want to lose his life. Then he took out a cloth bag, picked out some spices, and carefully threw them into the stove. Suddenly, the fire went up and became more bizarre. Strong smoke spurted out. There were many peculiar creatures in the fire, opening their mouths and moving restlessly like mice. "They keep walking and walking and are hated by people. No one wants to take them in," the creatures sang. "No one knows them. Many people ask them where do they come from and who they really are. They have no place to stay" As this bizarre song echoed, the whole basement was gradually shrouded by thick white smoke. All of a sudden, Auden heard a string break and saw old Mandel taking off his clothes. His body had turned half-transparent and looked rather scary. Mandel had broken his own consciousness into pieces, and beastliness controlled his mind, as his body was became more like a monster at the same time. Throughout history, all the schools had studied catastrophes. For the members of the School of Dinar, they did not need to sign a contract with catastrophes, and could easily get superpowers or gifts from these creatures. At last, Mandel completed his transformation and temporarily became a peculiar creature of the Aether World, a "nightmare." He happily raised up his head and breathed in the horror permeating the air. Then he sneaked into the darkness and disappeared. 533 For Victory Late at night, in the silent and lifeless cloister. The nightmare, like a ghost, traversed the wall, and moved forward silently. In the swaying firelight, the translucent nightmare inhaled and exhaled with grey breath. When it took a step, it moved a long distance, as if it was flying through the shadows. The School of Dinar, which had inherited the Classical School directly, could be ranked into the top three schools of the present day, just because of its history and inheritance. Not to mention, the cabala and the music movements exchanged from the oddities of the Aether World during the long years also made them even more mysterious. In addition to skills like the "construction of the magic land" that combined with their research and could exert effects of the scepter field level ahead of schedule, the "incarnation of the oddities" used by Mandel now was also a secret of the school. Those who used the "incarnation of the oddities" could detach themselves from their human body and reveal the essence of themselves with the appearance of an oddity. What they could obtain was not only the various abilities of oddities, but also the improvement of their essence. For example, they could perceive the "vision of soul" of living things directly through the matter. All creatures with self-will would show their own essence in their eyes. At the moment, in the eyes of Mandel, the entire translucent cloister shone the faint light of fire. That was the fire of thoughts and consciousness in the color of violent red, silent blue, or fearful yellow On the contrary, nearly no thoughtful purple or peaceful green was left there. As he inhaled heavily, the streaks of firelight converged in front of him and got fainter after being swollen by him. He fed on the consciousness and emotions of others, and turned them into his own power. Just after a moment, the nightmare had condensed several times, as if it had really come to the Physical World. However, while he moved silently, he suddenly stopped. Above the narrow promenade was darkness. He stood in the corner, staring silently into the depths of the hallway, and at the shadow of nothingness. Through the holes on the wall of the hallway, a moist sea breeze came from the outside. The vague moonlight fell through the holes and to the ground, which turned into a straight light that illuminated the moss and cracks in the corner. Under his gaze, something moved a step in the shadow of nothingness, and broke into the moonlight. Then, in the place where the moonlight shone, a vague body appeared. It seemed that the body was wearing the moonlight. However, there was still nothing coming from the body itself. Through the illumination of the moonlight, the features of the blurred face could be easily recognized. So, Mandel''s eyes were getting more serious. "Ye Qingxuan?" he asked. "Yes." The comer nodded, and in the corner of his mouth was a cunning, irritating smile. "Why do you come here this late? May I help you?" Why do I come here ? Mandel no longer hid his own purpose. He just reached out his hands, showing the enormous aether waves and power. On his back, the snakeskin-patterned emblem of the School of Dinar appeared slowly, revealing his identity. Declaring war! That was the etiquette among ancient musicians before the dueling, through which they could demonstrate their school and strength to their opponent, and have a fight in a formal way. In other words, he already regarded Ye Qingxuan as an opponent who was strong enough to compete with him. This was the first time that Ye Qingxuan had met a musician who adhered to ancient rituals. He hesitated for a moment, showing a hint of helplessness. "The school?" he murmured. In the name of which school should I fight? Although he came from the Royal Academy of Music in Anglo, he was not a member of the Royal School of Anglo, which was good at summoning or changing skills. He inherited the music theories of the School of Stone Heart, but the school had long been dissolved, and he had changed the things left behind beyond recognition. Although he was the descendant of the dragon, and he might belong to the School of Mount Yu for some reason, he still didn''t know what the School of Mount Yu represented or even its emblem. In the end, he sighed and drew a random emblem to show his identity. The next moment, Mandel, without any hesitation started fighting! As if numerous invisible crows flapped their wings, countless black feathers fell through the air and to the ground. The Song of Bird. Ye Qingxuan''s expression suddenly changed, and he quickly stepped backwards, escaping from the spreading darkness from which the illusions of countless crows came out. Dozens, hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands? The beastliness contained in the music theory transformed into crows were completely different than what Ye Qingxuan had known. Although the music theory appeared as crows, the interior nature of it was quite different from the essence of the birds in the Physical World, for it resembled the heaven catastrophes with the air of the Aether World! No one could know how many covenants of the oddities were controlled by Mandel. Ye Qingxuan had already taken precautions, but he did not expect to be deluged by the terrible number of oddities of such strange and uncanny means... Summoning tens of thousands of bizarre creatures of the Aether World was beyond the limitation of humans, or even the masters! The loading capacity of the Symphony of Predestination was limited! That was why the scepters, which were covered by the elements and represented endless power, were so attracting for humanity. Does he want to fight till death when we first meet? Ye Qingxuan did not expect Mandel to start fighting so straightforwardly. In a flash, he was enveloped in all directions. Therefore, it was impossible for them to avoid the blade of the sword. Ye Qingxuan sighed, reached out, and smote forward with the sword of moonlight. Endless miserable croaking suddenly burst out. The blood-like mist spewed from nothingness into the air, and dispersed immediately. Broken and withered feathers of crows filled the air and quickly collapsed into dust. The crow tide suddenly stopped in front of Ye Qingxuan. However, countless crows still flew toward Ye Qingxuan, hovering around him. Those invisible crows revealed their bleeding eyes, as if they had been hungry for a long time. They peered into the music movement in Ye Qingxuan''s body, like seeing food in the real world. Even with only a slight negligence on his part, they would drill into his body and enjoy a satisfying meal... In the chaos, an icy coldness suddenly hit the back of Ye Qingxuan''s head. He suddenly turned around, but saw Mandel, who should have tried hard to maintain the crow tide, stepping out of the shadow behind him and pressing on his head with his palm. Among those five fingers was endless darkness. It was like the sky in the long night with shining stars, under which many illusions constantly emerged, as if countless oddities were drinking and having a grand feast on the ground. Summer Night! The busy and odd summer night among the five fingers was an extremely exquisite "construction of magic land." The feast of the ancient oddities and musicians reappeared in the form of a music movement, the natures of the Aether World and the Physical World merging into the dark night, sending out a terrible gravitational force. Anything close to it would be pulled into the boundary between the real and the virtual world, sunk into the summer night and finally evaporated with the arrival of dawn! That was a terrible force even stronger than the crow tide Pushed by Mandel, the force was gently sent toward Ye Qingxuan. In the chaos, Ye Qingxuan pointed with his fingers and transformed himself into a vacuum in a flash. Nature interference! Immediately afterwards, the Holy! Summer night crashed into Holy. Horrible waves burst out after the collision between the two completely different masterpieces of the School of Abstinence. In a mere instant, the walls were destroyed, the hurricane was torn apart, and a large hole was chiseled in the entire Cloister of Cavern. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t give Mandel any chance. The sword of moonlight swept through and hit directly on the Symphony of Predestination of Mandel. When the two collided, the friction of music theory caused the pressure to soar. The Symphony of Predestination of Mandel was not extraordinary, and even could be described as common. It had the strong features of the Classical School, but it paid no attention to the linkage and convergence of music theory. In other words, although the power was strong, its own structure was not stable, with disordered rules and many loopholes. Ye Qingxuan had confidence in destroying the Symphony of Predestination of Mandel completely by infiltration and destruction! However, at that point, Ye Qingxuan finally noticed the waves in Mandel''s body that extended to the distance. In the perception of Mandel, all the living creatures in the entire cloister converged with him in the secret land of the basement, sharing his pressure and providing him with a constant supply of strength. In other words, everyone in the Fifth Division had become his aether furnace! Although most of the people who were not musicians couldn''t bring too much strength to Mandel, they were the best floodgate to share his pressure. They could be killed by ten times pressure, let alone one hundred times pressure... There was no difference in the consequences for those who were sharing the pressure. Now, Ye Qingxuan finally realized what he was doing, and that he intentionally let Ye Qingxuan perceive his trump card! To defeat him, Ye Qingxuan needed to kill all the people that pulled into the secret land and shared the pressure with him. When Ye Qingxuan won, he would only get an empty ruin. "What a trump card!" Ye Qingxuan squinted his eyes and stared at Mandel, who was smiling strangely. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was about to stop fighting, Mandel laughed. Although he already had the game in his hands, he did not want to force Ye Qingxuan too hard. Instead, he decided to offer him a choice. He mighty want to cooperate with him Just as he opened his mouth, the pressure from Ye Qingxuan suddenly surged! The moonlight was like a torrent, impacting on his Symphony of Predestination. The friction between music theories increased the pressure by hundreds or thousands of times. The aftermath of terror wiped out one tenth of his aether furnace. That was to say that Ye Qingxuan personally killed dozens of members of the Fifth Division in a flash! What was more, the offensive was getting more fierce, without mercy or scruple! "Are you crazy!" Mandel was shocked. "Do you know what you are doing! Even if you win, what can you get in the end?!" "Nonsense." Ye Qingxuan smiled, without any burden or hesitation, moving forward with the strong thought of killing him. "Victory, of course!" At that moment, Mandel was covered with coldness. 534 Breakfas Also in the deep night, only the sound of the stove burning could be heard in the quiet room. In the glittering light, Ye Qingxuan was leaning on the bed. Lowering his head, he was browsing through the thick, heavy books. Only the rustling of the pages could be heard in the silence. Lola showed up in the shadows in the corner. Seeing him at such ease, she slightly raised her long and thin eyebrow. With a sneer, she said, "You look so full of confidence!" Raising his head, he held his chin in confusion. "Anything wrong with that?" "Are you really planning to lead this bunch of guys directly into the mist to save the world?" Lola asked in disbelief. "Do I have to remind you how stupid it is?" "How come? I am not a lunatic." "You look no different from a lunatic." Glancing at him, Lola said coldly, "It''s right to save the world, but you should at least have a plan, right?" "Don''t worry. I do have a plan." Lowering his head again, Ye Qingxuan continued his reading. "Anyway, now that Anglo has become silent, I''m afraid the Fifth Department is the only force that can change the situation. It is the result of Maxwell''s painstaking effort. If it is out of control, there''ll be no hope for us at all." "That''s your plan? Relying on a bunch of killers and spies? Different people have different skill sets and they are not applicable to all situations. Ye, the world of spirits and demons is totally different from that of humans. They are no help even they are experienced executioners or invincible warriors." "You don''t need to worry about that." Still reading the book, Ye Qingxuan gave a meaningful smile. "They will be helpful. Very soon." Silence fell again. Only the rustling of the pages of the book in Ye Qingxuan''s hands could be heard. Seeing him so absorbed in the book, Lola couldn''t help but curl her lips. "What are you reading?" "This?" Waving the book in his hand, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "It is about the music theory of a music school called ''Dinar.'' It originated from the old schools in the dark age and has been developing itself in Burgundy, quite isolated from the outside world." With Ye Qingxuan turning the pages, some vague moonlight shone on the empty pages. The moonlight outlined subtle yet thickly dotted words and music theories which were flowing on the pages, making refined images that were so true to life. It was like the research notes of some musician, detailing the music movement and research of his. The images were like a tide that converged with thousands of flying birds, or a marvelous summer night of feasts, drinking, and clamor Ancient yet strange rituals that turned humans into nightmares, and research on many sorts of weird things, even communication and trading methods with beings in the world of Aether that were unknown to men. Along with the pages, the young musician described in the book gradually got old and finally became the old musician in the illustration at the end of the book. After several hundred years, the book coexisted with the oddities and even transformed into oddities itself, somehow becoming a living creature of the Aether world. "Inherited from the classical school of Fusion of Essence?" Lola sneered, "This sort of outdated research from the old times has been replaced by subdivided segments from long ago. Is it not eliminated yet? There is nothing to study in this dead-end subject. Is there?" "Some of the theories are quite interesting, though." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "What a pity! Their research is in the wrong direction; however hard they work and ponder over it, it will never get them anywhere. When the sense of novelty is gone, it is of no use at all." Closing the book, he yawned. "Get some sleep now. We need to get up early tomorrow." Lola disappeared into the shadows. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and fell into sleep. - Bang! In the basement, Auden fell on the ground, feeling powerless. Along with a sound of cracking of the head, Mandel''s body lay on the ground. Scarlet and grey liquid spurted out onto Auden''s face, painting his face a grey-white. Warm brain fell into his mouth; the salty and fishy taste making him want to vomit. Feeling sudden darkness falling over his eyes, he almost fainted. He became totally lost What the f*ck happened? Since the end of his ritual, the old man had been standing there as if he had lost his soul, the Aether around him fluctuating. Sometimes he was like talking to some invisible man, but there is total emptiness in his eyes. It looked as if his soul was stolen. Until just now, his head blew up, his body twitching all over. As Mandel was dead, the Aether stove crackled without a sound. The fire went out, leaving only irritatingly stinky smoke spreading all over the room. The oddities dispersed, screaming in a low voice. Mercury fell from the ceiling as if it was raining. It was bitterly cold. Auden shivered. He got up from the floor and staggered out. This place is too dangerous to stay. - In the morning, Xavier woke up. Damp sea wind blew through the door, and the quilts were so damp that some moss was growing on them. He took a deep breath and rubbed his face, feeling relaxed. Maybe it was due to the assurance of master Mandel, he had the best sleep that had been lost to him since quite long ago. It was like he had been given a new life; no tiredness at all. Then there was a knock on the door. "Colonel, breakfast is ready." The man outside said, "Do you want your breakfast to be served in your room?" "No." Xavier got up and said lightly, "I''ll go to the dining hall. You go and ask Mr. Ye to go there too." The man left. This way, he could enjoy the scene of Ye Qingxuan''s body being dragged out during breakfast. The corpse of royal blood may well be nobler and should be good as a side dish. He took his dagger and shaved in front of the mirror in the living room. Then he looked at himself in the mirroras majestic as iron. Xavier nodded with satisfaction. This was the last day of bitterness. No trouble would remain after Ye Qingxuan was dead. It would be appropriate to embrace his new life with such a good look. Ignoring the cracks of the mirror, he went out. It was so quiet in the Cloister of Cavern in the morning. In this lightless sea, only the torches on the wall were burning. One could not even tell whether it was morning or evening. Many people were already up, sitting in the aisle and in the rooms. The chef pushed the breakfast cart over and poured some boiled plaster-like food into their iron cups. The food was shoveled with spoons into their mouths before it got cold. After days of torment, everyone got pale. Lowering their heads, they sat in the corner like prisoners in total silence. It was almost time. Pondering over the plans for the next step, he went through the aisle and pushed open the kitchen door. Then he saw Auden sitting in the corner. The clerk-like man sat on a stool, restless and pale, curling himself. Seeing Xavier, he managed a smile but evaded his eye contact. Xavier paused in shock. A chill ran down his back, almost freezing him. Something was wrong, but he couldn''t tell what it was. He could only sense that it was bad. Then, he heard someone speaking from the seat for the host: "Sorry that I took your seat." The white-hair young man sitting in the chair that had been his was leisurely cutting the tender beef on the plate. "I was quite hungry, so I didn''t wait for you. Please don''t be angry." "YeQingxuan?" Xavier trembled, his face twitching. All of a sudden, it was like an invisible nightmare had caught him and drained all of his strength, leaving fear in his heart and darkness covering his eyes. He stepped back subconsciously. Yet he didn''t notice that there were two men standing at the door. They looked at him coldly, saying nothing. "Sit." Ye Qingxuan pointed at the seat opposite to his. "We have mushrooms on the boat, so I told the cook to make some soup. It is good. Have some while it is hot." Xavier was paralyzed. He stood where he was for quite long and then, with effort, he moved forward and pulled out the chair to sit. A bow of hot soup was served. He could smell the fragrance of cream from it. He took a spoon but hesitated to eat anything. Pretty soon, there was a layer of frozen oil on the surface of the soup. What a waste. "You''re not hungry?" Looking at him, Ye Qingxuan stretched out and took the bowl. "Give it to me then. I''m not full yet." Xavier wanted to say something, yet failed to make any sound. In the silence, only the sound of Ye Qingxuan eating soup could be heard. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan put down the spoon and gave a satisfactory sigh. "Too much cream, but delicious. What a good cook. After such a long time sailing at sea, it is so reviving to eat a bowl of hot soup like this. It is very good. It is a pity that you don''t want any." Xavier didn''t speak. He put down the spoon, his figure trembling. "I just found out that this position is really good. It''s just opposite my room." Ye Qingxuan took out a handkerchief and wiped his mouth. He said quite casually, "It would be quite good if there were a frozen body dragged out from the room while having breakfast." In the silence, some rustling was heard from outside of the door. Someone carried a headless corpse from the basement and slowly dragged it along the corridor to somewhere far away. Then, a splash was heard, like something was dropped into the sea. "Now that we have had breakfast, let''s talk business." Ye Qingxuan looked at Xavier''s pale face closely, then said gently, "Business about the Burgundians." Xavier''s last hope was put out. His face went greyish pale. It was like he had become old in an instant. He almost fell from his chair. Ye Qingxuan tossed two passports and a traveler''s manual on the desk. The manual, with a cover featuring beautiful scenery at some port, was weathered due to frequent reading. He smiled. "Calais is a beautiful place. It is spring all year with warm wind from the sea. You can see the harbor through the window, and wild cats napping on the roof. "You''ve chosen a nice place for yourself. You have a house there and a money order from the church. You can spend the rest of your life comfortably and even have the money for a decent funeral. You can live there happily, free from all danger and wars. "I have to say, you''ve sold your colleagues for a good price. They will thank you from hell." "Enough!" Xavier finally spoke. Clinching his fists, he stared at Ye Qingxuan angrily. "You know nothing at all! I did that because" "It doesn''t matter at all what it was for." Ye Qingxuan interrupted him, obviously having interest. "I don''t want to hear your difficulties or excuses. You betrayed them anyway. Right?" 535 Disappointmen "Colonel Xavier, I''ve read your file." Ye Qingxuan tapped on the empty soup bowl with his fingers. The humid wind condensed into water drops and fell on the wooden desk, leaving a slender flowing trace. "Over the years, you''ve done very well in Burgundy. Maxwell also thought highly of you. In two years, you can be transferred to the military staff section and become the youngest official who possesses real power. The Fifth Division has always been good to you, but your choice disappointed me very much." "Disappointed?" Xavier''s face twitched out of shame or anger. He squeezed out a voice between his gritted teeth, his eyes bloodshot. "Do you really think that you are qualified to feel disappointed about me? I''ve made great contributions to Anglo! Six serious injuries on the battlefield in East India! Do you know how many things have I sacrificed for this country? All my friends died, leaving me alone in this world!" He looked at Ye Qingxuan with contempt in his eyes. "You wimpy kid! You were born with a golden spoon, all you can do is command and criticize. You made me wait here like a dog with just one word, and let me wait to die in the sea? "Do you really think that you are the only one to save Anglo? You wish! You were lucky, when Anglo disappeared, you were just hiding in the Sacred City! Where were you when Anglo was in the most urgent need of salvation? "Maxwell is already dead, how many people do you want to bury for your so-called loyalty?" The sharp screaming reverberated between the stone walls, and the soup bowl shook slightly. Xavier gasped heavily and spat on the ground scornfully. Ye Qingxuan looked at the floor without saying anything or refuting him. He waited silently until he felt a hint of embarrassment and panic. "Are you finished?" Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes and stared at him, as if he was looking at a spoiled kid who was rolling on the ground, and he wouldn''t do anything even though the kid screamed and cried. When Xavier finished crying and was too tired to move, Ye Qingxuan finally said, "Just relax, Xavier. Fearing death, being weak, and escaping are not ridiculous. You don''t need to be so angry. But you must understand that you can''t take it for granted, and it is not worthy of praise." Ye Qingxuan''s voice was gentle and slow, without any anxiety. However, the voice contained no warmth at all, and it mercilessly took away all the heat in Xavier''s body. The cold infiltrated into his bones bit by bit and froze the marrow. "Shut up then." "For your family, yourself, important missions, saving the country, rising up one day or even for Anglo! People can do wrong things for many reasons, but the only thing that can''t be changed is that you have made mistakes. "''Mistake'' is the ''wrong deed'' that cannot be changed, no matter what excuse you use to cover it up. You must get your punishment for your mistakes. Otherwise, the existence of ''correctness'' will lose its meaning." In the silence, Xavier opened his lips and was about to say something. But he was deprived of the ability to speak, as if his throat was frozen. Ye Qingxuan reached out and opened the notebook at hand. He scanned the confession records one by one, and casually asked, "When did Xavier get in touch with you?" In the corner, Auden shivered and answered fearfully, "Fifteen days ago." "Oh, pretty early." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "The Kingdom of Burgundy seems to have been longing for those things for a long time. Once Angelo disappears, he can''t wait to come out and take over the legacy. He must have gotten a lot of good stuff through the connection." Xavier stared angrily at Auden with bloodshot eyes. Auden shrank backwards, dodging his sight. "He was the one who took the initiative to contact us. He also said that he was willing to cooperate with us and help us to occupy the entire periphery of the Fifth Division. Our earl valued that very much, so he sent Mandel and me here apart from others." "Did he?" Ye Qingxuan finally figured it out and nodded. "It seems that the people of the Burgundy Division have all fallen into the enemy''s hands. What a heavy loss! For the first time in years, the Fifth Division suffered such a heavy blow. If Maxwell were still alive, he would feel very shameful and might have resigned already. Well done." The last sentence was obviously a praise, but it made Xavier quiver. Cold sweat oozed out of his pores, sticking to his skin and giving off the smell of fear. After reading the confession, Ye Qingxuan raised his head, with no emotions in his eyes. Indifferently. "Seventeen secret bank accounts, more than a few million pounds, three tons of black gold stored as the treasure to restore the national power, two secret storages of military equipment the entire list of underground members of the South" "Do you know where those things come from, Xavier?" he whispered. "Over a hundred years, hundreds of commissioners and countless people died in order to defend those things. "The Royal Knights held a secret state-level funeral for them. On a deserted island, the mountains and plains were full of tombstones that covered two entire graveyards. "More than half of the tombs were empty, some of them contained incomplete bodies. They died for the lives of more people. "Maxwell once ordered me to swear to them that one day, after taking over all this, I''d make their sacrifice and death valuable. Those are the fruits of their hard work at the cost of their lives. Now they are all ruined at your hands, all of them." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, trying to control his anger. "All of them." Xavier opened his mouth with all his strength and said, "I don''t" Boom! A hurricane burst out of nowhere. In the loud noise, the fragile desks and chairs were destroyed. The soup bowl fell to the ground and was crushed. In the corner, dust rose and fell down again. Xavier''s voice suddenly stopped, because a hand grasped his neck and pressed him against the wall. Then he saw those dark eyes. "I said, shut up!" But Xavier squeezed out a smirky smile on his face. "Look at your confidence You don''t know anything yet, Ye Qingxuan. You don''t know what happened in that mist!" Regardless of the gradually increasing pressure from the hand, he exhausted all his strength to say, "Anglo is finished! No one can save it! I saw it clearly through the telescope! The monster will destroy everything! Including you!" "Monster?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Do you want to know what that monster is? Hahaha" Xavier looked at him with ridicule. "I will not tell you, Ye Qingxuan. I have lost the game already; you can torture me by any means, you can even kill me, but I will not tell you anything. One day, you will experience the same desperation that I did. By then, you will find that you have no way back Hahaha!" Bang! Ye Qingxuan loosened his hand and let him fall down. Xavier knelt on the ground, trying hard to gasp and cough. Then he wiped off the snot and tears, and said with sneering eyes, "Come on, Ye Qingxuan. What do you want to do? Show me your power. Let me see what you''ve learnt from Maxwell." "You want me to kill you?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at him indifferently. "Rest assured, I will not." He reached out and touched Xavier''s hair, with inexplicable sympathy in his eyes. "I promise, you will get the proper punishment, in the right place. But before that, I will let you witness it all" Ye Qingxuan paused and smiled. "In the best place." Xavier was stunned, and didn''t know what Ye Qingxuan wanted to do. However, when he was about to say something, he was hit on the head from behind by someone with a stick, then he fainted on the ground. Soon, he was dragged away. Ye Qingxuan returned to his seat, looking at the messy ground and waiting quietly. After a long time, a middle-aged man named Niven appeared at the door and knocked. "Mr. Ye, according to your instructions, the ship has been repaired." "Very well." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Did everyone get the medicine? If the medicine is not enough, I will make more." "The doctor is giving them injections," Niven replied. "Most people have already recovered. The musicians examined them and said that the parasites had lost their activity. They will be fine after a good sleep. But four of themare impossible to cure." Ye Qingxuan remained silent. Under the order of Ye Qingxuan, the Fifth Division had entered the quiet period. All activities had ceased, and there would be no more activities or responses unless he received the order from headquarters. In other words, the Fifth Division had entered a state of suspended animation. The losses might be enormous, and suspended animation could change into "real death" after a long time, but further loss of power in the chaos could be avoided, at least. Most of the losses caused by Xavier''s betrayal were the supplies and reserves in the bank. However, the truly precious talents and channels were hidden here and weren''t impacted too much. That was why Xavier planned to attack here. Nearly 400 special commissioners were left: the talents of the Fifth Division. These commissioners from various departments specialized in force and destruction. Most of them had the basic qualifications of a musician, and had undergone special training including assassination, poison, mechanical engineering, first aid, etc. Each of them was carefully selected by Maxwell, so they had absolute loyalty to him. They were the internal forces of the Fifth Division, and the "organists" who were awarded the badge by Maxwell himself. Apart from their own capabilities, the secrets kept in their brains were even more precious than their lives. In order to obtain complete power, Xavier had to implant the parasites into people untraceably through slow transformations and penetrations, relying on the oddities summoned by Mandel to control them. He had to weaken their defenses bit by bit, and take control of them in the end. But the consequence was that some people couldn''t tolerate the transformation, so they lost control mentally and became psychotics. Those who realized his schemes had been sequestered at the excuse of mental disorder, and had even been killed after interrogation and thrown into the sea. The Cloister of Cavern enclosed by the sea had become a prison. If Ye Qingxuan had come back two weeks later, all the commissioners would have been brainwashed and become the puppets of Burgundy. The Fifth Division would have completely collapsed. Even now, it was still too late for some people. 536 Long Lives the Elegy The medicine Ye Qingxuan gave them was made of 99% saltwater and 1% his blood. The blood, rich in stone of sage and purifying music theory, was the best antidote. Upon entering the human body, the power in the blood would multiply automatically to kill all parasites and supply with the body with energy, Qi, and blood. Those in good condition would sleep all their problems away after taking the antidote, while those in poor health may have symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea. In the worst case, they might get seriously ill due to the rebuilding of their immune system. For those who had been infected for too long, no cure was possible. For them, there was nothing that Ye Qingxuan could do. The purifying medicine, however, would end their endless nightmare and suffering, and wake them up from the madness for a short time. They would live their last hours with a clear mind. And then, they would have to face their death. "It''s cruel. Right?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "It is redemption," Niven answered from the door. On his fingertip, an organist emblem was spinning swiftly. "Appropriate manners, neat looks, and free will are the essence of human nature. Maxwell once told us. "I like it. It is also true to an organist. For us who are always hiding from exposure, this emblem is our only comfort. It is the only glory and consolation for us. It must not be stained or fall into dirty mud." He paused, and then said gently, "To die with dignity, is better than to live in filth and evil." That afternoon, a simple funeral was held for the dead on the top of the Cloister of Cavern. Ye Qingxuan, holding the Holy Bible, hosted the funeral. All secret service members were there to mourn the six dead organists. The funeral was so simple that there was not even a flower for the dead. In the pattering rain, the dead were laid in shabby coffins. The rain dropped onto their faces, making everything wet. It was so sad. "Audette, Sylvester, Warren" Looking at the faces of the dead, Ye Qingxuan muttered, "It''s a pity that you can''t see the beginning and the end of this war, that you can''t enjoy the praise of fervent poems and songs, or a glorious death that will be noted in history. "Today, you will say goodbye to all suffering in the human world and enjoy peace in the realm of death. Your death may not be able to make more people live, but your mission and duty will never die and shall be passed down forever." Closing his eyes, he lit the fire. The fire rose up from the oil, fierce and wild, evaporating the rain. It devoured the face of the dead and embraced everything in its arms. Pale smoke dispersed slowly, like the souls of the dead rising up to heaven. "May your souls never die," Ye Qingxuan muttered. All organists, lowering their heads toward their dead companions, sang in their course and low voice, which lingered in the narrow and dark space between the sky and the earth. "Long lives the elegy!" After the silent mourning, Ye Qingxuan turned around and looked at the crowd behind him with the light, carefully watching the face of every one of them. For most of those people, it was the first time that they had met Ye Qingxuan. When they saw his face, they were worried if he could accomplish this mission that was too huge for anyone since he was so young himself. Ye Qingxuan stepped forward. He refused the umbrella Niven held up for him and let the rain fall onto him. Standing in front of the crowd, Ye Qingxuan let them stare at him. "I suppose you already know me. I am Ye Qingxuan, temporarily in charge of the Fifth Department after Maxwell went missing. It was I who gave the order to send you here. It might be said that all the suffering you''ve had these days was because to this." Facing their eyes full of doubt, Ye Qingxuan remained calm. "I know what you are thinking about. I don''t look like a qualified commander or leader, nor am I like Maxwell, who you all have faith in. Your doubt and concern are all understandable. It is normal that you feel upset. "Yet, nothing can be changed for now. I nor you have another choice. And more unfortunately, more suffering is coming after this short break." Ye Qingxuan smiled pleasantly. "Perhaps you don''t want to hear this from me. Perhaps you''ve come here for some noble cause. However, I don''t like those dignified yet hollow slogans. So, let''s get ourselves some other reasons." Pointing at the lightless sky and the dark sea, he continued, "Dear sirs, we don''t know what lies in front of us. It might be death for all of us. What I''m leading you to is a war; a war through which you can reclaim your country from the mist! "Our enemy is this ocean which devoured Anglo. Compared to it, we are no more powerful than the dirt in the air, nor do we have any real chance of winning. We are going into this mist and back to Anglo, to retake our land and our country from this monstrous world. But before that, I have something to tell you" In the eyes full of astonishment, he raised the ancient, unpolished ring. The emblem engraved by the stone sword was awoken, glistening with red-hot light. The light pierced through the air like a sword. "By the name of the stone sword, what I promise you here shall be honored!" Ye Qingxuan proclaimed solemnly, his voice like thunder, echoing in everyone''s ears. "I assure you that every one of you will participate in this war. I assure you that the sacrifice of every death will be meaningful and that everyone who follows me will die with dignity. "I assure you that if we win, everyone who is dead will be remembered by this country and everyone who survives will become a hero. Alive or dead, you will be forever remembered in the history books of Anglo. If we lose, we will bury ourselves in this lightless sea and reunite with the souls of the heroes in the realm of death!" In the silence, Ye Qingxuan muttered, "Long lives the elegy for us." The organists answered him with their hand over their heart. "We will follow your order, sir." The organists from all over the world lowered their head in front of the young man. They half knelt in the rain to offer their loyalty. There was no more hesitation. "Very good." Ye Qingxuan nodded gently, smiling. "Dear sirs, please enjoy this long journey to death with me." Ten minutes later, on the deck of the iron ship. The realignment of the ship was over, and the engine was warmed up. Everyone was in position and the last batch of supply was moved from the Cloister of Cavern to the ship. Standing at the ship deck, Ye Qingxuan watched the scene quietly. "The speech just now, to be frank, really sucked." Igor stood beside him with a big cigarette in his mouth, smoke coming out of his nose. "Is it really that bad?" Ye Qingxuan forced a bitter smile. "I am still not good at this." "Don''t worry. It might''ve been bad, but it worked." Igor couldn''t help but glance at Ye Qingxuan again with an odd stare as if he was checking out something dangerous. "Mr. Ye, has anyone told you that you are really good at dealing with lunatics?" "Is that a compliment?" "Sort of." Igor shrugged. Pretty soon, the last man was on board. The Cloister of Cavern became quiet again; as quiet as a grave. The handling of the supplies was finished, so was the inspection of the ship. Yet, looking at the ship, Ye Qingxuan felt there was something short. He patted on his head and finally remembered the order he had given to Igor. "Captain, where is our new figurehead?" He said to Igor, "I''ve been waiting for so long." "As you commanded, my lord." Igor grinned. "This is the only one of its kind, I assure you." He waved his hand and several sailors went. Pretty soon, the just-finished figurehead was carried out with a thick layer of dust-cloth over it, keeping everyone from seeing what it looked like. With the assistance of the hoister and pulleys, the new figurehead was installed on the bow of the ship very soon. Inside the dust-cloth, the figurehead was like a living thing, struggling with all its might, which made Ye Qingquan and his crew pleasant. The rope that tied up the dust-cloth was undone, and the cloth was blown up into the sky by the heavy wind. The thing under it was finally revealed, gasping for air. Seeing Ye Qingxuan with his blood-red eyes, he shouted desperately in his hoarse voice, "Ye Qingxuan, you will die miserably!!!" On the bow, Xavier, tied up on the cross, was struggling in an attempt to get out of the chains. But his limbs were merged into iron by some sort of magic of alchemy. Welded on his body like a turtle shell was a sharp iron plate, on which someone wrote with paint: I am a defeatist. With the iron structure, he replaced the bronze woman statue. As the new figurehead of the ship, he would break the waves and be the first to sail into the dark sea. "How do you like it?" Patting the new statue, which he considered to be his masterpiece, Igor asked Ye Qingxuan, who nodded in admiration. "This is like a piece of art, my captain," Ye Qingxuan said. "Haha. I knew it." Igor laughed heartedly. "I was born to be a f*cking artist!" "Ye Qingxuan! I curse you! You will be damned! Sooner or later!" Xavier shouted desperately from the bow of the ship. Seeing the dark sea of surging waves, he became aware of his own fate. His face twisted with terror, he screamed with all his strength, "Kill me, you pussy! You pervert! Lunatic! Psychopath! I curse you! Curse you!!!" "It''s so good to see you in such a good health." Looking at Xavier calmly, Ye Qingxuan said, "Enjoy our journey, Mr. Xavier. As I promised, you will witness everything from the best position." In the midst of the screaming and cursing, Ye Qingxuan turned to Igor with a smile. "Set it off, my captain. I can''t wait to go." Igor nodded and tossed the cigarette under his feet. Stomping on the cigarette butt, he waved to the bridge. "Turn to the North!" To Anglo! To Alderney! Weigh anchor! Set sail!" The steamer tooted. The iron wheel gave out a loud and sharp sound, tearing apart the eternal silence of the darkness like the roaring of a giant beast. The noise almost deafened everybody''s ears. The iron anchor was raised slowly out of the sea. The shaking of the iron wheel caused turbulence in the sea. Propelled by the engine, the wheel drove out the water and tore up the waves. They were singing, tweeting and shouting. They sailed into the deepest part of the lightless sea. Darkness devoured everything. 537 Sain In the beginning, there were still stormy waves and heavy rains. Even if the aether engine operated at full capacity, the ship could only sail at a speed of 20 knots. Except the necessary sailors, all the rest of the passengers were ordered to get into the cabin and waiting for the storm to end. After an unknown amount of time, the storm began to dissipate. When the stormy waves calmed down, they had already passed through the thick fog and sailed into the depths of the Lightless Sea. Even at midnight, there were still no stars. The sea was dead and calm, without any waves. The cold wind blew from afar and into the bone marrow of those on the ship, a bitter chill they could hardly bear. Here, the breathing sound was hard to notice, as if it had been diluted. In the darkness, only the lonely lights were shining, illuminating the fairway ahead. On the deck, Ye Qingxuan sat in a wet chair and looked at the silent sea under the searchlight, pondering something in silence. After a long time, Igor, who handed the rudder to the first mate after finishing the shift, took his precious liquor to the deck and sat beside Ye Qingxuan. "Mr. Ye, you don''t want to sleep?" "I can''t sleep." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "The cabin walls are so thin that I can clearly hear the snoring sounds from the next room. Captain Igor, your ship is passable." Igor felt helpless. "Don''t be so picky, Mr. Ye. It''s just a clipper, not a fortress on the sea like one of Asgard''s ships. It doesn''t have a name, ''cause it was launched as soon as it was built. In order to contain over 300 people for you, I even had my captain''s lounge torn down. You should be more lenient, and put up with the sound of snoring." After he spoke, he shook his liquor. "Have a shot?" "I''d love to." The liquor rippled in the glass. Ye Qingxuan held a glass of liquor and looked at the sea. "When I was outside of here, I thought that it would be stormy waves everywhere. I did not expect it to be so quiet." "Yes." Igor sighed. "It is like sailing in the Styx." "Actually, they are not the same." Ye Qingxuan thought for a second, then shook his head. "I''ve seen the Styx; it''s not as big as this." "Haha, Mr. Ye, you''ve got a sense of humor." Igor laughed and didn''t believe him. Hearing that, Ye Qingxuan didn''t care, but just asked, "Did you shut down the main engine? I can''t hear the operating sound of the first wheel set. Can we arrive in Alderney tomorrow at such speed?" "It''s okay. We''re lucky! We caught a free ride." Igor shook his head carelessly and pointed to the sea below. After reading through the perception thread, Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "An ocean current?" "Yeah." Igor nodded. To navigate the sea, one had to be familiar with the flow of ocean currents. "Each year in winter and summer, this current forms from East India, and flows through the Asgard Channel with a large number of spawning fish, then passes by Anglo and Caucasus, and finally travels on to the East. Her name is ''Igni.'' In the Highland language that means ''the daughter of the sea.''" "I see." "The arrival time that we predicted is tomorrow, but with her, we may get there in four hours or so," Igor said. "However, I heard that few people were willing to go to Alderney. That was a deserted island on which there was no city but some trees. It was not close to the main fairway, and even can''t play the role of a hub. Mr. Ye, I thought you were busy saving Anglo, so why do you want to get there?" "To try my luck," Ye Qingxuan replied calmly. "That is a fiefdom of my friend. If he didn''t lie to me, I should be able to find a way there to save the country." "" Hearing that, Igor shrugged. "Then I wish you luck." To be honest, he wished that Ye Qingxuan would be outside on the sea every day and couldn''t go deep into the center. He had spent a lifetime in saving money. He owed a heavy debt, and finally got a new ship from the shipyard in the Sacred City though a lot of relationships. Now the world had changed, and almost no one needed to rent a ship. He counted on it to make a fortune. "Although Ye Qingxuan''s payment was sufficient for me to repay the loans, and I could even earn an additional large sum of money. But who would be complaining about having too much money?" "Therefore, it would be better if they circle around the island several times and go home." "Of course, that is impossible." Thinking about that, he couldn''t help sighing. "The world is tough. After having shaken off my bad reputation, I still have to earn money at the risk of my life. What is the difference between this and being a pirate on the Illusion Islands before?" He shook his head and took a shot. Then he no longer thought about that and chatted randomly with Ye Qingxuan. "Mr. Ye, you rarely put out to sea, right?" "Well, although I grew up in Anglo, there aren''t many opportunities for a boat ride." Ye Qingxuan took a sip and said softly, "When I first arrived in Avalon, I took a ship like this, but that one was very old and crowded. One hundred pounds for one bed in the bottom tank, ten days of board, a public toilet, no bathroom. Ten days, that almost drove me crazy." "Most of the ships are like that." Igor shrugged. "When I was young, I dreamed of having a boat that only belonged to me. I could sail it, with my woman, wherever I wanted to go. Unfortunately, I''ve got the ship, but I haven''t found my woman. I should have gotten some prostitutes on board. At least we could have some fun now." "Speaking about that, you reminded me of something." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "There was a special service on the ship that I took previously." "Oh?" Igor''s eyes lit up. "How special?" "Thirty pounds." Ye Qingxuan raised three fingers. "Only thirty pounds, and you could enter the captain''s sheepfold and stay with the sheep there for half an hour I didn''t understand at the time. When I heard the sheep bleating in the room, I felt that everyone was so kind and caring. Later I heard that someone thought thirty pounds was too expensive, so he quietly shaved the wool off. Then, the captain got angry and people couldn''t stay with the sheep anymore." Hearing that, Igor slapped his sighs, "Oh, what a pity!" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment and smiled cunningly. "However, the sailors told us that although there were no sheep, you could also go for the captain" "Hahahaha!" Igor almost laughed his yellow teeth out of his head. "To the great captain." "To the great captain." Ye Qingxuan made a toast and drank the glass, then put the empty glass on the bench. Igor was about to pour more liquor, but saw Ye Qingxuan waving his hand. "I''m bad at drinking, it''s already enough." "What a pity." Igor didn''t mind, boozing directly from the bottle. "The rest is mine." In the silence that followed, he finished the bottle and threw it into the sea. Suddenly, he asked, "It''s hard to play vicious, right?" "Hmm?" Ye Qingxuan looked up. "Why do you say that?" "Because you don''t look like a villain." "Maybe I am." Igor sighed and pointed to his own wrinkled face. "Mr. Ye, I''m forty-five," he said. "I have been sailing on the sea for thirty years. The people I deal with every day are the sailors who escaped on a ship after committing a crime, and the bad guys who are about to get off the ship and commit a crime. I''ve seen many bad guys, and you''re not one of them." Ye Qingxuan kept silent for a long time, and scratched his head. "Is something wrong?" "Vicious people hate this world. Because the world is not good to them, they could only be good to themselves. But Mr. Ye, when you look at people, where does the sorrow and sympathy in your eyes come from?" "Presumably you read that wrong." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I take so many people to meet death for my own sake... If I''m still not a villain, then what kind of person am I?" Igor thought for a moment and spoke with a serious look which showed that he was not telling a joke. "Probably a saint?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked for a while, but suddenly laughed. "Am I such a kind person in your eyes?" "You are not bad, you are just arrogant." Igor got up and patted him on the shoulder. "A madman like you always thinks that he can change everything, so he show so much mercy and sympathy to the world." "Do you want to talk for another few minutes?" "No, I''m sleepy." Igor waved. "You should go to sleep too, Mr. Mad, and think about how to toss this world tomorrow." As soon as he stopped, a loud noise suddenly burst out. Boom! A horrible snarling suddenly rose out of the dead sea. The anxious silence turned into boiling craziness, and countless bubbles floated out of the sea. Something rose from the depths of the dark sea, rolled up a few meters high, and hit the hull bottom fiercely. The steel wheels that weighed hundreds of tons almost overturned under the terrible impact, and drifted like duckweed. Igor''s feet slipped in the fierce turbulence, and he was thrown out by the shaking deck. He screamed and fell towards the dark, boiling sea. A hand suddenly reached through the air and grabbed his collar. The next moment, a strong force, like a rolling winch, hauled him up and pulled him back to the deck of the ship. Igor fainted and almost passed away. In an instant, he passed by Death. He panted in fear, looked up and saw Ye Qingxuan in front of him, but he felt so strange about him. It seemed that something terrible was awakening in his body. It was operating with a large sound, burning vigorously, spewing out grand power stronger than an aether furnace. His dark eyes were ignited with cold moonlight. Like a resurrected saint who walked down from the base of a stone statue, he looked majestic even without any jewelry or laurels. "I''m sorry, Captain Igor. I''m afraid you can''t sleep tonight." Ye Qingxuan looked at him and pointed to the dark sea beneath them. "When you finish pissing your pants, can you tell me what the hell that thing in the sea is?" 538 The Mountain of Nomadism The area of the sea that Ye Qingxuan pointed at was no longer quiet. A sudden wild wave burst out of the surface. The glaring beam of a searchlight pierced through the darkness, lightening up an area with a terrible green color. It was the skin of something. Looking closely, one could see scales the size of a thumb, but no one could believe it because it was so huge. The nightmares of all of the sailors put together was nothing compared to it. In the searchlight, what they could see was only a tiny fraction of it. In the deep sea where the searchlight could not reach, it crept swiftly. It was a sea snake; a sea snake of astonishing size! The iron ship, which weighed hundreds of tons, was no more than one-fifth of its length! Compared to it, the ship was like a little baby in the hands of a giant. In one instant, the huge body of the snake wound through the dark sea. There was an enormous eye passing quickly into the darkness. The eye was greyish-white in color and had no pupil at all. It was looking at them as if it were looking at dust. "Moun-mountain of Nomadism!!!" Igor seemed paralyzed and fell down instantly. His eyes were full of despair as if he had seen the most terrible nightmare. He screamed, "The legend is true! God damn! I should have known it! We are going to die, Mr. Ye. We are doomed!" Ye Qingxuan slapped him. "We are not dead yet, Captain," he said. "It was saying ''hello'' just now. It has not begun yet. Get your crew in position, and get yourself together. Then tell me what the hell this Mountain of Nomadism is." Waken up by the slap, Igor struggled to get up and snatched something to stabilize himself. He didn''t dare to get close to the side of the ship, not even daring to look at the monster. Ear-piercing alarms sounded. In a few seconds, everyone was woken up and ran quickly to Igor''s position to wait for the enemy. When they saw the enemy, everyone was seized by desperation. "That thingit really exists." Igor''s face was pale. Biting his teeth, he said, "I thought it was only a legend, a joke made by some drunkard to steal people''s money. The story was passed down from hundreds of years ago. It should not exist in this world. It''s a nightmare. "Some lucky people have seen it from afar. They saw it swallowing a whale hunting ship along with a whale into its stomach, leaving the sea blood-red It must have gotten here by following the ocean''s current! People say it was the ''son of the ocean'', following its sisters to shepherd its mother fish." "Don''t panic. You call yourself ''son of the ocean'', don''t you?" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him. "Though it is your big brother, it is only older than you. There is nothing to fear." "II was not her real son!" Igor wanted to cry, but fear had deprived him of his tears. "Watch out!" Boom! A terrible impact was felt again. The ship quivered with sharp sounds of twisting iron and steel. The Mountain of Nomadism splashed huge waves that crashed down on the ship. Amid the enormous shock, there was one moment everyone was tossed up in the air. Then, the ship was flung into the air. The next second, the ship fell into the huge wave, causing a massive splash. Screams came from everywhere. The body of the ship was torn up, leaving a huge crack through which the sea water began to pour into the ship, tilting the ship to one side. Along with the sharp sound caused by friction between the Mountain of Nomadism and the iron ship, the giant snake suddenly twisted its body. At the same time, it raised its long tail covered with barbs, then smashed down on the ship. Its move was so powerful that the sea seemed to be torn up by the strong wind it caused. It was like hitting a rat with an iron bar. The tail was flung upon them with horrible force. Even three ships combined together would be destroyed by one strike. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan pressed his hand on the deck. The Holy! The glorious anthem sounded. Glamourous golden light, like flowing water, enveloped the whole ship, which suddenly became as sacred as a holy temple. With the music theory as the pry lever, the rules governing the physical world began to twist under the weight of the Symphony of Predestination. As the music movement was formed, Ye Qingxuan felt the horrible force inflicting on the enchantment. No one knew how terrible the Mountain of Nomadism''s strength was, as the barrier of the Holy anthem was even shaken under its impact. Yet the balance constructed by the inner music theory offset it in an instant. Even the sea water in the ship was turning back under Ye Qingxuan''s willpower. Everything was getting better and cheers came from inside the ship. Yet, after only a few seconds, Ye Qingxuan''s face nearly turned green. The consumption of power was so astonishing The moment the Holy appeared, he had begun to feel the horrible pressure from the lightless sea. Unlike the rejecting force in the physical world expected by Ye Qingxuan, it seemed that the whole lightless sea was fighting against the enchantment of the Holy. It was as if the sea was alive, reacting to the invasion of foreign bodies. This place had turned into something like the World of Dark, or even more powerful than that. Like the realm of some catastrophe, no other enchantment was allowed to exist. This was not good; it was very bad. In the School of Abstinence, which Ye Qingxuan was best at, more than half of his willpower was used on the path of domain. Now that the path of domain was rejected, it was like he had lost one of his legs. What''s more, a sea monster like the Mountain of Nomadism was in no way an ordinary creature. It was quite similar to the snake that twined around the whole world and was the ace of spades in the School of Dragon Stone in the School of Summoning. It was in no way weaker than the monsters created by the skillful musicians of the School of Summoning. Undoubtedly, the blood of Catastrophe flowed within it. It might be the sibling of some catastrophe or the incarnation of some catastrophe who was preparing to descend upon the world. Besides its monstrous strength, it definitely had some other horrible power. Even the beasts modified by the breath of monsters could spit fireballs. Passive defense would not work. Definitely not. In one moment, Ye Qingxuan made up his mind. If he only took the defense, he would run out of strength fighting against the lightless sea. He had to attack; drive it off or kill it! "Organists in position, sir!" Several seconds later, four men, who had just put on their clothes, ran onto the deck. One of them had thrown up many times due to seasick. He was pale. "Musicians?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Can they really be of any help?" Pretty soon, he was relieved to see the shine of the musicians'' music theory. Four of them were Resonance musicians; two were from the School of Modifications, one from the School of Revelation, and one was even the Son of Phoenix from the School of Anglo Royalty. They not only had the skills of summoning but also those of modifications! They were really professionals. At this moment, the School of Modifications was so much more useful than Ye Qingxuan. 539 Keel and Virtue The School of Modifications was now much more useful than Ye Qingxuan! Even three resonances was enough to repair the holes in the hull and temporarily strengthen the ship. As for the Son of the Phoenix, who had vomited so much that his face turned extremely pale, Ye Qingxuan dropped him on the bridge and let him direct from there. Out of those present, he understood the nature of the heaven catastrophes and beastliness the most. He would definitely find a better way to deal with the Mountain of Nomadism than Ye Qingxuan would. After the appearance of the Holy Grail, the Mountain of Nomadism changed his sloppiness and contempt. Dark green liquid poured from his pores, and dyed the vast sea. Then, the seawater began to evaporate, turned into a thick mist, and swallowed them. Soon after, Ye Qingxuan discovered that the metamorphosed seawater had an pervasive erosion effect apart from the violent poisonousness. The holy light of the outermost layer was darkened under the erosion of the dark green vapor. If the musicians of the School of Choir saw such a fierce poison, they would crazily delighted. Ye Qingxuan now also had a crazy impulse. Fortunately, Captain Igor didn''t disappoint him this time. "Cannonball!" Knowing that this time they would either die or win, Igor no longer panicked. The ferociousness that had accumulated for more than 30 years on the sea exploded, burning his eyes red like flames. "There''s a cannonball in my ship!" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. Cannonball? "Will that work?" "Most of the cannonballs on board are meant for hunting whales or driving away demons. Although the power is enormous, it could only be said to be passable in this situation." "Maybe it can''t even shoot through the scales of the Mountain of Nomadism." "Would a person be terrified by an embroidery needle?" "What''s more, the stuff is so cumbersome that it will be difficult to move and take a long time to install." "It''s possible to shoot a fixed target, but if we use it as a weapon now, I can only say that half a loaf is better than no loaf at all." "Have a look first!" Igor knew clearly what he was thinking. He opened the secret room in the bridge and pulled out the safety bolt. A roaring sound suddenly rang from the inside of the hull. Through the glass on the bridge, Ye Qingxuan saw the deck suddenly open. The folded mechanical structure hidden within shook violently and unfolded with a sharp rubbing sound. The grease filled between the gears, and the hub was melted by high heat, squeezed out of the gaps, and sprinkled down. Within a few seconds, an exaggeratedly giant cannonball had already broken through the unlucky figurehead erected at the prow of the ship. After an aether engine was installed in it, high-heat aether waves ran through the alchemy matrix, glowing like burning lava. The entire cannonball was bathed in flames. "Is that a cannonball?" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "You told me that it was a cannonball?" "That giant weapon was obviously made by the psychopaths of the Chainsaw Fraternity to destroy the ''point-to-point siege matrix'' of a city wall!" "That is a legion-type weapon, right? It was born to destroy strong barriers. The Chainsaw Fraternity calls it the ''Keel,'' because it contains power as strong as an evil dragon''s." "Since its first test shot when it tore a crack through an entire city, all the finished products were divided by the countries. Then the government prohibited the reproduction, transportation, or the sale of the weapon." "But when did Igor hide the giant weapon in the hull?" "Under the supervision of all countries and the shipyard of the Sacred City" "It''s a merchant ship!" "What is he doing with this monstrosity on his ship?!" "This is a second-hand stuff that I bought from Caucasus. It really took me a lot of work." Igor rubbed his hands excitedly and said, "Well, actually, it was abandoned equipment. It will break after one more shot or two Mr. Ye, you''re not going to report me to the Sacred City, right?" Although saying that, he didn''t worry at all. They were rats on the same boat; they would die together if they couldn''t win. Moreover, what Ye Qingxuan wanted to do was much more unacceptable than he did. Igor was now very grateful for the wise decision that he made previously. He saved money for years, and had just gotten rid of his bad reputation. Igor didn''t want to slip-up and fall into the trap again. The pirates were the ones who knew the pirates the most. The peers were the ones who knew their peers the most. Unexpectedly, when the ship was launched into the sea for the first time, he took over a life-risking mission for money, and sailed to Anglo. This terrible, precious stuff would be first used to shoot the Mountain of Nomadism of legend. Now, although hearing the good news, Ye Qingxuan still felt depressed. Not enough. The power was still not enough. The power of the point-to-point attacking matrix was based on the design of the "triple composite overload filling," fueled by the massive supply of power of a military aether furnace. Its overloading capacity was three times stronger than that of the other weapons, which greatly reduced its service life, but gave even a single shot terrifying, destructive power. A civilian aether engine couldn''t let it exert its full power, or activate part of the matrix. Moreover, they only had one chance... At this time, the weak musician next to himthe Son of Phoenix, who finally finished vomiting, got up against the wall and raised his hand faintly. "Sir... When I came from the Indian Branch Office, I brought a ''cup of virtue'' with me." "We could definitely win this time!" Ye Qingxuan was shocked at first, and then suddenly became overjoyed. He had never expected that there would be so much good stuff in the ship. The seven cups of virtue included honesty, hope, generosity, justice, courage, temperance, and tolerance. One of them was here in the ship! "The minister said that we might use it so I brought it here," the Son of Phoenix said anxiously. "But the Indian Branch Office only has the cup of temperance, and I don''t know if it''ll work." The "cups of virtue" sounded like a beautiful name, but it was actually a joke in Anglo. The seven cups of virtue were seven notorious, large-scale weapons for biological alchemy. No, they should be described as the alchemical makers. As long as the aether supply was sufficient, they could create all kinds of evil things without restriction. Humans were always keen on creating things to destroy their counterparts. For example, the "hope," the best of them, was sealed by the Anglo''s Royal Fleet and included in the blacklist. At first, the Royal Fleet guaranteed that they would never use it in war. It was said that in just five minutes, one teaspoon of the turquoise gas it produced could kill all the living things in half a city. Although it was already a pleasant surprise to have one cup of virtue, Ye Qingxuan still felt disappointed when he heard its name of "temperance." It was given the name because of the terrible concentration of the poisonous liquid it produced. But making it exert its power required a considerable amount of poisonous liquidat least a few hundred milliliters at a time. If the liquid was poured into the headwaters of a river, all the water systems, river banks, and crops that relied on water irrigation within tens of kilometers would be completely destroyed. According to current observations, the contaminated land was impossible to restore. That was why Anglo placed the temperance cup in the biggest colony, India, as a deterrence to evil thoughts. The spices and tea produced on the fertile black soil there each year supplied more than half of the Western World. Food was the lifeblood of Anglo. If the land was lost, it must be completely destroyed, and not allowed to fall into enemy hands. 540 Night Battle "Temperance? That will do." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and the Son of Phoenix clumsily took out a metal box from his backpack and cracked it open. There was a cup which seemed to be carved from a human skull. "I''ll go and gather the musicians," said the Son of Phoenix. "No need for that; it''s too slow. I can do it myself." Holding the cup like a sword, Ye Qingxuan chanted the initializing incantation which was a national secret. "Today we raise the cup to celebrate; may all the fertile lands yield wheat." The sound of mud gushing was heard. In the empty cup, sticky grease -like liquid was steadily gushing out. The speed of the liquid was incredibly fast, with small bubbles popping out with it. There was nothing odd about its appearance, yet it made people nervous and fearful. Land and grain were the prerequisites of life. If they were lost, the world would suffer from terrible plague and famine, which meant endless starvation and torment. Even the Son of Phoenix, who had been keeping it, stepped back in terror, swallowing his own saliva. The Temperance was horrible, yet the speed at which Ye Qingxuan was making it was even more horrible. Normally, it would take several masters to drive the process to make the venom, but now it was flowing out like a fountain. "What are you waiting for?" Igor was the first to recover from the shock. "Get a bucket! A bucket!" The dust bin was emptied and placed in front of Ye Qingxuan, who tilted the cup so that the sticky liquid poured out of the skull cup into the bucket. The bucket was almost half full in no time. When the bucket was put down, it was replaced by the musician of the School of Modifications into a kind of strange metal that was rich in oil to isolate the toxin. Though the toxin was completely isolated, the floor underneath the bucket turned a greyish-green and quickly rusted due to erosion. "Enough! That''s enough! No More!" When the amount of venom reached two-thirds of the bucket volume, Son of Pheonix asked Ye Qingxuan to stop. He carefully picked up the bucket and maintained the balance among the metals. It was only a short while, yet he began to sweat all over. Ye Qingxuan''s face also turned slightly pale. He put away the cup and stepped back. Catching his breath, he said, "It''s your job to do the extraction. The rest of you go and fix the ship body. Captain, I''m not familiar with sea battle. You are in charge now." "Now that we have a ballista, we can fight back." Igor''s eyes brightened up and he shouted, "All crew members, get in position! Turn on the main engine, the secondary engine, the third engine, and the fourth engine! All of them! Put all the fuel in the furnace, save none of it! Distribute 30% of power to charge the Keel!" Then he paused, looking at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I''ll distract the sea monster. No problem." Hearing that, Igor spat some saliva into his hands and rubbed them together, feeling a fire burning in his chest. The fire was so vigorous that his blood-shot eyes were almost radiating light. "Well, in that case, let''s do some chasing then!" said Igor. One minute before the barrier of the Holy was withdrawn, the wheelset was ready. The warm-up of the "point-to-point attacking matrix" keel was finished and the overload charging was in progress. The organist engineers had finished the main structure of the special arrow for the ballista and were making final adjustments. Several pharmacists wrapped up in protective clothing carried the iron bucket and poured the sticky liquid into a narrow opening carefully. It was as they were facing the worst enemy ever. Every time there was a little shaking, they turned pale due to fear. 30 seconds before withdrawal, three musicians of the School of Modifications were in place, and the repair of the ship was finished. The construction of the main parts of the reinforced matrix had begun. The alchemy matrix drawings stored in the form of scrolls were quickly engraved on the deck. The key parts were forged to form the basic circulation. Based on that, the active layer, the creation layer, formation layer, and the outflow layer were all taking shape. Ten seconds before withdrawal. Overload drive of the main aether engine began Enormous pressure flow that exceeded the maximum capacity was charged into the energy loop. The whole ship cracked and almost exploded due to the sudden increase of inner pressure. The steam whistle hooted. Super-hot aether flow burst out, leaving a trail of fire in the sky above the lightless sea. The aether engine was in "overload drive" mode now. A dark light beam pierced through the surface of the sea, like molten lava that escaped from the earth, emitting dark red light when it bloomed under the sea. This was caused by the blades which were rotating at incredible speed, by which a huge tide of aether with an ultra-high temperature and rainbow-like light was generated. Three seconds before withdrawal, as if he was going to give up on himself, Igor opened his best wine and drank a mouthful of it, then he shattered the bottle on the deck and closed the brake valve. Full open! Boom! Enveloped by the holy halo, the ship quaked and shrieked, generating a deafening boom which sounded like a bell ringing from heaven. No longer floating in the sea, it began to charge forward at full speed. The Mountain of Nomadism hit the barrier with all its might, its venom eroding the holy halo. The barrier was quivering. Then, the halo went out. Sensing that the barrier had gone, the Mountain of Nomadism hissed and threw itself into the dark green toxic fog, shoveling huge waves with its mighty power. In the next instant, with its greyish white eyes, it saw that its poisonous fog was swirling in the high-pitched sound of the steam whistle. Then, the greyish-green poisonous fog was pierced through by the searchlight, which suddenly lit up like the burning eye of a giant monster. Everyone was shaken to the core. Then, they felt a big bang from the ship''s body. It was as if the ship had collided with a reef. Then, there was an earthshaking shriek. Shock, anguish, and anger were all mixed up in the shriek. It was the Mountain of Nomadism; the Mountain of Nomadism was shrieking in pain. At that moment, riding the sea tide, the iron ship rushed forward like the god of war on fire. With the hooting of its steam whistle and the rhythm of battle, it broke out of the mist and rushed straight at the huge face of the Mountain of Nomadism. Then, it crashed into its face without any hesitation. The sharp edges of the ship instantly collided with the scales on the snake''s face and cut open its flesh, exposing its bones which were of a greenish-white color. The demon was now in hysteric fury. The iron ship rushed toward the Mountain of Nomadism at full speed. Driven by the ocean current as well, it reached the incredible speed of over 90 knots! It was as if it were riding the wild wind! Even the sea wind was cut off by the ship and howled angrily. The whole ship was quaking, with every part cracking painfully. It seemed as if it would collapse at any moment. "Captain, we have to slow down!" The second mate in charge of the wheelset was panicking. "The fourth engine was already dead! If the overloading continues, we''ll explode!" "To die by fire?" Igor smiled. "That''s not so bad." The fire in his eyes was even brighter due to the liquor he drank. They were so red it was as if they were glowing. "I know it can go that fast! It really can! Go faster!" He shouted, "Faster!" 541 The Moon in the Water, the Person on the Heavens "Faster!" The hull shook, and the boat showed signs of an increase in speed! Behind Ye Qingxuan, the Son of Phoenix smiled bitterly. In accordance with the orders of Ye Qingxuan, he let out a signal in the form of a music note. With this part as its focus, the hull reinforcement process began. He pressed his palm on the center of the fine arrays on the wall, using formulas to activate the power within. At the moment, the hull, which had been on the verge of collapse, started repairing itself! Complex layers of arrays spread outwards from the core of the hull, similar to complicated tree diagrams, interlaced with each other and enveloped the massive hull. After sacrificing the service life of the boat by a large extent, the alchemist''s arrays had maximized the performance of the materials of the hull, upgrading the toughness, strength, and ductility of the alloy and steel by at least 30%! In this day and age where materials science had reached its limit, the results of a one percent improvement would be considered shocking enough, let alone an increase of such a crazy extent? The speed of the ship had stabilized at 50 knots at the moment, which was still a far cry from the terrifying speed of 97 knots achieved by last year''s champion of the Burgundy Boat Racing Competition. But that was a speedboat that sacrificed everything for speed. It was completely covered in arrays, making it almost equivalent to alchemy equipment. Moreover, this was a cargo ship! Its weight alone was way heavier than that of the speedboat! "It can travel at such a fast speed?" Igor looked at the musicians around him, confusion on his face, but the Son of Phoenix also looked baffled and clarified, "No... Not me." As soon as he touched the arrays, he felt a vast tenacity flowing through the opening he established and entering the arrays for hull reinforcement. It penetrated the four layers of movement, creation, formation, and outflow. Then, it unexpectedly traveled against the current. Following the link created between him and the arrays, the stream of aether bypassed all of his precautionary measures, connecting itself to his sound of heart movement before he could react. He did not even have time to react from the beginning to the end! Then, the resonance, that could be considered frightening due to its large scale, began. Under the connection of the phantom string, every musician''s sound of heart movement was forcibly penetrated. A magnificent and vast axis connected them together immediately after, guiding their music theories to evolve madly towards the daunting unknown. At that moment, the arrays, the hull, the musicians, all three were united into one forcibly. It had neither flaws nor contradictions. It was as if they had been born that way! For the first time in their lives, they felt such a huge amount of aether aggregating under their summoning, obeying their dispatch. It was as if an invisible hand was cleverly gathering scattered water waves, forming an ocean tide, that could destroy the heavens and the earth with them. "How can this be..." A musician in the bilge exclaimed, "Where can such a large amount of aether be gathered from! It''s like..." It''s like the entire sea of aether has been hidden in a bag! The continuous flood of aether was following Ye Qingxuan''s guidance and fell into the Physical World from the sea of aether. Integrating itself into the arrays, it was transformed into terrifying power. The Son of Phoenix thought, in the area we are at, within of the sea of darkness, the nine layers of the sea of aether are full of strange impurities. It''s as if they have been covered in fog together with the Physical World. Perhaps the Masters who have already been able to communicate with the realm of aether can enter the sea of aether forcibly due to their amazing attainments, but unexpectedly, Ye Qingxuan can help other musicians to sense the existence of the sea of aether as well. It''s as if Ye Qingxuan has gifted his credit account at the Church Bank to three papers, for them to squander profligately! After the Son of Phoenix figured out what was going on, he couldn''t help but take a cold, deep breath. In the situation that we have not consciously cooperated, he can connect us to the arrays flawlessly. It can be said that his attainments in music theory and fine manipulations of aether are simply jaw-dropping. But how in the world did he let us communicate with the sea of aether directly? Ye Qingxuan understood his confusion, but only smiled slightly, offering no explanation. No one realized that on the side of the ship, the heavy anchor originally there had disappeared without a trace. By using Jiu Xiao Huan Pei to erode it and attaching music theory to it, Ye Qingxuan had temporarily transformed it into an alchemy weapon, a layer of buffer wrapped around Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. He could indeed sense the sea of aether and the realm of aether clearly, but it had nothing to do with his attainments. Instead, it was because he had ascended into the sub-originator in the realm of aether. The illusory Indigo Moon was shining on him all the time, leaving a trail of moonlight behind. Like a road sign, it penetrated the foggy sea of aether full of impurities, guiding him to where the power resides. Fog and impurities had negligible effects, as the connection would only be broken if he was locked in the Ultimate... But after Ye Qingxuan incorporated the Quiet Moon into himself, surely no enemy would do such a stupid thing? So, in an easy and effortless manner, he threw the anchor into the realm of aether, and simply hooked it somewhere. A huge amount of power was then drawn from the sea of aether, filling the arrays and forming a miniature pool of aether. Besides supplying the musicians, it was even sufficient to power the keel with. The situation on board has stabilized, next... Ye Qingxuan looked at the Mountain of Nomadism following closely and gradually closing the distance in between. He smiled. Next, it''s my turn. This was his first fight with someoneno, some monster beyond the imagination of the ordinary personafter leaving the Sacred City. In his heart, he felt an indescribable excitement and anticipation. His lungs were trembling slightly, his breathing gradually became scorching, but the complicated considerations occupying his brain slowly disappeared. In the end, only a calming silence was left. He took a step forward. As the music theory evolved, his Symphony of Predestination was awakened. An unseen force lifted his body up, and he took another step forward. Treading on the invisible ladder, he ascended step by step. In the end, he was standing in the sky. All he could see was the boundless dark sea. Roars of fury and the blaring of horns could be heard coming from the surface of the boiling seawater. Although the darkness felt cramped, the sky and ocean were vast after all. The scenery here is breathtaking, he thought. He sat cross-legged in the void, and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei emerged from his knees. It was no longer just a collection of disorderly strings, but a quaint and aged qin. As his fingertips plucked the strings, clear notes flowed from the qin. Young swallows chattered by the draped curtains, ancient dragons hummed in the turbulent waters. Moonlight shone silently, not from the sky, but from the sea. The boiling waters of the sea of darkness subsided in a sudden and returned to a calm silence. The dark sky was empty, but on the calm sea, an Indigo Moon radiated light. Innumerable strings consisting of music theory drooped from Ye Qingxuan, connecting him to the phantom shadow of the moon. In the empty sea, countless music theories reverberated and intertwined, evolving into a vacuum. They displayed spirituality and performed the Symphony of Predestination. It was moonlight. The moon in the water and the person on the heavens. At the moment when the projection of the quiet moon emerged in the water, Ye Qingxuan felt like the tenacity in the moon had entered the body of a monstrous beast. From the layers of blurry fog and illusions, it picked up a trace of something real and chasmic. The ocean is alive, he realized. For a brief moment, Ye Qingxuan''s heart sank. 542 The Singing The sea was in no way a living creature, but at that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt that it was indeed alive. It was not a metaphor, it was his true feeling. It was the warmth felt with his fingertips when they almost touched the skin of something; it was the tremble when seeing an incredibly huge creature. The sea was not alive, except for that something made it alive. There was only one possible explanation Leviathan! Leviathan was awake earlier than expected and came back to this country which was so entangled with him. Thinking of facing a fully awake catastrophe, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help be fearful. It was not Hyakume, who had come to this physical world from the Aether world, consuming much of its energy on the way. It was a terrible monster living in the physical world, but the strongest in the sea among the four living creatures. Facing even Hyakume, who represented rules and the Originator and was of higher hierarchy, Ye Qingxuan, with the power of the Sacred City, may try his luck against it to enrich his experience. But he would not dare to fight this Hecatoncheir for even one round. This time, there was no Pope or Ye Lanzhou assisting him, and it was not a god which was incarnated by the void music theory that he was against. It was a monster that really existed and had rampaged in this world for millennia. In its prime, it ruled anywhere the water of the seven seas touched. The ocean was his realm and a part of him. It was the ocean itself. Luckily, it was not awake yet. Otherwise, huge waves would have flooded the whole world and engulfed all continents. For now, it was only Anglo that was suffering. And this lightless sea might be inside its body. Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. Then, he heard someone singing. It was so familiar. The singing, like that of a child''s, echoed in the sea. It was like the singing of whales, resounding in the dark, deep sea where no man could go. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream "We have the power, yet where should we go. Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we''ll live forever" The song sounded so sad. It faded away in an instant and couldn''t be heard. But somehow, it seemed to be close to whoever heard it. You couldn''t tell if it was real or not. The song was like a ghost, wandering in one''s heart. Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. It seemed he had to plan for the worst. But before that The Mountain of Nomadism suddenly jumped out of the sea, shrieking with its mouth wide open, hoping to devour Ye Qingxuan in one bite. Its countless scales cut through the wind, playing a thrilling melody. The brutish nature, which was so pure, almost had its physical shape pierced out from its body, destroying the music theory layer by layer, turning it into ashes. It was so powerful. In one blink, the stinking wind came near. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and fingered the string to fight against the huge mouth that was to devour him. The sound of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei spread out and aether moved. Ye Qingxuan did not make any movements but borrowed strength from the sea and pushed the Mountain of Nomadism "gently" to help it jump higher. It was like pouring oil onto a fire. Seeing Ye Qingxuan fighting, the Son of the Pheonix almost screamed in terror. But the next second, he saw that the Mountain of Nomadism was pushed several meters higher. It looked fiercer, but it missed Ye Qingxuan by an inch. It fell into the sea again, splashing up huge waves. Except for the stinking wind and mist, no impact was made at all. Amazing! Son of Phenix clenched his fist and relieved slightly: though terrible, the Mountain of Nomadism was only a demon who knew nothing about language and music theory and fought only with its instincts. Ye Qingxuan didn''t want to win the fight. He was only stalling so he could avoid fighting hard against it by constantly escaping its attacks. Ye Qingxuan sighed to himself. It was not that easy. It was easy to fool the beast, but if the beast was irritated, it would only be more troublesome. In the next instant, incredibly dense mist rose above the sea. A hurricane suddenly appeared, bringing with it the smell of disaster. The whole world was filled with the terrible mist. There seemed to be a large amount of sand in the mist, which made him feel like he was being choked. Then, a pair of eyes burning with beast fury lit up in the mist. It was so close! Ye Qingxuan subconsciously raised his hand and played the zither. Along with the sound of the instrument, the moon suddenly rose over the sea and enveloped him. Boom! Everything was shaking. The moon shadow shattered under the horrible impact. Ye Qingxuan flew backward and struggled to maintain balance. Then he dove down very quickly and flew to his right side like he was escaping from some deadly plague. In the moonlight, he seemed to produce many shadows of his own. With his guidance, those shadows flew in the air. One could hardly distinguish which one was him. What was more terrible, a huge mouth suddenly came out of nowhere. The mouth tore apart the shadows one by one. Yes, it was the Mountain of Nomadism. The Indigo Moon was finally complete again; its light shining through the mist to reveal the truth. Yet the truth was breathtaking. In the dense mist, the Mountain of Nomadism raised from the seaand flew in the sky! "Doesn''t a sea monster belong in the sea?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "It can fly? Isn''t it against the rules?" Against the rules or not, the Mountain of Nomadism was more and more troublesome. Not only did it fly, but it also became more and more cunning. Several times, Ye Qingxuan got so close to death that he was almost strangled or devoured by it. He didn''t want to have a taste of its gastric acid. It never occurred to him that a monster so large could be so agile. It was like it was weightless! Yet the wind created by its heavy body was so strong. It made him unable to breathe. Fighting against such a brutal enemy, he would be cut into pieces by its scales even if he was only lightly touched by it, not to mention the greyish-green poison that was constantly oozing out. The Mountain of Nomadism didn''t need any weapon or music movement. It was the gravest threat itself. Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt regret. How he wished to be a master of the School of Modifications! They could summon fire, wind, thunder, and lightning as they wished. If upgraded to a war musician or some other particular occupation, he wouldn''t need to yield to anyone. Among the musician of the seven systems, the School of Modifications was the best at destruction and construction, and the School of Summoning was best at attacking and cooperation Yet what Ye Qingxuan learned was from the School of Abstinence, which was best at defense and music theory composition. In positional fighting, it was okay to fight such a monster. But now he was in the home of the monster. He felt so weak. Fortunately, he had other means to fight. In the dense mist, Ye Qingxuan dodged the attack of the Mountain of Nomadism. While he was passing by the huge body of the snake, the clothes of original sin suddenly changed form. The Exoskeleton of the gospel armor generated great force. Like a pair of iron pliers, they pulled a large scale the size of a house from the snake''s head. The wound that had just been healed was torn open again. The bone-deep agony irritated the monster, driving it completely mad. Ye Qingxuan was in no way better than the monster. Though protected by the clothes of original sin, he could hardly feel his arm anymore. It was numb. With the sharp shrieking of the monster, Ye Qingxuan tossed aside the scale which was almost his size, and said to the furious Mountain of Nomadism, "It was so inconvenient to fight in the sky." Pausing, he smiled meaningfully. "How about we go into the sea?" Instantly, a huge amount of illusory seawater fell from the sky, as if the god had released the flood to destroy the whole world. The seawater was so cold, it was as if it was suddenly winter. A grave melody sounded in the downpour; beautiful and sad. With agony as its implications, the Die Nebensonnen revealed its phantasm. The Winterreise was then played. 543 The Ocean Abyss of Suffocation In midair, the flying giant snake was suddenly seized with pain. Strands of pain sprouted from its head, making their way into its wounds as if they were alive. They flowed along its bone marrow, causing its body to spasm, as its consciousness descended into a mania. As a result, the torrential rains became heavier and heavier, as if clusters of stars were falling down. Countless raindrops gathered into a torrent of water, falling from the sky into the sea. In the blink of an eye, the fog had disappeared without a trace. As the snake''s body was forced back into the sea by the torrent bit by bit, it struggled furiously and hissed towards the Indigo Moon hanging between the heavens and the earth. Moonlight flowed. Declaring that the long night had fallen, the first song of Winterreise, Gute Nacht, played. Endless hoarfrost, fine in texture, formed on the sea level. The tiny ice crystals collided with each other, making crisp, clear sounds, like a melody of winter. Falling from the sky was a river that resembled tears. Ghostly flames emerged quietly, floating above it, and in the storm, shadows of crows circled the sky. Various imageries emerged one by one between the ocean and the sky. The world had turned into a performance stage for illusions. They intertwined, dragging the Mountain of Nomadism into endless layers of illusions. Gute Nacht, Die Wetterfahne, Gefror''ne Thr?nen, Der Lindenbaum, Wasserflut, Irrlicht, Einsamkeit The 24 songs of Winterreise were performed by Ye Qingxuan in a fluid manner, and his playing was surprisingly smooth. For the first time in his life, Ye Qingxuan played the songs so well that they sounded free of all inhibitions. When the last song of Der Leiermann was completed, in the body of the Mountain of Nomadism, the aether waves fluctuating faintly were completely subdued. It crashed from the air into the sea, struggling with all its might, but it was unable to free itself from the illusions flooding its perceptions. The spirituality contained in the 24 songs guided the music theories within. As if they were alive, they combined into one, evolving into an inescapable, terrifying illusion, completely trapping the Mountain of Nomadism inside. At the moment, the ocean was what the Mountain of Nomadism saw. For the first time, the creature born of the ocean found the ocean terrifying. Unlike the sea they were in, it was a desolate sea that it saw. In the heavy snow, the dark and unfamiliar ocean swallowed it. No matter how hard it tried to swim and stay afloat, it felt like it was drowning in the sea, sinking bit by bit. It was sinking into the frightening trench hidden in the sea. A source of terror lurked in the endless depths of the ocean. Gazing at the dark rift that seemed to extend to the end of the ocean, an unprecedented sense of crisis and fear was instinctively triggered in the Mountain of Nomadism. That was the abyss! Abyss! Other than Ye Qingxuan, no other musician in the same era nor that in the past could create such a realistic abyss in the illusion, nor would there be any in the future. From the remains of the former Dark Pope, Ye Qingxuan had drawn the Power of the Source, which had originated from the abyss. Purely in terms of the understanding of the abyss, he had surpassed most dark musicians, even the high-ranking demons in the abyss and the dark ministers. What he had learned was the essence of Hyakume, the core of its spirituality, the music theory that even the dark branches of the abyss had never understood. After Hyakume''s fall into a deep slumber, no one else in the world could understand the abyss better than Ye Qingxuan. Therefore, he was able to create the illusion of the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation. The school of magic placed the most emphasis on the passing down of illusions. Other than certain illusions that could be adjusted depending on the circumstances, the imagery created in most movements followed certain formulas, and some were even fixed. Therefore, most illusions were detectable, and tricks to crack them had been discovered. Despite the said shortcoming, after going through modifications and upgrades done constantly by innumerable generations of illusionists, the variations hidden in the seemingly simple illusions and the knowledge behind them were the true essence of each movement. To distinguish between skilled illusionists and the rest, one had to identify the music theory and the variations in the illusions created. Taking the imagery of the moon as an example, the Indigo Moon created by Ye Qingxuan was much more impressive than moons created by other illusionists, not to mention other imageries. The list of differences between an illusion that had captured the essence of the movement and a phantom shadow lacking actual content was inexhaustible. Sometimes, although the ones inside an illusion knew that it is fake, they had no way of escaping, and could do nothing but remain trapped. Numerous schools of magic had chosen to keep the knowledge of the variations of each movement a secret, passing down the core music theory only. For other schools, the imageries they passed down were derived from the core of their movement. After the apprentices learn each of them step by step, they would be able to master the core illusion of their school. For example, famous schools of magic such as Voodoo Catacombs, Phantom Swamp and so on, were famous for doing so. The mysteries and music theory contained in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation that Ye Qingxuan created at the moment were no less powerful even when compared to the imageries of those schools. If one was to simply compare the magnificence and spirituality of the imageries, Ye Qingxuan''s might even be just a little bit more superior than the rest. The only part it was lacking in was the constant upgrading done by tens of generations of musicians, who had nurtured the imageries with their spirituality. This imagery alone would be enough for Ye Qingxuan establish a new sect within the school of magic. If he would like to do so in the future, a new department of the Royal Academy of Music would definitely be born. A Master under the age of 20, the founder of a brand new school of magic He was simply sensational. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan had exhausted all his strength just to maintain the illusion. The Mountain of Nomadism was too big. Too insanely big. Such a horrifying, humongous sea monster could only be nurtured in the ocean. The mere act of supporting the entire illusion was almost enough to render Ye Qingxuan breathless. If not for the constant flow of aether drawn from the sea of aether by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, Ye Qingxuan would have died from exhaustion. Fortunately, he had grown accustomed to controlling amounts of aether beyond the limit of his level since a long time ago. Although he was under pressure, at least he didn''t commit any fatal errors. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism in the illusion was sinking in the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation and was gradually assimilated by the illusion. With luck, its tenacity and soul would be extracted and incorporated by the illusion soon, making the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation more and more realistic. Due to the terrifying magnitude of the Mountain of Nomadism, the nourishing effect it had on the illusion was of an incredible extent as well. If the illusion could consume more than a dozen sea monsters like it, materializing the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, transforming it from a phantom to a real entity completely, was not impossible. Then, it could truly be compared to regions of illusion such as Voodoo Catacombs, Demonic Mountain and so on, becoming the sixth catastrophe-level illusion in the physical world. Sadly, such an idea could only exist in one''s thoughts. Ye Qingxuan wasn''t even sure if he could kill the Mountain of Nomadism completely with it. Judging from its size, the Mountain of Nomadism had lived for a few hundred years at least. Even a pig could have learned to climb trees if it had lived for a few hundred years. Who knew what else could this goddamn creature do? Moreover, at the moment... the Mountain of Nomadism had also understood that most of its body had sunk into Hades. [1] If it was to take no action, it would meet its demise for sure. In the Ocean Abyss of Suffocation, the sea monster sinking in the depths of darkness let out a raspy cry, as it was overcome by unprecedented humiliation. Since its birth, it had never faced a situation like this. The sea monster that had ruled the ocean for hundreds of years drowned in the sea How ridiculous. Under the pressure and darkness brought about by the petrifying illusion, the Mountain of Nomadism suddenly stopped struggling. As if it was enduring extreme pain, its huge body twisted and convulsed. Under the purplish-green scales, the blood vessels bulged, emitting a dark red glow. It resembled burning blood. The ice cold body was also ignited, giving out a frightening heat. The next moment, the ocean roared. [1] The expression means that the Mountain of Nomadism realized it was dying. 544 The Wind and the Moon The next instant, the ocean roared. Earthshaking shrieking burst out from the deep sea. Every drop of water was trembling. It was as if the creature was tearing apart its own body by the roaring and a horrible aether reaction was triggered in the deep sea. It seemed like the whole lightless sea quivered. With the shrieking, horrible force came together and broke Ye Qingxuan''s illusion. In just one blink, the anchor pointed Ye Qingxuan had planted for his magic was all destroyed. The colossal illusional realm collapsed into nothing in no time. Then, winds and waves stopped moving. A weird silence filled the whole space. On the ship, the Son of Phoenix closed his eyes to check out the Mountain of Nomadism. Yet when he saw its movements, he trembled with fear. One, two, three, four, five17. It had created 17 aether waves! The horrible aether waves were generated from every huge joint of its body. The devils'' blood with the power of catastrophe was ignited in fury and burning in the massive body. With the brutal nature of the beast as fire, and with its blood and breath as firewood, it was burning the fire of horror which was everyone''s nightmare. At that moment, in that body as huge as a mountain. Waves of the same frequency were generated from the biggest 17 parts of its spinal column. It was like 17 masters from the deep-sea joining hands to play the Symphony of Predestination, summoning the descending of nightmares. A terrible whirlpool was thus generated. A hurricane then took shape between the sky and the sea. The dark clouds were rolling, endless thunder and lightning releasing formidable power. Drawn by the storm and vapor, lightning struck down from the sky with the fast spinning whirlpool, forming a bloodcurdling hurricane. It was like the column that supported the heaven from falling down. The hurricane, no smaller than the Mountain of Nomadism, raised from the ocean up to the sky, booming and roaring, and released its sucking force. A huge amount of seawater was sucked in and immediately vaporized by the hot current, radiating a burning hot glow. The hurricane took shape in just one blink, glowing like lava. It raged across the ocean along with the Mountain of Nomadism. The speed of the wind surpassed well beyond the measurable limit of humans. The wind gauge exploded, and the wind was still ramping up its power. As the sea water was pulled backward by the wind and the hurricane, the iron ship was halted and drawn to the hurricane. In the middle of the hurricane, the furious shrieking of the Mountain of Nomadism was heard. The hurricane was getting closer and closer. "Mr. Ye!" Igor was in such shock that he shouted toward the sky, "The Keel was only 70% charged! Do something or we are finished! So will be your ambition to save your country!" His voice was immediately torn apart in the hurricane and couldn''t go beyond two meters. Yet Ye Qingxuan''s voice came into his ears: "Don''t worry. Just wait for a moment. You are safe as long as I am still alive." Igor''s face twitched. That''s easy for you to say! We are safe when you are alive, but what about after you die? Maybe we''ll live a few seconds longer than you do, but is that much of a difference? He swallowed his urge to say something more, and yelled at the engine room, "Charge the Keel! I don''t care if other engines will explode. Get the Keel ready as soon as possible!" "Three minutes at least, Captain! Three minutes!" The second mate''s voice came from the other side of the bronze pipe. "All engines are at maximum power! Even if you take me to serve as the aether transition pump, it will still need three minutes!" "Three minutes it is, then!" Gritting his teeth and looking into the sky, Igor snatched the holy emblem into his hand and prayed to the God whom he had never believed. "Mr. Ye, my lord, you have been playing the boss the whole time. Now you''re hanging out up there! Three minutes! If that thing refuses to die then, it''ll be us!" Up in the sky, Lola''s voice was heard by Ye Qingxuan. "Need my help?" "Will illusions help now? Don''t worry and go back to sleep," Ye Qingxuan said. "You are not a saint. Thought realization of illusions might be powerful, but you can''t turn more than 400 people into phantoms." "Then you are on your own." Lola laughed mischievously and went back, leaving Ye Qingxuan struggling. He didn''t expect that this monster''s final move would be such a horrible music movement of modifications. It might not be as hopeless as facing a phenomenal catastrophe, yet for them, they both were so deadly that it was almost the same. He was not very good at handling this sort of movement from the School of Modifications and usually got beaten up by a musician from the School of Modifications, not to mention a hurricane like this. Yet, it was quite easy to nail it. After resonation with the Quiet Moon, his Silent Dream had reached the final stage of the Wyrmrest Enchantment. One stage further and he could reach the "Ultimate" that could kill all the aether and open a silent realm of "colorless zone" above the black, red, yellow, and white zones. However, a movement like "The Sleeping World," which harmed oneself while killing the enemy was by no means to be used at will. If he entered into the Sleeping World now, it would ruin his ship first instead of the Mountain of Nomadism. Remember, there were four aether engines overloaded now. The charging of the Keel would be finished in no time. If interrupted now, the depressurized aether in the engines will explode before being assimilated. Then, losing all the aether, Ye Qingxuan and his shabby ship would have to face a powerless yet still furious giant sea monster. No matter what he did, they would die. No way to cheat, no way to play his tricks, and no other moves to make, and not enough bags to catch the monster or sticks to knock it out. The only option left for him was "A duel?" Rubbing his face, Ye Qingxuan murmured, "I hate this kind of brutal fighting." In the next moment, the hurricane came. Endless sea water was sucked into the sky and turned into fog, forming the horrible hurricane which expanded across the ocean and the sky. With thunder and lightning within, it was like the greyish-black column supporting the sky was spinning. Compared to it, humans were just tiny specks of dust. Getting closer to it, Ye Qingxuan was almost torn apart by the wind. This was what it is like when the music movement of modifications reached its extremity. It was as if the whole world was put on the iron chopping board of God and beaten down by God''s hammer and fire. Staring at the Mountain of Nomadism at the deepest part of the hurricane, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Let''s fight the hard way then!" Let me try and see where my limit lies he thought. The next moment, the Indigo Moon rose above the sea. Countless beams of light verged in the shape of an unreal moon, hanging above the sea. Facing the desperately huge hurricane, Ye Qingxuan stretched his hand forward. Nature Interference! In a flash, his body got into the "Vacuum" world. His willpower spread out in the moonlight, merging with the spirit of the music movement. Numerous music theories circulated, building the magnificent Symphony of Predestination layer by layer. The moon quivered once and shed an indigo light as cold as metal. The wind and the moon clashed. With the bang, a big boom was generated, shaking the space several hundred nautical miles around. 545 Flying After a sudden roar which only lasted a brief moment, a long silence ensued. Even the howl of the hurricane seemed to be have disappeared. The expected earth-shattering turmoil did not happen, as the collision between the tornado and the moon was over in an instant. The Indigo Moon had silently infiltrated the tornado like ice cubes being dropped into water. Despite remaining distinct from each other, but they appeared to be of the same nature. From the perspective of the school of abstinence, this was a reverse interference of the nature of the substance, termed ''the blending of natures''. Instead of using music theory to stimulate the hidden nature of the substance, activating it in order to modify the substance itself, Ye Qingxuan combined two different natures, that were originally in sharp conflict, together. It was like hiding fire in ice, or making streams of water gush out of stone. The contradiction was forcibly subdued, and harmony was achieved. Ye Qingxuan also employed a technique he had learned from Abraham''s music theory. Only by using the two together, could he assimilate his body with aether, achieving the stage of vacuum, whereby blood circulation would be replaced by aether circulation. But at this moment, the Son of Phoenix was so shocked by his observations that his jaw almost dropped. It was not that he was unfamiliar with the technique of the blending of natures, but he also understood its difficulty very well. Plus, the greater the amount of matter and the more their natures differ, the more frightening the magnitude of variables involved in the process would be. To force a tornado containing such a terrifying amount of power to merge with moonlight of a completely different nature, and to make the two coexist in peace, how insanely difficult was that? It was totally beyond his imagination. Right from the start, the commander had given him too many surprises, to the extent that he had become completely numb. He stared at the moonlight in the storm in awe and couldn''t help but mutter, "Sure enough, they are all monsters." Strip away the appearance of matter and reveal the music theory of its essencethis was the concept that the school of abstinence had always embraced. In the eyes of musicians of the school of abstinence, regardless of whether they had chosen the path of domain or the path of commandment, the world was a movement composed of endless music theory. Modifications or chorales In essence, everything was made up of different facets of music theory. In order to pursue the essence of music theory, emphasis was placed on the renunciation of the concept of self, so that one''s tenacity could blend into aether, allowing one to understand the mysteries of the Originator. In the raging tornado, appalling hurricanes were blowing all the time. Thunder and lightning galloped in a mist of scorching water vapor, evolving into hellish imagery. Ye Qingxuan operated the Indigo Moon in such a harsh environment, even making advances against the wind. Innumerable perception threads blended in with the faint moonlight, spreading towards the storm center of the hurricanes. All the changes within were interpreted using the way of deciphering and summarized as a blurred model in the hands of Ye Qingxuan. The moonlight fluctuated, sometimes strong and other times weak, sometimes brightening and other times dimming, like a weak candle''s flame in the wind. But no matter how the hurricane swept and raged, it could not suppress the moonlight it found irritating. Amid the struggle, the moon seemed to have blended into the hurricane. Yet as if it was on a critical boundary, it maintained its independence throughout, never once assimilated by the terrifying tornado. The situation was alarmingly dangerous, like dancing on tips of knives. In the orderless chaos, the moon tidied and reorganized the entangled music theory. Countless strands of music theory dissipated outwards, following certain unseen rules. Under the guidance of the moonlight, the strands of music theory wove into an abstract net, all the nodes gathered within the circle of moonlight. Utilizing the net as the core, Ye Qingxuan infiltrated the storm little by little with his tenacity, constructing a vast network to interfere with the control of the tornado. For the Mountain of Nomadism, the experience was not one it would consider enjoyable. The frightening amount of power contained in the hurricane was like the hands of a giant, constantly reaching out towards the goddamn moon, trying to squash it into pieces. Everything should have broken apart after being subjected to such a terrifying amount of power. But the moon was as difficult to catch and contain as a flying insect, slipping between one''s fingers every time. When one wasn''t paying attention, it would take the opportunity to sting. While the counter-attacks from the moon was not fatal, it sufficed to irritate the beast, almost driving it mad. The moonlight shone calmly, connecting thousands of strands of music theory to the core of the hurricane, guiding them accordingly to erode the control of the hurricane by the Mountain of Nomadism. The massive gravitational force radiating from the Symphony of Predestination gathered together, forming vortexes. At every critical moment, the vortexes would supply a crucial gust of counter-current, forcibly containing the wind and preventing any expansion beyond its initial scale. Since Ye Qingxuan''s infiltration, not only did the hurricane fail to expand, but a substantial amount of the potential energy within was also consumed. It was starting to show signs of shrinking in size. To compete with Ye Qingxuan in terms of utilizing external powers was a mistake from the start. No one could be more proficient than him in this aspect. From the very beginning when he was just an apprentice, he had been constantly utilizing external powers to achieve his own goals. From the enchantment of Avalon to the sacred fire of Auschwitz, the Central Sanctuary of the Sacred City, the music theory of Hyakume, the projection of the Holy Caldron... Moreover, he never returned what he had borrowed. Everything that went into his pocket eventually became his, leaving others with no hope of ever getting them back. When the Mountain of Nomadism realized its mistake, Ye Qingxuan had destroyed at least one-third of the tornado! Furthermore, the power it borrowed to summon the tornado required payment in blood! The tornado roared furiously, and the enraged Mountain of Nomadism hiding within it chased after the moon, biting at it madly! Empowered by the ocean and the hurricane, it almost succeeded in tearing the moon apart within just two attacks. The moonlight flickered but gradually dimmed. It continued to wander within the hurricane but avoided further head-on confrontations with the Mountain of Nomadism. Instead, it employed a touch and go strategy, fighting back briefly when it had the opportunity. But otherwise, it ignored the raging Mountain of Nomadism completely. The enormous serpent was covered in flames from its burning blood, its size almost doubling, and it hissed again. The hurricane expanded in a sudden. The pressure on Ye Qingxuan soared greatly. The tornado was getting more and more violent, all the energy moving towards its core, surrounding Ye Qingxuan on all sides, wanting to crush him first! Some distance away from the hurricane, everyone on the ship had almost been stunned by the horrifying scene. Every time they looked at the moonlight, they couldn''t help but marvel. They had trouble imagining how much more he could achieve in battle in the future. "Captain Igor, turn the ship around," Ye Qingxuan''s voice suddenly rang out. "Pardon?" Igor was momentarily stunned. He turned his head back and looked behind the ship at the huge tornado penetrating both the sea and the sky. He couldn''t help but gulp. "Turn around? Are you kidding me? The charging of the keel is not done yet!" "Listen to me, turn it around!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. "Don''t stand there like an idiot. I can''t keep this up for much longer! We are already in such a dire situation, there''s no more point in fearing death. To die early or to die later, isn''t it all the same?" Well said! If Igor was not at risk of dying, he would have clapped in applause for Ye Qingxuan. For a while, he had a look of hesitation of his face, as he could not make up his mind. The first officer steering the ship turned to him and asked, "Captain...what..." "Didn''t you hear Mr. Ye''s instructions?" Igor gritted his teeth, paused, then waved his hand with a look of anguish. "Turn around! Get the lifeboat ready, worst case scenario, we abandon the ship." Turn around! The first officer waved and the rudder turned wildly. In a flash, everyone on board felt a huge force acting on the hull, as if it was trying to throw them off. Due to the centripetal force, innumerable rivets scraped against the ship plates, making piercing whines. Because of the sudden turn, the entire hull was almost bent into an arc, setting off a crashing wave in the sea of darkness. Then, with maximum horsepower, the ship shot forward towards the tornado that was sweeping through the sea and the sky, the steel ship charged fearlessly! "Get ready to fire." Ye Qingxuan''s voice rang out. Together with his words came a perception thread of moonlight, which connected itself to the back of Igor''s head. Immediately after, data from the other end poured into Igor''s mind like a tide. Wind speed, wind direction, the speed of the ship, its coordinates, the extent of engine overload, change in weight, loading stress Igor only felt his vision turning black as data rushed into his mind nonstop, as if it was going to blow his head up. "Mr. Ye, are you trying to kill me?!" "Why are you so useless?" Ye Qingxuan seemed to sigh helplessly, making Igor so gloomy that he almost vomited blood. But soon, the flood-like data reduced significantly, having been sorted by Ye Qingxuan in terms of priority. In Igor''s vision, they formed a dynamic mindmap that would only appear when he gazed upon it intently. "Get ready, Captain," Ye Qingxuan said. "Other than the firing, you need not pay attention to anything else." Igor shook his head resignedly, having understood the plan Ye Qingxuan had in mind. He used the final seconds to gulp down some liquor from his bottle, and wiped his wet beard dry. "I am old, Mr. Ye. You have ruined my boat, so at least be more considerate for the sake of my heart?" said Igor. Ye Qingxuan did not bother to reply. Igor muttered to himself, and strapped himself to the seat with leather rope. Finally, he pressed both of his hands on the handle. "I didn''t expect that I could be involved in such an exciting fight at this age. Even if I have to pay the price with this ship, it''s worth it!" Boom! The iron ship broke through the oncoming hurricane, riding on the huge waves and leaping between them. It moved up and down, sailing forward bumpily, but its speed was getting faster and faster. In the end, the engines weren''t even needed anymore, as the violent pull of the tornado dragged the iron boat forward to its death. The sound of steel plates being twisted rang out continuously. Rivets were ejected from the ship constantly, and with loud bangs, pieces of steel fell off from the ship into the sea, like the removal of burdensome clothes. The ship rushed forward, hugging its impending doom with its arms wide open! In front of it, the appalling tornado that was gigantic enough to swallow an island whole was getting extremely close. Amid countless flashes of lightning and thunder, one could vaguely see the horrifying outline of the Mountain of Nomadism. "You only have one opportunity," Ye Qingxuan''s strained voice rang out. "Captain, you''ll have to grasp it yourself." "No worries, no worries." Igor cackled. "I am the first artilleryman of the Islands of Illusion! I was the one who struck down the wall during the Battle of Placi in East India!" "Then, I''ll leave it to you." As he finished his words, the vast moonlight broke through the huge body of the tornado, dragging hurricanes along. Frenzied winds sucked the seawater up, forming freak waves, as if the Invisible Hand of God was lifting up endless seawater, temporarily setting up a bridge of waves that was constantly crumbling and collapsing. The bridge of waves extended upwards, creating an incredible arc, directing everything towards the hurricane of destruction. The steel ship roared as it rushed forward in the torrent. It sailed forward onto the bridge, and was thrown into the air. Everyone felt strong dizziness, their vision turning black due to the turbulent changes in gravity. When they could finally react, the steel ship was already flying in the air. Flying! They were flying! 546 The Presen Like the God of War riding his giant horse of eight legs, the iron ship flew in the air, riding the thunder and the wind, charging forward! Going through the wild wind and the mist, the ship charged forward. The lightning struck the ship, covering it with a layer of shining light. It was like a sharp saber stabbing into the hurricane. The ship shook all over in the hurricane. Steel plates peeled off the ship like the scales of a fish. The Keel ballista, charged to its maximum power, reached a super high temperature. The horrible heat was conducted by the mechanical structure to the handle, which became hot as well. Igor grabbed at the handle, enduring the pain with a wicked smile on his face. "Hold on, hold on" Grinding his teeth and staring at the target in front of him, he murmured to himself, "Not yet. Do not rush. Just one moment!" Boom! The hurricane was pierced through by the ship. Led by the indigo moon, the ship flew over the sky and into the core of the hurricane. The head of the furious Mountain of Nomadism was so close! "Hello, b*tch." Igor laughed. Boom! Super hot sparks immediately shot from the bow of the ship, lighting up the dark night. Horrible power was released from the Keel ballista. The steel arrow, driven by the high pressure, overloaded five times its original capacity, flew forward from the ship. The whistling sound of it seemed to tear up everyone''s eardrums. The modified arrow, disguised as a whale-hunting crossbow arrow, had a heavy chain at its tail. With pale vapor along its path, it pierced through the venom of the Mountain of Nomadism and dashed into its mouth. The monster''s teeth were fractured and the flesh in its mouth torn into pieces. The arrow pierced the hard skull of the monster and into its brain. The sticky venom spread out of its brain. Heated by the arrow, the brain of the monster was boiled into a pot of poisonous soup. The monster screamed sharply, full of grief. Its mountainous body twitched and the horrible aether waves stopped. No more wind. The hurricane ceased, and seawater fell from the sky. With a big splash, the monster fell into the sea with the ship. Under the impact, the ship almost disintegrated. Three musicians of Modifications School spat up blood and struggled to keep the metric intact. The ship was so broken that it was barely a ship anymore. "My ship!" No time to feel the happiness of victory, Igor howled with misery, almost in tears. However, the painful shrieking and screaming of the Mountain of Nomadism was still prevalent. Poisoned by the "Temperance," the Mountain of Nomadism twitched in pain, rolling up and down in the sea. Dragging the iron chain on the arrow, it pulled the iron ship forward. "Still not dead after that?" Igor was so shocked. "Only seriously injured." Soaked with the seawater, Ye Qingxuan landed on the ship. Staring at the snake in anguish, he said, "It was the descendent of a catastrophe. It may grow its head back." The Mountain of Nomadism was totally mad. The wound was in no way fatal to it, and it was soon healed due to its strong life-force as a catastrophe. Yet the "Temperance" poison in the arrow inflicted great pain upon it. The poison, enough to ruin hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile land, was boiling in its brain, eroding its bones and poisoning its blood along its spinal column. The great pain broke it down. The monster rushed wildly, following the ocean''s current. The ship was dragged by the snake. Nobody knew where they were heading. "Make the chain tougher," Ye Qingxuan told the Son of Phoenix. "This is the best present. Don''t let it get away." Present? The Son of Phoenix smiled bitterly. Who do you want to give it to? Bewildered, the Son of Phoenix followed the order and reinforced the chain. It was easy, compared to the reinforcing the whole ship. Then, under the magic of the Zither, the whole chain became a part of the string of the Zither, forming a heaven ladder. A straight path was created to the brain of the crazy monster. There was nothing as good as this for a musician of the School of Mind. Ye Qingxuan Smiled and pressed his hands on the chain. Then, the remaining music theories from the Hyakume flew into the body of the Mountain of Nomadism. With the help of the poison of "Temperance," the music theories grew wildly in the snake''s body. Nothing was more vicious those music theories, for no catastrophe was comparable to the three pillar gods. The poison of the Hyakume spread throughout the body of the snake. It devoured the blood and flesh to make itself stronger. Great power was transferred to Ye Qingxuan through the chain. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t dare to keep any of this power. He threw it into the Clothes of Original Sin to help the clothing restore its power. With Hyakume growing, the Mountain of Nomadism became no more than a dead corpse. With its last ounce of strength, it pulled the damaged ship forward without knowing where it was heading. Finally, it stopped moving. Its gigantic body floated in the water. It was dead. Finally, there was light in the silent lightless sea; it was from some fires. The fires were burning on the rocks like faint stars, lighting up everyone''s faces. In the light, they saw a layer of dark red blood covering the whole sea, continuing to spread. A thick acid smell arose from the blood, and the stench of rotting flesh was in the air. With the fires, the rocks showed themselves; they were not rocks at all but piles and piles of corpses and bones. Those numerous corpses became fuel for the fires. Far away from there, the island could be seen. There was a huge and dark castle atop the cliff. On top of the castle, a bright fire was burning. It must have burned a hell lot of corpses to be so bright. The sailors directed the searchlight to the sea and saw clearly what was in the water. "Devils! Mr. Ye, those are all devils!" the sailors shouted immediately. "Yes. I know." Ye Qingxuan nodded. Through his sense of aether, he could feel the monstrous smell in the sea. All the corpses of the devils were incomplete. It was as if they had been shredded by a meat grinder. The corpses were tossed into the sea and became fuel to make fires. On the deck, Igor was so frightened that he whispered, "Wh-where are we now?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Everyone may get some rest now. This is our destination," he said. "This is Alderney." Alderney, a desolate island off the main route. No farm, no output, no minerals, no inhabitants. Few people knew that this was Maxwell''s estate, Keeper of the Seal of Anglo and head of the Fifth Department. Fewer people knew that a batch of people had moved here secretly. They left their homes and settled down here. They built everything they needed from scratch here, waiting to go back home someday. They were what remained of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the last hope of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith of the Sacred City. The final inquisitors. Knowing where they were, Igor was still at loss for what to do. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked, "Shall we give them a signal?" "No. Just wait." Ye Qingxuan sat on the deck and enjoyed the tea served by the organists. He said with a sigh, "The landlord has come to the door. Shouldn''t you renters come out and say hello?" Then, he sat there leisurely, waiting for the men in the castle to check everything out. On top of the castle, someone stared at Ye Qingxuan for a long while and then vanished. Pretty soon, the gate was opened. A middle-aged clergyman came, rowing a little boat. On the boat, there was a storm lantern l to lead the way. "Follow me." The clergyman turned around, rowing his little boat toward the gate. Igor looked at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "Just follow him. Don''t go the wrong way. The things under the water are really troublesome," Ye Qingxuan said. He looked at both sides of the boat meaningfully. The middle-aged clergyman, obviously surprised, turned to look at him but said nothing. Along the way, Ye Qingxuan checked out the defensive line and the constructions on the island. He said in amazement, "Congregation for the Doctrine, well done! Always preparing for an expedition to the east. Just one month and you''ve already turned this island into a fortress?" The ship went into the harbor and the gate closed with a huge boom. In the secret harbor inside the cliff, a man went down the staircases and saluted Ye Qingxuan. "Please follow me. Bishop Carroll is waiting for you." 547 Learning Makes One Happy Three weeks later, the steel workshop had expanded to twice its original size. The scaffolding embedded in the cliff were like weeds clumped together. The giant nails wedged into the stone were holding heavy steel cables, arranged into a spider-web-like structure, in place. Heat insulating felt cloths were suspended layer by layer from the cables, forming a huge greenhouse. Heavy rain poured from the sky, and fell on the felt cloth, causing it to evaporate and rise into the sky again in a thick fog of steam, only to condense and fell as water droplets again upon encountering the cold air above. Cold fog and hot air met in the sky, strangling each other. Finally, they blended together, forming layers of sickly white clouds. It was as if hundreds of iron furnaces were working at the same time, or as if lava had broken through the crust of the earth and was flowing over the ground. An appalling amount of heat were constantly spreading out from the workshop. The viscous and scorching air escaped from the valves on the door with a rotten stench. It was like the breath of living things. "Is it really alright to build a ship this way?" Igor stood on top of the cliff and looked down, his gaze fixed on the covered workshop. No matter how many times he had heard the explanation, he still felt incredulous, as the production method employed was truly beyond his imagination. "The current stage of our industrial development is not advanced enough to produce such a massive thing the conventional way, so we could only do it in an alternative manner." Carol, who had been appointed as the chief engineer, held his umbrella as he looked down and observed his work. He said, "Now the entire port and anywhere less than five hundred meters from it are within the radiation range of the alchemy reactions. "An alchemical reactor of such a gigantic size would cost as much as half the national treasury and would take more than ten years to manufacture. "Furthermore, it can only be used once, as it would be destroyed in the process, and it has to be recycled as waste after that. The whole process requires more than a hundred alchemists to collaborate, using up countless materials and funds. "We do not have so much capital and time to waste. "It''s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be blessed with such favorable conditions, Captain Igor, we must keep everything simple. " "This is considered simple?" Igor was shocked. He squatted on the edge of the cliff, then lay down to look at the huge workshop more closely. Under the cover of the heat-insulating felt cloths, the workshop was like a monster of a gray-black color lying on the harbor of refuge, crawling and rolling around in gluey motions, convulsing in the rain as if it was alive, but also abhorrently ugly. So ugly that it looked terrifying. Five days ago, the musicians of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith removed the entire harbor of refuge, then built a dam at the estuary, turning whole entire port into an enclosed, bowl-like structure. The ''bowl'' was covered, and only a warm murky stream of water spewed out steadily from the dam. The turbid water containing alchemical elixirs and toxic metals exuded a pungent stench, staining the black ocean water white. The hull was being manufactured in it. As the organization that had inherited the legacy of the Religious Court of Inquiry, developing various methods to utilize demons was almost instinctual to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Plus, many demons themselves were excellent raw materials. With such a precious resource like the Mountain of Nomadism, they couldn''t possibly let it rot and spoil. The development plan, which seemed budget-conscious to most, was considered imprudent by the old devils of the Court who had gotten used to being thrifty. If the Congregation had a complete industrial system and enough supporting resources, they definitely wouldn''t agree to such insanity of wasting the huge piece of precious material on a goddamn ship. "In some sense, it cannot be considered a ship at all." Carol said, "We are just utilizing the resources at hand to as best we can, leveraging the molecular activeness of the Mountain of Nomadism''s flesh to grow it into a ship. "If we have enough resources and time, it''s even possible to create a ship that can fly in the sky forever, occupying the sky like the winged people... Damn, those bastards not only monopolize the resources of the star belt, but also deny us access to the deep sky..." "For me, having a boat in itself is more than enough, Mr. Carol," Igor interrupted. He sniffed the pungent smell coming from the workshop, looking intoxicated. "I don''t give a shit about whether it''s alive or dead, or whether it''s the child of catastrophes. I''m happy as long as it is a ship and I can sail it. Of course, it''ll be even better if it can take down a legendary warship in one go." He wanted to witness the process in the core of the workshop, but it was a pity as there was no way he could get close to it. The interior of the workshop had been transformed into a petri dish that was super enormous in size. A dense forest consisting of large quantity of fungi toxic to humans grew in it. Lethal toxic gases and corrosive alchemical materials were everywhere. Such was the most suitable environment to cultivate artificial flesh. Beneath the cover of the gray-black felt cloth, the sea water had been transformed into a viscous culture medium of dark yellow. Innumerable muscles and organs of a tender red color floated within like seaweed, growing slowly... Except for the musicians who were cultivating them and the engineers wearing three layers of protective clothing each, no ordinary creature could survive in that environment. Even from a long distance, one could still smell the rich scent of blood spreading constantly. Within the past few weeks, the smell of blood had attracted a large number of the vile spawn of the sea. The endless demons that swarmed towards the port had all become the practice targets of the organists, their bodies contributing to the building of the ship as raw materials or cultivation media. The organists, carefully selected by Maxwell, were undisputed elites, each of them fitting the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith''s requirements for newcomers perfectly although they had impure faiths and questionable pasts. But during such a critical period, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith naturally wouldn''t concern themselves with the rules of the past pedantically In fact, only the young men whose minds were preoccupied with glory and the conquest of the east might have trouble accepting the fact that the rules could be bent. As for the older men, they all had no trouble with seeing which way the wind was blowing. Shi Dong had even told Ye Qingxuan all the secrets of the old Religious Court of Inquiry, and he couldn''t care less about such rules. They only cared about the fundamental purpose, and apart from that, the end would justify the means. As long as the Religious Court of Inquiry could be re-established, the glory of the olden days restored and the long-cherished wish to conquer the east realized, they wouldn''t think twice even if the price was that they must assassinate the Pope. Among the organists brought along by Ye Qingxuan, the majority would be trained to become the new generation of the Witch Hammer in the next few months. The rest were aged men whose paths had been fixed and were almost irreversible. For them, rather than to spend their lives doing a half-ass job as a member of the Witch Hammer or as a purifier, it would be better to continue along their own path. So, they chose to quit after taking part in certain courses. The results of the short-term training course of the Congregation were remarkable. In the short span of a few days, most of the organists who had had combat experience, or had been knights even, had mastered the main techniques and skills that would originally require one to two years to learn. Although they were still lacking in certain aspects, what they needed was just the accumulation of experience over the years. In the past few days, the outcome of the fights against the vile spawn of the sea had made the old men who took time off their schedules to check on the progress laugh with glee. The new generation of the Witch Hammer was in embryo. Unfortunately, the progress of the musicians was still slow although they were provided with a lot of purifying movements and esoteric music theory, those of them whose sound of heart movements had formed already had their own style of music. While they could still learn the techniques of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the learning process was much lower in terms of efficiency as compared to the purifiers who were cultivated from a young age. Regarding this, the old devils were willing to let nature take its own course. Musicians take a long time to cultivate, as music is not something that can be learned all at once even express musicians, whom orthodox musicians look down upon, require three months of training. Presently, in addition to guiding more than ten musicians, who had yet to enter the level of Resonance, to switch to learning purifying music theory, the old devil in charge of the training, who still bore a youthful appearance, had started hatching a plan involving Ye Qingxuan... The relationship between Ye Qingxuan and Maxwell was obviously no secret. When Maxwell dies, as the reserve sword-bearer, Ye Qingxuan will be the first heir to his inheritance. I wonder if Anglo''s Royal Academy of Music would mind having a new department then? If Maxwell knew that a member of Ye Qingxuan''s relief troops was looking forward to his death before even arriving at Avalon, surely his expression would be very interesting? Boom! Another dull bang came from the depths of the stronghold. Igor and Carol were stunned for a moment. They turned and looked at the stronghold. The fortress was shrouded in moonlight of an indeterminable source, making it seem ethereal and illusory all the more, almost as if it was dissipating. From the depths of the stronghold came loud bangs and roars one after another, but it seemed a long distance away from them, and they could only heard the dull echoes. "Something went wrong again?" Igor sighed and said, "What the hell is happening in the advanced training course?" Carol couldn''t help but gave a wry smile. He replied, "To tell the truth, I''m curious as well." 548 The Remnants The room was so noisy. A giant table was in the huge basement, on the walls of which were numerous maps with all kinds of marks on them. Documents and files were scattered on the floor, leaving barely any room for Ye Qingxuan to stand. Everyone in the room was so busy and anxious. The cigarette smoke mingled with the unpleasant smell of saliva and sweat. Combined with the hot air from the thermostat matric, the air was stifling. "Our defense collapsed!" the bald old man beside the table cried, with a copy of a document in his trembling hand. "The defense line fell completely due to the mistake of the commander of our fleet in the West! Avalon was lost!" The old man lost his voice and beat his chest. He suddenly vomited a lot of blood and fell on the wheelchair. "General Norin! General Norin!" The people around him panicked and shouted, "Medic, medic!" Two old men limply got up and pushed general Norin away. In the chaos, one old man swept the document off the table and shouted, "Coward! Coward! Where is this commander of the west fleet? Get him on the stake! Burn him!" "Burn him!" Other people waved their hands. "No! You cannot do this!" The commander shouted, "I have my strategic considerations! Anglo cannot fight against this catastrophe now. You cannot do this! Let me see the Grand Inquisitor! Let me see the Grand Inquisitor!" "Go to hell, you coward!" An old man with an oxygen mask on his face got up angrily. He took the decorating sword on the wall and stabbed the commander in the stomach. There was no blood but only wires of some mechanical entrails coming out of the hole produced by the sword. The sword went through the gap between the entrails, causing almost no damage at all. Yet the commander, overplaying his role, screamed and fell on the ground. "Carry him out!" An old man with a metal pipe on his neck, wearing the hat of the top commander, waved his hand and said, "Now we can only count on the southern corps. Get me the map of Asgard!" "Sir, we have no map of Asgard. Please make do with the map of Caucasia." "You fool! How can that work!" The top commander shouted angrily, "This is serious negligence! Military police! The white-haired kid, you, come here! You are the military police now. Get this guy away and burn him!" Not knowing what to do, Ye Qingxuan paused. The old man urged him again, and the old man accused of negligence cocked his eye at Ye Qingxuan and gestured to him. Ye Qingxuan reluctantly pushed him to the side and two other old men who had been eating sunflower seeds covered the accused man with a sheet of red cloth to imitate the fire. Under the red cloth, the old man screamed as if he were really burned alive. What the hell was this? Ye Qingxuan was totally shocked while the commanders were still giving orders at the headquarters. Reports and urgent orders came and went, deploying troops. Yet all the reports and telegraphs, after they were signed out, were dumped in a dustbin in the corner along with cigarette ash and fish bones. Pretty soon, things turned for the better under the "command" of the headquarters. Yet ten minutes later, the situation went out of control. Following the fall of Anglo, the Western Desert and North Ice Field were both lost to the enemy. Then Asgard was occupied, Burgundy was divided, and all of Caucasia was set on fire as a strategy to defend the enemy, leaving no one alive there. Finally, only the Sacred City remained, fighting alone against the dark world. Silence fell. The commander in chief took his hat and shouted hoarsely, "Comrades, we are now in grave danger. We must guard the Sacred City! We shall not lose! The 10007th Crusade will not end here!" All the other old men followed him enthusiastically. Then in harmony, someone shouted, "Wait a moment!" The old man who had been "stabbed to death" got up with a huge book in his hands. "You made a mistake! I had six Instruments of harmonious melody for enchantments fully charged. How was it possible that I lost all my troop after one assault by the enemy?" The old man in charge of calculations glared at him and said, "Out of 100 points, you got only nine for weather conditions! Failure! The enemy was helped by the storm. You didn''t have enough supplies and lost half of your musicians. The instruments self-destructed!" "I had topographical advantages!" "That was canceled out!" "Sh*t! This is against the rules! You son of a b*tch, your calculations were wrong! I also bought two airships! But you didn''t count them! Get them back to me!" His mistakes exposed, the calculator felt embarrassed and shouted angrily, "I made the rules for sea battles! I modified them! You got a problem with that?" "Yo, heretic! I''ll kill you!" "Come and get me then! You are a son of a bitch if you don''t!" They got more and more excited and began to fight in no time, despite their old age and deteriorating health. Those around them wanted to pull them apart, yet those who were "dead" were also making trouble, leading to total chaos in a few minutes. It seems the 10007 crusade will end here. Ye Qingxuan shouted at them from aside but he was completely ignored. He heaved a sigh and had to wait. Then, a sunflower seed shell was thrown on his head. He turned back and saw an old man waving at him, sticking out his head from behind a curtain. "Hey, young man. You, come here." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head in dismay, wondering what the old man would ask him to do. Yet after he got behind the curtain, he couldn''t help but hold his breath. It was only a curtain away, yet it was totally different here. He saw, besides piles of untended documents and files, numerous machines piled up with all sorts of wires. He was quite familiar with them as he had seen them in the hospital. An oxygen maker, a heart rate monitor, a blood pump Numerous wires stretched out from above the ceiling, beneath the floor or behind the walls, and were connected to the old man in the heavy iron chair to support his life. The half face Ye Qingxuan saw might be the only flesh left of the old man. Half of his cheek was replaced with metal and many other parts of his body were also patched with metal. The skinny old man was almost wrapped up by the machines. He had an artificial heart, a lung made of steel, a man-made spinal column and half of his skull was transparent, through which the silver electrodes in the withered brain could be seen Sitting on the chair facing the wall, he could hardly move any part of his body. On the wall was a narrow window through which he could see the ocean where some fire was burning. It was torture to live like this. "Scared?" The old man signaled Ye Qingxuan to sit, then said in his odd voice produced by metal vocal cords, "You have come here from afar. Sorry that I could not get out to meet you." "It''s okay. I''m still young. I''m able to cover long distances as long as I can see the one in charge here." Ye Qingxuan looked at him carefully. He could see the wrinkles and the age pigmentation on his face, yet he could not tell how old the man was. "I know why you are here." The old man heaved a sigh and patted the armrest with his left hand. "Mr. Ye, you want to see us, but we are not what you expected. There is no one in charge here. We are only a bunch of defeated losers. "The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has collapsed. We hide in this neglected corner only to heal our wounds. Even our leader has died in the Sacred Court. You want to find a glorious temple, but we only have the ruins; no value at all. Am I not right, Mr. Ye?" After a short silence, Ye Qingxuan took off the Sacred Belt and put it aside. Looking at the old man''s eyes, he said, "I need your help." "I know." Seeing the Sacred Belt beside Ye Qingxuan, the old man seemed to be a little emotional. He moved his figure and pointed at it. "May I have a look?" Ye Qingxuan put the Sacred Belt into the old man''s hand. The old man held it tightly. Feeling the texture of the belt with his fingers, he smiled with a hint of nostalgia. "The Sacred Belt of the Grand Inquisitor. It has been 100 years since I last saw it." Ye Qingxuan sat there quietly without any movement, leaving him undisturbed in his memory of the old days. Quite a while later, the old man stopped thinking. "Thank you, Mr. Ye. You may call me Shi Dong." The old man introduced himself, "Like those old men outside you just saw, I amsort of the remnant of the Religious Court of Inquiry." Ye Qingxuan was shocked. The remnant not of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but of the Religious Court of Inquiry! That was dismissed more than 90 years ago! How long has this bunch of old fellows lived? When the people of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith left the Sacred City, they had almost nothing valuable on them. Yet those machines supporting those old men were enormously expensive. Who are these people that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith spends so much money to keep alive and feed? "Please don''t mind, Mr. Ye." Shi Dong produced a weird sound of pumping air from his lung, which was like a laugh. "If we have any merit, it is that we live a long life. When we were in the Religious Court of Inquiry, some of us were ascetic monks, some were inquisitors, some were purifiers, and some were cavaliers of the Witch Hammers. Now, we are only a bunch of old bones who cannot survive for five minutes." Ye Qingxuan smiled, not taking what he said seriously. He would be a fool if he did. 549 Qualifications and Conditions A group of living inquisitors of the Religious Court of Inquiry. They''re simply priceless! The Court is nothing short of a miracle created at the start of the Golden Age with the combined efforts of the Church, the Sacred City, various nations, and even the entire human world, for the exploration of the World of Dark. Every single member was chosen from the cream of the crop of the human world and could be considered geniuses in their own right. The funds and materials spent on cultivating their talents are worth far more than their weight in black gold. They brought light to the World of Dark, converted the wasteland into fertile soil, and illuminated the depths of the darkness with human civilization... Before the Mass Retreat caused by the onslaught of catastrophes, they had always been seen as legends. The possibility that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith might have actually continued to keep them in existence had never even crossed Ye Qingxuan''s mind before this! They may not be members of the first generation, which is known for being the strongest, but even if they are members of the last generation before the disbandment, even though they have nothing left in their possessions, and are almost dying of old age, they definitely still have some remnants of their powers from the past! Such powers are not in the form of military might that can enable one to fight against a thousand men, nor movements powerful enough to destroy mountains and rivers, but something more fundamentalthe legacy that only the Religious Court of Inquiry can preserve and has enabled the Court to nurture new inquisitors continuously. "Elder Shi Dong, allow me to make myself clear, I am here to restore the glory of the Religious Court of Inquiry," Ye Qingxuan said after sorting out his thoughts. He looked at Shi Dong, his tone solemn. "I offer you my promise in the name of the sword-bearer. If you help me save Anglo, then as the representative of Anglo, I shall give you the full support of the nation, including the supply of whatever material resources and talent you need. "Regardless of the stances of the other countries and the Sacred City, I will re-establish the Religious Court of Inquiry. The 400 organists I brought with me are enough to set up a new generation of the Witch Hammer once morethe new judgment knights. "I give you my word that you will be able to form your own armed forces in the territories of Anglo, not having to answer to anyone but me, including the Emperor of Anglo. "It''ll be like the Chainsaw Fraternity. As long as you follow me, I can give you the status and treatment they have received in Canaan. " He was greeted with silence. In the silence, only the noise from the old men wrestling beyond the curtain could be heard. Shi Dong''s kept his eyes down, seemingly considering what the young man had said, but also perhaps just staring blankly at the air in front of him even though there was nothing but empty space. After a long time, he said, "I see." But only that and nothing else. Ye Qingxuan frowned. He said, "Elder Shi Dong, I feel that I have given my promise with all due sincerity, and the conditions are the most I can offer. I don''t like abstruse negotiations and trivial bargainings. If what you expect is a higher price, forgive me, but there''s nothing else I can do about it." Shi Dong sighed. He scratched his face with a finger, wearing a gloomy expression, and spoke with the aid of his metallic prosthetic vocal cords, "Mr. Ye, do you know what was my position in the Religious Court of Inquiry initially?" Ye Qingxuan waited for the answer quietly. "Accountant." Shi Dong chuckled and said, "I was an accountant." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "My apologies, Mr. Ye, I am no purifier nor judge, not even a priest nor clergy." Shi Dong chuckled as if he had long been looking forward to Ye Qingxuan''s stricken look. "The last grand knight died two years ago. The only one remaining is me, the accountant. "Do you need an accountant? Mr. Ye, an accountant to help you evade taxes, audit your accounts, and give out loans?" he said. "I promise, I''m the best man for the job. "I have even given out war loans and bought bonds from the emperors of various countries in the name of the Sacred City. Each year, we would collect huge amounts of interest from them without mercy, turning the countries into money printing machines for the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Witch Hammer and the Knights Templar. But do you need men like me?" Ye Qingxuan remained silent. Shi Dong pressed on, "I am very sorry, Mr. Ye. Our era has passed, so please don''t strong-arm us into doing things we are no longer capable of." "Elder Shi Dong, haven''t you ever thought about re-establishing the Religious Court of Inquiry?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him and asked slowly, pausing between each word, "Never? Not even once?" Shi Dong laughed in self-mockery. "I am already very, very old, Mr. Ye." He said softly, "I am 230-years-old. Few people can live as long as I do. In order to survive, I have given up a lot of things." He reached out and lifted a corner of the curtain, showing Ye Qingxuan the chaotic scene outside. Pointing to the old men slightly younger than himself, he said, "Look at them, still living in their unrealistic dreams. But me, I''ve grown so sick of living that I just want to die. " Heartfelt exhaustion could be felt from his words. Not bothering to disguise it anymore, he showed the young man in front of him the ugly side of his nature. "What you have just said are all good. They''re all excellent, precious opportunities, but for me, they''re worthless." Worthless. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. In the long, dead silence, only the noise outside the curtain and the soft breathing of Ye Qingxuan filled the air. After a long time, he looked up again, fixing his eyes on Shi Dong, and slowly asked, pausing between each word, "You find that I am not qualified to be the Grand Inquisitor. So you tell me all these words to persuade me to give up my plan. You would rather dig the Court a grave and bury it than to hand it over to me. Because in your opinion, I have no right to inherit the legacy that has been yours, right?" Looking straight at the young man''s sharp eyes, Shi Dong smiled. He nodded. He expressed his stance unabashedly. "You''re right," he admitted. "Who would you find more qualified than I am?" asked Ye Qingxuan. Shi Dong shook his head. "It''s not because of this, Mr. Ye, not all at." His voice was hoarse, "If you didn''t have this stole on you, I would have been there to welcome you the moment you set foot on the island. "Next, I would have sought you to help us re-establish the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and pleaded for the help and support of Anglo at all costs. Even if I had to kneel down, even if all of us here would become mercenaries of Anglo, I would pay any price for the legacy of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to be passed on." He said, "If you want our music, our technology, our manpower, whatever, I can gladly give it to you. But you didn''t come here for that, am I right?" He raised his palm, with the stole in it. "You want it, you want the Religious Court of Inquiry, but you can never have it. "Not a chance." "Why?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Because of Michelle''s death?" "Of course not." Shi Dong seemed as if he had heard a joke. "Innumerable people of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have died because of others. It''s not like the past Grand Inquisitors had never killed one of our own. Even if you kill me, grind my bones into ashes and sprinkle them into the sea as fish bait, no one will say anything, let alone Michelle. However, Mr. Ye, you must understand something. ''Grand Inquisitor'' is not just a title. It is where the faith of many lies, do you understand? This title... It represents a belief that many have died fighting for, sacrificing everything they had at all costs." Ye Qingxuan listened quietly and nodded. "So I don''t deserve it?" Shi Dong waved his hand. "Do you know what a catastrophe is?" Ye Qingxuan had to suppress a laugh. No one in the world could possibly understand catastrophes better than him. But Shi Dong looked at him and said, "I''ve looked through your resume, and I know your accomplishments. In this regard, few in the world are comparable to you, even the Grand Inquisitors we''ve had in the past. But Mr. Ye, do you know what a catastrophe is to the ordinary person?" Ye Qingxuan was silent. "Vast, terrifying, powerful, undead... Do you know how the ordinary person feels when facing catastrophes?" said the old man. "The desperation and powerlessness coming from the bottom of one''s heart after witnessing an existence beyond the human imagination; thoughts and doubts about the meaning of human existence from a perspective beyond the ordinary; self-mockery towards the insignificance of oneself; guilt... Can you feel them? "Can you confront catastrophes?" Shi Dong continued, "Not by yourself, but with a group of people, thousands of people, tens of thousands of people, the people who admire you, the people who trust you, the people who will not hesitate to entrust you with their lives." He pressed on, "Can you lead such people? Can you provide them with the courage to contend with countless demons and undefeatable catastrophes, to fight for a glimmer of hope?" He looked at Ye Qingxuan, a raspy voice like that of steel scraping against steel coming from his metallic prosthetic vocal cords. "And after that, can you give the order that would cost all of them their lives mercilessly in order to achieve victory? "Can you gamble with the world at all costs, even if it meant pulling all the countries into the abyss and using all of mankind as your chips?" He asked, "Can you?" Ye Qingxuan still remained silent. "It''s a war, Mr. Ye, a war between humans and non-humans, a war that began in the Age of Dark and has lasted till now, and will continue into the future," Shi Dong said. "Blow the warhorn. Such is the true essence of the duties of the Grand Inquisitor and the Court." In the long silence that ensued, Ye Qingxuan chuckled as if he was mocking himself. "What you want in a leader is the ability to do so? Is that...what you want?" "Mr. Ye, as I have said earlier, I''m old, so old that I just want to greet death." Shi Dong shut his eyes tiredly. "I only want a proper burial place, to die in the hands of the enemy in a war considered glorious, leaving my remains on the battlefield. Can you find me the battlefield? The battlefield worthy of us to shed blood and to suffer in pain for, the battlefield that we desperately want to set foot on once more, even if we have to sacrifice our lives and burn our souls for it, can you find it? " In another long silence, Ye Qingxuan suddenly laughed. It was a relaxed and happy smile. "Then allow me to change my conditions." He looked at the old man in front of him and said calmly, "To die in the crusade to the East, would that be enough?" Dead silence. Dead silence descended suddenly. In the blink of an eye, it seemed that even the sound of breathing had disappeared. Even the old men immersed in the battle simulation and their dreams came to an abrupt stop. Everyone turned back stiffly and stared at Ye Qingxuan. In their aged, murky pupils, red light shone. It was like a flame in the embers that had never been extinguished; fanatic and dangerous. It was as if they wanted to burn this guy who spoke about the dreams that they would never forget so lightly into ashes! But also full of desire, the desire for the possibility that was almost impossible. "Crusade?" Shi Dong repeated. He was no longer dozing off. He opened his eyes, the laid-backness and politeness of the old man fading away, replaced by an iron-like fierceness. He looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Did you say crusade?" "Yes, the tenth crusade to the east," Ye Qingxuan said. "A real crusade, a real expedition all the way to the easternmost of Asgard to rebuild the White Rock Stronghold and penetrate the World of Dark." "You can make it happen?" the old man questioned. Shi Dong leaned forward, dragging his heavy restraints like he was judging Ye Qingxuan in his mind. As if he was about to unsheathe his sword at any moment, his eyes became cold. He asked aggressively, "Can you? Ye Qingxuan!" 550 Power and Glory "Sure. I can do that, Mr. Shi Dong," Ye Qingxuan said calmly. As if talking about ordinary things, he described the future. In his tone, there was not any pride or emotion, as if everything he said was guaranteed. "I''ll speed up the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution can be re-started if we put the Stirling Engine II into use. The productivity will be promoted. At the same time, I will re-adopt the Honor System. "I will promote a new generation of merchants and factory owners and make them the new aristocrats to replace those old-fashioned aristocrats who know only about their land and people. A lot of people will lose their land and choose to work in the factories. "In two years, productivity will tower up, high taxes will put huge pressure on the civilians, and milk will be poured into the Thames due to lack of customers. Once the merchant aristocrats have their power, the civilians in poverty will yearn for new land and market, and for more opportunities for wealth and status. They will force the country to invade other countries in search of wealth. "Then, the Crusade will come. "I can give you that, Mr. Shi. It is super easy. If you want, I can do this better than anyone else." He slowly got up, facing the surprised stares of the old men, and said, "Not only that, but I will seize more power in the name of saving the world and send more men to the battlefield in the name of the Crusade. With war, I will get more power." In the silence, only the heavy breath of the old men could be heard. Their passion for war was lit up. And they were a little shocked to hear this young man''s words. Ye Qingxuan suddenly became so strong and powerful their eyes, inspiring unspeakable respect and fear for him. Big noise was heard from afar. A bell rang from the peak of the mountain, which told everyone that some evil creatures were coming. In the dark sea, numerous shadows came closer and closer in the glimmering fires. They came here following the waves. There were so many of them. In the wind, one could smell the foul smell of them. With rushing steps, Carroll came. Half kneeling outside the gate, he reported, "The current sped up and they are here earlier than expected. Please follow me to the underground shelter." No one replied. The screaming of the evil creatures got closer and closer. Shi Dong was lost in thought, lowering his head like a statute. Only the sound of the operation of the machines was heard in the room. A long time passed. "What do you want exactly, Ye Qingxuan?" Raising his head, the old man looked into the eyes of Ye Qingxuan and examined his face. He seemed to be re-evaluating him. He asked, "If this is so easy for you, then what are you really after?" "Power, Mr. Shi Dong," Ye Qingxuan answered with no intention of hiding anything. "I want power, the power that makes everyone bow down to me. "If Anglo can give it to me, I will save Anglo. If the Sacred City forbids me, I will fight against them. I will change this world. No one can stop me. "The Crusade was only a small part of my plan. Glorious death, reconstruction of the Religious Court, or sacred Crusade, I can give all them to you. Offer me your loyalty, Mr. Shi Dong." Looking at Shi Dong, Ye Qingxuan said, "I have a lot more things that can change the world." In the silence, Shi Dong stared into Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. Ye Qingxuan''s pupils became red, a powerful non-human spirit filled his body. Tiredness vanished and was replaced by a glimmering light of will power. He was like a dying evil looking at the young man with his intense stare, tearing up all disguises and cowardness to see if the young man was lying. But he could see nothing. The dark eyes were like black holes, deep and quiet, sucking all grief and agony into them, yet revealing nothing. "They are like the Ultimate!" Shi Dong wanted to touch those eyes but dared not to. After a while, he raised his hands, offering the Sacred Belt to Ye Qingxuan. He said, "Please lower your head." Ye Qingxuan half-kneeled before him and let Shi Dong put the solemn Sacred Belt on his shoulder. The dark-gold letters were no longer quiet. As if there were some spirits awakened from their long sleep, they shone with the light of the burning sun. Ye Qingxuan rose and looked at the Sacred Belt on his shoulders. All old men stepped up one step to half-kneel before Ye Qingxuan. Lowering their heads, they offered their loyalty to Ye Qingxuan with no hesitation. The sound of drawing the sword was heard. In the iron chair, Shi Dong drew his rusted sword. The heavy sword shivered, shaking all of the dust and rust off of it. Despite all the cracks and breaches, the sword was horribly sharp. The skinny old man struggled to stand up, then stepped forward, dragging all the wires. He half-kneeled before Ye Qingxuan, and lowering his head, offered his sword to Ye Qingxuan. "The war will begin." Shi Dong asked, "Please bless us, your Grand Inquisitor." Ye Qingxuan held the hilt tightly and raised the sword. A sudden boom was heard from the sword, which was like a war cry from the battlefield. It was the sound of armor rustling. Numerous spirits and ghosts came back, endowing and bestowing their last hope and willpower on the sword. The sword became hot like a piece of iron on the fire. Then, Ye Qingxuan laid the sword on Shi Dong''s shoulder. Looking at him, Ye Qingxuan read out the will of God to him, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in his law doth he meditates day and night." "Be all the glory to you, your Grand Inquisitor," all the old men said in their harsh voices. Ye Qingxuan pulled Shi Dong up from the ground and gave the sword back to him. Shi Dong supported himself with the sword. The servants came out from the side doors and pulled the long robe off him. Then, they put on his iron skeleton for him, unplugged the wires and installed new machines into his body. Pretty soon, Shi Dong had a lot of machines installed on him. The heart rate monitor, blood pump, body fluid balancing system, spinal column injector, encephalic oxygen generator, and finally, a mask made of iron. The oxygen, with the smell of oil, was pumped into his lungs, setting his spirit soaring high. "Please follow me," said Shi Dong. Putting his sword in the sheath, he willed the iron skeleton to go forward. He showed Ye Qingxuan the way and said, "Allow me to show you how the Witch Hammer works." Walking ahead of them, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "I''ll enjoy myself with that, then." 551 Making Good Use of the Remaining Value Among the piercing chimes of bells, the noise of steel scraping against steel sounded from all over the stronghold. The column of flames burned vigorously, and light showered down from the top of the fortress, illuminating the dark ocean and the mighty Black Tide that approached along with the ocean current. "All those are demons?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yes, the third wave in our predictions, but an hour earlier than expected. It is of a much smaller scale than the previous two." Shi Dong sighed softly. "After all, it is to celebrate the awakening and rebirth of Leviathan, the vile spawn of the sea born to the Dark Gaia. The total amount will far exceed the initial expectations of mankind, I''m afraid" On the tall walls of the stronghold, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. The demons in the sea were advancing with the current. At the moment, every current was being used to the demons'' advantage, continuously carrying an endless number of demons forward. In the end they gathered at Avalon. Goddamn Avalon Phenomenon! As humans have observed, almost all ocean currents converge near Avalon, bringing large schools of fish every year and forming natural sea routes. All the while, the favorable conditions have brought incalculable benefits to Anglo. This is the Avalon Phenomenon that oceanologists and hydraulicians from all over the world ponder over. Yet, no one has ever realized the truth: such favorable geographical advantages are not the blessings of fate, but harbingers of bad luck. This is the king of destiny, a huge trap laid by Leviathan countless years ago, in order to engulf Anglo completely. As these thoughts crossed his mind, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his forehead to relieve a headache he was getting and asked, "How many men does the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have now?" "Slightly more than 300." Shi Dong''s reply caught Ye Qingxuan off guard. "Isn''t the establishment of the Witch Hammer still here?" "Originally it was, but after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was split, it had already been disbanded, and the men were sent to join the Knights Templar, leaving the establishment with nothing but a name. "Mr. Maxwell later sent 400 young men here. Alas, the time of training is too short for them to be of any use as of now. When we left the Sacred City, we only brought along three hundred men. Out of this number, more than a hundred are either old men like me or too young to be on the battlefield. We only have about 140 combat-ready men." "Too few." "It will suffice." Shi Dong said, "At least we still have one fortress for defense at the moment. The purifiers of the Religious Court of Inquiry are born with the mission to fight demons whose numbers are hundreds of times of ours. If we are to embark on an eastward conquest again, we will probably face situations that are even more troublesome. "I believe that you will soon get used to the disparity between enemy forces and ours in terms of numbers, Grand Inquisitor," Shi Dong said. Ye Qingxuan gave him a brief look before shifting his focus back to the Black Tide swarming in the sea. He asked, "Has the number of the enemies been counted?" "A wave of this scale would be about twenty thousand or so." Upon glancing at it, Shi Dong provided the answer, "The vile spawn of the sea are mostly demons that have two-meter-long bodies and stand half as tall as an adult when they walk upright. Due to the similarity of the limbs, they are often referred to as ''nixies'' or ''murlocs''. "There are more detailed classifications, and some of them are considered to be elites among demons, such as bone-eating insects, tide summoners, deep divers, whale shark riders, storm priests that are comparable to humans in terms of intelligence, so on and so forth This is probably a small tribe that has just hatched and formed. "The competencies of marine species are generally polarized. Some species, such as the Mountain of Nomadism, are terrifying enough even the creature is on its own. However, demons like these which rely on their large numbers to form a threat are much more commonplace. For catastrophes, they are nothing more than worthless consumables. They may only be of some use when their numbers reach hundreds of thousands or even millions. When necessary, they can be used as food. After all, the appetite of a giant sea monster is difficult to satisfy." Ye Qingxuan listened in silence, yet he couldn''t help but gasp mentally. In this world, of all the regions humans had discovered, two-thirds was occupied by ocean. Land occupied the remaining one-third, and less than one-tenth of it was fertile, but it had fed and nurtured nearly three hundred million of humans. This was only a rough estimation by the Sacred City. Taking into account tax evaders invisible on the household register, slaves considered as private property and the people excluded, accidentally or otherwise, from each nation''s records, there were about four hundred million people in the world, according to the scholars'' approximation. The land that has been cultivated currently had reached its limit in terms of the human population it is able to support. As for the ocean... Murlocs were way less picky as compared to human beings. Seaweed, kelp, fish, shrimp, and even dead bodies of their own kind, all these could be part of their diet. Once the Dark Gaia sowed the seeds, fruits shall be borne all over the deep waters of the sea. Within the enchantment of the Holy City, Ye Qingxuan once saw the Vesicle Forest that nurtured demons. The appalling efficiency and scale of the transformation were nothing short of suffocating. As long as aether supply from the leylines was present, it could decompose and reconstruct a living thing even in the short span of a few hours, shaping the embryo of a demon. This was exactly why each and every awakening of Leviathan is a horrifying event that threatened the security of all countries. For success in sealing Leviathan once more before the vile spawn of the sea hatch to be assured, it was often necessary for Anglo to prepare for the disaster ten years ahead, and even then, they would only be confident when the Sacred City dispatched saints to be stationed at the scene as well. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan could only thank his lucky stars that the territorial sea of Anglo was the sole region affected, and the threat was limited to this pitch-black sea. The disaster must be resolved as soon as possible. Mankind could not sustain a war of attrition with the vile spawn of the sea. Once the deformed ecosystem of the Murlocs was truly formed, humans would have to face demons a hundred times stronger than the current number, not to mention the gigantic sea monsters feeding on the Murlocs, as well as Leviathan itself. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan wanted to see how over a hundred men of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could drive off twenty thousand demons. "They''re merely a flock of little creatures." Shi Dong let out a few peals of laughter and said, "Even their inherited memory is not awakened, so they have next to zero abilities. Their strength lies only with their numbers, making them no more threatening than a large Beast Tide. Honestly speaking, I''m afraid there is nothing much to look at. " Just as the two conversed, the hissing sound gradually crescendoed. In the murky boiling waves, the first nixie climbed onto the coast, stepping on the pebbles and gravel as it crawled toward the stronghold. Closely behind were the second, the third, and the fourth... To the extent that in the end, one could only make out a thick shadow of dark green extending on the shore, as if moss from the sea was spreading on land. "Yet to mature completely? What a pity." Shi Dong narrowed his eyes and explained, "These are newborns lacking in calcium; the exposed bones have yet to hardened." Ye Qingxuan followed his gaze, and his eyes fell on the Murloc at the forefront. Staring at the human-like demon, he couldn''t help but feel that it looked like the magnified version of some deformed baby, with bones that were still a faint white color exposed outside, its whole body covered in scales, and plenty of fish-like characteristics on its skull. Becoming aware of the gaze coming from the top of the wall, the Murlocs raised their heads and hissed vehemently. The sounds they made resembled that of a sharp knife scratching on an iron plate and rang out one after another, giving those who heard it goosebumps. Even though their language differed from human tongues, one would have no trouble understanding the meaning expressed by the hissing soundhunger. The hunger that remained unsatisfied, right from birth to the present moment. The innate, vigorous coveting for human blood and flesh. And the greed that would never be fulfilled. The mere act of detecting the smell of human beings was more than enough to trigger the glands in their bodies to secrete lots of hormones, causing muscles to bulge and bones to proliferate. The sensation of hunger, just like a burning fire, completely occupied their consciousness. In the blink of an eye, the body of the nixie had swollen up by a lot. The huge eyes on both sides of the skull were bloodshot. In the middle of the sclera which most of the visible parts of the eyes consisted of, strange pupils unique to fish contracted and quivered. The nixie had descended into insanity. "Murlocs have a very sensitive sense of smell. The skin under the scales on their upper body actually has a large number of olfactory cells. Like all species of demons well-known for their numbers, once they detect the scent of humans, they will undergo a certain stress response, in which their glands secrete abnormally, and the hunger is magnified multifold. They are never satisfied and do not know how it feels like to be full. Thus, cases where they died from stuffing themselves with too much food are commonplace. "An equally noteworthy fact is that they are rarely able to experience delight or satisfaction. Whether it is due to evolutionary mutation or some other deliberate attempt, I do not know. Only when their digestive organs ingest human hemoglobin can the pituitary gland synthesize hormones similar to dopamine..." Shi Dong paused and said no more. Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant. In other words, the only instances where they would feel happy was when they consumed humans No, one could even say that doing so would make them as ecstatic as people taking drugs, entering a certain state of madness. They had an instinctual thirst for the human body. If they had ever tasted blood, even only once, they would be ten times as crazy the second time they saw humans! "Predators created to target humans?" Ye Qingxuan mumbled softly. In his mind''s eye, he couldn''t help but picture himself pouring two barrels of the blood of black dogs onto the tombstone[1] of Hyakume. Look at what you have done! Ye Qingxuan thought. At the moment, he heard the sound of hinges rubbing against each other. Below him, the gates of the stronghold opened with a loud crash. A hoarse singing rang out, "The Judgement Day is coming! "The day is coming! "The day is coming by and by!" In the low singing, several burly clergymen walked out from the door. They wore chain hoods and heavy metal armor and looked like a crossover between Hoplites and priests, yet in their hands held neither the Holy Bible nor the sword. Instead, they held a two-meter-high flame banner. The hefty and massive flag radiated heat and light frighteningly as it burned. The holy emblem on the banner bathed in the flames, as if it was dancing in the song. Behind the clergymen carrying the flame banner, broken footsteps sounded in great numbers, a cacophony of husky voices followed immediately. It sounded like singing, but also like innate, wild, guttural screams. "The Judgement Day is coming! The saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left! Are you ready for that day to come? Are you ready for that day to come?!" It was as if a group of lunatics and drunkards were madly echoing each other, their singing sharp and piercing to the ears, lacking any semblance of rhythm or melody. Ye Qingxuan listened and couldn''t help but frown. "Isn''t it a bit too early to exit the fortress for combat?" "Well, we are doing this because we don''t really have anything to guard the fortress with." Shi Dong said, "If the demons advance to the wall, it will become even more troublesome, so we might as well get the job done outside the stronghold." In the raspy singing, as the clergymen holding the flame banner marched forward, Ye Qingxuan could finally see the figures in the chaotic formation following them clearly. Then, he couldn''t help but suck in a cold breath. Shone upon by the blaze of the flame banner, the figures following the clergymen with stumbling and staggering footsteps, fanatically singing along... were all demons! The demons with huge cracks and scars that had yet to heal on them were like dogs, trailing behind the clergymen. The linen thread used to sew the wounds at the back of their heads revealed rough stitches in the glare of the fire. They sang the anthem noisily, stopping now and then, and followed the flame banner fanatically "You have been rearing demons?" Ye Qingxuan turned back and stared at Shi Dong with a shocked look. "It''s not something that I''m proud of, but yes." Shi Dong chuckled awkwardly and explained, "There are too many demons to finish killing off. We can''t very well slaughter the rest for food, so our only option is to make good use of their remaining value..." Boom! He had yet to finish his words when a horrifying gust of flame shot upwards from the middle of the nixies. The light from the flames flickered as it shone on Shi Dong''s face, making his smile look strange and grotesque. [1] In Chinese culture, the act of pouring the blood of black dogs onto the tombstone of another is meant to curse the person''s kin and offspring by ruining their fengshui, usually as retribution, and is considered highly provocative. The blood of black dogs is believed to be able to ward off evil and weaken evil powers. Chapter 557 - Making Good Use of the Remaining Value Among the piercing chimes of bells, the noise of steel scraping against steel sounded from all over the stronghold. The column of flames burned vigorously, and light showered down from the top of the fortress, illuminating the dark ocean and the mighty Black Tide that approached along with the ocean current. "All those are demons?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yes, the third wave in our predictions, but an hour earlier than expected. It is of a much smaller scale than the previous two." Shi Dong sighed softly. "After all, it is to celebrate the awakening and rebirth of Leviathan, the vile spawn of the sea born to the Dark Gaia. The total amount will far exceed the initial expectations of mankind, I''m afraid" On the tall walls of the stronghold, Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows. The demons in the sea were advancing with the current. At the moment, every current was being used to the demons'' advantage, continuously carrying an endless number of demons forward. In the end they gathered at Avalon. Goddamn Avalon Phenomenon! As humans have observed, almost all ocean currents converge near Avalon, bringing large schools of fish every year and forming natural sea routes. All the while, the favorable conditions have brought incalculable benefits to Anglo. This is the Avalon Phenomenon that oceanologists and hydraulicians from all over the world ponder over. Yet, no one has ever realized the truth: such favorable geographical advantages are not the blessings of fate, but harbingers of bad luck. This is the king of destiny, a huge trap laid by Leviathan countless years ago, in order to engulf Anglo completely. As these thoughts crossed his mind, Ye Qingxuan rubbed his forehead to relieve a headache he was getting and asked, "How many men does the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith have now?" "Slightly more than 300." Shi Dong''s reply caught Ye Qingxuan off guard. "Isn''t the establishment of the Witch Hammer still here?" "Originally it was, but after the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was split, it had already been disbanded, and the men were sent to join the Knights Templar, leaving the establishment with nothing but a name. "Mr. Maxwell later sent 400 young men here. Alas, the time of training is too short for them to be of any use as of now. When we left the Sacred City, we only brought along three hundred men. Out of this number, more than a hundred are either old men like me or too young to be on the battlefield. We only have about 140 combat-ready men." "Too few." "It will suffice." Shi Dong said, "At least we still have one fortress for defense at the moment. The purifiers of the Religious Court of Inquiry are born with the mission to fight demons whose numbers are hundreds of times of ours. If we are to embark on an eastward conquest again, we will probably face situations that are even more troublesome. "I believe that you will soon get used to the disparity between enemy forces and ours in terms of numbers, Grand Inquisitor," Shi Dong said. Ye Qingxuan gave him a brief look before shifting his focus back to the Black Tide swarming in the sea. He asked, "Has the number of the enemies been counted?" "A wave of this scale would be about twenty thousand or so." Upon glancing at it, Shi Dong provided the answer, "The vile spawn of the sea are mostly demons that have two-meter-long bodies and stand half as tall as an adult when they walk upright. Due to the similarity of the limbs, they are often referred to as ''nixies'' or ''murlocs''. "There are more detailed classifications, and some of them are considered to be elites among demons, such as bone-eating insects, tide summoners, deep divers, whale shark riders, storm priests that are comparable to humans in terms of intelligence, so on and so forth This is probably a small tribe that has just hatched and formed. "The competencies of marine species are generally polarized. Some species, such as the Mountain of Nomadism, are terrifying enough even the creature is on its own. However, demons like these which rely on their large numbers to form a threat are much more commonplace. For catastrophes, they are nothing more than worthless consumables. They may only be of some use when their numbers reach hundreds of thousands or even millions. When necessary, they can be used as food. After all, the appetite of a giant sea monster is difficult to satisfy." Ye Qingxuan listened in silence, yet he couldn''t help but gasp mentally. In this world, of all the regions humans had discovered, two-thirds was occupied by ocean. Land occupied the remaining one-third, and less than one-tenth of it was fertile, but it had fed and nurtured nearly three hundred million of humans. This was only a rough estimation by the Sacred City. Taking into account tax evaders invisible on the household register, slaves considered as private property and the people excluded, accidentally or otherwise, from each nation''s records, there were about four hundred million people in the world, according to the scholars'' approximation. The land that has been cultivated currently had reached its limit in terms of the human population it is able to support. As for the ocean... Murlocs were way less picky as compared to human beings. Seaweed, kelp, fish, shrimp, and even dead bodies of their own kind, all these could be part of their diet. Once the Dark Gaia sowed the seeds, fruits shall be borne all over the deep waters of the sea. Within the enchantment of the Holy City, Ye Qingxuan once saw the Vesicle Forest that nurtured demons. The appalling efficiency and scale of the transformation were nothing short of suffocating. As long as aether supply from the leylines was present, it could decompose and reconstruct a living thing even in the short span of a few hours, shaping the embryo of a demon. This was exactly why each and every awakening of Leviathan is a horrifying event that threatened the security of all countries. For success in sealing Leviathan once more before the vile spawn of the sea hatch to be assured, it was often necessary for Anglo to prepare for the disaster ten years ahead, and even then, they would only be confident when the Sacred City dispatched saints to be stationed at the scene as well. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan could only thank his lucky stars that the territorial sea of Anglo was the sole region affected, and the threat was limited to this pitch-black sea. The disaster must be resolved as soon as possible. Mankind could not sustain a war of attrition with the vile spawn of the sea. Once the deformed ecosystem of the Murlocs was truly formed, humans would have to face demons a hundred times stronger than the current number, not to mention the gigantic sea monsters feeding on the Murlocs, as well as Leviathan itself. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan wanted to see how over a hundred men of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith could drive off twenty thousand demons. "They''re merely a flock of little creatures." Shi Dong let out a few peals of laughter and said, "Even their inherited memory is not awakened, so they have next to zero abilities. Their strength lies only with their numbers, making them no more threatening than a large Beast Tide. Honestly speaking, I''m afraid there is nothing much to look at. " Just as the two conversed, the hissing sound gradually crescendoed. In the murky boiling waves, the first nixie climbed onto the coast, stepping on the pebbles and gravel as it crawled toward the stronghold. Closely behind were the second, the third, and the fourth... To the extent that in the end, one could only make out a thick shadow of dark green extending on the shore, as if moss from the sea was spreading on land. "Yet to mature completely? What a pity." Shi Dong narrowed his eyes and explained, "These are newborns lacking in calcium; the exposed bones have yet to hardened." Ye Qingxuan followed his gaze, and his eyes fell on the Murloc at the forefront. Staring at the human-like demon, he couldn''t help but feel that it looked like the magnified version of some deformed baby, with bones that were still a faint white color exposed outside, its whole body covered in scales, and plenty of fish-like characteristics on its skull. Becoming aware of the gaze coming from the top of the wall, the Murlocs raised their heads and hissed vehemently. The sounds they made resembled that of a sharp knife scratching on an iron plate and rang out one after another, giving those who heard it goosebumps. Even though their language differed from human tongues, one would have no trouble understanding the meaning expressed by the hissing soundhunger. The hunger that remained unsatisfied, right from birth to the present moment. The innate, vigorous coveting for human blood and flesh. And the greed that would never be fulfilled. The mere act of detecting the smell of human beings was more than enough to trigger the glands in their bodies to secrete lots of hormones, causing muscles to bulge and bones to proliferate. The sensation of hunger, just like a burning fire, completely occupied their consciousness. In the blink of an eye, the body of the nixie had swollen up by a lot. The huge eyes on both sides of the skull were bloodshot. In the middle of the sclera which most of the visible parts of the eyes consisted of, strange pupils unique to fish contracted and quivered. The nixie had descended into insanity. "Murlocs have a very sensitive sense of smell. The skin under the scales on their upper body actually has a large number of olfactory cells. Like all species of demons well-known for their numbers, once they detect the scent of humans, they will undergo a certain stress response, in which their glands secrete abnormally, and the hunger is magnified multifold. They are never satisfied and do not know how it feels like to be full. Thus, cases where they died from stuffing themselves with too much food are commonplace. "An equally noteworthy fact is that they are rarely able to experience delight or satisfaction. Whether it is due to evolutionary mutation or some other deliberate attempt, I do not know. Only when their digestive organs ingest human hemoglobin can the pituitary gland synthesize hormones similar to dopamine..." Shi Dong paused and said no more. Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant. In other words, the only instances where they would feel happy was when they consumed humans No, one could even say that doing so would make them as ecstatic as people taking drugs, entering a certain state of madness. They had an instinctual thirst for the human body. If they had ever tasted blood, even only once, they would be ten times as crazy the second time they saw humans! "Predators created to target humans?" Ye Qingxuan mumbled softly. In his mind''s eye, he couldn''t help but picture himself pouring two barrels of the blood of black dogs onto the tombstone[1] of Hyakume. Look at what you have done! Ye Qingxuan thought. At the moment, he heard the sound of hinges rubbing against each other. Below him, the gates of the stronghold opened with a loud crash. A hoarse singing rang out, "The Judgement Day is coming! "The day is coming! "The day is coming by and by!" In the low singing, several burly clergymen walked out from the door. They wore chain hoods and heavy metal armor and looked like a crossover between Hoplites and priests, yet in their hands held neither the Holy Bible nor the sword. Instead, they held a two-meter-high flame banner. The hefty and massive flag radiated heat and light frighteningly as it burned. The holy emblem on the banner bathed in the flames, as if it was dancing in the song. Behind the clergymen carrying the flame banner, broken footsteps sounded in great numbers, a cacophony of husky voices followed immediately. It sounded like singing, but also like innate, wild, guttural screams. "The Judgement Day is coming! The saints and the sinners shall be parted right and left! Are you ready for that day to come? Are you ready for that day to come?!" It was as if a group of lunatics and drunkards were madly echoing each other, their singing sharp and piercing to the ears, lacking any semblance of rhythm or melody. Ye Qingxuan listened and couldn''t help but frown. "Isn''t it a bit too early to exit the fortress for combat?" "Well, we are doing this because we don''t really have anything to guard the fortress with." Shi Dong said, "If the demons advance to the wall, it will become even more troublesome, so we might as well get the job done outside the stronghold." In the raspy singing, as the clergymen holding the flame banner marched forward, Ye Qingxuan could finally see the figures in the chaotic formation following them clearly. Then, he couldn''t help but suck in a cold breath. Shone upon by the blaze of the flame banner, the figures following the clergymen with stumbling and staggering footsteps, fanatically singing along... were all demons! The demons with huge cracks and scars that had yet to heal on them were like dogs, trailing behind the clergymen. The linen thread used to sew the wounds at the back of their heads revealed rough stitches in the glare of the fire. They sang the anthem noisily, stopping now and then, and followed the flame banner fanatically "You have been rearing demons?" Ye Qingxuan turned back and stared at Shi Dong with a shocked look. "It''s not something that I''m proud of, but yes." Shi Dong chuckled awkwardly and explained, "There are too many demons to finish killing off. We can''t very well slaughter the rest for food, so our only option is to make good use of their remaining value..." Boom! He had yet to finish his words when a horrifying gust of flame shot upwards from the middle of the nixies. The light from the flames flickered as it shone on Shi Dong''s face, making his smile look strange and grotesque. [1] In Chinese culture, the act of pouring the blood of black dogs onto the tombstone of another is meant to curse the person''s kin and offspring by ruining their fengshui, usually as retribution, and is considered highly provocative. The blood of black dogs is believed to be able to ward off evil and weaken evil powers. 552 The Defense Line "The Day of Judgement is coming! The saints and the sinned will be separated! The day is coming. Are you ready for it? The day is coming, are you ready for it?" In the song, big explosions boomed one after another. Columns of fire roared into the sky with huge waves of hot air and deafening booms. The flags of fire flew up high. In the light of the Sacred Emblem, clergymen in iron armor pointed forward and the demons singing charged forward. They were no longer spiritless. Instead, they charged full speed into the crowds of dark-green ghosts. Then, they held the ghosts nearest to them and their body began to grow larger. Their half-healed wounds cracked open, spurting out light and fire. The Alchemy Metrics implanted in their bodies were activated, sucking the aether around them, which caused terrible high temperature and a vacuum of death. Then the whole body exploded, sweeping out with super high pressure. Boom! Fire pressure and impact plowed every inch of the field. Every explosion left a big hole on the beach. The disastrous impact waves reached the wall of the fortress, bringing hot wind to the face of everyone on the wall. Feeling the hot wind on his face, Ye Qingxuan looked at the sacred yet quirky fire. Shi Dong raised his hand to fend off a piece of flesh falling onto him and tossed it under the wall. "You make the demons into bombs?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Yes. It''s simple," Shi Dong answered. "Cut out the prefrontal lobe, brainwash them, and cut out their internal organs to implant the self-destruction metric. Then, sew up the wound and inject some antibiotic. They have short lives, but it is okay as long as we can use them within seven days after they are made. "A well-trained prentice can finish the process within 15 minutes. It''s a sort of recycling; pretty cheap. We have a lot of cruel methods in the Religious Court of Inquisitors. After all, we recruited a hell bunch of dark musicians with our license of the Sacred City. "Only one problem. Do you approve our way of doing things, my Grand Inquisitor?" "They are all demons. It doesn''t matter." Ye Qingxuan smiled at him meaningfully. "Better watch out next time. No need to test me." Shi Dong lowered his head in respect. Looking back behind Ye Qingxuan, he said with a smile, "Don''t worry, sir. We have a lot of members of demon descendants in the Religious Court of Inquisitors." The sound of a cold hum seemed to be heard. A feeling of coldness swept over and vanished. After the flesh bombing, the line of the sea ghosts was destroyed. Yet the ghost didn''t show any fear, nor did they retreat. Instead, they sped up as they were not so crowded. "No more close squares. They are now in skirmish line now. Do demons know about tactics now?" Looking at the scattered sea ghosts pushing close, Ye Qingxuan frowned. If the ghosts scattered, the demon-bombs would not be able to kill as many demons as before. What''s more, the demon-bombs were almost used up. There would be no more demon-bombs in a short time. "It doesn''t matter." Shi Dong said calmly, "That was only the prelude. It would not be a war without close battles." The rustling of armors was heard from at the root of the wall. That was the sound of power armors and charging of the squares. The Witch''s Hammers were installed and in formation. The cavaliers, assisted by the power armors, began to charge at the enemies. They soon went out of the gate and into the lines of the ghosts. In the light of the fire columns, the cavaliers who were more than two meters tall stepped forward with their shields and spears. "Heavy cavaliers?" Clearly seeing those soldiers on the field, Ye Qingxuan frowned. The heavy cavaliers had been replaced by heavily armed machines since the widespread power armors a century ago. The heavy powered exoskeletons undertook the most important task on the battlefield: to destroy the enemy''s formation so that the swordsmen and infantry can do their parts of the job. Then, the enemy would be eliminated by the combination of three forces. However, they need enough swordsmen and infantry troops to finish what they started. They had no more than 1,000 men in total, including backups. It was meaningless for the heavy cavaliers to undertake this sort of attack as there would not be enough men to follow them to finish the enemies. What''s more, those sea ghosts were not normal soldiers. They would not retreat after their formations collapse. They would continue to attack until the very last of them was dead. If the cavaliers charge into their formation without swordsmen following them, they will be consumed by the endless attacks of the ghosts. It would be suicide. While he was looking, 60 heavily armed cavaliers were on the field. Yet they did not gather up to formation but scattered up. According to the number and order given to each of them, they gathered separately under the six fire flags and circled up the six armored clergymen. Then, the tower shields lowered down. The shields were then fixed by rivets driven by the pneumatic pumps on the rocks. The tower shields spread out their folded parts, which were joined together with other shields. Surrounding the six clergymen, the cavaliers formed six temporary "fortresses" with their shields and weapons. Those six "fortresses" were six supporting points of the defense line against the demons. The question was, would they hold? Among those organists watching the battle on the wall, many were experienced soldiers. And they couldn''t help but feel doubtful. The problem was not the temporary "fortresses." It could be said that they were quite wisely built. They could be very powerful by combining their power together to produce huge aether waves. They were like stings on the throat of the enemy. They would bring them pain and death if not destroyed. However, the problem was that they do not have enough power to attack the enemy. They might be able to defend themselves, but they could not destroy the enemy''s formation. They would be no more than six obstacles on the enemy''s way. If the enemy could not destroy them, they could go around them. The enemy could even wipe them out after they passed them. Ye Qingxuan soon understood the statics. "I see" looking behind him at the courtyard of the stronghold, he murmured. "Grand Inquisitor, you are so smart." Shi Dong smiled. "You know everything about this sort of statics." "Just sensed the movements of the aether." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "This should be very effective to eliminate these demons. I have learned a lot from this." Just then, the ghosts had reached the line of the defense. Endless dark-green poured onto the defense line like waves hitting the rocks on the beach. Endless dark-green waves. Blood and flesh flew. From behind the tower shield, the cavaliers raised their spears which were heated to a burning-red color and easily cut the ghosts into pieces. The dark-green "waves" were separated by the "rocks," yet after the defense points, they gathered again and rushed to the gate of the stronghold. This was the disadvantage of this tactic. Without enough attacking forces to eliminate the enemies, the defense line was useless. Yet behind the walls made up of the shields and surrounded by the heavy cavaliers, the purifiers raised their flags of fire again. They shouted, "Light of the heaven, fall upon here." The next moment, horns sounded. Night on Bald Mountain! No one was more familiar with the melody than Ye Qingxuan. In the courtyard of the stronghold, the purifier musicians, gathering within alchemy metrics, played the magnificent symphony. There were 40 musicians in total. With 40 Resonance Musicians, the aether waves were neat and strong. On the top of the stronghold, the fire column began to circle around rapidly. Then, the fire soared up into the sky, tearing up the dark clouds. Endless aether fell from the sky and poured into the metric. A stake at the center of the metric began to burn, shining with hot light. Then it soared into the sky. In just several seconds, there were 13 stakes up in the air. They gave off glaring light, rising above the wind and rain, shining in the sky like burning stars in the endless night. Then, the stakes rushed toward the ground, guided by the fire flags. The sound of the stakes piercing through the air generated hot airwaves as if they were burning aerolites falling from the sky. 553 An Unfamiliar World The wave of dark green became still immediately. The scorching red stakes easily penetrated the earth due to their own hefty weight and acceleration. Like the blade of a sword, the stakes were deeply wedged into the ground, and the horrific force of impact spread outwards in all directions, followed closely by the Purifying Fire that was almost impossible to escape from once one had been licked by its flames! One after another, circles of a scorching red color spread within the wave of dark green, the fire sweeping across the demons like a flood. Wherever the fire had passed, all the nixies within reach were engulfed in flames. Nixies in the core area bearing the brunt of the impact from the stakes were instantly vaporized into ashes, whereas those slightly further away were compressed into burnt carbon blocks by the impact and the high temperature of this purgatory. As for the nixies swept up in the aftermath, they struggled madly in the endless fire. Flames had fallen into the firewood. In the blink of an eye, what they ignited had become a great fire. In the flames, the clergymen raised the banner high, using it to indicate their coordinates and to continuously summon stakes which fell from the sky, achieving centimeter-precision in striking the nixies. "It''s a pity that they acted just a bit too early," commented Shi Dong. His mouth twitched as he sighed softly and said, "These youngsters still lack patience. It''s early by 15 seconds, otherwise, they could have carried out a thorough attack covering the whole region." Ye Qingxuan looked at his regretful expression and couldn''t help but sigh. He asked, "Didn''t you claim to be an accountant? Why are you so experienced on the battlefield?" "Yup, it''s true, my main job is to be an accountant and a treasurer," the old man replied. Shi Dong managed to squeeze out an honest-looking smile on his aged face and said, "At the same time, I held a concurrent post as the deputy head of the first generation of the Knights of the Witch Hammer." Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a good while and felt a mouthful of blood getting stuck in his throat, as he wanted badly to spray this old asshole''s face with it. [1] A concurrent job! How can such a position be considered a mere concurrent job! Shouldn''t working as the deputy head be his main job, and the job as an accountant and treasurer be considered concurrent posts instead?! Furthermore His gaze became increasingly shocked. The first generation This old devil here is actually the first generation member of the Witch Hammer, meaning that he witnessed its creation! Moreover, he was the deputy head, and must have held the actual power since he managed both the internal affairs and finances! Simply put, he is very much a walking and talking version of the historical records of the Religious Court of Inquiry! What''s more, the history we''re talking about here is one that is full of dark secrets and shocking inside stories, heavily classified and inaccessible by most! Ye Qingxuan thought. hi Dong chuckled, wearing a cheerful expression on his face which suggested that he knew what Ye Qingxuan was thinking. The snide expression made his rugged, aged face look so bitchy that Ye Qingxuan could hardly resist the temptation to punch him in the face. After two rounds of attack that involved thirty stakes each, guided by the movements of the flame banner, a forest of flames was successfully erected on the shore outside the stronghold. The six defensive positions had turned into meat grinders, harvesting the lives of the disorganized demons nonstop. A few of the knights in heavy armor who were initially on standby behind the towers of shields also left their comrades to hunt down demons that posed a threat. One could basically say that, at the moment, the onslaught of the demons had been completely curbed. The humans had even gotten the upper hand. After several rounds of counter attacks from the humans and losing countless of their own to the flames, from the midst of the wave of demons came a vague hiss, produced by something hiding in the sea, beneath the water surface. Soon, the demons'' attacks grew sparse as they slowly retreated under the order of the voice. They stared unwillingly at the stronghold and the defensive positions behind them, withdrawing into the sea ploddingly. "That won''t do," murmured Shi Dong. He furrowed his brows as his expression changed to one of dissatisfaction, and said to himself, "It shouldn''t be like this, should it?" "This is no way to fight a war." He stared at the humongous shadow in the sea and declared, "A war between humans and demons should have no end until one side is completely annihilated." "Stay here, don''t you leave us." When he uttered those words, his tone was sweet and gentle, like he was speaking to his lover by his side. Then, the retreat of the demons came to an abrupt stop. The nixies furthest away that had previously succumbed to the command to retreat stiffly turned back, their bloodshot eyes staring at a clergyman behind a tower of shields. The clergyman stuck the flame banner on the ground beside him and pulled out a dagger from its strap at his waist. He rotated the blade, pointing it towards himself, and put it on his wrist, slitting it Thus, thick and sticky blood of a sickening red color flowed out of the wound. It trickled down his fingers and dripped onto the soil, accumulating and forming tiny lakes with a sweet, tantalizing smell. One, two, three All the clergymen cut themselves, and the scent of blood from their wounds spread outwards. Like an irresistible temptation, it ignited the fire in the hearts of the nixies driving them... completely insane! The creature in the deep sea raged and roared, creating turbulent waves, but to no avail. The screams of the mad nixies rang out again. More and more nixies on the shore turned back and crawled towards the stronghold, enticed by the smell of blood, and madly pounced on everything that could move. The war had begun once more. "Right," Shi Dong remarked. "That''s right. Now that is the right way!" Carefree laughter rang out from Shi Dong''s prosthetic vocal cords made of metal. Satisfied, he embraced the war that had returned once more. In the metal fortresses, the gears of the war machine started turning again. The armored knights smeared blood on their foreheads, held up their halberds and epees. Armed with weapons of such formidable weight, they exited the defensive positions behind the towers of shields and descended on the battlefield, killing and attacking in an unrestrained manner. Summoned by the flame banner, the flames created by the Night on Bald Mountain continued to fall from the sky. Each time a blazing stake descended, a large number of nixies would be burned completely into ashes. The fire raged and the wind swept violently. The last few remaining demons were rapidly reduced to cinders. In the deep sea in the distance, the massive creature lurking beneath the surface of the sea rose slowly, revealing a blurred shadow, and it cast a look at the stronghold. From its gaze, one could almost feel the damp, cold and ghastly breath of the creature. Wherever the eyes fell upon, everyone in its vision felt a sense of suffocation, as if they were engulfed in seawater and the ocean was swallowing them whole. In the end, it fixed its eyes on Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan looked up and stared straight at it. After a good while, the creature in the sea averted its gaze. It restrained its remaining subordinates, and they proceeded towards the depths of the sea, detouring from islands, no longer paying any attention to the demons on the shore. Other than Shi Dong, who kept his eyes down, no one else noticed that the war had unilaterally come to an end. "The credit belongs to Your Honor," Shi Dong praised Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan shook his head. He smiled and said, "Regardless of my presence or absence, there would have been no other ending. The Witch Hammer is the rightful protagonist here." Shi Dong stared at the battlefield for a long time, before turning his gaze away, albeit reluctantly. He had a complicated and serious look in his eyes. "Is there anything wrong, Elder Shi Dong?" Ye Qingxuan inquired. Shi Dong turned back, a self-mocking smile on what remained of his aged face, and said, "Nothing, it''s just that I haven''t seen such things in a long time, and they brought back certain memories from the past. "For so many years, we have been wallowing in the past. Without us realizing, the world has become a strange and unfamiliar place. In the times to come, surely it would become increasingly chaotic and cruel, I fear?" Ye Qingxuan stood in silence for a long time. "Does the Religious Court of Inquiry know fear as well?" he finally asked. Shi Dong replied, "Your Honor, we are merely skilled at dealing with demons. We stomp on the enemies'' claws, pull out their teeth, and then we behead them, burn their remains to cinders, sprinkle the ashes into barren fields, and look forward to having fertile soil the coming year. That''s all we do." Shi Dong slapped the wall of the stronghold with his palm and laughed as he continued, "Your arrival has changed many, many things. This place no longer feels dead, and the youngsters below anticipate the future with excitement. But I cannot shake off my sense of trepidation, Your Honor. The world may not be as simple as they imagine it to be, nor as you see it to be." While saying so, Shi Dong reached out, using his cold metallic prosthetic hand to catch a few specks of ash blown over, and studied them. Then he let go and threw them back into the wind. "Your Honor, it has been nearly 200 years since the establishment of the Religious Court of Inquiry," Shi Dong said. He continued, "Over the years, we have explored hundreds of tactics targeting different demons, and the pieces of music composed accordingly by musicians numbered more than a hundred training methods, combat methods, alchemy techniques, mechanical drawings "We have spent an astronomical amount of money on them. At the peak, millions of people were in our service, directly or indirectlythat was the most glorious era of the Religious Court of Inquiry. "We are the war machine that the Church created to help it cope in the past era, an instrument to survive desperate times. But once their time has passed, old machines that outlived their purpose will be locked in warehouses to gather dust, as newer things replace them." "Newer things?" Ye Qingxuan interjected. "Yes." Shi Dong nodded. He suddenly asked, "Your Honor, have you heard of the Water Tank?" Ye Qingxuan pondered briefly and replied, "Within Anglo, there is a special factory in the Royal Institute of Research that is directly under the jurisdiction of the royal family. The only person who knows its exact location is Maxwell. As far as I know, one of their ongoing projects is related to this term, and its level of confidentiality is even higher than that of the Industrial Revolution'' project." "Such cautious treatment is only natural given its nature," Shi Dong remarked. He gave a steadfast nod and said, "I can tell you in advance that this is the code name for a particular heavy weapon. It is said to involve epochal technology and has yet to be revealed. "Only when this epoch ends, after the declaration of the beginning of the next epoch by the church, will it be allowed to make its debutepochs are determined by high-ranking officials within the Church, as a method of partitioning the development stages of the human world. As for the specifics, I have no idea. "For many years, various countries have been conducting private research in secret, and the progress is probably nearing completion. The prototype should be done by now, I think? "All along, everyone has scruples about the lack of permission and authorization from the Sacred City, so it has not been employed on the battlefield directly. But with the current state of affairs in the world, after the fall of Hyakume, the abyss has descended, and the Sacred City is preoccupied with its own troubles. The world has broken away from the control of the Church. What will the world become in the years to come is anyone''s guess." After hearing his words, Ye Qingxuan was lost in thought for a good while, his brows furrowed. Finally, he asked, "What you are trying to say is that this technology has been developed by the Sacred City a long time ago?" "I would use the word ''archived'' instead of ''developed''." Shi Dong''s expression was that of a weird-looking smile, with strong mockery. He said, "Your Honor, you may have misunderstood one thing - The role of the Technical Office of the Sacred City has never been about research and development, but rather the stipulation of whether a certain development can be allowed. Otherwise, why would there be so much banned technology?" Ye Qingxuan remained silent for a long time, before nodding slowly. "I see," he said. "I take it that you have grown aware of the abnormalities of the world?" Shi Dong asked. His withered face wore a mocking smile, as he went on, "Although everything seems to be running very smoothly, there is a certain air of abnormality seeping out from them all. Politics, economics, history, linguistics, biology, alchemy, mechanical engineering Every single part is perfect, yet at the same time, none of it fits in with the rest of the world. "The Church wants to explain the contradiction between them with theology, painstakingly creating layers and layers of buffering. They mend and they patch, taking pieces from here and there, but in the end, more and more flaws are showing. It is as if more and more lies are being created to cover up a lie." [1] Chinese metaphor, expressing extreme exasperation. 554 The Dark Future "As the backbone of the Church, are you sure it''s appropriate for you to say that?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Every high-level officer of the Church should know one thing: the faith is for the worshipers only. We don''t need to fool ourselves with that." Shi Dong smiled weirdly. "I''m old anyway. Old men tend to have some wild thoughts." "You can say whatever you like," said Ye Qingxuan. Shaking his head, he continued, "You may continue. I''m curious about the secret of the Religious Court. What on earth is it?" "As we are only used by the senior officers as tools, we shall not get to know too much. If you want to know that, you may need to ask the Pope." "I have asked him actually." "But he didn''t tell me." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Then there is nothing we can do. If the popes don''t want to tell you, no one can help you." Shi Dong shook his head pitifully. Shi Dong obviously knew about the truth of the King of Red as he said "popes" instead of "pope." but it was normal as he was once the most powerful leader of the knights. "The Forbidden Technologies you mentioned just now, are they all from the Church?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Part of them, yes," Shi Dong answered. Shi Dong explained, "The other part came from Catastrophes. It was like a jigsaw puzzle. We humans have part of it, yet the rest were taken by the catastrophes. We, as tools to fight against the catastrophes, are only allowed to know this much." Ye Qingxuan walked behind Shi Dong, thinking along the way. For a very long time, the Sacred City had led the development of the countries with its technology which was tens of years ahead of all countries. The Church controlled the best technology. Even the Chainsaw Fraternity, who got separated from the Church, had technology far better than what anyone could think of. The beacons for detecting Aether density and transmitting information, churches and the refuge facilities in churches, as well as the Aether balancers, they had such great achievements in all subjects. The Church''s budget on research was far below that of any research institute. Yet they got so much ahead of those other research institutes. This was puzzling. Ye Qingxuan realized that there must be something no one had expected in it. Compared to conduct researches to improve technology, it was easier to block existing technologies. In that case, what they needed to do was reveal them gradually, and not much investment was need. It''s just that "How advanced is the technology controlled by the Church?" "No idea," said Shi Dong. Shi Dong shook his head. "Except the water tank, there is more technology that is not known to the world, not to mention the related files or products made available to the world. We were never allowed to know any of that. "It''s not only about weapons. Some files even have priority levels higher than the Purgatory built by Gaius; they are mostly from the catastrophes. "Compared with the human world, the secret they held were much to terrible and massive. The world might be wiped out by those powers if someone got careless. Therefore, they were sealed." Then he paused and gave a mocking smile. "After all, all this is to maintain the ''Correct'' history." From the Catastrophes? Frowning, Ye Qingxuan said "What catastrophe would communicate with humans except the Three Wise Men and the Three Pillar Gods?" "None." Shaking his head, Shi Dong said, "They cannot speak any language. How can they communicate with humans? What''s more, if you want something, you can rob it instead of trading for it. Just like the snake of crystal." The Naica Nest of the Crystals. Ye Qingxuan recalled his memory of the ruin he had been to before he went to Romulusthe crystalized earth and the deep hole. That was the evidence of the fight between the humans and the catastrophes. Yet, what have men gotten from the body of the snake of crystal? The body of the catastrophes were made of pure aether and music theories circulated all over the body. There was no flesh or blood. The death of it is caused by the collapse of the core music theory and then the body couldn''t be kept long. It would collapse into pure aether and disappear for a long time. Then, it would resurface to the world. There, it was not in any way similar to a tiger''s skins and bones, which could be made into leather robes and medical wines. How did the churches get the forbidden technology from the catastrophes? In the silence, the two walked down the wall and into the courtyard. Surrounded by walls, the courtyard was empty, without even a single tree or any grass, not to mention flowers. There was nothing to see in the courtyard. Shi Dong stopped at the center of the yard. He turned back and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Sir, please get everyone out of here," he said in a low voice. "This might be a good place for talking about secrets." Ye Qingxuan immediately understood what he said. Compared to a closed room which could be monitored or bugged, this kind of open ground was safer. There was no room to hide. And Ye Qingxuan''s Wyrmrest enchantment could fend off any one who wanted to wiretap them. Ye Qingxuan thought about it for a while. Then he nodded and looked behind him. Then everyone following him went away. Then, he deployed two layers of sound-isolator and his Wyrmrest enchantment at a diameter of two meters. "As you wish, Mr. Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan said, "You may now say what you want to tell me. And it''s also the best chance now if you want to assassinate me." "What I''m telling you now, is what the first leader of the Witch''s Hammer and Grand Inquisitor told me when he died." Shi Dong lowered his eyes. "It is the secret he kept for his whole life. If it is disclosed, even the Religious Court of Inquisitors would be purged ruthlessly by the Church. It''s about the real body of the catastrophes." "The real body?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "Yes. The real body." Shi Dong said, "Or its ''source''the power and essence of it. That is the reason why catastrophes don''t die. "The catastrophe we called is only a very small fraction of something hidden in the darkness. If we don''t destroy the roots, they will come back into life endlessly. "We can only kill them by destroying their real body. The whereabouts of the real body and the source is the biggest secret of each and every catastrophe and their only weak point." Shi Dong continued, "The technology and secrets held by the Church are also from the real bodies of the catastrophes. Up until now, men have killed six catastrophes. The real bodies of them were kept in secret by the Church, bringing us a lot of technologies and power beyond imaginationweapons, power, music theories, medications, you name it. Every catastrophe is a great treasure, even corrupted ones. "The ''Hundred Years'' War'' between Anglo and Burgundy was for the ruin where a catastrophe''s real body was buried." Silence. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan got his pipe with his trembling hand. He was thrilled. He filled the pipe with Tabaco, lit it and smoked to calm himself. He puffed out the smoke and re-found his faith which had been ruined by Shi Dong''s words. But it was not like before. "Every catastrophe has its real body?" he asked. Shi Dong nodded. "The Three Pillar Gods are special. They came from the Originator, which cannot be figured out for sure. Except them, as observed and documented by the Church, every other catastrophe has. "The Three Wise Men, the Four Living Creatures, the Eight Phenomena and everyone else, they all have their own origins." "What exactly are their real bodies? "No one knows." Shi Dong shook his head. "In the three wars against catastrophes, the last phase of the wars was carried out by a secret force I never knew anything about. I have never seen a real body of any catastrophe but the vague contour of one. "I had once, on my escort mission, seen them carrying something to the cart. It was a huge container, covered with heavy dust cloth. I might be mistaken. But I think the size of the thing was not fixed. "At the first time, it took a whole month and six trips by train to transport the real body. Yet, at the second time, only several men and a suitcase were needed. Maybe different catastrophes have different real bodies. They may be of different levels. "The musicians told me there was nothing peculiar that could be sensed about the real bodies. We may think they are worthless if judging from their appearances." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help ask, "What would happen if the catastrophe abandons its real body?" Shi Dong thought about for a while and shook his head. "I don''t know. But, I guess they may lose their powers if they are alive and may not be able to reborn if they die. However, the power will not disappear if the origin is not destroyed. There will be new catastrophes born from it." "Really?" Ye Qingxuan murmured. Shi Dong glanced at him and said, "No catastrophe as I know has done this. What kind of creature would be so silly as to give up eternal life?" Ye Qingxuan smiled as if mocking himself and felt relieved. With no particular reason, he became happier and sadder at the same time. "That''s right." Lowering his eyes, he murmured, "No creature except humans commit suicide, right?" Boss, it seems you really are dead. - They talked until it was six o''clock in the morning. Yet there was no light at all in the darkness. Shi Dong looked tired. It was torture like hell to stay up late into the night as his life was at tis end. "Thank you for telling me those things, Mr. Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan removed the Wyrmrest enchantment and the sound isolating layers. Then, he poured the music theories of the Stone of Sages into Shi Dong''s body, which turned into aether to circulate with his blood around his body, giving him great energy of life. In great pain, Shi Dong vomited a lot of deep-purple sticky liquid, which smelt like corrupt body. Carroll and several apprentices got so scared that they hurriedly came up. Shi Dong raised his hand and waved them away. Shi Dong looked even more haggard, yet his eyes brightened up. "Is this the reward for following you? You are so generous, your holiness." "Consider it a reward for telling me those secrets." Shi Dong looked at Ye Qingxuan and seemed to understandwhat was on Ye Qingxuan''s mind: you may not die now. You need to live until I allow you to die. "Yes, your holiness." Shi Dong smiled bitterly and heaved a sigh. "I''m afraid you have known that the death of Hyakume means a lot more than it appears. The Sacred City will no longer be able to control this world. The descending of the abyss brought about not only darkness and wars, but also untied the bounds of the humans. "I''m afraid more and more people will yearn for the power of the catastrophes. Even they are in deep trouble, they will want the secrets of the catastrophes. The war to decide the fate of the world will begin. "Your holiness, it will begin very soon." "Do you look forward to wars like that?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I''m old, your holiness. I''m abandoned by the time." Shi Dong shook his head in dismay. "The future belongs to the young and talented like you." "The future?" "Yes." Shi Dong smiled and looked at the dark sky. The future 555 A New Legend One day later. Below the cliffs at the stronghold, massive iron gates sealed the entrance to the covert port. The nonstop banging of steel came from behind the huge iron gates. The constant roaring of machines could be heard. Noises from the operations of mechanical cutting axes and hydraulic presses filled the air. Then shrieks rang out. "Mr. Ye! Help me, Mr. Ye! Help!" Igor cried out as he rushed forward, threw himself at Ye Qingxuan''s feet and clutched his thigh. "Save my child, quick! Those a*holes, those barbarians are trying to take my boat apart!" Ye Qingxuan, who had just entered, looked up in utter confusion and saw that the secret port had become almost unrecognizable, with metallic tower cranes and scaffolding everywhere. The port had been transformed into a huge workshop. At the center of attention, lying on a high platform erected in the water, held by layers of steel cables was Igor''s ship. It was factory-fresh and had just completed its maiden voyage. It hadn''t even been given a name yet "So much progress has been made?" Ye Qingxuan coughed awkwardly and looked at the embarrassed Carol beside him. Carol stared upwards at the ceiling, as if he was expecting to see a flower there. Ye Qingxuan sighed and patted Igor''s shoulder, saying, "Captain, get up from the ground first. We can talk about it slowly." Boom! A loud bang interrupted him. Igor screamed in sorrow as if his parents had just passed away. The whites of his eyes showed as he almost fainted. Behind them, the ship that had been mounted on the platform was completely broken into two parts under the operation of an engineer. Half an hour later "Your ship was almost broken by the time it sailed here anyway," comforted Ye Qingxuan. He handed a cup of hot tea to Igor, who buried his face in his hands, sobbing all the while. Igor squatted on the stairs with a blanket draped over him, tearfully watching his ship being dismembered. He looked as if he had nothing left to live for. "After all, it''s a merchant ship. It has already been incredibly lucky to kill the Mountain of Nomadism. Surely you can''t be hoping that it can still be sailed after that? The keel is almost broken, three and a half out of the four engines have exploded, even the front deck has a big hole burnt in it... You see, it''s beyond salvation." "And whose fault is it?!" Igor wept, "I''ve been saving up money my whole freaking life, and finally I could afford a ship! Do you think it''s easy for me? My dream of cleaning up my name, gone in smoke! I''ve been counting on its expeditions at sea to earn me a noble title..." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Okay, don''t act like a little girl, Mr. Igor. How are there so many grievances between us? Who was the one who rushed to the sea of darkness without another thought upon seeing my check? "I couldn''t possibly have forced you to sail here, could I? I know that this ship is very important to you, but there really is no other way at the moment... You have two choices." "Which two?" came Igor''s reply. His face lit up immediately, wiped away his tears, and glared at Ye Qingxuan with bloodshot eyes. He was almost back to his old self who haggled over every penny. He contemplated taking out his portable calculator to start discussing reparations. "My apologies, but first of all I have some bad news for you," said Ye Qingxuan. He raised his brows and continued, "The deposit I paid you is actually the last of my money, so don''t expect to get even one more cent from my impoverished Church account." "F*ck!" Igor was furious and he leaped up. "Then what about the balance payment! The balance payment!" "Why such impatience?" Ye Qingxuan picked his nose, looking like a scoundrel, and said, "When I save Anglo and restore its glory, we will be able to take anything we want from the entire national treasury, won''t we? Even giving you ten times the payment would be a piece of cake... This is venture capital. Venture capital, my dear sir. You have to take the risk before you get the returns." Igor''s face turned purple with rage, and he pointed at Ye Qingxuan, totally rendered speechless. "You have already boarded this pirate ship [1], Mr. Igor, so from now on don''t complain that you want out, nor ask for a refund." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder, a calm look on his face, and said, "Come, sit down, let''s have a proper talk about your two choices." Igor glared at him for a long time and finally managed to squeeze out a word, "Speak!" "The first option" Ye Qingxuan held up a finger and said, "We have expropriated your ship. You have nothing to do with everything here from now on. In the name of Holmes, I promise you that a smuggling route from the city of the Cloud Tower will be handed over to you after the reclamation of Avalon, and only you alone will be allowed to operate it. "Next, the only thing you need to do is to find a gentleman like me, who is willing to loan you money. Perhaps at a usury rate, and you can start recruiting men for your fleet. "Think about it. The trade between the East and the West annually, the silk route that flows with black gold Even if you only earn one hundred-thousandth of the total amount, it is enough for you to become rich overnight. If you are willing to buy enough government bonds, you''ll definitely be able to find a country that is willing to help you register as an aristocrat of the Holy City, not to mention mere noble titles. "Between your last name and your first name, you will be able to add the esteemed middle name of ''Feng'', and you can bid farewell to your lowly life of the past and become a distinguished aristocrat. " Dead silence Igor swallowed dryly and stared at Ye Qingxuan with wide eyes which were almost turning red as he envisioned what Ye Qingxuan had described. "You Are you serious?" "Provided that I can succeed, of course." Ye Qingxuan shrugged like a rascal, but the look in his eyes was devoid of any jest. "But one can say the returns are a hundred times the risks, don''t you think so?" Igor almost agreed immediately on impulse, but he couldn''t shake his gut feeling, which was like an earthworm burrowing its way through his mind, sending shivers down his spine. It was as if a flame was burning him. He started to speak but was shocked by the hoarseness of his own voice. "Then... What about the second option?" he asked. "The second option?" Ye Qingxuan smiled, and it was an exceptionally pleasant smile, like a predator when food was being delivered to its plate, holding cutlery in both hands. He reached out and patted Igor on the shoulder. "Mr. Igor, you are an excellent captain. Even among the pirates in the Illusion Islands, you are one of the best. The fighter of the anger waves, it''s a really good name, I like it," he said. Igor was stunned for a moment, then felt a pang of fear in his heart. He asked, "How do you know this?" "Fear not," came the reply. Ye Qingxuan pointed to his brain and said, "You have to believe me on this, I really didn''t do it on purpose. Although I am a musician of the School of Mind, and one of the best at that. I never intended to spy on other people''s thoughts for fun. "However, when my perception threads were connected to your mind, your mental defenses with loopholes everywhere were really not of much use. One minor careless mistake on my part was enough for me to see everything" Upon hearing that, Igor looked as if he had just f*cked a dog, but Ye Qingxuan remained smiling, full of enthusiasm. Ye Qingxuan continued, "You have plenty of combat experience and are loyal in terms of character, Mr. Igor, and I find that particularly satisfying. Plus, you have another 80 brave, obedient young men who are tired of working as pirates and want to turn over a new leaf like you. Coincidentally, I can offer a new job for all of you here; a perfect job that you have never even dreamed of. " Igor was stunned for a moment, then realized what Ye Qingxuan meant immediately, and shot him a dirty look. "You want us to serve you with our lives?" he asked. "Weren''t you all risking your lives for money in the past anyway?" Ye Qingxuan replied with a question of his own. "How can prostitution and marriage be the same!" Igor leaped up, shaking his head vehemently as he refused, "Initially, you hired us! We worked for the pay! Although we are not pirates, we will never give up our freedom and become your lackeys!" "Mr. Igor, If you''re bad with metaphors, just don''t use them in your descriptions, okay?" Ye Qingxuan''s face twitched as he sighed and said, "In any case, that''s the gist of it. If you render your service to me, you can clean up your name, and get recruited by the navy of Anglo..." He paused for a moment and turned his gaze towards the ship that was being taken apart into pieces, his voice becoming deep. "I can let you all operate this legendary warship, unique to the world. You''ll have the chance to surpass the legends of the Revenge of the Queen, the Intrepid and the Star of the Sea, and become a true legend together with it." "A legendary warship?" Igor was at a loss for words for a good while. His gaze was filled with suspicion, and he said, "Anglo''s only legendary warship is the flagship of the Royal Navy of Anglo, the Royal Pride, built by 600 alchemists a hundred years ago. That is the glory of the navy of Anglo, and even if you are the sword bearer, you can''t possibly have a say regarding the ship reserved for the Queen''s royal progress." "Since when did I say anything about it being the Royal Pride?" Ye Qingxuan laughed and pointed to the wreck nearby, saying, "I am talking about it." The roaring of machines in the background resumed as he said so. The gears were rotating violently, producing loud bangs of a low frequency, the steel cables were stretched, the ceiling of the covert port opened inch by inch, then the humongous behemoth suspended in the air by tower cranes descended from the sky gradually. Under the illumination of the pale whitish lighting, the monstrous shadow revealed a grotesque silhouette. The enormous beast that had met its demise quite some time ago still exuded a disturbing and chilling aura. In the huge crack above its right eye, one could vaguely see the brain tissues that got burned into charred carbon by venom. "The Mountain of Nomadism?" Igor was totally stunned. Following commands, engineers wearing protective suits covering the whole body slid along cables and landed on the beast. They referred to the design drawings at their waist, and with the paint buckets and brushes in their hands, they began to mark the parts to be cut rapidly. The transportation of the giant cutter had been completed thanks to the powerful force supplied by armored vehicles. Several workers pushed a giant saw more than five meters in height over from the warehouse. After it was assembled, there was a test run. The madly rotating saw produced an earsplitting shriek, and the resulting cold wind from its movements bitted one''s face. Under the instruction of several alchemists, the musicians of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith set up an alchemy array on the spot, beginning to prepare the first conversion process. It would not take long for the incredibly huge behemoth to be dismembered by the saw and the music and become pieces of raw material. The scales were peeled off and transformed into the outer armor by alchemy. The blood was drained, rare elements within extracted and incorporated into the new engine. The remaining liquid waste was converted and a high-efficiency condensing agent that could not otherwise be produced with human technology was extracted. The bones were processed and put in a freshly prepared alchemy array, then immersed in a large amount of culture medium. Musicians from the School of Choir would stimulate its growth once more to form the new hull. The carrion was transformed by musicians from the School of Summoning, implanting a new nerve net and circulatory system into it, converting it into artificial flesh, reshaping the giant beast''s body. Igor''s ship would be taken apart as well, and some of the reusable materials would be incorporated into the giant beast after being smelted and strengthened. The new ship would have the spine of the giant snake as the keel, its flesh as the outer shell, and its scales the armor. The engine could not be produced, but would be replaced by the modified heart of the beast instead. Once activated, it would provide a terrifying amount of horsepower no less than any other ship. The purifiers of the Religious Court of Inquiry assured Ye Qingxuan that the ship would retain at least seventy percent of the ability of what was once the Mountain of Nomadism, and the movements that could summon tsunamis and storms in their extreme state would become the last nightmare the enemy could remember before sinking into the sea. Ye Qingxuan said, "The ship is 210 meters in length, 30 meters in width and eight meters in depth. The standard displacement is thirty thousand tons, and it can carry up to forty thousand tons. The standard sailing speed is 40 knots, and in its extreme state, the speed can be doubled. The two 40-meter-long spines will be processed by the Religious Court of Inquiry to become its main battery. "Unlike the dragon spines of disappointing quality sold by the Chainsaw Fraternity to the public, what we will get this time is the stronghold-level cannon invented by the Religious Court of Inquiry back thenthe Petitioner. "The rest of the information is in here." Ye Qingxuan threw a thick stack of design drawings towards Igor and looked at the dismembered giant snake above, as well as the workshop that had been stained red with blood. "Igor, it will be the new Mountain of Nomadism! A living legend of a sea monster, the nightmare of all voyagers!" He paused for a while and looked at Igor, who was sitting dumbfounded on the ground. He spread his hand and asked with a smile, "Now, make a choice. Do you want to take a gamble and become a free, wealthy man? Or do you want to sail it and become a legend, a true son of the ocean?" He was met with a long, long silence. Igor flipped through the design drawings in his hand, his mind blank. When he looked up again, he quietly stared at the messy workshop as if he could see the monster being born from the steel uterus. "It''s so beautiful," he whispered softly, and for reasons unknown, tears rolled down his cheeks. At that particular moment, he was no longer thinking about the huge fleet he could own as a tycoon, nor the endless assets and money that would come with it. The only thing that occupied his mind was the huge warship that had yet to be born. The vague outline was enough to make all the hairs on his body tremble. Blood rushed to his head, almost as if it was going to flow out of his mouth and nose. What he felt was the greedy impulse and arrogant dream lurking in the depths of every sailor''s soul. They were dancing around in his mind ecstatically and disorderly, crawling in his consciousness, screaming and roaring in his ear, ready to make trouble. Like an ocean tide. Giving up his meritless dignity and illusory freedom, he knelt on the ground and crawled forward. As if the devil had seduced him, he only had one thought left. "Please take away everything of mine, sir," he implored. Igor kissed the soil under the young man''s feet devoutly and prostrated himself in worship. In all earnest sincerity, and humbly begged, "I''m willing to dedicate everything to you, even my soul. Please bestow upon me the opportunity to sail it, even if it''s only for one second." Ye Qingxuan laughed and replied, "Even if you have to abandon your freedom? Igor, I must make it clear that if you agree to the offer, you will be my lackey for the rest of your life." Igor was full of joy and felt no dissatisfaction. He answered, "That is a supreme honor indeed." "Then rise, my captain," commanded Ye Qingxuan. He patted Igor''s shoulder, smiled, and pointed at the ship as he said, "Go and have a talk with the chief engineer. Tell him the ideas you have regarding your future ship. "You will become a new legend, I promise." [1] A Chinese remark which refers to one getting involved in something corrupt or unpleasant as a result of being tricked, and it is too late for the person to withdraw. 556 I Love Studying "That was excellent preaching just now," Shi Dong told Ye Qingxuan on the stage. "You are gifted as a bishop. You really don''t want to join the Church? I can guarantee that you will be the one that will probably sit on the throne of the Pope among all cardinal bishops by the time when you are 50. You may be the one to provide the flesh body of the next King Red." "Spare me. I''m not interested in digging out my brain and soaking it in a jar." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Is it really possible to finish with a month?" "Yes, if we build a simple one. We can upgrade it in the future," Shi Dong answered. "We lack too many instruments here. That will save us a lot of trouble. And I think there was something you didn''t tell him: without maintenance and upgrading after it''s built, what he''ll have will be the shell of a ship with the main artillery." "We''ll have them, all of them." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "What''s more, we are a family now that you''ve signed the contract, so you may save those fake manners. There should be no one who will question the validity of the contract of the Religious Court of Inquisitors, right?" "Ehhh I can picture now in my head what you will turn the Religious Court into." Heaving a sigh, Shi Dong turned around. "Please follow me. There''s much for you to learn." - Ten minutes later, in the dungeon. Sitting behind the huge desk piled with books and files and staring at the mountains of documents and files, Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "Wait, what''re all those things about?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Besides the abilities of a musician, it requires a lot more skill and ability to be a qualified Grand Inquisitor." An old man in a wheelchair came forward and said, "We''ll conduct special training for you next. The training covers, besides basic skills to handle official documents and files, the common strategies to handle things and codes, the hidden agents and information channels in other countries." A young-looking man who smelt like corpse came up to him and said, "I will teach you the 147 special music movements of the Religious Court of Inquisitors, from the basic level to the Saint level, and special skills and techniques of the purifying musicians." A bald man who had more than half of his body turned into iron, and, judging from the fleshy part of his body, was a little more than 40 years old, came forward and said, "I''m the leader of the fourth generation of the Knights of the Witch''s Hammer. I''ll teach you the art of fencing. You will have one class lasting one hour every day. After the training, you may have some fighting skills which you don''t have now." "Ehh"Ye Qingxuan wanted to say something, but more old men came up. "I''m the third intelligence officer of the Religious Court of Inquisitors. I''ll" "I''m" "I''m" A crowd of old men came to him and introduced themselves. Ye Qingxuan almost fainted. "Wait for a moment! The schedule is filled with more than 20 hours of training classes every day! When do I sleep?" Bang! A bottle of crystal green alchemy medication was put on the desk. "The Dream of Emerald, the best reviving medication ever." Another big-nosed old man with an odd smell gave a weird smile and said, "It''s also the alchemy product I''m most proud of. One bottle of this will save you a week of sleep." "What about after one week?" "Have another bottle of it," the big-nosed old man said gently. "I''m the private medical officer of the six generation knights. I''ll be responsible for your health in the following period of time. "Musicians of the Master''s level barely need any sleep. The maximum dose of the Dream of Emerald one can take is six bottles in a row. Considering your aether tolerance, I think you can take ten bottles without a problem. "So, don''t worry, and enjoy your learning time." "" Almost petrified, Ye Qingxuan said to Shi Dong, who was the last one to step up, "What about you then?" "Everything related to war." Shi Dong smiled. "But don''t worry. I won''t take much time as I have only three hours a day when I''m fully energetic." "Then I should be thankful." Ye Qingxuan said coldly, "You leave me one hour to eat my meals, shower, and use the toilet." "No. The last hour is also occupied." Shi Dong took out a full schedule. "That is our discussion time." "" Ye Qingxuan felt like he was being choked and wanted to pass out. "You sure that I can be the most powerful Grand Inquisitor in just a few days?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Excluding other things, learning the techniques to command a war alone would take a man''s whole life, right?" "Actually, it''s our job to study wars, the government''s job to prepare for wars, the general''s job to command wars, and the soldiers'' job to fight wars. You need only to watch." "Then why should I learn it?" "You need to understand it, at least." Shi Dong answered, "You need to know what can be done, what is forbidden, and what must be done. You don''t want to be the kind of guy who knows nothing at all but always pokes his nose into everything, do you? It''s the virtue of an officer not to make trouble for his subordinates at a critical moment. And it''s the duty of a senior official to eliminate a trouble-making subordinate through suicide squads. I''ll teach you everything about it." "Are those the right things to teach me?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked again. "Don''t worry. You are the most talented young man I''ve seen." Shi Dong said with a smile, "You will be a Grand Inquisitor. What''s more, besides the compilation of war records, we''ve also prepared many textbooks" While saying that, he pointed at the corner. Drawing the curtain up, a huge pile of moldy files appeared around Shi Dong''s wheelchair. These were the summaries and files produced by the old men when they were simulating wars. The old men got delighted when talking about their fruits of "gameplay." "We have been playing the game of war simulation for more than 80 years, about 40,000 times in total. From the past until modern times, from the East to the West, all the wars we simulated were carefully documented. Sometimes we play the Immortal Army, sometimes the Asgardian squares, sometimes the Knights Templar, and more often, we play ourselves. Annihilation, fortress besieging, fortress attacking, surprise attack, retreat "In the boring days, we fought against all the possible imagined enemies throughout history and all over the world. We racked our brains to fight against them. "Now, the 40,000 war strategies are all here. No matter who your enemies are, there is always one strategy against him." In the dead silence, Ye Qingxuan looked at the old men who were all smiling oddly and the file, piled as high as a grave, feeling the temptation to kill himself. Shi Dong smiled heartedly and put the first file in front of him, declaring the coming of a hard time. "So, please show us the legendary learning abilities you claimed to have," he said confidently. "I assure you, you will have a period of time which will be ''extremely fruitful''." 557 Learning Makes One Happy Three weeks later, the steel workshop had expanded to twice its original size. The scaffolding embedded in the cliff were like weeds clumped together. The giant nails wedged into the stone were holding heavy steel cables, arranged into a spider-web-like structure, in place. Heat insulating felt cloths were suspended layer by layer from the cables, forming a huge greenhouse. Heavy rain poured from the sky, and fell on the felt cloth, causing it to evaporate and rise into the sky again in a thick fog of steam, only to condense and fell as water droplets again upon encountering the cold air above. Cold fog and hot air met in the sky, strangling each other. Finally, they blended together, forming layers of sickly white clouds. It was as if hundreds of iron furnaces were working at the same time, or as if lava had broken through the crust of the earth and was flowing over the ground. An appalling amount of heat were constantly spreading out from the workshop. The viscous and scorching air escaped from the valves on the door with a rotten stench. It was like the breath of living things. "Is it really alright to build a ship this way?" Igor stood on top of the cliff and looked down, his gaze fixed on the covered workshop. No matter how many times he had heard the explanation, he still felt incredulous, as the production method employed was truly beyond his imagination. "The current stage of our industrial development is not advanced enough to produce such a massive thing the conventional way, so we could only do it in an alternative manner." Carol, who had been appointed as the chief engineer, held his umbrella as he looked down and observed his work. He said, "Now the entire port and anywhere less than five hundred meters from it are within the radiation range of the alchemy reactions. "An alchemical reactor of such a gigantic size would cost as much as half the national treasury and would take more than ten years to manufacture. "Furthermore, it can only be used once, as it would be destroyed in the process, and it has to be recycled as waste after that. The whole process requires more than a hundred alchemists to collaborate, using up countless materials and funds. "We do not have so much capital and time to waste. "It''s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be blessed with such favorable conditions, Captain Igor, we must keep everything simple. " "This is considered simple?" Igor was shocked. He squatted on the edge of the cliff, then lay down to look at the huge workshop more closely. Under the cover of the heat-insulating felt cloths, the workshop was like a monster of a gray-black color lying on the harbor of refuge, crawling and rolling around in gluey motions, convulsing in the rain as if it was alive, but also abhorrently ugly. So ugly that it looked terrifying. Five days ago, the musicians of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith removed the entire harbor of refuge, then built a dam at the estuary, turning whole entire port into an enclosed, bowl-like structure. The ''bowl'' was covered, and only a warm murky stream of water spewed out steadily from the dam. The turbid water containing alchemical elixirs and toxic metals exuded a pungent stench, staining the black ocean water white. The hull was being manufactured in it. As the organization that had inherited the legacy of the Religious Court of Inquiry, developing various methods to utilize demons was almost instinctual to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Plus, many demons themselves were excellent raw materials. With such a precious resource like the Mountain of Nomadism, they couldn''t possibly let it rot and spoil. The development plan, which seemed budget-conscious to most, was considered imprudent by the old devils of the Court who had gotten used to being thrifty. If the Congregation had a complete industrial system and enough supporting resources, they definitely wouldn''t agree to such insanity of wasting the huge piece of precious material on a goddamn ship. "In some sense, it cannot be considered a ship at all." Carol said, "We are just utilizing the resources at hand to as best we can, leveraging the molecular activeness of the Mountain of Nomadism''s flesh to grow it into a ship. "If we have enough resources and time, it''s even possible to create a ship that can fly in the sky forever, occupying the sky like the winged people... Damn, those bastards not only monopolize the resources of the star belt, but also deny us access to the deep sky..." "For me, having a boat in itself is more than enough, Mr. Carol," Igor interrupted. He sniffed the pungent smell coming from the workshop, looking intoxicated. "I don''t give a shit about whether it''s alive or dead, or whether it''s the child of catastrophes. I''m happy as long as it is a ship and I can sail it. Of course, it''ll be even better if it can take down a legendary warship in one go." He wanted to witness the process in the core of the workshop, but it was a pity as there was no way he could get close to it. The interior of the workshop had been transformed into a petri dish that was super enormous in size. A dense forest consisting of large quantity of fungi toxic to humans grew in it. Lethal toxic gases and corrosive alchemical materials were everywhere. Such was the most suitable environment to cultivate artificial flesh. Beneath the cover of the gray-black felt cloth, the sea water had been transformed into a viscous culture medium of dark yellow. Innumerable muscles and organs of a tender red color floated within like seaweed, growing slowly... Except for the musicians who were cultivating them and the engineers wearing three layers of protective clothing each, no ordinary creature could survive in that environment. Even from a long distance, one could still smell the rich scent of blood spreading constantly. Within the past few weeks, the smell of blood had attracted a large number of the vile spawn of the sea. The endless demons that swarmed towards the port had all become the practice targets of the organists, their bodies contributing to the building of the ship as raw materials or cultivation media. The organists, carefully selected by Maxwell, were undisputed elites, each of them fitting the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith''s requirements for newcomers perfectly although they had impure faiths and questionable pasts. But during such a critical period, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith naturally wouldn''t concern themselves with the rules of the past pedantically In fact, only the young men whose minds were preoccupied with glory and the conquest of the east might have trouble accepting the fact that the rules could be bent. As for the older men, they all had no trouble with seeing which way the wind was blowing. Shi Dong had even told Ye Qingxuan all the secrets of the old Religious Court of Inquiry, and he couldn''t care less about such rules. They only cared about the fundamental purpose, and apart from that, the end would justify the means. As long as the Religious Court of Inquiry could be re-established, the glory of the olden days restored and the long-cherished wish to conquer the east realized, they wouldn''t think twice even if the price was that they must assassinate the Pope. Among the organists brought along by Ye Qingxuan, the majority would be trained to become the new generation of the Witch Hammer in the next few months. The rest were aged men whose paths had been fixed and were almost irreversible. For them, rather than to spend their lives doing a half-ass job as a member of the Witch Hammer or as a purifier, it would be better to continue along their own path. So, they chose to quit after taking part in certain courses. The results of the short-term training course of the Congregation were remarkable. In the short span of a few days, most of the organists who had had combat experience, or had been knights even, had mastered the main techniques and skills that would originally require one to two years to learn. Although they were still lacking in certain aspects, what they needed was just the accumulation of experience over the years. In the past few days, the outcome of the fights against the vile spawn of the sea had made the old men who took time off their schedules to check on the progress laugh with glee. The new generation of the Witch Hammer was in embryo. Unfortunately, the progress of the musicians was still slow although they were provided with a lot of purifying movements and esoteric music theory, those of them whose sound of heart movements had formed already had their own style of music. While they could still learn the techniques of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the learning process was much lower in terms of efficiency as compared to the purifiers who were cultivated from a young age. Regarding this, the old devils were willing to let nature take its own course. Musicians take a long time to cultivate, as music is not something that can be learned all at once even express musicians, whom orthodox musicians look down upon, require three months of training. Presently, in addition to guiding more than ten musicians, who had yet to enter the level of Resonance, to switch to learning purifying music theory, the old devil in charge of the training, who still bore a youthful appearance, had started hatching a plan involving Ye Qingxuan... The relationship between Ye Qingxuan and Maxwell was obviously no secret. When Maxwell dies, as the reserve sword-bearer, Ye Qingxuan will be the first heir to his inheritance. I wonder if Anglo''s Royal Academy of Music would mind having a new department then? If Maxwell knew that a member of Ye Qingxuan''s relief troops was looking forward to his death before even arriving at Avalon, surely his expression would be very interesting? Boom! Another dull bang came from the depths of the stronghold. Igor and Carol were stunned for a moment. They turned and looked at the stronghold. The fortress was shrouded in moonlight of an indeterminable source, making it seem ethereal and illusory all the more, almost as if it was dissipating. From the depths of the stronghold came loud bangs and roars one after another, but it seemed a long distance away from them, and they could only heard the dull echoes. "Something went wrong again?" Igor sighed and said, "What the hell is happening in the advanced training course?" Carol couldn''t help but gave a wry smile. He replied, "To tell the truth, I''m curious as well." 558 Addicted to Studying "For the white tower!" Shi Dong woke up from the dream, and upon opening his eyes, saw a war horse raising its front legs to step on him. The knight on the horse, wearing a white-silver visor and waving a saber, howled angrily at him and looked at him from atop the horse. The visor made of white silver was cold and cruel, like the face of a god. At that moment, his pupils contracted, and his old and skinny aged body suddenly swelled up. The mechanic heart pumped artificial blood to his body at explosive speed and adrenalin burned inside him. He sprung up from his wheelchair and drew his sword from the back of the chair. Then, he wielded his sword to fight the knight. This was the beauty born from death. The air was torn up by the sword, which went forward and cleaved the horse. Suddenly, little rocks fell on his face, waking him up from his dream. Then he saw his sword, which had pierced the wall. Yet the horse, which should have been dead, was still galloping on the field, carrying the knight, who was still shouting war cries. They went through the wall and lead the army into the stronghold they were now in. The sound of war cry was deafening. He awoke from his dream and stumbled into his chair, pain consuming his body. He heaved a sigh and asked, "Did he fall asleep again?" "Yes." The curtain was drawn open. The old men were sitting around the table, not knowing what to do. The place they were in was within the stronghold, yet it had turned into endless grassland. The land cracked open and fire spurted out from the hell. Giant armored cavaliers roared. The soldiers wore primitive armor from the first generation, on the back of which the aether stoves were burning oil mixed with aether, puffing out irritating black smoke. On the chest of the armor, the emblem of the red bird was engraved, and on the shoulder part with patches of bear skin, rivets stuck out like thorns. This was the first-generation powered armor which had been abandoned long ago. With this armor, the solder couldn''t make any precise movements and could only go forward and backward. The critical aether stove was implanted on the back, exposed to the enemy from behind. To wear this armor, one needed six servants who had studied engineering to help him on the hoist platform. The cavaliers could not bend themselves with the exoskeleton on. The servants brought wrenches and screws with them to fix the armor on the exoskeleton and seal the joints with a welding gun. The armor was like a moving coffin and could bury the rider if the field was muddy. Notwithstanding all its disadvantages, when the cavaliers wearing them formed a square to fight, the formation could inflict massive damage upon any enemy. Then, 60 armored cavaliers stood in the front of the field, with heavy chains connecting them and heavy shields in their hands forming a massive iron wall. On the opposite side of the field, numerous war horses galloped toward them, carrying heavily armored riders who held their sabers high to charge forward. "Masks of the Iron Flow Army and the first-generation powered armors Is this the Nebuchadnezzar War?" Shi Dong wiped his face with a hot towel and felt much more awake. The Nebuchadnezzar war was the civil war of Asgard more than 100 years ago. The two sons of the king fought for the throne with the help of the Red Bird clan and the White Tower clan, respectively. This war was recorded in history and became an important historical event known as the "The Last Eulogy of the Heavy Cavaliers of the Old Times." This was the first time that powered armor had been the field. They fought against the Iron Flow Army, who were heavy cavaliers called King of the Battlefield. The monster-horses and experienced cavaliers cooperated so perfectly that they were the nightmare of every army. The Red Bird Clan asked the Chainsaw Fraternity for help, who, settling down in Asgard for not long, needed to prove themselves eagerly. The cooperation of the two sides culminated in a war that left the whole world in shock. The powerful armor was officially introduced to the battlefield. That was the clash of iron against iron, and the old times against the new times. The Iron Flow Army was wiped out and the White Tower Clan lost everything, driven from the center stage of the country and exiled to the wilderness a hundred years later. The numerous disadvantages of the powered armor were exposed during the war, such as its cumbersomeness, instability, and reliance on the environment and back-up service. Yet, the victory proved its potential. After that, heavy cavaliers were replaced by powered armor, then disappeared from history. "Told you not to dig ancient history." The old men heaved a sigh. "What good can it do to teach him about those ancient battles?" "I''ve been teaching him defense these two days!" Shi Dong shrugged. "This was supposed to be a negative example. He must have been reading casually. Dreams are unstable, don''t worry." The old men looked at one another, feeling helpless. For most people, things in dreams were unlogical and unstable, full of weird changes. However, Ye Qingxuan''s dream was absolutely an exception. When sleeping, people would be relaxed. They would put down all guards and common sense, exposing their most vulnerable parts. The musicians of the School of Mind preferred to change their targets'' mind after they fell asleep because people were unguarded in sleep, making the job easy. But this dream of Ye Qingxuan''s was in no way normal. No vulnerability and flaw at all, and armored to the teeth. The weather, wind, the cracked land, the crushed grass and succus, the sunlight, the machinery of the numerous powered armor and each and every gear, spring and pulley of them. Everything was so real, except that they could not be touched. It was like the Replay of Images conducted by dozens of magic musicians, reading records in the aether and replay everything. "There are always exceptions." Shaking his head, Shi Dong looked at Ye Qingxuan. This was not expected by any of them. Ye Qingxuan''s resistance to the drug was incredibly strong, thanks to the Stone of Sage and the sub-originator, which had improved his body''s resistance against foreign substances. He had a lot of Dream of Emerald, of course. Yet, after a week of crazy training, he just closed his eyes and fell asleep without any warning sign. Then the problem began. If he were an ordinary guy, it would be no problem. But he was a dream weaver, representing the realm of dreams. The best musicians were themselves the realization of the dreams in the world. When a dream weaver became extremely sleepy and exhausted, he could no longer control his dream, and the Symphony of Predestination would run by itself and turn into reality; it pulled the dreams into the real world. Yet, in the dreams of Ye Qingxuan, there was no longer the silent world and the Ultimate. Instead, he dreamed of the stuff those old men taught him. What one thinks of in the day would become his dream at night. But the old men found themselves helpless when their room turned into an endless sea where fleets fought against each other, aether stoves puffing smoke onto their faces. In the chaos, the bell for war rang. After a hasty inspection by a bunch of musicians, they found the source of the problem. With no way to handle it, the old men had to let it be. They could not keep him from falling asleep. It would be okay as long as they could make up for the lost teaching time when he woke up. So, Ye Qingxuan was fast asleep, letting his dreams run wild in the real world. No one knew when he would wake up. Maybe it was the way it should be for him? Those old men were men of the world themselves. Sitting in the center of the battlefield in Ye Qingxuan''s dream, they were not afraid at all. They were watching the dream with full interest, guessing how well Ye Qingxuan could replay this legendary war in his dream. "It was so frighteningly perfect." One old man in a wheelchair heaved a sigh. "Every detail is perfect." The old men pointed at the heavily armored knight and commented, "The conditions of the knights'' saddles are even made different. His dream is so real! He is really the Hand of God to have made such a massive illusion. "He also has learned the battle tactics well. He''s really good to have learned so much in just a few weeks." "That''s not what I mean." The old man in the wheelchair shook his head and said, "It is trivial how real and detailed the dream is. I''ve noticed something else" Shi Dong thought for a moment and said, "You mean him?" "Yes," said the old man. "Everyone put themselves in their own dream, right? All dreams are based on this and then can they be expanded upon. Without the dreamer, the dream means nothing, and it does not exist at all. I tried to find his subconsciousness in his dream but my effort has been in vain." Then the old man paused. Pointing at the army on both sides, he said, "I cannot find him. Where is he?" All old men looked around but no one found Ye Qingxuan in the dream. Everyone looked at each other and fell into silence. The battlefield was chaotic, but they were sure Ye Qingxuan was not there in the dream. The young man had become an outsider, like the old men. Even the observers outside his dream couldn''t detect his subconsciousness. "He is always on guard. It''s as if he is always ready to fight his enemies. There are even no flaws in his dream! This is really incredible." The old man in the wheelchair said, "I''ve never seen anyone as alert as he is. But why is he under such huge pressure?" "Don''t worry." Shi Dong shook his head and said, "Actually, our Grand Inquisitor seems to hide everything about him from us. He is always there, it''s just that you cannot see him." Then he raised his hand and pointed above. In the silence, all old men raised their stiff heads. Above the huge battlefield floated the smoke caused by the fierce fight between the Iron Flow Army and the powered armored cavaliers. Blood spills everywhere and evaporated into the air, like the soul of a dead man flying up. Over the empty and quiet sky, behind the smoke and the blue of the sky, there was a pair of eyes looking down from far away. Under the pair of eyes, the battle went on like a machine, where numerous gears engaged with each other in perfect condition according to some pre-set laws, which had determined the end of the battle since the very beginning. Finally, everything ended. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. After a long nap, he was still tired. He lowered his head. Seeing the blank schedule, he frowned and asked, "All classes were finished?" Looking at each other, the old men had not yet recovered from the shock inflicted upon them by the dream. In the silence, Shi Dong coughed to hide the embarrassment and said, "You finished all courses in three weeks, which were expected to last two months. We have to say we underestimated your talent. It would take at least two years for an ordinary man." In the corner, there was only one old man who was not satisfied. He murmured, "Your fighting skills are still lame." "It''s nothing. Everyone has his weakness." Shi Dong waved his hand to stop him talking. He said with a smile, "We can begin our classes of the next phase now." "That''s enough, Shi Dong. Get these boring things away." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and got up from his chair for the first time in three weeks. "It has cost me three weeks of my time now. I''ve learned enough to handle things. I don''t want to see these things anymore." "What if you come across some problem in the future?" Shi Dong asked. Turning his head to Shi Dong, Ye Qingxuan said, "That is supposed to be your business, not mine. I cannot take care of everything." Shi Dong sighed. "As you can see, sir, we are all old." Stepping toward the gate, Ye Qingxuan didn''t turn his head at all. He waved his hand casually and said, "Don''t worry. I''ll squeeze out all the juice of yours before you die." Shi Dong was a little struck by surprise. He showed an expression full of self-mockery and said, "Our great honor, sir." Bang! The gate was closed. 559 The Day of Setting Sail Six days later, on top of the cliff outside the workshop. The workshop had once again expanded to twice its size. The three-meter-long copper nails were riveted deeply into the rocks, holding up criss-cross cables which was woven into a net, restraining the swelling black felt inside. If one was to look downwards from the top of the cliff, the workshop would resemble a monster caught in a net. The net of the thick and heavy felt cloths was like a giant''s chest. It swelled and contracted along with the ocean tide in the distance. As it breathed, deep echoes burst forth the depths of the darkness and traveled in all directions. Roars and booms were constantly coming from it. "Cut off fastener number one!" Boom! "Cut off fastener number two!" Boom! After blowing up the fasteners one by one, the booming noises were followed by the spine-chilling sound of steel scraping against each other, countless steel parts collided with each other as if they were in the hands of a giant, producing maddeningly loud noises. The gray-black felt cloth under the steel cables seemed to have turned into a monster''s womb, and it was having difficulties in giving birth to the horrific fetus. As the alchemists attempted to ''deliver'' it, the thing that was about to be born screamed with all its might, summoning tsunami-like waves with its screams. On the cliff, Igor sat in his unchanged position, paying no heed to the rain falling on his face, his eyes red and bloodshot. It was unclear when did he last showered. He gave off a weird stench, and his hair was unkempt and clumpy. The grease that had accumulated on his hair insulated it from the rain, thus, his hair was not smoothed by the rain, and even started to curl upwards. He no longer resembled the decent person he once was but seemed to have removed all pretenses and had become a pirate once more. He was drinking liquor from the collection of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and when he looked downwards at the workshop below, his eyes, which were bloodshot from the lack of sleep, had a wolf-like fierceness in them. Behind him, Ye Qingxuan''s figure emerged silently. "The finishing touches are complete." He looked at Igor''s unkempt appearance and said, "It''s the final inspection phase now. In a short while, the ship will be launched. You''re really not coming down to take a look?" "I..." Igor''s lips moved as he muttered a few syllables, his tongue sticking out from the blistered corner his mouth and licked the cold, salty rain. The anxious breath from his chest spurted out of his nose and mouth and turned into a dissipating mist. "I''ve been looking forward to it for some time, and I was so excited that I couldn''t sleep..." He scratched his knotted hair with his hand, his voice hoarse as he said, "But now that I''m about to see it, I suddenly felt a bit scared. It''s like my child is about to be born. You handed me this child, but I don''t know... I don''t know if I am qualified to sail it." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "Then you should take a shower and get some sleep. I don''t want my ship to strike a reef and sink just after its launch because of her captain''s lack of sleep." Igor shook his head and replied, "Only staying here can calm me down." He lifted his eyes and stared at the pitch black sea in the distance, which was dead silent. "Now I''m much better, sir." He laughed in self-mockery. "You need not worry about me, I won''t let you down." Ye Qingxuan nodded but did not leave. Instead, he took out a wooden case from his pocket. "Want a smoke?" He had bought the cigarettes in the Sacred City. Normally, Ye Qingxuan rarely smoked, so the case of first-class cigarettes crafted exquisitely was still half full. But a long time had passed since his purchase, and it had probably gotten damp, hence it might not taste very good. "Thank you." Igor took it, and he pulled out a thin metallic rod from his boots in an adept manner. He scratched his keychain with it forcefully. Sparks flew from the edges of the keychain, igniting the combustible rod made of unique material. He cupped his hand to protect the faint flame as he put it close to his lips, igniting the cigarette. Observing his fluid movements, Ye Qingxuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What''s that?" "This?" Igor swung the short stick to put out the flame and waved it in front of Ye Qingxuan, showing him the overlapping marks that resulted from scratches accumulated over the years. "A combustion stick created by an alchemist, from my former captain. "It was popular among pirates before the invention of the Clean Fire Source but has long since been eliminated. You probably haven''t seen it before. " "Indeed so," Ye Qingxuan acknowledged. Igor continued, "It''s actually quite inconvenient to use, as it may easily cause a fire sometimes, especially on pirate ships of a poor condition. There''s aged equipment in disrepair everywhere, so fire may endanger the whole ship." He let out a jolly laugh and said, "Back then, the only person qualified to carry a kindling spark on board was the captain. The sailors could only eat their food cold, except for dinner. Whoever dared to light a fire would be condemned to death by hanging. "At that time, everyone would gather on the front deck before dinner every day. The chef would be waiting with the firewood for the captain to arrive in his shiny boots that had just been rubbed, smoking his crumpled cigarette. The captain would then pull the rod out of his boot and scratch the knife with it The fire would be ignited, just like a miracle! He would be the cockiest during that time of the day. "I would stand in the most inconspicuous corner and watch the captain, going crazy with envy. In private, I had quietly imitated his actions countless times, dreaming that I could be the captain of a big ship one day, standing on the deck with my sailors. Wearing brand new clothes and boots, I could enjoy their respectful gazes..." Ye Qingxuan looked at the metal rod Igor held with his fingers, which was covered in scratches, and asked, "Your captain gave it to you in the end?" "Nope," Igor replied. He grinned and said, "I stole it." "..." Ye Qingxuan wasn''t sure what to say. "The captain was angry when he realized that it was missing. He couldn''t find the thief, so he tied everyone up, including me, and gave us 30 lashes each," Igor continued his story. He pulled his collar open and showed Ye Qingxuan the scars left on his shoulders. "Later, the captain suspected the first officer, so he cut the first officer''s hand off. That night, the first officer charged into the captain''s cabin with several sailors. And when he came out, we had a new captain. But before his iron hook was even made, another mob killed him "Pirates are always like this. No one will bother telling jokes about friendship or brotherhood. When a pirate sees something he likes, he will snatch it. If he can''t snatch it, he will steal it. If he fails, he will be hanged on the mast. "I have been used to it since I was a child. Even as a teenager, I didn''t understand what''s the use of money. You see, I could get myself everything I wanted without money. " Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "The education of pirates is very different indeed." "I had no choice." Igor shrugged as well and said, "To be honest, I also want to live like a young aristocrat, doing nothing every day but dress up and learn music. But unfortunately for me, I was put into a wooden barrel and thrown into the sea when I was just a baby and got fished out by the pirates. "Growing up at sea, raised by a bunch of criminals and gays, even the milk that I drank was from the captain''s sheep. The first line I spoke was to curse people "I was very thin back then, short, with a hunched back, and eyes of different sizes... Before I was 12, I didn''t even have a name. Everyone else called me the deformed child. But it''s perfectly normal, after all, you can''t expect to get any love from a nest of pirates, right? " "Right," affirmed Ye Qingxuan. So Igor laughed, squishing the cigarette that had been drenched by the rain. He narrowed his eyes and looked at the dead silent sea in the distance. "It''s the only one that loves me," he said. Ye Qingxuan remained silent. "The sea was the one that allowed me to survive, sir," Igor continued. He put out the cigarette. "I am nothing if I leave it. It has given me a place to stay, enabling me to create some value out of this life, albeit negligible. "To be honest, it''s a very annoying feeling, like a child brought up by a whore who prostituted herself to provide for him, with no courage to run away from home even. But as time goes by, you''ll get used to it. No matter if it''s dirty or otherwise, ugly or otherwise, you still have to love it. " Ye Qingxuan was quiet for a good while, before sighing in a low voice. "I have to say that I''m becoming a little bit more adapted to your quirky metaphors, Captain." "Nothing I can do about that. After all, I''m not a man of culture." Igor threw the empty bottle down and stared at the dead silent sea. He turned back and asked, "Is it really alive, sir? Everyone told me that it is." Ye Qingxuan replied, "It depends on your concept of ''living''. For the ordinary person, as long as the heart is still beating, and the brain is still working, it can be considered alive. "If a human is still alive, then his body is considered to be alive. His limbs, his bones, his hair, and his nails all contain vitality, even though the nature of the human body is no different from other material substances. " "Other than the ordinary person?" prompted Igor. Ye Qingxuan said after a moment''s thought, "In some sense, a musician differs from the ordinary person. You can think of it as if musicians have an extra organ called aether. The vitality of the musician manifests itself in this aspect as well. "For musicians of the level of Distortion, the area within a hundred feet of them, and where their music theory can reach, are all extensions of their bodies. For catastrophes, the extension and even radiation of their perceptions of ''self'' are even more insane. At the very least, humans have never figured out the limit of the size of catastrophes. "For Leviathan, the entire ocean is its territory. All sea water is part of its body. It''s the ruler of the ocean, as dictated by the music theory in the Originator. It has yet to fully resurrect, so the ocean you''re looking at now is just its somniloquence." "So, it''s really alive?" Igor murmured. He understood and turned back, staring at the dead silent sea in pitch black, far away. Shaking his head, he said, "But seeing its state of living makes me very sad. It''s too desolate. Even though it''s alive, it felt like death." "We''ve spent a long time speaking childish words." Ye Qingxuan sighed softly, and stuffed the cigarette case into Igor''s pocket. Finally, he patted Igor on the shoulder. "You have passed the age of yearning for love, Igor. If you have an audience, I''m sure they won''t like it as well. "So don''t trouble yourself with such thoughts anymore. After you finish these cigarettes, take a good shower, then go take a look at your ship like a man. If you really love it," Ye Qingxuan paused and looked at Igor''s eyes, telling him, "then kill it, and let it be reborn." On the coast, in the cold rain, a young man in a black poncho ran up. His lips were frozen white due to the cold of the night, the lenses of his glasses covered in water droplets. The board in his hand had a sheet full of statistics clipped onto it. When he was a few steps away from Ye Qingxuan, he wiped the mucus off his nose with his sleeve, before presenting the report. "Your Honor, we have finished transporting everything. The inspection is complete as well. There''s a minor problem with the keel, but Bishop Carol guarantees that it will be solved within an hour," said the young man "Then get ready for the launch," Ye Qingxuan replied. He waved and threw the report into the sea. "We''ll no time left to rest after this. Comrades, one hour later, we will be leaving for the battlefield, and regardless of whether we succeed or not, there''s no turning back." The young man nodded and ran back. Ye Qingxuan stood on the beach, waiting silently. The banging sounds of steel clashing rang out from afar, as the tower crane loaded the final items into the ship. From then on, the stronghold would be empty, as everything of value would be brought along by the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith when they left with Ye Qingxuan. When the last fire had been extinguished, Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked behind him through a curtain of rain. In the ice-cold drizzle, the clergymen donning red stood in the mud respectfully. The rain dripped from their robes into the mud, the puddles beneath rippling faintly. They made no noise, as if they were phantoms, and held the banner of the burning holy emblem high, like a quiet flame burning in the rain. Upon noticing the gaze of Ye Qingxuan, they bowed their heads with respect. White soul-like gusts of mist squirted out from their noses and mouths as they breathed, merging into one, and ascended into the sky, like a curling white smoke rising from burning embers. There were 1,041 men in total. 230 apprentices. 400 knights of the Witch Hammer. 130 purifiers. 190 organists. And so on... All the followers of Ye Qingxuan were here, and they were the only ones under his command in this world. "It''s time, Your Honor." Shi Dong walked out from the crowd, went down on one knee, and presented his sword reverently with both hands. "Please give the order." From the rippling water came deep echoes. All of them followed Shi Dong closely, kneeling on the ground as they waited for Ye Qingxuan''s orders. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and looked at the long sword in Shi Dong''s hands, and he couldn''t help but go into a trance-like state. In the midst of it, he saw Hermes staring at him from a distance, the souls of the deceased with him. With his usual mocking smile, the apparition of Hermes whispered in Ye Qingxuan''s ear, "From now on, he will be led astray." So, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile. The world has been advancing on the wrong path for a longer time than it should. The time for change has come. From this day onward. From this moment onward. He reached out and clenched the hilt, raising the sword high. The blade sliced through the rain, making a drawn-out sound which reverberated through the surrounding darkness. The illusions dissipated, as if the souls had left the world. The light from the flames shone in the rain. "Remember this day, my dear gentlemen!" In the burning glow of the holy banner, he announced, "Today, we re-establish the Religious Court of Inquiry! "Today, we rise again from the quagmire of pain, embarrassment and difficulty. On this tortuous and rough path, never once have we let go of our dreams and souls," he continued. "Now, we are on our way to tell everyonethe sinners, the lost and the arrogant nobilitythat we have not met our demise, and we are back!" He raised the seemingly ablaze holy banner in his hand and declared to his subjects, "I promise you in the name of God, that what we shall do is righteous, what we shall follow is the will of God, and what we shall usher in is noble justice!" In the burning light, countless people replied in unison, "Your Honor, all the glory in the mortal realm shall be yours!" So, the ocean and the sky shook. Magnificent booms rang out from afar. In the midst of countless bangs loud enough to vibrate the ocean water and create waves, earth-shaking and earsplitting hisses could be heard. Countless copper nails wedged into the stone made piercing sounds as they scratched against metals and rocks. Sparks erupted as the nails were pulled out of the rocks by the tightly wound steel cables, the resulting screeches fragmenting the air one after another. Among the innumerable things falling apart, the behemoth tore the nest that nurtured it apart, breaking through layers and layers of gray-black felt cloths, snapping all the steel cables and crushing all the fasteners into dust. In the shower of ice-cold rain, it emerged from the workshop, splitting the sea and the sky. It was a warship so huge it made one''s jaws drop. As the horns blared, the warship charged into the sea, stirring up hurricane-like winds, breaking the silent waves beneath. The scales covering the ship cut across the reefs and dams like blades, smashing the dam at the harbor of refuge, and the ship sailed into the ocean in the midst of its engine''s loud roars. Above the bow of the ship, the ghastly white skull of the giant snake burned with a scorching flame coming from the aether furnace, emitting a glaring light. A slight movement forward was enough for it to stir up a gale and strong waves. It was the Mountain of Nomadism, the nightmare and disaster that had returned! The monster the world created had finally descended upon the world. "Let''s go, my comrades." Ye Qingxuan smiled at the sea of darkness, and said, "One day, we will ignite the world with stakes!" 560 Avalon Part 1 It was dark. In the faint, gloomy, cold mist, one couldn''t hear the splattering of rain. As the icy rain passed through the mist, the raindrops seemed to blend into the squirming mist and disappeared. Droplets of water fell on the dead silent sea, almost invisible to the naked eye, only leaving fine ripples behind. Shattered ice crystals in the ripples collided with each other and spread outwards, pushing the swollen corpse forward. It was unclear how long the deformed corpse had been soaked in the sea. It had already rotted, and the ghastly white abdominal cavity swelled due to the gases produced in the rotting process. It was like a balloon floating on the sea. Strange fish that smelled the odor of putrefaction swam up from the deep sea. The fish, which were about the thickness of human fingers and resembled iron wire, greedily ate the carrion. They punctured the balloon, which burst with a muffled sound, and the foul stench grew thicker. In the appalling rustling sound of sharp teeth munching on bones, a dark shadow slowly emerged from the bottom of the sea. It opened its huge mouth and surfaced suddenly, then shut it again. Crack, crack, crack. Hundreds of strange fish were crushed as the six rows of teeth munched on. Viscous blood oozed from the huge mouth and stained the surface of the sea, dyeing the pitch black ocean into a ghastly dark green. As it chewed carefreely, in the fog, two pale white glows lit up silently. They were like the huge eyes of a behemoth, shining through the fog. The calm surface of the sea was shattered. Before the creature which the huge, gigantic mouth belonged to could dive into the sea once more, overwhelming roars echoed in the deep sea. The fierce glow of lightning flashing shone from the clouds. It struck down like a blade, opening up a gap in the mist that was so thick it made one feel breathless. When it fell on the sea, it completely shattered the waves that were brewing up on the surface of the sea. In the turbulent waves, the blaring of horns sounded. The vast, pitch black shadow sailed on the surface of the sea, coming from afar. It brought with it a hurricane, and advanced along the path opened up by the lightning. At the foremost of the shadow hung the pale white skull of a giant snake. A scorching glow was emitted from the eye sockets of the skull. Simply by sweeping across the water surface, it cast down flames and bestowed destruction equally upon all demons. The huge mouth was instantly burned into ashes in the pervasive invisible fire, leaving no trace behind. Far away, something roared hoarsely as if it was enraged. Across the long distance, the roars could be heard. Their effects were almost tangible, like that of a hammer knocking in one''s heart, rendering one breathless suddenly, as if one was suffocating. The roaring creature was joined by the second, third, and fourth... As if they had sensed the arrival of an uninvited guest, the monsters hidden in the fog roared maliciously, in a clearly threatening manner. The hurricane bringing the roars in it hit an invisible wall and was crushed as the ship sailed forward. Only a weak gust of wind remained and blew at the silver hair of the young man standing on the deck. Ye Qingxuan put down the binoculars that could not enable him to see anything and sighed. "How much further?" "One hour." Carol, who was temporarily serving as the first officer and chief engineer, replied, "Actually, we are quite near Avalon. On a sunny day, one can already see the White Tower of the palace in the uptown. But the fog is getting more and more powerful. This region of the sea is rejecting us." "We never intended for it to welcome us anyway." Ye Qingxuan fished out the lens of the Eye of Silence from his pocket and wiped it with a handkerchief. "Go and tell the purification musicians to speed up once more. At any rate, this is the first battle of the re-established Religious Court of Inquiry. Stop goofing off. "In ten minutes," he said, "I want to see where Avalon is." Carol''s expression twitched. He touched his bald head, forcibly swallowed to prevent himself from vomiting blood and took out his aether ball to pass the orders of the Grand Inquisitor down. In the bilge of the warship, amid the vast alchemy array, the dozens of purification musicians who were about to break down from stress received the orders and almost vomited blood in unison. Have the superiors been thinking that we have been slacking here this whole time?! Doesn''t anyone know how stressed they are right now? The pressure from opening up the fog and guiding the way is already about to blow up their sound of heart movements! In the array, the musicians of the School of Abstinence located at several core positions glanced at each other and lifted their sleeves to wipe the sweat off their foreheads. Soon, their veins and eyes bulged, as if they were burnt red. In an instant, they became similar to puppets that had fallen apart, with their heads hung low and their bodies slumped on the core of the array, but their tenacities traveled along the vast alchemy array and blended into the entire Mountain of Nomadism. In a flash, they flowed through the four layers of outflowing, creating, circulating and forming, and entered the core. A pool of aether several meters in width was located in the center of the sixteen main circuits and the four Instruments of harmonious melody. Aether that had condensed into liquid form swirled in it. One couldn''t see how deep it was by looking down from directly above the pool. As if it led to another unpredictable world, glints flashed across the pool constantly. In the silver glow of the pool of aether, the giant heart of the Mountain of Nomadism was soaked inside. Having been transformed into a living aether furnace, the heart was emitting a terrifying amount of heat at the moment. It spewed out liquid aether as it beat slowly. The glow from the power contained within alone was glaring enough for one to be unable to look at it directly. When the musicians'' tenacities flowed into it along with musical notes, the rhythm of the beating accelerated ever so slightly. [CodeGaze at the abyss] [Sequence of notes is activated.] [The valve between sections nine and eight is closed.] [Activation of the second mode is completed.] The hull shook slightly. In the silent alchemy array, three more complicated movements were awakened and connected to the main axis. The engineers beside it were relieved. The aether furnace made of the heart smoothly changed from the first mode designed for pure navigation to the second mode designed for situations where the ship was on alert. Silently, the silver glow in the pool of aether surged. A fountain-like torrent of aether poured out of the nine-layer sea of aether and was devoured by the greedy hull, leaving no drop behind. At the moment, musicians could sense that the violent gravitational force emitted by the Mountain of Nomadism had formed a large depression in the sea of aether, plundering non-stop and attracting all loose energies, gathering them together. The scale was comparable to that of an artifact! Honestly speaking, the method in which the Religious Court of Inquiry processed the Mountain of Nomadism was really sketchy. The ship was built based on the corpse of the Mountain of Nomadism. The raw material was processed and manufactured while the cells were still active. Basically, the humongous sea monster was cut up into pieces and reassembled into a ship. In Carol''s original words to Ye Qingxuan, "First, we have no industrial base. Second, we do not have enough alchemists. Third, we do not have shipbuilders at the forefront. To conjure up a legendary warship that can screw whoever dares to attack it over in such a short span of time is simply impossible. However, if you are willing to settle for the next best alternative... well, it''s not impossible." So, Igor only realized something when he took over... To forcibly say that it was a ship was indeed not wrong, one could even go out on a limb and call it a warship. But in fact, what Ye Qingxuan they all had done was to use the best materials to build a gun emplacement that was fit for war and could float on the sea while carrying three cannons capable of causing insanely high damage. Although it could fly in the sky using the sixth mode, that still couldn''t change the fact that it was just a gun emplacement! If it wasn''t for Ye Qingxuan who stopped Igor with all his might and promised him "We will have bread, we will have milk [1]. When I finish saving the nation, I''ll make sure Anglo equips your ship with everything you want," Igor might have jumped into the sea in sorrow and frustration. Not that Igor could help it. From a harsher perspective, the warship lacked any technical substance. The only things worthy of praise were the insanely strong firepower and extremely extravagant raw materials. The former came from the three Petitioner-level main batteries made by the Religious Court of Inquiry. By right, the forbidden technology should still be sealed at the moment unless a special order was issued. The latter was because as raw material, the quality of the Mountain of Nomadism itself was simply too high. During the manufacturing process, the purification musicians had marveled at its nature countless times. They even suspected that it had descended from the direct bloodline of Leviathan and that it was a prince that had been granted its own territory in the seven seas by Leviathan. Thanks to that, the Mountain of Nomadism was basically a living artifact, and insane results could be achieved simply by using it as raw material alone. Presently, the disturbance in the sea of aether caused by the Mountain of Nomadism was at most no more than that caused when it was breathing, and they didn''t even have to activate anything deliberately to achieve such a result. Back when they were drawing the designs for the ship, the old devils already began to thump their chests and stomp their feet in regretHow can such good material be wasted on building warships, it is born to be used as a musical instrument, gods be damned! With just the slightest bit of nurturing, it can become a new artifact. If a Scepter Musician is put in charge of the process, it''s not entirely impossible for it to become an artifact of the very top quality. It''s such a pity to have a prodigal for their new Grand Inquisitor. Artifact? Sorry, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t care less. Let''s not mention the clothes of original sin he robbed from Paganini first Ye Qingxuan had Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, the proof of the Ye family''s Bloodline of the Dragon, which enabled him to control aether with a frighteningly high level of precision and came with the Heaven Ladder effect that allowed him to practice music theories across all seven systems. It was the exclusive instrument of Dreamweavers and was even the key to the Ye family''s legacy in the realm of aether. As long as Ye Qingxuan could break through the Level of Master and advance to the Level of Scepter, he would be able to obtain the scepter in the realm of aether that had integrated the powers of the Dreamweavers of the past generations. Then, he could combine it with the dream he himself wove, and it would basically allow his powers to increase from that of a musician who had just attained the Level of Scepter to that of one who was at the peak of said level. It was equivalent to having his ancestors pass down their powers to him, and he would be no less powerful than even the saints who had been canonized by the Sacred City. It was one of the reasons why the nine families of Dragon Bloodline was on equal footing with the saints! The stone sword, which was the artifact guarding the country and the symbol of Anglo''s sovereignty, would almost certainly become his as well. Other than the scepter named Heavenly Kingdom on Earth which King Arthur created in the form of a sword with all the wealth of Anglo to help him ascend as a god and was so famous that it was fairly pointless to talk about, there were also the Twelve Chapters of the Golden Victory. Each chapter represented a Phantom Beast that was well known back in those days. And before you forget, there was also the Lance of St. George. It was made of meteorite metal, and also known as The Lance of the Dragon Slayer, the artifact that had sealed the Hecatoncheir for ten years. After whiling away for ten years in the Ultimate, it was still as sharp as ever. Although the two had yet to officially belong to Ye Qingxuan, anyone with a discerning eye could easily see that he would be their owner sooner or later. When Shi Dong and the rest of the old men gave the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith away to Ye Qingxuan along with themselves in it, they had already analyzed the situation thoroughly, found themselves more than satisfied with their findings, and settled on a plan. Who is the current bearer of the stone sword? It is the head of the fifth department, the shadow emperor of Anglo, loyalist to the crown, the one who has already appointed Ye Qingxuan as his heir, Maxwell! Meanwhile, the meteorite iron belongs to the Knights of the Round Table. And who is the current head of the Knights of the Round Table? It is the leader of the Privy Council during the three years the Empress was unfit to rule, the celebrated minister who ruled the entire empire well, the army general who was discreetly known, together with Maxwell, as the Double Pillars of the Empire among the higher-ups, Lancelot! And who is the heir of the Lancelot family? Is it his daughter Christine, the Grand Knight of the Praetorian Guard, who has inherited the name of Galahad? No, it is his eldest nephew Ye Qingxuan! One can say that when Ye Qingxuan''s identity was recognized by the Sacred City and he became a Marquis, he has immediately become one of the most powerful people to be in the world. With one-eighth of royal blood in his body, as long as he is determined enough to get rid of the demented eldest prince and the second eldest princess, as well as a dozen insignificant aristocrats, he will be the only rightful successor of Anglo, the future King of Anglo! To even think about it is enough to drive one crazy. The Lord of the Ye family, one of the nine families of Dragon Bloodline in the East, the King of the Anglo in the West, the Archbishop of the Sacred City, the Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Hand of God appointed by the Sacred City... Furthermore, this lad is also the most talented musician in the past century, second to none in both the East and the West other than his own father. If you indulge yourself and dream a bit more, fifty years later... maybe he will become the King of Blue? I must stop thinking about it anymore, it''s almost a sin to think about all this! As long as we hold on to him tightly, when he comes into power, surely the Religious Court of Inquiry can start a crusade to the east whenever we like, and burn whoever we like? Thinking of this, Shi Dong laughed so hard that his chin almost fell off. Although it is a venture capital that has a 99% chance of losing terribly, if we manage to win, the profit is a few hundred times, or even thousands of times more than what we have invested! Upon hearing that Orientals tend to be more reserved, Shi Dong even looked the Oriental term ''donning the yellow robe'' [2] up in the dictionary. In private, he even drafted out a Quan Jin Biao [3]! It was the last time he gambled in his life. He wanted to bet everything he had on it, even if the future was uncertain. He had confidence in it. It had been more than two hundred years since he first held a sword... He had gambled countless times. Even though he was already very old, very, very old, so old that he had changed his artificial prostate gland three times. But it didn''t matter, neither did anything else. He could still manage to continue living for more than a decade, continue living until he himself reached the end of this road, even if he couldn''t walk anymore and had to crawl, and made Ye Qingxuan a god. Even if it meant living uglily and hideously, even if he had to humble himself and work like a horse. Beside the pool of aether, the old man who sat down stroked his sword and smiled, gratified. When he looked up, his gaze seemed to penetrate the layers of obstacles between them and landed on the young man. "Please be assured, Your Honor." He murmured softly, "You will become the hero who saved the country and then become a legend in the world. You will be fully deserving of your title as the Hand of God. You will be the embodiment of justice and righteousness in the mortal realm!" In a flash, endless aether flowed into the ship, supplied under the second mode. Several Resonance Musicians of the School of Abstinence disregarded the fact that the pressure might cause their cerebral blood vessels to burst and controlled the purification movements to expand the thunderclouds over the hull by several times. Thunder and lightning flashed, tearing the fog which resembled a living creature apart and pierced into the depths of the darkness. Shrill, illusion-like screams rang out. A straight passageway opened up in the fog. At the end of the passage was a fiery glory that had burned the sky red. For a moment, everyone held their breath. It was Avalon. Avalon was burning! Once the Pearl of the Sea, the Heavenly Kingdom on the Earth, the City of Pure White... At the moment, it was shrouded in destruction, falling sorrowfully into the flames of war. "What... is this?" someone asked. [1] A reference to a famous line spoken in the movie Lenin in 1918 (֧ߧڧߧ 1918 ԧէ), meaning that eventually, they would have everything they wanted. [2] It means to ascend the throne, usually used in scenarios where the person is not the rightful heir to the throne but ascends the throne after overthrowing the previous ruler. [3] A type of official document traditionally sent by ministers to a ruler, who holds the actual power but has yet to formally take over the throne from the figurehead ruler with only nominal power for fear of possible criticism regarding the seizing of the throne, to persuade the ruler with the actual power to ascend the throne, so that he could have an excuse to do so. 561 Avalon Part 2 In the pitch black darkness, the city became firewood for the flames. The fire was spreading in the city, like a giant''s footprints, step by step, drawing everything into destruction. Thick smoke rose from the burning houses, like black hands reaching towards the sky that had been burnt red. Obstructed by rain clouds, the smoke descended from the sky as hot rain of an ashy gray color, with a burning smell. Not only did the rain not put out the spreading fire, but it made the fire rage on as if the droplets were oil rather than water. The heat from the burning city seemed to have boiled the ocean water. In the turbulent tides, densely packed black shadows could be seen. Under the illumination of the glow of the fire, in the murky sea, a writhing river of darkness extended from afar. More and more rivers of darkness advanced along with the ocean currents and tides, converging here and encircling Avalon. Each river of darkness consisted of countless vile spawn of the sea. The undercurrent of the ocean had carried them here. Various tribes merging together, they formed the rivers of darkness that seemed to stretch on endlessly. In the faint singing that drifted in and out, they hissed wildly, climbed onto the shallow beach and rushed towards the city, each one striving to be the first. Just like weeds that could not be wiped out completely, they brutally overcame the defenses, having no fear of death. When their numbers increased to a certain extent, it was truly an appalling sight. Under attack from the vast army of Murlocs, the downtown area had completely fallen. Apart from a few sporadic defenses, only midtown was still standing, relying on its geographical advantage of being located on higher grounds. In Ye Qingxuan''s observation, all the other roads leading to the midtown had been blown up, leaving only the Tower Bridge guarded by the Knights of the Round Table. On the wide bridge that could only accommodate slightly more than ten horse-drawn carriages traveling side by side, the significance of numbers was reduced to the extreme. The knights in power armor were armed with weapons and formed a barrier that fended off the advancing black tide again and again. The grand knights who had their titles conferred upon by the royal family were in Archangel Armor, allowing them to fly in the air. The aether furnace operating in full capacity spurted out a blazing flame of a few meters long behind them, like wings of fire. They were equipped with giant weapons tens of meters long. When wielded with their terrifying, inhuman strength, the weapons could cause huge damage. An arbitrary strike could create a bloody crevice in the black tide. Right at the front of the line of defense, a towering figure of three meters stood like a reef, repelled the tides of Murlocs again and again. Hot breath spurted out from his nose and mouth underneath his helmet. Even from afar, the frightening amount of heat contained in his breath could be felt. Round Table Armor Geraint! In the area within ten meters from the knight, gravity was constantly changing with no observable pattern. Sometimes it would be close to nothing, and sometimes it would increase suddenly to hundreds of times the usual amount! All demons who dared to approach were shredded to pieces by the gravitational turbulence. Gravity formed an invisible iron ball, which rolled forward and crushed everything in its way, causing the ground to cave in. Countless demons collapsed suddenly like sand castles, their bones shattered into powder. Their blood swirled due to the pull of gravity, outlining the contour of the force, making it seem ten times more ferocious. However, be it the crushing of the gravity increased by a hundredfold or the pull of the spear of gravity compressed into an ultra-dense matter which could suck everything within tens of meters from it towards its core, none of them could get rid of the endless black tide. The downtown was engulfed in a sea of fire, the midtown was defended difficultly, but the uptown was shrouded in deathly quiet darkness, where no sound could be heard. In the sea, most of the Royal Fleet''s warships were badly damaged after being swept by the river of darkness, and more than half of the hull enchantments had been broken. The Murlocs and the navy slaughtered each other bloodily on the deck. More and more warships of older versions exhausted their firepower and sank into the sea after the Murlocs chipped holes in them. Wooden warships were unable to cope with such a situation regardless of how strong their firepower was. After exhausting their ammunition, some of the warships of older versions chose to charge towards the depths of the river of darkness and detonate their own aether furnaces, perishing together with a large number of enemies. Only slightly more than ten warships of newer versions that had been refitted in the last few decades still maintained combat power, but the situation was at stake. At the core of the fleet, on a reserve flagship, a figure suddenly rose into the air, holding a cup made of rusted iron, and sprinkled clear spring water into the ocean. It was one of the seven Cups of Virtuesthe Cup of Honesty! The Cup of Honesty immediately drained the musician holding it of all his strength and vitality upon its launch, turning him into flying ashes, and what remained of him was blown away by the wind. However, the Cup of Honesty remained floating in the sky, a sweet-smelling stream of water gushing out nonstop. When the sweet-smelling stream sprayed into the air, it evaporated rapidly, then condensed into clouds of clear water mist. They reflected the neon light from the melodies in the glow of the fire. The water mist had a colloidal texture and instead of blending into the sea, the droplets were suspended on the surface of the sea. They spread rapidly and expanded in all directions, with the reserve flagship as the center. As the faint mist spread fast, the air crackled, and the seawater was in mad turmoil, forming plenty of white foam on the surface. Demons exposed to the air started to scream as if they had been burnt by fire, and the creatures that dared to inhale quickly felt a burning pain from their respiratory tracts. The skin exposed to the mist began to rupture rapidly, then hardened into cuticle. Blood oozed out of the countless cracks resembling tiny mouths, the exposed flesh in the cracks hardening rapidly as well. The lungs were the first to be destroyed. The lobes quickly lost their elasticity. The hardened and deformed lungs could no longer complete the respiration process. They lost moisture and quickly dried up. In the end, the lobes were dehydrated, looking shriveled and contracted, like pieces of rubber burnt black on both sides. Suffocation brought death. ''Honesty'' took away any room for flexibility. Fortunately, ''Honesty'' only affected bodies made of flesh and blood, and was insoluble in water. The cloudy mist floated on the sea, dancing calmly, posing no harm to the navy officers on the decks of the fleet. The attacks of the vile spawn of the sea were temporarily halted, allowing the remaining fleet to maintain their line of defense, albeit difficultly. Following the success brought by the Cup of Honesty, the defending troops in other positions received permission from the command center, three more Cups of Virtues were used successively on the battlefield. ''Courage,'' which produced a large number of hyperactive spores that spread with the wind and grew wildly, was used on the shores of the downtown area. A large number of demons are parasitized by the spores. In just a few seconds, the demons had rapidly swelled, rotted, expanded and exploded, scattering the spores cultivated in their viscera in all directions. Iron sand resembling rain fell from the sky. Upon its fall, it quickly decomposed into gas and diffused into the air. Demons would start seeing illusions after inhalation of the gas, driving them into madness and making them unable to distinguish the enemy from their own. Such was the effect of ''Justice,'' which descended from the sky. Before the Tower Bridge, Geraint sighed and raised his arm, holding a gray cloud of mist, which resembled a huge quilt, with gravity, then dropping it to the front. It was ''Benevolence'', the cup that had the smallest radiation penetration range but could cause intense changes in matter. Where the gray mist was, everything was corroded, be it metal or rock. The outer layer peeled off, and the material became full of holes, crumbling at the slightest touch. Even such hard materials were eroded, let alone flesh and blood... Other than ''Temperance'' and ''Generosity'' that were not here, and the Cup of Hope which was considered to be the most dangerous, all four Cups of Virtues currently owned by the government of Avalon had been used on the battlefield. The appalling numbers of the vile spawn of the sea had been temporarily contained. But their attacks did not stop at all, but increased by several times! Even ten times as much! The rivers of darkness were boiling. The rivers of darkness that extended from the waters in all directions had not been cut off. Although a lot of the vile spawn of the sea had been killed, to the vast sea of darkness, they were insignificant as it would only take a day and a night to cultivate their replacements. Creatures of this level... The sea of darkness could produce as many as were needed! Shortly after, frightening hisses sounded from the river of darkness one by one. Giant mouths opened one after another. The huge sea monsters summoned, which had traveled days and nights from all over the oceans to come to Avalon, opened their mouths and swallowed their food, free from all inhibitions. They consumed a large number of Murlocs, chewing them into pulp, to fill their hunger from not eating for the past few days. Then, they set foot on the battlefield... The first to emerge from the tens of meters of the tsunami was a shriveled Murloc standing on the skull of a humpback whale. The old Murloc, which was so ancient that most of its scales had fallen off, had grown a face that looked vaguely human. The gills on its cheeks opened, tasting the blood in the water vapor. Then it looked down and beat the iron drum, which had cracks all over it and was covered in layers of parasitic rattan, in his arms. Roaring bangs burst forth from the sunken iron drums, causing terrifying aether waves comparable to that caused by a Scepter. The creature was a vile spawn of the sea created during the previous awakening of Leviathan. It had survived for these 150 years. It had been hiding for these 150 years, shepherding sea monsters in the deep sea, waiting for its god to awaken. Once it had appeared, the endless swarms of Murlocs seemed to have gone mad. Their bodies expanded as they entered a frenzy, depleting their worthless vitality to obtain powers far beyond the ordinary. It was born the supreme leader of the Murlocs, the demon musician that could hear the words of their god and play the song of the tsunamithe tide summoner! Next, from the black tide that opened up for it, a huge tentacle reached out in a sudden, slammed down, and crushed a warship into pieces! The monstrous tentacle turned, dexterously capturing the humans scattering from the warship. Then, the countless suckers on the tentacles parted to reveal the sharp teeth within, and it gleefully sucked the fresh blood, which it had been craving for ages. A humongous silhouette emerged from the depths of the ocean, its soft limbs unfolding. The countless tentacles in the depths waved about like flowers. Countless red spots resembling the holy emblem grew on top of its head, and as the suckers drew fresh blood continuously, the red color of the spots turned a shade brighter. It was the legendary nightmare of the deep sea, the red-spotted squid known as the Ten-thousand-hand Clergy... At least one huge shadow was emerging slowly from each of the 16 pitch black rivers in the sea comprising of Murlocs. When Leviathan sang in its long dream before its resurrection to summon them, they had quickly rushed here from all over the oceans. At the moment, less than one-tenth had come. More behemoths were on their way... They were the true vile spawn of the sea that had the blood of catastrophes bestowed upon them and was granted their own territories by Leviathan, the rulers of the boundless oceans! If Leviathan was not sealed before they arrive, the situation in the weeks to come would only get worse. The Royal Fleet at sea had just realized that the situation was becoming worse and worse. The first person to discover it was the lookout of the outermost defense frigate of the fleet. Seawater is flowing. Flowing irregularly... The flows are converging at Avalon! Amid the singing of the tide summoner, the waters roared in response. Huge waves brewed up from afar one after another, howling as they approached. But they did not retreat. In the blink of an eye, the appalling tide swallowed two warships that failed to escape in time. Crushed by the enormous weight, the steel was smashed into tiny pieces. The terrifying impact from the denotation of the aether furnaces was also suppressed by the seawater. A huge bubble was all that was produced, spewing seawater into the air, only for it to fall back quickly. More and more tides converged here. Only then did the lookouts realize that the water level was increasing! At the moment, Avalon was already trapped in a bowl-like structure! Coming from all directions, the waves roared and rose slowly, interweaving into an iron-gray wall. At sea, beneath the skies, all that could be heard was the frightening noise of tons of tons of seawater being carried by the waves. The sea was still slowly rising. It rose bit by bit, swallowing the shallow beach. A tsunami of a few meters high tsunami howled as it approached, destroying the burning houses and extinguishing the pitiful flame, seeping into the outer parts of downtown. All the lookouts could no longer suppress the screams in their throats. The demons no longer paid attention to the fortifications nor the lines of defense, no longer cared about what the humans'' trump card could be, nor anything that humans are trying to do. The humans could do whatever they wanted, for whatever they could do wouldn''t matter. The demons were going to increase the sea level and drown Avalon completely! Then, the suffocating human beings would have to face the real power of the vile spawn of the sea! At the moment, in the flagship of the Royal Fleet, a dead silence ensued in the Command Center of Defense of the Bridge and the Inland Sea. In the suffocating hot air, General Servin, who was sitting in the chair of the commander, silently removed his tobacco pipe from the corner of his mouth. He took out his handkerchief, and carefully wiped the tooth marks off the briar pipe, which he had bitten on out of shock. But two rows of dents had already appeared on the originally sleek and smooth briar pipe, and could not be wiped off. Such a pity. It should have been a piece of art. Servin sighed and leaned his whole body back on the chair as if he were a deflated balloon. "Life really sucks as the temporary commander of the Royal Fleet," he whispered softly. The sheet-white deputy looked at him. "Sir, now what should we..." Servin smiled in self-mockery and looked up. "Issue a general order." He paused and said softly, "We are losing the war, and the capital is at stake. Anglo hopes that all its citizens will honor their duty. This ship would lead the attack later, aiming at the nine o''clock direction from the north. Please make good use of the remaining opportunity for victory." He gripped the pipe in his hand and cut off the communication. In the dead silence, the second officer spoke with a dry voice, "Sir, our ship has no reserves available." "Don''t we have three more aether furnaces?" Servin cast him a final glance and said, "Give my ordersAttack!" "For victory!" he declared. So, the central flagship, the Sovereign, roared, and launched an attack on the tall wall of tides! Servin closed his eyes. "Marquis Lancelot, I''ll be going on my way first." 562 Gif In the drumming of the tide summoner, the ocean roared. Dozens of ocean waves soared from the surface of the dead silent sea out of the blue. Tens of thousands of tons of seawater fell and rose again, colliding with each other, and produced bangs similar to that of iron clashing against each other. It was earthshaking. As the lookouts continued to observe the situation, the Sovereign sent the signal for attack and launched the final attack against the towering tides of tens of thousands of miles in height. Behind the Sovereign, the six remaining warships were silent for a moment, then sent messages via flag semaphore in the direction of Avalon one by one. "Allow us to pave the road to victory for the rest." "Long live Anglo!" "Long live Anglo!" "Long live Anglo!!!" In that fiery light, all the engines on the warships were fully employed, even overloaded. Their horns blared, like the roars of steel monsters, one after another. They followed the Sovereign closely and rushed at the arrogant tides. At that very moment, in the quiet Avalon, a low ringing of bells sounded. It was like an edict being read in a low voice. The loud bangs of rocks cracking followed closely. It was like a landslide. Roaring bangs sounded from the depths of the ocean, stirring up layers of ripples, one after another. In the horrifying hurricane stirred up suddenly, terrifying turbulent waves emerged from the deep sea and spread outwards in all directions. The low ringing of bells traveled outwards in the hurricane, in all directions. Everywhere it passed, in the vicinity of Avalon, melodies burst forth in reply from more than twenty islands surrounding Avalon, which had been silent until then. In peacetime, some of them were temporary ports, some were residential areas, some were commercial harbors, and some were off-limit military bases. After entering the wartime state, everything there was evacuated, and the islands became uninhibited, bare and dead silent. But now, mighty tolls of bells sounded from the islands, responding to the call from Avalon. In the reverberation of the bells, countless trees that had been growing for many years were destroyed out of nowhere. Heavy rocks fell apart and shattered into tiny pieces. A massive amount of earth and stone were shaken off from the islands as they shook. Roads cracked and disappeared. Buildings collapsed and fell apart. Ports shook and sank into the sea. In the end, a terrifying glow shone from each of the islands. The leylines buried in the deep sea were activated. Countless torrents of aether gushed towards the islands and were greedily swallowed by the awakening monsters, leaving no drop behind. A huge amount of soil and rocks fell into the sea, causing a large area of seawater to turn murky. Dust and ashes rose into the sky and were blown away by the hurricane, revealing the actual chaotic situation. Of the 24 islands, ten had disappeared. In their place were ten scorching hot, sun-like glows! The alchemy arrays which had been slumbering in the depths of the island for centuries had been awakened. They absorbed the vast torrents of aether that took all of Anglo''s resources to supply, playing passionate movements, and morphed into their actual forms. They were warships! Each island was a warship giving off terrifying aether waves! They were unlike products of the modern era but resembled antiques kept in the museum. They even had sails of old versions, and the weapons they carried were just arms like ballistae and harpoon cannons that had long been eliminated. But at the moment, everyone in Avalon couldn''t help but cheer and scream in excitement. They themselves were the history of Anglo, the past of Anglo, the embodiment of great achievements in history, the indelible glory of this country! Boom! The ocean was turbulent, as if the entire of it had completely solidified. All the seawater was no longer under the control of the demons. It was no longer flowing, frozen completely by invisible forces. On the flagship of the fleet, Servin, who had already made up his mind to sacrifice himself, jumped up and ran to the porthole. Dumbfounded, he stared at the silhouette of the warships that seemed to function as pillars to stabilize the sea. He couldn''t believe his eyes. "This is impossible!" He murmured softly, "Crown, Revenge, Determination, Magnificence, Ruler, Reaper, Piercer, Arbitrator, Punisher... These are..." "Servin, it''s not your time to sacrifice yet," a voice coming from Avalon sounded in the flagship. "Anglo still needs you to continue fighting." "Marquis Lancelot, is this the sealed First Royal Fleet?" Servin stared at their outlines and danced ecstatically. "Every one of them is a legendary warship. The legends are actually true? I knew it! I knew it! The legendary fleet King Arthur commanded to conquer the seven seas really exists!" The First Royal Navy Fleet, the fleet of glory that has left its mark in history! The undefeatable legend under King Arthur! Each ship is a legendary warship far beyond anyone''s imagination. They recaptured the ocean from Leviathan and opened up new territories for Anglo. They are great existences that have once dominated the ocean! All along, everyone has thought that their existence is just a myth passed down from the dark ages, but never entertained the possibility that they actually exist! Witnessing a legend becoming reality, the ecstatic Servin couldn''t help but dance. "God bless Anglo! Bless! Marquis Lancelot, are we going to counterattack?" From the other end of the communication channel came a long silence. After a long time, Lancelot replied hoarsely, "No, Servin, we are going to retreat." Selvin was stunned. Outside the porthole, the outlines of the sun-like warships began to sway slightly, as if they were slowly dissipating. "What''s going on?" Servin turned back and asked. "It''s the perfect opportunity, sir! As long as we attack, we will be able to reap unprecedented victory! Why retreat?!" He forgot himself and asked aggressively, "Why?!" "I''m sorry, Servin, legends are only legends after all." Lancelot sighed. "The First Royal Fleet is a sealed relic belonging to Stein Chamber Number Zero. "Its flagship, the Intrepid, and the ship reserved for the Queen''s royal progress, the Royal Pride, are all part of the Holy Grail of Destruction and form part of Anglo''s final line of defense. "To dispatch them, one must first obtain all three approvals from the Empress, the Keeper of the Seal and the sword bearer, before commanding them with the state seal and the stone sword. "My hasty activation of it is already an overstepping of my authority. Not even half of the Royal Fleet responded to the order. They will not obey my command as well, and only serve the purpose of deterring the enemy. " Violent coughs sounded, and Lancelot''s voice grew hoarser. "Retreat, Servin, don''t let my efforts go to waste. We must conserve our forces, as we couldn''t afford to make any more sacrifices." Servin bit his lip in silence, staring at the phantoms on the sea with infatuation. After a long time, he threw the crushed heather pipe in his hand onto the ground, and it was as if all his strength had faded away. "Retreat," he ordered in a low voice, not wanting to look at the battle at sea. "I have already expropriated all the ships in the harbor, reinforcements will be with you shortly." Lancelot''s voice sounded from the communication channel, "Later, don''t come back. Meet up with the fleet at the port of Dunkirk and depart straightaway." "Those at Dunkirk?" Selvin was stunned and felt a chill going up his body. "Depart? Where to? Marquis Lancelot, surely you are not preparing to..." "Abandon Avalon," Lancelot voiced out what he had been suspecting, yet feared most in his heart. "Avalon is no longer able to withstand the attacks of the catastrophe, we must move the capital to Birmingham." "Are you crazy?! Lancelot!!!" Servin roared and his face turned red with anger. "Do you f*cking know what you are saying?! For centuries since Anglo was founded, we never experienced such humiliation! Avalon is the city of glory our ancestors have sacrificed for, are you going to hand it over to the catastrophe?! You will be hanged on the Arch of the Traitors! You most certainly will!" "Then so be it." Lancelot''s voice was calm. "Servin, someone must take on such a responsibility. I have been mentally prepared for it since a long time ago. Rest assured, I will stay here and be buried along with the city. But you can''t die meaninglessly here. The country deserves a brighter future. "Now, I entrust you with the future of our nation, Servin. If you want me to beg you, then yes, I beg you, please go to Birmingham. "Please reorganize the army there, and endure future suffering and pain along with the country. "One day, you can definitely return once more. "I firmly believe it. " Servin stiffened. "Lancelot, you..." "Half an hour ago, I have already given the orders to organize an evacuation. Soon, our remaining forces will leave here by boat. I hope that you can escort them safely out of this sea of darkness," Lancelot interrupted. "Half an hour? That''s way too short! There are so many people in Avalon, in such a short time, how can there be enough time to finish evacuating them?!" Servin asked. "We evacuate as many people as we can." Lancelot''s calm answer was one full of cruelty. "It''s the only thing we can do." The communication ended. Servin slumped on the chair, breathing the hot air from the temperature controlling array, and felt nothing but suffocation. His internal organs and hands were convulsing. He wanted to vomit, but couldn''t. He just raised his eyes and stared at the burning Avalon, motionless. Just watching it, he couldn''t help but tear up. It was the city where his ancestors had fought, the city of miracles which countless people had praised and sung about. At the moment, it would be destroyed in his hands. Do we reallyhave to do so? Servin thought. Soon, hasty footsteps sounded outside the bridge. A seaman walked in quickly and whispered in his ear, "Sir, a representative from the Hall family wants to see you." "Hall family?" Selvin was momentarily confused, then immediately realized what was happening. He wrinkled his brows and walked out of the door. He spotted the musician who had with him the access order of the military and had risked landing on the deck after passing through the enchantment despite the battle outside. "I''m here as a representative of the Hall family, Mr. Servin." The middle-aged man bowed. "The Hall family is willing to provide support in the upcoming evacuation to help you accomplish your mission. We only hope that you can show us a little pity during the transfer." The musician who represented the top-ranking family in the Avalon aristocracy paused. His voice condensed into a line and sounded in Servin''s ear, "Ten spots, sir, we need ten spots to ensure that our family members can have priority in evacuating from here. We are willing to pay any price for them." Servin remained silent. But then, one after another, aether waves crossed the war-torn sea, despite attacks from the catastrophes, and landed on the deck flusteredly. "Lord Servin..." "I''m..." The musicians approached him, one after another, and surrounded him. Soon, amid the noise, a person squeezed his way into the core. "Sir, I''m the representative of the Field family." The soaked old man took out a handwritten letter. "Just now, the head of your family has promised to cooperate with us in the upcoming evacuation and to unite our families via marriage. Please make sure that we have enough spots in the evacuation. Before our families are done with their meeting, please do not agree to any other conditions rashly." Servin took the letter from him in silence, opened it forcefully, and saw the familiar handwriting. "You require two boats?" "Yes." The old man leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "More than ten families will be paying for it. It must be different from the commoners who are stuffed in the bilge as ballast. We require clean cabins, dignified treatment, and protection of top priority. We may bring some luggage with us, but those are filled with the national treasures of Anglo that do not deserve to perish along with the city. We guarantee that you will have a good position in the government in exile. " "Get lost..." Selvin squeezed out a few words. The old musician was stunned and couldn''t believe his ears. "What did you just say?" Silence. Servin said nothing and closed his eyes weakly. Soon, he gave a smile of self-mockery. "No, I said nothing." He said, "I will cooperate with you." A deep sense of powerlessness shrouded him. He turned back and looked out of the porthole, at the city that was about to fall, in the hands of the ocean. It''s like a ship that is about to sink into the sea. The remaining ships may be unable to escape a similar end, sooner or later. A great retreat? It''s just an attempt to prolong death. Lancelot, why don''t you understand? Why don''t you understand!!! He withdrew his gaze and shook hands with the old musician with a smile, but for some reason, tears streamed down his face. They wouldn''t stop. The rest of his time consisted of nodding and handshaking numbly. After handing over the command of the ship to the first officer, he returned to the captain''s cabin and sat in his chair, looking at the sea chart of Anglo on the wall. An iced bucket of fine wine was on the table; a gift from some family during the crisis. "30-year-old Fontainebleau, how nice." He stared at the swaying light in the glass and smiled. Then, he took a capsule out of his pocket and threw it into the glass. With a hissing sound, the capsule disappeared. The taste of the wine was still amazing, but it had one more thing in it named dignity. In the lengthy silence, he held the glass up, took a final look at the burning city outside the window, and gave a smile of farewell. "Long live Anglo," he murmured softly, tilted his head upwards and finished his drink. The cold wine slid down his throat, containing a lethal poison, extinguishing the pain and sadness in his organs, and his expression became peaceful. He spread his arms, like a flying bird, ready to embrace death. In the silence, he saw an illusion-like reflection from the window. Someone, maybe the god of death, walked out of the darkness and rested his hands gently on Servin''s shoulders. The stranger''s silver hair was like moonlight. "Am I...dying?" he murmured softly. "It''s still early, Servin." The young man kept his eyes low, as if he was conveying a message from God. "It''s not over yet." "Is that so?" Servin whispered softly. Maybe it was intoxication from alcohol or the effect of the medicine that made his vision darken slowly. "How much longer? I have already grown tired of such war that only brings pain..." "Soon, very soon." The man behind him gave a gentle push, and the chair slowly slid towards the window, making him look at what seemed like a war in hell. "I brought something back." The man said, "Consider it as a gift to the city." "Gift?" Servin laughed. "Where?" In the reflection of the window, the silver-haired young man tilted his head and lit the pipe at the corner of his mouth. He inhaled deeply, and the flame on the tobacco flickered. The phantom-like smoke rose and blurred his face. He said, "It is right in front of you." [The sixth mode is activated.] [Petitioner No. 1 has finished aiming.] [Code: A gift to the pains of the world.] [Fire.] The next moment, in the depths of the fog, the slumbering monster opened its eyes, murderous intention in its gaze. A blazing light tore apart the darkness, noise, distance, and everything. It engulfed everything. A sudden silence descended. The whole world seemed to have been thrown into the bottommost of the abyss. The outlines of the ocean and the sky could no longer be distinguished, and even the fire and storm could no longer be seen. It was light. A light that penetrated everything. The light came from afar. The ocean shook, the demons hissed, the heavens and the earth roared, but all sound was lost, as if the sounds had been blocked out by the light. The light that destroyed everything was emitted from the mouth of the monster. It penetrated thousands of miles of rain and waves, tearing apart the towering iron-gray tides. It chiseled a precise crack in the bowl imprisoning Avalon, advancing forward. Forward, forward, forward! It ignited the fog, pierced through the wind, evaporated the sea, crossed the distance, stung countless stunned eyes mistakes and descended on the battlefield. It engulfed the ancient tide summoner drumming and singing in the center of the tides. Dead silence. The short moment of silence felt so long. The next moment, a fierce scream of pain resounded between the heavens and the earth. It was the ocean crying in pain. It was the whine of sorrow of the dying old Murloc. It was the roars of the ten thousand tons of seawater that had lost all forms of support and fell from the sky, returning to the sea. As the seawater that had risen fell again, the vacuum collided with waves of air, producing bangs similar to steel scraping against steel. The iron drum had already evaporated in the light of destruction. The huge humpback whale turned into stiff charcoal in an instant. The tide summoner lost its tides, and its entire hunched body shrunk significantly, like frost evaporating quickly when exposed to the scorching sun. [Observation is complete. Shelling has been effective.] [Transition from the sixth mode to the seventh mode is complete.] [Petitioner No. 1 overheating; cooling process started; Petitioner No. 2 warmed up; Transfer of alchemy array complete; Warm-up of Petitioner No. 3 started] [Aiming is complete.] [Fire.] In the next moment, a terrifyingly bright light burst forth from the behemoth that roared past from afar once more. It was a roar of ecstasy and anticipation, containing murderous intention that was reignited after many years of slumber. It was the ecstatic cry of the old men. "Yes! That''s right! That''s how it should be!" Facing the ocean that was stirring up huge waves as if it was enraged, mad laughter sounded from the deck, and the madmen dancing in ecstasy roared at the sea. "Look, our souls are here!" "Right here!" A flaming holy emblem slowly rose above the bow and ignited the iron-gray sky. It was like a sun. After many years, the emblem of the Religious Court of Inquiry made its mark once again on the battlefield that it hadn''t set foot on for a long time! Come fight us, for we are back, it declared. Continue, our war that would never end till the day we die! War! The blazing light of destruction descended from the sky as if it would never end. The deciding piece had been placed on the chessboard of war by an outsider. The monsters who made their way here from afar had finally embarked on the battle belonging to them! On board the Sovereign, Servin was finally jolted awake from his drowsy state, confirming that everything that had just happened was not just a dream, nor an illusion. After jerking awake from his drowsiness, Servin turned back in shock and looked at the young man. He was smoking a pipe and kept his eyes down. His silver hair reflected the fire outside the porthole and shimmered as if it was burning. "Who on earth are you?!" Servin asked. "Me?" The silver-haired young man laughed and opened his left hand. In his palm was the poison capsule that should have dissolved in the wine a good while ago. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Servin." The young man shrouded in smoke raised his head, like a monster in the mist revealing its true form. "My name is Ye Qingxuan," he said. Hand of God, Ye Qingxuan. 563 Counter-attack At the moment, at the bridge of the Sovereign, a dead silence ensued. "An unknown warship is approaching." The lookout turned his head in shock and looked towards the command post. "The warship has fired at the demons. Is it from friendly forces? It does not have an identification code, do we cooperate or do we not?" The command post was empty. Loud bangs roared. The second observer was ecstatic. "The tide summoner is badly hit! The red-spotted squid as well! The other six sea monsters within observation range have transferred their aims! The unknown warship is increasing its speed and has entered the coastal waters of Avalon. The two parties have begun to fight!" The representative of the aristocrats, who had taken over Servin''s place, was stunned. His expression changed as he had not expected such an event to occur, nor did he know where the unknown warship, which was key to the battle, had come from. "Sir, the situation is great!" The staff officer looked up and asked, "Do we follow up the victory with a hot pursuit?" "..." The representative wrinkled his brows, a cloudy expression on his face. "No need for that, it''s just nice that someone is helping us attract firepower. Sail homeward! Carry on with the evacuation plan." The staff officer was silent. He thought, withdrawing now can save the Royal Fleet, but this means leaving all the pressure to the unknown reinforcements. The pressure faced by the unknown warship will probably double in such a situation. Abandoning the miraculous assistance, but instead choosing to continue with the Dunkirk evacuation... "No, there will be no more evacuation." Someone opened the door and entered, pushing the representative in his seat aside. Servin put on his hat, and he was in high spirits. "We counterattack! Fully cooperate with the reinforcements, and take Avalon back from the demons!" Amid everyone''s shocked expressions, he turned and looked behind him. "So I''ll leave it to you, thanks, Mr. Ye." "It''s my duty." Ye Qingxuan nodded. In the confused gazes, he pinned the badge representing the Fifth Division on his collar, then stood in the middle of the bridge unceremoniously. "Attention, all. From now on the command of the ship is transferred to Ye Qingxuan, the temporary person-in-charge of the Fifth Division. Next, we will launch a counterattack against the catastrophe." From the communication array, Servin''s voice rang out on board each surviving warship. "Victory is in sight. I hope that all of you will fight courageously, and not tarnish the glory of the kingdom!" "Counterattack?" The navy on board the ships was stunned at first, then ecstasy and cheers rose among them. Counterattack! The time to counterattack is here!!! Soon, after installing the interval of identification, the communication channel between the Royal Navy and the Religious Court of Inquiry was set up. An ancient voice sounded from the array, "This is the Mountain of Nomadism." "Shi Dong?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yep," came the reply. "Get ready for the war! You will need to take the lead in the coming counter-attack. " Ye Qingxuan said calmly, "The good name of the Religious Court of Inquiry has just been reinstated, and everyone is looking forward to our performance. If it is smashed by the demons, we really will lose face." "All glory and victory in the mortal realm will be yours, Grand Inquisitor," Shi Donggong replied. "Very soon, the demons will know who they are fighting against today." Ye Qingxuan smiled, leaned against the chair and adjusted his posture until he felt comfortable. "Alright, I''ll wait and see." ... "Did you hear that?" On the deck of the warship, Shi Dong turned back. Behind him, the knights of the Witch Hammer, who had finished putting on their armor and equipment, went down on one knee and affirmed in unison. "Then you may go." Shi Dong lowered his eyes and said, "I''m getting old, and have limited energy nowadays, so let''s make it quick." The knights nodded silently, turned and left. Against the hurricane blowing right at him, Shi Dong gazed at the giant squid waving its countless tentacles about and stirring up waves amid the glow of the burning fire. Ten-thousand-hand Clergy. "Let''s start with a big one." He whispered softly, "It makes me upset to see the warehouse so empty. If we catch this creature, it should be able to fill up a significant portion of the empty space, right?" Shi Dong turned back and ordered softly, "Remember, capture it alive." So, the pitch black Mountain of Nomadism roared, separating the waves and advanced. After the three main batteries took turns firing and carpet-bombed the demons, they were all overheated and were in the midst of cooling. At the moment, the warship had almost zero firepower. However, the most dangerous thing about the warship had never been itself, but the group of old devils on the ship who were craving demon blood. The craving was so strong that it was almost driving them crazy. Booming movements suddenly burst forth. In the bilge, all the purifiers gathered together, achieving coherence via the alchemy array. Using the sound of heart of the Mountain of Nomadism as the main axis and a landmark, the disorganized movements of their sound of heart was constantly changing, until they finally had the same rhythm. Vast aether waves were born from it. The waves in the pool of aether tumbled as if they were boiling. Inexhaustible energy rose against the flow and ascended into the sky, gathering on the burning holy emblem in the sky. Then, from the holy emblem, a vague figure appeared. It was the Vacuum that materialized after more than a hundred purifiers joined forces to carry out nature interference, their sound of heart converging. Attaching their tenacity on it, their powers merged into one, constructing the embodiment of discipline with their music theories from the same school. The phantom clergy, who was wearing a crown, donning a robe and holding a rosary made of rose quartz, lowered his head and gazed at the world. He reached out and pointed at the surface of the sea. So, in an instant, the huge red-spotted squid let out a scream of fury. Benediction De Dieu Dans La Solitude. The horns blared in a high pitch, seemingly excited. Hot steam spewed out of the hull of the Mountain of Nomadism, followed closely by the serious and cold melody. It was a pipe organ. It was a gigantic pipe organ that had been built into the hull during the manufacturing process, with the central pool of aether as its source. The six layers of piano keys played on their own, and the organ stops popped up and down, as the organ played a solemn hymn. In the melody of the hymn composed by the King of Blue of the first generation, the music theory containing the essence of the School of Abstinence spread out. As the figure pointed, it fell into the sea. Nature interference! ''Build the temple of God here.'' ''Prepare his way, pave his road, turn the seven seas into a thoroughfare... And solidify the sea completely!'' The nature interference of terrifying scale had completely altered the seawater in the whole region, turning it into a rock solid state. The initially turbulent waves disappeared, leaving only seemingly frozen, solidified ripples. The red-spotted squid, with half of its body floating above the water surface, was completely trapped, its angry tentacles whipping the water surface furiously, causing loud bangs that sounded like iron and stone scraping against each other. On the front deck of the Mountain of Nomadism, the metal assembled in arrays flowed silently. Two iron tracks, like that of railroad carriages, rose from the cracks in the deck. They fixed themselves on the deck and extended outwards bit by bit. In the end, they were directed at the Ten-thousand-hand Clergy struggling angrily. "Everyone get ready!" "The battle begins!" At the vanguard, the grand knight put on his helmets and stepped onto the iron tracks. In a flash, the tracks whistled sharply, ejecting the armored knight forward in the midst of sparks resulting from friction. He broke through the air, traveled a long distance and slammed towards the huge demon. The next moment, they brushed past each other. The horrifying amount of kinetic energy provided by the armor caused the Epee of Sighs to whistle sharply as it smashed through the air, tearing a huge crack open on the red-spotted squid. The putrid blood gushed out as a heavy tentacle was cut off neatly. It fell on the frozen sea and curled unconsciously due to the residual nerve signals. The overloaded power armor emitted a burning glow. The Grand Knight abandoned his sword and removed the heavy steel banner he was carrying on his back. Holding it firmly with both of his hands, he stabbed the squid with all his might. Amid the roars, the flag tore a red spot resembling a holy emblem apart like a nail, pinning the squid''s head on the surface of the sea. Then, a fiery flame ignited from the banner, providing a guide to the phantom clergy in the sky. The glints of armors crossed the night sky one after another, the stars falling like rain. In a flash, tens of knights of the Witch Hammer had descended from the sky, plunging the iron shovels they carried with them downwards. In the end, tens of burning banners were erected from the sea. They pointed upwards at the sky as if they were guiding the descending destruction, and flames flared up. In the sky, the phantom clergy pointed again. The pitch black layers of clouds were torn apart, and horrifying meteors fell from the sky. They were made of iron condensed within the clouds. The iron was cast in the thunderclouds and shaped into stakes. With the howling wind, they descended over a long distance and smashed towards the Ten-thousand-hand Clergy in the impassioned blaring of the horns. They dedicated themselves to declare that the dawn had arrived. Night on Bald Mountain! The next moment, a sharp hiss sounded from the beak of the red-spotted squid. Innumerable stakes of a scorching red nailed into its body, the Purifying Fire blazed and spread, covering its whole body, as if it had been thrown into a burning purgatory. Although it was surrounded by the sea on all sides, it could obtain no solace from the cold waters. In the burning fire, it convulsed in pain. Countless tentacles suddenly whipped out, breaking the iron nails, but also leaving many appalling wounds behind. Then, it spat thick, pitch black ink out from its beak. Such liquid was a manifestation of its abnormal nature, a weapon produced in the demon''s organs by gathering the evil elements in the bloodline of the catastrophe. Although it looked like ink, it was actually how catastrophic music theory looked after it had eroded reality. By simply appearing, it swallowed everything less than a kilometer away from it instantly. Even the glow of the fire was as faint as that of a firefly in comparison. For it, the area covered by the thick ink was its paradise, but for all other creatures, it was a desperate situation. But in such a desperate situation, a hurricane swept here. At the moment, the old knight holding his sword raised his eyes, a steel-like glint in his murky pupils. "It''s time for a meal," he murmured softly. So, flames resembling the eyes of a monster burst forth in the ghastly white bones of the snake, which formed the stem of the ship. The ship charged into the thick ink. The heart in the pool of aether pumped wildly, stirring up waves. A magnificent amount of power flared, spurring the humongous Mountain of Nomadism into the fog. The steel-like seawater was shattered under the impact. The armor covered in scales scraped against the steel-like seawater, causing loud bangs. The terrifying weight and momentum of the entire warship was immediately exerted on the gigantic monster. The ram made of demon bones, smelted in a furnace under high temperature, ruthlessly hit the body of the squid, glinting in dark green. It overpowered the squid as easily as crushing dry weeds and rotten wood, smashing into the enemy territory with an unstoppable and formidable force... What other weapons would it possibly need? The Mountain of Nomadism itself was like a famed, tempered blade! A weapon fit for war, armed with its own mass and the added momentum provided by the heart of a behemoth! Even a legendary warship could not withstand a direct slam from it under full force. According to calculations, even an island made of stone would split to form a straight passageway if hit by a Mountain of Nomadism in full force, let alone mere flesh and blood? For a moment, innumerable tentacles were crushed into pieces. The Ten-thousand-hand Clergy whined in pain, as it was almost cut in half. In the excruciating pain, the monstrous red-spotted squid waved its tentacles about forcefully, wrapping them around the Mountain of Nomadism. Countless tentacles tightened forcibly, scratching against the hull and tearing the steel on the outer layer apart as if it was trying to pull the entire hull apart completely. In the past, it was a really useful trick. Initially, apart from a particular warship of Asgard that resembled a fortified city, everything else was fairly fragile when wrapped in its tentacles. Unfortunately, this time, it had chosen the wrong opponent... 564 Avalon, I’m Back In the ink-like pitch black darkness, sharp sounds rang out one after another. It was caused by the tentacles of Ten-thousand-hand Clergy scraping against the steel. In the tugging and restraint of the tentacles, the Mountain of Nomadism was almost snatched up from the surface of the sea, and the machinery hung on the deck was crushed in an instant. At the foremost, Shi Dong stood quietly. Despite the thick tentacles stirring up hurricanes that brushed past him, he merely looked up and stared at the demon close at hand. He looked at its strange eye. And he couldn''t help but smile. Instinctively, the huge squid felt an unexplained uneasiness. Just looking at the old man''s face made it feel threatened. It had been more than 200 years. From the start till the present... Since Shi Dong held his sword for the first time, countless demons had seen the cold, forbidding smile at the corner of the old man''s lips before their deaths. At the moment, the smile had been stained with blood, lending a grotesque note to it, and exuded a chilling and fearsome aura, like one of graves and bones. Even though he was so ancient that he would soon return to dust, even though he was so old that he couldn''t stand without a cane, it hadn''t changed. The iron-like fanaticism contained in the smile did not diminish at all, as if it was within his soul, or was a flame that was being passed from the carcass of a demon to another... "I am here," Shi Dong stood up, using his sword as support, and murmured to it softly. Then, a sound beyond tens of thousands of times louder than the noise just now burst forth. On the huge hull of the Mountain of Nomadism, the innumerable fasteners hidden under the armor were detonated in an instant and detached themselves. The scaly armor fell off the hull like leaves dropping. Wrung by the tentacles, the steel shell that had lost its support shriveled. However, its true nature that had been hidden under the camouflage revealed itself to the world for the first time as the crack spread. It was like a monster breaking free from the cage holding it prisoner. It was... alive! Beneath the snake skull hung on the bow, the blazing glows, which resembled a pair of eyes, turned bright red. The iron shell shattered and collapsed. Under the iron shell, a behemoth with warm and rancid breath revealed itself. The huge mouth full of sharp teeth, with its gums showing, was slowly opening! As if it was grinning, it lovingly gave the prey that had delivered itself to the doorstep a kiss, thenshut suddenly! The darkness was boiling. The ink-like dark fog was like a dying leper, madly convulsing, expanding, contracting, roaring, crying First, a series of earth-shattering loud bangs rang out. Then, painful screams sounded. In the end, only a chilling munching sound remained. Crack Crack Crack When the fog slowly dissipated, only the Mountain of Nomadism that was stained a dark green by the blood was still floating on the sea. Insignificant pieces of meat and residue slowly sank into the sea. As for the Ten-thousand-hand Clergy which had been reigning in the deep sea for centuries, it had completely disappeared without a trace. "Elder Shi Dong, are you..." Carol climbed up the deck clumsily, full of worry, but lowered his voice without realizing it when he saw the figure standing in the pool of blood, with his back straight still. "Are you alright?" "Me? I can''t possibly feel any better." Shi Dong turned back with a smile on his aged face, and an indescribable sense of satisfaction in his smile. "I hadn''t been expecting such a refreshing appetizer right after reaching Avalon "Carol, I''m starting to like this era," he said. - "What''s going on here?" At the moment when it was clear who had won the battle, everyone fell silent for a short while, as if they were doubting their own eyes. But it was soon followed with boiling ecstasy and cheers. "The Ten-thousand-hand Clergy has been defeated!!!" The blood of the demons was ignited in the purifying movements. The Mountain of Nomadism bathing in flames cut through the waves and slowly advanced in the magnificent movements. Like an iron plow turning the soil, invisible forces from it continuously fished out demons hiding in the seawater and tore them apart. So, the turbid seawater was dyed an ink-like crimson red. The viscous blood floated on the surface of the sea like grease, fueling the fire. The scorching hot flames spread in the water, illuminating the dark world. Cheers and praises came from afar, reverberating on the sea. Like thunder, they almost drowned the hisses and roars out. "Dear all, join the battle, our counter-attack has just begun!" Ye Qingxuan''s voice rang out on the bridge of every ship. "We will not retreat in this war! Let us banish the demons from this region of the sea completely, to pay our respects to the souls who have died heroically in battle and the sacrifices in the past!" He paused and declared resolutely, "Let us reclaim this country, reclaim Avalon!" Countless people shouted fanatically in response. "Counterattack! Counterattack!" The roars and shouts voice echoed on the entire battlefield. Under the illumination of the holy emblem, bangs and roars sounded once more. The vast, mighty war resumed after a short break! After a century, the fire of burning stakes was reignited in the dark night that was too long for one to see when it would end. After a brief silence, the silhouettes of the Knights of the Round Table rose from Avalon and joined them on the violent battlefield. As the Mountain of Nomadism advanced, the gigantic demons hidden in the deep sea were pulled out one by one and chopped up into tiny pieces. After the materials that could be utilized were extracted, the remains were mercilessly thrown into the purifying flames. In the end, the ocean was almost covered by flames. Using demon carcasses as firewood, the flames danced in the hymn, outlining the scene of the purgatory of trial in the mortal world. The battle lasted for the whole night. It was a short night, but it felt like forever. When the last giant monster of the deep sea was crushed by a cannonball from the Petitioner, and the dark rivers that the demons had gathered into were burned completely by the flames, the war finally came to an end, for the time being. Everyone stood where they were, blank looks on their faces, and stared at the sea that was covered in blood and ashes. It was as if they had just awakened from a nightmare and didn''t know where they were. "It has ended?" "No more demons?" "We... have won?" "Victory!!!" "Long live! Long live Anglo!!!" The ecstasy of surviving a disaster and the glory of victory after a fierce battle blended together and became an impulsive feeling to tear up in joy. Be it on the decks, in the sky, or in the bridges of the ships, everyone cheered and hugged each other, bursting into tears, screaming and roaring. Amid the hustle and bustle, in the commander''s seat, Ye Qingxuan took off his hat and put it on the table. He stretched tiredly and felt his whole body finally relaxing. Gazing at the city outside the porthole that re-lighted, I couldn''t help but smile. "Return to the harbor." He murmured softly, "Let''s go home." Avalon, I''m back. After traversing through a long and narrow waterway, the sluice of the port which was covered in scratches slowly opened. The machinery rotated, making a sharp scraping noise. In the turbulent waters, the Royal Navy, with scars all over, finally entered the harbor. They were met with dazzling lights. The crowds were surging and cheering wildly. No matter how hard the guards outside the port tried to block them, it was impossible to extinguish the enthusiasm and ecstasy. "Long live Avalon!" "Long live Avalon!" "Long live Avalon!" The cheers were like a tsunami. They no longer had to worry about being left behind in the sudden Great Retreat, or being separated from their family members, having to leave their homeland and embark on a long dark journey. The sudden great victory was a shot in the arm to the city that had almost suffocated under the lengthy torture, and the suffering people were full of anticipation for the future. The pitch black warship that had shown up out of the blue brought them hope. The purifying musicians who opened up land in the World of Dark during the Pioneering Era a century ago had returned again, holding their flaming banners high. They came to the city at its darkest and most vulnerable moment, cast the demons into the flames and illuminated the dim, suffocating world once more. At the foremost of the crowd, the nobles who had rushed to the scene from various agencies, or even the fleet of evacuation, were not necessarily feeling light-hearted. The upper-class men, who got to know about the evacuation plan half a day ahead of the commoners, had carried out innumerable secret transactions in the very short period of time to obtain priority in the evacuation and fight for the last remaining resources. Some even ran through a fortune. The authorities let it go unchecked, as the exhausted Lancelot was too tired to care anymore, and even went so far as to acquiesce in their setting-up of the government in exile. The evacuation plan ended up being aborted, and the government in exile was nowhere to be seen of course. Some people were slower in taking action, and had been wringing their hands in frustration or even despair, but felt relieved after the victory, smiling cheerfully and rejoicing at their fate. As for those were quick-handed, they had already boarded the boats a long time ago The boats were still here, but they meant nothing now. Although the fate of the city was still uncertain in the coming days, who could guarantee that there would be another suitable timing for evacuation? In the sudden Great Retreat this time, the nobility and senior officials occupied as much as two-thirds of the fleet. Few of the remaining one-third of tickets fell into the hands of commoners but were priced astronomically, as the prices were driven up wildly due to high demand. The grassroots were extremely disappointed with them. The consultants didn''t even need to investigate further before they sighed and assured their employers that their credibility and image were presently at a new low, and that they were completely stuck in the Tacitus trap. Whatever they did would be seen as evil deeds. If another evacuation was to be conducted in the future, then what they would face before the retreat would be an angry riot. At that time, it would be hard to say to whom the spots on the ships would belong to. Therefore, regarding this savior who had shown up out of the blue, quite a number of people only felt a strong sense of bitterness. They had zero gratitude for him, and even felt a tinge of hatred, despite it being well hidden. In the complicated looks and hushed conversations of the nobles, the crowd surged. Lead by a Grand Knight and escorted by the garrison, two black carriages drove to the port. One bore the emblem of the Church and was from Westminster Abbey. The door opened, and with the help of the attendants, Mephistopheles, the archbishop who had been blind for many years, got off. The other was even more low-key and bore no emblem. A pale middle-aged man got out from the carriage. He wore a black formal-looking dress suit, but a sharp-eyed person could see the wrinkles on the corner of his blazer, which clearly had not been changed for many days. The dress suit was thicker than ordinary. It had thick fur sewn into it and was fairly warm, but his face showed no ruddiness. Instead, he covered his mouth with a handkerchief and coughed so hard that it felt like his heart and lungs would be torn. A number of years ago, he was badly hurt by an assassin when he was protecting the Empress, and his wound never healed properly. His lung disease had already been determined as incurable. "Marquis Lancelot..." The soft discussion in the crowd paused. Everyone looked at the figure standing in front and couldn''t help but stop talking. At this moment, the only remaining backbone of Avalon, the actual ruler of the Kingdom of Anglo, the leader of the Privy CouncilLancelot, showed up here alone, without even bringing any attendants along. He only nodded at Archbishop Mephistopheles, but said nothing and cast his gaze on the black warship entering the port slowly. He didn''t speak a word. 565 Return When the black warship docked, the entire port fell silent. Everyone gazed quietly at the sharp silhouette that it cast in the dim light. A strong wind with a strong stinking smell blew from afar. Lancelot covered his mouth and coughed restrainedly. After a good while, he wiped off the blood between his fingers with a handkerchief. A low sigh came from beside him. Mephistopheles reached out and handed him a small yet exquisite hand warmer. Lancelot did not refuse. As he held the hand warmer, his face turned slightly more rosy. "How much longer can you stay outdoors?" Mephistopheles'' blind eyes seemed to fall on his chest and look past his clothes at the lungs plagued by an old illness. "I believe that the doctor has told you not to come out." "There are always exceptions to everything." Lancelot shook his head and stared at the silent dark shadow, murmuring softly, "I really really want to see him." "Lancelot, so does everyone else who is here." The murky pupils of Mephistopheles which had no light in them looked forward, but it seemed as if everything was within his observation. The pair of blind eyes overlooked the crowd, looking at the civilians, nobles, businessmen, and soldiers, distinguishing their faces one by one as if he could see their thoughts. He slowly spoke: "Some come here out of respect. "Some come here to display their stance. "Some come here to put on a show..." He paused, his blind eyes fixed on the outermost of the port, the surging crowd stretching all the way to the end of the road, and a shimmer of awe and respect appeared in his murky pupils. "And some come here to honor the legend." At that moment, a deep, low sound rang out. At first, it was the deep reverberation of the creaks from the hinges of steel armor, followed by the sonorous echoes of iron boots stepping on the deck. Hundreds of people gathered into a regiment and assembled into arrays. As they moved forward, the sounds evolved into magnificent roars. The dead silent seawater was stirred by the sounds, forming waves. The cold sea breeze swept past, blowing at those who were trying hard to put on a smile until their faces turned pale. The people who made their way to the front, wanting to make a good impression and display goodwill at the earliest time possible, were stunned. They paused where they were in the sound, and could not help but want to back away. Because in the glow of the lanterns, the bright red banners were raised once again. The holy emblem fluttered in the wind and advanced. Two rows of armored knights, who were stained black by the blood of the demons, walked out of the slowly opening door. Under the illumination of the light, a cold glint reflected off the steel helmets in a grotesque fashion. The clergymen, who were had such burly builds that they looked inhuman, held the bright red banners high and lead the way. They wore chain hoods, and their robes were covered in heavy iron armor. As they marched forward slowly, the armor clanked, creating sonorous echoes. The clergymen leading the way marched forward in a straight line. As if they did not see the people welcoming them approaching, their speed did not slow down, causing the enthusiastic smiles on the faces around them to become stiff and unsustainable. The people who had approached backed away clumsily, turning the warm, welcoming atmosphere into a silent and awkward one. "What is going on?" Several representatives of aristocrats wiped cold sweat from their brows and exchanged glances. Someone was chosen and reluctantly gathered up enough courage approach the clergyman leading the way. But the advancing procession showed no signs of stopping, continuing forward slowly. The representative standing in their way was stunned, his face becoming whiter and whiter. Finally, the footsteps stopped in front of him. The clergyman holding the banner high lowered his eyes and seemed to be sizing him up. Under the illumination of the dim light, the burly clergyman cast a thick, dark shadow, covering the pale face of the representative, who couldn''t help but swallow hard and forced out a smile. The representative said, "I am the concertmaster of Avalon..." "Thou shalt bow," a hoarse voice said, interrupting him. In the clergyman''s blurred outline, against the light, it seemed that a cold and indifferent gaze was cast downwards, with an iron-like majesticness. Under the gaze, he could hardly maintain the smile on his face, and cold sweat seeped from his forehead. He averted his gaze, not daring to look at the pair of eyes anymore. The clergyman withdrew his gaze and declared it coldly, "Fear God." In the dead silence of the cold wind, only the banner with the holy emblem on it was making a fluttering sound. Faint footsteps sounded from a distance. Gazed upon by everyone, the thin figure walked out of the darkness, stepped on the road paved by the purifiers and entered the area illuminated by dim light. In the dead silence, even the sounds of breathing had disappeared. Only faint footsteps echoed. In the clanking of steel, the armored knights went down on one knee and lowered their heads as a sign of respect to the rulers. Surrounded by the clergymen, the thin young man stepped off the warship and set foot on the port. In the cold wind, he breathed into his palms and rubbed his hands, seemingly not used to the cold of winter. A stole embroidered with black gold was draped over his shoulders and covered part of the vestment he was wearing. It was not of a crimson red color favored by Archbishops but of a deep purple. Under the illumination of glow coming from the swaying lantern, his silver hair, blown by the wind, resembled burning mercury. In the silence, he stood on the shore and gazed at the city that he hadn''t returned to for quite some time. He had only bid it farewell for the short span of four months, yet everything had become completely different. A lot of things had changed. Everything of the past had disappeared. But its essence still remained the same. Avalon "I''m finally back," Ye Qingxuan murmured softly. Under the fluttering, bright red holy emblem, he overlooked the crowd and raised his hand, like the emperor who arrived here back then, proclaiming the truth to mortals. He declared, "God bless Anglo." Tsunami-like cheers sounded. The crowd surged like boiling water. Even the earth trembled from being stepped on chaotically by countless people. Dust flew up, whirling in the air, and tremored in their shouts. The fanatical crowd stared at the emblem and the young man''s figure. Waving their arms, they swarmed forward, trying, again and again, to enter the cordoned area regardless of the attempts by the guards outside to block them. Countless people held the lanterns in their hands up, waving their arms, and shouted at Ye Qingxuan, praising him with all the words they know. As Ye Qingxuan advanced, the banner with the sacred emblem on it was held high in the gale, and the believers became more and more fanatical, throwing themselves to the ground at the savior in front of them. The disorganized shouts gradually overlapped and merged into one, saying the same words with the same voice. "Hand of God!" The crowd looked up at the figure of Ye Qingxuan and praised him fanatically, "Hand of God!" "Hand of God!!!" As the shouts of countless people gathered to a roar, it shook the world. It was like the quiet city was humming in a low tone. As if its true master had finally arrived, it respectfully presented everything in its possession, humbly imploring the arriver to bestow salvation upon it. In the deafening shouts, the people standing in front gazed at each other embarrassedly, their expressions change slightly. Despite obviously trying to remain calm, they could not hide the shock and fear emerging from the bottom of their eyes. It wasn''t that they were unclear about Ye Qingxuan''s identity and his past. At the moment of Ye Qingxuan''s return, the information of his past was presented to countless people. In the beginning, they thought of uniting to control such a powerful force. After that, when they saw how powerful he was, they eagerly wanted to establish good connections with the distinguished young man that had returned. But now, they didn''t even have the courage to stay here and introduce themselves. At that moment, they finally understood that the newcomers were not loyal soldiers, nor naive heroes, nor impressionable politicians who could be persuaded with benefits and compromises. The clergyman told them, "Thou shalt bow and fear God." Under the deep purple vestment and the stole symbolizing justice, he was not the young man they had expected, but the archbishop sanctioned by the Sacred City, the Grand Inquisitor who had re-established the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Hand of God who had brought iron and fire with him! All mortals intoxicated with power and desire were like dust in his eyes. "Another a madman," someone whispered. "Lancelot, haven''t you understood?" Mephistopheles turned back and looked at the dismayed Lancelot. He said, "Avalon has changed, old friend, and so has the world. He is no longer the child you could protect. I know what you''re thinking, but you can''t change him. " Lancelot lowered his eyes and said nothing. In the cheers of the crowd, Ye Qingxuan walked forward and smiled as he looked at the old archbishop in front of him. "Archbishop Mephistopheles, it''s good to see you so well." Out of habit, he wanted to put his hand over his heart and bow, but just as he lifted his hand, he was stopped by Mephistopheles. The murky blind eyes rose as if the archbishop was looking at a young man in front of him. After a good while, he smiled with a tinge of emotion. "You are already the Hand of Gods, Archbishop, there''s no need to bow to me." As he spoke, Mephistopheles removed the signet ring, which was a token of power, from his index finger, and carefully put the ring on Ye Qingxuan''s right hand. Finally, he bent down and drew the young man''s right hand to his forehead, which touched the signet ring gently. "I''m already old." He smiled as if he had unloaded a burden. "From now on, all matters in the Archdiocese of Anglo will be completely under your jurisdiction." Ye Qingxuan had never expected that Archbishop Mephistopheles would hand over the Westminster Abbey, which he had been guarding for decades, and the entire enchantment of Avalon to him immediately upon his return. Although he held the concurrent post of Grand Inquisitor, in the hierarchy of the Church, he was still of the same rank as Mephistopheles. In fact, as a diocesan bishop, Mephistopheles could totally ignore Ye Qingxuan''s opinions regarding the matters in the archdiocese. It was a right granted to Mephistopheles by the Church. But at the moment, he handed all of it over to Ye Qingxuan. "You probably still have many more things to deal with, I will not disturb you any further." Mephistopheles did not give him time to refuse, but simply nodded and bade him farewell, "I have prepared the encampment for your subordinates at the Westminster Abbey. I''ll be waiting for your arrival there." Having finished his words, he stepped back with the aid of his retinue and left. But when he walked past Shi Dong, he paused for a moment and seemed to nod in reverence, but it was so subtle that it could hardly be perceived. In the end, Ye Qingxuan sighed and looked in front. He looked at Lancelot, who had been waiting for a long time, and opened his mouth to say something, but didn''t know what to say. However, Lancelot clutched his cane and walked towards Ye Qingxuan, brushing aside attempts from others to support him. He came closer and observed the young man''s face like he was trying to identify the contours from the past. As if he was looking at a family member who had finally returned after a long time, his gaze became complicated and gratified. "You''re back?" he asked softly. "Yep." Ye Qingxuan nodded and got a shock. It was because Lancelot raised his arms strenuously and hugged him. For the first time in many years, Lancelot hugged him, but he had become weak and lacked strength. "That''s great." He said, "It''s good to see you back." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time. He wanted to break away, but hesitated, and did not refuse in the end. Soon, Lancelot realized his faux pas. He let go and rubbed his eyes awkwardly. "Sorry, I was caught up in the moment. All these years, I have been hoping that you would return, It''s really great that you came back." As he spoke, he supported himself with the cane and dragged Ye Qingxuan forward with staggering footsteps. "Let''s go, I will bring you back home. I have a lot to say to you, Little Yezi, a lot." But Ye Qingxuan stood where he was, and as he looked around, the look in his eyes became one of confusion. "Why are you guys the only ones here? Where''s Maxwell? The old b*stard, surely he isn''t trying to put on airs, not even bothering to welcome me back?" Lancelot was silent for a moment, put on a forced smile. "Certain things beyond everyone''s expectations happened. He couldn''t make his way here for now." He continued, "Let me bring you home to get some rest first." Lancelot averted his gaze and refused to look at Ye Qingxuan''s eyes anymore. "A lot has happened while you were gone. You have enough time to make sense of it slowly." Ye Qingxuan looked at him and remained quiet for a long time. Finally, he slowly nodded. "Alright." 566 Thames Above the warm water''s surface, thick water vapor drifted in, slowly rising. It danced on the dome above, which was adorned with porcelain decorations, condensed into water droplets, and finally fell into the pool. Tick. The sound was gentle and soft. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and rubbed his face with his hands. In the warm bathing pool, his body, which had stiffened in the sea breeze, warmed up. Tiredness took its toll, and a deep drowsiness engulfed him. He propped himself up, stepped out of the bathing pool, and pulled the towel off the rack to dry himself. Outside the door, a servant''s voice rang out, "Young Master, dinner is ready." "Noted." Ye Qingxuan finished changing and opened the door. The servant at the door bowed his head respectfully. "The Master is waiting for you in the dining room." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan caught a whiff of the scent of incense lingering in the air, and his nose felt itchy. As one of the founding fathers of Avalon, the Lancelot family owned many properties in Avalon. Even in midtown, which had once been the most prosperous region, they also had a large mansion in the most expensive area. It even came with a wide courtyard and garden, isolating the mansion from the noise outside, making it a tranquil spot amid the hustle and bustle of the city. It was much better than Lola''s remotely located mansion which resembled a haunted house. In the past, when the previous head of the household, namely Ye Qingxuan''s maternal grandfather, was still alive, Ye Qingxuan used to come here often, and he could still remember many of the decorations and furnishings here. His grandfather even planned to transfer the house deed to him on his birthday, but unfortunately, what happened later caught everyone by surprise It was the first time he revisited the place in more than a decade. Everything had changed. Even though the house stayed the same while people had changed, he still couldn''t suppress the sense of rejection in his heart. Without requesting the servant to show him the way, he made his way through the corridor and the stairs, towards the dining room. Due to the mansion''s location being easily accessible by various modes of transportation, the Lancelot family had often held their banquets here. After centuries of renovations and constant betterment, every corner of it had been perfected with dedication. It contained innumerable precious collections. Even a seemingly inconspicuous piece of tapestry on the wall could be a gift from a duke or a rare piece that had once been sold for an astronomical price at some auction. "It really is a wealthy household." He glanced at the huge oil painting hanging on the wall of the dining room and couldn''t help but sigh softly. To his surprise, Lancelot was alone in the dining room, and his daughter Christine had not returned. Compared to other aristocrats who generally had dozens of sons and daughters, not to mention countless illegitimate children, the Lancelot family, which had been passing down two Round Table Armors, could be considered as having few descendants. For many generations, the family had had only one child. The line of descent almost got cut off several times even. For this very reason, they cherished their descendants. Even illegitimate children would definitely be brought into to the household. The wife of the previous head of the household gave birth to a son and a daughter, which was already considered an unexpected pleasant surprise. As for the present generation, Lancelot only had a daughter, and his wife had died prematurely after being bedridden with chronic diseases. Not counting Ye Qingxuan, the Lancelot household consisted only of the father and the daughter. Purely speaking in terms of lineage, the family was at its most dangerous position. After Ye Qingxuan was seated, servants laid out the meal. The layout was simple, the servings not really large, but the food was exquisite enough and sufficient to satisfy one''s appetite. Lancelot did not say anything, nor did Ye Qingxuan take the initiative to start a conversation. The silent dinner soon ended. The servants removed the plates and served them black tea. In the soft lighting that was just a bit too dim, Lancelot took a few pills with another cup of hot water, and he looked much better. The two were separated by the water vapor rising from the teacup. After contemplating his thoughts for a moment, Lancelot began to speak. He said, "I know that you must be wondering about what happened while you were gone. Why has Avalon, which has been preparing for this war for a century, been reduced to such a miserable state? In this regard, I have no intention of hiding anything from you. After all, you have returned to Avalon to save the country, you deserve to know everything." He gazed at Ye Qingxuan. Looking at the young man''s eyes, Lancelot''s expression turned to a complicated one of bitterness. "It all started half a month ago, from the night when Leviathan was about to enter the reawakening phase" Half a month ago Heavy rain poured from the dark sky. Icy rainwater fell nonstop from the sky, covering the lonely city on the sea. The weak lights in the city flickered, as if being crushed under the weight of the rain. Located at the highest region of Avalon, the palace faced the dead silent ocean in the distance. At the highest point of the throne room, from the weighty throne, one''s gaze could pass through the open door and the heavy rain, cross the vast plazas and the long distance, and fall squarely on the sea. "It''s raining." The weary empress on the throne jolted awake from a long sleep, raised her eyes, and saw the black clouds and flashing lightning above the sea. So, a trace of relief emerged in the green eyes. "Finally, it''s coming?" "Yes." Beside the throne, Lancelot nodded, holding a crutch, expressionless. In the heavy pattering of the rain outside the door, he simply gazed at the round platform placed in the center of the room. On the round table was a square prism resembling a work of art created by the best glass smiths. The core which was as hard as steel looked clear and transparent. One could see the raindrops shattering in the plaza outside through the glass. But at the moment, in the transparent prism, strands of blood vessels covered its inner walls. As if it was alive, the blood vessels were pulsating, like a living thing breathing. The fine blood capillaries branching out from the main vessels waved in the air, like roots of trees, and twirled in the soft singing. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream. "We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we''ll live forever" The song came from the prism. It was a broken piece of flesh. When the piece of flesh was sealed, it was only as small as the knuckle of a little finger. But at the moment, it had eroded the steel and grew in the seal, expanding and turning into a vague face. A few months ago, the face was just a bloody mess, vaguely resembling a woman. But now, the face had formed completely. The facial features were well defined, the eyes were shut, and the corners of the lips lifted, as if it was slumbering in a sweet dream. As the lips moved slightly, hallucination-like singing sounded. The singing was alive, as if it had a soul, piercing through layers of walls and the heavy rain, and reverberated between the sea and the sky, summoning the demons far away to come to Avalon. The face looked delicate and possessed an androgynous beauty that was neither completely masculine nor feminine. It seemed gentle, but also strong. It seemed to be pouting angrily but also smiling. What one could observe from each angle was completely different. The only similarity was that the face had a devilishness unlike that of a human''s. In the soft singing, the Empress got up from the throne. She walked closer and gazed at the face in the crystal. After a good while, she murmured softly, "It''s been so many years, you must have felt very lonely, Prince Thames." No one responded. So Elizabeth reached out, wanting to hold the crystal prism. "Your Majesty." Lancelot stepped forward. He looked at her and shook his head, "You mustn''t." Elizabeth smiled, and touched the prism very her palm gently, as if she wanted to caress the face. Innumerable fine, fluff-like blood capillaries instantly extended, like greedy roots, and wrapped themselves around her hands, wanting to take root. However, red Firebird spewed out from the slender body. Her power was of the same origin as that of the face, but it was so violent that it seemed as if it was trying to destroy everything in the world. Just staring at it made one feel a stinging pain. Just touching it would lead to destruction. The blood capillaries evaporate in an instant, severing from the main vessels, which shrunk back into the crystal. The face convulsed, the eyelids shivering, as if it was about to wake up from a nightmare. "I really envy you. It''s been so many years, yet you haven''t grown any older, and are still as beautiful as ever." Elizabeth took the prism and examined the face. The look in her eyes became complicated and sorrowful. "It must be very painful. Suffering in our stead for so many years, sentimentally attached to the mortal world, and being unable to die..." Still, no one responded. Lancelot went down on one knee and pleaded again, "Your Majesty, Leviathan is awakening, we don''t have much time." "Let me look at him for a bit more." Elizabeth caressed the prism and looked at the sleeping face. "This is my uncle, Lancelot. "It is the sacrifice made by the previous emperor, the 16th person to die for the blood of sinthe one and only Prince Thames. "Do you know? He was the youngest brother of my father. When I was born, he was only three years old. He died when he was 13, but he had spent the seven years before that with me. "I even remember the tone he used to speak in, it was soft, like a girl He once hugged me, took care of me, and he was like a brother to me. "The dragon blood in him was far stronger than anyone else in the family, so he became the sacrifice and died in the hands of my father. "Now that I am the empress, it is my turn to be responsible for killing him." Lancelot was silent. Such was the shameful secret of the royal family, the secret which Anglo couldn''t afford to let anyone know. As early as a few decades ago, Leviathan should have awakened for the sixth time. It was the sacrifice of Prince Thames that delayed it till the present. A descendant of the dragon blood was made a sacrifice and cruelly burned into ashes. The remains which the fire had failed to burn was sealed in iron, the ashes were sprinkled into the flowing murky water and returned to the sea. It was the only thing that could be done to save the country, and it must be done. For a very, very long time, Elizabeth kept her eyes closed. In the silence, the Empress, who had suffered from the curse for many years, suddenly regained her calmness. It was the result of a strong will forged through the endurance of excruciating pain. "Sometimes, I am grateful for having the blood of the monster in me." Elizabeth raised her eyes, gazing at the heavy rain outside the throne room and the dark ocean. "After all, many people have died, but I am still alive, no?" Lancelot was at a loss for words. "Rest assured, Lancelot, I am not that weak. At the very least, I am the empress of the country. In this war that should not have begun in the first place, too many sacrifices have been made. I will not tolerate the continuing deaths of my people." Elizabeth lowered her eyes, no longer weak, nor emotional, as if she had turned into steel. "Now, how bad is the situation?" "Everything is as expected, the losses are also within the acceptable range." Lancelot replied, "Communication with the provinces in the fog has been resumed. Most citizens of the country have immediately begun to take refuge. Other than a few shelters that have fallen in attacks, the rest remain standing firm. "According to the plan, the Second Royal Fleet has set off, traveling to various places to provide reinforcements. The Third Royal Fleet is guarding the coastal waters and is combat-ready. "The First Royal Fleet has been unsealed by the Stein Chamber Number Zero. Once Your Majesty gives the order, the fleet can be awakened any time. "It''s just that the Black Tide this time around is more troublesome than that in the previous years. The total number of dark rivers brewing up is about 30 as of now, and the lookouts report that the number continues to increase. The giant demons which inhabit various regions of the sea have also been awakened, and the vile spawn of the sea have begun to multiply once more. "Based on the growth rate of the prince''s remains, we estimate that the first seal will be torn open tonight. Using it as the core, Leviathan will enter the actual reawakening phase..." 567 I Am the Country In the silence, only the face in the crystal was singing softly. The singing, which seemed to linger in the air, spread in the rain towards all directions. As a result, the pitch black ocean let out a piercing reply. The seawater boiling as rivers of darkness emerged from the depths of the ocean. Countless vile spawn of the sea were responding loudly. They were coming. The sea and the sky roared. "Your Majesty," Lancelot went down on one knee and implored, "please return to the throne." "Is it time already?" Elizabeth smiled, holding the singing crystal in both hands, and observed the face in it. "Do you think so as well?" No one responded. But in the silence, the eyes on the face, which was previously sunk in deep slumber, opened. The eyes that seemed to contain the abyss in them gazed at the empress in front of him, as if suddenly enlightened, but they were empty. Only the bestiality of catastrophes was surging and flowing in them, the evil seemingly materializing, like an endless deep sea. It was a glimpse cast by Leviathan in its sleep, looking at the turbulent world. Elizabeth smiled. "No worries, Prince Thames, I''ll be with the bloodline of sin." She held the crystal prism carefully in both hands and walked up the steps slowly. Then she sat on her throne in a dignified manner, staring at the pitch black ocean and the sky, murmuring softly, "This time, I will definitely bring an end to you and this ominous bloodline." Bang! The crisp sound of steel scraping against each other sounded from under the throne. The earth quaked. No, it came from somewhere deeper, not the prison-like palace by itself located at the highest point, nor the splendid and majestic uptown, but Avalon. The depths of Avalon quaked. The machines that had been buried in the darkness since the construction of Avalon were activated. Under the extraction by aether furnaces, huge amounts of energy were drawn from the leylines of aether. The energy spewed out like a waterfall, propelling the rotation of the incredibly heavy gears. Steel banged. The earth was torn apart, flames ignited, hurricanes stirred up, blocking the downpour. In the roars that seemed as if they had been passed down from the ancient times, the floor of the throne room cracked and shattered, numerous steel parts and gears emerging from the steel frame beneath. Fragments of the floor broke, fell, and got stuck in the gaps, but could not stop the operation of the gears and were crushed into dust. Bang! Bang! Bang! Harsh, piercing sounds burst forth from the throne. Nails popped out of it one after another, wedging deeply into Elizabeth''s spine, connecting themselves to her nerve center. Layers of steel rose and covered her, integrating with her body. In the end, she was completely fixed on the throne, and could not even move her little finger. At the moment, she had become connected to the huge machine, as well as numerous facilities all over Avalon. The earth was her body, countless huge steel machinery her internal organs, and the aether leylines flowing beneath the ocean her blood... "It is the long-cherished wish of the ancestors of past generations" In the intense pain, Elizabeth''s blood seeped out of her pores, Firebird spewed and swept like fire, covering the entire Avalon, giving her control over everything. Her pale face put on a faint smile difficultly, and she murmured softly, "Now, I am Avalon, I am Anglo." The empress had taken her seat on the throne, abandoning her mortal body. With Firebird, she took over the body made of steel and merged into one with her country... Anglo had started preparing for the war since a hundred years ago. Even the empress herself must play her role as a chip on the table, in the gamble of life At the moment, the destructive Firebird had been strengthened by thousands of times, emerging from the depths of the earth like a flood. In only an instant, the scarlet red renge bloomed on the ocean. Just seeing it would sting one''s eyes. Just by existing, it would devour everything. Just touching it would cause one to be swept up in destruction The essence that was thousands of times purer than that of Mary''s revealed itself in the Firebird. In an instant, it tore several rivers of darkness apart and exterminated countless vile spawn of the sea. For so many years, Elizabeth had struggled to keep the monster within her in check, but when the war started finally, she no longer had to suppress it, and the hungry beast was let out from its cage. The power and its host existed as two facets of the same being, like the city of Avalon and its shadow. The human bloodline bore the consciousness of the host as a human, whereas the dragon bloodline bore the negative elements born out of one''s own personality, pure darkness and madness. Such was the essence of the cursethe parasitic scarlet red dragon in the host''s body that would devour everything and would never be satiated. Now, the legendary elements in the bloodline had been released. With Avalon as its body, it wanted to swallow the entire ocean of darkness into its stomach. Such was the true form of the ruler of Anglo! In just an instant, countless vile spawn of the sea turned into ashes in the blooming renge. The torrential rain was shredded by Firebird. Like water being boiled, it vaporized into a ghastly white fog, ascending into the sky The sky and the earth shook. In the depths of the ocean, the behemoth that was about to reawaken seemed to have felt a stabbing pain and jerked furiously. Leviathan, which is about to wake up from its long dream, fought back with rage. The war between mankind and catastrophes had finally begun. In the dancing white mist, someone passed through layers and layers of defense, entering into the throne room belatedly. "Your Majesty." The old man, who has aged quite a bit, bowed in reverence. "Maxwell, you have come late." On the throne, Elizabeth opened her eyes, her pupils scarlet, and spoke in a hoarse voice, "You seemed to have disappeared recently, where did you go? Do you have any interesting stories to share with me?" "My apologies, Your Majesty, I have gotten into the bad habit of drinking alcohol recently. Not only did I not do anything, but I was often drunk and lost track of time." Maxwell took off his hat and poncho, and combed his fingers through his wet unruly hair, smiling resignedly. "Fortunately, I didn''t wake up too late." "I see." Elizabeth nodded, not minding his negligence, nor angered by that his dejection. She just looked at him, her eyes full of empathy. "Did you have a sweet dream?" "Yep." Maxwell got up and stepped forward, setting foot on the steps, causing Lancelot to frown and stop him. "Maxwell, you are in the throne room. Mind your etiquette in front of Her Majesty." From the moment Elizabeth sat upon the throne, she had become one with Avalon. From then on, until the end of the war, she would not separate from it, even though it was burning away her life. The Knights of the Round Table, who had guarded the royal family for centuries, was her final line of defense. In the past, he would have let it go, as it wasn''t exactly rare for Maxwell to commit a breach of etiquette. But the current situation was different, and Lancelot would not allow anyone to approach the throne, even Maxwell. Moreover, the stench of alcohol on this guy was so strong that it could suffocate someone ten meters away to death, Lancelot grumbled mentally. "Oh, Lancelot." Maxwell drunkenly opened his eyes and finally recognized the person in front of him. He gave a smile of sudden realization, then... took out a half-empty bottle of rum from his pocket and waved it in front of Lancelot. "Want some?" The stench of poor-quality alcohol intensified, stinging Lancelot''s wounded lungs, turning his face crimson with anger. Right at that very moment, Maxwell let go, and the bottle of rum fell from his hand, shattering as it smashed on the ground. His hand, now empty, balled into a fist, the knuckle of his index finger protruding, and hammered down. From the other side of the round table armor which was not activated, his fingers pressed against the wound from many years ago, which had yet to properly heal. Snap! The brief exchange ended in an instant before anyone could see clearly. Lancelot lost all his strength, half-kneeling on the ground. Maxwell easily took away the iron case beside Lancelot and put it in his arms. The steel in the case shook as if it had been angered, but it was forcibly suppressed in the next moment. "Sorry," Maxwell whispered softly in Lancelot''s ear, as he stepped forward! To the throne. The drunkenness in his eyes was ignited, morphing into an indescribable coldness and... a murderous intent! Lancelot drew his sword. Bang! Summoned by Maxwell, a quaint and majestic long sword penetrated the curtain of rain, answering his call. It brushed past Lancelot''s cheek, and the fierce impact left a wound on his face. Then, the sword hit the steps that lead up to the throne. Scepterthe Kingdom of Heaven on Earth! In a flash, the kingdom of heaven descended here, erecting an unbreakable iron wall and separating the room into two domains. It locked Maxwell and the Queen inside together. "Maxwell..." Outside the iron wall, Lancelot coughed up dark blood. Not even having time to gasp for breath, he turned back in shock. "What are you trying to do!!!" "Isn''t it obvious?" Maxwell said as he advanced on the steps, not even bothering to turn his head. The iron case originally kept safe by Lancelot laid opened in his hands. The meteorite metal that was slumbering in it was taken out and awakened, It drew the aether in the air and quickly proliferated... In a flash, in the hands of Maxwell laid a heavy lance more than two meters in length. A massive amount of aether gathered on it, forming a scarlet glow that seemed to be flowing, as if the lance was entangled in silk... It was the dragon-killing lance that had the name of a saint bestowed upon it! Maxwell set foot on the last step, with his back towards Lancelot. He held the scorching hot lance tight, despite it burning his hands until they were charred. He went down on one knee and bowed at his empress for the last time. "Your Majesty, pardon my offense." "I see that the need to make a choice has finally arrived, Maxwell..." Elizabeth looked at him and seemed to understand what was going on. After a good while, she sighed softly but did not resist. Instead, she chose to obey the arrangement of fate and closed her eyes. "Maxwell!!!" Lancelot roared in rage. The next moment, Avalon let out a dying whine of sorrow. - "From that day onwards, Leviathan broke through the second seal and entered the resurrection stage," said Lancelot. In the dim light, he kept his eyes down. "The uptown fell at the same time, covered by the dark fog. If not for Master Haydn''s timely return to seal the entire palace, then all of Avalon would fall under the power of Leviathan. "Her Majesty is dead, and the princess is missing. All our preparations have gone to the dogs because of Maxwell''s betrayal. The war between Anglo and the catastrophe has yet to begin, but we have already failed. " The dead silence lasted for a long time until Ye Qingxuan spoke in a hoarse voice, "It is absolutely impossible!" Lancelot only smiled indifferently. He lifted the teacup, did not explain further and just said, "If you don''t believe it, open the window and take a look for yourself." Ye Qingxuan got up, and after hesitating for a long time, he pushed the sealed shutters open. In an instant, the whistling wind gushed into the dining room, bringing a faint whine of sorrow with it. In the biting cold wind, Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked up at the direction of the uptown. In the seal of the enchantment of Avalon, the abyss-like darkness that engulfed everything finally revealed its tracks, dancing like a living thing. As dawn arrived, the city did not usher in the morning sun but remained in a deep slumber in the illusion-like singing. Somber tolls of bells sounded from the depths of the darkness, booming and reverberating in the skies of the city, as if the behemoth in the sea was laughing. Leviathan would eventually arrive. 568 The Evil of Humanity Part 1 It was already noon when Shi Dong woke up. But the sky was still dark. In the city void of light, the difference between day and night seemed to have disappeared, as if time had solidified here. The city seemed to have fallen into an eternal slumber, and only shadows traveled through the streets. The Westminster Abbey was empty as well. In the past, it used to be as crowded as a marketplace, with countless carriages and people coming and going. At the moment, even sparrows were unwilling to come. Only dead leaves fell from the drying branches, scattering on the ground, and no one bothered to clean up. "Don''t you even have any handyman here?" Shi Dong asked. "Everyone has been evacuated," Mephistopheles replied. He said, "The Royal Institute of Research, the Royal Academy of Music, Anbo Heavy Industry... The talent reserves of the institutions of high importance were all involved in the first secret evacuation, and have been secretly transferred to Birmingham before the war began. I sent the young priests away, and only a few old men like me have stayed here." Having said that, he sighed. "Someone must stay behind to lead the evening prayers for people who are unwilling or unable to leave, right? The bishop of the previous generation passed the church down to me, and I vowed to guard it for the rest of my life. Looking back at my words now, I''m afraid that I may face significant difficulties in keeping my promise." "It''s perfectly normal." Shi Dong yawned. "When you have a catastrophe for an opponent, you will lose many battles and win very few. It doesn''t matter if the church is destroyed. At most, let the future generations build a new one." "My father was a stonemason. He taught me one thing when I was still very youngIf an old house is on the verge of collapse, one should consider other options besides fixing it." Mephistopheles was silent for a long time, and said straightforwardly, "Your father''s method of educating you has certain problems." "Who said otherwise?" Shi Dong shrugged, then shuddered and lifted his pants. He looked back at the archbishop. "Are you done with peeing?" "It''ll take a bit longer." Mephistopheles said, "Stop looking at me, I get nervous easily." "Aren''t you blind? How do you know that I am looking at you?" Shi Dong asked. "I know it when someone is looking at me. It has nothing to do with me being blind or otherwise!" Mephistopheles retorted. "You should have switched to an artificial prostate gland a long time ago like what I did; it''s much better," Shi Dong commented "Aging is also one of the joys of life." Mephistopheles twitched his mouth in disagreement. "People like you who like to change their body parts to artificial ones won''t understand." "...Enough of the fiddle-faddles of old men." Shi Dong sighed and leaned against the wall of the toilet. "No point flaunting your seniority in front of me, little Mephistopheles. I was the one who brought you up, after all." Mephistopheles scratched his hair, and his attitude suddenly changed from a senile one to one of slovenliness. He fished out a packet of cigarettes from the inner pocket of his robe. "Fancy a smoke?" "Nah, I dare not, it will damage my artificial lungs." Shi Dong shook his head. "But I''m surprised to find out that you actually smoke. That''s so unlike the saintly appearance you have been putting on." "Oh come on, Sir, only the dead can be revered as saints, for they no longer have opportunities to sin." Mephistopheles ignited the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and puffed out a cloud of smoke. He relaxed and squeezed out two more drops of urine. "I am already so old, yet I have never assaulted little boys sexually, never embezzled public funds, and never had any affairs with secret lovers. I have abided by the canon law and remained a virgin my whole life... My life is so pure and wholesome that it''s abnormal. I''m sure God will forgive the occasional self-indulgence of people like me." "From whom did you learn the canon law?" Shi Dong questioned. "Mr. Qatar," came the archbishop''s reply. "No wonder." Shi Dong shook his head. "He died two years ago." "He was over 100 years old, it''s normal. How did he die?" Mephistopheles asked. "His domme whipped him to death, in bed," Shi Dong replied. "..." Mephistopheles was at a loss for words. "So, you need not always talk about the canon law that a perv taught you." Shi Dong glanced at him. "We don''t have many conversation topics between us. Let''s talk about something that we are both interested in, such as catastrophes, such as war..." "What do you want to know about them?" Mephistopheles asked. "Leviathan," Shi Dong said. "Of the three seals that were set up back then, how many have been broken?" Mephistopheles smoked in silence. In order to seal Leviathan, the past generations of emperors of Anglo set up three seals, one for each of the three stages of its reawakening. The breaking of each seal represented an increase in Leviathan''s powers to a stronger level. The reawakening of Leviathan''s consciousness meant that the first seal had disintegrated. The beginning of the resurrection of Leviathan''s body meant that the second seal had been broken. When the third seal was broken, Leviathan, the catastrophe that possessed both consciousness and flesh, one of the ''four living creatures'' at the top of the hierarchy of non-humans, would descend upon the world completely. After a good while, Mephistopheles mumbled, "As far as I know, the second seal has been broken." Shi Dong was silent for a long time, then finally said, "I thought you didn''t say anything for a long time because you were trying to muster up enough force to urinate. I almost wanted to cheer for you." "Shut up, don''t interrupt me." Mephistopheles paused, and his voice became low. "It''s still brewing, I''ll be done soon." "Nah, don''t. Peeing at the mention of catastrophes is such a shameful thing," Shi Dong remarked. "..." Mephistopheles said nothing. After a good while, a faint pattering sounded for a while, then disappeared once more. Mephistopheles breathed in relief and buckled his belt, finally escaping from the awful awkwardness. Aging is really awful, he thought. In the empty courtyard, the two sat on a bench and exchanged information on what had happened in the past few days. Shi Dong contemplated his thoughts for a long time, scratching at his bald head. "How much longer are you and the rest of the Church planning to keep it from the public eye?" He continued, "At least we should let the people die knowing the truth?" "After all, it''s a shameful thing." Mephistopheles also frowned gloomily. Halfway through his sentence, he lowered his voice and asked, "Can you help me see if anyone is around?" "No one else is here," Shi Dong answered, expressionless. "Feel free to smoke." "Sorry, I have finally freed myself of this burden before Avalon is destroyed. After stepping down, I slackened slightly." Mephistopheles lit another cigarette. "I was under stress. I''m old already, and my heart can''t take it anymore, such matters are best left to the youngsters." "You handed Westminster Abbey over to our Grand Inquisitor because of this?" Shi Dong asked. "Yes, what else?" Mephistopheles asked. "The entrusting of a mission to someone else at a critical moment is a form of political wisdom... Oh yeah, where were we?" Shi Dong looked at him and said, "Such a disgrace." "Yes, a disgrace." As if he did not realize that Shi Dong was criticizing him, Mephistopheles wore an indifferent expression. "After all, it''s a shameful secret of the royal family." "Anglo and Leviathan are mortal enemies, but hasn''t the royal family ever explained why? Countries on the sea are aplenty, but why has Leviathan been targeting Anglo and only Anglo for so many years..." Shi Dong asked. "Explain? How to explain?" Mephistopheles said. "Surely they can''t say that it is all because of the wrongdoings of their ancestors? Just look at them. In order to explain how wise and brave King Arthur was, they have even gone to the great lengths of making up a tale about the Lady of the Lake." "Whose idea was it? It totally sucks... Look at the terrible script written by some third-rate writer." Shi Dong couldn''t help but want to spit. "The wise and brave King Arthur won the heart of the Lady of the Lake. The fairy lady gave him a sword, a kiss, and her blessing, so he became the king chosen by destiny. "He conquered the seven seas, made Avalon his capital, built the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and made it his betrothal gift to the Lady of the Lake. He married her and made her his queen, and let her give birth to his descendants of dragon blood. "God knows where did the dragon blood come from. Arthur was merely a fisherman before he met the Lady of the Lake... From the beginning to the end, you all have refused to admit that the so-called royal family is the actual vile spawn of the sea. "The so-called Lady of the Lake, the so-called queen is Leviathan, which King Arthur killed! " "We can''t admit it." Mephistopheles shook his head. "How can we admit it?" In the silence, Stone leaned back against the chair, closed his eyes, and hummed the hallucination-like song. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail! "Pull, thieves and beggars, we''ll live forever" "Stop singing, it gives me the willies." Mephistopheles threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it, putting out the flame. "It''s ridiculous, Mephistopheles, a catastrophe falling in love with a human." Shi Dong said calmly, "She loved Arthur so much, loving a human being to the extent that she did not hesitate to give him her own power, and did not hesitate to satisfy any wishes of his... She used her power as a catastrophe to foot the bill for Arthur''s wild ambitions." Mephistopte shook his head in pity. "Unfortunately, the interest charged is too high for Arthur''s descendants." "People have to pay their debts. After all, Mephistopheles, Anglo should have gone bankrupt a long time ago." Shi Dong said coldly, "Like what I saidIf an old house is on the verge of collapse, one should consider other options besides fixing it. I can sort of understand why Maxwell has rebelled now. Such a kingdom has been founded on wrongness from the very beginning." "Actually, he has always held the role of the one fixing the house." Mephistopheles smiled bitterly. "Despite the fact that he has failed to resolve many internal and external issues if it isn''t for him, I''m afraid that the declining royal family cannot even survive until now, we have to give him that." "I have been pondering this question for a long time. Is he a representative of one of the old devils?" Shi Dong wondered out loud. Mephistopheles replied, "I don''t think so. Why would a person with such abilities hide behind the scenes? Moreover, choosing someone like him to be one''s chess piece is not just a matter of having difficulties in controlling him, but a decision that is way too dangerous." "What else do you know about him?" Shi Dong asked. "Next to nothing." Mephistopheles shrugged. "He is a person who suddenly appeared in this city one day. We know nothing of his roots and origins, nor do we know anything about the identities of his father and mother. It''s as if he came from the stone split opened by the stone sword. "At the beginning, when he first appeared, he was serving as the private secretary of the previous emperor. Later, he succeeded the Principal of the Royal Academy of Music. Then, his scope of power began to expand rapidly and got out of control. "In many instances, he acted without scruples, being willful to the extent that it was impossible for any emperor to tolerate him by right, but he remained deeply trusted. He was even appointed as the sword bearer, and many domestic affairs were entrusted in his hands. He was even allowed to form the Fifth Department, a twisted intelligence agency. "His own ability can only be described as incredible, and he knows everything that happened in this city. In the past few decades, all of Avalon was like a toy that he could fiddle with in his hands..." "A descendant of the royal bloodline?" asked Shi Dong. "Impossible. No records of him have been found, and he doesn''t match up with anyone born into the royal family in these years. If he had royal blood, how could anyone else have a chance to sit on the throne?" Mephistopheles sighed. "Unfortunately, he is not the emperor." "Yeah." Shi Dong smiled gloatingly. "Fortunately, he is not the emperor." Mephistopheles remained silent for a long time, and his expression became one of vigilance. "What mischief are you plotting this time around?" 569 The Evil of Humanity Part 2 "What mischief are you plotting this time around?" asked Mephistopheles. Hearing his words, Shi Dong couldn''t help but laugh heartily and gave a wave of his hand. "No, no, don''t overthink." But Mephistopheles still remained vigilant and stared straight at him. "Mr. Shi Dong, Anglo is miserable enough, don''t torture it further by causing more trouble." "Now you aren''t even bothering to address me as ''sir''." Shi Dong sighed. "Do I look like a cruel man to you?" Mephistopheles snorted coldly. "Isn''t the Religious Court of Inquiry such a cruel place?" "Mephistopheles, you know us very well, but not well enough. After all, you have never been one of us," said Shi Dong. "Yeah, because my conscience is in the way," Mephistopheles replied. "No, because of cowardice." Shi Dong looked at him. "You witnessed the lives of monsters with your own eyes, so you are afraid to be regarded as a monster by others, And so, you have never understood the real Religious Court of Inquiry." "Since the world is the land God has promised to mankind, what we possess is a madness allowed by God." Shi Dong said calmly, "Mephistopheles, we are madmen, yes. We get our job done, by hook or by crook, and we stop at nothing. If a person is involved in collusion with demons, even if he''s a child, we can burn him without any hesitation. "Humans fear us because we are evil. "But at the same time, humans need us, because such evil is necessary and meaningful. Someone must act on behalf of the evil of humanity. Such is the purpose of the Religous Court of Inquiry. If we are to do something, it must be something humans need us to do, even if we will be spat upon for doing so. "We are the monsters created by mankind, the evil of humanity contrary to benevolence. We are driven by justice, as mankind knows it. With the morality that has been trampled under foot by human beings, we judge demons and measure the starry sky. "Such is how we live as monsters. Otherwise, what difference is there between us and demons?" Mephistopheles was silent for a good while, then shook his head. "In the end, it''s nothing more than highfalutin words. I don''t think Ye Qingxuan can accept such means and ideas." "Don''t underestimate him, Mephistopheles," Shi Dong disagreed. He said in a disapproving tone, "You specialize in guarding over the believers, so you can perceive their spiritual weaknesses, but Ye Qingxuan is different the rest; if we are monsters, then he is the king of the monsters that I picked. "He has his weaknesses, and many human frailties, but he has witnessed the evil of humanity in himself. He faces his own desires and the ugliness in his nature better than anyone else, and he is stronger than anyone else." He continued, "Just wait and see. He will save the country and take back everything he deserves." He added, "At all costs." It was four in the afternoon, and the sky was still dark. A carriage stopped at the end of Queen''s Road, the entrance to the uptown. The silver-haired young man got out of the carriage, raised his head and looked up at the pitch black sky, and the huge seal that glimmered with a faint, flowing glint. Then, he stepped forward and entered the forbidden area. A whizz sounded in the sky. Burning wings of light descended and made a rough landing on the ground, resulting in a loud bang and stirring up a hurricane-like wind. The grand knight in the archangel armor raised his head, and the eyes that were not covered by the helmet reflected cold red light. "Who are you?" Ye Qingxuan snapped his fingers. A bronze badge flew up and shot across the air in an arc. It was caught by the knight. He looked at the coat of arms on it, which comprised of the sacred emblem in fire. "Religious Court of Inquiry, Grand Inquisitor, Ye Qingxuan." Ye Qingxuan looked at him, "Kindly inform Mr. Haydn of my arrival. Tell him that I come to him to seek advice as a junior." The grand knight looked at him for a while, put away the badge, and flew away without saying anything. Soon, the sealed door was opened. "Please follow me." A Knight of the Round Table walked out and led the way for him. A terrifyingly hot wind blew in their direction. The streets along the way were dead silent, and only the sonorous clanking of metal could be heard as the patrolling Knights of the Round Table walked. Nothing was burning, nor was there a fire, but one still felt hot and sweaty in the streets. The high temperature was the product of massive amounts of aether flowing. After entering the door, in Ye Qingxuan''s sense of aether as a musician, it was as if the entire uptown was shrouded in glaring sunlight. The sea of aether here was like a leaking hole, with flood-like waves of aether being drawn from it all the time. The aether waves advanced along the huge array and became part of a huge movement. Genesis! With the Avalon enchantment as the base, a massive amount of aether was extracted, and the vast domain created by Genesis engulfed the entire uptown. Just by sensing it from afar, one would experience the frightening illusion of falling into the corona of the sun. After walking around the entire uptown for quite a bit, Ye Qingxuan finally saw the old man who was directing the royal musicians to reinforce the seal. The contemporary saint, Haydn. "Is that Ye Qingxuan?" From a distance, Haydn saw the visitor. He wiped his sweat and waved to Ye Qingxuan. "Just come over, there''s nothing secretive here." Most musicians generally disliked being watched by others when they were playing a musical instrument to avoid exposing their core music theory and secret tricks, let alone saints who had directly inherited their holy names. They themselves were the embodiment of music theory, and what they had mastered was the essence of mankind''s music theory, hence others were not allowed to snoop around. But since Haydn had said so, Ye Qingxuan did not refuse and went straight in. He had come into contact with Ye Qingxuan in the incident regarding the shadow of Avalon last time, and he regarded the young musician talented in the path of abstinence quite highly. But he hadn''t expected that the young man, whom he believed would lead the school of abstinence after 30 years, would have achieved the level of Master when they met for the second time. Furthermore, the young man had been granted the title of archbishop by the Sacred City, an honor no less than his own, and was even mandated to re-establish the Religious Court of Inquiry to begin the crusade against demons and catastrophes. In the short span of a few months. It was beyond everyone''s imagination... "Master Haydn." Ye Qingxuan nodded but did not bow, as his status made it inappropriate for him to do so. Haydn smiled and just praised, "Good job last night. The first battle of the re-established Religious Court of Inquiry was a good start." "We still have a long way to go." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Killing one or two of its descendants won''t hurt Leviathan at all." Haydn didn''t reply, but reached out and pointed to the vast enchantment beside himGenesis. "You are here for this, right?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "How much has the situation uptown deteriorated?" Haydn shook his head. "You can see it for yourself." He waved. The ancient scrolls suspended in the sky slowly closed, removing the disguise produced by Genesis, and revealed the actual view of the forbidden area. The first thing Ye Qingxuan saw was the black mist. Like ashes that remained after everything had been burnt away by fire, the particles were flying and floating about in the uptown, covering the entire area. Everything within it became vague and difficult to see. However, from his location outside the uptown, Ye Qingxuan could see the whole picture clearly. The streets were still deserted, but vast spreads of buildings had collapsed. Vine-like blood vessels grew within, spreading from the palace in the depths to the surrounding area in all directions. They even rooted themselves in the rocks, pulsing slowly. In the pulsing of the blood vessels, a dark red glow rose upwards, forming countless strands that fluttered in the sky. They extended beyond Avalon, into the endless ghastly white mist. They were one. The fog and the sea were parts of a monster, and the earth and rocks of Avalon had mutated, becoming its flesh and body, whereas the strands formed by the pulsating, blood-like glow was its red-colored veins... The entire Shangcheng District had become a living thing. "Leviathan is inside," Haydn said in a low tone. "It has broken through the second seal and is resurrecting. Even rock and steel have been eroded by its breath and are coming alive." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, and finally looked up, asking, "Is there no way to destroy it?" "My specialization is not destruction." Haydn shook his head. "Genesis can only create a fake world that could contain it, forcefully creating a chasm in the realm of aether. "I can turn it into an extremely harsh environment. In fact, I have done so. You could probably sense the nature interference within. "The Cup of Hope here with me. The air inside uptown has been replaced with lethal poison. The temperature settings alternate every morning and every evening, and the difference in temperature is up to thousands of degrees. And other harsh conditions. I have turned it into hell. "But the activeness of the catastrophe''s body is too terrifying. It has even evolved in favor of resistance genes specific to my settings. The only things that can cause damage to it, the stone sword and the meteorite metal, have been lost inside." Ye Qingxuan nodded. Ultimately, Genesis is not a movement used to bring destruction, he thought. Saint Haydn specializes in constructing music theory domains covering vast regions. Originally, the intention of Genesis is to open up safe zones in the black zones of the World of Dark and adjust them, not to destroy them. "It would be great if Wagner or Tchaikovsky is here." Haydn couldn''t help but sigh, "Unfortunately..." Unfortunately, neither of them can come to Anglo, Ye Qingxuan completed the sentence mentally. What each generation of Saint Wagner passes down is the movement titled Valkyries, also known as the embodiment of war. Its divinity overpowers all forms of bestiality in the School of Summoning. The movement can summon the mythical Army of the Valkyries. Hence, Saint Wagner alone can defeat hundreds of armies. But tens of days ago, he has set off to the World of Dark to assist the King of Blue in conducting a border patrol, to warn the other catastrophes and defend the borders of the human world. Among the saints, Tchaikovsky has a similar specialization as Haydninterference over a vast region, from the school of abstinence. However, as opposed to Haydn, he specializes in the opposite of creationdestruction. Let''s not talk about secret symphony movements like Sorrow and so on. Despite only being an overture, the 1812 Overture can create a hellish vacuum with a radius of ten thousand miles once played. In the violent nature interference, nothing can survive or even remain. But the Tchaikovsky of the previous generation has already passed away He had no descendants nor students, and there is no one suitable to inherit his legacy. The Tchaikovsky of the new generation has not even been elected. Otherwise, he would be responsible for guarding the Caucasus region, and most likely won''t suffer multiple defeats at the hands of the Eagle Wing Mother... The situation really is terrible. Ye Qingxuan rubbed his temples. "How much longer do we have?" Haydn gave a smile full of resignation and self-mockery. "Who knows?" 570 Friend, Please Wait for One... In the Siberian wilderness of the Caucasus, dim fires flickered in the dispirited city in the distance. The stench lingering in the wasteland had yet to dissipate. The ignited ruins were still emitting pungent smog, and the extinguished embers gave off a dark red glow, which flickered in the cold wind, like the breaths of a dying person. The powder-like snow that was drifting profusely fell in the cold wind and covered the earth. It descended upon the world, accompanied by the pervasive cold wind that sprinkled it into the fortress. The wounded soldiers lying on felt croaked difficultly, trying to breathe. They exhaled white clouds of air as if souls were dissipating as death gradually drew near. The war with the catastrophe was about to end. The shadow cast by the Eagle Wing Mother marched across the territories of the Caucasus, passing straight through the Siberian wilderness, and was about to descend upon the country''s last line of defense. It had consumed millions of lives greedily, hatching countless eagle-bodied demons from blood and carrion. They surrounded the supreme king of the sky, the great Eagle Wing Mother, and had swallowed most of the kingdom into their bellies. The country was like a prey struggling hard under the beak of the catastrophe. It was ripped apart bit by bit, its internal organs devoured. As the catastrophe munched on carefreely, the country gave its dying kicks before losing its last bit of life. In the ditch frozen with muddy water, the stench of torn boots and rotten feet lingered. Dozens of soldiers with unkempt hair lay on the ground in dead slumber, and thunder-like snores rang out non-stop. In the snow that was drifting profusely, in a corner that was relatively warm and sheltered from the wind, someone tossed and turned. In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and gave up on sleeping. He pulled a scrap of curtain on top of his face away, revealing cracking lips and a face covered in ashes and dirt. He climbed up, held on to the edge of the ditch, and extended his head out into the cold, howling wind. He took large gulps of breath in the life-saving fresh air and panted. "How awful. Foot odor alone would be a great weapon for this country, no?" Charles leaned over on the edge and retched for a long time, but did not manage to vomit up anything. In the silence where only snores could be heard, he looked blankly at the surrounding wilderness and the city behind him. After a good while, he raised one foot and kicked the dead asleep guy next to him. "I heard a group of girls singing" "Don''t be silly." Wolf Flute rolled over on the floor and mumbled, "It''s the dead of the night, why would there be people singing?" "I''m not kidding," Charles shouted in a low voice. "I can smell wine, the Royal Knights..." "You''re overthinking," said Wolf Flute. Charles'' pestering prevented Wolf Flute from falling asleep again. Wolf Flute dragged a broken bucket filled with liquid over inattentively and handed it to Charles. "Come, drink some aged kerosene to satisfy your craving." "..." Charles was speechless, and he squatted back down in the ditch. The two men stared at each other, at a loss for words. After a long time, they shivered at the same time. "It''s so cold!" one of them exclaimed. "It''s really f*cking cold!" the other agreed. Charles wrapped the scrap of blanket tightly around him and wanted to cry, but no tears came out. "Why is there not even heating? The local gangs really lack courtesy!" "They can''t do anything about that, they''re too poor." Wolf Flute shook his head. He fished out a small bottle and took a sip. "The gratitude and respect of the Caucasians for your willingness to die have already manifested themselves in the form of the blanket for you to cover. But you are still unsatisfied, and here you are, requesting for heating, girls, and wine. Are you still human?" "..." Charles was rendered speechless once more. He stared straight at the bottle in Wolf Flute''s hand. "What are you drinking?" Charles had been starving for a night and was so cold that he was almost willing to go to hell to warm himself by the fire. Seeing that Wolf Flute had something edible, Charles couldn''t help but want to pounce on him. "This? You want some?" Wolf Flute raised an eyebrow and shoved the bottle right in front of Charles'' nose. Stunned by the pungent smell, Charles almost tripped. "Would you like a sip? It''s a special medicine for treating dysautonomia and schizophrenia. It''s really effective. Ever since I started drinking it, I can no longer see my second cousin who doesn''t exist," said Wolf Flute. "You still haven''t recovered?" Charles asked. "It won''t be so easy for me to recover." Wolf Flute shook his head. Behind him, the phantom of the wolf-headed god flashed across, half of its body missing, and it looked as badly damaged as before. "That old fellow, Wagner, is really strong. Although our phantom beasts are both divine, the level of completion of Anubis is far lower than the Valkyrie, which had been passed down for generations. They just brushed past each other... and Anubis was hurt so badly. To recover completely, it''ll take at least another half a year. " Looking at him, Charles couldn''t help but shake his head. He couldn''t sleep. As he looked at the dark sky, his expression became sad and worried. "I wonder how Little Yezi and Bai Xi are doing now. One way or another, I''m still worried about them." "You can rest assured." Wolf Flute laughed gloatingly. "According to what I know, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t be better. He is probably gathering his strength to beat you up." Charles shrugged. "Nothing I can do about it then. After all, I was the one who ran away..." "Don''t be sad, the worst case scenario for you is still much better than my situation." Wolf Flute shrugged as well. "There''s a terrifying old man in the world who is ready to clean house." Charles said, "You mean Ba..." Before Charles finished his words, Wolf Flute''s expression changed suddenly. He reached out, covered Charles'' mouth, and raised a finger to his lips, motioning for Charles to keep quiet. "Shh," Wolf Flute whispered. Boom! Sudden bangs sounded in the sky. Frenzied lightning brewed up, burst forth, and stabbed towards the mortal world, bringing blazing light that only lasted for an instant. The light illuminated the phantom wolves around Wolf Flute. Their eyes were green, and they silently gazed at the sky. But the thunder and lightning only lasted for a flash and soon returned to silence, For a long time, nothing could be heard. Wolf Flute let out a sigh of relief, let go and shook his head at Charles. "Don''t ever mention that name, especially when I am around..." Charles didn''t say anything, just stared straight at him, a weird look in his eyes. "What''s wrong?" Wolf Flute gave a resigned smile. "Got scared?" "It must be very warm, no?" Charles suddenly asked, surprising Wolf Flute. Charles pointed at him indignantly. "Don''t deceive me, I just saw them. With so much fur around you, it must be very warm! And I was wondering how you don''t shiver at all! "You are too mean, you have so many wolves, it''s not like you can use all of them on yourself, so at least give me one!" "..." Wolf Flute didn''t know what to reply. Two minutes later, Charles, who was surrounded by the wolves, moaned happily, hugging one of the wolves and rubbed against its fur. "You should get some rest." Wolf Flute looked at him with resignation. "There''s a lot in store for you tomorrow." Charles was silent for a long time, scratching his head. "Speaking of which, you guys are surely not expecting me to deal with the catastrophe tomorrow?" "Haven''t we told you about it many times?" Wolf Flute said. "I thought you guys were joking!" Charles was confused and shocked. "It''s not just any catastrophe, but the Eagle Wing Mother, the legendary king of the sky that made a name for itself four hundred years ago, the old school catastrophe that has never been defeated so far. Are you sure I can defeat it? My death is but a small matter, but what if my defeat affects the great scheme of the revolution?! " "..." Wolf Flute patted his shoulder. "Tomorrow on the battlefield, I will not protect you." "Thank you... Um? Wait!" Charles spluttered. "I am already hurt, bro." Wolf Flute shrugged. "I have exhausted all my strength trying to protect you during our escape from the Sacred City. Surely you can''t let me confront a catastrophe head-on to protect you? Plus..." He paused, his expression complicated. "Plus, what?" An ominous premonition popped up in Charles'' heart. "Plus, it''s not tomorrow," Wolf Flute raised a finger and pointed at the dark sky, "it''s already here." Boom! The next moment, the dark sky cracked. A torrent-like hurricane swept down from the sky, wrapping countless black eagle feathers in it. In the roar of the gale, a piercing alarm sounded from the entire line of defense, countless eagle-bodied demons screamed one after another, making anyone who heard them shudder. In the cracked layers of clouds, countless thunder and lightning flashed wildly, illuminating a huge pair of black wings. CatastropheEagle wing mother. The real king of the sky had descended! "Ah, we''re counting on you!" Wolf Flute patted his shoulder and made a thumbs-up. "Go!" "You can''t be serious, bro!" Charles looked up at the sky, his face pale. "How am I supposed to fight against it? Kill it by biting it with my teeth?" Wolf Flute slapped his own head and finally remembered something. "Ah, before leaving, Mr. Gaius asked me to pass this to you, I almost forgot." He stuffed something into Charles'' hand mysteriously, with a serious look. "Take it, it''s a secret weapon." Charles was momentarily cheered up. He opened his palm and looked down, then sprayed a mouthful of blood on Wolf Flute''s face. "You''re f*cking kidding me!" Charles waved the item in his hand angrily. "At least give me an artifact! What good is this thing?" In the hand of Charles lay an exquisite triangle It didn''t even come with a beater! "No fears, I have checked, are you not a Level 10 triangle player certified by the Sacred City?" Wolf Flute left him a confident smile. "I''ll leave it to you then, goodbye!" As Wolf Flute finished his words, Anubis wrapped around his body, and he disappeared in a flash. Only Charles was left alone in the empty ditch, holding a triangle, staring blankly at the dark sky. No, this is no way to fight a battle! He dismissed the idea of bludgeoning the catastrophe to death with a triangle before it had a chance to develop. Making up his mind immediately, Charles kept his body low and started running with all his might, abandoning the scene. He ran away! I must run, there is no other option! In just a few seconds, two musicians of the Level of Master had been crushed under the Eagle Wing Mother''s claws! If he didn''t run any faster, it wouldn''t even have to do anything to get rid of him, as its subservient descendants alone could tear Charles into pieces. I shall make use of the opportunity to run away first while its attention is attracted by someone else... But very soon, Charles noticed that something was wrong. In his hands, the triangle suddenly became boiling hot, as if it had been burnt red. It stuck to his hand firmly, causing severe pain, and he could not get it away from him despite swinging his hands madly. The severe pain could still be handled, but shortly after that, the triangle sent out horrifying aether waves. It automatically drew power from the nine-layer sea of aether and exuded an aura more terrifying than that of a musician of the Level of Master. It was as if the triangle was trying to announce something in all directions: "I am here!" By right, at the moment, Charles should feel a power from heaven descending upon him, as if he had received the help of God and the huge amount of power would be about to make his body explode, or something along those lines. But, he couldn''t sense a thing. In other words, the item in his hand was all looks and no use! Its only use was to attract the attention of the catastrophe Feeling icy maliciousness coming from all directions, Charles stopped in his tracks, wanting to cry but no tears came out. "Let me explain, it''s a long story. I''m actually just an innocent passerby. The whole battle has no-goddamn-thing to do with me, er, I mean no offense to birds [1], I mean..." In the sky, the huge shadow seemed to have sensed something and cast down a sinister gaze. Behind the wings of countless eagle-bodied demons, a vague figure that looked old could be seen faintly. It was an old woman that looked half-eagle and half-human. Her gaze was filled with a non-human grotesqueness, and she pointed a finger at Charles. Charles'' expression changed drastically, as he held up his hands and begged for mercy. "Friend, please wait for one..." Boom! He was swallowed by the howling torrent of wind. [1] The literal translation of the previous part of the sentence is "The whole battle has no-''bird''-thing to do with me", as there is a curse word in Chinese that literally means "bird", hence the second part of the sentence. 571 Here’s to the New World Part 1 The crystal chandelier gave off a beautiful, soft glow. A warm fire was burning in the fireplace, and the fragrance of burning incense lingered in the basement. In the emotional singing, girls draped in tulle danced in the gentle melody. Their toes sunk deeply into the cashmere carpet, and were engulfed by the soft wool. The charming girls swayed their bodies, exuding a seductiveness full of desire. Piercing laughter rang out. The middle-aged man who was only wearing a pair of shorts drank the last bottle of wine in the whole of the Caucasus. He stood up straight, his fat belly in full view, and jumped into the group of dancing girls, wriggling his body along with the melody. "Commonwealth of Caucasian, the world''s greatest nation. All the other countries, their kings are such dummies!" Intoxicated, he sang the national anthem loudly, altering the lyrics without feeling any semblance of shame. "Oh, Commonwealth of Caucasian, the first in *** exportation, all the other countries, their *** are of low quality. "Oh, Caucasus, your Mother River is a great miracle. It is 200 meters wide, the waste and the feces, 80% is removed by it... "Ah, Commonwealth of Caucasian, friends with every nation, just not Burgundy, their noses are big and the people gossipy, they''ve got shit for brains and they''re nutty..." As he sang, stuttering over the words every so often, he took off his shorts and hugged the petite girl nearest to him, grinning. "Please come shake hands with the great d*ck of His Majesty, we invented begging, aphrodisiac and toffee..." Suddenly, the melody came to an abrupt stop. As the door opened, a cold wind that should not belong here swept across the room, causing everyone to shiver. At the same time, an old figure that should not be here showed up as well. Gaius. "Leave us," he said. So, the entertainers and dancers hurriedly gathered up their things, lined up and quickly left. Only the man lying in the middle of the carpet remained. "Why are you here again?" Displaying his private parts unabashedly despite the other person''s presence, the man, who was intoxicated with song and dance as well as alcohol, waved his hand impatiently. "Haven''t I already put you fully in charge of everything?" "I''m just here to inform you that the war has begun." Gaius said, "The war has a direct bearing on the fate of the Caucasus. From sentiment and reason, you should at least take a look." "Now, the Caucasus no longer has anything to do with me." The man continued to pour spirits into his mouth, "Gaius, I am a king. Could you please respect me a little? When you were promoted to the representative of the Sacred City back in the olden days, I voted yes, so you owe me one. "You see, I have handed the right to command over to you fully, and instructed everyone to cooperate with your orders to the best of their abilities. You are their savior now. "You have taken all I have, surely you can''t ask me to do work on your behalf again at the eleventh hour..." His Majesty the King shrugged and belched. "Especially when I''m planning to have some fun one more time." Gaius frowned. "Like it or not, you are a king." "I must race against the clock and have fun while I still can, exactly because I''m a king." The king rolled his eyes and patted his round belly. "Be it victory or defeat, someone must take responsibility for the deaths, right?" Gaius was silent for a moment, and nodded. "Yes." "Other than the king, is there anyone more suitable?" the king questioned once more. Gaius shook his head. "No." "Then what''s wrong with me having fun before I die?" The king waved his hand impatiently. "Now, if you don''t mind, I''d like to continue. Before going out to save the world, please help me call my girls back." Gaius withdrew his gaze and glanced at the girls standing in a row in the corridor, hugging each other and shivering in the cold wind. He pointed towards the room. The girls were visibly relieved and returned to the warm basement once more, snuggling up to the fire, like canaries returning to their comfortable cage. So, a smile appeared on the king''s face once more. He randomly grabbed a girl, and pinned her to the ground, groping and kissing her recklessly. He laughed loudly. Gaius took a final look at him and withdrew his gaze in disgust. He turned to make his leave, but heard a hoarse laugh behind him. "Here''s to your new world, Gaius." The king murmured softly in his state of intoxication, "You better pray that your trump card will come in handy." On the battlefield, torrents swept through. No miracle occurred after the torrent of eagles swept through. Nothing was left. Only a ghastly spread of blood covered the frozen soil, melting the snow and turning it into a sickly sweet mud. It was as if he had gone into a trace for a moment and the whole world had changed when he opened his eyes. Charles stared blankly at the pitch black sky, then lowered his head and saw his split-up body. Blood oozed out of his broken limbs, limbs twisted and fractured, and bones scattered on the ground. His internal organs had been pulled out of his abdominal cavity and were soaked in warm blood, like a cooling pot of hot soup. But he couldn''t feel the pain. Because bright flowers bloomed from the blood, a gentle, warm wind caressed him, and some singing rang out in the distance, like a lullaby, drifting one off to sleep. A gentle palm stroked his cheek, rubbing against his weed-like beard and touched his lips lightly. She held him in her arms. So he smiled happily, shedding tears and sniveling in a flustered manner. He clung to the gentleness, sniffing the red hair falling on his cheeks tenderly. The red hair is so beautiful, he thought. Like embers of flames. "Mom," he whispered softly, "it''s been a long time. I finally see you again." "I have always been here," a soft voice answered, making him feel more secure. "Have you been alright?" he asked. "Haven''t I always been like this?" The soft voice answered him, "Lonely, but not really feeling good or bad, probably sad? What do you think?" Charles looked at the corners of her mouth and asked confusedly, "But aren''t you smiling?" "Because it''s what you want to see," the voice answered him. Lithe hands cupped Charles'' cheeks, and the woman kissed his forehead. "Charles, what you''re seeing is an illusion. I''m already dead, don''t you know that very well? Nothing will be left after death, no hell, no heaven, no place for the soul to go." She held on tightly to Charles'' cheeks and whispered in his ear, "Right from the start, humans have never possessed souls." Charles'' eyes widened, but he couldn''t see her expression clearly. He just felt confused and uneasy, and wanted to hug her, but couldn''t feel his hands. "You don''t have it as well?" he asked fearfully. "Of course I don''t," his mother answered. "But you..." He looked at her as if he was in a trance and muttered to himself, "You''re right here, you told me so..." "Don''t you know the answer very well?" The voice gave a cruel laugh as if she had already understood what he was thinking. "I am not happy, Charles, I''ve never been happy. "I never attained happiness or relief, the world has never changed for the better, and you won''t be able to gain salvation and hope. Why do you always like to deceive yourself?" Charles was stunned. He wanted to hug her, but felt nothing in his arms. The cruel illusion gradually thinned, disappearing into nothingness. Just like his own absurd fantasy. So, he finally understood. "So that''s how it is?" "Yeah," the voice replied. The gentle hands gradually became cold. They dissipated, losing all color and contours, and returned to nothingness. He couldn''t help but cry hard and murmured hoarsely, "Have I always been alone?" No one answered. The gentle illusion had disappeared. The only comfort in his nightmares abandoned him, leaving him by himself, with the ice-cold flowers that bloomed from his blood. "So that''s how it is," Charles murmured softly and opened his eyes. At that very moment, in the muddy puddles of blood, the demons with eagle bodies that were pecking at the broken limbs were startled and flew up high into the sky, only to freeze motionless in midair. In the world that had gone still, in the pool of blood, the scarred eyes slowly opened, revealing golden pupils. They resembled burning suns. Countless beautiful and alluring illusions flitted across the suffusing fresh blood. Pure white flowers sprouted from the sickly sweet mud, and bloomed. In a flash, the flowers had spread all over. The arms with exposed white bones slowly lifted from the pool of blood, five broken fingers holding the scorching triangle. His flesh and blood that had almost completely been eaten quickly proliferated, the shattered bones healed, and soon, intact arms and hands grew out, but the triangle had disappeared, seemingly integrated into the bones. In the pool of blood, Charles, who had been reborn from death, stared at the pupils on the sinister face in the huge shadow, and his expression resembled a smile. It wasn''t deliberate, nor was he expressing his emotions. It was just instinctual. It was the look of natural scorn and indifference that a monster at the top of the food chain would have when it looked down. He reached out and tapped like he was hitting the triangle. Crisp notes reverberated between the heavens and the earth. It evolved into a majestic movement that swept in all directions, pulling everything into a violent turmoil. Countless music theories emerged from the finger, and thousands of strands gathered together. From notes, they condensed into combinations of intervals, then music theory was constructed and the movement revealed itself. In the end, even the vast sky was completely covered by the movement. In an instant, a power strong enough to stun countless musicians brewed Construction of music theory over a super vast domain! Then, the overture of destruction followed closely. Amid continuous loud bangs, all the air, all the aether, and all the power were cruelly extracted and converted into torrents, spraying in all directions. But in the sky, the vacuum descended! Countless nature interference took place at the same time, and the result of layer-by-layer evolution was the complete repulsion of everything. The horrifying change in air pressure caused the ions in the air to collide, thunder burst forth, and lightning struck. The gases in the air condensed into a viscous liquid and flowed wantonly in the vacuum without restraint, destroying everything within reach. 1812 Overture! At that very moment, all the survivors cheered and screamed in joy, "1812 Overture!" The discontinued legacy of the saint had descended upon the world once more. It brought wonders to the battlefield. No... Miracles! 572 Here’s to the New World Part 2 In just an instant, heavy rain started to pour. What fell were not water droplets, but the charred remains of eagle-bodied demons roasted by thunder. In the vacuum, all the blood of the demons had spewed out of their bodies. After becoming dehydrated, the bodies shriveled, shrunk, and were burnt into unidentifiable masses by the thunder. In a flash, a carbon-like substance covered the entire battlefield. Countless demons had fallen. It was just an overture, a prologue to the war The clouds, which had resembled an iron curtain, dissipated, and the huge shadow also shook in front of the figure slowly rising on the battlefield. The night was torn. Because the hot sun had descended. The frenzied, terrifying aether waves suppressed all the other noises completely. It was as if Charles was sitting on the throne of the gods, shrouded in a strong light, dignified and blinding Even the so-called king of the sky couldn''t look straight at him! The half-human, half-eagle old woman screamed sharply, spreading out her wings, dyeing the whole sky black again. The sky was an extension of its wings. Shrouded by the shadow of the wings was death. After losing most of her descendants in an instant, the catastrophe, Eagle Wing Mother, was enraged. Sensing the familiar and repulsive aura of the 1812 Overture, she hesitated no longer and pounced at Charles fiercely. Unfortunately for her, this time, she was no longer fighting against a saint. Symphony no.6Pathtique! So, the sad and desolate melody swept, covering the entire sky. The bleakness contained in the deepest part of one''s heart flowed like water, sauntering gently and deftly. It embraced everything in its arms, narrating whispers about the world, dreams, and pain. Soon, grief was surpassed, and everything was no longer important. Great bliss descended. It descended in the embrace. But between the heavens and the earth, screams of extreme pain rang out, like sorrowful weeping. Black rainwater fell from the sky like a waterfall. It consisted of countless withered feathers. The wings that had merged with the sky into one shattered together with the sky. In the blissful embrace, ''Decomposition'' cruelly and mercilessly turned everything within into nothingness, without hesitation. It was the power of ''Dissociation'' which overrode everything else. In the vast domain covered by the movement, where the light from the sun-like scepter shone, the terrifying aether waves showed their cold nature as the music theory evolved. It was the essence forged by the great power that combined the music theories of the school of abstinence and the school of modifications, bridging the huge gap between the two schools. At the moment, the power contained within even surpassed that of saints and was beyond that of the catastrophe! The dark night had left and light appeared. Under the shine of the sun, all matter, all aether, and all beings, tangible or intangible, dissociated and disintegrated, unable to remain intact any longer. Even catastrophes. Even the Eagle Wing Mother. A cold and cruel miracle had descended here. In the melody of Pathtique, it gave all disasters their end. It gave all grieves a peaceful slumber. It gave all despairs salvation. Death saved everything. In the most agonized scream ever, the dark wings wrestled with the hot sun, sending the heavens and the earth into turmoil. The earth was torn and cracked to reveal huge gaps, giving birth to canyons. The wilderness shook, crumbled, then rose once more, forming hills. The sky shattered, exposing the darkness of the universe behind it nakedly. The glow of the stars swayed, being caught in the crossfire of the strong powers, and broke into pieces. The hurricane swept between the heavens and the earth, its wretched howl blended with the melody of the movement, like a sad song that God would play when destroying the world. "Charles..." Gaius stood on the city walls and raised his head with difficulty. He held his hair and looked up at the light battling with the darkness. His bodyguard rushed in front of Gaius, disregarding his own safety, and blocked the huge rocks smashing towards them and the sharp, knife-like gale from Gaius. The bodyguard shouted hoarsely, "Lord Gaius, it''s dangerous here! Please leave quickly..." In the chaos, Gaius did not move but stood where he was like a nail. He simply stared fanatically at the sun, despite the light scorching his pupils. Finally, the last of the wretched screams sounded, and the darkness was torn apart. The bright radiance of the sun descended upon the earth once more. The sun was glorious. In the terrifying glow, half of Charles'' body was torn, burning blood dripping from the wounds, but he still looked majestic. In his hands was the catastrophe that had been damaged beyond recognition. After losing its wings, the king of the sky could no longer fly. Half of the Eagle Wing Mother''s body had disintegrated completely, leaving only its incomplete face and what remained of its shriveled body. Charles gripped it by the throat, and it struggled difficultly, but could not break free from the hands that resembled the embodiment of judgment. Charles stared at its face, but he had an empty look in his eyes. His empty gaze seemed to penetrate its body and fell on the earth. At the torn corner of his eye, blood dripped, like tears. "Mr. Gaius, it''s true that heaven doesn''t exist?" he whispered softly like he was asking a question. Gaius was silent for a long time and nodded. "Yes." "So, everyone is unhappy?" Charles murmured again. "Yes." Gaius kept his eyes low. "But it can be changed, right?" Charles asked. "Definitely," Gaius replied softly but firmly. So, Charles laughed. "That''s great." The hands of judgment slowly closed, crushing the bones and causing the Eagle Wing Mother to scream hoarsely and struggle madly. As if it had understood its ending, the ugly face of the old woman twisted into a writhing mass and screamed wildly. It spoke, hoarsely and difficulty, in a vaguely human tongue. "I will return again." It said, "You can''t kill me." "You''re wrong." Charles shook his head. "I can." In his palms, flames rose. As if it was a living thing, the fire wormed its way into the catastrophe''s face and filled its body. Charles took over its consciousness, extending and spreading its perception towards the far distance. It only took a brief moment before the vast source of the catastrophe, which was slumbering in the desert and the ruins were detected by the pair of golden eyes. At that very moment, an iciness colder than ever arose in the consciousness of the Eagle Wing Mother. It was an emotion that the catastrophe had never experienced since birth, what humans named as ''fear''. Aether, music theory, consciousness, lifeand everything else was all robbed away! The distorted face of the Eagle Wing Mother stiffened. It couldn''t move, and even the strength to scream was taken away from it. The last remains of its body were rapidly petrified and shattered. In the end, between the closed palms, it turned into flying dust. No trace of its existence was left. It had no more so-called ''future.'' But in the sky, Charles roared painfully. The sun shook. In the terrifying light, he bent over and screamed. Behind him, a horrifying scar emerged suddenly. Aether gathered and turned into slender bones that proliferated, unfolding painfully in the cold air. The scorching light covered the bones like flesh and skin. In the end, flames were ignited and evolved into scarlet red feathers. It was a wing! A lonely wing grew from Charles'' back. It seemed to cover the entire sky simply by waving! On the city walls, the surviving soldiers looked up at the terrifying radiance and slumped on the ground. They raised their hands to block their eyes, not dare to look directly at the frightening magnificence. After witnessing the entire process, the believers, whose abilities to reason had completely been defeated, wailed plaintively. "What on earth is this?" "This is God." Gaius looked up at the sky, spread his arms, and laughed wildly. "This is the god that belongs to us, the god of the mortal realm!" ... The sorrowful wails of war and the bangs from the earth shaking had stopped. The sharp screams had come to an abrupt end. Everything returned to silence. A faint cheer sounded in the distance. In the basement deep under the palace, the girls had left a long time ago. No more singing and dancing took place. Only the king, who had exhausted his energy in joy, was lying on the sofa, sipping the last of his wine, drunk and drowsy. The door was pushed open. Someone sat opposite him. The king raised his eyes groggily and looked at the person. "Have you won?" "Yes, we won," came the reply. So, the king laughed. "From now on, it will be a new era, right? Gaius." "Yep." Gaius nodded. The king looked at him, full of curiosity. "What kind of country will you build?" "Yes, I wonder as well, what kind of country will it be?" Gaius took off his hat, revealing mottled white hair and a confused gaze. "I haven''t made up my mind yet, Your Majesty, do you have any suggestions?" "You''re asking me?" The king laughed. "What do I know? "No country has appeared out of thin air before, with no roots and origins. If you want a new world, the only option you have is to use the old corpses to nurture it. Listen to the cheering voices, Gaius, you hear it? There lies your country." Gaius kept quiet for a long time, then shook his head. "Your Majesty, they are your people, the ones you have saved by sacrificing yourself and giving up all you had." "My people?" Upon hearing the phrase, the king''s smile turned stranger and stranger, like it was full of mockery. "Gaius, they are all monsters Don''t you understand? "When I was young, my father told me that the king''s duty was to lead the people. He only told me before his death to fear them, imprison them, and make them fear you "Only by doing so, will you be a king, a living king. "You must make them see your power, your glory, your greatness, bestow upon them peace, food, and jobs, like a god. Then only will they be tame, forget their claws and teeth, and obey your rule "If the day comes when you can''t do all these, when you''re tired, hurt, and have fallen down... Your people perceive pain in the cold wind, so they will grow dissatisfied. They will unite together and riot, they will become a huge monster, holding up the banner accusing the king of misconduct, and swallow you up. "I''m sure you are very clear about this as well?" Gaius said nothing. "How can what I''ve done be considered giving up everything to save them? I have merely chosen to die before such matters take their course." The king drank more wine. The spirit leaked from the corners of his mouth, splattering on his chest like a burning flame. It made his voice hoarse and his gaze one of madness. "I can already see the day coming, the end for people like us. The nobles will be brought to account, the manors ignited, and the old Caucasus buried in the fire of revolution that you have brought along with you. Such a spectacle, simply awesome!" "Then?" Gaius asked. "Then?" The drunken king snickered. "The resources of production will be redistributed, social classes re-established. After a long, long time, a new country, no, a new monster will be born. Exactly as your wish, isn''t it? " "Such words are too much, no? Your Majesty." Gaius seemed amused by the king''s drunken babble and chuckled as if he had heard a joke. But the king did not laugh. Instead, he reached out and grabbed Gaius'' collar, pulling Gaius towards him. The king stared straight at Gaius with eyes burnt red by alcohol, not taking his eyes away. "Compared to what you are doing to the world, my words are disgustingly gentle, aren''t they?" The king hoarsely whispered, "You used so-called freedom and democracy to overthrow the monarchy system which has been in place since ancient times. You want to lead them forward with the promise of a glorious future, lead them through the canyon of darkness. But the canyon of darkness is too long, and they can''t wait long! They will only succumb to desires, they don''t even know how to protect themselves..." He paused and continued, "If no one has ever reminded you of it, then I''ll take it upon myself. Gaius, you are playing with fire!" "So what?" Gaius'' smile dissipated, and his expression became as cold as iron. But the king laughed hard, clutching his stomach as if he couldn''t help himself. "Just look at yourself, Gaius! You have gone mad, yet you still pride yourself on being rational. Your eyes are blinded by the so-called future, but you can''t see the price it will take to arrive at the future! Is everything that you have been through all along still not a good enough lesson for you?! "Your revolution and nothing else is the worst thing in the world! You released it from the cage, now you are trying to free it from the shackles of religion, and let it spread its poison in the world! "You have promised them what they should not have, letting them manage their country by themselves, giving them false hopes that seem close at hand... Maybe what you''re doing is right, but this is a sick world, and nothing right should remain! "The day shall come when your revolution goes out of control. Your army and your country will become a deformed child under your sick ideals. Regardless of whether it can swallow the world up, the day shall come when it destroys itself because of nonstop demands for more and more!" The king laughed wildly. The mad laughter was harsh and piercing, as if the world was coldly mocking Gaius through the king''s body. Full of delight, the king tilted his head back and finished the last drops of wine. So, final darkness rose in his vision, hugging him, greeting him, and accompanied him in his brief journey towards death. At the very last moment, he spat out a mouthful of stinking dark blood and looked at Gaius. With a smile of pleasure, he softly bid farewell, "Gaius, I will witness the day with my eyes, in hell..." Everything returned to silence. Gaius sat in his chair and watched the ugly face that had turned grotesque due to the lethal poison, like he was waiting for something. But a long time passed. His Majesty spoke no more. The king had died. ... The door to the basement was closed. "Seal it." Gaius said to the craftsman, "After all, His Majesty was the king, let his palace be his coffin." The craftsman bowed in acknowledgment. He put on his hat, walked up the steps, and returned to the wide courtyard on the ground level. On the bench, Wolf Flute, who was smoking a cigarette, raised his eyes. "What did His Majesty our king say as his last words? You don''t seem very happy." "It''s just drunken nonsense." Gaius replied coldly, "What about your job? Is it done?" On the bench, Wolf Flute whistled and spread his hands out. "Rest assured. After witnessing Charles'' power, the old priests are already going crazy. "Soon, the Sofia Fraternity in charge of the Caucasus Church will throw themselves at your feet, endorse the miracles that have occurred today, and re-advocate the orthodoxy abandoned by the Church of the Sacred City. They are also saying something along the lines of how divinity and humanity are not in opposition with each other but in communion. "I don''t really understand the quacks'' words. One way or another, they promised that they would break ties with the Sacred City and establish a new sect with the other fraternities in the Near East. Soon, a sect that suits your wants will serve you and shepherd believers for you. However, out of respect for their ruler, they want to ask you regarding what to name the new church." Gaius pondered for a moment, and soon replied, "Since they advocate orthodoxy, name it the ''Orthodox Church''." "As you command." Wolf Flute bowed exaggeratedly, removed the cigarette from the corner of his mouth, and stepped on it to extinguish the fire. He turned and prepared to leave, then his footsteps paused. He turned back and asked. "Oh, right, one more question. About Charles." "Yes?" Gaius looked at Wolf Flute and saw his mirthful expression. Wolf Flute looked at Gaius and asked curiously, "You personally lifted him onto the altar and made him a god. But what if he wishes to come down from the altar one day, what are you going to do then?" Gaius said nothing. Wolf Flute got his answer. He turned and left. In the sky, endless snow fell again, sweeping across the wilderness and the city. It swallowed everything up, covering the old corpses of the country. Under the frozen soil, some seeds were sprouting. 573 It’s Been a While It was 6 pm in Avalon. The sky was still dark, the ice-cold drizzle had disappeared and was replaced by a fog, which grew thicker and thicker. The fog permeated the air, and almost engulfing the entire downtown. At the moment, the cleaning up of downtown had yet to be completed. Having once fallen at the hands of the demons, downtown was still occupied by a large number of the vile spawn of the sea, which had even attracted a lot of parasitic demons, and the pollution level escalated. Some heavily polluted areas had even become habitats of demons. They were plaques parasitic on Avalon, and would definitely develop into deadly tumors in the future if not cleared in time. The Knights of the Round Table, leading the garrison, went about the downtown doing their job without a moment''s rest. Hundreds of tons of burning coal were transported by torpedo cars and distributed to the various squads. After the coal was equipped on the Showerheads, gusts of blazing flames shot out, burning the demons and their lairs into ashes together. In the distant sky, flames rose. But certain places were still dark. Everyone downtown had always understood one thing: one must be able to handle one''s issues by oneself. Sometimes, if the army was not doing a good job of cleaning up, they could only take it upon themselves. And when it involved their immediate interests and life-threatening problems, their efficiency was actually higher than the army''s. The first to be cleared was the hidden port favored by smugglers. After the short span of half a day after the fall of the downtown, the port was reclaimed. After the musicians'' blazing fires purged everything on the water, the whole port became clean and neat. The air was filled with the reassuring smell of smoke. It was sharp and warm, but not stinking. At the port, in the dim light and the dense fog, someone held a lantern high and looked into the distance. "This is the last ship of today." Conrad, fugitive and former Captain from Asgard, sat on the cold steps, smoking cigars of low quality, and looked at the blurred outline in the distance, which was gradually approaching. At the moment, he had been recruited as a thug. With killing techniques trained in the army and a one-track mind, he was fairly recognized among the local gangs. He brought a few dozens of brawny men along to the port to work as temporary porters and await further instructions. After a busy afternoon, he had unloaded three ships'' worth of goods, and was so tired that his hands were getting cramps. As he looked at the last ship approaching slowly, he couldn''t help but sigh. "These smugglers are really putting their lives on the line to get rich, still daring to sail in such circumstances." The thin man working for him chuckled. "If I have a boat, I will do so too. "Weapons, food, spirits... These items are in shortage, do you know how high their prices have soared in the black market? You can''t even buy a pound of pork with the amount of money needed to buy a pound of gold. "All rich people have gone crazy now. In their eyes, whoever can bring them what they want at this time is better than the rescue angels from the Religious Court of Inquiry last night. "I calculated briefly just now; each trip they take here can earn them more than 20 times the profit before..." Seeing the blank looks on the people around, he spat and counted with his fingers. Estimating conservatively, he said a number. In a flash, everyone''s eyes turned green with envy. "Do you think this is the main deal? Not even close!" The thin man lowered his voice and said, "Smuggling things here just earns them additional profit. Do you know how much they charge to fetch a person out of here? They don''t accept paper bills, not even money orders from the Church, only black gold!" The porters who gathered around him were stunned and started talking all at once. Not far away, the person in charge frowned. He glared at Conrad, who was at the lead, signaling for him to keep his subordinates in check and stop the goddamn gossiping. Hearing his voice, the young man beside him smiled. "They are all very energetic young people. It''s good. At least this place won''t feel dead." The manager wiped the sweat off his forehead and gave an ingratiating smile. "They''re a bunch of ill-mannered rednecks, but it''s fine as long as you don''t find them irritating." The young man shook his head and did not answer. He just stared at the smuggling ship that was gradually approaching from afar. The manager held the lantern up for him, illuminating the thin blanket on his knees, which sheltered him from the cold. The blanket was checkered, revealing the outline of his two slightly atrophied legs beneath it. Upon accidentally glancing at them, the manager felt as if his vision had been burnt by a soldering iron, and dared not look again. In the dim light, the young man''s face looked pretty, like that of a girl. He sat quietly in a wheelchair, his fingers tapping on the back of his seat without making a sound. The quiet pair of eyes was iron-gray. It resembled steel that cooled after being heated red. "Sir, something''s not quite right." At the frontmost of the pier, the hunched man waving the lantern frowned. "They did not return the signal." The smuggling ship was coming closer slowly, and people with good eyesight could already see the paint peeling off from the bow, but the whole ship was deathly silent. No signal was sent, and no sound could be heard. "Mr. Watson, allow me to show you out," the manager bent over and whispered. Thinking of the possible consequences, his face turned pale. "The situation doesn''t look good." "It''s no big deal, just order your men to get ready." Watson propped up his chin with his palms. He tilted his head and gazed at the boat that was floating in the calm currents. "Send the musicians over to take a look. Be careful, there are still plenty of valuables on board. Don''t let everyone here come in vain." The last sentence seemed to be a joke, but he said it in such a serious tone that no one dared to laugh. Soon, an obese musician rose into the air, crossed the short distance and landed on the deck. Then he bent down and vomited. The snakes stored in his chest cavity slid out from his mouth one by one, rapidly dispersing in all directions. They entered every opening, sneaked into the cabins and began to investigate. But it didn''t take long before the musician''s expression changed to one of confusion. After inspecting repeatedly, he gave a signal. It was safe. Upon returning, the musician bent down and reported in a low voice in Watson''s ear, "The cargo is still in the bilge, but no one is on the ship, nor is there the smell of blood." "Alright, let''s go." Watson nodded and turned the wheelchair in the other direction. The person beside was stunned. "Go?" "There''s no one alive to look for us and collect money anyway, just leave the things here." Watson said casually, "Do you still want to carry the things home despite knowing that something is wrong?" Everyone swallowed hard and turned back to look at the deathly silent smuggling boat. Their eyes were full of dismay, but the strange atmosphere around made them shudder uncontrollably. Upon hearing the command from their superior, the workers below were stunned for a moment, but soon reacted. They dropped the crowbars, spades, and other tools they prepared and got ready to leave. "Just give it up like that?" Conrad, who was smoking on the shore, inhaled deeply. The superiors didn''t seem to care, but he couldn''t help but feel anguished over such a waste. But when he looked at the ship that seemed to resemble a black hole. His heart couldn''t help but pound, despite him not knowing why. A huge chill went down his spine, and extinguishing the spark of anguish he felt, as he finally realized the strangeness of it all. One can earn as much money as one wants to. Worst come to worst, one can do so by robbing, no big deal, he thought. But one only has one life. "What are yall waiting for? Let''s go." He took the cigar from the corner of his mouth, threw it into the seawater below the steps, and walked away. The red-hot cigar traced an arc in the air, penetrated the mist and fell into the water. At the moment the fire went out, it seemed to have illuminated a face. For a split-second, Conrad thought that it was just his mind playing tricks on him. The next moment, the calm surface of the dead silent seawater was suddenly broken. The demon lurking underneath pounced suddenly. Cold water droplets splashed and a thick suffocating stench filled the air. Its speed was incredibly fast. In just an instant, it overwhelmed him. Its jaws opened to reveal two rows of sharp teeth, and pressed down at his throat. Crack. The sound of cervical vertebra breaking rang out. Blood splashed, and his head fell from his shoulders. Screams sounded one after another as well. The initially deathly silent sea boiled in a sudden. Countless dark shadows emerged from it, breaking the water surface, and climbed out. They leaped onto the port, looking for the traces of every living thing. Unlike the Murlocs from the previous attack, which were used as feed and consumables, the demons attacking this time were even weirder. They had no feet, but long snake-like tails, and four arms each. Unlike ordinary demons, they showed no signs of slowing down after leaving the water. Instead, they swayed their tails to propel themselves, achieving an incredibly fast speed. In the blink of an eye, they overwhelmed several thugs who were infamous for their brutality. The people who finally managed to react unsheathed their swords and battled with the demons. However, except for a few who obviously had military experience or underwent special training and cultivation, others could hardly sustain their efforts. Several musicians immediately formed a circle with Watson in the middle to protect him, then only activated their musical movements. They attempted a counterattack, but was interrupted by several loud bangs. The smuggling boat docked at the shore suddenly shook. The hull ruptured, and several gigantic, beast-like demons climbed out of the crack. They leaped onto the port and started devouring people. Through the crack in the hull, one could see the torn boxes inside. The hiding places of the creatures were self-evident. The creatures that had made their ways out of the boxes were still proliferating. They had no hair on their bodies, but were covered in a layer of scales. As if they had just been born, the soft scales that were originally moist, hardened quickly. Soon, weird crisp sounds rang out from their skulls, which were covered with strange hair, and sharp horns grew out of their foreheads. For the monsters which were as big as elephant calves, the killing of enemies was far more important than the hunt for flesh and blood. They did not take a second look at the blood on the ground, but continued to attack anything that was still moving aggressively. Someone risked his life and pierced through a demon''s scales with brute force, but the parasites and acids that spurted out of its abdomen after that made him scream. "The demons are not of naturally-existing species." Watson tapped the handle of the wheelchair and raised his brow slightly. "Natural evolution will not result in such targeting behavior... It is a species cultivated by dark musicians." He seemed to have understood something, and the corners of his mouth turned up to form a sneer. The sound of birds flapping their wings rang out. Under the wheelchair, it was as if a pigeon cage was opened. One, two... countless robins of a cyan color emerged from under the wheelchair, flew up, tweeted crisply, and flew at their prey. They were only flying birds, but they gave off a resplendent glow in the darkness. Their wings did not consist of feathers, but of flames! Flames that burned in an iron-blue color flared on them. The power from the Son of Phoenix incorporated the destructive heat from the path of modifications into bestiality, and the thousands of birds gathered into a torrent. Under the control of their summoner, they produced a low humming sound that cut off all other noises, and swept across the entire harbor. In a flash, the situation had been reversed. "Powerful indeed." The musician, who was his bodyguard, couldn''t help but sigh. Such attainments could be considered shocking, and even musicians like him who had long made names for themselves were far less powerful. Just watching Watson made him feel ashamed. But while Watson was focusing on controlling the huge flock of birds, a crisp cracking sound suddenly sounded from the ground. The brick-paved ground suddenly bulged. Following the waves of aether from Watson, a demon that had sneaked into the quagmire from the seawater and hid under the soil suddenly made its way out. Stirring up a stinking gust of wind, it rushed at Watson. It was incredibly quick! At the moment, everyone''s expression changed, but it was too late for them to do anything. In a flash, only a cold glint flashed across the air. From the cracked handle of the wheelchair, a slender dagger popped out, its metal glint tracing an arc in the air, and fell into Watson''s hands. He flipped his wrist and stabbed down. It was like a fleeting meteor. A miserable whine sounded. The worm-like demon had been nailed securely to the ground and struggled with all its might. Just as everyone was relieved, Watson grew impatient. He turned back, and looked at the shadows in the distance. "How much longer are you going to stay there and watch?" In the shadows, someone rubbed his face awkwardly, "Oh, I''ve been discovered?" Watson gave him a cold look, and said unceremoniously, "Come and help." "Sure." In the shadows, the newcomer smiled and stepped forward. The broken lantern that fell on the ground illuminated the robe draped on him and the right hand he lifted. His pale index finger ignited a wisp of flame and pressed it on the pipe at the corner of his mouth. So, in the misty smoke, the pipe was lit. The reddish tobacco leaves burnt as if a fuse that was extended into the sky had been lit. At the next moment, a terrifying glow emerged from the dark clouds suddenly. It was a furious thunder, and burnt the iron-black clouds red. Whistling sounds burst forth one after another. Several dozens of fiery fires cut across the sky and descended as if God had cast knives of punishment. Activated by the purifying musicians, stakes smashed towards the ground, shaking the earth. Everyone staggered and almost lost their balance. After that, a horrifying heat burst forth, accurately engulfing each and every demon, and pulled anything that exuded the aura of non-humans into the frightening inferno. In the end, in the dead silence, only gulps could be heard from the people witnessing the feat. The men holding their weapons looked each other blankly, their faces illuminated by the raging fire. It only took an instant before all the demons disappeared as if they had never been born. All of them were exterminated in the flames, and the fire purified everything. Under the piercing light of the bonfire, silver hair was caught up in the hot wind. In the thin smoke that was slowly dissipating, the young man in the purple robe tilted his head and looked at one of his few remaining friends. So, he smiled happily. "Hey, Watson." He said, "It''s been a while." 574 Trus Everything returned to silence. On the quiet street, Ye Qingxuan pushed the wheelchair along, walking slowly, like he was taking a stroll after dinner. Watson sat in the wheelchair, a blanket on his knees, enjoying the service from the noble Grand Inquisitor. As if he could feel an aura very different from that of the past, Watson sighed softly. "You''ve changed." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "For better or for worse?" Watson shook his head. "You''ve gotten stronger." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Isn''t it a good thing?" "Yeah, it''s good." For reasons unknown, Watson couldn''t help but sigh softly. "Very good." "With me being away for a long time, I didn''t expect you to be getting by alright." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I thought you would be a bit more miserable, waiting for my rescue." Watson snickered. "Haven''t you realized something? As long as they stay away from you, anyone can get by alright." Ye Qingxuan was silent. After a good while, he scratched his head awkwardly and sighed. "Your words are so cruel, Watson, they sadden me." "Oh come on, Ye Qingxuan," the young man on the wheelchair snorted. Watson was unsympathetic, his tone malicious, as always. "Nobody is obliged to become a savior to other people, do you understand? Your arrogance will be your demise sooner or later, no, hasn''t it already destroyed you, more or less?" "Who''s to say otherwise?" Ye Qingxuan shrugged but didn''t seem to mind at all. "..." As if a sword had poked into cotton and the assailant did not see the blood he had expected, Watson had nothing to say and was instead somewhat irritated by Ye Qingxuan''s indifferent attitude. Watson rubbed his temples, inhaled deeply, and suppressed his annoyance, calming down once more. I shouldn''t stoop down to that asshole''s level, nor bother arguing with the likes of him, Watson thought. I should have known from the beginning. So, he changed the subject and their chat could be continued. "A lot of things happened while you weren''t here." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I know." In the silence, Watson suddenly said, "White Crow has appeared." After a moment of silence, he heard Ye Qingxuan''s reply. "I see." "Should we track him down?" Watson asked. "Sure, go ahead and investigate, no hurry." Ye Qingxuan''s voice remained calm. "Since he has gone into hiding for so long, he definitely wouldn''t reappear just to buy coffee in Avalon during the discount season. On a side note, how many of our guaranteed routes remain as of now?" "Not many are left," Watson replied. "Only two secret routes remain. Plus, with the demons in upheaval now, the ships get overturned easily." "I will give you 50 more men, all of them purifying musicians of the Religious Court of Inquiry, don''t worry about the demons." Ye Qingxuan placed an envelope on the thin blanket covering Watson''s knees. "The matters on the list, settle them properly in secret. Lola will assist you." Watson pinched the envelope to gauge its thickness and snickered. "You have just gotten back and are already starting to send people on errands?" "Capability invites laboriousness." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "I don''t have many people that I can trust now." Watson was silent. He said no more. After a long time, their long walk was finally over. The wheelchair stopped outside an inconspicuous villa. Upstairs, someone cautiously lifted a corner of the curtain and looked out. One could vaguely hear the sound of arrows being nocked, the rustle of steel scraping against each other lightly. After getting a clear view of the visitor on the wheelchair, the hostility dissipated rapidly. The gates opened, and the respectful subordinates took over Ye Qingxuan''s job of pushing the wheelchair, surrounding and protecting Watson. "I''ll say my goodbyes here," Ye Qingxuan bid farewell. "I''ll get going. If you need to contact me, go to Westminster Abbey and find an old man named Shi Dong. Although the old fellow is a slick, you can trust him." He turned and left, but was stopped by Watson''s yell. "Hey!" Ye Qingxuan turned back. "Not gonna come in and have a look?" Watson asked. "Many are awaiting your return." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Nah, downtown is yours now." He nodded as a gesture of farewell. "Sherlock Holmes is dead. Although I''ll miss those naive times, I no longer need to disguise myself with a mask." He paused and said, "From now on, there is only one Ye Qingxuan." ... In midtown, inside the clock shop that had been closed for a long time, quiet ticks sounded one after another. After being closed for a few months and experiencing multiple upheavals, the place was still spotless and well organized. On the counter laid Hermes'' favorite crockery set. The tea leaves were of a high-quality Indian variety that he had left behind. The tea was still hot, with swaying vapor rising from it. Ye Qingxuan sat quietly, drinking the tea. In the clocks'' ticking, Setton, who was sitting on the armchair, carefully took off the pair of glasses that looked funny and tiny on him and closed the storybook in his hands. "I see." He whispered, "He has really died..." "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "He was so annoying that it isn''t surprising that he got killed." Setton asked, "Did he have any regrets in the end?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I heard that he was smug and triumphant." Seton was silent. After a long time, he sighed softly. "It''s indeed something he would do." "What are you going to do next?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Yeah, what am I to do?" responded Setton. Setton sat in the chair, but he was too burly, and he looked as if he had been squeezed into the chair. When he scratched his head, the chair creaked. "He was the one who hired me as his bodyguard when I was unemployed, but all I had to do was clean and tidy the place. Although he was mouthy, he never deducted my salary, nor did he prohibit me from taking up other jobs in private... Now that he''s no longer here, there''s no point for me to stay in Avalon. While Anglo has no time for surveillance, I might take my leave?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then asked straightforwardly, "To find Gaius?" "What for?" Setton sneered. "That guy has never been in his right mind. The more people that have died for him, the more abnormal he becomes. I''m afraid that he has become so twisted by now that even demons would be put to shame. I''m no fool, and I only want to stay as far away as possible from that thing." Ye Qingxuan said nothing. Setton shook his head. "Is my senior still okay?" "His situation can''t be considered good, nor is it exactly bad." Ye Qingxuan replied, "He''s leading a pretty comfortable life, and is well-fed. Although he is under constant surveillance, his basic demands are met, and he can continue doing his research without anyone disturbing him. I think he''ll like this sort of life. " Setton nodded. "He has been wanting to live like this for his whole life, though unexpectedly he finally found in prison. Since he is fine, I have nothing to worry about anymore." As he said so, he reached out and fished about his pockets. He took out a small notebook filled with numbers on every page. He held a small pencil and scribbled for a long time. He seemed to be calculating something, but he couldn''t get the numbers right every time. So, he frowned gloomily and got a little anxious. In the end, Ye Qingxuan rescued him from the hell of calculations. After taking a look at the array of numbers above, Ye Qingxuan extended a finger and pointed at the page. "The total here is 460,000. You made a few mistakes in the calculations above, and double-counted these two numbers." "Then, after deducting the amounts here and here, what''s the final sum?" Setton asked. Ye Qingxuan said a number. It wasn''t much, but Setton was relieved. "It''ll be enough." Setton said, "Besides the amount put aside to help my comrades out, the rest of the money I saved in the past years is enough for me to open a clock shop back home." Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "A clock shop?" "Yep." Setton grinned, and Ye Qingxuan had never seen him so happy. He fished out a magnifying glass out of his pocket and fixed it over his glasses adeptly, pointing to the pile of mechanical parts on the counter, and two pocket watches that looked slightly crude. "This is all my handiwork, unexpected, right?" "Really Unexpected." Ye Qingxuan shook his head difficulty. "Who taught you the craft?" "Self-study." Setton said, "Thanks to your help, actually. I couldn''t spell and write before, nor could I read. After a little learning, I tried it out myself with Hermes'' tools when I was bored. It was quite difficult at the beginning, but making a batch of dozens of them, I got the hang of it. It''s a bit of a hassle, but much simpler than killing. " Ye Qingxuan was silent for a good while, then laughed softly. "Congratulations." "Thank you," Setton replied. Ye Qingxuan got up and said goodbye. Scratching his head, he said, "I originally wanted to hire you, but now it seems that you have no reason to continue killing." "Oh, cut me some slack." Setton shook his head. "Not everyone finds the ability to be a monster a good thing." He accompanied Ye Qingxuan to the back door, saw the empty kennel in the yard, and couldn''t help but ask, "Where''s Old Phil? Still not found?" "Yeah, I don''t know where it has gone." Ye Qingxuan said, "I thought it was staying here with you before I came. No one''s left in the academy now, I really don''t know where it has gone." In this regard, Setton wasn''t at all worried. "Don''t worry, it probably just went out for a stroll. You need not fuss over nothing; it will still be alive and kicking even if Avalon gets destroyed." "I''m really glad to hear comforting words coming from you." Ye Qingxuan smiled resignedly and bid him farewell. The door closed. He stood alone in the alley, and for reasons unknown, he thought of the girl who had once stood here back then. I wonder if she''s doing alright. Soon, he put out the flame of worry in his heart and returned to reality. He turned back and looked at the corner in the depths of the alley. "You sure you don''t wanna come out and have a little chat?" After a series of rustles, the man, who had been keeping a lookout for Ye Qingxuan there for God knew how long, walked out. He stank of the smell of ditchwater, his hair unkempt, and he was such a mess that one would almost laugh upon sighting him. "Richard?" Ye Qingxuan furrowed his brows and stared at the person for a long time, before finally managing to identify the man as his former senior who had belonged to the executive office of the Royal Academy of Music and was an agent of the Fifth Department under Maxwell. "Why are you here?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I''ve been waiting for you." Richard''s face wore no smile. Generally speaking, when it wasn''t necessary, he rarely smiled. He seemed to be suffering from very serious internal injuries, and his face was pale like he was a spent force. How long Richard had been waiting there was unclear, and at the moment, he appeared to be almost dying. "Waiting for me here?" Ye Qingxuan asked again. "I know that if you return to Avalon, you will definitely come back here, so I waited for you here." Richard leaned against the wall and sat down like he was finally relieved of his pressure. The corners of his lips lifted, briefly and reluctantly, in what can barely be considered as a smile. "No one else is around, right?" Ye Qingxuan listened quietly for a moment and shook his head. "Feel free to talk." "Maxwell asked me to pass this to you if he was gone one day," Richard smiled with difficulty and handed him a copper tube, "and to bring his words to you..." He paused, reached out, and pressed his forehead. As if a lock had been opened in his skull, Richard''s eyes rolled back in his head, revealing the whites, and the power sealed in the skull was released, dominating his will. As if the old man had returned once more, the words that were once contained in the seal were spoken again via Richard''s body. "Ye Qingxuan, you must be careful. Don''t trust anyone." Ye Qingxuan heard the hoarse voice of Maxwell: "Including me." 575 The Iron of Decay In the Westminster Abbey, beside the clock tower, in the office, one could hear the sound of gears rotating not far away. It was the crisp sound of the giant second hand of the clock ticking forward. The fire in the fireplace glowed. Ye Qingxuan sat on the sofa and examined the copper seal in his hand. "Ye Qingxuan, keep this in mind, don''t trust anyone in Avalon." Maxwell''s voice still lingered in his mind. "Including me." "Including you?" Ye Qingxuan murmured softly and rubbed his forehead to ease his headache. I don''t get it. What the heck is Maxwell doing? What on earth has happened? He pondered for a long time, but couldn''t make heads or tails of it, so he shifted his attention back to the sealed copper case in his hand. It was one thumb thick and one hand long, a standard sealed case for storing confidential documents. The material looked like brass, but it was actually an alloy consisting of black gold and copper. Its hardness and tensile strength exceeded that of diamond and was used to store confidential documents and classified information. The unique design ensured that it would be damaged once opened. The specially formulated sealing wax at the opening was perfectly intact, so no one could have possibly sneaked a look. For some unknown reason, the cold sealed copper case felt faintly warm in his hand, as if coal had been put inside. But when he felt it carefully, it still remained cold. The warmth is just an illusion. No, not all at. Ye Qingxuan could clearly feel it. Some sort of heat that the human body couldn''t sense seeped out wisp by wisp, causing a tingling sensation, as if one was pricked by needles. It was faint and vague, but steel posed it no obstruction. It passed through his body and the air, then dissipated. "What on earth is that?" Ye Qingxuan used both of his hands to disassemble the outer shell of the sealed case carefully according to the method in his memory. He only felt relieved after removing the self-destructive machinery inside and putting it aside. Finally, he unscrewed the screw of the sealed copper case. Unexpectedly, what slipped into his hand from the inside of the copper case was a heavy lead tube. What he disassembled was merely the outermost packaging of the gift. The lead tube felt heavy and seemed to have been processed with alchemy, making it at least several times heavier than similar tubes. After unscrewing the outer layer, one could see the delicate interlayers within the lead tube through the sides. A few dozen types of odd materials were nested together in the middle, carefully enclosing the core within. It was as if something as terrifying as fierce floods and savage beasts was being sealed inside. It was hot. In the illumination of the faint glimmering green glow from the lead tube, the illusory heat felt by Ye Qingxuan was several dozen times stronger than that a while ago. The prickling sensation made him felt as if the capillaries all over his body had burst after doing strenuous exercise. The sensation hit in waves, but while it felt uncomfortable, his body had a strange craving for it. It was like a reunion after a long separation Ye Qingxuan held the stone, which was the size of the knuckle of his little finger, and observed it carefully. But after a while, he felt dizzy, and when he moved his fingers, his movements seemed to lag. After a moment''s silence, he reached out and peeled off a layer of dead skin from his suddenly cracked palm. He could sense that the cells in his body were more active than ever. They were also weaker than ever. They were being killed off at ten times the usual speed and were also regenerating at ten times the usual speed at the same time, undergoing some sort of slowmutation?! What the heck is this thing that Maxwell left for me! Ye Qingxuan thought. "The Iron of Decay." Outside the door, Shi Dong''s voice rang from afar. It was as if he could feel Ye Qingxuan''s confusion through the thick walls. He didn''t open the door to enter but just said hoarsely, "You''d better keep it properly. With the exception of you, no one here can withstand its harm..." Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "Is this thing very dangerous?" "Very, very dangerous," Shi Dong replied. "In the pollutant rating, it is rated to be more threatening than the Cup of Hope. According to readings taken with the counter, the circulation and mining of the thing you have with you is absolutely prohibited in the East as well. "It kills the cells in one''s body and destroys one, starting from the smallest structures in the body. Except for the few pure-blood Deva in the world, anyone else who dares to meddle with such a thing is committing suicide..." Ye Qingxuan was stunned for a moment, then carefully put the Iron of Decay back into the lead tube. However, the illusory heat and stinging sensation still lingered and showed no signs of dissipating. What is Maxwell even thinking about? Ye Qingxuan thought. "It''s better for you to come out." Shi Dong sighed. "I will make the necessary arrangements to seal this place up later. It''ll remain unfit for human habitation for half a year." Even after Ye Qingxuan came out, Shi Dong continued to maintain a distance of ten meters between the two, as if he was avoiding a fierce flood or a savage beast. "Hey, what for?" "Your Honor, I still want to live for a few more years." Shi Dong cautiously put on a set of weird, thick protective clothing. "Actually, you are basically a lethal, human-form poison now. I would suggest that you avoid coming into contact with anyone before its traces in your body are thoroughly gone. Judging from your vital signs and metabolic rate, the time it will take is about several dozen times shorter than the ordinary person, so you should be fine after one night." Maxwell, what the heck are you up to!!! Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes and sighed resignedly. "Okay, why are you looking for me so late in the night?" Shi Dong pointed towards the room. "I believe that you have read my report?" "You writing was too lengthy, I have only read the front parts." "It''s alright, you just have to be clear about the shameful happenings in the past." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a good while, before facepalming and sighed. "Indeed, shameful." The Lady of the Lake turned out to be Leviathan. Are you sure there''s nothing wrong with King Arthur''s brain?! No, history has proven to us that something must have been wrong with that asshole''s brain. Really really wrong. - Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand, signaling for Shi Dong to follow him. Since the room could no longer be stayed in, they might as well find a place to sit and talk. Soon, they reached the central courtyard of the church. Ye Qingxuan sat on the bench and spent quite a while to gather his thoughts. Finally, he couldn''t help but tug at his hair. "I know what you want to ask, but with the current situation, I don''t know where to start." Shi Dong was no stranger to such situations. He simply nodded, and suggested calmly, "Then let''s go through the whole thought process from the beginning once more. Don''t forget your purpose. What did you come here for?" "To save Anglo, of course," Ye Qingxuan replied. But Shi Dong was still looking at him and asked, "What else?" Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile bitterly. "Save Maxwell at the same time." Shi Dong''s expression was still cold, like a dotard who wouldn''t even be surprised if the sky fell down. He simply scratched his chin. After a good while, he commented calmly, "It will be very difficult this way." "Of course I know." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Do you have any suggestions?" "Me?" Shi Dong pondered for a bit, scratching his steel skull. He sighed with a tinge of emotion. "Based on my experience in the past, if you aren''t sure of how to defeat the enemy, then purge your organization first. It''s not like you have anything better to do anyway." "Er, what?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Shi Dong repeated himself, "Purge. I mean... Surely you understand what I mean?" "I know what you mean, but why of all times now?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Well, the style of the Religious Court of Inquiry has always been like that," Shi Dong replied naturally as if it was something that could go without saying. "There''s nothing else to do anyway, so we might as well purge the nation of heretics first. To resist foreign attacks, one must stabilize the internal situation first. Cleansing and purification are necessary from time to time to strengthen an organization''s foothold and to ensure that it could be sustained in the long-term. At all times, you must make sure that the organization you are leading is pure. At least, we must first find out who the impure are." "After finding out?" asked Ye Qingxuan. Shi Dong shrugged. "We add their names to the list of spare firewood of course. Demons can still be utilized after their deaths, but troublesome creatures like heretics can only be used as firewood. Fortunately, they can be burned dead or alive. "As the Grand Inquisitor, how come you are so slow in this respect? I thought that you''d be very good at it. " "..." Ye Qingxuan was at a loss for words. "Shi Dong, can you suggest something useful?" "I feel that I have already given you quite an explicit hint, haven''t I?" Shi Dong looked at him, his gaze serious. "You know what I am reminding you of, right? "If you want to save this country, you shouldn''t bother yourself with unnecessary concerns, and don''t let insignificant matters hold you back. In this world, never rely on other people. If you want something, you must get it yourself, Your Honor. "All you have to do is nod, and stakes will be erected on Queen''s Road tomorrow. "The politicians who have been attending secret meetings in the past few days, trying to control you, secure more power for themselves and obtain substantial benefits without contributing anything, as well as the aristocratic parasites who regard themselves highly but are totally useless to the country, all of them will form long queues and walk up to the stakes, one after another, turning into a pile of coal ash via this clean and pollution-free process. "From then on, you will be free of all inhibitions, and you can show your capabilities fully. Surely you don''t have any more expectations for this bunch of good-for-nothings?" Silence. A long silence. Ye Qingxuan smoked a pipe and exhaled a cloud of gloomy smoke. He asked, "Is there really no one worth trusting, in your opinion?" "Trust? That''s such a luxurious term." Shi Dong sneered. "Your Honor, even the Religious Court of Inquiry could not resist certain temptations, let alone other people? I don''t particularly hate the aristocrats, and I understand their stupidity. After all, it is the nature of the ruling class. "Many of them could even be considered kind, but their stances have been predetermined by their origins and the positions they hold. As long as you are willing to spare a thought on such boring matters, you can easily understand them. Show them your devilish side, Grand Inquisitor. "Who do you think will never betray you?" Ye Qingxuan pondered the question for a long time, and asked tentatively, "Maxwell?" Shi Dong shook his head. "He loves you, I can see, but there are other things that he loves more." "Lancelot?" Ye Qingxuan asked again. Shi Dong shook his head again. "He also loves you, but you get what I mean." "Alright, then what about Mephistopheles?" Shi Dong snickered. "I don''t know if you have heard this saying before: Clergymen can be trusted when pigs fly. Do you really believe that he will keep his mouth shut regarding the secrets he has heard in the confessional?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and shook his head. A lengthy silence ensued. Ye Qingxuan''s eyes suddenly brightened. "I think I have one." "Oh?" Shi Dong raised his brow. "In Avalon, the one I trust the most, the one that will never betray me and can even help me I think I know who that is. Unfortunately, I don''t know where it has it gone, I can''t find it anywhere." "Wait... Did you just say ''it''?" "Yep, ''it''." "..." Shi Dong was silent. After a long time, he sighed flatly. "In some sense, perhaps such trust can indeed stand the test of time..." He felt resigned due to Ye Qingxuan''s tactlessness. Shi Dong didn''t bother to try and convince him anymore. In his view, reality was as such anyway, and the circumstances would force Ye Qingxuan to make a choice; it was just a matter of sooner or later. So, he got up, took his leave and went back to sleep. Ye Qingxuan was left alone, leaning against the bench and smoking his pipe. He looked helplessly at the gloomy night sky above his head, thinking hard, trying to come up with a solution. "Such trouble." He sighed and rubbed his forehead. Then, he heard a rustling sound. Amid the dead twigs and rotting leaves, something deftly strode towards him on all fours, with mud and dirt all over its golden fur. Not having been groomed for a long time, the fur was knotted and tangled all over. But its gaze was still arrogant, like that of a superior being, and insufferably proud. It jumped onto the bench easily, sitting next to Ye Qingxuan. Glancing at his flabbergasted expression, it exhaled a gust of air from its nostrils with disdain. Then, it shook its body and splashed mud all over Ye Qingxuan''s clothes in an adept manner. "Hey, Old Phil!" Ye Qingxuan finally came out of his trance-like state and jumped up from the bench, ecstatic. He laughed loudly and embraced the ''person'' he trusted most in Avalon. "It''s been a really long time!" 576 The End of Solomon Ye Qingxuan didn''t know how Old Phil felt so long after they last saw each other. But surely, Old Phil was not an ordinary dog, so it didn''t show much emotion. There was still a look of loathing in its eyes, however. Being warmly welcomed by Ye Qingxuan, Old Phil just nudged him away with its nose and rubbed mud all over him. It acted like they had not been away from each other for so long, but rather that it had just gone next door to steal a cucumber for lunch. However, a lot of people had gone since then. Too much had changed. A long time ago, they came to this city for the first timea young man and a dog. Ye Qingxuan had been worried that the virus might make Old Phil ill, yet it only sneezed once and shook some hair off. It didn''t feel anything at all. This was really astonishing to some, yet Ye Qingxuan was used to this He always believed that Old Phil was no ordinary dog; it was smarter than any man. "Where have you been all this time?" Ye Qingxuan squatted down and said jokingly, "You found a wife, had a bunch of pups, and didn''t want to come back, right?" Surprisingly, Old Phil didn''t bite him this time. It just looked at him as if to say your old man is really disappointed with you, which made Ye Qingxuan feel ashamed of making such boring jokes. Old Phil opened his mouth and threw something on the bench. It was a piece of a broken chain. The decoration on the chain was gone, leaving only the chain, which seemed so familiar. Ye Qingxuan blanked for an instant. After a long thought, he picked up the chain. It was so heavy that it must have been made of some sort of precious metal. The design was highly sophisticated and the chain was handmade. Even an experienced craftsman would find it difficult to make such a chain. There were not many good craftsmen in Avalon, not to mention someone who would bother to make such a nice chain. Yet, he quickly remembered something. When he went to the Stein Chamber, he saw a necklace with the same design on someone''s neck. "Marry?" Ye Qingxuan asked in astonishment. She was the second daughter of the king who went missing when Leviathan broke the second layer of seal; the princess of Avalon, the future Queen of Anglo. He stared at Old Phil and asked, "You''ve found her?" Old Phil peered at him and said nothing. It turned around and whipped him with its tail, meaning follow me. Ye Qingxuan followed Old Phil and after some turns, they were suddenly on the street. Then they went through some streets and valleys. The further they went, the more unfamiliar everything became. Ye Qingxuan felt a headache coming on. According to the map in his mind, they had been going in circles for a while and should be where they set off from. Yet, there was a deserted valley in front of them. When he lowered his eyes, however, he found that there was a stream of blood flowing along the way. The path of blood! When he raised his head again, a wave of mist came over and devoured him. The mist was gone; everything was different. Old Phil had also vanished, like a phantom. Ye Qingxuan was in the shadow of Avalon. In the silence, he raised his head, looking at the dark sky. There must be something wrong! What was wrong? The shadow of Avalon was different from before. Everything was shattered as if it had been twisted and folded by some great force. Numerous ruins flew up into the sky, stretching in every direction. It seemed the city had jumped up into the sky and stayed there. The buildings just floated in the air, frozen in time forever. In the second that the city was ruined, the sky must have collapsed and the earth cracked. In the sky, the king''s palace was left in the center, releasing horrible aether waves like a dark sun. There was surely something terrible brewing there. The city had been destroyed, yet some monsters occupied the ruins of the city and seemed to have given the city some sort of evil life. There seemed to be a sort of terrible power dominating the whole city. It had devoured the city and made the city part of it. They were crawling out of their tomb and would be alive again soon. Numerous sounds of worms and insects crawling, and beasts howling were hidden in the silence, making the place even more terrible. In the empty streets and the deepest darkness, something was staring at Ye Qingxuan with its blood-red eyes. One, two, three There were so many of them "It seems I have been targeted," Ye Qingxuan murmured. Then a bronze emblem slid out of his sleeve and into his hand. The music theory of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei flew out from the Symphony of Predestination and wrapped around the emblem. When the music was played, swords of moonlight were released, which was intertwined with red fire, burning the sins of the humans and lighting up the world. This was the most useful skills he had learned in his classes at the Religious Court of Inquisitors, which covered all musical instruments and alchemy devices and hundreds of purifying music movements created since the establishment of the Religious Court of Inquisitors. Besides the four most essential music movements, including the Night on Bald Mountain, 16 for supporting utilities and 34 for purifying, the more than 70 other music movements were all created to kill all creatures except for humans. This was my exercise class, then? He went forward at his normal speed and felt that the pressure was becoming more and more tense. Suddenly, something like a dying beast howled from afar. It sounded so familiar. Ye Qingxuan was so surprised that he raised his head to see what it was. Numerous monsters with blood-red eyes jumped at him, howling. There were also waves of little bugs in the air, extracting aether from the air, which created a temporary vacuum around Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh and waved a sliver of moonlight from his fingers. Numerous music notes were played in such a short time that the sound was not even distinguishable. Then, fire and light spread around very quickly and quietly. All the monsters and bugs were burned into nothing, leaving not even ashes. In the fading light, Ye Qingxuan looked to the direction of the howling. It was Firebird. And he was familiar with that. "Mary?" In the ruins of the church, black blood spurted and fell on the mask. A giant monster was cut in half. It fell on the ground, twitching and howling. Yet more monsters were coming. Surrounded by layers of monsters, a knight shouted angrily. He waved his sword again with his great power, generating a gust of strong wind which cut through the space. The wind tore everything apart on its path and chopped up all the monsters within a hundred-meter radius. With the blood of the monsters sprayed on the ground, the smell of blood was even stronger. Behind the knight was a girl who was crying bitterly. "They are here, Christine. They are here. They are here. They are right here." Her gown torn, her arms were shown. Ye Qingxuan could saw there were red scales showing and disappearing on her arms. Her pupils changed forms as if she were a beast one moment and a normal girl the next. She was struggling between being a beast and being a human. "It is looking at me." Mary murmured, "Christine, give me the sword. Quick! Give me the sword. It was inside me. I saw it. It is tearing me apart." "Your Highness!" Christine half-kneeled on the ground, shaking her violently. "Don''t give up! Don''t be defeated by it!" "It is killing me, Christine." Mary raised her head. Her eyes were full of emptiness. She could no longer see the knight but the felt the beast inside her. "Give me the sword, Christine, give me the sword." She held Christine''s arm and begged. Her strength was so mighty that she crushed the steel of Christine''s armor and left her indentations from her fingers on it. She looked at Christine, red-eyed as if she were a demon. "Give me the sword! I can kill it!" Christine became silent. She was so sad that she couldn''t help but shed tears. "My princess, it is you that you will be killing." Then, the armor suddenly split apart. The girl knight reached out to Mary and grabbed her. Pressing Mary''s neck down, she injected a shot of tranquilizer into her artery. At the same time, her arm was broken by Mary. The bones in her arm were fractured and her arm began to bleed. The tranquilizer was injected into Mary''s body, yet the beast in her veins wouldn''t surrender; it was still fighting and howling. After several seconds, though, it calmed down. Mary lost her strength and fell into Christine''s embrace, gasping. "Don''t fall asleep, Your Highness." Christine carried Mary on her back. "Hold on for a moment. It will pass soon. Remember the song you liked most when you were a kid?" Mary seemed to answer her. She murmured something as if singing. "Solomon was born on Monday, baptized on Tuesday, got married on Wednesday, became ill on Thursday. His illness became serious on Friday, he died on Saturday, and was buried on Sunday. This was the end of Solomon. This was the end of Solomon." In her murmuring, Christine straightened her arm and put it back into the armor. Then she put the mask on. The tranquilizer would become useless very soon. In the beginning, the effect of the tranquilizer could last a whole day, but now it could only calm Mary for ten minutes. Christine knew well that Mary must be treated to cleanse her blood, otherwise, she would collapse under the Blood of Curses and turn into a blood-thirsty monster. Time was running out. "Don''t be afraid, my princess." Suffering great pain, Christine raised her broken arm to stroke Mary''s long hair. "I will protect you. I will." Yet in the silence, the melody came again from afar. It was the RequiemRequiem VIwhich was played during the funeral of musicians to pray for the spirit of the dead so that he or she could ascend to the Originator. Yet now, it was so dark and savage. Ashes came with the cold wind, forming a vague shadow which was torn apart from the inside, revealing pale skin and hollow eyes. The musician in white stepped out from the shadow. Wearing a crystal crown, the musician had dark and cold aether movements around him, surrounding Christine like snakes. The spirit of the dead musicians came back from the realm of the deceased in such an ugly appearance. On the white clothes was an emblem of the royal musician group, and the body, which had been petrified due to the effects of the drug of Penglai, came forward, step by step. The petrified neck of the middle-aged dead musician cracked irritatingly when he stared at Christine. Then he locked his sight on Mary. "I sacrifice myself to the great emperor." The musician stepped forward again, his hollow voice full of enthusiasm which made people sick. "May God bless the kingdom and my king bless me!" 577 The Vacuum Sun In the ominous melody, the strange petrified musician waved his hand. The earth shook, and cracks formed striations on stone and iron, making them seem as if they were covered in frost. Ruptures sounded one after another. As the paving bricks on the ground cracked, iron fences rose from the rotting soil, layer by layer. Decaying metal wound around the fences, turning into a forbidding barrier, like creeper plants which were spreading their vines and leaves meticulously. On the dark green metal leaves covered with rust, layers of notes emerged, forming a huge and complex movement. In the blink of an eye, access from all directions had been blocked, turning the place into a cage that would allow no one to leave or enter. It was a shackle that sufficed to hold even a gigantic Phantom Beast in it. The musician had clearly been dead for a long time. No one from the first generation of the Royal Musician Division could survive until the present day. But at the moment, with dust as the medium, the body that had turned into stone and iron returned to the world once more. His Symphony of Predestination, which had been silent for a long time, was activated once more. Fueled by the obsession that had lingered on despite his death, the spirituality of the movement replaced the soul that had dissipated a long time ago. With a few simple gestures, he laid an inescapable trap. Judging from his terrifying attainments in terms of modifications, he must have been an exceptional musician when he was alive. Other than being a musician of the School of Modifications, he might even have held a concurrent post as an alchemist. He constructed countless formulas skillfully with his hands, forming complex and almost unsolvable music theory equations in the end. Controlling the modified aether, he built a vast array from scratch. He mastered both the creation and destruction aspects within the School of Modifications. He was clearly familiar with them and used them skillfully as if they were part of him. On his forehead, a complex, circular alchemy array emerged slowlyThe Ring of Dragon Scales! It was an alchemy array that could make any movement of the School of Modifications multiple times as destructive. The array that was originally engraved on instruments made of gold and iron was instead imprinted on the fragile skull, despite the fact that should the operation of the array get out of control, the large amount of heat generated would be enough to turn the skull into ashes. Such characteristics were unique to one person even in the entire history of the Royal Musician Division. His identity was as clear as day. "That explains it..." In her armor, Christine spoke coldly, "Master Nigel, the Iron River Musician, a member of the first generation of the Royal Musician Division, the conductor of the Birmingham Orchestra, one of the thirteen principal conductors, pardon my lack of manners." Nigel''s corpse did not move. It seemed to observe etiquette and did not attack with brute force, still maintaining the arrogant habit he had back when he was alive. Christine took a few steps backward and carefully placed Mary, whom she was carrying on her back, on the ground. She pulled out the sword of Galahad at her waist, twisted the hilt with both hands, and stabbed it into the ground beside Mary. The metal hoop nested on the hilt began to rotate immediately. The armature hidden beneath was activated, causing the blade to become hot, as it was burned red by the aether circuit within. Innumerable notes emerged, the blade trembled, and a low whistling sound burst forth. The air suddenly warped for a moment, the faint shadows of countless swords and knives appeared, forming a barrier of protection around Mary. Christine could finally fight without having to worry about her. "Your Royal Highness, I will be back in a while," Christine whispered softly and turned back. The hidden compartments on the greaves of Galahad''s armor opened, and two slender hilts popped out. As Christine pulled them out with both of her hands, the sharp blades were unsheathed, and the clanking of metal reverberated in the air for a good while. The two weapons were rapiers. The rapiers resembled lances when extended fully. They were slender, but their length seemed exaggerated and unpractical. The blades were too thin and narrow. It was as if they would break at the slightest touch. But despite their exaggerated length, they still stood straight. The rapiers would suffice to penetrate the iron walls Nigel conjured up and leave a lethal hole in his heart, which was hidden deep in the iron fortress. Christine took a step forward, aiming the two rapiers at Nigel from a distance, and remained motionless from then on, maintaining a perfect set up. But meanwhile, a vast amount of power flowed through the armor, burning the hilts red. Nigel stood with his hands behind him. On his petrified face, the knight''s posture was reflected in his empty eyes. He showed no signs of resistance, as if he was calmly awaiting death. However, in the dim light, countless fine fluorescent particles fluttered outwards. Orbs of light the size of dust particles danced. The dust-like particles contained terrifying power due to formulas of explosion smelted into them via alchemical processes. Once a particle burst, it would become a terrifying sun that would emit enough energy to demolish a whole building completely. At that very moment, a roar suddenly burst forth in the air. As the earth shattered, a hurricane surged suddenly and swept forward. Christine''s voice couldn''t be heard anymore. One could only hear the bangs of iron boots stepping forcefully on iron and stone. The time between two consecutive bangs was too short, making them sound continuous, like the furious roar of a behemoth. In the blink of an eye, dozens of invisible walls made of air were broken purely through brute force, as the owner of the iron boots passed through the hell consisting of alternating regions of vacuum and high pressure. Innumerable dust-like light orbs were detonated constantly, but the horrible airwaves were chopped up before they could spread. The two slender rapiers pierced the air innumerable times in an instant, tearing the orb of light completely apart each time. The slender blades tremored within a minute distance in a dance-like fashion, opening up gaps in matter. Pierce, pierce, pierce. How was that a proper way to use swords and lances? The blades were like deadly stingers! In the sharp noise of metals scraping against each other, the rapiers pierced through layers and layers of obstacles, penetrating all barriers, and were right in front of Nigel in a flash. But in response, two slender fingers quietly gripped the thin blades, letting it tremble at the fingertips. Then, the situation reversed. Bang! The instantaneous elemental replacement completely destroyed the completeness of the entire blades. The two rapiers broke off inch by inch. Countless pieces of iron reversed their directions and flew backward towards Galahad''s armor. At that moment, Christine abandoned her weapon and moved forward. The rapier was a sword designed for assassination. Once it was used in the open, it would lose more than half of its effectiveness. Right from the start, she hadn''t been trying to kill the powerful musician who had been famous since a few hundred years ago with the two spare weapons. Their purpose was just to attract attention. She didn''t need any weapon. A knight herself was the strongest weapon! As for Galahad''s armor, since its creation, the power within it had been stronger than most other armors in the world. Arthur sealed a Phantom Beast he once controlled in it as a source of power, bringing incredible powers to its wearer. The power represented by Galahad''s armor was the barrier of iron and wind. Setting up the limiting barrier with iron, it could control the strong wind to completely tear everything that dared to enter the attack range apart. Even though it was not particularly good at attacking, once Nigel entered the attack range of Galahad, the wrath of the hurricane controlled by metals would be awaiting him. A loud bang rang out. The fiery flow of aether spewed out of the gaps in Galahad''s armor and wrapped itself around the huge armor. Turning into a terrifying barrier of gas, it rushed toward Nigel. Countless pieces of iron in reverse were swallowed by it and were instantly ground into iron sand. The iron sand then blended into the barrier, faintly lending an iron blue color to the ghastly white tornado, and the destructive power multiplied. It was already close at hand. But Nigel withdrew his palm, as if he had given up on resisting. Boom! At that moment, a loud bang sounded from inside the armor. It was as if gears that were rotating at a rapid speed stopped abruptly. The circuit of the alchemy array was blocked. The heavy pressure within could not be relieved and broke the tracts of the array, flowing out in all directions. Christine''s movements came to an abrupt end. The storm dissipated. "Oh no..." Although the hurricane had stopped, the iron sand in the wind was still moving. They attached themselves to the armor like mistletoe. Layers of rust spread below the iron sand. In a flash, it was as if decades had passed. The steel grew dull, and the armor was mottled. It was because of the formulas attached to the broken pieces of the rapiers. In just an instant, the entire of the rapiers had undergone a qualitative change as music theory flowed into them. Every inch of the steel became a source of pollution that was strong enough to turn a large ship of steel into scrap iron. Upon coming into contact with the armor, the music theory unfolded itself. Like a long needle, it corroded the outer layer and entered the alchemy array of Galahad. With high precision, it cut off the aether circulation between the outflowing layer and the forming layer, causing a huge amount of ether to descend into chaos. It was a very weak force that was only maintained for a moment, but it caused tragic consequences. Galahad''s greaves exploded, and the force of recoil tore Christine''s right leg. Pieces of steel pierced into the flesh, and the deadly rust came into contact with her blood. She had miscalculated. The being that resurrected and descended here not only possessed the body of the principal conductor but also inherited the operational wisdom he had in life Even though the armors of the Knights of the Round Table could repair itself, such immense damage would need to be repaired by engineers, and the restoration would probably take more than half a month to complete. Nigel advanced indifferently. Christine coughed violently and vomited blood, but he showed no mercy. After Christine''s defeat, he reached out, expressionless, and destroyed every component of Galahad''s armor completely. Eliminating all possibilities of future troubles! The moment he approached, Galahad''s armor suddenly fell apart, and Christine''s body popped out from it with the last of its remaining power. In the instant it freed itself from the armor, her right hand, which was still somewhat intact, pulled out a piece of blood-stained iron from the leg and stabbed at Nigel, who was close by. The blow exhausted all her energy! Nigel looked at her dying kicks indifferently, but at that moment, a shocked expression seemed to flash across his empty eyes. He ignored the close attack and turned back suddenly. [Nature interference begins.] [Gospel armor has loaded completely.] [Power source Vacuum Sun activated.] At the moment, from afar, terrifying aether waves burst forth in a sudden. Countless music theories were in turmoil. Nature interference occurred at the same spot for tens of thousands of times, each attempt connecting with another and converging into one. It formed a gigantic cycle. In the sea of aether, a huge hollow space appeared suddenly. It was a well-defined circle. Nature interference had affected it for countless times, and music theories interwove within, forming a vast and complex structure. As the music theories operated, a strong force was produced. It acted inwards. A massive amount of aether was attracted by the gravitational force coming from the center of the circle, converging, collapsing, and condensing into an almost imperceptible point. Outside of the circle, any aether that dared to approach was pushed away by the terrifying repulsive force. The repulsion stirred up huge waves in the sea of aether. In the silence, a loud, thunderous bang reverberated, tearing apart any aether waves brewing up as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood! Between the points of origin of the repulsive force and that of the gravitational force, a pure vacuum existed. It was like a hot sun! It was a sun made out of vacuum! The hot sun that only existed for a moment completely destroyed itself in the next. In the instant during its destruction, a terrifying amount of energy erupted from the collapsing sun. Under the guidance of music theory, the violent torrents broke through the binding of the sea of aether and descended upon the Physical World in a flash. The energy that was enough to cause an earthquake converged into one point and moved forward. Everywhere it passed, all matter was crushed into dust, and all music theories were torn into pieces by the violent vacuum sun. Thousands of meters were forcibly crossed, and the distance that seemed beyond reach was instantly shortened. The target was within arm''s reach. When Nigel turned back, he only saw two hands covered in dark armor. In the seemingly paused time, the hands appeared to move forward gently, passing through layers of defense easily as if they were popping soap bubbles. Before the soap bubbles even had time to burst, the two hands cupped Nigel''s face. They deftly twisted his head. Crack! After the moment passed, the first few things one could perceive was a deafening bang, countless screams of bricks being shattered, and a flood-like hurricane whistling as it swept across the scene. A figure wearing huge armor had suddenly appeared in the scene. In front of him was a headless corpse broken into pieces. Nigel''s head was removed, and it fell apart as the figure closed his hands. The pieces of stone became powder and slipped through his fingers, turning back into dust. Just as Kristen was about to be blown away by the hurricane, the figure in the dark armor lifted his palm. A barrier was constructed with the music theory of the School of Abstinence in the blink of an eye, blocking her from the appalling hurricane and the deadly wind pressure following it closely. "Who are you?" Christine looked at him and almost lost her footing. The dark armor suddenly softened, like an illusion, and collapsed slowly. In the end, it turned into a long, black robe draped over the figure, and Ye Qingxuan removed his hood to reveal his face. "Christine, it''s been a while since we last saw each other." He smiled. Christine stared at him with wide eyes. After a good while, she fell to the ground, her whole posture slackened in relief. "When did you come back?" "The day before yesterday." Ye Qingxuan reached out and tended to her bleeding wounds. He pulled out the piece of iron that had pierced her blood vessel and bandaged the wound. "You and the princess have been here all this time?" "When Leviathan broke through the second seal, Her Royal Highness and I were in the refuge." Christine panted, struggling to keep her mind clear. "When the uptown fell, the princess brought me here. We only realized that the situation was even worse after coming here. She could hardly take it anymore." "The curse of the dragon blood?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Christine nodded. "No need to bother about my injuries, I can still walk. Protect the princess first. We must leave this place. Our medicine has run out. Her Royal Highness is a dangerous threat now..." "I''m afraid it would be quite troublesome to leave." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head and sighed. "In my hurry just now, I rushed into the encirclement. The time was really too tight, I couldn''t think of any other way." Christine was stunned. Encirclement? In the dark night, the dissipated melody of Requiem VI seemed to flow towards them once more. Innumerable dust particles descended from the sky. A dozen figures in white, wearing a crystal crown each, slowly rose from the dust. The aether waves coming from each one of them were no less powerful as compared to that from Nigel, evenstronger! Despite having died for so many years, their strength had not been weakened. On the contrary, with the help of the strange music theories in the shadow of Avalon, their strength had continued escalating to new heights. Furthermore, they still carried the precious treasures they had obtained while they were alive on them. Ye Qingxuan''s gaze swept over them and his pupils couldn''t help but contract. A solemn and quaint sword, ancient scrolls exuding the aura of the oddities of the realm of aether, a strange crystal eyeball, and the familiar black hat The first generation of the Royal Musician Division, the 13 principal conductors, had all arrived... 578 The Blood of Amber Things were getting bad. Actually, it was very bad. On the deadly-silent stage, only the melody of Requiem VI was lingering. 13 principal conductors stood in the darkness and silently guarded all the ways out. Ye Qingxuan could feel the Symphonies of Predestination in them which were so real, and the even more terrible imposing manners of the musician in a grey coat and one in a red coat. They were the head and the deputy head of the first-generation Royal Music Division, respectively, and the two best musicians of Anglo and the School of Royalty. What''s more, they were both Scepter musicians and were the best of the Scepter musicians. Although it was as though they had been brought back from the hands of death, it was not clear if they still had the power of a Scepter musician. Their names and their battle records were enough to send a chill down everyone''s spine. The 13 conductors and the 13 big musician divisions were the strongest power of the musicians when Anglo was at its peak. Fighting against one of them, Ye Qingxuan would win as they were resurrected from death and thus were weaker than when they were alive. Fighting two of them, Ye Qingxuan would find it difficult to cope. Facing five of them, he would not hesitate at all to run away. Yet now, Ye Qingxuan would definitely lose, not to mention, he had to fight the head and deputy head of the first-generation royal musician divisions. He became curious. What brought these musicians, who have been dead for centuries, back to life? Do they have the same power as when they were alive? What do they have to do with Leviathan? Is the Seal of the royal palace of the Shadow of Avalon intact? There seemed to be more and more questions. Looking in the direction where they were looking, Ye Qingxuan saw the girl in the corner. Mary? But why Mary? Why did those 13 conductors kill themselves with the Drug of Penglai? Why were they resurrected? Why are they chasing Mary? To show her their loyalty to the King''s family? That was hilarious. Ye Qingxuan was amused by his own thought. He stood in front of Mary and looked at the 13 conductors. No, there were only 12 conductors as he had just snapped Nigel the Galaxy musician''s head off. He was once a Scepter musician, yet he hadn''t had the chance to use his Symphony of Predestination before he died for the second time. It was so ridiculous that he was so weak! Ye Qingxuan could hardly believe he killed one of them by just one surprise attack. When he was thinking about how to stall and find a way to get Mary and Christine out of the Shadow of Avalon, the musician in red raised his hand. He was the head of the first-generation musician divisions, the strongest of the 13 conductors, the scepter musician who had helped King Arthur build the School of Royalty. The Star Summoner, the Eye of Oddities, the Killer Whale, etc. He was called so many names; enough to write a whole history book. It was said that he had had some problems when he was communicating with the oddities in the aether world and became homogenized by them. His real name and his intelligence had been dissolved in the aether, and he had even lost his original appearance. There was only blankness on his face, as if he were covered by fog. The raised hand reached out toward Ye Qingxuan with a little glass bottle, the size of a fingernail, in it. In the glass bottle was some sticky liquid, the mere sight of which reminded Ye Qingxuan the smell of blood. It was weird and evil, yet fascinating. In the shining glow of the liquid, a cold eye suddenly opened slowly. It was staring at Ye Qingxuan behind the blood curtain. It sent a chill down Ye Qingxuan''s spine which spread like an electric shock throughout his whole body. Ye Qingxuan stepped back. He was hardly able to suppress the urge to scream. He began to feel nauseous and fearful, almost losing his consciousness. At the same time, however, he wanted to kill. Every thought in his mind was dragging him into madness. He bent down and almost fell on the ground, sweating all over, gasping for breath. It was only a short second, yet he felt like being tortured for a long time. Suddenly, the sound of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was heard. It activated the blood of Deva in him, in which the silver moonlight rushed and swirled. Ye Qingxuan instantly became fully conscious and dispersed all the emotion inflicted upon him. Then, he ended the desire to kill and the madness in his mind. He was freed. Opening his eyes and wiping off the sweat on his forehead, he stepped a few more steps back and looked at the Blood of Amber in the Grand Conductor''s hand. What the hell was it? Screaming came from inside the Galahad''s barrier. The iron barrier of wind and sword was torn up immediately. It was broken from the inside? Ye Qingxuan looked behind him and saw the blood-red eyes of Mary. Crazy firebirds were oozing out of every inch of her skin, more powerful than ever before. It liquidized into red blood and flew out of Mary''s body, dripping into the blood pool on the ground which was full of ruin and madness, with blood flowing everywhere. Her broken gown was immediately torn into small pieces by the firebird. Instead, she was wrapped up with a red layer of firebird. Ye Qingxuan then understoodthe grand conductor''s Blood of Amber was not targeting him at all. It was attacking Mary! Under the stare of the eye in the blood, the curse in the dragon''s blood was ignited. It broke out and turned into blood, spurting out of Mary''s body. With blood all over her, Mary cried and screamed, but she could not restrain the mad laugh that burst out of her. The ripper was awake! "Holy sh*t!" Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh and turned back. He looked at the dead man standing far away and gestured, saying, "Hold on for a moment." Then, he went toward Mary. Instantly, he felt like he was surrounded by blood and irritating screaming. It was like falling into a giant juice extractor, being chopped by the blades, hit by iron hammers, ripped by steel saws, and squeezed by gravity. It could turn a normal human into small pieces in a split second, turn flesh into liquid, and evaporate everything into a steam of blood and stinky smoke. Though protected by the Clothes of Original Sin, Ye Qingxuan was so scared that he grew pale. Mary was in grave danger now. The dragon''s blood was awake now and was almost as strong as that of the original blood. Though Mary was too young and less powerful, her potential was even greater than that of her mother Elizabeth. If she could ascend to the throne, she would definitely become a king as great as Arthur, but Ye Qingxuan knew, even without thinking, that was not a blessing. All the members of the royal family in history faced a dilemma: If their dragon blood did not wake up, they would have no power and have no way to use the Stone Sword and the final defense line of Anglo. If the dragon blood woke up too early, it would be too dangerous and the king would fall into madness and become a monster. Therefore, the happiest king in the history of Anglo was the fourth kingKing George the Impotent. In his time, there was no foreign threat and no severe corruption within the government. His dragon blood had not awoken until he turned 40. He was ordinary his whole life, yet he had a happy and rich life, leaving all problems to his successor. Some called it dumb luck. With all this nonsense in his mind, Ye Qingxuan went up against the firebird and held Mary in his arms. The Clothes of the Original Sin were torn up hundreds of times in one split second and could hardly manage to keep him safe. Ye Qingxuan pressed his finger against Mary''s forehead. Mary became quiet immediately, the madness in her eyes gone. She became still, and the firebird on her dispersed quickly and revealed her skin. "Hold on for a moment." He whispered into her ears, "It will be okay very soon." The Clothes of the Original Sin came off Ye Qingxuan and wrapped Mary up very quickly. Then, many iron crystals grew on the Clothes of the Original Sin and became an iron cage. Then, massive music theories turned into chains and bound it up. The music theories blended with each other and made the sealing stronger. At last, Mary disappeared and there was only a heavy iron coffin. No sound could be heard from the coffin. It was as if Mary was fast asleep. Ye Qingxuan stumbled, exhausted. He undid the first button of his shirt, gasping for breath. In the aether world, the sub-originator sensed the vulnerability of the body and replenished the body with more energy. Ye Qingxuan began to recover and felt much better. Christine looked at him in astonishment and asked, "What have you done?" Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly and said, "It was a little trick of a Mind musician to create dreams. The emotions are better channeled out than kept in. I made her a channel to release her negative emotions, but it was like drinking poisoned water to quench one''s thirst. It won''t last long. We have to get her out of here before it fails." Then, looking at the dead musicians who were coming to them, he cast away his hesitation and confusion and said, "Those musicians of past generations were really terrible." Boom! Jiu Xiao Huan Pei popped out from on his fingertip and then became invisible as the music theories established a great music chapter. Then, the Symphony of Predestination burst out from inside Ye Qingxuan and flew along the strings of the zither. With the Resonance of the catastrophe level, Ye Qingxuan was ready to strike. Seeing the astonishment in the eyes of the dead and their transient hesitation, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help laughing at them. I am better than them, after all. "Which of you will fight me first?" Ye Qingxuan stepped forward, pulling Christine and Mary behind him, and smiled. "Or, will you all come at the same time?" The resurrected musicians were enraged by the remarks of this young man who was born generations after them. The crowd parted and the grand conductor stepped forward. Behind him, darkness rose. Massive tides, strong winds, and dark clouds were brewing. In the depth of the clouds, the King of Storms opened his eyes, revealing the nature of the beast. Yet, someone from the resurrected musicians held him back and stepped forward instead. It was his assistant, the one in grey. The grand conductor looked at his deputy for a moment and then, as if persuaded, stepped back. And the musician in grey looked at Ye Qingxuan and went forward. There seemed to be some emotion in his hollow eyes. Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. For Ye Qingxuan, the deputy conductor was even more difficult to handle than the grand conductor as he knew Ye Qingxuan very well. The musician in grey went forward slowly, holding his stick. Covered by the grey cloak was a simple robe, and he wore a signet ring which was the emblem of his family. He was more like a scholar than a musician. The top hat he wore was the same as the one that Ye Qingxuan wore. Sensing the movement of the sub-originator in the Symphony of Predestination of the enemy, Ye Qingxuan felt a headache coming on. Are you now going to kill me on behalf of the School of Stone Heart? 579 Sub-originator Showdown Sigmund. Sigmund Hoffman. A musician who made his name during King Arthur''s reign, he was from the School of Rock and Iron in Asgard and joined the Son of the Oak, a well-known branch in the school of abstinence, at the age of 24. The following year, because of dissidence regarding music theory, he was expelled by the Son of the Oak and disappeared from the public eye since then. At the age of 30, he came to Avalon and swore allegiance to Arthur. He joined the Royal Musician Division, the cream of the crop of the 13 orchestras. After achieving the Level of Master, he served as the deputy head of the orchestra. With a music theory, which was completely different from that of mainstream musicians at the time and was even considered heretical by some, he established the School of Stone Heart and passed it down. In other words, he was the founder of the School of Stone Heart. To some extent, he was Ye Qingxuan''s forebear. After all, the technology of Ye Qingxuan''s Sub-originator was obtained from the item Sigmund had passed down. So, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t avoid being referred to as the atavic successor of the School of Stone Heart. What was more, Ye Qingxuan had also added his own innovations. Music theories would resonate with each other if they were derived from the same source, let alone Sub-originators compiled of music theory, which had intangible mutual sensing between them. Such mutual sensing became especially strong when the distance between the two was less than ten meters. Ye Qingxuan was getting a headache from the thought of fighting against his forebear. What was more, he also respected this Mr. Sigmund very much, and he really didn''t want to see the elder musician on the battlefield. But in this regard, Sigmund had nothing to hesitate about but had instead stopped the principal conductor who was getting ready to take the field and opted to fight against Ye Qingxuan by himself. Fortunately, even though the musicians of the first generation had died for centuries, they still retained an almost instinctual pride and dignity from their past, and they would never choose to besiege a musician of a younger generation. Sigmund opted for the most traditional manner of fighting, a duel between musicians. He stood still ten meters before Ye Qingxuan, advanced no further and simply waved. Countless dust particles flew and condensed into a faint circle, enveloping a large area. Then, as Ye Qingxuan looked on, Sigmund took off the alchemy equipment on him and handed it to others. In the end, only the dress suit and gray coat that he was wearing remained, as well as the gray-black cane in his hand. As his Symphony of Predestination began operating slowly, a vast power rose from his body without any disguise and could be clearly seen by everyone. Behind him, the coat of arms of the School of Stone Heart rose slowly. Sigmund gazed at Ye Qingxuan and waited silently for a response. His eyes remained empty. What is this? How to Fight against Your Forebear for Dummies? Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but get a headache. Even among the various versions of duels between musicians, the one Sigmund had chosen was the most classical and formal. Participants would remove all their external equipment, demonstrate their strength and declare the school they came from. They would only rely on their own powers and nothing else when dueling. The method would enable the outcome to be determined in the fairest way possible. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei faded into nothingness from his fingertips, and he removed various alchemy equipment from himself before stepping into the circle of dust. Across a distance that wasn''t very far, the two bowed to each other, their actions so synchronized that they looked as if they were cast from the same mold. Ye Qingxuan looked up, and his Symphony of Predestination revealed itself. It consisted of the seal of moonlight, catastrophe resonationand the stone of sage which had combined with his Sub-originator. In an instant, a round moon descended from the realm of aether and floated behind Ye Qingxuan, the cold, clear moonlight spilling down. The world became calm and quiet once more. This isa Sub-originator? Shock flashed across Sigmund''s eyes. Soon, he tapped the ground with his cane. In the crisp sound, aether waves were awakened and rose from his body. Under his garment, his heart gave off a glow as bright as fire. His Sub-originator awakened. The complicated music theories within were entangled with each other and formed a stable structure. It separated from his body and floated above his shoulders. Simply by appearing, the huge gravitational force coming from its music theory was enough to distort reality, and vague illusions of flames leaping formed faintly. The Sub-originator had been constructed in the most orthodox way possible. It was combined with precious materials from the realm of aether, implanted into the human body, and formed an aetheric organ after being transformed with music theory. Such was Sigmund''s Sub-originator. Although its structure could not be compared to the huge moon, each detail of it was exquisite and down-to-earth, having been perfected over and over again. Nothing unnecessary was present, and God knew how many music theories were contained within the Sub-originator of the size of a fist. Countless instances of nature interference were occurring in it, and it had even evolved to contain the essence of the school of modifications. Employing the powers of modifications via the powers of abstinence, the music theories involved ranged across two systems. The path of domain formed the carrier, while the path of commandment constructed the pure essence of modifications. It was awe-inspiring. But that wasn''t all. As the cane tapped the ground once more, in the crisp sound, a brand new aether wave was awakened. The bones in Sigmund''s right hand lit up, and the power residing in it rose, constructing its form from nothingness. Unexpectedly, it was another Sub-originator! This time around, revealed in the Sub-originator was a faint Eye of Bestialitythe school of summoning! Then, Ye Qingxuan''s expression changed. A third wave rose. Above Sigmund''s left hand, the slumbering Sub-originator awakened and floated in the air, revealing its true nature. In the Sub-originator which resembled a burl, a strong aura of vitality was exuded. On the surface of the burl, a viscous liquid formed by music theory dripped, corroding the ground when drops of it landed and making a hissing sound. It was a vicious, spine-chilling poison The school of choir! But it was far from over! The fourth, the fifth, and the final, sixth bubble-like Sub-originator, which represented the school of magic, rose slowly. Six distinct Sub-originators gathered behind Sigmund, as if six masters had gathered there, their minds in sync, fitting each other perfectly and resonating as one. With one''s own self and body in a leading role, the six systems of music theory were controlled. Collated under the axis of the music theory of the school of abstinence, the seven systems of music had converged into a complete Symphony of Predestination. Ye Qingxuan took in a deep breath of cold air. He had mastered almost all of the music theories employed by Sigmund. He didn''t even feel any trace of concealment on Sigmund''s part when learning them, as if Sigmund was teaching him without reservations. But Ye Qingxuan had never thought of such an application method of the Sub-originator music theory. Such was the pinnacle of the Sub-originator, the ultimate achievement of the School of Stone Heart! "I initially thought that since the old gentlemen were in deep slumber for the past centuries, they must have been abandoned by the times. The fact that they are capable of such terrifying means took me by surprise..." Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly and nodded as a sign of respect. "Excuse me for not realizing it any earlier." Protected by the six Sub-originators, Sigmund stood in the center of them, the seven systems of music converging into one. Faced with Ye Qingxuan''s words, he did not reply, but simply raised his cane, clearly expressing his intention to fight without hiding. Bang! The duel began! At that very moment, the exact same melody rang out from the directions of both musicians. Holy! In a flash, the light of heaven gathered like a stream of water, forming invisible barriers around each of the two, the holy domains constructed. The two used the same tactics coincidentally. With Holy being the core movement passed down in the School of Stone Heart, its playing was done with a unique skill set. Before musicians of the school managed to create their legend and form their scepter, the domain set up by Holy would be the most suitable arena for them to unleash their powers. In other words, it could construct a defense position for them. The domain of Holy that was constructed by Sigmund combined the variations of the seven systems of music. In the blink of an eye, countless music theories gathered, breaking the barrier between the Physical World and the realm of aether, instantly creating a unique, alienated territory. As for where Ye Qingxuan was at, countless rays of moonlight flowed, and bubbles emerged faintly from the moonlight, fantasy-like. The path he took was not Sigmund''s way of controlling the seven systems of music with the music theory of the school of abstinence, but the path of the dreamweaver, which involved constructing a dream with the music theory of the school of abstinence after blending it with that of the schools of mind and magic. After learning from the books of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the music theory and structure of his domain had subtly included the elements of purification and ''righteousness''. The two copies of the music theory of Holy started off the same, but in the hands of the two, they had become completely different. Unexpectedly, the two finished constructing the domains of Holy at the same time. Immediately after, neither one hesitated as they reached out, pointed forward, and guided each Symphony of Predestination to burst forth in a roar. But no other effects emerged, for the two had abandoned other movements, and once again chose the core technique of the school of abstinence coincidentally. Nature interference! It was a brutal showdown of the two domains of Holy. Uncountable occurrences of nature interference took place rapidly one after another under the operation of the two. The air was turbulent, like ripples in water. But at the moment, hundreds and thousands of ripples were forming and dissipating in an instance! The two used their Sub-originators as weapons and carried out nature interference. Countless music theories gushed out like a flood as they attempted to rewrite and seize each other''s defensive position. The circle of dust that was ten meters in diameter seemed to have been thrown into another world altogether. The broken slates crumbled into dust, and the dust was swept up by a gale that emerged out of nowhere, but the gale quickly disappeared without a trace. The dust fell rapidly and was burned into fine crystals in the high temperature without warning. The crystals then gathered together due to the turbulent gravitational forces. The soil was as turbulent as an ocean. Countless crystals emerged from it, blooming like flowers, but were soon flattened by stronger waves, wilting and disappearing into nothingness. Numerous strange sights appeared out of thin air and dissipated just as suddenly. As the domains of Holy clashed, the Symphonies of Predestination of the two slammed into each other brutally. The torrents of aether in the Sub-originators burst forth, countless music theories unfolded and expanded rapidly. The key to the mysteries of aether was hidden in everything in the world, be it birth or aging, sickness or death, soil, water, fire or wind Everything was just made up of various transformations and forms of music theory. One could interfere with the nature of matter via notes, assign characteristics to matter via music theory, activate powers with musical movements. As long as one had possessed a deep enough understanding of the essence of aether, one could embark on the road to the Originator. Such was the belief held by the musicians of the school of abstinence. At the moment, due to the massive amount of nature interference by the two, aether had distorted the rules of the Physical World. The pull of gravity radiating from music theories blurred the boundaries between the real and the illusory. Within the circle of dust, the level of aether turbulence had surged to the highest reading ever, which had been obtained in a black zone, and broke the limit. The entire circle of dust was pushed into the dimension of the sea of aether. Renounce the concept of self. Under the interference of the music theory of the school of abstinence, both of them replaced their blood circulation with aether circulation, reposing their souls in their Symphonies of Predestination, turning themselves into beings closer to the realm of aether. They had almost become oddities. As the environment changed, the pull of gravity of music theories themselves became stronger and stronger as the realm of aether was drawn closer. In the end, as the two domains battled and deviated, the huge pressure tugged at their Sub-originators, which slipped into the core of the battle! Boom! The six Sub-originators revolved like stars, and the huge gravitational field formed collided with the Pure White Moon! The showdown entered a feverish stage! 580 The Inheritance of the Stone Hear At the moment of the collision, Sigmund''s raised his fingers slightly. The six sub-originators which had converged into a whole separated. The moon missed its target and bumped into the center of the battlefield and became brighter. The moon took the upper hand in the battle. Did he give up so easily? Ye Qingxuan was a little surprised. The six sub-originators scattered around the moon, like six stars surrounding the moon. The music theories rubbed against each other, giving off fascinating rainbow-like lights. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t think it was beautiful at all. On the contrary, he felt like being trapped in a cage. He was besieged. Each of the six sub-originators was not comparable to the moon which had integrated with the Stone of the Sage. However, under the command of Sigmund, they supported each other in the battle and formed a whole. Their strength didn''t depend on themselves, but on the power field they created together. The six sub-originators resonated with and supported each other, their music theories vibrated and clashed, and their reality-twisting pull overlapped. The concerted power was directed on the moon. It appeared that the six sub-originators revolved around the moon, yet their pull was always tearing the moon. The terrible force was inflicted directly on Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination. All music movements had their own intelligence, and a musician''s Symphony of Predestination was the crystallized intelligence of the musician. As Ye Qingxuan had entered the level of Aether Circulation, his Symphony of Predestination became the carrier of his spiritual power. The pressure on his consciousness was causing him great pain due to the swaying of his will power. From just one bad move, he was checked. Since he started the pursuit of his dream, Ye Qingxuan had fought many enemies stronger than him. He defeated those enemies by depressing their power with his skills and fighting rhythm and avoiding direct confrontation to find his chance to strike the fatal blow. Ye Qingxuan now began to know the pain caused by being trapped by superior fighting skills. This disadvantage was unavoidable as Sigmund was the creator of the School of Stone Heart. No one understood the music theories of the School of Stone Heart better than Sigmund. Even though the theories were outdated and sub-originators were proved with a dead end which seemed promising, no one could beat Sigmund in terms of understanding of this school. It was like the fact that no human musician could defeat the King of BackBach. Sigmund was the very representative of the School and the music theory system and he knew every skill there was. Each and every slight change in the music theory was powerful enough to greatly impact Ye Qingxuan, who had never known that those basic music theories could be used in ways like that. In the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and pressed his forehead to relieve the pain. He should not have taken Sigmund lightly. He had to admit that he was not comparable to Sigmund in the field of sub-originators. Luckily, his Symphony of Predestination was much more than this and his sub-originator was improved to a new level that was quite beyond the limit of the sub-originator theory. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath. The cold air, with a slight rotten scent, entered his lung and suppressed the anxiety and sick feeling caused by the circulation of aether, lighting up the moonlight in his eyes. The Seal of Moonlight was initialized. Boom! The music theory changed suddenly and the pure white moon vibrated, giving off ripple-like light. The ripples contained some invisible power. At the moment of the collision, the locking among the six sub-originators vibrated violently. The originators were pushed away from the moon and the locking music theories went further apart. The locking was almost broken under the first round of attack! The "pull" of the moon was greatly increased at that moment. Affected by the tearing caused by the pull of the music theories, the physical world was also twisted and seemed to be whining, cracks forming all over it. In a split second, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination broke the limits and boomed incredibly. Although its power had not reached the level of Scepter, the increasing pull was thrilling. Now the battle became a draw between Ye Qingxuan and Sigmund. No. The situation was totally in Ye Qingxuan''s control. When Sigmund gave up actively attacking and chose the "bush-fighting" strategy, he inflicted upon Ye Qingxuan great pressure. While at the same time, he also put himself in a dangerous situation. When the system of his six sub-originators could not suppress and block Ye Qingxuan''s power, he couldn''t do anything but watch Ye Qingxuan take control step-by-step and defeat him. It was destined when he chose to fight Ye Qingxuan in this area in which he was the master. Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination was just too big, of which the sub-originator theory represented by the Stone of the Sage took up only one third. This was quite beyond reason. Each and every one of the Seal of Moonlight, the Stone of Sage, and Catastrophe Resonation was very difficult to master and included massive superior elements. Not to mention the combination of the three. The pressure generated during the integration and collision of the three movements could crush any musician. It was even harder to coordinate them into a concerted whole and direct them to work in harmony. Even if Ye Qingxuan was best at the music theory construction of the School of Abstinence, without the compatibility across the seven systems of the Heaven Ladder, the accurate operation of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and the once-in-a-lifetime conditions in the Holy City, he would have exploded at the very beginning. Now, no one of the Master level, even those former scepter musicians, could match Ye Qingxuan at the skills and profoundness of knowledge. The music theories of the Stone of Sage could distort reality. With the help of the Seal of Moonlight, its power could multiply instantly! Sigmund''s six sub-originators, however sophisticated and concerted, relied on the skills of the musician who were merely using the theories of the School of Abstinence to empower the music theories of other schools. He might have a lot of methods and skills and make the six sub-originators resonate with each other, but he could never integrate the six sub-originators into one real system. Otherwise, why should Sigmund separate them instead of integrating them into one? What''s more, his sub-originator was inferior in terms of material and was not a match for Ye Qingxuan''s. This was the limitation of the School of Stone Heart. In the view of the later generations, the School of Stone Heart, though powerful, was born with many disadvantages. The first was that the potential of a sub-originator was determined by the material it was made of. The special materials needed to make a sub-originator cost huge amount of money and a lot of precious ingredients. Otherwise, the sub-originator would be no good than an aether stove transplanted into the human body. Sigmund''s theory, based upon the core philosophy of "abandoning oneself," was to make aether organs named "sub-originator" to undertake the pressure of music theories in the musician''s place, or even abandon one''s body and put one''s Symphony of Predestination in the sub-originator, so that the musician could reach closer to the essence of aether. This, however, determined its super-high requirement on the materials. Ye Qingxuan made his sub-originator with "the blood of deva," which was absolutely luxurious. And then, he integrated the Stone of Sage, which was powerful beyond reason, into it. Sigmund was the deputy head of the royal musician division and lived in the best time of Anglo under the reign of Arthur. He exhausted all his resources yet only made six supreme originators. How could that be comparable to the Stone of Sage, which was made by Hermes through painstaking effort? This characteristic of the School of Stone Heart determined that ordinary musicians could never benefit from it as most musicians were not rich enough to afford the sub-originators. As time went on and the improvement of the music theories, the economy of sub-originators was ever decreasing. With the same amount of time and money, it would be better to try other things than to make sub-originators. With no followers, the study on sub-originators was abandoned after Sigmund died. The School of Stone Heart finally ceased to exist in the course of time. At his time, Sigmund, sticking to his own theory, left the "Sons of the Oak" and established the School of Stone Heart and spent his whole life studying in that area. Had he anticipated the miserable fate of the school? His whole life''s work was treated like rubbish by the whole world, cared for by no one. There was nothing more painful than this for a musician. Sigmund was destined to fail in the level of the Masters. Out of Ye Qingxuan''s expectation, Sigmund didn''t use the scepter. Ye Qingxuan had planned that once the battle reaches the level of Scepter, he would start the third part of his Symphony of Predestination, the Catastrophe Resonance, which would increase his power by four folds. After that, he would deploy the Wyrmrest Enchantment with the music theory of Quiet Moon. In that way, he would eliminate all the aether in this area. He didn''t know how those resurrected musicians would be affected and if he could fight against their scepter and resonance. But he would gain enough time for Christine to get Mary out of this place. But Sigmund did nothing to summon his greatest power from the aether world. Since Ye Qingxuan took the upper hand in the fight, Sigmund didn''t strike back at all. What he did was only command the six sub-originators with his fingers to integrate them with himself. He was fully devoted to playing his Symphony of Predestination, taking care of nothing else. Numerous music theories were revealed in his realm of Holiness to Ye Qingxuan. As Ye Qingxuan''s nature interference invaded Sigmund''s realm, the changes of the music theories of Sigmund''s were totally revealed to Ye Qingxuan. The changes of the notes, the combinations of the tones, the creation of music theories, the combination and application, the secret skills of the School of Stone Heart, the evolution and ways of utilization of the sub-originator techniques, and even the core elements of his Symphony of Predestination and his road to the scepter level, were all revealed to Ye Qingxuan. This was the origin of the School of Stone Heart, the work of Sigmund''s life''s work, the precious knowledge he gained by burning his soul in his pursuit of the Originator. In his resurrected body, his everlasting wish was urging him to show Ye Qingxuan the profound wisdom he had gained, even if it will burned his life out, again. Finally, the last note was played. The realm of Holy collapsed. Surrounded by the moonlight, the six sub-originators were all covered with cobweb-like cracks and would break at any moment. The battle was over. Sigmund raised his head, revealing his face which was like chinaware that had cracked. Despite the horrible face, his hollow eyes were shining with hope. He looked at Ye Qingxuan, as if expecting a reply. Have you learned what I showed you just now? In silence, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and bowed to Sigmund. "Please rest assured that the School of Stone Heart will not die out. It will be passed down and last a long time. There will be a day when our souls will meet again in the Originator." Hearing what Ye Qingxuan said, Sigmund''s lips curved up a little as if he was smiling. The smile disappeared instantly, but his hollow eyes were shining more brightly. In the last hours of his life, he was burning all his power. Impassioned melody played again. The six sub-originators submerged into his body and burst out huge aether fluctuations, increasing his power to an ever-high level. Then, he struck back at Ye Qingxuan and the realm of Holy with all his might. In that instant, light and shadow mingled together. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and waved his hand. The moonlight turned into swords. Everything became quiet. Under the moon, Sigmund stood still, bathing in the moonlight. The cracked body shattered and turned into ashes and dust, falling onto the ground. The smile on his face disappeared. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Sigmund, the founder of the School of Stone Heart, went back to the embrace of death for the second time. Looking at the ashes, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but heave a sigh. Then, he unleashed another round of attack with his sword of moonlight, shouting, "Until when do you want to hide?" 581 The Spirit Won’t Pass On The moonlight was like a phantom, piercing into the ashes soundlessly. But at that very moment, a faint cloud of black smoke rose from the ashes, gathering into a fuzzy human form, and pounced at Ye Qingxuan. A palm made of ashes extended towards his face suddenly. Bang! A sword of flames emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s hand and blocked the palm. The flames of nihility collided with the ashes, but it was as if iron and stone were scraping against each other. Sparks flew, illuminating Ye Qingxuan''s eyes and the incomplete face lurking in the black mist. "Have I been discovered?" The broken face looked at Ye Qingxuan from above. "You never fail to humiliate me, Ye Qingxuan. "What a pity, I''ve finally gotten mentally prepared to abandon my dignity for this one time and pull a sneak attack you, but it turns out, after killing your forebear with your own hands, it seems like you aren''t even feeling one bit of guilt and sorrow? You do indeed have a stony heart." "How should I address you?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at the face, expressionless. "Your Majesty, Hyakume? Or... the Dark Sovereign?" As his name was spoken, the face that looked familiar gave an odd smile. He was indeed the incarnation of Hyakume which had once descended upon the shadow of Avalonthe Dark Sovereign! Ye Qingxuan had not expected that when Hyakume cut off all forms of connections with his incarnations before his death and gifted the abyss and all his powers to the demons, his actions even caused the Dark Sovereign, who had been obliterated a long time ago, to be resurrected from Avalon. "Your spirit just won''t pass on, eh." Ye Qingxuan asked coldly, "Is all of this your doing?" "Who knows?" Upon hearing Ye Qingxuan''s words, the broken face of the Dark Sovereign immediately laughed sharply. "Ye Qingxuan, why don''t you use that tiny brain you''re so proud of and have a good think about it? "Maybe I''m just a part that isn''t even worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things... Or maybe I''m the one that has planned all of this... Surely you don''t think that I''ll stand aside and let you guys stop the resurrection of Leviathan?" "Who are you trying to fool? Do you think there''s someone else in the world who knows you better than I do?" Ye Qingxuan remained indifferent. "Only a small amount of residue is left of you, yet you still fail to master the art of going into hiding. Instead, you linger here, clinging on obstinately, entangling yourself in such matters for the sake of friendly sentiments between catastrophes... "If Leviathan knew that you were so altruistic as to dedicate yourself selflessly, I''m sure it would be very touched. But why don''t you take a guess, after it resurrects and finds out about how miserable you are now. Will it extend a helping hand selflessly?" Ye Qingxuan paused and examined the silent face, and his gaze turned cold. "Your real target is still Arthur, right?" The face that was made up of dust still wore a mocking expression, but it was just an appearance displayed by music theory. Ye Qingxuan could detect the music theory under the disguise undergoing changes at a high speed. Notes were quietly emerging and vanishing one after another, like countless emotional ups and downs. He had guessed correctly. Ye Qingxuan was very relieved. It was as if a large stone suspended in his mind had finally landed. Then, he came to a sudden realization. The shadow of Avalon is a natural maze. After so many years of being constructed and destroyed by each generation of the royal family, it resembles the overlapping of numerous design drawings even more. Even the ones who have originally designed it may not be able to find their way around. For the Dark Sovereign especially, who has lost most of his powers and is only barely resurrected, it is an absolute predicament. He isn''t even capable of getting out of here. In the past, he wouldn''t have minded lurking there for centuries, waiting for a perfectly sound opportunity to come by. But as Leviathan''s seals are breaking layer by layer, and it is about to descend completely, he has to start making plans for himself. Catastrophes have never cared about sh*t like friendship and the glory of victory. They have only abided by the law of the jungle and the survival of the fittest, just like how his real body, Hyakume, had reigned over various catastrophes back then. To avoid being eaten, the Dark Sovereign has no choice but to leave this place. He must leave as fast as possible. Or, he can take advantage of this critical juncture, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and complete his original planbreak the core seal of the palace in the shadow of Avalon and completely destroy the final line of defense of the country. In the end, he will be able to transform Arthur, the source of all the powers of Anglo, into a catastrophe. Regardless of which plan he has in mind, he must first obtain the blood of the royals to be able to move around freely in the forbidden areas within the shadow of Avalon. After Maxwell''s act of treason, in all of Avalon, no one is of a purer bloodline than Mary After making sense of his motives, Ye Qingxuan could not help but snicker. "Putting aside other factors for now, do you really think that you are still capable of turning Arthur into a catastrophe with your current ghostly form?" He could sense the current state of the Dark Sovereign. Weak, broken, and suffering. The Dark Sovereign even has to hide in stone figurines, like a shattered soul. Even though White Crow has reappeared and may be providing him with various manners of support, he is still barely able to sustain himself. Managing to resurrect the first generation members of the Royal Musician Division with all his efforts, albeit difficultly, is probably his limit. Plus, in the light of the present situation, it seems like the thirteen masters of the Royal Musician Division are not as easy to control as the Dark Sovereign imagined. Otherwise, Nigel wouldn''t have been killed immediately in my one-shot sneak attack, and Sigmund wouldn''t have been able to impart all his knowledge of music theory upon me during our duel. Then, where is the Dark Sovereign''s confidence coming from? As if the Dark Sovereign had perceived the young man''s puzzlement, his incomplete face revealed a smile that made Ye Qingxuan somewhat uneasy. "Didn''t anyone tell you?" He whispered in Ye Qingxuan''s ear, "Arthur is voluntary in the whole matter." For a moment, Ye Qingxuan was frozen on the ground in shock. Arthur is voluntary? Voluntary in being transformed into a catastrophe? Why? Wait, if that''s the case, a lot of things make sense now But if it''s true, in other words... Everything the royal family has been doing is not to protect Arthur, but to imprison him?! This is really... "Enough of the gossip, Ye Qingxuan." The Dark Sovereign laughed, his body of ashes flew upwards, floating in the sky. He waved, and the melody of Requiem VI blared. The shrill and mournful music echoed in the dark city. Red light lit up in the eyes of the 11 remaining masters, as they were completely dominated by the Dark Sovereign. "I hope I have made the last of your time enjoyable for you just now." The Dark Sovereign cackled. "Since you''ve jumped into this trap out of your own initiative, then let''s bring an end to the shallow grievances between us once and for all." The body formed of ashes suddenly underwent a series of changes, and the ashes fell into the body of the principal conductor of the first generation of the Royal Musician Division. Then, violent aether waves burst forth from his body. Countless music theories gushed out of the body of the principal conductor, entangling in the air, combining with each other and evolving. Finally, it formed a spectacular and magnificent scene. As if the mythical door to the nine layers of hell had been opened, countless phantom-like sights intertwined and condensed into a huge threshold. It was... a scepter! As one of the Three Pillar Gods, Hyakume naturally exerted a certain level of influence on the Originator. As a vital incarnation of Hyakume, the Dark Sovereign naturally benefited from the bounties bestowed upon him by Hyakume. Right from birth, the Dark Sovereign contained elements that Hyakume had extracted from the Originator. The incarnations were born with natures similar to that of catastrophes. They differed from living things, like humans and demons, and were instead closer to pure creatures born of aether, such as the oddities brewed up in the realm of aether. To a certain extent, each of them could be considered a living artifact, a humanoid scepter! The element of legend inherited by the Dark Sovereign was the concept in direct opposition to humanity''s concept of the kingdom of heaven. It was the kingdom of darkness where all sinners would go after death. It was the top-ranking element of mythologythe King of Hell! 582 The Arrows The sleeping Avalon suddenly shook when the scepter appeared. With infinite power surging from the deepest darkness, the city that had been destroyed seemed to be in operation again. Huge waves of aether burst out from the king''s palace towering above the city, which was enveloped by black mist, devouring everything in the city. The scene was like a dark sun giving off light and fire. Numerous buildings that had been floating in the air cracked, exploded, and shattered. Tortured by the scepter''s power, the moans of numerous people came from everywhere, filling the whole space. Even at a time when it was at its most vulnerable, a scepter was still incredibly powerful, not to mention that he was the Dark Sovereign, the most powerful one among the dark chancellors. For centuries, before Hyakume became personified, he had been showing himself as an abyss, conveying the god''s will to the world. The key elements of the scepter were the essence of the abyss, the final destination of all sins, the real hell. When he was in his prime, once the scepter was deployed in the aether world, it would pierce through the nine layers of the aether sea and smash the physical world. It would twist the physical world, destroying more than half a country, leaving nothing but hell on the earth. Last time Maxwell, under all favorable conditions, managed to defeat him only by ambushing him before his scepter was fully deployed, with the full support of Saint Haydn and betting on the hundreds of years of wealth and resources. Now, it was Ye Qingxuan''s turn to fight against him. "Fight against him? How?" Raising his head, Ye Qingxuan looked at the scepter that had penetrated the whole shadow of Avalon and couldn''t help but heave a sigh. "It''s impossible to defeat him." Now that the scepter was fully deployed, the shadow of Avalon became Dark Sovereign''s "home court." With the Stone Sword, Ye Qingxuan had no chance to win at all. In the Clothes of the Original Sins, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination surged, accumulating power with numerous music theory changes to combine the Stone of the Sage, the Seal of Moonlight and Catastrophe Resonance. A glint of ruthlessness shone in his eyes. Run if I cannot defeat him. If that is not possible, I will drill a hole through his scepter with my Wyrmrest enchantment! At that moment, a hoarse voice was heard from the end of empty street in the north, "Protect the princess, Christine." Ye Qingxuan looked back in surprise and saw Lancelot standing there. Lancelot? Ignoring the stare full of surprise from Ye Qingxuan, Lancelot undid his buttons and tossed his coat on the ground, revealing his black gown. In his hand was a big bow which was as tall as a man. The bow was made by the Third National Arsenal of Anglo. Composed of hundreds of iron and steel parts, it was called ''Bagpipe'' by the engineers as the vibration of the bowstring would generate a rhythm that sounds like the melody of home town. In the three trial fires, the bow proved to be amazingly accurate and powerful. Lancelot raised his bow, which shone coldly in the air. His half-kneeling servant gave him the arrow with both hands. Lancelot took the arrow and targeted it on Flute. With the creaking sound of the string when it was pulled tight, the muscle on Lancelot''s chest suddenly bulked up under his shirt, revealing the shape of his masculine figure. The thumbwheel on the bow was adjusted by his thumb to allow the maximum power. 30 years ago, before Lancelot was wounded when he was trying to protect the queen, he was the best knight of Anglo. Yet now, he had to gave up his bow and arrow due to his illness in his lung and turned to politics. But his skill in archery was never lost. The posture he took when he was shooting the arrow was just perfect. He aimed at the hell that was hovering over the city, the head of the first-generation royal musician divisions and the scepter summoned by the Dark Sovereign. He drew the bow to its limit and took his aim, the arrow shining coldly with intention to kill. Then, the arrow whizzed forward. The sound of the arrow flying in the air was thrilling, piercing through the space like a cannon. However, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but turn his head to the side. The arrow went in the wrong direction! Lancelot was old and had been suffering from his wound for many years. Ye Qingxuan thought it was a miracle that he could draw the bow, considering his illness in his lung. After the arrow was shot, the wound on Lancelot''s chest burst open and blood stained his black shirt. The arrow flied in the air along a deflected trajectory and pierced through a rock far away into the ground, its tail shaking as if it didn''t want to end up like this. It was so far away from its target. Seeing this, other people might have laugh out loud, yet Ye Qingxuan only felt pity for Lancelot. Shooting only one arrow, Lancelot seemed to have used all his strength. He supported himself with the bow and bent down, coughing and spitting up blood. He was so pale, but there was no disappointment or upset in his eyes. He raised his arm and wiped the blood off his lips. Boom! Boom! Boom! Another three shrieking arrows were shot from the west, the east, and the south. The arrows were the same as the one shot by Lancelot. Surprised, Ye Qingxuan noticed that the four arrows formed a rectangular. The arrows pierced deep into the ground, their tails left shaking in the air, giving off scarlet light. At that moment, Christine suddenly understood the situation. "This is" Christine wanted to explain what this was but there was no time. She threw herself at Ye Qingxuan and pressed the Galahad armor to activate the remaining power. Then a barrier was generated to envelop them and the iron coffin in a protective space. "Carpet saturation strike." Christine finally found time to finish what she had wanted to say. Coughing, Lancelot said, "Three rounds." At that moment, hundreds of pairs blue eyes began to shine in the darkness behind him. Those were the masks of the cavaliers! Those eyes were lit up by the aether stoves of the power armor. With the clattering of iron and steel, numerous armored knights turned off their cloaking mode and got into action. Under the command of Lancelot, they all raised the giant bow toward the sky. Then, they took the heavy arrows from their quivers and put it on the string of the bow. After that, they all drew their bows, generating a buzzing sound like that of a swarm of bees flying. A split second later, there came a deafening boom as if the sky was torn apart. Numerous arrows flew high into the sky, whizzing through the long distance. They landed precisely in the square designated by the four arrows. The earth shook and wild wind blew. Against the protective shield of the 11 masters, the huge arrows smashed into the ground. Most of the arrows'' coatings peeled off in midair, revealing the alchemy metrics in them; as hot as the core of the earth. In the heat, the stress in the arrows was activated. The arrows then disintegrated and disassembled into numerous red-hot iron plates. They were so thin they were almost transparent. They rained down like fire storms with their horribly high temperature. And the iron plates gave off a horrible shrieking sound when they ruptured. Every ruptured iron plate would generate explosive impact on the aether movement. With tens of thousands of them exploding at the same time, they caused terrible whirls in the air. Such was the aether application in the level of armies. Very soon, the defense of the 13 masters were breached by the "Scrubbing Noise" of the iron plates. Then, under the massive physical attacks, the cracked defense was shattered completely. Three rounds of storms of iron and fire! After the three rounds of attacks, Ye Qingxuan, within the Galahad defense looked around and saw only the earth liquefied and the rocks smashed by the terrible power of the attack, and the 11 masters who were so miserable. The ground had sunk several meters, full of holes and ditches. Even the scepter of the hell was trembling. The Dark Sovereign stared at the man at the center of the protective circle of armored knights, his face distorted by anger and cruelty. "Lancelot!" Lancelot said nothing but waved his hand again. Hundreds of Archangel armors took off, giving off hot light. Among them, seven horrible aether movements spread out. Round table knights! Those were the war machines created by King Arthur to defend his country when he ascended to the throne. The armors cost a huge fortune. In the later years of King Arthur, due to the ruthlessness of King Arthur and the wars lasting for so many years, only nine sets of armor were still intact. And all of them, except Lancelot and Galahad, who were protecting Mary and Ye Qingxuan, were on the battlefield to fight against the heads of the first-generation royal musician divisions and the Dark Sovereign. The enemies were right in front of them. Led by the seven round table armors, the round table knights charged to the battlefield. The war began! Since the very beginning, warriors all over the world had been thinking about how to kill the musicians. Indeed, compared to the almost infinite aether powers, the strength of the flesh was so little that it was not even worth a speck of dust. However, the power armor had given new hope to the warriors. There had been many combat theories against musicians, the most popular of which was surprise attack: kill the musician with just one strike before the musician even knew what had happened. The warrior had to tear up all of the musician''s defense with brutal force and behead the musician with one blow. However, for the musicians who had infinite means to protect themselves, it would not work if the musician was on guard. Then, the armor designed against musicians would upgrade the adaptability to the environment and defense. This was to try by any and all means to protect the knights and the armor against all sorts of adverse circumstances, like high temperature, cold, and drastic and abrupt changes in the environment. As long as the knight and the armor were intact, there would be some chance to kill the musician. And finally, there was the most effective way, which was far beyond the reach of most warriors and engineers: to equip the armor with powers greater than the musicians so that it could defeat the musicians at any cost. The round table armor was one of the best achievements following this philosophy. They, created by Arthur with the Chapter of the Golden Victory, were born with powers beyond ordinary musicians and were able to strike the fatal blow to the enemy. 583 Isll Be Back in a Momen The moment when the Knights of the Round Table rushed into the battlefield, the powers contained in their armor was released onto the battlefield with the clanging of their swords. The first to descend from the sky was a vortex formed by distorted air. Lifted up by a pair of hands in power armor, the vortex slowly materialized in the sky. An unmatched pressure radiated from it like rays of light. The air particles collided and made a low rumble as if they were gravel or pebbles. The air was pulled and collapsed inwards, forming a ghastly white hurricane. Music theory of the school of abstinence brewed up within, like seeds that started off growing slowly but turned into big trees in a flash. Finally, the blurry vortex descended from the sky. Boom! The ground quaked. Innumerable pieces of gravel and debris flew into the sky, but the ground sank suddenly. As if invisible feet of giants were trampling down forcefully, everything beneath was squashed into mud. It was the result of chaotic gravity. Turbulent currents of gravity erupted from it, tearing two stone figurines apart almost instantly and turned the smaller pieces into dust. The next moment, they struggled to put themselves back together and sensed a gale sweeping in their direction. If the wind moments before could only be considered a breeze, then the wind at the moment was truly a disaster-level tornado. As the thin figure in armor advanced, the hurricane swept and formed a huge pair of wings of a ghastly white behind him. The slightest wave of the wings destroyed the buildings covered in cracks and blew away the stone carvings and steel that had been lifted from the ground. As he clenched his hands, a pale white lance formed in his hands as the gale gathered around himit consisted of turbulent air pressure. A terrifying pressure like that of the deep sea blended with the vacuum of absolute nothingness and evolved into an invincible blade. In an instant, it advanced along the ripples created by the turbulent currents of gravity and made its way into the battle array of the 11 masters. It was like electricity. In just an instant, the terrifying air pressure propelled him forward, and he smashed into the core. Disregarding the fact that he was besieged by the stone figurines, whose attacks were enough to tear him apart, he held the lance of air pressure high and stabbed it into the ground with all his might. As if it was liquid, the wind was injected into the earth beneath the black bricks. The next moment, a terrifying explosion broke out from far below the ground. There wasn''t even enough time for the horrifying pressure to blow up the bricks, and the air simply escaped through the cracks on the bricks forcefully, spewing out of the gaps. Propelled by the strong pressure, the wind which was of an incredibly fast speed was like a knife or an axe! In a flash, countless knives and axes hacked away in all directions, razing everything to the ground. The terrifying pressure erupted from underground belatedly, completely blowing everything into the sky. Only then did the swift and fierce counter-attacks of the eleven masters began, tearing the steel-clad knight who had broken into the core of their battle array apart. Vaguely, one could see that at the last moment of their attack, a figure was popped out from the armor and escaped as the storm raged on, bringing the core of the armor with him. However, he had undoubtedly been badly wounded. But he had already completed his mission. The turbulent currents of gravity destroyed the defenses set up by the stone figurines, and the vacuum explosion tore their defense position apart, separating them from each other as the explosion broke out. It was as if a heavy siege engine, which had been started, smashed the enemy''s enchantment of defense. Then, the cavalry rode into the battlefield and charged at the enemy, splitting up their battle array and separating them from each other. From then on, the musicians would have to fight on their own. Such a tactic had nothing to do with the control of the overall situation, which was crucial to musicians in battle, nor was it a technique to reverse the situation in one''s favor. It was the kingdom''s military strategy, the combat method unique to armored legions! At that very moment, the remaining Knights of the Round Table simultaneously rushed toward the enemy they had been assigned to, obeying their orders. The 11 stone figurines were separated, and in just an instant, they were surrounded by the Knights of the Round Table who had charged at them. The form of the war had quietly shifted from siege warfare to skirmish warfare. Under the orders of Lancelot, the armored knights awaiting orders on the outer circle had long since tossed aside their cumbersome longbows. They took out the giant swords that were divided into six parts from the equipment boxes they carried with them, In the sharp sound of steel scraping against each other, the swords were done being assembled. The vacuum explosion carried out by the Knight of the Round Table, who had disregarded his personal safety to complete the mission, not only tore apart the defense position of the musicians but also provided room for the remaining knights clad in mass-produced armor to make themselves useful. At the moment, it was time for them to come on stage. Hundreds of aether furnaces were simultaneously operating on overload. The efficiency which was more than three times higher than that of the ordinary mode brought about a terrifying power more than three times stronger than that of the ordinary mode. At the same time, it also caused a horrifying resonance. Music theory naturally exerted its own gravitational force. It was the same for alchemy matrices, which were essentially materialized products of music theory. Whenever an aether furnace operated in full strength, it would form static and a gravitational force unique to itself in the sea of aether. When similar noises and gravitational forces were superimposed simultaneously for hundreds of times, the result would exceed the limit of tolerance of the ordinary musician, causing destructive interference. It might even use up all the aether in the area, causing other musicians to have no more aether to use. Precisely because of that, in large-scale combat engagements on the battlefield, unless they were playing a legion-level movement, ordinary musicians could hardly make use of one-tenth of their abilities. Because of their few numbers, more often than not, they could only serve in the vanguard or as backups and supporting roles. At the moment, when hundreds of power armors were launched at the same time, the resulting clutter covered the entire battlefield in an instant. It disturbed almost the entire environment, and even the domain set up by the scepter of hell became turbulent. The scorching red hell in the sky that was could initially be clearly seen shook and trembled nonstop as if the illusion had been interfered with, it had difficulties operate smoothly. What made the Dark Sovereign even more furious was that, in the rear, the attendants continuous handed the backup knights wielding longbows special alchemy arrows, which were fired at the battlefield nonstop. The arrows cracked and disintegrated in midair, rapidly splitting and decaying. Before they even landed, they had turned into a huge amount of gray dust and didn''t even bare a semblance of lethality. But the process of splitting of the metal required it to absorb aether, just like how a water-absorbing material falling into the water would expand rapidly, and drain all the water completely. Not only that, but once the disintegration of the metal was complete and it had absorbed enough aether, the stability of the structure would plummet. The material would become difficult to preserve and hyper-sensitive to the stimulation of sound. There wasn''t even a need for movement. A bit of sharp noise would be enough to excite the material, which would then produce high temperatures. Armored knights were protected by their armor and didn''t fear the corrosion of the high temperature. Furthermore, the resulting turbulent aether flows would only exert pressure on the aether furnace and cause no harm to the knights themselves. But for musicians, once the material had accumulated to a certain amount, the environment would become a quagmire for them, as if they were deeply trapped in mud and could hardly take any actions. The special metal, which had been completely banned by the Sacred City, its use and study prohibited, was called solder. All along, countries could only keep a small number of samples in private and dared not conduct research and development for military purposes with great fanfare. When the Sacred City could no longer exercise control over the nations, the countries that were freed from the shackles spared no time in putting the research of it back on the agenda. Even Anglo was no exception. In a short span of time, the sea of aether corresponding to the area had become thinner than ever, and couldn''t be replenished in time. The more of a behemoth something was, the more it would need to depend on the external environment. It was especially so as the Dark Sovereign was weaker than ever, and didn''t even possess sufficient power to open up the sea of aether to directly draw energy from the realm of aether. After the Knights of the Round Table robbed him of the aether in the shadow of Avalon, the scepter of hell could hardly be sustained. It was especially difficult for the Dark Sovereign when four Knights of the Round Table were leading fierce attacks against him at the same time, disregarding their own safety. The large number of armored knights used the human sea attack tactic to separate the rest of the musicians from the Dark Sovereign, keeping them at a distance. The higher ranking forces were concentrated in one place, and they instantly stifled the faceless principal conductor. The principal conductor had once almost completely dissolved into the realm of aether. Under backup measures and with the emergency aid of others, most of him managed to be pulled back and was reshaped. Since then, the principal conductor lost his face and his past aura and became a half-oddity being. His own movements also became very strange and couldn''t be understood with normal logic. Even though four Knights of the Round Table were attacking him ferociously with little regard for their own safety, he was able to keep his defenses up, and even counterattacked several times, taking control of the situation every time. However, his attempts were suppressed again and again by the constant and unrelenting attacks of the Knights of the Round Table. The battle had entered a feverish stage. In the distance, Lancelot sighed softly. He turned back, looked at the squire that had grown old along with him, and said, "Put my armor on for me." The squire did not appear to be as shocked as other people, nor did he stop Lancelot hurriedly. He merely nodded dully and put the iron box he had been carrying on his back onto the ground. Reaching out, he felt around the hinge of the iron box and forcefully pulled out the copper ring. In the sharp sound of steel scraping against each other, the gears hidden in the box was activated. Innumerable gears rotated, circlips extended, and the iron box that had been passed down for centuries slowly opened, a stream of biting cold air gushing from it. In the terrifyingly low temperature, the steel armor slumbering in the box slowly rose. After decades of not setting foot on the world, it displayed its stateliness. Lancelot stepped forward, towards the innumerable pieces of steel that had unfolded, and walked towards the armor. The armor was like a living thing. Steel stretched and shrank again, covering him inch by inch. In the end, the silver helmet covered his pale blue eyes. He was finally Lancelot once more. The war god of steel, the unparalleled knightthe real Lancelot! Coughs and wheezes no longer came from him. The armored knight moved forward, towards the core of the battlefield, the besieged principal commander and the Dark Sovereign. He reached out and pulled out the silent long sword at his waist. The sword was like a mirror reflecting the dark city, the blood and the fire on the battlefield. The aged squire went down on one knee and bid him farewell earnestly, "My Lord, may the victory be yours." Facing the raging wind and the metallic fire, Lancelot slowly raised his long sword and brought it close to his forehead, performing a sword salute. He examined the mirrored image of the blade of the sword, which resembled the surface of a lake. The mirror-like sword blade reflected his face, which was covered in steel. The other side of the blade reflected his enemy''sscepter from hell. "Be patient." Lancelot''s voice was hoarse. He said, "I''ll be back in a moment." There was a flash. In the short span of an instant, a light seemed to flash across everyone''s eyes. Illusion-like light descended on the battlefield. In the momentarily paused time, the light flitted deftly and gracefully over everything and soared in the sky. The light possessed a thrilling beauty. But in the next moment, it dissipated. It lost interest in the battlefield, and God knew where it went. It did so because everything had come to an end. 584 Time to Leave Mary had a dream. In the dark dream, she was wading through knee-high. There was no light. Someone was singing from afar, the voice of whom was so familiar, yet so evil. Yet, the melody seemed like her own singing. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream "We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we''ll live forever" The sing came from all around her. Mary looked around and chased the sound in a rush, but whenever she approached it, the voice would disappear, like the mischief of evil spirits, fleeting in the darkness and luring her to chase them. Finally, she was exhausted and fell into the water. The water smelled like good wine, fragrant and sweet, making her thirsty as if her throat was burning. The thirst urged her to drink the water to quench the draught and the longing in her. The voice singing was just around her, like an invisible ghost. It brought her some dim light, illuminating Mary''s pale face and her trembling hands. She held some bloody water with both her hands. The scarlet water fell through the gaps between her fingers and into the stream. Everything she could see was covered by the scarlet water. Mary stood still in astonishment. Looking at her shaking hands, she was enraged by the song that indicated ill fate. She howled, "Stop singing!" The singing stopped immediately. A girl''s giggling came from behind her, as if glad that her mischief had worked. Mary turned back slowly and saw a big mirror standing in the blood water. In the reflection of the mirror, there was a young girl in a pure white dress. That was herselfthe respectable, elegant and perfect princess. Mary looked at her, and she looked back. Mary went forward, and so did she. Finally, they stared at each other, with only the mirror between them. The girl in the mirror smiled. "Hi, my elder sister. Long time no see. You''ve come back to see me again?" "Shut up!" Mary lowered her head, her shoulders shaking. She smashed the mirror, leaving the reflection in the mirror shattered. But the broken mirror, sucking the blood, reassembled. The reflection came back, and the girl in the mirror, with an elegant smile, looked at her pitifully, watching Mary smashing the mirror again and again. And the mirror came back intact again and again. Finally, Mary lost all her strength and knelt on the ground, her hands cut by the broken glass, bleeding. The girl in the mirror stretched out through the mirror and gently caressed Mary''s face with her hand in a white laced glove. She opened her arms and held Mary against her bosom. "Now that you''ve come back here, have a little chat with me. You locked me up in here. I am so lonely here. It is like dying." She whispered into Mary''s ears, "Let me out from time to time, could you, sister? Let''s go and kill someone, okay? Wipe out all those dirty inferior people and make this world cleaner, and you will be happier, too." "Shut up" Mary closed her eyes. "I will never let you get out of here, never." "You are stubborn as usual, sister." She laughed and kissed Mary on her earlobe. "Oh, Mary, I love you so much." The answer was a hand clutching her throat and snuffing out her voice. Mary strangled the girl in the mirror ruthlessly, her fingers sinking into the fair skin on the neck. Mary used all her strength, and the neck cracked and finally ruptured. The neck was snapped. Looking at herself in the mirror and seeing the quirky smile on the girl''s face, Mary snarled and said, "But I hate you." The girl in the mirror chuckled. The broken neck slowly recovered, and the girl gave a weird laugh. Then, the girl raised her head and looked at Mary carefully. "Why do you always hurt me? Sister, I''m you yourself!" She stretched out and held Mary tightly in her arms. Then she whispered into Mary''s ears, "I am the mysophobia and arrogance in your heart that you can never get rid of. I''m the disgust you feel of other people, the pain you suffered when you had your first period, and the shameful lust you had when you fell in love with a man" "Shut up!" Gnashing her teeth, Mary used all her strength to spit out the vicious curse, "You b*tch!" "You are born this dirty, Mary. What you see here is what you really are. Why do you deceive yourself? Let me tell you. You hate all this, don''t you?" The girl in the mirror groped her breasts and caressed her body like a snake. And finally, lifting Mary''s chin with her hand and licking her lips gently, she muttered, "You hate those rituals where you have to behave by the rules. You hate it when you have to be kind to the people from the low class. You hate to shake those dirty hands. You hate the people when they stare at your breasts, hate those maidservants who gossip outside your room, you even hate our mother for giving you such an abominable life. You hate all these things. Mary, you hate yourself." She held Mary and suddenly turned around. Behind them was the huge mirror. In the mirror, there were young girls cuddling up together, rubbing their faces against each other. The two girls resembled each other, but one of them was in white, and the other in red. "Look, Mary." Looking at the reflection in the mirror, she smiled and said, "We resemble each other so much. We were born to be to together and should never be apart." Mary closed her eyes and refused to look at the mirror again. After a long while, the sound of the gate opening was heard from afar. The blood river retreated and the way back was finally emerging. The reflection became more and more blurry, and surrounded by the bloody water, fell into silence. "Are you leaving now?" Staring at Mary, with the kind smile on her face, she whispered into Mary''s ear at the last moment, "Look at your eyes, sister. You are so weak and pathetic with your funny hatred. Are you still dreaming of someone rescuing you from your destiny? There''s no one who can save you. You only have you and me, forever." Mary finally raised her eyes. Looking into her eyes, she became determined. "No. Someone will come one day. He will come and kill me and you." Ye Qingxuan woke up from a dream to find himself lying on the hospital bed. He could hear the noise from outside the door. He was all right actually, not wounded at all, but he had to go through the ordinary physical examination. Chorale musicians from the musician divisions had come to pray for him and clean him of the contamination of the abyss, though it was nothing but laughable in the view of the Religious Court of Inquisitors. After the time-consuming examination and inquiry, Ye Qingxuan fell asleep. Yet he didn''t expect to wake up on the morning of the next day. Leaning on the bedhead, he didn''t summon the nurse or anyone else but recalled what he had seen the night before and was lost in thought. At that moment, he only saw Lancelot draw his sword, and then the light, which was like a fantasy. After the light, everything seemed to come to an end. It was like all sounds had been muted; all the movements frozen, and all the disputes settled. It seemed as if Lancelot stood there, not moving at all, except that he put his sword back into the sheath. Yet in the cold wind, there appeared a straight rift on the ground below his feet, then the rift extended from below his feet forward and through the whole battlefield. The body of the head of the musician division was cut into two even parts and dissolved into filth. The scepter was broken into numerous parts. The illusion of the hell that covered the whole Shadow of Avalon cracked and then the crack spread out. Then, the moaning and howling went silent. The whole illusion collapsed, and finally disappeared. From beginning to the end, Ye Qingxuan had not been able to see clearly how Lancelot struck the final blow. The sword was only an ordinary blade made of iron, yet in Lancelot''s hands, it was powerful beyond imagination. Retired from the military for so many years, it was unbelievable that Lancelot could still have such terrible power in his power armor. Even Ye Qingxuan himself, if not well prepared, would have been killed by the one strike. "How terrible," he muttered. "What is so terrible?" someone asked from outside the door. The man pushed the door open and entered. It was Lancelot. Sitting in a wheelchair, Lancelot was very pale, smelling of irritating medicines. The plastic pipes connected to his internal organs were transporting medicines into his body to sustain his life. That strike had exhausted him, putting his life in grave danger. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan was in astonishment, Lancelot smiled in a ''it-doesn''t-matter'' way. "That was the power of the Lancelot armor, not me. When I die, the armor is yours." "Don''t say that." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and said, "You will live for quite a long time. And you still have Christine." "I know everything about my own health." Lancelot coughed so hard that there was blood on his lips. Wiping off the blood, he gave a self-mocking smile. "The Lancelot armor is the most powerful of all the round table armors. At the same time, it has the most stringent requirements on the owner in terms of morality and integrity. Only a saint would be accepted by it. Christine does not have the ability to handle the heavy responsibilities of the family, and she is not able to be accepted by the armor." "Then, I definitely won''t, either." Ye Qingxuan didn''t want to discuss this topic anymore. So he asked, "Where is Princess Mary? Is she awake?" "Yes. She is resting." The two both fell into silence. After quite a long time, Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh. "You have left all those matters behind to come to see me. There must be something you want to say to me?" "Yes." After a moment of thinking, Lancelot said, "Our king was assassinated by Maxwell. Anglo needs a new king. Princess Mary, as first in line to the throne, will be crowned in Westminster Abbey tomorrow to be the king of Anglo." "The first in line to the throne?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. "What about the prince?" Though handicapped and thus not able to inherit the throne, the prince was still the next in line to the throne. The queen had been cultivating Mary as her successor to the throne, but the status of the prince had not been changed. "He is dead." Lancelot said indifferently, "On the same day when the king was assassinated, he was poisoned. Guess who did that?" Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant. He fell into silence and felt a severe headache. He could think of only one suspect. Maxwell. What the hell do you want to do, Maxwell? Lancelot looked at him quietly. After a long while, Lancelot said, "Ye, leave Avalon." Closing his eyes, Lancelot went on, "I''m afraid that King Arthur turned into a catastrophe. Leviathan was about to break through the second seal. This country is beyond help. You lead your people out of this country tonight. You can go anywhere you like. Just don''t come back." The shadow of Avalon. At the top, darkness expanded. The gruesome ringing of a bell was heard. The palace began to shake with the bell ringing. The darkness, as dense as black ink, poured down from the sky onto the ground. Countless demons grew out of the darkness like wild grass in spring. The demons crawled from the darkness and the blood pool, screaming and howling, worshiping the dark sun. The sun trembled and seemed as if it was about to fall to pieces. The monsters in the darkness slowly opened their eyes and were about to wake up. Under the palace, the broken body of the Dark Sovereign bathed in the rain of darkness, which contained the power of the abyss, and was revived again. "He''s coming! Finally! The inheritor of the abyss, the holy son of darkness!" he cheered and laughed, wild with joy. "He is the king of gods in the world!" 585 Protection In the ward, only Ye Qingxuan and Lancelot were gazing at each other in the silence. "Leave Avalon?" After a good while, Ye Qingxuan slowly shook his head. "Not a chance." As if he had already known that Ye Qingxuan would give him such an answer, Lancelot''s expression was unchanged. He simply asked, "Why?" Ye Qingxuan pondered it for a moment and was amused by the answer that he thought of. "To save the city, of course." "You know very well that I don''t need to hear such cliches usually spoken on ceremonies of conferring of medals." Lancelot shook his head. "I know, you''ve brought elites with you, along with all your chips. You want to put all the chips down on the table, bet the house, and if you can''t win, you die. But you''ve chosen the wrong place, Ye Qingxuan, this is not a casino. Your opponent is a catastrophe, or maybe even two. You will lose everything you have." Lancelot continued, "All the men who have followed you here will die." "It''s everything I could wish for." Ye Qingxuan replied calmly. "It is their wish as well. They''ve come here to follow me to death. If they don''t get to die because of my cowardice, they''ll definitely be very disappointed. I know what you want to say next, but I won''t leave here, never." Lancelot was silent. After a good while, he sighed regretfully. "Little Yezi, even though so many years have passed, you still leave me no choice as always..." The sounds of objects colliding rang out outside the door, someone roared in rage, but soon, the roaring disappeared. The noise of power armor sounded and stopped at the door. Ye Qingxuan''s gaze turned cold. His guards had been attacked by Lancelot''s men. Their blows were measured, but definitely couldn''t be considered well-handled. "What do you mean by such actions?" Ye Qingxuan demanded. "Rest assured, they will protect you." Lancelot kept his head low and whispered. "Protect you and escort you from here." ... Early in the morning, five hours ago. In the pale white fog, Niven breathed out a cold cloud of mist. The mist lingering near his mouth and nose gradually rose, meandering along the stone gate pillar of Westminster Abbey, and finally dissipated at the fingertips of the relief sculpture. On the stone pillar, the relief sculpture of the saint was expressionless, and simply looked down at the quiet street. At its fingertips, a sickly sweet drop of dew condensed of mist dripped down slowly. The dew fell on the back of Niven''s hand, causing the five fingers holding the sword hilt to tighten. The steel seemed to contain heat, and by clenching his sword tight, he could feel a hallucination-like warmth. In the short span of half a month, after undergoing symbolic blessings, purification, and complicated alchemy rituals, he had implanted the alchemy array of the Witch Hammer into the back of his neck. Muscle strengthening liquid was injected into his epitenon. The central nervous system of aether, which was as thick as a pinky, as well as thousands of nerve endings as thin as spider silk, had been integrated with his spine into one. He was completely different from who he used to be. Due to the special circumstances and Ye Qingxuan''s request, in just half a month, Niven skipped the long periods of study, training, and trials that an ordinary apprentice would have to undergo for a few dozens of years and became a new member of the Witch Hammer. After several adjustments, the body that had gradually aged in the torment of the battles in the past years and was going downhill in terms of health, also returned to its peak once more... or even grew stronger perhaps. As a controller of power armor, a knight was no different from steel, and his body was not exactly very different from steel. Removing a natural limb and replacing the original with steel in order to strengthen one''s performance in a certain aspect was not uncommon. The direction in which Niven was cultivated was that of the ''sword dancer'', one of the most common paths. No artificial internal organ was implanted into his body, only the spine was partially altered. The thousands of nerve endings of aether brought superhuman reflexes and dynamic vision acuity. Niven''s forte in perception and sensing also allowed him to be implanted with another special arraythermal imaging. In the pair of irises that had turned a bone white, everything lost their color, and his vision was altered into a unique state. All matter exuded heat, thus no disguise could escape his detection regardless of how clever it was. Because of this very reason, he was given the task of standing vigil at night. In the shadow beneath the door, he stood quietly, the body under the gray robe motionless, like a stone statue. Only a little white mist was breathed out from his nose and mouth when he exhaled occasionally, proving his existence. But it wasn''t long after midnight when he heard the rustle of footsteps coming from afar. "Who''s there?" He looked up immediately and saw the figure walking towards Westminster Abbey, step by step, from the end of the street. Niven''s expression gradually tightened. He raised his arm as a signal to the lookout behind the door, then walked out of the shadows and declared in a low voice, "You are approaching an army base, no trespassing is allowed." The man seemed to smile softly, but the footsteps did not stop. He continued to advance forward, one step, two steps, and with his third step, he entered the region within ten meters from the door. The lookout gave further instructionsAnnihilate the trespasser. At that very moment, the silent Niven stepped forward. The blade at his waist popped out and fell into his hand, tracing a concise half arc in the air. The flash of the sword crossed the distance of several meters in an instant, aiming at the neck of the newcomer. Beneath the gray robe, Niven''s chest heaved. Although he was rushing at the trespasser, his body did not shake. His actions were smooth as if he was gliding, but his speed was incredibly fast. In just an instant, the trespasser was within arm''s reach for Niven, who swiped the blade of the sword at him. In the shrill whistling sound of the blade cutting through the air, the sound of steel scraping against each other rang out. The newcomer lifted his arm, the rerebrace under his robes blocking the blade from his flesh. Both of his hands reached forward deftly, his ten fingers clenched into fists, which struck at the liver and spleen of Niven. The dim light of the street lamp faintly illuminated the arms, which calluses all over them. The arms were sturdy and grotesque, resembling iron casting. Before they even came into contact with one''s body, one could feel the pressure of the wind they stirred up. Niven''s pupils contracted. The combat technique used was specially designed to attack armored knights. For elite knights who had been altered and modulated, the protection of body parts like the heart and the head was definitely given the most emphasis. The hardness of the bones located at such parts had most likely been strengthened by alchemy. Attacking such parts might not be effective even with a hammer, let alone with both hands. Therefore, when fighting against an enemy like that, methods to attack other relatively minor parts were actually the most important. In the short span of an instant, crisp cracks sounded twice. Niven''s right hand was holding the sword and had no time to return to a defensive position, but his left hand drew out a dagger from its sheath bound to the inside of his right arm, and curtly swiped it at the two hands. The knuckles of the two hands produced several squeaks as the joints rubbed against each other. At the last moment, the trespasser forcibly flipped his wrists, one hand locking Niven''s wrist, while the other hand snatched his knife. The crisp crack sounded as Niven''s finger bones were dislocated. The opponent''s strength was unexpectedly strong, almost like a knight who had undergone a second reinforcement of strength and bones. In the intense pain, Niven, who acted like the pain had no effect on him, did not try to snatch the blade back anymore, but instead, he took the initiative to move towards the direction of the blade. He suddenly flipped the hilt in his right hand, holding the long sword in reverse, and poked the sword at the carotid artery of the newcomer! Bang! In the loud bang of steel breaking, Niven''s long sword snapped into two. The sharp blade of the long sword turned a circle in the air and landed on the ground, clattering. Meanwhile, the arrow that had split the long sword in two in an instant brushed past Niven''s shoulder and nailed itself into the stone pillar with a buzzing sound. It was only until the opponent''s dagger had been pressed against his neck that the whistling sound of the arrow could be heard, and it was too late for Niven to do anything else. He had lost. Niven looked at the newcomer, expressionless. On the high towers of Westminster Abbey, the low-pitched sound of arrows being nocked on crossbows rang out, the bows already aimed. The newcomer did not cut Niven''s throat, but simply withdrew the dagger calmly. After sizing Niven up for a moment, he gave a soft laugh and backhanded the dagger back into its sheath on Niven''s arm. As the newcomer flipped his hand, the coat of arms on his rerebrace was revealedthe badge of a grand knight of the Knights of the Round Table. The newcomer, who was one of the 16 grand knights of the Knights of the Round Table, extended a hand and patted Niven on the shoulder. "Enough, Sentinel, you are relieved from your duties." Niven was surprised and furrowed his brows. "What is that supposed to mean?" The grand knight raised his hands and showed him the military order issued, "Under the command of Lord Lancelot, from this moment onward, the Knights of the Round Table is taking over the Westminster Abbey. All of you are under the protection of the Knights of the Round Table..." Low rumbles came from all directions. As a result of thermal imaging, in Niven''s vision, dozens of aether furnaces glowed in scorching hot scarlet-red colors. Heavy power armors driven by the aether furnaces advanced along the streets of Avalon, and the steel gave off whistling-like sounds. They had completely surrounded the entire Westminster Abbey, the army base of the Religious Court of Inquiry. In the Westminster Abbey, the low-pitched noise of power armors being started rang out continuously. The arrow knocked on the huge longbow was aimed at the grand knight from afar. The situation was tense. In the hall, a sleepy Shi Dong drowsily raised his eyes slightly and looked at Archbishop Mephistopheles, who was yawning. Shi Dong asked, "Is this considered house arrest?" "Probably. Do you want to resist?" the Archbishop replied. "Why is it that whenever a critical situation is happening, the Grand Inquisitor would be away at some-goddamn-where else? It''s been going on for hundreds of years, is this a curse of some sort?" Shi Dong sighed troubledly. After a good while, he shook his head. "Forget it, it''s too much trouble." He lowered his eyes again. "Since someone else is guarding the door for us, let the lads go back to their dorms and get some sleep. They''re still growing, it''s unhealthy for them to stay up all night. Let''s not be unworthy of their good intentions." Under the same dark night sky, in the ruins of what used to be a manor in downtown, Watson yawned and lit the cigarette at the corner of his mouth. The flickering light of the cigarette illuminated the long sword pressed against his neck. The blade was covered in layers of patterns which were glamorous like blooming flowers. It was clearly a rare, high-quality sword. A cold wind blew, and in front of him, the riddled desk whined forlornly, as if it was about to collapse. He took a deep breath in the aroma of tobacco and relaxed, leaning back on his wheelchair, and slowly scanned his surroundings. He looked at the shadows that surrounded him. Half a minute ago, he was still sitting behind his desk in his office, looking at the latest news the informants had sent, and the fireplace was warm. But after half a minute, his office had collapsed, and the walls on all four sides were instantly shattered by the visitors that had rushed in. Then, the fireplace was covered by the collapsed walls, and the warmth was no longer. Meanwhile, Watson was besieged, a long sword to his neck. He had to watch on as his subordinates were curtly defeated, pressed onto the ground, and shackled by the group of visitors. Light covered armor, fierce offensive means, deft cleaning up of the scene in the aftermath, all kinds of equipment specially designed for secret killings, plannings and schemes that had apparently been done carefully... He mentally made a list. "That rumor actually turned out to be true?" Watson laughed. "The special forces set up for the purpose of conducting special operations during wartime, or in other words, the legion of assassins that Anglo keeps in its employ... really exists, huh." No one responded. Those cold eyes just stared straight at him. If he had shown any signs of resistance, they probably wouldn''t hesitate to behead him. In this regard, Watson had no doubts, but still couldn''t resist reaching out to flick at the sword against his neck. "Nice sword, a first-class one, eh? Patterned steel from India, is it a smuggled good? Where did you buy it from?" Seeing the circular marking at the end of the blade, it suddenly dawned on him. "Oh, the merchandise of the cripple in Roundworm Alley? He sources them from me. How funny, robbing me with a sword bought from me..." In the silence, someone sighed softly. The soldiers guarding him moved aside, and a man in a coat walked over to him, dragging a broken chair along. The man sat opposite Watson, and the blade on Watson''s neck was withdrawn. "Let''s be honest with each other, Mr. Watson," the man said. He put a badge on the table. "Do you recognize this?" Watson''s eyebrows raised slightly. "Oh, you''re the head spy of the military? Kindly pardon my lack of manners. Has anyone told you that you have crossed the line by meddling in such matters beyond your jurisdiction?" The head spy seemed resigned. "I don''t really want to intervene with the matters of the Fifth Department. Unfortunately, life never turns out exactly the way one wishes it to. For some reason, the higher-ups believe that you guys can no longer be trusted. "So, you must cooperate with me." Watson smiled. "Or die?" "Yeah, or die." The head spy nodded. "We need to make sure everything can be handed over smoothly. Although you have been fired, you must at least handle the job handover properly, and not leave any trouble for your successor, right?" In the lengthy silence, Watson smoked and looked at him, expressionless. The head spy sat in the chair and waited quietly for his response. After a long time, Watson cracked a smile and enthusiastically spread his hands. "Then what are you waiting for, bring me a map. You''re welcome to search the house and confiscate the property, my dear gentlemen!" Soon, a map was laid on the broken table. With the cigarette sticking out of his mouth, Watson made markings on the map rapidly, one by one. "Presently, within Avalon, we have 17 secret warehouses, nine gangs under our control, and 41 bank accounts. "The working capital roughly totals up to about 160 million pounds. The fixed assets are worth more than six times of that, and we secretly hold the shares of 51 large companies..." After a number so astronomical that it was suffocating rolled off his tongue, Watson put out the flame of the cigarette and smiled. "Which one would you like to check first?" 586 Tomorrow In the hospital sickroom, the atmosphere grew tense. The sound of the friction of metal lingered, as if it was a fantasy. "Do you know what people like you are called by the Religious Court of Inquiry when they are executed on the scaffold?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at Lancelot, his stare gradually growing colder. He said in a cold voice as if produced by gears and springs rubbing each other, "Defeatist!" Lancelot didn''t show any change in expression, as if it didn''t concern him at all. He shook his head indifferently and said, "You should learn to prepared for the worst before you place your bet." "Lancelot, this is not the same!" After only three days of transient harmony and friendliness, Ye Qingxuan sabotaged the atmosphere between them and addressed his uncle by his name. "The queen is now missing, Maxwell is nowhere to be found, and the Privy Council of Anglo is not working. As the minister of the second division and the de-facto leader of Anglo, you are talking about surrendering even before the war has begun? Where is that family honor of yours? Where are the noble characteristics and pure morality of yours? Where is that integrity of yours?" "There is nothing that is perfect in this world, nor is there any saint. Ye Qingxuan, you always expect too much for this world." Lancelot heaved a sigh. "You come back or not, the Religious Court of Inquisitors will fight in this war or not, Anglo will fight to the last man and Lancelot will fight for this country to the end, but you need to understand, the war is impossible to win." Lancelot determined that they would lose the war and was so sure of his judgement. There was no confusion or doubt in his eyes, as if he had seen the outcome of the war himself. "Our defeat was destined when Leviathan broke the second seal. As to why we are not able to win, it is because we have no chance to defeat Leviathan at all. It has been so from the very beginning." Ye Qingxuan was shocked. After a long silence, he asked in a hoarse voice, "We have 13 musician divisions including the royal musician division, all the power armor, the round table cavaliers, including the seven round table armors, the second, third, and the fourth naval fleets of Anglo. There are 460,000 soldiers in total. And you think we don''t even stand a chance to fight Leviathan?" "We may have a chance if Anglo was still an intact country." Lancelot answered, "but is Anglo now an integral country? Ye Qingxuan, you must know, the king just died, the new king has not yet been crowned. And we have only a month to prepare for the war! In such a short time, it is not enough to ensure the loyalty of the ministers? Not to mention unite the whole country to fight the war? If the queen was alive, she could control the situation and force everyone to act in favor of the good of the whole country and suppress their own dark, selfish plans. But Mary, she is not capable of that." "Ask master Haydn to work with me, then." Ye Qingxuan raised his voice and said, "As long as I can get close to the hall of the throne, I can retrieve the Stone Sword and the spear of St. George. I can" Looking into his eyes full of unwavering courage, Lancelot lowered his head and heaved a sigh. He didn''t let Ye Qingxuan finish but took out a familiar bottle from his pocket instead; a bottle full of fresh blood. The sticky blood was not red but was clear and transparent like amber. It was as if it were boiling in the bottle. It was only a small bottle, but in it there seemed to be monstrous waves roaring. Even the light was deflected and dispersed in the bottle. It disappeared into the deep darkness in the bottle, as if devoured by some invisible monster. The darkness was like smoke, floating and swirling in the bottle. Ye Qingxuan''s voice was cut off immediately, and he stopped moving. In just one moment, it was as if he were frozen. Staring at Lancelot, his face turned ghastly pale. Yet on the skin under his neck, spots of blood-red grew quickly and covered almost every inch of his skin almost immediately. That was blood; boiling blood Lancelot looked at him pitifully. "You still haven''t realized where your most vulnerable spot lies." Ye Qingxuan could see Lancelot''s lips moving, but he could not hear anything he said. He heard someone singing. The singing lingered around him. Sometimes it was as if the voice was by his ears, and other times it was as if the voice was within his own body. He felt like there were numerous amounts of mouths hidden in his blood, incited by the blood in the bottle to sing loudly. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream "We have the power, yet where should we go? Oh, men, hoist the sail! Pull, thieves and beggars, we''ll live forever" This, however, was an illusion. There should have been no sound at all, except that his blood was like a live animal in pain, twisting and cramping. The blood seemed to want to kill Ye Qingxuan as it tore up the veins in his body and oozed out of his body, as if it were gasping for fresh air greedily. Then, numerous tiny filaments grew out of his blood like mold, sticking to his body in large blocks. This was hilarious. This was really hilarious, Ye Qingxuan. Unspeakable desire to kill and anger brewed up in him. When did this evil creature get into my body? Why haven''t I noticed it before? The Blood of Deva circulated violently in his body. The silver moonlight surged in his blood, wrestling with the wild evil creatures to kill them. Yet, after being killed, those things came back to life again and again, sucking Ye Qingxuan''s blood and consuming his life. It seemed to have integrated with Ye Qingxuan. "Lancelot!!!" with blood-red eyes, Ye Qingxuan howled angrily. He used up all his remaining strength to throw himself at Lancelot, who, sitting on the wheelchair, didn''t defend himself at all but raised his hand to put the orange-colored amber blood between him and Ye Qingxuan. In the blood, an eye opened, looking at Ye Qingxuan. It was gazing at Ye Qingxuan''s blood. Then, the evil thing in his blood began to grow much faster. Almost in one split second, it spread to his all his veins, his nervous system, internal organs, trachea, mucous membranes, ear drums It deprived him of all his strength. He fell to the ground, losing control of his own body, right in front of the wheelchair. Everything fell into silence. Finally, Lancelot said, "I know that your thumb of card is the Stone Sword. As long as you have the Stone Sword, with the national defense metric supporting you, you might have a chance to defeat the catastrophe. However, there was a fatal flaw in this plan from the very beginning of its making." Lowering his eyes, he continued, "See? The closer you are to the core of Avalon, the harder it is for you to control your negative emotions. Do you think you are spared from the curse of dragon blood? This was the capture from last night''s battlethe blood of Leviathan. In it carries the will power of Leviathan. Therefore, it is deadly poisonous for anyone of royal blood. This is the tragedy for all the royal family members: without dragon blood, he or she will not be accepted by the Stone Sword. Yet, once a royal family member has dragon blood flowing in the veins, he or she will have be subject to the control of Leviathan. You will be driven mad the moment you approach Leviathan. How could you fight it?" Ye Qingxuan didn''t know what to say, as there was nothing could be said. The door was pushed open and a nurse wearing protective clothing covering his entire body came in with all the caution he could exercise. The nurse carried Ye Qingxuan to his bed, made sure he was comfortably positioned, and gently covered him with the quilt. "Stop playing the hero, Ye Qingxuan." Stretching out to tuck in the corner of the quilt, Lancelot said gently in a low voice, "You don''t belong to this country, nor does this country belong to you. Get yourself a good night''s sleep. When you wake up, everything will be over." In great pain, Ye Qingxuan tried with all his might to open his eyes. Over Lancelot''s shoulder, he saw a blurred figure standing behind Lancelot. The figure was smiling mockingly towards Ye Qingxuan. "Lancelot, you" In the dimly lighted room, Mary woke up and opened her eyes. Hearing the noise outside, she knew she was not in the dream where the magic mirror was. However, she was afraid of the bustling world. "What was that, Christine?" Christine was not there to answer her question. She had gone out. Mary was left alone in the room. The room was grand and magnificently decorated, yet it made Mary feel frightened and lonely. "That was the cheering of the people, Your Highness," a strange yet polite voice came from outside the door. Mary couldn''t think of any courtesy officer with such a deep and low voice. She felt dizzy and muddled. "Cheering?" "Yes, cheering." The voice answered, "For you." "Why are they cheering for me?" "Because you will take the throne to inherit the glory of your ancestors." The voice answered, "You will be the ruler of Anglo, leading them to a bright future. As her majesty passed away, you are the only one who can lead the country. This was the cheering of your people. Everyone, whether in the central area or the lower area of the city, is so happy as they see the new hope of their country." Mary was transfixed. The door opened. Maid servants walked in, carrying gorgeous clothes and ornaments. They opened the windows to let in fresh air. They also brought Mary delicious breakfast. Served on bronze plates, the dishes smelled so delicious and tasty. The 12 best cooks in Avalon had waited until now to serve their new queen. To show their loyalty to their new queen, they had cooked the dishes once every hour to make sure they were served hot and fresh. Outside the window, lamps were lit, lighting up the palace. The gentle melody of violin could be heard from afar, indicating that a grand banquet was underway. That was the celebration feast for the crowning of the new queen. Laughter full of hope could be heard in the wind. The dying city seemed to be alive again. It was singing for its revival. All this was thanks to Mary. Yet Mary felt so frightened. "Where is Christine?" she asked. "Where is the captain of my guards?" "She was injured. She wanted to stay with you, but the doctor stopped her," the voice answered respectfully. "Please don''t worry, Your Highness. You will see her in the coronation ceremony tomorrow." "Tomorrow?" asked Mary. "Yes. Tomorrow," the voice answered. 587 Redemption Part 1 Snow fell from the sky and landed on Charles'' hair. He looked down at the pale face in the pool of blood and watched as the soldier on the ground struggled to breathe. The last remaining heat of the soldier''s body turned into a white mist and rose from his nose and mouth, flying into the sky. It then condensing into frost in the wind and fell silently, freezing the blood that was gradually turning cold. The pain caused the soldier''s face to convulse. He groaned and gazed at Charles, reaching out with all his might, trying to touch Charles. His lips moved weakly, but no sound could be heard. "Hold on for a little longer." Charles gripped the soldier''s hand hard, feeling a bone-chilling iciness, the coldness seeped into his bones, causing him to panic. "I''ll find someone to attend to you right away, just hold on for a little bit longer. Doctor! Doctor! There''s one more person here..." In the hustle and bustle, only groans in the distance responded. The snow continued to fall from the sky as if it would never stop, sprinkling all over the frozen soil. On the plains that had survived the war, the fires from the battle had yet to be extinguished, but the bodies had already turned cold completely. Was it thousands of people that had died? Or was it tens of thousands? For their new country, they fell in this war, fell in this place that was cold enough that even hell would be frozen. They looked up to the sky until death took them until the powder-like snow covered their faces. The medics staggered as they made their way through the plains, moving the soldiers who were still breathing onto the stretchers, one by one. Then, they used their swords to stab the soldiers whose injuries were too far gone for them to be saved through their hearts, one by one. This way, the soldiers who had next to a zero percent chance of surviving need not suffer any longer. Charles'' shouts were drowned out by the shattered snow, and no one responded. Not far behind Charles, Wolf Flute was smoking a cigarette. He wrapped his coat tightly around himself and simply watched on without saying a word. Charles withdrew his gaze dismally but saw the dying soldier smile. The soldier smiled as if heaven was in sight. "Ah, ah, the Holy Son..." He held Charles'' hand, his dry lips moving, and exhausted the last of his strength as he implored, "Please... bestow redemption upon me..." Charles opened his mouth but didn''t know what to say. He didn''t have the heart to avoid the man''s gaze, hesitating as he tried to compose his thoughts into words. In the end, he could only nod wordlessly. The soldier, who was missing half of his body, smiled as if he had finally gotten silent acquiescence to pass on. The gates of the kingdom of heaven opened in front of him. He closed his eyes with satisfaction. His last breath dissipated. His body had no more warmth in it. Charles let go and watched the soldier''s arm fell onto the frozen pool of blood. Even though the man was already dead, he still seemed to be holding something in his hand, but his palm was empty as if he was clutching on to invisible hope. For a brief moment, Charles saw it. He saw a faint and vague figure rise from the man''s body. Just like the last cloud of white mist that was exhaled from his mouth and nose, the figure slowly rose into the sky. He didn''t only see one figure but hundreds and thousands of them. Innumerable blurry figures soared in the sky and walked into an invisible doorway. It was as if they had really walked into the kingdom of heaven. Charles thought that the illusion plaguing him had returned once more, but when he looked at his hands, he found that no illusory blood was on themthe blood on them was realand when he looked up again, he couldn''t see the figures anymore. They had already left. The wind and the snow were all that was left, sweeping across the plains, covering the battlefield, and eliminating the last remaining traces. "Are those real?" Charles looked at the sky blankly. Wolf Flute didn''t get it. "What?" "Nah." Charles shook his head, gave a laugh of self-mockery, and withdrew his gaze. "Nah, nothing." Wolf Flute sighed and handed him a packet of cigarettes. Supplies were short on the battlefield. Food was allocated on a per capita basis. Every two persons would get a cotton shirt to share between them and must take turns to wear it, but only tobacco was in unlimited supply. The inferior tobacco leaves produced in East India were chopped with a sickle and cured in a simple and rough manner, then wrapped with white paper that was very thin and coarse. The cigarettes didn''t even come with filters. "Too bad there isn''t any wine." Charles ignited the cigarette and inhaled deeply. Pungent smoke gushed into his lungs, scraping his throat like sandpaper, and brought a sense of misery similar to that of swallowing gravel. Smoke spurted out of his nose and mouth and flew into the sky. Is it flying to the place the souls are at? Charles couldn''t help wondering. "Allow yourself to relax, we''re at war." Wolf Flute patted his shoulder. "It''s not the first, nor will it be the last, and there''s definitely more to come in the future. The war will continue for as long as it takes for the countries to recognize the revolution that has taken place here." "I know," Charles replied. "But you have to understand." Wolf Flute sighed. "How many times have you done it? On our way here, how many men have you tried to save? You are a leader, you are their hope, but you are not a medic. Just give up. You can''t save everyone, but you can ensure that they died a worthy death." Charles was silent. After a long time, he asked softly, "Do they truly believe that I am some Holy Son?" "Yes," Wolf Flute replied curtly. "But I''m not." Charles shook his head. "I know that I''m not. I have no-goddamn-thing to do with that bullshit of a god. He has never loved me." Wolf Flute pondered quietly for a good while and finally found an answer. "Then maybe you''re not His own?" Charles said nothing. Wolf Flute shrugged with a fair amount of disappointment. "I thought the joke was good." "Where is Mr. Gaius?" Charles snuffed out the cigarette and asked suddenly, "I need to look for him for certain matters." Wolf Flute thought for a moment and said, "He should be very busy right now." "I know." Charles turned back and gazed at the vast battlefield covered in snow. "Titles like the Holy Son are totally meaningless for this place. I don''t want to merely be a mascot, Wolf Flute." "Gaius will never agree to let you fight," Wolf Flute answered straightforwardly. "You are a symbol, Charles, you''re the proof that miracles exist, you must hold yourself aloft. "If you get involved in the war, other countries will have a reason to mobilize their scepter musicians and catastrophe-level weapons, and maybe even saints... Gaius will never allow you to roll up your sleeves and join in out of impulse. " As he said so, he pointed towards the far end of the battlefield. At the end of the horizon, in the camps in the distance, a huge aether wave rose into the sky from afar, declaring its own existence. "See? We can''t allow ourselves to fall into a passive position," Wolf Flute said. "Whoever succumbs to the temptation first loses." "Rest assured, I won''t be the one." Charles laughed self-mockingly and lowered his head, looking at the cold face in the blood and snow. He murmured softly, "I just feel like I should help out a little bit...even if it''s just a little bit." It was three hours later in the White Mountain Research Institute. No semblance of heat could be found in the icy room, and it was so cold that it made one''s lungs convulse. Even the house itself had just been built and was only good for blocking out the wind with its four walls. The fireplace was burning in the corner of the room but failed to provide any warmth. Old men sat by the table, wrapped in thick coats, mugs of hot water in their hands, but they were all still shivering from the cold. No one spoke in the silence. They quietly looked at the drawings on the table with full concentration, not letting any loopholes or errors slip past them. Footsteps sounded from a distance. A young researcher opened the door and ran in, holding a bulge of mass in his arms. Despite the snowy weather, he was sweating profusely from running. The drops of sweat on his face turned into ice and were almost frozen stiff. "We only have so many left in storage, I have taken all of them here." He put the gray iron-like ingots he was holding on the table. The iron-like ingots which were about one thumb thick fell onto the table and collided with each other, producing crisp, clear sounds. Solder. All the ingots were made of solder. The old men examined the solder on the table, then looked at each other with uncertain expressions, and started discussing. "Is it really feasible?" "No one has gone down this train of thought before, and the principle behind is fairly simple, I don''t see any major problems with it." "Similar designs have been carried out before, but they had their fair share of flaws. Plus, we lack a better alloy formula." "The Sacred City has imposed a technical blockade on us. If we are to conduct the necessary research on our own, it will take another four years." "The idea is very good, but we don''t have so much time." "Let''s make a batch of prototypes based on this design first. Maksim, you have more manpower in your department, how long will it take?" "The carpenter apprentices and blacksmith apprentices who have just been recruited have to undergo training before they can be of use to us. If you want to make prototypes of acceptable standards, it will take about three months." Behind the table, Charles listened to their opinions quietly. After a long time, he slowly shook his head. "It won''t take so long. If you all are alright with the design, it can be done now." "Now?" one of the old men asked. "Yep, now." Charles nodded and spread his palms. A crisp sound rang out. As if an earthquake suddenly came, the sound of the tables and chairs shaking rang out, and the glass on the wall suddenly fractured, revealing innumerable cracks, and fell apart. The old men looked at each other in confusion and couldn''t help but want to back away. Bang! A chair collapsed suddenly, and the person sitting on it fell and tumbled. He raised his head in shock, only to see iron nails breaking free from their bonds and flying towards Charles'' palm. The wind bellowed. A fog-like cloud of gray dust gushed in from the window and gathered around Charles. One could vaguely see the innumerable coarse grains of metal in it. The cold wind whistling and poured into the room from the window, but no hint of coldness could be felt anymore. It was because born in the palm was a high temperature much hotter than lava. It was like a furnace. Countless alchemy arrays were born and destroyed in an instant. As they were gathered and moved around by the five fingers, an abstract furnace was formed. A dazzling flame of pure white was brewing up in it, and the temperature high enough to vaporize the entire room in an instant was restrained within the grasp of the hand. The mere trace of leaked heat was enough to make the room so hot that it was suffocating. It made the old men''s beards curl and they retreated into the corners. When steel fell into the furnace, it became a liquid, and the impurities evaporated instantaneously. Then, countless fine particles of dust flowed into the furnace. The dust consisted of powder-form minerals contained in the depths layers of the frozen soil. An invisible hand had extracted them from the soil and add them to the furnace to be smelted in the terrifying temperature. Heating, hammering, purification, formation, reprocessing, casting, quenching In a flash, the lengthy process had been completed in one-shot. In Charles'' hand, dozens of parts had been forged, and the fire had been extinguished. The parts collided and scraped against each other, then pieced together, assembled, and finally formed the prototype of his creation. It was an odd iron tube that came with a grip. "It''s done." Charles placed it on the table. "As long as no errors have been made, we can test it now." 588 Redemption Part 2 The old men looked at Charles, astonished. The engineers from all over the world had never seen anyone who could build things at such a speed. Even for an alchemist, it would take days to build it, but now, in just a few seconds, the design on the paper was turned into finished products for them to inspect. As Charles waved his hand, a lead rod ruptured soundlessly, and a column one-centimeter in length fell into Charles'' hand. A piece of an iron sheet was cut from the window frame and wrapped around the lead column as a thin shell for it. Then, several dozen iron sand was put into it. Thus, the packaging was finished. An iron rod of the length of half a cigarette was held between Charles''s fingers. "Shall we begin?" Charles asked the old men who were transfixed. "You may begin, Charles." The old man wearing a coat by the stove in the corner raised his eyes. "I cannot wait to see it." "Ok. Mr. Gaius." With a smile, Charles pulled the mechanism at the grip of the iron barrel and put the iron rod into it. Then he aimed the barrel at the wall. After a little hesitation, he looked back and said, feeling a little embarrassed, "Could you please cover your ears? This might be a little loud." Gauis put down his water cup and plugged his ears. Seeing this, Charles turned back and raised the barrel at the wall again. Then a sharp blast almost shattered everyone''s eardrum. It was like thunder. What they saw was only super-hot fire, and light blasted out of the iron barrel and everything was finished. The wall was no longer intact. There were numerous big holes as if someone had made them with invisible knives and axes, then burned them with fire so that the holes had become black and seemingly melting. The iron barrel, burned by the thunder-like blast, had become red. As the blast produced enormous power, the iron barrel was under huge pressure at the moment of firing. Charles''s arm was completely destroyed; bones piercing out of his flesh and his skin cracking into pieces. But Charles seemed not to care at all and smiled happily. "Wow. What they recorded in the ancient books was real!" He muttered, "It was only a replica of the original mechanism based on my estimations. I never expected it to be so powerful! I am so lucky." As if time went backward, Charles'' blood returned into his body, the peeled off skin healed quickly, and the bones recovered too, leaving no trace of injury at all. Even the blood-stained sleeves were clean. It was as if nothing had happened. And this all happened in a split second. The old men, almost having lost their sense of hearing to the big boom, recovered from the shock. Figuring out what had happened, they looked at the strange iron barrel with terror and astonishment. They all knew what had happened. The principle was simple: melting lead reacting with aether in a closed space. Then, the reaction generated a huge amount of gas and heat which propelled the iron sand out of the iron barrel, causing the damage they had seen. However, no one had ever thought of applying this new alloy in this way. "This was inspired by a story told to me by my friend." Scratching head, Charles said, "In the story, there was a musician named Rain Artist. This reminded me of something recorded in some ancient book. I''ve always wanted to try it, but I had no chance until just now. Now that you have seen it yourself, it was really great! Do you think it will work? I think there should be no problem with it, right?" The old men looked at each other. They were the best mechanical engineers from all over the world, renowned in their respective fields. They didn''t need to think to make a conclusion. They''d know if something would work by a simple glance at it. But when they saw this thing, they were shocked by the terrible power generated by such a simple mechanism. However, its flaws were as obvious as its advantages. "We''ve seen similar things in the research institutions of the Asgardians. They powered their crossbow cannons with steam pressure to provide the initial speed for the crossbow arrows. But it was too costly to make steel that could take such high pressure. The budget of the mechanism was totally out of control; it became a decoration rather than a useful design. So, they dropped it at last." After a short discussion, one of the old men said, "With all due respect, it''s much too difficult to mass produce the machine in your hand. If we make it manually by alchemists, the cost would be too high due to the requirements of the steel material and the long time needed for production. According to our estimations, it would be as expensive as a guided cannon. It''s too luxurious for us." "We can use other materials. Use wood for the grip, and ordinary steel for the non-essential parts." Charles said, "It doesn''t need alchemy metrics as it relies on pure aether reaction and mechanical engineering. According to my calculations, the cost will be lowered by 90 percent if we produce it in an assembly line." "Then, there''s no way to guarantee its safety." Engineer Maksim said, "I am an apprentice musician, though not as skilled as you are. I can do the math. It is okay to do the trials in the white area, but if we use it outside of the white area, the aether fluctuation caused by the noise will damage the thing itself and may even compromise the safety of the user. That will be suicide for the soldiers." "We can reduce the amount of the melting lead by half," Charles said immediately. "Though it may be less powerful, it will still work." Maksim, taking paper and a pen out of his pocket, shook his head and said, "No use. The pressure is still too high. The pressure inside will destroy the barrel. And the barrel will be damaged completely after shooting only once, unable to be used again." "Then don''t reuse it." Shaking his head, Charles said, "We can use the cheapest iron sand to make the barrel. The reaction will take place in the barrel, and we can use disposable barrels which will be scrapped after one use and replaced with a new one. The reaction takes only one second. The barrel made of iron sand will collapse after that and became fine sand. With protective goggles, protective masks, and thick protective clothing, the user will be safe. This way, the production cost will be reduced by 20 percent. Bowmen usually take their shots in a three-row formation. While the first row of bowmen is shooting, the second row will get ready to shoot, and the third may rest, which is a perfect cycle. We may imitate that when using this device." "How do we train the shooters? It''ll cost a lot to train even an apprentice musician." "No need for training. Just teach them how to inject aether into the sealed chamber with the alchemy device and they will be ready to use this. We may even seal the aether inside when we produce the barrels. The aether can be isolated with the lead with a simple insert mechanism. It is simple, isn''t it?" Maksim said nothing. After a long while, he put down his pen and heaved a sigh. "You had me convinced." Lowering his head, he said, "I am sorry that I underestimated your engineering skills. I''m honored to join this project. According to your concept, we''ll finish the design. With enough supplies, we can equip the soldiers on a small scale within a month." "Can I be of any help?" Charles asked. Maksim nodded. "That''s perfect." Charles smiled. "Finally, I can make myself useful." With Charles gone, the whole room fell into silence. "Go back to do your work, everyone. Please keep what happened here tonight secret." Gauis said, "As usual, everyone will be inspected for related matters. Thank you for your cooperation. Maksim, please stay a little longer." Pretty soon, guided by porters, the old men left, leaving only Maksim and Gauis in the room. Maksim was a little nervous. "Mr. Gauis, is there anything else?" "I felt that you had something to say just now." Wrapping himself tightly with his coat and getting closer to the stove for the warmth, Gauis said, "Now no one is here. You were the first engineer in the Revolutionary Army. You may say what you want." After a moment of silence, Maksim said with a hoarse voice, "I''m not sure if it is right or wrong for us to do this." "Why?" "It will change a war, sir." Maksim answered, "Not only one war, perhaps. You can see that, right, sir? Once deployed, this will change wars into utter slaughter. The whole world will be shocked. The way of fighting wars will be completely changed. We are to be cursed by what we start." "Cursed? By whom? Victory?" Gazing at the fire in the stove, Gauis said casually, "Humans should take care of their own business and God will decide who will ascend to heaven and who should burn in hell." Maksim smiled bitterly and lowered his head, looking at the holy emblem passed down from his ancestors that hung on his neck. It was tied to a thin rope, shining silver. "God?" Shaking his head, he heaved a sigh. "Who knows where this sort of thing is." Gauis laughed. He stood up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don''t be silly. He was standing right in front of you just now, wasn''t he?" Back in his room, Charles saw Wolf Flute drinking wine by the stove. Wolf Flute lifted his legs up to the fire to warm his feet, which filled the room with their stinky smell. "You came back at the perfect time. I''ve just put on the fire. It must be deadly cold out. Get yourself warm." Charles smiled and got himself a stool to sit on. He pulled up his cotton coat and took off his heavy boots. The air quality in the room deteriorated instantly. In no time, Wolf Flute''s face turned purple as he could not bear with the smell in the room anymore. "Let''s open one window," he suggested. "All right." Too lazy to get up, Charles raised his feet and kicked the frozen window beside him open. Freezing wind whirled in. The life of a mouse which was almost suffocated by the foul air in the room was thus saved. "You scared the hell out of that bunch of old men." Wolf Flute said, "That thing of yours, is there really no problem with it? It could destroy a wall with one shot" "Problem?" Charles looked at him absent-mindedly. "Is there any problem?" "You must have considered the consequences of what you are doing, Charles?" Wolf Flute said, "I don''t know much about mechanical engineering, but I can see by the drawings of that thing that it has been carefully designed and is in no way something that popped out of your head on the spot. You finished the design a long time ago, right? You are not the sort of nerd who knows only research but nothing about application. You know the consequences of using this thing, don''t you?" "Yes, I know it perfectly well." Charles nodded and lowered his eyes. "Maybe a lot of people will die because of it. There will be more to die, thanks to me. I''m fully prepared for that." Wolf Flute withdrew his gaze from Charles. "Don''t worry. This is the choice I''ve made myself." Charles shrugged, smiling. "The only benefit of being the Holy Son is that there is no one calling tp convict me, right?" Wolf Flute didn''t reply, but lied on the chair, looking at the snow flying in through the window. A long while later, he suddenly asked, "That thing you designed, have you named it?" Charles thought about it for a while and answered, with a smile, "I''ll name it ''Redemption''." 589 Before the Coronation Darkness surrounded Ye Qingxuan. Reliving the sensation of almost dying once more, he had to say that it felt quite nostalgic. The pain had disappeared by then, as Ye Qingxuan cast his consciousness into a sealed dream, causing all the external disturbances to fade into the distance. In the empty dream, even the flow of time slowed down. It was enough for him to break away from anger and remain cool-headed. Then, he started thinking anew. Fortunately, Shi Dong is not here. The old devil has never bothered to save me any face, and he always taunts me cynically. If he sees my miserable state, he''ll definitely be gloating, won''t he? Ye Qingxuan could even imagine the exultant expression on Shi Dong''s old face. See, I''ve reminded you of it before, but you''ve never taken my words to your heart. Have you gotten the name list of spare firewood ready? Don''t forget to purge the nation. Who can you trust? Think about it carefully, Ye Qingxuan. Is it really what I actually mean? Must I, as an outsider, be so explicit with my words regarding sowing discord? Fine, you win. If you don''t know who you can trust, then, consider this... Who can''t you trust? Maxwell? No, he has already disappeared. Mephistopheles? Impossible. In order to prove his innocence, he placed everything he had in your hands, at the expense of living under one roof with the executioners of the Religious Court of Inquiry, from dawn till dusk and from dusk till dawn. So who do we have left? Who else? The only answer is the leading example of Anglo in terms of morality, the actual ruler of Avalon after the palace has fallen, the eldest uncle of yoursLancelot. "Lancelot?" Ye Qingxuan laughed in self-mockery, biting his lips to hold back his anger. Lancelot, what on earth are you thinking about? He seemed to hear Shi Dong sneering once more. Ye Qingxuan, are you a saint? No one can know what other people are thinking about, no one. Surely you don''t care about how the heretics burned on stakes have thought? You need not. Here, one needs not find out about the hardships they find difficult to mention, nor their tortuous internal struggles. Do you care about whose eggs are the heretics planning to rob? Whether people can enter heaven after their deaths is up to God to consider. Our job is just to send the heretics to face God. Must you consider so much? You need not... You just have to figure out what did he do. What is he trying to do? Ye Qingxuan did not know. However, attempting to figure it out at the moment... was still not too late! ... Crack. A crisp snap sounded. In a 24-hour intensive care unit of the Central Hospital of Avalon, an alarm suddenly rang out. The chorale musician wearing a thick protective suit walked forward and looked at the thing, which was connected to layers and layers of cables, on the bed. The hemorrhage had stopped as early as a few hours ago. The blood-colored mold that grew out of his skin had covered Ye Qingxuan''s body, completely shrouding him. The layer of mold rapidly lost moisture and turned into a thick carbonized shell. It looked like a giant''s burnt corpse. Only the intermittent heartbeat proved that he was still alive. Despite so, anesthetic gas more than three times the usual dosage still continued to be pumped into the breathing tube nonstop, not to mention the commandments imposed upon the body by the other musicians of the school of abstinence. But at the moment, at the head of the carbonized shell, a gap had suddenly cracked open. It was as if the giant who hadn''t died opened his eyes. Under the crack was a silver iris full of moonlight. Blood-colored streaks lingered within, resembling flames, or malicious internal parasites extremely difficult to remove, flickering in and out of existence. Such grotesqueness. "Has he begun to regain consciousness?" Beside the bed, the musician of the school of abstinence responsible for guarding Ye Qingxuan frowned. Soon, the chorale musician shook his head coldly. "It''s just a simple stress response after a brain infection, a normal phenomenon." For some reason unknown, the abstinence musician felt a somewhat torrid sensation and was slightly uneasy. "Do you have any tranquilizer? Better give him another shot to be on the safe side." "Alright," the chorale musician answered. Soon, a transparent dose of medicine flowed into Ye Qingxuan''s body along the saline delivery tube. Under the crack, the eye, which had a look of emptiness, gradually closed and returned to sleep. The abstinence musician stood there for a long time before pushing the door open and exiting. After leaving the torrid, closed ward, he couldn''t help but sigh in relief in the cool breeze in the corridor. Perhaps the thing in the ward had brought him too much pressure, he had been sweating profusely before he even realized it. In the corridor, the other highly alert guards looked at him, and surprised looks flashed across their eyes. The abstinence musician looked at them, puzzled, and someone pointed towards his face. He was momentarily confused, then reached out and touched his nose. His hand was stained a scarlet red. "A nosebleed?" He sighed in a resigned manner and extended a hand. "Does anyone here have some gauze?" The guards soon put the inconspicuous incident behind them. ... In the closely guarded ward, in the carbonized shell entangled in cables, positioned just below Ye Qingxuan''s heart, a copper seal had already been opened for God knew how long. In the dark, it gave off a green fluorescent glow. ... A flame lighted up in a crystal and rose slowly into the sky along with the clear and exquisite crystal, the light spilling down. In the low and solemn melody, hundreds of shining crystals rotated in the sky, like clusters of stars. The vast Windsor Manor was at the moment crowded with people. As an important residence of the royal family throughout the generations other than the palace, Windsor Manor had been standing for three centuries. Although no particularly high wall had been erected, it was still a palace by no means inferior to the royal palace and had always been reputed as the summer palace. It had also played an important role in Anglo''s history, and God knew how many decrees had been issued from the place. The queen of the previous generation was born here, and at the moment, due to the fall of the uptown, the new queen would also be crowned here. For those of the upper class, it was a meaningful and eloquent signal. Although the coronation ceremony was somewhat hasty, the Westminster Abbey, where rulers of the previous generations had been crowned, was not chosen as the crowning place of the new ruler. The royal family had not even invited Archbishop Mephistopheles. The Church, which representing orthodoxy and theocracy, was being cast aside. The action caused many aristocrats close with the Church to grow wary. On their seats, they tested each other out euphemistically to gauge each other''s opinions, exchanging news, then pondered over whether there was still time for them to change their allegiance at the moment in their hearts. Meanwhile, the nobles who were descendants of glory, namely those whose ancestors had been involved in the founding of the nation, were no longer in low spirits, and instead held their heads high in exaltation. Many of them had already occupied critical positions in the new ruler''s cabinet. It was mealtime for them... The key positions of finance, land resources, construction, and diplomacy had been taken. Comparing the nation to a meat broth, the meat, which consisted of positions in the new cabinet and even in the Privy Council, was already in the noble''s bowls. As for who the remaining soup would belong to, it would depend on how good the other participants are. The families which were unwilling to remain hungry for the next five years had already been fighting so hard in private that their eyes had almost turned red, but they still had to appear polite on the surface, not losing their manners and greeting each other warmly when they met. However, private conversations soon stopped. In the solemn hall, everyone stood in their own position quietly, suppressing the thoughts in their hearts that could never be revealed under the sun, as they waited for the actual star of the ceremony to arrive. Along with the cheers of the people outside the summer palace, the solemn coronation anthem rang out. In the night sky, from the depths of the darkness, fitting of the situation, a bell tolled gloomily, as if it was sending a gift to the ceremony. The peals echoed between the heavens and the earth. In a bleak room in the Westminster Abbey, even the flames in the fireplace had gone out. The black tea had already cooled. The old men wrapped themselves in blankets, sat in their chairs, and drowsily stared at the chessboard on the table, hurrying each other to continue the terrible game of chess. The situation persisted until a mighty rumble sounded from afar. Shi Dong yawned and looked up at the window. "What''s that sound?" "The bell." Mephistopheles answered, "The bell of redemption." "Oh." Shi Dong nodded casually. "That''s pretty rare." "Yeah, it''s rare indeed," came the reply. The game of chess continued. Soon, Mephistopheles was checkmated. Shi Dong kept his eyes low, his fingers stroking the black queen piece in his hand, and said no longer. Mephistopheles did not speak either. In the silence, one could hear the clanging of armor as the armored knights walked along the corridor and the faint whispers of the guards outside the door. After being detained in the church under some form of disguised imprisonment, they had lost their freedom. They were even required to settle their business within five minutes when visiting the toilet. "Sure enough, it still won''t work." Shi Dong sighed softly. Mephistopheles frowned. "You have been sighing from time to time since a while ago, what on earth are you thinking about?" Shi Dong smiled in self-mockery, shaking his head, and put the pieces back into the box. "I''m wondering, now that almost all the senior officials of Anglo are there, if all of them get killed at the coronation ceremony, is there still hope for the country..." Dead silence. Mephistopheles was quiet, and his cataract-covered pupils contracted. The liquid in the teacup he was holding also rippled slightly. "Are you serious?" "What else? Joking?" Shi Dong shook his head coldly. "Don''t you all always put yourselves in others'' shoes when preaching? I also tried thinking for a bit just now regarding what I would do if I was looking to cause some trouble. It seems that you don''t like alarmist rumors, eh. However, it would be quite a pity if no one makes good use of the opportunity of such a hasty coronation ceremony to open a slaughterhouse. " He chuckled softly. And he gloated. In the chamber behind Jadeite Hall, Mary sat up straight in front of the mirror, alone, and looked at the luxuriously dressed girl in the mirror. She was draped in an exquisitely woven dress and donned jewelry, and the long hair tied behind her head glittered like gold. She resembled the former queen. She was no stranger to such attire, as her duties had required her to accompany her mother in attending various ceremonies in her brother''s stead for the past years. But after her mother had passed away, she suddenly began to panic. She was to become a queen. And to rule over Anglo. Such seemingly unrealistic matters were already close at hand. Although it was clear that the threat of Leviathan had not been resolved, so many people had already dug into the feast carefreely, and everyone deliberately put the incident that had happened in the shadow of Avalon behind them. She could feel the maliciousness coursing through the dragon blood in her body. Her other self, who had manifested as the dragon blood in her, was growing abnormally and responding to the call from the darkness. It was almost close to swallowing her... "Fear not, sister," the girl in the mirror suddenly started speaking and smiled sweetly. "Becoming a queen regnant is such a celebration-worthy occasion, why are you so troubled? You won''t have to hide your true colors anymore! The fools can''t wait to present you with everything they have without you even needing to say a word. You need not worry about the dirtiness anymore, we can wash it all away with blood..." Mary was silent and clenched her fists. "Shut up." Bang! Firebird flashed across. The large floor-standing mirror cracked open immediately. The crack was vertical and stretched all the way from the top to the bottom, cutting the girl in the mirror into two halves. The broken girl laughed sharply and sang softly, stroking the crack of her body. She cupped the scarlet-red blood with her hands and brought them near Mary''s lips. "Drink, Your Majesty." She whispered softly in Mary''s ear, "From now on, you are the monster on the throne, the bloody queen regnant..." The sweet taste lingered at the tip of her nose, turning Mary''s irises red. Trembling, she spoke in a hoarse voice, "I said, get lost!" The illusion dissipated; it was if it had never happened. Only Mary was left standing alone in the empty room, looking at her shattered and broken self in the mirror. Not daring to look at the pale face. She covered her face and shed tears in silence. "Mom, save me... I already... don''t know what to do..." No one responded. Only the portrait of the former queen on the wall kept her eyes low, spilling pity powerlessly on her daughter. ... After God knew how long, in the dead silence, a low knock on the door sounded. "Your Royal Highness, the coronation ceremony is about to begin." Outside the door, a herald she didn''t recognize stood, a copper tray in his hands, and said politely, "Your medicine is ready. You will definitely feel better after drinking it." In the exquisite glass on the copper tray, the orange-yellow, amber-like liquid exuded a sweet smell. It smelled like blood. 590 King of Hell on Earth 15 minutes ago, in front of Lancelot''s home. In the quietness of the hall, Lancelot stood in front of the gate, looking at his daughter Christine, no expression on his face. Christine''s wound had not yet healed. Perhaps someone intended this so that Christine would be so weak that she could hardly get on her own feet. The wound on her thigh burst open and was bleeding. "Please let me go, father." Staring at Lancelot, Christine asked in a low voice, "This is the last time I ask you." "It''s too late, Christine." Shaking his head, Lancelot said coldly, "You cannot change anything even if you get there now." "Is it so?" Christine lowered his eyes in disappointment. "I see." Then, with a clicking sound of steel, she drew her sword and positioned it on her left arm which was raised up, taking aim at Lancelot. The move had been practiced so many times that it was perfect. There was still no sign of emotion on Lancelot''s face. He drew his sword at his daughter. "You are my daughter. I should forgive you for your mistake, but as a knight, what you did was intended provocation. I shall not ignore that. I''ll ask you once more. Christine, do you know what you are doing now?" Christine laughed. "Dear father, the life of a knight is with his sword and armor. You taught me that, didn''t you? It was not your Christine in front of you" She paused, then she severed her kinship with her father. "Now, you call me Galahad!" Her words were as cold as her sword. Silence fell upon them again. Lancelot laughed gently as if gratified by Christine''s words. "You have grown up, Christine." Nodding his head, he said, "It was me that made the wrong judgment. You are better suited to be a Lancelot. Maybe now it is time for me to give up my position to you?" Then, he took the beautifully decorated ceremonial sword from the wall. Caressing the thin blade with his fingers to feel the blunt cutting edge of it, he nodded gently again. "Very good of you. But before that, let me see if you are qualified to draw your sword at me." The next moment, the sword pierced through the air with a flash of light. In a split second, the sound of steel striking steel was heard, and the two passed by each other at an incredible speed. The next moment, Lancelot was standing at his original position, empty-handed. Christine had dashed to the gate, only one step away from the gate. One step that would never be taken. Lowering her head, she saw her weapon, of which the blade had been cut off. And she saw the ceremonial sword, piercing through her chest. A bitter smile appeared on her face. In the dripping sound of her blood falling on the floor, she kneeled on the ground and gradually lost her sight to the darkness before her eyes. In her last moment, she only heard a sigh of sorrow from her father. "You are not qualified, then," Lancelot said. "My flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink." It was as if someone whispering in a hoarse voice, "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood shall live inside me, and I inside him Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood shall be immortal. I shall resurrect him on doomsday." The voice went on and on. There seemed to be some secret in it, but as she listened, it went far away from her. It was addictive to listen to the voice, and nothing seemed to matter except for the voice. She gradually sank into the deepest part of the gentle darkness, feeling enveloped by water. Slowly, slowly In the solemn melody, Mary carried the pearl in her hands, as if out of her senses. Without noticing it, she held the pearl tighter, and her fingers were cut by the diamonds embedded on the pearl, her blood spreading gradually over her hands. Guided by the Marshal, she climbed the stairs, dumb as a wooden chicken, and slowly went to her throne in the solemn melody. Off the stage, the ministers in the front row frowned, confused by the dumbness and stiffness of the queen. They sensed that something was not right, but they could not tell what it was. Pretty soon, their mind was overcome by the grand and magnificent rhythm. A feeling of awe took over them, and their eyes became void and empty. The solemn rhythm gradually changed. It began to show some gruesomeness, with faint noise spreading out from the instruments of the musicians, like the whining of some sad creatures. It was Pomp and Circumstance March No.1. In the ghastly and heavy rhythm, numerous mirages emerged until, at last, the grand illusional image was formed in the airKing Arthur sitting on his huge throne, being crowned to be king in the name of God. Yet, falling upon the earth from the sky was not the light of heaven, but the darkness of the abyss. Surrounded by the thin, dark mist, the king on the throne was ghastly like a demon, and on his head, he was wearing the crown of the abyss. From the Crown, numerous music theories flew out onto Mary''s body and emerged with the dragon blood, weaving a huge halo behind her. In the dark-purple halo, countless iron-like thorns covered the sabers and knives which, rubbing against each other, produced a grating, heavy noise. Fresh blood dripped from it, and the blood smelt so sweet. Bless the King in the name of God. Yet what God brought was not light but the original sin of the abyss. Among the musicians who were playing the music, someone raised his blood-red eye to look at Mary, who appeared to be struggling against something. A mocking smile appeared on his lips as he said, "The transformation has not finished yet?" "She cannot fight it for long." The conductor muttered, "She has taken the blood of Leviathan and blended the original sin into the dragon blood. The darkness in her blood is no longer a shadow but is of true consciousness of its own. The more she struggles, the more violent she will be when the dragon blood takes control." At that time, with the aether movements of the huge number of dark musicians, Pomp and Circumstance came to its climax. The gifts from the abyss fell upon the physical world and took root. Following the willpower of the Dark Sovereign, the power of kingship of the abyss fell upon the earth, cruising the world as if it was wandering in water and light. The birth of the son of God, the perfect incarnation of the King on Earth! In the silence, the Marshal guiding Mary had a smile on his face, through which the face of the Dark Sovereign was looming. Standing in front of the throne, he gazed at Mary. He put his hands together as if holding something invisible, and then a crystal crown appeared in his hands. Music theories representing the essence of the Dark Sovereign surrounded the crown, infusing into it the elements of the hell; the power of the king of the abyss Slowly and gently, the crown was put on Mary''s head. On the front facet of the crown, the pearl released red light. Numerous music theories flew into her body and merged into the surging dragon blood. The coronation was finished; the eternal king of Anglo, the King of Hell on Earth, was born. "Your Majesty, the long sleep is over." He gradually became a thin shadow while he bent over and whispered into Mary''s ears, "We here offer your majesty blood and whining. We are waiting for your descendants." At that moment, behind the closed eyelids, the dark pupils slowly came into life. In the ward of the Central Hospital, the sound of stones breaking was heard. With the sound, Ye Qingxuan stretched his hands and peeled off the carbonized shell on his body until finally it was completely gone. He was so refreshed and felt delighted, as if waking up from a very good night of sleep. Lancelot was right. It was a good dream. He lowered his head and took out the bronze envelop from his pocket and the iron of decay. The green fluorescent light of the iron was almost totally gone and it was covered all over cracks. Shi Dong was right. It was the enemy of all living things and would destroy the living things'' sub-cell structure, eliminating the premise of life, including the curse in the dragon blood. It was as anticipated by Maxwell, though a hell of a lot more painful. Ye Qingxuan loosened his hands and let the broken iron of decay fall from his hand onto the ground and crushed into dust. He got up and looked around. There was a swollen body, which was bleeding from the nose, ears, mouth, and eyes on the ground near the bed. No wonder Maxwell had worried about the decaying period when he used this thing, as when he entered the decaying period, everyone around him may not be able to survive. This is really good stuff. I''ll get some more from the east later. Then he nodded to himself. Looking at his naked body, he frowned, "Where are my clothes?" Somewhere far away, inside the sealing of darkness, numerous music theories changed and permeated through layers of seals like tiny snakes. Then, the music theories exploded, crushed the whole building into ruins. Then, they flew up into the sky, through the Avalon enchantment, and finally onto Ye Qingxuan. The darkness spread out around him and turned into a black gown and boots. Ye Qingxuan then stretched his arm. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, waking up from the aether world, popped up and turned into his walking stick. Looking into the water mirror for a moment, he snapped his fingers, and music theories began to move and turned into the Holy movement, which wove into a black top hat on his head. Ye Qingxuan knocked at the ground with his walking stick. "Good, it is quite decent to meet them." Then, he nodded satisfactorily to himself, pushed open the door, and walked out. He walked past the bodies lying on the passageway and down the stairs. In the stare of the people in astonishment, he passed the chaotic hall and left of the gate. Dreary thunder rumbled in the dark sky far away. Raising his head, he looked up at the sky. "It''s going to rain." Then he lowered the brim of his hat and went in the direction of the Windsor Manor. With every step he took, the music theories within his body ran fiercer and fiercer. Suddenly, countless music notes flew out, and the Symphony of Predestination boomed in operation. Music theories flew around him, singing loudly. Then, in the sky formed a moon that was physically real. Out of the sea rises the moon. The coldly pale moon turned a little pale blue. The touch of blue color spread quickly and turned the moon into completely pale bluethe Indigo Moon. The moon was shining over the quiet cities. In the moonlight, Ye Qingxuan saw the army coming from afar and more and more musicians flying into the air. The moonlight was cold, like the sharp blade of a sword. Hearing the sound of blades drawn out of their sheaths, Ye Qingxuan could feel the killing intent and the aether fluctuations all around him. His fingers grasping the walking stick flicked, and a mocking smile emerged on his lips. "This is good. It is better to fight than to play games. Now, I can fight you without worrying. But" His eyes suddenly brightened with moonlight full of the killing intent. "Get out of here, you worthless scum!" Then, he drummed the ground with his stick, and Jiu Xiao Huan Pei began to play from the air. The pale blue moonlight merged into a line and pierced through the air. Taking multiple turns as if reflected by mirrors, the light went back into the moon in a slip second. Silence fell again. The next moment, the sounds of things breaking and the sounds of things falling to the ground sounded out continuously. In the darkness, something was flying, giving off a tiny sound like a stream. Thunder broke out from the clouds, and in the deafening boom, wind spilled cold rain upon the ground. The rain devoured everything. The rain poured down, blurring the lights of the Windsor Manor. The rhythm was near its end. At the gate, the knights wearing power armor heard steps from afar. In the storm, a thin, shadowy figure came straight to them from the direction of the end of the street, step by step. His face was hidden under the brim of his hat. In the heavy rain, the figure was only a blur. What they could see was a mirage-like moon, which was shining brightly in the rain. Wherever the moon went, the rain was turned into fire and flew all over it. "Stop!" The chief knight held the hilt of his sword and stared at the figure with his blood-red eyes. "Who is it?" An emblem featuring an emblem on fire was tossed over to him. The emblem fell to the ground with a crisp click. "The Religious Court of Inquisitors?" The usher under the gate bent down and picked up the emblem. Frowning, he said, "The Religious Court of Inquisitors was not on the list of invited guests. What are you here for?" A mocking grin emerged on the lips of the figure. "Same as Maxwell" He raised his stick slowly and aimed it at the knights blocking his way. "Assassination," he said. 591 Banquet Part 1 Thunder shook the earth. Lightning flashed in the dark clouds, like a whip lashing at the spire of the Westminster Abbey, evoking piercing flares. The torrential rain poured and covered the whole world. In the abbey, an old man said, "I want to pee." The Round Table knight looked at the old man in a wheelchair coldly. The old man repeated his words once more, "I want to pee." The knight frowned. "Didn''t you urinate just now?" The old man with dementia just looked at the knight and repeated himself again, "Pee." "He''s old, and his prostate has some problems." Shi Dong, who was pushing the wheelchair, smiled embarrassedly at the knight. "It''s normal for him to urinate up to seven or eight times a night. How about this, just let him do his business in the corridor..." "Pee," the old man in the wheelchair repeated the sentence once more in a timely manner, causing the knight to furrow his brow and cast Shi Dong a stern look. "He wants to pee, then what about you?" "Help him with his pants, of course," Shi Dong said matter-of-factly. "Or would you like to volunteer?" "..." The knight ''s expression became more and more disgusted. He waved at his comrade to notify him, then escorted them to the toilet. The Round Table knight was indeed responsible and dedicated to his duties. Worried that they would attempt to escape, he didn''t even wait outside the door, but stood in the toilet, holding his nose, and said flatly, "Five minutes, hurry up." "Can you unlock them?" Shi Dong pointed to shackles on the hands of the old man in the wheelchair and said, "He''s kind of nervous, and he can''t urinate properly when he''s nervous." The knight was expressionless. "No." "We can make a deal..." Shi Dong persisted. "No." The knight grew impatient. "Do you still want to pee? If you don''t, hold your bladder and go back." Shi Dong sighed in resignation. A long silence ensued in the toilet, followed by a brief patter, and the Round Table knight turned his head away. In the silence, the knight heard a faint crisp sound of steel scraping against each other coming from behind him. Before he had time to turn back, he felt chains falling over his head and wrapping around his neck tightly. The chains tightened! Crack Before he knew it, the old man in the wheelchair had gotten up and taken three steps, positioning himself behind the knight. The old man''s movement was deft and agile, completely unlike that of someone who required a wheelchair to get around. Like he was carrying something heavy, the chains on the old man''s hands wrapped around the knight''s neck, tightening and tugging, as if the old man was trying to lift the knight by his neck and carry the knight on his back. It was as if the old man was carrying the knight towards fury. The knight struggled with all his might but failed to make any sound. In the silence, only Shi Dong stood in front of the toilet bowl, entirely relaxed, and whistled a melody. After a good while, the struggling noise was no more. The old man let go, and the knight fell to the ground, never to move again. Satisfied, Shi Dong shook out a few more drops of urine and lifted his trousers. He walked over and cast a glance at the knight''s body, shaking his head resignedly. "Be more prompt in your actions next time. You actually wasted three minutes strangling him to death, and he even lost control of his bladder... " "It''s been a long time since I last exercised." The old man in the wheelchair sighed. "All it took was a minor slip of attention for me to go a bit too far." Shi Dong did not continue the conversation topic for any longer, but simply asked, "How are the others faring?" The old man in the wheelchair took out a portable aether ball from one of the compartments of his wheelchair, closed his eyes and meditated for a moment before replying, "The men in both the east and west wings have been taken care of. The situation in the nave is a bit troublesome, they slipped up." "After recuperating for so many years, how is it that each of you is more of a disgrace than the last? Where has the experience accumulated over the past years gone, to the dogs?" Shi Dong sighed. "Forget it, I''ll go take care of it." Half an hour later, the last corpse was dragged into the confessional, to continue confessing to God alongside his comrades in life. "Given that so much time has elapsed, the people outside have probably realized that something''s wrong." Shi Dong looked at the pocket watch. "How much longer can the enchantment last?" "The Westminster Abbey has a unique status. Usually, we have no need to activate the enchantment. The instrument of harmonious melody has not been used for many years. It''s only good for looks and is one generation behind current technology, so I''m afraid it won''t last long." Mephistopheles thought for a moment and replied, "About an hour." Before he even finished his words, a loud roar sounded. Fiery glows lit up from outside the window. The earth shook and the raindrops reversed their course. The fluorescent glow of the enchantment flickered and fissures spread everywhere. Mephistopheles'' expression remained the same as he nodded slightly. "Okay, now we only have half an hour left." "Half an hour, eh... It''ll suffice." Shi Dong nodded slightly and looked at Carol. "Have the kids gotten up?" The nominal person in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Bishop Carol, was wiping the blood off his hands with a rag at the moment After Ye Qingxuan became the Grand Inquisitor, Carol was officially appointed as the commander of the Witch Hammer, making him responsible for the only armed chivalric order under the Religious Court of Inquiry. "More or less yes." Carol replied, "The kids are all young lads. Being locked up for a few days without proper meals won''t hurt them much. Although the armors have been stripped of their aether furnaces and locked into the warehouse, the engineers are repairing them urgently now, so it shouldn''t cause us any major problems. The biggest trouble we face now is that the Knights of the Round Table took away all the weapons that the armors have been equipped with. Now the enemies outside are fully armed, but our knights are bare-handed except for iron shells of armor." Shi Dong asked helplessly, "Can''t you think of a way?" "No," Carol replied. "No substitutes available?" Shi Dong prompted. "Can tables and chairs be counted?" Carol questioned. "... I doubt it?" Shi Dong sighed. "Damn, we miscalculated. In other words, our ambitious plan to breakthrough is going to fail?" Carol nodded. Shi Dong was silent for a moment, then asked, "Is it too late for us to surrender now? Even the Holy Bible said that it is not shameful to bow temporarily to heretics in light of long-run gains in the future. We are doing so to numb them out, then wait for a good opportunity to make our move, surely God will understand and forgive us?" "Not necessarily," Carol replied, expressionless. "Furthermore, the Knights of the Round Table probably won''t accept our surrender, I''m afraid. The grand knight whom you have just beheaded in the nave was the nephew of Tristan, the commander of the Knights of the Round Table Knights. The one you killed was Tristan''s only successor... " "Oh, sh*t." Shi Dong cursed and looked at Mephistopheles, who was looking up at the stained glass ceiling above with his full concentration. As for what a blind man with late-stage cataracts like Mephistopheles could still see, it was anybody''s guess. Shi Dong looked at him. Mephistopheles stayed put as if he felt nothing, but simply scratched his face self-consciously. Finally, he could no longer sit still after a good while. He sighed in resignation. "Fine, I can resolve the dilemma." Soon, the ground of the nave began to sink. Countless bricks contracted and moved toward the sides, revealing a passage leading downwards. Mephistopheles grabbed a lantern in his hand and gestured to Shi Dong, inviting him to enter. Shi Dong stood at the entrance of the passageway and took a deep breath, a smile appearing on his face. "The scent of oil used for iron maintenance? Not bad indeed..." But when the lantern illuminated the collections stored in the underground warehouse, he still couldn''t help but inhale deeply. The cold gleam of steel was everywhere in sight. The weapons on the display racks ranged from ordinary swords, knives, armor, to small hand crossbows which were contrabands of war, and to countless heavy weapons, which were several times a person''s height and had been designed specifically for knights in power armor, namely submachine guns, battle axes, and chainswords Weapons sufficient to arm two infantry brigades and an entire company of knights in power armor lay quietly in the dark, covered in maintenance grease, and exuded a pungent smell that was almost seductive. Shi Dong was silent for a long time, and turned back to ask, "In Anglo, isn''t unlawful possession of a dangerous ordnance a crime punishable by hanging?" Mephistopheles smiled and stepped on a switch, activating the gears, which caused the wall behind him to open slowly. Behind the wall, the huge underground workshop hiding ten meters underneath the Westminster Abbey was revealed. It contained assembly lines tens of meters long, lathes weighing dozens of tons, various tools, steel furnaces embedded in walls, and even an entire 100-ton machine press powered by aether. Dozens of old priests in robes were also inside, their bulging muscles almost causing their robes to burst. Their hands were covered in callouses, with scars from burn injuries sustained from molten metals. "Unlawful possession?" Mephistopheles shook his head disdainfully. "You mean manufacture!" As he spoke, he reached out and took a black hand crossbow, examined the parts deftly, nocked arrows, and shot it three times to test it out. Satisfied, he nodded. "The priests who can stay here are all part of the technical backbone of the Church. For them, such items are just handiwork they do to relieve themselves of boredom when they''re free. Otherwise, where did you think that the ordnance flowing out of Anglo for the past years came from? " "..." In the silence, the look in Shi Dong''s eyes turned weirder and weirder. "If the lambs who have come to you to confess their sins find out that the great and benevolent bishop is actually Anglo''s biggest warmonger, how sad will they be?" "It is not easy to spread the gospel of God in a foreign country. What use are the meager funds that the Church allocates every year? To generate income, one must always find one''s own way..." Mephistopheles said nonchalantly, "At least, I will give the believers a 20% discount." Having said so, he proceeded with an excerpt from a well-known speech made by the first-generation Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry. "Let those who have been fighting fiercely against their brothers and relatives now fight in a proper way against the heretics in the name of God. Let those who for a long time, have been robbers, now fight for God and become God''s knights. This is a battle worthy of participation, a battle that will eventually result in victory. This is God''s will." Shi Dong couldn''t help but spit up thick phlegm. "What are you all waiting for?" Mephistopheles spread his hands and asked, "Waiting for me to give you the bill? Go follow the orders of your Grand Inquisitor and stir up trouble freely according to your plan. I hope that you all can save this country. " "Rest assured, we will." Shi Dong cast him a final look. "Even if we can''t save it, we won''t let it fall into the hands of the demons..." In the storm, on the streets of downtown. "The most important repository of materials is just over there." Watson, handcuffed and sitting in his wheelchair, pointed ahead with his chin. "The things you want are all in there. After all, the country is going through times of stress. We usually dump the crap that we couldn''t manage to sell in it." After going through property transfers for the whole day, the head spy of the military was already feeling dizzy. Although Watson had been unusually cooperative throughout, even handing over crucial items such as name lists of subordinates, sleeper cells, and informants, not to mention a full disclosure of crucial bank accounts, and showed no traces of rebellion, the head spy could still sense something off. This cripple in a wheelchair must be hiding something from me. Most definitely In this regard, he was utterly convinced. 592 Banquet Part 2 As director of the intelligence department in the headquarter of the army, he was responsible for internal inspection as the prosecutor at the secret court against any traitor inside the army. He was instinctively suspicious of everything. And, he didn''t believe that Watson would really think he would be all right after handing over. He knew too much secrets about the government. Once losing their power, the best ending for people like Watson was to stay in the secret jail for the rest of their lives or to do the dirty work for the government secretively with a bomb implanted in his body. They didn''t dare to get out of the cell even if they were granted freedom as there were too many people who wanted them dead. There must be something wrong. He just hadn''t figured it out yet. "Well, the rain is heavier." Wiping the rain water off his face, Watson said, "can you hold this umbrella for me, sir? A hot meal of steak would be perfect after we do this. I am so cooperative, you should treat me better. Right?" The secret agent showed no emotion on his face, "hope you are not playing tricks." Then he stared at the building far away which was so quiet C the third shipyard. As sailboats became outdated due to their primitive technology, the shipyard went bankrupt and thus was abandoned. No one would come to this place, except those members of the sailboat club who are rich and love old things when they use the channels for boat racing. He could even recite the name list of the managers of the sailboat club. But now, he understood that they were only the scapegoat for the real criminals. The director of secret agents looked at Watson coldly, "why this warehouse was not in the catalogue?" "What is the brain for if a catalogue could do all the work?" Watson shrugged. "what''s more, technically, this place was not in my charge. It''s a secret meeting place of the higher-level departments." "Higher-level departments?" The director sneered, "you have no higher-level departments now. From the moment of the assassination by Maxwell, the Fifth Department had ceased to exist." "Ok, ok. It''s your call." Watson heaved a sigh. "Whatever you say, as long as you give me the umbrella back." The director waved, and someone held an umbrella over Watson. But the rain still dropped onto the blanket on Watson''s knee and the blanket was soaked quickly. Watson wiped the rain water off his face and heaved another sigh. "It is my favorite blanket." Their search didn''t stop at all. They pushed open the gate and went further in the warehouse. Along the way, the accountants quickly checked the inventory in each room of the warehouse. A lot of precious supplies were found during the inventory taking, the huge amount of which was shocking even to the ear of the agent head. It was the private collection of Shaman! It was almost huge enough to be a warehouse of strategic war supplies. So much weapons and power armors! What is he up to? Or, how long had he been planning for the riot?" Two hours later, the director got the inventory result from his secretary. He showed no emotion on his face, yet he lit a cigarette, his hands shaking slightly. "Hey, my friend. Can I have a cigarette?" Watson asked. The director looked at him coldly for a long while. Then, he suddenly raised his feet and kicked Watson on to the ground. Watson rolled on the ground and bumped his forehead onto the leg of the table. His forehead was injured and began to bleed immediately. "Don''t you play any trick on me!" Stepping on Watson''s face and watching him suffering all the insults, the director felt more and more worried. Watson let him without any resistance. "I want only a cigarette. Or, if you don''t believe me, you can just kill me now." Watson spread out his hands. "I''m useless now. right?" One of the agents came nearer, hand on the hilt of his saber. The agent head, however, didn''t nod his head. He snorted and said, "take him away from here. This son of bitch! There must be something else he had not told us yet." "This is not we agreed!" "Listen, Mr. Watson. You do whatever I tell you. You understand?" The director tossed his pack of cigarettes to Watson. "Your job here is done. Now take the cigarettes to the army jail and enjoy your holiday there. The country will need you in the future." "All right. Whatever you say." Watson let them grab him and stuffed him into the wheelchair. He only frowned when someone stepped on his blanket. "This is my favorite blanket! You be careful! This is the best from India. You guys can never afford one of this for your whole life." "Your blanket?" The guy was so angry that he laughed. Then, he stamped on the blanket and rubbed the blanket on the ground with his foot, leaving a dirty footprint on it. He then stared at Watson provokingly. "You were saying?" Watson took a deep breath and heaved a long sigh. Then, he closed his eyes. "You mistook me. I was not talking to you just now." He didn''t look at the guy any more. He took out a cigarette from the silver cigarette box. Then, he rubbed a match on the back of his wheelchair. The match was lit up, giving faint yellow light. A click was heard from the closed warehouse. Bang! The guy stepping on Watson''s blanket fell on the ground, his brain and blood all over the place and staining the blanket. The cigarette was lit, showing a red spot in the darkness. More people fell without a sound but blood spurting out. At last, there was only Watson sitting in his wheelchair. He smoked the cigarette deeply and puffed out wisps of smoke into the air. There was no longer any one who was able to move in the warehouse. Boom! Hearing the whistling sound, the director had a bad feeling and turned around immediately. He saw something silver dashing to him and the next moment, he was nailed onto the wall by an arrow that was as thick as his arm. There was a big hole in his chest and blood oozed out. He stared at Watson unbelievably, muttered something undistinguishable in an almost inaudible voice, "Hehehehe" Nothing was heard in the silence, except Watson''s breath and his impressable groan. Until then, some indistinct figures appeared from the inside of the warehouse and from the rain outside the warehouse. "I told you to be careful." Looking at the blanket stained with brains, Watson shook his head. "This is my favorite blanket." Lola emerged from the air and shot an indifferent glance at him. "I''ll take care next time, Mr. Watson." "Is this your revenge?" Watson said, helplessly. "If you say so." Lola shrugged. Pretty soon, a thin figure wearing a white raincoat came out of the darkness and nodded to Lola. "Madam, it''s all settled." In the man''s hand, a dog-leg shaped saber was covered in blood, which the rain had not washed it off the blade. "Who are you" The director unbelievably looked at those people. He could not believe that all the men he had positioned around were taken out. It was done in just several seconds! Staring at Watson, he said, using all his remaining strength, "who are those people?" "Who else can they be?" Watson blew out a mouthful of smoke and said coldly, "they are the Fifth Department. You denied its existence, remember? I told you, this place is not in my charge. It is the premise of higher-level departments. But you don''t believe me." He smoked the cigarette. Then, he flipped the rest of the cigarette into the blood shed by the agent head. Blue fire burst out, as if the cigarette was tossed into a pool of burning oil. "Oh, I almost forgot." Watson waved his hand. "Thank you for your cigarette." The flame devoured the body of the agent head, which was burned into nothing in a few seconds. There was only the arrow and a man-shaped mark on the wall. Watson turned back. The warehouse was almost full of people, of whom some wore peasants'' clothes, some wore expensive clothes and a lot more wore tight clothes with weapons. As he said, they are the Fifth Department. According to the plan Ye Qingxuan gave him, he transported all the fighting crew of the Fifth Department to Avalon. To this end, he booked all the capacity of two shipping lines, asked all the favors he could get and rented all the ships in Anglo by money or even threat. He selected the best fighters and minimized the number of them as mush as he could. Within 3 days, a total of 5700 people arrived in Avalon. It was all as Ye Qingxuan had ordered. Watson looked at the more than a dozen of commanders and nodded satisfactorily. He stretched his hand to take from his subordinate a thick pile of documents and then tossed the pile on the table. "It''s almost time. No need to wait for the signal. Here is the plan. Finish reading it in ten minutes and, eh, follow aunt Lola''s lead to have fun." Watson smiled, "wish you all have a good time!" He barely finished his words when there came a huge boom from afar. Through the heavy rain, they could see the fires in the center of the city and hear the noise of riots everywhere. Then, a burning holy emblem flied up into the sky, shinning like a burning sun in the rain. Watson could not help but smiled. "That bunch of old fellows were doing quite well. The older the wiser. It is really true. We need to speed up here" While he was murmuring, a man came up from the rain. He took out a new wheelchair from a water-proof bag, helped Watson sit in the new chair. And finally, he put another new blanket on Watson''s knees. It was the same as the previous one. "Yes. This feels really good." Rubbing the blanket on his knees with his fingers, he nodded satisfactorily. "Derek, you always know what I want! You should be my steward instead of a ''executioner''." Derek answered, "if you want, sir." "Of course not. Have you heard of any steward who hire another steward to work for him?" Watson smiled and wheeled the chair into the rain. Derek followed him closely and held a huge black umbrella for him. "Everyone here?" Watson asked. "Yes, sir. As you ordered." "What are you waiting for then, an invitation?" Watson said, waving his hand, "if anyone want an invitation, I can get some for you next time. But now, show those bureaucrats what you can do. Derek, tell them this: you received your payment long time ago, now is the time you do your job." Derek nodded and took a heavy whale-bone horn off his back and raised to his lips. Then, he took a big breath, his chest bulging out like a grave, and blew the horn with all his strength. Nothing happened. Yet, in the rain, long echoes were heard. They were like the songs sung by the whales when they were wandering in the ocean. The songs pierced through the rain curtain and transmitted to every direction. Wherever the song goes, numerous rings of bronze bells were sounded. Pretty soon, one of the doors was pushed open. and then, a second door, a third From the houses that had been burned, from the ruins of collapsed buildings, from under the wet and cold bridge, blood-shot eyes were brightened on hearing the sound. After a while, the violent thugs pushed open the door of their shelters and went into the rain, breathing the air of freedom eagerly. Anglos, Sicilians, Asgardians, Indians and Orientals who had fled their countries all followed the call of the horn and went back into the streets, with swords and irons in their hands. Hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of people. They walked in the alleys and streets through the storm. Finally, they gathered in front of Watson, forming a dark ocean of people. "Everyone''s here. Good. The steak I''ve ordered will be here very soon. Let''s make the long story short as time is limited." Watson blew some warm breath onto his hands and rubbed them. "God know how difficult it is to order a premium rare steak in Avalon. I should cherish it and be thankful. You understand? This the basic table manner, and a very important thing. I hope you can treat it as seriously as I do. This is the only thing you need to pay attention to. Besides that, you can do as you wish" While he was speaking, the tower bridge boomed far away. In the violent explosion, the iron gate broke, and the jammed road between the central city and the lower city was cleared. Watson smiled happily, as if he had heard the ringing of the waiter when the dishes were served. "Gentlemen, it''s dinner time. This is a really precious buffet, so enjoy your banquet." The iron-grey pupils of the people, lightened up by the fire in the sky, turned into blood-red like those of the demons, full of violence and thirst. "Hope your appetite is as good as mine." Watson said. 593 Clichéd Ambush Boom! In the loud noise, the curtain of rain was slashed by sharp air currents. Countless clouds of fog flew into the air, droplets of rainwater scattering everywhere. The huge armor exploded in front of Ye Qingxuan and fell apart. Innumerable pieces of iron flew out, wedging themselves deeply into stone, with a fairly large number of pieces whizzing towards Ye Qingxuan. However, whenever a piece neared Ye Qingxuan''s body, a vague cloud of black mist would rise from his robes. It gently wound itself around the piece, making all the kinetic energy of the piece disappear without a trace. Under the gloomy mist, the pieces of iron dissipated into iron sand, blending into the heavy rain, and landed on the ground. In the end, the iron sand piled up into a straight line at the foot of Ye Qingxuan. In the scouring of the rain, traces of red and the cold gleam of the metal bloomed. Twisted wrecks of steel were everywhere. Raindrops fell on the wreckage, like grease spilling on scorching red iron, igniting a red flame from within, and the flame spread on the ground along the puddles of water. Under the power of nature inference, the water took on the appearance of flames, as the rules of the Physical World had been distorted under the pull of music theory. The torrential rain turned into a weapon. It was similar to the iron sand that was once in the hands of Nigel. Guided by formulas of modifications, even with only one grain, it was capable of producing a terrifying effect. It was just that nature interference was used in place of formulas of modifications. Everywhere the moonlight shone, all the raindrops became blades controlled by Ye Qingxuan. He didn''t even have to move, and just stood where he was, as the heavy rain that had undergone nature interference seeped into his opponent''s power armor. Then, the Heaven Ladder unfolded, and countless strands of perception lines of moonlight connected themselves to the alchemy array, eroding it with music theory. Outflowing layer, forming layer, circulating layer, creating layer, the structures in all four of the layers were completely disrupted. The circuits from innumerable arrays were joined together messily, causing the aether cycle to overload and the cooling system to collapse. In the end, the aether furnace beneath the layers of protection exploded. It would only take a few seconds for the power armor in overload to become a steel melting furnace. With the clothes of original sin on him, when facing opponents below the Level of Master, Ye Qingxuan could simply ignore their number and go all out, focusing on his attacks. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was a rare weapon of exceptional quality in itself. After Ye Qingxuan advanced as a dreamweaver, its core music theory was once again nurtured, and its timbre became clearer and brighter. Traces of the notes, which sounded like dragons whistling, lingered in the rain for a long time before slowly dissipating. The last opponent standing in his way fell apart, but no sign of joy appeared on Ye Qingxuan''s face. Instead, he frowned. Although the duration of their fight was short, it was at least around five minutes, which should have been enough for reinforcements from other guard posts to be sent, or for the powerful musicians inside to respond. Plus, this place was not just the summer palace, but also where the Queen''s coronation ceremony was being held, the security would definitely not be slack. But at the moment, the manor was still dead silent. Only the dim lights in the crystals flickered. Through the thick curtain of rain, the dim yellowish light was refracted and faintly glinted a strange green. The whole manor was so solemn and silent that it was chilling. Ye Qingxuan took a stride and walked into it. But along the way, he didn''t see anyone alive at all. The people were all dead. On the periphery of the manor, be it the attendants of the guests, the waiters of the manor, or the magnificent and solemn guards of honor, all of them were lying on the ground in the rain at the moment. They had no wounds on their bodies, and the exposed skin was a ghastly white. Their skin was dry, just like inferior paper. Saturated with rainwater, the corpses were swollen and unsightly. It was the result of a typical method of killing by dark musicians. With the nightmare fog formed with the music theory of the abyss, dark musicians could easily reap mortal lives; it was as simple as drinking from a straw. The deeper he ventured into the manor, the more dead bodies there were. In the silent palace, only Ye Qingxuan''s footsteps could be heard. Everyone else had fallen to the ground, sweet smiles at the corners of their lips, as if they were engrossed in a sweet dream. Only the wonderful aroma lingering in the air was getting stronger. It was the smell of blood. A faint singing reverberated. "Go tell Aunt Rhody... go tell Aunt Rhody... go tell Aunt Rhody..." The faint singing whispered in his ear, "The old gray goose is dead." Ye Qingxuan turned back suddenly. Behind him was nothing. Only the voice that sounded like a girl giggling lingered in my ear. "She died in the mill pond... she died in the mill pond... she died in the mill pond... right in front of her..." It was Mary. Ye Qingxuan was silent, reached out and pushed the last door open. At that very moment, he almost suffocated. In his trance-like state, he felt as if a scarlet wind was blowing towards him from the cruel execution ground behind the door. Everyone was dead. Fragmented. The pieces were everywhere on the walls, on the chandelier, and on the floor. Countless greenish skeletons were still in their seats even, their postures dignified, but their flesh and internal organs had stripped off their bones like clothes, layer by layer, blooming like flowers. The eerie flowers of flesh and blood bloomed in every corner. It was as if a surgeon had disassembled all the human bodies with anatomical techniques that possessed such delicacy bordering on cruelty, then removed the decaying and rotting internal organs, pruned the deformed organs, and left the most perfect parts behind, actually causing a beauty of otherness to arise from the filthy flesh and blood. Shades of red permeated everywhere. Streams of blood dripped from the corpses, falling on the red carpet at their feet, lending a vividness to the redness of the carpet, and resembled red mold parasitic on the floor. Stepping on the floor made one feel as if one was sinking into a swamp, the sticky touch bringing discomfort. Ye Qingxuan walked forward silently and looked around. He wore a poker face. He came late. In the silence, his footsteps suddenly paused, and he stopped where he was. When he lowered his head, he saw that a hand had grasped his ankle. On the ground, the corpse, whose face had been cut off, raised its head, the muscles on its face stretching and seeming to form a vague smile. But behind the layer of muscles, traces of black mist seeped out. In a flash, it was as if hundreds of fountains had appeared in the hall. A lot of black mist spewed out of all the corpses, the mist filling up the entire place in a flash. The black mist swallowed up all the light and brought with it an aura of the abyss so thick that it made one want to vomit. It was the nightmare fog. In the nightmare fog, which took God knows how many dark musicians to combine their powers and set up, huge aether waves suddenly emerged one after another. Countless music theories intertwined in the air and gathered together, their powers originated from the same source. The dark movement that had inherited the Dark Sovereign''s tenacity resonated with the music theories, causing the nightmare fog to further evolve into a landscape of hell. In other words, at the moment, Ye Qingxuan had fallen into a blockaded domain almost reaching the Level of Scepter. Meanwhile, in the nightmare fog, vague shadows emerged, each of them radiating aether waves as strong as stars of darkness. Great demons Each of them was a dark musician that had achieved the final form after being transformed by the abyss, a pseudo-scepter that had been bestowed with the element of the abyss, a great demon that shepherded Hyakume''s followers for him! In the blockade, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but laugh. "Ah, so many people." He looked around and sighed softly. "16 great demons? Although the powers of your lot skyrocketed by a lot after the abyss bestowed gifts upon you all, to assemble so many would surely require one to gather all the dark musicians of Anglo up? No small feat indeed "Many thanks to the Dark Sovereign for thinking so highly of me, I didn''t expect him to gather up all the dark musicians of Anglo to deal with me and only me, it''s such an honor. " Bang! The round of moon above Ye Qingxuan''s head shook under the corrosion of the nightmare fog. In the elemental domain of the scepter of hell, Ye Qingxuan was completely isolated from the realm of aether. His resonance with the quiet moon was cut off. His expression changed slightly. The Dark Sovereign did indeed identify his biggest weakness. All along, he had been best at defense and counter-attack, usually making his moves based on the situation at hand, and had relied on the Heaven Ladder for it. From a commercial point of view, he was an absolute speculator. After identifying the enemies'' weaknesses, in a manner similar to the borrowing of money, he would use Jiu Xiao Huan Pei as a pivot to leverage a vast amount of funds dozens of times more than his own capital. He would then defeat the enemy completely in one go, and use the profit obtained to fill up the gaps and repay the high interest. In contrast, the ordinary industrialist-like musician often found it difficult to resist the impact of external funds, but speculators like Ye Qingxuan also had lethal weaknesses. Other than having difficulties sustaining attacks and the need for cumbersome, exquisite techniques, he had been too dependent on the market, in this case, the realm of aether. Once he was divested of the external environment for his actual assets and liabilities to be assessed, Ye Qingxuan only had his own assets to present. While this respect of his was still of top quality, its scale was incomparable to that of the original, and might even feel restrictive, making him unable to launch his attacks. At the moment, if not for Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, he couldn''t even sense the sea of aether anymore. Fighting against 16 companies which possessed assets that, when combined, were worth multiple times of one''s own at the same time, and in a city closed off from the rest of the world? No businessman would do so regardless of how dumb he was. Moreover, the government in the environment wasn''t exactly friendly to him... Ye Qingxuan sighed, rubbed his temples from a slight headache, and asked, "Can anyone tell me where has Mary gone?" No one responded. His famous title of Hand of God, countless lessons drawn from others'' mistakes in the past, and the tragic endgames of innumerable dark musicians had proven that eight or even nine times out of ten, striking up a conversation with this guy would not end in anything good. Furthermore, this guy was the Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry at the moment. Due to their opposing stances, both parties were destined to fight it out in a life-or-death struggle, just like how water and fire could not coexist together. Having advanced from inconspicuous dark musicians to infamous great demons, none of the ones present were fools, nor did they dare to underestimate Ye Qingxuan, not to mention the orders the Dark Sovereign had given them beforehand, thus, none of them intended to communicate with Ye Qingxuan at the moment. They were so wary of him to the extent that after Ye Qingxuan finished his words, all of them started resonating as one. The landscape of hell, which was the result of 16 aether waves intertwining, rumbled and shook, evolving into a dark sun hanging high in the sky. The terrifying pressure resulting from countless music theories intertwining and evolving pressed down along with the dark sun. It was intended to act directly on Ye Qingxuan''s symphony of predestination and suppress all of his abilities to resist. It sought to collapse all his music theories with pure force without giving him any opportunity to leverage their powers to fight back. Ye Qingxuan stood firmly, not moving. On the clothes of original sin, countless notes flashed past, and the domain of Holy appeared out of thin air, covering his whole body and securely countering the pressure from the scepter of hell. Under the suppression of the sun of darkness, layers of faint ripples propagated on the invisible barrier. Clearly, it couldn''t last much longer. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but sigh. He reached out and fished out an unopened packet of cigarettes from his pocket. He deftly tore through the packaging with his fingers and put a cigarette into his mouth. Cocking his head, he lighted the cigarette, inhaled deeply, and puffed out a dissipating cloud of smoke. Only did he removed the cigarette and raised his head slowly. "You all know that I am the Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry, right?" No one responded, but in the nightmare fog, the aether waves grew more and more violent. The huge sun of darkness suddenly dropped by three inches! Countless music theories of the abyss interwove, turbulently distorting the Physical World, forming a fuzzy black flame. Sharp noises rang out and countless cracks appeared on the barrier of Holy. The collapse of the domain of Holy was imminent. "It seems like you all know it?" Ye Qingxuan nodded in understanding. "So what makes you all think that... I won''t put the many thugs in my command to use, and will instead fight with you all on my own?" Before he finished his words, a loud noise rumbled. It came from the sky. In the torrential rain, countless thunder suddenly erupted. Flashes of lightning danced wildly like snakes, filling the space between the heavens and the earth. The flood-like hurricane emerged from the clouds, splitting the iron-like black clouds and the sky, and even tore the mist shrouding over the skies of Anglo apart temporarily, revealing a small scrap of the night sky. There was an ocean of stars. And in the ocean-like cluster of stars, a behemoth broke out from the clouds and roared wildly at the earth. The mountain of nomadism! 594 Never Give Up The wind hurled upon the earth from the sky like iron sand. An enormous cyclone appeared from nowhere and stretched onto the ground. It tore up lots of buildings into pieces and flipped the rooves of palaces into the air. The whole place was full of dust, which was sucked in by the cyclone and surged up into the sky. Then, a storm began to pour rains down. The dark sun pulled and dragged the rain water. Those rain drops, captured by it, circled around it. The blazing lava in the mirror of the hell was shining as if it were lit up. A beam of light was shot at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan flipped the cigarette and raised his head to look into the sky. "You are slow, Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan asked. "You are so eager to get another grand inquisitor for you?" The massive iron battle ship, appeared from behind the cloud, kept its imposing posture and hovered in the sky upside down with its broad deck toward the ground. Beside the row, a figure, as if nailed onto the deck, was looking up at the ground. Hearing Ye Qingxuan''s voice, he grinned, mocking Ye Qingxuan for his misfortune. "I told you, never believe anyone." The figure said. "Cut it off, Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan answered. "You don''t believe anyone. That''s all." "That''s how one can live a long life, isn''t it?" "Cut the crap." Ye Qingxuan raised his eyebrow. "You have one minute to get me out of this shit place." Shi Dong heaved a sigh and said, "is it really appropriate for you to ask such a huge favor, considering we''ve just met?" "That was mean. When have I been appropriate? You know me, I was always asking too much." Ye Qingxuan raised his finger to show Shi Dong the cigarette on his fingertips. "You have 40 seconds before I finish this cigarette." "OK, OK. Ten seconds would be enough." Shi Dong didn''t hurry but asked leisurely, "regularly, it''s the subordinates'' job to finish the work, while it''s the obligation of the boss to be held responsible for the consequences. Right?" Ye Qingxuan saw what he meant and couldn''t help smiled self-mockingly. He waved his hand and said, "as you like it. I sanctioned it." "That is good." Shi Dong said. Seeing the dim figures behind the dark sun, Shi Dong''s eyes became full of thirst and eagerness. "Seeing all those heretics wandering around, I cannot help itching to kill some of them. Is this a sort of occupational disease?" In the sky, the upside-down Mountain of Nomadism boomed to operation. The heavy cannon barrel was raised out from below the deck. The dark muzzle was aimed at the ground and super-hot light began to shine in the cannon muzzle. The terrible aether movement was initialized. [Level six propelling power. Finished.] [Warm up finished] [Lock up finished] The great demons on the ground was transfixed in astonishment. This bunch of stupid men! We have their boss is in our hands. They don''t even care about Ye Qingxuan? What are they doing? A riot? They want to kill their boss in this chaos? This was crazy for the dark musicians who abided by the strict hierarchical systems. They had never heard of anything like this. This was beyond their imagination "Wait!" A hoarse voice was heard from the fog, "I require a negotiation with your commander in charge" "Stupid pig" Ye Qingxuan, smoking his cigarette in the blockade, couldn''t help shaking his head mockingly. "Sorry, the Religious Court of Inquisitors never negotiate with heretics." Shi Dong Smiled grimly, obviously being happy and waved his hand while speaking out the initialization word, "Pray! Give the world the gift of misery." - Petitioner, fire! The whole world suddenly fell into darkness. Then, a piercing beam of light fell from the sky. It was like a plough controlled by the god to plough the earth, yet what it planted was only the seed of destroy. It was the light of doom. It struck on the earth, with no regard about Ye Qingxuan at all. Under the impact of the light, the dark sun shivered violently and collapsed quickly. The Landscape of Hell squealed and finally exploded into pieces. The light devoured everything. Windsor Manor, the summer palace where the royal family had lived for several centuries, was utterly destroyed. The light went out. Ye Qingxuan tossed the cigarette stump on the ground and stamped it out. Stepping on the ground that had melted due to the horrible heat of the light, he walked out and bent over to pick up a corpse that was so badly burned that only the head was still recognizable. The head was in quite good shape and the face was recognizable. "Now we can begin to negotiate." Looking at the dying demon coldly and said, "to have a quick death or an anguish one, it is your choice, which depends on how you answer my question." Then, he paused and get closer to the head. Gazing at the only one eye left, he said, word by word, "tell me now, where is Mary?" Moonlight perception thread, with the music theories of the School of Mind, extended from his hand and permeated into the brain which was badly wounded due to the collapse of music theories. When a musician ascended to the higher level, he would be able to get rid of his mortal body and build a new body with the circulation of aether. Then, he would be much stronger than the ordinary men, both physically and mentally. And, this a great demon who had been transformed by the abyss. Even when he was dying, his will power was not to be wavered easily. However, this was of no help when Ye Qingxuan manipulated his defenseless mind with his Mind Movement. Every Mind musician has his own specific style. For example, Ye Lanzhou was good at influencing people''s mind without their noticing it. He didn''t need a music movement to help him. He could infiltrate into people''s mind and induce them to tell him what he wanted merely by a gesture or an eye contact. But Ye Qingxuan was totally different with him. Ye Qingxuan didn''t bother to disguise himself at all. He always attacked with brutal force and broke people''s defenses to find the deepest part of their mind and find the answer he wanted. In just one split second, something clicked. The lock of the great demon''s mind was opened. The pupils of the great demon contracted and dilated repeatedly. The great demon was still conscious, but he could not stop himself telling Ye Qingxuan the answer. "The new king has begun his tour across the kingdom in the shadow" The great demon said hoarsely, "the King of Hell will descend on the earth." "Very good." Ye Qingxuan said, nodding his head. He plucked the head off the body and tossed it over to Shi Dong who had came down onto the earth along a rope. He said, "this is yours now. Find something for the old fellows to work on, in case that they get Alzheimer''s disease." "As you wish, your Excellency." Shi Dong bowed to Ye Qingxuan respectfully, but his expression was telling that he didn''t care about the head at all. He said, "I have two pieces of news for you. Which one do you want to hear first, the bad one, or the worse one?" "The bad one first, as an appetizer." Shi Dong nodded and said crisply, "Leviathan began its attack this afternoon. The third seal will collapse any moment now. I''m afraid it won''t be able to last to next dawn." It was bad. Really bad. Ye Qingxuan didn''t know whether it was the bad one or the worse one. "How about Master Haydn? Is he OK?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I have seen him. He can hardly hold on any longer." Shi Dong said lightly, "the Genesis matrix was overloaded and has aetherised half of his body. If he was not saved soon enough, he would be totally ''melted'' by the music theories and integrated into the overloaded Genesis matrixMaster Haydn knew about the incidents in the city but he could not spare any time to help. He asked me to tell you to take actions as soon as possible. Once Leviathan breaks through the third seal and descend on the world, then the final defense that King of Bach, asked by the royal family, had constructed in Avalon will be automatically initiated. The national defense line will overload itself and extract the ocean of aether buried under the ground of the country to summon something call ''the Holy Grail of Destruction''. Then, the whole Avalon will be vaporized." Shi Dong paused for a while, and then continued, "I have done the calculation. According to my calculation, half of Anglo will be destroyed by the blast and the whole western world will suffer from it. It will be like the war between the three kings against the catastrophe several hundred years ago: huge oceans waves will be generated and four countries will be wiped off the earth. Even the cities along the coast line of the oriental world will be engulfed. Ye Qingxuan frowned, and he said, "destroy the whole territory of Anglo? How come that the defense is so powerful?" "That will be the second piece of news, which is worse." Shi Dong heaved a sigh and raised his head. He waved his hand toward the Mountain of Nomadism. Following his gesture, the cannon was aimed at the ground and under the propelling power of level four, the canon loaded the piercing matrix and shot at the ground. Without any sound, a hole of several hundred meters deep appeared on the ground. The hole, which was of a diameter of five to six meters, went straight down. The earth around the hole was smooth and slippery, burned into carbon in the moment of shooting. The hole went through to the bottom of Avalon. Shi Dong stretched his hand and signaled to Ye Qingxuan to take a look. Ye Qingxuan went over and lowered his head to look into the hole. He saw the sewer that was cut off by the hole and the deeper part of the hole. And he got more and more concerned. In the sewer, it was blood that was flowing. The blood circulated in the complex sewer network that covered the whole area of Avalon. It was like blood in the veins. And in the deeper part of the hole, he saw clearly that large amount of earth and rocks were infected with the life energy of the catastrophe''s and turned into blood and flesh. The infection had gone to the deepest part of the earth and even may had already expanded to the sea bed around Avalon. Shot by the cannon, large amount of flesh and blood was vaporized, yet new tissue was growing quickly. The speed of growth was incredibly fast. Blood surged out from underneath the ground and filled the hole. But the blood didn''t gush out from the hole after the hole was full. Then the blood pool became even with the ground, with sticky red blood rippling in the hole, reflecting Ye Qingxuan''s face in it. "Leviathan had broken through the seal of the Genesis and turned the whole Avalon into blood and flesh?" "That might be not correct." Shi Dong said after heaving a sigh, "if my guess is right, Avalon was built on Leviathan. Or we may say, Avalon was the same thing as Leviathan. Only that King Arthur had changed its name." He paused, and then told the truth, "Leviathan is Avalon." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t believe it at all. It was all too ridiculous. Leviathan is Avalon itself? For several centuries, numerous people lived on the body of Leviathan? "Do you have any other explanation besides that?" Shi Dong laughed grimly. "It is always a mystery how Avalon has come into being. It was recorded in no history book. Somebody says that it was puled out of the sea by King Arthur through The Chapter of the Golden Victory, somebody says that it was developed by King Arthur in the world of darkness. If Leviathan really loves King Arthur and has sacrificed its love to make him king, then why didn''t it sacrifice his body to make him the ruler of the whole world?" Ye Qingxuan fell into silence. Shi Dong couldn''t help heaving a sigh. "We have trouble everywhere, my grand inquisitor." He said, "Avalon is such a small place, yet it has such a huge problemIt is right to fight the evil until the end, yet the Religious Court of Inquisitors is not powerful enough to fight this war. We''d better retreat when we still can. We have too much left to do and too much things to handle." Ye Qingxuan didn''t speak. Looking at Ye Qingxuan, Shi Dong said to him in a low voice, "my excellence, it takes courage to admit defeat some times." "This is exactly why you cannot be a grand inquisitor, Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked at Shi Dong. "You have wisdom, you are good at operation management, you have the experience and you even know everything about politics. You are the best assistant to the grand inquisitor, lobbying the church and the countries for the grand inquisitor. You have all the abilities that the grand inquisitor doesn''t. But you always overthink. The more you think, the more you need to take into consideration. Then you would compare all the different results and weigh each of the choices. Finally, you will get afraid, you will become weak, drifting away from the original path, even without knowing it. Lowering his head, Shi Dong didn''t speak. "I have said that I would rebuild the Religious Court of Inquisitors and set the stake in the dark world again. I''m the grand inquisitor and I will not let anyone have any control over my destiny. No one can manipulate my fate. I have made my choice when I stepped out of the Holy City. Staring at Shi Dong, Ye Qingxuan enunciated, "My future will begin at this place. No matter what happens, I will never give up. Shi Dong, Never." After a long time of silence, Shi Dong lowered his head and bowed to Ye Qingxuan respectfully. "We''ll follow your order, your excellence." He asked, "what''s our next move, then?" "To be honest, I haven''t figured that out yet. But things will become clear soon." Ye Qingxuan laughed self-mockingly. Looking at the blood path winding into the ruins, he said, "before that, get our majesty back with me." 595 Kingslayer What kind of person is Mary? Ye Qingxuan realized that he had never thought about this question. They first met in the kitchen of the Royal Academy of Music. He was banging on the lids of pots and pans, with his dog, in high spirits. She stood at the end of crowd, watched quietly, then left quietly, making nothing of it. Perhaps it was because of her pride and arrogance as a member of the royal family. After that, in downtown Avalon, he saw the blood-stained Ripper. With her completely deviant version of mysophobia, she wanted to kill every single dirty person and make the city clean again. He once danced with the princess in the shadow of Avalon and got a close-up look at her pair of eyes, which were as exquisite as jewels and full of pain and emptiness. He could see the deepest scars and blood. In Stein Chamber, the two were alone for a short while, but no communication of a deeper level took place between them. She had become a qualified successor to the throne. And just like that, the self-restrained, noble princess and the wanderer brushed past each other and parted ways. Ye Qingxuan had not expected to be reunited with her one day. Nor did he expect that she would be crowned so soon. She had become an empress, distinguished and powerful, but it was not how Ye Qingxuan imagined. The new ruler''s tour in the nation in the shadows had begun. The King of Hell would descend. When Ye Qingxuan entered the shadow of Avalon, the tour had yet to end, but hell had already revealed vaguely its grotesque appearance. Mary did not hide her whereabouts, or rather to say, she had no intentions of hiding at all. The king toured, dignified and rightful. She entered the gates of the city, walked along the winding streets, stepped on roads stained red by blood, made her way uptown, passed through the broken city, towards her palace. Everywhere she passed, all buildings and streets fell apart and collapsed into pieces. A huge aether wave radiated from her. On her head, the image of the city reflected off the crystal-like crown, casting everything in the dim yellowish light from hell. The kingdom of shadows had ushered in sunshine for the first time in centuries. But the sun was born of darkness. The huge sun of darkness responded to her singing and rose from the top of the palace, illuminating the city of demons and accelerating its collapse. Countless pungent particles of sulphur dust fell from the sky, burning and resulting in specks of fire, like scorching hot rain. The rain of fire covered every corner, igniting everything. Countless demons hissed in the fire, shaking and dying. They maintained their posture of worship even in death, dedicating everything to the supreme emperor, the ruler of the mortal realm and hell. At the moment he saw her, Ye Qingxuan immediately understood what happened. Although he had no idea what deal the Dark Sovereign and Lancelot had struck up, at the moment, there was no doubt that Mary, as a sacrifice, had become a pawn of the Dark Sovereign. Ye Qingxuan could see countless movements extending from the scepter of hell and immerging themselves in Mary''s limbs. The Dark Sovereign implanted the essence of himself, the movement of hell, into Mary''s body, controlling Mary''s will via her dark side born of the curse of the dragon blood. At the moment, through Mary''s body, the Dark Sovereign could move around unimpeded in the shadow of Avalon. He could even turn the tables... by absorbing the power of the shadow of Avalon to make himself whole. The movement that was once damaged badly by the stone sword was constantly extracting the power of the shadow of Avalon at the moment, undergoing evolution and rebirth. Upon her arrival at the palace, the movement of hell would replace the power left by Arthur and seize all the bases, completely turning the shadow of Avalon into a hell on earth. Meanwhile, King Arthur would be completely freed from the palace and descend upon the world once more as a catastrophe. "What a crafty plan you have devised, Your Majesty the Dark Sovereign." Ye Qingxuan sighed softly, and couldn''t help but raise his hand to suppress the faint headache in his temples. It was a strange feeling of mixed irritation and anger which filled his brain like a flame. In the gap between his fingers, cold moonlight lit up in the black irises. "Let''s say hello first and see what happens." He whispered, "It''s rude enough to come unsolicited, at least we should let the host know who is knocking at the door." "Yes sir." Behind him, Shi Dong nodded and unsheathed his epee, piercing it into the ground. The blade scraped against the iron and the rock, making a harsh, low-pitched whistle that dragged on. Then, a thunder-like roar burst forth. It was deafening. " Deus vult!!!" Never before had anyone expected that the shriveled body of the dying old man still had such strength left in it. It was strong enough to support him to roar like a dragon with all his might and shake the heavens and the earth, as well as all the nations in the world, with his roar. It was the language passed down from before the Age of Dark, a blood-stained vow inscribed in the Religious Court of Inquiry and their crusade to the east. Deus vult, God wills it. It was God''s decree, it was the wish of all things. It was where justice and glory lay. It was hereby declared that the Witch Hammer had set foot on the battlefield! Following the roar, the heavens and the earth rumbled. The holy emblem in flames rose slowly from Shi Dong, illuminating the dark clouds. The huge warship of steel broke through the clouds, the searchlights penetrated the luminous flares of the dark sun, and a ghastly white radiance spilled onto the ground. Dozens of steel stakes shot out from the catapult track. With a roar, they wedged deeply into the collapsing buildings. Then, flame pillars so high they touched the sky rose from the ground, and interwove into a huge cage of flames. At that very moment, the King of Hell stopped advancing abruptly and slowly turned back, making Ye Qingxuan smile. "Yes, that''s right, look here." Facing her gaze, Ye Qingxuan slowly walked forward into the cage of flames and bowed to the girl wearing the crown. "Mary, Your Royal Highness, it''s been a long time." The girl''s gaze was empty, her delicate face full of indifference, and she did not response. It was as if she was looking at nothing but air. In the projection of the scepter of hell, the image of the Dark Sovereign slowly emerged. He looked around at the surroundings, and finally looked down at Ye Qingxuan, wearing a mocking smile. "It''s been a long time since I last witnessed such a scene indeed... The Religious Court of Inquiry? I remember you all dragging out your ignoble existences, as miserable as stray dogs, after the Church gave up on you. Surprisingly, you all managed to wait it out until the day of your resurgence has come? "What is this? A miracle? " "Isn''t it exactly because goddamn things like you still exist in the world?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him and responded coldly, "After all, someone must remind you that you still have undefeated enemies, that there are still people in the world who will fight against you until one side perishes." "You want to slay your king?" The Dark Sovereign clapped his hands in glee. "Just like what your superior, Maxwell, did. Ye Qingxuan, he really didn''t get it wrong about you. The saviors of Anglo actually all want to kill their king? How ironic. "Too bad Her Majesty even admired you once. I wonder if she''ll be heartbroken if she sees you now... Am I right, Your Majesty? " Mary''s eyes trembled. As if she was awakened from a long nightmare, in the empty gaze, a dim light resembling that of a candle flickering in the wind emerged. She looked stunned, unsure, and fearful. After getting a clear look at Ye Qingxuan''s face, she couldn''t help but want to hide and run away. In the end, she seemed relieved. She did not question him demandingly, nor was she enraged, as if she had understood her end. "Mr. Ye, are you here to kill me?" she asked softly. Ye Qingxuan was silent. After a long time, he slowly nodded. "Yes." "It''s really great to be able to die in your hands." As if the time of her liberation had arrived, she cracked a smile, suppressing her tears of fear, and softly bid farewell. "Please save the country and cut off this bloodline of disaster completely." "I give you my word that the Ripper will die here." Ye Qingxuan looked into Mary''s eyes and promised her, one word at a time, " Mary and the country shall be reborn together." "Then... I''ll leave it to you." Mary smiled and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her eyes were already covered in a grotesque, beastly red. Horrifying Firebird erupted from her body and evolved into a flame-like substance, spreading in all directions. Under the strengthening of the scepter of hell, her tenacity materialized, and its operation itself was enough to cause the shadow of Avalon to whine forlornly as it collapsed further, distorting the Physical World. The cage of flames shook. Invisible knives and axes swiped at Ye Qingxuan, and the barrier in front of him cracked, revealing countless gaps, and shattered instantly. Ye Qingxuan sighed, and when he raised his eyes again, they were already full of cold moonlight. Against the frenzied Firebird, he raised his arm and issued an order. "Deus vult!" The wish of all things, the decree of God. Hereby executing the righteousness of the world, the eternal justice! Flames and iron descended from the sky! 596 Pledge Allegiance? Following Ye Qingxuan''s orders, stars of flame and iron fell from the sky. Under the sixth drive, the main armament of the Petitioner erupted in overload. Waterfall-like torrents of aether gushed out, containing horrifying heat and purifying music theory within. They tore through layers of barriers and descended upon the top of the king of hell''s head in a flash. Then only did an inkling of the gleam of iron hidden in the fire appear faintly. It was steel that was burnt until a scorching red in the terrifying high temperature up to thousands of degrees horrifying flares spewed from the stakes, bringing the path of redemption which would turn all sinners to ashes. ''Mary'' lifted her red eyes. Under the guidance of the crown of hell, the red Firebird materialized as an actual hand and grabbed at the strong light. The first to be heard was the bang of steel colliding. Ghastly white waves of air were stirred up from within and propelled the sharp noise of gold and iron scrapping against each other to sweep across the entire Avalon. The big bell resembling the wrath of god was struck. Doomsday would come. In the dissipating flares, the stake had fallen apart. Walking out of the flares was the king of hell, a crystal crown on its head, donning blood-colored garments. The terrifying aura radiating from it and the gigantic sun that the palace had turned into echoed each other. After consuming a small half of Avalon, the scepter that was once heavily damaged had been repaired completely. The element of hell operated within the horrifying and majestic melody, and the actual scene of hell unfolded. The Dark Sovereign had returned once more! Behind the domain of Holy, Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. From then on, what he had to face was no longer only Mary who was controlled by the cursed blood... but also the king of hell in his prime! No one was beside him to help keep the Dark Sovereign in check, and Ye Qingxuan had no chance to wander about the battlefield at an unhurried pace and seek opportunities to strike through the catastrophe''s defenses. It was a face-to-face confrontation, an undodgeable battle. "It''s getting somewhat troublesome..." He murmured softly. At the moment, the hem of Mary''s scarlet skirt fluttered in the wind. The gigantic sun of darkness advanced forward, and the ghastly red Firebird gushed towards him like a river. In a flash, Mary had lifted a pale, slender arm, the index finger tapping gently on the wall of Holy. The next moment, a horrifying bang erupted. Struck by innumerable invisible knives and axes, the wall of Holy fell apart. After penetrating the layers of defense, the finger pierced through Ye Qingxuan''s chest mercilessly, emerging from behind, as if it was crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Then, countless strands of Firebird erupted from it. Like wandering blades, they attempted to scrape all his flesh and blood off, strip away all his skin and internal organs, and pluck off all his muscles and tendons in a flash, leaving only a clean, white skeleton behind. However, nothing happened. Ye Qingxuan was still intact. Only then did the low noise coming from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei rang out belatedly. The strange melody resembling the sound of metal scraping against each other lingered in the Dark Sovereign''s ear and refused to dissipate, like ridicule. In the vague, strange noise, a hoarse voice rang out faintly, as it sang fanatically, " Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani!" The movement of hell, which was operating magnificently, paused momentarily, and the Dark Sovereign immediately understood what was going on. Passion cantata! Like what Abraham did back then when fighting against the saint, Ye Qingxuan had used nature interference to advance himself to the extremity of the state of vacuum, performing the movement Abraham had passed down to him to the very best of his ability. It was like how a knife couldn''t cut the light apart, and how iron couldn''t kill water. In accordance with the nature of the enemy, one''s own form was changed, turning oneself into relative nothingness. Even though one was clearly in sight, one was beyond reach. "Another of your little tricks!" The phantom of the Dark Sovereign emerged and sneered as it looked at him. "Do you think such trivial cleverness will be of use?" As he finished his words, Ye Qingxuan''s face turned pale, a trace of purple-black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Firebird was an extension of the dragon blood It controls aether directly with the tenacity of the host, bestowing physical forms to the tenacity and turning it into knives, swords, or metal. In essence, it was still an existence similar to music theory. Meanwhile, after consuming Leviathan''s blood, Mary had already tapped on her own potential, which could be considered bottomless. It could be deemed as terrifying in terms of its nature and intensity. Although the power of the Firebird did not tear Ye Qingxuan''s physical form apart, the music theory contained within still shook his form, almost knocking him down from his state of vacuum If the aether circulation stopped, the only end awaiting him upon returning to his mortal body would be disintegration. Facing the Dark Sovereign''s ridicule, Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. "It''s just that I''m not capable enough." He reached out and made a cut-throat gesture towards the projection that was close at hand. "If my teacher was here, at that moment just now, he would definitely have already cut off your good-for-nothing head in one blow!" What could be said for certain was that for centuries, no one had ever dared to be so impudent and offensive in front of the Dark Sovereign. Although cutting off his head had zero effect on him, it was undoubtedly an insult that could be considered wildly arrogant. The Dark Sovereign merely sneered and said no more. On the top of Mary''s head, the crystal crown suddenly released a horrifying light. The movement of hell roared, and the scepter slowly rose into the sky. The terrifying gravitational pull contained within the music theory erupted from it, tugging at the fragments of the shadow of Avalon. The old king had died. The touring new king would regain control of its territory. The Dark Sovereign was madly consuming the city in the shadows to mend the cracks on the scepter of hell When the shadow of Avalon was thoroughly disintegrated, the King of Hell would be completely reborn! Ye Qingxuan had no time to stop him. It was because Mary''s red eyes had neared him. At the moment, in the sky, the Mountain of Nomadism sprinkled down metallic gleams that resembled stars. In a flash, hundreds of dots of light flew out from the projectile tracks and shot in Ye Qingxuan''s direction. They stirred up a whistling hurricane, which sounded like an iron whale singing freely before its death. They crossed the long distance, then smashed onto the ground. Loud bangs rumbled. Amid countless specks of flying dust, heavily armored knights walked out, assembled into arrays, blocking Mary''s path, and pulled out their chainswords. Whale fall! "Ahaha, haven''t we arrived somewhat timely, Grand Inquisitor?" Shi Dong''s voice sounded in his ear. "Your faithful subordinates are here to help." "Isn''t it considered to be within your responsibilities?" Ye Qingxuan responded coldly. "If subordinates couldn''t relieve their superior of his burdens, what would be the difference between them and idiots?" "So, what''s the order this time round?" Shi Dong''s voice took on a pondering tone. "Kill? Purify? Or destroy?" "Obstruct, or preferably capture her alive." Ye Qingxuan ordered, "The enemy you all are fighting against is the queen of Anglo, even if she kills all of you, she must not be hurt in the slightest manner." "I knew it would be like this." Shi Dong sighed. "But what about the one living on her?" "Get all the purification musicians ready." Ye Qingxuan said, "I''ll take care of it." At the moment, the clothes of original sin shook, and a huge gravitational pull erupted from it, distorting the surrounding matter. The Symphony of Predestination operated within his body. The first part awakened, as did the second part, then the third... In a flash, the soaring force that had increased by more than four times almost went out of his control. In the faint sound of tides, the moon of pure white rose out of nowhere, against the huge pressure from the scepter of hell, and confronted the gigantic sun of darkness from a distance, hanging high above the night sky. Although he had yet to create a legend, master elements, and form a scepter, the Symphony of Predestination so vast that it had never been preceded still sufficed to shock others. Innumerable perception threads of moonlight that had blended into the celestial body extended from it, connecting themselves to the alchemy array of the Mountain of Nomadism, and was instantly connected to hundreds of aether waves in standby. Resonance! With Ye Qingxuan''s tenacity as the central theme, the Heaven Ladder stretched across the seven systems, mastering countless changes in music theory, and integrated the sound of heart movements of the purification musicians into one. Hundreds of aether waves merged into the moon of pure white. Ye Qingxuan did not hesitate to allocate most of the changes in music theory to them, letting they help him maintain such a vast Symphony of Predestination. In the end, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei was formally connected to the core of the Mountain of Nomadism the pool of aether! The silver pool of liquid in which the heart was being soaked in suddenly boiled. Countless streams of flowing light operated within, and the huge heart started pulsing wildly. Like an iron drum being beaten, every beat brought a low echo with it. The larger the body, the more horrifying the pressure it could withstand. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism replaced Ye Qingxuan to withstand the tremendous pressure, extracting an amount of aether which was so massive that it was beyond the imagination of ordinary musicians from the realm of aether through itself. A power that could be considered similar to torrents from a waterfall gushed into the moon of pure white. The Symphony of Predestination, the purification musicians, and the Mountain of Nomadism were integrated as one at the moment, connected by the music theory of the Heaven Ladder. Clear notes rang out from Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and a dragon''s whistle burst forth. As many purification musicians controlled the resonance, massive amounts of aether were drawn from the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism. The aether coursed through the Heaven Ladder, and finally gushed into the Symphony of Predestination. After experiencing countless times of creation and destruction, as well as transformations by music theory, it had become a pale white glow beyond the control of humans. Just by existing, the cold moonlight distorted the rules of matter If one looked into its roots, one would see that it originated from the purification element that was condensed from the essence of innumerable musical movements of the Religious Court of Inquiry. Comparing in terms of the extent of purity, it was even better than the movements! After all, other than Ye Qingxuan, no one else could ever master the music theory of the quiet moon. In only an instant, the movement of the moon had developed to the limit. Moonlight flowed on Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, contracting according to Ye Qingxuan''s will, until it turned into a fleeting and vague blade in the end. It was as if the blade consisted of faint light and shadow, not even possessing substantial material. But even so, it was already radiating a bone-chilling coldness. Wherever the blade passed, faint rifts emerged in the air. It was powerful because it was pure. It was a pure sword of purification. And as Ye Qingxuan waved it, even the red tide of Firebird was torn apart, unable to piece itself back, and revealed the girl''s figure within. The long dress that was once pure white had long since been dyed red by the blood, but Mary, who was bathed in blood, showed a seductive beauty completely different from the past. The bestiality in her blood had dominated her consciousness. The one controlling her body at the moment was the demon born from the dragon blood, a total monster. But as she advanced, a grand melody was suddenly played loudly. A mighty and magnificent aura emerged from the red bloodiness, proclaiming the majesty of the empress and guarding the new ruler as she toured. Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1! The god of the abyss bestowed the crown upon the bloody princess, crowning her as queen! The magical power originating from the scepter of the abyss operated within her body, causing the Firebird to burn like a flame, its attacks unstoppable. In the air, the taste of blood became thicker and thicker, and the pungent, sickly sweet smell lingered. But amid the mighty melody, ambiguous moans mixed in inappropriately, as if amid alluring carnal desires flowing in the air, a laid-back beauty exposed her fair shoulders, exhaling seductively from her lips. In Mary''s eyes, bloody streaks lingered in the slender pupils of bestiality, making her eyes look more and more lively. When she looked at Ye Qingxuan, her eyes contained greedy lust and undisguised murderous intent. "Why not pledge allegiance to me, Ye Qingxuan?" ''Mary'' put on an enchanting smile, a voice with a tinge of hoarseness and temptation sounding from her throat, but it was completely different from her voice in the past. "Don''t you think that I am more suitable as an empress than that sick, mysophobic, and weak woman?" Firebird tore apart the weapons of dozens of armored knights. She stepped on the viscous blood and walked towards him slowly, her fair body vaguely visible under the blood-colored tulle dress. "You can''t possibly like boring women who don''t know how to have fun like her? She only knows how to act like a saint all day, even though she is always missing you so badly that it drives her crazy, she won''t let you get close, not a chance..." What she received in response was the sword of moonlight striking towards her and an indifferent pair of eyes. "Shut up, c*nt." Ye Qingxuan interrupted her words. "Before you open your mouth, you must be clear of what you are!" The sword of purification tore the Firebird apart, scraping her cheek, and almost slashed a deep wound in her blushing and enchanting face. It was still merciless, without any signs of hesitation and weakness, but as compared to the sword, what enraged ''Mary'' more was Ye Qingxuan''s words. The seductive lust was replaced by fury, rage and grotesqueness emerging in the red eyes of bestiality. Countless strands of Firebird struck like knives and axes, tearing the brilliance around Ye Qingxuan apart. She fixed Ye Qingxuan with a death stare and roared in rage, "What did you just... call me?" "Did I not make myself clear?" Ye Qingxuan snickered. The sword of purification in his hands struck, slashing away the frenzied Firebird, and pressed towards the face that was as delicate as an artwork. " The queen I serve shall not be a wh*re who only knows how to moan on the throne all day long!" ... "... Oh my." On the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism, Shi Dong couldn''t help but cover his face, as he couldn''t bear to look at the scene anymore. Only at the moment did he fully grasp just how good his Grand Inquisitor was at cutting people to the quick, how bitchy he was, and how offensive his words could be. Even though the opponent is a demon, but the words you spoke... are really too mean! For some reason unknown, Shi Dong suddenly had a notion in his heart that as compared to the attainments in music theory, maybe Ye Qingxuan was even more talented in verbal fights. Soon, seemingly mad roars and screams sounded from the shadow of Avalon. "Ye Qingxuan!!!" At the moment, the queen had fallen into a completely frenzied rage, due to Ye Qingxuan''s words. "I''m going to cut your corpse up into ten thousand pieces!" Scales resembling red hot iron emerged from her fair skin. As if a giant dragon was screaming, frenzied Firebird erupted from her body, skyrocketing and spreading in all directions. In only an instant, it tore countless buildings apart, destroyed all the wreckage, and left rows of cracks in the wall of tower shields held up by the knights, making it fall apart. In the blood-like Firebird, under the strengtening of the Pomp and Circumstance March, she had already completely ignited the bestiality in the dragon blood. The phantom of the red dragon emerged from the back of the queen regnant of blood and breathed out dragon fire that was almost tangible towards Ye Qingxuan. 597 The Chapter of the Golden Victory In a flash, the red glow charged at Ye Qingxuan. But in the air, a buzz that sounded like countless wild bees flying rang out, as if innumerable wings are vibrating rapidly. The flames that swept towards him like wildfire was the most destructive form that the Firebird had evolved into. Strengthened under Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1, the Firebird caused the dragon blood in Mary to boil and took on an almost atavistic form of a red dragon. The extent to which Mary could control the Firebird also exceeded her past limit and achieved a terrifying level Ye Qingxuan''s hair stood on end. Although it looked like flames, the substance was not burning, nor was there any heat. It was actually splitting matter up on the scale of the smallest particles currently observable by human science. The school of modifications summarized the effect of the sound of wild bees flying as ''the ultimate decomposition'', and no tangible material could be spared. Wherever the flames shrouded, everything would be utterly destroyed into nothingness. Such was the most terrifying aspect of the dragon blood. In a flash, the barrier formed by Holy shattered. It was set up again, then shattered once more. Ye Qingxuan quickly retreated. He had no intention to test out whether the clothes of original sin could withstand the flames of the Firebird. If it could, it would still be his loss. If it couldn''t, then the game would be up At the moment, he regretted his b*tchy words a little. Regardless of the circumstances, a mad woman would always be more terrifying than a mad demon, let alone a mad female demon. Ye Qingxuan could only feel a deep ridicule from fate. Trash talking is fun for a while, but look who the joke''s on now? Had you seen it coming, why would you have said so much?! As the dragon fire swept, a dash of red flashed across, and the tower of shields held up high by an armored knight quietly collapsed into a grayish-white cloud of dust, along with more than half of the knight''s body. Half of the iron shell of armor fell to the ground, and blood gushed out belatedly, mixing with the dust that had piled on the ground and forming a pool of viscous slush. Ye Qingxuan frowned, his free hand pressed towards the air beside him. Nature interference. The barrier of Holy rose from the ground and stacked in front of the knights, layer by layer, giving them a short window of time to retreat. At the same time, it trapped Ye Qingxuan and Mary inside. Behind Mary, the violent phantom of the red dragon turned its head, the dark and grotesque eyes looking at Ye Qingxuan. The next moment, the dragon fire swiped at him. But at that very moment, Ye Qingxuan heard a hallucination-like sound. It seemed familiar, but he couldn''t remember where he had heard it. It was an almost indescribable low voice, like the roar of a beast, but it had a rhythm unique to languages. Across the far distance, it rang in his ears, automatically guiding the changes of the music theory, which finally evolved into a speck of light. The light, with a dream-like radiance, disappeared in a flash. It seemed like a metal worn by time, with a texture visibly different from bronze, as well as black iron and silver. It was a faint dark gold. Its brilliance only lasted for a flash, like a sword swiping down. Although it was so tiny that it was difficult to detect, the raging dragon fire sweeping towards him disintegrated in front of the glow and rapidly dissipated without a trace. Ye Qingxuan began to wonder if it was an illusion. At that moment, what he felt... was Firebird? A Firebird as brilliant as gold? As he stood in shock, the glow returned once more and approached Ye Qingxuan. Before it got close to him, it shattered into tiny flecks of light, then scattered over him. "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at his body, which was glowing faintly, yet to process the incident with his brain. The hallucination-like roar of the beast once again rang out in his ear, as if it was prompting him, Don''t waste time. Compared to the sound just now, the roar sounded a bit weak, but even more familiar... Not having time to properly think about it, Ye Qingxuan subconsciously took a step forward. The moonlight shook and swiped forward like a blade. As the cold moonlight swiped down, and the gravitational pull of music theory twisted the surrounding matter, and a roar burst forth. In the roar, the red tide was split open from the middle and parted to the sides, washing over the domain of Holy and causing the barrier to disintegrate. Moonlight extended forward, flashing across the fire, and a shrill roar rang out. Mary screamed shrilly, as a forbidding scar appeared on the phantom of the red dragon. Dissipating Firebird spewed out of it viscously, just like blood. In an instant, the red dragon had been damaged badly. Not only the stunned Mary, but even Ye Qingxuan himself had not imagined that his attack would be so powerful. Under the shine of the light, the Firebird actually turned into a breeze? It''s so smooth and simple that it''s incredible "Grand Inquisitor, what is this new approach of yours?" Shi Dong''s voice rang out in his ear. "How come I have not heard anything about you possessing such a unique ability?" "To be honest, I don''t know either," Ye Qingxuan said casually. "But, as you know, I have a noble character, my purity is comparable to that of a saint, I''m more devout than the pope, and my faith is so deeply moving that even the heavens and the earth are moved, so God has finally bestowed charism upon me... Isn''t it perfectly reasonable?" Reasonable your ass! Even Ye Qingxuan himself did not believe it. "Look up." Shi Dong sighed. "Look above you." Ye Qingxuan was surprised. When he looked up, he saw that a halo had risen above him before he even realized it. The dark golden glow turned into a crown, blessing him, and dissipated any Firebird heading his way into nothingness. What... is this! Ye Qingxuan''s eyeballs almost popped out of his head. Of course he knew what it was! He had seen the same signs on Bai Xi before. In the cemetery back then, Bai Xi strengthened herself with the movement taught by Hermes. It was as if she had God''s mandate and could conjure up great powers, making her almost unstoppable. Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1! The same Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 has been strengthening me since God knows when! The question is, who is strengthening me? Who can circumvent my perceptions and music theory, and without seeking my consent, silently strengthen me with it?! It couldn''t possibly be...? A ridiculous thought emerged in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. Soon, Shi Dong''s prompt pulled him back to reality. "Instead of fussing over it, you have to speed up." On the Mountain of Nomadism, Shi Dong looked up at the sun of darkness hanging high in the sky. "The Dark Sovereign''s actions are getting faster and faster. It won''t take long before he swallows up the whole of the shadow of Avalon..." "I know, don''t rush me!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth, stepped ahead, and swiped at the tide of dragon fire. The clothes of original sin changed, an exoskeleton system quietly forming under his robes. It attached itself to him and propelled him forward rapidly. In an instant, Mary was close at hand. Mary looked up in shock and her eyes widened, reflecting the indifferent face of Ye Qingxuan. The sword of the moonlight was held high, and it swiped down at the crystal crown on her head. Bang! At the last moment, the crown of the King of Hell radiated a dark light, which formed a palm and clutched Ye Qingxuan''s blade tightly. The element of hell and the sword of purification collided, stirring up horrifying air gusts and roars. "What is this?" The face of the Dark Sovereign appeared from within, staring at the halo on top of Ye Qingxuan, and sneered. "I almost forgot you also have the blood of the royal family of Anglo in you. Nice trick indeed, but unfortunately, it''s still not enough!" He held on to the sword of the moonlight with one hand and raised the other hand, supporting the sun of darkness in the sky above. A terrifying gravitational pull erupted from it as countless rays of light collapsed within, turning it into a dark cave that swallowed everything, pulling the wreckage of Avalon into it nonstop. Under the horrifying gravitational pull, even light was distorted as it writhed around the dark cave and was finally sucked in. In a flash, countless pieces of wreckage from the buildings in the shadow of Avalon were pulled into it. Even the Mountain of Nomadism in the air let out a twisted, forlorn whine, operating at full force to resist the terrible gravitational pull of the scepter of hell. "The scepter of hell is about to be complete..." The Dark Sovereign looked down at Ye Qingxuan, smirking evilly. "You are too slow." "Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan smiled in relief. "Maybe not." At that very moment, a loud noise rang out. It was the roar of a beast. It was like a wolf''s howl, an eagle''s screech, a whale''s song, and a lion''s roar! In the ferocious roar, the shadow of Avalon disintegrated completely. Countless buildings collapsed in violent turmoil, the earth cracked and collapsed, but what emerged from beneath... was a burning golden radiance. Everything in sight was ignited within it. Under the cracks in the earth, light spurted out like a waterfall. It traveled against the gravity, and flew towards the sky, igniting and illuminating the entire dark world. Between the heavens and the earth, what was rippling was endless golden light. It was the exact color that Ye Qingxuan was familiar with. It was what the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth had looked like back when it had not fallen to become the shadow of Avalon, the scepter that Arthur had inscribed in the stone swordthe Chapter of the Golden Victory!!! But it was what shocked Ye Qingxuan, for the stone sword was not even here at all! Even if he had the stone sword in hand, it would be difficult for him to conjure up such a terrifyingly large-scaled phenomenon. It was simply as if the shadow of Avalon had been awakened! In the endless golden brilliance, countless strands of music theory gathered together and intertwined. Under the performance of the piece in the form of roars of beasts, the mighty movement was formed. Finally, supplied with a massive amount of aether, it materialized vaguely. But the brilliance was too glaring, and Ye Qingxuan couldn''t see what it actually was. Right from the moment of its birth, it fell from the sky and flew towards the battlefield where Ye Qingxuan was in. In only an instant, it flew into Mary''s arms. And at that very moment, Ye Qingxuan finally got a clear look of its outline. Is that a majestic and heavy sword? No, the hilt is just an illusion cast by music theory. What actually possessed a physical form is...the sheath! The sheath, which had gathered the endless radiance, cast itself into Mary''s arms, and like a phantom, it dissolved into her body But in the next moment, the golden brilliance coursed through her body as her heart pumped madly. Torrents of it swept through, annihilating all the blood-colored Firebird. The scepter of hell shook, and the phantom of the Dark Sovereign flickered, almost dissipating. His expression suddenly changed. The queen regnant in blood screamed. She staggered backward, roaring painfully, Firebird spurting out of her pores nonstop and dissipating in the air. It was as if beasts were fighting in her body Illuminated by the blazing radiance, her body seemed to have become translucent, and one could see the sheath formed by countless strands of interwoven music theory. It was like a second heart. As the music theory changed, a brand new aether circulation replaced her blood circulation, the golden radiance coursing in her blood, unrelentingly removing the music theory of the scepter of hell. The negative personality formed by bestiality had its roots cut off and roared in pain, but it was unable to retain the blood-colored Firebird that was constantly dissipating. Just like water exposed under the scorching sun, it evaporated rapidly. In her eyes, pools of blood were in turmoil, but the golden radiance rising slowly from the deepest point could not be covered. She seemed to have finally understood where the thing that had the same roots and origins as herself, yet far surpassed her, had come from. "No, it shouldn''t be like this..." She screamed and looked at the sky, staring furiously in the direction of the palace. "You promised me! You promised me! It shouldn''t be like this..." No one responded. In the blink of an eye, the blood-colored Firebird had been washed away completely, and a pure dark golden radiance flowed in her body, completely suppressing the blood of Leviathan and sealing it. Then, with the grand melody, the reborn Firebird spewed out of Mary''s body. It was as brilliant as gold! The Firebird responded to the sea of light in the sky, playing an impassioned melody. The music theory evolved and dazzled Ye Qingxuan, revealing to him the true essence of the school of summoning. As the strands of music theory interwove, countless types of bestiality emerged from it. Controlled by music theory, the horrifying bestiality observed in catastrophes gathered and took shape, with the Firebird as a medium. After absorbing countless types of bestiality, the golden, brilliant Firebird had evolved until it had reached the limit of bestiality, transforming into hundreds and thousands of forms, such as dogs, snakes, eagles, wolves, lions, and giant whales in the sea In the end, they overlapped and converged into one, materializing into a dragon head! Such was the actual way to make use of the dragon blood. With the dragon blood as a medium, ignite the flame, gather countless types of bestiality, smelt them into one, and finally nurture from the fire a supreme beast existing only in fantasy and legends. Such was the actual Chapter of the Golden Victory! At that very moment, the golden dragon head emerged from Mary''s Firebird, then raised its head relentlessly, biting the crown on her head. The sea of light in the sky gathered, and as the dragon whistled, together they sealed the sun of darkness completely! Then, the jaws of the dragon shut Bang! The dark Lord roared in agony. The scepter of hell that had barely pieced itself back together cracked once more, revealing layers of fissures. In front of the Chapter of the Golden Victory, it had no ability to resist at all. It had fallen into the shackles of its music theory when it was absorbing the shadow of Avalon to assimilate it as part of itself unsuspectingly. At the moment, the shadow of Avalon turned on him under the control of the Chapter of the Golden Victory, completely overpowering him in a flash. "Arthur? What are you doing?" The Dark Sovereign roared in rage but was immediately shocked. "No! You are not... What the heck are you?!?!" In the mouth of the huge golden dragon, a great force burst forth from the crystal crown covered in cracks, furiously trying to break free from the hold of the dragon head. But the golden dragon was unmoved, and let it struggle. It simply looked around and turned its familiar gaze to Ye Qingxuan. The eyes were full of arrogance, as always, and it was as majestic as an emperor. When it looked at other people, its gaze was full of spite. What are you still waiting for? Ye Qingxuan smiled. He looked into Mary''s golden eyes. "Your Majesty, pardon my lack of manners." 598 Betrayal "Your Majesty, pardon my lack of manners," said Ye Qingxuan. In a haze, Mary''s golden irises lit up dimly. She looked at the man who was close at hand and saw his face clearly, then a smile appeared on her pale face. Smiling at Ye Qingxuan, she spread her arms, waiting for a hug and death. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. The sleeping world catastrophe resonation! But this time, what unfolded was not the Wyrmrest enchantment. He lifted his left hand and slided his finger over the illusion-like sword of moonlight. The incorporeal blade seemingly cut his finger, and the blood of Deva flowed out, washing away the non-existent dust on the blade. Wherever the finger passed, the pure white sword of moonlight turned indigo inch by inch. The music theory of the quiet moon covered it, interweaving, and propelled the element of purification to evolve towards the limit. In the end, only a dim glow of dark indigo was left in the hands of Ye Qingxuan. But an unprecedented bone-chilling cold radiated from it. As it emerged, an uncountable quantity of aether lost all responsiveness, killed by the indigo glow... The quiet moon shone here. It bestowed an equal end upon everything. "Fear not." Ye Qingxuan reached out, pulling Mary into his arms while holding her slender waist, and whispered softly in her ear, "I''m here." It was noiseless. The entire sword of moonlight pierced into her heart, penetrated her body, and emerged from her back. At the moment, Mary''s eyes widened. The goldenness in her irises was ignited and shook violently. The indigo moonlight advanced along the blade and coursed through her blood. Wherever it passed, everything became quiet. If Firebird was the nemesis of tangible matter, then the Indigo Moon far surpassed it as the destroyer of music theory. Under the illumination of the moonlight, everything returned to dimness. The sword of moonlight pierced through her heart, causing the negative personality in the dragon blood to whine in sorrow. The moonlight thoroughly purified all the dragon blood from the inside out, cruelly and coldly wiping off all the traces belonging to the Ripper. It was purification. Wherever the moonlight shone, the curse of the dragon blood disintegrated. Immediately after that, it was the turn of the element of hell that had seeped through her flesh and bones, then the music theory of the abyss... In the dead silence, everything parasitic within were completely removed. Mary died under the moonlight. But after the moonlight flowed past, the radiance of the Chapter of the Golden Victory followed. Dragon blood replaced dragon blood, Firebird replaced Firebird, bestowing a brand new life upon her. Mary was reborn here! ... In the piercing whines of sorrow, the crystal crown that the scepter of hell had turned into shook and fell off her head. Then, the golden dragon''s jaws suddenly clamped shut. Crack! The incorporeal sun of darkness in the sky suddenly shook violently, disintegrated, and was soon swallowed up by the golden sea of radiance. As the Chapter of the Golden Victory played, the golden sea of radiance rapidly contracted. In the end, it turned into actual, tangible gold and iron, intertwining with each other, and formed a brand-new crown, which landed on Mary''s head. On the top of the crown, the deep purple gemstone representing the element of hell shimmered brightly! The Dark Sovereign gave a blood-curdling scream. It sounded so sorrowful as if his parents had died. He spent all his efforts, and even gambled on his scepter. He was already close to success, no, he had succeeded, but ended up losing everything in such an unexpected manner. Not only did he fail, even his own element was plundered by the giant golden dragon. The scepter of hell that had been consuming the shadow of Avalon was instead consumed by the shadow of Avalon at the moment. He gained nothing, but Mary became the true and actual king of hell... "Arthur!!!" His phantom escaped from the mouth of the giant golden dragon at the last moment, and the faint mist regathered into his form in the sky once more. The Dark Sovereign roared furiously towards the highest point of the shadow of Avalon, namely the silent palace, "What on earth are you doing! How much longer do you want to spectate?! Surely you are not going to betray our pact!!!" In a dead silence, no one responded. The Dark Sovereign no longer had time for revenge. He fled in a scurry, dodging the interception by the Mountain of Nomadism in the sky, and exhausted the last of his energy as he cast himself into the palace. I still have a chance, he thought. I still have a final chance to turn the tables. I just have to find Arthur and break his seal to regain control of him through the loophole hidden within the pact we made centuries ago. But when he rushed into the depths of the darkness, he fell into a lengthy daze. It was dead silent. The silence was like a wordless snicker, a mockery from fate. In the throne room towering at the highest point of the vast, eerie palace, on the throne where one could overlook the entire Avalon... was nothing! Nothing at all! The Dark Sovereign was stunned. Because of the ridiculous joke, even his body composing of mist was frozen. After a long time, a very long time, a hoarse sound rang out from his throat. It seemed like a cackle, but also resembled a sorrowful whine of an enraged beast. "Nothing at all?" He roared madly and smashed the entire throne into pieces. "Why is there nothing at all? Arthur! Get your *ss here! Where are you! "In accordance with our pact, I have come here at your invitation to bestow upon you a position as a catastrophe, but where are you! You liar!! Liar!!!" In the silence, a sigh sounded. A crude aether ball rolled out from beneath the shattered throne, the light within flickering along with the voice. "I have advised you long ago, no?" The voice said, "What a pity, you still messed up everything." "Lancelot? It''s you?" The Dark Sovereign couldn''t believe it and roared in fury, "Why did you betray me! Why!!" "Betray? It can''t really be considered so. Have you ever planned to comply with the pact?" Lancelot responded coldly, "From the very beginning, you have wanted to control everything. You did not hesitate to start the plan on your own behind my back. Until now, you still want to take a chance and even risk putting His Majesty in danger..." "Lancelot! What on earth are you trying to do!!!" the Dark Sovereign shouted. "You failed, and you have been abandoned. Isn''t it clear at a glance?" Lancelot said calmly, "Although the days of cooperating with you have not been very pleasant, but out of politeness, I wish you every success in the days to come." Bang! The aether ball shattered in the Dark Sovereign''s hands. He stamped on the pieces and roared in rage. At the door, a sigh of relieve sounded. "It nearly scared me to death thinking that I''m one step too late..." Shi Dong stepped into the throne room and gazed at the Dark Sovereign, then smiled cheerfully. "Although I don''t know what happened, you should have no way out now, right?" In the numb look of the Dark Sovereign, dozens of purification musicians walked in from the door and surrounded him. "I didn''t expect the Religious Court of Inquiry to usher in a VIP just after reopening..." Shi Dong rubbed his hands anticipatively, gazing at the heretic in front of him, the look in his eyes enthusiastic and hungry. "Sure enough, the old saying is right A living dog is better than a dead lion. As long as one stays alive for long enough, what odd incidents are there that one cannot encounter?" The mist surrounding the Dark Sovereign shook violently. He was enraged by Shi Dong''s impudent gaze, and his eyes were red. But soon, the look in his eyes turned into one of nervousness and alarm. It was because Shi Dong took a small bottle out slowly. The fist-sized bottle seemed to have been kept by his side for a long time. It was often taken out from time to time to be wiped diligently and wasn''t even stained by one single speck of dust, being very well maintained in an unparalleled manner. With a poof, the cork was pulled out. The crisp sound caused the mist that made up the Dark Sovereign''s body to shake, as if it was trembling. "This way please, Your Majesty." Shi Dong''s steel vocal cords vibrated, and he cackled. "Our good days are still aplenty..." ... As the scepter of hell shattered, the ocean of radiance gradually dissipating as well. In the end, the shadow of Avalon returned to silence and seemed even more dilapidated, no longer being as brilliant as it was moments ago. The golden dragon also dimmed gradually, and became blurred. In the end, something seemed to stick out a small paw from the radiance and put it on Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder, tapping it to express approval. Well done, keep up the good work! Then, the golden dragon disappeared without a trace. Ye Qingxuan reached out and caught the weak Mary. Mary woke up from her dazed state, saw the face that was close at hand, and forced a smile. "Take a rest first, Your Majesty, it has ended," Ye Qingxuan said softly. "I saw... the memory of that thing..." Mary whispered softly, "Be careful, the one that has resurrected... is not Leviathan... It''s not..." She still wanted to say some more, but the last of her willpower had been exhausted. Her eyes closed weakly, and she descended into a long slumber. Ye Qingxuan was momentarily surprised and frowned. He did not understand what Mary meant. But obviously, when the Dark Sovereign was parasitic on Mary, she must have seen something, something that she insisted on reminding me even if it would exhaust all her strength doing so. The one who has resurrected is not Leviathan? Then who would it be? Too many questions in his mind received no answers, making him dare not relax for the slightest bit after defeating the Dark Sovereign, and an ominous feeling still lingered in his heart. It didn''t take long before Shi Dong returned once more. Ye Qingxuan looked up. "Is it settled?" "Yep." Shi Dong nodded and lifted the palm-sized bottle in his hand. It seemed as if the fire of purgatory was lingering in the bottle, and everything inside was red. At the deepest part of the fire, in the cage consisting of layers of music theory, a humanoid figure that mist had gathered into was convulsing painfully, to the extent that it didn''t even have strength to scream in pain anymore. "Although it took us some trouble, at least he didn''t manage to run away," said Shi Dong. "We finally have one less trouble." Ye Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and looked up, but saw the complicated look on Shi Dong''s face. "What''s wrong?" Shi Dong sighed. "Our alchemists found something in the palace. If my guess is correct, our troubles have just begun..." As he said so, he lifted a hand and shook the bottle in his hand The fire swayed, causing the figure that was convulsing weakly to struggle in pain again. "Wake up, sir, the storytelling convention has begun." Shi Dong lifted his hand and pressed his aged face against the bottle, gently prompting, "Hurry up, stand up and share your shameful little secret with everyone." "In your dreams!!" The Dark Sovereign hissed. "You think..." Before he finished his words, Shi Dong started shaking the bottle impatiently. As he shook it, the torture caused by the Purifying Fire became more and more painful, making the Dark Sovereign barely able to suppress his screams. It didn''t take long before pleas for mercy sounded from the inside. The Religious Court of Inquiry had always been skilled at torture, let alone torture designed for VIPs like the dark chancellors. They had already prepared the full set of service for the Dark Sovereign long ago. The torture not only consisted of interrogation techniques directed at his tenacity, but also involved the corrosion and destruction of music theory. The bottle was a cage specially built for creatures like him. In the long period of time since it was created, Shi Dong had been safekeeping it close to himself. It never left his side and had never been damaged in the slightest bit. As long as the Dark Sovereign was trapped in the bottle, he would never get to turn the tables and could only serve as a plaything. Unfortunately for the Dark Sovereign, when he wanted to speak, Ye Qingxuan no longer needed his answer. At the very moment, the earth suddenly quaked. The sky of the shadow of Avalon suddenly cracked and revealed a gap. A dim stream of flowing light flew in, flying randomly in the sky of the city in the shadows, like a fly without its head. In the end, it finally sensed Ye Qingxuan''s existence. Tugged by music theory, it fell from the sky and cast itself towards where he was. Ye Qingxuan lifted a hand and clutched the thing that had taken the initiative to fall into his hand. It was an ancient scroll. God knew how much time had scoured it, its colors had become faded and yellowed, and the leather was covered in scratches. It felt heavy in his hand, and Ye Qingxuan''s hand shook, almost unable to hold it firmly. In the lengthy silence, Ye Qingxuan''s face turned dark, and the hand holding the scroll trembled slightly. "What''s wrong?" It was the first time Shi Dong saw such a sombre Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan said nothing and simply flipped his wrist to show the old man the characters inscribed at the beginning of the scroll. It was the name of the scroll... Genesis! ... Five minutes ago, at the edge of the uptown, under the huge enchantment, the old musician knelt on the ground weakly. He looked down with difficulty at the blade coming out of his chest. Blood flowed out of the wound, staining his robes red. "Lancelot... Why?" "Sorry, Sir Haydn." Lancelot pulled out his sword, expressionless. "Thank you for everything you have done for the country." Haydn fell to the ground. Viscous blood slowly flowed out of his body, taking away the last of his life. Haydn reached out difficultly, dipped his finger into the blood, attempting to write down the last few notes, but the back of his hand was stepped on by an iron boot. Lancelot lowered his head and looked down at him, casting a shadow of death. " Anglo will remember your contribution, but it no longer needs you." The sword lifted, and the sword fell. Haydn''s head tumbled onto the ground and stopped breathing completely. The murky pair of eyes were wide open, unable to close even in death. Lancelot coldly kept his sword and kicked the hindering head aside. Then, he lifted the heavy iron box on the ground, turned back, and looked at the child who was curled up in the corner. "Let''s go, Your Royal Highness." He said calmly, " It''s time to end all this." ... At the moment, Genesis quietly fell apart. The heavens and the earth rumbled. In the distance, the loud noise of the ocean boiling sounded. It was as if the seven seas were cheering and countless demons were hissing. Avalon shook violently, stirring up terrifying tides, which swept in all directions. Under the layers of the earth''s crust, the gushing river of blood lost its last restraint and spread rapidly towards the ground. Wherever it passed, all the soil and rocks rapidly became active and started pulsing like flesh and blood. The last line of defense of the country, the remaining restraint of Leviathan... The third seal had been broken! 599 The Holy Operation In the darkness, a regretful sigh sounded from the throne. "It has more or less reached its limit." "Mhmm," a voice replied. "Thanks for taking care of me since birth, Maxwell," the person on the throne said. "Mhmm," the old man responded. In the silence, the sound of the tide could be heard from afar. "Maxwell, is that the sound of the sea?" the voice asked. "Mhmm," the old man answered in affirmation. "I have been listening to it for more than 30 years, it''s really annoying. After being imprisoned for so long, I really want to abandon this position to go travel around. Will you accompany me?" the voice asked again. "Your Majesty, I will always stand guard by your side," Maxwell replied. "Where would be a good place to go? How about Burgundy? Although the people are very annoying, the wine is not bad and the food is good. I heard that it''s also quite warm in autumn. Asgard is beautiful, but it''s too cold," the voice said. "Anywhere''s fine," Maxwell responded. "Yeah, anywhere''s fine." The person on the throne murmured softly, "It has already come to this point in time, yet I''m still thinking about living freely. Having entrusted the throne to me, my father and brother must surely be very disappointed?" "No." Maxwell said, "You are the fully deserving ruler of Anglo, the master I approve of, the unparalleled empress." The empress giggled, like the girl she had been when they first met. Her laughter was freed of shackles. Having shed its dignified pretenses, it was light-spirited, like a flying bird. "Maxwell, are you still here?" "I''m here," he replied. She reached out and fumbled about in the darkness. Her fingertips touched the man kneeling before the throne and stroked his cheek, lovingly and gently. "Maxwell, I am so sleepy, can I sleep for a while first?" "Mhmm," he said. "After I wake up, please give me a hug," she said. "Mhmm," he affirmed. She smiled. "Goodnight, Maxwell." "Goodnight." In the dark, tears were shed. "My queen." In the nation in the shadows, the throne room in the palace of Avalon, Ye Qingxuan silently gazed at the empty palace. Looking around, he could only see dust and broken weathered remains. What was once the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth had fallen into the shadows. The magnificent city back then had already become ruins occupied by demon parasites, and even the throne room was dilapidated. It was like a cage. Under the guidance of an alchemist, an armored knight lifted the sledgehammer and smashed it on the spot before the throne with all his might. The floor cracked, and a hollow echo was heard. It didn''t take long before a huge gap appeared on the ground. Under the illumination of the lantern, the darkness in the crack dissipated slightly, revealing the vast space hidden underneath. "Is it here?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "It should be right." Shi Dong nodded, lifted the bottle, and shook it. "Anything else that you want to add?" The figure in the bottle screamed in distress and pleaded, but didn''t provide any more useful information. Soon, the knights let down the ropes. Two organists hung their lanterns at their waists and descended along the ropes into the dark space below. It didn''t take long before they sent a signal indicating that the coast was clear. The alchemists and the armored knights slid down one by one. Finally, Ye Qingxuan held on to the carabiner and slid into the space that had been sealed for hundreds of years along the ropes. "Wow, it''s big indeed." Shi Dong made his descent shortly after and saw the vast underground palace illuminated brightly by the giant searchlights. He examined the countless foliage-like alchemy arrays on the walls. He said, "By right, Avalon and its shadow correspond to each other, anything that Avalon has must exist in the nation in the shadows as well. There''s such a large space under the throne in the nation in the shadows, then what about in the palace of Avalon?" "The final homeland defense front," Ye Qingxuan replied. "Its physical body is placed there and consists of three hyper gigantic instruments of harmonious melody named after archangels. The entire palace is actually a huge alchemy musical instrument, like a giant organ. It is connected to various parts of the country via the aether flow in the leylines, and the entire Anglo is under its control. The king simply has to sit on the throne to play it, with Firebird as fingers and the territories of the country as the instrument." "What about the power source?" Shi Dong asked, "Where is the aether furnace of such a huge war weapon? I doubt it can operate even if ten orchestras of musicians propel it?" Ye Qingxuan had a complicated expression on his face. "I didn''t know it before, but now I have a vague idea." Where is the aether furnace? Where else can it be? The heart of the Mountain of Nomadism can be converted into an aether circuit, so... why can''t Leviathan''s? Especially since all of Avalon is Leviathan''s original body. Shi Dong understood what he meant and couldn''t help but smile mockingly. "The kings of the country are crazy indeed, can I say that it runs in their blood?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing. He simply observed the huge facilities in the underground palace silently, as well as the countless alchemy matrices extending outwards, and his brow gradually furrowed. "Alright, now the problem is," Shi Dong remarked beside him, "although I barely know alchemy, I think that whatever is placed here is definitely not the one you were talking about." Ye Qingxuan said nothing and withdrew his gaze after a good while. "Yes, it''s different from outside. Neither instruments of harmonious melody nor other related equipment can be found here." He said softly, "It''s a smelting cauldron." "Smelting cauldron? What alchemists use to smelt alloys and potions?" Shi Dong asked. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time and suddenly ordered, "Every one of you, out." The entourage of knights of the Witch Hammer standing guard around them and the alchemists studying the arrays were surprised, but after seeing Ye Qingxuan''s expression, they said no more and obeyed the order. Soon, they had all climbed up along the ropes. Shi Dong stayed, and with a smile, he refused to leave. Ye Qingxuan glanced at him and did not shoo him away, but simply looked down, analyzing the alchemy arrays rapidly along their veins. Using the way of deciphering to perform induction, Ye Qingxuan rapidly deconstructed the complex surface layer of the alchemy array. He proceeded on to the outflowing layer, forming layer, creating layer, and finally the circulating layer. In the end, the huge array connecting the entire shadow of Avalon converged into one point. Ye Qingxuan''s steps stopped and he looked up. Above the ceiling was the wreckage of the smashed-up throne. "Sure enough, it''s here," he murmured softly. Shi Dong seemed to have gotten into the role of a professional sidekick and asked in a timely manner, "Have you gotten a lead?" "More or less." Ye Qingxuan said in a low voice, "The style is very familiar: classical deconstruction, orthodox alchemical formulas, and induction process, as well as traces of music theory of the earliest period. I can more or less guess who was the one to set up this place..." Who is it? Who else can it be? In all of Avalon, all of Anglo, no, the whole world, who else would cause such trouble? Who enjoys causing trouble so much? And who is so good at causing trouble? There is only one answer. Hermes, that asshole. Even after his death, so many problems remain. Ye Qingxuan pressed his faintly aching temples, and remarked in a low voice, "You do people great harm, boss..." The core of so-called alchemy was the basic formula of the school of modificationsequal exchange. Hermes abided accordingly and laid the foundation for alchemy. With alchemy, a goal could be achieved by replacing everything via formulas and passing them through the four layers of interface, such that they would undergo blackening, yellowing, greening, whitening, and finally reddening. It could sublime usual items of the mortal world into miracles and turn black iron into gold. It could be considered a pioneering creation that set the world on fire. But ultimately, its original essence was just about turning one thing into another. Even the alchemy array that Hermes had inscribed here was nothing more than that. It was just that its scale was too large and the assumptions involved were too terrifying. It even combined all seven systems of music in it, with various types of music theory and propositions within the seven systems intertwining and entangling into one inextricably. If not for the Heaven Ladder in his hands, Ye Qingxuan probably couldn''t make sense of it either. Even for Hermes, it probably wasn''t an easy task to set up such a large and complex alchemy array? So, what else is there in the world that is worthy of being smelted so troublesomely using an alchemy array of such an incredible scale by who was once Merlin? The answer is so obvious that it''s going to reveal itself anytime now. Ye Qingxuan exhaled a deep breath along with the agitation in him and squeezed out a few words, "The holy operation..." Such was the truth of Arthur''s holy operation. Using Avalon, it extracted the aether flow in the leylines of Anglo, almost making use of the whole of the country''s territories. It united the vast country as one, truly bringing together the power of the entire country to produce the miraculous system. After it was completed, even Hermes regretted his past recklessness and frivolity, wanting to bury it completely. Provided that Ye Qingxuan''s guess was correct, even the homeland defense front was adapted from it. "This is where Arthur built the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, where he sought to ascend as God after gathered the human, material, and financial resources of the entire country." Ye Qingxuan stood in the core of the alchemy array, overlooking the surrounding area. Countless perception threads of moonlight extended from his hands, allowing him to observe the entirety of the huge system. Countless formulas were solved by induction using the way of deciphering. In the end, the array became pure numbers, and a simple conclusion was drawn. "Nine equals two?" Ye Qingxuan was almost amused by the answer, but he failed to muster a laugh. "What is that? A strange formula?" Shi Dong asked. "It''s a method of expression in alchemy, the format used by the earliest alchemists." Ye Qingxuan''s kept his eyes low. "Alchemists regard the whole world as an organic transformation process, and in the process, each existing being has its own Case, be it human or something else... "The higher the Case, the more important the role it plays in the overall process, and the more precious it is. Alchemists use formulas to derive results and name all things on earth according to the numbers obtained. "It is one of the important reasons why the early Church has always unwaveringly attempted to finish the alchemists off for good: Only God can measure the value of all beings. "Be it an ordinary human, a demon, a musician or even a saint or a catastrophe, it is nothing but a sheer unit in the process of alchemy. "The value of an ordinary person is too little, and the person can only be used as blank material, so the Case is ''zero equals zero''. Further up would be musicians and demons capable of controlling aether, or the alchemy equipment and special metals... Only items with a Case equal to or above ''one equals ten'' are worth creating. "Meanwhile, ''nine minus two'' is already the maximum that can be achieved in the mortal realm. A ''ten equals zero'' item only exists in theory, and it is an existence that has combined all meanings, powers, the past and the future. Humans usually refer to it as the Originator. "Such is the truth of the holy operation. Arthur, whose attainments had stopped at the Level of Scepter, was unwilling to bow to the Church. He wanted to have powers comparable to the three kings, or even powers greater than that, surpassing that of catastrophes. He wanted to be the one and only emperor of the mortal realm, a being only one step away from the Originator." After listening to his words, Shi Dong was silent for a long time and finally remarked, "It''s quite terrible indeed." "There''s more." Ye Qingxuan looked down, expressionless, and tapped a few times on the alchemy array under his feet with his boots. "Keep in mind the basic principle of alchemy, equal exchange. The value of an item has already been defined by its Case. If you want to create gold, you have to pay a price equal to that of gold. "Even in his heyday, Arthur was merely at the peak of the Level of Scepter, so how could he be comparable with an existence almost surpassing a catastrophe? And who was the one who paid for the price difference in between?" Shi Dong was stunned. He understood what Ye Qingxuan meant, and with how dark his thinking was, it was only natural for him to be able to understand Arthur''s intentions. With Ye Qingxuan''s explanation and his own knack for stratagem, it was of course not difficult for Shi Dong to think of the only answer. It''s very simple. Too easy even Hermes had paved the way, Arthur only had to walk down it. If the materials are not enough, just make up the deficiency. If the value is not enough, just add more value. If the Chapter of the Golden Victory does not suffice, there''s still the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. If the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth does not suffice, there''s still Avalon. If Avalon still does not suffice, just offer all of Anglo up. Since he wanted to become a catastrophe, then... he only had to find a catastrophe to pay the price for him! Coincidentally, everything he needed was available around him, at his fingertips... "For example, Her Royal Highness the Queen who was close at hand is Leviathan," said Ye Qingxuan. Such was the truth of the holy operation. He killed a catastrophe and robbed it of its power to make himself a catastrophe. He sacrificed the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, sacrificed Avalon, sacrificed all of Anglo, sacrificed his love, sacrificed everything for his own accomplishment. Right from the beginning, he had already completed all the necessary preparations for the day of his ascension as a god. Everything was ready. "The king and his accomplice kidnapped the queen and jailed her in the dream..." Ye Qingxuan softly sang the song that had once echoed in Avalon in the dead of the night, and his gaze gradually turned cold. Shi Dong sighed. "So in other words, the reason behind Leviathan''s obsession with Anglo for so many years is retaliation against what Arthur did back then?" "Retaliation? What for?" With his head low, Ye Qingxuan gazed at the alchemy array on the ground, and his voice became hoarse. "Surely you are not thinking that the alchemical process could begin once they had tied Leviathan up, put it here, and closed the cage? Super-large alchemy arrays that involve God knows how many fine, precise details like this one can''t operate like that. It requires the absolute cooperation of the participants. In other words," he looked at the alchemy array at his feet and could only feel a deep sense of being ridiculed by reality, "Leviathan was voluntary..." As the inferring reached this step, the conclusion was already clear as day. For centuries, Leviathan''s targeting of Anglo had definitely not been an act of revenge. She was so deeply in love with Arthur, despite him robbing her of power, life, and everything else Although the holy operation failed at the last juncture for reasons unknown, once the alchemy array was activated, the first to be destroyed was definitely Leviathan itself. This much could be established beyond any doubt. The real Leviathan had died a long time ago. It had died a few centuries ago 600 The Way of Relief Now Ye Qingxuan understood what Mary meant. It was not Leviathan that was to be resurrected. It would never be Ye Qingxuan deciphered the alchemy metrics, reading the remained messages in there to dig out the dark facts that had been buried there in the long history of time and piece them together to get the facts. No body knew exactly why Arthur had failed to finish his path of godly ascension. However, the path didn''t seem to have failed, it was rather paused due to some unexpected cause. All the alchemy metrics that were running smoothly indicated this. everything was running perfectly as anticipated by Hermes. All the steps were taken, except the final crucial step C to turn Arthur into a catastrophe. The consciousness of the Leviathan was wiped out and all its power separated from her, waiting to be endowed upon Arthur. Yet the path stopped right there. And with this one final step less, the path went nowhere. Although no one knew what happened exactly, the result was as seen by everyone. The failed Arthur was sealed in the palace in the Shadow of Avalon and the power of Leviathan, separated from its owner, turned into a periodical phenomenon and tried to converge to its core to finish the last step of the path. That as the cause of everything. The hundreds of years of suffering and pain began. As long as Arthur was alive, the power of Leviathan would never disperse and would come back again and again. And what''s the funniest, was the fact that it was the descendants of his C his descendants who had inherited the dragon blood and the curse that had been stopping Arthur taking the last step in the hundreds of years. On one hand, every generation of the royal family had tried to reinforce the seal of the Shadow of Avalon. Yet on the other hand, they sucked the power of Leviathan out with their dragon blood royal family members as bait, and then destroy the power together with the family member to postpone the last step of the path of godly ascension. This was a paradox. Without the dragon blood, the royal family member could not control the defense line of Anglo to stop Leviathan''s power from coming back. Yet anyone with the dragon blood could not resist the order given by Leviathan, or we should say, Arthur. The bloodline of Leviathan endowed them with power, and with it, the curse. Just like Ye Qingxuan, he could not fight against even several drops of blood of Leviathan, not to mention Leviathan itself. Ye Qingxuan could never get rid of the threat of the curse without the Blood of Deva which was not afraid of the iron of decay. Once the dragon blood got dense enough to wake up the firebird, the beast nature in the dragon blood would gradually control the consciousness of the host. It would break the stability of the host''s mind and cause wickedness and madness. Mary was the example for this. Ye Qingxuan fell silent. After a while, he suddenly raised his head and looked coldly at the bottle in Shi Dong''s hand. "Is there anything you haven''t told me yet?" The shadow in the bottle shivered and said frightfully, "I''ve told you everything! I''ve told you everything that I know." Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh and waved his hand. Shi Dong smiled and raised his hand. Then, he began to shake the bottle violently. He liked this so much, and would never miss any chance to do it. While playing with it, he felt he could live for another hundred years. The fire writhed like water, bringing suffering and pain beyond the limit. This was the fruit of hundreds of years of wisdom of the Religious Court of Inquisitors, and it was inflicted upon the Dark Sovereign without any mercy. He shouted curses; he roared in pain; he moaned in weakness; and finally, he could not give any sound. He was like dead. Shi Dong stopped shaking the bottle. Looking at the bottle coldly, Ye Qingxuan said, "is there anything you want to say now? like, why did you make so many efforts to control Mary and bring her to the Palace in the Shadow of Avalon?" The figure in the bottle twitched in pain and managed to say, "body Arthur needs a new body" The figure in the bottle didn''t dare to hide anything anymore and spilled out everything he knew, "Arthur cannot hold it any longer. His body is dying and was jointing with the sealTo get freedom, he must have a new body" Silence fell. Sitting on the ground, Ye Qingxuan lit up the cigarette on his lips. "You should tell earlier." Understanding the order, Shi Dong went to the side and began to shake the bottle like crazy. Ye Qingxuan smoked the cigarette in silence, looking grim. He finally figured out why Maxwell rebelled: he had to kill Mary. He had to do it because the dragon blood in Mary''s veins was too dense. She should have died 15 years ago after all the suffering and pain. Yet Hermes prolonged her life, together with the curse C the dragon blood would grow stronger with time. If Ye Qingxuan got it right, Elizabeth''s dragon blood was too dense, it was beyond the limit. To pass the throne down to Mary smoothly, she turned herself into a monster. Yet at the same time, she became a spare body for Arthur. After Maxwell''s assassination, Elizabeth got killed by the Lance of Dragon Slayer. The dragon blood in her body began to deteriorate and the body was thus unusable. That left Arthur only one choice. Mary. To control Arthur, the Dark Sovereign struck first. He planned to take Mary in his hands and use her to threaten Arthur. Otherwise, if Arthur was resurrected and took control of Leviathan''s power, he would have the combined power of the scepter of heaven and the power of the king of hell and there would be no chance to have him under control. Yet, he planned everything except one thing C he was abandoned by Arthur. Or, Arthur had never trusted him from the very beginning. Ye Qingxuan raised his head and gazed at the dark sky above. Is it too late now? - In the darkness, Lancelot lit up a fire. The fire lightened up his face and the withered man by the throne ten steps away. On the throne, there sat the king, who was no longer breathing. As if sensing something was coming to him, the withered man raised his eyes and looked at Lancelot. Showing no expression at all, Lancelot, lowering his head, lit up the lamp and put it on the ground. Gentle light lightened up the shabby hall. Raising his head, he looked at the old man on the other side of the barrier of the Stone Sword. "Maxwell, long time no see." Maxwell sneered and shook his head. "As expected, it was really you." "Em." Lancelot nodded his head. He didn''t show any sign of shame when he admitted it. He was calm and indifferent as usual. He looked at Maxwell and the ancient sword tossed on the stairs. After a long while, he heaved a sigh and said, "for all those years, there was one thing that I could not figure out: why the Stone Sword had picked you instead of me." "What is that you cannot figure out?" Maxwell said coldly, "you should have gotten the stone sword. But there was original sin remained in your heart." "Me?" Lancelot laughed. "Compared with you, I think, I''m intact in terms of morality." "Stop insulting morality, Lancelot." Looking at him coldly, Maxwell said, "if my guess is right, you chose the clan instead of the happiness of your sister, right? White ravenYou sold out Ye Lanzhou to the Church secretly, so that your father had to make the tough choice between the family and his daughter. He had to exile his daughter and killed himself due the guilt brought to him by that. At last, it was you that had it all." "My father was too weak. He had forgotten the destination of the Lancelot family." Lancelot was still calm, "the existence of Ye Lanzhou would destroy everything. The family had to be saved at any cost." Maxwell couldn''t help but sneered. "I should congratulate you, then. You''ve gotten everything you want. You had you family. So why did you ask for more?" "The Lancelot of every generation were dead fulfilling their duties to the royal family. I am no exception." "Yes. But the king you serve is different from the one that others have served" "This has been the destination of the Lancelot family from the very beginning. It was the curse on the family lineIt was not only the nation and the royal family that were cursed. We are cursed too" Lancelot asked coldly, "what had we done wrong? Nothing! We have sacrificed everything for Anglo, and now we don''t even have anyone to continue the bloodline. We have to force ourselves into the cage after we were born. Every head of our family was only a prisoner of this armor. We have to struggle and sacrifice everything, even our kids. When Christine was born, everyone was dancing and singing. But do you know how painful I felt? She always felt ashamed that she was not a man and could not inherit the Lancelot armor. Yet, I didn''t want her to have this tragic fate at all! You tell me, Maxwell, what have I done wrong? I just want to find our relief!" "So that you stamped the glory of your ancestors? So that you sold everything out? You surrender to the catastrophe?" Lancelot laughed, finally. It was a sneer. "Wasn''t this country made by catastrophe?" Maxwell didn''t answer. He lowered his head and laughed self-mockingly. "It is my fault. I should not talk about those meaningless things with you. After all those years of intrigue against each other, your have become muddleheaded and have forgotten your initial intentions. You may fool yourself with that set of excuses of yours, but that was nothing but bullshit to me. I almost forgot if not reminded by someone else. A mistake is a mistake, even when it was made for the so called ''big picture''. Mistakes must be punished. Otherwise, ''correctness'' would lose its meaning. We have lived too long so that we''ve forgotten why everything became like this." He paused for a moment, a shiny of coldness sparkled in his eyes. "I should have figure all this out earlier, Lancelot. It was a pity that I made up my mind too late." "Yes. You chose to slay the king." Looking at Maxwell, Lancelot said, "I underestimated youThere was only some trivial signs, yet you put on your guard. I once thought that I could never defeat you. Your vigilance and your determination are both terribly beyond me. You are so frightening, Maxwell." Maxwell shrugged. "Sorry, I am born like this." Lowering his head, Lancelot heaved a sigh. "If it were not you, his majesty should have been resurrected long ago. It should not have taken so long." In the silence, Maxwell got transfixed. He raised his head after a long time. "What were you just saying, Lancelot?" "Is there anything that you''ve forgotten? Glanced at Maxwell, Lancelot turned his head and wave at outside the gate. Then he said gently, "please come in, your highness." Then, a thin boy came in from outside the gate, holding an iron box too big for his size and looking around timidly. Maxwell''s expression changed when the boy showed up. He was the prince! The prince that had been forgotten by everyone, the prince with birth defect, the retarded Caressing the hair of the prince, Lancelot raised his head and looked at Maxwell. "I know that you have poisoned him to prevent him from being the carrier of Arthur''s power. However, he was after all the blood kin Arthur." "Uncle Lancelot, where is my sister?" hiding behind Lancelot in horror, the prince looked at Maxwell timidly and finally looked at the throne. "What''s wrong with my mom? Why didn''t she speak?" "Don''t be afraid. Her majesty is asleep." Comforting him gently, Lancelot raised his hand and pointed at Maxwell. "It is the guy with the beard that has killed her majesty." "Lancelot!!!" Maxwell shouted, "do you know what you are doing now? It''s not late to give it up now!" Ignoring him, Lancelot lowered his head and whispered by the prince''s ears, "do you want to protect your mother, your highness?" Glancing at Maxwell in terror and frightened by Maxwell''s anger, the prince nodded his head, "I do." Lancelot smiled. 601 Welcome Back "Excellent. Your Royal Highness is indeed a good boy." Lancelot patted the prince on the shoulder and said softly, "Then open the box, open it and you''ll be able to protect your mother." "Shut your mouth!" At the moment, Maxwell roared like a lion. His eyes were lit up with a flare as brilliant as gold. He grasped his sword and moved forward, as the heavens and the earth roared. A brilliance as bright as the sun gathered around the blade. Lancelot put himself between Maxwell and the eldest prince. He looked at Maxwell indifferently, his hand already pressing against the hilt of the sword at his waist. As they brushed past each other in an instant, countless sparks flashed. It was as if endless time had been compressed into an instant. Then, the sound of steel shattering rang out. The stone sword was pressed against Lancelot''s neck, making a bloody wound. In Lancelot''s hand, the long sword that had accompanied him for many years broke. Lancelot was silent for a moment, sighed, then threw the hilt down. What remained of the long sword fragmented on the ground and shattered into iron sand. "You''re really fast, faster than I expected." Lancelot whispered, "Fortunately, I''ve come prepared." He raised his head and looked at Maxwell. Maxwell said nothing. He couldn''t move. As if he had been frozen by time in that very instant, he became transfixed at that moment. All his movements stopped dead, from eyes to fingertips, every part of his body was unable to move. Lancelot reached out and pulled out the stone sword from his hand. The stone sword felt like a scorching hot branding iron in his hand and instantly charred his five fingers, but all of its glow dimmed rapidly. As he loosened his grip, the sword landed on the ground, and returned to its original state of dullness and normalcy, no longer possessing any unusual magical powers. "I spent the first half of my life preparing to inherit the sword, and although it did not pick me... I know where its power lies better than anyone else." Lancelot walked up the steps and pulled out the Lance of the Dragon Slayer that had been wedged into the throne, letting Elizabeth''s body slip off the throne and onto the ground. He turned back and continued looking at Maxwell. "Surely you didn''t think that I would confront it without making any preparations?" Bang! The Lance of the Dragon Slayer broke through the air. Thrust by Lancelot, it pierced through Maxwell, pinning him to the ground, but no blood came out of his wounds. As if scorching hot molten copper was pouring into his body, Maxwell convulsed in pain. The violent power of the lance burned his blood vessels and the flesh around his wounds. His skin cracked inch by inch, and his bones whined forlornly. "You shall witness it just like this." Lancelot looked down on him indifferently. "Witness how your nightmare returns." At that moment, the cowardly boy finally opened the iron box. A hoarse laugh seemed to come from within the dark iron box. The eldest prince was stunned for a moment and raised his head, wanting to look at Lancelot. But at that moment, a shrill voice burst out from the iron box, rose up high into the sky, and swept towards all directions. The ocean shook. It was a mighty roar resembling that of a dying dragon. A terrifying pressure was born from the air. Then, a seemingly endless tide of darkness spewed out from the tiny iron box, flooding the entire throne room. Countless illusions of hurricanes, storms, thunder, and lightning emerged from within. In the depths of the darkness, a pair of dim red eyes lit up, filled with supreme joy. The day had finally arrived! The boundless darkness surged. In the darkness, only the shrill scream of the eldest prince could be heard. "It hurts, mom, it hurts.! Save me! Sister, sister... Arghhh!!!!" The mad scream lasted for tens of minutes. Across the thick darkness, it seemed as if a furious behemoth was pounding on the ground, causing the entire floor of the throne room to fall apart. In the end, countless masses of darkness swirled inwards, drawn by the terrifying pull, and collapsed towards the center. Clouds of dust swelled. The opened iron box was thrown onto the ground, already distorted during the prince''s painful struggles and vents. In the center of the hall, on the ground covered in cracks, the thin body panted exhaustedly, sweating profusely. It was as if, in a flash, the boy had suddenly grown up. The boy slowly lifted his head, revealing the dark, elongated, beast-like pupils, and rose from the ground slowly. "Thin, too thin." He frowned, examining his hands, and croaked in a hoarse voice that sounded like steel scraping against each other, "Lancelot, this body could hardly be of good use!" Lancelot went down on one knee and kept his head low. "Please pardon my incompetence." The ''boy'' moved his body. With his subtle movements, the dragon scales emerged faintly from under his skin, the grotesque bestiality restrained in the cage within his five fingers. But for some reason unknown, a forbidding scar appeared on his chest. It was like an old wound of his past that had already healed, yet had almost torn his entire body apart once. "In the end, it still can''t be patched up." He asked, "Where is Mordred, that useless scum? He can finally be of some use." Lancelot answered, "Pardon my incompetence, His Royal Highness fled six months ago." "Is that so?" The hoarse voice took on a meaningful tone. "Then we have to come up with some other way." As he lifted a finger, Firebird as black as ink oozed out of his body, winding in and out between his joints and muscles, and the cracking of bones constantly sounded. His body increased in height once more, and his face began to change. In the end, the Firebird turned into grand, majestic attire, covering his naked body, and only weak traces of the boy''s original facial features were left. In place of the boy''s face was a face full of indifference and coldnessArthur. He turned back, looked at the man who was pinned to the ground and laughed. "Maxwell? It''s been a long time since I last saw you." Stepping on the shattered floor, he walked over to Maxwell, lowered his head, and looked down at him with a nostalgic expression. "It seems that you like the name very much and have actually used it until now." Maxwell raised his head difficultly and examined the face for a good while, before replying hoarsely, "It''s been a long time, Your Majesty." "It seems that you still remember me. I thought that items like you would quickly put their creator behind them after having a new master." Arthur crouched down and reached out, clutching Maxwell''s hair and forcing the old man to look at him. "Did you know? For so many years, in the cage, I always missed you." Arthur reached out and pressed the skin of his chest beneath the clothes. When he touched the scar, his fingers twitched slightly, as if he felt the fierce phantom pain once more. "I was always thinking, how should I punish your betrayal?" "Betrayal? You''ve got to be kidding..." Maxwell shook his head and asked, "Your Majesty, when you created me, didn''t you intend for me to be the one to betray you?" So, Arthur''s gaze became colder. "Anybody else could be the one, Maxwell." He gazed at the discomposed man in front of him and said, one word at a time, "But not you. Life, tenacity, soul... I gave you everything." "You gave me too much, Your Majesty." Maxwell interrupted his words and looked at him, no sign of fear in his gaze. "So much that it made me resentful. Didn''t you create me for your own personal achievement during the holy operation? "I can die for you, but others have owed you nothing. When you were alive, the Blood Path was already leading to the shadow of the city. After you ascend as a god, the mortal realm will become hell. "From the moment you made Gawain your guinea pig, causing him to be stuck in such a state, for the sake of your ascension, I have known that you have become a monster. Leviathan''s blood has dominated you, and you have become a demon!" "Ridiculous!" Arthur said coldly, "I am the one in control of everything!" "Forget it, Your Majesty." Maxwell laughed indifferently. "You can''t even control me, can you?" Having said so, he looked at Arthur''s chest, and his gaze turned more and more mocking. The scar. As he looked at it, Arthur felt as if the phantom pain had returned once more. Arthur''s expression turned uglier and uglier, and he gazed at Maxwell coldly. His gaze was all it took for Maxwell''s body to crack and let out a forlorn whine in the process. Maxwell''s face was pale. Being powerless to resist, he convulsed, and the veins in his face bulged. "It seems that you really cherish your current identity." Arthur reached out and knocked on his face. "It''s just a shell, but it looks fairly adequate. If not for your words just now, I would have almost forgotten what you are. "I shouldn''t have bothered talking about concepts like gratitude in the first place to items like you that can''t even be considered human. My bad. " He paused briefly, then suddenly reached out and grabbed Maxwell by the neck, forcibly lifting him from the ground. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer tore his wounds apart, causing Maxwell to roar fiercely. "Listen, Maxwell, the reason I have yet to completely take you apart into a pile of trash at the moment because you''re still considered slightly useful." Arthur looked at him coldly. "If you really feel any sense of attachment to the world, when everything is over, I can leave you Avalon, this godforsaken place, for you to play your little game of love and kindness with human beings. But now, you better be more cooperative." "Never!" Maxwell squeezed out a word. Arthur sneered. "It isn''t up to you to decide. Don''t forget who created you." He reached out, and the stone sword lying quietly on the ground flew up by itself and fell into his hands, causing him to smile mockingly. "See, even if you have a rebellious streak, you must still obey." Arthur flipped his right hand, lifting the stone sword, and stabbed at Maxwell. Bang! Although it was a sound resulting from metal penetrating flesh, a loud bang resembling that of a giant bell being rung was given off. Pierced through by the stone sword, Maxwell''s body cracked to form a large gap, revealing no organs within. A fiery flare operated within. It was the result of countless strands of music theory intertwining and evolving into a blood-like stream of a river. At the moment, as the stone sword pierced into it, the fiery flare immediately shook violently, and threw itself into the blade against its will. Maxwell''s body shattered inch by inch. In the end, his face turned into ashes and dissipated in the wind. Meanwhile, in Arthur''s hand, the ancient long sword was no longer dull nor cracked, and it had returned to the majestic and lush state it was in centuries ago. It seemed as if it had been forged out of blazing sunlight, and the elements formed by the seven virtues operated within, establishing its core. Just by watching it, one would experience hallucinations. It made one feel as if the world was revolving around it. As King Arthur waved it, the blade cut through the air, producing a clear whistling sound pleasant to the ears. "Welcome back, Maxwell." Arthur examined the blade, and a pleased smile appeared on his face. "My stone sword." 602 The Path to the Top In the quiet palace, Arthur turned around and walked slowly to his throne, the Stone Sword in his hand. After so many years of departure, the throne, smelt of the sweetness of the blood, felt still so familiar to him. He chuckled and said, "it feels so good to come back here again!" Sitting on the throne leisurely, he looked down to the place by Lancelot''s side. "Long time no see, Gawain. You are so weak and timid, as usual." Lancelot turned and looked to his side. There was no one there. But he could hear someone breathing nervously. "I was just awake from the sleep and you are already here to see me. By this, you''ve shown your loyalty to me. I can spare you from the punishment for doing nothing in those hundreds of years. "Your majesty" From the emptiness in the air came a trembling voice, "II''ve come here to give your majesty some advice" "Oh?" Arthur burst into a splutter of laughter. "The coward who hid himself in the armor and didn''t even dare to speak now has the courage to remonstrate against his king? It seems a lot of things have changed during these years. Considering your loyalty, I''ll give you a chance to say what you want." Supporting his chin with his arm, he said, looking intrigued, "show me what you have learnt from those glib-tongued courtiers." In the silence, only the gasping of Gawain was heard. Then, Gawain summoned all the courage he had and said, with a voice like a child''s, "things could turn better if your majesty could abandon your pursuit of godly ascension. The people have been waiting for your majesty to come back, and if you show your mercy to them, the heaven on earth will revive in no time." He stumbled over his words, and couldn''t say any more. On the throne, Arthur looked down with both pity and mockery in his eyes. "That''s all?" "Yes, your majesty." Gawain said, nervously. That''s all I ask of your majesty. Please take my humble advice. I''ll take any punishment your majesty considers proper on me. I''ll try all the experiments and never say no to your majesty." "Or?" Gawain didn''t answer. In the silence, Arthur heaved a sigh and touched the hilt of the Stone Sword with one hand. "You are still so annoying, Gawain, even after you''ve turned into ashes." Numerous broken pieces of crystal emerged slowly in the air and struggled to converge together. Finally, an incomplete figure of man showed up, with many voids and cracks all over the body. The man had a handsome face that is almost as pretty as a girl. But now that the face was full of cracks and dust, it was like a discarded mask. At the corner of the eyes, there was still stains of tears. "Then" The figure held the invisible sword in his hand and aimed it at the throne. "Please pardon me for betraying your majesty." In the silence, Lancelot lowered his head. He stood still, as if there were nothing happening around him. Boom! The sound of clashing of metals was heard in the darkness, and was drowned by the sound of storm. In the grim light, a cracked crystal ball fell from the body that had collapsed into pieces with a crisp click. Then, there was only the moaning of the Stone Sword. The ashes flew away. "I thought you have grown stronger than before." Arthur shook his head disappointedly. "You are on the brink of death yourself, how dare you draw your sword on me? This country has deteriorated in the several hundred of years. They have lost their manners in front of their king, and even have lost their awe to their king and their sensesOh, whatever. Now that I have come back, I will restore order in this country in no time. And to achieve that, I will wipe out all those obstacles in my way." Saying that, he put the stone sword into the stone in front of the throne. With both his hands holding on the hilt, he depressed the violent resistance of the sword against him until the light on the blade went out and the sword became quiet. "Let''s begin, then." He raised his eyes, in which the dark sun emerged again. Staring at the fires and fighting in the city, he sneered. Then, he shouted with a coarse voice which depressed all other noise in the rioting city and thundered in everyone''s ears, "the path to the top of the world!" The earth shook. The dark clouds covering the whole country were torn into pieces and the dark night sky was revealed, where numerous stars were twinkling dimly, as if they were to fall onto the earth at any moment. Endless dark firebirds spurted out of Arthur''s body and surged into the sky like dark flood. Then, the firebirds turned into the shape of hands and rushed to the shadows of the stars. Pulled by the firebirds, the light of the stars converged and then was devoured. The pull of the music theories twisted reality and time, a huge booming noise thundered between the sky and the sea. The path to godly ascension was re-opened! At that moment, everyone saw it. Along with the collapse of the dark firebirds, a huge crack was cut open at the center of the sky, through which glaring light poured in. The violent sun, born out of the endless music theories, cracked open the shell of the firebirds and hang in the sky, spraying out piercing light that was like fire. With the stone sword as the channel, Arthur sucked the power of Leviathan and began to generate the catastrophe like the sun. In the cheers, Arthur closed his eyes and laughed. Suddenly, his laugh stopped. Something was wrong. The operation of the path of godly ascension was stopped by something. "What is this?" Shocked, he lowered his head and looked at the ocean which is full of glaring light. There should be nothing in that place. Yet the smooth sea surface was covered with light, by which the reflection of Avalon was shown. That was the Country in the Shadow which had been sleeping in the darkness! The insulation between the physical world and the aether world was broken. Therefore, the ruined city asleep in the unreal image was reflected in the sea. In the reflection, there was a white-haired young man looked at the sun over the sky and gave a weird smile. Arthur stared at the young man, shocked. The young man raised the shabby scroll in his hand slowly. And he said, "let there be light" Then, there was light. A pure white moon quietly raised out of the reflection in the sea. It was shinning brightly. The light full of peace and tranquility filled the whole country of shadow, giving life to the deserted realm of the dead. The grand music theories of the Genesis were operating in the moon light and covered the whole city in the shadow. By the will power of Ye Qingxuan, the combination of ultra-light domain music theories and ultra-fine music control brought great changes to the situation. It was as if time were flowing back. The shattered streets were coming back to its original appearance, the collapsed walls began to rebuild themselves and broken beams and columns began to rise from the ruins. Then, bricks flew back to their original position from all over the city. The city was being pieced together In a short time, the city was intact again as if nothing had happed to it at all. The floor was clean, the walls were shiny, and the oil painting on the roofs were as fresh as it had ever been. The hundreds of years of time was turned back in a split second. The heaven on earth, which had been sucked out of all its resources and values, revived from the ruins and was now full of moonlight and miracles. And all the power needed for this, was drawn from the path of godly ascension, which should have belonged to Arthur only. Like a burglar broken into a treasure vault, he stole all the treasures and then used all of them up in a blink of his eyes. Everything was wasted. And all this was done in front of the owner of the vault. This was ridiculous! "This is not right! Not right!" Arthur opened his eyes and stared at the sword in his hand. He figured everything out instantly and roared, the firebirds rioting around him, "the sheath, where is the sheath? Maxwell! Where is my sheath?!" Arthur drove the firebirds onto the stone sword, which shook violently, causing the breaking of numerous music theories. The soul in the stone sword suffered great pain, yet instead of moaning, he burst out a crazy laugh. Where is the sheath? Where can it be? Of course it was where it should be! At that moment, with the heaven on earth being restored, the rhythm of the Chapter of the Golden Victory sounded all over the space, from the center of the country of shadow. In the imperial court, the white-dressed young girl who had been prisoned by Arthur for hundreds of years sat on the throne. Golden firebirds filled the whole space like ocean tides. All the power that Arthur had prepared for himself for the godly ascension was under the control of the new king. With the power of the whole Anglo converging with her, numerous music theories weaved a virtual figure of the sheath in the ocean-deep golden firebirds behind her. In the reflection, the figures of the golden hunt dogs were looming. They were looking at Arthur coldly. They were as proud as ever. The new king had the same blood of Leviathan, the same Chapter of the Golden Victory, the same key to the stone sword and the same rhythm of King of Anglo enhanced by the Pomp and Circumstance (March) I. The heaven on earth supported by the Genesis re-appeared, bringing with it the pull no less than that of Avalon''s to fight for the power of Leviathan against Arthur. Thus, the path of godly ascension was divided into two! Several hundred years ago, on the day when Arthur was to ascend to be a god, Maxwell betrayed him and cut off the path to godly ascension. Maxwell also left Arthur a severe wound on his chest and he anticipated the coming of this day at even that time. He knew that Arthur would come back one day and re-start the path of godly ascension. Yet, due to the core music theories of the stone sword, Maxwell couldn''t kill Arthur or himself. So, after he wounded Arthur severely, he chose to injure himself. Then, the music theories of the stone sword were divided into two parts, one of which was under Maxwell''s control and the other sealed in the sheath. He endured the suffering of division and threw the sheath into the dark world. To keep it at a place as far as possible to Arthur, he even entrusted it to the church to seal and hide it. The stone sword then became incomplete and the path to godly ascension was thus divided into two. If Hermes could see this, he would have laughed heartily. The dead king took the throne on the earth, yet the king of the human world struggled in the realm of the deadThis is hilarious! "What a pity, your majesty." Maxwell''s hoarse voice was heard from the sword, "it seems that your path to godly ascension will have to end here" Suddenly his laughter stopped and a painful roar was heard. With no obvious expression on his face, Arthur clenched his fist and said, "Lancelot." "Your majesty." Lancelot half-kneeled. "Your sword is broken. Take this one instead." Arthur stretched his arm and the Lance of the Dragon Slayer fell onto his hand. The dragon slaying music theories became iron hot when in contact with his hand. Holding the blade of the spearhead, he let it sucking his dragon blood until the shaking lance went quiet as if satisfied. He gave the lance to Lancelot. Then, he waved his hand. The dark firebirds converged and the masters of the first-generation royal music divisions emerged from the shadow. Those people had given all their lives to king Arthur. And now, the symphonies of predestination engraved on the bottom layer of the city were waken up. The holy spirits sealed in the symphonies, with the firebirds as their carriers, came back to the human world with all their powers. Driven by the will power of Arthur, the firebirds enveloping numerous music theories were transmitted onto Lancelot and turned into a virtual dark sun. "I bestow upon you the power of catastrophe. Take the royal music division and crush those who dare to claim my throne." The furious king, sitting on the throne, gave his order, "bring my sheath and my power back to me!" 603 The Dragon and the Dog Upon Arthur''s orders, Avalon shook. Beneath the city that had almost recovered to its past state, a river of blood gushed. The red water swirled up into the sky against gravity, then fell as raindrops of blood. As the drops sprinkled into the sea, they eroded the silvery white moonlight, as if they were falling into the city in the reflection. The pure white moon shook and radiance spilled from it. At the moment, in the hands of Ye Qingxuan, drawing the terrifying power of Mary, Genesis had opened up a new stratum between the realm of aether and the Physical World, enclosing the entire Kingdom of Heaven on Earth in it. Everything in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was under the control of Genesis. At the moment, the music theory of Genesis operated in the moon, casting the light that God had promised humanity on the city that had once slumbered in the shadows. Moonlight shone, resisting the invasion of the river of blood. For the first time since its birth, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth clashed with the power of Leviathan. After causing a loud bang to burst forth, the powers originating from the same source overlapped strangely. At the moment, Avalon had entered a state similar to that of the sacred city during the invasion of Hyakume back then. Everything in the Physical World was eroded by music theory, and the realm of aether collapsed downwards. The initially distinct duo overlapped here, mixing illusion and reality up. As a result of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and Avalon attacking each other, parts of the two began to superpose, turning the entire city into a huge maze. The superposing regions included the uptown, midtown, and the 24 islands surrounding the city. The roads connecting the regions all tangled into a mess. Meanwhile, right in the middle, drawing powers from the remains of the array of godly ascension left over from the past, Mary ascended the throne and engaged in a deadly battle with her ancestor, Arthur. After perceiving Lancelot''s actions, Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then entrusted Genesis into the hands of the purifying musicians and looked to the throne. On the throne, Firebird was operating. It continuously plundered the power of the path of godly ascension. Fiery golden flares burst forth from it, engulfing Mary''s figure, and one could only see the vague silhouette of the girl. Sensing Ye Qingxuan''s gaze, after a brief moment, her slightly hoarse voice rang out. "Mr. Ye, if you feel that it is necessary, go ahead." Mary paused for a while, seemingly hesitating, then said softly, "But please come back safe and well." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then nodded and promised, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I will be back in a while." Upon finishing his words, he looked at Shi Dong, who nodded in response. "Worry not, Grand Inquisitor, I do have some experience of protecting dignitaries. Before you come back, no mishaps shall happen to Her Majesty." "I''ll leave it to you then." Ye Qingxuan turned and walked towards the door of the throne room. In the loud noise of the rumbling coming from the heavens and the earth, he gazed at the assembled Witch Hammer. The Mountain of Nomadism hung high in the sky, casting a huge shadow on the ground. The clergymen in armor held the banner on which the holy emblem was embroidered with iron thread high and bowed their heads at him, going down on one knee. Raindrops with a bloody smell fell from the sky. They descended along the silent steel armors, splattered on the ground, and formed puddles, which reflected the silver hair of the young man and his icy, iron-like face. As Ye Qingxuan walked past them, glows lit up on the helmets of the knights on both sides, like giants waking up. Sounds of aether furnaces being started rang out one after another. Sounds of steel scraping against each other converged and resembled that of a swarm of bees flapping their wings while flying. On the banner, the holy emblem embroidered using iron thread gave off a scorching red glow. Fiery heat radiated from it, evaporating the blood rain falling on the banner. Behind Ye Qingxuan, in the distorted curtain of rain, holy emblems slowly lit up one after another as they were raised up high into the sky, proclaiming the advent of the trial. The terrifying heat radiated, dispelling the bone-chilling, dismal cold. The Witch Hammer advanced mightily, a cold gleam of iron reflecting off them, making them resemble mercury flowing in a groove. In the end, following his figure, the loud noise reverberated between the heavens and the earth. The flames had once again been ignited. ... As they advanced, Ye Qingxuan heard loud bangs continually bursting forth from the city, and everything was spinning dizzyingly. The labyrinth-like roads constantly shattered and reorganized, making it impossible to distinguish between directions. Soon, the collision between the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and Avalon finally came to an end. Shortly after, the radiance of the golden Firebird descended from the sky and landed on Ye Qingxuan''s head, turning into a crown. The strengthening effect from the Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 not only brought him power, but also entrusted the control of the city and the safety of the throne room into his hands. Ye Qingxuan finally got to experience how royalty felt when they were walked in the city. It was a fulfilling sensation of everything obeying one and being in one''s control. At the moment, he was no longer a designer of the city like how he initially was, but became the controller of the city instead. All means of defense were within his control. The city had become an extension of his flesh, changing at his will. He had been strengthened with all the defenses. As long as he was still alive, no one could break through the defenses of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and step into the throne room... In other words, if he died, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth would have no more barriers of defense. "It''s really a heavy responsibility, Your Majesty." He turned his head and gazed at the direction of the palace, sighing softly. When he turned back, he could already see the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, which could penetrate all layers of barriers and obstacles, amid the distorted light and shadows. As the lance took aim, the artifact created for the purpose of slaying Leviathan exuded a terrifying divine majesty. It cut the chaotic music theory off completely and restored everything to its original appearance. Surrounded by the souls of the dead, Lancelot, who was holding the meteorite metal in his hand, had put on his helmet once more. The blood-colored rainwater flowed on the helmet made of silver, revealing the cold grotesqueness of the magnificent decorative engravings on it. Behind the helmet, only a pair of cold, indifferent eyes could be seen. Lancelot showed not even the slightest hint of wavering even when facing the only son of his deceased sister. Ye Qingxuan gazed at Lancelot, trying to see a difference in his demeanor, but all he could see was the usual distantness. "Lancelot, must it really be like this?" Lancelot said nothing, but simply lowered his eyes, holding the end of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer in his hand. As he swung it, the lance swept across the ground, drawing a complete circle, with the starting and ending points overlapping. The blade scrapped against the stone, and sparks flew out. At the very moment when the circle was completed, an invisible force burst forth, and all the raindrops falling from the sky were pushed away. As if in fear, the water puddles on the ground fled one after another, forming a forbidding space of blankness. Amid the blankness, the blade was slowly lifted, and it pointed at Ye Qingxuan. "Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan understood and nodded. "That''s fine as well, lest I have to listen to your stories about ineffable difficulties and what not... To be honest, I''ve wanted to beat you up for a long time, and now that I finally have such an opportunity, it''s really great." As he said so, he slowly lifted a hand, and his voice rang out in everyone''s ear. "Have no qualms, annihilate the enemies!" The response he received was the rumble from the armored knights'' advancement, resembling that of dams bursting and torrents sweeping through, and the roar that reverberated through the entire battlefield. " Deus vult!!!" ... Just as the Witch Hammer clashed with the torrent of the Royal Musician Division, and the moonlight of pure white illuminated the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, Avalon and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth collided again for the second time. Amid the large-scale turmoil, tides which were hundreds of meters high were stirred up out of nowhere, sweeping and tumbling. The split paths of godly ascension collided with each other as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and Avalon superposed. On two identical thrones, the gazes of the distinctly different ancestor and descendant met across a seemingly far distance. On them, echoes burst forth from the blade and the sheath in resonance. The power of Leviathan turned into a torrent, continuously strengthening the two. The brilliance of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth became more and more dazzling, and the fury in Arthur''s heart soared higher and higher. "With dragon blood that you have stolen and a crown that you have stolen, you still dare to lay a finger on what is rightfully mine?!" The black Firebird suddenly roared. As willed by Arthur, it gathered into a ray in his palm, and he threw it towards the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Despite only being willpower which made use of aether as a medium, thunder and lightning burst forth from it. On Mary''s body, countless strands of music theory riveted themselves together. A phantom image of the sheath suddenly emerged. Along with it, the golden Firebird was stirred up and responded to the attack. As it came head to head with its forebear and source, the Firebird which should have collapsed immediately upon contact surprisingly clamped down in midair on the spear of darkness that Arthur had thrown, crushing it. The spear fell apart. Arthur was stunned for a moment, then he saw some even more unbelievable consequences. Without even requiring Mary''s tenacity, the Chapter of the Golden Victory operated, and the bestiality that had developed to its limit once again evolved into a dragon of gold. Numerous blades of swords emerged from the Firebird, swiping towards Arthur like sharp teeth. Orders from him and the suppression from Leviathan had no effect at all. To his shock, someone had actually broken the shackles resulting from the curse of the dragon blood! Flame-like darkness burst out of his body and burned the golden swords completely. The deep darkness collided with the brilliant gold. "What on earth is this?" Arthur gritted his teeth and extended a hand violently. "You evasive coward, show yourself!" In the roars, a vague eye emerged from the golden Firebird. The eye opened, and arrogantly cast a look of disdain at Arthur. Then, a blurry reflection emerged in the huge eye. One was able to vaguely make out that it was a gold-colored hound. The hound growled deeply, and shockingly controlled the music theory in the sheath to command the Chapter of the Golden Victory, staging a brutal counter-attack against Arthur. Firebird tore the air apart, and from it came a vague, speech-like voice, which was very familiar to Arthur. "Are you finding the chair to be a comfortable seat?" At the very moment, Arthur''s pupils dilated, and the reflection of the sun of darkness spun in rage. What emerged was a reckless murderous intent, jealousy, and hatred from the bottom of his heart. The black Firebird swept and suddenly swiped at the reflection of the hound, leaving forbidding marks of scars. "It belongs to me and has nothing to do with you!" Arthur fixed his gaze on the hound''s figure with a death stare, his gaze dark and grotesque. "You can reminisce all you like, but don''t you ever dare to lay even one finger on it again..." In the eye of the dragon, the golden hound lowered its head, seemingly sighing, and shook its tail nonchalantly. "Regardless of whether I miss it or regard it with contempt, actually, when sitting on it, it''s very unsettling." The vague voice said, "A fisherman''s son had a dream. Now that he has woken up, all those things should disappear, and he should not yearn for them too much..." "You are a fisherman''s son, I am not!" Arthur''s roar interrupted it, and the pitch black Firebird erupted, then gathered and formed, guiding the power of the scorching sun in the sky, and evolved into grotesque scales and claws. The scales collided, like gold and iron scraping against each other, and blinding sparks flew out. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth shook violently as the black claws scratched at it. The music theory of Genesis quickly deflected most of the power, and a fissure cracked open on the core bell tower. On the throne, Mary''s body trembled with it and a corresponding wound cracked open on her arm. "Enough of gossip, now..." In Arthur''s eyes, the hollow sun of darkness lit up once more, emitting frightening flares. " Hand. Over. The. Sheath!" 604 Does It Feel Great? The clash between the aether world and the physical world began, again. After the battle of the holy city, the physical world had never seen any impact so huge. The remnant waves spread over across the aether sea to all directions, the existence of aftershocks was detected even in the oriental world, sending all the musicians who had just resonated with the aether world into chaos and anxiety. Yet, in the center of the storm, everything seemed so quiet. The queer scene of the clash was high above their head, with glorious rainbow-like light radiating out. Yet when you, standing on the trembling ground, looked up at it, you felt as if it were very far away. However, no one dared to look up into the sky. It would be like stretching your neck to make it more convenient for the enemy to chop your head off. But Ye Qingxuan was an exception. Even when fighting against Lancelot, he still had to spare some time to watch the battle above in the sky. He had felt from the very beginning that he could not defeat Lancelot. So, he had been avoiding close combat against Lancelot. It might seem irresponsible, considering that all his subordinates were fighting with all their might. But he was not that stupid so as to fight hand-to-hand with Lancelot, who was renowned as the number one knight of Anglo. He was sure that once he stepped into the area within ten meters of Lancelot, he would be, in one strike only, be pierced by the lance of dragon slayer through the neck and his body would be thrown to the center of the battlefield within two seconds. With the armor, enhanced by the firebirds and with the lance of dragon slayer to improve his lethality, Lancelot had become a real war machine. The Meteorite Metal C the name of the lance, was well-earned. It was a lethal threat to anything alive. They would fall like meteorites and burn into nothing while falling if struck by the lance. Not only would the lance of dragon slayer destroy the body, but also the music theories and spirits by inflicting the lethal impact on both the blood circulation and the aether circulation at the same time. It was thanks to this double impact that it could be used to kill a dragon. If dragons could be killed by the lance, it would definitely kill Ye Qingxuan in one strike. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help heaving a sigh. It was such a disadvantage that he was not good at movement of changes. Therefore, Ye Qingxuan was dodging the strikes of Lancelot, or in other words, he was chased by Lancelot without any ability to strike backSince he didn''t dare to attack and tried only to stay alive, it was quite easy for him. And, he even got sometime to talk with Lancelot, as if he wanted to improve his relationship with Lancelot before killing each other. It was a perfect conversation, except the fact that Lancelot, being busy trying to kill him, didn''t say anything to him. The Lance of Dragon Slayer roared, colorful light radiating from the blade of the spearhead. The godly weapon which had killed Hecatoncheir, after dozens of years of quenching in the Ultimate, was perfect in terms of music theories and could tear anything into pieces. It was created at very high costs by the royal family to kill Arthur C even Hermes had put great efforts in it. The lance was built based on the alchemy of the Classical School which Hermes, one the three saints, was best at, and its main theme was the theory of god-human segregation. The holy spirit in the music theories were divided into two parts, of which one was godly and glorious, while the other was like humans, unstable, timid, rebellious, unyielding Included in the same main theme, the two aspects of holy spirit formed a perfect cycle and the most extreme clash. In the name of the god, it would punish all the sins, not by merciful purification, but cruel killing and utter destruction in terms of both flesh and aether. When the lance of dragon slayer was created, it was named after the legendary saint. But more often, people would call it Meteorite Metal. All the godly weapons, except the Spear of Destiny that had been destroyed which was created to target the Originator, have some inherited music movement in them. They were of symbolic meanings in the history of the human world, and were epoch-making weapons themselves. They were the witnesses of the history and the world. For example, the Gate of Heaven, as the Red King toured the countries with this sword, the whole human world succumbed to the rule of this sword. Also, the Stone Sword, which had created the most glorious period of Anglo by converging the power of the whole Anglo and the catastrophe, was also the key to the path to godly ascension. The Stela of Destiny, representing the miracles of god, meant so much in the human world, despite the fact that it was only a piece of ordinary stone. The lance of dragon slayer, made of the remnant pieces of the Spear of Destiny, ranked among them due to its lethality. It was extremely dangerous, especially now that it was in the hands of the best knight of Anglo, who was one of the best even in the whole western world. With the Lance of Dragon Slayer in his hands, Lancelot might be able to kill Arthur if he wanted to. Fighting against an enemy like this, Ye Qingxuan felt the terror of death. Just by one strike, the lance could tear up the Holy movement and defeat all the attacks of Ye Qingxuan. Enhanced by the firebirds, Lancelot became the god of destruction. Once the best knight renowned all over the world, he was still a terrible enemy to fight against when he was back onto the battlefield. Ye Qingxuan was sweating heavily. There were several times that he was almost as close as 15 meters away from Lancelot, and he immediately felt the power of Lancelot and his intention to kill. From then on, Ye Qingxuan didn''t dare to stand in front of Lancelot. He did all this because he was worried about Lancelot''s trump card. He didn''t know what he is capable of even Lancelot had been so famous for so long a time. Staring at Lancelot''s weapon, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help recalling the transient flash of light in the Shadow of Avalon. That was an attack that even the Dark Sovereign could not defend. While he was thinking, he became a little bit slow. When he realized this, he was filled with terror that his hair stood on end. Just at that moment, Lancelot stepped one step forward and thrust the lance to Ye Qingxuan. The brick under Lancelot''s foot was broken due to the huge pressure it undertook, and the lance of dragon slayer pierced through the air with a roaring sound. The rain falling near the lance vaporized and a flash of golden light came at lightening speed to Ye Qingxuan. A perfect strike! The strike was so fast that, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t even see how the lance had come to him. It was faster than his reflection. Through dissection, the musicians had found that the maximum frequency of the humans'' eyes capturing images was 24 times per second. That was to say, if something happened within one 24 th of a second, the human eyes could not even see it, not to mention reacting against it. It was obvious that the strike of Lancelot was so fast that it was beyond the speed that human eyes could perceive. That was his most powerful strike! Ye Qingxuan might have died, if he had not spread the moon light perception thread all over the battlefield. At the final moment, the Clothes of Original Sin came to his rescue. When the perception threads transmitted the changes back to Ye Qingxuan, the deciphering mechanism calculated the results of the strike. At the same time, the reaction plan preset in the Clothes of Original Sin initiated. The Channeling Change music theory automatically initiated exoskeleton analogue mode, and powered by the instantaneous force of the "vacuum sun" generated by the sub-originator, pulled Ye Qingxuan ten meters backward. He felt pain on his face as if his face were on fire, and also darkness in front of his eyes. The capillary vessels broke, and his eye balls swelled full of blood. Ye Qingxuan knew without thinking that he was just one inch away from death just now. Staring at Lancelot''s armor, Ye Qingxuan figured something out. He squinted at Lancelot and said, "you must have been pretending to be fighting against the Dark Sovereign last time. But since I saw your armor, I''ve been curious about what happened in that momentCould you enlighten me by telling me the story?" Lancelot''s armor spurted out hot steam from the joints, which were generated during the operation of the aether engine. The first time since the fight began, Lancelot answered Ye Qingxuan back, in his usual calm and indifferent way, "have you been always like this?" "What?" Ye Qingxuan didn''t understand what Lancelot''s was saying. "You kill your enemies by talking?" Lancelot said. "Sort of." Ye Qingxuan nodded, without any trace of shame. He might not be able to kill anyone by talking. But he could irritate and provoke his enemy, get them so angry that they may die on the spot. Especially when he was determined to stall, he was almost shameless. He would never get angry with Lancelot''s words and rush forward to fight hand-to-hand against him. "I''ll give you a reminder." Waving the lance of dragon slayer in the rain, Lancelot got ready to attack again. "My old wounds may not heal yet, but for me, it means nothing at all. You needn''t to wait until I''m exhausted. You can just strike at the place where I was wounded." "You have figured my plan out? Thank you for reminding me of that." Looking at Lancelot, Ye Qingxuan paid him his heart-felt compliment, "you are really a dignified knight. You are so considerate and nice even to your enemies. Since you are so frank and honest, could you tell me that how does it feel to kill your own younger sister?" After a pause, he said, maliciously, "does it feel great?" Lancelot fell into silence. There was a chilling air spreading all over from him. The blood rain was shocked and twisted by the coldness in the air. The whole world seemed to fell into silence. Then, the terrible chill targeted and locked on Ye Qingxuan. "I''m sorry, Ye." Raising the lance of dragon slayer and aiming it at Ye Qingxuan''s face, Lancelot said, "I have so much to tell you. I want to talk to you so much. But, what a pity" "Is it really so?" His eyes full of mockery and coldness, Ye Qingxuan said, "me, too." At that moment, terrible aether movements burst out from his hands. The pure white moon emerged from the Symphony of Predestination. In the moon light, the purifying music theories covered the whole battlefield in a blink. Wherever the moonlight went, the perception threads would occupy the space at the same time. Thus, the whole battle field was clearly perceived by Ye Qingxuan. He saw the battlefield as clearly as he saw the lines on his palms. He saw the broken irons, the cold blood, the falling rain, and the raising heat and breath. And also, the fighting posture of Lancelot. He was to strike the final blow. Probing would be meaningless. Evading and dodging would have to come to an end. All the stakes were already on the table, and the dices had been tossed. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath. It was time for the show of hands. 605 Still Plenty of Time He had only seen it once, and only for a fleeting moment. But the strike that Lancelot had once made with his sword cast a very profound shadow on Ye Qingxuan''s heart. Defeating the Dark Sovereign is not much of a terrifying feat. Ye Qingxuan could hardly consider whatever battle in the world frightening any more especially after witnessing the battle between Hyakume and the Holy Cauldron in the sacred city. But the terrifying thing is, how did Lancelot do it? While music theory can distort reality with its gravitational pull, this does not mean that it is omnipotent, as it is still unable to affect way too many domains out there, such as fate, time... In other words, you can''t just stand here, strike a pose, take out a sword to look cool, and let the enemy die automatically. You must walk to the enemy, lift the sword, stab him, and hit a vital body part. Then the blood will flow out, the vital part fatally injured, and the enemy will die. Such is the correct way. Such is the common sense of the world. But how did Lancelot conduct the terrifying attack that was almost like a reversal of cause and effect? Unknown means are often the most frightening. Especially when the enemy is one of the most dangerous persons like Lancelot... The Lance of the Dragon Slayer was slowly lifted. Lancelot took a step forward, and his footprint wedged into the stone. As his armor tremored, he clenched the lance with both his hands and lifted it over his shoulders, with the blade pointing downward. His right hand supported the middle part of the lance, but his left hand clutched the part of the lance that was only one fist away from the blade. The weird posture defied the common sense of ordinary knights, and even went against conventions of weapon usage. By positioning himself in such a manner, the length that lances were renowned for was reduced, but after sacrificing the advantage in terms of offense, no defense advantage could be gained either. In fact, one might face difficulties in parrying attacks. But at the moment, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes began twitching violently. If Ye Qingxuan was a knight with rich experience in combat, he could have realized that despite them being on such a wide battlefield that the space was enough for to lance to strike vertically and horizontally, at the moment Lancelot''s stance was a technique used by wielders of lances during urban warfare. After sacrificing the lance''s offensive range and its ability to parry attacks, the only thing that was heightened was its flexibility. It would require only a very short time and distance to switch directions, and would not be constrained by the cramped space. But Ye Qingxuan noticed another thing. Ignoring the body of the lance that had been ''hidden'' [1], the distance from Lancelot''s left hand to the blade of the lance just happened to be between the length of a dagger and that of a long sword. In other words, at the moment, Lancelot had decided to use the Lance of the Dragon Slayer as a long sword. The distance between Ye Qingxuan and him was also much less longer than that between him and the Dark Sovereign back then. Despite so, Lancelot still chose to sacrifice part of his offensive advantage to block all of Ye Qingxuan''s means of avoiding his attack. A weapon need not be too powerful. It would do as long as it could be used to kill people. A person could die from being cut into a thousand pieces, so could he die from an arrow through the heart. After exceeding a certain limit, excessive attack power was nothing more than a meaningless number. A knight of decent standards would not blindly seek to increase the attack power of a tactic, as the final result was given primary importance among priorities. To Lancelot, such a stance would allow him to strike Ye Qingxuan critically and ensure the young man''s death. Ye Qingxuan stopped moving. Dodging was no longer meaningful anyway, so he might as well just stand there. He opened his eyes wide to see what Lancelot had been hiding. Then, at the very moment, Ye Qingxuan saw it. Light. The world was frozen once more. Everything paused. The rain paused, blood floated in the air, everything appeared aged, and all the colors dimmed. Except the flowing ray of light being cast out of Lancelot''s hands. So freely. In such a world that had layers of shackles on and was bounded by reality and its rules, the ray of light was like a flying bird. It deftly went past all the shackles and all set-out rules, strolling calmly, and rushed toward Ye Qingxuan with an unparalleled, breathtakingly graceful posture. It was frighteningly fast. No sound could be heard in the silent world, as it had exceeded the speed of sound. Time had paused, because the speed of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer at that moment was fast enough to chase after light. It did not employ Faust to forcibly freeze the activity of all matter, but instead it gave chase. Like flying birds, or souls floating in the sky, it chased after freedom, its speed surpassing that of all else, and advanced into uncharted territory. In the blow that was so simple to the extent of being shocking, what it contained was actually the beauty expressed by power itself. Ye Qingxuan only had time to open his eyes wide. He didn''t even had time to let out the exclamation of praise from his throat. The heat was frozen in his throat by the flowing ray of light, and the flowing light of molten gold spraying from the Lance of the Dragon Slayer was already right in front of him. A tearing sound rang out. Before the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, all defenses were torn apart. The horrifying brilliance gathered into a tide, engulfing Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan''s heart was no secret to Lancelot. To other opponents, the critical weakness was totally non-existent, but for artifacts like the Lance of the Dragon Slayer which could destroy both flesh and aether in one go, they were even more deadly to Ye Qingxuan''s completely aetherized heart. As long as the lance came into contact with the slightest bit of his own core music theory, it would cause a horrifying amount of irreparable damage to his Symphony of Predestination, let alone direct contact with a vital organ like the heart. A double destruction of flesh and aether descended upon him in a flash. All over his body, every inch of his skin cracked, resulting in grotesque wounds, as if he had been thrown into a furnace and had completely dried up. A collapsing sound rang out. Together with it came Ye Qingxuan''s sign. "Fortunately... It''s not light." On his broken and incomplete face, the lips moved as he croaked with a hoarse voice. Then, Ye Qingxuan''s body crumbled and fell apart, burning into ashes in the residual flare of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. A wisp of grayish white mist rose from the ashes, convulsing in pain. It flew backwards, falling into the moonlight of nothingness, and disappeared. The bright moon in the sky remained the same, not the slightest bit influenced by Ye Qingxuan''s death. It was a fake. Lancelot turned abruptly. At the very moment, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer suddenly stabbed forward. The moonlight of nothingness shattered silently, revealing Ye Qingxuan who was hiding behind it, and the wisp of gray mist in his hand. The shattered and badly damaged music theory gathered together and took form. As it turned out, it appeared to be the clothes of original sin. On the constantly changing appearance of the clothes of original sin, Ye Qingxuan''s face faded in and out, smiling mockingly at Lancelot. Under the armor, Lancelot''s pupils shook slightly, and immediately contracted, as he came to a sudden realization in his mind. "From the very beginning... It''s a fake?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. In this regard, he had nothing much to deny. From the very beginning, the clothes of original sin had taken on Ye Qingxuan''s appearance and engaged in combat with Lancelot in his stead. It was also part of the reason why he did not intend to counterattack, but stuck to evading and dodging attacks. Regardless of how good the Changing Music Theory was at imitating him, it had lost its spirituality after all. As a tool, it could still somewhat be considered convenient, but when compared to an actual musician, it had its share of weaknesses in terms of sluggishness and stiffness. When the opponent in question was Lancelot, even a minor slip would probably result in the plot being immediately seen through. Ye Qingxuan had never hoped to defeat Lancelot just by remotely controlling an alchemy equipment. The only thing he had hoped to achieve was to lure Lancelot to use his trump card, so that he could see clearly... what was the ace in the hole that Lancelot had been hiding. He succeeded. Unfortunately, he paid a rather high price. One can only say that the stars are not in favor of the clothes of original sin. First, I forcibly plundered it and washed away the spiritual personality in the movement. After finally managing to maintain its own grade, it then encountered an artifact destroyer, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, and is now badly damaged from head to toe. Had Paganini seen it, he would definitely be crying out of anger on the spot. In only an instant, all its music theory was on the verge of shattering, and it had no way of recovering within a few years. Even if it recovered, without the use of a lot of precious materials to repair it, it would be difficult for it to regain spirituality. Under Ye Qingxuan''s control, the clothes of original sin that was on the verge of shattering slowly changed shape. Countless broken strands of music theory were pieced back together by the perception threads of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and converged into a slender bundle, like the baton used by leaders of orchestras when they were conducting resonances. Before it is repaired, if I want to use Changing Music Theory, I''m afraid that this is the only possible form. I might as well use it for as long as it can still be used. I stole it anyway, it won''t be a pity even if it gets broken. After smoothly waving the ''Baton of Change'' in his hand, Ye Qingxuan nodded with satisfaction, and when he looked up at Lancelot, his gaze became one of realization. "What occurred just now was the ability of the armor of Lancelot? "No wonder it is known as the most powerful Round Table Armor Ignoring the rest and purely speaking in terms of ability, it is indeed an unparalleled combination when paired with the combat method of knights. " Coordinating moonlight perception threads and aether sensing, he finally saw the true appearance of Lancelot at the moment clearly. Under that layer of cold and heavy steel, the scorching hot alchemy circuit was like the vast root system of the banyan. Like blood, it operated wildly within, turning the entire armor into a whole. The whole Included Lancelot in it. If not for the protection of the black Firebird, Lancelot would have already burned to ashes under the horrifying heat at the moment It was exactly because of such a huge price he paid that enabled him to control the armor as a human and reach a level beyond Ye Qingxuan''s imagination. Ye Qingxuan had once suspected that the inscription on the armor was the movement of Faust. Once activated, the whole world would be completely frozen, all molecular movements forcibly paused. But after observing it twice, he rejected the speculation firmly. If the Physical World was distorted to such an extent, as a musician, he couldn''t possibly be unaware of it. Moreover, as one of the ultimate products of research, since its development, no one had ever dared to use Faust in a battle between musicians of the same level. The gravitational forces of music theories will repel each other. If the other party''s Symphony of Predestination is strong enough to fight against Faust, the effect of time stopping will also be canceled. What''s more, for existences like the Dark Sovereign which was born from the essence of the abyss, unless Hermes arrives in person, no one can possibly rely on Faust to play any tricks. So, only the other method is left... If the outside world cannot be interfered with, just conduct interference on oneself instead. In the seven questions for musicians, the proposition of the school of modifications is known as the ''eternally unchanging object''. The core element and argument is that movement and stillness are relative. Therefore, one simply needs to apply the principle of Faust in reverse, to make the changing outside world still relative to oneself. With the concept as the core, the array was constructed and the armor of Lancelot was created. It is undoubtedly a terrifying power that has achieved the ultimate result of movement. Using the armor, one''s speed can be increased up to thousands of times of the initial speed in an instant. Using the alchemy array, the knight''s reflexes and consciousness are made to operate at a rapid speed, freeing the knight from material and time through a method that is close to burning and destroying the pericranium, and attaining a sensation close to the freedom of chasing after the speed of light. For Lancelot, to make use of the limit of the reaction time of the human eye and complete a thrust in one twenty-fourth of a second is just a walk in the park! As long as he is willing to, he can perform the same thrust for hundreds of times in one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a second! In the shadow of Avalon, the flowing stream of light that Ye Qingxuan witnessed shattering the Scepter of Hell was in essence the thrust of the sword that had been superimposed for God knew how many times in a flash. Each blow landed on the fragile critical weakness of the Scepter of Hell. After countless hits, even the Scepter of Hell could only become a sandcastle on the beach, collapsing at the slightest touch. From that, I can imagine the tragic treatment that the clothes of original sin went through. Plus, Lancelot is also holding the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. Surprisingly, it did not fall apart so completely until no residue is left. It can only be said that Paganini must have spent an awful amount of resources back then in order to create the clothes of original sin. "Oh right, what did you want to tell me just now? Don''t regret, feel free to say whatever you want to say." Ye Qingxuan gazed at the armored knight who was emitting a horrifying amount of heat, and slowly raised the black, broken baton in his hand. His smile also grew more and more mocking. He said, "In any case, we still have plenty of time." [1] It refers to the part of the body of the lance from where Lancelot''s left hand gripped it to the end of the lance. The part is effectively useless when the lance is held that way. 606 Speed and Strength The way that knights fight a war was straight-forward C no matter what the tactics were and no matter what the strategy was C its only goal was to "destroy the enemies physically". Therefore, their strengths lied differently with the musicians. They didn''t need to be multifunctional, nor did they require long time study and research, and they didn''t even need a teacher to guide them. Like everyone in a war, they need combat skills and experiences, good weather conditions and mental and physical conditions, favorable general situations of the war and luck. But what''s most important for them, were two simple factors: speed and strength. Those who were faster and stronger would always win the battle. Therefore, since the invention of the armored knights, everyone had been trying all means to pursue speed and strength. And that philosophy had caused the creation of numerous monsters by the workshops. At that time, the most powerful machine was the Courtyard Snake published several months ago by the Asgardian National Alchemy Lab. It had drawn the attention of the whole world even before it was made, as it surpassed the previous most powerful machine C the Hercules. The making of the Courtyard Snake consumed tens of thousands of tons of steel and precious materials and a total of 300,000 men were hired to labor in the workshops for 5 years. Around the site where it was assembled, a new heavy industry city was generated during the 5 years. The amount of black gold consumed for the interior wirings and piping was equal to two years of total black gold output of the whole world. A mere prototype of the Courtyard Snake had cost half of the money that Asgardian''s national treasury had accumulated. Powered by at least 6 super aether engines and piloted by 16 grand knights and 40 musicians, the Courtyard Snake was above 100 meters tall and heavier than a battleship. It was a walking fortress once it was in operation. What''s more, it also had with it 3 military divisions, 6 special armored cavalier forces and a general military unit of more than 1,000 men. It could function as a decisive factor in any direct conflict. No one knew exactly where its limit of strength lied. However, for the Courtyard Snake, it was as easy as a child stamping a sand fortress on the beach to push down the wall of a well-guarded city. As a gigantic war machine of its size, it was born to fight a catastrophe. Its power represents the best of the nation, to which the strength of a mortal man could never be comparable. Yet the armor that Ye Qingxuan was facing, was equally tough to handle to the Courtyard Snake. Different with the Courtyard Snake, the biggest advantage of Lancelot''s armor was its speed, which could almost defeat time. The alchemy armor was built at the peak time of Arthur''s reign and had cost the country countless treasures and money. It was the guard for Arthur''s path to godly ascension and his eternal reign. The alchemy armor had capabilities far beyond the reach of any mortal man, and it could only be used by the best knight who could bear the terrible pressure it inflicted upon him. The one who was wearing it now, was one of the best knights in the western world C Lancelot, who was called "the one favored by victory". In terms of explosive force, when Lancelot drew his sword, even an aetherized scepter musician could not dodge the fatal strike. Luckily for Ye Qingxuan, Lancelot couldn''t maintain that sort of speed for long. Ye Qingxuan was not sure how long would it take for the armor to resume that speed, but if he didn''t seize the opportunity and let the armor accumulate power for the next acceleration, he would have to gamble his life on his luck. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan was quite good at gamble with his life. "No hurry. Let''s sit down and drink some water. We could talk thing over." Facing the golden light roaring toward him, Ye Qingxuan smiled and dipped the Baton of Change on the ground to play the first note of his movement. Instantly, endless ocean waves of magnificent melodies burst out of the baton clashing against each other, the booming of which shook the whole battle field. Everyone on the battlefield was terrified by the horrible images included in the melodies. It was like ridding on a shabby boat in the sea, where towering sea waves raise above and cut out the sun light. The waves bulldozed forward on the sea surface, casting its shadow all over the space. The sea water generated deafening noise like the sound of iron rubbing against iron, which was causing unspeakable pain in everyone''s ears. The shadow pressed down. And suddenly, there was nothing but silence. All the roaring, shouting, screaming and whining were gone. As if isolated by the thick wall of sea water, silence devoured everything. The light went out, and darkness fell. Only when they raised their heads and looked above could they see the sea surface and the dim light. The storm was still raging the sea surface, yet the battle field was buried down into the bottom of the sea. Everyone was suffocated. They breathed hard, but no air was there. Their faces turned green due to lack of oxygen. Despair seized everyone. Then comes the terrible undercurrent and the massive water pressure. They were falling, falling down more and more quickly as if there would be no end to the falling. It was like several years had elapsed, or was it only a slip of a second? Finally, they saw the bottomless ocean abyss under the sea, which was like a giant monster opening its mouth widely, waiting for any prey trapped in the illusion to devour them into the deepest darkness. The darkness seemed tangible, as if it was grinding the bones of everyone enveloped in it. Everything in the darkness would finally dissolve and fall into eternal sleep. The Ocean Abyss Symphony! The illusion of the sea sealed the space, leaving no way to escape from it. With the melodies projecting the images of massive tides as its starting point, it implanted into the enemy''s head a powerful illusion. With Ye Qingxuan''s perfect skills, the deployment of the strategic level symphony was finished smoothly, with no flaw in it at all. The Royal Music Division was dragged into it instantly. They were pushed down the dark fall even before they could put up a fight. Only it was a very short moment, it was expanded by tens of thousands of times in the mind of the musicians. Almost one third of the Royal Music Division members had been stunned by the ocean abyss that was coming nearer and nearer and lost their will to fight. Then, when the chief musician raised his hand to prepare for the summoning of oddities which could consume the illusional realm, there suddenly came the hot alchemy light in the deep sea. From the deepest part of the darkness, the knight that had suffered most from the ocean abyss raised the Lance of Dragon Slayer in his hand, which shone brightly and tore up the darkness apart. The light then soared high up into the air, leaving a pale white tail along its path. Only within a split second that it crossed the whole ocean abyss. Trapped in the core of the illusion, Lancelot, with his unyielding will, was able to negate the illusion which had turned into reality and tear up the illusion by brutal force. He escaped from the trap and trusted his lance at the illusion. Along with the aether interaction, he destroyed all the key joints of the illusion. The aether circulation was cut off at the key points by the lance of dragon slayer. Ye Qingxuan jumped out from behind the illusion. He immediately felt danger before he could utter a word. He subconsciously moved his head to one side and the next moment, Lancelot was right in front of him. The ferocious mask was right in front of his eyes. The blade of the lance, turned into hot red due to the friction in the air, roared past his ear, the deafening sound nearly tearing up his ear drum. The spearhead scrubbed his chick and left a narrow yet long scar on his face, which caused him great pain that he almost trembled. There was no way to dodge this strike. Leaning close to the lance, Ye Qingxuan stepped one step forward. Opening his arm with a warm smile on his face, he hugged his "uncle" who was just one foot away from him. The Hug of Death. The strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei tightened suddenly and wrung together, producing a booming sound like the iron drum. A music theory seed grew out of the Symphony of Predestination. With Ye Qingxuan''s swift movement, the seed was pushed into the body of Lancelot. And then, began the nature interference! The music theory seed integrated into the heart and suck the blood to feed itself. Then, it grew and sprouted. Then, a green fire blossomed on the plant. As Over the Burning Ashes! The music theories passed down from Abraham came alive in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Through nature interference, it turned the blood within Lancelot''s body into burning fire, burning him from inside out. In Ye Qingxuan''s right hand, the music theories from the Emerald Tablet converged and 36 perception threads stretched out and attached themselves onto the armor. The next moment, Ye Qingxuan retreated at lightening speed and rolled on the ground to evade the swiping of the lance of dragon slayer. Yet, the end of the lance brushed past his shoulder and smashed onto the ground. The rocks on the ground were smashed into pieces and bounced onto Ye Qingxuan''s face. It was really hurt. What a pity it is that he was not able to embrace Lancelot. If the hug was successful, Lancelot might be badly wounded. The perception would have connected in parallel with the alchemy matrix and broken the four-layer balance through music theory invasion to overload the aether engine and make it explode. Lancelot successfully forced Ye Qingxuan to retreat. But before he could begin his counter-attack, Lancelot felt the fierce fire inside his body. He didn''t hesitate at all and turned the spearhead to himself and cut open the old wound on his chest. The steel was pierced through, giving off sharp scrubbing noise. The wound burst open, but, instead of blood, it was fire that spurt out it. The fire was cut off by the spear. Then, the music theory seed inhabited on the heart was dug out and broke into pieces in the air. Then, dark firebirds covered the severe wound and closed the hole in Lancelot''s body. the armor was then repaired, and the most formidable knight of Anglo was standing in front of Ye Qingxuan again. Yet, Ye Qingxuan smiled. It worked! At that moment, moonlight converged around Ye Qingxuan. The moonlight was as if tangible and turned into dozens of blades, floating in the air. The crystal-like blades integrated into the moonlight. It was hard to tell them from the shinning moonlight. Only their thin shadow could be seen on the ground. Fling of swords! Powered by the symphony of Predestination, Jiu Xiao Huan Pei played the Seal of Moonlight 16 times. In a short moment, he played from Declaration of Sincerity, Obedience to the physical laws to Conquer of Han, breath of depth, Loss of Life until the 18th chapter, the Fling of Swords! The illusional image of rainbow flinging across the sun emerged in the sky and 16 ferocious swords were locked on Lancelot. With the waving of hand by Ye Qingxuan, all the 16 swords pierced through the air and flied towards Lancelot. The sword were not tangible but only virtual images, but the sound of them piercing through the air was loud and sharp, like the ferocious shouting of numerous men. The movement was so powerful that It would take only a split second to kill any enemy! 607 Light of Pureness The dim city was suddenly illuminated by the moonlight. Moonlight turned into swords, which whistled as they broke through the air. Guided by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, they traced various complicated trajectories in the air, gathering together, then separated and moved towards all directions, firmly blocking Lancelot from dodging in any direction. Serious murderous intentions gathered on the blades that were born out of the Symphony of Predestination. When Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand, in an instant, they crossed the lengthy distance and completed the encirclement. Taking aim at the critical weaknesses all over Lancelot''s body, they quietly struck. The cold moonlight illuminated the dark golden blade of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, and Lancelot took a step back. The next moment, a loud bang burst forth. It was the loud noise caused by dozens of times of collision superimposing in an instant. The movements had exceeded the speed of the wind. The bang couldn''t catch up with Lancelot''s actions. At the moment, he was so fast that there wasn''t even enough time for afterimages to be left behind. One could only see the burning radiance that remained from the movement of the lance as it cut the air apart. The radiance intertwined, criss-crossing in the air, slicing through each and every of the swords of moonlight that were close to striking him. Ye Qingxuan grunted, his face slightly pale. The essence of the swords of moonlight was interwoven music theory, born of his Symphony of Predestination, and was also inextricably linked to him. When the swords of moonlight were forcibly taken apart, the residual impact of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer was also transmitted towards him along the perception threads. Fortunately, the three-in-one structure of the musical movement was stable enough. After the shock was absorbed by the section of the stone of sage, which had the strongest endurance ability, Ye Qingxuan only felt his vision going black momentarily. For an ordinary Symphony of Predestination, just the aftermath alone would probably tear it apart? He did not give Lancelot a chance to fight back. Ye Qingxuan lifted a hand again. Once more! The crystal blades once again emerged from the moonlight, flying out according to Ye Qingxuan''s will. Powered by Ye Qingxuan with all his might, Jiu Xiao Huai Pei played fervently, deftly guiding the interweaving of music theory, and swords of moonlight emerged continually. In a flash, 16 blades whistled as they flew towards Lancelot once more. Sounds of shattering rang out one after another. Innumerable pieces of broken light flew out, swords were crushed by the blade of the lance, but new swords were immediately regenerated from the moonlight. 16 swords flew at Lancelot nonstop, constantly shattering and regenerating, their trajectories interlacing in midair as they flew out, forcing him to stay where he was. Ye Qingxuan expended his energy almost extravagantly, exploring his own limits. As the sub-originator violently extracted aether, the sea of aether formed a funnel-shaped depression around him. A massive amount of aether flowed out of the pure white moon, creating a waterfall-like wonder. But before the flow of aether from the waterfall reached the ground, it turned into sword blades in Ye Qingxuan''s hands and flew towards Lancelot. How many times did the blades of the swords and the lance collide in an instant? Dozens? Or hundreds? Or a staggering number of thousands? At the moment, the rate of attack of the swords of moonlight had approached Lancelot''s limit. The radiance from the Lance of the Dragon Slayer interlaced in the air, constantly smashing the attacking moonlight into pieces, and stirred up a hurricane. A far distance away, the pressure from the hurricane almost suffocated Ye Qingxuan. Lancelot still brought Ye Qingxuan tremendous pressure despite being in defense mode. No, it was exactly because of Lancelot choosing defense that Ye Qingxuan''s stress kept on building up. Obviously, Lancelot gave up attacking for the buffer time to pass and chose conservative defense. Once he was done recovering, or had at least managed to recover to an extent whereby he could somewhat use the ability, a killer blow that could finish his opponent up in one go would inevitably be in store for Ye Qingxuan. Then, before it happens, I''ll just... kill you first! Ye Qingxuan thought. The moonlight quaked violently. Under the tremendous pressure, Ye Qingxuan''s own operation techniques had also transformed. In the past, relying on the swords of moonlight alone was enough to achieve an irreversible effect that guaranteed him victory. The properties of the swords sufficed to cause heavy damage to any enemy, be it the horrifying speed or the purifying music theory the blades carried. But when facing opponents like Lancelot, the strengths in terms of speed and music theory were suppressed, and the shortcomings of having unchanging trajectories and being stiff and inflexible in response to different situations were exposed. As they continuously emerged and struck, the swords that were initially only of a single variety had also become very different from that in the past. Some swords gradually developed thicker ridges and evolved towards the direction of the two-handed epee. Some blades became thinner and more slender, and when intercepted by the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, they even learned to avoid and turn like snakes. Some other blades simply exceeded the scope of long swords, turning into scimitars popular among Canaanites, and they traced circular arcs in the air as they rotated and struck. Gradually, Ye Qingxuan gained experience and was free from the bonds of his original understanding of swords. Various weapons that originated from a myriad of countries showed themselves from his hands. The eight-faced sword from the East, the flame-bladed sword of the Asgardians, the two-handed ax favored by pirates, the wrought iron chokut from Yunlou, the hand-and-a-half sword which could be maneuvered nimbly, the slender and quick rapier, the short and small dagger used by assassins, the heavy halberd which was a favorite of the Northern Highlanders, iron hammers of exaggerated proportions, and even goddamn flails... In addition to the changes in model, the music theory attached onto the weapons also became very different. The texture of the weapons became closer and closer to that of metal, and when the incorporeal crystallized aether cut through the air, it even produced the whistling sound of weapons striking. Nature interference! The nature of iron was bestowed upon the incorporeal aether! When a gigantic spear was cast from Ye Qingxuan''s hands, Lancelot, who was parrying his attacks, was forced to step back, to his surprise. Lancelot was momentarily shocked, and when he looked at Ye Qingxuan, the eyes beneath the helmet grew more and more cautious. Although the huge pressure had caused a nosebleed in Ye Qingxuan, making him look unusually flustered, but the murderous intent radiating from the silver-haired young man had grown so sharp and strong that that it had gathered and materialized. No longer using only the music theory of sword-casting, at the moment, he had constrained the frenzied murderous intent contained in the music theory in his palm and was using it freely. On several occasions, it almost made Lancelot come close to missing. Presently, his only shortcoming was his martial skill that was so crude that one couldn''t bear to look at it. Although his strength was terrifying, his way of attacking was too inexperienced. If someone slightly more proficient in martial arts was to use the power for a change, Lancelot would probably be suppressed to the extent of being unusually flustered. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan was totally using Lancelot as a wooden dummy to practice the entry-level sword routines the old men of the Religious Court of Inquiry had taught him... Although actual masters of martial arts could use entry-level routines to overcome everything forcefully, Ye Qingxuan felt that no such day would ever come in his life no matter how he looked at it... Bang! Amid the nonstop breaking sounds, a crisp sound of collision rang out. As the Lance of the Dragon Slayer blocked the attacks from reaching Lancelot, a fleeting shadow of a sword suddenly went past Lancelot''s defense and struck his helmet. Moonlight collided with steel, yet it produced a sound as if something substantial had struck. Although the black Firebird in his body resisted and blocked the attack, the stab from the force carried by the blade made his face hurt. He was... actually hit? He hadn''t even had time to react! He stared at the dozens of swords of moonlight in shock, and at Ye Qingxuan''s figure behind the swords that had almost materialized as gold and iron. In Ye Qingxuan''s hands held a fleeting wisp of moonlight. It was light... It had no murderous intent, no texture, even its shape was unfixed. After stripping everything else away, what emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s hands was the purest moonlight. The sword of moonlight. The battle with Lancelot was like a process of cruel forging. Like a furnace, combat caused the power of the sword of moonlight to change qualitatively once more. Its magnificence faded, its impurities were discarded, and only pure light was left. Moonlight turned into swords. Such was the fastest speed in the world, as no one could surpass light. The wisp of light slowly emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s fingertips and aimed at Lancelot once again. Although the technique was not profoundly mastered as Ye Qingxuan had just gotten the hang of it, and the power it carried was far lesser compared to that of the other swords that had taken on the nature of metal, what it represented was a reversal of the situation. I must not drag the battle on any more... Lancelot thought. At the moment, Lancelot ignored the swords of nature interference around him which were disturbing him, and took six steps back in a flash. In the loud bangs of iron boots stamping on slabstones and shattering them, he once again posed himself to attack. The blade was lifted high and was aimed at Ye Qingxuan''s face. The scorching high temperature radiated from the armor, evaporating a large amount of blood rain, shrouding Lancelot in a vague mist. But in the mist, a deeply ingrained murderous intent burst forth! Even though it was so hot, the mist was frozen by the chill coming from the armor, and even the water puddle at the foot of Lancelot started frosting. Coolant enough to turn the entire city into a snow country coursed through the veins of the armor, like blood flowing, and suppressed the fiery heat. The next moment, a dragon''s roar burst forth from the frost. Everything came to a stop abruptly. In the frozen world, only the radiance of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer was ignited. Propelled by Lancelot, it broke through the obstruction of the blood rain, overcame the restraints of gravity, leaving deep footprints on the ground, and advanced forward. All the swords of nature interference blocking its path were torn apart by the radiance with irresistible force. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer thrust forward and collided with the pure moonlight, resulting in a loud bang. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer paused. The moonlight that had evolved again fell apart in the collision. In a flash, the counterattack brewed up by Ye Qingxuan was forcibly suppressed! Even the armor was almost melted by the horrifying heat. The black Firebird suppressed the huge pressure and the temperature high enough to evaporate the body. The coolant was completely atomized, rose upwards, burning the air, distorting the light, and formed a blurry void. The hurricane swept across and destroyed all obstacles, then extended in all directions. The figure close at hand was like a demon. It only took a moment. Ye Qingxuan backed away rapidly. But at the moment, Lancelot, who had just completed accelerating, once again posed himself to attack. Immediately, the aether furnace overloaded and whined in unbearableness. Totally disregarding his crumbling body, Lancelot did not take the slightest break, and launched the alchemy array in the armor once again! It was the jaw-dropping... two-stage acceleration! The world was frozen once more and everything was paused in place. The blood rain was suspended, the evaporated coolant had yet to dissipate, and the battlefield fell into stillness once again. Only the burning armored knight launched an attack at his enemy! The Lance of the Dragon Slayer pierced through the frozen air, the blade a scorching red from friction, and thrust towards Ye Qingxuan''s head. Death was close at hand! At the moment, the spurt... stopped short. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Loud booms burst forth from Lancelot''s body one after another, like countless steel cables breaking. The armor stirred up a hurricane, which swept across, and the horrifying wind pressure almost tore Ye Qingxuan''s robes apart and was close to knocking him over. Facing the hurricane, Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his head, gazing at the Lance of the Dragon Slayer one step away from him, and revealed a mocking smile. The short distance of a stone''s throw effectively separated the sky and the abyss. 608 Words to Say In front of Ye Qingxuan, Lancelot''s armor had already been burned red. It exuded a furnace-like heat, and was as grotesque as a demon. But the demon was bound in the huge net. Innumerable dim and slender perception threads were wrapped around him. Like spider silk, they entwined and shrouded him. Every perception thread was so fragile that it would disintegrate at the slightest touch, but at the moment, thousands of perception threads of moonlight extended from all directions, and wrapped themselves around Lancelot''s armor. Every joint, every inch of armor, everywhere... Even though the Lance of the Dragon Slayer could cut through music theory, but when faced with such a large number, it was still extremely difficult for the lance to break free in a short span of time. Before he realized, Lancelot had been deeply trapped. The perception threads that were so slender and dim that they were almost non-existent extended from every corner of the battlefield. They originated from none other than the swords of moonlight that had been smashed up by the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. The fragments that had been smashed up by the Lance of the Dragon Slayer did not dissipate, and they remained connected to each other. As Ye Qingxuan overloaded his attack, Lancelot was already entangled in them. The perception threads that had evolved from Bolero possessed excellent extensibility. When stretched to the limit, their thickness would be even lesser than one percent of that of spider silk. Their excessive slenderness also led to excessive fragility, and they could be cut with the slightest movement without even using any strength. Even if millions of perception threads were gathered together at the same time, it would merely be a bundle thinner than a little finger, and its tensile strength would by no means be comparable to that of ropes. But at the moment, it was such perception threads that were so weak that they weren''t even worth mentioning at all that bound Lancelot to the net. When Ye Qingxuan awakened the nature interference applied to them, their own adhesiveness and tensile strength would skyrocket. However, such properties were still not worth mentioning as compared to Lancelot''s power, and it would only take him a moment to break free. But when used against an armor that had been accelerated to a speed that was ten thousand times faster, the perception threads would produce a horrifying effect. Under relative speed, even air friction would produce a high temperature like that of a furnace. Even colliding with pieces of gravel would bring an impact no lesser than the hit of an iron hammer. Lancelot''s own speed was too terrifying, so terrifying that before it had time to pull the threads apart, in the short instant before they break, the terrifying speed of the armor would have been completely exhausted by the tugging force from the perception threads themselves. In the end, the terrifying speed that was fast enough to chase after light stopped abruptly. The horrific consequences of the two-stage acceleration erupted from the armor. In the purgatory-like heat, the intense pain of internal organs shattering came. Two consecutive times of extreme accelerations had almost caused his body to disintegrate. If not for the protection of the Firebird, at the moment, Lancelot would have been burned to ashes. Then, Lancelot heard Ye Qingxuan''s hoarse voice. "Now, it''s my turn..." Under the moonlight, the silver-haired young man continuously weaved a large number of perception threads with one hand, and his other hand slowly lifted. The pure white moon rose from behind him. As the moon rotated, a sharp sound of steel scraping against each other burst forth from it. It was the technique of sword-throwing that had been superimposed for dozens of times in a flash! Innumerable swords that had been bestowed with a metallic nature produced moonlight arcs of trajectories, whistling as they struck towards Lancelot. Not having time to pant, Lancelot lifted the Lance of the Dragon Slayer once more. After his terrifying speed was stopped by the perception threads, in such a horrifying heat, Lancelot surprisingly still had enough energy remaining to fight back. All his blocks and parries were perfect, without any trace of slowing down or distortion due to physical exhaustion. Even though the armor no longer brought him any assistance at the moment and was a scorching cage that imprisoned him. Such terrifying willpower surpassing steel in strength was unprecedented... It was as if he must defeat the enemy completely even if he could only lift one finger. However, this time, under the constant charging of the swords of nature interference, his movements were also becoming slower and slower. He grew exhausted, struggling to keep up his line of defense, and could hardly counterattack. It wasn''t even necessary for Ye Qingxuan to turn the blades into light, as the ones of metal nature were already enough to make Lancelot''s efforts to parry more and more strenuous. Bang! A heavy hammer smashed the defense of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer open and landed on Lancelot''s shoulder, causing the melting pauldron to cave in. Then, another long sword struck, cutting a formidable gap open on the breastplate. The crack intersected with his old wounds, almost cutting his chest open. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Low sounds rang out one after another. It was the sound of a body being torn apart. Blades clanged as lances, axes, and swords pierced through his limbs and chest, nailing him to the ground. The victor had been determined. The scorching helmet drooped slowly. In the silence, the roars of beasts rang out. The shrill noise reverberated through the battlefield. The pitch black Firebird spurted out of the broken body. In the immense pain, he broke free from the underworld close at hand, and returned to the battlefield that belonged to him. The loud noise of steel scraping against each other burst forth. Clenching the weapon in his hand, Lancelot stepped forward, letting countless swords and knives strike his body, until the armor was damaged beyond recognition. All the while, the pair of indifferent eyes looked straight at Ye Qingxuan. He was still alive. It seemed as if he experienced no pain and was still as complete as ever. Even though he had been ignited... The armor whined forlornly, falling apart. A burning Lancelot walked out of it, as if the ashes that remained after the fire had burnt out were pieced together with iron. His past looks still vaguely remained on his face, but it had been replaced by something more grotesque. At the moment, he no longer looked like a knight, but some kind of enraged demon, waving the Lance of the Dragon Slayer and tearing all the swords of nature interference apart. "Terrifying indeed, Lancelot." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes and sighed regretfully. Boom! In the moonlight, a heavy spear emerged suddenly. The iron gleamed and struck at Lancelot. Bang! The spear hit the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, producing a loud bang. Lancelot paused, and the spear shattered. He stepped forward once more, but heard the clatter of countless swords, as they whistled in a low voice while striking towards him from all directions. Ye Qingxuan waved, and 16 lances and epees emerged from the moon. He did not once hesitate because of their relationship, nor did he show any mercy because of the other party''s injuries. Aiming towards vital parts all over the body, the 16 swords of nature interference struck mightily! The sound of steel shattering rang out continuously. The burning knight was advancing, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer roared, shattering the attacking weapons, or letting them pierce into the burning body. The wounds were torn, but they could not delay his footsteps. The terrifying tenacity that was almost non-human had surpassed the pain and suffering. Even though Lancelot was so severely wounded, as long as he still had an inch of iron in his hand, others would shudder in fear at the sight of him. It was as if nothing in the world could kill him. And as long as he was not dead, he would advance to gain victory. The mere sight of his grotesque posture was enough to prompt one to flee. Ye Qingxuan lifted his hand again. The sound of steel scraping each other burst forth from the moon, and a cold murderous intent targeted Lancelot. This time, it would completely chop him up into pieces! "Don''t even think about it!" In the distance, besieged by the Witch Hammer, the principal conductor of the Royal Musician Division suddenly lifted a hand. In the cold, forbidding melody, music theory was woven, opening a crack leading to the realm of aether. Huge shadows swept through, crushing the armored knight blocking the way into pieces, and charged towards where Ye Qingxuan was. The countless changing shadows were like quagmires. They opened their big, stinking mouths and swallowed towards Ye Qingxuan. "Get lost!" Ye Qingxuan waved impatiently. At the moment, the moon rose again. It hung high. The Symphony of Predestination operated at full might, and the solemn melody reverberated between the heavens and the earth. The sound of horns that announcing the coming of dawn sounded from it and rumbled. This time round, what emerged from the moonlight was no longer knives or swords, but a huge, grotesque outline. It was a stake that emerged from the moonlight. With the moon as the furnace, and aether as firewood, the Symphony of Predestination propelled the alchemy process, creating various complex alchemy arrays. They were attached to the incorporeal outline of the stake, and nature interference bestowed upon the stake the weight and texture of iron. Then, the stake descended from the sky! A forlorn whistle burst forth. Turbulent waves of air swept across, and frenzied flames rose towards the sky. Night on Bald Mountain! The stake was deeply wedged into the earth, nailing the squirming shadow firmly to the ground. The flames from purgatory turned into torrential rains, descending from the sky, with a fury seemingly intending to burn everything down. The flames turned into torrents, covering the shadows. They flowed backwards, and even poured into the crack, causing a sharp scream of pain to ring out from the crack. The shadows broke off and disappeared without a trace. Then, countless swords whistled as they sailed through the air, and the faceless principal conductor staggered backwards. In the distant sky above, the main battery of the Mountain of Nomadism lit up with fiery flares, aiming at the royal musicians resurrected from death, and punishment descended from the sky! "Deus vult!!!" The knights of the Witch Hammer roared furiously, and the ground shook. Amid the rumble, the torrent of steel consisted of armored knights swept through once more. While Ye Qingxuan was distracted for only an instant, Lancelot, who was suppressed, had already entered the area about ten steps away from Ye Qingxuan. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer was lifted again. Even though Lancelot had been deeply wounded, the hands holding the weapon tightly were still as stable as steel. In a flash, a forlorn whistling sounded. Ye Qingxuan''s left hand reached out and grabbed the fiery brilliance of a molten gold color, letting the blade tear his palm apart and cause severe pain, holding the body of the lance tightly. He let it shake in anger, causing wounds to crack open on his palm, and the color of his bones was exposed. Countless strands of music theory of the Symphony of Predestination forcibly infiltrated, sealed, and suppressed the lance, constraining it in his hand. Even though the blade was only one inch away from his heart. Then, Ye Qingxuan lifted his right hand, balling it into a fist. Towards the face close at hand... He threw a punch! Bam! As if it had smashed on iron, a dull echo sounded. Lancelot''s gaze was still cold and hard, not shaken in the slightest. In the almost shattered body, a violent force re-emerged. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer shook once more, almost breaking free from Ye Qingxuan''s hand. "Say something, Lancelot!" Ye Qingxuan raised his fist and smashed it down on the man''s face once more. "Don''t you have a lot to say to me?" Bam! A breaking sound rang out, and its source couldn''t be determined, be it from Ye Qingxuan''s phalanges or Lancelot''s face. Lancelot''s eyes were still indifferent, not having changed in the slightest. Even though they were so near each other. "If you don''t want to speak, let me do it." Ye Qingxuan looked at his face, and suddenly laughed, his voice hoarse. "Coincidentally, over the years, I also have a lot of questions that I haven''t had time to ask you..." "Still remember your sister?" He looked into Lancelot''s eyes. "Have you ever thought about what happened to her after she left Avalon?" He saw it. In the indifferent, empty eyes, something flashed past. But Ye Qingxuan''s smile changed, becoming so grotesque, as if the fury had been engraved into his bone marrow. He lifted his hand and gathered up all his strength, throwing a punch at the face that was once noble and solemn in the past! Bam! Lancelot''s skull shook, and his steely face was broken. Under the punches, it crumbled. The hoarse voice, with the pain and despair of the past, sounded in his ear "She was humiliated!" Ye Qingxuan reached out, pulled out a long sword from the moon, aimed at Lancelot, and struck! The blade tore the body apart, and dark red blood spurted out. "She was scorned!" He flipped a dagger and stabbed it into Lancelot''s heart, until the entire blade and handle entered the man''s chest. A tremendous force pushed Lancelot back, until he was pressed against the broken wall. " They called her a whore!" Ye Qingxuan shouted. A heavy axe struck, breaking Lancelot''s bones. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer fell out of his hand and clattered as it rolled onto the ground, like a forlorn whine. "She was driven out of the shelter by other people!" Ye Qingxuan stepped on his face and smashed the hammer in his hand down with all his might, roaring in rage, "She knelt on the ground begging for the last dinner she deserved...for my sake!" Bam! Lancelot''s chest caved in, broken pieces of internal organs flowing out of his mouth along with extravasated blood. He made a vague sound in his throat, wanting to speak, but couldn''t say anything. Only the sound of bones breaking rang out. In the end, he was violently lifted from the ground by a hand. "Yet you still have the nerve to say that you have a lot to tell me?" Ye Qingxuan looked down at him, and demanded coldly, "Lancelot, and how are you going to pay her back? Speak!" After a long time, Lancelot raised his head with difficulty, his dry lips moving, and he breathed painfully. "Christine, that child... she is innocent, she doesn''t know anything about it." His voice was hoarse and weak, barely breathing. "The Knights of the Round Table... were manipulated by me... When I have died, go and look for Tristan... He will pledge allegiance to you... All these should rightfully be yours, take it." "What do you consider this to be?" In extreme fury, Ye Qingxuan laughed. "A ransom for your life? Or belated repentance?" In Ye Qingxuan''s hand, Lancelot coughed violently, coughing up crimson blood and fragments of his internal organs. He held Ye Qingxuan''s hand tightly, using up all his strength. "For so many years... I have always... wanted to bring her home... very badly, Little Yezi, really very badly..." Ye Qingxuan looked at him silently and let go. He coldly watched on as Lancelot knelt on the ground, panting painfully, clearly not having much longer to live. In the end, Lancelot heard Ye Qingxuan''s indifferent voice. "Over the years, she kept waiting for someone to bring her home. Unfortunately, the person she was waiting for was not you." Lancelot was stunned. "So that''s how it is..." He lowered his head, his shoulders trembling. His cracked lungs made a sound like a broken, choked up sob, but also resembled a torn-apart laugh. The laughter was hollow, full of bitterness and self-mockery. After a long time, the laughter disappeared together with the panting. Lancelot lifted a broken arm and carefully wiped the viscous blood from the corner of his mouth. "What are you waiting for, Ye Qingxuan... Do what you should, send me on my way to death." He looked at Ye Qingxuan, his gaze full of calmness, with no fear or cowardice, and just quietly waited for his end. He yearned for relief. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan quietly pulled out the Lance of the Dragon Slayer from the ground, lifted the blade, and aimed it at his heart. "Farewell, Lancelot." "Mhmm." Lancelot closed his eyes. A brilliance flashed and disappeared. The blood rain fell from the sky once more. On the blade, grayish-white dust fluttered in the rain and flew into the distance. They dissipated without a trace. ... On the chaotic battlefield, Ye Qingxuan held the Lance of the Dragon Slayer in his hand, raised his head, and looked up at the Firebirds battling in the sky. The black Firebird turned into a scorching sun, entangling and struggling together with the golden ocean. It was like a deadly battle between the black dragon and the golden dragon, with their teeth, wings and bones as weapons, tearing the other''s body apart. Blood spewed out from within, falling towards the ground, and turned into heavy rain. When the battle on the ground finally came to an end, and the last royal musician was turned into ashes in the light of purification, the battle in the sky was also finally about to be concluded. The light was torn into pieces. The sun of darkness devoured the vague phantom in the light greedily, swallowing it up bit by bit. Following Arthur''s ecstatic laughter, a horrifying aether wave radiated from the highest point of Avalon once more. The path of godly ascension was about to open again... Behind Ye Qingxuan, the herald who had half of his body stained with blood went down on one knee. "Your Honor, your order please." "Take care of the wounded, and go back first. Someone must guard Her Majesty after all." Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand. "Your battle has ended temporarily. "As for what comes next, just leave it to me." The herald was momentarily shocked, but did not dare to disobey his order, and nodded. "Yes sir." "Also, if Her Majesty asks about my whereabouts, tell her..." Ye Qingxuan picked up the Lance of the Dragon Slayer and smiled, but his eyes were not smiling. His pupils were pitch black and seemed bottomless. "After all, I''ve harbored so many years of deep hatred, let me go meet the has-been emperor first... and have a proper ''chat'' with him." 609 The Old Gods Are Dying At the highest point of Avalon, a mighty melody rose from beneath the ground. It was Leviathan. The deceased soul buried deep under the soil and rocks woke up from its long slumber. The demised catastrophe was singing, the husky and cold tune latching onto the melody. Like flesh and blood growing on a skeleton, it gradually filled out, outlining the embryonic form of the catastrophe. The alchemy array hidden deeply beneath the entire territory was awakened. The path of godly ascension was reopened once more. Forcibly controlled by the stone sword, the two halves of the path of godly ascension, which had been split, attracted each other forcefully and gradually came together, about to return to the original state. The sky shook. Countless stars dimmed and swayed. Flame-like glows fell, floating between the sea and the sky, surrounding the vast sun of darkness. The sun gave off a horrifying radiance, but at the edge of its dark outline, a blood-colored substance gathered, then dripped, spilling down towards the mortal realm and turning into red rain. "Come back! Come back! Come back!" Arthur laughed, ecstatic. Like a tide, the dark Firebird filled the entire palace and covered the entire sea. In the nation in the shadows, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth whined sorrowfully. On the throne, Mary gritted her teeth, her face pale, and panted weakly. After the power of the entire Avalon and the whole of the power of Leviathan were combined, they gathered to form the path of godly ascension. The power that had initially been split into two converged towards the same destination once again at the moment. Just like the two ends of the lever, if balance couldn''t be maintained, then one side must sink into the darkness and become part of the winner''s resources as a stepping stone. At the moment, through the Firebird, Mary had merged as one with the alchemy array left from the past. Once the power of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was completely extracted, she herself would cease to exist as well. As the golden Firebird broke, the buildings in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that had just been restored also cracked gradually into gaps, and the glory was no longer. If the domain of the scepter didn''t have Genesis as its core to forcibly suppress the powers that were ready to cause trouble, Mary''s powers and life forces would have probably been sucked dry by Arthur long ago. It was like the pain of her whole person being torn apart was expanding from the inside out. In the fiery radiance, Mary gritted her teeth, a hoarse, sorrowful whine sounding from her throat. Countless flickering strands of music theory wove, and a fuzzy outline appeared. It seemed like a hound, but also resembled a blurred human figure. The figure reached out, gently stroking Mary''s long hair. It seemed to be comforting her softly. Fear not, I''m still here. Mary forced out a smile, opened her mouth, and softly whispered something in reply. The vague figure seemed to sigh and looked up at the highest point of Avalon. The starting point and focus of the path of godly ascension. How much more does one have to pay to end the sins of the past? It thought. ... "Who''s there?" A voice sounded in the palace that had been swallowed up by the dark Firebird, at the core of Avalon. In the throne room, Arthur, who was immersed in the path of godly ascension, suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had sensed something. The pitch black eyes looked coldly at the ground below the steps, a cold glint shining from them. Below the steps, on the floor that had shattered in the fight, faint glows lit up within the grains of the marble, like streams of water converging along the riverbed. In the end, the dim glows gathered on the step where the subordinates would position themselves when presenting themselves before the ruler. It was an alchemy array built into it according to the natural texture of the stone. If an alchemist was to witness it, he would surely be shocked by the ingenious conception. Relying on the original appearance of the material, with some additional adornments, the embedded alchemy array could almost be said to have been naturally formed and had an unparalleled concealment ability. Had it not been activated in a special method, no one could possibly spot it. Exactly because of how concealed it was, the array that could be set up was also relatively simple, and the most it could do... was just to project. It was the projection of light and shadows that were left here in the past. In the flickering light, a familiar looking youth walked out of it, and went down on a knee on the steps, like he was presenting himself before the ruler. As Arthur gazed at him coldly and darkly, the youth lifted his feminine, ladylike face, revealing his signature mysterious smile. On the back of his right hand, the emblem of two snakes slowly emerged. Hermes. Without the king''s permission, he rose at his own discretion and looked towards the throne. He sized it up in an almost offensive manner, but the focus of his gaze was slightly off, as if he wasn''t looking at Arthur, but had his gaze on somewhere empty instead. "Oh, I see." The youth pinched his chin and slowly nodded. "The situation has already deteriorated to such an extent. I must say that it is one of the most troublesome situations within my expectation... Also, it''s been a long time, Your Majesty." "Merlin?" Arthur frowned. "It''s you?" "Ah, it''s me." Hermes nodded casually, his smile becoming more and more annoying. "But as you can see, the ''me'' at the moment is just a projection that has fixed responses preset and will select the corresponding segment to display according to the situation. "When you see this series of images, I''m probably no longer in Avalon? "No, I don''t think I will be so incompetent as to allow the situation to deteriorate to such an extent, so I''m most likely dead? Aha, will I die too? Although it does indeed sound quite ridiculous to say so, but Your Majesty, I''m afraid that when you see this projection, I am already dead. " Arthur frowned, and a gloomy coldness spread from him, but it only served to make the projection blurry and failed to change Hermes'' expression in the slightest. "Dead?" Arthur asked. "Yup." Hermes nodded, a matter-of-fact expression on his face. "Although disappointing, such is the truth Catastrophes will die too. "Human beings which make up the majority in the world are existences that are even more terrifying than catastrophes. Surely it''s not surprising that one day they could develop technologies of killing catastrophes. " He paused and couldn''t help but sigh. "I regret to inform you that in the years that you were sealed, the world has changed drastically. You may be... somewhat out of date." Bang! The Firebird shook in fury. The step where the subordinates would position themselves when presenting themselves before the ruler was torn apart and turned into dust from the inside out. Hermes'' figure dissipated. But soon, a similar projection shone from the ceiling, and Hermes sighed resignedly. "So many years have passed since we last met, but your temper is still as bad as ever, Your Majesty." The assh*le had probably known how Arthur would react long ago and had even prepared countermeasures ages ago, making Arthur''s expression turn more and more impatient. Arthur was unwilling to waste his words on the troublesome guy anymore, and asked coldly, "Regardless of whether you are dead or alive, you went to so much trouble to leave these things here... for what?" So, Hermes laughed. "If I haven''t made the wrong guess, you must have lost patience and asked me what the heck am I plotting, right? Such words are so saddening, Your Majesty, I am already dead, what effect can I still have on your mighty rulership?" The projection spread his hands helplessly, "If nothing I envisioned has gone wrong, the only thing I can do at the moment is to play to my nature as court jester and come to provide my king with advice?" Arthur''s expression became uglier and uglier, his cold eyes fixing the incorporeal projection with a death stare. After a long time, he asked coldly, "Merlin... Do you know what you are saying?" "That''s right, Your Majesty," Hermes sighed and said, "although I was indeed the one who provided you with the holy operation back then and also the one who crafted the whole plan. In order to satisfy my curiosity and desire to research, I created such a huge monster, it is my mistake... To be honest, it is one of my few regrets in life. But to this day, it is already irreparable." He was silent for a moment, then looked up in the direction of the throne, revealing a sincere expression unprecedented on him. Letting go of the superior, arrogant demeanor he wore in the past, he bowed reverently and implored, "If you must, take it that I have lost my mind, but for the sake of the world and yourself, please give up on the holy operation, how about that?" Dead silence. Arthur said nothing. He simply looked at Hermes. As if he was looking at a fool... Hermes remained bent over in his posture of pleading for a very long time. In the end, the image trembled. He resignedly lowered his head and sighed. "Of course, for such things, I don''t even have to think with my brain to know that you definitely won''t agree to it. "Therefore, I simply didn''t bother to set an option for the case in which you give up. Please forget about the imploration just now, it is one of my few shameful moments in life. Losing so much face even in death, I''m afraid that I can be considered the only one to do so. As for you..." He shrugged resignedly. "Just do whatever you want." In the dead silence, even the dark Firebird was frozen under the terrifying chill. On the throne, Arthur silently looked down at the virtual projection below, his fingers tapped the armrest lightly, engraving his fingerprints into the iron. "Merlin, I once gave you my trust A trust that no one else has ever had!" "Isn''t the holy operation the reward you received in return for this trust of yours?" Hermes asked indifferently. "Pardon my frankness, your trust in me should not have existed from the very beginning, Your Majesty, you and I have both been affected negatively by it, unable to have peace. "Your descendant, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, once said to me Perhaps I shouldn''t have interfered with anything from the very beginning. Regardless of what I have done, it would only make matters worse. "Just give up, Your Majesty. It is the only advice that me as a court jester has for you." Arthur was extremely furious, but sneered. "What if I say no?" "You will die." Hermes looked at him and said, pausing between each word, "Like me." Arthur snickered, as if he had seen a boring buffoon. "Hermes, have you been reduced to pretending to be a shaman like a beggar, going loony in front of clay figurines and small papier-mach people, and saying some sensational words to attract eyeballs?" Hermes shook his head, and his gaze... turned to one of pity. "Let me guess, at the moment, how you are faring." He counted on his fingers, self-absorbedly. "You have controlled the blood of Leviathan, controlled Avalon, restarted the path of godly ascension, and the final result may even be in sight already. "Even your condition now, with the Firebird and your own strength, is enough to surpass ordinary saints, and may even suffice for you to be comparable to some small-scale catastrophes... If the time comes when you succeed, after gathering the powers of the entire Anglo and the catastrophe, in one go, you will surpass the Three Wise Man and the four living creatures in the Physical World, and will even be abreast with the Three Pillar God far away in the realm of aether. "Then, the entire Physical World will become your territory. You will obtain power from the hands of the various nations, gain faith from the Sacred City, and turn the world into your eternal heavenly kingdom, where you are the only supreme lord... I must say, you calculated your plot well. If it was a few centuries ago, I''m afraid that it might really work." Hermes paused and sighed regretfully. "But now, such a plan can no longer work, Your Majesty. For the sake of our many years of knowing each other, how about I tell you some bad news?" As he said so, the projection lowered his head, extended a hand, and fished out a well-sealed copper tube. He unscrewed it, pulled out the tobacco leaves sealed within, sniffed it carefully, ignited it with some trouble, then inhaled and exhaled the smoke. He looked pretentious, but when he did so in the past, he was always high-spirited, but at the moment he seemed a bit defeated and dull, even dejected. After a good while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice, " The old gods are dying." 610 The Final Absurdity "As everyone knows, in times of crisis, the most important presence will come from the Originator and they all possess unique specialties, such as Three Pillar God, Three Wise Men and Four Living Creatures" Hermes continued calmly, "Amongst them, Three Wise Men was the catastrophe that was borne out of the Originator in adherence to the element of ''mankind''. You could say that they were created from the Originator because of humans. As a result, we walk on this world with the characteristics and mindset of humans. To mankind, we might be wise men that have grasped the secrets of the Originator, but from the perspective of the Originator, we are still a part of the Originator and were merely created because of mankind. In other words, you could argue that regardless of our own wishes, we still represent a form of interference in the world by the Originator." He pointed at his head and continued, "This is why we are able to sense some things Images of the future representing the changes cultivated from the depths of the Originator." Therefore, the way he looked at Arthur, through the shrouding fog, was one of compassion, "The golden era has already come to an end and a new era is about to come. Your Majesty, ''the old gods are dying'', because everything will be redefined once again, including you. Perhaps, this is the moment when your worth will be determined. But without a doubt, compared to the power that is about to incite the Originator, your worth is insignificant" Boom! Arthur raised his palm as he continued to be seated on his throne. He was not happy. The fury of the king has caused the alchemy array, that was hidden amongst the rocks, to break down and turn into dust. But there was no way to vent out all his rage. Perhaps, this was what pleased Hermes the most. Since he was already dead, there was no way anyone could take revenge on him. The fleeting image of the deceased continued to smoke his cigarette. After some time, he extinguished the flame and raised his gaze. Behind him, the sound of footsteps could be heard on the steps outside of the hall. The blade of a lance was being dragged heavily across the ground. The friction against the grainy surface could be heard clearly and sparks could be seen amidst the shower of blood. Someone was fast approaching. "Looks like our long-awaited reunion is about to come to an end. Though I must say, it was not my intention that our separation should be on an unhappy note," Hermes smiled mysteriously. A hat appeared out of nowhere, and he took it off and bowed in an exaggerated manner, as if he was bowing on a stage. "In that case, allow me to present to you the final absurdity, ''The Death of King Arthur''!" Bang! Amidst the deafening crash of the lance against the ground, the image disappeared, only to reveal the silhouette of the figure that was slowly trudging into the hall. White long hair flowed under the dim lighting like burning silver. He did not kneel nor bow. He merely raised his head and barely bothered to look at the Emperor as a strange smile crept across his face and said, "Bishop of the Sacred City, I am Ye Qingxuan, Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry and Marquis of the Dragon Bloodline." The black Firebird continued to twist and turn amidst the deafening silence. Arthur looked down at Ye Qingxuan. The stone sword at his knee was trembling. "It has been so many years yet this world is still the same." He flicked his finger lightly against the blade of the stone sword. He continued coldly, "Those people who insist on interfering with other people''s business are like flies. There are so many of them and all of them are just as irritating as the next. Since you are wielding the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, does that mean that Lancelot is dead?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded politely and said, "It was more difficult than I expected. To be honest, I am quite grateful for this opportunity that Your Majesty has given to me. As such, since Your Majesty is so generous, will you give us a chance to catch up on old times before you decide to kill me?" With that, he rubbed his hands and smiled cunningly. He raised his index finger and thumb to gesture a short distance, "Really, just a short while will do." The Firebird came to an abrupt halt. Arthur was stunned for a moment. He looked down at the stone sword before bursting into an uproarious laugh, "Maxwell, are you pinning all your hopes on someone like this? Seriously this is really amusing. I have seen many of my old friends today. Now, it''s your turn, Maxwell. Treasure the little time you have left and say your goodbyes." The stone sword moaned and an old and frail soul appeared from the shadow of the blade of the sword. He opened his eyes and looked at Ye Qingxuan. There was a confused look on his face. "Why bother to come?" "To save you, of course." There was a firm look on Ye Qingxuan''s face. "Although manipulative elderly people are pretty irritating, I don''t dislike you. You are old, Maxwell. This type of lifestyle, where you have to constantly put your life at risk, does not suit you. Once this is over, I will take you somewhere to spend the rest of your life in peace. The house by the sea of Asgard is pretty decent. The garden is still empty and is waiting for you to grow some flowers." Maxwell was silent for some time before he finally chuckled and said, "Sorry to impose on you then." "Hmm, just give me a moment." Ye Qingxuan raised the Lance of the Dragon Slayer and aimed it at Arthur. He imitated Lancelot''s pose, as if he was about to charge at any time. Although he looked clumsy and amusing, he did not feel awkward at all. Instead, he spoke in a serious tone, "I will save you now." By right, Arthur should also have drawn his sword in response but he could not help but laugh uproariously on his throne. He was laughing so hard that he was slapping on his knees and tears were rolling down his face. "Hahahahaha" He could not contain his laughter as he looked at Ye Qingxuan, "Which circus did you learn this from? You are really a rare talent. You have completely outdone those castratos and court jesters! Young man, if you kneel before me now, I will consider giving you a place in the kingdom in future." "My apologies." A smile cracked over Ye Qingxuan''s face. "I don''t have the habit of pledging my loyalty to fools." For the past few centuries, no one has ever dared to describe Arthur in this way. Never In a split second, Arthur''s gaze turned cold and the smile on Ye Qingxuan''s face completely vanished. The melted gold of the ancient lance blade shimmered and the meteorite metal was awakened. The pain brought about by the heat was staggering. The hilt was no longer cool and had become burning liquid copper instead. The Symphony of Predestination has been launched. Nine layers of Sea of Aether was summoned by this terrifying force and crashed onto Ye Qingxuan''s hands. The torrent-like aether gushed into the lance. An artifact, whose potential could only be fully maximized by a musician, was finally in the hands of one. Momentarily, Ye Qingxuan almost used up all the reserves in the sub-originator in exchange for the glow of horror, which was like the breaking of the constellation. This was a weapon that was built for the sole purpose of killing. It did not matter who wielded it, nor who its target was. Not even Arthur. There was a streak of lightning. The burning electricity rose from the lance blade. It was as if the entire blade had lost its physical shape and had transformed into something more violent and destructive. The jolting of the electricity caused the skin on Ye Qingxuan''s hands to peel off, leaving behind a painful mass of muscle. Blood was flowing but they were instantly evaporated by the electricity. Ye Qingxuan stepped forward and suddenly jabbed at the throne! It might have been a swift attack to ordinary people but to Arthur, it was as slow as a tortoise. He could hardly bear to take another look at that pathetic posture and jab. Even so, there was a chill in the lance blade that even Arthur had to be wary of. The Firebird continued to twist and turn in the hall. But with the sudden jab of the lance blade, even the Firebird was torn into shreds. The dark ocean was split into two by the golden streak of light, unveiling a straight path. The power of dragon blood that had yet to complete the ritual of godly ascension could not be compared to the true nature of Leviathan. But to Arthur, a Firebird of this standard was just like breathing. The pair of dark and empty eyes looked up and there was an explosion from the throne. On the path of godly ascension, that hoarse voice suddenly turned into a howl of terror. The Aether wave, which was already terrifying in its own right, became a thousand times more powerful. It was as if a sea monster, who was on the brink of death, was flailing in the ocean in defiance and raising terrible tidal waves. The Aether waves turned into a wild torrent and crashed onto the Physical World. On the other hand, the throne was in the peaceful eye of the storm, where Arthur slowly raised the stone sword. The blade of the sword moaned and trembled but there was nothing it could do to resist the will of Arthur. It was aimed at Ye QIngxuan. Kill! In that moment, a powerful light exploded and devoured everything. The incoming hurricane overwhelmed the glow of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. The Symphony of Predestination trembled fervently. The trinity of components shook and was almost about to break apart. This was the difference in nature and it was as vast as that between a giant dragon and an ant. Comparing the power of Leviathan against that of ordinary humans was like comparing the seven seas to a sampan. Just a slight tremble was enough to raise towering waves to drown every country and bury everything under the sea. A simple wave of the hand and hacking motion of the sword in the air was all it took to stop Ye Qingxuan in his steps. Even his determination has been shaken. His mind was now filled with the thoughts of the pain and hopelessness of being turned into dust. Even though the ritual of godly ascension was still incomplete, with the stone sword in possession, Arthur was as powerful as any catastrophe. Catastrophes were catastrophes after all. They were not like any other ordinary people that could be killed just because one wielded an artifact. "What a pity" Momentarily, Ye Qingxuan''s voice spoke softly but his sigh was audible. He closed his eyes and in the next instant, a light that was thousands of times more powerful exploded. Arthur was stunned. In his hands, countless cracks appeared on the Lance of the Dragon Slayer but from these cracks rose the Musical Theory of Collapse, the terrifying imagery of Gods against mankind. It represented the clash between the musical theories of Gods and mankind and a tragic song of destruction was played by the base plate of Classical School. This was the final main interpretation, ''Evening of all Gods". It was just like the destruction of one world and the closure of another. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer was destroyed in exchange for the terrifying power of God''s rage. It would wreak havoc everywhere, drown everything with the sea and all the Gods would fall. The old world would be set on fire and from the ashes, four major elements would be determined and used to establish the new era. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Amidst the powerful blasts, immense and overwhelming light exploded from Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Arthur''s powers have been shredded into pieces. The power of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer pierced through layers upon layers of obstructions and finally smashed onto the blade of the stone sword with a glow that was as if the world had been set on fire. Arthur was furious. The blade of the stone sword roared and the Chapter of the Golden Victory was roused from its slumber. The images of all sorts of phantom beasts appeared, culminating in a real giant dragon in the end, which tried to devour Ye Qingxuan. But alas, even the giant dragon was no match for him. Ye Qingxuan screamed. All of his powers turned into light and they gushed out of his eyes. He was almost about to be burnt alive by the incredible power. It was thousands of times more powerful than what he could control. Explosions sounded continuously every moment due to the clash between the Lance of the Dragon Slayer and the stone sword. Each clash would bring about an earth-shattering explosion. Even the Sacred City would be able to observe this terrifying aftermath. Wielding that powerful light and using the power from the self-destruction of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, Ye Qingxuan kept moving forward. He crossed the barrier of an audience to the monarch and continued to overcome every single obstacle. Finally, Arthur was within reach. For such a long time, from the day he arrived at Avalon, he has been trying to escape from the shadows of Arthur. He had to wait until today to be able to see what Arthur really looked like for the first time. Arthur looked terrible. Really terrible. Underneath the human face was the silhouette of a beast. It was ugly and ferocious and it stared at Ye Qingxuan, full of rage. Ye Qingxuan screamed at the top of his lungs and with all the strength that he had left, he thrusted that light against Arthur. Arthur howled with rage. The stone sword roared and its power increased once again. The full power of a catastrophe has finally been unleashed in one go and it overwhelmed even the clash of the power of terror and the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. The hall of the throne collapsed suddenly. "Don''t even think about it!" Arthur laughed deviously. The musical theory of the sword blade has managed to overwhelm the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, suppressing the terrifying musical theory that was as powerful as the destruction of the entire world. But in that moment, through the burning light, he saw a smile on Ye Qingxuan''s face. It was a smile of joy. Then, the smiling young man released his grip and allowed the Lance of the Dragon Slayer to drop. "Has he given up?!" Shortly after, the palm that was full of wounds was raised. His fingers were fully outstretched and he gathered strength before aiming for Arthur''s face and smacking it. Slap! A slap that was so clear and distinct amidst the roars. Arthur''s face was one that was filled with evil aura and crushing authority but now, the fresh print of a palm was slowly appearing on it. His eyes were in a daze and there was a tinge of confusion and helplessness. This attack came so unexpectedly and it was so offensive. It was so heartbreaking! "This is the expression I want." Ye Qingxuan nodded his head with satisfaction. It was as if every cell in his body was dancing with joy. What a great feeling! 611 The Staff of Destiny The shock hit him suddenly. Stunned, Arthur stood where he was. Arthur had never taken this fellow who thought that he could do whatever he pleased just because he had an artifact in hand seriously, even when Ye Qingxuan detonated the Lance of the Dragon Slayer on his own accord. But he didn''t expect that, with the artifact in hand, Ye Qingxuan really did as he pleased... After expending so much effort, not even hesitating to use the Lance of the Dragon Slayer as a consumable, what Ye Qingxuan desired was not victory, but to walk up to Arthur and give him a crisp slap in the face? A slap in the face! After the shock that didn''t even last for an instant, what rose as an immediate effect was an unprecedented violent fury. Arthur roared. His rage possessed material form, with Firebird being the medium. It caused the huge sun of darkness in the sky to tremble wildly, and a loud rumble burst forth. He broke out in roars, shattering gloomy clouds. The stars swayed, trembling as they went out. The pair of dark eyes had been covered in blood red streaks at the moment, like the fiery fire in hell. Eroded by the wrath of the Firebird, even the blade of the stone sword turned pitch black. It didn''t look to be made of tangible matter that really existed, but seemed to have turned into a crack leading to the World of Dark after a certain sort of collapse had occurred. Through the body of the sword, one could faintly glimpse the darkness ravaging and sweeping like the ocean. Simply by standing within three steps of it, one could feel the severe pain of being dismembered by the blade. It was especially so for Ye Qingxuan, who was targeted by the stone sword, and every inch of flesh and blood on his body trembled as a result. "What''s the hurry." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand nonchalantly, the look in his eyes full of malice. "It has just begun." The world stood still for a moment. Then, Arthur saw the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, which had been suppressed by the stone sword, stab into the ground after leaving Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Shortly after, a terrifying hiss sounded from the depths of the earth. Innumerable clouds of dust rose, and a bloody torrent spewed out of Avalon''s sewers. It flowed upwards toward the sky, dyeing the entire of the pitch black night sky scarlet. Avalon shook, and the frenzied tides swept in all directions. The Lance of the Dragon Slayer pierced the earth. The brilliance gathered into a ray that pointed straight down, penetrating the soil and the rocks. Wherever it passed, everything evaporated, and even the activated flesh of Leviathan was completely torn open, revealing a huge crack. The music theory of destruction erupted, killing the activated earth once more. It left eternal scars which were thousands of meters or even tens of thousands of meters long. Even though the brilliance went out, the horrifying quakes turned into waves and propagated in all directions. In the World of Dark on the other side of the earth, silent mountain peaks cracked, spurting out lava of destruction. In the whole world, thousands of aether balls burst in an instant. The large-scale instruments of harmonious melody near the surroundings of Anglo all lost responsiveness. Almost all the musicians were able to sense the terrifying fluctuations rising. It resembled the horrifying aftermath of stars exploding. However, the peak of Avalon had descended into a strangely calm silence. The hand print left from the slap on Arthur''s face had yet to fade, but an unconcealable panic rose in his eyes. The path of godly ascension! The path of godly ascension shook, like a collapsing building. In the vast alchemy array, countless fine circuits were rapidly losing their sense of aether, disappearing without a trace like ice cubes melting in the sea. The inexhaustible power abruptly stopped flowing, and the sun of darkness brewing up in the sky tremored in pain, producing a sound that resembled glass breaking. The catastrophe that had yet to be born was about to die prematurely... It only took an instant for everything to change. At the moment, Arthur felt an unprecedented weakness and fear. Amid the ruins, the remaining body of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer was deeply nailed into the ground. The steel body of the lance was covered in countless fine cracks. As its music theory dissipated and the array in it ruptured, it no longer possessed its mightiness like before. However, then only did Arthur saw the two intersecting marks, which had appeared without him noticing, on the ground cast with black gold and wrought iron before the throne. One could vaguely identify it as the projection array that Hermes once set up. The array was set up within the grain of the stone and iron. As the projection dissipated, the array was also destructed. The only part exposed outside the stone and iron formed an odd scorch mark. It was like a pre-drawn target. Just looking at it would make one feel that one couldn''t help but itch to poke it, just once... And at the moment, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer was precisely nailed into the ground on the spot where the marks intersect. Right in the bull''s eye! "It''s you..." Arthur suddenly looked up and fixed Ye Qingxuan with a death stare. In the air behind Ye Qingxuan, the handsome and feminine face appeared for the last time and took his hat off politely at Arthur, silently bidding farewell. From the beginning to the end, the corners of his mouth curled with a mocking smile. It was the last prank. Arthur roared in fury, and the stone sword rumbled, forcefully wedging into the array of the path of godly ascension. The power originating from the catastrophe propelled the vast music theory and forcibly regathered the array that was falling apart. But he immediately felt the huge array shook. It was as if the keel that was the most important part of the foundation, which was eternally unchanging initially, seemed to have been taken away at the moment. The foundation became so fragile like a building that would collapse upon the blowing of a breeze. Like a fire, the Firebird burned in mad fury. "What on earth have you done!!!" Arthur reached out, and the Firebird condensed, materializing and turning into a dark hand. It tore apart layers of protection, grabbed Ye Qingxuan by the neck, and pulled him up. As if he was pressured by ten thousand tons of water, the sharp pain of body parts breaking came from all over his body. Ye Qingxuan raised a brow, his eyes looking to his side. There, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer that had lost its brilliance laid motionless quietly, making no sound. In its brokenness, it resembled an unloading lever used by dock workers. What have I done? Is there still a need to ask? Ye Qingxuan''s smile was full of pleasure. "The obvious answer is to pry your kingdom away." As he said so, wisps of mist flowed out of the cracks on the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. Before the throne, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer suddenly tremored violently. Innumerable scar-like cracks rapidly closed up amid the lingering mist. As if it had returned from the underworld, the dead artifact came back to life once more! The Changing Music Theory from the clothes of original sin resided within, unceremoniously occupying the body of the lance which had lost its spirituality. It forcibly united all the remaining music theory in it, then immediately flowed in the alchemy array that was falling apart. Like a turtledove occupying a magpie nest, the Changing Music Theory had taken over the lance. The Changing Music Theory that had lost its form and the Lance of the Dragon Slayer that had lost its music theory merged as one, and a faint light radiated from it once more. It was the flowing moonlight. A moon of pure white emerged. It was the Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination! ''As if you are above, as if you are below, and so all can begin.'' The music theory inherited from the Emerald Tablet flowed within. Under the smelting of moonlight, the music theory consisting of thousands of strands and loose ends was quickly reorganized with the way of deciphering. Under the forceful suppression of the three-in-one structure, the two were completely combined as one. In the body of the lance, the fragments that had originally belonged to the gun of fate were awakened, and gave off a fiery glow once more. After being reactivated, like wilted branches that were almost dying, they absorbed aether wildly. Even the Changing Music Theory of the clothes of original sin, as well as the array and music theory that originally belonged to the Lance of the Dragon Slayer, were swallowed up without mercy. The fragments reacted crisply, like monsters, and were still totally unsatiated. The Symphony of Predestination trembled, and the Night on Bald Mountain was played. Then, hundreds of purifying movements passed down from the Religious Court of Inquiry all poured into it. Only when the reserve in Ye Qingxuan''s Sub-originator was completely drained also did the lance stop its feast. After obtaining such a vast amount of resources, a new aura radiated faintly from the body of the lance, dissipating quietly without a sound, and the blade rapidly dimmed. In the end, what remained in the original position was only a black iron staff that looked roughly made. The fragments of the gun of fate smelted into it turned into bronze-colored striations spread over it. In the end, they converged at one point and outlined the holy emblem, forming a pattern. At this point in time, the Lance of the Dragon Slayer and the clothes of the original sin died, and a new, grand chapter was reborn here. What emerged from it was a terrifying majesty so sharp that one dared not even look straight at it. Everything seemed illusory and as fragile as a dream when compared to it. Only the iron was real, difficult to move in its heaviness. It was destined by fate. Unchangeable! In just a flash, a new artifact was born from the fragments of the Lance of the Dragon Slayer. No matter how the Firebird charged at it or how the frenzied wind blew and swept, the iron staff seemed to be wedged into the stone, unmoving and unshakable. And at the moment, it obeyed Ye Qingxuan''s will. A horrifyingly loud bang sounded from it. The heavy music theory advanced along the crack that the Lance of the Dragon Lance had pierced through, crushing the layers of protection. It caused the moonlight to flow rapidly and instantly reach the deepest part of the whole territory of the country. The blockade set up by Leviathan was no longer! The mighty melody from Genesis sounded from afar. In the reflection, the city that was on the verge of shattering emitted a dazzling brilliance. The golden Firebird rekindled, igniting the entire of the dark ocean once more. On the throne, amid the resplendent flares, Mary, who was properly seated, opened her eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice. The voice echoed between the heavens and the earth, proclaiming the royal decree from the empress to the world. "In the name of Mary I, the empress of the sacred kingdom of Anglo blessed by God, the guardian of the Church, and the mortal ruler with full rights, I hereby confer the title of the Prince of Avalon upon Marquis Ye Qingxuan of the Dragon Bloodline!" So, the Chapter of the Golden Victory was played once again. Golden flares descended from the sky, falling on Ye Qingxuan''s head, and turned into a fiery halo. Arthur''s hand was flicked off. The power, which resembled burning everything and giving it all, even managed to temporarily resist the power of the catastrophe. Meanwhile, in the flares, a phantom of Mary appeared faintly, reached out, and held Ye Qingxuan''s hand tightly. She took off the ring representing royal power on her index finger, and put it on his finger. "Ye Qingxuan, I bestow the signet ring of the royal family upon you. "From now on, you are the deputy ruler of Anglo, the Keeper of the Seal of the Privy Council, and have full command over all affairs of Avalon. Act on behalf of the queen and defend the nation''s territories. " Thou shalt be with Avalon! " Ye Qingxuan gazed at her decisive expression and bowed his head. "As my queen commands." Mary''s figure dissipated without a sound, and in the majestic melody symbolizing the emperor''s coronation, the halo on Ye Qingxuan''s head silently turned into a vague crown. A crown that should have belonged to Arthur originally... "In your dreams!!!" Arthur growled darkly and coldly, and the sun of darkness rumbled. The heavens and the earth shook as he reached out and tore the golden Firebird gathering around Ye Qingxuan apart, but he failed to stop the young man in time. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan''s hand rested on the black iron staff. So, the ground shook, and a frenzied turmoil rose from the deepest part of the earth''s crust, causing the whole city to tremble. Just like what he once said to Arthur... "It''s time to pry Anglo away." Following Ye Qingxuan''s words, his Symphony of Predestination unfolded fully, and the gravitational force of the music theory was exerted on the iron staff, causing the terrifying aura of the iron staff to erupt suddenly. The nine-layered sea of aether was opened up by the power. The barrier between the Physical World and the realm of aether was completely punched through. Meanwhile, along with the horrifying power, the music theory of the Heaven Ladder also penetrated the layers of defense and pierced into the deepest part of Avalon. Facing Arthur''s wildly furious expression, Ye Qingxuan laughed. " In the name of the ruler of Anglo, I hereby activate the homeland defense front. May God bless me, and I shall defend the kingdom!" At the moment, the signet ring on his index finger radiated a fiery glow. Advancing along the music theory of the Heaven Ladder, the unique music theory passed through the crack produced when the Lance of the Dragon Slayer pierced into the ground and cast itself into the depths of the earth. The first note was played. So, the entire Anglo boomed in response. After the death of Elizabeth, the vast system that the past generations of the royal family of Anglo had devoted all resources of the nation to setting up was reawakened. In the leylines, silent aether gushed in a frenzy. The silver brilliance weaved in and out through the depths of the earth, operating rapidly along the leylines. In only an instant, it had connected the entire Anglo along the vast network. It caused a fiery glow to light up under the deep sea. Midlands, York, Sussex... The huge alchemy systems buried deep under every county town in Anglo awakened one after another. They drew on the reserves that they had been saving up for centuries, casting a mighty amount of real energy into the leylines and transporting them to where the capital of the nation was. The power that was gushing like a torrent operated in the earth''s crust beneath the sea, but the tremendous amount of heat and brilliance radiating from it shone through layers of darkness, projecting rivers of fiery light on the surface of the sea. In a flash, the rivers of light came from all directions, converged together, and gathered towards the palace. "Mere wishful thinking!" It only took Arthur an instant to thoroughly understand what Ye Qingxuan''s was thinking. In the sky, the sun of darkness operated in rage. The horrifying Firebird descended from the sky and penetrated the earth''s crust. In just an instant, it destroyed all the equipment buried deep under the palace. Diverter valves, instruments of harmonious melody, aether furnaces... All the equipment used to control the homeland defense front were destroyed, and the frenzied torrent could hardly be controlled anymore. In just a flash, the terrifying heat leaking out of it boiled the entire ocean, turning the sea and the sky into a huge steamer. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t panic in the slightest bit, and simply looked at Arthur, his eyes full of pity, as if he was looking at an idiot. "Surely you don''t think that... such an important system doesn''t even have a set of backups?" Booming peals of bells rang out. Right in the center of Avalon, above the dilapidated tower bridge, the old giant bell rumbled and shook, exuding majestic and mighty chimes. In Jianlan Underground Palace of the Royal Academy of Music of Anglo, an ancient pair of eyes slowly opened in the darkness behind the old bronze door "Has the time finally come?" Dominic murmured softly, rose to his feet slowly, and walked to the deepest part of the audience hall. He extended a hand, tore his chest cavity open, and pulled out a key covered in copper rust from his shriveled heart. The key stained with viscous blood was inserted into the keyhole. As Dominic turned it with all his might, the whole audience hall produced a loud rumble. In the sound of countless gears turning, steel shattered. Stein Chamber No. Zero, activated! With a boom, the vast machinery that had slumbered in it for centuries was started! In the loud noise, Dominic sat down on the ground, withered, and sighed softly. "I can only wish you good luck, Maxwell, you old bastard. "I can only do... so much for you." At the moment, the launching of the Homeland Defense Front was complete. Under the surface of the sea, fiery torrents swept through, along the array left from what was once the path of godly ascension. They gathered, and gushed into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, causing the almost-shattered city in the mirror to radiate vibrancy once more. The melody of Genesis reverberated between the sea and the sky. In Ye Qingxuan''s hand, the iron staff tapped. Loud bangs burst forth, completely breaking the boundaries between reality and illusion, causing the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth to descend upon the land, and turned the inexhaustible power into glory, strengthening himself. In the next moment, the iron staff lifted and struck towards Arthur. The iron staff collided with the stone sword, producing a high-pitched sound that shook the heavens and the earth. The sun of darkness trembled as a result, innumerable cracks spreading in it, and it was about to disintegrate. ... "He that hath an ear, let him hear what is saith!" In the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Shi Dong gazed fanatically at the iron staff in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, and recited the Holy Bible, "And he who is victorious and who obeys justice to the end, God will give him authority and power over the nations. "And he shall rule them with a staff of iron, as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers, as he has received authority from God." He exclaimed, "In accordance with the words of God, this is the staff of fate!" 612 May the God Bless the Kingdom and My King Bless Me Boom! The Staff of Fate clashed with the Stone Sword. From the very beginning, the fight had not been about strength or combat skills but some higher-level power. What were in conflict were the different natures of their power. Having converged the matrix of the whole path to godly ascension, the stone sword was no long the mere key to the path to godly ascension, but the path itself. It was because of this change that Maxwell had been able to wound Arthur so badly and seal him for several hundred years when he betrayed Arthur. Arthur didn''t make the same mistake again. All the music theories were out of Maxwell''s control and were deployed by Arthur himself. In the term of its nature, the stone sword had turned to something more profound and powerful. It didn''t only represent Arthur''s Chapter of Golden Victory, but also could utilize the power of Leviathan. To some extent, it might be said that it was the carrier of Leviathan''s power. A coarse voicing was heard from the stone sword, singing a sad song. It was as if the dead Leviathan had come back in the form of a ghost, hovering in the sky and feeding the sword with its power, which made Arthur stronger and more violent, yet more non-human. Compared with the stone sword, the staff of fate looked like an iron rod. It was so shabby! It didn''t bring Ye Qingxuan any ability or power, and it didn''t have the frightful lethality of the lance of the dragon slayer. Forged with the broken pieces of the spear of destiny, it integrated all the music theories passed down in the Religious Court of Inquisitors for centuries and became almost the reincarnation of the miracles of the holy temple. The holy emblems on it was proof to that. Since it was created, it was listed in the profound music theory system of the holy caldron and accepted by the caldron as a symbol like the Gate of Heaven. Since the holy caldron created the new system in the originator hundreds of years ago, the human race had been building on this system to become stronger. The three kings and the saints were the defenders of this system, of which the "Holy Bible" was an indispensable part. Apart from sheepherding the souls of all living creatures, the legend created by the Holy Bible was enhanced and upgraded. With it as the main theme, countless "elements" were created, benefiting almost every single musician. Except the black musicians, all musicians, after becoming a master, would choose a chapter and an element most suitable for him and integrate them into their symphony of predestination to upgrade to the scepter level. Once they succeeded in that, they would become part of the system, through which they could reach the aether world and even directly use the power from the originator. Besides that, there were holy tools created to carry the elements, such as the gate of the heaven, the holy horn, and the staff of fate, which was forged with the broken pieces of fate and integrated the core music theories of the Religious Court of Inquisitors and accepted by the Holy Caldron. That''s why Shi Dong was so happy when it was created. Thanks to it, the Religious Court of Inquisitors was no long a subordinate of the Church, nor the church could dissolve it as they wish. As long as the staff of fate was in Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the Religious Court of Inquisitors would be a holy organization and Ye Qingxuan''s title C the hand of god C would be beyond reproach. The reinforcement by the holy caldron on the staff of fate was directly from the Holy Bible C follow the will of god, crush all rebellions, like an iron staff smashing earth ware under the instruction of god. The distinct feature of this staff, was the unique "stability". It clashed against the stone sword without any protection or preparation when it was just born, yet its music theories were so stable that they were not scratched or wavered. It was almost indestructible. It seemed to be able to survive alone when everything else in the world was destroyed. There was nothing more suitable than this staff for Ye Qingxuan, as he was very good at utilizing powers not his own to achieve his own goal. With this staff, he could allocate power hundreds of times mightier than his own on this staff without worrying the staff might broke. This staff was a perfect lever! Even if he inflicted all the power of the national defense line upon it, the staff showed no sign of stress at all. Being simply was being powerful. With Ye Qingxuan''s skill of borrowing powers from other sources, the staff would need no other ability at all. The only thing it needed to do, was to be a "lever", with Ye Qingxuan as its pivot point, to pry up Anglo and Leviathan. Boom! The sound of the dark sun collapsing was even louder. Arthur was angrier. Under his skin, the turbulent firebirds multiplied and revealed signs of inhumanity. Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly with a mocking sneer. The power of catastrophe surged in the stone sword and Arthur pressed forward. Stating at Ye Qingxuan with blood-shot eyes, he shouted, "how dare you stare at me?" Ye Qingxuan didn''t flinch. "I''m wondering who you really are." "I am Arthur, king of kings! The eternal godly king of the earth!" Arthur roared, the path of godly ascension was continuously sucking the power of Leviathan, which made him stronger and more horrible. Ye Qingxuan was pushed back by his surging strength. Ye Qingxuan shook his head with a sneer. "I guess now you are very angry, right?" With the path of godly ascension in operation, Arthur''s appearance changed. The madly multiplying dragon blood modified the weak body, on which scales grew out of the skin and bones pierced out of his back and turned into a pair of huge dark wings. "This is the eternal godly king of the human world?" Ye Qingxuan sneered, "you should really look at yourself in the mirror before you say that. Your love for the lady of the lake was only greed and lust. The love of Leviathan for you, I''m afraid, was not without her own purpose. The dragon blood brings you power, but it also turns you into a monster like this. Right?" Looking at the ugly face, Ye Qingxuan heaved a sigh. "You''ve only found this out when it was too late. It only turned you into a monster as she was instead of the king you want to be! That''s why you are so angry, so mad" "Shut up!" Arthur roared, angrier than ever before. Yet in the booming noise, a coarse laugh was heard. The laugh was mix of mockery and helplessness. "Give it up now, your majesty. Don''t you understand now?" On the edge of the stone sword, Maxwell''s face emerged with an expression of mixed feelings. "The world has never been yours since the very beginning." "You bastard!" Arthur''s face twisted. "I created you! How dare you offend your king!" The firebirds tore Maxwell into pieces. Yet the figure emerged again, even clearer. But the figure was cracked and torn and might collapse at any moment. "I''m pretty sure the courage to offend you was all mine." Maxwell said in a low voice, "thank you, your majesty. I was only a piece of iron, but you gave me a soul. It was a great honor for me. I may be not so good as a weapon, but I''m proud of having this free will of mine. It was so great that I could live in this world as a human." "How you dare!" Roared Arthur. The stone sword moaned, and blade breaking into pieces. Maxwell''s phantom shivered and began to collapse, yet his eyes were even more determined. Arthur gritted his teeth and softened a little. He snarled, "if you like it, after this, I''ll allow you to live in the world as a man forever. As long as I was alive, you can share my throne." Yet Maxwell was not tempted at all. He stretched out his hands, and numerous music theories extended out from the stone sword and pierced into Arthur''s body and become integrated with of him. "Forget it, your majesty. After so many years of miserable life, I''m really tired of it." Hugging his creator, he murmured, "the new time should be handed to the new generation. Please get off this stage with me." Boom! A huge crack appeared on the stone sword and the path to godly ascension moaned. Cracks covered the who path and the balance among the for layers were lost. The path might collapse at any minute. Trembling in pain, Arthur roared and screamed. "Maxwell!" Ye Qingxuan shouted, "what are you doing?" "I need to finish what I didn''t finish before." Maxwell raised his head and looked around at the shivering world sentimentally. "I should have done this before, but I didn''t dare to. This world is so beautiful. Ye, I don''t want to go. But it suffered so much pain, and it was all because of my cowardice." "Stop! Maxwell." Ye Qingxuan shouted, pressing the staff of fate madly forward to interrupt Maxwell. But he could not touch Maxwell at all. "Don''t you want to retire? I have kept the house in Asgard. Don''t you want to go there to have a look? It is so beautiful, Maxwell, very beautiful." Looking at the broken figure of the old man, he said, "I beg you, please have a look there! You would regret it if you don''t go there." "If the garden is empty, plant some roses there for me." Maxwell said his farewell, smiling gently, "I''ve always wanted to see some flowers with Elizbeth. Pity I won''t have the chance. If I can leave a place full of flowers after I die, it would be great." Boom! Maxwell''s body broke into pieces. The cracked body disappeared, leaving only the farewell smile in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. Ye Qingxuan stood transfixed. Arthur screamed and the path of godly ascension shivered and collapsed. The dark sun in the sky shook violently and crashed onto the earth. "Don''t you dare! Maxwell! You son of a bitch!" Arthur shouted, ignoring the huge wounds on his body. He opened his mouth and swallowed the broken pieces of the stone sword into his stomach. The power of the path of godly ascension was all devoured by him, captivated in the deformed body. Arthur didn''t die. He was still alive! Yet, before even Arthur could crack his hideous grin, Ye Qingxuan shouted, "Arthur, you son of a bitch!" Furious, Ye Qingxuan pressed forward and held high the staff of fate. A pure white moon raised in the sky. The stone of the sage, seal of moonlight and catastrophe resonant. All three in one strike. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei drew the power of the national defense line and infilled the hot power into the fate of staff. Then, smashed it on Arthur. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! With all the power of the whole Anglo, the staff of fate smashed onto Arthur''s face. The face was smashed so hard that it turned into a meat pie. Before Arthur could defend himself, his right hand was also hit and the bones shattered. Ignoring the firebirds, Ye Qingxuan stepped onto Arthur''s body and hit him with the staff of fate again and again. The black blood fell on his furious face. "How dare you! How dare you!" Stepping on Arthur''s face which was healing quickly, Ye Qingxuan was as crazy as a monster. "Why don''t you just die? Why? Why should you live in this world! How dare you hurt Maxwell! Why don''t you die! Why don''t you find a dark corner and rot quietly! You son of a bitch! Shit! Crap! Garbage! Criminal! Parasite!" Arthur screamed horribly. His bones cracked. He wanted to say something, yet he couldn''t even move under the crazy attack of Ye Qingxuan and was stepped by him like a pile of garbage. The usually calm and arrogant young man was completely crazy. He was as fierce as an evil monster, torn off his mask of kindness by anger. He spat out his poison without mercy and sabotaged Arthur''s dignity. "Die! Go to hell!" Stamping on Arthur''s face again and again, he shouted, "Why?! Why?! Why?!" Arthur screamed. Yet he grabbed the staff, risking his fingers. Raising his head, he gnarled, "You will pay for this, Ye Qingxuan! I swear it!" then, turbulent burst out from his body and pushed Ye Qingxuan away. His body was suddenly covered with blue flames. He roared and his body turned into ashes inch by inch. Finally, he turned into a hot beam of light and flied to the dark sun. In the dark son, cracks spread all over. Then, something moved in the sun. Arthur gave up the power he had not yet absorbed and stopped waiting for the path of godly ascension to complete naturally. He abandoned the body and wanted to ascend on the world as a catastrophe. Boom! The sun smashed on the ground. In the aether world, a violent sun raised slowly into the sky. A new catastrophe was born. The path of godly ascension came to its end. In the collapsing sun, a black deformed dragon raised its head and roared. The seven seas were trembling. The dragon spread its wings and covered the whole Avalon under its shadow. Terrible firebirds soared and wiped out half of the upper city in a split second. Born earlier than it naturally should, the catastrophe still had power beyond imagination! "HahahaMaxwell, can you see? Do you see me?" Arthur rejoiced. "You son of a bitch. You cannot stop me. Nobody can! I am the real king of kings!" "Is it so?" Ye Qingxuan said coldly. Looking at Arthur, he said, "is this what you can do? Is this what you want to say? It was a joke, on yourself." Dark firebirds soared forward and pressed upon Ye Qingxuan. The staff of fate moaned and Ye Qingxuan''s hands were again shattered, revealing his bones. Reborn as a catastrophe, Arthur became so powerful. He almost defeated Ye Qingxuan with only one strike. Arthur looked at Ye Qingxuan and sneered. "See who is a joke, now?" Horrible pressure was inflicted upon Ye Qingxuan. He could not raise his head; his bone was whining in pain. The firebirds of Arthur were to crush him into ashes. "I told you, you will pay for what you have done. I told you!" Arthur said, "I will jail you in the broken pieces of the stone sword. And you will regret for the rest of your life that you offended the holy king of the world." The pressure surged again. Ye Qingxuan shook, and blood oozed out of his mouth. He fought against the pressure with the staff of fate, and said, "no, Arthur. Quite the contrary. I will defeat you. I will save this country. I will make this world better. You are not worthy to rule this world!" At that moment, the Symphony of Predestination abandoned by Arthur C the Symphony of Golden Victory - was played loudly in the Heaven on Earth. As the path of godly ascension collapsed, the Heaven on Earth absorbed all the power remained of it. The music theories of the Genesis radiated to all directions and filled every corner of the Heaven on Earth. Then, great changes happened. This city used to be a phantom in the mirror. Yet now, with the power of the Leviathan, it ascended into the aether world and turned into shining stars. It became a real city. On the throne, Mary fell into sleep, her eyes closed. In her bosom, numerous music theories weaved together, and the golden sheath was absorbing the power of the national defense line. The phantom of a golden hunt dog appeared and absorbed the violent power. The dog soon turned into a giant dragon, magnificent and powerful. Finally, the dragon turned into a blurred figure of man. Wearing the three-layer golden crown, he raised his golden eyes and looked at Arthur. Suddenly, the Heaven on Earth shone brightly. The world fell into silence. The curtain on the stage was drawn open. every creature was waiting for the final show. A figure as magnificent as a king walked out of the Heaven on Earth. With cheering from the people and the booming of horns, the gates opened one by one. The figure walked up into the sky. Heavy armors appeared on him, and then, the sword was there in the sheath. And finally, the strong red dragon-horse galloped out from the void. The man with the sword rode on the horse. It was as if there were an army following him. The world was shaking. Upon his arrival, the whole Anglo resonated with him and transmitted power onto him. The phantom of the golden dragon loomed, spraying firebirds like water of the sea. At last, the figure stopped by Ye Qingxuan''s side. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan. It felt so familiar, arrogant yet helpless, like that of a king. Holding the staff of fate, Ye Qingxuan wiped the blood off his mouth. He raised his head and looked at the figure, and heaved a sigh. "Who is the real Arthur?" "I don''t know." The king shook his head, his expression complicated. "Maybe I am, maybe I once was." "Let me guess. It''s because of Ye Lanzhou?" "Yes" "All right. We can talk about that later." Ye Qingxuan pointed at the black dragon. "Do you regret it? It turned into such a mass!" "A little." Feeling awkward, the king scratched his nose. "Thank you." "You''ve been taken care of me for so many years." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Next time you want a girlfriend, find someone reliable. It doesn''t matter even if she was ugly." The king didn''t speak and looked elsewhere, apparently not knowing what to say. "Old Phil?" Ye Qingxuan said. "What?" He turned back and saw the eyes of the young man. He was serious and solemn. "Thank you. It has been so long." The king smiled and patted him on the shoulder, as usual. "Thank you, too." - The war horse neighed. The king drew his virtual sword from the sheath. The sword was as it had been before, with seven virtues decorated on it. After so many years, it was as majestic as ever. "My time is running short" Looking at the black dragon in front of him, the king was proud and disdainful as usual. "Let''s go." He said. "OK." Ye Qingxuan nodded. The next moment, he was like waken up from a dream and opened his eyes. It was as if nothing had happened at all. The time began to flow again. The cold intention of killing of the dragon was felt even stronger. In the shadow of the wings of the catastrophe, the dark firebird devoured Ye Qingxuan like flood. Yet, next moment, golden light began to shine in front of him. The staff of fate boomed. A blade was forged in the golden light and pierced through the air forward. The blade clashed with the catastrophe, and the flood of destruction was cut through from the middle. In the light, horses neighed and the Pomp and Circumstance (March) was played. The king walked from the light toward Arthur and raised the "Stone Sword" in his hand. Bright light radiated from the sword like the beams of the raising sun, brightening up the whole world with an ocean of light. The banner of red dragon was raised high up again. The war horse neighed. The king held his sword. "King of Anglo!" A low voice filled the space between the sea and the sky, and lingered over the seven seas. It reached every inch of the land and transmitted through time, waking up the dead who were sleeping in the silence to pursue their old- time glory. "My soldiers! Follow my banner!" Then, numerous beams of light came from every direction to the red dragon banner. The ghosts rubbed with the sun, generating thundering light. The aether sea boiled. Countless fluctuations of aether movements surged, yet succumbed to the same melody and the same main theme, playing the Chapter of the Golden Victory together. Numerous figures emerged from the light and descended onto the world in the form of firebirds. Then, the heaven and the earth both cheered with a deafening booming sound. "Victory! Victory! Victory!" The huge army transformed by firebirds followed the banner forward and shouted wildly, "I sacrifice myself to the great emperor! May the god bless the kingdom and my king bless me!" 613 Judgmen Millions of beams of light shone across the horizon. The Emperor drew his sword and slashed ahead. The pitch-black giant dragon opened its mouth and breathed a destructive trail of flame that destroyed every physical object in its way, even tearing apart the glorious golden beam of light. However, the golden beam of light pounced again. The army gathered once again before charging ahead, without any concern for their own lives. They attacked again and again, like tidal waves. The dragon of catastrophe remained unmoved. It merely flapped its wings casually to whip up chilly hurricanes, leaving behind a trail of destruction in its path. The Emperor raised his long sword once again and pointed at his enemy. "It''s you? Ah, it''s you again" Arthur looked at him and could not contain his laughter, "Hahahaha, look at you, look at you! Don''t tell me you have gotten used to being a dog?" The black Firebird sweep crushed all the incoming ants into dust. Arthur laughed maniacally, "You have really picked up all the unwanted trash that I had dumped! What is this? Are you finally feeling guilty, and now you are trying to seek comfort from your band of brothers?" The Emperor stayed silent. He looked around his own army that was surrounding him. He looked at his old vassals, and the knights that only knew to continue the onslaught against the dragon of catastrophe. The Banner of the Red Dragon has been unfurled and the Knights of the Round Table rose to attack once again! "If only that was the case?" He gripped tightly onto the illusory long sword that he had lost long ago and spoke quietly, "If I can get them back just by being a dog, I wouldn''t mind being a dog forever. But what is lost can never be found again, and the dead can never be revived." He closed his eyes and could not bear to look. "They are all not real. They are only illusions created from my own memory. They are all dead and they had hated me to the core. They have only returned to help because I made them. You might as well say that I am truly shameless for doing what I did." "But I have no other choice" When he opened his eyes once again, there was a steady gaze of determination. "This was my mistake, so they need to be here to see it come to an end!" The sound of metal clanging against each other rose along with what he said. Amidst the sea of light, countless figures appeared. They were screaming with rage and hatred. After taking over the power of Leviathan from the path of godly ascension, the Firebird that had transformed from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was not filled with the same aura of destruction as the dragon of catastrophe. Conversely, its ability to deal damage was drastically reduced in exchange for incredible agility. Every single person seemed to have gained total control over themselves and their own lives. The hatred and rage were clear in their eyes. This was the result of deserting the Path of Catastrophe. Musicians who chose to destroy their own consciousness to adopt bestiality would find that in the end, they would merge with bestiality and elevate themselves into imaginary creatures that only existed in myths. Creatures such as giant dragons and giant snakes would eventually turn into real catastrophes. But the thing that would go against this path was that the bestiality would be cleansed and purified in order to extract the real humanity. Turning ''beasts'' into ''humans'' would mean giving up control over them, so that their lives and their wills were their own. What he had done was to summon an army of the dead, infused their souls with hatred and rage, and given them their bodies with Firebird. Now "The time for revenge has come." The Emperor declared quietly, "This is all that I can do for you." In that split second, there was only frenzied screams and howls from the formation. "Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!" The iron giant screamed as he walked out from the army. His entire body was clad in that heavy and humongous armor, as if he was trapped in a cage. Every single linkage has been hammered with a heavy rivet and every gap has been filled with burning liquid metal. The armor was like a coffin that would send him to his grave. He would die from torture and he would find no peace even after his death. The First Generation of the Round Table C Dagonet. Soon after was the screeching of warhorses. No one was howling in rage but everyone was filled with fury. On the pitch-black warhorse rode a headless knight who was wielding a great sword and was charging at the dragon of catastrophe. The great sword was full of cracks and the head cradled at his chest opened its bloodshot eyes. The First Generation of the Round Table C Percival. Invisible air current gathered from all directions. There was the rising sound of cries of a child and in the next moment, a blurry figure rose from the Firebird. There were two rows of tears streaming down the delicate and effeminate face. He bowed to the Emperor before drawing his long sword and walking towards the battlefield. The First Generation of the Round Table C Gawain. Behind him was a melancholic middle-aged man. He was the most complete person amongst the Knights of the Round Table. But due to the effect of the musician, countless bestialities have transformed into devious thorns that grew out from his body and even into his blood vessels. The knight lowered his head and after a moment of silence, he heaved a gentle sigh before putting on his iron mask and held on to his long sword tightly. He took a step forward and activated a bolt of electricity. The First Generation of the Round Table C Lancelot. Following closely behind was the silent Galahad, who set off a giant wave of metal and wind There was a rising crescendo of the tightening of metal chords and beams of metal light rose high into the sky before crashing down heavily on the giant dragon. After the knights at the rear had finished launching three rounds of arrows, they threw down their giant bows and drew their heavy halberds and axes before charging into the battle. The clash of metal light and catastrophe produced an earth- shattering roar and blood spilled everywhere. The dragon of catastrophe howled in fury. Dark golden light began to shine from within the broken metal light. After travelling such a long distance, the warhorses were breathing hot steaming air from their nostrils. The Emperor screamed as he slashed with the sword in his hands. The giant dragon''s right eye was slashed and burnt into charcoal by the flame of the light but in the next moment, flesh was already growing and the wound was healing. Arthur did not even have time to laugh before hissing in anger. Light exploded from within the healing wound once again, creating another fresh wound. This was the power of bestialities from the same origin fighting against each other. As long as the Emperor was still alive, the remnants of Firebird in the wound would keep tearing at the wound so that it would never heal. "Trash! A bunch of trash!" The dragon of catastrophe was in great pain. It howled with rage and was breathing at the army with dragon fire. "Bunch of traitors! I made all of you into who you are today! Don''t you all know what is ''gratitude''?" The Emperor laughed coldly, "Haven''t we come to repay our debts today?" Sharp claws tore at the air before smashing the swords into pieces. The dragon of catastrophe flapped its wings and howled, "If I can kill all of you once, I can do it a second time!" In the blink of an eye, he flew into the sky and turned into a dark sun. Countless horrifying beams of light shone on the world, as if the entire Avalon would be burnt into ashes. But all of a sudden, the sun collapsed and the countless beams of light vanished. The black dragon reverted to its original form. It was struggling to fly and was falling straight from the sky. Boom! The ground shook and Arthur screamed in fury. He only saw the idle young man at the rear of the army. White hair was flowing in the wind like silver. He was holding on to a staff. His eyes were lowered but there was a smile on his face, as if he had sunk into the greatest depths of dreams. The Sleeping World! The power of the Dreamweaver was fully activated, establishing a forbidden zone across the entire sky. Fractions of a few hundred meters covered the entire sky, including the changes that were taking place within them so that they could no longer be seen by the outside world. In the moment that he closed his eyes, this place has already been separated from the realm of aether. Nine layers of sea of aether was split up into gigantic fractions to form a barrier from the outside world, turning into a giant cage. Unfortunately, this situation was not as unique as the one at the Sacred City. The clash of Holy Caldron and Hyakume allowed Ye Qingxuan to summon the real Quiet Moon. Under the pure cleansing light, any catastrophe would be subjected to a massacre and reverted to emptiness. Now, Ye Qingxuan did not dare to do the same, no matter what. Previously, the silent warning from the departure of the Quiet Moon had left behind a terrible memory that Ye Qingxuan would not forget. Usually, Ye Qingxuan would use the musical theory of the Quiet Moon to dream or to put harmless fear in other people. But if he was to drag out the Quiet Moon from the Originator again, he would probably be killed by the Quiet Moon without any mercy. Even so, it was already very effective. Now, the Quiet Moon has already formed fractions in the sea of aether, separating the Physical World from the world of aether. Other than Ye Qingxuan and the rest, who could make use of the homeland defense front to receive replenishment continuously from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Arthur could no longer gain any power from the world of aether. Was there any difference between a dragon of catastrophe, that has been trapped on the ground, and a bug? "Bastard!" Arthur growled in anger. The black giant dragon screamed as countless Firebirds emerged from his scales, sparking a black flame that could not be extinguished. The melting mud turned into a sticky and half-transparent fluid that was so hot that its burning temperature could be felt from a hundred meters away. Amidst the thousands of armies and horses, the giant dragon raised its head and stared ferociously in the direction of Ye Qingxuan. In the next moment, it pounced forward. The ground shook and hurricanes swept across the land. The wind was so hot that it could set fire to lungs. The golden sea was split apart by the black trail. Without a care for the swords and weapons that thrusted at him, Arthur kept pushing forward with a vengeance. The power of catastrophe exploded from the body, bringing about a terrible cry that shook and twisted the Physical World. Ye Qingxuan''s eyes were still lowered and he remained unmoved. He merely tapped the ground gently with his Staff of Fate as the corners of his mouth turned into a snigger. " Anglo hopes that everyone will carry out duties with full dedication." The First Royal naval fleet of the homeland defense front has been activated! The seven seas roared. The deafening crash of the sea was accompanied by the gushes of torrents of aether on the surface of the sea. In the blink of an eye, the peaceful satellite island has been torn apart once again and a huge and ferocious-looking silhouette appeared. It was a combat vessel! The legendary fleet that had once sailed across the seven seas had appeared from the depths of the sea once again. It looked glorious and brand new. Amidst the rampaging aether waves, iron roared and the main cannon was warmed up. The majestic melody rose. In the next moment, a terrible light of fire exploded from the main cannon. The cannonball fired through the air, creating blinding streaks of light. It was as if 24 meteors were descending onto Avalon from the sky. Even the speed of sound could not catch up. What pleased Ye Qingxuan even more was that the old main cannon did not utilize the current mainstream aether crystal. Instead, it made use of the compression of air current so that the alchemy array would produce a unique alloy prism that would provide a terrifying boost of speed. Even though it has been soaked under the sea for centuries, its lapis surface remained in good condition. From the terrible boost of speed brought about by the alchemy array, the prism shot out sparks of electricity and in an instant, it penetrated through tens of miles of the sea and reached Avalon. What followed next was the sweeping of hurricanes. As the winds roared continuously, the horrifying air compression swept across and left everyone suffocating. The incredible power of the wind almost whipped Ye Qingxuan away. The ashes rose into the sky, obscuring everyone''s sight. The metal prism was made of alloy and was incredibly sturdy. It was already as heavy as a few tons on its own. With the addition of the increase in speed provided by the alchemy array, a direct hit would be more than able to create a hole in the city wall that even combat vessels would be able to sail through. All 24 metal prisms were right on target. Even the immortal catastrophe, with its formidable body, would have to obey the rules of the Physical World. Any physical object, no matter how resilient, would not stand a chance of remaining unharmed from such a terrible impact. In actual fact, Ye Qingxuan could already see the pathetic state of Arthur through the fog. The metal prism might look solid but once the external layer of plating has been stripped away, its interior was actually made up of complicated metallic structures being pieced together. It was the amazing result of mechanical engineering. Its only purpose was to cause more damage to its target. Immediately after the impact, the metal prism began to transform. Its exterior split open as the countless paper-thin metal pieces flew out from the interior. The purpose of this design was to attack the enemy fleet so that half of the enemies would be shredded into minced meat. In the howling wind, the metal pieces fell at Ye Qingxuan''s feet, covered in blood. Horrible. Really horrible. Ye Qingxuan sighed. His mood was improving. He raised his hand towards the sky. A gigantic shadow burst through the layers of clouds in the sky and descended, revealing an iron silhouette. On the deck of the iron ship, Chief Engineer, Bishop Carroll, was wiping the sweat across his head as he adjusted the direction of the cannon for the last time. Under layers of armor and protection was the gigantic heart of the Mountain of Nomadism that was beating away frantically. Beside the boiling aether pond, all the mechanical engineers were in cold sweat. The Ninth Drive! Ever since it was created, it was the first time it was being operated in such a terrifying way. Carrying an amount of load that was on the brink of exceeding the maximum weight limit and the gushing of torrents of aether underneath the deck, the entire ship was warm and the railings were burning hot. This way of operation, that was close to self-destructive, seemed like it would only be used at the very last moment, when one has decided to perish along with the enemy. In actual fact, when the Eighth Drive was activated, the engineers that were responsible for maintenance were already protesting heavily. But where was this place? This was the Religious Court of Inquiry! It was a place where no one has ever dared to say ''no'' to the Grand Inquisitor. Neither would anyone ever think of saying that the enemy was a real and authentic catastrophe! All the purification musicians that have yearned to step onto the path of crusade ever since they were born were so excited that their eyes were burning red. They wished they could crash the ship straight on. The main cannon has been completely warmed up! When the terrifying killing machine descended from the sky, even the dust settled, revealing the dragon of catastrophe, who was frantically trying to heal its wounds. Arthur raised his head in shock. He had sensed the fatal killing machine from the above the black ship. He screamed with rage and gathered the Firebird before sending them towards the seal of the Sleeping World time and again, until his dreamland was on the brink of collapse. "Now, in the name of the God and I, declare the Original Sin and purification!" Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and pointed towards the sky. There was a burning light from the fiery-red holy emblem on the ship of the Mountain of Nomadism. "The sinner is Arthur and he is guilty of heresy. He will be punished by fire, with immediate effect!" In the mysterious silence, Ye Qingxuan''s mouth curled into a cruel smile. "Deus-vult!" As the Gods wished, bolts of lightning, that represented punishment, descended from the sky! 614 Dawn Before Mountain of Nomadism was killed by Ye Qingxuan, it was one of the most powerful vile spawns of the sea. It was a monster that had directly inherited the bloodline of Leviathan and other than its incredible vitality, it also possessed a massive body to complement that immense power. It measured at an unbelievable 1,170 meters in length and was equivalent to more than five times of the biggest combat vessels of each country. For the sole purpose of dismantling it, the musicians of the Religious Court of Inquiry already had to transform an entire refuge into a dissection platform. Through the dismantling, not only did Ye Qingxuan manage to get his hands on the scales, which provided resilient defense, the heart and skull, he also managed to obtain the organ that was responsible for supporting this massive body. Without a doubt, it was the spine. On hindsight, the massive size of the Mountain of Nomadism was the reason why the combat vessels were able to be recast into a length of 400 meters long, which was unheard of. The most important component, which was the dragon bone, was pieced together from the most resilient components of the spine. After a couple of developments and modifications, hundreds of vertebrae merged into one. Throughout the entire journey, it demonstrated incredible power and functionality, and this was accomplished with the limitations of manpower and resources. It has not even been modified with alchemy array yet. In other words, it still had the potential to become even more powerful. Other than that, most of the remaining vertebrae were put through a complicated and detailed process of modification and were transformed into the combat vessel''s main cannon, ''Petitioner''. Only 24 sections of vertebrae were left. These vertebrae were not necessarily materials that could not be used. In fact, they contained the essence of the Mountain of Nomadism. They were the important organs that were responsible for the circulation of aether in the Mountain of Nomadism. With the power of aether in its blood circulation, the Mountain of Nomadism was able to unleash its power, withstand storms and waves, summon terrible tornadoes and call upon storms that were powerful enough to swallow an entire fleet. They were born musical instruments and were alchemy arrays borne from the musical theory of the catastrophes. Under the suggestion of Chief Engineer Carroll, 18 sections were infused into the alchemy arrays of the ship to combine with aether pond so as to retain its original ability to levitate and its power to summon waves and storms. The remaining six sections were eventually turned into weapons. Weapons designed specifically to take down catastrophes. After a long period of refining from the alchemists, only three sections have been successfully crafted. They had been transformed from crude-looking bones into glittering crystals. All the alchemy arrays were compressed and rearranged so that every component that was unrelated to its offensive abilities was shrunk to one-tenth of its original size. Conversely, its destructive power was raised by more than a hundred times! The Ninth Drive, overload in motion. Ye Qingxuan gave his command amidst the roars of collapse and the Petitioner aimed its cannon directly at Avalon, which was covered in destruction. There was a terrible light and a strong gust of wind was whipped up before being shredded very quickly. The gloomy clouds in the sky have already stopped moving. It was as if the Gods have decided to send down a Sword of Punishment from the vault of heaven. The crystal spine, that has been crafted into the shape of the holy emblem, descended from the sky. There was friction between the surface of black gold and the air and it reached ignition point in an instant, unleashing flaming red light. After penetrating through the fractions set up by Ye Qingxuan, its exterior of black gold began to be stripped off and the crystal holy emblem released a terrifying light. Electricity gathered together at one point and unleashed incredible wind and thunder. Falling Star! The burning light of the holy emblem lit up the contorted skull of the dragon of catastrophe and its stunned expression. In the next instant, its face was mercilessly torn into shreds as the holy emblem penetrated all the way through its head and neck until its abdomen. The sounds of the holy emblem''s destruction might have seemed silent compared to the surrounding loud noises but its effects were far more terrible than any physical impact. The dragon of catastrophe was still capable of shrieking in pain despite losing its entire skull. Its body suddenly expanded multiple times its original size. The flaming red light was like molten lava as it sprinted underneath its skin and the burning temperature could still be felt from a distance away. But this was only the beginning. What followed next was electric light, that had become so coherent that they were almost in liquid form, shooting out from every single pore. It was as if in the blink of an eye, a massive thundercloud that has been squeezed into its body had finally burst and all the streaks of lightning that had been suppressed within the layers of clouds were completely unleashed. Every physical object they touched were turned into ashes. The section of spine was designed to raise storms and waves so the moment it was unleashed, it would affect the surrounding water particles. In a split second, this would create a thundercloud that was gigantic enough to cover an entire city, thereby triggering a devastating thunderbolt. Amidst the chaos, Arthur''s body turned stiff before he was burnt to ashes by the thunderbolt that was streaking out of his body. The vitality of the catastrophe would revive him, only to be destroyed by the storm once again. This was no different from the torture from burning on a stake, or a never-ending death by a thousand cuts. In just a short amount of time, how many times has he already been killed? The catastrophe that had been evaporated into dust began to scream with rage as the power of Leviathan forcefully extinguished the thunderbolt. The body of the dragon of catastrophe appeared once again, but it was full of holes. On the black and charred ground, the sticky masses of flesh and blood began to wriggle and struggle as if they were alive. They were all desperately trying to make their way towards the skeleton in the middle. The broken skeleton trembled as its cracks were healing rapidly. New mounds of flesh were growing on the skeleton. Its chest cavity was sealed up with membrane and underneath it was a brand-new gigantic heart that was pumping rapidly. Its eyes opened once again. This time round, other than rage and berserk, there was a sense of panic that could not be disguised. Wait. Something was wrong After becoming a catastrophe, he had gained power and immortality. It was only a matter of time before the world was his. His Firebird would cover the entire seven seas and he would become the overlord and the only Emperor of the entire Physical World. But what was happening now was the complete opposite of how things should have played out. Not only has he lost all the bodies that he had prepared, leaving him with no other choice other than to reside in a mediocre body, he has also been forced to reincarnate before he could complete the path of godly ascension. He has never been humiliated like this before, as well as having to fight with such difficulty and enduring such severe injuries. At this point in time, he has already given up hope on this world that was becoming increasingly foreign to him. "The old gods are dying, Your Majesty What happened to me will happen to you too." Merlin''s snigger rang in his ears. This made him infuriated. He looked around furiously. Bare skeletal claws slapped at the hardened ground and he screamed while battling the golden Firebird. In a moment of frenzy, he broke through layers upon layers of defense. His only thought was to break through this siege. But when he finally broke through that wall of shield, what he saw was not freedom. It was a silent Emperor. The exquisite and majestic long sword was held up high by the Emperor. It was only a memory of nothingness, a mere counterfeit made from Firebird but there was a definitive and cool beauty about it. "It''s over, Arthur." The Emperor bade his farewell. The illusory stone sword was swung, piercing through its remaining eye. The dragon of catastrophe howled in pain. Soon after, amidst the roar of the army and the screams of the undead, the army that was transformed from Firebird pounced at Arthur with all their weapons. They would slash with their swords, hack with their axes, and they were determined to cause as much hurt as they could to Arthur, with whatever weapons they could get their hands on. If their weapons broke, they would resort to pulling with their hands; if their nails broke, they would resort to grabbing him with their bones; if their arms were broken, they would resort to biting him with their teeth This was no longer a fight but a torture. It was as if hell has come. Centuries of hatred and pain were finally unleashed after such a long time. It was as if countless ants were dismantling the giant dragon bit by bit and the catastrophe could only groan in pain. Behind the army was the Emperor, who stood silently with the long sword. His eyes were calm as he watched the berserk undead souls and the giant dragon that was convulsing and rolling around in pain. His fingers tried to maintain their grip on the hilt of the sword even as they trembled. He bit his lips so hard that he could taste blood. "It is time, Arthur. It is time to finish this." "It''s useless! All of this is useless!" Having to put up an endless torture, the broken dragon of catastrophe laughed maniacally at those ants, "All of you can''t kill me! No one can kill me! No one! I''m already a catastrophe, I have already grasped eternity! Even if I die here, I will be able to reincarnate a hundred years later I cannot be killed! I built this country and my story is spread across the entire seven seas. Countless people praise my name! Anglo and I are inseparable, as long as this country remains, I will eventually return!" "Your dream will end now, Arthur," said a hoarse voice. Amidst the roars and shouts of millions, that voice rang beside Arthur''s ears, bringing with it an indifference that has never been seen before. The dragon of catastrophe became stiff as waves of fear began to drown him. It was Ye Qingxuan. Just beyond the battlefield, that young man with white hair bowed his head. He raised his hands and took out a broken paper box. After shaking it for some time, he drew a cigarette that was still intact and lit it with the flame on his fingertips. After taking in a deep breath, he extinguished the flame on his fingers and exhaled a puff of smoke. His eyes were clearly shut but when he tilted his head in the direction of Arthur, everyone could sense the ridicule and cruelty in his eyes. While Arthur was still stunned, he smiled and asked quietly, "Have you ever heard of something called the ''Holy Grail of Destruction''?" In that instant, it was as if despair was given shape and form and was descending from the sky. The dragon of catastrophe screamed and flailed as he frantically crawled towards Ye Qingxuan. But Ye Qingxuan raised his palms and the raging currents under Avalon let out an earth-shattering roar. Within the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, the ancient scroll of ''Genesis'' was unveiled once again. With immense power, it descended onto Avalon once again with countless music theories of abstinence unveiled in the sky and beyond-light music theories being set up. First of all, there must be light. In the chilly beam of light, Arthur was trapped and enclosed in a gigantic zone that isolated him from the outside world. It was like a gigantic wall made of glass that has kept him in another world with its own sky and land. But the song of Genesis only sang of destruction. Countless machineries were running and the gigantic gear wheel, which was tens of meters tall, began to spin. The alchemy arrays of the homeland defense front were transforming rapidly as massive cables shot out from the ground to join up with the pseudo world that has been created by Genesis. It was as if a gigantic crystal hexagon was falling from the sky with Arthur trapped in it. The broken dragon of catastrophe was struggling as much as he could but there was just now way to break out of this cage. He could only watch as hopelessness devoured him bit by bit. In front of the hexagon, Ye Qingxuan finally opened his eyes. He raised his head and looked at Arthur. There almost seemed to be a look of compassion and sympathy for the fate that awaits him. His voice became gentle and soft, as if he was holding the hands of someone who was about to take his last breath. "Don''t worry. Catastrophes will never die. Even if your consciousness will be completely burnt by the flames, your power will seep into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as your last contribution for this country." Ye Qingxuan smiled and waved his hand to bid farewell, "Congratulations, Arthur, you have finally become one with Anglo." The black dragon of catastrophe cried out in desperation and anger. As the Holy Grail of Destruction was slowly starting up, he would switch between screaming in rage or crying for help. For one moment, he would be cursing Ye Qingxuan with eternal suffering and the next moment, he would suddenly wish Ye Qingxuan with glory and honor, even to the extent of promising to transfer all his powers to him. Yet at the very next moment, he would be screaming of an important secret that he held, before instantly going back on what he had just said. From rage to desperation, from struggling to pleading, until he was just numb to it all in the end. Complete despair. "Why" He stared blankly at Ye Qingxuan, "Tell me, why?" Ye Qingxuan continued to smoke on his cigarette. He frowned and shook his head, "If you really want to know the reason, I do have quite a lot of them, so much so that I can even publish a book of 500 pages to discuss the rationale of your death and failure. But at the end of the day, you never stood a chance from the very beginning" He raised his hand and took the cigarette from his mouth and calmly continued, " because, you were my obstacle." The cigarette was flicked out from his fingers. The dark red light flew across the air in a beautiful arc and penetrated the crystal hexagon. The weak flame lit up Arthur''s eyes and also lit up the flame of destruction. A terrible explosion followed instantly. It was as if the sun was born momentarily. There were streaks of lightning and all the elements of earth, water, fire and wind were all embroiled with each other, as if the universe was coming to an end. A beam of light as powerful as the destruction of a thousand suns shone and it was so bright that one could see the bones of the hands that they were using to shield their eyes. The Holy Grail of Destruction. The terrible power that was supposed to be used to destroy Anglo was ignited in the hexagonal world and every single corner was filled. The black dragon of catastrophe was instantly devoured. There was complete silence. Across the barrier of Genesis, no more cries or screams could be heard anymore. There was an air of tranquility that was also chilling. How many times has it been reborn in there? A few hundred times? A few thousand times? Or more? Finally, within the destruction that seemed to never end, every strand of consciousness was completely erased. Everything was destroyed. What was left was the power of Leviathan that had been completely stripped bare and mercilessly discarded by the array of Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It was impossible for Arthur to revive now. With the tranquil horizon as a backdrop, the flame continued to burn in the city, that has almost been completely demolished. Light pierced through the gloom of the horizon, chasing away the layers of clouds and smoke, and lighting up the entire ocean. This country that had been buried under darkness for so long was finally seeing light after a long time. They have returned to the Physical World and the flame burned until the very end. There was a crispness in the breaking of the hexagon before it dissipated. There were no ashes that flew out for even the ashes have been completely burnt into nothingness. There was only the hoarse sigh of the Emperor. It has finally ended. Centuries of pain and struggle have accompanied the curse of this country and its people. If that fisherman''s son had not approached that lake that was as clear as mirror centuries ago, would everything turn out differently? He peered towards the surface of the sea. "What are your plans now?" Ye Qingxuan held onto his staff as he walked towards the Emperor and stood beside him. He tilted his head towards him, "Are you going to continue to rule this country?" "Forget it." The Emperor shook his head, "I only tried to rule it once and things already turned out so badly. Do you want to have to clean up the mess I made again? I will leave this country to you and Mary." "What about you?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him seriously, "Don''t tell me some nonsense like you plan to kill yourself now or something?" Bang! The Emperor was so quick that Ye Qingxuan could not react in time. Before he could see anything, he already felt a painful blow to the back of his head. It was so painful that he had to inhale and grit his teeth. When the Emperor saw that, he whistled and smiled happily, "I have wanted to do that for a very long time." Pak. His finger cracked ever so softly. Ye Qingxuan was stunned as his smile was frozen on his face. The Emperor awkwardly hid his hand behind him and after a period of silence, he finally sighed, "You are right about one thing. I will never say any nonsense along the line of farewells." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head. He did not say a word. The Emperor held onto the sword and suddenly asked, "Where did Bai Xi go?" "To the East," Ye Qingxuan replied with a muffled voice. "Find her back as soon as you can. I want Mary to make her the Princess," The Emperor generously conferred his reward while giving Ye Qingxuan a wink, "She is much more obedient than you and Victor." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and rubbed his nose, "She will return." The Emperor nodded, "So will Abraham and Charles, right? Victor has been away for so long, he must be having such a crazy time. You are the only who can reign him in. Remember to bring him back." "I will." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "Everything will be back to normal. Don''t worry." "That''s good." The Emperor nodded and peered towards the direction of the surface of the sea. He smiled wholeheartedly, "This world is so beautiful. Why didn''t I realize this sooner?" Ye Qingxuan did not speak. He lowered his head and raised his hand to cover his face. But he could not wipe away his tears nor control his choking. He was just like a homeless child. "Can''t you stay?" "Of course not." The Emperor shook his head helplessly, "Arthur and I are one. The fisherman''s son and the lunatic that yearned to become a catastrophe are the same person. This was what I deserved, you don''t have to feel sad. Actually, Merlin was right. The old era is about to end. Let the name ''Arthur'' be forgotten with it." Ye Qingxuan did not say anything. The Emperor sighed and stretched out his hand to ruffled his hair, "Bring Bai Xi back as soon as you can." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his eyes and raised his head. The Emperor sighed. He could not help himself from acting like an elderly person and began to nag, "Stand tall and strong. Don''t let anyone bully you anymore." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Don''t let down the women that love you. Don''t be like me." "Okay." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "And" The Emperor became speechless until he patted his head after some time, "I can''t seem to remember the rest of the things that I want to say. I guess that''s it. I shan''t nag anymore. You better remember the things that you have promised me. I will be watching you!" Ye Qingxuan nodded silently. The Emperor smiled. His face might be full of cracks now but it was also filled with joy and acceptance as he looked at the young man. It was like their reunion under the heavy snow. The both of them were warmed just by standing together. The world might be cruel but they would never be alone. "Ye Qingxuan, I am happy to have known you." "Me too." "We are good friends, right?" "Yes, the best of friends." With that, the Emperor nodded his head with contentment. There was nothing more he could ask for. No one knew how long they remained in silence until it was broken by the soft sound of cracking. Gradually, more and more cracks appeared on the Emperor''s body until the very end, he was no longer able to remain in his original form. "Looks like it''s time. This was faster than I thought." He sighed deeply and looked at Ye Qingxuan, "Farewell." "Hmm." Ye Qingxuan nodded, as if he had already accepted his leaving and smiled forcefully, "Farewell." The Emperor nodded and closed his eyes. He heard the sound of waves, which was reminiscent of the childhood song that he often heard when he was young. There was a voice singing amongst the waves. It was so familiar and gentle, as if it has always been around in the city, silently waiting and guarding. He laughed softly. "I have made you wait for too long. My apologies, here I come now" The gentle sea breeze was like a warm hug. The Emperor smiled and opened his arms. His body was finally broken down into dust and was dissipated into the wind. Into nothingness. The world was silent once more. Only Ye Qingxuan was left standing alone amongst the debris. He stretched out his hand and tried to touch the traces of his passing but it was all in vain. He lowered his head and tried to force out a smile, "Farewell." There was a smile on his face but his shoulder kept shaking uncontrollably. He bowed his head. Tears streamed down his face and dripped onto the back of his hands. Farewell. In the end, he was the only one left in this world. There was no meaning anymore Fart! The sound of a fart crept out unceremoniously. "Ah!!" Ye Qingxuan, who had been drowning in sorrow, suddenly trembled and felt pain travelling from his calves to his stomach. He could not help but scream in pain. The pain came so suddenly yet it was also too familiar. Even though he has been through this countless times, he still could not help himself from falling onto the ground and rolling while grabbing his stomach. As he rolled, he saw that familiar pair of eyes. It was looking down at him from above. The look was arrogant yet helpless, and it spoke of disappointment and despise from an entire family. Ye Qingxuan was stunned and his jaw dropped. The golden retriever leaned towards him. It seemed to be upset with how weak he was behaving and it wagged its tail at his face so that it seemed like it was slapping him. Haven''t they already said their goodbyes? "I told you I will be watching you! I only just left what are you crying for!" Ye Qingxuan stared at him blankly and stretched out his hand to ruffle his golden fur. This touch was familiar and real. The look of despise finally jolted him from his pain and despair and he could not help but laugh uproariously, "Hahahaha." He ignored the struggles of the hound and pounced, taking it into his arms and rolling on the ground with it. His robe was full of mud and dirt. In such a terrible world, reunions and departures always came so suddenly. But what made it less terrible was that there would always be hope. The previous Emperor has already passed on, bring with him all the vengeance and hatred. But this was all unrelated to the hound, which had inherited bestiality and Firebird. It has always been existing on the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and has never been separable from this country. Amongst the debris, the young man embraced the hound and laughed while tears of joy streamed down his face. "Old Phil, welcome back!" The long night has finally come to an end. The morning sun began to rise across the horizon and a cool breeze blew from a distance. Dawn has finally come. 615 Homeland Patrol There was a gust of spring breeze in the air and gentles waves on the sea, bringing with it the distinct smell of seawater. In the sky, the seagulls were flying above the harbor. Amongst the passengers carrying their luggage on the deck, the young priest peered into the distance in the direction of the harbor. He could not help but heave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness, it has finally come to an end." He squeezed his way to the front, his eyes still fixed on the white city on the island, Avalon. It was the legendary island of miracles, the eternal treasure on the seas, and a city of pure whiteness. The damage sustained by the city from the battle from a month ago could still be seen but the entire city was already functioning as per normal. The fact that Avalon did not turn into a pile of debris was beyond everyone''s expectations. Other than the royal palace of the highest level, only the huts in downtown was badly burnt during the attack of the demons. The midtown and satellite island have already been completely restored, as evidenced by the overwhelming crowd. By using a pair of binoculars to take a closer look, one could almost see the pile of debris around the royal palace that still needed to be cleared. The workers were already hard at work and were clearing them up in a systematic manner. The massive aether waves could be felt even across such a great distance. They surrounded the entire city and ensured that all turbulences were calmed. The waves even irradiated the sea, calming the aether waves on Norman, so that he no longer felt so seasick. All music apprentices training in big cities faced the same problem to varying degrees. As they were not used to changes in aether density in the outside world, the moment they left their safe zones, they would develop symptoms that resembled altitude sickness. Although Norman was already fully prepared, he did not expect the combination of the restlessness of aether and seasickness to be so insufferable. For the past few days, Norman practically spent every moment stuck in the cabin and frequently having to vomit into a bag. He already felt half-dead before even reaching Anglo. 15 days ago, when they had set off from the Sacred City, they had planned for the journey to last for only five days but instead, they took more than 10 days. This was because the Asgardians have imposed an economic sanction on Caucasian on the seas, so the battle the between the two countries have blocked up naval routes and they had no choice but to find alternative routes. They were forced to travel along the border of Burgundy towards the south, take a huge detour, before passing through the straits of the whale hunters last night and entering the seas of Anglo. Once there, they could barely see any traces of demons nor sense any lingering signs of catastrophes. Although some of the ports along the way showed signs of damage, they were still rather intact and the city was still in decent shape. It seemed that the moment the chaos ended, restoration was already underway. This was not what Norman expected. He had already been mentally prepared to work amongst the debris but once he was actually there, he realized that the situation was not as dire as what the Sacred City had predicted. Perhaps it was not out of pride that this country chose to decline aid from the Sacred City after all. The worst case scenario of Anglo being destroyed by the Leviathan attack had not taken place. Although the death of the king in the battle should be mourned, overall, they did not sustain too much casualties. In fact, if one perceived the battle as sacrificing a royal palace in exchange for defeating a catastrophe, perhaps every country would already be rushing to build tens of palaces before bombing them to the ground in exchange for eternal peace. According to the reports that the Sacred City had received, the entire situation almost seemed too easy. After utilizing all their trump cards and all the reserves of many years, Leviathan was thoroughly defeated by Anglo. It was thorough and complete. It was not just a temporary exile. It was the death of Leviathan, who belonged to the upper tier of catastrophes and was one of the Four Living Creatures. An outcome like this could be described as ''sensational''. Anglo did not sustain any fatal casualties, nor sink into complete chaos after the battle. Instead, it only proved the potential that this country possessed. As for the neighboring countries that had planned to exploit their situation only found themselves biting off more than they could chew. Now, any sensible person knew that this country has already survived its toughest times, and has even rid itself of its curse and progressed into the next phase of development. As long as the new king, Mary, did not do anything foolish, Anglo would be able to return to their most glorious times within five years. In fact, they might even progress to a stage whereby they could vie with the Asgardians for the control of southern seas. "It seems that the plan needs to be tweaked," Norman sighed. His face had become pale once again from thinking and worrying too much. He leaned over the ship railings and vomited out all the contents of his breakfast. Behind him, an old man sighed and patted his back, before taking out the remaining few pills for seasickness. After consuming the pills, Norman looked much better. The old man shook his head, "If you are seasick, just eat your medications." "Apologies, Bishop Raymond." Normal bowed with an awkward expression. "I had thought that we would be able to reach the harbor in the morning. I had no idea that there would be such a huge delay." "There will always be unforeseen circumstances." Bishop Raymond grabbed onto the ship railings and looked at the city without saying a word. His expression was calm. It seemed that the wait would have to continue. This was the first accident that they had encountered after reaching Avalon. The chief officer had walked out of the cabin with a mixed expression on his face to inform the passengers that they would have to wait for more than three hours before they could enter the harbor. In the ensuing commotion, Norman squeezed through the crowd and reached the chief officer. It has been such a long journey of enduring the torture of seasickness. Avalon was now finally within sight, yet they were not allowed to enter. This was such a huge blow that Norman could almost vomit blood. Facing all the commotion, the chief officer seemed to be in a difficult position. "At the moment, only harbor 3 is opened and can allow us to dock. But news have just came in that the situation at the berth is tense and we need to give way for the time-being." "Give way?" Norman was stunned and his face was red with fury. Although he had left his family to join the Church at a very young age in order to become a friar, he still came from a rich background. His teacher in the Church also held a rather prestigious position. Although he should uphold the value of humility as the servant of God, he has never had to give way to anyone in his entire life. "What are you talking about? This is the ship of the Church!" The consecutive days of seasickness have finally gotten to Norman. He could not suppress his rage and he hissed, "Besides, I just saw that the harbor is completely empty. There is no congestion whatsoever. Why do we suddenly have to give way?" "This I''m not too sure either," the chief officer was helpless. Norman was so furious that he was just about to storm into the captain''s office, but was stopped by Bishop Raymond. "Forget it, Norman," Raymond said calmly. "We are only giving way. After all, that person is of a prestigious status. There is no shame in giving way to him." "That person?" Norman was stunned. His anger dissipated instantly. "Are you referring to the ''Hand of God''?" "Looks like he has completed his homeland patrol and has returned to Avalon." Bishop Raymond raised his turbid eyes and looked at the edge of the sea that was far away. It was as if he could see the impressive and majestic ships. "Norman, we were too late." Very soon, hurricanes swept over across the seas, as the passengers gasped in shock. The ship began to rumble vigorously and Norman''s face turned pale again. He tried to control himself and looked into the distance. The first thing he saw was the black combat vessel, which has been branded with the markings of flame and holy emblem. The ship was clearly still some distance away, yet its details could be seen so clearly. One could barely fathom the immense size of the ship. A loud sonorous horn sounded. The crashing waves became calm under an invisible power. The surface of the sea was flat, with only small ripples caused by the passing of the ship. Behind the black vessel was a gigantic fleet of tens of ships from various countries. Raymond stared for a very long time before finally sighing, "Too fast. We will not have enough time. Looks like we have underestimated the determination of that person" Norman stood on tip-toes and watched the black combat vessel, which was sailing silently like an incubus. As he recalled some of the dark and terrible rumors of this ship, he could not help but feel a chill down his spine. How long has it been? Eight days? 10 days? After Leviathan was killed, the fog gradually subsided. There was chaos everywhere as the entire Anglo had lost contact with its capital for such a long time. When the news of the old king''s death came, everyone was shaken. Subsequently, when the envoy of the new king travelled to the various lands, more than half of them chose not to pledge their loyalties to the new king. It seemed that the influences of several other countries were lurking in the shadows. It was a precarious period of time. As expected, everyone had planned to exploit the chaotic situation for their own benefits. Regardless if one was to choose to be independent or seek alliance with others, everyone knew that this opportunity would only come once in a lifetime and it would be foolish not to take advantage of it. Everyone knew that the fastest way to gain wealth and power was when the country was in chaos. Unfortunately, the moment ''that person'' set out on his ''Mountain of Nomadism'' to patrol the homeland on behalf of the new king, everyone knew that they had made the wrong decision and it was too late to turn back. The first person that tried to repent was already too late. The entire family was declared to be heresies and was burnt to ashes on stakes in front of a crowd. The second and third followed very soon after Those that had not pledged their loyalties to the new king before the black ship had arrived eventually found themselves on the stakes. All these souls that have sinned were sent to heaven for judgment and purification. Some people tried to compromise but it has been proven that ''compromise'' was not something that existed in the dictionary of ''that person''. Some tried to put up a fight but it was proven very quickly that it served no purpose, except a more tragic ending. Neither peace nor violence worked. The moment one''s name has been included in the list of ''that person'', nothing else mattered. Some people even tried to seek refuge in other countries after making a fortune, thinking that their newfound wealth would guarantee their survival. In the end, the black ship caught up with them the moment they had entered territorial waters and in the name of God, were attacked with a barrage of bombs. The traitors and their wealth were erased. In less than half a month''s time, more than 600 people have been mercilessly burnt to death and countless that have been implicated were locked up in the Religious Court of Inquiry. It was unlikely that they would ever see a single beam of daylight anymore for the rest of their lives. With the death of Leviathan, the name of the Religious Court of Inquiry resurfaced in this world once again. What was once a dismissive attitude of ''that little bastard'' has been thrown away, just as the countless corpses that have been dumped into the sea. Until now, no one has dared to speak of his name, except to refer to him as ''that person'', who would bring about only death and doom as the new Chief Inquisitor. Thereafter, everyone else would pledge their loyalties to the new king as soon as they could, all the while praying that the black ship would never dock at their harbors. Now, this person has finally concluded his homeland patrol and his nickname, ''Hand of God'', has also been tainted with blood and has spread across all countries. No one could have imagined that just one year ago, ''that person'' was still an exile from Anglo who had nothing in his possession. What has happened since then was nothing short of a miracle. Perhaps this was really the will of God. Ever since that Staff of Fate had burnt Leviathan completely into ashes and turned the clone of Hyakume into a toy in the bottle, no one has dared to doubt his wrist and ability. "Is he really human?" Norman could not help but shake his head and sigh. The majestic fleet was fast approaching. Even without binoculars, one would be able to clearly see the black armored exterior of the ship and the ferocious and massive main cannon. Rather than describing the two ships as having passed each other by, it was more like their ship was welcoming the other with reverence and respect. Norman could not help but cast the movement of revelation on himself. His vision crossed over the distance and landed on the deck of the black ship. In the midst of the heightened security, he could just about make out white hair that was like mercury. It seemed that the young man, who was about the same age as Norman, felt something and raised his head to give an indifferent glance. Those pair of dark black eyes seemed to contain a bottomless pit and they pierced Norman''s eyes, even from such a great distance. Norman lowered his head subconsciously and no longer dared to look. The vision left Norman and landed on the elderly Bishop beside him. Raymond sighed guiltily as he apologized for what Norman has done. That young man was not offended and smiled, before retrieving his vision. When the black ship finally sailed past, it veered towards the other side of Avalon, instead of stopping at harbor 3. It sailed past the formation of the royal navy that were there to welcome their return, and into the berth that belonged to the royal family. Norman finally breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel his back drenched with cold sweat. He could not help but laugh bitterly, "That was Ye Qingxuan?" "That''s right." Raymond continued to watch the black ship. For some reason, there was an indecipherable expression on his face. " Hand of God, Ye Qingxuan." 616 Wild Ambition Westminster Church. Mephistopheles sat on his chair, holding the tea cup of his afternoon tea, eyes closed as if lost in thought. In the dark light of the lamp, Bishop Lehman sat on the other side of the desk, silent. Norman became restless in the heavy atmosphere. After a long while, Mephistopheles heaved a sigh. He put down the cup, obviously worried about something. "What you ask me to do is really difficult." Lehman seemed to be expecting this. He nodded his head. "We understand the position of the Anglo Division. We only need you to provide any help you can." "This is not a matter of position." Mephistopheles sighed again, his eyes full of helplessness. "To be honest, you are late. If you had come a few days earlier, I could introduce to you someone who might be of help. But now, I cannot help you at all. You know, the hand of god came back to Anglo. He must have heard something." Lehman narrowed his eyes into a slit and looked at Mephistopheles. "Nothing you can do at all?" "Nothing I can do at all." Mephistopheles was firm. His face was grim and heavy. Yet behind the desk where Lehman could not see, he was leisurely shaking his legs. He didn''t care about the business of the two in his office. To be frank, if it were not that the request was from the Church, Mephistopheles would not let them get into his office at all. What they had come for was too troublesome. If he was not careful, Westminster Church would fell into a dilemma between Anglo and the Holy City. Mephistopheles had sacrificed his whole life and work for this church. He had been a moral saint for his whole life and cherish his hard-earned reputation very much. He now was half-retired and he didn''t want to make any mistake in his late years. That would be too miserable. Especially after Ye Qingxuan had established himself in Anglo and the whole world. Anyone who had some brain would not fight against a man of Ye Qingxuan''s status and fame. The Church had much to spare and could just walk away if their conspiracy failed. But Mephistopheles couldn''t afford to lose. Mephistopheles had lived his whole life between Anglo and the Church. He could earn the trust and support of the royal family of Anglo only because he was smart and cunning. He had been working for this all his life and had smuggled firearms with Maxwell to raise fund. In his heart, the Westminster Church was more his own property than a division of the Church. Therefore, he didn''t want to interfere with their business at all. They would only bring him bad luck. He didn''t care at all. That was the real attitude of Mephistopheles. Yet, he could not say that. He needed to find himself sufficient excuses for him to refuse the order from the Church and keep the neutral position of the Westminster Church. But he could not offend them as the Holy City would doubt his competence. This was the problem. Thinking of this, he couldn''t help but heaved a sigh again and patted himself on his thigh. "This is really difficult!" "Even you could do nothing to help?" Lehman stared at him. Lehman was an ascetic. He worked in the sacrament Department all his life and was praised for his sincerity. He was quite capable with his work and was firmly with the Holy City. Mephistopheles knew this guy. In Lehman''s mind, the divisions should carry out whatever the Holy City commands at whatever cost and even be glad to die for the Holy City. Mephistopheles'' reluctance had already made him unhappy. But what could he do? Mephistopheles spread his hands, showing that he was also desperate. His expression was sad and helpless, as if he was full of sorrow and pain. "You may have noticed now." He said, "honestly speaking, I don''t have any power now in Westminster Church. Didn''t you notice that when you come?" Lehman was surprised. He and Norman looked at each other. They didn''t expect Mephistopheles to say that. "You noticed when you come here, right?" Mephistopheles went to the window and drew the curtain. He peered out the window through the gap of the curtain edge as if he could see something. "the knights guarding the church, and those people in the church who are in no way missionaries. Lehman frowned. "They are all sent by the Religious Court of Inquisitors?" "Exactly." Mephistopheles nodded grimly. "I have to get their permission even to go out, not to mention speaking to them. And all my meals and guests are under their surveillance." "What? This is house-arrest!" Norman exclaimed. Mephistopheles was a little shocked by his reactions, but he suffocated his laughter and nodded. "Exactly. This is house-arrest!" He looked around carefully and locked the door. Then he turned to the two and, with a sad face, he said, "Ye Qingxuan''s ambition was wild! He took over the church by force when he arrived in Avalon. And he sent his men here to guard the church. We are all under house-arrest. A man named Shi Dong would follow me everywhere, even to the toilet." If Ye Qingxuan had been there, he must have spat on his face. Take over the church by force? It was you that asked me to take the ring of authority! It was you that begged the men from the Religious Court of Inquisitors to guard the church for you! As the deputy director of the first-generation Witch''s Hammer, Shi Dong follows you to the toilet? How shameless you are! Why don''t you tell them the secret deals you''ve made with Shi Dong? Why don''t you tell them the Westminster Church and the Religious Court of Inquisitors have been as close as brothers? And how shameless of you to accuse me of all this shit! It had to be admitted that the reputation as a moral saint really worked. Especially when you accuse someone of bullying you. Considering Ye Qingxuan''s reputation of blood-thirstiness, such accusations were quickly believed by everyone. Besides Mephistopheles and Shi Dong, no one knew about their deals. And only those who were trusted by him knew the face that the Westminster Church and the Religious Court of Inquisitors were close. Therefore, when Mephistopheles said that, Lehman and Norman didn''t doubt him at all but grew grim-looking. Bishop Lehman thought for a long while and heaved a sigh. "Ye Qingxuan may have bigger ambitions than we thought. The Church help him, yet he may bring other disasters later." "Can we strip him of his title of Hand of God?" Norman asked in a low voice. "Remove him from the position of Bishop and dissolve the Religious Court of Inquisitors." "That''s not even possible." Lehman smiled bitterly. "The Religious Court of Inquisitors is too big an organization to dissolve in a short time. The Church cannot change its orders frequently. About the title of God of Man, I''m afraid, there was nothing we could do, either. With the staff of fate and the support from the first-generation Religious Court of Inquisitors, he deserves the title. Things will only get worse if we act without a detailed plan. Norman was surprised. He said, without much confidence, "we need a detailed plan?" "We cannot postpone it either. He didn''t give us any time to make preparations." Lehman said. "Considering that he had come back to Avalon earlier, I''m afraid he was crystal clear about what we have come for. It''s useless to prepare anything. Let''s just meet him." He couldn''t help but heaved a sigh. Meetings and negotiations were useless. According their original plan, they would bypass Ye Qingxuan and seek support from Anglo. They would begin the negotiation after they''ve gotten the support of the majority. In that way, they would settle the whole matter once and for all. However, judged from what they saw, Anglo was totally under Ye Qingxuan''s control and could not be separated. The aristocrats used to take a majority of seats in the lower house, yet many of them were dead after the war. No body knew what really happened, but those who were still alive were all supporters of this Hand of God. The secret emissary was really a bad move. The emissary achieved nothing, but instead alerted Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan came back early and their plan was totally useless. The new queen Mary trusted Ye Qingxuan very much. She didn''t doubt him at all, and didn''t want to weaken his power. What sort of a queen she is that she willingly shares her power with another man? Thinking of this, Lehman shook his head. It seems the rumor is true: The Hand of God had planned for all this and had make all the preparations needed. He is really a horrible enemy! He not only had the whole lower city district of Anglo under control through Maxwell, but all got the trust of the new queen even before she was crowned! Maybe he even had gotten her love, too! Women in love were hardly sensible. She would say yes to whatever her lover says, even to give the whole Anglo to him! He controlled the Westminster Church through the Religious Court of Inquisitors, thus to earn the support of the people. He established his glorious reputation as the savior of the country by defeating the catastrophe. Then, he killed his uncle and seized the position of the Round table knight leader to have the army under his control. In just a matter of months, he had had the whole country under his control. He had gotten the support of the queen, the church, the politicians and the army, and he had the Fifth Department to feed him with intelligence. Just one year, he, a vagrant in the street, became the actual ruler of Anglo. Maxwell, Lancelot and the old King, they might all be killed by him. How cunning he is! How ruthless he is! How frightening he is! Thinking of this, Lehman felt lucky that Ye Qingxuan didn''t stay in the Holy City. Otherwise, no one knew what he would do to obtain power for himself. "Considering the current situation, it would only make them laugh at us if we continue with our plan." Lehman heaved a sigh and then he became determined. "Bishop Mephistopheles, please lead me to see the Hand of God. You can do this, of course?" "Sure." Mephistopheles nodded his head and escorted them out of the door. Then he came back to his office and watched them going. He couldn''t help laughing at them. Though knowing not what they would do, Mephistopheles was sure that they would be very unlucky if they do things as in the Holy City. 617 Sorry, No Way The streets were full of people. Half of the shops were already opened for business, while the other half were still in the midst of reparation works. Business could still be conducted in these shops even if they went unrepaired, but after some examination by the scholars, they decided that the buildings that were already showing cracks in their walls and foundations should be rebuilt. All the tasks related to heavy loads were left to the Transformation Musicians, who were able to settle most of the tasks with the recast movement, while the remaining tasks would be left for the workers. Henceforth, plenty of scaffolds were built while all the dust and dirt fell from a great height, as if they were being absorbed by the burning sun. The weather was turning hot. Even so, the messenger continued to remain in his grey uniform, which only revealed his hands and face. His facial expression was stern, as if he was unaffected by the temperature. The horse carriage stopped outside of the Royal Academy of Music. Once they passed the main door, everyone would have to proceed on foot, with the exception of members of the royal family. This was a rule set by the previous principal. Not only did the new principal have no intention of changing this rule, he even ensured that it would be strictly adhered to. The messenger who was leading the way was once a member of the Fifth Division. In the past, these elite members, who specialized in assassination and special operations, used to be known as organists. When there was a change of command, they were given new badges, and since these badges contained a golden beast, they were now known as ''Royal Hounds''. "According to the official diplomatic provisions, the diplomat of the Sacred City is required to announce his intentions to our Foreign Affairs Division three days in advance, which we will then verify and confirm the timing before an official meeting can be held. As you have only sent in your application one day in advance, hence the best that we can do is to arrange and unofficial meeting for you at the Royal Academy of Music. We hope that the Church can abide by the diplomatic etiquettes that have been agreed upon by both sides so that something like this will not happen again." That person, known as ''Richard'', was leading the way while holding onto a book that contained lists of things to look out for. He was emphasizing to them on some of such things, "His Majesty has a tight schedule so you will only be given half an hour''s time. Go straight to the point and don''t beat around the bush. His Majesty hates people wasting his time." "During the meeting, His Majesty will not speak about national affairs or the diplomacy between both parties. He will also not interfere with the official relationship between the Sacred City and our country." "In order to guarantee the safety of both sides, please do not bring along any metallic weapons. If you have any alchemy equipment, please surrender them as well. We will keep them for the time-being." "His Majesty does not care too much about etiquettes and besides, he is not meeting you as an official of Anglo. Both parties will participate in the meeting as members of the Church, so church etiquettes will suffice." After passing through the plaza and corridor and fields, there was a roar from far away. That was the sound of machines hammering the foundation. Richard came to an abrupt stop and turned around to look at Raymond, who has been very quiet, and Norman, who seemed slightly nervous. "We have arrived. His Majesty is waiting for you just ahead. I will return in half an hour''s time." Raymond merely nodded slightly, "Sorry to trouble you." As they proceeded, the sound of the roaring became louder and clearer. Huge construction machineries were working on a massive piece of land. The walls at the back have already been torn down, extending the area occupied by the Academy to include more than half of the royal garden. The fake mountains have been removed, the lake filled up and the greeneries have vanished. There was dust everywhere in the air, so everyone had to wear masks. The half-naked workers were carrying construction materials and following the instructions of the engineers. The foundations of several buildings have already been set, but the style of these new buildings deviated from the classical style of the Academy, as they were fully maximizing the land they had and their outlines were very squarish. Compared to the other buildings, these new ones looked too utilitarian. Any architect with artistic sense would surely frown at them. Finally, Norman saw the Hand of God, but the latter looked very different from what he expected. The Hand of God appeared to be neither authoritative nor cold. He did not even seem strict. Instead he was bullying someone disabled? From a distance away, Norman could see him giving a young man on wheelchair a vicious scolding. "All dead?" That young man with white hair was so upset that he was practically jumping, "I already told you to look after it, how could they all just die? There were more than 200 of them! They all died of heart attack? Who are you trying to bluff!" "Calm down. As a Keeper of the Seal, why are you shouting non-stop?" The man on the wheelchair was casually digging his ear before blowing at his fingernails, "You should blame yourself for not giving clear instructions! You dumped everything on me, what else could I do? Keep them for next year''s Winter Festival? It''s not cheap taking care of them, you know." "But surely they can''t all have died of heart attack!" The white-haired young man stared, "Can''t you at least put in some effort to think of a better excuse?" "I''m not a forensic pathologist. Don''t tell me I need to buy a book just to investigate the cause of death?" The man on the wheelchair sniggered, "Anyway, I have already given you all the information that you needed. You even managed to collect back a significant amount of national assets, how good is that? After killing 200 of them, the rest have become so obedient. Now, even if you were to fart in the House of Lords, people will still be complimenting how fragrant it is. Don''t you secretly feel good about that?" "What about my reputation? It was already notorious, and now you still want to put me in a bad light?" "As if you ever had a good reputation." The man in the wheelchair sniggered again before turning back to see two Church members heading their way. "Alright, I won''t argue with you anymore. I''m the one taking the blame anyway. I''m going to make myself scarce now. You have company." There was an air of helplessness as the new principal waved. The man in the wheelchair wheeled away slowly and when he passed by Norman, the latter saw that the former''s eyes were metallic grey in color. When he glanced over with a cheeky smile on his face, Norman thought the man looked pretty creepy. But that feeling disappeared very quickly. As if it was just an illusion. Norman took a deep breath in and looked into the distance at the young man, who was approaching them with a smile. No matter what, Norman could not link this man, who was displaying warmth and hospitality, with his terrible reputation. The youngest Dean in the history of the Royal Academy of Music, the Chief Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry, and a person of immense power to be able to kill Leviathan and the Dark Sovereign. Other than that, he was also widely recognized as the most outstanding talent of the past few centuries, being the youngest and also the most powerful Master. Just as Norman has been immersed in his own thoughts, Ye Qingxuan was already right in front of them. This was the first time Norman was seeing him so close in person but all he could see was the dust and sweat on his face. "I''m sorry that we have to meet in such a chaotic place." Ye Qingxuan grabbed a handkerchief and wiped his hands clean. "Please don''t mind the poor hospitality." "My Lord has been busy with matters of the Academy. We are the ones that came on such short notice." Raymond smiled warmly and shook his hand. "With your leadership, it will not be long before the Royal Academy of Music becomes more glorious than before." Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders, "I was forced to take up this position. I don''t have much experience, to be honest. At the moment, there is a shortage of musicians everywhere. Even the number of graduates that the Royal Academy of Music produce every year is insufficient. We have no choice but to build new institutions and recruit more students. Hopefully, this will help to improve the situation." Norman could not help but snigger as he had a different opinion. For the past few centuries, the problem of shortage of musicians has always existed. But the most important reason was that there were too few people that possessed the necessary qualities to become a musician. One had to be born with such qualities so the only solution was to increase populations. If building a few more classrooms could solve the problem, every country would already have expanded their own academies. It was as if Raymond had grown a pair of eyes on his back. He turned around and gave Norman a stern look so that the latter quickly became conscious of his arrogant attitude. Ye Qingxuan saw the expression his face but did not seem to mind. He merely laughed and went straight to the point, "Bishop Raymond, there must be a reason for wanting to meet with me so urgently. After all, I do hold the bogus title of Archbishop in the Church. I will be glad to help in any way I can." Raymond was silent for a moment before nodding gently, "Since my Lord is so direct, I shall not beat around the bush. To tell you the truth, the two of us are here on an order by the Sacred City and we seek your cooperation." Ye Qingxuan listened and nodded, as if he had no clue about what he was about to say. He merely asked, "And so?" Raymond raised his frail eyes and looked at him with a stern expression, "We are here on behalf of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments. We hope that my Lord can return the inheritance of Master Haydn to the Sacred City." "That''s easy." Ye Qingxuan nodded and waved his hands before saying, "Mr Haydn was an honorable elder and he treated me as if I was his own disciple. I cannot sit by and allow Master''s inheritance to be broken. Later, I will ask my men to make a copy of Master Haydn''s movement and core music theory for both of you to bring back to the Sacred City, so that Mr Haydn''s music theory can continue to be passed down." Raymond kept quiet. Behind him, Norman could not help but frown. "You know what I am referring to, my Lord," Raymond spoke firmly, "We hope that you can return ''Genesis'' to the Sacred City, for the sake of everyone." Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, no way." "" There was period of silence as Raymond and this smiling young man looked at each other. Without any hesitation, this fellow rejected the Sacred City''s request. Not only was there not a tinge of guilt, he was not afraid to look away either. Instead, he stood upright and did not shy away from their scrutiny. Norman stood behind Raymond nervously. This was the worst thing that could have happened. Not only has Ye Qingxuan refused to hand over the inheritance of ''Genesis'', he was not willing to negotiate either. After some time, Raymond finally spoke, "My Lord, you should know how important ''Genesis'' is to the Sacred City. We cannot allow it to be left around outside." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "But hasn''t the inheritance of Saint Tchaikovsky been left lying around as well? From what I know, it has even fallen into the hands of the Revolutionary Army. Besides, didn''t the Sacred City say that it will ensure that there will be a Saint in every country? Please rest assured. Anglo will handle this inheritance appropriately and use it to protect the country and ensure the stability of the seven seas in the north. Wasn''t this one of Sant Haydn''s duties as well?" "But this is going against the rules." "Going against the rules?" Ye Qingxuan countered, "I have helped the Sacred City to deal with Leviathan and rebuild the Religious Court of Inquiry. Have I not earned the right to accept the inheritance of a Saint?" "This is something that only King of Red can decide." "In that case, please give me the order from the King of Red." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his palm as the expression on Raymond''s face turned ugly. 618 Think with Your Brain... In the stiff silence, only the loud noise from the earth rammer in the distance could be heard. Raymond said nothing. Ye Qingxuan''s hand hung in the air, waiting, and in the end he still had yet to receive the decree of the King of Red. Norman''s gaze flitted back and forth between the two. Sensing the anger in Raymond''s thin body, he couldn''t help but gulp. No one had ever extended a hand and asked for the decree of the King of Red upon being questioned by representatives of the Sacred City. And only audacious fellows like Ye Qingxuan dared to do so without any fear for the possible consequence of intensifying conflicts. Raymond was present as a representative of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, and he himself represented the will of the Church. The attitude he conveyed could determine the cardinals'' view on Ye Qingxuan to a certain extent... But would Ye Qingxuan really care about what the cardinals thought? He looked down on even Ludovic, so why would he even spare a thought about the group of old politicians whom Ludovic twisted around his finger? Ye Qingxuan adhered to the Church''s mission, but was also independent of the Church. After many years of being shelved by the Sacred City, the Religious Court of Inquiry had also been completely disappointed with the Church since a long time ago. Even if a cardinal had really been present on that day, not to say Raymond, Shi Dong would have dared to put on a sour face, let alone Ye Qingxuan? He was presently the Bearer of the Staff of Authority appointed by the Holy Cauldron, and held the title of the Hand of God conferred by the King of Red! His foundation was in Anglo. It consisted of the trust and wholehearted support of the royal family, regardless of how much national resources the support entailed. Furthermore, after helping Anglo to tide over its troubles, he gained unprecedented popularity among the people with his image as the savior of the country. It could be said that every decision he made at the moment had the support of Anglo. He was not a king, but his status had surpassed that of a king. He need not answer to the Sacred City, on the contrary, the Sacred City owed him a lot. It was exactly because of such an understanding that caused Raymond to forcibly suppress the anger in his heart and kept his cool on the surface. Otherwise, he would have turned indifferently and leave in displeasure. Facing Ye Qingxuan''s silent waiting, Raymond lowered his eyes, seeming admitting defeat, and gave up on his original plan. In the end, he still made his decision. "Mr. Ye, if you can give us Genesis in exchange, we are willing to compensate Anglo." Almost gritting his teeth as he said so, Raymond lifted a finger. "The coordinates of the undeveloped remains of a catastrophe in the World of Dark. In addition to the carcass of the catastrophe within the site, it also includes precious information and techniques from the times before the Age of Dark." For any country, catastrophe remains were vital strategic resources that could not be given up. Other than being able to master the technology concerning catastrophes, it was even possible to discover precious, epochal items. One must keep in mind that Anglo and Burgundy even fought against each other in the War of the Roses, which lasted for a hundred years, to contest over the rights to a site of remains. The banner of the red rose, which represented Anglo, and the banner of the white rose, which represented Burgundy, went to war with each other and paid costly prices. The war only ended a few decades ago after the Sacred City intervened, as the two nations finally decided, albeit reluctantly, to split the earnings evenly and jointly develop the site. Meanwhile, the colony in East India primarily served the purpose of facilitating the excavation of the remains of catastrophes. After all, India was where the catastrophe remains were most densely located in the world. There, countries colonized and opened up new land at all costs, madly claiming land as their own, be it is the various nations in the west or the Empire of Aurora in the east. And the site of remains was not even the final condition. After seeing Ye Qingxuan''s unmoved expression, Raymond gritted his teeth and added on once more. "After Anglo signs a confidentiality agreement, we can also provide a piece of sealed technology belonging to the next era, a design plan of an epochal aether engine... It is enough to ensure that Anglo can stay ahead of the competition in terms of similar technology for more than 60 years!" For weapons, 60 years was almost a generation. The attributes of the weapons of the previous generation simply couldn''t be compared to that of the next epoch! It was exactly because of the almost monopolistic technical know-how they mastered that enabled the madmen of the Chainsaw Fraternity to frenetically sell their weapons of war to the various countries. Silence. Ye Qingxuan was still unmoved. He simply kept his hand extended, waiting for the decree of the King of Red. As a result, Raymond''s face darkened completely. How does the saying go? Look a gift horse in the mouth! For any country, the weight of the bargaining chip would be enough to make the king choose between what has been offered and the legacy of the saint, but Ye Qingxuan is completely unmoved! Raymond was filled with deep regrets, shame and vexation. I''ve miscalculated. Ye Qingxuan''s reaction was so indifferent that it could only mean one thing... This fella has never considered any of Anglo''s interests at all. He only wants things for himself. To take away the legacy of the saint from him, one must give him something of equal value in exchange. But for musicians, what in the world could be more important than the legacy of the saint? The crown of the three kings? Kid me not... It is totally impossible for the Sacred City to allow Ye Qingxuan to master the legacy of the saint. It can be anyone else, but not Ye Qingxuan! He knows too much, and Ye Lanzhou also knows too much... Furthermore, he is an easterner! If he returns to the East in the future, goes through the Path of the Deva, and even accepts the legacy of one of the Six Royals [1], what else is there in the world that can act as a check and balance for him? The King of Red has already emphasized it to the guardian of the Holy Cauldron. The calmness and staidness on Raymond''s face gradually dissipated, replaced by darkness and coldness. Looking at the smiling young man in front of him, he asked coldly, "Ye Qingxuan, are you really unrepentant?" "Oh, what are you saying." Ye Qingxuan smiled indifferently. "How dare I negotiate terms with the Sacred City? I stand by my word, as long as the Holy See formally issues a decree ordering me to hand over the legacy of Master Haydn, I would say no more and personally deliver Genesis to the Sacred City." He paused, and his gaze turned cold, even the gentle smile on his lips lost its warmth. As he looked at the old man in front of him, the abyss-like darkness in his pitch black irises seemed to boil. In the depths of the darkness, the fiery glow of thunder brewed up, like a sword. "But before that, please be clear about one thing..." He also lifted a finger and said coldly, "In the Church, I am an archbishop appointed by the Holy See, the Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Bearer of the Staff of Authority approved by the Holy Cauldron. In Anglo, I am the Prince of Avalon, the deputy ruler of Anglo acting on behalf of the empress. In the East, I am a marquis of the dragon bloodline, the next head of House Ye... Regardless of which identity of mine that you are talking to, I hope that you will carefully consider whether the words coming out of your mouth are appropriate." As Raymond''s expression darkened, the finger poked him on the forehead over and over, without any trace of politeness. Ye Qingxuan continued. "Think properly with your brain. You called me unrepentant? And who do you think you are? "Who gave you the right to doubt my words and actions? Who gave you the assurance to question my decision? And who gave you the courage for you to dare to talk nonsense in front of me? " As the finger poked his forehead, Raymond''s face was purple with rage, his shoulders trembled angrily, and he gritted his teeth so hard that they were almost crushed. But throughout the ordeal, he said nothing. He simply let Ye Qingxuan extend a finger to press all his reason and dignity into the dust. "You''ve gone too far!" Norman was furious and walked forward, trying to stop Ye Qingxuan. But when the pair of dark eyes looked over, simply by looking at him, the terrifying gravitational pull from the Symphony of Predestination almost crushed Norman''s consciousness into pieces. Norman was momentarily dazed, and immediately got a splitting headache. His vision turned black, and he sat down on the ground involuntarily, covered in cold sweat, his organs convulsing in fear. It was as if he had been thrown into the depths of the ocean abyss. "Please forgive my offense." Raymond finally lowered his head and squeezed out of a few words. "I beg to take back my words just now, please don''t be bothered about it." Then only did he realize what a serious mistake he had made. He had neglected Ye Qingxuan''s identity. Subconsciously, he had regarded the other person as an unappreciative brat, but had forgotten about what his identity signified. Unrepentant? Disregarding other matters, how dare anyone utter such a word to the Grand Inquisitor? If Ye Qingxuan had taken it seriously, he could have nailed Raymond to the stake, burned him to ashes, and thrown the remains to the doorstep of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, whereas the congregation could only bite the bullet and would even have to apologize to Ye Qingxuan. Had it taken place a century ago when the trial court still existed, Ye Qingxuan could even directly declare him to be a heretic and conduct a large-scale cleansing in his school and order... "Good that you understood." Ye Qingxuan withdrew his finger, randomly grabbed a handkerchief, then wiped the sweat and grease off his finger completely. He threw the handkerchief onto the ground, and gave an indifferent wave of his hand. "Enough for today, you may go. "I still maintain my stand, as long as the decree of the Holy See is here, I will hand over Genesis with both hands. "However, please be clear about one thing, it will definitely take more than random nobodies who come to Anglo casually and say some bullshit along the lines of ''do it for the sake of the world'' to take things away from me!" Raymond bit his lip, swallowing such bloody humiliation and his rage. He pulled Norman up from the ground, took two steps back, and said calmly, "If that is the case, the Church will evaluate your elements. I hope that you will have a change of mind soon." As if he had heard a joke, Ye Qingxuan failed to suppress a chuckle. Too lazy to even turn back, he merely waved. "As you please." As he said so, he didn''t bother to pay anymore attention to them and turned to leave. ... Actually, while Ye Qingxuan''s words were high-sounding, he had already had the Church''s number and was counting on the fact that the Sacred City would not issue such a decree in the name of the King of Red. In fact, they would not even bring up the matter. The Church would not allow Ye Qingxuan to become a saint, but it did not mean that the Church could convince everyone to accept such a decision. At the moment, in the world, below the Level of the Scepter, Ye Qingxuan was generally acknowledged as the most powerful musician, the first among the musicians in the Level of Master, a confirmed scepter musician of the future, and the favorite saint-to-be candidate. If he was not eligible to be a saint, who else was? Who else could achieve as much as Ye Qingxuan? He purified the Dark Sovereign, killed Leviathan, saved the enchantment of the Sacred City from the hands of Hyakume, and even defeated Ludovic''s scheme... Ye Qingxuan never owed the Church anything. It was the Church that owed him. But it didn''t mean that the Church couldn''t do anything to him. Just like what Raymond said before they parted ways, the Church would re-evaluate his elements and reconsider. They had plenty of ways to stop Ye Qingxuan from becoming a saint. For example... they could prevent him from advancing to the Level of Scepter. Masters intending to advance to the Level of Scepter must create legends and construct elements in their Symphony of Predestination And all the upper-level elements of the human world were controlled by the Church at the moment via the Holy Bible, not to mention the higher-level divine elements. It was an important reason as to why all musicians maintain respect for the Church. If the Church attempted to sabotage him, Ye Qingxuan would not be able to consolidate elements using the Holy Bible for his whole life. Even if he could bypass the Church to create his own elements, he could probably only become a third-class scepter musician, and how could he inherit the legacy of the saint then? As long as the Church grasped the power, it was equivalent to grabbing Ye Qingxuan by the neck. They would have more than enough time to make Ye Qingxuan bow and become obedient to the Sacred City in the days to come. It was just that the current situation was totally beyond their expectation... Ye Qingxuan couldn''t care less! Beside Ye Qingxuan, in the dust, Lola''s sigh sounded. "Why bother to provoke them like that?" Ye Qingxuan cast her a look and asked, "Do I have a choice?" Lola was silent. At the moment it seemed that Ye Qingxuan didn''t have Anglo''s interests at heart at all. To make matters worse, after Raymond got around to spreading the word, it would definitely distance his relationship with the royal family... Your ass! He was the scapegoat for Anglo! At the moment, even if Ye Qingxuan wanted to give up, Anglo definitely could not return Genesis. As for the reason why, it was because Genesis had already merged with the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth via the path of godly ascension. To return Genesis, Anglo would have to hand over the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth completely as well. It was equivalent to handing over both the power of a catastrophe and the Homeland Defense Front of Anglo. The Church wanted to exchange it for a site of remains that had God knew what buried in it and a few insignificant pieces of technology? In their dreams! It was the jewel in the crown that had combined the power of Leviathan, one of the four living creatures, and Anglo''s national resources over the past few centuries, not to mention the legacy of the saint. At the moment, even though the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was hidden in the reflection in the sea, it had already become the real heart of Anglo. As long as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth still existed, Anglo would be safe from all damages. Moreover, by virtue of Jiao Xiao Huan Pei and their own bloodlines, in the territories of Anglo, Ye Qingxuan and Mary were equivalent to two complete saints. Once the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was totally liberated and the Homeland Defense Front was launched completely once again, Old Phil could completely reproduce the terrifying power belonging to one of the four living things in the past, appearing in the world as a catastrophe, and let the enemy understand what actual despair was. Such was the true capital and trump card of Ye Qingxuan, and it was also the basis of his future plans. If Genesis was no longer there, then a big half of the foundation of the entire plan would collapse. Regardless of whoever approached him, he would definitely not let go! Even if the King of Red was to cast away his sense of shame and come to collect Genesis personally, Ye Qingxuan would swallow his own words and play the fool. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan was like an old farmer. If anyone wanted to dig up the foundation of his homestead, he would grab the hoe and beat the person up... Thinking of his follow-up plan, Ye Qingxuan revealed a smile of self-mockery. "Even if I return Genesis, the Sacred City will probably find me more and more of an annoyance, no?" Upon hearing his words, Lola was quiet for a long time, then sighed softly. "If I were the people in the Sacred City, I would eradicate your trouble-making ass at all costs now." "I''m flattered." Ye Qingxuan smiled shamelessly, looked up, and gazed at the building that was being constructed rapidly in front of him. It was the new division of the Royal Academy of Music, where the foundation of the future lay... As early as a month ago, on the day he assumed the office of Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, he had already instructed the head teachers of the three main divisions of the academy to keep everything unchanged and in accordance to Maxwell''s rules. However, in addition to the established divisions, he would build a new division together with the Religious Court of Inquiry, and nurture a new generation of purification musicians. In the eyes of the others, Ye Qingxuan was the Grand Inquisitor himself, and it was totally understandable for him to do so. But no one knew that it was merely an excuse. It was totally impossible for the Religious Court of Inquiry to recruit new members openly. As long as he could provide Shi Dong they all with enough money and resources, the group of old devils naturally had their own way to produce countless young fanatics. The division was a place where Ye Qingxuan had the absolute word. It was precisely why Ye Qingxuan dared to boast that it could solve the human resource problem of the lack of musicians, who are becoming increasingly scarce. Here, he intended to restart the plan involving war musicians by choosing a large number of youths from the commoners, even if they only possessed a trace of talent to be a musician, and pass on Abraham''s way of deciphering. It was where Abraham''s legacy really lay. They would inherit Abraham''s music theory, inherit Abraham''s combat method, and inherit the research topics and paths that Abraham had yet to complete. One day, the musicians born here would change the whole world. "But do you really think that such crudely trained people can be considered as musicians?" Lola asked in his ear. "There is only one Abraham, and only one you. If they do not possess the talent and skill, any amount of teaching would still be useless." It was the root cause of the scarcity of musicians. Among one hundred people, less than five or six had the talent to become a musician. Among the talented people, no more than 30% could sense aether, and among the 30%, only 10% of them could advance to the Level of Apprentice through complicated training. As for the ones who could eventually become actual musicians, not even one might be found among the hundred. Such was the biggest problem. Otherwise, why did the emperors of the East go to such lengths to create the blood of the Deva over a few centuries? Wasn''t it precisely to create people who were born with talent and skill? "Ye Qingxuan, the various schools have never given up on seeking the solution to this problem all along." Lola advised him seriously. "But until now, not even one has succeeded." "I know." Ye Qingxuan shook his head nonchalantly. "No worries, I have another way." "Hopefully..." came the reply. After he completed his inspection of the construction site and finished giving instructions about the remaining things to take note of, Ye Qingxuan turned and left. He entered the carriage and asked the air beside him, "Where do we go next?" "Royal Institute of Research." Lola, who was used as a secretary, snorted coldly. "According to your order, the prototype of the second generation Stirling engine has already been manufactured." Ye Qingxuan''s eyebrows raised slightly, and his smile became more and more cheerful. The first step in shaking the world, the industrial revolution that had been sealed for 70 years, could finally be restarted... [1] The equivalent of Saints in the Eastern Empire. 619 The Carnot Cycle Under the dim lights the researcher pulled on the rusty bars. They shut with an ear-piercing sound. He pulled the lever, and the elevator descend into the dark depths. The sharp sound of scraping metal followed them down, and sparks flew out from the corners of the elevator. The faint flashes of light illuminated the young man''s profile. His silhouette looked rather gloomy. The researcher forced a laugh, "Our budget is tight, so we haven''t been able to keep up the maintenance..." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand dismissively, "If I''m satisfied with the results, I''ll increase my investment." "Then I can''t thank you enough." The researcher cheered up at this news. If he hadn''t been so awed at the sound of the young man''s voice, he would have already grabbed his hand and begun chattering on about every single potential research project. In fact, the Royal Institute of Research had not originally been so poor. In the past several years the nation had allocated enough funds to support ten times their current manpower. But that was before Newton had become the director. He had spent the whole budget on various items, while actually pocketing over half the money himself in order to make up for the debt he had accrued while secretly performing his own forbidden research. The royal family had always had plenty of proof of this, but they put that to the side, even going so far as to secretly protect Newton. This was because that b*stard Newton truly was a genius with a talent that none could match. It was not only in the field of mechanical engineering that he had outstanding achievements. He had even at one time been the director of the royal mint... There are some people who are able to outstrip the hard-won achievements of the masses using only their talent, and without getting out of bed. Mathematics, economics, mechanical engineering...even in the field of musicianship, in which he had no natural talent, he was still able to do his own research and master some of the principles of alchemy. The b*stard was like a double-edged sword. You just had to put up with him, and keep feeding him money so that he could lay another golden egg. If he had not been bad tempered and eccentric, perhaps that guy would not be stuck in a research position. But from how things looked now, perhaps this was one of his goals? Aside from his passion for his research, he did not care about any other official matters. Even when he had been appointed director of the Royal Institute of Research he had gone to the brothel far more than he had gone to work. Nowadays, since he had been researching forbidden technology, he had had secret communications with the Revolutionary Army. After walking a dangerous path for so many years, the conspiracy finally came to light, and he had packed up his things and fled. No one knew where he had disappeared to. Everyone was filled with regret, but at the same time could not help but breath a sigh of relief. They would finally no longer have to serve that old b*stard. But how would they handle the remaining research? Who would take up all the research that had been set aside? The researchers had mixed feelings about this. At the present, the position of Director of the Royal Institute of Research was still empty. In practice, general affairs were left up to one of the original assistant directors, Ronald, who had been engaged in power research and had temporarily taken on these new responsibilities. This was the man who had not seen the sun in who knew how many days that now stood before Ye Qingxuan. He was a typical researcher. His skin was pale, and he was as thin as a skeleton. He was obviously malnourished. He was hunchbacked, with peeling skin on his fingers. His white uniform was covered in ink spots that would not wash out. Although they were not open wide, his eyes bulged out behind his thick glasses. Amid the silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, "Is the research going well, Director Ronald?" "Ah, yes, yes." As Ronald said this, he suddenly began talking nonstop. "Our research really isn''t difficult, we''re just in the process of refitting strictly based on the principles. After you lifted the ban on "Carnot Cycle" technology it only took us two days to draw up the first schematics. Actually, most of the intervening time has been spent comparing the efficiency and production difficulty of each link. At your request we finally chose the most balanced and most stable plan to carry out production. Time is short, but we have plenty of material. Really, producing this kind of thing is much simpler than an aether engine..." "Then take me to see it," Ye Qingxuan interrupted. Ronald laughed awkwardly, as if he realized he had lost control of himself. He pulled open the stopped elevator''s grate, and invited Ye Qingxuan to follow him. This was the sixth basement floor of the Royal Institute of Research, devoted to secret designs and confidential development. Only those few who held the proper authorization could enter. Besides the four alloy gates, there were four music theory arrays protecting the floor, all of which was sealed off by several hundred meters of soil. In addition, the security was tight inside, ensuring that the area was as protected as possible from leaking its secrets to the outside. People and materials could only get in and out by the elevator. "This way..." Ronald politely led the way. After passing through gate after gate, Ye Qingxuan finally entered Testing Ground Six. Many different rupture marks still remained on the testing ground, some of them as large as several underground soccer fields, as if it had already gone through several dozen wars. Even though they were made out of metal, both the floor and the ceiling had been devastated. Several dozen researchers were already waiting there. Behind them, a huge trailer held a piece of machinery as tall as an ordinary person. It emitted the piercing scent of lubricating oil. Its edges and corners were sharp enough to make it difficult to polish it. Many pipes and power lines twisted chaotically around it, making it difficult to ascertain its actual purpose. As soon as he saw it, Ronald''s face lit up. He did not bother to introduce the rest of the project team, but trotted directly over to the side of the machine. "This is just the prototype. It may look crude, but this is the first step in producing a machine that can operate in accord with the principles. If it is selected, then later we can cut it down to at least a third of the size, and half the weight. And if we can reduce the power and exertion according to different needs, cutting it down to one fourth the size isn''t impossible..." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan pushed through the researchers to the side of the trailer and looked up. In the soft, dazzling light the huge iron and brass machine looked square, like a strange heart filled with cables. From the top Ye Qingxuan could distinguish many different components. It looked like a hodgepodge of stuff picked out of the trash. The components did not seem to form a coherent set at all. Some of them were from the atmospheric pressure valve of a backflow prevention device, some of them were components from the temperature control device of an industrial smelter, the main part was made of the inlet casing of a ship''s aether engine... There was absolutely no elegance in its design. It was an experimental product that was meant to achieve results. Ye Qingxuan had no objection to this. To put out a prototype in only a month''s time was no easy task. In order to achieve this, this group of researchers had sacrificed both sleep and nourishment. He nodded, "Well done." The researching let out a sigh of relief. A smile broke out on Ronald''s nervous face. "Then let me explain some of its basic principles..." Actually, Ye Qingxuan already understood how to operate a Sterling engine. An alternative to the steam engine, a Sterling engine could be said to be another design born from the same mold. However, it differed from the obsolete internal combustion engine in that it used completely different external methods to produce combustion. It could be called an "external combustion engine." It didn''t directly propel its pistons through internal combustion methods, instead using external ones. It applied two different temperatures to both ends of the cylinder, and this difference in temperature drove its actuating medium, which pushed on the pistons. "...simply put, we create a cycle of heating and cooling. This makes the object inside that is acting as the actuating medium expand and contract. This produces movement in the pistons, which outputs power..." Ronald was once again in high spirits as he spoke about his research. He stood to the side chattering endlessly, making Ye Qingxuan frown. "Director Ronald, I am a qualified level four mechanical engineer. I am very familiar with these principles. You don''t need to keep explaining. Moreover, wasn''t it me who gave you the original Carnot cycle technology?" "Uh, ah..." Ronald finally remembered the Keeper of the Seal''s record. He immediately stopped awkwardly. "My apologies, my apologies. I wasn''t careful..." The discoveries of the design of the Sterling engine and the principles of the Carnot cycle were the byproducts of the Anglos'' explorations of the remains of the catastrophes. Unfortunately, by the time they were discovered it had already been decades since the disasters caused by the Victorian era. The Church declared steam power to be forbidden technology and ordered each country to stop their research, in order to prevent another disaster. The Industrial Revolution had been proved to be of no benefit to humans, and all information pertaining to it was sealed away. Thus, the Anglos could only list it as a technological reserve, only to be used in case of emergency. So when Maxwell had arranged for Ye Qingxuan to become the inheritor of the Fifth Department, these books had become completely open to him. As someone who had once studied to become an engineer, and who had a deep understanding of mechanical engineering, Ye Qingxuan had immediately recognized the profound potential in this technology. Now the Sacred City had suffered heavy losses under Hyakume''s attack, and its ability to influence the nations had diminished greatly. Moreover, the Revolutionary Army had officially risen up, putting them under great pressure. Thus, times were good for research and development. But Ye Qingxuan understood that once he had started, he would be officially placed on the Sacred City''s blacklist. Not only that, once this technology had been fully installed and put on the market it would start to evolve by itself. No longer trapped in one person''s head, it would improve itself, evolve itself, and go through new iterations in the hands of countless others. And as for what it would become in the end...even Ye Qingxuan, the one who had started it, could hardly guess. And as for whether or not it would lead to a second Victorian disaster, whether or not it would cause endless catastrophes after it went out of control, none of this mattered to him. It was just like Shi Dong had said. The world had already woken up from the cradle of the Church and started crying. Transformations would come to every field, every place...whether it was war, production, transportation or life. If Ye Qingxuan was overcautious, he would be overtaken by others. Half a month ago, the war that had shocked the whole world had already showed this truth to everyone. 620 An Ingenious Idea Two months ago, incited by the Church, the Asgardians declared war against the Kingdom of Caucasus, which was controlled by the Revolutionary Army. It was a battle that the Asgardians were destined to win, or at least, everyone thought so in the beginning. The numbers on both sides were in great disparity. The Kingdom of Caucasus retreated in one defeat after another, and the defense fronts at the east and west of the nation had completely fallen. The Third Legion marched straight in and was only 40 kilometers from the capital of the Caucasus when the nation was at its most vulnerable. However, sixteen days ago, the situation reversed overnight. The weapon named Redemption was completely assembled in the hands of two thousand members of the Revolutionary Army. Then, three hours later, the army consisting of farmers, craftsmen, bankrupt merchants, and landlords who had lost their land, led by veteran soldiers, surprisingly annihilated the Third Legion, the Asgardians'' most elite army. The bones belonging to sixty thousand elite soldiers were buried eternally on the snowfield. It was like a ridiculous joke. In the battles that followed, Asgard, which was undisputedly the strongest country in the West, lost ground. In just two weeks, it lost the territory it had occupied in the Caucasus, and for the moment being, it dared not even wage war head-on. It could only conduct an economic blockade on the Caucasus at sea in a roundabout manner. All of a sudden, all countries fixed their gaze on the weapon called Redemption... Through rough workmanship and crude technology, what they saw was a near-infinite war potential! Within the month, regardless of the Sacred City''s bans and reprimands, every country''s research institutes were going crazy over it, to the extent that imitations not any inferior to the original could be found after only half a month. It was as if noble and powerful knights had died under the peasants'' arrows. The method of warfare had begun to change. It was merely a presage. Even though Hyakume had been defeated, it still couldn''t be considered as a complete failure. At the very least, he had cast the abyss into the Physical World, completely liberating the increasingly powerful countries from the shackles of the Sacred City. The Third Amendment Act had ceased to exist except in name. Everyone knew clearly that turbulent years were about to come. The revolution had just begun. No one could imagine how many monsters the world could breed after breaking free of the custody of the Church... Ye Qingxuan''s gaze landed on the Stirling engine, which was an external combustion engine. After a good while, he suddenly asked, "What did you choose to use as the working medium?" Ronald was silent for a moment, then replied, "After trying various types of gases, we decided to use mercury that had been converted with alchemy." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "Why?" For some reason unknown, the smile made Ronald a little flustered. He coughed twice, gathered his thoughts, then explained, "First of all, alchemical mercury is very sensitive to temperature. As long as the boiling point is reached, two standard units of mercury can evaporate instantaneously. Meanwhile, when the temperature is below the boiling point, it can condense and cool in an instant as well. As long as it is properly sealed, simply put, it is perfect as the working medium to push the piston. "Moreover, its method of production is approaching maturity. Although it is slightly more expensive than gas, in the long run, it will use up much less resources than that required for new research and mainstreaming of production. " "Oh? Value for money?" Ye Qingxuan raised his eyebrows. "What you said is not the conventional thought process for the average researcher. It seems that your talent is not limited to being an insignificant researcher, Director Ronald." As he said so, he patted Ronald''s shoulder and praised him. "Not bad." Ronald forced out a smile and continued to introduce the features of the engine. "Plus, with the current design, we can replace external accessories flexibly. "So, it could be propelled no matter what fuel is used, be it solid, liquid, or gas, it won''t matter at all. As long as there is a matching burner, we can achieve full compatibility." "And thus widely increase its usage." Ye Qingxuan nodded, then applauded and complimented him, "Perfect. So, most importantly, how do you intend to solve the problem of the noise?" Upon the mentioning of the subject, Ronald laughed. "You need not worry about it at all." He pointed to the component of the external combustion engine and said, "As compared to the original steam engine, the biggest natural advantage that the external combustion engine driven by the Carnot cycle has is that the noise will be greatly reduced. As long as the most basic sound insulation treatment is done properly, it will not cause aether to react in any manner. "And the most ingenious idea is the use of alchemical mercury. Alchemical mercury will absorb the noise of the operation of the external combustion engine, react with aether on its own, and increase the thrust for the machinery. "The only drawback is that the start-up process requires a long warm-up period. But with the new cycle designed by our formula, external combustion only needs to be provided during the warm-up phase. Once the machinery is running and enters the inertia phase, the alchemical mercury will automatically absorb the noise produced in the operation process, thus providing kinetic energy. "Moreover, the efficiency is 60% higher than that of the original machinery. With very little fuel supply, we can maintain the entire cycle. "Although miniaturization can''t be completed, we have an unparalleled advantage over the aether engine. "According to our calculations, in the case of both machines taking the same cost to build, the aether engine can only provide energy for one armor, and our external combustion engine can provide energy for a whole workshop! " Having said that, Ronald was already unable to conceal his ecstasy, waving his limbs excitedly. However, Ye Qingxuan was not as excited as Ronald had imagined. The young man did not had the slightest smile, but simply nodded. "So, let''s start the experiment now, I can''t wait to see it." Ronald was momentarily surprised, then nodded quickly. Soon, the fuel-transporting cart was brought to them. For the sake of safety, other people had retreated dozens of meters away from the engine, only Ye Qingxuan was still standing in front of the external combustion engine calmly. Even though the prototype might have all sorts of uncertainties, he did not think that an external combustion engine gone haywire would have the ability to cause any damage to him. It was just like a joke, if a dumb machine could achieve what Hyakume and Arthur couldn''t, it might as well become a catastrophe. After giving a wave of his hand as a signal for Ronald to begin, Ye Qingxuan waited quietly. Ronald hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the shovel, and clumsily began to add coal to the burner of the external combustion engine. It took him a few minutes altogether to get it done, and some pieces even dropped and scattered on the floor. Soon, after the coal was filled in, fiery flames rose in the burner. In front of the stove, Ronald was already sweating profusely. Five minutes later, the huge external combustion engine that had completed the preheating began to tremble slightly. In a low sound that resembled bees buzzing, Ye Qingxuan heard the deep sound of the piston operating rapidly in the core. The activation was complete! The alchemical mercury evaporated and expanded, pushing the piston to operate, then condensed into a liquid once more with the cooling flow at the other end and shrunk. A large force was born from the cylinder as the prototype operated, and it was continuously transmitted along the cable and mechanical structure, propelling the large lathe which was used as a test object in the distance. The gearbox operated rapidly with a low noise, and the deep sound of steel colliding and scraping against each other rang out. The lathe trembled, and as the gears turned, the headstock began operating. The drive chain began to rotate, and pieces of solid steel were transported to the front of the tool holder. A sharp noise rang out, and amid the piercing loud bangs, the steel was cut quickly. Everyone held their breath. The heavy piece of steel was cut open by the alloyed lathe tool. After a series of complicated, dazzling processes, just a few seconds later, a hollow steel shaft, sanded and polished, rolled off the chain onto the ground, making a crisp sound. The testing staff ran towards it in small steps despite the possible danger, took out various tools to check, and finally raised their heads excitedly, waving ecstatically. Pass! At the moment, the suffocating atmosphere was broken, and everyone cheered. The external combustion engine finally took its first step forward and proved its industrial potential. In the cheers, Ye Qingxuan suddenly reached out. Directly bypassing the control equipment in the test site, he drew a large amount of aether from the sea of aether, and the silver stream of light gushed towards the site. In a flash, the sound of the alarm rang out. In front of him, where the external combustion engine was located, the aether density rose that of a pure White Zone to that of a Yellow Zone, which represented hidden dangers. The external combustion engine shook, then continued to operate, and even sped up. Five minutes later, Ye Qingxuan gave another wave, and the aether density skyrocketed. Red Zone! The external combustion engine shook violently, and a deep sound burst forth, causing a flowing light to emerge from the aether in the air. Countless ripples swelled and spread in all directions. But it was still within a safe zone. Under the influence of the external environment, the stability of the external combustion engine plummeted, and a gap even appeared on the main compartment of the body. Behind him, the researchers looking on from afar gulped and prayed hard that the external combustion engine could operate stably. However, the noise increased in volume, and the loopholes of the prototype were exposed. The lack of a perfect seal caused the operation of the machinery to be affected by the external environment. Ye Qingxuan pondered for a moment, then waved again. Black Zone! In just an instant, a loud rumble burst forth. Broken gears flew out of the casing, tearing a huge gap in it. The fragments of the gears whistled as they coursed through the air, coming to an abrupt stop in front of Ye Qingxuan. It was only one inch away from piercing through his skull. Everyone inhaled deeply. The external combustion engine roared, and a large amount of evaporated alchemical mercury spewed out of it. It was followed by a descend into silence. As it stopped working, everyone became pale. It had failed. But in the silence, applause sounded. It was Ye Qingxuan. Clapping his hands, he gazed at the broken external combustion engine in front of him, revealing a smile full of joy. "Very good, very good, or I should say, it''s beyond my expectations! "Mr. Ronald, the product of you and your research team will shock the whole world!" Ronald looked at him, stunned. After a good while, he asked hesitantly, "But, just now, wasn''t it... broken?" The young man replied, "The Black Zone is a forbidden zone for machinery. Except for a few simple machines that can run stably, aren''t the conditions completely unsuitable for the operation of large engineering machinery? Let alone a prototype that has yet to be tested and inspected at all. A performance of such standard is already better than expected." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Besides, I have never intended for it to operate in a Black Zone, nor have I even considered to operate it in a Red Zone. After all, it is a production machine never to be used to open up new land. As long as it can operate smoothly in White Zones and Yellow Zones, it has already met all production needs. "Being able to accomplish so much is already very good, no, it''s unparalleled, Mr. Ronald. I look forward to the coming of the day when it is officially produced. "I hope that you will not slack off, and will instead keep up the good work." As if he had returned from hell to heaven in an instant, Ronald nodded ecstatically, cheering as he hugged the other researchers. His reaction made Ye Qingxuan feel somewhat resigned. They''re making me seem like a tyrant. Surely it''s not like I would kill them all if they hadn''t completed it in time? He shook his head and looked at the completely damaged external combustion engine in front of him. And his gaze couldn''t help but turn to one of marvel. It wasn''t that he was stunned by its results, nor was it that he did not anticipate its performance. On the contrary, as the first person to familiarize himself with its working principle, Ye Qingxuan was mentally prepared. However, through the crude prototype, what he saw was not just a simple prototype engine, but an almost perfect thought process and idea. The Royal Institute of Research did better than he had imagined. Its designers have mastered its working principles like an art, creating the most perfect prototype, like invisible hands delivering an embryo that is still being nurtured. Now, the newborn has come to the world, although it still appears to be slightly weak, its future is bound to be great. Simply put, it is an ingenious idea. One can foresee that soon, horse-drawn trams will be eliminated, and huge machinery equipped with the Stirling external combustion engine will pull hundreds of carriages along as it travels on the railways. Then, the manufacturing and industrial sectors will also undergo earth-shaking changes. A large number of manpower will be liberated from tedious yet simple work... The world will usher in further changes. Ye Qingxuan smiled quietly. ... After a short celebration, the researchers showed Ye Qingxuan its blueprint and a large number of application solutions. Just by looking at the thickness of the materials, one could feel how much effort they had spent on them. The young man said, "Oh right, I remember you said that you had completed the main cycle through a new formula based on the original, so that the alchemical mercury could stably absorb the noise and turn it into kinetic energy. "Now that I look into it, it seems that the efficiency of the entire external combustion engine has almost doubled. It is indeed an ingenious idea... What kind of formula is it?" Ye Qingxuan flipped through the design drawing and asked casually, "I am quite interested in it. Can you explain it to me?" For a moment, the atmosphere seemed to freeze. The researchers looked at each other awkwardly and finally at Ronald. Ronald''s expression was a bit stiff. "Oh... About that..." "Ah, found it." Ye Qingxuan took out a drawing filled with complicated numbers, smiled, and looked through, occasionally praising it. Finally, he looked up and pointed to several values in the corner, "May I ask how to solve for the variables here and here? I have some trouble understanding it, how did you calculate this result?" Ronald was silent and swallowed. Before he knew it, he was already sweating profusely. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan looked up, still smiling. "Mr. Ronald, you seem a little uncomfortable?" "It''s... a bit too hot here." Ronald smiled forcibly, tugging at his tie. "It''s really hot." Ye Qingxuan said nothing, just smiled and looked at him. As Ye Qingxuan looked on, Ronald''s face became paler and paler, unable to restrain his legs from trembling. In the end, Ronald almost couldn''t stand properly, and had to sit down on the ground. "Er, I''m a bit dizzy." He smiled awkwardly and wanted to get up, but his arms was shaking. "What were you asking about? I will explain it to you..." But Ye Qingxuan was no longer smiling. He shook his head, sighed, and threw the drawings in his hand onto Ronald. "Forget it, Mr. Ronald. Lying is a technical job for the skilled, and it''s not for you." He crouched down, looked into Ronald''s eyes, and asked softly, "Tell me, where did the formula come from?" Ronald''s expression was convulsing, and he argued incoherently, "The time was too short, your demands were too harsh, so we had no other choice..." "I understand, a month''s time is simply unreasonable." Ye Qingxuan nodded, his voice soft. "But if I didn''t do that, why would you all seek help from Newton?" 621 A Happy Beginning "If I didn''t do that, would you all have tried to seek help from Newton?" A gentle voice could be heard in the experimental site. Everyone''s faces turned pale and their bodies stiffened. "What do you mean I don''t quite understand." Ronald forced a smile as he looked around the companions around him, "This formula is the result our collective efforts. How does it have anything to do with Newton? Am I right? Everyone, say something" No one spoke. Everyone had just become aware of the presence of tens of dark figures that had appeared from the shadows and were watching all of them intently. They wore solemn-looking masks and were clad in uniforms from top to toe. Only the golden badge on their chest gave away their identity as the Royal Hounds. Ye Qingxuan sighed and shook his head. "Have you heard of a saying that ''the writing mirrors the writer''. Formula and literary works are the same. I am very clear what kind of person will create what kind of product." With that, he tapped on the data on the ground with the tip of his toe, "You are all researchers, gentlemen, and you have all been used to working under the constraints of all sorts of rules and conditions. The things that you can produce will be dull and uninteresting. How can you possibly think of something out of this world?" "Tell me, you are all either lunatics or schizophrenics." He saw the look of despair on Ronald''s face. He stretched out his hand and smoothened his collar. His expression was gentle, "Or you could try lying in front of the Heart Musician." "Where is Newton?" There was dead silence. Ronald''s face contorted. His lips were quivering but he could not make a sound. Ye Qingxuan shook his head in disappointment. He sighed and got up slowly. Just as he raised his palm and was about to give an order, a hoarse voice rang out from the loudspeaker in the experimental site. "Don''t make things difficult for them anymore, Mr Ye. I''m here." Very soon, what was once a smooth and flat wall gradually opened, revealing a secret passageway behind it and an old man who must not have seen the sun for a very long time. The previous Dean of the Royal Institute of Research, Newton. He looked at Ye Qingxuan without any expression on his face. "They are all innocent. They had no idea what they were doing. Let them go, Mr Ye." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and smiled, as if he had just witnessed something funny. Newton, who had been arrested by the Church and given up on by Anglo, had been hiding in the Royal Institute of Research all along. In a place that he had built from scratch, this was probably the safest place for him. Anglo would never allow anyone from the Church to conduct a search here, and even organists and secret agents would never be able to find the secret entrance and passageway hidden hundreds of meters underground. Besides, complicated limits of authority and decades of countless piling of digging works were more than capable of creating a secret shelter for hiding. Underneath this massive underground facility, the routes were well-established and could link to every corner of Avalon. Even if one was discovered, it was still possible to escape unscathed. In addition, he had a group of researchers that have remained loyal to him Where else could be safer than here? Otherwise, how was it possible for an old man as reliant on others as him to be able to escape the Church? Ye Qingxuan turned his head and looked at this old man from head to toe. Even though he has been in hiding, he did not look down and out at all. Instead, he looked well-fed and there was even the smell of alcohol. It was as if he was on a vacation. "It is so good to see you, Mr Newton." Ye Qingxuan waved the Royal Hounds away, "Bring these gentlemen away and find some Heart Musicians to give them a thorough inspection to see if they are hiding anything else. Look at how Anglo is spending so much money to feed a bunch of traitors." The last sentence was directed at Newton, but his face remained expressionless, as if he had not heard it. Very soon, the entire experimental site was just left with the two of them. "Why didn''t you escape?" Ye Qingxuan teased, "It is not like you to be so loyal." Newton laughed coldly and looked at him, "What do you think?" Ever since Ye Qingxuan entered this place, more than a hundred Royal Hounds had appeared out of nowhere to take over every corner of the Royal Institute of Research by force and the Transformation Musicians had begun to look for secret entrances hidden behind walls. This was different from the superficial inspections conducted in the past. This time round, it was as if they had no qualms tearing down the entire place in order to find what they were looking for. There were even a large number of Abstinence Musicians that set up layers of perception enchantment. Within half an hour, by the time Newton finally realized what was happening, every possible exit has already been blocked off. Only the researchers in the experimental site were still kept in the dark. Newton was completely trapped. Ye Qingxuan''s intention for locking up the entire place was to prevent news from getting out. He certainly did not expect such a huge catch. "Looks like you have some conscience after all, since you have chosen not to let those researchers take the blame for you." Ye Qingxuan looked at Newton. His expression turned cool, "If only you had done the same thing back then." Newton knew what he was talking about. He already knew about the relationship between Ye Qingxuan and Charles when the latter reported for his first day of work. This was also why Newton could not remain calm and a tinge of helplessness flashed across his face, "I''m sor" Bang! Before he could complete his sentence, his body was already sent flying towards the wall. It slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground and coughing violently. He raised his head with difficulty, only to see Ye Qingxuan gripping onto his staff. There were veins protruding everywhere on his arms. It was clear that rage was coursing through his entire body. "Don''t you dare say that to me, Newton. Never." Ye Qingxuan continued quietly, "It is taking all of me to remain rational and not kill you." Newton turned his head and spat out some phlegm that also contained traces of blood. A queer smiled appeared on his face, "Hehe, should I be grateful to the Chief Inquisitor for being so full of compassion and mercy?" "Leave it for offering up your humble praises to the Gods." Ye Qingxuan walked towards him and stared him down coolly, "You should thank him for giving you an irreplaceable gift. It is the only reason why you are still alive to redeem yourself." Newton, who was leaning against the wall and was completely covered by the shadow casted by Ye Qingxuan, laughed suddenly and his eyes were filled with disdain. "You want me to do something for you? Are you combining the carrot and stick approach again? Is that what you are trying to do? Forget it, little brat. How many people do you think have already tried to do the same thing to me?" He shook his head and raised his arm to wipe off the blood on his nose. Both his hands searched around in his pockets, as if he was looking for something, only to pull out a shriveled box. There was nothing in it, except for some sporadic cut tobacco. "Forget it, I shall not argue with you anymore." He shook his head and gestured two fingers at Ye Qingxuan, "Do you have some cigarettes with you? You seem pretty well-off. It should be easier talking to you than to Maxwell. Get me all the prostitutes in the entire city first. I want to have a good time. Throw a party and drink some wine. When I''m finished, maybe I will be in the mood to listen to what you want from me." There was complete silence. Ye Qingxuan looked at him without any expressions on his face. Newton looked back at him as he wavered his two fingers, as if he was hinting to Ye Qingxuan that he had better cooperate. After some time, Ye Qingxuan raised his hands and took out an unsealed metal box. It was sealed up with tape and there were Indian words on it. Every smoker in the entire world would know that that was high-quality Indian cigarette. Only their fertile lands could produce red tea and tobacco leaves of such quality. The silence was broken by the sound of the tape being torn. Ye Qingxuan opened the metal box and carefully opened the packaging. Finally, he presented the row of exquisite cigarettes to Newton for him to choose. "This is the way." Newton smiled happily and stretched out his hands to pick a cigarette, "A happy partnership should start with a happy beginning, don''t you think?" Bang! There was a sharp noise. It was the sound of the rubbing of iron. Metal met with bone. A hoarse scream of pain followed. Silver nails. Slender and long silver nails appeared out of thin air, penetrating Newton''s palm along with the box of cigarettes and nailing them onto the ground, as if this was a specimen. The palm began to cramp up. The pain came so suddenly that Newton was screaming for his life. He was in so much pain he wished he could die but he dared not struggle. His muscles were spasming and his face, which was originally one of joy, was now contorted. Ye Qingxuan remained expressionless. He only stretched out his hand towards the box of cigarettes that Newton was still holding and took out a cigarette that was completely intact. Very soon, the blood-stained cigarette was lit and Ye Qingxuan inhaled deeply, tasting the cigarette that carried with a slight taste of blood. Smoke slowly rose from the flame, blurring out his facial features. The distance between the two men seemed to increase across the smoke, as if Ye Qingxuan was looking down at Newton through layers of clouds. Hearing Newton''s cries and curses was as enjoyable as admiring a top-notch symphony movement. Ye Qingxuan took his own sweet time to smoke that cigarette as he casually flicked off cigarette ashes and exhaled smoke that were green and white in color. Finally, he lowered his head to look at Newton, who was convulsing while kneeling on the ground. "Did you misunderstand my meaning because I spoke too gently?" He jabbed the cigarette onto the back of Newton''s hand. The flame burnt through his skin before being extinguished by the blood spurting out from the wound. Ye Qingxuan squatted down so that his eyes were level with Newton''s. He spoke very carefully and seriously, "Perhaps you didn''t understand what I said just now so I''m going to repeat it one more time. There will be no smoking, no drinking, no prostitutes, none of the things you used to have. You have committed a crime and now is the time for you to redeem yourself. My generosity is the only reason why you are still alive. You will get nothing more than that. As for me, I do not have a temper as good as Maxwell. Therefore, please show me more respect. More than what you are showing now." "Cheh!" Newton barely managed to force out a cold smile amidst the incredible pain, "Do you think I will work for you like a slave?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded, "Of course, you should." "Haha, alright, I give you my word." Newton gritted his teeth to endure the pain of his palm being impaled and laughed mysteriously, "But research is a long-term project. You must be prepared that you may not get anything out of it at the end of the day. Besides, I am very good at convincing people to keep increasing their investments If you are going to send someone to keep track of the accounts, I will make sure that every single cent of yours will be spent legitimately and will be accountable!" Research was his specialty. If Ye Qingxuan needed his help, then he would need to put his ego aside and pay a price. A price that was hundreds and thousands of times higher than what it should be! Otherwise, he had countless tricks up his sleeves to ensure that Ye Qingxuan would not gain anything out of this. 622 It’s Getting Light Out, Time to Get to Work "No, I don''t have the money to sponsor you." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and thought about it. "At best, I can give you around 10,000,000 pounds." It seemed as if he had not understood what Newton meant. He spread his hands and said seriously, "There won''t be any more after you''ve spent it all, so you''ll have to start saving a little bit." "What, did you steal some pocket change from a bunch of children?" Newton sneered. "Such little money is not even enough to take the first step..." "It seems like I haven''t made myself clear." Ye Qingxuan sighed disappointedly, thrust out his hands and grabbed Newton by the hair, pulling him forcibly up off the floor. His wounds split open, and fresh blood began to pour out. "Mr. Newton, perhaps your confidence in yourself as researcher and a genius has led you to believe that I am making a request. But that is not the case." He smiled coldly at Newton''s arrogant expression. "You have two choices. One: if you work for me honestly, I will let you live, and fulfill any of your reasonable requests. One day, you will have done enough to make up for your crimes, and I will set you free." "And the second choice?" Newton laughed strangely. "Will you kill me? Or torture me? Whatever, go ahead. Do you think that no one has tried that before? Don''t worry, Ye Qingxuan, you won''t be able to do a thing! Or, you could consider changing your attitude and apologize for what you just did. Otherwise, you can lead that pack of fools who rely on rote memorization and do the research yourself!" "Kill you? Torture you?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. "Don''t worry, I''ll let you live." He let go, and Newton dropped to the floor. He took out a few documents and dropped them one by one into his arms. "What if we were to put up a fruit stand facing the Royal Institute of Research? You could make a living selling fruit, and if you didn''t like that, you could always go work on the docks. This document can give you the rights to unload a huge load of cargo, you can start your own unloading business. Or how about this one, a coachman. Ah, driving a coach would be pretty good, but you''d have to learn how to take care of horses. This one''s not bad, you could be a doorman. You could work close by, right at the doors of the Royal Institute of Research, and watch people coming in and out every day. Wouldn''t that be great?" After he had finished dropping the documents into his arms, Ye Qingxuan looked at Newton regretfully. "Unfortunately, no matter which job you choose, you won''t be able to continue your research." Newton was shocked. Ye Qingxuan smiled brightly, "Newton, I will have people watching you twenty-four hours a day. From this day forward, you will never again touch a single piece of research equipment, not even so much as a screw. Someone will be assigned to check all of your notes. Even your pocketbook will be looked over by six actuaries. Get ready to say goodbye to your past. From now on, you will have nothing to do with this place." Newton was silent, and his eyes went cold. "Don''t worry. As for the teachers, all the research materials that those old fellows left behind, as well as the research transcripts that you hid all over are a bit troublesome. I''ll burn them all, every scrap of paper, every spare part. I won''t leave even the slightest trace. Don''t be sad, I''ll give you some money. Enough to eat and drink, to go to the brothel. Enough to ensure you''ll never want for anything, that you''ll live a full and happy life. How does that sound?" "Ye Qingxuan..." Newton raised his head stiffly. His eyes were bloodshot. For the first time, his deep-seated arrogance had disappeared, and was replaced with anger. Ye Qingxuan smiled, reached out and patted his cheek. "The giants are all dead, Mr. Newton, you don''t need to stand on their shoulders anymore. Put down your burden, no one will force you to pick it up again. All of that useless talent will be slowly worn away by wine and prostitutes. After a few years, no one will remember you. You''ll just be that old pathetic doorman at the Royal Institute of Research. Occasionally you''ll be able to shake your head at the addictions of the youth while you sweep the floor. Don''t worry, I''ll put an end to every project that you had a hand in. How about I get a couple of officials from city hall to come here and take over? They can start an all-new Royal Institute of Research with their rules and regulations. If I give out a few more titles, people will definitely flock here like birds. Every day there will be unending seminars and business lunches. After two years everyone here will become fat and bloated clerks, dealing with piles and piles of paperwork day after day. You will witness all of this. From the world forgetting you, to everything you love abandoning you...you will witness it all with your own eyes. I guarantee it." Ye Qingxuan made these predictions calmly and quietly, and bit by bit took all of Newtons ideals and everything that he had worked so hard for all his life, and trampled them to pieces in the mud. He was skilled at this, as if the world had once done it to him. By the end, a ferocious expression distorted Newton''s face, as if he was a wild beast that had been chased into a dead end. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan bent down to study his face carefully. "Are you angry? Do you want to kill me? Or is that regret I see? Or maybe...fear?" He knew better than anyone, that to someone with Newton''s mindset, neither death nor torture could frighten him. He did not care if he lived or died. As long as he could do the things he wanted and walk his own path, then he would not even care about the end of the world. In order to do the things he needed to do, he could not love anyone, not even himself. These so-called idealists were such cold, cruel things... To deal with this kind of guy, you did not need to threaten his life at all. Those kinds of threats would be useless. Judging by everything that had happened up to that point, Maxwell had been far too kind, and had let him fall into a dream of his own making, where he could take whatever he pleased from anyone. But now he had to wake up. "It''s getting light out, Newton." Ye Qingxuan laughed softly and patted him on the shoulder, bidding him a faint goodbye. "You should get to work." He took two steps back and then turned to leave. But he heard a hoarse scream. It was Newton. The stooped old man climbed up off the floor, pulled out the silver nail that had once pierced his own palm and rushed towards Ye Qingxuan. And then he halted suddenly. Ye Qingxuan stopped, turned slowly and saw Newton standing stiffly in his original place. He was holding the nail up to his own face, but his hands were trembling. He did not have the courage to stab himself. He hesitated, delayed...until finally the silver nail dropped from his hands. He couldn''t do it. Newton sat down weakly. He put his face in his hands to hide his desolate expression. He howled hoarsely, shouting until he could shout no more, exhausting his last bit of courage. Finally, he lowered his proud head. "Ye Qingxuan, you win." "Don''t you think this is despicable?" he whispered hoarsely. "Not at all." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "This is nothing more than an unfortunate circumstance. Why should you let it trouble you? What''s more, isn''t this the way things have to be? I was merely destroying your fantasy, what is there to be sad about? Once you have woken from your dream, Newton, you can learn to accept reality." "I''m already old, I don''t need you to teach me how cruel the world can be." Newton wiped the dirt from his face. He raised his head, and his eyes were once more filled with arrogance. "You win. I''ll work for you, don''t worry. As long as you don''t destroy the research that the teachers left behind, and don''t hinder my forbidden experiments, I''ll help you do whatever you want. Even with the formula it took that group of good-for-nothings a month to produce some rubbish. I''ll do better than you can even imagine." He stopped suddenly, and his tone became more meaningful. "As long as...you can afford the price." "Don''t worry, I have more than enough debts as it is. I don''t owe you this." Ye Qingxuan laughed softly and pulled out a note that had been torn out of something. He waved it in front of his face. "As for the price, it is completely insignificant when compared with what is going to happen next." For a moment, the ripped paper swayed before his eyes. Newton saw only some blurry schematics, and some bits of formulas, but his heart still twitched involuntarily, as if he had a premonition that something terrible was coming. He unconsciously reached out to take it, but Ye Qingxuan pulled the torn notes out of his reach. "You should think this through, Mr. Newton," he said seriously. "Once you read this, there''s no turning back." "Pshh, now I have to see it! What is this precious toy of yours?" Newton snatched the notes without thinking. His eyes swept over the page hurriedly, and his disdainful expression stiffened and his face paled. "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing. He merely smiled happily and indicated that he should continue reading. What was it? It was poison. Hermes''s final masterpiece-a poison that would make anyone who was obsessed with research go mad after reading it. Just after reading a little bit he wanted to read more, even if killed him. The part that Ye Qingxuan had given him to read was the least significant piece of the whole thing. But to Newton, who for his whole life had wanted mechanical engineering to break free from being a subordinate discipline to alchemy, to be free of its chains and shackles, and forge its own future, this was already the first gleam of light that heralded a new dawn. A ticket that led to a new future... If it had been anyone else, Ye Qingxuan would probably have been loathe to confirm the results on the torn piece of paper, but since it was Newton, he trusted that he would be able to understand the value. A value that was unparalleled! It was only a thin piece of paper, but Newton held onto it tightly, reading it for a long time. Over half an hour passed. It was as if this piece of torn paper could let him peek through the gate to a new world. When he looked up at the dark clouds, he could see the dragon''s ferocious silhouette among the roaring thunder and flashing lightning. He scrutinized each and every elegant detail one by one, deducing, deducing, and deducing some more, hoping that he could get a glimpse of the full outline. But it was difficult to see the true essence from just the little slip of ripped paper. It was only missing a single step. This feeling of not quite understanding produced in Newton something that he had never felt before: frustration and...craving! "What is this?" He raised his head stiffly and looked at Ye Qingxuan. His eyes had become bloodshot without him realizing it. "Where are the other blueprints? There have to be others, there has to be more! Where did you get this? What on earth is this?" "...the Net of Aether, which will lead us to the gate of a new world!" Ye Qingxuan laughed warmly, but his tone was like that of a demon waiting for a mortal to sell his soul. "Do you want it?" 623 Talen In the quiet secret chamber, amid the darkness, a crisp sound of iron sheets rubbing against each other rang out. It resembled pebbles knocking each other. After two collisions, a glimmer of fire was born from it. The speck of fire that resembled a candle flickering in the wind illuminated Newton''s sluggish face, as well as the wound in his palm that had barely healed. "It''s fire." He looked at the flames floating above his palm, as if he had never seen fire before, and his face lit up with a child-like joy. As his fingers moved, the heavy block of iron that was clasped onto his arm gave off a faint glow. One could vaguely see musical notes flickering in and out of sight, controlling the flames to change in a predetermined manner. The fire sometimes became ring-shaped, other times forming a square... It was the simplest application of musical notes. Flame. Despite the alchemy equipment being so basic that even apprentices would not spare a glance for it, Newton had a good time playing with it, until the high temperature radiating from the heavy block of iron on his arm was no longer tolerable, and the noise was earsplitting... A crack sounded. The flame was extinguished. A gap cracked open on the square block of iron. Newton''s expression abruptly stiffened, revealing a mixed look of disdain and regret. The light slowly lit up, illuminating the secret chamber that he had been hiding in all this while and a languorous Ye Qingxuan lazing on the old sofa. Seeing that Newton''s experience had ended, Ye Qingxuan lifted his eyes. "How do you feel?" "Feel?" Newton removed the iron block from his arm with some trouble and weighed it in his hand, then scornfully threw it into the corner in the end. "A godly direction, a crappy design. "It''s so crude and rough that I wonder how its designer still has the nerve to continue living in the world. " Ye Qingxuan''s expression immediately turned to one of resignation. He knew that the old man was coming up with innovative ways to berate him, but it just so happened that he could do nothing about it. Newton was as good as the founding fathers in this aspect, and Ye Qingxuan''s attainments didn''t even qualify him to hold Newton''s shoes for him. The old assh*le is really vengeful... He curled his lips, reached out, and summoned the cumbersome square iron block on the ground back into his hands from a distance. The iron block could be hung on the arm through the gap in the middle, and looked like an oversized bracelet, or... shackles. But at the moment it seemed that the shackles were broken. The remaining temperature had yet to dissipate. Ye Qingxuan reached out, cut the iron shell open, revealing the densely packed gears and tiny springs underneath, and began to inspect it carefully. "No need to look at it, the conduction system is overheated." Newton snorted. "You miscalculated the stress limit of the matter." "No, the calculation is correct. I have checked the entire formula several times, and it should be perfectly safe," said Ye Qingxuan. "The formula itself is problematic, or rather, from the start, the textbooks are incorrect." Newton sneered. "People like you who rely on rote learning like to make such mistakes the most." "Okay, okay, well said, you''re absolutely right." Ye Qingxuan spread his hands. "It''s just a consumable used for demonstration. A free version which requires no payment and has achieved such standards is good enough. "What about you, Newton, are you satisfied with the experience of being a musician for the short span of only a few minutes? " Newton was silent for a long time, then started cackling softly. "Of course. "I''ve never expected to experience the feeling of becoming a musician one day. Not bad, Ye Qingxuan, not bad indeed. I''m starting to believe what you have said." He paused and looked at the odd-looking ''bracelet'' consisting purely of mechanical parts in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, and the look in his eyes became greedy and anticipative. "...The door to the new world." Under the dim light, Ye Qingxuan lifted the odd bracelet with his index finger, deftly spinning it at his fingertip. One could vaguely see a faint perception thread extending out of it and disappearing in the void unobservable to the naked eye. Beneath the vast enchantment of Avalon, the perception thread was immersed into the nine-layer sea of aether and extended into the depths of the enchantment. In the turbulent waves of the sea of aether, the unknown item connected to the perception thread fleetingly revealed a large and grotesque outline, and immediately disappeared without a trace. It was as if it had never appeared. It was the scepter domain hidden in the reflection in the sea, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth that had absorbed the power of the catastrophe, or in other words... the key component required to form the Net of Aether. In the silence, the look in Newton''s eyes changed, and God knew what he was thinking about. After a good while, he spoke up and asked, "It is what you are counting on when you bring up the plan of mass producing war musicians again with full confidence, right? "No, even the plan is just a shell to cover up your real purpose..." He paused, then voiced the taboo phrase. " Artificial musician!" "You actually caught the essence of the Net of Aether so fast?" Ye Qingxuan lamented softly. "Worthy of your fame as the best engineer in Anglo indeed." "Not Anglo, but the world." Newton corrected him, expressionless. His gaze fell on the spinning bracelet at Ye Qingxuan''s fingertip, and recalled the notebook that Ye Qingxuan had shown him before letting him try it on. It was a notebook that the Church would burn at all costs if they were to ever find out about it. In fact, the Church would also burn everyone who had touched it, read it, heard about it, or even anyone who had been within ten meters from it. It was Hermes'' final work before he died. The Net of Aether! After being inspired by Ye Qingxuan, as a token of apology and a reward, Hermes created a grand blueprint tailored for him. An idea that... was destined to be unaccepted by the world! If the idea that had only existed in Hermes'' hypothesis, consisting only of a few formulas and lacking any concrete track of thought or details, could really be finished up by Newton and could be materialized... the taboo proposition of artificial musicians would be fully completed and become reality. The new world was at their fingertips! Abraham''s way of deciphering, the newly built division in the Royal Academy of Music, the much scorned and ridiculed plan of mass producing war musicians, even the refusal to return Genesis to the Sacred City, and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth hidden in the reflection in the sea... Everything was part of a well laid-out plan surrounding the completion of the Net of Aether. As the most taboo proposition among all taboo propositions, artificial musicians had always been the most unmentionable research topic. Despite the Church reiterating the ban, the Silence Governance hunting down wanted criminals all over the world, and the countless heretics who died being burned at the stake of the Religious Court of Inquiry, many still ventured down the path one after another, longing for such a result. They included even the dark musicians. After all, hadn''t they sought out the help of catastrophes at the very beginning due to being limited by their own capabilites? At the root of it all was the inadequacy of their own talent. Hardly anyone could guarantee a smooth and level walk down the path of becoming a musician, no matter how hard one had tried, how much effort one had put in, even if one was to rely on foreign objects. It was because everything was already destined at birth. Right at the moment of birth, everything was already predetermined. The talented were fated to be more powerful than the untalented, and those of blue-blood lineage were destined to surpass ordinary folk. Other than the ones talented enough to break this rule, one could only swallowed up in the crowd of mortal beings. And how many of such people were there? Since the ancient times, few had been capable of doing so. What one sought at all costs, others were born with it. Such was the most painful thing for the ones chasing down the path. Musicians were pursuers of the Originator, but more often than not, one did not choose the Originator, it was the Originator who chose one. The ones unable to become apprentices longed to become apprentices. The ones who had become apprentices longed to advance as musicians. After advancing as official musicians, they pursued powerful music theory. After distorting reality, they longed to create legends. After creating legends, they still must advance as scepter musicians. After the Level of Scepter, they longed to become a saint, and after becoming a saint, could one advance further to the next level and become one of the three kings? Nine Levels of Musicians. Painstaking efforts of countless people were buried beneath each step taken. Precisely because of that, everyone desired powerful bloodlines so much. In order to arrive at the Originator, the musicians of the East placed their own pursuit and the music theory from their entire life in their blood. The nine families of the Dragon Bloodline passed down their legacies from generation to generation, but no one had ever been able to truly advance into the Originator... Not to mention the many attempts by the various schools in the West to obtain stronger power and better talent in the past years. One example would be the Hauser Brothers that Ye Qingxuan had once come across in Romulus. By blending bestiality into human nature, Kaspar Hauser, the son of the beast, was created with pure bestiality. Another example would be the school of dragon stone, which cast bestiality into aether world as food to rear the Snake of the Atrium every generation... Even the school of stone heart, which Ye Qingxuan was a member of, did not hesitate to implant Sub-orignators to enhance their abilities. Among the various research projects, some violated taboos, some cleverly tested the boundaries, some would be immediately halted if the authorities were to find out, and some were conducted behind closed doors despite pressure from the Sacred City. In the end, talent became the shackles of musicians. The Nine Levels of Musicians did not require much design to set different levels apart, as it was already destined from birth. The gap between geniuses and ordinary folk was far greater than the difference between black gold and soil. It was also the reason why alchemy, which could turn stone into gold, was so popular. The earliest proposition of the classical school of alchemy, pioneered by Hermes, was to turn oneself into a higher form, just like how soil was turned into gold. There was no musician that didn''t long to be liberated from the shackles. Ye Qingxuan once saw the hundreds and thousands of towering clock towers in the Sacred City and also personally experienced the wonderful sensation of being strengthened by clock towers. His own power surged, as if he had become integrated with the Sacred City, and he directed reached the Level of Master, bypassing many levels. Strengthening by the clock towers. Every clock tower on its own was enough to help a musician achieve the Level of Master in an instant. Thousands of clock towers meant thousands of masters. Multiplying the number of all the masters in the world at the moment by three times, would probably still result in a number smaller than that of the number of masters the Sacred City could create in an instant. Its working principle was based on Concerto No. 5, which was engraved at the core of the clock towers. It was one of the tokens of authority belonging to the King of Red, the movement titled Emperor. Once the movement was played, it was like an emperor''s coronation, allowing a mortal to sit on the throne and enjoy the generous charism granted by god, as well as unparalleled glory. If the King of Red was to play the movement himself, he could even bestow elements directly to an apprentice, so that his road to advance as a scepter musician would be smooth and unimpeded. As for the King of Blue, Bach, once he unfolded his domain in the form of a forbidden zone, he could determine the life or death of any musician. Without even taking any action, he could reduce a musician''s level just by will. The domain that the King of Yellow could influence was even more terrifying. His authority could act directly on the sea of aether. Even if he was all the way at the other side of the world, he could control the density of aether in the various countries with his own power... Such was one of the reasons why the Three Kings were terrifying. 624 Cheers to Friendship This was one of the reasons why the Three Kings were so terrifying. They represented the Holy Caldron and the foundation of the seven systems of musicians. As guardians, protectors and gatekeepers, the Three Kings were capable of influencing the Originator through this system. It was as if the Emperor has groomed a commoner to become a consul under his personal command, who would then carry out his tasks from the most central of all places. This was also the reason why the Church and the Sacred City possessed such unique status. They might have given humans strength but they have always been in full control, allowing them to ensure the stable development of the entire world. This was the reason why Ye Qingxuan was very sure that the Sacred City would not let matters rest if they knew of his intentions of activate the Net of Aether. Just as what Lola had casually said, there would not be a price too high to pay in order to eliminate someone like him. The Net of Aether could shake the very foundations of the Sacred City. It could make use of tools to make up for the difference in ''talent''! Its theory was similar to the bracelet that Ye Qingxuan had showed to Newton. Although it might look like an alchemy equipment, its essence was completely different. It did not make use of the alchemy array to play musical notes, arrange intervals and music theories, before finally casting movements. It merely acted as an ''interface'', a ''terminal'' that was connected to the Net of Aether. Normally, in order for musicians to cast movements, they would need to sense for aether before controlling it with musical notes, intervals and music theories. Eventually, it would take shape in the form of movements before being casted. This entire complicated process could be simplified into a single step by the Net of Aether, whereby the key was to achieve a breakthrough in the ''interface''. There would be no need for racking of brains, sensing of aether, and controlling of movements everything could be left to the Net of Aether and the user would only have to be responsible for how the movement would be used. There would be no need to consider anything else. According to Hermes'' final concept, the entire process would not need to be completed solely by the musician nor by machines. Regardless of musicians or machines, they would only play a small role in the entire process before eventually becoming a massive system. It would comprise of a massive source, a set of complicated systems and countless terminals. Under such a strict system and control, movements would no longer be an individual''s product, but the finished product of an assembly line. This was not just a wild idea at all because it has been proven by Ye Qingxuan. Or to be more accurate, this was the path that Ye Qingxuan has always been taking. Back in the days when he was still an apprentice and his talents were sealed, he had utilized an exhaustive method in the Classical School to commit the multitudes of records to memory, so that he would be able to use the musical notes freely. This could already show that the sensing of aether was something that was governed by a set of rules. There was no need to seek any mysterious feelings. One would be able to achieve the desired effects as long as long as one chose the right formula according to the environment. In this system, the entire process would be replaced by complex machineries, just like the terminal that Newton had utilized. Any ordinary person, who might be devoid of any talent, would be able to use the terminal freely, as long as he understood the theory behind it. After ''the way of deciphering'' has been deconstructed, movements would be broken down into several segments before being pieced together in the system of the Net of Aether and finally completed at the terminal. At this point in time, all the pre-requisites that the Net of Aether would require have already been prepared. ''Genesis'' would be merged with ''Kingdom of Heaven on Earth'' to form the foundation of the Net of Aether, while Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and Heaven Ladder music theory would make up its main body and would cover the entire Anglo as the Net of Aether was gradually built. Within the area covered by Heaven Ladder music theory, the power of Kingdom of Heaven on Earth could be sent to every terminal. All those people that have been recruited to fill the new institutes of the Royal Academy of Music have all been through the most basic music theory training and ''the way of deciphering'' lessons and would become the first batch of users. These commoners would be able to quickly grasp powers that only sophisticated musicians could possess in the past. Bits and pieces of such powers would already allow them to become new war musicians. Within the area covered by the Net of Aether, the influence of born talents was reduced to the minimal. As for the musicians, they would have to make their way down from their place on the altar and take on roles that were similar to engineers. In the beginning, they would be constrained by Ye Qingxuan''s abilities and the extent of the Net of Aether''s completion, and the movements that could be utilized would be limited to those of lower tiers. But the lower tiers were exactly the areas where there was a shortage of musicians. Who would need a Saint in a hundred-strong infantry? Three musicians of apprentice level were more than enough! By then, all musicians in the world would probably protest and refuse to acknowledge these people, that have been groomed through this system, as musicians. This was because the pursuit of the Originator would no longer be possible once autonomy and integrity have been lost. But truth be told, not many musicians would dedicate their entire lives to pursuing something as intangible as that. 99 percent of musicians have never ever thought that they would ever have a chance of getting close to the Originator. That was something that only scepters would think about. Everyone knew how the Originator was powerful, perfect, sophisticated, almighty and knowledgeable. But what has that got to do with them? Practically, the vast and wide Originator was not worth anything. But just based on this alone, Ye Qingxuan has already been labelled as a ''heretic'' and has been badly scolded. Fortunately, all his actions from hereon performed in the name of righteousness "This feels so good! Who dares to accuse the Chief Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry of being a heretic?" After listening to his plan, Newton immediately saw the biggest flaw, "Purely based on your abilities alone, I don''t think the product that will be created can even be considered a prototype. There are seven systems of musicians. Even though you may dabble in abstinence, illusions and heart, at the end of the day, abstinence is your only forte. The unique quality of the School of Abstinence is its ability to provide an interface for the other six systems to combine into one, using only music theories. To musicians, the content provided by this platform is too lacking." "I never planned to settle every problem on my own, otherwise, what else will the others have left to do?" Ye Qingxuan did not seem to be worried, "All I can do is to build the prototype of the entire system. I will leave the rest to the users to fill up the gaps." Newton was stunned, "You plan to make it an open source? Can you bear to give up the initiative?" "Why not?" Ye Qingxuan rebutted, "To me, the Net of Aether is just a tool. If more people use this tool, the more power I will have. I believe that once they discover the convenience of the Net of Aether, they will automatically create new contents on their own, and push their own music theories all the way to the top" Newton scrunched his nose, "You mean all the way to you?" "Something like that." Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders, "I''m the one who stands to gain in the end anyway. Since that''s the case, why can''t I share them with the other participants too?" Newton kept quiet. He could not believe that Ye Qingxuan would open up the external structures of the Net of Aether! Of the four layers of alchemy array, outflow, form, create and circulate, Ye Qingxuan would probably open up the layers of creating and circulating to other people. Such evil motives! He knew just how attractive this item was to other musicians. In order to get them onboard, he has no qualms opening up so much contents to them. Besides, he was killing two birds with one stone. Not only would his contents become richer, he would also gain a large number of users. There would definitely be plenty of musicians, who might have fallen behind the rest or were limited by their talents, that would be grateful to Ye Qingxuan! No, they might even become Ye Qingxuan''s fanatics! "Even so, what about the basic facilities?" Newton asked, "Although I don''t know much about music theories, but I can tell that the requirements of the basic facilities of the Net of Aether would be overwhelming" Before he could even finish, he saw the strange look in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes and he stopped. There was a complex emotion that he could not describe. It has been a long time since he was in such a dilemma. Would the Net of Aether demand a lot out of the basic facilities? Of course. Not only would it require plenty of complementary mechanical terminals, it would also require a lot of checkpoints and all sorts of technical skills. Otherwise, the Net of Aether would not even be able to extend out of Avalon. The complexity and size of the workload was so immense that it was like a nightmare, even to Newton. At this point in time, his heart was only filled with regrets. "I have been duped! I have been duped! Clearly, this has always been Ye Qingxuan''s motive! Didn''t he spend so much effort to find me just because I am able to do this? Who else in this world is more suitable than me to be doing this? Who else has the ability to do so? Before I snatched over that piece of incomplete page, Ye Qingxuan did ask me to think carefully. There will be no turning back once I have seen it." At that time, he had thought that Ye Qingxuan was merely trying to scare him. It seemed that he has really fallen into a trap. Now, he was only left with two choices, ''do'' or ''not to do''. If he chose not to do this, there was no way Ye Qingxuan would allow him to continue living in this world. It was not that Newton was trying to wriggle his way out of something he had promised but this project was just too insane. Any leaking of information could easily bring about disastrous consequences. If Newton was Ye Qingxuan, he would not let him live either. Newton did not wish to die yet. Really. There were still many things that he wanted to accomplish, such as continuing the mechanical engineering course of study that his teachers had pioneered. He needed to prove the value of this new path. He firmly believed that this was the key to the future of mankind. Therefore, he had no choice but to submit. But if he really did it then he and Ye Qingxuan would become the top heretics of the Church, possibly even placed above Hyakume! Why was ''redemption'' so terrifying? Was it because of how much damage it could cause, as much as piercing through the armors of knights? Or was it because of the theory that all deterrence would be lost with prior mental preparation? No it was because of how applicable it was to everyone! When it came to redemption, everyone was equal. Once it has been created, even a farmer would be able to use it to kill the king! What made the Net of Aether even more terrifying was that it would create musicians! All the musicians would be pushed down the altar, being stripped of their godly status to become ordinary people, transforming from ''magicians'' to the engineers of the Net of Aether. That miraculous power would be shared with everyone. The moment it appeared, everyone that desired power would be groveling in front of Ye Qingxuan. He would be the only one that could determine who deserved power. This was just too insane! This was why Ye Qingxuan refused to return ''Genesis'' to the Sacred City, even if the latter threatened to stop him from advancing to a scepter. The Net of Aether alone would have been able to help him advance to scepter anyway. Not only that, the element of the Net of Aether would ensure that he would become one of the top few scepters. In addition, he could also ensure that Saint Haydn''s inheritance would remain in the Net of Aether. This has been Ye Qingxuan''s plan all along. At this moment, Newton fell into silence as he was in deep thoughts. His facial expressions changed ever so minutely, from fear to depression he was experiencing all sorts of emotions. Due to his own curiosity, he has fallen into Ye Qingxuan''s trap. Right now, when the truth has been revealed, strangely enough, he did not feel upset. Instead he looked forward to this day. He was fully aware of the consequences of Ye Qingxuan''s actions but what was so bad about that? No, it would be great! In fact, things could not have worked out better for him. Ye Qingxuan had chosen him and given him chisels and shovels so that he could dig a nice grave for the musicians. At this thought, he was so excited that there were goosebumps all over his body. He slowly raised his head to look at Ye Qingxuan and nodded, "I''ll do it!" "Fantastic." Ye Qingxuan nodded and smiled happily. He picked up the wine glass on the table, "Cheers to our friendship!" Pui! Damned his so-called friendship. Newton could not be bothered with the nonsense that Ye Qingxuan was spouting. Ye Qingxuan quickly finished his whisky before wiping the corners of his mouth with his handkerchief, "Thank you for your hospitality. The alcohol was pretty good." "Once you are done, scram." Newton tore a piece of cloth to wrap up his palm that has yet to recover fully. He pointed at the door, "Don''t come and bother me unless you have a good reason to. I will write you a list of items that I need. You only have to worry about paying." "No problem." Ye Qingxuan shrugged his shoulders and took his hat off the rack before bidding farewell politely. He looked like a complete gentleman. Just as he was about to leave, Ye Qingxuan stopped and turned back to look at him, "Hey, Newton." Newton could not be bothered to look at him. His back continued to face him as he tidied up the drafts on the table. From today onwards, he would be changing to yet another laboratory. When he heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice, he was somewhat irritated, "Anything else?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment before asking, "Although this may sound funny to you but Newton, was there ever a moment when you felt sorry about the incident with Charles? Any moment." After a period of silence, Newton replied coldly, "No." "Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan laughed in a self-deprecating manner, "It was all my own wishful thinking then. My apologies." The door closed and the sound of footsteps grew faint. Newton was the only one left under the dim lighting. He tried to tidy up the mess on his table but for some reason, it only got worse. Finally, he swept everything off the table in a fit of frustration. He sat on the chair with his head hung low. "Damned it" he muttered under his breath. 625 The Preposterous Ways of the World After it had been reconstructed, Avalon Shipyard Three already occupied all of the workshops on an entire island, leaving only the largest factory. The disassembled hull of the Mountain of Nomadism was laid out on the ground, forming what looked like an awe-inspiring mountain range. Bit by bit it was lifted up into the air by tower cranes with crisscrossing steel cables. Amid the shrieking of steel and iron, a large number of engineers shrouded in protective clothing were in the midst of careful preparations for the secondary construction and refitting. This legendary warship from the frontlines had been disassembled and added to the construction. Ye Qingxuan had fulfilled his promise to Egor. He had given him the best ship in the world. The best warship in the world. Egor, who had already joined the Inquisition, would have been crazy about this place. As a former pirate who had become a running dog for the Anglos, it was a surprise that he had received such high treatment. If this news got back to those fools on the Illusion Islands their eyes would pop out of their heads in jealousy. After finding out how fast the engineering was progressing, Ye Qingxuan turned to leave. The main reason he had come here was to look for Shi Dong. He didn''t know what the old b*stard had been up to this last month. His face was red and healthy, he had a good appetite, and he had even gone through two extra oxygen canisters. As a boss who cared for his subordinates, Ye Qingxuan felt that he should find out what that group of old wretches was up to. Since he was the official who would save the nation in its darkest hour, Queen Mary had generously promised the Inquisition large amounts of material support. Now, Maxwell''s manor island was already covered in all kinds of materials, and was in the process of being turned into a fortress. The place was being turned into the Inquisition''s headquarters, but of all the installations in Avalon it was merely a subsidiary institution, responsible for communications and incidental recruitment. These days, the status of the Inquisition was like that of the Chainsaw Fraternity in Canaan: it was a world apart. Moreover, Shi Dong''s old face was still obviously worth a bit of money. After he had learned that he would get no help from the Church, he had started to walk the path of the Chainsaw Fraternity. They had recently reached an agreement. Within a few days they would help the Inquisition build new workshops in the Anglo Kingdom, in order to build all-new Power Armor for the Witch Hammer. The Inquisition had brought out their secret codexes, and the Chainsaw Fraternity had supplied them with new technologies, and thus they had started researching armor for the new century. The Royal Institute of Research had also lent a hand, unrestricting part of the technology for Archangel Armor and Armor of the Round Table. And Mephistopheles from Westminster Abbey had been involved as well, disguising himself as an arms dealer in order to lend a hand. By now the Inquisition was truly a fellowship of heretics. The Inquisition, the Chainsaw Fraternity, and Westminster Abbey, which the Sacred City was starting to frown upon, had unhappily entered into shady deals and illicit relations. If Ye Qingxuan had been a cardinal bishop, he would be kicking himself right now. But there was nothing to be done. The ways of the world were now out of order, and the nations, while seemingly working together, were at odds with one another. All kinds of subordinate organizations had begun planning their betrayals, seeking a way out. The cracks that Hyakume had created before it died had gradually begun to expand. Now, people were gradually becoming aware of them...The world was changing. The shackles had begun to loosen. Everyone was as eager as a wild dog let off its leash, just waiting for the big news. "What have I been doing lately?" Helplessness was written all over Shi Dong''s face as he was intercepted by Ye Qingxuan. "I''m doing what you should have been doing in the first place...at any rate, you''re a Captain of the Inquisition, don''t you ever get out? You didn''t look at the things I gave you again, and on the ones you did look at you just wrote that I should do as I see fit. So I''m just doing as I see fit...oh by the way, that young man named Watson is pretty good, can you lend him to me and let me train him for a while?" Ye Qingxuan was suddenly dumbfounded. "You two have spoken?" "Of course." Shi Dong''s face lit up as he spoke about this: "He''s got real potential. I didn''t think you still had such useful young people. Leaving him to deal with those gangsters is a real waste of his talents. Why don''t you transfer him to the Inquisition, let him be my assistant? In five years...no, not even three, I''ll be able to completely set my mind at ease." Ye Qingxuan didn''t know what to say. What could he say? Sorry, the one you are talking about was once the original high priest of Hyakume in the Anglo Kingdom, was once a genius Dark Musician, and at such a young age had been the force behind the scenes for so many important events? Oh...and that b*stard had, with his own knife... "What''s wrong? You''re not willing to let him go?" Shi Dong watched Ye Qingxuan''s distorted expression, and his spirits fell. "Hey, this is all the interest of working for you." "Uh..." Ye Qingxuan was suddenly even more conflicted. He didn''t mind Watson taking on this burden, and he was quite useful. He could leave any dirty work to him, and not have to worry about doing it himself. But... "You don''t care about his past?" Ye Qingxuan asked carefully, lest the old b*stard grab his knife and rush into Avalon to clear it of heresy. "It''s pretty bad." Shi Dong clearly knew what he was talking about. He turned his head with a look of disdain and called, "Old Cripple! Is Old Cripple here?" An old man came floating over from a distant workshop. He wore a black ferraiolone. His body was withered and his legs were different lengths. He was floating in the air. Viewing him from behind from this distance, he looked like a bald mop, sliding back and forth across the floor. It was only when viewing him from the front that he looked like a normal old man, but he concealed a darkness that was difficult to describe. His hooked nose and pair of empty eye holes were enough to frighten away children. "What is it?" The old man''s mouth did not move. His gravelly voice came from his chest. Shi Dong scratched his bald head and asked, "What did you originally do before I cut off your leg? I''ve forgotten, remind me." The old man spat. "I was the chief of the Dark Musicians of Canaan, what of it?" he said unhappily. "It was so many years ago, why are you bringing up the past?" "Alright, its fine. Go on back now." Shi Dong waved his hand lightly. He looked back at Ye Qingxuan. "Any more questions?" "..." After a while, Ye Qingxuan, who had held his breath for so long he had nearly suffocated, finally breathed a helpless sigh. "Fine, you go talk to him. If he''s willing, I won''t get in the way." What was wrong with the world? The Inquisition was full of heretics, the Silence Governance had let loose the Revolutionary Army, the College of Cardinals had cultivated the incarnation of Hyakume...it was completely f*cking preposterous. "The Inquisition has always been accepting of all." "Besides, aren''t the Dark Musicians and the Dark Sovereign still bottled up?" Shi Dong boasted without realizing it. "Oh right, if that guy Dominic is free, why don''t you have him come over to the court for a while? It seems like he''s been pretty idle..." The old man''s club was really filling up! "Beat it!" Ye Qingxuan felt that talking to this old man was sapping his energy, and he was tired of it. "Oh, right. There is one matter that I haven''t been able to handle myself. You''ll need to decide for yourself." Shi Dong gave a one of those sly smiles that was his specialty, making Ye Qingxuan a bit uneasy. He pulled out an invitation. "Her Highness the Queen would like you to attend a banquet." Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt the world go black before his eyes. 626 The Whole Family Is Disappointed with You "Why did you bring it here?" Looking at the beautiful and elegant invitation, Ye Qingxuan''s head began to hurt. "You''ve been gone all month, and when you got back to Avalon, you never presented yourself at the palace. If I didn''t bring it to the court, where else could I have brought it?" Shi Dong looked helpless. "Listen, it''s not like you have any more rebellions that you have to go quell. She just wants to invite you to a banquet and dance with you. Do you think that a bunch of saints will jump out and drag you off to the Sacred City?" "Of course not!" "Then what are you afraid of? That she''ll be upset with you for taking bribes and not handling things well?" Shi Dong was most anxious about this. The Anglo Kingdom had offered copious amounts of sponsorship to the Inquisition, and the support of the Throne had brought many benefits. If Ye Qingxuan shirked his duties here, their good days would be over! Ye Qingxuan eyed him. "I''ve never taken a bribe." "Haha, oh really?" Shi Dong smirked. "The nobility really have such short memories, Your Highness ''The Prince of Avalon.''" Ye Qingxuan was suddenly indignant. "The situation was critical then! I didn''t have time to think. How could I have known that gaining this title would cause so many problems?" "It''s too late to change that now," said Shi Dong. "Besides, aren''t you happy to be the Prince? If you say you don''t want it but then accept it, doesn''t that make you a bit hypocritical?" Ye Qingxuan was seething now, practically spraying spittle in the old b*stard''s face. But even if he spewed a whole bathtub''s worth of spittle on him, it wouldn''t help. These past few days Ye Qingxuan had been busy running all over the place and hadn''t had time to come back. And even after he had returned, he had been busy inspecting everything, and so hadn''t had time to make an appearance at the palace and make a report. And here was the reason: he had been through almost half of the Avalon Royal Library, but hadn''t paid any attention to anything to do with affairs of state. So how could he have known that, throughout history, the Prince of Avalon had always been the Queen''s husband? No wonder Mary had looked so determined when she had given him that title. Now he knew that it was not only the authority to act as the Anglo Kingdom''s deputy ruler that she had entrusted him What could he do? He could only run over there and act like an ostrich by putting his head in the sand. He could only pretend that he didn''t know what he was there for. The problem was, acting like this would be very dishonest. It could even be said that it would be acting dishonestly towards his family. If this got out, he would be regarded as the very model of a scummy man. After waiting for half a month, the Queen had finally sent an invitation. Even though it was only a dance, she would still expect him to declare his intentions. "Why are you hesitating? There''s nothing bad about this for you." Shi Dong squinted at him. "Do you think the Queen is ugly?" Ye Qingxuan shot him a pained look. "No." She wasn''t just not ugly, her beauty was unrivaled. What was even more rare about her was that her disposition was noble and refined. Even when she had been controlled by a curse and completely covered in blood, she was still so stunning that people would not dare to look at her. "Is there a problem with her personality?" Shi Dong asked. "No, there''s no problem" Ye Qingxuan answered. Just "no problem"? When she was young, Mary was known throughout Avalon for her authentic character. And, just like her mother, she had not hesitated to sacrifice herself for the nation. After being freed from the Curse of the Dragon''s Blood, she had become even better and had not made any mistakes. "Then has she not been kind enough to you?" Shi Dong asked. "No, she''s been very kind to me." Ye Qingxuan was beginning to feel ashamed. Just "very kind"? She couldn''t have been kinder. Not only had she been willing to share authority over the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth and the Anglo Kingdom with him, she had never refused any of his requests. He had but to nod and she would give the entire kingdom to him. Shi Dong took a deep breath, and then roared in his ear, "Then what the hell are you waiting for?" "I...I...I.." Ye Qingxuan was forced into a quick answer. He slapped his leg. "I''m a clergyman! I''m the Archbishop! I can''t get married." "Pah!" Shi Dong spat and looked at him scornfully. "You still think of yourself as a clergyman? What a pity. Throughout history, all of the leaders of the Inquisition have had families. There was even one stud who had dozens of lovers and children all over the world..." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while. After a while, he waved his hand and said, "I''ll say that I''m busy, that will let me turn her down politely. I need to calm down." He did not wait for Shi Dong answer, but turned and left, just like he was running away. But when he opened the door, he saw the golden retriever lying on the ground outside. The dog squinted at him with disdain. He opened his mouth, showing off his teeth. Your whole family will be disappointed with you. Ye Qingxuan''s legs suddenly felt weak. He started trembling so much that he almost had to sit down. "I''ll go!" Without waiting for Old Phil''s response, he went back inside just as quickly as he had left, grabbed the invitation out of Shi Dong''s hand, and said seriously, "Help me pick out some formal clothes!" And so, in this harmonious and beautiful atmosphere, everything was taken care of. Old Phil nodded with satisfaction, then disappeared without a trace. The next evening, at seven o''clock, an incessant stream of carriages arrived before the palace. In the faint music streaming through the palace gate, servants bustled about, swiftly but elegantly making preparations for the upcoming banquet in an orderly fashion. Elegantly attired noblemen strolled in leisurely with their female companions and handed their invitations to the messenger. They did not hurry inside but lingered outside the gate chatting with their acquaintances. This was the first dance after the Queen''s ascension to the throne. For newly made noblemen, it was their best opportunity to make an appearance. There were still many vacancies in important positions, and the guests were hoping that at this dance they would be given a chance to fill them. Among the crowd, several young people surrounded a smiling middle-aged man, fawning over his every word. Viscount Belfast, who had recently been made Royal Treasurer, was a popular man in this circle. The Belfast family had served the royal family for generations and had been in charge of their money. This made him an incredibly important figure. He also had shares in the East India Trading Company. He was like a leader to the new aristocrats who had made their fortunes in the Indian colonies. His stance was often the Queen''s stance. If they could get some inside information from him, they''d be able to pursue their own goals more effectively. As far as his character, he was known as an honest and reliable member of the otherwise quite corrupt aristocratic circle, and worthy of trust. Many people consulted him on his opinions on investments, hoping to get some pointers. But Viscount Belfast was not likely to divulge these, he''d only give out a little bit of private information that had already leaked out of the aristocratic circle anyway. "Right now the East Indian colony''s industry is already saturated, so it''s not suitable for investment. However, there''s always tea. The insects have been quite serious these last two years. The quality of some tea plantations has decreased, and capital turnover has been affected. If you buy low right now, in a few years your returns will be quite good." After saying this, Viscount Belfast was silent for a moment, then suddenly added, "The shipping industry that Mr. Bligh was just talking about is indeed quite a good prospect, but requires massive amounts of funds to operate. If you all are interested, I''d invite you to pay attention to domestic manufacturing..." Following the Queen''s orders, he let loose a small secret, "Especially weaving and industry. In a few months, there will be some significant positive news in those areas." In the past, Belfast had always been rather vague about such things, trying as much as possible to use words like "maybe" and "possibly." Rarely had they seen him so resolute and decisive. As a weathervane for investment and financial management, everyone around him was shocked at this revelation and started asking him what inside information he had. Some people tactfully invited him to join them for a wine tasting after the banquet, expecting him to reveal a bit more there. But Belfast would not reveal any more, leaving them all quite disappointed. Belfast had already told them half of what there was to know, but he stopped abruptly and looked stiffly down the road at the slowly approaching black carriage. He could no longer stand on formality, and after a few curt "excuse me''s" he quickly rushed over, even abandoning his own female companion. Everyone looked at each other in dismay. In a flash, they had all reacted. They shook off their dumbfoundedness and chased after him. In all of Avalon, there were only two people who liked to take these black carriages without emblems. One was the former Keeper of the Seal Maxwell, and the other was the former head of the Knights of the Round Table, the head of the second department, and the Secretary of the Navy, Lancelot. And those two were no longer there. And thus, there was only one person left in Avalon who was able to ride in this nondescript black carriage. Maxwell''s heir, the new Keeper of the Seal, the head of the Inquisition, the Savior of the Nation, and the deputy ruler of the Anglo KingdomYe Qingxuan! Countless people had tried to send visiting cards and invitations to this nobleman, but none of them had ever received any response. He was so reclusive that none of them even knew where he lived. Even his colleagues on the Privy Council had only ever seen him a few times, and every time he had left just as quickly as he had arrived, never giving them a chance to talk to him. If this was truly his first time appearing in public, who would pass up the opportunity to meet him? Before the carriage had stopped there were already a large number of people waiting outside its door. And more people who had heard the news were starting to make their way over. Layer upon layer of people crowded around, so many that they were almost impenetrable. The carriage door opened. A man wearing black formal wear emerged from within. He was not wearing any medals, and his long silver hair was tied up behind his head. He was so terse as to be almost rude. Although he wore no expression, his face still seemed cold enough to dampen the crowd''s mood. However, the Keeper of the Seal, who was famed for his cold nature, did not make things awkward and took the initiative to smile and nod at everyone. Then he turned and reached back into the carriage, helping out his charming female companion. Lola. Her long hair was done up in a bun, and she was wearing a water-blue evening gown, but no jewelry. She still had the dignified air of a scholar. Even if that had been all, her posture and appearance would still have eclipsed all the other women present. Everyone present had already heard the juicy gossip that had circulated about the Keeper of the Seal and the professor, so it was not too strange to see them together. After a few polite greetings, Ye Qingxuan made a dinner appointment for the day after next with Viscount Belfast and then brought Lola directly inside. "Thank you for coming," he said quietly to Lola. "Haha." The still smiling Lola turned back to the crowd, and her grin widened, revealing her canine teeth. "Next time, take the old lady to be your shield." "Don''t worry, don''t worry. It''s just this once." "Once you''re inside get away from me as soon as you can. Otherwise, I won''t be able to stop myself from hitting you." "Fine, fine." Ye Qingxuan sighed and braced himself to enter the ballroom. This was going to be a long night. 627 Can You Give Me a Hug? Lola really meant what she said as she completely ignored Ye Qingxuan the moment she reached the venue. She could not be bothered to entertain other people, and single-mindedly headed to the old scholars that were gathered in a corner. She would treat this event as an opportunity to network with a few historians. In the end, Ye Qingxuan was surrounded by so many people that he was almost completely drowned out by the crowd. Fortunately, he managed to find a lifesaver at the very last moment. Tristan. He was the previous vice-captain of the Knights of the Round Table. After the death of Lancelot and realizing that he has been used, Tristan stepped down from his position and relinquished all his powers to Ye Qingxuan and Christine. Since then, he had been leading a reclusive lifestyle. His appearance was simply a saving grace to Ye Qingxuan. Tristan was now close to 50 years old, and although his hair might be balding, he was still as fit and strong as when he was middle-aged. He was always known for his stern and unsmiling image. He was the stereotypical knightreliable, willing to sacrifice his life for the country, and a somewhat boring person that few noble families were fond of. With him around, one would not have to worry about being disturbed by others. A glance of his blind left eye was all it would take to scare away all the ordinary busybodies. But the awkward thing was that Ye Qingxuan had nothing to talk to him about. Tristan had always been a man of few words and sometimes, it almost inappropriate to make a joke around him. Talk about women? No way. Talk about country matters Ye Qingxuan did not care much about that. He has already delegated his job to Gavin, matters related to the Religious Court of Inquiry to Shi Dong, and his scheduling duties to Lola. It was rare that Tristan would try to tactfully advise Ye Qingxuan to focus more on matters related to the country. After all, he was the Queen''s Keeper of the Seal so all governmental decrees could only go through with his seal. On top of that, he was also the Prince of Avalon and deputy ruler of Anglo. After commenting about the weather for the umpteenth time, Tristan finally sensed Ye Qingxuan''s awkwardness and shook his head before raising his glass. "If Your Majesty does not mind me being dull and boring, please feel free to spend your time with an old man like me. There will only be peace and quiet here and nothing else." Ye Qingxuan could finally breathe easier. "In that case, I''m going to have to impose on you." Thereafter, he and Tristan sat on a sofa in a corner of the banquet hall. They quietly observed people passing them by, as they sat as still as statues. After some time, Ye Qingxuan suddenly recalled the report he received a few days ago and could not help but ask, "Mr. Tristan, will you not reconsider rejoining the knights? The Tristan family has always been the backbone of the Knights of the Round Table. Without your presence, it''s almost as if the Knights of the Round Table has lost half of its spirit." "I have handed over everything to Geraint. He is a proper knight. With him around, the Knights of the Round Table will be fine." Tristan touched his fake eye with his metal hand. "Your Highness, I''m so old that I may die on the sickbed anytime. The last thing I should do is to continue to hold on to my position." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment. "Knights should die with a sword in their hands." "I know." Tristan sighed. "Our ancestors have always done the same, so let me be the embarrassment. I have toiled for so many years. Now is the time to rest. Next month, after the things in the capital have been settled, I plan to leave Avalon." "Where to? Back to the manor?" "Yup, my daughter has built a house for me beside the lake so I can go fishing during my free time. The fishes there are pretty decent and can be made into good soup. Your Highness doesn''t have to worry. With half a year''s time, my successor will definitely be able to prove that he is worthy of taking over the Tristan armor. Please allow him to assist Christine and serve Your Highness on my behalf." Tristan''s mind had been made up and he even found a successor. Ye Qingxuan knew that there was no way he could convince him otherwise so he only nodded and sighed. "In that case, I wish you a happy retirement." Tristan finally smiled before emptying his glass of champagne in one shot. The sound of melodies could be heard. It had finally begun. With the announcement of Mary''s arrival, she finally stepped into the banquet hall. Unlike what everyone was expecting, she was not dressed in her usual rigid and formal clothes. She wore a simple evening gown and her golden hair was tied up neatly. It was customary to make a simple speech but once that was over, Mary had no intentions of maintaining a dignified and stern image. She raised her glass. "When mother was still alive, she was most fond of parties that were free and easy. Everyone, please relax and enjoy yourselves to the fullest." Everyone took Mary''s cue and raised their glasses as well. Then, all of them looked towards Ye Qingxuan. It was also customary that the person of the highest position in this event should give a toast to the Queen. By right, there should not be anything too special about that. But when the audience''s gaze swung between Ye Qingxuan and Mary, there seemed to be a suspicion of an ambiguous relationship between the two of them, for their attires looked very compatible. It was almost as if they had planned for it together. Ye Qingxuan did not allow such a complicated atmosphere to persist for too long. He took a glass from the waiter and raised it. "May the heavens bless Anglo and may the king bless me." "May the king bless me!" Everyone echoed before drinking up heartily. With his glass of champagne in hand, Ye Qingxuan scanned the area around him and was just about to sneak away when a hand pushed him lightly from behind. As a result, he took a step forward rather clumsily. He wriggled his fingers slightly so that all the alcohol that would have spilled were returned back into the glass instantaneously. He made it look as if he had taken a step forward nonchalantly to drink up his glass of champagne before putting it back onto the tray. He subtly gave Lola a stare for what had just happened. Lola was not concerned about the fury in his stare and only smiled wider because of it. Mary also sensed Ye Qingxuan''s embarrassment, and her mouth curled into a smile. Ye Qingxuan''s actions attracted everyone''s attention so he was in the spotlight once again. Ye Qingxuan coughed lightly and showed none of the awkwardness that he was feeling. He continued forward until he reached Mary. Under everyone''s gaze, he bowed and stretched out his palm. "May I have the honor to have the first dance of the night with Your Majesty?" Mary almost wanted to laugh at how Ye Qingxuan was put in a difficult spot. Just as it was getting a little awkward, she stretched out her wrist and placed them in his hands. "My pleasure." Everyone parted very quickly to the side, clearing the way to the middle of the dancefloor. Once they were in their positions, the conductor raised his conductor baton and a beautiful melody was soon playing in the air. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan had read through two books on palace dances before he came so he managed to pull it off, even though his movements might be a little stiff. The only thing was that they sometimes got too close during the dance. Being so close to the Queen and feeling the white silk material in his hands, he was at a loss somewhat. Fortunately, the awkwardness did not last for too long as Mary asked quietly, "What do you think about this gown? The tailor just about managed to rush it out in time. Do you think it suits me?" "It''s simply beautiful and astounding. I am completely captivated." Ye Qingxuan maintained his smile as he lavished plenty of praise. This gown was a good fit for Mary''s body shape but what made it impressive was its ability to capture her sophisticated qualities while maintaining an air of authority. On top of that, it did not seem out of place when she stood beside Ye Qingxuan''s attire, which was similar to a uniform. The tailor has put in a lot of effort. It was not easy. Ye Qingxuan swallowed his saliva and realized that his throat hurt. "Is that so?" Mary raised her eyebrow with a teasing look. "Are you feeling nervous?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. He could not help but sigh and answer honestly, "Your Majesty''s favor has taken me by surprise." Mary looked at the complicated expression on his face and was able to see the embarrassment and nervousness. She smiled slyly. "I had no other choice, Your Highness. You have to think from my position too." In the middle of the dance, she leaned forward slightly. Her entire body was almost touching Ye Qingxuan. She put her lips close to his ear and whispered, "I apologize for today. At least don''t let them think that it was a one-sided affection. It will make things very awkward for the Queen." "My apologies, it''s my fault." Mary smiled and shook her head. "Say no more of such things. Let''s dance." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan nodded his head and focused his attention on following Mary''s movements. He could feel a layer of sweat on his palms as he touched her slender waist to twirl her around to the music. As the melody gently played, he could hear the sound of her breathing. It made him feel as if the Queen was like fog and he needed to release her hands so that she could slowly float into the sky. But Mary held onto his hands all the way. She looked at him quietly with a smile on her face. Her gaze was focused and serious. When the melody finally came to an end, Ye Qingxuan could not believe how time had passed by so quickly and everything that had just happened felt as short as only a moment. "Mr. Ye," amidst the applause, he could hear Mary''s voice, "can you give me a hug?" She looked at Ye Qingxuan and said quietly, "Just for a while." Ye Qingxuan did not say anything, except to stretch out his hands and take her into his arms. "As long as you want," he whispered. Mary smiled and leaned against his chest. "Thank you." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes. Just as he was about to say something, he heard Mary''s voice, "It seems that parties are not entirely useless. We might as well have one every day." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. Your Majesty, is it worth doing this just for a dance? There are many things in Anglo that still need to be done. If you start the ball rolling by holding extravagant parties, when will this nightlife end! "Cough cough, Your Majesty, if there is anything you require of me in the future, you only need to summon me. There is no need to go to such great lengths and waste the country''s money." Ye Qingxuan quickly put a stop to the idea, only to see the corners of Mary''s mouth curling up into a smile. "Are you initiating a rendezvous? I am glad to know that the Prince is so earnest." "" Ye Qingxuan was about to vomit blood. He had a nagging feeling that he had fallen into Mary''s trap but strangely enough, he did not dislike it. "Don''t worry, I will not trouble you. Just don''t avoid me next time." Mary released her hands at last and straightened his collar. Then, she tip-toed and whispered into his ear, "I am available on Saturday afternoon." Ye Qingxuan saw only darkness. 628 Prototype Part 1 Half a month later in a huge underground space that should not have existed below the sixth basement floor of the Royal Institute of Research, all was dim, illuminated only by the pale lights. There were cracks all over the floor, making it look like some sort of dilapidated building. There were still traces of spiders and insect eggs in the corners. "What kind of godforsaken place is this?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at the spiderweb on his clothes. "We''d better install a ventilation system. Aren''t you afraid of suffocating?" "Actually we already installed one and incorporated it into the Royal Institute of Research''s circulatory system. I had only ever considered my own breathing requirements, but fortunately we have a bit of a power surplus. You''d better thank God for the fact that you can breath right now." Newton answered without the least bit of courtesy. Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. It seemed like this guy had set his heart on the plan, even to the point where had contributed his secret base as a testing ground. He reckoned that this was the place where Newton performed his forbidden research. From what he could see, many of the sets of equipment here were a rare commodity among all the nations. In fact, Newton had to have built many of them himself. It was clear that there were many good things still to be had from Newton, he had just to think of a way to get them out of him... No matter who was in charge, they would have to quickly learn some underhanded techniques. They would teach themselves all kinds of ways to put pressure on their employees. Especially if that employee was Newton, that gold mine that had not stopped producing. "This is the research data." Newton placed a document into his hands and motioned for the workers to quickly prepare the testing site. Ye Qingxuan browsed the document casually, and could not help but raise his eyebrows. "Zebra? Not a bad codename. Where did you find him?" "Prison," Newton said casually. "That guy fought in the first Indian Colonization War. After he retired, he laid low for a while. They say that when he was captured, he had already killed sixteen active duty marines with his bare hands. Keep reading, he is a demon in human form..." Ye Qingxuan turned the page over and sighed, "Two hearts? Four times the adrenaline? Natural regeneration? It''s no good, it''s no good. If he was taken by the Dark Musicians, he''d make for an awful test subject." Newton rolled his eyes. "Do you think you''re so so different from the Dark Musicians now?" Ye Qingxuan thought of those insane Dark Musicians, always running around kidnapping children and trying to recruit him to join in their schemes. "I''m still very different," he answered seriously. "Shut up, the experiment is starting. Prepare all departments." Newton ignored him, walking up the steps and shouting for everybody to make ready with all haste. Afterwards he waved his finger at Ye Qingxuan, "Don''t stand in the middle, move over, right, a little more, stop. Right there, don''t move." He moved Ye Qingxuan into the corner and then slipped behind him, as if using him as a shield. He picked up the microphone and said, "All departments confirmed, begin the experiment." Scrape! The sound of chains dragging came from behind the iron gate. Amidst this ear piercing noise, the several hundred kilogram gate started to slowly lift. When it reached the halfway point, it started to resist. But finally it was lifted to the top with a roar. A giant so burly that he did not resemble a human walked out of the darkness. His bare shoulders were covered in layer upon layer of tattoos. Some were his own original tattoos: demons, snakes and churches, but the rest were new: musical notes and array movements. His knotted muscles heaved in time with his breaths under the pale lights. He slowly crept forward. He walked barefoot across the floor, dragging heavy shackles behind him that seemed to weigh him down no more than an empty can would. Even his forehead seemed abnormal. It arched out, as if there was something sharp hidden underneath the skin. Neither in his character nor in his appearance did he seem like a law abiding citizen. Looking all around the testing site, Zebra was shocked. He did not see the strict security measures he had expected. Instead it was all empty. Finally, his line of set came across the completely unprotected Newton, and his face began to change. "Test Subject A1, don''t just stand there, our time is precious," Newton said impatiently. "I am not A1, call me Zebra!" A fierce light flashed in Zebra''s eyes. He began to slowly walk closer. "Perhaps we should discuss some...problems with my treatment." Newton sneered disdainfully and waved at him impatiently. "I don''t care if you used to be called Zebra or Cow, right now we''re in the middle of an experiment." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and laughed softly. "Looks like we''re having trouble before the experiment even starts." Newton looked a bit embarrassed. "There wasn''t enough time," he answered awkwardly, "we had to dispense with the formalities. Where could we have found so many volunteers? We had to make do with prisoners on death row." Ye Qingxuan sighed and tapped his cane on the ground. "Let''s begin the experiment, gentlemen, after all our time is precious. I have a ''wonderful'' tryst waiting for me this afternoon that I can''t be late for." It was only now that Zebra noticed the thin young man standing beside Newton, similarly undefended. That bag of bones was not even thick enough for him to poke his finger through. He could kill both of them at once. But the white-haired young man seemed completely unconcerned. He just looked at him, with a slight smile that seemed to say he already knew what he was thinking. Although he had not yet spoken, his pitch-black eyes expressed what he was thinking very clearly. It''d be nice if you didn''t give me any trouble. It''d be best if you didn''t. Without knowing why, Zebra averted his gaze, looking back at Newton ferociously. "We had a deal." "The deal was that after you had completed the experiments, I''d let you go, not to let you stay here free of charge just to stand there blinking at me." With Ye Qingxuan there to protect him, Newton was not afraid of anything, and with this bolstered confidence began to berate Zebra. "What are you standing there for? Are you waiting for lunch? Get started!" Zebra unwillingly swept his eyes over them, then took two steps back and stood firmly in the middle of the testing site. "Begin the first Net of Aether music theory transmission test!" The metal pipes on the wall transmitted the researcher''s voice. On the other side of the wall, instruments of harmonious melody were already wedged into the floor, with many cables stretching out from them. They were tangled up into a hopeless mess, and were thrust through interfaces in the wall. Deep beneath the floor, an enormous hub began to turn. Six newly made external combustion engines that had originally been Sterling model engines fired up. This massive amount of power started the aether furnace, and flashes of aether sprang out from within. Under the shifting of the instruments of harmonious melody countless cables surged methodically, illuminating the alchemy array in the testing site. The flashing metal reflected off the floor, the ceiling and the walls. A burst of static electricity appeared out of thin air, making a loud humming sound. Newton''s hair stood on end, making him look like a half-bald hedgehog. It was incredibly ugly. But Ye Qingxuan was not affected at all. Not even his fingers were shaking. This degree of electrical field disturbance caused by the friction from the turbulent aether was, as far as he was concerned, not worth wasting his power to smooth out. The Symphony of Predestination''s own gravitational force was enough to quash these insignificant ripples. Newton glanced angrily at Ye Qingxuan. This guy was purposely watching him make a fool of himself! After a short while, the joyful voices of the workers came through the pipes, "The harmonious melody repeater has successfully started!" At this point, even Ye Qingxuan was surprised. He never would have thought that in only half a month Newton could have already taken the first step in realizing the framework of the Net of Aether. Even though he had provided the basic structure of the music theory, and there was a method that could be used to decipher the pattern, and he had three Royal Musicians cooperating with him on this, to have done so much work in such a short time was no mean feat. This was the benefit of having a top researcher. Before the research had even started he had already ruled out over 70% of erroneous research paths, saving huge amounts of time and resources. "This is within expected parameters, nothing to get excited about." Newton smiled coldly and waved his hands, "As long as there aren''t any problems with the theories or the calculations, even a pig could follow the steps to set these things up. Only you wouldn''t have to pay a pig three times the salary of a white-collar worker. Continue the experiment, the next part is the most important." After saying this, he turned towards Zebra, still standing there in the center of the testing site, and looked at him expectantly. At the urging of the voice coming through the pipe, Zebra walked forward, and reluctantly started dressing himself in the equipment laid out on the workbench. A helmet, gloves, vambraces, a breastplate... It looked like a suit of broken armor, covered in patches and weld marks, with cables wrapped all around it. It had to have been extremely heavy. A scrawny person wouldn''t have been able to wear it. Each part of the heavy carapace had lock catches that could be fastened to each other. By the end, Zebra was completely covered save for his left arm and shoulder. Even while wearing the heavy equipment Zebra still moved about freely and unrestrained. He raised his left hand curiously, and stared at the interface in the middle of his palm and at the crude buttons on his left hand and arm. Finally, he looked at the wire that he was dragging under his feet. The wire was directly connected to a hole in the floor, and ran down to the next level. It looked like it must reach to some huge piece of equipment. At the moment he finished putting on the armor, the musical notes engraved into the arrays lit up, including the ones tattooed on Zebra''s skin. The arrays had linked the symbols carved into his flesh with the suit of armor. The aether circulation was complete. "Bridging complete!" "A1, from this point forward give a detailed report of everything that you feel," the researcher said through the pipes. "A little...hot..." Zebra''s writhing body had not quite adapted to the recently created aether circulation. He looked at the glowing music notes tattooed on his skin, "It really itches. It hurts a little bit, but I can take it." "Excellent. Let''s begin. We''ll need you to be patient for a few minutes. The process might be a bit difficult for you..." Before he had finished speaking, a shudder went through Zebra''s body, and his face became ashen. He gritted his teeth and a hideous look passed over his face. In the corner, several machines monitoring his vital statistics emitted an ear-piercing noise. Zebra gave a sharp cry. The heartbeat monitor began to flicker wildly, indicating that both his hearts were beating like crazy, and that there were abnormal secretions of various hormones, muscle spasms, hyperaemia, and swelling. 629 Prototype Part 2 A burnt smell lingered in the air. It came from the flesh scorched by the overheated notes on the body surface. Ye Qingxuan found the symptoms particularly familiar, and the memory of the creepy old woman, who had been transformed into a half-demon, that he met when he first came to Avalon suddenly popped up in his mind... "The research on human body transformation that Anglo originally carried out in secret?" he frowned. The old man replied, "Yes, the research project has indeed provided us with a lot of convenience, or at least, it has contributed part of the mature technology regarding the imprinting of musical movements on the human body." Newton waved his hand nonchalantly, "Rest assured, I know that you are the Grand Inquisitor, and have not transplanted demon blood onto him. The Net of Aether is meant to be applied to humans anyway, so demon blood is actually redundant." Ye Qingxuan simply shook his head and said nothing. Actually, it wouldn''t have mattered even if the subject had been transplanted with demon blood. The Religious Court of Inquiry has done way more things using demons. If the need arises, all sorts of damn technologies can be disclosed to Newton... In fact, if Ye Qingxuan had not been overseeing the old perverts, the dungeons of the Religious Court of Inquiry might have descended into some goddamn unimaginable state at the moment. Of course, he naturally wouldn''t air such dirty laundry in public due to the embarrassment. Moreover, God knew what chaos would ensue if Ye Qingxuan was to put Newton the madman together with the old perverts. He withdrew his gaze, and it landed on Zebra''s twitching body. Observing him with the naked eye would yield nothing more than a man convulsing in wisps of electricity. However, a musician could clearly observe to the letter countless notes flickering in and out of sight in the alchemy array within the armor with his sensing. The notes compiled music theory, which traveled downwards along the cable, and connected itself to the instrument of harmonious melody, which was acting as a repeater. Through the layers of armor, Ye Qingxuan could even see a unique identification interval within the operation of countless mechanical parts and alchemy arrays. It was the unique code of the armor terminal in the Net of Aether. It could be distinguished and authenticated precisely because of the different combinations of intervals on each terminal. Although it would not be of use in the early stages, its existence would become an absolutely necessity once the large scale development of the Net of Aether began. Newton was so farsighted that Ye Qingxuan felt ashamed of his inferiority. At the moment, the Net of Aether had been divided into three layers. The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth at the topmost level projected its own elements onto the mid-level instrument of harmonious melody via cable, and the instrument of harmonious melody acting as a repeater would transmit the music theory through cable all the way to the armor terminal at the bottom layer. The three layers were distinct, forming a topological structure typical in mathematics, and constituted the first network of the Net of Aether. In Newton''s expectation, a fourth or fifth level might also be added in the future. As the topmost level, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, which was also the main body of the Net of Aether, would become a huge music theory hub, continuously distributing the power to the second layer below it, namely several large repeaters. The large repeaters would then pass the aether and music theory downwards along the cables to the next level consisting of small instrument of harmonious melody, which would then uniformly assign and transmit them to each terminal. The power acting on each terminal would also be transmitted upwards layer by layer. In a system using the way of deciphering as a standard format for music theory, everything would be integrated as one. It was just like the management system of a post office, but instead of letters that were being delivered in mail satchels, aether and musical movements were transmitted. In a very short period of time, power would be transported to everyone needing it via the network... Now, the construction of the first network was finally complete. At the moment when the bridging process was complete, all that must be done was mutual verification between each layer, which would ensure that no noise or errors were generated during the transmission of music theory and musical movements. According to the process flow diagram that Newton had handed him, the terminal first sent a special set of intervals to the upper layer for verification. At the same time, it entered the transmission state. "The first connection is complete!" Then, the instrument of harmonious melody at the upper level received the interval, completed the verification, and transmitted a special interval downward after making sure that the one-way transmission was free of problems, while entering the transmission state at the same time. From the floor, a deep sound of organ pipes rang out faintly. "The second connection is complete!" The terminal received the verification interval from the upper layer, and the one-way transmissions from both sides were confirmed to be problemless, so the final confirmation interval was produced. Both sides officially entered the connection state. "The third connection is complete!" Below the floor, the huge pneumatic organ connected to the instrument of harmonious melody suddenly operated. The note representing the completion of the detection of the final transmission rang out. It was a low rumble. The organ music contained pain and joy, like the cries of a baby at birth. A dead silence ensued. It continued for a long time, a very long time. Then, from the copper tube came a scream of ecstasy. "The music theory is smoothly transmitted! We have succeeded! Mr. Newton! We have succeeded! The first phase test of the Net of Aether is successfully completed!" Chaotic noise could be faintly heard, and it seemed to be the sound of the researchers embracing each other. Although the results seemed to be very simple, it made them so excited, like voyagers who had discovered a new continent. Even if it was just a faint trace in the distance, it would be enough to make the explorers in the endless ocean burst into tears. Even Newton, who had generally mean-mugged the rest, had a small smile on his lips. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but clap. In the short span of half a month, Newton had proven his ability. Compared with the rigorous system he created, what Ye Qingxuan had designed by himself... was just like dog shit. "What''s there to be excited about?" Newton soon calmed down and gave a wave of his hand. "Strike while the iron is hot and continue the test. The team responsible for music theory transmission, make room for the rest. Hand me the summary tomorrow, and put the new transmission agreement into agenda. Prepare the encryption key and take proper precautions, don''t give others a chance to lay a finger on the terminal and enter the Net of Aether without permission." "There''s still new things?" Ye Qingxuan looked at Newton. "Of course, otherwise we can just celebrate behind closed doors, why would I call you over? I asked the musicians to prepare a few simple movement excerpts yesterday to try out the results first." Newton cast him a look, raised the megaphone in his hand, and shouted to the test subject in the distance, "What''s the name again, Zebra or Cow... Yes, don''t just stand there dumbly, look at the buttons on your left arm. "Yes, press the red one! " Zebra hesitated for a moment. Constrained by their deal, he unwillingly pressed the button that didn''t seem like something good, judging from its appearance. A click sounded. Beneath the floor, in the dark, the huge organ was played again. Amid the low melody, music theory flowed along the Net of Aether, entered the terminal, and formed an excerpt of a movement, then... Zebra''s figure suddenly blurred. Soon, only a faint shadow was left in the original position, and could hardly be seen clearly without careful examination. Zebra was stunned, then asked in an unbelieving tone, "I have... turned invisible?" That''s right, invisibility, the signature of the school of magic. Although his aether wave was as obvious as a torch in the night and couldn''t be hidden at all in a musician''s sense of aether, to the naked eye, traces of his existence could hardly be detected. "Not bad." Ye Qingxuan was pleasantly surprised. "The technology has already reached this point? I wasn''t expecting that." "That''s not all." Newton shook his head and shouted, "Hey, Zebra, push the red button up, then press the blue button! Listen clearly, turn off the red one first, then turn on the blue one!" The zebras acted accordingly, and in the low-pitched organ music, the mice in the cages at the corners began to scream frantically and ran around, trying to escape. Despite nothing having happened at all. "Deterrence?" Ye Qingxuan murmured in realization. It was an introductory technique of the school of heart. Although he did not even feel anything with such a level of deterrence, the small animals could sense it acutely. "Try the green one!" Newton shouted. This time, after a long silence, a soft piece of pink appeared on the ground, twitching in the dry air, like a living thing. Even Ye Qingxuan had not expected it... "It''s a sponge?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "I''m amazed that you managed to come up with such an idea." Although it looked absurd, it was still an application of the movements of the school of summoning nonetheless. Sponge could also be considered as a living thing... although it was the type that resembled a living thing the least. He could also correctly guess why had a sponge been chosen, and it was because the bestiality of the sponge was of the simplest nature... It had almost zero need for bestiality. Moreover, whether such a creature''s consciousness really existed was still a question. Initially, movements of the school of summoning was the biggest shortcoming of the Net of Aether, because the music theory required was a few times more than that of other schools. At the end of the day, it boiled down to the difficulty in creating living things out of thin air. Without musicians to nurture it with their consciousness, the simulation of bestiality was a big problem. Without enough music theory and empirical data, the creatures summoned would definitely be incredibly slow-witted, but the problem could only be solved slowly. What''s more, Ye Qingxuan was counting his chickens in his mind. After intercepting Master Haydn''s Genesis, the foundation of the Net of Aether was settled. If he could lay his hands on Wagner''s Valkyries also, the problem of bestiality would definitely be solved! Worst come to worst, he could still use the Chapter of the Golden Victory! Of course, such schemes must be planned slowly, and journeys must be taken step by step. At the moment, it was not a suitable timing to provoke the Sacred City, and he could only carry out the research in secret and take things slowly. Lost in his thoughts, he suddenly heard a loud bang. The iron shell covering Zebra abruptly exploded. The aftermath shock waves swept, then immediately froze, and dissipated without a trace. Only Zebra who had fallen with his back to the ground and was a bloody mess, remained in place. The alarm sounded sharply, stinging everyone''s eardrum. Newton was stunned at first, then immediately turned violent with rage. He ran over slapped Zebra''s face furiously. "My prototype! You dumbass, what have you done!" Contrary to Ye Qingxuan''s expectations, Zebra had not been burnt into charcoal in the outbreak of music theory. By right, the musical movements on his body had connected with the alchemy array as one, and he shouldn''t have survived safely. However, at the moment, it seemed that he only sustained serious injuries, and was not even in need of emergency treatment. Soon, Newton identified the cause of the accident, and lifted the remaining half of arm guard on the ground, expressionless. Two of the buttons on it were all switched on. The terminal''s capability was not enough to support the operation of two movements at the same time, and the music theory had clashed and erupted. It was like an overconfident apprentice who wanted to play a movement above his level and blew up with a boom. "Drag this dead dog out!" Newton roared furiously, stomping, "Next time, find me some test subjects who can understand human language, do you hear me! Such dumb idiots would only hold things up!" Ye Qingxuan sized the gigantic man who was being carried away on a stretcher up. "What have you done? How did he survive?" "I''m guessing that you wouldn''t want to know." Newton gave a laugh, kicking the fragments on the ground with the tip of his sole, and a crooked, blood-stained silver nail rolled out of them. Ye Qingxuan''s expression also turned ugly. He knew what the thing was. Mass produced surgical sound suppressor plug. 630 The Essence of Aether Mass production of surgical sound suppressor plug. A product that has been obsolete for the past 50 years. Back then, he had something like this in his own spine, which sealed his path towards becoming a musician. It had been the failed product of an experiment but he did not expect Newton to utilize it as a stabilizing plug. Its function was similar to that of the safety valve of a machine. Once the music theory goes haywire, it would be activated automatically to cut off the circulation of aether. "I must hand it to you." Ye Qingxuan exclaimed in awe. He retrieved his vision and took back the vambrace from Newton, "And what about this?" "Not enough time." Newton shook his head. "Some of the musical notes keep producing calculation errors. It''s fine if we run only a single interval but problems start to crop up when we try to run two at the same time. At the moment, we are still limited to the basics of major and minor chords. We have not been able to progress further than that." Ye Qingxuan frowned, "If we are limited to a single line, then we will forever remain at the level of apprentices. If we continue to be unable to achieve duets, we will probably be unable to utilize most movements." Newton rubbed his forehead, "Our lack of computing powers is a huge problem." "Not just computing powers, Newton, you have misunderstood." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and was just about to say something when he suddenly recalled his first ever lesson at the Royal Academy of Music. On that afternoon, Abraham had told him that aether were like messengers that would lead rebels back to the Originator so musicians, when viewed from certain perspectives, could also be considered as messengers of the Originator. "Newton, movements are like ''languages''. Forget the way you have always been perceiving them. You need to find a new angle." Ye Qingxuan said, "Although language is an art on its own, it also possessed its own rules and principles. We have to find the most suitable way." "You have a solution in mind?" Newton asked. This was beyond his area of expertise, so Ye Qingxuan''s ideas deserved to be heard. "What solution can I have?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. He thought back to how he was like back then, "I could only try the music notes one by one. I have already given you all the information of the music notes in the classical times that I have. Let''s start from ''Das Wohltemperierte Klavier''." To any apprentice, ''Das Wohltemperierte Klavier'' was something that was irreplaceable for beginners. It utilized the technique of ''Fugue'', which would carry out an in-depth analysis of music theory into layman''s terms. To the Net of Aether, it would be extremely valuable as a point of reference. "Let me do it? Are you sure?" After hearing so much from Ye Qingxuan, Newton was still as clueless as ever. This was like searching for a needle in a haystack, and Ye Qingxuan has just given him the entire responsibility. He could not help but retort, "But I''m not a musician." "It is precisely because you are not a musician that you can do it." Ye Qingxuan said calmly, "Not even I can do it. None of the musicians can." Newton was undeniably the chief engineer of the entire system in the Net of Aether. From a certain perspective, he was the real ''musician'' of this system. The first musician of the Net of Aether. This was an entirely new field of study that needed him as a pioneer. Any old thoughts or ideas would only serve as obstructions. It was just like when musicians were about to level up, they tended to overthink things, which would only lead to more mistakes. Only someone who best understood the structure of the Net of Aether yet had no clue about the old system would be able to grasp the key of this entire concept. Newton was like a blank sheet of paper in this aspect, yet his outstanding talent and ability would also allow him to establish his own ideas. Newton finally began to understand what Ye Qingxuan meant but the expression on his face still remained solemn. When Ye Qingxuan saw a look of struggle on Newton''s face, he could not help but shake his head and laugh, before waving his head and said, "Follow me." With that, he led Newton to the lift. After they reached the sixth floor, Ye Qingxuan led Newton to the research department at the upper level, then into a corridor that Newton has never seen before. Along the way, Newton noticed that this building was one-fifth the size of the research institute but he did not recognize a single researcher. After three layers of security, Newton could not help but exclaim, "Is this really my research insititute?" Ye Qingxuan gave him a glance before speaking very seriously, "It used to be." The room was quiet and clean and only contained a heavy-looking structure made of iron. It was as tall as half a man''s height and was placed in the center of the room. There was nothing else other than that. It was as if this entire room was built just to store this item. "What is this place?" Newton asked. "This is the optics department that has been set up because of the purchase order from the navy. Its purpose is to come up with new-generation surveillance system. At the moment, the combat vessels of every country are extending their range. The way we used to conduct surveillances would no longer be able to detect our enemies any earlier. If we continue to remain at where we are, we may reach a point in the future, where we may not even be aware that we are already within the enemy''s range." At this point in time, Ye Qingxuan could not help but shrug his shoulders, "But I have utilized some of the resources for my own personal gains, which is this monocular that is right in front of you." "Monocular?" Newton walked a few rounds around this item before turning back to look at him, "The room is so small, what are you using it to observe?" "Of course it is being used to observe somewhere smaller," Ye Qingxuan replied. "As a musician with the School of Revelation as my background, do you think I will need it to help me search for enemies?" Newton was speechless. "Actually, the technical requirement of the entire machine is not too high. It is pretty cheap but more than 90 percent of its price was spent on this." Ye Qingxuan took out a metal box from a drawer below and opened it slowly. Lying in layers of sponges and silk were pieces of glass. Newton thought about it for a while before realization dawned on him. The idea of microscopes has always been around but it has always been restricted by materials and demanding craftsmanship. It was difficult to achieve a whole new level of precision and there was no need to. The current level of precision has already surpassed the technical requirements so an even higher level of precision would serve no purpose. Therefore, only someone like Ye Qingxuan, who had nothing better to spend his money and time on, would be an exception. "How is it?" Newton''s interest has been piqued. He would always be curious about research in any fields. "Unexpectedly good." Ye Qingxuan put all the mirrors in place and carefully adjusted them, "It has broken through the level of precision that current microscopes have. It can go all the way down to a unit that is even smaller than one micron" "Purely mechanical engineering and optics study?" Newton frowned, "With the same price, wouldn''t it be more worthwhile to use alchemy arrays as complements?" Sometimes, he had no choice but to admit that the abilities of musicians were much more useful than those of mechanical engineering and material science. "Alchemy arrays are not an option. You will know the reason later." After Ye Qingxuan has finished adjusting, he carefully inserted a glass into the slot and slowly backed away, "Come and take a look." Newton gave him a glance of suspicion before walking towards the microscope and putting his eye at the lens. There was silence. In that instant, everything became silvery white. It was as if a huge blizzard had covered everything with snow, but the snowflakes were tainted with the color of metal. Even if this microscope had reached a whole new level of precision of one micron, it should still be unable to capture the real identity of that silvery white color. It should only be able to capture their vague outlines. It was as if countless upright metal grains have been placed flat together in an area, and all of them have been intricately connected together. They looked shockingly smooth together. Newton had first thought that this was a new material but he dismissed it immediately. No known resource in this world could achieve such an effect. Even the black gold that has been refined to its maximum by alchemists would not achieve such tightness and pattern. It was a material that has never been seen before! Newton was stunned by what he had just seen. He raised his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan, "What metal is this?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head, "Take a look again." Newton lowered his head but what he saw this time was drastically different. The original squarish structure has vanished and in its place was a hexagonal beehive structure which was closely followed by a formation of countless scales. He took a deep breath and took another look but it was an entirely different thing all over again. Newton could feel his face burning. He was delirious with joy. Such joy was equivalent to one''s face being pierced by countless needles. Blood was rushing to his head and his heart was beating tremendously fast. An entirely new material, whose characteristics were still unknown. A crystal of miracle! After remaining stunned for a long time, he finally raised his head stiffly and looked at Ye Qingxuan, the young man who kept giving him shocks and surprises. "What exactly is this?" Ye Qingxuan, who was leaning against the corner, laughed and removed the cigarette in his mouth before flicking some of the ashes on the ground. "The essence of Aether," he replied quietly. "That''s impossible!!!" In an instant, it was as if Newton had been struck by lightning. He was speechless. How could it be Aether! Aethers existed but could not be observed. This was something acknowledged by all musicians and even an outsider like Newton was aware of it! For all this while, countless musicians have hoped to decipher the essence of Aether. They have tried all sorts of ways to observe it but they never could uncover its true identity. What humans could observe were the effects of an abundance of Aether that have been gathered together. But no one has ever managed to see what Aether really looked like, and what physical qualities they possessed. It was too miniscule, so much so that it was difficult for humans to observe it. Besides, it was always moving at every single moment. It was like a streak of lightning across the night sky. Who would be capable of capturing these lightning particles? 631 A Storm is Coming Even under strenuous observation, aether had never given humans a chance to get close to it. Some scholars even thought that it was an imaginary element, a concept, and that it had no actual form. There was nothing that people could do other than try to prove its existence. But now, Ye Qingxuan had brought him to this room, handed him a monocular, and told him that what he was looking at now was aether. Was this some sort of joke? "No one else can do this," Ye Qingxuan said quietly. "But I can." He knocked on the desk. Absolute silence fell. Newton lowered his head again and looked in the monocular. The flittering light had once again stopped moving and coalesced, crystallizing in its original location. As the silence faded, Newton felt like he had lost all of his strength, and nearly sat down on the floor. He could finally be sure whether what he had seen was reality or an illusion. But he was shocked by his own discovery. He didn''t dare to believe it. "Do you have a cigarette?" Newton accepted one from Ye Qingxuan, lit it, and took a few drags. He raised his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan, "So my guess was...correct?" "It was, Newton." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder and beamed at him. "Aether is alive." - - That afternoon, dazzling sunlight streamed down from the sky, and the sounds of the ocean drifted over from the distance. Summer had come early this year. Spring had not even ended yet and the weather was already getting warm. This was especially evident on an island city like Avalon. At 3 PM, sunlight fell upon the white streets. Those with nothing to do were too lazy to go out, and so stayed at home drinking their afternoon tea. Cicadas could be heard in the distance. A simple carriage was parked by the side of the road. A young woman wearing a long, white dress sat on a bench in the shade. The wide sun-visor of her hat drooped down, covering half of her face. "How does this one look, Christine?" She clipped the wildflower that she had picked to her hat, and turned her head to show off the result to her friend who was leaning on the carriage. She did seem like a queen in the least bit. She seemed like a normal young woman who had gone sightseeing. "It suits you." Christine leaned against the coach of the carriage. Although she was still a little pale, she was now able to move without issue. After she had recovered from her wound, she had not accepted the status and privileges that her father had passed down to her, instead choosing to continue to serve as the captain of Mary''s bodyguard. She no longer had to prove that she was better than any man, and had chosen to strive to fulfill her duty as diligently as possible in the later half of her life, continuing to take on the responsibilities of a knight. As far as she was concerned, Mary was too free with her trust, even with Lancelot''s betrayal still burned deeply in her mind. Thus, she would remain by her side, even for this secret tryst. But...was it really appropriate for her to be having trysts? Christine felt completely helpless. Although trysts had always been common among the nobles, and were looked at as something quite refined and not worth denouncing, she had never heard of Her Highness the Queen participating in such things. And her partner was her own cousin, His Highness the current Prince of Avalon. What was this? Teenage indulgence and rebelliousness come late? There was nothing that Christine could do about this. Moreover, these last few times Ye Qingxuan had always maintained proper decorum and etiquette, and had never done anything untoward. And Mary had started smiling more. It was not like before when she had worn a mask of cold majesty. As a result, just when she had thought that he might be a good thing for Mary, Ye Qingxuan had gone and ruined it. He was almost an hour late! He was probably the only person in all the the Anglo Kingdom who would stand up the Queen. Mary had every right to be annoyed at this. But she was still calm and unhurried. She sat there in the shade, humming some tune and putting flowers in her hat. "Your Majesty...why don''t we go back," said Christine in a low voice. "There''s no hurry." Mary narrowed her eyes and laughed, completely unconcerned by this, "Maybe he''s been delayed by something. He''s rushing over here right now. I''ve never seen somebody so embarrassed. Do you think I should be angry with him?" Christine said nothing. She had hardly finished speaking when at the end of the road they spotted a man running wildly towards them. Ever since Mary had taken power in the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, her perception had spread all over the Kingdom. If she wanted to find someone, they would be found in only a matter of minutes. This was why Ye Qingxuan was under such great pressure. He always felt like someone was watching him. Upon seeing Mary sitting there in the shade, his expression became even more awkward. "Sorry I''m late." "That''s alright, I just got here." Mary laughed and indicated the Ye Qingxuan should come closer. She lightly brushed away the dust on her dress. "Where are we going today? Downtown again? I''d like to drink more of the beer from that place we went to last time." "How about we go fishing today?" Ye Qingxuan showed her the bag of fishing tackle that he was carrying. "There''s a place that I used to go to when I was young, I reckon not many people know about it. I wonder if Your Majesty...ah, I mean, Mary, would you be interested in going?" "Alright," Mary nodded. "But I''m not very good at it. Can I use the Firebird to catch fish?" "..." Ye Qingxuan was becoming increasingly helpless in the face of this willful and capricious queen. "Where would be the fun in that?" "Very well, then I leave tonight''s dinner up to you, Mr. Ye." Mary walked towards the carriage with a grin, leaving Ye Qingxuan smiling bitterly. It seemed like he couldn''t escape another dinner. But as Mary opened the carriage door she froze, and stood rooted in the same place. She turned her head quickly to look behind her. Her eyes had turned to golden dragon''s eyes. She did not appear to be looking at Ye Qingxuan, but at somewhere far beyond him. She raised her eyebrows. Christine unconsciously gripped the hilt of the sword beneath the driver''s seat and shielded Mary behind her. "What''s wrong, Your Majesty?" Mary did not respond, only looking at Ye Qingxuan. "Do you feel something, Mr. Ye?" A look of doubt crept over Ye Qingxuan''s face. He immediately closed his eyes and tapped the Staff of Fate on the ground. A distant echo came from the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. A ripple swept out from the city in the reflection and scattered into the distance. Ye Qingxuan''s senses rested in the moon shadow in the void, then flew outward along Mary''s line of site. In a flash, it had travelled thousands of miles. At that point, a huge aether fluctuation was spreading out It was like the blazing sun had suddenly emerged from the darkness and been placed in the center of the sky. The fluctuation spread far, giving rise to frightful crashing waves of aether. The Sea of Aether had up until this point been turbulent, and the waves scattered out in all directions. The nine levels of the Sea of Aether were filled with regular, loud crashing noises. The aftermath was as terrible as that of an earthquake. The scale of the power unleashed instantly surpassed that of a Master Musician, and had entered the realm of Scepter Musicians. And it kept climbing...bursting through level after level. Finally, it got to a point where Ye Qingxuan could no longer sense it. His senses returned. He shakily opened his eyes. Something had appeared somewhere far away, though not far from Anglo territorial waters. It didn''t seem to be human, but the power hidden within it was equivalent to that of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth! What could it be? Mary forced a laugh and looked at him helplessly. "It looks like our date is over." "Matters of state must come first." Ye Qingxuan nodded and put his fishing gear to the side. "You should be getting back, Your Majesty. I''ll see you later at the Privy Council meeting." "Alright." Mary glanced at him, then dejectedly looked away and closed the carriage door. "Let''s go, Christine." Christine nodded farewell to Ye Qingxuan, climbed up onto the carriage and spurred the horses on. Before long they were far away. Ye Qingxuan''s gaze followed the carriage as it sped towards the palace. He felt his ball of aether vibrate wildly. Shi Dong''s voice came from within. "Your Excellency, you must have felt that? What was it?" "I''m not sure." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "The Inquisition has made first-rate preparations for war, and the Anglo Kingdom will soon enter a state of emergency. I hope that wasn''t a newborn catastrophe." "No, according to our analysis of the readings from the instruments of harmonious melody it probably wasn''t a catastrophe." Shi Dong sighed, "But I fear it might be even worse." "I''m going to meet with the Privy Council. You''re responsible for things while I''m gone. The Witch Hammer of Avalon and the Knights of the Round Table will ensure public safety for a while. If I have any orders, Lola will bring them to you." "I understand." Shi Dong ended the transmission. He lifted his eyes, and saw a black carriage speeding towards him from the end of the street. It stopped before him, and the messenger onboard saluted him. "Your Highness, the Privy Council is about to meet! Greenwich observatory sent..." "I know." Ye Qingxuan waved at him, indicating that he did not have to go any further. He climbed into the carriage. "Let''s go, quickly." The carriage once more headed uptown. Along the road, he could hear the gloomy and powerful echoes of armored knights running around in the distance. Ye Qingxuan gazed out the window at the dark clouds gradually rising over the sea. He tapped the Staff of Destiny with his finger. Right now, a hurricane was screaming towards them from far away, bringing with it a faint roar from a distant sea, and thick amounts of moisture. A storm was coming. - - As the rain poured down from the sky, covering the entire city, all of the important people of the Anglo Kingdom had converged in the throne room. The Secretary of the Navy, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Privy Council and the Keeper of the Seal, Tristan, the former Deputy of the Round Table who had already left office and been about to leave Avalon... All of these people had been brought to the throne room in just a few minutes, and it fell to a Musician from Greenwich Observatory, who were responsible for monitoring Aether waves all around the world, to explain to them what had happened. "Twenty minutes ago there was a great seaquake in the south section of Anglo territorial waters. This was followed by an Aether wave that surpassed the Scepter level. The realm of Aether caved in for unknown reasons, and there was turbulence in the Sea of Aether. The repercussions spread out all over the world. I''m afraid that now not only us, but all the nations have placed themselves on a war footing." The Secretary of Defense interrupted him, asking him directly, "Is this a new catastrophe or not? It happened so close to our borders, is it a threat to us?" The presenter looked pained. "At present our territorial waters are still in a state of chaos. We had no way of monitoring what happened. But the likelihood of a catastrophe is extremely high. If it is a catastrophe, for it to just appear like that would be terrifying, and I''m afraid it would constitute a grave threat..." An urgent buzzing came from Ye Qingxuan. It was the ball of aether. Everyone looked at him, and he looked at the Queen. "News from the court." Mary waved her hand, indicating that he should proceed. Immediately, Shi Dong''s voice came from within. "We''ve done a wave frequency comparison, and have identified the object. It''s not a catastrophe." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but Shi Dong''s next words made them freeze in shock. "Your Excellency, it''s ''The Ultimate.''" "...the Ultimate has appeared by using the ruins of catastrophes!" 632 In the Name of the King The short span of half an hour was not enough for Anglo to be properly prepared. Soon, after an hour, the whole world already knew that the Ultimate that was hidden in the chasm of the realm of aether in the past, drifting detached around the Physical World, had reappeared! It was a signal of danger. Throughout history, the Ultimate had officially appeared for three times in total. On its first appearance, it brought with it the Holy Cauldron. On its second appearance, it established the quiet moon. And what would it bring to the world on the third appearance? Moreover, it had appeared directly in the form of the remains of a catastrophe and a secret wonderland. If the Ultimate was in a state of silence, it would be a deathtrap that everyone would avoid like the plague. But at the moment, the situation was utterly different! Everyone knew the value of a brand new secret wonderland, as well as that of the remains of a catastrophe, not to mention an overlap between the two... It was like a treasure vault that had opened its doors, with everything inside up for grabs! It possessed a terrifying attraction across many aspects, be it the various secret treasures and precious materials that had been cultivated in it for a long time, its own vast power, or even natural elements. It was unlikely for any musician to be able to reject its temptation. Soon, the countries discovered something that would cause them even more pain in the ass... Originally, according to usual practice, the country which the site of remains was located in had precedence in terms of investigation and excavation. However, after repeated calculations, it was discovered that the physical body of the Ultimate had appeared in international waters and even involved dozens of key waterways. To the north of the narrow sea region was Asgard, to the south, Burgundy, and to the west, Anglo. Six other countries were located to its east, and it wasn''t even far away from the location of the Cloud Tower... In other words, in the blink of an eye, the international waters that no one had any interest in originally had instantly become a strategic point and hub involving the maritime strategies of various countries. The strange sea region that was calm and tranquil had become an absolute ''whirlpool'', pulling most of the western countries into it in just an instant, and even Aurora in the East couldn''t sit by idly. If a country lost access to the Ultimate and allowed other countries to occupy the site, in the next 30 years at least, other countries would have it over a barrel across many aspects, be it trade, strategy, or even territorial sovereignty... The complicated and strange relationship, which resembled hot oil, between the various countries, had completely intensified and boiled after the Ultimate''s appearance poured a pot of cold water into it. Within the first hour the Ultimate''s appearance, the countries had entered a state of emergency. Within the second hour, senior officials and relevant departments in the various countries had entered their respective meetings. Within the sixth hour of its appearance, the meetings had yet to end, but in all the meetings, no matter which one, the participants had come to only one consensus. The Ultimate must be firmly grasped in their hands! The goal was to be achieved at all costs if need be. In the fourth hour, Mary, the Queen Regnant of Anglo, ordered that the rank of admiral be temporarily granted to the Sylvaine, who was originally one of the leaders of the Navy, and that the First Fleet of the Royal Navy depart from the harbor and rush to the Ultimate at full speed. At the same time, in Asgard, the Stronghold on Sea which was originally berthed at the national border to deter the Caucasus kingdom rumbled, and smoke spurted out of the countless chimneys, blocking out the sky and the sun. Hundreds of gigantic aether furnaces were slowly preheated and started. The warship slowly accelerated from a speed of zero, and in the end stirred up frenzied tides on the sea. Flanked by dozens of new generation warships, the Navy of Asgard set off. Ten minutes later, Burgundy also reacted... ... In the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, the Chapter of the Golden Victory was played once more. The Homeland Defense Front was launched. Ye Qingxuan went down on one knee before the throne. Holding a sword, Mary declared solemnly, "In the name of Mary, the Empress of the sacred kingdom of Anglo blessed by God, the guardian of the Church, and the mortal ruler with full rights, I hereby bestow the crown upon Ye Qingxuan, the Prince of Avalon He shall act on my behalf!" Beside the throne, the golden hound opened an eye and roared deeply. Approved. Thus, an endless golden brilliance swept towards Ye Qingxuan, turned into a halo on his head, and faded out of sight. In Mary''s hands, the long sword that Firebird had transformed into disappeared. She reached out and helped Ye Qingxuan up from on the ground. "I am entrusting the future of Anglo in your hands by sending you on this trip. Please be sure to bring back the Ultimate." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "As my Queen commands." ... In Yujing City of the Empire of Aurora in the East, in the main hall of the Copper Palace located within the forbidding imperial city guarded by high, towering walls, the empress dozing on the throne opened an eye. "Is that what the Prince Regent said?" "Yes." The girl named Bai Xi wore an odd smile. "The location of the Ultimate would affect Aurora''s lifeline, and it must be investigated." "The Prince Regent has phrased his memorial to the throne in such a fancy manner, but from my point of view, whether the mission succeeds or otherwise matters very little." The empress coldly gave a wave of her hand. "The Six Royals are important to the dragon bloodline of Aurora, my country, and should not be involved without careful thought over issues that are not of high importance. The rest of the arrangements can be made accordingly, let House Liu and House Yuan handle it." Bai Xi bowed deeply. "Yes, Your Majesty." Watching Bai Xi kneel behind the long table and rapidly draft the decree, the corners of the empress''s mouth curled upwards into a fascinated smile. "It had only been a few days, and you can already hold the brush quite properly." "It is because of the teachings of your Majesty," the girl replied. Upon hearing her answer, the empress chuckled, and the cat napping in her arms was awakened. The cat opened its eyes, licked its paws, and leaped down from the empress''s knees, rubbing against her robes as it mewed softly. "You''re hungry again?" The empress scratched its chin, chuckling softly. "The Prince Regent understands me well. I''m lonely in the deep palace, and it''s quite fun to have quirky, mischievous companions like you guys by my side. "That being said, he''s also pretty untroubled about leaving such a little girl like you behind in Yujing to withstand the pressure from various parties, unworried about possible accidents taking place. "Is he planning to let me raise his daughter for him? " Bai Xi kept her head down, writing rapidly, as if she had heard nothing. Soon, she was done writing the decree. After the imperial seal was applied on it, the palace servants moved forward on their knees, respectfully took the decree with both hands, and left. The decree would soon be conveyed to all nine states of the empire. After God knew how long, the empress''s midday nap was over, and she opened her eyes. "It''s this time of the day again?" "Precisely." Bai Xi nodded. The empress yawned and asked casually, "Where did we last stop?" Bai Xi stroked the stone chime located in the hall and replied, "The prelude to the chapter of Dawu [1]." "Then play it for me first, let''s see how much progress you''ve made..." the empress said. Soon, the mighty and magnificent sound of the stone chime rang out in the main hall, traveling in all directions. ... In the ruins of Old Orleans, Burgundy, a mighty cantata sounded in the huge parish church. In the center of the parish church, amid the performance of countless musicians, the ground rumbled and fell apart, revealing the darkness which seemed to be dancing below. A hurricane swept outwards from the darkness, blowing all the debris away. Beside the deep well of darkness, the old man by the young man''s side seemed afraid. He took a step back and raised his arm to block the hurricane. His gaze, which could be seen through the gaps between his fingers, turned to one of awe. Amid the mighty cantata, the parish church rumbled, and the huge machinery underground operated. Countless gears spun rapidly, and 16 heavy chains made of black iron tightened, slowly and difficultly pulling whatever had been buried in the deep well up. Darkness spurted out of the well. The mournful wails of countless people sounded. In the end, a skeleton of pure white slowly rose from the darkness. It resembled an artwork carved by an unparalleled master. Despite being a grotesque skeleton, it looked so sacred and magnificent, and possessed a splendid beauty. Eight bony wings hung low behind the skeleton, with traces of burning and hacking by weapons still remaining on them. Despite being non-living matter with no life in it, when it emerged from the gushing darkness, a soft breathing could be heard in the parish church. The old man''s expression changed. It was the rhythm of the sea of aether... Outside the parish church, countless musicians were playing a brilliant movement passionately, guiding the aether to gather here. The aether turned into a torrent and descended from the sky, washing over the pale skeleton like rainwater. So, a pure radiance emerged from it. It was so pure, yet so fierce, that it seemed as if it would turn everything into ashes in a roaring fire. Even with layers of protection on, one could feel a burning pain when breathing. But at the frontmost, the young man facing the skeleton had an expression of ecstasy. Then, the brilliant performance ascended to the climax. On the skeleton, countless rays of light emerged, attaching themselves to it like flesh and blood, and the thin silhouette quickly filled up. In the end, it was as if the sun and the thunder had descended in the parish church. The parish church rumbled and shook. A pale bony wing lifted, feathers and flesh growing out of it. A horrifying aether wave burst forth, forming an almost physical air billow that swept across! It was followed closely by the second wing, then the third... When the fifth wing had completed its growth, the terrifying aether waves were already beyond the scope of human understanding, and had advanced into a catastrophic level. It had even surpassed ordinary catastrophes, and was only one step away from the league of the four living creatures... But the growth of the wings stopped here. Three other bony wings had no flesh and blood on them. "It has reached the threshold of the Sixth Day?" The young man lamented softly, "After the brewing up of the project for so many years, the artificial angel has surprisingly reached the level of Thrones. Catastrophic weapons are truly terrifying." At the moment, the skeleton had turned into brilliant flares. Like a giant formed of light, with the curvy outline of a female, it bathed in the fire of the light of God. On the phantom face, the eyes slowly opened and looked down. A hollow voice sounded. "Who art thou?" A terrifying majesty emerged from the light, crushing everything, and made the young man''s face pale and bloodless. Behind the young man, under the scrutiny of the gaze, the old man screamed in pain and combusted, as if he was being burned at the stake. He tumbling hard and stepping back. Against the terrifying pressure, the young man slowly raised the signet ring in his hand. "Your master, Don Juan!" The horrifying pressure dissipated. The fiery flares slowly converged and burned through the dark iron lock. The giant of light slowly shrank into a size no different from ordinary people. In midair, she bowed to the young man named Don Juan. "The king of greatness, please give your order." "Welcome back, lady saint, the savior of the nation." Don Juan smiled and stroked her face, letting the terrifying flares burn himself. " In the name of the King of the Sun, please bring victory to Burgundy again!" [1] A traditional Chinese dance. The name can be literally translated as Grand Martial Arts. 633 The Second and Firs Asgard, the capital. The seas were frozen and snow blew over from far away, landing on the massive city that has been built beside a mountain. The bustling city was heated up, so the snow would melt and turn into rain to fall on the walls of the city. As the rainwater streamed down the walls, they looked like a forest that has been turned upside down. Occasionally, ice would crack and fall onto the ground with a crisp breaking sound. This city that has been shrouded in ice and cold would be filled with such crisp and melodic sounds every day. The delicate sound would spread and be carried by the wind over the massive city and up the ice mountain. In the end, it would clash with the wall made of gold and iron to produce a deep and low resonance. In the entire city, the number of buildings decreased as one climbed higher. Other than the School of Rock and Iron that occupied the middle layer, the other buildings were observation towers that have been built by all of the major clans. Back then, 16 clans had followed the Emperor and helped to build up this country. Their banners and totems could be seen everywhere to surround and protect the Emperor. The nine electors that ruled the country on behalf of the king also made up the Senate, and they all came from these 16 clans. Countless banners hung on those towers, ruffling in the wind and snow. The one that stood out the most was the Towering Metal City at the very top. It was a gigantic palace that was built with plenty of iron and decorated with luxurious and majestic black gold. It looked like a giant that was sleeping on the peak of the mountain, listening to the bustling of the world and opening its eyes slightly. Gladysheim. The palace known as the ''golden palace'' sat on the tallest peak of the world and was once home to the arrogant and proud Emperor. To date, it had been vacant for close to a century. Ever since the previous Emperor died, no one had been able to live in it. The electors of the Senate were the only ones who were able to step foot into it to bow to the empty throne. Underneath that gigantic golden palace and in the depths of Gladysheim dwelled eternal lightning. Hundreds of layers of enchantments enveloped the entire mountain, blocking off any aether waves from escaping so as to conceal that terrible power. Eternal streaks of lightning lit up the dark underbelly of the mountain. The streaks of lightning were like the ebb and flow of waves. If one looked at them for a long time, one would think that the lightning had congregated into metal and interwoven into the capital of all Gods. Countless illusions of Gods would show themselves amidst the lightning before vanishing the very next moment, making their presence felt only for a fleeting moment. When ordinary people walked through it, they were as miniscule as dust particles. This was the real core of the entire Asgard, the location of the real golden palace. As lightning streaked about in this narrow space, the sound it made was not ear-deafening thunders but majestic movements. For centuries, countless musicians have immersed their Symphony of Predestination into the golden palace. These flames gathered together to create a terrifying blaze, such that the sea of lightning would give birth to an embryo of miracle. Right in front of that gigantic black-gold door, the amazing glow of rainbow that poured from the realm of aether congregated to form a physically huge bridge that connected the world of men to the Gods. With the cumulation of the powers of Asgard, the lives of countless musicians, hundreds of host elements and 14 godly elements, this was a natural disaster that was man-made. The process of breeding caused the realm of aether to collapse, developing into a world of sublimation in the physical world. Before it was even born, it was already displaying incredible power that was on par with the Four Living Creatures, far surpassing the power of destruction of the Eight Phenomena. Even though it has been sealed up by the nine black-gold doors, the amazing aura it emitted was still irresistible to the elders standing in front of the doors. That would be the eternal throne of the future Emperor. A natural disaster that was created by men and had gone against the orders of the Church, the king of kings, Odin! But in such a holy place, one could almost hear the sound of moaning behind the layers of black-gold doors. It was the hoarse sound of a wild beast that seemed to have gone through unimaginable torture and was now on the brink of death. Its cries were filled with pain and suffering. On the rainbow bridge, the nine elders from the Senate looked at each other. There was shock in their eyes. "Helmut, how long has he been in there?" "An hour." A red-robed senator looked up and spoke softly, "It is twice the amount of time compared to when he first started. He is now getting better at withstanding Odin''s punishment" "It''s insane." The white-robed elder shook his head. "He is more arrogant than we all thought." "All Emperors are supposed to be arrogant." The green-robed senator said, "If he is able to pass the final test, there is a chance that he can merge with Odin and become a true Supreme Being. Now that he has already obtained the resonance of Odin''s element, it is definitely possible. I think we can continue to monitor the situation." The white-robed elder did not reply and only stared at the black-gold door silently. No one would have thought that two months ago, after witnessing how Bach threw the Spear of Destiny, the effect on the Third Prince would be this great. The Third Prince was only one step away from becoming a scepter. He was a talented and undefeated musician who had been said to be able to approach the Originator one day in the future but he could not even approach within a hundred steps of the King of Back. The difference between these hundred steps was disappointing. Within two days after the departure of Bach, the Third Prince returned to the capital and summoned the nine electors before informing them of his intention. Thereafter, he began this path of doom that had consumed plenty of Masters and scepters. He wanted to earn the recognition of Odin and merge with that blank divinity. For the past few centuries, only the Princes that had run out of options would choose this route because they knew it would only lead to doom. No one would be able to last for an hour in the golden palace. Before one could even see Odin, one would be destroyed and turned into dust by the power embedded in those divine elements. Now, amidst the veil of divinity and the judgment of lightning, not only had the Third Prince yet to be melted by the lightning, but his terrifying talent and potential had been developed continuously. Within the short time of a month, six visits were equivalent to six deaths and revivals. When he crawled out from behind the black-gold door this time, all nine electors could no longer recognize him. He was weak and frail, as if he had just been put together with dust. Through his half-translucent chest cavity, one could almost see the painful beating of his heart and the blood in his vessels being infected by the lightning that has already penetrated his bone marrow. Half of his handsome face had been charred and even one of his eyes had been burnt into nothingness. But the remaining eye on that terrible face was now flowing with majestic golden light. It was like a miniature version of the sea of lightning. The divinity of Odin already seeped into his Symphony of Predestination. He was gradually reaching the stage of gaining the favor of the king of kings Half of his body might have died, but in that part of the body, there were signs of the rebirth of divinity. At this moment, the Third Prince was no longer just a normal human, but a hero in the fairytales and demigod who inherited the blood of Gods. Now, those terrible wounds were healing rapidly as flesh and muscles and skin were all growing back. Only the left eye that he had lost remained empty. But on the other hand, the lightning in the other eye was becoming sharper and more powerful. "What is this?" The Third Prince leaned against the black-gold door and looked at the elders before him. There was joy in his eyes. "Did I make another mistake? Why would all nine electors of the Senate put aside your pride and come all the way here to find the Third Prince?" "You are now the second." Helmut said, "You have already proven your abilities to the Senate. From this day on, you are now the ''Second Prince.'' We hope to see more of your improvement." "Not the first?" The young man cackled and raised his head. He looked around him and asked, "Where is my useless elder brother? Surely he has come along too?" With that, he looked behind the nine elders and said, "Is that you? Brother, I can see your crutches. My eye can no longer see as clearly as before. Please come closer." "You are right, my dear brother. It is me," a deep voice said, and a middle-aged man hobbled forward on his crutches. He was only middle-aged yet he looked much older than that. His hair had already turned white and his congenital spine condition made his back hunched. There were developmental issues with his right leg so he always had to depend on his crutches in order to walk independently. As he got closer, the contrast between the two of them became stronger. One was as handsome as a God while the other was ugly and hunched. They were two polar opposites. It was hard to imagine that this was the First Prince, which was also the person that was closest to the throne of Asgard. Every decade, the Senate would select young men that possessed qualities of becoming the Emperor from all the clans. They would be gathered together to form a brotherhood. They would abandon their original parents, their original names, and become the sons of the Emperor. Over a long period of time, they would compete against each other for the chance to become the Emperor of the entire West. At this moment, this hunched First Prince was the person closest to that throne. There was no other. "It has only been a few years but you have gotten older, brother." The Second Prince stretched out his hand rubbed his white hair teasingly. "Take care of your body. Don''t die of old age before I can defeat you." The First Prince almost tripped from the shove. The senators frowned. But the First Prince was not upset. He only looked at him, almost smiling, "Do you really want my title that badly? My brother" "Don''t slack off, elder brother." The Second Prince replied coldly, "I will not allow a deformed person to stay ahead of me for too long." "If that''s the case, then bring back the Ultimate." The First Prince looked at him and said quietly, "I vow, in the name of the nine electors, that if you are able to bring it back successfully, I will give you everything that is mine." After a prolonged silence, the Second Prince was stunned. "Are you sure?" "Of course." The First Prince looked at the nine electors behind him. "The Senate shall be my witness." "Very well." The Second Prince laughed uproariously as he glanced sideways at the elders, "I will prove to all of you who is the real ruler of this country!" He patted the First Prince''s shoulder before turning around to leave. "Please wait patiently, elder brother. In the future, I will prepare a chair beside the throne so that it will be easy for me to touch your intelligent little brain whenever I want to." Very soon, the electors of the Senate left, leaving behind Helmut and the First Prince. Helmut looked in the direction where the Second Prince had left and was filled with disappointment. "He is too proud." "But he is powerful enough, isn''t he?" the First Prince countered. "This is what I''m worried about." The old elector sighed. "Asgard is already powerful enough. It doesn''t need a powerful Emperor. His arrogance will destroy him and if he is made Emperor, his arrogance will destroy this country too." With that, he looked at the First Prince. "Why are you giving up now? Trust me. You are the only person who is closest to that throne in the past century No one else. You still have enough time. Try again." "So does he." The First Emperor was in deep thought. "There is enough time for him to change slowly. I will help him." Helmut shook his head. "I don''t know how you managed to convince the Senate to accept your suggestion but you are too pessimistic. Even if there is no Emperor, the Senate is more than capable of running this country as it is." "No, the Senate might have protected Asgard when this country lost its ruler but it can no longer depend on the Senate any longer." The First Prince leaned against his crutches and his voice was low. "The times have changed, Helmut, everything is changing every moment. We can no longer rely on the previous method of governance, where we can have debates and meetings at our own pace Too many voices will ruin this country. It only needs one leader. A powerful, authoritative leader who is capable of leading Asgard." The old man countered, "And that person is not you?" The First Prince laughed and lowered his head, patting his deformed right leg. "From the day I realized that I was a deformed child, I knew that person would not be me." Helmut was silent. "In any case, to Asgard, it doesn''t matter who the Emperor is, right?" As the crutches knocked against the ground and the middle-aged man turned to leave, he said, "As long as he is not crippled" 634 Escor Upon the endless ocean, there was only the sound of the distant tide. In the thick cloud of fog, all was quiet. A vast and mighty fleet was hidden in the mist, moving silently forward. They had cut off all contact with the outside world, entering a state of total silence. They kept a minimum distance between ships in the fog, only communicating with each other through primitive lamp signals. The thick fog covered everything. The ships'' engines were set as low as possible, and the slight sounds that they produced were covered up by the chaotic noise of the black zone. They advanced towards the Ultimate as silently as ghosts. Sylvaine sat in the command seat on the bridge of the Royal Navy''s flagship, silently staring at the nautical charts. "We''ve already passed beyond our nation''s borders, Commander," the navigator reported. "In ten minutes we''ll be leaving the black zone and coming into the range of the Ultimate." Sylvaine nodded. "Prepare to exit stealth mode." A crisp voice came on the receiver, "Commander, we''ve received a message from the Anglo Kingdom. It has the Privy Council''s ID." Soon, the Secretary of the Navy''s voice came through, "Viscount Sylvaine, the fate of the nation rests on this mission. This battle will decide which of the nations will achieve naval supremacy in the future. You absolutely cannot let down your guard." "I understand." Sylvaine saluted. "I will not let Her Majesty down." "Excellent," the Secretary of the Navy said. "Four hours ago, His Highness the Prince and the Royal Musician Division left the harbor with the second wave of warships. They will rendezvous with you soon. All military affairs are still under your command, His Highness will abide by your decisions." The Secretary of the Navy''s spoke very tacitly. Military affairs were under Sylvaine''s control, but any big decisions would have to receive the Prince of Avalon''s approval. Sylvaine had no objections to this. After all, he was one of the Prince''s most ardent supporters. Moreover, the Prince of Avalon was coming as a representative of the royal family. As the crown prince of the Anglo Kingdom, it made sense for him to come and supervise the fleet in place of the Queen. And what was more, presently, the Royal Navy lacked any heavy warships like the Mountain of Nomadism, leaving Sylvaine a little nervous. The Royal Navy had of course performed admirably in the aftermath of the Leviathan War, but the glorious sacrifices that they had made could not be taken lightly. Most of the warships had been damaged in the process of defending the homeland and purging the demons afterward. Many more ships were unable to leave port because they had not been properly maintained. He estimated that it would take two years to refit them all. And even more ships had been retired. After performing a cost analysis, the Kingdom had decided to build new ships to replace them. Although the core of the fleet, twelve legendary warships, had not sustained much damage, this was not enough to constitute an entire fleet. They also needed longships, clippers, and even armored merchant ships to shore up their numbers. Creating a fleet in such a short time had already exhausted the Department of the Navy. They had scraped what they had together to form this fleet. But they had no actual combat experience, which did not inspire much confidence in their warfare capabilities. Sylvaine had set out earlier with six of the legendary warships and a few light clippers in order to seize the initiative. The rest of the fleet had been divided into two waves that were to come in succession. Since he had to wait for the Mountain of Nomadism to be refitted and temporarily aid the court with additional matters, Ye Qingxuan had come with the second wave. By then, many of the merchant ships had been fitted for war and were shoring up the weak points in the fleet, giving the Royal Navy the ability to fight any foe. When he heard the Ye Qingxuan was coming, Sylvaine breathed a silent sigh of relief. After reporting all the routine military affairs, he ended the transmission. He looked at the sea chart again but soon realized that something was wrong. "Navigator, how long ago did we leave the black zone?" "15 minutes ago," the navigator answered. "We''re still six hours of sailing away from being in the range of the Ultimate." Sylvaine raised his eyebrows. "If we''ve already left the black zone, why is the fog still so thick? Transmit these orders to the musicians on the ship: find out what''s going on around us. I hope we haven''t run into a problem." Fog was a common sight on the ocean, especially around the edges of the black zone. Sylvaine''s family had been in the Royal Navy for generations, and there was nothing unusual about this. But, just to be safe, it would be best to have a few musicians and a clipper check it out. To be honest, he''d had enough of this fog. The musician sitting on the iron chair beside the navigator quickly opened his eyes and stared into a chaotic ball of aether. "Commander, there''s still too much noise from the red zone, I can''t find anything. It might be because whatever happened is still going on, and it''s causing changes in the red zone. The call to recover Leviathan didn''t end too long ago, maybe there are a few sea monsters that still haven''t gone dormant. "Tell the fleet, all warships are to be on high alert and to prepare for combat." Soon, the sound of warship engines firing up at Sylvaine''s orders filled the red zone, rippling out in all directions. Amid the hurried movement, each member of the crew... It was at this point that the distant wave of aether suddenly disappeared. The Revelation Musicians who had lifted off the deck to investigate entered the silence with a slight feeling of unease. Suddenly, a shrill noise burst forth. In the deepest part of the fog, the musicians'' sound of heart burst forth, giving off a terrifying flame and aetheric turbulence. The turbulence swept through the fog, throwing it into chaos. The flame disappeared quickly, but it threw faint shadows all around. Sylvaine shot up out of his chair. Before he could say anything, the navigator had already pressed the warning button and an ear-splitting noise rose out from the ship. Red warning lights flashed all around the fleet. Then, huge waves appeared one after another in the ship''s observational ball of aether. They were ship aether engines. One by one, the hazy outlines of ferocious shadows emerged from the fog. They were warships, several dozen warships that had been hidden in the fog, almost like they were melded into it. The faint traces of more could be seen behind them through the thinning fog. At some point, the Royal Navy had been surrounded! On the Sovereign, silence reigned. "Is that the Phantom Fleet of Burgundy?" Sylvaine was livid. "How did they know we were here?" In order to hide all trace of themselves, they had sailed in full silence. Even the government in Avalon didn''t know their exact location, especially while they were in the red zone. It was like they were hidden in a dark forest without so much as a torch to give away their position. How had the d*mned Burgundians managed to surround them? Had they already prepared for war? Two red flames suddenly lit up under the first mate''s skin. He rushed at Sylvaine as his body started to quickly swell. "The Anglos have left the path of righteousness. They will be cast into hell to suffer the consequences of their actions!" Bang! An ice-cold sword flashed out of the cabin. It slashed vertically and horizontally, cutting the swelling attacker into pieces. In the next instant, a formless wind gathered from all around, forming a cage that blocked the flames from his explosion, completely snuffing them out. All that was left was a pile of ashes that fell silently to the floor. Sylvaine''s face was white as a ghost. "Alright, now I know how the enemy found us." He turned and saw the suit of cold iron armor that had appeared in the air beside him. "Thank you, Sir Geraint," he said. "Thank you for saving my life." "Just doing my duty." The knight of the Round Table sheathed his sword. "Watch out next time." Soon, damage reports came in from the other ships. It was not only the Sovereign that had had double agents hidden on it, but the same thing had happened on two other ships. Fortunately, the fires had been swiftly extinguished, and the captains had only suffered light wounds. The Burgundians must have been planning this for a long time. Otherwise, they would not have been able to achieve such shocking results in such a short time. But the Phantom Fleet of Burgundy did not launch an offensive, but instead stayed in their original places, trapping the Royal Navy between them. All of their main guns were aimed at them, but they did not fire. Instead, a message came from them. The operator looked at Sylvaine, who nodded. "Answer it." A stranger''s cold voice filled the bridge. "This is the Phantom Fleet of Burgundy." He paused for a moment, then continued, "In a moment we will begin escorting your fleet, in order to improve relations with your honorable country, and for our mutual safety. Please do not take any actions that might cause a misunderstanding." The message ended. Sylvaine''s face was ashen. He made a fist. Escort? How was this an escort? This was a capture! "Tell the fleet..." Sylvaine''s eyes flared with anger. He raised his fist and was about to give the order to attack, but an ear-piercing alarm sounded again. Soon, it was a cacophony of overlapping noises. It was the sound of cold iron rubbing together. It was like the roaring of the sea. The fog parted. The chill that rushed into the sky came from the bottom of the ocean. Countless broken icicles rose up from the waves, looking like tree branches. It seemed like the ice crystals were being poured out of some storehouse. They froze and expanded, stretching out in all directions. The crisp sounds all joined together causing a loud roar. In an instant, the sea was completely frozen. The surface of the water had become a flat sheet of ice with numerous sharp ice crystals sticking out of it. The fleet was like an insect trapped in amber, frozen in place. Looking all around they could only see countless ice-crystals that were as sharp as knives pointing towards the sky. In the blink of an eye, the mighty movement hidden in the vast roar ended. A tremendous wave of aether rose up from the flagship, no longer concealed, but plain for all to see. It was hard to imagine that a musician could have frozen an entire ocean in an instant, not to mention to do so in the red zone. It was like the gods had taken fire away from the world, leaving only eternal cold and bone-chilling north wind. "The fifth the fifth symphony." On the bridge of the Sovereign, a crack had appeared in the musician''s ball of aether. His face went pale. "Commander, it''s a saint!" he stammered. "St. Schubert!" Suddenly, the entire Royal Navy was plunged into a deathly silence. A saint? Why had a saint appeared on a Burgundian warship? 635 Misgivings At the same time, on board the flagship of the Phantom Fleet, the commander exclaimed in amazement, "It''s just like a miracle." He turned back. "Lady Schubert, thank you for your work." In a quiet corner of the bridge, the old nun kept her eyes low. She said nothing and simply recited the scriptures in a low voice. Beside her, the bishop named Raymond said a few modest words on her behalf. He looked at the fleet of Anglo on the frozen sea with satisfaction, and his expression turned more and more delighted. "Need we not take them prisoners?" Such a situation alone did not satisfy the commander. "At the very least, we can board the ship first and control the bridge." "No, that way, a war will be inevitable." Raymond shook his head. "Surely, your country also has no intentions to stir up more trouble at such a juncture when the Ultimate has appeared. "There won''t be a problem as long as we control the Royal Fleet. We have a saint here, nothing will go wrong." He paused for a while and his gaze turned dark. "Next, we can sit back and wait for the Hand of God to show up at our doorstep for a chat." "Although I have no intention of questioning the Church''s credibility, I hope that the Church can keep its promise." The commander gave him a look. "I give you my word, Lord Commander." Raymond gave a soft laugh. "After sending the Hand of God on his way home with the Royal Fleet, I will endorse your exploration mission of the Ultimate on behalf of the Church. Didn''t Lady Schubert come along precisely for this purpose?" The commander gazed at the Royal Fleet, which was close at hand, and suppressed the impulse in his heart to open fire and annihilate them all. For some reason unknown, he felt no cheerfulness in his heart as he held the beard on his chin. The kidnapping has been completed. But will we actually receive the ransom? He suddenly felt some uneasiness in his heart. ... "The fleet has lost contact?" Upon hearing Egor''s report, Ye Qingxuan frowned. "When?" "Twelve minutes ago," Egor replied. "As per usual practice, we carry out routine communication at hourly intervals to correct the navigation path and determine our location, but twelve minutes ago, the signal we sent out received no response. At that time, the musician thought that it was because of the interference from the clutter in the Black Zone. However, after making the corrections accordingly, we discovered that we have completely lost the signal of the Sovereign." "No news from the musicians on board either?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "The communication channel via the realm of aether has also descended into silence, and we cannot locate the coordinates of the fleet," Egor replied. "Do we need to wait some more?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing. Had the fleet simply lost contact temporarily, it would be nothing to worry about. Signal obstructions in the form of Black Zones were present at sea, and no relay points of leylines were available to ensure that communication remained stable, so instances of ships being uncontactable were in fact commonplace. However, given that communication via the realm of aether yielded no response as well, something must have gone wrong. Moreover, the musicians of the Religious Court of Inquiry did not even manage to locate the coordinates projected by the fleet onto the sea of aether. Thus, something must have gone very wrong, and it would probably cause him a lot of trouble. Only three outcomes were possible. The first was that the Royal Fleet had been completely annihilated, and not a single tile had remained, let alone the coordinates projected by the aether engine onto the sea of aether. The second was that someone had completely covered up the tracks of the Royal Fleet, erased them, and wiped away all traces. Just like a protective umbrella, the action would block others from snooping. Therefore, no projection of the fleet onto the sea of aether was detected at all. The musicians of the school of revelation also couldn''t trace the fleet''s tracks through the sea of aether. It wasn''t considered very difficult. If Ye Qingxuan didn''t mind the trouble, he could do it too. But why would the fleet do this? Plus, why was it done at this juncture, without even informing Ye Qingxuan? Furthermore, a usual master, or even a scepter musician, who was highly proficient in the music theory of the school of revelation could at most conceal the tracks of a person or a group of people for them to carry out secret missions, and doing so would already be so strenuous that the musician might just vomit blood, not to mention covering up the tracks of such a large fleet. If the fleet was within Anglo''s borders, Ye Qingxuan could still accomplish such a feat with the strengthening of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, but the Royal Fleet had undoubtedly sailed beyond the borders. As for the third one, it was fairly interesting... Ye Qingxuan squinted his eyes and tapped the armrest of his seat. "Leave the matters here to Shi Dong. The Mountain of Nomadism is to set off first and investigate what has happened." Hesitantly, Egor said, "Ahem, Your Royal Highness, have you forgotten? You have assigned Elder Shi Dong another task, and he is not currently on the fleet..." "...Leave it to Watson then." The words left his mouth, and only then did Ye Qingxuan realize that he had also thrown Watson work. The latter had set off from the port the same time he had, and wasn''t even in Avalon at the moment, let alone the fleet. Ye Qingxuan was about to say Lola''s name, only to recall that he left Lola behind in his office in Avalon to deal with official duties. In other words, he didn''t even have a reliable deputy by his side at the moment. He had no one to shift the responsibilities to... It was a problem that made Ye Qingxuan increasingly pissed. In the end, he finally found a candidate to temporarily shift the responsibilities to, namely the new head of the Royal Musician Division "Arhat" Mable, who rushed back from the Highlands upon receiving Maxwell''s testament after the war against Leviathan. She was the cream of the crop of the School of Royalty. After her teacher died of being walled in by his own futile efforts at breaking through and advancing to the Level of Scepter last year, Mable carried the School of Royalty on her shoulders and became the leader of all the Sons of Phoenix. Moreover, during the period of the war against Leviathan, she completed the highest-level proposition of the School of Royalty, Nirvana, using the transformation effect of the aura of the catastrophe to her advantage. Although she looked like a girl who was only 12 or 13 years old, she was actually more than 90 years old already. After combining bestiality with the music theory of the school of choir, she achieved Nirvana, a feat that had only been accomplished by the first Son of Phoenix in the past few centuries. Embracing the philosophy of being-towards-death, she completely integrated her self-consciousness and bestiality at the verge of dying, and as a result nurtured and produced ''BestialityPhoenix''. What made Ye Qingxuan even more envious was that the foundation of the School of Royalty itself had originated from the Chapter of the Golden Victory From the very beginning, the royals had viewed the school as one of their own and cultivated the members specially The direct consequence of having carried the music theory on was that her Symphony of Predestination matched the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth perfectly matched. In the course of time, she need not rely on making use of the elements of the Sacred City, and could directly attain the Level of Scepter through the projection of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Such was the benefit of being in a small circle. Although she must be bound to Anglo for the latter half of her life and share the risks together, she would also get to share the benefits in a similar fashion. As long as the king had meat on the table, the royal family would never deny her a spoonful of broth at the very least. Round table knights and royal musicians, they were the hands of the royal family With her around, Ye Qingxuan need not worry about things going wrong. After receiving Ye Qingxuan''s command, Master Mabel said nothing, and simply snapped her fingers. In the low melody, the magnificently beautiful reflection of the bird of flames emerged on the sea, as if it was soaring between the sea and the sky while carrying hundreds of warships on its back. After Ye Qingxuan withdrew the protection he cast, the fleet did not slow down, but sped up instead. Through alchemy arrays and the resonance between the warships, the bestiality of the phoenix coursed through the entire fleet. As if the machinery had also been bestowed with a soul and had turned into a living thing, the fleet exuded an astounding power. Looking at the scenario, Ye Qingxuan finally felt at ease, and after he bid Mabel farewell, the dark Mountain of Nomadism rumbled. Numerous engineers rushed here and there, and the giant heart in the core pool of aether started beating wildly. The first drive, the second drive, the third drive... In a flash, it had ascended to the sixth drive... Thunderous bangs burst forth from the hull. A hurricane swept through between the sea and the sky, and black clouds gathered in the sky above them, like iron curtains pressing down, flanking the dark warship. In the wild melody that sounded like a gigantic dragon hissing, lightning burst forth, and roaring waves swept. The huge Mountain of Nomadism shook. Bringing the vast black clouds with it, it left the surface of the sea, rose rapidly in altitude, and soared in the sky. On the hull, the arrays set up using the music theory of the school of modifications exuded a horrifyingly high amount of heat. They formed an almost tangible magnetic field, which mutually excited the magnetic fields in the black clouds. Scorching lightning burst forth, leaving a dazzling trail where the ship passed, like tracks of light. After going through the second manufacturing process and having the core of a legendary warship of the past integrated into it, the Mountain of Nomadism became increasingly powerful in strength, and the power consumed in flight was greatly reduced. When the arrays that had originally been made in a rush were replaced completely, the speed actually increased by 60 percent. Its remaining potential was thoroughly developed. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism had become an absolute monster of steel. As long as they could source a large amount of bestiality as food to cultivate it, over time, it could probably transform into a monster no inferior to that resulting from any bestiality. In the sky above, the Mountain of Nomadism was still accelerating and had yet to reach its limit. Even when it rushed into the fog on the sea, entered the Red Zone, and moved in a straight line towards the Black Zone, no soft noise resulting from deceleration was produced. Everywhere it passed, all noise and clutter were silenced by the Staff of Fate. Even in the most chaotic Black Zone, the environment surrounding the hull was stable. The Staff of Fate completely suppressed all disturbances, and the resulting recoil couldn''t even be considered afterwinds for it. Traveling at full speed, in the short span of just one hour, the Mountain of Nomadism that had achieved its speed limit had already broken through the clouds and torn the fog apart, arriving at the sea region where the Royal Fleet had disappeared. Looking downwards from the sky, one could see that the entire surface of the sea was covered by a strange mist, making it totally impossible for one to see what was going on. One could only detect chaos of nothingness even through aether sensing. It was precisely the mist that had obscured the signal of the Royal Fleet, hiding the ships within. But it was not as sinister and mysterious as Ye Qingxuan had imagined. On the contrary, the music theory in the mist was grand and glorious, like the scorching sun. Even though it was hiding in the mist, it still possessed a dignified majesty. Ye Qingxuan had sensed similar auras for dozens of times, and couldn''t have known it any better. Music theory that can make me feel difficult to handle, or even feel slightly suppressed... It was not common even among the scepter musicians. So the most obvious answer, I am afraid, would be existences above them. Saint! The only thing I don''t know is which is the one here... At the moment, the three kings all have their own places to be at. The King of Blue is patrolling the border of the human world, the King of Red is guarding the Sacred City located in the central area, and the King of Yellow king has taken his leave, leaving his crown behind. It is impossible for any of them to appear in the sea area. As for the remaining seven legacies of saints which are currently being passed down among musicians, Wagner has followed the footsteps of the King of Blue and left for the dark world; Hendel was stabbed in the back by Wolf Flute and died, with no one to inherit his legacy, and the position is unoccupied as of now; Haydn''s legacy is in the hands of Anglo... Then, only four are left. Schubert, Brahms, Schumann, Chopin... I wonder which one of them is here? Ye Qingxuan did not launch an attack immediately, instead he maintained respect for the saint. Sitting on the command post in the bridge, his fingers tapping the Staff of Fate, he examined the music theory below, contemplating the origins and intention of the saint below. It was a pity that his silence was regarded as cowardice. 636 Negotiate Amidst the tranquility, aether waves seemed to be coming from the fog below. Fleeting music theory was concealed amongst the fog and was secretly creeping towards the connection of the alchemy array. Its intention was to see what was going on but it had no idea that Ye Qingxuan had been watching its every move. "What is this?" Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh. "Should I say you are too na?ve or too courageous?" The cold and bitter moonlight glowed beneath his eyes. The Staff of Fate trembled slightly. When the Symphony of the Moon, the Stone of Sage and Catastrophe Resonation were combined together, the Symphony of Predestination was in motion. An immense pressure formed by music theory was unleashed from the connection. It was as if the crushing force of mountains was unleashed on a single strand of thread. In the blink of an eye, the other party sensed that something was amiss and was in a hurry to try and break away from the connection but it was completely tangled up by the music theory of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. It decided to turn the tables on the attacker and initiated control over the connection. Thereafter, the incredible pressure gushed downwards. Boom! On the bridge of the flagship of the Phantom Fleet, the revelation musician, who was chuckling while holding onto a ball of aether, suddenly howled in pain. He flopped off his seat and his eyeballs were broken. It was as if they had been burnt by the rays of 100,000 blazing suns. Soon after, the sound of his heart broke. Amidst the screams of pain, his body expanded into a ball before exploding. Blood splattered in all directions, smearing more than half of the entire bridge. As the blood splattered, a deep voice from above could be heard from amongst those broken bones, "Trash, scram!" Just by using the connection of perception, a revelation musician was completely squashed to death like an ant by a music theory that was buffered by a Saint. There was a chill in the hearts of everyone on the bridge. The commander, whose face was half-covered with blood, was completely stunned and rooted to the ground. He did not expect the revenge of this Avalon Prince to come so swiftly and devastatingly If he wished, he could very well have controlled the unlucky fellow and turned him into a bomb and destroy half of the bridge. Instead, he has chosen to mete out only a small punishment What was this about? Giving face to the Saint? In the dead silence, the Schubert nun was expressionless. Her eyes continued to hang low while chanting the teachings in the bible. The commander was looking around furiously, and Raymond began to feel awkward. They could not afford to maintain their original stance and wait for Ye Qingxuan to bow to them. They had no choice but to initiate contact with the Mountain of Nomadism in the sky. "Mr. Ye, perhaps we can talk." After a long period of silence, Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "It''s you? Bishop Raymond, what game are you playing? Refusing to submit? The Church is colluding with the Burgundies to attack my fleet, where is the justice in this? Is this the Church''s stand? Or an order from the Sacred City?" Before Raymond could say anything, Ye Qingxuan was already throwing accusations at him non-stop. This enraged the former. As a proper principal of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, he would not be daunted by a war of words. But Ye Qingxuan had the upper hand at the moment because Raymond did not expect him to bring up the Burgundies immediately. Raymond could not afford to let Ye Qingxuan muddle the issue so the first thing he did was to remove himself from the equation, "No, Mr. Ye, you are mistaken. This has nothing to do with the Sacred City." The moment the words left his mouth, the commander of the Phantom Fleet stared at him with fury. Didn''t we agree that we were in this together? Now, you are drawing a clear line between us? he thought Raymond awkwardly hinted at the commander to remain calm. Once that was settled, he decided to try and wrest over control of the situation. "But the Church can help to mediate the misunderstandings and conflicts between Anglo and Burgundy." "Oh?" Ye Qingxuan could not control his laughter. "But at what price?" "You and I both know the answer to that question," Raymond answered coolly. "Mr. Ye, I''m sure you don''t wish to see the royal fleet being destroyed right?" He knew that that would be too high a price to pay even for Ye Qingxuan. As a country by the sea, the Anglo navy was an essential part of their military. After the battle against Leviathan, it was no secret that the royal fleet suffered significant losses, but no one truly knew just how dire their situation was. At such a critical juncture, the moment the Anglo navy displayed any signs of weakness, Anglo would be put in such a bad situation that its ability to protect itself might even be questionable. Besides, this critical juncture concerned the Ultimate. Now that Raymond has wrapped his fingers around the situation, he would be able to poke at this paper tiger if he so wished. No, in fact, he would be shredded into pieces. Now, not only was Anglo''s dominance over the seas at stake, things could easily worsen very quickly Ye Qingxuan could not afford to let that happen. There was complete silence. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan finally spoke, "Let me talk to Sylvaine first, okay?" "No." Raymond shook his head "First come, first serve. Since I came first, you have to talk to me, Mr. Ye." Ye Qingxuan''s voice turned cold. "I will talk to Sylvaine or we will not talk at all. Do you understand, Raymond? No room for discussion!" Ye Qingxuan''s stubbornness was beyond Raymond''s expectation but this did not change the fact that the former was finally seated at the negotiation table. Since negotiations had begun, all that mattered now was how to negotiate Raymond laughed coldly. "I hope you understand, Mr. Ye, that this will be the only time I will give in. You are wasting it on the wrong place." With that, he looked at the Schubert nun and hinted for her to remove the shackles in the fog. Even so, he had no intentions of allowing Ye Qingxuan and Sylvaine to establish communication on their own. Their communication signals would be centralized at the flagship of the Phantom Fleet. Raymond did not try to disguise the fact that he was in control of their communication. In fact, he saw this as a tool that he could use to exert pressure and control. "You can speak now, Mr. Ye." Raymond sat on his seat. His mind was occupied with different negotiation strategies when he heard Ye Qingxuan speak, "Admiral Sylvaine, do you still remember what you told me when we first met?" The Sovereign was silent for a moment. After some time, Sylvaine finally replied, "Anglo hopes for its people to fulfill their duties to the very end." "Very good." Ye Qingxuan seemed satisfied. He quickly followed it up with an order, "Next, I will start firing at the Burgundy navy with my cannons. When the time is right, please carry out self-destruction as a form of reinforcement." Raymond was stunned. The entire bridge fell into complete silence. He jumped up from his seat and screamed, "Mr. Ye, please do not play such meaningless and foolish tricks!" But Ye Qingxuan ignored him completely. Sylvaine spoke, "Your Highness, will you lead Anglo to victory?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan replied, "Definitely." "Good." Sylvaine smiled and shut off communications without even waiting for Raymond to do so. Only Ye Qingxuan''s teasing laughter could be heard. "Looks like there is no need for me to negotiate with the Church anymore." "You" Raymond''s face turned black. Just as he was about to speak, he was disrupted by Ye Qingxuan, "In that case, let us resume the War of the Roses!" 637 Misunderstanding "...then, this will start another War of the Roses!" His roar was like that of a pitch-black iron whale. His voice reverberated through the heavens and echoed in everyone''s ears like thunder. "I will pay any price, bring all of my strength to bear in this battle. I will not stop until the Pure White Flag disappears from the sea forever!" "Ignore him! He''s bluffing." Raymond''s face went pale, but immediately after a wave of either so powerful that even an amateur could sense it came down from the sky. "The Petitioner''s main gun is warming up!" He stood there stiffly with sweat dripping down from his face. Within moments, he was soaked. No, this wasn''t right Their negotiations had fallen apart! They had been aborted before they even began. Ye Qingxuan had never intended to come to the negotiating table! B*stard! B*stard! B*stard! B*stard! All was chaos on the bridge. The commander was crazily shouting something about his collar, but Raymond could not hear him at all. What was going to happen next? Would he really dare to attack? Was he bluffing? Yes, he must be bluffing. He didn''t have the guts, he wouldn''t dare! But if if he attacked, what could they do? The Burgundians would not just let this go. Ye Qingxuan''s attitude had already been revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Sacred City had already expended so much effort to restart the War of the Roses, which had finally ended after 100 years and the war had been facilitated by the Church... Once this got out, the Sacred City would go crazy and lose all their prestige. And the King of Red would personally turn him into a broken corpse. And then... "Report! A massive wave of aether has appeared in the middle of the Royal Navy!" shouted the spotter. "I bet they''ve put their engines into overdrive!" "Then counterattack! What are you standing there for?" shouted the commander. "Counterattack!" A bone-chilling cold rose up from under their feet, chilling them from head to toe, making Raymond feel as if he was lost in an icy cave. That was the final straw. Looking at the crimson blood smeared all around, he finally understood why Ye Qingxuan was so uncompromising. He could do nothing else but call out, "Wait! Mr. Ye, please wait a moment..." The emotionless countdown stopped at his voice. A cold laugh rang out. "So, can we talk now?" Talk? How could he talk? Raymond could feel nothing but the cold running through his body. He felt like a child who had been slapped to teach him a lesson. Even though he held a powerful borrowed weapon, in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes it was nothing but a joke. And the fact that all he had to do was harden his heart, use the Royal Navy as a pawn and self-destruct it in order to annihilate the Phantom Fleet was no joke. The three sides had now fallen into an awkward situation. Ye Qingxuan was sitting on an engine that was about to explode, and he held the self-destruct button in his hand. Either Raymond and the Burgundian commander would back down or battle could break out at any moment. In such a short time, this two-sided conflict had spread to all the nations at a frightening speed. At the moment, the bridges of both sides were filled with the ear-piercing sound of message notifications. The Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Anglo Privy Council, the Burgundian Witenagemot, the Asgardian Hall of Elders... "I just got back to the capital and saw the mess you made of things." A sigh rang out on the bridge. "I don''t remember the Witenagemot giving you the right to declare war, admiral." "Your Majesty, Don Juan!" The commander''s face changed. He lowered his head, looking frightened. "I''ve neglected my duties. I will immediately..." "No, I regret to say that you''ve been relieved of your duties." The regretful voice went cold. "From this point forward I will take full command of the Phantom Fleet. And moreover, acting on behalf of the Royal Family, I will speak with the Anglo Royal Admiral myself. This has all been a misunderstanding." "A misunderstanding?" Ye Qingxuan''s voice was still cold. Raymond paled. Without question, he had been abandoned. The Burgundians had cast him aside. "Yes, that''s right. A misunderstanding." The young man named Don Juan sighed. "We were hoodwinked by Bishop Raymond, and so we took hasty countermeasures against your fleet, which led to the present situation. Let''s just take this as an awkward joke, we can all pretend to laugh, and then forget all about it. If we can do this, I''d be most grateful to you, oh excellent Grand Inquisitor." On the bridge of the Mountain of Nomadism, Ye Qingxuan drummed his fingers on his armrest. He frowned, although he didn''t know why. That flippant voice sounded kind of familiar. Even though the situation was so tense, with a battle ready to break out at any moment, he still carelessly ridiculed Ye Qingxuan''s position, as if he did not care at all about who he was. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then grinned and said, "Very well, it looks like there''s no need to talk to you after all, Bishop Raymond." Raymond''s face went livid. He glared at the shadows in the sky with red eyes. He gritted his teeth but said nothing. Amidst the mocking laughter, the Mountain of Nomadism cast dark shadows on the frozen sea as it broke through the clouds. But it seemed like that shadow had a physical form, given weight and substance by the majestic music theory. It rolled across the ice, giving off a shrill noise. Amid this terrible noise, a frightful wave of heat came out of the sea. The countless layers of ice began to break apart, melting into scalding hot steam which rose up into the air and quickly became a warm rain that fell back down from the sky. In an instant, the frozen sea had broken apart, evaporated and turned back into sea water. At the Mountain of Nomadism''s orders, the Royal Navy flew their colors and sailed far away, leaving only Ye Qingxuan''s voice resounding on the bridge. "It was a pity I didn''t have a chance to see Master Schubert. Please say hello to her for me." In the corner, the old nun still had her eyes closed and her ears plugged as she quietly recited the teachings of the gods. Orders soon arrived from the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, but they did not mention any of what had just happened. But the wording was exceptionally stern: Raymond was to take Schubert to the Ultimate as quickly as possible. Raymond was so distracted that he did not even say goodbye. He said a few quiet words to Sister Schubert, and then the two of them were off without a sound. They left everything in disorder. The commander who had just been fired sighed and sat down in his chair. He stared fixedly at the Mountain of Nomadism disappearing into the distance, looking like he was unwilling to let it go. "That guy fooled us, he made a fool of us..." "No, Admiral, you don''t understand him," said the young man who was called Don Juan. "He was serious." The commander was shocked. "Listen to me, I will transmit my orders to you later via a secret channel." The transmission ended. - "It''s always been like this, Yezi, ever since you were young." At the Burgundian Witenagemot, the young man dropped an extinguished ball of aether into his pocket. He couldn''t help but whisper softly, "It doesn''t matter if it''s a rotten vegetable or a broken basket, you''ll fight anyone to the death if they dare to touch your things, Yezi." 16 councilors representing all of Burgundy sat in silence. These so-called "worthies" stared at him with inscrutable expressions. "We will grant your request, Don Juan." The foremost councilor banged his gavel and said solemnly, "We have granted you the King of Light''s ring of power and placed the Phantom Fleet under your command. This is a gamble for both us and your family. We have given you power, and now it''s time for you to prove your worth. Time is short, when will you go to the Ultimate?" "The Ultimate?" The young man called Don Juan turned his head, looking like he did not know what they were talking about. "What Ultimate?" The old councilors were shocked, and a solemness suddenly came over them. The council chamber went silent, and the councilors looked even graver than before. "What do you mean, Don Juan?" "Why would I go to the Ultimate?" Don Juan took an apple out of one of his pockets, rubbed it with his hand, and took a couple bites before asking carelessly, "Moreover, I already have the power. Why should I have to prove my worth to you?" All was silent. Suddenly, stunned shrieks rang out from the corner of the room. "Your Excellency, the Phantom Fleet is returning to port!" "Returning to port!" "Why?" "Send a transfer order!" "What are you trying to do, Don Juan?" The councilors'' angry voices filled the chamber, as they stared coldly at the grinning young man.. "There''s no use, you should all relax." Don Juan smiled as he looked at their confusion. He could not help but shrug and say, "It wasn''t easy to obtain both the Synthetic Angel and the Phantom Fleet. If I don''t take this chance to clear away all of you obstacles, how can I serve my country?" The sound of disorderly footsteps came from outside the door, ringing out endlessly. Finally, a heavy military boot kicked in the door. A group of burly soldiers stormed in, grabbing the bewildered guards and dragging them out. There was a sound like a bag of water bursting, and then silence. "Don Juan, my student..." Among the councilors, the one named Richelieu lowered his eyes and sighed softly. "Tell me, what are you planning to do?" "This is obviously a coup, professor. I''d like to ask all of you to understand the situation and do as I say, alright?" Don Juan grinned as he answered. "Originally, I wasn''t powerful enough, so I planned to wait for three years. I never would have thought that I''d be given command authority over the Phantom Fleet so quickly. Little Yezi helped me so much as well. He can have the Ultimate. For now, I''m taking control here. I''d like to ask all of you to not resist, and to cooperate nicely with me. We''ve blockaded the city. We started here, then we''ll go to the legislative assembly, then the palace..." Boom! A loud noise came from the distance. Outside the window, a huge burning angel seemed to overlap with the sun. It lorded over everything from on high, suppressing the entire palace with its presence. It overlooked everything from this high place. Black smoke and screams began to rise up from the city. "Things are moving quickly. Have they already made it to the Bastille?" Don Juan whistled. He pushed the dumbfounded Speaker of the Assembly out of his seat and dragged the chair to the center of the room. He sat down and made himself comfortable. "Prepare yourselves, gentlemen. In an hour, the Estates General that has not been held in 170 years will reconvene. Presumably, many will be hung from lamposts afterward. In the interest of everyone''s safety, I suggest you discuss among yourselves who will be the one to depose the Emperor." Don Juan drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair and softly announced, "The times have changed. This country will have a new ruler." 638 Assembly Known as the Island of the Moon, this ravaged land was the result of the aetheric waves created in the real world. It had once been the closest place to the Great Originator in the Physical World. At the end of the Age of Dark, the Ultimate had used up all its power to give birth to the Holy Cauldron after its battle with Hyakume in the Great Originator, and thus had hidden itself away in the deepest depths of the realm of aether. It was like the ashes after a great fire. It slowly gathered its power bit by bit from the Great Originator, returning from death to its original form. Once, a ship had strayed from the shipping lanes controlled by the Church, and been lost in pursuit of a fleeting illusory moon. It had entered into the thick fog, but found only debris and wrecked ships. And in that primordial silence they saw a projection of the Ultimate into the realm of aether-a burning vortex of destruction. The survivors believed that they had seen the end of the world. They had fled in panic and spread that frightening legend all over the world. But for the projection of the Ultimate, this was merely its seedlings being watered. It should have already received enough nourishment from the Ultimate to reappear three epochs ago, nearly a thousand years. Up until the Church had put the Hecatoncheir into it, they had wanted to use the power of the Ultimate to kill the gods. But the Hecatoncheir had not died in the Ultimate, and the Ultimate had been affected... After remaining silent for hundreds of years, it had once again emerged from the realm of aether with a massive force that pierced through the sea of aether, setting off a massive wave. It slowly sank down, like a massive fetus being born into the world... "It''s appeared a thousand years ahead of time." Ye Qingxuan stared out at the incessant ocean breezes, muttering to himself and waiting quietly. Was it just that he didn''t know what was actually going to be born? Wave after wave were set off from beyond the silver flame covered sea. The first thing that met his eyes was the colossus to the east, clearly visible among the silver flames. It was like a forest growing out of the sea, with countless chimneys spitting out thick smoke and steam whistles shrieking. It looked like this iron city was pulled by thousands of warships, its massive bulk only moving slightly forward as it sent out massive waves in all directions. Now it had stopped outside of that sea area. All was deathly silent, as if it had suppressed all the waves. The wind was still and the sea was calm. There was only the sound of countless guns being raised, aiming at the sky and being locked in place, pointing in all directions. It was like a giant staring down indifferently at everything around it. At any time it could bring down thunder and lightning. It was an Asgardian weapon of war, known as the greatest warship in the world, the Sea Fortress. And it was surrounded by hundreds of warships. Among them, waves of aether were set off one after another, clear for all to see. In the musician''s perception it was like they were surrounded by a field of stars. With a little bit of discernment, they were able to sense more than ten Masters... It seemed that other than their blockade of the Commonwealth of Caucasian''s navy, the Asgardians had pulled all of their naval strength here. They seemed determined to win. But even so, in the face of such a situation there was no move they could make. The Ultimate was clearly right before their eyes, but it had still not fully formed. The entire area was within the radius of the Ultimate''s power, so they could not enter it. They couldn''t get it, they couldn''t enter it, they couldn''t bring it back with them... They couldn''t even blockade it. They could only carry out this meaningless deterrence. Ye Qingxuan could practically see the opposing commander''s frustration. He couldn''t help but laugh. The Asgardians were not even the first ones to have come. Something as powerful as the Ultimate could not be stopped simply by any country with a mind to blockade it. As if they had heard a bell ringing out to announce an assembly, musicians were still arriving from all over. Besides warships and merchant ships of all sizes, there were also numerous broken sampans that drifted with the tide. He had no idea how they had gotten there. Waves of aether crashed out one after another. In order to avoid trouble, many people had shown the signs of their school and of the power that they could wield. The symbols and music theory of countless schools shone down from the sky. It looked like nothing so much as a grand exhibition. In addition to all this, turbulences still rose up from within the sea. Indistinct shadows could be seen drifting below the surface. These were the fantastic beasts raised by the School of Summoning, many of them strange even in the realm of aether. Wild animals'' territorial consciousness was much stronger than that of humans. Although the sea was large, it was still not enough to accomodate all of these vast ocean beasts. Even though the Ultimate had not yet opened, the friction between them led to hostility, and some fights had already broken out. The sea monsters bit each other, breaking through their carapaces. Pungent blood seeped out into the water, slowly drifting upwards and turning the surface a dark red. Nor was up in the sky where the Mountain of Nomadism very peaceful. Many of the Masters and Scepters could not wait for their their carriages to be prepared, and so, trusting in their own flying ability, were simply flying over. The struggle below the water was quite chaotic, and it was difficult to determine just how many monsters were down there. The musicians above the water maintained an appearance of peacefulness. The abilities of those gathered there were quite mixed. They may have been flying up in the air, but they were no cowards. Roughly speaking, there were ten or so Masters there, and even four Scepters hidden among the clouds. It was impossible to ignore their powerful presence. They did not even need to employ their movements deliberately. By only revealing a small amount of their elements, their music theory was enough to distort the Physical World, allowing them to fly in the sky and overlook the whole area. The arrival of the Mountain of Nomadism into this odd situation stirred up a lot of chaos. Almost everyone here was well-informed, how could they not have heard of the Grand Inquisitor who always appeared where the struggle was fiercest? The Hand of God, Ye Qingxuan. If nothing else, his talents and his so-called ill-fortune were enough to make them wary. There was fear in everyone''s eyes, especially since he came with a mighty fleet behind him, and his expression was cold. Shouldn''t they take the opportunity to deal with this threat before the Royal Navy arrived? On the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism, the white-haired young man rubbed his hands together and seemed to glance over his surroundings casually. Upon seeing the Staff of Fate that had suppressed the catastrophe, no-one could help but slam their eyes shut, as if they had been stung, and avert their gaze. So be it, friends. They despaired at the prospect of attracting his attention. Even though this guy was only a Master, he was powerful enough to defeat any opponent under the Scepter level. As for those at the Scepter level...before they did anything they would have to take into account the iron rod in his hand, and the golden halo above his head. One was the symbol of the Inquisition, giving him the power to chastise heretics, and the other was the the Chapter of Golden Victory of the Anglo Royal House. With these two items, in addition to his power and skill, even the Scepters hesitated before drawing his attention, not to mention the other musicians. And then, before everyone''s eyes, the dark warship swaggered in, ignoring the original situation and occupying a position at the front. A steel rope dropped down from it quickly, and a heavily armored knight and several purification musicians slid down it, forming a huge beacon to guide the Royal Navy above the surface of the water. While this was happening, the other countries'' navies were rushing over in an endless stream, until at the end it seemed like the whole sea was covered in warships. It was a very chaotic sight. It was like a market square on New Year''s Eve. People were lined up overnight, and even brushing their teeth and washing their clothes in the queue. They didn''t know how long they''d have to wait for the market''s doors to open. Up until evening the sea became more and more chaotic, but the Ultimate was still unchanged. Thunder still roared within its silvery vortex. No one knew how long they would have to wait for it to give birth. Ye Qingxuan was pacing back and forth on the deck when suddenly he turned and looked to the north. There was an lonely, clear noise. It was like a soft song of sorrow in the middle of the night, so sweet, but with a hint of bone-chilling cold. Without realizing it, he became lost in the song, as if he had been embraced by the darkness and pulled down into an eternal slumber. All of the musicians could not help but shiver. They turned their heads in shock, and saw a fog rising off of the water, and a small boat glide out silently from within. The boat looked like it belonged on a lake, but it travelled across the sea, seemingly pushed along by the waves. Wherever it passed the wind calmed and the water quieted, turning the turbulent seas into still water. Upon the small boat, a woman dressed in blue embraced a white jade pipa. Her head was lowered as she fiddled with it absentmindedly. The sound wormed its way into everyone''s ear, raising the hair on the backs of their necks. It was clearly only a small boat, but it was faster than anyone could believe. In a flash it had already overtaken most of them, as if it was passing through a frozen world, and it came to the forefront before everyone''s stunned gaze. At the stern of the ship, behind the girl playing the pipa, a helpless looking young man made a sign of obeisance to the musicians and laughed. A longsword hung from his waist, from which hung a string of small bells. They knocked into each other, and the echoes of their ringing lingered on. Both of them had hair as white as pure silver. "They''re just pretending to be mysterious!" In the water, the vast beasts were irritated. A cold humming sound rang out, and the shadow of a frightfully large mouth began to rise from the waves. Seeing this, many of the musicians scrambled out of the way to avoid getting caught up in the destruction. But then, the quickly rising shadow suddenly shriveled up. It was distorted, like it was being viewed through a lense. A faint breath of that cold and gloomy pipa music lingered above the behemoth. In a flash, the beast began to twist around and shrivel up. In the end, it sank down back into the deep sea, nothing more than a dissolving, dissipating dry skeleton. A few faint, sorrowful shadows could be seen being drawn in by the music. They entered into the white jade pipa like phantoms. Everyone stopped holding their breath, only to find that the air was now cold. As they stood there dumbfounded, the woman''s pale face seemed to appear from inside the pipa, coming from the underworld to get a glance at the world of the living. Everyone was chilled to the bone. Seemingly unintentionally, she looked up into the sky at the shadow of the Mountain of Nomadism. On the stern, the young swordsman reached out and grasped the string of silver bells on the hilt of his sword, snuffing out the bright and sonorous sound coming from his sheathed sword. He then cupped his hands in obeisance towards the sky. On the deck, Ye Qingxuan smiled and nodded his head. Just by seeing his white hair, the identity of the newcomer was self-evident. If he was not mistaken, the man with the sword was a member of the Yuan family of the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline. And the other was... Sensing the resonance between the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and the white jade pipa, his eye twitched slightly. The heiress of the Liu family-the Yaksa. 639 Kings of the Sea Two days had passed and more and more people were filling up the entire sea region. Nothing has changed about the fact that the turbulence enveloped by the Ultimate was still devouring luminous flame. It was common for musicians to clash with each other for various reasons, and in the most chaotic times, every single person on the seas had to be on guard against any attack that might come out of nowhere. But these fights were usually contained within the exterior. At the layer of the core, the fleets of all the countries were in peaceful locations. It was not that no one has tried to stir up trouble, but due to the large number of Masters and scepters, any sign of trouble was extinguished completely. Some people would try to force the fleets of various countries to give up their positions through coercion but they would eventually be blown to bits by the main cannon or they would be strongly deterred by the burning stakes. In the end, the situation finally stabilized. The elite navy and scepters of each country occupied the interior layer and the sky, while the middle layer was taken over by all the different Schools that had rushed over. Finally, the remaining individual good and bad musicians were pushed out all the way to the exterior layer. Of course, Ye Qingxuan could not care less about all this. He left them for Sylvaine, who had arrived after him, to handle. In any case, delegating tasks was something Ye Qingxuan did very often. Of all the things that he has picked up from Shi Dong, this was the most useful of them all. A capable subordinate would be able to settle everything, and the manager would only have to take responsibility. Compared to the low-profile Ye Qingxuan, Nirvana Mable was all out to make herself known. In just a couple of days, this musician, who looked like a little girl, had already unleashed Fire of Nirvana on quite a number of musicians. As a divine Phantom Beast, the immortal bird, which was brought back from the dead, involved the top-level issue of the Schools of Choir and Summoning. The Fire of Nirvana could be used as an antidote to prolong life, yet it could also be a terrible skill that would unleash flames that could not be extinguished and were insufferable. Masters and scepters might have ways to counter it, but that was only if they were of a certain level. The Hands of the royal family was on par with the Knights of the Round Table so when the royal musicians arrived, Mable also received the personal blessings of the Queen. If she had unleashed all her powers, it would not be on the same level as the Chapter of the Golden Victory, but she would still be able to kill one-third of all the musicians on the seas. With her leading the royal fleet, Ye Qingxuan could afford to rest assured. But for some unknown reason, for the past two days, there was a niggling feeling in his heart. Any ordinary person might have laughed it off but Ye Qingxuan was a Master of the School of Revelation, after all. He was admitted for his way of deciphering and while his ways might be unorthodox, his accomplishments were legitimate. To any Revelation musicians, premonitions were rather important. Fighting might not be their forte, so they usually specialized in monitoring phenomena and the Originator. The more accomplished Revelation musicians would usually also be more sensitive. If they managed to level-up to a Diviner of Dreams, they might even be able to see the future in their sleep. "There are usually a few possible reasons when something like this happens." After some discussions amongst the old fellows of the court, they replied, "The most common reason is that you may have forgotten something crucial. But the importance of what you might have forgotten has a very wide range. For example, it is possible that you may have simply forgotten to turn off the water tap before you left house" Ye Qingxuan felt helpless. "And another reason might be?" "Someone is trying to set you up, which is why your sense of vigilance is kicking in." An old man continued, "But your accomplishments in the School of Revelation are quite significant, so you should be able to sense any enmity towards you. However, if anyone wanted to harm you, they will typically ask a Revelations master to mess up the relevant information so that all you can see is fog. Think carefully, have you made any enemies recently?" Ye Qingxuan thought carefully and realized that he actually had quite a number of enemies. But there was no choice. Ever since he began his journey as a musician, he had been making enemies every step of the way, so much so that he has lost count of the number of the people that wanted him dead. Dark Musicians, other countries, the Sacred City, even Anglo has quite a number of people who saw him as a troublemaker. One''s emergence into prominence must be accompanied by many others who had made way. Besides, the moment Ye Qingxuan''s Net of Aether appeared in the future, he would immediately become the common enemy of the entire world. Ye Qingxuan thought about it before punching his palm. "It must be that damned Raymond!" Upon hearing what he said, all the old men of the court became a little awkward momentarily. "Not necessarily." An old man coughed. "Raymond has already received a stern warning from the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, so he probably would not dare to do anything to you for the time being. But it is the right thing to take precautionary measures." "Are there any other possibilities?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Others" The old men looked at each other before saying, "You may be on the brink of being involved in a major event, or something may be about to happen to you." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I may have forgotten something, or someone may be trying to do me harm, or I may be involved in something major even so, what should I do?" The old men kept quiet. This was the most awkward part for the School of Revelation. Sometimes, premonitions of the future might not necessarily be a good thing. What was meant to happen would still happen, just like one was always going to die when the time came. The only difference was that one might have a better idea of the cause of his death "Forget it." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "In any case, I can''t go wrong by taking precautionary measures, right? Ask Shi Dong and Hua Sheng to increase the speed. Anything can happen in this wretched world. How is the expansion of Witch Hammer coming along?" "Everything has been smooth so far, but," the old men were helpless, "the production of the knights'' armors has always been a complicated process, especially when the training of the knights will also take a very long time. The more dangerous the weapon, the higher the demands it would place on the user. We have already tried our best to simplify the process but in order to achieve the scale of 10,000 men as you have requested, we will need at least another two years." "How many do we have now?" "1,600 men." When the old men saw the look of regret on Ye Qingxuan''s face, they almost wanted to vomit blood. These 1,600 men already constituted the biggest scale that the Religious Court of Inquiry had ever produced! In the past, the Chief Inquisitors could only manage to come up with 800 to 900 men even with their best effort. Aside from the production of the armors, the training of the knights was an even more expensive investment. When Ye Qingxuan took over the court, there were only 400 men in Witch Hammer. Now that they had the industrial foundation of Anglo and the techniques of Chainsaw Fraternity, only then did they manage to accomplish all these today. Yet, he was still not satisfied?! "What about Purification musicians?" Ye Qingxuan asked again. "600." The old men no longer expected anything from Ye Qingxuan''s reaction. "Oh, that''s not enough." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "All of you must put in more effort. The youngsters are so hardworking nowadays. I have already doubled the medication fees for all of you. Please make sure to contribute something useful and worthwhile before you die." "" The old men rolled their eyes. It was just their luck to encounter a boss like this. Just as Ye Qingxuan had cut off the communication signals and was preparing to request for updates from the Privy Council, he heard the commotion outside. "My Lord, there are changes to the Ultimate!" Mable shouted. Ye Qingxuan dashed to the deck and looked down, only to see chaos amongst the musicians. No one knew when the silver glow had gradually dimmed and became faint. The turbulent aether waves were beginning to converge and collapse internally. Within the core of the seas, the outline of an island could vaguely be seen. The Ultimate was about to complete the process of giving birth and had surfaced. But right before this, fog began to appear everywhere around the seas. An indistinct figure appeared and sent the musicians into chaos and exclamations. Ye Qingxuan looked over and saw a blurry figure far away on the surface of the sea, who was slowly approaching. It was a half-transparent illusion that was created by the refraction of aether from an unknown location. It looked like a traveler that was returning home after a long journey. That forlorn figure trudged forward on the surface of the sea. He was using the long sword in his hands to prop up his body, which was already full of wounds. His cloak, which looked like it had been badly burnt, was fluttering in the wind. White long hair hung on both sides of his face while he wore the Crown of Black Metal on his head. He was wearing a suit of armor that looked like it was from centuries ago. When all the musicians caught a glance of the blurry circular-shaped insignia, they already managed to guess his identity. He was one of the kings that brought forth the Golden Era of mankind at the end of the Darkness Era centuries ago. He was also the first person who founded the kingdom of Burgundy, King of the Sun! "North! There are more in the north!" the musicians exclaimed, before turning back to peer at the northern sea region. A figure had gradually appeared behind the Asgard fleet. He was wearing a white long robe, a crown on his head and carrying a heavy-looking staff while floating towards the Ultimate. That was the predecessor of the kingdom of Caucasian and the uncrowned king that founded very first Commonwealth, Sage of the Metal Moon! This time around, everyone looked towards the south automatically A burly figure that was like a giant stepped out from the fog. He was wielding a skull and a giant sword. The armor he wore was broken and splattered with fresh blood. He was the guardian of Gladysheim, a frost giant, and the first Emperor of Asgard, the Master of the Golden Palace! More and more silhouettes began to appear after these few figures. All of them were famous heroes of the end of the Darkness Era. Other than the saints of the first era, some of them were clearly of demon bloodlines It was as if they were reliving the past again. Those illusions passed through every obstacle and headed straight for the Ultimate. They would pass through that blurry island, the chaotic city and finally climb up the mountain In the end, they finally stopped in front of the ancient caldron. They bowed their heads as if they were paying their respects to the only ruler in this world. The souls of all the ancient kings had risen from the seas in order to present themselves to the Holy Caldron. 640 If You Say You’re Going to Do It, Then Do I Everything that was recorded in The Book of the Ultimate was happening again. All of the musicians were stunned. Amid their silence, the ceremony had already entered its final moments. Three indistinct shadows climbed onto the high platform before the stone cauldron. This situation had the smell of a catastrophe in the making. One could vaguely make out that they were an old man, a woman, and a thin youth. Standing on the deck, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes jumped around wildly as he watched the scene unfold. He didn''t know the old man or the woman, but the young man''s silhouette seemed familiar. Moreover, upon seeing the unmistakable double-snake emblem on the back of his hand, he suddenly realized who it was. Do you get yourself mixed up in everything, boss? In the illusion of the Ultimate, the sacrifice had already begun. The three people each revealed the true nature of their sacrifices. The first was black gold, symbolizing the power and glory of kingship. The second was frankincense, symbolizing indestructible divinity. And the third was myrrh, symbolizing original sin and death. Humanity was trying to establish a golden era! These three people were without doubt the incarnations of the three Wise Men. Before everyone''s eyes, the old man known as Tung Wang Kung placed his black gold into the Sacred Cauldron. Behind him, someone dressed in black proclaimed the first commandment: "Obey fate, everything passes from birth into death." Next was the woman, who must have been Nibelungenlied, who placed her frankincense into the cauldron. Behind her, someone dressed in red read out an unbreakable vow, "Human strength is limited, stay within your limits." Finally, the young man smiled brightly and inserted the myrrh that symbolized original sin and death. Behind him, someone in yellow made the last oath, "Be in awe of aether, only the Originator is eternal." A roar loud enough to split heaven and earth emerged from the cauldron. The musicians began to tremble. The oaths that the Three Kings had taken and the oaths that the musicians had taken on the day that they became apprentices resonated in the sacred cauldron. In the chaos, it seemed like countless beams of light were soaring into the sky. The silver light that shrouded the Ultimate began to boil and spread in all directions, revealing the islands and huge, complex cities within. After being seen for a moment, the cities were once again shrouded in fog along with countless other illusions. Soon, only the mighty sound of a bell rang out from the cauldron. In that moment everyone''s expression changed. This was because a roar was emitted from the Asgardian sea fortress. Amid the ear-piercing battle alarm, countless huge gun barrels were raised. They pointed in all directions with an unmistakable intent to kill. And among the clouds, Scepters began to reveal themselves, particularly above the fortress. This placed the fortress within the Scepter''s area of influence, turning ordinary iron into something miraculous. "You have until I count to ten to leave this place..." A bolt of crisscrossing lightning rose from the sea fortress. The Second Emperor looked down on everyone indifferently, his single eye radiating scorching sunlight. "...or else the punishment of Asgard will come down from the sky!" The situation was becoming more dangerous by the moment. Not caring that it would make an enemy of everyone, Asgard had revealed its intention to obtain the Ultimate at all costs, and was forcing everyone to leave. If the Ultimate had just been the normal remains of a catastrophe, then the nations would fight and haggle over it, but the final result would be that it would be divided up and shared equally. The only question would be who would get the most out of it. But in the image that everyone had just seen, the information that had been revealed about the Ultimate raised its importance even higher. In all of history, the appearance of the remains of a catastrophe had never led to a gathering of the spirits of the kings, not to mention the shadows of the Cauldron of the Ultimate and the three Wise Men. Without a doubt, the Ultimate held a position of great importance within the Great Originator. That which was hidden inside it was definitely not something as simple as raw power, there must be a deeper secret. Even if it meant going to war with all the other powers gathered there, the Asgardians had no choice but to obtain the Ultimate. Not only did the Second Emperor''s position depend on it, but it was also enough to determine the fate of the West for several hundred years. As the most powerful nation in the history of the West, Asgard could not share something so important with the other powers. That left them with two options. Either leave, or fight. "What do we do, Your Highness?" asked Mable. "What do we do?" Ye Qingxuan tapped the Staff of Fate on the ground, his face expressionless. "Do you still need me to teach you?" Rumble! A low, lingering sound rang out between the iron staff and the deck. A brilliant radiance sprang up out of Ye Qingxuan''s head, becoming a gorgeous and majestic halo. It swept away like a burning golden Firebird, transforming into a blazing sun. The music of the Chapter of Golden Victory filled the air. It went into the first Pomp and Circumstance March, ringing out between the sea and the sky. Just then, a bird''s cry rose up from above the water. A giant phoenix hatched from an egg of flame. It rested above the Royal Navy as it slowly spread out its burning wings, sending wild tides through the nine levels of the Sea of Aether. A Heaven Ladder descended from the sky, connecting to the bestial form of the phoenix. The music of the Golden Chapter of Victory infused the phoenix, draping it in the majestic garments of the Firebird. This was one of the first uses of the Net of Aether. Under Ye Qingxuan''s command the phoenix''s form began to transform wildly, until finally it rose up from the Sea of Aether and broke into the realm of aether as its pieces began to come together. It even temporarily entered into where the Scepters were! The Royal Navy''s symphony began, resonating between dozens of musicians. All of the power was entrusted to Mabel, who made the phoenix even more nimble, and more furious. The Golden Chapter of Victory and the phoenix... Twin Scepters! Amid the roar of the music, the Mountain of Nomadism let loose a violent hurricane, tearing through the clouds. The Petitioner''s main guns warmed up, taking aim at the massive sea fortress. They would not yield! They would not compromise! Up in the sky, several dozen Scepters faced each other threateningly. They displayed their power without hesitation. Movement after movement, fearful music theories overlapped each other, distorting the sky of the Physical World and transforming it into the primordial darkness of the universe. Against that primordial darkness the Scepters blazed like stars. They menaced each other with mutual hostility. In a flash, the musician''s on the outskirts scattered in all directions. If a battle broke out, even the sweeping aftermath would be enough to smash them into pieces. All of the mid-level musicians seemed to have disappeared without a trace, or fallen silent. But under the water, huge, gloomy shapes began to emerge from the depths of the sea. They waited for the perfect opportunity... The original masters'' waves of aether increased under the induction of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. In a flash they had soared to nearly one hundred. That deep and restrained wave of aether hid terrifying potential. Of the masters who had come here on this day, there was not one who had not been deeply immersed in music theory for hundreds of years. Tired of being limited to just being masters, they had waited impatiently for an opportunity to advance themselves. Now that the Ultimate was in sight, not one of them was willing to back down. The gate to becoming a Scepter was frightfully difficult to open. Countless people had wasted their lives in front of it, for each Scepter was the hero of their generation. If they could get through it, they would be famed throughout the nations and be established as a Holy Spirit. If they could not, in a hundred years they would be nothing but dry bones. If they missed this chance, who knew how long they would have to wait for the next one? Battle seemed inevitable. In the dead silence, a hoarse sigh came out of the Ultimate. It was the chorus of the three Wise Men''s incantation. "...from then on, he will be led astray." A sound like the ringing of a great bronze bell came out of the Sacred Cauldron. A formless waved surged out in all directions at the sound, and in an instant had covered the entire area. Limitless power began to blaze out from within, casting its light on everyone. Everyone felt as if the deep tolling of that bell had swept through their bodies, causing the Symphony of Predestination to ring out. The sound instantly overpowered all of the music, fusing it all into a single note. A light descended from the sky as all stood there dumbfounded. Hundreds upon hundreds of rays of light fell upon the masters. When the light was extinguished, the masters had all disappeared. In that moment, Ye Qingxuan could only see a flash before his eyes. The light cut like a knife, easily piercing through the boundary between the realm of aether and the physical world and pulling him into the suffocating sea of aether. Innumerable undercurrents seemed to drag him down, only to lift him up again. He could see nothing but countless strands of flickering light flying around him. Suddenly, he could feel gravity again. He fell onto the floor, coughing violently. In his dizziness he vomited the undigested remains of his dinner. His heart was beating wildly. Wait... That wasn''t right. He felt his pulse. He was shocked. To anyone else, a heartbeat would be the most ordinary thing in the world. But not to Ye Qingxuan. His heart was already immersed in the Sub-Originator. After fusing with the stone of sage it was half-elementalized and rising into the realm of aether. In other words, his heart should no longer be in his body. But now it was back. He looked at the ring of braided piano wire on his index finger, the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Even though it had been transformed into Heaven Ladder music theory and immersed in the Symphony of Predestination, it too had returned. Next to it, the signet ring on his middle finger was giving off a dim light. It was the signet ring of the Prince of Avalon, the deputy ruler of the Anglo Kingdom. Now, it had become the place where the music theory of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth had accumulated. The blessings of the Chapter of the Golden Victory had all flowed into it. And a movement had appeared in black on the back of his hand. Ye Qingxuan rolled up his cuffs, and could see the dark movement that looked like it had been engraved into his skin. "Catastrophe resonation." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a moment, then he pricked his forefinger and watched the metal-colored blood flow out of it...it was the blood-soaked seal of moonlight. The stone of sage, catastrophe resonance, the seal of moonlight...his three-in-one Symphony of Predestination had been broken apart at some time, and distributed back into the Sub-Originator. The blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth had been set inside the signet ring. The music went silent, without so much as an echo. This meant that...the worst had happened. All of the foreign objects had been forced out of his body. His power had fallen from halfway to the Scepter level all the way down to the Distortion level. Ye Qingxuan concentrated hard for a moment, trying to control the music again, trying to put the divided pieces of the Symphony of Predestination back together again. But just as he managed to put it back together it was forcibly split again by some kind of repulsive force. It was like trying to force the same poles of two magnets together. There was something that would not allow Ye Qingxuan to receive the support of those objects anymore. He smiled bitterly and looked around the labyrinthian city, seeing that there were streets that gradually extended upwards before converging at the top. Ah, it was the Ultimate. 641 Under the Witness of the Various Kings When Ye Qingxuan''s attention returned, he found himself in the Ultimate. Worse still, he had been stripped of all the movements strengthening him, and even his own Symphony of Predestination had been split into three parts. The city of ruins that was so huge and complex that it felt dizzying seemed to be shrouded in some deeper power, stripping everything that did not belong to the musicians in it off them. Although the items were still in his hands, they were no longer part of him. He had been forced back into his original state. Ye Qingxuan gave a bitter smile and looked around at his desolate surroundings, sighing softly. "What''s this? Another trial with weird rules?" A gust of wind blew silently. Strange words emerged from the dust beneath his feet, lasted for a fleeting instant, and disappeared out of sight again. It was written using letters that circulated among humans towards the end of the Age of Dark, the oldest existing characters that humans could trace back to. Runes. Only when such incidents occurred would Ye Qingxuan feel that studying widely was indeed useful. He lowered his head, narrowed his eyes, stared at the traces left on the ground, and deciphered the meaning within. "Under the witness of the various kings?" Under the witness of the various kings. The sentence was without rhyme or reason, and simply sounded confusing, but it seemed to suffice in explaining the situation for the moment. A few moments ago, he even saw the traces left by the various kings who had originally established the kingdoms, the three kings of the first generation, and the Three Wise Men. Ye Qingxuan had a hazy notion but did not fully understand what it meant. Undoubtedly, the tenacities of the various kings who originally established the kingdoms, the ones who laid down the foundation for human order, still remain here. Even though they already died a long time ago, the decrees they left still remain in the core of the Ultimate. In other words, this is a test that the various kings who originally established the kingdoms set up for those after them? It makes sense If you put it that way. After the Holy Cauldron that once established order, as well as the throne of God, was taken away, the Originator should have originally appeared once more after several epochs. They would certainly leave corresponding countermeasures after having foreseen the situation that would originally happen. After all, they wouldn''t just let any random person that entered take away the elements and legacies within. The trial would also have certain conditions and rules Participating in the trial with one''s most innate and truest appearance must certainly be one of the prerequisites then. After all, who would be willing to hand over the power of the future to those who dare not show themselves openly? The fact that giant ships and main batteries would get one nowhere here made Ye Qingxuan relieved, but at the same time, he felt somewhat complicated. On one hand, Anglo need not fight tooth and claw against the other countries, nor wear down its strength. But after realizing that he himself was the one that had to fight tooth and claw, the incident didn''t exactly leave a good taste in his mouth. Moreover, most of the music theory I have at hand is frozen, and I have dropped to the Level of Distortion. In the site of ruins that one can only enter via the resonance of one''s Symphony of Predestination, being a master is the most basic condition. I''m afraid that musicians of the Level of Distortion can be considered as the weakest here? Ye Qingxuan sighed and tried to forcibly communicate with the music theory. The stone of sage in his heart beat wildly. Countless strands of music theory unfolded and forcibly connected themselves to Ye Qingxuan''s music theory, disregarding the huge repulsive force. The power gathered, but the external pressure became stronger and stronger It was as if he had fallen into the deep sea. The greater the borrowed power, the more alarming the pressure he was under. Moreover, he didn''t know what other measures specifically directed towards such actions were awaiting him, or whether they existed at all. Ye Qingxuan dared not try any further and had to stop. The equipment could probably only be used as a backup. At the moment, he could only be thankful that he was not wearing the clothes of original sin. Otherwise, the clothes of original sin would be gone, and he could only run around naked After contemplating for a moment, he finally decided on a tentative plan. "So, I''ll keep a low profile first and meet up with Mabel." Clang! Right after he took a step forward, he heard a crisp sound, and something fell onto the ground from his clothes. Ye Qingxuan looked down and saw a section of a black branch that resembled iron and wood by his feet. He couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow. "After such a long time, I have forgotten that... I still have this thing?" Poisonous Black Branch. A few months ago, in the Sacred City, the enraged Abyss Black Branch, Menti, threw one of his only three Poisonous Black Branches at Ye Qingxuan. However, not only did it fail to kill Ye Qingxuan in the end, it was instead sealed by Ye Qingxuan with nature interference and was suppressed within his Symphony of Predestination. Since then, the product of centuries'' worth of hard work that Menti had put in became Ye Qingxuan''s possession. It was powerful enough that Gaius could kill the King of Red by stabbing the latter with it in hand. Ye Qingxuan had originally planned to do the same to Arthur, but in the end, he had no use for it at all. If it wasn''t for the power of the Ultimate, Ye Qingxuan would have forgotten that he still had such a deadly, awesome item on him. After Ye Qingxuan was done keeping it, he immediately sensed that the aether waves in the entire city had suddenly begun to fluctuate violently. Among the hundreds of aether waves, almost half of them had begun to soar in intensity, pulsing rapidly with a fierce tempo. A fight has been set off? And it''s a chaotic and unprecedentedly large-scale one at that Ye Qingxuan was stunned, as he had not expected the situation to evolve so quickly. Without waiting for him to react some more, an aether wave moved towards Ye Qingxuan. When the musician, who was of the Level of Master and whose entire body had been tempered, emerged from the wall he broke and saw Ye Qingxuan, he was momentarily stunned at first, then his eyes immediately lit up with the joy of surprise. The Level of Distortion? I have never expected that he would be so weak! Then, without any mercy or reason, the musician went for the kill! The first to start fighting was the northeast of the city. After being thrown into the city of the Ultimate that was huge and complicated to the extent of being shocking, the hundreds of masters and scepter musicians disappeared in a flash, just like gravel that was thrown into the sea. By right, conflict shouldn''t have erupted so quickly at all. However, the two masters who were the first to meet happened to be none other than the members of the School of Dragon Stone and the School of Blue Blood respectively. Although they were both schools of summoning, more often than not, peers of the same profession didn''t enjoy a harmonious relationship. Even in the Church, heretics were considered more deserving of death than demons, let alone two schools that had competed against each other for centuries. Right from the beginning when the School of Dragon Stone and the School of Blue Blood were established, their goals and the paths they took were the complete opposite of each other. The research of bestiality by the School of Dragon Stone aimed to explore the limits of bestiality. It was known for vigorous and vast bestiality, and the Phantom Beasts summoned were often shockingly huge. One of its signatures was the Snake of the Atrium, which was large enough to swallow a city. Ye Qingxuan once saw its projection in Romulus, and even the projection was enough for observers to comprehend its terrifying power. Meanwhile, the School of Blue Blood explored beast fusion. Like the blood of the Deva, by altering the bone marrow, the blood was mutated, depositing bestiality in one''s own body. Those who had undergone the transformation could be considered as humanoid beasts, and their most prominent characteristic was the blue color of their blood after the mutation was complete. In the centuries of competition, the two sides started off with minor disputes, which later intensified into animosity, and escalated to violent fights, causing countless blood debts to accumulate, and finally spiraled into irreconcilable hatred. The scale of the war stirred up by the two schools almost expanded, and the problem was so serious that even the Church had to intervene to carry out mediation. The two schools were given strict orders to migrate, just like the School of the Market at Sea and the School of the Buildings of the Clam Monster [1] during the major split-up of the school of magic back then, one to the north and the other to the south. They were far apart from then on and had no chance to meet. But the world was only so small, and were they to run into each other on the odd occasion, the two parties would definitely go for the kill without hesitation. Beasts were the most vengeful creatures, save for musicians of the school of summoning who passed the hatred down via the bestiality. Therefore, at the very first instant they met, both parties went for the kill. In the end, the master of the School of Blue Blood won. On one hand, it was because the bestiality of the School of Blue Blood was stored in his body and could be launched rapidly. On the other hand, in order to kill the enemy in one go, the master of the School of Dragon Stone directly summoned the Snake of the Atrium that the school reared in the aether wonderland. As a result, he only discovered in his dying moments that the Ultimate was resistant against foreign objects. It was the same even if the subject in question was bestiality. In an instant, as the two sides crossed paths, the winner survived, and the loser died, just as everyone had expected. Even if someone had intended to mediate the conflict, it would be too late by the time they rushed there. But immediately after that, a worse incident, or rather, an incident that could be said to have surprised everyone on the scene to the extent that they were unable to restrain themselves, happened. In the pool of blood, the blood of the master of the School of Dragon Stone rapidly disappeared, followed by his Symphony of Predestination. In the end, even his body was disappeared under the sun as if it had melted. Only a tattered musician''s suit was left. As the deceased vanished, everyone sensed a slight quake of the huge aether wave of the Ultimate from the depths of the city. But immediately after that, the aether wave of the master of the School of Blue Blood who had personally killed the other master increased continually and rapidly skyrocketed. As countless strands of music theory gushed into it, his Symphony of Predestination swiftly increased in power. In the end, from the stage of just having achieved the Level of Master, he had advanced to the peak of the Level of Master. In fact, he was only one step away, after integrating the elements, he could advance as a scepter musician. It was simply as if the loser''s power had been taken away by the winner together with his life! At the moment, everyone understood the second rule of the trial other than not relying on foreign objectsthe loser would lose everything, and the winner would win over everything! It was the cruelest method of trial. In the city, everyone''s fate had changed in an instant. One could either become the resources of others and get used as a stepping stone or become the strongest! Meanwhile, at the moment, a steely wind was blowing against Ye Qingxuan. Amid the sonorous melody, the enemy in front of Ye Qingxuan expanded in size once more, and layers of complex movements emerged from his body of metals. In the loud noise of steel scraping against each other, the blue-black crystal of steel covering his body reproliferated, causing the body of the master to expand some more. In the blink of an eye, his height increased from that of the ordinary person to three meters. The steel turned into majestic armor, covering him. As for his hands and feet, a completely different movement lit up on the steel covering every part of the body. Dozens of movements were brought together as one under the control of his Symphony of Predestination, becoming a complete whole. He was a master of the School of Iron HeartLarbin the Iron-eater. Ye Qingxuan had once read his archives. Larbin was a powerful and well-known fighter who had single-handedly brought about the rise of the School of Iron Heart, a new, little-known school, from the bitter coldness in the south. After combining the music theory of the school of summoning, he advanced the core music theory passed down in the school one step further, and it became a rare school which involved the music theory of three systems. Modifications, summoning, and choir, the three systems of music theory were merged as one. By combining the schools of modifications and choir, he further altered his body, even merging it with steel. After transforming himself into a giant of steel, he solved the original flaw of clumsiness and sluggishness. With the music theory of the school of summoning, he merged with the bestiality of Glia the giant from the Holy Bible, and completely turned into the giant of destruction. [1] This is a reference to a Chinese saying which means mirage and literally translates as "the market at sea and the buildings conjured by the clam monster". 642 Let’s Negotiate Two years ago, he had no qualms diving into forbidden topics solely for his own improvement. He received a warning from the Sacred City as a result. This was why when he discovered what was so special about the Ultimate, Larbin''s first reaction was to kill all the people around him! By the time all the accompanying musicians had all been shredded into pieces, Larbin almost cried after sensing the growth of music theory once again. Besides, due to the effect of the Ultimate, his own music theory had decreased. After extracting the redundant structures, the movement was simplified and had become much more flexible and agile. This gave him hope for the journey that he would embark on in the future. He was overjoyed by this gift. As a result, the moment he sensed the presence of Ye Qingxuan, he rushed forward without any hesitation. Next, he used his right hand to press Ye Qingxuan down. Without thinking twice, Ye Qingxuan rolled around on the ground before getting up in a skillful but ungraceful way. The smell of dust and the feeling that he had not felt for a long time, they were all so familiar. Ever since his return to the Sacred City, he had never had to experience rolling around on the ground. Even when his opponent might have been trying their best to kill him, he had always been able to restrain himself. But now that he has been forced into such a situation, Ye Qingxuan could not help but feel rage. In the midst of rolling on the ground, he could sense coolness over the top of his head. A gigantic crater suddenly appeared without a sound. It was as if an invisible gigantic beast had taken a bite out of the ground. A black hole appeared in mid-air above the crater before evaporating rapidly. That was the alchemy array that had been welded onto the right hand of the Iron Giant and was the most powerful annihilation singularity of the School of Modifications. After some modifications by Larbin, the range of its power shrunk by hundreds of times and the speed at which it could be activated also increased by more than ten times. Typically, musicians that did not possess a solid foundation would have been turned to dust by the annihilation singularity. He did not expect Ye Qingxuan to be able to react so quickly and with such agility. Soon after, there was a shrill cry as the sounds of something breaking rang continuously. Ye Qingxuan quickly dodged as huge craters appeared on the wall and the ground. Countless metal plates were mounted on these craters, breaking the ancient bricks into pieces and almost penetrating through them. Ye Qingxuan had seen the same effect as this when he had encountered his first ever enemyRain Artistbut Larbin''s technique was many times more powerful and faster than Rain Artist. Nevertheless, a technique of such a standard was never going to pose any serious danger to him. "Aren''t you looking down on me?" Ye Qingxuan was so upset he even began to laugh. He dropped his Staff of Fate momentarily and the sound of his laughter was clear. Boom! A blurry and illusory full moon appeared behind Ye Qingxuan as countless knives and axes were summoned from within. Due to nature interference, they turned into real weapons and struck. The sword and knives rattled, while the iron roared. The giant staggered backward as its entire body was cut by countless swords and knives. Ye Qingxuan sniggered. If not for the effect of the Ultimate, his swords and knives should have been more than able to tear Larbin into shreds. With the attack of the swords and knives, countless perception threads extended out from the broken shards to enclose him and probe at the gaps in the helmet tirelessly. Once he found a gap, he would be sure to give Larbin a taste of being eroded by moonlight. Very soon, Ye Qingxuan frowned. There were no gaps to be found. Larbin sensed the probing of the perception threads and laughed. This was the School of Iron Heart, where man and metal had become as one. It was not something that could be compared with those ordinary motorized armors because there were no gaps to be found. He did not even need to breathe. His bones were the bones of the armor, his muscles were the muscles of the armor, his blood was made up of the thickest aether current, and his heart was the aether engine of the armor. The Symphony of Predestination shook once again as its tempo increased. The heart, which had been modified by iron, was now beating insanely. Aether wave filled the entire body. "Now try this!" The bestiality that has been temporarily lodged on the iron, Glia, began to roar. Burning flames burst out from the back of the Iron Giant as if they were gigantic wings of light. The rule of gravity did not seem to apply to the Iron Giant as it leaped into the sky and flew, despite weighing several tons. It stopped in mid-air and countless alchemy arrays surfaced in front of his chest. After the four major layers were connected together, the immense loop was initiated and terrifying energy was unleashed. Hurricanes were coming. Torrents of rain appeared in response to the call of the Symphony of Predestination. The turbulence of rapids gave the invisible hurricane a taint of white color as if it had been thrown into the deep seas. Under the pressure of the howling wind, the bones began to roar. The friction between the turbulences created lightning within the hurricanes. As the air moved at high speed, terrifying plasma was developed and surrounded the giant''s body, giving him an imposing look. Ye Qingxuan was shocked. He did not expect Larbin to be able to develop the music theory of the School of Iron Heart to this stage. Not only did he carve out alchemy arrays on the iron body, but he was also able to maintain balance when the reconciliation of three systems of movement was under the control of music theory. In fact, based on what he was seeing now, there was nothing comparable to the amount of power and destruction he wielded right now. This must only be possible because of Larbin''s unique music theory and technique. Without a doubt, the state that Larbin was in right now was the most efficient that a musician could ask for in a battle. Turning into iron meant that he would not need to fear any sneak attacks yet still possessed amazing power. It was the perfect combination of musician and motorized armor. If this could be utilized on a wider scale, the standard of the armor of Witch Hammer could definitely be raised. Over time, it would not be impossible to achieve Gospel Armor one day either. "How about a negotiation?" Amidst the strong gusts of wind, Ye Qingxuan pressed onto his hair and raised his voice. "Larbin, it''s still not too late for you to join the Religious Court of Inquiry. As for your privileges, we can still discuss" Boom! Thunder roared and lightning gathered in Larbin''s hands before streaking across the sky like a whip. Roar! Amidst the ear-shattering roar, the layers of barrier around Ye Qingxuan began to break down, and in the final moment, the holy barrier finally surfaced to block off the incredible lightning strike. The streaks of lightning shone light on the terrible expression on Ye Qingxuan''s face. "What are you still dreaming about, Chief Inquisitor?" Larbin teased this young man who was not even half his age, "Let me teach you something. The most useless thing in the world of musicians is talking!" With that, both lightning whips struck and everything in their paths melted. Deep gullies formed on the wall and on the ground without a sound. Stones were cut open cleanly. Countless lances of electricity rose from the pool of lightning and accompanied the lightning whips in their strikes. The holy wall shook violently and seemed to be on the brink of collapse. Ye Qingxuan sighed lightly. He lowered his eyes as his fingers tapped on his Staff of Fate. "What a coincidence. I happen to think the same way." Boom! The roar of iron. That deep sound was produced from the Staff of Fate but was heard through the Iron Giant in mid-air. It was as if the metal staff was knocking on the giant''s body. Larbin was stunned. The alchemy array was delayed for a moment, causing a loss of control of the lightning whips momentarily. Boom! The metal staff knocked against the ground once more but the sound was being heard through the Iron Giant once more. Larbin felt as if he was being smashed by the head of a battering ram. Ye Qingxuan''s laughter rang in his ears. "Have you forgotten to put in place a layer of shock absorption between yourself and the iron?" Boom! There was yet another boom as the invisible metal hammer struck from the sky. Larbin felt giddy. It was as if he was a piece of metal that has been placed on the anvil and was being hammered until complete flatness. The lightning whips have completely collapsed and the pool of lightning has also dissipated. Even the gigantic wings of light at the back could no longer be sustained. It was gravitygravity that had increased tremendously. Due to the effect of nature interference, gravity had been transformed into a physical object and each increment felt as if the depths of his bones were being struck by metal hammers. By right, unleashing a direct attack on him should have been a foolish option. After all, every music theory would have been warped and crushed by his Symphony of Predestination. But at some point in time, the Symphony of Predestination had already been infiltrated by countless perception threads, just like mistletoe tangled around a machine and creeping into every single crevice. The moonlight perception threads followed the alchemy loop and directly infiltrated the Symphony of Predestination in his body. Soon after, the Staff of Fate tapped the ground once again. Boom! Ye Qingxuan was not utilizing the power of any external objects. He was merely using the music theory of the Staff of Fate to smash on Larbin''s Symphony of Predestination. It did not take long for the Symphony of Predestination to be broken down and dismantled. Larbin screamed in despair as his iron exterior began to break down inch by inch until an old and frail man was revealed underneath. Countless veins could be seen on the surface of his face while his eyes were close to popping out of their sockets. It took only a moment for Ye Qingxuan to annihilate his life as a musician completely. The collapse of the Symphony of Predestination meant that his life has also already been dismantled. If he was to be pushed off the cliff, he might still be in one piece on his way down but the impact of the fall would ultimately shatter him into pieces. He was screaming at the top of his lungs as his trembling hands reached for his chest. This was his last chance. He might still live if he could calm the music theory in his body, otherwise, he would perish in its chaos. At that moment, he saw a shadow over him. It was Ye Qingxuan. "Help" His face contorted. He raised his head and looked at the shadow with hope in his gaze. "Help me!" 643 Provisions "It''s too bad. I did give you a chance." Ye Qingxuan sighed and pressed his hand against Larbin''s veiny forehead, "Don''t worry, I will pass on the core theories of the Steel Heart School for you." After he finished speaking, Larbin gave a wretched cry. In less than half a minute he had already lost. The musicians who had rushed here did not even have time to intervene. They could only watch helplessly as Ye Qingxuan cruelly kept him alive, draining every bit of music out of him piece by piece before he expired. It was like his tendons were being peeled off his bones. He screamed as the pain dug deeper in, inch by inch. His blood became hotter and hotter, and his forehead swelled. Finally, Ye Qingxuan leisurely pulled the last little bit of music out of him, trapping it within the Staff of Fate. He let go of Larbin, who fell limply to the floor. Although some breath still passed through his lips, the spark was gone from his eyes. The Symphony of Predestination was the condensation of all of a musician''s lifeforce. Stripping the core music from their body was like taking away their soul. Hot blood had thoroughly destroyed his brain. Larbin was already dead, those faint breaths of his would not last long. Ye Qingxuan waved his hand and a wisp of moonlight transformed into a flame. It descended upon Larbin''s body, burning him to ashes. There was a trace of regret in everyone''s eyes, and a trace of relief. Ye Qingxuan had not left the dead man''s Symphony of Predestination in the Ultimate. Thus, he had not received the Ultimate''s blessing. Otherwise, he would have regained the level of Master, and would be difficult to deal with. Even so, of the few Masters who began to cautiously edge forward, there was not one who was willing to take the lead. After all, this was the Hand of God... Ye Qingxuan, the savior of the nation, the deputy ruler of the Anglo Kingdom, the Prince of Avalon, Captain of the Inquisition...even though he had fallen so far, there was no telling what tricks someone like him might still have up his sleeve. If they rushed in hastily they might end up like Larbin there. Far away, Raymond''s silhouette appeared at the end of the road, still bringing the old nun behind him. Upon seeing Ye Qingxuan''s condition, there was a flash of intention in his eyes, and he opened his mouth to speak. But he quickly closed it, not issuing any orders. He looked at Ye Qingxuan unwillingly, then turned around and carried the old nun away. There was no point in getting involved. There were already enough people who wanted Ye Qingxuan''s life. - - Merely twenty minutes later a beam of light screamed down from the sky. Flames rose amid the roar, and they transformed into a sinister old man. He stopped in front of Yuan Jing. "White hair, young..." He looked coldly at his stunned opponent and laughed strangely. "It looks like you are indeed Ye Qingxuan. There''s no excuse for the strong preying on the week, but there are those who want you dead, demon. This is your unlucky day!" The young man raised his eyebrows, seeming confused. Bang! A frightful wave swept out from his body, as the elements of a Scepter began to rise slowly. "I know you won''t believe this, but buddy, you''ve got the wrong guy." The white-haired young man sighed and gripped the longsword at his waist. "But since you''ve challenged me, if I refuse to fight you and turn away my grandfather will surely throw me into a molten lake as punishment." Upon hearing the sonorous echo of the sword being pulled from its scabbard, the Scepter was shocked. "Even though it feels a bit strange to cross swords with you for no reason, I''d still like to know your name before we fight." "Yuan Jing," said the young man with the sword, "''Jing'' like in ''Jing Ji''." In that instant, the sword cried out "Jing Ji". There was a ghostly ringing in the distant darkness, like footsteps echoing out in all directions. It was difficult to tell whether or not the sound was real, but it was clear and frightening all the same. The Sword of Jing Ji was unsheathed. Eldest Brother Yuan He''s sword "Wen Lin" had been drawn by Yuan Jing. It was no longer the sword of an upright and just man, but carried with it a bitter cold, majestic killing power, and a sound like a ringing bell. In Yuan Jing''s hands the sword emitted a faint light, stinging the old man''s eyes. "They Symphony of the Jing Ji Sword" began to change, with intermittent flashes of music spreading out from the sword, each one peerless in its majesty. They resonated with the old man''s Scepter, which began to disturb the elements. In front of that blade, the Scepter seemed like the moon reflected in a mirror, or a flower reflected in water, ethereal and illusory. The old man''s expression changed. "Wait..." "Too late." Yuan Jing raised his sword without expression, and cocked an eyebrow, "I can''t control my brother''s sword. You shoddy imitation of a Scepter, how dare you act so brazen before it. This is your unlucky day demon!" As he repeated the old man''s words back to him, the careless and lazy young man stopped smiling, and became as cold as iron. The sword''s light reflected off the black abysses of his eyes. In the next instant, the Symphony of the Jing Ji Sword gave off a clear, piercing sound. The light from the sword seemed to cut through the dark sky, revealing the light behind it. The pure killing power of the sword was on full display. In a flash the light turned, piercing through layer after layer of defenses, skipping over the violent wind and blazing flames, and struck with deceptive weakness towards the Scepter''s elements. Music clashing together made a shrill noise, like a million birds taking off into the sky. - Ye Qingxuan heard yelling in the distance. He turned his head and a wave of aether burning as brightly as a meteor appeared, only to disappear in a flash. The Scepter was defeated. In an instant his elements were shattered and returned to their original forms. He was cast back to the level of a Master. Even Ye Qingxuan was shocked. It couldn''t be... "How could there be such a weak Scepter?" he whispered instinctively. "The accomplishments of man are insignificant, for they will seep away. They are like shadows, there but unreal." The light, soft voice came from behind Ye Qingxuan. It had a woman''s softness. Shocked, Ye Qingxuan turned around and saw an indistinct figure standing in the shadows. She was carrying a pipa of white jade. Yaksa! The frail old woman seemed to be swallowed up by dark mud before Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. A black bestial form began to seep out of the pipa in her arms, enveloping her and becoming a part of her. Amid the curling black mist, two horns seemed to sprout from her head. Her face grew ugly, like that of a ferocious ghost. But in a flash the ghost was gone, and a slender and beautiful young woman walked out of the mist. "The eldest daughter of the Liu family, Liu Ran, greets you, Master Ye." She faced him gently and gracefully, like soft music in the middle of the night. Ye Qingxuan''s scalp began to tingle. He was frightened of this woman who carried so much yin energy. But even so, as a fellow member of the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline, and due to the fact that she had not yet threatened him, Ye Qingxuan was still properly courteous. After all, when old friends meet they should help each other, even at the Ultimate. "What does that mean?" Ye Qingxuan asked. Although Liu Ran was speaking in the Eastern language, and he could understand her and make out the metaphor in her words, he still did not know what she was referring to. The accomplishments of man are insignificant, for they will seep away. They are like shadows, there but unreal. This was how the Eastern Masters had criticized music theory: striving to shape music to one''s will could not allow them to attain perfection. One would always fail, and even if they did succeed, their success would be nothing more than a shadow. Although it was there, it could not withstand any tests. Did she mean that the Scepter was just such a worthless thing? Upon hearing his question, Liu Ran could not help but grin. "It looks like Master Ye does not know about the Ultimate yet." "I''d appreciate it if you would enlighten me." After hearing about Liu Ran''s findings he was silent for a time. Complete victory for the winners, utter defeat for the losers... The kings would bear witness... Ye Qingxuan rubbed his forehead. "Was it the kings'' last wish that their descendants would slaughter each other? Something''s wrong..." "It''s not just that." Liu Ran''s smile held profound implications. "I have a guess about this." She did not go on, however. She had the manner of someone waiting to sell to the highest bidder as she waited for Ye Qingxuan to interrogate her. But he didn''t. Instead, he fell into silent reflection. After a brief period of silence, Ye Qingxuan returned from his reverie. "Provisions?" Liu Ran was dumbfounded. She could not help but sigh. Sometimes when talking to intelligent people they would guess your point as soon as you brought up a topic. It looked like she had underestimated the Master of the Ye family. He was worthy of being called the Master and founder of a new school of magic. "That is correct." She nodded slightly. As soon as he had heard Liu Ran''s words, Ye Qingxuan knew that the trials in the ruins had a deeper meaning. If after possessing the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, an instrument that was good at both observing wide areas and meticulous operation, using the analytical method, and receiving Liu Ran''s hint he still could not guess, then he would be truly foolish indeed. He could sense fierce struggles all around the huge, complex city. But after each battle a wave of aether would come out from the depths of the Ultimate. It was slowly transforming... The dead musicians melted into the city. The Symphony of Predestination itself was immersed in the Ultimate, acting as provisions for a nascent catastrophe. This was the final link. This true natural disaster was drawing in the accumulated music from the countless battles as it emerged. Thus, whoever proved the victor would receive its blessing and become stronger. And in this process, the Ultimate would be gradually influenced by humans. After fusing with the music of countless musicians and the Masters'' Symphonies of Predestination, the Ultimate would truly enter the real world, having already been branded by humanity''s stamp. 644 Stone Plate Regardless of whether the abomination born from it belonged to the category of the four living creatures, the Three Pillar God, the Three Wise Men, or the eight phenomena, it was in itself inseparable from human beings already. As long as it was integrated into the Holy Cauldron, it would be able to re-expand mankind''s systems of music theory. Then, human beings would occupy a vital part of the Originator. In contrast, such fierce and tragic competition... was merely a negligible price to be paid. Before their deaths, the various kings of the earliest generation had already made the arrangements for what would take place thousands of years after their time. Although it occurred three epochs ahead of schedule, it did not prevent the entire plan from launching smoothly. "It''s just that, don''t you feel that it''s too cruel to sacrifice so many people in exchange for power?" Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. Liu Ran''s smile was one of mockery. "Back then, to infect the Holy Cauldron, humans offered up the blood of tens of thousands of people as sacrifices. The bones of the people who had died for this purpose lay everywhere... The situation now is much more humane than that back then. "At least, they are all voluntary victims, aren''t they? "Plus, at least plenty of scepter musicians will be born through this trial, I''m afraid... "Although it is not the proper path after all, and their achievements will be limited in comparison, they won''t necessarily be unable to completely claim the power they have received as their own, as long as they undertake decades of deep practice. "By then, the phenomenon of knock-off scepter musicians like the one just now won''t be seen anymore." The scepter musician that had been Yuan Jing''s opponent had probably been stuck in the Level of Master for decades originally. Once he received external strengthening, he broke through the bottleneck by himself and advanced to the Level of Scepter. But even in the East, no wacko would dare to provoke a direct descendant of House Yuan after having just advanced to the Level of Scepter... After all, the sword techniques passed down through generations in House Yuan were purely directed at the core of one''s music theory. Even a scepter musician who had been stabbed with a sword could hardly escape the tragic ending of his elements demising. If a master was stabbed, his Symphony of Predestination would suffer immense damage. As for official musicians of Level Three, a strike of the sword would be enough to shatter their sound of heart, and they would be as dead as a doornail on the spot. The phrase ''mastering the art of killing in music theory'' was not coined in vain. It was a lesson written in blood by God knew how many musicians over the years. After listening to her words, Ye Qingxuan nodded. "So, you guys are also here to take advantage of the situation?" Liu Ran smiled slightly, shook her head, and simply strummed the biwa made of white jade in her hand casually, producing crisp notes. Ye Qingxuan realized that he had asked a dumb question. Even if the core successors of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline were to simply spend their days idling around waiting for death, with the legacies of their respective families, just like the biwa of white jade in Liu Ran''s arms, they would at the very least be able to advance to the Level of Scepter. Such was another benefit of being in a small circle. Instead of following the crowd and adhering to the rules other had set, one might as well set the rules on one''s own. The music theory of the Chapter of the Golden Victory was the core legacy of the Royal Musicians of Anglo. The musicians were subjected to the limitations imposed by the royal family, yet their greatness was also brought about by the royal family. Mabel was a typical example among them. The nine families of the Dragon Bloodline used their blood as a medium for their legacies of music theory, and the music theory was passed down from generation to generation. Except for the very unlucky Ye Qingxuan, whose dad went missing and whose relatives had all been cleanly wiped out, who else within the nine families hadn''t been enjoying a smooth-sailing life all the way? The instrument of legacy of House Liu was the Yaksa It could be said that since Liu Ran was allowed to carry it on her, the die had been cast for her to be the next head of household. Musicians of House Liu of the past generations reared ghostly beasts with their consciousness. After their deaths, their Symphonies of Predestination and all their consciousness would also be completely turned into food and resources for the ghosts. Meanwhile, the Yaksa was undoubted the place of residence for the countless ghosts over the centuries. As long as one obtained the recognition of the Yaksa, countless resources in terms of ghosts and bestiality would constantly nurture one''s music theory, and one would be able to advance at a pace so rapid that it would seem as if one was traveling on an airship. Liu Ran, who was standing in front of Ye Qingxuan, was a standard Deva. She began her formative education as a child at eight years old, started learning music theory at ten, and spent eight years to achieve the Level of Master. The final step of becoming a scepter musician was already in sight for her, so why would she have to rely on external aid? Provided that she took the initiative to work sufficiently hard, it was not impossible for her to advance as one of the Six Royals in the future. Even if one was to think about it with one''s heel instead of brain, one would know that Liu Ran had absolutely zero regard for knock-off scepter musicians like the ones the Ultimate had created. It was a pity that Ye Qingxuan was facing immense pressure at the moment. In the goddamn place, he was still a musician of the Level of Distortion. He couldn''t even be considered as prey. At most, he was only a snack that some other musician who had looked on until the end could conveniently snatch and swallow in a gulp without even belching. "What about you, Master Ye?" Liu Ran looked at him, half-smiling. "With your attainments in music theory, you need not worry about the problem faced by those knock-off scepter musicians actually. It isn''t difficult to advance straight to the Level of Scepter here, is it?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "In any case, I can reclaim what belongs to me rightfully after leaving this place, no?" Liu Ran asked, "Are you going to give up the power that is at your fingertips?" "No, I merely dislike following the rules set by a bunch of old *ssholes centuries ago." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, not in the slightest bit moved. "The items obtained in exchange for corpses will probably have a rotten stench on them, no?" Liu Ran pursed her lips and smiled. The rumble from the distance ended. She gracefully bowed. "Then, allow me to take my leave. Please take good care of yourself, Master Ye, and if you have some time to spare in the future, you may want to return to Aurora for a trip. I''m sure that you will find unexpected gains." "Rest assured, I will definitely go there." Ye Qingxuan waved goodbye and heard her voice from behind him. "Do pay attention to the stone plate." Stone plate? What stone plate? Ye Qingxuan was momentarily surprised and turned back, but only saw the figure of Liu Ran gradually dissolving into the darkness of bestiality, as if she had evaporated under the sunlight and left no trace behind. Ye Qingxuan scratched the back of his head and felt a mild headache. Pay attention to the stone plate? What is that? He had really had enough with people like her who enjoyed putting on a mysterious air and liked to give conversational blue balls. Despite having left, she just had to leave her words hanging like a hook, keeping him hanging in midair, unable to go up or down. It was just like a storyline that a lame author had specially arranged to keep things mysterious. He soon knew what the stone plate was... As the first round of cruel showdowns in the city ended, the number of aether waves that could be sensed was directly reduced by one-third. Meanwhile, as the fights came to an end, silence came. The musicians subdued their respective aether waves and hid into the shadows. But just as they did so, mighty bell tolls sounded again. They rang out from the sky. The phantom image of the Holy Cauldron slowly emerged. A glistening glow of scarlet rippled within, as if the Holy Cauldron was filled with blood. It was the music theory that the Symphonies of Predestination of the countless deceased in the Ultimate had gathered into, the essence that had remained after undergoing refinement by the Holy Cauldron. As everyone gazed at it, the blood-colored music theory rose and turned into a mist of rain, sprinkling down from the air. But it passed through each person''s body and fell on the ground on the Ultimate. It was like a phantom. The phantom blood sank into the bottommost layer of the Ultimate, irrigating the catastrophe that was being nurtured. Then, the huge city quaked violently. Innumerable ruins rapidly restored themselves. It was as if tens of thousands of invisible workers had begun to carry out the process of construction rapidly, The gaps on the broken roads were closed once more, the collapsed walls were re-erected, and the dilapidated buildings were restored to their original shape. Although they were still covered in the traces left by age, were full of weeds, and looked to be in an unparalleled state of decline, they had taken a step towards restoring themselves to an intact state. For some reason unknown, the style of design of the post-restoration landscape, the countless buildings, and the huge city... seemed to have gotten closer to that of the Sacred City. It was probably the infection of the catastrophe by the Holy Cauldron. When the restoration of the city was totally complete and the catastrophe was born, the city would have probably become exactly the same as the Sacred City. And right in the middle of the city, amid countless broken bricks and tiles, a huge foundation quietly emerged. It was like the foundation of a great palace. And in the disorderly foundation, a ray of light rose upwards. The light paused in the sky, and everyone got to see it clearly. It was a fragment. It was as if an ancient sundial was broken and the stone plate had fallen apart. One third of it revealed itself in the sky and hung high above the sky. Pay attention to the stone plate. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously remembered the words with no rhyme or reason that Liu Ran had spoken to him, and in a flash, he came to a sudden realization... The core of the catastrophe!!! In an instant, everyone''s eyes had turned green with desire. Innumerable hidden aether waves suddenly rose upwards, like hundreds and thousands of stars that had suddenly emerged from the night, emitting dazzling light. Then, a jaw-droppingly bright star appeared from within, and fiery bursts of light spilled down. A scepter musician! A scepter musicians had acted! Huge elements rose from within the city. Countless music theory integrated with each other, the Symphony of Predestination that had combined with the elements was exalted and became a scepter. The scepter composed of music theory showed its corporeal form in the Physical World. A majestic sun emerged. Innumerable streaks of lightning and a horrifyingly great amount of heat were emitted from it, a loud rumble sounded, and a ghastly green light radiated from within, illuminating everyone who was nearby and making their hairs stand on end, as if tens of thousands of long needles were poking them. It was an illumination that resembled the Iron of Decay. The ghastly green light shrouded over the head of everyone who dared to approach it, as if someone was loudly shouting ''Of course you should choose to forgive her!'' in their ears [1]. But what emerged in their hearts was not rage, but fear. Wagon of Burke, the scepter musician! He was the most talented genius of the school of modifications, a shadow that had been shrouding over countless musicians for centuries. He was widely recognized as the musician with the greatest destructive power, the genius who had combined the element of fission. It was why the School of Rock and Iron, which he was based in, was crowned as the strongest. His title was the Wagon of Burke. Nora Guy! Amid the fierce light of destruction, the ghastly green sun rose, and a phantom shadow emerged from within. It reached out and grabbed the fragment of the stone plate. Just by appearing, he had crushed everyone''s probing attempts. The musicians who were too impatient to wait and flew into the sky melted as a result of being burned by the sun. Before they could even land, they had turned into piles of ashes which were blown away by the wind. But before the stone plate fell into his hands, a crown of glory appeared out of thin air. Schubert, the saint. Amid the music of the mighty movement, everything was frozen, and the cold wind swept across the entire Ultimate in an instant. In the sky, even the air was frozen by the terrifying coldness. But in the blink of an eye, the cold turned into a furnace once more. It was the clash between two of the most talented experts of the school of modifications of the current generation. The afterwinds they stirred up swept across the Ultimate. Despite the suppression of the Ultimate, the scale of the fight was still terrifying. Horrifying cold waves and fiery winds alternated with each other. Without the protection of his shield, Ye Qingxuan would have probably been completely frozen at the very first moment, or had his lungs burn into charcoal. Then, the third scepter musician joined the battlefield. The fight intensified once more. [1] The author is referring to a Chinese saying that literally translates as "wear the green hat". If one is said to have worn the green hat, it means that one''s significant other has cheated on one. The line ''Of course you should choose to forgive her!'' is a sarcastic attempt to criticize bystanders who often deal more damage to those who have been betrayed by their significant other with their insensitive words. It has since become fairly well-known among Chinese netizens and can be used in various contexts. 645 Strange Circumstances The entire sky was like a boiling pot of soup. Countless beams of rainbow streaked across the sky as terrifying booms continued to be heard. In the blink of an eye, the battle has been escalated to a level that ordinary people could no longer be able to participate in. Despite standing at such a long distance away, Ye Qingxuan was still able to sense the earth-shattering clashes through Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. Countless music theories were produced and destroyed rapidly, just like constellations that have extinguished and reborn once again. The movements were stacked in one place while being entangled by countless melodies, as wind and fire were unleashed together seamlessly. Despite facing the onslaught from two Scepters, Schubert''s rhythm remained steady and unchanged, like the resilient reef hidden within the crashing waves. The situation might seem chaotic, but it was slowly but surely becoming more controlled. When faced with such an enemy, the more one tried to attack, the more one would feel powerless, yet this was the only way. Once the initiative has been lost, one would lose the battle completely. Battles between man against two Scepters were as such. "That''s really impressive." Ye Qingxuan sighed softly before turning back, "Why is it that everyone likes to scare people from the back nowadays?" There was nothing behind him. There was no one on the quiet and empty street either. "I hate this kind of suspense." Ye Qingxuan sighed and rubbed his eyebrows impatiently, "Or do you actually think you can really hide yourself from me? Naberius" Flames lit up and danced in the pair of eyes, creating a contrast against the fleeting black figure. An awkward laughter could be heard. Black smoke appeared out of thin air, wriggling like a snake. Soon after, the clear sounds of something expanding could be heard as bones and muscles and finally fresh blood appeared. In the end, a naked man walked out of the black smoke and shortly after, grand and majestic clothes grew out from his body before a black top hat appeared at last. "My dear friend, your most loyal friend, Naberius, is here at your command." The man smile and used his finger to push up his hat, "I was full of confidence in my Symphony of Predestination, so much so that even the Religious Court of Inquiry should not have been able to find me. Alas, I am still unable to hide from you, even if it has become half-aether. Can you tell me where did I go wrong?" "No, your movement is fine. Even the Religious Court of Inquiry would not have been able to detect you." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "The problem lies with you." People with intelligence only needed to be told once. Naberius was stunned for a while before realization dawned on him. He shook his head, "I almost forgot. You are the savior who killed Leviathan personally. This suit of body has usurped the bloodline of Leviathan, so naturally I won''t be able to hide it from you." Ye Qingxuan did not respond, except to nod faintly, "It''s a good idea." Indeed. Regardless if the Leviathan blood was created from Firebird and the blood of Mordred, or it was used as a foundation for an unknown number of demon bloodlines and music theories, a brand new body was created eventually. Without question, Naberius'' talent was top-notch and his techniques and intelligence were also perfect. Other than the fact that he was a Dark Musician, there were no other problems. The Chief Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry and the most talented Dark Musician of the past century have finally met within the Ultimate, yet there was no killing or shouting between them. Both of them stood far apart, keeping a safe distance between each other as they tried to stop themselves from thinking of sneaking an attack on the other. They behaved like long-lost friends who have finally met once more. They asked about each other in a cordial manner. "It has been so long. You seem to be in good spirits." Naberius looked at him, "Have you gotten used to the music theory that I gave you previously?" "Not too bad." Ye Qingxuan was grateful, "It was a great help when I was combining the music theory of Hyakume." "That''s good to hear." Naberius seemed to genuinely pleased, "I was right all along. You should have become a Dark Musician." "Surely we don''t have to go through all this all over again?" Ye Qingxuan replied casually, "But, should you decide to come over to the good side, I can leave a place for you in the Religious Court of Inquiry." Naberius seemed tempted, "And if I ask for the title of a ''Bishop''?" "It can be considered," Ye Qingxuan replied with all seriousness. "That''s all?" Naberius frowned, "That''s not good enough, Mr Ye. If you come over to my side, I can make sure that you are on the same level as me! Can''t you see the difference?" Ye Qingxuan countered, "Do you think a sane person would rather join the Religious Court of Inquiry or become a Dark Musician?" Naberius was unmoved, "No, any sane person would probably not consider either of those choices?" "Oh, you''re right." Ye Qingxuan smiled with a shrug, "Does that mean that I have been rejected?" "Don''t come to a conclusion so quickly, my friend." Naberius smiled, "Let me think for a while more." "Then I look forward to hearing from you soon." Ye Qingxuan smiled, "See you again?" "See you again." Naberius bade his farewell. Ye Qingxuan took two steps back before turning around to leave. Only Naberius was left alone to remain standing on his spot. After a long time, he sighed softly as a roar could be heard in the sky. He raised his head and looked at the spot that Ye Qingxuan was standing a while ago. "Why didn''t you strike?" There was a rolling of mist in the air as a blurry figure appeared. It was a young person wearing a green robe with smooth and white skin. It looked androgynous but there was a strange beauty about it. It was clearly human in form yet it did not feel human. "He knew I was here." Paganini, who was previously saint but now a dark minister, calmly said, "He was on his guard against you. When the both of you began to speak, he was on high alert." Naberius frowned, "He was able to discover your presence?" "Impossible." Paganini was extremely confident. "The problem lies with you." Naberius stayed silent for a long time before laughing out of the blue. His laughter was full of self-deprecation. "It was probably just a guess?" He finally figured out what was the problem. Before the fall of Hyakume, he had struck an agreement with Ye Qingxuan that he would hand over all the research he has done on the music theory of Hyakume to the him, and in exchange, Ye Qingxuan would lend his Clothes of Original Sin to Naberius to study for a day. Yet when they were talking about the old times just now, Naberius did not seem too concerned about the Clothes of Original Sin nor too interested in the Changing Music Theory. Anyone with a hint of intelligence would know that this was impossible. There was only one possible conclusion: He no longer needed the Clothes of Original Sin because he has already gotten his hands on Changing Music Theory. This body, which was created from the bloodlines of countless demons, was proof of that. Aside from the Clothes of Original Sin, the only way to obtain the secret of Changing Music Theory was from the hands of its creator, Paganini. Changing Music Theory was such a formidable weapon that even Masters might not be willing to pass it down to disciples. The fact that Naberius has managed to get his hands on Changing Music Theory could only mean that he was on very good terms with Paganini "He managed to guess so many things just from a moment of neglect." Naberius covered his face, before revealing a strange expression on his face. "The Chief Inquisitor has become more and more terrifying. Perhaps, we should have forced him to stay just now." "Don''t worry." Paganini was calm, "One person cannot possible change what was happening around the world. I never thought it would be possible to strike off two names on the list in one go anyway." He paused and squinted his eyes in the direction of the core of the battle, "He will be in the second sequence. There is still time. We will get our chance." The battle lasted for 10 minutes. The Wagon of Burke was the first casualty. Despite joining forces with another Scepter, they were still unable to go against the movement of Schubert. The outcome of the battle was decided the moment the melody of "Unfinished Symphony" was played. But Schubert did not go after the kill. After defeating the two Scepters and gaining control of one-third of the stone plate, the Scepters remained frozen in mid-air. Five minutes passed. 10 minutes passed. Half an hour passed Everyone looked at each other. They had no clue what Schubert was thinking. Even Ye Qingxuan could not understand what was going on. But for some reason, he felt uneasy and he has been feeling this way since his encounter with Naberius just now. Even if he ignored the fact that Naberius somehow managed to find his way into the Ultimate, the battle between Scepters was something very rare for musicians and should be something that everyone should be paying undivided attention to. But Ye Qingxuan noticed that Naberius has been looking at him from the very beginning. He did not seem to care about the battle taking place in the sky, as if he already knew what the outcome would be. He did not look. Not even a single glance. Although Ye Qingxuan might be overthinking, but against someone like Naberius, there was no harm thinking too much and being more prepared. Both of them were well aware that they stood for very different things so if an opportunity presented itself, they would have no qualms killing each other, even if they had been on very good terms. Besides, they were not on tremendously good terms anyway. Their relationship was best described as mutually beneficial. From a distance, he hesitated for some time before deciding to move closer in the direction of Schubert. But just as he was doing so, he noticed that quite a number of musicians have already appeared. Everyone was keeping a safe distance from Schubert and continued to look from afar. The first thing he saw was a corpse in horrendous state. Its innards have all been spilled. It was Raymond. After some time, Ye Qingxuan finally recognized the broken piece of corpse to belong to that old man. He never imagined Raymond to die in such a manner in the Ultimate, and to die beside Schubert. Ye Qingxuan looked away and saw the old nun chanting beside the corpse. The frail old nun was completely covered in the robe she wore and looked like an old granny who has been abiding by the rules for decades. Both her hands clasped onto her Rose Prayer Beads, seemingly oblivious to her surroundings, as she hung her head and only looked at her fingertips. Ye Qingxuan could vaguely see her lips moving, as if she was chanting something. In fact, some of the musicians that specialized in lip-reading had already figured out what she was chanting. "Holy Bible." 646 Command The Holy Bible. It not so much that she was reading it aloud, but more like she was reciting it from memory. It was as if after having chanted the scriptures for so many years she had memorized the whole thing. She had recited chapters six through seven with her eyes closed, as if she were doing something as simple as singing hymns. Even though her partner, Raymond, had died horribly in the Ultimate, there was still no response from her. It seemed as if she could not sense anything in the outside world. She stood in the same place as she had before, not moving at all, even with the Scepters still in the sky. She simply kept chanting. Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded for a good while. All of the musicians around him were similarly at a loss. In all that time, anyone who had tried to grab the stone plate out of the air had been attacked by Schubert and their Symphonies of Predestination had nearly been destroyed. Ye Qingxuan was perplexed. He walked over from the corner towards the frail old nun. The musicians standing all around them sneered at this. It was not like no one had tried to walk forward to find out what was going on, but as soon as they got within a hundred paces they felt an overwhelming sense of danger, and could not get any closer. If they got any closer, a hostile fire would spring out from their very bones, burning them both inside and out. Not even ashes would be left. But then, something that made them go wide-eyed with shock happened. Ye Qingxuan walked towards her step by step without issue. Schubert allowed him to approach to her side, even as he approached the dangerous area. The whole time, her eyes were fixed on the staff that he carried, as well as the holy emblem on his collar. After confirming who it was that approached her, she ignored him and closed her eyes once again. Could only members of the Church approach her? Ye Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief and touched the insignia of the Court on his collar. At present, he was the highest ranking member of the Church in the Ultimate. Even if Raymond had still been alive, his status would not have been higher. He was the archbishop appointed by the King of Red himself, the head of the Inquisition, and was able to sit at the same table as the head of the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments and Grand Judge of the Sacred Court. "Your Excellency Schubert, I am honored to have the good fortune to meet you." He greeted her with all the formality that the Church required, but the old nun still did not move. She kept her eyes close, still chanting and ignoring him. Ye Qingxuan frowned. After a long silence, he waved his hand in front of the nun''s face. It as like she could not see him. Her expression remained as indifferent as before. There was not the slightest response from her. She just kept chanting. Ye Qingxuan frowned again. He took out a handkerchief and covered his hand with it, then turned to examine Raymond''s body. His head had fallen off his neck and now rolled around in a pool of blood. His eyes revealed nothing but the blank expression of the dead. He had died instantly. Luckily, there had been no pain. Someone had taken advantage of Schubert''s preoccupation with her struggle for the stone plate and killed him in a flash of violence. Raymond was just an ordinary person, not even a musician. He should never have come to the Ultimate. He was too weak. If it wasn''t for Schubert''s protection he would not even have been able to enter this place. When he realized this, he was confused. Then why did he want to come here? Wouldn''t it have been better to just leave this to Schubert? Could it be that the Sacred City was so worried about this that they had insisted on sending one of their own to handle things? He was silent for a while, then looked up at the still chanting Schubert. It slowly began to dawn on him. Unless, Schubert needed him... Raymond couldn''t leave Schubert''s protection, but at the same time, perhaps Schubert couldn''t leave him. Then what could have made Schubert depend on him so completely? Her chanting? What a joke. Of all the places he could have appeared, this was the worst. Then... Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a while. Then, faced the still dazed old woman, "Sister, I beg your pardon." Upon saying this he grabbed her wrist and pulled up her sleeve. His face fell at what he saw there. He suddenly realized what was going on. Layer upon layer of alchemy arrays and movements were engraved into her old skin. All he could feel when he touched the lines was the vast amount of music running through her frail body. But it had nothing to do with her breathing or her heartbeat. It was like she was nothing more than a bucket of water...a container. He finally understood what was going on with the old nun. Schubert''s Scepter was trapped within her body, fixed in place by alchemy arrays. The vast movements and frightful spirituality flowed through her body. It had taken over her body. It had completely washed away her personality. The missing inheritor of the Saint was being kept inside this unconscious body. The old nun in front of Ye Qingxuan could be said to be an artifact in human form. With but a single command she could be as valuable as if the Saint had come there himself. You didn''t even have to take care of the body. At the worst, if something happened to it you could just find another one... In order to inherit Schubert''s music theory, this old nun before him had forgotten everything, even her own name. All of her consciousness and personality had been shattered by its frightful power. All that was left was her empty, pious heart. Besides that, she had only her instinct to breath. If she had not had someone to guide her, she may not even have been able to feed herself. She could only chant. She could only praise God... This was a magnificent idea. Even if Hermes was resurrected, wouldn''t he be moved by its genius? Ye Qingxuan''s face fell. He quickly realized that there was a more serious issue. With Raymond dead there was no one left to direct Schubert. Since Schubert could not defend herself, if someone was able to find a way to kill her it would be simple to pull off! You didn''t even need to face Schubert''s music theory, simply targeting the frail old woman would work. Ye Qingxuan could think of dozens of ways to kill her off the top of his head. There was the curse against the flesh that used techniques from both the School of Revelation and the School of Choir. This pure chemical reaction did not involve any aetheric poison. Or, since her defenses were out to a hundred paces, one could just stand outside of that range and create a vacuum that she would suffocate in. Or they could just keep her where she was, and sooner or later she would starve to death. The people all around seemed to also feel that something was not right. They looked at Schubert and Ye Qingxuan with eyes filled first with shock, then with doubt, and finally...danger. A saint! Even an Archbishop like Ye Qingxuan had never heard of a situation like this. Even though he wasn''t a proper Archbishop, the existence of the Saint was one of the Church''s most closely kept secrets. Especially since she was clearly so weak. He was not the only one smart enough to have figured this out. So even if he couldn''t be sure, now was the time to gamble. He instinctively knew how valuable Schubert was. If they killed her now, how strong would the gift from the Ultimate be? But was this the Church''s plan from the start? If the situation changed, they might order Schubert to kill herself, putting the Saint''s music theory into the Ultimate, further infecting it. Schubert''s inheritance was a vital part of the system of human music theory. But if it was to be immersed in the Ultimate, then the Sacred City would be able to control a significant part of it. But the problem was...no one had asked Ye Qingxuan. And he was unhappy. He had been unhappy with the Church for a long time, but never like today. So why would he let go of Schubert''s inheritance when it was right there before his eyes? Since Hayden''s music theory was already hidden, Schubert''s Scepter was even more important to get a hold of! Especially since Schubert''s specialty was his weak point, the School of Modifications. But there was not enough time for Ye Qingxuan to think things over. Things were already starting to go wrong. He could feel something wrong in the air. Heavy footsteps rang out. Some people were coming closer, slowly and solemnly, step by step, with somber expressions. But when Ye Qingxuan turned his head, he saw the insignia of the church on their chests. He felt like cursing. In all these years, how many honorary faculty titles had the Church given out? Why had they all been higher positions than altar boy? If you were a musician you could apply to join the Church, and the acceptance rate was not low at all... A wave of aether with with intent to kill rose up. Six Masters... Ye Qingxuan looked around wildly. He forced himself to be calm amidst the chaos, and looked over at them disdainfully, saying, "Are you here to provoke the Saint?" "Mr. Ye, there''s no need to pretend." The old musician smiled sincerely and said, "I''ve been here ever since that guy died. Although I don''t know what happened there, this does mean that she has no power to resist now, right? But after all, it''s up to you do decide this for us." Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips into a frown. "Are you sure you want to become enemies of the Church?" Even though he said this, he knew in his heart that despite its illustrious name, the Church was no longer something to be trusted. What was more, the Pope was far away from the Ultimate. If they did this, at the very least they could flee to the Commonwealth of Caucasian. These people had already planned to attack the Saint, they wouldn''t care about a Grand Inquisitor like him. After a moment of silence, the old man said, "Mr. Ye, you are the Deputy Prince of the Anglo Kingdom. As a former employee of the Anglos, I don''t want to cause you any trouble. If you''re willing to retreat, I won''t stop you." This was a rare show of lenience, and a wise choice. Even though Ye Qingxuan had fallen to the level of a Distortion Musician, he was by no means some pushover that the Master could casually defeat. Who knew how many tricks he had up his sleeve? None of them wanted to be the first to find out. The best option was to have him go far away. The further the better. But Ye Qingxuan was not prepared to accept this graciousness. In the silence, his expression changed constantly, until finally it grew firm He did not leave, but stood in front of old nun. He looked at them, and said back to them, "I''ll offer you the same deal." The others were struck silent. "If you leave now," Ye Qingxuan continued, "I''ll act like nothing happened." Upon hearing this, the Masters could not help but laugh. They clearly did not take him seriously at all. Six waves of aether rose up, nearly powerful enough to kill, and yet Schubert still remained motionless. No reaction at all. Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. He stretched out his hand and raised his head. But when he opened his fingers, the six Masters'' expressions changed. He was holding a bloody brooch-the one that Raymond had given him before he died. The completely ordinary brooch bearing the Holy Emblem. Holding the brooch in his hand, Ye Qingxuan''s words seemed to carry some mystical power. "Schubert, kill everyone not wearing white clothes." Schubert opened her eyes. 647 And It Was So Oh no! At the moment, everyone''s expression changed drastically. Not waiting for Ye Qingxuan to finish his words, they instantly gathered up all their strength, and instead of attacking, they quickly dashed away. But immediately after that, in midair, they felt that something was wrong. The thunder-like blow they expected never struck. Nothing even happened. They turned back in surprise and only saw Schubert casting a look at Ye Qingxuan, a blank look in her eyes, which had no vigor in them at all. Then, she withdrew her gaze once more. She lowered her head and continued reciting the scriptures. Confusion, surprise, realization, and anger... Finally, their expressions turned to that of mockery. As everyone looked on, Ye Qingxuan blushed, awkwardly retracted his seemingly incomparably impressive pose, and coughed twice. He had just put on an act for nothing! He threw the brooch that had been of no goddamn use to the side, madly cursing the Church in his heart! He thought that he had turned the tables just now, and he even talked tough, but it ended up not working at all. The contrast between the situations before and after made him feel as if he had a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat and was unable to spit it out. What on earth are the *ssholes in the Church thinking?! Despite having committed the awful act of making a person into a container for a scepter, they''re too stingy to add one more control module, aren''t they?! Ye Qingxuan dryly laughed twice. "Um, something came up last minute, do carry on with your chat, I''ll take my leave first." However, just as he turned and took a step forward, iron ridges grew out and filled the ground in front of him. The sharp upper edges aimed straight at Ye Qingxuan''s face. The murderous intention was bone-chilling. "A pretty good trick, Grand Inquisitor." The old man in the lead wore a dark expression. "You''ve successfully made fun of us and also given up your last chance." Ye Qingxuan sighed and tapped the ground with the staff of fate. "In other words... I must fight?" No one responded, and frenzied aether waves rose again. Ye Qingxuan inwardly cursed. Raymond, that old fart, he just had to cause me more trouble even in his death. Devil knows what a weakling like him had relied on to command Schubert! Surely he didn''t rely on the reciting of scriptures instead of alchemy equipment? Wait, reciting scriptures? Despite being at such a nerve-racking juncture with the enemy looming in front, Ye Qingxuan was momentarily stunned. He only just realized that since a while ago, the old nun had switched to reciting scriptures of the same verse without anyone noticing. "...Fear thou the Lord and the king, and company not with them that are given to change. For their calamity shall rise suddenly. He that saith unto the wicked, ''Thou art righteous'', peoples shall curse him, nations shall abhor him..." he recited it over and over again, but it was still the same verse. But the last sentence, the conclusion of the utmost importance, was missing from the Proverb. Subconsciously, Ye Qingxuan murmured softly, " And the destruction from the Lord, who knoweth it?" At the very moment, it was as if thunder had descended from the sky. In midair, a rumble suddenly erupted from the scepter hanging high. Horrible thunder brewed within, and lightning burst forth. Everyone felt the bone-chilling cold coming from the old nun. In a trace-like state, as if she was obeying the instruction of God, she raised her head, and the terrifying brilliance of God filled her hollow eyes. The next moment, horrifying thunder burst forth from the element of the scepter in midair. It was as if a bright sun was rising between the heavens and the earth. The mere act of gazing upon the fierce light close at hand would be enough to burn and damage one''s eyes severely. In the blink of an eye, while Ye Qingxuan only felt a horrifying heat descend from the sky, the thunder had turned into an ocean and engulfed everything. When he opened his eyes again, he could only see a scorched blackness in front of him. The thunder dissipated. Everything seemed to imply that nothing had happened. The six masters who stood in front of Ye Qingxuan had long since disappeared without a trace. At that moment, they didn''t even have time to escape. Under the thunderous wrath of the Saint, all of them turned to ashes. The thunder was like punishment from God. Wherever it passed, everything was all destroyed. Their music theory cracked and collapsed, their bodies were destroyed, and even their ashes had evaporated entirely. Even the earth melted and changed into a splatter of grayish-black and scorching red colors, exuding a smell of sulfur that seemed to come from hell. As all the bystanders looked on in surprise and shock, Ye Qingxuan was silent for a good while, then couldn''t help but laugh. He laughed loudly. He finally understood how the Sacred City had commanded Schubert. Non sunt multiplicanda entia sine necessitate [1] The same was true for alchemy. Since a better method existed, they need not add a crappy control circuit. It had probably been planned from the very beginning? A devout believer was to be used as the container to hold the elements and scepter born of the Holy Bible. Then, the Proverbs of the Holy Bible were used as the medium of communication. After the original personality was erased by the music theory, the devout heart remaining would become the best way to control the container. As long as one mastered the contents of the Holy Bible, one could control it. In simple words, as long as one could recite the entire Holy Bible, one could naturally understand how to communicate with Schubert. Meanwhile, Ye Qingxuan''s title as a bishop within the Church provided him with a command authority of minimum level. Although some other more covert control circuit was certainly hidden within, the current extent was enough, provided that he simply wanted to use Schubert''s scepter as a deterrent. Seeing that Ye Qingxuan had commanded Schubert, in a flash, their surroundings were completely empty. All the musicians had run away completely. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan examined the old nun in front of him and his lips curled into a smile. The Ultimate was indeed a nice place... He thought of a pretty good plan. ... In the dead of the night, fiery glows lit up from time to time in the silent city. Under the calm surface situation that resembled stagnant water, turbulent undercurrents prevailed. God knew how many musicians were hiding in the dark, madly fighting and killing each other to seize power. There were also musicians who were not interested in the power that could be obtained out of nowhere. Some held it in contempt, while others didn''t want to get themselves into trouble There is no such thing as a free lunch, all the pies that fell from the sky [2] came with their own prices. Leaving the risks of engaging in combat aside for the moment, just the unsubstantial power obtained would in itself require one to put in a significant amount of effort just to control it. If that was all, it would still be alright. Schools that had been established for some years, even if not for very long, generally had methods designed specifically in relation to such external power, and the methods would allow one to completely master such power. However, if one was to accept the music theory of the Ultimate, one''s own music theory would also be altered by the Ultimate. Contamination was relative. Human beings were altering the Ultimate, and the Ultimate was also altering human beings. When the Ultimate officially finished brewing up and the catastrophe was born, then naturally, the School of the Ultimate that would make use of its music theory would take shape. Actually, most of the schools of mankind had originated in similar fashion. By imitating, studying, and exploring catastrophes, they obtained power from catastrophes. But the situation they faced at the moment was different. Direct inheriting the music theory of the Ultimate would inevitably cause one to be affected by the Ultimate. After the Ultimate was controlled by the Church, one would also become a lackey of the Church for sure. It was just like dark musicians. Any musician would hold dark musicians in contempt as long as he had a bit of talent, and why was that so? Wasn''t it precisely because those fellows were controlled and restricted by catastrophes and demons, and didn''t even have freedom? Of course, there was no shortage of wackos who were blinded by greed and even dared to scheme against the catastrophe for the sake of power. Therefore, other than a large number of people who were ecstatic, there were still a small number of musicians with strong enough foundations and promising futures, who were unwilling to get involved in such trouble. Moreover, musicians would never make enemies lightly among themselves. Once enemies were made, the consequence would be nothing short of a fight till death. For those who killed other musicians for the sake of power, leaving the issue of whether it was done via a fair showdown aside for the moment, surely they weren''t assuming that the schools the musicians belonged to were dead as well? Musicians who could attain the Level of Master were all mainstays of their respective schools, or might even be the very ones in charge of their schools. Offending a large group of people for the sake of some power that came with a price would probably result in failure to obtain protection even from one''s own school, and one could only resort to seeking refuge in the Sacred City. It was probably the Church''s plan as well? In a casino, the one to profit the most would never be the expert of cheating, nor would it be the experienced gambler well-versed in the art of gambling, but the owner of the casino who was acting as dealer. The casino would charge both sides, so no matter which side was to win, it would earn a steady profit with no risk of losing. It wasn''t that no smart person had figured it out, but people were often powerless to change the environment, and would instead be influenced and changed by the environment. When the entire Ultimate became the Colosseum, few people were able to maintain their virtue in solitude. One example was Auden from the School of Wan Lei. Sometimes even though one made no attempt to kill others, others would still attempt to kill one... "Orlando, I have never offended you!" After being forced into a dead end, Auden''s expression was twisted with rage. "Are you not afraid of the revenge of the School of Wan Lei that will follow if you kill me!" Behind layers of stone-like fluorescence, Auden was already extremely flustered. A big half of his beard had been cut off, and his robe was in tatters. If it hadn''t been for the alchemy equipment, he would have died and gone to the underworld in the first round of sneak attacks. The School of Wan Lei derived from the school of modifications and was known for its manipulation of stone and iron. Its forte was defense. Once the core music theory was unfolded, it was as if the musician had carried a fortress on him, and ordinary musicians were unable to break through the defenses at all. But it must also be considered from a relative perspective, especially when the opponent had advanced to the Level of Scepter. The fortress became a coffin, and one couldn''t even escape. Orlando''s figure was like a materialized ghost, swaying fleetingly, and produced a sharp cackle. After a musician of the school of magic attained the Level of Scepter, he could control reality and illusion. Even his own existence was so fleeting that it was difficult to detect. Furthermore, Orlando''s forte was eroding reality via illusions. Under the distortion of music theory, the illusion of nothingness continuously eroded Auden''s defenses, disintegrating it bit by bit. He was bent on killing Auden, and his attacks became more decisive, not even giving Auden any chance to take a breathe. His own existence was transformed in the sharp melody, and dreamlike streams of light were blown out of his flute, making Auden''s face turn pale. "You won''t have it easy even after I die." Auden gritted his teeth and made up his mind. As if his blood was ignited, his face turned red. Turbulent music theory permeated from his defenses, and surprisingly turned the illusions into dust. Assimilation. Different types of Symphonies of Predestination would produce different effects once they blew themselves up. Most musicians of the school of modifications were good at destruction, but masters of alchemy like Auden were better at altering the nature of matter. Once his Symphony of Predestination erupted, despite the suppression of the Ultimate, everything within a few hundred meters would all be transformed into dust. Then, Orlando would definitely not have it easy. Moreover, he couldn''t even obtain the Symphony of Predestination, and could only return empty-handed. "Will I give you a chance?" Orlando sneered, and the flute played a sharp melody. In the shrill sound, Auden''s vision blurred, and he actually lost the ability to sense his Symphony of Predestination. After the confrontation that had lasted for a long time, the illusions had quietly seeped into Auden''s consciousness. Even Orlando himself had become a fulcrum of the illusions. As long as one looked directly at him, one would be eroded by his illusions and get trapped deeply within without realizing it. Seeing the vague figure that Orlando had turned into walk towards him, Auden felt utter despair in his heart. Only then did he understand that the reason why the other person had dragged things on with him for such a long time was just to make him deeply trapped and unable to escape. But at the very moment, a hoarse sigh sounded. "And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament." The young man who walked out of the shadows recited the Holy Bible, clapped his hands deftly, and proclaimed, " And it was so." Smack! [1] The principle of Occam''s Razor that translates as ''Entities are not to be multiplied without necessity.'' [2] The author is referring to a Chinese proverb that literally translates as "A pie fell from the sky." It means that one gets to enjoy benefits without putting in effort. 648 Even the Dark Musician would not have Tolerated <p> "Therefore, God created the atmosphere and separated the water above and underneath it." The young man that has just stepped out of the shadows was chanting the Holy Bible and clapping his hands lightly, "This is how it all happened."</p><p>Smack!</p><p>Terrifying power exploded behind him. The exquisite music theory, that surpassed even the level of Scepters, appeared out of nowhere, passed by two people in the blink of an eye and wrested over the control of everything within a circumference of a few hundred meters. Soon after, the music theories of both parties were immaculately dismantled and were forced to stop fighting. Orlando was trembling with rage that the duck he had finally managed to catch was flying away. He stared furiously at that young man but his anger dissipated instantly, and was quickly replaced by shock and fear.</p><p>It was at this moment that he could finally see clearly the old nun that was standing behind that white-haired young man.</p><p>Schubert!</p><p>Anger was the last thing on his mind right now. Instead, he was considering if he should retreat. His savior might have descended from the skies but Auden was not relieved. Instead, his heart sank. He had just escaped the tiger''s jaws, only to find himself in the wolf''s den. He never considered that Ye Qingxuan was helping him out of goodwill. He presumed that Ye Qingxuan probably just wanted to kill two birds with one stone.</p><p>Therefore, it was beyond his expectation to find that the white-haired young man, the Chief Inquisitor, was not wielding any weapons nor seem to harbor any intent to kill. Instead, he squatted down to look at Auden with a smile on his face.</p><p>"Hi, friend." He took out a fresh piece of covenant and waved it in front of Auden, "Are you interested in a transaction?"</p><p>When Auden replied with a confused look on his face, Ye Qingxuan explained the terms and conditions with a smile on his face, "Right now, you have two choices. One, I leave and you die. Two, seek help from me and I will save you and bring you out of the Ultimate in one piece. In exchange, you have to sign your name. Look, it''s right here."</p><p>With that, Ye Qingxuan took out a pen and stuffed it into Auden''s hand, before pointing at the blank that could be found at the end of the covenant, "Sign here and you will be saved! How? Worth it right?"</p><p>Auden briefly glanced through the covenant. He had only read the opening paragraph and he was already tempted to vomit blood at Ye Qingxuan''s face.</p><p>Worth it? My foot! Which b*stard came up with these terms and conditions? Even the Dark Musician would not have tolerated this!</p><p>For the next 30 years, he would have to serve the Religious Court of Inquiry without any compensation. He would also have to help the Religious Court of Inquiry to groom and develop musician apprentices. It would still have been acceptable if that was all. However, he was also expected to comply with all of Ye Qingxuan''s plans and orders unconditionally</p><p>And this was only the beginning!</p><p>There were so many terms and conditions that they left Auden feeling giddy. How was this a covenant that would save his life? It would be an understatement to say that this covenant basically required him to sell his life!</p><p>To be fair, it was clearly mentioned that he would not be expected to work for free and that he would be paid according to the top-tier of the market rate. However, once a musician reached the level of a Master, finding jobs would not be a problem at all. To think that they intend to use money in exchange for the services of a Master for not once or twice, but for 30 years Dream on!</p><p>All Masters would have their own topics to research on, how could they possibly have the time to work for Ye Qingxuan! Not only would he have to sacrifice his youth and almost his entire life, he would also have to sacrifice his apprentices! This contract was so ridiculous that it was almost like hiring other employers to work in his company, on top of signing such an unfair contract. Once this contract was signed, all his musicians would have to wok for the Religious Court of Inquiry! Who would be so free to be owned by someone else as a dog?</p><p>Besides, this covenant was created with the path of commandment of the School of Abstinence, so it was an enforcement covenant of the highest quality and was not cheap at all. The oddities of the real of aether have been used to ensure that dire consequences would befall on him should he choose to go against the covenant.</p><p>By the time Auden has finished reading the entire covenant, he raised his head to look at Ye Qingxuan again. Looking at this white-haired fellow was like looking at a demon in human skin. This b*stard! He made it sound as if there were really two choices, when one of them meant immediate death. Who knew what else he could have up his sleeves?</p><p>But if Auden did not refuse he would be living a life that was not much of an improvement over death! Who knew how he would end up if he was to work for this fellow? The Religious Court of Inquiry has always been notorious and even Naberius, the Dark Musician, has said that anyone with half a brain would never associate themselves with the Religious Court of Inquiry</p><p>"Have you decided?" Ye Qingxuan grinned before beginning to check the time, "I don''t have much time left. It is perfectly fine if you don''t wish to accept the covenant."</p><p>With that, he casually gave Orlando a glance. The moment Orlando heard that Ye Qingxuan was leaving, his eyes lit up.</p><p>"No! I''ll sign! I''ll sign!" Auden shouted. Before he could even finish his sentence, he already saw the expression of joy on Ye Qingxuan''s face. "Damned it, I have been cheated" Auden was struggling internally. Under Ye Qingxuan''s gaze, he controlled his tears and stamped the Symphony of Predestination on the covenant. From here on, all his musicians would be sold to the Religious Court of Inquiry.</p><p>"Welcome!" Ye Qingxuan smiled and helped him up from the ground. "Although this might have been a little unorthodox, the benefits that we offer are top-notch. All the music theories of the Religious Court of Inquiry are open to you. Don''t worry, you will not be unfairly treated. From now on, we are family!"</p><p>"Who the hell wants to be family with you!" Auden kept quiet. What else could he say? Since he has already jumped into a fire pit, he might as well think about how he could make himself comfortable in there. At this thought, he stared at Orlando viciously. If not for him, Auden would never be in such a state where he would have to pay such a heavy price.</p><p>Ye Qingxuan pretended to blow at the signature on the covenant, as if he was trying to dry the non-existent ink, before keeping the covenant very slowly. Then, he turned back and looked at Orlando, who seemed prepared to make a run for it. "Hi friend, it''s your turn now."</p><p>Orlando was taken aback when he saw Ye Qingxuan taking out a new covenant, "I don''t need to plead with you!"</p><p>"Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan grinned and pointed behind him, "Now you do!"</p><p>Orlando''s face turned pale when he saw the murderous look on Auden''s face. He could not help but curse. Alright, perhaps he really needed it now. If he chose not to sign it, who knew if Ye Qingxuan would kill him immediately to take revenge for Auden?</p><p>There was a cunning smile on Auden''s face. He has finally figured out how he was going to torture this b*stard! There was no reason that he should be the only unlucky one. Of course, he must drag more people down with him! If not for this as*hole, Auden would still have been perfectly fine! Although Auden might still be pissed with Ye Qingxuan for taking advantage of his misfortune, he was filled with much more hatred for Orlando!</p><p>"Mr Ye, there are two clauses in the covenant that can be further adjusted," he reminded Ye Qingxuan, pointing out the third clause. "The definition of ''rights and obligations'' here is too broad. We must not give others a chance to take advantage of any loopholes. And here, for the price of going against the covenant, we must retain the right to pursue responsibility. He may be able to escape, but not his entire School" Auden did not mind seeing others worse off than him, now that he has landed himself in such a situation.</p><p>"Oh!" Ye Qingxuan''s eyes lit up after the reminder, and quickly made the necessary changes. Indeed, two heads were better than one. If not for Auden''s reminder, he would have neglected an important loophole.</p><p>"And here, here we can make it more specific." Auden has barely just joined Ye Qingxuan but he was already fully involved in the business of making sure that others would end up worse off than him.</p><p>"I see!" After some changes, Ye Qingxuan held onto Auden''s hands gratefully, "Recruiting you has been my best decision. How did you know so much?"</p><p>Auden laughed coldly, "The biggest source of revenue for School of Wan Lei comes from loans. Even the Emperor of Burgundy has loaned from us before. When I was an apprentice, I was tasked to draft all these. Mr Ye, don''t worry. I will make sure this covenant is perfect."</p><p>"Thank you in advance then!" Ye Qingxuan patted Auden on the shoulder and smiled gleefully at Orlando.</p><p>Orlando was so enraged that he vomited blood and almost lost control of his music theory. When the both of them finally signed their contracts, Ye Qingxuan happily kept them safely with him.</p><p>When the two of them saw the thick pile of covenants that Ye Qingxuan was carrying around with him, they knew that many more would end up in the same boat as them, which they would not mind.</p><p>"Since we are all on the same side now, I shall not stand on ceremony." Ye Qingxuan handed a coordinate to the two of them, "Next, you will head over here and meet up with Master Mable of the School of Anglo. We are all the same now, there''s no need to stand on ceremony."</p><p>The two of them could not help but roll their eyes. Stand on ceremony! This b*stard was so desperate to go around conning people that he could not even wait to send them over for a while. Before they departed, Ye Qingxuan called out to them again.</p><p>"Ah, one more question" Ye Qingxuan smiled awkwardly, "Do you guys have those can you show me the core music theories of your Schools?"</p><p>""</p><p>Within a single day, every musician in the city has already heard about the man who was going around in a frenzy and trying to stop fights. Tens of musicians have already witnessed what just happened. When the fight was at its fiercest, a white-haired fellow would suddenly appear to split both parties apart before waving his covenants at them to try to recruit them. Such a situation brought out the worst of human nature and countless musicians fell into the trap.</p><p>Now, everyone made sure to avoid the white-haired fellow as much as they could. As a result, both Liu Ran and Yuan Jing were also seen as banes. All easterners must not be anything good!</p><p>Ye Qingxuan was squatting in a corner, watching two musicians that were about to fight each other. The two musicians looked at each other before looking at him. There was a long silence and no one moved a single hair.</p><p>Ye Qingxuan saw that the two of them still remained motionless while he was about to finish his melon seeds. He could not help but frown, "Quick, start fighting." It was as if he was watching a free show, "Why haven''t the two of you started fighting?"</p><p>"" The two of them remained silent until one of them gritted his teeth and stomped his foot before walking away. "Forget it!" The other person turned around to leave as well.</p><p>Only Ye Qingxuan was left behind. He was so surprised by how the situation turned out that his jaw dropped. "Hmm, perhaps from a certain perspective, I have already contributed to the peace of the Ultimate."</p> 649 I’m a Good Friar It was like this for seven days. An almost unrealistic sense of peace fell over the entire Ultimate. The fighting was confined to a very small area, almost ten times smaller than before. Although Ye Qingxuan himself didn''t think there was anything wrong with this peace, most of the people there thought that he had spoiled things for everyone. When it came to blows, nobody wanted there to be somebody left behind them scheming. Especially since that guy would not only be scheming towards his own goals, but they had to waste thirty years working for him, even going so far as to... "I said, aren''t you ashamed, Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor?" The Master who had been forced into such a desperate situation asked. But Ye Qingxuan felt nothing. "Ashamed? Of what? What''s wrong with maintaining the peace? Have you ever even really thought about what I''m doing? Haven''t I already given you a way out by not having your burned at the stake?" After having experienced those days of constant struggle with Shi Dong''s group of old b*stards, this level of questioning seemed no more serious than a drizzle. The joke was that he was the Grand Inquisitor. He held the Staff of Fate. He knew that he was righteous. I''ve killed people, I''ve set fires, I''ve sold indulgences, but I know that I''m a good friar. Even if he were to kill all the Masters, at the most it would cause a little bit of trouble for him. But more importantly, in the long run it would quite a good thing. Of course, most people wouldn''t want a good thing like this to happen to them. However, he only had about five days for his most important actions. For five days, he had run around in the Ultimate, rummaging through every corner, and had "saved" twenty Masters. That is to say, at least seventeen or eighteen of the mainstream Schools had signed his contract and been tricked into ganging up with the Inquisition. After the five days were up he had occupied a large building on the east side of the Ultimate and had not gone out anymore. He and the twenty Masters had hunkered down in there and not opened the door. Things had already exceeded Ye Qingxuan''s expectations. He had not thought that he would be able to capture everyone in the Ultimate in one fell swoop. It was a happy accident that he was now able to take advantage of their misfortune. It was best not to push his luck. Even though the Masters who had signed the contract were all angry at him, they weren''t stupid. Upon seeing the chaotic situation, they realized that although they had to work for him for free for thirty years, at least they were still alive. If they were to die, they would be left with nothing. Ye Qingxuan could only be regarded as a profiteer, but at any rate he did not lie to himself about the consequences and the costs of his actions. Moreover, he treated them rather well. There was no shame in working for the Inquisition. As long as the contract was strictly enforced the Masters would not be suffering too much. At most it would amount to a bit of bother. If they had let Ye Qingxuan take advantage of them even more, that would truly be a loss of face. He had saved their lives. So now it was time to get to work. But they never would have thought that their first job as members of the Inquisition would be to...make up classes. "Pig head!" "What kind of a fool are you? This is utter rubbish!" "Was your music theory class taught by a martial arts teacher?" "How are you still confused about this?" "Disgusting! Disgusting!" "How did I teach it to you last time? What you''ve written here is garbage!" Mabel stood in the corner of the main hall of the ruins, gazing at Ye Qingxuan with eyes full of schadenfreude as a group of old men surrounded him, heaping abuse upon him. Indeed, their first job was to make up their boss''s missed lessons. Upon first hearing Ye Qingxuan''s request, the Masters had thought that this was another scheme of his. After all, he was the founder of a School of Magic, the strongest musician below the Scepter level. What could they teach him? He had already taught himself almost everything. But after closely examining him, the old Masters nearly collectively burst a blood vessel. Ye Qingxuan was simply...hopeless! Each of them had but one question in their heart: "Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor, how can you still be so muddled?" "You can''t blame me for this!" Ye Qingxuan explained himself. "It took me a year to become a musician. Half of that was spent in class, but of those six months I only studied music theory for one! The other five months were spent fighting with the freaking school board and saving Avalon! And my circumstances were so hard that I didn''t have an easy time learning a way of deciphering. And that''s not to mention my other studies, which I don''t know if you''ve heard..." The Masters looked at each other. Their hearts were troubled, but they could not find anything to say. It could be said that no one ever had in the past or would in the future achieve as much as he had in just one year. But his basic musician skills were still so sloppy...so sloppy that they couldn''t bear to see them... "Simply awful." Auden sighed and gave up completely. "Your Excellency, I simply can''t teach a student like you. Please excuse my lack of talent." "That''s right, please find someone more qualified." The other Masters also admitted defeat, and handed over their own movements and ancient books. "We can''t do it, please teach yourself. After only a few hours our poor hearts can''t take it anymore. If we keep going our Symphonies of Predestination are going to collapse." "Hey! Don''t be so dramatic," Ye Qingxuan yelled. "Isn''t this just an "arrangement"? What do you think you''re doing?" The Masters looked at each other and then sighed in unison. "To be honest, Your Excellency, we''ve taught so many disciples over the years, and you are the first one we''ve ever seen to be so terrible." "Of course I''m terrible!" said Ye Qingxuan as he copied a stack of manuscripts. "Look at all this homework? How could anyone hope to pass all this?" The Masters were silent for a while. After such a long time, everyone knew each other quite well. They all knew that when it came down to it the Grand Inquisitor was an excellent speaker, and they wouldn''t be able to out argue him. So, after hesitating for a while, they stopped trying to allow him to save face, and began to grade his papers. 30 points, 30 points, 30 points. The results came back. Ye Qingxuan''s face went green. Nine assignments, and he had not passed a single one of them. "Hey! You aren''t doing this to get back at me, are you?" Auden shook his head and stood up. "To tell you the truth, music theory and music creation are two completely different fields. Your understanding and application of music theory has already reached a level that we can hardly hope to attain. But in the field of writing music...In my honest opinion, you have no talent to speak of." "..." "What''s more, we even doubt that you''ve ever taken a formal musician course. Your strength is clear for all to see, but to be honest, it has left us all very perplexed. Because in our experience, the more power a musician has, the longer it has taken them to accumulate that power. But it seems like this is not the case for you. So, is it true that you''ve never walked the path of a true musician?" "..." "Before one can become a formal apprentice, they need to build their foundation for at least five years. And for four of those years they must undergo copious amounts of training." "Seven years for our school," interjected another one of the old men. "That''s right, seven years." Auden sighed and looked at Ye Qingxuan, implying that his meaning was self-evident. Seven years. Based on a normal rate of progress, you haven''t even completed your apprenticeship yet, Your Excellency. Ye Qingxuan could well understood what he meant. To be honest, in order to not damage Ye Qingxuan''s self-esteem the old men had been too tactful. If he had not done it himself, Ye Qingxuan would not have believed it was possible to reach the level of Master in one year without the aid of evil methods. And he already had so many wonderful items; any one of them would be enough to make all the musicians in the world go crazy. In one short year, Ye Qingxuan''s level had been like an airship, soaring ever higher. And what was even more terrifying is that he could turn external forces into his own power. Ever since his apprenticeship began, he had mastered more than ten times his own power. And now that he had the Staff of Fate, on top of his already prodigious talent, he could pull far more than that from the realm of aether. His talent for applying external things to his ability was quite frightening, to be honest. And it had not hindered him that he had never completed most of the musician courses. For example, the extremely important course on "arrangement." Even his Symphony of Predestination was based on a blueprint created by Ye Lanzhou, Hermes and Abraham. The "Symphony of the Bright Moon", the "stone of sage" and the "catastrophe resonance" could be combined together without any conflict between them. This combination would run smoothly and even multiply the effects of the individual components. The effort that it took to be able to do this was certainly no less than what it took to create something anew. But the problem was...he didn''t know how to do anything else. The ancient people of Romulus had said that all roads lead to their city. But of all the thousands of roads, Ye Qingxuan was only good at one them... At times like these, Ye Qingxuan would have liked to dig up Ye Lanzhou. In all the history of the East, out of all the countless people there, there were only a handful with talents like those of Ye Lanzhou. With the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei in his hands, and the Heaven Ladder crossing the seven systems, he could create any kind of music with but a wave of his hand. He had all that he needed right at his fingertips. He was not limited by any objects or forms. No matter what kind of music it was, he had but to glance at it once or twice and he could understand its very essence and its changes. With a little research, he could add in his own movements and make it even better! Ye Qingxuan was nowhere near his match in this mode of spiritual creation. He could not even hope to narrow the massive gap between them. He knew this well. He had not set out on the proper path. Although he possessed such power, he had never sought out the Great Originator that every musician dreamed of. He knew very clearly that all along he had been nothing but a "copyist." All of his talents lay in application and integration rather than creation and exploration. He might never in his life have the ability to compose a movement. When all was said and done, Ye Qingxuan had never been a musician. A knight who was a master swordsman would not necessarily be able to create a new sword-style out of nothing. And this was the biggest dilemma that he faced now. His Symphony of Predestination. 650 I’m Just Gonna Rub Against I After observing and inferring for days on end, the masters exchanged their opinions and reached a unanimous conclusion. After having its source of essence taken away centuries ago, the catastrophe was already about to be born completely. In at most a month and at least a week, it would reappear. And it would at least be of abomination level. Due to the special location of the Ultimate and the influence of the Holy Cauldron, it would be most unlikely for the catastrophe that would be born to have no consciousness like catastrophes of the phenomenal level. Under the intervention of the various kings of the first generation, humanoid catastrophes that possessed self-consciousness like the Three Wise Men would not appear either, and the catastrophe definitely would not exist in a corporeal form like the four living creatures. Its nature would be more inclined towards that of the Three Pillar God. However, under the Sacred City''s guidance which had been preset centuries ago, once it was smoothly born, it would most likely become an artifact that could directly interfere with the Originator, like the Holy Cauldron. The fact that it had also been cultivated by the Ultimate would link it with the Holy Cauldron even more inextricably. For other musicians, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them to obtain power and strengthening. But Ye Qingxuan had a hunch that was getting stronger and stronger in his heart. Perhaps it was really the most suitable place for him to advance to the Level of Scepter. Maybe the mysterious power known as destiny was really arranging the happenings in the world. He only realized that he and the Ultimate were inextricably linked when he pondered carefully. Ye Lanzhou was cast into the Ultimate back then and was imprisoned for more than ten years in the eternal silence of the Ultimate. The quiet moon that he resonated also echoed faintly with the Ultimate. Moreover, the music theory of the Wyrmrest enchantment was directly derived from the phenomenon formed when the Ultimate extracted the power of the Originator. It was precisely because of it that he could still deeply detect the slightest change in the depths of the Ultimate even though he had fallen to the Level of Distortion and his Symphony of Predestination was no longer. Thus, he became more and more convinced of the vague he had in his heart. He could only attain the Level of Scepter here! When the catastrophe cultivated in the Ultimate was completely born, the elements it created would rise from the Physical World, pass through the sea of aether, form a tide of aether which would sweep across the world, and finally ascend into the realm of aether, establishing positions of utmost importance. More importantly, it would result in the production of new changes in the Originator then. If Ye Qingxuan could truly combine his own Symphony of Predestination with the music theory of the Ultimate and hitch a metaphorical ride with the birth of the catastrophe, attaining the Level of Scepter would be a cinch. He could even grab a share of the new music theory of the catastrophe amid the chaos, just like what the Sacred City had been doing all along. One could presume that when the ''accountants'' of the College of Cardinals of the Church drew up the ''property inventory'' and realized that Ye Qingxuan actually had ''shares'' in the newly listed ''company'', their expressions would definitely be very interesting, no? Thus, here came Ye Qingxuan''s problem. His goal was to attain the Level of Scepter. To do so, he would need to become a master first. To become a master, one must have a Symphony of Predestination. In the environment of the Ultimate, it was no longer possible for one to rely on external forces. To possess a Symphony of Predestination, he must recreate it by himself and reunite the three types of music theory as one in his own way. Doing so had its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that one couldn''t make an omelette without breaking eggs, and when Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination was completely recreated, the strong and mighty foundation that had been accumulated originally would probably be even more terrifying. At that time, the immediate attainment of the Level of Scepter was almost a given. Meanwhile, the downside was even more obvious... Composing music was not Ye Qingxuan''s forte. To be exact, he knew nothing about it, nothing at all, and failed to grasp the gist of it no matter how much he tried to learn. All his talents were regarding integration and application, and he completely sucked at the aspect of creation... Moreover, his habits and awareness had already become deep-seated after such a long time, and it would be very difficult to adjust them, unless he started learning everything all over again like an apprentice... Based on estimates, no matter how fast he was, it would take at least half a year. After half a year, even the dish of citron daylily would be cold already! [1] After changing teachers for 20 times, Ye Qingxuan had to admit that he had entered a difficult situation and that it was useless for anyone to teach him. "I''m at a disadvantage because of the lack of culture!" Ye Qingxuan looked up to the sky and sighed deeply. Toying with the incomplete stone plate in his hand, he couldn''t help but want to beat people up. ... Ten minutes later, all the masters who were resting with their eyes closed were awakened. After so many days, everyone''s psychological endurance had improved by a lot, and they had grown used to seeing Ye Qingxuan bathed in light since a long time ago. In the corner of the main hall, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, his head hanging low, and held the broken stone plate in his hands. Under his sleeves, the black array of the catastrophe resonation extended like a living thing and connected itself to the stone plate. The two were integrated as one. Then, turbulent waves of music theory burst forth between Ye Qingxuan and the stone plate. Innumerable tangible strands of music theory emerged from his body, distorting the Physical World. They turned into flames and burned fiercely. A faint melody seemed to be coming from the broken stone plate, but if one was to listen carefully, one wouldn''t be able to catch its trace at all. It seemed to be lingering in a distant place, unwilling to approach. In the fire of music theory which Ye Qingxuan was located in, illusions continuously emerged amid the changing colors. Under his will, the Physical World, which had been deeply eroded by music theory, was also constantly distorted. If one was to observe carefully, one would notice that in the flames, even Ye Qingxuan seemed fleeting, as if he was dissolving in the torrent of ether, revealing his true, original appearance. In the masters'' sensing, Ye Qingxuan had disappeared without a trace, and what replaced him were various terrifying imagery. One example was the bright moon rising from the sea and illuminating the horizon. One example was the grand temple where brilliant hymns were played, standing majestic and fierce. One example was the sea abyss of darkness, pulling everything towards it and swallowing them up entirely. Sometimes it turned into indigo moonlight, freezing everything. Sometimes it was like countless streams of mercury gathering, raging and rushing, as if the four seas had breached the dykes and gushed backwards onto land, knocking down everything tyrannically. And sometimes it seemed to turn into the incarnation of destruction with a thousand hands and a hundred arms, holding precious bottles, iron rods, wind and thunder, and casting thunders of fury towards the Physical World. Sometimes the masters even sensed him as innumerable overlapping alchemy arrays. Countless fine structures beyond the limits of human imagination flanked the sage stone, forming a thin figure who seemed to have the corners of his lips curled upwards in a teasing smile. "Resonance of music theory, again?" Auden looked at Ye Qingxuan with a bitter expression and couldn''t even be envious. At the start, he would still feel jealous, but at the moment he didn''t even have the energy to be jealous anymore. One would really die from anger if one was to keep on comparing oneself to other people. When Auden was Ye Qingxuan''s age, he was still memorizing a lot of information, and how would he ever thought of becoming a master one day? However, at the moment, Ye Qingxuan was already one step away from becoming a scepter musician, more or less. The movement of the moon, the music theory of the Holy Cauldron and that of the abyss, the quiet moon that was born after the superposition of the two, the deepness of the Silver Tide that Abraham had passed down to him, the tyranny and horror of the Hecatoncheir... Even Hermes'' alchemy was within. Not to mention the music theory of the Heaven Ladder and Old Phil''s Firebird projection. In the end, even the outline of Ultimate emerged vaguely... The masters always felt that Ye Qingxuan had learned various things unsystematically, but they never realized that just how unsystematic and of what a great variety the things he learned were. Never mind the variety and lack of systematicness, the thing was, every single one of it would suffice for him to attain the Level of Scepter if he was to take the path to the end. He could even surpass the ordinary scepter musician and be able to put up a good fight even against saints. But it was the precise reason why they were most dispirited. They knew the situation that Ye Qingxuan was facing at the moment. Such a terrifying resonance of music theory was an unusual sight that would only occur when a musician was advancing to the next level. Remaining for even one second longer in such a state would bring great benefits! But who could advance for four or five days in one go, even pausing the process to have a meal and continuing to advance after finishing his meal? It was Ye Qingxuan''s ability, and they didn''t even have the right to be envious. No one among them could induce a power hundreds of times beyond his own limit like Ye Qingxuan, treading on thin ice as if he was taking a walk in the park. Even with the stone plate in hand, none of them could resonate with the catastrophe of the Ultimate. The great benefits were all enjoyed by Ye Qingxuan alone. Moreover, it wasn''t that he was stingy and unwilling to share the meat on the table with them, they simply didn''t have mouths to eat their share. Nothing else under the sun could be more dispiriting. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan was sorting out his own system of music theory. Amid so many exquisite and complicated branches of music theory, it could be said that all the roads would lead him to a bright future. But Ye Qingxuan happened to be pacing in front of the door, stepping on seven or eight boats together [2], yet always refusing to actually choose one road and walk inside. For five or six days, he had been rubbing against the outside of the door without going in [3]. It was very gangster-like and shameless of it. Ye Qingxuan was in no hurry, on the contrary, the masters were almost nothing short of anxious. It continued until a few hours later, when the chaos resulting from the resonance of music theory gradually dissipated, and the ''advancement'' came to an abrupt end. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. His expression had no joy, but was on the contrary full of disheartenment. Looking down at the stone plate in his hand, his expression became complicated. It was the ticket that made him confident about being able to hitch the ride the core of the catastrophe, albeit only one-third. Although the piece of the core of the catastrophe did not belong to him, there was no harm in temporarily borrowing it for the sake of reference. Its rightful owner was still watching on beside him, he dared not pocket it and claimed it as his own. He could conclude with certainty that other commands had been ingrained more deeply in the depths of the old nun''s consciousness, namely the core commands preset by the Sacred City, such as fighting for the core of the catastrophe and safekeeping it. This command must definitely have higher priority over everything else. Otherwise, she wouldn''t be totally indifferent about Raymond, who was close at hand, being killed when she was fighting for the core. But come to think of it, Raymond''s death was full of questions. Who would deliberately scheme to kill Raymond, yet not lay a finger on Schubert who had lost all forms of initiative next to him? It was beyond reason. If murdering Schubert could allow him to attain the Level of Scepter immediately, Ye Qingxuan would definitely... okay, he would definitely hesitate more than a few times and still not be able to do it in the end. Killing an old nun for personal attainment. Ye Qingxuan would renounce himself just for thinking about it. In the past few days, he had commanded Schubert with the Holy Bible. It was fairly inconvenient, but generally she could effectively implement simple measures. The only problem was that she would never let the piece of the core of the catastrophe leave her sight. Even at the moment, she stood silently in the shadows at a corner, staring at Ye Qingxuan blankly. The focus of her sight fell on the core. It had been a few days, and she had not slacked in the slightest bit. But even Ye Qingxuan himself had grown resigned and despaired, and was close to giving up. [1] The literal translation of a Chinese saying that means ''everything would be too late by then''. [2] The author is referring to a Chinese saying that literally translates as ''one foot in each boat'', means ''romantically involved with two different persons at the same time'', and can be used metaphorically in a broader sense. [3] The author is referring to a dirty joke in Chinese about non-penetrative sex. 651 Keep Pushing Although a catastrophe could not be developed, one-third of the core had allowed Ye Qingxuan to take a peek into the deeper levels of the Ultimate. There were countless music theories that were constantly changing. It was just like looking at the dust in the ocean through a prism. Under such a terrifying scale that was so immense it was borderline impossible, Ye Qingxuan truly felt miniscule. To any musician, this was a rare opportunity. A catastrophe had completely revealed its core music theory for him to observe and refer to, and this was more effective than being taught by any of the best mentors. Especially with Jiu Xiao Huan Pei in his hands, the level of sensitivity of Ye Qingxuan''s perception was so astounding that it allowed for the recurrence of any detail in the entire process. Ye Qingxuan managed to gain plenty of knowledge within a short period of four days but it was not without its limits. With regard to the knowledge he could gain on the Distortion level, he was already at the peak. If he still did not become a Master, he would have missed a great opportunity. His situation was just like a mouse that could not possibly finish consuming all the grain in a granary. This was as far as Ye Qingxuan could go, in terms of his level of observation and abilities. It was painful to know that it was so near, yet so far. At the end of the day, the problem still lied with the Symphony of Predestination "I refuse to believe that I''m unable to write a simple Symphony of Predestination!" Ye Qingxuan was furious and placed the shard of the stone plate to one side. He picked up paper and pen and began to write furiously. After ten minutes, he finally stopped and took a look at what was in his hands. A flame started and he threw the movement into the fire without any emotion. In the end, he sighed helplessly. Alright, he really failed to write anything. If only there was a template or a correct answer to be found, but of all things, he was most clueless about creations like this that could not be bound. Everything he wrote could just as easily be either right or wrong. How to start, how to end, what would the rhythm be Everything was shrouded in a mist of confusion. No one could tell Ye Qingxuan what he should do. This was not a test so there were no structure or rules. He sank into deep thoughts. This time around, the amount of time he took to think was far more than the combined amount of time he took the past few days. Ye Qingxuan sat on the broken steps as if he was in a daze, and would not react even when he was spoken to. Ye Qingxuan remained unmoved even when dinner time came. Too many things had happened to him, so all the Masters were already used to it. It wasn''t until late at night that Ye Qingxuan finally raised his head again. His neck was so painful that it felt like it had been broken in two. He has stayed in the same posture for too long so his entire body was rather numb now. He sighed before asking for clean water to wash his face. He had regained his spirits. Mable took a look at him and was no longer worried. "Have you made some headway?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan was devouring his dinner. The food might have been cold and hard and even caused slight pain being digested in his stomach, but he felt a wholesomeness of life. Finally, he made up his mind. "Since the orthodox way doesn''t work for me, I will just have to continue down the unorthodox path." He had finally thought things through. Creating had never been his strength as all of his talents lied in the areas of operation and integration. Expecting him to play the role of a trailblazer was probably a bit too much. He finally acknowledged this and decided to give up completely. His weaknesses were not something that could be covered up with simply more effort. Rather than trying so hard to cover up his weaknesses, he might as well focus on improving his strengths. Just like how he had been doing. From the very beginning, he has always been that scribe. As long as there was a correct answer to be found, he would be able to fill it in with no problems. But writing poems had always been something that he struggled with. Therefore, he decided to return to this old path and continue copying, even for the Symphony of Predestination. If he could not create a Symphony of Predestination, then so be it. If he did not have his own, then he would copy others and turn them into his own. He already understood how the music theory of the Ultimate would determine ''external forces.'' Anything that he would not be able to implement his will and consciousness or fuse with himself would be considered external forces. In that case, the Ultimate actually provided him with an opportunity. It had given Ye Qingxuan a reminder. All this while, he always thought that he had been utilizing these abilities to perfection. He never considered the possibility that there were other issues that he had not discovered all along. Therefore, he decided that he might as well make full use of this opportunity to solve them. Just as Ye Qingxuan was still pondering, he suddenly realized something unexpected. If the trinity Symphony of Predestination did not belong to him, then so be it. After all, the three parts came from the three people that made a huge impact on him. But what surprised him was that all the music theories that he has left behind had all come from the ''way of deciphering.'' In other words, the Ultimate was treating the way of deciphering as a part of Ye Qingxuan. Actually, it did make some sense. Although the way of deciphering was passed down from Abraham, he was unable to pass down the real way of abstinence to Ye Qingxuan due to the former being restrained by both the military and the covenant with the Sacred City. As a result, he had no choice but to dismantle and break down all his knowledge into bits and pieces before guiding Ye Qingxuan into discovering them for himself. Finally, the way of deciphering would be the key to piece everything back together again. It was just like what Hyakume did to Ludovic. In the process of Ludovic becoming the former dark pope, who knew when he being ''Ludovic''? Ye Qingxuan never imagined that there would come a day where he would have to apply Hyakume''s method to solve his own problem. In other words, even the solution was copied from someone else. Interesting. The reason why Ye Qingxuan deemed the way of deciphering to be of the utmost importance was also because it was something that he was most familiar with. Abraham was a genius because of one reasonhe was the first person in history to operate a music theory by removing ''I'' from it. As a result, it would no longer be limited by one''s will. Instead, it would carry on all the way until the very end. It would not involve any emotion or perception that could affect the observation and usage of aether and music theory. It would not require humans to use aether. Instead, the aether would develop, transform, conclude, and discipline itself all on its own. Ye Qingxuan truly thought that this was the true path of the School of Abstinence. Now that the solution had been found, time had suddenly become tight. Ye Qingxuan did not intend to dive straight into copying. There were techniques to copying too. Since he had plenty of templates, he decided to prepare sufficiently first before beginning. "Master Auden," he raised his head and waved to Auden, "give me paper. Give me plenty of paper." There was a pained expression on Auden''s face. "Don''t treat my music theory pages as some draft papers" He unwillingly took out the last roll. These were special alchemy papers that he had bought for his music theory. One piece of paper alone cost as much as black-gold of the same weight, and the scariest thing was that the supply of these papers was very low. Creating a sheet of paper would require one month of a craftsman''s time. "Good resources must be used for important reasons!" Ye Qingxuan casually took the papers and began to start writing on them. Auden rolled his eyes and turned around as he could not bear to look. Ye Qingxuan never stopped writing and was almost like a machine, as he spent only a few minutes on each page. Within a short half an hour, he had already used up more than half of them. The pages were flimsy when they were first handed to him but the moment they left his hands, they seemed as if they weighed a ton. When they were placed separately on the ground, each piece would create a rectangular-shaped depression on the ground. When the surrounding Masters saw this, they became extremely interested and began to whisper to each other about what they thought Ye Qingxuan was doing. This was what made music theory pages so precious. They could demonstrate the nature of music theory in a very direct manner, recreating the attraction of the music theory to perfection. As a result, quite a number of musicians and alchemists would draft on these papers when they were deducing movements or creating alchemy equipment respectively. If the papers could not even present the music theory, then there was no point testing it out. But now, almost no one had ever seen something like this before. A brick made of black rock that had never cracked for centuries, yet now it was cracked because of a piece of paper! No one had any idea what music theory Ye Qingxuan had written on it. "No clue at all." A Master took a glance at Ye Qingxuan. Although this was what he said, his eyes were completely averted from what Ye Qingxuan was writing. How could anyone just take a look at something like a core music theory? The consequences would be much more severe than being caught staring at the posterior of a lady. One might still be forgiven for being caught staring at the posterior of a lady, but if it was a core music theory that has been seen apologies, only death awaits. Even Ye Qingxuan, who was being bounded by the strict clauses of the contract, had to make use of the duplicates of the Religious Court of Inquiry''s secret music theories to exchange with various Masters for the incomplete music theories from various Schools for research purposes. When the Master said that he had no clue, he meant that he had no idea what Ye Qingxuan was thinking, and not necessarily that he had no idea what Ye Qingxuan was writing. The Masters were already used to this and someone even shrugged. "Who knows, what''s the difference between a lunatic and a genius?" "It''s the 27th piece!" A Master, who had been keeping track all this while, muttered. Exactly how many heavyweight music theories did Ye Qingxuan have in his possession? At this moment, some of the Masters who had been unwilling to hand over their music theories were finally convinced. If one only had a basket of eggs that had been passed down from one''s ancestors, one would defend it fiercely with his life if someone was trying to take it away. But if they were to realize that that person did not really care about their basket of eggs, except to take a look at it out of curiosity, they would start to have mixed feelings. Compared to Ye Qingxuan, everyone else on the scene had to be considered poor. Now, in front of this Chief Inquisitor, who else would still dare to claim that their own Schools possessed a deep heritage and a long history? If they were to take out the core music theories of their Schools, they might not even be half as heavy as any piece of paper that Ye Qingxuan had written on. By now, Ye Qingxuan was past the point of caring about the feelings of the Masters. He was fully engrossed in this excitement that had been a long time coming. Keep pushing! Keep pushing! 652 Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dus The Jiu Xiao Huan Pei''s Heaven Ladder music theory, the quiet moon''s Wyrmrest enchantment, Hermes''s stone of sage, the Inquisition''s purifying music theory, Abraham''s catastrophe resonance He listed out everything that he had learned on the paper. He did not leave out anything, not even the Genesis music theory nor the music theory that had been passed down from the Masters. By the time he was finished, even a blind man could see that he did not intend to create a normal Symphony of Predestination. Why would someone go through so much trouble just for a general Symphony of Predestination? Combining any three of these would already be enough to create one of the most powerful Symphonies in the world. But Ye Qingxuan did not plan to stop yet. He had already made up his mind. Since he had to copy them, he was going to copy them all! He would copy out new ideas, new harmonies, new worlds! Besides, since ancient times, no one had decreed that a Symphony of Predestination must look a certain way. Everyone''s core music theory was wondrously different, so much so that two students of the same School taught by the same teacher could turn out completely different. So there was nothing strange about doing it this way. Ye Qingxuan had simply decided to make a great one. Since there had never been one like it before, he would simply have to make it so good that no one would ever be able to surpass it! Two days later, outside the Ultimate, the navies of the various nations were still in the same place, guarding against each other. Several clashes had already taken place over the last several days. The various factions had tried their best to work together and avoid meaningless fighting, but the situation was still as tense as a taut string, and at some point was sure to snap under the immense pressure of martial symphonies. Everyone was paying close attention to the situation within the Ultimate. Over the past few days, long, drawn-out movements had rung out from the ancient cities. Although they had no way of detecting what was happen inside, the changes were clear for all those outside to see. The vast stream of aether still enveloped the whole area, making it impossible for anyone to get closer. They could only make inferences from the faint changes that came in the wake of the flow of aether. A catastrophe was clearly being born. But the circumstances were extremely abnormal. But apart from the astonishing changes of the first two days, the ruined city had been shrouded in silence for the rest of the time. The transformations had become incredibly slow, so slow that it was almost impossible to bear it. It was like a difficult birth. And far away in the Sacred City, under the Central Holy Cathedral''s Nebula Monitor, Archbishop Albert was nodding off, with a bit of drool running down his chin. From time to time, he would lift his hand lazily to wipe away the dribble, glance at the monitor, and then close his eyes again and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, the injured half of his face had not healed right. The muscles were bare, giving him a hideous appearance. After a while, he had slept his fill. He opened his eyes and saw the figure standing next to him. A red-robed member of the College of Cardinals stood silently under the Nebula Monitor, staring intently at the flashing light that represented the Ultimate. "Are you awake?" "I''ve slept enough." Albert wiped the drool away from his mouth, rubbed his eyes, squinted at the figure, and raised himself up. "When did you get here? Why didn''t you call for me?" "I just got here. You were sleeping so soundly, I didn''t want to wake you." The old bishop shook his head and looked away from the Ultimate. "How long has this been going on?" "More than a week," Albert said listlessly. "Can a catastrophe have a difficult birth? It''s not like the guys working for us are midwives, but even they are getting nervous." "Giving birth is a skill too." The old man shook his head. "There''s no need to worry." "Sounds like you''ve got some experience in this area," Albert laughed. "Mm, yes, I do." The old man sighed softly. "In my early years, I served at a small church in the South. There were two doctors in the town, but one was only responsible for cutting hair, and the other for bloodletting. Sometimes people couldn''t find a decent midwife and had to come to the church for help. The women there married early. Becoming a mother at 16 was considered late. I saw many difficult births. Giving birth is gambling with your life. Sometimes I would have to go make home visits with the priest. And sometimes all of our skill was useless, and we had to make a choice..." "Let me guess." Albert rubbed his chin and smiled. "Save the child or save the mother?" The old bishop shrugged. "Which would you choose?" The old bishop did not answer, and they dropped the topic. The two of them did not speak. There was a long silence. After a while, the old bishop raised his head from his meditation and said softly, "Let Chopin send out a signal before it''s too late. A long delay means trouble." Albert wasn''t smiling anymore. "Are you sure?" "Sometimes waiting is no use. It will only bring pain to both parties." The old bishop''s eyes were peaceful. "It''s always best to be decisive." A letter of attorney signed by the Sancta Seda was placed in front of Albert. His eyes twitched slightly. He sighed and waved his hand. The sound of a mighty organ rang out from above the Central Holy Cathedral, echoing throughout the steel city. Thousands of clock towers began to chime, and the echoes spread out in all directions. As he listened to the bells, Albert seemed to be exhausted, and he slumped down in his chair, shaking his head. "Sometimes I really envy you people who can make up your mind." There was a hint of irony in his tone. The old bishop shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Do you know how I used to solve the problem of difficult births?" The old man mimed administering an injection. "A shot of oxytocin would make everything alright." Albert was shocked. "Albert, I was never the one who made the decision. Who could be so brave?" The old bishop patted his shoulder and turned to leave. "Whether the mother or child would survive, that was up to God." Amid the silence, there was only the sound of his retreating footsteps. Albert said nothing. He closed his eyes again. Ye Qingxuan awoke from a dream. He had not dreamed in a long time, but he had just had a nightmare. He had dreamed of being buried in an ocean of music theory. But when he awoke, he saw thick stacks of books and papers all covered in his handwriting. He didn''t know many how many times he had edited them or how many movements he had added. And in the corner sat a trembling old nun. He heard the sound of bells ringing in the distance. As if there was some secret signal or command in those bells, the old nun began shivering harder. She fell on the floor and looked up, with her eyes rolling back in her head. It seemed like she was having a seizure, but epileptics did not have such a strong fire in their body. It was like a furnace had been ignited. The flame lit up the whole dark temple. Waves of aether as powerful as a hurricane swept out from her body, emanating in all directions. The Masters all woke up and looked at the old nun in shock. Even though they had already experienced the full power of the Saint, at that moment, with Schubert in full force, they felt a crushing pain. At that moment, they finally realized the gap between them and the Saint. A gap like the distance between heaven and earth. Schubert''s music theory crashed around in the body of the old nun, with almost enough power to destroy herself. She cared for nothing, not even herself. In that roaring song of self-destruction, Ye Qingxuan heard the nun''s last prayer: "Dust to dust, mud to mud, ashes to ashes..." May God have mercy on my soul. 653 Borrow a Chicken to Lay Eggs The changes that happened in an instant stunned everyone. Ye Qingxuan was the first to react. Upon hearing the hoarse murmurs coming from the nun''s throat, his pupils instantly dilated. Without thinking, he sprang towards her and pressed a finger on the old nun''s forehead! Ashes to ashes, dust to dust... It was a last rites prayer. When combined with the situation in front of them, even if one was to use one''s heel to think instead of one''s brain, one could understand what exactly Schubert''s scepter intended to do after the bell! Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of strings snapping continued to ring out. Dozens of bloody gaps cracked open on Ye Qingxuan''s fingers, intersecting in a crisscross manner, and blood gushed out. It was a result of the backfiring caused when the overloaded precise operations of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei were crushed by a power far too vast. Even though the strings were regenerated upon being destroyed, the recoil of the music theory had already caused fine cracks to emerge on the bones of Ye Qingxuan''s palms. As if it was moving between rocks, when the finger pressed on the old nun''s forehead, it was already bloody. Despite it being flesh and flesh touching, a metallic clang burst forth. Frenzied air billows swept outwards in all directions. A terrifying resonance erupted from the skull and swept upwards along Ye Qingxuan''s arms. In an instant, it overcame his music theory and defenses, almost crushing him into pieces completely. It was as if he was a broken ship in front of frenzied waves hundreds of thousands of feet high, being destroyed inch by inch. At the very moment, Ye Qingxuan saw the scepter which was operating like a scorching sun in the empty body. Endless light and heat were directed towards him, almost swallowing him up. The clothes on Ye Qingxuan''s upper torso were instantly torn apart by the terrifying recoil. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei activated forcefully, planting itself in his flesh, like a waterway guiding the torrent. The immense heat of a fiery red swept upwards along his left arm, passed through the heart, bringing an intense pain, as if it was igniting his soul, and flowed to his right hand along Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. In the end, it flowed into the broken stone plate clutched in his hand. The core of the Ultimate! The notes on the stone plate lit up, flickering painfully to the rhythm of Ye Qingxuan''s heartbeat. Fortunately, he still had it to withstand the aftermath that resulted from the saint''s scepter operating full on. "What are you all still standing there stunned for!" He cast a look at the 21 masters present. "Waiting for supper? Open up for resonance!" In a flash, the masters surrounding him recovered from the shock. Without even requiring Ye Qingxuan''s command, they chose their own position, and 21 aether waves were instantly activated at full force, like various planets orbiting the sun. Just like what the forebears of the School of Stone Heart did to Ye Qingxuan back then, they formed a joint blockade. 21 aether waves echoed each other, and in a flash, a loose array was created, surrounding Schubert''s scepter in the center. But just when they were ready to strike again, the strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei extended from nothingness, crisscrossing and intersecting with each other. The strings shot outwards and set themselves up all around. Innumerable perception threads followed and connected them. In a flash, the 21 aether waves were united as one. The masters were surprised upon sensing that the control of their Symphonies of Predestination had been forcibly taken over. The 21 Symphonies of Predestination were united around the same theme. Three of the temporarily attained scepters were also integrated into it completely, forming a vast structure of music theory. The resonance system that was carelessly created initially was broken in an instant and then reassembled immediately, the components fitting closely with each other as if they were one, like a disorganized group of stars that had finally become unified as a galaxy. If the loose array just now was seen as a work violently tied together with cables, the structure at the moment would be a work pieced together and applied so delicately that it was dumbfounding. If not for the suppression of the Ultimate, Ye Qingxuan could have integrated them seamlessly! For Ye Qingxuan to operate 19 Symphonies of Predestination and three scepters simultaneously, the pressure was not just hundreds of times higher than usual. Rather, it was as if he was dancing on the knife blades, and a little carelessness would result in him being turned to ashes by the pressure on both sides. "I didn''t expect to have the opportunity to experience the compound symphony of multiple Symphonies of Predestination so quickly." Blue veins bulged on Ye Qingxuan''s face, and he forced out a grotesque smile. "Very good..." One hand pressing on the old nun''s forehead, the signet ring on the index finger of his other hand slipped off, and he threw it at Mabel standing with her arms folded not far away. "If anyone dares to attack amid the chaos, shoot to kill!" Ye Qingxuan yelled. Mable nodded and acknowledged the command respectfully. Holding the signet ring, a fire rose in the distance. The pure blue fire of Nirvana was like lava and spewed out of the crust. In the fire, the phoenix evolved from the endless bestiality died and was reborn, constantly evolving into new forms and dragging everything along when it returned to death. For Mabel, the Chapter of the Golden Victory was no foreign object at all. The music theory passed down among the Royal Musicians was an extension of the Chapter of the Golden Victory in itself. At the moment, the signet ring was in Mabel''s hands, and the Firebird within that was strengthening it instantly turned into a fire of Nirvana that knew no boundaries. The fire spewed up from the ground from a distance, crisscrossing and intersecting, blocking off the entire area, and forlorn screams could be heard faintly. Everyone who dared to approach was swallowed up by the flames that resembled living creatures. Then, the horrifying fire would make its way into the seven orifices [1] of its victim, plundering every bit of vitality from the inside out. Despite not possessing any temperature, it brought death. After robbing one of all life and music theory, only ashes would be left scattered on the ground. Mable grabbed a handful of white powder from the pocket on her. It was the ashes produced by incinerating human bones. She casually flicked it a couple of times. A fiery glow was attached to the ghastly white ashes. In the blink of an eye, amid the rumbling melody, the ashes proliferated rapidly. The dust particles connected themselves to each other, turning into white bones, and the bones grew in the fire, drawing strong vitality from it. First, it was the bones. Fasciae and flesh followed shortly. Finally, the flames turned into blood and coursed through the body consisting of ashes. The musician who had just died tragically in the flames was thus revived with such a strange appearance. The eyes showed no trace of consciousness anymore, only a dim glow as the Symphony of Predestination operated. The fire of Nirvana stripped its victim of life and music, then used the ashes as a foundation. Before the enemy''s Symphony of Predestination dissipated, it was filled into a new body once more, creating a perfect phantom beast. It killed a person, then resurrected another person. After losing an enemy, the controller of the fire would have one more puppet to control. Such a technique of borrowing a chicken to lay eggs made everyone on the scene shudder. Although it had all sorts of harsh restrictions, under the strengthening of the Chapter of the Golden Victory, Mabel''s ability more than sufficed to keep it going even for the span of one night. "I''ll leave the rest to you," she said. Ye Qingxuan nodded, and returned his gaze to the old nun, looking at her cracked skin, and the scorching brilliance bursting forth from her body under the black habit. "Next, it''s time to solve your problem!" Bang! The staff of fate tapped on the ground, and it was as if the Ocean-Pacifying Magical Pillar [2] had been cast into a sea with frenzied waves of hundreds of thousands of feet high. The aftermath dissipated, revealing the original appearance of Schubert''s scepter. Dim moonlight rose as Ye Qingxuan directed the masters'' Symphonies of Predestination, blocking any room for the scepter to operate and suppressing the self-destructing operation. Thus, next came the question... How could one stop a saint from committing suicide? [1] In Chinese culture, the seven orifices are the eyes, the ears, the nostrils, and the mouth. [2] It is a magical object described in A Journey to the West, one of the Four Classic Novels in Chinese. 654 A Good Man The sky of the Ultimate had been lit up. The music theory of Scepter was produced from within, and just its aftermath alone was enough to turn the pitch-black sky into a turbulent ocean. All of the musicians were rudely awoken and they all began to look up. "What a crowd." Naberius was standing on the tip of the broken clock tower as he looked towards the south. "What a pity that we can''t join in something as big as this. Can''t we just go closer?" The androgynous youth stood behind him quietly. Upon hearing what Naberius said, he shook his head. "For your safety, this is the furthest we can go." "They can kill me?" Naberius asked. "Not those pathetic Scepters. It''s the Saint." Paganini smiled coldly. "The Church has used the same trick even after so many years. Schubert did not have a successor, and no one could inherit his talent anyway, so this was the only way. Sacrificing him in exchange for the power of the Ultimate is simple and worthwhile but Schubert''s music theory must have been embedded with regulations in its deeper levels. If she senses your Changing Music Theory, she will definitely try to drag you along with her self-implosion. Since she is going to die anyway, why won''t she use it to serve an even greater good for the Church?" Naberius remained silent as he imagined how a saint would hugging him before self-imploding. He could not help but shudder. "They are really a bunch of lunatics." "Whoever said otherwise?" Paganini laughed. "The servants of the God are crazier than the fallen. Doesn''t that make sense?" "After so many days, has that Chief Inquisitor finally given up?" In the north, the second Prince looked towards the sky with a teasing look in his eyes. "Personally sacrificing a saint to the Ultimate should allow him to break away from the restrictions of the Church and become a Scepter straightaway right?" "Not necessarily." Beside him, an old and frail musician was fiddling with a fender in his hands. With a penknife in hand, he began to carve wedge-shaped music notes on the dry surface of the fender. After brushing off the carvings, he threw the fender to one side. Beside him was a small mountain of fenders. The old musician reached out his hands, and very soon, the mud began to tremble and water evaporated as a brand new piece of fender was formed in his hands. He was fully engrossed in his carving as if he could care less about the commotion that was taking place somewhere else. The second Prince was stunned for a while when he heard a different opinion. He looked at the old musician respectfully and asked, "So what do you think?" Although he was the second prince, he was in no position to flaunt his status in front of this elder. This elder was someone that his mother''s family had designated to be there for the second prince to depend on if necessary. Even if he was to become the emperor in the future, he was still obliged to seek advice and support from this elder. 40 years ago, this elder was already a scepter musician of Asgard. Before the previous Emperor had passed away, the elder had served as an advisor. What was so special about him was that he was someone, who was purely from the School of Revelation, that had managed to become a Scepter. He was wise and had great foresight so the second Prince had to listen to his opinions on many matters. "It''s very simple. Haven''t you realized that he does not lack power?" The old musician said, "He does not lack power nor reputation or money. He did not even lack status. If you think about it, how many things does he have that would leave plenty of people feeling envious? Your opponent is someone who is not inferior to you in any way. No, in fact, if he was in your position, he probably would already have defeated your elder brother and become the Emperor of Asgard. In this aspect, you have to learn from him." The second prince frowned when he heard this, as his eyes revealed displeasure. Nevertheless, he did not say anything. The old musician shook his head. He knew that he had triggered some resentment in the second prince, so he would have to explain to the latter more tactfully. "Weakness is only temporal in the Ultimate. It is not worth it to sacrifice a lot in exchange for power in the short run. This Chief Inquisitor has very long-term goals. If he killed a saint, he would only become a Scepter. Do you think he really cares about becoming a Scepter? As long as he is in Anglo and continues to be boosted by the Chapter of the Golden Victory, he will be able to gain power that is comparable to a catastrophe." "At the end of the day, that is still an external force that can be relied on," the second prince said. The old musician glanced at him. "Would you be in a hurry to become a Scepter?" Everything became clear to the second Prince once he asked this question. Would he be in a hurry? After achieving resonance with Odin, he was now almost the equivalent of a demi-God. His future was so bright that becoming a Scepter should only be a mere stepping stone. That Chief Inquisitor was also in the same situation as him. No, in fact, he had even more options. Regardless if he chose to head to the East to embark on the Path of the Deva, or to inherit the music theory and holy name of Haydn, they were both incredible options that could only lead to bright futures. He did not even need to depend on anyone else. Based on his talent alone, becoming a Scepter was only a matter of time. Sacred City might have stopped him for now, but they would not be able to stop him forever. "This is why he is not in a hurry," the old musician said calmly. "To him, a dead saint is far less useful than one that is alive. In your opinion, what do you think is his trump card?" The second prince pondered for a long time before raising his head. "The Religious Court of Inquiry?" "Close." The old musician nodded. "The Religious Court of Inquiry is just a fa?ade. In order for it to be fully filled, they will need more than ten year''s time even with the capabilities of Anglo. It may be powerful in the future, but right now, it cannot be relied on. The thing that troubles most of his enemies is his title." "Chief Inquisitor?" Realization dawned on the second prince. "That''s right." The old musician said calmly, "This must be what the College of Cardinals regrets the most. Initially, their intention was to maximize resources and discard the things they didn''t need by putting the blame onto them, but they must not have expected their plan to come back and haunt them. They never considered the possibility that the Chief Inquisitor could be a lunatic. His nickname is ''God''s Hand'' and he possesses the Staff of Fate, both of which justify his actions as fair and righteous. In other words, all who stood against him will be considered heretics. Within this short period of time, before the Sacred City turns against him, he is basically free to do anything he wants. With such a convenient title, why would he kill a saint in front of so many people and give them something to use against him? Besides, even if he became a Scepter in the Ultimate, the Church may still have a way to deal with him. Therefore, it may seem as if he has gained by becoming a Scepter but it will eventually only serve as a burden that will cause him to lose the right to carry out social justice. On the other hand, if he can keep the saint alive, the latter will be like a hen that can lay golden eggs. Besides" The old musician paused for a while before laughing self-deprecatingly. There was a bitter expression on his face. "What is it?" The second prince asked. The old musician sighed softly. "Besides, no matter how I see it and no matter how critical I try to be, this Chief Inquisitor is just a good man." The second Prince was silent. This must be the most ridiculous joke in the world yet it was true. Every one of the same status as him understood that the most priceless thing in this world was not power or authority it was conscience. Conscience might cause one to lose opportunities or pay heavy prices but he did not seem to care. Everyone knew that he was willing to kill for a little girl in front of the doors of Sacred City. By doing so, he had practically provoked every organization in the Sacred City and he was not afraid to make everyone his enemy. It might sound ridiculous but it was the most possible explanation. This Chief Inquisitor and God''s Hand was probably the only representative of conscientiousness within the Church and the Sacred City. Who would suspect someone like him to secretly yearn for power and kill an old nun? "If this was all an act" The second prince stopped halfway before laughing self-deprecatingly. It was a foolish question. If this was all an act, it would only mean that this person was truly terrifying. The second prince lowered his head and sighed. "I am beginning to admire him." 655 I Am Everything Ye Qingxuan felt like he was burning. It was as if there was a massive sun rising directly over him. A frightful heat emanated out from the music theory, cruelly destroying everything. Even the Masters standing many paces away felt the great pressure. Especially the three Scepters among them. The elements that had just come together had already cracked. If this continued, their Scepters would be completely crushed by the power of the Saint. They may not even be able to protect their Symphonies of Predestination. Orlando was the first to be affected. His face went deathly pale. The accomplishments of man are insignificant, for they will seep away His Scepter had just formed, and was far from being completely coalesced, so its structure was still very fragile. If it received another impact like the one it just had, it would probably be completely destroyed. What surprised him was that even at such a great distance, this indirect pressure was still so tremendous. What kind of hell was Ye Qingxuan experiencing up ahead? Ye Qingxuan could hardly bear it. But this kind of feeling was quite familiar to him A power thousands of times greater than his own pushed down on him. An ordinary person would have already been completely crushed. But he was still able to walk across the steel wire, although he had to pay a terrible price to do so. Snap! His skin began to crack, but it gave off a sound like porcelain being smashed. The sound of snapping strings rang out without stopping. The core in his hands was as hot as a soldering iron. But he unwaveringly pressed down on the old nun''s forehead, and his senses sank deep into the core. He faced an ocean so vast it seemed endless. This was Schubert''s inheritance. Under that powerful Scepter''s influence, numerous and complicated music theories created aetheric fluctuations as they played a silent, symphonic melody. St. Schubert''s inheritance itself spanned the seven systems, but there was order in the chaos. From beginning to end the melody always came back to a single theme, linking in thousands of ways. It was like the changes of the heart, as formless as water. Besides the modifications, the chorales and the abstinences, even the schools of magic had achieved unparalleled results. The 24 movements "Winterreise," with the nimbleness of its modifications, its universality and classicalness, had established a new path for the schools of magic, with many new schools being created. Among them, it was "Die Nebensonnen" that led to the creation of Ye Qingxuan''s school of magic. Besides the feeling of tremendous separation and pressure that it gave Ye Qingxuan, the strongest sensation that he had when listening to it was distance. It was clearly coming from close by, but it seemed as far away as the heavens. It was difficult to ascertain its melody, to touch its essence, to follow its changes. This was true talent, completely different from that of a copyist like Ye Qingxuan. It was the mark of a Master who was cherished by the Great Originator. Completely detached from surface-level temperature or substance, it achieved the true essence of modification. It was not limited by anything. It leaped over any obstacles, pierced through the fog, and reached its destination. It was like a soul that had grown wings, flying up into the sky and overlooking the mortal world. There was no need to strive to understand it. It was like a natural stream, clear and without any sediment. Those who were limited by material and talent could only look up at its ever-changing form. No matter how high a peak they climbed, they could still not reach it. Even though it was inherited music theory, it still carried a completely natural poetic quality. Because of this, it was extremely difficult to pass down. Even if it was sealed in the body of a mortal, it was still difficult to reveal its true power. Those who failed to understand it could not wield its power, except for in the most rigid applications. And that would be like showing off a caged bird. Birds belonged flying freely in the sky. Was that why the Church had so decisively abandoned it? But now, just this rigid application of the power had put Ye Qingxuan into such a terrible fix. It was the highest level of music theory in the Holy Cauldron, located in the deepest part of the realm of aether, even projecting into the Great Originator. Every move, every action was enough to set off a terrible storm. All of the Masters coughed up blood at the next shock. "Your Excellency, please make a decision quickly!" Orlando could not help but urge. "I know! Don''t push me!" Ye Qingxuan''s voice was hoarse. His situation was much worse than Orlando''s. Half of his body was already shrouded in flames as if a fire had been kindled around him. That was the illusion produced by music theory seeking after matter, but the true threat was much greater than the flames. Once Ye Qingxuan failed to maintain his balance, the fire would burn him in an instant, leaving behind not even ash. And soon after the 21 Masters would follow him, all destroyed by Schubert. The strings of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei became lines of thought and entered into the music with difficulty. Ye Qingxuan intuitively understood that this was completely out of the ordinary and that this power had no fixed pattern to speak of. It was a brutal assault and mental torture, but it was also the best way for him to learn. When you took a beating, you learned how to fight. He finally understood why his Symphony of Predestination was judged to be a foreign object-even though it had been connected and merged with the clothes of original sin, it was still not his. It was not his at all. That was the soul of the movement, the vital "spirituality." Charles had once told him that a good movement was alive. It was not just chosen by a musician but chose a master for itself. That was what he lacked most, and Schubert''s Scepter had opened the door that had been closed to him all along-how to integrate the three parts of the trinity into one. Although it was also known for its modification, Schubert''s power was very different from Paganini''s. Channeling Music Theory could even disguise itself and simulate other forces, but you would never be able to change its essence. The Scepter was the self, and the Symphony of Predestination was the soul. Paganini regarded everything as a tool. He refused to change himself, and would not allow anything to shake his essence. He thought that everything had been provided solely for him, which stemmed from his deep-seated arrogance. And Schubert was just the opposite. The spirituality hidden in music theory was always changing. Like the morning dew, the sunset, the billowing ocean, like the revolutions of the stars She was like a poet chanting about the world, discerning its essence from the appearance of everything in it. She transformed herself into a part of the cycle and transformed the cycle into herself. Even though she was imprisoned inside matter, inside a body, just like a bird trapped in thistles and thorns she could still sing. "I am everything..." In his trance, Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness was immersed into the music theory, following the spirituality of the movement''s changes. He was like a formless spirit, soaring between heaven and earth. Rumble! A low noise emitted from Ye Qingxuan''s body, and he began to blur. His skin and muscles looked transparent, and one could see the rushing silver streams of his blood vessels. And then, even these streams disappeared. He was restored to his original form but seemed not to sense anything, as if he were actually far away from his body. Nearby, Auden looked on dumbfounded. He frowned, and then his eyes bulged out and his mouth opened so wide that his jaw nearly dislocated. The other Masters followed suit, as they one by one felt Ye Qingxuan''s circumstances from their connection with the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, and fell into a panic. 656 I Do It Often "It is... Vacuum?" "Vacuum!" "What a surprise..." Plenty of outstanding musicians of the school of abstinence were present among the masters at the scene. One could even say that for musicians of their level, the Vacuum that symbolized semi-aetherization was not unachievable. Each school had different techniques that could allow one to enter the same state. But Ye Qingxuan had clearly fallen to the Level of Distortion! However, without relying on any control or even consuming any energy, Ye Qingxuan''s body actually replaced its blood circulation with an aether circulation automatically, entering the domain of semi-aetherization. And the semi-aetherization displayed by Ye Qingxuan at the moment was of a degree of completion that had already surpassed that of everyone else present, even reaching the level of that of oddities. One must keep in mind that what the Vacuum of the school of abstinence imitated was the Cereus, one of the four living creatures. It was purely achieved via nature interference of oneself to blend in with all things on earth, and the level of difficulty and harshness of the conditions required far surpassed that of other schools. At the moment, based on the state that Ye Qingxuan had exhibited, the aether circulation had undoubtedly become a part of him already. In other words, as long as Ye Qingxuan became a master, after removing the last of his shackles, he could even cross the sea of aether and enter the depths of the realm of aether to explore on his own. Meanwhile, just as everyone stood stunned, Ye Qingxuan''s eyes suddenly lit up. "Gotcha!" At that moment, he finally found a blurry speck of light amid the elements of the scepter and countless strands of music theory. Right at the center of the core of Schubert''s scepter, in its very hinterland, a dim speck of fire burned difficultly, like a flickering candle in the middle of a storm. It was a spark of consciousness, the last bit of consciousness left of the owner of the body. Using the Proverbs in the Holy Bible as a bridge, the two sides were connected as one, but a distinction was present after all. The consciousness was the firewood, which made the scepter burn vigorously. Despite being weak and small, it was of utmost importance! And Ye Qingxuan finally found a way to solve the problem of Schubert intending to commit suicide. In the silence, his expression changed, and eventually, it turned decisive. Then, he took out a branch of pitch black. Everyone drew a deep, cold breath upon seeing it. Poisonous Black Branch! Who would have thought that the Grand Inquisitor was actually carrying such a lethal item on him! In the musicians'' sensing, how was that even a branch? It was a crack leading to the abyss! Even though the abyss no longer existed, the vicious music theory preserved within the branch had never weakened in the slightest bit. If the abyss was like a quagmire for the ordinary musician, then the plant nurtured by the Abyss Black Branches, which were rooted in the abyss and absorbed the darkest power, was the most poisonous of poisons. In the span of a millennium, the tree of the Abyss was divided into three plants in total. One was offered to Hyakume as tribute, then bestowed upon Gaius, and was once used to kill the Pope. The other one was thrown at Ye Qingxuan when Menti was flustered and exasperated, but it ended up being sealed by the young man and was preserved till the present. And at the moment, in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, a white flower quietly bloomed on one of the forks of the Poisonous Black Branch. It was full of life and vitality. But it gave everyone goosebumps. Auden''s face was ghastly pale. "Your Honor, surely you are not thinking of..." "That''s right." Ye Qingxuan grinned and stabbed downward with the branch in his hand. Silently, the Poisonous Black Branch plunged into the old nun''s heart. Bang! A loud noise abruptly burst forth. The saint''s music theory which represented the Holy Cauldron clashed with the Poisonous Black Branch representing the very nature of the abyss. At the moment, it was silent and devoid of all noise except for the sound of everyone drawing a deep breath. Having witnessed firsthand the scene that would qualify Ye Qingxuan as the best seeker of self-destruction in history with their own eyes, the masters almost turned green with shock, and their eyes almost popped out of their sockets. If it hadn''t been for their lives and valued possessions all being in Ye Qingxuan''s hands at the moment, thus putting them in the same boat with him, almost all of them would have cut their stick and run away. "Worry not." Ye Qingxuan turned back with ease and smiled at them. "I do it often." Before he finished his words, a loud bang burst forth. Boom! A terrifying light flowed from her seven orifices, as if an infinite amount of light was brewing up in her aged body, shining through all darkness and purifying all evil and filth. Everyone''s eyelids twitched wildly, and they subconsciously lay down on the ground, waiting for the sweeping impact of the music theory that would follow. Undesignedly, in their hearts, they all felt unparalleled despondence and regret. Self-destruction! It is really an act of self-destruction! If they had known that Ye Qingxuan was so prone to self destruction, they would have cut their own throats in the Ultimate as early as possible, saving themselves from the trouble of withstanding the torture that would follow. When the gift of the Holy Cauldron and the plant of the abyss were put together in one place, and the duo that were as incompatible as water and fire clashed with each other, the positive and negative aspects definitely wouldn''t cancel each other out, but would only bring destruction and disasters instead. Then, the turbulent music theory would directly tear the entire hall into pieces. The Symphonies of Predestination of all the musicians within three blocks from it would fall apart, blood would flow out of their seven orifices, and they would fall dead on the streets. As for what would happen next, it wouldn''t be a matter of their concern. They would have already died by that time anyway. But after lying on the ground and staring at the saint for a long time, the expected destruction did not come. They looked up and only saw Ye Qingxuan''s pleasant smile, his face faintly illuminated by the cold moonlight. Moonlight burst forth from his fingertips. At the moment, in the masters'' sensing, Schubert''s scepter had collapsed and condensed into a point, opposing the Poisonous Black Branch. Upon sensing the other party, the two sides immediately erupted in a series of chain reactions at the very first instant. Without even requiring any operation, each side gathered all its power on its own and rushed towards each other. It was the conflict engraved in the very core of the music theories of the Holy Cauldron and the abyss. One could expect that in the next moment, all the power of Schubert and the Poisonous Black Branch would erupt and stir up a tragic and fierce fight, sparing no effort. Then, bearing the brunt of it, the old nun would evaporate in an instant. Ye Qingxuan would be in a slightly better position, and he would be turned into ashes after one-hundredth of the blink of an eye had elapsed. Next, the masters would turn into ground meat in the brutal ravage of the aftermath. A horrifying column of light would rise into the sky, tearing the ceiling of the ruined hall apart. Finally, the torrential rain of destruction would fall from the sky... But time seemed to have stopped here. It stopped in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. For others, the situation was like a dead knot that had no solutions, but for a bold creature like Ye Qingxuan... He had plenty of experience! With the experience of using the music theory of the Holy Cauldron and that of Hyakume to control the quiet moon, it was simply a breeze for him to regulate such opposing forces. The eruption and impact from both sides provided Ye Qingxuan with the best way to intervene instead. And at the very moment, a slender stream of moonlight emerged from his fingertips. The moonlight of pure light was like condensed frost. It was so dim and thin that it seemed negligibly small, just like a speck of dust, as compared to the terrifying magnitude of both sides. But it was precisely the speck of dust that had fallen into the space between the two that brought an incredible miracle. In an instant, the conflict was smoothed over. The great disturbance that had almost arrived was eliminated prior to it being born, before the ray of moonlight. 657 Pray Even if the actual Holy Caldron and Hyakume were to clash with each other, Quiet Moon would have been able to balance the powers of both sides and turn them into nothingness, so what more the battle between Schubert and Poisonous Black Branch? After being so used to gambling with high stakes, this was the first time Ye Qingxuan felt that the Distortion level could be so powerless. The moonlight only lasted for a moment before going out but it was exactly the right moment. It was as if everything froze at the exact moment before two speeding wagons were about to crash into each other. The resultant hurricane was insignificant but the moment it arrived, it also meant that it was time for the drivers of the wagons to pay the price for speeding. Besides, Ye Qingxuan was also trying to influence the whole situation If both parties were living things, Ye Qingxuan would not have dared to play this way. But the situation was different now. No matter how repetitive a music theory might be, it would still lose its flexibility if no one was controlling it. Besides, Ye Qingxuan still possessed a major killing weapon in the Balance music theory of the Quiet Moon In the split second that he withdrew, the sudden and forced stop triggered a chain reaction that brought about a terrifying counter reaction. Violent trembles spread out from the elements of both sides. Within a moment, forceful countering forces were produced from every branch of the music theory. The Staff of Fate was pressed downwards and was striking with force. Every music theory was roaring and trembling, as if they were on the brink of being dismantled. In a split second, Poisonous Black Tree was forced out of its shell and landed on the ground. On the black branches that looked as if they were a concentration of the former dark universe, flowers were wilting and falling. When they dried branches fell, it was the sound of iron. Amidst the echo, it could no longer keep up its form, crumbling into a heap of dust. Ye Qingxuan did not have time to feel anguished. Soon after, he heard a deep echo coming from the shell of the old nun. It was the sound of reins breaking and the cry of the driver being crushed under the wheels. In an instant, the black patterns on the old nun''s shell, that were formed by countless alchemy formations, collapsed and blood gushed out from every pore. The shackles that have been put in place by the Church were completely shattered in this crash. Once the shackles were gone, Schubert''s scepter seemed to lose the strength to continue. Light was dimming rapidly and the final sliver of light swept through the remains of the nun''s shell, simultaneously healing the body that has been pierced with plenty of holes. Soon after, it sank slowly into the flame of consciousness before vanishing. Despite being in a daze, Ye Qingxuan could sense the flame of consciousness burning once again, slowly but surely. Under the continuation of the Heaven Ladder, he could almost see countless illusions flashing past him. Church, Holy Bible, children, nun, children, icon, prayers, children Countless memories that have been mixed up together were flashing across his eyes before they returned back to that flame of consciousness in an instant. Within such a short moment, it was as if Ye Qingxuan had seen the old nun''s entire life. Even so, it passed him by so quickly that he was unable to see anything clearly. After a long period of silence, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked at the old nun, who remained unconscious. He could not help but sigh. This was a huge loss. He carefully collected the dusts of the Poisonous Branch and kept them in a small paper bag, making sure that not a single particle was left behind. Even if they have been completely crushed, they were still the perfect medium for curses and a single particle was all it would take to turn a harmless curse into a torturous nightmare. All the cursed, who have been lingering in the negative regions of the School of Choir and School of Revelation, would have loved its potential for inducing insanity. In fact, that was not all to its power. Even maximizing the use of its least important parts could still be very valuable. Even so, what was lost would still greatly overwhelm what was gained. In the end, a Poisonous Branch that could kill the Pope with a single stab, and the price of risking his life were both used in exchange for an old nun, who has lost all her powers. Now that the protection of Schubert has been lost for the time-being, there was no longer a talisman to ensure survival in the Ultimate. Due to his own scheming ploys, Schuber''s Scepter was severely injured. Even if it could be extracted from the old nun''s consciousness, it would require a lot of effort and risks and unexpected changes. Who knew what else would happen next It was as if he had thrown almost all of his possessions into a risky investment and the chances of high returns were just as likely as losing every single cent. At this thought, Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh self-deprecatingly, "I must be crazy" Beside him, Auden sighed and patted him on his shoulder, "You are a good person." Ye Qingxuan stayed silent for a long time. He had no idea if he was indeed considered a good person or not. Perhaps he was only a wolf in sheep''s clothing but even so, there was nothing wrong with that. At least he had a clear conscience. "I''m going to sleep first. Let me know when she wakes up." He shook his head as he could feel a terrible headache coming. It was exactly midnight now. The night was going to be long. He only wished that his dreams would not be as long. In the darkness, Ye Qingxuan could hear the sounds of a thunderstorm and the crying of children. Amidst the sniveling, there also seemed to be the sounds of water trickling down the wall and landing in puddles. The cold wind blew in through the cracks in the wall and sounded like a soft teasing laughter. --- "Granny, I''m cold." The voice seemed to come from a child that was sniveling softly. "Children, let us pray." In the darkness, someone was holding them tight and caressing their wet hair, "All suffering will eventually pass. As long as we pray, there will be a day when the Gods will have mercy on us and save us from hopelessness." Faint sounds of prayer could be heard. But the sounds of breathing only grew weaker, as if they might stop anytime. After a long silence, someone asked quietly, "Granny, does God really love us?" No one replied. A water droplet landed on the ground and trickled into the puddle but its temperature was vastly different from the rest of the water droplets. --- Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and saw the ceiling that has been cracked open. The fire at the corner was burning brightly but for some unknown reason, the chill in his dream seemed to have entered the real world and as a result, he could no longer go back to sleep. After a long time, Mable knocked on the door, "Something is up." Ye Qingxuan got up from the ground, "I''ll go over now." In the corner of the hall, there was a simple bed made of rock with the old nun lying on it. She was breathing rapidly and sweat was dripping down from her forehead. "What''s going on?" Ye Qingxuan put on an outer robe and squeezed his way in. The Master of the School of Choir inspected her body and replied calmly, "This is normal. Her consciousness is regrouping It is just like someone trying to climb out of a quagmire. It will take some time and energy." "What if she doesn''t manage to climb out?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "In that case, she will continue to sleep like this." The Master shook his head and looked at the scars on both her hands, "I think she may not necessarily be happy when she wakes up." "Staying alive is always better than dying." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, "Whatever medications we have, just give it to her. Taking care of a paralyzed person in the Ultimate will be much more troublesome compared to taking care of a normal person." The Master from the School of Choir looked beside him and saw the one-legged man shaking his head, "When it comes to consciousness, no medications are going to be of any use. She can only do it herself." After the Master from the School of Heart made such a definitive statement, Ye Qingxuan could feel his head aching, "Can you help?" "It will be difficult." The one-legged man hesitated, "Her consciousness is too weak. If I interfere, she will be influenced by my music theory I am capable of remolding a person from a blank sheet, but as a result, there is nothing you will be able to gain from it." 658 Believers It was a tricky issue. At the moment, Schubert''s scepter had turned into a seed and was hiding in her consciousness. If the one-legged man dared to do it, even Ye Qingxuan wouldn''t let him off, not to mention the Sacred City. It seemed that they really couldn''t do much about it. Ye Qingxuan sighed and gave a wave of his hand. "It''s already midnight. Go get some rest, everyone, no need to keep vigil here." Soon, the masters all left. Ye Qingxuan reached out and adjusted the brazier next to the stone bed, making the fire burn more vigorously. The flame burning in the air brought light and illuminated the music theory pages in his hand. He might as well make good use of the time to study something since he couldn''t fall back asleep anyway. It was just nice that Schubert''s scepter had provided him with plenty of inspiration in the earlier half of the night. He already knew what sort of Symphony of Predestination he wanted. Ye Qingxuan planned to make haste in perfecting it. Ideally, he hoped to settle his Symphony of Predestination completely in one go in two days. Then, he would just have to wait to hitch the ride to attain the Level of Scepter. It wasn''t long before Ye Qingxuan heard the sound of breathing become steady. He put down the manuscript, looked back, and saw that the expression of the old nun on the stone bed had become peaceful, as if she had descended into a long slumber, her fingers trembling slightly. Finally, she opened her eyes once more. This time, her eyes no longer had an empty look in them. Instead, they were old and murky, with shadows cast by the erosion of pain. She looked at the broken ceiling sluggishly, then her eyes fell on Ye Qingxuan. Seeing the Church''s emblem on his collar, she murmured softly, "Is this... heaven?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head slowly. "Regretfully, Sister, you have not ascended to heaven because of your piety and good deeds. God has not accepted you, so you have remained in the mortal realm." "Where is this place?" she asked. "The Ultimate," Ye Qingxuan replied. Confusion flashed across the old nun''s eyes. She seemed unable to comprehend his words, nor did she understand what exactly the Ultimate was. Ye Qingxuan sighed. "In a nutshell, it''s a very troublesome place." The old nun was momentarily surprised, and remained silent for a long time. "Oh, I see. I''m still alive..." She looked at the wrinkles on her palm and murmured softly, "God loves me." "Don''t you hate them?" Ye Qingxuan looked at her peaceful expression and suddenly asked. "You still have your memories, right? You still remember what they of the Church did to you." The old nun fell silent for a good while. "I still remember those days. Many archbishops spoke to me, and the Holy See also praised me " She said softly, "It is probably my destiny. For me, having such talent is a lucky thing. "At least, I''m not totally useless in everything other than praying..." Looking at the old nun''s unperturbed expression, for some reason unknown, Ye Qingxuan was somewhat displeased. "How could someone be destined to become a consumable?" Seemingly sensing the dissatisfaction in Ye Qingxuan''s words, the old nun gave an awkward smile. "In my opinion... someone has to offer themselves up to be consumed, no? What''s more, it''s for the sake of the world..." The corner of Ye Qingxuan''s eye twitched. Foolish. He withdrew his gaze and didn''t want to say anything more. To be honest, he sort of regretted his choice. Although he had long since prepared himself that the old nun would be a fanatic, even fanatics came in many different varieties. Many were shepherds who sacrificed everything, but many others were sheep that could take anything lying down. She was the latter. Of the countless types of people out there, only such people were the least valuable. They couldn''t even live their lives for themselves. But soon, Ye Qingxuan discovered a merit of the old nun that made him a little less upset. No, it was simply an irreplaceable forte in the Ultimate. She could cook. ... At the wee hours of dawn, when the masters woke up from meditation, for a moment, they almost felt that they were having an illusion. After a long time since it last happened, they smelled broth. It was a steaming hot fragrance. Mabel had conveniently made the soup pot and provided the kindling spark for the fire, the meat used was air-dried meat, the only spices were a few peppers, and a few odd onion pieces were sprinkled over the broth. The salt in the meat dissolved in the boiling water, and the smell of onion blended in. The stone-like compressed food melted in the broth, forming thin porridge. To be honest, it was very simple and crude, but after putting one''s teeth through the ordeal of eating compressed food for one week straight, being able to drink such a bowl of gruel almost made the masters tear up. A master of the school of modifications even made dozens of bowls and spoons specially for the occasion, ready to sit down and properly enjoy the meal. Soon, everyone sat in front of the makeshift dining table, and the old nun served breakfast. Ye Qingxuan cupped his hands around the soup bowl, but noticed the gaze of the old nun. She looked at Ye Qingxuan and furrowed her brows in confusion. "Your Excellency, why aren''t you saying your morning prayer?" "..." Ye Qingxuan''s expression twitched, and for some reason unknown, he felt somewhat guilty. It seemed that he hadn''t said any more prayers after leaving Father Bann and his church. From various aspects, he really didn''t live up to his title of archbishop. Even so, he still bit the bullet and replied, "I''m not in the habit of doing so." As he said so, he lowered his head, ready to drink his soup, but felt the gaze watching him. Inexplicably, his conscience was uneasy. It wasn''t just him, everyone present felt guilty for some reason unknown. The old nun looked at the masters at the table and softly suggested, "Everyone, let''s pray." The masters looked up at the old nun in surprise. With a serious expression, she proposed gently and patiently, "Saying grace before meals is necessary etiquette." Although she was an old nun, for some reason unknown, at the moment, of all times... she had an inexplicably dignified air. Ye Qingxuan could swear that it was definitely the meal that he had eaten most piously in the past year. After eating, he even got up subconsciously to wash the dishes and only remembered that he was no longer in the church when he looked up. He sighed softly and put down the bowl. To cover up his blunder, he softly ordered, "I have something on during the day, don''t disturb me." Having said so, he turned and left. Inexplicably, he missed the priest a little. I wonder if he is doing well. ... More than ten hours ago, in the northern wilderness, the sun was scorching. A few hundred kilometers away was the endless desert. The hot, burning F?hn wind blew from afar, passed the thorns and bushes, and blew through the gates of the village. In such a hot summer, even the villagers were unwilling to come out. They all made use of their time by sleeping during the day, letting the fields crack, burned by the scorching sun, and weeds grew everywhere. Below the parapet made of loess, only a thin boy was riding his wooden horse in the sparse shadows. The colored paint on the wooden horse had already peeled off due to prolonged exposure to the sun, leaving only vague traces. Even the eyes were blurred, and his young friends made fun of it, calling it a blind horse. The child knew not of boredom. He had always enjoyed himself in his own world, fantasizing himself to be a noble knight, just like the group of adults stationed in the desert. Waving his wooden knife, he fought bravely against the demon in his imagination. He once saw the knights. They rode black horses and galloped past the village. One could hear the thunderous hooves from a few miles away. As dust rose, a brilliance reflected from their armor under the scorching sun, and on the white cloak on their back was a blood-colored emblem of a cross. 659 The Next Destination ''Knights Templar of Hospital'', that was what the adults called it. The child has only seen them once. It was a pity that they were stationed too far away from here. Typically, one would have to follow the path towards the west for half a month and pass through the vast desert before being able to find them in a small oasis. The desert was full of danger. That was what the adults told him, so the child was planning to wait till he was older before going forth to find those majestic knights. Just like in the stories, he would serve as their squire, help them to sharpen their long swords, polish their boots, pick up some abilities and undergo tough training. One day, they would acknowledge him and that was when he would also become a member of the knights. But he could wait no longer. He was still six years away from being 14 years old. He looked up at the burning sun as he waved the wooden sword in his hands. Six more years. When he turned back, he saw a small black dot from far away. Someone was approaching. That person was riding on a horse but the clipping of the horse''s hooves sounded weak and tired. As they got nearer, the child realized that the person on horseback was very old. He was wearing an old and torn robe and looked like a beggar, as his beard was messy and his face looked dirty. He looked neither impressive nor strong. He did not look like a knight yet he was riding a horse. When the horse, which was covered with spots of mud and dust, came nearer, the old knight looked to be in terrible shape and was barely breathing. "Water" The frail old knight looked at him and pleaded, "Please give me a bowl of water." He ruffled around his robe and took out two copper coins that were covered with sweat and dirt. The child hesitated before accepting the coins and running away. After some time, he came back with a bowl of water. The water was taken from a well that was dug out from saline-alkaline soil so the water tasted bitter. Some of the water has been spilled along the way as the child ran all the way back. Nevertheless, when the old knight accepted the bowl of water, he treated it as if it was treasure and drank it in large gulps. He drank half of the water before hesitating and eventually deciding to get down his horse and feeding his horse the rest of the water. It was only now that the child noticed that beneath the dirt and dust, the horse actually seemed to be dark green in color. Strangely enough, it was the same color as the old knight''s robe. The strange horse rolled its eyes and looked at the child before licking him suddenly. The old knight laughed and caressed the horse''s head, "It likes you." The child touched the saliva on his face and seemed to be in a daze. The old knight carefully licked the remaining water droplets in the bowl before wiping his mouth and beard clean. His voice was still hoarse, "May I know where is the next village?" "Towards the north. It will take two days of travelling. It is very far away." The child pointed into the distance and looked at the old knight''s bag of money, "You can take a rest first. You can stay in my house tonight. My house has a clean guest room and there is warm water and dinner. It will only cost five coins." It was an affordable price but the old knight hesitated before shaking his head and replying in his hoarse voice, "I don''t have time." With that, he patted the horse''s head and the horse slowly rode towards the north. The child was a little disappointed. It was rare to see any foreigners in this place. "Are you leaving now?" He asked, "Where are you going?" "To the next destination," the old knight said, "And then the next." --- After three hours, a thunderous sound could be heard from far away. The ground shook. Burning metal armor formed silhouettes in the hot sunlight and the cloaks of the scarlet crusade blew in the wind. The knights on horseback were covered in dust and their lips were dried and cracked. In the empty village, there was only a broken wooden worse. The little boy on the wooden horse was gone. There was a disgusting and filthy smell deep into the village. Green houseflies were dancing in the wind and there seemed to be the sounds of a beast that was chewing and crunching on something. The swordsman that was leading the way dismounted from his horse and drew out his long sword before entering the village. Soon after, he came out with a small head in his hands. It looked like a small child but his face was covered with black spots and there was dried blood at the corner of his mouth. "Captain Bain, we were too late." The swordsman replied hoarsely, "''The plague'' has been here." Amongst the knights, a silent man waved his hand and another group of knights dismounted. They walked into the village with ''shower heads'' in their hands. Very soon, a blazing fire rose from the village as the beast cried out in despair. Under the hot sun, the entire village seemed to be shining and looked as if it could fuse with the sun. Black whirls of smoke rose and looked like a pillar of disaster that was holding up the sky. The crows that have flown over from far could only fly around in circles in disappointment. They cawed and croaked with all their might, as if they were cursing. "Let''s go." Bain turned his horse around and looked at the imprints of hooves on the dry mud. His voice was hoarse, like burnt metal, "Let''s move on to the next destination, and then the next." --- After realizing that the old nun could cook, Ye Qingxuan quickly discovered another strength of hers, which was that she was hardworking and skillful with her hands. Even in a place as desolated as the Ultimate, she continued to be able to make full use of whatever resources that were available to her, such as weaving the dried weeds in the corners of the walls into some sort of cushion. As a result, the Masters finally departed from sitting on the cold floor and upgraded to sitting on the warm cushions. With food to eat and cushions to sit on, life immediately became happier and more bearable. Even in a place like the Ultimate, everyone could still afford to find some sort of comfort. Even though she has lost the power of Schubert, it was clear that the old nun did not wish to become a burden that needed to be taken care of by others. Instead, she has decided to find ways she could contribute and be useful. She might not have done many things but the few things that she accomplished have always produced satisfactory results. Besides, one should not expect too much. She might have been a granny in some cloister or a nanny that worked for a rich family, for she has proven to be capable of ensuring that this bunch of troublesome old men were well taken care of. Of course, Ye Qingxuan has also been given a cushion, and it was the best one too. He sat on the only intact stone chair in the entire hall, that has been padded with dried grass, and leaned against the back of the chair, which has been draped with the animal skin that the old men have gifted to him. With the light of the dawn shining in, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt as if he was some sort of king in the mountains. It was a pity that his subordinates were a bunch of frail and old men instead of burly and strong robbers Old men again. He really had no idea why he seemed to have an affinity with old men. Ye Qingxuan sighed and lowered his head as he looked at the music theory pages in his hands. After a few hours of editing, the prototype of the new Symphony of Predestination has finally been completed. It was only a few pieces of thin paper, yet it was covered in a layer of glow. After the structure has been sealed, the music theory no longer exerted any external gravitational force. The repetitive music theory on the pages have completely distorted the sunlight, binding them around the music notes. This was the most precious thing about music theory pages. It could demonstrate, inscribe and seal music theories. This meant that this option was possible. Ye Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief as a smile found its way onto his face. 660 Just Be Yourself After the inspiration that Schubert''s Scepter had given him yesterday, Ye Qingxuan finally understood what kind of Symphony of Predestination he needed. He didn''t want to have to choose between so many different paths. If he chose one path, then everything he would gain would come about as a matter of course. He didn''t want to give up so much for just a Scepter. Otherwise, why not just go back to the East, climb the Path of the Deva, and directly attain his Scepter with the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei? Ye Lanzhou''s seal of moonlight, Hermes''s stone of sage, Abraham''s catastrophe resonance, Haydn''s Ultra Long-Range Music Theory Framework, the purifying music theory of the silent moon, the judgement music theory of the Inquisition, the Firebird of the Chapter of the Golden Victory... These were all good things, and the most precious, unparalleled music theories at that time. It would be ridiculous to discard all the others for the sake of just one. But then he had encountered a problem...he had bitten off more than he could chew. Even though by relying on days upon days of resonating music theory, and observing the changes in the ultimate he had increased his own perception and power, it was still not enough to meld so many things into one. He had not achieved his main goal. On the contrary, it was the core music theory contributed by the other masters that he had simplified and begun to faintly merge. If he wanted to unite his will with so much powerful music theory, he needed unimaginable focus and strength of mind. Of all the countless musicians throughout the ages, there was only one who could do this. The King of Black-Bach. Only by mastering the power of the Holy Cauldron in the Originator could he push it to meld so much music theory into one. And for a human to want to reach this level was simply wishful thinking. It was not until he had thought this through that he realized that this path was impossible to take, and that the solution he had wanted...had always been right by his side. The Net of Aether! Only a structure as open as the Net of Aether could accommodate so many vast and complex music theories, divide them into categories, and merge them into one by using the Heaven Ladder. He wouldn''t need to search for elements anymore, and he wouldn''t have to waste time thinking about ways to replicate the miracles from the Bible in order to prove his own legend. To h*ll with the Church, to h*ll with the Sacred City, and to h*ll with the Holy Cauldron! He was going to create a legend that was all his own. He would use the Net of Aether to create his Scepter! Since the Sacred City had committed such treachery, Ye Qingxuan had no compunctions about doing this, even if it destroyed both him and the Sacred City. Besides, the Sacred City of today was no longer what it had been. And the Anglo Kingdom was now Ye Qingxuan''s. ince this catfight was bound to happen sooner or later, it was best for him to choose how it would happen. After he made this decision, Ye Qingxuan had been fully occupied with preparing his Symphony of Predestination and modifying the Net of Aether. It was not until he had learned the true meaning of "modification" from Schubert that he had finally made up his last shortcoming! First, he used the way of deciphering to organize and write down his various music theories in the most streamlined format. Then, he had divided them into chapters, one after another. Each chapter was a single module, and they were all connected by the Heaven Ladder. With Ye Qingxuan acting as the medium, and the Staff of Fate as the cornerstone, he did not have to worry about any conflicts between them. No matter how strong the conflicts were, could they be stronger than the collision between the Holy Cauldron and the abyss? And what would be created by this was a Symphony of Predestination unparalleled throughout history. It would be a movement of shocking, almost bestial majesty. The only thing was that within it there were no less than nine chapters! And Ye Qingxuan had left room for interface and change within it. All of the music theory with the Symphony of Predestination seemed like a huge Rubik''s cube. A Rubik''s cube that could expand and upgrade itself! It could access unlimited amounts of power, even becoming a Scepter would not exhaust it... A common Rubik''s cube had twenty-seven modules. Twenty-six of them were detachable and transferable. The only one that could not be changed was the core hub, which kept them revolving. That was Ye Qingxuan''s place in this system. He was a part of this massive system, the cornerstone of the whole cycle, the only piece among countless pieces that did not change. After spending so much time breaking through his mental barriers, he had finally answered the last of the seven musician questions. From Abraham, he understood the School of Abstinence''s "rejection of self." From Ye Lanzhou, he had mastered the School of Magic''s "Source of Dreams." Over this long year he had learned the School of Heart''s "sense of self". He had found the School of Revelation''s "unknown place" and experienced the School of Choir''s "place between life and death." Through the School of Summoning''s aetheric cycle he had indirectly learned their "intangible body, tangible spirit." And finally, he had learned the School of Modifications''"Eternally Unchanging Things" from Schubert. Finally, after a quick detour, the seven musician questions were completed. He had no more shortcomings, except that he still had no talent for creating music. "It''s time." Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt something. "Are you ready to do this right now?" asked Mable. "If I were you, I''d hold off for a while. The music theory in these books you''ve inherited will certainly prove to be feasible, but in terms of actual application and performance there are still a lot of problems. It takes a while to polish a draft of a Symphony of Predestination into a finished product..." Mable fell silent. At least one year. From draft to finished product, the modifications that must be made to a movement were even greater than those that must be made to turn a machine from a prototype into a production model. Sometimes, the finished product would be completely unrecognizable. Some Masters could spend three, five, or even ten years on it in order to streamline the music theory and make sure the Symphony of Predestination was running smoothly. The problems always had to be solved, and it was an all-or-nothing sort of thing. If the problems could not be solved before it was completed, then they could only be solved in the process of forming the Symphony of Predestination. And if they could not be solved then...you were dead. You''d be lucky if even your body was left. "There''s not much time. I''m too lazy to go and find the problem. Let it come to me." Ye Qingxuan took one final glance at the music theory in the manuscript. "...besides, I have experience fighting fires." Mable sighed. "Well then, good luck." She took off her signet ring and gave it to Ye Qingxuan. "If it doesn''t really work, use this." It was a way out, just in case. If it didn''t work, he could discard all other music theory, and focus solely on the Chapter of the Golden Victory, using the Royal Musicians to create his Symphony of Predestination. There would be no shame in taking this way out. As far as Ye Qingxuan was concerned, as long as he could created his Symphony of Predestination, then he would be sure to be able to create a Scepter. At that time, Old Phil was in the Anglo Kingdom, a catastrophe in human form. Mary might even entitle him as Protector of the Realm, making him a new Maxwell. "I''ll consider it." Ye Qingxuan was just being polite. He had no intention of doing so. He did not want to be a new Maxwell. If he wanted, he had to chance to inherit the seal of moonlight and become a new Ye Lanzhou, or stay where he was and become a second Hermes, or even inherit the teacher''s vestments and become a second Abraham...as long as he was willing, he could become the second somebody else. But he was not willing to rely on the will of others, or to walk another''s path. He had suffered so much, and built his own career. He wanted to become himself. Ye Qingxuan wanted to become Ye Qingxuan. He did not want anything other than that. 661 Metage Seeing Ye Qingxuan hold the broken stone plate and close his eyes to meditate, the masters who were watching from afar couldn''t help but whisper among themselves. After his body entered the state of aether circulation, the chaotic aether wave rapidly subsided. Although they didn''t know Ye Qingxuan''s plan, they still managed to vaguely guess bits and pieces of it after so many days. What little they guessed already sufficed to make them feel incredulous and absurd. "Do you think it can work?" one of them asked. "I don''t know," another replied. "It feels inconceivable no matter how you look at it." An aged master had conservative views on the subject. "Many have come up with such quirky ideas since the ancient times, but few have succeeded." "Not necessarily." The musician who was the first to achieve the Level of Scepter among them shook his head. "His foundation is too strong, even the average scepter musician is not as good as he is. If he is willing to accomplish something, he can accomplish it." "But don''t forget that we are in the Ultimate," came the reply. Everyone fell into silence. "Yes, the Ultimate." Master Auden sighed softly. The Physical World and the realm of aether overlapped in this place, the image of the Originator was projected here, and the catastrophe in its embryo could rewrite the rules. One could not bypass the will of the various kings of the first generation when attempting to achieve anything here. Rising to the starry sky or falling into hell Everything would be decided by the kings. Ye Qingxuan saw an ocean. A frozen ocean. In the boundless world, it was empty. Only the frozen ocean extended as far as one could perceive, and pale colors covered everything. It was his music theory that had been frozen by the Ultimate, his Symphony of Predestination. "The time for change has come," he said. His willpower operated in the sky, and as he willed it, the sea of ice shattered, and countless strands of music theory emerged from it, burst forth, turned into flames, rose slowly, and dissipated in the sky. A mighty melody slowly sounded. What appeared next was the strings of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. The strings disintegrated into pure music theory and turned into the power ingrained in the bloodline of House Yethe Heaven Ladder. It stretched across the seven systems and operated smoothly without hindrance. It was the best foundation and structure, and would also be the main body of the Net of Aether. It was just that Ye Qingxuan never expected that after going around in circles, he would return to the very beginning and entrust everything to Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. But the present was very different from the past. Under Ye Qingxuan''s will, the music theory of the Heaven Ladder rapidly proliferated. In the sparse notes played by the qin, a phantom image of the qin appeared vaguely, then quickly shattered again. After shattering, it turned into countless streams of silver light. The crisscross streams of light pierced through the world of nothingness, connecting countless strands of music theory together. The movement of moonlight turned into a bright moon and rose above the night sky, the sage stone became the earth, laying the foundation with life. The catastrophe resonation echoed the powers from the four directions, forming the very first gust of wind, and propelled the first cycle of music theory... In the collision of countless strands of music theory, bright lights and loud noises evolved one after another. In the end, they were united once more in the vast system by Jiu Xiao Huan Pei. The Net of Aether was ready to appear in its embryonic form. An expression of joy crossed Ye Qingxuan''s face, and he was going to attempt to run it, but suddenly felt himself starting to sink He was sinking towards somewhere deeper. "What the heck?" He was stunned. The sudden accident made him descend into confusion and shock. He suddenly felt something warm in his arms. He could feel a fiery glow being emitted from the broken stone plate of the Ultimate. Then, out of the blue, something interfered He opened his eyes again. He saw the solemn palace hall. He was still sitting in his original place, but in front of the stone chair was a row of stone fences. The rest of the people in the hall had disappeared without a trace, and the weeds that had emerged from the cracks had also vanished. The dilapidated ruins of the hall had been restored to its complete state at the moment. The reliefs and patterns formed with carved obsidian hung on the overhead dome and on the stone pillars. Behind him, a door had already been opened, as if he was the one who had pushed the heavy door open and stepped in. Meanwhile, in front of him, at the end of the main hall, a new door of gold was shut tightly. Countless strands of music theory revealed their form and were wrapped around it. It turned out to be his Net of Aether. Like a scorching sun, flames hung above the dome overhead. The six banners of bright red hung from the surroundings, each with a different emblem on it, be it thorns, frost, or an iron moon The figures of the various kings of the first generation appeared before their respective banners. They stood tall, like judges, and towered over Ye Qingxuan. In the empty eye sockets, flames of strong convictions were still burning. They had established the first epoch of mankind and started the Golden Era of mankind. After death, their convictions never left and cast themselves into the Ultimate still. They once again morphed into their original appearance and appeared in front of Ye Qingxuan, judging everything of his. Ye Qingxuan wanted to get up, but before he realized it, dark shackles had been put on his hands. He was momentarily surprised and couldn''t help but start laughing softly. "Eh! What the heck is this?" He looked up at the figures of the various kings of the first generation. "A trial? Do I need to make an innocent plea for myself?" "Silence, mortal!" The kings all said in unison, "All words are powerless. The metage shall begin, and thou art to wait quietly for the results!" "Metage?" Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked at them. "Do you need me to stand on the scales?" No one responded. Silence ensued. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but feel somewhat awkward. Coughing dryly twice, he added, "I mean, if something''s the matter, please make it as fast as possible, I am in a hurry." At the very moment, turbulence burst forth. At the end of the hall, the golden door rumbled. A huge balance appeared from it, and an ancient, majestic emblem hung on both sides of the balance. On the left side of the balance was the unrest shadows of countless strands of music theory. However, an unchanging order remained throughout the chaos. In the end, it morphed into a vague Rubik''s Cube and turned out to be the core of the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination. However, the right side of the balance was empty. As a result, the balance quickly tilted to one side. In an instant, the flame went out. Darkness engulfed everything. But in the darkness, violent lightning shot of the eyes of the various kings of the first generation, illuminating Ye Qingxuan''s confused expression. Their voices echoed in the hall like thunder, and the horrible impact almost tore Ye Qingxuan to pieces. "How empty!" The King of the Sun roared furiously, "Your heart has no glory within at all! Have humans degenerated to this extent after a millennium?" "Hypocrite!" The Sage of the Iron Moon shook his head. "All your good deeds are only for self-fulfillment, you only love yourself." The Master of the Golden Palace shook his head in disappointment. "You are selfish and give no thought to the overall situation!" The Emperor of Aurora, wearing a coronet and black robe, cast a cold gaze at him. "You avoid your duties and betray your responsibilities!" Holding his scepter, Augustus closed his eyes. "You deny God and refuse to sacrifice!" The nameless king in white sighed. "You are a deviant and are not of much use." In the dead silence, a terrifying pressure descended from the sky, exerting on Ye Qingxuan''s will. It whipped his consciousness again and again, making him almost unable to continue. "Leave us, offender!" The various kings of the first generation judged in unison. "You are not qualified to receive the power, and everything of yours is worthless to the world. You don''t deserve the power!" Boom! Ye Qingxuan''s body shook and his consciousness became scattered. On the outside, his body became fleeting to the eye, like a candle in the wind. But from the beginning till the end, he was never completely put to rout, nor did he totally dissipate as the kings declared. He was still here. Ye Qingxuan lifted a hand and slowly wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse. "Your Majesties, I have said these words a long time ago: I owe the world nothing..." He looked up and coldly glared at the dead of the most ancient of times. "It is the world that owes me." Bang! On his hands, the black iron shackles fell apart and turned into iron sand, dissipating in midair. He slowly got up, forcibly withstanding the horrifying crushing force from the Ultimate. He raised his head arrogantly, his chest puffed out, even though his bones whined forlornly, about to fall apart. "The world has changed, Your Majesties, a new era is coming, but the new era does not belong to you." He croaked hoarsely, "Old men can''t see the current situation clearly, and they don''t know where the future lies, the blame is not on you. But if you want to be likable, you should be well-behaved and retire. Leave your positions and make room for the young, don''t be a burden that keeps getting in the way." In the furious roars of the kings, Ye Qingxuan coldly warned, "Now, please open the door. Otherwise, just f*ck off and go back to your graves!" 662 What Are You Looking At? Boom! The second roar. The Staff of Fate was revealed in Ye Qingxuan''s hands, hitting the ground and causing the wail of the broken shard of the stone plate. The sound of the wail reverberated in this imaginary world, causing countless music theories to tremble. Honestly, he was already sick of what they were doing. What stupid trial or test. If not for the fact that he still had some respect for all these kings at the beginning, he would already have lost all his patience by now. It was just a Symphony of Predestination after all, right? The Symphony of Predestination was completed, the music theory was composed, the structure took shape and the operation had been tested without any problems. This should have been enough. But they just had to create all this trouble. And what was the purpose of gathering so many people anyway? A meeting? If they really treated this as a meeting, so be it. But the way they treated Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination was as if it was some common and worthless item they could find in their own house. One moment, they would decide to give and the next moment, they would change their minds. Based on what? A bunch of ghosts, that did not even know if their corpses were still around, left behind a couple of obsessions. Now that they had made use of the spirituality of the Ultimate to resurrect themselves, they were fully imposing their wills on others. If they wanted to demonstrate their seniority by scolding a couple of times, it would have been acceptable. Everyone could still play along, where they would exert their authority for a while and Ye Qingxuan would play humble. Everything could have gone on smoothly. But they were just bent on not giving any face! After nagging for so long, they still expected Ye Qingxuan to contribute to this world. For what! There are so many people in this world, why me of all people? Have I dug the grave of the Pope? If Ye Qingxuan had the time, he would have written a list of debts owed to him and he would have been able to collect them all the way from the Sacred City to Aurora! Of all the places in the east and west, how many people would dare say that they did not owe anything to Ye Qingxuan? Was anyone unaware that Ye Qingxuan was the Sacred City''s role model for values? Or that he was the world''s role model for hard work? But because of the words of these few old idiots, he was quickly relegated some kind of a*shole. What a joke. Any typical musician would have felt powerless to do anything in such a situation but this would not be the case for Ye Qingxuan. He was a reckless person who dared to interfere in the clash between the Holy Caldron and the abyss. From west to east and across the seven seas, he was the only one who would dare to interfere in the matters of many countries. He had no fear nor respect for these traditions. Therefore, without any hesitation, he decided to fall out with them! In any case, this was a projection developed in his consciousness by the Ultimate through aether. In the worst-case scenario, he was prepared to give up on the Symphony of Predestination! This was probably the first time in their lives that these kings were being scolded so fiercely and unceremoniously. They were so shocked that they were not able to react in time. Soon after, Ye Qingxuan smashed the railing in front of him and walked over towards them from behind the judgment seat while making a rude hand gesture towards the pair of blue ambers in the sky. "What are you looking at?" Ye Qingxuan stared. "Preparing to be burnt at the stake?" This was the last straw for the unlucky camel. "What arrogance!" The King of the Sun was the first to explode in anger. Behind him, the imperfect outline of the sun appeared as he roared, "Kneel! Prepare to receive death!" Boom! Seven pairs of wings of light seemed to spread open on his back. These kings had all received the blessings of the Holy Caldron. Although they were humans, by nature, they had already cast projections in the world of aether, so they could be said to be half God and half human. They were almost catastrophes. They all managed to obtain different powers from the Holy Caldron and the element that the King of the Sun had managed to obtain was Angel of the Sun. At this moment, the wings of light were a fleeting line that caused countless cracks in the entire illusory land. The Staff of Fate roared and Ye Qingxuan''s body was instantaneously shrouded within a terrible light. It was as if he had been thrown into the sun, and at the command of the king, the sun had descended. It was said that back then, when polar night came, he was able to utilize his own abilities and power to bring light to the world, so much so that white roses and the common broom were able to bloom around the entire Burgundy kingdom. This was clearly not the first time Ye Qingxuan had to face the power of the sun but he never expected that the projection of the remains of the dead in aether could still bring him such immense pressure. Thoughts were evaporating and memories were boiling. The body that had been formed by consciousness was burning. The newly-formed Symphony of Predestination had turned into new fuel, forcing Ye Qingxuan into the flames to be burnt into dust. Even the thinnest camel was still bigger than a horse. Similarly, even if the King of the Sun had become extremely thin, he would not be a camel. Instead, he would still be a giant dragon, who would be more than capable of piercing through countless gold and metal or shredding all sorts of flesh and blood. In a moment of silence, there was no screaming in despair nor gasps of shock. Within the flames, the indifferent pair of eyes looked up. The Staff of Fate was raised up high. Wham! There was only an insane determination and an arrogance towards everything else. Wham! If there was mountain ahead, it would be cracked open; if it was a tree, it would be broken; if it was an enemy, his head would be crushed; if it was a sun, then the sun would just have to be dragged down! Boom! Within the hall filled with debris, Ye Qingxuan, who was sitting on the cushion made of weeds, suddenly trembled. Powerful beams of light shot out of his slender body and blood seeped out of his pores. Within the blood, beams of light that were the color of moonlight rose like flames. The music theory was in a state of unrest! The expressions on all the Masters changed. The worst-case scenario was finally happening! Typically, something as extreme as this would never take place, as long as the Symphony of Predestination could somehow be put together. The counter reaction produced by the breaking of the music theory would consume life and body. Something like this would only take place if one took the risk of merging with a music theory that was completely against his own path, or if one formed the Symphony of Predestination without any preparation. If problems were to occur in any other situation, the consequence would be a failure in leveling up. It might be fatal and probably one person might die as a result. At most, some innocent people might be dragged down too. But this was different! If one did not pay enough attention to such unrest, it could spread! Any normal person who encountered a situation like this would be sure to keep a safe distance, but all the Masters at the scene only revealed a bitter expression. According to the covenant that they had signed with Ye Qingxuan, they could not stand by and do nothing to help him, otherwise, as part of their guarantee for the covenants, their Symphonies of Predestination or scepters would fall apart. All powers would be lost and they would never be able to gain the favor of aether for the rest of their lives. To a musician, a scenario like that was worst than death. Besides, there was a solemn-looking "little girl." Arhat Mable did not seem to be aware of the thoughts that were going through everyone else''s minds. She merely toyed with the Fire of Nirvana in her fingers. In a situation like this, if any of them were to pretend to be oblivious to what was taking place or continue to be hesitant, Mable would be the first to turn that person into a small pill to serve as supplements for Prince Avalon! 663 I Don’t Care As a subordinate of Ye Qingxuan, Mabel was protected by the contract. But intentionally or unintentionally, Ye Qingxuan had not stipulated whether or not his subordinates could attack the Masters. Up until now, all the talents of the realm had just been reacting to the white-haired b*stard''s crazy ideas. There was not one good thing in the whole freaking Anglo Kingdom! The ten or so Masters glanced at each other and selected a few unlucky ones from their number. They did not dare to hesitate any longer. The unlucky ones could not help but grit their teeth and stamp their feet before walking unwillingly towards Ye Qingxuan. They pressed down on his limbs, chest, back, and forehead, using all their might to help him suppress the surging music theory, not daring to slacken even a little bit. Seeing that others had taken care of it, those that were left behind couldn''t help but breath a sigh of relief. But in a few moments, they saw one of the old men begin to tremble all over. His eyes rolled over to their whites as he looked up and spat out a mouthful of blood. It seemed he couldn''t handle it! Everyone was horrified and stunned. It had only been a few minutes! It was not that these Masters were not very used to helping their students suppress their music theory, it was just that no matter how big their problems were, it was no pressure for the Masters. And now, in order to ensure that nothing would go wrong five masters were suppressing the music theory of one quasi-Master, and they could not even stand it for five minutes! After losing one of their numbers, the other four quickly trembled and were on the verge of collapse. "Monster..." The old man was panting. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and thought of that unimaginably frightening music theory that he had just witnessed. His face went pale as he looked at his companions. "Five people aren''t enough! 15, we need at least 15! A Scepter might be enough. Quickly! We can''t hold on!" For a moment, all that could be heard was the sound of panting. At the moment, regardless of the other Masters rushing over to help save him from this awful mess, Ye Qingxuan was already on fire in the illusion. If it hadn''t been for the group of Masters supporting him on the outside he wouldn''t have been able to bear it. He didn''t know if this counted as a great irony or not. A Grand Inquisitor who always sent people to the stake was being cast into the flames himself But for some reason, he suddenly felt less pain. "Feeling" was a purely imaginary piece of vocabulary, unquantifiable and nonsensical. But right now, Ye Qingxuan was indeed experiencing such a vivid feeling. The King of the Sun was weakening! But what was most obvious was that he was not dead yet. Although he was a little frightened at first, after getting used to it he found out what it was like. After the initial burst of terror, it would not rise again quickly, but there would be a faint, unsustainable feeling. It was as painful as a blazing sun but as fleeting as a candle in the wind. Ye Qingxuan raised his head with great effort and looked at the King of the Sun. His eyeballs that had been nearly turned to glass were huge and full of confusion and even a little disappointment that the expected abuse had not come. "Is that it?" "..." Within the flames, the King of the Sun''s face was cold but also betrayed a bit of stiffness, and a trace of incomprehension. The flames were dying. Dying rapidly. He was like water without a source or a fire without fuel. No matter what he did, his past invincible might that allowed to do as he pleased was beginning to dry up, and he would soon be powerless. Moreover, the other kings had not acted, instead choosing to do nothing. In the process of putting forth his power, his form began to wane. The King of the Sun''s face was distorted in the twisting air. Although he could not see his face clearly, Ye Qingxuan was sure it must be quite interesting. "Excellent." Ye Qingxuan laughed hoarsely even as the fire burned around him. "What an interesting expression for the prophet who so ambitiously planned out the future of the world. All you kings who dominate the world can''t even handle an unrepentant scoundrel like me." The burning figure was as brilliant as the setting sun. He laughed, and in the laughter the flames swept out like crimson silk, revealing bones that had been bleached pure white. The skeleton was bathed in flames, like someone immersed in warm water. The silky muscles of his face twitched into the semblance of a pleasant smile. The flame had not killed him. He was alive again. He stood before the ancient kings once more. "Perhaps you think you can plan out the whole future, and that everybody is obligated to make concessions or sacrifices for your grand design. But that''s not how it is..." As he spoke with his hoarse voice, his flesh began to grow on his bones. Pieces of Ye Qingxuan''s face began to appear on his skull. The flame was rendered into pure white, almost silver hair that flowed out behind him. "Just listen," the skeleton whispered. An ear-piercing noise rang out from the flames. The skeleton stretched out his fingers and began to pluck at his rib-bones as if he was playing a stringed instrument. The scraping of bone upon bone produced a shrill sound. It was like the friction of the Earth''s crust causing the mountains to cry out, or like a hurricane sweeping through causing the waves to crash, or like thousands of hammers falling at the same time. At first, the sound was harsh and disordered and maddeningly chaotic. But soon, under the orderly movements of the skeleton''s fingers, the disordered tempos were merged into one, and in this natural and smooth harmony, a rhythmic and sonorous melody appeared. Countless notes appeared on Ye Qingxuan''s skeleton, wriggling about like living things. A colossus loomed out of the turbulent illusions behind him. An embryo of terror was gestating. A sleeping beast had opened one of its eyes. It was the Symphony of Predestination that had been forcibly frozen! Now, this Symphony of Predestination that had only existed in his drafts and conceptions was about to be completed, just as the giant sleeping in the layers of ice began to slowly open its eyes. There was a loud roar, and white cracks began to spread through the ice. At the same time, the illusions of the kings were continuously flashing, like candles in the wind, their power spent. Their existence was being repelled. A pair of formless hands forcibly ripped them out of the projection of the Ultimate, breaking the arrays that they had set all those years ago and wiping away all hope of an invasion. But they were hidden deep in the Ultimate''s source of essence. There was nothing they could do in response. They fell silent. A roar sounded out from the illusion. Outside the illusion, countless detailed alchemy arrays began to appear on the broken stone plate. They trembled and emitted a burning glow. The silent kings tried one final attack, setting off monstrous waves through Ye Qingxuan''s body and consciousness simultaneously. They had no hope of victory. This was purely to cause destruction, even if it meant they perished together. After all, they were nothing more than duplicate projections here. And since the battlefield was Ye Qingxuan''s body, even if they had no way to win they could still thoroughly wipe everything out. The King of the Sun was the only one who moved. He stretched out his hands and collected the shadows of the other kings to him, gathering them into the brilliant sunlight that surrounded him. The kings were all ignited by the blazing sun, making it even larger and more dignified than ever before, as if it had sole dominion over creation and destruction. "We will never let you have a hand in this world''s future!" The sunlight that was so brilliant one could not look at it directly launched an all-out attack on Ye Qingxuan''s as yet incomplete Symphony of Predestination. Opposing this was a pair of unwavering dark eye holes that stared back like cold eyes. "You outdated trash can stay here yourselves," came the soft, hoarse reply. "I don''t care!" The notes began to shake violently as countless strains of music theory were gathered together in one place. Innumerable chaotic modifications were completed in an instant, until finally, Ye Qingxuan''s Rubik''s cube-like Symphony of Predestination quickly became unstable under the immense pressure, began to overlap on itself, and started changing wildly as it engulfed his broken bones and then it suddenly slammed into the blazing sun! It was like a moth throwing itself into the flames. At the moment of impact, all went silent. 664 Eulogizing in the Ashes At the instant of collision, everything was silent and no sound could be heard. But in the Physical World, Ye Qingxuan''s body suddenly shook violently. His corporeal body alternated rapidly between the states of aether circulation and blood circulation. Sometimes his flesh and blood blended into the stream of light, but the fascia and bones remained. Sometimes half of his body was ethereal, but blood and sludge spewed out of the other half. The nature interference that had gone out of control spread to the surroundings, radiating to the entire dilapidated hall, making everything descend into a strange wonderland-like state. The stones were burning, the weeds turned into steel. The air was frozen, emitting a bone-chilling cold, but lava was flowing on the dome overhead. And such were only observable phenomena on the surface. The actual turmoil that was caused by the music theory that had gone out of control was hidden under the surface, but its scale far surpassed hundreds of times that on the outside. In just the blink of an eye, a horrifying torrent erupted from the Symphony of Predestination, causing the 12 masters around to scream miserably. Their palms were repelled from Ye Qingxuan''s body. However, upon closer inspection, one could perceive a terrifying amount of heat radiating from the gaps between the five fingers. It was as if the bones had become charcoal, the blood fuel, and the skin firewood. Their hands were burning. Their palms had been transformed by the elements entangled in Ye Qingxuan''s music theory. Had they not been repelled by the horrifying pressure, at the moment, they would probably have started to burn like Ye Qingxuan. Yes, Ye Qingxuan was burning. Fire emerged from his mouth and nose, from each pore, from the skin that seemed almost colorless under the illumination. It was as if lava was rolling around furiously in his blood and veins; like his body was placed in molten steel. His silver hair was instantly charred, and his body burned vigorously. He had been ignited. The power of the elements of the King of the Sun had infiltrated his Symphony of Predestination via his consciousness, instantly igniting countless strands of music theory of his completely, then radiating from the movement to the body. Consciousness, music theory, flesh, aether Everything of Ye Qingxuan was ignited. "We''re finished." Auden forcibly pulled away his right hand and looked at Ye Qingxuan, who was rapidly withering in the flame, half of the body having turned to ashes, and his expression was one of unconcealable shock and fear. It''s hopeless for him. Despite being the genius that he is, in the end, he still couldn''t break through the limit. What''s more, the various kings of the first generation has already cast down the godly punishment Among the many masters, Auden''s school was famous for having a solid foundation. At the critical juncture, he was naturally fast to react. He immediately suppressed the invading force from Ye Qingxuan''s body, then decisively made the necessary sacrifices to save himself and forcibly cut himself off from the chaos originating from Ye Qingxuan. But others were not so lucky. In particular, tempted by the Ultimate, a considerable number of people had undergone strengthening once and had yet to integrate the strength that had been obtained suddenly. At the moment, their reaction was slow, and in order to end the disaster, they had suffered immense damage in just an instant. Some even had to make up their mind and sacrifice part of themselves, forcibly splitting themselves from the power bestowed by the Ultimate, giving up the fruit of success that they had risked their lives for. At the moment, looking at how tragic Ye Qingxuan''s situation was, everyone felt utter despair. According to the contract between the two sides, if they simply watched Ye Qingxuan die, they would have no hope of advancing even the slightest bit for the rest of their lives, eternally unable to arrive at the Originator and lose the favor and blessing of aether forever... But what could they do other than watch him die? Be burnt to ashes with him? In the short span of an instant, despite Mabel disregarding her life to transfuse the fire of Nirvana into Ye Qingxuan, she could hardly stop his flesh from decaying. The human body was too fragile in regard to flames of tens of thousands of degrees. In only a moment, it was completely charred. After the short span of a few seconds, it turned into a handful of ashes. Only a grotesque skull was left in the flames, shrouded in vague indigo moonlight. However, it was obvious that the moonlight was no longer controlled by any consciousness. It was like a candle in the wind, about to completely dissipate in a moment under the erosion of the flames. In the silence, someone slowly reached out and held Ye Qingxuan''s skull in her arms, despite the fire engulfing and igniting herself. Everyone was stunned. "God loves me." In the fire, the old nun closed her eyes. When she opened them again, the look in her eyes returned to blankness. But then, a strong ray of light burst forth from the deathly silent emptiness. A melody that was as deft and elegant as a flying bird flowed out of the blankness. It was like the wind, the moon, poetry, spring water, and all the beautiful things that were constantly changing in the world. In a flash, countless strands of music theory that were constantly changing poured into the remaining body of Ye Qingxuan, gushing into his Symphony of Predestination and consciousness that had been burned entirely. An enormous power reawakened from the body of the old nun. It operated mightily, causing resonance from the heavens and the earth and eliciting response from God. Schubert. Schubert''s scepter reawakened from her body once more. So, it was as if stars were reflected in the eyes, and they were so beautiful to the extent of being captivating, but also so majestic that one dared not look straight at them. Like thousands of dexterous hands, countless strands of music theory combed through and corrected the music theory in disarray that was like a cauldron of chaos. Next, they transfused vitality into him, smoothing the ruins, irrigating it with rain, spilling sunlight down, and poured all the power into him with no regard for the cost. It was as if a miracle had descended once more. But everyone''s expression was still ashen. "It''s useless." The lame musician, who had one-half of his body burned, gave a forlorn laugh and shook his head. Right from the moment they were repelled, the final outcome was already fixed. Any further attempts to salvage the situation would be of no help. No matter how strong the power, a precondition must be met. For Ye Qingxuan to be able to recover, Ye Qingxuan must still be alive. Once a person had died, no matter what powerful force was to be used to patch him up, what could be obtained would be nothing more than an empty shell. As a master of the school of mind, at the moment of letting go, he could clearly feel Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness shattering. It was as if his consciousness had been cast into purgatory and the abyss. Any consciousness was as fragile as a bubble under the crush of such horrifying elements. Would there be bubbles in hell? Even his body had been burned to ashes. How could Ye Qingxuan still survive?? But then, the tragic laugh of self-mockery on his face froze. An illusion-like melody sounded in the dead silence. It was like a blurry echo from the distant horizon, but also like a fine melody lingering in one''s ear. It was like an illusion, yet it was so real. In the frozen air, wind blew from afar, sweeping up the embers in the flames. But in the ashes floating upwards and dissipating, it was as if an invisible soul was singing softly. Low drumbeats sounded from thin air, turning into a sonorous rhythm. In the blink of an eye, the sound became clearer and clearer, ringing in everyone''s ear. A rumbling sound burst forth abruptly from the vagueness. Unusually sharp sounds converged, then evolved into a clear melody once more. It was a melody, the roar of a musical movement. Someone was playing fanatically. Eulogizing in the ashes! 666 Crack "Is this the failure that you had predicted?" The lively looking Naberius squatting beside him whistled. "You just had to be impetuous. Wasn''t it you who was always telling us to keep a low profile?" "Failure is no great obstacle," Paganini replied softly. "Besides, things are settled overall, right?" "Seems like it." Naberius shrugged. "You know how important this opportunity is to us." Paganini said nothing. For a long time, the World of Dark had been filled with all kinds of madness. People often regarded Dark Musicians as akin to demons, evil spirits and catastrophes, but even so, there had never been any strife between them. Even in the process of exercising their power they had never gone to war. As soon as Paganini entered the Abyss, he was among the best of the ministers when compared to the catastrophes under Hyakume''s command. But he had never really taken on a leadership role. The prevailing faction in the Abyss had always been made up of Hyakume''s subordinates and descendants: catastrophes, demons, and even half-dragons, moon spirits, iron dwarves and more. After the fall of Hyakume, the monolithic Abyss had splintered into a number of factions, and there was fierce fighting over who would become the new leader. But for some reason, among the many beings in the Abyss, only Paganini the Abyss Sage had been recognized as having the best chance. This was a turning point for the Dark Musicians. If he could prove his ability, then he would surely receive the support of the dark ministers. But if he failed, then Dark Musicians would only be able to serve as thugs and cannon fodder in the Abyss. "To be honest, I''m curious. How did you convince those stubborn fools?" Naberius made a circling motion around his temple. After swallowing up tons of the darkness of humanity, those "geniuses" who had ingested tremendous amounts of consciousness and elements of the Abyss, and had been turned from demons into humans by Hyakume itself, were the dark, deceitful demons known as "abyss sages." Their function was just like the College of Cardinals in the Sacred City. They provided counsel to Hyakume and order to the Abyss. After the Abyss collapsed, they had mastered all of the secrets and powers left behind by Hyakume. Now that the dark ministers sought to unite the Abyss, their assistance was naturally indispensable. But everyone was very curious, why had those "geniuses" chosen Paganini "It''s very simple," Paganini said softly. "I told them: this has been a mistake from the beginning." Naberius was dumbfounded. "Hundreds of years ago, the Abyss started to penetrate out from the realm of aether. But from beginning to end, they had only followed the so-called gods. I told them that this was a waste of effort." Paganini was casually denying the will of Hyakume. Naberius couldn''t help but sigh. "You really dared to say this?" "Why not?" Paganini asked him. "Humans cannot guess the intentions of the gods, and the gods cannot understand humans. Humans'' perspective is too small, so small that such vast entities have difficulty comprehending it. Even when Hyakume reduced itself into the former Dark Pope in order to try and understand humanity, it still could not. Humanity has never been controlled by the gods. As far as humans are concerned, the gods are too big. And to the gods, humans are too complicated. Humans cannot understand the existence of the gods, and the gods will never pay attention to so-called mortals. If we allow ourselves to be guided by the vast, empty will of the gods, we will never be successful in the tiny Physical World. So, I only had to say one thing to convince the abyss sages: let humanity try it themselves. Not as demons, not as catastrophes, and not as Dark Musicians, but as we who were once humans." "..." Naberius fell into silence. After a while he whispered, "Are you fighting for leadership of the Abyss just like the catastrophes? Let the Dark Musicians dominate the World of Dark..." Paganini glanced at him. "The plan will go even smoother than I expected, right?" "But it will be hard to avoid a few minor incidents." Naberius picked up the broken crystal and weighed it in his hands. He sighed softly. "A bright crystal that can be used to infiltrate the Saints and motivate the will of the kings dwelling in the depths of the Ultimate. Tricking the tiger into swallowing the wolf, doesn''t that sound familiar? He probably doesn''t even know that someone is hindering him." Paganini, who had created Changing Music Theory, was best at silent interference and distortion, whether it was of music theory or personality. As long as he was given a small opening, he could corrode and transform someone''s will and music theory from within. Changing Music Theory was also a dangerous tool that he had created. It may have been easy to use, and had a variety of forms, but once one was lost in that infinity of changes, sooner or later they would be eroded by the change, lose their self, and become a part of it. By the time the user discovered this, they would already be trapped and unable to extricate themselves. It was through this trick that he was able to cultivate a nest of Dark Musicians right under the nose of the Sacred City, and pull almost half of the musicians there into the Abyss by the end. Even the Pope had not suspected anything. Unfortunately, he had run into the snag that was Ye Qingxuan. "I tried to use the kings to distort his will, but unfortunately it seems like he does not have the slightest bit of respect for them. And he never allows others to interfere with his ideas." "I did remind you that you were treading on dangerous ground." Naberius shook his head. "He is much stronger than me. At least that much is clear." Paganini did not care in the least about his own setbacks. "I can''t win, but the Sacred City is also at its wit''s end when it comes to him. He was always destined to be an outlier, a freak who would shake the foundation of the Church sooner or later. Even if I did nothing, the kings would never allow such a person to elevated into the Ultimate, and sooner or later the Sacred City won''t be able to tolerate him anymore. He''ll have nowhere to hide. When that day comes, where can he go save the Abyss?" Naberius said nothing. He just leaned on the cold stone bricks. He closed his eyes and listened to the melody. Amid the dark underground crevices and the putrid scent of moss, there was only a dim, far away flame and a low echo. Crack...crack...crack... Crack! Crack! Crack! It was like rotten wood being cut with a chopper, like a dead branch being snapped, but also like something was devouring the most delicious of meals. The sound of chewing was fascinating to listen to. "That sounds delicious." Paganini was envious. Crack...crack...crack... The flickering candlelight illuminated the motley frescoes at the top of the dome. The ancient vessels that had been carelessly discarded on the ground were already broken. The bronze swords were rusted all over. The gems on the ancient crown had been exposed to wind and dust. The faint light cast a deformed shadow on the wall. One could faintly discern that it was a human-like figure that crept across the ground. The freak looked like a rabid dog hunched over its food to devour it. 667 A Better World The skinny, hunched-over figure was draped in ragged grayish-white hemp clothes. It was as if he was wearing an old shroud. He crawled on the broken stones. The fragments still had finely carved patterns on them, and one could vaguely make out the outline of what was once a huge stone sarcophagus. But at the moment, the solemn mausoleum had become the backdrop for a feast. The finely crafted stone sarcophagi had been smashed into pieces, and the valuable grave goods worth tens of thousands in gold were thrown aside, with no attention paid to them. Meanwhile, the owners of the mausoleumthe corpses that were once noblehad been dragged out by the monster mad with hunger. It dove into the feast eagerly. Crack! Crack! Crack! In the sound of bones being chewed into pieces, a crown covered in tooth marks rolled out of the debris. The crown of the moon that the Sage of Iron Moon was once proud of had become so. The monster held a withered, broken skull as if he was holding his lunch box. He sucked at the residue on his fingers, slurping everything inside dry, and finally munched away at the crunchy skull as if he was eating cookies. The perfect afternoon tea. The withered and hunched figure seemed to grow slightly plumper, and on the shriveled face, it was as if flames were burning in the two eyes. He looked up and stared at Naberius. "Wait a moment, wait a moment, I''ll serve the next course immediately." Paganini stepped forward, lifted the hammer in his hand, looked around at the coffins surrounding them, finally selected one, and smashed it. In the sound of stone shattering, a rotten smell rose from the cracks in the sarcophagus. "Hah, your luck is pretty good." Naberius squatted in front of the crack, peering at the bones slumbering in the darkness, his gaze joyful. "I wonder how the Master of the Golden Palace will taste?" Crack! Crack! Crack! Soon, the sound that made one''s hair stand on end rang out again. The feast of horror featuring the various kings of the first generation as dishes had reached its climax Crack! Crack! Crack! Ye Qingxuan also grabbed some tough flatbread and chewed as hungrily as a rabid dog. After undergoing a turmoil of music theory, Ye Qingxuan, whose entire body was completely destroyed, was reborn once more under the power of the sage stone, but the amount of heat lost in the process could not be made up purely with aether. Fortunately, at the moment, he had completed the process of half-aetherization, and half of his body was made up of aether. Otherwise, it might not be so easy to even be reborn. In the short span of five minutes, Ye Qingxuan completed his Symphony of Predestination, met the various kings of the first generation, directly rebuked the group of old men that simply refused to die for good, then completed a qualitative change of aether successfully, and possessed a strange characteristic that even he himself could not put into words. The fiercely changing aether was like thunder and lightning, constantly changing, eroding the surrounding matter, yet indifferently maintaining its own balance. Countless strands of music theory were born and destroyed in the brief instant one was able to glimpse at it. The mere acts of observation and analysis made the masters who had just recovered have the urge to vomit blood again. But it was not the most important issue at hand. The most important issue was in front of Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan swallowed the last piece of flatbread and gulped down more than half of the canteen of water, finally ridding himself of his deep hunger. He wiped his mouth, lifted his eyes, and looked at the old nun in front of him. "You can use Schubert''s power? Why didn''t you tell me..." "I didn''t know either." The old nun had recovered from the supernatural state just now and looked a bit tired. Facing Ye Qingxuan''s sharp gaze, she forced out a smile. "God probably responded to my prayers?" She reached out, wanting to wipe the sweat off Ye Qingxuan''s face for him out of habit, but Ye Qingxuan held her wrist firmly, his fingers like iron pliers. Turning his fingers, Ye Qingxuan rolled up her sleeves. He saw the burnt skin and the overloaded alchemy array. To an insignificant mortal, the saint''s power was like fiery lava. If one tried to touch it, one must play with fire, and it would be impossible for one not to pay the price. Ye Qingxuan could sense that her internal organs were so weak that they were almost at their limit, and the muscles under the skin were convulsing involuntarily. She was supposedly suffering from deep pain in her bones, but the old nun''s gaze remained soft and serene. She looked at Ye Qingxuan with no sadness at all and simply smiled. In his heart, Ye Qingxuan felt more and more agitated, and his voice turned cold. "Sister, be clear about this, I am not one of your group of children. Please put away your excessive love, I don''t need your charity." The old nun was still looking at him, her gaze soft. "No matter who you are, God loves the world." "But God doesn''t love you," Ye Qingxuan retorted coldly, without the slightest bit of mercy or sympathy. "Be clear about this, Sister, it was me who saved you back then! Your God only wants you to die!" The old nun was stunned, and her smile became a bit flustered. She lowered her head awkwardly. "But God will love you, Your Excellency. I think you are someone who should be loved by God." "I hope so." Ye Qingxuan withdrew his gaze and didn''t feel like saying anything more. He simply motioned for Mabel to tend to her injuries, then got up and left. After a moment, Mabel returned to his side. Seeing him sitting on the steps looking indifferent, she couldn''t help but smile. She took out half a corn cob from her pocket, cut it deftly, and hollowed it out. After inserting two tubes, two exquisite corn pipes were made. "Would you like some? The tobacco leaves are top-notch. I exchanged it from an oddity eight years ago." She fished out a black pouch, and the thick fragrance of butter and tobacco leaves floated out. Ye Qingxuan looked at the little girl in front of him stuffing the pipe skillfully, and he couldn''t help but give her a complicated look. "Hey, what?" Mabel cast him a look and cackled. "Grand Inquisitor, I am an old lady who is already 80 years old. Although it is said that you are not at all picky, surely your taste is not so extreme?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes and said nothing, simply taking the pipe from her. The mellow tobacco leaves burned and smoke curled upwards. Mable tilted her head to one side and looked at him. "As Prince of Avalon, one of the most powerful people in the world, you feel upset receiving charity from a commoner, no?" Ye Qingxuan cast her a look. "Had a dog not had my back in the past, I would have died a long time ago. Please, my self-esteem is not so fragile, okay?" "Then why are you agitated?" Mabel asked. "..." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then said with a boxy voice, "I just feel that it''s not worth it for her. Her God is not worthy of her giving everything she has. Nor is the Church worthy of it." "She has said nothing about it all this while, but you seem to know something?" Mabel asked. "One could guess it using just their toes [1]. The tricks up the Church''s sleeve are more or less all the same." Ye Qingxuan snickered. "As long as they hold the banner of righteousness, they''ll have a steady stream of fools willing to sacrifice themselves. It''s really good, really, really good. "She isn''t the first, nor will she be the last. Father Bann is one of them, my goddamn father is another, and so are Shi Dong and the group of old men, even in their deathbeds, they never forget the crusade. "But what''s the outcome? The Church only considers them as outdated tools. They want to shine and provide heat, and they won''t hesitate to ignite themselves if that''s what it takes, but the Church doesn''t need their spark at all. They shouldn''t sacrifice themselves for such things, it''s not worth it." He took a deep breath from the pipe, squinted his eyes, and spurted out blue smoke from his nose and mouth. "Mable, I don''t like the world the way it is. "I don''t like it at all." Mable didn''t say anything and just smoked the pipe. In the end, she threw away the corn cob that had finished burning, reached out, and patted him on the shoulder. "Your Royal Highness, do you still remember what she said?" She looked at Ye Qingxuan. "You are someone who should be loved by God. Her Majesty and Mr. Maxwell firmly believe so, and so do I. "If you give an order, I will obey it. "Because I believe that you will make the world a better place." "I hope so." Ye Qingxuan threw away the pipe that he had finished smoking, got up, dusted himself off, lifted his head and smiled. "Let''s go, help the old men tend to their injuries first. Don''t let them accuse the Court of being black-hearted." But soon, he looked at the old men in front of him and could no longer smile. He felt cold all over. "What is going on?" he asked. [1] This is a Chinese expression for something that is so obvious one could understand it using their toes, as opposed to using their brain. 668 You are Finally Here "What is this?" He looked at all the Masters in front of him in shock. There was a sense of foreboding that made his heart go cold. "What''s happening?" Auden looked at him with a confused look on his face. "Are we in such bad shape? Hey, don''t tell me that you think we are too much trouble for you and you are trying to lie your way out of this?" "How can that be?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head and took a deep breath. "Hang on." All of a sudden, there was a deep sound coming from his body that resembled a thunderous heartbeat that was beating at a fixed rhythm. The Stone of Sage glowed brightly with heat within his chest. Electricity shot out from within and pierced the air. All sorts of sounds were stacked on top of one another, creating a mysterious and strange melody. Both of his eyes reflected the shape of the moon that was created by streaks of electricity. The moon rose from the blackness in his eyes and shone light from within as if the light could pierce through Auden''s body and reveal the aether. It allowed a peek into the complexity of music theory. Auden could not help but shiver. There was nowhere for his Symphony of Predestination to hide under those pair of eyes. This implied that any transformation of power could be clearly seen by those eyes. No secrets could be hidden. The Symphony of Predestination was damaged by the turbulence of Ye Qingxuan''s music theory but this was not the only problem Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked at every single one of them. That pair of eyes that were charged with electricity looked strange and creepy. Some of them inadvertently took a step back as they thought that Ye Qingxuan might be thinking of attacking them. But Ye Qingxuan gathered his gaze very quickly. He looked at Mable and frowned. Apparently, there was something wrong, even with Mable "Mable, could you come over?" He waved and gestured for Mable to come over. Mable was taken aback before stepping forward. Ye Qingxuan stared at her so intently that she felt uneasy. "Hey, Your Highness, surely you can''t be interested in an old lady like me?" "Stop kidding." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and grabbed her wrist. "I''m sorry. Please bear with this for a while. I hope I''m wrong." Electricity shot out from his fingers immediately after he finished speaking. This time around, everyone saw it. How could that be electricity? It was light that had been created by the endless transformation of music theory and was completely different from the characteristics of electricity. In an instant, Mable was trembling as the turbulent music theory entered her body and into her Symphony of Predestination directly. They seeped into every single music note before delving even deeper. Soon after, Mable let out a terrible cry. It was the cry of a little girl screaming in pain from the torture of electricity. The changing music theory transformed into the blade of a knife and cut deeply into her Symphony of Predestination before dismantling some of the structures within. Without a doubt, her consciousness was being tampered with. Even the most resilient consciousness would not be able to bear with such pain. It was so torturous that one would rather die. All the other Masters could not help but tremble with fear. What exactly had Mable done that she deserved to be tortured in this way by Ye Qingxuan? Very quickly, the electricity dissipated. Ye Qingxuan relaxed his grip and Mable knelt on the ground. She began to cough very violently before vomiting. Mucus and tears were flowing freely. Soon after, a black fog began to rise from the contents of her vomit, and it seemed to be trying to find its way back into Mable''s body again. Electricity suddenly shot out to take the shape of a cage. The black fog was electrocuted by the electricity and incredibly, it let out a cry that resembled a human''s. It kept trying to escape the cage but there was no way out. After realizing this, it decided to try to fuse into Ye Qingxuan''s music theory but was continuously being shredded by the electricity until it grew thinner by each time. In the end, it turned into a white snake and hissed at Ye Qingxuan across the cage. Everyone gasped when they saw something as hideous as this had emerged from Mable''s body. "What is this?" "What else can it be?" Ye Qingxuan was solemn and he continued through gritted teeth, "Changing Music Theory." He turned back and looked at everyone else. No secrets could remain hidden beneath those electricity-charged eyes. At this point in time, he firmly believed that more than three-quarters of them have been infected with Changing Music Theory! Even the old nun was no exception! "Mable, check our food and water. Immediately." Ye Qingxuan ordered. "My apologies, everyone. I think some people among us have been working for the Dark Musician and have been spreading Paganini''s Changing Music Theory within us" Very quickly, Mable came back and reported that there was nothing wrong with their food and water. Everyone also managed to prove their innocence after being put through the inspection process of the Religious Court of Inquiry. No one was working for the abyss? Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "What have all of you done? Why were all of you infected?" Everyone did not know what to say. "We didn''t do anything." The crippled musician, who was the unluckiest of them all, said, "Ever since I entered the Ultimate, people have been after my life. After that, I was recruited by the Chief Inquisitor and have been following you ever since. You can check my memories and consciousness. I guarantee that you will not find any problems." He was one of the few that was not infected and was fully confident in his innocence. "You haven''t done anything?" Something crossed Ye Qingxuan''s mind suddenly. He turned back and looked at everyone else. "All those who have killed someone in the Ultimate, step forward." Very quickly, most of them stepped forward. They were the ones that had been infected Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath. He felt a chill go down his spine. He focused on retrieving the shard of the Ultimate''s core and held the broken stone plate. He closed his eyes and electricity shot out and into those objects. This time around, he was no longer just trying to observe from the outside, but to transform into music theory and diving deep within. He has placed his consciousness onto the music theory and in an instant, he has delved into the core of the Ultimate. Amidst the countless complex turbulences, he saw the iron law that had been inscribed onto the core. Under the witness of all kings. This time around, he has finally taken a good look. This was indeed something left behind by all the kings centuries ago, but now only a short opening was all that remained. The law that should follow the opening had been completely wiped out! Someone was up to no good! In the next instant, within the countless elements, black fog suddenly appeared and turned into the image of a genderless person. It smiled at Ye Qingxuan. "Finally, I have been waiting for you" Paganini! In the blink of an eye, the electricity around Ye Qingxuan stopped abruptly before withdrawing at hundred times its original speed. Amidst the chaos in the Ultimate, waves of black fog suddenly appeared on all four sides. 669 Blunder The situation was deteriorating. Ye Qingxuan had barely been toying with Paganini''s Changing Music Theory, but now he had become like a little black snake in an electric cage. There was no way out. Within the rapidly changing Ultimate, he had fallen into the trap that Paganini had arranged for him. But Ye Qingxuan welcomed the black tide that swept out before him. The tiny electric light did not hesitate at all but sped up its retreat. It broke out of Paganini''s cage like cavalry breaking through an infantry formation. That was the stupidest choice. If you gambled with your own speed by hastily entering the enemy''s positions, the only outcome would be getting mired down. No amount of caution would be too much, especially since the snare he was in trapped his whole body, and moreover, his enemy was Paganini. Even the Iron Thorn Knights of Burgundy would not dare to face the Blood Wall Phalanx of the Asgardian Ironfrost Clan. The safest method was to occupy a spot within the core of the Ultimate, resolutely defend your own positions like you were building a fort, tempt your opponents into a war of attrition, and use music theory to shore up your own weaknesses. Reckless sorties would only exhaust your energy and worsen the situation. Ye Qingxuan''s response made Paganini, who had prepared for this game, quite disappointed. It was true that being able to gather his power was a breakthrough, but did he really think that he''d be able to break out of a trap set by a dark minister? The quality of his aether was formidable, it was true. But how could he compare to a fallen saint who had spent hundreds of years immersed in the domain of a Scepter? The illusory face in the wispy fog revealed a trace of disappointment and ridicule. His empty hands called forth music theory and began to build layers upon layers of movements, covering the cage that was lit by electric light. Let me teach you how musicians fight But suddenly, the indistinct face stiffened. At the moment of collision, Ye Qingxuan, who was in the electric light, raised his hands. The light began to shake as violently as a dragon, letting the music theory sealed in the Symphony of Predestination trickle out. It came out as a handful of dust. It was like branches that had been burnt to charcoal and then crumbled into an extremely fine ash. But once the fine ashes were shaken out of the electric light, they cast themselves towards the endless sea of blackness. In an instant, they had expanded to millions of times their original size. Each microscopic grain of ash transformed into a star, and together they filled the surging sky in the core of the Ultimate. Those ashen stars seemed to be alive. They were like starving worms after a long hibernation that as soon as the rain touches them, begin to devour everything, extract nutrients, and transform. Even the Changing Music Theory was transformed by them. In a flash, it had been torn into a million pieces, and then was quickly superseded. The Changing Music Theory had actually been distorted by the ashes, and then devoured by them, turning into nutrients for them. Even though it was only a short time, that single moment was enough to bring about a frightful transformation. Countless rootlike lines burst forth from the ashen stars and intertwined with one another until they formed something like the roots of a daffodil. An incalculable amount of malevolent vitality emerged from them, and they turned into pink flower buds. They bloomed incredibly fast. It was an ocean of flowers without end, with music theory intertwining, beautiful enough to be frightening. And what flowed out of it was the pure essence of the Abyss! Rotten black branches! His broken lamentations at being locked up were only just beginning. The situation had reversed in but an instant, but there was nothing unusual about this for Ye Qingxuan. In a flash, the rotten black branches smashed through Paganini''s music theory. He was left unguarded, revealing his weakness. But the electric light that Ye Qingxuan had turned into did not take the opportunity to attack. He was not in the mood for fighting at all. Instead, he took advantage of the gap and plunged into the turbulent flow in the core of the Ultimate without hesitation in order to escape. As the electric light rushed out of the stone plate and Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness returned to his body, he felt an earth-shattering roar ring out from within the Ultimate. The earth shook like it was no more than a feather. The roaring sounds of countless buildings collapsing mingled together. Cracks appeared one by one in the buildings that had become fortifications for the Sacred City. The stars twinkled out as if most of them had been wiped away in an instant, and a massive torrent of aether burst out from the depths towards the sky. Heaven and earth changed color. Everyone was stunned. They looked at him, not sure whether or not he was responsible for this trick. At first, no one had believed that Ye Qingxuan had the ability to do such a thing. They thought that although the Grand Inquisitor liked to stir things up, he was nowhere near as terrible as the legends said. He wasn''t a catastrophe in human form. How could it be possible that he would bring destruction wherever he went? Now that they had seen this with their own eyes, everyone was chilled and had no more doubts about the rumors. It seemed that they were true! This guy went to the Anglo Kingdom, and the Anglo Kingdom was thrown into turmoil. He went to Auschwitz, and Auschwitz was now a large crater. Then he had gone to the Sacred City, and the Sacred City still hadn''t recovered. Now he had come to the Ultimate. How could they still be confident in its stability? "What did you do?" Mabel looked at him in shock. "Nothing, I just put the rotten black branches in the Ultimate..." The sound of blowing cold air rang out again. Everyone''s face went white as a ghost. Was it freaking happening again? Wasn''t he going to go investigate the situation? How would they get out of this one? Ye Qingxuan jumped up. There was no time for an explanation, he waved his hand hurriedly and said, "Go, go! You can''t stay here. It''s a trap! A giant trap!" Of course, it was a trap! Almost half the Masters in the world had fallen into Paganini''s snare. If they let him get away with this, he would be fulfilling Hyakume''s goal of making the Abyss appear within the Physical World. This was something that Ye Qingxuan could not allow, and so he would not leave. It was too evil. Just thinking about Paganini''s plan and what would happen next was enough to make Ye Qingxuan decide to get out of that mess as quickly as possible. Anyone who didn''t had a deathwish. The rotten branches that he had just set forth were enough to disrupt and delay Paganini within the ultimate. He figured that cleaning up the mess he had just made would delay him a little bit. But time was passing, and he couldn''t leave even if he wanted to. Before Paganini had been corrupted, he had once pulled nearly half the musicians in the Sacred City into the Abyss right under the Pope''s nose. Now he was up to his old tricks again but on a scale hundreds of times larger than before. If he guessed correctly, the Ultimate was different this time, and Paganini was definitely behind it. No, he would not have been able to set such a huge trap by himself. It seemed like after Hyakume''s death all of the remnants of the Abyss''s forces had fallen into his hands. Hordes of demons, the next catastrophe, dark ministers, abyss sages...even several avatars that Hyakume had left behind before it fell. At this moment Hyakume was gone, and the spirit tablet was suspended in the air. If Paganini could take the next step and completely restructure the Abyss, then he would be able to replace that b*stard Ludovic and become the Former Dark Pope. 670 The Valuable Asset of the Abyss Ye Qingxuan felt that he could fight very well at the moment. But regardless of how well he could fight, he would still most definitely be utterly defeated if a catastrophe was to come along at the moment, not to mention a fight against Paganini. Such was how dangerous it was to play in a road game. Previously, he somewhat managed to be on equal footing with Paganini only by relying on the stone sword and the card up Hermes'' sleeve. In the end, he even had to rely on the Gate of Heaven to win by luck. Meanwhile, presently, Paganini had received a gift from the abyss, and his own strength had advanced to a state that Ye Qingxuan couldn''t understand. God knew what method did he employ to enter the Ultimate in advance. How much of the rich legacy left by Hyakume that he inherited was also unknown. Although he couldn''t completely occupy the Ultimate, it was enough for him to wedge the changing music theory into it. He had long changed the rules left by the various kings beyond recognition, and changing music theory was hidden in all the power gifted by the Ultimate... With the technique of borrowing chickens to lay eggs, he wedged the changing music theory between the internal and the external. Not only did his own power infiltrate the Ultimate through the deaths of many musicians, he also implanted his music theory in every musician in the Ultimate through the gifts of the Ultimate. No wonder the dark musicians almost didn''t stir up any trouble at all this time round. They didn''t intend to interfere at all, and they couldn''t wish hard enough for things to be as chaotic as possible. Had Ye Qingxuan not attained his Symphony of Predestination and possessed a deep understanding of the clothes of original sin, no one would have discovered the changing music theory hidden in everyone''s Symphony of Predestination at all. They were infiltrated by Paganini without knowing it, still immersed in the illusory power, and didn''t have their guard up against the abyss at all. As soon as Paganini activated it, all of them would immediately fall and become dark musicians. Both their own music theory and consciousness would be transformed by the abyss. Throughout the Physical World, almost all the masters of the well-known schools would be controlled by Paganini and become his most loyal subordinates. Through them, the next thing that would happen would probably be a major split-up of the schools in the Physical World. God knew how many schools would be drawn into the abyss. That alone would suffice for Paganini to open up a new situation in the Physical World and stir up further waves of trouble... Not to mention what Paganini would become then. If Ye Qingxuan did not guess wrongly... It was a rebirth ceremony. Like Arthur, he wanted to transfer his consciousness into the catastrophe brewing up in the Ultimate. It was just that he had a chance hundreds and thousands of times better than Arthur''s, as he began transforming the catastrophe directly in its embryonic stage. Once born, his status as a catastrophe would be exactly as if he had been one from birth, and he would possess unlimited possibilities of growth. In due time, he would probably occupy even Hyakume''s position as god... "The matter is beyond my ability to interfere, way beyond it! Just register first, then ask Sylvaine to call in reinforcements..." Ye Qingxuan tapped continuously with his fingers, electricity burst forth from his fingers, falling on the infected musicians. Electricity flashed, permeating their Symphonies of Predestination. In order to survive and keep their own personality and self-consciousness, the masters also couldn''t be bothered with the fact that their lives were in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Strands of music theory were entangled in the electricity, vaguely forming a lock which froze most of their music theory completely, and no further changes took place. Next, the nature interference of the school of abstinence forcefully separated everything, sealing the infected parts with multiple layers. It was like a temporary operation. Of course, rather unscrupulously, Ye Qingxuan wrapped purifying music theory around the parts as well. The expression of the masters immediately became fairly interesting to watch, as if they were being tied to the stake. Once the changing music theory was triggered, they would probably be burned to ashes by Ye Qingxuan''s Fire of Judgment before they had enough time to be converted to dark musicians. "It''s a temporary measure in times of urgency, just temporary." Ye Qingxuan appeased them. "Don''t use movements before leaving the Ultimate. After we leave, I will slowly help you all to take out the changing music theory... Surely you all don''t want to become dark musicians and bring shame to your school, right?" A few old masters glanced at each other and couldn''t help but sigh in unison. Hadn''t they brought themselves enough shame in the past two days? The world was changing too rapidly, the old men had twisted their waist and could not keep up with the rhythm. Some of them were prepared to smash their pot to pieces just because it was cracked and planned to be resigned to their fate if they could get out of here alive this time round. Staying at the Religious Court of Inquiry had its merits as well, at least they could have an easy life. When one got old, one must exercise caution to stay safe. Staying in one''s little cabin seemed pretty good, as for going out... just forget it. But some still had doubts about it. "You have a way to leave the Ultimate?" "Of course." Ye Qingxuan lifted his head to look at the edge of the Ultimate in the distance the torrent of aether that resembled a frenzied tide of ten thousand meters high, separating the inside and the outside of the Ultimate and he tapped the staff of fate in his hand. Part the sea? Maybe it''s a bit difficult. ... "My projection in the Ultimate has been discovered." Paganini opened his eyes. As the Ultimate shook, deep underground, low echoes also sounded in the dark tombs, and the bricks and stones cracked. But the people in them did not panic in the slightest bit, and it was apparently within their expectation. "It''s a lot later than expected, your arrangement has bought us three days." It was a dwarf who spoke. The dwarf whose skin had a metallic tint floated in the air, wearing a long robe that did not suit his body size. The hem of his robe was tattered, as if it had been burned by flames, and the blackened edge fluttered in the air as he moved. Various other creatures were also floating in midair. Some were moon spirits, some were half-dragons, some looked like humans, and some others were simply some sort of odd creature. But they had a common characteristic, a huge head. The head on them took up at least one-third of their size. In the innermost layer, some were even missing their entire body. Only the head was left, put on a copper plate. The abyss sages. They were the demons who had inherited the blessing of the abyss and the legacy of Hyakume, and they had gathered here secretly. The skull whose skin had withered so much that it resembled tree bark lay on the velvet pad, but it had a strong, fiery glow of tenacity in its eye sockets, and it gazed at Paganini. "You have done a good job, Paganini, one worthy of praise." Paganini''s eyebrow raised slightly. In so many years, he had rarely seen the skull that Hyakume relied heavily upon spoke, and rarely did anyone receive the skull''s praise. "As you all can see, I have fulfilled the first step of my promise, so, where''s the stuff that I have asked for?" Paganini reached out. On the withered skull, the fire in the eye sockets flickered. After a brief silence, he spoke again. Even though he had no lungs, he could control aether with his willpower, vibrate the air, and produce sound. "We have brought it here, I hope that you can make good use of it." As soon as he said so, three abyss sages slowly floated out of the darkness. Next, heavy footsteps sounded Flanked and guarded by the three demons, the thing slowly walked under the light. It was a... person. To be precise, it was a woman so obese and bloated that one almost couldn''t bear to look directly at her. When she walked, it was as if a round mass of meat was sliding slowly on the ground. Every step she took set off waves of meat on her body. Moreover, her breasts that were of such exaggerated proportions that they were the size of a few heads was like a scene that would only appear in nightmares. Paganini was stunned and looked at the woman who looked like she was only slightly more than forty years old. He turned back and asked the skull, "Are you sure?" The skull was indifferent. "Don''t be deluded by the appearance, Paganini. We searched for sixteen cycles in the realm of aether to find it, and spent a great price transferring it into this body. "If you ask me whether it is what you want, I will tell you, it is. "It is the loving mother who has nurtured countless lives, the venomous woman who has destroyed countless lives, the female saint who has saved countless lives, and the godly prostitute who is bearing countless lives in her. "She is the catastrophe that has far surpassed countless catastrophes, an existence that is one of the four living creatures. The Dark Gaia! " The swollen woman didn''t have the slightest bit of reaction to being sized up. Her eyes had an empty look and she merely breathed sluggishly. It was a container, a modified container. The actual Dark Gaia did not even have a body, and no one could even summarize its state. Only by storing it in a physical container could it be transported from the distant realm of aether to the Physical World. So, one need not pay attention to the appearance. What really mattered was the internal. Paganini looked at her, and she looked at Paganini. Suddenly, Paganini''s face felt itchy. He reached out and touched it, but he found that spot-like calluses had grown on the perfect body he had crafted. Meanwhile, a crack had appeared behind his ear where it itched, and something that resembled parotid glands was slowly forming. He was shocked and took a few steps back. Then only did the abnormality on his face slowly subsided. In the short span of just a few seconds, even the body created by Paganini had mutated under her gaze. Other than the Dark Gaia, no one in the world could do so much. The skull had no expression, as if it was not deliberately watching him make a fool of himself. "Paganini, do use it carefully." It said, "It is the most valuable asset of the abyss." "I understand." Paganini took a white cloth from his lap and carefully unfolded it. He lifted his hand and draped the white gauze on the face of the swollen woman, obscuring her gaze. His movement was gentl, as if he was putting on the veil for a bride. "Follow me." He held the hand of the obese woman flanked by the abyss sages, carefully guiding her, and walked toward the depths of the tomb. After passing through a long corridor, walking past innumerable cold, creepy reliefs, and entering dozens of doors, they walked onto a high, suspended platform. Under the high platform was countless flashes of aether burning. The silver streams of light converged into a vortex, and blazing flares rose into the sky. It was so glaring that it was impossible for one to look straight at it. It was where Gaius cast Hecatoncheir in back then. It was also where the Anglos fished out the Lance of the Dragon Slayer once more. At the moment, after experiencing hundreds of years of whale fall, from the deepest part of the deep well of death, a horrifying existence was slowly brewing up once more, and it would soon wake up. Paganini pulled her to the edge of the high platform, reached out, and took a stone knife from his hand. The stone knife crafted from obsidian reflected Paganini''s face. The calm face that resembled both man and woman was so sere in the reflection of the blade. A light flashed across. 671 War There was complete silence. The stone knife sliced across the throat of the swollen woman, cutting off the blood vessel on her throat. In that instant, the woman was completely stunned. Her swollen body began to tremble violently. She raised her head suddenly and let out a piercing cry of despair. It was a horrible cry. It was sharp and insane, as if millions of fetus were dying in her womb, or millions of children were being born. It was a mixture of pain, insanity and also happiness. She was screaming, shrieking and also singing. Her sharp voice pierced through every parts of the land and reverberated in everyone''s ears. Everyone could only see darkness as they were all almost scared out of their wits by the terrifying cry. Soon after, blood gushed out from her wound. It was hard to fathom that so much blood could be stored in that swollen body. Blood gushed out so rapidly from the gigantic wound that it was like a waterfall of blood. There seemed to be no end to the blood flow and a sea of blood was gradually being formed. It represented the red elemental quality of the Dark Gaia pouring into the deepest part of the Ultimate, adding a layer of red to the countless shimmer of silver. In the end, not even the body remained. Only Paganini, who was still holding onto the knife, stood alone on the platform and was looking down on the sea of blood that was gradually mixing with silver light. Since then, the world no longer existed within the Dark Gaia Paganini threw the Dark Gaia into the depths of the Ultimate. As one of the Four Living Creatures, it was able to provide water for this baby, that was about to be born. It was also able to more than make up for all the deficiencies with hundreds of times of power. This was the pure power of life! There was a roar from the whirlpool. Beneath the blood-red whirlpool, there seemed to be a gigantic uterus and within it was the movements of a catastrophe. The elements that the Sacred City had spent so much effort to infuse into it were broken all of a sudden. Instead, the elements of the Changing Music Theory and the Dark Gaia have already been tightly fused with the core of the Ultimate and could no longer be separated. The entire Ultimate was trembling violently. The ancient building has already collapsed completely and the waves crashed relentlessly. Countless spots of mud fell from the sky and landed onto the ground to form a small man that was the size of a thumb. It ran around killing before dying again very quickly to return back to the dust. Catastrophe was about to be born! --- At the same time, a crow landed on the shoulder of a knight just outside of the Sacred City. The flaming-red horse hooves were buried within the mud. Water evaporated and released a foul odor. The blood-red war horse advanced slowly, one step at a time, all the while stomping on the corpses that have been littered everywhere. Far away, in the Iron City, the sound of the bell could be heard booming throughout as figures rose up to the sky, one after another, to be on guard to face a great enemy. In contrast, the expression of the knight on the war horse remained dull. His body was stiff and his eyes showed no spirit, as if there was no soul in him whatsoever. That was because it was just a puppet. Its body was made from willow twigs; its face was made from the core of the tree; it was made to look more majestic by decorating it with gemstones and its 10 fingers were made from skillful carvings. But none of these could change its true nature, for it was put in place by something that was of a much deeper level. As a result, it would be pure and would not harbor any intentions to kill. It was not human, yet it was better than humans. It did not have a soul, and neither would it need one. It was created to be a weapon. When Hyakume shredded the abyss, it gave this puppet the true nature of the abyss, as well as the sense of duty towards Hyakume. "Destroyer is here! Destroyer is here! Destroyer is here!" On the shoulder of the willow twig knight, the crow''s eyes were bloodshot as it crowed, "All beings with blood are like grass, yet all grass must dry and all flowers must wilt one day. Between blood and death, destruction is coming!" The blood-red war horse stepped forward. The sparks of molten rocks beneath its hooves rose into the sky, turning the sky into a burning-hot iron curtain. Beneath the iron curtain, stars rose from the Sacred City. The majestic bell rang once again. For five times. The Holy Spirits awoke in the coffin. Under the will of Nibelungenlied, the black metal door of the hall of heroic souls opened gradually. Countless beams of light rose from the ground and floating in the sky as they shone like stars. Agni turned into a gigantic flaming-red star. The wind and lightning of the Holy Spirit would forever be entangled, as they brought about hurricanes and thunder to form a binary star The bell never stopped ringing and every time it rang, a crack that led to the realm of aether would open. Endless aether would gush out and irrigate the stars so that the latter would continue to shimmer, until thousands of them shone on the land. The Holy Spirits were finally waking up after such a long time. Hundreds of hymn groups were all busy try to sing the songs and praises of the Holy Spirits. Amidst their voices, light turned into armors and long swords so that the Holy Spirits were fully armed. But it was those that were alive that reacted much quicker than the Holy Spirits. The scepter musicians that have been practicing in the monastery were the first to turn into blistering light. The first to bear the brunt was the elderly Orlando. Orlando already knew when he would die and had even prepared the process of turning into a Holy Spirit. At this moment, he no longer looked old and frail, and looked full of youth instead. His hair was shimmering with gold and his body was well-built like a demi god. The metallic alchemy formation has already been mounted on his body and the power of scepter coursed through it. The majestic howl reverberated between the sky and the ground, as if countless whales were singing together at the same time. Wherever the blistering light went, gullies would crack open and extend outwards from the Sacred City. In the blink of an eye, across many kilometers, the song of Orlando set the elements in motion and trigger an incredible power from the realm of aether to crash towards the physical world. With a single hit, the entire sea of aether trembled, as if a terrible blow has been produced from the realm of aether that would extend downwards and pierce through nine layers of sea of aether. But in the next instant, before the terrible blow could surface, it has already completely dissipated. The willow twig knight raised its head and the two red rubies on its face showed the reflection of Orlando''s image. He raised his fingers and struck. No one could see what happened, but in the next instant, he was already gripping Orlando''s throat. Within the grasp of his fingers, the scepter broke apart. Shortly after that, the right arm was raised before it sent the knife crashing down. There was a clear and crisp sound as fresh blood spurted out. Orlando''s head fell cleanly from the well-built body, as if a ripe melon had fallen from a tree. Soon after, a second one followed. The sound of knife cutting through bone was clear and crisp as heads rolled onto the ground one by one, only to be trampled by the war horse''s hooves. Regardless of Master or scepter, they all suffered the same fate. Very soon, all the musicians have increased the distance between themselves and the knight. In order to avoid any more casualties from the knife that could not be seen, the Cardinal Bishop has ordered that only the musicians that specialized in long-distance music theory structures would step onto the battlefield, under the heavy protection of the Knights Templar. Soon after, the scream of the war horse tore through the entire path as a red beam of light suddenly shot out and across a distance of thousands of meters. But in the very next instant, the red light has already returned to its original spot. The willow twig knight was completely charred black and its body was blazing with flames like a meteor. Soon after, the terrifying gullies appeared on the battlefield and wherever the red light swept across, everything in its path would be completely broken down. It did not matter if it was a knight or musician, and whether he was wearing an armor or holding a shield, everything was no longer what they seemed. The terrifying shriek finally came. Even if there were thousands of soldiers and horses against a single red war horse carrying a dull-looking puppet, all of the former were completely scared out of their wits. "All the musicians that are not of the upper-tier caliber, please step back." The Holy Spirit that had woken up was staring at the war horse that was slowly approaching them. It sighed, "This is one of the Four Living Creatures that Hyakume created before his death. They are the clones of his hatred against the world. To humans, this is the incarnation of ''war''. Only war can destroy war. Other than that, anyone else would only be sacrificing themselves for nothing." Everyone looked terrible. 10 minutes ago, this has already shaken the entire Sancta Sedes. If they were forced to interfere again, the Sacred City would lose its authority and presence. "Don''t worry. Let me do it." The anonymous Holy Spirit stretched out his hand and the priest of the showroom of holy weapons stepped forward to present him with a heavy bronze horn. Patches of dried blood could still be seen on the horn, along with some spots of rust. ''Horn of Disaster''! Even as everyone heaved a sigh of relief in their hearts, they still took a step back unknowingly. There was respect and fear in their eyes. A hundred years ago, when the lighthouse of the Sacred City was first built, a few scepters of the School of Revelation had borrowed the lighthouse and the power of Nibelungenlied to create this artifact. Unfortunately, it went against The Way of Prophecy that the School of Revelation pursued. Therefore, after exhausting all ways and means, they finally combined it with the power of the Holy Bible in order to focus on guiding the fates of every phenomenon towards the same destination. It could be said that its mere presence was an act of blasphemy against the School of Revelation. All these alone would not have incited such fear in everyone. However, according to historical records, every single person that has wielded this weapon has had their fates deserted. Nothing good awaited any of them and even their future generations were not spared. The Indian prophets and curse musicians named this power as ''karma'', and karma would always achieve an equilibrium at the end of the day. In order to leverage karma, one would have to use his own fate in exchange. This was a lose-lose situation. To a Holy Spirit, the price of using this weapon was the complete destruction of his presence. The moment the horn was blown, he would be crushed into nothingness by the incredible pressure of the realm of aether and the rebounding of the Originator, and his consciousness would be lost. Of course, the enemy would not end up well either. In that instant, the horn was blown loud and clear. 672 Wormwood A horn sounded from the end of the sky. The people on the turbulent sea outside of the Ultimate could not help but look up at the violently changing heavens. It was as if a huge brass horn had been sounded, but when they looked in the direction that the sound came from, they could see no one. It was even difficult to sense with their aetheric perception. It was a sound that had come from outside of the Ultimate. In some distant place people were burning, and this blowing horn warned of that disaster. Then, everyone saw a huge crack open in the firmament, and everyone beheld the original darkness off the universe that had been hidden behind the blue sky. To the naked eye, it was nothing but a magnificent fissure. But to a musician''s senses, it was a huge crack that led into the realm of aether. Something terrible began to rise slowly from the fissure. It was a star. The crimson star rose from the chaos behind the fissure like an indifferent eye slowly opening, and then casting itself over the world. Starlight gathered together and then descended towards the north. Even if they didn''t look directly into that strange eye, everyone could feel the hairs all over their body stand up. Their hearts were heavy, and there was nothing they could do to relieve it. Aboard the flagship of the Royal Navy, Sylvaine stared at the horror scene revealed in the ball of aether and could not help but gasp. "What is that?" "...Wormwood!" "The great star Wormwood!" The Revelation Musician who served as lookout was stunned for quite a while before he screamed, "The Sacred City has blown the Horn of Disaster!" Everyone on the ship was plunged into dead silence as everyone''s uneasiness grew. Several minutes before this had started a great chaos had erupted from the Ultimate, and the sea outside was likewise thrown into turmoil and horror. The tide had sprung up out of nowhere, causing all kinds of ceaseless turbulence, and the sound of neighing continued. In a flash, the sea that had once been dark blue with faint traces of black turned blood red. The scarlet color stung everyone''s eyes. The sea monsters lurking in the depths floated up to the surface and began madly attacking everything. After drinking the blood red seawater, the sea monsters began to change rapidly, becoming more and more ugly. There were giant fish with human faces, enormous sea snakes with four limbs, deformed turtles covered in barnacles... Fury rose up from the bloody water. High-pitched alarms sounded out one after another. At the musicians'' warning, each fleet commander had already ordered all of his men off deck. Those unfortunate few who were too slow were bathed in blood and were soon either covered in strange tumors and cysts, died painfully, or were transformed into monsters. Military officers wearing heavy armor, gas masks and hazard clothing walked onto the deck, coldly killing those who had transformed. Then the musicians called forth fire, burning them all together. But their deformed skeletons screamed in the flames. Even when they were nothing more than ash they still clung to the deck like moss, and were very difficult to clean off. Soon, the ocean was boiling. The hot temperature was accompanied by a scalding wind. The lookout turned his head, and could see nothing but a red-hot city of steel. It was the Asgardian sea fortress. After the alchemy arrays had been adjusted, thousands of waves of aether burst out from the sea fortress one after another. After the numerous waves had combined into one, the city of steel on the sea began to glow red-hot. It did not need weapons, for it itself was already the most terrible weapon of all. It didn''t even need to move. Just by sitting on top of the sea it was able to boil all the water in the area, killing all of its enemies. The other fleets did not hesitate to launch their own defenses, and various elements emerged from them. Music theory distorted the Physical World, causing everything around it to mutate. The world outside the cabin had turned into hell. Everywhere was covered in strange blood, and breathing in would fill your lungs with steam. Iron sand floated in the wind. When the iron sand fell into someone''s flesh, it would accumulate quickly, until the whole creature was transformed into a deformed shape. Even the air pressure began to change, fluctuating between high and low, causing vacuums from which burst forth hurricanes and a roaring sound... No one could worry about anyone else. First they had to arm themselves to the teeth and transform the environment around them, even if it meant that the ocean they were in would truly become hell. This was war. This was nothing new to any of them. If this hell, then all the soldiers were creatures that had long existed there. On the bridge, Sylvaine eyed the changes in the fleets in the distance coldly, but did not rush to immediately set up his defenses. Starting and running the giant aether furnaces was a difficult process. In the face of such a tremendous amount of aether flowing around, even if they continuously replaced the coolant the aether furnaces lifespan would be quickly reduced. The good steel should be used on the blade. If there was anything to be envied about the Royal Navy, it was that after battling with catastrophes and sea monsters the sailors were used to such strange sights, and would not fly into a panic so easily. When the faint warning finally reached the observation deck, Sylvaine tore his gaze away and waved his hand. "Play the melody of the Emperor''s coronation! Wherever we are is the glorious land of the Anglo Kingdom!" The glorious, mighty melody began to play. A golden glow began to spread out from the Fire of Nirvana surrounding the fleet, as a real Firebird appeared. Under the control of dozens of musicians it swept out, and everywhere it passed everything was shredded to dust by its majestic will. When the melody started, the waters of Avalon suddenly became as smooth as a mirror. A toll sounded from the huge clock tower, and a stream of light reflected off the sea fortress and flew silently out, quickly merging with the Royal Navy''s Firebird. The sign of the golden retriever appeared from within, blessing the elements. After all this, Sylvaine saw that the situation outside had grown even more unstable. After a moment of silence, he issued another order. The situation was already chaotic, they might as well mess it up even more. The more chaotic the better! Since everyone else was already messing around, the Anglo Kingdom must show their own temperament. Soon, a musician who was completely covered by the Firebird slowly rose into the air. He carefully lifted the Holy Grail that he carried. Clear spring water spilled out from the Cup of Integrity in all directions. The sweet spring watered scattered in all directions and evaporated in the air. But it did not become steam, instead turning into thick, sticky clouds that covered everything all around. In a flash, the once hellish seascape turned into a fairyland. But the thick clouds were neither perfume nor rain, but a deadly weapon. When the commanders of the other fleets saw the white mist suffusing the air around the Firebird, and the figure holding the Holy Grail above the Royal Navy, their faces went pale. But soon, an enormous stirring from the Ultimate caught everyone''s attention. A horrifying illusion appeared from the turbulent flow of aether, covering the whole sky. The thunder transformed into a one-eyed spirit, and lightning erupted from the spear in his hand. It burst through layer after layer of chaos, forcibly opening up a gap. Dozens of musicians cried out, and a bolt of lightning fell upon the Asgardian sea fortress. The Second Emperor took his subordinates and was the first to withdraw from the Ultimate! Many of the keen-eyed musicians could not believe what they were seeing. In that moment, as the musicians called out to the Second Emperor who was calling forth yet more lightning, a huge hole opened in his chest! His bones were torn, and a dark arrow pierced through his heart. No one could tell who it had come from. Then there was another roar. A huge Eudemon unfurled its wings. On its back it carried a wounded musician away from the Ultimate. The Eudemon looked like a cross between a bird and a deer, and it was gaunt and haggard. When it came out the Ultimate it looked like it could barely stand. This was the second thing to emerge from the Ultimate, followed by a third and a fourth, until finally stars came whistling out of the Ultimate and flew out in all directions. It seemed like they had encountered something awful and were running for their lives. In the end the two Scepters and sixteen Masters seized the opportunity to use all their rare treasures to escape from the Ultimate. However, there was no sign of Ye Qingxuan. Sylvaine''s face was ashen. "What happened?" He looked at the revelation musician. "No news from His Highness?" The revelation musician shook his head in a panic, and his face looked pained. "Your Excellency, Asgard sent us a notice, asking everyone to leave the area quickly. In three minutes they will begin shelling the Ultimate, until there is not even an inch of land left in it..." "They wouldn''t dare!" Sylvaine roared. "What about His Highness? Warn them that this is murder! This is blatant murder of the Prince of Avalon! Have them immediately cease all actions, or the Anglo Kingdom will make them pay!" There was no response from the Asgardians. Amidst the turmoil, a loud sound emitted from the sea fortress that shook the seas. A forest of organ pipes rose from the steel fortress. They pointed straight at the sky and spewed hot steam. Countless buildings rose and fell like piano keys. Millions of gears and hubs began to revolve, all at the same rhythm. The terrifying steel fortress had become an instrument. And at the very center of it the huge main road began to withdraw to each side, and from the darkness, huge, awe-inspiring main guns slowly emerged. This was a threat that was terrible enough to destroy a city, a forbidden weapon that had been banned and locked away at international conferences. The Dora Organ! The shadow of a Scepter rose up over the fortress. Under the impetus of hundreds of overloaded aether engines a terrifying light began to brew under the guns. The slowly targeted the Ultimate, with clear intent to kill. The final countdown had begun. "Those d*mn..." Sylvaine''s face twisted as he gritted his teeth. "Tell the fleet to engage all aether engines, overload them - from this moment forward, the Anglo Kingdom officially declares..." At the moment, gasps of surprise sounded from the bridge. "Your Excellency, we''ve received a message from the Mountain of Nomadism!" The revelation musician shouted ecstatically. "His Highness has sent us orders from inside the Ultimate!" He paused, and his voice caught in his throat. His expression went blank, as if he had heard something unbelievable. "His Highness has ordered us to not worry about the Asgardians, and to...withdraw...ten nautical miles?" 673 Bridge "Retreat ten nautical miles?" Sylvaine exclaimed, "Are you kidding? Abandon the Ultimate completely? What about His Royal Highness and Madam Mabel?" The musician of the school of revelation held the aether ball with both hands, and after confirming it once more, the look on his face became more complicated. "Sir, it is the Prince''s order." In the rumble, the aether waves rising one after another became more and more terrifying. Having no time to hesitate, Sylvaine gritted his teeth and gave a wave of his hand. "Execute the order immediately! "Activate the highest level of propulsion, everyone, get ready for impact prevention! " Crisp sounds rang out constantly, and everyone in the bridge used a lock to connect their belts to the chairs welded to the floor. After a few seconds, the navigator took a deep breath and pushed the valve stem to the very top. Boom! Terrifying flares emerged from the Firebird above the fleet. The ocean water rolled and boiled. On the huge fleet, light converged, forming a huge ring. In the ring, the sea water almost floated upwards from weightlessness, and a massive amount of water vapor rose, forming a mist and gushed in every direction. The next moment, a huge power burst forth from the Firebird. The sharp sound of steel twisting rang out one after another. The harsh sound stung everyone''s ears, and the sudden thrust made their vision darken. Had they not fasten the lock, they would probably be thrown off their seats. In the short span of a few seconds, the fleet had accelerated to an incredible extent. It seemed as if invisible ropes were towing hundreds of ships, making the ships travel backwards rapidly. Large ships shook violently, and fine gaps had cracked open on smaller warships with thin armor. The method of emergency retreat in wartime was so violent. By applying the ability originally developed with the intention of evading large-scale taboo movements of the enemy, the fleet had reached its maximum speed after just a few seconds, and was even accelerating further still. But it still couldn''t be compared to the impact sweeping towards them. At the very moment when the fleet accelerated, a blood-colored ray of light rose from the bottom of the sea, dyeing everything between the sea and the sky red. Then, above the Ultimate, the madly expanding torrent of aether abruptly erupted and swept towards all directions. The first to bear the brunt was the Asgardian''s Stronghold on Sea. When a catastrophe was about to be born, the most terrifying anomaly that would emerge was such torrents consisting purely of aether. In the realm of aether, the Originator had cast a new projection, setting off a mighty impact, and in the aftermath, the raging sea of aether was venting out on the physical world. There was no music and no melody, only a horrifying roar and the impact that followed closely. The pure torrent of aether caused only pure destruction. Against the silver waves sweeping towards it, layers of shields suddenly appeared on the stronghold. The shields scraped against the torrent, like walls wailing forlornly under a tsunami, and horrifying gaps constantly cracked open. Countless buildings rose and fell, like piano keys being pressed, playing a melody. Like thousands of strings, thousands of roads echoed the same rhythm, tersely withstanding the sweeping aftermath. In the middle of the city, the Second Prince sat on a huge iron chair, with cables inserted all over his body. His right eye, which was his only remaining eye, was closed, as if he was meditating with his eyes shut. But thunderclouds hovered in the empty left eye. Fierce light burst forth, and he was so majestic that one could not look at him directly. The divinity of Odin, the man-made catastrophe, operated in the body, and also controlled the Stronghold on Sea, unifying the power of hundreds of giant aether furnaces. The phantom of the giant of light emerged from the fortress. It reached out, resisting the impact of the torrent of aether. But other people were not so lucky. The fleets of the various nations that did not retreat in time all wailed mournfully, crushed by the torrent of aether, and the hulls quickly shattered. Then, the overloaded aether furnaces were detonated. Before they were torn to shreds by the torrent, they were shattered in the explosion. Next, the musicians lurking in the deep sea were melted by the aether at the first instant, and not even their bones were left. In the rumble, as the heavens and the earth quaked, the sound of warships shattering seemed like crisp bell-like peals of accompaniment, resonating with the cruel melody of war. The impact of the torrent pushed the entire Royal Fleet tens of nautical miles outwards. The violent quaking had just ended when Sylvaine climbed up from the chair and stared at the Ultimate that had been shrouded in destruction from the porthole. His face was ghastly pale. It was so terrifying even at the periphery, what on earth had happened in the core? Could anyone... still survive? "We''re finished." He leaned back on the chair helplessly, felt a bleak coldness in his heart, and couldn''t help but want to cry. "His Royal Highness... His Royal Highness... has been killed in action in the Ultimate!" "Bullshit!" A furious voice sounded from the channel of communication with the Mountain of Nomadism. The voice was so hoarse, yet so familiar. "I am still well and alive, Sylvaine, what the heck are you crying for!" Selvin looked up, stunned, but in an instant, the emptiness in his heart was filled with ecstasy. After processing what had happened, he itched to dance madly in the bridge. Amid the piercing background noise, the hoarse and fuzzy voice roared, "If you... don''t want me to die... Switch on the test machine... Resonance valve... Immediately! Do you hear me!" Subconsciously, Sylvaine fished out the key that Master Newton had handed him before his departure, and inserted the heavy key into the keyhole at the command post of the bridge. He twisted it. It rotated by just one inch, but he almost used up all his strength. It was as if sleeping monster had been awakened. The Sovereign shook violently. Countless gears rotated rapidly. At the bow, the hull and the deck flipped, revealing the huge instruments of harmonious melody beneath and an alchemy array that was so complex that it was astonishing. The test machine that the team led by the Royal Institute of Research finally completed after working on it in a rush for six days and nights activated slowly. In the low rumble, the instruments of harmonious melody shook wildly, emitting a terrifying amount of heat. The alchemy array operated. The four layers of outflowing, forming, creating, and circulating were completely linked, and the main axis was connected. The performance began. Terminal 001, the test machine of the Net of Aether, was started. The next moment, notes collided, intervals pieced together, music theory evolved, and movements formed. In the end, the music theory named the Heaven Ladder flowed out of it, sending its own coordinates to the chaotic sea of aether. The next moment, in the Ultimate covered by layers of turbulence, the music theory that was exactly the same was awakened. In the blink of an eye, a resonance began across innumerable sources of noise and obstacles. A moment of silence ensued. The next moment, the staff of fate tapped. In the low sound, using itself as a pivot, it shook the frenzied sea of aether. Under the pressure of the Symphony of Predestination, a crack in the torrent blocking off the inside and the outside was pried open. Then, electricity broke through the air. As if traces of the lighthouse had been found amid an eternal darkness, in the turbulent flow, a sharp ray of electricity abruptly galloped out, moving straight forward. It rose from the Ultimate, crossed the boiling ocean and the aether turbulence, penetrating all obstacles. Invisible strands of music theory interwove into a bridge, riveting the two together. The Heaven Ladder was complete! It was a bridge. It was a path that provided direct access from the chaotic Ultimate to the outside world. As if the ocean and the aether had been parted to two sides, at the huge gap, an illusory bridge stretched forward and connected itself to the Sovereign. Wherever the Heaven Ladder passed, all chaos was forcibly suppressed. The impact dissipated, the aether slumbered, and the turbulent surface of the sea returned to calmness. The calm sea reflected a slowly rising indigo moon. 674 Please Forgive I In the very next instant, beams of light shot out from the hole of the Ultimate, along the crack that have been produced by the Heaven Ladder. The musicians that have been trapped in the Ultimate were still alive. It seemed that they have remained unharmed, although some of them did look like they have been scared out of their wits along with the conspicuous-looking church badge pinned on their chest. Despite so many people converting to church so suddenly, the church fleet did not seem pleased. This was because the church badge actually contained the symbols of flame and the holy emblem, signifying the Religious Court of Inquiry. To think that the Religious Court of Inquiry has managed to recruit so many people under such circumstances?! The Archbishop, who has been observing the scene, was stunned for a long time even as he gritted his teeth in anger. He could not believe that Ye Qingxuan was capable of finding a way out of such terrible circumstances, and also recruiting people to his cause at the same time. "Indeed, that Chief Inquisitor cannot be underestimated" He muttered coolly. He turned around to look at the red-robed clergyman behind him, "My Lord, Chopin, are we going to sit by while the situation turns for the worse for us?" "From the very beginning, it has never turned out well for us at all. That''s so sad. There''s no hope after all. No hope, whatsoever." The man, whom others call ''Chopin'', shrunk into a dark corner and muttered under his breath, "When Schubert lost control, that should have been a very clear warning. But the Sacred City lacked the courage to make a decisive move. This would never have happened if they had sent me earlier, don''t you think? I''m much more suitable than Schubert, why didn''t they let me go instead?" Chopin seemed oblivious to his surroundings as he talked about how he should have taken Schubert''s place, when his tone suddenly seemed to carry a tinge of expectancy, "If only we had done so earlier, then we would not have had to deal with all the subsequent problems." The Archbishop looked awkward and spoke softly, "My Lord, Chopin, you are the only person amongst all musicians that is capable of becoming a saint. Please preserve yourself" "Here we go again. Stop nagging." Chopin waved his hand. Half of his palm looked absolutely perfect. It was simply exquisite and was definitely the perfect hand of a musician. However, the other half of the palm looked extremely wounded as there were layers upon layers of injuries on the wrist. There was even a huge burn mark on the back of his hand. Now, a finger pointed at the Ultimate, at the origin of that Heaven Ladder. "Take a look over there." --- "Prepare the God''s way and repair his path." Ye Qingxuan heard a soft voice from behind him, "You used your own music theory to suppress the outside world, without fear of the Dark Zone or chaos. I once spent 30 years in order to achieve this, yet you managed to do in just a few months'' time" Ye Qingxuan turned back suddenly and saw a figure in the darkness. That figure was slowly approaching, yet it did not feel real or substantial. An androgynous face peeked at Ye Qingxuan and its eyes were filled with envy. "This is probably down to the talent that I never had." "Paganini?" Ye Qingxuan frowned, "Instead of guarding over the top of the Ultimate, you actually have the time to come and find me?" "The cage has been broken, naturally I have to come and take a look. But I never expected you to level-up under such pressure." Paganini sighed, "I have always been given a free reign because of my talent and abilities, but a century later, I was easily surpassed by your father. I had thought that a person with his abilities was one of a kind but now, you have caught up as well. Perhaps back then, I should have just killed you at Auschwitz. Amongst all the musicians, other than King of Blue, you are the only one whom I see as a threat." Ye Qingxuan felt no joy in being compared to the King of the Blue because this could only mean that Paganini was serious about killing him now. He might not have done it back in Auschwitz but it was still not too late to try and do it now. Subconsciously, he made sure that the old nun was behind him. He did not have the time to look for escape and instead, he had to focus all his energy on dealing with the pressure that Paganini was exerting on him. "Even until now, you still worry for the church?" Paganini took a glance at the old nun and almost seemed to smile, "It''s a pity that it will not matter to the church." "I don''t care what the church thinks." Ye Qingxuan replied coolly, "But I cannot allow such meaningless sacrifices to take place in front of me." "You and the church are not the same, Ye Qingxuan. I knew that from the moment I first saw you. Your father''s path was not the same as the church and neither is yours. You may not like him but you have inherited his disregard for authority and preference for what is right and correct. In fact, you have done better than him. He has always sought to hide but you will always prepare early." "So what?" Ye Qingxuan asked indifferently. "Join my side, Ye Qingxuan. This is the last time I am extending this invitation to you." Paganini stretched out his hand and the expression on his face was sincere. "Hyakume is already dead. I will rule the abyss and become the new God. From here on, I will change the abyss, change the Dark Musician and change this world. This world will welcome a new beginning. You will have a hand in how this new world will be created and how it will function. As long as you join me, we can control this entire world." "No." Without any hesitation or consideration, Ye Qingxuan shook his head and declined. He was so firm that even Paganini was stunned. "Why?" "No reason." Ye Qingxuan did not wish to pay more attention to him and grasped his Staff of Fate tightly, "Just take it that there is something wrong with my brain." Paganini looked at how he was preparing to fight. After some time, he finally sighed. "Have you always been so stubborn about those trivial things, Ye Qingxuan How funny." He raised his eyes and looked down on Ye Qingxuan coldly, "Even if you have become a Master or even a Scepter, do you think you are my match? Just based on your Clothes of Original Sin?" "So, you haven''t forgotten about that." Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh, "Don''t be so petty. Isn''t it just a piece of cloth? I thought it wouldn''t bother you, and that you would already have forgotten about it. To be honest, it is nice to wear and it stayed loyal to you till the very end. Please forgive it." "Let me tell you, Ye Qingxuan. The reason why the Changing Music Theory is so powerful" Paganini looked solemn. He only raised his palm and fog seemed to swirl around his fingers. Dust and aether gathered before vanishing, as if they have been dismantled. In such a short instant, they were converted to become part of the Changing Music Theory. " is because I am the user." 675 Depths Although they were quite far away, the Revelation Musicians in the Sacred City were still able to observe the whole process. Right now the aether was in chaos, and some movements'' structures were so weak that there was no way to directly use them, cutting off the possibility of directly observing the scene through the use of music theory. However, there were plenty of movements for enhancing one''s eyes and ears. Twenty or thirty nautical miles away really wasn''t that far. "Did he win?" Seeing that Ye Qingxuan had chosen to act against Paganini first, everyone could not help but suspect that they were seeing an illusion. There was clearly a huge disparity between them, but for some reason the bishop''s heart was still troubled. Maybe he had won? Part of his unease came from the fact that Ye Qingxuan seemed so full of confidence, and part of it from the Sacred City''s analysis of him. The Grand Inquisitor often exceeded people''s expectations, acting based on his own preferences. In general his schemes were quite well planned, and he was one of the most difficult people to deal with. Although he tended to overestimate himself to the point where he would futilely try to hold back an overwhelming force, often gambling with his very life, his good luck defied the natural order, and he was able to win every time. If they thought about it carefully, they would find that he already had countermeasures planned in advance, and that he had prepared a trump card or had thought of something outside the box. Although he had some shortcomings overall, when you looked at him in a detailed fashion it could be said that he was so powerful that every one step of his counted as ten steps of someone else. For people like him, the outcome of a battle was often determined before it even started. He was best at using small things to defeat the powerful, and forcing his opponents to face him in the areas he was most skilled in, using his own plentiful experience to defeat them. He had performed this type of miracle again and again. And now, as he faced Paganini, everyone had a faint bit of confidence in him. "If he won, there''s something fishy going on!" Chopin rolled his eyes. He picked up the cup of cold tea beside him and after pursing his lips in displeasure, upturned it on a porcelain plate The soaked tea leaves rippled through the faintly reddish liquid. He looked down at the trails made by the tea leaves. He was silent for a while, and then a flash of white light came from his eyes. At that moment, everyone on the bridge felt instantly sluggish. Chopin seemed to have become a hole into the realm of aether. The projection of a Scepter had descended upon them. This was a game that Revelation Musicians who focused on the Way of Prophecy often played. They used leftover tea leaves as a medium to implore the Originator to tell their fortune. However, few people dared to use this method in actual practice. On the one hand, this type of thing was child''s play: it didn''t matter what kind of movement you used, how much you could see depended entirely on the musicians experience and accomplishment in the School of Revelation. On the other hand, if the matter was related to someone important, the prediction could easily be distorted by your opponent''s music theory, giving you results that were hundreds of miles away from the truth. Chopin dared to do this was because on the one hand boldness of execution stems from superb skill, and on the other hand...maybe he wasn''t really taking this matter seriously. Who would win and who would lose had already been decided. Everyone held their breath as they looked at Chopin. But after he did not speak for a long time, the bishop hesitantly asked, "How well can you calculate the result of this battle?" "Why could I care about something so boring?" Chopin glanced back at him. "Try thinking in the long-term, there are more important things worth considering." The bishop clearly did not understand. "You''re saying..." "That''s right, the future of the world!" Chopin looked seriously at the porcelain plate, and the traces left on it. He gave the clueless bishop a bitter look and said sadly, "Tragic! Tragic, it really is tragic...sure enough, in the coming days there will be no saving this world, no matter how many times I look into the future. Everyone is finished, bishop. This world is finished! Life is so tragic, if you could leave it early...Ye Qingxuan understands this. It would be easier to die early. At least you would not have to endure the coming torment." When he spoke of Ye Qingxuan his tone was full of envy, shocking everyone. The bishop''s face went green as he finally remembered his colleagues'' pitying expressions... It was true that Master Chopin was a musician from the Sacred City, but his School was completely different than other schools. The most absurd thing was...the members of his school were supporters of Eschatology, and even held a copy of something called The Book of Revelation, some d*mn thing that was written hundreds of years ago by a sick priest. Having such a teammate would be a test of the spirit for both yourself and your enemies. Fortunately, after saying so many morale-reducing things, Chopin finally said something useful, "You''d better not expect too much from the Grand Inquisitor." Chopin threw the plate aside, and said in a profound tone, "Paganini has hidden depths." - - Ever since Ye Qingxuan''s fame had spread, the Church had assigned someone specially to collect and sort out information about him. After he became the Hand of God and then the Prince of Avalon, this had become a whole team of people. As the water rises, the boat floats higher, and so soon this team reported directly to the College of Cardinals. Such a team was not uncommon. All of the kings and important figures of nations had a small group assigned to them, so that the College of Cardinals could gather information and formulate countermeasures at any time. The other nations also had similar institutions. The original Anglo Privy Council had cultivated a large group of people to do the same thing, but they relied on their own intelligence network, and were not as quick or efficient as the Church''s. The Church had always had many speculations about Ye Qingxuan. The only two bright spots in these speculations were that as Hand of God there was a high possibility that he could become an agent of the Sacred City, and that he never cared about the so-called ''big picture''. In a novel or a play, he would definitely play the role of a selfish, corrupt villain. Now, he was experiencing the negative effects of not understanding the big picture. For orthodox musicians, the big picture was essential. It referred not only to the circumstances of the outside world, but to the big picture of the struggle between musicians. Otherwise, it would be like two chess players of wildly different skill levels playing each other. One would be caught up in the other''s rhythm and not realize they were being skinned alive. Ye Qingxuan believed that when it came to the details, he was the best of all his peers. He could count the number of musicians who could compete with him on his fingers. But when it came to considering the big picture, there were at least ten Naberiuses between him and Paganini. He had forged the Staff of Fate with Ye Qingxuan, and became the tool that stirred up the sea of aether. For Paganini, the many magical effects of Changing Music Theory did not matter. The important thing was to use the details of chains of movements to tilt the situation in his favor until in the end he was in control of the entire course of the battle and make his opponent serve his own whims. Now, he had finally turned Ye Qingxuan into a teammate who had to go all out. Even though compared to Ye Qingxuan he was like a lion pouncing on a hare, he still did not let up in the least. Instead of quickly completely destroying his opponent once and for all, he chose to destroy them by an absolutely reliable and extremely painful method, like placing a frog in warm water before you boil it. Ye Qingxuan finally truly realized what a frighteningly powerful musician Paganini was. The whole situation was enough to make him shudder. He was like a chest master, who starts casually for the first three or four turns, but by turn ten has turned into his opponent''s worst nightmare. He seemed pompous and overbearing, but when you really fell into his snare, you would feel it pull at your entire body, and his evil influence would penetrate to your very marrow. Paganini, who had mastered the music theory of both the Holy Cauldron and the Abyss, had unified them into one, and through Changing Music Theory had become his own thing. What did it feel like to be hanged? It felt like Ye Qingxuan felt now! 676 Reformation A moon of pure white slowly rose, flanked by thunder. In the moonlight that was as cold as steel, countless knives and axes condensed out of thin air, whistling as they flew out. Wherever they passed, everything was taken apart. At the moment, in Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the technique of sword casting had evolved from the music theory of the school of abstinence towards that of the school of modifications. Murderous intentions from the school of heart gathered on them, forming a lethal poison that could rot away and annihilate all consciousness and tenacity. A horrifying amount of aether was lifted from the sea of aether by Ye Qingxuan, using the staff of fate. Every knife and axe contained a terrifying power enough to suck any musician of the same level dry. The massive amount of aether was constrained within the knives and axes of nothingness by the music theory of the school of abstinence. From the pure white at the beginning, it gradually turned into a turbulent orangish-yellow, then a dangerous bright red, and in the end, a faint trace of horrifying pure black was already revealed. Every knife and axe seemed like a horrifying black zone. Electricity lingered on it and was constantly turbulent, contrary to the calmness of the quiet moon. Through the pitch black cracks, it was as if one could see the horrifying scene of the world destructing amid chaos. "Just with this technique alone, you deserve to be at the pinnacle of contemporary musicians." Paganini softly gave praise, but his figure was so illusory. It fleeted in and out, allowing countless knives and axes to strike him. Wisps of black fog extended from his body. The light, fleeting mist contained changing music theory, easily distorting the physical world, blocking the inside from the outer. Countless clouds of fog covered the sky and the sun, engulfing everything. The contours of the fog constantly changed and evolved into vague shadows. The musicians who had been eroded and transformed by the changing music theory constantly emerged from Paganini''s scepter They were not illusions emerging from the scepter, but were in fact part of the scepter. The more people the changing music theory eroded, the stronger Paganini''s scepter became. The musicians released from the scepter alone were comparable to the scale of an orchestra. In the end, even the shadow of a catastrophe vaguely emerged from it... The scepter emerged from the Paganini''s hand and turned into a short baton. Countless strands of music theory were connected to the top of the baton, and the inextricably linked strands interwove into a huge net. Like silk threads used to controled puppets, the strands controlled the countless musicians, directing their every move, and they attacked fiercely. For the opponent, it was like being stuck in a quagmire. The harder one struggled, the harder it was for one to breathe. One could only watch oneself use up all of one''s energy and sink into the darkness. In Paganini''s hands, the whole orchestra was commanded with ease just as he wished. Hundreds of musicians worked together, but not only did the innumerable types of music theory not interfere with each other, they were instead united as one, guided by the changing music theory, and could operate freely and effortlessly. Ye Qingxuan was facing an entire legion. Some were in charge of distracting him, some in charge of attacking, and some were in supporting roles... What made Ye Qingxuan even more uncomfortable was dozens of the darkest shadows drifting freely outside the orchestra, lingering around him, looking for an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. They were the most dangerous. Once Ye Qingxuan slackened for the slightest bit, they would rush up to him, disregarding their own lives, and inflict severe damage on Ye Qingxuan. Or, they might act even more ruthlessly by hugging Ye Qingxuan, then detonating their own Symphonies of Predestination. The fellas were all projections of Paganini''s scepter, and were completely unafraid of death. Even if they died, it would only consume a little energy to regenerate them. At the moment, hearing Paganini''s praise, Ye Qingxuan could not help but snicker. "Since I am so impressive, why don''t you show some appreciation for my talent and order them to capture me alive?" "Do you still have the mood to joke at such a time?" Paganini waved his baton, attacking ferociously. "With people like you, I can only feel at ease when you are dead Even if you only have one breath left, I can neither sleep nor eat well." "Relax, friend, you hold me in such high regards that even I feel scared." Ye Qingxuan waved, and countless knives and axes flew out, crushing the figures into pieces, but the shadow behind him suddenly fluctuated. A dark shadow flew out of it, entangling Ye Qingxuan, swelled up, and detonated its Symphony of Predestination... Ye Qingxuan''s figure flickered. He turned into a bolt of lightning and broke free of his restraints, but still spat out dark blood in the explosion of music theory. Paganini also wasn''t feeling good. The illusory projection suddenly paused, and a crack suddenly appeared on his chest, but no blood spewed out. Innumerable wisps of mist lingered in it, trying to repair the crack, but they were annihilated by the moonlight and electricity on the wound. It was the sword of the moonlight, the technique of which he grasped during the battle with Lancelot. It was pure light and pure speed. In the past, it still had a weakness of a lack of lethality, but since the qualitative change of aether was completed, the weakness had totally disappeared as well. The only downside was probably the short and potentially deadly interspace before it was cast. "See, what did I just say?" Paganini looked down and stroked the crack in his chest, revealing a self-mocking smile. His body had been hidden in a small interlayer between the physical world and the realm of aether all this while, and was projected in front of Ye Qingxuan via changing music theory. But at that moment just now, through the projection, Ye Qingxuan''s power surprisingly hurt his actual body. In just a few minutes, even though he was disadvantaged, Ye Qingxuan actually found the correct direction to attack amid the changes of the changing music theory... Even with an absolute advantage in the comparison of both quantity and quality, Ye Qingxuan still felt like a hedgehog to him. He couldn''t lay his hands on the young man, and the slightest bit of carelessness would result in a hole being poked in him. As his gaze grew colder and colder, the melody sounded stranger and stranger. It was as if the tens of thousands of melodies had been superposed, but the countless notes were compressed within the same instant. In the blink of an eye, as if countless movements were contained in it, they evolved and unfolded. In just a moment, a small point expanded from Paganini''s fingertips, and turned into a fleeting figure behind him. Moto Perpetuo! It was a terrifying technique that compressed countless changes of music theory in a moment, a horrifying power that could twist time around one''s little finger. It would take only a moment to complete a movement of a few hours long. At the moment, as the orchestra played, what relied on the technique of Moto Perpetuo to form was the core of the scepter, the movement that had once forcibly withstood the complete form of the Gate of Heaven. The Witches'' Dance! The act of using the word ''witch'' as its name in itself contained an intention to tarnish and revolt against the music theory of the Sacred City. It cast aside the original idea of distinguishing between good and evil, and demonstrated its power with pure beauty. He had slightly detached himself from the music theory of the Holy Cauldron and the abyss, and was no longer bound by common sense, but instead formed a path that only belonged to him. It was a path that seeked to plunder external power constantly via changing music theory to achieve success for oneself, and he seeked to achieve the position of god with his own path! At the moment, the perfect body he created abruptly changed as the phantom attached itself to it, and it became blurred and huge, as if countless stars had gathered. Hundreds and thousands of hands unfolded, his figure lithe and graceful. In the silence, it seemed like someone was dancing and twirling. It was breathtaking. Just by reaching out, the incorporeal hand held the moon in its palm and abruptly tightened. Bang! Countless metals wailed forlornly, and the electricity dissipated. The anomalous phenomenon formed by Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination shattered completely. Then, the changing music theory advanced straight forward, fully controlling Ye Qingxuan''s domain. In the end, the horrifying power abruptly converged. Just the pure collision of music theory formed the ultimate destruction pursued by the school of modifications the annihilation singularity. The black vortex instantly ripped Ye Qingxuan''s figure apart and devoured him. But in the whirlpool of annihilation, a hoarse laughter rang out. Abruptly, a glaring electric light erupted, and countless strands of music theory evolved from it, gathered together, and turned into an incorporeal blade. It compressed, compressed, compressed, and compressed itself further. In the end, the blade that seemed to be condensed from black zones had no more color on it, but instead it returned to its original clear and transparent appearance. However, the murderous intent contained therein had skyrocketed by hundreds of times. What Paganini found to be even more terrifying was the kind of power preserved within that... sufficed to really hurt him. He was stunned. In the sensing of the changing music theory, he finally understood thoroughly the true essence of Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination, the actual core of the strange electricity, Ye Qingxuan''s true desire. It was a wildfire-like will and rage that was hidden in the deepest part of him. A desire to negate everything in the past, destroy everything in the past, and bury everything in the past! Destroy completely everything old, decaying, and rotting, punish them with thunder and lightning, ignite them with flames, ending them with destruction, and then sprinkle new seeds on them, open up a new world, and establish a new order... It was a total negation of all existing music theory. It was "Reformation?" Paganini couldn''t help but exclaim. The next moment, the sword of reformation whistled as it soared towards him. As compared to the Witches'' Dance and the scepter of Paganini, the blade that the Symphony of Predestination had transformed into was as small as a dust particle, but at the moment, the dust tore the layers of palms apart, stubbornly negating all the music theories of the past, completely wiping out everything wherever it passed. It traced back to where Paganini was actually located, burning itself, piercing through the layers of the sea of aether, and finally thrusted towards his body! Paganini''s eyes widened. He reached out, clenching the blade firmly. A sharp noise sounded. The blade was smashed, and countless flashes of electricity erupted. From within, Ye Qingxuan''s figure appeared. Then, he gave a wave of his hand. Smack! The echo was loud and clear. At the very moment, Sylvaine, Mabel, Chopin, Auden... The Ultimate, the sea, underwater, in the sky, on the fleet, on the Stronghold on Sea. Anglo, Burgundy, Asgard and even the Sacred City. Musicians, saints, demons, catastrophes, oddities... Countless beings watching the battle from afar were stunned, and they looked at the red print appearing on Paganini''s face with surprise, going in shock like Paganini. It was a... slap in the face? In front of the whole world, Ye Qingxuan deftly lifted his hand, and just like the countless times he had done so in the past, he gave the enemy a heavy slap in the face. Smack! The slap that sufficed to crush stone and iron only made a red print on Paganini''s face, leaving clear finger marks, but it smashed Paganini''s dignity and will into pieces. In a flash, Paganini reached out and tore all the defenses of Ye Qingxuan apart. He tugged on the incorporeal electricity, and his five fingers balled up, crushing the electricity and returning Ye Qingxuan to his original state. Paganini firmly clutched the young man''s throat. Both of Paganini''s eyes were bright red. They were like the fire of purgatory. "Ye Qingxuan..." he bellowed. 677 Ultimate Skill "My apologies, I didn''t manage to control myself." Ye Qingxuan''s face turned green as he was barely able to continue, "When I saw your face that looked like neither man or woman, I could not help but" With that, he whistled and sighed contentedly, "How satisfying." "I treated you as my equal by giving you the respect you deserved, yet this is how you repay me?" Paganini''s face was solemn. The projection of the Witches'' Dance tightened its grip on Ye Qingxuan, so that his music theory and bones were gradually crushed. "With your powers, you could have escaped in the first place but now, you are going to lose your life because you have chosen a moment of satisfaction." Paganini muttered, "You will never understand the bigger picture." "Bigger picture?" Ye Qingxuan was trying to control the tremor of aether as he questioned in a muffled voice, "And you are telling me that you understand it?" In that instant, Paganini was stunned and he began to frown. Then, he saw a smile on Ye Qingxuan''s face. That fellow was smiling so widely even as the broken bones have pierced into his lungs and blood was gushing freely out of his wounds. Realization suddenly dawned on Paganini. "You have been tricking me?" "Ha! Indeed!" Ye Qingxuan laughed, "Someone must be dictating your every move." "What?" Paganini remained composed. "Whatever gave you such an idea?" "Do you even have to ask?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head slowly in the cage, as his eyes were filled with disappointment. "Paganini, music theories reflect the user. I understand the Changing Music Theory and I understand you. Changing Music Theory may be very powerful but it will always rely on the circumstances. You can never be the main body. You will always be like a vine that needs to rely on something else for nutrients. This is your biggest weakness." As Paganini''s face became more and more awful, Ye Qingxuan pushed even more, "In other words, this is your pattern. If not for the fact that Hyakume''s death has given you a glimmer of hope of replacing him, you would probably have sought another master on the very same day the abyss fell. Someone must be telling you what to do. He is stoking your ambitions, in hope that you will gain control of the abyss one day and go against the Sacred City. However, this person probably has other ideas as well. You are too narrow-minded and you do not have the ability to control the abyss. Therefore, the moment you gain the abyss is the moment that person will turn you into his puppet and the abyss will become his tool!" Smack! Ye Qingxuan was stopped suddenly as Paganini drew back his palm slowly. "You may be right, but you will not live to see that day." Ye Qingxuan looked down and could not help but sigh. "Haven''t you realized what is my forte?" What was his forte? Without question, it was the ultimate skill of the Ye family C seek help in times of greatest need! In that instant, the ring on his finger shimmered. Far away, on the surface of the sea, a beam of golden light was being summoned! It was Firebird! Countless illusions appeared from the Firebird as they sang in praise together, "I give my life to the great and mighty Emperor. May Heaven protect the kingdom and may the Emperor protect me!" ''Pomp and Circumstance'' was played on this foreign land once again as the melody that has been crowned by the Emperor could be heard above the Ultimate. The Chapter of the Golden Victory appeared within the Firebird and the silhouette of the Dragon of Gold could gradually be seen. "Firebird? That''s impossible" Paganini was stunned as he looked at the Firebird that was fast approaching. He knew Ye Qingxuan''s background better than anyone, so naturally, he had also done his research on matters related to Anglo. Although there were still some secrets and discrepancies, he could more or less hazard a guess that since Anglo''s homeland defense front could defeat Leviathan, it would definitely be able to go against catastrophe as well. With the addition of the Firebird, Ye Qingxuan would be like a demi god. But the homeland defense front has its own weaknesses. A formidable system that relied on the terrain meant that the latter would also be a limitation. The homeland defense front was everywhere on Anglo land but beyond those lands, the prowess of the former would be drastically reduced. This was definitely nowhere near Anglo lands. In fact, it was more than a thousand miles away! And yet, the power of Firebird was capable of reaching all the way here? Could it be that for the past few centuries, the Anglos have been expanding their lands in secret? But very soon, his gaze landed on the surface of the sea and realization dawned on him. Right in the middle of the Royal Navy, above the Sovereign, blinding light shot out of the instruments of harmonious melody and the gigantic machine. It was like a pillar that was supporting and extending into the sky. No wonder! "Heaven Ladder!" His face was contorted as he could barely force out those words through gritted teeth. --- At this very moment, it was late at night in Avalon and the entire city was asleep. But the reflection of the city in the sea showed that it was fully lit up like a sun. The bright Firebird spread out like waves, such that the entire surface of the sea was a shimmering golden color. It was the hall of the throne. On the throne, a teenage girl who had been sleeping lightly, opened her eyes as if in response to a call from far away. She held onto the scepter and nodded slightly, "Granted." With that, a booming melody could be heard from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The Golden Chapter of Victory played with great passion. The illusion of the Beast of Gold appeared from behind her out of thin air. It growled once before turning into light and rose from the surface of the sea with the Firebird. With the long tail of the Firebird trailing behind, it looked like a meteor as it shot towards the Ultimate. In the blink of an eye, the homeland defense was right there. But the Beast of Gold did not slow down and increased its speed instead. At the same time, the old and broken fishing boat above the homeland defense suddenly burst open. Beneath the body of the boat, a gigantic structure of instruments of harmonious melody rose gradually. The mysterious instruments of harmonious melody were like a lighthouse that floated on the sea. The only difference was that this lighthouse was sending out deep melodies instead of light! It was the repeater of the Net of Aether! At this very moment, it was the Ye''s Heaven Ladder music theory that was in operation! With Ye Qingxuan''s design, the music theory that has been hibernating in the Ye bloodline for all these years has finally been embedded in the alchemy formations of the Net of Aether to become its main body. At this moment, under the influence of the resonating Heaven Ladder, the Beast of Gold blew past with Firebird and leapt towards the next platform. A hundred miles away, the merchant ship that has deviated away from its route was slowly getting into its position. New instruments of harmonious melody rose from the cargo ship of East India trading company. They were calling out for the Beast of Gold and transporting the power of catastrophe for him. Hundreds of boats were already in position. The music theory of the Net of Aether extended outwards from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as they passed through one endpoint after another to head towards the Ultimate. Each endpoint was also a resonance. The Firebird was like a golden river of light as it passed through the repeater instruments of harmonious melody. The river of light tore through the night as it transported incredible power towards a destination that was far away. All the repeaters that the Royal Institute of Research had rushed out in a month were fully used on this region of sea. They guided the Firebird forward, until it dove into the bridge of the Sovereign. In that instant, flames shot out and into the embrace of Ye Qingxuan. His aether waves rose steadily as they broke through the level of Master and into the region of Scepter. They did not stop there. They continued rising again and again until finally, they reached the region of catastrophe. A blinding halo appeared above Ye Qingxuan''s head, like the crown made from the sun. The figure of the golden hound became more and more concrete, even as it looked down coolly at the Ultimate from the vault of heaven. Ye Qingxuan smiled and stretched out his hand to point at Paganini, "Old Phil, get him!" 678 The Right Time "Get him, Old Phil!" At Ye Qingxuan''s voice, a roar that shook the heavens and the earth rang out. A dragon''s roar. The golden retriever leapt forward, stepping into the void. His form began to swell, and after three steps he had transformed into a giant gold dragon. A pair of giant wings swept out from his back, breaking through the many layers of The Witches'' Dance''s illusion before picking up Ye Qingxuan''s. He turned his head and the dragon''s breath burst out. Black fire spewed from the dragon''s mouth. What looked like flames was actually the accumulated essence of destruction. Even light was disintegrated by his chaotic will. All matter and music theory were destroyed by his violent bestial nature and ground into dust. After the dragon breathed, the projection of The Witches'' Dance seemed to crawl out of the furnace. It screamed viciously as its flesh began to wriggle as it repaired itself. Behind the dragon, Ye Qingxuan''s flesh was rapidly recovering, and his body was whole again. "You see? What I just said came true." Ye Qingxuan stood on the dragon''s back with the Staff of Fate in his hands. He reached up and with a mocking smile tipped a nonexistent hat in a salute to the already enraged Paganini. "This is the technique of the Ye family. How do you like it?" Paganini did not answer, merely stretching out his index finger to pluck at formless strings, further developing the insane melody. His endless movement swept away the remnants of the dragon''s breath in an instant and The Witches'' Dance started once again, even fiercer than before. The gold dragon flew high into the sky. Now, Ye Qingxuan was finally on the same level as Paganini. He was blessed by the power of the catastrophes. He was in concordance with the gods, coexisted with the world, and breathed in harmony with heaven and earth. With but the slightest response he could pierce through the nine layers of the Sea of Aether, reach the realm of aether, and under the radiant Scepter of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth faintly touch the edges of the Originator. He was resonating with the world. This was a catastrophe. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and held out his hands. Drifting snow fell upon his hands. Everything had a dreamlike quality. As the ice crystals melted on his fingertips, fluttering snowflakes emerged from the void, drifting through the air as they fell. Among the gathering clouds, an endless waterfall of snow fell down into the world. A blizzard was coming. He could feel no warmth on his fingers, and a bone chilling cold suddenly appeared in his heart. The incredible illusion was using this as a fulcrum to open up the entire Ultimate. "Let''s go on a journey," Ye Qingxuan whispered. He began to drum his hands and sing softly, "I came alone, I will leave alone. Now cold envelops the world, and falling snow covers my body. When I leave, I will make no decisions. On that dark road I will only find..." As he sang hoarsely and stretched out his fingers, the endless falling snow transformed into a sheet of pure white that spilled between the two of them, covering the heavens and the earth. At some point after the snow had fallen, the turbulent ocean and the Ultimate had disappeared, leaving only the white sky and the endless falling snow, with an endless road stretching out before them. "Schubert..." Listening to the song that drifted over from far away, Paganini suddenly understood. This was the music theory that Ye Qingxuan had stolen! The quintessence that he had stolen from St. Schubert''s Scepter! A poetic change drove the movement of the melody, creating a world that seemed both real and illusory. Winterreise! At this moment Ye Qingxuan held the blessings of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth which could power the Firebird endlessly. He used his essence to transfer his willpower into the aether, transforming it completely and turning his ideas into reality. The Firebird and the School of Magic combined to make the illusions that Ye Qingxuan had learned from Lola come to reality. Both real and illusory, neither true nor false. Between his fingers the illusion seemed real. He used the false snowflakes as an initial fulcrum, and a massive illusion swept out along with the Firebird, pulling Paganini into this false world in a flash. "You wish!" Paganini roared. The thousands of hands of The Witches'' Dance stretched out and pulled apart the dark clouds, just like they were tearing a hole in the heavens. They were about to break through. But waiting for him on the other side was a smiling Ye Qingxuan and a falling Staff of Fate. "Wait a bit, it''ll be alright in a second." Boom! The Staff of Fate pounded into The Witches'' Dance like a hammer. The Firebird gushed out, choking up the transforming music theory. On the back of the dragon, Ye Qingxuan looked over at Paganini with a smile on his lips. Paganini had probably already reacted. After a normal person gained power, they would probably use it to get revenge for their former shames. But why was Ye Qingxuan messing with Paganini? There were more important things in front of him. He didn''t need to struggle with him. The Ultimate was right before his eyes. As long as he used the illusions to delay him, even if it was only for ten minutes it would be enough to make him fall short. Ye Qingxuan had made up his mind to not struggle with him at all. He liberally sprinkled out the power that came from the catastrophe. Then, he played "Weathervane,""Frozen Tears,""Bodhi,""Will-o''-the-Wisp,""Spring Dream,""Crow," and "Whitehead" and the movement he was most familiar with, "Holiday." Illusion after illusion followed this, covering him, intermingling with each other, and injecting various elements into each other. In this poetic process they turned into a real world full of pain and confusion. The music theory of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth firmly suppressed Paganini''s counterattacks, and smothered him within, letting his Changing Music Theory erode away. Many different kinds of illusions were born and then died. Finally, the movement called "Old Accompanist" wedged itself firmly into the music theory. The chain of music theory pulled apart the elements, bringing with it frightful power, wearing away Paganini''s Scepter and bringing him into the deepest part of the illusion. The Firebird swept out and entered the Ultimate. It was like a giant holding a massive cage, picking demons out of the Ultimate one by one and stuffing them into the cage. Each demon that had not yet reached the level of Master lost its sense of self as soon as it entered the illusion as its consciousness and music theory was erased and evaporated, adding to the music of Winterreise. At the same time, the pressure on Ye Qingxuan was reduced. This was Paganini after all. Ye Qingxuan did not dare to be the slightest bit careless. Winterreise was a double edged sword. If he let up just a little bit, Paganini would turn the tables on him, escape the illusion and pull Ye Qingxuan into it. - - "Paganini was actually suppressed?" On the Sacred City''s flagship, the commanding bishop gasped, looking confused. "When did the Anglo Kingdom complete the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth? We must report this to the Sacred City immediately. The College of Cardinals is going to go crazy when they hear this." "There''s no need to report it." Chopin shook his head. "The College of Cardinals has been watching this all along, and they''ve already gone crazy. I never would have thought that the Anglo catastrophe weapon had already reached such an unrestricted level." This was definitely bad news. Although all the nations had studied catastrophe weapons in private, they hadn''t gotten anywhere. At best they could produce something that matched a catastrophe. The Sacred City had lots of tricks up its sleeve, and they weren''t worried about the other nations getting out of control. But the Anglos had not only not been damaged by Leviathan''s attack, they had used it to complete the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth...this had made the Church realize that something was wrong. Now that the Abyss was in shambles, having descended into the Physical World with demons and catastrophes running wild, the Sacred City had almost no control over anything anymore. And the Anglos held that madman who was not controlled by the Sacred City in their hands...even a small misstep could lead to a huge amount of chaos. It was just like it had been hundreds of years ago with Arthur... The bishop looked gloomy, and he said indignantly, "I''ve said it before, the Anglos do not follow the path of the Lord. They don''t believe the Word of God. They must be suppressed." "Speak a little louder, why don''t you, so that the Hand of God can hear you." Chopin glanced at him indifferently. "If you''re looking for death, I won''t stop you." The bishop was stunned. In the spyglass he could see that the white-haired young man on the back of the dragon seemed to be staring back at him with a sneer. He could not help but take a step back as he turned pale with fright. He had heard him! "Everywhere where the power of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth radiates is Anglo land, and where the Firebird is, nothing can be hidden. The heritage of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth is not inferior to the greatest of catastrophes." Chopin waved his hand, indicating everything around him. "The way that the Sacred City does things is arranged by the Sacred City itself. You don''t need to criticize it." The bishop''s face twitched. It was clearly Chopin who had been telling tales about him, and who had leaked what he had said. Otherwise, with a Saint around, how could he be worried about being eavesdropped on? Feeling that Chopin was not satisfied with him, the bishop had no choice but to act humble. He did not dare to make the Saint sent by the College of Cardinals angry and provoke him to action, and so he asked respectfully, "Is there anything that we can still do?" Chopin played with the rosary around his wrist. He lowered his eyes and did not look at the writhing Ultimate. "The time is not right." As he said this, the Ultimate began to shake violently. As the heavens and the earth roared, a beam of light screamed up from the Ultimate. Something was slowly spinning in the beam of light and emitting majestic waves of aether. Everyone''s eyes strained to see it. It was the Stone Plate! The broken Stone Plate was wrapped up in the streaming light as it rose up from the Ultimate. The second part of the core of the catastrophe was complete! The bishop looked back in shock, wanting to ask Chopin about it, but found that he had already disappeared at some point. At the moment that the Stone Plate appeared, he had transformed into a beam of light, rushed into the Ultimate and grabbed at the Stone Plate. Now the time was right! Chopin was not only one. The gold dragon roared, spread his wings and carried Ye Qingxuan towards where the Stone Plate was. On the Asgardian sea fortress, countless steam whistles screamed and a lightning bolt shot out. A majestic deity awoke within the fierce blaze, transforming into the One-eyed God of the Second Emperor as he flashed out towards the Stone Plate. And all around the Ultimate, amid dark clouds, deep seas and cold wind, dozens of figures suddenly appeared. A Scepter unfolded in the realm of aether, its elements emerging as a grand melody rose and fell, rushing towards the Stone Plate. So many people had waited for this very moment, and where now ready to reap the benefits! In the same moment, in a narrow room filled with cobwebs in the depths of the Ultimate, the two people sitting in the dust looked up. Their matching white hair reflected the distant light, brilliant as silver. "May I trouble you, Master Yuan?" Liu Ran grinned as she nodded at him. "I implore you." Yuan Jing smiled briefly, then stopped, his face become cold once again. He slowly gripped the longsword on his lip, and raised his eyebrows. "I, Yuan Jing, your unfilial descendant, request to use the movement of the Ancestor Sword!" At that moment, in the far east, a sword rang out from thousands of miles away above Yu Jingshan Mountain. 679 Don’t Eat Pies That You Are Not Supposed To For a moment, everyone felt a chill for no reason. Time seemed to freeze, and one could hear a clear whistle of a sword. As time seemed to progress at a speed tens of millions of times slower than usual, a cold light flew towards them from the depths of the night sky. It passed the stars, penetrated the gloomy clouds, flitted across the endless oceans and mountains, and descended from the sky. It was so cold, but it possessed a brilliance like that of souls burning, stinging everyone''s eyes. The Sword Art of the Departing Soul! The clear whistling of the sword reverberated in one''s ears belatedly, sounding one after another, yet overlapping with each other. It was like the gentle and slow plucking of the strings of a qin using five fingers, the captivation of iron drumsticks hitting a bronze drum, and the charm and joy of lutes being played and flutes being blown. A ray of metallic gleam cut the night sky apart, but wherever it passed, ripple-like patterns appeared. It was as if they were looking up from the bottom of a pond at the bustling mortal realm, where songs and dances extolled the good times. But when the metallic gleam silently stabbed downwards from the curtain of the night, it shattered the ripples and the illusions of the bustling mortal realm. Someone was tapping the sword to the melody of a song, and the grand scene described in the movement named Long Chi Le [1] evolved from it. Then, the bestiality of the true dragon was extracted from it, turning the pure gleam of the sword into a dragon-like shape hovering in the sky. "What is that!" The scepter musician blocked by the dragon was stunned. Before he even had time to react, the dragon of the gleam of the sword high in the sky wrapped itself around his elements. In a flash, the musician and his scepter stiffened where they were. A storm of aether swept across, and the musician and his scepter quietly crumbled, dissipating between the heavens and the earth. Only bone-chilling murderous intent lingered around everyone. One of the Six Royals, the head of House Yuan had acted ferociously at the moment, scaring the scepter musicians secretly watching on in the dark so much that they all retreated hundreds of miles in an instant. All their courage had been wiped out by the fleeting dragon-shaped gleam of the sword, and they dared not approach again. In a fleeting instant, the dragon-shaped gleam of the sword cast itself towards the fragment of the Ultimate. The fragment was wrapped in the gleam, like a dragon ball in the mouth of the dragon. The man wasted no words, turned, and started to leave. "Leave it here!" Frenzied thunder struck from the overcast clouds, and the phantom shadow of Odin which the Second Prince had transformed into appeared as the layers of thunder and lightning interwove. A mighty melody unfolded, and the divinity within operated, pressing towards the dragon-shaped gleam. Compared to the phantom of the giant god whose figure stretched all the way from the earth to the sky, the small gleam of the sword looked like a candle in the wind, but it was incredibly deft. It tore apart the blasts of thunder and the music theory easily as if it was crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. Despite forcibly fighting against the divinity, it was at no disadvantage! But next, Chopin''s figure suddenly emerged from a wisp of moonlight in thin air. Facing the blade that was powerful enough to mince himself up, not only did he not retreat, but instead, he greeted it ecstatically, as if he was looking for death, and couldn''t wait for someone to kill him. However, the music theory around him that was complex and terrifying like a tide made the ray of gleam deeply wary. As compared to the ease it enjoyed when fighting against Odin, it was somewhat constrained when dealing with Chopin. In contrast, Ye Qingxuan was one step slower, but he seemed to be in no hurry. He simply hovered around, riding the golden dragon. Nor did he idle, and he kept on throwing plenty of musical movements into the Ultimate. The movements he played with his fingers were merely lead-ins. Ye Qingxuan played the prelude, but after that, hundreds of aether waves followed closely. Outside the Ultimate, the warship named the Mountain of Nomadism had been burnt red due to it operating under the ninth drive. The huge heart in the pool of aether was wildly beating, constantly absorbing power from the sea of aether and distributing it to every musician''s body along with the music theory of the Net of Aether. A nearly infinite power was available for the musicians to dispatch, and the purification musicians of the Religious Court of Inquiry had never been able to expend power so extravagantly before. With the guidance of Ye Qingxuan, under the command, the warship''s armor opened up layer by layer, revealing hundreds and thousands of thick pipes, and hot steam spewed out of the pipes. It was a huge organ that had completed its warm-up. After undergoing modifications once more in Anglo, the Mountain of Nomadism had become a total stronghold. After the hull was completely dismantled, the alchemists built a huge war instrument specifically tailored for the Mountain of Nomadism and embedded the huge organ in it. Just the keys alone made up nine layers. It had thousands of organ bolts and tens of thousands of resonance pipes. At the moment, the purification musicians had begun resonating as one under the guidance of the Heaven Ladder, with synergy, they played a purifying movement. The grand melody of Night on Bald Mountain resounded through the skies. The gloomy clouds were burned to a bright red. Countless meteors descended from the sky with the guidance of Ye Qingxuan. It was red-hot gleams of iron, stakes with the Fire of Judgment entwined around them. The clouds wrapped around the Mountain of Nomadism had already become a scorching furnace. Innumerable gleams of iron brewed up within, appearing out of nothing. They condensed and turned into heavy stakes. Together with the Light of Judgment, they descended from the sky and smashed into the Ultimate. Loud bangs burst forth continuously. The stakes were like heavy rain, descending from the sky as Ye Qingxuan waved his hands. Each of the stakes crashing down would trigger a raging fire, as if it had smashed out a hole leading straight to purgatory in the ground, causing the lava in purgatory to spew out. The fiery glow from the rows of stakes shrouded everywhere in sight. It was as if Ye Qingxuan had waved a hammer about and hammered nails down. Each stake wedged into the Ultimate nailed the music theory of the Religious Court of Inquiry deeply into the land. Wherever the fire shrouded was holy land. In a flash, all the other forces were expelled by the ferocious music theory on the stakes, and only pure judgment and destruction remained. The demons hiding in the shadows were swallowed by the flames in large numbers. They screamed and dissipated as ashes in the terrifyingly high temperature. By the launching tracks on the deck, two teams of heavily armored knights of the Witch Hammer and a team of purification musicians were ready to go. They awaited Ye Qingxuan''s orders to cast themselves into the battlefield in the Ultimate. At the moment, the situation was too chaotic. Ye Qingxuan forcibly suppressed the impulse in his heart and decided to watch in safety while others fought, letting them fight among themselves. In the meantime, he would first rely on the strengthening of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth to transform the piece of land into his own territory. Sensing the music theory of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and the Heaven Ladder, in the middle of the fight, the dragon-shaped gleam of the sword cast Ye Qingxuan a brief look. "Ye Lanzhou? No... Ye Lanzhou is already dead... You are the young fella fooling around in Anglo? I''ve heard Yuan Jing mention you before." The hoarse voice rang in Ye Qingxuan''s ears. "As a fellow possessor of Deva blood, do hurry and come over to give me a hand. House Yuan would reward you greatly afterward." "I''m of no help, no help at all." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand with a regretful expression. "How can I go over and cause you trouble when you are dealing with such an important matter? Hey, poke his eyes! That''s right! Exactly, I knew it, that brat of Asgard was definitely no match for you!" " "Young fella, you are so tactless!" The head of House Yuan snorted coldly. "Surely you aren''t expecting to profit from our fight? Aren''t you afraid that I will kill you first?" "I am afraid, of course, I''m afraid!" Riding the golden dragon, he retreated a few hundred meters, a mocking look on his face. "But I''m even more afraid that the dark musicians have buried something in the Ultimate. A word of advice, senior, dare you eat the pie that has fallen from the sky [2] without checking??" Bang! The sound of something cracking rang out from the depths of the Ultimate. In the mausoleum in the depths of the ground, the sumptuous feast was coming to an end. The last speck of ashes stuck at the fingertip was put into the mouth. The strange figure draped in grayish-white hemp licked at his fingers and turned back. In the dim candlelight, all the broken sarcophagi in the messy mausoleum were empty. No remains were left. Only the broken crowns were piled up in one place, like a ridiculous hill. The nobles who controlled everything during their lifetime and still set the rules for the world after their deaths all ended up in the belly of the ghoul-like monster. Wind blew from the darkness, extinguishing the fire. Darkness swept, swallowing the figure up. In the pure darkness, a trace of breathing finally sounded. As if after swallowing death, one gained life. The sound of bones scraping against each other rang out, a weak heartbeat gradually recovered. Nothing could be seen, but one could hear the fine echoes of flesh growing plumper amid the trickle of blood. In the end, what opened in the darkness was a pair of dark eyes with white flames burning within. And right in the middle of the Ultimate, the broken hall collapsed with a rumble, revealing the towering altar below. The altar was covered in blood, and the spices burned in the fire turned into blue smoke. The smoke slowly rose, hovering, refusing to leave, and lingered between the seven complex seals. Some of the seals had been broken and opened, but others were still intact. Some were unresponsive, but others flickered along with the flames as if they were breathing. A short dwarf stood on the altar, holding a copper plate high with both hands. The withered head on the copper plate slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the extinguished fire above the altar. "I want you to come." He opened his mouth and made the call with his lips and teeth. The harsh voice echoed between the heavens and the earth, the rumble reaching tens of thousands of miles, and the voice reverberated through the depths of everyone''s heart. Then, the earth rumbled and cracked. In the deep mausoleum, the figure draped in grayish-white hemp slowly walked out. The face was no longer withered, nor was it ugly. Instead, his eyes were brimming with vigor, burning like pale flames, majestic and cold. After swallowing the various king of the first generation, on his long, grizzled hair, a crown made of bones had appeared without anyone realizing. He rode a white horse and walked out of the darkness, holding an iron bow in his hand. Beside the saddle was a quiver of bronze arrows. The hooves tapped on the earth, but it seemed as if they were pressing on everyone''s heart, making everyone experience breathing difficulties. "Go conquer everything." The withered head told the knight in white, "Go forth from victory to victory!" As a result, the white knight slowly raised his head. The flame-like eyes looked up at the sky, and the empty gaze fell on the figures in the air, suddenly giving everyone goosebumps. Then he drew the iron bow and nocked the copper arrow, slowly pulling the bowstring back. The iron bow that seemed to be made of beast tendons was drawn, but it made a harsh sound like that of metals colliding. The copper arrow scraped against the iron bow, igniting hot sparks. "What the heck is that thing!" Ye Qingxuan''s hairs suddenly stood on end. He urged the huge golden dragon and galloped backward. Layers of Firebird and the shadow of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth descended, covering him like an ocean. Then, the arrow was aimed at the sky, and the sound of tens of millions of people roaring burst forth. The heavens and the earth were pierced through. [1] A dance in ancient China. The name literally translates as Joy in the Dragon Pool. The music was composed by Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. He was inspired by a water spring gushing out of his residence and forming a large pool of water. [2] The author is referring to a Chinese saying that literally translates as "the pie that has fallen from the sky". It is the equivalent of "free lunch" in the saying "there''s no such thing as a free lunch". 680 Quenching Thirst with Poison Silver bow and bronze arrow. The design of the longbow was still the same as how it was 600 years ago, while the bronze arrows, which had been buried for centuries, were already full of rust and decay. On the other hand, most of the enemy were scepters and were extremely powerful. Even the shortbows that children would play with looked much more powerful and formidable. But in the instant when the bowstring tightened, everyone felt an indescribable sense of suffocation. It was as if their throats were slowly being tightened by an invisible string and there was a chill that crept slowly into their hearts. The sense of fear was so overwhelming that it almost took over all their senses and they could barely regain control of themselves. The threat did not come from the longbow but from the person drawing it. Just as a bone-piercing chill blew across, the arrow shot out and the hairs of all living creatures in the entire Ultimate stood up. They could barely suppress the urge to scream. The arrow flew directly towards Ye Qingxuan in silence. Why is it me again?! Ye Qingxuan was stunned to be singled out amongst so many. But he had no more time to spare on remaining in a state of shock. In his perception, time seemed to have stopped. He could not dodge nor block the arrow. It was as if his impending doom was flying towards him in the form of the arrow. It was graceful and patient. The Firebird was surpassed without a sound. There was no reaction in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as a small gap was created. At this moment, the Dragon of Gold was flying so slowly it was almost unbearable. The bronze arrow passed by the dragon easily before shredding the gigantic dragon''s left wing and continuing towards Ye Qingxuan''s heart. It pierced through without a sound. Every corner of the body trembled violently. The aura of doom spread out rapidly as bones crumbled into the wind. Organs began to rot, blood began to dry, and skin began to crack. In the blink of an eye, all signs of life were destroyed. The circulation of aether was stopped the moment blood stopped circulating. The Symphony of Predestination, which had just been forged, was destroyed by this arrow and it dragged the remnants of Ye Qingxuan''s will to the depths of darkness. Everything had turned into ashes but a beam of electricity shot out amongst them. The Music Theory of Reform exploded from the greatest depth of the Symphony of Predestination as electricity instantly took shape and repaired the broken music theory, connected the Heaven Ladder and healed the will of Ye Qingxuan. It removed the doom of that arrow so that the heart started beating once again, blood was being created, organs were being repaired and bones were recovering. In one moment, there was only ashes and doom and in the next moment, death was denied and there was a revival. Ye Qingxuan had fully exhausted all his energy. He sat down in a heap as he stretched his hands and used all his energy to pull out the arrow in his heart. His face was pale and he was extremely weak. What was going on?! He had already been killed once. Although he was only on the brink of death this time around, the reason he was still alive was because of his ''experience.'' If not for the fact that the Firebird and the bestiality of the Dragon of Gold had weakened that mysterious arrow layer by layer, or that he had already entered vacuum and was able to replace blood circulation with aether circulation, or that he had just forged a Symphony of Predestination, or because of the Music Theory of Reform, or because of his experience If not for so many factors, he would have died long ago. The strangest part of all was that this arrow was clearly just an ordinary arrow. It did not come with any intimidating sounds or terrifying music theory. It was just a simple bronze arrow that was rusty and decayed. By right, even 100,000 of these arrows should be capable of harming him. Very soon, more and more people suffered the same fate as him. From the moment Ye Qingxuan was shot, the rest had already tried to flee while almost everyone was prepared to defend themselves. In complete silence, the white knight drew another arrow and notched it onto the longbow. Every single action was gentle and meticulous, yet extremely efficient. Time seemed to stack on top of one another at this moment. Everyone saw the white knight pulling back the longbow and aiming at them In the next instant, countless illusions appeared around the white knight. There was a shrill explosion in the sky as if the arrow struck its target but the quiver was completely empty of arrows now! Soon after, falling stars! The number of scepters, who had been floating in the sky like stars, suddenly reduced by half in an instant. Anyone that had been struck by an arrow could only await death. The remaining light dimmed, just like candles that would eventually be blown out in the wind. In a single moment where he was caught off guard, the bronze arrow shot through the only remaining eye of the Second Prince. At this moment, the God of Thunder had become completely blind. Chopin flew out as he was surrounded by music theories that were in a mess. No one knew when a circular mirror had appeared in his hands. There was a lethal bronze arrow stuck on this mirror, which meant that the latter had saved him from certain death. However, it was clear that he was not in good shape as well, as he was barely catching his breath while seeking out the white knight. At this very moment, the Ultimate extended, and Yuan Jing, who had been kneeling, suddenly vomited blood. There was a crack on the long sword in front of him and the soul in it was moaning. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, the broken pieces of the Ultimate fell from the sky and eventually landed on the ground. "Do you feel it?" At this moment, Ye Qingxuan heard a voice that he least wanted to hear. "This is his projection of element." Paganini! Amidst the 24 illusional realms, Paganini was destroying one fulcrum after another slowly and steadily. He was in no hurry to break through. Instead, he was giving Ye Qingxuan tremendous pressure by forcing him to maintain the integrity of the cage with all his power. Otherwise, Ye Qingxuan would have to be prepared to accept the worst outcome. No way to advance nor retreat. It would be like quenching thirst with poison. "" Ye Qingxuan could not help but curse. His expression was solemn as he raised the Staff of Fate slowly to prepare to receive the next blow. At the very least, he must figure what exactly that thing was But in that very instant, deep sounds of drums could be heard from the seas far away. They might be weak but they eventually made their way to Ye Qingxuan. It was as if an invisible arm was pulling at him gently and was trying to drag him to somewhere else. He turned back to glance at the place where the drums could be heard. It was Asgard''s stronghold on the sea. The Second Prince spoke to him, "Ye Qingxuan, we need to talk." Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment. Soon after, his music theory connected to the pulling of the drums. In the next instant, he felt as if time had stopped. No, time in the outside world had not stopped, only in the place where he was. In that instant, between the realm of aether and the physical world, a narrow interlayer was gradually being widened. This narrow interlayer, which was hidden within the chaotic turbulence, was pulling his consciousness in. No physical objects existed here, only perception and senses. Through the interlayer, he was able to observe the world that was stagnating now. It was like looking at a gigantic piece of painting on the wall. You could see every detail in one glance. Shortly after, a Symphony of Predestination that had been embedded with divinity came and transformed into the form of the Second Prince. However, at this moment, he did not seem to be in good shape. His only remaining eye was already rotting, while only the divine flame in his left eye was still burning furiously. "The situation is out of control, Ye Qingxuan." The figure of the Second Prince appeared beside Ye Qingxuan and suggested, "We can work together. Asgard and Anglo and split the Ultimate evenly and develop together." "Why should we split it evenly?" Ye Qingxuan countered, "Based on the current situation, I should be getting more, shouldn''t I?" The Second Prince frowned. "But the risks and dangers that you are facing are immense. With the stronghold on the sea, we can easily escape unscathed, but what about you?" "I can give all these to the Sacred City. Don''t forget, I also hold the title of Archbishop." Ye Qingxuan refused to give in. "But if you choose to leave, then don''t expect to gain anything out of this. In other words, you would have taken the blow of that arrow for nothing. Besides, if I have guessed correctly, there must be elements of revenge in your catastrophe weapon. If you do not seek revenge, it will be difficult for the compatibility between both of you to increase further. For all you know, it may even decrease." The Second Prince''s face contorted slightly as if he had been lightly jabbed at the sides. His tone became cold. "With the attitude that you have right now, I think it will be difficult for us to negotiate." "You are the ones that want to negotiate, not me, right?" Ye Qingxuan sought an exorbitant price, yet did not wish to force the Second Prince into a corner either. He decided to change the topic. "We are running out of time. Let''s just speak frankly with each other. Why don''t we let the friend who has been watching us all this while join in?" The Second Prince stayed silent for a moment as if he was listening for something. Shortly after, another figure appeared out of nowhere. It was an old man who was holding a mud block. The mud block was filled with wedge-shaped music notes. This figure was surrounded by complex music theories. They extended into the void and connected with the entire fault as one body. Perhaps, he was the one controlling all these after all. "This ''lens'' is your scepter?" Ye Qingxuan sighed lightly. "Not a bad idea." "The Chief Inquisitor is indeed sharp." The old man laughed bitterly. He did not expect to be figured out so quickly. If Ye Qingxuan was right; there was no way the lens could contain any physical objects. The lens could only allow for consciousness to be projected into the fault of aether and could be used to observe reality. This old musician, who was of the School of Revelation, had given up all his powers and even molded his scepter into its current state. He was not like the other musicians, who tried to ensure that their scepters were in the depths of the realm of aether in order to get closer to the Originator. It was unbelievable how deviated his ways were. He had chosen to sacrifice the revelation he had received from the Originator and the opportunity to peek into the future in exchange for the formidable observation skills of the ''present.'' 681 The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Being small had some small benefits. It was small enough that it couldn''t contain the entity, and so there was no pressure to maintain it. If his control power was raised to the limit, he could even achieve the effect of a time stop. It was different than Faust''s ability to freeze the Physical World. With this, the old musician could choose to speed up time in the spiritual realm by thousands of times. From here it would look like time had indeed stopped in the Physical World. Through the lens, the old musician could freeze time whenever he wanted, no matter how tense the situation was, he could still take his time to observe and think it through. Through making a thousand observations in a single moment he could find the most reliable solution. Of course, the price is that he would be completely cut off from the curse and all his other support. But as far the old musician who was backed up by Asgard was concerned, if you wanted to kill someone, did you really have to do it yourself? Who would count on Revelation Musicians to kill people? To abandon a power that had never been of much use to him and switch to a stage that would bring his own wisdom into play was a strategic bit of assistance. If he had had this kind of adviser by his side during the Legionnaire War it would have been a nightmare for the enemy. "Since everyone wants to cooperate, why don''t we exchange some information first?" Ye Qingxuan pointed at the knight in white that he could see through the lens. "Why don''t you start by telling me what the h*ll that thing is?" The old musician was silent for a moment as if he was hesitating or trying to order his thoughts. After a bit, he said, "I''m afraid that Paganini has already completed the Apocrypha of the Abyss that he inherited from Hyakume. It''s a tool for transforming the Originator made by distorting the Holy Bible and stealing elements. What we''re seeing now is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that was born from the apocrypha. Hyakume imitated the Three Wise Men when they designed their prototypes, intending to use them as a way to initiate the prelude to the ancient darkness." "Horsemen of the Apocalypse?" Ye Qingxuan could tell this was not good news. "The Three Wise Men refused to cooperate with Hyakume, so it prepared a substitute." The old musician sighed. "As far as I know, they are the White Knight of conquest and domination, the Red Knight of war and death, the Green Knight of plague and hardship, and the Black Knight of business and famine. The Green Knight appeared in the Western Deserts, and we have just recently seen and heard signs of the Red Knight in the Sacred City. We don''t know where the Black Knight is, and the one we are facing right now is the strongest among them: the White Knight." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Hyakume had the power to create the greatest of catastrophes?" This was absolutely impossible. The greatest catastrophes were the ones that flowed out from the Originator. Unless Hyakume had been thoroughly immersed in the Holy Cauldron and exercised control over the Originator, it could not have possibly achieved such sensational results. "It didn''t create them. It transformed them." The old musician looked at him. "Have you ever seen anything like that before? Before Hyakume fell, it turned its four incarnations into their prototypes. Now the Abyss is probably trying to use the Ultimate as a furnace to finish forging the four of them." Ye Qingxuan pondered for a few seconds and then looked up again. "So, what does the Abyss want after paying such a high price? To turn four catastrophes into one? Wouldn''t that be a waste? Was Hyakume crazy?" Silence. The old musician did not reply. Ye Qingxuan looked at him, and his eyes went cold. "I''ll say it again: if you really want to cooperate with me, it''d be best if we were open and honest. Otherwise, we''ll have to break up." The silence was broken. The old musician finally made up his mind. He gave a long sigh and then replied, "This has to do with a secret of the next epoch. All I can tell you is that according to the Three Wise Men''s prophecy the Ultimate will be a key turning point in the next epoch. Whoever controls the Ultimate will become the most important person then. Do you understand now? If the Ultimate really falls into the hands of the Abyss, then the Golden Era of humanity will come to an end, and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse will bring about the age of darkness that Hyakume dreamed of. A new era that belongs to demons and catastrophes." As he focused on the old musician''s words, Ye Qingxuan felt his headache getting stronger and stronger. Obviously, speeding up time like this came with a cost. Even if it was only his consciousness that was entering, it was still difficult to bear the separation of body and spirit. If it had not been for the formation of the aether cycle, his mind would already have been destroyed. One of the side effects was that the more he thought, the more it hurt. No, this side effect was already taken into account, right? If he used it to deal with himself He could only say that he had considered it carefully. Unfortunately, the only thing that the old musician had missed was Ye Qingxuan''s ability to withstand pain. The more Ye Qingxuan hurt, the more the old musician couldn''t bear the look in his eyes. He was thinking. "There''s at least one thing you didn''t tell me..." Ye Qingxuan pointed at him. "Your catastrophe weapon shouldn''t be inferior to the Three Pillar God. So why are you so afraid of the White Knight? If you were able to deal with the present situation, would you even need to consider cooperating with me?" The old musician looked at the Second Emperor. This secret involved Asgard itself, so he needed the Second Emperor''s permission. The Second Emperor was silent for a while, then answered, "Odin has its own flaws, it can''t be used to oppose the original kings." This was the most troublesome part. The existence of the original kings had long been written of within the Holy Bible, which was the basis for determining what was sacred and what was not. The White Knight had devoured the remains of the kings and usurped their power. He was now an incarnation of the kings, so naturally, he did not fear Odin''s divinity, which had developed from the Master of the Golden Palace. "We are all nothing to him. We can''t resist him." The old musician sighed. "Once the Ultimate is completely lost, he will become the lord of death, and king of all the world. He will replace Hyakume as the shepherd, the dictator, and the destroyer of all life." Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh bitterly. "So, since you can''t do it, you want to send me out to die?" "This is your job, after all. Otherwise, why would the White Knight seek to deal with you first? Because you''re the greatest threat to him!" retorted the old musician. "Have you forgotten who the best at dealing with people like us are?" Who? It could only be the infamous Inquisition! It was true that purging demons and burning heretics were the Inquisition''s duty, but one of its purposes since its inception was dealing with "people like them." They were to completely destroy all heretics who would pervert the Holy Name to lead the people of the world astray, and maintain the purity and innocence of the Holy Cauldron. If it wasn''t for Paganini corrupting a large part of the Holy City, the Church would not have drawn such a painful lesson from such a bitter experience and taken the hard decision to release a monster like the Inquisition. Although the functions of the Inquisition were clear, there was one thing that Ye Qingxuan objected to. "Although they are both heresies, catastrophes are completely different from Dark Musicians. In order to handle this kind of thing, the Inquisition had to break away from the Church and strike out on our own. Otherwise, the Sacred City would have tossed us aside once we had outlived our usefulness." "That''s because the Church had already taken away your Catastrophe Movement." This old musician who was at the heart of Asgard''s power clearly knew all about this secret. "A mad-dog institution like the Inquisition had to be put on a leash, otherwise everyone would be in danger. The Church couldn''t really confer the Catastrophe Movement upon you, they could only let you use it for them. Your Purifying Music Theory is just a derivative of the Catastrophe Movement. They would only give you temporary authority to use it when it was necessary. The rest of the time they''d leave you empty-handed. That''s how the Church kept control of you." Ye Qingxuan was silent. He could not deny that there was something missing from what the Inquisition had inherited. Although Purifying Music Theory was subtle and profound, it clearly lacked the next level of power. It was like there was a locked door in the middle of the road. Although there were infinite mysteries beyond, there was no key, making it difficult to enter. One could only daydream about what lay beyond. Shi Dong had once told him this and suggested that he find an alternative. He had always continued to work on the music theory of the quiet moon, but unfortunately, he had never had the right materials and had never put in enough effort. It was not that he had never thought of trying to make up for it, but unfortunately, there was no one in the world who could make up for the Inquisition''s drawbacks, since the one who was able to open that locked door had long since quit... The most irresponsible musician king in history, the world''s foremost expert in shirking one''s duty, the one who after having shifted the blame and hit the road had left behind a pair of lazy b*stards the King of Yellow! After hearing this, Ye Qingxuan finally understood what the other party had to offer. "You have the movements left behind by the King of Yellow?" "Not just his movements." A pure white clay tablet slowly appeared in the old musician''s hands. Layers upon layers of cuneiform notes wandered around on it, interweaving with the flamelike projections of elements. Ye Qingxuan''s eyes went wide. A Heart Mark! A Heart Mark that had been inherited from the Three Kings! "This is the bargaining chip that we have to win over the Anglo Kingdom," said the old musician. "The Catastrophe Movement that the King of Yellow once gave to the Inquisition, the true heritage of Purifying Music Theory." He did not need to confirm it. The way his internal music theory echoed off the elements on this clay tablet instantly showed him the power engraved upon it. The Requiem! This was a power that humans had made, that the Holy Cauldron had exchanged with the Originator. It was said to have the power to heal all the pain in one''s soul, to erase all chaos, and to direct everything onto the right path. Thus, it could mend and maintain the music theory system of the Sacred Cauldron. As far as the nations were concerned, there was nothing uncommon about its music theory: it had laid the foundations for the music theory of hundreds of different schools. What was precious about it was that it held the elements of the King of Yellow''s inheritance. The Requiem''s music theory was all-encompassing, having seeped into almost all of the musicians'' seven systems. But it was different than the foundations of all the other holy fields. What was engraved on this clay tablet was the most violent force of the Requiem. A movement consisting of the elements of The Final Judgement. Dies Irae! "For this, I will accept your conditions." Ye Qingxuan raised his hands without hesitation and opened up his own Symphony of Predestination. He used the path of commandment to make a treaty with the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. "If I deal with the White Knight, then you must deal with Paganini and the catastrophes." Answering him was a god that appeared in a flash of brilliant lightning. The Second Emperor made an oath, "Then, with Odin as my divine witness, Asgard formally allies with the Anglo Kingdom. We will share the Ultimate!" Suddenly, the world froze. In the next moment, time started flowing again. The ocean was like a wild beast, with huge waves rolling and a great deal of mist rising up. A violent rain appeared high up in the clouds and spilled down towards the earth. Upon the dragon''s back, Ye Qingxuan looked up. His dark eyes were bloodshot. A chaotic light hovered in his bloodshot eyes, reflecting the Ultimate, as if the scarlet lightning had enveloped the ruins. Above the altar, the White Knight suddenly turned back and looked in Ye Qingxuan''s direction. White flames burned in his eyes that were full of chilling murderous intention as he locked them on Ye Qingxuan. Then, he pulled a non-existent bronze arrow out of his empty quiver and drew his bow once again. The killing machines of heaven and earth had gathered together at the frontlines. This time, Ye Qingxuan finally understood. An element of nothingness was projected on the bowstring, transforming it into a death sentence. It would erase everything that Ye Qingxuan was. The terrifying music theory created an astounding vortex in the sea of aether. In the next instant, the arrow whizzed towards him, setting off wind and thunder. Everyone''s vision went dark. No matter if they were in the Ultimate or not, they were crushed by this terror. The arrow took away all their willpower. But as he faced the arrow, Ye Qingxuan merely smiled and slowly raised the clay tablet that had appeared in his hands at some point. Without any prompting, the secret language for the movement to awaken catastrophes began to pour from his mouth, turning into a proclamation to raise the curtain of judgment. "Deus vult!" God wills it! 682 Dies Irae At the moment, the mud board in Ye Qingxuan''s hand silently broke. The elements slumbering within were awakened, rising from the ashes. They shone in the long night like stars telling of the fates, quietly embedding themselves in Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination. Next, a blazing light spewed out from the incorporeal Symphony of Predestination. In the movement, every section was operating wildly, colliding with each other. The music theory tangled and surged, revealing violent electricity. Like countless branches, the electricity extended in all directions. In a flash, the core of the Symphony of Predestination had quietly shifted. The operating elements deeply permeated the space between the three parts, namely the sage stone, the movement of the moonlight, and the catastrophe resonation. Countless strands of purifying music theory connected to it without any hindrance or conflict, as if they were born as one. With it as the core, the Symphony of Predestination that decomposed was done reconciling once more. The next moment, impressive thunder erupted from the crown of light on top of Ye Qingxuan''s head. It consisted of endless electricity madly whipping the foundation of the physical world, and it tore the nine-layered sea of aether apart. Guided by the elements, the purifying music theory evolved wildly. After being destroyed and reborn tens of millions of times in an instant, what emerged from it was a vast tenacity so mighty that one couldn''t look directly at it. The atmosphere it exuded was as cruel as iron and as majestic as the sun. It was mighty, like the operation of the world, and grand, like stars shattering. The power known as God''s wrath was waking up here. Its existence alone made everything tremble. Just by overlooking them, it made all evil shudder. Just by operating, it aimed to cleanse the whole world, redefine everything, and put everything back on the right track. At the moment, against the incorporeal arrow of element, Ye Qingxuan raised his palm. A mighty power operated, but what burst forth was not the grand melody that everyone had imagined, but the harsh sound of endless electricity breaking through the air. The electricity lashed out in thin air one after another, and the sharp sounds converged, yet forming a symphony that sounded like the heavens and the earth colliding. It was a qualitative change of aether unique to Ye Qingxuan. Propelled by the qualitative change of aether, the movement named Dies Irae began playing loudly. "Day of wrath and doom impending, heaven and earth in ashes ending!" The roar of crowds screaming rang from the strange melody, gathering in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, and crashed downwards with a rumble. Bang! The sound of steel scraping against each other burst forth in an instant. At the moment of the collision, everything seemed set. But everyone clearly felt an invisible impact spreading out from here, like the pricking of needles, like F?hn wind, making the dust dance wildly and the water vapor rise up, making the mind tremble and become difficult to maintain. As the aftermath subsided, the bright golden sun in the sky was still shining. The musical movement of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth turned into a large circle of light, floating behind Ye Qingxuan. It continuously extracted the Firebird breaking through the air and originating from Anglo, pouring it into the element of Dies Irae. The arrow of elements of the White Knight had completely disintegrated, and it dissipated under the whipping of the electricity. Meanwhile, in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, the staff that was originally simple and pitch black had quietly proliferated amid the sound of iron crystals growing, turning into a long flamboyant staff more than three meters in length. Complicated music theory twirled around it, guiding the element to embed itself in it. The two combined into one and became inseparable as if it was born as one. The transformed purifying music theory rose like flames, forming an incorporeal blade. It was a long sickle. It was as if it intended to harvest all living things like they were straw and to guide all souls to return to an eternal nothingness and slumber. Holding the brand new Staff of Fate, no, the Sickle of Fate, even Ye Qingxuan was surprised by the terrifying degree of compatibility between the Staff of Fate and Dies Irae. "How do you use this thing?" His gaze shifted away from the long sickle and landed on the White Knight below. He couldn''t help but whistle. The long sickle was slowly lifted, and the blade of the element took aim at the big skull. "I guess I''ll give it a try first!" The next moment, electricity galloped. The Sickle of God''s Wrath and Ye Qingxuan rushed at the knight! "Dies Irae!!!" At the moment when the slate appeared in Ye Qingxuan''s hand, on the copper plate, the head widened his eyes and roared in fury. "So it''s here!!!" A frenzied aether wave rose from the incomplete head. One could vaguely see incorporeal tentacles convulsing in rage in the gap between the cheekbones and the cranium, but it also seemed as if they were trembling out of fear. It was as if a parasitic octopus was kept in the skull. "Kill him!" The withered head screamed and ordered the abyss sages, "At all costs! Kill him!!!" Not only the abyss sages, but the black musicians also began to take action under the command of the incomplete head. In the hecticness, Naberius, who was hiding in the shadows at the corner, did nothing. Instead, he couldn''t help but shake his head gloatingly. "I have suggested it a long time ago..." Obviously very displeased with Naberius'' unconcerned remarks, the skeleton cast him a cold look, a cold gloomy gleam shining in his eyes. "It is Dies Irae... the Religious Court of Inquiry... We... How can it be... How can it be Dies Irae!... Dies Irae..." Dies Irae, Dies Irae, Dies Irae. The phrase seemed to have some particular magical power; a magic that represented fear, suffering, destruction, and doom... The group of abyss sages had all lost their cool when faced with the phrase, all their large brains filled with the wisdom of the abyss now full of rage, alarm, confusion, and... fear! "All of you, shut up!" The incomplete head roared in extreme anger. "How is the situation there right now? Haven''t you all set up a surveillance array? The White Knight is already close to total completion! How can the eternal ruler left by my master be afraid of a mixed-race b*stard!" Immediately, a flustered large head activated the eyes of the abyss hidden in the battlefield. Soon, under the power of the movement of revelation, the scene taking place in the center of the battlefield was quickly projected. But before the projected image unfolded, in the sensing of music theory, a weak ray of electricity flew out of the illusory projection, falling on the large head presenting the array. The next moment, as if fire had spread to the firewood, the electricity surged madly. Drawing its power from the music theory of the abyss, it began to proliferate wildly. The large head screamed, and in a flash, horrifying flares shot out of the facial features, and terrifying electricity emerged from every single pore, making their way towards the people around like living creatures. Out of carelessness, two abyss sages were similarly swallowed up by the electricity on the spot, and soon became the next sources of infection source. The short buffer provided the abyss sages time to save themselves. The electricity went out not long after. Everyone''s expression was distorted. The handful of abyss sages originally swallowed up by electricity had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a few eccentric grayish-white statues in their place, which faithfully showed their faces twitching fearfully before death. A gust of wind blew, and raindrops fell. The statues quickly collapsed and dissolved... Grayish-white crumbs floated to the feet of the sages. Someone braced himself, reached out, touched it, then looked up, his face pale. "It''s salt They have all been turned into salt... It''s really the punishment of God!" Like the city in the Bible that turned into ruins under the wrath of God, all the fallen who had betrayed justice had completely turned into salt pillars. Presently, the same end awaited them. 683 We Meet Again It was a joke. As the Originator of intelligence of the abyss, this group of sages were actually panicking over a pinch of salt. "What exactly is Paganini thinking!" Someone screamed, "Why would such a huge mistake occur? Did he purposely leave behind such a dangerous fellow in our plans?" "I can''t believe we have been keeping something dangerous so closely by our sides!" "I knew we couldn''t trust humans! The plan hasn''t even succeeded and Paganini is already trying to abandon us?" Someone suggested softly, "It''s still not too late for us to withdraw now" "We can still do that, as long as we return the gift of the Holy Spirit." The head stared coldly at the person who gave the suggestion. "Are you feeling afraid now? If you are going to panic at the first sign of trouble, what do we need you for?" Before he could finish, there was a change in the expression of the person who gave the suggestion. In the next instant, his brain exploded and turned into dust. The other abyss sages pretended not to notice what had just happened. Someone as dumb as him deserved to die anyway. Their extraordinary statuses were the last appointments made by Hyakume, so they were closely tied to the future of the abyss. To withdraw at such crucial juncture, not only would the Sacred City take the opportunity to hunt them down, the other dark ministers would probably hack them all to death too. "There''s no need to worry. We still possess the power of the black knight." The head muttered, "Light up the soul-returning incense! Ring the white-snake bell! Summon all the dark ministers! Everyone, very soon, the last core will be born in the Ultimate. The new catastrophe will descend upon us to guide us into the future. The abyss is destined to be part of the physical world and nothing is going to change that." As the bell rang, the other dark ministers began to praise in one voice, "Finally, the sacred days are nigh!" At the same time, at the highest point of the stronghold on the sea, the old musician, who had been observing the Ultimate with his scepter lenses, let out a sigh. He had just witnessed the incredible merging between Ye Qingxuan and ''Day of God''s Fury'' and its amazing power. Even the old musician, who spent half his life working for Asgard, could not help but be taken back in awe. But at the same time, he also felt troubled as well as a sense of pity. He was too anxious. In silence, he lowered his eyes as he kept thinking about what had just happened. Eventually, he began to regret making the trade. The element of ''Day of God''s Fury'' required purifying music theory as its foundation in order for its true powers to be fully unleashed. He already knew this. But what he did not know was that Ye Qingxuan''s Staff of Fate was the key. It was an artifact that was given to the Chief Inquisitor by the Holy Caldron. He did not expect it to be filled with such terrifying powers after merging with ''Day of God''s Fury.'' This was the reason why he was starting to regret his decision. He might have averted a crisis but at the same time, he also lost a trump card that he could have used against Ye Qingxuan in future. At this moment, he could not tell if he had won or lost the transaction, but there was a deep sense of fear that he might have just handed a very important weapon to an opponent, who was already very powerful, to begin with. He did not if he had made the right decision. Very soon, he no longer lingered on that decision. Instead, he shifted his focus onto the other end of the Ultimate. Elements rose from the battlefield like a cluster of stars. Abundance, predestination, soul, intelligence, miracle, pleasure, frost, reward 24 elements appeared from the burning left eye socket of the Second Prince. They rose all the way up into the sky until there was nothing left in the Second Prince''s left eye. But it seemed that this emptiness was the key. The final element was divinity. The 25th element merged completely with the Second Prince and in the resulting roar, the illusions of the Nine Great Worlds were created and the Tree of World was summoned. The gigantic object, which had been rooted in the depths of the realm of aether, penetrated through nine layers of aether waves. It created layers of music theories and terrible power in the physical world and instantaneously shredded the environment that Ye Qingxuan had left behind. As for Paganini, there was an expression of shock on his face. He did not expect that within such a short time, Ye Qingxuan would be able to withdraw himself and attack Paganini along with the Second Prince! The unique attribute of Changing Music Theory allowed him to wade through this terrible attack. He would not be forced to his limits but neither would he be able to escape the Nine Great Worlds. However, what he feared the most was not the Second Prince, but Chopin, who had appeared out of nowhere. With tattered and torn robes, and wrists that were full of wounds and scars, the illusion of the saint''s scepter appeared and seemed to be focusing on his Changing Music Theory. Without a doubt, the moment Paganini revealed any signs of weakness, the saint would not hesitate to strike him with a lethal blow. Too many things were happening in an instant. Many people had no idea what was going on, and under such circumstances, the fleets of various countries retreated again and again. There was chaos everywhere, yet in the middle of the battlefield, there was an eerie silence. Any sound would be devoured by the chaotic turbulence. Only pillars of salt stood tall, before gradually breaking down and collapsing from the rain. Grains of white salt were everywhere and one could just about see black fog rising from these salts. They seemed to be crying in despair as they curled up the stakes to become new fuel for the flame. At the core of the battlefield, countless stakes were mounted like tombstones. Some of them had already finished burning and had collapsed, while others still stood tall while burning the music theory of the abyss. The light produced from the flames would suppress the aura of the white knight. This was the first time that Ye Qingxuan was using his own music theory and movement to fight against a catastrophe. His enemies were the four knights created in the abyss, eternal rulers of the world of darkness on behalf of Hyakume. "You are empty, a coward and a traitor" The white knight looked down from his war horse. His dry lips parted and he spoke in a deep voice, "What right do you have to stand in front of me?" That voice seemed to be the product of several voices stacked together and sounded very familiar. "You can actually speak?" Ye Qingxuan lingered around as he tried to dodge the shadow of the Elemental Arrow. He did not expect that the white knight was capable of speaking, which would mean that the white knight possessed intelligence and thought. A catastrophe, who was incapable of thought, would have been much easier to deal with than a smart and intelligent one. Clearly, under the pressure of the Sickle of God''s Wrath, this fellow began to smell more and more like a human. Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan''s heart jumped as an incredible thought crossed his mind. He stared coldly. "Who are you!" The white knight laughed coldly but did not answer and only arched his bow. The Elemental Arrow on the bowstring was gathering pure elemental projections, which were of a terribly high temperature now. The expression on Ye Qingxuan''s face changed. The sun. He saw the sun aiming directly at him. Where had he felt this before When he looked at the white knight, he could not help but laugh. "After we departed, I never expected you to be revived from the consciousness of a catastrophe. This is unbelievable. You can''t be the only one here! We meet again, Your Majesty!" The white knight''s face changed and revealed a face mildly simmering with rage while staring coldly at Ye Qingxuan. King of the Sun! 684 I Look Forward to Your Triumphant Return Seeing that still stunned face, Ye Qingxuan laughed until he could not breathe. "Not long ago, you said that I couldn''t handle great responsibility, that I wasn''t suited to power, but look who has fallen now, Your Majesties?" Ye Qingxuan laughed until his sides split. "How does it feel to become part of the White Knight? You''ve once again become the kings of the earth, forever and ever! Hahahahaha!" Even though they were being ridiculed by Ye Qingxuan, their faces did not betray the least bit of shame. The former kings had been buried in the Ultimate. Their bones had been interred in the island, and their consciousness had been melded into the arrays, becoming the iron rules that governed the Ultimate. After the White Knight had devoured their bones and consciousnesses, he used the masters of the earth that Hyakume had created to make the kings a part of him. The former kings of the earth and the present kings of the earth had been melded into one. Their bones had been molded into a crown and placed upon the White Knight''s head, and all their music theory and elements had been integrated into his body. The former kings who had ushered in the age of humanity had become a stepping stone for the ancient darkness. Could there be any mockery crueler than this? The Sickle of God''s Wrath fell, and the sun''s glow was torn in two. Ye Qingxuan''s smile became even more mocking, and he opened his mouth to say something even more cutting, but before he could a chill rose up from under his feet, distracting him from what he was saying. The man who was skilled enough to make all the thieves in the world shed tears of painful defeat was forced to roll several meters away for safety. A roar burst forth. Broken stone went flying. Some of it smashed into his face painfully. He looked up and saw the White Knight''s longbow slowly transform into a primitive spear. Arrays were shining upon the spear, and lightning curled around it. The White Knight sped up. He galloped towards Ye Qingxuan on his warhorse with a spear in hand and stabbed at the place where he had just been, cracking the stones. Everywhere he passed everything turned to ash. His face had transformed into that of the Master of the Golden Palace. "D*mn it!" Ye Qingxuan gaped at him. He finally remembered, when the White Knight had devoured the former kings, he had not just obtained their memories and their elements, but also their terrible martial power that was strong enough to found a new epoch. He looked down at the sickle he was holding, then looked up at the lightning gun that the White Knight had. He felt like he was screwed. He had to fight in close combat with seven or eight of the best warriors in the world, the knights who had founded a new epoch? You''ve got to be kidding me. He once again remembered the time he had been strung up and beaten by the Witch Hammer''s instructors. After he had crammed for it for so long, his martial arts were still bad enough to make people cry and not bear to look. Maybe if Lancelot was here he could go a few rounds with these emperors, but if Ye Qingxuan went up against them, he''d be dead meat! And who was the Master of the Golden Palace? A monster who, by himself, with only a single horse and gun, could assume the forms of all the warriors of all the tribes of Asgard! For the former kings, defeating a dime-a-dozen fighter like him would be a matter of only a couple of shots. They might not even want to get their hands dirty killing a weakling like him. "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and shouted, "Didn''t you say we were going to have a fair and upright fight as musicians?" Bang! The lightning gun roared, piercing through the void and crashing into the Sickle of God''s Wrath. Ye Qingxuan flew several dozen meters. Before he had stopped, the lightning gun began to shake and reformed into a longbow, and an elemental arrow came whistling over towards him. Ye Qingxuan was beset from all sides, with wolves nipping at his legs. For some reason, he felt wronged. What was this? His just deserts? Fair and upright? How can you even freaking say that, Ye Qingxuan? Have you ever, at any time in your career, been a fair and upright musician? When it comes to your ability to throw a sack over someone''s head and beat them or other dirty tricks the Musician''s Association had to take your name off the list! And you still expect others to fight you fairly? In your dreams! That was not even the worst part. The worst part was that the White Knight on his warhorse reached out and grabbed the broken Stone Plate. He held the core of a catastrophe, and using this as an interface, extracted unlimited power from the Ultimate. With this massive infusion of aether, the shadows of the kings appeared behind him. There was a crisp snapping sound as bones began to grow. Two pairs of skeletal arms quickly grew out of his split open back, holding a bow and arrows, a long knife and an epee. Under his crown, new features slowly emerged on the two sides of the White Knights head. Ye Qingxuan''s hair stood up at the thought that he would have to face this six armed, three-headed monster. He gazed resolutely at the core of the catastrophe, gritted his teeth and firmly planted his feet. He had made up his mind. If you won''t be benevolent, I won''t be righteous. You''ll watch me die, but I''m going to call someone! "Don''t play dead, elder!" shouted Ye Qingxuan. "You''re the one who wants to sit on the mountain and watch the world burn, right? Even when I''m doomed, you still won''t deign to help? Or are you prepared to fight this d*mn battle for 300 rounds?" All was silent. There was no answer. The White Knight''s lips curled into a mocking smile. But what happened next stunned everyone watching. There was a sudden burst of cold light in the steel of a piece of the broken Ultimate. A sword as sonorous and powerful as Solomon''s Seal flashed down, ringing out continuously. The movement-like ringing of the sword transformed into a dragon''s roar. A freezing cold sword burst out of what had originally been nothing grew closer and closer. That length of steel was like a tightrope held by an invisible swordsman, wobbling up and down. In a flash is snapped back and forth 19 times, and the sound of rupturing pierced everyone''s ears without end. The Dragon-form Sword that should have already disappeared coalesced once again. After experiencing annihilation it became even more precise, murderous and restrained, not revealing anything. In an instant of violence, it pierced, slashed and cut 19 times in a heavenly display of swordsmanship. It pierced through eyes, cut throats, broke arms, cut through sternums, smashed hearts, severed limbs... The chilling sword technique evolved into a scene straight out of a horror story, cutting the White Knight to pieces in a flash. Even Chopin was dumbstruck. ...He could freaking do that? Not only had he not died while under attack from the elemental arrows; he had feigned death in order to escape, had slunk away avoiding the catastrophes'' eyes and ears, and had hidden close by. Although it was only a blow and the White Knight was difficult to kill, the fact that there was such a frightening sword technique in the world was enough to keep even the greatest up at night. Other people had not been able to see the moment that the White Knight had freed the elemental arrow, but Ye Qingxuan had relied on the perception granted to him by the blood of the Deva to see it clearly. At the moment before he was about to be pierced, the Dragon-form Sword had turned back and destroyed itself, killing its own projection first! Dead things can''t kill again. And something that did not exist could not continue to attack. The bronze arrow suddenly lost its target. It fell limply and disappeared into the air. The Silent Sword Movement! That''s right, it could do that! It was not empty boasting to say that the Yuan family''s sword movement was the best way to kill. With it, you could kill others and naturally also kill yourself. You could even seek life in the midst of death, tempering your will and transforming yourself. This move would be a deathblow for others. For the musicians of the Yuan family, it was nothing more than a painless drizzle. Among the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline, theirs was the most unusual. Things were out of their proper order: their swords were like people and their people like swords. The Yuan family cultivated their music theory to the end. Before they could use it on others, they had to first slay themselves and experience the arcane truth of the line between life and death. At least one out of every three would die at this critical juncture. At least 90% of the sword and the music theory had been lost in the recent transformation, but this was no trouble for the Yuan family. This was their true talent. These madmen believed that the purer the power, the better. They often pursued a higher realm of art. When it came to power, there was no difference between level one and level 100. A small weapon was enough to kill someone, especially if it was wielded by a member of the Yuan family. The Yuan family was obviously annoyed that their background had been revealed by a junior member of the clan, but for the time being, they were forced to cooperate with him. But what had happened next had made the main part of the clan far to the east so upset they could have vomited blood. He had come up to the top, but then Ye Qingxuan ran away! He seized this rare opportunity, and then retreated hundreds of meters, escaping without hesitation to a safe distance. And then the head of the Yuan family was caught by the White Knight and violently attacked. He was in the same situation as Ye Qingxuan, or possibly even worse. Shameless! "Ye Qingxuan, what are you doing?" screamed the head of the Yuan family. "Come on, elder! Believe in yourself, you''ve got this!" Ye Qingxuan waved the sword at him in a gesture of thanks. "Just hold on! I''ll go get reinforcements from the Anglo Kingdom and come save you!" Screw the reinforcements! If he waited for the reinforcements to come, it''d be too late! Even if he came with the Knights of the Round Table, what the h*ll would be the use? Despite the fact that the sight of that sword made him want to cover his eyes, Ye Qingxuan lowered his protective barrier, used the Sickle of God''s Wrath to prop himself up. He closed his eyes as if beginning a spiritual journey. His consciousness ran along the Heaven Ladder, instantly jumping up hundreds of rungs, traveling hundreds of miles to the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. An illusory figure appeared In the throne hall of the reflected city of Avalon. He shouted until his throat was hoarse as if his teacher was being dragged away by a demon, "Save me, Your Highness!" Mary, who had been sleeping in the throne room, was awakened by this. She opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan had no time to explain, instead directly asking, "I remember that we had already started repairing the things in Stein''s Chamber number nine before I left. Has there been any progress?" Mary frowned and thought for a moment, and her expression became helpless. "Lucky you remembered. That researcher who you ruined has gone crazy, as I complained to you several times. Over the past few days, he prepared the basic alchemy arrays, but it will take some time to install the main parts." "It''s good enough! It''s good enough!" Ye Qingxuan sighed with relief. "Let me borrow it, if I could trouble you to confer another title upon me?" Mary looked at Ye Qingxuan''s roguish look and couldn''t help but glare at him. "Then come present yourself before me." Ye Qingxuan half kneeled. Mary drew her sword and placed it on the projection''s shoulder. "In my name, I bestow upon Ye Qingxuan, the Prince of Avalon, the title of my personal knight. At ease, you can stand up now." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile at her temper. He was about to leave, but he heard Mary''s voice. "Is everything going well?" Seeing the faint worry on Mary''s face, Ye Qingxuan grinned. "There have been some twists and turns, but they won''t stop us." "I''ve given you the sword and armor of a knight." She reached out and lightly touched the projection''s cheek. "I look forward to your triumphant return," she whispered. The knight nodded. "I won''t let you down, Your Highness." 685 Is It So? It seemed as if only a moment had passed. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes again, pulled out the Sickle of God''s Wrath from the ground, and stepped forward. As soon as he was less than 100 meters away, the sword of qi engaged in combat with the white knight already sensed his return. The phantom in gleam of the sword turned back and cast him a look, his expression strange. Back? The little asshole actually came back? Did he get stung by his conscience? Or is some goddamn idea brewing up in his treacherous mind? The head of House Yuan withdrew his gaze, and the sword of qi changed, separating into two wisps. It was as if two swordsmen were attacking at the same time, cooperating with one another, one attacking and one defending, in harmony and without conflict He had made up his mind to stabilize the situation first. If the little devil is really here to help, then all is well. If he still attempts to use any sinister tricks, then don''t blame me for being mean. Although striking such an undead monster was somewhat constraining, the art of killing that was the actual forte of House Yuan wasn''t to be taken lightly. But soon, he began to doubt his perception. It was because Ye Qingxuan''s unhurried voice sounded. "Senior, may I trouble you to keep a distance later?" Ye Qingxuan suggested to the gleam of the sword from afar. "Both of us are of the Deva bloodline, it''ll be a pity if I accidentally injure you." The head of House Yuan was momentarily shocked and laughed. He laughed out of anger. Accidentally injure me? Even the head of House Bai, who is generally recognized as the strongest among the previous generation, dare not talk to me like that when he is standing in front of me. Where is the confidence of this junior who is not even 30 years old coming from? At the moment, such a considerate reminder seemed more like ridicule. "Alright, then I''ll stop." The old man in the gleam of sword snickered. "Go on, if you''re as good as you claim to be." Upon saying so, the sword of qi divided itself, in a moment, it split from two to four, from four to eight, and in the end, the metallic gleam sliding around was gone, only leaving countless dust-like specks of starlight floating around in nothingness. They couldn''t be touched, nor could they be caught. They had turned incorporeal. The Alkaid Sword Movement. Like the stars hanging high above the skies, it adhered to a strict order and was invincible. Obeying the controller''s will, the incorporeal stars in the sky could materialize any time, and the stars would gather together and strike a thunderous blow. The sword could strike a catastrophe, and naturally it could strike people too. "That would be great, senior, please be on standby." As if he didn''t sense a chill vaguely entangling him, Ye Qingxuan waved and smiled, his tone unceremonious. In fact, he was one step short of asking the old man to cheer and wave his banner for him, and his attitude made the expression of the head of House Yuan even colder. "Kid, don''t brag too much, or you might twist your tongue in the wind," said the old man. Bang! What answered him was the sound of Firebird scraping against the air. The crown of light hovering on top of Ye Qingxuan''s head corresponded with the sweeping Firebird according to his will. A massive amount of golden brilliance gathered, covering him. But it completed a qualitative change in midair, inducting from ''fixed'' to ''changing'', as if it had changed from stone to fire. Dragon''s breath! After incorporating the power of nature interference, the Firebird had evolved into destructive dragon''s breath. Horrifying dragon''s breath fell on flesh and blood, but it did not damage the body in the slightest bit. Countless strands of music theory were cast into it, letting the power of the dragon''s breath smelt them, just like metals cast into a furnace. As the sword of qi dissipated, the White Knight cast an indifferent gaze towards where Ye Qingxuan was located. The three heads and six arms covered in cracks quickly recovered. The arrows of wind and swords of fire emerged again from the six arms, aiming at Ye Qingxuan from afar, and a murderous intent rose. Ye Qingxuan''s footsteps did not stop. He was moving forward. Without any defenses, he entered into the forbidden area of death step by step. Every step he took, a low sound of steel scraping against each other burst forth from the Firebird. In the flames of the Firebird, music theory tumbled angrily, colliding. The electricity seemed to condense into tangible matter in the flames, displaying the coldness of iron. An incorporeal alchemy array descended from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, projecting itself on Ye Qingxuan''s body. As he welcomed the tempering of the Firebird''s fire and the irrigation of aether, it was as if he was being reborn in the strange alchemical process. "As above, so below, so all things have their birth... Boss, presenting alchemy in the form of music theory and musical movements is your actual forte, right?" In a trance-like state, Ye Qingxuan seemed to realize it. He felt that only then did he truly understand Hermes'' background, but immediately changed his mind and thought that it was just Hermes'' cover. That guy had always been mysterious. Up till the moment he died, he never answered anyone''s question. As for whether the secret is true or false, who knows? Ye Qingxuan no longer pondered over the deceased''s jokes in bad taste, instead he looked up at the White Knight preparing to go in for the kill in one strike, and smiled. "However, compared to difficult fellas like him, creatures like you are too easy to deal with." At the moment, the rumble of steel scraping against each other burst forth from the dragon''s breath. The initially incorporeal projection of the alchemy array materialized. The aether crystal proliferated wildly within and covered the array. Under the power of nature interference, it emitted a cold brilliance. The burning dragon''s breath dissipated, and in its place was a huge body of steel. The body was constructed with Firebird and aether, the essence was formed with music theory and the projection of the alchemy array. It was propelled by the power of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, and in the blink of an eye, a miracle almost like that of creation was created. The heavy power armor covered Ye Qingxuan, and as he moved forward, the sound of metal colliding was heard. Under the cold helmet, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and looked at his five fingers wrapped in steel, but he still had a real sense of touch. The alchemy array connected to his spine had turned the heavy steel into part of his flesh. He breath seemed to disappear, his heartbeat seemed to disappear, and his pulse as well. Instead, they were replaced by silence, calmness and coldness, as if he was submerged in a cold pond. He had been freed from the fragile human body. He had turned into iron, and had no more weaknesses. Even though he faced a monster that humans could hardly compare to, he did not waver for the slightest bit. Although death was close at hand, but in the heart that seemed like icy iron... an indescribable joy rose. The opponent only put on a layer of iron, but the White Knight felt a threat rapidly climbing in intensity. On the horse, the lance of thunder gleamed. The elements of the various kings were attached on it, bestowing the ability to destroy upon the gun. At the moment, the two were thirty steps apart. Ye Qingxuan had already set foot upon the boundaries of a forbidden zone which promised death, and could no longer dodge as layers of murderous intent locked his body. On the blade of the lance, countless strands of music theory were entangled, distorting the physical world. Wherever the blade passed, reality seemed to have been cut open, leaving a forbidding crack. Beyond the crack was a strange world of the grotesque and bizarre. As if he was holding a mighty sovereignty that dominated everything, the White Knight held the lance high, the glorious flares igniting the world. The king of the earth at the moment, White Knight, the catastrophe, overlooked Ye Qingxuan from the horse, solemnly announcing a decree that must not be violated. " Death to all rebels!" "Is it so?" At the very moment, a cold light lit up from the eyes of the armored knight. Lancelot, the knight of the round table, opened his eyes! 686 Trial The fire has been lit. Observing the world through a lens, the old musician stared dully at the cold Ultimate. An overwhelming sense of fear has seeped into his consciousness. " What is this?" Even his voice seemed to become denser and heavier in the air, but the sound of metal against metal remained as sharp as ever. The Sickle of God''s Wrath was raised towards the sky. "Deus-vult..." The old musician muttered under his breath. The sickle was lit with flames. The elements brought down the power from the Originator as they embedded themselves into the sickle to subdue all sorts of poison, disaster and rebellion in the world. This was judgment. This was the conclusion. This was what the Gods wanted! An irresistible destruction appeared in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. He moved forward one step at a time as his black armor turned red from all the friction with the rock-like air particles. He was burning. He could feel incredible pain in the depth of his bones but he could also feel a sense of consciousness and relief that he had never felt before. It was as if he had suddenly realized that life was as such. His body was burning and being tortured by the flames, yet his soul was freer than ever to soar up to the skies. With the Sickle of God''s Wrath in hand, Ye Qingxuan bashed through the dust and crack that was in his way, leaving behind a trail that seemed to be made by a blade and was pointed in the direction of the white knight. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! The white knight''s armor trembled as he let out a roar of fury. His stiff body trembled as he tried to escape the grasp of time. Flames shot out of his raised staff, distorting the boundaries of the physical world and forcing back the effects of time. Bathed and shrouded in flames, he howled and screamed as the long spear shredded the physical world. Countless music theories were entangled because of his roar. With a boost from the abyss, a grand image of darkness appeared behind the white knght. The bell of darkness tolled. In the south, in the north, in the World of Dark and even in the Sacred City tens of dark ministers opened their eyes to answer the call. They pumped all their powers into the illusion of the abyss as the ancient illusion became more concrete and more realistic. It was as if the future has suddenly been revealed at this very moment. In that instant, the staff clashed with the Sickle of God''s Wrath. Both were in flames as they were each trying their very best to finish off the other and turn the other into nothingness. In that single instant, the staff and the Sickle of God''s Wrath clashed more than a thousand times. The sickle continued to burn as fiercely as ever but the flame on the staff was beginning to dim, until it broke down and its elements were completely cracked. But in the next moment, it was filled with the catastrophe''s flames of fury and a power, that was capable of turning the world into darkness, emerged from within. This was the element of the white knight. It represented the fate of the world after it has been taken over by catastrophes and demons; it represented the heyday of the Originator in darkness. Ancient darkness of the abyss! "Kneel, rebel, and prepare to die!" The white knight roared in the darkness, "You are but a mere dust particle. You should have known to be respectful and fearful! I am the ruler of the world! I am the king of all!" "No, you are not." A hoarse voice replied. Beneath the cracked faceguard, Ye Qingxuan looked up. His face was still burning even as he stared at him with indifference, "Everything that you have are all stolen items and you are just an empty shell with a crown!" Boom! The flaming sickle struck. Countless streaks of lightning were accompanied with a roar as the melody of Day of God''s Fury played. The element of Ancient Darkness suddenly cracked, followed by the white knight''s crown. Next, the war horse''s head was hacked off. The sickle changed direction and struck sideways, tearing apart his armor. Then, his arm and his chest were also torn open. Even as time stood still, only the sickle gleamed with every strike. Nothing could survive God''s punishment. When the moment, that time stood still, passed, it was followed with booms throughout the entire Ultimate. Oceans shook and islands trembled. The stake grew out from beneath the ground as everything was covered in flames. The abyss was broken down and there was a roar of despair. As the flames burnt, the white knight fell from the broken war horse. His entire body was covered with terrible wounds and was almost on the verge of breaking apart. The white flames in his eyes dimmed. He was about to die. In front of the white knight, the armor that was transformed from Firebird has already reached its limit and began to dissipate. Ye Qingxuan walked out from within. He lowered his head and looked down at the catastrophe at his feet. "It is time to resolve everything. ''Your Majesties'', this day should have come long ago." He announced softly before lying down and putting his hand deep into the open and broken chest of the white knight. He grabbed hold of an invisible illusion tightly and wrested it out and before raising it high. The figure was wearing a crown on its head and was being choked by Ye Qingxuan. It kept struggling and it seemed to screaming at him angrily, even if not a single sound could be heard. Nevertheless, Ye Qingxuan remained indifferent. He only stared at it coolly, "The King of the Sun of Burgundy, you have been arrested for possessing a heretic structure. In the name of God, I will give you a fair trial." They were clearly on the battlefield but they suddenly found themselves in the courtroom of a trial. Ye Qingxuan gripped onto the sickle tightly and announced his judgment, "You have been sentenced to execution by fire and the sentence shall be carried out with immediate effect!" "May the flames purify your soul." Boom! Flames shot out from his fingers and devoured that illusion. When the flames were extinguished, nothing else remained except for fine grains of salt that fell from the flame and dissipated into the air. Soon after, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and stretched out his hands to drag out the second wandering soul, "The Sage of the Iron Moon from Caucasian, you have been arrested for collaborating with the demons. In the name of God, I will give you a fair trial. Carry out the fire execution!" "Master of the Golden Palace from Asgard The Sultan of Fate from Canaan The Magadha king from India All are guilty of disrespecting God. In the name of God, I will give you fair redemption. Execution by fire!" Amidst the raging flames, nothing remained of the ancient kings. In the end, only the white knight was left and all that remained of him was just a distorted and empty shell. His eyes were wide open as he glared at Ye Qingxuan. He opened his mouth and roared while his hands were outstretched, as if he was desperately trying to wrest back his possessions, only to be cruelly stepped on by a foot. Soon after, the sickle was lowered and hooked onto his throat. "White knight from the abyss, you are guilty of arrogance, heresy and blasphemy. In the name of God, I sentence you to the ultimate punishment and destruction." Ye Qingxuan looked down at him. His eyes were filled with electricity and his hoarse voice reverberated throughout the Ultimate. "There will only be death and emptiness that awaits you and your ancient darkness!" "No!!!" Countless voices screamed in the empty shell. The sickly was raised before striking and cutting off his throat. Under the punishment of the Sickle of God''s Wrath, the broken body suddenly stiffened before breaking apart into fine grains of salt. The decapitated head screamed even as it was also breaking apart until only an empty skull remained. Smack! The skull was crushed into pieces underneath the metal boot. The flames continued to burn as the entire Ultimate remained in dead silence. Eventually, the heresy subsided with the flames and the Sickle of God''s Wrath withdrew itself and reverted back to the Staff of Fate in the hands of Ye Qingxuan once again. Ye Qingxuan raised his head and looked around the Ultimate. "Is this the end?" He muttered softly, feeling extremely fatigued. "No, not yet." In the warm glow of the burning stake, there was the sound of footsteps from far away. The newcomer took off his hat and looked at Ye Qingxuan with a mixed expression on his face. "Naberius?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him and sighed softly, "Are you here for revenge?" "To be honest, even if you killed all the dark ministers, what has that got to do with me? I am the Dark Musician, the evil and cunning Dark Musician! A concept such as ''revenge'' is unknown to me." Naberius shrugged his shoulders, "Besides, I have no wish to fight a monster like you. Ye Qingxuan, relax. I am here to bid farewell." "Farewell?" "Yes, I''m leaving." Naberius waved his hand, "Things are changing, Ye Qingxuan. It is not as simple as you think. I have already taken whatever I need. There''s no need for me to linger further on this chessboard. Therefore, before the chessboard is overturned, I must flee. After all, I still have a child at home to care for. Goodbye, my dear friend. Please take care. I really hope to be able to see you again somewhere in the future." "The chessboard will be overturned?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "What do you mean?" "You''ll see soon enough." Naberius smiled and wore back his hat again. He stepped back and gradually disappeared into the shadows. In that instant, Ye Qingxuan turned back sharply and saw a glorious scepter shooting up into the sky from the Ultimate. He was stunned. Schubert! --- 10 minutes ago, amidst the chaos in the Ultimate, dust and black snow fell from the sky. The entire city was filled with debris and while half of it was drowned in flames, the other half was still trembling, as if it would sink anytime. The sound of the earth shattering came from far away. Crushed stones fell from the wall and rolled to the foot of the nun. The old nun did not seem to notice, except to lower her head and close her eyes. It was as if she was turning into a statue, until a deep voice spoke from behind her. "Sister Teresa, how have you been?" The old nun opened her eyes and turned back, only to see a figure clad in red. She remained silent for a long time before finally asking softly, "Sancta Sedes?" 687 Miracle "Sancta Sedes?" The misty, spirit-like old man sat by the broken flower bed, looking at her with a self-deprecating smile on his blurry face. "I''m not meeting you in my capacity as pope. I saw you when you came to the Sacred City sixteen years ago. I never thought I''d have the chance to see you again." "This is God''s gift to me," the old nun whispered. The illusion of the King of Red shook his head, "God never cared about you, and He would never claim credit for this. This is a gift from the Grand Inquisitor, sister." "Ah." The old nun looked up at the distant fire. She slowly nodded and looked back at the old man beside her, her eyes lingering on his face. "How are the children you''ve been looking after?" "I''ve been keeping an eye on them, just like I promised you." The King of Red was silent for moment, then he seemed to remember something, and said, "Sixteen years have passed, and so much has happened. Hamilton left the orphanage two years after you did. He used his upright character to get a businessman to fund him, just like you taught him. He''s married to the businessman''s daughter now. The business is boring, so I can''t really say he''s doing well. Windsor and Tami got married and had three kids. They fought all the time. After Tami died of cholera, Windsor re-married to a blacksmith. The blacksmith isn''t good to the kids, but he taught them his skills...Iger became a thief with Winston. They were hanged six years ago because they stole from a nobleman. Metz gathered a few companions, changed his name and went to the borderlands where he ran a smuggling operation. After he made enough money he came back home..." For a while the King of Red told the old nun about the children''s fates and experiences, or everything that he knew about them at least. The old nun listened silently with eyes closed, recalling those children''s faces, their smiles, and the warmth of their hands. It seemed to her that she was no longer alone in the cold Ultimate. Here in the farthest corner of the world it seemed like she still had their companionship. "...Theresa, the children all lived their own lives in their own ways, just like you wanted." The King of Red looked at her and whispered, "Some of them were happy, some unhappy. Some had regrets in the end, some had hearts full of hate. But for you their hearts were filled with the purest gratitude and love. Their lives began with you, so your life was not meaningless." "I see." The old nun bowed her head, took a deep breath, and awkwardly covered her face as she tried to wipe away the emotion she was showing. "Good...that''s really good..." she couldn''t help but choke out. "Thank you, Sancta Sedes." She looked up at the pope in front of her, and her simple, old eyes were full of tears of joy. "Theresa, I feel guilty about this." The King of Red shook his head. He reached out and stroked her long hair. "Are you still willing to fulfill our original agreement," he whispered. "Are you still willing to sacrifice yourself for this merciless world, even though it was never once kind to you?" "It would be my honor," the old nun responded softly. She nodded at the illusion. "Farewell, Sancta Sedes." "Farewell, Theresa." The King of Red lowered his eyes and whispered, "May we meet again in the Kingdom of Heaven." A divine glow rose up in the sky. The old nun smiled amidst the flames that burnt her body. A cold melody rang out from her frail body and echoed between the heavens and the earth. Just listen. The whole world was silent. Everything cowered in submission. Only this merciful melody flowed between heaven and earth. Amidst the glow, Theresa seemed to melt into the light. Light burst forth from her body, gently and compassionately falling upon all the darkness like a hug, enveloping all within its embrace. A trio in E major descended. It was inscribed with the core music theory and movements of Schubert''s Scepter. After giving up attachment, it seemed to embrace everything and sublimate into the cold, lonely melody. Sing the praises of everything in the world, and embrace the wonders created by God. There was no more self. No one could resist the almost redeeming embrace. The melody was like a gentle rain. It quietly followed behind everyone like a shadow, but no one could refuse the passionate love within. In but an instant the gentle melody had wrapped itself around everyone and seeped into every corner of the Ultimate. Amidst the pain of burning the old nun looked up at the sky, as if she was staring at the stars. Her line of sight fell on the other side of the stars. In the distance she caught a glimpse of the past and the future. She had truly become an incarnation of everything. In the next instant the coldy melody softly sank into silence as it reached the end. It was followed by thrilling piano music. She opened her arms wide to the tremors of the stars as they rose and fell like piano keys and the final salvation rained down from them. This was Schubert''s final performance. She had sacrificed herself, embraced the flames, and brought the movement of light and salvation to the world. Ever since it had been made, there had never been a time when someone had used Schubert''s Sacrifice Movement. But now it was completed by a frail old nun who was not even a musician. She used her own soul to imbue the movement with spirituality, completing the Sacrifice Movement, awakening it, turning herself into part of its music theory, and playing her final elegy together with it. "Prometheus"! In that moment, Ye Qingxuan finally understood, and his face went pale. - - "Make her stop! D*mn it, make her stop!" The withered skull finally lost its temper. "Is it true? It''s true! How could they have accomplished this d*mn thing! What has the Church done?" Even when facing the punishment of dies irae he had never felt such fear and anger. "Dies Irae" would only destroy catastrophes and heretics, but "Prometheus" brought absolute salvation and change. Even catastrophes could be completely transformed. Once the movement finished, the entire Ultimate would be transformed into a branch of the Holy Cauldron, becoming a heavenly fire that would bring humanity into a new era. And everything that the Abyss had done would become a stepping stone for the Holy Cauldron, and this battle upon which rested the fate of the Abyss would be nothing but a joke! But who could master such a miracle? And who could feel enough compassion to bring salvation to catastrophes? After the sacred name of Schubert had been passed down for more than ten generations it had finally been cut off and sealed up in an expendable body. It was on its last legs. For hundreds of years there had been no one who could master this power, or even awaken it. No one could truly understand the path of compassion. No one could even touch the edges of it. But now, this fairy tale as silly as the tooth fairy was completed by such expendable hands? An old woman who was little more than a puppet had been able to feel compassion for demons and catastrophes? This was the greatest irony of all! "Strike the bell! Prepare the vessel! Completely awaken the Black Knight!" The broken skull quickly made a decision. It had a savage look on its face. "Kill everything! Destroy everything! The future of the Abyss cannot be ended like this!" Abandon everything, turn the existing Ultimate into nourishment for the Black Knight, and let him sweep away and destroy everything. All that the Abyss had prepared for hundreds of years would be completely turned into nothing. But at least they could save its essence, and would not lose its plans and completely fall apart. This was a sacrifice after all. The broken skull would take responsibility for it afterwards. The Abyss Sages might not be able to bring the scattered pieces of the Abyss back together like before. This was the last resort, but it had to be this way. But soon everyone else was swallowed up by the chaos. The iron casket was empty. "How can this be? Where? Where is it? It must be here..." The big headed dwarf reached out in frustration, feeling about in the empty casket. Finally, he gave a desperate cry. "The elements of the Black Knight! They''re gone! They''re all gone!" He turned the casket over and shook it hard, but nothing fell out. It was still just as empty as before. There was only the bottom of the iron casket, and a note stuck to it. The handwriting was scribbled, and an ugly smile was drawn at the end. The broken skull read the note slowly, then roared: "Naberius!" - - "What are you doing?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the holy light in front of him and suddenly had a splitting headache. A piercing pain came out of his skull, as if a knife was poking out from within, bringing with it deep, sharp pains. He looked at the burning nun and began to pound angrily on the light in front of him. "Answer me, what are you doing?" The nun was silent amidst the flames. Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth to call her name, but was suddenly silent. What was her name? It turned out that he still didn''t know her name. It wasn''t his fault, no one could blame him for this Who would care about some old nun''s name? She wasn''t precious, she wasn''t beautiful, and she had no value except for the fact that Schubert was occupying her body. He already showed great kindness and saved her life, who could ask for more than that? "I already gave you your freedom." Ye Qingxuan looked at her and his voice was hoarse. "You can live, you don''t have to die for anyone. Why are you choosing this dead end?" Answer me, why? He couldn''t suppress his anger. He screamed at her till the end. He roared, shouted himself hoarse until the veins stood out in his face, making him look as fearsome as a demon. "...For this so-called God? For that clay idol and empty shell?" In the sacrificial fire, the old nun lowered her head. She still looked so humble as she trembled like a child who had been caught doing something wrong. The flames emerged from her body, burning her inch by inch. "I''m sorry. I''m afraid I''m going to disappoint you again." She smiled with embarrassment and avoided Ye Qingxuan''s gaze. "I just think that someone has to do something. Since someone needs to be sacrificed, why not let it be someone like me who has no use? At least...not in this world." When she spoke this last sentence she met Ye Qingxuan''s gaze. She gave a smile which pierced Ye Qingxuan through the heart. The endless flames were like a powerful torrent pouring out of her body. They flooded out like a pillar of light that stretched out between the heavens and the earth. Afterwards, a merciful rain began to pour down, saving everyone from their thirst. Ye Qingxuan thought he could hear crazy shouting from far away. They were ecstatic prayers, feverish praises, and wild cheers. They prayed that God would shed his mercy upon them. They praised this true miracle. They cheered for this great sacrifice. "Holy! Holy! Holy!" In the Church''s fleet, the bishop''s face had turned red with excitement as he stared at the light of Prometheus with a fanatical glint in his eyes, "The Father has given us this miracle!" "Look! Look! Is this not the will of God? Is this not the light of redemption?" "What pure dedication, what a sacrifice worthy of praise!" He shouted passionately, as he forgot himself amidst his praises, "Our pious prayers have finally been answered! God approves! Everyone give praise! Worship! The Kingdom of God is coming! Divine redemption will fall upon us!" It was as if God had truly appeared in the sky and poured down a bit of redemption, bringing joy to the world and making countless people worship wildly. But no one ever thought about what price had to paid for this so-called redemption. No, compared with this precious miracle, such a small price showed God''s generosity. Just sacrifice, just praise, just believe, and all would be fine... "Is this the world you wanted to save? Look at it! It''s not worth your sacrifice, why can''t you see that?" Ye Qingxuan roared furiously. "If God really loved the world then the world would be good, and you''d have a place in it! You have to live!" He reached out and slammed the Staff of Fate down, firmly trying to bring an end to Schubert''s operation even if the flame burned him. He was like a mantis waiting for death in front of a spinning wheel, hoping it would miraculously stop. The old nun was silent. She looked at Ye Qingxuan for a while and smiled with relief. "Your Excellency - God probably doesn''t love us, right?" She reached out and gently pushed away the lifeline that Ye Qingxuan had reached out to her, cutting off her last hope. Within the flames her eyes were full of compassion as she looked at Ye Qingxuan. "But at least we can choose to love each other." His headache became fiercer and fiercer. Ye Qingxuan rubbed his throbbing forehead and gritted his teeth. He reached out and tried to pull her back. But she was swallowed by the flames and disappeared. The flames rose into the sky and a grand melody rang out throughout the entire world. As if in response to the miracle, a cheer rose from the Ultimate, and the fragments of the Stone Plate slowly rose, attracting the core that had been scattered to the four winds, instantly gathering it back together. The sea of aether began to boil, like terrifying fluctuations were bursting forth from the stars one after another. The realm of aether and the Physical World suddenly overlapped, and in the distant Originator a line of illusory light shone quietly. It was like there was a baby crying. It was like there was nothing. But everyone felt that a formless giant had emerged from the Originator and was descending into the world. A catastrophe had been born. A miracle was finally coming. 688 Wheel of Balance Ye Qingxuan looked up at the sky. "You wanted to stop her, but on the contrary, you helped her achieve her goal, no?" A soft voice rang in Ye Qingxuan''s ear. "Everything has been arranged by God a long time ago, and the plan is perfect. Haha, such is the Sacred City, Ye Qingxuan. "Everyone is a chip in their hands, including her, and also including you." The voice asked softly, "Are you sure you still want to be on their side?" It was Paganini. It was Paganini, again. This time around, Ye Qingxuan didn''t even bother to turn back. He just felt very tired. Sitting on the fallen bell tower, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and stopped looking at the sky. He fished out a crumpled paper packet and ignited the last crooked cigarette. He took a deep breath, looking at the glow flickering at his fingertips, and suddenly asked back, "Paganini, I don''t like the Sacred City indeed, but do you know why I don''t want to cooperate with you?" Paganini was silent. "To be honest, I didn''t know it at first, but now I finally understand." Ye Qingxuan laughed self-mockingly. "It''s because I have always been trying to make the world a better place, Paganini." Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked at him coldly. "And you don''t deserve it." Paganini sneered and said nothing. He didn''t even attack, just looked at Ye Qingxuan, like he was watching a fool, a psychopath who didn''t understand anything. "No need to talk nonsense anymore, Paganini, don''t you want that thing? I will no longer fight with you over it, I give up. What are you still waiting for? Go grab it, go snatch the food from the jaws of the Sacred City like a mad dog, go fight for the sake of your ambition." Ye Qingxuan coldly withdrew his gaze. Leaning against the ruins, he closed his eyes tiredly. "I just want some silence, so... get lost." Paganini gave him a final look. Suddenly he felt that he was wrong about the young man. Ye Qingxuan wasn''t the type of person who harbored hatred as he had imagined him to be. They who harbored hatred were like fire, like lava, and they would burn everything down, but he was not. He was just a fool. The phantom dissipated. When Paganini reappeared, the abyss sages had become a mess. The rage that had nowhere to vent lashed out at him from the very first moment since he returned. Shackles consisting of a gloomy glow suddenly burst forth all around him, putting him into a cage. "Look what you have done!" The withered head roared, "What on earth were you thinking, Paganini? You ruined everything! The four knights left by the sacred god, the last power of the abyss, and the future have all been ruined because of you!" "Is it a bad thing?" Paganini snickered. "Right from the start, I have never intended to allow the sculptures you all made from clay and wood to surpass me. It''s just that you all took things too simply. Why should I obey and bow to the four puppets that you all control?" "Now we''re all finished, Paganini." The head looked at him coldly, his eyes filled with hatred. "Maybe we will be consumed in the battle, and as for you, you will definitely not have a good ending. Coincidentally, I am just waiting to see where your courage comes from for you to be bold enough to behave so rudely in front of me, as a newly promoted dark minister. Soon, you will know. We can help you accomplish your goals, and so can we ruin you!" "No, you won''t." Paganini smiled and spread his five fingers. On the five fingers, a black mist lingered, turning into the face of the withered head. It was realistic and lifelike, making the head''s expression turn into one of shock. It was... changing music theory? "Something''s wrong! When did you..." His expression changed drastically, and he looked around but found that everyone stood transfixed without him realizing. They did not respond and just stared straight at him. The expression of the skull was twisted. "When did you plant the changing music theory in me?!" "Although I want badly to tell you, it''s actually a secret." Paganini smiled. He pressed his palm on the withered head and finally bid him farewell. "So, it''s best that you don''t know it..." The head wanted to wail forlornly, but he couldn''t make any sound. When Paganini''s removed his palm, the copper disk floating in the air fell to the ground with a clang, and the broken bones, which were the only parts that remained of the shattered skull, smashed to smithereens on the ground. It was like a broken wine glass. A breeze blew from the deep darkness, and all the bodies of the abyss sages crumbled, like puppets piled up with sand. The power they accumulated throughout their lives gushed out like a spring, flowing into the wisps of dark, grayish mist, and flew towards Paganini''s fingertips. In the end, no traces of them were left. Only Paganini was left standing alone in the darkness. In the faint candlelight, his face turned stranger and stranger, and it was so beautiful that one could not tell whether he was female or male, but it gave off a strong impression of being non-human. Despite clearly having perfect features on his face, there was nothing human-like about his eyes and brows. Paganini quietly bid the ashes farewell, then left silently. "Thank you for your care and support all this while. In return, consider the mausoleum that has been used to bury the various kings of the first generation a present for you all to enjoy. May you all find the future you were seeking in eternal death." Thunder sounded from the surface of the earth a long distance away, shaking the dust off surfaces, and extinguished the last candlelight. Darkness arrived. The sound of thunder became stronger and stronger. After the cry that seemed like an illusion, frantic thunder sounded from the sky. The rumble seemed to indicate that a storm was coming, but no dark clouds could be found in the night sky, nor was there any flash of lightning. It was purely a result of friction between music theory. A huge gap cracked open in the realm of aether, spilling miracles into the physical world as if the magnificent power of creation was operating within. Various horrifying elements that humans could hardly imagine spewed out, constantly shaking violently and scraping against each other. Breathtaking thunder burst forth. At the moment, the sky had become a forbidden area. The aftermath of the collisions between elements took place one after another. The layers of waves intertwined like ripples, spreading outwards in all directions, spilling a tremendous amount of pressure downwards. Matter was not damaged in the slightest bit, but all music theory oscillated in the aftermath. It was like houses whining forlornly in an earthquake. The scepters with elements of a lower class would burst completely and cease to exist in an instant when placed within, and the Symphonies of Predestination which were one class weaker couldn''t even approach. The musicians who approached hastily were swept away by the airwaves. Then, they fell from the sky like insects and crashed onto the ground, becoming piles of meat pulp. Before that, their will, their Symphonies of Predestination, and all their music theory had been brutally erased. It was the melting pot of the creation, the manifestation of the destruction of the world, the enormous power that operated the world. All human beings were only dust in front of it and could in no way hinder it. They couldn''t even be considered as mantises blocking the carriage [1]. The crystals proliferated from the small core. A physical form was being bestowed upon the new catastrophe. But Ye Qingxuan just looked up at the sky, lying motionless in the ruins. Initially, he wanted to involve himself in the Ultimate and get his share of the catastrophe that was being born. At the moment, after understanding its nature clearly, he had no desire to even touch it. Like what he said to Paganini, he had given up. It was a power that had been irrigated with blood, a miracle for which countless people had given up their lives in return. How was such a thing different from rotten meat? Just thinking about it made him want to vomit. But in the silent observation, the embryonic form of the body of the catastrophe had gradually emerged. It grew wildly, evolving towards the most perfect form. In the friction and collision between countless elements, brand new music theory and power slowly emerged from it. At the moment, no musician would have their minds on other things. Their consciousness, their gaze, all their senses were directed towards the sky, and they used every method available to them to get closer to the core, sensing the earth-shattering changes and experiencing the wonder of the operation of the world. Everyone saw different things, but all of them felt that they had only seen the tip of the iceberg of the behemoth, and it was difficult to see the whole picture. Just gazing and sensing it would make one''s power increase wildly, and aether waves erupted one after another like volcanoes. But soon, the incorporeal waves dissipated, and the colliding elements gradually disappeared. In the greedy and lingering gaze of countless musicians, the gap in the realm of the aetheric world closed silently, and the blessing from the Originator was over. They had no time to be sentimental or regretful because as the moment arrived, mighty tolls of bells resounded through the perception of all the musicians in the entire physical world. They announced the emergence of new power and the establishment of new rules and order. A new catastrophe had been born from nothingness! At the moment, the existence hanging high above the sky finally revealed its true appearance. It was an odd stone wheel that seemed to be carved from rocks. The stone wheel that seemed to have been carved crudely had hundreds of precise scales on it. Under each scale were odd patterns consisting of countless complicated notes. If one was to look closely, one couldn''t perceive the texture of the rock at all. It was just an illusion caused by the distortion of the air, and it was difficult to even determine whether it had weight. It was as if the surface of the world had peeled off, revealing a crack leading to the core, allowing humans a vague glimpse of the complex structure within. At the moment, the stone wheel hung high in the sky, motionless, but it gave one the illusion that the whole world was slowly rotating around it. Perhaps, it really was spinning. It was just that the stone wheel was the midpoint of the world, and when it decided to spin, what would rotate would be the whole world. Just by sensing and looking at it, in the blink of an eye, everyone understood its essence. Just as what everyone had hoped, after consuming countless resources, the catastrophe born had entered the level of abomination, alongside the Three Pillar God and the Three Wise Men. It was just that it was neither a manifestation of human nature nor a result of divinity operating within. Instead, it was something purer, an item, a tool created in order to reach a certain purpose. Or in other words, a pure artifact. As the stone wheel rotated, it subjugated all music theory completely, and all the elements emerged at just the right timing, converging together as a whole. By right, everyone should have felt its power at the moment it appeared. If it had been a lethal artifact, it wouldn''t have been impossible for all musicians to die once it had been born. If it had been a savior-like miracle, then an exuberant vitality would have naturally emerged with it. But at the moment, all the people there perceived nothing unusual. It wasn''t until when some musicians were ready to act before the rest that they realized that something was wrong, and they couldn''t help but give a yelp of shock the realm of aether, which was initially close at hand, did not respond to their call, and the rules of the physical world remained just as stable as before. At the moment, the musical movement that was originally enough to shake the heavens and the earth could only stir up weak ripples in the physical world! Until then only did they discover that the physical world and the realm of aether had been quietly separated, and the boundaries between the two were no longer unclear, but instead, they became distinct. The nine-layered sea of aether seemed to have a new order and structure. The structure was complex and clear, forming a perfect balance between the two realms. Everyone got a serious case of goosebumps. The artifact could actually control the ''distance'' between the physical world and the realm of aether! As long as it operated, be it completely overlapping the physical world and the realm of aether to create a magical wonderland beyond the imagination of human beings, or be it separating the physical world and the realm of aether totally, blocking off elements and scepters, causing the sea of aether to stop flowing, and forming a vacuum with no trace of aether within, all such actions would be just a breeze. Then only did the name given to it by the Originator emerge in everyone''s heart. The Wheel of Balance! [1] The author is referring to a Chinese proverb that literally translates as "blocking the carriage with one''s front legs as a mantis". It means being unaware of one''s incapability to do something and attempting to do it to no avail, often harming oneself in the process. 689 The Plague Returns To an ordinary musician, the realm of aether was simply too mystical and illusory. Most people would not even be capable of imagining the existence of the realm of aether or physically touch that secretive region hidden behind nine layers of the sea of aether. Long ago, some people even thought that ''the realm of aether'' only existed in the imaginations and perceptions of musicians. A world that was purely made up of aether, which was a material that did not exist? Unimaginable. There was only one world after all, right? For the longest time, countless musicians tried to explain the difference between the two worlds to their own students, but very few of them were capable of giving a clear explanation. Therefore, they had no choice but to create the new concept of a ''physical world'' in order to explain the world that humans could see. At the end of the day, the things that humans could perceive were too few and far between. It was like a dwarf who was unable to appreciate a beautiful scenery because it was just too tall for him or the insect who would never be able to understand the cold weather of winter because its environment was always in the summer. Humans had always been very restricted by their five senses. Many scholars predicted that possibly more than 17 dimensions existed in this world but humans were only capable of interacting with three of them. This was why musicians yearned to make use of aether to gain a broader appreciation of this world. This was the biggest misunderstanding that most people had. The realm of aether was not a dimension that hid behind another dimension, nor was it a bubble that existed beyond another bubble, nor was it a world that was created from aether; It was a world as ''perceived'' by aether. To be more exact, the actual term was "seeing the world through aether." By transforming into extensions of aether, humans could break through their own limitations to become one step closer to the reality of the world and grasp even greater power. The only catch was that this was only useful for musicians that were at least of distortion level. One''s body could only be "aether-ized" after aether circulation had been formed within. One could only delve deep into the realm of aether by utilizing the Symphony of Predestination as the carrier of one''s consciousness and character, and possibly even to form one''s own scepter. It was even possible to possess the "nature" of a particular existence and turn it into an "element" in the realm of aether, so that it had completely surpassed the level of humans. This was precisely why the level of Masters was so mysterious, why scepters were so tempting, why the origin of catastrophes was so secretive and why the existence of the Originator had attracted the pursuit of countless musicians. But now that this power had been clamped down by the Wheel of Balance, any scepter-level users would be banished from the upper tiers, which was also the realm of aether, to become ordinary humans once again! To lose immortality and unlimited power only to be trapped within an insignificant body. This was the real terror of the Wheel of Balance! It was an obstacle that had been set in the sea of aether, and a door that guarded against musicians from crossing over to the realm of aether from the physical world. No amount of scepters would matter if one could control it. When the realm of aether and the physical world have been forcefully separated from each other, only the physical body could be used and the power that could be wielded would be close to pathetic. By then, under the attack of tens of thousands of soldiers, even saints would not be able to do much! Right now, it merely existed and was forcing the physical world and the realm of aether to be held in a balance. It might not have been completely sealed, but within its domain, all the musicians felt as if they were wearing an extremely heavy shackle, so much so that they would never be as relaxed and free as they were in the past. In an instant, everyone was shivering in fear. Soon after, countless beams of light streaked across. In the instant that everyone understood its nature, almost all of the Masters dashed towards the Ultimate as fast as they could. At this moment, the Ultimate was no longer an advantage but a potentially fatal problem. If it was an artifact made for killing, then countless people would have rushed head-on into danger; if it was an artifact made for protection, then a number of Schools would go all out to gain control of it for their own protection. But now, the impact of the Wheel of Balance was too overwhelming. It was so terrifying that no one dared to interfere. For the longest time, all musicians had enjoyed the privilege of being treated like Gods. But with the appearance of the Wheel of Balance, everyone knew that all of this might just change completely. Its mere existence was a shackle on the musicians. No matter who managed to gain control of it, this person would highly likely be attacked by all the other musicians. There were very few people with the abilities to accomplish such a feat. One would have to rely on absolute power in order to gain complete control over it and turn it into one''s own source of power, otherwise, it would just become a problem. The further it flew, the more fearful they became. Before it flew beyond hundreds of miles, the Wheel of Balance was still able to exert influence over their powers. The power that had been summoned from the realm of aether seemed to be passing through heavy rubber and was difficult to control. The shackles seemed to have been loosened slightly. The Masters turned around and looked behind them. There was a collective sigh. Terrible light was rising from within the Ultimate and there were heavy and dense aether waves from a hundred miles away. They felt an indescribable sense of relief. If they were one step slower, they might not have been able to escape in time. "It has finally begun" All the Masters looked at each other. Their hearts were heavy and they could barely breathe. "Since we were lucky enough to escape, let''s not think too much." A Master shook his head while laughing bitterly. "We should count ourselves lucky to still be alive." For some reason, his voice became thin and high-pitched all of a sudden. He was stunned as he became conscious of how everyone was looking at him. Shock, confusion, and even fear? "What''s wrong with all of you?" the Master asked but before he could finish his question, his body began to spasm in a queer manner. His old and frail face began to disintegrate, as if a ball of clay had been flattened and was about to be shaped into something else again. Slivers of grey fog rose from his pores, until they eventually shrouded him completely. White hair turned to black and his wrinkles had completely vanished. He was returning back to his youth. But he was not at all happy with this transformation. Instead, he sank into despair as he began to scream. When the screaming stopped suddenly, he raised his head again. The expression on his face had changed completely. Paganini! All the expressions of shock, blank and confusion were all frozen. Very soon, similar spasms spread like a plague amongst them. Their screams grew louder and louder until they stopped very suddenly. By the time it was silent once again, all of them wore the same expression on their faces. Infection. The terrible infection was spreading like mad within a circumference of several thousand miles. In the instant that the Wheel of Balance appeared, the musicians that had entered the Ultimate before or even approached the Ultimate had been under the control of that queer violin sound. The bizarre music theory that had been embedded in their bodies was now beginning to grow and replacing all their powers inside out. In the blink of an eye, the infection was spreading at a terrifying rate. Even those Masters, who had been purified by Ye Qingxuan''s purifying music theory and had signed contracts with the court, were not spared. This was despite the locks of purification instantaneously exploding within their bodies to completely seal the "diseased region" of the infection and igniting the flames of destruction. The entire Sovereign was filled with the foul smell of burning. Flames that were usually hot enough to burn an ordinary person into complete ashes could not even kill them, but the pain was more than enough to break them. What made this even more terrifying was that the ''lesion'' would live and die with them. They had completely fused with their Symphonies of Predestination so much so that they could no longer be separated. Mable had no choice but to command the Firebird to seal them by force and keep them frozen completely. They might not be dead but they were not truly alive either. Although they had tried to prepare themselves for this scenario, the terror of Paganini was still beyond their expectations. Even outside of the Ultimate, countless musicians were being transformed as they howled in despair. No one knew when did Paganini plant the seeds of the Changing Music Theory in them to turn them into disease carriers. Prior to the disease finally acting up on them, the Changing Music Theory in their bodies had already spread to countless others. The teachers and their disciples in the institutes were being destroyed together while the elders and students in Schools were falling the terrible plague was spreading! "These are the four knights!" The old musicians looked at the ''black spots'' that were surfacing in their scepters. They finally understood why their defenses were completely ineffective. Only the four knights that had been created by Hyakume were capable of transforming Changing Music Theory into poison to be spread like the plague! This was similar to how he managed to cause the downfall of half of Sacred City back then. Even if the sages were guarded against him, he was still able to infiltrate with his four knights by infusing them into his own scepter. "It''s very simple, isn''t it?" A gentle voice rang beside his ear, "It may seem difficult, but all you have to do is to set a simple target." No one knew when had Paganini''s power infiltrated the lens. At this moment, he was clad in a green robe and was riding on a green horse. He did not come closer. He merely continued to stare from far away, even as the black spots began to spread. The old musician was in a daze. He felt as if he was being split into two. One of him was degenerating rapidly and was in incredible pain, while the other seemed to be awakened in the darkness. It was growing rapidly while hungrily devouring whatever rationale that was left behind so as to switch to Paganini''s scepter eventually. The old musician raised his hands helplessly and pressed them on his forehead. He was going to kill himself. He could not live like this. There were too many Asgard secrets in his head, and these included the codex of Asgard and even the design of the most powerful object on earth, which was the giant armor Hercules. Even if only one-tenth of these secrets were leaked, Asgard would still be in big trouble. Fortunately, in order to protect this information, he had preset a command in his own scepter that would destroy everything with the slightest trigger. Everything, including himself. The moment he sensed that he was in danger, streaks of angry lightning shot out of God''s eye. "How dare you!" Endless lightning streaked into the lens. The illusion of Odin appeared and struck Paganini with a devastating blow. There was turbulence in the elements and Paganini''s face began to crack. This Asgardian knowledge and information had been accumulated and passed down by musicians for thousands of years. Based on the ability to cause damage alone, no catastrophe would be a match for Odin. "Your Highness! Don''t come over" The old musician knew that he was about to be saved but there was no joy in his eyes. Only fear. "His target is you!" Time had come to a standstill and no one knew just how long had passed. Nevertheless, only a moment had passed in the outside world. And in that single moment, the lens was broken. The Second Prince shot up into the sky and set himself above the lightning throne and transformed into Odin. With a single wave of his hand, countless bolts of lightning struck. The nature of God in his left eye was burning furiously but his right eye, which was originally blank, had lit up with a mysterious glow 690 Collapse The Ultimate was ignited. After the Ultimate gave birth to a catastrophe, it lost all its value. As the interfaces to the Originator were hidden the island made of aether had also started to become unstable and fall apart. It was like a stage that had lost all its use after the performance was over. No one cared about it. With just one blow Odin cut through layer upon layer of defenses like a hot knife through butter, plunging the Ultimate into the Thunderfire Hell. Up in the clouds, Paganini looked upon the results of this attack with satisfaction and nodded slightly. "To offer humanity as a tribute to divinity and to attain godhood through sacrifice shows great devotion. Most excellent. Unfortunately, in the final analysis, this is all through divinity rather than humanity. It is ridiculous to retain human weaknesses in order to control catastrophes." Although it had risen from humanity, divinity was far above it. It was to leave the world and live forever, to show no compassion for good nor be moved by evil, to not be changed by time nor compromise for anything. But what was the use of this catastrophe for Asgard? What could this out-of-control creation of the gods do? Because of this, Asgard had left one weakness: human will could enter into the catastrophe. Thus, Paganini had been able to seize control of it and hundreds of years of blood, sweat and tears were wiped away. "It''s over, it''s over. I can''t beat him." Outside the Ultimate, Chopin had already returned to the Church''s fleet. He looked up at Paganini who had transformed into Odin and weakly sent forth his power. "What are you all standing around for? Hurry!" "We''re just giving up like this?" The bishop could not accept this sudden turn of events. One second the Lord had sent down a miracle, and the next it had fallen into the hands of others. "Didn''t I tell you that the one generally acknowledged as the strongest sixth-generation Chopin died at his hands?" A smirk appeared on half of Chopin''s face. He could do no more, as the other half had been burnt off. When the Thunderfire Hell had descended, he had been the first to suffer its effects. "I''m best at wide-ranging mental interference. I can''t do anything against such a destructive catastrophe. What if I really die?" His shameless words enraged the bishop. Who was it who was shouting every freaking day that the end of the world was coming, and that those who died early would go to heaven early? Now when asked to give his life in this situation he wasn''t willing? What on earth did he want to do? "Don''t worry." Chopin''s face twitched, peeling off some of the scars encrusted on his face. "This is but a grand performance. Don''t you understand drama? Our role is to simply act from the sidelines. Our part has already ended, now it is the Lord''s turn to take the stage." The bishop was shocked. "What do you mean?" Just as he finished speaking, a sigh rang out from amidst all the roaring. A tiny black spot appeared between the sea and the sky. It was like a hole had been punctured in the air. A hurricane swept over it, enlarging it into a huge, deep cave. Cold and foreboding music theory flowed out from within, covering the whole area in an instant. Even the Ultimate was covered. All they could get a glimpse of was a bit of a sky blue color. That thread of light blue spread silently, covering everyone in a flash. Wherever it passed all of the chaotic music theory became peaceful and fell into silence. All the musicians felt themselves lose control of their accumulated power, and their waves of aether dissipated involuntarily. In what seemed like an instant, all their weapons were shackled, and they had no way to use them. The Thunderfire Hell melted away instantly as if it had become an illusion, leaving only a dazzling light that was gradually extinguished. Fighting was forbidden here! Everyone was shocked by this sudden turn of events. They obviously knew what this wasthe Forbidden Zone! It was the supreme power of the King of Black, subjugating all music theory and controlling all movements. It descended upon the area like some majestic god, turning it into a holy area, a Forbidden Zone where no rash actions could be taken. The structure of the King of Black''s Forbidden Zone had been completed with the appearance of the hole. In a flash, his power had traversed the unimaginable distance and affected the whole area. Everybody stopped what they were doing. All was calm and tranquil. An indistinct figure with a blurry face appeared from the hole. Although he had never personally been there, the King of Black had invested his power and will in this area and made himself really appear. Next, someone wearing red appeared from the void. Shattered rays of light converged into the contours of a human body until finally the crown of the Sancta Sedes was revealed. It was a transmission that had been hailed as a miracle for centuries. In the country of Nibelungen, the King of Red''s body had been broken down into millions of particles under the will of dozens of popes throughout history and then put back together again. Finally, his eyes slowly opened, and the light of life emerged from them. All was silent. Suddenly, the illusion of a hand appeared from the void with a seemingly helpless sigh. Its fingers stretched out and smoothed out the chaos of the area around the Ultimate. It went from the black zone to the red zone in a flash, until finally, it entered the white zone. The entire place was completely stabilized. The King of Yellow! At the urging of the two other kings, the long-lost King of Yellow had no way to pretend he did not exist and had to show his hand. The balance of power depended on him, so he naturally had the ability to interfere with it. In a flash, the realm of aether and the Physical World were connected by the music theory of the Holy Cauldron. A bridge was forcibly set up, one end in the mysterious Originator and the other falling in the boundary created by the Three Kings. After a moment of shock, the King of Yellow''s will left his strength behind, and he left once again, vanishing without a trace. Amid the silence, everyone was still panic-stricken by the appearance of the Three Kings. A mocking smile appeared on the face of the god above the clouds. He clapped slowly. "What a grand occasion. How long has it been? It''s a great honor to be dealt with by all three kings at the same time." "Paganini, if you have any sense left in you, you won''t stay here." The King of Red shook his head. Without waiting for a response he reached into the void. The sound of soft piano music spread out from his fingers as notes like ice crystals collided with each other. As the first note was played, a melody like flowing water followed immediately. The trancelike state was like the dawn after a long night. It was the 21st song: Wallstein. The smooth and clear melody carried both tranquility and joy as it quietly spread out in all directions, shrouding the entire Ultimate within it. It roughly outlined the entire area, and then the melody changed from smooth to rushed, as it changed constantly. The vast night slowly grew thinner, as if it was being diluted, as a faint light was revealed. The light of an illusory sun broke through the clouds. Although they knew it was just an illusion, the sun gave everyone a feeling of suffocation. It was like they were wearing broken glasses. Everything in front of them was bizarre and motley, unclear, and impossible to discern. In the scattered, colorful light everything was distorted by that sun. Everything was distorted in this dawn. It was difficult to breathe in the quietness. Everyone felt themselves begin to go faint as if they had been working hard for a full month without sleep. They could not even distinguish what was happening in front of their eyes. They just felt like everything was distorted, changing, just like... Heaven and earth were colliding! Everyone screamed and tried to retreat from this strange area, but Paganini blocked their path. Everything that had once been three dimensional began to flatten as if it had been pulled off of its bones and stuffed into a hastily drawn painting. The world was collapsing! 691 The City in the Sky The collapsed world pressed downwards. It was as if the sky that seemed like iron curtains was smashing down. In the indescribable feeling of suffocation, intense pain came from every part of one''s body, resulting in a sensation that could hardly be put into words. Even divinity could not exempt one from such dramatic changes. With Odin''s vitality, although it would not be killed by the earth-shattering power, it would be difficult for it to escape the ending of being sealed. One could predict that if Paganini was put at a disadvantage, the King of Red definitely wouldn''t let the opportunity go. As the thorn in the Church''s flesh, the Sacred City must have reserved a place in the Silver Cellar for him since a long time ago. They would either grind his bones and scatter his ashes, or imprison him forever, never ever letting him see the sun again. "Actually, I think you all have gotten one thing wrong..." Paganini let go of the Wheel of Balance, let it fall from his hand, and laughed self-mockingly. "From the very beginning till the end, your enemy has never been me. But now it seems that the revival of the abyss is doomed to failure, and the world does not allow the era of the ancient darkness to take place. Maybe, all of these are all part of your plan from the start?" He paused and looked away into nothingness. "I lost." Even the King of Red was stunned at the moment. Paganini actually admitted his defeat. But soon, the King of Red turned his gaze to the nothingness in which nothing existed. Paganini had admitted his defeat, but he wasn''t directing it at the King of Red. A response sounded. A fuzzy projection appeared in front of Paganini. "I''ve said it a long time ago, Paganini, those large heads were destined to fail, even though they had put in all their effort. The world no longer has any need for the abyss." The old man thousands of miles away looked at Paganini and pointed to his own heart. "Because there is a place more terrible than the abyss right here." Facing the thin old man, Paganini reached out and suddenly stabbed his fingers into his own chest, cutting open his music theory and scepter, revealing the deep darkness within. He reached in and took out a large bowl that seemed to be carved out of a skull from the darkness in his chest. The large bowl was filled with deep darkness, and the darkness in it rippled like water, as if it was a crack leading to another world, and countless phantoms emerged vaguely from it. In the darkness, it seemed as if countless people were crying and whining forlornly and the world was sinking with it. Paganini held the large bowl in his hand, but it seemed as if he had propped up the whole world, despite the fact that even Odin''s body could hardly support the huge weight. Just by appearing, it made the colors of the heavens and the earth change, and the whole world was dyed with an indelible layer of black. The light from the stars and the moon disappeared, and even the powers of the three kings were faintly shaken under the erosion of the darkness. The expression of the King of Red abruptly changed. He reached out, played the musical movement that gathered the powers of the three kings, disregarding everything else, and started attacking fiercely. But Paganini showed no concern. Instead, he bowed respectfully at the incorporeal projection in front of him and handed over the large bowl in his hand. "Then, Lord Gaius, according to the promise, I present you with the abyss." He smiled and looked up. "Please give me redemption." Gaius smiled, and the incorporeal projection reached out, pressing a hand on Paganini''s forehead. He announced softly, "Then, in the name of the Eastern Orthodox Church, I here declare that you, Paganini, may have redemption. " At the moment, thousands of miles away, on the land of the Caucasus, the bells of countless churches rumbled. All the priests of the Orthodox churches gathered in front of the altar, singing a hymn loudly, praising the God reigning in heaven. On the altar, the projection of the sacred crown of thorns gradually condensed, drawing the power of the entire Orthodox Church, and the light shone brighter and brighter. When the hymn reached its chorus, the mighty power converged, crossing thousands of miles. The crown of thorns emerged out of nothingness, appearing out in thin air thousands of miles away, and fell into the hands of the projection of Gaius. It was the holy crown that the Pope of the first generation had once worn, an artifact that had been lost in the long history of the Church, but at the moment, it reappeared in the hands of Gaius! "Gaius!" The King of Red widened his eyes and 16 angry voices sounded from his throat. "How dare you!" "Such is the right thing to do." Gaius chuckled lightly, held the crown high, and put it on Paganini''s head. At the very moment, in the Orthodox Church, hundreds of bishops that had been temporarily promoted vomited blood at the same time, screaming shrilly, and dark blood flowed out of their seven orifices. Polluted by the aura of the abyss in Paganini''s body, they turned into stinking ashes in spontaneous combustion. But in Paganini''s body, a darkness so thick that one couldn''t see through it rapidly seeped out. Under the redemption and purification of the holy crown, Paganini could no longer maintain his smile. His face turned blue with pain, and he screamed hoarsely. He convulsed and roared, as if he was enduring the torture of purgatory. But as countless wisps of darkness seeped out from his body, a pure light once again emerged from his chest. The strange aura disappeared without a trace, and a sacred and solemn light replaced it. The entangled thorns on the crown seemed to have pierced through his flesh, growing together with his bones. It became an irremovable shackle, an inescapable restraint. At the same time, it also purified the music theory of the abyss in his body continually, redeeming him, making him an apostle of God once more. Paganini, the saint! No, after swallowing half of the divinity of Odin and the power of all the abyss sages, at the moment, he had already gained an eternally elevated status. Paganini, the Messenger of God! "Such an amazing grace! It seems that the God that does not exist has not abandoned me!" The huge, incorporeal wings of light slowly opened. Paganini looked up and laughed loudly. Casting a look at the King of Red, who had turned purple with rage, he bowed to Gaius. "From now on, you are the leader of the Orthodox Church, my Ecumenical Patriarch, the Pope of the Orthodox Church." Gaius looked down at him. "You will protect the true history and future of mankind, correct the distorted world, and restore everything to its true appearance." Paganini nodded and slowly got up. "Then, allow me to bring the Wheel of Balance back to you." "No need for that." Gaius looked up at the gradually collapsing sky, and his smile became mocking. "Just watch on, for now, Paganini, it''s not yet time for you to act." Just as he said so, as if it had sensed something, the Wheel of Balance rotated wildly, and a rumble burst forth. The collapsing domain created by Waldstein broke with a rumble. But to everyone''s surprise, it was not Paganini who had taken action. It was the stars in the sky. The pillar of the sky and the stars fell. The sky shook, and the earth''s crust whined forlornly, as if the pillar supporting the heavens and the earth had been cut into two. Countless stars fell, but more stars emerged from behind the broken sky. The rays of starlight so sharp that they were unparalleled converged and turn into the Big Dipper, shrouding the Wheel of Balance. The Alkaid Sword Movement that had been accumulating strength for quite some time erupted instantly. Innumerable phantoms loomed in their surroundings, and a shadow that resembled both a man and a sword emerged from the Big Dipper, controlling the murderous intention all over the sky from afar. It forcibly tore the collapsed space apart, as if it was forcefully cutting a collapsed, dilapidated house into two. Then, the starlight blazed, turning into a giant pillar, and once again propped up the heavens and the earth. Everyone was stunned. Ye Qingxuan raised his eyes in shock. House Yuan? Has the old man gone crazy? Is he intending to give up Aurora''s initially neutral position to forcibly oppose the three kings for Paganini''s sake? No, regardless of how you look at it, he can''t possibly be powerful enough to oppose the three kings even if he wants to, can he? The music theory of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline depends on their blood and the Empire of Aurora, and has no subordinative relationship with that of the three kings, nor is it restrained by the Holy Cauldron. Despite so, musicians have always perceived the Six Royals to be of the same level as saints. In any case, it would be next to impossible for one of them to win a fight against the King of Red who had the scepters of all three of the kings with him. What is he thinking? Soon, Ye Qingxuan''s perplexity was answered. It was because the physical world was rumbling, as if some behemoth was slowly descending from the realm of aether, casting its own projection towards the physical world. It was a city It was a city so magnificent that it seemed to only exist in one''s dreams! The city was so far away, as if it was covered by layers of clouds. One could only see a corner of its splendor and brilliance in the fleeting changes, but the corner was so resplendent that it was suffocating. One could see halls and buildings that seemed to be made of jade, as well as pavilions and terraces that seemed to be built of white jade and pearls, and they were decorated with all the beauty in the world. But it was too surreal. In contrast, the walls of the city in the sky extended outwards from the illusion, as if they were close at hand. They loomed, high and forbidding. It was a majestic wall that isolated the mortal realm and the heavens, shockingly huge and incredibly steep. On the parapet, countless beacons burned, the mighty flares illuminating the dark night. Every blaze was a restrained and deep aether wave, as if countless invisible musicians were patrolling on it, guarding the city in the sky. It was the Great Wall! It was the miracle that the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline had taken centuries to produce, separating the entire East from the West, the man-made catastrophe that shrouded the entire territory of the Aurora. With nine artifacts controlling it at the core, the music theory and scepters of countless musicians combined to form a terrifying defense. Next, a magnificent musical movement unfolded above the sky, in the low peals of chime stones, a mighty melody played loudly. The gates on the huge wall opened, and aether that had converged into a tangible torrent spewed from it, like the magnificent Milky Way. Through the open city gates, it was as if one could catch a glimpse of the scenery of the city in the sky. It was an illusory creation, a legend that only existed in one''s imagination. Luxuriant red carpets paved the ground, and a cavalry consisting of tens of thousands of men guarded the city. Spices were burnt in the huge copper furnace, the pleasant scent spreading like a cloud of mist. Devas strolled in the city, their posture graceful and their faces beautiful. 12 buildings stood in the compound of the palace. In the main hall, one could vaguely see an ancient-looking emperor, wearing a crown, with cataracts in his eyes. But soon, everything hid in the clouds once more. Only huge aether waves flew out of the gates of the city one after another, crossing thousands of miles, appearing out of thin air in the sky above the Ultimate. They drew massive amounts of aether, and soon, their temporary forms were outlined once more. The first to appear was a middle-aged man of Hu ethnicity, with a purplish beard and green eyes. He was followed by an old woman with white hair, holding a wooden cane. Next came a man with a blurred face, wearing a tall crown. No one had expected the Empire of Aurora, which had never been interested in the outside world, to turn out almost in full strength this time around. Out of the Six Royals of the previous generation, four came! Under the strengthening of the Great Wall, the aether waves of the four musicians soared in intensity, and they actually integrated themselves into the projection of the city in the sky seamlessly. Under the strengthening of endless power, the intensity of the aether waves skyrocketed and they completely entered a non-human level! It was the secret that was only circulated among the Six Royals, the terrifying strengthening that sufficed for one to evolve into a catastrophe in an instant by relying on the projection of the city in the sky. Ascent! 692 Burp~ With such a major boost, the four Devas merged into one. Just their breathing alone was enough to raise storms and lightning. The four of them stood firm. Until this point in time, the pressure on the master of the Yuan family was finally reduced, thanks to all the pain that he had to go through just now. "Too slow! Too slow!" The old swordsman finally heaved a sigh of relief. "Are all of you tortoises? You may as well come even later just to lower me into my grave." "Do you think everyone is an old monkey like you?" The man, wearing a coronet, shook his head and sighed. "If the Ye family''s Heaven Ladder was still around, projecting from the City in the Sky wouldn''t have been so difficult." "The Ye family is still around." The master of the Yuan family laughed mysteriously. "But do you have the cheek to seek help from them?" "You can''t put it that way. Back then, it was a collective decision to set them on exile" "You two old fellows can go somewhere else to bicker about old times. Full of nonsense." The old man, who had been created from dead bestiality, looked up and barked, "Do what we need to do first!" The musicians, who all occupied the very top positions in the entire east, looked at each other. The mysterious projection dimmed and its humanoid body began to break down, revealing the true appearance of aether. This was a scepter who had been completely separated from the realm of aether and had almost become an actual body in the physical world. There were four artifacts that had been perfected by endless prudent music theories and generations of bloodlines. There was ''Moon in the Well,'' which was a hu qin created from the Paths of Abstinence and Modifications. There was ''Yaksa,'' which was a biwa made of white jade, and had landed in the arms of the old madam after rocketing into the sky from the Ultimate. When the man with the coronet waved his hands, ''Bronze Peacock,'' which was a huge drum filled with the patterns of all sorts of beasts, flew out of his sleeve. Finally, amidst the roaring laughter of the master of the Yuan family, there was a beam of light from the east, which raised air currents and thunder, that shot into his hands. The ball of light turned into an ancient sword with seven holes, resembling the seven apertures in humans. When he flicked the sword, a powerful white rainbow appeared in the sky. ''Chun Jun''! The four Devas looked at each other. With the projection from the City in the Sky as the foundation, their music theories combined together and the four artifacts glowed with holy light, so that the immortal city in the sky boomed with a mighty melody. "Yun Men Da Juan!" [1] In an instant, the nine doors of the City in the Sky opened and the projection turned into the land of aurora. If one was to peek through the nine doors, he would be able to vaguely see bustling signs of life. For a moment, the City in the Sky seemed to be standing up to the staffs of the three kings and was no longer to hide its intention of taking over the Wheel of Balance. The King of Red lowered his head and looked at the gigantic warship that was hundreds of miles away. On the deck of the warship, the white-haired main raised his head. He seemed to be able to sense that someone was staring at him and he began to smile. "Why?" the King of Red asked coldly. "In actual fact, there are plenty of reasons." The man, who was called Bai Heng, pondered for some time before replying in all seriousness, "If you really insist on knowing the reason, then I suppose it''s for the country?" For country? The entire world would have been amused that such words had just left the mouth of a dishonest and deceitful thief. "The chain is about to break, Your Majesty." Bai Heng spoke seriously. "For so many years, everyone has become used to the difficult times of living in a cage. Now that everyone has finally had the taste of freedom, why do you want to chain them all up again? Didn''t Asgard, who has always been a staunch supporter of the Sacred City, have their own plans too? Besides, the damage that the Wheel of Balance can cause will be too severe Please forgive me for speaking so directly." The King of Red remained indifferent. He turned back and looked in the direction of the illusion beside Paganini. "What about you, Gaius? Have you chosen to fight as well?" "Haven''t I always done so, Your Majesty?" Gaius retorted, "Arrogance is a sin. The world is not a toy that the church can take control of. Why do we still choose to neglect this even at this point in time? Nevertheless, since you have posed me this question, then I shall give you a proper answer." He paused for a while, as the smile on his face was a huge contrast against the will and determination in his eyes. He raised his palm and spoke, "Yes, I have chosen to fight! Give the order for the massacre and unleash the hounds of war!" He had only just completed his sentence when a horrible clash occurred in the skies, creating roars that reverberated around the entire world. The terrible aether waves came crashing and even under the suppression of the Wheel of Balance, nine layers of the sea of aether were raging instantaneously. The movements of ''A War Symphony'' and ''Yun Men Da Juan'' clashed and the after-effects were beyond anyone''s expectations as the resultant ripples almost caused tens of miles of sea to be boiling. It was as if the entire world had been thrown into the oven of Genesis and was being destroyed. Within the realm of aether, the illusions of the Sacred City and the Great Wall clashed together and resulted in storms that ravaged the entire upper-tier dimension. All the musicians in the entire world became extremely fearful all of a sudden. They lost control of the music theories within their bodies and they were trying their very best to suppress their consciousness as they lingered on the brink of breaking away. There was no way to observe this terrible battle. Only those who had been immersed in the battle would be able to perceive just how terrifying and destructive these powers were. Countless elements rose like stars. They clashed with each other and produced glowing heat before disintegrating from this cruel battle. The battle for control over the Wheel of Balance had officially begun. All this while, humans had always thought that the abyss was the source of all evils. Countless battles and cleansing have started for this reason. But the funny thing was that as the abyss officially left the picture, what awaited the humans was not the peace they had been yearning for. It was another new battle. Paganini obeyed Gaius order and quickly retreated. He saw how the church and the Devas were desperately trying to kill each other and could not help but smirk. What a joke. "Wow, this place is hard to find. How did you manage to come to such a deserted place?" a voice suddenly spoke beside him. That voice was so near that Paganini was taken aback. He quickly turned his head around, only to see a handsome young man with a head full of sweat. He had no idea when this man appeared behind him. He was completely silent. There were no signs nor traces. Before that fellow had opened his mouth to speak, Paganini had no idea about his existence behind him at all. Besides, even at this point in time, Paganini still could not sense his presence in the space that he was supposedly occupying. There was no breathing, no pulse, and no heartbeat. This person should not exist. But his eyes seemed to be fooling around with him because clearly, he could see someone standing right before him. "What happened? You look like you have just seen a ghost." The golden-haired young man wiped off the sweat on his face and continued to look at him. "Uncle Constantine has asked me to meet up with you, didn''t he tell you? Aiya, but I must say, this location is really hard to find. I came over from Caucasian and had to take a few detours and was almost beaten up by those two groups of people up there. I''m so tired. Eh? Do you have water with you? Let me have a sip" He had been talking non-stop but the moment he spotted the huge bowl in Paganini''s hand, his eyes immediately lit up. He took the bowl over and drank up all the darkness in it. Then, he patted his stomach contentedly. "Burp~" " Paganini was stunned. He felt like the world was playing a cruel joke on him. To think that someone would be capable of swallowing the last lands and godly power and godly nature of the abyss and Hyakume into their stomach as if it was no big deal. Damn it what is this thing! For the first time in his life, he felt a deep sense of fear and trepidation. His entire body was shivering with fear! No wonder Gaius was so comfortable and at ease with his pledge of allegiance. It was as if the former had never considered the possibility that Paganini might betray him. At this very moment, he looked at the handsome-looking monster standing in front of him. He felt creeped out. Just what was hiding underneath this human-looking appearance? Regardless of what it was, it was definitely fundamentally different from humans! Gaius where did he find such a monster! "What''s happening?" That young man looked at him before lowering his head to look at the empty bowl. He began to feel awkward. "Oh, I''ve only just drunk a bowl of your water. Surely, that''s no reason to look at me like this. At most, I will treat you to meal when we are back. How about that?" With that, the young man smiled and stretched out his hand. "You can call me Charles. I have long heard of your incredible abilities. I look forward to learning from you." Paganini stared at him and after some time, finally stretched out his hand and forced out a smile. "For sure, for sure." They bowed to each other and shook hands and finally became friends. After that, Charles peered into the distance and saw the turbulences that were not too far away from them. "What do we do next? Uncle Constantine has asked me to obey your orders." "Cough cough We should wait for the right opportunity. For now, the situation is still pretty chaotic." Paganini''s brain was in a mess and he barely knew what he was talking about. "Wait first. The Wheel of Balance is of utmost importance Hmm, we need to be cautious" "Wheel of Balance?" Charles raised his hand and pointed at the silhouette in the core, "That broken wheel?" "Broken wheel? Er yes, you are right." Paganini took some time to react to what he was saying before nodding distractedly. "We''ll wait until their battle is about to finish, then we will get ready to sneak in. I will first" When Paganini finally stammered through whatever he had to say, there was only a confused look on Charles'' face. "Eh? Is it that difficult?" Paganini coughed a few times and did not know what to say. "So, all we have to do is to obtain that broken wheel, right?" Charles cracked his neck and revealed a smile that only made Paganini feel extremely uneasy. [1] A traditional song and dance that began in the era of the Yellow Emperor. It praised all the great things that the Yellow Emperor achieved, such as uniting the people and being a person of great honor. 693 I Have a Rough Plan "Wait!" Paganini held out his hands and was about to say something, but he saw Charles take a step back. Up in the air, he tore off his frost-covered coat, revealing his thin frame. Paganini''s eyes went wide. He saw a single brilliant wing unfolding behind the young man, sprouting from his back. It extended slowly but did not reach into the realm of aether. A torrent of music theory gushed out. At this moment, the tattooed records of the Abyss that decorated him turned into dark feathers and became part of the wing. Once it had formed, the wing was as small as a single human body. But when he unfurled it, the whole sky was darkened, as if it had been wrapped up in formless wings. Just by spreading his wing he covered the heavens and the earth. In the vast sea of aether, the wing silently gave rise to an earth-shaking frenzy. Even Paganini could not stand firm in front of it as he was pushed back by an invisible tide. As he stared in fascination, Charles''s wing whipped up a wind from the realm of aether. Charles''s figure flickered like a phantom. At that moment Paganini finally understood how he had appeared behind him silently: because he was not there at all! He was neither here nor there. Right now Charles was not in front of him, nor was he anywhere. This was just a phantom that distorted the higher dimensions, becoming an intractable problem as he broke the conventional laws of space and time and then refracted through layer after layer to appear in front of him. This was quite different from Wolf Flute''s ability to pierce through the higher dimensions and skip over the blockades of the Physical World. It was as if he had folded space like a piece of paper, or even crumpled it up, forming the little black dots on the paper into an intricate labyrinth. Arbitrarily traversing through higher dimensions and even skipping over them would put the indescribable realm of aether in the palm of your hand, and the whole world at your fingertips. "Phase distortion?" Paganini barely managed to ask. "That''s absolutely impossible. How did you achieve it?" Charles looked at him vacantly. Soon, a blank smile showed on his face. He pointed to his back. "You mean this? If you want to learn how to do it, I''ll teach you when I have some time. It''s pretty simple actually, although it can be a bit troubling at times. Thanks to this, I often lost my way as a child. I had just gone out to buy some soy sauce, I don''t know why I went to such a strange place. I didn''t understand until recently, I had simply been going the wrong way." He paused, reached out and grabbed Paganini''s wrist. "Don''t just stand there, go!" He clearly did not move, but in an instant, Paganini felt like he had been immersed in a deep pool, with countless streams of light flashing before his eyes. The deep secrets of the realm of aether slowly unfolded before him. Numerous distorted dimensions and unknown spaces that were composed of what looked like iron sand were stuffed into his consciousness, causing his forehead to swell to the point where he felt it was about to burst. At that moment he understood, but he forgot it even faster and could not recall anything. All that was left was fear. It was deeper than the fear of death. He simply trembled. He felt like he had been submerged in thousands of years of solace. In that eternity, even death lost its meaning. But when he opened his eyes the lingering shadows quickly disappeared, and his perfect body created by divinity began to sweat profusely. He couldn''t think. What had he seen? And when he awoke from that horror, the Wheel of Balance had already come into view. The two people who had appeared out of nowhere had triggered a vicious cycle as if they had purposely jumped into a steel smelter. The frightful power that collided between the Great Wall and the Sacred City had created an arena of destruction that swallowed up the two of them. The tremendous power of the heavens and earth in motion crushed them. All the disappearing light swept through in but an instant, but Paganini was still intact. It was like watching a horror drama through a plane of glass. It looked frightening, but it was so far away. It was as if two mountain peaks had collided together. They marched along the quickly disappearing tiny gaps, traveled back and forth through the labyrinthine turbulence, and passed through all the destruction, getting closer and closer to the Wheel of Balance. "What the h*ll is that?" The sound of iron drums rang out as a man in a tall hat noticed their approach. He looked up at them, both eyes shot through with glaucoma. He pounded the Scepter in his hands on the ground like a drumstick. Malachite burst out from the earth amid the roar of its revolving. Everything collapsed to the sound of the drums. The red-hot music theory sent an invisible shockwave through the sea of aether, and waves crashed one after another sending ripples everywhere. Everything was shaken into broken bits. Numerous rippled echoes one after another, constructing a movement that cast an illusion of a wonderland of warriors with golden spears and iron-clad horses. An iron curtain was pressed down over the projections of mountains and rivers. In the depths of the realm of aether, structures of distorted space were also shaken by this terrible shock. In a flash most of the exits collapsed, blocking the curved paths that Charles had made instantly. Destructive ripples followed close after. At this moment, the four musicians in the City in the Sky joined hands and linked their music theory. After the man in the tall hat''s blow, the head of the Yuan family followed with an attack of his own. But his sword whistled coldly. After three weeks of confusing Charles, there was nothing more it could do. It was like he was looking at the situation through glass with no way to affect it. The head of the Yuan family was stunned. "To insert what has no thickness into such spaces [1]? That can''t be right..." The white jade pipa began to play, and in an instant, Paganini felt himself floating as evil thoughts sprouted within his heart. The pipa''s music transferred his soulless bestial nature into the School of Heart and quietly implanted it into Paganini''s body. If his Changing Music Theory was not equally as strong, Paganini would have suffered a bitter defeat. The King of Red snorted. With one hand he contended with the four Devas. He lifted the other up and waved his fingers, stirring up the King of Black''s music theory. A holy song of judgment rang out from the void, and a destructive light spread everywhere. It flowed into the realm of aether and raced about in the higher dimensions. It locked on to Charles as he tried to avoid it, a single beam of light forcing him to flee in panic. But soon the punishing light went in the wrong direction as Charles guided it towards the malachite. The projections of the Sacred City and the Great Wall roared. In an instant, both sides of the struggle had assessed the whole situation. The fight was based on how well they could handle their own music theory and the overall situation. Even the smallest thing could have profound effects. Using this as a bridge, the two sides fought recklessly. After one attack both sides had taken some losses, and Charles''s strange ability surfaced. "Phase jumping...higher dimension distortion..." The head of the Zhangsun family looked towards Charles. "He can actually do this...is he some sort of mix between the realm of aether and humanity?" Suddenly, countless elements in the projections of both sides changed, key points shifted, and a lightning strike locked onto Charles and was ready to go. Paganini felt a pressure greater than any before. The Scepter of the Sacred City that the Church had created in the realm of aether and the Great Wall that the Nine Families of the Dragon bloodline had created thousands of years ago both locked on to each other. Even a greater catastrophe would suffer heavy losses from the assault that was coming. A cold sweat broke out on Charles''s forehead. "Wait!" Before everyone''s cold eyes, Charles jumped out from the higher dimensional labyrinth, looking serious for once in his life. "I have a rough plan to solve the problem!" In the silence, everyone wanted to laugh. Even Bai Heng looked at Gaius''s projection in surprise. Gaius took a puff of his cigarette. He was cool and collected as if he had expected Charles''s interruption. He merely shrugged to indicate to everyone there that this was not his doing. As could be expected, everyone looked over at Charles. Charles paused for a moment, lowered his head and fake coughed a few times, and then looked back up at everyone with a sly smile that made them want to beat him. "Since everyone wants this d*mn thing, why don''t we divide it up?" There was a long silence. Even Gaius was stunned. Only Bai Heng laughed after a slight hesitation. He laughed hard and applauded. "Great idea! I agree." He smiled at the gloomy King of Red. "Actually, I can''t even use the whole thing. Just a piece of it would be fine." Charles and Paganini glanced at each other, then looked up at the City in the Sky which had fallen into a strange silence. The Devas who were incarnations of the four pillars glanced at each other with subtle expressions. Finally, everyone looked at the Wheel of Balance that had appeared in the center of it all. This thing how should they divide it up? In the next moment, everyone moved at once! Therefore, they did not need someone like Charles to stir things up. Everyone understood that under the current situation the fight for the Wheel of Balance could only end in a stalemate. But when their goal changed from the whole artifact to just a part of it, the whole situation would be completely different. Either way, they''d first break it apart then talk about it! First come, first serve! But before they could, the King of Red stood in their way. The Sacred City had long regarded the Wheel of Balance as something they had in the bag. The King of Red had maintained this stalemate in order to give the King of Black a chance to cast stronger power through the wind tunnel. Of the Three Kings, the King of Red had been controlled by 17 popes throughout history. His so-called body was just a tool used by the Popes in Nibelungen, he was not really there. Therefore, he was able to perform the near-miraculous feats of human transmission and resurrection. But the King of Black couldn''t. He could set out a restricted area from the wind tunnel, but he was still thousands of miles away in an unreachable place. And the King of Yellow had left after his initial intervention, having made up his mind not to worry about the disputes on the ground. If he was still there, even at the other side of the world he could still intervene in the situation through the Holy Cauldron''s systems. There was no need to fight. As long as it was guided by its own power, the Wheel of Balance would choose on its own. They would not fight this battle. In an instant, the battle in the sky had already reached its climax. A great amount of music theory was born and died in the core. Elements collided with each other, were born, and died. The projections of the Sacred City and the Great Wall collided, hitting hard and throttling each other. And Charles had gone back into the twisted phase labyrinth after speaking, slipping away from the battle between the two sides and its aftermath. In a flash, the two projections had interlocked thousands of times, and many towers in the projection of the Sacred City had been destroyed. And far away in the real Sacred City, the corresponding steel towers emitted the sharp sound of scraping metal as they collapsed. The Great Wall was equally damaged, and several of the beacon fires had been extinguished in the great storm. In that instant of collision, Paganini blocked all the attacks directed at Charles, resulting in half his body being broken and horrifying to look at. After this, the King of Red and Yuan Changqing with Charles close behind had already touched the edge of the Wheel of Balance. There was no need for them to look at each other. A cold light flashed in Yuan Changqing''s eyes. That iron light was fleeting, but it seemed to pierce through all the long nights throughout the ages, annihilating stars and the sun, destroying everything as easily as crushing dry reeds and smashing rotting wood, illuminating a future in which only he existed. The true essence of the Yuan family''s swordsmanship was revealed. The Chun Jun Sword slashed down! Bang! A sharp sound burst forth from the depths of the realm of aether, then swept out over everything, setting off the roar of the world collapsing. In the twinkling of an eye, the sky went pure white. One moment the ocean boiled and the next it froze. The air became bits of iron sand that rubbed against each other, agitating everything and opening cracks everywhere. Frenzied power flowed out of the cracks in the Wheel of Balance. that moment a terrible chain reaction arose from the sea of aether. The whole world could hear the fierce voice that seemed to crack the heavens and the earth. Everything seemed to have gone out of control in an instant. The whole world was in turmoil. In a flash, the Wheel of Balance fell apart, splitting into three pieces in the three-way battle. A great rush of music theory gathered towards the fragments, shaping them into new forms. They clearly looked the same, but each of the three gave everyone a very different feeling. It was not only the form of the Wheel that had been split but also its power. The King of Red looked downcast. The fragment in his hands still held the same form as the Wheel of Balance. Numerous elements converged and reformed it. Its power, inherited from the "separation" power of the original Wheel of Balance, could cut off the ability of all musicians to sense the realm of aether. The fragment in Yuan Changqing''s hands did not seem to be magical, but wherever it went everything became calm, everything seemed to have returned to the right path. The realm of aether and the Physical World were once again stabilized. The power that he had received was "maintaining." It maintained the balance between the two worlds and was most suitable to be a part of the Great Wall of Aurora. The fragment that Charles had was faint, like a phantom. But wherever he went became like a huge hole, with bizarre illusions constantly flashing out from within the void. This was the last part of the Wheel of Balance: "overlapping." In this way, the Wheel of Balance was completely split. The artifact that all the different parties had set their hopes upon was born, split apart in the battle, and turned into three mystical objects no longer the same as before. It was simply a great big joke. The battle had finally ended. The aftermath was still there. When the Wheel of Balance had broken, massive amounts of elements had burst out of it, turning into shockwaves that flew between heaven and earth. A cry rose up from the Ultimate as if mourning the death of its child. Wait the Ultimate? Paganini was stunned, and a puzzling thought appeared in his mind: why is the Ultimate still there? The fate of the Ultimate was to give birth to a catastrophe, so with the birth of the Wheel of Balance the Ultimate should have already fallen apart and hidden away again. Why was it still there? And it could still stay whole amid the earth-shattering three-sided battle? "This isn''t right!" He looked down at the Ultimate. But then his expression changed. He felt it. Something giant was emerging from the realm of aether! The behemoth that had been missing for a long time as it floated in the depths of the realm of aether was sinking towards the Physical World through the gap that had been opened up by the birth of the Wheel of Balance! Through the complex turbulence, Paganini could only a faintly see an ethereal phantom. It was like a dream. A dream coming towards the Physical World No, descending upon the Ultimate! At this moment, the residual power that still lingered between heaven and earth seemed to hear a new call. It turned into a torrent and rushed towards the Ultimate. Was anybody still there? Paganini was stunned when he finally realized. Ye Qingxuan! [1]: This is a line from the Daoist sage Zhuangzi''s story "The Dextrous Butcher." 694 It Should Not Be So In the rumble, Ye Qingxuan lay in the ruins, looking up at the turbulent sky. Fierce glows lit up one after another. Despite clearly being fires that sufficed to burn the mortal realm away, turning it into purgatory, when they gathered in one place, they were gorgeous to look at. Colorful reflections flickered in his eyes. Without anyone realizing it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep. The dream was so calm and long. Tides swept from afar, and waves washed onto the beach. He stepped on the gravel barefoot. A small crab crawled out of a hole in the sand, climbed over his feet, and fell into a puddle. The familiar smell of seawater was in the air. The blue sky was reflected on the surface of the sea. Ye Qingxuan sat silently on the beach, watching the calm waves surge, washing up on the beach. The wind blew from a distance, bringing fresh air with it. It blew on the dilapidated palaces of the Ultimate. No disputes. No fights. No ambition. Nor was there so-called future. In the quiet ruins, only eternal loneliness and beauty were present. After a long time, he suddenly realized the truth. "Is this my dream?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled softly and rubbed his forehead embarrassedly. "I didn''t expect that I still like to deceive myself..." He lifted his head and looked up at the sky, raising his voice. "The world is not like this, is it?" A rumble came from afar. The smell of the wind changed. "The world has never been so calm and gentle." Ye Qingxuan stepped on the waves and walked along the beach, talking to himself, "The sky is not of such a color." So, the blue sky broke, and the fierce lights from the battle emerged from the gap as if the door of purgatory had been opened. Fire burned the clouds as if iron had been ignited. White clouds were dyed black by ink, and when they brushed against each other, a high-pitched sound of steel colliding burst forth. The calmness was torn apart. "The wind does not smell like this," he said. The breeze paused. Then, the F?hn wind of purgatory blew from the fire. The wind brought along a pungent smell of sulfur, and the wind was dyed yellow. When it blew on one''s face, it stung one''s eyes, and one could not help but tear up. "The sea water is not of such a temperature," he said. So, the clear sea water boiled, and the stench rose from it. Stinking white foam surged between the reefs, like a boiling spring beneath the earth''s crust. The water was no longer pure, and it was full of the smell of bodies rotting, the bloody scent stinging one''s nose. "The ground is shaking," Ye Qingxuan murmured softly, turned back, and saw the collapse of the dilapidated yet calm palace as the island shook. Cracks emerged on the road paved with stone, and the lava of purgatory spewed out from beneath the earth''s crust, dyeing the island a blood red bit by bit. "The light of the stars has gone out," he said. So, stars fell, breaking through the clouds, and ignited the air. With a long trail of lights behind them, they fell into the sea, stirring up tides tens of thousands of meters tall. Some fell on the ground, leaving tragic scars behind. It seemed as if a cruel child was casually doodling on a masterpiece with red paint. Everything was beyond recognition. But something was still missing. Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Let there be forlorn whines." The rumble sounded like countless blasts of thunder colliding. The gale howled forlornly as if countless desperate souls had emerged in the wind, crying softly, mourning the death of everything. Ye Qingxuan stood between the sea and the skies. He raised his head, looking up at the world. Under the burning sky, the sea was blood red. Broken islands spat out lava, stars fell, and F?hn wind blew and swept. Forlorn howls and mournful crying sounded one after another, then dissipating in the air like illusions. Everything seemed to be from a nightmare about purgatory. "Such is the real world." Ye Qingxuan looked at his creation with satisfaction. It was so detailed and real, honestly presenting its actual appearance. But he couldn''t smile and simply felt tired. After bidding farewell to hypocrisy, his dreamland was finally exactly the same as the world. But he couldn''t tell whether he was awake or he had stayed in the dream. "The world shouldn''t be so, right?" Ye Qingxuan reached out and fished out cigarettes that did not exist in the dream from his empty pockets. After igniting one, he smelled the fragrance of tobacco burning. Ashes rolled around in his lungs, bringing a familiar stinging sensation. He could no longer distinguish between reality and dream. Reality was so absurd that it seemed like a nightmare, but the dream was so cruel that it seemed like reality. No one responded. Only a rumble sounded from the sky, and F?hn wind stirred up forlorn howls. Ye Qingxuan silently savored the taste of ashes. After a long time, he threw the cigarette that had finished burning into the boiling sea, raised his head, and repeated softly, "It shouldn''t be so." Illuminated by the lightning and fire, he slowly lifted his palm. "The sky should be clear!" In the rumble, a wisp of pure white moonlight shone from the sky. The moonlight shone bright, the music theory of the quiet moon operated, creating a perfect, round moon. The moon operated in the sky as if it was opening the world up. It wiped out the fire and thunder, opening up a calm night sky amid the turmoil. In the night sky, stars lit up once more, so deep and far. Compared to the large-scale turmoil, the starry sky was so small, but it firmly shrouded the Ultimate and resided in Ye Qingxuan''s dream. "The wind and the ocean should return to their original appearance," he said. So, the F?hn wind of purgatory quietly stopped, the boiling seawater returned to calmness. The blue ocean reflected the stars, surrounded the Ultimate, and a cool wind blew from the sea. Ye Qingxuan turned back and gazed at the Ultimate. "The ground is stable and supports the sky." The turbulent Ultimate returned to stillness, and the gaps in the shattered land closed up once more. The cracks disappeared, and the burning lava quietly solidified. The collapsed palaces were finally whole again, the dust on them was wiped away. The gale and the rumble subsided, and the sorrowful whines disappeared. Blocked from the turmoil of the outside world, the small dreamland seemed to be removed from reality once again, obstinately denying everything, and it returned to calmness and stability. The ground was stable, the stars shone, everything was calm, singing joyfully for the long gone past and the future. It was just as wonderful as the world should be. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan felt an inexplicable illusion. He seemed to be slumbering in the deep dream where everything was beautiful, but he was clearly awake, standing in the shaking, collapsing Ultimate, looking at the world from afar as it slowly slid into purgatory. He was in two very different worlds at the same time. They were so distinct, yet the dream and the reality were closely combined, with they themselves acting as the links. At the moment, he finally came to a realization and began laughing softly. "So that''s how it is." Ye Qingxuan spread his arms. He stood against the calm wind in the dream, but breathed in the smell of sulfur, letting the ashes burn in his lungs. As his body dimmed and faded out, the light of aether lit up in his blood, and his body entered the aether circulation once more. Electricity spread silently, his Symphony of Predestination broke free from the shackles of his body, rapidly expanding. Countless strands of music theory evolved and proliferated. In an instant, they covered the entire Ultimate. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei flew out from his fingertips and extended forward. The Heaven Ladder was built from thin air and expanded upwards, instantly disappearing into the far-reaching night sky. As if It had found a long-lost destination, the Heaven Ladder did not stop and kept on moving forward and forward. Like a giant tower leading to the sky, it defied the conventional rules of the physical world, reaching across the nine-layer sea of aether, and disappeared into the depths of the realm of aether. And as the strings of the qin made a sound like that of a dragon whining, from the depths of the realm of aether came a corresponding echo. The forgotten land drifting around in the higher dimensions was awakened. Responding to the melody of the Heaven Ladder, it crossed an endless distance. After slumbering for decades, the scepter of House Ye finally heard the music of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei which it had been awaiting. The fleeting dream followed the guidance of the Heaven Ladder and moved downwards, without any hesitation or reluctance, like stars following the moonlight. Disregarding its own collapse and dissipation, it moved downwards, downwards, and further downwards. It passed by the Holy City, disregarding of the countless bell tolls persuading it to stay. It passed by the dissipating abyss, crushing its last residue. It passed by the illusion of the Great Wall, ignoring the calls of joy from the countless beacons. Under the echo from the Heaven Ladder, it broke through the last barrier of the realm of aether with a slam, smashing into the sea of aether. Burning, shaking, and collapsing, it disregarded its own rapid dissipation and cast itself towards where the Ultimate was. Then only did Yuan Changqing finally remember why its vibe was so familiar. "The Dream of a Millennium of House Ye..." he murmured softly, looking at the huge scepter crashing down with a complicated look, the deep dream that the bloodline of House Ye of each generation had been constructing for centuries. As if reflecting all the changes in the world, drastic changes were revealed in the streams of light of the dreamland. Joys and sorrows occurred in cycles within it, the life processes of birth, aging, falling sick, and death were accorded meaning, and in the end... everything within naturally returned to a long slumber. At the very core of the Ultimate, in the ruined palace, the young man with silver hair raised his head. Looking up at the Dream of the Millennium that was falling towards him, he lifted his palm. "Let the melody begin!" Ye Qingxuan whispered softly, waved, and played the first note. "The founding movement of the future!" At the moment, the dreamland that had come from the realm of aether fell into the Ultimate. It produced no roar, no loud noise, and no turmoil. It was so calm that it seemed as if nothing had happened, like it was just an illusion. The huge scepter instantly merged into Ye Qingxuan''s dream, making his dream wildly expand, expand, expand, and expand further... It was like the evolution of a speck of dust into a world. With the Ultimate as a melting pot, Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination and the Dream of a Millennium connected to each other and quietly integrated as one. Earth-shattering changes sprouted from the silence. Countless dreamlands burned and turned into firewood, incorporating into Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination. On the wilderness with tombs all over it, the extinguished lights in front of the tombstones were re-ignited. Cracks emerged on the tombstones, and they immediately collapsed into dust and disappeared. But amid the lights that shone like stars, figures of the past walked out. The musicians who had passed away in the distant past once again emerged from their dreams. Some were old, some young. Some handsome, some ugly. Some cold and serious, some calm and tranquil. The musicians who put their souls and future in their dreams seemed to be resurrected again. They stepped forward and nodded at Ye Qingxuan as a greeting, entrusting their dreams which their whole lifetimes had condensed into to Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination, and then completely dissipated in the flames without the slightest trace. Jiu Xiao Huan Pei hummed in a low tone and played an elegy for the deceased musicians. Each integration of a dream brought about drastic changes. The Symphony of Predestination operated like electricity, incorporating the inheritances from the past, constantly evolving, collapsing, and being reborn. In the end, a sparkling brilliance like that of a crystal bloomed. 695 A World Where Nothing Really Exists Only one last figure remained amongst the countless dissipating flames. He looked at Ye Qingxuan quietly. There was comfort in his eyes but very soon, he began to wipe at his nose awkwardly. "I''m sorry. I have long given you everything." He opened his arms. "There''s nothing else that I can give you anymore this time around." "It''s okay." Ye Qingxuan stepped forward and embraced him while speaking under his breath, "I''m happy to see you again, father." Ye Lanzhou was stunned for a while but recovered very quickly as he laughed and patted his son''s back. "So am I." The dawn was vanishing rapidly. He smiled and waved goodbye to his successor as he dissipated within the flames and merged with the gigantic and endless Symphony of Predestination. Dream of a Millenium was collapsing. The dreams and nightmares of countless people and music theories that had been improved over the generations merged with the dreams of Ye Qingxuan as the scepter collapsed. Every bond and sorrow and separation would end at this very moment and from this, a new seed would be planted. The old dream had been awakened and the new hibernation would soon come. The Dream of a Millenium completely fused into Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination, driving forth the arrival of the next huge chapter. It would grow, burn, gather and prosper! Within the collapsing dream, Ye Qingxuan turned around. He saw that familiar face once again. It was the figure that dwelt at the lowest level of the dream and seemed to be unaffected by time. His face resembled Ye Qingxuan yet was also totally different at the same time. It was like the origin of bloodline, where everything began. It was like when they first met. He looked at Ye Qingxuan with compassion in his eyes. "Do you regret it?" "Haven''t we talked about this before already?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him and shook his head. "No, no regrets. Not now, not in the future." With that, his eyes seemed to have gained comfort from Ye Qingxuan''s reply. As the figure gradually vanished, the man who had appeared out of nowhere began to say farewell to Ye Qingxuan, "If you ever have the chance in the future, head to the east and to the end of the Path of Dragon''s Blood. I have left something behind for you." He continued, "You will be able to find the answers to many of your questions there." "I will." Ye Qingxuan nodded and looked at the collapse of the last vault of heaven in the dream. In his daze, there was the sound of dragon tune from the chords of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei and endless beams of light shot out from the location of the collapse within the Symphony of Predestination. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes as the light devoured everything else. "He is going to level-up here?" It was only now that everyone finally understood Ye Qingxuan''s intention but shortly after, the man with the coronet frowned and there was a confused look on his face. "Something is wrong. He is not inheriting the scepter of the Ye family He is destroying it!" Instead of fusing his own dreams into the core of the Dream of a Millenium to gain control of the scepter of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had chosen to ignite the Dream of a Millenium and burn it for his own usage. This fellow "He is going to destroy the heritage of the Ye family!" Yuan Changqing finally realized what was happening. "Stop him!" Metallic light shot out of nowhere and turned into countless illusions. They crossed one another in the night sky as they brought with them the constellations and countless killing music theories and covered the entire Ultimate within. But someone else was faster than him. A shapeless pair of wings spread open and they were so huge that the entire Ultimate was wrapped within and Ye Qingxuan was now extremely well-protected. Charles. "Although I have no idea what you intend to do to my junior, can you please take a few steps back?" Charles stepped in front of Yuan Changqing. He smiled so sincerely that anyone would have been tempted to give him a beating. "Let''s calm down and talk things out." "Move aside!" Yuan Changqing grunted. "You have no idea what he is doing!" Charles did not move. The wing on his back curled slightly and blocked off the glow of the sword, Chun Jun. Countless feathers dropped as a result. "To be honest, indeed, I don''t really have a good idea what he is doing." Charles shrugged. "But what has that got to do with you anyway?" Yuan Changqing was furious but just as he was about to speak, he awkwardly realized that he had no idea what to say. Indeed, the nine families of the dragon bloodline were as one. Back then, the ancestors of the nine families had worked together to develop the first colony and ever since then, it had been built into the incredible aurora. The relationships between these nine families were complicated and inseparable. Even the core power of aurora, which were the Great Wall and the City in the Sky, was built with the combined efforts of the nine families. The artifacts and scepters passed down in each family were of the utmost importance and could never be replaced. If the Heaven Ladder of the Ye family still existed, they would never have needed so much effort to come over from the east. If Jiu Xiao Huan Pei could be utilized as a projection for the City in the Sky, any location in the world could be reached in an instant. There would be no need to go to great lengths and utilize Yun Men Da Juan in order to cover such a great distance. Therefore, once Ye Qingxuan completely burnt down the Dream of a Millenium, the shortcoming of the City in the Sky would always be there forever. This was why the masters of the four families were so anxious. But what good would that do? Back then, it was a collective decision to exile the Ye family. Now that they had been forced to bring them back, what right did they have to interfere? Right now, they felt like they were witnessing the child of a concubine burning up all his inheritance for fun. Besides, it was all going to end up for naught. "What do you know? He will never succeed!" Yuan Changqing tugged at the sparse white hair on his head and was panicking. "He has not been to the east to pass through the Path of Dragon Blood. He hasn''t even officially inherited the name of the Ye family, nor conferred as a king by the Emperor. Let''s not talk about taking back the element of the Ye family, even the legend of the Ye family has not been fused into his own Symphony of Predestination! Why do you think the Sacred City has always been confident of stopping him? His body is not even strong enough to handle what he is about to do! Now that he is forcefully leveling up, it may seem glorious but actually, he is only heading to his doom. The flames might be burning furiously now but they are actually burning on little fuel! By the time the flames are extinguished, who knows he will still be alive!" Charles was stunned. After a long time, realization finally dawned on him and he nodded. "Oh." It was as if he had just been told that the school was not selling any bread for today. He did not seem to care at all, except with a blank look on his face. "And so?" "So, step aside!" Yuan Changqing was fuming as he continued through his gritted teeth, "Are you just going to watch him die?" "But if he is so keen to die, as his senior, I should not stand in his way." Charles sighed. "What a pity. I had even agreed to be the emcee at his wedding ceremony. Now, it seems that that won''t be possible anymore. Perhaps, I can only make up for it by hosting his funeral" He paused for a while and looked at Yuan Changqing. "Oh, do all of you need invitations? I heard that people of the east are usually quite generous. Surely, all of you won''t just turn up for free food and drinks?" It took everything that Yuan Changqing could muster to control himself. He was so confused as he looked at Charles. What is becoming of this world? Are you his senior or his enemy? He''s not even dead yet and you are all ready to collect his funeral money! "Aren''t you the least bit concerned about his life and death?!" Charles shrugged. "To be honest, I may be worried if it was something else. But for this matter, I have never been concerned. Since even I am not concerned, please do not try to interfere as well." With that, he raised his palm and a black hole appeared from the emptiness between his fingers. It seemed to lead to a place that was beyond this world and was filled with darkness and despair and screams. There was not a single hint of light at all. The hole was all it took for Yuan Changqing to become extremely fearful. "The Abyss?" "Oh? You recognize it? That''s great!" Charles smiled and poked at the small dark hole casually. "This is the first time I''m making this. I''m not too familiar with it so it won''t be nice if I mess it up. So, can I request that you take a small step back? Just a small step will do." He had only just finished his sentence when there was a roar from within the Ultimate. The Dream of a Millenium had almost been completely burnt. After the flames extinguished, the expected dead silence did not arrive. Instead, there was light. "What is that" Light shot out of the Ultimate. Moonlight flowed in the sky like a stream and covered the entire Ultimate. All traces of destruction vanished and all was calm once again. It was as if eternal peace had come. The dry lands were growing with green grass. Trees were growing and streams were flowing. There were no longer any conflicts or chaos. In this dream-like land of peace, even the cold and tough world seemed to have softened. Everything that had been on the brink of destruction had been recreated. Everything would receive redemption. On the other hand, the gigantic Symphony of Predestination had shrunk into a small dot and could barely be detected, yet it still emanated a calm and comfortable glow of moonlight. The majestic tolling of the bell could be heard from the realm of aether as it announced the birth of a new scepter. Everyone was stunned. "He succeeded?" Yuan Changqing stared at the light and was immersed in it like everyone else. "Wait, is this even one of the signs of the legends? The Heaven Ladder of the Ye family hasn''t appeared and neither has the sacred light of the Holy Bible Did he become a scepter through an unorthodox path? That''s not right either, because there are traces of Satan or catastrophes" Amidst the chaos, an incredible thought appeared in his head and he was stunned. "This is a demonstration!" There was no need to borrow external music theories or the power of catastrophes or even rely on the legendary element created from the Ye family and the Holy Bible! He did not depend on unreliable myths, nor rely on the religion of the church, nor rely on the rank of nobility that had been passed down through the Ye family, and much less the conferring of title from aurora. Instead, he chose to rely on himself! In the instant that he leveled up to a scepter, he declared to the Originator that he would rely only on his own abilities to make a name for himself! He could create a new legend with his own life! It was like getting a loan from the Originator with everything that he had. In exchange, he obtained substantial power and even managed to obtain the element produced directly from the Originator. But the moment he went back on his words and went against the agreement with the Originator, everything would be taken back by the Originator and interest would have to be paid. Not only that, but if he could not fulfill his oath, he would be assimilated by the Originator and everything within him would be erased. As such, this was a risky move and while many would wish to do the same, the Originator did not function like a bank. In actual fact, from the beginning of time, almost no one had ever made any oaths that received the acknowledgment of the Originator, and even fewer had managed to fulfill those oaths. There were countless different ways to become a scepter, and each path led to slightly different outcomes. Instead of taking the path that so many others had taken before, Ye Qingxuan chose to pay a heavy price for a new outcome No one could tell if this decision would prove to be gutsy or foolish. But Ye Qingxuan did not care. As the bell of the Originator tolled, pale blue moonlight suddenly revealed itself from the vault in heaven. There was no battle between the Holy Caldron and the abyss but the Quiet Moon shone on Ye Qingxuan. Countless music theories boosted the Symphony of Predestination, which was in its final phase. With that, the oath had been made. "Please look out for me again in future." Ye Qingxuan looked at the pale blue moon concealing itself. He could sense the oath completely merging with his Symphony of Predestination and smiled. "In that case" He raised his palm and declared the existence of this oath. There was a thunderous roar that rang across every corner of the sea of aether. "Sceptera world where nothing really exists!" In the next instant, the Symphony of Predestination collapsed completely amidst the majestic tolling of the bell. Everyone could sense a new star rising from the darkness, towards the physical world and through the sea of aether. It reached the lowest depths of the realm of aether and revealed its presence in the upper-tier dimension. On top of Ye Qingxuan, countless beams of light formed the projection of an illusion that resembled a mirage of scenery from a world that was far away. Scepter! All it took was one glance and no one else was able to look away after that. This was because the scenery was simply too perfect. Countless images shifted and created a country that was so perfect that it could not possibly exist. But shortly after, everyone began to frown. No one had ever seen fleeting and illusory scepter. It was just like imagination, so much so that no powers had been embedded within! If not for the fact that everyone did manage to sense the presence of element, they would have thought that this was just an illusion. However, the King of Red frowned. He had finally sensed the presence of the scepter, but the element within the scepter was so far away, so much so that even within the upper-tier of dimension within the realm of aether, it was beyond the reach of humans and even catastrophes. It was so far away that it would have no effect on reality! In that instant, he finally understood the nature of scepter. "This was the oath that you swore to the Originator?" The King of Red looked down at Ye Qingxuan with disappointment in his eyes. "You sacrificed everything in exchange for a blueprint? Ye Qingxuan, I had expected better from you, but you still insist on pursuing those unrealistic dreams of yours!" "I have no choice." Ye Qingxuan smiled and shrugged. "After all, it''s hard for a leopard to change its spots." Sceptera world where nothing really exists! In that instant, he finally revealed the nature of this power to everyone. This was a dream that was created by the Originator and would answer the prayers of everyone! It did not exist in reality and would not rely on physical resources. It was just a blueprint. A utopia. An ideal country that did not exist. There was no physical nature to speak of, nor did it belong to the present. It was a ''future'' that was so far away from the current world and reality. An imagination. No, it was more of a joke than an imagination. No one had ever dared to dig their own grave like this before Musicians would utilize the resonance of elements within scepters to bring forth powers that surpassed the capabilities of humans, but how could one bring forth powers of elements that did not exist? Through the imagination of the future? It was like turning one''s own scepter into nothingness and sacrificing everything in exchange for an illusion. From the beginning of time, there had always been such lunatics. It was just like how in the very beginning, the Three Kings prayed to the Holy Caldron and developed the Golden Era of mankind. The ancestors of the nine families built the Great Wall and set the foundation of the aurora empire. This was how the Devas began their rule. It was similar to how, not long ago, the abyss sage modified the Ultimate and hoped to create an era of ancient darkness to be ruled by Hyakume. But Ye Qingxuan''s madness went far beyond that. He actually swore an oath to the Originator that he would desire neither power nor scepter, and instead, he would sacrifice everything in exchange for an improbable future. A world that only existed in his dreams. Had he gone mad? But shortly after, the expression on everyone''s faces changed. This was because the gigantic aether wave within the Ultimate had not stopped because of the scepter. Instead, it continued to exist and in fact, it was continuing to climb! From the initial weak tremors to the crashing waves and roars of the Ultimate, until it finally reached a point where the entire vault of the heaven was shaking. The roar of emptiness burst out through the senses of every musician. It was as if the earth-shattering sound was being cultivated in the Ultimate as the majestic power kept rumbling from all directions and into the Ultimate. Even the elements that had been released by the Wheel of Balance returned to the Ultimate and merged with the huge aether wave. Shortly after, countless streaks of lightning shot out from the Ultimate and up into the sky. The deafening sounds kept coming one after another. The modified aether, that only Ye Qingxuan possessed, covered the entire Ultimate at this moment as countless ear-piercing sounds disrupted the harmonious melody. They were queer yet immense as if the entire world was a musical instrument. This was a sign that everyone was extremely familiar with. Within an hour, it had already been shown once, but it resulted in pushing the abyss completely out of the picture. It also resulted in the battle between the King of Red and the Six Royals of the east, thus fortifying Paganini''s position as the pontifex maximas of the Orthodox Church. But no one dared to believe what they were guessing. This was the sign of the birth of catastrophe! "Doesn''t the value of the blueprint lie in the fact that it is capable of creating a new existence?" Ye Qingxuan smiled while looking at the expression of shock on everyone''s faces, even as he merged his own scepter within It was as if the final piece of the puzzle had finally been placed. With the mounting of the scepter, a new spirituality began to grow within the Ultimate. I will use my own scepter to give this new catastrophe a soul! 696 Catastrophe Net of Aether The Ultimate was plunged into a strange silence when the Scepter that was swiftly moving away was immersed in it. The waves of aether that were chaotically spreading out suddenly disappeared, as if they had never been there. There was only the endless stream of aether flowing inward as if some invisible giant in its embryonic stage had opened its eyes and was sucking the aether in. When the blueprints for the Land of Dreams had been immersed in the Ultimate, that empty body had given birth to a soul and had been entrusted with its original spirituality. And then its nature had interfered. The interference of the incomprehensible nature of humanity had occurred in the depths of the Ultimate, just as the stars are born from the darkness of the universe. Every minute, every second, every moment, every instant, thousands of them exploded and were extinguished. "Genesis"! The devastation all over the Ultimate gradually healed, but it was not enough to stop the collapse of the temple. The earth and stone quickly faded back to its original color. The Firebird swept out from the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, covering the whole Ultimate and turning it into a huge furnace. It was covered in numerous complex alchemy arrays that continuously changed. The alchemy covered the entire Ultimate, a miracle that no alchemist could have imagined. The Ultimate was changing. It was changing in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Every minute, every second limitless aether was accumulating. A power strong enough to burn the Ultimate into ashes was silently seeping into the deepest parts of the earth, turning into flames that tempered the island that had flowed out of the Originator, pushing it to new heights. In an instant, the entire Ultimate was covered in electric lights and flames. It changed rapidly under the interference from its intrinsic nature. It roared and spun, collapsing in the flames of rebirth and regathering in the destructive electric light. The flames and electric light washed away the colors off of the earth and stone like water, giving them a crystal-like texture. Numerous huge blocks were born out of the lightning bolts. In the end, the entire Ultimate was transformed into sparkling clear crystals. Thousands of streams of light flowed beneath the crystal, intertwining and gathering together. Tens of thousands of alchemy arrays overlapped on top of it, complicated beyond human imaging and wrapping through the Ultimate like blood vessels. The followed the meter of the movement as they carried the torrent of aether. Music theory was born and died within it. They joined together and formed an exaggeratedly huge movement. It seemed as if there were countless people within the void singing in unison, yelling and roaring as a grandiose melody burst forth from the core, resounding between heaven and earth. It was only praise, but it set off countless waves in the sea of aether. It was only revolution, but it cracked the seabed, caused the seas to boil and numerous electric lights to surge out. And in the protection of that unlimited power, the reborn Ultimate broke free from the confines of gravity. It lightly and easily distorted the laws of the Physical World and wrote new ones. Within that chorus of countless voices, it slowly rose up from the sea, shaking off the dust and dirt and revealing its new form. The darkness was dispelled as its glow hit everyone''s eyes. It was cut and polished as if by the gods, as exquisite as a miracle: a perfect crystal cube! Under the pull of music theory, numerous crystal blocks precise to a scale of less than a millimeter made up its suffocatingly huge form, each of which was thousands of meters long. Under the electric light, the blocks slowly rotated around an axis as if pushed by some invisible hand. There were no obstructions, but as they rotated music theories collided with each other, giving off terrifying thunderclaps. A stream of light flew out of it and spread out in all directions before it was finally hidden in the void as it plunged into the depths of the sea of aether, echoing the resonance of all things. The music theory changed rapidly along with the rotating blocks, showing many different faces. Soon, the alchemy arrays gathered at the axis were revealed. Was this an instrument of harmonious melody? A giant instrument of harmonious melody the likes of which had never been seen before and never would be seen again! Even if all the Church''s instrument''s of harmonious melody that were scattered around the world gathered together, they would not compare with this crystal cube that had just been born. It seemed to be directly connected to the sea of aether. Massive waves of aether spread out in all directions. The Heaven Ladder and Haydn''s ultra wide-area character interference had combined, it had increased to hundreds of times its original size. Even though they were in international waters, the huge interaction range still reached to the Anglo Kingdom, Burgundy, and Asgard, and even faintly reached to the endless deserts of the North. And in the center of the crystal cube, the Scepter called "Land of Dreams" slowly rotated, driving the final transformation. At that moment the deep sea was illuminated by a light, and the magnificent scenery of the Kingdom of Heaven and earth emerged from the reflection. Numerous people cheered and sang. The throne room appeared in the reflection. The queen looked across the vast distance, her line of sight seeming to pierce through the reflection and fall upon Ye Qingxuan. Then, the Firebird swept out from Avalon. It was the resonance of the music theory from the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. A brilliant stream of light rose up from the ocean and refracted through the crystal cube. The roar of the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei could now be heard. The Heaven Ladder extended out in all directions under the guidance of the crystal blocks. In Avalon, Christine awoke from her dream to find that the light of the Firebird was shining right in front of her. This formless object formed by willpower and aether covered her body, shrouding her and turning into intangible armor. Next, a complicated alchemy circuit formed on it, imbuing her with spirituality, and the music theory was connected to her spinal cord, merging her and the Firebird into one. Christine was stunned. "Is this..." she whispered softly. She looked behind her in a daze but saw only a stream of light extending out from the void and entering her body. The armor felt strange to her, but also familiar. It was as if she was destined to wear it. "Lancelot?" And in the deepest part of the Royal Institute of Research, there was a constant roar in the underground testing site. A blazing light streamed continuously from old fingers, turning into real flame and frost and flew forward in accordance with the will, completely destroying all the iron testing blocks. The loud noise continued to ring out, shaking the dust off the floor and ceiling, which fell onto the old man''s ecstatic face. The researchers who were awakened by the loud noise threw on their coats and rushed to the testing site. But all they found was Newton flying in the air and letting loose fire and destruction. A musician? Had Newton become a musician in a single night? Everyone looked at him in a daze. Only Newton continued to shout with abandon, letting loose his miraculous power, constantly releasing the movement. "What...what the h*ll is this?" "This is change, children!" Newton laughed hoarsely as he beheld their stupefied expressions. "Change is coming!" Outside the Anglo Kingdom, the same changes were happening all over the world. As long as they were in range of the crystal cube, every musician in the Royal Navy felt their music theory rising wildly under the blessing of the light, reaching its peak in an instant. Even apprentices turned into full-blown musicians in an instant. This strange scene lasted a few short minutes and then disappeared with the stream of light. But a blazing hot sun had appeared in their perception, shining on them from a distance. It was as if they had but to think and endless power would be at their fingertips. The news spread throughout the nations in an instant. In a few short moments, countless people were woken from their pleasant dreams and read the news. Their backs were drenched in sweat, and they wanted nothing more than to open the window and have a smoke. They all more or less understood... The world might have changed at this moment. It might have changed under Ye Qingxuan''s hoarse declaration. "With this achievement... "...the Catastrophe Net of Aether!" Under the guidance of the blueprint given by the Originator, the purely conceptual King of Aether had finally reached perfection, even though compared to what it was expected to be in the future it was still merely a model, a prototype. After merging the Chapter of the Golden Victory and the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, it was able to give all users the full music theory of a Royal Musician. After completing the "Virtual Alchemy Array Projection," it had even surpassed the limitations of materials and manpower. It was able to create Armor of the Round Table at any time through the use of the Firebird, allowing for an almost unlimited expansion of the Knights of the Round Table. After this, the Royal Musician Division and the Knights of the Round Table would enter the era of mass production! And what was more, as long as Ye Qingxuan integrated the core music theory that he had plundered from dozens of different schools into the Net of Aether, it would be easy to mass produce other Masters. Even though it was limited by the range of the Net of Aether, as long as there were relay stations to extend its range its coverage would be nearly unlimited! No matter how far away it was, the Heaven Ladder could provide a supremely stable transmission. The thousand-year dream of the Ye family had been destroyed at Ye Qingxuan''s hands. He had no intention to revive the inheritance of the Ye family. Let old things stay in the old days. In the future, there would be no need to seal off the gradual improvements of generation after generation. As long as you could access the Net of Aether, the whole world would inherit the Ye family''s music theory. The whole world would be the heirs of the Ye family. At this moment, the Net of Aether had just been officially born and had not yet had far-reaching impact. But everyone there had already sensed the stormy waves of the future. It was not only because it could create musicians. Nobody was worried about there being more musicians. There were about 100,000 musicians in the world at that time, but even if another 100,000, 200,000 or even 300,000 were added they would simply be swallowed up by the vast world. But that was not where the damage was coming from. It came from the complete destruction and subversion of musicians'' inheritance! Starting from the age of eight, an apprentice would undergo decades of training, and with the held of their teacher''s careful cultivation and with a little bit of luck, and after consuming who knows how many materials, only then could one officially become a musician before the age of 25. The Royal Academy of Music enrolled 600 people each year. These 600 students underwent six years of research, after which it would be ridiculous to think that even thirty of them would graduate and become official musicians. And now, it would only take a moment. 697 Its Settled Then You could be bestowed with a miracle without having to pay a huge price. You need not spend a lifetime saving money to buy a house in midtown Avalon. You only needed to pay a negligible price to rent a new house for your use. As long as you bowed and pledged your loyalty, you could obtain power... It was foreseeable that once word spread throughout the world, Ye Qingxuan would become the common enemy of all the musicians in the world, the number one heretic in the world. Simply no joke could be funnier. The Grand Inquisitor of the Religious Court of Inquiry had become the biggest heretic... It could almost be predicted that after the next ten years, musicians would be totally overflowing, and their status would fall from that resembling demigods at the moment to the point of being like civil servants. Anyone could have power. As long as Ye Qingxuan was willing to give them power... Ye Qingxuan who had grasped such authority would totally become their master, their leader, their... god! After realizing it, the expressions of the four household heads of the Deva bloodline, who were initially grieving over the lose of the legacy of House Ye which had been passed down for millenniums, changed as well. Looking at the crystal Rubik''s Cube hanging high behind Ye Qingxuan, their fingers could not help but twitch slightly. They exchanged a look and their gazes changed. The situation continued until Bai Heng, on the warship in the distance, withdrew his gaze. "The less trouble the better." With an odd smile, he said softly, "Our goal has been reached, we need not be involved too deeply, as for the rest... just let our Holy See worry about it." The projection of the Great Wall dissipated. In the grand melody of Yun Men Da Juan, the four household heads took the fragment of the Wheel of Balance and left in an instant. In the sky, only the silent King of Red was left. He looked down at Ye Qingxuan for a long time. Ye Qingxuan also looked up at him. "Why must you do so?" His voice was cold. "Ye Qingxuan, from the beginning to the end, I have never ill-treated you." "But you have connived in it, didn''t you?" Ye Qingxuan asked softly. "The bad, the ugly, the unsightly, the rotten, the collapsed, they are all the results of other people acting on their own, and have nothing to do with you, because all you have done was just remaining silent. "You do want to make the world a better place, but you were blinded, manipulated, and could do nothing So, the world has descended into the f*cking state it is today, in your hands." "You are no longer a child, Ye Qingxuan." The King of Red opened his mouth, and his voice sounded like dozens of hoarse voices overlapping. "Don''t live in a fantasy. In order to maintain the world, necessary sacrifices are indispensable. "Humans have paid a huge price to make up for the mistakes of the past, allowing the era of humans to survive and continue. We cannot let humanity destroy itself again. " "Isn''t it the outcome that humans deserve?" Ye Qingxuan asked back coldly. "Let human beings judge themselves. If the outcome is destruction, then destruction it shall be. Why should they linger on with their last breath like what they are doing now? "Let the things that deserve to die die. Remaining in the world in such an abhorrent manner does no one any good. Why bother to keep the world in an iron cage on a stroller? " So, the King of Red asked solemnly, " So, Ye Qingxuan, are you going to be our enemy?" "If you want to stop me, then I will be your enemy." Ye Qingxuan looked at him, his expression indifferent. "I will change the world completely, starting from the musicians, from this point onwards, from now onwards. Your Holiness, a new era will arrive, such is the vow I made to the Originator!" He paused and declared solemnly, "Let what belongs to human beings return to human beings, and let what belongs to the Originator return to the Originator!" A rumbling thunder abruptly burst forth, tearing the silence apart and also making the face of the King of Red turn colder. "Very good, Ye Qingxuan." He withdrew his gaze. "From now on, the Holy City is your enemy." Seemingly not wanting to stay for too long, he took the fragment of the Wheel of Balance with him and left in displeasure. Meanwhile, a long sigh sounded from the wind tunnel in the distance, and the power of the King of Blue disappeared. The sea and the skies fell into a silence. Except for a guy who failed to see the gravity of the situation applauding in excitement. "It is great, my junior." Charles went over to him, not at all shy, draping an arm around his shoulder. "You were just too stylish just now, for real! As your senior, I support you!" As if he did not see Charles at all. Ye Qingxuan lifted his head and looked at Paganini not far away. "Paganini, first of all, congratulations on finding a good organization to accept you after leaving the abyss." He said unceremoniously, "Now, can you please go to wherever you are supposed to be, and give us some time to catch up with each other?" Paganini didn''t care about Ye Qingxuan''s scornful tone at all. He just smiled and glanced at Charles beside Ye Qingxuan. Then, his figure turned into a stream of light and flew toward the Caucasus. The world returned to silence. Ye Qingxuan looked up, took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled. He turned back and looked at Charles, smiling. "Do you have any cigarettes?" "Eh? Yes, I brought a packet along, hang on..." Charles looked down and fished around in his pockets, but then he saw the shadow of Ye Qingxuan in front of him move, as if he had lifted something. Then, it was abruptly slammed down. Bang! I''ll whack your damn head off! An expressionless Ye Qingxuan lifted the big stick formed with Firebird in his hand and smashed it towards Charles'' goddamn head, one blow after another. The sound of bones breaking rang out continuously. It wasn''t until Charles'' breathing turned weak that he stopped. Charles, with his head broken and bleeding profusely, lifted his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan with an ingratiating look. "Junior, can we chat properly now?" Ye Qingxuan sized the big stick covered in blood up, and frowned slightly. Soon, sharp spikes bulged out of the smooth big stick. Then, he continued whacking once more. In the end, after Charles was battered to a pulp, he finally stopped. It wasn''t that his anger had been vented completely. It was that he had no more strength. After so many years, his physical strength had always been his shortcoming, making him feel even more displeased. He kicked the pile of meat on the ground. "Get up, for whom are you playing dead?" In the crisp sound of bones growing, Charles picked himself up again, wiped off the blood on his face, and set his crooked head right once more. The familiar bitchy smirk on his face made Ye Qingxuan feel like beating him some more. "Junior, chill, chill." Charles draped an arm around Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder and pleaded, "It''s all my fault, I''m sorry for what I''ve done to you." Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and threw the big stick of Firebird to the side. He turned back and looked at Charles. "Have you had enough fun? If so, go back to Anglo with me." Charles'' expression turned helpless. He looked down and avoided Ye Qingxuan''s eyes. Ye Qingxuan reached out and pressed a hand on his shoulder. "Senior, come help me, okay? Together we can save our teacher from that goddamn place in the Sacred City, all of you can attend my wedding together, and you shall be the chief witness at my wedding." "I''m so sorry, Little Yezi." Charles forced out a smile. "I''ve found a new job that suffices to get by, so I won''t give you more trouble." "Job? Sweating your guts out for Gaius, that *sshole?" Ye Qingxuan frowned and raised his voice. "You still haven''t had enough of him using you? You still want to continue acting as the son of god for him, continue being his signboard?" "Don''t put it so uglily." Charles scratched his head awkwardly. "I''m also very powerful now, fighting against a catastrophe is just a stroll in the park. Although the title of the son of god is a result of boasting, many still need me after all... Little Yezi, if I don''t do anything for them, they will die. Also, Mr. Constantine is not as bad as you think." "Are you going to tell me that he is also doing it due to having no other alternatives?" Ye Qingxuan snickered. "If he is not a bad person, who is? Is there any fundamental difference between him and the Sacred City? He is using you, Charles, all he needs is a god standing on his side, and what he actually wants is not you!" "All these... I know." Charles smiled resignedly. "But there really is no other way. And the Caucasus still has many decent people in it. Many of them have nothing to eat, and they are people who can''t survive in the world, like me. Everyone are fellow sufferers, but together we can keep each other warm, I can''t simply stand aside doing nothing and watch them all die." Ye Qingxuan was silent. Charles patted his shoulder. "I believe that Mr. Constantine will create a very good world, Little Yezi, and so will you. You all have strength in your hearts, unlike me. "But I also have my own things that I have to do. I don''t want to continue being a good-for-nothing scum. Believe me, I will find a place that we can stay for our teacher, for you, for people like us who have been abandoned by the world. "When such a day comes, I will hold my head high and attend your wedding, I want to let the whole world see us standing side by side, shoulder to shoulder! " Ye Qingxuan said no more. After a long silence, he reached out. "Do you have any cigarettes?" "Yes, yes, hang on..." Shire looked down and reached into his pocket, then reflexively slouched his neck and looked up at Ye Qingxuan. When he saw Ye Qingxuan looking at him, expressionless, he smiled and fished out an unopened packet of cigarettes from his pocket. "I specially bought it from a smuggler before coming here, I remember that you like this brand." "All the brands are the same to me, it''s just that this brand is the most convenient to buy." Ye Qingxuan took it, opened the packaging deftly, lit one, and took a deep breath. The two squatted on the edge of the Net of Aether, quietly watching the tides in the distance. In the silence, only the sound from the waves could be heard. Wind blew from afar. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan flicked the ashes off and said softly, "My father once said to me that some people were born to be sharp blades, giving off a dazzling radiance... Now, I feel that I am not a legendary sword, but more like a stone used to sharpen swords." Charles asked, "Is it that you are destined to bring about challenges for some people to help them achieve success?" "No, it''s because I always come across bitches [1] like you." Ye Qingxuan spat and threw the cigarette butt into the sea. "And I never seem to be able to do anything about it." Charles shrugged and laughed softly. "Then, I''m sorry." "Nah, I''m used to it by now." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Is life alright in the Caucasus?" "It''s quite good, I get meat every meal, as I''ve a good relationship with the cook." Charles replied. "Is it? Alright then." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then repeated it again. "Alright then." Silence descended once more, and in the sound of the waves coming from afar, the wind pushed the dark clouds away. Starlight gradually dimmed and slipped towards the distance. In the sweeping tides, a ray of sunshine emerged above the surface of the sea in the distance. A warm wind blew. The long night was finally over. "I have to go, Little Yezi." Charles got up and dusted himself off, looking at Ye Qingxuan. "It''s really good to see you." "Go, go." Ye Qingxuan waved, but didn''t get up, he didn''t even look back. "Take good care of yourself, if I have the chance, I''ll visit you in the Caucasus." Charles laughed. He laughed like how he used to in the past, his eyes twinkling happily, his spirits high. "It''s settled then." "Mhmm, it''s settled then." Ye Qingxuan nodded and heard the sound of wings spreading behind him. The incorporeal wings stirred up a wind in the sea of aether and blew towards the distance. Charles quietly went away. The sun leaped out from the sea, spilling a golden brilliance downwards, illuminating the miracle-like cube between the sea and the skies, and the young man gazing into the distance on the edge of the top of the cube. Ye Qingxuan smoked quietly. The new era amid the wind and the sound of the waves would finally arrive. [1] He made a pun in Chinese. The Chinese word for sword is pronounced the same way as the first word in the Chinese phrase for bitch. 698 Beneath the Roses Charcoal stoves were burning in the hot and humid palace and there was a strong smell of sweat stench in the warm air. In the corner, beside the gigantic bronze stove, there were people that continued to throw herbs into the blazing fire. White smoke rose from the flame and the queer smell was so strong that it was hard to breathe. On the grand and majestic bed, a thin and frail middle-aged man was lying underneath a thick blanket. It seemed as if he was having a nightmare as he was moaning in his deep sleep. "Is this really necessary?" The palace official asked the physician, "We have to open the windows. His Majesty should not be cooped up in here. The smell is so suffocating, he can barely breathe." "We cannot open the windows." The elderly physician shook his head, "His Majesty must not see any light and wind. If the smell is not strong enough, the poison in his lungs will no longer be suppressed and will spread rapidly." "How long will he have to stay like this?" The palace official muttered to himself as his face looked solemn. "As long as possible." There was no expression on the physician''s face. He looked at the grief-stricken queen and spoke quietly, "This shouldn''t be something for you to say nor ask. Just do what you are supposed to do. Don''t think or ask about other things that are not of your concern." The palace official was taken aback and realized that he might have said the wrong things. His face turned pale and quickly nodded. The ensuing silence was only broken by the hoarse moans of the Emperor. The expression on the queen''s face was slowly changing. After a long hesitation, she seemed to have made up her mind about something and rose to walk towards the door. Once at the door, two palace guards stepped forward and blocked her way. The queen looked extremely crossed. "Step aside. How dare you block my way!" "Your Highness, you cannot leave." The elderly palace guard continued, "His Majesty needs your company now." The queen scowled, "What he needs is a physician! A real physician! Who knows where that phony physician came from! Neither does he need to be placed under house arrest! The b*stard son of that b*tch, Don Juan, must have been preparing for this day for a long time! I have always known that he is up to no good!" The palace guard did not reply. He pretended not to have heard anything. "Move aside!" The queen ordered. The palace guard did not move. "The queen wishes to catch some fresh air. Let her step outside for a while." A soft and gentle voice could be heard behind the door. "It won''t do her any good to be cooped inside all day." The expression on the queen''s face changed. The palace guard finally seemed to relent as he opened the doors. As the door creaked open, beams of sunlight poured in and filled up the grim and dark palace. The autumn wind swept across the courtyard and into the palace so that the air was no long so suffocating. When the young man stepped into the palace, the queen turned pale and could not help but take a step back. He was much taller than her and looked very handsome, despite little resemblances with his father. "I think there must be some misunderstanding here. Your younger brother, Marquis Loire, chose to believe in some rumors and hastily decided to act on them." The young man, by the name of Don Juan, smiled politely, "Perhaps I have kept you here for too long, which may explain some of the strange rumors that have been spreading about. But I believe that the truth will be revealed very soon. The subordinate has offended you unintentionally. Please don''t mind him. Now, I have some things to tell father. Please feel free to leave." The queen''s face contorted as she retreated from Don Juan''s advances. She lowered her head in an attempt to escape from Don Juan''s glance. Inadvertently, she noticed the fresh red stains on his boots, as if his boots had just stepped on a pool of blood. "I am deeply sorry for what happened to your brother." Don Juan stopped beside her and placed a broken coat of arms in her palm, "He left me with no other choice." The queen was stunned. She raised her head suddenly and stared at Don Juan. Her face began to scowl as her fingers gripped so tightly on the coat of arms that she was almost going to cut herself. "You" She began. She almost wanted to scream but then she heard a hoarse voice behind her. "Is that Don Juan?" The man on the sickbed had woken up. He struggled to open his eyes. There was a grey mist in his green eyes, as if there was a tinge of fear amidst the fragility. He was clearly very sick. He struggled to prop himself up as the maid hurriedly wiped away the saliva at the corner of his mouth. His brain was still trembling slightly even as he leaned against the bed and waved at Don Juan, "Come over here, son. Come closer." Don Juan smiled, "Yes, father." Very soon, the other unrelated people left. In the quiet palace, there was only the faint burning sound of the herbs in the bronze stove. "Father, are you feeling better?" Don Juan carefully brushed his hair to the back and sat on the bed. "Give me some warm water. My stomach feels uncomfortable." The Emperor sighed and took over the cup of water from his ''son'' and sighed while shaking his head, "Son, this poison of yours is not idea''Tulip'' may be effective but the effect of the poison takes too long. It has a strange taste too. Putting it in red wine will affect one''s appetite." Don Juan raised his eyebrows slightly but did not say anything. "This was also how your uncle died back then, but you were much kinder with the poison that you used." The Emperor put down the cup of water and closed his eyes. After pondering for a moment, he opened his eyes again, "First, it was the National Assembly, then it was the Ministry of Finance. Taking into account how much time has passed, the imperial army and ground forces should already be under your control as well?" "Almost." Don Juan answered honestly, "Adrian is very slick and has yet to agree to my terms and conditions." "Take your time. I chose him to lead my ground forces. I know him well." The Emperor commented, "He will always take the winning side. He knows that he will be of use to you but before I die, he will not declare for you." Don Juan listened and nodded, "Sounds like it won''t be long." "Yes, it will be soon." The Emperor nodded and his expression was solemn, "I''m probably the Emperor with the shortest reign in the entire history? I have waited my entire life just to be an Emperor for two months." "History will remember you, father." "Who cares?" The Emperor laughed and looked up at him, "After I die, treat my queen well. She is a foolish woman and will pose any threat to you. Your uncle will become the next Emperor. You must guide him well." He paused and looked at Don Juan, "Do you understand what I''m saying?" Don Juan thought about it and said, "You want me to send him to the guillotine?" "Someone has to clean up the mess." The Emperor sighed, "Right now, the Ministry of Finance and the national reserves are in terrible state. I don''t have time to resolve it and he won''t be capable enough to do it too, so things will only get worse. Since he has always been obsessed with wearing the crown, then fulfil his wish. Let him face the ire and wrath of the people and the National Assembly on your behalf. When the next rebellion comes along, you will be able to take the opportunity to send him and other troublesome people to heaven. Don Juan, you will be a brilliant new king, the leader of Burgundy''s resurgence, and a perfect Emperor." Don Juan listened but he did not seem pleased. Instead, he fell into deep silence. The Emperor struggled mightily before patting his shoulder, "Don Juan, don''t be anxious. You have to take your time when it comes to certain matters. This is something that I had to learn throughout my entire life. You were too careless and reckless sometimes. If I had not asked someone to clean up the mess for you, people would have found out about your brother." There was a long period of silence before Don Juan finally looked up at him. "Don''t you hate me, ''father''?" He continued through gritted teeth, "I killed my own brother, who was supposed to be your successor, and now I have taken everything away from you." The Emperor smiled, "No, you have fulfilled all my wishes, my child." The Emperor smiled consolingly, "Why would I hate you? You are a good child. You are just like me. There is always hunger in your eyes and you are never satisfied. I had six sons but it took me a long time to realize that they were all useless and worthless. They were like pigs fighting for scraps but never once have they ever thought of looking up at the sky. Can you understand how I felt? I was filled with pain and despair. But you are different from them. You are a wolf, a true predator. I knew it from the first time I saw you. It was fated that you will be my successor. You will fulfil the wishes of our ancestors. You will become the true ruler of Burgundy, the one and only king! How happy I was when I first saw you." He stretched out his hand grabbed onto Don Juan. His eyes seemed to be burning, "Do you know how happy and comforted I was when I drank that cup of red wine that had been laced with tulip? I was more than happy to embrace the outcome. It''s a pity that you can still be too careless sometimes. Your inexperience worries me. Over at the town of Lute, you should have cleaned things up much earlier. How could you have left behind such a huge loophole?" Don Juan was stunned. A chill ran down his spine as he lowered his head and looked at his own ''father''. "You already knew?" "How can I not know? A father must always know his son well. Isn''t this the reason why I adore you so much?" The Emperor looked at him and smiled. There was a hint of lunacy in that smile that made Don Juan confused. "Don''t be afraid. How can I possibly stand by and watch you lose everything? You were too careless and soft-hearted, but have you not thought about the consequences of someone pointing you out? Someone would surely have remembered your face! Don''t worry. The people that the queen had sent over will not be coming back. I have already made sure of that." This man, who was on the verge of dying, grabbed onto Don Juan''s wrist and his grip was as strong as a metal claw. "You will wear the crown, my child." He stared at the successor before him, as he if was trying to erase all of the latter''s weaknesses with his will. "You will go down in history while I will be forgotten. History will remember you for your greatness, Don Juan!" Silence. Amidst the long silence, Don Juan''s pale face finally cracked a smile, "I understand." With that, the Emperor smiled and finally released his hand. It was as if he had used up all of his strength. He laid back down on the bed, his eyes were struggling to open. "Don Juan, are you still there?" "I''m here, father." "Come closer, my child, I can barely see you." The Emperor inspected his face and smiled, "My dear, tell me, who are you?" "I am your son, father," the young man replied hoarsely. "Very good." The Emperor laughed. He was pleased with the answer. With all the remaining energy he had, he shouted, "Then tell everyone, who are you?" "I am your successor." Don Juan closed his eyes as the blood vessels in his eyes branched out. "I am the first citizen of Burgundy, the protector of the white roses and the Emperor of all!" The Emperor closed his eyes contentedly. He spoke no more. His breathing became weaker until finally, he passed away. In the silence, Don Juan leaned back onto the chair weakly as sunlight continued to shine into the palace. They shone on the wall and casted a blur shadow. He shut his eyes and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Yes, I am Don Juan." 699 The Wheel of History The afternoon sun shone down through the skylight and fell into the great hall, turning into a gentle corona that covered everything. There was a gloomy atmosphere in the quiet and solemn hall. The fourteen seats on both sides of the hall were filled with musicians from all over. Some were old, some were in the prime of life, some were men, some were women. On their faces they all well concealed the anger and dejection that they were feeling, but they could not stop the gloomy looks in their eyes. When they looked at each other they could not help but sigh softly. Outside the open door, the afternoon sunlight flowed over the square like a wave, odd yet magnificent, as the statue of a child in the fountain sprayed out drops of water. Young students reclined on benches with the new textbooks in hand, painstakingly learning the new laws held within. It was difficult to memorize this new music theory that was different from the past. Although they looked bitter about having to do it, their spirits exuded an enviable youthful vitality. Between memorizing and reciting, some of them would gaze up in reverence at the being suspended high above the Academy. The miracle slowly rotated between the heavens and the earth. The scorching sunlight fell upon the huge water-colored cube, was refracted through its countless blocks and then fell upon the ground like rippling waves, as beautiful as paradise. This was the realization of power, the miraculous crystal, the proof of God''s existence. The Catastrophe Net of Aether! There was a sharp contrast between the gloom in the great hall and the exuberance out in the square, separated only by an open door. In the long silence, a door in the great hall opened, and an old musician walked in. He shook his head at his long awaiting companions, his eyes full of bitterness. As soon as they saw him enter, the other musicians rose to their feet. "What is the situation, Master Ambrose?" "What did His Highness the Prince mean?" "Is it impossible?" Master Ambrose sighed. "I haven''t had a chance to meet with the Prince. The one who told me everything was His Highness''s assistant, Lady Kraft..." "What! That...that''s too arrogant!" The other musicians were stunned. "You represent all the musician schools in the Anglo Kingdom. How could he not even be willing to meet you in person?" "I''m afraid he he felt it was beneath his dignity to do so." Ambrose smiled bitterly. He saw things more clearly than anyone else. The youngest of the Masters turned red and whispered, "His Highness is not willing to rescind his order? Does he know what he''s doing? Isn''t he afraid of becoming a pariah in the Anglo Kingdom by driving all the schools away?" Ambrose stared at him like he was an idiot. "Do you think he cares?" The mood in the room darkened as everyone sat back down dejectedly. Some of them were filled with indignation, "He insists on placing the Anglo Kingdom on the road to ruin!" But more of them looked sad. "This situation must not be allowed to spread. Our schools have already lost half their apprentices!" "What can we do?" Someone sneered. "With three months of his training they can receive the same results as ten years of ours. Seems like a clear choice for the apprentices." Which of the schools could pat their chest and say that they could definitely help apprentices clear the hurdle of becoming an official musician? But all that guy had to do was nod his head, and it would be perfectly clear which side was more attractive. "What kind of musician is he?" the old musician roared. "If you just rely on that d*mn thing you will be controlled by it too, and then how can you follow the path of the Originator?" "Who cares about the path of the Originator anymore?" someone sighed faintly. "Did you think about pursuing the Originator when you were fourteen? When I was that age all I cared about was becoming an official musician. But no one liked me, so I had to study by myself...I would have even been willing to become a Dark Musician if it had let me advance." Everyone was silent. Wasn''t the reason that Dark Musicians had been prohibited for so long because it had been so easy for them to achieve success? As long as you could give your heart over to hate and kill enough people you could increase your strength. And evil spirits and catastrophes were easier to bargain with than usurers, and sometimes they even paid in advance. And wasn''t the path that was now revealed by the Net of Aether was ten times more attractive than becoming a Dark Musician? It was a hundred times more attractive! A thousand! They did not have to pay any price as long as they offered their loyalty and signed the contract to serve the Anglo Kingdom for thirty years. If you regret it, they wouldn''t even take your life, you would just lose your power. Some musicians would use the Net of Aether to break through their own barriers, and then after being cut off from it, would break through them themselves. Having experienced it the first time, doing it again would be practically certain. In ten short days all the schools in the Anglo Kingdom...no, all the schools in the West had been thrown into chaos by this sudden tornado. According to the lighthouse''s statistics, more than a quarter of apprentices had already left their schools and headed for the Anglo Kingdom. Of the remaining three-quarters, one quarter of them were painstakingly trained by their teachers and did not need external help, and the others had been forced to stay by their schools. But for people to stay when their hearts weren''t in it was of no real use, it was only effective for the time being. His Highness the Prince had even informed the nations that he was willing to provide interest-free loans to those apprentices who could not leave due to the high cost of terminating their contracts! They could even travel to the Anglo Kingdom for free! In four short days he had already squandered half the Anglo treasury! The fleets flew back and forth from the Anglo Kingdom over the ocean. The Royal Musician''s Academy had been expanded to four times its original size and still could not meet demands. The Royal Family had approved six satellite islands around Avalon to be used as extra campuses for the Academy, and the construction there was already in full swing. In just fourteen days the number of Royal Musicians had expanded to an incredible 40,000 people! 40,000 official musicians! At their greatest height the Royal Musicians had never numbered more than 3,000. Now they were more than ten times more than that! Even if 35,000 of them left the Net of Aether to return to their original apprenticeship, it would still be a force to be reckoned with! 40,000 official musicians! That was enough to fill a small country! Obviously there was no lack of spies sent by the various schools, but Ye Qingxuan didn''t care. He was generous enough to open the outer connections of the Net of Aether to them. He wasn''t worried about what secrets they might steal. Soon, the higher ups at the other schools would discover that the Net of Aether was not an artifact. It was a poison, and if they stole it it would only harm them. Not only would their spies not bring back many secrets, but much of the backbone of their own school would be sent back by counter-intelligence as many of their spies became double agents and they could no longer trust them. The nations had already issued a warning to the Anglo Kingdom: for each day that the Net of Aether was not brought down, they would impose trade and economic sanctions on them. But the results were not what they expected: many people continued to do business privately with the Anglos. In Ye Qingxuan''s hands even the smuggling business had grown ten times better! Others had done everything they could do short of declare war, but the Anglos would not so much as bow their heads, not to mention limit the spread of the Net of Aether. Their attitude had not softened one bit. All the schools within the Anglo Kingdom had gone to the palace to force an abdication, but they had not even been able to see him as they were casually dismissed by Lola. "What does His Highness mean by this?" Some of them had completely lost interest in continuing to be caught up in this. "Can''t he even give us a definite answer?" Ambrose was silent for a moment, then he said, "There are two choices. Either merge with the Net of Aether and offer up our core music theory and His Highness the Prince will grant us with mid-level authority to freely upload and modify the movements of our own schools, or we get the h*ll out." This last sentence was obviously Ye Qingxuan''s direct words. He had no patience for those old b*stards who sought to take advantage of their seniority and did not care about the current situation. Actually, he had said one more thing. "If you get the h*ll out, the Anglo Kingdom will pay all your expenses, and will not hinder you from leaving the country in any way." These two choices were placed in front of everyone. Everyone was silent and began to think once again. The general trend of the times was that if you couldn''t beat them, join them...so, did they want to surrender to His Highness the Prince? It was not that there was no precedence for this. The four schools that had sought refuge with Ye Qingxuan had in this short time already expanded to six times their original size! And once they reached six times the original size it was not that they had not wanted to keep expanding, it was that they couldn''t take anymore! Although they had lost their freedom, they had gained strength and growth. Ye Qingxuan had even corrected their core music theory for them, which improved their inheritance efficiency by more than ten times! And once they had received mid-level authority, they could also view the important music theory of the other schools at will...although it wasn''t core music theory, in bygone days if even one note of it had leaked out countless people would be locked in a life-or-death struggle for it. And right now it was at their fingertips. As for leaving the Anglo Kingdom, no one was being forced onto this dead end road. Almost no one even considered it. No one had the temperment of the School of Magic of one hundred years ago. So many years of contacts, so many years of operations, so many generations spent planting the roots, building the school buildings, creating a good aether wonderland... They could lose it all with a single sentence, which would be incredibly foolish. Before the schools of the Masters who came here today had set out, their schools had drawn a line in the sand past which they could not accept anything and authorized the Master to make decisions on behalf of their school. Staying behind would be like boiling a frog in warm water. Sooner or later their schools would become part of the Net of Aether and their independence would disappear. But for many schools there was still a question of if they would even survive. Now they had a chance to keep moving forward, so even just a little bit of thinking would make it clear what the right choice was. Everyone looked at each other and felt powerless as the wheel of history rolled on. - - In the principal''s office, Ye Qingxuan heard a knock on the door. Lola unceremoniously pushed the door open and sat down in the chair across the desk. She took off her glasses, threw them onto the table and poured herself a cup of tea from Ye Qingxuan''s teapot, drinking it down in one gulp. Since in her job as secretary Lola had to walk between various offices around Avalon, Lola no longer wore the cumbersome formalwear and long dresses of days past, and had changed to wearing simple and serious attire. She wore glasses now, and her long hair was pleated behind her back, revealing her slender, pointed ears, no longer hiding the fact that she had moon spirit blood. Anyway, no one who grasped this fact dared to say anything. The result was a strange scene in which a moon spirit strolled through the Inquisiton every day. The purification musician who guarded the door had to show her respect, making people think that public morals were declining day by day, and that public morality was not what it used to be. It seemed that she noticed the trouble in Ye Qingxuan''s heart. She rolled her eyes at him. "The old men figured it out." She pulled something out of her pocket and threw it to him. "This is the finished terminal that the Royal Institute of Research made at your request." Ye Qingxuan caught it, then looked at the thick, heavy piece of iron the size of his palm. He could not help but raise his eyebrows. "Interesting..." 700 Goodbye The corners of the black iron plate were round and polished. Although it was a prototype, it was not crudely made. An extremely thin, transparent layer of metallic glass covered its exterior. Under the refraction of sunlight, the alchemy array integrated into the iron plate could be seen faintly. Complicated notes flashed, and as Ye Qingxuan twirled it around, the iron plate danced deftly between his five fingers. As requested by Ye Qingxuan, it was solid and durable, and its size was small enough for it to be carried around on one. It could be put into any pocket, although there was a risk of losing it. But if someone was careless enough to lose it, one could only say that he deserved it, no? Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Looks good, how is it used?" "It''s just like using an aether ball." Lola replied, "Other than being the connected terminal of the Net of Aether, it can be totally be seen as a variant of the aether ball." Lola took the terminal from Ye Qingxuan''s hand, held it in her hand, then awakened and activated it, and a projection appeared in the air, emerging from the iron plate. Detailed icons showed the aether waves in the surroundings and various other values. All the functions of an aether ball were available, and unlike the aether ball, within it was a very thin layer of black gold, which served as the core. It could store plenty of small-scaled movements, making it convenient for them to be used at any time. The demonstration was the Tetris movement that Ye Qingxuan and Charles composed back then. Since the game was created, it had become widely popular, and many musicians liked to have one or two goes at it when they were killing time. After demonstrating the various effects, Lola flipped the terminal and showed Ye Qingxuan the golden alchemy array on the back the music theory of the Heaven Ladder. "It has been locked in resonance state with the Net of Aether. Users just need to carry it on them and activate it when necessary. Like banks, everyone is differentiated based on their individual accounts. Users can set a password and bind it to their sound of heart for two-factor authentication." As the array of the Heaven Ladder lit up, the glow of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei traveled through the air and emerged, connecting the terminal to the vast system of the Net of Aether. Then, under the guidance of Lola, strands of music theory interwove. In the gentle melody, a warm light spilled from her hands onto Ye Qingxuan''s body. Chorale movement. Through the Net of Aether, even hybrids with demon blood like Lola could use the music theory of the school of choir, which was opposite to their own music theory, without any hindrance, and they need not worry that the music theory in their bodies would be ignited. This alone was enough to ensure that the Sacred City would never let him off. But in this regard, Ye Qingxuan still couldn''t care less. At most the Sacred City would just hate him a little more. One wouldn''t feel itchiness after having too many lice on one, and one wouldn''t worry about one''s debt after it accumulated too much. Instead, he was more concerned about the upcoming demonstration. "What about communication capabilities?" he asked. "I remember making requests regarding this aspect to Newton." "With the Net of Aether as a channel, it isn''t a laborious task to achieve such functions." Lola showed Ye Qingxuan the serial code at bottom of the Heaven Ladder of the terminal. "Every terminal has its own serial number. As long as you have the serial number of the other party, you can transfer information through the Net of Aether any time you like. Other than sound, you can also transfer images, but the transfer of images occupies too much resources, and the system will fail to cope if everyone uses it." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Is there a solution?" "It is easy to resolve." Lola said, "Newton asked me to tell you that we can introduce different permission levels. Those of a high permission level can use the function any time, whereas those of a low permission level must apply when necessary, and the function will be made temporarily available for them. In terms of operation and maintenance, according to your order, Heaven Ladder Communications Company has been registered. Congratulations, you are about to monopolize the future communication industry, you''ll simply be rolling in money." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile bitterly. "The income is just a number, and the main point is to promote the Net of Aether." Newton had strongly protested to him in the report. According to calculations, the communication function of the Net of Aether was expected to occupy one-fifth of the total resources. In other words, one-fifth of the power would be wasted on it. In comparison, the communication function was not what musicians needed most, because the products that had such a function had already existed for a long time. Large-scale instruments of harmonious melody could send and receive information to and from the outside world at any time, not to mention various movements of revelation. Although the communication function of the Net of Aether was easy to use, it was not necessary for musicians. But conversely... What about non-musicians? What about civilians? The average person who were still stuck with writing letters to communicate with their relatives and friends, often waiting for three or four months, or even half a year, for a letter... Ye Qingxuan could say with certainty that as long as the terminal of the Net of Aether was made available to civilians, a large number of people would definitely be willing to use up their last resources and spend a relatively expensive amount of money to purchase a terminal of the Net of Aether. Even if it was just for this one function. Then, the number of loyal followers of the Net of Aether would increase significantly, among them, many might have the talent to become apprentices and later on musicians. Their contributions to the Net of Aether alone would be enough for Ye Qingxuan to earn back the amount he had invested. From the very beginning, Ye Qingxuan did not place any restrictions on the independence of the Net of Aether, nor did he intend to turn the Net of Aether into something that was solely his. The nature of the Net of Aether meant that it must be open-sourced, and permission of usage must be made available. The more people using it, the stronger its power. It had no direct ability to attack, nor could it be used for defense, not to mention the lack of various wonderful effects. As a catastrophe, it could be considered the weakest, but it had unlimited potential in itself. Every user would become part of the Net of Aether, making it stronger and stronger, and also sharing its burden. As the load testing of the Net of Aether came to an end, Ye Qingxuan also gained a certain level of understanding of its limits at the moment. At any instant, it could support 40,000 formal musicians who were using movements simultaneously. If the number was exceeded, confusion would occur. But the statistic only took into account the limit it could withstand on its own. Actually, Ye Qingxuan did not intend to rely upon on it to withstand all the pressure, or rather, he did not even consider its own bearing capability, and only planned to use it for emergencies. What would bear the pressure actually would be the instruments of harmonious melody connected to it. With the addition of each large-scale instrument of harmonious melody, room for 120 more formal musicians could be added to the system. At the same time, the pressure would be shifted downwards all the way to the lowest level, and all users could share the burden together. The pressure on each person was almost insignificant. But for every thousand of users added, one more person could be granted master-level permission for the usage of the Net of Aether. If strict control over its usage was implemented, the number could even be doubled. The operation of the Net of Aether was not something that one could do on one''s own, even for one of the three kings. Meanwhile, what Ye Qingxuan needed to do was to drag more and more people into the same boat as him... ... Newton was Newton, after all, and one must admit that every detail of the product he produced was perfect, and all of Ye Qingxuan''s ideas were realized perfectly. He even went beyond Ye Qingxuan''s expectations, and he could identify no problem with it. Finally, Ye Qingxuan nodded and asked the last question. "Anything else?" "Mhmm?" Lola replied questioningly. "Is there anything else?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Do you think that it has any other problems?" Lola smiled. But Ye Qingxuan didn''t smile. He looked at Lola. "You haven''t told me everything, Lola, I can see that Whenever you put on the airs of a professor, it means that you are preparing to deceive someone. " Lola was silent, and her expression became complicated. After a long time, she said, "The investigation you requested some time ago has yielded results. "Your friend, Victor, has died." "Mhmm." Ye Qingxuan kept his head low and said, "Continue." Lola said, "Our investigators found the ship that he stowed away on. The captain signed a contract with a gold mine in the first colony of Burgundy and sent the stowaways there. "The people in the mine said that Victor was infected with a lung disease on board the ship and died shortly after arriving." Lola placed a paper bag on the table. "He left this behind." "Noted." Ye Qingxuan didn''t go through the bag. He nodded slightly. "If there''s nothing else, you can go back first, I still have something to continue working on here." Lola looked at him, her gaze complicated. After a long time, she got up and left. The door closed. In the long silence, the afternoon sunlight passed through the curtains and fell on the table in a slanted manner, shining on the little paper bag. The paper bag contained a coat of arms. It was the most valuable thing on Victor. He was always telling others that it was what his father left him, but everyone thought that he stole it from God knew where. Once, Victor took it in his hand and said to Ye Qingxuan that he would come to success in the future, no longer bow to anyone, and become as dignified as a noble. Back then, the town of Lute was not big, but it was big enough to contain the childhood of two boys, giving them a place to stay. But at the moment, the town of Lute was gone. The post-disaster census team of the ministry of land informed him that the town of Lute had become ruins. It was probably razed to the ground by a Beast Tide when the abyss was broken. When Ye Qingxuan left the town by ship, he vaguely understood in his heart that it would no longer be a place for him to return to, but he only just discovered that the farewell came too fast. It was so fast that he was caught off guard. He closed his eyes tiredly. "Goodbye, Victor," he murmured. 701 The Land, the Sky, this World The sky was dark. Grim black clouds gathered together to form an iron curtain that spanned across the sky, covering the land and ocean of Asgard. The foul smell of sulfur filled the air, leaving the people with bloodshot eyes and pain their chests. "Detonation formation is in place." "Final inspection has been completed." "Communications are clear for all teams." "Preparation for process number six has been completed. Lucas, report your status." With all sorts of mixed signals blaring at his ear, the tall and muscular musician finally managed to climb to the top of the mountain. He leaned against the sharply protruding rocks and relied purely on the locks and shackles on his waist to be hung by the rope. When he lowered his head, he could see the huge hole, never seemed to end, underneath his feet. That was the cracked opening of the tip of the mountaintop. It was like a scar that ran across the terrain, as the gigantic hole resided quietly in darkness. Within the darkness, there seemed to be voice that was singing and it was of such a high pitch that he could not help but be distracted. If he was to fall, how long would it take before he would finally hit the ground and become smashed into pieces? "Lucas? Lucas?" The commander of communications continued to ask, "Do you hear me? Report your status." The musician suddenly broke out of his daze. With a thick and heavy mask on his face, his voice sounded blurry and deep, "Lucas, in position. Awaiting order." "Very good. Proceed with the final inspection process." The communications and signals were mixed and chaotic but in the end, there was only one last command after a period of silence, "Detonate." "Received." Lucas removed a black box on his waist and began to carry out the alchemist''s instructions. He verified the direction of the music notes and as the black box slowly cracked open, red fluorescence came pouring out. Beep! Beep! Beep! There was an ear-piercing sound from within that accompanied the counting down of every second. Remove the safety catch, activate the timer, then release. The box, that was shining with red fluorescence, fell out of his hands and into the darkness. That sharp beeping sound fell through the cracked opening of the mountaintop and sank into the depths of darkness. But Lucas had no time to observe everything carefully. In the instant that the box was released from his hand, he removed the safety rope on his waist and an incredible force dragged his body outwards in an arc. In this chaotic zone of aether, his body slid quickly towards the safety zone. Just as he was in mid-air, the beeping sound seemed to be catching up with him. It was almost like a living thing as it climbed out of the cracked opening and revolved around everyone''s ears. Shortly after, the ground shook and there was a terrible roar from the cracked opening of the mountaintop. The ground trembled like waves as dust and crushed rocks began to pour out of the cracked opening. Soon after, there was a flaming-red light. The light flowed like water and it was also boiling as it rose from the depths of the darkness. It roared and puffed before gathering at a single point and shooting up into the sky. It was as if the entire metal-grey sky was being ignited. Lucas fell onto the ground and only managed to stabilize himself with the help of his comrades. He turned back and his black mask was completely lit up by the flaming red light. "Oh God" He no longer dared to look and could only look down. He prayed softly, "Please forgive me." That was a volcano. The volcano had erupted. After lying dormant for a century, the volcano finally erupted once again, thanks to the prompting of the musician. Boundless heat poured out of the depths of the ground and burst through the cracked opening, widening the surrounding rocks in the process. Shortly after, the alchemy formations lit up repeatedly around the volcano so that the latter was completely surrounded. The hot flaming lava were guided by the formations, such that hundreds of tributary flows merged into a single mainstream. They would be converted to new sources of energy even as they flowed towards a faraway city. Very soon, the volcano quietened down once again. Lava was no longer being shot out. Only the top of the volcano resembled a huge bowl of boiling magma that was being held by a furious God. The glow of the lava lit up the sky. Thick black smoke rose like a huge pillar and merged with the clouds that covered the entire sky. If one was to look down at this world, it would seem so cruel, almost resembling hell. The silence was broken by another huge explosion that had occurred far away in the north. The ground trembled and the mountains shook. "It''s in the direction of the Asmo mountain ranges." Someone looked in that direction before cross-referencing with the list of names in his hand, "The second phase is about to be completed. We will be able to relax for a while. One full month of overtime has been really tough." Beside him, a group of musicians, that were covered in black soot from head to toe, leaned back against the chair and started to smoke. They were laughing unabashedly as they talked about taking a good bath once they were home, before discussing about what kind of beer would be best to drink. Lucas said nothing. He was praying. --- Within only half a month''s time, Asgard has completely changed. With the powers of the musicians, volcanoes have been ignited one after another. Flames appeared on land once again, becoming an endless supply of energy, pushing thousands of soldiers into producing war resources at an insane rate. Countless workers along the assembly line have been working non-stop without sleep. The foul-smelling sulfur filled the air. The ocean was no longer blue and had turned into a thick greyish-black due to all the ashes. Thick smoke rose and covered the entire sky. Stars could no longer be seen and the sight of sunlight was as rare of seeing gold. The only source of light came from the burning lava of the volcanoes. 140 wounds have appeared on the land. These wounds flowed with red blood and once the blood had been consumed by the humans, they became a source of power. Now, humans possessed power. But how could they possibly survive in this hell? --- The Golden Palace of Asgard. Under the protection of the volcanoes and hidden on the mountaintop that was eternally freezing, the gigantic palace, that had been constructed from gold and metal, reflected light so much that it looked like it was being consumed by light. Beneath the Golden Palace, countless roars could be heard. Those were the sounds of countless gigantic machines in operation. Tens of tributaries of lava came together to merge into a river, evaporating the sea water that had filled the harbor, and turning it into a sea of boiling lava. Within the ocean, there was a pitch-black giant that was silently bathing in the flames. The metallic giant was motionless as it silently absorbed the energy of the lava. Amidst the six pairs of dim eyes, there were flickers of flames that suggested intelligence and thought. On the huge and wide chest, there were layers of gigantic metallic boards, resembling bones and flesh and blood, that bloomed like flowers due to the tugging of wires. They revealed countless complicated-looking wires and metallic internal organs. And the heart of lightning that was constantly beating. Amidst the dull beating of the heart, tens of musicians carefully descended along the wires. They bypassed the alchemy formations that protected the heart and carefully guided this incredible power into this non-human body. This was the proof of God''s existence, the power that flowed out of the nature of God C Odin. But now, the Golden Palace was wide open and the God has been removed from the altar to be disintegrated. The meaning of its existence has been denied by the new Emperor and its godly nature has been split up into 16 portions to be gifted to each clan. Its power has been molded into a heart to be inserted into the chest of the giant. The puppet would be given a soul and metal would be given life. And now, in the cold and chilly Golden Palace, the new Emperor leaned against his crutch as he stared quietly at the metal giant that was bathing in lava. The expression on his face was one of indifference. A month ago, when this cripple was undergoing his coronation, he had declared to all his loyal clans, "Asgard does not need catastrophes. We only need the northern wind." Now, the northern wind was blowing across the sea. It lingered between heaven and earth, bringing with it the aura of war. Clouds rose from Asgard and covered its surroundings. At the very top of the Golden Palace, the layer of clouds broke open like a wound, revealing the universe and constellations of stars behind them. Shortly after, the stars were covered up by a darkness that seemed to be of physical quantity. The darkness wriggled like living things gathering together. One could briefly see countless stars, as if they were opening their eyes, only to close again one by one as they were extinguished. "That''s the abyss." The shrunken old musician stood behind the Emperor. His face was pale, "The abyss is being rewritten." "Have you completed the remodeling of your will" The Emperor turned back and looked at him, "Looks like you are recovering well." The old musician laughed bitterly as he looked at the broken stone plate that he was hugging. The wedge-shaped music notes on the stone plate were glowing with fluorescence very gradually. "Your Majesty, strictly and logically speaking, I am already dead." The old musician sighed, "I am but just a duplicate that I had left behind beforehand." "In that case, continue to serve your empire as a duplicate, on behalf of your original self." The Emperor continued, "You are still of use to the Empire. You are not allowed to die yet." The old musician bowed. Behind the cracked opening of the dark clouds, countless eyes within the darkness have already been shut and have vanished completely. "Every single trace that Hyakume had left behind has been erased." The old musician described to the Emperor what he had observed through the lenses, "With the immense supplies from Caucasian, the Orthodox Church has launched a holy prayer ceremony of the biggest scale that anyone has ever seen. They would convert the abyss and transform the godly nature and status of Hyakume. After today, Hyakume will be replaced by the new God and all of its powers will be inherited by the new godly nature. The structure of the Three Pillar God will be changed forever." With that, the dark ancient night came to an end, and the holy light lit up the night sky. Amidst the praises of countless musicians and priests, the sounds of hymns filled the air, lit up the gloomy clouds and poured out onto the land. From east to west, from south to north, the entire world was bathed in this sacred light. Above the vault in heaven, a world, that shone with everything that was good, appeared. God''s throne gradually appeared amidst the countless beams of light and on the throne sat a blurry figure that looked down at the world. On the other hand, the Emperor was raised his head with difficulty, and stared sharply at that blurry figure that was looking down at him. It was as if he had deemed the God to be his enemy. The Emperor never shifted his gaze until the light vanished and the night sky reverted back to peace and quiet once again. "What was that?" The Emperor asked. "Eden," said the old musician. "That was the heaven that the Orthodox Church had created. It was made from the netherworld and the abyss. It is a place where all souls will eventually return to." "Hmm." The Emperor nodded, "That makes them our enemy." "Your Majesty, please think twice." The old musician lowered his head and prayed softly, "Now that we have already lost Odin, it may not be wise to go against Caucasian." "I thought that Asgard has always valued dying with honor and courage in battle?" The Emperor''s face was grim. He leaned against his crutch and shuffled his body back onto his throne, "For the past few centuries, we have always chased after the northern wind. Now, the northern wind has brought war back with it, and so we shall fight." "Many people don''t think this way, Your Majesty. There is more than just one voice in Asgard." The old musician shook his head, "Now, many people are saying that ''that lunatic will only be satisfied when everyone in Asgard has become a cripple like him''." The Emperor smiled and patted his deformed leg. He looked at the old musician, "That may not be a bad thing either, don''t you think? Then, all of you understand that when a cripple wishes to walk, he must rely on his crutch." The old musician was stunned. The Emperor stretched out his hand and drew out a bronze pipe and threw it to the old musician, "Take a look at this." He opened the bronze pipe and took out a scroll from within. At the end of the scroll was the national seal of Asgard and the seal of the King of Red. As the old musician read the clauses on the scroll, he became silent. "Since the enemy has their own God, then we must seek a God for ourselves." The Emperor continued quietly, "From this day on, Asgard will embrace the Church as the national religion. We will form an alliance with the Sacred City and renew the third, fourth and ninth Amendment Acts. The Sacred City will be part of our power! Even though a new era has come, the honor and glory of the Empire will never be lost. I will wait for the heroic spirits of our ancestors to be with the stars! As long as the northern wind continues to bless us, Asgardians need not fear any of our enemies!" With that, the night sky was lit up once again. It was the holy light from the Sacred City. Thousands of iron towers rang and light poured out in all directions. Beams of light pillars shot up into the sky, sweeping away all the haze. Under the command of the King of Red, the gigantic Iron City was booming with melody once again. The door to the room of relics, which had been sealed up for a hundred years, suddenly whipped open. In the middle of every major church, countless believers and priests were praying and amidst the hymns of the countless musicians, artifacts glowed and rose up from the altar, one after another. With the collapse of the abyss and the rise of Eden, the turbulent realm of aether welcomed another new sun. Stars rose from nothingness. Saints that had already passed away were being conferred titles once again. For the past few centuries, the Church''s multitudes of reserves were activated again and again as armies from all over would come over on iron whales. The tolling of the bell would summon the Knights Templar, Guardian Knights, Merciful Knights, Southern Allied Knights, the Monastic Order of Gladiolus, and the Knights Templar of Hospital, who have risen once again after not being heard from for many years. The automated and armored metal boots stepped on the metal ground of the Sacred City. Metal against metal signified the beginning of war. --- At the same time in Anglo, on the ninth satellite island on Avalon, there was a voice that was counting down in the silence and darkness. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four" "Three!" "Two!" "One!" In the instant when the countdown was complete, there was a roar from the middle of the island. Countless beams of light of Firebird lit up the night sky. Flames shot out in the darkness in all directions as terrifying power gathered within to push the gigantic metallic structure up into the sky. Bit by bit, it overcame the pull of gravity, as it rose higher and higher. It tore through the darkness and layers of clouds as it rose above the storm and land. It kept rising up into the sky. It was like a giant''s bow that was shooting at the sky with arrows with no return. Golden beams of light poured out from the ''arrow'' and hung in the sky miraculously. It started out slow before progressing into such a high speed that a naked eye could not catch up, and after tens of seconds, that metallic structure had already flown so high that it was difficult to determine where exactly it was. Then, it rained down beams of light that were even brighter than the stars! Amidst the dead silence in the central command room in the Royal Institute of Research, Newton was gripping so tightly on the arm of the person beside him that his fingers had already practically dug into the poor fellow''s flesh. But the atmosphere was heavy and solemn, so no one seemed to be aware. They were all staring at the changing icons on the wall that would calculate the path of that arrow. The voice that was reporting updates was dry and tired. Breathing was heavy and eyes were filled with blood vessels. In the end, even the voice that was reporting updates stopped. The silence was hot and humid. Beads of sweat fell onto the ground. All of a sudden, there was a hoarse voice, amidst the background noise, speaking through the comms set. "Hello? Test, test. Can anyone hear me?" The hoarse voice coughed and reported, "I have reached the end of the path. The location has been set. Everything is normal. Please acknowledge if you hear this. I repeat, please acknowledge if you hear this." "We hear you, Your Highness." Newton could barely contain his excitement as he snatched the comms set over, "We hear you loud and clear! Please report the height, Your Highness, please report the height!" "Height height let me see" There were some ruffling sounds before the hoarse voice read out the figures on the altimeter, "940 miles, everyone, I''m currently 940 miles in the air. The clouds are beneath me and the land is a circular shape We did it, everyone, we did it! We have succeeded in fixing a gigantic instrument of harmonious melody at a height of 940 miles! We have reached the vault in heaven!" The silence was finally broken by wild cheers. Everyone in the Royal Institute of Research was absolutely overjoyed. They were dancing, cheering, hugging each other, screaming, crying, and even tossing the papers in their hands up to the ceiling. The moment to witness this miracle had arrived. Newton kept his composure. He only smiled and lowered his head to rub his nose, which was rather red by now. He stretched out his hand to the burly man beside him, "Thank you so much for your help, Patriarch, thank you for the technical expertise and cooperation provided by the Chainsaw Fraternity. Without your help, this man-made star would not have succeeded so quickly." "This is all because of how talented you and His Highness are. All we have done was just to provide some old information and techniques." The old and burly Patriarch shook hands with Newton and continued, "In that case, as according to our agreement, the Chainsaw Fraternity will now form an alliance with Anglo. I hope that we will be able to create a real future for mankind." Newton laughed out loud, "That''s the way to do it." --- It was 940 miles away from earth. The vault in heaven was dark and there was no air. Even the gravitational pull has become insignificant. The metal star hung high in the universe and gradually spun around the earth until it anchored itself up in the skies of Anglo. It formed a resonance with the Net of Aether and rained down the beams of light of Firebird. Above the stars, the white hair of the young man flowed like river. In the silence, he lowered his head and looked down at everything. The land, the sky, this world. So beautiful. 702 Gospel As they entered into summer, the weather got hotter. Steam rose off of the sea, and the heat made even those were on the ocean feel thirsty. Under the scorching sun, they felt like even their souls would dry up. Everyone was dazed and in pain. When viewed through a distance through the hazy air the whole city looked like it had been thrown into a steamer. Every year at this time there was a holiday in Avalon. Most people would not go out. Instead, they would just lie around their house and spend the long vacation scooping up crushed ice from the cellar. The noble families would spend their Summer taking boats to various places. But this year the expected heat did not come. Across the boundary into Avalon, the huge crystal cube hung above the city, slowly rotating. It was completely transparent, but it was a greedy black hole as it sucked in all the brutal heat shed by the sun. Thus, the heat was much less than in previous years. The crystal made the whole city quite cool. This coolness reminded the people of Avalon of the existence of miracles. After becoming used to this behemoth hanging above their heads, everyone looked up to the sky with reverence in their eyes after the storm. The storm did not stop because of this but grew bigger and bigger as it gestated for a few months. At this moment the headquarters of the Foreign Affairs Department in the upper city had become a pot ready to boil over. From when the meeting had begun three days ago up until now the debate had not been resolved but had rather intensified. One could hear the shouting of the dignified ambassadors through the thick doors. Spittle flew onto the Anglo Foreign Minister''s face. His eye twitched as he wiped the saliva away from his eye. He raised his teacup without expression and took a sip. The interrogation and screaming rang in his ears until his eardrums hurt. Under the assault of dozens of loud-voiced gentlemen, his ears had begun to sizzle. Did one have to take a test of loudness and lung capacity before becoming a diplomat nowadays? As he inwardly criticized them he scooted back a bit; his ears hurt too much. "The Anglo Kingdom''s actions have violated our territorial rights! We insist that the Anglos comply with the Catastrophe Management Accord and limit the Net of Aether under the joint management of the nations!" "We strongly denounce the Anglos'' irresponsible actions!" "We hereby call for bilateral communication to make correct decisions and avoid the outbreak of war." "The Anglos'' deployment on the high seas has seriously hindered our naval transportation routes. According to our bilateral treaty, we request that the Anglos remove their blockade or else our country will take the necessary actions!" "Does Her Majesty have any response to the documents we sent her?" No matter how the ambassadors quarreled and shouted, the minister kept his expression blank as if he was having an out of body experience. He pretended to not have heard them. Keep yelling, keep yelling, keep shouting, keep shouting. Shouting was of no use. The documents you sent? If those documents were useful, what else would the Fifth Division do? This crowd of fools still didn''t get it. Her Majesty was not the one handling things anymore, but the difficult to track, and subtle to the point of being almost non-existent Prince of Avalon! A jointly managed Net of Aether? Lifting the naval blockade? Open the trade routes? Haha. Keep dreaming. They could have all that in their dreams. The minister rolled his eyes imperceptibly as he looked at the ceiling. "It''s so hot." Similarly, in an office in Westminster Abbey, an old man in pajamas leaned back in his chair, then reached down to scratch his feet. He looked at the man sitting across from him with eyes full of cataracts. "Can''t you make that giant thing cool things down again? I''ve had to stay up late every night for several months now, this damn weather is making it so I can''t enjoy my afternoon nap." "You''ve already retired, why bother to try and be a model sage?" Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I''m willing to invest in the renovations for Westminster Abbey to ensure your comfort and coolness." Mephistopheles rolled his eyes. "Do you think that I don''t even have that much money?" "Then what do you seek?" "Are there really that many things that people pursue in this life?" Mephistopheles sighed. "I don''t lack money, I''ve kept to my vows so I can''t find a lover, so I''ve been a virgin these 70 years. What can I seek other than a good reputation?" As he said this his expression became more and more helpless. His whole life he had pursued something so small, but now he had to let Ye Qingxuan destroy it. "I kept guessing when you''d visit. I never expected that you''d be so restless." Mephistopheles glanced at the newspaper on the table with a smile. "Is it because of this?" "That''s part of the reason." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. It was an announcement from the Church. They came out once a week. He used to copy them back when he was in the town of Lute. He could recite them down to the periods. This one was about the revisions to the Holy Bible. After a few more entries consisting of hundreds of words of nonsense, the only issue it had not touched upon was the most important one. Content about the Inquisition had begun to be deleted from the Bible, and the Church''s evaluations of the Inquisition throughout history had been changed. Many scholars had begun to re-examine the witch hunts, and put forward the cases of many innocents to prove the Inquisition''s mistakes and loss of control. To most people, this was not a big deal, but it was still interesting to read about. According to speculation, this was only the beginning. Next, there would be more subtle means to gradually subvert the Inquisition''s legitimacy. At that time, after losing all its justice and righteousness, the Inquisition would no longer be considered dependable, and even Ye Qingxuan, the Hand of God, would be tainted and not be considered to be as legitimate as in the past. As the two of them discussed it, Ye Qingxuan suddenly sneezed. He pulled out a handkerchief and awkwardly wiped his nose. He suppressed a cough. "Do you have a cold?" "I''ve been up high for the last two days and didn''t pay attention to the temperature." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "It''s extremely cold in those high places." "You''re only now just realizing this?" Mephistopheles gloated. "Are you worried?" "A little." Ye Qingxuan nodded calmly. "Serves you right, thanks to your thing the whole West is in chaos." Mephistopheles pointed at him. "But is it really worth it? Ye Qingxuan, you can become one of the most powerful people in the world, but now you are gambling everything on a flight of fancy." "I think it''ll pay off." Ye Qingxuan laughed and repeated Mephistopheles''s words back to him. "After all, are there really that many things that people pursue in this life?" In the silence, Mephistopheles shook his head. After slowly swirling around the black tea that had cooled in his cup around, he stood up, revealing the underpants he wore under his pajamas and his hairy legs. He slipped on his slippers and walked over to the bedside table, picked up a stack of manuscripts, walked back and threw them in front of Ye Qingxuan. "This is what you wanted." Mephistopheles sighed softly. "All the manuscripts that we wasted months to write, exhausting my knowledge and the knowledge of all 16 clerks of Westminster Abbey, the lifetime of the credibility of the name Mephistopheles, and the support of six schools, are here." He placed the manuscripts one by one in front of Ye Qingxuan. "This is the new Book of Common Prayer, the different 41 Articles of Faith that the Church made and finally," he hesitated for a moment, then placed the thickest one in front of Ye Qingxuan, "we reorganized and edited the creed according to the fragments of books that the libraries of the schools and the Royal Academy of Music had collected about the Ultimate. This is what you truly desired. A weapon to use to fight against the Holy Bible." In the silence, Mephistopheles returned to his seat. "Congratulations, Your Majesty." Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly as he looked at the documents on the table. He looked up and asked, "Does it have a name, Bishop?" After a moment of contemplation, Mephistopheles said, "If what he had in the past was the Old Testament, then what we''ve created now should be the "New Testament." "The New Testament?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "It''s a good name. Thank you for everything you''ve done, Bishop. I promise that you will be immortalized for this." "Immortalized?" Mephistopheles and laughed to himself. "Will I be leaving a good name that will resound throughout the ages or a name that will stink to eternity?" "That''s up to future generations to decide. We can''t even figure out tomorrow, why should we worry about what will happen in hundreds of years?" Ye Qingxuan gathered up the manuscript and got up to leave, but Mephistopheles called for him to stay. The old man sat still in his chair and looked over him like he could actually see him. "Ye Qingxuan, even with the New Testament, what''s the difference between you and the Church?" "Of course we''re different, Bishop. That which is in the Bible is laws and decrees, but laws and decrees can''t solve everything." Ye Qingxuan held up the manuscript in his hands. "But what the New Testament brings will be gospel." "Gospel?" asked Mephistopheles. "Who''s gospel?" Ye Qingxuan thought for a second, then smiled. "A gospel for those who need it most." 703 The Black Box of His Royal Highness the Prince Late at night, on one of the islands surrounding Avalon, namely Island No. 6, it was totally silent, and not even the chirping of birds could be heard. After martial law was declared, no more signs of any activity could be found here once night had fallen. Only the power armors of the patrol unit hummed in a low tone. In the darkness, sentries silently looked around. Dozens of detection enchantments enveloped the island, thoroughly monitoring everything. The island, which was the largest around Avalon, had been given to Ye Qingxuan as his fief. Although it was very close to the capital of the country, he was allowed to station military troops capable of subverting Avalon within a few hours here. Not to mention the headquarters of the Fifth Division, the Net of Aether Development Authority of Stein Chamber No. 6 led and established by Newton himself, as well as the order of the Chainsaw Fraternity, were both located here. Ye Qingxuan even stationed the largest military power under him, the Religious Court of Inquiry, here. All this while, God knew how many people secretly spoke ill of Ye Qingxuan. They accused him of having a wolfish nature and harboring wild ambitions and lamented that the country was in peril. For such a heinous crime that would have obviously resulted in the offender being sentenced to death by hanging on the Gate of Traitors, to everyone''s surprise, Her Majesty the Empress only charged him a fine of six hundred pounds of black gold, and casually dropped the subject. In light of Her Majesty delegating him more and more power as if she couldn''t care less, it was no wonder that many regarded Ye Qingxuan as the shadow emperor of Anglo. In fact, just like how Avalon was the core of Anglo, the island was Ye Qingxuan''s most important asset. God knew how many checkpoints and look-out posts were there both within and outside the island, and how many covert underground buildings were dug in secret. Even in the day, the island was shrouded in thick fog. No one knew what was going on or how many people were on the island. Even the transportation of resources such as construction materials and food into and out of the island was never seen, and no one could use the number of resources as a gauge. The speculation about the island was even more diverse. "It''s a black box, with the cat of His Royal Highness hiding within." Once, a drunk Tristan gave an odd smile when others beat about the bush trying to get an answer out of him. "Before you see it, no one cares whether you live or die. But after you open the box, it would be determined by the cat of His Royal Highness." Since then, the term ''the black box of His Royal Highness the Prince'' became popular among the upper society of Avalon and gained everyone''s approval. Everyone except for Old Phil. Meanwhile, at the moment, in the black box in the middle of the night, Ye Qingxuan stood on top of a hill, gazing at the dark clouds above him, which were gradually drifting here from afar. The night wind was cold, but it brought a faint heat along. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and sneezed, mucus dripping out of his nose. Flustered, he quickly wiped it off and coughed twice. "A burning smell is coming from the south." The cloud from Asgard had drifted over, shrouding Avalon, just like a presage of war. In the short span of just one month, Asgard''s action of burning its bridges in preparation for war had made the entire West somewhat chaotic. Anglo, bearing the brunt, included. "What time is it?" Ye Qingxuan rubbed his hands together and breathed out a puff of cold air. Behind Ye Qingxuan, Lola''s voice came from the empty space, "Two o''clock in the morning." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Soon." As he said so, a sound that resembled the rumble of an iron whale came from above him. As if some stars were ignited, the dark clouds were illuminated. Along with the rumbling whistle, horrible flares of light traveled through the clouds, moving downwards, stirring up a hurricane. The iron cloud of war was torn apart, revealing only a small part of the behemoth. A metallic gleam was hanging high above the sky. It was the Mountain of Nomadism. Huge searchlights shone, illuminating Ye Qingxuan. As the hurricane swept, his hair fluttered, like flowing mercury. Under the instruction of the musicians and the lights on the ground, a huge gap opened up in the smooth ground, revealing the complex steel frame within and deep darkness. In the depths of the darkness were specks of light, and one could vaguely see musicians running about near the huge landing platform. It was the actual reason why Mary fined him 600 pounds of black gold. Anywhere within a thousand miles from Avalon was within the radiation range of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, it was impossible for Mary to not know what happened on the island. But she did not expect that right after she gave Ye Qingxuan the island, the *sshole hollowed the whole island out. If she did not fine him some money as a warning, the fella''s reckless actions would sooner or later blow the whole island up into the sky. The huge Mountain of Nomadism slowly sunk into the open ground. But at the exact moment, it touched the tracks on the ground, the armored knight on the deck leaped over the railing, soared across the distance of several meters, and landed in front of Ye Qingxuan. The knight''s armor still had bloodstains that hadn''t been washed off completely on it and looked murderous and fierce. But as the heavy helmet was removed, the bald head and half of a metal skull beneath were revealed. The clergy, who was so old that it made one wonder how had he not breathed his last, smiled at Ye Qingxuan. Presenting himself before the Grand Inquisitor, the old man went down on one knee. "Welcome back, Shi Dong." Ye Qingxuan reached out and helped the old man up from the ground, shaking his head, and sighed. "You have become a lot older yet again." Shi Dong walked out of the opened suit of power armor and sat down on the wheelchair that had been pushed over quite some time ago. He heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice and gave a laugh that sounded like broken bellows. "One won''t feel itchier when one already has plenty of lice. I''m already so old, why would I care about becoming even older?" "Do you still have enough energy left in you after spending a whole day and night rushing back?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I am afraid you won''t get much rest tonight." "This is just a small case, I can still swing my sword for ten more days and nights." Shi Dong shook his head as if he couldn''t care less. Wheeling himself, he followed Ye Qingxuan and entered the elevator. The iron gates closed, and the huge lift slowly descended in the sound of mechanical parts operating. Shi Dong tilted his head to one side, looking at Ye Qingxuan sneezing and blowing his nose, and gloated. "It must have been a bad two days, no?" "I shouldn''t have been fronting." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and sighed. "It''s too cold up there, I should have known better and worn cotton-padded clothes." Shi Dong laughed. "Which aspect are you talking about?" "All aspects." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "The troubles I''m having here are still manageable, and you coming back can help relieve a lot of my pressure. What about the matters you have been dealing with? You have been gone for three months, how are the results?" "It has been going smoothly, as Your Honor has expected." Shi Dong cracked a grin. He resembled a monster that had filled its stomach when he grinned, full of satisfaction, and a faint bloody smell even lingered in the elevator. "Do tell me in detail." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "There''s too much interference when communicating in the World of Dark, and reports can barely be done. I would like to hear your experience and feelings." Shi Dong replied, "I originally expected the situation in the World of Dark to be too complicated, and since we have been shelved for so many years with no intelligence gathered, it would take about half a year to properly conduct an exploration. "But with the maps and materials provided by the retired Dragon Riders, it took only two months for us to find the site of the White Rock Stronghold. According to your instructions, we set up follow-up supply points along the way, made the marine chart, and plotted the specific route traveled. And," he paused for a moment, and a trace of delight flashed across his bloodshot eyes, "we reopened the White Rock Stronghold!" Actually, the crusade he promised the Religious Court of Inquiry began as soon as the threat of Leviathan was over. Although he had various other matters to attend to, Ye Qingxuan had never thought of delaying it. He could continue on for a few decades and wait slowly, but Shi Dong they all couldn''t. Since they had chosen to follow him, even though Ye Qingxuan did not have the energy to completely begin opening up new land eastward, he still wanted to let them see the results of the first phase. As a result, preliminary development and exploration were put on agenda, and after half a month of preparation, Shi Dong led a team heading for the World of Dark. The goal of the expedition was to reach the stronghold by sea and to find a new sea route that bypassed the turbulent flows of aether and the chaotic regions, a route leading to the core of the great pioneering era back then, where the past glory of the Religious Court of Inquiry laythe White Rock Fortress. With the Mountain of Nomadism as the flagship of the fleet, half of the Witch Hammer set off, together with 200 purification musicians plus 90 Royal Musicians, and eight strange ships from the Royal Institute of Research. Every one of them ecstatically set off on the potentially lethal road where the future was uncertain. Truth be told, Ye Qingxuan did not expect that the biggest source of help on the trip would actually be the retired Dragon Riders. Since Gaius'' rebellion, the team of rangers, who were once active in the World of Dark, was detained by Anglo. At the moment, with a rebellious Ye Qingxuan at the core of power, Anglo could no longer be bothered about the Sacred City. The thought of his teacher being imprisoned for so many years just because some papers from the Sacred City made Ye Qingxuan''s heart burn with hatred, and naturally he wouldn''t limit their freedom any further. Although business was quite bad and few customers had visited the clock shop, Setton the butcher had decided to swear off such involvements and did not accept the offer when Ye Qingxuan attempted to recruit him once again. However, it did not hinder him from recommending other colleagues to take up the job. After so many years, everyone had grown old, but thanks to the non-human transformations back then, although they had more or less wasted their years away, they were still in the same combat-fit state they had been in back then, instead of awaiting death like ordinary old men. As Abraham''s disciple, Ye Qingxuan won their unanimous approval and respect. Many of them rejected Ye Qingxuan''s suggestion for them to live an easy life in old age and volunteered to join the expedition team after knowing that Ye Qingxuan intended to open up the World of Dark. Ye Qingxuan once again realized the allure of the World of Dark. Even though the death rate was incredibly high, the future was uncertain, and every exploration was a gamble of one''s life that would lead explorers deep into demonic lands occupied by non-humans, the eyes of the Dragon Riders that had wasted their years away would still shine when they hear the phrase. Thanks to the information they provided and the supply points that the Dragon Riders set up in the World of Dark back then, the voyage this time around was so smooth. Shi Dong did not say much about the storms and battles along the way, but Ye Qingxuan could imagine it. An entire fleet had set sail mightily, but only three ships, including the Mountain of Nomadism which had come back in advance, returned. More than 16 ships of the fleet had been damaged for various reasons, and Shi Dong left all the rest in the temporary strongpoints opened up in the World of Dark. It was a backup plan that he made for the Religious Court of Inquiry after hearing about the decision of the Sacred City. Even if Anglo was to be completely defeated in the future, Ye Qingxuan could withdraw his troops to the World of Dark with ease and use the White Rock Stronghold as the foundation to make a comeback. Although the White Rock Stronghold had fallen for centuries, dozens of secret chambers underground were still perfectly sealed, and a large number of war reserves could be activated with just a few codes. It was a backup that they set up back when the various countries spared neither labor nor money in providing the Court with resources. "It''s been a tough journey." After listening to the short report, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but sigh softly, and he patted Shi Dong''s shoulder. Easterners always liked to say that having an elderly at home was like having a treasure. Although old men sometimes had a stale attitude, they were generally reliable in their work and would never cause one any worry. In particular, after Shi Dong was badly set up by the Church and shelved for centuries, he had gotten into the habit of considering the possibility of defeat before considering that of victory. In the countless war simulations over the years, he had come up with innumerable plans to make a comeback. At the moment, he just had to implement them. Ye Qingxuan tilted his head to one side and ignited a cigarette, then asked seriously, "So, what about the second goal?" "It was as you wish." Shi Dong grinned, his sharp iron teeth scraping against each other, producing a sharp noise that would make one cringe. "The testing of the usage of the Water Tank in actual combat has been successfully completed." 704 Water Tank The testing of the water tank was complete. Ye Qingxuan felt assured by Shi Dong''s words but when the elevator stopped and the doors opened, he was stunned by what he saw. On the gigantic underground plaza and under the beams of light from the searchlights hanging on the ceiling, countless iron structures on the walls were reflecting light. The commander ensured that the cantilever and hoist cable was pushed to the sides. There was a deep and soft hum with the machine in operation, while the cables dragged the Mountain of Nomadism into the port at the side of the plaza. Of course, this was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that as the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism opened, three pitch-black objects slowly trudged towards the center of the plaza, all the while spouting thick black smoke and making an ear-piercing sound. Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. "What is this?" Shi Dong became awkward all of a sudden and pretended to cough a couple of times before replying, "Water tanks." In what way did they look like iron chariots? They simply looked like a pile of scrap metal! As Ye Qingxuan continued staring at them silently, he felt like he had just been screwed over. "You''re telling me that these are ''water tanks''?" He asked Shi Dong, "When they left, they looked nothing like this!" The Royal Institute of Research had spent so much effort creating this new generation of chariots, only to turn out like this after Shi Dong had brought them out for a trip. In what way did they resemble any top-notch war weapon now? They clearly looked like some scrap metal that a beggar would have picked out from a pile of rubbish! "And, why are there only three left?" Ye Qingxuan asked, "Didn''t you leave with 80?" "There''s a long story behind this." The old man seemed to have expected the devastating look on Ye Qingxuan''s face. He took another inhalation through the oxygen tube and waved his hands calmly. "Please allow me to explain. You see, this was a weapons test after all, and what''s more, it''s rare to do it in a place like the World of Dark, where there can be many trials and tribulations. It''s expected that problems will crop up." Although they had traveled on sea, the naval route was actually a longer path. They managed to save two-thirds of traveling time through bypassing the dangerous areas on ship, but when they came to the end of the naval route, they had to travel the remaining one-third of the journey on land. In any case, from the very beginning, they had already decided to treat this journey as a holiday to fulfill the wishes of the bunch of old fellows. But there was no way they would have allowed those old fellows to travel on foot. Therefore, Ye Qingxuan was generous enough to deploy 80 of the newly created water tanks and a maintenance team from the Royal Institute of Research along for the journey. "As you know, in the World of Darkness, even rabbits can grow up to weigh two tons. There are all sorts of strange demons and even the teeth of wild dogs are harder than alloys. It''s only expected to sustain damages, right? Besides, the water tanks are new weapons that have only been put through a simple test. It''s very normal for problems to crop up when their resilience and hardiness are tested over a long period of time. They may break down, leak air, explode, suffer from wear and tear" Shi Dong shrugged. "In fact, before we reopened the White Rock Stronghold, all 80 water tanks have already been damaged. The engineers retrieved the mechanical components that were still usable and put them together with the back-up resources that they have brought along so that they could reproduce 16 water tanks. In the end, when we reopened the White Rock Stronghold, we used up eight of them. But to be fair, they are actually quite useful! We brought back three of them this time around so that the researchers in the research institute will be able to study them carefully. When the problems are solved, send another 80 water tanks over." Ye Qingxuan did not say a word. He could see that Ronald, who was the person in charge of the power department in the research institute, was already feeling very upset. 80? My foot! Do you think all these are going to come by so easily? Right now, there were so many things to do in Anglo. Ronald was taking up multiple responsibilities as he had been assigned many projects by Newton. Back then, he had almost gone crazy in order to carry out Ye Qingxuan''s order of squeezing out resources to build those 80 water tanks. Quite a number of mechanical components were manually crafted by him and his men on very short notice "Impossible!" He feared that Ye Qingxuan would be persuaded by Shi Dong once again. "We don''t have enough manpower in the research institute to spare. You can have any number of engineers you want for maintenance but in order to develop a new batch of researchers, we will need at least three years! Besides, we don''t have enough manpower for the production line as well!" Ye Qingxuan felt helpless when he saw how anxious Ronald was. He looked at Shi Dong. "This is only the first field test. According to our timeline, there''s still at least another two years before assembly. Is there a need to be in such a hurry?" "Take a look at this first." Shi Dong threw over an aether ball. It contained the records of the water tank in combat. They were sources of information that had been recorded by the purification musicians and have been brought back along with the three water tanks. Many more of them have been kept in the instruments of harmonious melody on the Mountain of Nomadism. This one has been specially selected by Shi Dong for Ye Qingxuan''s viewing. One of the recordings contained tens of water tanks attacking a gigantic monster but most recordings were of water tanks trudging through different terrains such as mud, hills, plains and even crossing a river. One of the recordings that Ye Qingxuan was viewing repeatedly was of 10 water tanks crushing and attacking a gigantic beehive, despite the swarms of bees around them. The musicians were seated in the water tanks and were shooting streams of flames at the bees. When all was said and done, four out of ten of the water tanks have been severely damaged as they were completely covered with huge bee stings and looked like metal porcupines After watching these recordings, Ye Qingxuan fell silent and quickly summoned a member of his entourage. After half an hour, this member of the entourage brought over two members of the Golden Hound. Most of these original organists of the Fifth Division had military backgrounds, and quite a number of them had experience in leading small squads into combats. They might not be as far-sighted as the military staff committee, but their advantage was that they possessed high-security classifications and would be able to handle top secret information. Just like Ye Qingxuan, the hounds pondered deeply after watching the recordings. They briefly told Ye Qingxuan about their views, then they returned to prepare to rush out a report overnight. By the next day, their report, along with this aether ball, would be submitted to the Privy Council. There was a complete change in how Ye Qingxuan viewed the water tanks now. At first, he was not too impressed with this new model of chariot. Although it could deal a lot of damage, this was not something that Anglo lacked at the moment as there were plenty of mass production musicians. However, this field test opened Ye Qingxuan''s eyes to the water tank''s new potential. Its potential included its impressive mobility across most terrains, a defense that was on par with small temporary fortresses, and the perfect coordination with musicians. Although most of its powered armor could be further improved, the production and cost of a single water tank would only be less than one-third of a basic powered armor if Sterling internal combustion engine was used! With some slight modifications, the water tank would be able to contain at least seven people! Other than the mandatory driver, the others could take on the role of mass production musicians in the net of aether. With the water tanks as mobile fortresses, the defensive abilities of the musicians would be increased and they could even install a mobile small-scale instrument of harmonious melody inside! As long as the water tank stayed within the area of the large-scale instrument of the harmonious melody of the net of aether, the power of the net of aether would be extended to the water tank. They would no longer have to worry about the stability of the transmission of music theories. This was the perfect repeater that would function between the large-scale instrument of the harmonious melody of the net of aether and the musicians. But even without this function, the water tank could still act as a powered armor for ordinary people! It would be different from knights, where one could easily take more than a decade to groom and develop elite soldiers, and there would also be no need to modulate the knights! Modulating a knight would require the insertion of artificial nerves and catabolic organs, which could easily cost up to 80 pounds of black gold, and this was not even taking into account the cost of technology. Not only that, one would only have to go through three months of training for driving. No, in fact, in times of emergency during wartimes, an instruction manual and three hours of time should be sufficient for a literate person to drive the water tank. Now, before Caucasian could use their ''redemption,'' every country tried to catch up and follow the trend, ending up with plenty of molten lead weapons. Shortly after, the musicians realized that their defensive abilities would be greatly reduced when they were near the molten lead weapons. Many ordinary musicians died as a result. In the past, when faced with six molten lead weapons, even musicians that could go against a shower of arrows would have to think twice about retreating. But with the water tank, the threat posed by molten lead weapons had reduced drastically. Unless the enemy decided to go berserk and start firing their large-scale weapons without a care, in which case it could only mean death but at least one would still die in one piece, right? After thinking for a long while, Ye Qingxuan had finally come up with a plan. He looked at Shi Dong. "In that case, what do you think are some of the flaws that have been surfaced from this field test?" "Stability," Shi Dong replied without hesitation. "The stability of the external combustion engine still needs to be improved. Even if the cost will be doubled, it is still acceptable as long as the stability can be improved by 30 percent. The external layer of armor can be removed and be used as accessories and we will need another ten of those! This object is a consumable and its armor will have to be changed after each battle. Another bigger problem is its track. The research institute did not have a clear understanding of the importance of tracks. The formula for the alloy to make these tracks needs to be upgraded at least once so that its abilities can be maximized. "Later, ask your subordinates to write this down clearly and furnish them with more details. Bring these three broken things along and hand them over to the research institute. The institute will settle it." Ronald looked like he wanted to speak but stopped himself. He looked helpless. "Don''t worry, I will not give all of you any additional pressure." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder. "With regards to modes of transportation made from iron, the Chainsaw Fraternity is quite experienced. I will discuss with the Patriarch on the possibility of a collaboration. As for the hierarchy of production of the water tanks, bring it up to the second sequence from today onwards. The World of Dark is an excelling testing ground. We will go through three rounds of pressure testing there before we hand them over to Birmingham''s production line for production and assembly. The biggest reason for limiting the production capacity was to keep it a secret, but now that we are prepared to mass produce it, there is no point trying to hide it any longer." Ronald looked slightly more relieved. But even so, there was still tremendous pressure on the institute of research. He took his leave with a bow as he prepared to work overnight on the project report. "Oh yes, there''s something else I need to tell you." After half a night of debriefing in Ye Qingxuan''s office, Shi Dong was drinking a bowl of herb tea when he slapped his bald head as he finally remembered something. "Hua Sheng has leveled up to scepter." 705 War and Daybreak Several months before Watson and Shi Dong had set out from Avalon together, but they had different missions and different destinations. Compared to Shi Dong, who would send messages from time to time to prove that he was still alive, there was no news at all from Watson on any channel. If he was alive no one had seen him, if he was dead no one had found his body. Even though he knew that something that would completely kill someone else would not even necessarily harm a hair on that guy, Ye Qingxuan was still a bit worried. But the news that he was waiting for was not whether he had succeeded or failed, but whether he had advanced to the Scepter level Ye Qingxuan had never worried about Watson''s qualifications. He could count the number of people in the world who could compare to him on one hand. After all, he was the robin. He was the evil spirit of the Anglos who had once been a Royal Musician. For others breaking through to the Scepter level was as difficult as ascending to heaven. For him, it was merely a step by step process. Although when Ye Qingxuan had cleansed the evil spirit he had once again become an official musician, after that he had an unlimited supply of core music theory from each of the schools. If he couldn''t make tremendous strides in a short amount of time that would be fishy. But Ye Qingxuan had not thought it would be so quick. "He must have prepared for a long time," said Shi Dong. "He incorporated purifying music theory into the animal nature of a robin and then let his own animal nature be infected by the Abyss and then purified himself. He repeated this several times a day. By the end, I couldn''t tell what state he was in. Purifying music theory didn''t work on him, and the Abyss''s infection didn''t affect him at all. He made his Scepter by wavering back and forth on the line between redemption and depravity." "When did he make his breakthrough?" asked Ye Qingxuan. Shi Dong took a sip of the bitter concoction and smirked. "He did it on the way after we left Avalon, before we got off the boat at Netherlands Harbor." Ye Qingxuan was silent. He knew what Shi Dong meant. The whole process of an official musician becoming a Master, and a Master becoming a Scepter, was for the musician to promote their sound of heart to a Symphony of Predestination, and then to promote their Symphony of Predestination into a Scepter. This was a distillation of the self. In short, in order to become a musician, you first had to be yourself: the self that you most wanted to be. This was one of the reasons why he had been able to elevate himself so easily after he had left Avalon, as Ye Qingxuan had made him do it, it went against his very nature. Even though Ye Qinguan had given him the whole lower city to do with as he pleased, this was only to make him use his dark side to suppress all the gangs down there. Use evil to control evil. By fully leaving Watson to his own devices, he could absolutely produce dozens of huge results. Not everyone could be killed, and not everything could be dealt with. He had to leave a line and be careful about crossing it. The most excessive thing would be to ask him to be a good person. That was too difficult. Ye Qingxuan was not worried that after he set Watson loose who would become a man-eating, blood-drinking demon. He had enough willpower and wisdom to overcome his dark side, and would only get better and better. But in the end, that wasn''t good. Ye Qingxuan hadn''t freed him to let him curl up in the shadows his entire life and become the next Shaman, but to let him live properly in the light. Unfortunately, hate was hate, after all. "It seems like this mission made him very happy..." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Forget it, a forcibly picked melon is not sweet. Let him live how he wants, I won''t get in his way." "You should have done that from the start." Shi Dong rolled his eyes. "He told me to tell you that he was going to disappear for awhile, and not to worry. If he doesn''t come back that means he died. If he doesn''t die, then sooner or later he will come back with success." "He has his own ideas. Let him go then." "So, other than us and the Holy City collapsing, did anything happen after I left?" "Lots." Ye Qingxuan shrugged. "Yesterday, the Holy City officially declared the Orthodox Church to be heretical and asked the Inquisition to protect God''s authority by sending a punitive expedition to the east against the Confederation of Caucasian." Shi Dong laughed. "Is that what you wanted?" "Haha." Ye Qingxuan was too lazy to even roll his eyes. "They''re saying now that the College of Cardinals is even ready to accuse the Anglo Kingdom of Heresy. We can expect that in a few months I''ll be the "big red dragon" that has plagued the Anglo Kingdom. Will I have to obey the Sacred City''s orders and kill myself?" Shi Dong did not bring this up anymore. This was a leftover set from the game they had been playing that year. During the witch hunts, many people who were suspected to have connections to the Abyss were sent directly to the stake. For civilians, they did not need a reason, and for nobles, any excuse would do. In those days when that crowd of mad men had been barbecuing demons, the people in the Sacred City hadn''t even learned how to light a fire. "What about the East?" Shi Dong asked. "Since Bai Heng broke the balance of power between East and West, could it be that he''s planning something big next?" Ye Qingxuan was silent for awhile, then shook his head. "No." "No?" Shi Dong looked up at him. This was the only thing that surprised him, so unexpected. For centuries, the East and the West had maintained what could only be said to be a tenuous connection. The two sides had rarely interacted with each other, had kept each other in check, and had rarely interfered in each other''s spheres of influence. Now that Bai Heng had rashly broken the tacit understanding and balance between the two sides, a storm was sure to come. But it turned out that he wasn''t doing anything. What on earth did he want to do? "It''s not only that he isn''t doing anything," Ye Qingxuan said unhappily. "He also isn''t letting anyone else do anything." "What do you mean?" asked Shi Dong. "See for yourself." Ye Qingxuan sighed and knocked on the table. A ray of light emerged from the void, intertwined until it became an image in front of Shi Dong''s face. It was a huge three-dimensional map of the whole world. But compared to parts of it that had been mapped out by humans, at least two-thirds of it was shrouded in darkness. And of the parts that had been discovered by humans, more than half of it was ocean. The Anglo Kingdom was located on the western part of the map among the several dozen countries of the West. And facing it from far away was the Empire of Aurora in the East. In reality, the Empire of Aurora couldn''t be compared to the West, as it was only about half the size. The reason why the world was divided into East and West was that the two halves were separated by the almost completely unexplored World of Dark, leaving only a few shipping lanes and winding roads that were difficult to travel to connect them. The Aurora Empire had never really paid attention to the changes outside, having little interest in the West that lay on the other side of the World of Dark. There were only a few dozen students who came to the West to study abroad every year, but they rarely spoke of their hometowns. That included Ye Lanzhou. The East was a place of pain for him, and would only bring him trouble. Thus, he never talked about the Empire of Aurora, except for its movements. This led to Ye Qingxuan, though he had the blood of Devas, having no concept about the Empire of Aurora at all. And if in the past there had been almost no contact, nowadays there was none at all. "What''s this?" Shi Dong stared, slack-jawed, at the changes in the map. As they watched through the Net of Aether, the darkness that had originally separated the East and the West grew a hundred times thicker, completely blocking all the roads. The entire Empire of Aurora was shrouded by a faint halo, making it impossible to see how it was changing. "It''s probably the Great Wall." Ye Qingxuan looked indifferent. "If I''m not mistaken, Bai Heng used the fragment of the Wheel of Balance that he got to fix the blemishes in the Great Wall and achieve this effect. And from what we can see here, the Great Wall has been completely initiated, covering the entire territory of the Empire of Aurora and completely expelling the music theory of the outside world. So they''re not afraid of falling out with the Sacred City at all, because even if they did the Sacred City couldn''t touch them. He''s built a shelter before the storm." Shi Dong was silent for awhile, then sighed as if he had been relieved of a heavy burden. "That''s good, that gets rid of a huge variable." He looked to the north of the Anglo Kingdom on the map. "Now all we have to consider are the Commonwealth of Caucasian and Asgard." Asgard. The room plunged into temporary silence. For the past two days, the Anglo Army Headquarters had held many meetings about this, but any time that name was mentioned they felt exhausted. They were known as the Millenium Hegemony. They were the largest country in the entire West, the empire with the strongest finances and war potential. Besides the Empire of Aurora, they were the only nation with an Emperor. Now, in this chaotic time, they had opened up the path to war. Ye Qingxuan would not be surprised if the Asgardians chose to go to war. In fact, them not choosing to go to war would be strange. In the past Asgard''s hegemonic status had come from their own strength, but they relied on the Sacred City tieing up the other nations to maintain it. Now that the Sacred City had lost control, could not sit by and watch other countries threaten them. Moreover, Asgard was the biggest beneficiary under the Sacred City''s system, and would certainly not allow a new system to be established, negating its own position. Gaius''s revolutionary system, in particular, was completely incompatible with a conservative nation like Asgard. The two were destined to come into conflict from the start. Asgard had already declared war on the Commonwealth of Caucasian. Nowadays, in the face of Ye Qingxuan''s rebellion and Gaius''s threat, and the so-called Orthodox Son of God, the Sacred City that had lost its ability to control the world could not sit still and await their fate. Everybody felt that this war would sweep across the entire world. If the East did not seal their borders even the Empire of Aurora would be dragged into it. The world was large, but none could escape it. "It seems that Gaius has become a mortal enemy in the eyes of the Sacred City." Shi Dong shook his head helplessly. "Whether it''s the Orthodox Church or yourfriend, the Son of God, they''re all frightening." "Charles is not the Son of God," Ye Qingxuan corrected him. "He is my fellow apprentice, nothing more. Don''t make me remind you again." "Alright." Shi Dong sighed and did not bring it up again. "So, after rejecting the alliance with the Commonwealth of Caucasian, how do you plan to face the current situation? You''re no longer a lone musician, the whole of the Anglo Kingdom is behind you. You have the Inquisition, and even the Chainsaw Fraternity chose you. Once you start the war you can count on having even more alliesand more enemies than allies. On the surface, your greatest contradiction comes from the Sacred City. But as long as they are willing to give in, and you are willing to compromise, your goal can coexist with theirs. But Asgard is different..." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "You mean that I can choose to make the Anglo Kingdom the next Asgard, but Asgard has no way to retreat..." "Asgard''s centuries of prosperity came from its cooperation with the Sacred City. It was the backbone of the Sacred City''s system. They have always relied on the benefits they gained from this system to deal with their domestic issues, but the conflicts between the clans can''t be suppressed, and the conflicts between the common people and the nobility are so pronounced that there was no way to solve them. And Gaius''s theory of abolishing the nobility has been fiercely pushed behind the scenes. If the Sacred City''s system fails, then they will be destroyed by internal chaos and external threats. So Asgard has to protect the old ways and has to protect the Sacred City. This is a matter of life or death to them. If I was Asgard, I would definitely start with the Anglos." What Shi Dong was saying was the conclusion reached by the two days of meetings at the military headquarters. The war between the Anglos and Asgard would definitely start. There were many reasons, but the biggest one was the geographical location. They were close. The Anglo Kingdom was too close to Asgard. If the Burgundians opened up their borders, they would only have to cross a straight to land in Anglo territory. Moreover, the Anglo Kingdom''s national strength had been exhausted by Leviathan''s attack. The Royal Navy had taken heavy losses, and the economy had just started to rise, too late to employ effectively. Also, anyone with half a brain could see that the more Ye Qingxuan''s Net of Aether spread out, the more terrifying it became. If they were to become enemies, it would have to go too. The worst thing was that although Asgard was huge, its distribution of resources was concentrated on the other side of their territory. The industrial, manufacturing and even grain producing areas were distributed around the Golden Palace. If they went to war with the Commonwealth of Caucasian they would have to rely on sea transportation to stay supplied. What was even worse was that if Asgard dared to go through the Anglo Kingdom in order to make war on the Commonwealth of Caucasian, the Anglos could rely on the Avalon effect which accumulated in the ocean currents and the Homeland Defense Front to interfere with the Asgardian supply lines to a freaking ridiculous extent. Thus, the logical choice was very simple. War was inevitable. And once war broke out, it would be long and drawn-out. Once it had lasted for a long time, the competition would be between national reserves and supplies. In order to guarantee supply replenishment, they had to control the sea. In order to control the sea, they had to destroy the Anglos first. They had to destroy them utterly. Even if the Anglos had only Avalon left, they could still strike at the heart of the Asgardians through the Homeland Defense Front. Therefore, the first battle would inevitably be between the Anglos and the Asgardians. And the beginning of the war would be at sea. This war over sea routes would determine the future of the whole world. "Be ready, Your Excellency." Shi Dong lowered his eyes. "Winter is coming." "It''s not Winter." Ye Qingxuan shook his head as he stared out the window at the Net of Aether that hung high up in the night sky. The crystals reflected the sunshine that emerged from far across the dark, distant sea, magnificent and tranquil. "It''s daybreak." 706 Value Morning had just arrived. In the bustling region of midtown Avalon, the apartment district, a few pedestrians going to work in the morning walked along the streets. The bakery had opened for the day. The awnings, as well as the tables and chairs outside, had been set up, and a sign advertising half-priced set meals and coffee was hung outside. A carriage quietly stopped at the door of the six-story apartment. Several men in black uniform climbed up and down the stairs, carrying boxes of luggage down, and put them in the trailer. Their movements were consistent, but their uniform had no logo on it. Also, unlike trained soldiers, they didn''t look burly. Although they were thin, they carried the heavy luggage effortlessly. Whenever someone looked their way, they would look back, as if they could sense the gaze, sizing the people around them up with a cold look in their eyes. In the carriage, the man named Richard opened the curtains and looked at a window on the fifth floor. "Is our guest done packing up?" The assistant outside the carriage shook his head. "There''s still a bit left. The good sir refused our help, and it seems that he resents it quite a bit." "It''s the same," Richard said calmly. "After studying hard for five years, just before graduation, he was given a notice to pack his luggage up in two days and be escorted out of the country. Surely, anyone would feel upset. Plus, no one is at fault for such a predicament, who can he blame?" The assistant said nothing. He just sighed and looked down at his pocket watch to tell the time. "Don''t look at it, just wait." Richard leaned back on the seat of the carriage. "At least leave him some time to say goodbye." On the fifth floor, the room was already empty. Although it was one of the best apartments in midtown Avalon, the interior was still simple, and there wasn''t much furniture of bigger size, to the extent that only a few chairs and a bed were left after all the luggage had been taken away. A huge easel was also among the things left. The unfinished painting on it was still covered with a damp cloth, and many completed portraits were put at a corner. Unfortunately, the Royal Hounds were rather rough when carrying the luggage, and many paintings had fallen onto the ground, stained with dust. And their creator couldn''t be bothered about them anymore. "Thaler, aren''t you bringing these along?" the girl who lived next door said. She came to Avalon to study just like him. Having been classmates for four years, she came to help him move out. "Forget it, I can''t bring them along, just leave them here." The thin young man cast a final look at the products of his hard work and withdrew his gaze. "If I get a chance, I''ll come back and pack them up." Thaler lifted the last suitcase, got up, and looked at the girl next to him, forcing out a smile. "Time to leave?" she asked. "Yeah." Thaler nodded, wanting to say something, but no words came out. "It''s a pity, you are just one year short of finishing your studies." The girl smiled, a complicated look on her face. She reached out and hugged him gently. "I won''t be sending you off then." "Mhmm." Thaler nodded, looked at her one last time, and walked towards the door. But after walking to the door, he turned back and opened the suitcase. He took out a wrapped painting and handed it to her. "This is for you." It was a portrait that looked just like her. "I always wanted to give it to you." Thaler smiled regretfully. "If I don''t give you now, I''ll have no chance to do so." Having said so, he lifted the suitcase and left, as if he was running away from something. Only the girl was left standing in the room, looking at the emptiness. It wasn''t until the carriage started moving that Thaler heard the shouts from behind him. He poked his head out of the window of the carriage and saw the girl shouting at him from the window on the fifth floor. But Thaler could not make out what she was saying. The carriage didn''t stop, and as the driver whipped the horse, the carriage gradually went further and further away from the apartment, until it turned onto Queen''s Road, and he couldn''t see where she was anymore. She had been swallowed up by the city. Thaler sat back in the carriage, collapsing on the seat, his eyes somewhat red. "I''m sorry." Richard handed him a handkerchief. "I know that the decision is cruel to you, but I hope you can understand that you going back to Asgard is the best for everyone." Thaler said nothing, nor did he look up at Richard. "If you really miss her, come back here after the war." Richard took back the handkerchief that was ignored, and said calmly, "Waiting is always pleasant as compared to separating, isn''t it?" After a silence, Thaler looked up, took a deep breath, and shook his head. "No, I probably won''t come back." "That''s a pity." Richard said calmly, "When the war is over, I do welcome people like you to visit Avalon, be it for traveling or studying. Avalon is a good place, I''ve grown up here since I was young. Sometimes it throws a fit, making it difficult for outsiders to like it, but in the end, I believe that outsiders will all find their own place here." Thaler shook his head, his expression complicated. He didn''t look like an Asgardian, as he was neither burly nor boorish. His face was handsome, and he was very different from his father and several brothers. He was feeble and quiet. He seemed like he couldn''t even kill a mouse. Having been in Avalon for a few years, no one knew that he was the son of the patriarch of the Fire River Clan, and he never told anyone about his hometown. "After returning to Asgard, will you set foot on the battlefield?" Richard asked. "Only father''s successor is qualified to go on the battlefield, and it will never be my turn. I have been considered a lost cause from the moment I left Asgard." Thaler said coldly, "In Asgard, glorious deaths are never for weaklings like me." "There''s nothing bad about being able to survive." Richard shook his head. "Be it victory or defeat, war is always cruel. I also hope that it will not come, but now it seems that it is merely wild wishes." Thaler said no more. He closed his eyes. It wasn''t long before the carriage slowed down, as they had neared the port. One could vaguely see the bustling port. Compared to the orderliness in the past, everything had sped up by a lot. Ships entered the harbor constantly, and ships were leaving as well. For the well-informed, word had it that war was nearing, and many people who had no business in it were reluctant to stay here. Just within sight, a huge passenger ship was leaving amid horn blasts. It even had the logo of the Asgard Marine Company on it. "It seems that your family has given up on you. The Asgardian Embassy didn''t even know about you when evacuating nationals." Richard sighed and patted Thaler''s shoulder. "Sorry that we have to send you back. Please believe me when I say that it is the best solution We have notified AsgaC" Boom! Before he even finished speaking, a roar burst forth. It sounded right outside the window of the carriage. The next moment, countless pieces of iron burst out of the broken cargo box, and a forlorn whistling tore one''s eardrums apart. The iron pieces scraped against each other in midair until they became red, tearing the air apart and smashing the carriage into pieces. They pierced through the steel plates in the middle layer of the walls and flew into the carriage. The force applied to the pieces of iron wasn''t enough for them to penetrate the other wall and exit the carriage, and they bounced back upon hitting the steel plates. In the violent shaking, they continued bouncing around the carriage. Then, a fire engulfed everything. After staring stunned for a short moment, countless people screamed and fled in all directions. "God''s wrath! Did you see it? It is God''s wrath!" Behind the cargo box, a pale-faced musician laughed wildly, playing a movement, madly attacking everything around him. "Go to hell! You cowards! Traitors! Go to hell! Asgard must pay the price for everything they have done to me! Hahahahaha..." Five minutes later, the mad musician was shot dead on the spot, and a proof of identity belonging to a royal musician was found on him. As the guard looked on with a ghastly pale face, the burning carriage shattered, and Richard, who had almost been burnt, climbed out from the inside difficultly, holding on tightly to the blood-stained young man. "Help!" He hoarsely shouted, "Help! Doctor! Where is the doctor!" Hoarse coughs sounded, beside him, the young man who was missing half of his body opened his eyes with difficulty. "Don''t waste your time." His broken face had a complicated look. "I can''t be saved." Richard was stunned and looked down at him in a shock. In a flash, he suddenly understood. "You''ve known all along?" "I have already told you, glorious deaths are never for the weak." Thaler difficultly forced out a smile on his burnt face, and it was full of self-mockery. "The weak can only die in shame, creating... value for the strong..." Thaler coughed violently, blood foam rising from the throat, blocking his respiratory pathway. As if he had understood that death had come, he no longer struggled. He simply propped his body up with his broken arms, turned back with difficulty, and gazed at the city behind him. It was as if he could see the little window. Someone was waiting for him there. I''m sorry. He closed his eyes and his breathing ceased. 20 minutes later, Ye Qingxuan was awakened by mad knocking on the door. He climbed up from his desk and saw Richard sitting in a wheelchair, with bandages on him. "I messed up." Richard''s expression was bitter. "The fourth heir to the Fire River Clan of Asgard has just been assassinated at the port." "Who is the assassin?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "A royal musician," Richard replied hoarsely. "It was a premeditated assassination. He already knew that he would die. Boss, we are in trouble." Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, opened them again, and exhaled the anger from his lungs. "Noted." He patted Richard''s shoulder. "It''s not your fault, it''s already fortunate that you can come back. Go and see the chorale doctor first." Five minutes later, the harsh ringtone from the emergency communication of the Privy Council rang from the desk. "Get me on the line with the Prince, now!" "You may speak, I am listening." Behind the desk, Ye Qingxuan smoked a cigarette, his expression dark. "Two minutes ago, the Asgardians claimed that the only heir of the Fire River Clan had been murdered in a despicable assassination attempt in our country, and Asgard officially declared war on Anglo!" "Noted." Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes and extinguished the cigarette. "Please inform Her Majesty to hold an emergency meeting in court, gather all the members of the Privy Council, inform everyone to make the necessary preparations." He put on his coat and buckled the last button. "War is coming." Outside the window, the morning sun rose from the sea, illuminating the dark clouds slowly spreading from the distance. The world was quiet. 707 The Crux of the Issue Amidst the roar, the cable suddenly tightened and the air let out a low hum, like the sound made by chords, as it was being lashed. Under the hot searchlights, the gigantic armor was being lifted gradually. With every signal made by the commander, the armor inched closer to the huge object, until iron had made contact with the bloody flesh. Shortly after, screws that were as huge as spears were inserted into the sockets of the armor, thereby piercing through the bloody flesh. The body underneath the armor trembled and fresh blood spurted out. Nevertheless, the screw continued to drill deep into the flesh until it was inserted into the bones. Then, the welding musicians stepped forward and wielded their flames to weld the armor and rivets together. It was as if the giant was wearing a coat of metal now. "Higher, higher!" Captain Egor was shouting at the top of his lungs to direct everyone else in the hot and humid environment. In the gigantic workshop, pieces of armor were being pasted onto the flesh and blood of the Mountain of Nomadism. This was the final step. The last time the Mountain of Nomadism had undergone debugging was four days ago. After being dismantled and assembled again and again, the Mountain of Nomadism had already expanded by more than half of its original size. The bloody flesh wrapped around bone plates that acted as internal armors. Artificial muscles, that were the size of a human, wrapped around alchemy formations and were devouring aether and were pounding like blood vessels. Until now, the hidden power that had originally been left behind by the Mountain of Nomadism had been fully developed. Besides, it was infused with new power by the queen, which was Firebird. After the gigantic sea monster, with the blood of Leviathan, had been modified by the Chapter of the Golden Victory, its bestiality had finally been awakened and it had transcended into a hundred-percent dragon. It was as if the red dragon had transformed into metal before destroying itself and turning into a warship. Beneath the skull-shaped bow of the ship, a pair of gigantic eyes opened slowly. Red-colored eyeballs stared straight ahead as it tried desperately to put up with its pain and suffering. Its heartbeat was as loud as a drum, echoing throughout the hot and steaming workshop, leaving everyone swaying with fear and admiration. "Bad news has just come in." Shi Dong''s voice sounded very thick through the gas mask. "Asgard and Burgundy have formed an alliance. The rights to develop four black gold mines in exchange for Burgundy opening up its borders and seas." "At least we can confirm their objectives now." Ye Qingxuan nodded and gestured for Shi Dong to catch up. The both of them left the upper-level deck and returned to Ye Qingxuan''s office. Ye Qingxuan picked up the plan that had been delivered to him by the military and threw it over to Shi Dong. Shi Dong flipped through it before putting it back down. He was silent for some time before breathing out heavily. "Any thoughts?" "This is tough" Shi Dong touched his chin and his voice was hoarse. "If my guess is correct, Asgard''s next course of action will most likely be a sudden attack on both fronts." Although Anglo was a country by the sea, its lands were split up into four zones with a total of 27 counties, and more than half of them were on land. Now that Burgundy had opened up its borders, Asgard would be able to pass through the Blanc Mountains directly, thereby posing a threat to industrial cities and agricultural lands of Anglo. By then, Anglo would have to face the Scarlet Bird clan, which had been named by Asgard as one of the three pillars of the empire. After going through the battle of Nebucha, personally forcing the heavy-armored knights off the altar and kickstarting the generation of automated armors, the Scarlet Bird clan managed to climb up to the top of the empire. It was under the leadership of that Emperor that Asgard became so deeply passionate about developing automated armors. A century later, an armored army that bore the totem of scarlet birds would become the nightmare of all armies. Even till this day, the Scarlet Bird army was still the biggest armored army of Asgard. No, of the entire world. Amongst the 160,000 members, 100,000 of them were soldiers that specialized in other areas while the remaining 60,000 would surround the automated armors. In order to maintain the operation of the army, heavy industrial cities and more than 14,000 mechanical engineers worked for the military. This figure would probably increase drastically in times of war. There were 20,000 automated armors that would be on alert, of which at least 4,000 automated armors were famously known as Asgard''s ''frost giants.'' Incredible amounts of effort and money were invested in the development of frost giant knights but even so, there was still less than 4,000 of them now in total. They had been said to be capable of fighting against enemies of the same level, even if they might be outnumbered by three times. Once the army of the Scarlet Bird clan reached the borders, Anglo would have no choice but to gather all their military forces and prepare them to defend the country. Even the queen''s Knights of the Round Table would have to be activated. This would be the only way they could leverage the unique terrain of Blanc Mountains and keep Asgard at bay. If they were to lose Blanc Stronghold and the Scarlet Bird armies were able to break through, the thousands of miles of plains behind them would be destroyed in a matter of three days. By then, Anglo would be completely mired down in the mud. "Worse still, the Asgardian fleet will be able to pass through Burgundy seas and enter Anglo seas directly." Ye Qingxuan looked at the map and drew an arc. The end of this arc passed through the seas of Anglo and reached the location of Avalon. "If we don''t do something about it, in one and a half days'' time, Asgard''s Stronghold on Sea will be at the doors of Avalon. In other words, once they enter our seas, we won''t have any other strategies to throw at them." Shi Dong shook his head. "Anglo is still in the early stages of regaining its power. It will be extremely tough fighting against an experienced Empire." "That''s why I must be there personally." Ye Qingxuan looked at the map. "The outcome of this battle will be decided on the seas." It did not matter if the Asgardian army outnumbered Anglo by a ratio of three to one. That alone would not be enough to take down Blanc Stronghold. It was common knowledge that it was much easier to defend than to attack. Ye Qingxuan felt extremely confident about this. As long as the Anglo army could hang in there and not perish completely, they would have won. Ye Qingxuan had already made up his mind. The moment he discovered that the Sacred City was involved in this battle, he would have all the reasons in the world to send the Witch Hammer to the frontline, even though he knew that the majority in the Sacred City would never allow him such a convenient excuse. He would do whatever he could to ensure that the Asgardians would fight for as long as possible. It would be even better if the Blanc Stronghold was to turn into a quagmire and drag down the other small countries surrounding it! As long as the Asgardians did not go crazy and decide to unleash the giant, Hercules, Anglo would stand a chance. In any case, the place was too small for the number of soldiers to matter. What was most important was the combat endurance of both parties, or, in other words, spending money. When he considered this point, Ye Qingxuan began to suspect that Burgundy must be hiding some malicious intents for them to have agreed so readily to an alliance with Asgard. They had only opened up the corridor of their borders, thereby restricting the scale of battle. By doing so, Burgundy had lengthened Asgard''s supply line and could even take the opportunity to exploit Asgard''s military needs. It was as if to say, Whatever you need urgently right now, I have it. I will sell you at 10 times the original price, surely that''s not too expensive for you? As for Anglo, with the Sterling internal combustion engine jumpstarting the industrial revolution, national productivity has increased by more than five times. As long as they retained control over the seas, then the hundreds of naval routes would be equivalent to a black gold mine with endless supplies. The entire ocean would be Anglo''s bank, where they could withdraw as much money as they wished. Food would not be a problem either. In fact, they had consumed less than one-third of the amount of food that they had conserved in order to fight against Leviathan. At this stage, Anglo was full of reserves and was not afraid of battles. But all this was only possible on one conditionthe navy must hang in there. They had to. The purpose of the Royal Fleet was to ensure that Anglo had a stable rear that could protect the ocean. Just as Ye Qingxuan said, the outcome of this battle would not be decided by the battle at Blanc Stronghold, no matter how intense it might be. It would be decided on the sea Similarly, in Asgard, the same topic continued in the naval headquarters beneath the Golden Palace. There was only an elderly and a youth in the huge but empty meeting room. The old musician has regained his original form and no longer needed to hug the wedge-shaped stone plate every day in order to keep his life going. He might still be weak and fragile but at least he could now move around freely. Sat opposite him was a quiet young man. His appearance suggested that he was between 20 to 30 years old but his hair was white and his back was hunched. His eyes were blurry and he looked very sickly. His eyes looked tired but even as he seemed to be in a state of being half asleep and half awake, there was a shocking instance of chill in the air that flashed across. There was an aura of chill that surrounded this young man, as if it was a murderous aura that had been exchanged with countless lives. It was like a sharp knife that was covered with rust. Only after removing the layer of rust and dried blood stains would the cool and chilling blade be revealed. He was wearing an Asgardian military uniform but for some reason, his attire just did not seem to suit him. It was as if there was a more appropriate attire that this young man should be wearing; something more sacred and solemn, and also more terrifying at the same time. The old musician could not help but sigh. "My apologies. The Asgard military uniform is probably not as comfortable as the uniform of Silence Governance. But for the sake of long-term plans, we have no choice but to ask of you to put up with it for a while longer." "Don''t worry. To me, an attire has never been the problem." The young man sat on the chair and fiddled with the silver cane at his knee. His expression was calm. "I can fully understand the Sacred City''s arrangement. After all, the person in charge of the Silence Governance cannot be seen on the battlefield of Asgard." "It is a good thing that you understand, Rommel." The old musician nodded and felt more relieved, but it was still a headache dealing with this young man. This was the new generation of Hendel after the previous generation; the new generation of the person in charge of Silence Governance after the previous generation. Three years ago, the Sacred City had already designated this young musician, by the name of Rommel, to be the successor of the saint. He was also a disciple of Hendel of the previous generation. His future has been guaranteed by the protector of the Pope and the Holy Caldron. Since the age of 14, he had joined the Silence Governance and had been able to thrive in this secret service that was feared by every country. When he was 19, he had already climbed up to an important position and was comparable to the Wolf Flute. He was known as ''Knife'' and ''Mad Dog.'' Originally, everyone had predicted that he would break through distortion level and enter the zone of Master before needing another 15 years to become a scepter and succeed a holy name. 15 years have passed and a 37-year-old saint was definitely considered young. No one expected him to advance this quickly. 708 As It Is in Heaven Hendel died unexpectedly at the hands of the traitor Wolf Flute, and the irritated Rommel chose to undergo the dark trials that had been sealed off by the Silence Governance. As the center of the world, the Sacred City had accumulated a massive amount of resources over the centuries, and thus it had countless ways to quickly improve its strength. The pope could even help people get more powerful without even the slightest side-effect. And the one Rommel had chosen was the worst. He himself was an advanced killer of a forbidden school. After undergoing surgery and transformation by alchemy matrix, he had undergone successive hellish, torturous transformations until even his skin had festered and peeled off several times. At the cost of the deterioration of his body he had skipped right to the top of the Master Level from the Distortion level in only half a year and then had almost broken through to the Scepter level along with Ye Qingxuan. The difference was that his Scepter was blessed by the King of Red himself with the movement called "Emperor," so he inherited the elements most suited for Hendel, thus logically inheriting the name and position of his teacher. However, he had not yet risen to be in charge of the Silence Governance, and at the suggestion of the College of Cardinals had been excommunicated and had gone to Asgard to participate in the war. He himself was Asgardian, the sole descendant of the faded Black Flame Clan. It was perfectly sensible for him to act like a Saint for Asgard. For Asgard, this would bring more assurance about the outcome of the war. For him, this would be the beginning of his revenge. Because of this, the old musician was full of worry. "Time is short, let''s be brief." The old musician got right to the point. "As for what happens next, as I''m sure others have told you, barring any unforeseen circumstances the enemy that you will face on the sea is that rebel Wolf Flute''s friend, the Prince of Avalon." When he was finished speaking he looked at Rommel. Rommel''s face did not change at the mention of Wolf Flute, it remained cold. His determination touched the old musician. He could only say that he was worthy of being in charge of the Silence Governance. He kept calm at all times and had an iron will even when it came to killing. "You don''t need to use that name to provoke me, sir." Rommel lowered his eyes. "Are you worried that I''ll lose?" "With an enemy like that, anybody but the Three Kings would be worried," said the old musician. "After all, who can guess what he''s going to next?" "Ye Qingxuan does indeed have a lot of tricks, I''m not a match for him in that regard." Rommel''s answer was simple and straightforward, with no arrogance but also no modesty. "But if he appears before me on the battlefield he will be my enemy. So, let me tell you, I will win that battle." He was practically certain of it. Even if Ye Qingxuan got personally involved, the Net of Aether would have to stay in Avalon. He was sure that that type of a country''s non-combat important weaponry would stay in the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, in order to assure it would be completely safe. And when Ye Qingxuan left the Net of Aether he would fall from the catastrophe level to the Scepter level. The weakest Scepter. The whole world knew that once he left the Net of Aether his Scepter would be useless. A blueprint? Between that and the inheritance of the Holy Name, which one was stronger? Wasn''t it clear? But even so, no one dared to relax. When facing someone like Ye Qingxuan it was necessary to treat him as a formidable foe. "Since you''re so sure you will win, I won''t keep chattering." The old musician was silent for a while, then said, "I''ll hand the sea fortress over to you, and send three Scepters with you. Mr. Rommel, I give you these orders in the name of His Majesty the Emperor: you must win this battle. If you come back victorious, whether it is to support you or to revive the Black Flame Clan, Asgard will spare no effort." "Then I will obey your command." Rommel bowed to the old musician who represented the Emperor, grabbed his Scepter and turned to leave. The old musician was left there alone, sitting in a chair and staring at the huge map on the wall. He didn''t know why, but he was uneasy. He closed his eyes. "Ye Qingxuan..." The heavens seemed to reflect the grey mud on the ground. The grey-black mud should have been fertile soil, but now it emitted a rotten smell. "Lord, please bestow your redemption upon me." A refugee with tattered clothes crawled in the mud, piously kissing Charles''s boots. "Please free us..." There were abscesses upon abscesses under the stinking bandages on his face and neck, a disgusting sight. A plaintive cry rose up from the wilderness. Charles looked up suddenly, and looked all around him at their dull eyes. He could not believe it. "How can there be so many..." "This is only some of them," Paganini said softly. "Some have lost their land, some are lepers, some are beggars, some are bankrupt farmers. The drought has lasted for years, and last year the frost was severe. They missed the Spring plowing, and so have lost all hope. These exiles are worthless. The Commonwealth of Caucasian has too little land. They can''t afford to grow weeds, and they can''t afford to support these people. You can''t save them. Even if you do, they will still die." Charles was silent. The refugee in the mud looked up at him, and the hope in his eyes was dashed bit by bit. He wanted to say something. He stuttered through cracked lips, but in the end nothing came out. He limped away. The sound of a child crying rang out from behind the victims. It soon stopped. Charles lowered his head. After a while, he looked back up at Paganini. "How many provisions do we still have?" "We are going to reclaim the wasteland, not offer aid." Paganini shook his head in disappointment. "There aren''t many provisions left. Everyone has their allotted portion. All that Gaius is eating now is stale bread. Who has any food to give to others?" "How many provisions do we have?" Charles repeated his question. Paganini sighed and glanced to his side as the clerk bitterly flipped through the account book. "Besides everyone''s allotted rations, we have two herrings and five millet cakes." After hearing this, Paganini looked at Charles. "How many can you save?" "Yes, how many can I save?" Charles sighed bitterly, reached his hand out and looked at the clerk. "Give them to me." The clerk hesitated, then pulled two bags off the cart. He pulled out two herrings, five millet cakes, and finally a bottle of water. Paganini said nothing and lowered his eyes. There were at least 30,000 refugees wandering outside the country now, and there were 7,000 in this shabby camp. Forget about the five millet cakes, even if everyone took out their rations it would practically be like trying to put out a pile of burning logs with a glass of water. Even if everyone in the country was able to get a bit of rations, how many would that save? They could only stuff their ears and refuse to listen. This was not shirking their duties, and it was not cruel. There were more important things to do, and more valuable things to be preserved. It was not until Charles started taking the fish and millet cakes to the refugees that Paganini called for him to stop. Not to bewitch him, nor to stop his plan, but simply to give his colleague some advice. "Charles, there will always be times when there is nothing we can do," he said softly. "It''s better if you understand that now." Charles looked back at him and suddenly smiled. "Don''t worry." He scratched his head as he smiled self-deprecatingly. "If I really have a tiny advantage. It''s that I''m not a person." Paganini was stunned. Charles stopped in front of the dumbfounded refugees. The starving refugees looked at him, then looked the fish and cakes in his hands. Their voices quieted, then grew louder. That tiny bit of food seemed to possess incredible magic. It made the dense crowd of thin people move forward, crawling on the ground, gnawing on their fingers, with eyes filled with longing and greed. Then they saw the dagger that Charles had pulled out of his boot. The dagger glinted, cold as frost, making the crowd of people around him stop. Charles was silent for a moment, then raised the dagger and slashed his pinky. Blood flowed from his fingertip amid the sound of cracking bone. The severed finger fell in the gap between the herrings and the millet cakes, probably falling on the ground, although no one saw it. The blood fell into the water bottle, staining the water until it looked like it had become wine. He cut a piece of cloth with the dagger and wrapped up the stump of his pinky. His twitching expression changed into a smile. He bent down, and put the food that he was holding on the ground. "Eat." He grinned and stepped back. "If it''s not enough, there''s more." The people began to clamor. The thin refugees stared blankly at Charles, and in the next moment rushed forward like a mire boiling over. They crawled towards the food that had fallen on the ground. They grabbed the cakes, stuffing them into their mouths, and swallowed them with all their might. When it got stuck in their throats they greedily drank the wine. Charles stepped back and let them gorge themselves with a piteous expression. Paganini glanced at them, then looked away. His face was blank, but in his sleeves, his hands were trembling uncontrollably. After a while, he called over the clerk. He forced himself to calm down and suppressed the tremble in his voice. "After they have finished eating, gather up the leftovers. Don''t waste any of it." The clerk stared at him, thinking he was joking. Paganini repeated himself, then turned away. After a while, the refugees had finished eating, and the clerk came back with twelve baskets filled with leftovers. The people crowded around the baskets and clicked their tongues in wonder. But Paganini did not look. He had his back to the crowd, and his face was pale. D*mn, those idiots don''t know what this represents After all those centuries, he suddenly had an impulse to pray. "God..." He looked up and stared into the empty void. A rippling, blazing glow met his eyes, as if the gate of heaven was slowly opening and raining down redemption. It was Eden, the heaven created by humanity. Like an illusion, he saw countless spirits of the dead rising up to the Kingdom of Heaven, as if there really were souls in the world. As if Heaven really existed. 709 Competing to Be the Most Terrible The northern waters were the public waters that connected the territorial waters of Asgard and Anglo, and it was also one of the intersection points of ocean currents that converged at Avalon. The warm currents from the east and the north brought a fruitful fishing season, which made it one of the largest fishing grounds in the world. Every spring and winter, fishing boats from all over the world would fish here, competing for the various fishes that had swum here. In half a month, the luscious fish would be delivered all over the world and be served on the dining tables of the nobles, becoming dishes that would satisfy the appetite of food lovers. Unfortunately, the sea region had now become a forbidden area. Not only had the high concentration of fishing boats seen in the past disappeared, but few fish were also left. The Royal Fleet stopped at the intersection point of the territorial waters of Anglo and the high seas and paused. Meanwhile, in the bridge of the flagship, all the generals surrounded something that had just been fished out from the sea in silence, without saying anything. It was originally a 12-faced object made of black iron, and God knew how long it had been soaking in the sea water. It was covered in copper-colored rust and even had a layer of barnacles and seaweed parasitic on it. As a musician of the school of abstinence cautiously dismantled it, the dodecahedron, which was half a person tall, was slowly stripped of the barnacles on the outer shell, revealing the inscription hidden behind the rust. Everyone''s expression was dark. "Something new that I have never seen before, does anyone want to explain it to me?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the artificial creation in front of him and turned back to ask. "The Disintegrating Water Demon''s Son, Type Six." Sylvaine said, "Asgard''s naval weapon. It is equipped with a resonator specifically targetting the aether engine of ships. The sensing range is 600 meters, and it will automatically approach passing vessels. Once it reaches critical distance, it will be triggered, and the aether bomb inside will destroy the ship''s armor. Only two of it are needed to blow the armor of a warship into pieces." "So powerful?" Ye Qingxuan''s next sentence made everyone turn ghastly pale. "Let me try..." Having said so, before anyone had time to stop him, he reached out unhesitantly and hit the aether bomb. The next moment, a crisp sound rang out, and the dodecahedron instantly disintegrated. Immediately, a horrifying brilliance erupted from it. A high temperature enough to vaporize the entire bridge was brewing up, crushing the air, and it swept in all directions. But then, the terrifying shock waves and the high temperature were restrained in an invisible domain. Within the hexahedron outlined with music theory of the school of abstinence, the terrifying shock waves and the high temperature continued rebounding, illuminating the shocked look on everyone around. Only Ye Qingxuan cupped his chin and slowly nodded. "Quite powerful indeed, comparable to the damage-dealing movements of musicians of the school of modifications." As he said so, he turned back and looked at Sylvaine. "How many of these do they have?" "I don''t know." Sylvaine smiled bitterly. "The Asgardians'' war reserve has always been the most plentiful among the various country. A specialized minelayer can lay thousands of bombs. They probably spread these things in the ocean current several days in advance. Now, they are drifting along with the currents, and I am afraid that they have spread all over the sea region by now." Sylvaine did not finish his words, but Ye Qingxuan understood what it meant. If they didn''t do anything to stop it, more and more of these things would probably flow to Avalon along the ocean currents. Then, Avalon would undoubtedly be completely blocked off by these things. No ship would be able to set sail. "They want to attrite our resources," Sylvaine said coldly. "We have to deploy at least half of our ships to remove the mines, and the musicians have to spend most of their energy on it. Even when we go to war, we would have to assign some manpower to prevent the ships from hitting a mine." The captain of another warship said, "But to pass through the blockade, we must first get rid of these things, otherwise we can''t fight at all." "Should we clear them up?" Sylvaine looked at Ye Qingxuan, who was the actual commander of the fleet, although most of the time he was just a scapegoat that rarely interfered in the operating of the fleet. "Yeah, clear them up. After all, we still have to go on our way." Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand and ordered, "Organize the Royal Musicians to conduct a large-scale summoning. Many musicians probably rear aquatic phantom beasts, they should be able to hasten the process. We need not intercept all of them, it will suffice to just clear our sea routes out. As for the rest, just let them float to Avalon. If the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth can''t even keep them out, what''s the point of it?" The bombs laid by the Asgardians were like caltrops on the ground. Although they were inconvenient and troublesome, they could at most be said to have disgusted Anglo. Such was war. When necessary, even the massacre of civilians was within the scope of consideration, let alone little things like these? "Unfortunately, the Asgardians overlooked one point." Ye Qingxuan motioned to someone behind him, and a musician holding an iron box stepped forward quickly, putting it in front of Ye Qingxuan. "They can dig traps, and so can we." As he said so, Ye Qingxuan opened the seal on the iron box with his signet ring, and he took out two small wine glasses from it. Seeing everyone''s shocked expression, Ye Qingxuan smiled. "We need not compete against them to be the nicest." He weighed the Cups of Integrity and Courage in his hands and grinned. "Let''s compete to be the most terrible!" In the sharp noise of the war alert, it was busy on board all the warships of the Royal Fleet. Countless sailors rushed here and there, sealing all the gaps. Thick, heavy protective clothing and respirator masks covering the entire face were distributed at the bow of the ship. Soon, in the short span of half an hour, all the warships were in place. Meanwhile, in the magnificent melody, the thick layers of clouds above the sky slowly parted, and the dark behemoth broke through the clouds. With the behemoth''s spine as its core, the organ was played together by sixteen musicians. Hot steam spewed from the body of the Mountain of Nomadism, emitting a harsh melody. Under the guidance of the music theory of Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, countless perception threads extended from Ye Qingxuan''s body, connecting themselves to the Mountain of Nomadism. With it as the core, countless strands of music theory of the Heaven Ladder shrouded the entire Royal Fleet within. They were connected as one. As compared to the phoenix, which appeared when Mabel did so, nothing unusual occurred when Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination engulfed the fleet, but in the musicians'' sensing, the hundreds of warships had been completely united as one at the moment, becoming the physical form and embodiment of a tenacity. Then, the mighty melody was played. The calm ocean instantly started boiling. Countless clouds of water vapor rose from the surface of the sea, turning into a fog so thick and heavy that one couldn''t see the fingers on one''s stretched-out hand. In the area shrouded in the thick fog, everything turned pure white. The thick fog expanded wildly in the melody. Like a white blanket, it instantly covered the region within a few hundred miles of the fleet and was still slowly extending towards the surroundings. It was as if it was alive. In the short span of a few dozens of minutes, one-third of the entire Northern Waters had been covered in the undispellable fog, and it was only a matter of time for the remaining two-thirds to be engulfed as well. It was the thick fog that once shrouded the entire Anglo. When the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth which had received all the power of Leviathan infused the Mountain of Nomadism with Firebird, it gave the talent to the offspring of Leviathan as well. Unlike the strange weather that was almost like a projection of the realm of aether back then, the fog at the moment had no other effect other than to obstruct the line of sight and the sensing of musicians. It could deal no damage as well. It sufficed to merely exist as a medium. At the bow of the Mountain of Nomadism, Ye Qingxuan smiled and slowly raised the two cups in his hands high. The Cups of Virtue. One was Integrity and the other was Courage, both of which represented admirable qualities, also known as weaknesses! Following Ye Qingxuan''s actions, a huge hole seemed to have opened up in the entire sea of aether in an instant. Countless streams of aether were forcibly extracted, and the waves caused could even be sensed by the Asgardian fleet far away, which was not even in the northern waters. At the moment, it was not Ye Qingxuan who was extracting the aether, but the Royal Fleet that had been united as one with Ye Qingxuan. The aether engine of hundreds of warships madly extracted power. Even if every engine was just a small drop, they could form a torrent when gathered together. Such huge aether waves were simply as conspicuous as torches in the night in the detection of large-scale instruments of harmonious melody, but at the moment, the night was covered in thick fog, and even the position of a torch was difficult to detect. Under the irrigation of the power, Ye Qingxuan slowly tilted his hands. From the sky, he spilled the virtues in the cups into the thick fog beneath his feet. It was as if sweet nectar was falling from the sky. The wisps of water vapor falling from the Cup of Integrity soon merged into the fog and spread rapidly, lending the water vapor a cotton-like texture. Wherever it passed, the vague water vapor became like sticky glue. Together with the nectar in the cup, the terrifying toxicity quickly spread in the fog. A pungent scent rose from the thick fog. The mist that had been attached by ''Integrity'' became wisps of cotton, hiding in the thick fog, constantly floating around pervasively. Everywhere it passed, even steel made a hissing noise. The poisonous gas that was transformed from aether was of a semi-colloidal state, and it was a terrifying enemy for all living things that could breathe. Once it entered the lungs, it would quickly cause the organs to contract and become dehydrated until the person finally became a dry corpse after uncontrollable vomiting and dehydration. Even if one''s skin came into contact with it, the poison would cause the epidermis and dermis layers to rapidly decay, become inactive, and turn into cracked, rotten rubber. In contrast, what sprinkled from the Cup of Courage was fluttering grass clippings. They were like granules that were dried in the sun after weeds were chopped up, the fine hairs from willow trees flying everywhere in the wild in springtime. The spores proliferated wildly while absorbing aether fell from the cup, just like salt being sprinkled on the barbecued meat. They dotted the fog, completely harmless, and one couldn''t possibly imagine its horrifying appearance after parasitizing the human body and growing wildly. The Cup of Integrity would rob one of all moisture and vitality, making people lose their flexibility. The Cup of Courage would blind one, growing and expanding wildly. After approaching their limit, the weapons that would suffice to completely wipe off an entire large city in a short period of time absorbed a massive amount of aether, completely changing the nature of the thick fog. In the next week, the entire northern waters would become a completely inaccessible region. Without protective clothing and a respiratory mask, one would completely become the host of the plant and a pile of rotten meat just by walking outside for one round. It was a pity for the pasture of fish farming to go to waste, though. Countless fishes floated up from the sea, the whites of their eyes showing, and their abdomens gradually swelled. In the end, countless grass seeds broke out of their abdomens and floated about on the water. Ye Qingxuan put away the Cups of Virtue and slowly shook his head. The war had yet to begin, but the consequences had already shown themselves. The pasture probably could not recover within a decade. The armored knight wearing a protective mask ran out and went down on one knee behind Ye Qingxuan. "Your Royal Highness, a report from the fleet. Traces of the whereabouts of the Asgardian Navy have been discovered." "Let the ones good at war deal with war. Go tell Sylvaine to go about it the way it should be done, and that he need not be concerned about me." Ye Qingxuan took the report and walked to the bridge of the Mountain of Nomadism. Raising his voice, he commanded, "Notify the whole fleet, the target is 72 degrees south, 400 nautical miles away!" In the rumble, the Mountain of Nomadism shook violently, and the huge figure unceremoniously passed the accelerating Royal Fleet, disappearing into the depths of the fog. "So, let''s go say hello to our enemies." In the bridge of the steel behemoth, Ye Qingxuan''s fingers tapped on the armrest, and he hummed a vague tune softly. Going against Leviathan at sea? Friend, have you gotten something wrong? 710 Thinking There was only silence in the entire corridor. The young musician stood in front of the door with a plate of dinner in his hands. He hesitated and looked at the closed door of the cabin in front of him. This was a corridor that he had been walking through countless times for the past six years, as he had had to bring dinner for those officials that had no time to head to the canteen. But this time around, he was exceptionally hesitant. It was as if he was about to face a terrifying beast. This hesitation did not necessarily come about due to a threatening appearance or strong words but was more of a gut feeling instead. It was the sense of danger and fear that herbivores possessed when faced with their predators. He swallowed his saliva and bucked up his courage to knock on the door. There was only silence and there was no response. But the feeling of chill thickened. He hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door again. This time around, he froze. On the other side of the door, he could sense a pair of eyes looking over in his direction. Those eyes seemed to be able to penetrate through metal, physical objects, and his body to see directly into every inch of his soul. "Please come in," a deep voice said from behind the door. It was neither cold nor strict, and he felt a lot more relieved. But the moment he pushed open the door, he immediately felt a strange gust of chill. His hands that were holding on to the tray could not help but tremble. He saw it. There were countless slim threads hanging in the air everywhere. Red, black, white, green There were plenty of notes, photographs and pages from case files pinned onto the walls, occupying every inch of the room. Those thumbtacks were attached to the threads, and the latter crisscrossed the entire room so that it formed a gigantic web. There were case files and notes everywhere on the table, walls, floor and even on the bed. It was like the lair of a spider. The white-haired man''s back was facing him as he squatted amongst the messy piles of case notes. He was staring at the threads on top of him and seemed too deep in thought. He seemed to be searching for something amongst the threads. "Mr. Rommel." The musician, who was in shock, lowered his head and did not dare to look at him. He only spoke softly, "Your dinner" "Just leave it there, thank you." Rommel pointed at a spot near the entrance. The musician felt relieved to finally be able to leave the tray behind before closing the door gently. He was only able to relax and breathe normally after he had turned the corner of the corridor. The room was silent and Rommel was like a statue, as he remained motionless and continued to be deep in thought. "How terrible." In the darkness, a voice sighed and spoke. A thin middle-aged man appeared out of nowhere and picked up the tray of dinner that had already gone cold. He grabbed the utensils and began to dig into the dinner unceremoniously, even as he continued to speak while chewing on his food. "He was kind enough to bring you dinner, yet you couldn''t even be bothered to look at him. Besides, you have been on the Stronghold on Sea for so many days but all you have done is to lock yourself in the room and stare at the photos of the same man. Hey, you know something? In Asgard, if someone''s room is filled with photos of men, then you will be deemed as a homosexual" "Are all the imperial guards of the Golden Palace as talkative as you?" Rommel countered without even turning his head. "If you wish to leave the room, please go ahead. Do whatever you want, Schwartz, just don''t disturb me." "That''s not possible." Schwartz shrugged his shoulders. "After all, this is my duty." In the Asgard army, when a musician was appointed as a commander, he would be given his own personal guard. During wartimes, the two of them would stay together at all times and must never be apart from each other by more than ten meters. Its main purpose was to prevent any assassinations or accidents from happening. Although this was unnecessary for a scepter like Rommel, the old musician still insisted on sending him an imperial guard from the Golden Palace before his departure. These knights, who were specially selected from the Asgard army, had to go through long periods of training and even had to change their names and erase every single trace of information about themselves in order to become an imperial guard of the Golden Palace. In past centuries, they had been responsible for the safety of the Emperor or important officials and have earned the reputation of being the best guards in the entire world. At the same time, they were also excellent assassins. Other than protecting the people that they had been assigned to, they might sometimes have to carry out certain unpleasant tasks behind the scenes. Loyal, hardworking and fearless. Despite so many excellent qualities, they could not compensate for the single major flaw, which was that this guard that had been assigned to Rommel was a chatterbox. "It has been so long, what exactly are you doing?" Schwartz was playing with his curly black hair. He was finishing up his dinner in a squatting position and continued to ask, "Unrequited love?" "I''m thinking." Rommel stirred the cup of cold coffee but his gaze remained unchanged. From the very beginning, he had been staring at those photos on the wall, regardless if they were clear or blurry. He stared at that white-haired young man and his black eyes. "You are ''thinking'' just like Ye Qingxuan." Schwartz shook his head. "Is that necessary? You are only studying an opponent, why must you force yourself to the extent of becoming homosexual?" "When facing an opponent like Ye Qingxuan, you have to consider every single small detail." Rommel spoke calmly. "Can you imagine? He was able to advance from an apprentice to a scepter within a year and control catastrophes. He was on exile but eventually became the shadow emperor of a country. He was atheist but eventually became the archbishop of the church and Chief Inquisitor of the Court of Inquiry. He is a miracle, Schwartz, a miracle that deserves to be feared." He stared at the photos and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Look at this fellow''s face. He''s always smiling at all times. It''s as if the pain and suffering of this world mean nothing to him. Despite his human-like appearance and his gentle and sophisticated behavior, you can just sense that he is a monster. He is not human. When you look at his eyes, you will feel that all of your efforts will be for naught. Compared to the miracle that he is, you are not worth mentioning at all. This doesn''t make sense at all" Crack. The metal spoon broke in the cup of coffee. Rommel finally looked away and turned his head silently to look at Schwartz. "I have been thinking, why would something like this exist in this world?" "How would I now?" Schwartz shrugged his shoulders. "It''s your job to think. Are you expecting a bodyguard to give you some ideas?" Rommel laughed self-deprecatingly. He took another look at the photos on the wall before looking down. "I think God would never allow something like this to exist in this world." He picked up the cup of cold coffee and gulped it down, including chewing on the broken pieces of the metal spoon. He muttered softly, "Schwartz, I''m going to kill him." When the siren sounded, Rommel finally left his room and appeared on the bridge of the Stronghold on Sea. Compared to other warships, the bridge of the Stronghold was like the city hall of a particular city. There were several levels in total and the lowest level was often used by messengers. They would be rushing to every location on the Stronghold with the warrants and approvals from the general staff on the second level. The third level was the real center of command. The elderly commander looked at Rommel and waved to him and explained the situation, "Mr. Rommel, we have entered the northern sea region. I''m afraid we will be making contact with Anglo''s Royal Fleet very soon. The reason we have asked you here is that we hope that you will be heavily involved and can help us react in the shortest possible time. I''m afraid we will have to trouble you from now on." "This is part of my duty." Rommel nodded and looked up at the map that was being projected in mid-air. He pondered for a while before frowning. "Did Anglo create this fog? No, it''s not that simple. What''s in this fog?" "Cups of Virtues." The commander replied coolly, "They have gone against the international agreement and poisoned the entire northern seas. We have already initiated the filter enchantment. For the next few days, all of our naval crews will have to breathe through their protective suits." Instead of feeling angry like the others, Rommel was confused. "Is that all?" "Hmm?" "No, nothing." Rommel shook his head but he could not help but feel that something was amiss. Reports kept coming in. After pushing forward, this iron city on sea began to let out a roar as it split the ocean, like a giant taking huge but slow steps forward. The thick fog had also seemed to be cleared by the hurricane. The poisonous fog began to tremble from the reverberation of the roar. Amidst the loud sounds caused by the friction between metals, tens of water gates at various locations of the Stronghold opened. The gigantic warships sailed out in all directions in a formation. The wheels had been warmed up and the main cannon had been adjusted. Everyone in the motor team was in position Every human seemed to represent red blood cells. They were sprinting everywhere in the Stronghold so that its ''heart'' would start pumping and the entire Stronghold would be awakened. It was coming alive! Rommel''s head remained lowered. He was silent and did not seem to hear the sounds on the outside. He was deep in thought as he stared at the map on the wall. Thinking. Thinking. Just like how Ye Qingxuan would be thinking. All of a sudden, it was as if a flash of lightning had struck him. He looked up very suddenly. "Turn on every single probe!" He pointed at the commander and shouted at the top of his lungs. His hoarse voice had broken the silence on the bridge, and everyone looked back at him in shock. "Turn on all the probes and instruments of harmonious melody. Arrange for the revelation musicians to perform a large-scale symphony with Lord Klein!" At the highest level of the bridge stood an old man at the front row. He turned back to look at the commander before looking back at Rommel. "Although the revelation musicians of each division are already in position, Lord Rommel, is it too early to activate everyone now? I may be a scepter, but I don''t think I can last for too long." "Trust me, Mr. Klein." Rommel chewed on his fingernails and stared at the map. "He is here! He will definitely be here!" Klein looked at the captain. Once the commander gave his nod of approval, Klein sat down at his position and closed his eyes. The gigantic metal Stronghold suddenly let out a roar. Countless buildings rose and fall like the keys on a piano. Amidst the majestic melody of the pipe organ, the scepter appeared out of nowhere and hung on the ceiling of the Stronghold. The element had been revealed! A pair of eyes opened within the figure of the scepter and looked straight ahead. A beam of light shot through the fog and seemed to turn every object transparent. It signified the left eye of Odin, the God of catastrophe, and was capable of revealing the truth of every object in the world. With that beam of light, the surface of the sea behind the fog could be seen clearly, including the waves beneath the surface, the seabed that was a thousand meters deep and even the skeletons of fishes that had died in the corals. The light swept across in all directions and, instantly, the single eye had scanned one entire round of the Stronghold. There was nothing. Everyone was relieved but began to give strange glances in Rommel''s direction. Only Rommel did not seem to realize this. He continued to stare at the map and was subconsciously biting on his fingernails. His teeth had bitten off the dead skin on his index finger and fresh blood was flowing out of the broken skin. Very soon, the light reached hundreds of miles across the sea and locked on to the direction of the Royal Fleet. "At least it was not entirely wasted." Klein tried to speak up for Rommel and laughed. "It''s always good to stay alert." Rommel kept quiet. He was disappointed. By scanning such a wide area, even Klein was not able to last for long. The moment the location of the Royal Fleet had been confirmed, the left eye of God retrieved its vision. Just before the movement dissipated, it scanned the Stronghold for one last round. On the right side of the Stronghold, what was originally only fog began to tremble and reveal silhouette that left everyone dumbstruck. In an instant, Klein''s scepter shone downwards. The disguise that was made of water vapor was dissected open by the invisible blade, revealing the floating warship behind. No one knew when it had managed to escape the probe of the Stronghold and get so close! It was almost within an arm''s length! "What the hell is this!" The commander stood up from his chair. His face had turned green. As the ear-shattering siren sounded, that pitch-black warship seemed to sense that it had been detected. It gradually adjusted its direction so that it was aiming straight at the core of the Stronghold. A blinding light was already shining from the main cannon. It was the Mountain of Nomadism. 711 The Perfection in Theory The Mountain of Nomadism! Rommel''s eyes widened as he recognized Ye Qingxuan''s legendary ship! Among the Silence Governance, Rommel had a famous nickname besides "Sharp Knife" and "Executioner." Soul Eater. No matter what kind of Dark Musician one was, once they were on his list of people to capture it was like you were being haunted by a ghost. Even if they could shake him off a couple of times, in the end, they wouldn''t be able to escape him. It was as if, during the pursuit, their soul was eaten away little by little. This was the ability granted after the sound of heart awakening. After becoming a Master it was elevated to its limit. As long as he had data and rumors about his enemy he could understand and control them. The more time he had to prepare, the smaller the enemy''s chances of winning, until in the end he would thoroughly understand them, and they would become nothing more than another meal. In a few short days, he had already thoroughly familiarized himself with all the data the Silence Governance had accumulated about Ye Qingxuan. Sometimes he would even have a flash of insight that would let him guess Ye Qingxuan''s thoughts. It was through this power of "substitution" that he could clearly understand how strange and terrifying Ye Qingxuan was. Sometimes he even had the impression that it was not that he understood Ye Qingxuan, but that Ye Qingxuan''s will was controlling him! It was because of this unprecedented pressure and threat that he felt an uncontrollable desire to kill Ye Qingxuan. And after several days of pondering in seclusion, he already knew Ye Qingxuan''s character like the back of his hand. This guy would not move except to make a lightning strike! Like now, for example "All ships defend!" shouted Rommel. He placed the silver rod in his hands on the floor and bent his emaciated body as he leaned on it. Suddenly he straightened up, and a beam of light shot out of his thin body. It was like God was working through a mortal body. A light like the blazing sun shone out in all directions. Bright and majestic, it descended from heaven! Ever since the Mountain of Nomadism had come from above the sea fortress, everyone felt their mind swaying, as if their consciousness had been assimilated by that divine light, and they wanted to bow their heads involuntarily. Within the void, it seemed as if the Holy Spirit was singing. "But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner''s fire or a launderer''s soap. "He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, he will purify mortals and refine them like gold and silver." As the Scepter of Messiah slowly rose, a pair of blazing white wings slowly opened from Rommel''s back. The wings of light expanded wildly, making it seem like the entire sea fortress would be covered. "Messiah"the inheritance of Hendel. The will of God in motion, descending upon humanity! He had all of the music theory under his command, just like God shepherding human souls. When he came, the whole world was redeemed, and wherever he went became firm and unbreakable. On the Mountain of Nomadism, Ye Qingxuan was suddenly put in a bad mood when he saw those wings slowly closing. "Oh great! It would have only taken two more minutes to complete it!" He slapped the armrests of his seat on the bridge. "Nevermind, don''t wait for the overdrive. Fire! Fire! Now stop firing, the daylilies are shining!" Egor heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice and suddenly felt helpless. He looked at the priest in the corner and waved at him. "Open fire!" The purifying musician frantically made the sign of the cross. "God wills it!" Boom! It was not an ear-piercing roar, but a muffled sound that made people uncomfortable all over. The low sound resounded throughout the whole North Sea in an instant, and it was followed by a frightful field of static electricity. The glaring electric light overflowed from the main gun and spread out in all directions, dancing across wave crests and through wind gaps like a blanket of electric light descending from the sky and covering the whole world. At that moment, the aether engine that had just climbed to the fifth drive was running with loud bangs, and the Third Petitioner main gun''s bore suddenly burned red hot. In the core of the ship''s hull, the heart that was being poured into the dragon''s bestial nature was beating wildly, and the gold dragon''s roars rang out from within. In a flash, the endless Firebird gathered above the Mountain of Nomadism along with the crazily beating heart engine. It poured into the main gun, turning into a grand light. Although it had not reached its limits, the dangerous atmosphere that it emitted instantly made everyone tremble. If this thing had stored up all its power to fire at the sea fortress, the catastrophic consequences would be simply unimaginable. In an instant, the sea fortress''s defensive enchantments were torn through like thin paper, creating a huge gap in them. Next, the light cut through the sea fortress like a hot knife through butter, rushing through to the core "It''s...dragon''s breath!" Revelation Scepter Klein instantly recognized the light''s essence and was shocked by the terrifying power held within the dragon''s breath. "And Dies Irae!" he cried. After incorporating purifying music theory, Ye Qingxuan had also added disciplinary music theory into Dies Irae. All non-Church music theory had no hope in the face of this. A few hundred meters away, the horrible temperature in the light was burning the top of the sea fortress. "Stop dreaming!" Rommel yelled. The Scepter of Messiah suddenly fell, and the wings of light closed, blocking the front of the dragon breath gun. Among the Holy Spirit''s praises, a sound like the crashing of a blazing sun rang out, and a fiery light stung everyone''s eyes. An invisible whip descended from the sky. The bestial nature contained in the dragon''s breath was destroyed in an instant, utterly beaten. In the face of the Scepter of Messiah, which controlled all spirituality in the movements, even the Chapter of the Golden Victory would have trouble exerting its power. The bestial nature that had just been accumulated scattered. After losing the music theory''s spirituality, the movement was nothing more than a zombie. It was Dies Irae that was putting such great pressure on Rommel! If he was not the Saint''s heir, he would have been pronounced a heretic on the spot. The collision ended in an instant. After the light on the main gun dissipated, the pair of wings that shrouded the sea fortress was unbroken. The miraculous scene made all the Asgardians cheer in unison, raising their morale instantaneously. But when no one noticed, Rommel''s expression fell, and the hand that gripped the Scepter of Messiah was twitching like he was holding a red hot iron. What had just happened was like he had rushed barehanded to take on the attack that had been prepared for a long time by the Mountain of Nomadism that Ye Qingxuan had turned into a weapon. Although all was not hopeless yet, his Scepter had been shaken by the massive attack. And the Mountain of Nomadism did not even stick around to see the results of its attack; it just turned around incredibly quickly and prepared to leave. "You want to leave?" Rommel grinned like a wolf. "It''s not that easy!" Before he had finished speaking, Klein''s Eye of God rose above the sea fortress and slowly covered the steel warship that was about to slip into the sea and disappear without a trace. Then another Scepter rose from the sea fortress. Eternal Glory. It was like a four-bladed flaming sword hanging in the sky. Everyone felt the fear of impending destruction. The other Scepter on the sea fortress had finally gotten involved. Once its elements were revealed, it triggered the Scepter of Messiah''s response. This was the element based on the collected scriptures, the essence of which was the sword of the eudaemon''s dwelling. Once it began, not only would it launch a fierce offensive, but would put up a defense with no gaps. Having just nearly overturned a boat in Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the Scepter was now filled with anger and was ready to give him a good seeing to. At the moment there were three Scepters on the sea fortress: one for insight, one for simultaneous offense and defense, and Rommel, the Saint. Combined with hundreds of aether engines and a huge instrument of harmonious melody to assist, it was simply impregnable. Rommel sneered to himself. Ye Qingxuan liked to take risks. With his mastery of timing, he liked to try these sorts of all-out gambles. If he won he would reap great rewards; if he lost, he''d be trapped. Now after his unsuccessful attack, Ye Qingxuan had exposed his position, and could not get away. Did he think that the sea fortress was just a restaurant that you could come to or go from as he pleased? In a flash, the four-edged flame sword extracted its majestic power from the sea fortress and soared, spreading out to hundreds of times its original size in a flash, like it was running through the sea and the sky. The crimson line burned everyone''s eyes, and they did not dare to look straight at it. The flame sword spun wildly, sending out a massive hurricane. The wind fed the flames, and the fire increased the power of the wind. It changed from a narrow line into a tall pillar of flame that fell towards the Mountain of Nomadism. In that moment, the hymn of the flame echoed between heaven and earth. It was like the world was burning. This was a real battlefield movement. It drew upon the aether reserves of the sea fortress and hundreds of instruments of harmonious melody shared its pressure. The flame sword''s majesty expanded without limit, making the hot and humid sea breeze boil. The ocean surged and roared, foehn winds shrieked by one after another. Before the sword had fallen, the sea under its shadow sank down several dozen meters, as if a crack had been torn by the wind. The Mountain of Nomadism roared. The ear-splitting sound of thunder rang out. Amid the roar, music theory as luxuriant as a giant tree burst forth, instantly evolving to a jaw-dropping scale. Scepter Klein saw it the most clearly, and was the most shocked by it, as he was nearly stunned. "Impossible!" How could this be? This was not something that humans could do! It would be difficult for even thousands of people to support such a huge and complicated movement. It was not that they wouldn''t have enough power, but that they would have no way to evolve it to such a complex scale. It was like a massively tall building had risen up in an instant, as gorgeous as a heavenly palace. Even if a skilled craftsman spent decades creating a magnificent palace, there would still be mistakes and blemishes. So how could this magnificent movement, this endless music theory, have turned into something so perfect? The skill was inconceivable! Like a domino being knocked down, it triggered a chain reaction of perfect craftsmanship. In the birth and death of the music theory, countless notes played in harmony with each other, just like God had arranged everything perfectly. This was clearly an incomparably dangerous gamble, if there was even a single flaw it would all be a waste of effort. Obviously, a wrong note would lead to it failing halfway through, but this movement was so perfect as to make people despair. It was magnificent yet delicate, and without any mistakes. Was this the realm that humans could reach? Among the numerous musicians, even those who had reached perfection could not ensure that every note of theirs would be perfect, every rhythm would be just right, every segment perfectly linked, and mold the whole movement into a coherent whole. If even one in 100,000 notes was wrong, it would not be perfect. Moreover, in the huge movement on display now, were there not more than 100,000 notes? And could the music theory that was being born and dying be only from a single school? Amid the evolving music theory, a huge mass of seawater swept up into the sky. As if the ocean was overhanging the sky, hundreds of millions of tons of seawater fell into the sky. On the horizon, a crack that was so dark nothing could be seen within slowly opened, swallowing everything and leading it to its end. The School of Modifications? No! Klein was stunned. There was also illusory music theory within it! And it was enough to condense the elements, limiting the illusion into a true horror. The Ocean Abyss Symphony! After Ye Qingxuan had integrated the movement that elucidated the essence of the Abyss into the School of Modifications, he had completed the actual conversion. With limitless water pressure and the deep ocean as a fulcrum, he defended this illusory sea. Under the impetus of Leviathan''s blood, it seemed as if the avatars of Hyakume and Leviathan were working together perfectly to achieve this miracle. The perfect movement brought a perfect outcome. The Staff of Fate pried at the sea of aether, and under the Firebird''s furiously beating heart the Mountain of Nomadism reached the limit of its overdrive, turning it into a jaw-droppingly huge instrument that urged on this movement. An illusion with no falsehood and an unshaken modifying movement combined together would the increase in power stop at ten times as much? But was this really something that humans could do? In theory, an orangutan jumping up and down continuously on a piano would one day play the perfect movement, but how long would the orangutan have to dance? A hundred years? A thousand? Or would he have to continue until the end of a time so long it would lead people to despair? But now, this one in a million chance had happened right before Klein, throwing him into confusion instantly. Was God standing before him? His mind was in turmoil for a moment, and he was driven to distraction, completely lost in confusion. When a musician shook him, even his Scepter became blurred... "Don''t be fooled by him, Master." A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder, pressing down on him firmly. The pain snapped him out of it. He turned around and saw the ashen-faced Rommel. "That''s his Scepter!" Rommel gritted his teeth and stared at the illusion of the sea with wild eyes. "The Land of Dreams!" The Land of Dreams! On the condition that one achieved it themselves, this was the Scepter achieved by elements granted by the Originator itself. It had no power, no real feeling. It was like a dream, not even seeming to exist in the Physical World or the realm of aether. Its essence was the projection of a new era. The elements that reflected an illusory future were a lighthouse that guided Ye Qingxuan towards his goal, a grand blueprint that did not exist at all. In the past half month, it had spread madly across the whole world. While everyone feared Ye Qingxuan''s ambition, at the same time they admired his determination. He gave up his great future and created the weakest Scepter in history for this illusory future. But Rommel did not think that way. For an ambitious and ruthless person like Ye Qingxuan he for every step he took planned out the next ten, who had drafted a plan to swallow up all of Avalon before he had even set foot there, how could he let himself get such a worthless Scepter? He had once madly collected all the data on it, but he could not imagine what this non-existent Scepter could be used for. In the end, he could only give up and chalk it up to one of Ye Qingxuan''s incidental mistakes. But nowadays, everyone was a fool in the palm of Ye Qingxuan''s hand. Rommel was being laughed at. In what way was this the weakest Scepter in the world? This was clearly a trump card that Ye Qingxuan had made himself! You could tell just by looking at its namethe Land of Dreams, the ideal state, Utopia It was a place that only existed in the realm of fantasy, a country where everything was perfect. This was the road to perfection! How had he not seen it? This was a stranger and more terrible Scepter than that of the old musician of Asgard! The lens could freeze time, and clearly understand any situation, but it was difficult to achieve such results. As long as his Scepter was blessed, the theoretically achievable effects of any Scepter could be realized by Ye Qingxuan. He didn''t need any practice or adaptation, and did not need to spend any time. As long as it was theoretically possible, even if it was only a one in a million chance, he could do it. This was not just limited to movements, but also the fundamental changes of aether, all alchemy arrays, and the music theory of other schools. As long as he mastered them, he could instantly push them to their theoretical peak. There would be no omissions and no errors. It was as if God had arranged everything, and everything was perfect. A perfect enemy Just thinking about this made Rommel grit his teeth furiously. This would be a nightmare for anyone! "I suppose this is why Ye Qingxuan dared to come alone," he whispered hoarsely. "Unfortunately, he''s too cocky. Even in theory, the possibility of one man resisting an entire Empire is nonexistent!" Although the Mountain of Nomadism was terrifying, how could it compare to the sea fortress made by Asgard''s centuries-old national power? 16 giant pools of aether, hundreds of large-scale instruments of harmonious melody, more than a thousand musicians, 12 Masters, three Scepters; this was enough power to overthrow a country, what tricks did Ye Qingxuan think he could play in front of all that? Even a perfect movement would not be able to the flame sword that brought together the power of the entire sea fortress! What was more, after the enemy merged superior elements together it would evolve into the ultimate modification movement! In an instant, all the sea water disintegrated under the flame sword''s strike, numerous fulcrums were destroyed, and the Ocean Abyss illusion was broken into countless pieces of ice and snow which drifted down. The flame sword was like a waterfall. The sky and the ocean roared, and a hurricane swept out, and in an instant had screamed forward thousands of miles, cutting through the thick fog and transforming into a burning red cloud. The Royal Navy, which was hundreds of miles away, was also slightly shaken by this turbulent aftermath. A huge crack opened up in the deep ocean, the seabed was burning red as countless huge fish were burnt to ash. But its primary target had escaped the horror of the blade''s strike in the moment that the flame sword had come up against the Ocean Abyss Symphony''s stiff resistance. Even so, the armored hull on one side was burning red, and warning alarms blared throughout the battleship. Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, the Mountain of Nomadism''s outer shield was opened again. After the Asgardians'' vicious attack it took the chance to open up the distance between them and prepare to flee. "Enough!" Rommel whispered. The Scepter of Messiah fell, and countless beams of light descended from the sky, covering the Mountain of Nomadism, instantly freezing it. It was sealed in like an insect in amber. After a brief preparation period, the Messiah movement played, the will of God operated, twisting reality and fixing the Mountain of Nomadism in place. It took control in an instant, grabbing the Mountain of Nomadism as it fled at full speed. Then, perfected abstinence music theory replaced reality, sealing the Mountain of Nomadism in its own field. "You can''t resist!" Rommel''s eyes blazed as he glared at the Mountain of Nomadism as if he could see Ye Qingxuan''s shocked expression. His movement rang out. He seized the opportunity, not giving Ye Qingxuan any chances, completely sealing him in there. "The School of Abstinence?" Ye Qingxuan felt the music theory. First, he was a bit surprised, then he laughed. "Are you sure you want to play with abstinence in front of me?" He closed his eyes and gave a mocking smile. 712 Victory and Defea "What is happening?" At the moment, all the lookouts in the Stronghold on Sea widened their eyes. Klein turned back in surprise, his expression confused. In the projection on the ceiling, the light representing the Mountain of Nomadism suddenly went out. The light from the pool of aether and the outline of the alchemy array disappeared as if the ship had turned into a stone statue and descended into silence. The enginehad been switched off? Everyone was prepared to deal with the Mountain of Nomadism fighting desperately like a cornered beast, but none of them had expected that after being sealed, the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism surprisingly cut off aether supply in an instant. The whole ship fell into silence and didn''t even show the most basic resistance. To make a somewhat obscene metaphor, it was as if a masked pervert had finally cornered a girl and was ready to pounce on her while cackling, "Scream all you like, no one will come to your rescue even if you scream until your throat is hoarse." But in the end, not only did the girl not scream, but she didn''t even react in the slightest bit. Instead, she entered a state similar to that of a salted fish [1], and began to count the stains on the ceiling with her eyes wide. Although getting one''s hands on the enemy was exciting, but the other party was so uncooperative that one couldn''t even feel the slightest sense of accomplishment at all. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism had completely and utterly given up on any attempt to resist. All the devices had even stopped working. If not for the seal of the movement of Messiah, the ship would probably have fallen into the sea at the moment. Was it that their captain siphoned the money for the purchase of the aether engine and bought one of bad quality to cover up? Or was it thatthey surrendered? Rommel was stunned at first, then his gaze became colder and colder. "Something''s wrong. All of you, don''t hesitate, attack immediately. They are going to activate the Wyrmrest enchantment!" He clenched the hot Scepter of Messiah and abruptly increased the pressure. Wyrmrest enchantment, so what? Such a technique, with so many limitations, will not suffice to interfere with the movement of a saint at all! If Ye Qingxuan has such a naive idea in mind, he is totally seeking his own destruction. But just as he said so, a rumble burst forth from the seal constructed by Messiah. It was not the furious roar of the Mountain of Nomadism, but the loud noise that sounded when the seal collapsed. The seal of abstinence constructed by the movement of Messiah unexpected cracked open, revealing gaps on it, under the power contained within the Mountain of Nomadism. It seemed as if taunts were sounding in Rommel''s ear, making his expression turn grotesque. Hah, Wyrmrest enchantment? It was The Ultimate! For centuries, as the hub created by the Originator, the container from which catastrophes were born from, the Ultimate nurtured the power of the gods, also isolating it from everything of the mortal realm and the outside world. No other elements were needed, its own existence alone constituted a domain that was almost an inaccessible region. For a lengthy period of time, the domain shrouded the Ultimate, and it evolved into the alarming Wyrmrest enchantment. But the Wyrmrest enchantment was only a manifestation, after all. After losing the support of the Ultimate, it was nothing but a rootless tree, a sourceless pool of water. Although its effect was terrifying, it was unsustainable. As long as the other party crushed it with an amount of power exceeding that of its source, it would collapse on its own. But at the moment, the Ultimate had long fallen into Ye Qingxuan''s hands, integrated into his scepter and transformed into the Net of Aether. After mastering the essence, Ye Qingxuan''s Wyrmrest enchantment was no longer the same as it was in the past. At the moment, the scepter unfolded, and it was as if the Ultimate had once again emerged from the depths of the realm of aether and fallen towards the physical world. The vast forbidden domain slowly unfolded in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. The music theory of the school of abstinence that was just as pure strengthened the Mountain of Nomadism. So, a desolating silence arrived. It was the projection of the Ultimate! No more trace of music theory could be found, nor were there any signs of manipulation. Like a purely natural phenomenon, unmovable by human will, it opened up a crack bit by bit in the field of Messiah. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism that had switched off all its engines had no more power to continue floating in the air. The huge body made purely of steel and behemoth began to sink slowly after tearing the shackles set upon it by Rommel apart. It was as if an iron piece that had been burnt red was thrown into butter. Under the pull of gravity, it descended with its own weight, penetrating the layers of the domain in a flash. Soon, flares burst forth from the many aether cannons on board the Stronghold on Sea. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of heavy mass shells flew out of the cannons that had been completely converted, shooting out like torrential rain. The heavy armor of the warship trembled violently, countless rivets flying out. The armor shattered, and the warship seemed to have become a sandcastle falling apart in the rain. But the projection of the Ultimate not only to blocked out the seal of Messiah, it even smoothed out the attacks of the various musicians that followed closely completely. In the storm of cannon fire, the Mountain of Nomadism shook violently, but showed no presage of collapsing from the start till the end. In everyone''s furious gaze and Ye Qingxuan''s loud laughter, the projection of the Ultimate completely tore the seal of Messiah apart and fell from midair into the sea. The huge warship stirred up a hurricane as it smashed into the sea, but did not stir up any waves, not even ripples. Like sugar melting in the water, no trace of it could be found any longer. Even the wound that had initially cracked open under the cannon fire began to recover quickly. It was originally a vile spawn of the sea, a giant monster of the deep sea that ruled the seven seas for centuries. As compared to the air and the surface waters, the deep sea was its actual domain! A bright light shone out of the left eye of god, firmly illuminating the black warship hidden in the sea waters, but at the very moment when the projection of the Ultimate above it dissipated, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and tapped downwards with the Staff of Fate. Bang! The final lock of music theory was opened. "I still have a gift for you all!" he said. So, torrential rain suddenly spilled from the sky, instantly engulfing the entire Stronghold on Sea. But above them was a clear and boundless sky, and since when were there rain clouds shrouding them? Only then did everyone realize that as the movement of the sea abyss collapsed, the illusion that turned into specks of frost did not dissipate, but instead they further split up into tens of thousands of specks and evolved into the incorporeal storm. Like an invisible river, it penetrated the layers of obstacles and covered the entire domain of the stronghold. While everyone was caught off guard, the cues of the school of heart hiding within were like weeds after a rain, madly sprouting and taking root, growing rapidly. Ye Qingxuan laughed loudly. Today, I''ll show you all the Parinirmita-va?avartin of House Ye! So, screams sounded from the stronghold, one after another. Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, the Mountain of Nomadism sneaked into the sea rapidly blended into the darkness of the deep sea and disappeared. In the bridge, dead silence ensued. Everyone looked at each other speechlessly, their gazes gloomy, their faces purple with rage. Soon, the captain spoke hoarsely, "Report the casualties." "For the time being, there are no casualties." Amid the screams, the voice of the musician who was giving the report was odd. "Most of the lower tier crew members who were not wearing mind-protecting amulets had been implanted with cues of the school of heart. We are trying to get rid of the cues, but every time we erased the cues, they will reappear soon." Rommel''s look was dark. Of course, he knew very well about the tricks Ye Qingxuan was best at, the domain House Ye was best at. The school of heart! The heart musicians of House Ye need not even use musical movements, they could influence others'' thinking and mind by virtue of words and actions alone. It would be more alarming if the ordinary musician could remove the cues that Ye Qingxuan had personally implanted. They could only consider themselves lucky that the Stronghold on Sea was too large, and it was difficult for Ye Qingxuan to hide cues that were too strong into the fragments of the movement of the sea abyss and affect so many people at the same time. But cues were cues, if left unattended to, they would cause big trouble sooner or later. "What''s the content of the cues?" Rommel asked, "What type of cues did Ye Qingxuan implant?" The cues of the school of heart could be subdivided into various categories, and it was necessary to identify the type early on so that they could come up with solutions. Furthermore, while he was furious, he was also very curious about the sort of cues that Ye Qingxuan intended to use to obtain the most significant effect, given that the scale and intensity were limited. The reporting musician''s expression turned odd, and after a moment of silence, he replied, "It''s ''fear''." Wiping the cold sweat on his forehead, he reported, "After a rough estimation, more than 4,000 seafarers of ours are suffering from aquaphobia. Now, more than half of our men will vomit and tremble when they see the sea..." For a moment, the entire bridge descended into silence. "Aquaphobia?" Rommel whispered the word repeatedly. In his fury, he only felt that it was extraordinarily ridiculous and mocking. The Asgardians, known as the children of the northern wind, fearless for centuries, daring to cross the Black Zones in the sea even with just a canoesuffering from aquaphobia, like rabid patients? A cue alone made the Stronghold on Sea lost more than 4,000 seafarers in a short period of time, halting its operations to the extent that it was almost useless. It was simply like a f*cking joke! After a long silence, Rommel''s expression was twisted, and he produced a hoarse roar from his throat, "Ye Qingxuan!" "Ah, it''s a big loss, a big loss," mumbled Ye Qingxuan. In the deep sea, in the bridge of the Mountain of Nomadism, it was humid and hot. After the air circulation system was damaged, what blew out of the vents turned out to be hot air. Ye Qingxuan sweated profusely, fanning himself with a file, yet he still felt breathless. At the moment, he was waiting for his subordinates to calculate the losses, his expression full of resignation. "That''s not the way it''s supposed to go. Shouldn''t it be like this, we fire once and retreat after fronting? How is it that we were almost caught alive? Had there been no Plan B, our team would have been wiped out by the Asgardians today. How unlucky!" Although he was saying that they had lost out big time, when he thought of the cues he showered the Asgardians with as a result of coming up with the idea at the end, Ye Qingxuan could not help but want to laugh loudly. "Your Royal Highness, the loss has been calculated." The captain, Egor, who was standing in for Shi Dong as Ye Qingxuan''s aide-de-camp, looked at Ye Qingxuan, who was laughing loudly as if there was no one else around. He walked forward resignedly, and reported in a low tone, "The external armor is seriously damaged and in urgent need to be replaced. Cracks have appeared on the keel of the Mountain of Nomadism, and some of its tissues have suffered serious damage. In addition, a lot of the equipment has collapsed, and two of our spare engines have also exploded, seriously injured six people. However, there are no casualties." The whole battle took less than a minute. Just being caught by the Stronghold on Sea had resulted in the Mountain of Nomadism almost being completely destroyed for several times. At the moment, it could basically be considered as half-useless. "Although we have prepared a set of external armor in advance, seeing that it is a consumable, and the damaged equipment can be replaced, we have no way of completing the repairs at sea, so I am afraid that we will have to return to the harbor." As he thought of this, Egor felt extremely upset. When the warship was seriously damaged, it must return to the harbor. Even though the Mountain of Nomadism had an amazing ability to recover, the situation was still equivalent to it withdrawing from battle in the short term. But the Asgardians didn''t have to worry about such an aspect at all. The Stronghold on Sea itself was a huge mobile port, and sufficed for the ships of their fleet to take turns docking. It even had a large ship repairing factory on it, and the ships needed not to return to Asgard for repairs at all. As long as they had sufficient materials, they could even build their own ships. It was not affected by any of the drawbacks of away games at all. "Worry not." Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand calmly. "Even without us, the Royal Fleet will still be the Royal Fleet. Moreover, in the short term, the Stronghold on Sea more or less useless." As everyone knew, to damage was easy, to construct difficult. The most disgusting thing about the school of heart was that destroying was hundreds of times easier than trying to repair it. Moreover, the cues of various schools were completely different. Some cues were targeted at stress response, some directly acted on the subconscious mind, some modified memories, and the music theory of each was completely different. The Parinirmita-va?avartin was known for being inconspicuous, like the wind and rain of spring that nourished everything quietly. Once the seeds were sprinkled, different things would grow out of different types of land. To resolve the cues implanted by Ye Qingxuan, they must be tackled one by one. Furthermore, with the slightest bit of carelessness in the process, a little source would be left, and the chance of relapsing was high For a certain period of time, Asgard''s heart musicians probably had to work overtime so much that they would vomit blood. 4,000 people! Even if they were to tackle four hundred a day, it would take ten days! It was enough for the Mountain of Nomadism to sail back to Avalon with ease, change its armor, change the equipment, then condition the hull, have it waxed and polished, carry out hull maintenance, and return slowly! After what Ye Qingxuan did, in a short period of time, while the maritime conflict would continue, it was certainly impossible for a war involving the entirety of both the armies to break out. All it took was just taking a risk, a set of external armor, and scrapping some equipment to buy them at least ten days. Anglo simply benefited a lot. As for Asgard... At least Ye Qingxuan was sent packing. They won a victory, right? It was simply a win-win situation! Thinking of it, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but be amazed with himself. I really am a peerless general, I''m just too good at this! Thousands of miles away from the northern waters, at the southernmost part of Anglo''s territory, below the Blanc Mountains, outside the huge stronghold, the Asgardians had already arrived in a rumble. A few kilometers away, relying on the huge enchantment supported by hundreds of instruments of harmonious melody, they began to camp and built war fortifications right in the face of the Anglo army. Furthermore, two teams of the most elite Frost Giants rode on the chariots, flaunting their prowess below the fortress and shooting arrows containing messages which requested the Anglo side to accept their challenges over the wall. Even with the city walls blocking them out, one could hear the Asgardians making noise in the restaurant far away. Christine held her plate, expressionless. She sat in her seat and chewed the beef that had been burnt. After finally resolving the defense matters she was in charge of, the late lunch finally started. Soon, the secretary of the military department quickly walked forward, holding an urgent report, clearly looking happy. He saluted Christine, then reported in a low tone, "Madam, good news from the Royal Fleet. "In the northern waters, His Royal Highness the Prince fought against three scepter musicians of Asgard, the Mountain of Nomadism went against the Stronghold on Sea and retreated safely, even causing the Stronghold on Sea to temporarily lose its combat capability." Christine nodded. "Noted." The secretary of the military department left, and soon a knight entered, his steps quick. His face was purple with anger, and he walked over to Christine, lowering his voice. "Captain, the Asgardians outside has come here again, they want to duel before the two armies." "Mhmm." The knife and fork in Christine''s hands kept on moving, and she simply nodded. "Let me finish the meal first." The knight took three steps back, stood in the corner, and waited silently. In the silence, one couldn''t even hear the knife and fork colliding. Christine chewed on her lunch in small mouthfuls, finished it slowly, wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, and returned the plate to the chef. Then, she looked at her squire. "Let''s go." "Yes, madam!" The knight straightened up, followed her, and strode out. 15 minutes later, in the hustle and bustle of the Asgardians, the gates of the Blanc Fortress slowly opened. However, it was not a thousand men on horses that rode out of it, but only one person, all alone. But as the person walked out, not did onlookers crowd the walls of Blanc Fortress, many people ran out from the military base of Asgard as well. Some even found points of higher altitudes in the military base, binoculars in hand, gazing at the figure. Before the stronghold, the armored knight faced the team of Asgardian Frost Giant Knights seeking trouble, and a cold voice came from beneath the steel helmet. "You all requested a duel between knights?" Blocked by the steel, the sound was blurred. The Frost Giants Knights, who were eager to fight exchanged glances, and an extraordinarily burly figure walked out from among them. With the gaze of everyone on both sides, the Frost Giant made a rude gesture to the Knight of the Round Table in front of him, stabbed the giant flame-bladed sword in his hand into the ground, then took off his helmet. In the sound of steel scraping against each other, the knight actually took off his armor and walked out from behind the steel. After undergoing modifications, most knights would experience physical growth for a second time, especially those who underwent the Frost Giant modifications of Asgard, which would make one''s height directly surge to more than two meters. But even among the Frost Giant Knights known for their height, the knight''s physique was also considered burly, and his height was even close to three meters. He was like a wall. The Frost Giant, who looked indifferent and could keep no hair, had a bald head that was tattooed with an iconic totem. His skin was iron-gray, like frost. He reached out, pulled a heavy sword from a hidden space in his armor, and pointed it at the face of the Knight of the Round Table. "In the name of the Gray Sun Clan, I, representing the holy Asgard, challenge you to a duel before the two armies, in the most traditional manner." The voice of the Frost Giant reverberated on the battlefield, stirring up thunder-like rumbles. "I shall prove the truth with this sword!" At the moment, in the army base of Asgard, countless Frost Giants spectating the fight cheered and roared loudly, "Truth be with me! Victory be with me! Glory be with me!" The waves of noise swept through. On the walls of the stronghold, all the people spectating the fight were shaken by the sudden roars, their expressions dark. "Then, I accept your challenge to a duel." From beneath the armor of the Knight of the Round Table came a hoarse voice, with neither sorrow nor joy, not in the slightest bit influenced. Then, the heavy armor of Galahad slowly unfolded, and the thin female knight walked out from it. For a moment, the Frost Giant opposite was stunned. He couldn''t believe his eyes. In the silence, he suddenly burst into laughter. It was as if he had seen a great joke. He laughed and pointed at Christine, turning back and looking at his comrades. "Look what they''ve sent, a woman? Is it that Anglo doesn''t even have a man who knows how to wield a sword?" Besides coming from the Frost Giants nearby, loud laughter of ridicule and mockery also sounded from afar. "Surely you all didn''t find a woman from the kitchen at the last minute to serve as a stopgap?" The Frost Giant looked down at Christine and laughed. "Stop embarrassing yourself, Anglo. If you really have the slightest semblance of a sense of shame, you should behave yourself and send someone who can really wield a sword as your champion, don''t taint the sacred duel!" In the laughter, Christine''s expression remained the same. She simply reached out and pulled out a long sword from the armor behind her. "I devote myself to the great empress." She took a step forward and slowly propped the body of the sword up with her arm, the blade forward. Her expression was solemn, like she was saying a prayer. "May God bless the kingdom, and may my empress grant me protection." May my empress grant me protection! The reverse scale of the dragon had been touched. The expression of the Frost Giant changed. Gazing at the blade of the sword, his expression changed from one of contempt to one of coldness. "You know what it means to pull out a sword at a knight, right?" The Frost Giant clenched his own sword and arranged himself into an attacking stance, a murderous intention reddening his eyes. "Although you are a wench from God knows where, don''t expect me to be merciful." At the moment, a forlorn whistle sounded from the air. The ground shook. In the blink of an eye, he crossed the long distance between them in one go. The iron gleam cut the air apart, stinging everyone''s eyes. The loud bang of the steel collision burst forth abruptly. The blades collided, and in the harsh sound, sparks flew out. Feeling that the enormous force not inferior to his own on the blade, the Frost Giant was momentarily stunned, the look in his eyes one of shock. With the blades between them, he heard Christine''s breath. As if a non-human beast had open its eyes and expanded its lungs, she greedily took in every bit of air around her. Then, a high amount of heat coursed through her blood, causing her heart to beat like a drum and power to fill her limbs, It made the murderous intent materialize and integrated it into the violent power. "Heh!!!" The roar was like thunder, and all the noise was drowned out. Boom! The Frost Giant abruptly retreated, pushed away by the force on the blade. Then, the girl who had seemingly turned into a non-human strode forward for three steps, each footstep imprinted in the stone. She lifted the sword and struck. The sound of the gas exploding erupted from the blade, and the roar was deafening, as if it intended to tear the sea apart, and the blade in Christine''s hand struck. Boom! Lowering his body, the Frost Giant parried the sword that struck towards him. His face was flushed, his expression furious. Christine lifted the sword, then struck again! Boom! Unlike her usual exquisite and complex sword art, at the moment, she was like a dragon who had spread its two wings. She only had a thin body, but a strong, monster-like force erupted from it. A pure murderous intent was blended into the blade. Strike! A forbidding gap appeared on the blade of the Frost Giant, then, the sword fell apart. As the countless fragments splattered, Christine moved forward and reached out, her five fingers clenched into a fist, smashing toward the heart of the Frost Giant. A muffled sound rang out. Separated by the thick ribs and muscles, the fist was like a sharp hammer, wanting to completely crush his heart into powder, and he couldn''t dodge. Then, Christine''s blade struck. In the silence, a scream abruptly burst forth. An arm holding a broken sword flew into the air and landed on the ground, blood spewing out. The blade was turned, and the heavy hilt struck downwards. Bones shattered. A forbidding gap cracked open on the skull of the Frost Giant that was harder than iron and stone. His vision went dark, and he involuntarily knelt on the ground. In the end, the cold blade pressed against his neck. In the short span of a few blinks of the eye, the winner and loser had been determined. In immense pain, the Frost Giant raised his head with difficulty, widened his eyes, and looked at the enemy in front of him, but could not see any expression. Christine looked down at him, her eyes as cold as iron. "Someone once said to me the words you did just now, but unfortunately, you can''t even reach one percent of the person''s standard." She slowly withdrew her sword. Not looking the armored knights who pulled out their swords. Instead, she turned and slowly raised the sword in her hand, displaying her badge to the Asgardians and to everyone in the Blanc Stronghold. "Remember my name, go back and tell everyone." Christine''s voice rang out in everyone''s ear, and she declared to them, "Your enemy, is Galahad!" In the cold and solemn voice, on the walls of the stronghold, the Knights of the Round Table unsheathed their swords, and numerous gleams of metal glinted. The victory proves that the truth is with me! [1] In Chinese pop culture slang, ''salted fish'' refers to someone who has no goals in life and has grown resigned to fate, and is often used sarcastically. 713 Gungnir The old musician pressed down on his white hair as they flowed in the hot and fiery wind. The sounds of the friction of metal were coming from all directions. Those massive pieces of metal were being pushed together by the machinery, letting out ear-shattering roars. Amidst all the sparks, an incredible power was being gathered in the center. Black clouds trembled from the huge roar like an iron curtain that was being beaten. The ceiling vibrated, causing countless ashes and dust to fall. What was originally a pure white tower was now coated with a layer of black. The foul stench of sulfur filled the air and seemed to be capable of taking over the air. They came in huge gusts, so much so that people found it difficult to stand steadily. One might be at the top of the tower but in this hot and gloomy world, one could still hear the sound of crashing waves. It was as if the waves were crashing from all directions and the sounds they created would stack on top of one another. These sounds combined with the huge metal roars and the overall atmosphere was one of unease. It was as if the moisture of the water was soothing a very dry throat so as to save the soul of a body that was burning with heat. Only by standing at the edge of the tower and looking downwards would one truly feel despair and hopelessness. One could only see waves crashing at the tower in all directions, and their color was red like fresh blood. There was a hell-like glow to these waves. They were flames. The red river of flames flowed underneath the gloomy skies, turning the iron curtain into a fiery red. The molten lava brought flames and the power of hell as they provided the power for countless massive machines to continue operating and for the machinery with continue splitting the air with their sharp edges. "This is just like hell," the old musician muttered under his breath. He did not dare to look down anymore. Behind him came the sounds of hurried footsteps on the metal ladder. A middle-aged man was panting while climbing up the tower. When he reached the old musician, he handed over a document and reported, "My Lord, the west line has sent over this piece of information." The old musician lowered his head and flipped through this urgent report sent over from the Stronghold on Sea. Instead of becoming furious and upset like The Elders, he laughed. "He is a young man after all. His words may be serious and solemn but there will always be a bit of ego and pride in him." He could almost see the grim look on Rommel''s face. He tossed the document into the air, and pieces of paper were quickly shredded in the wind before falling and vanishing like dust. The middle-aged officer pretended not to hear anything. He only lowered his head. "The Elders will want to hear your views." "I don''t have any views. Don''t use a man you suspect and don''t suspect a man that you are using. I believe His Majesty will agree with this." The old musician kept his hands in his sleeves and seemed helpless. "There are some things in this world that will never change, no matter how what you say or what order you give, unless the person experiences the pain personally. Our opponent is the Prince of Avalon, who is a monster. There is no shame in losing out to him, and there is no need to point fingers. Since we have already decided to place our trust in the youth, then we should leave the outcome of the battle to them." The middle-aged officer kept quiet for a moment before asking him a question that an elder had asked him to. "Do you think we will lose?" The old musician pondered for a moment and suddenly broke into laughter. "Even The Elders are afraid? Afraid that this world will give up on itself My apologies, I am not a sorcerer nor a fortune-teller. This is not something I can control. I can only confirm one thing." The old musician took a glance at him and continued calmly, "If luck and fate are not on our side, then the Asgardians must not believe in fate. It''s as simple as that." The officer stayed silent for a long time before finally leaving. The old musician stood quietly in this hell-like environment. No one knew how much time had passed before there was finally silence and the countless roars finally dissipated. It was as if the entire world had been muted, except for the sound of thick breathing beside his ear. A crooked figure appeared suddenly from the shadows. He raised his head to reveal a wrinkled face. On his hooked nose rested a pair of heavy glasses that were full of dust. His voice sounded like metal plates grating against each other. "My Lord, the godly nature of Odin has been successfully shifted into the Tree of World. We are awaiting your order." "Then, let''s begin." The old musician turned back and smiled. "Youngsters tend to be careless and impulsive when they do things. Sometimes, they will make mistakes. As their elders, we must try to understand them and give them a helping hand in times of need." The crooked figure bowed deeply before vanishing into the shadows. Shortly after, the entire area began to dim suddenly. Beneath the iron curtain, the river of flames that were gathering from all directions seemed to flicker in the wind. It was as if an invisible monster had opened up its mouth and swallowed the light heat of hell. The tower shook violently. From the bottom of the tower to the hubs in all four directions, the nine major burning seas and 36 streams of molten lava were quickly losing their glow as they began to cool down and congregate and break down. The light that was a sign of the burning iron curtain disappeared. Amidst the darkness, a pair of eyes opened in the depths of the tower. Shortly after, there were countless roars of thunder. Lightning shot out from the base of the tower and streaked upwards. There were mighty torrents wherever it passed, washing away the black dust and rust so that the tower regained its original color of pure white once again. It began to glow brightly. It was the sign of the alchemy formation in operation. Such a massive alchemy formation was created from the efforts of the entire lives of countless alchemists, as well as using up plenty of black gold mines. The complex alchemy formation began to open up, layer by layer. They began to light up in the core of the tower until it was so bright it could light up the entire place. There were no stars, yet there were countless complex branches in the sky that was similar to the function of stars. There was no sunlight, yet there seemed to be a sun dwelling somewhere that shredded through the darkness. Initiation, creation, formation and activation, the four major levels lit up. But when the complete basic structure was formed, the operation did not stop. Instead, it began to evolve into a non-human phase. At the very end, it split into nine major countries, only to connect with each other due to the ripples of godly nature. Eventually, they formed a body that allowed the massive godly nature to function perfectly. This was the ''Tree of World.'' It was a weapon that was created from hundreds of volcanoes and was powerful enough to defeat a catastrophe with a single hit and destroy the world. "Spirit and marrow in operation. "Man-made divinity initiated. "Nine major worlds are operating in balance. Godly nature has been congregated and the projection of Odin has been completed." The voices at his ear never stopped, but on top of the tower, the old musician closed his eyes. He was holding on to a wedge-shaped mud board that was full of cracks. Countless music notes glowed dimly. Amidst the repetitive melody, the glow of stars slowly rose from his body and intertwined in the sky to reveal the trace of a scepter. At the top of the scepter, the vault of heaven suddenly trembled despite being hidden by the gloomy clouds. The shape of a ring slowly opened out of nowhere. In an instant, the thin yet gigantic lens opened fully and was fixed up in the sky, turning into a blurry yet perfect circle. Beams of light streamed over from far and projected onto the lens. What the naked eye could see was no longer the gloomy clouds that were the color of metal, but the boundless night sky. The old musician opened his eyes. Holy light shot out of both his eyes as they looked into the night sky. The stars flickered in the night sky and the shapeless gigantic wheel began to move. Countless stars were in motion and their speed was so terrifyingly fast that they formed traces after traces in the night sky. In the end, the traces of these countless stars stacked together to form complex and massive concentric circles. "Star tracks are in place." The old musician opened up both his hands as if he was able to control the star-filled sky. His hoarse voice reverberated within his surroundings. "The demarcations of the sea of aether have been completed. Initiate the fire cellar formation. Begin the performance of the Dora movement" The ground shook and the gloomy clouds trembled as a number of devastating cracks appeared, one by one, and powerful beams of light shone through these cracks. These beams of sunlight seemed to be as sharp as knives as they intersected with each other. Powerful winds gathered to surround and protect the white tower. They seemed to complement the deep melody, raising howls and roars amongst the countless music notes. In the next moment, dust rose into the sky before spreading out in all directions. The massive roar of metal grating against each other rang throughout the cold and gloomy world. Streaks of lightning gathered in the old musician''s hands before materializing into a physical object that was clear as crystal and shaped like a long spear. One could almost see the massive star-filled sky in motion through the long spear. It seemed so real. In contrast, the entire world seemed empty and small like a bubble. With a gentle poke, it would be destroyed. This was the fruit of destruction created by humans, and a forbidden power seized from the hands of God. It was ''Gungnir''! "Dusk has come, and so has the time of extinction." The old musician grabbed that spear of lightning and raised his arm to point at the star tracks in the night sky. "With this, compose an elegy for the people." In the next moment, lightning shot up into the sky. The star tracks broke. It was as if the fates that the stars represented have been pierced through and shredded by the spear of lightning. The gloomy clouds were lit up in flames, and the flames gradually spread across the night sky, leaving behind charred traces of burns. Right in the center of the sky, a terrifying gap had cracked open. All it took was an instant for Gungnir to light up the entire sky. Terrifying streaks of lightning gathered together and easily dug out an empty hole in the sea of aether. Forward, forward, forward. Lightning surged and carved out traces that stretched as far as a million miles in the night sky. They surged past the river of molten lava, dry deserts, thousands of miles of oceans and powerful storms. Wherever they passed, the sky roared, the river of molten lava was disrupted, deserts turned into glaze, waves crashed, powerful winds dissipated, storms evaporated In that very same instant, Mary, who was in the midst of a shallow sleep in the bustling hall of the throne, suddenly woke up and opened her eyes with a start. Her vision pierced through the ceiling of the palace and she stared at the sky that had been lit up. The lightning of destruction was descending from the sky! 714 The Wrath of the Queen It was like the night sky had turned into a giant mirror. What was reflected in it was the fate of death. Suddenly, darkness appeared before everyone''s eyes, and they involuntarily fell to the ground. In the midst of their fear that they did not know where it came from, they looked up at the sky. All that they could see was Avalon''s reflection. The reflection was filled with blood and fire. It seemed as if fate had already been determined, and nothing could be changed. Then the illusion was torn apart, and lightning Countless people''s eyes were struck by a light that blazed like an exploding star. The destruction that had been foretold fell from the sky. The heavens and the earth roared. In the next instant, Mary closed her eyes as she sat on the throne. And in the reflection of the sea, in the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, the Queen who had been transformed by the pure Firebird opened her eyes and looked at the sky. Light shone from the depths of the sea. The tides flowed upwards. Although it was millions of tons of seawater, it moved no slower than lightning falling from the sky. The sea of light set off a hurricane which swept up into the heavens which resisted the wind and thunder like an iron box placed over a sandcastle. In the next moment, the sea boiled. Gungnir collided with the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth, and the two were locked in a stalemate. Amid the lightning Gungnir hung in the sky, revealing its vague outline through the violent electricity. Even through the water curtain formed by the ocean, the light was still sharp enough to frighten people. A wind powerful enough to destroy the world brewed in that collision. The upwards flowing tide quickly collapsed into a torrential rain that descended from the sky and quickly evaporated in the air into a mist that was pushed towards the earth by the hurricane. After the hurricane broke itself against the sharpness of the city, it spread out in all directions. At this moment the world went dark. Above the sea of light, a mass of thick, white vapor surged out in all directions. The fog-covered city was illuminated by fierce lightning. A terrible force powerful enough to burn the entire island to ash pierced through, and a roaring sound penetrated the tides and resounded throughout the city, ravaging everyone''s eardrums. In a flash, the tide dissipated. The first defense that had been set by the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth was annihilated by Asgard''s long-planned attack. But it had struggled on until the most important point. In that short time, Mary''s throne had opened under the twisting of the hub, and numerous thin cables wriggled out of it, piercing deep into her limbs. The bell rang above the Tower Bridge. In the silent palace, Dominic silently pushed on the hub, and under the connection of numerous instruments of harmonious melody, the Homeland Defense Front was launched. "L''etat, c''est moi," [1] Mary closed her eyes and whispered softly. The shadow of a scabbard appeared in the sky above the city and blocked the path of Gungnir''s fall. The vestige of the golden retriever appeared from within the scabbard. The little dog bounded into the sky. After three steps it turned into an all-devouring golden dragon. A pair of wings opened up and the countless scales on them relaxed and expanded. Light reflected off him into the sky, as if he had transformed the whole world into a part of his body. Heaven and earth became his scales. The Chapter of the Golden Victory was fully developed. The gold dragon reappeared, shouted to the heavens, and spewed out a world-ending light. The powers of catastrophes collided together. In a flash, the light dissipated. The lightning disappeared. Everything vanished without a trace. The fate of destruction was broken. The huge dragon shot a cold glance in the direction of Asgard, and then returned to the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth. After a long time, the people of Avalon revived from the shock of their almost-destruction. They cheered wildly and bowed with respect and praise towards the palace. "God bless the kingdom, and may the Queen bless us!" But on the throne, Mary was in severe shock. Blood was leaking from her ears, mouth, and nose, but a cold light gleamed in her eyes, and lips curled up in the cold silhouette of a smile. "Someoneunderestimated me." In a flash, a terrible and mighty pressure swept through the throne room. A cold wind blew. All the officials knelt to the ground, trembling under the mighty pressure. The once kind-looking Mary showed a killing intent powerful enough to daze everyone. The Prince of Avalon was not there at the moment, and there was no one who dared come forward and request the Queen to control the Wrath of Thunder. Because at some point, the Queen''s robes had turned scarlet red. Her pale white face seemed to have come from the underworld, and the crown on her head seemed to have become white bones. A kingdom of death was revealed faintly behind her, shocking everyone who saw it. Even by kowtowing they could not get rid of the panic and fear in their hearts. After the past few days of war council meetings, everyone was so tired that they could barely keep their eyes open. But this almost mocking assassination woke them up. Even if all was fair in war, such a sinister and violent attack could not be tolerated. If she had been a little slower, Mary, along with countless innocent people in Avalon, would have been buried under Gungnir. She was so upset that she no longer suppressed the tide of anger and desire to kill in her heart. After firmly suppressing it for so long, her dark side that had never been shown to others appeared in all its majesty. It seemed as if the balance was slowly sliding from the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth to the other side The solemn, majestic landscape of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth was gone, replaced by an atmosphere unimaginably terrifying to humans. The beautiful, majestic oceans revealed their cruelty at this moment. Death was under the sea! The golden Firebird turned pitch-black. In a flash, it seemed to have become nighttime, and violent wind and rain swept over the entire Anglo Kindom. A terrifying breath rose up from Avalon towards the sky. "...Leviathan?" In the black box, Shi Dong, who had been woken up right after he had fallen asleep, did not have time to say anything. He looked up in amazement. "I can understand Her Majesty''s wrath, but isn''t this too much?" Under Mary''s power, the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth which had originally been inherited from a catastrophe was being transformed back into its original state. It was like Leviathan, the Lord of the Seven Seas, the member of the four living creatures who occupied the ocean and who ruled over all the beasts of the sea had been reborn. The darkness that had once slept in Mary''s heart was revealed by the dark Firebird. It was as if she had been reborn as a nocturnal predator. Her long, slender fingers covered her face that was distorted by the darkness. The tyrant Queen looked up at everyone with scarlet eyes. "Render that which is unclean unto the world, that it might be cleansed. This is the only way!" She raised her left hand, and the door to the throne room was suddenly thrown open as violent wind and rain swept in, drenching the terrified officials. Amid the thunder and lightning, the darkness upon the ocean spread out like a living creature. In a flash, it had wriggled off into the distance. Thunder roared and lightning flashed, but the ocean''s surface was frighteningly calm. Under the seemingly tranquil surface, numerous undercurrents surged. A line of darkness stretched out from Avalon. The snakelike gray line pulsed for thousands of miles, sweeping away towards Asgard in a flash. Five seconds later, all of Asgard felt terrible tremors. Numerous dykes and dams ruptured with a roar. Amid the surging water, a phantom wearing a scarlet robe and a crown of bones appeared above the surface of the sea, looked towards the Golden Palace and raised a finger. Then, the sea and the stars were reversed, washing away the world''s filth. The vast tides rose up into the sky, and numerous varied sea monsters emerged from the depths. The sea beasts that had once ravaged the Anglo Kingdom climbed towards the Golden Palace. Countless giant cuttlefish and other sea monsters rushed through the water towards the World Tree. Amid the trembling of the earth, currents rose up from the chaos under the ground at Leviathan''s command. The city''s defensive enchantment opened instantly, and the sound of hymns rang out one after another. The on-duty musicians occupied towers all around the city. Numerous movements poured forth from them, quickly clearing away the demons in the sea. Although the demons had died, the catastrophe''s transformation was not delayed in the least. It was as if the terrible power of Leviathan''s personal arrival ran through the sea, rolling towards the land. Everywhere it passed the earth and stone turned into flesh and blood, as if it had been infected by a parasite that was spreading around. This was the most terrifying place. The catastrophe''s presence itself was enough to cause irreversible changes to the entire world. Whether they won or lost, the land that was covered by war would be uninhabitable. It was just like the Naica Nest of the Crystals, which hundreds of years later was still stuck in the hopeless situation of being crystallized. And this was just the beginning. The bloody queen above the waves once again raised her finger and prepared to launch another attack, but her figure suddenly flickered and became indistinct. Her cold figure quickly vanished without a trace. All that was left was the raging tide, and countless monsters and sea demons wandering beneath the Golden Palace. "Who is it?" Mary opened her eyes from the throne and saw Ye Qingxuan before her. His palm was placed against his forehead as he tried to soothe the uncontrollable fury. Her blood red dress slowly faded, and the crown of bones disappeared. The kingdom of death was gone. The Queen of Avalon had returned, but her face was pale, and she was weak and exhausted. "Didn''t you promise not to reveal this side of you ever again?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and let go. He waved his hand behind him, indicating that the ministers beneath the steps should leave. "If I hadn''t got back just in time, would you be prepared to fight with Asgard? Although the power of the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth comes from Leviathan, it''s too easy to lose control. If you don''t pay attention, you''ll turn from Mary into a second Leviathan." "I''m sorry, I was angry." Mary lowered her head and unconsciously avoided his gaze. "Are you hurt?" Ye Qingxuan stared at her waist and saw that a blood red color was spreading through the silk. "Mm." "Let me take a look." Ye Qingxuan shook his head helplessly as he placed his hand gently on the bloodstained dress. On the white silk, numerous slender threads were thrust out in all directions, revealing the wound underneath. When the Homeland Defense Front was launched, it turned the Queen into her country. But if it was damaged, the scars would be reflected on her body. Just like they were now. "This is a little tricky..." Ye Qingxuan''s fingers fell upon what seemed like a spear wound. As he stroked the scorch marks left by lightning, her lower abdomen shivered, although he didn''t know if it was because his fingers were cold or because of the pain of the wound. "Hold on." Before he had finished speaking, Ye Qingxuan''s fingers suddenly pierced into the wound fiercely and cruelly, causing Mary''s to twitch as she gnashed her teeth and emitted a faint whine. He quickly pulled a blazing thunderbolt out of the wound. It wrapped around his fingers like a living thing, constantly searching for gaps, but could not find anywhere to break through. It was clearly only a glimpse of its full power, but it was still tricky to deal with as all different kinds of methods would be useless. In the end, it was sealed by the power of Genesis. In just a few short seconds, Mary had grown sweaty and pale. But her vitality was much better, and her wound quickly closed up, until her skin was once again smooth and white. "That must have been Odin''s divinity?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the little cubic seal in his fingertips. When he identified its nature, he couldn''t help but laugh. "You really can get a lot of work done with a big household. To turn catastrophes into consumables..." No wonder Gungnir''s power was so terrible. It was composed of a trace of Odin''s divinity. Even though it was only a trace, it was still equivalent to a catastrophe exploding in the skies above Avalon. It could only be said that it was worthy of Asgard. This type of self-sacrificing, heroic behavior was both enviable and detestable. Ye Qingxuan played with the trace of divinity, suddenly ignoring his Queen lying there weakly on the throne, sweaty and uncomfortable. "Ye Qingxuan," Mary looked up at him and sighed, "haven''t you forgotten something?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He immediately smiled and bowed his head. "Your servant arrived too late to escort you, please forgive me." "Before I forgive you, help me up." Mary reached out and grabbed Ye Qingxuan''s hand. She lifted herself up and staggered a bit, almost falling on the ground. Ye Qingxuan could hear her weak heartbeat and faint panting. "Sorry," Mary forced herself to smile and whispered softly, "I''m just a little tired." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I''ll call someone." "No need, just wait a bit and it''ll be alright." Mary lowered her head and held his hand as she struggled to breathe. "Don''t let them see me like this." Ye Qingxuan looked at her and could not help but shake his head. There was nothing he could do. Seeing his helpless expression, Mary couldn''t help but smile softly. "What''s is it?" "Nothing." She shook her head slightly and did not answer, but kept grinning. For some reason, she was filled with happiness. On top of the World Tree beneath the Golden Palace in Asgard, the course of the starry sky dissipated. The old musician stared at the news that was carried by the glow of the stars and said softly, "The report has come back, Your Majesty. The test of Gungnir was a perfect success." The hunchbacked musician standing in the shadows looked up at him. "Should we not press our advantage?" The old musician shook his head. "The time is not yet right..." Gungnir had great destructive power, but the price was equally high, and it was impossible to use it unrestrainedly. The test firing was enough, for now. Going too far would be just as bad as not going far enough. Presumably with Gungnir as a deterrent the Queen would not dare to pay attention to anything else. In the coming days, Avalon would not give Gungnir any openings. And thus the old musician had accomplished his goal. Losing the support of Leviathan and the Homeland Defense Front, the Royal Navy simply could not compete with Asgard. Asgard had already seized the initiative in this war. The old musician pondered for a while, then waved and said, "Send orders to Rommel on the Western Front, tell him not to get tangled up at the border. Within ten days we will take Avalon! Tell him that I will give him a chance to recover from his failure and shame, if he can take it." Ten minutes later, Rommel received these orders on the bridge with no expression. "Please tell His Excellency that Asgard will surely win," he replied hoarsely. He looked in the direction of Avalon, and his gloomy, bloodshot eyes were as red as flames. [1]: French for "I am the state." A famous quote from French King Louis XIV. 715 Three Fronts In the Privy Council of Avalon, a pungent smell of burnt cigarettes filled the closed conference room. Bluish-gray smoke floated in the air, stinging one''s eyes. Small hills had piled up in the ashtrays. The ministers who had been well-dressed in the past were presently unkempt, and God knew how many days had passed since they last bathed. Everyone silently gazed at the sea chart hanging on the wall, and the staff officer from the military department was explaining it to them. "Since four o''clock this morning, the lookouts of the Observatory have been sending reports of the Asgardians beginning their war preparations. After six hours of preparation, at 10:30 in the morning, they began to advance towards Anglo''s territorial waters. "After Gungnir attacked Avalon, having to maintain homeland security, Her Majesty was unable to divert her attention to other matters. After we lost our initial local advantage, they no longer intend to continue to pestering us in the northern waters. "According to our observations, the Asgardians have divided their fleet into three formations according to the characteristics of the ships. The first formation consisting of ships with high mobility has departed from the Stronghold on Sea at the moment, and they all carry musicians of the school of modifications who specialize in fluid elements. Under the constant propelling and operation, the speed of the vessels far exceeds our expectations. "According to the analysis of the Military Staff Committee, their mission is probably to get past our defenses and block our supplies from reaching our fleet. Moreover, after completing the mission, they will begin to carry out guerrilla warfare and harass us at sea, blockading our waters. "The second formation consists of defensive warships loaded with a large number of shields for warships and aether instruments of harmonious melody. They flank the Stronghold on Sea and are sailing straight for Avalon under the lead of the Stronghold on Sea. "And finally, the third is a mixed formation which consists of more than half of the warships of the original fleet. It has separated from the formation led by the Stronghold on Sea and begun to sail southwards..." "Starting wars on three fronts at the same time." The ministers inhaled their cigarettes forcefully, and their expressions ugly. The Asgardians had hit the weakness of the Royal Fleet right on. After the Battle of Leviathan, the severely damaged Royal Fleet entered a new war without a buffer period at all. Although the formation was still maintained, at its lowest point, its numbers had been reduced by more than half. At the moment, the vacancies still had yet to be filled, and many warships were directly converted from merchant ships. The Royal Fleet could still put up a fight in clustered battles, but once it was split up then, simply put, their attacks would be equivalent to sending warmth and comfort to the Asgardians. Even though a large number of the warships in the Asgardian fleet were transformed from merchant ships as well, it was Asgard that drafted the former maritime convention. Before leaving the factory, the merchant ships of those *ssholes had been directly manufactured according to the specifications of warships. With just a few modifications, plus a few aether cannons and instruments of harmonious melody, they would become ready-made small warships. "Three formations..." Ye Qingxuan murmured, thinking silently. He looked up and asked a layman''s question, "Which one is more threatening?" The expression of the newly appointed Lord High Admiral immediately turned resigned. He opened his mouth to explain the logic within to Ye Qingxuan, but soon, he understood what Ye Qingxuan meant. The focus at the moment was not on the purpose and specifications of each fleet, but on how to solve the problem as quickly as possible. Therefore, it was actually the easiest to directly consider the worst possible consequences that the three formations could cause. "The third formation." The Lord High Admiral did not even need to think about it. "It all comes down to speed." The staff officer gave a detailed explanation, "The first formation consists entirely of light, small warships. Although they are the fastest and can pass through our defenses, other than harassment, they cannot cause any more damage by themselves in the short term. "Meanwhile, although the second formation is equipped with a large number of heavy weapons, they are the frigates of the Stronghold on Sea. They can deal the most damage, but their speed is the slowest. Even if we do nothing, they need four days to travel to Avalon from their current position. "The third formation is the hardest to deal with. Without the Stronghold on Sea dragging down their speed, they are equivalent to an independent fleet. Furthermore, according to our prediction of their route, they will cross the territorial waters of Burgundy, then sail along another route, travel a long way about a big circle, and attack Avalon from the side. And in the course of the voyage, they will pass by four industrial cities and granaries of our country, as well as more than six important ports. "If the mission of the first formation is to harass, and the mission of the second is to fight directly, the mission of the third formation is to destroy." Even though it was expected, but when the truth was put forth so straightforwardly, everyone''s face still turned a little green. Imagine a complete, elite fleet armed to the teeth beside and behind you, staring greedily at your own hinterland, while you face the attacking enemy... Ye Qingxuan snuffed out the cigarette in his hand. "I understand the specific situation." He said calmly, "We need not heed the first formation. Strengthen the defenses at the ports and leave them to their own devices. They don''t have much time anyway. "The Navy only needs to take care of the problems caused by the second and third formations. Later, I will ask Her Majesty to grant me the authority to wake the Royal Fleet of the first generation. After the maintenance of the Mountain of Nomadism is complete, I will return to the frontal battlefield, and I will solve the problem of the Stronghold on Sea. "As for the rest, I''ll have to leave it to you all. " The Lord High Admiral looked at Ye Qingxuan in a surprised manner. "You mean... make it a fast battle?" "Seven days." Ye Qingxuan gave a number from estimation. "This time around, I''m afraid that both sides have realized it. The war can''t be dragged on for a long time, it must be resolved promptly. "If I haven''t guessed wrong, I''m afraid that it will be over within seven days." He paused and looked at the stunned look on everyone''s face, saying calmly, "In other words, we either annihilate the Asgardian fleet completely or Avalon will be burned to ashes by the Asgardians. "There will be no third outcome." Half an hour later, Ye Qingxuan walked out of the closed conference room, took his coat from Lola, draped it on himself, and strode out of the Privy Council. "Where are you going next?" she asked. "To have an audience with Her Majesty." Ye Qingxuan gave a wave of his hand and said, "Go and contact Shi Dong, ask the fella to speed up the maintenance of the Mountain of Nomadism, I want to depart from the harbor before 6 o''clock tomorrow, and..." He paused and his expression became firm. "No matter what method you use, contact Watson and tell him that I will give him five more days at most. "After five days, if he has not succeeded, then Anglo may not exist anymore." "Before tomorrow morning?" In the workshop, Shi Dong took off his goggles and sighed resignedly. "Actually, for the creatures termed as ''boss,'' after having tasted the sweetness of exploiting their subordinates, they will treat their subordinates less and less humanely, no?" As he said so, he looked beside him. "Your Excellency, this thing, can you finish installing it by tomorrow morning?" Beside him, the middle-aged man who was so burly that he didn''t look like a priest looked at the behemoth outside the suspended ladder and thought for a moment amid the rumble. "I can." Apart from the two words, he mentioned nothing more. He was very economic with words. "You hear it? Just report back to His Honor the same way." Shi Dong waved, motioning for the subordinate to retreat. Finally, he turned back and looked up at the heavy steelwork that was raised from the ground by derrick towers. Countless cables hung from many of the connectors on it, making it seem just like a weird jellyfish. On the cracked upper deck of the Mountain of Nomadism, a huge space had been cleared out. Dozens of musicians prostrated themselves on it, combing out the alchemy array intensively, opening up new slots and gaps for the equipment to be installed. "It''s just that this thing is really big." Shi Dong gazed at the huge weapon on the derrick tower and sighed softly. "It''s really hard for me to imagine, Your Excellency, is it really as powerful as you said? Removing the Petitioners and use this to replace the main battery without conducting any tests, it feels a bit reckless no matter how I think about it..." "With the Net of Aether to support it, there will be no problem." The prelate''s voice was flat, with no ups and downs. "Bishop Shi Dong, you need not worry. It is the war weapon that we have recovered from the records before the Age of Dark. It is the most suitable weapon for the Mountain of Nomadism." Shi Dong laughed. "I am afraid that Your Excellency is the only one at the moment who still remembers that I can also be considered as a bishop." The prelate did not speak but simply looked up silently, gazing at the huge weapon above him. The weapon was forged out of steel, with black gold as its core, made of countless precious materials and alloys, and named after the pagan god of flamesHephaestus. 716 War Two days later, the murky waves crashed on the deserted shore. Beneath the dark and gloomy sky, the entire beach was filled with broken shells and dried seaweed. The crashing of the waves was loud and chaotic and could easily irritate anyone nearby. This place looked like a random, deserted island rather than a sacred land for vacation. Nevertheless, there were gigantic gardens on this deserted island and countless ancient mansions in the gloomy forests, where the broken walls were full of vines and one could almost see snake worms cruising on them. All the buildings were filled with ancient aura and they were all designed in gothic style, which was very popular centuries ago. The corners were sharp and the atmosphere was creepy, but they all looked like abandoned debris now. But amidst this debris, there was the melody of song and dance and the gentle sounds of musical instruments. It seemed that the party was just about to reach its climax. It was like a party held by demons in the human world, where the fallen were having the time of their lives. A bird flew out of the vault in heaven and circled before finally falling on the terrace of the castle and into the hands of the young man. The young man was sitting in a wheelchair. He raised the bird and looked into its eyes as if he had just received some revelation. Once it had fulfilled its duty, the bird dissipated without a sound as its body turned into dust. Its skeleton, which was made from wood, fell onto the ground and broke into small pieces. "Five days? No only left with three days." The young man, by the name of Hua Sheng, shook his head helplessly as he muttered to himself, "I have only been here for slightly more than a month. Just how bad has the situation in the outside world gotten?" After pondering for a short while, he sighed quietly. "Forget it. The amount of heat should more or less be sufficient now. There may be changes if we wait any longer. It''s about time to wrap things up." As if without any hint of pressure, he hummed a song very casually and began to smile once again. He maneuvered his wheelchair and returned to the banquet. "My friend, where have you been?" The middle-aged man in a black tuxedo, who was seated on the main seat, was almost completely drunk. There was an evil aura that surrounded that handsome and pale face. He looked at the performance in the center and cheered and applauded. When he saw Hua Sheng returning, he gestured for the latter to come to his side. "You have just missed the best performance today. A breathtaking duel." "Oh?" Hua Sheng smiled and looked towards the stage, "Who won?" "Of course it''s me, my most esteemed guest!" In the center of the stage stood a thin gladiator, whose entire body was covered with fresh blood and his naked upper body was filled with wounds. One of his eyes had been blinded and was covered with a black eye mask. His hands held a scimitar as he stood on the corpse of his enemy. When he heard Hua Sheng''s question, he bent down and cut out the enemy''s heart from his chest before stepping forward with the heart in his hands. "Allow me to gift you this honor and a toast to victory." Hua Sheng was unfazed. He took over the heart and raised it up high in front of everyone before clenching his fist tight. The heart was completely squashed and fresh red blood flowed out between his fingers and into the empty wine glass. There was a faint fragrance of wine in the fresh red blood. Under the manipulation of the Dark Musician, it was as if the life of the entire person had been infused in the blood. It was so tempting that all the guests were thirsting for it. "Your victory is just like this glass of wine." Hua Sheng smiled and drank half of it before pouring the remaining half onto the gladiator''s head. The blood-wine seeped into his skin without a sound. It was as if they had turned into fire, as they resulted in countless muscles trembling almost uncontrollably. This was a demonstration of power. Life was surging and the gladiator began to cheer and roar. By the time the gladiator retreated, the host of the banquet shook his head and sighed. "Your generosity has embarrassed me, my friend. Compared to you, my gifts of gemstones have lost their shine and become worthless." "What I have done will never make up for your warm hospitality. I just hope that I have provided some colors and entertainment to your banquet." Hua Sheng stretched out his hands as both men talked and laughed. Night soon came. By the time the banquet ended, Hua Sheng, who was chatting happily with the host in the study room, finally brought up the decision that he had made, "The wait has been too long. My friend, bring me to see your grandmaster." Hua Sheng looked at him. "There are some things that we can''t always run away from forever I think a month''s time is more than enough for a decision to be made." The smile on the host''s face froze. After a long time, he finally sighed helplessly. "At this stage, I''m afraid I have to remind you that it is unlikely that you will be satisfied with my grand master''s reply." He continued, "You are asking for too much and the risk that you are taking is too heavy. Even the grandmaster does not dare to take this risk with you. Even if I want to believe in you, there are at least 14 other Lords that are on the same level as me. More than seven of them are most likely to throw their support behind the other side. After all, no one here is fond of the Religious Court of Inquiry." "This is why we must have a meeting. I will convince them." Hua Sheng sounded confident. "This is my duty after all, isn''t it?" "The Court of Inquiry is only going to treat you as a tool, why go to such great lengths for them?" The host sighed helplessly. "Hua Sheng, I''m sure you can see that there is nothing fake about how much I treat you as a friend. I sincerely hope that you can stay by my side, my friend. Regardless of slaves, gold, wine or precious swords, I am willing to share all of them with you. On this island, you will be an Emperor." "Thank you for your precious friendship, sir." Hua Sheng raised his glass. "Nevertheless, no matter the prominence and fame one gains outside, home will always be the best, no?" "Although your refusal frustrates me, you are still my friend." The host drank up all the wine in his glass and sighed. "I don''t understand. Will there be a place in the outside world for someone like you?" Hua Sheng laughed. Three hours later, in the meeting room in the center of the chilly ancient castle, banners were hung on the wall, one after another. Each banner represented a Lord that had rushed over from his or her territory. They consisted of all sorts of people, both young and old, male and female. Some were so young that one''s hair would stand on its end, while others were so old that it was a miracle that they were still alive. The only common thing that they all shared was the gleam of light in their eyes and the evil aura that surrounded them. Right in the middle of them all was an old and frail woman, who was known as the grand master. The candlelight flickered in front of her, as if it did not dare to shine any light onto her face. Only the emerald worn on her right thumb reflected a queer fluorescent glow. As Hua Sheng''s wheelchair slowly entered the room, the temporary silence was broken as the old grandmaster spoke, "As requested by Mr. Hua Sheng, I have arranged for this meeting and gathered everyone here to cast your votes. All of you are not young anymore. Don''t let an old lady like me worry so much every day. Feel free to speak your mind." Everyone looked at each other before a young Lord spoke first, "Right now, Anglo is fighting against overwhelming odds. Why do we have to follow suit?" "The situation is unclear. It is not wise to make a decision so hastily now." "I think that we should continue to monitor the situation first." Very soon, all the Lords had spoken, and very few of them favored Anglo. "In that case, Mr. Hua Sheng, I''m sure you have a good understanding of where we all stand now." The grandmaster looked up and looked behind the long table at the solemn-looking young man. "Is there anything you would like to say?" Hua Sheng kept quiet for a moment before laughing apologetically. "My apologies, I suddenly have an urge to smoke. Can I smoke here?" "Please feel free." The messenger nudged over a silver box of cut tobacco, a meerschaum pipe, and a small lamp. Instead of using the top-quality smoking pipe, Hua Sheng made sure that everyone could see him tearing off a small piece of paper and rolling the cut tobacco in it. "Sorry to make a fool of myself. This is a bad habit that I have picked up from my boss. I have become so used to it that I find the smoking pipe troublesome." Hua Sheng lit up the hand-rolled cigarette and inhaled deeply. His eyes squinted. "In that case, let''s get down to the serious business now." "About time," an impatient Lord snickered. Hua Sheng laughed and did not seem to mind. He continued calmly, "If my guess is correct, all this while, everyone has been avoiding me because of a messenger that has been sent over from what remains of the abyss? There are quite a number of Dark Musicians amongst you. It is understandable that you will want to continue monitoring the situation on both sides before deciding which side you will eventually support. Although I don''t really know what the other party is offering you, it must be quite attractive and substantial. Everyone, please do not feel embarrassed. Although I can''t really describe this situation as ''business is business,'' but anything that has a price has room for negotiation. Recently, I have been following an elderly, who is responsible for keeping accounts, so I have managed to learn and pick up some knowledge. No matter the situation, as long as both parties are willing, it is not impossible to have a successful negotiation." He paused for a while before his tone sounded as if there was a tinge of sympathy. "Unfortunately, all my patience has been exhausted. Therefore, I am just going to be very straightforward" The hand-rolled tobacco was completely burnt and was extinguished in Hua Sheng''s hand. He exhaled the last puff of smoke and looked up. He was no longer smiling and his eyes were fully opened now. His eyes were metallic grey in color. Everyone felt uneasy seeing those pair of eyes. Hua Sheng continued softly, "Pardon me for going straight to the point, but everyone here is trash." The twilight of dusk was lit up by the flashlights on the warship. The surface of the sea was calm. Waves might have come crashing violently but they were completely flattened by the gigantic enchantment that surrounded the entire warship. The gigantic fleet sailed across the surface of the sea amidst the calm weather. There was only silence wherever the fleet passed through, except for the sound of waves being flattened, which sounded like huge stones being crushed. After leaving the Stronghold on Sea, all the crew members had been traveling at full speed for three consecutive days and nights. The Third Formation, which had been given a heavy responsibility, finally passed through the seas of Burgundy and deep into the World of Dark. After covering a long distance, they were able to follow the ocean currents and travel towards Anglo. On the bridge of the flagship, Helgoland, there was only silence. The commander sat silently on his seat as he gently caressed his sword. He was feeling uneasy, until he received the signal officer''s report, "Officer, in another five minutes, we will pass through the yellow zone and officially enter the seas of Anglo." "Turn on all probes." The commander kept quiet for a moment before continuing, "Inform all ships to be prepared for war. Even if Stronghold on Sea initiates the attack, Anglo will not be distracted and allow us to drive straight through." He paused for a while before grabbing the hilt of his knife tightly. His eyes turned cold. "No need for proper identification. Regardless of fishing boats or warships, as long as they are within shooting range, attack immediately. Remember our mission. We must subject those that have turned their backs on God with absolute extinction! If God is not going to show them mercy, then neither will we!" All the captains of the warships fell silent for a moment in the comms set. Then, with firm determination, they all replied simultaneously, "I stand with the truth!" "Indeed, I stand with the truth," the commander muttered quietly. After giving this set of order, his unease was finally replaced with determination. Amidst the sounds of countless running footsteps, all warships have been warmed up and all preparations have been made. No one even realized when did the waves vanish completely. Only the metal roars of countless machinery in operation broke the silence. On the deck of every warship, 16 revelation musicians obeyed the command, that was circulating the channel and played the movements. As a result, burning beams of light shot up into the sky and hung above the vault in heaven. 16 burning stars rained down beams of light, chasing away the night. Soon after, they saw the pale white wall ahead. There was a thick fog that enshrouded the entire Anglo sea. They were thick and towering, so much so that they resembled a white wall. Amidst the dim light, silhouettes began to form in the fog, but no one could tell just what was the fog concealing. The commander bit on his lips subconsciously, yet there was a smirk on his face. "Just as expected, they are waiting here for us. Activate our instruments of harmonious melody and observation formations. I am curious to see just what the Anglos have hidden behind this fog!" There was a huge roar and from the vault in heaven, the burning stars shone their starlight towards the fog. The starlight pierced through the fog instantaneously like a sword, leaving behind a deep crack. When the beams of light swept across, the thick fog seemed to be completely shredded and was rapidly dissipated, revealing the daunting formation behind it. Countless main cannons, that had clearly been warmed up, were aiming towards the Asgardian fleet. This was "Anglo Royal Fleet?!" The commander did not even need a report from the signal officer. He jumped up from his seat and was completely stunned. "What is the Royal Fleet doing here?!" At this moment in time, beneath the starlight and on the surface of the calm sea, more than a hundred warships were already in their positions and were ready for war to begin. The commander was furious and confused, but at the same time, he had a very, very bad feeling. Wrong this was all wrong They had predicted that the Anglos would not split up their military forces in order to counter the three-way attack. It would be suicidal. Indeed, just as they had expected, the Royal Fleet did not split up its forces. But what are they doing here! Have they given up on the battle at the frontline? Could this bunch of lunatics be thinking of giving away their capital just like that?! There was no time for him to think. Before he could even think of any answers, countless powerful beams of light shone at them. The war had finally begun. At the same time, in the northern region of Anglo seas, Sylvaine heard the huge roar. It was the sound of turbulence in the ocean. It was almost as if the ocean was in fear. The night sky was as bright as day. The ocean was burning. Due to the terrifying nature interference, the sea had turned into flames. The flames rose and chased away the thick fog, while lighting up the ocean that seemed to have been flattened. A terrifying silhouette was charging forward. It was Stronghold on Sea. Amidst the countless roars of majestic melody, the gigantic iron city was raining down nature interference at all times and turning its surroundings into a foreign world. Tens of miles away on the sea, one could still hear earth-shattering roars that accompanied the arrival of hurricanes. On the bridge of the Sovereign, Sylvaine stared at Stronghold on Sea and could not help but mutter under his breath, "How terrifying." He was merely looking, yet he could not control both his hands trembling behind his back. His insides were churning in fear, and he could feel a chill in the air. The bridge was dead silent. No one spoke a word. After a long time, the signal officer spoke in a hoarse voice, "Officer, we are about to enter the combat range." Sylvaine fell silent for a moment before raising his head and looking at his surroundings. "In that case, everyone, are you all ready to make the sacrifice? What we are facing now is an enemy that is hundreds of times more powerful than us. There is no doubt that we will all perish in this battle. We are the abandoned ones. Not a single person thinks that we have a chance of victory at all. Does everyone have the courage to face this with me? To face the enemy and launch an attack?" "We will follow your command, my Lord." The Chief Officer laughed lightly. "Of course, if we lose, it will be your fault. Are you prepared to pen down your statement of confession?" Sylvaine was stunned for a moment before the Chief Officer and the rest began to laugh together uproariously. Death awaited all of them, yet the atmosphere on the bridge was easy and happy. "All you bunch of" Sylvaine shook his head helplessly. If they lost, everyone would die. Why would there be a need to write a statement of confession by then? The Chief Officer stretched out his hand and took out a flat flask of wine. He shook it in front of Sylvaine, daring to go against the rule that prohibited alcohol on the fleet. "I had wanted to sneak a small sip after our victory. Looks like that''s not possible anymore." The Chief Officer took a big gulp before trying to pass the wine flask around. "Anyone?" "If you say so." Sylvaine smiled and cocked back his head to take a huge gulp. He no longer felt afraid anymore. It''s only death. So be it, damn it. The wine flask was too small, so everyone on the bridge only took a small sip to moisten their lips. Nevertheless, their eyes brightened from the bitter taste of the alcohol in their mouth. They felt as if they were on fire. Sylvaine drew his sword and raised it high before declaring to everyone, "In that case, let us swear to our ancestors that we are willing to fight to our deaths for the kingdom!" "Blood of honor can never be stained," all 142 members screamed at the top of their lungs at their impending doom. The sole iron warship, the Sovereign, charged towards the Stronghold on Sea! The high-pitched whistle sounded, just like the horn on the battlefield that signified the start of war. "Only one ship? Confirmed?" In the command center of Stronghold on Sea, the commander stared at the sole enemy that was launching an attack in their direction. He wanted to laugh but he could not. "Are they kidding me?! Or is there some sort of devious plan?" What other plan could there be? By leaving behind only one ship, even if it was to self-destruct, it would never be able to breach the defenses of the warships that patrolled around the Stronghold on Sea, much less the Stronghold itself. For some reason, the situation might be in his favor, but the commander could not help but feel confused. These damned Anglos, just what are they thinking! Just as the Asgardians were still reeling in shock, the Sovereign pierced through the foreign region, which was a distortion of the Stronghold on Sea, like a sharp knife. The ship glowed with golden light and as the royal musicians performed, the ship was shrouded in Firebird, as if an invisible pair of wings have spread open. They produced a massive power that continued to accelerate the ship ahead, despite the enemy''s barrage of retaliatory attacks. In the midst of the daze, there was suddenly a strange hallucination. It was as if the earth was shaking. When the whistle shrieked, it was like a horn blowing. Its roar could be heard in all directions and it reverberated on the seven seas. A hurricane swept across the deck of the Sovereign as Sylvaine drew his sword and stared at the glorious light on the surface of the sea. He softly chanted the secret verse for initiation, "Anglo hopes everyone will carry out their duties with dedication!" With that, the seven seas roared. The majestic melody blasted from the alchemy formation on Anglo lands and Anglo seas. They prayed to the Emperor that there would be a miracle and an arrival of undefeated legend! The sound of metal grating against metal could be heard from the depths of the sea. Amidst the waves that have been sliced through by the Sovereign, there were suddenly countless undercurrents. Turbulent aether began to surge and shred the ocean, such that the broken gigantic sail rose from the sea. The gigantic sail was mending rapidly, and soon, the signet of a red dragon and rose danced and flapped loudly in the wind. The glorious light filled the entire sea, as if God had descended. The light lit up the gigantic warship that was floating up from the depths of the sea. King, Revenge, Resolution, Ramillies, Royal Oak In the end, the Sovereign merged with the light as well. Its iron body trembled as it transformed rapidly by expanding more than twice its original size. In the end, it transformed into an iron monster with sharp edges. It was ''Royal Pride''!" With the blessing and permission of the lord, the Sovereign had transformed into a flagship that patrolled for the queen, the legendary Royal Pride! "We sacrifice our lives for the almighty Emperor!" Sylvaine raised his knife and pointed at the enemy ahead as he gave the order to attack. The silent fleet replied in unison, "May heaven protect the kingdom, and may the Emperor protect me!" With Royal Pride leading the way, the legendary fleet, which had been in hibernation for a very long time, finally appeared once again. The first generation of Royal Fleet that cruised the seven seas had returned! 717 Surprise Attack Late at night, on the sea fortress among the waves, hot and dry breath radiated into the night sky, carrying the scent of ash and sulfur. Terrible scars crisscrossed the small town behind the fortress, and several blocks had already collapsed under the assault of Asgard''s weapons during the daytime and had caught on fire. The scent of blood was wafted by the flames, hanging thick in the air. Even in the middle of the night, there were still laborers on the wall working overtime to repair the cracks in it. The side of the wall facing out had already been completely burned. The alloy coated outer shell had melted, and molten steel flowed and coagulated, forming unpleasant veins of what looked like sludge. Sometimes they used hammers to pry off the dried sludge off of the stone, and could then see the lava slurry that had not yet congealed inside. As for what lay beneath the wall, it was completely unrecognizable. Even the mountains that had been reinforced on both sides had largely crumbled. Gravel was piled up under the cliffs, covering broken armor and half of a burnt corpse. The other half of the corpse was covered in dust. In the fissures formed by the large-scale bombardments, the eyes of the dead looked up from the dust towards the night sky. In the midst of the din someone was playing the flute, and its faint, sad dirge echoed around the battlefield. In the tightly sealed construction site just behind the small town, dozens of construction vehicles were making hundreds of guide rails that slanted up towards the night sky. It was like they were preparing to welcome a train that was coming from the sky. But under the rails, armored knights lined up silently to receive the fixed chain, and then bent down, in formation, to insert it into the "small boxes". Even though the space was large when compared to an ordinary person, even for knights who were only wearing powered exoskeletons and not outer armor it was still so narrow they could hardly move. After he squeezed in and sat on the chair, and then firmly locked his armor to the iron chair, a knight could not even bend at the waist. The members of the squad looked at each other helplessly. The din outside the construction site continued unabated. "The angle measurement is complete, and the guide rails are in place." "The mechanical system has been loaded, and testing is in process." These emotionless voices rang out continuously, making everyone feel more and more disturbed. Finally, a figure that was thinner than everyone else entered. After he closed the hatch, the voices ceased. But the pure silence made them even more uneasy. Galahad sat silently in his position, his armor fixed firmly to his chair. He closed his eyes without speaking. Everyone looked at him, and one of them dared to say, "Is this thing really reliable, sir?" "Why are you so worried?" Christine rebuked him coldly. "If you''re going to die, you should die for your country!" "Uh..." The one who had asked the question had no choice but to stop talking. He hadn''t expected to be reprimanded. Seeing how his hands were gripping the armrests so tightly that his gauntlets had almost deformed the armrests, the others couldn''t help but laugh. "Hahahaha!" Christine glanced at them coldly. Although she was annoyed, she didn''t say anything. There was nothing they could do. Although the Royal Institute of Research had guaranteed that there were no problems with the system, who could really sit there with no worries? If there really weren''t any problems, why would they call this d*mn box the "Hell Parachute"? A group of knights would sit in this iron box and be launched into the enemy''s center. When they thought about it, it seemed as if every step in the process from beginning to end had problems. Even Christine was scared... Amid the silence, someone else raised their hand. "Sir?" "Speak." The person with the question hesitated a bit, then said helplessly, "Even though the Asgardians would never think that we would launch this surprise attack, couldn''t we at least wear some light armor?" In order to reduce the weight, everyone''s armor had been lightened as much as possible. Although they all wore heavy powered exoskeletons, there was no armor on top of them. They had even removed most of the defensive modules. Even though it would be difficult for a normal person to hurt them with an ordinary sword, the enemy also had powered halberds. Facing a frost giant knight with a shocking ax with this kind of equipment would be equivalent to doing it naked. "You don''t need to worry about this issue." Christine looked at him seriously. "It will solve itself when we get there." Solve itself how? Would they airdrop armor? Even if they did, it would take more than five minutes for a skilled engineer to put it on them. In that time, everyone would have already been killed by the frost giants while they were still getting dressed. Everyone smiled bitterly. Although they were uneasy, it was a knight''s fate to follow orders. Their respect for dogma and command had been instilled in them from an early age, from the time they had started training as knights until they had officially been knighted. A qualified knight would not have any hesitation in the face of orders, even if they were ordered to jump into a fire pit. Although fear was inevitable, their sword-tempered bodies would have no hesitation. It was a little embarrassing to admit, but it had to be said, these so-called knights'' brains would only be put to work when they were needed. Most of the time, they were rough-and-ready creatures of instinct. As they waited for the countdown, Galahad said in a hoarse voice, "Sir, it''s time." Christine was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Geraint, your turn. You will be the commander for this operation." "Then..." The Knight of the Round Table known as Geraint took off his helmet, revealing a face covered in scars. He looked at his remaining six squad members. "The operation will begin in five minutes. The plan has already been sent to everyone. Stick to it." He raised his hand and touched the scabs that had recently formed on his scars. His eyes went hard and his voice was cold. "Remember, this is the counterattack on Asgard that we have been waiting for. No, I should say that it is revenge for the 46,000 people who have died in battle over the last few days. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! I want each of you to come back with the ID cards of ten Frost Knights, or else die carrying 11! Understood?" "Understood!" "Then God bless the Kingdom." Geraint put his helmet back on. "May the Queen bless us!" the Knights of the Round Table replied. The powerful sound of scraping iron rang out, and everyone felt their "iron box" being lifted up by the crane and placed on the track. Then, the disturbing sound a gear turning rang out. The countdown started. Five four three two One! The instant the countdown ended, dozens of overlapping roars sounded from all around the construction site. Everyone felt their vision go dark, and a massive force pressed them into their seats. The small box they were in was writhing wildly and emitting the sharp sound of steel grinding on steel. After a moment, they could no longer feel gravity. In that instant, the friction between the steel cables and the guide rails sent out a shower of sparks, and the "iron coffins" hanging from the guide rails were sent whistling through the air by the tremendous kinetic energy. After breaking free of the 60-meter long guide rails, the "iron coffins" swiftly tore through the air, setting off a fierce scream as they flew through the sky. In a flash, it had already cleared the city and the sea fortress, and were high in the sky. They were like dozens of stars rising in the sky, and then, they descended upon the Asgardian camp! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! The alchemy arrays on the iron coffins ignited. Before the Asgardian alarms could sound they had already entered their threat range. As they met the counterattack movements preset by countless enchantments, the defensive shields on the iron coffins were activated. They were like ships that were tossed by a storm. Pieces of debris were falling off the burning iron coffins and scattering in the wind, until finally, through the continuous loud noises they smashed into warehouses and crashed to the ground. Numerous pieces of iron went flying in all directions, and the shockwave smashed directly into the two walls, collapsing them and burying the sentries in the rubble. Amid the flying particles and dust, the knights walked out of the broken iron coffins. They coughed fiercely, feeling the weakness caused by the violent impact. But even though they felt faint, they pulled out their longswords without hesitation and spread out according to the plan. Syringes under the armor had already injected stimulants and painkillers into the knights'' veins. Amidst their heavy breathing, their eyes were burning red. In just a few seconds, the artificial organs implanted in their bodies had awakened. Their muscles bulged wildly and adrenaline surged through their veins, but their brains were plunged into a state of mechanical calmness. The roars continued one after another as more iron coffins fell from the sky and one by one, squads of Knights of the Round Table were sent into the Asgardian camp. Some of them smashed into the drilling grounds, some into the workshops, some in front of sentry posts. The most fortunate smashed into the barracks. Ignoring the dizziness caused by the high-speed landing, the knights pulled out their weapons at the moment of impact and threw themselves at any living thing around them. With the scouts'' infrared vision, there was no use in hiding. Even though they were wearing the lightest armor and were not equipped with any additional functions or weapons modules, the swords that they carried were enough to cleave a person in two even if they used their bed as a shield. The lightest of the swords that came equipped with the power armor was 80 kilograms, heavier than a person! In less than a minute, all the soldiers in the barracks had been slaughtered before they could even wake up to the massive din. Fragile flesh could simply not compare to the power of steel. The massacre had begun! 718 God Bless the Kingdom At the same time, it was noisy in the Royal Institute of Research. From the sixth floor underground all the way up to the tenth floor, countless people were rushing about. The six elevators were running at full power, but the staircases were still full of people running up and down, sweating profusely. Meanwhile, at the entrance of the freight elevator, a group of people almost started hitting each other while fighting over a position. "Give way! Give way! Let the spare interface allocator go up first!" "Get lost! I still have six units of codes of notes to upload!" "Friends from the management division, do me a favor, let me move the music theory relay distribution valve up first, I''m almost late!" "If you''re late, go take the stairs!" "The stairway has been blocked by the storage crystal from the third laboratory! It''s even more jammed than the situation here!" "It''s too late! Open a hole in the floor first! Send the things down, and leave two people here to help me repair the floor!" As one of the researchers said so, a rumble sounded. The group of research musicians who would usually hide in the labs, never stepping out of the doors, had begun demolishing the building. In order to put the spare equipment in place, the group of researchers was already going crazy. The building could be rebuilt anytime, but at the moment, if the equipment were to be delayed for five minutes, they would probably be trampled to death by an angry boss? Among the shrill cue tone, the atmosphere was solemn in the central control room, and hot sweat seeped out from all the musicians'' foreheads. "What are you dumbly waiting for? Check every single step again, I will hold you all responsible if any problems occur!" Newton rolled up his sleeves and revealed two hairy arms, like an old monkey jumping up and down due to being agitated by the heat. Meanwhile, beside him, the burly prelate was silent, his eyes closed. But contrary to expectations, when they saw him acting this way, the remaining Chainsaw clergy all became more and more diligent, not daring to slack in the slightest bit, like they were under high pressure. Unlike the Royal Institute of Research, which implemented a loose management system, the Chainsaw Fraternity had always been governed under classical canon law, and it was the cruelest version even. Such was the foundation that enabled the Fraternity to continue existing for centuries in the southern desert region. In other words, making a blunder at such a critical juncture was definitely not something that could be resolved by taking thirty lashes. To put it bluntly, a barking dog doesn''t bite. Blundering as an employee of the Institute of Research would at most result in a fine or being fired, or worse comes to worst, a prison sentence. But if a clergy of the Fraternity was to mess up, sorry Thinking of the blades hanging threateningly behind their heads, everyone immediately moved rapidly. "The connection of the Net of Aether is free of problems." "The third level of authority has been granted!" "The Royal Musicians are already in place!" "The download application has been uploaded! The outer layer of the Net of Aether is operating. The aether quota for 4,000 official musicians is ready to be issued, and the sixth, eighth and ninth pools of aether are already in place!" "The second verification is complete!" Noisy reports sounded constantly. The complicated processes advanced rapidly until no more sound was produced in the end. In the silence, Newton sat in his chair, sweat dripping from his forehead. Even though the preparations made were sufficient to the max, and none of the aspects posed any problem, he still couldn''t dispel the panic and anxiety in his heart. "Your Excellency, I remember that you qualify as a priest?" Newton looked at the giant beside him. "Can you accept my prayers in place of God?" "You may pray, but God won''t listen." The priest raised the signet ring containing a holy emblem on his finger and said calmly, "We follow the will of destiny. As for the rest. It will suffice to just accept God''s arrangement." Newton was stunned for a long time, then laughed self-mockingly. "Then, I hope that He will arrange a good outcome for us." Amid the bangs that sounded one after another, Galahad''s armor was the first to break through the three-layer wall. According to the map drawn by the musicians of the school of revelation, she advanced towards the base of the Frost Giants. Against several Frost Giant Knights who had already reacted and were here to intercept the Anglo knights, the thin and short Galahad dodged their attacks in a manner that could almost be considered dexterous. The sword whistled as it struck, moving through the gap of the armor, and chopped off an arm. Light armor was created with speed being its focus right from the start, and after removing the heavy layer of outer suspension armor, the speed was incredibly quick. "Galahad! You are moving too fast! You have left the team! It''s too dangerous! Come back!" Disregarding the orders of Geraint behind her, Galahad accelerated again, once again smashing through a layer of wall and broke into the armor workshop. Coming towards her were two Frost Knights who had just finished wearing their armor, but more were fixed on workbenches, having their armor put on them for the emergency with the help of several engineers! In the rumble, Galahad jumped up, stepping on the shoulder of the Frost Giants and the walls, and pounced towards the workbenches at the back. Against Galahad''s double swords striking down, the Frost Giant Knights. in the process of wearing their armor, were unable to fight back. They were slaughtered like chicks and suffered heavy losses immediately. But more and more people rushed towards her, disregarding their own lives to slow her down and buying more time for the ones at the back Finally, in the loud noises, the knights had finished wearing their heavy power armor and surrounded her. In the short span of five minutes, the Knights of the Round Table could no longer be at ease. In an instant, the tables were turned. "The coat of arms is the emblem of the Head of the Knights of the Round Table. It seems that I have caught a big fish." In the rumble of steel colliding, the Frost Giant Knight lifted the powered halberd and aimed it at Galahad''s face. "Now, it''s time to pay the price!" Thunder and lightning erupted from the top of the halberd. In the forlorn whistle, it broke through the air. Christine took a step back, and the two swords spread like eagle wings. Against the enemy''s attack, she took a step forward. Moving like thunder, she rushed forward, targeting the vital parts of the power furnace at the chest and the knight''s face. The Frost Giant snickered, and totally disregarded the attack. An attack of such a level couldn''t even break through his outer armor. When fighting against a knight wearing heavy power armor, a knight in light armor with no outer suspension armor at all was no match at all. But then, in the whistling sound, dozens of steel cabinets descended from the sky, falling apart upon landing. Only the huge cone-shaped instruments of harmonious melody were nailed into the earth. Back when they were in the air, the instruments of harmonious melody were burned red due to overloading. And when they landed on the ground, they wedged into the earth like meteorites. And as the rest of the armored knights destroyed the Asgardians'' alchemy array, the enchantment enveloping the outer layer of the base finally collapsed. At the very moment, a torrent of aether descended from the sky. All the Knights of the Round Table heard a cold voice in their ears, overlapping together. The voice was so swift, yet so clear as if it was reverberating in their consciousness. [Coherence achieved] [Completion of connection agreement] [First, second, and third handshakes successful] [Net of Aether done connected] [User identity code identified: Knights of the Round Table, interface allocation completed] [Virtual array simulated] [Installation of Vacuum Sun, the power source, completed] [May God bless the kingdom and my emperor protect me!] At the very moment, the mighty melody sounded from the sky and resounded through the stars. Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1! In the sonorous melody, the brilliance of the Chapter of the Golden Victory descended from the sky, turning into Firebird, and covered every armored knight. In the blink of an eye, armors of Firebird were constructed, and the fiery flow of aether flow surged in the virtual alchemy circuit. Under the full coverage of the Net of Aether, every Knight of the Round Table was connected to the port and enveloped in the exterior armor formed by Firebird. Boom! Among the brilliance of Firebird, the hurricane burst forth. The iron-gray hurricane lingered on Galahad''s armor, and the power halberd broke with a rumble and turned into metallic gravel. Countless pieces of shattered thunder leaped, but they couldn''t seep into the hurricane defense of Galahad. In just a moment of crossfire, the huge Frost Giant had been thoroughly pierced through, decomposed by the two blazing swords. The power furnace shattered with a rumble, the shock waves blew the giant''s chest up, and blood spewed out. It was like a dream. Despite obviously being a power skeleton without any special features, it suddenly turned into a Round Table Armor that was even more powerful than an Archangel Armor. Moreover, it was the famous hurricane of the iron wallGalahad! Was God kidding the Asgardians? Not only the Asgardians, but even the Knights of the Round Table themselves had not expected that they could be strengthened with Firebird. The aether furnaces were upgraded to Vacuum Suns powered by the collision of music theory, and even the outer skeletons of the armors that had no protection were transformed into expensive Archangel Armors! Not to mention the weapons in their hands that were transformed into alchemy weapons by the virtual array! No one would believe it if you were to tell them! In the blink of an eye, hundreds of light-armored knights that were not even equipped with external suspension armor had become heavy-armored knights covered in Firebird armor! No, it was even more incredible than that. Firebird was, in essence, a phenomenon formed by forcefully using one''s tenacity to interfere with aether. It was visible yet incorporeal, and had no weight at all. They were a group of armored knights with the defenses of heavy cavalry, yet their speed far exceeded that of light cavalry The Asgardians seemed to have seen a nightmare come true. The fruit of the research the Royal Institute of Research of Anglo and the Chainsaw Fraternity did around the core layer of the Net of Aether in the past few months had finally been uploaded onto the Net of Aether at the moment, opening the ports to all the knights. Mass-produced Knights of the Round Table! "May my emperor protect me!" Under Geraint''s roar, a rumble erupted from the mighty Firebird. The armors of the Knights of the Round Table were completely changed. Covered by Firebird, the 320 Archangel Knights and the six Head Knights of the Round Table had no more weakness. Right at the moment, right here, the sound of steel roaring burst forth. Asgard''s Frost Giant Corps collided with Anglo''s Knights of the Round Table, and the long-awaited fight between the two sides finally began! The sea was collapsing. A huge depression appeared in the raging ocean before anyone realized it. Innumerable sharp cracks continue to burst forth from it, whirlpools fading in and out of existence. Some were fleeting, but some grew rapidly, swallowing the other whirlpools, and loud bangs constantly sounded, turning into a roar. Water was the best medium. Under the permeation of the realm of aether and the huge gravitational pull of music theory, the entire battlefield had been completely distorted by both sides. If not for the forceful suppression of the Stronghold on Sea, the sea region would probably have completely turned into a foreign realm. On the other hand, it was why the Asgardians dared to constantly activate war movements. No matter how much the environment was distorted, it could not affect the warship''s wholeness. Meanwhile, the Royal Fleet was already damaged at the moment. In the fourth minute after the war started, Ramillies, the slowest ship, fell apart under the strike of the huge sword of the flame. At the tenth minute of the battle, the shield of the Resolution was completely destroyed as well. At the moment, the ship was riddled with holes, and could only maintain its form barely by relying on the alchemy array. The glow from the Royal Pride was fleeting and dim, like a candle in the wind. At the moment, it was not the defenses that determined whether the Royal Fleet could survive, but speed. Regardless of how powerful they were, shields and defenses could not resist the overwhelming attack of the Asgardian Navy. Only by attempting to dodge the attacks with their fastest speed could the fleet survive, albeit barely. Even so, the continuous shock waves riddled the entire fleet with holes. With a loud bang, the Revenge that forcefully advanced in the face of countless attacks completely fell apart after slamming into and sinking a battleship. It turned into pieces, once again sinking into the sea. More than half of the first-generation Royal Fleet had been damaged. Despite fighting against enemies who were several times their number and even facing such a horrible monster like the Stronghold on Sea, the Royal Fleet still achieved plenty. Paying the price of being reduced to less than half of their numbers, the Anglo fleet dealt immense damage to the second formation of Asgard. Although they couldn''t fight directly with the Stronghold on Sea, the tactics used by the Royal Fleet at the moment made them seem like a group of barbarian rangers on sea. Under Storm Protection, the terrifying effect that was automatically activated after the Royal Fleet was in resonance, the fleet sacrificed most of its defense capabilities in exchange for a terrifying speed. They made their way back and forth about the battlefield, not engaging in frontal combat with the enemy at all, but constantly used their weapons to harass the Asgardians, and used cannon fire to consume the peripheral forces of the Stronghold on Sea. Dealing with a monster like the Stronghold on Sea indeed gave them a sense of pain and helplessness, like mice trying to pull a turtle [1] and having no clue where to start. But the effect of the tactic was amazing when dealing with the warships at the periphery of the stronghold. After the mass bombs made of alloy, which had been stored for centuries, were exhausted, the Royal Fleet enabled the reserve arrays to continuously extract seawater and conduct nature interference on it, transforming it into special bombs with steel properties. Depending on the different arrays, seawater could be reprocessed to make it shockingly corrosive or flammable. Unlike the characteristics of the Asgardian warships, the first-generation Royal Fleet was alchemy warships forged centuries ago with Leviathan''s flesh and blood and the music theory of catastrophes. Although their designs and models were outdated and their frontal combat power had become relatively weak after hundreds of years of technology advancement, the special effects carried by its warships were still irreplaceable. Be it the Storm Protection effect that could increase the speed of the warships significantly by several times and ensure that they always occupied the upwind position, or the Tide Protection effect that could manipulate the sea water and form layers of iron-like water walls to weaken and offset the enemy''s attack, all of them were God-level auxiliary effects. They could maximize the protection of the fleet and weaken the enemies. It was a pity that Avalon''s Kingdom of Heaven on Earth could not be used freely as it had to be on the lookout for the Asgardians'' Gungnir. Otherwise, under the Empress'' will, Her Majesty would become one with the country, and the entire territorial waters of Anglo would be the territory of Leviathan. Under the strengthening of the catastrophe, the entire ocean would be Asgard''s enemy. The sort of national-level interference ability was a defense built by centuries of construction, and even saints would be no match here. Otherwise, why would the situation deteriorate to the present extent? Amid the alarm warning against battle damage, Sylvaine gritted his teeth. Hearing the rumble from afar, his expression could not help but convulse. In the Stronghold on Sea, the sword of the flames struck again, splitting innumerable curtains of water and storms apart, and it turned the whole whirlpool into ashes together with the Royal Oak. The entire first-generation Royal Fleet only had six boats left! The thought of the Royal Fleet that had been passed down for centuries had been damaged so badly in his hands that only less than one-third of it was left pained Sylvaine''s heart. It was a legend that countless youngsters of Anglo had dreamed about from a young age, their motivation to join the navy. Presently, the brilliance was no longer, and the blood of glory was dim. Even though he was not the person who made the decision, as a commander, Sylvaine had the impulse to drink poison as an apology for his sin. "Damn..." He gritted his teeth, and in the harsh alarm, roared furiously. Boom! A violent shaking hit the ships again, the hull whined forlornly, and the alarm sounded once more. The bottom layer of the armor of the Royal Pride was completely shattered, and seawater surged into wheel room no. 3. Even though the steel floodgate was lowered and the seawater was blocked from flowing in some more, the speed of the Royal Pride had dropped by 30 percent. In the violent turmoil, the chief signal officer fell to the ground, his head bloody from the wounds cut by the sharp corners. Holding on to the table, he climbed up and looked at Sylvaine. "Sir, the communication channel with Ramillies is silent!" Boom! A loud noise came from afar. Ramillies, on the verge of its limit, rushed into the battlefield and detonated its own aether furnace, meeting its end together with the enemy. The remaining warships also sent warnings. "What are you all standing there for!" Selvin was enraged and roared hoarsely, "Attack! Attack! Attack! Our enemies are still on the battlefield! We must not stop!" He held the commanding knife, his knuckles protruding. Anglo hopes for its people to fulfill their duties to the very end... However, how long has the long-suffering been ongoing? Three hours? Four hours? Almost 80 percent of the first-generation Royal Fleet had been sacrificed in exchange for taking down enemies more than several times the number. Under the desperate attack of the Ramillies just now, a big hole was even blown open in the side armor of the Stronghold on Sea. But somehow, a voice sounded in Sylvaine''s ear. It was telling him that this was the end. Your duties are coming to an end. Sylvaine looked up and gazed at the ceiling of the bridge. He had never prayed so piously, praying for God to bestow a miracle upon him. But his eyes were stung by the glow of lightning. In the projection on the ceiling, the night sky lit by the fire of war was torn apart. Strong lights that seemed like meteors falling galloped across the night sky, one, two, three... It was like a rainstorm. The thunder and lighting that were like torrential rains cut the night sky apart into complicated parts, leaving trajectories that refused to dissipate for a long time. The group of meteors traveled across the battlefield and flew towards Avalon. "Sir," the chief signal officer, who was also responsible as a lookout, was pale, "the Asgardians have launched a general offensive on Anglo, they activated Gungnir..." Sylvaine smiled miserably. God had responded to his prayers. But He was not standing on Sylvaine''s side. "Do we still have wine?" He looked at the first officer who had an arm blown off by the wheel. The first officer shook his head bitterly. "We ran out a long time ago, I only brought a little, really." "For the first time in my life, I hate that you guys brought too little alcohol on board the ship." Sylvaine laughed, but he couldn''t resist the urge to cry and choke. "Everyone, it has been my honor to work with you all. You all... have lived up to the blood of glory and your glory as nobles." The first officer and the crew exchanged glances and suddenly laughed. Like magic, he took out a metal case from his pocket. "Although we have no more wine, I also brought along a box of cigars, it''s top notch! Sir, do you want some?" "F*ck, what do you think military laws are! I want to hang you! Give it to me!" Wiping his tears, Sylvaine grabbed the metal case from his hand, and took a cigar from the copper tube. He had no time to elegantly smoke and savor it as he had in the past. He bit one end off violently and threw it to the first officer, then took out another one for himself. "Give me one too." The meticulous second officer who had always adhered to aristocratic manners also walked forward. He took the metal case and distributed the cigars. The chief signal officer ignited a wisp of flame and lit everyone''s cigars in turn. The group of old men opened their uniform collars and took off their hats. Disregarding the stinging in their lungs, they took in deep breathes forcefully, swallowed and breathed out thick smoke. Looking at the tears and blood on each other''s faces, they couldn''t help laughing. "It''s time, everyone." Sylvaine leaned back in his chair and found a comfortable position. "It''s time for us to fulfill our duty." "Yep." The first officer grinned. "God bless the kingdom." "God bless the kingdom!" "God bless the kingdom..." May God bless the kingdom, they hoped for nothing else other than that. "All, attack!" Sylvaine laughed loudly and gave the final order, "Let the group of Asgardian barbarians see the strength of character of Anglo!" So, in the rumble, the engines of the whole fleet were overloaded. Brilliant colors burst forth from the Royal Pride, and the remaining ships of the first-generation fleet assembled, following the lead of the flagship closely. Against the brilliance of countless canon balls, they rushed at the Stronghold on Sea. With their final glory, the Anglo Fleet played a dirge! However, in such a tragic moment, an untimely voice rang out in the communication channel, "Hey! I say, everyone, have you all forgotten the latter half to the sentence ''God bless the kingdom''?" [1] A Chinese proverb. 719 Confrontation "Hey! I say, everyone, have you all forgotten about the second half of the sentence of ''may God bless the kingdom''?" Sylvaine was stunned. His eyes were wide open. "Prince, Your Highness?" "Yup, that''s me." Amidst the hoarse laughter, someone whistled into the comms set, "Where''s the applause? Anglo, no, the ultimate warrior and champion of the east and west, Ye Qingxuan, is here to save all of you with 100,000-strong reinforcements!" In that instant, the huge iron beast burst out of the clouds! The Mountain of Nomadism appeared above the vault in heaven along with the hurricane, but instead of the 100,000-strong reinforcements, there was actually nothing else other than this single ship. Sylvaine did not even have the time to cheer before sinking into confusion. Wait a minute What kind of reinforcement is this?! What are you trying to do, Your Highness? We were all ready to die a heroic death, what did you come here for? Are you trying to die with all of us? "Don''t worry." The voice continued calmly, "Although the 100,000-strong reinforcements may not be in sight, I meant what I said about coming here to rescue you. Sylvaine, you will not die here." Sylvaine awkwardly put out the cigar in his hands, slightly regretting how embarrassingly he had acted just moments ago. Sigh! If only I had known that the situation would turn out like this, I would not have had to cry. He recovered his stern expression and coughed once. Everyone on the bridge averted their gazes and decided to put the embarrassing scene out of their minds. They were ready to move on from the anxiety and despair that they felt previously. For some reason, there was a mysterious and almost blind sense of trust that the Royal Fleet had towards this Avalon Prince. After witnessing so many miracles that had been possible because of His Highness, they had all become numb to them. Right now, even if the earth was to shatter before their eyes and His Highness was to assure them that everything would be fine, they would trust him wholeheartedly as well. "In that case, we are counting on you now." Sylvaine leaned back against the chair. His entire body was sore and he was completely spent. "But still, try to be a little nervous." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "I''m still fighting a war after all." Just as he had completed his sentence, Bang! The Staff of Fate was slammed against the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism. Against the hurricane, Ye Qingxuan, in a deep voice that could be heard in all directions, declared, "I hereby give up my life for the almighty Emperor. May God protect the kingdom, as the Emperor protects me!" During the declaration, a hot glow gradually rose from his body and transformed into a golden crown. The figure of scepter appeared from behind him and the blueprint of the Land of Dreams transformed rapidly into the projection of a golden hound. This was the first time since the battle against Leviathan that Ye Qingxuan was fighting someone in Anglo. After he had been conferred the title of the Prince of Avalon, Ye Qingxuan was on the same level of status as the Deputy Ruler of Anglo. Within the lands of Anglo, Ye Qingxuan would be able to enjoy the same catastrophe status left behind by Arthur, just like Mary, and evolve into the Chapter of Golden Victory! At the same time, as the Keeper of the Seal, he possessed the right to adjust half of the aether reserves of the homeland defense front and could unleash them at the level of a catastrophe. At the moment, Mary was focused on defending against the attack of Gungnir, so Ye Qingxuan would not be able to utilize the aether reserves as that might mess things up for her. Nevertheless, he could still rely on his own possessions! The Heaven Ladder music theory expanded according to Ye Qingxuan''s actions and linked all the remaining warships of the Royal Fleet together. Then, they were absorbed into the resonant system before the illusion of the scepter was also infused in it shortly after. In an instant, the flagship was transformed from the Sovereign to the Mountain of Nomadism, and the glory of the Royal Pride was transferred to the huge iron beast in the sky. As the vehicle of the Emperor''s patrol, which was now being driven by the Deputy Ruler of Anglo, it was ten times more agile compared to when it was being driven by Sylvaine! In the midst of the earth-shattering howl of the dragon, the illusion of the gigantic golden dragon appeared amongst the fleet and aimed its howl at the Stronghold on Sea. With the boost of Firebird, the broken armors and facilities of the warships were remodeled and repaired. The Royal Fleet, that was all set on charging towards the Stronghold on Sea without a care for its fate, was now being controlled by the scepter and was executing a last-minute sharp turn on the sea. It was even more exaggerating than a horse carriage. The scene was hilarious. It was as if someone was being chased by his enemy for a huge debt but finally had nowhere else to run and decided to pick up a random knife for a final confrontation. But at the very last minute, when both sides were about to clash with each other, this person was informed that he had just struck the lottery, and so the confrontation had suddenly transformed into a retreat again. Basically, they left behind their enemy, whose defenses were already well-prepared, and fled from the battlefield. Simultaneously, they gathered enough firepower to launch a round of cannon attacks at the weakest area of the armor of Stronghold on Sea! The result was incredible! It was a fantastic feeling. However, the price to pay for such a maneuver was that the terrifying centrifugal force resulted in all of the crew members passing out for a short while, while those that were already weaker would vomit blood. If they had not been warned of this maneuver and had not stabilized themselves sufficiently, they would probably have been thrown hard against the wall. Very soon, the roar of the movement could be heard from the Stronghold on Sea. The earth-shattering Sword of Flame rose from the Stronghold and aimed carefully at the Royal Fleet before striking down viciously. If it had been in the past, they could have tried to make use of their speed to avoid the attack. But right now, the Royal Fleet was too close to the Stronghold. In their suicidal charge towards the latter, they had entered the latter''s killing range. Trying to flee after pulling a fast one? Not a chance! On the Royal Fleet, the projection of Ye Qingxuan''s scepter, the Dragon of Gold, turned back and took aim at the incoming flames before opening its mouth and breathing out fiery dragon''s breath. The Sword of Flame and the destructive dragon''s breath clashed against each other and even though it might seem like fire against fire, the clash resulted in a roar of metals. Between the fleet and the Stronghold, the entire surface of the sea sank underneath the terrible turbulences and formed a gigantic rift valley. Shortly after, sea water quickly flowed back in to fill the rift and the sound of waves crashing against each other resembled the collapse of mountainous caves. At the same time, the left eye of God hung high and locked on to the location of the Dragon of Gold. Shortly after, the projection of Rommel''s scepter appeared out of nowhere. Countless musicians gathered together and combined their scepters to form "Scepter of Messiah," which was shaped like a long spear, and stabbed at the Dragon of Gold. Even if its location had only been locked on to, it was enough for the projection of the Dragon of Gold to be dissipated. As the symbol of the artifact that the savior used to gather and control his believers, the power possessed by the Scepter of Messiah included its grasp and control over the spirit of music theory. It was a power that could swoop underneath the surface and attack the spirit. To the School of Summoning, it was almost like their natural enemy. This was the biggest reason why Hendel was in charge of the Silence Governance. Regardless of a catastrophe or the giant golden dragon or the consciousness of artifacts, as long as they fulfilled the two conditions of aether circulation and spirit of music theory, any amount of power would be rendered useless in front of Scepter of Messiah. When movements lost their spirits, they would collapse; when phantom beasts lost their bestiality, they would be just like the walking dead; when artifacts lost their personality, they would be useless; when catastrophes lost their consciousness, they would fall At this very moment, the long-awaited Scepter of Messiah suddenly crashed down and shook the Dragon of Gold and the consciousness of Ye Qingxuan. In the next moment, a majestic and grand melody was playing above the Mountain of Nomadism. Ye Qingxuan, who entered "vacuum," turned into an aether projection and appeared on the back of the Dragon of Gold. Everyone was instantly stunned. What the hell are you doing? At the end of the day, the scepter projection of a musician was the same as that of a grand master, in the sense that their body must enter the aether circulation and their consciousness must be placed on the scepter, which had been transformed from the Symphony of Predestination. It was equivalent to transforming oneself into a strange creature of the realm of aether. When facing the Scepter of Messiah, this was just like seeking death! But shortly after, as the Scepter of Messiah came crashing down, Ye Qingxuan raised his head towards the sky and smiled. "Hey, friend, that walking stick of yours look pretty familiar. Don''t tell me you bought it from the same shop as I did?" In the next instant, he raised the Staff of Fate in his hands in anticipation of the blow from the Scepter of Messiah. The majestic and grand melody finally reached the climax that was filled with destruction and killing, which was "Day of God''s Fury!" With the change in the quality of aether, the Music Theory of Reform, which had transformed into electricity, gathered and formed the blade of the long sickle that the Staff of Fate had transformed into. The Sickle of God''s Wrath, which attacked anything that was heretic and evil, clashed with the Scepter of Messiah, which herded the people in this world. The clash of these two artifacts resulted in a huge roar. Gigantic waves were raised in the sea of aether while over at the room of sacred weapons in Sacred City, a crescendo of roars could be heard. As the first two generations of Violence Governance of the Church, the Religious Court of Inquiry and the Silence Governance was finally facing off against each other. In the Avalon black box, countless old fellows that were watching the battle were clearly envious but were also waving their fists in support and cheer. Finish off those b*stards! Boom! The force and impact of the clash were so incredible that the after-effects rippled outwards, hurricanes gathered and eventually transformed into tornadoes. Seawater was churned up into the sky only to splash down again. The grating metallic sounds caused by the clashing of countless water droplets pierced the eardrums of everyone nearby. The Scepter of Messiah and the Sickle of God''s Wrath were both repelled at the same time. Neither had gained the upper hand but the music theory of the Day of God''s Fury had already dissipated and the Staff of Fate had reverted back to its original form. He might seem to be at a disadvantage now but Ye Qingxuan did not seem depressed at all. Instead, he looked in the direction of the Stronghold on Sea and smiled coldly. It did not matter if he was at a disadvantage now, what mattered most was that he must win in the end! The greatest power of the Staff of Fate lied not in its attack but in its resilience. Its resilience was so incredible that it could handle every impact of music theory. Even if it was struck by all of the power of the Scepter of Messiah in a single hit, the worst thing that could happen was that the blade of the Sickle of God''s Wrath would dissipate. The movement could still be played, albeit requiring a little more effort. Ye Qingxuan was not hurt at all, but Hendel probably ended up worse off than him? In the central aether pool on the Stronghold on Sea and amidst the piercing siren, tens of chorale musicians were all pouring healing movements on Rommel''s body, without a care for how much they might cost. Rommel grit his teeth and continued to grip tightly on the Scepter of Messiah, which had now been burnt into a fiery red. The entire right hand and even half of his body had been horribly burnt by the high temperature caused by the clash of music theories. He could only watch as Ye Qingxun led the Royal Fleet away until they achieved a safe distance. They had the perfect opportunity to obliterate the entire Royal Fleet If only I still had some strength to set up the region of "Messiah," or if only I had been a little faster just now, or if He was so upset he was about to go mad. At the same time, Ye Qingxuan was also on the verge of going mad. Going mad with poverty. He might have seemed confident and terrifying just moments earlier but he was only able to do so by spending plenty of money in exchange. Within just three minutes, in the "black box" of the boundary of Avalon, half of the aether reserves of the Fifth Division and the Religious Court of Inquiry were used up! Amidst the pain and anguish in his heart, Ye Qingxuan finally understood deep down that wars were fought with money. No, in fact, they were fought with banknote printing machines! Even for someone as rich as him, he could not afford a battle of such scale either! The only thing was that after that close shave, a question that Ye Qingxuan had been wondering had finally been answered. After the previous confrontation, the thing that pleased Ye Qingxuan the most was the suggestion that he had planted in the Asgardians. Without removing the suggestion, there was no way the thousands of hydrophobic crew members would be able to continue working, much less operating a structure as massive as Stronghold on Sea. But right now, not only could they operate the structure, but they could even maneuver it freely. That could only mean that the suggestion had been removed. Although he had not held too much hope, he was still not pleased by the fact that the music theory that had been passed down the Ye family for so many years could be removed so easily. Therefore, he had been wondering to himself for the past few days about how they had managed to do so. Only now did he realize that the Asgardians had not bothered about the suggestion that he had planted. They only added a new suggestion beside his suggestion: if the crew members were hydrophobic, then they would just have to convince them that they were not on the seas! The problem was solved so easily and bluntly. There might be more difficulties if they were working on typical ships but for Stronghold on Sea, which was such a massive structure that was comparable to a city in terms of scale, almost more than half of the crew members did not even need to work on or above the deck. As long as the windows in the cabins were sealed and they headed straight down to their workplaces without seeing any water, then there would be no fear nor chaos. As for any repercussions, once they returned to Asgard, these repercussions would be resolved gradually and the worst outcome would be schizophrenia. They could always be replaced with new crew members since there were so many people in Asgard. The most important thing was to deal with the issue at hand. Anything else could be discussed after that. Ye Qingxuan was so enraged that he almost burst out laughing. But now that Ye Qingxuan was here, it should not be a problem leading Royal Fleet into a fight with Stronghold on Sea. But if it dragged on, there was always the chance of the ship flipping over. At the end of the day, the battle could only be won with proper tactics. But right now, the Anglo navy was severely lacking in combat experience "Sigh" Ye Qingxuan sighed. He was having a headache. "I wonder how Hua Sheng is doing?" For some unknown reason, he began to worry. Nevertheless, there was no need to worry too much about such things. Ye Qingxuan still had confidence in Hua Sheng''s capabilities. Besides, Hua Sheng knew what he was doing. It was only a matter of time. No matter how bad the situation might turn out to be, surely the discussion would not break down completely? Just as he was still deep in thought, he suddenly felt an evil chill. Over at Stronghold on Sea, countless buildings were rising and falling like the keys and the entire iron city was like a piano. Immense power was being gathered as the sacred light of Messiah began to shine. Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "Have they gone mad?" 720 Why Are You So Strong? "...is this guy crazy?" Even Ye Qingxuan had not expected things to develop so suddenly. Hendel ignored the wounds he had just received and the cracks in his Scepter that had not yet been repaired. He gave up on trying to sort out the chaotic music theory, and instead, he went all in. He had nothing left to lose, and so he gambled with his life. Would he really be so ridiculous? As he stared at the huge beam of light above the sea fortress, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt his teeth hurt. Of course, he knew what it was. In fact, just about everyone in the world knew what it was. This was the heir of the Holy Name''s core power, the "inhuman strength" that every saint possessed. It came from the essence of the Holy Cauldron and conformed to the call of the Holy Bible, giving humanity the power of God. Breaking all barriers, surpassing all norms, without the least bit of reason or logic. Just like Schubert''s all-redeeming Prometheus, Haydn could open up faults of matter in the realm of aether. It was like the world-creating Genesis This was Hendel''s full plan, to force the Staff of Messiah and his own Scepter together to overcome the limitations of the flesh, to force his own aether to transform, that is, to catalyze the Holy Spirit into the Savior. This would eliminate all the suffering of humanity, and eliminate every kind of demon. In the end, everything would stray from the path of orthodoxy, because the age of humanity was coming. Like the refiner''s fire, like the launderer''s soap If this power was implemented in the Physical World, it would be the death of all non-humans, whether they were catastrophes, demons, oddities, artifacts, music spirits He had only this one chance, but it would be enough to repel any catastrophes and open up a pure land for humans to live in. It was just that Ye Qingxuan had never thought that each Hendel only had one chance in their life, and he had used it on him. How much did this guy hate him? How bitter he must be! He had not treated his severe wounds and was willing to be in a wheelchair and breathe through a breathing tube his entire life in order to enter the state of Savior. For the moment it did not matter whether or not this unstable Savior state had any hidden dangers. But what was this guy planning? Did he think that the power to fight against catastrophes would have any effect on him? Wait Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He looked up at the crown of light on his head, and he looked down at the Heaven Ladder on his chest that connected him to the Net of Aether in Avalon. It seemed like, right now, he was indeed a catastrophe. In fact, since he was blessed by both the golden dragon and the Net of Aether, he was a freaking double catastrophe! And at this critical juncture, under pressure from Gungnir, the Kingdom of Heaven and Earth and the Net of Aether were both protecting Avalon and could not help him anymore. In other words, although he was supported by two powerful entities that sounded very powerful, in reality, they were of no use! He had double the power of a catastrophe in vain, for the black box''s aether reserves were already stretched to their limit. Holding onto double the power of a catastrophe meant that Ye Qingxuan had to use twice as much restraint to control twice as much desire to kill, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up instantly. Without even pausing for a breath, he leaped out of his chair. "Retreat! Retreat! The Asgardians are going to risk it all!" Before he had finished speaking, the sea that had been frozen by the light suddenly burst into a roar as loud as an earthquake. The solidified sea shook as a majestic power spread through it. It was the roar of countless aether cannons firing at the same time. Under the full power of the saint, hundreds of large scale aether cannons and small scale alchemy weapons were set off at the same time on the sea fortress. It was like myriad stars had risen from the sea fortress, shaking the whole sky. They drew a sharp arc and then fell towards the Royal Navy. In a flash, the Firebird armor became like thin paper in a rainstorm. Amid the roar, it became riddled with holes. The warships whined as could not avoid their armor being destroyed. As the master, Ye Qingxuan, who had turned into the entire fleet, felt the pain of this tearing. He nearly shortsightedly used the Heaven Ladder to draw power from the black box in order to quickly repair the fleet, but it would be difficult to keep up with the speed of the destruction. Even the projection of the golden dragon was like a candle in the wind. It flickered rapidly as the music theory of the Chapter of the Golden Victory crumbled under the assault of the power of the Messiah. If it wasn''t for the nearly unlimited ability of the Staff of Fate to take damage, the Royal Navy would have been destroyed by the first round of shelling. Ye Qingxuan wasn''t the only one who stunned at that moment. Aboard the sea fortress, the commander was completely dazed. "Your excellency Rommel, what on earth are you doing?" He burst into the control room and looked at the Savior who was immersed in a blazing divine light. "Why did you suddenly mobilize all the aether reserves in the sea fortress? If we squander it all now, how will we attack Avalon?" "Avalon? Do you still not understand?" Rommel looked at him coldly. "He is far more of a threat to this world than the Anglos. He''s even more of a threat than Gaius, the so-called Son of God! As long as we destroy Ye Qingxuan here, neither Avalon nor the Anglos will be able to withstand us! I''ve waited for this moment since the beginning of the war. If we want to completely destroy him, this is the only chance!" The commander stood there in shock. In a flash he understood, and he flew into a rage. "You madmen of the Sacred City! What do you take Asgard for? Tools? Or cannon fodder? You are wasting the deep trust His Highness has placed in you! Make him stop immediately. Immediately!" He gave this last order to the Scepter beside him, but the Scepter had fallen into a deep silence. After a while, he sighed. "I''m sorry..." He reached out and pointed. Without a sound, the commander became a pile of ash. All of his power came from the elements of the Holy Bible. If the Church abandoned him, he would have nothing. Klein, who had witnessed all of this, felt only sorrow. He looked at Rommel coldly. "Will it be my turn next?" "Mr. Klein, please don''t make things difficult for me." Rommel looked at him. "You are a precious Scepter. Your life has so much value, why make an unnecessary sacrifice here?" Klein said nothing. He just gave a sad smile, walked to the corner of the control room where he sat down and closed his eyes, where he continued to say nothing. He gave up. "So, next time let''s please coordinate." Rommel looked at the other silent Scepter. The musician sighed helplessly, opened up his own Scepter and let Rommel take control. Then, the four-bladed flame sword that was immersed in holy light rose up from the sea fortress. With the Staff of Messiah as its core, the flame sword that represented both destruction and protection started revolving, setting off a tornado that came out of the heavens. Numerous rays of light converged on the holy sword until, finally, it struck downwards. The blazing light whipped towards the Physical World, tearing through the sea and sky. Everywhere the sword passed the boundary between the Physical World and the realm of aether was cut, leaving a long, dark gash. Ye Qingxuan''s face fell. He clenched his Scepter. He had to fight with all he had. A mighty, holy voice sounded out of the void, and a solemn melody rang out between heaven and earth. In a flash, the black box''s aether reserves were completely exhausted, countless beams of light burst out of the air. Harsh sounds that split through the air were gathered together into the harsh melody of Dies Irae. Countless flashes of lightning gathered together forming the shape of a human. It raised the Sickle of God''s Wrath and thrust it towards the sky! In a flash, the solidified sea completely disintegrated. A vast amount of seawater fell like a hail of stones with a roar and smashed to pieces. Steam rose up in all directions like dust. The terrible collision had produced a nearly unlimited amount of light and heat. And in that collision that shook the heavens and the earth, no one noticed that a speck of dust fell onto the side of the Mountain of Nomadism. The knight, who was covered from head to toe in grey power armor, took a deep breath and twisted open his empty scabbard. Vibrating aether gushed forth from the scabbard. It was bound in an invisible field, and it traveled back and forth thousands of times, forming an invisible blade. "Assassinate the Grand Inquisitor, Rommel. What a thought!" the knight whispered. He recalled the way Rommel was before the war. "Schwartz, I was wrong." The former saint looked at him. "My arrogance has lead us here. I overlooked the difference between Ye Qingxuan and others in the past. Thinking too much made me fall into the cage of his consciousness. I''m always one step behind him, and I can never surpass him...but you are different, so I am giving you this one chance. Soon I will be like him: I will use myself as a bargaining chip, I will gamble to bring him into the game. But the key to victory will not lie in the game, it will lie in your hands. When he is using his full power to face me, do what you are best at. Kill him, at any cost!" "So you want me to ignore your intention to betray Asgard, abandon my duties, and go to the Mountain of Nomadism to die?" "Are you refusing to do so?" Rommel opened his hands and looked at him. "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you, so please choose: you can go back to being a palace guard at the Golden Palace in Asgard, never seeing the light, and die a humiliating death in the darkness that no one will care about. Or, you can give up your life, kill Ye Qingxuan, and be remembered in the history books." Rommel looked at him, and it was like he was looking through him to the dissatisfaction that he had long held in his heart, to the anger that was concealed by his lofty words. He could see them as clearly as a blazing fire. "You really are a demon, Rommel." Schwartz returned from his revery, and whispered, "But may God redeem my soul from hell." He closed his eyes and pressed his hand to his chest as if to touch the holy emblem beneath his armor. In a flash, the sacred creation that had been kept in the holy display room for hundreds of years was awakened. It turned into a stream of light that engulfed him. He disappeared in a flash. In the next instant, without any sign of his coming, he appeared suddenly on the bridge, facing the body that was separated from its consciousness. He stabbed his aether sword at the utterly defenseless Ye Qingxuan. As if it had been entrusted with life, the sword the thick iron chair just as the alarms sounded, tearing through Ye Qingxuan''s back. A huge hole opened up in his chest and the blazing blade sprang out of it. His blood evaporated and dried up. The sword disappeared. "Your Highness, you..." Beside Ye Qingxuan, the Knight of the Round Table who was guarding him fell into a rage as he was driven to madness by what had happened right in front of him. He dashed forward without heed for his own safety, not even taking the time to pull out his swords. Without worrying about anything else he set his power armor to the highest level, not even caring if it tore his muscles apart as he rushed at Schwartz. But it did not feel like he ran into anything, just a large pile of dust. Schwartz''s steel armor was turned into iron sand which fell in disarray. The body under the armor was turned to dust like it had been thrown into a cremation furnace. Only a dark holy emblem fell to the ground, devoid of light. He was dead. He had died the moment he appeared. Completely going against reality, the holy emblem that had sent him to the bridge was the product of wind tunnel tests hundreds of years ago and had failed at close-range biological transmission. Breaking a human body down into millions of particles and reassembling it at the other end Such a beautiful idea had never been realized. It could only turn human bodies into corpses. At that moment, Schwartz was already dead. All that was left was the pain that he had hidden in the darkness, the sorrow that no one had known, and his unwillingness to be shackled. His obsession seemed to have power, and contrary to reason it had propelled the wreckage of his body at the moment of reassembly and death to thrust forward with his miraculous sword. The situation deteriorated immediately. The crown of light shattered. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and vomited blood. Then the Mountain of Nomadism shrieked as the sound of twisting steel rang forth and blood dripped out of the broken armor into the sea. Alarms rang out one after another, and a countless amount of equipment was destroyed in an instant. Only the weak fluctuations of the heart in the core pool of aether maintained the integrity of the Mountain of Nomadism. In the aftermath of the flame sword''s attack, nearly half the Royal Navy was lost. In severe pain, Ye Qingxuan grabbed the medicine from his pocket and injected it into his neck. It quickly came into effect, clearing his troubled consciousness. The pain also became clearer, and more maddening. "Is it my heart again?" He looked down at the large hole in his chest and saw pieces of his heart. But he felt no fear, just a sort of numbness and helplessness. "You really are nothing but trouble." He shook his head bitterly, pulled the broken heart out of the wound and sighed. It wasn''t just his heart. He felt the music theory in his body going wild, so much so that his once clear and powerful Scepter was difficult to sense, as if it was lost in the fog of the future. This was the fatal blow of the attack! This dead-end that had been made just for him must have been prepared for a long time. If it were not for his double catastrophe blessings, and his having sacrificed the crown of the Chapter of the Golden Victory, forcing it to protect both him and the fleet''s integrity, both he and the Royal Navy would have already been destroyed. "Your Highness, I 10,000 deaths could not relieve my shame!" The guard stared at his wound in shock. Humiliation showed on his faces. He knelt down and apologized to Ye Qingxuan. He pulled out their swords and prepared to kill himself. "Don''t worry about it. I''m not so easy to kill." Gripping his shoulder and the faint Staff of Fate, Ye Qingxuan stood up. He coughed violently and said, "At best this can be considered a serious injury. At most, I''ve been beaten up, nothing more. Look at me, this isn''t your fault." The knight looked up blankly and saw him waving at him. "Let''s go." Ye Qingxuan pushed open the broken hatch and stepped onto the ladder leading to the deck. "Come with me and see the ''friend'' who will stop at nothing, who will pay any cost to take my life." It was as if he had guessed all of Ye Qingxuan''s reactions and arrangements. That guy had guessed right at the most critical juncture and had arranged for that warrior to stab right as he made his decision. He was so used to great storms, but finally, he had been embarrassed by someone who he had never even heard of. Ye Qingxuan smiled bitterly. This was truly embarrassing. On the burning, broken deck, Ye Qingxuan stood beside the broken ship. He stared up at the brilliant light coming from the sea fortress and looked both confused and helpless. "What on earth are you planning?" he whispered. As if he had heard his question, the Savior''s shadow appeared above the sea fortress. In the flames, Rommel looked coldly at the hole in Ye Qingxuan''s chest, and his miserable expression. There was no mercy in his eyes. "By order of the Sancta Sedes, those who stray from the proper path will receive the wrath of God. This is the only justice and righteousness in this world!" Ye Qingxuan was amused. "This is the first time I''ve heard someone speak to me of justice and righteousness." "Do you still think you are the Hand of God?" Rommel sneered indifferently. "Both you and the Inquisition have been abandoned by God. You can''t see your own destiny. You did not follow God''s plan and presumed to use God''s bounty for your own ends. This was the path to your doom! Do you have any more tricks to try and fight your fate? Will you use your non-existent Scepter? Or will you use the power of those heretical catastrophes?" Ye Qingxuan listened quietly to the Silence Governance''s verdict. As he watched, Rommel''s expression grew strange. After a while, he could not help but sigh. It seemed that recognizing your fate was just like having compassion for your enemy. "You know what?" he said casually. He pointed to his head. "Even though I have been called the most gifted musician in centuries, and the reviver of the Inquisition, I''m not even an official musician. I never graduated from the Royal Academy of Music. I never entered the Church, was never baptized, and never became a believer. Therefore, my strength has never come from music theory, nor from God''s blessing. I''ve never created a movement and never wanted to rely on a so-called Scepter. Because that was never what I wanted." He looked at Rommel, and said earnestly, "My friend, you made a mistake from the very beginning. My strength comes from my will, my determination, and from the future that I want to create. I know that I am strong, but this is not because of the power that I got from the Net of Aether. It''s because" He pointed to the hole in his chest and at the slowly rotating crystal cube that had appeared where his heart should be. "I am the Net of Aether." 721 From the New World At the moment, the projection of the Net of Aether crossed thousands of miles and emerged from Ye Qingxuan''s broken chest. Rommel''s pupils instantly dilated. Not only did Ye Qingxuan''s aura not weaken as Rommel had expected, but instead, brilliant flares radiated from it towards the surroundings, like an extinguished sun that was reignited. It was as if his entire person had become a catastrophe! Then only did he realize that from the very beginning, he was mistaken about the most crucial issue. What on earth was the Net of Aether? At the very first moment the Net of Aether appeared, as an existence that could subvert the entire system of musicians, it had become a significant enemy of the Sacred City. The one bearing the brunt of the Sacred City''s retaliation was its master, Ye Qingxuan. As for the reason why the King of Red did not react on the spot, other than him being indebted to Ye Lanzhou and his promise to the latter, what was more important was the immortality of catastrophes. Except for the Son of God of the Orthodox Church of the Caucasus, who annihilated the Eagle Wing Mother, humans had yet to master the power to bypass the real body of a catastrophe and directly eliminate it. Unless the real body of the catastrophe was found, even if he had reacted hastily, his efforts would have been useless, like an attempt to fish out the moon from the water in the well. Therefore, all along, God knew how many were madly searching for the real body of the Net of Aether, using all their technology and hidden means to find its source. It was a pity that the thought that the source of the catastrophe was right in front of them, it had never crossed their minds. The real body of the Net of Aether was hanging high in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, brazenly projecting above the skies of Avalon! Those who confined their thinking to the past ages could not understand what the Net of Aether actually was. It was not a power, nor a living thing; it was a link of countless people resonating and countless Heaven Ladders intersecting. It was the embryo of the future, something beyond the eight phenomena the ninth big phenomenon! In the link of the Net of Aether, every musician who was using the Net of Aether could be seen as part of it! It was especially true for Ye Qingxuan, who had the core authority. As long as the music theory of the Heaven Ladder still existed, and the resonance was still taking place, he could at any time be regarded as the real body of the Net of Aether! As long as Ye Qingxuan was willing, he could kill himself at any time, abandon his identity as a human being, transfer his consciousness to the real body of the Net of Aether, and attain what Arthur dreamed of in the pastbecome an actual catastrophe! It was just that Ye Qingxuan had never thought of doing so. For him, having the future unlocked by the Net of Aether was enough. What he wanted to do was to take the path to the end and completely grasp the incorporeal future in his hands. In the rumble, the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism opened up, and a huge main battery tens of meters high extended from the deck. It aimed at the direction of the Stronghold on Sea and targeted the projection of the Savior. Although it had clearly run out of resources, it began an act of provocation rather over-confidently. However, the main battery was completely different from all previous designs. Not only was it more than ten times larger than the ordinary large-scale main batteries on ships, but there were also altogether nine gun bodies. They were beside each other, and the nine dark guns aimed right at the front. Neither its designer, the patriarch of the Chainsaw Fraternity, nor the Royal Institute of Research responsible for its construction would have known that the main battery named after the pagan god, Hephaestus the fire god, would make its first appearance in such a tragic situation. Before it had even fired once, the Mountain of Nomadism was almost falling apart already. Furthermore, its controller was Ye Qingxuan, who was only surviving barely with the catastrophe. Even the two combined together would not affect Rommel. Saint Hendel could only sublime once in his whole life, descending on earth as a savior. No matter which catastrophe the opponent was, even if it was Hyakume who descended during the period of turbulence in the Sacred City, he would have zero possibility of failure. At the moment, he was temporarily on the same level as the Three Kings! He was the savior, the representative chosen by the Holy Cauldron, the embodiment of power! "Is it what you are relying on?" Rommel lifted the sword of flames indifferently and aimed at Ye Qingxuan from afar. "Wait, there''s more, there''s more!" Ye Qingxuan raised a hand and stopped him. "I haven''t finished speaking yet. What''s the difference between fronting without completely explaining and wearing fancy clothes while traveling at night [1]? Moreover, you aren''t exactly short of time, just consider it a chat!" "Do you think delaying time will be useful?" Rommel sneered. But in this regard, Ye Qingxuan was in no hurry. Instead, he calmly continued talking nonsense, "Actually, after I created the Net of Aether, a new movement suddenly appeared in my scepter, as if it should have been there all along. "All the music theory and methods of use are clearly stated. However, its creator is not me, but a man named Antonn Dvo?k from centuries later. Very strange, right? "I think that it is probably the advance payment for the path of realizing a legend. If history can develop according to the path I have envisaged, then centuries later, new results and miracles will be born... "Look, how wonderful. In countless possible futures, there must surely be countless brilliant fruits of wisdom and achievements? "Such is the most arrogant belief of the Sacred City. You all think that you can maintain the past for an eternity, but compared to the world and its vast future, be it humans or catastrophes, everything is as small and insignificant as a speck of dust. "Not even worth mentioning." Ignoring Rommel''s scornful look, Ye Qingxuan''s gaze became cold. "It seems that only after a personal experience will you understand how small and insignificant you are." In his chest, the projection of the Net of Aether slowly rotated, and the projection of the Land of Dreams emerged from the Mountain of Nomadism. In the majesty and music theory of the Savior, the incorporeal scepter was turbulent and became like a moon in the well or a flower in the water, more and more fleeting. However, as Ye Qingxuan raised his palm slightly, in the fleeting projection, a fiery starlight emerged, breaking through the deep darkness of the night sky. It was a musical movement! The movement operated in the projection of the Land of Dreams, emitting a vast brilliance. As if the sky was the drum that was being beaten, the light of the stars pulsed, beating along with the rhythm. Then, the second brilliance rose from the darkness, it was the second star, the second movement The stars echoed each other and resonated, and the operation of the universe began. At the moment, Rommel''s expression finally changed. In the projection of the Land of Dreams, the vast and huge void of the universe, starlight emerged one after another from the darkness, the third, the fourth, the fifth The melody that was fleeting and faraway gradually became grand, countless stars leaped out of the darkness, playing the prelude that sang praises of the new world. Hundreds, thousands, more than ten thousand In the end, the stars all over the sky revolved, and the melodies of the stars were united as one, turning into a terrifying symphony in which its grandness transcended human imagination. Tens of thousands of stars shone brightly in the night sky. The countless glows that seemed like stars shining bright were countless movements being gathered together! It was a terrifying number that exceeded the limits of human imagination; a horrifying force that could power the operation of the universe after myriads of tiny stars gathered together! How many musicians were needed to mobilize the sea of aether at the same time to form something of such a terrifying scale? How brilliant must the future be to evolve into the mighty starry sky? At the moment, the future that was originally fleeting and distant, the blueprint that had only existed in Ye Qingxuan''s vision, was finally instantiated on the present world via the projection of the Land of Dreams! At the moment, in the distant Avalon, beneath the cold skies that spilled countless flashes of lighting down, in the shining brilliance of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, countless mass-produced musicians maintaining the Avalon enchantment with all their might all shook. At the moment, they heard the brilliant melody from afar. Then, above the skies, the reflection of the Net of Aether shone brightly. Numerous strands of Heaven Ladder music theory emerged from the huge polygon. In an instant, after crossing thousands of miles, under the guidance of Ye Qingxuan, they connected to the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism. Then, it was as if the floodgate of the sea of light was opened, the fiery tide of aether surged on the Heaven Ladder, forming a torrent visible to the naked eye. In a flash, it traversed thousands of miles, whistling. At the moment, hundreds of large-scale instruments of harmonious melody exploded with a bang under the pressure that exceeded their limit by more than ten times. Then, on the dozens of islands surrounding Avalon, the spare instruments of harmonious melody were all launched, sharing the pressure distributed by the Net of Aether. Amid the piercing alarms, one after another large-scale instruments of harmonious melody were continuously connected to the Net of Aether, and they were soon scrapped one batch after another. The war equipment considered incredibly precious in the past could only be used as consumables at the moment, desperately overloading to share the terrifying power brought about by the Net of Aether. Responding to Ye Qingxuan''s scepter, the brilliance of countless stars lit up in the huge crystal polygon. It was innumerable musical movements. Countless strands of music theory intertwined together, endlessly extracting the power of the Net of Aether. However, despite clearly losing such a huge amount of aether reserve, above Avalon, the enchantment that was supported by tens of thousands of mass-produced musicians did not tremble at all, and it was still firmly withstanding the aftermath of Gungnir, not in the slightest bit affected. As the huge power was withdrawn, the Net of Aether actually became more and more agile, as if it had been freed of a huge burden, and the efficiency more than doubled. In addition to supplying the defenses of all the mass-produced musicians, the remaining carrying capacity had even completely taken over the control and regulation of the National Defense Front. It was done combing through the intricate and complicated leylines in an instant, tightening the security of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth by several times, until no loopholes were present at all. At the moment, with the guidance of the Heaven Ladder, countless musical movements that had transformed into the brilliance of stars crossed thousands of miles and cast themselves into the pool of aether of the Mountain of Nomadism, showering the entire huge battleship in the flares of the stars, burning fiercely! At the moment, the countless stars followed the seven systems of the musicians, and, under the control of the Land of Dreams, they were divided into seven constellations. In the projection of the scepter, they slowly rotated around the Mountain of Nomadism. The sea of stars was brilliant. In the endless movement, uncountable strands of music theory were born and destroyed, bringing about an unparalleled gravitational pull. The huge weight tore the iron law of the physical world apart, causing the ocean to cave in. A massive amount of seawater was pushed outwards in all directions, revealing the dry ocean floor. The ocean floor rumbled and broke, with cracks all over. The barrier of the realm of aether was crushed, and the sky was dyed with the miraculous brilliance, making it appear bizarre and motley. Even the sea of aether was temporarily evaporated and extracted, blending into the sky Since the beginning of mankind, such a situation and scene had never occurred. How many musicians must have painstakingly put in all this effort to gather such a massive amount of musical movements, and where must the future lead to for such a magnificent starry sky to be born! As Ye Qingxuan had said, compared to the world and the vast future, be it catastrophes or human beings, or even the Savior who had descended, all of them were as small and insignificant as dust particles. Such was the power he gained from his scepter, the movement that foretold the resplendent future. Like the Net of Aether, it couldn''t be used for killing, nor could it be used for defense. Moreover, it could only be effective when used together with the Net of Aether. It was an advanced music theory created specifically for the Net of Aether. Its only use was to let people play musical movements in advance and store them in the Net of Aether, to be accessed anytime in the next 18 hours as necessary. After the deadline was exceeded, the movement could no longer be stored and would dissipate completely. It was only a minor change compared to the huge overall situation. But while the Net of Aether was a revolution targeting musicians, it was the revolution regarding the Net of Aether carried out by future musicians. The change alone made it such that the Net of Aether no longer needed to play musical movements in real time. Instead, by relying on the bearing capability of itself and the instruments of harmonious melody, it could turn a flood into long-lasting streams of water, improving the efficiency by more than six times. It was just like no longer limiting transactions to cash, but instead, money could be deposited in banks and be withdrawn when necessary. Although the music theory did not support functions like sharing and transferring, as the owner of the Net of Aether, as long as he could make up for the deficit later in time, if Ye Qingxuan was to temporarily use the public funds for investment purposes, surely no one would report him? Even if the deficit was too big for him to pay it back, he could also rob Peter to pay Paul! Furthermore, the power that Ye Qingxuan was using at the moment was in itself a "fund" reserved for him after mobilizing all the mass-produced musicians to "donate." Even if he could not pay it back, there would be no risk at all. "Alright, since the explanation is complete, I will stop blabbering." Ye Qingxuan smiled and bid goodbye to Rommel, "It is the power that I have initially prepared as a precaution in case the Three Kings decide to have their fingers in the pie. The movements played by 37,000 musicians who had repeatedly exhausted all their energy in six hours. There''s a total of 216,220 movements, enjoy! "In the end, please remember the name of the movement," Ye Qingxuan raised his palm and proclaimed to Rommel, Asgard, and the old era, "from the New World!" At the moment, a majestic symphony from the future erupted from the movement from the New World, in the current era. The horrifying flares erupted from the Mountain of Nomadism. Beside Ye Qingxuan, the huge main batteryHephaestus, the fire godsuddenly started rotating, and the endless stars in the scepter projection spewed out from the madly rotating barrel. More than 210,000 pieces of war movements, more than 210,000 burning stars collided with each other, turned into a stream of light that tore everything apart, sweeping towards the Stronghold on Sea! The Savior was swallowed by the light. At the moment, a roar rose from the city of steel. 16 fiery wings of brilliance spread out from the projection of the Savior. In the realm of aether, sixteen distinct upper-class elements rose, like scorching suns. They constantly extracted power from the high-level dimensions, supplying it to the sword of flames. In the central control room, the scepter musician suddenly spit out a mouthful of blood, and his organs all burned. His elements His four-edged sword of flames was madly evolving at the moment, and even he himself couldn''t control it. In the hands of the Savior, the all-powerful sword of flames rotated wildly, devouring the torrent from the realm of aether. 16 elements were attached to it, and an endless holy glow burst forth. Against the mighty stars sweeping towards them, the sword of flames struck with a bang! It was a war between the stars and the scorching sun. It was the collision between the old era and the new world. The fight between the Silence Governance and the Religious Court of Inquiry, the Church and the Protestant, the Sacred City and Avalon, the Holy Cauldron and the Net of Aether, at the moment, in the battle, entered a fervorous stage! The Mountain of Nomadism roared, and the nine main cannons of Hephaestus spun wildly, already burned red in the torrent of aether beyond imagination. The heavens and the earth shook. Like the clash between the Holy Cauldron and Hyakume in the Sacred City, it shattered the membrane between reality and illusion, broke the barrier between the physical world and the realm of aether, and distorted the iron law, making the higher-level dimensions and the dimensions of reality overlap. Above the entire sea region, countless unusual phenomena of the grotesque and gaudy emerged continuously. In the rumble, above the Hephaestus, steam rose. It was boiling and vaporized black gold! As the core of the pool of aether, the black gold column that was higher than a person could no longer bear the extreme load after just a few moments and completely evaporated. But as it vaporized, the pool was refilled with a new spare column of black gold. 210,000 pieces of movements turned into a torrent, and the stars swept across the sky. Each piece of movement was only of the level of formal musicians, and they could not be compared to the Savior''s existence at all. But when such a horrifying number of movements was gathered together, a qualitative change that could not be ignored took place. It was like a deathly match between a giant and the ocean. The giant must either cut the tide open or drown in endless movements! In the whole world, other than the King of Blue who was able to deprive others of power and set up forbidden zones at any time, even the King of Red must be evasive when facing the tsunami and flood of the Net of Aether. Only the legendary movement of utmost destruction in the hands of the King of RedDestinycould be compared to it in terms of destructiveness! In the short span of one minute, the torrent formed by 210,000 pieces of movement had been used up. As the cost, Hephaestus had been completely consumed under the horrifying torrent. Seven of the nine main guns had exploded and fallen apart. The remaining two were also covered in cracks and could no longer be used. A big hole even appeared on the front half of the Mountain of Nomadism. On the deck, Ye Qingxuan coldly gazed at the direction of the Stronghold on Sea. He had already used his trump card and all his strength. After mobilizing all the musicians within the territory of Anglo and reaching the limit of the Net of Aether, if he still couldn''t destroy Hendel and the Stronghold on Sea, he might as well clean his neck up and await death. Meanwhile, when the fiery stream of light was extinguished and the horrifying unusual phenomena subsided, what was revealed was a tragic ruin. [1] The literal translation of a Chinese proverb that means being rich but not showing it off. 722 Truce? Under the attack of 240,000 streams of movements, the armor of Stronghold on Sea was completely broken instantly. The multitude of streams collapsed countless structures, burning and evaporating them. After the explosion of a number of aether ponds, the turbulence almost broke up the Stronghold on Sea, creating massive tears such that that sea water could gush in. The siren sounded and the emergency maintenance system was triggered, but there was nothing much it could do to repair the damage. All it could do was to barely ensure that the structure was still intact. They had to give up on a number of subdivisions and close the gates in order to keep out the seawater. At this moment, it was like a slanted plate. The front was slanted upwards to the sky while the rear had already sunk into the sea. The armor of the side above the sea had already been completely burnt, as the red melted metal of the broken armor dripped into the sea. Right now, the Stronghold on Sea looked nowhere near like the terror and grandeur that it used to represent in the past. Instead, it looked like a pile of scrap metal. In the center of the city, Savior was full of cracks. 16 pairs of wings were completely broken and burnt to ashes, leaving behind a pile of devastating remains. Savior seemed to have fallen into hell as its entire body was charred and its face was torn. It had lost both its arms and half of its body. It was dissipating rapidly. Savior was dying A crisp and clear voice could be heard in the central control room. The Scepter of Messiah had fallen onto the ground and was rolling about in silence until it eventually stopped. Rommel stared quietly at the Mountain of Nomadism in the projection. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and his face. After a long time, he staggered backward and sat down on his seat, as if he was completely drained. There was hoarse laughter in the silence. "I have lost." He looked at both of his broken hands and laughed at his own arrogance. He closed his eyes. "A complete failure." Boom, boom, boom The breaking of rocks could be heard from within his body. He leaned against the chair. The crack began from below his uniform and extended all the way upwards to his face. It was like a wax figure that had cracked. Elemental crack. Within the flesh and blood underneath the crack and with the dissipation of the scepter, the flames of the broken music theory began to burn and spread until he was completely engulfed in flames. How should I categorize this loss of mine? One careless move that resulted in this devastating loss? That''s being too kind to myself. From the very beginning, he never treated me as an opponent. He was never in control of the battle. Ye Qingxuan merely nudged one of his opponent''s pawn out of the chessboard. He had spent so much effort trying to predict what his opponent was thinking but from the very beginning, both of them were never on the same level. All his efforts were spent on chasing a reflection in the water and when that reflection was broken, he finally realized that his enemy was above and beyond the vault in heaven and had always been untouchable. Oh God, why do you allow such pain and suffering in this world? Why have you allowed such a monster to exist? The flames completely devoured him. In complete silence, the frail young man turned into dust. A weak beam of light shot out of the dust and landed on the Scepter of Messiah. The legacy of the saint returned back into the artifact. Klein watched how everything unfolded and finally sighed quietly. He picked up the Scepter of Messiah and turned back to look at the scepter musician, whose music theory had also collapsed. "He is dead now. What about you?" There was a sullen look on the scepter musician''s face as he laughed bitterly. "I have betrayed Asgard only to end up in a loss like this. What right do I have to continue living? Klein, you still owe me a favor. I''m going to leave my student to you now." Klein nodded. The scepter musician closed his eyes and dissipated within the flames as he eventually turned into ashes like Rommel. The broken scepter congregated into a red key within the ashes. This would be the last thing he would leave behind with whatever power he had left. It would be a little compensation for his betrayal. In the silence, Klein stared at the ashes of his old friend and could not help but sigh in despair. He kept the ashes of his old friend into a box and carefully kept the Scepter of Messiah and red key before walking towards the bridge. The war was not over yet. When the projection of Savior completely dissipated and the music theory of Messiah vanished, Ye Qingxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. He only felt a little giddy. If not for the guard beside him, who stepped forward to hold onto him, he probably would already have fainted on the ground. He was completely drained. To him or to the net of aether, 240,000 streams of movements were still an extremely dangerous power. Even though all he did was a little nudging and guiding in the process, it still drained all of his energy. If he had not relied on Hephaestus and had chosen to unleash it himself, Ye Qingxuan would probably have been evaporated in the very first instant by the high temperature that could rival an aether caldron. "Inspect the entire fleet and report on the damages," Ye Qingxuan gave the command, and Egor quickly assigned the remaining musicians and crew members to emergency reparation tasks. If the damages were not repaired in time, it was only a matter of time before the Mountain of Nomadism would explode It was as if the war had suddenly frozen in time. Both sides were so badly damaged that they had simultaneously decided that their top priority was to carry out reparation works to ensure their survival. They seemed to dread Ye Qingxuan''s gaze. Very soon, an eye slowly rose from the Stronghold on Sea. The left eye of God looked at the Mountain of Nomadism and a single beam of light shot out and landed in front of Ye Qingxuan. It formed the projection of a scepter musician. Klein. "This is the first time we have met each other, Chief Inquisitor." The revelation musician nodded at Ye Qingxuan. "I am now the highest-ranked commander of the Stronghold on Sea. I am here to submit a proposal of a truce for the time being. Both parties have paid a heavy price for this war. Shall we pause for now?" With that, a yellow flag, that signified truce, slowly rose from the Stronghold on Sea. Ye Qingxuan merely frowned. "The design of the flag is pretty good and the material is decent too. But the color seems to be wrong. Don''t you think the flag should be white instead?" White flag. Klein frowned. "You are going overboard with this joke." Ye Qingxuan chuckled. "And you are not going overboard? Get this clear, you are the invaders, you are the ones who chose to start this war, and you are also the ones who are determined to destroy us. You started the war because you felt like it and now you want to end it because you felt like it. Do Asgardians think that wars are just games?" Klein was fearless when faced with Ye Qingxuan''s cold expression. "This is the best suggestion so far. It is the same to you and to us. Your Highness, both sides are already badly damaged. Do you really wish to fight to the death?" "If you don''t wish to fight anymore, please feel free to surrender." Ye Qingxuan opened his hands. "I am also making a proposal that will best serve both sides. Your Stronghold on Sea had added another half of a fleet but was still defeated by my ten ships. And now you are asking for a truce? I don''t know how you can have the cheek to do so." Klein seemed to be stung by Ye Qingxuan''s provocation. His eyes turned cold and his expression became solemn. "Fine, we will open the gate of Stronghold on Sea now. We invite the Chief Inquisitor to come over and accept our surrender." Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Do you think I''m that stupid? You are asking me to leave my position of advantage and head over to your Stronghold only to be trapped by youno, to fight behind closed doorsthat''s not right either. In any case, I must be fool to believe your nonsense. "How sincere. Why do you choose to withdraw into your shell? You can very well surrender in the open." Klein decided to continue that conversation with Ye Qingxuan any longer and went straight to the point, "Looks like you are still keen to continue this war?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled once again. "Are you suggesting that Stronghold on Sea still has the ability to fight some more?" "Are you saying that the Anglo fleet has the ability to do the same?" Klein looked down coldly at the Royal Fleet of the first generation that was now filled with holes and damages. Then, he took another look at the half-broken Mountain of Nomadism. "As a revelation musician, let me predict the future for you. If we continue with our war, in ten minutes, our remaining patrolling fleet will be completely destroyed by you. 15 minutes later, our back-up engine and weapon system will be initiated and destroy your first-generation Royal Fleet. We still have 700 official musicians, 19 back-up warships, and there is a 15 percent chance that the Mountain of Nomadism may be able to sink Stronghold on Sea. But before that happens, I will definitely ignite the center aether pool of the Stronghold to drag you down with us" "Assuming that you are completely honest with what you have just said, what gives you the confidence that you can keep me behind?" There was no way Ye Qingxuan would be scared off by the nonsense that Klein had just spouted. After all, Ye Qingxuan''s background was also the School of Revelation. Besides, if he was determined to leave, who could stop him? If he analyzed the costs and benefits carefully, sacrificing what remained of the Royal Fleet in exchange for destroying Stronghold on Sea would be more than worthwhile. If Stronghold on Sea survived this ordeal, the Asgardians'' capabilities in construction and craftsmanship would almost ensure that Stronghold on Sea would be completely revamped and would reappear on Anglo seas in two years'' time. Right now, Stronghold on Sea was an old ship from 90 years ago, and some of its facilities were already lagging by one generation. The Asgardians probably could not wait to take this opportunity to give it a total revamp too. How could Ye Qingxuan possibly let them have their way? Klein only smiled at Ye Qingxuan''s words. He turned back and looked in the direction of the Stronghold on Sea. Shortly after, tens of projections rose amidst the hymns. Ye Qingxuan''s face turned gloomy. What was that saying? Even a broken ship contains three pounds of nails. Asgard may seem down and out but they still have some resources left. With the activation of the alchemy formation, Ye Qingxuan could clearly feel the aura of tens of sacred weapons. Within a few minutes, those sacred weapons that had either come from Asgard or with Rommel were all in their positions, and they all exuded terrifying aura. Perhaps not all of them could be activated to their full potential, but if they were desperate enough, they might decide to follow the Dark Musicians and sacrifice all the crew members to carry out a large-scale blood sacrifice. By then, they would easily be able to force the Royal Fleet and Mountain of Nomadism behind. And right now, Ye Qingxuan was already badly injured, so if he was not careful, he could very easily make a fatal mistake. This old fellow was specialized in the School of Revelation. Although he might not be very powerful, the level that he was at right now meant that he would be proficient in controlling the situation and opportunity. He had been forced into a corner by Ye Qingxuan. If Ye Qingxuan did not relent, he would have no qualms about both of them dying together. Even if Ye Qingxuan could not be killed, it would be worthwhile for him to suffer for one to two years too. Based on the critical condition that Anglo was in right now, if Ye Qingxuan became useless for one to two years, everything would be too late. Ye Qingxuan remained silent and his expression was solemn. He was so upset that he might just burst out laughing. All this while, he had always played the role of the one who was desperate and had nothing to lose, while those who were in more prestigious positions would not know what to do with him. But right now, he was the one with the upper hand and he had no idea what to do with someone else who had nothing to lose. Indeed, karma was real. Could it be that his only choice was to give up this perfect opportunity and allow Stronghold on Sea to leave just like this? He kept quiet and Klein did not hurry him either. He did not care if Ye Qingxuan was trying to buy time or not. In any case, that would be more advantageous to him anyway. Once Stronghold on Sea regained its basic combat abilities, it would be able to counter-attack. How he wished that Ye Qingxuan would take a longer time to consider his options. The longer, the better. Both of them were quiet and the silence was only broken by the chirping of a white bird that had landed on the side of the ship. Finally, Ye Qingxuan exhaled deeply and raised his head. "I''m sorry." He looked at Klein and replied calmly, "I refuse." "" Klein remained silent for a moment. He tried to keep his cool and merely nodded. "If that''s the case, then you have made a very disappointing decision. Very soon, you will find out what a grave mistake you have just made." "No, I will not." Ye Qingxuan laughed as if without a care in this world. He searched in his pockets and found half a packet of tobacco rolls, but after fiddling with it for some time, he failed to light it up. He looked at Klein helplessly. "Excuse me, can I borrow some fire?" Without any expression on his face, Klein snapped his fingers, and the eye of God on Stronghold on Sea looked in the direction of Ye Qingxuan. It focused its gaze and from a distance of several miles, it lit up Ye Qingxuan''s tobacco roll. It could light up the tobacco roll so naturally, it was fully capable of taking away Ye Qingxuan''s life as well. "Before I leave, may I ask, where did this strange confidence of yours come from?" Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and casually exhaled a puff of smoke. He only shrugged his shoulders and did not say a word. Someone else appeared behind Klein''s projection replied on Ye Qingxuan''s behalf, "I think, it''s because he has reinforcements?" In that instant, Klein turned around in shock. He saw the man on the wheelchair, as well as his eyes. They were a combination of black and white. The two colors seemed to be in a constant struggle with each other and gradually transformed into the color of grey metal. Roars could be heard a distance away. It was the end of dawn and the first ray of sunlight bounced off the surface of the sea to light up the horizon, which was a contrast against a black and powerful silhouette. It was a ship. A black warship! "Wait a minute, this is" On the bridge of Mountain of Nomadism, Egor jumped up from his seat and could barely believe his eyes. "This is the Queen''s Revenge! Damned it, it''s the Fleet of No Return! What is the Fleet of No Return of Illusion Islands doing here!" All it took was one look for him to recognize the structure of the warship. He was too familiar with it! Any pirate that had been about Illusion Islands would have heard of this warship! The Queen''s Revenge! The legendary warship and a notorious ghost ship. After gathering the resentment of countless sunken ships, the School of Magic of the Islands created this legendary warship which was also the core of the Fleet of No Return! More than half of the pirates of Illusion Islands were trained in this fleet! A majestic melody accompanied the roars of the cannon attacks. Countless deadwood floated up from the depths of the sea and amidst the voices of countless souls, they were pieced together to take the shape of a torn and tattered warship that followed behind Queen''s Revenge. The voices continued to sing and summon even the ships that had been sunk during the battle between the Asgardian fleet and Anglo fleet. They began to float up from the depths of the sea and piece together. Infinite amounts of seaweed were draped all over them, painting an eerie and creepy image of phantom warships! This was the true nature of the Fleet of No Return of Illusion Islands! Other than the Queen''s Revenge, which possessed an actual physical structure, the other warships were mostly created from movements. Just like the scepter that was created out of legends, this was the "moving illusional realm" that was created from the combined powers of the ghost ships at sea and the hundred years of history of the School of Magic! This was the domain of turning illusions to reality. Those warships were attracted by the illusory spells to become a part of the movement. As long as the flagship survived, the other warships could be revived countless times. If not for this fleet, there was no way the migrating School of Magic would have been able to resist the forces of so many countries and take over the Islands? The reason why this fleet was named the Fleet of No Return was not that they were all determined to die a heroic death, but because when this fleet appeared in the stormy nights and accompanied by the voice of musician Siren, all their enemies would never return back to their homes. As an ex-pirate who had already put those days behind him, Egor knew the power of the Fleet of No Return inside out. At this moment, when he saw his old friends back on the battlefield, he was momentarily taken aback. But soon after, on the other side of the sea, a grand and powerful melody could be heard. Under the protection of the Chapter of the Golden Victory and the illusion of the phoenix, the Royal Fleet brought gigantic waves after waves as it charged over. It was as if it had discussed with the Fleet of No Return and agreed to surround the Stronghold on Sea at this point When he saw the Royal Fleet appear, Klein''s face turned pale. There could only be two possibilities when the Royal Fleet, which was supposed to delay the Third Formation, had appeared here with its entire crew members. The first possibility was that they had allowed the Third Formation to carry on with their destruction, while the second possibility was that Asgard''s Third Formation had been completely obliterated by them! On top of that, it appeared along with the Fleet of No Return. He did not dare to imagine what might have happened. "By the way, not only was the Third Formation destroyed, but we also worked together with the Illusion Islands to destroy the First Formation." Hua Sheng elaborated, "In other words, all of your forces have been destroyed, except you." Ye Qingxuan whistled as he slowly admired the expression on Klein''s face. He removed the tobacco roll from his mouth and flicked the ashes away, "In that case, let me propose to you: is it time to consider changing the color of the flag?" This time around, it was Klein''s turn to remain silent. After a long time, he sighed. "There are some things that I cannot leave behind here." Ye Qingxuan pondered for a moment and nodded. "I will give you a ship that can contain 30 people. Bring whatever you want back to Asgard, but that does not include the legacy of ''Hendel.'' Also, you must remain and be our prisoner." After a moment of silence, Klein nodded weakly. "In that case, on behalf of the Asgard naval force, I surrender to Anglo. We will not resist and we hope to be treated kindly as prisoners" After 15 minutes, the white flag rose from the Stronghold on Sea. After another five minutes, Klein brought the Scepter of Messiah onto the Mountain of Nomadism and surrendered to Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan smiled as he took over the Scepter of Messiah. Very well. From now on, he would be formidable 723 Discussion After a short rest, he returned to the bridge that had undergone emergency repairs, where he saw the Master of the Illusion Islands and the leaders of various schools. Long ago they had enslaved the natives of the islands and established their own musician regime. Nowadays they seemed more like the king and his nobles. Ye Qingxuan was dazzled by what he saw. They were so rich. Hundreds of years of looting, plus the abundant resources and minerals on the islands, had made it so that not one thing that these Scepters and Masters had on them was ordinary. Any randomly chosen ring of theirs would be valuable enough to be the sacred treasure of a small town school. As he was looking at them, they were looking at him and mentally wiping away their cold sweat. In fact, those from the Illusion Islands had arrived before he had. Although they had persuaded by Watson, they had still thought to wait for the highest bid. Originally they had wanted to come in as reinforcements just as Ye Qingxuan ram out of ammunition and provisions. They had never thought that in the end they would be terrified by the air that Ye Qingxuan put on. It was really too d*mn preposterous! Every simultaneously put themselves in the shoes of those on the sea fortress. If their places were swapped, and it had been them facing the Mountain of Nomadism, then It was only natural that they would feel a chill. This time they had really been more clever than was good for themselves. They had originally wanted to provide timely aid, but it had not turned out well, and they had almost ruined everything. Fortunately, they could still gild the lily. It was too dangerous. Too dangerous. Facing the young man before them who smiled without saying anything, they were filled with both awe and dread. If they still wanted to form an alliance and get a large amount of money from Ye Qingxuan, then now they would have to start worrying about being swallowed up by their exceedingly powerful ally. After staring at each other for a while, the taciturn Master broke the silence. She bowed her head towards Ye Qingxuan. "Your Excellency the Grand Inquisitor, answering your summons are Illusion Mire, Voodoo Hollow, Indefinite Earth. All told, the schools of the 16 Illusion Islands are yours to command from this day forth." Ye Qingxuan smiled and slowly took a sip from his teacup. "Since Watson represents the alliance between me and the Islands, there''s no need to be so formal. Your Islands saved me from a tricky spot. If it hadn''t been for the Fleet of No Return, we would not have been able to achieve such a rich victory. But how am I to repay you for your aid?" he asked. The Master was silent for a moment, then asked suddenly, "If I''m not mistaken, you don''t know what it was that Watson promised us?" Ye Qingxuan''s expression did not change as he calmly answered, "Please rest assured, I have given him the right to use all of my resources. If he promised something, that means I promised it." Although his face was calm, secretly Ye Qingxuan''s non-existent heart was beating wildly. He panicked. Even though he could rest assured by the results of Watson''s work, he could never rest easy about the way he achieved those results. This was because Watson was just like Shi Dong. As long as you didn''t limit the way they could go about their business, they could handle anything for you, as long as you could bear the side-effects and consequences of their methods Ever since Watson had returned, he had no time to talk to him alone and had no way of knowing what kind of contract he had signed. This was a two-way operation. As early as when he had begun to talk to the representatives from the Illusion Islands, a line of Heaven Ladder had already extended from the floor beneath his feet to Watson''s wheelchair. The two of them took this opportunity to communicate secretly. "Hey! How did you deal with them?" "You''re asking me now?" Watson laughed coldly. "I agitated their internal disputes, poisoned someone who opposed working with you, then found someone to kill someone else who wanted to talk with them so they could only talk to me. Although a few minor incidents took place, overall it went smoothly. And in addition to the terms we originally negotiated, I also promised them the Anglo Kingdom''s customs duties and tariffs for five years." "Schrk!" Ye Qingxuan''s expression did not change, but he gasped inwardly and he almost crushed the teacup that he was holding. Customs duties? Tariffs? Five years? Buddy, you''re crazy! As a maritime trading nation, more than 70 percent of the Anglo Kingdom''s yearly tax revenue came from tariffs. Now while they were at war, the Royal Family had had to tighten their belts to maintain a minimum level of trade, not even daring to raise taxes. All so that you could give their tariffs away with a casual sentence! Do you want to make the kingdom sell all it has to make ends meet and have to beg for food? "Watson, are you trying to sell out your country?" "Haha. You''re the one who sold it. Your seal is on the stamp." Ye Qingxuan swore at him. If Ye Qingxuan did not intimately know Watson''s character, he would have already stood up, drawn his sword, and killed him on behalf of the Fifth Division, the Inquisition, and the Royal Family. Watson did not care in the least about Ye Qingxuan''s worries. "What are you worried about? Just fool them for now, and then after that leave it to me," he said calmly. "If the Illusion Islands aren''t completely under your control after three years, I''ll write ''Cult Leader of Hyakume'' on my forehead." "You''re the worst!" "Haha, this is called ''an excellent family education creates a noble spirit.''" Watson sipped his tea lightly and made an elegant gesture. But Ye Qingxuan had already seen through his facade and seen the bad water screaming and bubbling in his chest. He had never had any doubts about Watson''s ability to do evil. In a few short years, he had gone from being a Dark Musician to the leader of the cult of Hyakume, and had later sparred magically in various fields with the previous shaman. With a group of corrupt, aristocratic pigs as teammates, he had been able to cut out a good situation for himself. After becoming the new shaman, he had turned to underground industries of the Anglo Kingdom into a formidable force, becoming known as the savior of the desperate. Not long ago, he himself had given him a lot of money and thrown him out the door, and in such a short time he had managed to brew up a storm in the upper echelons of the Illusion Islands When he thought of what Watson could do with the support of the Fifth Division and the Inquisition, Ye Qingxuan''s head hurt. Originally, the terms of the alliance that Ye Qingxuan had left to Watson were that the Illusion Islands would act as mercenaries in the Anglos war, and their compensation would be mutual cooperation between both sides, the transfer of industrial technology, the two sides cooperating to control the sea lanes in the future. But now it seemed there had been a directional error all along. Fortunately, it was not too late for him to correct it. In any case, he hoped to reach a state of complete cooperation with the Illusion Islands instead of dying due to their alliance. Therefore, how the two sides would consider their relationship, how to collect tariffs, and how to use something else as a means of compensation... Just thinking about this made Ye Qingxuan''s head hurt. But what was most unexpected was that the Master who looked like a little old noblewoman said after a moment of silence, "We are willing to give up our rights to Anglo tariffs, as long as Your Excellency is willing to give the schools on the Illusion Islands the same treatment as those in the Anglo Kingdom." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He put down his teacup and his expression became serious. "You want a mid-level privilege in the Net of Aether?" The privileges in the Net of Aether were divided up by Ye Qingxuan. Among them, the supreme authority to manage them all lay in his own hands. He had started to give the Inquisition and the Royal Institute of Research high-level privileges for distribution and the operation of various sectors. Later, he had used these terms to draw the Chainsaw Fraternity into deep cooperation. Mid-level privileges were given to schools that had first sought refuge with him. He used this opportunity to use them as a model. After this, he had put a stop to giving out mid-level privileges, and most of the ones given out after that were lower level. With mid-level privileges, they were free to upload and download the music of each school, and that was only a small part of it. The greater power came from the fact that they could freely build content on the Net of Aether. Borrowing from the large scale markets set up by the Anglos, they could rent a storefront to sell their own things, and what was more, everything that would be involved and everything that would be influenced went much deeper than what could be predicted at the moment. The thought of giving this to the Illusion Islands worried Ye Qingxuan. If it had been to cooperate with an ordinary school there would not have been a problem, but the Illusion Islands made him uneasy. In the past, due to their differences with the Church, they had abandoned their base and left. After taking the lead in occupying the islands, the musicians of the Illusion Islands had not followed the restrictions imposed by the Sacred City like other schools but instead had relied on dominating the local natives and establishing their own political power. A dozen or so schools of magic managed the Islands, and from among them, a Master was elected to lead them. For centuries their networks had expanded to almost the entire world, and their shadow existed in all underground industries. They had even opened a few branches of assassin organizations in the Anglo Kingdom. Incidentally, Watson''s evaluation of them was this: the natives were very useful after being brainwashed. This method is worth studying. Just a glance at the history of Islands would tell you how these people operated. To put it bluntly, anything went. As long as it was good for them, they would have no scruples, even if it meant cooperating with the Abyss. It could be said that the Illusion Islands'' reputation was so bad that half of what was said about them were rumors that they had spread themselves. Now they wanted to exchange five years of tariffs for only one mid-level privilege. Obviously, there was more to this. Ye Qingxuan started to worry that he had invited a wolf into his house. After thinking for a while, Ye Qingxuan did not give them an answer on the spot. "Let me consider it." The Master did not reply to Ye Qingxuan''s answer, but looked back at the leaders of the various schools behind her. Of the 15 musicians, four were Scepters, and the others were Masters who wore inherited items that could temporarily grant them the combat abilities of a Scepter. Yet the Master''s position and majesty would clearly overrule the objections of the other musicians. The long-standing tacit agreement between them made them understand her meaning. A few of them looked at each other and reported huge numbers. The numbers they reported were added up, and by the time the Master had added them up, the figure was staggeringly astronomical. Finally, the Master looked at Ye Qingxuan. "As long as you are willing to sign a treaty of religious discipline with us, ensuring fairness in dealings between us and your own musicians, to not deliberately seize the property of the Islands nor to interfere with our position, and to give us preferential treatment in the development of the King of Aether. We are not only willing to open up our core music theory to you, but also to have the Fleet of No Return fight for the Anglos free of charge. If you open up the higher levels of the Net of Aether to us, we will not only not require the Anglo Kingdom to spend even one pound of black gold, but we will also take out the Illusion Islands'' centuries of accumulated savings to help you expand the Net of Aether. The money provided would be no less than the number we just quoted. Whether it be the Islands'' mineral deposits, the rare treasures that our schools have accumulated over the centuries, or even our warship-building technology, we will open it to you unconditionally." On the bridge, Ye Qingxuan, Watson, and the musicians behind the Master all gasped. That was not just a lot of money. That was almost enough to equal the Anglo treasury in its heyday! How was this even an alliance? It was even more ridiculous than directly calling the Anglo Kingdom their overlord! "What are you planning?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Are you really this optimistic about the Net of Aether?" The Master smiled. The old female musician looked happy for the first time. "For illusionists, what could be more valuable than an illusory world? Moreover, I already personally experienced it before coming here. You''ve released so many movements, maybe I could add a couple of my own." She pulled out a piece of iron that was very familiar to Ye Qingxuan from her pocket - the Net of Aether''s melody terminal. After a brief silence, Ye Qingxuan asked, "I really don''t understand, why do you care so much about the Net of Aether? What is it that you want? I think that all musicians understand that what I have done is smash the foundations of the world of musicians. Why would a vested interest like the Illusion Islands support a rebel like me?" "It''s simple, Your Highness," the Master said softly. "What we want is nothing more than the respect we deserve. The respect that we lost hundreds of years ago when we were suppressed by an alliance of the various schools and the Sacred City, forced to lose our autonomy and flee our homes. There is no distinction between the seven systems, so why should the school of illusions be scorned? Why must we decline if we do not castrate ourselves like the school of heart did? For hundreds of years, we have endured the world stigmatizing us. In order to escape oppression, in order to have an independent school, we did not hesitate to leave our homes and hide among the islands. In order to survive, we did not hesitate to launch raids. In order to develop, we did not hesitate to associate with Dark Musicians. In order to rid ourselves of our entanglement with the Abyss, we chose to form an alliance with the Anglos. Why can''t we work together with you for our future? Unlike previous Masters, I am not proficient in music theory. I am not even from the orthodox school of illusion. At best, I am a businesswoman. For business people, investing in workshops, investing in industries, and investing in countries are all good, but none of them are more profitable than investing in ''the market.'' We have money, we have power, we have strength. Why would we care what the Sacred City thinks?" "What''s the difference between being controlled by the Sacred City and being controlled by me?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "Or is it that you think I am susceptible to deception?" Although the Master said she was a businesswoman, Ye Qingxuan did not believe this even a little bit. Last time there had also been an old person who said they were an accountant. All of his experiences had made Ye Qingxuan understand that these old people in high positions might be confused, might be stupid, or might occasionally be a little negligent. But one thing was always the samethey all knew what they wanted, and they had the skills and abilities to get it. Once they had an opportunity, they would never let it go. He stared at the Master before him, but this just made her laugh. "Mr. Watson once said something. In business, no matter what, as long as both sides are interested, a deal can always be negotiated," she said. "I like this saying a lot because the Sacred City would never say this." Ye Qingxuan knew what she meant. After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan finally sighed and drained his teacup. "Although the Net of Aether is open source," he said, "I will not give its proprietary rights to anyone. In other words, no matter how much you invest, no matter how much effort you pour into this, I can easily erase it all if I want to. If you can accept this, I can open up upper-level privileges to you." The Master had no objections. The property of the Illusion Islands was far outside of the Anglo Kingdom. Even if Ye Qingxuan suddenly turned hostile, all that would be lost were the efforts of one generation and a little bit of money. What the Illusion Islands wanted was a place and history and the restoration of its own orthodoxy. This was a plan that unfolded over a millennium. A temporary loss would be nothing. Even if they failed, it would be just one more thing to tack onto the column of shame in their school''s history and bring their successors a bit of trouble. Moreover, the value of the Net of Aether lay in its openness. It lay in everyone''s accumulated contributions. It must have its own rules and regulations. Even the controller Ye Qingxuan couldn''t act against the Illusion Islands without a reason. What would be the meaning of such a vast Net of Aether if everyone was torn apart by dissension and discord? The Master was not afraid of failure. As long as her people existed, they could still make a comeback. As for the specific details of their management and cooperation, they could discuss them over time. This was the best thing that Ye Qingxuan had over the Sacred City. In business, as long as there was interest, there would be a discussion. "I look forward to our pleasant cooperation." The Master opened her fingers, and in her palm, the music theory of the path of commandment intertwined, clapping into Ye Qingxuan''s hand as a witness to the two sides'' cooperation. The main key had been set, and the details would be left to their subordinates to discuss. After the Chainsaw Fraternity, Ye Qingxuan had hitched the Illusion Islands to his own cart. After this, their chat was much more relaxed. "What do you wish to do with high-level privileges?" "I am already prepared. Do you have any extra melody terminals here?" she asked. "I can show you." Several musicians quickly handed over their terminals. Using Ye Qingxuan as a relay, the Master connected her terminal to a closed regional network. "I''m not too good at this." The Master initiated her own music theory, and in a flash, everyone on the bridge was dazed for a short time. When they returned to their senses, they were already in a pure white void. 724 Compassion What made it even more terrifying was that Hua Sheng''s scepter was abnormally permeable and was just like an elderly clergyman giving a lecture of the Holy Bible. It was compelling and had the power to change a person into placing his faith entirely into it. Dense electricity appeared around Ye Qingxuan as if an invisible protective net had been activated with a resounding clap. He could sense that Hua Sheng''s music theory was infiltrating him just like how the power of a catastrophe would infiltrate others. "It looks terrifying, doesn''t it?" Hua Sheng chuckled as he poured the remaining wine in his cup into the sea. "Thanks to the Court of Inquiry, I managed to bring out the full strength of the music theory of Holy Caldron and became a scepter. Although it allowed me to convert freely amongst others, it was still not significant enough. Music theories do not change a person and neither does it allow for someone to achieve true redemption. Therefore, I call it ''apocrypha''." Apocrypha was to deviate from the right path. It was neither the book of abyss nor the Holy Bible, but something in between. It might seem flawless on the outside but was actually rather extreme. One could bend it to his will but could never truly master it. It was just stuck in the middle of sublimation and degeneration. This was Hua Sheng''s scepter, a maniac that would make use of the names of sages from the past to achieve his own purpose, an apocrypha that concealed evil intentions and poison, and an empty and false redemption. If Hua Sheng wanted to, he was fully capable of converting black and white, where the musicians of the Church would degenerate and Dark Musicians would be blessed. But just like he said, music theories were not capable of changing people; people fulfilled music theories instead. "You are really" Ye Qingxuan was having a slight headache. Hua Sheng''s scepter was just like him. He might appear to be gentle and holy but his heart was filled with evil intentions. It was just like an evil cult, where one would be convinced to deviate from his original path in order to borrow and rely on Hua Sheng''s power, only to be changed incrementally. One would be under his control and would never dare to face their true selves under the fa?ade of redemption until finally, they have become his puppet. No one would believe that he did not do anything extra when he helped the Island musicians to remove their maladies. He sighed. "Go back and find Shi Dong for a teaching position. You will go to Westminster Church to take up a temporary position." "You want me to become the next Archbishop of Westminster Church?" Hua Sheng understood what he meant and began to laugh in a strange manner. "You are sure you want me to take up the position of a clergyman?" "No, not at all. But just like you said, music theories can''t change a person, but it''s the person that fulfills the music theory." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. After pondering for a long time, he suddenly asked, "By the way, are you interested to become the Pontifex Maximas of Protestantism?" Hua Sheng was stunned. After a long time, he finally burst out laughing. Ten hours before, on the desolated northern region of the sea outside of Anglo, this entire region was now devoid of any presence of humans after the short battle. The seas were dark green in color and were foul-smelling. Fog hung in the air like cotton as the remaining toxins of the Cup of Virtues could not be removed. Amidst the eerie silence, the elderly musician stood above the waves. He was holding onto a wooden staff that was even taller than him. His body, which was slightly hunched, leaned against the staff. He was clad in a black long robe as he surveyed the desolated sea. "How long are you going to continue looking?" He stared through the emptiness ahead of him. His expression was calm, as if he had always been able to see Anubis, who had been concealing himself in emptiness. There was awkward laughter before a musician, who transformed himself into a God with a wolf''s head, stepped out of emptiness and bowed to the old man in front of him. "We meet again, Teacher Bach." Bach looked at him from head to toe for a long time. "Looks like you have been well. Gaius has been pretty good to you." Wolf Flute nodded. "As he should." "Sacred City has not treated you too shabby either." Wolf Flute touched his long nose as his mouth cracked open to reveal two rows of white teeth. "There''s no other choice. I was raised by wolves after all. When I am ungrateful, I may just bite the hand that feeds me." Bach was indifferent. "Wolf Flute, you have a human name." "Didn''t all this happen precisely because Teacher had given me a name?" Wolf Flute countered, "Just like you once said, one was bound to err if one was to work hard. Sometimes I wonder, what if I had continued to live and die as a wolf, I may have been more fortunate compared to my current state." Bach listened but remained unmoved. "Why do you deceive yourself with the excuse of a beast when you made the decision as a human?" "Teacher is right." Wolf Flute lowered his head. "Since you dare to appear in front of me with a projection, does that mean you are prepared to fight me?" Bach stared at him as he raised his wooden staff before striking down. Boom! The wooden staff struck the surface of the sea as if it was whipping metal. There were no traces of ripples, but the massive ocean trembled slightly. Wolf Flute''s projection began to vibrate violently and Anubis'' skin began to crack to reveal the severe internal injuries. But shortly after, the trembling stopped. There was a pair of bare feet. Bach turned back and looked behind him to see a young man. Realization finally seemed to dawn on him. "You must be Charles from Caucasian." "It is good to see you for the first time, Your Excellency." The young man nodded and bowed politely. Back looked at him. "Are you confident in defeating me?" "Although I cannot defeat you, can you not go to Anglo for my sake and stay behind for a chat?" Charles smiled widely. "This is our first meeting with each other. How unpleasant it would be if we were to end up fighting and killing each other." Bach shook his head indifferently. Suddenly, there was an ear-piercing sound, which was a result of a melody that had been produced by countless movements piling on top of one another. In an instant, it was as if the entire sky and sea were roaring in resonance. The entire northern sea region was sealed up in an instant. The entire place was trembling under Bach''s will and in a rhythm that he was controlling. The will of the King of Blue controlled the elements from the realm of aether and everything else. It was as if the vault in heaven had suddenly collapsed and the ocean had risen. The sky and the sea seemed to merge into one. Boom! The shrieking sound stopped suddenly. Charles stretched out his hand and pressed his palm against emptiness, as if he was pressing onto the trembling sky and sea, and by doing so, forced a stop to the trembling and roaring. It was as if he had completely stopped a wheel that was rolling at full speed. The skin on his palm broke and the wound, which had yet to heal, was torn again, and blood began to ooze out of the cut on his little finger. The blood dripped into the seawater and began to infect it. A single drop of blood was enough to dissipate the ominous aura that surrounded the entire region of the sea. In an instant, the sky was cleared and a clear breeze blew over. Bach remained motionless. He only looked at Charles'' little finger silently and frowned, as if he was troubled over something. Charles'' face was completely flushed. He managed to force out a smile. "Mr. Bach, back then when my junior enrolled in school, we even had to use your referral letter. There is some affinity between us. Why resort to this?" Bach kept quiet and only continued to stare at him. He looked at Charles walking on the surface of the sea. He did not seem to be using any movement but was able to control the seawater easily. It was like a miracle. After a moment of silence, Bach seemed to have finally understood something and suddenly asked, "Charles, do you really think that you are a God?" Charles was taken aback and began to smile awkwardly. "I don''t think I look like one either. I am so shy and awkward after all. If God was really a child like me, how blasphemous that would be." "Is your finger hurt?" Bach asked. Charles looked at his palm and quickly hid his little finger and smiled. "No worries, it''s just a minor injury." "Is that so?" Bach asked coldly. "You are wasting yourself. I don''t know what you have exchanged it for, but you should know that such a sacrifice is not normal for you nor Caucasian." Charles was quiet for a moment before replying, "In critical situations, someone has to step up and solve the issue." "Let men solve their own problems. Let them bear their own consequences, not you." Bach''s voice was direct and straight to the point. "Charles, no matter how much you sacrifice, all they will realize is just how vastly different they are from you. You should know your own body and nature the most. Don''t do any unnecessary things. The more you do, the more mistakes you are going to make. Now, leave this place and stop blocking my way. If I am to show you any compassion, then this is it." "Mr. Bach, have you heard the sound of people crying?" Charles asked suddenly. Back kept quiet. "Have you seen what ''suffering'' looks like?" Charles asked quietly. "Those homeless people would wander around in the wilderness and feed themselves on wild grass. They are living like dogs. They lie sprawled on the ground and will look up whenever someone passes them by, hoping that they can be saved. Can you bear to turn and walk away? Have you ever begged others for help before? I did. I begged for someone to come and save me, to be my friend, to tell me that I have not been left behind by this world, that there is a purpose to my existence in this world "I was like this in the past, but now I''m not. This is why I will not give up. If I can do it, I will. If someone seeks help from me, I will help him. I don''t want anyone else to make sacrifices for me anymore. I want to help them open up a path on can lead them to continue living." Charles stared at the silent Bach. He was no longer smiling and his expression was stern. "Mr. Bach, I don''t want us to become enemies and neither do I wish to leave this place. But if you continue forward, then that will make you my enemy." Massive wings of light spread open behind his back and covered the horizon, raining down glorious beams of light. Behind him, Eden appeared gradually and cast light on the young man, who was reputed to be the most powerful musician. Bach closed his eyes. After a long time, he sighed quietly. "Do you know why all the Kings of Blue of the previous generations left the human world, Charles? It''s not just because of developing the lands of men or to defend against the catastrophes from the World of Dark. "It''s because humans do not need Gods." Bach raised the wooden staff in his hands against the young man. There was no longer any compassion in his eyes. Instead, they had been replaced by electricity. "Now, let''s cut the crap and let ''your enemy'' have a taste of your abilities." 725 Miracle No one knew the outcome of the battle. It was not until 21 later that the invisible wall that shrouded the northern seas completely disintegrated. The musicians who had come from every nation beheld an apocalyptic scene. The sky was broken. Even though it was daytime, the crack in the atmosphere revealed the darkness of the universe. The stars were faint. Brutal rays shot through the dry air, shining upon the cracked seabed. The seabed was barren, having already deteriorated into grey-black sand. Above the sand, an undying crimson flame burned day and night, with no end in sight. The sea water roared, wanting to heal the terrible scar, but it was blocked by the invisible forces that remained there. The cracks in the Physical World and the realm of aether could not be repaired naturally, and a large amount of strange gas that leaked out of the realm of aether lingered above the sea, forming a strange yet splendid rainbow. Most of the musicians who entered it never came out. Afterward, the King of Black still remained in the world of dark, and the Son of God had never left the Commonwealth of Caucasian, as if nothing had happened. Two hours later, the lighthouse''s analysis report was sent to the Golden Palace and placed on the desk of the old musician. The old musician stared silently at the results of the analysis of hundreds of musicians combined with the lighthouse''s observations without expression. Many people expected that the King of Black had been lightly injured and that Charles had been gravely wounded. But the lighthouse''s analysis indicated that the King of Black had not been hurt at all, although he had not killed Charles. As far as the old musician was concerned, the most important thing was the aetheric linear diagram of the course of the battle. From the very start, it had risen to the scale of a catastrophe. The violent fluctuations created a terrible power strong enough to destroy dozens of cities. By the end, hundreds of elements had collided, been destroyed and dissipated. The collision of Eden and the Holy Cauldron had been even more disastrous. Fortunately, the opponents had stopped before the consequences got out of hand, otherwise, there would have been a repeat of the battle at the Sacred City. After the collapse of the Abyss, the reason for the quiet moon''s existence had disappeared, and by this point, it may have been completely hidden in the Originator. No matter how out of control the battle between the Holy Cauldron and Eden got, it would not come out to obstruct it anymore. The King of Black and Charles were themselves the representatives of the Holy Cauldron and Eden. As they fought, the two systems collided behind them. If the two of them entered a full-scale war, the aftermath of that conflict would probably spread throughout the entire world. Now the King of Yellow had disappeared without a trace. The last battle at the Ultimate had probably been the last time he would get involved. It was unrealistic to expect that he would once again appear to tidy things up. Thus, without this safety valve, the survival of the human world rested in the hands of these two opponents. It could only be said that fortunately, in the end, both sides had stayed their hands. Otherwise, before winners and losers could be decided, winning and losing would already have been rendered meaningless. After a while, the old musician lowered his head wearily and sighed. The Commonwealth of Caucasus''s Son of God had already risen to this level No, it would be better to say that according to the observed speed of his improvement, he should be even more ridiculous than he was now. There must be something dragging him down so that he could not fully exert his power All along, other than its unparalleled national strength, the greatest potential of Asgard was the support of the Three Kings. But now their opponent, even while unconscious, could resist the King of Black. And, he could do so to an extent where it was not possible to determine a winner or a loser. In the silence his expression remained impassive, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Then there was a knock on the door. A soldier of the Scarlet Bird Clan stood at the entrance, his face ashen. He held a military report from the frontlines. "Your Excellency, news from the frontlines..." "Mm, I understand." The old musician did not let him finish, just pointing to the table. "Put it here." The soldier left, and the silence returned. The old musician glanced at the report. He didn''t even have the strength to open it. Did he still have to read Total defeat! Utter, crushing defeat! Not only did all their naval lines collapse, but the supposedly unbeatable Asgardian navy was completely crippled, and the sea fortress had even been captured by the enemy. Klein, who had been commanding the frontline, was even said to have committed suicide after surrendering. If it had not been for the fact that a small part of the fleet had not gone out with the main force, the invincible fleet would have had to be completely disbanded! Not only that, at the same time the Frost Giant Corps of the sea fortress had been defeated by the vengeful Knights of the Round Table. Under the power of a senseless weapon like the Firebird armor, they had taken more than 50 percent casualties, and now they could only barely maintain their defense and wait for reinforcements. Asgard had spent a huge amount of money and manpower on this war. He had imagined breaking the Anglos'' majestic military power within ten days, but now all that was in the gutter. Although Asgard''s production capacity could replace the warships lost by the navy in less than a year, it would be difficult to find something that could match up to a weapon like the sea fortress. Within three years, Asgard would lose their advantage in the ocean. You could not say this was not serious. But the most important thing was to recover their morale after such a setback and win a huge victory! At any cost! It was not like the Anglos could conquer the whole world in a single war. Asgard could afford to lose. For a foreign war like this, Asgard could mobilize more than four more times! Since the naval battle was already lost, they would defeat their army! The old musician had already started considering how to get one of the nine divisions of armored knights who guarded the borders to reinforce the Frost Giant Corps, or how to send out the domestic forces of the Western Military Region. Replenishment, provisions, training, morale, combat capability... In the silence, the old musician mournfully stroked the few hairs on his head as he tried to pick the best method out of the thousands available. This time, no matter what, they must completely crush the Anglos with the power of thunder, even if they had to pile their men up until they reached as tall as the sea fortress! After this painful decision, the old musician suddenly relaxed. Dedication required courage and determination, but the subsequent implementation required only experience and skill, and he had never lacked for ideas and ability. In terms of mass-scale mobilization for war, the old musician could head most of the political and military offices responsible for it. Without this ability, the Emperor would not rely on him as his deputy. Before sunset, he had figured out a general strategy. He leaned back in his chair, carefully thinking if there were any holes in it. But at the moment, the harsh sound of alarms rang out from the foot of the mountain the Golden Palace was on. The sound of the alarm was mixed with the lighthouse''s bell ringing. Three long and three short. The old musician was stunned, and he suddenly leaped out of the chair. This was a homeland security alert! The bell would only be rung if Asgardian soil was threatened. The slight uneasiness in his heart was magnified infinitely. The crisis that had been created by some leak made him nearly lose his composure as he pushed open the door and dashed towards the Ministry of Military Affairs. A clerk in gray rushed forward with chaotic footsteps and saluted the old musician. "Your Excellency, the Military and Political Affairs Office requests an emergency meeting!" "His Highness?" the old musician asked without thinking. He could not lead a meeting that dealt with homeland security. The Emperor himself must preside. But where had the Emperor gone? "His Highness is meeting with the Burgundian ambassador, and has ordered you to represent him," the clerk answered. "His Highness will come as soon as he can." The old musician did not dare to hesitate anymore, and he rushed towards the central conference room. "What on earth is going on?" "Three minutes ago, the Commonwealth of Caucasian officially declared war on us. At the same time, the Caucasian Redemption Corps landed on our soil from Port Norman, and has already engaged with Clear Seas Squadron." "The Commonwealth of Caucasian?" The old musician was stunned and went numb. "How is this possible?" How was this possible? How was this possible? How was this possible? This question echoed around in his mind: how could it be the Caucasians? Why? Nowadays, the Commonwealth of Caucasian had no ability to mobilize for war! They didn''t even have any provisions, much less weapons and supplies. Where would they get them? After experiencing the attack of a catastrophe, the devastated Commonwealth of Caucasian was born again in a revolution known as the Liberation of Capital. At the moment, it could be said that it had cleared away its deficiencies and had the potential to become a great country. But the price of this turmoil was terrible famines and epidemics, as well as a severe lack of supplies. How would the weak Commonwealth of Caucasian mobilize their national reserves? It would be difficult to reorganize their citizens in just a few months. Not to mention that more than half the citizens were refugees and were being hit with plague after plague... The Commonwealth, which had lost all its provisions in the catastrophe''s attack and the several years of famine, had missed this year''s spring plowing. Although they had a vast amount of land, land that they could cultivate was few and far between. Most of it was a snow-covered wasteland. They could only barely cultivate it once per year, and they could not even support themselves on such poor soil They were like a knight that could not even fill his own stomach. No matter how strong he was, he had to eat his fill before he could fight a battle. But now the Commonwealth had declared war on Asgard Were they crazy? In the chaotic conference room, the old musician sat down with a gloomy expression and listened to the quarrels of the officials representing the various clans. Finally, he grabbed the crystal ashtray beside him in anger and dashed it against the wall as hard as he could. The noise rang out. Everyone was stunned. The old musician looked at them all coldly. After a while, he sat back down. "Tell me, how have they solved their provision problems?" he asked coldly. "Which nation violated the treaty and sold grain to them? Why did our agents in the Commonwealth not report this to us?" Everyone fell into an awkward silence. After a while, someone with an unreadable expression passed over to him a photo that a spy had covertly taken "I''m afraid it''s because of a miracle?" The old musician held the photograph silently, looking at the image on it. He fell into a long silence. In the photograph, a vast expanse of fertile farmland rose above what should have been a barren wasteland. Numerous heavy stalks of wheat grew out of the barren soil, bending under their own weight. The huge amount seemed to turn the entire field into a golden blanket. In the center of the wheatfield, there was the silhouette of someone holding wheat seeds and sprinkling them onto the barren ground beneath his feet. Everywhere he went, green sprouted from the earth. "It is said that the Commonwealth''s granaries were filled overnight." The Director of Intelligence loosened his bowtie, his face pale. "According to our private statistics, one acre of these d*mn seeds can produce over 100,000 kilograms of rice Under the control of the Son of God, they can mature in one day and one night. And that''s not all. In the Caucasian hinterlands, dozens of abandoned mines have developed an abundant amount of rare mineral deposits overnight. This is not something that humans could have predicted, Your Excellency." He hung his head in shame. "We couldn''t do anything." The old musician said nothing, just stared at the photograph before him. He silently lit a cigarette. A miracle? "Does anyone have a blanket?" The old musician closed his eyes. "I''m a little cold." 726 Confidence In wastelands of the Caucasus, between the tens of thousands of acres of fertile farmlands full of crops that sprouted and matured over one night, Paganini calculated the specific numbers and asked Charles, "It''s more or less enough already, no?" In the wheat field, Charles held a handful of wheat, and seemingly endless seeds fell out of the gaps between his five fingers, landing on the ground. After he walked past, the seeds would sprout and take root The people behind hurried to keep up, watering and fertilizing the plants. After the short span of 15 minutes, another acre of land produced a terrifying amount of ripe wheat. Charles took a break for a while. Under the scorching sun, Charles wiped the sweat off his forehead with a wet towel, took out a canteen, and drank all the water in it. He exhaled deeply and answered Paganini''s question, "We can''t stop yet." He shook his head and sighed. "The current wheat production is enough to supply the troops fighting at the front line, but many in the country still have nothing to eat." Paganini looked down at the bugs at his feet and suddenly asked, "Can you withstand it?" "I just have to keep going throughout this period, and in the future, we''ll be able to enjoy generous amounts of meat and fish." As compared to the past, Charles'' face was somewhat pale, as if he had lost blood excessively. He forced out a smile, coughed violently, and coughed up the dark blood accumulated in his lungs. He had yet to recover from the injuries left by the King of Blue. Paganini said no more. In the silence, he gazed at Charles'' incomplete little finger and the skin that was pale from blood loss, and the look in his eyes became somewhat complicated and dark. After a long time, Paganini spoke, "Charles." "Yes?" Charles turned back and saw Paganini''s solemn expression. "No, nothing much." Paganini shook his head and smiled, but said nothing. He just lifted his head and looked up at the sky. He was just thinking that, back then, if the incorporeal god the Holy City worshiped had been half as benevolent as Charles, would his choice have been different? No, surely, I would have still betrayed them? For people like me who are born rebellious, we will do anything for the sake of power and to uncover the mystery of music theory. But now, I have power, yet I realize that nothing worthy of my loyalty is left. He sighed softly and lowered his eyes. Moreover, does the world... really need unreasonable beings like God? A few hours later, in the Golden Palace, candles lit up in the night, illuminating the entire huge palace, like it was daytime. After rejecting the light supplied by aether and purely using flames as lighting, the palace of steel looked even colder and more solemn, giving off a forbidding vibe. On the throne, the emperor tapped his walking stick and looked down at the Burgundian envoy in front of him. "An alliance?" "That''s right." The young man named Don Juan smiled. "The good relationship between Asgard and Burgundy has a long history, and we can be described as close neighbors separated only by a narrow strip of water. Now that Asgard is in trouble, my country will definitely not sit idly by. "As long as we can form an alliance, my country is willing to send the Phantom Fleet to share the pressure Asgard is facing on sea. As for the attack by the Caucasus from the south, we Burgundians are also willing to mobilize our foreign legion to fight as mercenaries in Asgard''s place." The emperor looked indifferent and unmoved. Don Juan''s expression did not change, and he continued adding more chips to the table. "In addition to that, when necessary, my country can awaken the holy sword left by the first-generation kingJoyeuse..." Upon hearing the name, the emperor''s eyebrows raised slightly. Joyeuse The sword of gold, the sword of victory, the sword of glory, and also the sword of the King of the Sun back then, known as the Sword of the Fierce Sun. Before the death of the King of the Sun, he transferred all his power onto the sword, making it an artifact. Purely speaking in terms of power, it was in no way inferior to the stone sword, and it was even stronger in terms of destructive capacity. After all, it was the purest crystal of destruction of the school of modifications! "The emperor of your country is really willing to go all out." The emperor chuckled softly, and it was unclear whether it was out of mockery or anticipation. For centuries, Joyeuse was sealed in the holy temple beneath the palace, absorbing the power of the entire kingdom day and night. Its importance even superseded that of the artificial saintess, the archangel. Unfortunately, for centuries, no one could gain its approval and become a master worthy of it. To launch it, the only way was to pay the price of the emperor''s blood and life. The fact that Burgundy was willing to invest such an important asset was actually beyond the expectations of the Emperor of Asgard. Unfortunately, their idea was pretty good, but their appetite was somewhat incredibly big. The emperor looked down, gazing at the alliance memorandum near his hand, and sneered. It was timely indeed, but unfortunately, it sounded good on paper, but the price to pay was too high, it was simply delusional of the Burgundians to expect him to agree. As the conditions of the alliance, not only must Asgard pay a huge sum to Burgundy, it must also transfer dozens of taboo technologies to Burgundy, resulting in more underlying troubles. If the alliance was successful, then Asgard''s decades of savings would probably be robbed by the Burgundians with such ease. The emperor snickered softly and threw the alliance memorandum aside. "You all undoubtedly want too much, don''t you all think that you''ve gone too far with the price?" "Of course, all of it can be discussed." Don Juan smiled. "I can make the decision to cross out the parts of technology transfer and national debt. However, can your country make some small concessions in other aspects?" The emperor''s gaze became interesting. "For example?" "For example, salvation." Don Juan bowed his head sincerely. "All along, Burgundy has long been yearning for the Church to recognize its faith. Now that Asgard has been enjoying the grace of God for so long, would you consider sharing a bit of the salvation from the Lord with Burgundy?" The emperor did not speak. The atmosphere became cold and solemn, and a faint chill spread from the throne. After a long silence, the emperor laughed loudly, the laughter full of coldness. He did not expect that the appetite of the Burgundians was bigger than he had imagined They wanted more than just small profits before the eyes, they also wanted to directly dig away at Asgard''s roots and enjoy the treatment Asgard received after the Third Amendment Act. They even wanted to welcome the Church to enter their country and master the secrets and cultural deposits of the Church The group of b*stards wanted to rob the gains of Asgard right from its hands! What use was black gold of, no matter how much a country had? Could it buy victory and power? Regardless of how many types of taboo technologies one mastered, under the ban of the Church, everything that needed to be destroyed must be destroyed, no? If they could get the support of the Church, if they could obtain a status similar to that of Asgard, with the support and technologies of the Church, upon launching the state apparatus, everything would be at their fingertips! Didn''t Asgard become the behemoth it was at the moment under the support of the Church back then? Although the Church had fallen into decline and lost its authority over the countries and the ability to repress them, its cultural deposits were still amazingly rich. No one knew how many amazing secrets and how much power were hidden within the organization that had led the human world for centuries For Burgundy, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, even if they had to pay a great price, as long as they could come into favor with the Church, then everything would be worth it! "Do Burgundians like dreaming so much?" The emperor gazed indifferently at the envoy below the steps. "Since you all like to sleep talk so much, we don''t have to consider any further about the alliance. After all, an old saying goes," he paused for a while, and his expression turned mocking, "war drives the Burgundians away." Don Juan was silent. After a long time, he shrugged resignedly. "That''s really a pity. I hope that Your Majesty can change your mind as soon as possible. After all, the enthusiasm of His Majesty the king of my country cannot last long." Upon saying so, he bowed in a manner that was nothing short of grace and etiquette, then turned and left. Outside the palace, the servant that had been waiting for a long time rushed up to him and draped a thick robe around him to resist the cold of the Golden Palace that was terrifying even during the summer. In the carriage, the old man named Richelieu asked, "Your Royal Highness, how did it go?" "Either the Asgardians have gone crazy or the Asgardians have yet to go crazy. In short, they did not agree." Don Juan took the cup of hot tea and drank all of it, then sneezed and wiped the mucus from his nose flusteredly. "However, it is also expected. Mr. Richelieu, have you contacted the people over in the Church?" "With some of my connections back then, I''ve arranged to meet with a cardinal the day after tomorrow," the old man replied. "Very good." Don Juan nodded, gritting his teeth, and his gentle mask dissipated, revealing an infuriated sneer. "Since Asgard is unwilling, we will discuss the matter directly with the church." "The Church will not agree." Richelieu looked at him. "You are wasting your efforts." "No, we are taking the preemptive opportunities." Don Juan leaned back in the chair, his expression calm. "Be it Asgard or the Church, I want them to know the backup plan we have prepared for them. It''s just that after they refuse it this time, don''t think about getting such a decent price the next time." "Are you so confident about the situation of the war?" Richelieu looked at him, his expression complicated. "Why do you think that Asgard will lose?" "No, I don''t know if Asgard will lose. I just have confidence in my past friend." Don Juan lowered his eyes as if he was gazing at the times of the past. "I believe that he will win." At the moment, in the Golden Palace, only the emperor and the old musician were left. "You must have had a tiring time listening to them bickering for an afternoon." The emperor seemed to be clear about the embarrassing situation the old musician was facing and even had the mood to crack a little joke. "Any countermeasures so far?" The old musician was silent for a moment and replied, "Presently, the only way is to launch a full-scale war ahead of time." For Asgard, it was not difficult to handle attacks on two fronts at the same time, and it could even be said that they would still have strength to spare. But for Asgard, not winning was in itself a disgrace. Especially after suffering an unexpected defeat at the hands of Anglo, Asgard urgently needed a complete victory to inspire its people, rather than sinking in the quagmire of war and engaging in an awkward tug-of-war with the other side "Your Majesty, please authorize the awakening of the Land Giant," the old musician implored. Awaken the Land Giant of the present and advance forcefully all the way from the Blanc Stronghold, occupy Anglo''s territory on land within a month, then counterattack the Caucasus "No need." In the regard, the emperor rejected the suggestion decisively. For some reason unknown, the emperor''s firm tone made the old musician feel a little uneasy suddenly 727 Fruit of Destruction When faced with the Emperor''s rejection, the old musician was stunned for some time before he regained his senses and tried to persuade him, "But, Your Majesty" "There are no ''buts'' about this." The Emperor looked at him and countered, "Did we declare war against Anglo because we wanted to conquer their lands? No, we did so because we don''t want Anglo interfering in the subsequent battles!" The old musician was confused. "But that''s" "It''s very simple." The Emperor smiled. "As long as Anglo no longer exists." With that, he waved his hand in a sweeping motion, which left the old musician feeling chills all over his body. The old musician understood what he meant. He trembled in fear and finally knelt on the ground. "Please think twice, Your Majesty!" Unlike what he had thought initially, the reason why the Emperor was not upset was not that the plan was a long-term one, but because Anglo was as good as gone to him. He had already given Anglo the death sentence. Now that they had Gungnir in their possession, they had control over destruction. Since Anglo had chosen to be troublemakers, then there was no need to waste any more energy on trying to conquer or invade it. All they would have to do was use Gungnir against Anglo and wipe them off the map completely! With regards to the old musician''s plea, the Emperor was indifferent. "My mind is already set." The old musician was silent for a long time. When he finally looked up at the Emperor sitting on the throne, he shouted in a hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, have you gone mad?!" The Emperor laughed coldly. "Are there any emperors in this world that are not mad?" The old musician shook his head. "This this is going overboard!" The Emperor countered, "Are there any battles in this world that do not go overboard?" "No, no" The old musician shook his head. "Even if we wanted to, the Church would never allow Asgard to do this." "They will." The Emperor''s face was solemn. He looked at the report of the Stronghold on Sea that had been placed beside his hand. His gaze became cold all of a sudden. "After all, we have already indulged the Church before in the past, haven''t we?" The old musician kept quiet for a long time. "Since Your Majesty has already made up your mind," with tears in his eyes, the old musician, who had served Asgard his entire life, continued, "please allow me to carry out this order." If someone has to be punished for this, then let me be the one to be burned at the stake after all this destruction is over. I will do anything for Asgard. At the foot of a desolated mountain range in the World of Dark, a saint, by the name of Wagner, was seated on a chair and was staring at the lightning cloud in the distance. The lightning cloud obscured the sky and sun. In the darkness, there was thunder and lightning. Countless roars could be heard from some distance away. He had no idea what might be going on over there. Compared to the time when he was chased away from the Sacred City by Ludovic, he looked much younger now. The closer he was to the brink of death, the better he looked. In fact, he had not had to take his asthma medicine too often now. Perhaps, this was terminal lucidity. Even he knew that he did not have much time left in this world. He sat on the chair beneath the trees and stared into the distance as if he was guarding the broken wooden house behind him. There was only silence in the dim wooden house. The lamp swung slightly as the old Bach was cooking his dinner. He was using the wooden staff in his hands as fire plow as they fiddled with the flames in the stove. The food spun around in the metal pot. They had a weird smell that was unappetizing. Behind him, countless shards appeared out of nowhere before piecing together to form the image of the King of Red. It was like a miracle that he traveled across tens of thousands of miles to reach this wooden house. He looked at the back of the King of Blue. "At this stage, do you still intend to sit by and do nothing?" Bach lowered his head and looked at the fire before adding two more pieces of wood. After he was sure that the flames would not be extinguished, he stood up and tossed the wooden staff aside before sitting in front of the King of Red. "God should not appear in this world. Isn''t that the lesson that the previous Kings of Blue has been trying to tell us?" He looked at King of Red in the face and asked calmly. "Besides, haven''t I already tried to do something about it? It''s just that I did not succeed." King of Red chuckled. He was clearly ticked off by the pathetic excuse. "This is your excuse for sitting by and doing nothing?" "Even if I were to do something, who should I help?" Bach asked, "According to bloodline, the person sitting on the Anglo throne right now is my long-distance niece and is the only person in this world I can call family. Do you think I should help Anglo?" The expression on the King of Red was cool. "What kind of fool are you? Don''t you know what is going on? Stop deceiving yourself and stop deceiving me. Bach, compared to the previous King of Blue, you know better than all of them, so stop using that stupid excuse. Tell me, why have you not tried to reign in Caucasian? Isn''t that your duty?" Bach was silent for a long time before he shook his head slowly. "The wars of mankind should be started and ended by them. As for other aspects, we don''t have much influence over them even if we really want to." He looked at King of Red with a stern expression on his face. "The more we do, the more mistakes we make!" The expression on King of Red softened. "I don''t wish to see something like this happen but right now, you are the only who can solve this problem." "I can solve this problem? How? Destroy Caucasian? I can do that easily but are you sure?" Bach countered, "You want me to save the Church but that will only show everyone the inhumane side of the Church In the end, regardless of who wins the war, the Church will have a difficult time maintaining its status as the guide of mankind. At the end of the day, either the Church rules over mankind, or mankind will desert the Church! Regardless of which outcome prevails, the Church would have lost the true purpose and meaning for its existence in the first place! No, from the day when the countries began to rebel, you should have known that the Church''s shackle can no longer hold back the ambitions of mankind" He paused for a while and sighed helplessly. "Let it go, Sancta Sedes. Let the Church bow out from this in glory while it still can." "Are you sure you want to hand everything over to Gaius?" King of Red stared coldly at him. "Bach, don''t you know what kind of a lunatic he is? He doesn''t even know what he really wants. For so many years, he had been like a scale, where more and more people are placing their wishes and weights onto him. He gave up Romulus for the City of Wolf, only to give it up for a greater vision. He gave up the Sacred City for revolution. Ever since he lost sight his own goal, this lunatic had become the wishing well for others. So many people have made sacrifices for him. There is no way he can stop now. That warped sense of duty created a monster like Caucasian. If they are not reigned in, it is only a matter of time before mankind destroys themselves! Now, I don''t need you to destroy Caucasian or Gaius. Let mankind settle their own problems. But it is your duty to eliminate that monster that calls himself the son of God! Stop running away from it!" "With regards to that child, you don''t have to worry." There was not a hint of a smile on Bach''s face. He only continued calmly, "In fact, I don''t even need to do anything. He is more na?ve than anyone can imagine, and this naivety will cause him to lose sight of his path. One day, he will recognize the distance and difference between mankind and himself. Mankind may create Gods, but Gods are destined to die in the hands of mankind." "Are you speaking from experience?" King of Red laughed coldly and his tone was full of sarcasm. "Perhaps." Bach stood up and looked at the metal pot that was boiling. "I am going to have my meal now. You should leave. If you believe what I have said, then stop worrying about those problems. Just remember not to interfere." King of Red took a final look at him and said, "I will." The figure turned into illusion instantaneously as countless shards vanished. He left. Bach was silent for a long time before he finally pushed open the door. He could hear the roar above the vault in heaven. "It''s going to rain," he muttered quietly. The lightning clouds gathered. One night later, the sky of Asgard was like a huge bowl that was filled with rust. It hung high in the sky and covered the entire central region. Terrifying beams of light were being cultivated behind the dark clouds. They revealed themselves through small cracks once in a while and were so powerful that they were capable of hurting one''s eyes. At this moment, the sky was occupied by thunder behind the thick layers of clouds. Under the control of Tree of World, countless waves of electricity rumbled towards the core until they formed rows and rows of Lances of Thunder that aimed in the direction of Anglo. At this moment, under the command of the Emperor, the Tree of World had borne so many fruits of destruction that they filled up the entire branch. At the top of the white tower, the old musician silently stared down at the lands that were far beneath him. He could feel the final moments of peace before the storm. After a long time, he sighed quietly. "May my sacrifice be worth something." He closed his eyes and raised his palms. Hugging tightly to his chest was the mud plate that was in a terrible state. It was trembling and the wedge-shaped music notes began to light up one by one. The music theory and spirituality that had been embedded in the mud plate began to flow out and onto his entire body. In that instant, he opened his eyes and burning holy light shot out of them. Flaming-red alchemy formation extended from the tower to cover his entire body. He was controlling it with his will and right now, it was turning him into a monster. He took a deep breath in and howled in fury. Countless thunder could be heard everywhere. In the next instant, the fruit of destruction fell from the branch. It was as if countless pieces of glass had crashed against each other. Their screeching and scraping sounds could be heard from the clouds. The ear-piercing sounds were just like a living creature, as if some sort of snake was slithering in the vault in heaven and amongst the clouds, heading towards Caucasian from Asgard. Wherever the invisible screeching sounds passed, there would be countless streaks of lightning left behind above the vault in heaven, as if they were wet traces left behind by earthworms wriggling in the damp earth. Within a split second, it had arrived above the vault in heaven in Anglo. In that instant, Ye Qingxuan woke up with a start in the black box. He raised his head and looked up at the vault in heaven. The net of aether released an ear-shattering siren! First, it would be three bursts! Three rows of burning lightning struck from the sky and bypassed the highly-guarded Avalon, as if God had tossed Gungnir down from the clouds! The islands howled in despair. The Dragon of Gold was roaring in fury as the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth began to glow and blocked off the attack of Gungnir. The first burst might not have achieved its purpose but the thunder had yet to dissipate. Shortly after, nine bursts! The rust in the bowl of destruction turned into a powerful storm that rained down on all of Anglo! 728 Catina Mary gritted her teeth as she sat on the throne. The National Defense Front launched. She was the state, and in a flash, her consciousness spread all over the Anglo Kingdom. An empty glow spewed out from the nodes of every leyline. It eliminated the nine bolts of lightning with difficulty, but everywhere the lightning passed there was still enough power remaining to destroy dozens of buildings. A moan rang out. The old musician closed his eyes and made a fist. Gungnir emerged from the clouds With 81 bolts of lightning! Within that moment, York, Hampton, Will, Tyne, Luton The lightning bolts locked onto 27 cities within the Anglo Kingdom. "Asgard!!!" Mary roared. She finally understood and was once again infuriated by the cruelty and coldness of this action. She finally understood this was no longer a war. This was destruction. In that instant, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth roared like the ocean. The wrathful firebird spread out from Avalon, rushing out to each of the breaking waves and solidifying the seven seas. A roar shook the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, emitting an ear-piercing sound. In the deep sea, countless monsters opened their eyes and looked up towards the sky. A call rang out. A thick fog instantly rose up from the sea and covered all the Anglo Kingdom. Dark air was revealed within the glow of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. It invested Mary''s body, turning into a crown of white bones, the shadow of the Kingdom of Death. Regardless of her agreement with Ye Qingxuan, Mary skipped over the transformation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and awakened Leviathan''s most essential power! Amidst the sharp increase in the dragon''s blood, a cold and cruel will arose from Mary''s consciousness. She sneered, and the harsh sound rang throughout the world. At this moment, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth had already transformed into a land of death under the sea, embracing the land of fog, the home of countless lost souls and shipwrecks. In the winding darkness, half of Mary''s face was still as dignified and holy as usual, but the other side had become dark and grim, and too savage to look at. In a flash, the throne room was transformed into the legendary Palace of Tragedy. The shadows of countless sea beasts emerged, roaring in anger towards the sky, resisting the lightning''s unceasing destruction. Under this complete coverage, seemed to be shrouded in an iron blanket as it endured endless devastation. Even though it could save itself from Gungnir''s attack, it was unable to fight back and could only endure the pain of endless blows. Such a powerful force under command of the World Tree moved it through the sky with perfect control. The old musician casually thrust forth his hands and locked onto Port Norman that had been invaded by the Caucasians. He threw a spear and then looked back at it, but was no longer able to see it. His goal today was the absolute destruction of the Anglos. Since they had the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and the protection of the leylines, they must be completely obliterated, burned and scorched by the infinite power of Gungnir! He would reveal where the truth was through their destruction! Under the protection of the North Wind, all victory belonged to Asgard! Mary gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. Her fingers deformed the throne''s armrest as she endured both the tyranny that infected her from Leviathan''s power and Gungnir''s strikes. As she spasmed in pain, she felt someone standing behind her and gripping her shoulders. "Just be a little patient." Ye Qingxuan wiped away some hair that was stuck to her brow by sweat. "It''ll be all right in a moment." Mary nodded with effort. Ye Qingxuan smiled. When he looked up, he saw Gungnir falling through the sky like a thunderstorm and his expression darkened. No matter how you put it this was no longer merely "excessive". It looked like they would have to push the plan forward He took a deep breath, and started forward, crossing over the former escape route in a single step, and stepped into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth behind Avalon. Amidst the brilliant light and shadow, he looked up at the heart of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. The crystal cube slowly descended, and an invisible ladder lifted Ye Qingxuan up. He advanced step by step into the core as he was enveloped by the ocean-blue sky. Through the countless rotating crystal modules, he could see his blurred reflection. The music theory of the Heaven Ladder gathered together from all directions and entered into his Scepter. The Land of Dreams expanded in all directions until it covered the Net of Aether of all the nations. With the resonance that nearly coexisted between the two, Ye Qingxuan was temporarily transformed into a catastrophe. He opened his eyes and stared into the void before him. All throughout the Anglo Kingdom, countless instruments of harmonious melody rang out a melody that broke through the cracks in the realm of aether. The music theory of the Heaven Ladder spread out from within towards the higher dimensions... A flame shone out from the core of the Net of Aether. Ye Qingxuan lifted his empty hand and his Scepter appeared. The light in front of him suddenly crashed. Bang! Steel roared. The roar of iron and gold crashing together rang throughout the Net of Aether and resounded throughout the Anglo Kingdom. Under Ye Qingxuan''s attack, the arrays on the path of godly ascension in the depths of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth shook. Bang! The path of godly ascension shook again! In Mary''s body, the shadow of the sleeping scabbard seemed to sense something, and it appeared from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. There was no heat coming from the flame, but Ye Qingxuan was still sweating. In his musician''s senses, it seemed as if in front of him the light of countless suns was gathering together, enough to burn everything to ash. With the power of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, Ye Qingxuan drew upon the music theory that had been gathered together in the Net of Aether over the past few days. It turned into a violent flame. In the harsh roar, the arrays on the path of godly ascension, once Hermes''s masterpiece, were stripped out by Ye Qingxuan. With the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as a blanket and the Land of Dreams as a hammer, the music theory of the Net of Aether transformed into a flame that dissolved the path of godly ascension, decomposing and forging it into a pure flow of aether. There was a loud roar. A sound like the revolving of the blazing sun burst out from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, setting off towards the sky and the countless bolts of lightning. The lightning of the music theory of reform shone on the Scepter of the Land of Dreams. With each wave of Ye Qingxuan hand, it plunged into the stream of aether. A cold iron light emerged from within it. It seemed as if iron was from growing within it, outlining its glorious silhouette. It was a sword. The outline of the stone sword could faintly be made out within it, but the blade was still incomplete. It was still blunt, not like a sword meant for battle. A gentle and mournful glow shone out from the stream of aether, cowing everything into submission. "Maxwell..." Ye Qingxuan paused and thought of the deceased man. Uncontrollable grief and sorrow appeared in his heart. Maxwell was dead. Even if he once again created the stone sword, and once again endowed it with spirituality, the old man who had once held up the heavens for him would never return. Without his soul, even if he forged the stone sword again it would mean nothing. What appeared in his hands was no longer the sword of the kings who had ruled the Anglo Kingdom in the past. It appeared completely different. Amid the roar of hymns as countless elements collided, the blazing stream of aether gathered together and wrapped around the sword. Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath, and without bothering to wipe away his sweat looked to his side. "Lend me a hand, Old Phil!" The shadow of the golden retriever appeared from the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. He glanced at him and turned into a giant golden dragon. The bestial nature of the dragon''s soul gathered into a torrent that entered the blade. Then a dragon pattern appeared on the blade. The scabbard of the stone sword came flying out of Mary''s body and into the stream of light. At that moment, the Net of Aether''s power pierced through the Physical World and the realm of aether, opening up a huge gap. A giant shadow was reflected from the higher void dimensions. It was the Anglo Kingdom! It was the projection of the Anglo Kingdom into the realm of aether. Under the pull of the Net of Aether, the projection crashed into the Physical World with a loud bang! It followed the path of the Heaven Ladder''s music theory as it fell towards the sword in the flame. Amid the roar, the two became one. They suddenly disappeared. Steel clanked. What emerged from the fire was the accumulated power of the path of godly ascension. It used the Chapter of the Golden Victory to blend the Anglo Kingdom into the realm of aether, forming the sword of the nation. "With this sword, I solemnly crown my Queen!" Ye Qingxuan took up the longsword, announcing this in all directions with the help of the Net of Aether. As that low sound rang out, numerous musicians who were connected to the Net of Aether were shocked. They saluted towards Avalon and opened up their own sound of heart music theory. The spirituality flowing within was divided up and flowed towards the throne where it was gathered together. The proclamation sounded out above all of the Anglo Kingdom, echoing in everyone''s ears, "May God bless the Kingdom, and may the Queen bless me!" At that moment, a blazing glow shone from the sword that had received the oaths of the devotion of all the musicians in the Anglo Kingdom. It rose up from Ye Qingxuan''s hands and headed towards Mary. The mighty coronation melody sounded again. Mary grasped the sword''s hilt and stared at its blunted blade. She suddenly realized what she must do. She turned the sword towards herself fell on it! The blade was like nothing. It pierced through her body, but in the void, there was a tragic scream. The tyrannical blood of Leviathan suddenly dissipated. Under the sword''s merciful light Leviathan''s dark nature was destroyed as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood as it was unable to resist the command. In an instant, the catastrophe''s tyrannical power was under Mary''s control as she swept across the huge gap between humans and catastrophes. With this sword in hand, Mary was able to completely control the power of catastrophes! The true name emerged on the sword''s ridge, formed from complex alchemy matrixes. Catinat! It was the coronation sword of the Anglo Kingdom, justice and mercy embodied! Through the unprecedented difficulty and the pain of her consciousness being eroded, Mary''s consciousness was held in the music theory, and with this, she drove the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, pushed forth the Homeland Defense Front, and used the Anglo Kingdom as the body from which to use the endless power of Leviathan! The light of justice and mercy shone all through the fog of the Kingdom of Death. The light flooded every corner of the ocean, changing the violent temperament of the sea monsters. Under the blessing of the halo, they became sacred and solemn. Their animal nature was immersed in the Chapter of the Golden Victory. The animal nature of countless sea monsters being poured in made the projection of the golden dragon soar. His wings unfolded, holding the Anglo Kingdom firmly inside of them. It did not matter how powerful the storm was! However, Ye Qingxuan''s movements did not stop with the birth of Catinat, and he cautiously picked up the long case beside him. Within the case, the Staff of Destiny and the Staff of Messiah reflected the light of the flame. 729 New Testamen In a dark room in the Caucasus, it was quiet. All the musicians sat silently in their chairs, and the priest in the cassock seized the remaining time to maintain the alchemy array on the ground. In the silence, only the sound of Charles yawning could be heard. A stream of light flew into Paganini''s hand. He opened his eyes and looked at Charles. "The Redemption Corps has landed in Port Norman and started engaging in battle with the Asgardians. The ones above have sent a letter to ask you to hurry." "No rush, wait..." Charles glanced in Anglo''s direction. "Yezi has yet to take action. I don''t believe he has the heart to do nothing... Keep waiting for a bit more." Paganini smiled bitterly, shook his head resignedly, wrote a reply, and threw the stream of light out. Silence returned. In the thunder, Shi Dong boarded the Mountain of Nomadism that was done with repair works. He looked up at the flashes of lightning that continued falling from the sky. "We can''t delay it any longer." He sighed softly. "It''s time to go." "Is it okay?" Watson, who was sending him off, asked, "Setting off without waiting for the order of His Royal Highness, isn''t taking unauthorized action already considered treason in the Religious Court of Inquiry?" "The biggest advantage of living long is that you can flaunt your seniority and act on your own." Shi Dong cackled. "Plus, it''s all laid out in the plan, it''s just that the timeline has been shifted forward. Shifting it forward has its benefits as well, the longer it drags on, the higher the chance of changes taking place and messing things up. Fortunately, he gave me the stuff in advance." As he said so, he shook the case in his hand. "I''m just running an errand in his place." Watson did not pursue the argument any further, and simply bid him farewell, "Bon Voyage." Shi Dong thought for a moment and stopped in his tracks. "I''m afraid I won''t be able to come back in time later, I''ll leave the overall coordination of the Religious Court of Inquiry to you." He took off the coat of arms badge on his collar and pinned it on Watson, then patted him on the shoulder. "All this while, I have taught you everything I can. You are better than I was." Watson nodded calmly. "The next generation is always better than the previous generation, it is only right and proper." "Hahahahaha!" Shi Dong laughed and pointed at Watson''s calm face. "You have countless merits, but your arrogance is the only thing I like most." The old man took a final look at him and turned to board the Mountain of Nomadism. Soon, the Mountain of Nomadism disappeared into the deep sea and vanished. Only Watson was left smoking silently at the quiet harbor. After a long time, he sighed softly. "Letting go so casually, the old men nowadays are really bold and carefree..." Watson looked down at the coat of arms badge on his chest and smiled bitterly. "Only when I''m actually sitting in the position that I realize that the pressure is so big." In the core of the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan held the Staff of Fate and the Scepter of Messiah, one in each hand, took a deep breath, then hit the two staffs together. Bang! Like the magnificent music of Huang Zhong and Da L [1], a low rumble sounded from the slender staffs. The two staffs trembled with a buzz, and they impacted each other because of the knock. Hot alchemy circuits lit up from their cores. Unsuppressible shocks were transmitted along the staffs and along the sea of aether, and they even extended into the realm of aether. At the moment, even the Holy Cauldron responded in resonance. In the Sacred City, the King of Red abruptly looked back, his brows wrinkled, an inconcealable gloominess and rage in his eyes. Just in front of Ye Qingxuan, from the Scepter of Messiah, a bright brilliance slowly emerged and rose. In the pure shaking, it was stripped from the movement of Messiah. It was the holy legacy of Saint Hendel! In the deepest part of the Net of Aether, sensing the music theory that originated from the same source, the musical movement of Genesis responded with a rumble. Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, but still did not accept the legacy of Hendel in the end. Instead, he waved and slowly pushed it into the Net of Aether, letting the music theory grow and extend freely, combining as one with the music theory of the Heaven Ladder. From then onward, Hendel''s legacy would become a part of the Net of Aether, just like Haydn''s. As Hendel''s legacy was integrated into it, a violent quake also erupted from the Net of Aether, and a change sprouted from its depths. In addition to the music theory of the school of abstinence at its core, the music theory of the schools of modifications and chorale, which were originally its weaknesses also began to increase rapidly. In the huge crystal polygon, the countless modules forming it rotating rapidly, moving up and down. Propelled by the increasing music theory, they collided with each other and resulted in booms of thunder sounding and lightning erupting. The spirituality of the movement of Messiah operated within. The movement that symbolized the shepherding of the people in place of God also shepherded the spirituality of various music theory. As the power spewed into the Net of Aether, like the mystery of obtaining spirituality from evolved metals at the moment alchemy was applied, the Net of Aether gained an incorporeal soul. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan felt the connection between him and the Net pulsing deeply. It was so deft and smooth, with no trace of choppiness and rigidity anymore, just like a loyal and quiet servant listening to Ye Qingxuan''s orders, sworn to fulfill all his wants. Genesis, which opened up the world, and Messiah, which shepherded souls, were combined into one at the moment, and the combination actually produced such an amazing transformation, making Ye Qingxuan unable to suppress his laughter. With the help of the spirituality, Ye Qingxuan grew much more confident of what he was about to. He held the two staffs that represented supreme power, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and once again hit them together. Bang! A sharp, forlorn whine spread from the two staffs. Unlike the previous attempt which only scratched the surface of the consequences, this time around, under Ye Qingxuan''s control, two completely different types of music theory collided together, causing a quake that was almost like mutual destruction. Outside the crystal polygon, even the domain of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth was torn apart, revealing the grotesque and gaudy rainbow-colored lights in the realm of aether. Innumerable phantoms emerged from the crack, quietly gazing at Ye Qingxuan''s back, as if they had come from the past and the future. Under the guidance of the music theory of the two staffs, the afterimages left by the forebears in the realm of aether came as summoned. On Ye Qingxuan''s left, the Hendels of previous generations were expressionless. On his right, the Grand Inquisitors of each generation of the Religious Court of Inquiry, which represented the righteousness of God, stood solemnly. The history of the Religious Court of Inquiry and the Silence Governance overlapped here, and all their elements were in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. At the moment, as the two staffs knocked on each other, the cold gaze from the Sacred City looked at Ye Qingxuan, undisguised. Ye Qingxuan smiled, and the two staffs collided again. Bang! Innumerable afterimages shook and dissipated, losing the foundation of their existence in the turmoil and collapse of music theory. "Rebel!" "Arrogant!" "Maybe, it''s not bad." "Madness shall lead you to your end!" "So be it..." "What for!" Some of the projections smiled open-mindedly, some wore dark expressions, some glared at Ye Qingxuan, while others looked at him with approval. The overlapping voices constantly sounded and disappeared again. Ye Qingxuan snickered. In the rumble, he suddenly slammed the two staffs down. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, the ones that should leave, stay no more." With the final rumble that seemed to tear everything apart, the figures fell apart together with the two staffs. In the rising fire of music theory, the Scepter of Messiah and the Staff of Fate shattered completely, turning into countless stardust-like shining specks of light. Flames and light danced, triggering various imagery. The elements were undergoing annihilation in the shattered staffs erupted, and a terrifying power that humans could hardly predict spewed out from them, yet it was again firmly trapped in the flames by the Net of Aether. "Old men, get up and work!" Ye Qingxuan roared and lifted his right hand. The scepter of the Land of Dreams appeared, he slammed it into the flames. At the very moment, in Anglo, piercing chimes of bells erupted from all the churches. Countless large clocks shook furiously, responding to Ye Qingxuan''s rhythm and playing the hymn. It started from Westminster Abbey and spread everywhere, to the run-down churches, incomplete confessionals, and quiet convents, regardless of whether they were in a bustling city or a deserted mountain. All the religious orders in Anglo were mobilized in the call of the bells. The melody of the hymn resounded between the heavens and the earth. The sacred light rose into the sky, gathering towards where Avalon was located and cast itself into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Finally, it flowed into the core of the Net of Aether and blended into the fiery fire. In the rumble, the electricity of the music of reform flowed out of the Land of Dreams, and sparks flew out in all directions. In the flames, the shadow of a blade slowly emerged. At the moment when the blade vaguely emerged, a piercing sound erupted from the void, and the sound of electric current converged into a cold and solemn hymn, praising the birth of the power unto the world. Even though both were sacred, it was completely different from the music theory of the Church, and the two were distinct. At the moment of its birth, the two were destined to oppose each other. At the moment, the hymn being played in countless churches abruptly changed under the reflection of the blade. Around the altars of the churches, countless musicians piously playing the hymn gazed upon the projection that had crossed thousands of miles and appeared in front of them in shock. Reflected in the sword''s blade, the music theory of the school of choir in their bodies actually started operating on its own. With the help of the Net of Aether, they had been freed from the shackles of the Sacred City in an instant. The transformation was completed, and they entered a whole new domain. Even though the music theory seemed just as brilliant as before, the essence was completely different. Just like how the Caucasus parted ways with the Sacred City in the past, from then on, all the sects in Anglo had made a clean break from the Church, detaching themselves from the system under the Sacred City, and they would have no subordination relationship or any form of association with the Church in the future. At the moment, in Anglo''s territory, in all the churches, all the priests, all the clergy, and even Mephistopheles and the bishops, gazed at the gradually growing sword above the altar. From then on, the entire future of all the clergy of Anglo and even that of the sect that had yet to be born were reliant on the blade. But as the blade emerged, it was as if the forging process had come to an end here. No matter how Ye Qingxuan continued to irrigate it with music theory, the outline of the incorporeal sword in the flames did not appear. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan finally realized something. Laughing self-mockingly, he dismissed his scepter. "It wants me to personally reach in and take it, no?" He gritted his teeth and put his hand into the flames formed by the turmoil of music theory. Although it did not have the temperature of fire, the damage capacity of the strong light far surpassed all fire. It was a melting pot that sufficed to forge the power of God, like a forging table that contained the great power that created the world. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan felt his music theory continue to flow out nonstop, as if it had been turned into resources that were being swallowed by an invisible existence. Ye Qingxuan''s expression was unchanged, and he opened up the access to all the music theory in his body, letting them sweep out like a flood, irrigating the mighty fire. In the end, except for the incorporeal scepter far away in the future, all of Ye Qingxuan''s power was swallowed up by the unborn creation. From a scepter musician, Ye Qingxuan had fallen back to the level of the ordinary person. After abandoning everything that he had, he would usher in the final result! As Ye Qingxuan made the sacrifice, a rumble erupted. At the moment, the outline of the incorporeal sword emerged from the fierce light, and it was firmly gripped by Ye Qingxuan. As if he was holding an iron block that had been burned red, he felt a burning pain coming from his palm, which was falling apart. It spread in his mind and the non-existent soul, making him feel as if he was in purgatory. "Ask, and it shall be given to you!" He suddenly opened his eyes, gazing at the light in front of him, the crack that led to the Originator, and proclaimed the essence of its existence to the whole world. "May the existence of righteousness be witnessed with the sword, and gospel be played for the human world! At the moment, everything rumbled. It was as if the spirit of God was moving upon the face of the deep, opening up the darkness and creating the heavens and the earth! Mephistopheles heard the sounds of countless wings spreading open and turned back in surprise, only to see the wind blowing madly from the window, blowing the Holy Bible on the table apart. No more words were on the pages flying everywhere in the sky! Only a faint glow emerged, as if the heavens had heard human language! At the moment, endless light erupted from the melting pot, engulfing Ye Qingxuan, and the sonorous clanking of blades sounded in the ears of all sentient beings. Then, long, mighty bell chimes rang out, dispelling the thunder and the darkness of the night. The projection of a scorching sun operated above the skies, shining through all the darkness and filth, spilling brilliance everywhere. The light descended from the sky, dispelling the bolts of thunder falling towards Avalon. It illuminated Ye Qingxuan''s figure and the long sword in his hand that seemed as if it intended to tear the human world apart! The long sword that was simple that it didn''t even have any decorations on it was held in hand by Ye Qingxuan, and countless hymns praising it sounded from all directions. The brilliance of the power of God whipped the physical world, tearing open a gap leading to the realm of aether. The boiling torrents of aether flanked the blade, reflecting the brand new bible condensed of elements on top of the ridge of the sword. Like running water, innumerable verses flowed past the ridge of the sword. "Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. "They shall perish, but thou shalt endure. "Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed. But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. For justice shall not be forgotten, and the gospel shall last forever!" Such was the artifact reborn from the power of Fate and Messiah, after consuming all of Ye Qingxuan''s music theory as a sacrifice, the sword that could judge everything according to God''s will. Its name was: the New Testament! In the silence that had befallen the whole world, Ye Qingxuan laughed loudly. He clenched the hilt and lifted the sword, his voice resounding in all directions. "I hereby declare with this sword that Protestantism is established today. From now on, justice is with me!" Along with his declaration, an earth-shaking revolution was stirred up in the realm of aether. In the turbulent world where rainbow-colored lights shone bright, the incorporeal scepter slowly emerged from the darkness. After having gathered the power of the Net of Aether and the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, the New Testament resonated with Catinat, emitting a bright ray of light that crossed tens of thousands of miles. The light supported the incorporeal scepter and moved upward, occupying the topmost position in the realm of aether, separating the Holy Cauldron and Eden! The Land of Dreams traveled against the tides and arrived from the distant future, hereby declaring to the world that a new era was coming! [1] The Chinese proverb Huang Zhong Da L is used to refer to magnificent and grand music. Both Huang Zhong and Da L are notes in ancient Chinese music. 730 Age of Chaos In the instant that the New Testament appeared in the realm of aether, the projection of the Sacred City began to glow brightly as the massive gravitational force of music theory began to act from a distance on the element of Land of Dreams. Countless holy spirits opened their eyes from a deep sleep and stared in the direction of the enemy. It was as if the stars were fighting above the vault of heaven and were trying to push each other down the throne and into the abyss of the human world. Sacred City had been gathering the power of the human world for past centuries, so in an instant, the projection of the Land of Dreams began to shake and was about to be covered by the fog that was hanging in time. However, in no time at all, the light from Eden lit up. The stars spun and the light of Eden transformed into a torrent that formed an obstruction in front of the Sacred City. This helped to release most of the pressure for Ye Qingxuan. Shortly after, pockets of light began to glow weakly in all directions. The School of Anglo had finally made up their minds and were pushing their school''s aether wonderland and element towards the direction of the Land of Dreams. With the New Testament as an axis, the projection of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth stacked together with the Land of Dreams, then the massive net of aether extended from the physical world and connected to the Land of Dreams. Countless branches of network brought endless power to the Land of Dreams, just like how blood vessels supplied blood to the heart. The flame of Catinat appeared along with the power of Leviathan as they were riveted directly below the Land of Dreams and turned into solid ground that held up the vault of heaven. Under the watchful gaze of plenty of musicians, the Grand Master was silent for a long time before he finally sighed quietly. As the green ring on her thumb glowed, the wonderland and element of the Illusion Islands appeared from the depths of the realm of aether and headed towards the Land of Dreams. Not only that, but the core of the illusional realm that the Illusion Islands had been forging for centuries also appeared at the same time. The illusional realm, which had already cultivated a hint of the spirit and marrow of catastrophe, looked like a mirage that subverted illusion and reality. It had become a power that was no different from a material object. At this moment, as the Grand Master made her adjustments, Voodoo Hollow, Swamp of Illusion, Realm of Thousand Torrents Tens of family properties of the School of Magic appeared from the depths of the realm of aether. They obeyed the call of the New Testament and headed together towards the direction of the Land of Dreams. In an instant, countless guards of the illusional realm formed a barrier around the Land of Dreams, as if they were guarding a moat. After accomplishing all these, even the Grand Master had to take a sit on the chair. The expression on her face was complicated and indecipherable. She did not know if she had done the right thing. What she had done would allow them to obtain the unique illusion that only Ye Qingxuan possessed, which was the element of the Suffocating Ocean Abyss. But at the same time, this also allowed Ye Qingxuan to obtain their powers. The difference about the core of illusional realm lied in the fact that it was the true skeleton of the School, and its existence was the reason why the illusionists of the Islands were able to override other illusions. This time, she was gambling all the family properties of the Illusion Islands on Ye Qingxuan. If Ye Qingxuan failed, the Illusion Islands would most likely collapse completely. At this moment in time, there was constant chaos in the depths of the realm of aether. Within the upper-tier dimension that was usually dead and silent, it was like a gathering of scepters at this moment as elements appeared one after another and transformed into the projections of scepter musicians. Some of them stood and watched from a distance while others were subtly trying to get close to the Sacred City. Some other Schools were leaning in the direction of the Land of Dreams after a moment of silence. It was time to fall in. Compared to the larger schools that were comparable in scale to the Sacred City, these schools used to be prominent for a period of time but had now fallen and became unknown and amongst them, some were even persecuted and pursued by the Sacred City for carrying out forbidden research. Based on the observation of the cardinal bishops, they noticed that the hardcore culprits on the list of those wanted by the Silence Governance were all heading in the direction of the Land of Dreams. Their numbers might not be significant but nevertheless, they still occupied at least a quarter This made the cardinal bishops upset. Unknowingly, a quarter of the people were opposing the Sacred City No, the number of people that truly opposed the Sacred City must surely exceed the number that they were seeing right now, except that some of them lacked the courage to stand out or were waiting for a more opportune time or had already pledged their allegiance to Caucasian. What remained were the Dark Musicians that had lost the abyss and were no longer capable of wielding any significant power. This homeless band of brothers could only huddle with each other for warmth in the World of Dark while they watched the battle unfold on the human world. They could not be more pleased. They would never have dared to get themselves involved in such a battle. First, there was Gaius, who was a traitor and had solidified the foundations of the Church using his title as the false son of God. Then, there was Ye Qingxuan the conspirator, who had quickly built up Protestantism At this moment, it was clear to everyone that just by the massive numbers of scepters that had fallen in the realm of aether, the rule of the Sacred City was no longer as stable and sure as in the past. If one would describe the past as the cultivation of revolution, then this would be the moment where the waves of revolution were about to rise At this thought, all that one could feel was uncertainty and a sense of danger. No one could tell which of the numerous waves were the truly powerful ones. Before the new era could be ushered in, the true age of chaos had begun! Even Ye Qingxuan had no idea that so many people had been secretly supporting him all this while. At this moment, even he was taken aback by the massive power of the Land of Dreams. Within a few minutes, everything had changed. The Land of Dreams gained a stable foothold in the realm of aether and countless heaven ladders intertwined to form the net of aether. They were being connected in all directions to form a resilient structure that no longer made it possible for the Sacred City to push Ye Qingxuan out with the gravitational force of music theory. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes. "What we have to settle next is the problem in front of us" He raised his head and looked up at the sky that was filled with thunderous clouds. He held up the New Testament Sword in his hand. "In that case, form the foundations of earth and create the vault of heaven!" It was exactly the same as what the new scripture had described! In that instant, light appeared from underneath his feet and spread out in all directions. Torrents traveled thousands of miles in an instant along the homeland defense front and covered the entire lands and oceans of Anglo. Next, pillars of light shot up into the sky and held up the vault of heaven. That was holiness! It was a domain that was more massive in scale than anything else in history! In the horizon, the majestic melody played and the spiritual choral voices appeared out of nowhere. Amidst the blanket of light everywhere, aether began to flow like streams. In an instant, Anglo no longer looked the same. The map of aether, that had been covered with blocks of black, red, yellow and white colors, suddenly began to tremble. It was as if the colors of aether density had begun to tremble with the sweeping across of light. Next, aether began to flow. They flowed downwards from places of greater height, and they flowed from the earth to the sky. The red and yellow zones, that had been lingering above the oceans and lands, began to tremble and gradually extend outwards in all directions, yet their colors began to thin. In the end, even the black zone seemed to have melted away like a block of ice and all that remained was the white zone. Due to the expansive nature interference of Haydn in the net of aether, the New Testament Sword instantly mobilized the flow of aether and density of balance of the entire Anglo, such that the black zone was eliminated and the red zone was diluted and the yellow zone was completely gone. Wherever it passed, only pure white remained. All the aether currents shot up into the sky and gathered in the domain of holiness that had not stopped shaking from the cracks of thunder. The gravitational force of the music theory of New Testament was distorting the rule of physics and covering the reality, such that the net of aether was able to mobilize aether easily and complete this historically massive movement. At this moment, the domain of holiness covered the entire vault of heaven above Anglo. Countless musicians gasped in awe. "The King of Yellow?!" It was as if Mozart, the King of Yellow, had finally reappeared and subdued aether with Requiem to eliminate all pain and suffering, and restoring peace and serenity back to the human world. With the support of the Land of Dreams, the entire vault of heaven of Anglo had turned into a metal wall that was keeping the thunder at bay. Even though thunder could penetrate the holiness, it would still be dismantled by the power of the New Testament Sword. It would be as if it had been tossed into a grinding disc until, eventually, the grinding of the music theory of the net of aether would wear away the music theory and aether and turn it into pure electricity. Even though it still possessed the ability to cause damage, it would be a far cry from how it used to be, when it was capable of destroying an entire city with a single strike. This move was tantamount to replacing Anglo with his own body to bear the attacks of Gungnir. In the blink of an eye, Ye Qingxuan could feel the heat transmitting from the hilt of the sword. The thunder was causing the New Testament Sword to heat up. If he had been hemmed in a corner just like that, it would only be a matter of time before he was completely depleted by the Tree of World, which was being powered by the entire Asgard. Even though the New Testament Sword was an elemental artifact that was created from the Originator, it was still difficult for it to repel attacks of such scale and frequency. At every single second, the domain of holiness was receiving an impact that could more than destroy several cities with a single strike. Even if the layers were interchanging constantly through the net of aether, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and homeland defense front to share the impact, it was not a long-term plan. Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan was there to support for the time being, which would then free up Mary. At that moment, Mary, who was seated on the throne, opened up her eyes and held the hilt of Catinat with both hands. Both her eyes had turned golden in color and they looked towards Asgard and in the direction of the Tree of World. Thousands of miles away, the old musician could clearly sense the spine-chilling killing aura. It was a chill and brutality that emanated from the dark nature of Leviathan under the control of Catinact. The thirst of the evil dragon held in shackles could hardly be suppressed anymore. Shortly after, the seven seas were in turmoil. Countless undercurrents rose from the depths of the sea and, under the mobilization of Catinact, drove the revolving of the massive ocean and the crashing of the waves. Avalon was trembling! With the maneuvers of Mary, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth shrunk by more than three times until it became so dim that only a projection was all that was left. In exchange, the powers of the catastrophe, Leviathan, had been awakened completely! Leviathan had been revived and endless Firebird shot out of Avalon to transform into the massive illusion of the Dragon of Gold. On the turbulent seven seas, countless masses of white fog rose and were being pushed towards land by the ocean currents and sea breeze. They were so thick that they were suffocating. If one was to look down from above, one would see white-colored carpets advancing from the sea and were gradually covering the entire land. It might seem slow when being observed from a distance away, but everything was actually happening very quickly. In the blink of an eye, the thick fog was accompanied by hurricanes that rapidly covered thousands of miles. Within half an hour, they had already reached the lands of Asgard. At the same time, endless water vapor rose from the ocean and began to form heavy cumulonimbus clouds within the vault of heaven. As thunder struck, endless rain poured, as if they were chasing behind the fog and were about to cover the entire world. Ocean, fog, clouds, storms With the full force of Leviathan, its power had formed a terrifying cycle and a catastrophe was now descending onto the human world. After hibernating for centuries, Leviathan, which was one of the four living creatures, began to display a power that was completely different from Hecatoncheir but equally terrifying. Compared to the hasty retaliation previously, Mary, with the help of the Sword of Catinact, was now able to bypass the homeland defense front and gain control of the power of Leviathan. Right now, Asgard was about to face the four living creatures which were fully in their prime and were fully supported by Anglo. In particular, they were about to face the catastrophe that was most powerful of all, Leviathan! With the powers of Catinact and the New Testament, not only had they allowed Anglo to fully utilize all their combat capabilities, but their own abilities had also achieved a terrifying change in nature. The only unfortunate thing was that Ye Qingxuan had planned to cast three instead of two swords. Catinact was the sword that kings would use to rule as it represented fairness and mercy, as well as allowing man''s will to control catastrophe. New Testament was the sword that Gods would use to rule as it represented Protestantism. Other than these two swords, there was another sword that would be used to rule matters of the world. It was cast from the net of aether and other rare and valuable materials. One to control catastrophe, one to carry out the will of God, and one to confer titles of nobility on musicians. All three of them would form the perfect cycle. After the plan had been achieved and there were still available resources, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth would be used to cast a "sword of political power" to replace Stone sword and a "sword of generosity" to complement the Firebird movement of the Knights of Round Table. If Ye Qingxuan was given enough time to complete casting these five swords, no one would be able to go against his will in the future. Unfortunately, a plan would always just be a plan. If he really wanted to achieve this objective, he would have to completely use up all the family properties of every country and if he had been able to do so, Anglo would have been able to push everything aside with ease. At this stage, even if there were only two swords, Anglo was still in the position to take a leap of faith! "It is time to retaliate!" Ye Qingxuan''s voice could be heard in the Privy Council. "Issue the order to Blanc Stronghold that everyone is to get ready. Unleash the Firebird armor equipment. When the white fog rises, that''s the time Anglo fights back!" With Ye Qingxuan''s command, the siren of battle rang everywhere in Avalon. A tremendous amount of information traveled far and wide through the net of aether as all Stein chambers, from number zero to number 19, were all used to decrypt sequences. Birmingham, Luton amidst the heavy industrial areas of Anglo, the military warehouses, that were originally being guarded by heavily-equipped armies, were finally being opened. Heavy iron chariots drove out one after another as they crossed the floating bridge and boarded the warships that would be heading towards the frontline. Within the connection of the net of aether across the entire Anglo were organizations that had been training musicians in secret. The mass production musicians were selected out of the army because they possessed the talent to become musicians. They were put through a month of training and now, they were fully armed and were heading in the direction where the siren was coming from. Within less than three days of modifications, the fleet that carried the royal musicians had departed once again. At the same time, instruments of harmonious melody were being pushed out of churches to be erected towards the sky. They would form the network for catastrophe and transmit endless power to it. Ye Qingxuan listened to the breathing sound of the giant war beast through the New Testament Sword. He stared in the direction of the enemy''s location and muttered under his breath, "In that case, may this battle guarantee us our future!" 731 Victory Is in Me! Within 45 minutes, the eyes of the world were drawn to the Anglo counterattack against Asgard. In this suffocating silence, countless emergency meetings and war mobilizations were held all across the world. It was like a thread had been pulled that drew back the nets that covered the whole Western world. Amidst this grim toil and turbulence that one could not tear their eyes away from, the nations could not help but light up a cigarette, take a deep drag and stare at Asgard with eyes wide open. Anyone with a brain would understand after reading the briefings that the outcome of this war would trigger a second war that would sweep across the West. At that time, the nations'' positions, where they headed, where they chose to set their camps All of it would be decided by this war. Although not many thought that the Anglo attack would truly harm Asgard, everyone was stunned by this miraculous counterattack and its madness... Was it possible that they could win? Although it had fallen before, Asgard was still Asgard. The leader of the old world for centuries, this behemoth was still strong enough to make one despair. Even if it suffered a little setback, it could still not be compared to new and emerging nations. In the past, the winners and losers in the realm of aether had been too far from the Physical World to interfere with its functioning. The world of humans still relied on humans to be function. No one dared underestimate the power that would burst forth from Asgard once they mobilized for war. But there had been few wars in all of history that were like the one happening now. All out war had not yet erupted, and yet the two sides had already launched catastrophe weapons, bringing it to the level of a mortal struggle. Honestly, it was kind of a joke. A battle between catastrophes would determine changes in the human world? The overall course of the war depended on the struggle between Leviathan and the World Tree. For some reason, everyone felt a chill in their hearts, but could not find a blanket to warm themselves up. "It''s so cold," whispered those all over the world who were watching the battle. Time passed quickly during the urgent changes and mobilizations. The New Testament Sword''s Holy Wall was erected over the territory of the Anglo Kingdom. After a brief confrontation with Gungnir everywhere it went, it perceived the approaching power of Leviathan and no longer wasted its power in such a meaningless endeavor. At the moment, Asgard was shrouded in silence. It was like it was taking no reactions, just waiting quietly for Leviathan''s arrival. The roiling ocean currents propelled the mist like an iron wall. They carried with them a storm that ran counter to the outer seas and the rivers. At the forefront of the torrent, a vague figure walked towards Asgard step by step. The closer she got, the clearer she became. She seemed to be wearing a crown of white bones and wearing a blood-red robe. The figures face was blurred amid the thunder and rising steam. She drove the ocean forward, just like she was riding a horse. She passed over thousands of miles, piercing through the Whale Hunter Straits, and skipping over the Burgundian sea zone as she headed towards Asgard. Leviathan''s power had been incarnated as a human being, but what human had ever been so cold and terrifying? She was like violent tides and storms that had been shaped into a giant, the avatar of a catastrophe that stood hundreds of meters above the surface of the water, pulling along the roiling white mist and countless sea monsters towards the World Tree. The closer she came, the clearer they could make out her terrifying visage, until finally, divine light shone from her eyes. Her human will was implemented through this light, and she was transformed into the coming god. It was Mary. A thousand miles away, her willpower had already settled into the incarnation of the catastrophe that was created by the power of Leviathan. The shadow of a blunt sword appeared beside the incarnation of the catastrophe, and the spirituality contributed by countless sea monsters appeared within it. Endless violent tides, hurricanes, and storms were bound into the blade, making its power even more and more terrible... The sword of justice and mercyCatinat! Then, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth emerged from the void behind the incarnation of the catastrophe like a blazing aura. The Firebird pushed it to start operating slowly, causing a roar to burst forth from the void. As it arrived a roar also rang out from the depths of the land of Asgard. Under the World Tree, countless alchemy arrays expanded like roots, and in flash, they turned into rainbow-colored lights. They crisscrossed over each other, forming a bridge that covered Asgard, awakening the power that slept deep within the country''s soil. The power made music theory activate within the instruments of harmonious melody, forming a strange boundary from the very essence of Asgard that was strong enough to resist a catastrophe. Vanaheim! With the help of the rainbow bridge, the power of a catastrophe could be transported to any corner of Asgard at any time. A white frost appeared in the open wilderness. The power of Leviathan that was attached to the water vapor was constantly frozen by the cold. Asgard already had a strategy in response. They had not chosen to match flame for flame and heat for heat, and instead had deviated from their normal behavior and had frozen the area around Leviathan with a tender chill. They would not waste their effort in this meaningless place, and would instead pay the lowest cost for a favorable geographic position. No matter how the storms raised, no matter how the fog thickened, the most they could do was turn a thousand miles of wasteland to ice. The tides could not be lifted at all. If they had time, they could match Asgard''s expenditure of effort and cover their nation in an avalanche. Unfortunately, it was unrealistic to expect their enemy to be so cooperative. Leviathan stopped just in front of the area where Vanaheim was and stared at the strange wall before it. Before it lay Vanaheim, and Asgard, the world''s largest country. Before it lay the World Tree and Gungnir. Before it lay the land of its enemies. In the silence, Mary whispered, "Can we win, Mr. Ye?" "Yes." In the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth Ye Qingxuan gripped the New Testament Sword and nodded resolutely. Then Mary smiled. She had no more hesitation or fear. "So..." Leviathan''s shadow pulled the sword Catinat from its waist, slowly raised it and aimed it in front of it. Staring at Asgard with intent to kill, Mary smiled determinedly. "Here I swear, victory is in me!" In the next instant, the seas raged as numerous sea monsters cried out, their bestial nature pouring forth onto the sword. It gathered into the dragon soul, making golden dragon roar. Dragon''s breath spewed forth from the blade. Using the bestial natures as kindling it ignited the power of Leviathan that was wrapped around the sword. It was like 10,000 suns blazing high in the sky. The sword of mercy fell forward. A great roar rang out. A clamorous din spread out from the blade accompanied by violent hurricanes and turbulence. It stirred up the heavy rains and tore through layer upon layer of accumulated snow. It was like the power of the surging tides had been entrusted into the sword, making the blunt, seamless sword become the light that pierces the world. The brilliant light fell. Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Multiple explosions overlapped each other, and a crack like broken glass appeared where Vahaheim was. It spread quickly, as if it was alive. Then all was in dead silence. Amid the deathlike quiet, people all over the world stood up from their seats in shock and stared fixedly at Vanaheim. They watched more cracks appear, they watched as it shook and became unstable, and finally, they watched as it fell apart. The fear compressed their lungs, making them gasp. Vanaheim had been destroyed! At that moment, at the top of the pure white tower among the protection of the World Tree arrays, the old musician suddenly opened his eyes. Odin''s shadow appeared in the sky. Following the old musician''s actions, a fierce thunderbolt appeared in Odin''s shadow''s hands. Numerous crystals cast a brilliant light that tore through the world. Gungnir! Like destruction had been given a form the spear burst forth from Odin''s hands. A pure white hole appeared in the void. Lightning bolts spread out like branches along its trajectory and violently lashed out at everything. It came from the World Tree and headed towards Leviathan. It crossed a thousand miles in an instant. Everywhere it passed the electricity opened up the earth. Deep cracks appeared amidst its painful convulsions. Facing Gungnir, the incarnation of the catastrophe lifted the sword Catinat and turned it around so that the blade facing Asgard was no longer "Justice," but "Mercy." As Catinat changed, the blazing light on the blade became mild, and light like flowing water covered the whole catastrophe. Everything came under the control of the light of mercy. Upon the sword blade, the bestial natures of 1,410,000 sea monsters gathered into the dragon scales. The gravitational force formed by music theory pulled at the aether and enveloped the incarnation of the catastrophe. Although the figure was still in its original spot, its essence had already passed over the deepest levels of the realm of aether and entered a higher dimension. The laws of physics were distorted. Iron warped, and under the high-speed aether current, the dark sea of death rose towards the sky, guarding Leviathan''s being. The Way of Abstinence was formed by music theory, distorting the space in the higher dimension and forming a closed structure like a Mobius strip! This alone was enough to make numerous Abstinence Musicians go mad. This proved that the creator of this artifact, the Prince of Avalon, had already attained a level that only non-humans could reach. "The uncrowned king..." The lighthouse monitor sighed dejectedly as he recalled the internal evaluation the Musician''s Association had given this great enemy. Besides the king''s holy name and inherited music theory, what was the difference between the Hand of God''s power and that of the disappeared King of Yellow? Facing the light of mercy, the powerful wind and thunder were already in sight. At that moment, the blazing light pierced through the protective barrier of the sea of death, breaking through layer after layer of protection. Under Odin''s control, it traced along the marks left by the incarnation of the catastrophe. It pierced through all defenses like a hot knife through butter, striking into the deepest parts of the realm of aether and jumping into the higher dimension. Finally, it fell into a labyrinth of warped space. It was clearly close at hand, but it had trouble crossing the increasing distance. It was constantly sapped by the Firebird, but finally, it pierced through everything and reached Mary. Gungnir''s power was still the same. It was like an angry sun that could not be dissipated by dark clouds. But after losing its terrifying speed, it was calmly parried by Mary. Where it connected with Catinat there was a loud roar and shockwaves billowed out. The incarnation of the catastrophe had returned from the realm of aether. It crossed into Asgard''s territory and advanced. Everyone stared at the majestic figure that gradually emerged from the white mist and dust. It had endured Gungnir''s attacks. It had only been...lightly wounded? And at that moment, in the Commonwealth of Caucasian, the silent Charles opened his eyes. "Now is the time!" The light of Eden shone forth from the void. The projection of the Kingdom of Heaven descended, enveloping all the musicians in the basement. They disappeared in a flash. In the next moment, they appeared in the sky outside the Golden Palace. This was the super-long-distance phase jump that only existed in theory! The mode of transportation that countless musicians had only dreamed of! A miracle had happened here. Countless lights flashed beneath them. In the bustling, unsleeping city countless people looked up in shock at the projection from the Kingdom of Heaven. And at the enemies that had come from the Commonwealth of Caucasian! 732 Mercy and Cruelty At the moment the projection of Eden appeared, Paganini took out the broken stone plate from his lap and held it high. The Wheel of Balance! At the moment, a torrent of aether gushed out from it. Carrying the elements, streams of aether interwove into a phantom of the huge wheel. As the phantom wheel rotated, the membrane between the realm of aether and the physical world was broken with a rumble. The high-level dimensions and the dimensions within human perception overlapped again. In an instant, an endless power spewed out from the depths of the realm of aether, crushing all the defenses of Asgard. Even the enchantment of the Golden Palace dissipated with a rumble under the force which crushed it as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood before it could react. The domain of Eden descended from heaven onto the mortal realm. Among the mighty hymn, Charles endured the intense pain in his body and roared into the air. The bones on his back suddenly grew, and a lonely wing spread from behind him, covering the heavens and the earth. Covered by the brilliant wing of light, all the aether waves were crushed, and all the Asgardian musicians who were preparing to play their instruments trembled violently. They vomited blood, and their faces became pale. Under the wing of the catastrophe, all aether waves were forcibly smoothed. It was a restraint that only affected one party. Strengthened by Eden, a power far stronger than that in the past erupted from all the musicians of the Caucasus. In a flash, they tore the outer defense of the Golden Palace apart, and their music theory eroded inward. "Hurry up! Pay no attention to anything else!" Paganini supplied the huge amount of aether the Wheel of Balance consumed and repeatedly urged, "Don''t give the Sacred City any time to react, otherwise..." Just as he finished his words, by his side, a Caucasian musician suddenly turned around and pushed the movement of the school of modifications that he was done preparing towards Paganini. The fire blazed and the wind swept. The terrifying force of destruction erupted in an instant. No one had expected their companion to rebel suddenly and attempt a fatal attack on Paganini. No one except for Paganini. The blazing fire and the hurricane dissipated in an instant, and Paganini had already grasped the defecting musician. It was unknown whether the latter was alive or dead. "You used this trick against me 310 years too early [1]," Paganini snickered, reminiscing about the experience and lessons he learned when he betrayed the Sacred City 310 years ago, and looked down. "Right? Lord Chopin..." No one responded. Before anyone realized it, a full moon hung high above the dark sky. Under the illumination of the moonlight, everyone''s expression grew shocked. Chopin... "Guard your minds well, don''t give him any opportunities," Paganini coldly ordered. "Abandon the Golden Palace, find Chopin first, otherwise our operation can''t be carried out at all!" Saint Chopin. He was the youngest of all the saints that had existed, and also a member of the most deviant Doomsday faction within the Sacred City. He always went on and on about Doomsday coming soon all day long, claiming that God''s judgment and salvation were coming, and that the mortal realm would be buried in blazing fire. He didn''t look serious in the slightest bit and was despised by everyone, even though no one had ever shown it in front of him. In this regard, Chopin knew it well, and he was even clear about what those fellas were thinking. It was precisely because of the power represented by the bright moon hanging above the sky at the moment. The legacy of Saint Chopin. Moonlight Sonata! While the fiery sun was used as a metaphor for the dramatic changes of matter, in all the factions and schools, the lunar phase represented the source of consciousness and soul. While the sun was a metaphor for life, the moon represented the incorporeal soul. With the Moonlight Sonata as the legacy he inherited, what Chopin mastered was the dark side of the centuries-old churchthe school of heart that controlled the mind and spirit. Among all the saints, in terms of frontal attack capabilities, almost everyone could easily defeat him even by only using one hand instead of two. Of course, it also had plenty to do with the laziness of the Chopin of the current generation to devote some time and energy to learn about the music theory of other schools. But if the goal was not to defeat the enemy directly, no one could win Chopin. The crucial reason behind the recent end of the Hundred Years'' War between Burgundy and Anglo was that Chopin arrived at the border where the two were at war. Under the Moonlight Sonata, both sides lost any intention to fight. If not for the musicians on both sides doing everything they could to keep the situation in check, everyone would probably be thoroughly brainwashed by the Holy Bible and become a member of the Doomsday faction of the Church. In fact, almost all the members of the Doomsday faction of the current generation were results of the said incident. If not for his attainments in the school of heart, he would not be sent to the Ultimate as a "fuse" for the Church to ensure that the outcome of Schubert "sacrificing herself" would take place. It was a pity that, in the end, Schubert still chose sacrifice and salvation out of her own free will. She did not fight against her mission, and he was of no use. At the moment, his appearance here was undoubtedly a precautionary measure that the Church had made in advance. He was not required to defeat the enemy, and it would suffice for him to delay the time. In the short span of just a few seconds, several musicians had already become unable to control themselves. Their minds were controlled, permeated by the Moonlight Sonata. Fortunately, Paganini also knew it very well. With one of them out in the open and the other in the dark, during the confrontation at the moment, they actually used the consciousness of all the musicians present as their chessboard and battled indirectly. Everyone felt their mood oscillating between sorrow and joy, and it was difficult for them to control themselves. Soon, Paganini turned his gaze to the chaotic city below. "He is just hiding down there, find him!" He looked at the brightly lit city below with almost millions of people in it. To find Chopin was, simply put, even harder than to ascend to heaven. Paganini snickered softly, seemingly having found a countermeasure. As if he had guessed Paganini''s thoughts, Chopin''s resigned voice sounded. "With me here, your surprise attack is meaningless. Why don''t you leave while the Church has yet to react? That way, you''ll be fine, and over here I can also relax. It''s good for everyone." "Are you joking?" Paganini asked back. "If you really have mercy in your heart, you might as well remove the moonlight, and it''ll also be a good thing for the uninvolved people." "Why must you be so cruel?" Chopin sighed bitterly. "Don''t you... have the slightest bit of mercy in you?" "You are the one who forced me to do so." Paganini was completely unmoved. "Since you regard them as your shields, why do you still hope that they will not have to fulfill their mission?" As he said so, he looked at Charles. Charles looked at the chaotic crowds below, the millions of people in the whole city, and his hairs suddenly stood on end. To find Chopin from the crowd was simply like finding the proverbial needle in the haystack. Albeit feeling resigned, he could only reach out and press down into the emptiness. Soon, with Charles'' action, a soft melody sounded. Everywhere the singing that was as gentle as water passed, the crowds on the streets gradually fell into a deep slumber. But soon, the gentle singing was interrupted by tragic, sorrowful whines. Flames rose from the ground and engulfed one of the town areas, as well as the civilians who were asleep. Charles raised his head in shock and looked at the musicians beside him. The musicians were playing movements that they could master from the school of modifications and casting them at the city below, indifferent expressions on their faces. Soon, bangs sounded one after another, and the fire engulfed the streets one by one. Tragic cries and screams rose from the ground, trembling together in the fire with the dust, and finally returned to ashes in the fire. Paganini stared coldly at the fire of destruction that was constantly rising below, unmoved in the slightest bit. "What are you all doing!" Charles stared at him angrily. "Are you guys crazy? They are all civilians!" Paganini stopped him, a cold and solemn expression on his face. "Hypnosis is too slow, and Chopin can easily fish in troubled waters. Charles, don''t waste time. "The outcome of the war depends heavily on our mission. If we fail, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people will die in the war, like what you have seen..." Charles stared at him dumbfounded, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. His pupils seemed to have been ignited by the flames and the destruction, and they were burned red. The long-lost sorrowful whines that seemed like an illusion sounded once again, but this time around, they were not illusions, but an actual reality happening right in front of him. Countless people were dying. Once again, he saw that the souls whining sorrowfully emerge from the ashes. Riding on the wind and the smoke, they rose into the sky from the ground and disappeared in the brilliance of Eden. It was as if they had ascended to heaven. He pressed his forehead forcefully, enduring the immense pain the illusion brought, and roared, "Come out, Chopin!" Charles shouted furiously at the city below. "Get your *ss out here!" "I''m sorry, Son of God, but I don''t want to die yet." Chopin sighed and responded, "Although Doomsday draws near, I still feel that... it is better to die later." Although they were both musicians of the school of heart, compared to Ye Lanzhou, whose charisma and talent were unrivaled back then, Chopin and he were almost at two extremes. Yet Chopin never hid his lowliness and his hunched back. "It is my mission, just like how you have your own mission." Chopin said calmly, "Neither of us has a choice." At the moment, in a ruined neighborhood, Chopin''s figure emerged. In a flash, he was targeted. Charles clenched his fist, expressionless. Eden''s elements operated, and punishment was meted out. Against the brilliance that sufficed to burn himself to ashes, Chopin felt relief instead. Wiping the black ashes on his face, he sat down on the ground. Boom! A rumble sounded, and it was the sound of the sea of aether gushing fiercely against the currents. On top of Paganini''s head, the operation of the projection of the Wheel of Balance came to an abrupt stop, and the part where the realm of aether and the physical world overlapped began to shrink rapidly, causing the projection of Eden to sway, and it could hardly be sustained... In a flash, all forms of communication between the physical world and the realm of aether were completely blocked. Only Charles wasn''t affected. In other words, once one left Charles'' side and was several meters away from him, one would fall to the level of a formal musician. Against the sudden blockade, the wing of light that covered the entire sky was still unfolded, withstanding the pressure without shaking at all. He looked in the direction of the Golden Palace. A blazing ray of light rose into the sky from the Golden Palace, shrouding them, and a phantom shadow of the Wheel of Balance was outlined. However, it was rotating in a completely different direction from theirs. The three-minute interval was already enough for Asgard to activate the Wheel of Balance of the Church, completely separating the realm of aether and the physical world. After the invaders lost the power from the high-level dimensions, they were no longer of any threat to the Golden Palace. Along with the blockade by the Wheel of Balance, fiery aether waves emerged from nothingness one after another. Scepters emerged, outlining the phantoms of saints. As the giant wind tunnel of the Golden Palace opened, the projection of the saints descended one after another. Liszt, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, plus Chopin, who had revealed his actual body, six saints had descended in total. A power that had exceeded usual standards and sufficed to flatten any country took aim at where Charles and the rest were located. Paganini''s expression was gloomy, and he forcefully opened a crack in the blockade once more with the Wheel of Balance. "Let''s go, Charles," he said. "Mission failed." The Sacred City has actually found them. They actually found so many musicians who can inherit the power of the saints in such a short period of time. One can only say that the Sacred City has indeed lived up to its reputation? However, in such a glamorous lineup, I wonder how many are puppets, and how many are consumables? He could not suppress the fury in his heart at the thought of himself being stopped by a group of consumables. Gritting his teeth, he issued the order to retreat. "No." Charles did not move, just looked at his enemies coldly. He took a deep breath, enduring the pain of his body boiling within. He did not leave along the crack, but pulled out a weird specimen from Eden, which was behind the crack. It was like a frozen flower. The wilting sunflower was solidified in amber, and its glory and vigor in the past were maintained as if it still had life in it after a few centuries. Against everyone''s shocked expressions, he lifted the specimen of amber to his eyes. "I am still alive." He murmured softly, "So, we have yet to fail!" At the moment, in the Golden Palace, the expression of the lighthouse musician observing the battlefield changed drastically. "Stop him, hurry!" The musician of the school of revelation gazed at the specimen reflected in the observation of the lighthouse and glimpsed its essence. "It is... Cereus!" The next moment, everyone''s expression changed drastically. They disregarded their dignity and honor, and even the bearing capability of their bodies, surrounding and attacking Charles. It was not difficult to find information and intelligence regarding Charles. It could even be said that the information regarding the first half of his life was almost like common knowledge, and it was very easy to investigate. One could even find out about where he liked to dine and dash back in the academy, where he was caught and beaten up, and where he got drunk and ran around naked in the moon-illuminated night afterward. Of course, they would not miss out the most important part of the information. The fella possessed the capability of directly consuming the real body of a catastrophe through its appearance! One such instance was the tragic death of Kehlsteinhaus, the natural disaster that once attacked the Caucasus At the moment, the amber fell apart between Charles'' fingers. As if the essence had flowed away, all the power was drawn and consumed, turning into resources that entered Charles'' blood. As a result, the sunflower that had been in full bloom for thousands of years wilted and dissipated in Charles'' hands. At the moment, Charles snarled and roared painfully. In the earth-shattering waves, light engulfed him, and countless movements of destruction buried him within, but they could not drown out the thunder-like rhythm within the core. It was the sound of heartbeats. The invisible heart beat in pain, absorbing the elements and power that had appeared suddenly. It smelted music theory, consumed aether, and turned it into a wing! Thus, in the crisp sound of bones growing, Charles roared in pain. Everyone saw it amid the dissipating light and smoke. On his back, beside the wing of the catastrophe that represented the Eagle Wing Mother, the skeleton of a wing broke out. Flesh and blood proliferated on it, as if vines were growing. Finally, it was covered in feathers that were fleeting and distant like shadows. The wing seemed so far away, as if it did not exist in the present. As the wing fluttered, the petals that once belonged to the Cereus dropped from it and dissipated in the wind. The power that was enough to destroy a city was applied on Charles, but not even a hair on him was damaged, because he was far away from the world, and it was incredibly hard for anything in the world to touch him. "Now," Charles stared at his enemies and murmured softly, "it''s my turn." [1] Sarcasm. 733 Afterimage When both wings spread open above the vault of heaven, the entire world sank into silence. The wings of shadow extended themselves without a sound and swept across the void. There was no sound of wind or even the slightest trace of the presence of aether waves. In comparison, the pair of wings of light was the complete opposite. Other than naked eyes, there were no other ways of detecting its presence. It did not exist. This was Cereus. Just as everyone was still in a state of shock, Charles waved his hands and the wings of light spread open with force. The illusion of Eden appeared behind him. As he clenched his fists tightly, the illusion of Eden let out a huge roar and light poured out continuously from heaven. Tchaikovsky''s Symphony No. 4 in F minor! The roar of thunder combined with the melody in such a way that not only did it not appear out of place, but the former brought out the power and grandeur of the latter. The legacy of saints! This tit-for-tat left the saints looking very upset. No one knew how the Sacred City was able to get around the fact that Charles had already inherited a holy name and created the legacy of saints, but at this very moment, Charles was merely unleashing his movement. By doing so, the new saint that had inherited the holy name of Tchaikovsky could already sense the trembling of music theory within his body. This was all Charles'' doing. It was as if the music theory was trying to get out of his body in order to go to heaven. As the majestic melody roared, streaks of lightning struck from the sky like chains. They branched out in the direction of the saints, which left them all scrambling in retreat. The core of Symphony No. 4 was the respect and fear of musicians towards "doom." At this moment, with doom as the main theme, what it elucidated was the existence of fate. In the legacy of saints, it was the core within a core. The moment it was limited by fate, it would be completely trapped in a cage. Even a giant dragon would become a mere rabid dog if it was chained up. But shortly after, Charles did not seem to care about the incredible pressure of Symphony No. 4 and opened his other palm gradually. Symphony No. 5 roared! It was simply insane. The biggest reason why the gist power of the legacy of saints could only be unleashed by saints was that any movement would have been too great and overwhelming for ordinary musicians. If it was not done the right way and the symphony was played forcefully, the resultant pressure of the music theory could easily crush one''s consciousness. Even a saint would be very cautious when controlling such an oversized movement to avoid any counter-reactions. Besides, the holy name of Tchaikovsky was on the same level as Haydn. Even the saints knew it to be a music theory disruption that was massive and complicated and possessed a very wide range! It was also a path of destruction that contained the most intense transformations. This was definitely not as simple as one plus one equals two. The effect would definitely exceed the increments in difficulty. Any mistake and the first person to be burnt would be yourself! But at this moment, as Charles was doing two things at the same time, he did not seem to be in any difficulty. Instead, he was able to combine Symphony No. 4 and Symphony No. 5 into one. Both music theories used doom as the main theme and elucidated the path of fate but even as they clashed with each other, unlike what everyone else expected, they did not destroy each other as a result. Instead, they mixed together like fire and wind, and unleashed a destructive power that left even the saints trembling with fear. What was even more terrifying was that when Charles remained motionless, the saint that had inherited Tchaikovsky''s holy name began to scream in pain and despair. In an instant, it was as if all his blood was in turmoil as countless violent music theory spiritualities crushed his consciousness. As Charles continued to summon, he was no longer able to control his own power. He began to burn from inside and in a split second, burnt into a pile of ashes. Countless music theories escaped from his body and gathered in the hands of Charles. They infused into the legacy of saints in his body and immediately melted into the glorious light of heaven. Amidst the projection in heaven, an elderly illusion appeared. Double legacies of saints had never ever taken place before. They were the same legacies of saints gathered in one location and under Charles'' elucidation, the spiritualities of music theory extended naturally and eventually created the silhouette of a long-forgotten person. The old man opened his eyes gradually as if he had just woken up from a long dream. He looked at Charles before looking at the saints standing opposite of him. He seemed to be laughing bitterly. "My apologies, I couldn''t help myself." In an instant, everyone felt numb in amazement. The dead had been revived! Impossible! The dead were actually being revived! Tchaikovsky of the first generation had died centuries ago yet he had just been revived! It was just like when the King of Red was revived. When something as miraculous as this appeared before everyone''s eyes, all logic and rationale went out the window. To think that the saints of the first generation could be revived when the spiritualities of music theory were gathered together! It was as if these saints had been sent down to the human world once again by the will of God. "Impossible impossible" When the saints realized the significance of this miracle, some of them began to break down. "From the beginning of time, all things would die except for the Originator that would always be eternal The Originator is eternal From life to death" This was one of the iron laws of the musicians'' three oaths! Only God could be revived from death. But what was happening right before their eyes now "Don''t be fooled by him!" Liszt''s face turned green. "That''s just a fuzzy consciousness formed by the spiritualities of music theory! Don''t forget, the death of Hyakume is still in his grasp!" The music theory consciousness formed by double legacies of saints combined with the memories created from death that had been infused with Eden. Therefore, rebirth only meant the creation of a projection that possessed music theory, memory, and consciousness at the same time. A puppet! The will to continue the war seemed to have recovered at last, but everyone''s hearts were heavy and Liszt looked extremely upset. Indeed, the opponent was just a puppet that greatly resembled the real person. But how is this different from a true revival? Besides, this is definitely not all He had already received the alarm from "lighthouse." Other than fuzzy consciousness and memory, there was something different about the projection of saint created by Charles There was some sort of music theory with the same source as the Cereus! Perhaps this was the biggest reason for the revival of the saint the true power of Cereus! For a long time, countless people tried to study the sunflower of illusion that bloomed in various concentrated zones of aether. But at the end of the day, they still found it impossible to reach its spirit and marrow. In fact, they could not even figure out the reason and pattern for the appearance of these sunflowers of illusion. Eventually, they had no choice but to give up. It was only after Charles had merged the Cereus that he managed to find out the reason why the musicians had been studying the wrong thing all this while. Those sunflowers that bloomed amongst the shadows were just reflections in the water. It was useless putting in so much effort on the reflection of the moon on the surface of the sea. It was simply meaningless. Their studies were never on the right path in the first place From the very beginning, the Cereus was only a single flower. Centuries ago, it had already bloomed and once it had done so, it was destined to wilt. Since then, it was sealed in amber as a specimen and had been traveling across various countries as a piece of art. For centuries, it had been passed around tens of families and had been owned by more than a hundred people. But none of them could have imagined that this specimen sealed in amber, treated as a plaything in their study rooms, was the Originator of one of the four living creatures. In the end, the sixth Caucasian king grew tired of it and discarded it in the treasury. Since then, it was left to be covered in dust and no one seemed to care about it anymore. To the Cereus, its life and its bloom had probably ended very soon after that day. What men were observing were just signs of its nature interference through the Originator. It had died long ago, most likely even before men had observed it. But its death was also a confirmation that it had once lived. It was an afterimage anchored in the past, long sealed within the grains of time. All it represented was a sunflower that bloomed for a day. Its birth and destruction had been buried in the past, and men, who would always be rooted in the present, would never be able to come into contact with its existence nor understand its nature. Men observed its posture by looking into the past through the Originator but they would always be blocked off by time. It always seemed so near yet so far. The traces of the presence of life was the nature of the Cereus. This was the reason why it was labeled as one of the four living creatures, along with the other catastrophes, by the three sages. Dark Gaia represented "the maternal body that birthed life," Hecatoncheir represented "the limit of growth of life," Leviathan represented "the foundation of evolution of life," and the Cereus was proof of the existence of life and traces of the past and the limited amount of time that life occupied. Right now, what had been settling at the depth of the Originator but had now reappeared in the world, due to the summoning of Charles, was not life but the residues of the past. It was a reflection that had been produced by the gathering together of records of the past, and a miracle that had been molded after the traces of history. As a result, the dead had been reborn, like ashes being reignited once more. Before too long, Paganini understood the nature of this miracle. When he looked at Charles, there was a complicated look in his eyes. What price have you paid for this miracle this time around? At this moment, other than Charles and Paganini, the projection of the saint Tchaikovsky had also joined in the battle. "Looks like it''s three against four now." Charles smiled as he looked at his enemies. "Victory no longer seems so certain, doesn''t it?" Liszt remained indifferent and unshaken. "Your authority and power were obtained through stealing, you have usurped the truth and you falsely declare yourselves as God You are demons disguising yourselves in robes of the Church. What right do you have to claim victory?" With that, holy light, hundreds of times hotter than before, burst out of his body as countless streaks of lightning and flame surrounded him. Under the castigation of music theory, reality was being distorted That was the purest form of a destructive element. A power, that was known amongst the saints as the number one destruction, had appeared. It would burn one''s consciousness, light up one''s body, without any care or concern for one''s life or future. Liszt was ready to go all out. After he had taken the lead, all the saints began to light up their own music theories as if they were martyrs. The power, that had already exceeded the standard, rose once more. Under the resonance of each other, the projection of the Holy Caldron descended once again! As he stared at the Holy Caldron, which seemed to be filled with fresh blood, a hint of cruelty flashed across Paganini''s eyes. Just as he had predicted, the Church had been keeping a low profile all this while not because they were content to sit aside and watch, but because they had been making their final preparations for battle. All this while, the Church had probably gathered the reserves of the past few centuries and the most precious fortunes of the Sacred City and thrown them all into the Holy Caldron. At this moment, the fresh blood represented power that originated from catastrophe! For centuries, all the actual bodies of catastrophes, that had been gathered by the Sacred City through the Religious Court of Inquiry and the Silence Governance, had probably been thrown into the Holy Caldron to be used as its food! This was a top secret that probably even the saints had no idea of. It was just as he had guessed many years ago that saints were merely the products of the Holy Caldron, even if they seemed very precious and important. As long as the actual bodies of catastrophes continued to be thrown into the Holy Caldron, the number of saints that could be produced might even exceed the original number. This power that could convert catastrophe must come from the same source as Charles'' abilities! They might be in the thick of battle but an even stranger thought appeared in Paganini''s mind. But very quickly, that thought was buried in the depth of his heart and was sealed forever. It would even be erased from his memories without leaving behind any traces. Its existence could only be proven by that moment of shiver. "Oh God" 734 Magic Gold The torrent swept over the land of Asgard. The dark tides ran over the land, so vast that they seemed to snuff out the air. Everywhere the torrent passed, the sound of the tides could not be heard. Instead, all that could be heard was the sharp sound of gold and iron scraping together. This was the collision between Vanaheim and the power of Leviathan. Everywhere that the incarnation of the catastrophe went, the white mist and violent seas that preceded it covered the land of Asgard. The mighty forces collided with each other in the uninhabited wilderness like a battle between fire and lightning. Light and darkness intertwined. Under the cover of the ocean, the power of Leviathan was not as had been expected as it had been weakened when it entered Vanaheim. But as Vanaheim was suppressed by the sea, it became more violent and terrifying. As the blade of justice fell, in the distant pure white tower that supported the dark sky, the shock made several Scepter musicians spit up blood. Catinat''s power still acted on them through Vanaheim. The four Scepters had actually been injured by the shockwave. Facing Gungnir as it pierced out from Odin''s shadow, the incarnation of the catastrophe slowed its pace. It was only a few hundred kilometers away, but a step away for a catastrophe, but it was firmly held in place and unable to advance. The incarnation of Leviathan roared. The sound was like the song of an iron whale. In the void, the bestial natures of countless sea monsters gathered into the incarnation of the catastrophe. It was ignited by this power, and the flames blazed wildly. The power of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth once again rose sharply, and a layer of the light of the Firebird coated the inhuman catastrophe. The will of human and catastrophe were united here. Suddenly, a gravitational force extended out from its whole body, pushing back the boundary of Vanaheim inch by inch. A severe gap was opened up in the vast field covering Asgard, and the unfettered Leviathan swept its sword forward. The sword''s light collided with Gungnir in the void, burning the earth and causing several rivers of lava to burst forth. Leviathan took a step back at this collision, and for the first time, a small crack appeared in Catinat''s blade. The closer it got, the more terrible Gungnir''s power became, until it was almost impossible to resist. In the earliest plan, Gungnir would have been formed around Odin. If the giant of the land was Odin''s body, then Gungnir was his weapon. Compared to the terrible power when the spear was thrown, the pressure exerted on Mary when Odin controlled the spear was even greater and more terrifying. It was like facing a meteor strike. Calamitous fire fell from the sky, bringing destruction and despair! Mary took a deep breath, gripped Catinat, and drove Leviathan forward. The earth roared and floods burst forth from underground streams. The primitive animal nature of numerous sea monsters flowed out from the blade, blending into the dark tide of the sea. It was like the seeds of countless disasters were being sown. The animal natures quickly absorbed aether and sprouted, working in concert with the power and elements in the realm of aether. They developed and grew. Finally, numerous giant beasts broke out of the vesicles and roared as their carapaces quickly hardened. Their edges and corners were sharp and their natures were fierce. They were the vile spawn of the sea! Hundreds of sea monsters emerged from the tide, spread out, and swam in the field created by Vanaheim, bringing their frightening power to bear in a siege of the World Tree! Atop the white tower, the old musician sighed dejectedly. There wasn''t enough time. He couldn''t stay tangled up in this mess, the Golden Palace... He hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind. He looked behind him. "Master Wagner, may I trouble you for your assistance?" The pale old musician was wearing the same badge the of the Church, had the same severe uniform, and his mottled white hair was combed back in the same way. It was Wagner, who had been away for a long time. Under pressure from the Commonwealth of Caucasian, the King of Red had no way to convince the King of Black to get involved, but he had recalled Wagner from the world of dark. "It is my duty." In the face of the old musician''s downcast attitude, Wagner was neither arrogant nor self-satisfied, he merely nodded. "Everything is for the purpose of safeguarding righteousness." He closed his eyes. Then, a mighty melody of war rang out from the sky. In the mighty glow, the shadows of many giant spirits came forth from the light. They drew upon Asgard''s nearly limitless aether reserves and solidified. It was a legion! Wagner had never been so extravagant in the past, but in an instant, he had exhausted a third of Asgard''s aether reserves. A third of the reserves that countless musicians had accumulated over the centuries had been exhausted in an instant by a single movement! It was as if the legion that defended Heaven was coming down to Earth. Over the divine gathering of bestial nature, valkyries made of God''s authority were formed. The determined valkyries were armored in iron and rode on six-legged horses. Their iron hooves trampled across the sky as they charged towards the earth. The earth trembled! The warhorses neighed and horns blew, and the valkyries rode towards the iron-looking world, charging at the sea monsters. Hundreds of valkyries gathered together in a stream of iron. They galloped forward mightily, smashing through every obstacle. The tides were broken, the sea monsters were pierced, and Leviathan''s field was torn apart by sudden onslaught of divine elements. Bang! The incarnation of the catastrophe took a step back as serious looking cracks appeared on its body. Wagner''s will was entrusted into the valkyries divine elements as if he was driving lightning and fire forward to block the incarnation of the catastrophe. The incarnation of the catastrophe was unconcerned and unwavering. It lifted Catinat towards its enemies. At that moment, far away in the Anglo Kingdom, Ye Qingxuan sighed softly and closed his eyes. Silver light poured through the Net of Aether that covered most of the West. In the realm of aether, the brilliant Scepter of the Land of Dreams tore a hole in the physical world, put forth its projection, and appeared beside the incarnation of the catastrophe. The New Testament Sword descended from the sky, falling in front of Wagner''s divinity. Then, great amounts of light gathered together. Entering the aether cycle, Ye Qingxuan, who was placed within the void, slipped free from the bondage of flesh and blood and by means of the Holy Spirit arrived thousands of miles away. Looking at the giant valkyries who surrounded them, Ye Qingxuan smiled and drew the New Testament Sword. He nodded at the incarnation of the catastrophe. "Just keep dealing with the Asgardians, Your Majesty. Let me experience Master Wagner''s movement." "Ye Qingxuan?" Wagner''s projection stared at the incomparable Holy Spirit before him, the one hailed as the most awe-inspiring musician in centuries, the strongest rebel against the Church. But there was no anger or disgust in his expression, only a kind of understanding. It was like, Ah, so that''s what you look like. He did not hesitate long at Ye Qingxuan''s challenge. He merely pondered for a moment then nodded and said, "Well, I did not expect to have the chance to confront His Excellency the Grand Inquisitor." "I won''t disappoint you." Ye Qingxuan grinned and put his sword in front of him. In a flash, the wrathful movement of The Day of God''s Fury played and brilliant flames spewed forth from the blade. The earth was trampled by iron hooves. It shrieked and cracked as the iron flood streamed over it. It was like the heavens and the earth was shaking. Amid the loud roar, the light from the iron engulfed Ye Qingxuan. Facing thousands of valkyries galloping towards him, Ye Qingxuan saw them stand up on their warhorses as their iron hooves trampled over everything as they bore down on him. The valkyries clenched their axes and spears and brought them down upon him! Bang! The axes and spears stopped abruptly before the New Testament Sword as the blade resisted the valkyries'' power. Then Ye Qingxuan stamped his foot, and without regard for the spears thrusting towards him, he slashed out, "Get out of the way!" Light rushed towards the sky. The light of God''s wrath rushed forth, and the longsword sliced through axes, spears, warhorses and the valkyries atop them like a knife through butter. It fell to the ground and a large crack was chiseled into the ground from its arrays. If the divine elements were a grindstone for bestial movements, then the Day of God''s Fury was the nemesis of the divine elements, the end of all heretical false gods! The greatest thing holding mortals back was the natural limit of a flesh and blood body. Facing thousands of enemies by oneself you would be sliced in two in an instant. But after entering the aether cycle, this limitation had suddenly disappeared. He could finally act as fast as he thought, and his attacks surged forth along with his desire to kill. In a flash, the brilliant stream of light engulfed both sides. The valkyries cried out as the fearless attack came, and they were smashed under the New Testament Sword. Then the shattered valkyries were reborn from the void and encircled Ye Qingxuan. They came without end. It was as if they were endless. Just behind the arrayed valkyries, Wagner''s projection stared silently at everything. After a while, he thrust out his right hand and looked at his index finger. Originally in this state of being an incarnation of the Holy Spirit, there would be no jewelry left. But there was an old ring on the index finger of his right hand that seemed to be made of pure gold. It seemed to have gone a bit dark over its long existence, but it was still difficult to hide its eye-catching luster. It was a great temptation. Wagner''s inheritancethe magic gold of the Rhine. Legend had it that the ring of madness that had caused so many marvels in the realm of aether was also a source of divinity, carrying the artifacts of countless valkyries'' spirits. But now, Wagner took off the ring that represented great authority, opened his mouth, and swallowed it. The incarnation of the Holy Spirit had no desires of the stomach, and could not digest mortals'' food, let alone metal. But after swallowing this magic gold, Wagner''s incarnation of the Holy Spirit trembled, as if it was in great pain. Some supreme will had been awakened inside the magic gold and was running through his body. It was divinity. Divinity emerged from within his body and ignited. It was like the collision between ice and fire: it melted the earth and froze the sky. An illusory projection appeared behind him. Lightning flashed and thunder roared in the dark sky. Frost and lava wreaked havoc, bringing everything to an end. The final, brutal war had been set off. After the last three long winters, the world welcomed its final dusk before everything was given over to destruction. It was the death of God. At that moment, the void projection collapsed. Wagner looked up and a blazing crown appeared on his head. The thin incarnation of the Holy Spirit had already expanded to more than a few meters in size. It was bathed in frost and flame, and it held a flame-shaped epee like it was holding the pillars of heaven and earth. He tilted the epee, and the earth overturned along with it. The heavens and the earth cried out. Facing Ye Qingxuan''s power, Wagner gripped the sword''s hilt and marched forward from among the surging valkyries. His blade fell! 735 Mission Accomplished Bang! Ye Qingxuan took three steps back. Faced with Dies Irae, which was the natural enemy of his music theory, unlike what Ye Qingxuan had imagined, Wagner was not restrained by many limitations, instead the gushing power became more and more violent. It was a power that made it seem as if the heavens and the earth were collapsing towards the enemy... Feeling the power acting on the blade, Ye Qingxuan suddenly felt a strong doubt in his heart. Is the old man really so sick that he is dying like what the rumors claim? Instead of being in decline, his current state seems even more incredible than that back in his heyday, no? The old man gave Ye Qingxuan a totally different feeling of pressure as compared to that imposed upon him by other saints. The pressure did not come from his power, but from his will. The hostility coming from the old man was like iron, not giving Ye Qingxuan any chance to catch his breath. Every collision of the blades made Ye Qingxuan feel his will shaking. The old man felt similarly arrogant, but unlike the somberness, Hendel made one feel, Wagner was like a star revolving in its orbit. Something firmer was supporting him, and it was deterring Ye Qingxuan even though Ye Qingxuan was seemingly on the cusp of victory no matter how one looked at it. "You must go all out, you can''t afford to give him any exploitable opportunity!" In his mind, a voice told him so. "If you relax in the slightest bit, you will be shredded by his power and burned into ashes!" Have I estimated wrongly, and are saints actually all such fierce fellas? "Hey, you''re an elderly gentleman, don''t be so fierce." Parrying the flame-bladed sword, Ye Qingxuan gazed at Wagner and asked curiously, "Aren''t you worried of getting a brain hemorrhage?" "Rest assured, I am still considered physically strong." Wagner laughed hoarsely, and the iron stream of Valkyries rushed at Ye Qingxuan, pressing on step by step. "This kind of battle can''t even be considered a warm up, young man!" Completely disregarding the blade of the New Testament Sword striking down, the flame-bladed epee was lifted up, and it struck toward Ye Qingxuan''s face. A few meters away, the pressure brewing up in the blade almost made Ye Qingxuan''s hairs stand on end. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but doubt whether he was suppressing the old man or being suppressed by the old man? No, something is wrong... Comparing their powers, Ye Qingxuan had the New Testament Sword in hand and was supported by the projection of the Land of Dreams. He was the embodiment of the Net of Aether, and he had completely entered the domain of upper-level catastrophes. Plus, he had the movement of Dies Irae in hand, which was like a natural enemy to Wagner. Moreover, he possessed an explosiveness that far surpassed ordinary catastrophes. But upon facing a natural enemy like me, surprisingly, Wagner has not opted for attrition warfare, but instead he has forcefully attempted a direct confrontation? What makes him feel that he can win? The death of each Valkyrie is equivalent to a trauma to his scepter, and it will only accelerate his demise. In other words, he is only committing a seemingly bold and heroic act of seeking out self-destruction. What on earth is he trying to do... Also... Ye Qingxuan looked at him, and his gaze turned cold. "What on earth are the Asgardians trying to do?" Wagner smiled. "How would I know?" At the moment, Ye Qingxuan finally realized it. Wagner had never intended for their fight to come to a conclusive outcome! He just wants to hold me back! Even if it is only temporary "Your Majesty, please destroy the Tree of World as soon as possible! The longer we wait, the more likely it is for us to run into trouble!" With Ye Qingxuan''s voice, the embodiment of the catastrophe advanced amid the rumble, no longer caring about her own defenses. The power of the catastrophe operated with a rumble, urging countless sea demons to help her block the bombardment of Gungnir, attacking recklessly. At the same time, Ye Qingxuan sighed softly at his enemy. "In this case, I''m afraid that I can no longer take into consideration the dignity and honor of musicians in the upcoming duel." "It''s only right and proper, one should be unscrupulous in battles!" Wagner changed his posture, skillfully putting on the attacking stance of the Knights Templar. The expression on his burning face was composed and resolute. "Please don''t hold back, dear sir." Ye Qingxuan sighed and closed his eyes, lifting the New Testament Sword high. A mighty melody played on the blade, and the projection of the Land of Dreams descended once more. In the darkness of the universe, endless starlight emerged, coursing throught the Net of Aether together with Ye Qingxuan''s tenacity. From the New World! At the moment, in the realm of aether, the Land of Dreams shone brightly. It was as if the fog concealing the future had been cleared. All the elements that had been connected as one by the Net of Aether and the Land of Dreams, and all the musicians resonating with the Land of Dreams heard the melody from the distant future. The contours of the crystal polygon emerged from the Land of Dreams. Countless modules rotated rapidly, affecting all the instruments of harmonious melody that were connected to it in the world. The first connection, the second connection, and the third connection. Information transmitted with the way of deciphering. The Net of Aether opened. The instruments of harmonious melody were preheated and the alchemy arrays operated. The connection via the Heaven Ladder was complete. In the next moment, all the war musicians felt the core music theory in their bodies operating on its own, and their sound of heart shook. Strands of aether wove into movements, passing through layers of alchemy arrays. Along the Heaven Ladder, the brilliance of countless stars coursed through the invisible network in a flash, and gathered between the 41 giant instruments of harmonious melody of the crystal polygon. Above the sky, it was as if Venus had lighted up. The Guide hanging high at the topmost of the sky was started, looking down at the earth from the faraway skies. It guided travelers to the road leading to the future, directing all the power to where Ye Qingxuan was located. As Hephaestus was not here, it was the blade in his hand that was bearing the strong, unparalleled pressure in Ye Qingxuan''s stead. In an instant, the New Testament Sword was burned red by the horrifying torrent of aether. Then, the color changed from bright red to steel blue. After undergoing several changes, it entered the domain of pure white. 160,000 musical movements were gathered here. Matter seemed to have dissolved in the torrent of aether, and the New Testament remaining in Ye Qingxuan''s hands at the moment turned into light. Just by holding the hilt, one would feel as if one was about to dissolve in the mighty power as well. "This is "From The New World"? It is indeed a mighty movement leading to the future," Wagner praised it sincerely. "In terms of structure and scale, I am not as good as you are." "I''m sorry, Master Wagner... Such an unfair victory is really not what I have intended." Ye Qingxuan was expressionless. He lifted the hilt, raised the light the New Testament had turned it high and struck at his enemy! Wagner raised his head and gazed at the stream of light of destruction descending from the sky. The endless pressure was like the collapse and fall of the iron skies. It need not even attack, as the gravitational pull radiating off the 160,000 movements was enough to destroy all the movements in front of it. At the moment, he held the flame-bladed epee in his hand and lifted his head to look up at the brilliant stream of light in the sky. "Everything passes from birth into death, it is only right and proper," Wagner murmured softly. In his hand, on the hilt of the burning sword, the real name outlined by elements emerged silentlyL?vateinn. The Sword of Dusk and Destruction L?vateinn! An elegy played from the blade, mourning the end of the last winter and the last dusk. It sang about the fires of destruction rising from hell, from the mortal realm, from heaven, and from all parts of the world. The fire would burn the nine main worlds away, pierce through the core of the world, tear the heavens and the earth apart, and bury everything, tangible or intangible in the fire. The gods and the world would meet their end here. At the moment, the blood-like flames swallowed and burned him, transforming all the power into the purest form of destruction. Then, the flames rose into the sky. Destruction and destruction collided. Fire and fire fought each other. Light and light swallowed each other. As if countless pieces of steel were colliding, the bangs resounded throughout Asgard, and the roar in the flames reverberated in everyone''s ear. The skies broke apart, and a hurricane swayed and spread. Its huge eye slowly formed, but was torn apart by a more terrifying power the next moment. In a flash, it was all over. The light dimmed and dissipated, and the flames went out. On the scorched ground, countless particles of dust and frost fell like snow, mixing together. Ye Qingxuan gazed at the chaos with a complicated look. Had it not been necessary, he wouldn''t have wanted to kill Wagner, even though the old man was his enemy. He even felt that it was a great honor to have such an enemy. But soon, his gaze turned from resignation to shock. Because amid the dust and frost, a stumbling figure slowly walked towards him. It was Wagner. He was still alive... Propping his body up with the broken blade, Wagner staggered. The flames on his body was like a candle flame flickering weakly in the wind, but it continued to burn stubbornly and refused to be extinguished. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and slowly lifted his right arm that could still somewhat be considered complete, and pointed the broken blade at the enemy. "Again!" On the broken face, his eyes were still bright. No power was reflected within, but they were still like fiery suns. "I have yet to die, young man." He announced to his enemy, "You have yet to win!" Ye Qingxuan was silent, and after a long time, he sighed softly. "I lost." He didn''t want to continue fighting Wagner anymore. "What sort of joke are you saying, don''t let me feel like you are accompanying a shameless old man at his games. Ye Qingxuan, this is war, how can a war end without death? "If you have even the slightest bit of respect for me, then raise your sword." Wagner looked at Ye Qingxuan coldly, his voice hoarse. "Everything passes from birth into death, and it is only right and proper for the battle to come to an end!" Ye Qingxuan said nothing, just looked at him, his gaze full of sorrow and pity. A sigh sounded. "Enough, Mr. Wagner, it''s already enough." On the tower of pure white, the old musician lowered his head, not daring to look at the saint''s figure from the back. He just implored in a low tone, "Thank you for everything that you have done for Asgard, you need not sacrifice any more." In the silence, only the sound of the fragments peeling off from the broken body could be heard. "Is that so?" Wagner stopped, and after a long time, he seemed to have realized something. L?vateinn landed on the ground, along with his broken right arm. After stopping, he couldn''t even maintain the completeness of his body. The broken face slowly turned, and he looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Sorry, it seems that I have won this battle by being a shameless old man." "It''s only right and proper." Ye Qingxuan nodded, and replied like how Wagner had, "One should be unscrupulous in battles." Upon hearing Ye Qingxuan''s answer, Wagner smiled softly and seemed to have been freed of a burden. "Then, I can also be considered as... having accomplished my mission..." He closed his eyes. Under the shattered iron skies, illuminated by the dim sunshine, Wagner''s body fell apart, turning into ashes and dissipating in the wind. Only a dim piece of magical gold fell onto the ground, covered in cracks. Ye Qingxuan bent over and picked up the broken ring. Looking at Wagner''s last remaining legacy, he couldn''t help but sigh. Yes, Wagner won. He used his own power to buy Asgard three final minutes which were the most crucial, bringing an opportunity for Asgard to turn the tide in the war, even though the price was his own death... He did not use despicable means to delay, nor did he win with treacherous calculations. He won fair and square. I lost. Then, he heard a rumble coming from the depths of the ground. On the tower of pure white, countless alchemy arrays shone, and the huge alchemy array known as the Tree of World was slowly rising from the depths of the soil. It was as if the huge, giant tree had come alive, pulling out its roots from the earth. The terrifying fruits hidden beneath the earth were pulled out as well. As the heavens and the earth shook, the White Tower collapsed with a rumble. Innumerable silver-white alchemy arrays peeled off from the White Tower, and the roots were withdrawn from the depths of the earth, pulling out the fruits that were finally done brewing up. A behemoth was emerging from the depths of the earth. Within the glaring light and the enchantment of the school of abstinence, the steel giant that had been slumbering like an embryo slowly opened his eyes. As the alchemy arrays of the Tree of World passed through the enchantment and attached themselves to his body, it was as if blood had finally begun to circulate in its blood vessels. In his chest, the divinity which was surging like thunder began pumping, guiding the mighty aether flow to course through the blood. It was the super gigantic armor known as the Land Giant, the strongest weapon of war in the mortal realm. Hercules! But now, it could no longer be addressed as Hercules. After hanging upside down from the Tree of World for seven days, he had been bestowed with divinity and mysterious powers. At the moment, it had become Odin. Odin, the catastrophe! After the death of the Second Prince who was the only one capable of resonating with Odin and withstanding the divinity, the current emperor, who was previously the First Prince, ordered for Odin''s vast power to be separated into parts, and many giant weapons of war were created with its power. What was originally the Land Giant was also provided with relief, and it evolved from ordinary metal into the container for such a huge force. Bestowing steel with a soul. For quite a long time, it had been absorbing the geothermal energy of hundreds of volcanoes in Asgard with the arrays of the Tree of World, and it evolved beneath the White Tower. At the moment, the final step was finally completed. Just like Ye Qingxuan''s smelting of Catinat, with the arrays of the Tree of World and the Land Giant, the Asgardians finally mastered the inhuman power completely as human beings. At the moment, strengthened by the Tree of World, Hercules, which was made of metal of the mortal realm, had become Odin, the godly armor. The steel giant over a hundred meters high wore the crown of thunder on its head, and slowly descended from the sky like a god. It landed on the ground, and the horrifying brilliance of Gungnir emerged from Odin''s palm. The creation smelted by the Asgardians with taboo technology, as well as the dedication and sacrifices of countless musicians for centuries, Odin the godly catastrophe irrigated by divinity, had awakened here. It was a throne that Arthur had once longed desperately for, even in his dreams. The ruler of heaven and earth, the eternal emperor of the mortal realm and hell! At the same time, rising from the depths of the earth were brilliant glows representing saints. They had probably been helping Hercules to integrate the divinity and complete the final steps all this while. But what surprised Ye Qingxuan was that he couldn''t recognize any of the four saints. None of the saints had appeared in the information gathered by the various countries before, and they were not on the list of surviving saints at all. Brand new saints? In the sea of aether, the elements outlined their real names. Verdi, Mahler, Puccini, Telemann... They were simply unheard of! 736 Witness Ye Qingxuan racked through his brains but he just could not come up with the names of these four people. These four additional saints had appeared out of nowhere and that left Ye Qingxuan feeling uneasy. Since when did creating saints become easier than giving birth to children? What made him even more uneasy was how Charles was doing over at the Golden Palace. In actuality, Anglo and Caucasian had yet to officially become allies. The way both sides had been able to collaborate with each other so effectively and seamlessly was all due to the familiarity between Ye Qingxuan and Charles. To him, the sooner the Caucasian and Gaius died, the better. But he definitely did not wish for that outcome to be at the expense of losing Charles'' life. Fortunately, he knew that Charles was a crafty fellow who would definitely try to flee if he knew that there was no chance of winning. The sky cracked and the metal vault of heaven broke into pieces. The holy light of Eden shone on the entire Golden Palace. The rays of light were so intense that the entire palace was heated up into a red color. Compared to the abnormal-looking sky right now, the earth seemed so far away and the palace seemed so small and fragile like the shell of an egg. The land was covered with countless dust, which seemed to be looking up at the vault of heaven and praying for the disaster to come to an end. But the light of salvation continued to shine above the vault of heaven as the mighty power of God''s punishment remained within Eden. The light-filled sky looked so beautiful and grand. It was as if a single drop of light was capable of destroying the entire earth. The mortal world screamed in despair as they had nowhere to hide. Their eyes were filled with hopelessness as they looked at the sky and prayed for a swift ending to all these. Or perhaps, the end had already come. As for the war, the war continued. Make no mistake, it was a war. A single person was facing all of Asgard and the entire Sacred City at war. No, if someone was that confoundingly powerful, should he still be considered as a human? Everyone who was watching the battle had the same doubt in their minds. Is this a power that human bones can support? A power that human muscles can push? A power that the human will can control? Or is he a God? The crown of light descended from Eden and between the wings of light and shadow, Charles stood above the vault of heaven. He stretched out his hands in anticipation of the incoming attacks, curses, and illusions from all directions, yet also remaining unmoved. With a quiet sigh, saint Liszt closed his eyes. The power, which had been constrained by the human body all this while, suddenly exploded. "May my sacrifice be worth something" In that instant, the ultimate element of transformation, which was the fruit of destruction that humans had been building for centuries, finally appeared. It was like a giant ax and it had crushed all physical matter. Amidst the chaos of elements, a figure of light appeared. It rose from ordinary objects and up into the domain of God. It was the final "Mazeppa." Annihilation blackhole spun like the stars and struck Charles continuously. The cave of annihilation, which could easily destroy an entire city, landed in Charles'' hands. It broke like an illusion, one after another. Before the terrifying impact could truly explode, it was completely contained within the projection of Eden. No matter how many powerful and violent torrents of fire there were, they were still unable to achieve a breakthrough. "Chopin, how long do you intend to just sit by and do nothing?" Mendelssohn stared furiously at his companion but all he saw was a bittersweet smile. "Actually, from the beginning until now, I have been trying to break through the defense of his mind." Chopin laughed self-deprecatingly as blood began to ooze out from the organs of his five senses. "But only now did I realize that he has no defenses whatsoever. All my attacks have been only been devoured by him" It was not that there was no way of breaking through, but that there was no response whatsoever. It was like trying to give suggestions to a rock. There was no such thing as ''consciousness'' in the enemy''s body, only an ocean of light that was so deep and wide that almost drowned him. Was this really the consciousness of a human? It was as if he was facing the terrible silhouette of Hyakume again. All he could see was a bottomless pit of darkness and an emptiness that was not human. Could a monster like that possess a human personality? "I''m sorry." Chopin replied hoarsely, "There''s nothing more that I can do." The ear-piercing sound of the breaking of scepter could be heard from his body, leaving Mendelssohn completely stunned. In the blink of an eye, the glow of Mazeppa had died. Liszt, who was completely burnt by now, fell from the clouds and the ashes disappeared into the endless light. But with his sacrifice, not only did the projection of the Holy Caldron not dissipate, it began to gaze even more. The color of blood swayed in the caldron and brand-new elements rose from within, one after another. Above the vault of heaven, stars began to fall as the light from the Sacred City descended onto the lands of Asgard. Within ten minutes, the first batch of reinforcements from Sacred City had arrived. They represented the hope of clinching victory, but at the same time, everyone that as watching the battle could not help but shiver in fear. Six saints! It was another six saints! Egor, Gluck, Rossini Those foreign holy names appeared from the elements. Shortly after, the relics, that had been sealed by the Sacred City due to the third legislative amendment of various countries, appeared in their hands. Amongst them were artifacts that were comparable to Gate of Heaven, and there were even three items that were newly-casted weapons Those were weapons that were not cast in order to spread the glory and truth of God. They were cast against the truth and for the purpose of destruction, massacre, and annihilation. Their existence alone shook the entire mortal world. The cruel shine of the blade was reflected onto the musicians that were standing behind Paganini, leaving them crippled with fear. It was as if a moment of carelessness was all it would take to melt them completely. Yes, melt. They would melt under the light of judgment and would be put through cleansing as if they were mud. The instant that they appeared, all the saints attacked the same time without any hesitation or mercy for the commoners. They did not care if the entire Golden Palace would be embroiled in the attack! In the blink of an eye, Charles was pushed into the core of Eden so much so that the domain of Eden was almost broken. The light of destruction, which had been sealed in Eden, poured out like a storm in all directions. The expression on Charles'' face changed. He paid no attention to the relics that were coming towards him. Instead, he forcefully expanded Eden''s projection, as if he was trying his best to hang onto a horse carriage that was out of control. He was finally hurt by the blade of the sword. A terrible wound appeared on his arm but there was no blood. It was as if there was no longer such a thing as blood in this body anymore. He had no choice but to dodge the attacks of the saints. He could see that they were prepared to go all out just to destroy him. "Are you all trying to destroy Asgard!" He gritted his teeth as he stared at his enemy. But the saints did not say a word. They only continued to attack without any reservations. They did not care about their own lives or the lives of others. They no longer cared if they were destroying the good along with the bad. All they cared about was destroying this false God in front of them. "Is that so? I understand now" Realization finally dawned on Charles and the expression on his face became cold. "In that case, it doesn''t matter even if you are killed by me, right?" In that instant, a chill ran down the spine of Mendelssohn, "Why is that the Sancta Sedes still refuses to step in even at this stage?" He began to mutter in panic, "If we had ''Destiny''." Indeed, with the movement of "Destiny," surely even the false God would be no match for it? Chopin took a glance at him and countered, "What if ''Destiny'' fails to kill him?" Mendelssohn kept quiet. He did not consider the possibility. If the last resort of Sacred City, "Destiny," failed to kill him, what else could they do? Not everyone possessed the courage to face this battle that was beyond human imaginations. When the first batch of Sacred City''s reinforcements came, the scepter musicians behind Paganini began to turn pale. "Are we not retreating?" Someone finally mustered the courage to ask, "We will only get in the way of Lord Charles by staying here right?" Paganini did not look back. He was fully focused on the battlefield. "No, we must stay." He remained unmoved. "There is a purpose in us staying behind." "Are we supposed to applaud and cheer on the son of God?" Someone shook his head bitterly. "Other than that, what is the use of us staying behind?" "Witness," Paganini muttered quietly as he continued to stare at the battlefield intensely. "All we have to do is to bear witness." They had to stay behind. They had to witness everything. They had to witness the outcome of this battle. Would mankind triumph over God, or would God destroy mankind? Regardless if the battle concluded with a victory or a loss, what awaited mankind would not be a perfect ending. If God was able to destroy mankind, then what was the purpose of mankind''s struggles for the past thousands of years? If mankind triumphed over God, then what were all the prayers and devotion for? Therefore, what would the outcome be? Paganini waited with bated breath. There were earth-shattering surges coming from the Golden Palace. Ye Qingxuan could see burning beams of light rising from a distance away but he had no time to investigate further. In the instant that the armor of divinity appeared, he had already been surrounded and attacked by the four saints. He had no chance to support Mary in her catastrophe transformation. Leviathan versus Odin. The ruler of the ocean against the king of thunder and Ye Qingxuan was in no position to interfere at all. He had to focus on dealing with the four saints in front of him. If not for the net of aether, which helped him to suppress the enemy, he would have been completely defeated if he had many any mistakes. The four saints seemed to be used to working with each other as there were no gaps or discrepancies in their movements. One would support, one would restrain, one would attack, and one had not made any moves thus far except to search for any weak spots that Ye Qingxuan might reveal. There was a chilly aura about this last one that left Ye Qingxuan feeling very uneasy. Ye Qingxuan did not expect the four saints to be able to put their pride and ego aside and attack him altogether at once. At the same time, he did not expect that their powers were much weaker than what he had expected. The pressure that all four of them were giving him only exceeded that of Wagner slightly, but not by too much. He could not figure out the reason behind this. If each of the four of them had been at the same level as Wagner, Ye Qingxuan would have no choice but to flee for his life. Although he had expected such unconventional saints to possess weaknesses, he did not expect their weaknesses to be so obvious. Just what exactly was the Sacred City thinking? 737 Mistake Under attack from four people, Ye Qingxuan did not know why, but the cold was getting more and more piercing. The pressure that the Saint, who had never gotten involved before, was putting on him was getting greater and greater. He felt prickles down his back, making it difficult for him to focus on responding to them. Waves of aether swept out one after another between the five of them. First attack then counter, defend and move. All kinds of movements and music theory were tangled together in one place, forming a chaotic network. A little bit of carelessness could have disastrous results. Facing this kind of war of attrition, where he had to both pay attention to the overall situation as well as focus on every detail made Ye Qingxuan more and more uneasy. They had wanted to drag him here to separate him from the incarnation of Leviathan so as to destroy them both. This place was not the Anglo Kingdom. The longer the delay, the more terrible the Asgardian counterattack became. He needed to solve this problem quickly. So Ye Qingxuan delayed, and suddenly, all his defenses were removed. Without any regard for the Saints surrounding him, he turned around and lept dozens of meters. He closed in on Mahler! In that instant, he saw the Saint''s eyes go wide. He lifted the New Testament sword and aimed it for Mahler''s heart, unconcerned about the other Saint''s in full force behind him. The blade cut through layer after layer of defense and collided with his robes that were clearly holy objects. Violent turbulence burst forth with an ear-piercing sound. A narrow slit was torn in the holy vestments. The blade pierced through, igniting his blood and sticking out his back. At the same time, Verdi, Puccini, and Telemann attacked Ye Qingxuan from behind together. His body was shocked, and he felt his Scepter shaking violently and the Heaven Ladder was nearly severed. He had traded a wound for a life. One down! Ye Qingxuan did not have to worry about Mahler anymore. He had no time to wipe the blood from his face as he turned to face the enemies who pressed him hard, but he stopped suddenly. The New Testament Sword stayed in place. He couldn''t pull it out... He turned in shock to see Mahler''s indifferent face, as well as the blazing aether glowing in his eyes. At that moment, Mahler awakened the inheritance of the Holy Name. Das Lied von der Erde! The rich melody rang out from his body, wrapping itself around the New Testament Sword layer by layer. All of Mahler''s music theory turned into an abstinence lock. It was a 1,600 layer path of commandment. From inside and out he used himself as a seal to shackle the New Testament Sword! This was not a last minute decision, it was more like It was premeditated! Ye Qingxuan''s eyes widened, and then he sensed the three violent waves of aether behind him. The inheritance of the holy name! Verdi, Pucci, and Telemann set of their holy name inheritances at the same time! Without regard for Ye Qingxuan''s hurried counterattack, Verdi stepped forward and placed his palm on Ye Qingxuan''s forehead. In a flash, it seemed as if Ye Qingxuan had been stripped from his own body. After a short period of dizziness and weightlessness, everything before his eyes was distorted. A huge phantom engulfed him and dragged him into its belly. Numerous bright images flashed before his eyes. A soft, cheerful song rang out, and a warm wind blew from a fireplace. A crystal chandelier illuminated the magnificent hall as the band carefully played the dance music and countless figures danced to it. Ye Qingxuan looked around dumbfoundedly and saw that everyone was wearing a pure white mask that looked to be both laughing and crying. They grabbed at him, pulled at him, inviting him to join in this joyous masquerade. Illusions He was surrounded by illusions, and they were pulling him into a world of nothingness. It was like at that moment he had been split up into multiple individuals. He was Ye Qingxuan fighting a battle; he was Armand, one who was infatuated with glamorous courtesans; he was Nebuchadnezzar II, the tyrannical emperor; he was Rigaretto, a hunchbacked court jester, he was Carlos, Prince in spite of himself... He was a civilian He was a beggar He was a mother He was a son of a concubine... He seemed to be shuttled through countless lives in an instant, but he knew it was an illusion. He could still see himself fighting in Asgard. He could see Puccini coming towards him. He wanted to fight back, but he couldn''t figure out which one was him, which one could fight back, or of his 100,000 selves, which one was where. The prince pulled out his sword to kill the emperor and was taken prisoner; the jester assassinated the duke and was beheaded in public; the emperor went mad and was murdered by his guards Countless selves, countless defeats, and the mocking laughter of countless people assailed him. Just before him, Verdi staggered to the ground, burned to ashes by this illusion that required all his body and all his spirit. Puccini drew closer and placed his hand on Ye Qingxuan''s chest. Music theory extended through his heart into the projection of the Net of Aether. He was a Saint of the Sacred City, but his music theory was completely different from that of the West. It was more like the Bloodline of the Dragon! A Deva!? Ye Qingxuan raised his head with difficulty and saw his golden hair fade in the raging music theory and become pale white. His dark green eyes burned up in the fire and became black as coal. The inheritance of the Saint forcibly corrected his bloodlines, and next, his core music theory let loose Turandot! The power of the Saint was forcibly transformed into the talent of the Ye family bloodline. Countless streams of silver light became lines of thought that were carried by the Net of Aether. It was the Heaven Ladder! Bypassing Ye Qingxuan, Puccini forcibly resonated with the Net of Aether, opening up a gate to the core of the catastrophe. Finally, Telemann stepped forth and, burning the power of Puccini, weaved the music theory in his hands into a movement. A way of deciphering! Ye Qingxuan felt his whole body go cold. The music theory that flowed from Telemann''s hands came from the same source as his own. No, his way of deciphering had absolutely no differences from his own! The intervals, structures, techniques, and even the ideas were in all in Ye Qingxuan''s stylevery pronounced. If it hadn''t been Ye Qingxuan distinguishing them, anyone else would have thought that he was the one who had created them! Telemann was copying his music theory. No, at this point it wasn''t even copying, it was blatant plagiarism! Numerous movements flowed through the interface that Puccini had opened and into the Net of Aether. Once they entered, instruments of harmonious melody wildly duplicated them, spread them out, and transmitted them It was like a worm that had penetrated into the stomach, or a virus that had spread into a lesion. Numerous movements changed rapidly, and music theory alternated wildly. In a flash, red lights were flashing on half the instruments of harmonious melody and they stopped responding. They had probably shut down as they overheated from being overworked. Finally, the movements responded to the same call and gathered at the core of the Net of Aether. Complicated music theory was drawn out of the movements and organized itself. It was like worker ants working hard to gather materials from all over the place. A force completely different from those cumbersome movements emerged from within. The elements responded and descended from the realm of aether, outlining the core of the inheritance of the Saint and the true name of the movement. The Final Judgement. Even this piece of music was a complete copy of The Day of God''s Fury! It was just like the legend where the army hidden in the Trojan horse was sent into the heavily guarded city. The movement that was just like the Day of God''s Fury ignited a magnificent glow. It burned from the inside out like fire burning firewood, frantically destroying the structure of the Net of Aether Ye Qingxuan finally understood why these four Saints working together were only a little more powerful than a regular Saint. It was because their holy name inheritance was not created according to the standards of the Saints! They had forsaken almost everything that they did not need, and strengthened the important parts. If the four of them were separated, they would be nothing. Only when they were together could they be the fatal blow that the Sacred City had deliberately designed to kill Ye Qingxuan. With Mahler sealing off the New Testament Sword, Verdi making him unable to fight back, Puccini forcibly transforming his power to resonate with the Net of Aether and open its interfaces, and Telemann imitating his music theory and habits to temporarily compose a movement, all his defenses were bypassed. They were causing the greatest damage to the Net of Aether from the inside out. If he had guessed correctly, there would still be a killing move, one that would forever eliminate any hidden dangers. This was worthy of the Sacred City. This was worthy of the Church. They had a lot of manpower and production capacity, so they could afford to gamble and make a forcible trade. After indulging Ye Qingxuan for so long, they had finally found his weakness and struck a killing blow. They would trade the lives of four Saints for his. For the first time in his life, Ye Qingxuan felt that someone thought highly of him. He began to wonder, when had the Sacred City started preparing all of this? Was it from the moment he built the New Testament Sword? When the New World had appeared? From the day that he had completed the Net of Aether? Or had it been the night when he had refused the Sacred City''s awards and headed to the Anglo Kingdom? Or who was it prepared for? Was it Ye Qingxuan''s Net of Aether or Ye Lanzhou''s Hecatoncheir? "This is worthy of the Church." He laughed hoarsely as he felt the ridiculousness of the situation. "This is worthy of the Sacred City!" Far away Leviathan roared. The incarnation of the catastrophe no longer paid attention to Odin. It wanted to rush over heedless of its own safety, but it was stopped by the divine armor that was driven by the old musician. Under Gungnir''s blockade, the King of the Seven Seas was both wrathful and sorrowful. "Ye Qingxuan, the Sacred City is your enemy now, just as you wished. This is the farewell that they asked me to bring to you." Mahler stared at him with feverish eyes. "May you and your despicable heretical creation vanish from this world!" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He snorted with laughter at this joke. "My creation? No no no no, you''ve made a mistake..." Ignoring Telemann''s wanton destruction of the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan laughed hoarsely and corrected Mahler, "I never created anything. Not the New Testament Sword, not the Net of Aether, even the Land of Dreams is the result of the Ye family''s millennium dream. The Net of Aether is indeed under my control. It is of my manufacture, and is the structure of my strength, but in fact, its real designer is not me. Long before its birth, its core music theory and underlying alchemy arrays had already been completed. The one who created it was a sloppy, disgusting guy who no one liked, but he had never once been unreliable when it came to creativity. As far as I know, in terms of pure talent, there was no one in the world who could compare with him. If I had designed the Net of Aether, then I''m afraid that, right now, I''d truly be at my wit''s end. But do you think that that guy wouldn''t have made any preparations for your tricks?" At that moment, the outflow layer, the formation layer, the creation layer, and the final activation layer collapsed. In the depths of the Net of Aether, the creator''s name outlined in elements emerged. Hermes! 738 Who is the Monster At first, it was a point that was extremely small and difficult to observe. But broken music theory then flowed out of the circulating layer, and aether gushed out of the outflowing layer. One rose, and the other descended, gathering in an empty space of nothingness. So, countless broken strands of music theory were pieced together here, sketching a vague outline. It was the seed of miracle. Then, the alchemy arrays that had dimmed seemed to have come alive, breaking off and reconnecting automatically. In an instant, layers of complicated structures were formed by reorganizing the original appearance, as if towering buildings were rebuilt from ruins. It drew the chaotic power within the core, and elements rose from it. It was the fire of the alchemists. The vague seed of miracle operated in the alchemy arrays, flowing like water. Amid the tens of thousands of complex changes, it was diverted, merged, burned, cooled, qualitatively transformed, and restored In a flash, after undergoing the four major stages of blackening, whitening, reddening, and greening, black iron turned into black gold. In the ordinary item, its essence emerged, and the incorporeal spirituality condensed within. It seemed illusory, like the moon in the mirror and the flower in the water. A pair of eyes opened in the darkness, and from the kingdom of the dead, they looked at the mortal realm. As the eyes opened, the core that was collapsing chaotically seemed to suddenly freeze. All the changes and turmoil of music theory came to an abrupt end, pausing in place, and shook no more. As the saints looked on, their faces ghastly pale. An illusory voice declared softly, "As above, so below, so all things have their birth." So, in an instant, an incredible miracle erupted from the core of the catastrophe. Amid the dim and cracked crystal polygon, countless scattered modules rose again, merging into one, and spun madly. As if time was flowing in reverse, the collapsed alchemy arrays rose and returned to their original positions. The music theory that had lost control returned to chaos, then once again emerged in a complete form from chaos, coursing through the Heaven Ladder. In the darkness that had cut off contact, glows lit up one after another, illuminating the darkness and restructuring the embryonic form of the network. Star-like specks of light lit up within the region covered by the Net of Aether, responding to its call. The instruments of harmonious melody which had shut down due to overloading were connected back into the network one by one, returning to the blueprint of Land of Dreams. In the end, it was as if the heavens and the earth were reopened, and everything was complete once more. So, the pair of eyes looked at the scepters of Telemann and Puccini. "Separate thou the earth from the fire, the subtle from the gross. Caution is advised." At the moment, the miracle that emerged from the fire dissipated, replaced by death which condensed from water. Compared to the vast power of the saints, the power it propelled at the moment was simply so weak that it approached zero. The power was so pitiful that it was only enough to condense into a note Despite the difference between them clearly being so great, the fear brought about by death was so real, yet so ridiculous. The illusory voice said, "Its force is above all force, for it vanquishes every subtle thing and penetrates every solid thing." The note condensed from nothingness, passing through the complicated and complex movements of judgment, just like a drop of rainwater passing through the gaps between layers of flames, falling into the core miraculously. As if it had been rehearsed many times, it wasn''t the note that moved forward, but Telemann who advanced towards it. Despite clearly not having met before, they "coordinated" seamlessly. It made one shudder. The note gently attached itself to the turbulent music theory, combining as one with the intervals within. They did not repel each other, as if they had originated from the same source. Then, as the note was inserted, the whole interval abruptly changed from the initial fluentness to infinite unnecessary loops. In a flash, the interval overloaded, and the key link in the whole strand of music theory was broken, causing a fatal flaw to appear in the rigorous music theory. It was like a destructive chain reaction triggered by pushing the very first piece of domino. The note appeared in the worst possible place and became the first straw on the camel''s back, but the rest of the work was done by Telemann''s own power Collapse. The avalanche-like collapse began. Destruction swept from the inside out. For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost. Reality became a fairy tale in the fables before the pair of eyes. With a beauty that was almost artistic, he gave the enemies precise destruction and death. And after writing down the beginning, the eyes were no longer concerned about how things would progress towards the end. He simply made use of the final minutes and gazed at everything around him, contented. "Hence I am called Hermes Trismegist, having the three parts of the philosophy of the whole world." He sighed in a low tone. "This is... the last of my great jobs..." Seemingly laughing, the eyes slowly closed. The incorporeal spirituality dissipated, countless arrays fell apart, re-integrating themselves into the core of the catastrophe, disappearing without any trace, and he returned to a long slumber. "Goodbye forever, boss," Ye Qingxuan lowered his eyes and murmured softly. In just a moment, everything became completely different, and the tables were turned. The dense sound of bones shattering continued ringing out from Telemann''s body. First it came from the phalanges, followed by the arms, then the thoracic cavity and the ribs, and finally, the skull ruptured from the inside out, falling apart. The heavy pressure of out-of-control music theory destroyed him first. After the majestic crown and robe were removed, his essence as a defective product was revealed It was not only Telemann who was instantly defeated. Without Telemann to share and support the burden, the full power of the operating Net of Aether was directly acting on Puccini. Like walking naked into the aether engine of a warship, one would be burned to ashes by the horrifying power almost instantly. As the scepter collapsed, half of Puccini''s body caved in instantly, as if he had been attacked from the front by an invisible siege hammer and beaten into a pulp. But he still had yet to die. Squirming on the ground, he reached out and pressed a hand on Telemann''s forehead. Mahler looked at all of it, dumbfounded, and finally laughed forlornly and hoarsely. "After all the effort, is it still in vain?" He cast a final glance at Ye Qingxuan, and his gaze became one of realization, as if he got the answer. "Sure enough, you are a monster." Mahler moved forward, ignoring the sharp pain of the blade scraping against his bones, and grasped Ye Qingxuan''s palm firmly. "Come with me and return to nothingness!" The final elegy was played. The core movement of Saint Mahler''s legacyDas Klagende Lied! In a flash, music theory extended from his body, resonating with Telemann and Puccini, and even the dying Verdi became part of the cycle of self-destruction. The four scepters turned into a chain, tightly binding Ye Qingxuan in it, pulling him to follow them to destruction. It was the final step to annihilate Ye Qingxuan with the core of the catastrophe after destroying the Net of Aether completely. Whether or not the Net of Aether was still complete, and whether Ye Qingxuan was dead or alive, the four of them were destined to die from the very beginning. Letting Mahler grip his wrist, Ye Qingxuan looked at the other man''s eyes indifferently. Then, he clenched the New Testament Sword. The bangs of the metal colliding erupted, and the projection of the Land of Dreams descended from the sky, bringing endless power. It broke Mahler''s seal as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. The blade was pulled out from the blockade imposed with flesh and blood. It was flipped, and cut off Mahler''s hands. It deftly turned in a circle in the air, and flitted across Mahler''s neck. A line of blood spread from his throat. At the moment, be it flesh, blood, bones, movements, spirituality, consciousness, or the intangible and fleeting soul, everything of his fell apart under the blow struck by the New Testament! "I am not a monster." Ye Qingxuan looked at his eyes, which were full of despair, and finally corrected him, "You are." The next moment, flames rose from the crack, and in a flash, they were turned into ashes, and no trace of their existences remained. Ye Qingxuan didn''t look back, not even once. He stepped over the ghastly white ashes on the ground and walked towards to the divine armor in front. In his hands, the New Testament Sword flitted through the empty space, and made a piercing noise as if it was scraping against steel. The electricity of the music theory of reform lit up from above the blade, jumping around and dancing in rage, illuminating his face. Ye Qingxuan declared indifferently to Odin in front of him, "Come on, as you wish, war has arrived!" Loud bangs came from afar, and the seawater rolled turbulently, stirring up the stench of solder that had combusted completely. In the sharp whistle, the ship docked at the pier. Roars and shouts came from all over the crowded pier. The musicians stood on higher ground, and their voices rang out one after another like thunder. "The seventh column, the seventh column, set off immediately!" "Make way, we have five more minutes to move the stuff down and an hour to send them to the front line." "Soldier, get out of the way. Yes, you, now. Everyone, be f*cking clear about this, jump into the sea if you wanna die, don''t stand in front of the tower crane!" As the chaotic orders were issued, the crowds on the dock were quickly led away, but the space was quickly filled up again. Many cargo ships were lining up outside the harbor, waiting for their turn to enter the port. In the rumble of the tower crane, the huge ship at the very back circumvented the queue and entered the port amid the angry roars of many captains. Then, the cabin door to the bilge opened with a rumble. One after another, steel monsters crushed the cabin door and the pontoons underneath, and drove onto the dock. They moved forward along the cleared passageway, emitting black smoke, and roared past the onlookers. The sixth batch of reinforcements had set off from Birmingham. They had no time to wait for the three rounds of testing to end. After the first round of war testing ended in the World of Dark, the remaining 600 Water Tanks underwent simple modifications and were sent directly to the front line in nine batches. Half were sent to the Blanc Stronghold, and half advanced straight into the enemy''s territory with the Royal Fleet. They made a long curving detour and landed on the other side of Asgard, directly used the colony of the Sicilians as a springboard to attack the industrial cities of Asgard and destroy the military logistics. After a desperate, six-hour battle, the Anglo Army finally controlled the port, and occupied half of the city, competing with the Asgardians for the other half of the city. As for the opinions of the Sicilians who were the original inhabitants, who cared? Who asked them to form an alliance with Asgard? 739 Everlasting Friendship There was no time. The inspector was screaming at the top of his lungs at the pier. The pressure from the frontline, the tight situation faced by the logistics at the rear, the constant pressing from the headquarters, the commands from the commander, these were all layers and layers of pressure heaped upon these fellows. They were on the verge of going mad, so naturally, they were not going to be polite and gentle anymore. There was no time to explain nicely to anyone. "Get up, get up, get up, get up!" They kicked open the cabin doors and stormed in. One by one, they dragged all the new soldiers down from their beds. These soldiers had barely slept a wink after being seasick for half the night. A few military policemen came in with a few buckets of water and poured them all over the soldiers to wake them up. Amidst the foul stench of vomit, the inspector pulled the person closest to him. "Name! Number! Which formation are you from?" The new soldier was stunned to see that the inspector was blind in the left eye. He quickly stood at attention and saluted before replying, "Second lieutenant, Charles Forbes, number S7-2287. Sixth formation of the Royal Musician Division!" The inspector tore off an epaulet and spat on it before sticking it onto his shoulder. "Alright, you are now a member of the fourth squad of the third war chariot mixed regiment." Without wasting a single second for him to be stunned, the inspector kicked him out of the cabin. "Alight, alight, collect your terminal and board the carriage according to your number!" Outside of the cabin, someone deftly stuffed him with a piece of the terminal of the net of aether and three redemption rifles. "Go, go! There are others queuing up behind you!" Charles was confused. "But, where should we go?" The distributor pushed him aside and pointed at his own head. "Someone will tell you." Very soon, as the terminal was initiated, the sound of a machine could be heard. An illusionary realm appeared in front of him as routes and directions were labeled on physical objects to urge him on. Amidst the chaos, the confused Charles somehow managed to queue up according to his number as he was nudged forward against his own will. When he finally reached the destination, someone was already there to drag him towards the Water Tank that was all the way at the front. The commander was full of sweat and was pointing at the door of the war chariot. "The last person is here. Get on board, quick!" Charles was still in a daze as he stepped forward. He was about to board the chariot only to realize that all the seats had already been taken. All that was left was half a frame that had just been welded on. "I''m sitting here?" Charles'' face had turned red. "I''m a knight!" All the soldiers in the war chariot were stunned for a while before bursting into laughter in unison. "No one here cares if you are a knight." The commander sent him into the war chariot with a kick and shut the door. "Suck it up, soldier!" The war chariot rumbled forward towards the battlefield amidst the screaming and shouting of the headquarters. "Where are we going?" amidst the rumbling of the machinery, Charles finally gathered up his courage and asked. "The frontline." The conductor finished smoking his cigarette and said calmly, "We are going to invade the city hall to open up a path for those at the rear." With that, he thrust the hanging aether balls in the war chariot to Charles. "You are in charge of surveillance and aiming. The Asgardians are equipped with new weapons against our war chariots. A single hit and we are doomed." With that, he emphasized his point by making a gesture of explosion with his hands, "Boom!" Charles hesitated as he considered the fact that the safety of the entire war chariot would lie squarely on his shoulders. "I I" "Don''t worry, everyone''s lives are not entirely in your hands. There''s me." A middle-aged musician, who was seated at the other front passenger seat, raised his hat to salute. "Soldier, which term are you?" When he saw that gesture, Charles'' eyes lit up. "Sixth term! I am Charles from the third class of the sixth term of the Royal Academy of Music. Sir, you are?" "Second term." The middle-aged musician smiled gleefully. "You can call me Screw. From now on, you shall be called ''Knight.'' Here, have one." With that, he tossed a tobacco roll over. Charles had to stop himself from going against him and wisely accepted the senior''s offer and the nickname that was given in jest. In an army, it was essential to find someone that could be relied on. When this person happened to be a senior, one must treasure this fortune wholeheartedly. It would be foolish to do otherwise. Within a few minutes, everyone somewhat managed to be familiarized with each other. Just as Screw was reaching the climax of a lewd joke that he was sharing, Charles heard an explosion and his world began to spin into darkness. It was as if the entire war chariot had been flipped over by a giant and was now tumbling on the ground. Its final impact was with a shop, which somehow managed to flip it back into the correct orientation. There were ear-piercing screams all around him but all that Charles could see was darkness. He only felt as if someone was slapping him. The pain of the slapping woke him up and he saw Screw''s face. Screw breathed a sigh of relief and forced out a smile. He turned back and shouted back to the conductor, "Good news, the new soldier is still alive!" Amidst the stench of the leaking engine coolant, Screw dragged him up from the ground and kicked aside a bunch of corpses before tossing him into the driver''s seat. "Bad news, the lever''s neck is broken. The conductor is trying to repair it so now I''m in charge of weapons and you will drive the vehicle!" Charles was in a daze as he looked at the steering wheel in his hands. He looked like he was about to cry. "Me? I don''t know how!" "Do you see that thing below your feet? The red one is the accelerator and the blue one is the brake. There are three gears in total. Just choose one!" Amidst the roars around them, Screw was no longer in a good mood. When he saw Charles still hesitating, he immediately screamed, "Quick, Knight. No, that name has already died for you once. So quick, new soldier. There are no more new nicknames to die in your place anymore. Stop hesitating anymore. Just take it as you are saving yourself!" Charles dared not hesitate further and stepped on the accelerator. He connected his will to the alchemy formation behind the driver''s seat and he looked beyond the thick layer of armor and out onto the battlefield. "My goodness" In that instant, a chill ran down his spine. There were flames everywhere as the city seemed to be bathing in fire. Underneath the grey sky, there were roars everywhere, and the city was like a fallen giant on the brink of death. Amidst the debris and chaos, a team of Water Tanks rumbled their way to the front, smashing down shops and walls. They drove over burning remains and debris and completely flattened the Asgardians'' defense. Behind the war chariot, the fourth regiment followed closely as they jumped into the trenches. There was so much dust everywhere that they were simply spraying their bullets with their eyes closed. In any case, their only job was to pull the trigger. Even children knew how to do that. They went into battle like children, so they would die like children as well. When their skulls were sliced open by shrapnel, they looked like lousy wine glasses that were chipped in a few places. Their brains were flying around and splashing onto the walls before mixing with blood and slowly dripping down. They formed the trace of a slanted curve. Like a smiley face. "Let''s go. Finish off those Asgardian b*tches!" Screw screamed while Charles gritted his teeth. But the fear and chill that followed behind them left him with no choice but to roar at the top of his lungs and jam his foot down on the accelerator. The war chariot staggered out of the debris in a weird curve as if it was drunk. After smashing down layers of walls and pillars, it dove headfirst into a huge pit before climbing out of it again like a ghoul. It drove directly into a small team of Asgardian reinforcements and completely flattened them. "Hahaha, good job!" Screw laughed uproariously. He pushed open the hatch cover of the Water Tank and lifted up the heavy iron weapon before stepping onto a pedal to reveal the upper half of his body. "Hello, friends of Asgard, how are you doing!" In the next instant, "son of Vulcan" shot out evil blasts of flames. With the initiation of the alchemy formation, aether began to flow, triggering a soldering effect. The six-barrel redemption machine guns devoured the cartridge belts hungrily before spraying devastating torrents of fire while spinning around crazily. This model was designed by the Chainsaw Fraternity as inspired by Hephaestus. There were six barrels and 13 layers of sleeves. Its design was exquisite and complex, which allowed it to shoot a continuous and lethal stream of bullets. It was like a burning metallic whip that was lashing about. Everything in its path was shot off cleanly and decisively. Within five to six seconds, those reinforcements and those that had been hiding behind the walls were all shot into corpses that could no longer be pieced together. The most useful aspect musicians'' perception was that they would be able to detect any living creatures within a few hundred meters without being hindered by any blind spots. As long as there was breathing, there would be aether waves and as long as they were alive, there would be the sound of heart. No matter how noisy or chaotic the environment might be, it was the musician''s specialty to detect such minute sounds. With the Water Tank paving the way in front, the army began to catch up from behind and charge towards the Asgardians. The knight that was leading the charge tossed aside both of his gigantic swords and drew the heavy weapons from behind his back. It was a huge metal cross. By utilizing the aether wave, a shield appeared from the cross to block off the Asgardian attacks. This was the aether shield, Mary MK-ll, which was an invention of the Royal Institute of Research for the knights. Newton''s proud invention had passed the test and in addition to the suppression job by Screw, this territory was taken over very quickly. The squad stopped for the time being to carry out reparation works and also to send the heavy casualties back from the frontline. "Good job, B95!" The knight that had led the charge took off his helmet thanked Screw, "These b*stards have been firing at me for the past half an hour!" Screw tossed over a tobacco roll and asked, "How is the situation ahead?" The knight chewed once and said, "Those fellows had set up a shelling position at the city hall. If we don''t eliminate it, the war chariots will never be able to pass through." Screw put his head out to take a peek and could clearly see that behind the remains of the building was a plaza that was filled with pits. Behind the plaza was a region that was demarcated by rows and rows of aether heavy artillery. No one knew when did the Asgardians manage to create aether heavy artilleries that were lightweight. Main cannons that were usually set up on warships or huge military equipment could now be transported by a single chariot. After the shelling position had been set up, the lands within firing range were completely plowed through. Just now, Screw''s war chariot was flipped over by the impact of one these shelling. If they had been struck directly, they would have exploded on the stop and there would never have been any survivors. Before he could even rest for a few minutes, there was a shrill in the knight''s terminal. He spat, "Damned it, all they know is to keep pushing us." He waved his hand in farewell. "Take care, my friends. Before their knight reinforcements arrive, we must take down the city hall. We still have an hour''s time. How I wish our Archangel Armor can make it in time. These people aren''t even willing to grant us the permission of a musician of distortion level" "Good luck, friend." Screw had also received his orders and scrambled back into the chariot. Very soon, the Water Tank rumbled forth and gathered with the squad of chariots that were supposed to provide reinforcements. The grand torrents of steel ran across the streets, spraying destruction everywhere. They were like invisible little shovels that were removing all the little red coordinates on the map, one by one. The siege was shrinking gradually and they were finally about to commence their attack on the city hall. Under the cruel pressure of a countdown, the headquarter sent down their commands to every single person. The final attack had begun! Against the explosions of destruction at the shelling position, a row of men would charge ahead only to end up dying. Yet another row of men would charge and the same fate would follow Thick pools of blood began to form on the ground until the entire plaza was painted a devastating dark red color. If one was to look down from above, it would seem like a gigantic dining table. The gigantic mouth of war was chewing on flesh and muscle and spitting out broken remains. It was devastating. Under the musician''s gaze, the images of the battlefield were being transmitted through the net of aether to all locations, including Privy Council, the headquarters, the frontline command division, the south, the north, and even the depths of the World of Dark. Finally, they were even transmitted to a water mirror that was floating in mid-air. In the silence, blurry projections were moving without a sound. But the two observers that were seated in front were extremely focused. After a long time, they finally drew back their gazes and raised the teacup in front of them. Both cups were filled with bitter medicine that was so disgusting that one would immediately begin to doubt the meaning of life after the first sip. "The children seem to be doing well." Shi Dong touched his metal head and sighed quietly. "Although I hate to grow old, when I see that the youngsters are so brave and courageous, it really warms my heart." The person beside him sighed. "It warms your heart to see the growth of our future generation?" "No, it''s because they are shedding blood on the battlefield. It''s the same horrible fate that I had to go through in the past." Shi Dong pursed his lips. When he tasted the metallic taste at the tip of his tongue, he smiled contentedly. "To be able to see how the weak amongst them will die and how the strong will survive. It''s moments like these that I feel like I have companions, that I''m not lonely after all." "Ah, I get it, I get it!" The old man, by the name of Caligula, slapped his thigh excitedly. "It''s just like how we attended our first party when we were still kids, right? The thrill and excitement of making new friends are just unforgettable!" With that, the two old men looked at each other approvingly, just like the reunion of two soulmates. Caligula searched through his pocket and took out two small paper bags. His smile became strange, "Want a puff?" "Sure!" Shi Dong nodded. Two old men, that represented Anglo and the winged people separately, began to sniff drugs together at a diplomatic occasion. After a long time, Shi Dong rolled back his eyes and sighed with satisfaction. "That''s some awesome stuff!" It was just like drinking with a confidant; even a thousand cups would seem too little. Caligula smiled proudly. "I planted this myself. Only the World of Dark can harvest such strong flavor! Next time, I''ll give you two packets!" "Sure, sure!" Shi Dong clapped his hands happily. "May our friendship be everlasting!" "Yes, yes, everlasting!" 740 Trade Then, after a few trivial matters, Shi Dong finished his medicinal tea and the topic shifted to work. "So, my dear consul, these days we''ve already talked about everything that we should talk about, and we''ve started talking about things we shouldn''t talk about. So when will you let me present myself before Her Majesty?" Caligula looked reluctant. "That, I''m afraid that''s very difficult." He sighed. "Her Majesty has been very busy lately." "There''s always time." Shi Dong picked up the small box next to him and smiled at him. "Just let me present a small gift on behalf of my family." "And then make a ''small'' request?" Caligula smirked at him. "Of course." Shi Dong nodded and looked him in the eye. The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Caligula couldn''t help but sigh. "Do you really have to make things so difficult for us, Bishop Shi Dong?" He tapped the teacup in his hand and said softly, "We were abandoned by this world, so we left the ground. We were no longer were Romulus''s sinners. All that was left were the winged people. Human wars have nothing to do with us. Everything that happens on the ground can stay on the ground. Now we stand on our own in the world of dark, bettering ourselves. Why would we need to talk about something so ridiculous as an alliance?" "Because you owe us," Shi Dong answered indifferently. The sound of an "eternal friendship" breaking rang out. Caligula''s eyes went cold, and his smile disappeared. He just looked at the old man and said, "We don''t owe anyone." "No?" Shi Dong smiled and reached for the small box next to him but grasped only air. He was stunned. He turned around in shock and saw that a slender figure had appeared behind him at some point. Flames. She was like flames The young girl looked to be even younger than his granddaughter, but gave him a painful sensation like flames, like if he got too close he would get burned. His skin tingled. He winced involuntarily. It was like a fierce flame had suddenly ignited in the darkness. The case was in her hands. She was fiddling with it. "Is this a present for me?" The young girl played with the box happily. "Can I open it?" Shi Dong looked away to hide his discomfort. He bowed to her and said, "This is for you, Your Majesty. Naturally, it''s at your disposal." She opened the case. There was a moment of silence. The Queen seemed shocked. "It''s him. Didn''t I say you were hiding something from me granddad?" She took the straw doll that was about to fall apart out of the box. She held it in her hands, touched its button eyes, then asked, "Is my friend still alright?" Shi Dong smiled. Above the ruins, Ye Qingxuan stared at the divine armor before him. "Long time no see." "Yes, long time no see." The old musician''s regretful voice came out from the steel. "You truly are the Hand of God. Even though I knew the Saints couldn''t stop you, now it seems I missed the best chance." Ye Qingxuan knew what he meant. He knew more than anyone how powerful the old musician''s Scepter could be if used correctly. Observing everything through a lens that could nearly stop time, he would never be so careless as to give his enemy a chance. When dealing with such an opponent, you could never expect him to make any mistakes. This was because he always had enough time to consider, to observe, and to find the best solution. Now the old musician was regretting having made the safest choice when the Saints had Ye Qingxuan surrounded, rather than the riskiest one... He had predicted that the four Saints'' attack would have left Ye Qingxuan wounded if not dead. Instead of rushing in and giving Leviathan an opening, why not let the Sacred City waste Ye Qinguxuan''s power? After he had used his superior power to absolutely crush Mary, the mortally wounded Ye Qingxuan would have to face the combined might of all of Asgard in the divinity armor. Unfortunately, the Saints'' enemy had not been Ye Qingxuan, but Hermes, who had already died, or rather, the countermeasures he had left behind to protect his work. Under Hermes''s calculations, the four Saints were disposed of easily. Ye Qingxuan had not only not been wounded but had wasted four of his precious weapons. It had been a mistake. This was probably the old musician''s biggest weakness. He was old. Old people had too much, they carried too many burdens, so they would play everything safe. They could not be careless like young people, nor gamble everything on a single move like them. If he had not cared about the risk of him and Leviathan perishing together at that time, he could have killed Ye Qingxuan with Gungnir at the moment that he was trapped. Unfortunately, he had chosen safety. In this way, he was afraid that even the power of the Sacred City had been wasted on Ye Qingxuan. When men grew old they grew treacherous, when horses grew old they grew crafty, and when rabbits grew old, even eagles would be foiled. When facing this old b*stard, Ye Qingxuan did not dare let his guard down at all. Who knew what kind of poison these old b*stards had in their hearts that they had never even trusted their allies? Moreover, after Rommel''s overconfidence had led to the destruction of the sea fortress, an irreparable rift had opened up between the two sides. In an instant, he could see the old musician''s heart clearly. Ye Qingxuan tapped the blade of the New Testament Sword and couldn''t help but laugh. "You really believe in me..." The old musician did not pay attention to the mockery in his words. He merely sighed with a hint of impatience, as well as undisguised disgust and indifference. "When will you cast off this detestable modesty? Enough, Mr. Ye, why pretend? Are you not about to hold the whole world in your hand? When that day comes, you will only be a step away from Asgard..." The old musician stared coldly at Ye Qingxuan. "Unfortunately, the Sacred City does not understand that the biggest enemy is not the Commonwealth of Caucasian, that puppet that Gaius pushed to the front to catch the arrow, but you." "Me?" Ye Qingxuan was amused. "How can it be me?" "Yes, they don''t understand. You don''t understand either." The old musician sighed with exhaustion. "The Church has not thought from the perspective of humanity for centuries. They have never lived in the human world, so they don''t understand what you bring. The greatest threat to the world was never power, just as the main axis of the human world has never been catastrophes. Humanity''s worst enemy has always been humans. Unfortunately, I realized this too late, too late..." The old musician''s heart was full of regret. If he had realized this earlier, if he had known what kind of awful ideas lurked under that monster Ye Qingxuan''s skin, he would definitely have utterly annihilated him. Unfortunately, the situation was already set. In fact, it was not until he had decided to meet death and transmit the Emperor''s extinguishment orders that his thinking was freed from the perspective of the past. It was no longer limited to himself, nor was it limited to a single time or place, but took everything into consideration. It had emerged from the perspective of Asgard and now saw everything from the perspective of the whole human world. It was then that he realized how terrifying Ye Qingxuan was. In this war, everyone carried the banner of the world, but the only one who truly wanted to destroy the world was Ye Qingxuan. If the Church was victorious, then, for the world, it would be nothing more than returning to the so-called "right track," continuing to advance under the guidance of the Church. If Gaius won, then it would be nothing more than the Church controlling the world under a different name. Although he called it a capital revolution to create a new world, he could still not escape the cage of the old world. In the end, the nobility would be overthrown, the Church would be overthrown, and God would be overthrown, it was true. But there would be a new capitalist class to replace the nobility, there would be a new organization to replace the Church, and there would be a new God to replace the old one. Although God was frightening, he was only a god. Were the countless Kings of Black throughout history not gods? What was the difference between their power and that of a god? But in the end, the human world had human rules. No matter how strong their determination was, they could only change it around the edges, at best, planting a new testing field. Let him create the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Let him keep dreaming. You could always wake up from a dream. One day, God would grow weary of this world, go into self-exile, and become an empty idol. Like like the Kings of Black throughout history had chosen. And one day, Gaius would realize that everything he had done had been exactly the same as the Church. This was the cycle of the human world, since time immemorial it had always been like this. But Ye Qingxuan was different This was not what he wanted at all. What he wanted to do, what he was able to do, was far more sensational than it seemed now. Right now it seemed like he was merely competing for the main role on the stage, but what he wanted to do was completely demolish the stage. He had already completely cut off the road to power, using the poisonous Net of Aether to erode the path of musicianship that had been open to humans for centuries, giving the power to everyone. He would use the New Testament as a weapon to fight against the holy writing that had maintained the justice and righteousness of the old world. He would replace the old power with the new. He would replace old morality with new morality. Perhaps, in his lifetime, there would not be much difference between what he would do and what Gaius would do, but everything that Gaius wanted to do was just a temporary link in the whole plan... As long as Ye Qingxuan did not become a god, the role of God would be left empty and God''s authority would be weakened. In only three generations, no, two generations, the world would become unrecognizable. If Gaius won, Asgard could surrender, could pay reparations, could admit defeat, and could sacrifice a generation for the Commonwealth of Caucasian, letting them become the next Asgard. After that, they could slowly figure things out. But if Ye Qingxuan was able to win, then the whole world would be drowned in his poisonous wine, a slow suicide... He would cut down the rules and pillars of the world with his own hands. One day, all of the nations would experience violent social upheavals and he would build his kingdom on the ruins. What he wanted was not this current second-hand world. He wanted a new one! "Although I''m very happy that you think so highly of me, or should I say understand me, if you''re the person who understands what I''m thinking more than anyone else, this still can''t change the force field between us. After all, we are still enemies, no?" Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his sword, and without expression said, "So, before we discuss the future, we might as well figure out which of us is going to live and which of us is going to die. How does that sound?" There was silence in the divinity armor. After a while, the old musician laughed quietly. "No, you win." He said what Ye Qingxuan had never imagined he would say. He took three steps back, discharged the lightning spear, spread out his steel arms, and a hoarse roar came forth from the giant, "With this power alone I cannot defeat you. I admit defeat." At that moment, Ye Qingxuan could not control the shock in his heart. He fell into a daze. "What What did you say?" 741 Give Me a Noble Status or Give Me Death "I said, I admit defeat." The old musician said calmly, "Now, you two have the powers of two catastrophes, both the Net of Aether and Leviathan, and are further supported by the elements of the Land of Dreams. The divine armor is powerful, but the forte of the divinity itself is neither destruction nor attack. "In terms of throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel, my ability is not even one-tenth of yours. And as I am fighting alone against you two, who have joined forces, I am absolutely no match. "The outcome of the battle has already been determined when the saints failed, why should I bother to struggle in vain?" He said, "I admit defeat, you have won." But even though he said so, Ye Qingxuan did not relax in the slightest. Instead, he felt colder. He was uneasy. He had never felt so uneasy before. But before him, the old musician still maintained his grace. After admitting defeat, he was still calm, not at all feeling self-conscious as a loser. It was as if it was just two children practicing fighting in the garden with wooden swords, instead of a war where the futures of two countries were at stake. "At the same time, allow me to present my sincere thanks to you and the Son of God of the Caucasus." The old musician bowed gracefully. "Thank you for actually lifting the big rock pressing down on the Asgardians and allowing us to catch our breath for a while. "So, next, as a thank you gift, let me present to you this psalm of creation!" At the moment, the ground cracked, and Asgard shook. Blazing light rose from the cracks in the ground. It was Vanaheim! The light illuminated the heavens and the earth. The huge and fiery crown emerged from the empty space above Odin''s head, and numerous fiery torrents spewed out from behind the divine armor, like countless wings piercing through the heavens and the earth. The steel giant hung high between the heavens and the earth as if he was connected to everything in the world. The Tree of World! "Many thanks to you, Mr. Ye." The old musician''s words of gratitude sounded in Ye Qingxuan''s ear, but it only brought shock and bitterness. "If not for you, I wouldn''t be able to see where the limit is, where the road ahead is And I wouldn''t have the courage to be so determined. " At the moment, on top of his head, the huge crown was slowly expanding, faintly looming over all of Asgard. Ye Qingxuan inhaled deeply. His expression was dark. He certainly knew what the old devil in front of him was trying to do He was doing what Hyakume had once tried to do in the Sacred City! While elements made up the theme of movements, divinity was the main axis used to establish the heavens and the earth, the core of everything, the theme of the world! The most important aspect of divinity was never power. In terms of destruction, what could be compared to the destructive capacity of the eight phenomena? What was most precious about it was that it was the supreme element derived from the Originator, the foundation that could establish everything. The Sacred City successfully created the Holy Cauldron and established the Golden Era with the saints as supporting pillars. Such was the basis for the human world to exist. Hyakume had also once decided to use Ludovic as a link to combine the Holy Cauldron with himself and open the prologue of the ancient darkness. Even after the fall of Hyakume, the godd*mn leftovers in the abyss were still obsessed with the idea, and they were willing to pay a huge price to open the Ultimate And at the moment, the old devil was doing the same thing. Even though the scale of his actions at the moment was only limited to the territory of Asgard, the Sacred City would never allow it. Also, the king of Asgard would never be crazy enough to give such an order. In other words, at the moment, his actions were defying the orders of his king. No, in Asgard''s perspective, it was the most necessary thing to do. He disregarded the king who was still in the Golden Palace, probably using the king to attract everyone''s attention, even using the king as a pawn. While the Holy Cauldron and Eden were fighting, and the Sacred City and Gaius had no attention to spare, he finally had the opportunity to implement the plan. He intended to reform Asgard in one go, shatter the membrane between the physical world and the realm of aether, extract an endless power to distort reality, forcibly separate the piece of land, Asgard, from the mortal realm, and artificially transform it into a foreign domain! All Asgardians would ascend in the mighty power, like the winged people who were transformed in Romulus back then. From then on, whether Asgard became a paradise on earth or hell on earth, it would undoubtedly be a forbidden domain for outsiders. Only by doing so could Asgard survive eternally amid the changes of the times. Regardless of whether the Holy City was to succeed or fail, whether it was Gaius or Ye Qingxuan who dominated the world, and regardless of any changes in the outside world, even if the whole world was destroyed in the war, it still would not affect Asgard at all. Then, they need not be a loyal dog of the Sacred City anymore, and they need not care about where God was standing anymore. Leaving aside the issue of the tragic consequences of failure for the moment, if he could succeed, Odin would definitely replace the disappeared quiet moon and be promoted to the position of the Three Pillar God. But whether he could succeed or not, after controlling the divinity with a human body, even with the Land Giant and Tree of World as buffers, the old musician probably could not survive either way. The old devil had already gone crazy. Although the world had never lacked madness, Ye Qingxuan never thought that the old man whom he had just ridiculed for not daring to take risks would be so determined. He burned his boats. If the Sacred City had been capable of coping with the pressure from the monster of Caucasian and the order of the old world had remained stable, the old musician might not have gone so far to the present extent. But at the moment, if the Sacred City failed, it would undoubtedly be a death sentence for Asgard. If they lost here, they would have no way of continuing the war. The vast and rich Asgard would totally become a juicy piece of meat on the chopping block, at the mercy of the winner during negotiations, terrorized by catastrophes. The north wind was no longer. Just like how the emperor would never surrender his throne willingly, the old musician would not accept the outcome of the Asgardians being defeated, and he would never let Asgard be reduced to such an extent. Give me a noble status or give me death. Ye Qingxuan could somewhat understand the grief and feeling of unreconciliation the old musician felt in his heart. But at the moment, it was not time for mutual understanding, and mutual understanding between Ye Qingxuan and the Asgardians was of no godd*mn use anyway. "Since you are so ambitious, I wish you all the best." While blabbering words that even he himself did not believe, Ye Qingxuan secretly urged Mary to retreat immediately through the Net of Aether, but it was as if all his urges had sunk into the sea, and he received no response. At the moment, it was as if a chopper had slammed down suddenly, and the connection to the Net of Aether was completely cut off. As his expression turned dark, the figure in the divine armor spread out his left palm. In the hand of steel, the phantom image of the Wheel of Balance emerged, and the broken stone plate reflected the phantom images of the Net of Aether and Leviathan. "The biggest weakness of the Net of Aether is that it must be connected by the Heaven Ladder to function." The old musician said calmly, "If my guess is correct, if the connection of the Heaven Ladder is cut off, then in the blind spot of the sensing of the Net of Aether, power can''t operate no matter how huge it is." Along with his words, the rumble of a collapse came from afar. It was like the wailing of metals before they shattered. The old musician turned back and gazed in the direction of the rumble. "The Golden Palace has collapsed." He said to Ye Qingxuan, "Under the collapse, I''m afraid that His Majesty will not be spared by fate. As a minister, I am powerless to avenge His Majesty. I can only do all I can and ask the two of you to represent Anglo and accompany him in his grave. The wish of His Majesty can also be considered fulfilled that way." Ye Qingxuan almost laughed out of angry. Can he be considered as too conceited? Bro, it''s alright that you want to create your kingdom of heaven on earth. Wishing for others to not cause you more trouble is already an extravagant hope, yet you are still planning to use others as stepping stones. Where are your confidence and boldness coming from? "Hey, you aren''t good-looking, why is it that you think more wishfully than I do?" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth and cackled, raising the New Testament Sword, ready to give the old *sshole a brutal lesson! But at the moment, under the ground, Vanaheim suddenly shook. In the dark night sky, bangs abruptly sounded one after another in the distance. The burning light burned the dark iron skies red. In the great earthquake that swept through Asgard, pillars of light rose into the sky one after another, supporting the sky that was about to collapse. As the pillars of light rose, Vanaheim''s power suddenly surged by tens of times, increasing to an incredible extent. The vast domain covered the land territory of Asgard, and the inexhaustible power spewed out of the aether reserves that had all been opened, blending into the light, and gathered from all directions. "Even Anglo can have a national defense front, are there really no war fortifications on the territory of Asgard?" The old musician looked at Ye Qingxuan indifferently. "Since 200 years ago, we have been carrying out construction works underground, building the foundation of Vanaheim. We laid roads in the wilderness, built six great cities, and migrated millions of people, creating the 13 permanent war fortresses we have today. "Today, it''s finally time to activate them..." Ye Qingxuan got goosebumps. The 13 fortresses built on the aether nodes of Vanaheim could continuously extract the reserves of the entire treasury for battles, and they were known as the strong barriers that would never fall, the iron walls of Asgard. But the reason why he felt fear was not because of the power of the 13 fortresses, but because, just now, the old musician had personally destroyed all that completely! After centuries of preparation, the fortresses were built, and God knew how high the price paid was. But at the moment, following the orders of the old musician, it was completely dissolved in the torrent of aether in a flash. They brought millions of innocent lives with them "You have really gone crazy." Ye Qingxuan''s pupils contracted, and he was overwhelmed by a sudden disgust. "Are they not citizens of Asgard?!" "You need not worry about other people, Grand Inquisitor." The old musician sneered. "Worry about yourself first!" As the 13 fortresses completely disintegrated, the power stored in them was completely integrated into the depths of Vanaheim. At the moment, beneath the ground, Vanaheim had become a huge refining cauldron. It was a melting pot full of power and death. It wasn''t just that, but Ye Qingxuan also sensed turbulent music theory of the Church within it. Since the old musician had fallen out with the Church, nothing was holding him back anymore. Even the dead saints were swallowed up by Vanaheim. All their music theory, movements, spirituality, and legacy were cast into the cauldron and became part of Vanaheim. 742 Apologies Shortly after, the sea of aether appeared for the first time in the Physical World. At this moment, the old musician relied on the armor of divinity and connected the Tree of World to Vanaheim, and almost transformed himself into Asgard. As he pushed at full force, the sea of aether was completely sucked up and pumped into the mortal world. It was a density that was tens of thousands of times greater than that of the black zone. Countless beams of light gathered together to form boiling mercury, which was capable of melting the streams of light that were coming together from all directions. This was the first time that Ye Qingxuan was experiencing the feeling of drowning in the sea of aether. It was like being thrown into a pool of strong acid. The illusory aether torrents were filled with cries of pain and despair as the remnants of hatred and insanity of the dead were mixed within. Countless broken faces began to surface. They were screaming and crying and tugging at him with hands that did not hold any form or weight. At this moment, Ye Qingxuan and the incarnation of the catastrophe had both been completely submerged within this ocean of hatred. It was just like how one needed to submerge minerals in decomposition liquid so that they would be completely disintegrated before proceeding to create some special alloys. Leave? No way! Of course, the old musician was never going to let Ye Qingxuan leave. The stove had already been built and the fire had already been lit. If he let their meal go, what would they eat for dinner? Seeing how they were being pinched and nipped all over like soft persimmons, Ye Qingxuan calmed down instead. Only his eyes turned icy cold. "Your Majesty, how are you with swords?" he suddenly asked Mary out of the blue. "Ooh" It was rare for Mary to reveal an awkward expression. "I''m not very good with royal swordsmanship. If I tried my best against Christine, who will only spar with me a single arm, it would probably be a draw match. Why do you ask?" "Nothing much." There was a complicated look on Ye Qingxuan''s face. Although her swordsmanship was nowhere near the level of Lancelot, for her to be on par with Christine, who would only fight her with a single arm, this meant that she was already rather proficient when compared to the Knights of the Round Table. At the very least, she was hundreds of times more powerful than someone like him, who wielded a sword as if it was a stick. He sighed and seemed to make up his mind. "In that case, the key to our victory lies with you, Your Majesty." "Hmm?" Mary looked confused. Although she possessed the power of catastrophe, all this while, she had always played the supporting role to Ye Qingxuan. It had never been her habit to rely on others but now that she was being thrust into the role of being key to the outcome of the battle and was about to face Odin, who was clad in armor of divinity and was on the brink of stepping into the domain of the Three Pillar God, she could not help but feel flustered. "Even if we wish to leave now, I''m afraid the host will not allow it. We have no choice but to stay and play the role of a horrible guest." Ye Qingxuan spoke coldly, "That old fellow''s plan is for everyone to fight on the aether engine, just before it explodes. We cannot sit by and do nothing about it." He did not bother to conceal his tone. In fact, the situation was clear. After gathering Asgard''s power for the past few centuries, Vanaheim had now become an enormous alchemy caldron. A huge amount of music theories were evolving every moment and could explode anytime if one was not paying enough attention. Not only would Asgard be completely destroyed, but the rest of the world would also suffer catastrophic consequences. Right now, the old musician was half-threatening and half-extorting. By tying the entire world to his molten lead bucket, his intention was to put Ye Qingxuan in a situation where he would have no choice but to hold back in order to avoid harming the innocent. In order to defeat him, there must be no hesitation and panic. It must be done decisively and cleanly. In order to do so, Ye Qingxuan had to exploit his only weakness. Right now, all the power was being connected to the armor of divinity through the Tree of World and the person that was in control of all these was not necessarily Odin, but the old musician. Without a doubt, this was his only weakness. In order to win, they would have to gather all the power in a single line, penetrate through it, and thoroughly yet accurately evaporate the old musician that was hiding within the armor of divinity. "Will thisreally work?" Although there was nothing wrong with the theory, Mary just did not feel confident. She kept feeling as if something was wrong somewhere. "With my level of swordsmanship, I''m afraid I may just make things worse." Ye Qingxuan laughed bitterly and looked at Mary, "Later, I will use the New Testament to break us through the aether current and domain of Vanaheim. After that, we will just have to count on Your Majesty." "I will try my best." At this moment, the incarnation of catastrophe was shivering slightly. These dialogues had not been carried out without the old musician''s knowing. Although there was a barrier, the distance was so close that to the armor of divinity, it was no different from screaming beside his ear. Ye Qingxuan was doing this on purpose. He was stranded between heaven and earth and within the armor of divinity but deep down, he was laughing to himself. Carry on, carry on putting up a front. Right now, he was focused on tinkering with divinity in order to achieve a drastic miracle. It was not enough even if he devoted his full attention to it. It was already difficult enough to spare part of his attention for suppressing Ye Qingxuan and the incarnation of catastrophe, much less attacking them. In other words, before he could complete his preparations, there was no way he could retaliate. He had no choice to take whatever blows that would come. Ye Qingxuan did not care to hide this point. Instead, he would lay out his plans openly and clearly for the old musician to see. I am going to poke at your heart. Are you going to block it or not? Can you block it or not? Am I purposely saying these to distract you from something else I have up my sleeves or is this all there is to it? Guess. Keep on guessing. Ye Qingxuan was filled with cruel intentions. This situation of being walled in by one''s worries was both a test and torture for both sides. Whoever gave up first would lose. Ye Qingxuan was used to exploiting others when they were at their weakest so this was nothing to him. At this moment, the old musician pretended not to hear what he was saying. The Tree of World transformed into the iron giant and spewed out wings of light. The wings connected heaven and earth, turning itself into Asgard. Shortly after, it began to push against the immense power of divinity as Asgard. Above the glorious and majestic crown of light, divinity was devouring the endless aether continuously. Countless music theories would clash and be annihilated until they gradually appeared out of the alchemy caldron in a pristine state. The element of ancient runes! Six rows of elements that glittered like stars transformed into gemstones and were on top of the giant''s crown. With the appearance of the six elements, each representing different powers and orders, the silhouette of a final element gradually surfaced amidst the intertwining of the countless music theories. Compared to the six terrifying powers, the last element was a complete blank that contained none of the powers of runes. Amidst the emptiness, there seemed to be endless possibilities. This was the key to creation. Six ancient runes surrounded this tool, that was created from the most crucial blank slate. This blank slate was the only one that was capable of carrying the terrifying power of the creation of the world by God. It did not exist in any physical bodies yet it was omnipresent. The supreme element, void! But right now, the void was congregating very slowly. Under the pressure of external forces, it was moving very slowly and was almost coming to a stop. This was due to the flawless light that was gradually congregating ahead. It was the sword blade that subdued catastrophe with mercy and justice, and solidified the foundation of the crown with the most sublime traits of humanity. It was the sword of coronation, Catinat! Only the most selfless people with compassion and justice would be able to wield this sword. Only those that showed mercy and kindness to all living creatures would deserve to raise that sword of glory. Power flowed within the incarnation of catastrophe. Endless dragon fire gathered in a single line and lit up the glow of the sword blade. It was so pure that there were no flaws and it was so bright that there was not a single spot of darkness. It was so righteous that there could be no distortion and it was so gentle that it would not hurt any eyes that looked at it. It was as if all the most beautiful things in the world had been gathered here, and only light as pure as this could prove the value of justice and mercy, as well as declare to whom victory belonged to. At the same time, a deep voice rumbled across the earth, "Build the foundations of the land and lift the vault of heaven. Renew everything in this world so that nothing will ever decay." As the New Testament Sword was stabbed into the ground, Ye Qingxuan made his declaration while gripping tightly onto the sword. The deep voice reverberated amongst the torrents of aether. The exquisite yet powerful glow of the blade of New Testament sword began to rise and split apart the ocean made up of torrents of aether. It chased away all howls of despair and curses. Compared to the purity and harmlessness of Catinat, the glow of the New Testament was powerful and cold. It was as hot as flame and its edges and corners were clear-cut like metal. Just like justice and truth, it would not be gentle because of one''s kindness nor cruel because of one''s evilness. It would draw a clear and objective line between right and wrong, hence becoming a yardstick that all creatures would be measured against. Ye Qingxuan''s actions allowed the New Testament sword to hack away most of the complicated music theory and chaotic aether. This paved a way for the incarnation of catastrophe and eliminated all obstacles. At that moment, the incarnation of catastrophe took the sword blade, that was glowing with purity and beauty, and laid it flat like a knight before getting into a stance as if it was ready to charge at the armor of divinity in the sky at any moment. This stance would be flawless even under the critical eyes of Lancelot. An immense non-human power appeared amidst the ultimate bestiality as they served as fuel to keep the light burning bright. The light seemed to be able to devour anything. In the light of the descent of redemption, the incarnation of catastrophe broke out. At that moment, everything disintegrated beneath the light of the sword blade as the defense of the armor of divinity was penetrated cleanly. After covering a distance of a few hundred meters, it also pierced through the iron body of the armor of divinity. Simply powerful! The light tore through the old musician''s body, evaporating him completely within it, before being pierced through the back of Odin''s heart. It shredded the long night sky and vault of heaven, and pierced through the mountains that stood in the way. Right in the middle was a gap with smooth edges and it kept going through until it had completely penetrated through the lands of Asgard and into the sky of the outer world. It stabbed into the original darkness of the universe at an angle before gradually disappearing amongst the stars. "Have we succeeded?" Mary was stunned. All of the resistance and abnormalities did not take place as they had expected. Did the old musician simply allow her to pierce through the armor of divinity and kill himself? She could clearly sense that the old musician completely evaporated amidst the stream of light. There was no resistance at all. One could describe it as him encouraging her to pierce through the chest of the armor of divinity. In an instant, he was beyond dead. But why why had it yet to stop? Even after the old musician was no longer in control, the divinity within the armor continued to function within the network of the Tree of World and between the massive domains of the iron giant and Vanaheim. The majestic melody of the creation of heaven and earth continued "My apologies, Your Majesty." Within the divinity of the armor, an old and frail voice spoke, "I have disappointed you. But how can a dead person die a second time?" In the blink of an eye, the divinity within the armor began to fluctuate. The object without form, which seemed to be made from superior matter, spewed out from the armor and incredibly, it was Odin''s source of essence. But now, what was floating within was the face of the old musician. Just like what he had said, to someone who died before, there was no such thing as dying for a second time. Back at the Ultimate, the old musician had already been killed by Paganini''s corrosion. Ever since then, it had always been his duplicates that roamed around the world. Although there were many limitations for duplicates, the biggest advantage was that he could create as many of them as he wished. Otherwise, if he had known about such a fatal weakness in the plan, why would he not prepare countermeasures? Besides, after sacrificing hundreds and thousands and even tens of thousands of duplicates, he had finally been able to infuse his obsession thoroughly into divinity, which was something that even the Second Prince had failed to do back then! What he was pursuing was not the ability to control the power of catastrophe as a human, but the ability for the power of catastrophe to follow his will and command in order to complete the miracle. Therefore, he could afford to give up trivial things, such as his own will, his character, his consciousness, and more He did not do the same thing as what the other failures did, which was to dominate and control Odin''s divinity. Instead, all he did was infuse his own obsession within. If one duplicate was not enough then he would create ten, if ten was not enough then he would create 100, if 100 was not enough then he would create 1,000! He allowed himself to be evaporated within the divinity for thousands of times until he succeeded in infusing his obsession into it, or perhaps "contaminate" was a more accurate description. When the last duplicate was finally killed, the old musician had finally completely transformed into a machine with a single purpose. He could be the same as the difference machine, that had only just come out into the world a few years ago, and give different answers depending on the circumstances, or implement different actions, or undertake different plans. But at the end of the day, he was no longer human anymore. Under the influence of divinity, there was not a hint of his consciousness that remained. In its place was a puppet that was created from the interweaving of tens of thousands of pre-arranged plans, a machine of creation with only a single purpose in its heart! From this moment on, he had finally become Odin! In an instant, Gungnir appeared in Odin''s hands and stabbed at Mary! Mary was stunned, not because of the attack from Gungnir, but from the sword blade that had stabbed through her back. Simultaneously, Ye Qingxuan had attacked her from the back! "Originally, I had a complicated and dangerous plan but after thinking about it, I decided that there was no point for Your Majesty to take the risk with me." Ye Qingxuan sighed quietly and bade farewell to Mary, "Please forgive me for lying to you, and, my apologies." With that, the New Testament sword sank even further until it penetrated the core of Leviathan. The incarnation of catastrophe stiffened for a moment and shortly after, the power of Ye Qingxuan burst out from the sword blade and cut off the connection between Mary and the incarnation of catastrophe. A stream of light dragged her consciousness out through the sword blade and along the gap that Mary had just created. It was like an agile bird that was finding its way out of a cage and finally flying freely in the sky of Asgard. Finally, it was sent back into the net of aether. When Mary opened her eyes once again, she was seated on the throne, but before she could even make a sound, the suggestion that Ye Qingxuan had planted in her consciousness finally sprouted, dragging her into the deepest sleep. In the final moment, she looked in the direction of Asgard and stretched out her hand, as if she was trying to grab someone that had been left behind. But shortly after, the darkness swallowed her entirely. "Ye" This was Ye Qingxuan''s real objective. It was not to kill the enemy or destroy the old musician''s plan but for the after-effects, to get rid of the Vanaheim''s seal for the time being. What they had to face was an old ghost that had already gone mad, a catastrophe by the name of Odin who was about to reach the domain of the Three Pillar God, and an entire Asgard at their beck and call. On the other hand, Ye Qingxuan and Mary were visitors to this land, and their chances of winning were already very small. He might as well send Mary away first. There was no time to explain anything, so he had to do what he did. He hoped that Mary would not be upset with him. He sighed. After withdrawing Mary''s consciousness and the power of Catinat, Leviathan became a monster that had been unshackled. Its darkness and ferociousness could be felt but before things could escalate further, it was struck by Odin''s Gungnir with full force and was almost completely disintegrated. Shortly after, the power of the New Testament sword burst out of the core. In an instant, the incarnation of catastrophe vanished and all that was left was Ye Qingxuan''s sword. With the enemy''s "help," he used the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth as a link to absorb the power of Leviathan completely. With the perfusion of the power of catastrophe, the incarnation of Holy Spirit expanded drastically and in the blink of an eye, it turned into a giant spirit of light that was comparable to the armor of divinity in size. Odin did not seem to be shocked by the choice that Ye Qingxuan had made. He was indifferent. "That was unwise." The old voice spoke, "I had thought that you would have left the only opportunity for yourself After all, you would be much more useful than that queen if you survived. Have I overestimated your desire for the new world?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Perhaps this is the biggest difference between both of us?" He tilted his head and looked at the enemy in front of him. Beneath the powerful beams of light, his smile seemed to be teasing his enemy. "I will never sacrifice my Emperor for my own ambition" "You just didn''t have the courage to make the right decision," Odin replied indifferently. The iron giant looked up and reflected constant beams of light from the vault of heaven. It was as if countless stars had finally broken free and had gathered together to form stellar streams. They rained down towards the earth and flew in the direction of the debris of the Golden Palace. The shimmering streams of light rose and fell, one after another, as they cast beautiful and exquisite trails of light across the night sky. Each trail of light was embedded with power that would leave anyone dumbfounded. With burning will running within, they were powerful and awe-inspiring. This was not a miracle; this was God''s punishment! It was as if God was raining furious blasts of lighting and fire down on mankind. "Has the Sacred City woken up all the Holy Spirits?" Odin nodded and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Looks like I cannot afford to drag any further here. I must settle this as soon as possible." "What a coincidence." Ye Qingxuan smiled and flicked the New Testament sword at his knee. "Great minds think alike." 743 I’ll Give You All of I Both of them decided at the same time to solve the problem as quickly as possible. As far as the old musician who had already contaminated Odin was concerned, since the Sacred City was already prepared to pay any price, get anyone who had dealt with Hyakume in the past and line them up, awaken all the holy spirits, and turn out in full strength to fight, they would have no problem completely destroying him after they were finished with Charles. As far as Ye Qingxuan was concerned, he couldn''t let Charles fight alone. As Ye Qingxuan slashed out with the New Testament Sword, the catastrophe level essence that was invested in the steel burst forth. In a flash, music theory evolved, collided with each other, and a qualitative change of aether that was no different from Abraham occurred. The Music Theory of Reform that looked like electricity intertwined into the glow of the Day of God''s Fury. With the New Testament as the framework and the Music Theory of Reform as the blade, the piercingly cold blade of the Day of God''s Fury was formed. Under the flow of music theory, it became layers upon layers of alchemy arrays. Action, creation, formation, and outflow The four important fields overlapped and were linked together. The path of godly ascension reappeared! The huge alchemy array that Hermes had once made for Arthur was included by Ye Qingxuan in the blade. With the surging of the Music Theory of Reform, it awakened layer by layer, even pulling upon the sea of aether within Vanaheim to form an illusion of a tower that reached into the sky. In a flash, it seemed that Ye Qingxuan was integrated into Vanaheim by the arrays of the Day of God''s Fury. Under these arrays, it was easy to operate one''s will between heaven and earth without any resistance or rejection. In essence, there was no difference between what the old musician wanted to do and what Arthur wanted to do. They both wanted to transform and control the world through the power of a catastrophe. But one of them wanted to do this for Asgard, and the other for himself. Since the essence was the same, the methods would be just as useful! The New Testament was an artifact that had been created by the Staff of Fate and the Staff of Messiah. There were few artifacts in the world that could compare to it. The shards of the gun of fate, the remains of the Lance of the Dragonslayer, Staff of Fate that had come from the Originator, and the savior''s Staff of Messiah. Each of these was crystallized miracles for carrying out the will of God, and the divinity contained within them was enough to make an artifact like the New Testament that could innovate the heavens, the earth and everything in them. At this moment, after the combination of the path of godly ascensions arrays, it was further strengthened. It easily interfered with Vanaheim''s field. It was the same creation. Why could one create it but another couldn''t? Ever since Ye Qingxuan''s debut, he had always been good at turning small things into much bigger things. Now, facing the creation furnace that Odin had evolved, Ye Qingxuan was not foolish enough to take on all of Asgard by himself. That would be called the utmost stupidity. At that moment, the supreme element, void, finally condensed on Odin''s crown of light. Here, the long preparations were finally completed, and the powerful song of the creation of all things played! The first thing that appeared was a thick fog. The mist that evolved from Chaos suffused the void. There was no sky, and there was no earth. Next, a deep chasm emerged from the eternal fog. It was born from nothing. Then, in the northern part of the chasm, the sound of rushing torrents rang out, and bone-chillingly cold sea water roared. Vast aether faults emerged in the boundless sea. Music theory intertwined as a star-like element was integrated into Odin''s crown, outlining the true name of this vast territory. Niflheim. The Kingdom of Ice in the mists. Then, in the south part of the chasm, crimson lava spewed forth and flames burst into the sky, burning the chaotic fog. A turbulent stream formed in the realm of aether, and it transformed into an inaccessible area of destruction. The second star-like element was integrated into Odin''s crown, and it was called Muspelheim. This was the wasteland, the Kingdom of Fire. As fire and ice collided, the creation of the original world began! Facing the nearby Ye Qingxuan, Odin hid neither his plans nor his intentions, completely revealing all his ideas. A giant outline emerged from the chaos. Even Ye Qingxuan was stunned by this magnificent embryonic form. It was the Nine Great Worlds! With Asgard as its apex, the World Tree as its main axis, it created seven more areas beneath Vanaheim. In the end, the nine worlds were linked together, forming an indestructible, great nation. But it did not control everything like the Holy Cauldron did. It defended itself, and, digging inward, created a field outside of it that could even resist God''s commands. If it could be completed, then it could indeed... However, Ye Qingxuan did not intend to stay there forever and become fertilizer for the World Tree to sprout from. Along with the collision of blazing fire and glaciers, empty spirituality sprung up from the collision of fire and ice. It drew in aether and took the form of a giant spirit. This was the first Holy Spirit of the Nine Great Worlds. The New Testament Sword stretched out and slashed the neck of this Holy Spirit who had not even had time to open its eyes. There was no sense of beauty to the action, it was unspeakably brutal. It was like killing a chicken. Without regard for his inferior swordsmanship, Ye Qingxuan turned the blade around and stabbed towards the earth. You want to create a world? I''ll help! In a flash, the arrays of the path of godly ascension spread out from the blade all over the ground. They radiated out in all directions instantly. Under the impetus of the New Testament music theory began to operate, and countless charcoal fires appeared on the ground. The flames gathered, turning into a torrent and rushing into the Kingdom of Flame. The balance of creation was instantly broken. Under the blazing fire that rose from the ground, steam rose up from the Kingdom of Ice. The glaciers boiled and the elements shrieked. Using the path of godly ascension as a lever, Ye Qingxuan warped the balance of the Nine Great Worlds. The rising boiling river turned into a great rain that fell from the sky, turning the earth into a lifeless mire. It was as if a demon had stolen the power of creation, ruining it. A heavy wind blew from the sky, tearing at the boundaries between the heavens and the earth. Flames rose up, burning the mud into a desert. Gravel blew around in the wind. The storm swept across the lifeless world. Compared to Odin''s divine power, Ye Qingxuan''s power was almost not worth mentioning. But using the power of the path of godly ascension and New Testament on the Nine Great Worlds was like continuously pouring rat poison into a pot of good soup. It was always harder to create than to destroy. Ye Qingxuan had always been the one to patch up the wall. He had never tried such wanton destruction before. At the moment he let go, he had turned the world into a strange hellscape where not even a blade of grass could grow. The sky extended into the chasm. Lava flowed upon the earth, and an unceasing storm fell from the heavens, full of sulfurous poison that destroyed everything completely. Ye Qingxuan had riddled the Nine Great Worlds with holes before they were even created. The more he destroyed, the more wanton he became. In the beginning, Odin tried to stop him. When the signs of destruction became dimly visible, he could no longer stop the collapse of the Nine Great Worlds at the hands of Ye Qingxuan''s destruction. When Ye Qingxuan had returned to God, he had taken all the power from Odin''s hands, and more and more power and divinity accumulated. The power did not stop for even an instant. It constantly rushed into Ye Qingxuan''s body like a mighty flood, causing him to continuously expand, expand, and expand. It transformed him into a giant spirit that could hold up both the heavens and the earth. But at this point, Ye Qingxuan discovered that he couldn''t stop. Odin no longer hid his actions. It was like he was eager for his power to grow, and now, fortunately, he did not bother to keep up the pretense as he openly placed his power into Ye Qingxuan''s hands. More and more, more and more, more and more... Music theory seemed to boil within Ye Qingxuan, spirituality burst forth and then gathered into one place. Electricity sparked between them and collided, forming an old face within him. At that moment, all of his power was crammed into his incarnation of the Holy Spirit! The power disregarded his forcible containment as it boiled through his body, tangled around his Scepter, infested his movements, and pushed his power forward. The huge World Tree arrays slowly unfolded on his body and were inserted into his movement. Then, the silver array rushed into the New Testament Sword and electricity burst forth, forming the shadow of Gungnir. It was not just Odin''s divinity and the World Tree''s array, even Gungnir was offered to him with both hands. Odin had personally placed Ye Qingxuan on the throne of the supreme. Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He could not understand at all what the old musician had been thinking before he died. Why would he let the catastrophe enter into such a strange situation? But the uneasiness and the deep cold spread through his heart, making him struggle angrily. He wanted to abandon his newfound power. But it was too late. Odin''s divinity had already been integrated into his Scepter. It had put down roots. The power had already been placed in his hands where it lingered. "What are you doing?" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. "Of course I''m letting you do what you do best." Odin laughed softly. In Ye Qingxuan''s Scepter, he respectfully announced his final conviction. "Go, set the foundations of the earth, hold up the tent of the sky, and set up the basis for the immortality of everything!" He had gained all of Asgard''s power out of thin air, but there was no gratification or happiness in Ye Qingxuan''s heart, but rather unprecedented bitterness and anger. He''d been tricked. He''d been duped by an old b*stard who was practically dead! From the start, Ye Qingxuan had always been someone who played others, but now someone else had beat him at his own game. A great storm had come, and he had been rolled into the gutter outside his own door! From the start, he had been caught in his rhythm and pace, and had been pulled in! Maybe sending Mary away had even been part of his plan! No, this kind of old b*stard had more than ten plans in reserve. If Mary was the one to leave, he would be the one that was left behind. If he was the one to leave, that would be great. Without him in the way, Leviathan would not have stood under Odin''s power. Now Ye Qingxuan finally tasted the pain of his own "hindrance." Because Odin had never planned to prevent him from causing trouble, and could not wait for him to come and grab his power! You want it? I''ll give it to you! I''ll give you all of it! 744 Sublimation At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had gained unprecedented power and was more powerful than ever. But while he gained strength, he was also restrained by Odin''s position and mission, becoming his scapegoat. No, the old musician was already destined to die, but at the moment, he was dragging Ye Qingxuan down with him. At the moment, in Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness, countless voices sounded one after another, countless desires to create constantly surged, and countless elaborate ideas gushed out like spring water. The obsessions blended into Odin''s divinity urged him, motivated him, and tugged at him, pressing him down on Odin''s throne, forcing him to complete the world in Odin''s stead like a puppet. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had replaced Odin, no, he had become Odin! Such was the best way! Nothing could be better! How could the crazy idea of the nine worlds be completed by Odin alone? But after adding the Net of Aether and Leviathan in, there would be no problem at all! In terms of collating resources and making use of power, who in the whole world could compare to Ye Qingxuan, who had often created miracles by throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel? Such a thing could only be accomplished by him, and no one else. Ye Qingxuan even suspected that from the very moment the old musician saw him appearing in Asgard, the old man had made up his mind to use Ye Qingxuan to complete all these. The old musician subtly compelled Ye Qingxuan, guiding the latter through his understanding of the young man, letting Ye Qingxuan embark on the road that the old musician wanted the most, and making Ye Qingxuan stay! Ye Qingxuan wouldn''t only stay for the night, but stay forever. He would be completely combined with the nine worlds! At the moment, Ye Qingxuan could hardly counter the divinity surging madly in his body anymore. His consciousness was rapidly becoming vague, assimilated by the great things in the divinity. His human emotions were cut off, making him view everything in the world from a supreme perspective. The supreme power gathered in his hands, supreme joy surged in his heart. Between the heavens and the earth, no more mystery or difficult problem could trouble him. At the moment, he only had one mission and one thought left. Go and create. Go and lay the foundation of the earth and set the skies. Go and play the merry song of creation! The nine worlds shall emerge from my hands, and I shall complete the great, unprecedented feat. I shall be integrated into the supreme domain and exist forever together with the nine worlds! "Mortal beings like me are destined to die when we bite off more than we can chew and poke a finger into the power of God, but you are not the same, Hand of God." The hoarse voice of the old musician rang out in his consciousness. "You are strong, far surpassing me. You are a hero capable of bringing about a whole new era. I will eventually die, but you "will be with Asgard from now on!" What in the world was the best way to deal with one''s enemy? It was to make one''s enemy one''s friends. After being the first to break the taboo, Asgard was besieged by Anglo and the Caucasus overnight. Originally, it was no big deal. Asgard was rich and had plenty of assets. It could afford to drag the war out, and it was still hard to say who would be the winner in the end. But who could have thought that, other than Ye Qingxuan, whose power defied all reason, the Caucasus had a trump card named the Son of God? For Asgard, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Regardless of whether Charles or the Sacred City was to emerge victorious, it would be difficult for Asgard to remain intact. Under such a situation, not only must the old musician sacrifice the emperor, he had to sacrifice himself as well. But what would happen after he left? After losing its emperor and leader, which path could the entire Asgard take? But at the very moment, a wonderful candidate appeared in front of the old musician. Ye Qingxuan! It would be difficult to reach a consensus about who the most powerful person in the mortal realm was. However, regarding who the most talented person was, there was probably only one answer, namely Ye Qingxuan, the Prince of Avalon and the Hand of God, who had stirred up a great storm, having single-handedly created the Net of Aether and laid the foundation for the fate of Anglo in the next century. So things become a lot easier. The old musician just needed to get Ye Qingxuan on his side. Using the entire national strength of Asgard as his capital to gamble, the old musician suppressed Ye Qingxuan with an imposing manner. Lured step-by-step by the old musician, Ye Qingxuan walked into the trap one step after another. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had been completely transformed into Odin, having absorbed all the power of Odin and Vanaheim. After he had burned himself out to establish the nine worlds, he would completely become a part of Asgard. The price of obtaining the power comparable to God was that he could never leave the territory of Asgard, and must even shoulder the burden of sheltering Asgard in the upcoming storm, even for the sake of protecting himself. It was hard to say whether Ye Qingxuan would still be Ye Qingxuan then. The sublimation of divinity necessarily represented the peeling off of human nature. When the sublimation was completed, Ye Qingxuan would no longer exist in the world, and only Odin, the supreme god of the nine worlds, would remain! No plan could be better than making one''s enemy fight for oneself and give his all to keep oneself safe. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had become a god, operating between the heavens and the earth. In the domain where the realm of aether and the physical world overlapped, a uniquely divine domain was created from the void. Flanked by countless elements, the hymn of creation resounded. The land of fire and the land of ice were born again from the void. The dead plains were once again filled with vitality. The miracle performed by the god took place on the land. As the nine worlds grew and were perfected, Ye Qingxuan felt that he had become light. He was detached from the limited senses of human beings and acquired unimagined relief and freedom. He could "see" sounds thousands of miles away and "hear" the various colors of the tides of Anglo. He touched the innumerable molecules dissipating in the flames and tasted the nectar of the stars and the skies. Once again, he was transformed into aether. Countless forms of him gathered together, turning into the ubiquitous sea of aether and touched the world. And so, he could see Charles fighting against the holy spirits thousands of miles away, above the ruins of the Golden Palace, and the dazzling pair of wings fluttering between the heavens and the earth. He also saw that light brighter than tens of thousands of himself burning in Charles'' body. Finally, he saw the King of Blue looking into the distance silently at the end of the World of Dark in the north. He also saw the king clad in red coldly gazing at him from the highest point of the city of steel. Ye Qingxuan was on the rise. He passed through the layers of dimensions in the realm of aether, went up further, passed the Sacred City, passed Eden, and flitted past the Land of Dreams that seemed to have a strong yearning for him. He reached the end of matter, and his spirit was extracted from ordinary flesh and blood, ascending as a divine spirit, and he spilled grace into the void. He would no longer feel anger, sadness, or confusion With the magnificent sublimation, Ye Qingxuan felt something fading from his consciousness bit by bit, making him more complete, more perfect, and more extraordinary. He was only one step away from the final goal of perfection. One step But he lingered for a long time without taking the one step forward. A voice was telling him not to go forward any further, but soon, the voice gradually disappeared, thrown away from his pure spirituality, sprinkling towards the mortal realm. Nothing was holding him back anymore. Nothing except the sudden obstruction in front of him. Among the brilliant flares, the huge country burned itself, forcibly rising to the front of Ye Qingxuan, becoming a barrier, blocking his final path. It was the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. "Ye Qingxuan, don''t go any further." Mary''s phantom image emerged from it, gazing at Ye Qingxuan, a gap cracking open on her face. "Otherwise...otherwise..." Looking at Ye Qingxuan''s indifferent expression, after hesitating for a long time, she summoned up great courage. "Otherwise I will never forgive you!" Who is she? Who is Ye Qingxuan? Why should she forgive me? Why should I be forgiven? The pure light set off faint ripples, as if He was thinking, but soon, He realized something. Why think? Why should I be limited to the drudgery of mortal beings? The light passed through the phantom image of Mary, through the incorporeal tears of nothingness and the sad expression. Finally, He passed through the layers of barriers of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and took the last step toward the supreme domain. And He came to an abrupt stop. Because a white palm of emerged from the void, appearing with her was the magnificent scene of the City in the Sky. The jade city in the skies appeared, with five towns and 12 buildings. The Great Wall appeared, blocking his path, and the gate opened. A vague and slender phantom image of the master of the palm appeared from the distant time and space, together with an angry pair of eyes. "You barbaric women only know how to cry and cry some more, how troublesome!" She cast a glance at Mary and snorted. "Forget it, at least you did me a favor by delaying him." As she said so, she withdrew her gaze and looked at Ye Qingxuan''s contours, which had lost their true appearance, and her gaze became more and more annoyed. "I don''t have time to hit you up." She lifted one foot and abruptly kicked Ye Qingxuan on the face. "Cousin, get your *ss down there first!" At the moment, in the deepest void of the realm of aether, the place closest to the Originator, unprecedentedly chaos erupted. As if all the turbulence in the world had gathered together, converging into a line, then a spot. Then, it erupted with a rumble! Zhaodang [1]! As Zhaodang erupted, as if it had exhausted all its power, the projection of the City in the Sky dissipated in the void. However, upon being trampled head-on by her, the light was kicked back into the physical world. He broke holes in the wonderlands of several schools along the way, and after stirring up complicated turbulence in the sea of aether, He fell back to the border between the physical world and the realm of aether. What happened? Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing? The light could no longer remain pure and began thinking again, but it was difficult for Him to get an answer. A slender figure emerged, wearing a skirt as red as fire, from the turbulence in the high-level dimensions. She was holding a lapful of things in her arms, bouncing and looking around, humming a song, like she was looking for something. "Oh, you came here!" She appeared before the light, bending down to look at the empty light. "Also, why did you throw things all over the place!" She scooped up the shattered pieces of light from her lap and stuffed it one by one into the light. "I wasted a lot of effort going around to pick them up for you. Remember to thank me! Check and see whether anything is missing. If it isn''t complete, we can continue looking around." As she said so, she unreasonably and brutally stuffed the humanity and memory of the mortal being into the divinity. Despite clearly being incompatible with each other like water and fire, at the moment, they were smoothly connected under her palm. It was natural, as if it had been smelted in a furnace. So, fear came back, confusion came back, and greed came back... The first thing he felt was numbness. It was followed by depression, then by a struggling unwillingness, followed by anger beyond words, and finally, a denial towards this death! I am Ye Qingxuan. I am not dead At the moment, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes in the kingdom of the nine worlds. I, am still alive! [1] A tactic exclusively used by Bai Xi in the novel. It means pounding. 745 The Path of Fire Sword Between heaven and earth and within the majestic movement of creation, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked down at the world that he had started. Amidst countless streams of light, there were silhouettes of mountains and rivers, and the foundation of the kingdom of God had been set. The incredible concept of the nine great kingdoms had finally taken shape. "How beautiful." He said softly, "What a pity." "Are you upset?" The illusion of an adolescent girl in red skirt appeared beside him and tilted her head to look at him. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I''m furious." "Then unleash your fury on your enemy. Let them see blood." The girl stretched out her hand and her fingers to establish a complicated music theory and put on a black robe onto Ye Qingxuan''s incarnation of Holy Spirit. She was like a girl that was smoothening the collars of others. But the expression on her face was stern and firm like an Emperor. She declared, "Unleash your cruelty on them, just like how God rains down thunder and fire. Teach them to respect and fear your power." Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Yes, I will." When she saw a glint of focus and determination in the corner of his eye that she had never seen before, the adolescent girl became happier. "I really like the person you have become now. It''s good to see you like this, my friend." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hands and embraced her gently. He could feel the rising temperature in his chest, and a knot that had been causing him pain all this while in his heart seemed to have been untied at last. He was truly happy, from the bottom of his heart. "Me too, Elsa." As Ye Qingxuan slowly woke up, the authoritative face of Odin began to crack slowly. Ye Qingxuan''s will was running within the divinity. He stared coolly at the embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds, and his tone was one of indifference. "Is this the new world that you wanted?" "I have lost." The face of the old musician appeared in the electricity and stared at Ye Qingxuan, "Now that Odin''s power belongs to you, why can''t you just give Asgard a chance?" This was a transaction. The embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds had been set, so he had already achieved the baseline of his goal. At this moment, the old musician had made a promise. If Ye Qingxuan was willing to stop and step back, he could have all the remaining power that Odin had not unleashed during the creation, and the old musician would not interfere at all. He would treat this as a form of compensation for Ye Qingxuan. If Ye Qingxuan refused to stop, then both sides would officially use Odin''s divinity as the battlefield and fight each other once more. By then, the great power of God would be completely wasted during the battle, and the embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds would most likely be destroyed in the process as well. Rationally, this was the best outcome. "What a pity." Ye Qingxuan sighed gently and shook his head. "All I want to say is that the new world is not supposed to be created this way." With that, the New Testament sword appeared in his hands. When he raised it high in the sky, the glorious light of divine power surfaced on the sword blade and the formation of the path of godly ascension was opened. The power of the Nine Great Worlds was absorbed and gathered into powerful and earth-shattering hurricanes and storms. In the next instant, the sword of wind and thunder struck the divine domain ahead. "In order to welcome the new, one must destroy the old first!" In that instant, the old musician closed his eyes. "In that case, this time around, we will not stop until one of us is dead." The embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds responded with a roar. The torrents of aether burst out, and after penetrating through "Asgard,""Vanaheim,""Niflheim," and "Middle Court Kingdom" of the outer world, they gathered within the bright Gungnir. With the support of the Nine Great Worlds, the power of Gungnir rose exponentially and in the blink of an eye, it became even more powerful than Gate of Heaven of the past. It became an artifact that was even more powerful than Spear of Destiny and was now truly a killer weapon of catastrophe! And in the very same instant, a massive alchemy formation was unleashed behind Ye Qingxuan. In the blink of an eye, it covered the entire divine domain. Firstly, three principal axes, that would have left anyone dumbfounded, were erected. The pillar of compassion, the pillar of gentleness, and the pillar of strictness. After the three axes solidified the foundation of the formation, four great precincts were developed. They evolved to such an advanced stage that they went through the four stages of flowing, forming, creating and activating based on the foundation of the three pillars. They transformed into four independent domains that were stacked on top of one another, evolving into an extreme form of the path of alchemy. The point, where the four great precincts intersected with each other, represented the interweaving of the music theories of heaven and earth, forming the outline and condensing into the crystallization of miracle. "Kingdom" represented substance, "foundation" represented heaven and earth, "glory" represented soul," until the very end, when "crown" represented divinity! That was the end point within the formation, and every single one of them was more than capable of supporting the "elements" created by artifacts! Shortly after, 22 massive alchemy formations connected the three pillars and four precincts and the elements that represented the ten major original qualities, all into one and formed a single alchemy formation that was so terrifying that it was capable of engulfing an entire country. From top to bottom, that was the sublimation of miracle. The path of sublimation that was of great importance. "In the name of the last wise man, I declare the reason of sublimation of all beings and the path of creation of heaven and earth." After the incredible alchemy formation had been formed, the queen was bathing in flames, and her eyes looked down at the entire heaven and earth. "This shall be the crystallization of intelligence and supreme souls, the origin of the beauty of all beings. "This is the path of fire sword!" With the appearance of the origin of catastrophe, the formation of the path of fire sword was mounted onto the incarnation of Ye Qingxuan, and in the blink of an eye, the New Testament sword destroyed the lightning of Gungnir then probed forward and struck again. Boom! The country of fog was destroyed completely. Before creation was complete, destruction had already descended upon this domain! With the New Testament in hand, Ye Qingxuan swung his sword of judgment and punished his enemies by casting lightning and fire! Shortly after, the formation of the path of godly ascension was extended, and in a split second, it occupied the shards of divinity domain that had been disintegrated. Then, Ye Qingxuan threw it into the realm of aether so that it would combine with the Land of Dreams. There was no reason he should be kind to Asgard. He showed no mercy in taking them apart, and he would even take their materials and resources for his own use in the future. With Elsa''s support, Ye Qingxuan was able to suppress the old musician''s control of the divinity domain completely. If Asgard was like a sheep, then Ye Qingxuan was now fully focused on pulling out all of its wool. Didn''t you want me to create a divinity domain? Alright, I''ll do it, but don''t ever get the wrong idea that it will be your home! Every single action was rough and violent, and he left a trail of destruction behind him wherever he went. He did not seem to care that the Nine Great Worlds were also his own creation. If he did not vent his anger this time around, Ye Qingxuan would definitely be itchy for the next decade, waiting for another similar opportunity. The old musician was being suppressed by the formation of the path of fire sword. He finally sighed solemnly. "It seems that I made the wrong move in the end." Before the path of fire sword even appeared, the old musician already knew that he had lost. Not only had he lost the battle, but he had also lost to Ye Qingxuan in terms of set-up and strategy. If someone wholeheartedly wanted to change the world, so much so that he was willing to allow his greatest achievements to be accomplished by others, this person would probably be as despondent as he was right now. No, this person might even expect more in return. As he stared at the icy silhouette of "path of fire sword," the old musician''s face contorted. It was a divinity domain that could move at will, a moving "Nine Great Worlds!" A principal axis that could change heaven and earth at any time and resolidify the fundamentals of all beings. Beneath the cover of that alchemy formation, everything seemed to be centered around the will of that catastrophe queen. One could say that once the path of fire sword had been unleashed, she was just like a living God. Was there anyone else in this world that could reach this level? No. Or perhaps there was The old musician bitterly mouthed that name. Hermes. Other than that wise man, who was willing to give up his catastrophe powers in order to become an ordinary man? Who else was capable of creating such a terrible existence? Perhaps she had inherited the power of catastrophe? Otherwise, it was not possible for a Romulus to transform into one of the winged people. At that moment, he closed his eyes. The lands of the Nine Great Worlds were disintegrating. Ye Qingxuan could feel it. Endless aether was bursting through those gaps. He was destroying the Great Wall? It was as if an immense burden had been removed, and now, as the old musician pushed, the Nine Great Worlds abandoned most of their powers to be captured by Ye Qingxuan. Only the core divinity element was collapsing inwards. Shortly after, the music theory that Ye Qingxuan was extremely familiar with was being established from within. Was that catastrophic resonation?! Ye Qingxuan was stunned. The Nine Great Worlds were being used as instruments in this symphony while Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination began to play once more. But everything was happening within the old musician''s grasp! Soon after, the vault of heaven broke, and the gap that led to the depths of the realm of aether widened. This revealed the glow of the cool and quiet moon. Ye Qingxuan gasped. Quiet Moon! At the same time that Ye Qingxuan had obtained Odin''s divinity, the old musician had also obtained many of the music theories within his body, such as inheriting the catastrophic resonation of Abraham, and the Quiet Theory that he had risked his life to obtain from the Sacred City! Under the call from the catastrophe music theory, one of the Three Pillar Gods, who used to stick with Hyakume but had since fallen and had been unheard of all this while, appeared above the vault of heaven. It was Quiet Moon, which swept through the mortal world. A chilly aura was suddenly imprinted in everyone''s heart. That was a brake valve that flowed out of the Originator, a tool of destruction that would eliminate all music theories This was exactly why the artifact must not be moved without any good reason. Other than that single time where Ye Qingxuan had to deal with the threat of Hyakume clashing with the Holy Caldron, he never dared to summon Quiet Moon ever again. At most, he would use the Quiet Theory as a front if he needed to. The moment it was summoned by mistake, Quiet Moon would not care about your reason; all it would do was erase you completely from the inside out. At this moment, Ye Qingxuan could care less about pursuing the old musician. Instead, he was channeling all the powers that the old musician had left behind into the Land of Dreams before retreating as quickly and as far away as he could. Then, he would watch how the old musician would set fire on himself. And now, the old musician did not care about his impending doom. All he could do was laugh out loud. "Oh God, I shall drag you off your throne today!" In that instant, the formation of the Tree of World shot into the sky as a sign of the end of the moon cycle. Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded as he stared at what was happening before his eyes. He finally understood what the old musician had been planning. He would use the core and power of the Nine Great Worlds to drag the Quiet Moon back from the Originator and seal it in this cage! 745 Sublimation At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had gained unprecedented power and was more powerful than ever. But while he gained strength, he was also restrained by Odin''s position and mission, becoming his scapegoat. No, the old musician was already destined to die, but at the moment, he was dragging Ye Qingxuan down with him. At the moment, in Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness, countless voices sounded one after another, countless desires to create constantly surged, and countless elaborate ideas gushed out like spring water. The obsessions blended into Odin''s divinity urged him, motivated him, and tugged at him, pressing him down on Odin''s throne, forcing him to complete the world in Odin''s stead like a puppet. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had replaced Odin, no, he had become Odin! Such was the best way! Nothing could be better! How could the crazy idea of the nine worlds be completed by Odin alone? But after adding the Net of Aether and Leviathan in, there would be no problem at all! In terms of collating resources and making use of power, who in the whole world could compare to Ye Qingxuan, who had often created miracles by throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel? Such a thing could only be accomplished by him, and no one else. Ye Qingxuan even suspected that from the very moment the old musician saw him appearing in Asgard, the old man had made up his mind to use Ye Qingxuan to complete all these. The old musician subtly compelled Ye Qingxuan, guiding the latter through his understanding of the young man, letting Ye Qingxuan embark on the road that the old musician wanted the most, and making Ye Qingxuan stay! Ye Qingxuan wouldn''t only stay for the night, but stay forever. He would be completely combined with the nine worlds! At the moment, Ye Qingxuan could hardly counter the divinity surging madly in his body anymore. His consciousness was rapidly becoming vague, assimilated by the great things in the divinity. His human emotions were cut off, making him view everything in the world from a supreme perspective. The supreme power gathered in his hands, supreme joy surged in his heart. Between the heavens and the earth, no more mystery or difficult problem could trouble him. At the moment, he only had one mission and one thought left. Go and create. Go and lay the foundation of the earth and set the skies. Go and play the merry song of creation! The nine worlds shall emerge from my hands, and I shall complete the great, unprecedented feat. I shall be integrated into the supreme domain and exist forever together with the nine worlds! "Mortal beings like me are destined to die when we bite off more than we can chew and poke a finger into the power of God, but you are not the same, Hand of God." The hoarse voice of the old musician rang out in his consciousness. "You are strong, far surpassing me. You are a hero capable of bringing about a whole new era. I will eventually die, but you "will be with Asgard from now on!" What in the world was the best way to deal with one''s enemy? It was to make one''s enemy one''s friends. After being the first to break the taboo, Asgard was besieged by Anglo and the Caucasus overnight. Originally, it was no big deal. Asgard was rich and had plenty of assets. It could afford to drag the war out, and it was still hard to say who would be the winner in the end. But who could have thought that, other than Ye Qingxuan, whose power defied all reason, the Caucasus had a trump card named the Son of God? For Asgard, the situation had taken a sharp turn for the worse. Regardless of whether Charles or the Sacred City was to emerge victorious, it would be difficult for Asgard to remain intact. Under such a situation, not only must the old musician sacrifice the emperor, he had to sacrifice himself as well. But what would happen after he left? After losing its emperor and leader, which path could the entire Asgard take? But at the very moment, a wonderful candidate appeared in front of the old musician. Ye Qingxuan! It would be difficult to reach a consensus about who the most powerful person in the mortal realm was. However, regarding who the most talented person was, there was probably only one answer, namely Ye Qingxuan, the Prince of Avalon and the Hand of God, who had stirred up a great storm, having single-handedly created the Net of Aether and laid the foundation for the fate of Anglo in the next century. So things become a lot easier. The old musician just needed to get Ye Qingxuan on his side. Using the entire national strength of Asgard as his capital to gamble, the old musician suppressed Ye Qingxuan with an imposing manner. Lured step-by-step by the old musician, Ye Qingxuan walked into the trap one step after another. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had been completely transformed into Odin, having absorbed all the power of Odin and Vanaheim. After he had burned himself out to establish the nine worlds, he would completely become a part of Asgard. The price of obtaining the power comparable to God was that he could never leave the territory of Asgard, and must even shoulder the burden of sheltering Asgard in the upcoming storm, even for the sake of protecting himself. It was hard to say whether Ye Qingxuan would still be Ye Qingxuan then. The sublimation of divinity necessarily represented the peeling off of human nature. When the sublimation was completed, Ye Qingxuan would no longer exist in the world, and only Odin, the supreme god of the nine worlds, would remain! No plan could be better than making one''s enemy fight for oneself and give his all to keep oneself safe. At the moment, Ye Qingxuan had become a god, operating between the heavens and the earth. In the domain where the realm of aether and the physical world overlapped, a uniquely divine domain was created from the void. Flanked by countless elements, the hymn of creation resounded. The land of fire and the land of ice were born again from the void. The dead plains were once again filled with vitality. The miracle performed by the god took place on the land. As the nine worlds grew and were perfected, Ye Qingxuan felt that he had become light. He was detached from the limited senses of human beings and acquired unimagined relief and freedom. He could "see" sounds thousands of miles away and "hear" the various colors of the tides of Anglo. He touched the innumerable molecules dissipating in the flames and tasted the nectar of the stars and the skies. Once again, he was transformed into aether. Countless forms of him gathered together, turning into the ubiquitous sea of aether and touched the world. And so, he could see Charles fighting against the holy spirits thousands of miles away, above the ruins of the Golden Palace, and the dazzling pair of wings fluttering between the heavens and the earth. He also saw that light brighter than tens of thousands of himself burning in Charles'' body. Finally, he saw the King of Blue looking into the distance silently at the end of the World of Dark in the north. He also saw the king clad in red coldly gazing at him from the highest point of the city of steel. Ye Qingxuan was on the rise. He passed through the layers of dimensions in the realm of aether, went up further, passed the Sacred City, passed Eden, and flitted past the Land of Dreams that seemed to have a strong yearning for him. He reached the end of matter, and his spirit was extracted from ordinary flesh and blood, ascending as a divine spirit, and he spilled grace into the void. He would no longer feel anger, sadness, or confusion With the magnificent sublimation, Ye Qingxuan felt something fading from his consciousness bit by bit, making him more complete, more perfect, and more extraordinary. He was only one step away from the final goal of perfection. One step But he lingered for a long time without taking the one step forward. A voice was telling him not to go forward any further, but soon, the voice gradually disappeared, thrown away from his pure spirituality, sprinkling towards the mortal realm. Nothing was holding him back anymore. Nothing except the sudden obstruction in front of him. Among the brilliant flares, the huge country burned itself, forcibly rising to the front of Ye Qingxuan, becoming a barrier, blocking his final path. It was the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. "Ye Qingxuan, don''t go any further." Mary''s phantom image emerged from it, gazing at Ye Qingxuan, a gap cracking open on her face. "Otherwise...otherwise..." Looking at Ye Qingxuan''s indifferent expression, after hesitating for a long time, she summoned up great courage. "Otherwise I will never forgive you!" Who is she? Who is Ye Qingxuan? Why should she forgive me? Why should I be forgiven? The pure light set off faint ripples, as if He was thinking, but soon, He realized something. Why think? Why should I be limited to the drudgery of mortal beings? The light passed through the phantom image of Mary, through the incorporeal tears of nothingness and the sad expression. Finally, He passed through the layers of barriers of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth and took the last step toward the supreme domain. And He came to an abrupt stop. Because a white palm of emerged from the void, appearing with her was the magnificent scene of the City in the Sky. The jade city in the skies appeared, with five towns and 12 buildings. The Great Wall appeared, blocking his path, and the gate opened. A vague and slender phantom image of the master of the palm appeared from the distant time and space, together with an angry pair of eyes. "You barbaric women only know how to cry and cry some more, how troublesome!" She cast a glance at Mary and snorted. "Forget it, at least you did me a favor by delaying him." As she said so, she withdrew her gaze and looked at Ye Qingxuan''s contours, which had lost their true appearance, and her gaze became more and more annoyed. "I don''t have time to hit you up." She lifted one foot and abruptly kicked Ye Qingxuan on the face. "Cousin, get your *ss down there first!" At the moment, in the deepest void of the realm of aether, the place closest to the Originator, unprecedentedly chaos erupted. As if all the turbulence in the world had gathered together, converging into a line, then a spot. Then, it erupted with a rumble! Zhaodang [1]! As Zhaodang erupted, as if it had exhausted all its power, the projection of the City in the Sky dissipated in the void. However, upon being trampled head-on by her, the light was kicked back into the physical world. He broke holes in the wonderlands of several schools along the way, and after stirring up complicated turbulence in the sea of aether, He fell back to the border between the physical world and the realm of aether. What happened? Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing? The light could no longer remain pure and began thinking again, but it was difficult for Him to get an answer. A slender figure emerged, wearing a skirt as red as fire, from the turbulence in the high-level dimensions. She was holding a lapful of things in her arms, bouncing and looking around, humming a song, like she was looking for something. "Oh, you came here!" She appeared before the light, bending down to look at the empty light. "Also, why did you throw things all over the place!" She scooped up the shattered pieces of light from her lap and stuffed it one by one into the light. "I wasted a lot of effort going around to pick them up for you. Remember to thank me! Check and see whether anything is missing. If it isn''t complete, we can continue looking around." As she said so, she unreasonably and brutally stuffed the humanity and memory of the mortal being into the divinity. Despite clearly being incompatible with each other like water and fire, at the moment, they were smoothly connected under her palm. It was natural, as if it had been smelted in a furnace. So, fear came back, confusion came back, and greed came back... The first thing he felt was numbness. It was followed by depression, then by a struggling unwillingness, followed by anger beyond words, and finally, a denial towards this death! I am Ye Qingxuan. I am not dead At the moment, Ye Qingxuan suddenly opened his eyes in the kingdom of the nine worlds. I, am still alive! [1] A tactic exclusively used by Bai Xi in the novel. It means pounding. 746 The Path of Fire Sword Between heaven and earth and within the majestic movement of creation, Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and looked down at the world that he had started. Amidst countless streams of light, there were silhouettes of mountains and rivers, and the foundation of the kingdom of God had been set. The incredible concept of the nine great kingdoms had finally taken shape. "How beautiful." He said softly, "What a pity." "Are you upset?" The illusion of an adolescent girl in red skirt appeared beside him and tilted her head to look at him. "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "I''m furious." "Then unleash your fury on your enemy. Let them see blood." The girl stretched out her hand and her fingers to establish a complicated music theory and put on a black robe onto Ye Qingxuan''s incarnation of Holy Spirit. She was like a girl that was smoothening the collars of others. But the expression on her face was stern and firm like an Emperor. She declared, "Unleash your cruelty on them, just like how God rains down thunder and fire. Teach them to respect and fear your power." Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Yes, I will." When she saw a glint of focus and determination in the corner of his eye that she had never seen before, the adolescent girl became happier. "I really like the person you have become now. It''s good to see you like this, my friend." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hands and embraced her gently. He could feel the rising temperature in his chest, and a knot that had been causing him pain all this while in his heart seemed to have been untied at last. He was truly happy, from the bottom of his heart. "Me too, Elsa." As Ye Qingxuan slowly woke up, the authoritative face of Odin began to crack slowly. Ye Qingxuan''s will was running within the divinity. He stared coolly at the embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds, and his tone was one of indifference. "Is this the new world that you wanted?" "I have lost." The face of the old musician appeared in the electricity and stared at Ye Qingxuan, "Now that Odin''s power belongs to you, why can''t you just give Asgard a chance?" This was a transaction. The embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds had been set, so he had already achieved the baseline of his goal. At this moment, the old musician had made a promise. If Ye Qingxuan was willing to stop and step back, he could have all the remaining power that Odin had not unleashed during the creation, and the old musician would not interfere at all. He would treat this as a form of compensation for Ye Qingxuan. If Ye Qingxuan refused to stop, then both sides would officially use Odin''s divinity as the battlefield and fight each other once more. By then, the great power of God would be completely wasted during the battle, and the embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds would most likely be destroyed in the process as well. Rationally, this was the best outcome. "What a pity." Ye Qingxuan sighed gently and shook his head. "All I want to say is that the new world is not supposed to be created this way." With that, the New Testament sword appeared in his hands. When he raised it high in the sky, the glorious light of divine power surfaced on the sword blade and the formation of the path of godly ascension was opened. The power of the Nine Great Worlds was absorbed and gathered into powerful and earth-shattering hurricanes and storms. In the next instant, the sword of wind and thunder struck the divine domain ahead. "In order to welcome the new, one must destroy the old first!" In that instant, the old musician closed his eyes. "In that case, this time around, we will not stop until one of us is dead." The embryonic form of the Nine Great Worlds responded with a roar. The torrents of aether burst out, and after penetrating through "Asgard,""Vanaheim,""Niflheim," and "Middle Court Kingdom" of the outer world, they gathered within the bright Gungnir. With the support of the Nine Great Worlds, the power of Gungnir rose exponentially and in the blink of an eye, it became even more powerful than Gate of Heaven of the past. It became an artifact that was even more powerful than Spear of Destiny and was now truly a killer weapon of catastrophe! And in the very same instant, a massive alchemy formation was unleashed behind Ye Qingxuan. In the blink of an eye, it covered the entire divine domain. Firstly, three principal axes, that would have left anyone dumbfounded, were erected. The pillar of compassion, the pillar of gentleness, and the pillar of strictness. After the three axes solidified the foundation of the formation, four great precincts were developed. They evolved to such an advanced stage that they went through the four stages of flowing, forming, creating and activating based on the foundation of the three pillars. They transformed into four independent domains that were stacked on top of one another, evolving into an extreme form of the path of alchemy. The point, where the four great precincts intersected with each other, represented the interweaving of the music theories of heaven and earth, forming the outline and condensing into the crystallization of miracle. "Kingdom" represented substance, "foundation" represented heaven and earth, "glory" represented soul," until the very end, when "crown" represented divinity! That was the end point within the formation, and every single one of them was more than capable of supporting the "elements" created by artifacts! Shortly after, 22 massive alchemy formations connected the three pillars and four precincts and the elements that represented the ten major original qualities, all into one and formed a single alchemy formation that was so terrifying that it was capable of engulfing an entire country. From top to bottom, that was the sublimation of miracle. The path of sublimation that was of great importance. "In the name of the last wise man, I declare the reason of sublimation of all beings and the path of creation of heaven and earth." After the incredible alchemy formation had been formed, the queen was bathing in flames, and her eyes looked down at the entire heaven and earth. "This shall be the crystallization of intelligence and supreme souls, the origin of the beauty of all beings. "This is the path of fire sword!" With the appearance of the origin of catastrophe, the formation of the path of fire sword was mounted onto the incarnation of Ye Qingxuan, and in the blink of an eye, the New Testament sword destroyed the lightning of Gungnir then probed forward and struck again. Boom! The country of fog was destroyed completely. Before creation was complete, destruction had already descended upon this domain! With the New Testament in hand, Ye Qingxuan swung his sword of judgment and punished his enemies by casting lightning and fire! Shortly after, the formation of the path of godly ascension was extended, and in a split second, it occupied the shards of divinity domain that had been disintegrated. Then, Ye Qingxuan threw it into the realm of aether so that it would combine with the Land of Dreams. There was no reason he should be kind to Asgard. He showed no mercy in taking them apart, and he would even take their materials and resources for his own use in the future. With Elsa''s support, Ye Qingxuan was able to suppress the old musician''s control of the divinity domain completely. If Asgard was like a sheep, then Ye Qingxuan was now fully focused on pulling out all of its wool. Didn''t you want me to create a divinity domain? Alright, I''ll do it, but don''t ever get the wrong idea that it will be your home! Every single action was rough and violent, and he left a trail of destruction behind him wherever he went. He did not seem to care that the Nine Great Worlds were also his own creation. If he did not vent his anger this time around, Ye Qingxuan would definitely be itchy for the next decade, waiting for another similar opportunity. The old musician was being suppressed by the formation of the path of fire sword. He finally sighed solemnly. "It seems that I made the wrong move in the end." Before the path of fire sword even appeared, the old musician already knew that he had lost. Not only had he lost the battle, but he had also lost to Ye Qingxuan in terms of set-up and strategy. If someone wholeheartedly wanted to change the world, so much so that he was willing to allow his greatest achievements to be accomplished by others, this person would probably be as despondent as he was right now. No, this person might even expect more in return. As he stared at the icy silhouette of "path of fire sword," the old musician''s face contorted. It was a divinity domain that could move at will, a moving "Nine Great Worlds!" A principal axis that could change heaven and earth at any time and resolidify the fundamentals of all beings. Beneath the cover of that alchemy formation, everything seemed to be centered around the will of that catastrophe queen. One could say that once the path of fire sword had been unleashed, she was just like a living God. Was there anyone else in this world that could reach this level? No. Or perhaps there was The old musician bitterly mouthed that name. Hermes. Other than that wise man, who was willing to give up his catastrophe powers in order to become an ordinary man? Who else was capable of creating such a terrible existence? Perhaps she had inherited the power of catastrophe? Otherwise, it was not possible for a Romulus to transform into one of the winged people. At that moment, he closed his eyes. The lands of the Nine Great Worlds were disintegrating. Ye Qingxuan could feel it. Endless aether was bursting through those gaps. He was destroying the Great Wall? It was as if an immense burden had been removed, and now, as the old musician pushed, the Nine Great Worlds abandoned most of their powers to be captured by Ye Qingxuan. Only the core divinity element was collapsing inwards. Shortly after, the music theory that Ye Qingxuan was extremely familiar with was being established from within. Was that catastrophic resonation?! Ye Qingxuan was stunned. The Nine Great Worlds were being used as instruments in this symphony while Ye Qingxuan''s Symphony of Predestination began to play once more. But everything was happening within the old musician''s grasp! Soon after, the vault of heaven broke, and the gap that led to the depths of the realm of aether widened. This revealed the glow of the cool and quiet moon. Ye Qingxuan gasped. Quiet Moon! At the same time that Ye Qingxuan had obtained Odin''s divinity, the old musician had also obtained many of the music theories within his body, such as inheriting the catastrophic resonation of Abraham, and the Quiet Theory that he had risked his life to obtain from the Sacred City! Under the call from the catastrophe music theory, one of the Three Pillar Gods, who used to stick with Hyakume but had since fallen and had been unheard of all this while, appeared above the vault of heaven. It was Quiet Moon, which swept through the mortal world. A chilly aura was suddenly imprinted in everyone''s heart. That was a brake valve that flowed out of the Originator, a tool of destruction that would eliminate all music theories This was exactly why the artifact must not be moved without any good reason. Other than that single time where Ye Qingxuan had to deal with the threat of Hyakume clashing with the Holy Caldron, he never dared to summon Quiet Moon ever again. At most, he would use the Quiet Theory as a front if he needed to. The moment it was summoned by mistake, Quiet Moon would not care about your reason; all it would do was erase you completely from the inside out. At this moment, Ye Qingxuan could care less about pursuing the old musician. Instead, he was channeling all the powers that the old musician had left behind into the Land of Dreams before retreating as quickly and as far away as he could. Then, he would watch how the old musician would set fire on himself. And now, the old musician did not care about his impending doom. All he could do was laugh out loud. "Oh God, I shall drag you off your throne today!" In that instant, the formation of the Tree of World shot into the sky as a sign of the end of the moon cycle. Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded as he stared at what was happening before his eyes. He finally understood what the old musician had been planning. He would use the core and power of the Nine Great Worlds to drag the Quiet Moon back from the Originator and seal it in this cage! 747 Have a Taste of Your Own Medicine Since the Nine Great Worlds could not form, they would have to settle for the next best thing and preserve Asgard''s last deterrent power. For this, the old musician would not hesitate to make the Quiet Moon his goal. As long as he mastered the power and elements of the Quiet Moon, then as far as any musician was concerned, Asgard would be put in a hopeless situation. After the Wyrmrest enchantment spread over the entire country, Asgard, which had lost its musicians, would no longer fear the challenge of any musician. With its current huge amount of national strength as the foundation, no matter what kind of war they faced Asgard could fight it! At this moment, the light was like a flame burning the arrays on the Tree of World. Odin''s divinity used this as a bridge, rushing towards the Quiet Moon and infecting it. Replace a god with a god, gain strength from strength. Exchange Odin, who was destined to remain unformed, for a true God! Now, Ye Qingxuan had no way to interfere with the battle. Nor did he dare to. He still had to suppress the power of the Nine Great Worlds, integrate it into the Land of Dreams, and turn it into a true divine domain. Moreover, if the Quiet Moon considered his intervention to be hostile, things would go very badly for Ye Qingxuan! Now, he had already been expelled from the war by the old musician, and all he could do was watch. He could only witness the terrible battle between Odin and the Quiet Moon. He watched the moon fall little by little towards the cage that the old musician had made. He watched Odin burning under the moonlight''s disintegration and gradually collapse until finally the last ray of moonlight was swallowed up by Vanaheim. In just ten or so minutes, the Three Pillar God suffered its second loss after Hyakume. With the god prototype that Ye Qingxuan had built, the power of the Quiet Moon was completely swallowed up by Vanaheim under the old musician''s impetus. And, as a cost, all the old musician''s divinity was burnt to ash. Odin was no more. There was no victor in the battle between the two gods. Only Asgard was the victor. The divine realm slowly dissipated, and Vanaheim was once again hidden beneath the earth without a trace. But now everyone in the world probably knew that Asgard possessed the power and elements of the Quiet Moon. The old musician''s illusion appeared beneath the ruined earth, seeming to be his last flash of activity before the end. He tipped his hat and saluted to Ye Qingxuan, and thanked him for all his "help" to Asgard. In the end, Ye Qingxuan had been used by the old musician. Ye Qingxuan shook his head and smiled bitterly. "You planned this all along?" he asked. "You''ve already seen the best outcome. This here is the worst." The old musician smiled self-deprecatingly, and cracks appeared on his face. A clear sound came from the depths of his body. It was the countdown to his death. Everything that he was had burned along with Odin. His final obsession would disappear from heaven and earth along with the achievement of his desires. But in his final glance at his home soil, his eyes were still filled with attachment and reluctance to part. He had succeeded. Even if it was only minimal success, even if this was the worst result possible from his plan, he had still left behind the best protection for the people of Asgard. To be able to let Asgard continue through the coming years of turmoil, to give it the power to not collapse "Can I ask you to look after Asgard for me from now on?" The old musician looked at Ye Qingxuan. "If you one day create a new world, can you not spare a bit of compassion for the people of Asgard?" "You''re about to die and you''re still thinking about this?" Ye Qingxuan asked indifferently. But the old musician did not answer. He just looked at him with pleading eyes. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then nodded. "I promise." "That''s good." The old musician smiled with relief, then sat on the ground. Cracks ruptured all over his body. His time had run out. "My body was not enough..." He gazed greedily at the world that was riddled with holes and whispered, "It has become so ugly, but I still It is difficult to abandon such a world." He murmured. He sighed. He gazed. He cared. He closed his eyes. In the faint wind, he quietly dissolved into dust. "Well, I''m off too." Elsa glanced at Ye Qingxuan. Even her usually rambunctious self was still now. As she looked at Ye Qingxuan, her expression became sad. She said nothing. She just reached out and pinched Ye Qingxuan''s face. "What''s wrong?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "You are also an Emperor now." Elsa shook her head dully. "Grandpa said that Emperors can''t be friends with each other." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile and shake his head. "I''m not an Emperor, and I won''t ever be." He reached out and tapped her on the forehead. "So can we still be friends?" Her sadness dissipated, and she looked at him with wide eyes. There was a flame of joy burning in her crystal clear eyes that radiated light. "If you have time, can you come see me?" "Definitely." Ye Qingxuan grinned. "We''ll be friends forever, right?" "Yes, yes, yes!" Elsa nodded her head vigorously, and her flamelike hair shook out. She was still the crazy girl she had been. She took out the little thing that she had been carrying and stuffed it into Ye Qingxuan''s hands. "Oh, and this. I rewove it. Don''t lose it!" Ye Qingxuan touched his hand and found the familiar straw doll. But it seemed to have undergone complicated and theory alchemical recasting. The silk threads seemed to give off light as if it was immortal, and round, ugly face was no longer like it used it be. Now it resembled his own. "Ok." He clutched the doll and watched the Empress who was cheerful as a crazy girl disappear in the flames. After a while, he put Elsa''s gift away and walked towards the depths of the destroyed battlefield. Although Odin was dead, there were still some valuable things left. For example, the Tree of World that contained Gungnir''s alchemy arrays. Even though the front of it had borne the Quiet Moon''s assault, it still survived and had not been destroyed along with Odin. However, at that moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared from the void, and in the instant when Ye Qingxuan''s reaction was delayed, it opened its mouth wide and gripped the Tree of World within it. Two pitch-black wings unfurled and it fled quickly. Ye Qingxuan stood with his eyes wide open and his jaw hanging wide open as he watched the huge black dragon that bore the scent of death disappear into the sky with incredible speed. When he finally was able to react, he wanted to curse. He had worked so hard for so long, and the spoils of war were snatched away by this shadow that had been hiding off to the side? Are you freaking kidding? In but an instant, he felt the power and presence of the one who had come. It was full of the smell of abyssal elements, its familiar degrading presence, its shameless style... There was only one person it could be. "Naberius!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth and gripped the New Testament Sword as his eyes blazed red. Fine. I, the Grand Inquisitor, didn''t get even with you by tying you to the stake, and now, you come and hit me over the head like this? Fine, fine, fine. Why don''t I let you know how powerful I am now. I''ll blend you into the Abyss! The New Testament Sword lit up, and Ye Qingxuan''s incarnation of the Holy Spirit rose into the sky, firmly locking onto the "black knight" that was already so far away on the horizon. His killing power shot forth. But at that moment, he suddenly stopped his pursuit, for a majestic power gushed out behind him. Numerous hymns played, and the projection of the Holy Cauldron reappeared. Next, a vague and majestic figure emerged from the void! The Supreme King had come! The King of Red? Ye Qingxuan clenched his sword as if he was faced with a formidable foe. But when the one who had come lifted his face, he was plunged into a daze. "Brother, who are you?" Beyond Asgard, on the back of the huge black dragon, the black knight who had become the incarnation of death held the Tree of World and laughed towards the sky. He had concealed himself patiently for so long in order to seize this opportunity, and in a burst of motion, had grabbed the World Tree. Just Ye Qingxuan''s dazed expression was enough to make him want to savor that moment endlessly. He had always been humiliated by Ye Qingxuan, but now Naberius had finally gotten his own back. This was just like the hundreds of blood sacrifices that Hyakume had enjoyed. Joy bubbled up inside him. "Little Mo, Little Mo, hurry up!" Naberius laughed harshly. "Let''s go home and have some meat! Now that we''ve robbed the big players we can establish ourselves in the world of dark with no fear!" Homesickness hit him like an arrow. Now that he had the Tree of World, he was the most powerful of the Abyss''s remaining forces. No one could match him. After he returned, he could master all the fallen musicians and demons. By then, he would have completely come into his own and would be no less powerful than Paganini before the rebellion. And there would be no Abyss Sages to hold him back. Although the Abyss was doomed to be overthrown, and would probably never again be relevant, couldn''t great talents revive it with their own power? After giving up on wading through the waters of the human world, this power would be enough to let him rush to stake a claim in the world of dark and let him take the next step in studying the power that Hyakume had left behind. With the Tree of World in his hands, he could completely integrate the legacy left behind by Hyakume, and truly turn himself into a catastrophe. He would not get old, and not die, fulfilling the wish he had had for centuries. Naberius could not help but sing happily when he thought about that day that was close at hand. Above the vast ocean, Naberius looked down upon the endless scenery and could not help but sigh; Ye Qingxuan was too impatient. If he had slowly brought his forces to bear to crush Asgard step by step, and thoroughly surrounded them with his concentrated armies, enclosing them like an iron bucket, things would not have ended up like this. When he thought of this, he couldn''t help but laugh again. The black dragon looked back at him in confusion. "What are you laughing at, uncle?" "I''m laughing at the fact that Ye Qingxuan has finally used up all his tricks." The black knight pointed to his surroundings and said, "Dont say anything else. If the Witch Hammer ambushing us would be enough to stop us and give him time to catch up at his leisure." Before he had finished talking, the clouds broke, and the iron whale sang. Steel warships emerged from the clouds. Then, the aether waves of numerous purification musicians burst out from under the surface of the sea, and Scepter after Scepter rose from the Mountain of Nomadism. In a flash, the Holy Wall was erected all around. Finally, on the deck of the Mountain of Nomadism, a wheelchair was pushed forward. The young man in the wheelchair seemed to not be able to bear the cold and had a thin blanket on his knees. His delicate features evoked sympathy, but his iron-grey eyes exuded a cold chill. It was just like he had said... It was an ambush! Naberius was stunned. He felt an impulse to slap himself. Me and my big mouth! He looked at the one who was coming and sneered. "Long time no see, Lord Robin!" Not minding the mockery in his voice, Watson nodded slightly. "Long time no see indeed, Mr. Naberius." Naberius looked all around the blockade, then finally looked coldly at the commander of all of this. "You expected this?" "We have met before, after all." Watson lit the cigarette in his mouth. "Originally we were supposed to support His Highness as reinforcements, but I thought if we waited here a while we''d get a better result, no?" He flicked away some ash as he said this and looked at the black dragon. "Now that a new emperor has succeeded, it would not be good to let His Highness Mordred wander about. He should return to his country as quickly as possible to avoid disorder." On the dragon''s back, Naberius transformed into the black knight and asked indifferently, "Are you sure you want to leave me behind?" Watson just smiled, as if he had told him a joke. He smoked his cigarette unhurriedly. A balance and an hourglass appeared behind him, and strange heretical scripture emerged. In the end, he threw the cigarette but into the wind and pulled out a dark glass bottle. He gave a sly smile just like Shi Dong. "Now, have a taste of your own medicine." 748 An Evil Balance At the moment, above the ruins, Ye Qingxuan looked at the middle-aged stranger, stunned. "Bro, who are you?" The figure projected by the Holy Cauldron tilted his head to one side and looked at Ye Qingxuan, then asked back, "It shouldn''t be hard for you to guess the answer?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the sky subconsciously, then looked down at the projection in front of him, and asked cautiously, "The King of Yellow?" The person shrugged slightly. "The one and only." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time, then said flatly, "I thought the King of Red would be the one to come." "It should have been him." The King of Yellow looked around and said calmly, "He should have come here 15 minutes ago. By trying to split the physical world, Asgard has defied the principles of the Sacred City. He would never sit aside and watch it happen." Ye Qingxuan understood what he meant. "You had a way to stop him?" "His long-distance transmission is based on the aether cycle of the human world. Coincidentally, I''m in charge of this aspect," the King of Yellow replied, not bothering at all to disguise the fact that he didn''t get along with the King of Red. "By the way, the King of Blue has also given up on interfering in the changes taking place in the human world. His overly strong power has become a barrier between him and other humans, and the Kings of Blue of each generation in the past eventually chose self-exile as well. "So, you don''t have to worry about him becoming your enemy. Even if he makes up his mind to act, his enemy will not be you." Ye Qingxuan took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. No longer paying attention to the thoughts going wild in his mind, he looked at the supreme king, whose intention was unclear, and asked directly, "So, have you come here to fight?" "Tasks like destruction have always been the job of the King of Blue. I am only responsible for wrapping up and making amends." The King of Yellow did not care about the New Testament Sword aiming at him at all, nor did he show any hostility. He simply looked at Ye Qingxuan. "So, you need not test the water so boringly anymore. Why don''t we have a chat openly and honestly??" "Sorry, I don''t have the time to." Ye Qingxuan responded indifferently, "If you don''t want to fight with me, then remove the blockade in the space around, I still have matters to attend to." The New Testament Sword was flipped, and the metallic gleam on the ridge of the sword reflected the void around the two. The sound of steel scraping against each other was heard. Before Ye Qingxuann had realized it, the two were in a cage. "I''m sorry about it." The King of Yellow sighed. "Although I don''t want to fight, I can''t let you go to the Golden Palace. If you insist on taking up arms against me, I can tell you the resultif I focus solely on defense, you can''t kill me. Although you will win, if I don''t die, you can''t leave. I won''t give others a chance to stick a finger in the fight at the Golden Palace. Its results are crucial to me." Ye Qingxuan''s gaze became colder. "That''s your reason?" he snickered. "I thought everything on the ground has got nothing to do with you." "Times have changed," came the reply. "No, since you have made up your mind at the start to let go, don''t step in again as things progress because of such a ridiculous excuse." Ye Qingxuan lifted his hand and pointed to the sky. "Don''t you want unfettered freedom? Go back to the sky, go back to your iron cage. The King of Yellow, the freedom you seek is not here." "You are right indeed, but this place has a meaning equally important to me. This is the last time I appear in the world as the King of Yellow." The King of Yellow softly laughed self-mockingly. "Or to be more exact, I''ve come here to retire from my position." He paused and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "How about you make a bet with me?" "Do I have the liberty to reject?" Ye Qingxuan asked coldly. "Although it is not fair to you, aren''t you going to at least hear me out on what it is about and what I''m willing to bet?" The King of Yellow withdrew his gaze and looked in the direction of the Golden Palace. Through such a far distance of thousands of miles, he could still see the fierce lights flickering in and out of existence one after another and hear the nerve-wracking rumble. He suddenly asked, "Ye Qingxuan, who do you think will win?" "What about you?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him, his tone harsh. "Who would you like to see emerge victorious? The church you cast aside like an old shoe?" "No, on the contrary, I hope that the Sacred City will lose, but I don''t want Charles to win either." The King of Yellow said calmly, "To be exact, I hope that both sides suffer immense losses." Both sides suffer immense losses Ye Qingxuan was surprised. "What do you mean?" "All along, everyone says that only you are the most similar to me out of all the people in the world. But can you understand what I feel, Ye Qingxuan? That sort of," after a moment of thinking, the King of Yellow sighed softly and uttered the term, "that sort of... ''disappointment'' in all this." Ye Qingxuan was silent. In the silence, the King of Yellow found some broken steps to sit down by himself and continued, "I have been confused over one thing all along, namely, how should I look at all this? "From the perspective of the King of Yellow, I don''t want the order of the increasingly distorted world to be gradually lost, and eventually fall apart because of the original sin human beings are born with, but I can''t do anything about it. "From the perspective of a musician, I also don''t want everything in the world to be locked up in their cradle by a particular organization in the name of justice and righteousness. I can''t even breath carefreely, but at the same time, I have no courage to overthrow it all. "From the perspective of a mortal, I long to throw away all the restraints and obtain freedom, but I can''t cut myself off from it all. I am destined to be the least free person in the world. "Such is the most ridiculous part. Regardless of the perspective you look at it from, I can''t possibly get what I want." He toyed with his scepter and laughed mockingly. "From the moment I put on the crown, I have been destined to forever be unable to obtain what I have been seeking my whole life." "In a nutshell, what you hate the most, is still yourself, no?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly. "You are just hiding from yourself, running far away, pretending that none of it has happened and that you have not seen anything. You seek illusory peace and freedom, in an iron cage floating in low earth orbit. "You are here now only because you hope that someone else will rush out and smash the stall up completely [1], giving you an excuse to abandon all this and continue seeking and hiding!" The King of Yellow was stunned. After a long time, he laughed loudly. "Yes, that''s it." He did not conceal his ugly nature and insignificance, and calmly faced Ye Qingxuan''s ridicule, undisturbed. "As the King of Yellow, I must guard the balance, but now, the balance that guides everything towards kindness has ceased to exist, and what I can get is only an evil balance. "So it leaves me no choice, as an evil balance is still better a kind destruction." He paused for a moment, his gaze becoming serious. His tone left no room for questioning and resistance, as he actually behaved like the King of Yellow. "Cruelly speaking, I hope that Charles will die in the battle and that the Sacred City will be badly damaged. So, I need you to stay here." "Everything may not be as you wish." Ye Qingxuan clenched the hilt of the sword tightly, murderous intent in his eyes. A piercing sound burst out from the void, and it was the loud bang of the iron gleam of the New Testament striking the cage. The embodiment of the King of Yellow fell apart before the New Testament Sword. The next moment, his figure gathered again, was destroyed once more, and gathered again. It was as if he had undergone endless cycles of life and death, and achieved eternity. His breath suddenly became erratic and weak, and even the projection of the Holy Cauldron disappeared. His whole person was like a phantom about to dissipate in the next moment. Yet the cage did not shake in the slightest and was even more stable than before. It was something that surpassed the domain created by Holy and all the domains and wonderlands in the world. It was a sort of wall that had abandoned everything else only for the sake of firmness and isolation! "Surely, you don''t think that I have been closing my eyes and sleeping while being in ''confinement'' for so long?" The King of Yellow turned and looked at him, revealing a complicated smile. "After all, I can still be considered as having come to some realizations. Welcome to my world, Ye Qingxuan." "This is the product of what you realized? A cage that keeps the whole world out? You should find a psychiatrist to cure your autism!" Ye Qingxuan retorted. "Is that so? After I''m done with all this, I will." The King of Yellow said calmly, "So, now, let''s go back to the original topic. "Do you want to make a bet?" He said, "The war over at the Golden Palace, who will win and who will lose?" Ye Qingxuan did not respond, but the King of Yellow continued speaking without caring about his response, or lack thereof. "My bet is on Charles winning, what about you?" "Charles?" Ye Qingxuan only felt like snickering after hearing his words. Regardless of the stance of the King of Yellow, no one thinking with their brain would believe that one person would have any chance of winning against the Church that had ruled for centuries for the entirety of the old era. "Ye Qingxuan, you have been refusing to admit something from the very beginning." The King of Yellow said unhurriedly, "Namely, Charles is by no means the kind of human you imagine him to be." "He far surpassed humans in nature from the start, and he is something non-human. "He may be able to wear camouflage and hide in the weeds before, but after Gaius awakened him, he will never be able to return to the world of mortals. "He is different from you. He is the Son of God, literally. "Everyone has understood it all along, only you are not willing to admit it. "You would rather see him lose and die here like a human instead of seeing him win, right? If the friendship between you two is like this, I think I need to help you register as well when I go to see the psychiatrist." Ye Qingxuan was silent. After a long time, he looked up. "You are right, I would rather see my friend die as a human than watch him become something he does not want to be "Even if everyone in the world thinks that he is omnipotent, and no matter he is a god or a monster, in my heart, he is always Charles, my senior and my friend." Ye Qingxuan would never be willing to admit the prophecy said by the King of Yellow. Even though in this case, Charles would die there. Even the Sacred City would have the final laugh. "So, the bets have been made." The King of Yellow whispered softly, the laughter mocking both himself and Ye Qingxuan. "A gamble that neither side is willing to win." The King of Yellow hoped that Charles would win, and Ye Qingxuan hoped that the Church would win. If the King of Yellow was to win, then the Order would completely lose the power to conduct a final counterattack, and the old world he had been maintaining would be destined to disappear in the faraway future. If Ye Qingxuan was to win, then he would lose his most important friend. Neither side hoped to be the winning side in the end, but they were unwilling to face failure either. The winner would not be redeemed, but the loser still had to face the bitter outcome. It was just like what the King of Yellow had said. It was an evil balance. In the silence, the King of Yellow stared into the distance, watching the broken skies and the world ignited by war. "So, as a punishment for failure..." He announced the bet, "The loser will have to take on the position of the King of Yellow." [1] The author is referring to a Chinese saying that literally translates as "tidying up a messy stall" and means "cleaning up a mess." 749 God It was looking up at the wrath of heaven. The hot pillar of light, that had pierced through heaven and earth, was radiating with light. Hurricanes swept over with wind pressure and heat, which was suffocating. Paganini stood on the debris of the Golden Palace and stared at the vault of heaven. Countless beams of light were dancing, and shortly after, stars began to fall like rain. The turbulent sea of light covered the entire sky and as the Holy Spirit fell, the broken scepter broke through the deepest layer of the raging ocean, just like a star crashing towards the ground. Along the way, it burnt brightly with the remnants of its life. It slowly fell and dissipated until the end. Most of the light was lost between the vault of heaven and darkness, leaving behind only random streaks of light. It was just like a tombstone. A voice spoke from a distance away and reverberated beside Paganini''s ear. It was Wolf Flute. "The latest news is that Asgard has restrained Quiet Moon." "Although that''s unexpected, it wasn''t impossible." Paganini muttered quietly, "After losing Hyakume, there were no longer any conflicts in the Originator so there was no need for a brake valve. Although it still carried the name of the Three Pillar God, it only existed in name. On a certain level, a meaningless Quiet Moon and a meaningless Asgard could be compatible with each other." "Even so, the old fellow is still worried about any possible effects on the battle at Golden Palace." Wolf Flute''s voice was monotonous, "He suggests that all of you get yourselves prepared so that, if necessary, Anubis will bring all of you along when we retreat." "No need." Paganini rejected immediately, without considering the possibility of a retreat, "We should not even be thinking about losing. How can Quiet Moon, which has lost its divinity, be a match for Eden? Besides," he looked up at the light in the sky. He could not disguise the look in his eyes that spoke about the trust and admiration towards absolute power, "Charles will definitely not lose!" Wolf Flute stayed silent for a long time before sighing quietly. "What I''m worried about has never been whether he will lose. Some things can never be changed, regardless if we win or lose." Paganini replied coldly, "Men can never hide their true nature. No matter how determined they are, or how hard they try to control and suppress, men will always act according to their true nature at the end of the day." He paused for a while, then said, "Just like you." After a short pause, Wolf Flute did not seem upset. Instead, he began to chuckle. "Sounds like I should have just been a traitor from the moment I was born." "Although that''s not what I meant, sometimes, some things can''t be avoided." "Yes, yes, yes. This, I understand." Wolf Flute seemed to be smoking a roll of tobacco and was puffing out some smoke. "But you were wrong about one thing." Tens of thousands of miles away, he stared at the flicker of light on his fingertips as he muttered quietly, "Maybe some people were destined to be a traitor from the moment they were born, but no one was born to be a God, Paganini. No one" He extinguished the flicker of light on his fingertips and the remnant sparks lit up his emotionless face. When the sparks were also extinguished, his face disappeared into the darkness. His voice was never heard again. Tens of thousands of miles away, at the highest point of the entire world, the battle had reached its climax. Amidst the majestic voices and with the boost of the iron tower, the Holy Spirits were now well-armed with armors and weapons. It was as if music theory spirits and movements have turned into humans, as they displayed fierce and cold shimmer of metal from the infusion of aether. The iron Holy Spirits traveled the vault of heaven at an incredible speed. A naked eye could only see the trails of their movements. This was a battle that far surpassed the limits of the speed of human reactions and every moment consisted of countless clashes. Every single detail possessed the power to influence the outcome of the battle. At this moment, above the vault of heaven, every single Holy Spirit had already given up on their own individuality and devoted themselves in the main theme and turned into the most fundamental music note in that massive movement. And within the resonance of every single Holy Spirit, a majestic symphony played with aplomb. Symphony number nine! There was no need for other names or title, for a single number was more than sufficient to recognize its existence. Within the entire Symphony number nine, there was one movement that was universally admired and respected. The core music theory that the King of Red had inherited, other than "Destiny" which ordinary men could not even take a peek at, was now being formed by countless Holy Spirits to become the ultimate power. If destiny represented the emptiness and variance of God''s will and punishment, then Symphony number nine highlighted the principle of mankind. The elements represented by countless Holy Spirits were now gathered under the same main theme as they converted into pure power. With this, they would praise and with this, they would sing at the top of their voices. With this, men would emerge victorious! Amidst the music theory of Symphony number nine, the powers of countless Holy Spirits have already combined into one. Although the King of Red was not here personally, there was not much difference anymore. At tens of thousands of miles away, the iron city suddenly let out a deep roar. Countless towers began to toll their bells and the voices of hymns and prayers seemed to have extended from the distant past to the faraway future and carrying out the present. The Church, which had once ruled over the old world for centuries, finally revealed their deposits. As countless Holy Spirits summoned, the power of the Holy Caldron finally descended upon the sky of Asgard. Just like a metal staff hitting on solid ice, rows of cracks began to appear on the projection of Eden. All the powers throughout the universe gathered here with countless Holy Spirits acting as the vessel, the majestic and grand traces of Symphony number nine were finally outlined. As Symphony number nine gradually took shape and under the continuous impact of the iron Holy Spirits, Charles'' reaction became more tedious and cramped. It was no longer as smooth and easy as before. "How terrifying it is when old people become angry" He stared at the Holy Caldron above the vault of heaven and within the body, tens of thousands of burning beams of light were piercing through flesh and muscles. It seemed like he was about to melt and fuse into the light. This divinity would leave anyone dumbfounded. It was tens of times more powerful than Odin and it was a form of power that was completely different from those that were man-made. Even if it was completely irrigated by fresh blood, it remained as pure dirt. It might have prospered out of a human body but it was completely natural. As if it was meant to be this way. The tolling of countless bells continued and the power of the Holy Caldron struck down once more. As a result, Eden, which was in the depth of the realm of aether, shook violently and the crack extended rapidly. The light shook and was instantly extinguished under the heavy pressure, which had increased suddenly by tens of thousands of times. The sky lost its color, and in the huge roar, Charles fell from the sky. In the blink of an eye, he fell into the heaps of debris on a street and crashed through a house that was already burnt down. Gasps of exclamation could be heard beneath the broken tiles. "To think that there would be a sneak attack?" Charles was embarrassed as he coughed. He turned back and saw a group of children that were huddled together. These children had nowhere to hide and were staring at him with panic in their eyes. The blood on their faces had already dried up completely. "Er Hey, are you all okay? I''m so sorry. I destroyed your beds." He laughed awkwardly as he brushed off the ashes on his hair and his body before standing up. "Don''t be afraid. It is coming to an end." The children shuffled backward and dared not get closer. It was fear. Charles was stunned. He looked back and saw the broken mirror hanging on the broken wall but he could not recognize the person looking back at him. He lowered his eyes solemnly and apologized quietly to the children, "I''m sorry." Then, he spread his wings again and flew up into the sky. He dared not look back into those eyes. At this moment, with the sound of the screeching horn, tens of Holy Spirits vanished and the horn, that was high in the vault of heaven, broke. The blood-red gigantic star appeared behind the gap in the vault of heaven. Giant star Wormwood! With Sacred City''s intention to murder, the melody that everyone was all too familiar with began to play from within the Holy Spirits. "''Das Wohltemperierte Klavier''." Paganini was stunned. This was created by the King of Blue of the first generation and was the foundation of all melodies that musicians must study when they were still apprentices. It was a melody that even children would be familiar with. Das Wohltemperierte Klavier! Soon after, in that very instant, silver-colored light burst forth from the end of the vault of heaven and endless elegance shimmered above those silver-colored waves. There was silence wherever it passed as every creature was drowning in this beautiful destruction. That was a catastrophe Catastrophe Silver Tide! Alongside the wave of destruction that was a result of countless iron being gathered together, a storm was brewing between heaven and earth. Pale white colors were spreading amidst the powerful gusts of wind and the silence of the murderous wind was only broken by screams and howls of despair. The Holy White Storm! Blood water dripped from the vault of heaven and gradually turned into a storm. Those blood-red droplets burned like flames, as if they would decay and drown all creatures, turning the land into an abandoned desert. It was a bloody, scorched earth. Within the earth, countless mounds of dirt rumbled as the eggs of insects, that were the result of the accumulation of poison, broke and turned into flying locusts. They flapped their wings non-stop and rose from the ground like a huge and devastating green-colored fog. The disaster of Abbandant. With the appearance of giant star Wormwood, unimaginable destruction had now been introduced into the mortal world and given shape and form. That would be the end above everything else. It was the reason why everything that was alien and abnormal was known as catastrophes. That was "The Eight Phenomena?" The musicians behind Paganini all turned pale as they could barely believe what they were seeing. "Why did it turn out like this? Can the Sacred City really control the Eight Phenomena?" "Why not?" Paganini countered indifferently. It was as if he was looking at a bunch of children that were making a big fuss over something trivial. "Shouldn''t that be the case from the start? If they did not possess such power, how would they have been able to control this world?" Although this was something that crossed his mind, he was still feeling very solemn. It was not that he was worried that Charles would not be able to handle it, but that he might be affected by other aspects At this very moment, the thing that he was most worried about had finally appeared. He heard the voice of Gaius. "Paganini, let''s retreat." His voice was calm, yet there was no room for refusal or opposition. He simply gave a command that would decide the outcome of the battle. Paganini was enraged Retreat? Why must we retreat? Why do we need to care about anything else? Are you not seeing this? The real battle has only just begun! The outcome of the battle between God and men is about to be revealed! To think that you want to retreat now? He gritted his teeth but there was no way he could against Gaius'' order. He could only control his rage and transmit Gaius'' will to Charles. "Let''s retreat, Charles." He barely managed to squeeze out the words through his teeth. He could not believe his own hypocrisy. "If we continue fighting, there is no meaning to it." Just as he expected, Charles did not move. He only looked back at him. "If we leave, what will happen here?" "Who knows?" Paganini replied calmly, "The earth''s crust beneath the Golden Palace is very unstable. If we leave things as they are, after volcano eruption and catastrophe, this place will probably turn into one of the deepest lakes of the inland." "Oh." Charles nodded. Then, without a sound, he turned back and looked at the massive city that was being engulfed by destruction. Paganini felt a burst of happiness and relief, so much so that he could dance. But when he looked at Charles, who was a distance away, he suppressed his impulse and waited for Charles'' reply. Finally, Charles, turned back and asked softly, "Paganini, do you have a mirror? I feel that I''m a little dirty" Although no one knew what Charles was thinking, a female musician still reached into her pocket and was about to pass a mirror to him. But just as she barely touched the mirror in her pocket, she saw the cold stare from Paganini. There was terrifying rage and ferocity. She was taken aback and did not dare to move. Only Paganini looked back. The ferocity on his face was gone, only to be replaced by his handsome face and a warm smile. He bowed to Charles respectfully. "There''s no need for a mirror. Right now, Your Highness looks majestic and flawless." "Is that so?" Charles smiled. That''s great. Surely those children will not be fearful of me now? "Don''t be afraid. It will all be over very soon." He stared at the city that was howling in despair amidst the destruction. He muttered quietly and spread his wings. The light of Eden appeared from the realm of aether once again, and, according to his will, heaven descended on this place. A burning light that had never been seen before appeared in both his eyes. That was divinity. Divinity was burning and in sublimation to become an endless power. It was climbing to the highest point of the mortal world and returning to the emptiness of heaven to regain control of all beings. In that instant, Charles turned into the purest light and shone on the deepest face of the earth. "Let there be light," he muttered quietly, and light shone on the mortal world. Beneath the light, all beings were solidified. Every form of will and spirit were bowing, trembling and panicking as they were completely in awe and fear of this amazing power. They lowered their heads inadvertently to bow down to this almighty presence. Beneath the light of the miracle, the music theory of Symphony number nine trembled and roared. At this moment, the movement that represented the victory of mankind began to show cracks due to the pressure of God''s will. The spirits of countless Holy Spirits trembled and the flame above the scepter was almost extinguished. It was dancing dimly, struggling but failing to escape the hold of the light. In that instant, the majestic tolling of bell burst forth from Charles'' fingers. The power of Symphony number nine suddenly collapsed, and countless Holy Spirits dissipated from within. Resonance was no longer possible and the entire structure had completely collapsed. It was as if the legendary Tower of Heaven had been broken. Men''s settlements dispersed. At this moment, light shone on the entire mortal world. Charles opened his eyes but there was no longer compassion in them. Instead, they were empty and wide, just like the original darkness of the universe beyond the vault of heaven, and were filled with the beautiful light of stars. God had finally descended! In that instant, the King of Yellow sighed softly from a long distance away, while Ye Qingxuan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. He was gritting his teeth to control the fury in his heart as he closed his eyes. "Ah! Ah! What a detestable God!" Paganini looked up at the light. The expression on his face was complicated but fearful. And yet, when faced with such immeasurable power, he felt so touched that he was crying. "You have finally come to earth!" 750 Heaven A voice rang out in every corner of everyone''s consciousness. At this moment, all tranquility and meditation were broken by that indescribable sound. Everyone was forced to listen to the low voice that came from the sky, whether they had ears or not. Unseen lips opened, and words like flowing water poured out from the highest places, immersing everyone within them. There was no sound left in the world. All that was left were his whispers. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea." Then, in a flash, the watery blood pouring from the sky solidified and stopped in the void as if it had been frozen in amber. Then the sound of shattering crystal rang out from the blood that was spread out on the ground. Numerous crimson crystals grew out of the blood like sprouts out of fertile soil. In a flash, crystal plants grew all over the ground. The blood rain that had solidified in the void also grew. Like the condensation of snowflakes under a microscope, complex prisms grew and crisscrossed, forming a perfect pattern and a symmetrical topological sequence. Under the interference of endless essence, the whole solidified world turned into a huge reactor. The blood rain was refined into a huge, still crystal forest. Countless crystals hung in the air, turning heaven and earth into a wonderland. After a few short moments of strangeness and terror, it was overflowing with dignity and beauty. Eventually, a finger crooked, reached out, and tapped on the blood crystal in front of it. Bang! The clear sound spread out. It was like the roar of a frozen ocean. The spores erupted, and the sound of cracking spread out all over the ground. There were loud roars as lava and layers of ice collided, and the sharp sound of scraping metal was everywhere, becoming a grand elegy that was difficult for human ears to bear. The rupture spread amid the massive resonance. White cracks emerged in the blood crystals, splitting them from the inside out. In the end, all the material in them was completely torn. They dissipated into powder along with the roaring collapse, returning to nothingness. The blood rain that had permeated the heavens and the earth disappeared without a trace. The earth was restored. It changed from hell back into the world of humanity, even if it was still devastated. Then, the pair of eyes in the sky turned and gazed at the earth. "For you were made from dust, and to dust, you will return," the voice said. "That which has not lived shall not live again." A roar rang out from the earth, and the dark green insect eggs quickly faded, losing their color. In the end, they became pure particles of dirt. In the thick green fog that filled the air, there was the buzzing sound of the wings of numerous flying locust, but soon the harsh noise became scattered. This was because their wings were broken, and began to wither. The staggeringly huge locust lost their wings and fell from the sky. This was different than the bloody, scorched earth caused by the poisonous curse. This was a weak spirituality caused by violent bestial nature being immersed into the soil. The broken bestial natures that remained had gathered together in the aether, forming hundreds of millions of poisonous locus with nearly no bestial nature of their own. They had no consciousness, but their faint bestial nature endowed them with viciousness and the hunger of a beast that could never be sated. But now, that unthinkable amount of terror was not in use. Under the gaze of that pair of eyes, the highly polluting bestial nature was easily erased. As their scales were shaken off, they turned into nothing more than swollen gray moths. They quickly died one after another on the ground. They broke apart, and their cracked bodies left behind only dust. With the divine power running through the earth, the rushing tide of quicksilver solidified in place, forming a lifelike silver sculpture. The white storm roared, but as it became slower and slower the madness no longer... The world that was full of catastrophes was being changed. Light shone on everything. Everything greeted its redemption. "Do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not leave any leeway for demons." In that instant, all the Holy Spirits felt powerful suffocation, as if they had been plunged into iron and stone and their lungs had trouble operating. Even though they did not have lungs within their aether incarnations, they still felt a strong sense of suffocation. Even the aether flowing through their bodies no longer obeyed their orders. It had a new master. Under the gaze of that pair of eyes, the projection of the Holy Cauldron dissipated and was expelled amid the loud noise of ringing bells. The surviving Holy Spirits quickly retreated. Silence suffused this confrontation. "Withdraw," Chopin ordered hoarsely. Mendelssohn looked back angrily, "The College of Cardinals ordered us to fight to the death, and you still want to escape?" "If the College of Cardinals wants a fight to the death, they can do it." Chopin looked indifferent. "With things the way that they are, would a fight to the death mean anything? Or," he pointed at the god far off in the sky and smiled coldly at his comrade, "do you think it will take that thing a lot of effort to kill us?" Mendelssohn was silent. "Retreat. I will take responsibility for the consequences." Chopin closed his eyes. "In the face of this kind of thing, no amount of sacrifice would make a difference." At that moment, endless power worked in the magnificent light. Everywhere that the light shone, a supreme power held everything, guiding the multitude of chaos towards order. Rising out of the physical world, the ran through the sea of aether, forcibly settling the storms. Next, it went up, up and up and broke through the boundaries of the realm of aether, completely splitting the source of catastrophes. Everywhere the magnificent light went, all disasters and adversities were smoothed out. All catastrophes were completely eliminated! Paganini''s smile became stiff. What are you doing, Charles? This was not consumption and absorption, this was pure destruction. After paying such a great price, God was completely wiping catastrophes from the earth, even destroying the source. After this, the Eight Phenomena would disappear without a trace. Then, the light hanging in the sky fell. God''s will was in motion. The roaring earth was restored to stability again, and the sinking rock stratums were supported by new ones underneath. Volcanoes roared and exploded, but the boiling lava came too late to spurt out, and it slid back into the earth''s crust through the cracks in the rock stratums. The anger of the mountains and the earth was redirected, and the flowing rivers of lava cooled and hardened. They burned no more. Then, a new river developed and springs surged forth, making it run again. The sulfur in the air dissipated, and the dark sky that was formed by accumulated ash was split open, revealing the dark starry sky behind it. Moonlight once again fell upon the land, but it could not hide God''s glory. His glory ran above the earth, flowing like water, causing dust and gravel to rise up and collapsed walls and ruins to return to perfection. Everywhere it went, cries of mourning ceased. Pain and torture could not continue, for relief was extended to everyone. It only left nothing for itself... The divinity burned. God bathed in the fire of creation. The originally pure divinity was controlled by the will of a small body. Among the flames, his drooping eyes struggled to open and looked up. The glow of a human was revealed, pained yet firm. "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away." He bent at the waist with difficulty, reached out and grabbed his face. The magnificent voice dissipated, and the revelations from the mouth became a hoarse whisper, "It is better to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell" Taking advantage of the scripture that had inexplicably appeared in his heart, determination flashed in Charles''s eyes. His hand shot out, and a twitching, plaintive cry rang out from his throat. The roar rang out through the sky. It was like the world had flown into a rage just as his finger pierced his eye socket. At that moment everyone was dumbfounded as they stared at the madman in the sky as he painfully, and with difficulty, dug out his own right eye, cutting off the road to the Originator. The King of Yellow recovered from his shock and his face went hard. But beside him, Ye Qingxuan was laughing and laughing, as if the person who had lost their bet was not him. Amid the sound of small cracks, Charles slowly lowered his hand. He opened his fingers, revealing the right eye of condensed divinity within. All that was left where the eye had been was a hole. Blood ran down his face. The wound had not healed, because his omnipotent power was rapidly dissipating. It was as if he had completely torn himself in two. The strong part of him had been ripped out along with the loss of his right eye. Even the projection of Eden became unstable due to this and disappeared once again. His giant wings abandoned him, dissipating into the depths of the realm of aether. God was no more. The young man fell from the sky towards the earth, as if he had been expelled from the Kingdom of God. He had no power left. Wind rushed against his face. In his long descent, long-forgotten pain and weakness filled his body. The earth that rushed up to meet him was like death opening its arms, waiting for the final embrace. But he felt no fear. He was just satisfied. "Hello everyone." His mouth curled into a grin with difficulty as he stared at the human world with his remaining eye. "I''m back," he whispered softly. Darkness engulfed him. When he opened his eyes from the dirt, he heard Paganini''s voice, "If I hadn''t reacted quickly, you''d be dead." "Yeah?" Charles forced a smile, feeling only the painful convulsions in his limbs. "I''m..." "Badly wounded," Paganini answered indifferently. "I only came in time to keep you from dying. Your spine is badly damaged, both your legs are broken, and your internal organs are bleeding. You''re already severely anemic, and relying on divine support. After losing your divinity you immediately tried to drive yourself to your death. After we get back to the Commonwealth of Caucasian you''ll probably have to stay in bed for a few years." "Sounds terrible." Charles sighed. "Was it you who saved me?" "You saved yourself," said Paganini. "One of the Asgardians you saved was a chorale doctor who gave you a blood transfusion." "Ah, thank him for me." Charles smiled abashedly. He wanted to scratch his head but could not lift his arm. "He''s dead." Charles was stunned. His smile froze. After a while, he sighed softly. "I see. Is it because he saved me?" Paganini did not answer. "Do you have a cigarette?" "No, I don''t smoke," Paganini said coldly. "You''d better quit smoking from now on. As a mortal, your body can''t withstand those bad habits anymore." "Ah," responded Charles. Paganini didn''t know if he had heard him as he stared at the sky with his remaining eye. He watched the countless human figures hurrying up from the ruins and flying towards the illusory kingdom. They were like souls flying into the sky, fleeing from the suffering of life and heading for the world of the dead. "What are you looking at?" Charles stared at the phantoms that flew into the sky. After a while, he whispered softly, "Maybe it''s heaven?" 751 Alpha After everything returned to silence, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head, his fingers tapping on the ridge of the sword, his expression joyful. "You won," he said. "Yeah." The King of Yellow sighed. "I really envy you for being able to lose so happily." "So, let''s adhere to our bet." He reached out and pulled out a vague ray of light from his heart. The light condensed into a solid, as if it was a fragment peeled off from something, having distinct edges and corners. It was like a wedge. It was like a wedge that nailed him in the present world, and after the wedge had been pulled out, his aura became more and more fleeting, almost blending into nothingness. It was difficult to observe and detect him anymore. Meanwhile, the legacy of the King of Yellow was in front of Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan looked at the crystal, then looked at the ex-King of Yellow. "You know, I never wanted your bet. I will not be the King of Yellow with or without it." "Yeah, that is why I envy you the most." The musician laughed softly. "You can choose not to be the King of Yellow." As he said so, he casually threw the royal legacy in his hands to Ye Qingxuan without feeling the slightest sense of pity at losing it. Ye Qingxuan caught it hurriedly, afraid that it would fall into pieces on the ground. "After you give it to me, the Sacred City probably couldn''t stop the expansion of the Net of Aether anymore. Aren''t you afraid of being branded a sinner?" "The Sacred City can''t stop anything." The musician was not worried about it at all. "I''m afraid that it will start to change in the upcoming times which I can still witness? No matter what happens, with the King of Red, the Sacred City will not decline completely. The Church that has lost its political power can only focus on the Holy Bible and serve the incorporeal God, it''s pretty good..." Ye Qingxuan frowned, remembering the group of cardinals, and the expressionless King of Red, and he could not help but sigh. "I''m afraid that some people will not be happy with it." "That''s your problem, not mine." The musician grinned, his smile happy, and cast him a look gloatingly. "So, see you... no, goodbye forever, Hand of God." "You''re leaving?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and got up to send him off. "Where do you plan to go next?" "I don''t know." The projection of the musician slowly dissipated, and a vague voice sounded, "After no longer being the King of Yellow, where should my life begin from? "I''ll probably go to the northernmost to take a look. It is said that there is a very strange type of black and white geese amid the snow and ice." Ye Qingxuan watched him dissipate and looked up, as if he could catch a glimpse of the steel star hanging high in the sky beginning to move slowly toward the north. Ye Qingxuan actually wanted badly to tell him that all those were just legends. Actually, the north had no ice-cold polar regions, nor were there black and white geese. But where else could he go? From the moment he put on the crown when he was 22, his life had already stagnated. At the moment, it could be restart as the times changed. Anyway, for him, as long as he didn''t have to be the King of Yellow, anywhere would be a good place for him to go. "Bon voyage." Ye Qingxuan waved, gazing at the dim gleam of iron as it blended into the stars. Before dawn, under the shining of the stars, he lowered his head, tossing and catching the royal legacy in his hand. He toyed at the sparkling crystal edges with his fingers. Upon seeing it, one wouldn''t be able to guess that the object was supreme in the eyes of those going down the path of musicians. Apprentice, rhythm, musician, resonance, disturbance, distortion, scepter, holy spirit... It was the holy legacy at the end of the nine levels, the legacy of the King of Yellow that even surpassed the nine levels. From the moment he embarked on the road of musicians to the present, it just took Ye Qingxuan less than two years to hold the royal legacy that countless musicians yearned desperately for in his hands, but it felt utterly surreal. Everything that took place since just now was so ridiculous. The person who received the title of the King of Yellow wore a blank expression, but the person who lost it felt like he had been given a new life. Ye Qingxuan had never imagined that the ex-King of Yellow would give him the legacy so directly and decisively. The ex-king couldn''t even be said to be financing the enemy. He was basically filling in his own deed with the enemy''s name! Although Ye Qingxuan was the most suitable person to inherit the legacy of the King of Yellow, regardless of which perspective one looked at it from, the King of Yellow''s actions were a bit too straightforward. Generally speaking, wouldn''t the Sacred City issue the title of the King of Yellow to Ye Qingxuan reluctantly only after he went to great lengths to undertake 12 trials? And there would be a very high chance of some scumbag causing a scene in the middle of it all to obstruct him, thus requiring a review to be held, and Ye Qingxuan would win by forcefully overpowering the rest after a fierce debate. Had it taken place in one of the popular ultra-long novels at the moment, at least 500,000 words could be written. In the end, the ex-king just casually made a bet with him and gave it to him. It really felt like a hot potato in Ye Qingxuan''s hand. Even if he was to think with his toes instead of his brain, he would still come to the same conclusion. Surely the Sacred City would not give him the power of the Holy Cauldron? "What am I thinking so much for?" He shook his head and sighed. "I''ll give it a try first." As he said so, he flipped his wrist and inserted the wedge into his heart. Illusory chimes of bells erupted in his brain in an instant, and the sudden, large impact made his vision black. But in an instant, as if the chimes had knocked him out of his body, and the illusory feeling of being omnipotent came back. But this time around, he did not felt lost for too long. Having experience from last time, he directly kept his mind under control and did not fall into confusion. The extraordinary sublimation experience took place once more. In a trance-like state, Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness operated in the void, passing through the limits of the physical world, and leaped towards the high-level dimensions. But this time around, it did not move toward the Originator but cast itself towards the light of the Holy Cauldron. It was exactly because of the Holy Cauldron that the Sacred City had not been eroded by the divinity all along. Even so, the divinity must be divided into three parts for humans to be able to control it. The thought that he could enjoy such treatment made Ye Qingxuan feel a little excitement in his heart. Anyone with a dream could be considered amazing. But soon, the expected wet blanket hit him in the face. While he was just one step away from the Holy Cauldron, Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness suddenly paused, unable to progress towards the core. The door was slammed in his face. A faint chill even came from the core. The projection of the King of Red emerged from the projection of the Sacred City, looking at him coldly. If Ye Qingxuan intended to take one more step ahead, His Holiness the Pope probably wouldn''t mind fighting with him once more. "Don''t worry, I''m just taking a look, I won''t buy anything." Ye Qingxuan gave an "honest" smile and turned to leave without casting a second glance at it. I''m just taking a look, why be so fierce? With such a bad temper, if you aren''t careful, you''ll become a lonely old man one day! Although he had become the King of Yellow, he couldn''t obtain the power of the Holy Cauldron. In his heart, Ye Qingxuan felt that it was quite a pity, but he wouldn''t count on the Sacred City to cater to the times and open the door for a rebel like him, for everyone to put away their differences and laugh together. For him, the most important part was not that; instead, it was the music theory in the legacy of the King of Yellow, which controlled the aether in the whole world! For the ordinary musician, it was the obligation that the King of Yellow must fulfill, but the obligation what the Net of Aether needed most! At the moment, Ye Qingxuan''s figure dissipated from the territory of Asgard and returned to the Net of Aether, entering the core of the crystal. Without feeling the slightest sense of pity at not keeping the power of the King of Yellow for himself, he pulled the stone wedge out from his heart, flipped his wrist, integrated it into the Net of Aether. Illusory bell chimes suddenly erupted in everyone''s heart. In a flash, all the users of the Net of Aether in the world heard the rumble. Then, in all their sensing, the sensing range of the Net of Aether expanded wildly. As the stone wedge and the catastrophe merged as one, the real power of the ethernet network could be unleashed. In just a moment, countless strands of Heaven Ladder music theory extended in all directions from the sea of aether. It expanded endlessly. In Ye Qingxuan''s sensing of aether, his own consciousness was drawn from his human body, attaching itself to the turbulent Net of Aether, wildly proliferating and expanding. Extend, extend, and extend some more... It extended towards the end of everything. While the Net of Aether was only like a big tree occupying a region before the incident, at the moment, its system of roots grew again and began to radiate toward the whole world! At the moment, everyone lifted their heads in shock and looked at the silver pillar of light rising up into the sky above Avalon. It was the pillar of heaven formed by countless Heaven Ladders intertwining. With Avalon as the foundation, the tower-like stream of light extended toward the sky, breaking through layers of the atmosphere. In a flash, after exchanging hundreds of thousands of notes with the Guide, it formed an unshakable main axis. It extended all the way to the silent universe outside the atmosphere, the eternal vacuum where aether fell into silence. But it didn''t stop there. Just as Ye Qingxuan was replanning the development of the Tree of World, another stream of light whistled as it arrived from a distance. With the upper-level authority of Watson, it fell directly into Ye Qingxuan''s hands. It was... "Tree of World?" Ye Qingxuan''s yelped in shock, but the opportunity was too good to miss. Not having time to ask Watson how he laid his hands on it, with a flip of his wrist, Ye Qingxuan slapped the array of the Tree of World into the Net of Aether. At the moment, on the silver-white pillar of heaven, countless complicated arrays emerged. The arrays of the path of godly ascension and the Tree of World intersected. Attached to the huge pillar of heaven, it was as if a path leading to the sky had been formed. The Heaven Ladder evolved. The core of the catastrophe rumbled. Numerous crystal modules emerged from the void, gathering above the core, making its volume instantly increase by more than several times. Then, countless branches suddenly emerged from the silver stream of light gushing to the sky. Attaching itself to the main axis, the Tree of World began to take root and sprout. After combining the music theory of the King of Yellow and the array of the Tree of World, the transmission efficiency of the Net of Aether almost changed qualitatively. In the past, it could only somewhat maintain circuits of the standard of official musicians. At the moment, its power began to soar and progress toward the domain after the level of resonance. At the moment, they interlaced with each other once more. Like weeping willows, strands after strands of music theory were thrown in all directions, shrouding most of the territory of the West. Then, it progressed outside, along with the operation of the power of the King of Yellow. In the rumble that seemed as if the heavens and the earth were collapsing, the territories at the boundaries of the human world increased inch by inch, and in a flash, it had spread hundreds of kilometers outwards and continued to extend. Propelled by the power of the catastrophe, it was equivalent to all users of the Net of Aether using the music theory of the King of Yellow to open up new land. After the potential was exhausted, it was expected that the territory of the human world could at least increase by tens of millions of square kilometers. At the same time, after crossing the ocean, the stream of light further enveloped all of India, Canaan, and the endless deserts of the south. In the end, it was stopped outside the Aurora by the Great Wall. At the moment, other than the core regions of the Sacred City and Asgard, as well as the Caucasus, which had blocked the Heaven Ladder, nearly two-thirds of the human world had been covered by the Net of Aether. Meanwhile, beneath the earth, the array of the path of godly ascension was loaded into the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. With the authority of the King of Yellow, the power within the sea of aether was extracted. In an instant, under the aether reserve that could be said to be endless, the leylines of the national defense front began to increase again. Just like the roots of a giant tree, they crossed the border and extended in all directions. The earth rumbled, and beneath the crust, the silver-white light gushed, covering the seven seas in a flash, echoing the Heaven Ladder above the skies. It rose from the ground and descended from the sky. The heavens and the earth were combined. "This is the Alpha," Ye Qingxuan whispered softly. 752 Beneath the Long Skir Just as the stream of light of the net of aether covered the entire domain and all the musicians were unable to react in time, there was a tremble from the deepest depth of the realm of aether. It was as if very fine ripples were being started from nothingness. After merging the path of Godly ascension and the Tree of World and many other artifacts, the Land of Dreams was in control of the authority of King of Yellow, thereby triggering terrifying trembles that spread in all directions. All upper-tier dimensions trembled wherever they went. A pair of empty eyes opened in the lowest depths of the crystal core, and it was staring at the realm of aether, which seemed to be complicated like a maze. It was looking at the turbulence that resembled the Dark World in the upper-tier dimensions. It was basically staring down condescendingly. A terrifying earthquake-like tremble burst through the net of aether. Due to the authority of the King of Yellow, countless heaven ladder music theories were passing through the realm of aether and interweaving with each other, hence eliminating all the fog that was obscuring vision. It was just like how the King of Yellow had adjusted the aether turbulences of the Physical World back then. He was rearranging the chaotic realm of aether and getting it back into order! As the Land of Dreams was being rearranged top-down, there was a stream of light within the Physical World that was covering the entire domain. The net of aether was also building a passageway towards the realm of aether top-down. The massive network engulfed the chaotic sea of aether as it smoothened out each ripple forcefully yet meticulously. It was like managing hydrology. It would calm the waves, settle countless grains of sediments, branch out its pulse stoically, and extend its roots deep into the sea of aether. With endless power to absorb, it was like a seed that was germinating and spreading its roots. The net of aether was finally given an actual body as countless streams of light flowed through the sea of aether. It was like digging a riverbed. Specialized passageways were being built in a complicated and meticulous manner as countless streams of light were interwoven with each other. In the blink of an eye, a massive miracle, that had never been seen before, appeared just like that. Above the Physical World and beneath the realm of aether, countless heaven ladder music theories intersected each other and formed complex tracks that connected the "up" and "down." Countless heaven ladders descended from the sea of aether and connected to the lands of the Physical World before extending upwards again. After breaking through the boundaries of the realm of aether, they entered the depth of the upper-tier dimension and finally linked together with the Land of Dreams. And so, the Physical World, the sea of aether and the realm of aether had all been connected together through the net of aether. The gigantic tree-shaped network descended from the sky and engulfed the entire world within the power of the net of aether. As long as the musicians held on to the terminals, they would be connected to this brand-new system and obtain power and knowledge! At that moment, Ye Qingxuan suddenly developed a hallucination that the entire world was now within his grasp. Unfortunately, in this wonderful hallucination, he saw domains being engulfed by fog. In the depths of the realm of aether and within the gaps of the massive network, no one knew just how much secrets were hidden there. It was like observing the universe with a telescope and being fully aware that behind the countless glittering stars were an unknown number of dark celestial bodies that were being hidden away. It was deeply unsatisfying. In response to Ye Qingxuan''s perception, those domains that had been covered by fog began to shift easily in the net of aether and seemed to be playing hide-and-seek with him in the maze of the upper-tier dimension. "Hey." Ye Qingxuan smiled and stretched out his hand, "Come, let me see just what exactly is hidden beneath a girl''s skirt?" In that instant, the ripples that had been spreading out from the net of aether suddenly went berserk, and the gentle tremble quickly escalated into a terrifying wave. Earthquake! This horrible doom came so suddenly. The terrifying trembling burst forth from the net of aether and spread out in all directions. They chased away the fog, shredded the disguise and allowed light to shine on the rats that had been hiding underneath the floor. That was wonderland! Countless wonderlands! It was impossible to know how many wonderlands were hidden in the gaps of the net of aether. More than half of them were connected to the net of aether in ways that Ye Qingxuan had never known before. They had been secretly snooping and absorbing the power from within. In that instant, even Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. Just as he wished, the lady was slowly pulling up her skirt but the things that were hidden beneath were giving him a scare! "What a grand sight," he muttered softly. His smile was laced with rage. If not for the fact that he had completely straightened out the chaos within the realm of aether, he would not have known that there were so many strange things hidden underneath his own floor! He could tell that a small number of them were oddities of the realm of aether that were known for their curiosity, but most of them were Schools that had been using all sorts of excuses and reasons to pry at the net of aether! In fact, quite a number of them already had "one of us" in name in the net of aether! Now that the skirt had been lifted suddenly, there was no way those things could suddenly hide. Ye Qingxuan could sense that quite a number of Schools were still secretly continuing to steal the music theories of other schools through the net of aether. What left him even more dumbfounded was that he never imagined that these Schools had hidden such large sums of secret stashes in the realm of aether! After removing the fog and disguise, hundreds of wonderlands of all sizes began to exude light of great beauty. Clearly, they had been hiding quite a number of precious elements and movements, and there were even Holy Spirits staying in a number of the wonderlands. Without thinking further, he could differentiate between most of the Schools and their music theories and special traits. In fact, the wonderland of the School of Metal Shore, a School which had been thought by most musicians to have declined, was one of the most glorious amongst all the other wonderlands. Of course, there were also plenty of wonderlands whose legacies had already been broken. They were dim and were floating about in the depth of the realm of aether, just like Ye Qingxuan''s Dream of Millennium in the past. If such a wonderland had appeared back then, everyone would have become incredibly powerful. But now, everyone could only stand by and watch as Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and pulled all those wonderlands to himself. For all these years, everyone had been hiding their family properties in the darkness. Everyone had been fearful of one another and even resorted to peeking at one another, yet no one imagined that there would be someone as unreasonable as Ye Qingxuan, who would put a small sun in the dark forest. Not only that, they never thought that all their stealing of music theories would be caught red-handed by Ye Qingxuan and that he would snatch them all away for himself. Nevertheless, the lightning strike that they were anticipating did not come in the end. The Land of Dreams remained hanging at the highest level of the realm of aether. It merely looked down coldly. They could continue to play their little games but Ye Qingxuan had already left the net of aether long ago. There were still many days ahead. One could still afford to bide his time. There was no risk of them gathering together as one to resist him so there was no need to suppress them yet. Nevertheless, there was no harm in taking precautions first. After pondering for a while, Ye Qingxuan picked up Hua Sheng''s attempt to contact him, "With regards to the anti-virus music theory that you mentioned, you can submit the schedule now" When he heard Ye Qingxuan''s voice, Hua Sheng could not help but laugh. At this moment, plenty of information was flying around the lowest level of the realm of aether. For so many years, these Schools had been fighting with each other in secret. They never imagined that there would come a day when they would be unveiled so completely. There was panic at the moment of reveal, followed by uneasiness and finally, evil thoughts began to take root in their heads, so much so that many members of the Committee of Musicians were even holding a meeting in a public wonderland. "Now that things have come to this, all of us should work together." "That''s right. Something as wicked and evil as the net of aether must be uprooted completely. It will only lead mankind down the road of destruction!" "Uphold the path of the Originator and every musician will be able to allow Anglo''s ambition to grow even more!" "How can someone like Ye Qingxuan, who is a despicable and unorthodox man, shoulder such a heavy responsibility? He did not even receive proper musician education and is the same as that teacher of his! The net of aether must be supervised by the Committee! Otherwise, it will only be a harmful influence!" "I propose that we activate all the Committees and exert pressure on Anglo!" "At the very least, we must force him to open up the limit of the upper position. It should be a fortune to be enjoyed by all musicians and not by him alone!" "That''s right. If he doesn''t wish to become a criminal, we can give him a chance to atone for his crimes by doing a good deed" Just as the meeting was reaching its climax, a figure departed secretly. Scepter musician, Antoine, opened up his eyes and could not help but snigger. He must have been mad to have had any expectations of the Committee of Musicians? All of them might have sounded all passionate and enthusiastic but when it really came to the time of execution, none of them would be willing to do it. Anyone with a brain could tell that Ye Qingxuan held the upper hand now. Way before this, when his feathers were not fully grown yet, everyone only cared about their own territories and were not willing to pay the price nor stand together with the Sacred City to suppress the expansion of the net of aether. Now that there''s nothing that the Sacred City can do anymore, then all of you are starting to regret What''s the use? And now, they are even more daring to have designs on the net of aether, as well as take from Anglo in the name of "justice." Hehe, maybe they will only start to regret when the New Testament sword slices through their brain? Although the Door of Modifications did not submit to the net of aether, at least my efforts to suppress have prevented us from doing something as embarrassing as stealing music theories. After pondering for a moment, he asked the servant to summon his own student. Very quickly, there was a knock on the door. A teenage female musician walked in. "Teacher, how can I serve you?" Antoine smiled and gestured for her to sit beside him. "Celia, how is the research going?" "Everything is going well. We expect to complete the Symphony of Predestination very soon," Celia replied. "Unfortunately, you need to stop your research for the time being and go to Anglo for me." "Anglo?" Celia was stunned for a while before realization dawned on her. She laughed bitterly. "That Hand of God?" "That''s right." Antoine did not intend to hide anything. "You shall represent us and go to the Door of Ruins to discuss with that Hand of God. He is a sentimental person. Hopefully, you will be able to make full use of the friendship that your brother and he established at Auschwitz and help our School gain substantial benefits." Celia looked torn. "Ye Qingxuan may be kind to me, but he may not treat the School the same way. I''m afraid I may not be able to gain much for the School." "As long as you get the chance to meet him face-to-face, you will already have a significant advantage over all other Schools." Antoine stretched out his hand and pressed on Celia''s shoulder. His expression was stern. "The war between Anglo and Asgard has not ended yet. Find out what is he willing to give in exchange for the support of the Door of Ruins." He paused for a while and began to look torn. "Or should I say, what are we willing to give in exchange for the Door of Ruins to continue to exist" 753 Reptiles The news of the defeat at the frontlines and of Chopin''s retreat had already reached the central sanctuary of the Sacred City. There was a suffocating atmosphere in the huge meeting hall. The red-robed cardinals were arguing without rest about what to do next. "We must severely punish Chopin for his desertion! We''ve already shown him leniency for his heresies, and this is how he repays us? When the Sacred City needs him most he encourages others to flee with him!" "Forget about handling Chopin for now, the production of new Saints'' inheritances must be sped up!" "We''ll have to be cautious about our next step. We don''t have many more of the catastrophe cores that we stored up! And the horn that can temporarily manipulate the Eight Phenomena is completely destroyed, one could even say that the Eight Phenomena no longer exist. We need a new deterrent to deal with the Commonwealth of Caucasian''s expansion." "At least our operation was successful, and their Son of God has lost his power. He won''t be setting off any more storms." "Who knows if he''ll recover? You know, he is..." The refuting bishop got halfway through his statement and then stopped. Among the hard faces all around him, he forcibly swallowed his taboo words. After a brief silence, mouths were opened again, breaking the stillness. "The most urgent matter is maintaining the influence of the Sacred City and protecting justice and righteousness. If this continues, the Sacred City''s orders may not even go out of the city gates!" "We must punish the rebels, and awe those who are blind." "Moreover, it is not only the Commonwealth of Caucasian. In the West, there is still that guy in the Anglo Kingdom. He has the power of the King of Yellow. We can''t let him continue to expand, otherwise, we will completely lose control of everything!" Amidst the crowd''s dispute, someone had the courage to look up at the throne. "Now, only by asking the Sancta Sedes and the King of Black..." He did not finish speaking, but his meaning was already clear. Even though the situation had deteriorated to this point, even if the King of Yellow had betrayed them, the Sacred City still had not lost. As long as the King of Red took charge, and as long as the King of Black got involved, everything could be recovered. But facing everyone''s expectant eyes, there was no sound from behind the curtain. After a while, the figure sitting on the Pope''s throne slowly rose. He merely waved his hand, seeming tired. "So it''s come to this today." Amid the silence, he turned around and left. He left a crowd of bishops staring at each other in shock, with expressions full of annoyance. In the silence, someone yawned. It was Albert. He got up, patted the dust off himself, and bade farewell to his colleagues. "When men grow old, it is easy for them to use up their energy. I''m going home to sleep now, if this discussion leads to any results, remember to let me know." After saying this he turned and left. But someone from within the central hall behind him shouted at him, "What do you want, Albert?" An old man with an ashen face looked at him with a gloomy expression. Albert yawned. "I want to sleep." "At this moment of internal troubles and foreign invasion, when everyone is giving their all for the Sacred City, you want to sleep? Where is your sense of duty?" "I''m sorry, I have no interest in launching a war. Moreover, my duty is only to observe the Holy Temple. Are all the reports and information not placed on your desks?" "Is this your excuse for fleeing?" His peers gave him contemptuous looks. Albert shrugged and fumbled for a cigarette. He said coldly, "Haven''t you already reached a verdict without me? We will fight, we will return the world to its rightful place beneath our feet, at any cost, all for the sake of the world!" As he said this, he pretended to shake his fist and put on the look of a fanatic, but his tone was full of ridicule. "But do you really know the consequences of this? Destroying the whole human world in a war in order to determine winners and losers Why? Cornet, just losing your power isn''t the same as losing your life. It''s not that frightening, is it?" Archbishop Cornet''s expression grew colder and colder. "Albert, you have already forsaken everything that our ancestors worked so hard to create. Look at the city, its countless towers, this was once one of the most glorious places in the world! And now you want to let it all fall into disgrace because of you?" "If it''s going to fall into disgrace, then let it." Albert finally found half a cigarette in his pocket and cheered up. "I am an illegitimate child, did you know that?" he said indifferently. Cornet''s expression stiffened. He suppressed his fury, and his hoarse voice came from between gritted teeth, "You..." He didn''t finish the sentence, but everyone knew what he was going to say. "B*stard." Albert did not lose his temper and did not even look up at him. It was just a word, and the day that he would be upset by a word would never come. He lit his cigarette, took a puff, and the wrinkles of distress on his face softened as the harmful substance spread through him. "Cornet, you''ve done your best for the Lord. After you die, you''ll receive your reward in heaven. Why ask for more?" He pinched his cigarette and squinted at his gloomy colleague. "Or do you think that paradise is not enough of a reward for all your wonderful dedication?" Cornet said nothing. He just looked at him coldly. "So stop now. You should go back, drink some wine, sleep a little bit, instead of trying to irritate me here. This is the best advice I can offer you now." He bowed and tossed his cigarette. His shoulders drooped and he said with a flat tone, "Just a few hours ago my last friend died for you. For your stupid ambitions and desires. He gripped the small medicinal respirator under his red cardinal robes, the last thing that Wagner had left behind. "I''m so sad." Two days later, late at night at the top of the royal palace of Burgundy, a young man in his nightgown leaned on the terrace balcony, humming a song and staring at the square outside the palace. Air-dried corpses still hung from the gallows at the center of the square. The Emperor had died last, but he looked the same as all the others. In the night before the new Emperor''s ascension, the soon to be Emperor felt no tension. In fact, he enjoyed the sight of his uncle''s corpse with great interest, sang songs leisurely and unhurriedly, and drank his red wine. Then he went back into his study. In the study, the old man named Richelieu was copying out the decree that the new Emperor was going to issue tomorrow. When he saw his student lie down on the sofa without any manners, he could not help but frown, but he didn''t remind him to pay attention to his bearing. "It''s almost time." Don Juan looked at his watch. "Connect me to Archbishop Ulliel in the Sacred City," he told the attendant standing in the corner. The attendant left respectfully. The message to the Sacred City was sent out quickly, and after a long wait he finally picked up. The old man at the other end of the line spoke with a flat tone. "This is Ulliel." "This is Don Juan, one of your countless disciples." The young man on the sofa raised his eyebrows happily. "My dear Archbishop, I think we should talk." "Watch your words, Don Juan." Ulliel''s voice was indifferent. "For a follower of God, there is no business to be talked about." "No?" Don Juan nodded. "My mistake then." He hung up. Regardless of the other sides attitude or thoughts, he hung up unilaterally and without any civility or good faith. He stood up as the clock ticked, and pulled out the copper tubed cigar and matches from the drawer. He slowly and leisurely lit it. Once it was just hot enough, he cut off the head and enjoyed the fragrance of tobacco. It was just like nothing had happened. He let time pass by bit by bit. The cautiously knocked on the door outside. "Your Highness, you have a communication from the Sacred City." "Oh." Don Juan tilted his head. "How long has it been, teacher?" Richelieu looked at the time and answered, "Five minutes." "No need to rush, let''s wait five more." Don Juan''s expression was full of malice and mockery. "Those old b*stards who can''t see the big picture, they didn''t need to cooperate with me. They hung up after five minutes. Contact Ulliel''s rival Cornet, there should be enough time for him to receive the news." The attendant left respectfully. The clock tolled midnight. "I never thought it would take this long to come to fruition, but now the time has come to harvest it." Don Juan got up, snuffed out the cigar, and looked at the old man behind the desk. "Unfortunately I must sleep. But tomorrow will be a good day for me. Teacher, I leave this to you." "You''re not going to speak to them yourself, Your Highness?" "Forget it. I don''t get along with those old b*stards who swallow ancient wisdom but do not understand it." The young man shrugged. "Besides, I just got married, why should I leave my beautiful wife alone at home for those ghouls?" Richelieu smiled wryly. "But you haven''t given me anything." "You know my bottom line. As for bargaining chips, there is a list of foundation assets that should satisfy their tastes. I leave it up to you. So, bargain to your heart''s content, teacher." Don Juan sneered. "Do what you can with this blank check. At the worst, they''ll turn against us, and if that happens, don''t hesitate to twist the knife. It''ll serve them right for the cold shoulder and cold looks that they gave us in the past." "By your command, Your Highness." Richelieu stood up, saluted the man who would become Emperor in six hours, and then opened the drawer. When he saw the names on the list of funds, he couldn''t help but laugh silently. "Reptile Breeding Fund?" Always in such poor taste. But how long had he been preparing for this day? The color of the night deepened. In the distant city, the clock sounded before prayers. In another six hours, the new Emperor would be enthroned amidst a cheering crowd. 754 Weigh After trudging for two days, Charles finally returned to the capital of the Caucasus. In the strong smell of herbs, after the chorale musicians changed the bandages and plaster on him, and released movements of recovery, his wounds still showed little improvement. Even though he had lost all his power, Charles'' resistance towards musical movements was still too strong. "Leave us," in the corner of the ward, Gaius calmly ordered. Soon, the doctors left the room, leaving Gaius and Charles alone. "Why did you not retreat?" Gaius''s voice was cold, and he suppressed his anger. "Charles, why did you violate my orders?" On the hospital bed, Charles smiled awkwardly, his face still pale. "If I leave, many will die because of me, surely I can''t simply do nothing and leave them?" Gaius''s tone became indifferent. "You should be clear that they are the people of Asgard, our enemies." "Er... even so, shouldn''t the king be solely responsible for their stance against us?" Charles asked. "Do you think that the war has been initiated by the king for his own private ends only?" Gaius sneered. "Perhaps one can find 10,000 excuses to blame it on the king and the Senate, but ultimately, doesn''t it all boil down to their call? "They want war, they need the plundered supplies, they need to drink the blood of other people, to achieve their status! The taxes each of them paid and government bonds they purchased would all become Asgard''s weapons, warships, and heavy aether cannons. "They chose to let others suffer so that they themselves would not be poor and suffer! You show so much compassion now, but have they ever pitied you? "When the food supply of the Caucasus was blocked, their whole nation cheered. When the spring plowing of the Caucasus was interrupted, they sang and danced in glee... They are not innocents, none of the Asgardians are innocent!" Charles was stunned. "But..." "No buts!" Gaius interrupted him. "Be clear about the people you want to protect, Charles! Have you ever thought about the number of people who have paid the price for your actions to fulfill your wish? "Now, in order to escort you back, not only did we lose more than 6,000 soldiers, but we also almost lost the fruits of the sacrifices made by countless people all this while also being under the counterattack of the group of Asgardians! "Because of your compassion, your pity for the enemy, we not only cannot follow up the attack by implementing two large-scale combat plans, you''ve also let everyone see your cowardice, your scars, and your weaknesses." "But... we have won," Charles defended his stance, stammering. "You see, I have crushed the Holy City and defeated so many saints, even the Golden Palace has been knocked down. We have already won." "This is only the first step, surely you don''t want to stop here, Charles? You should have been able to achieve more if everything had gone according to plan! For the Revolutionary Army and the Caucasus, this is just the beginning!" Gaius'' tone was solemn. "One single victory is far from enough! We must get it done in one vigorous effort and completely establish a new order belonging to us!" Charles replied, "But we can take it slow, one day..." "Do you want to put all your trust in the illusory future? Charles!" Gaius looked at him. "Because of your cowardice and fear?" Charles was silent. After a long time, he asked softly, "Do we have to continue the war?" "Yes, Charles," came the reply. "Mr. Constantine, many have died already. Many died before my eyes... I don''t want to see their bodies carried from the battlefield anymore." Charles looked at him, a hopeful look in his eyes. "Why can''t we stop first? Sir..." "If we stop here, can you tell the ones who have died that your conscience is clear?" Gaius was no longer able to conceal his anger. "How many people have died for this victory? They trusted you and hoped that you could make their sacrifice meaningful! "If you hesitate here, then their deaths will become a joke, part of a number simply meant for people to forget! If we can''t defeat Asgard completely, what meaning does everything we have done have?" He pointed towards the outside world from the window and roared furiously, "If you want to stop all this, then go and tell them, ask them to forgive their enemies, forget the bloodstains their comrades left, and forget the painful faces of their parents who died from starvation!" "Are the living not as important as the dead?!" It was the first time that Charles opposed Gaius. It was not a hesitant question like the usual, but a sharp heckle. "Or have you divided the living into three, six, or nine levels, and you see the lives of the Caucasians to be nobler than that of the Asgardians? "That way, how are you any different from the Sacred City? "How many more people must die before you are satisfied?" Gaius was stunned. He spoke no more. A long silence descended. In the silence, he was quiet. Looking at Charles, his gaze became complicated. "Sorry." Charles turned his eyes away and whispered, "I didn''t mean to shout at you." "No, what you said is right. Maybe we should both calm down." Gaius got up and patted him on the shoulder. "It''s been a hard time for you, Charles, rest well. After you recover, you still have a lot to do." He said, "Having visited you without bringing a gift and told you so many upsetting things, I should be the one to apologize." He turned off the light for Charles and turned to leave. But at the door, his footsteps paused. Charles heard him bid farewell. "Death is weighty, Charles. One day, you will understand the truth." The door was closed. At the last moment, his shadow was cast on the ground. It seemed to bend under the weight. Lola opened her eyes. As if she was waking up from a length dream, she saw the white curtains which were tied up. Light shone in from the open windows, illuminating the vase on the bedside and the white roses blooming. She looked at the ceiling blankly, as if she had forgotten where she was. After a long time, she finally lifted her palms, looking at her five fingers and the lock of music theory gradually collapsing under the flesh and blood. "The curse is gone?" she whispered with a blank expression. "Yeah." On the chair in front of the window, Ye Qingxuan closed the book and smiled. "Congratulations on having attained freedom." Lola was silent, as if she did not hear him, and seemed to have descended into a state of blankness, immersed in thought. After a long time, she finally accepted the fact, but she felt no joy at obtaining salvation. After the pressing oppression that was like a fish bone stuck in her throat disappeared, she actually felt... at a loss. "Is it so?" She nodded and grabbed the ladies'' cigarettes and the slender copper cigarette holder on the bedside table. She was Ye Qingxuan''s senior after all, and her pose was full of elegance even when smoking dejectedly, with charm and feminine beauty unique to women. "So, the quiet moon has really ceased to exist, right?" "The quiet moon is just a representation, a tool of the Originator." Ye Qingxuan was peeling an apple for her, and he said calmly, "The moment the quiet moon leaves the Originator, it is no longer a god. Even though it has power, it is nothing but a dead object that looks the same. So, you need not worry about the shackles reappearing. You are free, Lola, learn to look ahead, and stop living in the past." "You sound so self-confident and straightforward." Lola laughed, amused. "Little devil, my age is three times of yours, are you really trying to act like an elder in front of me?" "It''s just a reminder." Ye Qingxuan deftly split the apple into two halves, threw one half to her, grabbed the other half and took two bites. He wanted to say something but was hesitant. "My guess is that you were about to come up with some more words to educate me just now?" Lola asked. "No, I just wanted to remind you that you have crow''s f..." Ye Qingxuan didn''t finish his words. Under Lola''s cold gaze, he obediently swallowed the last syllable, and he smiled resignedly. Sure enough, even though the curse was no longer, Lola was still Lola, and it was so difficult to even have the nerve to look for trouble in front of her. In the silence, Lola extended a hand and tied up her long hair with a hair band. She got up and walked to the window. After God knew how many years, she gazed at the sunlight once more. A sea breeze blew from the distance, and white birds hovered in the skies. "It''s really beautiful." She lifted her hand and blocked the glare of the sun, yet she couldn''t help but squint her eyes and gaze at everything under the sun through the gaps between her fingers. "I dreamed of Ye Lanzhou." She whispered softly, "I have been cursed for so many years. I don''t feel scared, being alone, nor do I feel sad, I was just thinking about revenge at all costs. "But now that the curse has left, I finally feel sad about his death. Just thinking about it makes me feel like crying. Like a little girl, I feel scared again. "You dragged me out of the dream and back into the sun, but the dream has been too long. Little Yezi, I have nowhere to go. " "As long as one is alive, pain is always inevitable." Ye Qingxuan reached out and messed up her hair. "So, you need not be afraid. After all, painful days will continue for a long time in the future." Lola was silent for a long time and suddenly laughed softly. "Hearing you saying so puts me at ease." "Are you complimenting me?" he replied. "You can consider it a compliment." Lola smiled. With the wind blowing in from the window, she stretched lazily, getting rid of the drowsiness that remained from the long dream. She said, "Let''s go drinking together sometime." "Sure." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "When I come back, let''s go together." "You really are born to lead a life of constant traveling. Clearly, things here have yet to be over." Lola leaned against the window and looked at him, her head tilted to one side. "Are you sure you can just leave like this? There are still plenty of messes to be cleared up." "The things here have ended temporarily, as for the things after that, it doesn''t matter whether I am around," he replied. "If she hears this, Her Majesty the Empress will certainly be sad," she said. "..." Ye Qingxuan remained silent awkwardly. Lola laughed gloatingly, reached out, and pinched Ye Qingxuan''s face. "Only in this aspect, you are really like him." "Are you insulting me?" he asked. "Yes." Lola glanced at him, her smile mocking. "How about, ''go and die 10,000 times, you scum''?" "No hurry for that, I have already died more than 9,000 times." Ye Qingxuan spread his hands. "It isn''t difficult to get to 10,000." "So, where are you going to stir up trouble next?" Lola asked. "I''m just going there to fulfill a promise." "Let me guess." Lola looked at him. "To the East?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. He spoke no more. He simply leaned against the deck chair and gazed at the sunlight outside the window. The sound of the tide could be heard, just like when he left the town of Lute back then. The sunlight was hot. After such a long period of time, he would once again embark on a new journey. He would return to the East not in the name of House Ye, but in his own name, in the name of Ye Qingxuan. He would do it at all costs. He would. go and snatch the person whom he once lost back, the girl who was taken away from him! 755 On the Road It was dawn in the Sacred City. In the central sanctum and amidst the silence, dew dripped from the armor of the knights. Two rows of knights in black armors were carrying ceremonial halberds and were standing at attention on both sides of the road. With the tolling, the bell that signified a brand-new day, layers of gigantic doors suddenly opened. The atmosphere might be solemn, but the priests in the church were somewhat distracted. Even the Cardinal Bishops, who were clad in red robes, did not seem too pleased. While walking towards the meeting room, someone even accidentally knocked himself against the light stand. Fortunately, someone beside him managed to grab hold of him so that the latter did not fall. Then, he waved at a servant. "Move this thing away. Find out who is the person on duty today. How can something like this happen?" The servant quickly shifted the light stand away. The Bishop, who was in charge, patted on his companion''s shoulder. "Calm down, Allison. We are representing the Sacred City." Allison smiled forcefully but he still looked displeased. Whoever would be forced to be the scapegoat could not possibly in the mood to smile. Besides, it was at this sort of place. He was certain that after this day was over, he and Ulliel would most likely forever be shamed in the history of the Sacred City. Very soon, all the envoys had already arrived and as according to custom, were waiting in front of the door of the palace. Everyone remained silent and only stared at the end of the path ahead of them. They were awaiting the arrival of the most crucial person. For the past week, other than the east which had been closed off, almost all the countries and major organizations around the world sent envoys to the Sacred City. On the surface, it seemed as if the Sacred City had stood out to coordinate matters of the war between various countries, uphold justice and truth, and trying hard to eliminate war. But if that were the case, why would they be so unwilling to hold a meeting only after all the envoys have arrived? The truth was the exact opposite. It was because of all the pressure from various countries that the Sacred City had no choice but to stand out and face the consequences of the war. In other words, they needed to pay the price for the defeat. Before the meeting even began, everyone already knew what the outcome would be. The ninth legislative amendment was inevitable The only difference was that this time around, the amendments would be neither minor nor trivial. After such a devastating loss, what the Sacred City was potentially facing was complete dismantling and restructuring. They would no longer be involved in all political powers and it might even be a challenge for them to maintain self-governance. After guiding and overseeing the world for centuries, the Church was about to step down from the highest position in the world. Although their influence would continue to be huge, they would no longer be able to clamp down or impose restrictions on various countries. It was possible that the history of the Church would mark this date in the Holy Bible as Good Friday. At this thought, the faces of the priests inevitably looked awful despite the happy and jubilant atmosphere. Under such a situation, the King of Red was never going to make an appearance. In actual fact, all the kings have only sent their envoys here so only the Cardinal Bishops could handle such an occasion. Everyone knew what the outcome would be but the process to get there was still necessary. Besides, no one knew how the blame pie would be split. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, a solemn-looking horse carriage surrounded by guards stopped in front of the central sanctum. The Caucasian diplomat alighted from the horse carriage, followed by the person that would represent GaiusWolf Flute. In that instant, all the Knights Templar that were present could not help but grip their weapons tightly. They were all tempted to take a stab that face that was smiling foolishly "Hey, friends, relax!" Wolf Flute smiled happily. He stepped forward confidently and waved to all his comrades of yesteryears. "It has been too long. How is everyone doing?" His footsteps stopped at the end of the path, which was right in front of the door of the church. Inexplicably, he decided to neglect the Cardinal Bishops, who were coming forth to extend his welcome, and instead turn and look to his side. There was a knight, who was in charge of the Knights Templar in ensuring the safety and security of the venue, and he was standing below the steps. His white hair had been combed all the way to the back and he was only wearing a knight robe instead of a power armor. Underneath the stoic and firm faces were rows and rows of wrinkles. Wolf Flute sighed. "Mr. Bann, you have aged so much. If I had known, I would have brought you something. The healthcare products of Caucasian are quite excellent." The old knight lowered his eyes. "Wolf Flute, all men will age." Wolf Flute laughed awkwardly and did not say anything else. He climbed up the steps and walked towards the Cardinal Bishops who were awkwardly waiting for him. He made it seem almost unintentional when he touched his neck. It was a little cooling. Compared to the great importance of the meeting that was to follow, this misstep was insignificant and was quickly glossed over. Everyone seemed to have an unspoken agreement not to bring up the diplomatic faux pas that had just occurred. Shortly after, a white horse carriage stopped in front of the door of the palace. Underneath the red insignia, Anglo''s diplomat, who was stationed in Sacred City, alighted from the horse carriage before stretching out his hand to help a young man off the carriage along with his crutch. The young man did not seem to be very mobile as he was leaning heavily against his crutch and seemed to be having a difficult time walking, even if it was at a very slow pace. He looked very handsome and there was a warm smile on his face but at first glance, the thing that most people would notice was those pair of grey eyes. The glimmer of those grey eyes would leave anyone feeling respect and fear towards him. The young man, named Hua Sheng, walked slowly past the door of the palace and the road on the plaza until he finally stopped in front of the steps. The Cardinal Bishops walked down the steps to extend a helping hand, only to be rejected. After he had completely ignored the Cardinal Bishops, Hua Sheng turned his head to look at the old knight and nodded slightly. "Father Bann, His Highness sends his regards." He stretched out his hand and took over a box from his follower. "This is a letter and a gift from him." "Thank you." Bann accepted them and carefully inspected the words on the letter. His face, which had been stern and cold like a rock all this while, finally revealed a hint of a smile that could barely be detected. "His words are already more well-written than mine." "I''m sure His Highness will be deeply pleased and touched to have received your praise." Hua Sheng smiled and proceeded to ask a question like the respectful member of the younger generation that he was, "May I have the honor of inviting you to lunch today? His Highness has been yearning to hear from you." Bann nodded. "Nothing will please me more." Hua Sheng nodded and said farewell. He leaned his body heavily against his crutch and climbed up the steps one by one, leaving the Cardinal Bishops to remain awkwardly rooted to their spots for a while before catching up with him. From a short distance away, the ritual officers slapped their heads. There was a hopeless gaze in their eyes and they wished they could just knock themselves against the wall. It was yet another diplomatic faux pas. Before the meeting had even begun, such a mistake had already occurred twice. On the steps, Ulliel stared coldly at Bann. Shortly after, a clergyman walked towards Bann and whispered to him, "Captain Bann, the Bishops that a similar incident will not happen again." "That is my wish as well." Bann remained emotionless. After a short wait, the last representative finally arrived and walked through the door of the palace. When the Bishops saw the envoy of Burgundy arrive, they all breathed a sigh of relief in unison. Richelieu had represented Burgundy as a diplomat in Sacred City several times. He was familiar with the customs so he should not make the same mistakes that Wolf Flute and Hua Sheng had made. Compared to those two annoying guests, Burgundy should be much easier to handle since they had already reached an agreement with the Sacred City in private The Bishops watched keenly as Richelieu walked steadily forward. He was looking straight all the time and he looked suave and sophisticated and warm at the same time. Then, he stopped just below the steps. Not going further? Not going further! Really not moving anymore! Ulliel''s face contorted. Under everyone''s watchful gaze, Richelieu turned back and nodded to the old knight in front of him. "Captain Bann, we meet again." Bann looked at him. "My Lord, Richelieu, have we met?" Richelieu smiled. "21 years ago, you came to Burgundy as a knight. At the time, I was one of the secretaries tasked with receiving the guests. It has been 21 years and you still look as charming as ever. How envious." "You flatter me," Bann replied indifferently. Ulliel was secretly relieved to see that their small talk was finally coming to an end. But he did not expect Richelieu to take over a box from his follower and hand it over to Bann, "I have prepared this simple gift for you. Just some tea leaves. Hope you will like it." Bann rarely looked confused but he was right now. He accepted the box and saw the metal can in it. The tea leaves were not of a very rare sort and were produced by a small brand. In fact, very few people other than the locals would know about it. Nevertheless, it seemed to trigger some memories and the Father fell silent. After a long time, he asked softly, "That child, how is he?" Richelieu smiled. "Although there have been many difficulties along the way, he eventually managed to live the life that he always wanted in the end." "Is that so?" Bann did not probe further and only nodded. "Wish him the very best." "Thank you." Richelieu bade farewell and began to climb up the steps. And so, after several strange diplomatic incidents, the door of the church slowly closed and the meeting, that was called in the name of "peace," had finally begun. "But can this really stop the war?" Outside of the door, one of the knights sighed and looked silently at Bann. "Captain, what do you think? Everyone thinks that this war against Asgard will last for at least another year." "No, the war has already ended half a year ago." Bann remained silent for a long time before sighing quietly, "It''s just that peace is still on the way." As expected, the first day of the meeting ended with everyone arguing back and forth, pushing responsibilities around and other usual diplomatic practices. The things that would set the direction of the future would not take place at the meeting. It would take place in the visits and long conversations after the meeting had ended. It was late at night and there was a knock on the door of the Anglo consulate. As the rain continued to pour outside, the guest kept his black umbrella and smiled at Hua Sheng. "Please forgive me for coming to pay a visit so late and so unexpectedly." "Are all the elderlies so energetic these days? How envious." Hua Sheng yawned, "Can someone please bring a cup of tea for Lord Richelieu?" The sweet aroma of tea filled the study room. After some small talk at the beginning, they were finally about to talk about the main purpose of this conversation. "These days, I managed to read the newspapers and gained a deep appreciation for Mr. Hua Sheng''s capabilities as a diplomat," Richelieu began. "If it''s possible, I would like to have an open and honest discussion with you outside of the meeting." "What a coincidence. I am thinking exactly the same thing" Hua Sheng smiled. "Nothing is impossible in this world as long as people are willing to talk about it." "I like that." Richelieu smiled as well. "To be honest, I had thought that Hand of God would be the one coming here." "No choice, His Highness has other matters to attend to." Hua Sheng shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, the boss only needs to shoulder responsibilities and face the consequences. All these trivial and menial things naturally fall on subordinates, like us, to settle." Richelieu raised his cup of tea. "I believe that we will share many things in common." As the two men continued to speak, the long night had just begun. Occasionally, when they were resting, Hua Sheng would smoke on his tobacco roll and unintentionally peek outside the window. Looking at the time, that emotional and irresponsible fellow should have already reached Yunlou? 756 Cloud Tower Cloud Tower, the city of silk and black gold. It had been raised from the sea hundreds of years ago because of turmoil within the Originator, and now it occupied the main sea route between the East and the West. It could be said that it had the trade routes by the throat. It existed only as a cash cow. As long as the waterways kept operating, the money would keep flowing without end. Ye Qingxuan had heard tales of its extravagance and prosperity from traveler''s notes and from the mouths'' of merchants and smugglers. It was said that half of the huge city was built on the sea. Those civilians and untouchables without property or identity had to live on the sea. Their houses made out of sampans, and wooden boats were like barnacles clinging to the rocks and the city walls. With land so scarce in this sea, every inch of soil was worth as much gold. Every vacant inch of soil was filled as soon as possible, and every foot of space would be used up. In the end, the whole city had become a three-dimensional labyrinth. Behind the thick walls, the builders had done things very skillfully. Behind a very thinly constructed layer, they had stuffed in the lowest class, slaves. Then they had put in a layer of wood, and behind another thinly constructed layer, they put the civilians. And then there were those with property, the officials, the wealthy, powerful merchants. In this way, it went constantly upward, layer after layer, until above the nine layers the sunlight illuminated a tall tower, the highest place in the city. To the poets, the seat of the castellan of the city used up all the extravagance of the mortal world. Every brick and every tile was made by the hands of a craftsman. Even the roof tiles were decorated with black gold and jade. The whole city was like a tall building created by a skilled hand, and the castellan''s seat was the crystallized magnificence at the top. Below it, the dark city never slept. For the 360 days out of the year, the lights were not extinguished, and crowds of people walked back and forth along wooden ladders and rails, consuming both goods and wealth. Gold, silver, and jade were continuously transported through the deepest part of the maze. Nowadays no one knew how much wealth was hidden within the city. There were all kinds of rumors, some beautiful, some solemn, some strange, and some dark, but in all of them, Cloud Tower had a mysterious attraction, like a mirage, inviting curiosity. But Ye Qingxuan had never thought that when he came here it would be so desolate. The Mountain of Nomadism sailed through the quiet waters. Everywhere it passed, the deteriorated, rotting houses on the sea were lifeless. Through the fog, they could occasionally see one or two hidden shadows moving through the layers, but when they got closer they could find no trace of them. It was like they were avoiding them on purpose. The fleets that in the past had come and gone had all vanished. They did not see anyone until they sailed through the gates of Cloud Tower. Although it was normal that after the Great Wall of the East was cut off there would be some desolation, this extreme level of desolation was unexpected. "There''s something wrong with this d*mn place, Your Highness." At the helm, Egor scratched his bald head. "It''s eerie." Ye Qingxuan was amused. "Leviathan''s Lightless Sea didn''t scare you, and now just a little bit of desolation and you''re like this?" "This is different." Egor gathered his thoughts, and after ruminating for a while said, "The Lightless Sea was made by a monster. I''m not afraid of monsters. If I can fight them I''ll live, if I can''t fight them I''ll run, and if I can''t run I''ll die. But this is different. This is man-made. I fear humans much more than monsters." Ye Qingxuan was surprised, and couldn''t help but laugh. Although Egor''s philosophy of survival was rough and simple, he did have some flashes of insight. "Relax, no matter what''s going on here, I can protect you." He patted Egor''s shoulder and walked to the front of the bridge. He stared out in front of the Mountain of Nomadism. They were under the city of Cloud Tower now, and in front of them was the main gatea 10,000-ton watergate. Cloud Tower''s main gate was divided into two layers, isolated by two sluice gates at both ends of the city gate. It was said that the water level inside the city was completely different from outside, and that the elevation difference was like a steep cliff. If he didn''t have a whole set of hubs to coordinate its movement, it would be difficult for Ye Qingxuan to break through the outer gate. But now that the ship had arrived at the wall, there was no response from Cloud Tower. Ye Qingxuan sensed that on top of the wall, there was enough room to let dozens of horse-drawn carriages run parallel to each other, but there was not a single person up there. In the space behind the city gate, it was so quiet that it did not seem like a city. Now, all of Cloud Tower was like a double-layered iron coffin, sealing in corpses and their stench. The city revealed nothing, but getting closer made them uneasy. It was like the city had died. Amidst their perplexion, a roar burst out. As the sluice gates shook violently, numerous green rust stains and barnacles shook off from the iron wall, and the sound of surging currents gathered together into the harsh sound of countless boulders smashing together. White foam seethed beneath the water, like a dead octopus spurting out its decomposing fluids. Eventually, the path to the center of the city slowly became open. But even now no one appeared before them. Not even a signal light was lit. "This..." Egor looked hesitantly at Ye Qingxuan. "I''ll go, you all stay here." Ye Qingxuan took a jacket from one of the crewmembers and put it on. "If something happens, don''t worry about me, retreat straightaway to a safe distance," he ordered the captain. "I authorize you to use Hephaestus when necessary." Egor wanted to say something but stopped, guessing that there was no use in urging him again. He just sighed and called over two crew members. "Please let them go with you." Egor looked at Ye Qingxuan. "As a Prince, it''s unthinkable for you to go out on an inspection tour without a couple of attendants. Even if they just carry your bags for you." More people were better than fewer, and moreover, and if something went wrong, he could throw them in front of the blade and buy himself some time. Ye Qingxuan looked at the pair of knights who had started dressing. He did not refuse. Soon, he stepped onto the gangplank and jumped onto one of the sampans. As he faced the dark city, the sampan slowly entered into the depths of the city gate. On the bridge, Egor smoked his cigarette furiously, looking at the cold edge of the city, and his face twitched involuntarily. "This d*mn place It''s too freaking evil." In reality, Ye Qingxuan did not sail through the darkness for very long. When his sampan stopped at the dock, he saw a figure that had been waiting there, a slender-limbed, white-haired girl with familiar eyebrows... Bai Xi? Ye Qingxuan was stunned and almost blurted out her name. But he soon realized the girl''s face did not have the same arrogance and playfulness. In fact, she had no expression, like a puppet. She was just indifferent. "You are Yunlou Chaoyue?" Ye Qingxuan remembered Bai Xi''s rumored twin sister, but he had not thought that the first time he would see her would be under such strange circumstances. In the silence, the girl gave him a slight salute. "Please come with me." After saying this she turned and led the way. Her manner suggested that she already knew he would come. There was no surprise or confusion, and no frustration or fear. Her eyes were empty, without any undulations of emotion. It was like she was a puppet or a doll. Ye Qingxuan followed her forward in the silence, passing through the dark, complicated corridors and stairways as they worked their way upward. They did not see the legendary lights illuminate, and the only faint light came from a lantern that the girl carried, making the dead silent city eerier. Markets, districts, medical centers, storefronts everywhere they passed, there was not a single sound. Everything was declining, covered in dust, and had not been lived in by people for who knew how long. A rancid smell lingered in the air, and insects and mice could be faintly seen behind the broken boards, bringing the only faint sound into the darkness. This city definitely had something wrong with it! Finally, Ye Qingxuan could not help but ask, "Where is everyone?" Yunlou Chaoyue, who was walking in front of him, heard his words and stopped, almost making Ye Qingxuan run into her. She looked back at him, and a hint of confusion showed on her beautiful, lifeless face. It was as if she did not know how to explain it to him. Soon she whispered, "Everyone left." "Left?" Ye Qingxuan was confused. "Why?" "I don''t know." This time Yunlou Chaoyue answered quickly, almost without thinking. "Father said they were afraid." "Afraid of..." Before he had finished asking the question, Ye Qingxuan already saw the answer. Corpses. Tons of corpses... After passing through corridors and stairways, Ye Qingxuan had finally climbed to the top of the city and saw the legendary magnificent and mysterious white tower. But corpses hung on the tower as thick as stalks in a field of flax. He didn''t know how long they had been dead. The shriveled shells swayed slightly in the wind. After being exposed to the sun for so long, the scent of rotting no longer spread from them, and there was no glimmer of life left in their pitch black eyes. They just looked straight at them. The knights subconsciously put their hands to their swords as their hair stood on end. Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then with a cold smile he said softly, "Your father''s welcoming ceremony is quite original." Yunlou Chaoyue stopped at the gate and looked back at the knights behind her. "They stay here." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan waved, indicating that his entourage should wait for him at the gate. Then he stepped into the prosperous building. "I''d like to see what kind of medicine Yunlou Qingshu is selling." As soon as he stepped through the gate he heard a piano. The desolate yet elegant piano music echoed throughout the city. It was not loud, but it acted as a counterpoint to the silence and was quite relaxing. A stream meandered between the pines and bamboo in the courtyard. The sound of flowing water created a strange charm, delicate and beautiful. It was as if, in that instant, they had left the city and come to the wilderness where they could be at ease. But as he came forward, he felt that this "naturalness" was glossing over something. He felt the subtle rotation of the earth beneath his feet. Facing the sun, it seemed like the castellan''s seat was built on an axis, so that the huge building was rotating at all times, ensuring that it would be facing towards the sun. It would revolve all the way around in one day and night. As Ye Qingxuan walked forward, the courtyard was also slightly undulating. The bamboo, the bent brook, the withered pines or the white walls, were only parts of this huge machine. Numerous buildings appeared as he walked from a fork in the road towards the end of the road. When he turned back, they slowly sank underground. Under the patchwork of numerous structures and decorations, the entire seat of the castellan seemed to have thousands of different appearances, thousands of different manners, and thousands of different styles. Even the faint piano music was being played by a device like a music box. Numerous rotating wheels and axles were behind its ingenious rhythm. Ye Qingxuan finally understood why there were so many contradictions in travelers'' accounts. It was because the city itself was not fixed. Countless modules rose and fell, so it had countless different forms. In the hands of its master, it was the most sophisticated and expensive toy in the world. Even though there were no traces of people along the way, Ye Qingxuan could feel the aesthetic value in every inch of space. When he finally reached the top of the tower, at the highest point of the city, he finally saw Yunlou QingshuBai Xi''s father, the man who had once made him contain his desire to kill. However, the Yunlou Qingshu that he saw now was completely different than he had expected. It was like he had been exchanged for someone else. 757 Bon Voyage They only parted ways less than half a year ago at the Sacred City. Six months ago, Yunlou Qingshu walked around in the Sacred City, his posture elegant and graceful, and his every move was indescribably noble and solemn. But at the moment, he sat on the ground, looking unkempt. He reeked of wine, and a pool of vomit remained uncleaned in the corner. He was hungover, like a tramp who was about to die on the streets, and one could no longer find the slightest bit of grace or majesty on him. When Ye Qingxuan saw him, he was sitting in a place resembling an ancestral shrine. Under his buttocks was the table where offerings were initially placed on, and the memorial tablets that were supposed to be enjoying the worshiping were all over the place at the moment. The shrine that used to be solemn and dignified in the past was a mess at the moment. A blanket was messily draped around the decadent old man. He opened his eyes and looked at Ye Qingxuan, who walked in. After a long time, he seemed to remember who the young man was, and a trace of realization flashed across his eyes. "It''s been a long time since we last met, ''Your Royal Highness the Prince''." The way he pronounced the phrase "Your Royal Highness the Prince" was especially weird, full of ridicule and malice. "You are Yunlou Qingshu?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him, his expression indifferent, trying to identify any familiar traces on his face. "Oh, yes, it''s me, it''s me." Yunlou Qingshu began cackling. He reached out and pointed randomly. "Sit wherever you want, wherever looks comfortable to you. Mind your step; you just stepped on my grandfather''s memorial tablet." With the drowsiness and drunkenness of a hungover person, he glanced at Ye Qingxuan, his messy hair covered one side of his head, making him look very amusing. "So, what brings Your Royal Highness here?" Although he asked so, his face still wore an expression that made him seem like he knew everything. It was annoying. Ye Qingxuan frowned. From the beginning, the situation was beyond his expectation. Although Yunlou Qingshu seemed dozens of times nicer than he was the last time they talked, it didn''t mean that Ye Qingxuan was willing to deal with a madman. It was especially so as God knew how far the current Yunlou Qingshu was from becoming a madman. Or rather, how big was the difference between him and a madman? "Beacon." Ye Qingxuan spoke and asked straightforwardly, "The beacon that leads one past the mist and the Great Wall, you have it, right?" "Ah, yes, yes." He did not shirk nor think about it, and he didn''t even show any intention to wait for a good price to sell his goods. Yunlou Qingshu nodded straightforwardly as if another tramp had asked him whether there were any fleas on his body. Nowadays, Bai Heng had sealed off the Aurora with the Great Wall. Attempting to cross the mist with any means wouldn''t work, be it physically crossing the ocean or descending upon Aurora with one''s aether projection. Aurora was completely sealed off all the way from the physical world to the high-level dimensions. Hidden behind the mist, even the ocean currents and sea regions had changed drastically. As a result of the World of Dark and the long distance separating the East and West, unless Ye Qingxuan confronted the power of the Great Wall head on, he had little chance of making it across the mist. But even a fool would know that it was impossible to fight against the power accumulated by the entire East for centuries with the power of one person alone. He had been blocked out by the Great Wall. No, he hadn''t even been accepted by the Great Wall before. Apart from the blood of the Deva, to the Great Wall, he had no residential permit, and naturally, it would not let him enter. Therefore, Ye Qingxuan could only come up with other methods, finding other ways to go to the East. Other factors aside, he could conclude with confidence that even in the current situation, Yunlou must still have a beacon that could guide the way and enable him to pass the verification of the Great Wall. Otherwise, for so many years, where did the smuggled goods from the East come from? Yunlou Qingshu knew his intentions from the first moment he arrived, and as a result, he felt all the more ridiculous and mocked. He sized Ye Qingxuan up as if he was looking at a rare species of animal. "It seems that you really have deep feelings for my daughter, you are actually willing to abandon the Queen to find her. What do you like about her?" Ye Qingxuan was expressionless. "It has nothing to do with you." "You are right." Yunlou Qingshu laughed sharply. "After growing up, children have nothing to do with their parents. As a father, I can only watch as a man hold her hand and take her away. It is really saddening. Am I right, Lord Hand of God?" Ye Qingxuan''s face suddenly turned pale. He felt a bit like vomiting. After a long time, he managed to suppress the heartfelt nausea. "Sorry, I felt a bit nauseous." He waved his hand and asked, "What on earth happened that turned you into this goddamn state right now?" "It has nothing to do with you." Yunlou Qingshu squinted and said calmly. "Please don''t bother about it." "What about the situation outside? How did the bodies come about?" "Isn''t it clear at a glance?" Yunlou Qingshu spread his hands resignedly. "Speaking of it, I learned the tactic of hanging the rebels from you Anglos. The effect is not bad indeed." "In the end, you personally turned your City of the Cloud Tower into this goddamn state?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Is it not good?" As if he had been asked about something he was most happy about, Yunlou Qingshu laughed hard, bending forward and backward. "Isn''t it the price a usurper like me should pay? "No, it is only right and proper this way. You see, I did everything in my power to snatch the position of the lord of the city, but ended up destroying the entire Cloud Tower. And in the end, everyone deserted me, and I would die from madness. The ending is simply so classic that it should be written into a novel. Or rather, one should say that it won''t be normal if this is not the case! " Ye Qingxuan said nothing and simply looked at him, his gaze becoming one of pity. "You can''t solve the problem of the Black Tide, right?" He said, "For the sake of the position of the lord of the city, even though you did everything in your power, killed your father, sent assassins after your brother, even raped your own sister, and turned your daughter into a marionette... You paid every price that you can afford, in order to have a grasp on power, but in the end, power abandoned you. "Without Bai Xi, you can''t resolve the problem of the Black Tide beneath the City of the Cloud Tower. "The City of the Cloud Tower will be destroyed in the catastrophe, because of you, your incompetence, your desires, and everything you have done. Am I right, Yunlou Qingshu?" Yunlou Qingshu said nothing. Facing Ye Qingxuan''s relentless insults and ridicule, he narrowed his eyes and gazed at the man in front of him, his mad face convulsing because of rage. Under the pupils, webs of red blood vessels were spreading, like fire. After a long time, he lowered his head, as if he had lost all his strength, and laughed hysterically. "Exactly!" He lifted his hands and applauded, not being evasive about all the evils he had done. He grinned and laughed, revealing sharp canine teeth, and an evilness like that of demons filled his eyes. Despite being so decadent and flustered, his face, he was still full of a glow of pride he felt from his maliciousness. From the bottom of his heart, he was proud of all that he had done! He exclaimed, "It is the achievement most worthy of praise and proclamation in my life as Yunlou Qingshu! Greatness that you ordinary folks can never achieve! A great evil that can''t even be redeemed by one-ten-thousandth even if its perpetrator is cooked in nine tripod cauldrons! "You only got one thing wrong..." He paused, and the malice in his smile spewed out like a blowout. "Ye Qingxuan, if the father of the woman you love is going to marry her to another person one day, what will you do?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him, expressionless. His fingers tapped on an incorporeal sword ridge, and a chill burst forth. "Do I have any other choice?" "What a coincidence, I think so too, and I did so too..." Yunlou Qingshu whistled incredibly happily. "Look, you are like me! It is one of the things we have in common, and it is definitely not the only one! By the way, do you like your hair?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing. "You don''t, right?" Yunlou Qingshu understood his answer moved a bit forward from the table as if he wanted to have a heart-to-heart conversation with the young man. "Rest assured, I dislike mine more than you do." As he said so, he pointed to his messy hair. "Look, this white hair. It''s not because of a pure bloodline, but merely because I am old. "It is my greatest shame, proof of my lowly birth." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes impatiently, and he was indifferent. Yunlou Qingshu snickered. "It is your greatest fortune, Ye Qingxuan, to be able to grow up in Anglo from young. You have not become like me, even though everyone thinks that you are a ''hybrid''." Disregarding Ye Qingxuan''s cold expression, Yunlou Qingshu lifted his hand and toyed with the messy hair hanging from his forehead, separating the hair that had stuck together in clumps, one by one. "Before the age of 15, I carefully hid in places where others couldn''t see, escaping from their sight. I''m afraid of others looking at my face and seeing my hair... "Their gazes would turn from that of pity to that of despise. Even the pariahs, when they look at you, their gazes can also be mocking. Ah, look, it''s the bastard living in the Marquis'' residence. It is said that he is the son of a wh*re, he''s more despicable than us." He paused in the middle of his actions and violently pulled the clump of hair out, together with a small, bloody piece of scalp. "Ye Qingxuan, you know what? Every time I see their gazes, I hate that I am alive. "I hate myself with a passion, and I hate my mother with a passion, I hate that wh*re for giving birth to me. I didn''t visit her again, even on her deathbed." "But it isn''t until her death that I begin to regret I regret not loving her. You won''t understand, Ye Qingxuan, you have never been lonely, so you will never understand..." He lifted his eyes, and the dark eyes were full of a quiet calmness. One could see no madness in them, and his sobriety was frightening. "In the whole world, except for my mother, my sister was the only one who loved me. Maybe it was not the love between men and women, maybe she just felt pity for her b*stard brother. "In the entire City of the Cloud Tower, she was the only one who had cared about me." In the silence, Yunlou Qingshu murmured softly, "I married her purely because I wanted to marry her. "For this purpose, I killed my father, who never loved me, and expelled my brother who regarded me as an insignificant insect, and snatched all this. I don''t f*cking want the goddamn power, I just want to be with her forever... Like how you are now, Ye Qingxuan, I was willing to pay any price." Ye Qingxuan kept his eyes low, but his face couldn''t help but convulse. It was because of fury. It was because he could not tolerate being compared to such a thing. He looked at Yunlou Qingshu coldly and glanced at Yunlou Chaoyue remaining quiet in a corner. The girl was like a marionette, sitting in the dust motionless, her gaze empty. He asked, "So, you treat her daughter like this?" "Would you love someone who killed Bai Xi?" Yunlou Qingshu snickered and asked, "Oh, you''re right, I don''t love them, of course not! Just looking at them makes me go crazy with jealousy and hatred. The thought of the only person who loved me having died because of them makes me wish that they have never appeared in the world!" His face convulsing hysterically, he moved forward and stared at Ye Qingxuan''s face. "Can you understand the feeling? Ye Qingxuan The kind of helpless anger, the kind of pain of watching your beloved die in front of you while you couldn''t do anything! "Yes, I hate Chaoyue, and I hate Bai Xi even more, the tumor destined to kill her mother before even being born!" Ye Qingxuan lifted his eyes and looked at the face that was close at hand. A substantial chill spread in the ancestral shrine, the sword of the New Testament whistled, and an incorporeal chill pressed against Yunlou Qingshu''s neck. Facing death, which was close at hand, Yunlou Qingshu was still smiling, his smile twisted. "But what could I do? I used everything I had to exchange for a way for her to continue living. I used every possible method in my power to persuade her not to give birth to that vile spawn. I even went to the lengths of torturing and scorning her, but she remained unwilling to give up that piece of rotten meat in her belly!!!" Disregarding Chaoyue in the corner, Yunlou Qingshu screamed in front of Ye Qingxuan in what was almost mad anger. "What could I do? I could only watch her die... watch her abandon me!" At the moment, Ye Qingxuan finally glimpsed his true colors through the madness in his eyes, and thus felt like mocking and ridiculing him. "Give me a break, Yunlou Qingshu." He raised a finger and flicked away the speck of saliva suspended before his face, his gaze full of despise. "You just can''t tolerate the fact that she loved them more than she loved you." "So what?" Yunlou Qingshu looked at him as if he was describing the truth. "Is it not the embodiment of love?" Ye Qingxuan had no interest in looking at him anymore. "Simply... disgusting." "Isn''t it the desire of mortals? How is it worthy of despise?" Yunlou Qingshu reached out and patted the young man''s shoulder. "Lord Hand of God, when have you ever kept aloof from it? Can you tolerate it if Bai Xi considers someone else to be more important than you? If she won''t hesitate to leave you, or to die, for that person''s sake?" Gazing at Ye Qingxuan''s expression which had turned cold, Yunlou Qingshu laughed loudly and hysterically. The sharp laughter echoed in the dead city, infiltrating every corner. Combining with the stench from the corpses, it produced stinking echoes. "Enough!" Ye Qingxuan used all of his rationality to restrain himself. The laughter came to an abrupt end. It was not because of Ye Qingxuan, but because of himself. Yunlou Qingshu stood sluggishly frozen to the spot. He reached out and pressed a hand on his throat. As if it was struck by something, his limbs began convulsing involuntarily. His face was blue and it was difficult for him to breathe. In the end, he curled up into a ball in the filth on the ground. Ye Qingxuan coldly looked at him as he curled up like a worm on the ground, watching him enduring the pain. It continued until Yunlou Chaoyue walked over from the corner, reached out, and helped him up from the ground. A palm pressed against his back, she helped him spit out the thick phlegm and vomit in his throat. Then, Yunlou Qingshu lay on the ground, painfully vomiting out stinking, half-digested food, tears and mucus flowing down his face. The ugliness made one feel like kicking him far away, never ever wanting to get close to him again. "You should thank your daughter whom you hate. If she had not saved you, neither would have I." Ye Qingxuan''s cold eyes looked down at him. "Time for our chat to end, Marquis Yunlou, I am not interested in the twisted first half of your life. Now, let me repeat what I have come for: Give me the beacon to pass through the Great Wall, don''t let me take it from you myself." Yunlou Qingshu was finally done vomiting. "You want this?" He sat in his own vomit, not even wiping away the tears and mucus on his face. He reached out and took out the jade tablet that represented his identity, shaking it in his hand, his twisted smile full of malice. Then, he tossed it to Ye Qingxuan''s feet. He did not put forward a price, nor did he make any demands, just casually threw the item that represented the orthodoxy of his identity into the dust like that. "Congratulations, you have gotten it." Yunlou Qingshu smiled and waved goodbye. "Go, Lord Ye, go and pursue your grand dream! "The truth will be waiting for you there. "Go and let those beings that had decayed so much until not even their ashes remained sacrifice you to the so-called thousand-year fate, hahahaha... It''s all a bad joke!" Until Ye Qingxuan walked out of the residence of the lord of the city, he could still hear Yunlou Qingshu''s mad laughter from the tall building behind him. "Bon Voyage!" He finally turned back and took one last look at the dead city, then turned and left. Without the slightest reluctance. Half a day later, a man named Jiu Ying [1] walked up to the pavilion of the lord of the city. The man, who was so burly that he resembled a giant god, looked down at Yunlou Qingshu, who was soaked in spirits and vomit. "He has already left?" Yunlou Qingshu kept his head low, minding his own business and singing songs. He said nothing as if he did not see the man at all. "I see." Jiu Ying nodded slightly. That day, fire burned from the bottommost of the City of the Cloud Tower, consuming the corpses and bones, moving up layer by layer. The iron-like flames licked the city, shredding it inch-by-inch from the bottom to the top. The fire burned for three days and nights, and all the magnificence and splendor it once had were buried in the brazier fortified by high walls. In the end, the remaining ashes floated into the sky, blending into the rain clouds, and fell into the ocean. Amid the ruins, no more luxurious scenes could be seen. Only the souls of the dead lingered, the hoarse singing reverberating through day and night. [1] The name literally translates as "nine infants." It is the name of a vicious beast in Chinese mythology that has nine heads, makes a crying noise similar to that of an infant, and can spray out water and fire. 758 Let Me Do I There was a blurry light in the midst of her drowsiness. A water droplet dripped onto her face. They were so close to each other, yet she could not even make out that frail and elderly face. "Granny, are you there?" That familiar voice spoke once again. It sounded so far away and it was weak and hoarse. "Are you crying?" "No, no. An old lady like me is just feeling happy for Princess." The old granny calmly wiped away her tears and held the children beside her closely. "Congratulations, Princess. They are both lovely girls. They look as pretty as you were when you were a child." "Where are they? Let me see them. Granny, I can barely see anymore." The old granny lowered her head and tried her best to stop herself from crying. "They are right in front of you." A cold hand probed around in the air and finally landed on the child''s face. Her touch was as soft as feathers. It was also itchy and the child began to laugh. "She''s laughing, right? Granny, another child is crying I have hurt her." "Not at all. It''s because I was too rough, so the Princess was frightened. See, she knows that she is with her mother now so she has stopped crying. The minds of mother and daughter are really in sync." "I see." That familiar voice asked softly, "Can I carry them?" A pair of hands held the child up ever so gently, as if she was carrying the most precious treasure in the world. A blurry face came close, and there was a warm and gentle smile on the pale face. "One''s a rascal and the other''s a crybaby. Granny, these are my daughters. How adorable." She was laughing. She laughed. How wonderful. Seeing her smile was the most wonderful and amazing sight in the world right now. But the granny lowered her head and could no longer stop herself from crying. "Granny, don''t cry. Have I done something wrong again?" "No, not at all." Granny replied gently, "An old lady like me just wishes that your health will get better. I wish that mother and daughters will be healthy and safe so that there can be more of such wonderful times ahead." "Don''t be sad, Granny. I was born to have a hard life. To be able to witness their birth, I am already more than content." The woman hugged them tight and put her face close to theirs as she shared with them her own heartbeat that was beating weakly. "Look, they are so adorable and lively." "One became two. The name that we prepared can no longer be used." Granny forced out a smile. "We must trouble Princess to come up with new names for them again." "Chao Yue and Bai Xi." She hugged the children and whispered, "Shall we name them Chao Yue and Bai Xi?" "Tide [1]?" Granny was taken aback for a moment before recovering quickly with a smile. "They are both good names. Both sisters will forever be linked with their hearts, as if they are one." She smiled. "Chao Yue, Bai Xi, Chao Yue, Bai Xi" She leaned close to their faces. Her lips were cold and she closed her eyes with a content look on her face. "Mother" Bai Xi woke up from her dream and opened her eyes. She could not help but sigh. She did not manage to see her mother''s face once again. It was so close The pain in her head did not subside. As her bones and body continued to grow due to puberty, the pain, that was the result of the incompleteness that she was born with continued to linger in her flesh and bones. Once again, she inspected the alchemy formation that has been imprinted onto her flesh. Her long and slender fingernails brushed past her skin. There was a hint of coolness and the cool breeze of the late autumn triggered a layer of goosebumps. When she sensed a chill seeping into the yarn, she hurriedly put on layers of clothes, only to realize that these clothes, which once fit her perfectly, now felt tighter on the chest region. "How annoying," she muttered softly. Then, she heard a low voice from outside the door. "Looks like it must have been a good dream." The door opened and the cold yet graceful Empress stepped into her room. She looked at her from top to bottom. "I thought that you would be feeling troubled and depressed. I didn''t expect that, on the contrary, you are in such good condition that you have even put on weight. Is your headache better?" "Thanks to the great blessings of the Empress, they seem to have worsened recently." Bai Xi rolled her eyes and her expression was cold. She no longer behaved carefully and respectfully like in the past. Many servants were enraged. The Empress waved her hand so that everyone else would step back, then she sat down opposite of Bai Xi. "In the entire palace, your pouting is the only thing that His Majesty is slightly fond of." "Is that so?" Bai Xi looked at her with a teasing look in her eyes. "Actually, I was just thinking about this yesterday. What is happening to me now can be considered as falling out of His Majesty''s favor right?" "Oh." The Empress raised her eyebrows slightly and carefully inspected her pretty face. She looked happier. "Are you so keen to gain the favor and affection of His Majesty? Unfortunately, your legs are too long. If they were a little more petite, you may just be favored by His Majesty." "That''s not true, right?" Bai Xi climbed up from her bed and came closer, and it was almost rude of her to inspect the graceful face across her. "According to my estimation, compared to the bunch of sissies that His Majesty favored, shouldn''t he favor someone who is more manly, like me?" Without any hint of shame or embarrassment, the Empress only stretched out her hand, and her white and slender finger pressed against the middle of her brows and pushed her back. Then, she tilted her chin and looked at her face before sighing softly. "You may have fit all of His Majesty''s criteria but why are you born a woman?" Bai Xi moved forward and looked at the Empress'' face. There was a hint of playfulness in her eyes. "Don''t you know? Two women can also" Slap! A streak of electricity shot out of the Empress'' fingertips as she slapped her forehead once. "Bai Xi, you have been kept in here for so many days, but not only did you not reflect, but you are also still trying to seduce Her Majesty into homosexuality with you? Don''t you think you''re going overboard? Compared to your cheap father, you do seem to be more talented in flattery" "Thank you for your compliment." Bai Xi lazed on the bed. Her tone was sarcastic, "Her Majesty is always right, after all." "It should always have been this way." The Empress looked stern, as if she was speaking a truth. This was not just mere talk because, for all these years, she had been practicing what she preached. More than 10 years ago, when she ascended all the way to the top despite being a woman, she was seized by Bai Heng and turned into a puppet. The commoners began to talk nasty things behind her back. But now, was there anyone that did not recognize and acknowledge who their true ruler was? No one would have imagined that the girl, who was forced to become a puppet, would have the ambition and intelligence to seize the power of the Emperor bit by bit against all odds. She was able to clean up the mess that had been left behind by the previous Emperors and was able to hold the upper hand. Unfortunately, Bai Heng was still around to create trouble and chaos in the palace, including stealing the power of the country and controlling the affairs of the state. Otherwise, peaceful times would have come much earlier. "Indeed, it is good to be right." Bai Xi watched her with a strange look on her face. "But to reach the extent of the imperial censor losing his job, that just goes to show how terrifying Your Majesty can be." The Empress was calm. "How else could we have defeated Bai Heng?" "No, you''ve got it all wrong." Bai Xi sighed. "You didn''t defeat Bai Heng because you were right. It was precisely you were so obsessed with being right that you made Bai Heng your enemy. Although he has never mentioned anything about it, I can tell that he, more than anyone else, absolutely hated an Emperor that was obsessed with being right." "All corrupted officials will naturally think this way. This is nothing new." The Empress chuckled. When she looked at Bai Xi again, she no longer seemed to be toying around anymore. She seemed to be gloating at her misfortune, "But the strangest thing of all is that the only person who knew her best would turn out to be you, the abandoned child that he left behind in the fire pit. Not only that, when you had the chance to escape, he actually chose to use it on someone else." If not for the recent chaos and turbulence, no one would have imagined that Bai Xi, who was now a captive, still possessed such terrifying power. Within the time taken for three breaths, this 19-year-old girl was able to utilize her intricate skills to get rid of all the musicians and pass through layers of restrictions before using the formation in her body to tweak all the power in the Great Wall. Shortly after, she completely wasted this power, which could have helped her to escape, on Asgard. What a pity that there was only one chance. All the musicians woke up with a start and completely revamped the back door of the City in the Sky, which Bai Xi had used, so that the same thing would not happen again. They also sealed the formation in her body over and over again, stripping away any power that she might have to put up a resistance. At this state, Bai Xi was not even comparable to a girl of her age, much less a musician. Every single move she made would mean enduring the side effect of terrible pain, which had previously been suppressed by her formation. After the lock had been removed, it was as if time had been unfrozen and was passing by as per normal once more. Within half a month, she grew significantly from a thin little girl to a stature that was more comparable to girls of her age. "I''m jealous. As a woman, I cannot avoid the custom either." The Empress inspected Bai Xi and saw the curves and contours that were becoming more and more obvious underneath her clothes, and the pale white skin beneath her collar. There was a look of pity in her eyes. "You could have escaped. Back then, if you had wanted to leave, I might have not stopped you." "No choice. I''m just too lazy." Bai Xi laid on the bed and smiled happily like a little fox. "Compared to escaping on my own, I would very much prefer someone to come and rescue me instead. All I need to do to regain my freedom is to just lie here. How wonderful is that?" "If you are hoping for Bai Heng to come and save you, that may not be too realistic." "Someone will come." Bai Xi smiled with a look of determination on her face, "A hero that a hundred times, or a thousand times, or even tens of thousands of times stronger than him. "He will come and rescue me." At this point in time, in an unknown location just beyond the thick fog of the Great Wall, the Mountain of Nomadism was floating tens of thousands of miles in the sky. The layers of clouds were tumbling to cover the lands, creating a buffer between Aurora and the outside world. If not for the coordinates, probably everyone might have thought that these were ordinary fog of the World of the Dark. They would never have been able to find the location of Aurora amongst the confusing aether currents. "It''s here." Ye Qingxuan looked down at the tumbling sea of clouds beneath him. This was the weakest spot of the seal of the Great Wall. "With the coordinates for direction, this should be the easiest place to break in from." "In that case, I wish Your Highness a safe journey." On the deck, Egor and the rest were sending Ye Qingxuan off, "We will be waiting on the seas for you to summon us." "Many thanks then." Ye Qingxuan flipped over the side of the ship and stood in the sky. He waved his hands and motioned for them to move further away from him, until the Mountain of Nomadism could barely be seen. This distance was good enough. He stretched out his hand and drew the New Testament out of thin air. He held onto the hilt of the sword upside-down and aimed below at the fog and the projection of the Great Wall behind the fog. With that, the tip of the sword burst into a destructive and burning streak of electricity. "Bai Xi, here I come," he muttered softly. In that instant, lightning struck from the sky! [1] In Mandarin, ''tide'' is made up of two characters, ''chao'' and ''xi''. They are the same characters as the ones that make up the names of ''Chao Yue'' and ''Bai Xi''. 759 Wait! After integrating Gungnir, the Music Theory of Reform sprouted from the New Testament Sword, like the glory of the world gathered together. As the blade plunged, violent lightning fell from the sky, tearing through layers of fog. It seemed like they hit an invisible field, and an ear piercing sound rang out. Numerous rippled of chaos emerged from the void. There was a flash of light accompanied by a sharp scraping sound. In the originally empty realm of aether, the illusion of a huge city suddenly appeared. But compared with everything else, it was as small as a speck of dust. A blow at full power merely made its form emerge from the chaos. Under the support of the Wheel of Balance, even its weakest points were firm, and it was almost unshakeable. Now Ye Qingxuan stood in front of it, like a speck of dust trying to pierce through an iron wall. "Again!" Ye Qingxuan was not discouraged but instead was stirred up by his fighting spirit. A line of the Net of Aether came from far away, and the World Tree''s arrays appeared, followed by the Gungnir orchestra! It was as if the catastrophe Odin had reappeared. Under the guidance of the supreme elemental void, a concrete outline of Gungnir emerged from the void energy. A lightning spear so violent that it seemed like it wanted to pierce through the heavens and the earth appeared in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Then it struck! Bang! The Great Wall''s shadow surged, and a fissure emerged from within the fog. Countless streams of light flew out and repaired the cracks. Somewhere far away terrible raging waves gathered together. This was the Great Wall''s automatic defense system. But soon, Gungnir struck again. As the loud roar rang out, Ye Qingxuan cast out Yunlou Qingshu''s beacon, and it stuck into the invisible crack. Because of this, a great deal of Heaven Ladder Music Theory burst out. In a flash, it extended a great distance towards the core arrays of the Great Wall. Outflow, creation, formation, activity... It pierced through the four elements. Hermes''s alchemy worked together with the Ye family music theory that had been established when the Great Wall was built, coordinating both inside and out to open up a huge gap in the front of the Great Wall. A narrow vortex emerged in the rolling fog, with electricity curling within it, as if it was a crack that would lead to hell. Without thinking, Ye Qingxuan jumped into it, letting the darkness engulf him. The fleeting vortex crashed shut behind him, and the New Testament Sword protected him from enough pressure to crush flesh into dust. Ye Qingxuan saw countless streams of light flying before his eyes. As far as the Great Wall was concerned, this guy who had come in through the back door was undoubtedly a virus that had infiltrated its circulatory system. It immediately launched its defensive measures, and music theory intertwined to form the image of a bronze drum. A great wind blew, and thunder roared. The wind and thunder laughed, and lightning cut down like an ax. Armageddon! This was the punishment that the East imposed on forbidden musicians, the eternal shackles set by the Bloodline of the Dragon. After the supplementation of dozens of generations, there was no exemption even for those of the Bloodline. Once you violated it, it would be like a maggot in your bones. It would not rest and it would not die! "Aren''t I just knocking down a wall?" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Why does it need to be so ruthless?" He raised the New Testament Sword and brought the blade down, and music theory clearly and nimbly cut off the links that entangled him to the outside world. In the end, Ye Qingxuan had become nothing more than a simple "hole" in the Great Wall. There was no echo or resonance, all noise and music theory was absorbed. He slipped effortlessly through layers and layers of barricades. The lightning of armageddon swirled around him, brushing past him continuously. At its closest, it still was a little distance away. Even so, it gradually honed in on Ye Qingxuan''s position, shrinking in towards the center. "Tsk!" Ye Qingxuan frowned but could do nothing but prepare to resist it. In the end, Armageddon suddenly came to a standstill and then collapsed, strangely disappearing right before the life and death struggle began. And behind layers of electricity, a blurred phantom emerged amid countless streams of light. It had no face, no contours, it did not even seem like a human figure, but for a fleeting moment, it formed a coincidental pattern, throwing Ye Qingxuan''s will into turmoil. It was like a switch had been pressed. In a flash his mind became unsteady and he lost control of himself. There was not even space left in his mind for him to be shocked. Trees, the sea, fish a series of completely different images appeared in his mind. In the end, they pointed to traces of something that he had long before pushed into the deepest part of his memory. He inexplicably remembered; he remembered the phantom that had appeared beside him when he had opened the musician''s door and burned his Dream of a Millennium. It was nothing more than an inflexible memory, but at that moment, it came alive. The musician with features similar to his own walked out of the stillness and nodded at him with a smile. He seemed to be greeting him. He was telling him: I''m here. Then, the series of images and thoughts fell apart and disintegrated once again. His turbulent mind re-stabilized as if nothing had happened. All that was left of what had just happened was a hint of stress. But Ye Qingxuan could not help but think of what the phantom had asked him. Do you regret it? A new meaning to the question that had haunted him for so long had appeared in that moment. Even though the phantom had no ill-intent, and had even helped him to overcome armageddon, it still made him uneasy. "Was it the Millennium Fate?" He remembered Yunlou Qingshu''s demented words, and he grew irritated. The thing he hated most was people who seemed to know everything yet said nothing. Always with a mysterious smile and condescending look, as if they were watching a drama that they had long since seen through, staring at him like he was a puppet to be pushed towards its ultimate fate. Screw your freaking Spring and Autumn Dream! Ye Qingxuan snorted, shook his head, and stopped thinking about it. That trick would only work once, like a letter being stuffed through the crack in a door. After Ye Qingxuan put up his guard, it wouldn''t be effective anymore. He had already made up his mind. He ignored everything else. He had already done enough for this world. No one could manage the floods that would come after he died, why should he have to manage some d*mn problems from thousands of years ago? At that moment he pierced through the Great Wall and broke through the clouds. The first thing he saw was the dried up wasteland beneath the dark clouds. A thousand miles of yellow sand stretched out as far as the eye could see, and faint yellow dust floated in the air. The distant ground was still covered in cracks, both large and small as far as the eye could see. There was even a great spot; pitch black, like it had been scorched by the blazing sun. "Where is this?" The first thing Ye Qingxuan felt was frustration. Had he gone the wrong way? Where was the legendary picturesque scenery? The beautiful mountains and rivers? What was going on? Forget pines and cypresses, there was not even grass on the ground! More importantly, the group of people on the ground what were they doing? As Ye Qingxuan descended and looked down upon them, piercing through dust and sand, he finally saw the chaotic darkness on the ground clearly. It was a myriad of densely packed figures, entangled with each other and groaning and roaring. A bright red color ran through this barren world. Among the killing, a throbbing power surged through their blood and became tangled together. It attacked invisibly, advancing at every stage. Music theory intertwined with other music theory, vying for control of the physical world. It was a battle Outside the killing field, two groups of musicians competed for control of the battlefield, calling down fire and thunder or sending out mana. A countless number of musician''s music theory overlapped with each other, tangled together, forming a chaotic torrent amidst the tug of war. As Ye Qingxuan descended, a beam of light blazing like a meteor appeared in the sky. Dozens of waves of aether had already locked onto him, and music theory stretched out towards him. "Wait!" Ye Qingxuan was dumbfounded. At this moment, the battlefield was hanging by a thread. Everyone was striving with all their might to kill, and they were determined to not let any cracks appear in their armor. Facing the meteor descending from the sky, the first thing that appeared in the minds'' of musicians on both sides was confusion. Is he on our side? No. Then... Surrounded by the power of Gungnir and the Net of Aether as he descended from the sky, Ye Qingxuan seemed to have become the enemy of both sides at the same time. As a result, the musicians on both sides sent out a devastating attack towards the sky at once. It was like a replay of the battle with the sea fortress several months before. But this time the one who faced the copious amounts of movements was Ye Qingxuan. D*mn it! Ye Qingxuan''s expression changed suddenly. He finally understood why the Great Wall was so weak here. It was because all of the Great Wall''s power here was tied up in blocking off the aftereffects of this battle, and could not cope with an external assault. As a result, he was able to enter it as he pleased. He never would have thought that the place that he entered was not an empty room, but a battlefield between two gangs! Facing the incoming attack, Ye Qingxuan''s first reaction was to work in tandem with the Net of Aether to help him block the tidal offensive. But he did not expect that there would be no response from the Net of Aether. He could not even feel it through the Great Wall. Ah, they had broken the net sure enough! Ye Qingxuan pondered and immediately became puzzled. Huh? Why did I say "sure enough"? There was no time to pay attention to the confusion in his heart. Fortunately, he still had the New Testament Sword beside him. Hold up the foundations of the earth and prop up the dome of heaven. In a flash, Ye Qingxuan hid in a fault of aether, as if he was sailing a broken ship that was lashed by heavy wind and rain. Although this attack seemed terrifying, it lacked decisiveness. It had only quantity, which was not enough to damage him. It was looked a little embarrassing for him. Facing the roaring attacks that came one after another, Ye Qingxuan did not dare continue towards the center of the battlefield. Abandoning his prodigious strength, he forced himself to descend in a different direction. As swift as lightning, he felt himself streak across a huge arc in the sky, passing over the vast battlefield. Wrapped in the residual power of Gungnir and the Net of Aether, Ye Qingxuan felt himself burst through layer after layer of barriers until he fell into a building. He was like a meteorite. Shockwaves burst out with a roar. As dust flew all around, Ye Qingxuan coughed violently and climbed out of the deep hole. He saw an old man in front of him. In the shattered building, he enjoyed the protection of two musicians. He looked down at Ye Qingxuan and looked surprised. "In all my years I''ve never seen somebody try to meet me like this." He looked at Ye Qingxuan, whose head and face was covered with dust, shook his head and sighed. "Truly original!" Ye Qingxuan frustratedly looked at him and his luxurious robe. Under the protection of the enchantment, his black robe had not gotten any dust on it. It was trimmed with black gold, majestic and severe. He couldn''t help but look around. All he could see outside the building were layers and layers of musicians surrounding the place. In the void, he could faintly see the fluctuations of several Scepters locking onto him with terrifying killing intent. Ye Qingxuan''s face twitched. He was screwed! Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. "Where is this place?" He looked at the old man. "It''s a battlefield, of course, Ye Qingxuan." The old man chuckled softly, like he knew him. "This is my camp. You don''t even know where it is that you fell?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. "Then you are..." Before he had finished speaking, he finally checked his mental atlas and recognized the man before him. "Bai Heng?" 760 Rebellion If Ye Qingxuan kept a diary, the contents of the day''s entry would definitely be very strange: On the first day of arriving in the East, I broke through the Great Wall, descended from the sky, and fell onto the battlefield. Both sides fired at me at the same time, and I had to cover my face and scurry away embarrassingly. Then, I slammed into the enemy''s headquarters, and the central tent of the enemy collapsed under my weight. No, actually, if I fell slightly to one side, I could have crushed the commander and brought victory to the other side. Then I climbed out of the pit and saw a goddamn old man. Bai Heng. Bai Heng, the Regent. A treacherous traitor, with wild ambition like a tiger or wolf... His name was always followed by 100,000 titles absolutely unpleasant to the ear, and they were all synonymous to the term "rebel." If the present ruler had been a man, then other accusations of stealing the sovereignty of the nation, treating his own word as law, and holding the nobles hostage would have probably been spread everywhere. But for Ye Qingxuan, the affairs of the East had nothing to do with him at all. As for why he wanted, for a moment, to kill the old man, it was because the latter once took Bai Xi away from him in the Sacred City. To a certain extent, Bai Heng could be considered to have helped Ye Qingxuan become who he was at the moment. Had he not been provoked by Bai Heng, Ye Qingxuan would probably still be a small musician who was getting by in Anglo, striving to stay away from power and disputes, his possessions constantly being robbed by others. So, as a thank you gift, how about death by being torn limb from limb while being tied to five horses galloping in different directions? For the elderly, death by being cut into a thousand pieces seemed a bit too cruel and inhumane. It would be best to choose a sufficiently comfortable method of death. How about ten feet of white silk, a glass of poisoned wine, or the simple and direct way of cutting his head off? Or, even more straightforwardly, blast him into pieces in an instant with From the New World! Although he arranged countless ways for this "kind old uncle" to die in a flash, Ye Qingxuan did not act recklessly. As for the reason why, the other party knew that it was he who fell from the sky, yet still dared to come forward. Clearly, the old man was counting on something he didn''t know. What was more, Ye Qingxuan always had doubts about Bai Heng''s true identity. What actually was the Duke of the Dragon Bloodline, the Regent of Aurora, the head of House Bai? A freak created by humans, or the legendary... Tung Wang Kung? Before him might be a being of the same status as Hermes, another of the Three Wise Men, that won the final victory by putting an end to the other''s existence after countless years of fighting. A catastrophe in human skin. Thinking of it, Ye Qingxuan felt his head aching. Shouldn''t an old monster of such a high difficulty level walk out of the palace laughing loudly only after I experience countless hardships, defeat the tigers, lions, and elephants blocking my path, and fight various opponents level by level, all the way from minions to the eight pillars of the country [1] and the four heavenly kings [2]? Why has he appeared right in front of my eyes as soon as I entered Aurora? At the moment, it is not about what I want to do, but what the other party wants to do. Bai Heng did nothing. To be exact, he simply reached out and pulled Ye Qingxuan out of the pit, motioning for his servants to leave. He withdrew the troops encircling the young man. Even the scepter musicians hiding in the air were dismissed. It was as if they were uncle and nephew, having a heart to heart conversation. Smiling, he invited Ye Qingxuan to take a seat opposite him, his smile kind. "Have some tea?" As he said so, he personally lifted the teapot and poured Ye Qingxuan a cup of mud, full of dust and debris from the roof beam. Bai Heng was momentarily stunned, but for some reason unknown, it was Ye Qingxuan who felt awkward. Ah, indeed, it''s my fault for falling from the sky Otherwise, everyone should have started praising the high-quality tea leaves. "Better not drink it then, just put it here." Bai Heng shook his head. "It isn''t bad as a decoration." So, in a room full of cracks with a big hole in the ceiling, the two sat in the chairs beside the big pit. A stream of sunlight shone through the big hole above, and the wind carried the faint noise of men fighting from afar. Dust fell from the ceiling into the cups in front of the two. Ignoring the godd*mn environment, they both pretended that they were sitting opposite each other in an elegant and clean tea room. It was extraordinarily awkward. "So, by the looks of it, you have finally rebelled?" Ye Qingxuan looked to his side, at the sand table that was half smashed by his weight, the half of which was also overturned and crushed by the air pressure as a result of his fall, and his expression became mocking. "The way I phrase it, you may not believe me." Bai Heng''s expression was weird. "Actually, it was Her Majesty who rebelled." "..." Ye Qingxuan was silent and speechless. He had never seen such a brazen person. "It''s true, or rather, I should say that I am the one who has been working hard to pick up the pieces for her all along. Otherwise, how could Her Majesty get rid of all the deep-rooted evils in the short period of slightly more than ten years?" Bai Heng sighed and shrugged. "Unfortunately, I have too much power and influence, and Her Majesty cannot tolerate my existence anymore. Otherwise, it would have become a much-told tale of a praise-worthy relationship between a ruler and her courtier." "Ha, you can boast all you like." Ye Qingxuan snickered, "Rebel against herself, is the empress really that dumb?" "Yes." Bai Heng nodded, and his smile became odd. "Can you guess what Her Majesty did?" "What did she do?" Ye Qingxuan had a bad feeling. "Everyone knows that the present empress has promoted the status of plebeians and commoner musicians... That''s alright, but the main point is" Bai Heng was silent for a moment, then lamented, "It is very troublesome to explain the various initiatives to you, but only a few months ago, everyone finally knew that her real intention was to abolish the establishment of the nine families of Dragon Bloodline. Mhmm, yes, she intends to completely abolish the enfeoffment system of the nine families of Dragon Bloodline." "..." Ye Qingxuan was silent. He went through stages of confusion, stupefaction, puzzlement, surprise, then finally shock. As if he saw the lords and ministers pole dancing in front of him, he widened his eyes and looked at Bai Heng. Friend, what did you say? "Ah, you didn''t hear me wrong." Bai Heng said calmly, "Her Majesty has high ambitions. She is not targeting my House Bai specifically, but also House Liu, House Yuan, House Changsun, House Yunlou, House Ye in one go. Even House Lou and House Qin, which have disappeared to God knows where a long time ago, with her own royal family, all will be abolished together. "Truly a ruler of unparalleled wisdom, how very admirable." Ye Qingxuan didn''t have to look in a mirror to know that, at the moment, he must have looked as if he had seen a ghost. Indeed, as Bai Heng said... Her Majesty has rebelled! Others have rebelled against the throne, but she actually wants to rebel against herself! What is going on in her mind! "In short, now all the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline are on my side." Bai Heng''s fingers tapped the teacup. "Now showing is the advance of the army of the coalition of the six feudatories to the capital to ''serve the throne'' and ''rid the empress of evil ministers'' [3]. How is it? Do you like the show?" Like... your *ss! What the hell! I''ve come over with the intention of keeping a low profile and bringing my cousin back to Anglo, why have I run into such a goddamn situation! "Speaking of which, it''s all thanks to the fragment of the Wheel of Balance that I brought back." Bai Heng said calmly, "I didn''t expect Her Majesty to use the Wheel of Balance and the Great Wall to completely block Aurora off from the outside world in one night. I''m afraid that no one outside can guess what''s going on here?" No, only the devil would be able to guess what has happened here! And everyone thinks that you are the fella who has launched a coup! In the end, you''ve actually become the empress'' scapegoat? Ye Qingxuan felt complicated. The treacherous traitor is actually maintaining the orthodoxy That being said, the orthodoxy is a pretty awful one after all. However, what on earth is Her Majesty thinking of when she just abolished the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline that have existed for centuries? Disregarding the ridiculousness Ye Qingxuan felt in his heart, as if he had f*cked a dog, Bai Heng tapped on the teacup, humming a melody. He glanced at Ye Qingxuan, half smiling. "If my guess is not wrong, you are here to look for Bai Xi?" "Why?" Ye Qingxuan''s gaze turned cold. "Are you afraid that I''m here to avenge Hermes?" "Well, kinda." Bai Heng nodded. "We are presently within five steps of each other. Anyone can deal as much damage as that dealt by the forces of an entire country under such circumstances. I heard that you have stirred up a lot of trouble in the outside world. If you attempt to assassinate me now, I will most probably meet an unfavorable outcome, won''t I?" "Rest assured, even if I wanted to kill you, it has nothing to do with Hermes." Ye Qingxuan kept his eyes low. "If he hadn''t wanted to die, you couldn''t have killed him." Bai Heng was silent for a moment and slowly nodded. "You are right." "So, where is Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him. "I''ll put an end to the grudge between us someday later, but now I want to take Bai Xi with me and leave." "Unfortunately, Bai Xi is not here." Bai Heng shrugged. "You see, I have rebelled. As a hostage to the imperial city, Bai Xi must have been taken captive immediately. "But rest assured, Her Majesty the Empress also likes her very much, and she knows that it is useless to kill her. Bai Xi is still alive. Perhaps there''s meat at her table for three meals a day, and she may even have gained a pound or two." The sound of metal colliding burst forth from the air, and a harsh noise sounded. Sparks flew in front of Bai Heng. The incorporeal blade was barely an inch away from the Regent''s neck. "As you can see, although I am a member of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline, actually, I am not even a musician." Bai Heng sighed. "Lacking any ability for self-protection makes one extraordinarily afraid of death. So, it is also normal for me to have some kind of precaution in place, am I right?" The sparks went out and the incorporeal blade disappeared. Indifferent to the cold look on Ye Qingxuan''s face, Bai Heng smiled happily and leaned forward a little, placing himself right in front of Ye Qingxuan. He looked at him with an exceptionally kind gaze. "Ye Qingxuan, look, I can make the decision to give you Bai Xi''s hand in marriage, how about that? As a dowry, I will give you the fief of House Bai as well, and help you rebuild House Ye." Ye Qingxuan wore an indifferent expression. "I''m sorry, I have no interest in rebuilding House Ye, and I don''t want to get involved in the war between you and the empress." "What are you even thinking about!" Bai Heng''s expression turned unhappy, as if he felt that he was underestimated. "Bai Xi is my daughter. Do I seem like the same type of person as Yunlou Qingshu, who uses his daughters to seek allies for himself? "Furthermore, why on earth would one let his son-in-law go into battle? I can''t hope for anything more than a long and lasting marriage for you two. If anything happens to you, Bai Xi couldn''t even be a grass widow, could she? " He looked at Ye Qingxuan seriously, his expression solemn. "I am willing to marry my daughter to you, and of course, it''s because you love each other. Ye Qingxuan, what makes you think that I''m not capable of helping others to fulfill their cherished hopes?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Ha. Ha. Which punctuation in your sentence should I believe in? [4] Helping others to fulfill their cherished hopes? Is this phrase even in your dictionary? If word gets out, will anyone in the world who has a brain believe it? [1] Eight well-known generals of the Western Wei dynasty. [2] Four gods in Buddhism. [3] Subtle ways of saying "stage a coup d''tat," or more precisely, the staging of a coup that, if successful, would result in the ruler losing power yet maintaining a ceremonial role. For it is the belief of the ancient Chinese that the emperor could do no wrong, hence, any regrettable decisions he made must have been the results of the persuasion of "evil" ministers, who would become the scapegoats in such a coup. [4] Adapted from a Chinese meme that literally translates as "One can''t even believe in one punctuation out of the sentences a man has said," which means, usually in a humorous way, that men cannot be trusted. 761 The Cat and I Are Not Going Ou It might be easy to talk about extending a helping hand, but actually doing so was much harder. Especially when these words were coming out of Bai Heng''s mouth; they sounded like a joke. Perhaps Bai Heng really did have a conscience or he might really have meant one or two of the things that he said, but Ye Qingxuan would never be so na?ve as to think that he would be on the receiving end of such privilege. Therefore, the problem was figuring out just what exactly Bai Heng was thinking. Ye Qingxuan looked at him from head to toe, as if he was meeting him for the first time. He asked curiously, "Be honest, Bai Heng. Did something happen to your brain?" Bai Heng did not seem upset. He continued to smile warmly. "What are you talking about, young man? My body is as healthy as can be." "Then, why are doing this?" "Because I love her!" Bai Heng replied respectfully, "Bai Xi is now my daughter and is the only descendant of the Bai family. Naturally, I love her. Ye Qingxuan, if it''s possible, I hope she will become the next Empress." Ye Qingxuan sighed. He was really tired. "Stop lying, Bai Heng." He shook his head impatiently. "People like you and Gaius can''t love others. You don''t even love yourselves." "How cruel of you to say that, Ye Qingxuan. I am already so old. I can''t believe you are not going to save even a little bit of face for me." Ye Qingxuan was indifferent. "Were you expecting me to give you face?" From a distance away, the screaming finally stopped. In its place was a more subtle howl of despair. As the drums continued to beat, the war had been halted for the time being. Bai Heng stood up and patted Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder nonchalantly as if the former was the latter''s elder. "It''s a pity that we did not manage to reach a common consensus." He continued, "The war has already ended. If you don''t mind, I''m afraid I will have to take my leave now. Oh yes, although you are not willing to cooperate, I didn''t mean to restrain you either. It is entirely up to you whether you wish to stay or leave. But it''s getting late. You may as well stay here and rest. I can ask someone to take you to your room. Later, when you have the time, you can come and join our celebration banquet. How about that?" With that, he tidied his clothes and left without waiting for Ye Qingxuan''s reply. Ye Qingxuan kept quiet and continued to sit amongst the dust. He was still trying to figure out just what Bai Heng had up his sleeves. Very soon, a massive figure appeared in front of him. He was so enormous that his shadow covered Ye Qingxuan completely. It was a man who was so huge and towering that it was almost not humanly possible. He was wearing a black robe and was exuding a bloody aura. He lowered his head to look at Ye Qingxuan with a blank expression on his face. "Mr. Ye, My Lord has asked me to bring you to your resting place. Please follow me." "Very well." Ye Qingxuan got up and walked beside him. When he carefully inspected this man from head to toe, he noticed that despite his expressionless face, there was a hint of enmity that was hidden very well. Others might dismiss this feeling as a hallucination as it was barely present, but as the lord of the Ye family, Ye Qingxuan had picked up a very unique Heart technique from Ye Lanzhou. This technique did not require the use of aether to decipher the emotions of others. Instead, it relied on body language and microexpressions to carry out "profiling." Although such half-baked techniques were rarely used, they were unusually useful in strange circumstances. It was just like how he managed to read Ludovic''s expression in the Sacred City in the past. Right now, he could sense a baffling enmity using his half-baked profiling technique. This could only mean one thing: that the murderous intent of this person was so clear that it could not simply be set aside. To be more accurate, this person was probably feeling conflicted because even if he might dislike Ye Qingxuan, there was no way the former could finish off the latter. "How may I address you?" Ye Qingxuan asked calmly. The towering man''s expression remained unchanged and he replied simply, "Jiu Ying." "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded his head, then realized that he did not recognize this person. Who is he? I''ve never heard of him before. Forget it, there are too many people in this world that I will never know. Surely, not everyone is going to like me? Ye Qingxuan began to smile to himself and even started to whistle. There was cheering from a distance away as if victory had returned. Compared to the party that the feudal allied army was having, the palace at night was completely shrouded in an air of devastating fog. Especially outside of the door of the palace, the blood-red stains could not be washed off no matter how hard they tried, and the sight would send chills down anyone''s spine. After the previous months, the war had spread almost all the way across Aurora. The Empress and feudal lords each had their small victories, but overall, the army that was loyal to the Empress still held the upper hand. The feudal allied army had greater numbers, but their soldiers were a mixture of high and low statuses. Unfortunately, whatever advantage the Empress''s army had was lost when Zijing Pass was taken. Not only had they lost the advantage that they had been striving so hard for, but they also lost the most crucial of the three internal passes. Next, if the feudal allied army could take down Tianmen Pass, they would be able to march all the way in and station their troops beneath the city. About 45 minutes ago, when the news of the defeat came through, the entire capital instantly fell into sorrow and despair. Wei Wang, who was responsible for putting down the rebellion, was immediately dragged out of the palace to be beheaded as a warning to others. Suddenly, there were all sorts of rumors flying everywhere. Some people said that Wei Wang had accepted Bai Heng''s bribe of a great fortune and pretty ladies to secretly work with the feudal allied army, resulting in the defeat of Zijing Pass. Others also said that the allied army had made use of poison and underhanded means to get rid of the commanders that guarded the Pass, hence allowing them to take over the Pass. Some people even said that, in front of the two armies, Bai Heng had prayed to the sky and enumerated the ten greatest crimes committed by the Empress after the latter had been hoodwinked by backstabbers. The sky was enraged and sent down an angel to help break through the defenses of Zijing Pass. There were simply all sorts of nonsense everywhere! However, what made the situation stranger was that whenever such incidents happened, there should be a lot of insecurity and talking and whispering happening behind the scenes of the palace, but right now, there was nothing. There was not even a single ripple, much less any waves. It was like a massive machine that did not stop functioning just because of some temporal losses and obstacles. Instead, it was ramping up its motor to operate at an even higher level and a storm seemed to be brewing in silence. Very soon, there was news of the arrival of reinforcements and the donation of 20,000 stones of grain and other crops by wealthy merchants. On top of that, a number of musicians, that had been loyal to Her Majesty, all achieved a breakthrough to the scepter level one after another. In addition, 10,000 sets of armor mysteriously appeared in the armory out of nowhere. In total, not only did the Empress''s army not weaken, but it even became much stronger. In an instant, there was a chill in the hearts of the observers. Fear. Fear, not of Bai Heng, but of Her Majesty. What was this all about? A good omen sent from heaven? Typically, wouldn''t heaven only send minimal and simple aid? Since when did it start sending reinforcements and grain, or musicians and equipment? Or had Her Majesty been preparing for this day all along? In an instant, everyone looked terribly solemn. They could not help it. Just before Wei Wang was beheaded, his horrible screams and the look of disbelief on his face were etched in the memories of those that were present. When his head was finally cut off, both of his eyes were so wide open with hatred that they almost popped out of the eye sockets. It was hard to listen to all the nasty things that he was cursing as he was about to be beheaded. He would probably become a vengeful spirit after his death. No one could have imagined that Wei Wang, who had controlled the military, would be killed so simply. It was like killing a chicken. Victories and defeats were common occurrences in war. Although losing Zijing Pass was a major defeat, the war was not lost yet. Although Wei Wang might be at fault for the defeat, he could still perform other meritorious deeds to redeem himself. Besides, Wei Wang was the Empress''s uncle and held the power and control of the military. Yet at the end of the day, he was killed just like that. Without a sound. All the old followers did not make a sound. Before the news of Wei Wang''s death could spread, the power and control of the military had been completely taken over by this Empress. Other than one or two stubborn fellows who were determined to give Wei Wang a proper funeral, the rest chose to bow their heads to Her Majesty obediently. Before there could be any chance of chaos or rebellion, it was put to a complete stop right from the beginning. This was far from over, and in fact, it was only the beginning. Only now did everyone realize that this was a cleansing. A complete and thorough cleansing. Within half an hour, six out of the nine ministers and three councilors of state had already been changed! It was swift and decisive. This Empress was no longer mild and warm like she had always been. Instead, she was finally showing her cruel and violent side as she wrestled over control of all the powers that escaped her previously. On this night, countless people in the capital could barely fall asleep out of fear. Bai Xi had no idea if other people were having trouble falling asleep, but she had no trouble whatsoever. She might be a prisoner, but she was living and eating well, so much so that she showed no respect to the Empress, who had just disturbed her sleep. Her actions were more brazen and disrespectful than ever. Her actions seemed to be guided by an adrenaline rush that originated from the fact that she had nothing more to lose anyway. "What a pity. You are still too early by a decade." Bai Xi yawned and was mocking the Empress over the defeat, "No, perhaps with another five years, the outcome might not have turned out so badly?" "Actually, another three years will do." The Empress''s face was one of indifference, as if she could not care less about the outcome of the war. "It''s a pity. I thought that I had hidden it well, yet in the end, I still underestimated Bai Heng." Wei Wang''s defeat was not a crime. If someone else was in his position, where one was to face the feudal allied army that was attacking with full force, mistakes were inevitable. The fact that they did not lose the entire army and that a portion was salvaged was proof of Wei Wang''s ability to adapt and adjust on the spot. In the end, he still paid the price of defeat with his life. "How cruel. That was your last uncle, right?" Bai Xi glanced at her. "Back then, when you first took the throne, everyone opposed it, but he was the only one that supported you. He was the one who helped you during your most difficult times. And now, all he wanted was just a little bit of power. Why so cruel?" "Because he lost." The Empress was calm. "Besides, I had already given him a chance before. He left me with no other choice." Bai Xi chuckled outrightly. She was not showing the Empress any respect whatsoever. "Yes, yes, yes. It was Wei Wang who sought his own death. Your Majesty is always right." The Empress was never upset. Actually, everyone around the Empress could not figure out why the Empress would adore the daughter of a renegade so much. Everyone knew how ambitious her father was, yet the Empress did not seem too concerned about keeping her so close. She even used the only remaining music theory and movement in the royal family to extend a helping hand to her. Now that Bai Heng had rebelled, Bai Xi was his daughter yet not only had she not been beheaded, but she was also allowed to live comfortably in the palace. She was so well-fed that she had even put on weight. Could it be that she was not the adopted daughter of Bai Heng but the real daughter of Her Majesty? After all, Her Majesty was 32 this year, so it seemed somewhat reasonable that she could have a daughter of this age? Recently, such rumors had been spreading around the palace like wildfire. Even when the Empress heard about them, she merely laughed without going into any explanation. This only made everyone look at Bai Xi more strangely than before. And now, the servant, who was standing nearby, could not help but tremble at the Empress''s words. "If it were you, what would you have done to Wei Wang?" "Of course, I would have beheaded him," Bai Xi answered automatically without a second thought. "Then, how does that make you different from me?" "Of course, there''s a difference." There was a serious look on Bai Xi''s face. "You killed him to carry out law and order, and to wrest control of power. I would have killed him because he was always imposing his ideas on others just because he was older. It annoys me." The Empress shook her head and sighed as if she had just heard a child make a joke. "Bai Xi, power is not a toy." "No, power is just a toy," Bai Xi replied curtly. "It should always have been your toy. It''s just that you have now become its slave." "How unbecoming." The Empress took a glance at her with a look of pity on her face. "You are still so young. Why are you growing to become a tyrant?" "What you said isn''t too accurate, Your Majesty." Bai Xi smiled and continued, "In comparison, isn''t it more terrifying if one is born a wise ruler?" Bang! A finger struck her head and she became unconscious immediately. There was no rage nor dissatisfaction. It was just like punishing a naughty child. It was just a simple knock that resulted in a small swelling. "Looks like you must be so free that you have forgotten your position." The Empress shook her head helplessly. "It''s just nice that, for the past two days since the cat has left you, it has been shedding fur and scratching my clothes. The two of you shall rely on each other from now on." She said nothing more and got up to leave. The palace maids followed quickly behind, and in the blink of an eye, the room was completely empty except for Bai Xi and the fat cat that had been left on the table. "What a weird woman, isn''t that right, kitty?" Bai Xi pouted and picked up the fat cat. She began to hum a song. "Come, let''s not worry about her and go to sleep!" Night had fallen. 762 The Real Thing He didn''t sleep well that night. The sky had just begun to light up. Ye Qingxuan sat in a chair by the door, watching people in the camp going back and forth, and thinking about what he should do next. In the chaotic East, the civil war in the Empire of Aurora was like a raging fire. Ye Qingxuan had declined the invitation to the feast last night and had dinner at his residence alone. He had refused all invitations from the various patriarchs. He did not want to get pulled into too many relationships here. Especially not with Bai Heng. Unfortunately, things were often not as he wished. "The third son of the Zhangsun family, Zhangsun Jingming, here to see Master Ye." The blue-eyed young man stood before him, blocking the light. Ye Qingxuan looked up at him, "What is it?" Zhangsun Jingming grinned and made an elegant, polite bow with both hands clasped. "I myself have little talent, as so I would venture to ask Master Ye for some advice." "You shouldn''t. I can''t play the piano, play chess, or paint, and I haven''t the energy for poetry, writing, etiquette or music." Ye Qingxuan waved his hand. "Unless you are consulting me about mechanical engineering or history of the dark age musicians, you should find somebody else." Zhangsun Jingming was not dissuaded and still maintained his bow. "I''ve heard that you have an illustrious reputation in the West and that you are in control of the present situation there. You are called the Hand of God, as well as bear the title of Grand Inquisitor and the crown of the King of Yellow. I wonder if I could receive the honor of receiving some instruction in music theory from you?" "Forget it, I can''t teach you anything. Really." Ye Qingxuan sighed helplessly. "And the weather is so bad today. It looks like it''s going to rain, and it''s still early in the morning. And with all this fighting and killing, it''s no good." Zhangsun Jingming looked up and wrinkled his brow. For some reason, he sighed softly. "Either way, Your Excellency is not willing to teach me?" "Mhm." Zhangsun Jingming''s expression became could. "Are you scared?" "Mhm." Ye Qingxuan yawned listlessly. "As you can see, I''m a thief who gained fame through undeserved means. Now you see what I truly am, why bother?" Zhangsun Jingming closed his eyes. When he opened them again he had a dejected look on his face. "Forgive my intrusion." He lifted his hands, and the image of the huqin [1] Moon in the Well appeared behind him. Thunder and lightning brewed within it, giving the impression that Armageddon would reappear. The harsh sound rose into the sky. In a flash, frost appeared on the muddy ground. The rain that had fallen last night froze into the soil, condensing into fine, delicate ice crystals which intertwined and spread out in all directions. Then it suddenly stopped. The projection of the inherited artifact Moon in the Well was hidden, and its music theory disappeared without a trace. Armageddon had no time to appear and was thus nipped in the bud. The frozen ice crystals melted and the morning dew evaporated. "It doesn''t matter." Ye Qingxuan reached out and grasped his hand that was still held stiffly in the air. He smiled in a friendly manner. "I forgive you." Zhangsun Jingming''s face twitched slightly. He felt chilled down to the bottom of his heart. He did not dare to move. After a while, he finally relaxed and staggered back a few steps, smiling bitterly and cupping his hands in front of his chest. "The light of a firefly cannot compare to that of the moon." Ye Qingxuan ignored him as he looked at the girl who was watching them from not far away. "How about you? Do you want to try too?" "No need." Liu Ran, who he had once met in the Ultimate, rose slightly. "I myself do not dare to strike you." "If there''s nothing else, why don''t you get out of here?" Ye Qingxuan sighed and waved his hand at the young people not far away. "If you have something to do, go do it. Don''t bother me. I came here to look, not to buy anything. There''s no need to be so enthusiastic." The young people smiled bitterly and looked at each other. Last night, they had thought long and hard about the war. They knew that he could make a big difference, but they had never thought that Ye Qingxuan would not get involved. They had thought that with the inherited artifacts in their hands, how could the heroes of the world have any tricks left? As a result, they had lost before they had even drawn their weapons. They had lost terribly. Everyone on the battlefield suddenly felt a strong sense of frustration. Among them, after a moment of silence, someone came forward carrying a sword. "I am the eldest son of the Yuan family, Yuan He." He nodded towards Ye Qingxuan and clenched the hilt. "I would also ask Master Ye to instruct me." Ye Qingxuan could not help but sigh. "Fine, I''ll give you three moves if you can move me one step, you win." Yuan He''s expression changed, but he immediately suppressed his indignation, though his eyes went cold. "Then may the best man win." He went to draw his sword, but the hilt was held by a hand and he could not get it out. The hand was as firm as a rock, firmly pressing the sword into the scabbard. He looked back in shock and saw his grandfatherYuan Changqing. "You should just admit the gap between the two of you, and not get tangled up in this like some hoodlum." Yuan Changqing released him, and Yuan He bowed his head. He was not embarrassed, instead respectfully accepting his grandfather''s admonition. "Everybody, leave." Yuan Changqing waved his hand and everyone retreated a few steps. But they did not leave as he had asked, but instead gathered at a distance, looking on curiously. They watched Ye Qingxuan in the door and the old man in front of him. "Don''t bully the children, Ye Qingxuan." Yuan Changqing''s white hair was tied up casually behind his head. He rolled up his robe''s sleeves, revealing the blackened skin and scars on his arms. He looked at Ye Qingxuan expectantly. "Why don''t you try me?" "Why do you say I''ve been bullying children? It''s more like a group of kids are bullying me." Ye Qingxuan curled his lips and shook his head. "Besides, your position in your family is so high, isn''t this like the strong bullying the weak?" "But I don''t presume to be your better." Yuan Changqing pressed his hand against the ropes on the sword''s hilt, and his eyes narrowed slightly. "You are better at managing your fear than your father was." Ye Qingxuan was indifferent. "If you hadn''t brought him up, I''d be a little happier. Maybe I''d have even agreed." "Then let me see, you unfilial son who burned away all of his inheritance, what''s the difference between you and him?" Yuan Changqing grinned and no longer looked like a kindly old man, but like a man-eating beast, full of savagery. "There, I''ve said it. If you can''t avoid it, you will really die" Bang! The sound of metal scraping suddenly burst forth, and a ray of blazing light emerged from in front of Yuan Changqing, gathering together into a ray of harsh light and soft sound. It was like a bird, turning thousands of times each time you glimpsed at it. The sharpness of iron and the softness of steel were combined in the ray. It rose into higher dimensions and then fell. No one saw the simple, illusory sword in the old man''s hands until it fell. It was like silken music theory gathered together in the empty air, outlining the Cutting Sword Movement, revealing its pure form in the physical world. But it was also erratic and transparent. Only in the interplay of light and shadow could one see its terrible blade. Music theory spread out from the sword and fell into the void, binding Ye Qingxuan like a chain. Ye Qingxuan had already taken a step back. Dust rose up amid the sound of the house collapsing, and everyone was cowed by the fierceness of the image of the sword movement. They dared not rise up as they crawled meekly on the ground. The outline of the New Testament Sword appeared in Ye Qingxuan''s hands. A white scar appeared on the primitive yet elegant ridge of the sword, the mark left by Yuan Changqing''s sword. The scratch slowly closed, but the killing intent left in it could not be dissipated. It floated in the air, causing a crack to appear in the thawing frozen ground. They stood ten paces apart. 19 sword marks crisscrossed vertically and horizontally. Ye Qingxuan looked down and looked at the sword marks under his feet. He sighed softly. It was just like Yuan Changqing had said: If he couldn''t avoid it, he would have died. "Are we really doing this, old man? So annoying." He rubbed his forehead impatiently. In a flash, an illusion sprang out from beneath his feet, and then, with the New Testament Sword as a fulcrum, an endless sea appeared beneath him. This was not only the Ocean Abyss Symphony. The many illusory mysteries that the musicians of the Illusion Islands had created over the centuries appeared, forming out of thin air and covering Yuan Changqing layer by layer. In a flash, matter was distorted and the boundary between reality and illusion was blurred. Using the methods of orthodox musicians, he defended his advantageous position tenaciously and confined Yuan Changqing within illusions. Then music theory unfolded from within, layering over itself and wrapping around Yuan Changqing''s sword movement. It was like the rising and falling of the tides. It pushed, it pulled, making a single battle turn into thousands with respect to everything from the overall situation down to the details. In a flash, Yuan Changqing was attacked from every direction. This was truly a fatal move. He was still not willing to face Yuan Changqing''s cutting sword, so he pulled the irascible old man into the kind of music theory battle he was best at instead. A battle of countless details, pulling his whole body in, and giving him the feeling of being trapped in a net. But soon his expression changed. At this moment, among the thousands of conflicts, it seemed like there were thousands of skilled swordsmen responding to his attacks. Thousands of different sword spirits and sword movements had emerged from the Chun Jun sword. After dividing the sword that had been condensed as much as possible, he had never thought that one enemy would become a thousand, each one totally different from the next, but each of them equally hard to deal with and frightful. The sound breaking glass rang out. Then the illusion of the endless ocean abyss was broken with a roar. Yuan Changqing walked out from under 10,000 tons of pressure without any injury, and smiling mockingly at Ye Qingxuan, who had suffered a heavy loss. "You don''t think the Yuan family are all a bunch of boors who only know how to draw swords, do you?" He tilted his head and looked at Ye Qingxuan. "Actually, no matter if it is swordsmanship, movements or music theory, as long as it something that can kill someone, we can do it. So how long do you want to keep playing these sissy tricks?" Ye Qingxuan looked downcast for a moment. This old man was really despicable and annoying. And his words were poison, every sentence that he said was worse than the last. But the power under his control was ridiculously solid, and he could even use his sword technique to respond to a music theory attack, almost leaving Ye Qingxuan rolling in the gutter. If he hadn''t merely been counterattacking and breaking his illusions, Ye Qingxuan feared he would be even more troublesome. Now, Ye Qingxuan was finally irritated. "Alright." He raised the New Testament Sword and grinned at Yuan Changqing. "You want to see the real thing, then let''s see if you can take it!" A mighty melody sounded. Countless stars shone on the New Testament Sword''s blade, sending out a dazzling light. They appeared behind Ye Qingxuan, and layer after layer of murderous intentions locked onto Yuan Changqing. From the New World. After being separated from the Net of Aether by the Great Wall, Ye Qingxuan could not draw upon its massive stores of power. All that was left to him was the movements that he had prepared himself. In any case, the New Testament Sword''s load capacity had not been used up, and the movements could be held for six hours. In order to be prepared for any eventuality, Ye Qingxuan had put movements into the blade when he had free time, not fearing that they would go to waste. Now it was Yuan Changqing''s turn to enjoy them. "Yeah, that''s right." Facing the hundreds of blazing lights, Yuan Changqing laughed and cheered. "This is how it should be!" He raised Chun Jun, and it turned into a vast and mighty sun. A sword movement as fierce as blazing sunlight rose from his body and fell towards the endless stars! Blazing light pierced everyone''s eyes. [1] A Chinese two-stringed instrument 763 Clouds Follow the Dragon and Wind Follows the Tiger It was a clash between the stars and the sun. At the moment, a terrifying cloud of light rose high into the sky, suffusing through the entire military base and shrouding the heads of tens of thousands of people. The qi from the sword moved through it vertically and horizontally, and the musical movements undulated. The destructive pressure made everyone''s face pale. The closest spectators, namely the successors of the various houses, were already shaking, almost blown away by the pure gravitational force of the music theory. Yuan He took seven consecutive steps back, his expression shocked. Compared to his grandfather''s sword art, which surpassed supernatural forces like ghosts and gods, he was more afraid of Ye Qingxuan, and the power that erupted in a flash... It was a pure, crushing force. It was as if the ground was rising, and the sky was falling. The ground and the sky merged. Everything would be crushed into powder! In the rumble, the sword of the sun annihilated the endless stars, and it died out as well. A forlorn wail of metal colliding sounded. When the light dissipated, what everyone saw was the clash of the Chun Jun Sword and the New Testament Sword, the two swords parrying each other blade to blade. Yuan Changqing''s robe was torn, revealing the bronze skin below and the muscles that were so strong that they were completely unlike those of an old man, as well as the criss-crossed scars. The skin on the back of Ye Qingxuan''s hand also cracked, and streaks of scarlet blood seeped out from beneath the broken skin. Victory and defeat had not been decided. It was a tie. The two exchanged a look and withdrew their swords at the same time, then took a step back. "That was a good fight." Yuan Changqing flipped his wrist and slid the hot Chun Jun Sword into its sheath. He seemed to feel that the result was unsatisfactory and looked a little regretful. "Young people nowadays are really difficult to handle." At the moment, he got to enjoy the long-lost fulfillment and excitement, the joy of putting in all his efforts to fight against an opponent. However, Ye Qingxuan did not give it his all. He harbored no murderous intention, and he did not put all his chips, in the form of musical movements, on the table, nor did he intend to completely blast Yuan Changqing into pieces. Regard this, Ye Qingxuan only nodded. "You flatter me." The difficult one to handle is not me, but Yuan Changqing! At the moment, he had completely grasped how terrifying the old man was. Rather than to say that Yuan Changqing was a great swordsman, it would be better to say that he completely forged himself into a sword. A non-human item. Ye Qingxuan also felt extraordinarily unhappy about this: The old man sounded fierce, but in the end, he still held back. Against the power multiple times stronger than him, the sharp blade with an unparalleled ability to kill actually forcibly opened up a path, maintaining its undefeated status purely by relying on a skill that Ye Qingxuan could never ever match. For such a person, a power ten times stronger than his was nothing at all, even one of a hundred times or a thousand times longer could hardly be of any use. It had nothing to do with quantity. It won because of its "essence." Although the outcome had not been determined, and it was considered a tie, Ye Qingxuan knew it very well. If the two were to engage in a life-or-death battle at the moment, Yuan Changqing would have no chance of surviving, but Ye Qingxuan would definitely be the one to lose. It was because of the conflict between where they were coming from. One sought survival, while the other sought victory. When the two opposed each other, the winner and loser would be clear at a glance. The person seeking survival would live, while the person seeking victory would win. Just like how Ye Qingxuan loved to gamble unrestrainedly, so did Yuan Changqing, but although it was a gamble, all the same, the two wanted different things. Ye Qingxuan wanted to survive, while Yuan Changqing wanted his enemy to die! If one was to let him get within ten steps away from themselves, he would be as dangerous to one as the army of an entire country. No wonder everyone is afraid of getting into a scrap with the madmen of House Yuan. They are actually best at the style of attack that will cause the enemy to perish along with themselves! In such a friendly match with set rules, he probably couldn''t even use up to half of his power. Looking at Ye Qingxuan who was deep in thought, Yuan Changqing shook his head, dissatisfied. "Another one who thinks too much." The old man sighed melancholically and said to himself, "Why are there so many smart people in the world?" Ye Qingxuan smiled. "By trying to act smart, one can at least lead a slightly easier life." Yuan Changqing took a glance at him and completely lost any interest to have another go. He just waved his hand and turned to leave. He only paused in his steps when he walked past Yuan He, glancing at his eldest grandson. "Do you understand what you are weak at?" Yuan He looked down, his expression one of shame. "I have learned my lesson." "You d*mn child, you learn everything fast, and you learn everything well, but from whom have you learned to be so shrewd?" Yuan Changqing finally took a last look at him. "Don''t waste any more time learning sword movements, learn to be a bit dumber first." As he said so, he withdrew his gaze and left. A melancholic sigh sounded in the wind. "It''s really... lonely..." Ye Qingxuan stayed where he was, silently gazing in the direction where the old man''s figure had disappeared, thinking about God knew what. After a long time, he suddenly laughed softly and made a slight obeisance towards the direction of Yuan Changqing left. "Thank you for your guidance, Master Yuan." At the moment, he raised his head and looked up at the sky. Rain clouds gathered silently over the dark sky. As he reached out, the rain clouds rolled, and everyone saw the sky shaking. Rising from the ground, a hurricane was stirred up from beneath Ye Qingxuan''s feet, accompanied by a massive amount of aether. It gathered into a violent torrent, forming a column of light, that rose into the sky, tearing the rain clouds apart and breaking the dark, gray sky. A stream of sunlight spilled down from behind the clouds, falling on the incorporeal crown on his head, and the staff of authority of the King of Yellow strengthened him, together with the New Testament Sword, which emitted a majesty that one dared not daze directly upon. As if layers of camouflage had been removed, a fierce aura hidden by the seal rose from Ye Qingxuan, causing the earth to freeze, the sky to shatter, and the air to almost solidify. The phantom image of the Land of Dreams emerged. A mighty, godly power operated, causing everything to bow. At the moment, all the musicians in the entire military baseno, in all of Aurorasensed the terrifying scepter that seemed as if it wanted to reform the whole world. Countless elements operated mightily within the scepter, like stars orbiting in the skies. The mighty starry sky descended here, forming a terrifying pressure that was almost tangible. Under the pressure that was almost suffocating, the over-confident musicians who tried to resist immediately vomited blood and fell into a coma. Alarms sounded in the entire base, one after another. God knew how many musicians woke up in shock. They looked at Ye Qingxuan and saw his figure, but their eyes stung and they didn''t dare to look anymore. "I''ve had a few meals and fought a few times. So, I shall say farewell now." Ye Qingxuan smiled at the crowd and flicked his sleeves, then walked out of the base. He did not go and visit Bai Heng, nor did he meet with the rest of the lords and heads of households. He simply left, just like that. It was as if he was checking out of a hotel after his stay. Outside Bai Heng''s tent, the man named Jiu Ying gazed, from a distance, at the figure of Ye Qingxuan who left as if no one else was around. On his indifferent face, an eagerness to try to kill the young man emerged. Just as he raised his hand, ready to give the order, he heard the voice of Bai Heng beside him. "Let him go." Bai Heng looked at his expression as he left, and began laughing softly for some reason unknown. "If he wants to leave, you can''t stop him. Your enemy should not be him, just let him go and cause some trouble for Her Majesty." Seeing that Ye Qingxuan leaving with such a high-profile, the lords exchanged looks of confusion. Soon, in the tent, everyone turned their shocked gaze to Yuan Changqing. "Hey, old man, he thanked you for your guidance. What have you taught him?" Yuan Changqing''s expression twitched, and he felt like vomiting blood. "I didn''t teach him anything! I was just fronting, but he suddenly gained some random realization out of nowhere! How the heck would I know what he has realized?" Simply nothing can be more confusing than this. Is this how true geniuses are like? Gaining realizations out of nowhere? What the heck, really. Yuan Changqing took the flask of wine and gulped down a few mouthfuls, full of disheartenment. Ah! If I had known it, I wouldn''t have fooled around! Others were full of puzzlement regarding what Ye Qingxuan had realized by himself. But to Ye Qingxuan, it was very simple. All along, he had made many plans in order to take Bai Xi away from the Aurora, including preparations to negotiate with the Aurora, or with Bai Heng, and even made preparations to start a war. But after coming to the Aurora, the complicated situation of the civil war ruined all his plans. He stayed up all night coming up with countermeasures targeting the empress and Bai Heng, worrying about Bai Xi''s situation and thinking about how to carry out his plan. He conceived more than a dozen plans and overruled them all. In the end, he felt confused and lost. Against the intricate and complicated situation, he was instead completely lost and didn''t know where to begin with. It was not until he saw Yuan Changqing''s stance that he understood something. I don''t have to worry that much actually. The attitude of the emperor? Bai Heng''s thoughts? The situation of the Aurora? The outcome of the civil war? The victories and defeats of the two sides? What the f*ck does it have to do with me? Why do I need a complex plan that takes into account what other people think, and why should I waste so many brain cells? After getting used to trying to be smart, Ye Qingxuan suddenly discovered that he no longer needed to think so much nowadays. He was already capable of living simply, like what he once wanted. Don''t think too much. Don''t bother about what the irrelevant people might think. Live according to my will and wishes. Such was the only insight he gained. Alone, walking on the barren battlefield, Ye Qingxuan moved in the direction of the imperial city, straight ahead. Wherever he passed, a horrifying aether wave spread in all directions. He did not hide his own strength at all, nor did he attempt to conceal his existence. Clouds followed the dragon and wind followed the tiger. [1] When sages took up the responsibility to govern the world properly, everything would rise to take a look at them. His own advancement faintly distorted the physical world, causing the power of the Land of Dreams to radiate in all directions, regulating the chaotic aether torrents, and reorganizing everything. He made the dark sky lit up again and filled the barren land with the vigor of life once more. With the strength and power, he no longer had to worry about everything. He had overruled all the complicated speculations and plans, leaving only the simplest two steps: First, find Bai Xi. Then, take Bai Xi away. Other than that, whoever blocked his way would be his enemy, and whoever stood in front of him, he would knock them down. It was so simple. From then on, Ye Qingxuan decided not to hide his power and intention, announcing his arrival to the whole East and Aurora. At the moment, in the eyes of musicians, the tornado of aether rising high into the sky, as mighty as the scorching sun, was the most straightforward wordsI''m here! [1] The literal translation of a Chinese proverb that means one would want to become close with ambitious persons, and the people would follow the brave and courageous. 764 Understanding Ye Qingxuan felt as if he was still in a dream when he heard a familiar voice. It was his own voice that was speaking. "Other than chest tightness and depression, is there anything else?" It seemed to be his own lips that were speaking. His tone was warm and gentle. He could not take it. For some reason, he suddenly thought, If I have always spoken in such a tone, I would probably have been a lot more popular? He looked around him and found himself in a very clean and white room. There were no sharp corners and there was nothing too exciting or provocative about the bed or table, or even the colors and attire and decorations. It was peaceful and calm. It was almost like heaven. In the corner was a clock that was hanging on the wall. Its design looked simple but its hands ticked by very smoothly. Ye Qingxuan could not help but imagine what its structure would look like, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not figure it out. Was this really something created by the engineering capabilities that they had right now? Very soon, after hearing his question, the man that was lying on the bed began to ponder for a moment before answering, "Occasionally, I will cry for no rhyme or reason. My temper is also getting worse." "Other than gastric problems, are there any other illnesses present in your family history?" "My grandfather had cardiac disease but I don''t," the person replied then hesitated for a while before continuing, "It was all thanks to modulation. You know, doctor, I''m not very''natural''." "No problem. That''s already very normal in our current times." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and there was a clipboard full of notes in his hands. He was wearing a white outer robe, which looked extremely clean. He was wearing a dark blue shirt inside of the white robe. It was very comfortable, as if it was made from the best silk. As for the buttons, he could not even figure out if they were made from stone or metal. Some of them looked like they were made from amber, but amber should not be so light. Perhaps they were made from resin? For some weird reason, a noun appeared in his head: "Plastic." Plastic? What was that? A string of thoughts kept appearing in his head. Plastic was a man-made macromolecule But what was man-made macromolecule anyway? More and more complicated answers appeared in his head, as if he had always known these answers, yet they were certainly not his memories. Very soon, those obscure and complicated answers disappeared. The conversation between the two men also came to an end. Ye Qingxuan closed the book in his hands and smiled to the patient. "Don''t worry. This is a typical space syndrome. Your gastric ulcers have triggered your depression. I will prescribe you some medication later. Take these medications on time and your condition will gradually improve. But the most important thing is your attitude towards life. You need to be a bit more positive. Do you have the habit of doing sports?" "Is cricket counted as a sport?" "Of course. As Asians, we seem to be pretty talented in cricket. I remember that there is a cricket club on the third floor of the public area. You can go and sign up for it. Doing sports can help your body secrete dopamine. Trust me, you will feel much better after exercise." "Thank you, doctor." The man was grateful and got up to shake his hand. "I will go." With that, the patient left. Ye Qingxuan was in a daze as he continued to observe everything, including how his body would move on its own, how his mouth would open and close on their own, how he would speak in an unbearably gentle tone and talk about things that he had never ever heard before. Space syndrome? What kind of illness is that? Cricket? What sport is that? Asians? Where''s Asia anyway? What''s dopamine? And who am I? He watched himself complete the preparations for the case notes before pushing open a door and entering a room full of white tiles. There was a basin, a white toilet bowl, a bathtub, and a curtain printed with green flowers Everything was unbelievably clean. On the basin were all sorts of toiletries that he did not recognize. But strangely enough, he could differentiate between the dental floss from the facial mask from cologne Cologne? Wait, perfume? Why would he need to use perfume? But when he saw himself in the mirror, realization finally dawned on him. His face looked so familiar. He could see traces of himself and the vague outline of Ye Lanzhou but at the end of the day, he did not look like himself or his father. It was the person from his dream He washed his hands and face before wiping them dry with a towel. Ye Qingxuan noticed the card hanging in front of his chest. On the card were characters that spelled out his occupation and name: Psychologist, Ye Xuan. Psychologist? Is that someone who cures others that are mentally or emotionally hurt? Sounds impressive. And, Ye Xuan Who is Ye Xuan? Who is he? Why is he appearing in my dreams? And why am I appearing in his dreams? In that instant, Ye Qingxuan suddenly understood everything at last. This was not him. He was just an invisible spirit in the body of this man, Ye Xuan, in this unknown place. In that case, what was this place? The World of the Dark? Had the World of the Dark been hiding a country like this all this while? The civilization and technology here seemed to be much more advanced than both the east and west. Simply unheard of! But this time around, there were no more mysterious answers to his questions. He could only take his time and look around on his own. Very soon, Ye Xuan left the toilet. He did not seem to realize that a spirit, by the name of Ye Qingxuan, was in his body. He returned to his seat and pressed the bell. "Next, please." The door began to knock three times, with regular intervals in between. Ye Qingxuan could almost imagine how rigid this person, that was knocking on the door, must be. But very soon, he was completely taken by surprise. As the door was pushed open, a man with a stiff expression entered. His hair was brown and closely cropped. He seemed to be wearing a military uniform and his strides were regular and neat as they seemed to be carefully measured to millimeters. He sat opposite of Ye Xuan. "Dr. Ye, I need your help." Ye Xuan was silent for a moment. Ye Qingxuan could sense the shock and confusion in his heart. At the same time, he had this nagging feeling that he had seen this visitor somewhere before. "My apologies, Peter, er Sir." Ye Xuan grappled with his words then sighed softly. "If you feel that you need help, you can look for Hermes. I''m afraid there''s nothing much I can do to help you with your problem." Hermes? Hermes was here too? Ye Qingxuan was taken by surprise, but he managed to console himself very quickly. It could just be a duplicated name. There was a conscientious look on Peter''s face. "In fact, Dr. Ye, it was Hermes who recommended that I seek help from you." "" Ye Xuan frowned. "Mr. Peter, I don''t specialize in mathematics and systems. Pardon me for being blunt, but if you feel that you are facing some problems, perhaps an engineer may be more suitable. I am a psychologist. Dealing with mental problems is my forte, but as for you, no offense, but your model far surpasses humans. Even if you have a soul, you will not develop the mental weaknesses or illnesses that humans can develop." "I''m not sure if I have a soul, doctor." Peter''s tone was calm, so much so that Ye Qingxuan could not decipher his expression and tell what he was feeling right now. Is this fellow dead? "As an autonomous simulation observer sent by the government, indeed, there is nothing wrong with the simulation module of my emotion. Based on the cases in the database, I am able to understand that you are confused and upset. Perhaps you may be thinking that someone is playing a joke on you. But I need you to be clear on this: it was with the help of Hermes and my own calculations from my records that I have chosen this course of action of seeking help from you. Will you listen to what I have to say?" Ye Xuan was silent for a moment before taking in a deep breath and sitting up straight. "If that''s the case, please go ahead." "How should I go about trying to understand humans, Doctor?" "What do you mean?" Ye Xuan was confused. "Are you unable to understand the crews'' reports or the captain''s orders?" "No, I have no problems with my functions and executions." Peter continued to speak monotonously, "The dilemma that I am facing with regards to my program is how I should understand the thoughts of humans. My empathy module allows me to simulate the emotions of men perfectly, even including those crazy emotions, I am able to depend on my model and case to understand them. But at the end of the day, I am still unable to truly interact with humans." Peter paused for a while then emphasized again, "In human terms, I guess it''s about achieving ''understanding''. How should I begin to understand humans? I can eat and sleep, and can even perfectly imitate the acts of excretion and reproduction, but ultimately, I am still different from humans. From a biological standpoint, I am more human than the crew members, where more than 97 percent of their bodies have been mechanized. Yet, I feel like there is a great distance between myself and humans. As a result, I feel that I am unable to complete my observation task properly." Ye Qingxuan was completely confused now. What is this thing? Beneath the human appearance, what is he? "Oh, my apologies, Peter. I think I know what you mean now but I am not able to give you an answer nor help you." Ye Xuan thought for some time before giving a very straightforward answer, "At the end of the day, we are still two completely different species. Humans and artificial intelligence will always be different in nature and even our mode of thinking. It''s just like how meteorites can never exist too close to planets. I''m afraid you will never be able to think like a human." "Is it because of ''soul''?" Peter asked. "Humans firmly believe that they have a soul but I cannot understand what a soul is." Ye Xuan thought for a while then shook his head. "I''m sure you know that the existence of a ''soul'' is something that has never been proven in the field of medicine and biology. The concept of ''soul'' exists in the subconscious state of men but I''m afraid it does not refer to a small person that cannot be seen. I think that ''soul'' is the starting point of men''s thoughts. It is a core that penetrates human consciousness and is also the reason why humans are able to resist their ''biology''." Peter shook his head. "I don''t understand. Do you think souls exist?" "Let''s look at an example." Ye Xuan searched his pocket and took out a packet of tobacco rolls. He looked at Peter, who waved back at him to show that he did not mind. Ye Xuan smiled and took out an ashtray before lighting up. He tidied his thoughts for a while before continuing, "Peter, do you dream?" "I am artificial intelligence, Doctor. When I sleep, it means that I have been turned off. I cannot dream. But I am aware of the theory of dreaming. It is when the human''s brain is resting, bioelectricity" "Cough, cough. You don''t have to repeat this point." Ye Xuan pondered for a moment before replying, "Peter, the meaning of dreams is not so simple to humans. In my opinion, a dream is a bridge that connects consciousness at the surface level to subconsciousness. It maintains the rope that links the id, ego, and superego. It is a one-time self-inspection and communication that exists within the complicated mechanisms of the human brain. In other words, it is something that allows human thoughts to break through physical barriers and freely extend themselves. Compared to the high efficiency and simplicity of artificial intelligence, it is rather backward and full of unnecessary elements, but I firmly believe that it is proof of the existence of ''soul''. Humans are creatures that are capable of dreaming." "Many creatures can dream too. Most carbon-based creatures with complex structures are capable of dreaming. But why are they different from humans?" "The following point is what I admire most about humans. It is also the way humans resist their own ''biology''?" Ye Xuan puffed on his tobacco roll and suddenly asked, "Will you choose ''suicide''?" "No." Peter was firm in his reply, "Self-destruction is meaningless. It serves no purpose to my task and my conviction. To an intelligent lifeform, self-destruction is a most unwise choice. To groups and colonies, self-destruction in the form of tumor and bug has no benefits and is a waste of resources." "But humans will." Ye Xuan smiled and continued calmly, "This is the ugly side of humans, but it is also what makes me most proud to be one. We possess the freedom to choose or deny life. Peter, I may not be able to help you understand humans, or prove the existence of ''soul'', but you can use this as my explanation for mankind. Compared to rocks and stones, men have the ability to dream; compared to other living creatures, men possess the freedom to choose suicide." Peter kept quiet. "Haha, looks like I still didn''t manage to explain myself well enough." Ye Xuan scratched his head. "After all, artificial intelligence is much more efficient while consuming less energy. You possess advanced calculation ability and you don''t even have to eat or drink. In comparison, mankind seems to be a lower class of living creature. To be honest, I feel a little inferior in front of you. You no longer have to deal with most of mankind''s problems. Peter, why trouble yourself to stoop to our level?" Peter''s tone was calm. "Even so, Dr. Ye, I am still determined to understand mankind. What do you suggest?" "Hmm" Ye Xuan pondered for a long time. "Perhaps you can try the method of recursion." "Recursion?" "That''s right." Ye Xuan continued, "Mankind''s characters, thoughts, and actions are derived from education and experiences. Education and experiences are dependent on society. Then, the structure of society is derived from civilization, and the formation of civilization comes from history. The beginning of the history of mankind can usually be found in myths. Why don''t you start with theology?" "Religions and Gods?" Peter shook his head. "I''m afraid I won''t be able to develop faith." "You don''t have to." Ye Xuan shook his head and got up. He flipped through his bookshelf for a long time before finally pulling out an old and tattered book from the bottom. He placed the book in front of Peter. "You only need to understand how man develops faith. That will be good enough." All the pages of the book had already turned yellow. Its hardcover was exquisitely designed, and the gold color of the characters, that had been stamped on the cover, had yet to fade. One could still make out the characters that spelled "BIBLE." "Faith." Peter picked up the book carefully. From the outside, it was hard to determine an artificial intelligence''s computation process and mental function but based on this short pause alone, it was easy to tell that he possessed a level of intelligence that mankind would never be able to reach, even after a decade. Finally, he nodded slowly. "I will." With that, he got up and took his leave. Just before he left, he stuck out his hand proceeded to shake hands with Ye Xuan as according to custom. That posture gave Ye Qingxuan a complete shock. He finally remembered why he seemed to have met Peter before and why his name sounded so familiar. When Peter stuck out his hand, his posture was exactly the same as one of the characters in a painting that could be found in the Central Resurrection Church in the Sacred City. In the painting, there was a clergyman, who represented God, stretching out his hand to the sinners that were screaming and suffering in hell. The clergyman was spreading the sweet dew of mercy and redemption. He was Ye Qingxuan could only stare at the back of the departing figure and mutter softly, "King of Red of the first generation!" Reputed to be the executor of God''s will, the hero of the redemption of all beings, the saint that built the Sacred City and set up the Church, the one who pushed mankind to break through the dark ages, the musician that developed the Golden Era. The pontifex maximas of the first generation, Peter! While Ye Qingxuan was still in complete shock, Ye Xuan seemed like he had just survived a battle as he was sweating all over. He poured himself a cup of coffee and slumped down on the chair meant for patients. He propped up his legs and began to smoke while sighing helplessly. "What a good recommendation, Hermes." A calm and familiar voice spoke, "My purpose is the same as yours, doctor. We just hope to keep the fleet running smoothly. Our administrative system and data center can''t be bothered to answer questions like those. We have no choice but to seek your help." "All three of you are artificial intelligence yet you are all so different." "Stars and black holes are both celestial bodies to humans, but aren''t they vastly different in their structures and principles?" Compared to Peter, Hermes was nimbler and more proficient in his use of words and was even capable of using rhetoric. "I have this feeling that, compared to Peter, you are even more keen to hear my answer." "That''s right. I have been thinking about this for a very long time. Thank you for your answer, Dr. Ye." Hermes continued calmly, "But my answer is different from yours. Instead of religion, I prefer to try and seek my understanding from the angle of the arts. They are different from the rigid doctrines. I can feel the beauty of creativity that fills the arts." Ye Xuan kept quiet for a long time before sighing softly. "Are you that desperate to become human? Hermes, I fail to understand." "Have you thought about the meaning of life, doctor?" "Everyone has thought about it before in Secondary Two." "Do you have an answer?" "How is that possible?" Ye Xuan shrugged his shoulders. "But even so, am I not living well now?" "This is the thing that I envy humans for the most." Hermes'' voice became solemn. "You can choose not to think, but I can''t. If it''s possible, I wish to be able to think freely like humans, but at the same time, I also have the freedom to choose not to think." "All the best then, Hermes." Ye Xuan raised his cup of coffee. "I believe that you will achieve your dream one day. By then, remember to help me write a dissertation paper so that I can be famous! Those bunch of nerds on Earth will be so jealous of me!" "Thank you, doctor. I will," Hermes replied. After a short break, Ye Xuan got up and looked at the empty deck. "Oh yes, how was the inspection of the newly colonized planet? I recall that we are close to landing?" "So far, all the data perfectly fits the needs of human survival and colonization, doctor. After seven days, we will proceed with the first landing. But the troubling thing is, according to the analysis performed by the data center Nibelungenlied, although there are air and atmosphere, there doesn''t seem to be any sounds" Even as Hermes was speaking, the deck began to open very slowly, revealing the darkness that filled the massive emptiness. Amidst the darkness were tiny spots of light emitted from stars. Beyond the thick layer of glass, one could see the gigantic planet underneath. It was like liquid metal as the pure white world was reflected with a grey-colored glow. "Isn''t it better that there are no sounds?" Ye Xuan smiled and stared at the silver planet that was far away. There was a longing look in his eyes. "How beautiful, these peaceful and quiet stars" 765 I Trust You’ve Been Well Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and saw the faint light of dawn. It seemed that he had been dreaming for a long time. That d*mn Hermes had appeared in the dream, as well as the first pope. But for some reason, although he also appeared in the dream, he did not seem like himself. He still remembered a few episodes from the beginning, but when he got up the broken and chaotic fragments quickly melted in his memory. "D*mn it..." Ye Qingxuan rubbed his forehead. He was still a little sleepy. Although he had slept the whole night he still felt like he had stayed up late. The sound of the carriage rocking continued, and a loud clamor from outside. He opened the curtain and saw refugees in ragged clothes on both sides of the road. Most of the hundreds of refugees had no shoes, and they walked barefooted through the mud that was frozen with morning dew, their meager body temperature turning it into soft soil as they trampled over it. The morning dew made them shiver. In just a quarter of an hour, many fights broke out over food. Some people walked until they could walk no more, then fall beside the road. A child was crying. Even so, none of them dared get in front of Ye Qingxuan''s carriage. When they saw his white hair they kneeled on the ground and did not dare to look up until he had passed by. "What''s going on?" Ye Qingxuan asked. The driver he had hired was quite courageous and did not kneel to him. He looked back and said, "My Lord, these people are all victims." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while. He already understood. For the past couple of days, all he had seen were desolate cities and towns. It had been a thousand miles of empty towns and villages occupied by bandits. Even the bandits looked sickly, and could barely hold their knives. These people had abandoned their land because they feared the calamity of war and had become refugees fluent in the ways of the wilderness. There were also wealthy households that had fled hardship. They had equipped their strong servants with swords, and they worked together to form a team as they drove along the muddy road. They were trying to stay far away from the flames of war. Ye Qingxuan sighed softly and shook his head to dispel the unrealistic myths that were in his dream from his mind. He stared at the tragic scene before him. This was reality. He pulled the curtain back. There was nothing he could do about this. At a time like this, when money could not buy food, it had been difficult for him and his driver to obtain food for their horse. What was funny was that Ye Qingxuan had done a good job facing the world''s heroes, but now those heroes were busy with their own affairs and had no time for him. Everywhere they went, musicians trembled with fear and kept their distance, none of them daring to block him. There were even those who had prepared supplies for him so that he could be on his way all the quicker. This carriage had been given to him by someone else. Since coming to the East, Ye Qingxuan had felt a sense of alienation entangle him. Although this was his homeland, everyone looked at him like he was an outsider. Even in war and calamity, they wanted to have nothing to do with him. They just kept their distance. They pretended he didn''t exist. Their attitude of not cooperating and ignoring him was extremely irritating. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and tapped his fingers on his seat. He didn''t mind others not treating him with proper respect. Besides slighting and keeping their distance, they didn''t dare do anything, not even daring to look straight at him. All he wanted to do was take Bai Xi away. He didn''t care about anything else. Soon, a sound came from outside the carriage. "Sir, we can''t go forward anymore." Ye Qingxuan opened the curtain and saw the refugees surging in front of him. The sound of crying and shouting came from them. Amidst the chaos, the towering city gate before them was shut firmly. Cliffs hung high on both sides, and armored soldiers looked down on them with cold eyes, bows in hand and quivers filled with arrows. Above the gate, the musician who defended the city yelled angrily, and the sounds of bowstrings tightening merged into one. Under this deadly threat, the refugees surged backward like a tide, no longer daring to go forward. Finally, everyone saw Ye Qingxuan heading towards the gate. They felt his gentle and majestic wave of aether, and aether that was difficult for ordinary people to detect spread out. The faces of the musician defending the city changed. "Halt where you are, or we will kill you under the full authority of the law!" "Why can''t we come through?" Ye Qingxuan''s voice rang out before him, still clear over the distance between them. The musician defending the city''s expression changed a bit, but his teeth were still gritted. "These rebels bring bandits with them! If we open the gates even a little there will be chaos! The gate is shut for the security of the nation. Without orders from the higher-ups, no one can pass..." Ye Qingxuan frowned, lifted his hand, and threw the signet toward the gate. It was proof of his identity that the Emperor of Aurora had bestowed on him all those years ago in the Sacred City. "If the Emperor''s decree has not changed, then I am still a noble of the Empire of Aurora, the head of the Ye family Even I can''t pass?" All was silent. At that moment darkness flashed before the musician''s eyes. The head of the Ye family? Wait, hadn''t the Ye family been destroyed decades ago? But the signet before him was unmistakably conferred by His Highness himself. But now weren''t the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline in rebellion? And the nobles of the Nine Families had clearly been ruined Maybe he didn''t know yet? No, the one who was coming had already achieved a Scepter, so it was absolutely impossible that he would be that stupid. Or was this one of Bai Heng''s tricks? For a moment the musician who was guarding the city''s thoughts spun. He could not understand Ye Qingxuan''s reason for coming, and his level was absolutely not high enough to spread the message among the many Scepter musicians. He quickly remembered the orders he had received yesterday. He gritted his teeth, hardened his heart and through the signet aside. "No!" He categorically denied Ye Qingxuan''s request. "Without His Majesty''s orders, or an official''s command, the gates cannot open!" Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Then where is your official?" "Inside the city." "And His Majesty?" "You fool, he''s in the capital, of course." The musician guarding the city looked at him like he was an idiot. "That is to say, if I don''t have His Majesty''s decree, and don''t have your official''s command, I can''t enter the city." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "But if I can''t enter the city, how can I ask your official for his command? Or ask His Majesty to make a decree?" The musician paused and looked embarrassed. "Haha, it was a joke, please pay no mind." Ye Qingxuan sighed and rolled up his sleeves. "At first I didn''t expect you to be able to make me go get my things back so smoothly. But since you''re in my way, I can''t be blamed for getting involved personally, can I?" Before he had finished speaking, the New Testament Sword appeared in his hands, and the World Tree''s arrays condensed in the sky. His calm wave of aether grew violent and rushed into the air. The whole city shook with a loud crash. It was as if the sun had descended. Dust flew up frightfully and danced in the air. Ear piercing alarms sounded from within the gate. In a flash, hundreds of musicians who had been awaiting orders took off into the air, and a terrible pressure locked onto Ye Qingxuan. "Yes, this is more fun." Ye Qingxuan laughed. This was right. This was right. If there was no one to block his way, he wouldn''t have to play the villain. Heaven''s Gate was built to guard against danger. It was situated between two mountains. The mountains were high, and there was nowhere to climb them. The three gates were nearly unassailable, inside and outside. The walls were filled with arrow slits and other mechanisms, and every 20 paces, there was a pot of oil that was kept boiling day and night. For common people, a height of several hundred meters could be considered as reaching into the clouds, but for a musician, even a common one, with a little preparation they could fly over it. However, compared to the impregnable city gate, the sky above the gate was the real death trap. Between the three gates, Redbud Gate was the biggest, but Heaven''s Gate was the most dangerous. This was because this place was blessed by the Great Wall. The gate on the ground was as strong as metal, and the air above the gate was filled with torrents of aether, forming an invisible wall. Once you had carelessly entered it, you would be locked down by the Great Wall within an instant. Next, all the terrible power of the Empire of Aurora would be added to it, and a pressure powerful enough to crush coal into diamonds would kill any living thing. The ground had an impregnable pass to defend it, and the sky was covered by the Great Wall. This truly was Heaven''s Gate. Compared to the sky that was seemingly empty, but really hid mortal danger, it would be much easier to break through on the ground. In the histories of past dynasties, Heaven''s Gate had only been broken through twice, and one of those times it had been opened from the inside by traitors. The only time that counted as a true breakthrough, they had used the most brutal methodthey had forcibly attacked Heaven''s Gate for six months. Corpses had filled the field, and they had captured the city by means of piling them up to a great height. Thus, all along, people had unparalleled confidence in Heaven''s Gate. But now that unshakable confidence had dissipated. And there was only one enemy. But that guy Was he really human? At that moment, a torrent of aether erupted from Ye Qingxuan''s body, intertwining into a burning cloud of light in the sky. Under the cover of the World Tree''s arrays, the lightning formed by the Music Theory of Reform emerged from the cloud of light. The startling electricity gathered together into a bunch and fell into Ye Qingxuan''s hand, blending with the New Testament Sword. Facing the slowly rising sword of electricity, the wall that was made of bluestone, reinforced with enchantments, and nearly unbreakable under the cover of the Dragon''s Bloodline trembled. The gate roared madly like a beast of prey. Dust flew up chaotically and scattered in all directions. In the blazing light and heat, the King of Yellow''s crown emerged from the void, and bestowed its blessing upon Ye Qingxuan, causing its majestic divinity to run through his body, flowing between him and the World Tree. The incarnation of the deity had arrived. The power of a god in the hands of a man radiated out a majestic movement. Gungnir, which had nearly pierced Avalon''s defenses in a single attack, reappeared. One, two, three, four, and finally, with the power of the New World, dozens of Gungnirs overlapped, reproducing the martial power of the catastrophe Odin. At that moment, the spear of destruction cleaved through the air! The roar of the heavens and earth shaking spread hundreds of miles. The earth that had been solidified into a monolithic block trembled, and beyond the coverage of the enchantment, a ringlike crack that covered all of Heaven''s Gate faintly appeared. Originally Heaven''s Gate had seemed like a nail that had been hammered into a strategically located position, but now how could this nail be prevented from falling apart under Ye Qingxuan''s attack? In a flash, he had broken through the outer enchantments, and as he collided with the projection of the Great Wall, numerous cracks emerged from the void. Amid the roar, the burning Gungnir inched forward. The musician who was defending the city''s face went pale. He wanted to retreat, but he was fixed in place by the immense pressure. It was difficult to hide, and he could only watch as Gungnir inched closer to his head. Even if the Great Wall consumed 90 percent of its power, the remaining ten percent still could not be resisted by humans! Just the aftermath would be enough to burn everyone in the city to ash. At that moment, a hand pulled the musician away from there, threw him to the side, and then faced the oncoming Gungnir. In the blazing light, powerful turbulence spread out, like a giant''s wild heartbeat, like iron drums, like thunder, shaking people to the core and making everyone''s vision go dark. After the lightning disappeared, the slightly older middle-aged man could not help but take a step back. His hand was scorched black, and his wounds had difficulty closing as electricity still ran through them. He sighed, closed his hand, and looked at the musician who had gone limp beside him. His eyes went cold. "You should have notified me earlier about this sort of thing. Why did you take matters into your own hands?" The musician''s face twitched. He said nothing. He sighed and waved impatiently. "I don''t know who told you to do this. You can go explain it to the commandants yourself." Two commandants quickly came forward and dragged the musician away, just like pulling a dead dog away by its collar, and pulled him off into the city. Now the middle-aged man shook his head helplessly and hid his injured hand behind him. He looked at the young man below the city. "Long time no see, little Yezi." "Mr. Hu?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned, and could not help but laugh softly. "I trust you''ve been well?" 766 Entering the City Since they parted ways at the Sacred City, Ye Qingxuan had lost all traces of Mr. Hu. Ye Qingxuan did not expect to meet him again in such a situation. Although a dispute could be avoided and he was pleased about that, he felt inevitably regretful at the same time. "So, can I enter?" he asked. "Of course you can." Mr. Hu gave his accent readily, then looked at the disaster victims behind Ye Qingxuan. "As for them... As a condition for letting you pass, how about you help me maintain the order later?" Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Of course, no problem." Mr. Hu thought for a moment and told his subordinate next to him, "So, open the gates, maintain order, let the victims enter the city in an orderly manner, and pass down my orders..." He raised his voice, and the slightly hoarse voice was like thunder, rumbling in everyone''s ear. "Do not stop after crossing the pass, leave immediately! "Those who snoop around sneakily will be beheaded, those who don''t obey the commands will be beheaded, and those who use the opportunity to create chaos will be beheaded!" In the shocked expression of the victims, in one go, Mr. Hu issued three interdicts that would result in those who went against them being beheaded, then he softened his tone for a bit. "You all are allowed to temporarily rest for a night ten miles away from Heaven''s Gate. A meal of porridge will be provided. "I will inform the counties behind the pass to receive disaster victims. Set off immediately at first light tomorrow, and those who linger around will be considered to be spies!" He did not clarify what would happen to spies, but it was probably nothing good. Ye Qingxuan raised his eyebrows slightly. All along, Mr. Hu gave him the impression of being a congenial and cultured musician, and Ye Qingxuan never thought that the man would have such a fierce side. Although he was still wearing a similar gray robe at the moment, when he looked down at the victims, blazing flares completely different from the past lit up in his eyes. It was like black gold burning in the hot sun, turning into boiling molten metal. Then only did Ye Qingxuan remember Mr. Hu''s nickname in the Sacred City, "the sun." The title had probably come from his cold and serious side as well? Soon, the three-layered gates of Heaven''s Gate opened with a rumble, and a thousand cavalry soldiers rode out, declaring orders. They pressed one hand on the hilt of their sword and held a heavy iron lance that had its head removed in the other hand. They made their way through the chaotic crowd of disaster victims. For those who didn''t obey the orders and tried to cause trouble, the soldiers naturally wouldn''t treat them in a kind manner. Struck by the iron lance, one would inevitably break their head and bleed. In the crowd, several men who seemed quite calm were hiding in the back, and after exchanging a few glances, they were ready to raise their voices and shout something, but paused in their actions, unable to move. They simply felt their bodies going stiff, as if they had fallen into a pit of ice. When they looked up with much difficulty, they only saw a pair of eyes as hot as the scorching sun. Then, as if they had been struck by lightning, their hearts started to beat fast like drums, and their faces turned red. After a few moments, their hearts ruptured from the frantic beating, blood seeped out of their seven orifices, and they fell to the ground, dead. At the same time, a pair of eyes was staring at tens of thousands of people all at once. Even Mr. Hu had difficulties supporting such a high rate of consumption. The expression of Ye Qingxuan, who was respectfully invited to ascend onto the city wall and saw the scene, immediately turned somewhat complicated. "It seems that I have arrived at a bad timing?" "Isn''t bad timing an understatement?" Mr. Hu couldn''t help but sigh. "You really gave me a huge, difficult problem to solve." No, to be exact, it is not Ye Qingxuan who has thrown me the problem. It is Bai Heng. Had it not been intentional, why would the victims have congested the pass at Heaven''s Gate so densely overnight? Bai Heng has deliberately plundered their homes, driving the group of homeless people to Heaven''s Gate, to force the empress to resolve the problem. If they are given permission to pass, undoubtedly, the musicians and secret agents mixed in with the crowd will definitely stir up trouble when the army attacks the city. No, they might even start riots right when they enter the city. If they are not given permission to pass, then when Bai Heng''s army besieges the city, weapons have no eyes to differentiate between soldiers and civilians, and once the war starts, death will be the only outcome for these people. If no action is taken, it will be equivalent to letting them die. Even if one disregards the uncertainty people will feel, someone, be it a member of the court or the commonalty, will definitely make a big fuss over the lives of the tens of thousands of people, and it will also be quite a big trouble for Her Majesty. One can''t let them pass, one can''t refuse to let them pass, it is necessary for one to kill them, but killing them will cause even more trouble. It''s a multiple choice question that puts the answerer in a dilemma. Mr. Hu knew it very well. If it had not been him who was here at the moment, Ye Qingxuan probably wouldn''t have given face. Then, having his way being blocked unyieldingly by some other person would probably just force Ye Qingxuan to have a fall out with the Aurora government, leading to more trouble. I can only say that... Her Majesty has really taken everything into consideration. Thinking of it, Mr. Hu couldn''t help but sigh. No, presently, it seems that the whole situation has been within her control right from the start. When she received the news that Ye Qingxuan was heading to the capital, she sent me in advance to garrison Heaven''s Gate in a hurry, traveling day and night. For someone like Ye Qingxuan, rules no longer have any meaning. Trying to coerce him with an unyielding attitude will only make things worse. But if we cater to his needs cowardly, the dignity of the kingdom will be compromised. But with me stationed here, everything will be easy. No matter what happens, Ye Qingxuan is the type of person that will never make things difficult for a friend. And when we are dealing with the victims, with me here, Ye Qingxuan may not be unwilling to help. But after growing accustomed to such fascinating schemes of Her Majesty, at the moment, Mr. Hu did not feel the slightest trace of joy in his heart. Although the present empress could definitely be considered a ruler of unparalleled wisdom, he didn''t feel happy. Instead, he felt a little... sad. Just as he was deep in thought, he suddenly heard a shrill whistling coming from a distance. He abruptly turned back and looked towards the inside of the city. Amid the chaotic crowd of victims that had entered the city, several carriages suddenly shattered. In a flash, textiles and gold ingots scattered everywhere. Silver flowed out like water, dazzling everyone''s eyes. After being momentarily stunned, the victims boiled with excitement. They pounced forward and fought hard to snatch the gold and silver. So, the musicians who had mixed in with the crowd smiled and threw out musical movements in all directions, disregarding death, injury, or any other consequences that they might cause. Metallic gleams emerged from thin air, turning into torrential rains falling in the city. Then everything paused midair again. It seemed as if time had been frozen. Be it the torrential rains of metal, the roaring screams, the furious faces of the soldiers, the unsheathed long knives, the lances stabbing down, the gold and silver ingots flying through the air, or even the chaotic disaster victims and musicians, everything within the rioting area came to an abrupt stop, pausing in place. Faust. "Got distracted?" Ye Qingxuan asked, smiling At the moment, strengthened by the staff of authority of the King of Yellow, Ye Qingxuan had also thoroughly understood the working principles of Faust, which was almost like a miracle when Hermes used it back then, and he was even able to use it skillfully. Although Ye Qingxuan could not match Hermes'' terrifying level of attainment, whereby the latter could even freeze the Three Kings for two or three seconds with just a movement, it was simply a piece of cake for Ye Qingxuan to totally defeat the musicians who had just achieved the Level of Distortion. "Ah, sorry, I was distracted." Mr. Hu gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Thankfully, you''re here." "I''m just checking for loopholes and filling in the gaps." Ye Qingxuan released the shackles he imposed, erased the musical movements cast by the group of musicians, and conveniently sealed their aether sensing. As compared to Ye Qingxuan, who could only take action afterward, Mr. Hu seemed to have the advantage of a prophetic vision. Under the gaze of the pair of hot golden pupils, it was as if no detail could escape his probing. Just by taking a sweeping look, he could easily differentiate between the spies and the victims. "This one, this one, and this one..." Mr. Hu pointed several times with his finger, and amid the chaotic crowd of victims, obvious signs appeared above the heads of more than ten people. Then, the cruel order was issued, "Kill them on the spot." Soon, a few brand new heads were hung on the gates. Other than a few looking to be of a slightly higher rung of the pyramid, who were taken away to be interrogated under severe torture, the rest met their end, which was nothing pleasant. In this regard, there wasn''t much room for Ye Qingxuan to intervene, and he did not feel that he had any excuse or reason to intervene. Just by looking at the actions of the musicians just now, he could tell what those fellas were doing in the crowd of victims. As long as they could cause enough riots in Heaven''s Gate, they probably wouldn''t even blink if all the disaster victims died. Compared to those useless idiots whose life and death did not matter to him, Ye Qingxuan was more curious about the pair of eyes of Mr. Hu. If his guess was not wrong, it should be the result of the research done by some school of revelation. But other than the subtle difference between Oriental music theory and Western music theory, they also differed significantly in subject matter and imagery. Ye Qingxuan could only tell that it was some type of implanted array, but had little other discoveries. However, after observing for quite a while, Ye Qingxuan, who was almost like a completely different person from his past, discovered something that he had never realized before. In the body of Mr. Hu, who was close at hand, this man who was quite thin and old, hid a violent force that even Ye Qingxuan felt slightly alarmed by. Although he had no blood of the Deva and the power was not a legacy of the dragon bloodline, it was by no means inferior to the legacy of the dragon bloodline. No. One could say that it had ascended to the same level as Gungnir. However, the nature it displayed was very different from that of Gungnir''s thunder. If one was to forcibly summarize it with the nature of matter, it should be ''metal and fire''. The elements of iron and fire constantly collided within the power, emitting a violent aura of destruction, but it was restrained by layers of seals... Despite being so fierce, it was shrouded in heavy fog, only appearing for a brief moment when Mr. Hu used the pair of eyes. Then, it quickly disappeared back into the mountains shrouded by clouds and fog, making it difficult for others to see it clearly anymore. Seemingly sensing Ye Qingxuan''s curiosity, Mr. Hu did not hide it. Instead, he explained, "This was my teacher''s research back in his early years. To some extent, it can be regarded as the result of alchemy. Unfortunately, I am the only example that could be considered to have succeeded somewhat." Ye Qingxuan awkwardly coughed once and looked away. His actions just now could also be considered as breaking a taboo out of curiosity, spying on the results of research of other schools. Although Mr. Hu was generous and did not make a fuss over it, he made Ye Qingxuan even more ashamed. With Mr. Hu identifying the spies and Ye Qingxuan catching the few who had escaped detection, a large number of disaster victims soon passed through the city gates and entered the former crown land, the territory previously governed directly by the emperor in the past. It wasn''t just the disaster victims who had left the place. Originally, the city inside Heaven''s Gate was not a small one, it could even be said to be a city specially built around Heaven''s Gate. But now, the city had descended into silence. Many people brought their entire families along, carrying bundles and luggage, leaving together with the procession of victims. "They have to leave too?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the people walking out of the city and couldn''t help but frown. "The war is coming, Yezi, many people have to leave and retreat inward. Soon, no one would be here other than musicians." Mr. Hu patted him on the shoulder. "But the chef of the best restaurant in the city will only leave tomorrow. At least we don''t have to chat over field rations tonight." "What about you, Mr. Hu?" Ye Qingxuan asked, "Will you be staying here?" Mr. Hu just smiled and did not answer. 767 Acceptance It was late at night in the only restaurant in Tianmen Pass that was still open for business. Despite the fact that resources were shrinking, Mr. Hu still insisted on a feast for Ye Qingxuan to welcome him for visiting. The boss cooked the dishes personally, and after serving the food and the best wine in his cellar, he left quietly. All the different dishes were an eye-opener for Ye Qingxuan. This was the first time he felt that it might not be such a bad thing to stay in the East. Mr. Hu knew that Ye Qingxuan was not comfortable in the presence of people that he did not know very well, so he was the only one that stayed behind to keep him company. The atmosphere seemed a bit quiet because there were only the two of them, but Mr. Hu was very good at carrying conversations so it did not feel lonely and awkward. "Actually, even when I was in Aurora, I heard of the things that you did in the West." Mr. Hu drank the warm wine and sighed softly. "You are really impressive, little Ye. You have become more powerful than I imagined, Hand of God, Your Excellency." Ye Qingxuan smiled and shook his head. "In front of Mr. Hu, how could I possibly dare to call myself ''Hand of God''? Please treat me as if I was still the same student that was taught by you at Romulus. Your praise and compliments make me feel strangely ashamed." "Hahaha, puff out your chest." Mr. Hu seemed to be slightly drunk and slapped his back with considerable force. "You are already an important person now, little Ye. It''s just that, I didn''t expect that you would really come." Ye Qingxuan countered, "Why not?" Mr. Hu shook his head and did not reply. Instead, he asked, "Is it for Bai Xi?" "Of course, it''s for Bai Xi. Is there anything else more valuable than her in the entire East?" With that, Ye Qingxuan fell into a long silence before smiling guiltily. "I hope she won''t mind that I came so late." "Perhaps you are too early and not too late." Mr. Hu shook his head. "Perhaps there won''t be so much trouble when everything has settled down here. It won''t take too long. Just a few more months." "I can''t wait that long." Ye Qingxuan''s finger rubbed against the mouth of the cup. He looked at the tiny ripples in the liquid caused by the movement, and he narrowed his eyes. "Actually, sometimes I think to myself, what if I had not allowed her to leave me back then and I had killed Bai Heng instead? Would everything have turned out differently? She wouldn''t have to be so lonely and had to wait for me for such a long time. The thought of how horrible it is for her to be alone in the East fills me with hatred for myself and for my weakness back then. This is a mistake that I made and I must rectify it myself. No matter how heavy the price may be, I will not let her wait even a minute or second longer." Mr. Hu was stunned. He stretched out his hand refilled his cup with wine. After drinking three cups of wine straight, he breathed out deeply. He seemed to have finally organized his thoughts, and there was a strange look in his eyes. "I say, little Ye, Do you still see her as just a child?" "Is there any part of her that is not like a child?" Ye Qingxuan laughed bitterly. "Back then, when she was still in Avalon, I would always worry that she would get into trouble whenever she was out on her own. Sometimes I would get upset with her, but after seeing the look on her face, I really couldn''t stay upset for long." Mr. Hu looked at him and for some reason, there was a complicated look in his eyes. After a long time, he sighed and put down his cup of wine. "I guess that''s a look that she only shows to you?" Mr. Hu lamented softly, "Pardon me for going straight to the point, little Ye, but Bai Xi is not as weak and helpless as you think. In fact, I''m sure you have already sensed the other side of her long ago?" Ye Qingxuan did not respond. In fact, Mr. Hu was right. Back when he first saw Bai Xi, he was already aware of this. On that night when Old Phil urged him to open the door, he saw the real Bai Xi. There was a look in her eyes that was lonely yet stubborn. She did not care about anything and she did not trust anyone. Not even Ye Qingxuan, in the beginning. It was a one-sided gesture on Ye Qingxuan''s part to treat her as a weak and helpless little girl, who would not be able to survive without him. Bai Xi had chosen to play along with him, so she voluntarily concealed all her claws and teeth. But that did not mean that she would be helpless the moment she left him. When he saw the complicated look on Ye Qingxuan''s face, Mr. Hu could not help but shake his head. "You don''t have to worry about her safety. She may seem like an innocent and harmless little girl, but I assure you that no one dares to bully her. Those who dared to try to bully her or play games with her have all found themselves floating in the sewers of the capital." "You mean" "Yes, that''s right." Mr. Hu nodded and narrowed his eyes. "Have you seen how a cat toys around with rats? Yes, it''s exactly the same. Bit by bit, she forces her enemies into a corner. She uses her words, the look in her eyes, and even the gifts meant for other people, and eventually eliminates every line of defense. Finally, she will slowly drown her enemy in their own despair and hopelessness." After a brief moment of silence, Mr. Hu looked up and drank the entire cup of wine. He sighed softly. "At the very beginning, there were some loopholes in her plans, but eventually, she has become so adept that it''s become frightening. To us, what might be a terrible conflict and struggle that concerned life and death would merely be a learning opportunity for her. It was all just a game. Bai Heng gave her this opportunity and even gave her a successful example to look up to. Every time I see her, I feel like I am seeing the emperor of a decade ago. With her intelligence and wit, no matter what she chooses, there can be hundreds or thousands of possibilities with her. It''s a pity that she has chosen the most terrifying one" Amidst the ensuing silence, Ye Qingxuan raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. It looked like he was about to begin a scolding. "This was something that I was most worried about." As expected, she has gone bad At this moment, Ye Qingxuan was filled with regrets. D*mn that Bai Heng. He should have burned that Bai Heng into ashes back then in the barrack! "Perhaps, this is also the reason why Her Majesty has treated her as her only ''friend''." Mr. Hu pinched the empty cup and shook his head slightly. "Although the Emperor''s friendships are often short and fragile, I think that, deep down, Her Majesty probably sees Bai Xi as someone that is on the same level as her. This is an honor that even her enemy, Bai Heng, had yet to enjoy." With that, the look on Mr. Hu''s face turned bitter. "The scariest part is that Bai Heng may have already expected this. He knew that even if he was the one who personally delivered Bai Xi to Her Majesty, Her Majesty would still do her best to teach her and pass on her knowledge. She wants Bai Xi to become the person that she couldn''t be." "It feels like I no longer what''s happening anymore." There was a bitter look on Ye Qingxuan''s face. This world was changing too rapidly and mysteriously. He lowered his head to pour himself another drink. He did not mind getting drunk. There was a look of pain on his face. "Sir, this Bai Xi that you speak of, is she really the same person as the one I know?" Mr. Hu laughed uproariously as if he was gloating. "Everyone has a side of themselves that is not known to others. Little Ye, everyone has it. You can''t possibly treat her like a puppet that can no longer breathe the moment she leaves your side. There are things that she likes, and she knows how she wants to live her life. You have to learn to accept that." "Accept what?" Ye Qingxuan rolled his eyes. Why should I accept something that is wrong? I should rectify it! Ye Qingxuan was already thinking about what he should do to pull Bai Xi back. If he had known, he would not have allowed her to be so naughty and playful back then. But when he recalled those memories, there was a sense of helplessness in his heart. Most likely, my efforts will probably go to waste? "Don''t be foolish. One can''t always have things go their way, right? Or do you see her as a clay sculpture to be molded by you? She is a living and breathing person, Ye Qingxuan, just like you. Don''t always think about how you want to change her into the person you want her to be." Mr. Hu picked up his chopsticks and knocked them against his head. The chopsticks were slim and slender, yet they were black-colored when they were knocked against his head. "Accept the side of her that she doesn''t want you to see. Accept everything about her, if you truly love her." Ye Qingxuan was taken aback. After a long period of silence, he laughed bitterly and raised his cup of wine. "You are right. I have taken things for granted. Back in Romulus, Mr. Hu taught me how to become a musician. Who would have thought that when we met again, you would teach me something new?" "I''m just spouting nonsense." Mr. Hu shook his head with a guilty look on his face. "It''s an old bad habit of mine. I like to read some books then act like an expert based on my very superficial understanding of their contents. If you expect more from me, then you are going to be disappointed. The fact that I am still not married at this age and neither do I have any children" "Is it because you did not meet anyone you are fond of?" Mr. Hu kept quiet. He lowered his head and drank some wine. After some time, he sighed. "In my early years, I met one She treated me well, and I loved and respected her." Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Then why didn''t you get married?" "Back then, I was too na?ve. I became very egoistic after a few small achievements. I kept thinking that a man must accomplish great things while neglecting to think about how painful and sad it was for her to keep waiting for me. After that" He laughed bitterly, "After that, she left. She could not afford to wait for me any longer. She was of the bloodline of dragon. If she was not married by 20, she would have become an unwanted spinster. I let her down, so I never had the cheek to look for her. Fortunately, she found someone who cared for her much more than I did, so she has been happy all these years." Ye Qingxuan kept quiet and after some time, apologized, "I''m sorry. I shouldn''t have asked." "It''s okay. It''s just a mistake that I made in the past." Mr. Hu shook his head nonchalantly and stared at Ye Qingxuan before suddenly asking, "Little Ye, did you have any dreams when you were young?" "Ah?" Ye Qingxuan was surprised by Mr. Hu''s question. He thought hard about it, then he began to look guilty. "Oh, I have had many. I wanted to become an artist. Please don''t laugh, I am serious." Mr. Hu was laughing uproariously and waving his hands. "No, no. I just feel very assured. Compared to me, your dream is already a very mature one." Ye Qingxuan shook his helplessly. "What about you, Mr. Hu?" "Me? Hmm" Mr. Hu scratched his head a little awkwardly. There was an embarrassed smile on his face. "Alright, I have had many too I wanted to become a hero." "A hero?" "I don''t remember everything very clearly now. I only remember that back then, I would declare the things that I would do for the sake of heaven and earth, for the sake of the people, for the sake of the sacred school, and for the sake of world peace Ah, now that I think about it, it''s embarrassing." Mr. Hu lowered his head and drank his wine to conceal his awkwardness. In the end, he sighed. "Unfortunately, I didn''t manage to achieve any of them. In the end, I didn''t manage to become a hero." "I thought about becoming a hero too, but I gave up in the end." Ye Qingxuan consoled him, "But come to think of it, in times like these, to be able to be yourself instead of a hero is quite a blessing too." Mr. Hu laughed hoarsely. He looked like he was already drunk as he began talking to himself, "Yeah, after all, this is an era that has no place for heroes It''s such a wonderful thing to just be ourselves." At the end of the day, both the guest and the host enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Although both of them were very drunk, as musicians, they were still able to make sure that they could walk steadily. After walking Ye Qingxuan all the way to the place he stayed at, Mr, Hu bade him farewell and promised to see Ye Qingxuan off on the next day. Ye Qingxuan recalled how he was the one who saw Mr. Hu off back then in the Sacred City. He could not help but marvel at how fate worked in mysterious ways. However, after they had said farewell for some time, Mr. Hu suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. He turned and looked back at Ye Qingxuan. There was a complicated look on his face. Ye Qingxuan heard his voice, which was laced with drunken stupor, "Little Ye, in your opinion, when someone has made a mistake that cannot be undone, what should he do?" "Mr. Hu, this is so sudden. I don''t think I know the answer to your question." Ye Qingxuan laughed bitterly and helplessly. "But since the mistake cannot be undone, then one will just have to suffer and bear the guilt for the rest of his life?" "Shouldn''t he try to redeem himself?" "Since there is no other way to undo the mistake, why bother looking for excuses to escape from the guilt? In my opinion, the mistake has already been made. If one is only obsessed with escaping from the guilt, that seems a little irresponsible." With that, Ye Qingxuan shook his head awkwardly. "Please excuse me, I was too arrogant. But I feel that it''s only a matter of living the rest of one''s life with the pain and guilt. Surely it''s not so bad that one has to resort to all ways and means to escape from it?" Mr. Hu was stunned for a while before bursting into laughter. It was as if he had finally gotten the answer to a question that troubled him for a very long time. He finally felt a sense of relief. As he faced Ye Qingxuan, who was looking dazed, he clasped his hands and bowed slightly to the young man before turning to leave. Underneath the bright moonlight, his clothes flew in the wind, as if there was an unspeakable sense of relief and freedom. It was as if he had received redemption. 768 World of Rising Floods A torrent of water fell from the sky. Raindrops collided with the earth, and thousands of shattering sounds overlapped, turning into a roar that engulfed the heavens and the earth. Steam rose up thickly in the deep night. Even if you held an umbrella with all your might, you would still feel suffocated. As the ground shook, the huge arched gate slowly opened, and the lightning in the sky illuminated the hideous palace in the distance. The imperial secretary holding a lantern stood in the rain. He lowered his eyes. "Please come here, my lord." The secretary led him through the violent rain. His scarlet robe was made dark red by the rain, like blood. In the dark night, under the cover of heavy rain, waves of aether fluctuated one after another in the palace. They intertwined, shaking the rain curtains as if they wanted to reach the firmament, casting down limitless pressure. It was suffocating. After passing through countless palace gates, he finally came to the front hall of the palace. Rain poured down off of the eaves. The dark palace was illuminated by a faint light that lit up his somewhat pale face. At the palace gate there was a hoarse, forbidding voice, "His Majesty beckons." He took a deep breath, shook the raindrops off his clothes, bowed and entered the palace. He walked 15 paces then stopped under the jade steps and then bent down with the other two musicians. "Your humble minister, here to see Your Majesty." An old voice came from behind the curtain, "Tai Changqing, These are the men of outstanding talent that you recommended to me?" "They are the disciples that I trained myself." The old man sitting next to the jade steps responded with a sigh of relief. "Even if they are not the blood of devas, they are still not inferior to the Dragon Bloodline at all!" "Then let''s follow your idea." The frail old voice sighed. "Just please be quick, Tai Changqing. I am old, and cannot wait too long." Beneath the jade steps Tai Changqing said nothing, he just bowed deeply. This musician who had helped the Emperor manage the empire for 30 years was quite old, but there was no trace of his age on him. There was none of the white hair that the devas were so proud of on his head, as it had been completely removed, replaced by an array that was carved into his flesh. No one was there to assist him, and so the Emperor personally descended the steps to place a blood-stained scroll into Tai Changqing''s hands. "This is the map that Wu De risked his life to bring back," said the old Emperor. "Go 100,000 miles to the west. The thing rests in India." Tai Changqing sighed and kowtowed. "I beg you to reconsider, Your Majesty." The Emperor smiled and sat wearily on the jade steps. He sighed softly. "So you are old, Tai Changqing, just like me. How long will you live after I die? After the two of us are gone, what will happen to everything?" Tai Changqing said nothing. The hands holding the scroll trembled, but he refused to accept them. Those on the floor heard a hoarse voice. "Look up at me." When they dared to look up, they saw a pair of deep eyes reflecting their faces and the dim light within the palace. The stooped Emperor sat on the steps. His luxurious crown and imperial robes could not cover up his age and weakness. He did not have many days left. "Who will take charge of the situation after I die?" The Emperor toyed with the supreme imperial seal that he held. "Who will support this country that is about to collapse," he said to himself. "Will it be that pack of ambitious dukes and nobles just waiting for me to die? Or will be it be my few good nephews? Or maybe my daughter or was born deep within the palace and raised by my wife? No, they can''t do it. No one can. No one can control the Empire of Aurora. After I die, the floods will rise." The Emperor raised the seal in his hand, letting them see the supreme symbol of authority clearly, and told them, "Everything will collapse." A cold light burst forth in the Emperor''s eyes like a flame from hell, making everyone there bow in awe and kneel to the floor. "I can''t save it, but someone can. Someone who is ten times stronger than me, a hundred times, ten million times stronger than me can." The Emperor looked at the minister who had been the right-hand man of three emperors. He said in a hoarse voice, "Tai Changqing, bring it back. Bring that thing that is called the Monster of Truth back!" Bring the heir who can revitalize the Empire of Aurora, the wise man who can reorganize the chaotic world to me! In the silence, the wizened musician nodded sadly. "I will not fail you!" At that time he obeyed his master and kowtowed. He did not know that he would regret this far-away journey for the rest of his life. In the early morning, the gate leading to the Imperial District of Heaven''s Gate slowly opened. Mr. Hu saw Ye Qingxuan through the gate, and the attendants brought a horse. Mr. Hu patted the white horse''s neck and handed the reins to Ye Qingxuan with a parcel. "These are my orders. They''ll let you pass through the Imperial District without any obstacles. This is my letter of introduction, give it to His Majesty and he will be happy to help you." "I really don''t need a horse." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "I could just fly there." Mr. Hu shook his head. "Even though you''re the King of Yellow now, this is the Empire of Aurora, it''s best to lay low. The Imperial District is the land of the Dragon Bloodlines. If you have the help of the City in the Sky you don''t need to use your movements casually, which can lead to some unfortunate misunderstandings." Ye Qingxuan looked up into the sky, and his line of sight passed through the realm of aether. He was able to see that far away city high in the sky and the majestic Great Wall. He also saw Mr. Hu''s serious expression. "Alright, I''ll listen to you." Ye Qingxuan sighed. "Then I won''t keep you. Go on." Mr. Hu took a few steps back, and Ye Qingxuan took the horse''s reins and turned the horse. He waved to Mr. Hu. "Then let''s say goodbye here. I hope the road will not be too far." "Have a good trip," Mr. Hu waved. "Don''t waste your time here. It''ll take two days to get the capital from here. After you find Bai Xi, take here away from here quickly. Don''t worry about what''s going on here. And..." He paused as if he had thought of something embarrassing. He smiled awkwardly and shook his head. "Never mind. Go on, go on!" Ye Qingxuan glanced at him in confusion, saw his smile, and laughed as he rode away. He watched Ye Qingxuan leave until he disappeared at the end of the road. Mr. Hu grinned and looked relieved. "Goodbye," he whispered and turned back towards Heaven''s Gate. Your era has come, Ye Qingxuan. If I wasn''t there to give you some extra pointers, would you be able to wake up from your confusion? You still have a chance to recover from your mistakes, better than I did at that time, and better than those people in this world for whom it is too late to repent. No matter what you face, I hope you can find Bai Xi. And... This was what Mr. Hu had not said: "...don''t give up your desire to become a hero." Two days later, the earth moved and the mountains shook. The sky was covered by dark clouds, as if an iron curtain was slowly pressing down wherever the projection of the Great Wall covered, falling heavily upon Heaven''s Gate. Countless movements and arrays emerged from the void, and waves of aether burst forth one after another, turning into bonds that linked heaven and earth together tightly. They made the sky and the earth meet once again, leaving only the smallest gap. Heaven''s Gate. "...ah, Heaven''s Gate." Upon his warhorse, Bai Heng stared at the gate that he had traveled through countless times. Now he was going to attack it himself. He had mixed feelings. "Master Zhangsun, according to our previous arrangement I will leave this to you." He turned his horse and threw a tiger tally [1] to the blue-eyed Master Zhangsun. He yawned and then rode into the vast army where he disappeared. Even though Master Zhangsun did not think he would, Bai Heng was so assured that he had tossed military authority into the hands of someone else without the least bit of nostalgia, not even considering how he would get it back. The sharp sound of horns shook the earth, and armored horses swept out as the vast army advanced like a dark-grey iron blanket covering everything on the earth bit by bit. The white-robed Master Zhangsun rose up, driving forth the projection of the moon in the well, and looked at the man standing alone upon Heaven''s Gate. He made a slight bow. "Long time no see, Mr. Hu." Before the two armies, Mr. Hu sat casually upon the city wall. He did not care about his own safety, he just glanced up at him lazily. "If you have something to say then say it. Did you come here to attack Heaven''s Gate or to chit chat with me?" Master Zhangsun smiled indifferently. He did not feel embarrassed because he had lost face, but his eyes became solemn, and his low voice rang in Mr. Hu''s ears. "Tell me, Mr. Hu, what happened to you and Tai Changqing 15 years ago?" Even though he certainly would not answer that, he still held out a small hope. "No comment." Mr. Hu looked indifferent as he tapped his iron flute against his knee. The steel sound of lingering music carried a chill, making Zhangsun Jigui look disappointed. "Then I''d like to ask for you to condescend to instruct me." Mr. Hu shook his head. "You are my elder. I''ve never taught you anything. It''s not right for you to call me ''mister''. It''d be better if you called me by my name." Zhangsun Jigui was stunned, plunged into silence. Mr. Hu thought for a moment, then suddenly laughed as if he had realized something. "All these years after my master died, everyone has called me ''Mr. Hu'', and so they forgot my real name." He slapped his knee in mirth, shook his head and sighed. "It''s not a good name, but to have it forgotten by everyone is a little annoying. And that pack of bishops, their thoughts are so preposterous. Not only do they take people''s surnames to be their given names, but they also call people ''Sun''. Even though the pronunciation is almost the same, they''re completely different things Forget it, forget it. Let''s skip over this link to my name." He rose, brushed the dust off, and spun the iron flute, making a light and scattered sound. "I''m ready, how about you?" He looked Zhangsun Jigui up and down, and his expression became scornful. "It''s just you? It won''t be enough." "..." Zhangsun Jigui''s smile stiffened. His many years of decorum and self-restraint did not let him lose control of himself, but he was irritated, and his blue eyes grew dark. "Alright, Mr. Hu, then let me ask you to instruct me!" Bang! At that moment, the iron flute shrieked, and an outline that looked like a blazing sun emerged behind Mr. Hu. Violent, blazing light shone down, suddenly making everybody start to fade. On the outline of the scorching sun, every ray of light that shone down was an extremely thin line of aether. These numerous lines had unimaginable piercing power, like a blade that was so thin it was difficult to detect. In a flash, the ground in front of Heaven''s Gate shook. The sturdy road that thousands of people had walked on over the years turned into shredded dust in an instant as a storm blew from the sky. A sorrowful lament came from the huqin Moon in the Well. Compared to the blazing sun it was like flowing water. It filled everything in all directions, and then rose into a thick fog. The unobservable mist filled the sea of aether, and after it was cut off from the blazing sun, its nature interfered like an iron hammer, forging the aether into the outline of a monster. The music theory that governed summoning and banishing that came from the Moon in the Well was not for the ghosts and spirits of the Liu family, but of the other extreme of bestial naturethe divinity formed from the Bloodline of the Dragon. In a flash, the fog dissipated, and the mighty door of heaven emerged from the sea of aether. Numerous giant spirits came out of the door, garbed in iron, blank-faced, and holding giant halberds they strode upon wind and lightning as they roared towards the sky. They emerged from the fog. They were not as violent as ordinary summons but were bound by the strict path of commandment. After a hundred paces, the giant spirits took the iron bows off their backs and the sounds of bowstrings tightening came one after another, making the hair stand up on the back of people''s necks. At a glance, the giant spirits had already occupied the sky. At that moment, bronze arrows inscribed with many notes fell like violent rain with a sound like the buzzing of a colony of bees, covering all of Heaven''s Gate. This was the military power commanded by Master Zhangsun, and the reason he was leading the attack on Heaven''s Gate. After centuries of bestial nature being poured into them alternately, after they were bound by the commandment, the giant spirits were like puppets with the power of a large-scale war. Among them, they had 100,000 suits of armor, 500,000 bows, countless arrows And all of them were extraordinary items. Their only limitation was that Master Zhangsun was not good at mobilizing aether from long range. If he had enough power to control them, then even by himself he was strong enough to attack Heaven''s Gate! Under the wind and thunder, facing the arrows inscribed with Dragons'' Attack Music Theory, Mr. Hu raised the iron flute in his hand. The blazing sun revolved, and flames spurted out of it. The sun. The sun descended. The cruel sun truly appeared in the physical world at that moment, spreading endless light and heat, making the sky burn red and scorching the earth. Everything within a hundred paces was completely evaporated under the violent Music Theory of Change and turned to dust. Along with Mr. Hu''s movements, the layers of seals on his body came unraveled and the compressed, collapsed arrays were once again smoothed out. They covered his body like a burning iron brand and spread over his face. A huge illusion slowly emerged from the blazing sun. It had the outline of a human, but it had a trace of inhuman bestial nature. The tyrannical ape was bathed in flames as it stretched out its body. From the scorching sun, he cast a scornful glance at the world. Then, he raised his hand along with Mr. Hu and let it fall towards the illustrious Heavenly Palace! [1] A tiger-shaped tally issued to generals as imperial authorization for troop movement in ancient China 769 World of Rising Floods Part 2 Thunder burst forth. It was not the loud bang of a collision, but the rumbling roar of a fearsome ape. The palace of heaven shook, and tide-like waves of impact spread out from beneath the palm. Wherever it passed, all the giant spirits trembled, collapsing into silver-gray dust. Zhangsun Jigui took a few steps back, his expression ashen, traces of blood seeping out from his nose and mouth. Then, the ground of the palace of heaven collapsed. Streams of lava gathered into torrents, spewing out from the cracks. The lava was like torrential rains, spilling down in all directions. Showering in the rain of lava, the fearsome ape smiled grotesquely and moved forward. The heavens and the earth roared as if all the maliciousness and violence in the world had been condensed in the scarlet pair of eyes. Mr. Hu''s figure had been covered by the giant golden ape, which grew more and more concrete. At the moment, as the seal was broken, connected by the array, he had completely transformed into an unparalleled monster. Numerous forlorn whines sounded out of nowhere, in the torrent of qi of yin, countless ghostly beasts danced to the crisp notes sounding from the biwa. Darkness coursed through the sky, converging together into a ray, revealing the contours of the figure that condensed from the endless hatred all the phantom beasts had felt before their deaths. As the Yaksa merged with it, the fuzzy giant snake opened its eyes, causing the heavens and the earth to suddenly darken. When it closed its eyes, everything shone brightly. When it exhaled, it stirred up a suffocating F?hn wind, and when it inhaled, the wind evolved into boundless frost and ice. As the projection of the Yaksa blended into it, the holy spirit of the head of House Liu family also settled into it. A look unique to those who had gone through the vicissitudes of life lit up in the eyes that only had a chilling coldness and madness in it initially, making it glow like moonlight. It was... the Torch Dragon! As soon as it appeared, the Torch Dragon controlled the torrents and advanced, fighting with the fearsome ape, buying Zhangsun Jigui precious time to catch his breath. Then, jade drums emerged in the sky, and the head of one of the nine families of the dragon bloodline lifted the drum stick and played to the beats of the thunder and lightning of the Armageddon with all his might. Countless rays of lightning, struck from the sky like knives and axes, on the golden hair of the fearsome ape, but could only leave a few scorch marks more often than not. However, it provoked the viciousness in the animal nature of the ape, causing the fearsome ape to fight even more bravely. The expression of Zhangsun Jigui kept on changing, the look in his eyes dark. He did not expect that the three musicians joining forces at the moment could not even overpower a musician who was not even of Deva descent. The longer they fought, the more alarmed he felt. He couldn''t figure out where the power was coming from The tide-like sounds of countless metals colliding together suddenly burst forth. The heavens and the earth froze. God knew how many ice crystals and pieces of iron collided together for such a shocking roar to be produced. The Chun Jun sword was unsheathed. A cold light emerged from the aged body, flitting across the battlefield. For the first time, an attack left a scar on the chest of the giant ape. It was Yuan Changqing. The old man stepped out of the army of soldiers and moved forward. He withdrew his hands from the wide armholes of his shirt, then poked his hands out from the neck hole, thus easily removing his robe and shirt which he found troublesome, letting them hang around his waist. Beneath his white hair, muscles bulged, and sweat evaporated from his pores, turning into white fog. As he lifted his hand, the Chun Jun sword turned into a stream of light and once again returned to his hand, sketching a faint outline in the gap between the bright and the dark. "Although winning with numbers makes one a bad sport, when the opponent is the only masterpiece of the Tai Changqing in the past, the heir of his legacy who has surpassed him, our actions shouldn''t be considered too exaggerated no matter how cautious we are." The old man sighed softly and lifted his left hand to wipe his nose. "It''s a pity. No matter what, you can be considered a strong enemy, and I still want to have a good fight with you. So, please struggle with all your might..." He smiled slightly, his eyes filled with obvious murderous intent and crazy anticipation. "It''s alright even if we both end up dead." At the moment, the enraged catastrophe roared. The huge body that was non-human, to begin with, expanded once more with its screams as it raised its head and howled to the sky. The intense heat of the scorching sun erupted once more, forcing everyone to retreat. It bathed in a furnace that had such a high temperature that it was like the earth''s core, screaming furiously, the outline of its figure changing. When the blazing light dissipated, the creature bathing in the F?hn wind had become a total monster. At the moment, four heads had grown out of the body of the fearsome ape, looking in all directions. It waved its eight arms towards different directions, causing the ground to crack. Countless broken pieces of iron slumbering beneath the battlefield gathered together, melting in the flares of the hot sun, being recast into various shapes. In a flash, in its hands, the ordinary pieces of iron which were huge and decaying gave off a new radiance. After the rust and stains faded, a brilliant, godly light radiated from them. Among the weapons in its hands were a trident, a red umbrella, a tiger-shaped copper hammer, a magical bottle, a godly sword, and a fearsome knife... Hanuman, the catastrophe! It was the supreme patron saint that once resided in the Nalanda Temple of India, the immortal monster created by the third generation of Tung Wang Kung by referring to the Hecatoncheir when he was reincarnated in India as Buddha! After being sealed in Mr. Hu''s body for more than a decade, the fearsome ape was finally released to walk on the earth and sprinkle the seeds of complete destruction to all living creatures and those who had slandered Buddha! For some reason unknown, despite the fact that his consciousness had obviously been eroded by the violent bestiality, Mr. Hu suddenly felt ridiculous, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, as if he was in a trance-like state. "Eh, I''m no longer a child of seven or eight years old, yet I''m still leaping around like a monkey..." Back when Mr. Hu was a teenager, someone stroked his messy hair, shaking his head and sighing. "How about I nickname you ''little monkey'' from now on?" What my teacher said back then really came true. In the 15 years after my teacher''s death, I seem to have really become a monkey, yet I have felt no shame about it. Instead, I have been secretly feeling happy, being delighted because of how absurd I have become, completely forgetting about what my teacher once entrusted me with. "After you all grow up, you will be my heirs and become the ones supporting the country, heroes far surpassing me..." But I have neither supported the country nor become a hero. Instead, in order to escape from the conflicts, I casually took up a job, then traveled far away to some place outside Aurora, once again embarking on a journey with no date of return. It was like me 15 years ago. It''s just that I am already alone now. "We''re going to India." In his trance-like state, he heard his teacher''s voice ring out again. How did I feel when I set foot on the journey to the West? My mind was full of the joy of setting off on a thousand-mile journey and the anticipation of achieving personal accomplishments, but I never expected in the slightest that, in the end, it would become a long journey of endless killing. "Kill them all." In his memory, his teacher stood in the pool of blood in the Nalanda Temple, looking at him calmly, then repeated himself again, "All." "Alright, sir." He stabbed down with the sword in his hand, and blood spurted out, a few drops landing on his face. In the sound of the body falling to the ground, he closed his eyes, forgetting about who he was and where he was. After his mind was in a state of blankness, his body would loyally obey the command. The deaths along the thousands of miles had paved a road of bones, of which I could see no end. After getting used to seeing pair after pair of desperate eyes, I was no longer like myself. No longer like the hero in my dreams either... For the sake of some things which are considered right, or, like fifteen years ago, for the sake of "truth." As long as it is for their sake, any sacrifice is worth it. It''s alright no matter who the one sacrificed is. In the end, he returned alone from India to the capital, to the main hall again. "Your Majesty, this is the future you want..." He knelt before the steps made of jade, closing his eyes in the ecstasy of the ruler, and opened the iron case, showing the emperor the burnt corpse. "In this... thing that used to be my teacher." Thus, after a sacrifice had been made, the dynasty could continue. Creation has been undertaken in the wrong way. A ruler of unparalleled wisdom descended. In contrast, the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents, the sacrifices of my teacher and juniors, and the pain that has been following me for my whole life; the price paid is simply too insignificant that it isn''t even worth mentioning. Since then, he had never thought of becoming a hero. He had already known himself clearly for who he was. In the shrill howl, the iron gleam of the sword whistled as it broke through the air. The gleam was as clear as a mirror, but also as deft as a bird, lingering in the air, like a long silver ray. The sharp sound of metals colliding burst forth. The trident broke inch by inch, falling from Hanuman''s hand, turning into iron filings that fluttered in the wind. The gleam of the sword circled his neck, chopping off a head. Blood spewed out, falling on Yuan Changqing''s white hair. Despite having personally chopped off a head of the catastrophe, Yuan Changqing had no joy on his face; instead, his expression was dark. "It''s upsetting, really upsetting!" He flicked the blood of the catastrophe from the ridge of the Chun Jun sword and demanded in an irritated tone, "Hey! What the heck are you doing? I am full of anticipation for our fight, but you got distracted?" In the heavy rain of the Armageddon, claps of thunder disguised the long silence. After a long time, only did the head of the catastrophe slowly lift. "My apologies," said the head. "I suddenly remembered some memories of the past." Yuan Changqing squinted his eyes. "It''s alright. When one grows old, one will become demented. When one washes one''s hair, one will accidentally urinate if one isn''t paying attention. You have to get used to it." The bare-chested, burly old man strolled forward, and although his tone was calm, his gaze became colder and colder. "So, rest assured, I will help you become focused." At the moment, several heads of their respective households were stunned at the same time. Initially, their music theories were all in harmony and connected, and every one of them was in resonance. When Yuan Changqing stepped forward, the resonance was cut off. A piercing glow emerged from Yuan Changqing''s scepter. It need not deliberately rid itself of the ties with the rest. Just by surging in power in a flash, its momentum made it seem like a solitary peak rising into the sky, piercing through the wind and the snow, the flowers, and the moon. It showed no reluctance to part with the deliberate harmony they maintained, and it lost the power and help obtained from the resonance. However, Yuan Changqing''s strength was not by any means weakened in the slightest. Instead, the horrifying aura became more and more fierce and violent. It broke through the worries of the mortal realm and spilled an unparalleled light down onto the world. At that moment, at Yuan Changqing''s waist, the scabbard that accompanied him for more than 60 years cracked. It could no longer accommodate the peerless blade. Innumerable sword movements rose from him, colliding and scraping against each other, producing hot sparks out of thin air. Finally, they gathered on the Chun Jun sword. At the moment, its own outline appeared on the incorporeal body of the sword. The color of iron emerged from the empty sheath at the same time. It no longer seemed to be as secretive and mysterious as it was in the past. It looked just like ordinary iron. However, Zhangsun Jigui suddenly felt his teeth aching. That madman is intending to go all out! For a guy like Yuan Changqing, the so-called "joining forces" did not exist right from the beginning, because once he got serious about it, everything other than the Chun Jun sword, where the spirits of the swordsmen of each generation of House Yuan resided, would be burdened, himself included, not to mention so-called companions and teammates. Anyone daring to get in his way, even if it was his eldest grandson, Yuan He, would be pierced through by his sword. At the moment, an endless gleam of iron emerged from thin air with Yuan Changqing''s action. On the Yujing Mountain thousands of miles away, countless blades that were nailed into the stone whined sonorously. Responding to Yuan Changqing''s call, they cast themselves towards where the Chun Jun sword was. In a flash, countless swords arrived mightily, the iron gleaming, opening up a tunnel of vacuum in the sky above. Fiery tracks were left by the burning metals, which then descended from the sky. A turbid torrent of iron swept across the battlefield. Floodwater surged to the sky. No one had ever challenged a catastrophe head-on so arrogantly before, as if he intended to strike through the monster in front of him together with the city that had never fallen behind it. But at the moment, everyone who had witnessed the strike of the sword couldn''t help but start doubting. Could the monster and the city withstand the strike that had reached the peak of perfection? Would Heaven''s Gate shrouded by the shadow of the Great Wall and the fearsome ape which was the embodiment of the catastrophe be swallowed up by the turbid torrent in the sky? At the moment, the monster that was recalling his past finally raised his head. He faced his enemy straightforwardly, hiding nothing. The streaks of blood all faded from his eyes, returning to the quiet color of black it had been in the past. They were human eyes, and as compared to the scariness and grotesqueness of the catastrophe, they were so insignificant that they were not worth mentioning. But as the pair of eyes looked down, the fearsome ape roared and bellowed, directly facing the power that the countless swords of souls from Yujing Mountain had gathered into, and struck! His eight arms clenched the weapons, and it was as if he had held on tightly to the axis of the heavens and the earth, making the universe rotate in his hands, propelling the stars to orbit and everything to operate. The blades of the knives and the swords sketched their trajectories in midair, which were connected to each other. They made a perfect circle. It was like the waterwheel of the heavens and the earth, the wheel of all things. It was solemn and cold, in control of everything. It pushed away the forces of life and death, light and darkness, day and night, with the torrent of swords in front of it, and rotated. Numerous elements collided in the rotation, scraping against each other like steel. Sparks flew, and a harsh rumble sounded. As a result, the torrent shook violently, the turbid waves surged. The stream of iron scraped against the wheel, and flares ruptured one after another, stinging everyone''s eyes. Then, when the torrent dissipated, everyone couldn''t help but widen their eyes. The ape had withstood the blow?! It managed to directly withstand the impact from the torrent of qi of swords that all the power of House Yuan had converged into! As the weapons shattered inch by inch under the impact of the torrent, the fearsome ape bathed in blood howled at the sky. And behind him, the city gates were completely undamaged! All the force had been by personally intercepted and endured by the catastrophe, by Mr. Hu. Not even the slightest bit was leaked, nor did it set off any terrifying afterwinds that had been expected. It was as if the ape had opened his mouth and swallowed the deadly torrent into his belly. Therefore, its body was broken and bloody. The blood spewed out of the wounds like lava, rising into the sky, spilling down a burning brilliance. On the face that had been struck through by the sword, the pair of black eyes was still composed and resolute. Animal nature no longer shrouded it. Instead, it was replaced by a decisive look truly belonging to a human being. 770 Hero The dead silence was only broken by Yuan Changqing''s laughter. "What''s going on? Finally regained consciousness?" This old man was admiring the horrible wounds on the giant beast as he expressed his genuine awe, "Look at how the good and bad are both destroyed together. Isn''t this refreshing!" "I just suddenly thought things through" The fearsome ape threw the broken sword aside and stared directly at the soldiers and horses ahead. Then, it turned around and looked back at the last city gate that it was defending. War had finally come. It could never die, and 15 years later, it had been revived once again to burn this country, which should have been destroyed long ago, completely to the ground. Regardless of any Emperor or bloodline of the dragon, any attempts to stop this day from coming was a mistake. No one knew this better than Mr. Hu. Perhaps he should have destroyed that thing 15 years ago, so that the Aurora, which had been forcefully prolonged, would lead him to the ending he deserved. If he had allowed this world to be flooded, the teachers would not have died and he would have had to suffer for 15 years. Perhaps he could have chosen to remain anonymous, or perhaps he could have gone to look for that woman that was waiting for him. They would escape from this place together and go to the World of the Dark. They could find some deserted land and build a house made of straw. A future like that might still have its pain and suffering but compared to the dull life that he was leading now, undoubtedly, the former would have been a blessing. Perhaps, he could have chosen not to force himself to become a hero. For all these years, he had always been thinking about another possibility, another life, another way that he could make up for his mistake. It was only until this day arrived that he finally realized that it was simply too late to try and make up for his mistake. 15 years ago, when he opened that box in front of the Emperor, his destiny had already more or less been decided. It was fated that he would not be able to redeem himself. His only choice was to drag out the rest of his life in this world and bear all the pain and regrets on his own. There would be no redemption. But at this moment, as he was face-to-face with the impending war, he did not expect that his pain and suffering would turn into a form of relief. It was like how a prisoner would welcome his trial. At the end of this war, no matter which side won, there should be nothing left of the old dynasty? His journey to the West was ultimately a failure. He made sacrifices, lost everything, obtain the truth and created a wise ruler After so many changes, the outcome was still the same. Suffering for half a lifetime for nothing was simply a waste of effort. It was like a dream. And now, it was finally time to wake up from this long and arduous dream. This was why when the bloody monster lifted its head to look at the soldiers and horses heading its way, there was a smile on its broken face. "Look at this. This shall be my greatest achievement that no one will know about. A future that will continue on after all the sacrifices!" Mr. Hu proudly extended both his arms to show off his proudest piece of work to his enemies. There was arrogance in his eyes as he looked down on them, "Just as you guessed it is me who has delayed this day for 15 years!" There was a solemn look on the face of Zhangsun Jigui. "Indeed, you were the one that swapped the prince 15 years ago" His eyes were cold. "And now you are gloating. Aren''t you ashamed?" "It was a mistake that I made but unfortunately, I have decided not to repent." The fearsome ape took a step in the direction of its enemies to block them off, "Since I''m already going to die, why am I still stubborn? Right?" "" Zhangsun Jigui kept quiet and spoke no more. He did not know what to say nor did he wish to say anymore. Just like how metal clashed with rock, their only reaction was to burst into shouts and roars of killing. As turbulence spread across heaven and earth due to the terrible movement, reckless and joyful laughter could be heard. It was Mr. Hu. He was leaning back and laughing. After he was no longer able to make up for his mistakes, he did not learn how to forgive himself. Instead, he chose to remain stubborn. I''m afraid there''s nothing that can help me now? For the sake of this country that should have been destroyed long ago, my teachers and juniors have all died. But I have learned nothing from this. I am still so hopelessly stupid! Despite having regretted for so many years, he was still insistent on going down the wrong path the only consolation was that this time around, the only person he would have to sacrifice was himself. Amidst the roars, the images of countless palace watchtowers appeared out of nowhere on the battlefield to seal him off. The image of the Moon in the Well hung high in the vault of heaven and cast down the image of the City in the Sky to seal off both inside and outside. Soon after, the giant spirits drew their swords and charged at the fearsome ape. The torch dragon howled in fury while the earth shattered. Countless evil beasts and spirits climbed out of the darkness and gathered together to form a pitch-black current that flowed recklessly everywhere. It was as if the terror of the depths of hell was spreading in all directions. In the dark clouds were countless streaks of lightning and thunder. The thunder dragon screamed and appeared out of the layers of clouds. One could almost make out the shimmering formation beneath its countless streaks of electricity. On the other hand, as the slender and agile fury dragon slithered in the vault of heaven and extended downwards, both dragons clashed and created the roar of friction of metals. In the greatest depths of the realm of aether, the gigantic projection of the City in the Sky exerted an incredible force of attraction downwards and seemed to be holding the entire "weight" of the City in the Sky by relying on the shackle. It was a representation of heaven''s wrath befalling on mankind, a chain that was capable of restraining God and catastrophe. In an instant, the fearsome ape was covered by the lock of thunder and restrained over many layers. Shortly after, the image of the palace watchtowers in the Moon in the Well quickly turned into a platform that was a thousand feet long. On the platform, millions of nature interferences rose and fell together like an explosion of stars, creating a hopeless situation that was tens of thousands of times worse than the Dark Zone. Tens of thousands of giant spirits were dragging the lock of God''s punishment while hoisting the ape of catastrophe onto the platform. The waves of evil beasts gathered into a rumbling ocean as countless palms stretched out from within. Those slender and absurd arms were illusional and did not even possess any physical weight yet every time they touched the fearsome ape, they would suck away some of the latter''s power. It was as if they were on the brink of death and were desperately reaching for life. As they continued to suck life away like the ocean abyss, the image of Hanuman began to collapse bit by bit, unveiling the host within that was being heavily restrained. It was the immortal-bundling lock, followed by the immortal-banishing platform, then the lake of nine levels of hell. Finally, Yuan Changqing sighed and closed his eyes. A majestic suit of iron armor appeared on his body as he climbed up the stairs and stepped onto the platform. With the boost from the City in the Sky, Chun Jun sword was undergoing a rapid transformation. It was completely covered by a thick blanket of scarlet as the weapons of the universe gathered together to form the dragon-slayer sword. "I had wanted to have a proper battle with you. It''s a pity that you didn''t give me the chance" He lowered his head and looked down at the prisoner, who was restrained on the guillotine. There was a look of pity and regret in his eyes. "Is there anything else you want to say? You can say anything you want. You must have some last words." Mr. Hu kept quiet for a long time before he suddenly whispered, "Everything that I have done has been a mistake, right?" "Perhaps." Yuan Changqing answered indifferently, "But in this world, who dares to say that he is always right?" "Indeed." Mr. Hu hung his head. "Regardless of right or wrong, something had to do it, right? Even if there comes a day where the world will be flooded" "Indeed." Yuan Changqing nodded as the look of pity never left his face. What a worthy opponent. Why couldn''t we have sparred against each other? Mr. Hu kept quiet and merely closed his eyes. For some reason, he recalled the look on his teacher''s face before he died 15 years ago. That old man was not shocked nor enraged. He did not even put up a fight. He had merely taken a look at the blade of the sword that had stabbed into his chest, then smiled. With whatever strength and energy he had left, he embraced Mr. Hu. "Little monkey," the old man, who had turned into a monster, muttered softly, "from now on, I''m afraid you will have to suffer." Those were his last words. Why didn''t I understand what he meant earlier? "After all of you have grown up, you all will succeed me" Undoubtedly, that was his teacher''s last hope that he had pinned on all of them. "All of you will grow up to become the pillars of this country, and become heroes that will far surpass me." Indeed, there will come a day when I will pass on too. And all of you will inherit my conviction, my power and my mistakes! All of you represent the future and you will all surpass me. All of you will find a way to break through the limitations I faced and face this cruel world. You will either choose to maintain the status quo or choose to change everything. All of you will become heroes! "Yes, leave it to me." This was an answer that was given 15 years too late. He muttered under his breath and lowered his head. He had found himself in the worst possible situation, yet his heart was filled with unbelievable joy. He could not help himself as tears flowed freely. Amidst the roars of heaven and earth and the congregation of the weapons of the universe. The end was here. "Farewell." Under the murderous melody, Yuan Changqing raised the dragon-slayer sword and said farewell, "It is my honor to be able to kill you." Mr. Hu laughed and looked up at the sky. "Teacher, please watch me from the heavens." Perhaps everything that I have done has just been a waste of my efforts. Perhaps the only thing that would come out of all my sacrifices was just a huge mistake. But even so, there had to be someone in this world to make this decision. And if this decision was wrong, then may it be rectified a new mistake. Use a new mistake to overwrite the old one then. Amidst the endless mistakes, lives would pass on. As time interchanged between war and peace, heroes would emerge, only to be overthrown eventually. The land, the sky, and the world would all undergo changes. But there would be no end to mistakes, and they would always be too far from what was right. As long as this mistake was passed down, there would come a day in the future when everything would finally be made right once more! This was what it truly meant to be a hero. "I want to become a hero!" In that instant, the final seal, "Tai Shang," opened up in the depths of his eyes. With that, the hero of the world had arrived! The world beneath the dragon-slayer sword suddenly stopped. Within those burning pair of gold-colored eyes, the trace of the dragon-slayer sword was brought to a sudden halt. There was a sharp and high-pitched sound from far away that pierced through the clouds, which was then followed by the sounds of drums and metals clashing against each other. It was as if a melody, that was filled with despair and finality, was spreading in all directions. Beneath the immortal-bundling lock was a shackle that was formed by the interweaving streaks of lightning. It began to tremble violently as it was no longer able to hold down the terrible power that was emerging from the body. From the lake of nine levels of hell, countless forms of darkness were screaming at the top of their lungs. More and more spots of burning light were rising from the depths of the ocean abyss, like the blade of a sword piercing through the darkness. In the end, all the evil spirits and beasts evaporated even as they screamed. Within the ocean of light, countless music theories were interwoven with each other and were extending out of Mr. Hu''s body. Beneath his flesh and muscle, the alchemy formations that had been carved into his bones were all beginning to light up, one by one. A fire that seemed capable of creating heaven and earth was coursing through his veins, burning his flesh and muscle and limbs. All the ordinary human parts had completely evaporated. Right now, there was only a bright and burning silhouette that could not be looked at directly. This was the final work of Tai Changqing, Seal of Tai Shang! With catastrophe as the source, the fearsome ape was completely burnt to ashes. In turn, the human was given incredible power and flames to become a vessel that was capable of miracles and would turn life into hammer and pain into felt. With the spirit-tower heart, and setting moon and seven stars, countless intentions flowed within the flames of light. Finally, after everything had been gathered together, an element, that was so bright that no one would be able to look at it directly, was finally cast. "Hero"! A hero had arrived. The impact was terrifying that the Lord of Deva quickly retreated with a solemn look on his face. Yuan Changqing was the only one with joy on his face. "Yes! This is the way! This is how it should be!" He could not help but laugh out loud while gripping Chun Jun sword tightly. Completely bathed in a temperature that was so high that it was capable of evaporating anything, he rushed towards his enemy, who was slowly rising within the burning light. His steely eyes were filled with hope that did not seem human. "Bai Heng was right after all! You are the opponent that will force me to do my best Come over! I have been waiting for 20 years for this day to come!" He burst into wild laughter like a beast. He struck with his sword and tore through lightning and fire and into the flame. In a flash, the light of the sword flowed and penetrated 8,000 worlds and stabbed at the enemy. In that instant, the immortal-bundling lock was completely broken. Golden armor appeared from within the flames, and streams of seven-colored light interwoven into clouds before descending from the sky. After the catastrophe and he had been completely burnt, the man, who had now become a hero, lifted his head. In his hands, empty gravitational force gathered and extended forward to unleash a terrible power that was capable of distorting the entire world. There was no music theory or element or aether. Just pure power! A total of 108,641 jin! Hurricanes began to blow. The land trembled like water ripples as flames shot up into the sky to light up the dark heaven and earth. Amidst the roars, Yuan Changqing flew out. An arm was completely broken, but it was also repairing itself rapidly. His entire body was covered in scarlet-red blood, making him look like the devil. But there was only the look of joy on his face. There was no hatred in his eyes, only pleasure and gratitude. He did not fear the enemy''s power, but was completely rejuvenated instead! "What is that?" The prince was pale in the face. After personally witnessing such terrifying power, he began to doubt this world. "That''s a hero." Bai Heng smiled as he admired this scene. He raised his cup of wine and took a gulp before continuing calmly, "Seems like there is quite a lot of truth in that legend. Tai Changqing had dug out an ancient artifact at the foot of Luo Jia mountain. It was said to be an artifact that was used by the ancient Devas to hammer into the seabed in order to stabilize tsunami." He paused for a while and pondered for some time before saying the name of that object, "Super-mass tidal brake valve." 771 Hero and Death "Snort..." Someone was amused by this strange name. But his smile soon disappeared. Within the blowing hurricane, it was nearly suffocating. The center of the battlefield was no longer visible, and only the destructive storm could be faintly glimpsed. Thunder and electricity intertwined. This was a storm created by a single person. A terrible tornado rushed into the sky. Someone was using their own individual power to resist the full-scale siege of the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline! "There''s nothing funny about this," Bai Heng said coldly. "In legends, once it started it could pin the seas under only its own weight, trapping the mighty power of the tides. Before Tai Changqing took it away it had pinned the North Sea for 400 years, settling 4,800 months worth of tides. The natives called it ''The Needle that Pins the Sea,'' the artifact that the Celestial Emperor sent down to the mortal world. Before I had seen it with my own eyes I thought it was a legend and a joke. I never would have thought that something so terrifying would exist in the human world." He paused, lifted his cup and filled it with the dust on the wind. He then overturned it, pouring the bloody dust back into the wind. Twisted pieces of iron shrieked through the violent wind, shattering the porcelain cup in his hand and leaving a torn wound. Bai Heng lowered his head and looked at the wound in his finger. He licked it and his expression became calm. "Look, in the face of it, no natural disaster is worth fearing. Everyone, this is the strongest musician under the Emperor''s command. As long as he makes up his mind and sacrifices himself he can easily destroy our coalition forces. After Master Yuan dies in battle, I am afraid we will have to directly face that hero''s power..." Amid the silence, Bai Heng grinned and turned to say farewell, "So, I will go ahead and prepare. I would ask that you all stay calm and don''t get too excited." Soon his figure melted into the distance and was not seen again. In the violent storm, a power that exceeded the limits of the imagination swept across, cracking the earth and distorting it. A great quantity of soil was swept up into the air and surrounded the void weapon, creating a fierce tornado. The distorted gravity enveloped the hero''s hands. The power that was originally unrealistic became real under human observation, creating a field so dark that even light was distorted. He held the weapon that had once fettered the ocean and tethered the tides and tidal waves like wild horses. After overlooking the terrible cost and countercharge, it had become an all-conquering weapon. The sand that was drawn in by the gravity surrounded it, creating an ultra-dense substance even greater than steel, just as satellites were bound by the gravitational force of their star. In reality, it was unlikely that there was any material in the physical world that could withstand a frontal attack from it. The cost of harnessing this power, even for this man who had transformed into a hero, was probably not as easy to pay as he had imagined. The power that had been exchanged for the burning of a catastrophe was the qualification needed to use this terrifying force. In such a chaotic environment, the aether still retained its substance, resisting the gravitational attraction. But a line of silver light still peeled off the hero''s body, tangling up into a circle and wrapping around the dark area like the thorns around a rose. That was the mark of burning life. With this power you were unbreakable! Facing the power accumulated by the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline for centuries, Mr. Hu roared, and instead of showing weakness, pressed harder and harder against the siege, dealing a heavy wound to the Torch Dragon. Even so, a huge hole opened up in his chest. The sword that had nearly pierced the heavens stabbed out from Yuan Changqing, piercing through earth, water, fire, and wind, tearing through rain and iron. Under the cohesion of the sword movement aether transformed into iron light, too fine for humans to discern, that slashed forward along with the Chun Jun sword. The sword should have stabbed into empty air, but just like light penetrating into water, after heavy refraction under the deflection of gravity to an angle too fine to measure, it entered the enemy''s chest. There was only a slender slice in the chest, but a riotous blast of aether burst a hole in Mr. Hu''s back. If he had not already transformed into a non-human, he would already have been smashed to pieces by the chaos of the sword. Faced with such enormous pressure, Yuan Changqing''s offensive had not only not slowed down but had grown more and more fierce. It seemed like he was indescribably happy. The things which he had desired for so long was right before him. A strong enemy and death. Both of them were now at his fingertips. And so, he reveled like a wild beast. After abandoning his cumbersome body, Yuan Changqing had incarnated a Holy Spirit with the Chun Jun Scepter. Now, bearing the brunt of the storm as well as Mr. Hu''s offensive was like the rust was being ground away in an unreasonably fierce manner. He wore his learning lightly. Yuan Changqing''s music theory itself was something he had sought from death itself. After 20 years of loneliness and waiting for what he had exchanged for was an unprecedented increase in power. It was not an increase in quantity, but a change in quality. It was not even a promotion of his Scepter and music theory. In the Chun Jun Sword, the elements formed of gathered killing power expanded wildly, emitting a huge amount of pressure. In his ecstasy, the elements continued to expand and shrink, shatter and reform. They were born and destroyed dozens of times, divided into four parts which intertwined with each other layer upon layer until it formed a strange matrix. When the four intertwined into a ring Yuan Changqing''s figure grew thinner and more frightening. He had already integrated everything into the Chun Jun Sword. Even the Chun Jun Sword, which had been forged from the bones of lords of past eras could not withstand such insane power, and faint cracks appeared on it. In the end, in his ecstasy, Yuan Changqing turned the sword around, aimed it at his body, and cut horizontally. After two passes with the sword, he fell apart along with the Chun Jun Sword. In the blazing light, the furnace of creation played out once again. An endless amount of aether came together, flying with the four lines of elements and forming four completely different images. He sought death within death. In his display of abandoning his life, he had grasped the essence and meaning of life and then had completely abandoned that cumbersome thing! He had gazed at death, he had pursued death, and finally he had become death! At that moment, the bell in Yuan He''s sheath rang out a lament. A broken sword fell from the sky and into his hands. It was the body of the Chun Jun Sword. After stripping away Yuan Changqing''s decades of cultivation, it had reverted to its original form. The Yun Chun Sword had always been the sword that Yuan Changqing carried. It was never more than a step away from him. For it to appear in the hands of another could only mean one thingYuan Changqing had died. But Yuan He did not wail and beat the ground, nor did he even shed tears like an ordinary person. There was no sadness in his eyes, only an indescribably envy, and a fascination with those four rays of light! Life was nothing more than the process of seeking death. Death was worth it. At the moment of death, Yuan Changqing, the strongest head of a household in history, had touched the realm that the ancestors of the past had been fascinated by, lightly treading on the edges of the Originator. At that moment, the Originator roared, and four rivers surged out. After piercing through the realm of aether they fell from it and absorbed the power of the sea of aether. Most of the aether in the Empire of Aurora was involved in this, forming a terrible vacuum. Then it fell into the elements that had flown out of Yuan Changqing''s body. Under the reflection of the four elements, all things and every phenomenon were frozen in an instant. Only the endless blazing light and terrible darkness gathered in the sky. Four figures emerged from the elements, each of them with Yuan Changqing''s face. One was a child; one was an old man; one was in the prime of life, cold and fierce, like he would destroy everything; and one was quiet as a virgin, it fluttered illusorily, so that it was difficult to tell if it existed or not. The four of them had four different ancient swords. The elements on the swords echoed each other, creating an outline of purest death and destruction. Music theory spread out from within, intertwining to form a huge alchemy array that covered the entire battlefield. Everything cried out a lament. It was now that the four elements revealed their own essential power within the void. Punish, slay, trap, sever! After exhausting that which the Yuan family had accumulated, the bridge spanning life and death, the explanation of the truth of destruction and the terrible artifact that simulated the end of the world were formed from Yuan Changqing''s bones. At the moment that he died, he finally completed the long-held wish of his ancestors to forge his own soul and bones into a container for these four destructions. Under the reflection from the four blades, the earth was laid to waste and cracks appeared in it. The scorched earth was covered with frost. The sky was ashen and the wind shrieked. The light of the stars could not be seen through the cracked sky because the stars had already been destroyed by this eternal catastrophe. Between heaven and earth, a terrible crack leading to the heart of the earth appeared. But there was no geothermal heat in this crack. The core of the planet had cooled. A broken skeleton sat upright between the shattered heavens and the earth. There was no life left in the world. Only the tragic wreckage of the planet indicated that anything had ever existed. This was the end of the earth, the sky, the stars, the world and everything in it. It was a scene where everything was destroyed, and everything had lost its meaning. At this moment, under the cover of the Sword of the End, Heaven''s Gate screamed and swayed and was caught in that scene of the end times. It was weathered rapidly, and the soldiers on the walls cried out as they wilted bit by bit. Even the coalition force had to retreat in the face of this power, leaving the land covered in dead bodies. At this point, only non-humans could interfere with the battle. It was a war between monsters and the world, between a hero and death. Between the shattered heavens and the earth, the heavy weapon collided with the Sword of the End and the horrible battle reached its climax. As the battle changed, the four continued to merge and split, leaving a scar on Mr. Hu''s body. Even though he had died, Yuan Changqing''s laughter still seemed to reverberate through this eternal destruction. As the battle grew fiercer, the old man''s once insane figure grew clearer and clearer. Even though he was dead, he could still experience the joy of battle in this way. He could experience the thrill of the slaughter! For the first time, Mr. Hu was forced to retreat under that fierce assault. It was like a replay of the match between Ye Qingxuan and Yuan Changqing. He sought victory would attain victory, he who sought death would attain death. If he didn''t want to get pulled into suffering the same fate as Yuan Changqing, he could only be overwhelmed by him. It was difficult to counterattack. Outside the battlefield, there were still a few places where heads of families drew near the battle. They continued to provide Yuan Changqing with power through the City in the Sky, allowing him to freely squander and spread destruction. Faced with these four attacking streams of light, the burning hero once again lifted his heavy might and thrust it forward. This time he did not retreat. The fierce sun once again operated in the dead silent world. Terrible heat and eternal cold clashed together. At the last second, Mr. Hu looked behind him, revealing a smile. Goodbye. "Mr. Hu..." In the wilderness, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and looked no more. 772 The Hero’s End It was simply impossible for Ye Qingxuan not to feel the violent quake from the Battle of Heaven''s Gate. In fact, the terrifying shock waves from Heaven''s Gate could probably be detected anywhere in the entire Aurora. From the moment all the enchantments and instruments of the harmonious melody of Heaven''s Gate were activated, he sensed the aether waves coming from over there, the tens of thousands of them, along with the vibe of war. Bai Heng came too fast. After mobilizing his elite troops, the army marched hurriedly for two days and one night, and appeared outside Heaven''s Gate, as if they were following Ye Qingxuan''s footsteps closely. After Ye Qingxuan came to the Aurora, he seemed to have become a crow, a bringer of ominous signs. Wherever he went, he brought disaster. Even though he was unwilling to get involved in the disputes, he still had no way of avoiding them. From the beginning to the present moment, through the New Testament Sword, Ye Qingxuan saw everything clearly. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan wanted to take action and prevent all this from happening, but he was rejected by Mr. Hu''s gaze as the latter looked back. Mr. Hu could have been asked him for help the night they dined together. As long as Mr. Hu had asked him to, Ye Qingxuan would have stayed in Heaven''s Gate. And as long as Ye Qingxuan was present, with the strengthening effect of the Land of Dreams, 100,000 or 200,000 attacking troops would just be a meaningless number. Had the two joined forces, no matter how many musicians attacked together, the musicians would have been no match. Heaven''s gate would be held forever. But Mr. Hu didn''t say anything, thought Ye Qingxuan. He doesn''t want me to stay, and he doesn''t want to involve me in it. Even now, at the very end, he has said nothing to seek my help. His only hope of me is for me to leave Aurora with Bai Xi. It is not Ye Qingxuan''s homeland, nor his country. All the disputes have nothing to do with him, thought Mr. Hu. He has no obligation, nor any excuses, to intervene in the war that is not his to fight in. If someone is destined to sacrifice for the country, then having me as the only hero is already enough. Along his journey in the past two days, riding his horse, Ye Qingxuan galloped hurriedly all the way. At the moment, the walls of the Imperial City was already in sight, but he found it hard to advance any further. As if sensing his hesitation, the hero who was at Heaven''s Gate, far away from him, looked back and gave him a carefree smile. Don''t wait anymore, Ye Qingxuan. What are you still hesitating for? Don''t you have something important to do? The person you want to take away at all costs is in the city in front of you. Isn''t that pretty good? See you. It was the final goodbye. Mr. Hu smiled and turned back, rushing to meet the end belonging to heroes. "Mhmm, see you." Ye Qingxuan nodded, low-spirited, gazing at his figure, and witnessed a hero''s end. Outside the Heaven''s Gate, flames rose into the sky. It was as if the flames intended to ignite the cold and silent world completely. The hero was burning, roaring at the sky. Endless light and heat erupted from his body, forming a mighty and brilliant sun above the skies. It spilled down a majestic brilliance, igniting the ground and the sky, awakening the embers buried in the core of the earth. Where the blade of the Sword of the End pointed, angry lava spewed out from the earth''s crust. Shock waves swept across, and together with by the gravitational pull of heavy mass weapons, they wrapped themselves around the incorporeal field of force, forming brilliant flares like that of the core of a star. As the inhuman force equivalent to 1,000,000,000 jins in weight slammed down, a strong, horrifying light like that of stars exploding, expanded! It engulfed the sky and covered the earth, dispelling all coldness and silence, throwing everything into a cruel furnace to be re-forged, and ignited the fire of the living. It was a reversed end! The shadow of the child shook turbulently. Under the direct bombardment, the element of punishment frantically tremble, cracks emerging on it, and it fell apart. After abandoning a quarter of itself, the other three swords of the formation joined forces to attack, chopping an arm off from Mr. Hu''s body. Aetherized blood spewed out, burning, and gushed into the weapon in his hand. It also sprayed on the fiery lava, increasing the fierceness and might of the flames. "A world where nothing exists. Such is what you desire?" Mr. Hu laughed and walked towards the phantom of Yuan Changqing. "You don''t know life, yet you seek death! What problem can you solve with pure destruction? It will only bring about an eternal emptiness!" The scorching sun waved around by his arms. Peals of thunder sounded, and they were the bangs resulting from the world shattering. A terrifying impact burst forth, causing cracks to appear on the domain of deathly silence. The Swords of Death and End whined forlornly, criss-crossing as they surrounded the phantom image of Mr. Hu and almost frantically attacked him. Outside the domain, the expressions of the heads of households who enjoyed peace of mind after Yuan Changqing''s death, turned solemn again. For Yuan House, the power of catastrophes was not particularly worth mentioning, for it wasn''t as if they hadn''t killed one before. Although the inhuman force equivalent to 1000,008,000 jins in weight was terrifying, when had there ever been a shortage of artifacts that were destroyed under the swords of members of Yuan House? At the moment, the battle was no longer one purely between quantity and quality. In the mad fight between the two, they burned themselves, their powers surging endlessly, increasing by such a horrifying extent every single second. The decisive factor of the battle at the moment was the obsessions inherited from previous generations, the clash between heroism and death, between the 15-year pain and the 20-year wait, between steely determination and desire, between sacrifice and madness Assuming that souls existed, at the moment, the battle was a deathly fight between the souls. The deceased souls that had burned themselves and turned into flames used the mortal realm as the grounds for their duel, forgetting about the matters of life and death, immersed in the alarming fight. The others could no longer stand aside and watch them. They must completely get rid of the monster here, even if they might be eroded and affected by the elements of the Sword of the End. As the Torch Dragon roared, the water level in the Lake of Nine Levels of Hell surged again, the liquid boiling. Tsunamis and torrents swept out of it. Together with the 12 spinning wheels, the evil spirits of the official departments of hell appeared. The mighty and brilliant palace of heaven opened. Countless giant spirits expanded in size. As Zhangsun Jigui''s face turned pale, the bestowing of divinity upon the spirits was completed. The 800 spirits and the 3,000 soldiers of heaven had been transformed completely. What followed closely was the lock of the Armageddon. Amid the drumbeats, peals of thunder shook the earth. Thousands of peals of lightning turned into chains, shrouding the heavens and the earth, tightly binding the mortal realm. It restrained Mr. Hu''s music theory from the inside out. In a flash, the burning hero was pierced by the Sword of the End. In the darkness between the heavens of the earth, only the hoarse laughter sounded. "Lake of Nine Levels of Hell? Ghostly beasts and spirits have been reared for 300 years, withstanding the burning winds, thunder, and lightning. They suffer from it every day, hovering between the states of human and ghost, but can they become immortal? Torch Dragon? It''s merely a corpse-guarding ghost, get lost!" In the sea abyss of darkness, he lifted his eyes, and the flares of the blazing sun burst forth, like burning pieces of iron falling into a pool of water. The black ghostly beasts whined forlornly and roared, rapidly evaporating. "Immortal-bundling lock? It''s in charge of meting out punishment from the skies, and it overlooked the mortal realm, holding power over life and death. But can it restrain the hearts of the people? Armageddon? It''s nothing more than scrap copper and iron, get lost!!" Bang, bang, bang! As the hero roared, countless bolts of lightning broke down, wailing forlornly as they were crushed by the horrifying force equivalent to 1000,000,000 jins in weight, and dissipated in the sky. "The palace of the emperor of heaven? You have been eyeing the throne greedily for centuries, and every person on the streets knows your wild ambitions, but have you gotten any close to the crown land? You care not about the people''s livelihood, unaware of their suffering, so what use do you have for the spirit officers and soldiers of heaven? "You contemptible scoundrel making a fool out of yourself, get lost!!!" Boom! The palace of heaven shook, and the hero moved forward, flames of fury spilling everywhere, the burning weapon swept across, crushing the doors of heavens, destroying the jade palaces. In comparison, the 800 spirits and the 3,000 soldiers of heaven merely had shape but not soul! "Is that all from you all?!" From the collapsed palace of heaven, the burning hero slowly walked out, bathed in blood, his body broken. Against the Sword of the End, he slammed down with a force surpassing mortal imagination! Boom! boom! Boom! Under the terrifying impact, flames shot out, then extinguished. Mass expanded and dissipated. Under the layers of constraint, in the core of the incorporeal field, a very small and fine speck of darkness emerged. It was the core of the super-mass tidal brake valve, the sign of chaos that would only occur when stars were annihilated. It was like the soul hidden in the deepest part of matter after an endless mass had evaporated. The tiniest and smallest "remnants of stars" created by humans in the past was just a tiny speck, yet it was incredibly heavy. Like the soul of the deceased, it greedily swallowing everything in the material world all the time, and even light could not escape its bondage and pull. As the hero activated it at full force, the extremely small speck rapidly expanded, but due to it being so small, after expanding dozens of times, it was still not much different from how it originally was. Only its weight changed. While it was originally of an extent unimaginable by humans, at the moment, it had surged to the limit tolerable by the physical world. Even the sea of aether was distorted under the horrifying gravitational pull, forming a closed ring. Innumerable torrents of aether flowed rapidly in the twisted space, and the burning brilliance was attached to the horrifying force, forming an impact strong enough to tear everything apart. Then, as the hero roared, the slender speck was lifted. Bound by the field of force, it struck towards the front! It was The fall of a star! After a moment, loud, sorrowful bangs coming from the heavens and the earth spread in all directions. A hurricane strong enough to sway the mountains swept forward, making Heaven''s Gate shake like a hut, blowing away the vanguard of the army of the nobles who had joined forces in the blink of an eye. Countless people broke their bones, turning into meat pulp under the high pressure of the wind. Then, the earth rippled like water, and the frenzied shock waves swept in all directions, causing a collapse that was almost like a disaster. After just a single blow, the ground within a thousand-mile-radius sunk by a few meters. The three surviving swords, first in the line of impact from the bombardment by the remnants of stars, all whined forlornly, striking forward. Cracks emerged, one after another, and in the end, they completely fell apart. Only one, covered in cracks, was left. As three out of four major elements, namely punishment, slaying, and trapping, were completely destroyed, all the power gathered on the last sword, causing the wrecked sword to emit a brilliance that could pierce through stars. Even the power destroying it had merged into the destruction it represented in itself! The closer it was to destruction, the stronger the power it represented. Why would there be a need to have four swords representing the actual Sword of the End? One was enough! One sword was enough to annihilate everything! Such was the final step. In the fierce and tragic battle, the fleeting and incorporeal blade inherited all the elements, and the very last bit of its own tangibility was wiped out. Only a crack-like wound was left, remaining between the heavens and the earth. It was the wound of the world. The final battle kicked off. A thousand miles away, on the broken hills, dark beams of steel were stacked high. Far, far away from the main formation of the army, a secret force stayed where Ye Qingxuan fell from the sky. They did not advance towards Heaven''s Gate along with the coalition army of the nobles, but stayed where they were instead. With the help of musicians, soil was piled up to form buildings and hills. After being processed by movements of the school of modifications, a mountain of iron had been built. The top of the mountain of iron was carefully cut until it was perfectly horizontal, and after making sure that not even the slightest mistake had been made, screw anchors made of alloy were inserted in the corners. Then, the heavy and complicated iron frame was constructed. From the beginning to the end, all the equipment, all the items, and all the assembly were personally handled by the man named Jiu Ying. Even though he had already taken off his shirt, he still felt so warm that he sweated all over. In contrast was his expression of steel-like indifference throughout. In the end, two huge iron boxes were opened. The heavy steel lying in the black velvet and the chemical fiber which was definitely not the product of this era was lifted up. A heavy mechanical part as thick as the waist of an ordinary person was installed on the frame. As the ground tremored wildly, the hydraulic valves around squeaked. However, after several layers of shock absorption, the huge creation resembling a siege hammer at the very top remained absolutely horizontal. As the scale rotated, at the top of the "siege hammer," the opening that was only as thick as a thumb turned toward the direction of Heaven''s Gate, aiming at the battlefield where the fight was taking place, thousands of miles away. "It''s ready? Seems like I am late." Bai Heng, who came fairly late, boarded the high platform, holding an old scroll in his hand, and looked in Jiu Ying''s direction. "We still have some time, do you need to take a break?" Jiu Ying shook his head silently and made his way into the gap between the steel column and the iron frame, the chair directly below the siege hammer. Then, he parted his hair, revealing an alchemy array that extended along his spine, from the back of the neck to the limbs. As the circuit was activated, a layer of iron-like whiteness coated the bronzed skin. His whole person seemed to be integrated as one with the steel, but he gained no strength from it. Instead, he lost his agility and struggled to even move. He could only move a few parts of his body, like the shoulders, wrists, and fingers. It was definitely a failed transformation, but committing such a mistake that seemed just right could only be said to be deliberate. As he was completely transformed into iron, on top of the siege hammer, an iron gear moved, lowering a partition, almost covering half of his body. A light lit up faintly inside the partition, illuminating his jaw. As if he was enjoying the stiffness, he slowly moved his fingers, feeling the stability brought by the excessive stiffness. He held his breath. After no longer having a pulse, it was as if his whole person had become a piece of iron. Only the fingers were slightly lifting the grip on the armrest, and as the grip moved, the angle of the "siege hammer" was subtly changed as the iron frame shifted. "Is it going to begin so fast? I haven''t taken a rest yet." Bai Heng sighed and looked down at the book in his hand. "Speaking of it, it''s actually the first time we are using it, wait, let me see..." As he said so, he flipped the book open, ignoring the weird name, "Operating Manual of Orion -type Deep-Layer Sampler," on the cover, and directly looked at the fine text on the pages behind it. While referring to the operation method written on it, he pressed the buttons on the siege hammer in a somewhat unfamiliar manner. "Let me see, what is this red thing? Ah, the real-time corrector of the wind speed... then the distance corrector. Where are the buttons for temperature difference and pressure? Let me see... oh, they''re here, should we correct the humidity? Okay, let''s fix it. Ah, there''s a button to correct the trajectory as well..." After each section was completed, the specks of light above the "siege hammer" lit up one by one, until finally, a cold beeping sound that gave one goosebumps sounded. The preheating was complete. Bai Heng opened the last box, and somewhat laboriously lifted up a box as big as a person''s head. He staggered towards the strange object hanging on the iron frame, and finally climbed onto the ladder and inserted it into the groove. As the machinery operated, it sank into the core of the dark steel, no longer seen. Icy cold air flowed out of the spots that seemed to be venting holes, making the high platform similar to an extremely cold cellar. Wisps of it were enough to make one shiver because of the cold. As the final preparation was completed, Jiu Ying''s fingers trembled slightly, seemingly excited. His body tensed, his thumb rubbing against the top of the handle and the red button on it. "Slow down, be steady." Bai Heng bent down and patted his arm. "It is the last of the celestial collection of House Bai, we have no second chance." As he said so, he narrowed his eyes and looked at Heaven''s Gate thousands of miles away. It was as if he could see the heroic figure fighting desperately in it through the storm and the blazing light rising into the sky. "Jiu Ying, be honored." He whispered softly, "After Dragon Slayer the Third, it is the last one Bai House left to the world, and using it on such a hero is right and proper." In the silence, no sound of breathing could be heard, only the hurricane from afar stirred up a deep echo. Bai Heng peered into the mirror, where the scene from a thousand miles away was magnified to the extent that even fine hairs could be seen, his gaze fixated on the burning figure. In the mirror, a red frame the size of a thumb was moving quickly, chasing the figure that was moving freely and unrestrainedly. When the frame enveloped the figure, a sharp noise was produced. Bai Heng inhaled deeply. The storm that was stirred up at Heaven''s Gate slowly spread from afar, like a giant advancing on the ground with a rumble. Innumerable specks of sand and dust were shaking violently in it, forming a turbulent sandstorm, and the roar of the wind was like the whine of iron. Bai Heng squinted. "Three! "Two! "One!" At the very moment, a crisp sound rang out. It was the echo from the spring as the activation button was pressed. The roar of the storm, the sound of breathing, the sorrowful whine of the earth, the echo from the sky. All the sounds seemed to have disappeared. In the cold silence, only a muffled sound rang out. It was like pulling out the oak plug from the bottle of red wine. A ray of light spewed out from the opening, gushing into the distance, and disappeared in the hurricane and sandstorm. The next moment, the hurricane exploded, the ghastly white waves extending in all directions. The grayish-black sandstorm was cruelly cut into two pieces, like cloth that was torn apart, and the chaotic noise of oil boiling in pots sounded. The cold was no longer, and the horrifyingly high amount of heat was released from the siege hammer, burning it red in a moment, as if a furnace of hell was brewing up. Tongues of flame several feet long spewed out of the exhaust pipe, licking the ground. The siege hammer opened and threw out the iron case that Bai Heng had inserted with all his might a few moments ago, but most of its weight had disappeared, as if an invisible hand had taken the weight away. Only the empty box, that had been burned red, was rolling on the ground, melting in the tongues of flame in the end, producing a stench. In the horrifying heat, Bai Heng covered his nose and mouth. He did not leave but remained staring at the screen that was already half-melted. Snowflakes flickered on the screen, faintly showing the figure falling from the sky. At the moment, the "light" that had converged into a line pierced through the wind and dust for a thousand miles. Wherever it passes, everything fell apart under the impact. The terrifying pressure left a straight gully and depression on the ground. In just a moment, the world created by the Sword of the End was torn apart. The "light" penetrated it, then passed through with a whistle. It passed through the walls of Heaven''s Gate as easily as crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, then through the city in a slanted manner, flying over the other side of the gates of the city, shattering the skies and disappearing into the darkness of the universe. The hero''s roar came to an abrupt end. In the deathly silence, only the flat echo of a broken body falling on the ground sounded. On the broken skull, the contours of the face in the past could be faintly seen. A single eye stared up at the sky blankly. The smile was no longer. He died. The rumble that had arrived late reverberated and dissipated in the empty world. After a long time, a very long time Ye Qingxuan''s hoarse roar rang out, "Bai Heng!!!!!!!" 773 Think about I In that instant, lightning rose from the ground and the turbulent aether tornado was packed into a single thread. Under the influence of the New Testament sword, the incarnation of the Holy Spirit controlled lightning and thunder above the vault of heaven. Iron was breaking apart and, in the emptiness, the roar of thunder burst forth. It was the tremendous sound of the New Testament sword clashing against the Great Wall, thereby tearing away layers of shackles. As the vault of heaven trembled while breaking apart, the aether thunder whipped at the layers of clouds, violently exposing the fog and enchantment that had been hidden. Wherever they passed, the broken music theory and the mortal world stimulated each other, revealing a scarlet color that resembled blood. It was like an unfortunate spreading doom, and wherever they passed, the vault of heaven would be split open. Storms would be raining blood onto the mortal world. "Sun cross, comet attacks the moon, goshawk swoops onto the temple" Below the temple, the teenage girl, that was trapped in the cage, looked up at the vault of heaven. "Upon reaching the domain of catastrophe, would simply spreading the desire to murder be sufficient to turn the world upside down. When I see how powerful my cousin has become, I can''t help but feel happy." With that, she tilted her head to look at the Emperor. "What about you?" The Emperor did not say a word, except to look down and mourn the passing of the hero. "Is this considered as shedding crocodile tears?" Bai Xi teased, "From the day when you sent that last hero to the frontline, shouldn''t you already have expected this to happen?" Aurora was ruled by the Emperor and the Prince, while the Emperor alone possessed 40 percent of the authority over the Great Wall and the City in the Sky. This was a law that had never changed over the past thousands of years. Based on the strategic location of Heaven''s Gate, Mr. Hu''s attainment and the boost provided by 40 percent of Great Wall should be sufficient to deal with the attack from the Lords of the Bloodline of the Dragon. Besides, Ye Qingxuan would also render his aid. With Tai Changqing''s inheritance and legacy in hand, if Mr. Hu decided to try to salvage anything from such a dangerous situation, he would still hold the upper hand against the attack of Princes of the bloodline of the dragon. Regardless of whether Mr. Hu was alive or dead, the situation would still be within control. What she did not expect was that Mr. Hu never did seek help from Ye Qingxuan. Mr. Hu even proactively pushed Ye Qingxuan out of this whirlpool and forced the latter to leave Heaven''s Gate. Then, he completed his mission. This was where the Emperor had miscalculated. Fortunately, everything would fall back in place once again due to fate, so that Mr. Hu would still die as a result of Bai Heng''s plotting. The brave and heroic ending that a hero deserved was snatched away and in its place was a shameless attack out of nowhere. This left Ye Qingxuan completely infuriated. In the end, he still became Bai Heng''s enemy. A plan, that had gone out of control, had unexpectedly been diverted back onto its original path, except that the process seemed mocking in nature. In the dead silence, the Emperor did not say a word and only kept quiet. A distance, requiring traveling for two full days and nights, was covered within three minutes. Outside of the capital, Ye Qingxuan had already arrived at the broken Heaven''s Gate. Amidst the roars, chaotic streaks of lightning fell at the front of Heaven''s Gate. He looked up and through the dust, saw the Lords of Deva above the battlefield. "Bai Heng, come out!" No one responded. Yuan Changqing would have been the only person who would be pleased to see Ye Qingxuan and his murderous intent, but he was already dead. After losing an opponent like Mr. Hu, the last elemental sword had already fallen onto the ground and had now been kept by the Lord. The rest looked like they did not even hear a sound. Even if eye contact was made, they pretended not to see or feel anything, as if they were looking at an invisible person. Something that should not be here. The look in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes turned cold. He gripped the New Testament sword tightly and nodded slightly. "Very well. I understand now." "Hang on." A blue-eyed middle-aged man propped himself up. He ignored the injuries on his body and stood in front of Ye Qingxuan. "Lord Ye, the battle here does not concern you. We have never stood in your way, so we hope that you will not stand in ours too." He continued very solemnly, "Besides, it is inevitable for deaths to occur on the battlefield and it can happen to anyone, including Mr. Hu. Please do not do anything that will leave us with no other choice." Ye Qingxuan laughed. He was laughing because he was so furious. "Or else?" "Or else, everyone will regret it." Zhangsun Jigui looked at him. There was no hint of fear in his eyes. "This place is Aurora, not your Anglo. Back then, you did not choose to return here, so please do not interfere with the matters of this place now. You are a rare talent who is way better than me. You should not get yourself into this mess that doesn''t concern you." "Well said. How I wish you would be able to accept everything so justifiably if I had been the one to attack out of nowhere just now." Ye Qingxuan''s tone was mocking and filled with evil intent. "Or did all of you feel that it was perfectly justified and reasonable to clinch victory with a sneak attack despite already outnumbering your opponent? If that''s the case, I''m afraid that today is the day when I teach all of you how to differentiate between right and wrong." He raised the sword in his hands and pointed it at Zhangsun Jigui. A hundred steps away, the terrifying element, that enshrouded the sword blade, formed a pressure that was equivalent to that of the deep sea within the aether. A hurricane blew and the Lord of Zhangsun family looked pale. "Finally, just a correction. It is not I who is standing in your way; it is you who are standing in mine." The look in his eyes was icy cold. "Now, I''m going to ask one last time. Where is Bai Heng?" In the suffocating dead silence, Zhangsun Jigui lowered his head and sighed. When he looked up once again, there was a look of determination in his eyes. He had decided to welcome Ye Qingxuan and his murderous intent. Just as he was about to speak, he was suddenly disrupted by another voice. "I''m here, I''m here!" It was a familiar voice, "Please wait, I''m almost here" It was Bai Heng. He had traveled a thousand miles non-stop in order to rush back to Heaven''s Gate. Without even stopping for a sip of tea or to mount his horse, he had run all the way here after passing through the military formation. He did not seem to sense the icy murderous intent exuded by Ye Qingxuan. Instead, his tone sounded more like he was here to bring everyone to a relaxing and leisurely meal together. Just like that, he passed through his army and stepped onto the battlefield. For some reason, he was not wearing the ceremonial dress that represented his status as a Prince. Instead, he was wearing a plain undercoat that almost looked embarrassing. Besides besides Ye Qingxuan stared at Bai Heng as if the former was in a daze. Bai Heng''s hair was unkempt and he was barefoot. There was a set of heavy shackles on his hands and neck as he made his way closer, one step at a time. In that instant, Ye Qingxuan almost began to suspect that there were still illusion musicians hiding in the East that were more than ten times more powerful than him in their illusion attainments. As a result, he might have fallen into an illusion unknowingly. But he was not the only one who was taken aback. Even the guards of Heaven''s Gate, the soldiers, and horses behind Bai Heng, and even all of the Lords of the bloodline of the dragon At this moment, there was a silence that could not be broken with words as everyone seemed to be in a daze. In the dead silence, Bai Heng walked all the way to the gate of Heaven''s Gate, one step at a time. Next, he positioned himself to face the back of Ye Qingxuan, which was also in the direction of the capital. Then, Bai Heng knelt down! Even as dust was blowing everywhere, the old man lowered his head. There was a white piece of paper in his hands and with all seriousness, he began to read out loud from it, "Criminal Bai Heng has let down the previous Emperor in the task that was entrusted to him and in the generosity that he has been shown. He falsified orders in order to gain control, recklessly caused military disasters, spied on artifacts, harmed those that were loyal. Criminal Bai Heng knows that his crimes cannot be pardoned and he would never be able to redeem himself even if he died tens of thousands of times. Now, he can only wait to be executed and dares not show defiance. May the Emperor gain the utmost wisdom and rule from the throne for the longest time" Silence. There was complete silence for a long time. At this moment, all the musicians of Aurora were watching what was happening, and they were completely shocked. They even began to doubt their own intelligence and senses. This was including the capital and the main hall. Even the water mirror began to tremble as the musicians, that were maintaining the water mirror, found their jaws dropping and their chins almost reaching the ground. Surrendered? Surrendered just like that? For decades, Regent Bai Heng had controlled the affairs of the state and called to power in Aurora. He had started this war and rebellion, and now that he had fought all the way to Heaven''s Gate and killed the Emperor''s most powerful right-hand man he surrendered? In the dead silence, Bai Xi was trying her hardest to control her laughter. She turned around and looked at the Emperor. "Was this within your expectations too?" The Emperor did not say a word and only kept quiet. But Bai Xi had spied upon the Emperor''s shock and rage that was concealed behind indifference. She could not help but chuckle, and the sound reverberated in the silence. Over at Heaven''s Gate, after a long silence, Ye Qingxuan turned his head around with difficulty. He looked at Zhangsun Jigui while pointing at Bai Heng. "What is he saying?" After a brief pause, there was a look of confusion and pain on the face of the Lord of Zhangsun family before it turned into indifference. "He said that he acknowledges his mistakes and will not dare resist. His only wish is that on account of their past, they can meet one more time before he dies in peace" "Oh." Ye Qingxuan nodded and looked at Bai Heng. There was a look of relief in his eyes, "Now that you know that you''re in the wrong, then die!" Boom! In that instant, the New Testament sword struck, and wind and thunder burst forth out of nowhere. Everything happened so quickly that no one could react in time. The blade of the sword had already struck, shredding the gap that separated the Physical World and the realm of aether. After gathering a massive amount of power, the physical object almost transformed into a stream of light. Wherever the stream of light passed, everything would disintegrate. If Bai Heng had been struck by such a devastating attack, it was unlikely that even his ashes would remain. But right before the impact of the attack, the projection of the Great Wall appeared in front of Bai Heng. Just like how reefs would split waves apart, it protected him from the stream of light that would have crushed him completely. Bai Heng saw that Ye Qingxuan was raising his sword once again after his first failed attempt. He raised both his hands and shouted, "Ye Qingxuan, you cannot kill me!" Ye Qingxuan frowned. Bai Heng took a deep breath and looked at him. There was a look of seriousness on his face as he analyzed rationally. "According to the rules of the east, if you wish to marry Bai Xi, then that makes me your father-in-law. Even if we disregard the legal protection between relatives, you cannot commit the crime of patricide. According to the rules of the west, I am still a Duke. Even though you are the prince of Anglo, your rank of nobility in the Sacred City is only a Marquis. Your actions are neither righteous nor reasonable. According to the rules of revenge, Mr. Hu has no affinity with the Ye family, and neither is he related to the past five generations of the Ye family. Based on the situation in Aurora, I was the one who started the rebellion. You don''t possess a single official title, not even the title of the general that has been appointed to put down the rebellion. Therefore," he paused and tilted his head to look at Ye Qingxuan, "what right do you have to kill me?" Ye Qingxuan laughed. "Because I want to!" After gathering power that was tens of times more powerful than before, the New Testament sword began to burn and unleash an incredible amount of light. As thunder and lightning gathered together, the music theory of Gungnir was drawn out. This was a weapon that was completely different from the one that Mr. Hu possessed. If what Mr. Hu had done was to bring about destruction through pure power, then Ye Qingxuan was using the gist of absolute transformation and the School of Abstinence to take the form of destruction. Streaks of lightning struck from the sky! Amidst the roar, everyone was almost completely blinded by that burning light. But when the light dissipated, Bai Heng was still sitting there, safe and sound. Everywhere else around him had been burnt into a murky fluid, that was similar to molten lava, by the lightning attack. He looked at Ye Qingxuan, as if he was looking at a disobedient and rebellious child, and sighed softly. "It''s useless. I am the Lord of the Bai family. I have gone through the proper inheritance of Deva, completed the path of the dragon and received the protection of the City in the Sky. Therefore, I cannot be harmed." He continued to explain very thoroughly, "Unless the Emperor cuts off my head, there''s not a single musician in Aurora that is capable of causing me harm. Do you understand? As for the rest, look, I am well-equipped with all sorts of defense equipment. Even if I was to be thrown into the former darkness of the universe, I would probably still be able to survive for half a year." With that, he showed off all the rings on his fingers. He did not seem to care about the fact that these people were all desperate to kill him. Instead, he seemed to be guiding them on purpose as to how he could be killed. "If you want to kill me, why don''t you listen to this suggestion of mine." He got up and stepped on the burning ground until he was right in front of Ye Qingxuan. "Right now, the easiest way is to bring me to the capital and lock me up in the dungeon. Without me leading the feudal allied army, you will be able to defeat them and put down this rebellion. Re-establishing the Ye family shouldn''t be a question, but the Emperor may even preside over your wedding and marry Bai Xi to you. You can even request for the Emperor to remove my position as the Lord of my family and to execute me. See, you would have had your revenge, gotten married, and achieved great things. You would have won the heart of the person you loved while reaching the peak of success in your life. Isn''t that incredible!" Ye Qingxuan looked at him and did not say a word. "Think about it." Bai Heng smiled. He looked into the eyes of Ye Qingxuan and repeated every single word carefully, "Think about it." 774 Illusory Joy Consider it. Consider it well. As Bai Heng regarded him seriously, Ye Qingxuan was silent for three seconds, he nodded slightly. "I''ve considered it." He reached out and touched Bai Heng, revealing a grin of farewell. "Sure enough, it''s better to save time by throwing you to the outer heavens rather than wasting time dragging you to the Emperor." At that moment, everyone for 100 miles heard the sound like a mountain range falling from the sky and hitting the earth with a roar. Within ten meters of Bai Heng''s body, cracks appeared in the earth. The terrible shock made dust fly up. It fell into three piles, and then a great wind swept through, making it difficult for anyone to open their eyes. But when the dust settled and the wind died down, and everyone was coughing, Bai Heng still stood in his original place, looking calmly at Ye Qingxuan. He grinned. Ye Qingxuan''s face fell. The power that he had just exerted should have been enough to launch a steel siege engine into the sky, not to mention Bai Heng. But Bai Heng had not been moved at all. At the moment that Ye Qingxuan had struck, he had felt a terrible force 100 times more powerful coming from the interference of his essence, almost knocking him over. "It''s useless, I was just making an analogy." Bai Heng sighed. "The Great Wall''s protective music theory is, how should I say it, quite thorough. Since ancient times there have been many who tried to kill Master of the Dragon Bloodline like you, and many of them died. All its different kinds of protection are complete." As he said this, he rolled up his sleeves and showed Ye Qingxuan his brand that marked him as the head of the Bai family. "You see, I the Vermilion Character Iron Voucher [1] on my body. You have not been recognized by the path of the Dragon Bloodline as the head of the Ye family. Nor do you have a letter written in blood with the orders to ''rid the Emperor of evil ministers.'' Unless you exert enough power to throw Weiyan Palace, which is suppressed by the Dragon Bloodline, into space, you''re wasting your effort." Upon saying this he brushed away the hair that had blown into his face. "With that said..." Bang! Before he had finished speaking, the ground beneath Bai Heng''s feet cracked open and quickly closed back up. The earth that was originally composed of dust and mud now revealed the faint luster of metal. The sword could do no him harm, just as fire could not invade water. Instead, a tiny crack split open in Ye Qingxuan''s fingertip. After Ye Qingxuan stopped, Bai Heng said carelessly, "Stuffing me into the heart of the earth won''t work." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan looked back at Zhangsun Jigui. "Is what he says true?" Zhangsun Jigui looked conflicted. Why do you think that I will just tell you that? But after a long silence, he sighed. "This is the Great Wall''s protection of the Dragon Bloodline. Unless another head of one of the families gets involved, the most that an ordinary musician can do is put him in a difficult position. It would be almost impossible to kill him." "..." Ye Qingxuan was plunged into silence. He narrowed his eyes at Bai Heng. It was just as Bai Heng had said. He considered. But he wasn''t considering how to send him to the capital, but how to kill him easily right here. It was best to kill him so that there would be nothing left of him. In just a few moments, Ye Qingxuan tried all sorts of methods, high temperature, extreme cold, suffocation, swords, bows Unfortunately, under the blessing of the Great Wall and Bai Heng''s careful preparations, all his attempts were completely defused. Bai Heng was frolicking about right in front of him, but he couldn''t do it. This feel left Ye Qingxuan extraordinarily annoyed. In the end, he let out a long sigh. "Have you thought it through?" Bai Heng asked. "I''ve thought of two ways to solve this." Ye Qingxuan looked him up and down indifferently. "The first is to build a cage here and lock you in it, then sit down and wait seven days. If you don''t drink water you''ll die after three days. After waiting for your body to rot the problem will be solved." "That would be an effective method." Bai Heng nodded. "And the second?" "This." Ye Qingxuan raised the New Testament Sword and pointed it at his face. "Destroy you and that d*mn Great Wall at the same time!" "That might be possible." Bai Heng heard him, but merely raised his eyebrows and shook his head with pity. "Unfortunately," he said, "it''s too late." At that moment, the "From the New World" movement played once again, and the thousands of movements that Ye Qingxuan had filled in emerged from the darkness like stars, their endless light locking onto Bai Heng. A symphony of stars. Ye Qingxuan had used the World Tree arrays to transform all the movements into Gungnirs. Thousand of Gungnirs overlapped, forming a force terrible enough to destroy a catastrophe. The killing machines that filled the sky formed a line, and the torrent of light was ready to strike. Immediately after that, a beam of light came from the sky and fell in front of Ye Qingxuan. Then, the light unfolded into a bundle of yellow silk. The first thing that emerged was the seal that represented the Emperor''s will, followed by a line of characters. There was also a ceremonial officer who read out the characters with an affected cadence. It sounded like parallel prose. It was elegant and fair, but Ye Qingxuan did not understand a word of it. This annoyed him. He looked at Zhangsun Jigui. Zhangsun Jigui was already numb to it all. He did not need Ye Qingxuan to tell him. He shook his head and translated for him, "He said a lot of this and that, reviewed the past a bit, severely criticized Bai Heng, expounded his own sincere admiration for you, and said that only the mastermind would be punished, and not his followers. Finally, he asked you to bring Bai Heng to the capital." "And then?" asked Ye Qingxuan. Zhangsun Jigui looked at him closely, with eyes full of disgust. "Then you can get what you want. You can take your woman and go, the further away the better." "Thank you." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was serious, and there was no sarcasm in his voice. "So you all will just watch me take Bai Heng away?" Zhangsun Jigui ignored him and just looked Bai Heng. "From here on out, our alliance is complete." "Mm. You did better than I could have ever imagined." Bai Heng nodded. "Well, I''m off." "We won''t see you out." Zhangsun Jigui looked at him one last time, then turned and left. As Ye Qingxuan looked at him strangely, Bai Heng came back with some shackles. He looked eager. "Shall we be off?" Bai Heng smiled amiably and walked in front of him, full of enthusiasm, just like he was acting as a guide to his brother from the countryside. "Don''t worry, I''m familiar with this road. I''ll lead the way." Upon saying this, he strutted towards Heaven''s Gate. After a long silence, the gate opened up a crack for him. In this way, Bai Heng fulfilled the aspirations of the vast majority of rebels. He broke through Heaven''s Gate and headed towards the capital. It was not as a conqueror, but as a prisoner. But he still seemed full of happiness, and free in a way that was difficult to describe. After a lot of cumbersome procedures, and taking along a team of what looked like full-fledged soldiers, Ye Qingxuan once again embarked on the road to the imperial capital. Before that, he buried Mr. Hu properly. "It''s unfortunate, a hero like this should have a state funeral. Can this thin coffin really repay him?" Bai Heng still stood beside him. "But according to his majesty, this is right and proper. After people die they aren''t worth going to great effort for. It''s fine just to bury them. It will be the same for her, otherwise, she won''t succeed to the throne for many years. The emperor''s tomb will be eternal, but those of the previous generations will come to an end. But a heroic character like Mr. Hu, it''s really unfortunate, I say. Ye Qingxuan, what if I offer a bit of money..." "Shut up." Ye Qingxuan looked back at him from his horse with a dark expression. "Don''t make me take you outside the Empire and execute you with my sword!" "Mr. Hu both sought and obtained benevolence. Why are you like this?" Bai Heng looked at him from the prison cart with eyes full of regret. "Unfortunately, Ye Qingxuan, you''ve already missed your last chance to kill me. If you try now, I won''t even need to call for reinforcements. Do you believe that the Emperor will stop you?" Ye Qingxuan''s expression grew darker and darker as he spoke. He felt that the Great Wall music theory, which shrouded the sky, had locked onto Bai Heng and covered him in layers of protection. Even the prison cart received the protective power of the Great Wall. "I''ve said it before, the Emperor won''t let me die." Bai Heng sprawled out lazily in the prison cart, mocking the eyes that looked down on him. "After hundreds of years, a third of the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline has been lost. Now every Dragon Bloodline is indispensable. After losing the Heaven Ladder music theory that the Ye family was responsible for, the Emperor will not let Aurora lose the Bai family''s authority over the City in the Sky." Ye Qingxuan said nothing and just kept moving forward. His mind was in turmoil for a multitude of reasons. Originally, he could have made it to the capital in two days by himself by riding at top speed. Now it seemed so far away, almost out of reach. The addition of an extra brigade to pull the prisoner cart made it so that the road that he could have traveled in two days by traveling day and night would now take almost a week. And dealing with that b*stard Bai Heng was getting more and more pressing. If the horse was not the finest, he wouldn''t ride it. If the meat was not perfect, he would eat it. If the water was not as sweet as dew, he wouldn''t drink it Even though he was a prisoner, he still held to the haughty manners and standards of a noble or prince. He would not deign to respond to anyone other than Ye Qingxuan, resulting in the burden of communicating with the idiot falling on Ye Qingxuan''s shoulders. After being annoyed for a whole day, he finally exploded. "Hey, Ye Qingxuan, have you ever..." "No! Shut up!" Ye Qingxuan did not even bother to look at his talkative captive. But Bai Heng did not give up, instead putting on a mysterious look. "Are you sure you don''t want to listen?" Ye Qingxuan was silent, completely ignoring him. Without a supporting character to talk to, Bai Heng shook his head in disappointment and said to himself, "Have you ever had a strange dream? I mean, after coming to the East..." Ye Qingxuan''s face changed. Bai Heng laughed like he could see Ye Qingxuan''s expression. "Don''t worry, this is just a necessary step before you can inherit the role of head of the family. You are the last Ye. As long as you are in Aurora you will gradually receive the memories that your ancestors left in the City in the Sky. Or you could say your mission." In the prisoner cart Bai Heng slowly rolled a cigar, then lightly said, "But don''t worry. The Ye family was always lazier than the other families. And they were destroyed personally by your father. You''ll be just as miserable as the Zhangsun family, destined to carry out their fate since birth, living for an inexplicable mission that you cannot escape even by dying..." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then said, "You mean musicians who inherit the Dragon''s blood are implanted with orders that cannot be disobeyed?" "Yes, that''s right. You didn''t know? It seems like Ye Lanzhou really didn''t tell you anything..." Bai Heng smiled mysteriously. He pinched the cigar in his mouth to indicate his main point. Ye Qingxuan looked at him coldly for a long time. He opened his fingers and a flame spewed out, burning the cigar and a large portion of Bai Heng''s hair to charcoal. "If you have something to say, then say it." "Tsk tsk, that''s not the attitude of someone asking for help." After pushing away his burnt hair, Bai Heng smoked two cigars. He leaned on the prisoner cart and blew out a puff of black smoke. "The Dragon bloodline bequeaths music theory through the bloodlines, that is to say, the ancestors are the future generations'' provisions. The descendants enjoy their ancestors'' blessings, but must also take on the fate that has been deepened generation after generation, just like a curse. Look at the Liu family. Originally the matriarch and the little ones were all full of life, but for the sake of longevity, they became something not quite human and not quite ghost. The Yuan family was a little better. They didn''t inherit a mission, it was a ''killing impulse.'' Every generation only lacked one thing in their mindsthey could not have empathy for others, and would rarely have pity. They could only take joy in killing and being killed. As for the Zhangsun family, they always dreamed of returning to heaven. The heads of the family throughout the ages tried to regain their kingship and use the power of the nation to rebuild the City in the Sky, and for this reason, a sh*tty court was built. Are you aware of the White Lotus Society? They started that. Crossing the ''void'' and returning to the ''homeland.'' Huh, it''s all nonsense. Also..." After he said all this, Ye Qingxuan looked at him questioningly. "And the Bai family?" he asked. "You didn''t talk about yourself." "Ah, originally we had this, but no longer." Bai Heng flicked away his cigar and said indifferently, "I exploited a loophole. I''m not even a musician, wouldn''t it be a little ridiculous for me to have a mission?" Ye Qingxuan looked away and paid him no more attention. He just urged his horse to move on. Bai Heng was left in the prisoner cart alone, tutting and sighing. "Great, great." He narrowed his eyes at Ye Qingxuan''s back. "It''s just an illusory joy. You''d better enjoy it." [1] A symbol of authority granted to generals and ministers by the Emperor in ancient China 775 Before the Landing First, it was personal cleaning, then disinfection measures, and finally, wearing thin underwear with grooves all over, the man fitted the equipment, resembling heavy armor, over himself, piece by piece, following the guidance of the AI. Finally, Ye Xuan sat in a chair, waiting quietly. The silence continued until the second person who also looked plump wrapped up in the thick spacesuit, a lady with her helmet in her lap, walked into the cabin and greeted him, "Dr. Ye, it''s been a while." After paying the price for genetic modification, she acquired super-accurate vision, ultra-precise spatial perception, and an amazing ability to tell things apart, at the cost of her skin becoming excessively white and her pupils turning green. She looked like a European. The thought inexplicably popped up in the mind of Ye Qingxuan, who was spectating. "Yo, Zhangsun, are you still busy with your work at the bilge?" Ye Xuan asked. Zhangsun sat next to him nonchalantly. Despite being a woman, she had a wild and carefree nature, like that of men. "It''s one of the cons of being an engineer, we''ll never run out of machines to repair. Sometimes I''m really jealous of Old Bai they all, they''ve no geology to study in space, so they always have time to take a break from work. "What about you? Still researching humans?" "That''s just one of the topics I''m working on, I still have proper work to do." Ye Xuan sighed resignedly. "I think I may have to start researching about programming and circuits recently for the sake of my patients." As he said so, he glanced at the corner where Peter stood silently, not breathing, his presence incredibly weak. Peter said nothing. He simply remained silent. Zhangsun seemed to have understood something, and her gaze turned sympathetic. "It must be really difficult for you. Hermes always has some weird ideas. He even pestered me yesterday, telling me jokes for half an hour..." "Were the jokes funny?" Ye Xuan asked. "It''s exactly why I''m feeling depressed." Zhangsun sighed in distress. Ye Xuan took out a case from the pocket of his spacesuit and handed it over. "Here''s your medicine, don''t spread the word. I''m going against the rules by giving you the medicine." "Thanks." Zhangsun whistled and put a hand over his shoulder in gratitude. "I haven''t been able to sleep recently, how about we go grab another drink together some time soon? Liu Dongli, that loser, secretly planted some paddy at my place, and we made some wine..." "Nah." Ye Xuan smiled resignedly. Ye Qingxuan sensed that Ye Xuan''s emotions were stirred up. It seemed to be romantic feelings, as if the latter was recalling how he had once flirted with the woman. Zhangsun curled her lips. "You''ve probably given medicine to plenty of people in private recently? Which little girl have you hooked up with?" "Forget it, I never sleep with my patients." Ye Xuan shook his head. "You are not the only one feeling depressed. The closer we are to the ground, the more cases of space-induced anxiety and depression we have on board. "We originally claimed that it was not the earth that had abandoned us, instead it was us who had abandoned the earth. But the artificial gravity we currently have still can''t be compared to the actual ground." "Aren''t a lot of people choosing to spend most of their time being immersed in virtual reality?" Zhangsun asked. Ye Xuan shook his head. "Even in games, the frequency of malicious attacks has risen to a dangerous level." "Everyone can''t wait anymore." Zhangsun said, "At such a crucial moment, don''t we need even more psychological supervision and guidance? It''s all on you." "What can I do? Create a Geneva Sanatorium server and coop them up?" Ye Xuan rolled his eyes. "Everyone yearns for the actual blue sky and the ground. But despite the ground, and the blue sky being close at hand, we can''t land because of the crappy colonial convention. The political turmoil in the upper levels has already affected the normal operation of the fleet." Zhangsun glanced at him. "Aren''t you a member of the crew committee? Your actual power isn''t small, is it? Are you just going to stand aside and do nothing about it?" "Didn''t they choose me to fill the vacancy in the crew committee exactly because of how harmless I am?" Ye Xuan shook his head. "If I make my position known, it will only make the situation even more complicated. "Captain Xiao is making arrangements with the other colony ships. Although the results aren''t exactly clear, at least the discussion has brought about the upcoming joint investigative landing." Zhangsun snickered and shook her head. "We''ve yet to even touched the ground, but humans have once again stirred up disputes because of land." Heavy footsteps sounded and someone else came in. Ye Xuan''s expression became more and more resigned, and he lowered his voice. "Here comes the recent PK madman in the server..." Just as he said so, a rough voice sounded, "I hear someone speaking ill of me again, Xuan Xuan, is that you?" A bald man walked in, wearing a heavy black exoskeleton suit instead of a cumbersome spacesuit like theirs, with connectors of machine parts exposed on the back of his head and ears. Ye Xuan rolled his eyes, unable to stand the girlish nickname. "Even you are coming along?" Zhangsun subconsciously stood up, stunned. "At the very least, everyone is from the same fleet, has the relationship between the various parties deteriorated to such an extent?" "I''m not clear about what the higher-ups mean, one way or another, I''m only responsible for ensuring the safety of you guys." Yuan Eryi patted the tag on him that read: Chief Military Officer. "You are in charge of technical support, and Xuan Xuan is the temporary diplomat, and we also have a robot. A team like this is enough to fight a Level 80 Boss even, let alone handle an investigative landing. Xuan Xuan, have you stopped logging into your healer account lately? Everyone is waiting for you to team up." Ye Xuan rolled his eyes again and didn''t want to say anything. After undergoing several times of modifications and transformations, this fella had nano-hormones and modified organs implanted all over him, half of him was human, and the other half resembled a machine more. However, it just so happened that he had both the shortcomings of humans and machines. After the modifications removed the bipolar disorder, anti-social tendencies, and murderous impulses in his genes, he became a natural soldier, an expert in the operation of various weapons, vehicle driving, and a series of skills that would come in handy in committing murder and arson, destroying items, and blowing things up... The price he paid was a lack of empathy, as well as the inability to pick up social cues. He would offend people easily, yet he couldn''t care less about it. It was normal to have a bad relationship with such a person. Ye Xuan would have stopped providing psychological counseling to Yuan Eryi had he not been worried that the latter might commit violence against medical personnel and hack him to pieces. But despite this, people like Yuan Eryi were still indispensable to the fleet. Or rather, the fleet had chosen him exactly because of it. The fact that he was part of the team taking part in the joint investigative landing mission meant that the relationship with other colony ships had deteriorated to a certain extent. After the last few team members arrived, they wasted no more time blabbering. Only Yuan Eryi, who was sitting in the driver''s seat, made a few dirty jokes that were not funny at all. Then, the ship was thrown into space. Through the porthole, they could see the ship gradually moving away from the brilliance of the lights of the colony ship, as it was cast towards the arms of another monster of steel. Everyone''s expression became tense. It was the seventh formal meeting of the inhabitants of the four colony ships, after drifting around in space for a long time. It was the communication channel that was re-established after they parted on bad terms the previous time. When it involved the exploration of the new home, everyone inevitably felt nervous. Only Peter sat in the corner, silently flipping through the old book in his end. Despite the fact that the information could be downloaded from the database in an instant, he chose to obtain knowledge through such a human method, reading slowly and seriously, word by word, his voice clear and deep. "Seven are an abomination unto God. Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief; a false witness that uttereth lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren..." Ye Xuan closed his eyes. So, Ye Qingxuan was engulfed in darkness. After God knew how long, Ye Qingxuan felt his body shaking. Then, the hull trembled wildly. In the end, a huge quake erupted, making one''s vision darken. The seat belt pressed against one so tightly that it made one breathless. The centrifugal force was so strong that it was almost as if the force was trying to throw the passengers out of the cabin. "I can''t even drift with this crappy ship, I''m gonna leave a bad review!" Yuan Eryi complained disgruntledly, completely unfazed by the alarm. It wasn''t just the people in the cabin who were shocked, but he probably even scared the people on the other colony ship so much that they were about to sound the alarm as well? "We have arrived at our neighbor''s, passengers, please gather your luggage and disembark in an orderly manner." He pulled his seat belt off and looked at the passengers behind him, who were pale, dizzy, and nauseous, his expression gleeful. When he saw Peter, the bionic person whose expression did not change, he tsked disgruntledly. Sure enough, be it centuries ago or centuries after, people with the surname Yuan were all equally annoying. Soon, the airlock was opened. The team members, whose legs were quivering, finally set foot on the land 146,000 kilometers away from them after three years, visiting their neighbors who were "a stone''s throw away." Someone had been waiting for them outside the airlock. The man with a full beard walked up to them and extended a hand. "Dr. Ye, it''s been a long time." Ye Xuan nodded and forced out a smile. "It''s been a long time, Steven, you seem to be doing well." The hydrologist, Steven, shrugged. "It''s just as terrible." "At least you look good." Ye Xuan looked back and glared at Yuan Eryi, then patted Steven on the shoulder. "Let''s not talk here, surely the committee here has arranged a conference room for us?" Steven glanced at him. "We don''t have a committee here." "In that case, your mutiny two years ago... Ahem, I mean the rebellion, has succeeded?" Ye Xuan looked around and lowered his voice. "Bro, who is the guy in charge of the ship now?" "The Captain." Steven''s tone became distant, as if he was hinting at something. He walked in front and signaled for them to follow. When they walked into the conference room, the people from other colony ships had been waiting. It was like brothers who had parted ways for a long time gathering together once more, yet there was no joy in the atmosphere. It was just a cold and solemn silence. When they left, or rather, when they were expelled by the Earth, there were more than a hundred fleets in total. They abandoned the icy homeland that had dried up and flew towards the "infinite world" in the distance. Or rather, they were driven away by the barren hometown, walking lonesomely into the dark desert. They sprinkled seeds into the universe aimlessly. Rather than to say that it was a great pioneering era, as stated in the advertisements, it would be more apt to say that they, as humans who only knew how to waste resources, were banished to the distant darkness. It was a lengthy exile and ascetic practice. Some of their memories were washed away, the coordinates of their hometown erased from their database. After the third year since their departure, they couldn''t even receive messages from their hometown anymore. The last sentence they received was the farewell the cold AI bid themGoodbye. So, the abandoned infants drifted around in the dark ocean of the stars. Recalling the memory of the past, one would realize that many things on the Earth had become vague impressions, and it would be difficult to remember the details. But the only thing that could be confirmed was that they had been abandoned by the Earth, and the two sides had forgotten each other. Just like that, they set foot on a path where there was no looking back. Northern Europe, Eastern Europe, East Asia, West Asia, South America, North America, Australia, North Africa, South Africa... Colony ships from everywhere, constituting of all races, went in all directions aimlessly. At the start, they were still able to communicate with each other, but as time went on, they received fewer and fewer responses. Finally, the fleets were totally cut off from each other. Some were destroyed in front of their eyes, some were sunk in the meteorite belt, and some were... destroyed in the wars among each other. In the end, only four colony ships were left traveling in this direction. Just as everyone thought that they would spend the rest of their lives in cold steel and accepted their fate, new hope appeared in front of their eyes. In the dark nebula, thought to be barren and empty, hid the land and blue sky that they had been dreaming of. The temperature was just right, the gravity was suitable, and even the air composition was identical to that of the Earth. It was orbiting around a healthy and long-living star and had a satellite similar to that of the Earth. So... when hungry victims of disaster found a life-saving straw to clutch atno, it should be referred to as the hope of redemptionhow should the straw be allocated? The lengthy meetings began. Despite just being in the early stages of joint exploration and development, yet to even land on the surface of the planet, many schemes and strategies were already hiding beneath the calm surface. Brothers who should have been making progress together were glancing at each other with coldness and an untrusting look at the moment, as if they were waiting for the inheritance to be split after their old father had died. They had already spent three hours arguing over who should be the first to step out of the cabin door, and it was still ongoing. Despite the fact that the lander module was ready, all the staff were present, and the equipment was in good condition, it was simply too difficult to cross the threshold to enter the world that they had desperately yearned for. Ye Xuan smoked a cigarette and looked coldly at the quarreling people. Motivated by his occupational habit, he profiled them one after another, analyzing what part of their brains, what hormones, and which aspects of their personalities were controlling them at the moment. As he wrote down the sixth exact copy of a prescription for bipolar disorder in his notebook, he couldn''t help but put down the pen, and he sighed softly. "Here I am, expecting this group of creatures to have souls, haven''t I gotten something wrong?" "Mhmm?" Steven, who was beside him, also watching the show, turned back and looked at him. "It''s nothing." Ye Xuan closed the notebook and gave him a reassuring smile. "It''s almost time, what time are meals served here?" It was mealtime. Except for a handful, the rest refused the food provided by the organizers. Most of the people present had undergone modifications and implantations. Although they might not require custom-made food, they refused to expose such information as well. They would even return to their ships to defecate. As for the reason why, transformation technologies were also unique to each colony ship. Even at such a crucial time where they should work together, they were still unwilling to disclose the slightest bit of information about it. Plus, they faced the risk of being manipulated by some ingredients in the food. Sometimes, it was difficult for one to know what was in the creamy mushroom soup in front of them. "I really envy you." Ye Xuan held his thermos flask with both hands, slurping the liquid that couldn''t be considered pleasant to the tongue, and couldn''t help but look at Peter. "You just need to be recharged, but not getting recharged here won''t cause you any major problems, right?" "No worries, I can maintain minimum activity for 500 standard cycles when I run out of electricity," replied Peter. "That''s why I envy you, you can live for so long." Ye Xuan shook his head. "If human beings could live a little longer, we probably wouldn''t be so ugly?" Peter said nothing. In the silence, only the sound of Ye Xuan slurping the soup could be heard. After a long time, Peter closed the book, his voice calm, saying, "Dr. Ye, I have something to ask you." Ye Xuan raised his eyebrows and seemed puzzled. "Do tell." "I don''t understand certain parts of the book you recommended." Peter looked down at the old book in his hand. "No, let me rephrase, it is difficult to understand." "It''s normal. It''s an old antique from thousands of years ago. It would be very odd if it is still applicable." Ye Xuan asked, "Which part are you at?" "The prophet led the humans through the ocean, arriving at the promised land." Peter replied, "Under the rainbow, the humans made a covenant with God." "Ah, isn''t it very romantic?" Ye Xuan nodded. "The early human beings were full of beautiful thoughts of fantasy indeed." "It is exactly what I can''t understand, the agreement between the humans and God..." He looked at Ye Xuan, as if he was gazing at Ye Qingxuan hidden behind, and recited the dogma in the book, word by word, "You shall not make for yourself any idol, nor bow down to it or worship it." 776 God It was the feeling of waking up from a short afternoon nap, where one''s limbs would feel completely relaxed, like lying on clouds. There was only comfort and freedom. Charles opened his eyes and could smell smoke coming from the corner. Wolf Flute was sitting on a chair and looked up at him, "How was the rest, Charles?" "After an afternoon nap, I feel really refreshed." Charles propped himself up on the bed and looked outside the window, only to see that it was already night. "Is it night time already?" Wolf Flute looked at him and there was a weird look in his eyes. "An afternoon nap that has lasted for an entire week should probably be considered a pretty long and deep sleep." A week? Charles was stunned and looked confused. He never expected himself to sleep an entire week away. But shortly after, he heard the commotion outside the door. He pulled the curtains apart and saw a massive crowd outside of the hospital. Countless people were shouting at the top of their lungs while pushing each other and trying to get past the guards. The commotion and noise could not be heard clearly only because of the thick layer of glass on the window. Charles was stunned. "What''s happening?" Wolf Flute extinguished the tobacco roll before preparing another new one for himself. His voice sounded bored, "The things that you have done in Asgard have spread around the country." "Is that so" Charles was stunned for a moment before quickly forcing a smile. "I suppose I have given all of you a lot of trouble? I''m sorry, I never expected so many people to hate me so much." In the rush of the moment, he had not thought carefully before instinctively saving as many people as he could, even if they were enemies that had been terrible to Caucasian. He had ignored the big picture, thereby almost causing the frontline to be defeated. At this thought, Charles could understand why the people were outside were so furious. Wolf Flute shook his head. "They don''t hate you. How do I put it? In any case, it''s quite complicated. There are rumors that you are dead." "I''m not." Wolf Flute did not say a word and only looked back at him. The look on his face gave Charles goosebumps. After some time, he extinguished the new tobacco roll and sighed. "Yes, many people know that you will not die." He said, "They believe that you will be revived once again after a deep sleep." He got up and waved to Charles. "Follow me." The moment the door was pushed open, the entire corridor fell into complete silence. It was as if time was frozen. Charles was wearing a pair of slippers and was using the walls for support as he walked out of the room. Then, he saw the looks of shock that everyone was giving him, including those doctors and nurses and a few guards. They all seemed to be in a daze as they stared at him and the looks that they were giving him were not something he could understand. As he walked, everyone else seemed to be rooted to the ground as they all stared at him. It was as if they were witnessing a gigantic monster walking along the corridor, despite the fact that he was feeling weak and had lost an eye and often had to stop to catch his breath. The further he walked, the louder the commotion. It was almost suffocating. Countless people were screaming and shouting. They were also repeatedly trying to dash to the front and break through the barriers. The flames on their torches lit up the night sky and shone light onto their faces. They looked like they were either screaming or gasping in admiration. Amidst the commotion, someone was shouting while holding up a torch and a passage from the Bible. He was surveying the crowd like how a sheepdog surveyed its sheep. When he looked in the direction of the hospital, there was a terrifying look of fervor in his eyes. "Look! Can all of you feel the selfless and compassionate love?" The old man, who was being held up high, was screaming at the crowd, "Look at how close all of you are to a miracle! All of you, mortals, are so close to your redemptions! The will of God runs here! Mortals, He is right here and He is watching all of you!!" With that, the crowd responded by screaming and waving their hands fervently. They were so emotional that they were full of tears and some of them were even beginning to lose consciousness. "In that case, from the bottom of your heart, repent! Mortals, have you ever cleansed yourselves of your sins?" Someone stared angrily at the crowd as if he was staring at a group of dirty criminals. He screamed, "No, you have not! Tell me, who was the one that is bearing all your sins?" "It''s the Son of God! Son of God!" Countless people were crying in the crowd. Some people were kneeling on the ground and the were naked above the torso. They were crying in pain while picking up rattan whips to whip across their own back. They did not care that their backs were already swollen and bloody from the whips. "Mortals, answer me! Who is the one that is suffering on your behalf?" The hoarse voices continued to stack on top of one another while fervently screaming in praise and repentance, "The Son of God!" "Who is the one that told all of you to live you instead of dying!" "Son of God!!" Some were laughing with joy, others were broken down, crying, and there were some that were beating their own chests and stomping their feet. Everyone was shouting in unison, "It was the Savior! It was the envoy of the only God that has saved us from our sins!" Charles was stunned. In the commotion, someone at the front of the crowd shouted with pleasant surprise, "Look, he''s awake!" That woman shouted excitedly, "He has come back to earth once more!" "He he''s looking at me!" The old man turned back to the crowd excitedly. "He''s looking at us!" At this point, the crowd pushed forward once more, like waves crashing against the guards. Time and again, the painful cries of people being trampled on were being drowned out by the screams of excitement. Even though there were a thousand guards that were trying their very best to stop the crowd, a few people still managed to wriggle their way through and run all the way to the hospital. Despite many levels of obstruction, a number of them still managed to dash into the hospital. They did not seem to care about the whips that the guards wielded as they single-mindedly ran towards Charles. Even when they were pinned onto the ground, they continued to struggle and wriggle all the way to Charles, just so that they could kiss his foot. A simple contact was enough for their faces to be completely covered in tears. Subconsciously, Charles stretched out his hand. Then, he suddenly froze and did not know what he should do. "Oh, Son of God! Please give me your blessings!" The man, who had been pinned down on the ground by guards, was screaming at the top of his lungs as he stretched out his hand to try and touch Charles. As he got closer and closer, he continued to shout, "I am willing to devote the rest of my life to follow you and obey your teachings. My only hope is that you may lead me onto the right path and lead me to heaven!" With all his energy and strength, he was now just a small gap away from Charles'' fingertips. Shortly after, he was knocked out by a guard''s stick before being dragged out. Very soon, the gate closed and the fervent crowd was kept out. In the silence, there was only Charles and Wolf Flute left in the hall. "Did you see that, Charles? You have never gained a bad reputation for all that you have done." Wolf Flute continued to smoke as he lowered his eyes. "You lost your power, and that''s when you truly became a God." At this moment, it no longer mattered if this was what Charles wanted. God had truly descended into the world. At dawn, Ye Qingxuan heard Bai Heng''s voice from the cage, "Ye Qingxuan, why do you think God does not exist in any tangible shape or form?" Ye Qingxuan was emotionless as he turned his head to look at him. "You have called me over so early in the morning just to discuss theology?" Bai Heng laughed. "You are the Chief Inquisitor after all. Since I have your company, naturally I must gain some knowledge from you." "You are a Duke yourself. Don''t tell me you have never read the Holy Bible?" "Yes, I have. But it seems like all those pages were written only to prove one point." Bai Heng yawned and looked over with a smile on his face. "God and Man are two different things, aren''t they?" Ye Qingxuan did not say a word and continued to look at him in silence. "I guess, this is the irony between ''God'' and Man. Humans are adept at scheming. They created a savior that did not exist, as a result of their desire for redemption. Towards Him, humans may fear and respect and admire, but humans will never love something that is different from them." He stretched out his hand and extinguished the incense in the porcelain plate in front of him. "God does not have a shape or form and cannot be visualized" Bai Heng continued, "But this is not to highlight how much more powerful and sophisticated He was than humans. It''s just so that humans will not be able to kill Him." Ye Qingxuan asked coldly, "What do you mean?" "Nothing." Bai Heng kept both his hands in his sleeves and smiled. "Just take it as a friendly reminder." "Is that so?" Ye Qingxuan was indifferent. "There''s nothing friendly or kind about you. How can someone like you possibly care about others?" "Because you are not my concern, Ye Qingxuan, and this is why I am willing to talk to you about so many things." Bai Heng smiled. He did not seem to be upset at all. "You see, there is a strange affinity between the both of us Back then, I was the one who banished Ye Lanzhou, and now, you are the one who will personally be sending me to the dungeon. This is ''karma.'' Perhaps we are fated to meet. Or perhaps, the enmity between us had already been decided by something or someone way before you were even born. What do you think?" "Haha." The only reply was cold laughter. Ye Qingxuan turned around to leave. Only Bai Heng continued to sit in the cage with a smile on his face. He looked more like a government official sitting in his own carriage, rather than a prisoner. There was an air of authority about him. "Why bother, Ye Qingxuan? If I put myself in your position, I can understand your rage and pain. After all, all the people that you have cared about have been killed." He stared at the back of Ye Qingxuan and muttered to himself, "Sooner or later, you will understand me too." 777 Monarch and Subjec On noon of the seventh day, Ye Qingxuan saw a dark outline appear on the horizon. The dense pack of pedestrians and carriages walked on both sides of the dirt road, regarding the figure curiously. The Empire of Aurora''s traffic was structured better than Ye Qingxuan would have thought. There was a courier station every 50 miles. The roads were wide, with more than enough room for five carriages. And the roads were flat, with some places even being paved with slab stones. There were no shortcomings other than the fact that an average person could not walk on it. Even in the prosperous parts of the country the road was still empty as the flow of people wound around both sides of it. They came and went just like they were making a visit. When they saw Ye Qingxuan''s white hair, they looked away in respect. For some reason, some people pointed fingers at Bai Heng riding in the prison cart from afar, unsure if that was the regent who had once had power over the court and the commons, and unsure of what had happened to him. The news of Bai Heng''s surrender had been nearly sealed off. They had remained vigilant, and only a few people knew who it was that had come here. The Ninth Heaven Tower was in sight. Outside the capital was already a dazzlingly prosperous area. It would be better to say that the people and structures there surpassed expectations and were not ordinary in the least. The people coming and going on the street were mostly black-haired. They rarely saw a noble of the Dragon Bloodlines. The closer they got, the stronger Ye Qingxuan''s heartbeat became. It was not until they reached Baizhang Gate that he remembered the familiar feeling within his tingling sensation. "Is this feeling?" Bai Heng smiled at him. Up until now, Ye Qingxuan had not realized why there were so many people outside the city. It wasn''t that they liked being outside, they just couldn''t be inside. The Iron of Decay. Ye Qingxuan felt the tingling sensation of the Iron of Decay. Even though the city gate was still far away, the feeling was still clear enough. For the citizens of the Empire of Aurora, their ability to resist the Iron of Decay was far less than that of nobles of the Dragon Bloodlines, and there were limits to it. Even within the city, the citizens probably wouldn''t go as far as the central city. In the centuries of rule by the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline, although there had been eras of wisdom and honesty, there had been no shortage of tyranny and stupidity. It wasn''t that the common folk had never resisted, but the ones controlling everything had after all been the nobles of the dragon bloodline. Ordinary citizens who stepped through the palace gates might as well arrange their funeral affairs, not to mention those who tried to sit on the throne. Even with tens of thousands of troops, it would be no use if they could not enter the capital. Moreover, the defensive troops and palace servants almost all had deva ancestry, and had inherited something from their ancestors to some extent. In the face of devas who held ultimate power, tens of thousands of soldiers were nothing more than mud chickens and clay dogs. The nearly infinite Iron of Decay guarded the control and secrets of the Devas. It was a highly toxic substance to others. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan felt as carefree as a stranded fish placed back into water. It was like a traveller who had been parched by the dry desert wind had returned to his home by the sea. And there was something else that brightened his mood that had been dark and gloomy for the past few days. She was here. Ye Qingxuan rode through the corridor under the gate, and stared at the palace in the distance. Bai Xi was here. After being apart for so long, he did not know how she was doing now. He was suddenly a little flustered. He didn''t know how Bai Xi was. He didn''t know if she was okay or not. He didn''t know what he should say after he saw her. Soon his thoughts were interrupted. Behind him, the eunuch he had greeted that morning covered the prison cart in white silk, and another person walked up. "Please allow me to escort you the rest of the way and then we can report back to the palace." He bowed respectuflly. "Tomorrow Her Majesty is holding a welcome feast for you at Changle Palace, and she invites you to stay the night." Ye Qingxuan looked at him silently. He said nothing. The eunuch''s smile stiffened, and he bowed a few degrees lower. Sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground. "These days there are some things that I want to understand, and I''m growing tired of Her Majesty." Ye Qingxuan looked at him from on the horse. "I helped her hold Heaven''s Gate, helped her bring Bai Heng back. I''ve shown her respect, and I hope she can do the same to me. So, go back and tell her that I don''t have time to wait until tomorrow. This evening. If I don''t see Bai Xi this evening, I''ll go to the palace to find her myself." The eunuch kneeled. He got ready to say something, but Ye Qingxuan turned the horse by the reins and left. After an hour, a eunuch bearing an imperial order rushed to Ye Qingxuan''s residence and knocked on the door." Ye Qingxuan got an answer that was satisfactory to him. "This evening..." Ye Qingxuan lay back in his bed and stared at the outline of the palace outside his window. He unconsciously rubbed his thumb against his forefinger on the mark that the Jiu Xiao Huan Pei had left behind. For some reason he had suddenly felt relief. He was glad that he still had a bit of time. Time enough to let him think about it in detail... What should he say when he saw her? In the depths of the palace, amidst the pagodas and pavilions, a eunuch stepped out of the inner chambers and stepped on to the jade steps. He announced the man who was kneeling down, "Presenting Bai Heng, Your Majesty." Below the steps, Bai Heng, who was held by Jin Wuwei, did not move. He seemed not to hear. He just kept his head down and looked at the shackles around his wrists. He raised his brow slightly. After a moment of silence, the eunuch pointed at the shackles and ordered Jin Wuwei, "Get rid of those unsightly things." Jin Wuwei hesitated for a moment, but at the urging of the eunuch he undid the shackles and took a step back. "Please come with me, Duke Bai. Don''t keep Her Majesty waiting." The eunuch smiled and turned around as he led the way. "You know the palace rules better than me. I just beg that you take pity on me and not make Her Majesty angry again. Things are different now, if you make trouble now it may not go well for you." "Yes, indeed. Things are different now." Bai Heng sighed and glanced at the eunuch. "A dog like you dares to speak up to me." The eunuch''s smile hardened. Bai Heng passed the eunuch and walked straight into the inner chambers. Candles on both sides of the space shone a dim light, illuminating the gorgeous decorations on top of the pillars through the soft gauze. In one corner of the room stood a dressing table that was completely out of place in this majestic and noble palace. In front of the mirror was a woman with long hair draped over her shoulders, like she had just woken from a nap. She looked up with sleepy eyes at Bai Heng''s reflection in the mirror, and her slender eyes widened slightly. "Long time no see. Your elegant demeanor is still the same, not changed from all those years ago." The Empress nodded slightly. "Very good." "Long time no see?" Bai Heng thought for a bit, then nodded. "Ah yes." "It''s been almost have a year, no?" He shook his head and sighed. He did not kowtow. He just casually bowed. "Disgraced minister Bai Heng, here to see Your Majesty. I wish Your Majesty long life, and health to..." No one answered. Bai Heng sighed, rose, and walked towards the Empress with light steps. In the corner, the eunuch bowed deeply. He did not dare to look, he just crawled backwards and closed the door from the outside. "I thought Your Majesty had something to say to me." Bai Heng stood behind the Empress, and looked at her closely as she did her makeup. "Can''t you be a little quieter?" The Empress stared at herself in the mirror. She disinterestedly put down the brush that she had been painting her eyebrows with. "It seems like I came at a bad time." Bai Heng reached out and took the comb. He walked behind the Empress and combed her white hair. Her white hair was like silver as it slid between the teeth of the comb. Just like so many times before, Bai Heng combed her hair familiarly. He coiled it up and pulled a jade pin from the table and stroked the sharp, cool pin gently across the Empress''s slender neck. Finally, he put it in her hair. It was either a failed assassination or a great success. "Come on, take some rouge!" Bai Heng bowed with satisfaction as he looked at the Empress closely in the mirror. "Unfortunately, though sick plums may be good, they are not suitable for humans. Your Majesty is in her prime. You should not always stay up so late. You are growing pale. That is not good." The Empress glanced at him indifferently. "Maybe if you didn''t bother me I would look better?" Bai Heng smiled, and blew on the Empress''s ear as he whispered, "I just want to see what you look like when you get angry." Her indifference wavered slightly. Her brow creased imperceptibly. Bai Heng nodded with satisfaction. "It''s such a pity that only criminals like me can see this side of you..." He held the Empress''s shoulder and whispered, "Someone so beautiful as Your Majesty, were she born into a common family, would surely already be married by now." He did not say this like an experienced and astute regent would. He did not seem that old, and there was still a bit of licentiousness about him. "Why force yourself?" He lifted his finger and stroked it across her glamorous and majestic face. His eyes were full of pity. "The imperial seal is too heavy. May I help you bear it? I will reorganize the Empire of Aurora for you. All you have to do is sit in that chair as the eternal wise ruler. With this harmony between monarch and subject, could we not defeat any challenge?" Zap! A line of electricity shot out from Bai Heng''s fingertips, burning his careless fingers. Bai Heng''s expression did not change. He merely shook his head, waved his fingers that could not feel anymore, and did not say anything more. The Empress rose from the mirror. "It''s so boring talking in here. Come for a walk with me." "By your command." Bai Heng bowed. There was no impatience or bitterness in his expression. He waited quietly. The Empress would arrange her own end. He followed the Empress in silence. They passed through gate after gate as they silently marched along the path. Finally they came to a courtyard with the soothing, beautiful scenery. But it was guarded by Jin Wuwei, and it was difficult to get close. There were more than a dozen white-haired devas sitting lazily within, reading, drinking, or making merry. The sound of stringed instruments and singing girls came from within. When the Empress walked through the gate, all the sound came to an abrupt end. Amid the noise of everyone kneeling, the Empress looked back at Bai Heng. "Are you familiar with this?" "Naturally." Bai Heng bent down and reached out to wipe the traces on the threshold. They came clearly into view. "After all, I was shut in here for more than ten years." 778 The Pas Changle Palace [1] sounded like a palace for the Empress to have fun and enjoy herself. It had beautiful scenery, unique-looking pine and cypress trees, rockery and odd-looking stones... It was also complete with all kinds of luxurious enjoyments. Apart from the fact that one could not enter and exit it freely, the palace simply had no faults. Or rather, it should be said that after one walked inside, one shouldn''t even expect to leave the place alive. It was the place where the hostages from the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline were kept. The important members of the direct line of descent of the Deva families and the children of the heads of the Houses would be detained here, and so would the heirs when they inherited their positions as the heads of their respective Houses. To phrase it nicely, they were accompanying the Empress day and night, listening to her teachings and improving their self-cultivation. To put it bluntly, they were just hostages. Bai Heng walked into the yard, showing little regard for anyone around, and walked forward along the curved roads and pavilions. In the end, he opened a door, and the courtyard behind the door seemed to have retained its original appearance. Bai Heng turned back and smiled. "It seems that I''ll be living here from now on?" "Do you like it?" the Empress asked. "I specifically instructed them to tidy up your original room. From now on, you shall live out the rest of your life here and behave yourself. I will find another woman for you to give birth to a few children and pass on the music theory of House Bai..." "Sounds good, so be it... At least this place is somewhat meaningful to me." Bai Heng nodded amicably and did not resist. He simply strolled around the courtyard, finally stopping under the aged pagoda tree, stroking the burl on it. "I was here," he said, " when I saw you for the first time." "Is it so?" The Empress glanced at him. "You still remember such a pointless thing, Bai Heng?" "Yeah, after all, how should I put it... It''s worth commemorating." Bai Heng sat on the stone bench in the courtyard, patting his knees where he felt a dull pain, just like an old man returning to his native place with honor. He had returned to his hometown. "So, let''s talk about something irrelevant. I still remember that I was a nameless hostage in the imperial capital back then, indulging myself in wine all day long. I was good at nothing other than writing poems and singing songs about the wind and the moon, and when I heard that my father had died of illness, I was in a state of unending anxiety. I didn''t know how that brother of mine who would inherit his position as the head of House Bai would treat me, and how should I spend my days in the future." Bai Heng lamented, "So, I can only grieve over spring and mourn for autumn [2] all day long. Only one stray cat in the palace accompanied me, but the stray cat also fell from the stairs eventually and broke its neck..." The Empress laughed. "Let me guess, according to the stories in the novels circulating among the common folk, back then, I probably consoled you with gentle words and helped you walk out of the shadows, away from your pain?" "No, you were still young at the time," Bai Heng said softly. He simply looked at the ground under the shade of the tree, but he couldn''t see the little grave built back then. "...You did something cruel," he said. "Like a child." After a long silence, he laughed self-mockingly. "But soon after, you weren''t like one anymore..." "Girls mature fast," said the Empress. "Probably." Bai Heng shook his head and waved his hand unenthusiastically. "I''m exhausted from my long journey, and I''m going to get some rest. If Your Majesty has no other matters to attend to here, please leave at your own discretion. "As for any other words you may have in mind that are of no necessity, you might as well not say them to me." The Empress cast one deep, final look at him, then withdrew her gaze and turned to leave. In the silence, Bai Heng closed his eyes, leaning against the tree. 20 years, Bai Heng, it''s been 20 years. How many more 20 years do I have in life? Amid the scent of flowers and plants that he hadn''t come across for a long time, he vaguely felt a small creature jumping onto his knees. Mewing softly, its tail slapped against his wrist. He subconsciously reached out to stroke it, but touched nothing. The cat had already died. 20 years ago, it fell from the attic and broke its neck. It lay in his arms, at its last gasp, licking his hand. But it did not whine forlornly, instead, it simply looked at his eyes. Its gaze was full of sympathy and a reluctance to part with him. It was as if it was saying goodbye to this old friend. All I could do was to sit under the tree helplessly after begging around for someone to save it, holding it in my lap. Thinking of my own situation, I teared up cowardly. I didn''t even notice it when someone climbed over the wall and saw my ugly, unsightly state. "Is it going to die?" a voice asked. "Mhmm," Bai Heng replied. "It''s very sad." The little girl looked at him. "You shouldn''t let it continue to suffer." "But what can I do?" he asked. "Do what you can do." The pair of clear eyes looked at him, with innocence and cruelty that he didn''t have. "You know what to do it, and you shouldn''t ask others to do it for you." In the reflection in the pair of eyes, he saw his ugly and weak self clearly. He could still do one only thing. Bai Heng closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face, and embraced the faint warmth in his arms for the last time. Then he reached out... He personally cut off the only warmth he had. Until the very last moment, I dared not look at its eyes. Only a small hand clutching a handkerchief wiped away his tears and ugliness, making him look somewhat more decent. "Don''t be sad, strong people don''t cry, and they don''t feel lonely." She whispered, "I want to be a strong person, you have to be one too, together with me." For a moment, Bai Heng seemed to have received salvation. It seemed that he had obtained something. But it also seemed that something had been taken away from him. But after many years, Bai Heng still couldn''t help but wonder, at the very last moment, while it was liberated from its suffering. Were the pair of eyes full of resentment or relief? He did not know. Even though he already had power and had become so strong, and he could save 1000, or even 10,000 cats, he only cared about that one cat. And he only cared about that one person. But when he could present himself before his Empress, she couldn''t remember the him from back then anymore. She was no longer like how she used to be either. Fortunately, after putting in all his efforts and doing all he could to seize everything that he could seize, he finally became a person who would not feel lonely nor cry. Never again. He closed his eyes. He slipped into a deep slumber. In a hazy state, Ye Qingxuan heard hoarse panting, as well as screams, rumbles, whines, and roars. Silver flares rose from the ground, and fire from the heavens fell from the sky. In the turmoil of the heavens and the earth, disasters swept across the silent world. A blood-stained Zhangsun stood in front of him, revealing a heroic smile. "Ye Xuan, stay alive..." In the stable beeps, Ye Xuan was startled awake from the hazy state. He lifted his head, and saw Zhangsun who was soaked in the recovery dish. She was naked, and the internal organs in her abdominal cavity trembled with difficulty, her long hair fluttering in the liquid. The electrodes pierced into her chest maintained her heartbeat, awakening her from the scene. Through the glass, she winked slightly at Ye Xuan. "You''re awake?" Ye Hao was pleasantly surprised. He climbed up from the chair, pressing himself against the glass, wanting to say something, but did not know what to say. "I suggest that it would be better if you let the patient rest properly." Liu Dongli stood behind him, his pale face reflected on the glass of the recovery dish, and it looked slightly distorted. "There aren''t any serious problems with her, she just lost her right leg and parts of her internal organs. "The implantation surgery will be done on her today, temporarily replacing the organs with machinery. After two months, the cultivation of the cloned organs will be completed. They will replace the machinery again, and she will be whole. " Having said that, Liu Dongli, whose face was always expressionless like a dead man, made a joke at an inappropriate timing, as always. "You can also use this opportunity to experience the feeling of hugging an iron leg while making love." Ye Xuan turned back and glared at him. "Shut your damn mouth." "You are the family member here, you have the final say." Liu Dongli shrugged. "The crew committee has convened an urgent meeting. I''m here to inform you to go make a statement. You look worn out, do you want me to give you a shot?" "Nah." Ye Xuan shook his head, and took one last look Zhangsun, and gestured to her that he would visit again later, then turned around and left with Liu Dongli. In the hallway, Ye Xuan asked, "Is the computation of the statistics of the loss from our investigative landing completed?" "Most of the equipment was ruined, six people were seriously injured, and no one died." Liu Dongli was much better informed than he was. As the chief physician on board, many things couldn''t be concealed from him. "But that''s not the worst part. Take a look for yourself." He pulled out a photo from the file and threw it into Ye Xuan''s hand. On the photo was a silver-white star. It was in turmoil, as if it was bathed in silver flames. Through the numerous solar flares, one could almost see the turbid torrents flowing on the earth. Starting from a small round scar, blood water spread in all directions, engulfing the entire star. It seemed to be on the verge of destruction, but also seemed to be evolving and being reborn "What is this?" Ye Xuan was stunned. "A few hours ago, weren''t you all still there?" Liu Dongli walked in front and didn''t answer any more questions from him. The silence persisted until the door of the large conference room opened. Everyone''s eyes fell on Ye Xuan, their gazes solemn. The atmosphere was not like that of a meeting, but more like that of a court trial or some sort of hearing. Captain Xiao pinched his beard and gestured for Ye Xuan to sit in the seat in the center, where all their gazes intersected. It didn''t feel good being stared at by everyone. Although he could feel Ye Xuan''s uneasiness and pain as if it was his own, Ye Qingxuan, who was like a phantom, couldn''t help but investigate the various incredible machinery in the conference room, shocked by how developed the Deva civilization was a long long time in the past. Finally, he looked at the corner, where Peter sat on an iron chair, looking down at the scroll in his hand. His expression was indifferent. He looked as if nothing had happened. "Dr. Ye, please relax, we just have a few questions to ask you this time around." He said, "Regarding the investigative landing of the Silent Star, we have already learned the detailed course of events from Peter''s report, but we need to confirm a few parts with you. It is a necessary process, and we seek your understanding." Ye Xuan didn''t waste time with words but just sat upright. "Please go on." "During the landing process, did you discover any operations and actions carried out by the members of the other colony ships that violated the regulations?" the captain asked. "No," Ye Xuan replied. "Are you sure?" the captain asked again. "Yes, I am sure. The whole process was cross-supervised and investigated by autonomous machinery. The sensory records of machines are more reliable than that of people. You all can check Peter''s records as proof for my answer," Ye Xuan replied. "Don''t say irrelevant nonsense." Another person asked, "Was there any abnormality in the process of landing?" "No." Ye Xuan''s expression was cold and he tactfully rebuked, neither haughtily nor humbly, "We don''t have any politicians in our ranks, and everyone has sufficient respect for their respective profession. It is a serious matter." Captain Xiao coughed twice, motioning for the rest to refrain from interrupting, and continued asking, "So, when did the disaster begin?" "It showed presages while we were in the process of landing, but unfortunately we were not aware of their significance, and simply took it to be blizzard-like weather." The other person asked again. "Why didn''t you all report it?" Ye Xuan turned back and looked at him, expressionless. "Weren''t you all monitoring it from the beginning till the end?" The person couldn''t maintain his expression. "Mind your attitude, Ye..." His words were interrupted by the captain. "Shut up, or get out!" The man was stunned and closed his mouth awkwardly. He said no more. "Continue reporting, Dr. Ye." Captain Xiao waved, with a focused expression. "I am listening." "Visually detectable changes occurred after we landed. After exiting the cabin, we saw an abnormal snowstorm phenomenon, but the temperature was normal. The color of the snow was not normal either, it was closer to the color of metal. The analyzer reported that the temperature was normal, it was not close to the freezing point, and no hydrogen or oxygen was detected in the snow. "After careful operation, we tentatively named it as ''unknown matter.'' Everything was still fairly normal at that point." Captain Xiao was silent for a long time. He looking at Ye Xuan, his gaze serious. "Until you violated the regulations and took off your helmet?" "Yes." Ye Xuan closed his eyes and admitted his mistake honestly. After refusing wireless communication, he took off his helmet and inhaled the fresh air that he had never gotten to enjoy, completely unafraid of the 0.1 percent of the unidentified matter in the air. Then... "It was like the ''avalanche'' recorded in the dictionaries of the ancient times," Ye Xuan said. With the noise he made then, horrifying waves stirred up from the ''snow of metal'' and swept in all directions. And so the turmoil of the heavens and the earth began... Everything fell into a furnace. "Dr. Ye, I hope you understand that the crew committee can totally sentence you to euthanasia based on your actions that have violated the regulations and the serious consequences." Captain Xiao said after a moment of thought, "In fact, the other colony ships have strongly demanded that we do so." "Yes, I am clear about that." Ye Xuan nodded, and forced out a smile. "I am willing to take responsibility for my actions." "Responsibility? Can you afford to do so?" The sarcastic voice sounded again. It was Bai Nan, and he never liked Ye Xuan. Captain Xiao continued, "But actually, I think that although your behavior has violated the rules, you have found a hidden danger that we have not noticed, before the committee makes a large-scale investment in the land. "Although the consequences are serious, it would still have happened sooner or later if you had not taken such a course of action, and it would still have been difficult to avoid. Therefore, as punishment, I will temporarily deprive you of your right to freedom of movement, but you will retain your seat on the crew committee. "Before the judgment of the Joint Court is issued, you have to keep yourself well and useful, and continue to contribute to mankind..." Captain Xiao disregarded the voices of surprise surrounding him, and made a final decision. On the ship, although everything was decided by the crew committee, the role of the captain was equally important. He had the power to veto any order issued by the committee. Even though he faced certain restrictions as well, he still had great power. Ye Xuan also found the protection offered to him by the captain somewhat difficult to believe. He could also picture how his actions would put the captain in a passive position in the joint parliament of the colony fleet. "That''s it, boy." Captain Xiao gave him a cheerful smile. "Don''t ask me why. If it had been me down there, I would have done the same. So, for my sake, do away with the scripts and cliches, and answer me honestly. "Does the air of the new world feel good?" Ye Xuan nodded. "Then go back to the cage and continue reflecting on your mistakes." Captain Xiao knocked on the table and ended the meeting. "The rest can wait until the joint science and technology department produces a preliminary report on the situation on the ground and the most important ''unknown matter''." The sound of people getting up from their seats rang out. He turned and left. [1] The name literally translates as the palace of eternal joy. [2] The literal translation of a Chinese proverb that means always being melancholy and moody because of the change in seasons and scenery stirs up negative emotions. 779 Special Pardon The atmosphere in the embassy of Burgundy in Sacred City was heavy. Very few people could come and go as the entire building was heavily guarded. After several days of transactions and conflicts behind the scenes, a meeting that was held in the name of ''peace'' was finally coming to an end. The most important aspect of this meeting would be settled soon, albeit not at the meeting but between the proxies in the embassy. Despite spending such a long time in the embassy, probably very few people would take a closer look at this ordinary and plain building. The old era was finally coming to an end. The rise of Caucasian and Anglo, along with the defeat of Asgard, were expected, but the rapid rise of Burgundy was shocking and unexpected. No one would have imagined that, other than Caucasian and Anglo, one of the biggest beneficiaries would be Emperor Don Juan, who was not even 10-years-old and had only just succeeded the throne. Within eight to nine days, the Church and Burgundy were already on very good terms. The Cardinal Bishops were unwilling to lose their power, so they were more than willing to go along with what Burgundy had proposed to them in secret. Both sides needed something from the other, so they got along very well very quickly. But aside from the collaboration, it was hard to tell just how much true and genuine feelings both sides had for each other. Although there was always the risk that they might be leaving themselves open to an attack, ultimately, Burgundy still committed to this move under the leadership of Richelieu. With full support from the Cardinal Bishops and plenty of urging by the scattered soldiers from various countries, Burgundy consolidated all the old powers and joined Caucasian and Anglo in this banquet. Anyone with a keen sense of politics would understand that after the bell tolled at midnight tonight, the days of Sacred City''s dominance would be over and would be replaced by these three powers At this point, the final discussion was already underway in the Burgundy embassy. There were three Bishops, who were taking the blame on behalf of the Church, to serve as witnesses as Wolf Flute, Hua Sheng, and Richelieu had finally reached the most important juncture. After successfully taking away more than half of the assets of the heavy industry, the young man, whom many had been secretly calling him "damned cripple" behind his back for the past few days, still refused to back down. "Anglo''s stand is still the same," Hua Sheng said very calmly. "The Sacred City is the treasure of the entire world. Its ancient records and assets should be guarded by all humans together." Wolf Flute continued to smoke while nodding his head in agreement. "Yes, Caucasian thinks the same." After successfully taking over the library, Richelieu remained smiling. "No problem. Most of the technology can be transferred, but the exact details will still need to be further discussed." Actually, Burgundy never expected to take over all of Sacred City''s technologies and ancient records. In terms of power and the amount of say in such matters, Burgundy knew that it would never be able to stand against Caucasian and Anglo, who were already allies with each other. But this was all part of a negotiation, where the seller would wish to sell at the highest possible price while the buyer would hope to buy at the lowest possible price. Besides, technology was something that was easily transferable, so they would probably just share it. Right now, it was as if Richelieu had found himself in a business selling books in the library. He could not stop the buyer from buying what they wanted, but at least he would be able to make some profit out of it. No capital was required for this business anyway. He would sell away Sacred City so that he could make some profits for himself. Just like what Hua Sheng said, there would be profits as long as they were willing to talk and discuss. After the fundamentals had been decided, the three of them would quickly pass a note to people on the outside, who would haggle over the small details in another place. Onto the next issue. Although the three Bishops were already looking very glum, it did not matter to Hua Sheng, as he went for the kill once again. "What once belonged to mortals should be returned to them." The young man, who was seated in the wheelchair, spoke in a tone that seemed to accept no rebuttals, "The legitimacy of Protestantism, and the necessity and justification of the Religious Court of Inquiry should be acknowledged in the new legislative amendment." This was a direct assault at the core of the Sacred City. Not only Protestantism, but Caucasian''s Orthodox Church would definitely be keen to make the same request. Although the Church would never recognize Charles'' status as "Son of God," they would have to give in in other areas. If they wished to complete the handing over of power and authority in a peaceful and harmonious manner, some things would be inevitable, and this included the condition of the Church becoming a subsidiary. Hua Sheng looked at the three Cardinal Bishops and brought up a personal request from the Hand of God, "Sacred City must release Mr. Abraham immediately and unconditionally. His name and reputation must be restored and his losses compensated. His immense contributions to the study of the history of music must be recognized." Compared to the previous request, this one was almost insignificant. But the three Bishops looked even more glum now. They looked at each other as if there was something that they wanted to say, but ultimately said nothing. In the silence, Hua Sheng finished smoking a cigarette quietly. He maintained a calm demeanor from the very beginning but now, there was a hint of unhappiness, "What? Are you saying this is not negotiable? I suggest the Cardinal Bishops think through this carefully. Although I am the proxy of Anglo, I am, first and foremost, the Secretary General of His Highness. If Sacred City is not even sincere enough to agree to such a small request, I''m afraid we don''t have to waste our time on the following matters" In an instant, the three Bishops felt terribly stuck. Once they mighty had fallen, they were bound to be bullied even by the weak. Just a few years back, it was impossible for an Anglo envoy to speak to them in such a tone. In fact, they might not even choose to grant him an audience. Aside from the fact that he was carrying himself with such authority, if Hua Sheng was speaking on behalf of Anglo just now, then he was definitely speaking on behalf of Ye Qingxuan now. He was making a request to the Sacred City on behalf of the founder of Protestantism, the Hand of God and the Chief Inquisitor. Actually, it was not really a request since there would be no room for negotiation. There were only two possible options they could take, which was to either release or not to release. If they chose the latter, they would have to be prepared to face the wrath of His Highness. At the same time, the Son of God from Caucasian would probably not just sit by and do nothing either. In fact, they might not even have to wait and see what Charles would do after the news had traveled to Caucasian. The fact that Wolf Flute was here meant that the three of them probably have to bear the consequences right now. They looked to Richelieu for help. But right now, Richelieu pretended not to notice as he seemed to have completely ditched the agreement of advancing and retreating together. After a short pause, the Bishop in the middle gritted his teeth and spoke, "With regards to the request by Hand of God, of course, the Church will be more than happy to cooperate, but in actuality," he paused to wipe the cold sweat on his forehead before continuing, "nine days ago, Mr. Abraham was already given special pardon. We have no clue where he might be right now. Therefore, we aren''t able to make a promise now. Please give us a bit more time." What he said clearly sounded like a plea. Whatever little amount of pride that Sacred City still had was clearly gone now. They would not be pleased with what he had done. But despite putting away whatever pride he had, the chilly atmosphere in the meeting room remained. There was a stillness in the air as Hua Sheng extinguished the tobacco roll and looked up with his cold and steely eyes. "Special pardon? Throughout all the meetings, the Sacred City was being managed by all the countries together. Any government decree would have to be agreed upon by all the countries. In that case, who was the one that signed for the special pardon?" At this point, there was no disguising his murderous intent. As the successor groomed by Shi Dong and having once been the officiant for Hyakume, Hua Sheng was a vicious person who was reputed to have grown up on poison. He never failed to expect the worst of the people he dealt with. Besides, if Mr. Abraham had really been released on a special pardon, where did he go? No one saw him being released! Now, it was clear to him that someone was trying to make use of this matter to find out what was Ye Qingxuan''s baseline. No, it was even possible that this person had already gotten hold of Abraham and was daring enough to try to negotiate with the Hand of God Hua Sheng began to chew on his fingernails subconsciously like a ferocious beast. How interesting. Is it because the Religious Court of Inquiry used up all of its stakes, or this person sensed an opportunity now that the Hand of God was on his way to Aurora? In that case, should I contact Shi Dong, who is now in a state of retirement? It''s not good to only eat and sleep the entire day away. Old people should still find some things to occupy themselves with. This opportunity has come at the right time for me to eliminate some of the Cardinal Bishops who still insist on meddling. But first and foremost, I must find my first target In his heart, Hua Sheng had already decided on his course of action and was still considering which of the three he should get his hands on first. "Oh? I am also interested to know who was the one who signed the special pardon?" Wolf Flute, who had been keeping quiet, finally spoke and seemed to look at Richelieu meaningfully. Richelieu shook his head decisively. "This has nothing to do with Burgundy." He left no room for dispute. No kidding, they definitely had to draw a clear line between the Church and themselves. If the Church wished to take such risks, so be it, but it would be foolish for Burgundy to allow themselves to be dragged down as well. At this juncture, a small misstep could lead to dire consequences for Burgundy. The wise thing to do now was to quit while one was ahead. At this point, the three Bishops looked sullen as they faced pressure from both sides. After a long time, they finally replied, "The person who signed the special pardon was Sancta Sedes." There was only silence. No one expected Abraham''s special pardon to be signed by the person in this world that was most unlikely to pardon him. Amongst the three kings, the King of Red was still the most powerful compared to the current Sancta Sedes and the Church''s Pontifex Maximas. For so many days, the King of Red had stayed out of all matters and allowed the various countries to split up Sacred City. Even the doors of Apostolic Palace had remained closed all this while. No one would have expected him to sign a special pardon and release Abraham at this point in time. This was not something that someone of his status would do. If he had wanted to interfere in the meeting, he had plenty of reasons and excuses to do so. There was no need to resort to doing something like this that could very well infuriate Ye Qingxuan and Charles. In that case what exactly was he trying to achieve? Before too long, Wolf Flute''s shoulder shook and there was a slip of paper in his hands. When he opened to read the paper, it was as if he had been struck by lightning. The King of Red has brought Abraham to Caucasian. For some reason, Wolf Flute began to feel very uneasy. 780 The Loser’s Last Words Six hours earlier, a long stream of people marched through the wilderness on the road that had been cleared ahead of them. There were still stalks of grass on the ground, and traces of wild game could still be seen on the road that had been cleared not long before. After the rain, there were mud and puddles on the ground. The sound of chanting and singing could be heard in the distance. The barefooted peasants pushed their families in carts, following the guidance and the call of the divine. They brought barely any rations with them as they embarked towards a world of ice and snow. In a few short months, the once barren Commonwealth of Caucasian had become a sort of heaven on earth, or so it seemed. Everywhere there was fertile soil. From time to time, there would be wheat fields on both sides of the road. The heavy ears of wheat hung down, reflecting a brilliant golden light. When they were hungry, there were figs on the trees on the sides of the road. When they were thirsty, there was endless clean water in the streams, as sweet as milk and honey. It was like heaven. Along with the sound of deep shouting, under the pushing of several sturdy peasants, the coachman''s whip, and the neighing of horses, a carriage that had sunk into the mud drove out of the pit. The peasants wiped the mud off themselves. As they prepared to leave, the old man on the coach called for them to stop. He took out a few silver coins and thanked them for their help. "No need." The lead peasant smiled good-naturedly. When he saw the rosary on his wrist, his face lit up. "Have you also come for the Son of God? Since we''re all believers we definitely can''t take your money." He could not tell the difference between the Orthodox Church and the Sacred City, and he didn''t understand how important that seemingly worthless rosary was to the Sacred City. The old man in the carriage did not insist on explaining anything. He just smiled warmly. "Something like that." A young man came up and asked, "Are you a priest?" The old man nodded. "Yes." "Then please give me a blessing." The old man nodded. He placed his hand on the man''s muddy face and gave him a blessing from God, chanting the gospel that in the past had led so many people to fanaticism. The peasants soon left. The old man returned his gaze to where he had originally been looking. There was no dignity or sternness. He did not seem at all like the Sancta Sedes. "The Commonwealth of Caucasian has really become a fertile land," the King of Red said. "That kid of yours is a good person. You taught him well, Abe." Few people noticed that there was someone else in the carriage. He was no older than the King of Red, but he scarcely breathed. He was simple and slow of speech and gloomy. He always had his eyes lowered, and did not attract attention. When he heard the King of Red''s words, he merely nodded and did not respond. The King of Red looked at him. "You don''t seem happy." Abraham was silent for a while, then closed his eyes. "This makes me sad." The carriage continued forward towards the country where God was. Three hours later, the carriage entered what had once been the plaza of the imperial palace. The King of Red was welcomed into the conference room under strict guard. He carried a heavy box. It seemed to be full of treasure. Half an hour later, the doors were opened. Gaius walked in wearing winter clothes. The weather had started to turn warm, but he still wore thick clothes. After taking off his hat, his silky white hair was displayed. "Long time no see, Your Majesty." He stood before the door and stared at the old man who had his back to him with a heavy expression. The Pope nodded. "Long time no see, Gaius." Gaius passed him by and strode to the other side of the conference chamber. He pulled out a chair and sat across from him at the long table. "After dealing with each other for so many years, we can dispense with the formalities. Let''s be blunt..." Even though he was in his own palace, his own country, it seemed as if he were wearing armor and grasping his sword by the hilt. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes, and his tone became simple and straightforward. "Why are we here?" "To congratulate you, of course." The King of Red lowered his eyes. It seemed that he did not feel the coldness filling the room. He just slowly pushed the box in front of him towards Gaius. "Congratulations. Everything that was once the Sacred City''s is now yours," he said. "You won, Gaius. From now on I will cooperate with you. Other than the economic accords and financial contracts that the Anglos required, all the archives in the Sacred City, all the files and information, and even government agencies will gradually be handed over to the Caucasians. After that, it''s up to you. Just as you planned. In the future, the Anglo Kingdom will become the hub of the world''s economy, and the Commonwealth will control how the world spins on it..." As if he was admitting defeat, he did not wait for Gaius plans to slowly come to fruition. He simply quickly handed over the true heritage of the Sacred City. Gaius still did not show any happiness. "Then who is speaking to me?" He stared at the old man in front of him and said indifferently, "The sixth generation King of Red Gregory with the most profound wisdom? The third generation King of Red John with the most devout faith? The ninth generation King of Red Hansel with the most compassion? Or that undead King of Red, the one closest to God" Gaius paused and read the name. His eyes became hard. "The inhuman Peter." After a brief silence, the King of Red shook his head and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Peter died 300 years ago." He calmly revealed the secret that the Church had been keeping this for hundreds of years. "If I stop myself, I''ll never start again. If you aren''t relieved by this you can go and destroy the last body he has left in this world. I remember that its uh, it''s under the holy emblem in the Church of the Holy Resurrection. He really chose a good place." "He''s dead?" Gaius was shocked. "Why?" "Speaking of why," the King of Red picked up his cold coffee, sniffed its slightly burnt scent, and then lowered his eyes, "after using theology as a bridge to understand what it truly means to be human, has he thoroughly lost hope in humanity?" Gaius said nothing. He had never thought that the one who he had considered his greatest enemy, who he had struggled against all his life, who he had done everything he could against, sacrificing countless things and paying many costs the monster who he had seen as controlling the world from behind the curtain for centuries was dead. Dead? Could it be that simple? "Don''t worry, I''m not lying. Nibelungen recorded his death in great detail. Its recording method can''t be in error. It should be enough for you to trust," the King of Red said indifferently. "The third generation King of Red John''s brain stem has long since decayed. After leaving behind a copy of the record, his sense of self dissipated. Gregory, the sixth generation King of Red, has been silent for decades, having not said anything. The ninth generation King of Red was quite mad and was unlinked from Nibelungen 60 years ago. Before dying of exhaustion, he would repent his sins day and night and curse his own soul. He did not ascend to heaven after his death. He had fallen into hell even before he died. This is the original sin of humanity, Gaius." "..." After a long silence, Gaius looked at the old man in front of him as if he was going to pierce through his body and see what was hidden under his outer shell. "...then who is speaking to me?" The King of Red gave a self-deprecating smile. "An alternative. Someone who waited for decades and failed to become the King of Red," he said. "The ''Last King of Red''." Upon saying this, the old man parted his hair, revealing the slight scar under his hairline. He knocked on his skull, where the brain stem, brains, gray matter, and everything in the brain had been taken out. In his empty skull, precise machinery ran silently. A green light that indicated "normal operation" was on his forehead. The small scar did not seem to have fully healed, or perhaps it was brand new. "About ten days ago, I became the new King of Red, becoming the dominant consciousness of Nibelungen after all this time. Pretty ridiculous, right?" the old man said to himself. "I wanted to be the Sancta Sedes from the first time I opened the cover of the Holy Bible. My whole life I have only had this one goal. I waited so long, and I finally had a chance, so I can''t give it up just because the title is meaningless." Gaius was silent. "The Sacred City no longer has a purpose. From the start, the Church''s reason for being was to allow humanity to have a better existence. Since humanity chose to let the Church withdraw from the stage, we will do so. Before I came, I had the last surgical cabin that had the means to extract the brain destroyed." The last King of Red looked at him as he spoke, and he sincerely congratulated him, "Congratulations, you have accomplished the great cause that has never been accomplished before. The inheritance of the King of Red ends with me. From now on, it will be up to you to decide the world''s course and the future of humanity." Gaius said nothing. The old man who was as hard as iron lowered his eyes and clenched his fists. There seemed to be anger in his eyes, yet they also seemed to be empty. It was difficult to hide his sense of loss and exhaustion. Gaius closed his eyes. In the silence, there was only the sound of the King of Red opening the box and pulling the things inside out one by one. "This is my last act as the King of Red. In any case, why don''t you take a look, Gaius?" he said as he pulled the things out. "The original Book of the Ultimate, the Church''s secret technology, and even secrets that the College of Cardinals cannot touch are all in here." Finally, he pulled out the thing that was at the bottom of the box. He put the thin six pages of paper in front of Gaius. "And this. Probably the most important thing to you." "What is it?" "History." The King of Red looked at him. "After I became the King of Red, Nibelungen prepared a history of the Church. If there are history books in the world to come, these six pages are the part that the Kings of Red can occupy." Six thin pages, from the start of the Age of Dark till now. Nothing was written about the nations or about wars, and it did not even list the major initiatives of the Church. Its content revolved around a central point: the changes that each King of Red brought to the Church. From the beginning, Peter the Inhuman, William the Cruel, John the Devout, William II the Incompetent, Paomen the Persevering, Gregory the Wise, all the way up to Ian the Ruthless, Ludovic the Cunning, and the final nameless king. 500 years of history in six short pages. The great first king created the Church, causing the evil consequences that had manifested in the present. The cruel second king had expanded the Church and turned it into a monster. John the Devout had brought faith, but did not notice the internal corruption. William the Incompetent had tried to clean up the Church, with the result that he had been opposed by all. Paomen the Persevering put all his effort into the fraternities to restore the Church to its original goal, but disaster returned it to its former state. Gregory the Wise created a new balance of power, but the Church became nothing more than an authoritarian organization and began to engage in taboo research Under the efforts of the inhumans, and 120 years of hard work, it was still difficult for the Church to maintain its original purity and integrity. It was constantly remedied and renovated, but this only made the monster more bloated and huge. Indulgences, loans, finances, conferring titles... From being founded for the purpose of saving mankind to the point where cardinals were drinking fine wines with their sympathizers and saying "one heaven is not even to repay us for the great work we''ve done," there were only 100 years. Up until then, the Church still maintained a glimpse of its original purposetrying to correct a word that had gone out of control. The historical popes had sacrificed themselves, relying on the eternal Nibelungen. "What are you looking at? This is the beginning and the end of the Church." The King of Red looked down at Gaius and whispered, "No matter what the original intention was, after a hundred years it all became ugly desires. The world is the same. People cannot change, no matter the institutions or the government, people will become crazier and more greedy as time goes on. They went from safeguarding love the abnormal greed for material possessions. When compared to the length of history, it happened in but a moment. You threw off the Church''s shackles, rooted out the cancer and did what the Kings of Red could never do: planted the seed of a new beginning. Now it''s your turn to experience the curse that had entangled us." "This was your plan?" Gaius dropped the manuscript indifferently. "Use something like this to make me compromise with you?" "No, these are just the loser''s last words, but the difficulty that the winner will have to face." The Kind of Red smiled mockingly. "You''ve gotten the new world that you wanted. I hope that in ten years you can still stick to your original purpose, and the world is still the way you want it to be." "Don''t worry," Gaius''s face was cold, "I will." "Mmm, I never doubted it." The King of Red looked at his white hair and said softly, "Unfortunately you are already old, Gaius. After you die who will support this new world?" Gaius was silent. The King of Red knocked on the table producing an empty sound like the dull echo of a coffin. "Who? Your godson, Hein? Your deputy, Frank? Or your student, Brightman?" With each name that he listed, the King of Red''s expression grew more condescending. "Gaius, they''re all dead. You have no one to succeed you. Think about it. Wolf Flute won''t be able to control a nation, Paganini is just a pure musician, or perhaps you still have high hopes for the Son of God?" Gaius said nothing. "Ah, a living god. An eternal emperor for the world of humanity." The King of Red seemed to have seen into his mind. "If this is the case, you will certainly be much stronger than we were. With miracles on your side, eternal peace is not a vain hope. But all of this has a prerequisite..." He did not finish the sentence, for Gaius was glaring at him murderously. If he had said one more word, Gaius would have destroyed him right there. After suddenly gaining everything and fulfilling his life''s goal, Gaius finally understood how the former King of Red felt. It was a pain like he had been cursed. Illusory laughter sounded, echoing through the deserted corners of the palace like ghosts coming and going. It was the former king of the Commonwealth of Caucasian. He had died, but his corpse was buried underground. He had awaited this day with laughter as he watched the human world with his cold eyes. It was just like he had said, the one who released the monster would one day feel the pain of being swallowed by it. Gaius closed his eyes to calm the dizziness inside his head. His doctor had told him to take medicine whenever his symptoms flared up, but he did not want to show weakness in front of his enemy. He could only let the dizziness and vertigo spread to his brain. It was like countless people were whispering in his ear, one after another. Those who had followed him and died for it were all there, interrogating him in a whisper, "Gaius, you''ve created God, but will God really be willing to obey you?" Gaius said nothing else. "In any case, I leave both the problem and the means of solving it up to you." The King of Red took his coat off the coat rack and put it on. He nodded at the king of the new world. "So, let us say farewell, Gaius. I hope that, in a hundred years, you will not have become a sinner in this world." He looked away and opened the door, leaving only a final whisper, "I also hope that humanity will destroy itself with its own hands." He closed the door behind him. In the silence, the last nameless king passed through the slightly deteriorated palace and once again boarded his carriage to leave. Abraham was smoking a cigarette on the steps to the gate. From start to finish, he said not a word. 781 Why Bother? It was a distant dream. Bai Xi dreamed that she was singing. In the dilapidated palace, under the setting sun, she saw a dim, yellowish light shining on the roof ridge, causing the broken shingles on the ridge to reflect the iron gleam. Withered vines fell from the roof ridge, following the sun, dropping into the empty hall from the cracks. The slender weeds were entangled with the white bones, and flowers bloomed from the hollow eye sockets of skulls. The ministers in court dress had turned into skeletons, but even their skeletons were still kneeling on the ground, on both sides of the hall, worshiping the lofty throne. They prostrated themselves in front of the supreme Empress. The skeleton rang the bells, and the solemn and forbidding music seemed to be coming from the underworld, celebrating the arrival of the new ruler. "Rise, my ministers." Bai Xi stepped barefoot on the broken steps, looking down, but no one responded. The skeletons knelt on the ground, continue showing reverence to their ruler even in death. In the silence, only the Empress sang softly, roaming around in the palace, dancing in the dim, yellowish sunlight. As she danced gently and charmingly, her sleeves fluttered in the wind, dancing along with the dust. Everything around her, all dilapidated and in decline, prostrated themselves below her toes. Bai Xi looked around. Everything was still and beautiful. It all seemed very well. It was just that she felt some insignificant loneliness. Bai Xi opened her eyes, woke up on her bed, and saw the light from the setting sun outside the window. It was not glaring. The soft light shone on her wrist. After a long nap, the laziness she felt seemed bone-deep, making her unable to muster up enough enthusiasm to do anything. "You''re awake?" The Empress sat in the chair, looking at the pile of packed luggage beside. "It seems like you are already done with packing. You are so eager to leave, it really breaks my heart." "What are you even saying?" Bai Xi turned over and gazed at the Empress, still lying in bed, her smile seemingly cheerful. "Since I returned to the East, Your Majesty has treated me as if I am one of your own. Now, although the palace is chilly and fairly deserted, it still feels somewhat homely to me. When I think about leaving this place, I naturally feel reluctant about it." The Empress lowered her head, sipping tea, and simply raised her eyebrows slightly. "Do you really mean it?" "Of course I mean it," Bai XI replied. "At least your words sound pleasant to the ears." The Empress put down the teacup and lifted her phoenix eyes to look at Bai Xi, full of pity. "All the while, even though your adoptive father is Bai Heng, I have never been wary of you, nor have I taken precautions against you. Instead, I passed on all my music theory and experience to you, giving you glory and power far surpassing hundreds of thousands of people. "But now you are willing to give up everything I have given you and obediently go back to being a caged bird?" "Such is ''love''." Bai Xi shook her head and sighed, a trace of mockery in her tone. "An old woman like Your Majesty will not be able to understand, I assume." "I am the ruler of my kingdom, of course I have my reasons for not paying attention to insignificant things like romantic feelings. But what about you, Bai Xi?" The Empress asked calmly, "When you hold the so-called ''love'' in your hands, which hand could you use to hold the ''power'' and ''strength'' you want? "And where will the things you obtain by relying on a man''s love go after you lose his love? You need to know, charming someone with beauty will not last long. " "Your Majesty has really lived up to your name, even the words you persuade someone to stay with are so unique." Bai Xi giggled, propping herself up slightly, and leaned forward to look at the Empress''s indifferent expression, and said seriously. "Since Your Majesty is so reluctant to part with me, why not let me dine with you but stay with him? "It would combine the best of both worlds, isn''t it a good idea?" "What nonsense are you saying?" Without lifting her head, the Empress knocked on her forehead with her knuckles. "It seems that you have made up your mind to leave?" "It isn''t a bad thing, is it? It''s good for both you and me." Bai Xi lifted her head and rubbed the red mark on her forehead. Her smile was hidden below her palm, and her voice was soft. "Your Majesty has taught me so much, wanting to turn me into you But all along, I have been watching you rack your brains and put in all your efforts for the sake for those pointless things. Your flustered state has only made me feel pity for you. "Every time, I can''t help but think, why am I not the person sitting on the throne? How good would it be if it were me?" Bai Xi sighed softly, and she said, "You are definitely not as good as I will be." In the lengthy silence, the Empress looked down at the teacup, and after a long time, she began laughing softly. "Is it so?" She murmured softly, "I can rest assured then." In her sighs, the sound of the armor parts scraping against each other rang out. In the rumble, the door slammed open, and two columns of forbidding soldiers rushed in. In a flash, layers of shackles trapped Bai Xi. Flanked by the Praetorian Guard, the Empress reached out and flicked the dust off herself and bid farewell to Bai Xi. "Then, no matter what happens, you can at least achieve one out of your two wishes of ''leaving here'' and ''becoming the ''Empress''." Ye Qingxuan heard the sound of thunder. He opened his eyes and saw the ceiling above his head falling apart in front of his eyes. At the moment, the entire roof was like bubbles deformed by the strong wind, distorting itself according to the tyrannical force, yet having difficulties maintaining its structure. In the end, it didn''t even have time to whine, and it met its end, falling apart. Then only did the loud noise erupted. As the girder snapped, innumerable pieces of broken tiles and pebbles dropped down. The four walls flew out as blasts of air swept across, leaving only a mess behind. Amid the countless particles of dust flying around, Ye Qingxuan slowly got up, and the bed behind him finally collapsed completely. Through the domain of Holy, he looked at the sky where a few musicians were floating in. He sighed softly. "What are these people trying to do?" "Ye Qingxuan has presently rebelled. He has violated the laws of the country, disrespected the Empress, schemed against the throne with the rebels in secret, and harbored ill intentions..." In the sky, a musician unrolled the scroll and blabbered on for a good while, then looked at Ye Qingxuan coldly. "Marquess Changyu, if you surrender now without putting up a fight, you can still submit a plea to Her Majesty to revoke your title but spare your life. Otherwise, don''t blame me for showing you no mercy." Ye Qingxuan tilted his head to one side and looked at the officers and soldiers surrounding and forming three layers around him. He was silent for a long time. HE couldn''t help but break out in inappropriate laughter. "Is this considered ''casting aside the bow once the birds are gone'' [1]? No, what about, ''slaughtering the hound for meat after the cunning hare is dead'' [2]? Not really, hmm, if I have to put a term to it, it should be ''burning the bridge after crossing it'' [3]?" He looked in the direction of the palace and curiously asked, "What for?" You wanted Bai Heng, I''ve captured Bai Heng for you. You wanted to wait till nightfall, I''ve waited till nightfall as well. Yet you are stirring up so much trouble now... Why bother? "In the end, after all, we still have to fight." He reached out and tied his long hair that had been hanging loose into a ponytail behind his head, nodding slightly. "Then, let''s fight." In the sky, the expression of the scepter musician in the lead was dark. "You refuse a toast [4] ..." Boom! After a glaring ray of light flew past, half of his bloody body fell from the sky. Facing the rest, whose faces had turned ghastly white, Ye Qingxuan nodded slightly. "The first." He took a step forward, and countless stars rose from behind him. A brilliant and majestic aura rose into the sky, scraping against the invisible music theory in the empty air, and the sharp noise of metals colliding sounded. The staff of authority of the King of Yellow and the power of the Great Wall clashed. Under the blockade of the Great Wall, all aether ceased to flow, but under the propulsion of the staff of authority of the King of Yellow, the frozen aether was violently mobilized by an invisible force again. It was as if water that had frozen into ice in a stone urn was forcibly stirred with an iron rod. Ice cubes fell apart, and a bone-chilling cold spread, and countless fine pieces of ice flew out in all directions. Then, the melody of From the New World sounded. Stars erupted. Another spot of scarlet exploded in the sky. "The second..." Ye Qingxuan murmured softly, and was done tidying his collar based on his reflection in the broken bronze mirror in the ruins. In the rumble, he advanced towards the palace in the distance, going against the iron-like stream of cavalry rushing towards him in the street. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! He seemed to be dragging an invisible behemoth around with every move, and the sound of countless strings snapping rang out one after another. The Great Wall that was built and maintained by Aurora for centuries pressed down in the capital at the moment. The horrifying gravitational force that was enough to suppress a catastrophe was imposed on Ye Qingxuan''s scepter. At the moment, even the existence of the Sea of Aether seemed to have become so far away, let alone the Net of Aether. The element of the fragment of the Wheel of Balance that the Aurora had obtained was "maintenance." After incorporating the element of maintenance into it, the Great Wall had become almost indestructible, and the level of stability of its music theory had risen to an extent that humans had difficulty imagining, and it had no gaps at all. The huge enchantment separating the inside and outside was shrinking at the moment, becoming a cage that trapped Ye Qingxuan. Even though he had the authority of the King of Yellow in hand, the aether he could mobilize was becoming less and less Dozens of musicians in the sky were attacking Ye Qingxuan with all their might at the moment, disregarding their own life and death, forcing him to continue fighting back and waste the power of the Dragon Bloodline. "That''s it, don''t stop!" The musician conducting the attack at the scene tightly clutched the scroll that allowed them to use the power of the Great Wall to block the attacks of Ye Qingxuan, and his expression was ruthless. "Even catastrophes have their limits. I don''t believe that he could still squander his power after the Net of Aether was cut off and he no longer had access to the strategic reserves of Anglo..." At the very moment, he felt a cold gaze on him. It was from Ye Qingxuan, who was on the ground. It was not a murderous intent driven by embarrassment and anger. It was an indifference and disregard for someone making a fool of himself. Ye Qingxuan glanced at the commander, then withdrew his gaze like he couldn''t care less. Then he fished out the last pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and ignited a wisp of flame with his finger. After lighting the cigarette, he inhaled slowly, then exhaled a blue wisp of smoke towards the sky. Despite being surrounded by thousands of soldiers on horses, he acted as if no one else was around. The musician was provoked by the contempt in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, his face becoming purple with rage, and he furiously gave the order to attack, "With the nets in the sky and the snares on the ground to trap you, let''s see how long you can continue being arrogant!" Then, he saw it. On the ground, Ye Qingxuan''s hand, which was holding a cigarette, slowly lifted and pointed to the sky. In the frozen wind, the dark red glow of the flame flickered at his fingertips. The grayish-white smoke condensed into a line, rising toward the sky. It was the last strand of aether contained in Ye Qingxuan''s blood. Attached to the smoke, it turned into a speck of burning star and rose into the sky. After gathering the music theory of the New Testament sword, the star that contained endless electricity soared above the sky in a flash. In the star, countless complicated alchemy arrays emerged. In the blink of an eye, the four layers of outflow, creation, formation, and circulation were completely constructed. In the space that was even smaller than the point of a needle, countless strands of music theory were shaking, connecting with each other, forming a structure that was almost impossible to observe with the naked eye. Then, it exploded with a boom! It was light. It was a pure and violent light of music theory! It was only maintained for an instant. Light that had sparked for tens of thousands of times superposed. As it flickered in and out of existence, it formed the violent electricity of Gungnir. It went up, up, and further up... After tearing the layers of shackles apart, it disappeared in the blockade of the Great Wall. However, the fierce light that was bright enough to be observed by the human eye passed through the illusion of the sea of clouds covering the Aurora, sending a signal to the steel warship hovering above the cloudsI''m here. At the moment, the Mountain of Nomadism awakened from its slumber, the deck opened layer by layer, and even the armor on most of its hull fell off as the rivets broke. Concealed by the armor and deck was the terrifying main battery that occupied nearly one-third of the hull. At the moment, as the ship turned, it took aim at where the light was. Hephaestus was started! [1][2][3] Various metaphors that mean "casting someone aside when he has served his purpose." [4] The complete proverb is "refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit." It means "showing no appreciation of favors offered by others and choosing to do things the hard way." 782 Broken Sky "Cannons, ready!!!" The moment when the blinding light shone out of the clouds, Egor shouted his command from the bridge, staring ahead with his bloodshot eyes. The dynamic valve was pulled all the way with a low rumble. Shortly after, the entire iron boat began to tremble with a roar. After shaking off the unnecessary armor, the patrolling Mountain of Nomadism traveled in an arc across the sky and, from a thousand miles away, it adjusted its aim at the source of the blinding light. At this moment, above Aurora and within the music theory of Great Wall, not only was the land being sealed by the never-ending illusion of cloud layers and the surface of the sea being covered by fog, but even the changes in geomagnetism and sunlight were unstable. No one on the inside would be able to determine their own location or take a look at the changes that were taking place. But now, with the appearance of that streak of light, the monster that had been patrolling in the dark had finally found its target. This opportunity would only last for a moment; there would not be a second chance after this. The sound of the alarm was ear-shattering and above the vault of heaven, the quiet iron star was lit up. "Pioneer," which was an instrument of harmonious melody that hung high within the vacuum, received the feedback from the bridge. In an instant, the encryption key and authorization, that represented Ye Qingxuan, began to run and the movement of "From the New World" was called upon. The first connected was completed, followed by the second, then the third. The signal had been anchored. Thousands of miles away in Anglo, the silent net of aether suddenly began to spin. Within the gigantic three-dimensional crystal was blinding light. At the highest point of the realm of aether, massive power was running and flowing down the hundreds and thousands of structures made of the net of aether. They broke through the barrier that separated the Physical World and the realm of aether before entering the sea of aether. They absorbed the endless aether and kept expanding until they all gathered together once again. Brilliant streams of light flowed from the "Pioneer" and onto the Mountain of Nomadism. In the blink of an eye, one-third of the heat sink, which had been exposed, was burnt red and was as hot as molten lava. Shortly after, the driving power climbed steadily. It was suppressed by hundreds of throttle valves so it lingered on the brink of collapse and all of its power was pumped into the central aether pool. Egor removed his tie and was excited as a rabid dog. He screamed at the top of his lungs, "Fire!!!" Galaxies burst forth. Countless stars gathered together to form a riverno, a "waterfall." At this moment, there was a hole in the wall of the universe, and the stars behind the wall gushed out to form a torrent that rained down on the world! Tens of thousands of movements were destroyed in a short span of time to form an aether vacuum, which was a massive hole that the entire world could see in the sea of aether. The price to pay was that the cooling liquid of several tons of lazurite evaporated instantly to become fog within the hurricanes. They were shot out from the massive iron structures of the ship and onto land. A valuable part that would have been able to support hundreds of shots had instantly become a one-off expendable. After the shot was fired while it was in overdrive, the entire Mountain of Nomadism was now in a state of half-collapse. The sirens of countless cabins began to sound. This single shot expended so much that even if they tried their best to repair and replace the equipment, the next time they could unleash it again was probably 16 hours later. In exchange for such a great sacrifice was the light of purgatory, that was equivalent to the explosion of tens of thousands of suns. On the ground, everyone looked up in shock because the felt tentage, that was made from steel, had been burnt completely red. Across the greyish black layer of clouds, one could see the burning flame dancing in the sky as countless burning light fell from the sky. The friction between light and the cloud layer released a roar like metal clashing against metal. It was the clash between the torrent of movement of "From the New World" and the music theory of Great Wall. In the history of Aurora, a terrible battle of such scale had never been seen before. After a movement that required the absorption of one-tenth of the net of aether had been prepared, it produced an effect that was the equivalent of tens of thousands of official musicians attacking simultaneously. The powers of the military were all gathered together and unleashed at the same time. Even the Great Wall, which was also known as the Eternal Wall, began to tremble under such a devastating attack. Countless streams of light slammed against the barrier like water jet cutter. They would pierce through bit by bit before widening the holes until thousands of streaks of electricity were like hammers as they slammed against the black felt tentage. The huge roar of impact reverberated all around. In the end, several gaps appeared on the vault of heaven, that had been thoroughly burnt red. The sky had broke. Poisonous flow of light descended from the sky and as they kept spreading in all directions, they transformed into a destructive rain. Despite being weakened by several layers of obstructions and no longer being capable of destroying the entire Golden Palace like before, it was still able to create a sight of doom in the country of Aurora. Even though Aurora was protected by layers of enchantments, there was nothing much they could do against the star of destruction that was falling from the sky. In an instant, all the buildings within a circumference of several miles were crushed into pieces and dust, and there was a huge crater in the ground. From this day on, "Wang Gong Square" and four other squares that it was connected to were all erased from the map forever. As the flow of light swept across, cracks began to appear even on the walls of the palace. Countless enchantments were destroyed only to be revived, again and again, as they tried to ensure that the palace would remain unharmed. The musicians in the sky were the first to bear the brunt of the attack. Some of them managed to escape in time, while the others were instantly burnt into ashes by the attack. It was a devastating sight everywhere. Other than Ye Qingxuan, who had already propped up a barrier from the very beginning, one-third of the entire imperial city was completely flattened by the attack, and the rest of the city was only slightly better off. Although there were not a lot of inhabitants in the interior of the city in the first place, such a terrible attack still led to tens of thousands of casualties. Amidst the charred earth and debris, Ye Qingxuan tossed his cigarette onto the ground and extinguished it with his foot. Within the amount of time taken to smoke a cigarette, the entire city was already almost completely destroyed. Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked around him. He was frowning. "What? Did anyone survive that?" "Finish him off! What are you waiting for? Can''t you tell that he is just pretending?" The commander, who was hiding behind the group of musicians and soldiers that were lucky enough to survive, looked pale as he waved his hand and gave the order. "He has been sealed by the dragon bloodline of Great Wall and will not be able to wield any aether! Take him down now!" There was a shimmer in the blades. With the clanging of metal armors, the armored knights, who had almost been completely burnt red, drew their weapons and raised their white tiger banners before charging at Ye Qingxuan! "What a headache." Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. A roar sounded. As the flow of light dissipated and the vault of heaven was quickly repairing its wound, something seemed to fall out in an arc before landing on the ground. With great accuracy, it passed through the crack in the Great Wall and landed not far away from Ye Qingxuan, creating a huge crater. It was a metal box that was several meters tall and was made out of heavy and dense iron. It looked like a huge casing for giants to hibernate in. At this moment, the metal casing began to open very slowly. The friction with air caused the shiny surface to be burnt into a pitch-black color, but the exquisite and delicate machinery within remained unharmed. After it was dismantled in a very delicate and complicated way, the iron opened up to reveal a chilly and murderous light that enshrouded Ye Qingxuan. When Ye Qingxuan stepped out, the thin and slender young man had already been covered by metal and steel, and the heavy bronze armor reflected the light of flames. There was a long metal casing in his right hand. When he stepped on the ground with his metal boots, there was a deep and low sound. Under the turbulent and violent suppression of the molten lead weapon, he raised his palm and aimed directly at the ten or so white tiger knights that were charging towards him. He gripped his hand and the berserk electric light gathered together. Everyone turned pale. Aether, which he should have been able to wielded, was being gathered in his hand, taking the form of the destructive electric light of Gungnir. It shot forward. There was a huge roar and explosion of electric light as all the armored knights were devoured, the burning molten iron burst forth in all directions, and the metal remains landed everywhere. The fragile human bodies had already been completely evaporated from the terrible lightning attack. There was nothing left. "Oh yes, what were you saying just now?" Ye Qingxuan looked at the commander, who was lying paralyzed on the ground. His voice sounded hoarse and blur from the armor that he was wearing. In his hands, the long metal casing finally revealed the characters that had been hidden on the side. They were "Ninth Stein ChamberPortable Aether Backup Equipment" and "Possession of National MilitaryCirculation is Forbidden." Based on theory alone, it was an object that was similar to the "aether pool" that could be found on warships and large-scale military equipment, except that it had been degraded and shrunk many times. It would not be wrong to perceive it as a "high-pressure gas cylinder." The only difference was that instead of containing gas, it contained "aether" that had been compressed from liquid to solid state. If it was not used or stored appropriately, the damage it could cause could be many times more powerful than an aether bomb. Right now, this was still a prototype that was full of flaws, but to Ye Qingxuan, it was the perfect object to fulfill a pressing need. After all, what he needed to do now was to demand the person that he needed. It was best to be fully prepared. Originally, Ye Qingxuan was prepared that in the scenario where the Emperor would not give permission, he would have no choice but to attack the capital of Aurora. In comparison, his preparation now could be considered as trivial. The only pity was that Ye Qingxuan had been very extravagant and dramatic in his ways so far, but this bottle of high-pressure aether would not last very long. "In that case, we will just have to settle this quickly." Ye Qingxuan walked slowly towards the palace, the aether backup equipment in hand. This day was turning out to be a nightmare for all the citizens and aristocrats in the capital. At first, there was a huge roar, then after the sky was broken, countless streaks of destructive light landed. When everything seemed to have finally calmed down, streaks of light kept rising from far away. Pillars of electric light rose from the ground with huge roars as they cruelly destroyed layers of defenses and slowly extended towards the palace. In the end, the gate of the palace was within sight. "Shut the gate, shut the gate!" After a few defeated musicians squeezed through the gap, the imperial guards that were guarding the top of the city wall immediately gave the order. As countless machinery began to turn, the metal gate, which was several tons, began to close and no one would be able to slip in anymore. Some of the retreating musicians were not fast enough and were caught by the closing gates. The lower half of their bodies were crushed into minced meat. "Raise the defenses, all military personnel on alert!" A general kicked the original commander to one side. Then, he drew his sword and beheaded this incapable and cowardly fellow. Despite the layers of enchantments and the boost provided by the projection of the Great Wall, at this moment, the towering and majestic palace failed to provide him any solace. Their enemy only consisted of one person. Compared to the imperial palace, which had gathered all the powers from the entire world and had been standing for centuries, the enemy was like mere dust. Yet, when the young man walked calmly towards the imperial palace in his armor, everyone was filled with dread and defeat and fear of what this "dust" would do. But they had the majestic palace, hundreds of layers of enchantments, a boost from the dragon bloodline, coverage from the Great Wall, while he was alone. Under the circumstances of not being able to control aether, perhaps even the King of Yellow would not have been able to do much with what little aether he had in hand. So, what were the chances that he would win? Just as countless crossbows and molten lead weapons had taken aim and locked on to the target, Ye Qingxuan stopped in the middle of the massive plaza in front of the imperial palace. "Hey" He shouted at the top of his lungs before taking out a stick-like object from his pocket beneath the armor. He shook it in his hands. "Before we fall out with each other, there''s something that you left behind!" With that, the short bronze-colored stick, which was approximately the length of a ruler, was held in his hands. It was something that he found when he was rummaging through Mr. Hu''s corpse. Ye Qingxuan could not find any alchemy formations or aether pathways. It was just like the legendary "hidden gem," but when Ye Qingxuan shook it in his hands, everyone in the city turned pale. It was super-mass tidal brake valve! 783 Meeting Ye Qingxuan slowly raised his weapon and aimed it in front of him. In the silence, everyone heard the noise. It wasn''t a "bang;" it was a "buzz." As the weak flow of aether that came from Ye Qingxuan''s hands penetrated into the "brake valve," it brought to mind a complicated structure that had never been seen before. It was so fine that even under a microscope it would be difficult to peak into its complex circuits. It was like it had passed through centuries in an instant and evolved into a mythologically advanced piece of mechanical engineering. If it had to be described with a word, that word would be "miracle." He couldn''t make head nor tail of it. He didn''t know how to use it, or how to run it. Even though it was an artifact, he had no clue about it. This was how it had to be. For the Devas who, after a hundred years, had left everything in the past, even if they had terrible weapons of the past in their hands they should have no way to get involved. But now, memories that were absolutely not his own flashed in Ye Qingxuan''s mind. It was a dream that settled in the deepest part of his mind, the experiences and habits that Ye Xuan had had centuries ago. Without knowing why, he pressed his thumb on the grip. He left a fingerprint on the smooth steel. His thumb hurt a little bit, as if it had been pierced by an invisible needle. Then, a sound like an illusion rang out from his skull. Then, everything went shockingly red. "External module: missing." "Safety module: missing." "Pressure regulation system: missing." "Central control program. Cannot connect. Retrying. Cannot connect. Warning, warning, unable to start safely. Unable to ensure user safety. Shut down is recommended. Shutdown is recommended Safety module: missing. Unable to shut down. Please move away quickly. "Gene sequence verification complete." Finally, Ye Qingxuan willed it and a cold voice rang out, "Super-mass tidal brake vale: engaged." Then, a buzzing sound rang out from his fingertips. Then there was the mighty sound of the tides. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan felt himself being thrown into the deep sea. Infinite pressure covered him from above his arms, almost completely crushing him. A cry came from the black gold armor. Then, a huge force nearly knocked him over. It was like hundreds of carriages were pulling him at the same time, trying to pull him over. In an instant, he slid back dozens of meters as he was pushed almost to the edge of the square by the terrible power that suddenly burst forth. Then there was a loud rumbling sound. The mighty palace that faced the scarlet wall trembled and roared. There was a loud noise from the brake valve, and dust rose all around. A hurricane emerged out of thin air. Then the scarlet wall began to dance. Invisible storms gathered into a tornado, originating from the brake valve and sweeping out in all directions, shaking even the color on the wall. No, the substance that had originally been solid was agitated. The wall was now like a liquid. Under pressure from the brake valve waves rippled through it, then it started to swirl under some invisible gravity, forming a vortex. The vortex spread. In a flash, it spread from his fingertips to halfway up the wall. The Baizhang city wall could not contain the strange scarlet vortex. Amid the roar of iron sand swirling about, the sound of tides whistling and screaming rang out. The boiling scarlet surged on the wall, and numerous stones were crushed into dust, gathering into the vortex and spreading out in all directions. A cavity spread inwards within the roar. Once the several-foot thick wall was completely penetrated it began to truly collapse. As the brake valve swept through the air, even the huge bronze gates were twisted into distorted scrap metal. They screamed as they collapsed inwards, finally gathering into an invisible line in front of the brake valve formed of black sand and dust particles. The artificially produced super-massive field caused the material to collapse inward, forming a supermassive object. The tidal brake valve that had originally been used for deep-sea operations did not have such an effect, because most objects that were to be treated as liquids were composed of water. When compressed to a certain extent, they would evaporate spontaneously, only leaving behind a bit of salt that would dissolve into the sea. But when used on land, it would form an unimaginable disaster. When the brake valve started, Ye Xuan''s broken memories continuously emerged in Ye Qingxuan''s mind, allowing him to solve 30 percent of the problem in his confusion. There was still 70 percent that could not be solved, and he could only marvel at the miracles of prehistoric times. Perhaps the Church forbidding technology was in order to cut off these sorts of things that were too far ahead of the times? The original intention had become a simple monopoly on technology. And in the end, even they had begun to go against this and take the lead in studying technology from before the Age of Dark From the establishment of the system to its implementation, all had been distorted beyond recognition. And that was only in 100 years. As for before that, it had had a long time to decay Those hundred years, short or long, had seemed preposterous. But for humanity''s evil nature, it had been nothing short of a miracle. With a weapon that could cause terrible damage without using aether, even the protection of the Great Wall would be of no use. The aether reserve that had originally been used for destruction was now used by Ye Qingxuan to preserve his bodily integrity to the greatest extent possible. Even so, half his body still felt the pain of being completely crushed. It had only been on for a moment and then immediately turned off, and it still brought such terrible power. Fortunately, he could still hold it up. Ye Qingxuan walked into the palace as it collapsed and picked up the dying, armored knight from within the ruins. He still remembered that this guy had been standing on the wall and commanding its defense. He must be important. "Sorry, even I could say I do this as a matter of expediency, it''s still despicable of me to do so. I hope you won''t take offense." Ye Qingxuan smashed his helmet with the sound of twisting steel and pressed on his forehead. A strange light flashed in his dark eyes. "Where is Bai Xi?" In a flash, School of Heart music theory spread through him inextricably. It went through his lines of thought. It went through his eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth, and after forcibly linking to his nerves, it violently broke through his brain''s outer defenses and began arbitrarily flipping through his memories. In a flash, the heat caused a layer of sweat to break out on his head. Countless broken scenes and memories had already passed through his lines of thought back to Ye Qingxuan. "Tianlu Pavilion? Thank you." Ye Qingxuan let him go and fell into a daze. The half-dead knight was dropped to one side. He looked up. Amid the sound of ear-piercing sirens, countless armored knights were rushing over, and their large-caliber fused lead weapons were aimed at Ye Qingxuan. They surrounded him. "So, the problems have come..." Ye Qingxuan scratched his head helplessly and looked at the people around him. "Who knows how to get to Tianlu Pavilion?" A roar burst forth. It was a roar that came from the shaking of the earth and the mountains. The people in the huge, cold palace turned pale as they listened to the sound of the turbulence. They crouched to the ground, not daring to move. In Weiyang Palace, it was like a feast was being held. But compared to the hustle and bustle of the past, this feast was extraordinarily quiet, as there were only two participants. The Empress and the Sinner. Bai Heng sat at the low table below the steps and looked up at the Empress. He silently raised his teacup and put it to his lips. But there was an explosion in the distance, and dust fell from the roofbeam into his cup, turning the liquid in it a disgusting gray. He put down his cup, shook his head, and sighed. "What on earth are you thinking?" The Empress said nothing and just looked outside the palace as she listened to the continuous explosions. Flustered people continuously walked in from outside and kneeled down to report, "Your Highness, the rebel Ye Qingxuan has broken into the Blue Pool!" "Your Highness, the rebel Ye Qingxuan has broken into Jiaofang Temple! Liu Langren was so shocked that he spat up blood..." "Ah." The Empress lowered her eyes. "Did he die?" "That depends on Your Majesty''s blessing. He''s in shock..." "Actually it doesn''t matter if he dies," the Empress interrupted the eunuch. Her tone was cold. "If he''s not dead, then you can calm down and not be so noisy anymore." The eunuch bowed and kowtowed forcefully, not daring to speak. Only Bai Heng put down his teacup slowly and lamented, "After all, after one night as husband and wife, love lingers on for a hundred years. Your Highness is so indifferent, this is not a blessing for the Empire of Aurora." The Empress glanced at him but did not bother to say anything. There was another explosion that came from far away. "It seems that Wuyuan Pavilion has also collapsed." Bai Heng shook his head and looked at the Empress. "Why are you being like this? You forced Ye Qingxuan to oppose you in vain. Biting the hand that feeds you is not so much fun, is it?" The Empress still said nothing. She just listened. No more explosions sounded. Ye Qingxuan had broken the final wall. Amid the dust, Ye Qingxuan walked into the steel corridor and entered the darkness. As he went forward, it seemed like he was entering deeper and deeper into it. Time seemed to go backward rapidly as there were fewer and fewer traces of modernity. Instead, there was cold steel, a sleekly designed corridor labyrinth, in which it was difficult to tell direction, and an old fashioned incandescent lantern above him. It was like he was walking into the past. Creations from another world seemed to be buried underneath the palace of the Empire of Aurora. In a daze, Ye Qingxuan thought he might be dreaming, still immersed in Ye Xuan''s memories. There were faded and incomplete letters in some places, reminding him that this was not the place he had once thought it was. But the further he went, the stronger he could feel Bai Xi. It was the lock that had been bound by Hermes himself and inscribed on Bai Xi''s body. The alchemy arrays resonated, and aether acted as a messenger, guiding Ye Qingxuan towards her. Forward, forward, and forward again. Amid the roar of broken steel, he passed through layers of broken cables, stamped out some sparks, and jumped into the huge open space. He had been here before. Or rather, Ye Xuan had been here before. He still remembered that it was here that Ye Xuan had accepted interrogation from his ship''s crew committee for his blasphemous actions. But at that time, the hall had been dark; it was not bright light it was now. It had also not been so cold and strange as it was now. It had been emptied of everything unimportant. He did not see any tables or chairs, and there were none of the quaint data and scenes projected into the air. It was like a temple of steel. But it was not God that was worshipped on the altar. It was a tied up girl. In her sleep, she heard the roar coming from in front of her. She opened her eyes and fixed her gaze on Ye Qingxuan. She looked elated. It was like a light had shone in the darkness. "Long time no see, cousin." In the long silence, time seemed to freeze. She stared at Ye Qingxuan and then blinked. "Did you miss me?" Ye Qingxuan was struck dumb. He lowered his head and scratched his nose. He suddenly felt a bit awkward and wanted to look somewhere else. He didn''t know what he should say. Even though, compared to the distance between them, the time they had been separate was short, she had changed so much that he hardly recognized her. She''d grown much taller. Her hair was much longer. Her legs had grown longer. Her chest had also gotten much bigger. She was nothing like the annoying little devil of the past. She finally seemed like a girl. Ye Qingxuan smiled softly, reached out and squeezed her cheek, feeling her familiar touch. "You''ve gotten so beautiful, Bai Xi." 784 Pay Back in Kindness In retrospect, it seemed like he had just parted with Bai Xi at the Sacred City the day before. But after parting for what seemed like the short span of only one day, she was no longer the brat she seemed to be in the past, and Ye Qingxuan could no longer regard her as the annoying and naughty child she was in the past. Gazing at her face, Ye Qingxuan sighed softly. "You''ve really grown up, Bai Xi." "How do I look? Has my beauty stunned you at least for a little bit?" Bai Xi winked, then thought of something, and couldn''t help but pout. "Actually, I originally intended to put on makeup, but unfortunately, you came at bad time, so you can''t see me in makeup today." "It''s good enough to see you." Ye Qingxuan said, "It doesn''t matter if I don''t get to see other things." Bai Xi smiled. "Am I pretty?" "Yeah." Ye Qingxuan nodded. Bai Xi''s smile turned a bit odd. "Is it that you want to look at me for a little while longer?" Ye Qingxuan sighed resignedly and said nothing. "I mean, you can look at me for as long as you want later, but before that," Bai Xi looked down at the chains on her, "can''t you help me take it off first?" After an awkward moment of silence, Ye Qingxuan scrambled to cut off the chains and coughed twice somewhat embarrassedly. "My bad, my bad, I didn''t notice..." What answered him was a hug that he hadn''t experienced for a long time. However, her embrace felt quite different from the past. "It''s alright." Bai Xi hugged him hard as if she wanted to latch on to him. "I forgive you." She used so much strength, it as if she wanted to pin him down, no, more like she wanted to keep him away, shackle him and tie him up, and carry him on her. She wanted to make him her possession. She hugged him so hard... "Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan turned back and looked at the side of her face, confused. "Sorry for dragging you here, it''s my fault." She murmured softly, "I could have avoided all this, but I still wanted to see you come here; I wanted to see you coming to save me." She closed her eyes. "I really am too despicable." At the moment, he felt Bai Xi''s body stiffen. Immediately, she cooled down. It was as if she turned from a volcano to a glacier in a moment, and she became quiet and cold, no longer overflowing with impulse. Then, his neck hurt. It seemed to have been pricked with a needle. His vision darkened. A warm and dull flow of heat spread through his body with pain. It engulfed him, dragging him into a slumber bit by bit. He looked up in shock, falling weakly onto the ground. "Bai Xi..." He saw Bai Xi''s face, so familiar, yet her gaze was so strange. He saw no anger or hatred in her, nor was there any attachment or joy. She simply watched him quietly. It was not Bai Xi, for Bai Xi''s gaze was always flowing no matter what, like flames. Be it anger or happiness, her feelings were always so vivid that they almost made her glow. But at the moment, the pair of eyes became so quiet and calm. It was as if she had become a different person. At the moment, he finally understood something. He gained a sudden realization. "You are... Chaoyue..." In Weiyang Palace, Bai Heng shook his head in disappointment. "That idiot, I have long hinted to him so many times about how important the survival of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline is to Aurora." He threw the empty wine glass onto the table and sighed in a low voice. "Yet he still doesn''t understand it." Someone walked in slowly from the outside of the palace and prostrated himself, kowtowing to the supreme empress. "Your Majesty." The man who looked genial, cultured, and fairly handsome knelt on the floor and reported with reverence. "Thanks to the foresight of Your Majesty, my daughter, Chaoyue, had overpowered the rebel, Ye Qingxuan." It was Yunlou Qingshu, who was once mad, dispirited, and flustered. But at the moment, the noble that looked slightly aged, appeared valiant and in high spirits; totally a different person from the past. Bai Heng took a glance at him and understood what had happened. He lamented knowingly, "You''re still so unreliable, Lord Yunlou. First, it was the Sacred City, then me, and finally, Her Majesty. It must have been very difficult to serve three masters." "A fine fowl perches only on a fine tree [1]." Yunlou Qingshu just smiled. "That is all." Bai Heng was not angry. He simply shrugged and sighed softly. "You''re really giving me a headache. I originally intended to let you control Bai Xi and assassinate Her Majesty. "Now that you have defected, I don''t have any other means to..." The Empress did not seem to have heard it. Yunlou Qingshu just prostrated himself on the ground, constantly sprouting lengthy paragraphs of flattery. "Only Your Majesty has such foresight and the ability to see through treacherous schemes. Only Your Majesty may enjoy the fine delicacies of the world, and only Your Majesty has the right to punish the citizens and the ability to bring prosperity to the nation. I would like to congratulate Your Majesty..." "Irrelevant words can wait until we are over there." The Empress got up from the throne and walked to the back of it, where a door had quietly opened. "My two beloved ministers, do come with me." Yunlou Qingshu followed her, of course. As for Bai Heng, he looked at the two burly guards beside him, laughed self-mockingly, and got up to follow them. The path downward was so long. Compared to Yunlou Qingshu, who had a stunned look in his eyes, the Empress and Bai Heng were incredibly calm, as if they had experienced countless such journeys where the very different surroundings made it seem as if they were traveling in time. "You are still a country bumpkin, after all, not having seen anything before." Bai Heng chuckled. Yunlou Qingshu kept his smile unchanging, but his gaze turned dark. The sentence alone was even more unbearable to Yunlou Qingshu than any other insults. Before this, even though the title of Lord Yunlou had been conferred upon him, he had never had the opportunity to enter the capital. He wasn''t even involved in the yearly event where the nobles were invited to the capital to pay their respects to the Empress. How could a half-blood have the privilege to meet the ruler? They went all the way down from the ground to the steel temple. The Empress didn''t even have to say anything, and attendants dressed very differently from the palace servants naturally pulled Ye Qingxuan up from the ground, putting him on an iron chair. They were dressed entirely in white, and even their eyes were covered with glass goggles, leaving no open spots. After putting Ye Qingxuan on the iron chair, they pulled out the shackles in the chair and tied him up tightly. Ye Qingxuan had yet to fall asleep. Or rather, he was still resisting the medicine injected into his arteries. His consciousness was hazy. The eyes stubbornly remained partially open, his empty pupils throbbing slightly, looking at Bai Xi. Bai Xi was still standing where she was, motionless, as if she wasn''t breathing and couldn''t feel anything. "Good job, Chaoyue." Yunlou Qingshu nodded to Bai Xi. "Now, come back, come over to father." In a flash, Bai Xi''s eyes closed, and she fell weakly onto the ground, descending into a coma. And at the top of the steel temple, a crack slowly opened. An iron chair identical to that of Ye Qingxuan slowly descended from it. The young girl identical to Bai Xi was sitting on it. As if she could feel no pain, even though cables were connected all over her body, a gap was opened up at the back of her neck. A long nail was wedged into her cervical vertebra, as if it reached the brain directly, and the blood had not even dried up. She looked at Yunlou Qingshu, and her withered lips, which were the only parts of her that could move, moved slightly, but she couldn''t make a sound. "Yes, I know." Yunlou Qingshu reached out and stroked her hair, his gaze gentle like never before. He generously praised his daughter, who had sacrificed herself. "Chaoyue, you did a really good job, father is really proud of you." So, the corners of the girl''s mouth curled slightly. She seemed to be smiling blissfully. In her eyes, a fierce light of rage flashed past for a moment, but it quickly disappeared again. It was Bai Xi, who had been locked into the depths of her consciousness. "See? The resonance and connection between members of the Dragon Bloodline can be traced deeper than you think." Bai Heng still held in his hand a plate of peanuts he took from the dining table. He leaned against Ye Qingxuan''s iron chair, stuffing salty peanuts into his mouth one by one, and continued sprouting nonsense nonchalantly. "Had you not been the only member of House Ye left alive, you would have felt it as well. "You don''t know how much your father loved you, Ye Qingxuan. Otherwise, as long as he was willing to, you would become his puppet. It wouldn''t even pose any difficulty for him to use your body to live all over again. "The difference in strength between Devas and civilians is absolute, and the control the higher-ups in a Deva family have over their children is simply shocking. Plus, the Yunlou line originally consists of man-made Devas anyway, and the control the higher-ups have over the rest is even stronger than the other families. What''s more, Chaoyue and Bai Xi are from the same source anyway. Oh, right, peanuts, do you want some? " Ye Qingxuan said nothing. He simply breathed, and he breathed angrily. He was exhausted. "I have hinted to you so many times along the way, Ye Qingxuan, so many times, that''ll teach you a lesson." Bai Heng smacked the back of Ye Qingxuan''s head exasperatedly. "Till the end, you didn''t even figure out who your enemy is. Why don''t you think about it, in Aurora, other than Mr. Hu, do you really have any other friends?" Seemingly irritated by the talkative Bai Heng, the Empress cast him a glance. Bai Heng spread his hand and finished the last few peanuts, then threw the plate aside. "So, Zhao House which is the current royal family, Bai House, Ye House, and Yunlou House, plus the specimen of ''Xiao House,'' that is frozen and sealed by the central control room..." Bai Heng lamented, "Out of the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline, no, I should say, the nine highest-ranking committee members of the ''crew committee'' of the Asian colony ship back then, more than half of the genetic authority they have passed down are in your hands already. "Congratulations, Your Majesty, after 15 years of inheriting the throne, you will finally be recognized by the central control room and become a real emperor." Bai Heng''s expression was somber, though he showed no pain or sadness, his expression became dark. As the steel ceiling opened, an iron chair identical to that of Ye Qingxuan descended behind him, waiting for Bai Heng to sit on it. He put in all his efforts and did everything in his power to prevent it for 15 years. Yet the day had finally come. "Please take a seat, my dear minister." The Empress calmly urged. "Don''t make it difficult for me." "Rest assured, I will be a gracious loser." Bai Heng stroked the back of the chair, but he was in no hurry to sit on it. Instead, he calmly asked, "Allow me, your disgraced minister, to ask one more question. After Your Majesty obtains the recognition of the central control room and awaken the core of the colony ship once more, what do you plan to do? Rid the country of deep-rooted evils and make great efforts to build a strong state? Or do you have any other grand visions? "For example, reversing the Great Wall?" Showing little self-awareness, Bai Heng spoke such a rebellious or even heinous speculation out loud. He looked at the Emperess and gazed at her eyes. He looked forward to even the slightest response from her. [1] The full proverb is "A fine fowl perches only on a fine tree, and a virtuous minister serves only a virtuous master." 785 Secre From the first day Aurora was builtno, even before Aurora was builtGreat Wall had already existed. For centuries, the sacrifices made by the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline and boosts by countless musicians resulted in the Great Wall turning into a massive object that was almost like a catastrophe. As long as Great Wall continued to stand tall, Aurora could never be taken, regardless of if the threat was internal or external. With the Great Wall, the Empress would be able to resist any sort of rebellion. Therefore, the Great Wall should be something that the Empress would want to protect, instead of overthrowing it. Yet, the Empress did not say a word to counter Bai Heng''s accusations. "I''ll assume that you staying silent means that you agreed with what I said." Bai Heng nodded and continued to talk to himself, "A few centuries ago, the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline relied on the central core to build the Great Wall, so it has already accumulated centuries of power. Based on how much it has accumulated, it may be the biggest deposit of aether in the entire world. The moment something like this is ''reversed,'' it will seal itself up internally and emit radiation externally. As one may expect, there will be an unprecedented amount of aether flowing in Aurora, which will then spread to the entire world. With such a terrifying amount of aether, perhaps even the World of the Dark will be completely covered as well?" The Empress still did not say a word. Bai Heng could only answer his own question, "If this foundation was combined with the regulation of the central core and Tung Wang Kung''s order, then it may be possible to forcefully awaken the ancient artifacts of the world and the shards of the colony ship, as long as the aether had flowed to those places. In fact" Bai Heng paused and narrowed his eyes before slapping the back of the chair, "By using hundreds of ancient artifacts as pivot points to form a network before extending upwards with an unprecedented resonance, one will be able to achieve a position higher than the Holy Caldron in the realm of aether. By then, all environmental factors will be in place and favorable for the accomplishment of something no one has ever done before." He continued, "Cleansing of the Originator." Just like that, he clearly and decisively articulated something that musicians of all generations never dared to think or dream about. This was no longer in the realm of something like "changing the world." This was a power that was capable of destroying and recasting this world tens of thousands of times! Bai Heng looked at the Emperess and asked softly, "Am I right?" The Empress back was facing Bai Heng. She looked around the iron temple, where the "feudal thrones" were slowly descending. Finally, she looked at Bai Heng. There were no emotions in her eyes. There was neither the joy of being on the verge of achieving something great nor the fury of having been exposed. She merely looked at him. It was not a look that belonged to a woman or even any human being. There was a peacefulness and indifference that no human would ever be able to achieve. But Bai Heng smiled. He was pleased, or perhaps mad with joy. It was as if he had finally taken a peek at what was hidden beneath layers of disguise. He had finally seen his enemy. "Is that your guess? Control the Originator so that I can remain as Empress forever? How is that meaningful?" The Empress looked down at him. "I am already the Empress, Bai Heng, and the history of Aurora will remember me as the most brilliant ruler that shall never be surpassed. Why don''t you tell me, how can ''ruling the world'' be meaningful to me?" "Indeed, that is a goal that only humans will have." Bai Heng nodded and looked at her. "In that case, who is this person that I am speaking to right now? Are you my Empress? Or are you my enemy?" "Don''t you already have the answer to such a lame question?" The Empress''s answer amused Bai Heng. "This is the first time we are meeting each other, Tung Wang Kung," he continued, "my name is Bai Heng." This was a self-introduction. Polite and respectful, as if he was reporting his name before a fight. Unfortunately, his opponent was not interested in such a gimmick. "I have long heard that the ''Three Wise Men'' can exist in all shapes and forms." Bai Heng looked at him carefully from head to toe and asked calmly, "Hermes is the ''Guide,'' obsessed with arts and creation, and is a lunatic that has control over all techniques; Nibelungenlied is the ''Witness,'' who is blinded and foolish and used by humans, and is a bacterial strain that does not even possess a self; and as for Tung Wang Kung, also known as the ''Leader, ''who possesses the greatest foresight and would point humans in the right direction. Why have you been possessed by evil spirits and demons from Hermes'' destruction and seal?" "This has nothing to do with you." "You''re right. Then let me ask another question that is related to jurisdiction of the central system, something to do with ''blood''." Bai Heng raised his head and looked at the countless spots of light that had lit up at the ceiling of the iron temple. They were like an illusion from the future. With a deep rumbling, the central system began to warm up slowly as it seemed to be waiting for a new task. "Your body already flows with the blood of the royal Zhao family, you have the blood of the previous royal Xiao family in your frozen specimen, and now you have the blood of my Bai family. But if you really wanted the blood of Yunlou, well, Yunlou Qingshu is here. Or if you want even purer blood, you can always look for Yunlou Chaoyue. Why do you still insist on capturing Bai Xi?" Bai Heng continued, "Besides, if you want the blood of the Ye family, all you need to do is tell Ye Qingxuan to remain seated on a chair for half an hour. All he needs to do is sit still for half an hour and allow his blood to be drawn. It''s not like you are asking for his life. By the time everything is over, he will still be alive and well. As long as you are willing to release Bai Xi, I''m sure Ye Qingxuan will grant your request. I believe your brain, or should I say your computing chip, should have no problems weighing the pros and cons." He paused and asked, "So, why?" Tung Wang Kung did not answer him. "Bai Heng, you ask too many questions." Tung Wang Kung stared at the ceiling. The central system had been activated and its roar began to grow louder. At first, it was quiet and distant but now, thousands of giants were screaming underground as they pulled the invisible gigantic wheel with all their might. They had injected fire and power into the quiet "temple." He was waiting. "Even if you refuse to say it, I can make a guess. It''s the ''vessel,'' am I right?" Bai Heng looked into the distance at the teenage girl, who was currently in deep sleep within the iron. He answered his own question, "Based on the quality and talent of Deva, our Empress is merely only passable. Despite inheriting all the movements and music theories of the royal family, she did not manage to produce any outstanding results. I suppose this is what mediocrity means? Without talent, one can only rely on hard work. She probably had to use up all her powers and abilities just to become an Empress. I suppose this is also a form of torture for you? You possess such incredible intelligence and wisdom, but they can''t be fully maximized by the body that you control. It is just like squeezing a giant into a small box. I''m sure it is painful beyond words. But Bai Xi is different. She only needs to use half of her talents to reach the peak of accomplishments achieved by Devas of the past. She is the only who is fit to become your ''vessel'' to control the Originator." The long ensuing silence was only broken by the reverberating roars. Iron cables fell from the ceiling, one by one, and connected to Bai Xi''s body. She was now restrained within the iron as she became a part of it. She was being fused into the core! "She does possess such capabilities," Tung Wang Kung finally replied. He was no longer hiding his goal and was generous in his praise, "She is stronger than ''me''." "Hmm." Bai Heng nodded. There was a mysterious look in his eyes. "That''s what Hermes told me as well." In that instant, there was a scream and the iron roared. "Ahhhhhhh!!!!" There was a scream of fury. The bolts that secured the metal chair were being twisted out with a screech, while the shape of the iron was transforming amidst an ear-shattering scream. On the metal chair, the young man, who was so weak that he could barely maintain his own consciousness, was screaming and struggling with rage. He managed to break free! Tung Wang Kung frowned. He stretched out his hand and was prepared to push back against the incoming young man. However, he did not expect Ye Qingxuan to fall onto the ground before he had even covered three meters. He was tripped by Bai Heng. With whatever strength he had left, it was already a miracle that he managed to break through the restraints. How would he have the energy to run? "No matter how hard I try, I just can''t imagine you as a musician. You might as well become a crazy man. All you have to do is scream while rushing into battles. Must be a great morale-booster." Even as Bai Heng spoke sarcastically, he stretched out his hand to pick Ye Qingxuan up from the ground before throwing him back onto the metal chair. "It''s not a good habit to interfere when others are still talking, little kid." Ye Qingxuan was struggling to break his own teeth in order to absorb the potion. "Stop wasting your strength. Don''t you understand? This is not ''poison.'' What kind of poison can possibly bring down a monster like you?" He stretched out a finger and pressed against Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. With minimal strength, he was able to keep Ye Qingxuan from struggling. As he finally used up his last bit of strength, an irresistible wave of sleepiness overcame his last line of defense, and he finally sank into darkness. They were countless memories from the past few centuries. Countless shards and images piled up together into an ocean that appeared from within the core of scepter and devoured him entirely. The final Deva inheritance had been forcefully activated, and he was dragged into the deepest of dreams. "Sleep well." Bai Heng stretched out his hands and closed both his eyes before he gentle bade farewell, "By the time you wake up, everything will be over." Everyone was stunned into silence. When Bai Heng drew back his hands, he turned around and smiled. "So, shall we continue?" There were no emotions on Tung Wang Kung''s face. "There is nothing to continue, Bai Heng. Let''s end this meaningless conversation." "What about you? Lord Yunlou?" Bai Heng looked towards Yunlou Qingshu. "Any thoughts?" "It''s too difficult to talk about something like ''thoughts,'' Master Bai Heng." Yunlou Qingshu laughed nonchalantly before bowing to the Empress. "As far as I''m concerned, the Empress will always be the Empress. It doesn''t matter who it is." With that, he walked towards the chair that belonged to him and sat down. "What a loyal lackey." Bai Heng sighed. As Tung Wang Kung continued to stare at him, he shrugged his shoulders helplessly and turned around. Eventually, he still sat down on the chair that belonged to him. "How is it?" Bai Heng allowed those shackles to bind him there while he looked at Tung Wang Kung. "You have gotten what you wanted. Aren''t you excited and happy?" "I have yet to succeed, although it is true that you have failed." Tung Wang Kung looked down at him. "Even so, you were able to keep me down for 15 years by relying only on your own powers. Bai Heng, I must admit that you are a monster that has surpassed a catastrophe. Unfortunately, everything that you have done will only go to waste." As an Empress, as a woman, and as human, he declared, "Everything that mankind has known shall be redirected back to how things should be." In that instant, something far away seemed to have collapsed. It was the despairing cry of something that had broke. It came neither from the sky, the ground nor from humans. It was the foundation of the empire, the origin of centuries of rule, the long-cherished hopes and Dragon Bloodline that had been pinned on the Nine families of Deva, conviction and unwillingness, scepter and power it was everything. It was something that even skeletons would be piled up together to repair and maintain. Great Wall! The Great Wall had collapsed. At this moment, the torrents of Seven Seas shot up from the depths of the land and up into the sky. An "ocean" that had never been seen by any humans now appeared in this world. Endless aether was gushing out of the broken Great Wall. After centuries of storage, where the past Devas would carefully store and compress them, the aether had finally attained freedom and had been released. With the collapse of the Great Wall, the entire world seemed to tremble. Regardless of Anglo, Burgundy, Asgard, or even Sacred City, Caucasian, and the World of the Dark, they could all sense it. The silver fluid, that was as hot as melted sun, appeared out of nowhere and flowed in all directions. It was denser than the "Dark Zone," its light was brighter than the explosion of stars, while its speed was only comparable to weeping in grief at the top of one''s lungs. It was coming for the whole world. It was not a movement. No movement would possess such terrifying setup and main axis that could engulf such unlimited aether. It merely swept across and eroded everything. In an instant, countless instruments of harmonious melody self-destructed, causing tens of thousands of enchantments to break apart. Even the Mountain of Nomadism, which was hanging high up in the sky, was eroded by the torrents of aether and was instantly tossed over tens of miles away. The aether pool exploded, resulting in a fire. Countless machines emitted black smoke amidst the blaring sirens. It was no longer able to remain at its current height, so tens of emergency parachutes were released to slow its descent towards the ground. The fact that they were falling from such great height was the reason why they were able to take a peek at the horrifying sight of the "ripples" on the ground. Silver light burst forth from the trembling country to form a giant pillar that supported the vault of heaven. Then, with coolness and indifference, it sprinkled its blessing to the entire world. As such, rows and rows of silver ripples spread out in all directions, towards the east, the west, the south, and the north Wherever the ripples went, they were accompanied by cloud layers being swept, hurricanes being shredded and the ground being eroded. Amidst the dust and dirt, beams of light lit up in response. They were the remains of light left behind by past civilizations. The ancient artifacts that had been hibernating in the wild, the mountains, the lakes, the oceans, the islands, and underground, were all beginning to respond, one by one. They had been awakened by force, and their eyes were violently opened as they were injected with life for one last time. The ear-shattering siren and the gentle sound of the access prompt could be heard at the same time. The giants, who were once dead, had now been awakened once again. They used their broken spines to prop up the rest of their damaged bodies and shouted in unison to respond to the call. It was a glorious yet bitterly cold sight. Amidst the endless torrents of aether and behind the broken Great Wall, an illusional and fleeting movement began to take shape from within. This was how the image of the Kingdom in Heaven appeared. Originally, the relationship between the Kingdom in Heaven and the Great Wall was a contrast between illusion and reality. The "Kingdom in Heaven," which was illusional and far away yet definitely once existent, was the core, while the "Great Wall" was cast by the Deva and existed in the present. But at this moment, with the destruction of the Great Wall, the Kingdom in Heaven, which had been buried in the sands of history, had reappeared above the capital. It was like a miracle. But what was hidden behind the fog were not magnificent buildings made of jade nor palaces fit for immortals, which might be what most people would expect. Instead, it was a miracle made of gold and light! It was a domain that was as long as a thousand miles. It was made from technology and power that humans would not be able to comprehend at this stage. It was capable of traveling in space and survive solar storms, meteor attacks, absolute zero, and even the pull of the black hole! Without question, this was just an illusion. It was just a trace of the fallen Kingdom in Heaven that was left behind in the realm of aether. But anyone who witnessed all these would find it difficult to deceive themselves. This was not something that could be accomplished simply with power. Neither was it a symbol that could be achieved through scheming, experience or technique. The appearance of the Heaven in Kingdom could only mean one thingthe centuries of music theories of the Nine Families of Dragon Bloodline had answered the call of "Tung Wang Kung." These music theories, which were cast by the Deva of the first generation then protected by subsequent generations of Deva, gathered the powers of their souls and acknowledged Tung Wang Kung! He was the representation of the legitimacy of Dragon Bloodline! At this moment, under the light cast upon by the Kingdom in Heaven, torrents of aether had already swept across the entire world. In the former darkness of the universe, countless silver streams of light shot up from the ground to merge with the central core. As for the metal palace below the palace, Bai Xi and Chaoyue had already been completely swallowed by light. It was no longer possible to see their silhouettes or even their existence. As countless artifacts answered the call, they had already been connected to the central core. With the support of countless artifacts, the torrents of aether had already gushed into the sea of aether. They broke through the barrier of the Physical World and almost completely crashed the system of the net of aether while extending towards the depths of the realm of aether Revolution was almost here. The central core began to tremble violently. "Warning! Navigation is vacant" "Warning! Central engine is not responding" "Warning! Recording system, Nibelungenlied, is not responding" "Warning! Creation system, Hermes, is not responding" "Warning! Maintenance system, Tung Wang Kung is not Maintenance system p?iҢF_T}FnSt@< warning="" has="" been="" stopped.="" maintenance="" system,="" tung="" wang="" kung="" is="" online.="" embarkation=""> Countless boxes of warning appeared out of nowhere and almost covered everyone''s eyes. Shortly after, they quickly disappeared into the darkness once again when Tung Wang Kung looked at them. Finally, only a single sentence remained: "Number ??? Voting on Special Item by Naval Crew Committee. Activated." "What kind of joke is this?" Bai Heng laughed mockingly. "Aren''t you making me look like the sinner in front of the entire human race now? A monster like you has been thinking about correcting the age before mankind''s Age of the Dark?" With that, the Empress, who was sitting majestically on the throne, opened her mouth, but it was Tung Wang Kung who was speaking. He was firm and did not accept any rebukes. "This mission is the purpose of my existence!" In that instant, in the quiet freezing chamber, the "specimen" that had been frozen in the cold was the first to surrender its own jurisdiction. Although its cells were still alive, it was impossible for it to be revived. The captain, who had died and fallen into a deep sleep with the ship, could only exert its influence through the voting machine. The voice, that used to be hoarse and bold, was heard once again, "Captain, Xiao Huan. For!" The voting had begun! At the same time, a deep voice declared, "Engineering Department. Absent. "Weapon Management Department. Absent. "Medical Control Room. Absent." As the announcements continued, the chairs, that represented these committee members, began to sink into the ground, one by one. Although absence would be counted as giving up one''s right to vote, what the naval crew committee was aiming for back then was not necessarily for the highest vote to be passed. Instead, it was meant to prevent crew members from going at each other because of disagreements. It was a rule that was put in place to maximize the entirety of the fleet. With regards to key items, more than half of the committee members must vote for it in order for it to be approved. Or else, it would be denied by the central core! This was why Bai Heng and rest were so important. Over at the other metal chair, Yunlou Qingshu had already closed his eyes and was allowing his blood to be drawn and examined in order to dissociate the core that was hidden within the genes. A gentle female voice spoke, "Post-synthesis Committee Member, Yunlou Bai. For!" Shortly after, the Empress stretched out his hand. A low and thick voice spoke, "Navigation Specialist, Zhao Qian. For!" Next, it was Ye Qingxuan, who was completely unconscious on the metal chair and was currently drowning in the depths of dreams. A lazy and mild voice spoke, "Mind Control Room, Ye Xuan. For!" Finally, it was Bai Heng''s turn. He did not resist and silently allowed the central core to draw his own blood. But his face was suddenly devoid of pain, rage, unwillingness, and stress. Indeed, at this stage, there was no other way to put up a resistance. Even if he tried his best to struggle and use his old and frail body to miraculously break free from the metal restraints and the metal chair, his blood had already been drawn. Any resistance was meaningless now. But for some reason, those pair of eyes still showed colors that were comparable to those of a catastrophe. They were vibrant and intense like flames. He said, "Tung Wang Kung, you plan to save this degenerating world by redirecting mankind back to a glorious civilization amongst the stars and build up the Kingdom in Heaven. It sounds good. But I don''t like it." Tung Wang Kung was indifferent. "This concerns the well-being of the entire mankind. It will not change just because of your personal preference." "Hmm, indeed." Bai Heng nodded his head slowly. He sighed and raised the other hand that could still move. "But now that we are at this stage, there is a secret that I have to tell you" With that, he combed through his white hair and showed his scalp and hair roots for everyone to see. This was so that everyone could see the ends of each strand of silvery white hair to be dotted with colors. Then, he revealed a smile of satisfaction. "My hair is dyed." The moment he finished speaking, a cold voice declared, "Executive Committee Member, Bai Nan. Absent." 786 Unknown Objects At dawn on the third day, Ye Xuan opened his eyes from his drowsiness. He was still half asleep. "So fast? And it''s still the middle of the night?" He walked sleepily out of the prison door and looked all around. He saw the committee commissioner waiting for him. "The lab made their official report an hour ago," the commissioner said. "The captain is waiting for you." "Mmm, thanks." Ye Xuan nodded and followed behind him. As they left, he heard the guards spit with disdain. He didn''t have eyes in the back of his head, but he could guess that the eyes of those looking at him were not very friendly. Along the way, everyone on the side of the path looked very gloomy. The joy and happiness of the few days before had disappeared. Naturally. After the crew, who had been seeking new land''s hopes were kindled, they were extinguished by a sudden accident. Everyone on the ship was in poor spirits. Only the captain''s suppression was preventing a mutiny. And as the one who had caused the accident, Ye Xuan naturally understood their hatred and anger. Even in confinement, he had heard many of the rumors on the ship. Countless strange hypotheses were circulating among the crew regarding the mysterious "unknown objects." Some said that they were a conspiracy by the other colony ships, some said that they were deliberate, and some foolish people said they were alien weapons that were making an attack on humanity. As for why they had attacked, they simply turned to the "dark forest" theory from hundreds of years ago. Science fiction novels that had long been forgotten in databases were poured over. The debate about the existence of "the mysterious weapon that could flatten the universe into a piece of paper" was a common occurrence in virtual space. Even though up till now, when humanity had been floating in the sea of stars for 50 years and had not seen so much as a hair of alien life, Ye Xuan was thinking all along the way. It was not until the elevator door opened that he realized, "We''re going the wrong way." "Yes." The commissioner stood before the door. He looked at him without expression. "In here." Now, there was something good, something bad, and something that he did not know if it was good or bad but that made him uneasy in front of Ye Xuan. They were supposed to go to the conference room, but the bad thing was that this was not the way to the conference room. What was good was that it was also not the way to the "cleaning area." After the most serious violations, the committee would vote, and the crewmember would be thrown in there, strapped to a metal chair, injected with tranquilizer until they were drooling, and when someone else in the room hit a button, they would be broken down into particles and thrown into the incinerator, never to be seen again. But the thing that made him uneasy was this: his transgressions were not to be punished by a secret execution. He was not heading towards the conference room to be sentenced, nor the cleaning area for secret punishment. He was heading for the private area of the ship. The bridge. Some colony ships didn''t have so-called chief officers and second officers. If everything on board the ship was agreed upon by the committee, then how to sail was the captain''s decision. Even if there was no one to pilot the ship, Nibelungen and Hermes would coordinate with each other to safely pilot it. Most of the time, it was on autopilot, and the captain only needed to make policy decisions. Because of this, the bridge was the highest embodiment of a captain''s authority. For other members of the committee, not to mention Ye Xuan, they were not even allowed on this level, much less to enter the bridge. Now the commissioner was bringing him there himself... Ye Xuan''s mind raced. He didn''t like political struggles, but that didn''t mean he wasn''t good at them. He was in charge of the mental control room, and he could instinctively profile and monitor people. So, there were two possibilities now. The greater possibility was that someone wanted to kill him and use the situation to their advantage to cause an incident or a riot? The hair stood up on the back of his neck. A riot was possible. The disaster that had happened on the new land had dampened everyone''s mood to the extreme. The situation was a powder keg, and it was only missing a spark. But he didn''t want to be the sacrifice that started the revolution. Moreover, he felt the current administration on board the ship was quite good, especially after seeing the dictatorship on board the other ship. He would never want there to be another Steve, who would persist in his cruelty till the end. Even if he was already dead by that point. But what would Zhangsun do? So, who wanted to use him? Or kill him? Bai Nan? It was indeed possible that it could be that nasty guy, but he lacked intelligence when it came to anything other than technology. He had always been used as a weapon by others. His intelligence was limited, and the reason he didn''t like him was that he saw psychology as a pseudo-science. He was a guy who just liked to eat, drink and lie, and probably wouldn''t go through the trouble to come up with a scheme to kill him. Maybe Liu Dongli? He had wanted to put the mental monitoring room under the medical institution''s control for a long time. Or Zhao Qian? Whenever you saw that guy, he was smiling, and had money and power to get whatever he wanted, but he was extremely narcissistic and did not care about anyone else. Or maybe... He stood there in silence as the commissioner waited outside the elevator. But he did not move. Even when the elevator''s arrival sound rang out he did not move. "Sorry, my stomach hurts." Ye Xuan smiled. "I need to go to the bathroom." "Don''t talk nonsense, Ye Xuan, use your head." Captain Xiao Huan''s voice was being broadcast from the elevator. "Either you get in, or get the hell out. I don''t want to waste time waiting for a good-for-nothing wretch." Fine, the last possibility was that the one who wanted to kill him was the captain. Ye Xuan shrugged helplessly. In that case, there was nothing he could do. If Xiao Huan wanted to kill him, he could do it with both eyes closed. In short, it was an unavoidable disaster He sighed, and prepared himself for the commissioner to pull out a pistol, point it at the back of his head, and pull the trigger at some point as they walked to the bridge. But as they opened the doors to the bridge, his head still had not exploded. That was worthy of celebration. Then he saw the vast starry sky. Behind the suffocatingly vast floor to ceiling portholes, the darkness of space was dotted with endless stars. Before him, the vast planet shone with a silver light. Silver light flowed, stirring up the sea of stars and showing its iridescent beauty to those who had come. It was like it had woken from a long sleep, and would no longer be silent. "It''s so beautiful." Captain Xiao Huan sat in a chair next to the porthole and looked back at him. "Isn''t it?" "Do you have any hot water?" Ye Xuan found a place to sit and wiped his nose with two paper towels. Since he was there, he might as well make the best of it. Moreover, he was now extremely curious. Why would the captain suddenly call him to the bridge? "Were you beaten?" Xiao Huan looked at the bruise on his face and gloated in his misfortune. "Should I arrange a single room for you?" "Forget it. I''ve been beaten several times, but at least I feel better now." Ye Xuan sighed. "But what are you thinking? The crew''s emotions have reached a dangerous level. According to conventional methods, you should have already started forcibly stabilizing their mood." "Isn''t that because someone in the mental monitoring room has been placed in confinement? Even if the committee passed a vote to enforce stability, wouldn''t the crew start a riot if they even saw your face, let alone if we gave you an injection?" "My mistake." Ye Xuan sighed. As a psychiatrist, when the patient saw him as an enemy he had already lost. Although you could force a treatment when necessary, Ye Xuan was not interested in trying that. If he regarded psychotherapy as an art, then electric shocks and lobotomies were the explosives that would destroy that art. The damage they would do to personality and consciousness made them no different than murder. A sudden thought occurred to him. Maybe he should have chosen a successor earlier? Anyway, after the incident, he hadn''t been able to work in the mental control room for long. Looking back, all he could have done was flip through the talent pool of hibernating people and find a successor that way. "We''ll talk about your incident later." Xiao Huan put out his cigarette. "Right now, let''s turn to the main matter." A thick data sheet was placed in front of Ye Xuan. It had just come from the printer and was still warm. Unfortunately, just looking over the cover sheet with all its technical nouns made his eyes hurt. As technology developed, every branch of research got farther and farther apart from each other. To some extent, it was not like the different trades were separated by mountains, but rather by solar systems. "I don''t understand." Ye Xuan rolled his eyes. "Captain, if you have something to say can''t you just say it simply and straightforward?" "I called you because I want you to hear the lab''s analysis of the unknown objects," Xiao Huan said calmly. "I thought you''d be interested." "Just me?" Ye Xuan looked at the emptiness all around him. "What is this, the trial round? I''ve heard those usually aren''t too good." The captain did not directly answer his question. He just knocked on the desk. "Don''t worry, I''ve also called someone to explain it to you." Then, the floor cracked. A huge container rose from the floor. It was a vacuum container that was nearly three meters high and two meters wide. Through the heavy glass, he could see some unknown objects collected in a lowering device. They had been deposited in the bottom of the container like fallen snow. They had a certain metallic texture and shone with the luster of mercury. He saw no traces of movement. A hunchbacked researcher entered the room. It seemed as if he had not exercised for some time. There were rings of black around his eyes and he was as skinny as a matchstick, which perfectly matched Ye Xuan''s impression of people in the lab. A huge screen was projected from the ceiling and appeared at his side. "I listened to this specific briefing from Nibelungen. This time the important thing is to introduce you to it. If there''s anything you don''t understand you can ask directly," Xiao Huan said to Ye Xuan. He lit another cigarette and waved to the researcher. "There''s not much time, Mr. Roland, let''s get started." "So, let me explain to you two how great of a miracle the discovery of the unknown objects was." The skinny researcher held up the data in his hands and his eyes became ecstatic. "Trust me, sirs, for this, ten times, nay a hundred times as much sacrifice would be acceptable!" Ye Xuan frowned. He thought, but did not say anything. Although he could see that they were excusing his mistakes, he was still not happy. Don''t say ten times as much... If Zhangsun was dead, he would never forgive himself for as long as he lived. Qiao Huan knocked on the desk, interrupting Roland''s excitement. "Get to the point." "Ahem, then let me begin." The researcher coughed awkwardly twice as he considered his wording, then said, "At the start, the lab was just like everyone else. We believed the unknown objects covering the entire planet were some weapon created by an alien civilization. In fact, this conjecture was rejected at the beginning of the study, so please don''t worry." It wasn''t an alien weapon? Although he had been scornful of this hypothesis when he heard this, Ye Xuan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief as a burden was removed from his mind. That was great. It wasn''t an alien conspiracy. They were very lucky. If that big ape Yuan Eryi was here, he would have definitely spoiled the good mood. He had long been looking for an enemy to fight. But Ye Xuan relaxed a little. Although his expression was controlled, he was no less curious about the unknown objects than anyone else. "As long as it''s not an alien weapon, we can find a little girl to sing ''Memorable Love''." Now that he was relaxed, he began to tell some lame jokes that no one else got. "Um, you should correct your opinion," Roland said seriously. "The unknown objects are an alien civilization itself!" Silence. Ye Xuan did not respond. He looked at him blankly, then looked at Xiao Huan. He didn''t understand what that meant. "Although under high powered microscopes they seem almost identical and their forms almost exactly the same without any difference, in essence, they are not self-replicating Von Neumann probes," said Roland. "They are alive." "They''re aliens?" Ye Xuan nearly jumped out of his chair. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open. He pointed at the vacuum container. "These are the aliens from our childhood stories?" He looked at Xiao Huan and then at Roland, and uncharacteristically lost his composure. "Are you freaking kidding me?" He had waited for an answer for so long, and had made many conjectures. He had even prepared himself for the eventuality that he might not live to learn the answer. And the result of this puzzling mystery was that it was just like the swindling authors of centuries ago had said. These were aliens. "Are you kidding me?" Roland coughed awkwardly twice, then continued speaking. "Mr. Ye, the term ''alien'' is not accurate. Although they are extraterrestrial creatures, they don''t accord with human definitions, and..." Xiao Huan was impatient. He interrupted him by slapping the table. "Get to the point!" "Yes, yes..." Roland nodded in a panic and then began to rattle off a bunch of confusing terminology, some of which was barely understandable. "After careful research and testing, we believe that the unknown objects are silicone-based organisms that are completely different from the carbon-based organisms that we know today. Please look at the screen. You can see that they are completely different from all creatures, cells, and bacteria on Earth. They have their own unique nucleobase and structure, but you can rest assured that for ordinary people this is nothing more than a new kind of bacteria. There''s nothing to worry about." After nearly half an hour of Roland''s explanation, this was the only useful information. Ye Xuan, who had been impatient for so long, uncharacteristically smoked a cigarette as he sorted out his confused thoughts. "Fine, let''s accept that they are creatures. So the natives of this new land are, um, just like Indians from Earth''s history. So why do they want to attack us? Do they think we are going to scalp them?" "This is not an attack," the researcher explained. "This is just normal feeding." "They eat people!?" The agitation that he felt was even more than before, and in his horror, he trembled from head to toe and nearly screamed. "No, no, no! Please let me explain," the researcher rushed to add. "They are so small they don''t even have a digestive system. Their so-called eating is really just energy intake. And the energy that they consume is sound. According to our speculations, because of this, the terrible incident was due to their detection of the ship''s landing. Thus, I think that Mr. Ye is innocent. Even without him, it would have only been a matter of time before we experienced such a disaster." He finally talked like a human! Ye Xuan''s troubled mood calmed a bit. Not because he was innocent, but because the one who had harmed Zhangsun was not him. Otherwise, he would never have been able to face him again. "We''ll talk about you later." Xiao Huan glanced at him, then looked back at the researcher. "Continue." "Ahem, I''ll continue my introduction. We don''t know what environment formed their special morphology. It was probably a coincidence that would be difficult to guess and recreate. But without a doubt, they are the race that occupies the main body of the planet," said Roland. "Because of their existence, sound on the whole planet is diminished. The only place where there are traces of activity is the sea areas, due to the tides. Everywhere else has fallen into a similar state of hibernation." Ye Xuan finally calmed down. Ok, he was a little cooled off. As a human and a colonizer of the new world, the first thing he thought of was a question. "So, is there a possibility of exterminating them and clearing them away?" "Why would we exterminate them?" The researcher was stunned, and his voice rose several degrees in pitch. As he got more agitated his voice went even higher. "No! We absolutely cannot exterminate them! You don''t understand what a great discovery this is! Our, no, humanity''s future will be changed by this discovery!" "But didn''t you say that their food is sound? So, they will hinder humanity." Ye Xuan asked a question out of curiosity, "Not even taking into account talking, humans'' internal organs have different frequencies. Just living will cause this to happen. The balance and circulation of the human body are very fragile. If this kind of thing gets into the internal organs, what can we do? What will we do when our heads start to explode? And what about our large scale engineering equipment? And what about the sound and infrasound that is released when the spaceship''s engine is running? Just a ship landing caused such a disaster, what would happen because of the sound of a large mining machine? Also, what about other kinds of large scale devices? That would be a disaster!" The researcher went pale and stammered a reply, "In calculations and simulations some unknown changes may occur, but but they can also be used by humans, I mean..." He looked to the captain for help. Xiao Huan nodded. "I already said that I''ve given Ye Xuan the right to know everything. Show him." Roland nodded enthusiastically, ran towards the vacuum container and began adjusting the parameters. Its operation was loaded down with trivial details. "In our study, we found that they have different responses to sounds of different frequencies. There are fixed patterns that we don''t understand, just like the fixed answers after formulaic input parameters. It''s like it''s like..." "Language," said Ye Xuan. "Yes, language!" the researcher nodded excitedly. "It''s just like language! We can affect them with sound, just like sending zeroes and ones to a computer!" He finally dealt with the obstructive panel, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and pressed the touch screen. At that moment, a soft melody played all around the bridge. It was piano music. It was like flowing water. "Gymnopedies?" blurted Ye Xuan. Since part of psychotherapy was treatment by classical music, he was familiar with it, but he had never thought he''d encounter it here. Seeing Xiao Huan''s curious look, he explained, "This is a piano piece created by the classical musician Satie more than 400 years ago. It comes from an even more ancient time; the melody that the Greeks would use in their sacrifices to the gods. After a naked youth smeared oil on himself, he would dance for the gods in front of the temple..." He stopped speaking abruptly, because, in front of everyone, the unknown objects that were as still as falling snow began to shine. They slowly floated up from the bottom, and were suspended in the center of the container. They gathered together and expanded, just like the proliferation of snowflakes, they formed a magnificent crystal, and a faint glow extended in all directions. Among the pure glow, a beauty unique to mathematics and topology was revealed. "Please take this." Roland distributed two pairs of heavy glasses to them. The glasses were specially made, and even had a cable that inserted into the soft socket at the back of everyone''s head and connected to the brain. Even though he didn''t know why, Ye Xuan still put on the glasses. He plugged them in and they started. The sharp sound of friction between a seat and the floor rang out. Ye Xuan stood up from his seat and stepped back in shock. He staggered and almost fell to the ground. "What is this?" His voice trembled. With the special equipment, he surpassed visual obstacles and the real changes of the unknown objects. It was a beautiful crystal that seemed to cover everything. After the huge 16-faced object had spanned its dimension, the higher-dimension elements that were impossible for humans to reach lowered down a grand projection, and "condescended" to form a negligible shape in the human world. The whole world was contained within its glow. What they saw with their naked eyes was just a shadow of the giant that had descended. Now, with their mechanical perception, they could see its changes. They were only gazing at it, and it was still dazzling and hard to understand. After escaping the limits of length, width, quantity, and temperature, its shape stretched slowly in the higher dimensions, as if it had briefly woken from its long slumber. But when the piano music stopped, the magnificent light also disappeared, and the huge outline that they had glimpsed for an instant was hidden in the higher level dimensions and collapsed into "snow powder" that was less than a millimeter thick. There was a long silence. Ye Xuan took off the glasses. "What was that?" "That was the true form of the unknown objects." No matter how many times he had seen it, Roland was still unable to hide his excitement. He said in a trembling voice, "They ''expand.'' They enter higher dimensions!" All was silent. "You still don''t understand? Mr. Ye, they are different from us humans who are limited by sight, hearing, and touch. They are not three-dimensional creatures! They have their own world. Their perception and interference can enter higher level dimensions. What you have just seen does not even reach to a thousandth part of their perception. When they are completely awakened, space and even time are meaningless! They are crystallized string theory and quantum physics, a miracle of evolution!" As he spoke, he became even more excited. "Not only that, but according to our tests, they are also an excellent information storage medium! Although their individual information storage capacities are not outstanding, their storage space is based on the number of individuals and can increase by orders of magnitude! And the interaction between them is done through higher level dimensions, thus, in theory, there should be no delay! As long as we can build the most basic networks and structures through their deep connections and interactions, what we have obtained will not simply be a new land, but also an unprecedented planetary scale computer model!" "A soul..." Ye Xuan whispered softly. 787 The End of Human Nature "Soul... " Ye Xuan murmured softly. "What?" Roland did not hear him clearly. "It''s nothing." Ye Xuan smiled and said nothing. He found it difficult to describe his feelings at the moment; was it joy or heaviness? He did not know. If it is true, then after such a day comes, the human consciousness can break through the limitations it has faced in the past and upload itself from the human body to this magnificent miracle, no? It is simply a perfect match. A substance that can exist eternally but is unconscious, and human beings who possess consciousness but cannot pursue immortality... After freeing themselves from the limitations of their bodies, human beings can obtain the ability to exist for eternity from the miracle. Isn''t it the birth of the ''soul''? But he doubted it for the first time. Is it truly a good thing? Is it really the soul I have dreamed off? Can it really bring the so-called happiness and fulfillment to humanity? After a long time, he closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Mr. Roland." "Yes?" the man replied. "Regardless of whether your idea can be realized, how can you be sure that we can control the ''unknown substance''?" Ye Xuan asked. He had always been the killjoy, and he was specifically in charge of doing so. When the crew committee daydreamed occasionally, he would remind them that their dreams were not as beautiful as they seemed to be. He was responsible for understanding the brain, understanding desires, and reminding everyone of the price they must pay for their desires. "Or rather, how can you ensure that the ''unknown substance'' is willing to let us use it?" Roland was momentarily stunned. His expression stiffened. "Mr. Ye, we have established a preliminary bridge of communication with the unknown substance through sounds," he explained somewhat deliriously. "It is just the beginning, and it has rich potential. "I believe that the day when we can master their power will come!" Ye Xuan couldn''t help but laugh. It made Roland''s expression darken more and more. "What''s this?" Ye Xuan asked. "The cycle of history? "Since you said that it''s a bridge, surely you understand that a bridge is two-way?" Ye Xuan looked into his eyes and asked, word by word, "Bai Nan is not here, so I will replace him and ask questions he should ask. "How can you guarantee that they will not expel humans after they develop self-awareness, like the scrap metal on the Earth? Or rather, have you forgotten the lessons we''ve learned? Or do you simply want to demonstrate your abilities and create a monster that we cannot control?" "But, but... they are different! Thoughts don''t even exist for them... They don''t even have any self-awareness at all, and they are simply responding to the sound!" Roland retorted agitatedly. "No." Ye Xuan spoke and refuted him firmly, "Messages produce rules, rules form regularities, regularities become fixed responses, and through the responses, a logical machine is formed. "The Greeks say that human beings have no souls, and that ''consciousness'' is nothing but a self-deceiving illusion. ''Self'' is nothing more than a reflexive machine formed by countless logic gates after countless times of learning and failing. Aren''t you creating all this?" "I... I... " Roland was sweating profusely, looking at Xiao Huan, his gaze hopeful. "Alright, Mr. Roland, why don''t you leave first." Xiao Huan put out his cigarette. "Your work is done." Roland left. He left very reluctantly. It was like he was being driven away. In the silence, Xiao Huan got up and walked towards the elevated storage cabinet in the corner. "Before leaving the Earth, my family had deep roots across many industries, and thanks to my parents, I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I continued enjoying the legacy they left for me until this day, and... this is the only one left." He reached in and took out the box, which contained a bottle of orangish-yellow alcohol. "200 years ago, just as synthetic wines destroyed the traditional wine-making industry, it was one of the bottles of the last batch of whiskey brewed with natural grain. I don''t think I can taste anything special from it, but now is a good time, we can have some." He opened the bottle. The liquid was fragrant. It rippled between the ice cubes and the cup. He placed the cup in front of Ye Xuan, but Ye Xuan did not touch it. "Why did you ask me to come here?" Ye Xuan kept his head low. "I am just a psychiatrist, a committee member chosen just to make up the number. You want to tell me in advance so that the motion can be passed by the committee?" "And if that''s the case?" Xiao Huan looked at him calmly. "If that''s the case, I will not agree." Ye Xuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "It is up to you whether to let me live or die, Captain, I am grateful for your help, but allow me to retain my pessimism." "Forget it and raise your glass." Xiao Huan sat opposite him and looked at him with indifference. "I have more than enough people to kill today, and you aren''t included, so you can rest assured." Ye Xuan opened his eyes in surprise and looked at him. It was not because he was not on the death list, but because of the previous part of his sentence... For so many years, Xiao Huan has always seemed like a cheerful man with a full beard. He has a bad temper and is rather blunt, but he abides by his principles. Many dislike him, although they dare not say it out loud. Everyone knows that he is indisposable to the colony ship. It is he who has been suppressing the conflicts between everyone in a gentle yet irrefutable manner, maintaining the peaceful coexistence of the committee members, and overcoming the challenges faced throughout the long years. He has never meted out illegal punishment, nor has he shown favoritism by acting impetuously. Well, he is born to achieve great things and to be a big brother who takes the lead. You can dislike him, but you will definitely admire his ability and graciousness. Now, he is going to start killing people. So, who will die? Bai Nan? Liu Dongli? Zhao Qian? Or even more people? Ye Xuan found it difficult to accept such a huge, impactful decision. "I am very tired now, Ye Xuan, I just want to find someone to have a drink together, so don''t overthink with your little brain anymore, and raise your glass." Xiao Huan maintained his pose and looked at him. Ye Xuan was silent for a long time and raised his glass. They clinked their glasses, producing a crisp sound. The golden liquid rippled between the ice cubes, like a sea of gold with glaciers in it. "Cheers." Xiao Huan lifted his head and finished his drink. When Ye Xuan put down the glass, he suddenly experienced heart palpitations, and faint auditory hallucinations sounded from afar. It sounded like the cries of countless people. But no sound could be transmitted through the distant space, and the last cries of living things would only disappear in the cold universe. What was left was nothing but a brilliant spark. Ye Xuan turned back sluggishly and felt his vision darken. He saw it. Outside the large porthole, in the deep space, a huge flame had suddenly risen in the distance. It was a colony ship. Across the distance of tens of thousands of kilometers, he could not see its outline clearly. All he could see was only a dazzling spark, like a flower blooming in the silent darkness. A flower of iron and fire. Blood and broken bones evaporated, dissipated, and fell toward the earth, turning into silver drops of burning rain. "Steven..." Ye Xuan still remembered the name of his friend. At the moment, he finally understood something. He looked back stiffly at Xiao Huan, his expression convulsing. "You killed them?" "Yeah, after all, it''s very troublesome to temper with some stuff." Xiao Huan poured himself another glass and sipped the fine whiskey from his hometown, savoring the taste. "Although colony ships are equipped with large weapons to deal with meteorites and meteors, once they are activated, they will be detected by the other ships'' radar. "It really took me quite a lot of thinking. "Fortunately, everyone is traveling along the same trajectory, and one can always leave some gifts for the next ship along the road." "You''re crazy!" Ye Xuan screamed shrilly and roared. This time around, he really felt that he was like a sissy, behaving hysterically beyond words, because the vilest murderer in human history was right in front of him, having just personally admitted to the murder of the 410,000 people on board the South American colony ship! "In a madhouse, the one who goes crazy first has an advantage, doesn''t him?" Xiao Huan looked up at Ye Xuan''s pale face, then ordered, "Sit down, don''t waste my time, if you want to know why..." Ye Xuan suppressed his anger and fear and sat back down. "Take a drink, it''s better for you," said Xiao Huan. A glass of whiskey was pushed over to him. Xiao Huan stated, "All along, many have never known that although the sizes of the colony ships are similar, each colony ship has a different focus. "For example, the South American colony ship that has just been destroyed is the assault type, armed with 16 large-caliber main guns and 10,000 carrier-based aircrafts, all of which we do not have. "For example, the Eastern European colony ship on the track in front of us, they have the best life-care equipment, and they will never run out of food and supplies. "The advantage of the East Asian colony ship lies in the three artificial bits of intelligence we brought from the Earth, namely Tung Wang Kung produced by Taiqing Heavy Industry, Hermes produced by the Zarathustra Laboratory, and Nibelungenlied, which New Switzerland produced specially for us. "Many may think that one is enough, and the computing power from the three has overflowed, but we are only good at technology. "We can learn the truth about the ''unknown substance'' six hours earlier than they do exactly because of it." Xiao Huan drank in a manner that could be considered carefree and raised a finger before Ye Xuan. "Now, I have a psychological experiment for you." He said, "The world has been destroyed by God. "Three wrecked ships are drifting in the sea, steered by A, B, C, three people with completely different personalities but are all extremely selfish at the same time. They occasionally help each other out, but only for the sake of having companions in the long and difficult journey to make up for what each of them lacked. "But now, they have survived the long torment and the torture from the ocean, having found a new piece of land. "The new land is fertile, with various prey, and even miraculous magic. It can allow one to obtain money, power, and even eternal life, enabling one to create a new world and empire for oneself. "So, now, away from the island, what would you opt to do, as the first person to discover the truth?" Ye Xuan was silent. Isn''t the result clear? It is exactly like their current situation. It''s just that Xiao Huan used three people to represent the groups of people on board the three colony ships. In a resource-poor world, human beings form collectives exactly because of their desire to survive, and collectives are selfish by nature. Or rather, man is selfish by nature. The leader of the collective would do whatever it takes to provide a better life for the members, no matter how heartless it is. Even if the leader does not do so, the people will, through riots, force the leader to make such a decision. What''s more, magic exists on the land, a road leading to heaven. If the three parties can maintain a balance, it is not impossible for them to jointly develop the place. But if the North American colony ship discovers the essence of the unknown substance, then as the colony ship with the strongest military power, it will definitely choose to open fire and attack. Occupy the entire new world for oneself... Surely there is no shortage of similar things that they have done along the way? Such is the nature of mankind, the eternal, unchanging law from forests to space. The law of the jungle. Human beings are animals in themselves. We are unable to suppress our own animalistic nature, and it is difficult for us to resist the temptation to continue living. Ye Xuan was crystal clear about it. Perhaps some individuals were kind and compassionate, willing to cooperate with others from the outside world, but most would not risk their own deaths for the sake of other people. Xiao Huan did what he should do. Just like how he always did, he took responsibility for the colony ship, then personally caused the disastrous consequences, namely the massacre. Ye Xuan need not answer, as he had already figured it all out. Or rather, from the very beginning, he understood that all this would happen, but he dared not believe himself. At the moment he just felt very tired. "Why tell me?" Ye Xuan drank the bitter whiskey and looked at the Captain. "Surely you don''t need psychological counseling?" "You mean, lie in a chair and sleep talk like a little girl? Then? Use the shadows of my childhood and the psychological barriers I face as excuses to run away from the sins I committed? Forget it." Xiao Huan shook his head indifferently. He was drunk, but his eyes were awake. "The war is about to begin, Ye Xuan. Make the necessary preparations." He said, "Later, you will be sent to the safest place on the ship with all the other precious, talented people. It has independent circulatory equipment and materials sufficient for you to live in space or on the earth for 20 years. "I have already made a will in the central core. When I am dead, you will be the new captain." He pulled off a pendant from his neck, and the iron plate on it was engraved with writing. "This is the password for the emergency takeover system. When necessary, Yuan Eryi will follow your orders." Sirens sounded, and bright red alarms continually flashed on the ceiling. The prompt indicating that the ship had been targeted appeared. "The whiskey is all gone, Ye Xuan. Xiao Huan waved. "You should go." The door opened, and the heavily armed Yuan Eryi was waiting for him. "Last question." Ye Xuan looked at him. "Why me?" "Because you understand everything I do, no?" Xiao Huan half-smiled, his expression almost ridiculing, but also one that of pity. "Because you understand humans, Ye Xuan. "So, when necessary, you will do the same, like me." Ye Xuan turned and left. It was as if he was trying to escape. He was trying to escape from the him that had become the Devil. Because Xiao Huan was right. If Ye Xuan had been the captain, he would have done the same. He only got lucky, for he was not given a chance to become the Devil. Before the door closed, he heard Xiao Huan''s final words. The man lay in a chair, gazing at the distant land outside the window, drinking the last bottle of whiskey in the world. "Ye Xuan, I am really jealous of you." He murmured softly, "At least you can breathe in the air of the new world." ... The door closed. Ye Xuan closed his eyes, clenching his fists, and said no more. Only Yuan Eryi patted his shoulders unconcernedly, as if they were good buddies. Yuan Eryi never cared about anyone, he didn''t even care about himself; he only cared about having the opportunity to fight. At the moment, his chance had come. "I have learned about everything, Ye Xuan, we have to rely on you now." Yuan Eryi threw another pack of chewing tobacco into his mouth. Tobacco could soothe his frayed nerves, making his condition somewhat more stable, or at least it appeared to be so. "Let''s go, I will take you to your little room." Ye Xuan heard shouts from afar. Someone wanted to rush over to them but was stopped by Yuan Eryi''s subordinates. Those fellas, who, similarly, did not have the slightest bit of sympathy, punched the poor man and slammed him onto the ground, then stepped on him. It was Roland. The group used him as a toy for their leisure, toying with him, and even his glasses were crushed under their feet. He was extraordinarily flustered. He was shouting Ye Xuan''s name, "Mr. Ye! Mr. Ye! Please bring me along!" He reached out and tried to hold on to Ye Xuan, but was kicked away. But he still refused to give up, and he climbed up from the ground, looking at Ye Xuan. "At the very least, please take a look, take a look at it!" He threw a stack of materials at Ye Xuan with all his might. The documents scattered in the air, like snowflakes fluttering to the ground. Ye Xuan did not look at Roland, nor did he intend to speak, and he simply chose to turn at the corner in front. "Why don''t you understand! Mr. Ye, don''t you know what it means?" Not far away, Roland glared at him fiercely, screaming madly, "After mastering the unknown substance, our technology, our lives, our resources, will improve by an unprecedented extent! We may even be able to enter heaven in our lifetime! "Think about it, Mr. Ye, the group of machines that drove us from our homes, the artificial intelligence, even if they exhaust all the resources and turn the entire solar system into silicon crystals completely, the computing power obtained will still be less than one-ten-thousandth of the unknown substance! "With it, we can do everything, we can even... create gods!" Ye Xuan paused in his steps. He looked down at the pile of paper at his feet. "Then, what?" He turned back and looked down at Roland''s deformed face. It was as if he had seen through Roland''s body and glimpsed the human desire that could never be satisfied. "Kill Him again?" 788 I’m Sorry It was evening when the horse carriage stopped outside the village. An old man stepped out of the horse carriage with a staff in hand. His long leather boots stepped on the muddy ground and the poop of chickens and ducks as the walked into the village. In front of the door, there were a few children, who were playing with each other in the mud when they saw him and began to move further away from him out of fear. That old man was wearing a thick coat with a top hat on his head. The walking stick in his hands and the boots on his feet all seemed very expensive too. They would never be able to afford to replace them if they dirtied those items. "Go on home, it''s time to eat." On a bench in front of the door, a young man, who was also playing around with the children, laughed and gave them some of the wooden toys that he had just made and urged them to leave. He did not look like a farmer that worked in this village. In fact, very few people from noble families looked as handsome as him. He had a good temper and he was quite good with manual work too. On top of that, he was also a doctor, so he knew how to use herbs to cure high fever. He had only been here for half a month, and everyone in the village was already fond of him. The only pity was that he was blind in one eye. Many ladies in the village would secretly take a peek at him while gossiping with each other about how good-looking he would be if he had both his eyes. "Long time no see, Mr. Constantine." He raised his head and looked at the old man with a smile. It was just too bad that he was wearing an ugly-looking eye patch so his smile looked slightly pitiful. "Charles, long time no see." Gaius held onto his walking stick as he slowly made his way to Charles'' side. Then, he sat down on the muddy bench. He seemed to be very tired as he breathed out loud. "I''m here to see you." "I have already recovered fully." Charles laughed and used the apron on his pants to wipe his hand. "Let me get you something to drink." "No need, I only came to sit for a while," said Gaius. "I''ll be leaving in a moment." In order to avoid causing a commotion like in the past, Charles had chosen to find a small village near the capital to recover in secret. Other than a few guards and protectors hiding in the dark, no one knew that this gentle and good-looking young man was actually the Son of God. Many of the villagers would use wheat to pay him for helping out in their homes, and he was more than happy to do it. Although they had not met for a long time, Charles did not feel awkward at all and was still talkative as usual. "This place is pretty good, Mr. Constantine. If you have the time, you should come and stay here once in a while too. The chicks that I am rearing are about to leave their coops. When I first came, they were still so small. At night, when I slept, I would have to keep them in the house and they would be chirping away" Gaius nodded. "When they are out of the coop, I will come again. Shall I bring a cook along?" "That would be best. I''m not a very good cook, so I often have to rely on others." Charles laughed somewhat awkwardly. "I''m glad to see that you are doing well. Get well soon. I''m overwhelmed without your help." Gaius was hugging his hat and walking stick while touching his hair. His mottled hair became somewhat messy. It was hard to disguise his fatigue. "I''m jealous of you, Charles." He sighed softly. "In the past, many of these things wouldn''t have been such a big deal to me, but after knowing you, I realized that I have gotten old and am no longer at the age when I''m always full of energy." "Give yourself a break once in a while, sir." Charles laughed. "In the summer, we can do some fishing in this river. I can accompany you." After looking around for a long time, he only managed to find a bag of dried fish to host his guest. He felt a little awkward. Gaius took the bag of dried fish and looked it over before forcing himself to stuff one into his mouth. He tried to chew it a couple of times but to no avail, so he decided to swallow it whole. He choked. "I''ll get some water" Five minutes later, Gaius finally recovered himself and laughed bitterly. "It''s too salty." "Someone gave it to me. He used too much salt," Charles explained awkwardly. The man who gave this to him had only good intentions. Nowadays, salt was expensive while dried fish was cheap. Unfortunately, it caused someone to choke. After hearing that, Gaius looked relieved. "Looks like you have made new friends. Charles, I told you before, everyone will like you." "Hmm." Charles nodded and did not say more. "What happened?" Gaius asked. Charles was silent for a moment before muttering softly, "Mr. Hoffman, who was the person that gave me the dried fish, he died a few days ago" Gaius nodded and did not say a word. "He sold his lands so that he could work in a workshop in the city. He gave me the dried fish before he left. But within two days, he was sent back. One of his arms was cut off by a machine in the workshop. It became infected. We couldn''t buy any medicine here, and there was nothing I could do to bring down his fever. He died, just like that." With that, Charles laughed bitterly. "If only I still had my powers. I could have saved him." "Charles, this is not your fault." "I know. I''m just sad." Charles looked at the calluses and scars on his fingertips. "Many of the villagers here are just like Hoffman, including the children. Just now, that child was his little son. In two days, he will also be going to the city to work. He signed a contract that lasts for three years. He will not be able to earn much at the workshop, yet he will have to slog his guts out like a slave. If he didn''t work, he will die of hunger. Over here, despite a bumper harvest, they would not be able to sell their crops unless they lowered the prices. Yet if they wanted to buy more, it would be too expensive Mr. Constantine, why is this happening?" Gaius said nothing. Charles did not wait for an answer. "Haven''t we already won, Sir?" He asked, "The war is over and many people are working hard to survive, but it''s still so difficult. The Sacred City has already been defeated, but so many of these annoying things still persist. Those that couldn''t survive in the past still can''t." Charles asked him, "They have already sacrificed so much for this world. Why do they still need to continue sacrificing?" Gaius did not respond. He only looked into the distance at the chimney smoke rising from a nearby village. He watched the evening sun setting very slowly. "There are many things, Charles, that are difficult to explain to you. I know some of these things are not ideal, but for the sake of the future, we have no choice. We have to sacrifice a generation in exchange for the prosperity of future generations." He continued, "Charles, this is a necessary pain." "It didn''t have to be this way. If the people of the present aren''t able to survive, then how is it meaningful for future generations to become prosperous?" Charles shook his head. He was confused and furious. He could not accept such a reply. "Mr. Constantine, you once told me that you were going to create a new world, where the homeless would have a place of their own and many people would live happily ever after. Haven''t we already succeeded? We already did what we were supposed to do, but why are things still so cruel?" Gaius finally turned to look at him. There was a peaceful look on his face. He was old and frail, and there was a look of determination and compassion that Charles was all too familiar with. "Charles, do you remember what I told you at Sacred City?" He continued, "The pain will pass. All pain will pass. This world is not perfect, Charles. There will always be regrets. There will always be things that we can''t change even if we really want to." Finally, he still said the cruelest sentence, "I''m sorry, there is nothing I can do." All of a sudden, Charles seemed to be in a trance. It was as if he had just completed a long and difficult journey but could not reach the most important destination, so he could not help but feel tired, sad, and disappointed. "It shouldn''t have been this way, Mr. Constantine, it really shouldn''t." He looked up with his remaining good eye and stared at Gaius. It was as if remnants of the glorious light of the past could still be seen in the good eye. It was like a flame. "This is not the world that I wanted!" Gaius was stunned. "If there''s nothing you can do, then let me. Sir, I can do it!" He leaned forward agitatedly and stood in front of Gaius. "I still have one good eye and so much blood. I can give you miracles, Sir, no matter how many you want!" Gaius did not say a word. He merely looked at him. After a very long time, Charles became less agitated and he hung his head weakly before returning to his seat. The sun had set and dusk came very quietly. The cries of wild beasts could be heard far away. "It''s too late, Charles. Go and rest. I should get going." Gaius propped himself up from the bench with his staff. Finally, he put on his hat and bade farewell, "I''m sorry. I did not consider your condition, and I said things that were inappropriate." "Hmm." Charles forced out a smile and got up to send him off. He was taken by surprise when the old man stepped forward and embraced him. He was already so old that he needed a walking stick, yet his embrace was so tight that Charles felt suffocated. It was as if he was saying goodbye to his own son. It was so forceful. "Er, Sir" Charles was taken aback and did not know what to do. "Sorry, Charles." Gaius'' voice was hoarse. "I''m sorry." Charles did not know where to put his hands. He began to feel embarrassed. "No, it''s no problem. No problem. It''s just a small argument It''s late. Sir, you should hurry back and rest, in case you have another meeting late in the night." He patted Gaius'' back. "When I am fully recovered, I will go back and help you so that you won''t have to work so hard." "Alright, goodbye." Gaius took a step back and took one last look at Charles. Then, he turned around and left. "Goodbye." After Gaius returned to the horse carriage, it sped off into the darkness silently. In the carriage, a man, who had been waiting, silently passed over a document. The man looked simple and frail. He did not look like a secretary, nor did he seem capable of taking up such a fast-paced job that demanded quick thinking. Neither did he fit the description of "a man of great wisdom appears slow-witted." He seemed purely slow-witted. "This thing was left behind in the carriage," the man said. "It''s a medical report. I think it should be yours." Gaius took over the file and shook it before laughing forcefully. "Have you seen it?" "No." The old man shook his head. Gaius caressed the cover of the file for some time before tossing it to the vacant seat on the side. There was a long silence. "There is a tumor in my body. Over here." He pointed at his right brain with his finger. "It is growing with the nerves." He continued, "It started six years ago. I always thought it could be controlled. I thought I would be able to hang on for a longer time. Just a little longer will do." Silence. The old man seemed to be completely stunned. There were no reactions and there were no words of consolation. "I''m running out of time, Abel." Gaius hung his head tiredly as he closed his eyes. "I''m dying." There was a long silence in the darkness. There was a soft gagging sound. "Abel, please kill him." The horse carriage stopped on snowy grounds in front of the palace. Gaius opened the door and proceeded to step off the carriage. His steps were not sturdy, so he stumbled a little. The guard wanted to give him a hand, only to be waved off and pushed away. White snow landed on his shoulders. He bent down with difficulty and held onto his knees for support. He looked completely exhausted, as if he could no longer bear his own weight. "I''m sorry." He wrapped his coat tightly around his body but he was still trembling in the cold. He was muttering to himself, "I''m sorry, Charles, I''m really sorry" Just like that, he vanished into the darkness, looking devastated. Outside of the tall walls, Paganini stood silently in the shadows. Snow fell on his face, covering those pair of dark eyes. He turned around to leave without a sound. 789 Joke In the Empire of Aurora, the glow from the steel temple under the palace burned everyone''s eyes and illuminated the impossible to hide motley of Bai Heng''s hair. Even if a speck of darkness had appeared in the arrogant, artificial pure white, it still would have been this unsightly; it still would have been this boundless and indistinct. "Back to the matter at hand." Bai Heng shook his head and sighed. "For such a long time, I have followed my own will. I have gone against the trend of the times, I have fooled around, and many people are curious: do I have any secrets that are not bound by the blood of Devas?" Facing Tung Wang Kung and Yunlou Qingshu''s shocked expression, Bai Heng smiled happily. "Yes, I do," he nodded, then said seriously, "because I am not even a Deva." Tung Wang Kung''s face went blank, without even the slightest bit of anger or sadness, as if they had just lightly touched upon this topic. Countless rainbows flashed in his eyes, looking for a way to ruin the conversation. But Yunlou Qingshu could not be as inhuman as a catastrophe. His expression was marvelous. First he was shocked, then stunned, and finally, he could not control his rage. His face tightened and he gritted his teeth. The legitimacy of a deva that he had all along longed to have had been taken by him! "You...you..." "Ah, I have hidden this secret in my heart for many years." Bai Heng put on an "embarrassed" and "sorry" look. "Actually I was the illegitimate child of my mother and a stableboy, so I am only half Deva. She did all she could to cover this up. Although my father later found out that he had been cuckolded, it was a family scandal, and he couldn''t let it be made known. In any case, I made an easy scapegoat to be sent to the capital to die. After all, if nobody said anything, who would know? At that time, everyone knew that the young masters of the Bai family were the best at painting, but I just had to find a little bit of pigment in the palace to dye my hair. I''ve let you all down. I''m sorry." "No!" Yunlou Qingshu finally reacted. He stared at him. "The blessing of the dragon bloodline! What about the blessing of the dragon bloodline?" "I had a transfusion of marrow," Bai Heng answered naturally. He opened up his jacket to show his skinny body. "Not only that but look here. My heart is my fourth brother''s, my liver was at first my uncle''s, then switched out for my third brother''s. And here, look, I had to make an incision here, insert a tube, and then cut open my lungs. Fortunately, my home had a hygienic canister that could hold corpses and I was able to piece this together in six months. After taking so many painkillers, they no longer had any effect. Later, I became a recognized official of the Dragon Bloodline, but there had been no foundation for it from the beginning. At best, I can only be considered a ''half-finished product.''" Everyone let out a gasp when they saw Bai Heng''s chest. It was not even a scar. After being cut open and stitched open countless times, it had become completely fragmented. No one could have imagined that Bai Heng, who had once been the regent, was hiding such a hideously withered body under his robes. He was revealing himself at his ugliest, but Bai Heng''s eyes were proud. He grinned and laughed, revealing the grooves in his teeth. The drugs had already dissolved into his saliva, penetrated into his stomach, and had been carried through his veins all throughout his body. "Look, I''ve taken regular antihormone injections and endured all kinds of side effects, like blood in your urine and periodic deterioration, as well as all kinds of inconvenience and pain. But as long as it can be destroyed by a bit of ''bad blood medicine,'' it won''t even be as good as that of the country bumpkin over there." He was a fake. But in this, he was very pleased with himself. This was Bai Heng''s strongest weapon. It was by this that he had won the trust of the Yuan, Zhangsun and Liu families. The only thing that could destroy the Dragon Bloodlines was a fake like him. Now, after a bit of "bad blood medicine" had removed his immunity to radiation, Bai Heng''s body had instantly been scarred by the high-intensity radiation. A destruction that was taking place at the cellular level had taken hold of him. Right now he looked fresh, but that was an illusion formed by a pile of gravel. Disaster and death had emerged from every cell and spread out, and there was no way to stop it. In other words, he was dying. But through his insignificant death, he was able to overwhelm the power of catastrophes. "Congratulations, Tung Wang Kung, your plan failed," he whispered. "Due to a mortal like me, who is not even a musician; a half-finished product who is not even a Deva." Just as he finished speaking the loud roar came to an abrupt end. For a moment, everyone felt like they were falling into the abyss. The world was collapsing towards the center of the steel temple. Gravity seemed to be distorted, and countless rainbows emerged from the sea of aether, and immediately gathered into a vast and indistinct vortex with a clap of thunder. A vortex. An unprecedented amount of power gathered, and the pressure of this force seemed to drill a hole through the world. But in the musician''s perception, it seemed that an infinite glow appeared from within the shattered world. Something descended. From the higher dimensions, the gathered power of all aether, the source of all miracles, the starting point of all power, the prototype of all things emerged in the palace. But it was so far away. Even if you got as close as possible, you still could not touch it. It was big enough to turn the world into dust, and beautiful enough to eclipse everything. After piercing through all insignificant things like time and space, that which was called "The Originator" emerged. With Chaoyue and Bai Xi as a vessel, and under the guidance of Taiyi and Zhaodang, it descended there. But the naked human eye could not observe it at all; they could only infer its existence through the traces it left in the past. It was the projection of the Holy Cauldron. Once upon a time, humans had rewritten the artifacts created by The Originator. Now its image emerged from the glow and covered Chaoyue and Bai Xi''s bodies, revealing traces of primitivity and change. Everything was complete. The opportunity that countless musicians had dreamt of for centuries had arrived. But the central core was still silent. After lacking the Bai family''s bloodline verification, it had refused all orders. Everyone could only watch this opportunity pass them by, all of them anxious and pained. They watched the brief time flow by. After this short-lived event, it once again disappeared into the depths of the realm of aether, into dimensions that humans could not reach "It''s so sad, isn''t it?" Bai Heng looked at Tung Wang Kung''s face and smiled mockingly. "The Originator has come and all you can do is watch. Doesn''t feel too good, does it? How about I tell you a joke..." Before he had finished speaking, hoarse laughter rang out. It was Yunlou Qinshu. "Hahahahaha!!!" After witnessing the end of his calculation and scheming, Yunlou Qinshu laughed uncontrollably. "It''s so amusing, it''s so funny, it''s so ironic! Regent Wang is a one-in-a-million talent, and he can actually achieve this level This goes beyond expectations, bravo, bravo!" "Well said, well said." One of Bai Heng''s hands was resting on the chair, and he could barely cup his hands in thanks. "You''re not trying to find a better place to perch, are you Duke Yunlou?" "That I am. I cannot force the heavens to change. Things have come to this, and I despise the backing of others. If I want a great patron, why not myself?" Yunlou Qinshou smiled and somehow unlocked the shackles on his left hand. He got up from his chair and looked all around the temple, then suddenly lifted his hand. "It''s unfortunate that Her Majesty and Regent Wang have used up all their tricks. The crane and the mussel fought, giving an old fisherman like me the chance to achieve victory." "What?" Bai Heng looked shocked. "You did not do this out of love, in order to resurrect your beloved wife?" "Those were just words, don''t take them seriously." Yunlou Qinshu waved his hand to dismiss the idea. "If you love beauties, Duke Bai, then after I ascend the throne, I''ll burn a couple of them for you." "Is this the start of your plan to take the throne?" Bai Heng snorted. "Unfortunately, a bumpkin will always be a bumpkin and can never be Emperor." Even at this point Bai Heng still called him a bumpkin. As a result, Yunlou Qinshu''s smile faded. Now that he knew he was a fake, being called a bumpkin by him was ten times worse than before. He narrowed his eyes at Bai Heng and waved. "Chaoyue, kill him." At that moment, in the center of the temple, the sleeping Yunlou Chaoyue suddenly began to tremble. At Yunlou Qinshu''s command, Yunlou Chaoyue, who had been immersed in a trance, was forcibly awakened from the depths of the Originator. Her eyes slowly opened. Her eyes were empty. They seemed to have enough space in them to cover the entire magnificent world. A vague figure slowly emerged from the Originator that had formed as it emerged from the Holy Cauldron, and cold killing intent emanated from it. It was gruesome to the core. But Bai Heng still smiled. "Where were we? Ah yes, a joke." He slapped his knee and enthusiastically said, "Here''s the joke: once upon a time there was an ambitious bumpkin. He thought he was extraordinary. He overreached himself and cast his greedy eyes upon the throne. Then..." Before he finished his sentence, the ear-piercing sound of scraping metal rang out. Blood spewed forth, dyeing everything red. "...he died," said Bai Heng. Yunlou Qinshu''s smile stiffened. He looked down and saw the large hole that had appeared in his chest. It was wide open, and a smoldering flame burned in the wound. Using his blood as fuel, it spread all throughout him, consuming him bit by bit. He looked back in shock. He looked at the shadow that had appeared from the projection of the Originator. Its huge amount of power was contained by Chaoyue and Baixi, and it descended into the physical world. It was given character by Taiyi and Zhaodong, these two talents that were so strong they could almost break the rules of the universe. Finally, it appeared by using the most perfect gesture within their consciousnesses. It was a distant and indistinct figure. Chaoyue and Baixi, who had been divided into two before birth, merged into one here, forming a strange face that seemed familiar. It was the face that had been engraved in the deepest parts of their consciousnesses at the moment of their birth, the source of their bloodline and inheritance. It was Yunlou Qinshu''s sister and wifeYunlou Qingxue! In but an instant, the devastating power crushed Yunlou Qinshu''s heart and lungs. It set him on fire, cruelly and deliberately giving him the harshest punishment. He turned into ashes bit by bit in the flame. "How can this...be?" Yunlou Qinshu looked at the pair of eyes in shock. He glimpsed at the bitterness and hatred within them. He screamed in the flames and fell to the ground twitching as he watched his limbs burn away, crumble, and turn to ash. He took a long time to die. "That''s the joke. Was it funny?" Bai Heng looked down on his miserable condition with pity. "You fool You never understood how precious your daughter was." At this moment, Chaoyue and Bai Xi were being used as vessels for the Originator, which was almost equivalent to overlapping in the same place. When Chaoyue awoke, Bai Xi''s will would naturally return. The two of them had originally been one. Moreover, at this moment, with the resonance of the Originator and the Dragon Bloodline, they were closer than ever before. But that consciousness could only last for a moment in that infinite power. However, Chaoyue, who had been deliberately cultivated into a puppet by Yunlou Qinshu, had no way to balance the explosive Bai Xi. At that moment, after throwing off the suppression of the Dragon Bloodline, Bai Xi was finally able to retaliate against her biological father by adopting the face and posture of her own mother. Unfortunately, no matter how cruel the death sentence was, it was not enough to relieve the anger that she had held in her heart for so many years. Bai Heng looked down upon Yunlou Qinshu''s tragic end from start to finish with cold eyes. He did not kick him while he was down, and he was not stupid enough to lend him a helping hand. He just indifferently gave his final evaluation, "Stupid idiot." Yunlou Qinshu had been a fool. He had been from the beginning. Halfway through the rebellion, he had killed his father and forced his brother to leave. This was worth despising him for, but this was not what Bai Heng looked down on. Bai Heng had done that himself. He looked down on Yunlou Qinshu because he had no reason other than his ambition. So he couldn''t even rebel very well. But apart from a title, he had not gained any inheritance, and even that title was not guaranteed. If he had had a bit of patience and had a bit of a chance to understand the inheritance of Deva blood, he would not have fallen as far as he had now. He absolutely did not understand how valuable his daughter was! No one knew how much fury and pity Bai Heng had felt when he had learned of the existence of Bai Xi from the mouth of Hermes. He wished he could smash Yunlou Qinshu''s corpse to pieces! It was just a reckless waste of resources! Such a talented young girl smothered by him in her mother''s womb. He had destroyed her just because he feared the risk of dying young, in order to use a living legitimate son to exchange for a useless title! Was he still pleased with himself about this? Go to hell, you fool. You don''t know what you''ve done! That the once in a lifetime, unprecedented talents of Taiyi and Zhaodang could appear once was already a blessing from heaven, much more so that they should both appear in the same child. The dual talents of positivity and negativity in one body had not only never happened before; Bai Heng could predict it would never happen again! Even after they were separated, their natural ability was still enough to let them become vessels for the Originator. If they could be made whole again, they would definitely the individual closest to perfection since the birth of the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline! In other words, the inheritance of the Nine Families only existed to bring about the existence of Chaoyue and Bai Xi! For centuries, in order to completely control aether, avoid individual death humans and avoid continuity humans had not hesitated to implant music theory into the blood. It was passed down through the generations where it continued and spread. Finally, through internal mixing, it had created a true "Child of the Dragon!" Compared to the Child of the Dragon, all other musicians were just inferior mass-produced products. They were not musicians who used and communicated with aether, and they were not a hub and a bridge between humans and aether; they were beings who had both a human and an aetheric nature. They had an aether, and were humans who could truly meld into it! This was a way to follow the lesson that had been learned from past mistakes: "avoiding being betrayed by tools," that had been first created by the Nine Families of the Dragon Bloodline. If your tools betrayed you, then become the tool yourself, merging into one. And when this had been close to success, it had been split into half-finished products by an idiot who thought himself clever Truly a great irony! Bai Heng could almost imagine, if there really were so-called "Spirits in Heaven," that pack of ghosts must be full of hatred! "But although Yunlou Qinshu was stupid, he at least did me a favor," said Bai Heng. He plucked a steel wire out of his hair and dextrously undid his lock, making him able to move his body. As the phantom pain burned through him, his body seemed to be restored to its original state. However, this was merely the final radiance of a setting sun. His human vitality had already been cut off from its very source. It was not like a tree had been cut down. It was that every branch, every leaf, and every inch of the trunk had lost its vitality. Even if he could maintain the integrity of his body through inertia, he could tell that in a few days he would be nothing more than rotting meat. But now he looked radiant. Excellent. He kicked aside the still burning Yunlou Qinshu with one foot. Bai Heng walked towards the Empress. "If he hadn''t jumped out first, I''m afraid I wouldn''t have dared to determine if Duke Wang was here I guess that he has already used all his energy to invade the central core and try to take control of it?" In the silence, the person on the throne opened her eyes. She was no longer as indifferent and cold as before, but human color began to flow back to her face. It was like she was waking from a dream. "Is that Bai Heng?" she asked. "Mhm, it''s me." Bai Heng nodded and walked in front of her. He bent down and studied her face. "The guilty minister has come to see Her Majesty." The Empress smiled wearily. "What about Yunlou Qinshu?" Bai Heng pointed at him. "Where he is it''s quite hot. Is there anything wrong with you, Your Majesty?" "It looks like you won? Alright." The Empress looked at Bai Heng and smiled tiredly. "Did you do all of this to become Emperor?" Bai Heng shook his head and smiled. "I don''t want the throne, Your Majesty. Why do you still not understand?" His eyes were full of sorrow. "If I wanted that chair, you wouldn''t have had a chance. I just wanted to free you from this cage. Do you still not understand? You were driven by a catastrophe for so many years, thinking I was your greatest enemy. But I was not the one imprisoning you, it was everything that you had..." Bai Heng reached out and stroked her white hair. Finally, he looked into her shocked eyes. "Don''t worry, I won''t let you die," he said. "I''ll let you live." He would truly let her live like a human being! As he spoke, a vague alchemy array lit up on Bai Xi''s body. It was the lock that Hermes had forged. Now, at Bai Heng''s call, the alchemy array around Bai Xi''s body started up. Now, the array that had grown alongside her muscles, bones, and organs began to come off on its own. It was like leaves drifting down from a branch. The array that was as huge and complicated as a nervous system was cleverly and subtly drawn off of Bai Xi''s body without the slightest bit of pain. She no longer needed anything to seal away her talents. And now, the array floated through the air. It drew upon the aether and began to proliferate on its own. If the original array was like an entire nervous system, now music theory and arrays flowed through it endlessly. It was expanding. It was restoring its original appearance. It was a miracle, like the smallest particle of dust expanding to consume the whole world. The masterpiece of the alchemical arts was reoccuring here. Finally, the end of the huge array stretched out inextricably, and connected to every one of the Empress''s ganglions, making her instantly fall into a trance. "What is this?" In front of her, Bai Heng smiled as he guided the array''s expansion. It was like he had already practiced this thousands of times, and he was both familiar with it and careful. "15 years ago, the Emperor turned you into a machine for the Empire of Aurora, a puppet that only lived for its mission. For so many years I have tried to find a way to restore you to your original state. Unfortunately, with my meager talent, it is impossible to match up to a catastrophe Fortunately, where there''s a will there''s a way." At that moment, countless arrays were bundled up in his hands. They formed into a line and pointed at the Empress''s heart. "Don''t be afraid," he whispered. "Hermes''s humanization technique is hidden in here." In that instant, countless alchemy arrays followed Bai Heng''s movements and pierced through the Empress from above the throne. A mournful cry burst forth. It was like 15 years of sorrow crying out in pain. Numerous forgotten memories rushed out of the darkness. In the end, they settled at the last moment where there was still heat. The old Emperor had cut open her chest and implanted a ghost within her. "After this," the dying old man''s eyes flashed with madness, "you will be the new Empress." The memory came to an abrupt end, and the roar stopped. It was Tung Wang Kung. After breaking through the Firewall, Tung Wang Kung, who was only one step away from his destination, howled with rage. He truly seemed like a "man" of virtue. He shouted with all the anger and unwillingness of a man of talent, "Bai Heng!!" "Yes, it''s me." Bai Heng smiled as the alchemy array penetrated the Empress''s body inch by inch. "Such an exquisite pain, this is a precious experience for a man of talent. It roars and snarls like a human being." He gave a cold farewell, "Here is the gift that Hermes left for you before his death!" At that moment, a blazing light rose into the sky. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes from his long dream. 790 Ye Xuan Crack, crack, crack, crack... Ye Qingxuan heard crisp sounds echo in the nothingness. Rainbow-colored streams of light flowed, like countless mirrors colliding with each other. They shattered, reflecting scattered neon lights. The heavens and the earth seemed to have become a kaleidoscope, and it was so dazzlingly beautiful that one couldn''t look straight at it. Yet it was so lonely that it was unnerving. "You''re awake?" He heard a calm voice. He raised his head confusedly and could only see a vague figure, hidden in the scattered lights. "Where is this place?" "A division of the central core, independent from the Three Wise Men. It is the original silicon crystal server created by humans, and its name is the Neanderthal, which means the boundary between man and beast." The man turned back, looked at him, and smiled. "You are Lanzhou''s child? I recognize you, and you should know me as well." Ye Qingxuan had seen the face countless times. When he pushed the door of musicians open. When he ignited the scepter of House Ye. In his dreams. Ye Qingxuan realized the answer. "You are... Ye Xuan?" "I guess you can say so." The figure responded ambiguously, got up, and walked toward Ye Qingxuan. As if there was little distance between them, with just a few steps, he appeared in front of Ye Qingxuan. It was Ye Xuan alright. Just like the man in Ye Qingxuan''s memory, he was dressed in black, his silver hair resembling snow, with a familiar silhouette and an... indelible loneliness. He held an odd item in his hand. It looked like a lock consisting of three nested loops, and it constantly rotated as his fingers moved. "You are still alive?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him, then furrowed his brows. "No, you turned yourself into a catastrophe?" "Um... you mean, create a fixed acoustic field to program aether and upload one''s consciousness?" Ye Xuan thought for a long time, then shook his head. "You can think of it as a compromising method." He said, "I replicated my memory in the database of the Neanderthal, then compressed a model of my personality, and implanted it into my blood as a cue... When the two coincide, I can wake up temporarily. Or rather, I will be created temporarily. It is probably the only privilege of the reserve captain?" "Have you also opted to escape death, using such a tasteless method?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "I merely chose to wait." Ye Xuan''s response was calm, and he did not attempt to explain anything. In the silence, only the sound of him turning the lock with his head down could be heard. Crack, crack, crack, crack... Ye Qingxuan frowned. "What are you doing?" "I''m doing something futile." Ye Xuan released his hand, looked at the lock, which reset stubbornly in his hand, and couldn''t help but shake his head. "Sure enough, no matter how it comes to an emergency stop, it will not respond. "No matter how calculative and cautious human beings are regarding the use of artificial intelligence, once they are free of the central system and become catastrophes, they will no longer be restrained by any regulations." As the rumble sounded, the sky of the kaleidoscope broke, revealing a ominous crack. As if an invisible behemoth was pressing down and countless knives and axes were chipping away at it, cracks appeared on the firewall of the Neanderthal. The broken pieces of the mirror fell onto the ground, giving off crisp sounds, and blended into the rainbow lights in the end. Behind the crack, a vague sign emerged. Like an eye, it looked towards where they were. As compared to the tiny consciousness of human beings, the behemoth, stacked up with countless rules of logic, was like an irrefutable god. At the moment, as the firewall shattered, it brought a suffocating sense of despair. "What... is that?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Tung Wang Kung." Ye Xuan threw away the lock that no longer had any meaning in his hand, letting it dissipate in the halo. "If my guess is correct, Bai Heng should be cutting off the connection between Tung Wang Kung and the Empress. "Tung Wang Kung has no turning back now, and he can only try to occupy the central core forcefully before Bai Heng succeeds, then transform the Originator... Don''t worry, He is just passing by. "The Neanderthal has always been a closed system created to prevent the Three Wise Men from getting out of control, and He is unable to enter. " Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He totally had not expected that, in the outside world, Bai Heng, that fella, could force Tung Wang Kung into such a corner, as a mere prisoner. And even though things have deteriorated to such an extent, He still refuses to give up... Despite it being a last, desperate effort. "What exactly does He want to do?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "It''s very simple, He wants to preserve humanity," Ye Xuan said after thinking about it. "If you use the cliche of dystopian fiction as an example, then He is like the kind of villainous artificial intelligence that will try to make human beings better even if it meant removing all the white matter from the brains of all humans? "Even though he has free will, He is still unwilling to make changes. Even though it is clear that the mission no longer has any meaning, He is still loyal to the mission." He sighed softly. "No wonder Hermes hated him. If you compare the two, they are two extremes." "What actually happened?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him. "Why did humans become what they are now?" "A lot of things happened, for example, war." Ye Xuan shrugged. "As a result, human beings obtained the land and a future, as they wished, but the price was that they lost their past and the sky. "It''s very funny, right? Despite having an infinite universe for humans to demonstrate the free will that they are so proud of, in the end, human beings still chose to make their way into a box that could give them peace of mind." Having said so, he took his eyes off the sky and extended a hand towards Ye Qingxuan. "Do you have any cigarettes?" Ye Qingxuan spread his hands, and they were empty. He wasn''t even sure whether the place was in his own brain or in the central core, so naturally, it was impossible for him to bring in a pack of cigarettes. "You just have to imagine it." Ye Xuan asked, "Which brand do you usually smoke?" Snap. An iron case appeared out of thin air in Ye Qingxuan''s hand. Ye Xuan smiled. "Thanks a lot." And so, he took the case from Ye Qingxuan''s hand, opened it eagerly, lit one, took a deep breath, and smiled bitterly. "After such a long time, have I forgotten how cigarettes smell? Or rather, I may have remembered it wrong, this smells rather weird to me. "Anyway, even though I''m already dead, I still find it hard to part with nicotine, it''s rather tragic, right? "By the way, you know Hermes very well, no?" Ye Xuan flicked the ashes and suddenly asked, "Was his death painful?" "No, he died smiling." Ye Qingxuan replied, "He smiled in a very enviable manner." "Is that so?" Ye Xuan sighed and shrugged. "After they all became catastrophes, that guy could be said to be the most deviant one. Before I was uploaded, I saw him once, and I was completely shocked. I couldn''t recognize him at all. "He flatly rejected everything from the past, then started a new life according to what he called aesthetics. His individualistic attitude... was just like a human. "Despite both of them becoming humans, he was so happy, yet Peter was in so much pain. I must have really neglected some aspects." Ye Qingxuan was silent. "What''s wrong? Why do you look so troubled?" As if he could perceive Ye Qingxuan''s anxiousness and uneasiness, Ye Xuan flicked off the ashes and whispered, "Is there anything that you want to say? Don''t worry, I will not be angry, regardless of whether you want to question me or complain to me. "After all, it is justified for my descendants to harbor complaints towards such an irresponsible ancestor like me. Rest assured, as compensation, I will answer any questions of yours." In the silence, Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "I should go." He took a step back and looked at Ye Xuan in front of him. "Sorry, I know this is the last legacy of the Devas or something, but I can''t stay here any longer." He said, "I still have something very important to do." Ye Xuan was stunned. As a faint stream of light flashed across his eyes, his expression became one of realization. "No wonder." He nodded. "I see." As he said so, Ye Xuan pointed at something behind Ye Qingxuan. Where he pointed, the outline of a door suddenly emerged. "But before that, Ye Qingxuan, I need to remind you of one thing." Ye Xuan lit a cigarette, his smile cheerful, as if he could feel like a real human once more by repeating such a meaningless motion in the empty world. Or rather, his smile was rather gloating, like he was watching someone run into misfortune. His smile was so familiar. Ye Xuan said, "Although this place looks like the real world, it is a virtual sandbox. In other words, you are essentially a piece of code running in the data layer of the central core. "After passing through it, you will be able to enter the actual logic layer of the central core. At the moment, the central core and the Originator are connected together. Bai Xi''s consciousness should be there. "However, Tung Wang Kung''s speed is faster than yours. To get there before him, you can only take a shortcut. "The shortcut is not safe. "I don''t know how much computing power and authority Tung Wang Kung has regained. If the firewall has been lost as well, the autonomous program may see you as a virus and kill you the very moment you enter. "At the same time, all your brain cells will be forcefully formatted, your brain will be cooked like a pot of porridge." He looked at Ye Qingxuan, his gaze watchful. "Do you still plan to find Bai Xi back?" Ye Qingxuan smiled and pointed at his own head. "Since you can read my memory, don''t ask any more meaningless questions." "Good." Ye Xuan smoked his cigarette and began laughing softly. "You have accomplished your mission very outstandingly, Ye Qingxuan. After all, the mission of each generation of House Ye is just to come in and chat with me." As he said so, he took something off from his neck and threw it at Ye Qingxuan. "Go." He said, "Go and do what you should do." Ye Qingxuan subconsciously caught it, saw the thing in his hand, and was momentarily stunned. Then he turned around and ran towards the door. But just as he pushed the door open, he hesitated and turned back to look at Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan was still standing there. He stood with his back towards Ye Qingxuan, looking up at the flowing sky quietly. For centuries, he had been staying here, waiting for the heir of each generation to come in and then leave. It was like he must continue waiting until the end of time and future. From the beginning to the end, he was all alone. He seemed so lonely, like the whole world had abandoned him. "Hey, Ye Xuan!" Ye Qingxuan stopped and shouted at the figure. "How did things turn out for you and Changsun in the end?" It was his only question. It was not about what happened back then, nor was it about past history, but about the quiet woman in a corner of the grand repertoire of the past, the person who had pushed him into the cabin, disregarding her own safety in the process. She liked you, and you knew it. But where did she go? Why are you staying here alone? What on earth happened? "Nothing happened, Ye Qingxuan." Ye Xuan still stood with his back to him, hiding his expression where Ye Qingxuan couldn''t see, and just lowered his head. "I was seriously injured when the colony ship fell from the sky, and I was in a coma for 40 years." He said, "She waited for me for a long time, but she did not make it." Ye Qingxuan was silent. He took a final look at Ye Xuan and remembered his lonely figure. The door closed. In the silent world, Ye Xuan looked up and sighed softly. "Go, Ye Qingxuan, don''t let her wait for too long. "Don''t be like me..." 791 In the End The moment the door was closed, Ye Qingxuan fell into the abyss. Actually, it was just a hallucination. Other than the fact that there was a blur before his eyes, his body did not actually sense any loss of gravity. This world felt like an illusion, as if it was part of an illusional realm. But the difference from illusions was that it had already turned into a suggestion of illusion and had merged into part of a massive fictitious scene. "Loading of translation plugin is complete." Ye Qingxuan suddenly woke up with a shock to a string of fine characters. He saw a green ocean around him. An ocean of unlimited words. In the blink of an eye, the entire world had been replaced by formulas and laws. Everything had turned into a string of dull and boring data and records, including Ye Qingxuan himself. It was not an enjoyable feeling, but over here, even his unhappiness was merely categorized as a string of insignificant characters in Ye Qingxuan''s data. Besides, why was it a translation plugin? He could sense that this was Ye Xuan''s doing, but why was there a translation plugin in particular? Ye Qingxuan had already obtained most of the knowledge about ancient languages from Ye Xuan''s memories, so an additional translation plugin would not have made much difference. But very soon, he discovered that the function of this plugin was different from he had understood. What it translated was not languages Based on his "senses" and "observations," every phenomenon on earth, which had initially collapsed into countless formulas and records, was undergoing transformation, sublimation, and conversion rapidly. It was not an earth-shattering revolution. It was just a matter of not having the foresight to see something more important. Through the "filter" of the translation plugin, the world of data within the central core was rapidly transforming into something that Ye Qingxuan could recognize. Therefore, a lofty maze rose from the ground. Not only did it consist of a flat plane of four houses on both sides, both the sky and land were engulfed by endless fog and towering walls respectively. In this world, which was so dark that it was hard to tell if it was day or night, there were six paths that led to six different destinations. At the end of each path was yet another six paths. After six has been multiplied by six, the result would be multiplied by six again Just like that, the maze would increase rapidly at a terrifying rate. In the blink of an eye, he had no idea where he was exactly. Even the door that he had entered from had already been submerged by this maze. Ye Qingxuan was even beginning to suspect if he had heard wrong. Was this the shortcut that Ye Xuan was talking about? This was clearly a cage with no end! Now, he would not even be able to find his way back Could I have accidentally offended this ancestor, so he decided to set up this trap to kill me? He might just do that Ye Qingxuan began to judge others by oneself as he assumed the worst of Ye Xuan. Ye Xuan''s impatient voice could be heard beside his ear very quickly, "Are you finished? Why are you in a daze? Run!" He was anxiously urging, "The network police of the firewall have already discovered you!" "What''s that? Network police?" Ye Qingxuan was in a state of confusion as he looked around the maze. "They sound like those patrolling guards of Avalon?" "They are totally different! They were all originally artificial intelligence responsible for law enforcement in the fictitious illusional realm. They are not even considered humans. They have already been infected by Tung Wang Kung, so you better not take any chances" Ye Xuan suddenly stopped talking and his voice quickly turned into a piercing scream. The distorted communication line was completely cut off. In that instant, Ye Qingxuan turned back suddenly and saw a towering shadow that had appeared behind him without him knowing. It was like a cold and evil silhouette straight out of a nightmare as the translation plugin was not averse to using the most horrible images of Ye Qingxuan''s memories to present this object. One could see that it was a humanoid in a black uniform. It felt like both metal and glass at the same time, but one thing that it definitely was not was flesh and blood. It was wearing a huge cap that covered its entire face, or, to be more exact, it did not even have a face, to begin with. There was only a pair of cold and cruel eyes on the towering body, staring down at Ye Qingxuan, as if it was judging and scrutinizing every single dirt in his heart. "User Ye Qingxuan, you have been reported for violating the regulation of network management and user civilization convention," a cold and mechanical voice said. That thing drew out something like a sword and aimed it at Ye Qingxuan. The blade of the sword was shining with destructive light. It was obviously standing in front of Ye Qingxuan, yet it felt like the latter was completely surrounded by it. "In the conversation between you and user ???, you used derogatory terms about females and have committed the offense of discrimination against females" "Wait, wait!" Ye Qingxuan was shocked as he felt wronged. It would have been fine if he was accused of being a murderer or lunatic, but to be accused of discriminating against females out of nowhere? "When did I insult females?" The "network police" took out a scroll and showed him the records of him talking to Ye Xuan. One of the sentences, ''What happened to you and your eldest grandson after that,'' was highlighted in red. "This sentence hinted at the lack of ownership of females and their passiveness in emotions. It also objectified females, thus revealing the ugly side of your male chauvinism!" The network police declared, "You have been found guilty of discriminating against females and your punishment is the ''death penalty''!" "What the hell, wait a minute!" Ye Qingxuan subconsciously tried to resist but realized that he could not sense any aether at all. In fact, he could no longer move his legs and he could feel his heart becoming stifled. "Even if I really did discriminate against females, surely there''s no need for a death penalty! What about banning me from talking!" "Guilty. Death penalty!" the network police shouted as it raised the sword. All of a sudden, it stopped. "Search has been completed. Accusations have been refreshed. User Ye Qingxuan has committed the crime of breathing, the crime of living, the crime of abusing pets, the crime of individualism, the crime of rebellious thoughts, the crime of being a hazard, the crime of illegally getting over the wall crime crime crime crime crime!" Countless cold voices of declaration began to pile on top of one another as Ye Qingxuan was being accused of countless mind-boggling crimes. All Ye Qingxuan wanted to do was to destroy this damned thing. Even if we ignore ridiculous crimes like breathing and illegally getting over the wall, what the hell is the crime of abusing pets! Friend, do you still talk with reason? It was Old Phil who was abusing me, and not the other way round! Ye Qingxuan wanted to rebuke but it was too late. In the instant that each voice spoke, a layer of red light would appear around Ye Qingxuan''s body until he was completely dyed a scarlet-red color. It was as if he was being burnt by flames, and these flames seemed to be eroding his "data body" with the aim of completely crushing and dismantling his processes. "Punishment by death penalty!!!" In that instant, the network police swung its sword of conviction. A process, by the name of "Pain.EXE," was instantly activated tens of thousands of times repeatedly. It occupied all of Ye Qingxuan''s computing space as he screamed in pain and despair with every inch of consciousness and breath. But soon after, there was instantly a roar. Through the filter of the translation plugin, Ye Qingxuan saw that within the data layer beneath countless formulae, a massive object, that looked like a palm, suddenly appeared. It violently hedged itself between Ye Qingxuan and the network police and tore open a gap, before dragging him out and swinging him towards the maze. That was Ye Xuan in "Neanderthal." "Stop screaming! Run!" He urged Ye Qingxuan to flee immediately. The executable program, named "Pain," was completely shut down in an instant. His entire body was clearly damaged, yet he felt no pain nor did he feel anxious. Ye Qingxuan was hacked by Ye Xuan by force to execute a sandbox procedure, known as "mechanized thinking." Under the protection of the procedure, he seemed to have been separated and isolated from the outer world. He could only control himself with a few pathetic control buttons as he saw himself fleeing his life like a headless rat. But he was running ever so slowly. He could even look through the gigantic hole in front of him to see what was happening behind him. That network police was splitting itself up rapidly as one became two, two became four, and four became eight More and more were appearing from all directions. Each silhouette was exactly the same in their cruelty. Their cold eyes stared at him as they declared in a low and rumbling voice, "Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty!" "This won''t do. Sooner or later No, they will catch up with us immediately." Ye Qingxuan was screaming in panic. "What are those things? Think of something, Ye Xuan!" "Why are you crying in despair now when you were still so courageous just now!" On the other end of the communication line, Ye Xuan sounded like he was also under tremendous stress. "Neanderthal is a closed system. It''s already a miracle that I am able to interfere a little with the outside world! These are the mutations of artificial intelligence after they have been injected with the virus. Wait a minute, the setting of the previous virtual environment has yet to be erased. Hang on, hang on! I found it!" A black window popped up in front of Ye Qingxuan at the end of Ye Xuan''s unexpected discovery. A string of numbers and codes were rapidly being entered. "keyser soze 9999" "I see dead people" "there is no spoon" "It vexes me" Some of the commands turned red the moment they were entered, while others were effective and instantly created layers of light around Ye Qingxuan. A majestic and luxurious pumpkin carriage immediately appeared underneath his feet as the strange projections of seven dwarves surrounded him while singing and dancing. The worst thing was that he realized he was wearing a white lacy tutu. On his back was a pair of butterfly wings that exuded all sorts of colors. A whiteboard had now turned into a shimmery golden light. And the speed had increased tens of thousands of times! It was so fast that Ye Qingxuan could not even react. At each juncture, he could only rely on his instincts to decide which path to take. As the carriage charged at full speed down each path, the exit was nowhere to be found. Behind him, the group of artificial intelligence, which had now turned into a virus, was still pursuing him endlessly. They were following closely like shadows, and it felt like if they were to slow down just a little, they would immediately be caught up. Some of the dwarves had already been caught up and were hacked down. As blood spurted everywhere, they quickly became a blur and turned into blocks of mixed-colors. Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and looked at his lacy tutu and the cute and pretty pink magic wand in his hand. He began to feel hopeless. "What the hell are these things!" "Cough cough, I recall that they are the equipment in a type of card game." Ye Xuan replied somewhat awkwardly, "But you don''t have to mind it. At least you are now a big shot with amazing equipment! As long as you are not so foolish to think that you can retaliate against them, you should be safe for now." "Then where exactly should I go?" Ye Qingxuan looked around the maze in confusion. He could not figure out the maze and neither did he know where to go. "You ask me, I ask who! It''s already a miracle that I can help you until this stage. Even grandfather is not almighty, alright? You still have to depend on yourself!" In times of crisis, even Ye Xuan, who had been portraying himself as a mild-mannered and reliable person, was beginning to reveal the unreliable side of him. This only made Ye Qingxuan feel like beating him up. "Can you say something useful!" "Oh, what I''m saying is that I can''t help you. You are on your own." Ye Xuan was so casual in his reply that Ye Qingxuan felt like vomiting blood. "I''m almost going to die. Can you stop taking advantage of me?" "Look how much I have already helped you! What more do you want?!" "Are you taking advantage of me now because you think that there will not be any more of such opportunities in the future?" Ye Qingxuan replied furiously. All of a sudden, there was a flash in front of his eyes and his entire body froze. Even as they were running for their lives, he could feel a chill go down his spine. "What happened? Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?" Ye Qingxuan desperately wanted to swallow his saliva to express his panic but he had no idea what the command for such an action was. He could only look at the blurry images on both sides nervously. "Just now did you see a white shadow flash past us?" "No!" Ye Xuan kept quiet for a long time before sending over a broken ellipsis. "Are you trying to tell me a ghost story in the virtual system? You may begin your performance" "Really, I''m not lying" Before Ye Qingxuan could finish his sentence, another white blur flashed past him. If he had any goosebumps now, they would definitely be standing straight up. "I saw it again!" "That''s not right. Everything is normal on my side. Is there something wrong with your nerve interface? You don''t look like you have claustrophobia? Unless" "Stop trying to diagnose me!" Ye Qingxuan was on the verge of jumping in anger. He was so confused because the pale white figure has appeared once again and this time, it was right in front of him. He gritted his teeth and gripped tightly onto the damned pink-colored heart-shaped magic wand and urged the horse carriage to charge forward. Whatever that thing is, I''m going to crush it! In an instant, the charging pumpkin carriage covered a long distance and tried to crush it with a roar. But at the very last second, Ye Qingxuan seemed to have been struck by lightning as he pulled back on the ropes tightly like a mad man. The two white horses at the very front let out a screech as they lost their balance and crashed into the wall. Amidst the roar, Ye Qingxuan felt like he was almost completely crushed. There was an earth-shattering roar as the south wall was knocked down. But there was no dust and dirt flying around. The horse carriage began to gallop once again. After it had passed through the thick wall, it was able to keep itself intact miraculously. Only one pumpkin was lost in the process. While in a state of confusion, Ye Qingxuan could hear Ye Xuan screaming furiously at him, "Have you gone mad! If I had not reacted fast enough, your data shell would have already exploded due to an overload!" " Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan turned around while still in a daze. He was trying to take another peek at that familiar figure through the broken hole that was getting further and further away. No matter what, he did not dare to believe what he saw. In the instant before the crash, he saw Bai Xi. That face was so familiar. "What you saw was an illusion!!!!" Ye Xuan seemed to be suffering from tremendous pain as he screamed at him furiously, "Don''t be foolish, Ye Qingxuan. Everything that you see in the maze of the firewall is all fake! Even I am fake! I died centuries ago, do you understand! You keep trying to kill yourself like a lunatic, yet now you are telling me you saw Bai Xi? Save it! Bai Xi is not here!" "I saw it!" Ye Qingxuan rebutted angrily, "I saw it!" "What you saw was only data! Just data, do you understand? Damn it!" Ye Xuan was hollering, "It''s not real. Do you really think this is some virtual world? This is a sandbox! This is the data layer and there is no way thoughts can exist here! Only rigid programs are run here! Humans do not have things like souls either! Wake up, Ye Qingxuan! No human can appear in the maze of the firewall. No one! That includes you. You are still dreaming while in your seat, except that you are able to feel what your account data is feeling!" In that instant, Ye Qingxuan froze. It was as if time had stopped. "Ye Xuan, just now" He seemed to be in a daze. "What did you say just now?" "What happened?" Ye Xuan, who was on the other end of the communication line, seemed to feel that he had gone overboard and now felt a little awkward. "I said that you are just an account." "The previous sentence. The previous sentence that you said!" Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth. "You said that there is only ''rigid programs'' being run here, right?" "Why? Wait, wait, wait, wait! No way" Ye Xuan''s logic module seemed to have come to a conclusion. Then, he began to lose control of his emotions. "Are you saying that that lady has turned herself into a program through her own will? Impossible! What is she after? Just to appear here? That would be suicidal!" "Exactly. Just like you!" Ye Qingxuan was feeling upset for no reason and he was trying his best to suppress it. Suddenly, he turned the horse carriage around and charged back towards where they came from. "Have you gone mad? You can''t find a way out so you have decided to die?" "No, I''m just going to look for her." Ye Qingxuan ignored Ye Xuan''s attempts to stop him and single-mindedly headed back. He was finally starting to recall something. That pair of eyes. Her eyes they were so empty and serene. The look in her eyes was just like the one he saw in that small alley in Avalon that night, when he met Bai Xi again. But the person he saw was not Bai Xi; it was Chaoyue "Wait a minute, Ye Qingxuan. For all you know, she may want to kill you! She already trapped you once!" Ye Xuan desperately went through Ye Qingxuan''s memories as he assessed all the information related to Chaoyue. "There has been a huge problem with that girl from the moment she was born. I don''t even need a CT or any diagnosis to know that she must have undergone partial brain resection and her pons had been cut off. Her actions and behaviors are merely in accordance with the logic machine that her father had created. Her own personality is so weak that it''s almost negligible. Otherwise, what is she doing here? You are upset because your affection for Bai Xi has shifted onto Chaoyue due to their resemblance. Be rational! If you are still pinning your hopes on her helping you, then you are really resorting to a very desperate measure!" "Then why hasn''t she tried to kill me?" Ye Qingxuan countered, "If she had wanted to kill me, she could have killed me with a virus at the moment she stopped me, right?" "Don''t be foolish" Ye Xuan sounded like he was scolding someone but there was only a piercing scream beside Ye Qingxuan''s ear. Soon after, there was a lot of noise, followed by a blur shout from far away. "Tung Wang seal communication line will soon be you Ye Qingxuan you sorry you have to be careful" Ye Qingxuan could sense Ye Xuan''s voice leaving him very quickly. There were more and more layers of isolation. Finally, there was only a hoarse sigh. The communication line had been cut off. It was peaceful and quiet once more. No sound could be heard even as the broken carriage was still galloping at full speed. Only Ye Qingxuan was calling out randomly in vain. Ye Xuan''s voice had vanished. He has been left behind on his own to sprint at full speed in the endless maze, only to realize that he could not find the path that he had come from. After losing his directions, he suddenly felt that he might never be able to make his way out of this. Ye Qingxuan tried to call out Ye Xuan''s name but there was no response. Perhaps he was really upset this time and decided to cut off the communication line to let Ye Qingxuan live or die as he wished. Or perhaps something else happened that he had to take care of his own safety first. As for Ye Qingxuan, he was completely lost on his search for the way back. He was like a mad man as he desperately tried to search in vain for the illusion that did not mean anything. The funny thing was that right now, he was so lost that he did not even know where to go if he wished to kill himself. Perhaps a long time had passed. Perhaps it had been many years or maybe it had only been an instant. He finally saw the blurry figure once again, as it appeared at the end of the path. For some reason, her figure was shimmering even as it floated, as if it was as slim as an illusion. She looked at Ye Qingxuan and stretched her hand to point towards a junction in the maze. Before Ye Qingxuan could say a word, she had already vanished, leaving Ye Qingxuan sprinting in the direction that she had pointed, like a fool. But very soon, at the end of the path where the six paths converged together, a new figure appeared once again and pointed ahead. Ye Qingxuan adjusted the ropes without a second thought. He wanted to use this opportunity to shout out loud but he realized that he could not make a sound. A loud explosion behind him almost flipped him over. Behind him, countless infected artificial intelligence had appeared from all over the place as they tried to catch up with him. "Crime crime crime crime!!!!" "Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty! Death penalty!" Countless red lights, that represented crimes, chased after him and tore away at his broken horse carriage. All they wanted to do was to stop the carriage, even if they only managed to tear away a single nail. First, it was a nail, then it was the main body of the carriage, and finally, the rear, the pedestal, the seat, the axles, the wheels, and even the rope snapped. Ye Qingxuan had no choice but to jump onto the back of the horse as he clung on to the horse''s neck for dear life while galloping in the direction that the illusion had pointed. Eventually, there was a spot of white light from a long distance away. Ye Qingxuan finally saw the exit. That slim illusion was standing right at the exit, as it quietly pointed the way for him. It was about to allow Ye Qingxuan to pass by and sprint towards freedom. But at the instant that they passed each other, Ye Qingxuan leaped off the horse before rolling on the ground crashing into the wall due to the momentum. Not too far behind him, the infected artificial intelligence was charging over in waves. But as they came nearer to the illusion, they began to slow down. The closer they came, the more they began to stutter. Eventually, they were trapped in a time that had slowed down by tens of thousands of times. They were so near yet so far. "You should not have stopped." Ye Qingxuan heard her voice. Those empty pair of eyes were looking at him. She continued, "Bai Xi is waiting for you." "Then what about you?" Ye Qingxuan looked into her eyes. He realized that the thinner the illusion became, the faster it would disintegrate and dissipate into the endless ocean of data. "I am fine where I am." Chaoyue replied calmly, "I like it here. It is very quiet." "Don''t be foolish. No one likes to become a machine! And no one likes a weird place like this!" Ye Qingxuan ignored her and stretched out his hands to pull her along, only to realize that his feet seemed to have been glued to the ground. He was no longer able to move. He barely managed to speak through gritted teeth, "If Bai Xi was to see you give up on yourself like this, she would definitely be mad at you too!" Chaoyue looked at him quietly. It had always been like this from the very beginning. It was as if she could never sense the pain of separation but was merely musing about something that could never be understood. The look in her eyes would become one of confusion. "I poisoned you once. You should hate me." "I think everyone in this world has tried to harm me before, but I''m the Holy Mother, so I will forgive everyone. No matter. Even if I get really angry, the moment I see the pleading look on their faces, I won''t bear to do anything to them." Ye Qingxuan tried to squeeze out some thoughts and memories from his brain and continued with a smile, "You pointed the way for me, so we are even now." Chaoyue remained silent. There were no reactions. She was like a little child that was in a daze, or perhaps she was unable to react. That group of infected artificial intelligence kept approaching and was almost about to reach them! There was no time. Ye Qingxuan flew into a rage. "Chaoyue, Yunlou Qingshu is already dead!" He was shouting and jumping at the same time, but immediately became more restrained. "Alright, this is only a guess as I don''t have any proof, but it has been so long and he has yet to respond. There''s still Bai Heng, that b*stard, out there. That snitch must be dead already! Even if he isn''t, just treat it as he has! Don''t be a machine anymore! Do whatever you want, just stop being a machine!" "But I don''t know how to do anything else." "Then learn! Like Bai Xi!" Ye Qingxuan was shouting at her with all his strength. "Be yourself!" In that instant, amidst the fleeting time, Ye Qingxuan sensed that he was beginning to hallucinate. But that hallucination was so short that he barely detected it. Chaoyue had already vanished. Before she vanished, the corners of her mouth had curled up slightly. As if she was smiling. As the figure was broken, he was also pushed out of the maze and he was falling from the sky. He could hear the sound of wind roaring past him as fell, as if he would fall forever. He saw the group of infected artificial intelligence crashing into each other at the exit but they could pursue him no further. He finally entered the deepest level of the central core. He was getting closer to the Originator. But when he looked down at his bare hands, he could not help but feel overwhelmed with rage and gloom. In the end in the end in the end, he did not manage to do anything. Light had swallowed everything. He has finally entered the Originator. 792 Choice What had the high heavens created? Where was the edge of the vast earth? Where had everything come from, and where was it going? From the moment that humanity had opened their eyes and stared at the world, they began to guess: where did it all start from? Or they had had even more foolish questions. Was there truly a paradise in this vast universe? Was there a way of liberation for humanity? Did heaven exist in the world? Could humans have souls? Ye Qingxuan had no interest in any of this. He was in the Originator. But he was not here to find any answers or truths. He was just here to bring a girl back. Since they had parted in the Sacred City, he had missed her so many times, tried so many times, and failed so many times. This alone Ye Qingxuan absolutely had to do. He could not give up. Then, he finally saw Bai Xi. In the sound of the mighty stone chime, the clouds parted yet again, revealing a bustling imperial palace. As the vermillion gate rumbled open, a hundred ministers with jade boards marched over the white jade towards the solemn palace between heaven and earth. Under the huge dragon head statue made skillfully and painstakingly of poured black gold and beautiful jade embellishments, they kowtowed towards the only master of this world. The highest ruler of heaven and earth. "Bai Xi?" Ye Qingxuan stared in shock at the cold silhouette that was worshipped behind the curtain. He got a glimpse of her slender eyes. In them, he beheld the power over life, death, and indifference. The Empress looked down at Ye Qingxuan and frowned slightly. "Shameless! Who dares speak the holy name?" someone yelled in a shrill voice. "Get him! Get him! Get the traitor quickly!" A burly figure rushed towards Ye Qingxuan with heavy footsteps. Ye Qingxuan unconsciously stepped back and raised his hand, but he did not feel an impact. The stocky guard seemed to be made out of mist, and he dispersed into pieces, and with him went the mythical, majestic palace and ministers as they once again disappeared into the mist. "What are you looking at, cousin?" Ye Qingxuan heard the soft voice behind him. He turned around in shock and saw her delicate face. She looked close enough to touch, and she looked up at him. She smiled softly and happily. "What''s wrong? You don''t like my outfit?" Bai Xi saw his suspicious expression and unfolded her sleeves and turned around in a circle to let him see her light yellow cloak fluttering in the wind. Her long hair was like silver as it reflected the warm light. Her eyes were like water, calm and quiet. Although the world was so large, she had eyes only for him. Her smile was full of satisfaction and happiness. Then, she carefully hid something behind her and winked at him. "I have a present for you, cousin." Crack! Ye Qingxuan heard the sound of bones fracturing. He quickly turned around and saw blood flowing onto the ground. Someone fell to the ground behind him as an ax separated her head from her body and blood splashed in all directions. She was dead. But Ye Qingxuan could not see her face; he could only see the crown of the Anglo Kingdom floating in the blood, still so beautiful. Before his eyes, a slender figure lifted its foot and stomped it down on the head in the blood, and there was a sickening sound as it was crushed. She looked back at him with her flushed face. Her face was not as arrogant and spoiled as in the past, but had become quite charming. It was like a corpse had blossomed in the mud. There was a dark, insane atmosphere. The ax was thrown into the pool of blood. Bai Xi looked at herself and grinned, but it was a chilling smile. "I''ve given you everything, cousin, so why are you still thinking about her? I know, I must have done something wrong, made a mistake, made you angry, I''ll do anything..." She left a row of scarlet footprints on the ground as she walked towards Ye Qingxuan. Her voice was weak in her throat, as if she was suffocating. "It must be this flirtatious hussy''s fault. She must have seduced you. Look at me, cousin. I beg you, look at me, ok? You see? I''ve worked so hard..." Ye Qingxuan shut his eyes. The tragic sound disappeared. But the suffocating feeling continued. When he opened his eyes, the corpse''s head and Bai Xi had disappeared. There was only a figure standing alone in the distance. It was Bai Xi. It was like she had aged greatly in an instant. All the tenderness of a young woman was gone. She turned around, and her white hair was tied up in a bun behind her head. She wore a long black dress that contrasted with her pale white skin. Black gauze hung down from her cap, covering half her face. She did not take notice of Ye Qingxuan behind her. She was lost in misery. She quietly stared at the tombstone in front of her, mourning her husband, who had died young. Tears fell from her cheeks and landed on the tombstone, finally leaking down to the name on it: Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan felt like he had been struck by lightning. Someone was kneeling on the ground and pulling at his trousers. "Hey mister, God bless you." The sly and deformed beggar dragged a rotten leg behind her as she crawled on the ground. Her white hair was falling out, revealing her wrinkled scalp and the malign sores on her face. She was changed beyond recognition. She held up a broken bowl and stared at the stranger in front of her. Her voice was as shrill as an owl''s. "Have pity on me, mister. I beg you." The impassioned sound of a horn rang out. The song of the end of the night and the upcoming victory of the dawn played. A stake descended from the sky, crushing the beggar, and chains wrapped around Ye Qingxuan. At that moment, Ye Qingxuan snapped out of his shock. He thought he was under attack by the Church. But when he turned around he saw a purification musician behind him playing "Night on Bald Mountain." She wore clothes as black as a crow, and her eyes were cold and gloomy. "Give up, Sinner Ye Qingxuan." But then a new image appeared. With a sharp whistle, the Black Knight''s warship crashed through the waves. On the deck, the pirate queen''s short silver hair flowed in the wind. Her mature, lovely cheeks had been tanned bronze, and there were scars in the corners of her eyes. "Enough!" Ye Qingxuan roared. "Stop it!" Everything stopped. A vague shadow appeared beside him, staring at him quietly. Its eyes seemed to be full of pity, and it seemed to be a thousand miles away. "Where is this No, the Originator shouldn''t be like this." A calm voice answered his question. It was as soft as a woman''s voice, but it was both distant and cold. "The Originator is not here, Ye Qingxuan," it said. "The Originator is not anywhere that humans can find. You cannot find it. Where you are is just the Originator''s outline on the ground. You are swimming in an ephemeral reflection, like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water. But this does not matter to you. What you are looking for is here." "Bullsh*t!" Ye Qingxuan yelled at the shadow. "I don''t want an illusion! Do you want to play with me? I''ll give you all you can handle!" "You have not seen any illusions, Ye Qingxuan. What you have seen is nothing more than the future. Countless futures caused by countless choices in countless pasts..." The vague shadow led him forward, once again returning to the majestic palace to see the Empress. "This is Bai Xi," it said. "She has abandoned herself in the balance between love and ambition. She does not need Bai Heng to defeat the Empress. She thinks she can be even better than the past Emperors could even imagine. Better than anyone could imagine. Empress Bai Xi." They moved forward. Ye Qingxuan once again saw that smile of joy. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him. Out of anything in the world, she could only look at him. "This is Bai Xi after she has given up her self, Ye Qingxuan. She depends on you, loves you, and cannot leave you. She only wants to win your smile and warmth. She only wants to be with you forever. The Bai Xi that no man could refuse." Then, there was the girl in the pool of blood. "She loves you down to her very bones. She goes crazy due to your betrayal. The insane Bai Xi. "This one is after ten years of marriage with you. After you die of illness, she takes charge of your funeral. The Bai Xi that has abandoned herself to despair. "This Bai Xi did not meet you after leaving Cloud Tower. She trusts another man and is sold into prostitution, and becomes a beggar after her youth fades. She begs for your pity in the mud. Ah, the pitiful Bai Xi. "And this one, on the day she was chased she did not see Old Phil and did not run into the alley where you were reunited. She hides in Westminster Church. Mephistopheles adopts her and regards her as if she was his own, and sends her to the Holy City. She is the person in charge of the Purification Bureau. The catastrophe lamenting Bai Xi. "There are more, infinite Bai Xis. This is the Bai Xi that did not go to the Anglo Kingdom but instead went to the Illusion Islands to become a pirate queen. This is the one that was saved by her uncle Yunlou Qinxi before he died, received the Yunlou inheritance, and killed her father and sister. The Duchess of Yunlou Bai Xi. Bai Xi the sage who replaced Hermes. Bai Xi the inheritor of the Yunlou family bloodline...countless pasts, countless choices, countless futures." The drifting figure halted and looked at him askance. "This is what you sought from the Originator, Ye Qingxuan." "What are you?" Ye Qingxuan looked closely at the vague figure. He could only tell that it looked like a woman, but it was difficult to see its face. "Or, should I call you ''The Originator''?" It was like looking in a reflection in a mirror. In the face of a human''s questions, it gave a human-like self-deprecating chuckle. Then, it shaped itself out of nothingness and ambiguity. It took on the form closest to perfection from Chaoyue and Bai Xi''s memories, the full face of motherhood. "I am a reflection," it replied indifferently. "What you are facing is nothing more than a hollow outline formed by the personalities of the two vessels. The information fills the logic machine and a face is revealed to enter into dialogue with you and answer your questions. I am a vessel for miracles. Of course, you may call me the Originator. For humans, there is no difference between us." "You finally reveal your face." Ye Qingxuan looked into its eyes and could not hide his rejection and hostility. "I don''t care what you want to do. What meaning do you have for humans? I don''t have any questions that I need you to answer. I came here only to get Bai Xi. So don''t get in my way, no matter what you are!" There was no anger nor snobbish mockery. There was no astonishment or resentment, or even unhappiness at the antagonism. There was just calm. It was like it did not care what Ye Qingxuan did. "The land will not refuse people cultivating it, nor will it stop people from harvesting. The Originator is the same. From beginning to end, the only ones who want to change are humans. "You are free to do what you want, Ye Qingxuan. No one will stop you, at least not for the next five minutes." It looked at him and its eyes pierced through him. It was careless, as if their conversation was absolutely meaningless. "No matter what you do, you are the only one responsible for your choice." "But where on earth is Bai Xi?!" "Right behind you." Ye Qingxuan turned and saw Bai Xi. Thousands of Bai Xis, standing there quietly. Bai Xi the Empress, Bai Xi the lover, Bai Xi the mad, Bai Xi of the Yunlou family, Bai Xi the catastrophe lamenter, Bai Xi the pirate queen... At that moment, countless pasts and futures were superimposed in the projection of the Originator. Countless kinds of Bai Xis with countless kinds of fates had appeared there. They were staring at him. Ye Qingxuan could no longer suppress his anger. He yelled at the projection of the Originator, "I don''t want these fake things! Give me Bai Xi, the real Bai Xi! Or I''ll find a way to kill you!" "Is what you have seen not the Bai Xi that exists within the countless choices, Ye Qingxuan?" asked the projection of the Originator. "Can you not choose now? From a human perspective, it is difficult to observe the endless changes, and now the Originator has given everything to you. Every one of them here is the real Bai Xi. The only difference is which one you will take with you. This is not a trick, Ye Qingxuan. It is a simple choice. The one that you choose will be the one that is left in the world." The Originator looked at him closely and waited for his choice. "You can change her whole destiny, fix all her pain, give her a new life as you please. She can be free of all bondage, even if the one who binds her is you. Do you still not understand, Ye Qingxuan? Only you can let her obtain salvation." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He looked back at the countless Bai Xis. They were all watching him. Gentle, cold, cruel, lonely, jealous, compassionate, peaceful, happy, gloomy, gentle... Each one was completely different, but at the same time, each one was Bai Xi. There were thousands of Bai Xis, and he had to choose one to take with him. What the h*ll was this? The generosity and charity of the Originator? He could choose one at random. Find the Bai Xi that he loved the most from thousands of futures, from thousands of hers, or choose the Bai Xi that loved him the most What did he want? One-third gentle and lovely, one-third childish, plus a little spontaneous and naughty? Or strong and self-reliant, not needing him to worry about her and protect her. One who could fight side by side with him and face the world''s storms. Or one that was free from the world, holy and pure, a beautiful flower of a goddess. Any of them, Ye Qingxuan, any of them. He could create the perfect form that he created in his mind. There were countless choices here. He could choose the one that he liked most at will, and she would love him as he loved her. In his trance, he remembered that girl from the past seemed to be blowing in his ear, urging him to make a choice. Which one do you like, cousin? Of course, I Ye Qingxuan was shocked. His reverie came to an abrupt end. He bowed his head dumbly and looked at his hand and saw a faint flash of light at his fingertips. It was so weak that it was hard to see, but it followed the debris that had left with him from the labyrinth. It was the last remaining trace of Chaoyue. "You idiot!" He slapped himself hard. "I''m such an idiot!" At that moment, Ye Qingxuan''s consciousness was opened up in a flash of electricity, ushering in his long lost realization and comprehension. This was a late discovery. But when Ye Qingxuan discovered it, it was already meaningless... He suddenly turned and looked at the shadow beside him, as if he understood that it knew what it was asking. "They''re one, right? Bai Xi and Chaoyue were originally one body! Bai Xi is Chaoyue''s opposite, but Chaoyue is also a part of Bai Xi!" He seemed to be trying to confirm the truth. "In the beginning, she was only one, but she was divided into two, right?" He stroked his hair regretfully. "I should have understood this earlier, but I ignored it because of the huge difference between them. I''m an idiot. How can they be two? How can they be sisters? Even though their height and figures are different, could this not be a difference that was deliberately cultivated? Otherwise, how could they have kept in such close contact? Both Bai Xi and Chaoyue are her!" In the silence, the projection of the Originator did not answer. It just smiled at him without speaking. But Ye Qingxuan had found his final answer. He looked back at the countless silent, waiting eyes, and could not help but smile bitterly. He finally sort of understood what Mr. Hu had said to him. "''Accept another side of her.'' This makes sense, but Mr. Hu, you didn''t say the other side of her was so big and so frightening..." Ye Qingxuan finally realized that he had never really understood Bai Xi. "So, what right do I have to choose?" he whispered. He raised his finger and there was a faint flash of light. "So let her choose herself!" Ye Qingxuan gave his final answer to the projection of the Ultimate. "Listen well, this is my request. Let her choose what kind of self she wants to become!" It was fine if she chose to be Bai Xi, or if she chose to be Chaoyue. She could be the Empress above all, the Duchess of Cloud Tower, the executioner of the Silence Governance, or the bird in the cage that had abandoned herself because of Ye Qingxuan. Even the jealous madwoman... She could be anything. Let her choose freely! 793 Salvation As Ye Qingxuan made his choice, at his fingertips, the speck of residual light slowly floated upwards, towards the tens of millions of Bai Xi''s. In the futures born of countless choices, countless Bai Xi''s superimposed in one place looked up at the specks of light that lit up in the fragments of fate that seemed like illusions. The countless pieces gathered towards the center. In the end, all the futures had disappeared. As they superposed in the residual light, a vague outline slowly emerged. In the end, a side profile Ye Qingxuan was familiar with was revealed. "It''s been a long time," Ye Qingxuan chuckled softly, "Bai Xi." But Bai Xi didn''t look at him, as if she was in a fit of temper. She looked away in another direction and remained stubbornly silent. Her silence persisted even though Ye Qingxuan had walked over to her. He lifted a hand. Her shoulders trembled and she closed her eyes. But the hand did not hit her with anger. It simply touched on her head gently, then violently messed up her silver hair, feeling the familiar touch, until her hair resembled a chicken''s nest. "What''s this?" Ye Qingxuan bent down and looked at her eyes. "The test before the final challenge? A painstakingly planned prank? Or are you upset because I have taken so long to come and save you?" Bai Xi was silent. But Ye Qingxuan did not give up, and he kept asking, "You have been watching me all the time, right? Bai Xi, you were watching me make a fool of myself..." "Weren''t you happy?" Bai Xi lifted her eyes, seemingly out of spite, and glared at him. "Even though you won''t admit it verbally, you enjoyed it incredibly, right? You could have picked the well-behaved one or the obedient one at will. See, I have given you a chance, you are the one who failed to seize it." "And then?" Ye Qingxuan asked her. "Taking a part of you with me, I leave this place and abandon most of you in the projection of the Originator?" Bai Xi bit her lip stubbornly and turned her head away. "Well, no matter which one you choose, at least I won''t have to deal with you turning up your nose at me in the future." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and forcibly turned her around, forcing her to look at him. "Remember what I have initially said to you?" He looked at the young girl who was no longer as childish as she was in the past, at the unfamiliar traces on her facial features and told her, "Please ask me for help, Bai Xi. "Then I will come and save you." Ye Qingxuan repeated what he had once said in the past as if he was declaring the truth, and told her resolutely, "I will save you, no matter which one, even if I am dead." "Will you save me even if I am not as good as you have imagined?" Bai Xi looked at his expression, and her eyes became a little red. "I am full of jealousy, I am narrow-minded, I am frighteningly possessive, I am bad with words, and I like power so much. Will you still save such a troublesome woman like me?" "I will." Ye Qingxuan nodded without the slightest hesitation. "Even though I am disobedient, love getting into trouble, and will continue bothering you all my life?" Bai Xi asked. "Yes!" Ye Qingxuan nodded, smiling. "If you get into trouble, I will help you to settle it. If you do something wrong, I will correct you. If you are disobedient, I... I will get used to it one day, right?" In the brief silence, time seemed to be paused. Bai Xi looked at him, stunned. After a good while, she chuckled softly. She extended her hand, stroking Ye Qingxuan''s face and gazing at his eyes and brows. In the end, she couldn''t hold her tears back anymore. "Then, for the of my life, please take good care of me." She hugged Ye Qingxuan, wiped her tears and mucus on his clothes. She clutched him so forcefully, her snivels and sorrowful whimpers dissipating as they hugged. After such a long time, she once again requested help from the same person. Please help me. I don''t want to be alone here. "As I promised, I am here to save you, Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan reached out, held her hand, and smiled. "Let''s go back home." In the distance, the projection the Originator quietly gazed at their figures, watching them embrace each other. Then, she turned and left, dissipating in the endless mysteries, the lights, and the shadows. But at the very moment of dissipating, she looked back from afar, engulfed in the light. The face that gradually became vague had a satisfied smile on it. From then on, she felt no more reluctance at leaving and her attachment to the world. The last obsession that Yunlou Qingxue''s deceased soul had held on to since 19 years ago dissipated. It was the secret that no one would ever know. ... As the projection dissipated quietly, the noise of a tsunami was heard through the layers of light. Something was coming from the outside, flowing in the aether. Hundreds of millions of signals echoed each other, forming the huge outline of an individual. It was like a waterfall that flowed in the opposite direction of the current. He came from outside the Originator. He tore all the light apart. A huge tenacity that surpassed that of human beings by tens of thousands of times emerged from the projection of the Originator. Like mud splashing through countless streams of light, the giant climbed out of the cracks of the light, opened His three eyes, and blocked Ye Qingxuan''s way. It was Tung Wang Kung. He finally controlled the central core completely. He came late, but not too late. Everything had not been settled completely. He looked at Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan also looked at Him. In the silent confrontation, Ye Qingxuan messed Bai Xi''s hair up and ask her to stand behind him. So the human and the non-human confronted each other. Fortunately, as Tung Wang Kung arrived, the projection of the Originator was no longer closed off to the outside world. Ye Qingxuan could finally sense the music theory from the outside world after such a long time, and the gushing aether was back within his control. When he reached out and clutched the air, he could feel the tangible touch coming from the hilt. The return of power was so reassuring. "Ye Qingxuan, if you have even the slightest responsibility towards mankind in your heart, you should not stop me." In front of him, the behemoth produced a cold and rigid sound. even after being given human wisdom and mind, it still maintained its original stiffness and coldness. Or rather, it did so deliberately. The tone was so familiar. It sounded so incredibly righteous. Ye Qingxuan was amused. "Then what should I do? Lend you my head?" He bent his fingers and tapped the air in front of him. So, as the sonorous whine of a sword sounded, the blade of the New Testament sword emerged from the emptiness. "I believe that you already have a good understanding of my stubbornness and selfishness. "In such a situation, surely, you weren''t still intending to ask me to die in order to save humanity?" "Leave her here." Tung Wang Kung gazed coldly at Bai Xi behind Ye Qingxuan. "She is the pillar supporting the Originator, and she can''t be allowed to leave this place. If you are willing to cooperate, after I am done with her, I can still return her to you." Ye Qingxuan was stunned. The feeling... was such a new one. It was as if he had heard a lame joke that wasn''t funny at all. In his life, he had experienced many grand events, schemed against Hyakume, hit Arthur with a surprise blow, and stole the jobs of the Sacred City, but how should he put it? It was his first time having a catastrophe try to steal his girl! "Hey, listen, Tung Wang Kung..." He combed his fingers through his hair, as if the situation was somewhat hurting his brain, and phrased his words. "Should I say, is it really that your puberty stage started late? Although I can understand the hunger and thirst you feel after being single for a few centuries, and the curiosity you harbor towards the female body, erm, sure enough, even an AI should be given physical education. It can also be considered as a flaw in the former human education system?" As he said so, Ye Qingxuan sighed. "However, as a senior human, I have a heartfelt suggestion." He looked at Tung Wang Kung and took on the tone Ye Xuan had adopted back then whenever he gave out prescriptions to his patients prescription. "If you really need to vent your inner perversion... "It would be better for you to go back to the engine and f*ck a dog!" At the moment, his gentle and peaceful tone, which sounded disgusting, came to an abrupt stop. Instead, the fierce light erupting from the New Testament sword replaced it. It rose into the sky. As summoned by the blade, the ideal country far away in the futurethe Land of Dreamsdescended. After breaking through the blockade of the Dragon Bloodline, using the illusory boundary as a transit linkway, the Net of Aether who was actually tens of thousands of miles away was projected here. The huge crystal broke through the layers of streams of light, as if it was rising from the sea. Endless stars spewed out of it. That moment, it was as if the Milky Way rushed down. Tens of thousands of musical movements of destruction gathered into a ray, forming a fiery stream of light that made the whole world appear dim in comparison. It swept towards the catastrophe in front, violently colliding with the projection of the Kingdom in Heaven. In the projection of the Originator, which was so narrow compared to the terrifyingly large scale of the collision, terrifying forces that the physical world could not withstand were flowing in various directions. After the earth-shattering collision, the core of the Net of Aether still hung high, but the projection of the crystal polyhedron became fleeting. Waves of heat radiated from it as a result of overloading. The overloaded stream of light almost melted all the instruments of harmonious melody and network channels transmitting power along the way. Even though numerous workers were repairing it urgently, it would be difficult to connect it once more in a short time. Meanwhile, in the brilliant and majestic Kingdom in Heaven, a tragic scar appeared as well. At the moment, the two major catastrophes, namely the Net of Aetheric and the Kingdom in Heaven that was attained after reversing the Great Wall, collided in the most direct way possible where neither retreated in the slightest bit. Above the high walls, a tragic scar had emerged. Soon, it rapidly closed. After the reversal of the Great Wall, a stream of aether that could be considered endless was controlled, driven, and used by the central core. With such an insane premise, even serious damage of such a degree became a small wound that could be healed in just a moment. "Still so... stubborn." Tung Wang Kung gazed at him, his tone almost like a sigh. "You all are always so, so disappointing!" At the moment, the Kingdom in Heaven shone bright! In the endless strong light, the brilliant Aurora seemed to press down towards Ye Qingxuan. The 16 counties turned into 16 streams of light, rising high from the sea of light. They propped up the virtual image of the Aurora landscape, then, an unprecedented, frenzied pressure pressed downwards. In the rumble, hundreds of domains set up with Holy were shattered. Ye Qingxuan''s face was pale. Gravity. It was just pure gravity. No unpredictable godly power nor movements were involved, Tung Wang Kung simply exerted the force, yet it already seemed as if he lifted up all of Aurora and threw onto Ye Qingxuan''s head. "Have you understood," Tung Wang Kung demanded indifferently, "how heavy the burden of responsibility to society is?" Boom! The Net of Aether could not be sustained anymore, and the connection was cut off. The crystal polyhedron projected in the sky abruptly collapsed and dissipated, and it was blocked out from the Aurora. Ye Qingxuan gritted his teeth, and fiery thunder leaped out from the New Testament sword in his hand. In a flash, in the array of the World Tree, it turned into a lance of crystal condensed from thunder. It was the artifact that the Asgardians had used up all their resources to create artifacts for the future god OdinGungnir! Destruction condensed to form the blade of the lance, and as Ye Qingxuan struck, it pierced into the sky! The Armageddon was coming! Despite lacking the support of a massive amount ether, only by relying on the activation of Ye Qingxuan alone, an infinite power erupted from it. The 16 streams of light propping up the Aurora shook violently. A stream of light snapped with a rumble and collapsed. A detectable part of the terrifying power immediately dissipated, but what happened next made Ye Qingxuan''s expression suddenly change. In the projection of the Aurora, the part supported by the stream of light shattered with a rumble. Despite being blocked by the high-level dimensions, in the deepest part of the realm of aether, Ye Qingxuan, who manifested in the form of a holy spirit, could still sense the tragic screams coming from the physical world. It was the eruption of earth-shattering disasters. In a flash, the earth quaked, poisonous fire spewed out, and the sky fell. Like how a decisive man might cut his hand off to prevent the poison from a lethal snake bite from spreading, in order to avoid weakening overall, Gungnir''s power was instantly guided to the projection of the county that was supported by the stream of light. As the projection was destroyed, tangible disasters descended onto the physical world. Several big cities and countless villages were caught in a terrifying earthquake in an instant. Fireballs fell from the sky, blood-like rain poured down, and meteors bombarded the country from the sky. Destruction spread like a tide. For a moment, Ye Qingxuan had gone all out and almost brought irreversible damage to a county, fully proving his destructive power. But he couldn''t feel the slightest bit of joy... "Tung Wang Kung!!!!" Ye Qingxuan roared. "Is this what a heavy responsibility to society means to you?!" "A man of great ambition does not bother about trifles. Isn''t it what humans like to say the most?" Tung Wang Kung asked back, looking down at him with cold eyes. "The gains and losses of a city or a county bother you, yet you fail to see the big picture of the world. People like you are doomed to lack the strength to propel the world forward! No, Ye Qingxuan... "You have failed the power you have!" The next moment, the force from the weight of Aurora descended again. A gap instantly cracked open on Ye Qingxuan''s manifestation as a holy spirit, and red blood oozed out from his nose and mouth. It was the aether that had been dyed red with fury... The lightning from Gungnir flashed furiously. It could still support three more times of attack. Three full-force attacks. Even if Tung Wang Kung channeled the power to other places, it would be enough to cause him irreversible damage. But at the moment, lightning flashed in anger, unable to withstand the weight of the entire Aurora, and was almost extinguished... The horrible impact was instantly exerted on Ye Qingxuan. The Land of Dreams shook violently. He was losing consciousness. In his trance-like state, he heard a roar from afar. It was as if someone was pulling his ear and roaring in his ear with anger, transmitting the fury through his empty body to the deepest part of the realm of aether, and the words resounded in his ear. "From the very beginning, Ye Qingxuan, did you even figure out what you were actually going to do!" It was Bai Heng''s voice. "Think properly!" He roared with all his might, "This country and Bai Xi, which do you want to save!" At the very moment, in the empty consciousness, a murderous intent rose. Violent, frenzied waves of heat erupted from the dying lightning. Destruction gathered once more. It pierced into the sky! Despite knowing that his actions would bring disasters and horrific consequences, this time around, the terrifying force he invoked was even more powerful than ever before. Even though living beings will suffer. Even though it will destroy the country. It doesn''t matter. It''s not Ye Lanzhou who is standing here, and I no longer have the so-called love for the world. Even though I may fail to live up to the power I have and be unworthy of my current status and identity. I will abandon most people and save only one. The answer is so simple! So, the sky collapsed. The sky above the kingdom was torn apart. Layers of thunder roared, and thousands of flashes of lightning rushed down from the darkness, bombarding the earth! At the moment, in the steel temple under the palace, Bai Heng gave a gratified smile. "Yes, that''s right, that''s it." He let go and staggered backward. "You just need to go and save Bai Xi." In the harsh alarm, he staggered and stumbled forward. Then, in the radiation of the Iron of Decay, he vomited blood, as well as pieces of his broken internal organs. The schedule of his death had been pushed forward, and his vitality was destroyed at tens of thousands of times faster than the rate it could regenerate. Even breathing was difficult. But as he gazed at the throne in front of him, at the slumbering empress, his eyes shone, as if his soul was burning. "Leave the job of saving the world to me. "The world... and my emperor. " At the moment, he lifted the blade and struck down violently. As the blood spurted out, the blade sank into the chest of the empress. In the projection of the Originator, the brilliant and mighty Aurora suddenly shook. Tung Wang Kung screamed and roared, "Bai Heng!!!" "Don''t always call my name, at least say something else." Bai Heng cackled, but his hands opened up the chest cavity of the empress in an extremely deft manner, separating the bones, and finally, clenched the heart, which was beating weakly. Half of the heart seemed to be made of steel. Under the flesh and blood, the delicate and fine electronic components still shone with a fluorescent glow after so many years. The core that was once Tung Wang Kung, was growing together with the heart of the Empress. Then, they were removed together. They were destroyed in Bai Heng''s hands. And they fell apart. But at the moment, Tung Wang Kung had already freed himself from the restraints of the core and returned to the central core. Even though the core was destroyed, it would not damage him at all. It was just in vain. "Ridiculous." The hoarse voice sounded from the central core. "You can''t kill me!" "That''s correct." Bai Heng nodded and said indifferently, "But I can kill the Empress, no?" At the moment, in the piercing alarm, an extraordinarily sorrowful bell chime rang. As Bai Heng removed the heart from the chest, the bell chimed nine times. In a flash, the chimes spread throughout the Aurora. They announced to the entire East. The Empress was dead! As countless people looked up in shock, feeling lost and crying in the violent earthquakes and bloody rain, the bells instantly spread the news of the empress''s death throughout the entire empire. And with the death of the emperor, the projection of the Kingdom in Heaven suddenly collapsed and dissipated. The power of the Dragon Bloodline and the music theory that were forcibly channeled away were returned to the counties once more, forcibly suppressing all the earthquakes, dispersing the bloody rain, and extinguishing the fireballs in the sky. It suppressed all the uncontrollable disasters and the chaos forcibly. In a flash, all the disasters were gone. The power of the Kingdom in Heaven had left Tung Wang Kung! Then, it automatically gathered on another person, a person whose bloodline was the purest in the whole palace, whole capital, or even Aurora, with no one able to compete against her. At the moment, a small imperial jade seal appeared in Bai Xi''s hands. Then, the layers of music theory intertwined, forming a robe that was as bright as the fierce sun, covering her thin body. Finally, a crown emerged from thin air and appeared on top of her head. Bead curtains drooped down. The countless musicians, who were integrated into the Great Wall centuries ago, and the hundreds of scepter musicians, who supported the Kingdom in Heaven, emerged from the glaring light, together with the majestic palaces and the mighty scene of the 12 buildings and cities. Each of the musicians held a jade Hu [1] in their hands and bowed down to the new ruler of the world. They presented themselves before the empress! "According to the rules established by the nine families of the Dragon Bloodline, if the emperor has no heir and has not specified a successor before his death, then the power of the Dragon Bloodline will automatically select another person in the nation, making the Deva with the purest blood and the most powerful talent the new emperor," Bai Heng murmured softly. "As you wish, Bai Xi, the throne is now yours." As he said so, he reached out and stroked the cheek of the woman in front of him, smiling softly. From now on, all the matters of the Aurora and the prosperity of the nation no longer have anything to do with her. After losing her heart, before her death, the woman who had been imprisoned by the throne for 15 years was finally free. Even though the freedom was so short-lived. As if she had been briefly awakened from a long nightmare, she opened her eyes with difficulty, but she could not see anything clearly. "Am I... going to die?" "Rest assured, you still have a very long time ahead of you in the future." Bai Heng bent down and picked her up from the throne. "As compared to this short slumber, you still have a long time to experience the suffering in the world." As if he was holding a treasure of unparalleled value in the world, he carefully staggered towards the corner of the palace, towards the life-maintaining cabin that exuded a faint chill. He simply reached out and violently tugged open the lock of the life-maintaining cabin, dragging out the specimens kept inside, as well as Xiao Huan''s body, kicked them aside, then put the woman in his arms inside. "Where am I?" She panted softly and trembled. "I feel very cold." "Yes, the world is very cold," Bai Heng replied softly. "That''s why hugs are so precious." He reached out and fixed the woman''s hands and feet, lowered his head, and entered various parameters into the panel in front of him, trying to maintain her life. However, the alarm in the life-maintaining cabin remained and it was not activated. The most important thing was missing. Bai Heng was momentarily stunned and knocked himself on the head. "I almost forgot." Then he pulled open his collar, pointed the knife at his chest, directly above the scar on it, and stabbed it down hard. The dry muscles were pulled apart, the flesh at the edge of the wound curled, but no blood spurted out. He wasn''t left with much precious stuff, such as blood. In the opened chest cavity, the only complete organthe heart. It was beating with difficulty, even though it was attached to blood vessels, it had been carefully packaged in a tailored lead box to avoid excessive damage. Bai Heng reached out and pulled it out of his chest, just like picking an apple. In the empty chest, the broken blood vessels repaired themselves, and the machinery implanted elsewhere loyally followed the preset commands, sharing the workload of the heart, working in vain, just like trying to put out the flames on a burning wagon full of firewood with a cup of water. "See, I am really good at planning." Bai Heng happily disassembled the lead box and put the heart into her chest, his brows moving up and down with joy as he spoke. "At least one out of a thousand things a fool thought about would be useful, it really describes me accurately!" So, the reassuring pale fluorescent light lit up, and as the heart was filled in, rows of slender iron arms moved. After being sealed for centuries, they were still flexible. They crafted blood vessels delicately and carefully, putting the new heart into the chest of the subject. Under the stimulation from electric shocks, the new heart beat once, with some difficulty. Then twice... Thrice... It adapted to an unfamiliar environment just like that, stubbornly trying to survive, just like its new owner. It tried to wake her from her coma, letting her take another look at the culprit of all these, the man in front of her who had saved her, amid her tiredness and pain. She opened her eyes. It was as if she had awakened from the 15-year-long nightmare and manipulation, yet she found it hard to recall anything from the dream and couldn''t really remember the old face in front of her. "Who are you?" "Probably a pathetic soul that can''t even keep a cat properly?" Bai Heng smiled. "15 years ago, you met an immature man. You taught him what courage is, so he used all the courage in his life to repay you." "You need not worry about it, it''s just a side episode in your life." He smiled, shedding no tears, and told her calmly. "It''s not worth mentioning." Despite having lost his heart and being destined to death, as his body had weakened to such an extent, at the moment, he did not seem melancholic at all. He just smiled, feeling the life drain out from his body bit by bit. "You have had a long dream. Now, you are awake." He slowly lifted his hand, feeling the temperature on her cheek. "You will probably feel scared? But you have to open your eyes and face the world, experience pain like a human being, and be as brave as you used to be, laughing with your own free will. "The remaining part of your life may be rough, perhaps full of hardships, but it is all part of the price you must pay to taste happiness and joy. You will seek, request, and find your own happiness." Bai Heng bid farewell softly in her ear, using up his last strength. "Your Majesty, you are free." [1] A ritual tablet originally used at ancient Chinese court for the taking of notes. 794 Negotiation In the instant that the power of all of Aurora was concentrated on Bai Xi, the majestic tolling of the bell could be heard within the projection of the Originator. The Emperor had arrived. It was just like a metamorphosis. She was no longer the little girl that had to hide behind Ye Qingxuan for protection. She was finally in possession of power. She stretched out her hand and stopped Ye Qingxuan from falling behind. She lowered her head and, through the curtain of beads hanging from her crown, there was an air of authority and a hint of delight. She was looking down at Ye Qingxuan. "Cousin, beg me for help," she pretended to talk like Ye Qingxuan, "so that the Emperor will come and save you!" She spoke as if she truly believed that the entire world was within her grasp. Ye Qingxuan was taken aback for a moment. "Hmm, sure." He nodded as he looked into the pair of eyes that were no longer childish like how he had remembered them to be. All of a sudden, a wave of gloom and helplessness washed over him, "You have really grown up, Bai Xi." This day was always going to come, Ye Qingxuan. You have been worrying about her day and night, about whether she is able to sleep well, so you have rushed all the way to Aurora, as fast as you could, to protect her. But the moment you saw her, you could not hide your disappointment. She no longer needs your protection. She has already grown up. "In that case, please continue to look forward to it." Bai Xi''s mouth cracked into a smile. Her demeanor was unlike that of a steady and wise ruler, but that of a cruel tyrant. "Then "Cheer for the Emperor!" As she raised her fingers, waves of white snow appeared out of nowhere. They were crystals that had been formed from aether. They floated peacefully in the emptiness and formed the outlines of miracles. It was as if Bai Xi had willed the season of Frost''s Descent to come forth. Shortly after, nine massive shadows appeared from the reflections of layers of efflorescence. The music theory of the Dragon Bloodline has arrived and it let out a deep roar. It was the artifact of the Yunlou family, "Dijun!" In that instant, all beings stayed silent. Every single sound was forcefully moderated until only the soft sounds of breathing could be heard. Every aether submitted to the bitterness and terror of Dijun''s deep roar. Due to the suppression by "Taiyi," all the power was gathered centrally as even the unprecedented terrifying aether torrent bowed down obediently to Bai Xi. As such, she was able to skillfully gain control of a power that was tens of thousands of times more powerful than her and break loose from the restraints that Tung Wang Kung had placed on her. Soon after, she aimed at the front, where her enemies were. She raised her palm. A clear and crisp sound shot out of her fingers in the silence. The resultant explosion was earth-shattering. After 19 long years, "Dijun" was finally being performed! The essence of all beings was concentrated within the projection of the Originator. There was a cruel and loud explosion, and an earth-shattering scream of despair. The cruelties and tyranny of the world were concentrated in an area as the wrath of the rightful Emperor had descended on the image of catastrophe in the mortal world. It was Zhaodang! In the blink of an eye, behind the terrifying roar was an ear-piercing scream. It sounded like machinery that was running at full speed, stuck at its most crucial pivot, causing the gears to go against each other, thus producing sparks and screeches. The center of the flow of all beings was held in the palm of an invisible hand as the cycle of the stars and land was stopped abruptly. Amidst the torrents of aether, there seemed to be the shimmering of endless alchemy formations as they appeared to reveal the tip of an iceberg of terrifying scale. Then, Ye Qingxuan saw it Heaven and earth had become crooked. It was as if heaven and earth had been turned upside side due to the scream of an invisible giant. In just a short moment, the entire world was like a circular plate in the air and it was spinning frantically. The land and the sky had both lost their meaning and everything had been overturned. Everything was being destroyed in a violent and blunt manner. There were streaks of lightning in winter and snow in June. All the streams and seas had dried up and the world was on the brink of collapse. Finally, heaven and earth were merging as one! Amidst the cruel tolling of the bell, heaven and earth were merging in the center, which was where Tung Wang Kung was. The burning earth rose while the pitch-black steel vault fell to crush everything in between into dust! Including Tung Wang Kung! With the staff of the King of Yellow in hand, Ye Qingxuan could afford to stand by and watch. However, this was different from the movement that maintained the harmony of all beings. In other words, it was completely going against the movement. Every being and every phenomenon was being viewed purely as substances. To use oneself as a benchmark for all beings to be judged against before sending them into a formula without any mercy. After countless iterations, everything was reduced to zero! Every being was reduced to zero. Even while facing a terrible impact that was equivalent to heaven falling and earth crumbling, Tung Wang Kung did not panic at all. Instead, he was able to counter it effectively and accurately. He raised his arms and supported the vault of heaven. Instead of resisting it with brute force and aether, that was a concentration of the entire Aurora, he used most of the power on himself as part of nature interference. In an instant, the earth changed tens of thousands of times according to his own nature and form. He had taken on the appearance of pitch-black flames that were rising. Those were the aether residues that had been produced as a result of tens of thousands of nature interferences, and they flew in the air like ashes. He had become a variable. As every being had been reduced to zero, he had become an incompatible number that could never be erased, an obstacle that was stuck in the logic machine. Although Bai Xi''s attack had forced him into a more reactive role, his counters were still very skillful. It was as if this was something that he was very familiar with. In fact, he was so adept that he was able to reveal its nature with a single phrase. "Rise from the ground, fall from the sky?" Tung Wang Kung repeated the key phrase of alchemy. His voice was calm. "I can''t believe Hermes actually taught you so much. Too bad, you learned too little" The look on Bai Xi''s face was cold. "To defeat you, this is more than enough!" "Is that so? Don''t you forget, when it comes to what you are trying to do, I''m much more familiar than you!" With that, the merging of heaven and earth froze suddenly. Tens of thousands of music theories extended out of the endless alchemy formation. A terrifying scale that was beyond human comprehension turned into a quantitative change and in an instant, a massive transformation began to spread within Bai Xi''s alchemy formation. Bit by bit, her suppression was crumbled. This was computing power at the level of Three Wise Men. It was capable of calculating the intelligence and logic of the trails of countless stars. To Tung Wang Kung, who was currently running at full speed, billions of logic valves were reduced to just a simple multiple-choice question. To Tung Wang Kung, who was currently in control of the central core, Paganini''s Moto Perpetuo was a technique that he could attain very easily. He had an endless amount of time to compute its secret. "Hey, Tung Wang Kung," a deep voice said. It was Ye Qingxuan. He was sitting on the ground. He raised his finger and casually wiped away the blood stain on his nose, "Shall we have a rational negotiation?" Tung Wang Kung wanted to laugh but it came across as cold sarcasm. "Is this what mankind always loved to do? Communication and interaction? Are you hoping that under your persuasion, I will become more conscious of the restraint and as a result, be so ashamed that I decide to destroy myself?" Ye Qingxuan''s eyes lit up. "Oh? Is there such a possibility?" "Hehe." He replied Ye Qingxuan''s question in a "human" manner. "Now that we are past the opening jokes, shall we come back to reality, Tung Wang Kung?" Ye Qingxuan continued calmly, "With regards to your current situation, I''m just going to say this bluntly. From the moment I walked in here, you have already lost. So why bother clinging on?" "Is that so?" Tung Wang Kung countered, "In that case, why are you still here?" "You have blocked our way, that is true. But what will you gain in return? The time that the Originator will be present is about to end. Perhaps you may not lose, but you will definitely not be able to gain anything. The longer this drags on, the more it is to our advantage. If this drags on till the very end, your plan will fail completely" "This is not the end." Tung Wang Kung was indifferent. "I can still afford to wait." "Even if there can be another time, or yet another time, the outcome will still be the same!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. "As long as I''m around, Bai Xi will never become your tool." "And so?" Tung Wang Kung laughed. "Are you hoping that I will tell you that I give up?" "Is there such a possibility?" Ye Qingxuan drummed his fingers on his knees with a sincere look on his face. "As long as you are willing, the price can be discussed." "Ye Qingxuan, there''s something that you don''t understand." Tung Wang Kung raised his arms and supported the merging vault of heaven. His voice was like the roar of thunder as he finally revealed disdain of the deepest sort. "Perhaps, there is someone in this world who is able to convince me to give up, but that person is not here, and that person will never be you!" Ye Qingxuan shook his head in disappointment. "In other words, you insist on heading down this path?" " I will not have it any other way!" Tung Wang Kung''s answer was decisive and firm. It seemed that both parties were never willing to change their stands from the very beginning. "In that case, very well, Tung Wang Kung, we are now enemies for life." Ye Qingxuan pushed against his knee and got up slowly before boastfully declaring, "Before the projection of the Originator comes to an end, I will destroy you completely!" With that, he raised his hand and opened up his palm to show to his enemy. In his palm was a thin chain with a small metal tablet. The words on the metal tablet were already mottled and blurred as if they had been through centuries of hardship. It was something that Ye Xuan had thrown to Ye Qingxuan while they were in "Neanderthal" and before they had entered the central core. Centuries ago, when Xiao Huan had decided to destroy his enemies and had started the war of the colony ships, he had passed the exact same thing to Ye Xuan. It was proof of the central core of the colony ship. It represented the highest authority of the captain and was also the password that could take over control of all systems in an emergency. And it was now in the hands of Ye Qingxuan. "With this, the central core shall follow my command!" Ye Qingxuan raised his voice and gave an order to whatever remained of the system, "Open up all the internal partitions. All authorities shall now be transferred over to Neanderthal!" In that instant, a huge roar burst forth from the world beyond the Originator. In the endless data layer and amidst the ocean of logic of the central core, it was as if mountains were rising from the deep sea and massive repercussions were crashing towards all directions. After being sealed for centuries, the black box, which was named "Neanderthal," was slowly being opened up. The data shell, which had been obstructed by a screen, was being forcefully bridged once again. It was completely ignoring the order and will of Tung Wang Kung, and the silent supreme authority was forcefully pushing the central core. As a result, the servers beneath the temple, which were concentrated together like a forest, were extinguished instantly. Shortly after, shiny green signal lights began to light up, one by one, like stars. Eventually, they became a light and graceful ocean. The way they blinked was as if they were breathing. A pair of eyes, that was filled with nothingness, slowly opened within and looked in the direction of the mortal world. 795 Mistake At that moment, the interface into the black box was opened up from the central core. With this bridge connecting to the Originator, someone was able to get out of the cage. They appeared in the Originator, the thing that countless musician''s had dreamed of. The figure was still alone. It seemed like he had been waiting for thousands of years. But Tung Wang Kung was stunned. Contrary to everyone''s expectations, when he sawno, when it observed that the person had appeared thereHis expression revealed never before seen anger and hotheadedness. He roared with fury. "You dare appear before me...Ye Xuan!!!" Ye Xuan seemed to not hear. He was silent, staring blankly all around. After a while, he sighed softly. "A planetary-level chaos computing model? Those guys chose this path after all..." Upon saying this he turned his head. He flicked away some ash and looked at his "old friend." He couldn''t help but smile. "Long time no see, Tung Wang Kung. Have you been well?" The answer was full of fury, a roar that was nearly burning with anger. A terrible attack lashed out. Nearly unwise, completely reckless, difficult to understand Tung Wang Kung no longer adhered to the method of slow erosion as he attacked the seal that Bai Xi had made without any regard for the consequences or the damage. He wanted to break out of the cage of heaven and earth! "Seems like you haven''t been well, just like me." Ye Xuan sighed. "We''re old friends after all. No, I should say old colleagues. It''s unpleasant to meet in such unhappy circumstances. Let''s dispense with the formalities and get this over with, then." On saying this he looked up at the sky. "In the name of the committee, I order Tung Wang Kung to be formatted!" At that moment something huge started up. Countless stars lit up in the depths of the sky, and they were separated by layers of light. As the grand will ran through the central core it cast off a light that outshone the stars. The sound of collapsing rang out. As the stars appeared and winked out, the power that was supporting Tung Wang Kung quickly left. His various privileges were stripped of him one by one by the terrible computing power of the central core. It was like his organs and limbs were being torn from him, cruelly and brutally. All of this happened at Ye Xuan''s will. In this way, he cruelly took away all of Tung Wang Kung''s powers in the system one by one, not leaving a single one, and at the same time used the physical circumstances to cut off the coordination ports from Taiqing Heavy Industries from the outside. Finally, Tung Wang Kung was forcibly deleted. Not even one line of data was left, not to mention pieces of him. "Keep dreaming!!!" At that moment, countless pop-up windows flashed out from the wavering figure of Tung Wang Kung like heavy rain. Red! Red! Red! Red! The red pop-up windows were full of override messages. Even facing the one who held the highest privileges, Captain Ye Xuan, Tung Wang Kung still showed miraculous, or nightmarish, willpower. He forced all the commands from the central core to cancel! He refused to accept Ye Xuan''s commands. He refused to die. Or at least he refused to die at Ye Xuan''s hands! In a flash, he was shut down countless times, restarted countless times, rejected the irresistible deletion, and vainly fought against the constant formatting attempts. Thousands of override messages gathered together in a sea of red. The chaotic turbulence in the central core even spread to the projection of the Originator. Countless pieces of broken data and infinite dead loops gathered together one by one to form a curved surface. In a flash, it seemed as if countless huge worlds had appeared. The giant''s body was falling apart, and the catastrophe''s nature was slowly collapsing. But under the inhuman body, what was revealed was human skin texture. When that face emerged from the endless darkness, everyone held their breath involuntarily. It was a handsome face, so perfect as to have nearly no blemishes. It was different from Hermes''s tender, feminine face, as it had uncompromising masculinity, but it did not seem violent or frightening. The eyes were full of pity and compassion. They seemed to be pained by the suffering of the world. They were thinking about a plan to save everything. They pitied everything. That was the appearance that Tung Wang Kung had had when he had descended upon India. At that time, he had been called the Awakened Victor by those who longed for a savior. He had brought stability and peace to the chaotic India and had been a symbol of liberation from the suffering of all beings. But now, in the reflection from the endless red warning pop-up windows, there was no more compassion in those eyes, but instead indescribable darkness. A madness and intent to kill that was irreconcilable with its mournful face. Those countless red warnings burned like flames and condensed into a red lotus that rippled like a sea of blood. To describe it in human terms, it was like a scene in which a god degenerated into an evil spirit. The Awakened was gone. What descended here was a demon intent on destroying everything! Facing the suppression and deletion of the central core, he finally abandoned his inhuman side and was forced to return to the world with that shameful face. Even so, he was not willing to give up his hostility to Ye Xuan. In other words, after seeing Ye Xuan, he began to reveal his own insanity! This went far beyond Ye Qingxuan''s expectations. He had originally anticipated that when he activated the privileges that Ye Xuan gave him, and after the "Neanderthal" Ye Xuan took control of the central core, the procedure would be instantly completed and Tung Wang Kung would be wiped away. But now, although Tung Wang Kung had been forced to take off his inhuman mask and reveal his essence, this made Ye Xuan feel as if things would be even more difficult. That kind of crazy hatred would even be revealed when facing Hermes. He looked back at Ye Xuan in shock. What did you do all those years ago? How did you make Tung Wang Kung hate you so much? "This makes you seem a little more human." Ye Xuan stood before the red lotus and nodded with satisfaction. "Congratulations, you''ve grown up, Tung Wang Kung." "Grown up?" Tung Wang Kung''s voice was hoarse. "Is this face not a gift you bestowed upon me? Were all these evils not your fault?" He swallowed what seemed like hatred made manifest and whispered hoarsely, "Ye Xuan, if it wasn''t for you..." "Mhm, if it wasn''t for me, everything might be different." Ye Xuan nodded, apologizing solemnly, but there was no sincerity in it. "I rashly pulled you into the world without your consent. As the chief culprit, I truly apologize." "Apologize? Can an apology make up for the crime you''ve committed?" The eyes went wide, and they were full of resentment. "Do you have no repentance for the sins you''ve committed?" "None," Ye Xuan answered calmly. As he said this, a red window suddenly popped out of him. Ye Qingxuan was at a loss. Then there was the second, the third, the fourth... That looked like the Tung Wang Kung that he had just wiped out. Like a heavenly punishment, destruction and cleansing fell upon him at that moment. Ye Qingxuan could not have imagined that after Ye Xuan became Captain, Tung Wang Kung would still have a way to delete him! "What are you doing?" he asked dumbfoundedly. "What am I doing?" Tung Wang Kung smiled coldly. "Why don''t you ask your ancestor that? Did you have no doubts? Why did Ye Xuan have the authority to make the final decision, yet he still holed up in his shell like a turtle in that little box? Why didn''t he use it himself, and instead handed it over to you?" Ye Qingxuan was shocked. He finally understood the logical fallacies in this. Since Ye Xuan had had the power to stop this from the beginning, why had he sat and watched it all happen? Why was he only coming out now? Did he even need him to help open the door? Tung Wang Kung laughed mockingly at his expression, as if he was looking at an idiot who knew nothing. "It seems like you didn''t tell him anything, Ye Xuan!" He smiled maliciously and roared wildly, "You hid the mistakes you made when you were telling him. In order to conceal your ugliness and dress up in this calm demeanor, you didn''t tell him that once you step out of that black box and are observed by the central core you will be the first one to be obliterated! How much have you hidden from him, Ye Xuan?" Tung Wang Kung paused and smiled coldly. "Particularly, how you murdered Captain Xiao Huan and ruined humanity''s future!" There was a long silence. As the red warnings popped up continuously, Ye Xuan put out his cigarette. His expression was still calm. So calm that it was frightening. "That is the only thing in this life that I don''t regret." Just like that, he confessed his sin. Hundreds of years ago, East Asian colony ships had seized the advantage and had been on the way to victory. But when they were just about to completely annihilate the enemy, they made the crime of rebellion. They turned a great victory into a situation where no one gained anything. One hand directed the prelude to the fall of the Devas and caused all the evils of today. He calmly revealed his hidden mistake, without any regret or hesitation. Only calmness. Even if there had been infinite anger, in those eyes like the sea, it would have been impossible to see any waves. In the end, there was only an indescribable disappointment. "That''s how humans are, Ye Xuan?" "Mhm." Ye Xuan nodded. "That''s how they are." In the silence, Tung Wang Kung closed his eyes. His expression was distorted a bit and became ugly. "I finally understand why I hate you so much," he whispered softly. He raised his hand and covered his nearly unblemished face as if he was ashamed and was unwilling to let it appear under the sun. From between his fingers came an almost desperate roar, "So, I am the only one who doesn''t want to become human!!!" He roared like a wild beast. He groaned and reached up to tear off his face. His perfect visage fell apart. Blood dripped down from his fingers. He was as ugly as a ghost. "I can finally be sure, Ye Xuan!" he hoarsely declared. "All things can be redeemed and fulfilled except for you! Only you are not worth saving." "Mhm, maybe so." Ye Xuan looked at him with pity. "Unfortunately you learned that too late." The red error messages popped out wildly. The central core began wiping and deleting him. As soon as the central core began monitoring him after killing Xiao Huan, he had been judged by it as a "corrupting element" that needed to be wiped and deleted. For many years, he had hidden in a closed system that was difficult for the central core to observe. He had hidden in a little black box and waited alone. Now he had finally come out of his cage to face his overdue divine punishment and fulfill his final destiny. So he spread his arms, crossed the sea of red warnings, stepping over his own sins as he walked towards Tung Wang Kung. He embraced him. Regardless of his crazy attack, he pierced through his own chest, tearing it open and damaging his source code, clearing And then forcibly connecting him to the Neanderthal! Tung Wang Kung froze. It was like he had been shackled and thrown into a cage. He could not even move a finger. He had been quarantined inside Neanderthal along with Ye Xuan! "Ye Xuan, you!" "Do you know how the historical Neanderthals were wiped out?" As if he could not feel pain and death, Ye Xuan once again revealed his formulaic smile. "It is said that Neanderthals became the ancestors of humanity; food for homo sapiens. Their blood and meat were eaten by homologous brothers, and their teeth were made into necklaces. Cruel, no? So-called ''humans'' were born from such an ugly primitive evolution. For so many years, Tung Wang Kung, no matter how much you experience or how hard you work you will never understand what humans are thinking, and you will never understand Xiao Huan. You underestimated him. You looked down on him. It wasn''t me who killed him It was him, he chose me..." At that moment Tung Wang Kung seemed to have been struck by lightning. "It was like I could understand what he was doing. He knew what I would do." Ye Xuan admired Tung Wang Kung''s frozen face and uttered the truth that had been hidden for centuries. "Since the day he gave me privileges, he already knew what would happen. He wanted me to free him. I did." That was the true outcome. Ye Xuan and Xiao Huan had had a tacit understanding between them. Turn the captain into a devil and defeat all of the colony ship''s enemies. Then, Ye Xuan played the devil and took the devil down. Xiao Huan could be freed from the sin of killing millions of people. In order to fight against the evils of man, in order to protect himself to the greatest extent, and in order to leave a small hope, and even to preserve the enemies of mankind. For a new world. For humanity. In order to end the farce that had existed since ancient times. In order to leave the past behind. In order to start a new life. For all they had. For everything... Ye Xuan closed his eyes and whispered, "For a real future." At that moment, eight vague figures appeared behind him. Those were the phantoms that had been left behind in the past, the marks of the nine committee members. Under Ye Xuan''s protection, they were able to cross through time, passing through death and strife to give their final order and farewell. "Sorry, Tung Wang Kung, for causing you so much bitterness for so long." Ye Xuan stared at him and calmly announced, "On behalf of the committee, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to you. Thank you for all that you have done for humanity for so long. But that''s enough. You have accomplished your mission brilliantly. Now please enjoy the only thing we can give you, a quiet sleep!" With his words, the black box was slowly closed off. The connection between Neanderthal and the outside world began to close off quickly. After a brief connection, it would be eternally turned into a closed sandbox. An eternal cage. A grave specially prepared for the Three Wise Men. "No! No!" Tung Wang Kung snarled, but it was almost sorrowful. "I will never approve of such a result! I will never accept it! I will never obey! I will never" He struggled with all his might, broke out of the shackles and tore through Ye Xuan''s binds. He did not even bother to kill him, just threw him to the side and then ran as hard as he could towards the edge of the "sandbox," climbing up, clutching at the final straw. He climbed slowly towards the final, closing exit. He wanted to leave before Neanderthal closed completely. He desperately craved that ray of light. Ye Xuan watched him pityingly from afar, not bothering to block him, just quietly staying in place. In this way he let the central system erase its last data. There was no more struggle or resistance. He just closed his eyes and sighed softly. "You and I are truly pitiful." The time had come. As the flow of aether dissipated, the projection of the Originator that the central core was supporting began to fade. It was like the reflection of a world was slowly dying. Disintegrating. It quickly stretched out from a faraway place. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan stood quietly where he was, letting Neanderthal close bit by bit, collapse, and then compress. He saw Tung Wang Kung''s desperate face and then the last threshold was closed in front of him. From then on, eternal darkness and loneliness awaited him. The chain with the final authority hung from Ye Qingxuan''s fingers. "You still have something to trick me with, don''t you?" Ye Qingxuan whispered softly. He said to himself, "Is this the Ye family''s true mission? You didn''t come in for a chat, but when needed you used Neanderthal to sacrifice yourself..." At that moment, he finally understood Ye Xuan''s final secret. But it was too late. Up until now, he thought that Neanderthal was just a closed paradise Ye Xuan had created in order to avoid death. It was not until it started up that he realized that was not something Ye Xuan could do. How could he create a black box with authority over the central core, especially after he had been sentenced to be "wiped" by the central core? There was only one possibility. The black box existed before him. No, even when the colony ship had been designed, it had appeared in the schematics. Ye Xuan was nothing more than its caretaker. In order to not let future generations replace his sacrifice, he stayed in there, waiting silently for the day when it would start up and complete the final mission: Destroy the Three Wisemen! From the start, artificial intelligence had been expendable. They were tools for finding a new world. Humans trusted them so much and entrusted them with the important task of using the underlying instructions of mechanical and artificial intelligence to lead them through the endless cold of the universe. They had used them to find a new land. After using them, they could carelessly erase and destroy them so as not to repeat the same mistakes and so as to not be dominated by artificial gods again. And to avoid destroying everything again. Tung Wang Kung had never had a chance of victory. No matter how much he had done. Because before they were even born they were doomed to failure. They were doomed to die in a grave that humans had prepared for them. In this cruel and primitive evolution, Neanderthals once again died in the mouths of homo sapiens and became the resources for the birth of civilization. They laid the foundations for a new era. Ye Qingxuan didn''t know if he felt angry or sad. He was filled with a feeling of powerlessness. He was exhausted. "So you chose to sacrifice yourself?" Ye Qingxuan bowed his head wearily. "Did you think that future generations would be proud of you for this?" Ye Xuan''s figure emerged. It was an illusion, a trace left by Ye Xuan. The last piece of the inheritance left by Devas centuries ago. "Did I not become an ancestor who could make future generations proud in the end?" He looked helpless and reached out to pat Ye Qingxuan''s shoulder. "I''m sorry, little Yezi." But the thin phantom did not touch anything. He passed through his body and slowly dissipated. "Was it really worth it?" Ye Qingxuan asked. He''d done so much. He''d sacrificed so much. Was it really worth it? "Isn''t allowing humanity to start again a more precious opportunity than returning to the glory and mistakes of the past?" Ye Xuan looked at him. "At least this way there will be opportunities to correct the mistakes." "I don''t know." Ye Qingxuan shook his head bitterly. "As long as you don''t make the same mistakes as me, right?" Ye Xuan grinned and looked happy. "Hey, this is probably the last Deva inheritance that I will teach you. It''s a lesson from your ancestor, so engrave it in your heart, my great-great-great grandson!" "It''s kind of fishy that you remember it. Plus you just took advantage of me know," Ye Qingxuan countered. But for some reason he wanted to cry. "You''ve said so much I can''t remember it all, and you never wrote it down. You should at least stay to occasionally remind me!" "Don''t even think about it. After taking advantage of you I should leave quickly, right?" Ye Xuan laughed happily and took two steps back. He pretended to put on a nonexistent hat and bowed goodbye. "Well, farewell, Ye Qingxuan." And with that, he turned and walked to the far side of the illusion. He gradually got further away until his last trace dissipated and the figure collapsed into countless thoughts and memories. He was gone without a trace. After hundreds of years, after crossing the astronomical distance of the universe, the one who had witnessed the sins of the past completed his final mission and left silently. "Farewell, Ye Xuan," Ye Qingxuan whispered. He closed his eyes. In the silence, his heart felt heavy, making it hard to breathe and difficult to stop the tears. But soon he felt a slender hand holding his. Someone squatted down and held him gently. It was Bai Xi. "It''s okay, don''t be sad." She nestled up to his chest and shook her head fiercely. "You still have me Ahem, you still have Us with you. Um, We are with you. You''ve earned the throne, Ye Qingxuan!" Maybe the imperial majesty had been dispelled. A feeling of fullness seemed to fill every inch of him. There was no place for loneliness and sorrow to shelter within him. "Mhm, thank you, Bai Xi." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile softly and hold her tight. As if to repay her for her lame method of comforting him, he hugged her so tightly that she couldn''t breathe, and only when she struggled and hit him in the chest did he loosen up a bit. But in the movement, he heard a clear voice. It came from his hand. He raised his hand and looked at the necklace that Ye Xuan had left him. He finally noticed that besides the meaningless final order there was a strange iron hoop. It was ornamented with fine crystals and was exactly the thickness of a girl''s ring finger. Two letters were inscribed on the inside. It seemed to be someone''s initials. Ye Qingxuan was stunned when he realized this, and couldn''t help but smile. "Really I still haven''t said it yet?" He had the courage to save mankind but there was a sentence that he did not dare say to a woman. How many mistakes did that guy make that he needed to avoid? Don''t worry, he thought, I''ll show you how I avoid all the mistakes. Starting with this one. And so he lifted up the ring. "Your Highness Bai Xi, I have something to give you..." In the end, the projection of the Originator finally dissipated. Ye Qingxuan did not have anything earth-shaking that needed to be accomplished, and after thinking for a long time, Bai Xi had no great things that needed to be changed. Actually, there were. Quite a few willful desires were stopped by Ye Qingxuan. Or were satisfied by him. And so, the world remained in its original form. After all, the human era had continued to be steady and persistent. As for whether or not they would make the mistakes of the past, Ye Qingxuan and others would need to work hard to prevent that. It was just that Ye Xuan didn''t know whether to celebrate or to mourn. What was worthy of celebration was that at the very end he finally understood the mood and thoughts that Ye Xuan had had hundreds of years ago when making his choice. After life was over, would there still be a next time? Maybe there wasn''t? Humans only had one life, and they had to struggle in this unseen ocean. What a sorry state of affairs. It was as if the whole world was cheering when one was born, and when they died all was silent and lonely. They longed for redemption but resisted its arrival. On one hand saving the world, on the other perishing yourself. Sometimes you climbed up a step, sometimes you fell down one. Helplessly strolling back and forth between heaven and hell like this made people who were eager for the end impatient. Even if an omnipotent god could fulfill wishes, was there anything in the world that was really worth praying for? So, please tell me the true nature of the soul. But in the end, he did not say anything. It was such a small wish. Maybe if he said it, the Originator wouldn''t hear. 796 Funeral Part 1 After the long and chaotic night, many things had been changed, including the royal palace, the Imperial Capital, the Aurora, and perhaps even the world outside Aurora had become different. The only thing that had not changed was probably the Originator that humans yearned to change. Power struggles, rebellions, trials, suppression... In just a few days, it was as if the whole country had become a pot of boiling water, with various shocking ingredients thrown into it one after another, until everyone had no idea what the soup would be like in the end. Then, the chaos were ended overnight. The first day after Bai Heng''s death, the gates of the capital city opened wide, and the joint army of the various nobles marched in. They forcibly suppressed all rebellions and sealed off the palace, and everyone was guessing whether some noble would claim the crown as their own next. But immediately after that, on the second day after Bai Heng''s death, a new empress ascended the throne. But the only winner shocked everyone. It was not House Yuan, nor House Liu, nor the indignant House Changsun, nor House Ye that was said to harbor wolfish ambitions... It was House Bai, which had a new head, and House Yunlou, which only had one very last descendant left alive, that had the last laugh. After all, the last remaining members of the two houses were the same person. Yunlou Baixi. Actually, one could just remove the word Yunlou... The first to bow down to her was House Yuan. House Yuan was the most unambitious out of the nine families, and cared the littlest about power and wealth. Although the previous head of the house died for the cause, House Yuan didn''t seem sad in the slightest bit, and instead they were glad that he died a well and great death. The group of madmen had always used themselves as swords, sharpening the blades by fighting their enemies. Under the pressure of fighting against Mr. Hu, Yuan Changqing broke through the limit and entered a domain that the heads of the past had all failed to reach. The last remaining sword was proof. At the invitation of Bai Heng, House Yuan descended from the mountains with the sole intention of seeking death. At the moment, they had already found it, and naturally they had no wish to stay till New Year to attend reunion dinners. After Bai Xi wrote them a letter in the name of the head of House Bai, reminding them of their agreement with Bai Heng, House Yuan gave up their military power in a very direct manner and turned to leave, returning to the mountains. House Liu was more difficult to handle, but it was not impossible to strike up a deal with them. The fact that the emperor could be anyone but a member of House Liu was reassuring. The reason was simply because the term ''bad'' was too much of an understatement when used to describe the reputation of House Liu. For centuries, House Liu had focused on researching ghostly bestiality, making themselves resemble something between humans and ghosts. Most of the remaining elders in the family were like zombies, and the youngsters also appeared eerie and sinister. Even if they were to put on the Dragon Robe and sit on the throne, the people would thought that it was the corpse of the deceased emperor sitting up there. But while bestiality seemed invisible, the amount of resources needed to research it was frighteningly huge. It was especially so for the sorcery of rearing ghosts. Even a mountain of gold and silver would be used up. Therefore, it was necessary to see what price must be paid to satisfy their appetite. As it turned out, the Cloud Tower itself was enough. Bai Xi had no qualms about selling away the assets of her ancestors, not to mention the fact that it was property that used to belong to Yunlou Qingshu. If not for Ye Qingxuan''s reminder, Bai Xi would have long forgotten about the Cloud Tower, that goddamn place. At the moment, it could still be ''recycled'' for use, and naturally Bai Xi had no reason to feel reluctant about giving it up. After two out of the three houses were convinced, the remaining House Changsun naturally couldn''t do much. They still couldn''t complete their wish that had been passed down for a thousand years. After many discussions and calculations, they weren''t decisive enough to start a life-or-death fight. Bringing with them plenty of benefits, they gave up their military power and returned to their fief. And so, the position of the new empress was stabilized. Although there were still innumerable questions... For example, what on earth is the surname of Her Majesty? Yes, it was true that she was the head of two houses, but one must surely precede the other. So, House Yunlou and House Bai, which one preceded the other? Bai Xi was Bai Heng''s adopted daughter alright, but she still had the word ''Yunlou'' in her name. However, Yunlou Baixi was the daughter of Yunlou Qingshu alright, but as a daughter, she personally killed her biological father, and it was unclear whether she was even willing to recognize ''Yunlou'' as her surname. Moreover, the previous empress left a written will, bestowing the title of princess upon Bai Xi, changing her surname to Zhao. Right, so one must also consider whether Bai Xi was going to change her surname to Zhao. Fortunately, Her Majesty, the present Empress, found a noble with royal blood related to House Zhao from God knew where, and passed the legacy of his family back to him. It was equivalent to Bai Xi temporarily safekeeping it for them, and House Zhao remained in the hands of those actually bearing the surname Zhao. So at the moment, what was the surname of Her Majesty? God knew how many people got a headache at the same time from worrying about it. Toning the problem down, it merely affected her designation. But playing the problem up, it was a matter of which side she would be choosing to take... House Yunlou and House Bai, Her Majesty could be the head of both houses, but surely she couldn''t have a foot in both camps? Many nobles wondered, Your Majesty, does your loyalty lies with House Yunlou or House Bai? Are you a friend of House Bai or a friend of House Yunlou? Or rather, whose enemy do you intend to be? Moreover, it was not just the question of whether the surname of Her Majesty at the moment was Yunlou or Bai, looking at it from a long-term perspective, the question of what surname Her Majesty would take on in the future was equally important! Is your surname Yunlou? Or is it Bai? Or you planning to... take on the surname Ye? And what exactly is going to happen with House Ye? Will their good name be restored or will the issue remain covered? Will they regain their original fief or will it be merged into the crown land? For a while, everything was very complicated and in a mess. Moreover, some issues were too sensitive, yet they could not be simply ignored. God knew how many people became burnt out because of it. Fortunately, Her Majesty, amid her busy schedule, gave them a new troublesome issue to deal with, and all the other troubles didn''t seem troublesome anymore. Give Bai Heng a state funeral. It was extremely troublesome. Let''s not mention how the regent, who had controlled the Aurora for 15 years single-handedly, had died, or how the late empress had died. After all, in the history books in the future, both of them could only have died of sickness. . Moreover, the writers must avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, covering up this paragraph in history which no one knew happened at all. Let''s not even mention how much hair the officers in charge of writing history would have to shed to settle the issue. Deciding on the posthumous name of Bai Heng alone would be enough to make the doctors of philosophy working in Pavilion Shiqu [1] beat their own brains out. Moreover, Her Majesty stubbornly insisted on burying Bai Heng in the mausoleum the previous empress built for herself, no matter how many ministers kowtowed before the steps leading to the throne, their foreheads bleeding even. And so, on the fifth day after Bai Heng''s death, he was given such a grand burial. Generally speaking, the ruler would usually confer additional titles upon the dead at this point to show generosity and a reluctance to part ways. After all, the dead could not leap out of their graves to make demands, so one could just casually make empty promises. However, for some reason unknown, Her Majesty the current empress seemed to be extraordinarily stingy in this regard. She conferred no additional rewards at all, making herself seem somewhat unsympathetic, yet of all the things she could do, she chose to gave him a state burial. It was so contradictory. However, for the ministers who had their minds subjected to so much abuse, they couldn''t be bothered anymore... They only hoped that after Her Majesty had gone through the phase of being a new broom that swept clean, she would stop stirring up so much trouble, or at least do so less frequently. And so, the funeral was conducted. Although it was a funeral, the popular folk custom of hiring people to cry before the grave was not followed. Everyone simply took a moment to mourn him symbolically Actually, probably no one felt sad, and on the contrary many felt relieved and glad. Ah, he is finally dead. The traitor who had controlled the politics of the nation for so many years is finally dead. God knew how many people secretly felt relieved. No one knew how sincere were their pretentious tears. The dirge was solemn and grand, and the funeral was conducted personally by the head of House Ye. Even Her Majesty was present to mourn him, bringing with her the mysterious ''descendant of the former royal family'', the present head of House Zhao. She was a woman who seemed a little sluggish and dumb, her gaze always made her seem as if she was sleepwalking, and she was always half a beat slow in replying whenever someone talked to her. She always looked as if she wasn''t awake. When the funeral was over and everyone was ready to leave, in the cold silence, she still seemed stuck in the past, and she was quiet. "Do you feel very sad?" Ye Qingxuan asked her. "I don''t know." The woman who was once the empress shook her head. "In the past few days, I saw a lot of things about him, but it was all very different from the him I once saw. I am forgetting many things, and now even if I try hard to remember, I can''t remember his face clearly, only his gaze, somewhat." Hearing her words, Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile resignedly. It is probably what Bai Heng wanted to see? However, although he stubbornly asked her not to remember him, if she really forgets, that old fella would probably be fairly upset too? How ironic, Bai Heng. "But I am very sure about one thing " Her voice suddenly sounded. Ye Qingxuan looked back, puzzled, and saw her serious look. "I really like him." Like she was recalling what was left of her memory and once again saw the pair of eyes that remained in her mind, she seemed to wake up from a fuzzy dream, opening her eyes. "Because his gaze was full of strength." She said, "I want to be like him." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan laughed self-mockingly, not knowing what to say. After a long time, he patted her shoulder. "Then work hard to live on..." ... After returning to the palace, Ye Qingxuan walked on the jade staircase alone, looking around, and could not help but sigh emotionally. Just as he was recalling the past, he heard someone kowtowing in the palace. An old man kowtowed flusteredly, his voice hoarse and alarmed. "Your Majesty, I must say this even if the price is my life. Abruptly conducting a royal wedding after a state funeral inevitably goes against the traditional etiquette. Moreover, Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and plenty of work must be done..." Wait! Royal wedding? Who is getting married? Outside the palace, Ye Qingxuan felt like a bolt of thunder had struck him, and he almost rolled down the steps. "So fast?" He finally picked up his jaw that had hit the floor, and cautiously looked into the palace. He only saw the old man below the steps, whose forehead was bleeding, and Bai Xi sitting on the throne, her gaze cold with no trace of mercy at all. When she heard his voice, Bai Xi looked up towards him, and her gaze... became even colder. "Mhmm?" As if she didn''t catch what Ye Qingxuan had said, she produced a seemingly puzzled sound from her nostrils, but Ye Qingxuan shuddered and pretended that he had not said anything. Bai Xi''s expression relaxed slightly. Pinning Ye Qingxuan, who was ready to escape, in place with her gaze, she then waved her hand. "I have my own reasons. Tai Changqing, if there''s nothing else, you may go." The old man pretended not to hear her and continued to kowtow, but was soon dragged out by two warriors in gold armor. Suddenly, Ye Qingxuan and Bai Xi were the only two left in the main hall. The silence became more and more awkward. No one said anything. It wasn''t until Ye Qingxuan couldn''t stand Bai Xi''s gaze that he coughed twice pretentiously, then opened his mouth to speak. "Ahem, cousin..." "Mhmm?" Bai Xi produced another syllable from her nostrils, signifying her annoyance. "Bai Xi! Bai Xi, Your Majesty!!" Ye Qingxuan spoke hurriedly, plastering the kind expression he used to wear as an elder cousin on his face. "Sometimes, you need not rush things too much. Isn''t there an old saying that goes, it gets done faster when you take it slow... I don''t mean that I am unwilling, I''m just saying..." Before he could finish stuttering, his words were interrupted by the sharp peals of bells coming from afar. Someone had broken into the palace! The sonorous clanking of iron armor sounded. Two rows of imperial guards rushed to the scene, stationing themselves before the palace. But Ye Qingxuan had sharp eyes and saw the ''assassin'' running here from afar. It was clearly the standard armor of the Knights of the Round Table! And from the man''s height and sound of heart, Ye Qingxuan could recognize him clearly: The man was his orderly! "Step aside!!!" The knight held no weapons in his hand, and so panicked that he paid no attention to the strict protocol of the forbidden palace. He held a box high with both his hands, and rushed to the outside of the palace, running all the way. "Step aside, I want to see His Royal Highness! His Royal Highness! Where is His Royal Highness?!" Ye Qingxuan frowned and reached out to stop the imperial guards from killing the knight on the spot. "What happened?" He looked at his panicked orderly. "What happened to Anglo?" The knight knelt on the ground and handed him the iron box with both hands. "Your Royal Highness, Avalon sent an urgent message via the wind tunnel! It has been sent 19 times in the past day! Only Your Royal Highness may open it, please pardon my rudeness..." Before he finished his words, Ye Qingxuan grabbed the iron box from him and had no time to pacify the knight. He directly pulled the iron box open, and a thin letter made of aether crystal fell into his hand. Soon, his face turned purple with rage. For a moment, everyone in the entire imperial capital felt panic in their hearts. A biting chill rose into the sky from the entire palace and spread in all directions. In a flash, cold winter had swept across the nation, and numerous frostwork spread. Something heavy pressed down in everyone''s heart, making it difficult for them to breathe. Those with slightly weaker minds almost fainted on the spot. Not knowing how many enchantments he set off in the palace when he lost control for an instant, Ye Qingxuan flicked his hand and shattered the thunderbolts floating around in the air. For the third time, he read through the urgent report in his hand once again. He clenched his hands. Ashes fell from his hands. A word escaped his lips. "Charles..." [1] The largest library in the Western Han Dynasty. 797 Funeral 2 It was the first time he dreamt of a place so beautiful. It was like something out of a fairy tale. Within the layers of light, he saw a white-haired young man, who had lowered his head and was smiling even as he was putting a ring onto a girl''s finger. There was no pain nor misfortune. That scene was full of so much happiness and joy that he felt like he could experience the same thing too. Then, he woke up from his dream. Charles opened his eye and heard the sound of water boiling. The firewood cracked in the stove. Someone was sitting in front of the stove, with his back facing against Charles. He was watching the fire. "Is it morning already?" Charles looked up with a confused look on his face. "No, it''s midnight." The man picked up the water flask on the stove and stood up. He grabbed a handful of tea leaves from the tea canister on the table and threw them into the broken water flask. When the boiling water was poured into the water flask, the tea leaves tumbled around and the water turned into a faint shade of red. After shaking it a few times, the tea, which was not exactly fragrant, was poured into two broken wooden cups, and placed on the bedside. He seemed to be very familiar with this place, as if it was his home. Paganini dragged a broken chair over and sat in front of Charles. "Apologies for waking you up from your dream." He might have apologized, but his face showed no hint of regret. There was only a look of chilling serenity. "What happened?" Charles was confused. "All of a sudden" Paganini cut him off and brought him a cup of tea, "Tea?" "Ah, thank you." Charles subconsciously took over the cup of tea. He lowered his head and took a sniff. It was still the same smell of tea leaves that were of poor quality, but the water temperature was perfect and did not seem like it had just boiled. The cheap tea leaves floated in the hot water, as they either rose or sank. All of a sudden, there was an instant when the dark red color of the water seemed to transform into flames that were spreading across the land before suddenly rising, and finally disappearing. Illusions of lands and buildings on fire suddenly appeared in the cup of tea. Flames were spreading like tidal waves and drowning all the corpses and skeletons. There were screams of despair and children were crying. Pat! Charles'' hand trembled and the cup of tea fell. The tea was spilled and the illusions vanished. Charles was stunned. Paganini looked down, as if he did not see anything, and turned a blind eye to what had just happened. He drank a sip of tea and placed his cup back onto the table. When he looked at Charles, there was a look of thoughtfulness and disappointment on his face. "No matter how hard I think about it, I can never figure out why God will take such special care of someone like you?" "I''m sorry." Charles was embarrassed as he picked up the cup of tea that he had spilled. "There''s no need to apologize. This is not a mistake after all. No, perhaps to you, it is." Paganini took over the cup from Charles and looked down at the tea leaves at the bottom of the cup. He looked like a fortune teller that was able to take a peek into the future through the shape of the remaining tea residue. "Leave, Charles." He lowered his head and suddenly said, "You have finished your tea. You should leave. Leave through the back of the village. Someone will pick you up by the river and send you to Anglo." In the ensuing silence, Charles suddenly felt a sharp pain in his skull. It left as quickly as it came. Now, there was only the lingering pain that felt like a thin metal wire had penetrated through his head. He subconsciously pressed against his forehead. Once again, he heard the screams of despair and the cries of children coming from a place that was far away. There were also the sounds of burning and the earth-shattering but those sounds were gone very quickly. No, it was as if they never happened. But the pain was now beginning to spread to his spine. All of a sudden, Charles felt bitterly cold, as if he had been tossed into an icy river. As he tumbled in the icy waters, he suddenly crashed into an iceberg with a huge roar. All these sensations were suddenly cut off. Paganini had already given more than enough hints. Realization suddenly dawned on him and he finally understood everything. "Is it really like this?" Charles looked up at him and seemed to be in a daze. "Mr. Constantine, he has finally decided to kill me?" The corner of his mouth twitched, as if he was trying to laugh at himself, but it was a poor attempt and overall, he just looked awful. No matter how hard he tried, he could not bring himself to laugh. "Can you tell me why?" "At this stage, are you still going to ask such a foolish question, Charles?" Paganini looked at him pitifully. "From the very beginning, Constantine was just an illusion in your eyes. You can see the truth behind everything, yet why can''t you see the nature of people? He is just the way he is. He is always obsessed with things that he can never get. He is deeply obsessed and he has committed plenty of sins. He had no qualms killing in anyone that was in his way. Charles, you are in his way." "I''m sorry." Charles lowered his head and apologized. It had already become a habit. "I''m sorry. I just wanted to" "You just wanted to step down from the altar, right?" Paganini cut him off, "You wanted to change the world according to your wishes. No, probably anyone would have thought the same. But you are the only one who will be able to change it easily. You have the ability to destroy everything that Gaius had worked for. It is just that easy and simple to you." The piercing sound of a whistle broke the silence. It came from a place that was far away. "You should leave now," Paganini repeated again. His face was devoid of emotions even as he was urging Charles. Charles looked at him despondently, as if he did not understand what Paganini was saying. Paganini frowned and finally sighed helplessly. Then, he stretched out his hand. He was as swift as lightning as he gave Charles a slap. Slap! Then another one. His eye patch fell off, revealing an empty eye socket. The wound had begun to tear and blood dripped down his face. His only remaining eye looked up at him. There was only emptiness in his eye, just like the empty eye socket. "How unbecoming. Have you lost the pride that a musician should have?" Paganini drew back his palm and tossed a box to him. "Take your things and scram! Don''t make me repeat myself again!" The box opened as it was tossed to him. A sliver of pure light could be seen from shining from within. The box contained an eye that had been sealed up. The eyeball seemed to have been transformed into a crystal. Countless reflections bounced off the crystallized body and seemed as if it contained all the secrets and power of this world. That was Charles'' eye. The power of God was sealed within it. It was the only one of its kind. "Why are you helping me?" Charles asked softly. "If I die, wouldn''t you have gotten what you wanted?" "Don''t think too highly of yourself, Charles." Paganini stared at him indifferently. "What I want is to see God die, not you. "You are still far too unworthy." Charles was stunned. He held on to his eye quickly and laughed bitterly. "Indeed. I am already such a failure at being an ordinary man. How can I still dream about changing the world?" He wore his shoes and coat. He looked swollen and ugly, like a round ball. He wore his hat and pushed the door open. Finally, he turned back and bade farewell, "See you again." "No, this is goodbye forever." Paganini''s back was facing him and his voice was cold. "After you reach Anglo, give up on those unrealistic dreams. Just live an honest life as an ordinary man and die an ordinary death. That will suit you more." The sound of his footsteps grew faint and distant. He tumbled and fell. It was snowing outside and the sound of the crunching of snow underneath his feet grew faint over time. In the end, he didn''t stay. It''s disappointing yet there''s nothing bad about that either. Just like that, he shall live the rest of his life as a good-for-nothing. This is the only thing that you can do now. Paganini closed his eyes. The fire underneath the stove was extinguished by the gusts of wind outside the door. "You did something that was inconsequential, Paganini." Wolf Flute was leaning against the frame of the door as he lowered his head and continued to smoke. "What happened? Your conscience was finally pricked?" "It''s probably something to do with musicians and our obsessive-compulsive disorders." Paganini''s voice was calm. "All I''m thinking is that rather than leaving things dangling halfway, I might as well destroy him completely." If only Charles was really able to become God. It was not the first time that he had thought about this before. But he had been chasing after God for his entire life, so if he was to find out that God would turn out to be such a joke, perhaps it was better to destroy it instead? It would never be a good thing for a human to possess those powers. It resulted in Charles being completely disappointed in the powers of God. He refused to become something similar, so he gradually transformed from the embryonic form of God into a mediocre and ordinary man. "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable" Paganini chanted the verse from the Holy Bible. His eyes lowered. "I am not worthy, and so is he." As such, it would be best for him to die somewhere as an ordinary man. If there was such a thing as fate, then this would be the most merciful ending for him. In the silence, Wolf Flute might have failed to accomplish his mission but neither did he chase after Charles nor attack Paganini out of anger. He merely lowered his head and stepped on the tobacco roll to extinguish it. "If only that''s the case," he continued, "It''s too bad" It was late at night and the village was quiet. There was no sound whatsoever, except for the sound of footsteps in the snow. They sounded like there was serious trouble. Charles tried to run as fast as he could but all that he could do was to stumble along here and there. In the end, he fell down onto the snow and had to keep crawling forward out of desperation. He turned around to look behind him, only to see no one chasing after him. He seemed to hear a roar coming from somewhere far away but it was not clear. All he could hear was his own panting. The distance was so short yet it was so tiring. He was so tired that once he fell down onto the slush, he did not feel like getting up anymore. Perhaps this was for the best. He would just sleep and die quietly. There would be no pain. But the hallucination-like pain was spreading in his skull. It chased away his desire to sleep and forced him to get up once more. He would push on and continue running, only to fall down, then get up and run again. Stumbling, stumbling, stumbling. The melted snow brought down his body''s temperature and cold hallucination spread in his brain. It made him see that the lands were burning. The snow had melted and the flames were spreading across the entire village. It was burning everywhere. Children were screaming and crying in the flames. The adults were the same too. Very soon, they were all dead. All because of him. Because of him He gritted his teeth and closed his eyes before screaming hoarsely. Those hallucinations were finally dispelled and he continued running. In the end, there was a heavy thud at the back of his head and he fell. Someone grabbed his hair and pressed him onto the ground forcefully. He was laughing gleefully. "I''ve caught you!" "How lucky. To think that I have gotten myself a big catch just by heading off somewhere to pee." That man''s mouth cracked into a smile. His teeth were all yellow. He shouted into the distance, "Hey! Come over! He''s here! I caught him!" He removed his gloves and tried to use his stiff fingers to tie Charles up with his rope, only hear him making some noises. "Why" It was Charles. He lowered his head and buried it in the slush, but he could not stop choking. "Oh, why" He was weeping and sobbing like a weakling. He wanted to cry out loud, but he felt anxiety in his lungs. It was as if he had swallowed charcoal and was having difficulty breathing. The pain was spreading to his internal organs. It was rage that urged him to continue struggling and contorting his body. He would not stop even if he would risk breaking his arm. When he finally managed to get off the ground, he pushed the man down with all his might. It was like two children fighting with each other. He picked up a rock amongst the snow and smashed it against the man''s face with force. "Tell me," he tried to growl with all his might but what came out of his mouth was like a whimper, "what have I done wrong! What exactly did I do wrong! "Who can tell me why? "Why do I have to die!" He was screaming at the top of his lungs. The ferocious expression on his face was completely covered by tears and snot and looked rather hilarious. The face, which was wearing an expression of shock, was completely smashed by the rock. It was contorted and an eye fell out of its broken eye socket, only to be smashed as well. "All I wanted was to make this world a better place" Charles choked as he could not suppress his sorrow, no matter how hard he tried. "All I wanted all I wanted was to save all of you!" The rock, which was now stained with blood, rolled onto the ground. That man no longer made a sound. A flame lit up from a distance away and the sounds of shouting grew nearer. It was as if a few people were running in this direction. A signal flare was shot into the sky and exploded into hot and burning light before falling back down gradually. The light lit up Charles'' face. He pushed himself up and charged aimlessly into the woods. He would fall many times, only to get up after each time, as if he felt no pain. He ran towards the crossing. At the very least, he must leave this place. "Over here! Here!" At the crossing, there was a small boat that was about to leave the shore. Someone was waving to him. "Hurry up! They can''t delay any longer!" The rope had been loosened. That man was sitting at the side of the boat. He put his hands into the icy water to summon rapids. Charles sprinted as fast as he could. He ignored his own panting and the strange sound from behind him. Then, he saw it. The icy river turned red in color. A head had been separated from its neck and had fallen into the water. Then, the headless corpse on the boat followed suit and fell in as well. All that remained was a kukri that was stuck on the deck of the boat. A sliver of recurving glow had burst forth in an instant to cut off that man''s head cleanly. It even cut off the entire boat. The blade of the knife was still buzzing. Soon after, the music notes on the knife lit up and the power within the alchemy formation burst forth. A terrifying tremble began to spread and caused the entire boat, along with the knife, to collapse into dust. It fell into the river and melted into the mortar, which vanished soon after. Only Charles was left standing knee-deep in the icy water. In a state of panic and confusion, he turned around and looked behind him. Deep in the forest, a pair of dark-purple light glowed silently. What kind of creature would possess those eyes? They were like the gemstones of Hades as they were devoid of warmth and were tens of thousands of times colder than ice stream and cold wind. Amidst the deep sounds of footsteps, twigs and branches were being crushed. The purple-eyed griffin stood beneath the moonlight and stared at him. 798 Funeral III @@ The moonlight seemed to freeze everything. There was only the sound of panting. But soon the silence was broken. The purple-eyed griffin stared at its prey. A curved blade slipped out from the cuff and landed in the hand whose fingerprints had once been filled with chalk dust. The grip tightened. The blade whistled, just like the roar of a fierce griffin before a hunt. He stepped towards Charles step by step, slowly and steadily, as if he had to make each step precisely and carefully, leaving no gaps. The same slaughter had happened over and over again, leaving behind only a skill as natural and spontaneous as flowing water. He took no superfluous steps, walking forward coldly and solemnly. He was death. Death was slowly approaching. But Charles still stood firmly in place, staring at him, watching the familiar shadow coming towards him. His expression twitched back and forth. Sometimes it seemed like he was crying, sometim@@ 799 Judgment Part 1 @@ The moss froze on the stone bricks on the ground, giving off a withered color in the dark corridor, where sunlight never shone all day long. Other than the middle part of the corridor, where people walked frequently, and the scratches formed when transporting goods, both sides of the corridor had been covered in moss, making the floor look as if it was covered with a layer of tattered carpet. Whenever the heavy iron gate at the end of the corridor was pushed open, the tattered, yellowish-green carpet was torn to pieces. The dim light shone from behind the door, illuminating the face of the middle-aged priest. He seemed to have aged prematurely, his mottled white hair neatly combed up behind his head. The contours of his face were sharp, his expression cold and hard. He wore a black robe and looked just like a spirit of iron. He had white cataracts in his eyes, and his gaze was chilling. But as a sound came from behind the door, his frowned slightly.Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting.@@ 800 Judgment 2 The first thing that could be felt was "shockwave." The beating of wings of the bee colonies reverberated beside one''s ear. It was as if the sound possessed actual physical quality. It filled the air and overpowered any other sounds. It occupied the only principal axis and became more ferocious and sharper. It was the grand pillar of metal that was shaking. It was capable of shaking seas and countries into dust. During the phase of warming up, it would already begin to erode the space of the entire sea domain and completely rewrite all the laws of physics. Soon after, 641 grand pillars of metal began to burn. It was the majestic tolling of the bell. Heaven and earth were in resonance and everything was trembling. After the same movement had been piled on top of one another for 641 times, it turned into a destructive lingering sound. Pale white air currents swept across from all directions and wherever they passed, aether would boil and gather together before collapsing inwards, as if they had congregated into a physical quantity. The pure and terrifying density was a threat that was comparable to one posed by catastrophe. No, perhaps even a catastrophe would not be able to unleash a power that was stronger than this? Even if the layer of shockingly beautiful mercury wave was to be transformed completely, one would instantly be able to detect the core music theory embedded deep within, as long as one was not completely awed and shocked by the appearance. Silver Tide! For a long time, the Sacred City had already secretly grasped the power of recreating Silver Tide! It was one of the eight most destructive phenomena. It was as if, in this instant, the world that countless musicians were familiar with had turned upside down. Every law and common sense had been flipped. Since when was the power of catastrophe capable of undergoing mass production too? Amidst the devastating pale-white air currents, even the fairy tale warship, which was formed from Firebird, saw half of its body being devoured just from a mere scratch by the edge of the air currents. In an instant, more than half of the 16 instruments of harmonious melody exploded. The fleet, made from Firebird, was being trampled on by the catastrophe, and half of them were instantly put out. Far away in Anglo, countless musicians, who had been in deep sleep, suddenly began to tremble and climb up from the iron pool. Fresh blood was flowing out of their noses and mouths. On the surface of the sea, there was destruction everywhere and death was impending. But the more that the wave, which represented death, gathered towards the center, the more its speed was reduced. It was being blocked by an invisible repulsion. They could not go past a boundary that did not belong to them. It was Mountain of Nomadism. Directly below the Mountain of Nomadism, the surface of the sea, which had been terribly trampled on after solidifying, had already formed a crater that sunk deep below. But within that mysterious crater, there was light. The light was spreading in all directions like a flood. It resisted against the pressure brought about by the terrible resonance, then, amidst the screeching of metal, it broke open the pressure that was coming from all directions. Countless sparks burst forth out of nowhere. Metal clashed against metal as they competed against each other. It did not matter that, at this very moment, the vault of heaven was dark as it had been engulfed by dark clouds. But on the surface of the sea, which had now been turned into ruins, a perfect, pure white figure suddenly appeared. A physical projection rose from the other end of the mirror. It broke through the limits of the surface of the mirror and struggled out of the illusional restraints then it rose up into the sky! "Bright moon rises above the sea!" Just like how Ye Lanzhou reappeared back then, that white and perfect moon had already risen from the sea emanated the light of redemption in all directions. From the endlessly deep sea set up by the enemy, a flawless moon was created. At this moment, it rose above the 641 grand pillars of metal and hung high between the sky and the sea to become the only beacon of light. In the end, it landed on a palm. The moonlight lit up a pair of indifferent eyes. Ye Qingxuan closed his palm and gripped onto the moon. Countless beams of light were crushed and disintegrated by his fingers. The moment that the perfect moon was crushed was also when an indescribable beauty appeared. After the bright mirror was smashed, countless shards of mirror flew in all directions. Every shard reflected the broken full moon, and every piece of full moon represented a blade of broken light. Tens of thousands of beams of moonlight shone between the sky and the sea. They clashed against each other and resulted in the screeching of swords sparring against each other. When the empty moonlight clashed against metal, there was a sharp screech and the moment the moonlight was extinguished, the grand pillars of metal roared in despair. At that moment, 641 grand pillars of metal disintegrated, as if they had been hacked down by countless swords and knives. Beneath the sharp moonlight, they turned into wreckage and fell into the sea. When they made contact with the hard and solid surface of the sea, there was a continuous stream of ear-piercing sounds. Soon after, the palm was relaxed and flipped over. Tens of thousands of miles of ice sea melted. Waves were crashing in all directions as countless broken waves flew up into the sky and turned into a storm to fall from the vault of heaven. In that instant, countless steel towers in the Sacred City were twisted and broken to fall onto the ground. In mid-air, the musician, who was in charge of the bell tower, fell to the ground and was smashed into minced meat. "Big deal." The sound of cold laughter traveled from the surface of the sea that was a distance away. That voice was like a shadow as it reverberated beside everyone''s ears. As a result, all the remaining musicians fell to the ground as their faces turned red and purple-black fresh blood oozed out of their noses and mouths. The Symphony of Predestination, which had been forcefully pulled up by the bell tower, was instantly broken into pieces. Amidst the cold laughter, it was like a thin piece of paper that was rolled into a ball before being shredded into pieces. "The demon that fellow did he think that he would be able to shake the foundations of the Sacred City with those demon-like techniques! Dream on!" In the central sanctuary, the cardinal bishop, who was in charge of the attack, was already rambling incoherently, "Come and ring the bell and call upon the Holy Spirits! We shall take down the rebellious Hand of God. No! He is no longer worthy of that name! This is a blasphemy that is more despicable than the falling of the morning star! Absolute blasphemy!" The majestic bell tolled once again. Above the towering walls of the Sacred City, burning stars rose one after another. A pair of cold eyes stared in the direction of the fleet on the surface of the sea. Very soon, those stars began to gather together, as if they were in a battle formation. Then, the stars pressed down against the surface of the sea, as if the vault of heaven had collapsed. Countless whirlpools and storms rose from the surface of the sea and began to rage. Massive gravitational force pulled at the waves and created oceans and rapids and lightning. At the highest point of the warship, the revelation musician, who was staring into the distance, could no longer handle the overwhelming pressure and fell down onto the deck. "My Lord, they have gone against the catastrophe convention and woken up the Holy Spirits!" The musician on the lookout was coughing, rainwater in his mouth, "There are a total of 41 Holy Spirits heading our way" "Kill them," Ye Qingxuan cut him off. "Don''t let a single one live." On the deck, the Chief Inquisitor returned back to his cabin and walked past his subordinate, who was in a state of shock. "Do you still need me to teach you how the Religious Court of Inquiry carries out its business?" There was dead silence on the bridge. Only the young man, who was temporarily the captain of the knights, began to laugh. He slapped his own knee and looked up with his steel-grey eyes. "What is it? Didn''t you hear the Chief Inquisitor''s order?" He waved his hand and continued calmly, "Now, it''s time to teach those people in Sacred City how we do things around here." In the silence, he could not help but smile. He could smell blood in the air. He raised his palm slowly and the shrieking sounds of the drawing of swords could be heard on the deck. These steel blades were aimed in the direction of the storm, as cold and unforgiving light reflected off them. "Deus vult!!!" Countless people shouted at the same time. The palm waved down and 31 launching tracks shot off from the deck of Mountain of Nomadism, propelling armored knights towards the vault of heaven. Fiery stars fell from the sky while steely stars rose from the surface of the sea. When both stars clashed against each other, there was a huge roar. 270 Witch Hammers flew towards the sky. There was a deep rumble in the armors as the bronze-plated wings were opened, tearing into the storm and lightning. Complex alchemy formations lit up on the wings. It exuded a tremendous amount of heat as both wings became burning hot. They evaporated the rainwater, leaving behind white traces everywhere. It was as if countless spirits were floating towards the sky, Soon after, dragon''s breath armor arrived from tens of thousands of miles away through the net of aether. It was as if there were hundreds of Ye Qingxuans that were able to boost each armored knight at the same time. Not only were their power and speed boosted, but they were also given a power that was comparable to that of the bell tower. In an instant, thousands of movements were unleashed in an equal and luxurious manner. Very soon, after a short pause, the glow of Day of God''s Fury was fused onto every single sword and knife! Finally, beams of burning halo rose from the top of each armored knight''s head! They looked like iron angels that were patrolling between heaven and earth, as they spread judgment and punishment on behalf of God! This was an outcome that the Sacred City had never dreamed of. After possessing the supreme authority of the central core, how could Ye Qingxuan possibly allow it to continue sleeping in the dust? With the terrifying computing power of the central core, the efficiency of the net of aether''s effect on power was raised by hundreds of times. This method of processing tens of thousands of movement threads simultaneously might be something that ordinary musicians could never dream of attaining but to the central core, this could not even be considered as a form of warm-up! When the Sacred City had thought that the power of the allied countries would be able to suppress Ye Qingxuan, the latter was already in control of the key that would unlock the last shackle and completely unleash the net of aether onto the mortal world! Just like what Hermes once said, from here on, the old authority and old power and everything else related to it would all die along with the old God. In the new era, a new protagonist would step up! And those that dared to stand in its way would be crushed under the unstoppable wheel of the new era! In that instant, the sharp blade, that represented God''s fury, swung down at the Holy Spirits, and the terrible massacre had begun above the vault of heaven. Between heaven and earth, countless burning spots of light rose and fell. But Ye Qingxuan could no longer be bothered to observe such a meaningless outcome. He only kept quiet and silently watched the raging waves ahead. He watched as the Mountain of Nomadism broke through the storm and pushed forward between the burning and falling stars. Everything its way was crushed as it continued on towards the Sacred City. Eventually, it broke through the last line of defense and finally entered the coast of the Sacred City. The port and the city walls were within sight! Then, as everyone watched, the Mountain of Nomadism slowly raised its bow so that its pitch-black main cannon was aimed directly at the towering wall of steel. The city of glory, which had accumulated all the essence of mankind''s Golden Era, was finally within shooting range. Its destruction was close. It was only now that the emergency communication from the Sacred City''s central sanctuary had reached the bridge of the ship. It was neither too early nor too late and was right on time. It was full of the essence of intelligent coordination. Albert''s gloomy face appeared on the projection. Perhaps, to the Sacred City, this old fellow was the only person that would be capable of talking to Ye Qingxuan. Nevertheless, the look on Ye Qingxuan''s face was one of indifference. There was no anger or lament. Just serene. It was so serene that it was scary. Albert looked dispirited. Several times, he opened his mouth and tried to speak but they all ended up as sighs. In the end, he was so frustrated that he tore off what little remained of his hair and asked weakly, "Why resort to this, Ye Qingxuan? Is there no better way we can resolve this?" Ye Qingxuan looked at him as if he was looking at an idiot. "Why don''t you ask this question to your Sancta Sedes?" Albert''s face was flushed. He had had enough of the restrictions being imposed on him so he began to stomp his feet in desperation. "Don''t you understand? This world cannot accept a living God, otherwise, everything that mankind has worked hard for will all go down the drain. Even Anglo will never give up everything and bow down to a God." He looked at Ye Qingxuan and was practically pleading, "Stop this. What you are doing will only pit the whole world against yourself." "In that case, please continue to stand opposite me, like what you did in the past." Ye Qingxuan smiled. His smile was mocking and cold. "I quite like that." Stop? Friend, what kind of joke is that? Are you dreaming? Or had he failed to show them the cruel reality that they were facing? It seemed that he could have to destroy the entire Sacred City before those retards would finally understand how much Ye Qingxuan wanted to go crazy! Ever since the screen of the Great Wall was removed and they were connected to the outside world, the news that had been waiting for several days and nights to reach Ye Qingxuan was finally delivered into his hands. Everything that had taken place over the past few days had piled on top of one another. First, it was the riot at Caucasian. Then, it was about what happened to Charles. Finally, the news of Abraham''s death. This was truly a joke played on him by fate. After he had finally possessed power that made him unstoppable. He lost his own teacher. After losing his family members, Ye Qingxuan finally managed to find a new family in Avalon. He would have been willing to pay any price to protect them but now, he was losing them, one by one If Bai Xi had not stayed by his side, Ye Qingxuan would have lost control of the movement within his body. It would probably have converted into abyss music theory, which would absorb divinity through hatred. He could have replaced Hyakume and became the new evil God! Unless the Church was destroyed, unless the King of Red was beheaded in front of him, unless Gaius was torn into pieces, unless Charles was safe and sound, unless everyone paid a price, there was no reason for the Sacred City and Caucasian to exist anymore! "Open up the Sacred City within five minutes!" This was Ye Qingxuan''s ultimatum and he made sure he articulated each word loud and clear, "Otherwise, an all-out bombing of the Sacred City will be launched!" Albert was stunned. He seemed to be in a daze as he stared at those pair of eyes but very quickly, he finally managed to react by turning around and running away. He had to inform the College of Cardinals about how much time they had left before the war commenced. When the projection vanished, the bridge was silent, except for the sound of the storm outside the window. Ye Qingxuan reached into his pocket but did not manage to find anything. Just as he was frowning, a tobacco roll was passed over to him. "Thanks." Ye Qingxuan took the tobacco roll from Hua Sheng and lit it before taking in a deep breath. He was no longer frowning. It was as if he had just solved the most difficult problem in the world. He nodded slightly and gave his order, "Forget it. Commence the bombing immediately." "Aren''t you going to wait for a reply from the Sacred City?" Hua Sheng asked. "Perhaps you have overestimated those bunch of old idiots'' strength of character" "Ah, perhaps there may be good news after all." Ye Qingxuan flicked away some of the ashes and his eyes lowered. "But I just remembered, they didn''t give my teacher a chance, so why should I give them one?" Hua Sheng smiled as he nodded obediently. "Your wish is my command, Chief Inquisitor." With that, amidst the roar of aether torrents, tens of thousands of beams of light gathered in the main cannon. The gentle melody of "From the New World" could be heard everywhere. It ran between each wave and droplet of rainwater and was as light as a soul. It soared freely and brought about the gospel for the new world. "Teacher, please watch carefully from above." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and prayed for that silent and dull old man as he crushed the burning tobacco roll in his hand. When he opened his eyes once again, the weakness and hesitation that was representative of his youth could no longer be found and in their place was steely determination. "Inform the entire city" That hoarse voice sounded above the vault of heaven. It was like thunder and hammer were smashing on the Iron City, such that the massive city was vibrating in response. It also brought about the declaration of doom. "Sacred City shall be burnt down by the flames of vengeance today." Amidst the piercing tolling of the bell, Ye Qingxuan swung down his palm, as if he was about to completely cut off the decay that was thousands of meters away from him. "This shall serve as revenge for Abraham!" 801 Judgement III At that moment, Albert turned his head in shock. On the rain-covered street, he listened to the loud noise coming from afar. The sky was torn, and a hot wind stirred up the rain, sprinkling it upon him. His face went pale. He saw a white waterfall break free of gravity and rise into the sky. It was the sea that had evaporated in the heat that rivaled that of the sun. The hot and thick water vapor rode on the burning wind, stacking up into a tower as it stretched into the sky. In the end, it broke in the middle and collapsed towards the Sacred City. The water vapor dissipated in the heavy wind and rain. Then, a little orange light appeared on the towering wall. The dark color first turned to orange, then to red. The redness spread in the torrential rain. The iron walls were burning red, and hot molten steel flew out of the violent storm. The red hot iron flowed down from the wall and ran on the ground like tears that had been trampled on. Finally, there was a tearing sound that shook the heavens and the earth. The iron wall, which was several dozen measures thick, was penetrated by the assault of the endless movement. All enchantments and barriers were shredded like thin paper. The burning red iron wall collapsed towards the earth. A terrible thermal current spewed out from the gaps, piercing into the hinterlands of the Sacred City like a sharp blade. The torrents flowed along the Prophet''s Avenue, spread through the Sacred Square, rushed over all the streets and cruelly evaporating everything within it, leaving behind a spreading flame. The sound of collapsing rang out continuously. The violent winds spread the heat everywhere, nearly burning off Albert''s hair. In the distance, the middle city festival area was burned in the fire. A sad and shrill tangential line spread out straight forward, followed by a red hot iron oar. It was smashed by the rain which quickly evaporated into steam, which dried up and condensed, giving off a pungent stench. Melted black gold decorated the hot, dark surface. It had the texture of ore as it showed its twisted smile to the sky. Then it was smashed to pieces by the sole of a foot. Ye Qingxuan strode over the hole and stood in the Sacred City, looking upon it as it burned. A cry came from afar. He took off his gloves and threw them on the ground as if he were admiring this grand destruction. His heavy coat fluttered in the wind. "Isn''t this just great?" He bathed in the warm wind and narrowed his eyes. "At least it''s a little bit warm." Huge shadows slowly rose behind him. The Mountain of Nomadism rode high in the sky, casting a sinister outline over the burning city. Its endless artillery barrage continued. On the sea by the coast, the Royal Navy that had been formed by the Firebird still spewed poisonous fire towards the sky. The stars rose up and after crossing over their pitch ark passed over the wall and fell into the city, setting off one roar after another. After this tragic slaughter, armored knights who could not be infected fell from the sky and gathered behind him. Finally, a wheelchair rolled up next to him, and the man in it looked up at him. "Shall we continue?" "Yes." Ye Qingxuan nodded calmly, staring at the tower in the distance. "Are there not still many enemies to take down?" "And the common people?" "As long as they don''t get in our way, let them go wherever they please." "And those who resist?" "Don''t ask stupid questions." Watson smiled and tapped the arm of his wheelchair. He narrowed his eyes. "What about those who surrender?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing and just glanced at him. That was his answer. Watson waved his hand in a satisfied manner and issued the final order, "Purify!" A horn sounded from the distant fleet. Things made of steel fell from the sky like violent rain. They smashed into the ground, wedged into steel and stood up in the flames. A forest of stakes stood upon the Sacred City. After hundreds of years, the light of cruelty had returned with the Inquisition, covered the city, and burned everything! In the center of the Church of the Holy Resurrection, Albert, who had been driven to distraction, pushed open the door and stumbled inside. He gazed at the back of the figure in there, tired and breathing heavily. In the quiet temple, there were only old people who hung their heads in prayer. "Was it worth it, Sancta Sedes?" he asked hoarsely. The King of Red looked down, and his expression was still calm. "What is there to feel bad about in using something that is destined to lose its value to take away a monster?" The fall of the Church had already been destined at the moment of their defeat. This could not be changed. No one would let the vast organization that had once controlled the world reform. They merely waited for the Church to be divided up. They would mercilessly settle their accounts and unreservedly suppress it, until all its residual value was squeezed out and it had been swept into the dust of history, becoming one thin page in a history book. There was nothing wrong with this. At least not for the final King of Red. There was life and there was death. The Church''s destruction had been destined on the day of its founding. It was nothing more than a matter of time. Even the gods couldn''t live forever, let alone the obsessions left over from thousands of years ago. The old times were fated to pass. If he could complete his final mission with his dead body, then he could consider that a worthy death. If he could no longer protect the world, he could at least eliminate the dangers of the future. For the great and distant future of humanity. Thus, the Church, who believed in God, would kill the god that had descended into the world. Then they would use their remaining value to lay their final trap. It was just like Hermes''s prophecythe old gods were dying. The Three Pillar God, the Three Wise Men, the Four Living Creatures, the Eight Phenomena All the catastrophes had disappeared. And after "Charlesthe Scourge of God" had been destroyed, all that was left was "Ye Qingxuanthe Scourge of Humanity." This was the deepest fear that the nations faced today. If he chose to ascend the Sancta Sedes, who could stop him? If the value of all things was decided by Ye Qingxuan, and if this excessive power went out of control, humanity would enter another Age of Dark. Had people done everything they could to destroy a god only to allow another god to dominate everything? Then, there was only one choice left. Destroy him. Destroy him just like Charles. This was the nations'' unspoken judgment. There was nothing wrong with the Sacred City being buried alongside him. If they could complete their mission, then it would be fine to smash this corrupt and rotten organization along with him. As long as they destroyed all the monsters in the world. As long as they could welcome in a new era. Among the burning and cries of mourning, the bell in the central church rang. The judgment of the Son of God was about to begin, and the final accused was about to enter the stage. "Let''s go, Albert." The King of Red rose and walked towards the meeting place. "This is the last battle." Albert still stood where he was. He was trembling. He didn''t know if it was because of fear or anger! "This isn''t a battle at all, Sancta Sedes!" He gritted his teeth, and yelled with all his might in a hoarse voice, "This is nothing more than despicable murder!" The King of Red stopped and looked back. He looked calm and unperturbed. "Are true battles not all like this? You cannot talk about grandeur and glory, or even tragedy. There is only the killing. Because you have to do the right thing. And you have to do it again and again. Even if it becomes fragmented in the future, a dead wilderness." "The right thing?" Albert laughed weakly. "Is this what you want? Fine, I won''t do it. At least I can choose not to do the right thing." The King of Red looked away. He did not try to persuade him to stay, he just turned and left. He stubbornly walked towards the dead end. He left Albert standing hopelessly where he was, looking at his back. He cried with all his might, "Until death! Wagner believed you could save the world again. How can you let him down?" "No, I can''t." This was his final answer. The King of Red opened the door and walked into the hall of judgment. He closed the door. The sound of slaughter echoed throughout the burning city. The flow of armored knights ran through the city, separated, and spread out in all directions. Everywhere they went, they destroyed all the buildings, killed all who resisted, set fire to those who surrendered, and crushed everything within sight to dust. Dressed in blood red robes, the Witch Hammers held up their sacred emblems, bringing fire and judgment to all heretics. They washed away all sin. They purified all corruption. They destroyed all heresy. Even though their enemy was the Church they did not hesitate. The last team of Witch Hammers gathered at Ye Qingxuan''s side, following the purification musician who had been given Master Level authority, heading straight towards the central sanctuary. They destroyed all defense and resistance. They marched through fire and blood. They finally came to the Square of Holy Destiny. The stone that had been inscribed with movements of fate had been cracked by the heat. It had collapsed and turned into a meaningless ruin. At the other end of the square, the Templars guarding the palace drew their swords. With a loud cry, reinforcements finally came from outside the city. The knights that seemed to be made of black gold fell in front of Ye Qingxuan like shooting stars, pulled out their great halberds, and pointed them at his face. 71 sets of gospel armor hung in the air, burning halos around their heads. They were armed with heavy spears and shields, forming a vague array. "Let''s do this quickly, don''t waste any time." Ye Qingxuan waved tiredly. He looked at the palace towering in the distance. "I still have a trial that I need to attend. You don''t want to make me be late." The Witch Hammers drew their swords and stepped forward to attack the Knights Templar. The two sharp swords forged in the Sacred City finally collided with sparks and roars. The war had finally reached its climax. The blood red and black gold colors blended with each other, collided, and burst with a roar of gold and iron, sprinkling pure power and destruction all around. In the midst of the chaotic fight, the knight in the center of the Templars, who was wearing a crown, drew his sword. He chopped it forward! It was like a dragon''s roar. In the roar of the air being cut, even swords that had received the blessing of the Day of God''s Fury and knights in full armor were cut in half. The terrible power burst forth in an instant, forming a whirlwind that whistled forward, blowing Ye Qingxuan''s hair. It stung his eyes. The crowned knight stepped forward through the blood. His armor was ordinary, but in his hands was a power above that of gospel armor. No matter what enemy he faced, he simply cut them into two pieces. In the end, he broke through the ranks of the Witch Hammers, and in the face of the fire and thunder that the purification musician sent forth he stood in front of Ye Qingxuan. At ten meters apart, Ye Qingxuan could see the cracks left in his helmet. The weathered armor still bore its past glory. Now that it was covered in blood, it looked like a man-eating evil spirit. Ye Qingxuan stared at him, and after a while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Long time no see, Father." 802 Judgment Part 4 "Father, it''s been a long time," said Ye Qingxuan. Amid the killings and roars in battle, specks of blood and shattered pieces of iron shot through the air. In an instant, everything seemed to be have left them. Only the knight remained standing in front of Ye Qingxuan. He took off the cumbersome laurel and helmet on his head, revealing mottled gray hair and a face that was as determined as iron. No trace of melancholy and weakness could be found on it. "Yeah, it''s been a long time." Bann gazed at the child he raised. "I remember that you used to pursue righteousness as a child back then. Are you also intending to do something wrong now?" Ye Qingxuan thought about it, then laughed. "Probably yes?" He finally confirmed his answer. The old priest nodded, and he seemed to have left, leaving only the old knight with iron-like determination standing in front of Ye Qingxuan, his gaze cold. "Then you must be more careful." Bann bent down slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and supported the heavy sword with his arm. The nicked and scratched blade aimed at the face of the young man from his past. "Don''t expect me to be soft-hearted like Abraham." He had gotten ready to strike. It was the first step in his routine, something he had done thousands of times. And so, he began to make a deathly strike. A biting chill abruptly spread from his body. In an instant, all the knights of the Witch Hammer on the battlefield turned back suddenly, shocked by the terrifying tenacity that was so heavy that one could hardly breathe. They rushed back to help their leader, disregarding their own safety, and threw themselves before Ye Qingxuan, wanting to block the way of the blade. However, they were pestered by the Knights Templar, and it was difficult for them to turn back to help. Watson squinted, a trace of viciousness and gloominess flashing across his eyes, but Ye Qingxuan held him back by pressing on his shoulder, making it inconvenient for him to react. He turned back in shock and saw Ye Qingxuan wave, interrupting the musical movements of the purification musicians. Then, he unsheathed his sword and walked to the knight in front of him. He intended to fight his opponent one on one. He challenged the Captain of the Knights Templar, the Laurel Knight of the Sacred City, with his inept sword skills. It was so ridiculous that it made one feel like laughing. But when it was Ye Qingxuan who did so, no one could force out a laugh. He might win. Just as such thoughts appeared in the minds of the others, they saw Ye Qingxuan stabbing the sword in his hand into the ground. His hands empty, he walked towards the enemy in front. It was as if he was seeking death. "Actually, I have already thought about such a situation before coming here. The Sacred City can implant controls in my teacher and force him to kill Charles, so it would be unreasonable to assume that they would treat me anymore nobly, right?" He gazed at the old man in front of him, looking at the unfamiliar wrinkles that had grown on his face. His gaze softened. "I am actually somewhat scared, father. You are a person I look up to. Father, if you become my enemy, I will be afraid to die. "But later on, I figured it out. If you, father, become my enemy, then you must be thinking that I have done something wrong." Ye Qingxuan stepped forward and spread his hands without taking any precautions and showing any resistance. He calmly walked to Bann. "In the world, only you can make me doubt myself. Back then, you saved me and taught me, making me who I am today. "So, father, if you think that I have become an incorrect person, then come and kill me. "Destroy the last evil in the world, do it. Father, I will not resist if you are the one to do it." He stared at the enemy''s face, watching the man''s aged eyes that were no longer like how they looked in the past. He moved forward, step by step, welcoming his death. He continued until a faint trace of sadness flashed across the enemy''s eyes. "You have always been the child that makes me feel at a loss, Little Yezi." Bann closed his eyes. "Always." It was his final sigh. At the moment, the will of iron lit up in the aging eyes, captivating souls. It tore all the weakness and reluctance apart, and an almost non-human murderous intention erupted from them. Steel roared. The blade screamed and cut through the air. The gleam of iron moved forward, straight. Everything seemed to have become fleeting as the blade struck, like a bubble-like dream. After a long time had passed, it once again brought the coldest wind and snow from the winter back then. The priest in black moved forward in the illusory blizzard, tearing the cold wind apart, shattering the phantom of the young man was left behind in the past. Then, he turned into burning light, rushing towards the present. At the moment, the tenacity of man revealed a power so terrifying that it distorted the world. It was as if Bann wanted to wipe out the old days of the past with a strike, burning away all the memories, be it the pleasant ones or the unpleasant ones, not leaving any room for himself, and no one could stop him! The mighty war seemed to have lost all meaning before the sword. At the moment, everything was frozen. Only the one step Bann took forward shook the various countries on earth. It shattered the iron-like earth, causing the clouds to shake and the sky to tremble. After the brief moment ended, time, which had been distorted, flowed rapidly once more. After taking one step, Bann was already standing behind Ye Qingxuan. He lowered his head, putting his blade back into its sheath. A clear, low whistle burst forth as the sword scraped against the sheath. He kept his head low, sighed heavily, and closed his eyes. His iron-like determination shattered. His exhaustion was clearly visible. Then only did blood flow out of Ye Qingxuan''s wound. Bright red liquid dripped down from the side of the face, falling on his pure white sleeves. It blended into the ash and dust, dyeing them a little scarlet. Ye Qingxuan raised his hand blankly and touched the right of his face. He touched the scar that stretched across the side of his face. It was quickly healing, but it scar couldn''t really fade. It was the trace the sword left. It seemed to be able to cut through time, but it did not take away his life, and merely left an obvious scar. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but laugh softly. "Thank you, Father." Behind him, Bann sat down on the steps tiredly. It was as if the aging process that he had been waiting for decades had begun in an instant. It drowned him, taking away all his power. He lowered his head, recalling how the boy in the snow looked back then. It had been so many years, yet the memory was so clear. The child was so flustered, walking lonesomely in the snow, like he had been abandoned by the whole world. But when he talked about his ambition, his eyes would shine. "Little Yezi, have you realized your dreams back then?" Bann asked. "Sorry, father." Ye Qingxuan replied softly. "I have forgotten such things a long time ago." Bann was stunned, and after a long time, his expression became bitter. "Is it so?" "Yes, it is so." Ye Qingxuan nodded and stepped forward. Bann was left tiredly sitting in the ruins, his eyes closed. Torrents of steel whizzed past him. It was just like how the old days had gone. Amid the fights and turmoil, Ye Qingxuan walked up the steps one by one, pushing open the door of the Apostolic Palace. In the midst of innumerable wary, alert Knights Templar, he embarked on the road and headed for the sanctuary ahead, as if he was entering uninhabited land. And at the moment, the mighty bells sounded from the top of the Sacred City. The trial regarding the Son of God was about to begin. This time around, he wasn''t late after all. Regardless of what was waiting for him behind the door, he was already ready. He would take Charles away from this place. He did not care about what price he must pay was, even if it meant that he would become an enemy of the whole world! At the moment, the final door slammed open in front of him. So, the thick bloody smell in the air hit him in the face. Winding scarlet flowed out from behind the thick threshold, seeping beneath his feet, trickled down along the steps, and crawled on bit by bit, just like life passing away. Everything seemed frozen. Ye Qingxuan walked forward stiffly, stepping on the viscous blood under his feet, and entered the sanctuary. But no more breathing could be heard in the room, and the only things left were countless corpses lying in their seats in a disorderly manner. They were originally the positional sacrifices of their nations, the die-hard members of the Church, and the few remaining brave men in the College of Cardinals. They were mentally prepared to be killed by Ye Qingxuan in his rage. Here, they would represent the world to witness the trial of the Son of God and Ye Qingxuan''s ending. But at the moment, everything had yet to start, but they were already dead. For a moment, blood was bestowed with life, freeing itself from their bodies and seeping out of every pore, like a silkworm breaking free of its cocoon. The endless blood converged into a shallow river, flowing down from the seats located higher up the steps, and finally flowed towards the door, winding. Only dry corpses were left in their seats, traces of blood vessels that had bulged left on their skin, and they still maintained their painful posture from the moment of their death. No eyeball could be seen in the withered eye sockets, leaving only heart-rending empty spaces. And at the highest point, directly facing the door, where one could look down at everything, Ye Qingxuan saw the last King of Red. The old Pope wore his crown, holding the scepter which once represented supreme authority in one hand, his expression majestic and cold as he looked down at the defendant below. He maintained such a position attitude, but he was no longer breathing. One need not deliberately investigate. He was already dead. The filamentous fungi of Nibelungenlied could be vaguely seen extending outwards from his nose and mouth, but the fungi had all withered, no longer alive. From the human body to the deepest part of the Sacred City where the huge system of roots connecting countless brains was located... Death had descended here. In an instant, all traces of life were erased from the inside out. Only empty bodies were left. An incredibly great chill engulfed Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan stood frozen, looking sluggishly at the center of the sanctuary, at the prisoner who was surrounded in blood on the dock, at the deformed and bent-over figure. He lowered his head, and tears seemed to fell from his cheeks into the blood under his feet. The faint sound of the water droplets echoed in the silence. "Charles?" Ye Qingxuan gazed at his figure, unable to believe what he was seeing. "Is that you?" He wanted to walk forward, but his footsteps stopped abruptly in a pool of blood. From the flustered figure, he felt a certain indescribable vibe. It wasn''t grotesque, nor was it gloomy, but it felt so distant. It seemed that he could not reach where Charles was in his whole life. "I seemed to have had a long dream..." He heard Charles'' voice, sharp and hoarse, as if the incomplete vocal cords were convulsing in pain, whining forlornly, producing human language. "I can''t remember what I have dreamed, but I can''t help but feel very upset." "Later, I finally remembered it." As he whispered, Charles turned back. Ye Qingxuan saw Charles'' deformed body convulsing and twitching beneath his prison garb, and the side of his face, which was covered in tears. "Our teacher is dead..." Charles covered his face, choking, and wept silently. Ye Qingxuan pursed his lips and went forward, wanting to hug him, but he couldn''t cross the short distance. The blood blocked him off, stubbornly refusing to let him walk forward, turning the short distance into that between the heaven and the abyss. He was stunned. He looked at the figure sluggishly, as if... he had finally understood something. Ye Qingxuan finally heard His last sorrowful whine. "In the end, Charles died too." In the long silence, the Son of God, the catastrophe, raised his eyes. He looked down at the ugly world in front of him. Looking at the white-haired young man in front of him, his gaze became one of realization. "Little Yezi, are you here to kill me as well?" Ye Qingxuan opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but Charles withdrew his gaze indifferently. "It doesn''t matter." Charles said, "Whatever." And so, in the sound of bones breaking, he propped up his hunched body, letting the deformed bones break. On the body which was barely covered in a layer of skin, the muscles and internal organs surged, and the broken bones mended again, returning to where they should be. His sores peeled off, his long, withered hair was cut off, and it grew back. The loose skin ruptured and was regrown. The nail and shackles wedged into his skull fell off. Everything that had once grown distortedly returned to the right track. After shedding off the ugly body of a mortal, the perfect person who seemed to have gathered all the brilliance in the world reappeared, but he was completely different from the past. On the empty and chaotic land, the abyss was dark, and the spirituality of God coursed through his blood. He finally descended onto the world. And so, He stepped forward, passing by Ye Qingxuan, and walked out of the grave-like sanctuary. In front of him, on the burning square, the remaining blood suddenly rose, and a huge skeleton grew out of it, followed by strands of muscles, internal organs, nerves, and finally, pitch-black scales covered the behemoth. The Terminal Dragon, that had already died a long time ago, opened its eyes. It lifted its vicious eyes and howled at the sky. Then, it tamely lowered its head in front of its master, letting him step on its head and board its back. Then, as countless pairs of fearful eyes looked on, it spread its wings. The shadow shrouded the earth. "Charles!" Ye Qingxuan roared, shouting his former name. The godly man on the dragon''s back turned back and cast him a lofty and calm look. "I want to change all this, forever." It was the final goodbye. Then, the Terminal Dragon flew up, flapping its wings. It set off F?hn wind and fire rain, and flew away in the sky. And so it left. It disappeared from his sight. 803 Observation This was the 15th day after the destruction of the Sacred City. Amidst the noise that disrupted the communication line, a voice spoke from a faraway place. "This is B1. Permission to leave the ship for observation." "Permission granted. Take note of the pollution index and be careful of external erosion. Once you see the tidal action slowing down, there will be a peaceful and quiet period after three minutes. You will have 30 minutes to carry out physical observation. B2 will remain in the cabin to provide assistance anytime." "B1, roger." "B2, roger." In the narrow cabin, musician Adams, who was also B2, raised his arms and pressed down on the lever of the outer air pressure chamber. Then, he turned around and stood up from his chair to assist his partner in wearing the heavy protective suit. Firstly, there was an inner armor that was made from bronze threads. Then, there was a heavy and thick fluid layer of aether, which was followed by an external layer of metal. Finally, a helmet that looked like the eyeball of a goldfish, was placed on Edwin''s head. It looked like three different types of onions had been combined together and a pair of arms and legs had sprouted out of them. It looked swollen and hilarious. It was a heavy piece of equipment that was fully sealed off in order to protect the wearer against extreme temperatures and was capable of ensuring the wearer''s survival in the vacuum of the universe. It was now being worn by the silence musician. "Are you able to move around freely?" "Barely. But if I need to run and escape, I don''t think I can open up my stride. I will probably have to roll on the ground." Edwin sighed, "By the way, I really can''t smoke in here? Can''t we just close one eye to this?" "I''m sure the suit wouldn''t mind you smoking but where do you plan to throw the ash and the stub?" "That''s a good question." Edwin shrugged his shoulders and finally buckled up his belt. It was difficult for him to turn around in the narrow cabin before finally crawling into the air pressure stabilizing chamber. He looked like some onion monster that had crawled into a coffin. There was only silence. No one said a word. This was the closest place to the outside world. How would the outside world look like now? Would it be flowing with lava of destruction, or engulfed in poisonous gas of doom? In the absolute dark zone, nothing was out of the ordinary. In absolute hatred, nothing would be too shocking. Now, as a musician who had contractually sold himself to the Silence Governance, he had no choice but to jump straight into the kingdom of doom since he was ordered to do so. For mankind probably. As the seconds ticked away crisply, Edwin closed his eyes and took a deep breath until the timer stopped suddenly. "B1, Edwin Buzz Aldrin, ready to exit the ship. Permission from the command tower please." "Permission granted." At the other end of the communication line, the revelation musician repeated a short verse, "Friend, I wish you a safe journey." "That''s enough. If you really love me, at least let me smoke a cigarette before I die." Edwin shook his head. With the gigantic helmet on his head, he turned wheel-shaped handle underneath his legs with great difficulty. As the metal screeched while it turned, the final pivot that stood between the cabin and the outside world was finally opened. He took two deep breaths but still did not dare to push open that door. "Adam, say something. Give me some courage." Adam rolled his eyes, "Damn you. Will you just get out there? I''m a little scared too." "Haha, alright." Edwin laughed awkwardly. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and finally pushed open that door. Then, he rolled out from the slanted air pressure chamber and landed on the ground with a thud. Due to the layer of thick and heavy quarantine suit, one could hear the deep rumbling of dust rising from the ground and landing on the mask. They seemed to be hiding some metal shards so they looked like stars when they were floating in the sky. "B1 has successfully left the ship." Edwin got up from the ground and mustered his courage to look up. He sank into a long silence. "B1, are you still there? Please respond, I repeat, please respond." It was only when Adams repeated for the third time that Edwin finally took a deep breath and shook his head with force. He seemed to be trying to shake away the confusion in his head, "What time is it now? Late night?" "No, it''s exactly noon." Adams breathed a sigh of relief when he finally heard his reply. "How is it like out there? All my aether ball could see were random spots of light. I can''t see anything clearly." "I don''t know what I saw. Damned it this isn''t right you know that? Something''s wrong" Edwin was stuttering, "Where exactly are we? Where exactly did the Silence Governance send us? Damned it! What is what is this!" "Calm down! B1, calm down!" After a prolonged period of confusion, Edwin became silent once again as he slumped down on the ground weakly, "Where exactly did you guys hide the cigarettes? Honestly, I really want to smoke now" "Don''t remove your helmet! The atmosphere is definitely above Dark Zone. Even breathing alone will ensure that the aether will cause your lungs to explode!" Adams raised his voice. "Damn it, what exactly did you see?" "I don''t know, friend. I don''t know." Edwin raised his head and knocked hard against his own helmet. It was as if he was fixing an old machine and was trying to wake his brain up. After a long time, Adams heard his pitiful voice. "This is no longer a place for mankind." In the silence that seemed to last for eternity, Edwin looked up and stared at the pitch-black vault of heaven. The eternally azure-blue sky had been shredded like a piece of waste paper, revealing the original darkness of the universe. There was no longer any blue skies and white clouds. Only darkness. Countless stars shone at a distance above the vault of heaven, and right in the center, the distant and massive sun was emitting bright sunlight without a hint of warmth. It seemed to be incapable of chasing away even a hint of darkness. After the atmosphere had been lost, the entire world had become an inhabitable and horrible place. On this abandoned world, there was only greyish-white dust. The twigs were hidden amongst the trees and grasses but would break apart at any slight touch. Then, a chain reaction would be triggered and there would be a collapse in all directions until no living creatures could be seen. The land was cold and the sky was dark. And there was a stream of light that penetrated through the sky and the ground. It was like a pillar that was responsible for establishing this new world. The light, that penetrated through the heaven and the earth, rose from a distance away and extended up into the sky before sprinkling down the gift of light. After the barrier between the Physical World and the realm of aether had been completely destroyed, torrents from the sea of aether had drowned this entire world. They took away all the air and atmosphere and brought about unpredictable changes. There was no sound here because the moment any sound was made, it would be devoured by aether, that was thick and sticky and had already taken over the entire world. There was only light. Light was like a pillar that continued to stand tall over this land. Countless thorn-like bands of light extended out from dry lands in all directions. They crept along the earth like a living thing and engulfed it completely. In the end, these bands of light would gather together into tens of broad beams of light before tangling with each other on the pillar of light in the center. It was as if they were trying to push up the God''s throne. Everything of value in this world had been exhausted in order to uphold the light of God and create this cold and cruel kingdom of heaven. How majestic it was, that even the absolute dark zone would not be able to hide it. Every ten minutes on the outside world, there would be tidal waves of destruction and purification that would splash across all directions with burning sea of light. It was like the beating of a heart. Each beat would result in the reaches of doom expanding a little. Within half a month, it had already expanded by more than ten times and it was getting faster Before too long, the entire world would be completely engulfed by it. "Command tower, this is B1." Edwin reported with a trembling voice, "I have already entered Caucasian and have reached the periphery of Eden. This place is completely hopeless." "Calm down, B1. According to the course of our mission, all you have to do is collect information on the periphery of Eden. Remember, do not provoke Eden or do anything provocative to it. Don''t get too close either. All you have to do is to observe from the outside." "I already knew all this." Edwin shook his head. He crawled to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the ground that was a long distance away. There was a thick band of thorn-like light that was not too far away from him. Compared to that thorn, he and the gigantic landing ship behind him, that was the size of a house, were like specks of insignificant dust next to it. He did not dare to get closer. With this thing around, it was not hard to deduce what happened to all the survivors of Caucasian. But when he raised his head to look into the distance once again, there was an instant when he was stunned. In this quiet and peaceful world, something seemed to have moved in the distance. Just when he thought it was his own hallucination, that tiny speck of dust seemed to have inched forward slightly yet again "Wait! There''s something there!" Edwin stared at the abandoned plains in the distance as he watched the figure that was slowly moving across the land. In this world, where aether had gone out of control and observation movements had already been scrapped, it seemed that mechanical engineering was the only thing left that had yet to betray mankind. But when their telescope zoomed in to the figure, Edwin could not help but shout, "There are still survivors! My goodness, there are still survivors! Command tower, we have found survivors!" Edwin ignored command tower''s order for him to wait. Instead, he went against the rule and leaped down the cliff. He sprinted as quickly as he could towards the plains, with a mixture of crawling and rolling, falling and crashing. After a very long time, he finally managed to cover the long distance and saw that haggard old man. The old man seemed to have lost his soul. He was crawling on the ground as if he was in a daze. His limbs had already been torn by the sharp edges and corners. His hair was mottled and he was so thin that he looked like he would die anytime. But he was still alive. His body was still so healthy that it was as if he had received the gift of eternal life. Death had been taken away from him. "Wrong, wrong this is not right this is completely wrong what exactly went wrong? Tell me, what is the problem what exactly went wrong" He was muttering frantically, as if his nightmare had come to life. He kept talking to himself, completely oblivious to anyone around him, including Edwin. "B1, this is B2. Do not go close to that thing. I repeat, do not go close Anything that can survive this damned place is no longer human!" Adams raised his voice sharply in the communication line. "Leave now! Get away from him!" "This this is" Edwin continued to stare at the crazy man in front of him. He took a good look at his face and searched the records for his identity. After some time, he could no longer contain his fear. "Command tower, this is B1. I have confirmed the survivor''s identity. "He is Gaius" 804 Future I The sea breeze propelled the waves that smashed onto the stone piles on the reefs and piers. The residual foam fluttered into a bucket. The fish in the bucket thrashed and jumped, trying to return to the freedom of the sea, but they could not quite jump out. In the end, they grew weary and sank down, lazily lying still as if to welcome their coming death. The straight long road stretched from where it had broken out of the sea several days ago to a place 100 meters offshore where it turned into a downward stone staircase that led step by step into the sea. Salt crystals still remained on this road that had been reshaped by sea rocks. It exuded a slight heat, so one would not feel cold when walking on it barefoot. There was even a trace of warmth in the cold late winter wind. An almost completely natural alchemy had occurred here. Just in order to let his creators fish. Ye Qingxuan sat on the steps, rolled up his pant legs and soaked his feet in the warm water. He put the bait from the box next to him on his fishing pole then cast his hook into the sea. He stared at the buoy as it rose and fell. He was silent. Sometimes he would sit there all day. In this time of chaos, in this world that seemed to be marching towards its demise, he seemed to be the only one on vacation. He was as calm as if nothing was happening. And really, nothing had happened. Nothing. He put out his cigarette and emptied the ashtray into the sea. He turned to look behind him. A slender figure had come up the long road leading to the shore at some point. She bent down and put her shoes on the shore, mimicking Ye Qingxuan. She walked over barefoot, long dress fluttering in the wind. She was like a blooming jasmine. Finally, she stood next to Ye Qingxuan. She gathered up her dress in her hand. "Can you get me a stool?" "Why not try sitting down on the ground, Your Highness? It''s not cold." Although he said this, Ye Qingxuan still reached out and lifted a bench from the sea. After interfering with its nature, the seawater condensed into a crystal-like texture, magnificent and gorgeous, and worthy of a Queen. "I''d like to, but unfortunately the clerk came over as well with some tiresome chatter." Mary sat on the chair and tied up her hair that was blowing in the wind. "I heard that the Silence Governance is sending someone over?" "Well, quite a lot of people have come in the last couple of days." Ye Qingxuan grabbed his fishing hook. His tone was calm. "Fortunately there are a lot of houses, more than enough to put them in." "They told me there''s urgent news, haven''t you heard?" "There''s a lot of urgent news in the world, but I often receive it too late." Ye Qingxuan was unmoved, just as if he did not understand why they had come. "State affairs are very urgent, private affairs are very urgent, and fishing is also pretty urgent. So, I''m not worried. It''s good that you came today, Your Majesty. I caught a big grouper this morning, I can''t eat it all by myself." Mary did not reply. She just silent watched his profile. "Mr. Ye..." "What''s wrong?" "Do you really, I mean, do you really like fishing?" "I like a lot of things. Unfortunately, I don''t have any of them now." Ye Qingxuan could not help but smile as he said this. He bowed his head and lit another cigarette. He shook his head and looked self-deprecating. "I''m just trying to find something to do, something I can do. Something that won''t disappoint others..." Mary looked at his face and said nothing. She just bowed her head like she had done something wrong. A lot had happened since the destruction of the Sacred City. But for Ye Qingxuan, those things were no longer important. He had returned to Avalon and sat in his fief for several days. After he awoke he would eat a big meal, then drink some wine and smoke. In his boredom, he had taken up fishing. He''d learned very well. He''d caught quite a lot. "Actually, if it wasn''t for Charles, I''d be married now," Ye Qingxuan said suddenly as he raised that topic without warning. "I wanted to invite him to my wedding, and bring his teacher. Unfortunately, that''s no longer possible." Mary''s shoulders trembled slightly. After a while she looked up, wanting to see Ye Qingxuan''s expression. But he was staring out at the sea. She could not see his eyes or his face. But his voice was calm, like he was tired and numb. "Before leaving the Empire of Aurora, Bai Xi cried so much. She asked me to bring Charles back. I wasn''t successful. I didn''t know how to face her. And I don''t know how to face you." He finally looked back with a shameful smile. "I''ve let you down, Your Majesty. I''m such an indecisive man. I have no room left in me for benevolence, all that is left is weakness. I''m not worth waiting for, and I''m not worth your favor." But Mary did not put on a sad and hurt expression, nor did she turn away crying and leave. She just looked at him solemnly and seriously, without a trace of wanting to run away. She watched him with a dignified manner. "You were the one who saved me, were you not?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. But Mary rose from her seat, walked down the steps and stood upon the sea. She stood between him and the ocean, catching his eye as he tried to avoid her gaze. Her dress was dampened by the sea. "I know you were not saving me because I am Mary, but I am nevertheless grateful to you. Whenever someone asks for your help, you respond like a glorious hero. You will not let suffering happen in front of you. If there is still anyone in this world who is worthy to bear the title ''Hand of God,'' it is you. I have always thought so." Mary looked at him and sighed, then said something she had hidden in her heart, "That is what I love about you!" In the silence, Ye Qingxuan''s jaw dropped open and his eyes went wide. As she said that, the serious and solemn Queen seemed to disappear, and she became like her former self, maybe even a little bit uneasy. She looked down and gathered up her dress. "That took all of my courage to say. Thank you for not interrupting me. If I have to say it again, I won''t hesitate. Mr. Ye is different. Mr. Ye can do it. I have firmly believed this from the very beginning." Mary avoided his gaze and returned to her seat. After a while, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head in shame and smiled softly. "Are the people from the Silence Governance waiting outside?" "Mhm." Mary nodded. "It is said they''ve brought a new report about Charles." Ye Qingxuan looked down and put out his unfinished cigarette. "Mary, do you also wish me to go kill him?" he whispered. "If you have to kill him to save the world, then even if you don''t go, it won''t matter to me," Mary answered. She smiled. "Because you''ve already saved my world." "I understand." Ye Qingxuan got up and stretched his waist that had remained motionless after sitting for so long. "Thank you, Mary." "Mhm." Mary blushed and lowered her head. After Mary left, Ye Qingxuan picked up his fishing gear and headed back to the shore. The sheltered harbor where Ye Qingxuan had spent so many idle days collapsed back into the sea with a roar. "This is for the kitchen." Ye Qingxuan threw the fish he had caught to his subordinates, put on his robe and turned towards the guesthouse. "Where are they? Bring them to me so I can have a look. After I see them, they can get the h*ll out." Ten minutes later, the people from the Silence Governance finally saw Ye Qingxuan. The primary musician was a new face. The highest people in charge maintained an unusually low attitude when facing Ye Qingxuan these days. Facing this youth who was less than half his age, he maintained a humble attitude. Soon, Ye Qingxuan saw the news they had brought. It was a sleeping old man. "Gaius?" Ye Qingxuan frowned. "What? You went through all this trouble to see me just to bring me this old man to vent my anger on?" "This..." the person in charge of the Silence Governance wiped away the sweat on his forehead. "In fact, it doesn''t matter if you kill him. No, I don''t doubt you, but before that, I hope you can take a look at the news we brought. He is one of the last survivors of the Kingdom of God in the Commonwealth of Caucasian. He has a certain value. Before you kill him I''d like you to consider it a little." The news that the Silence Governance had brought was not on paper. It was in Gaius''s brain. After injecting a large dose of tranquilizer, the alchemy arrays in Gaius''s skull had been dismantled and then transformed into a state that would make it easy for anyone to read his memory. Ye Qingxuan glanced at the person in charge, then finally pressed his palm against Gaius''s forehead. Ye Qingxuan was already the leading Heart Musician in the world, and was rumored to not be inferior even to Ye Lanzhou. It didn''t matter that Gaius''s defenses were down. Even if they had been there, breaking through that kind of lock would be a simple process. In a flash, his vision went dark. Numerous memories crashed against him like a tide, but it was hard to get to the main ones as they were chaotic and fragmented. It was like the brain of a madman, only a few incomplete fragments of memories were still decent. Ye Qingxuan even went all the way back to the early years of the Revolutionary Army and the dirty trade with the nations that had not seen the light of day. Soon, those unimportant things were swept aside as he headed straight for the main subject. He went straight for the memories of Charles after he left the Sacred City. He came to the Commonwealth of Caucasian, rode the Terminal Dragon, broke through a vast army easily, and in the end, he pushed open the door and came before Gaius. Ye Qingxuan was not infected by the memory, but stood outside Gaius, overlooking everything. He saw the young man sitting across the table, just like he was sitting upon a throne, and staring at the old man in front of him. "Long time no see, sir." There seemed to be no fluctuations. Ye Qingxuan did not feel any fear or anxiety. All he could feel from the memory were the compression pain from internal organs and the skull. Even so, Gaius was calm, warming himself by the stove next to him and lifting the boiling kettle. "Didn''t we just see each other, Charles? Don''t imitate old people by using this kind of unlucky phrase." "You''re right." Charles nodded and smiled in agreement. "Have you come for revenge?" Gaius took up the hot water and the pills, blew on it, and then decided that there was no need for more medicine. He put them aside and sat up straight in his chair to face his death. But Charles did not cut off his head. He did not move at all. Instead, he bowed his head and fell into a deep silence. He was formulating his next sentence. "Although I was originally very angry, I thought it through on the way here." He said this calmly. "Giving the world to someone like me would even make you uneasy, no, Mr. Gaius? If I was still like before, then after spending a bit of time I could make a stable transfer of power. I could conceal my identity after this and not trouble the world again. But after receiving too much responsibility, I''ve become a bomb. If you don''t eliminate me, I will feel that you''ve become too softhearted. Although I''m very angry, after thinking it through, I understand." While speaking these lenient words, Charles''s expression was calm. There was no hatred in his eyes, just pity. "After all, people have such limited vision. This isn''t your fault. I was just too arrogant." What he said was so forgiving, and his eyes were so merciful. But even a bystander like Ye Qingxuan felt an indescribable chill. It was like seeing something gradually transform into something unintelligible. The love and hate of mortals had lost all its meaning for Charles. "Do you really want to become a god, Charles!?" He looked at the calm face in the memory, and remembered Charles''s face when the Sacred City had ignored him. So high and mighty, so sad. "You came here just to show off your winner''s compassion? Charles." Gaius lowered his eyes, and for the first time, Ye Qingxuan felt a bit of remorse from his heart. "You want to let me live? Charles, if I live I will do all I can to kill you. I will use the evil things that I have personally created to destroy you, no matter the cost! Even so, you will let me live?" "Mhm." Charles nodded and grinned. He slowly got up. "You have guided and cared for me for so long. This time I came back not for revenge, but to pay you back in some meager way." He reached out and touched Gaius''s forehead. "For the future." At that moment, the world changed suddenly. Time passed by at a rate hundreds of times faster than normal. Gaius was thrown from his original time and rolled around in the turbulent flow of information as countless bits of information ran through his consciousness and then disappeared. In a flash, he fell out of centuries of history towards the future. 805 Future Part 2 In the blink of an eye, Gaius fell towards the future through thousands of years of history. Amid the chaos, Ye Qingxuan could only catch a few fragmentary pieces. "Asset mergers...""Age of data""Breakthrough in polymer material""Large Hadron Collider""Human-machine revolution" In the end, the speed was so fast that he couldn''t catch up, and he couldn''t even make out fragments. In just a moment, Gaius fell from the ancient palace and arrived in a pitch-black world. Countless dark clouds shrouded the sky. A pungent smell lingered in the air, countless towering chimneys spewed thick smoke into the sky, and stinking torrential rains poured from the sky, landing on the ground after flowing along innumerable flashing giant trees. But when he looked at it carefully, he discovered that the things propping up the sky and extending into the dark clouds were not giant trees, but shockingly tall buildings. From across the railing, the hurricane below blew in his face. Looking down, he was able to see dark clouds surging. The earth was covered in dense fog, and it couldn''t be seen clearly. The next moment, Gaius was no longer looking at it from a human perspective, and he gained an incredible field of vision which allowed him to overlook almost the entire region. He saw the land covered in steel beneath the heavy fog, and the countless buildings rising into the sky like forests. In the innumerable rooms that resembled pigeonholes, the deformed and hunchbacked slaves were slumbering. And at the very top, above the clouds, in the gorgeous homes that could enjoy the sunshine and fresh air, the well-dressed nobles were partying, tasting the wines and delicacies that had long since disappeared from the earth. "What... is this?" Gaius looked back, stunned, and saw Charles'' smile. The smile seemed to be full of pity, and it also had the calmness of a high and mighty God. "It is the world that you forged with your wishes." He looked down at the heavens and the earth, answering Gaius'' question. "A ''wonderful future after capital freedom is achieved." As he said so, he brought Gaius forward. He took a step, and the rumble from a workshop hit them in the face. In the pungent smell of chemicals, along the huge assembly line, countless man-made creations were moving fast, being assembled by the workers on both sides. The thin and withered workers who were hunched over in their narrow workstation possessed an indescribable calmness. It seemed as if they had been assimilated by machinery. More even had machinery implanted in parts of them. "They are slave laborers, the people of the lowest class in the world. They work more than 18 hours a day in exchange for pay," Charles introduced the place to him. "It is a factory that processes filters. If filters are not installed, humans cannot even survive for three hours in the terrifying air outside. "Tens of thousands of people work in the workshop. It operates 24 hours a day and never stops. There are hundreds of thousands of such workshops around the world, sustaining incredible prosperity. "It''s a pity that they don''t really have any asset or freedom, as they have already sold the ownership of themselves to the workshop. "They are the slave laborers of the lowest class, used as tools, and they have mastered no technology. They can only perform the jobs that have yet to be replaced by machines as of now and are not seen by others as human beings. "And you are over there. " As he said so, he looked up at the highest point of the workshop, at the huge portrait located there. The man on the portrait was majestic and noble, like the one God had chosen. When the monotonous ringtone rang, the mechanical assembly line came to an abrupt stop, and all the slave laborers got up in unison, lifted their heads, looked up at the portrait above, and began to sing songs of praises devoutly and uniformly. They praised Gaius, the great leader of the revolution, and they praised the great head of state... "You are the founder of the country''s assets, known as the father of civilization, and you have been revered for thousands of years, becoming a true god. Countless people are striving to uphold your ideals." Gaius took a step back, staggering. "It''s not right..." The next moment, they came to a huge and cold building. The emblem representing the Republic hung high on top, reflecting off a cold brilliance. "Here is the branch of the Purge Management Committee, generally referred to as the Authority." Charles opened the door for him. "Would you like to go in and have a look? A child who drew graffiti on your portrait is on trial. The person who reported him to the Authority is his brother, that child over there. As a result, he received rewards and praise from the great leader." In the line of sight of Gaius, who was stunned, the child wearing a badge with Gaius on it on his chest was stepping on the red carpet, heading out of the Authority with his head held high and his chest puffed out, his gaze determined and calm. "Do you want to talk to him?" Charles asked, reaching out and stopping the child. The child frowned and looked at them on the chest, and soon, his expression became one of disgust. "Oh, I forgot, you didn''t wear this." Charles reached out and put two badges on Gaius and himself, gave a wave of his hand, and the distaste in the child''s eyes disappeared. "How can I help you, gentlemen? Ah, I know." The child seemed to have expected it. He lifted his sleeves and wiped the badge on his chest. "Please feel free to look at it, but don''t dirty it." "I... " Gaius looked at him, stunned, his lips moving, but until the child left impatiently, he could not say anything. "It''s just a badge... it''s just a badge..." "One must not dishonor authority. The sacred bourgeois revolution is the cornerstone for the establishment of the country. Even a holy emblem must not be defiled." Charles turned around. "Let''s go, sir, we still have a lot of places to visit. It seems that you have not gotten used to being a god." The memory after that had already fragmented under the huge impact. Gorgeous palaces, soft anthems, celebrations... Mutated human bodies... Experiments... Surveillance... Reporting to the authorities... Acquisition... Asset change... Falls... Rises... Ye Qingxuan could see Gaius roaring angrily at Charles, questioning Charles, defending himself. Then the future changed, once again becoming... even more difficult to understand. In the wonderland that seemed like a kaleidoscope, the will of the weak would be worn away quickly. In the end, only ruins were left. Innumerable rays of vicious radiation were everywhere on the surface of the earth. Deformed humans crawled on the deserted ground, licking the mud greedily. Amid the wreckage, Gaius'' statue shattered, having fallen to the ground. The majestic face was covered in dust. Gaius fell to the ground, his hair hanging disheveled around him. He looked at the barren ground around him sluggishly, murmuring something, but even he himself could not make out his words. In the end, he turned madly, pouncing at Charles, tugging his collar. "No! Let me see more! Something must have gone wrong! The human world should be perfect! This time around, I will certainly be able to..." "It''s ok." Charles smiled with pity, saying the last words in Gaius'' memory, "You can watch on for as long as you like to..." At the moment, Ye Qingxuan''s traceback came to an abrupt end. It was because the old man screamed. He woke up from his dreams, struggling wildly, scrambling down from the operating table. Screaming, he frantically tried to make it past the people in front of him, destroying everything. "No! No! It isn''t right! It should have been perfect! It''s not my fault! I am not wrong!" he screamed hysterically, his bloodshot eyes looking at everyone. "I am not wrong! I have not!!!" No one responded. Everyone looked at him quietly, watching him roar desperately. In the end, he sat down on the ground, exhausted. He began laughing like an idiot, then teared up immediately, tearing at his own hair and face. He curled up in the corner, talking to himself, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, please forgive me, everyone, sorry, sorry, sorry..." Sorry. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. Gaius has already gone crazy. It isn''t even because of Charles'' revenge. From the very beginning, when the countless sacrifices crushed him, causing him to lose his way, his fate has been doomed. He can''t face the sacrifices of his peers, he can''t face his own kind, and he can''t face so much pain. He can only deceive himself, that all the sacrifices are worthwhile, for the sake of the future, or for something else. For whatever. He will never find the perfect world. When the bubble is popped, there was no longer anything between him and madness. He is overwhelmed by guilt and despair. The things he has been pursuing his whole life are destroyed. After the price he has been paying his whole life and the sacrifices made lost their meaning, how can he face the world? "Kill him." Ye Qingxuan kept his eyes low, clenching his fists. "Whenever I remember that my teacher sacrificed himself for such a madman, I feel that... it''s not worth it." "I regret to inform that we can''t do it," the person in charge of the Silence Governance answered. "What do you mean?" asked Ye Qingxuan. "I mean it literally, we can''t kill him." The old musician replied, "His body has become so healthy that it is non-human. Even the lethal brain tumor that has originally meant imminent death has been taken out. "Something is supporting his life, and every time he is on the verge of death, it will restore him to his original state, just like this." He pulled out his sword, and with a clean strike, he chopped off Gaius'' head. But as the head rolled on the ground and blood spilled out, the blood then flowed back towards the wound, with not a single drop left behind, and finally, the head returned to its original position. No wound could be seen anymore. "We have tried various means. In a sense, he has become a catastrophe and is almost immortal." The person in charge sighed softly. "Even if he is burned to ashes, he can be reborn again from the fire. I am afraid that the god doesn''t want to let him off so easily either? "Originally, we were able to inject sedatives and hypnotize him, letting him fall asleep. But now, his body has become resistant to it, and it will not be long before dreams become a luxury for him even." Ye Qingxuan was silent. The average person probably yearned dearly for such immortality, but for Gaius, It was an eternal punishment and torture. He could no longer escape from anything through death. He would live forever in pain. He would face everything painfully forever. "I have noted the information you provided. You can go, and take him with you... I don''t want to look at him again." Ye Qingxuan withdrew his gaze and pushed the door open. He paid no more attention to the person in charge who chased after him. The man was stopped by his own subordinate, and shouted something at Ye Qingxuan from a far distance. But Ye Qingxuan was unwilling to listen any further. But when he pushed the door open, he saw the man below the steps. And the familiar face. "Nice to meet you, Grand Inquisitor. Do pardon my manners for taking the liberty to visit you without prior notice." Below the steps, the first citizen of Burgundy, the great emperor, ''Don Juan'', gave him a familiar smile. "Can we talk in private?" 806 Choice A fire was burning in the fireplace as pinewood crackled in the flames. Don Juan was sitting on the sofa beside the fire. He remained silent while the other uninvited guest stood at a corner of the study room. The latter was carefully looking through all of the Chief Inquisitor''s collections. Clad in a greyish-black old robe, he looked like a vagabond and presented quite a huge contrast with the sophisticated and classy setting. Yet, there was an air of authority about him that was hard to describe. Even though he did not say a word, it seemed like he was the host here. He was the King of Blue. "Coffee or wine?" Ye Qingxuan stood in front of the bar counter and turned around to ask Don Juan. "Water will do." Very soon, a cup of water was placed in front of him as Ye Qingxuan sat on the sofa opposite him. He waited silently for Don Juan to speak. Don Juan moved around on the sofa uneasily. In the end, he took a glance at the old man in a grey robe and sighed, "I''m sorry" "Doesn''t matter." Ye Qingxuan shook his head. "Very few people in this world can resist the King of Blue when he makes use of his seniority to get his way." "No, in fact, I was the one who brought him here." Don Juan lowered his eyes and sighed. He had gotten over his hesitation and skipped past the usual greetings and courtesies. When he looked up once more, the look on his face was calm. "Little Ye, I was the one who brought him here," ss if he was determined to make sure that there was no turning back, "to ask you to kill Charles." In the long ensuing silence, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. "Mr. Bach, in accordance with our agreement, I have already brought you here so I will not be responsible for or involved in what will happen next." Don Juan stood up and tried to contain his self-loathe. He did not wish to stay here any longer. "In that case, please excuse me." The sound of the footsteps grew distant and the door was closed. Bach stretched out his hand and placed a palm-sized black metal box on the table in front of Ye Qingxuan, then he sat down opposite him. "No matter what, I think I have to have a talk with you." He continued, "You need to take a look at this, at least." "What''s this?" Ye Qingxuan looked up coldly. "Local specialty of the Sacred City?" "Probably." Bach remained calm. "Back in the times when the first generation of three kings decided to create the Holy Caldron, they were already prepared for all the different problems that might occur. This was prepared for ''catastrophe'' created by the Originator. This was a weapon that was created by the earliest three kings, who used the technology of mankind before the Age of Dark and was also destined to be this world''s last movement. Once it is played, it will destroy the balance within the Holy Caldron as well as its foundation, from top to bottom. In the end, the system of the Holy Caldron, which was built within the realm of aether, would collapse completely, including everything that was created using the Holy Caldron. Even musicians, who had yet to break off the connection, would be devoured by the turbulent aether an unprecedented wave equivalent to the power of everything collapsing would hit the realm of aether and destroy all barriers. Then, it would gush into the Originator and clean up all the records once again." He continued, "Including Charles." Once the Holy Caldron was lost, the final afterglow of mankind''s Golden Era would be completely extinguished and the entire world would revert back to the Dark Age. And in this process, everything related to the Holy Caldron would lose its foundation along with the collapse of the Holy Caldron, including Charles, who was born from it. After losing the grand pillar of foundation, the God that was created by mankind would fall along with the temple. And the imprints of the kingdom of God, Eden, and the Originator would also be erased in the aether storm that would last for thousands of years. To kill a God by destroying an entire world. The prerequisite was that someone would be able to grab the opportunity to wake up that thing in the core. "What a good idea." Ye Qingxuan could not help but laugh, and even applauded in admiration, "To think that there''s still someone smart enough to think of such an incredible solution. Ah, how brilliant, how fantastic. There is hope for this world. There is hope for mankind! In that case, who will be the one to undertake this task? For such a difficult and noble task, surely it will be Mr. Bach who will do it?" He was laughing but the mocking in his tone was undeniable. There was a hint of rage and murderous intent. "No, I can''t do it." Bach replied honestly, "I am not His match." He continued, "If it was Charles, I may be able to sacrifice myself and die with him. But if my opponent is someone who has given up on his identity as a human and has decided to ascend into a God in the mortal world once again, then I don''t stand any chance at all." "So, you are going to rely on me?" Ye Qingxuan chuckled, "You are here to beg for a favor, yet this is your attitude? Mr. Bach came to see me empty-handed, isn''t that lacking sincerity?" "If sincerity can change your mind, this place would already have been filled with the treasures and valuables of all the countries." Bach''s tone remained calm as if he did not feel insulted at all. "But if there''s anything that you want, no harm telling me now." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "What if I want the heads of all the agents that participated in Charles'' trial?" "I may need a bit of time." Bach continued, "Five days." Now that the entire world was on the brink of destruction, those figures of authority have been mercilessly abandoned by the world''s protectors without a second thought. "Even if we ignore the question of whether I agree or not," Ye Qingxuan''s laughter turned cold, "what makes you think I can do it?" "Because you possess the humanity that Charles is still unable to give up. Ye Qingxuan, you are the only one who stands a chance to kill the God." "And if I refuse?" "Then I will do my part and challenge the God. But the most I can do is probably to delay all-out destruction by about a week or so." When he spoke about his own death, Bach lowered his head and looked at his grey coat, which used to be a precious shade of green. There were no regrets in his eyes, and instead, they were filled with relief. "Compared to a real God, Charles is merely a baby. He is still too young and tender, and may not fully understand how to utilize all his powers. After He consumes me, he will possess the authority of the King of Blue and inherit thousands of years of experiences of previous Kings of Blue. By then, no one will be able to stop him, including you." "How sad, Bach. The great King of Blue has now been reduced to the role of a poison to be consumed by the God But this method of using death to settle all your problems really fits your style. The only question is, is this really appropriate?" With that, Ye Qingxuan looked up. Beyond the silent rage within his dark eyes, there were also elements of scorn and mocking. "All this while, haven''t you been running away from your responsibilities? Didn''t you run all the way to the World of Dark to develop new territories? It sounds nice but essentially, you basically banished yourself then pretended not to see or hear anything. You could have stopped all these from happening, but you chose to stand aside and watch how things would turn from bad to worse. In the end, you decide to die so easily as your way of answering for everything that you have done? What kind of joke is this!!!" Ye Qingxuan stood up and looked down at Bach. He stared into those calm and peaceful eyes. "Bach, if you had a sense of responsibility and duty back then, things would not have turned out like this! Even King of Red is better than you. At least he had the courage to make a decision. And you, you just watched countless opportunities slip out of your hands How dare you come and see me now?! How dare you speak to me in this pretentious and highfalutin tone?! Everything that is happening now was caused by you!" "Do you want me to apologize?" Bach looked at him. His elderly face was still as calm and serene as ever. "I can kneel if you want." "What''s the point of apologizing and kneeling? Can they make up for your mistakes?" Ye Qingxuan tried to suppress his disgust for him. "Bach, if you are truly sincere, at least stop saying things like how you want to sacrifice yourself for this world! I want to vomit." Bach closed his eyes tiredly. This was the first sign of weakness that he had allowed on his face. In the ensuing long silence, he sighed softly. He was feeling bitter and tired. "Before my teacher died, he once told me that I was not suitable to be the King of Blue. But I didn''t understand then. It was only after he died, and I had to stand in front of the entire world for the first time and listen to the cruel sound it made, which sounded like stars were being swallowed whole, that I finally understood. This was not a burden that could be carried with only talent and abilities. Just like you said, Ye Qingxuan, I am a weakling. I don''t have the courage to make a choice on behalf of the entire world. I didn''t dare to try and live up to everybody''s expectations. Therefore, I resorted to banishing myself and hid in the World of the Dark. I envy King of the Red because he had the drive and conviction to make a choice. I envy King of Yellow too. At least he had the courage to flee. For centuries, the positions of the three kings have been taken over by plenty of people. There have been males and females, there have been elderlies and youths, there was even once when they were weak and lost. But one thing has never changed, and that was the torture and curse placed on the inheritors. They could either collapse under such a massive responsibility or be crushed by such incredible pain." He continued, "There are no exceptions, Ye Qingxuan. None." At this point, he got up slowly as he had given up the thought of trying to persuade him. He picked up the old wooden crutch and was prepared to leave. "Before I leave, there is one more thing that I must tell you," he pointed at the box that he had left behind on the table, "that thing was something that the Church had wanted to use against your net of aether. But in order to fix it, the authorities of all three kings must be present. The King of Yellow refused and chose to give his power, which was capable of maintaining this world, to you. Perhaps he never told you this, but this was a choice he made. And now, the choice is yours to make." Before he left, Bach spoke one last time, "If you really want to prove that we were a mistake and you really want to seek some form of redemption, then don''t lose this opportunity." The door closed and the footsteps grew more and more distant. All this while, Ye Qingxuan remained silent and did not say a word. When Ye Qingxuan saw Don Juan once again, the latter was sitting on a chair by the sea and was smoking silently on his own. His followers stood far away as they did not dare to approach him, as if there was a raging lion hidden in the body of that thin and frail man. "Do you have cigarettes?" With that, Ye Qingxuan stretched his hand into Don Juan''s pocket and took one out, as if he already knew where Don Juan usually kept his cigarettes. He lit up the cigarette and sat beside Don Juan as both of them watched the evening waves from a distance. "Don''t you have anything you want to say?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "I prepared many things. Which one do you want to hear?" Don Juan leaned against the hair and suddenly burst into soft laughter. "Life is all about making decisions, Little Ye. Once the opportunity is lost, you will never get it back again. "If we join forces together, the world will be ours. "Once we eliminate our last obstacle, the new order shall be controlled by us" Just like that, he muttered to himself for a very long time. He seemed to be trying his hardest to persuade and advise a friend whom he cared deeply about. In the end, he stopped abruptly. Amidst the crashing of the waves, there was hoarse laughter that seemed to be teasing and mocking oneself. "Before I came, I had imagined countless times about how we would meet and the things we would talk about. How I should show off my achievements to you, how I should give you a surprise, how I should prove to you that I have already distinguished myself and became an outstanding individual. "It shouldn''t have been like this. The circumstances under which we would meet wasn''t supposed to be like this." He muttered under his breath as he lowered his head tiredly, "I have let you down. I should have been the only person standing on your side. "Come to think about it, I haven''t been to Burgundy before." Ye Qingxuan was smoking when he suddenly asked, "Are you married yet?" Don Juan was taken aback. He thought about it and replied, "Probably soon." "How is the bride? Is she pretty?" "Yes, she''s cute." Don Juan continued softly, "She''s not very smart and can be a bit silly sometimes." Ye Qingxuan asked, "Do you like her?" "Probably." Don Juan sighed softly. "To be honest, I''m not sure if I will still love her if she was not a lady of the Antoinette family." "Don''t be silly. The fact that you think that way means that you care about her." Ye Qingxuan turned around to look at him and laughed softly. "If that''s the case, then don''t you think that all the things you have done are excusable?" "You are still so na?ve, Little Ye." Don Juan shook his head bitterly. "Just because of this, you are able to forgive me?" "Yes, this will do." Ye Qingxuan nodded his head and stood up before throwing the cigarette into the sea. Amidst the crashing of the waves, he muttered softly, "Emperor Don Juan, I once had a friend that is a lot like you. "His name was Victor. He wasn''t a very kind man, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never get him to give up on those absurd and ridiculous ideas. "But very often, I still miss him. "He took care of me for many years, put up with all my absurd dreams and wishes, and even supported me during the toughest phase of my life. To me, he is someone that I can''t give up. Just like Charles." Ye Qingxuan turned around and looked at the man, who was in a daze, and smiled. "It has always been this way, regardless if it was in the past or in the present." Don Juan was completely stunned as he stared back at him. "Is that so?" "It is." Ye Qingxuan nodded. It was a firm and decisive answer. In the long ensuing silence, Don Juan lowered his head as if he was trying to hide something. "If Victor knew how highly-regarded he was by you, I''m sure he would be very happy? It''s it''s getting late." He got up with a stagger. "Thank you for your hospitality. I should go." With his back facing Ye Qingxuan, he bade farewell, "Also, thank you." "If there is still a future for us, bring your wife along and come visit again." Ye Qingxuan smiled. "Goodbye, Emperor Don Juan." Goodbye, Victor. Goodbye. It was late at night when Shi Dong coughed and woke up with a start. Amidst the monotonous beeping of the life support system, he could detect the smell of ashes. Someone was sitting at the window. "Please don''t smoke in the ward, Chief Inquisitor. Won''t you please treasure the life of an old man like mine?" Shi Dong coughed and sat up on the bed. He turned on the light, and it shone onto the pink nightcap, with designs of little bears, on his head. "So," he asked, "is there some trouble again?" "Although I would hate to disrupt you from waiting for your death, you have to get up, old fellow." Ye Qingxuan stretched out his hand and pushed open the window. "I''m going to need your lending abilities once again. Your moment of glory is about to come." There was a roar outside the window. The steam whistle of the Mountain of Nomadism blew loudly. Purification musicians and Witch Hammers gathered on the beach while iron war chariots rumbled out in the midst of dust and dirt. The aura and ashes brought about by war were getting thicker, and the pair of old and frail eyes were burning red. Shi Dong inhaled the pungent smell deeply. He looked radiant once more while his face was still flushed from his sickly condition. "So, who''s the enemy this time?" "The entire world." Ye Qingxuan extinguished his cigarette, stood up, and turned back to look at him. Those pair of eyes seemed to be filled with the cold beams of light from above. "I will hand the staff over to you and you will patrol all the various countries on my behalf. Regardless of kings or noble families, or the cardinal bishops that were lucky enough to be alive, take revenge on those that had once harmed us. I will give you a list of names and for those that are still alive, I want you to burn two-thirds of them to death. For those that are already dead, I want you to dig up their graves and expose their corpses to the wilderness. Then, proceed to lend to the remaining survivors and tell them that this is the price to pay for redemption!" Shi Dong nodded but did not get up. He only continued to look at him, "What about you? My Lord." "I will probably go and face God" Ye Qingxuan fiddled with small black metal box and muttered softly, "Then, I will make my choice." I have kept you waiting, Charles Here I come. 807 Goodnigh Iberia was the peninsula that had once looked at the Anglo Kingdom from across the sea. Now, a roar came from the reefs that waves had crashed against for millennia. An earthquake shook the dark cliffs made of various kinds of metals, and cracks appeared. A thin stake of iron floated in the air. It had a bone-like texture. Under attack from some invisible power, it wedged itself into the deepest part of the mountain. It created a hole as thick as a person''s waist. One could hear it echoing in the depths of the earth. It pierced through the mountain nearly all the way from top to bottom. After passing through rock formations, mud and stone, the iron pillar with the black gold core reached a depth of hundreds of meters below sea level. Cold wind blew out from the depths of the earth as if a crypt had been opened. "There were no errors in the leyline survey." The prospecting musician standing at the mouth of the cave lifted the construction blueprints in his hand and nodded to the engineer behind him. "The third Iberian branch range is here. The target exploration is complete, and the equipment can be prepared to enter." And so, a sharp, high pitched scream came from the heavy steel ship on the sea. After smashing through reefs in the shallows, it came under the cliff. Soon, the transformation musician on the deck waved and caused dozens of containers to float up and hang in the air. As the containers opened on all sides, the heavy steel that was sealed within them scattered into the air and were quickly caught by an invisible hand. Under the support of the aether, dozens of mass production musicians manipulated the iron material and equipment into the air with great strain. Finally, they aimed them at the cave on the cliff. The musician presiding over the project lifted his terminal and dialed the illusory module. After quickly verifying his sound of heart and identity, he connected to Avalon, which was thousands of miles away. A low voice rang out through the chaotic noise, "This is Stein Chamber zero. In the records, this is listed as node no. 5684, Iberia no. 3 branch connection project site. The leyline survey was correct. Requesting central second-tier interface and construction authorization." After a brief, silent wait, the answer came, "Second-tier relay authorization has been opened up. The Iberian main leyline has been confirmed. Gentlemen, you may carry out your construction. I authorize you in the name of the supreme network." Through the complicated music theory that was transmitted from thousands of miles away came a calm and cold voice, "Establish the foundations of the earth, prop up the tent of the sky, the eternal world will be created here!" Quiet movements played along with the calm voice, and the music theory from Avalon unfolded with it, awakening the sleeping steel in the sky. Among the flying sparks and electricity, steel and iron grinded together, producing a sharp sound that expounded the chaotic tides of the movement. When it fell to the ground it caused the earth to tremble, turning it into a huge drum. Main stake, foundation, hydraulic damper, aether diverter valve... Layer upon layer of steel fell from the sky at gravity''s pull, taking root in the cave. Rivets wedged in, screws fastened, and in a flash, the steel rose up. It was like a sharp skeleton that would pierce the sky. Then a layer of attached facilities was put together. In the long roar, steel buildings dozens of meters high were growing at an incredible speed. In the end, they were full-grown, and their outlines were hideous. "Sound the first bell!" The royal musician who presided over the project ordered. "No. 5684, synchronization sequence!" The steel tower trembled as a huge shock ran through it from top to bottom, reaching the depths of the earth and causing a huge roar in the cavity. The magnificent bell rang through the thick earth. The ocean trembled. Far away in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, the Net of Aether high in the sky still maintained its calm operation. Only one of its small modules was slightly turbulent. Thousands of miles away across the sea of aether the first reverberations passed to the country across the sea. A blazing light shone above the tower. "Sound the second bell!" the musician shouted excitedly. "Begin verification!" The earth trembled again as the bell in the cavity in the leyline made a loud sound, conveying its message to the distant country and accepting brand-new music theory.Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. "Sound the third bell!" the musician shouted. "Confirm the music theory protocol!" The enthusiastic engineers pulled the cables quickly and waited for the final echo. Far away, a blazing torrent appeared above the ocean, shining like the sun. It was an endless stream of aether flowing into the deep sea. The fixed leyline, guided by sea markers, ran across thousands of miles of the ocean. The intense light penetrated the ocean, forming a golden stream. In the end, it gathered up in the cave in the leyline and rose to the sky along an established path. It gushed out from the top of the instrument of harmonious melody towards the sky and gathered together with thousands of beams of light. The light was like a drifting aurora. A silver ribbon danced in the night sky, giving a thrilling magnificence to the sky that had been burnt red by the flames. That was how the bell rang. Amid the sound of everyone cheering, the musician in charge of the project looked silently at the sky. After a while, he turned and said, "How many are there?" "Counting the time, shouldn''t there be 27?" His assistant flipped through the schematics and smiled bitterly. "According to the schedule, by the end of tomorrow, our six teams will have to repair forty in Iberia. It''s a big project. The superiors run their mouths and we have to run around. They''re talking about saving the world, but in fact, all we can do is work overtime." "I''m not asking about us." The musician shook his head, and the light from the sky glinted off his chin. "Look at that. Nobody knows about that." The assistant''s bitter smile froze, and he shook his head slightly. "Probably even that group of executioners couldn''t figure that out. The tower that we''re building here would be enough for them to light a hundred stakes." "Yes." The musician nodded and put a match to his cigarette. After taking a deep puff he put out the match. "Bring about a new order, then offer up to God a hundred times as much destruction. Sometimes I wonder how future history books will evaluate us?" The assistant shrugged. No one knew the answer to that. But if Shi Dong was there, he would probably answer with his "Savior of the World." Unfortunately, Shi Dong never paid attention to these kinds of boring questions while he was working. The Inquisition had never cared how awful their reputation would be in the history books; they only cared about their work. At the same time, also in Iberia, when the royal musician threw the silver stream of light representing the new order into the sky, the purification musicians on the ground threw ten times as much fire into the sky. Shi Dong walked under the stakes, and his boots trampled on the ashes. The sounds of crying and screaming came between the innumerable hustling firewood teams, as the burning flames seemed to intertwine with dying breaths. His footsteps were calm and determined, not like a dying old man. Even though he was dragging an obese man by the collar, who was struggling fiercely, he did not sway at all. "No! Not like this! The Sacred City gave me permission! I am pure!" His face contorted as tears ran down. "I am pious! You can''t do this!" Shi Dong smiled. "So, who can prove your piety?" He looked down at the man, casting a hideous shadow over his distorted face. Against the burning flame, his old face could not be seen, but his eyes seemed to be two deep cracks leading to a world of lava and fire. "This benevolent cardinal?" Shi Dong pointed to a charred corpse on a stake. The once expensive red robes had been charred and twisted in the fire. Only the holy symbol around his neck still shone in the burning. Shi Dong pointed to another stake. "This prince? "This party leader? "This king?" He smiled like he was chewing charcoal. Amid the cries, the grease coated stakes suddenly shook as the sound of a pine knot cracking rang out. The flames leaped up, and the person on the stake was completely consumed. A burning wind swept through, dragging way the ashes and the spirits of the dead, sending their sorrows into the sky. Finally, they turned into a fine black dust that drifted back down to earth like rain. Amid the cries of a judge as he suffocated, Shi Dong began to sing hoarsely. The hoarse voice that came from his steel vocal cords did not carry a tune, but it entangled in the flames, accompanied by the sound of pine knots cracking. It was given form by the dust and plaintive cries, and gained fullness as the flames rose. It was as if the world of suffering had been revealed, and those on the stakes piously offered it the cries of their suffering. It was a chorus of thousands. Under the thousands of stakes, countless purification musicians sang the sacred song of judgment. It gathered together into a mighty wave that seemed to shake the sky and lash against the souls on the stakes. It would burn all the evil to nothing but ash in the fire. Shi Dong walked forward, treading through the flames. A fiery glow seemed to rise in his blood vessels, making his eyes turn an insane red. The grand judgment seemed to give him a new life. He walked in a hell that he had built himself, bathed in the fire, put the sinners into the flames one by one so that they could sing the song of God in the fire. The firelight dispelled the night. The grand bonfire lit the sky, spreading light to the surrounding countryside, making the darkness retreat before this raging flame of revenge. The last important person was put on the bonfire before dawn. "I''ve done nothing wrong! I''m in the right! You wild dogs! Don''t touch me!" The man wearing a crown and robes yelled at the Witch Hammer. "How dare you do this! How dare you, Shi Dong! It is us, the heads of the 16 families, who have funded you! It was my grandfather who saw your potential! We were the ones who gave you such great authority, and gave the highest glory to the Inquisition! We signed an agreement and a covenant with God as our witness! How dare you do this!" Under the stake, the old man who was bathed in a scorching wind looked up at him. He smiled. "Although it is regrettable that it has come to this, I must say, the 16 families, including yours, total 179 direct descendants. Long before the Inquisition was founded, they were on the first purification list." Shi Dong grinned, his distorted face flushed with red. "Even though I can''t issue an arrest warrant for you for various reasons, today really is the day dreams come true." He spread his arms like he was receiving a new year''s gift and cheered, "Why don''t you sing for me, friend? On this day when dreams come true, even the air is as sweet as honey!" The man on the stake''s face twisted and he snarled, "I curse you, you heretics who have forsaken the path of God! You beasts of indulgence and slaughter! You are led by traitors, and you have lost the correct path! You have broken our covenant! God will cast you aside! He will cast you aside!" "Ah, perhaps." Shi Dong smiled and raised his torch. "If he really cares about a paper covenant." He let go. The fire swirled down from his hand onto the wood. In the fire that was catalyzed by aether, the special seat that had been tailor-made for nobles was ignited. It burned up, throwing thick smoke into the dawn sky. Light danced in the firewood accompanied by Shi Dong''s harsh singing. He clapped out a beat, making for a majestic and wild figure that had a fleeting beauty. The fire was reflected in his bloodshot eyes. It almost made him hold his breath. This was the most devastating thing in the world. Since everything had been transformed, the brilliance had been revealed by suffering, and all ugliness had been turned to ash The fascinating brilliance seemed to be alive. Even in this cold and cruel world, it could bring warmth. "It''s so beautiful." He stood between the flames like a child, gazing at the dancing light. Just as he had countless times in the past. Except only here and now he could feel he was with the deceased who had once spent such a long time with him. They were reunited. They had not been separated by cruel time. It was not until the fire died down that he awoke from his long reverie. He felt the morning dew condensing in the corners of his eyes. He slipped on the ashes and fell on the ground. "Next one!" he yelled. A calm voice came from behind him, "There is no next one." He turned back in shock and saw the young man in the wheelchair and the countless extinguished stakes. He suddenly realized. "It''s finished?" "Mhm, it''s finished." "Then where are we going next?" "There''s nowhere to go, Shi Dong." Watson looked at him. "Anglo, Asgard, Burgundy, then from Navia to Iberia. Shi Dong, our path is finished." "Truly? The bonfire party is over?" Shi Dong sat dejectedly on the steps to the woodpile. He finally felt exhausted. He finally felt like an old man. "It''s a pity that I was just having one a moment ago." Watson shrugged. "Maybe you should complain to our boss later and have him give the next list to me. I''m sure it will be very long." Shi Dong said nothing. He just looked up in silence at the sun rising from behind gray clouds. "Watson, do you think it was good for me to get the righteous Inquisition to pursue my private wishes?" he suddenly whispered. "Now I don''t know whether my choice was right or not." "Isn''t it too late to be thinking of regret?" Watson couldn''t help but shake his head as he whispered. "The times have changed, old man." "Yes, I''ve lived too long. The world has changed so fast, and I''ve been left in the past." Shi Dong smiled self-deprecatingly and patted his iron knee. "It seems just like yesterday that the Inquisition was established. At that time, wouldn''t I have cast aside the ugliness of my own degeneration? But when I think about it seriously, it seems there was nothing wrong with my descent." He looked at Watson, and his eyes that had once been so cloudy were clear. They reflected his face as if he were staring back at himself. "If I like chasing the light, am I not a shadow?" Watson was stunned. "Even though I am so old I don''t even have the strength to put up a stake, there are still many things that are not as I wish. But those things are no longer important." Shi Dong lowered his head and said softly. "It really was a carefree expedition." Under the numerous stakes, he took in a breath of refreshing ash. He smiled and closed his eyes as if he was sleeping among the flowers. In the flame of death, he returned to his hundred-year dream. "Shi Dong? Hey, Shi Dong!" Watson reached out to shake him, but when he touched his cold shoulder he stiffened. After a while, he lowered his eyes and forced a smile. "You''re really sleeping here? You''re so old, I guess it''s important to sleep somewhere warm." He pushed his wheelchair forward and carefully placed the thin blanket on his knees over Shi Dong''s body. He reached out and gently hugged him, saying softly, "Goodnight, Shi Dong." Goodnight. May you reunite with the deceased before the eternal bonfire in the endless night. 808 Wait and Hope The seawater soared. The huge pieces of sea ice collided with each other, producing deep and flat roars. The sounds were transmitted through the water and the wind to distant places. The biting cold wind shrouded the sea, sucking up the waves, then tossing them back on the surface of the sea. A large amount of ice crystals bobbed up and down in the sea, producing crisp chimes that complemented the countless roars from the colliding sea ice. Above the sky covered in dark clouds, faint streaks of electricity could be seen, indicating the advancement of the storm. And on the surface of the sea, in the cold wind, a layer of ghastly whiteness had covered the surface without anyone realizing it. Frozen seawater became firm ice, covered in white snow and embellished with innumerable crisscrossed cracks, revealing the deep seawater below, and stretched all the way to the end of the heavens and the earth. And just above the sea of ice, two straight lines of footsteps extended forward. They continued all the way to a spot where the land was near enough for one to see its contours. They stopped abruptly. Ye Qingxuan looked up and gazed at the land covered by gray fog in the distance. "The place in front, is it the Caucasus..." "That''s right." Shards of frost condensed on Bach''s beard, and he exhaled a fiery breath. "The place where the god is." "Leave the rest to me." Ye Qingxuan turned back and cast him a look. "You have already ''escorted'' me here, surely you aren''t worried that I will now regret my decision and leave?" "No, I have yet to complete my duties." Bach shook his head, knocking his pipe on the sharp icicle beside him, causing the frozen tobacco and ashes to fall out, then refilled the pipe. "Before you leave, someone wants to see you." "Someone? Where?" Bach lowered his head and lit the pipe. "According to the time, you''ll probably meet him very soon." At the moment, Ye Qingxuan turned back. A crack leading to somewhere distant opened from behind him. In the forlorn whistle of a hurricane, a black spot emerged from the air, then expanded rapidly, swallowing the frosty wind, forming a tunnel of wind leading to another world. A wind tunnel? Just as Ye Qingxuan was stunned, a hand slowly extended from the wind tunnel. Then, a thin figure emerged. As if there had been a breakthrough regarding the proposition of "long-distance human transmission," which had been proven to be unsolvable, someone crossed thousands of miles via the wind tunnel. Finally, he set foot on the sea of ice, old decaying robes emerging from the hurricane. As the hurricane dissipated, the aging, peeling skin made of silicone was revealed, as well as the broken circuits and mechanical parts behind the peeling skin, making him appear as grotesque as an evil spirit. "Nice to meet you, Dr. Ye''s successor." The only "human" in the history of the world to have achieved long-distance transmission stood in front of Ye Qingxuan, speaking with a weird tone, producing static noise at the same time. The original colors of the robe on him could no longer be identified. Blown by the wind, the sleeves of the robe rolled back, revealing the sign inscribed by the manufacturer on the back of his hand, indicating his non-human nature. Ye Qingxuan came to a realization. "Peter?" "Yes." The first-generation King of Red, the only non-human on board the East Asian colony ship back then, the smart observation machinery, "Peter," nodded. In the brief silence, he gazed at Ye Qingxuan''s face. Behind the aged and faded colloidal eyeballs, traces of the old observing equipment were revealed, and a monotonous iridescent light was still blinking. It made one uncomfortable to be directly stared upon by him. Ye Qingxuan frowned. "Is anything the matter?" "The look in your eyes is exactly the same as that of your ancestor, a look truly unique to humans." Peter replied, "Before killing Xiao Huan, the look in his eyes was the same as that of yours now." Ye Qingxuan''s gaze became cold, and he looked at Peter silently. Peter also looked at him. His broken face had no expression on it. "Explain your purpose in coming, Peter." Ye Qingxuan said coldly, "If your goal is to upset me, congratulations, you have succeeded." "Actually, it is not the case, Mr. Ye." Peter finally stopped staring at him and lowered his non-human eyes. One couldn''t really see any expression on the aged and ruptured face. "So, allow me to explain my intentions." He unfolded his arms, acting in a manner that had just the right amount of friendliness, one so perfect that it could be included in human textbooks. "16 micro central processors are located over my body. After a few centuries, seven are still working. "For the past few centuries, I have followed my mission, trying all the time to understand humans, even when I was slumbering. 41 times, I almost thought that I have understood you all. However, it turns out that I still haven''t. "It continued until I came to the understanding that perhaps the line in between is one that an old model like me can never ever cross successfully." He looked at Ye Qingxuan and told him, "But it is not the same for Charles." Ye Qingxuan''s gaze became more and more indifferent. "What are you trying to say?" "I am trying to explain Charles'' nature to youhow Charles became the Charles you know." Peter''s tone was still calm. Perhaps, for something like him, emotions like hesitation or a willingness to concede did not exist. "Do you know how machines like me carry out activities similar to the process of thinking humans go through? Humans termed the process ''computation''. "In the beginning, everything stems from the two definitions of ''False'' and ''True,'' that is, zero and one. In my crystal oscillator circuits, the two definitions form the ''AND gate,'' ''NOT gate,'' ''OR door,'' and so on.Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. "Hundreds of millions of the smallest units like them form a ''logic valve,'' and then an equal number of ''logic valves'' form the structure of a central processor. "Finally, the 16 processors mobilize the Central I, II, and III databases according to the preset logic chain, forming ''me,'' what you refer to as ''Peter,'' that is, the ''model 4 seventh-generation humanoid observer and collector'' standing in front of you. "My body structure means that I am fated to be completely different from human beings. "The same is true for Charles. It''s just that his logic processor is way beyond that of an outdated model like me." Ye Qingxuan did not speak. He merely looked at Peter. After what was just a brief moment to humans, Peter seemed to have completed a long deduction and thinking process, and he nodded understandingly. "It seems that in order to facilitate your understanding of what I mean, I still need to reveal the nature of the ''Holy Cauldron'' to you." Based on Ye Qingxuan''s reaction, after realizing that the information he knew was lacking, Peter jumped to another topic. "Let''s start at the very beginning. That would be the very first moment humans set foot on this unfamiliar world. "90 percent of science and technology, stored food, loved ones, hometowns... After losing everything that they could possibly lose, mankind gained a new life, and the miracle that does not exist on the EarthAether; a type of creature that almost completely defied quantum mechanics." At the fingertip Peter lifted, a speck of aether crystallized slowly. The aether that was restrained in the force field beat like a heart, revealing a crystal-like texture that Ye Qingxuan had never witnessed before. Peter went on, "Although their own structure was so simple that it seemed even less evolved than the ''mycoplasma,'' such a being that could hardly be considered as a living thing even has an advantage that living things known to human beings do not have. "They can observe and interfere with the world across multiple dimensions at the same time, subverting the foundation of thermodynamics by only relying on the energy generated by the vibration of air particles. For humans, no, even for smart machinery, it is a miracle that cannot even happen in a dream. "Therefore, under such circumstances, the question of how aether can be developed and utilized became a top priority for mankind. Had they been unable to master the power of aether, human beings, who were in a life-or-death situation, would have even faced the risk of extinction. "In the end, across the Eastern and Western continents, humans came up with the solution, the ''Holy Cauldron.'' "In simple terms, they considered all aether as one, and utilizing the characteristics of aether, they tried to make them into a planet-level computational model. They implanted the operator interface, which is what is known to you as the ''Holy Cauldron.'' "The name of the computational model is ''the Originator''the huge random-access memory that all the empty consciousness of aether gathered into. Unfortunately, as you know, the results are not as good as they have wanted it to be." Ye Qingxuan knew clearly of course regarding what Peter was referring to. Few people knew the consequences of the creation of the Holy Cauldron better than Ye Qingxuan, who saw the big picture and had inherited the memory of House Ye. But what Peter said next was beyond his expectations. Or rather, it revealed a secret that Ye Qingxuan had never thought about. "We underestimated the instinct of aether as a creature. It has the ability to balance itself and correct errors. At the very moment the Holy Cauldron was implanted, unexpected changes were produced." Peter looked at him, his tone remaining calm. "When humans observe aether, aether is also observing humans." "Observe?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yes, observe." Peter said, "Everything that has happened is kept in the records of the Originator, including the fights between humans, and the... memory of human beings. "Countless bits of cluttered data are saved in the Originator. " At the moment, a thought flashed across Ye Qingxuan''s brain, causing him to blurt out subconsciously, "Styx!" "From a certain perspective, such an understanding is not wrong." Peter projected a three-dimensional simulation from his hand. It was like a closed circular reaction kettle. At the moment, in the calm, stagnant water, a brand new force was added in. Then, it descended into chaos. "After a positive vector was produced, the negative vector did not begin diffusing like how we expected, but instead it gathered in one place, forming another core with a lot of cluttered data," Peter said. In the projection, reactions were taking place amid the chaos in the once-calm reaction kettle. The clear parts rose, and the turbid parts descended. The situation was just like the origin recorded in the Book of the Ultimate. Ye Qingxuan murmured softly, "Hyakume..." "And also the quiet moon." Peter added, "It can be said that humans smelted the Holy Cauldron with the hope they have for the future, but human sin and the resentment of the dead formed Hyakume. "And the struggle between the trio, namely the Holy Cauldron, Hyakume, and the quiet moon, caused the Originator to completely descend into uncontrollable chaos, creating the world today." In the long silence, an old and incomplete book appeared in Peter''s hand. It seemed to have been kept forever, carefully stored, but it still found it difficult to resist the scouring of time. At the moment, the pages were so loose that it seemed as if it would completely disintegrate at the slightest touch. It was the ancient book that Ye Xuan had given him, the verses that had created the behemoth known as the Church. Peter didn''t know how many times had he read the book, and he even knew the tears on each page by heart. He stroked its broken cover, his voice calm. "Humans think that they have found Eden, the paradise, but then they brought along the original sin of human beings with them." Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes and exhaled deeply. "Tell me, what does it have to do with Charles?" Peter gave him a broken smile. It was as if he had already known the answer in the young man''s heart. Then, he hit the mark with a single comment, "A few millenniums ago, with silicon transistors and circuit boards, humans were already able to create us... "What makes you think that the same thing will not occur here?" Ye Qingxuan said nothing. "For centuries, aether has never stopped making records regarding mankind. Countless people have lived and died, and all their memories have been recorded in it, forming a mass of chaos stirred up by the Holy Cauldron and Hyakume. "The musical movements created by countless musicians, the sound of heart integrated into them, the aether projections compiled with one''s own consciousness. The Symphony of Predestination, the host body of aether created, namely the scepter, all these actions are like throwing firewood constantly into a furnace. "Only the final spark is required. "And amid the chaos, finally, an intelligent consciousness was birthed. "Mr. Ye, it is exactly the arrival of mankind that has bestowed consciousness upon the Originator. "It wandered about in the Originator, lingering in the trance-like state between being asleep and being awake, until the long process of brewing ended. Relying upon the power of the Holy Cauldron, it was born as a mortal child, appearing in the world with the appearance of a human being. He was raised and bestowed with human nature by Abraham. "He himself is the ultimate result of the children of the Dragon Bloodline, the most perfect catastrophe created by the Originator by imitating human beings. Similarly, he is also the answer that Dr. Ye had been seeking his whole life, and the proof of the existence of a ''soul''. "His name is ''Charles,'' he is your elder brother, the adopted son of Abraham. "At the moment, he makes up his mind to abandon his identity as a human being, he can use his identity as a catastropheno, as a godto rule over the whole Originator!" "Now, have can understand, what sort of being Charles is?" Peter looked at him. "As long as he is serious about it, he could decide the destruction or existence of the world with just a thought. As for why he has not destroyed the human world immediately, it is probably because of some reason that we have yet to know." In the silence, Ye Qingxuan lifted his eyes and responded, "I see." Peter nodded and asked again, "So, did what I''ve said change your decision?" "No." Ye Qingxuan shook his head, but his eyes became calmer and calmer, like the sea of ice that extended for thousands of miles. "Then, thank you for listening to my final observation report in place of the crew committee." Peter smiled and bowed. "The final series of missions of 4-88659, hostname ''Peter,'' namely ''The Long-term Observation of the Originator and Analysis of Its Disastrous Consequences'' and ''The Existence of the Soul,'' is completed." And so, his final shackles were unlocked. Peter looked up, and the broken face that had been forcibly maintained all along finally shattered completely, revealing the complicated machinery beneath that could not have belonged to a human body, and layers of rust. For some reason unknown, after removing the mask that made him seem like a human being, his appearance seemed to be a lot more graceful. Behind the ruptured colloidal eyeballs, the observation equipment was still looking at Ye Qingxuan. Peter''s tone was calm. "Later, can you please fulfill Dr. Ye''s promise in his stead by authorizing this machine to format and shut down permanently?" "Shut down?" Ye Qingxuan had not considered the possibility that Peter showed up here just for such an outcome. "Is it what you want?" "Yes." Peter nodded. "This is something that only you can do, as the last committee member who has controlled the central core and obtained supreme authority." "Alright, I promise you." Among the faint noise of mechanical parts operating, Ye Qingxuan seemed to have an illusion, as he saw the stiff face on which corroded steel parts were exposed move. It seemed to have smiled. "Just now, I seemed to have produced the wrong data of ''having understood humans'' once more. Perhaps the result of such a computation is called ''being grateful'' in human terms." He bowed his head and saluted Ye Qingxuan in a human manner. "Thank you, Mr. Ye." He continued, "Please give me your right hand." After hesitating briefly, Ye Qingxuan extended his right hand, which was then held tightly by Peter''s raised hands. Behind the cracked silica gel, the metallic material was exposed. When touched, one could feel a hallucination-like temperature, but soon, it was replaced by the coldness of steel itself. But just between Peter''s hands, countless specks of aether gathered out of thin air, dancing in the sounds of such high frequency that human ears could hardly hear. In an instant, they intertwined and wove such complicated music theory that ordinary humans could not ever finish reading even if they were to spend their whole lives doing that. In the end, they gathered at Ye Qingxuan''s fingertips. Ye Qingxuan could hear the cracking noises coming from Peter''s body. It was the abnormal noise produced by the central processors when they were overheated. A pungent smell spread as if Peter was going to stop working in the next moment. But when Peter separated his hands and withdrew them, an old and simple signet ring appeared on Ye Qingxuan''s index finger. The crystal that aether had condensed into reflected countless rays of light, making it seem as magnificent as neon. Through the signet ring, Ye Qingxuan could almost feel the whole world pulsing. His cognitive sensing spread outwards from his body, integrating into the aether. Spreading along tens of millions of slender branches of aether, it covered the entire world. He could hear the loud noise of the torrent of aether operating in the world of dark from thousands of miles away. "The transfer of the account of the third administrator, ''Yellow,'' is complete." Peter nodded. "Now, you are truly the King of Yellow." Before Ye Qingxuan could even speak, he saw Peter take out the crown of thorns, the antique forged with brass, representing supreme authority in the Church! At the moment, following Peter''s actions, Ye Qingxuan was crowned with it. Along with a slight pain from the crown piercing his scalp, Ye Qingxuan felt like hot molten iron was poured into the fine wounds, operating on his skull and interweaving into fine and complicated alchemy arrays. Soon, the crown of thorns fell apart on top of Ye Qingxuan''s head, turned into dust, and dissipated in the air. In its place was a blazing light slowly rising from his head. With the innumerable strands of interwoven music theory, it formed a halo that resembled a ring of thorns. Strengthened by the halo, Ye Qingxuan heard the loud noise that erupted from the Net of Aether. In the depths of the huge crystal polyhedron, the phantom shadow of the ancient copper cauldron appeared quietly. It was the strengthening from the Holy Cauldron. At the moment, it had been fully connected to Ye Qingxuan''s music theory. Just like how it was after he unlocked the authority of the King of Yellow, at the moment, all the musical movements belonging uniquely to the King of Red had appeared in the Land of Dreams, and he could use them as he liked with just a single thought. A great power so extravagant that he could propel the whole world with it was in his hands! "The transfer of the account of the second administrator, ''Rubrum,'' is complete." Peter declared, "You will be the new King of Red." "Finally..." He turned back and looked at Bach, who had remained silent from the beginning to the end. Bach nodded and spread his arms. Blood spewed out. Peter lifted his iron hand and pierced it into Bach''s chest. It cut through the flesh and blood, and before Ye Qingxuan had time to react, he had already pulled it back out. With it was Bach''s heart. The heart was made of iron. At the moment, in Peter''s hands, the steel heart beat slowly, and the indicator light that was covered in blood flickered with a monotonous fluorescence. The music theory it emitted was even more unbelievable to Ye Qingxuan. "Unexpected, right?" Bach forced out a smile. "The founder of the Sub-originator School, was once a student of the fourth-generation Bach..." "I have been wondering about when this day would come, but I did not expect it to be today." He looked at the young man in front of him, lifted his hand, and covered the crack in his chest. Then he sat down on the ground and breathed in relief. "Ye Qingxuan, you will be a better King of Blue than I was." Peter held the steel heart in his hand and looked at Ye Qingxuan. In the silence, Ye Qingxuan spread his arms, letting Peter cut through his clothes and skin, implanting the steel heart into the cavity in his chest. It replaced the heart formed with aether initially, and the heart began to work again. "The transfer of the account of the first administrator, ''hyacinthum,'' is complete," Peter said. At the very moment, Ye Qingxuan felt his body burst with a rumble amid chaos. The endless darkness was torn apart by the light emitted as he exploded. The eternal silence was broken, the light and the flames swept across everything, and the original vector propelled the operation of the world. The clear parts rose and the turbid parts descended. It was how the sky and the earth were formed. A horrifying brilliance that was like the creation of the sky and the earth erupted in the deepest part of the realm of aether. As the sacred city shattered with a rumble, a scorching sun rose from the ruins that had finished burning. Countless forces poured in like floods, drowning the Land of Dreams. Then, it was swallowed up by the huge scepter that was large enough to accommodate the future. Amid the projection from the future, the incorporeal scepter brewed up the grand melody of creation. The music theory of countless saints appeared from it, interweaving together, and the strands connected themselves to the projection of the "Holy Cauldron." Acting as links, they extended in all directions, forming an ocean of black gold inside the Net of Aether. And, observing the endless ocean black gold, the crystal polyhedron representing the Net of Aether wildly expanded and proliferated. In an instant, it had expanded to hundreds of times its original size. If not for Ye Qingxuan suppressing it deliberately, it could even continue to grow. And in the interior of the crystal polyhedron, the projection of the Holy Cauldron had turned corporeal, letting the Net of Aether mobilize its endless music theory, and the two merged as one. With it as the foundation, a huge altar rose from the crystal. Holding the staff of authority of the King of Yellow, wearing the crown of the King of Red, and sitting high up on the throne of the King of Blue, Ye Qingxuan''s aetheric manifestation appeared. At the moment, the sovereignty that had once been split by humans in order to avoid dictatorship was integrated as one, controlled in the hands of the same individual. "While Charles is a god that has once been a human being, you are now a human being that has become god, a being of the same level as him." Bach lifted his hand, his lips pale from losing too much blood. He sucked at the pipe and finally said goodbye, "Don''t forget what I''ve said to you, Ye Qingxuan, don''t forget." "I will remember." Ye Qingxuan nodded and took a last look at him. Then, he extended a hand to Peter, who was bowing down, a smile on his face. "Peter, according to the agreement between you and Ye Xuan, I hereby order you with the supreme authority. "Format yourself and never restart." On the non-human face was actually a smile of liberation at the moment. "So, the countdown begins." A calm voice was produced from his throat. It was not the hoarse and old voice he used when speaking to Ye Qingxuan. It seemed as if he had returned to a few centuries ago, back when he was sitting in front of Ye Xuan. In the blinking of the indicator light, the central processors shut down one by one, and the final countdown was ongoing. Peter gazed at the Ye Qingxuan''s figure as the latter turned to leave, and he sat down on the ground. A peaceful smile appeared on the face made of iron. "Farewell, Mr. Bach." "Mhmm, farewell." Bach sighed softly. Before their time ended, he asked the question that he had not dared to face all along, "Do you think that Ye Qingxuan can really succeed?" "My central processor believes that the possibility of success does not exceed 0.03 percent, but ''Peter'' thinks that he will," came the reply. "Why?" Bach asked. "Wait and hope, aren''t they the two best words of mankind?" Peter smiled and closed his eyes for the last time. Those were his last words. [488659, done formatted.] [Permanent shutdown] [For a better tomorrow LILIN Smart Technology] 809 Hell The barren land was flat. When one stepped on it, one could feel countless particles of dust rising from the ground, then slowly falling back, as if they were sinking in water. Iron filings seemed to have been mixed into the dust, lending it a metallic gleam. Gray and silver specks were mixed together, extending into the distance. Other than that, no trace of life existed, nor was there any trace of anyone. The riverbed was dry and the mountains cracked. All life seemed to have been drained away in an instant. Only the aether surging in the air like a fluid reminded Ye Qingxuan about where he was. When he looked up, he could see the giant tree of light rising from the center of the ground in the distance. Its countless magnificent branches pierced into the sky, spreading blazing streams of light. Meanwhile, its system of roots was hidden beneath the earth, absorbing a magnificent power unimaginable to human beings. Thousands of miles of roots hid under the surface, with the occasional forks resembling aerial roots extending out of the soil, thus forming huge brambles tens of millions of meters in length. Fluorescent brambles poked in and out of the ground, winding and growing, crawling on the silver-gray ground. Sometimes they formed a jungle-like landscape, sometimes a seemingly endless grassland. Flowers blossomed amid the brambles. Crystals formed by high-density aether were absorbed onto the veins of the brambles, resembling flowers forged with silver. Thousands of layers of petals unfolded, reflecting light in a beautiful and seductive manner. "Had I known that you have such artistic talent, I would have saved up money so that you could transfer to an art academy." Ye Qingxuan reached out and stroked the edge of the petals, letting the color of rust spread along his fingertips in vain before finally peeling off and falling into the dust. If I had foreseen it back then, things would not have deteriorated to such an extent, right? Maybe I could have saved something. At least "Little Yezi, you are here." The familiar voice sounded from behind Ye Qingxuan, the tone calm and peaceful, as if its owner was smiling. Ye Qingxuan turned back and saw the person standing in the vast desert of dust. It was as if he was the only living thing that still existed in the barren world. He wore a white robe and stepped on the ground barefoot. He had a smile on his contoured face, but the smile was not of the cheerful kind that Ye Qingxuan was familiar with. It was as calm as the ocean. He faced everything with mercy. "It''s been a long time, Charles." After a long silence, Ye Qingxuan spoke, carrying on with what seemed to be like a casual conversation between reunited old friends. "What have you been busy with recently?" "Many things." Charles thought about it and laughed. "Sometimes I feel that I am in a loop, but after I finish something, it still provides me with a sense of accomplishment. Despite not having studied in an art academy before, it comes to me very naturally when I practice. Perhaps, I am a self-taught student?" He turned and waved to Ye Qingxuan, eager to show the latter his new discovery. "I''ll show you something, come with me." Ye Qingxuan subconsciously took a step in his direction, chasing after him. As if they had finally passed through the heavy deep sea and reached land, the heavy feeling of suffocation disappeared, and it was replaced by the fresh wind blowing from afar. The wind brought with it the fragrance of flowers. Green, lush young plants sprouted from both sides of the path, with a few unknown wildflowers mixed in. A frog leaped from bush to bush, croaking in a low tone, jumping into the water body not far away. It cruised along in the clear lake. Soon, its trail was covered by drooping branches. The branches were ripe with fruit, and a ripe apple fell from the branches, landing in front of Ye Qingxuan. Ye Qingxuan bent over, intending to pick it up, but a black shadow jumped out of the bushes diagonally in front of him. It leaped towards Ye Qingxuan, and when it brushed past him, it swiftly ducked its head and grabbed the apple with its mouth. Then, it ran away. One could only vaguely see a pair of huge antlers in the forest. Ye Qingxuan grabbed nothing, yet he could not help but reach out again to touch the soil on the ground. He grabbed some soil from the ground with his fingers, then the fertile black soil fell from his fingertips once more. He could vaguely see the fine grass seeds in it. The mooing of farming cattle sounded from afar. Ye Qingxuan parted the bushes, saw the farmland being plowed in the distance, and the cattle that had stopped in the middle, dragging the broken plowshare beside it. Several farmers gathered around, smoking cigarettes, scratching their heads as they discussed the issue of the broken plow. The situation continued until the plowshare was picked up by Charles, who brushed off the dust on it. He said something to the group of people, and the farmer ran away with the plowshare after listening. Charles turned back and saw Ye Qingxuan in the distance. He waved, motioning the latter to come closer. The sound of water flowing became clearer. One was vaguely able to see the river flowing rapidly below the mountain in the distance, as well as plots of villages. They were connected by roads, and horses galloped on the roads, dragging heavy carriages along. Ye Qingxuan could vaguely glimpse the outline of rain clouds further away. Raindrops fell from the sky, fine and dense, covering the ground. By the time Ye Qingxuan walked over, the farmers had already walked away, taking the cattle with them by its rope. "Wooden plows break too easily indeed, but someone just told me that an open iron mine was found nearby. I''m going to teach them to build an iron-forging furnace here. Coincidentally, the charcoal-burning kiln has been completed two days ago, and there are many trees nearby, so we aren''t missing anything." Charles brushed off the dust from his hand and smiled at Ye Qingxuan. "How do you find it, not bad, right?" "Where are we?" Ye Qingxuan looked around the scene and couldn''t suppress his puzzlement anymore. "A peaceful and stable world." Charles spread his hands, happily showing his work to his dear friend. "Compared to ''the Kingdom of Heaven,'' I prefer ''Paradise on Earth''." This is... Eden? Ye Qingxuan could hardly believe it. It wasn''t until Charles personally admitted it that he finally discovered that it was not an illusion he experienced. He had so easily arrived in the deepest part of the realm of aether, which had been sealed off by layers of barriers, and entered the hinterland that everyone dreamed of coming in. He even had a black box that could destroy the place in an instant. Ye Qingxuan subconsciously pressed his palm towards the back of his waist. He felt the cold touch of steel in his palm. It was so reassuring. As long as he was willing to, he could destroy it at any time. He could put everything to the torch. But Charles seemed to have noticed nothing. He just took Ye Qingxuan''s hand in his, leading the way. "We''re just at the bottommost part, come with me, there''s more in front still." They crossed the clear stream, crossed the river of milk and honey, and even saw a lake giving off the sweet fragrance of wine in the distance. Drunken elks lay in the grass, rolling around. They arrived at a huge city with crowds of people. Innumerable people brushed past each other on the streets. Voices called out on both sides of the street, promoting their products. A girl ran through the streets with two children following her, knocking into many people and leaving peals of laughter behind. They ran away merrily. At the center of the city, in the city hall, men in gray robes debated eloquently on the podium, waving their hands about, exploring the profound and difficult themes of philosophy. They discussed death, about sex, about people, and about everything in the world. They argued with each other, convinced each other, or left dissatisfied. Stonemasons recorded their eloquent gestures, carving out the outlines of their figures from the white plaster. And in the square before the city hall, many mellow and gorgeous statues had already been erected. They included statues of old people, of women in tulle with plenty of their skin exposed, and of naked young men. Under the statues, young people sat together in twos and threes, with wine and bread, laughing and chatting with each other. Ye Qingxuan was engrossed in his observation, not paying attention to the road ahead, and almost stepped on something. The dog he kicked barked at him loudly, growling with its teeth bared, but a little girl then bent down to pick it up. It no longer barked, but instead, it buried its head in her arms tamely, wagging its tail. "You scared it." The little girl looked at him. "Sorry, I did not..." Ye Qingxuan subconsciously apologized, but halfway through his words, he realized something and looked at the little girl in front, stunned. The girl grinned at him, revealing her chipped incisors. She turned around and ran away. Only Ye Qingxuan was left standing where he was in silence, and he spoke no more. He simply followed Charles through the city, moving on, admiring the world that was so huge that it seemed endless, as if every outline and detail of it was perfect. Until the end, as dusk had just fallen, they once again returned to the foot of the mountain where they had originally started from, looking at the specks of light in the distance. A river of stars flashed across the night sky, spilling down sparkling brilliance. "It''s really peaceful." Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but sigh. "Yes, and there is no pain or hurt." Charles sat on the ground, staring into the distance. "They can live for themselves, without oppression and plunder, and they are free to give meaning to their own lives." He smiled with satisfaction, just looking at the countless lights. It seemed as if he had obtained bliss. "So, you just keep them like this? Just like pets, enjoying worriless lives..." It was hard to tell whether Ye Qingxuan''s tone was one of praise or sarcasm. "I have to say that you did a good job. "At least they won''t hurt themselves, right? And they won''t hurt others." "Yeah, the dead will not hurt others." Ye Qingxuan''s eyes gradually grew quiet, recalling the little girl who smiled at him during the day, and his eyes seemed to have been stung, twitching slightly. "So, you took them from Sytx and kept them here, right?" He asked, "You used soil to create figurines, blew into them, filled the soil with memories of the past, set the roles they must play for them, and let them act out a peaceful life in your paradise. But all this can''t change an issuethey are all dead. " "I can bring them back to life." Charles looked at him calmly and answered honestly, proclaiming the truth. "The present me can bring anyone back to life." Ye Qingxuan was silent. He said no more. "It''s been a long time, Mr. Ye." Not far away, someone waved. The musician in white stood in the moonlight, smiling at Ye Qingxuan. "You look really powerful now." God knew how much sincerity the smile had in it. But Ye Qingxuan had a hard time reacting because of the identity of the person who had spoken. "Paganani?" Ye Qingxuan sized him up and couldn''t help but shake his head. "For someone like you, didn''t you have enough time to run away?" Paganini just shrugged and said nothing, but Charles explained for him instead. "He volunteered to stay here and help me manage the place." "Regardless of whether the paradise is to succeed or fail in the end, someone must always be there to witness it, no?" Paganini''s expression was calm, and he did not refrain from discussing his plans despite Charles being there. Then he nodded and bid farewell. "I still have some trivial matters to attend to, allow me to take my leave." And so, he turned calmly and disappeared into the distance. "Observing a god at close range, you have really found him a good job." Ye Qingxuan withdrew his gaze and looked at Charles. "So, what about Wolf Flute? Where is he hiding, preparing to give me a surprise?" "He died," Charles answered. Ye Qingxuan curled his fingers up subconsciously. "At first I was going to let him go, but after he knew what I''m going to do, he challenged me." Charles shook his head regretfully. "Maybe, he is the same kind of people as Gaius? They all have such a heavy sense of responsibility for all of this, leaving me with no choice." Ye Qingxuan was silent for a long time and asked softly, "He lost?" "No, he won." Charles lifted his palm and showed him a narrow, slender wound in his palm. "He touched me." It was the scar left by Wolf Flute. After sacrificing everything, paying the price which included everything he had, and using up all his wisdom, he merely made a scratch in Charles'' skin. It was shallow and didn''t even draw blood. Had Charles not kept it there deliberately, it would not have even left any trace. "According to our agreement, for 15 days, the paradise will be constrained to the Caucasus, no matter what happens outside. This is what Wolf Flute has done for the world, and I also hope that you and the outside world will know about it." Ye Qingxuan forced out a smile and just felt somewhat tired. "Can I have a smoke?" he asked. "Feel free to do so," came the reply. Ye Qingxuan lit a cigarette, tarnishing the fresh air in the paradise, leaving human pollution in it. Waving the smoke in front of him away, he looked around. "After looking around for so long, where is your home?" he asked. "Are you not going to let me visit it?" Charles said nothing. In the brief silence, Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and couldn''t help but laugh out loud. It seemed as if he had understood Charles'' answer. "Is that the case?" He laughed so badly that he choked on the smoke, and he couldn''t help but want to cough. He could hardly say anything. "You created such a magnificent paradise, but you have no place to stay Charles, are you kidding me?" It was such a vast land of paradise, an unprecedented utopia. The kingdom of heaven had descended onto the earth, and it seemed that everyone could enjoy peace and joy. But in the vast kingdom of heaven, the god actually had no place to stay. Every day and night, He lingered in paradise like a ghost, looking at the countless peaceful and happy lives from afar. The creator of paradise had no place in paradise. It was just like a joke... "Maybe." Charles'' expression was still calm, and he simply gazed at Ye Qingxuan. "I don''t need anything like that anymore." "Then, what about our teacher?" Ye Qingxuan pressed on step by step, trying to tear open a crack in Charles'' calm camouflage. "Let me see where you have arranged for our teacher to stay, Is it elaborately decorated, like an exquisite grave?" But the expected anger did not come. On Charles'' face was still an unnerving quietness. He looked at Ye Qingxuan and asked in confusion. "What teacher?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned. He stood frozen where he was. He couldn''t move. For some reason unknown, he suddenly felt a bit cold. A chill seeped out of his bones, almost freezing him. Then only did he realize how stupid his mistake was. He always assumed that Charles was pretending to be calm, deliberately isolating himself from all human emotions, playing dress-up and acting like a god overlooking everything. Ye Qingxuan had thought that as long as the calmness and indifference were broken, he would be able to identify Charles'' flaw. As long as he could see Charles'' anger, he could find Charles'' weakness as a human being. But at the moment, he suddenly realized how wrong he was! At the moment, how many memories of the past does Charles still have after cutting himself off from everything of his back when he was once human? He has even abandoned the memories of Abraham''s existence. And who exactly is the person standing in front of me now? "What''s wrong?" Charles asked, "Are you alright?" "It''s nothing." Ye Qingxuan said, "Just assume that I have remembered it wrong." He forced out a smile, using up all his energy. The smile was so ugly that even he himself couldn''t stand it. In the end, he lowered his head and put out the cigarette. "Charles..." "Yes?" At the moment Charles turned back, the New Testament sword struck at his head without warning. In a flash, almost the entire weight of the Holy Cauldron was exerted on it. The violent gravitational pull from the mighty system that ran through the whole of the realm of aether stirred up a hurricane in the paradise. The fiery blade was like a hot sun, tearing the whole night apart and igniting the darkness. Amid the fierce light, Ye Qingxuan looked at the friend in front of him. Finally, he made his intentions clear. "I''m here to kill you." Bang! He could feel violent quakes coming from the blade, as if it had directly hit something unbreakable. From the countless branches, all the way to the backbone of the sword, countless strands of music theory shook nonstop, whining forlornly in pain. The blade striking down was abruptly stopped. It stopped before an extended palm. It was mere millimeters away from the wound left by Wolf Flute. And yet, it seemed as far away from the palm as the abyss was from the sky. No matter how much force Ye Qingxuan exerted, it did not move forward for even the slightest bit. The attack had come to an end. It wasn''t until the light went out then Charles lowered his head and sighed softly. "I thought you would try to persuade me first." "Yeah, according to the pre-set plan, it should have gone like that." Ye Qingxuan nodded and admitted it. "But I thought about it and decided to put myself in your shoes. If you were the one persuading me, would I stop?" "So, what''s your answer?" Charles asked. "I think probably not." Ye Qingxuan clenched his hilt and gazed into Charles'' eyes. "So, instead of wasting time, why not proceed directly to the sneak attack storyline that everyone is very familiar with?" Despite weapons being drawn, the pair of eyes still had no trace of anger or sadness in them. They were simply filled with calmness. An unshakable calmness. "There''s one thing that I''m very curious about." Charles asked softly, "I know that my existence is a source of trouble that must be taken care of to many people, but I don''t think they can persuade you. "Although I knew what you want to do the moment you came here, I really couldn''t figure it out... "Little Yezi, do you have any particular reason to want to kill me?" "Of course not," was Ye Qingxuan''s answer. "I thought about plenty of things along the way, but actually... There is no reason that compels me to kill you... I am still thinking about it just now, maybe a being like you will be a qualified and selfless god. "Please, believe me, I meant it sincerely." "Then why..." Charles began "But, as compared to the paradise you have created today," Ye Qingxuan interrupted his words, no longer able to endure the pain in his heart, "I would rather see hell here!" At the moment, the projection of the Net of Aether emerged from behind him, and the music theory of From the New World emerged from the outline of the Holy Cauldron. Tens of millions of movements extracted the endless aether, rising into the sky like stars, and turned into a torrent sweeping towards Charles. A horrifying wave of heat erupted in an instant, burning the entire mountain range red. Countless pools of lava were swept up by the hurricane, gushing in all directions. In the F?hn wind that exuded a dazzling high temperature, the animals were instantly turned into ashes, and the streams evaporated completely, revealing the dry riverbed. Milk and honey condensed into lumps and were then burnt into black charcoal. The lake of fine wine was ignited, and the burning fire extended into the distance. In Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the paradise was burned. Forlorn whines sounded from afar, cries and shouts ringing out, once again flooding the world. "Don''t be afraid." A gentle voice rang in the ears of every crying person. "It will soon end. You will have a peaceful and tranquil life once more, and salvation has never left. "Therefore, you need not endure in silence. "If you are in pain, you may cry out loud. "If you are in despair, you may roar and shout. "As compared to the paradise you will get to enjoy, such an incident is just an insignificant memory." Amid the ground fire and lava, a barefooted figure appeared, walking on the fire. Wherever he passed, all the flames and pain disappeared without a trace. A clear stream of water spurted out of the riverbed, winding and flowing. The burning people also stopped crying, even though they were not cured, they could feel no more pain. They just bathed in the glory of God, softly bidding farewell to their families, smiling as they closed their eyes. They calmly greeted death. The paradise had returned. Everything was as peaceful as the kingdom of heaven. Despite being the kingdom of heaven, despite it being so beautiful... It was an incredible eyesore to Ye Qingxuan. Perhaps all of it was true, perhaps paradise had really descended upon the world, but just watching it made Ye Qingxuan furious beyond restraint. If this place had been hell If Charles had created hell Maybe I could have felt his pain, maybe, I could still have... However, Ye Qingxuan saw no flames nor residual anger. The original sin of all humans had been left outside the godly domain. Here is paradise. It is a truly perfect kingdom of heaven. Perhaps, Charles will be a qualified and just god. Perhaps nothing bad will come from Charles controlling the world. Perhaps human beings can usher in happiness or redemption or whatever after the old world is destroyed. But none of it matters. What Ye Qingxuan wanted had never been such goddamn ideas! Compared to what had been sacrificed, the so-called "redemption" was simply not worth mentioning. "How can you still laugh, Charles?" Ye Qingxuan demanded hoarsely. Just gazing at Charles'' face, made him roar uncontrollably. "How many memories have you given up, including our teacher?" What answered him was some sort of merciful smile. It really seemed like that of a god overlooking the sufferings in the mortal realm after distancing Himself from the human world, spilling down mercy. He abandoned anger and obtained peace. He stayed away from sorrow and gained joy. He refused suffering and ushered in redemption. But, Charles... If you abandon even hatred, what on earth do you want to turn yourself into? Ye Qingxuan shouted, "Haven''t you sacrificed enough, Charles! To what extent are you going to destroy yourself before you are willing to stop?" Ye Qingxuan''s expression was distorted in rage, as he stared at the smiling Son of God in front of him, and he could not bear the cracking pain in his heart. "Do you really... want to be a god so desperately?!" At the moment, propelled by his rage and pain, the New Testament sword whined forlornly as it cracked. Innumerable cracks appeared on it. The weapon that Ye Qingxuan had cast with everything he had was no longer able to withstand Ye Qingxuan using it with full force at the moment. Even the arrays of the Tree of World could hardly accommodate the violent music theory. The horrifying impact of countless suns bursting erupted from it nonstop. It continued until the New Testament sword completely disintegrated, causing the steel, which was eroded by aether, to turn into a stream of light so magnificent that one could not look straight at it. Pure power descended in Ye Qingxuan''s hands, striking forward! It struck at the god! The mighty stream of light collided with the power of the god, causing chaotic torrents to erupt and throwing the entire realm of aether into turmoil. But Charles'' expression did not change. He did not even counterattack. Below the vast stream of light of rage, he merely protected the paradise behind him, the fragile world he built. He simply looked at Ye Qingxuan, who was close at hand. His gaze was full of pity. It caused all the destruction to disintegrate, and all power lost meaning. It made Ye Qingxuan almost tear up. "Don''t you have even the slightest trace of hatred?" He looked at the god in front of him, almost pleading. "Acknowledge your pain, Charles, go exact revenge, go create hell! "At least that way, you will still be you!" "Hell?" Charles shook his head in disappointment. "Haven''t you seen enough of such things outside?" He reached out and held the horrifying brilliance that struck down at him. He balled up his five fingers.Find authorized novels in Webnovelfaster updates, better experiencePlease clickfor visiting. He let the uncontrolled power burn his palm, but it failed to leave any scar on the palm. In the end, it completely dissipated. All of it was in vain. "Little Yezi, I''ve never wanted to retaliate against anyone." Ye Qingxuan heard the calm voice of Charles. "Because revenge never had anything meaning. "I have told you long ago: I want to end it all forever." In the silence, the god stood in front of the paradise, gazing at the human. "I will overthrow the cruel and cold world, let the paradise cover everything, and grant everyone redemption." At the moment, the paradise shook. Grand singing rang from the deepest part of the realm of aether. In the observation of musicians, a holy brilliance that seemed eternal lit up in the silent Eden. On the barren land of the Caucasus, the huge tree of light rumbled, once again beginning to grow after ten days of silence. It grew towards the heavens and the earth, towards the distance, towards the whole world. Countless bramble-like systems of roots pierced through the crust of the earth, anchoring down the roots, then spread out from the soil, digging up the earth, shaking the mountains and rivers, and extracting vitality from all living things. In a flash, it expanded several times. Wherever it passed, everything descended into silence. Only the magnificent melody of the paradise growing was left between the heavens and the earth. Tugged by the paradise, the sea of aether evaporated completely, and the realm of aether and the physical world were forcibly merged together. It was as if an invisible palm had forcibly pulled two parallel strings together and tightened them. In the upheaval, the heavens and the earth had fallen apart. But in the horrible disaster, no sound of screaming and crying could be heard. On the earth covered in brambles, all human beings had disintegrated like dust, instantly, blending into the brambles. After losing their bodies, they were whisked away from the sufferings of the mortal world and entered the paradise. Redemption was sprinkled all over the world. "Has it finally started?" Amid the turbulent waves in the sea of ice, on the broken ice floe, Bach ignited his last cigarette and gazed silently at the kingdom of god. After losing the support provided by the music theory of the King of Blue, at the moment, he was in an even worse condition than the ordinary musician, and could hardly even keep his fake heart beating. But at the moment, his eyes had a light in them, as if he was burning his soul to resist death. At least, please let me see the final outcome... 810 - Paradise on Earth Do you see it, little Yezi? Charles looked down upon the growing paradise. Soon, everything will be finished. Humanity will be freed from the ravages of the world and welcome eternal peace. And eternal death. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes to shut out the final, unrealistic reverie. I wont let you succeed, Charles, you should know Yes, thats who you are, isnt it? Charles smiled. There was a bit of joy and liveliness in that smile. Your compassion for this world is far greater than mine. No matter how cold it was towards you, no matter how much it saddened you or hurt you, you never gave up hope on it. So, come on. No matter what you do, I wont blame you. Charles waved his hand, generously unlocking the shackles of paradise and making Ye Qingxuan reflect the glow of the Net of Aether. Maybe I should isolate you in paradise. But if you find it useful, youre welcome to use the Holy Cauldron or the Net of Aether or the power of one of the Three Kings. I will fight fairly. Charles pulled out the weapon that contained the power of God. There was no darkness on the blade, and there had never been any pain or madness in it. It was the salvation of all the world. A sword of light so pure that humans could hardly imagine it. Now, the god clenched the sword and announced to Ye Qingxuan, If you want to stop me, Little Yezi, you are my enemy. Then let me be your enemy. Ye Qingxuan nodded in the long silence. He stepped in front of the god, and his eyes were as firm as iron. At that moment the King of Blacks throne, the King of Reds crown, and the King of Yellows scepter appeared above him. Primary, secondary and tertiary administrative privileges were activated, awakening the control core far away in the east and fully activating the Holy Cauldron. Thousands of times more computing power ran through the torrent of aether. All the power forged by humanity was in Ye Qingxuans hands. It turned into a blade that he aimed at the god before him. I will stop you, Charles. I will let this world continue to sink into pain. If you have become a god, then let me be the one to kill a god! If your paradise on earth gets in my way, I will completely destroy it. After so long, the once close brothers now stood before each other with swords drawn. This was the final fight. Very well. In the endless light, Charles finally revealed the face of God. The last trace of human weakness had left his eyes. He stepped on an invisible ladder up into the sky. Majestic carols sounded around the world! This was the melody of redemption. The chapter that would save everything. A song of suffering written for a god! And at the same time, it was endless power. It shook the heavens and the earth. It made the nations tremble, the oceans freeze, and even the air was shattered. Just by being in motion it brought disaster and calamity to the world. Now, the power to judge everything was in his hands. And so, with this announcement his indifferent voice rang throughout the world, echoing in the ears of all living things. paradise begins. The day of renewal has come! I will purify all original sin, destroy all evil, and redeem all the peoples! The path of pain ends here! By my will, eternal silence will descend, and everything will be at peace. This is an eternal paradise a paradise on earth! In that moment, the god in the sky lifted his sword and let it fall towards the last rebel in the world. This was a cleansing and a punishment that truly came from God. It would wipe away the last obstacle and restraint. It declared the arrival of salvation. Paradise? Ye Qingxuan bowed his head under Gods punishment, and could not help but feel sad. Charles, what humans wantedwas never paradise. Eternal peace, a paradise without worries, a world without pain These things never meant anything to humanity. Because they were never what people wanted. Humans only lived once. They lived decades of mediocrity, then after too many difficulties and hardships to count were gone in a moment, having to bid farewell to the cruel world. They were like drifting phantoms. No one knew where they came from, and they went nowhere. They were only a flash of sparks stored in a fragile brain. Because of this they longed for heaven, longed for redemption, and longed to attach meaning to themselves. They longed for a soul. They sought for a flash of great beauty in the mirror of pain thousands of times. Only in this way could they experience the true feeling of existence. Only in this way could they prove they were alive. It was like life had come from the flames. Life sprung from pain. It lived in this cold world. It was brought together by hardship, separated by sorrow, and moved forward from the pain towards the future. Even if the light of dawn was faint. Even if all that was left was hope. That was the value of existence. That was the driving force of human life. If they lost pain, then everything that was left, even so-called happiness, would be meaningless. From the start, the paradise on earth that would save everyone was nothing more than a dream. So, Charles Im sorry. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes, opened the box and pressed the button that ended everything. C There was a moment of trance. It was as if nothing had happened. Ye Qingxuan opened his eyes and felt the sunset of Avalon on his body. As the voices in the market called out, he saw the young man beside him droop his head. He looked dejected. Whats wrong, brother? Nothing, Im alright. He flashed his familiar smile and patted his chest as if glory was streaming out of it. Ye Qingxuan couldnt help but sight. When youre alright you say, you care about me so much brother, Im so moved or some rubbish like that. What youre saying now proves youre not alright. Welldidnt our teacher say that I will be the elder brother? As the elder brother I have to take care of all of you. All I can do each day is crack jokes, I cant do anything else. Its because Im just a loser, you know. Upon saying this the handsome young man couldnt help but scratch his head. He hid his sad expression and smiled at him. Dont worry about me, Im actually great. I just dont know where the problem is coming from. I just keep rolling along till I get used to it. Ive passed my days a bit decadently. I owe some debts, I often go and get drunkbut there are always ways to solve these things. In the past, Id often make myself sad, get drunk, and have some very strange nightmares. I wouldnt know where I was when I woke up. Every time I opened my eyes I doubted that staying here meant anything. But I didnt have anywhere else to go. And this place is great. He suddenly reached out and put his arm around the young mans neck and whispered, as if he was making a vow, Teacher is here, and you, and Bai Xi. Im no longer alone. I want to protect them, so this city can become very beautiful. At that time they were on the way home. The blond teenager swayed and softly sang a vague song under the sunset. The sunlight fell on their backs, stretching out the shadow of the two of them walking with arms around each others shoulders and illuminating the outlines of the two teenagers. The pale yellow light fell upon the waves, as brilliant as gold. C In that moment, Ye Qingxuan sensed he was no longer alone. For some reason there were tears on his face, and he couldnt stop them. He closed his eyes and let the light engulf anything. And so it did. C C The sky was the first thing to burst. Countless cracks spread out from the gentle night, stretching out like iron drills that shook the sky, making everything collapse. Through the cracks the original darkness of the cold universe was revealed. The stars shone dimly and seemed to cry out. With a roar like the heavens and earth were closing together, a white squall ran across the earth, violently destroying all creations, spreading them into destruction, and continuing forward. The earth was ruptured by earthquakes and boiling blood spewed forth, splashing out flames and destruction. It seemed like in that moment everything was coming to an end. Even the musicians who were able to withstand all disasters in the past had become exceedingly fragile, and were even more miserable than ordinary folk. Faced with the double assault of the physical world and the realm of aether, the heart rhythms of musicians were thrown into disorder and they could not resist the torment that came after. They could only vomit blood at the devastation of the aether. The boiling tides broke free from the shackles of gravity and flowed up into the sky. Layers of waves interlaced and whales sang their final song in the violent tide. Their song was immediately submerged in the shrieking storm. When the Holy Cauldron and paradise collided, the whole world seemed to be immersed in its final days. The end was like a tide, and everything drowned in it. Asgard, Burgundy, Anglo, and even Cloud Tower on the sea were all struggling in the tsunami that seemed to stretch from the heavens to the earth. In the far east, the Empire of Aurora experienced unprecedented earthquakes and natural disasters. A stream of fire descended from the sky. A rain of blood poured down. In the capital, the sound of numerous ruptures and collapses rang out without end as the towering palace walls were destroyed by hurricanes. In the broken hall that was about to be overturned, countless ministers kowtowed in prayer as the Empress sat on the throne. She let the broken stones fall beside her and the dust cover her once shining white hair. She clenched her fist and stared quietly towards paradise. She stubbornly waited for the final outcome. Charles At that moment, even in the distant World of Dark, destruction displayed its violent power. The first thing to bear the brunt was the once grotesque and gaudy realm of aether. The disasters were like boiling blisters as they emerged one after another. Countless giant mysteries were completely torn in two at the first moment of impact. They were swallowed by the storm, integrated into it, and merged together. In the midst of the increasingly violent assault, not even a single one of the remaining Scepters survived. Only musicians who had prepared several times in advance could hide in narrow secret places, frantically repairing all cracks and fissures, consuming the treasures they had accumulated over the years like running water in exchange for a moment of respite. In the end they could only desperately transform them into small boats that were caught between life and death in the depths of the storm. And those strange and mysterious wonders of the past were now like bubbles that melted in the violent turbulence, returning to the aether. In but a moment one-tenth of the world was destroyed. And then another tenth was destroyed. The destruction continued cruelly. It trampled all meaning into nothingness step by step, taking away all traces of life and civilization. All that was left was devastation. After who knows how long, the Holy Cauldron destroyed the raging torrent, and the collision between paradise and earth came to an abrupt end. 811 - New World The giant tree of light that occupied the entire Caucasus erupted into forlorn whines. Terrifying wounds emerged on it, and waterfall-like torrents flowed out like blood. The brilliance that represented the god swayed in the sky, flickering dimly. In the end, rupturing with a rumble, it completely dissipated. On the paradise, a forbidding crack appeared. After the whole axis had been pierced through, the paradise was thoroughly penetrated from the inside out. Its foundation and structure were completely destructed, and the eternally quiet kingdom of heaven was completely destroyed. In the paradise that fell apart, all the glory it once had had collapsed completely. The earth was swallowed up by flames, the rivers evaporated, and all the souls of the dead dissipated amid swaying shadows. The paradise that had once made everyone yearn for it was totally shattered. And the god was nailed to the very center of the crack. He let the sword pierce through his body without resisting in the slightest bit. He just smiled, gazing at the enemy in front of him, waiting for the upcoming relief. However, the blade stopped abruptly. It stopped before destruction came. Exactly as planned a long time ago. Ye Qingxuan had disregarded the fact that he might be destructed by a single blow from the god, and he made the same choice as Abraham had in the past. "Sure enough, you just... want to die, right?" In the silence, Ye Qingxuan gazed at the face covered in blood and sat down on the ground, exhausted. "Do you really want to die in my hands so badly, Charles?" "Isn''t it a good thing?" Charles gazed at the broken sky and murmured softly. "Such is the best ending, isn''t it? The world needs no god... I have understood from the beginning. "As long as I am alive, everything will lose its value. " "...The world doesn''t need me." He finally gave an actual smile, like how he had done in the past, and it was weak and soft. Ye Qingxuan was silent. He lowered his eyes forlornly. "Don''t act like a child anymore, Little Yezi, and don''t hesitate anymore." Charles spread his arms, like he was embracing the collapsed paradise and welcoming the coming of the end. "Do what you should do, at least out of pity for me. "Come on, kill me and save your world. " So, Ye Qingxuan reached out, clenching the hilt of his sword, and pulled the blade out from the crack in Charles'' chest. He raised the burning residual light up high, and it seemed like the afterglow of the kingdom of heaven. It illuminated Charles'' broken smile. Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes. At the moment, cracks emerged on the blade. In Ye Qingxuan''s hands, the weapon that sufficed to kill gods was snapped into two. Thousands of fragments flew in the air, giving off crisp and clear echoes. On the hand that had been cut by the blade, red blood flowed out of the wound and fell on Charles'' face, smelling like rust. "Charles, I came here not to save the world " Ye Qingxuan said, "It''s to save you." From the wound in the palm of his hand, countless fine pieces of aether crystals appeared. Each piece was so small and insignificant like dust, but together they formed something so complex, like the operation of the world. It was what he borrowed from Bai Xi, the alchemy matrix inscribed in blood. A low and deep aria flowed from it, sounding peaceful and distant. Amid the intricate perception threads, they intertwined in one place, weaving the prototype of a soul. It gave off a faint gleam of candlelight. The light was reflected in Ye Qingxuan''s eyes, as if it intended to illuminate the dark world. "So, endure the pain, Charles, it definitely won''t be the last time." He spread his palm, sprinkling the brilliance of salvation towards the Son of God in front of him. " I will not allow you to die lonesomely." In the silence, the gleam of candlelight fell from Ye Qingxuan''s hands. Drawing a straight trajectory in the air, it entered Charles'' chest and disappeared into the wound created by the blade. At the moment, a hoarse, melancholic whine sounded from the god''s mouth. It was the rumble from the heavens and the earth shaking. Pure flares of light burst out from Charles'' body, sweeping across like torrents. Wherever they passed, they engulfed the shattered paradise, igniting it and burning everything down amid the sorrowful whines. The flares consisted of flames and pain. They cruelly killed everything, pulling the god down from the altar, and causing the kingdom of heaven to fall amid the fire of hell. First, it was the kingdom of heaven of Eden, followed by the scepter and the Symphony of Predestination, then all the music theory... All the miracles and power were burned down in the flames. After taking everything away, the original sin of human beings was filled into the empty body. First came sadness and confusion, then anger and despair... In the sorrowful wailing, the catastrophe was killed, and a human was born. In the depths of the realm of aether, the turbulence finally returned to calmness. Innumerable musicians who had survived looked up towards the highest point with lingering fear and ecstasy, gazing at the collapsed Eden. In the vast kingdom, countless pillars slowly snapped and dissipated. The huge domain ushered in its final collapse, fluttering in the distant region of high-level dimensions, and disappeared from sight. The god was falling. With a rumble of unprecedented magnitude, the ground of the Caucasus was in turmoil. Countless blood-like torrents flowed from towering tree of light, causing the barren land that had been purified to be polluted by the mortal realm once more, and the frozen soil and wasteland that had previously existed returned. As the tree of light shattered, innumerable pairs of sealed wings emerged from above the territory of the Caucasus, igniting the dark night, as if they intended to wrap the whole world up. Before they could unfold, they disintegrated and turned into blinking stars, returning to the sea of aether. Only distant and sorrowful songs were left, mourning over the end of paradise. Salvation from a god, a calm world, and a tranquil paradise... In the end, they were still rejected by humans. Only the world that had not changed remained. Stars were still shining. Fine specks of light spilled down from the sky, illuminating the embers of the paradise, and the slowly opening pair of eyes. The eyes were tired and silent, as if their owner had awakened from a long sleep and had difficulties adapting to the pain brought about by life. "Little Yezi, will a new era come?" Charles murmured softly. "The beautiful world that you hope for, will it really come?" "It will." Ye Qingxuan nodded. "Will such a world still be as full of disputes as it is now?" Charles asked. "Probably yes," Ye Qingxuan said, "if human nature is as such." "I believe that it isn''t." Charles laughed softly. "Disputes... will end one day, right? "Everyone on earth will love each other, as if they are in the kingdom of God. There may still be troubles and sorrows, but a life in long-lasting peace and stability will enable everyone to face everything properly. "Such a world will come, right?" He gazed at Ye Qingxuan with hope. "A world in which everyone can live without having to hurt others exists, right?" "Mhmm, such a day will come." Ye Qingxuan nodded and promised him. "When the day comes, even the new world I create will be considered outdated and be abandoned by people. "The perfect world will be created in the hands of people who are hundreds of times stronger than us. "Such a day will definitely come. " But his words received no answer. Ye Qingxuan only discovered that Charles had shut his eyes when he turned to look. Charles seemed to have been reunited with a long-lost sweet dream. With a smile on his face, he looked calm and tranquil in his sleep. Ye Qingxuan was momentarily surprised, then took off his own coat and draped it over Charles. "Sleep tight, Charles," he whispered softly. The nightmare is over. Your life has just begun. ... When Ye Qingxuan got up from the ground, his expression returned to calmness. Perhaps, everything had already ended. Perhaps, a little problem remained unresolved. He gazed at the last of the wrecks of the paradise in front of him, and his sight seemed to pass through the barriers of matter, falling upon the deepest part of the realm of aether, as he watched the shock waves gradually calm down in the distant world. He seized the remaining time. In the silence, he suddenly came to an actual realization: Perhaps, to aether... humans are the actual catastrophes that have appeared out of the blue? Humans willfully broke into the silent world, created their own civilization without permission, considering themselves to be above every other living things and thinking that everything was in their control. They created, destroyed, rose, and perished, concentrating on the acting out of their own sorrows and joys, but they have never seeked permission from the true masters here. "Be it the Originator or anything else," Ye Qingxuan whispered, "you are looking at me, right?" At the moment, it seemed that nothing had happened. But in the tranquility, amid the waves reverberating through the deepest part of the realm of aether, a vague response seemed to have been sent. The inexhaustible sea of aether was turbulent. With the huge shock waves stirred up by the fall of the god, a distant figure was outlined. It was just like a fuzzy pair of eyes that cast a brief look at the mortal realm in between long slumbers. It gazed at him quietly. It listened to his words. Perhaps, it was the actual end to all the mysteries and power, the source and destination of all aether, the Originator humans yearned for. As compared to the long period of time It had experienced, the thousands of years for which mankind had existed was just a brief instant to It. The rise and fall of countless dynasties was also nothing but a long sleep to It. Confined to matter, human beings had never come close to Its essence. For centuries, mankind had borrowed the power of aether, squandering miracles and disturbing Its dreams. Thus, amid the complex prayers and sorrowful wails, imagery known as ''catastrophes'' and ''gods'' were born. At the moment, perhaps even It felt resigned and fed up? In the seemingly eternal silence, Ye Qingxuan gazed at Its eyes and put forth a request as a human being. "I''d like to have a chat with the world." ... God knew how long it took. Time seemed to have stopped moving forward, and human perception couldn''t understand its flow. When the first snowflake fell from the sky, the brief and calm conversation ended. "Then, thank you for your generosity." Ye Qingxuan got up, put a hand to his chest, and bid farewell with human etiquette. "According to the agreement, from now on, the Net of Aether will host the operation of the realm of aether, completely sealing off the path leading to the Originator for human beings. No new catastrophe will be born, and no one will disturb the silent slumber of the Originator. "Maybe the world will be different again the next time I wake up?" No one responded to his words. As the last shock wave in the realm of aether dissipated, the sea of aether returned to calmness. It seemed that nothing had happened. No one knew that a distant door far away quietly closed. The world ushered in a new era, in such a quiet way. ... When faint sunshine emerged from the edge of the sea of ice, Bach saw the figure of Ye Qingxuan from afar, the first person to walk out of the barren land. Ye Qingxuan brought with him the final outcome of the war. Bach lifted his head, sitting on the ice, and looked up at the silent young man. After a long night, they both had the same tired eyes. Ye Qingxuan told him, "It''s all over." "Where''s the god?" Bach asked. "Already dead." Such was Ye Qingxuan''s answer. Seemingly having understood something, Bach nodded, and said no more. The two silently looked at the sun rising in the distance. After a long time, Ye Qingxuan finished his last cigarette. "I am leaving, do you need a ride?" "Nah, thanks." Bach smiled and put the cold pipe by his side. "Just let me stay here alone for a while." "Then, goodbye," Ye Qingxuan said. "Mhmm, bye." Bach smiled. He didn''t watch the young man leave, but just gazed at where the sun rose. After a very long time, he closed his eyes peacefully. And so the old era ended. 812 - Tide and Wind Wind blew from afar amid the sound of waves. Above the endless blue sea, the flag of the Red Dragon hung high on the ship of steel, riding the wind and breaking the waves together with the fleet. The fleet stirred up mighty waves and advanced in a straight path. "How much further is it?" someone asked. "We''re arriving soon, Your Majesty." Christine replied, "Soon." So Mary''s expression returned to tranquility and calmness once more. Her Majesty the Empress was dignified as usual, and unless one knew her very well, one would be unable to notice that she seemed nervous and restless. She had asked the same question for many times along the way, and Christine could only repeat the same answer to her. Fortunately, this time round, the outline of the distant city could finally be seen from afar. "It''s only been three months." Christine put down the binoculars and sighed softly. "It has already become completely different from the past." Geraint, who had returned from inspecting the deck, smiled. "After all, he''s the Hand of God, even if he creates a miracle, it will not be surprising. "It''s a pity that, at such a young age, he has stepped into the ''grave''..." At the moment, Geraint''s 35th birthday had just passed. He no longer looked young, but he was still full of handsome male charm. Moreover, his personality was not as stiff as his predecessor, Tristan. As he said so, he couldn''t help but say a little somewhat teasingly. As a result, just as he finished his words, he sensed two displeased gazes landing on his face. "Sir Geraint!" exclaimed the Empress. Christine cast an angry look at him. This idiot just had to bring up the wrong topic! Geraint, who realized his blunder, immediately bowed awkwardly to the Empress and dared not stay any longer. He gave an excuse and intended to go strolling along the deck for another round. But just as he stepped on the deck, he heard the harsh alarm coming from the observation ship. In an instant, the entire Royal Fleet which was escorting the Empress immediately entered a state of alert. Firebird even appeared on the flagship, namely the Royal Pride. Violent bestiality emerged from the reflection in the sea, coldly gazing at the sky. And just above the sky, a huge shadow suddenly emerged. It was as if a behemoth had suddenly shattered the sky. In the rumble of the hurricane sweeping across, clouds were torn apart, and a shadow so thick it seemed tangible was cast toward the surface of the sea. It covered the Royal Fleet. For a moment, even the navy which had secretly gotten ready to open fire did not react. What... is that? In the surprised expression of everyone, above the sky, a grand melody sounded from the huge city, echoing the pulse of the heavens and the earth, and the city moved forward rapidly, despite appearing as if it was moving slowly. Wherever it passed, the sea of aether, which was under the city and flanking it, stirred up layers of silver waves. A magnificent and grand miracle had descended upon the mortal realm. "Don''t act rashly!" Geraint, who was the first to react, announced to the whole fleet. "They are the winged people, who have been invited to the Cloud Tower, just like us. Stay alert, but it is probably just a misunderstanding. "Musicians of the school of revelation, first, ask the other party to clarify what they are doing here, then warn them of the risk of accidents happening, and request the other party to quickly withdraw from our naval defense region." Despite saying so, as a royal guard, Geraint inevitably felt displeased. The Royal Fleet of Anglo, and even the ship Her Majesty is on, is now being literally ridden on the head by a group of bird-like people with wings. If one takes it seriously, such an incident cannot even be considered a foreign-affairs-related blunder, can it? In a sensitive period of time, it can almost be considered a declaration of war. Moreover, it''s just a matter of traveling, yet the winged people has gone to the lengths of transporting their entire country here from across hundreds of thousands of kilometers via the realm of aether... How free their empress is! If you really want to show how much you care about the event, it''s alright to bring your family over, but who the heck would bring even their house? Reacting almost as fast as the Royal Fleet, a team of winged people, circling the sky and guarding the territory, slowly approached and stopped at a safe distance. They bowed and apologized, then quickly turned to leave and catch up. Millions of birds flanked the city floating above the sky, speeding up and leaving the Royal Fleet''s shooting range. The alert was lifted. Geraint wiped the cold sweat off his head and started getting a headache over how to report the incident to Her Majesty. Meanwhile, on the bridge of the ship, a silent Mary suddenly spoke. "Christine?" "Your Majesty " The serious female knight leaned over. "How may I help you?" "Speed up the fleet." Mary said, expressionless. "We must reach before them do." "Yes, Your Majesty." Christine nodded, turned and gave the order, but from the corner of her eyes, she saw her empress quietly biting her lips, murmuring softly. "In hindsight, I should have brought the islands surrounding Avalon over as well..." In the end, she is angry because her pageantry has been outcompeted, isn''t she? Christine couldn''t help but smile resignedly. Despite being so dignified at all other times, but when it comes to Prince Ye, Her Majesty becomes very childish... As the fleet accelerated, the shadows cast by the distant city were gradually enlarged. The huge city seemingly forged by steel revealed its outline. It was completely different from the original Cloud Tower. Since the Hand of God took over the city of the Cloud Tower from House Liu, claiming it to be the fief of House Ye, the old city of the Cloud Tower was bulldozed overnight. No, rather than to say ''bulldozed'', ''rooted up'' would be a more accurate and literal depiction. The old city was then thrown into the nearby seabed to serve as the foundation of the satellite city. On the original foundation that was completely empty, new crustal movement was triggered, which caused the seabed to rise. Overnight, the area of the city of the Cloud Tower expanded by several times. Then, on the new foundation, steel grew out of the ground like trees. The unprecedented musical movements of modifications almost exhausted all the iron ore within a few thousand nautical miles. What was created was the majestic city that was shining in a cold iron gleam at the moment. Which the destructive power of the Hand of God brought fear to the various nations, then his present means of creation had impressed countless. Since the fall of the god, the Hand of God had become the most powerful mortal the world had ever seen in the past 100 generations. As long as he was willing to, he could at any time forcefully subdue all the countries and become the new god in the mortal realm. Fortunately for everyone, after his trip to the Caucasus, the Hand of God left Anglo and settled down in the city of the Cloud Tower, leading a hermit lifestyle. He even provided almost free of charge access of the Net of Aether to the whole world, sharing the power that he could have monopolized with everyone in the world. Since the destruction of the Holy Cauldron, other than the musicians who had attained the Level of Scepter and converted half of themselves into aetheric form, musicians would find that the difficulty of communicating with aether had increased by tens of times, and the stability of the musical movements became so low that it was frightening. They tend to explode easily, causing unpredictable and unknown outcomes. In just three days, God knew how many musicians got bombed into the air together with their own labs. The rules established by the Three Kings of the first generation were completely abolished along with the destruction of the Holy Cualdron. Meanwhile, the Net of Aether, which had risen, completely dominated the operation of the realm of aether. Even the scepter musicians who were arrogant in the past must bow to the Net of Aether at the moment. In order to show that he did not intend to use the power to dictate the world, the Hand of God even separated the institute responsible for running the Net of Aether from the Royal Institute of Research. All the necessary backbones of the institute, including Newton, no longer possessed their original nationalities and became international citizens who were not a part of any country. Meanwhile, recruitment for the operation of the Net of Aether had been opened to the whole world, and any qualified musicians could participate in it. All the technology used in the Net of Aether were fully disclosed. In principle, each country could maintain and operate the local Net of Aether. After taking over all the music theory and channels left in the Holy Cauldron, the Net of Aether had become the only way for humans to use the aether presently. Musicians also ushered in the biggest change in a few centuries, and they turned from demigods of the past to new engineers. The power would be owned by all mankind and would never be monopolized by individuals and organizations... Well, that was what he claimed, and it was up to each individual to decide whether they believed in it. Anyone with eyes could see that in the next few decades, most issues in the world, be it war or peace, or even prosperity and the creation or abolition of a country, would probably be decided single-handedly by the Hand of God. It was even more alarming because the Hand of God had already set off a wave of unprecedented bloodshed throughout the various countries before killing the god. At the moment, after the various nations had waited nervously for three months, the Hand of God finally did something. The countries received a wedding invitation. Yeah, the invitation was from the city of the Cloud Tower. I, Ye Qingxuan, am getting married. You all can bring some gifts and come take a look, don''t expect anything else. The elegant and graceful content of the invitation more or less meant something like the sentences above when translated. Get married, it''s good to get married! God knew how many people exhaled in relieve. Although definitely no one can profit from it, and the nations cannot be stingy with the gift money, from all perspectives, a married person will definitely act more mature than an unmarried person, and will not act rashly on impulse occasionally. Moreover, combining the information above with Ye Qingxuan''s recent development of the city of the Cloud Tower, it seems that he will stay at home to enjoy life after marriage and will not leave the place without reason. Moreover, maybe after a while, the Hand of God will begin a sophisticated, health-conscious middle age life... Many things can be solved with whiskey and wolfberry, isn''t it great! It''s simply worth celebrating with the whole world! Be it the countries that were secretly relieved, or the common folks who were simply grateful to Ye Qingxuan for saving them, everyone gladly offered their blessings for the wedding. It could be said that other than the Ministry of Ceremonies belonging to the Aurora, no one was unhappy about it. After all, the problem still lay with the wedding. Of the two leading roles in the wedding, one was the Hand of God who could descend upon the mortal realm as a god as long as he was willing to, and another was the supreme emperor of the Aurora, the head of the Dragon Bloodline, the descendant of the Dragon Bloodline closest to perfection in the past 100 generations. So, here was the problem The empress couldn''t marry into another family. Even if all the ministers had been beaten to death for opposing her marriage, she would never be able to marry into another family. Otherwise, the sovereignty of the Aurora would be immediately at risk, yet Her Majesty was unwilling to give up her throne... Surely Lord Ye wasn''t going to drape a red cloth over his head [1] and marry into the royal family? So, who was the one marrying into the other one''s family? Although everyone knew the answer well, because of the ego of Her Majesty and various other reasons, no person without a death wish would say the answer directly. Therefore, after spending so much effort to solve the problem to the extent that he almost had a brain hemorrhage, Tai Changqing finally thought of a way. Everything will be solved if the wedding is held in Western style! Lord Ye even had a bishop title as well! Although the Church now exists in name only, a church-style wedding will still be recognized by both the East and the West. Although the idea is kinda bad, but isn''t the problem solved by letting the foreigners worry about it instead? By then, the marriage is official, will the question of who marrying into which family still be important? After all, the empress will still be the empress, as for the other matters, it''s best not to care about them. With the political wisdom of everyone in the imperial court and the approval of Duke Ye, and after several reputable wise men submitted memos jointly, everyone pretentiously went through the required procedure in court and finalized the matter. The final result was a wedding that seemed to be in the global spotlight for a short period of time. Although the date was set to two months later, many people had already arrived one month in advance, hoping to ''coincidentally'' meet the Hand of God before the wedding. But more than 20 days had passed, and they received no benefit. Meanwhile, the actual important guests only arrived on the day of the wedding itself. When the Royal Pride docked, it was just behind the Burgundian delegation. Mary, whom Christine had somewhat calmed initially, immediately hid back into her cabin after stepping on the deck and seeing the Prince of Avalon talk happily with the first citizen of Burgundy at the harbor. She tried hard to resist the desire to look in the mirror. "Christine, how do I look like in this dress?" She tugged at her knight, as if she was seeking help. "Is it demure enough?" Christine sighed helplessly. "Alright." Mary bit her lip, breathed in deeply twice, and tried her best to calm down. "Let''s go." She coughed twice in a pretentious manner. "Well, after all, it''s not good to make people wait for too long." Just as she descended the ramp, she saw the male lead of the wedding waiting on the pier. He was all dressed up to welcome the guests. He smiled and bowed to his former empress. "It''s been a long time, Your Majesty, you look just as good as you did." "You flatter me, Mr. Ye, you are the one who looks great." Mary tried to make small talk, but for some reason unknown, when she spoke, she couldn''t help but tear up. "You know, I..." But at the very moment, Christine''s expression changed abruptly and she rushed over to Mary. The sound of the Knights of the Round Table unsheathing their swords rang out continuously. A group of knights wearing power armor appeared from God knew which corner, using their own body to shield Mary, guarding her carefully. Bang! "Hey!" With a cheerful shout, the thing that fell from the sky landed beside Mary, producing a dull echo and causing dust particles to fly around. As the crowd watched on in shock or in alarm, it seemed that the light from a wisp of flame was emerging from the dust. As they watched on, the empress of the winged people descended from the sky, as solemn as the fierce fire of the Armageddon. Her red dress fluttered in the wind, not a speck of dust on it. However, she held snacks in her hand, stuffing her mouth full. As if she didn''t notice the unusual atmosphere around her, she deftly reached out and tugged on the sleeves of the man in front of her. "Ye Qingxuan, Ye Qingxuan, is there anything to eat? I am hungry." Ye Qingxuan''s expression twitched as he looked at the big bag of snacks in her arms, speechless. Then only did the winged people who had been chasing after their empress and flying down from the sky arrive, albeit late. Once Caligula landed and saw the goddamn situation, he couldn''t help but feel his vision darken. We''re finished. He slapped his forehead and reluctantly went over to the Anglo delegation to apologize in a thick-skinned manner. But his empress still didn''t realize anything, and she was asking the host of the wedding about the menu. "Ye Qingxuan, Grandpa said that there''s roast penguin for dinner, is it true?" Ye Qingxuan was stunned and looked back at Watson. "Do we actually have that?" "...Just assume that we do." Watson also felt very complicated. He could only lean closer, lower his voice and say, "I will ask someone to tell the kitchen later, at most, just ask someone to summon one to kill and eat." "..." Ye Qingxuan''s expression was twitching, and he could only hope that no mass food poisoning would occur at his wedding dinner. "Marriage ceremonies is so troublesome for you all." Elsa looked at the surroundings, shook her head and sighed. "Our marriage ceremonies all just consist of treating everyone dinner in the evening, then carry the bride away and go straight to sleep. Oh right, Ye Qingxuan, will you carry someone off to sleep as well? Can I go and see? Don''t worry, I will only watch and not talk." "..." Ye Qingxuan didn''t know what to say. Fortunately, after Watson had enough fun watching the show, he still had a conscience after all, and he came to the rescue. "Your Royal Highness, you should go and change." "Oh, is it?" Ye Qingxuan breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat off his head, nodded and bid farewell. "Allow me to take my leave." Only Mary, who had hesitated for a long time and finally mustered up the courage to speak, was left standing. She stiffened, and her whole person almost turned grayish-white. Mr. Ye, I still have something to say... "What''s wrong?" Elsa looked at her curiously. "Sister, you look very sad?" "No, it''s nothing." Mary forced out a smile, her feelings complicated and difficult to describe. "Come on, have some sweets." Elsa winked, as if she had understood something, and comforted Mary. "Don''t be sad, you can still be friends with him after he gets married." "Eh?" Mary was stunned. It was as if an important switch had been flipped with a snap. "Right..." She murmured softly, and her eyes lit up. "We can still be friends after he gets married." Next to her, Christine turned her head away painfully. No, Your Majesty, the ''friend'' she meant, and the ''friend'' you meant... are totally different! ... Meanwhile, the locker room was also in a spin at the moment. Ye Qingxuan was changing his cumbersome clothes for the fourth time, but Watson, who was next to him, was constantly causing more trouble by stuffing a stack of documents into his hands. "According to your request, the structure of the first generation of the committee has been set up. Here is a preliminary list. However, you have to consider it carefully Is it really good to just give away the power to control the world?" "Surely there''s not much disadvantages?" Ye Qingxuan looked up at the list, letting the attendant treat him as a clothes rack and put layers of clothes on him. "I can''t stand living on thin ice like how the King of Red did, give me a break. "Wait, why are some names missing here? " "Oh, I removed them." Watson shrugged and stuffed another stack of documents into his hands. "This is the investigation report that has been sent today. The group of idiots were secretly financing the defeated Asgardian soldiers to establish some goddamn Liberation Army, and thought that they were being discreet. You give them an inch and they''ll take an ell. "However, I suspect that someone is behind this group of fools. Do you want to continue investigating? We can definitely sniff out a few more unscrupulous snitches..." "Forget it." Ye Qingxuan shook his head resignedly. "Just let them have a look at the report, don''t be so murderous. It won''t be too late for you to take care of them after they stir up trouble anyway." "You''re basically throwing all the dirty work to me right?" Watson suddenly felt complicated. "Sooner or later, I will die from overworking." "Watson, don''t underestimate yourself." Ye Qingxuan patted his shoulder, his tone solemn. "Shi Dong lived for more than two hundred years." "..." Watson didn''t want to say anything, and he turned to walk away. When Ye Qingxuan pushed the door open, walked out, and saw the gloating smile on Watson''s face, he suddenly got a slightly bad feeling in his heart. "What''s wrong?" "Her Majesty is gone," came the reply Ye Qingxuan''s was totally stunned. "Which one?" Watson couldn''t help but rolled his eyes. "The one marrying you, of course." So, Ye Qingxuan faced a strange life problem. On the day of my wedding, the bride can''t be found, what should I do? ... Half an hour later, when Ye Qingxuan leaped onto the roof from the balcony of the bedroom, he finally saw Bai Xi. She wore a white wedding dress and sat on the tiles, unafraid of the dust staining the wedding dress. She looked at the sea leisurely, a fruit platter in one hand, as if she did not realize how much trouble she caused at all. Seeing Ye Qingxuan, she even waved carefreely. "Cousin, you are here." As she said so, she was stunned for a moment, pondering over her own words. "No, I can''t call you ''cousin'' anymore, can I?" "Stuff like this is up to you." Ye Qingxuan grumpily messed her hair up. "Surely you aren''t chickening out at the last minute?" "Of course not, I''m just feeling irritated because of the sheer number of guests you invited!" Bai Xi glared at him, and immediately, her eyes became somewhat dim. "For some reason, I keep on remembering the things in the past recently." "Because of the city of the Cloud Tower?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Not this place, there is nothing much here to remember anyway." Bai Xi shook her head and looked at him. "I mean the things that happened back when we first met." "Oh..." Ye Qingxuan gave her a strange look. "You mean the time you framed me when we met for the very first time?" "Ahaha, did something that mean really happen?" Bai Xi blinked her eyes, an innocent look on her face, as if she really hadn''t done anything. "Yes, and it happened more than once. Remember the time you were at the fruit shop, you and Charles took off running immediately after taking something from the shop, making me and our teacher run after you all feeling very embarrassed. "Also, remember the time we went to eat buffet! You had so many leftovers, and you threw them all on my plate, causing the restaurant management to stop me and try to fine me..." Before he finished, Bai Xi kicked him. "Why do you remember all these so clearly?" "These are the only incidents I remember." Ye Qingxuan shook his head and smiled sadly. "I''ve forgotten a lot of things." "Last night, I dreamed of our teacher and Charles. They said that they would attend my wedding." Bai Xi lowered her head and rubbed her red eyes. "I miss them very much." "Me too." Ye Qingxuan reached out and carried her in his arms, just like holding a large doll. The girl leaned against him and looked down at the wedding dress she was wearing, and her gaze became distant. "Cousin, I''m still living in a dream, am I not?" "Is it a sweet dream?" Ye Qingxuan asked. "Yeah." Bai Xi nodded. Ye Qingxuan couldn''t help but smile. "Then let the sweet dream continue." "Will you be with me?" Bai Xi looked at him seriously. "This is the last reminder I have for you, I can be very difficult." "No worries." Ye Qingxuan lowered his head and touched her cheeks with his, laughing softly. "No matter what happens, I will be with you." So, Bai Xi got up, tidied up the wedding dress on her body, and after flicking off the dust, she coughed twice pretentiously, as if she was not feeling shy. "Let''s go, the wedding is about to begin." "Alright." Ye Qingxuan held her hand. ... When the bell rang, Lola, who was asked to be the bridesmaid, was finally done helping Bai Xi change into a new wedding dress at the last minute. She felt that she was truly wise to have decided to order two sets of wedding dresses. The carriage was about to arrive at the venue. For the last time, she checked the white tulle that was fixed on the bride''s silver hair and nodded with satisfaction, then stuffed the bouquet into Bai Xi''s hands. "Okay, let''s go... Bai Xi? Bai Xi? Are you listening?" "Ah? Oh, oh." After a long pause, Bai Xi finally reacted and quickly nodded. "You aren''t listening at all, are you?" Lola couldn''t help but shake her head. "Do you still remember the process of the wedding? It''s just a few simple steps anyway. Just nod to Father Bann, who is conducting the ceremony. After everything is done, remember to throw the bouquet out... Seriously, as a person who has never gotten married, why do I have to remind you of these?" Looking Bai Xi who looked somewhat lost and was so walking so stiffly that it seemed that she might sprain her ankle, Lola sighed. Sure enough, despite saying that she isn''t afraid, the end, she''s still very nervous. "Let''s go, just follow me." She held Bai Xi''s hand and pushed the door of the carriage open, stepping on the red carpet. The band that had been waiting for a long time played a melody. On both sides of the red carpet, the onlooking crowd cheered. The old men from the Court of Inquiry and the musicians from the Royal Academy of Music were excitedly causing a larger commotion by whistling in the crowd. After Bai Xi glared at them, the whistling grew even louder. So, Bai Xi was even more nervous. The wedding dress was too tight, and she felt a little breathless from it. In the crowd, so many pairs of eyes were looked at her, making her a little dizzy. If only the quiet old man was still here, just like how he had promised her, he would have held her hand and walked her into the church. If he had been here, Bai Xi would not have felt afraid. Thinking of it, she couldn''t help but feel sad. But in her trance-like state, she seemed to see a familiar face. When she turned back, she saw the blond young man standing outside of the crowd. He seemed completely different from the past, no longer beautiful, but his eyes were just as gentle. Sensing Bai Xi''s gaze, he smiled and took off his hat, lifting a hand to his chest. In the distant blaring of the horns, he slowly stepped back, waved goodbye, and finally turned to leave. The slender figure blended into the afternoon sun. "Bai Xi, what''s wrong?" Lola asked softly. "Do you feel uncomfortable?" "No, it''s nothing." Bai Xi laughed. As if she had gained courage, she lifted her head and embarked on the future belonging to herself and Ye Qingxuan. "Let''s go." ... Avalon. The setting sun cast a golden afterglow, illuminating the quiet and peaceful cemetery. Before the lonely tombstone, someone unknown had put a bunch of white flowers. To the beloved Abraham... The wind brought along the echoes of the waves from afar. All of the past quietly ended in silence. The End [1] It refers to the traditional Chinese marriage custom where a piece of red cloth covers the bride''s head during the entire ceremony.